South Africa: SA concerned about rival armed forces battle in Sudan as death toll soars

Deputy President Paul Mashatile has expressed South Africa's concern about the conflict that broke out in Sudan over the weekend between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

We are particularly concerned about the rising numbers of civilian loss of life, the destruction of private and public infrastructure, and the humanitarian disaster that is likely to arise with the entrapment of civilians in their houses with no access to food and other basic necessities.

Equally concerning is the impact of the conflict on Sudans neighbours, he said.

According to the World Health Organisation, 270 people have been killed, while more than 2 600 have been injured since the bloody battle.

The Deputy President spoke at the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) business forum in Cape Town, where the city is playing host to Africa's most prominent business event to promote private sector participation in accelerating the implementation of the AfCFTA.

According to reports, at the heart of the clashes are Sudans military leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the commander of the paramilitary, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

Until recently, they were allies. The pair worked together to topple ousted Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir in 2019 and played a pivotal role in the military coup in 2021, CNN said on Monday.

However, the news channel said tensions erupted during negotiations to integrate the RSF into the countrys military as part of plans to restore civilian rule.

In his speech, Mashatile stressed the importance of social and political stability as one of the success factors for the AfCFTA.

War and peace have a very direct and material impact on the success of continental initiatives like the AfCFTA. This is why our heads of State and government adopted the May 2013 Solemn Declaration, which committed the continent to silence the guns by 2020. The fact that guns are still firing should tell us that we should spare no effort in the quest for peace, he told delegates.

He said South Africa fully supports the decision of the African Union Peace and Security Council at its 1 149th meeting, held in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 16 April 2023, on the situation in Sudan.

Mashatile also commended the efforts of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) to resolve the conflict.

He also took the time to wish Presidents Salva Kiir of South Sudan, William Ruto of Kenya and Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti well in their efforts to secure a ceasefire.

Their efforts are also meant to immediately begin the implementation of the 5 December 2022 framework agreement aimed at returning Sudan to civilian rule, to which the belligerents have committed themselves.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-04-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China's ancient city Luoyang taps into cultural and tourism resources to boost night economy

People's Daily Online) 14:44, April 18, 2023

Tourists enjoy an art performance in a block featuring the integration of culture, business, and tourism in Luoyang city, central China's Henan Province. (Photo/Huang Zhengwei)

Luoyang city in central China's Henan Province recently launched a campaign called "ancient capital at 8 p.m." to boost its nighttime economy by further stimulating the dynamism of its cultural and tourism consumption clusters.

Focusing on creating fashionable new consumption scenarios, showcasing Luoyang's new brands of culture and tourism-themed night tours, and generating new highlights of nighttime cultural and tourism consumption, the campaign encourages nighttime cultural and tourism consumption clusters to optimize the provision of products and enrich the business forms of the night economy.

By fostering diversified and enjoyable cultural and tourism consumption experiences, the city intends to inject impetus into its nighttime cultural and tourism market to promote the continuous growth of consumption in the market.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
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In the United States of America, they said that Brazils position regarding the war of the Russian Federation against Ukraine does not correspond to the tone of the state, which seeks to maintain neutrality. In particular, we are talking about the statements of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Brazil, Mauera Vieira.

This was during a press briefing in Washington on April 18, said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. (to watch the video, follow the page to the end). According to her, the United States was unpleasantly surprised by the ministers allusions to the negative role of the United States and Europe in countering Russian aggression.

We were struck by the tone of yesterdays press conference of the Minister of Foreign Affairs (Brazil  Ed.), which did not meet the tone of neutrality and hinted that the United States and Europe are not interested in peace or that we share responsibility for the war. And we believe , which is true, that this is clearly the wrong position, said Jean-Pierre.





The White House emphasized: the States want the war unleashed by the Russian Federation to end. The United States supports the call of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky for a just and strong peace based on the UN Charter, as well as the principles of sovereignty and territorial integrity.

They recalled that the States and the European Union actively urged the Russian dictator to refrain from full-scale aggression and made appropriate efforts after the start of this war.

Unfortunately, Russia has shown no interest in stopping its unprovoked invasion, the speaker added.

Recall: earlier in the White House, another statement by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva about the war in Ukraine was criticized. They noted that Brazil repeats Russian and Chinese propaganda.

 The Foreign Ministry reacted to the scandalous statements of the President of Brazil and invited him to visit Ukraine. Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov flew to Brazil.
Rosemarie Rosie Hussey

June 2, 1944-April 1, 2023

Rosemarie Rosie Ann (Lubsch) Hussey was born June 2, 1944, to Marie and Frederick Lubsch in St Louis, MO. Following graduation from St. Elizabeth Academy in St Louis she attended Central MO State College at Warrensburg, MO where she met her husband of 57 years (Joseph)Dan Hussey. They were married on August 28, 1965, in St Louis. They lived for a short time in Topeka, KS and then moved to Mason City, IA, where they raised their three daughters.

Rosie had a strong work ethic, she loved crafts and decorating. She combined these interests opening a craft store in Mason City. She had a strong sense of community which led her to work at the Mason City Chamber of Commerce, as North Iowa Band Festival Coordinator and later as Membership Director. She also worked with Mason City's Economic Development Corporation (EDC). Her proudest professional accomplishment at the EDC was the development of the 1-million-dollar loan fund for business and the creation of the four Mason City entrance signs.

Rosie was passionate for girls and women empowerment. She was able to champion for them every day when she became the CEO of the Girl Scouts of North Iowa. Under Rosie's leadership the new Girl Scout office and Leadership Center became a reality. Rosie was proud of the excellent opportunities that were offered to girls through the Girl Scouts. Her Girl Scout Council was recognized nationally for high quality performance.

The community of Mason City benefited from her leadership. Rosie was the consummate volunteer. If you wanted a job done and done right you could count on her. Rosie was a lifelong learner. She believed in education and was selected on to be on the NIACC Board then she was ultimately appointed to the Iowa State Board of Education by Governor Vilsack and served for 12 years, four of those years she served as president.

She did not stop there, Rosie's love of community plus the realization that it's important to give back to society drove her to become the first woman in Rotary for District 5970. She received the Mason City Chamber's Outstanding Citizen Award. She was President and served on the Iowa Workforce Board in Mason City. Other organizations that benefited from her participation were Opportunity Village, Sorosis Club, Parkinson's support groups and she was a member of PEO Chapter LE in Clear Lake and Green Valley.

Rosie took tremendous pride and energy in raising her family and her role as a loving mother, wife and in later years Nana. She cherished holidays and special celebrations with family and friends. She was in her element decorating for the holidays, making them special and memorable. Her home was always open to family and friends. She had a great zest for life, believed in hard work, she did not let things stop her, and she solved problems while brining in a sense of fun.

Rosie will be greatly missed by her loving husband, Dan; children: Amanda (Sam) Martin, Annette Hussey, Abigail (John) Lee; 11 grandchildren, Boogie, Samantha, Ruby and Shirley Martin; Josephine, Jackson, Addeline and Lulu Barsness; Matilda, Grant and Broderick Lee; great grandchild Ace Ayer. She was very proud that her three daughters grew into strong independent women. Rosie had a special place in her heart for her grandchildren and spent as much time with them as possible.

During their retirement you could find Rosie and Dan spending time with their grandchildren in Clear Lake then carrying that sunshine to their place in Green Valley, AZ during the Iowa winters.

Rosie liked get togethers so there will be two celebrations of life ceremonies. Family and friends are welcome to join us: Friday May 5th at Desert Hills Lutheran Church, 2150 S Camino Del Sol, Green Valley, AZ at 11am with lunch served after the ceremony and June 4th at 1pm at the Music Man Square Mason City, IA with refreshments following the ceremony.

Honoring Rosie's passion for continual education and women empowerment family asks you to consider supporting The Rosie Hussey Memorial Scholarship to help NIACC students. Donations can be sent to NIACC Foundation, 500 College Drive, Mason City, IA 50401 or made online at https://www.niacc.edu/community/foundation/foundation-give-online/.
ATLANTA  Charles Stanley, a prominent televangelist who once led the Southern Baptist Convention, died Tuesday at his home in Atlanta at age 90, In Touch Ministries announced.

No cause of death was announced.

Born in rural Dry Fork, Virginia, Stanley was senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta for 50 years. The church grew rapidly after he became its leader in 1971, moving from central Atlanta to a suburban campus in 1997 to accommodate a growing flock in the sprawling urban area.

We are forever grateful for his enduring legacy of faithful leadership and spiritual guidance, the church said in a social media post.

But his greatest fame came from his role in hosting In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, a Christian teaching program that began airing on the newborn Christian Broadcasting Network in 1978. That led to the creation of a separate nonprofit, In Touch Ministries, that sent Stanleys broadcasts across the nation and world through radio and television. It even created solar-powered audio players containing the Bible, some of Stanleys sermons and other materials that are available in more than 100 languages. Stanley also wrote more than 40 books.

When Stanley stepped down from First Baptist as senior pastor in 2020, he said he wasnt planning to stop preaching, instead focusing his energies on In Touch Ministries.

Ill continue to preach the gospel as long as God allows, and my goal remains the same: to get the truth of the gospel to as many people as possible as quickly as possible in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God, Stanley said in a video message to the church when he took on the title of pastor emeritus.

Stanley served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1985 and 1986, at the peak of a time when theological conservatives were fighting to oust more moderate leaders from leadership roles in the convention and its seminaries, saying the church needed to be truer to Biblical authority.

My election infuriated the opposition and ultimately revealed many of the underlying problems that had existed in the convention for a long time but had either been ignored or denied, Stanley wrote in a 2016 autobiography. All the liberal and moderate political forces of the Southern Baptist Convention were against me, which included seminary presidents and state convention newspapers.

In his first term, Stanley helped stop congregations from ordaining women. His second election in 1985 was bolstered by a last-minute telegram of support from famous evangelist Billy Graham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

After Stanleys election, the battle subsided and eventually the moderates moved on from the fight or away from the denomination, Ed Stetzer, executive director of Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College in Illinois, told the newspaper.

Stanley was also a devoted photographer of nature and the outdoors, with many of pictures reproduced by In Touch publications.

Stanley separated from his longtime wife, Anna, in the 1990s, before divorcing in 2000. Although First Baptist had barred divorced men as ministers, and Stanley had once said he would resign if his wife left him, the church affirmed him remaining pastor.

Some other evangelical Christians panned the decision. Dissenters included his son, Andy Stanley, who said he wanted his father to offer to quit and let the church decide. Instead, it was Andy Stanley who left the congregation and founded Northpoint Ministries, a network of eight evangelical Christian churches in Atlanta and its suburbs. He and his sister Becky survive Charles Stanley,

Despite the split, Andy Stanley told WAGA-TV that his father was a role model for pastors.

Not just how to preach or how to build a church, said Andy Stanley. But how to get to a finish line with integrity and to be able to look back and be proud of everything that came before, and unfortunately thats increasingly rare.
As a kid growing up in western North Carolina in the 1970s, Six Flags over Georgia and Disney World were distant dreams, places visited only by a very few lucky classmates who returned with thrilling tales of The Great American Scream Machine or a Polaroid of the family shaking the oversized mitt of the worlds most famous mouse.

The rest of us, we had Carowinds, a little more scaled down, a little more blue collar but only a two-hour activity bus ride away.

The park, located on the North Carolina-South Carolina line, turns 50 this year.

It opened when I was 8 years old and I remember the surrounding hoopla in the pages of the newspaper, which we bought daily from the machine outside the Wee Mart convenience store because the carrier wouldnt deliver to the end of our gravel road.

There must have been a complaint form filed somewhere that said mean dogs and mean young uns.

By the second or third year the park was open, a trip to Carowinds was undoubtedly the highlight any school year if your class was lucky enough to go or the subject of a what I did on my summer vacation essay when school resumed in the fall:

Me, my brother, my momma, my daddy, Uncle Phil and Aunt Lucy went to Carowinds in July.

I stood in two states at the same time and threw a penny in the wishing well and wished it wasnt so danged hot. I think the wishing well is broken.

We stood in line for an hour-and-half to ride Thunder Road. It is a big roller coaster. My brother ate two hot dogs and cotton candy while we stood in line. Then we got on Thunder Road.

One thing I learned on the trip is dont eat two hot dogs and cotton candy while standing in line for Thunder Road. They had to close it down for 20 minutes and bring in a hose.

A good time was had by all. The end.

The parks amphitheater, the Palladium, played host to plenty of touring rock acts in the 70s and 80s, most notably for me, Jimmy Buffett.

I discovered Buffett between my sixth and seventh grade year thanks to a bootleg double eight-track of the live album You Had to Be There.

This guy, I told my friends, sings about drunken bears, the ocean and cheeseburgers. Weve got to go see him.

And we did, finding a slightly older friend with a car and a learners permit to drive us. The car broke down on the way back, but my grandma, who had moved to Charlotte after Grandpa Charlie died, took us in and fed us while my uncle fixed the car.

We made it home and we made it back to Buffett every year until he outgrew the Palladium.

Around 20 years ago, I took my kid to Carowinds because I believe every 6-year-old child should have the opportunity to stand in line, bake in the blistering sun and listen to his or her father talk about how much better it was in the old days.

Six Flags and Disney? They still got nothing on this place, kid.

She claims I tricked her into riding a rip-roaring rapids water plunge by saying it was just a lazy river ride. I can neither confirm nor deny.

So, in 50 years, Carowinds has been a part of different stages of my life, from kid to dad and all that happened in between.

Maybe this year, feeling nostalgic, I will go back and pay tribute by standing in line, baking in the blistering sun and tossing a penny in the old wishing well if it hasnt been replaced by a virtual bitcoin wishing machine.

Or, better yet, I can sit back, reminisce and keep that next visit as a distant dream.
A 20-year-old woman was shot and killed Saturday after she and three others accidentally turned into the wrong driveway while looking for a friend's house in rural upstate New York, authorities said.

The young woman, identified as Kaylin Gillis, was struck by gunfire as a man fired two shots from his front porch, one of which hit the vehicle she was in, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said in a news conference Monday.

The man, 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with her death, Murphy said Monday. It is unclear whether Monahan has retained an attorney yet.

"It's a very rural area with dirt roads. It's easy to get lost. They drove up this driveway for a very short time, realized their mistake and were leaving, when Mr. Monahan came out and fired two shots," Murphy said, adding that the area has poor cell phone service.

The shooting happened just days after a Black teenager in Kansas City was shot twice by a White homeowner after going to the wrong address to pick up his siblings. No words were exchanged before Andrew Lester opened fire on 16-year-old Ralph Yarl as the teen stood at Lester's front door, according to a probable cause document obtained by CNN. Lester, who told police he thought the teen was trying to break in, faces two felony charges in the case, which has reignited the debate over so-called "stand your ground" laws.

After the shots were fired in New York, Gillis and the rest of the group drove away from the house in the town of Hebron looking for cell phone service, and then called 911.

They were found around 5 miles away from the home in the nearby town of Salem. First responders began administering CPR but Gillis was ultimately pronounced dead at the scene, Murphy said.

Police officers later responded to the home from which shots were fired and found Monahan to be uncooperative, Murphy said, adding he "refused to exit his residence to speak with police."

He was taken into custody hours later with help from the New York State Police Special Operations Response Team, according to a press release from the Washington County Sheriff's office.

No one is believed to have exited the car and there was no interaction between Monahan and anyone in the vehicle before shots were fired, Murphy said.

"There was clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle. There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened," Murphy said.

Monahan was in custody Monday and will have a court appearance "in the near future," Murphy said.

"This is a very sad case of some young adults that were looking for a friend's house and ended up at this man's house who decided to come out with a firearm and discharge it," the sheriff said.

Over $40,000 has been raised for Gillis' family in a GoFundMe raising money for the "Gillis family for use toward Kaylin's funeral expenses and any immediate financial needs," according to the page.

"On behalf of the Gillis family, we would like to thank everyone who has offered their love and prayers as they embark on this incredibly difficult journey of grief and healing," the GoFundMe page reads.

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
Democrats hold a significant advantage in campaign cash over Republicans for the general election showdown next fall for control of the Virginia General Assembly. But some legislators in both parties first have to survive well-financed challenges in looming primaries and new districts not drawn to protect them.

Clean Virginia, a Charlottesville-based political fund founded by Michael Bills, CEO of a $1.5 billion hedge fund, and aimed at countering Dominion Energys influence over state elections, is making big investments in three Senate races  including one in the Richmond area. It is backing progressive challengers to incumbent Democrats under a new political map that the Virginia Supreme Court approved in late 2021.

We look at these races and districts as new, said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia. Last month it endorsed 52 candidates and pledged $686,500 in political contributions to candidates in House and Senate races who dont accept money from Dominion and other state regulated public utility companies.

Dominion, long dominant in Virginia political donations and policymaking, has raised questions about what it terms Bills outsize influence in political races, and asserted its right to participate in the political process as Virginias largest electric utility and one of the states biggest employers. Its worth noting that our critics donate millions more than we do, Dominion Senior Vice-President Bill Murray wrote in a letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch in January.

All 100 House seats and all 40 Senate seats are up for election in November. The fight for control of the legislature will be critical to the outcome of Gov. Glenn Youngkins agenda on matters such as abortion restrictions, school choice and corporate tax cuts.

Senate Democrats, who hold a 22-18 majority, had about $12.6 million in cash on hand to about $7.1 million for Republicans through March 31, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Democrats also hold an edge on campaign cash for races in the House of Delegates, in which the GOP holds a 51-46 advantage, with three vacancies. House Democrats ended the quarter on March 31 with $7.98 million in cash on hand, compared with $6.96 million for Republicans, VPAP reported.

The Clean Virginia Fund gave $150,000 to former Del. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, who has pulled ahead of Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Petersburg, in political contributions and cash on hand for their showdown in the Democratic primary for the 13th Senate District on June 20. Aird also received a $75,000 donation from philanthropist Sonjia Smith, wife of Bills.

Morrissey countered with donations of $25,000 from Dominion and $15,000 from the utility companys political action committee this year, but Aird outraised him during the first quarter, which she ended with a slight advantage in cash on hand for the primary stretch run.

Clean Virginia versus Dominion

Its a similar proxy war in two key Northern Virginia races for Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, co-chair of the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, and Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Both face nomination challenges by more progressive candidates aided by Clean Virginia.

Thats sort of the story in a lot of these primaries  Clean Virginia versus Dominion, said Bob Holsworth, a veteran political scientist in Richmond. Clean Virginia comes in with money and it gives these challengers certainly an opportunity there.

The primaries are providing opportunities for challenges from the left for Democrats and from the right for Republicans against candidates backed by their parties establishment. Youngkin is looking to play a game-changing role for the GOP after raising a record $7.5 million in donations of $10,000 or more in his first 15 months in office through two political action committees.

Retirements free up cash

The Virginia Supreme Court imposed new electoral boundaries in December 2021 that paired incumbents in multiple contests, leading to a raft of retirements. Many senior lawmakers who are retiring have sizable war chests that likely will help their parties in the contests to come.

For example, retiring Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, had $1.2 million in cash on hand as of March 31. Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, had about $897,000.

Retirements also could free some remaining, favored incumbents to spread the wealth and help colleagues in competitive contests. For instance, the retirement of Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, means that House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, faces only a lightly funded Democratic opponent in a heavily Republican district. Knight had about $1.03 million in cash on hand as of March 31.

In the Richmond area, Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, is defending her seat in a new, less hospitable Senate District 16 against Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico. Dunnavant has raised more than $1 million and had almost $650,000 in the bank on March 31, while VanValkenburg, endorsed by Clean Virginia, has raised about $454,000, with more than $372,000 in the bank.

In Northern Virginias Senate District 31, based in Loudoun County, businessman Juan Pablo Segura, a Republican, has raised $534,131, most of it from the Renew Virginia Political Action Committee financed by a $1 million contribution from Securiport LLC, a border security company owned by his father, Enrique Segura. Democrats will choose between attorney Russet Perry and Zach Cummings in a primary on June 20. Clean Virginia has endorsed Perry, a former CIA officer and Loudoun prosecutor, who has a sizable fundraising lead over Cummings.

Northern Virginia primaries

Clean Virginia also is playing a major role in primary challenges in three key Senate races in Northern Virginia.

Barker, a key Democratic player in an ongoing budget battle with Youngkin, is trying to hold off a challenge in the 36th Senate District by Stella Pekarsky, a first-term member of the Fairfax County School Board. She received $100,000 from Clean Virginia and $50,000 from Smith in this quarter. Barker, who has received $40,000 from Dominion since his last election in 2019, has raised $490,493 in the cycle and has $372,249 on hand.

But Pekarsky has raised more this year, $219,468, compared with $64,370 for Barker, who ended March with almost $188,000 more in the bank than his challenger.

Marsden holds a 2-to-1 advantage in cash on hand over Democratic challenger Heidi Drauschak in the 35th Senate District, but she received an endorsement, a $100,000 contribution and $23,000 in in-kind donations from Clean Virginia, as well as $50,000 from Smith. The senator started the year with more than $300,000 in the bank, including $65,000 hes received from Dominion during the four-year election cycle, but Drauschak raised $229,743 in the first quarter, compared with $48,265 for Marsden.

Clean Virginia also has endorsed former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, in her Democratic Senate primary against former Del. Hala Ayala, D-Prince William, in Senate District 33, based in the county. Carroll Foy, who finished second in the 2021 contest for the Democratic nomination for governor, has raised more than $686,000, compared with $404,000 for Ayala.

Richmond-area contests

In the Richmond area, Clean Virginia has endorsed and financed political newcomer Rae Cousins, who has a huge fundraising advantage in a three-way race in the 79th House District, based in Richmond. She received $180,000 from Clean Virginia and $60,000 from Smith last year, with an additional $20,000 from Smith in the first quarter. Clean Virginia and Commonwealth Forward, a related political action committee, also have given more than $32,000 in in-kind contributions to Cousins, who has raised $300,771, including almost $106,000 in the first quarter.

Richmond City Council member Ann-Frances Lambert, daughter of the late Sen. Benjamin Lambert, D-Richmond, reported raising $19,341, including a $10,000 loan she made to her campaign. Activist Richard Walker has raised $3,732.

Republicans also face primary battles, including a three-way challenge in the 12th Senate District, based in Chesterfield County. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, is fighting to keep her seat against former Sen. Glen Sturtevant and Tina Ramirez, who previously had planned to run for Congress in the 7th District until the state Supreme Court moved the district to Northern Virginia.

Sturtevant has raised $344,225 during the cycle and holds a $100,000 advantage in cash on hand, but Ramirez said she raised more than he did in the quarter, not counting a $7,000 loan he made to his campaign and in-kind contributions. She has raised $349,606 during the cycle, including $100,554 during the quarter, and held $109,190 in cash on March 31.

Chase, seeking her third term, has raised $197,908 during the cycle, including about $40,000 in the quarter, and had $107,828 on hand on March 31.

But while the self-styled political maverick trails her rivals in fundraising, Holsworth noted, You just never know how strong her constituency is.
GREENSBORO  Guilford County Schools is looking at property in the far west of the county, on Boylston and Bunker Hill roads in Colfax, as the site for a new K-8 school.

The school board voted last year to name the school the Katherine G. Johnson School for Science and Mathematics in honor of NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson.

Due to growth in the area, building the new school is a top priority in the districts facilities master plan, and leaders have been on the lookout for the past few years for property to suit the need.

In a letter to neighbors of the three properties that make up the site, the district said its under contract to purchase the land and it plans to ask the City of High Point to annex the properties and rezone them, from Guilford County AG to Institutional Conditional Use, to accommodate building the school there. The idea is that if the properties are rezoned, the district will buy them.

More than 60 people came Tuesday to a meeting organized by the school district for neighbors at the community center at Shady Grove Wesleyan Church.

Id rather it just stay a field, said Dawn Smith, a neighbor who lives just down the road from the property.

In interviews, Smith and Anne Blankenship, another neighbor, expressed concern the school would add to the growing amount of road use theyve been seeing as development comes in.

The traffic has just gotten crazy, Blankenship said. Its a rural, two-lane road.

She said she worried the schools parent car pickup line would back up into the street, and just generally contribute to standstill traffic.

Tuesdays meeting had a open-house type format, with a few representatives from the district stationed around the room to answer questions from people who came through.

One of those was John Simmons, who leads building services for the district. He confirmed this site is the districts top pick for the school and said its selling points are that the properties are available, and they total about 32 acres, roughly the size that the districts looking for.

The High Point Planning and Zoning Commission is expected to consider the districts annexation and zoning request at its meeting in High Point City Council Chambers on Tuesday, May 23, at 6 p.m. The properties involved are at 8869 and 8871 Boylston Road and 721 S. Bunker Hill Road.

Board of Education member Crissy Pratt attended Tuesdays meeting in hopes of learning more about the site and also to hear what community members had to say.

She said shed participated in one closed-session conversation about the property with the other school board members, but wants to learn more before deciding her position on whether the board should purchase the property and put the school there.

Tim Andrew, who ran for the District 6 seat in November and recently told the High Point Enterprise he is running for High Point City Council, was also among those in attendance. He said he felt the district should have announced the site selection and posted its plans for the meeting on its website. That as many people came to the meeting as did, he said, was testament to those who got letters spreading the word.
Furman University isn't afraid to use its initials, giving bourbon drinkers  and assorted wiseacres  a chance to own their very own bottle of FU All the Time.

FU All the Time is a popular cheer at the university in Greenville, South Carolina.

The university figured it might work well as another kind of spirit.

We thought FU All the Time bourbon would be popular, and it was a huge hit," Elizabeth Lichtenberg, senior director of brand strategy and visual communications for Furman, said in a press release. "Everyone loved it. It felt good to be able to offer the Furman Family something new and unique that they can enjoy and take some pride in, and give them a new way to toast and celebrate Furman."

Lichtenberg manages licensing for the university. The idea for the bourbon was pitched by Affinity Licensing, a university partner. The bourbon was developed by Ironclad Distillery in Newport News, Virginia, which makes a variety of bourbons and whiskeys.

According to FU lore, the cheer was made famous by two former Furman presidents. President Gordon Blackwell started the phrase in the 1960s, and his successor, John E. Johns, would do the cheer with a megaphone.

Joseph Vaughn, Furmans first Black undergraduate student and a Furman cheerleader, is also said to have had a hand in popularizing the beloved cheer.

FU All the Time is available at liquor stores in upstate South Carolina now, with distribution throughout the state coming soon.

And for North Carolina residents: It is legal to bring liquor across state lines by car, truck, plane and boat. It's not legal to buy it online.
Sears  a pillar of the North Carolina retail sector for decades  is about to exit the state for good with the announced closing of its Friendly Center store in Greensboro.

CBL Properties, the operator of Friendly Center and Hanes Mall in Winston-Salem, said in a statement that the closure is the first step of an active redevelopment plan, which provides CBL the opportunity to redevelop prime real estate at one of our top-performing properties.

Once plans are finalized, well be excited to share more specific details.

There was a time when Sears was synonymous with the retail experience. Clothes. Appliances. Hardware. Toys. It was all under one roof  and long before the term big-box store had ever been coined.

But a number of competitors began to chip away at the companys dominance.

The iconic retailers struggles have lasted over a decade and been well documented. The last time the company turned a profit was in 2010. Since then, store closings at local malls across America have become commonplace.

The Sears location at Hanes Mall closed in January 2019, thus ending a relationship that went back 43 years.

In Greensboro, the presence of Sears carried sort of a landmark quality, branding Friendly Center as a mecca for consumers. In recent years, as the companys reputation diminished, so did the weight of that branding.

Now, all thats left is for the store to be picked clean by people looking for a sweet deal.

This truly is an extraordinary buying opportunity, said Arnold Jacobs, executive managing director for Tiger Capital. These 8,000 to 10,000 square-foot stores are filled with in-demand tools. The discounts are as high as 40%, even higher in the case of floor models and scratch-and-dent items.

The Sears declaration of bankruptcy by what was once Americas largest retailer is the irony of ironies, said Roger Beahm, a marketing professor at Wake Forest Universitys School of Business. The company that once began as a remote-order and direct-delivery business has now all but lost the battle for survival to a retail environment that is, once again, becoming remote-order and direct-delivery.

The closure should not negatively impact Friendly Center. The store has essentially appeared closed since the pandemic. Now reality is simply catching up to perception.

Beahm said the Friendly Center store seems to appear at odds with the shopping centers overall retail atmosphere of a lifestyle center.

Consumers want more specialized product selection combined with a shorter time commitment for shopping, Beahm said. Its why most enclosed malls have declined or shuttered, and why online shopping continues to take business away from brick-and-mortar stores in general.

Keith Debbage, a UNCG professor who specializes in regional economic development issues, said the Sears closing was unfortunately predictable.

It seems a long time coming, Debbage said. Many years ago, Whole Foods moved into part of the Sears building and occupied a significant part of the floorspace. Although it is a lot of floorspace, I do not expect the empty portion to be difficult to fill, but it might not necessarily be a retail use.
" " Surgeons work on a gunshot wound victim at the Ben Taub General Hospital emergency room in Houston, Texas. Wound ballistics is the study of the effects of projectiles on bones, tissue and organs. The study begins if medical staff can't save its patient. Gregory Smith/Getty Images

There is no existing body of work regarding the best place of the anatomy to be shot, but there are a few contenders. To understand where the best place to be shot is, you must first understand a little bit about bullets and the effects they have on the human body.

The study of what bullets do to tissue, bone and organs is called wound ballistics, and this field has come up with some definite conclusions about the destructiveness of projectiles on humans. A bullet is a carrier of force, and its purpose is to transfer that energy within the body. This energy causes all of the injuries sustained, whether directly or in a secondary manner.

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The injury inflicted by a bullet is directly related to the bullet's kinetic energy. This is a measure of the bullet's weight, velocity and gravitational trajectory. The combination of the three describe how much damage a bullet will cause.

As a bullet enters the body, it causes laceration and crushing wounds. The bullet punctures tissue and bone, crushing or pushing aside anything in its path. When a bullet passes through tissue, it creates a cavity that can be 30 times wider than its track (the path it takes). This cavity closes behind the bullet less than a second after the bullet passes, but the cavitation it causes can damage nearby tissue, organs and bones via shock waves.

The type and amount of injury sustained from a bullet also depends on what a bullet encounters. Soft tissue can carry shock waves more easily than bone, but since bone is dense, it absorbs more force (and damage). Bones also splinter, causing further damage as the fragments travel through the body as projectiles themselves.

A bullet that passes through the body (creating an exit wound) generally will cause less damage than one which stays in the body, because a bullet that stays in the body transfers all of its kinetic energy (and ensures maximum damage to tissue). This is the aim of most modern ballistic design. Jacketed bullets are designed to fragment after impact, dividing their destructive power. Hollow-point and soft bullets are designed to flatten and spread, creating a wider area for their tracks and increasing the damage caused by shock waves and cavitation.

Based on this information, we can make some conclusions about the areas you might least like to take a bullet and deduce the best place from there. A bullet can shatter bone, and bone can also ensure a bullet won't leave the body. So you'd want to stay away from areas with a lot of bone mass, such as the ribs. You would also want to stay away from nerve bundles, as Ed Sizemore mentioned. And, most importantly, you'd want to keep your vital organs away from a bullet. This definitely counts your torso out and your head, too.

So it looks like your arms and legs are the best place to take a bullet. But wait: Your thighs and upper arms both feature important arteries  your femoral and brachial arteries. If a bullet severs either one of these, the loss of blood can cause death in just a few minutes. So the legs and arms are out.

Based on their location and relative distance from vital organs, your hands or feet appear to be the best place to take a bullet. Getting shot in a foot or hand would certainly shatter most of the many bones there, and it would be an extremely painful experience, but it would pose little deadly threat. What's more, although you have plenty of bones there to shatter, the fragments are less likely to travel easily to your vital organs, like your heart. Plus, with your hands and feet as relatively thin as they are, a bullet also has a better chance of passing through your body before it transfers the full extent of its power. You might suffer a disability, but you'd be more likely to live through the experience.

Editor's Note: Ed Sizemore was interviewed in 2007.

How a gunshot wound helped us learn about digestion In 1822, Canadian Alexis St. Martin was accidentally shot beneath his left breast at close range. The musket ball tore away parts of his left side, exposing bone, tissue and organs. His stomach was exposed and punctured, and a physician who attended him, Dr. William Beaumont, concluded St. Martin would soon die. He survived an additional 66 years, though his wound never healed. Dr. Beaumont used St. Martin's exposed stomach and hole to extract digested food to determine the functions of the stomach, which had been only theorized until St. Martin's (educationally) fortunate accident [source: University of Houston]. Read More

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Originally Published: Dec 7, 2007
A fire destroyed a detached garage with a living unit on the citys westside near Forth Harrison, officials with the Helena Fire Department said Wednesday.

Firefighters received a call at 6:46 p.m. Tuesday of a fire at 1512 Summit St., Assistant Fire Chief Mike Chambers said.

The garage was engulfed in flames by the time firefighters arrived and they made saving a nearby residence a priority, he said in an email. The residence was saved but sustained some minor smoke and fire damage. There were no occupants in the living unit of the detached garage.

The fire was suppressed by about 7:30 p.m., Chambers said. The cause is under investigation.

The garage with the detached living unit was a total loss. No occupants or emergency responders were injured, Chambers said.

Fire departments from Baxendale, East Valley, Fort Harrison Montana VA, Montana City, West Valley, the Lewis and Clark County Sheriffs Office, NorthWestern Energy and St. Peters Health assisted, Chambers said.
More than 20 GOP lawmakers have misgendered a state legislator in calling for her censure after comments made on the House floor Tuesday, while Democratic leadership rebuked the call.

During debate on amendments to a bill that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender minors, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, spoke in opposition. The amendments were Gov. Greg Gianforte's suggestion, and the bill is now headed back to him with his changes approved by lawmakers.

"If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands," Zephyr said.

That brought an objection from House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, who said That is entirely inappropriate, disrespectful and uncalled for. We can debate matters civilly and with respect for each other.

Vinton previously stood up in objection to comments from Zephyr, when the Democratic legislator said If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture. And this body should be ashamed.

Zephyr is the first openly transgender legislator in Montana.

People opposed to the bill who spoke in public testimony opportunities said it could increase suicides among trans Montanans. Data shows trans youth are more at risk of suicide, and a Bozeman doctor earlier in the session emailed legislators and the governor about a minor who had attempted suicide and while in the emergency department cited legislation lawmakers were considering as a contributing factor.

The 21 legislators who called for censure are part of the self-branded Freedom Caucus, formed earlier this session.

  The legislature itself has not yet issued a collective statement acknowledging the wrongdoing and upholding a commitment to civil discourse, the caucus wrote in a press release.

Zephyr posted a statement to Twitter on Wednesday afternoon disputing the call for censure. "I stand by my accurate description of the devastating consequences of banning essential medical care for transgender youth," Zephyr wrote.

Citing bills that are advancing through the session, Zephyr said "These bills ban our art forms, our stories, our health care, and our very existence in Montana code. Policy by policy, Republicans are legislating the eradication of queer and transgender people from public life."

So far this session GOP legislators have introduced and advanced bills that would say deadnaming and misgendering students in schools is not illegal and re-write state law to say sex is defined as only male and female. Another bill that aimed to ban minors at drag shows and block trans story hours was heavily amended recently to instead just bar children at adult nude performances, but the bill's sponsor is seeking to reverse that change.

Speaker of the House Matt Regier, R-Kalispell, issued a statement late Wednesday.

House leadership is focused on maintaining decorum on the House floor, and the integrity of the Montana House of Representatives while serving the people of Montana. The debate of relevant issues pertaining to all Montanans will not be sidetracked by violations of the House rules," Regier said "We are committed to accomplishing the work of the people of Montana.

The speaker did not clarify if any action would be taken against Zephyr. Lawmakers did not reference the issue on the House floor Wednesday.

In response to the call for censure, House Minority Leader Kim Abbott, D-Helena, issued a sharp statement.

The language used by the so-called Freedom Caucus, including the intentional and repeated misgendering of Rep. Zephyr, is blatantly disrespectful and the farthest thing imaginable from the commitment to civil discourse that these letter writers demand. I find it incredibly ironic that these legislators are making demands of others that they refuse to abide by themselves, Abbott wrote.

Censures are not common in the Montana Legislature. In the House, if a member is called to order, the issue can be referred to the Rules Committee by either the minority or majority leader. That committee may recommend to the House that the member be censured or be subject to other action. Censure consists of an official public reprimand of a member for inappropriate behavior.
A proposal to re-write the rules for the 2024 election for Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Testers seat went down on a nearly unanimous committee vote Wednesday, after a Republican lawmaker said hed been heavily lobbied by voters to oppose it.

I have had a lot of my folks from back home reach out to me and ask me to vote no on this, Rep. Gregory Frazer of Deer Lodge said during the House State Administration Committees action on the bill Wednesday morning. ... With all due respect to the sponsor, because I know that hes worked very hard, but as the conduit of my constituents, Im their voice. Im going to oppose this bill.

Frazers subsequent motion to table Senate Bill 566 effectively ended the discussion, and the committee voted 17-1 to do so. The legislation would have created a jungle primary, in which all candidates run together in the same primary, and then the top-two vote-getters advance to the general election.

Montanas Libertarian Party, which consistently earns enough votes to make it to the general-election ballot, argued the proposal would effectively silence third parties by keeping them out of the general election.

And notably, the proposal was written to only apply to Montanas 2024 U.S. Senate race, earning accusations of partisan chicanery by the GOP. Republicans hold all federal and statewide elected offices in the state, with the exception of Testers Senate seat. The three-term Democrat is running for reelection next year, and has a track record of razor-thin victories in which the Libertarian candidate won enough votes to potentially influence the outcome.

SB 566s sponsor, Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, has said it would only apply to Testers race because of the lengthier terms of U.S. senators. The bill expires in 2025, Hertz has said, because he only intended the bill as a test run before potentially applying it to other elections.

Tester is widely seen by political observers as among the most vulnerable Senate Democrats up for reelection next year, and the national Republican Party has its sights set on his seat as it seeks to retake control of the upper chamber.

SB 566 was hotly debated in the state Senate shortly before a transmittal deadline earlier this month. It passed with only GOP support, 27-24. Seven of the upper chambers Republicans voted against it.

The top Democrat on the committee that voted to table the bill, Bozeman Rep. Kelly Kortum, said after Wednesdays vote that his caucus also heard loudly from independent and third-part voters urging them to oppose the bill.

Tabling a bill doesnt mean its dead, however. A tabled bill can be voted back to life by the committee or the full House. And the waning days of the session are often ripe for last-minute procedural maneuvers used to resurrect legislation or rewrite bills still working through the process.

Nothings dead until sine die, Kortum said, referring to the motion to adjourn the legislative session. And I saw some shenanigans last session that just made my jaw drop to the floor.
We're just really fortunate that it turned out to be what it was and not something much worse, Interim Missoula Police Chief Mike Colyer said of an active-shooter threat made recently against Hellgate High School.

Colyer and other Missoula leaders held a press conference on Tuesday afternoon to walk attendees through the response from police and school officials in the wake of an April 5 social media threat that triggered an hours-long lockdown at the high school.

Police canvassed the school, determining where or if the threat was on campus. Eventually, they notified the public that three juvenile girls were detained  all off campus  and subsequently referred a possible felony charge to the Missoula County Attorneys Office for one of the minors.

The threat, made via Snapchat, catapulted the high school into a crisis response. The Snapchat message geotagged the high school as the posters apparent location. The photo caption read school shooter ong. (Ong is slang for "on God"  meaning the person strongly agrees with the statement, similar to "I swear to God.")

A student shared the message with school administrators, who alerted the Missoula County Public Schools school resource officer stationed at Hellgate, Colyer shared.

Its instantly very credible, he said of the Snapchat message that depicted a female holding a weapon that at first glance looked like an AR-15-style assault rifle. A second photo showed a masked individual with what appeared to be a handgun.

Both weapons in the Snapchats were determined to be airsoft guns, which Colyer said look remarkably similar to fully functioning firearms.

A sergeant and officer responded to the school. They decided to quickly put the school into lockdown.

They made that call, Colyer said. They said this is a critical thing, the time frame is tight. We need to take action by locking this down and collaborating with the school and get some resources to get our arms around that, and thats what happened.

The Snapchats geotag showed it was in close proximity to the school and the messages recent timestamp triggered a massive police response. Fire and medical teams staged in the area, and investigators worked to determine if a person in a classroom could have been responsible for the threat.

So as the lockdowns go, they're locked in rooms and we started working on the identity of the person, Colyer said. "Because if they're in a room, we need to get obviously to that room."

Visible response

Emergency action teams, led by SWAT officers, were established in different areas and levels of the high school while an external perimeter was set up. If a situation escalated to where people were shot and injured, first responders would also work on getting victims to medical care quickly.

All of that stuff is happening quickly, one on top of the other, he said.

As officers worked to secure the school, detectives and investigators gathered clues using interviews and social media to determine where the suspect was.

What you see is obviously the visible response to the facility but there's important work going on behind that, Colyer said.

Students were kept in lockdown until the suspects location was pinned down, and Colyer said officers quickly determined they were not on the school campus. They first looked for the suspect at a location outside of city limits, but that was a false lead.

So we kept everybody in place here because we didn't know yet, until we searched that secondary location, he said.

Officials eventually started evacuating the school floor by floor, encouraging students to get to their homes as quickly as possible. Police did a final sweep, cleared the building and turned it back over to Hellgates principal. They then transitioned to finding the suspect, who was located at a local mall a few hours later.

Another threat

Then on April 13, just eight days after the high school lockdown, Hellgates school resource officer saw a social media video involving a juvenile with a firearm in the vicinity of the campus. This video was separate from the April 5 threat.

Colyer explained the April 13 threat was treated differently than April 5s incident because of the threats proximity to Hellgate High School. Police effort went into establishing who the person was and why he was armed.

So make no mistake about it, we took the one last week equally as serious as the one before, Colyer said. It's just that the circumstances demanded a different type of police intervention so it was not as kind of a visible response.

The April 13 post ended in a 16-year-old being arrested and law enforcement recovering a firearm.

Colyer called out the departments role in Active Law Enforcement Response Training, a model for first responders on how to tackle crisis situations, as helping officers know how to react to active threats. Part of the training is the Active Attack Integrated Response, which trains police, fire and medical personnel how to work together, as was seen during the April 5 lockdown.

When asked about the importance of urgent, timely action in active-shooter threats, Colyer said studies say the right response is immediate action.

Colyer, MCPS Interim Superintendent Russ Lodge and Mayor Jordan Hess praised the quick and collaborative response to the threat and subsequent lockdown.

What I found out in this job is that the communication is critical, Lodge said. That you're timely, that you're accurate, and that you're not getting mixed messages, either.
Martin Luther King lead a march to Montgomery seeking justice.

A peaceful march.

The march stalled at the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Alabama forces blocked these peaceful marchers with mounted troops, dogs, and officers with batons The massive law enforcement presence beat the marchers, arrested some, hospitalized many. This was a catalyst. The Alabama police passed the Voting Rights Act.

Tennessee now has its moment. Three legislators speaking against the failure to pass gun control measures were threatened with expulsion. Two young male Black legislators members were expelled. The one white woman was not. Expelled for speaking the truth. The truth that gun regulation was needed especially due to the mass shooting in Tennessee; something has to be done to control access to guns.

This is the face of the Republican Party.

How does this impact Montana? We are not the south. There are no bills seeking to regulate guns, heaven forbid. But ask yourself, why not? Even the majority of Republicans agree we need some regulation of firearms. We live at a time when, the next shooting in a public space is not a question of whether but when.

Perhaps tomorrow.

There is a broader issue. Basically should the Legislature listen to its constituents? Elected to a super majority, does that mean that the Legislature has a mandate to do whatever it wants ? Or did voters cast ballots to support the issues posed by the Republican candidates, voting for them on issues they ran on? Smaller government, lower taxes. Those were the central issues the Republican super majority was elected on. Across Montana red signs were posted: Republicans will protect your children; Republicans will protect your freedom.

We now are in the final third portion of this legislative session. What are we seeing? Are the legislative policies that our representatives are advancing at all close to the platforms the super majority ran on?

Did you hear Republican candidates tell the voters they would advance restrictions on health care, especially womens health care? Did they say they would vote to strip you of your privacy rights?

Did you hear your Republican candidates tell you that they would work to prevent your physician from telling you about health care needs based on the physicians moral beliefs? So, if you have a terminal illness, a religious conservative doctor holding the belief that suffering is a path to God, does not have to tell you about options to handle pain, how you want to die? Did they tell you that?

Did the Republicans tell you that they wanted to dismantle the independent third branch of government? To strip you of your voting rights to elect Supreme Court Justices and transfer those rights to a governor so he could appoint partisan justices to the Court?

Did they tell you that they would propose to appoint sheriffs as the ultimate law enforcement in your county, bypassing all of the city, state and federal authorities? Or that they would authorize a small number of citizens to impanel a grand jury which would be unregulated either by law or by any Judge or County Attorney and whose conduct would be the equivalent of an Inquisition?

This is the Republican agenda, once they got to Helena and into power. Did they ever tell you this?

Of course they did not. They did not because they knew, were they to speak this truth they would never be elected to their super majority.

This was a fraud. Running on a set of policies, hiding the actual intent of how power would be exercised once it was achieved is a fraud. It is called a switch and bait. Say one thing, do another.

Remember this at the next election. If your Republican representative did not tell you honestly what they intended to do once in power, hold them responsible for this deceit. Dont vote for them again. Dont fund them. Dont support them.

They lied to you. Dont embolden them by voting for them ever again.

Look at Tennessee. This discrimination is the face of the Republican Party. Do you want to be a part of that face?

I dont think so.
MATTOON  A Consolidated Communications shareholder and its business partner have offered to acquire all of the outstanding common shares of this Mattoon-based company.

Consolidated recently announced that its board of directors received this offer via a non-binding proposal letter, dated April 12, from Searchlight Capital Partners, L.P. and British Columbia Investment Management Corp., referred to together as the Searchlight Group.

The two prospective buyers have offered to acquire all of those Consolidated shares not already owned by Searchlight for cash consideration of $4 per share. Searchlight already owns 34.3% of Consolidateds outstanding common shares.

A Consolidated press release reported the proposal letter states that any potential transaction must be subject to the approval and recommendation by a special committee of independent and disinterested directors, advised by independent legal and financial advisors.

The proposal letter also indicates that any potential transaction would be subject to a non-waivable condition requiring the approval of the holders of a majority of the shares of common stock that are not owned by the Searchlight Group.

According to the release, Consolidateds board intends to establish a special committee of independent directors of the board to review and consider the proposal. They also will review any other alternative proposals or other strategic alternatives that may be available to this company.

Consolidated cautions its shareholders and others considering trading in Consolidateds securities that Consolidated has only recently received the proposal letter and has not had an opportunity to carefully review and evaluate the proposal or make any decision with respect to Consolidateds response to the proposal, the company reported.

The proposal constitutes only an indication of interest by the Searchlight Group and does not constitute a binding commitment with respect to the proposed transaction or any other transaction, Consolidated reported.

Consolidated, a 130-year-old company, provides high-speed internet, data, phone, security, cloud and wholesale carrier fiber communications services. The company has reported that its network of more than 58,000 fiber route miles serves customers in 23 states.

During the last two years, Consolidated has been launching a new FidiumSM gigabit broadband internet service that it reports has speeds 10 times faster than the national average.

Its business as normal at Consolidated as we focus on our fiber growth and expansion plans, said Consolidateds Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications Jennifer Spaud, noting there have been no updates yet on the Searchlight Groups offer.

A recent article from the Fintel investment platform described the Searchlight Group as activist investors, which buy a large amount of a companys stock to influence its corporate actions.

Fintels article reported that the Searchlight Group said in its U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing for the Consolidated offer that they plan to invest incremental capital into the company to complete the fiber build-out and fully fund the plan through the company turning free-cash-flow positive.

A look back at Mattoon businesses through the years Mattoon Area Educational Extension Center General Electric Co. Ellen Kay's East Rudy Place E. Rudy Place Downtown Aerial Douglas Nursing Center Consolidated Telemarketing Association (CTA) Central Illinois Public Service (CIPS) Burtschi Blaw-Knox Anaconda
DECATUR  Police said they arrested a Decatur husband who attacked his wife, the man's aggression putting her in fear of her life after he had inflicted a bloody head wound and shot her with a BB gun.

Macon County Circuit Court Judge Lindsey Shelton found probable cause to try Joel M. Thornton-Smith on charges of committing aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and domestic battery inflicting bodily harm. The defendant entered not guilty pleas to all counts and waived a preliminary hearing when he appeared in court Wednesday.

A sworn affidavit from Decatur police said the 35-year-old victim, bleeding from the head, raised the alarm when she walked into a gas station store on the night of March 24. She was known to the female cashier who said the woman asked to use the phone and appeared to be in fear of her life.

Police said they later arrived at the terrified womans home in the 2400 block of North Hill Avenue where she told them she got the bleeding head wound from being knocked over and crashing into a space heater.

(She) advised Joel also shot her with a BB gun a few hours prior, said Officer Brianna Renfro, who signed the affidavit. (She) also had a small circular puncture wound on the front side of her left shoulder that was red and scabbed over. Officers observed the injury to be consistent with a BB gun wound.

Renfro said police spoke to Thornton-Smith, who had confiscated his wifes cell phone, and still had it in his pocket when police questioned him. He claimed he and his wife had gotten into an argument and, at one point, she had punched him in the groin.

Joel advised he then Russian leg-swept (her to the floor) out of retaliation and she hit her head on the space heater, said Renfro.

Joel later acted like he blacked out and did not remember what happened.

Thornton-Smith is due back in court Thursday for a disposition hearing and a check of Macon County Jail records Wednesday showed he remained in custody with bail set at $20,000, requiring him to post a bond of $2,000 to be freed. Prosecutors had asked for bail of $30,000.

If Thornton-Smith does make bail, he is ordered to stay away from his wife.

2023 mugshots from the Herald & Review Lourash Hirstein Phillip Gehrken Joseph A. Williams Jetrevius O. Jarrett Edwards King-Woods
Judging by opinion polls, Donald Trump looks to be the overwhelming favorite for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is the clear alternative. But news from South Carolina suggests that Republicans arent nearly as sold on Trump as the polling suggests.

Sen. Tim Scott declared last week he is officially exploring a presidential run. In practical terms, that means the campaign he started some time ago is becoming a bit more formal. How serious is his bid? When asked whether he would support Trump if the former president were to win the Republican nomination, Scott said: I plan on being the nominee.

On the surface, Scotts chances dont appear fantastic. Hes running at about 1% of the vote nationally in the polls that bother to include him. Even a survey of likely Republican voters in his home state of South Carolina had him at only 7%, well behind former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley and DeSantis, who in turn were some 20 percentage points behind Trump. Indeed, Trump has been gradually gaining in national polling and now gets about half of all Republican voters in these very early soundings.

And yet Scott is jumping in. He joins the three formally declared candidates with conventional credentials  Trump, Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson  as well as a half-dozen or more contenders including DeSantis and former Vice President Mike Pence who are expected to announce campaigns soon.

That all these candidates are moving forward indicates they believe the contest is up for grabs, which means they are hearing that message from people active within the Republican Party. Traditional politicians such as Scott and Haley care about their reputations and would be reluctant to move further down the campaign trail if the signs pointed strongly to one candidate.

Indeed, the stature of the Republicans challenging Trump is a strong sign that the party doesnt see Trump  or even a Trump-DeSantis pairing  as overwhelming favorites.

The hard evidence we have says the same thing. Trump has a lot more party backing than he did during his 2016 run, but it doesn't come close to the support that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had in 2016 or then-Vice President Al Gore had in 2000. So far, current elected officials endorsing Trump include two governors, six senators and 41 members of the House. Thats not bad. But its more similar to Joe Bidens early endorsement lead in the 2020 contest than a truly impressive show of strength for a candidate who, after all, has the strongest on-paper credentials of any nomination candidate in more than 100 years.

Of course, Trump had practically no party support at all in 2016 and won anyway, albeit narrowly. There is every possibility he will win more easily this time, given far less resistance to him now than then. At the same time, for a former president and two-time nominee, the opposition he faces from some within the Republican Party is apparently convincing enough to Scott and others that they think taking him on is a viable option.

As for DeSantis, his endorsements from some eight members of the House arent going to scare anyone.

Trumps polling lead is a nice asset, but its too early to know how many of those who currently say they would vote for him will still support him once they learn something about the alternatives.

And thats before we see how Trumps legal trouble plays out. So far, his polling numbers have risen a bit after the news from his indictment in New York, but there will certainly be more news, and very likely more indictments, to come.

Scott has plenty of work to do even if Trump fades and DeSantis fails to build on his early successes. So far Scott has shown a knack for sticking with the mainstream of the party without angering anyone. That could create an appealing contrast to the other candidates, but it also might leave him without an opening to take on his rivals.

Is Scott likely to be the nominee? No. But what Scott is hearing must suggest that Trump isnt a sure thing and that DeSantis isnt a beloved second choice. Thats a situation that Scott  or one of the other seeming long shots  could capitalize on.
America is experiencing two disturbing simultaneous trends: the rise of mob censorship to shut down speaking events on college campuses, and an attempt to justify it as merely the exercise of more speech.

At SUNY Albany this month, protesters stormed an event, formed an improvised conga line and prevented a lecture  ironically, titled Free Speech on Campus  from beginning.

In a now notorious incident at Stanford Law School last month, protesters shouted down a federal appellate judges speech.

And in November, hecklers drowned out conservative commentator Ann Coulter at Cornell, playing loud music, chanting, shouting at her and repeatedly preventing her from speaking. We dont want you here, your words are violence, screamed one heckler.

I have defended free speech on college campuses for over a decade. Weve seen waves of shout-downs before. But few defended the disruptions. In fact, they were usually met with near-universal condemnation.

Not so anymore. Some now argue that drowning out and shutting down speakers is an exercise of more speech, not an attempt to carry out a hecklers veto on the speaker. Depressingly, 62% of college students say that shouting down a speaker is acceptable to some degree.

Its called protest, one Stanford student remarked to Judge Kyle Duncan while the judge objected to being shouted down. Its under the 1st Amendment. I thought you knew about the 1st Amendment. Later, after the Stanford administration condemned the incident, a group of protesters papered Stanford Law Dean Jenny Martinezs classroom with fliers reading, We have free speech rights too, and, Counter-speech is free speech.

Apparently, Americas future lawyers and future judges fundamentally misunderstand free speech rights. Shouting down speakers is just like any other form of censorship: Its the few deciding for the many what they can hear. Protesters have every right to engage in peaceful, nondisruptive protest. But they do not have the right to take over someone elses event and make it their own.

This is a basic point, and we understand it in almost every other context. Nobody argues that you have a free speech right to stand up during a Broadway musical and sing along with the actors or to scream at a public library book reading.

Just because the public is invited to attend an event  and sometimes to speak during a Q&A period  does not make it the publics event to disrupt or transform as it pleases. Your distaste for a speaker doesnt grant you a right to prevent a willing audience from listening to that speaker.

There must be places in a free and pluralistic society where groups can freely associate and share ideas without first seeking approval from a crowd of hecklers. Colleges are such spaces. Its the very reason they exist.

One increasingly common semantic game is to argue that hecklers veto is a legal term and that it applies only when the government steps in to shut down speech in anticipation of a disruptive response. But as a practical matter, the government  or on college campuses, those in the administration  can end up supporting a hecklers veto through its action or inaction. Besides, hecklers veto has long had a nonlegal, colloquial definition that tracks the plain meaning of the words: hecklers vetoing speech.

In either case, both the hecklers and those in authority who enable them will regret normalizing this sort of response to speech.

In December 1860, Frederick Douglass and a group of abolitionists assembled at a public meeting hall in Boston to discuss how to abolish slavery. No sooner had the meeting begun than it was overtaken by a pro-slavery mob. The police did nothing to prevent the heckling and disruption, and the meeting was eventually shut down. A few days later, Douglass gave an impassioned defense of free speech: To suppress free speech is a double wrong. It violates the rights of the hearer as well as those of the speaker.

The heckling is free speech crowd may argue that the pro-slavery mobs action was wrong because of its message, whereas those engaged in todays disruptions are morally right. But we cant hinge the validity of a hecklers veto on whether the hecklers feel justified in their actions. They always do. Thats why justifications for censorship shouldnt be allowed to outweigh principles of free speech.

While students may succeed today in shouting down speakers they oppose, they should realize that those same tactics could be used tomorrow against speakers they support.
EUREKA  The Woodford County Board has ended its animal control administrator's contract after public outcry over his role in the death of a kitten that had been living in a Eureka salon.

The death of the animal, named Kiki, also prompted her owner to file a civil suit in federal court naming former Animal Control Administrator Tim Abney as a defendant alongside Woodford County, Woodford County Chairman John Krug and Peterson Vet Inc., which operates under Associated Veterinary Clinic.

Abney, Klug and the Associated Veterinary Clinic could not immediately be reached for comment after the board's decision Tuesday night.

The county board meeting drew roughly 100 attendees, many of whom wore purple T-shirts bearing the phrase "Justice for Kiki" to honor the euthanized kitten. Posters featuring photos of the kitten were also distributed at the front entrance of the county government center.

Sarah Keim, a stylist at Razor Zone Salon and plaintiff in the lawsuit, rescued Kiki in January and began taking her for veterinary care in March. Kiki would not live to her next scheduled veterinary appointment on April 17.

The trouble began March 23, according to the lawsuit and the copy of a police report into the incident that was first obtained and reported by WMBD.

On that date, Abney told salon staff that a client had complained after being bitten and scratched by Kiki two days earlier. In response, Keim showed Abney paperwork verifying that Kiki was in the process of being vetted by Just Animals Vaccine Clinic and had a second round of shots scheduled in April.

The conversation moved to the back room of the salon, where Abney allegedly accused another employee of lying to him when he called her on her personal cellphone, which he believed to be the number to Razor Zone.

The lawsuit described Abney grabbing Kiki by the scruff of the neck and walking out with her. The women who spoke to police about Abney's behavior at the salon described it as "incredibly intimidating" and "bullying," according to the police report.

Razor Zone Salon Owner Shannon Shreffler said during the public comment portion of Tuesday's meeting that Abney's actions were a "gross misuse of authority."

"Worst-case scenario, Kiki should have been placed in a 10-day quarantine to make sure she was OK," Shreffler said.

Instead, Kiki was euthanized.

Abney allegedly told Shreffler and Keim on March 23 that he needed to take the kitten immediately to the University of Illinois veterinary hospital to be killed and tested for rabies because the bite victim  a woman who, according to the lawsuit, only wanted to be reimbursed less than $10 for antibiotics  could become seriously ill and die if Kiki had rabies.

However, when Keim called the university clinic and diagnostic lab the next day, she learned that Kiki had never been taken there. Confronted about this, Abney acknowledged that he had instead taken the animal to Associated Veterinarian in Washington to be euthanized, according to the police report. Her head was then removed and sent to the University of Illinois for testing.

The lawsuit alleges that Abney filled out paperwork with the veterinarian's clinic that said Kiki was a stray that had not bitten anyone in the last 10 days. The clinic, however, indicated on Illinois Department of Public Health paperwork that Kiki was owned by Woodford County Animal Control and that her head was being submitted because Kiki had bitten someone.

Keim and Shreffler told police that Abney initially said the victim in the case suffered bites and scratches to the face. When they asked to see photos, however, only a wound on the woman's forearm was visible, and it did not appear to be fresh.

Under state law, if an animal control administrator is not a veterinarian, all medical decisions are to be deferred to a deputy administrator, who must be a licensed veterinarian. Abney is not a licensed veterinarian, and Woodford County Animal Control does not have any deputy administrators who are veterinarians, according to the lawsuit.

The law also says that if a licensed administrator or deputy administrator learns that an animal has bitten a person, the animal is to be confined under a veterinarian's observation for at least 10 days after the bite occurred. The confinement period is the same for an animal that is believed to have rabies.

It is unclear why Kiki was euthanized so quickly.

The incident was investigated by the Eureka Police Department, which forwarded the case to the Woodford County State's Attorney. As of Tuesday, no charges had been filed.

After a roughly one-hour closed session, the board agreed to terminate Abney's contract immediately.

Shreffler said the decision doesn't bring Kiki back, but it helps to protect Woodford County residents and their pets.

Shreffler also thanked Cats of Woodford County for their support and encouraged the members of the public who rallied behind Kiki to support the organization, which is currently overrun with bottle-fed kittens in need of fostering.

"In the big picture, we don't have any no-kill shelters in our county," Shreffler said. "I would love to get a no-kill shelter somewhere in Woodford County and get some volunteers and get that rolling and maybe call it 'Kiki's Place.'"

READ THE LAWSUIT:

Close These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. When ingested by pets, methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Note that darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of methylxanthines, while baking chocolate contains the highest. Alcoholic beverages and food products containing alcohol can cause vomiting, diarrhea, decreased coordination, central nervous system depression, difficulty breathing, tremors, abnormal blood acidity, coma and even death. The leaves, fruit, seeds and bark of avocados contain Persin, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. Birds and rodents are especially sensitive to avocado poisoning, and can develop congestion, difficulty breathing and fluid accumulation around the heart. Some ingestions may even be fatal. Macadamia nuts are commonly used in many cookies and candies. However, they can cause problems for your canine companion. These nuts have caused weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and hyperthermia in dogs. Signs usually appear within 12 hours of ingestion and last approximately 12 to 48 hours. Although the toxic substance within grapes and raisins is unknown, these fruits can cause kidney failure. In pets who already have certain health problems, signs may be more dramatic. Yeast dough can rise and cause gas to accumulate in your pets digestive system. This can be painful and can cause the stomach or intestines to rupture. Because the risk diminishes after the dough is cooked and the yeast has fully risen, pets can have small bits of bread as treats. However, these treats should not constitute more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your pets daily caloric intake. Raw meat and raw eggs can contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli that can be harmful to pets. In addition, raw eggs contain an enzyme called avidin that decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin), which can lead to skin and coat problems. Feeding your pet raw bones may seem like a natural and healthy option that might occur if your pet lived in the wild. However, this can be very dangerous for a domestic pet, who might choke on bones, or sustain a grave injury should the bone splinter and become lodged in or puncture your pets digestive tract. Xylitol is used as a sweetener in many products, including gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste. It can cause insulin release in most species, which can lead to liver failure. The increase in insulin leads to hypoglycemia (lowered sugar levels). Initial signs of toxicosis include vomiting, lethargy and loss of coordination. Signs can progress to recumbancy and seizures. Elevated liver enzymes and liver failure can be seen within a few days. These vegetables and herbs can cause gastrointestinal irritation and could lead to red blood cell damage. Although cats are more susceptible, dogs are also at risk if a large enough amount is consumed. Toxicity is normally diagnosed through history, clinical signs and microscopic confirmation of Heinz bodies. An occasional low dose, such as what might be found in pet foods or treats, likely will not cause a problem, but the ASPCA recommends that you do NOT give your pets large quantities of these foods. Because pets do not possess significant amounts of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk), milk and other milk-based products cause them diarrhea or other digestive upset. Large amounts of salt can produce excessive thirst and urination, or even sodium ion poisoning in pets. Signs that your pet may have eaten too many salty foods include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, seizures and even death. In other words, keep those salty chips to yourself! Slideshow: 12 people foods your pets should never eat Chocolate, macadamia nuts, avocados  these foods may sound delicious to you, but theyre actually quite dangerous for our animal companions. The nutrition experts at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have put together a handy list of the top toxic people foods to avoid feeding your pet. As always, if you suspect your pet has eaten any of the following foods, please note the amount ingested and contact your veterinarian or the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435. These products all contain substances called methylxanthines, which are found in cacao seeds, the fruit of the plant used to make coffee and in the nuts of an extract used in some sodas. When ingested by pets, methylxanthines can cause vomiting and diarrhea, panting, excessive thirst and urination, hyperactivity, abnormal heart rhythm, tremors, seizures and even death. Note that darker chocolate is more dangerous than milk chocolate. White chocolate has the lowest level of methylxanthines, while baking chocolate contains the highest. Alcoholic beverages and food products containing alcohol can cause vomiting, diarrhea, decreased coordination, central nervous system depression, difficulty breathing, tremors, abnormal blood acidity, coma and even death. The leaves, fruit, seeds and bark of avocados contain Persin, which can cause vomiting and diarrhea in dogs. Birds and rodents are especially sensitive to avocado poisoning, and can develop congestion, difficulty breathing and fluid accumulation around the heart. Some ingestions may even be fatal. Macadamia nuts are commonly used in many cookies and candies. However, they can cause problems for your canine companion. These nuts have caused weakness, depression, vomiting, tremors and hyperthermia in dogs. Signs usually appear within 12 hours of ingestion and last approximately 12 to 48 hours. Although the toxic substance within grapes and raisins is unknown, these fruits can cause kidney failure. In pets who already have certain health problems, signs may be more dramatic. Yeast dough can rise and cause gas to accumulate in your pets digestive system. This can be painful and can cause the stomach or intestines to rupture. Because the risk diminishes after the dough is cooked and the yeast has fully risen, pets can have small bits of bread as treats. However, these treats should not constitute more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your pets daily caloric intake. Raw meat and raw eggs can contain bacteria such as Salmonella and E. coli that can be harmful to pets. In addition, raw eggs contain an enzyme called avidin that decreases the absorption of biotin (a B vitamin), which can lead to skin and coat problems. Feeding your pet raw bones may seem like a natural and healthy option that might occur if your pet lived in the wild. However, this can be very dangerous for a domestic pet, who might choke on bones, or sustain a grave injury should the bone splinter and become lodged in or puncture your pets digestive tract. Xylitol is used as a sweetener in many products, including gum, candy, baked goods and toothpaste. It can cause insulin release in most species, which can lead to liver failure. The increase in insulin leads to hypoglycemia (lowered sugar levels). Initial signs of toxicosis include vomiting, lethargy and loss of coordination. Signs can progress to recumbancy and seizures. Elevated liver enzymes and liver failure can be seen within a few days. These vegetables and herbs can cause gastrointestinal irritation and could lead to red blood cell damage. Although cats are more susceptible, dogs are also at risk if a large enough amount is consumed. Toxicity is normally diagnosed through history, clinical signs and microscopic confirmation of Heinz bodies. An occasional low dose, such as what might be found in pet foods or treats, likely will not cause a problem, but the ASPCA recommends that you do NOT give your pets large quantities of these foods. Because pets do not possess significant amounts of lactase (the enzyme that breaks down lactose in milk), milk and other milk-based products cause them diarrhea or other digestive upset. Large amounts of salt can produce excessive thirst and urination, or even sodium ion poisoning in pets. Signs that your pet may have eaten too many salty foods include vomiting, diarrhea, depression, tremors, elevated body temperature, seizures and even death. In other words, keep those salty chips to yourself!
New Braunfels, TX (78130)

Today

Cloudy this morning followed by isolated thunderstorms this afternoon. High 82F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Scattered thunderstorms this evening becoming more widespread overnight. A few storms may be severe. Low 61F. SSE winds shifting to W at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
If You Go What: Theatre Bristol presents Winnie-the-Pooh When: Saturdays April 22 and 29 at 10:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. and Sundays April 23 and 30 at 2:30 p.m. Where: Theatre Bristols ARTspace, 506 State St., Bristol, Tenn. Admission: $12 adults, $10 seniors and students Info: 423-212-3625 Web: https://theatrebristol.org

BRISTOL, Tenn.  Easters gone but rabbits remain. Lots of rabbits, as in the numerous bunny-eared kids who hopped about the offices of Theatre Bristol late Monday afternoon.

Christopher Robin sat among them in quiet repose. A yawning Eeyore, too. And Pooh Bear, why, he was stuck head-first inside a honey pot, somewhere, surely.

Care to guess whats forthcoming? Theatre Bristol presents A.A. Milnes classic, Winnie-the-Pooh. Set to stage on Saturdays and Sundays from Saturday, April 22 through Sunday, April 30 at Theatre Bristols cozy ARTspace in Bristol, Tennessee, the hour-long play oozes charm like honey from Poohs pot.

I think we can all relate to Winnie the Pooh, said Cindi Brooks, director of Winnie-the-Pooh. He loves his friends and family. Hes loyal. And hes scatter-brained sometimes. Hes fun.

Theatre Bristols production does not lean on Disney or one of the several recent cinematic updates on the story. Instead, the show looks to one of Milnes early books.

Recent years have witnessed a resurgence of interest in Winnie the Pooh. For instance, Ewan McGregor starred in 2018s live action Christopher Robin. This year, the story took a strange turn with the horror film, Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey.

Its been brought back a lot because so many of the older generation loved Pooh, and we want out kids to love Pooh, too, Brooks said. Its the morals of the Milnes book. Its adventure. Its a classic.

Asher Church as Pooh Bear succeeds exceedingly well. Created by A.A. Milne and illustrated by E.H. Shepard, Pooh first appeared as Mr. Edward Bear in a poem from 1924, Teddy Bear. Two years and a change of names later, Milne published Winnie-the-Pooh on Oct. 14, 1926.

More than 50 million copies of Milnes Winnie-the-Pooh have been sold.

I like Winnie the Pooh because hes not perfect, said Asher Church, 12, of Johnson City. I can relate with him.

Lights down in the audience, a spotlight beams upon young Christopher Robin (Reece Hilt) as the play begins. With a plush teddy bear in his grasp, hes told a story, an account of a loving and trusting and ever-loyal bear named Pooh.

Quickly, Asher as Pooh appears. Hes in the bees-buzzing Hundred Acre Wood. Meanwhile, Poohs little friend Piglet, played charmingly well by Reese Davis, frets.

I suppose youve heard? Piglet says to Pooh in reference to the coming of Kanga (Whitney Brooks) and Roo (Emma Cornett), mother and son kangaroos, to the forest. Piglets afraid, for kangaroos are unknown to them.

Pooh responds in come-what-may fashion.

I dont see what the fuss is all about, he says.

And so unfurls one of literatures most beloved stories. Tooled for children, Winnie-the-Pooh provides ample reminders for adults. In a contemporary climate often split amid vociferous disagreements politically and socially, Winnie-the-Pooh delivers much needed perspective.

This will appeal to generations, said Samantha Gray, executive director of Theatre Bristol. We have all of these character in us.

Eeyore (Farris Lamie) possesses doubt. Piglet embodies anxiety. Owl (Nora Day Graham) provides wisdom. Pooh projects wide-eyed optimism and unwavering trust. They all embrace love for one another.

Its in all of us, Gray said. We all get sad. We all get anxious. This show is one that will make you go, aww.

As to the show, Piglet gets scared. Eeyore worries. Christopher Robin helps. Kanga loves as parents do while Roo makes new friends. Meanwhile, Pooh charms as Pooh charms, with his childlike demeanor and relentlessly trusting and loving nature.

Messages permeate Winnie-the-Pooh. Perhaps the most apparent and enduring, one can be kind to others if one so chooses. And, equally important for us all, youth can follow us throughout life if only our mindset would allow.

Its a reminder that everyone can be young at heart, Brooks said.
BRISTOL, Tenn.  The Power of Play 5K, presented by Ballad Health and Bristol Tennessee City Schools, returns this weekend.

The event returns after a three-year hiatus due to COVID-19 and it will be held on Saturday, April 22, starting at 9 a.m. outside of Bristol Regional Medical Centers main entrance at 1 Medical Park Blvd., according to a written statement.

This is going to be a great day, and were excited to help the community learn more about the tremendous benefits of physical activity, like running and walking, to improve overall health, said John Jeter, chief executive officer of Bristol Regional. We really want to encourage everyone to come out and take part in this event. Its all about investing in the health and wellness of families in our region.

The race is a partnership between Ballad Health and Bristol Tennessee City Schools to promote healthy lifestyles. Proceeds provide additional funding to the physical education programs in the school system for items such as playground equipment, curriculum and professional development.

After not holding this event for three years, we are so excited to once again partner with Ballad Health on the 8th annual Power of Play 5K, said Liz Sumpter, health services coordinator for Bristol Tennessee City Schools. The Power of Play has grown into a community-wide event to celebrate physical activity and health and to educate students and families about the physical, social and emotional benefits of staying active.

In addition, the proceeds from the race provide much-needed support to the physical education programs in our schools. We are grateful to Ballad Health, Bristol Regional and their team members for the countless ways they support this event and for their enthusiasm for our mission, she said.

Early registration is $20 adults and $10 for students. Registering on race day increases the price for everyone by $5. The deadline for mail-in registration forms is Thursday, April 20.

Please visit https://thegoosechase.org/power-of-play-5k/ for more information and registration instructions.
BRISTOL, Va.  Kristen Wilson of Virginia High School and Amanda Varney of Tennessee Middle School were honored Tuesday as Bristols most outstanding public teachers by the the Rotary Club of Bristol VA-TN.

The event at the Bristol Trainstation marked the 36th Annual Frank W. DeFriece Jr. Teacher Awards presentation, according to a written statement.

Wilson, an alternative education and GED teacher and Varney, who teaches seventh-grade math, were this years award recipients. They each received a $2,500 cash award, a $1,000 donation for needs at each teachers respective school and a circulating plaque that will be on display at each school.

This year, because of an anonymous donor, these two teachers will also receive an additional $1,000 for a total gift of $3,500.

Teachers were nominated from the Bristol Virginia and Bristol Tennessee public school systems with one teacher from each system being selected as the 2023 Rotary Outstanding Teacher. Each school submitted a nomination packet that was then scored by an anonymous panel of judges composed of educators and business representatives, according to the statement.

One of her peers said Kristen Wilson has the biggest heart for her students and pushes them to success in spite of their self-doubt, hesitations, academic struggles, and day to day challenges.

She balances the environment of an alternative education for every student no matter where they are academically or socially. She teaches day students, GED preparation, and an evening program for students who cannot attend during the regular school day.

Varney does not just teach students; she reaches them with her heart and her knowledge. She is uplifting to all who surround her, and her spirit is extremely contagious, according to her nomination.

She consistently goes beyond the classroom to enhance the education of her students. She is both admired and loved as an exceptional teacher and person.

In Virginia, those nominated were Stacy Brown, 2nd grade teacher at Washington-Lee Elementary School; Tracey Mercier, special education teacher at Stonewall Jackson Elementary School; Jen Partica, 7th grade English teacher at Virginia Middle School; Ginger Richmond, kindergarten through 5th grade reading teacher at Joseph Van Pelt Elementary School; and Carla Harmon, 2nd grade math and science teacher at Highland View Elementary School.

Teachers nominated from Tennessee included Elizabeth Arnold, algebra I and geometry teacher at Tennessee High School; Christy Boggs, 1st grade teacher at Anderson Elementary School; Lori Brown, kindergarten teacher at Holston View Elementary School; Allyson Dowdell, 5th grade science and social studies teacher at Haynesfield Elementary School; Joanne Johnson, 3rd grade math teacher at Avoca Elementary School; April Trivett, English 1, English 3, creative Writing, journalism, and AP language and composition teacher at Tennessee Online Public School (TOPS); and Margaret Wood, kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade special education teacher at Fairmount Elementary School.

Each nominee received a $500 cash award and a golden apple award to place in their classroom.
HICKORY  The Catawba County Genealogical Society will hold its monthly meeting Tuesday, April 25, at 6 p.m. in the Community Room of the Patrick Beaver Public Library in Hickory.

The featured speaker, professional genealogist Rhonda Roederer, will present "Finding Those Treasured Family Pictures ... Outside Your Own Family."

So, you think pictures dont exist of your ancestors? Think again. Did a tragic fire or flood rob you of those precious photos? Or perhaps you know where they are, but a selfish relative is not open to sharing. There are ways to find those hidden treasures and it may be easier than you think. Start looking outside of your own family network. Learn about the history of photography. Discover the hidden clues in your old photographs.

Roederer has been following her passion for family history for over 30 years, in particular, researching her German roots. A Louisiana native, Roederer now lives in North Carolina and is a full-time professional genealogist and educator. She is the Founder of Heritage With Heart and her experiences are diverse: uncovering family mysteries, writing heritage cookbooks, organizing large family events, and reuniting adoptees with their birth families.

As an educator, Roederer has presented a wide array of seminars and workshops for numerous historical societies, conferences, libraries and on the international stage at the worlds largest genealogical conference, RootsTech. Her approach is unique in that she shares her own case studies which take learners along her personal journeys of family discovery while giving inspiration to search out their own lost or extended family. Her mission is to unlock the past, inspire the future and help bring families together one generation at a time.

Catawba County Genealogical Society meets the fourth Tuesday of the month January through November. Meetings are held at the Main Branch of the Catawba County Library except for April and October meetings which are held at Patrick Beaver Library. All CCGS meetings are free and open to the public.
HICKORY  The YMCA of Catawba Valley will host the 35th annual Prayer Breakfast on Thursday, May 4, at 7:30 a.m., with the breakfast line opening at 7 a.m., at 74 South Moretz Mills, 74 Eighth St. SE, Hickory.

The Hickory community is invited for a morning of prayer, friendship and celebration of our many blessings. The 2023 event coincides with the National Day of Prayer.

The keynote speaker is Andrew Rawls, senior pastor at Viewmont Baptist Church. A native of Boone, Rawls has served the Catawba Valley region as senior pastor since 2018.

RSVP by April 28 to Dianna Cloninger, 828-324-9622 / diannac@ymcacv.org.
Deputy City Manager should apologize for comments

I was shocked and dismayed to read the recent comments made by Deputy City Manager Miller in your newspaper's article on April 15. In the article, he implied that young people only want to work at KFC for $17, which is both dismissive of young people and insulting to those who work in the fast-food industry.

As a member of this community, I find it unacceptable that a public official would make derogatory comments about any group of people, especially when the city has a stated goal of attracting and retaining young professionals. It is important for those in positions of authority to be mindful of the impact of their words on the community they serve.

I call on Deputy City Manager (Rodney) Miller to apologize for his comments and step down from his position. He works for us, including those of us with illustrious careers and those of us who work at KFC. Every young person in our city should be offended by this nonsense, and the city should be working to actively renounce what he said.

It is also important to remember that not all young people aspire to high-paying careers, and there is value in all types of work. It is unfair to make assumptions about individuals based on their profession or age. We should strive to create a community where everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of their occupation or age.

I encourage all citizens who took issue with Deputy City Manager Miller's statement to make your voices heard. It is crucial that the city understands the concerns of its citizens and takes steps to address them.

Carmen Eckard

Hickory
" " Harpers Ferry sits at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers and has a rich and complex history. Dean Heinrichs/Getty Images

At the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers, near a spot in the water where Maryland, Virginia, and the easternmost tip of West Virginia converge, lies Harpers Ferry, a quaint, sometimes bucolic 19th-century town with a rich and dizzying history.

In the early 1800s, Harpers Ferry became a pioneer in the way goods were manufactured, beginning with munitions. Just 70 miles (112 kilometers) or so northwest of Washington, D.C., it bloomed into an American transportation hub, with railroads, bridges spanning the two rivers and boats carrying goods throughout the new country.

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During the Civil War, it changed hands from Union to Confederate and back again at least eight times. Things got so confusing that the townspeople were called both rebels (when the Union army occupied) and Yankees (when the Confederates were in charge). A church in town flew a British flag, just to be safe.

But it was in 1859, a few years before the Civil War, with a bold and disastrous bid to launch a slave rebellion, that famed abolitionist John Brown truly put Harpers Ferry on the map.

"It's a very complicated place, and it's hard to tell one story of Harpers Ferry," says Paul Shackel, an archeologist and professor of anthropology at the University of Maryland. "There's a lot of different stories and a lot of different histories."

" " In the mid-1800s, the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal, the Winchester & Potomac Railroad and the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad established Harpers Ferry as a transportation powerhouse. Library of Congress
Lenin and his Bolsheviks (later to be named the Communist Party) prevailed in the civil war and, in late 1922, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (the USSR or Soviet Union) officially was formed, with Lenin and his party at the center. Lenin died just two years later in 1924 at age 53, and was succeeded in power by an even more ruthless dictator, Joseph Stalin. The Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

Today, thousands of Lenin statues are found throughout Russia. Even more telling, Lenin's embalmed body remains a tourist attraction of sorts, painstakingly preserved at a mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square.

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"We have an interesting experiment going on now, with the issue of the Lenin mausoleum in the middle of Red Square, that is, in many ways, quite revealing," Kenez says. "There has been talk about how he should not have been put in the mausoleum, that he should have been buried  this goes back to 1924  and, even now there are some voices saying that he should be buried next to his mother or something like that. But this is not going to happen. There is no majority of support for this position."

Instead, Lenin's body, along with the ideals of his still held by many, sits in waiting. It is history suspended, a verdict still to be rendered.

"Any changes in the mausoleum are bitterly opposed by the still-existent Communist Party," Kenez says. "That shows, at a minimum, that there is no large-scale repudiation of what Lenin stood for, and the person of Lenin, and what he had accomplished. I think that's the bottom line."

How can anyone still contend that the ruthless, uncompromising, murderous Lenin  who many blame for the millions killed by Stalin, too  is to be revered or worthy of remembrance in any positive way?

The answer may be that for all his crimes, Lenin took an agricultural-based country ruled by a monarchy and forged it into a supposedly workers-based union that became one of the world's superpowers.

For the people of Russia today, that may be enough to merit a place in Red Square.

"Now, when they look back, in 2020, what they remember was the Soviet Union was a powerful entity, and now Russia is second-rate," Kenez says. "Should people think this way? Is this the way I think about it? No. However, Americans talk about American exceptionalism, and the American Century, and America is different ... there is, I suppose, a Russian equivalent. 'We were powerful, and I recall this fondly.' I'm not justifying it. I'm trying to look into people's souls, which is always a difficult task."

" " Vladimir Lenin's Mausoleum in Moscow's Red Square DEA/W. BUSS/De Agostini via Getty Images

HowStuffWorks may earn a small commission from affiliate links in this article.

NOW THAT'S Crazy Lenin's body lies under a glass sarcophagus at his mausoleum, where it is cared for by a team of Russian scientists who inject the remains with embalming agents, as needed. The body  which consists only of skin, bones and some muscle tissue (his interior organs were removed in his 1924 autopsy)  also is covered with a rubber suit that circulates a fluid that helps preserve the skin. The rubber contraption is concealed by Lenin's dark blue woolen business suit.
Events that happen halfway around the world matter to you, stated Josh Linville at the 99th USDA Agricultural Outlook Forum with the you being U.S. farmers and those who work with those farmers. The big event that unsettled fertilizer markets of course was Russias invasion of Ukraine. That February 2022 event had a dramatic impact on natural gas markets as Russia accounts for about 13% of the worlds production. Specific to the European Union, Russia had supplied 45% of the 27-country blocks natural gas needs.

It was Russias decision to stop exporting natural gas to Europe that dramatically impacted the nitrogen market, said the vice president of fertilizer at StoneX. Even though western Europe accounts for only 5% of the urea projection, its 5% of a really, really big number is still a really big number! continued Linville in discussing the connection between nitrogen and natural gas. In Europes case, 5% of a 224 million ton per year global market is 11 million tons. We saw European production drop all the way down to 20% to 30% of normal. Its since returned to 60% to 65%, he continued at the Arlington, Va., event. Thats created a big shortfall in the world market.

Natural gas prices, and thus the impact on nitrogen-based fertilizers, have moderated to some extent since Russias invasion of its western neighbor.

The reason that natural gas prices came down is because Europe had a warmer winter than normal, consumers did their part to use less, and industrial demand went down, he said of the situation in Europe.

What about fertilizer prices?

When it comes to UAN (Urea Ammonium Nitrate) prices, there are two things we are watching  No. 1 is Russia. No. 2 is Europe, said Linville, who grew up on a northwestern Missouri family cattle and crop farm.

Europe is really important when it comes to UAN fertilizer production and its under pressure due to the high costs of natural gas. When you look at it, one out of every five tons of UAN produced in the world comes from Europe, explained Linville. So, you better watch Europe and whats going on there because its going to matter to every farmer around the world that uses UAN, he said to the audience.

Russia is only 9% of the capacity. Who cares? he asked rhetorically.

We need to care because one out of every 3 tons of UAN exported around the world comes from Russia. Those are very important things we need to watch because those are setting the price in marketplaces, he said. Russia has been very successful in continuing to export its urea because its easier to transport, he said, explaining that isnt the case for UAN.

It's the world leader

Anhydrous is the base of nitrogen. Why does Russia matter? Linville once again asked rhetorically.

They are the No. 1 exporter in the world at 4.4 million tons in a normal year. Second is Trinidad and Tobago at 3.3 million tons, shared the 20-year market veteran who has worked at companies in the fertilizer markets.

Anhydrous exports have gone very, very low because the product is produced in Russia and piped through Ukraine and out to seaports. Are you going to run anhydrous through a pipeline in a war zone? he asked. Absolutely not!

Whats happened as Russia has lost gained territory to Ukraine? As they fall back, Russian troops have destroyed infrastructure, he said. When it comes to this important transport pipeline, we are not talking 10 to 20 miles, it covers a long distance and you must have pump plants to keep product moving, stated Linville. As Russian troops have retreated, they have destroyed the electrical grid. Without electricity, you cannot run the pumps. Without the pumps, you cannot run the pipeline, he explained of nitrogen fertilizers continued woes.

After March 2022, Russian exports of anhydrous have come to a standstill. Its the No. 1 exporting country in the world and exports have largely stopped, he said, doubling down on the nitrogen narrative as it relates to UAN.

Factors halfway around the world indeed matter to us at home. What are some farmers doing in the U.S.? he asked the audience.

The urea price remains significantly discounted when compared to UAN. If I am a farmer using UAN, and Ive seen UAN at a high price and urea is at a steep discount . . . I am switching my practices. Ill go out and buy a spreader and have my retailer put it on my equipment, he shared of the economic realities.

Remember, anhydrous people generally dont switch. However, Ive had anhydrous people tell me the same thing. Anhydrous is too high, Im switching to urea, said Linville of this unique dynamic unfolding among U.S. crop farmers.

This is a situation we have to watch as we move forward. Are we going to see even more demand this spring as this switch to urea takes place? he asked.

The U.S. is a net importer on urea. We expect that we need to import 5.1 million tons. That is based on normal demand, Linville went on to say. What might this switch between UAN to urea and anhydrous to UAN cause in the marketplace?

It takes 30 days to move a vessel from the Arab Gulf to the U.S. It takes another two to four weeks to move that product from the Gulf of Mexico to where you need it in the Midwest, he said, concluding that unfilled demand could move market prices quickly.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2023

April 13, 2023
The farms dotted all over the U.S. vary in crops, size, structure, setting, and more, but they have the same goal  feeding people. According to a new report, they also feed into the $8.6 trillion economic engine that is Americas food and agriculture sector. That number represents nearly one-fifth of the countrys economic activity.

The report, titled Feeding the Economy, is published annually and supported by a range of U.S. farmer and agricultural groups. The recently released 2023 edition shows that every state grew its agricultural economic output compared to 2022.

The bulk of economic activity can be contributed to the fact that agriculture is directly responsible for 22.92 million jobs, or almost 15% of U.S. employment. This number includes jobs on more than 2 million farms and in agribusinesses.

Of course, there are also thousands of people who help supply farms and agribusinesses, move their products, and regulate and inspect the industry. More than 200,000 food manufacturing, processing, and storage facilities keep the food chain moving, the report states. This totals about 11.68 million more jobs.

Finally, the report explains how the spending power of people employed in direct and indirect agricultural positions creates jobs and further economic power. This spending  on everything from housing, to food, to education, and medical care  makes up what is traditionally called the induced impact, the report described. The 2023 induced impact of the industry is estimated at another 11.68 million jobs and an economic impact of $2,470 billion.

Finally, a food item reaches its end user at one of the nations more than 1 million restaurants or one of approximately 200,00 retail food outlets around the country.

All together, these 46,283,917 jobs lead to $2.6 trillion in wages. Agricultural companies contribute $947.9 billion in taxes to local, state, and national economies, the report further detailed.

The strength and growth highlighted in this years report reinforce that agriculture is evolving and innovating to meet the demands of the 21st century, the projects 25 supporting companies shared. Though farmland has declined, land and labor efficiencies have allowed productivity to make steady gains in a world that is demanding more nutritious food than ever.

You can read the full report and see agricultures economic impact in your state and congressional district here.

To comment, email your remarks to intel@hoards.com.

(c) Hoard's Dairyman Intel 2023

April 17, 2023
Baccalaureate and Commencement for Hope Colleges Class of 2023 are scheduled for Sunday, May 7. Commencement will take place at 3 p.m. at Ray and Sue Smith Stadium, and Baccalaureate at 9:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. in Dimnent Memorial Chapel.

The Commencement speaker will be Dr. Richard Frost, who retired from Hope in 2022 as vice president for student development and dean of students after serving at the college since 1989. The Baccalaureate speaker will be Dr. Stephen Hemenway, who is the Betty Roelofs 53 Miller Professor of English and will be retiring at the end of the school year after serving at Hope since 1972.

Frost joined the Hope staff as dean of students, and in 1997 was additionally named vice president for student development. In his role, he mentored and guided the student body and oversaw student development services on campus, including the Center for Diversity and Inclusion, Counseling and Psychological Services, Dining Services, the Health Center, Residential Life and Housing, Student Life and Volunteer Services.

He retired as the longest-serving dean of students (or the comparable position, as professional titles have evolved across time) in the history of the college. Out of the colleges nearly 37,000-plus alumni, more than 23,000 graduated during his time at Hope.

Among the numerous honors received by individual programs and staff in Student Development across his 33 years at the college, Hope was one of only 115 colleges and universities across the country named to the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachings 2010 Community Engagement Classification.

He guided development of the vision for the 42,000-square-foot Jim and Martie Bultman Student Center that opened in August 2017. The LEED Gold-certified building prominently features a campus family room looking out on the iconic Pine Grove in the center of campus in addition to gathering spaces for students and events, a chapel, the Kletz Market cafe, office space and a connecting link blending the building with the existing DeWitt Student and Cultural Center.

During last years Commencement ceremony, on May 8, 2022, Hope presented him with an honorary Doctor of Arts (D.A.) degree for his many years of dedication to the holistic development of college students. On April 21, 2022, also in recognition of his service and impact, Frost was invited to deliver the address Lessons That I have Learned through the Last Lecture Series organized by the colleges chapter of Mortar Board, an event co-sponsored by Hopes Student Congress.

Prior to coming to Hope, Frost was associate director of housing and residential services at the University of California-Santa Barbara. He had previously served as resident director at both the University of California, Davis and Michigan State University; directed the multi-ethnic program at the University of California, Davis; worked in the Student Development Office at Michigan State University; and served as an admissions counselor at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He earned a bachelors degree in 1973 from Luther College, where he majored in political science and business administration; and his masters degree in 1977 and doctorate in 1989  both in higher education administration  from Michigan State University.

Hemenway is one of only two currently serving faculty with tenures exceeding 50 years  Dr. David Myers of the psychology faculty has been at the college since 1967. The only other faculty two have served as long are Bruce McCombs, professor of art, who retired in 2021 after 52 years on the faculty; and John B. Nykerk, who taught at the colleges Holland Academy and then Hope itself for 51 years, from 1885 to 1936.

In addition to teaching in the Department of English, Hemenway has directed the colleges Vienna Summer School since 1976, succeeding program founder Dr. Paul G. Fried of the history faculty. More than 2,600 students have participated in the Vienna Summer School under his tutelage, and 2023 will be his 48th year in a row in charge of this 67-year-old international program.

For his work with the Vienna Summer School, he received the Knights Cross First Class, Order of Merit of the Republic of Austria in 1991. The college named the Fried-Hemenway Auditorium in the Martha Miller Center for Global Communication in 2005 in honor of the two professors long-time leadership of the program. His publications include the books Hope Beyond Borders: The Life and Letters of Paul Fried, published by the colleges Van Raalte Press in 2014, with a second edition in 2022; and The Anglo-Indian Novel and The Indo-Anglian Novel, published by Writers Workshop in Calcutta in 1975 and 1976, respectively.

An acclaimed teacher, Hemenway was named Michigans Professor of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education in 1992. He received the Hope Outstanding Professor Educator (H.O.P.E.) Award from the graduating senior class in 1977, and in 1999 received the colleges first Vanderbush-Weller Award for extraordinary contributions to students lives. He delivered Hopes Commencement address in 1981, and co-delivered the Opening Convocation address with departmental colleague Dr. Jennifer Young in 2004. He was appointed the inaugural recipient of the colleges Betty Roelofs 53 Miller Endowed Professorship in 2019.

Hemenway has taught an Expository Writing I course called Crime and Punishment for 51 years, and has also taught many survey courses of: Western World Literature 1 and 2, Early British Literature, Modern British Literature, Modern American Literature, Modern Drama, Catholic Fiction, African-American Literature, Literature of India and Global Race Matters. He has taught upper-level courses on the writings of James Joyce, George Bernard Shaw, Ernest Hemingway and the Beatnik Generation. He has conducted distinctive Senior Seminar courses on campus and in Vienna and directed many independent studies. In the field of creative writing, he has taught courses in satire and creative nonfiction.

Before coming to Hope, he taught for one year at St. Marys College in Above Rocks, Jamaica, West Indies, for the Jesuit Mission Program, and for one year as a Fulbright teacher at Panjab University, Chandigarh, India.

Hemenway graduated from College of the Holy Cross with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English in 1964. He completed his Master of Arts degree in English at Boston College in 1967, and Ph.D. in English at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1972.

In the event of rain, Commencement will be held at the Richard and Helen DeVos Fieldhouse. Admission to Baccalaureate, and Commencement if indoors, is by ticket only.
Ann Street United

Methodist Church

335 Ann St., Concord. Pastor: Rev. Randy L. Wall. In person and Facebook Live worship 11 a.m. at Ann Street Church. Sermon: A Time of Uncertainty and Change. Scripture: Genesis 12:1-9.

Bethpage United

Methodist Church

109 Fellowship Ave. at West C St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Gary McDonald. Christian Education at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. Sermon: Bread for the Journey. Scripture: Luke 24:13-35.

Bogers Chapel United Methodist Church

1775 Flowes Store Road East, Concord. Pastor: Pastor Eric Shaver. Sunday school at 9 a.m. Worship in-person or Facebook at 10 a.m. Opening reading: Psalm 91. Sermon: Angels.

Calvary Lutheran Church

950 Bradley St., Concord. 704-782-6923. Pastor: Rev. Debbie Frye. In-person worship at 8:30 a.m. (Casual Worship) and 11 a.m. (Traditional Worship with Childrens Church). Coffee Social 9:30-11 a.m. Childrens Area and Nursery available all times. All services live-streamed and available anytime on the Calvary Lutheran Concord Youtube channel  easy access through our website http://www.clconcord.org. All are welcome. Sermon Topic: Good News!

Center United Methodist Church

1119 Union St. S, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Tony Allen. Sunday School for In Betweens and young adults at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. Nursery is provided during the worship service. Website is www.centerumcconcord.org. Look forward to you joining us for our service! Sermon: On the Way. Scripture: Luke 24:13-35.

Crossroads Church

220 George W. Liles Pkwy., Concord. Pastor: Lowell McNaney. Live worship streamed on Facebook, Crossroads Concord Church app or mycrossroads.co website at 9:30 a.m. and 11:11 a.m.

Crown Pointe Baptist Church

703 Tennessee Street, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Doug Crawley. Sunday School at 9 a.m. Worship at 10 a.m. in the sanctuary, or view online at our Facebook page. Series: Anchor. Sermon: What Are You Holding On to? Scripture: Mark 10:17-23; Luke 15:11-20, 18:18-30 ESV.

Eastside Missionary

Baptist Church

199 Elgin Drive, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Stephen Burrow. In person services: Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship services 10:30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Recorded worship services and other information at EastsideMissionaryBaptist.org. You will be welcomed. Practice social distancing.

Epworth United

Methodist Church

1030 Burrage Road NE, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Bill Roberts. One of Epworths members, Jan Siodahl, will bring the message. Sunday School at 9 a.m., followed by worship at 10 a.m. We welcome all to join us in person, or you may livestream or watch the recorded service at our website at www.epworthnc.com. Sermon: Day by Day. Scripture: Acts 2:42-47.

Forest Hill United

Methodist Church

265 Union St. N., Concord. Senior Pastor: Rev. Mandy Jones. Associate Pastor: Rev. Wes Judy. We are open for in-person worship. Contemporary worship, 9 a.m. Sunday School/small groups10 a.m. Traditional worship11 a.m. Both the contemporary and the traditional worship services will also be live-streamed at foresthillumc.org or facebook.com/foresthillumc, in case you dont feel like being here in person.

Harmony United

Methodist Church

101 White Street, NW, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Thad Brown. Sunday school is at 10 a.m. followed by our worship service in the sanctuary at 11 a.m. Sermon: The Goal of Our Faith. Scripture: I Peter 1-2; I Peter 1:3, I Peter 4-5, I Peter 6-7, I Peter 6-9; Isaiah 35:8-10. We welcome you to join us in worship! Service is live on Facebook.com/HarmonyUnitedMethodistChurch. We welcome all who are unable to join us in person to worship with us online. For more information, you can call the Pastors phone 704-791-2883 or the churchs phone 704-782-8237.

Jackson Park United

Methodist Church

715 Mable Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor Laurie Knoespel. Adult Sunday School 9:30 a.m. Worship at 10:30 a.m. Nursery will be provided during worship service.

Kirkwood Presbyterian Church

900 Klondale Ave., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Dennis B. Craft. Worship at 11 a.m. in church sanctuary on Sundays. No mask restrictions. Sermon: The Great Catch of Fish.

McGill Baptist Church

5300 Poplar Tent Road, Concord, in-person services. Pastor: Rev. Steve Ayers. If you have not taken the COVID-19 vaccine, please wear a mask. McGill will stream a worship service Sunday at 10 a.m. on www.facebook.com/mcgillbaptistchurch/ and on YouTube. The services will be live and also available on recording afterwards. Third Sunday of Easter. Sermon: Recognizing Jesus. Scripture: Psalm 116:14, 12-19; I Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35.

Midway United

Methodist Church

108 Bethpage Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Craig Allen. Come join us on Sunday morning at 9 a.m. for Sunday School and 10:30 a.m. for worship. Our service is also livestreamed on the web at midwayunitedmethodistchurch.org or facebook.com/midwayUMC. Theme: Do No Harm. Message: Rules for Living: Dont Do the Bad Stuff. First Reading: Psalm 15. Second Reading: Romans 13:7-10. Suggested Hymns: UMH 98, To God Be the Glory; TFWS 2223, Theyll Know We Are Christians by Our Love.

Mt. Mitchell United

Methodist Church

6001 Old Salisbury-Concord Road, Kannapolis. Pastor: Joel Locklear. Sunday School at 9:45 a.m. (Adult and Children classes.) Worship at 11 a.m. in person or Facebook.

Multiply Church Concord

150 Warren C. Coleman Blvd. N, Concord. Pastor: Rev. Douglas Witherup. 8:30 a.m. service held at 280 Concord Pkwy S, Suite 15, Concord. Services at 150 Warren C Coleman Blvd N, are Worship and Sermon at 9:30 a.m. and Worship and Sermon at 11:15 a.m.

New Gilead Reformed

Church, ECO

2400 Old Salisbury-Concord Road. 9:40 a.m.  Adult Bible Study. 10 a.m.  Sunday School. 11 a.m.Worship in the Sanctuary, also live on Facebook.

Oak Grove Baptist Church

200 Sims Parkway, Harrisburg. Pastor: Rev. Franklin D. Watkins. 10 a.m. In-Person Worship Service and Facebook Live and YouTube Live. Sermon: Extreme Faith, Extreme Measures, and Extreme Breakthroughs. Scripture: Mark 2:1-12.

Second Presbyterian Church

1578 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis. Pastor Sue Black, Minister. Rev. Aaron Price, Assistant Pastor. Sunday school at 10:15 a.m. Worship at 11 a.m. in Sanctuary and on Facebook live. Sermon: The God of Second Chances.

St. Johns Reformed Church

901 N. Main St., Kannapolis. Pastor: Rev. Chris King. Sunday school for all ages9:30 a.m. Worship Service10:30 a.m. Website  www.ourstjohns.org. Email/Phone- ourstjohns@gmail.com / 704-932-3656. Sermon: Jesus Preaches on Anger. Scripture: Matthew 5:21-26.

Information for Sermon topics must be submitted by 10 a.m. on Wednesday.

Email your topic to jstamey@independenttribune.com
Hundreds of mountain bikers helped improve riding conditions in McDowell County just a few short weeks ahead of the start of the summer session of McDowell Techs new Trail School.

The Northwest N.C. MTB Alliance, a regional chapter of the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association (SORBA), partnered with McDowell Technical Community College and brought more than 250 registered participants and their family members to Old Fort and McDowell County last week for what SORBA has described as trail stewardship at the gateway to the Pisgah National Forest, where miles of new hiking and biking trails opened just this year.

SORBA is a major national mountaineering organization with over 8,000 members in 40 chapters across the South. Camp Grier and the G5 Trail Collective are close partners with the Northwest N.C. MTB Alliance, and were co-sponsors for this years summit, which wrapped up on Saturday.

In addition to the two-day summit held at McDowell Tech, many participants opted to take one or more classes focused on trail development and sustainability during the early part of the week: Sustainable trail maintenance and safety  trail crew leader training; basic chainsaw maintenance and safety (U.S. Forest Service certification) and bridge building for trails.

SORBA is extremely grateful to partner with McDowell Tech for our supplemental educational sessions during this years Summit, said Philip Darden, executive director of SORBA. The help we received from staff, volunteers, and local riders this week has been incredible. Thank you for being an important part of educating our volunteers and elevating trail education in the region.

This summit and our partnership with these organization affirms our commitment to becoming an integral workforce development partner with those building trails in the Pisgah National Forest, as well as other National Forests throughout the region, said Dr. Brian S. Merritt, president at McDowell Tech.

It also reinforces our commitment to ecotourism and growth of the local economy, particularly in and around Old Fort. There is a significant economic impact to McDowell County when people travel here for trail construction classes, and more particularly, for outdoor recreation opportunities in our area. Across North Carolina, outdoor recreation is estimated to be a $28 billion dollar industry, and the statewide network of trails is considered a significant part of that industry.

MTCC coming to Old Fort

Construction is expected to start later this year on renovation of the old Rockett Building in downtown Old Fort, which will eventually be the centerpiece of classes in trail construction and sustainability for the McDowell Tech Trail School.

Summer classes for the Trail School are currently scheduled on the main campus beginning in May, with hands-on training throughout the county. Classes are open to local residents, trail devotees, volunteers, federal and state employees and those who want to establish careers in trail development and sustainability.

With the huge backlog of maintenance needs in trails across the United States, we are lucky that the National Forest Service has funded the first new trail construction in years right here in the Pisgah National Forest, said Merritt. We are grateful to our partners at G5, Camp Grier, and others to be a small part of building our local economy. It is the Year of the Trail in North Carolina, but we plan to leverage and multiply statewide efforts and initiatives for a lifetime of benefits here in the shadow of some of the most beautiful and inviting trails in the nation.

For more information on the Trail Construction and Sustainability Program at McDowell Tech, visit https://mcdowelltech.edu/academic-degree-programs/cewd/trail-construction-and-sustainability/, or contact Jeremy Poore at 828-659-0468 or by email at jmpoore32@go.mcdowelltech.edu.
COMPANY NEWS: Delinea, a leading provider of solutions that seamlessly extend Privileged Access Management (PAM), today announced Delinea Unlocked, a series of in-person networking and information conferences designed to engage, enable and equip the companys growing channel community. The Delinea Unlocked events will take place in May 2023 in Sao Paulo, Istanbul, Madrid and Bali.

Delinea Unlocked will offer distributors, resellers and global system integrators a unique opportunity to hear more about Delineas business, products and distribution strategy directly from Delinea executives, and discover the latest about the Delinea Platform. They will also learn how to help their customers combat modern cybersecurity threats directly from Delineas experts, through a series of plenary sessions and breakout workshops in two tracks: sales and marketing, and product and technical.

Given the growth of our global channel and its strong momentum leading into 2023, we are very excited to bring our highly successful Delinea Unlocked program to regions around the world, said

Delinea senior vice president global channels and alliances Tim Puccio.

These events will further educate and enable our channel community to address the market opportunity more successfully with seamless PAM solutions, including the Delinea Platform. I look forward to meeting our partners in-person, presenting our latest product innovations, and sharing our global vision and regional strategies for 2023 and beyond.

Delinea has a 100% channel-based go-to-market model in APAC and I am thrilled to host the Delinea Unlocked conference in Bali, said Delinea vice president Asia Pacific and Japan Wahab Yusoff.

Organisations increasingly recognise that cybersecurity is not only a means to protect their digital assets but also a fundamental part of doing business, and they turn to our partners as trusted cybersecurity advisors. This is the first Unlocked event to be held in-person in the Asia Pacific region under the Delinea brand and I look forward to welcoming partners and empowering them to provide even more value to their customers.

The Delinea Unlocked events will take place in:

Sao Paulo, Brazil, 2-4 May

Istanbul, Turkiye, 8-10 May

Madrid, Spain, 15-17 May

Bali, Indonesia, 23-25 May

Partners attending the event in Bali are from: Australia, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mongolia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, and Thailand.

For Delinea partners who are unable to attend any of the four events, a recording will be made available.

For more information visit delinea.com or email partnercontact@delinea.com.

About Delinea

Delinea is a leading provider of Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions for the modern, hybrid enterprise. The Delinea Platform seamlessly extends PAM by providing authorisation for all identities, controlling access to an organisations most critical hybrid cloud infrastructure and sensitive data to help reduce risk, ensure compliance, and simplify security. Delinea removes complexity and defines the boundaries of access for thousands of customers worldwide. Our customers range from small businesses to the world's largest financial institutions, intelligence agencies and critical infrastructure companies. Learn more about Delinea on LinkedIn, Twitter, and YouTube.
Workday Inc., a leader in enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, has announced that Australia and New Zealands leading online fashion and lifestyle destination, THE ICONIC, has implemented Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) as its core HR platform, supported by deployment partner Alight Solutions. THE ICONIC can now manage employee HR processes centrally for the first time, setting the business up for continued expansion and future growth. With a belief that its people are its greatest asset, THE ICONIC aims to match its strong customer focus with support and empowerment for its employees.

Off the back of rapid business growth since its launch in 2011, THE ICONIC embarked on an HR transformation program with the aim of creating a resilient employee management system to support the next phase of its expansion. Key objectives included the need for real-time insights, improved self-service, and an intuitive manager experience. Since the successful deployment of Workday Human Capital Management (HCM) in August 2022, leaders now enjoy real-time and full visibility across the entire organisation and apply these insights to more effectively plan for the future, as well as drive increased efficiencies.

As one of Australia and New Zealands most popular retailers, we are always looking to match our passion for an amazing customer experience with an amazing employee experience, said Chris Best, Head of People Experience for THE ICONIC. Workday HCM will help us do exactly that, helping to improve the experience of our team when engaging with People & Culture (P&C) as well as reducing administrative burden. Already, we are seeing the ability to manage the change that comes with growth more readily and effectively.

This transformation is an exciting opportunity to improve HR and employee engagement for a household name  a business focused on employees and customers that strongly aligns with our own, said Jo-Anne Ruhl, vice president, and managing director, for Australia and New Zealand at Workday.

This new approach will allow THE ICONIC to continue moving at speed towards its goals. THE ICONIC joins other retailers, including Target, PUMA, Bunnings, and MECCA, who are modernising financial and HCM operations with Workday and replacing outdated legacy systems to ensure business agility which is crucial in this changing world.

With Workday HCM, THE ICONIC will change HR and employee engagement across the business. It will enable improved reporting to share timely updates with HR and business leaders, as well as create a best-in-class user experience. This will make it easier for employees to manage HR processes, such as applying for all types of leave  including from mobile devices while on the go. All of this supports the future growth and expansion of THE ICONIC in years to come.

Since its launch, THE ICONIC has shaped the face of retail in Australia and New Zealand by creating a world-class customer experience by curating local and international brands, seamless and innovative technology, superior customer service, and a market-leading delivery proposition. With over 1,500 brands, 165,000 products, 500+ new arrivals daily, 5 million app downloads and servicing 20+ million visits every month, THE ICONIC is supported by a team of more than 1,000 people across four central hubs.

About Workday

Workday is a leading provider of enterprise cloud applications for finance and human resources, helping customers adapt and thrive in a changing world. Workday applications for financial management, human resources, planning, spend management, and analytics are built with artificial intelligence and machine earning at the core to help organisations around the world embrace the future of work. Workday is used by more than 10,000 organisations around the world and across industries  from medium-sized businesses to more than 50% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.
GUEST RESEARCH: Mandiant, now part of Google Cloud, today released the findings of its M-Trends 2023 report. Now in its 14th year, this annual report provides timely data and expert analysis on the ever-evolving threat landscape based on Mandiant frontline investigations and remediations of high-impact cyber-attacks worldwide. The new report reveals the progress organisations globally have made in strengthening defences against increasingly sophisticated adversaries.

"M-Trends 2023 makes it clear that, while our industry is getting better at cyber security, we are combating ever evolving and increasingly sophisticated adversaries. Several trends we saw in 2021 continued in 2022, such as an increasing number of new malware families as well as rising cyber espionage from nation-state-backed actors. As a result, organisations must remain diligent and continue to enhance their cyber security posture with modern cyber defence capabilities. Ongoing validation of cyber resilience against these latest threats and testing of overall response capabilities are equally critical, said Google Cloud vice president Mandiant Consulting Jurgen Kutscher.

Global median dwell time declines to just over two weeks

According to the M-Trends 2023 report, the global median dwell time  which is calculated as the median number of days an attacker is present in a targets environment before being detected  continues to drop year-over-year down to 16 days in 2022. This is the shortest median global dwell time from all M-Trends reporting periods, with a median dwell time of 21 days in 2021.

When comparing how threats were detected, Mandiant observed a general increase in the number of organisations that were alerted by an external entity of historic or ongoing compromise. Organisations headquartered in the Americas were notified by an external entity in 55% of incidents, compared to 40% of incidents last year. This is the highest percentage of external notifications the Americas has seen over the past six years. Similarly, organisations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) were alerted of an intrusion by an external entity in 74% of investigations in 2022 compared to 62% in 2021.

Mandiant experts noted a decrease in the percentage of their global investigations involving ransomware between 2021 and 2022. In 2022, 18% of investigations involved ransomware compared to 23% in 2021. This represents the smallest percentage of Mandiant investigations related to ransomware since prior to 2020.

While we dont have data that suggests there is a single cause for the slight drop in ransomware-related attacks that we observed, there have been multiple shifts in the operating environment that have likely contributed to these lower figures. These factors include, but are not limited to: ongoing government and law enforcement disruption efforts targeting ransomware services and individuals, which at minimum require actors to retool or develop new partnerships; the conflict in Ukraine; actors needing to adjust their initial access operations to a world where macros may often be disabled by default, as well as organisations potentially getting better at detecting and preventing or recovering from ransomware events at faster rates, Google Cloud Mandiant Intelligence vice president Sandra Joyce.

Cyber espionage, malware families increase globally

Mandiant identified extensive cyber espionage and information operations leading up to and since Russia's invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022. Most notably, Mandiant saw activity by UNC2589 and APT28 prior to the invasion of Ukraine, and observed more destructive cyber attacks in Ukraine during the first four months of 2022 than in the previous eight years.

In 2022, Mandiant began tracking 588 new malware families, revealing how adversaries are continuing to expand their toolsets. Of the newly tracked malware families, the top five categories consisted of backdoors (34%), downloaders (14%), droppers (11%), ransomware (7%) and launchers (5%). These categories of malware remain consistent over the years and backdoors continue to represent a little over one third of the newly tracked malware families.

In line with previous years, the most common malware family identified by Mandiant in investigations was Beacon, a multi-function backdoor. In 2022, Beacon was identified in 15% of all intrusions investigated by Mandiant and remains by far the most seen in investigations across regions. It has been used by a wide variety of threat groups tracked by Mandiant including nation state-backed threat groups attributed to China, Russia and Iran, as well as financial threat groups and over 700 UNC groups. This ubiquity is likely due to the common availability of BEACON combined with the malwares high customisability and ease of use, according to the report.

Mandiant has investigated several intrusions carried out by newer adversaries that are becoming increasingly savvy and effective. They leverage data from underground cybercrime markets, conduct convincing social engineering schemes over voice calls and text messages, and even attempt to bribe employees to obtain access to networks. These groups pose a significant risk to organisations, even those with robust security programs, as these techniques are challenging to defend against. As organisations continue to build their security teams, infrastructure, and capabilities, protecting against these threat actors should be part of their design goals, Google Cloud Mandiant Consulting chief technology officer Charles Carmakal.

Actioning intelligence

The goal of M-Trends is to arm security professionals with insights on the latest attacker activity as seen directly on the frontlines, backed by actionable intelligence to improve organisations security postures within an evolving threat landscape. To meet this objective, Mandiant provides insight into some of the most prolific threat actors and their expanding tactics, techniques and procedures.

To further support this objective, Mandiant mapped an additional 150 Mandiant techniques to the updated Mitre Att&ck framework, bringing the total to 2,300+ Mandiant techniques and subsequent findings associated with the Att&ck framework. Organisations should prioritize which security measures to implement based on the likelihood of a specific technique being used during an intrusion.

Additional takeaways from M-Trends 2023 Report include:

1. Infection vector: For the third year in a row, exploits remained the most leveraged initial infection vector used by adversaries at 32%. While this was a decrease from the 37% of intrusions identified in 2021, exploits remained a critical tool for adversaries to use against their targets. Phishing returned as the second most utilised vector, representing 22% of intrusions as compared to 12% in 2021.

2. Target industries impacted: Response efforts for government-related organisations captured 25% of all investigations, compared to 9% in 2021. This primarily reflects Mandiants investigative support of cyber threat activity which targeted Ukraine. The next four most targeted industries from 2022 are consistent with what Mandiant experts observed in 2021, with business & professional services, financial, high tech, and healthcare industries being favoured by adversaries. These industries remain attractive targets for both financially and espionage motivated actors.

3. Credential theft: Mandiant investigations uncovered an increased prevalence in both the use of widespread information stealer malware and credential purchasing in 2022 when compared to previous years. In many cases, investigations identified that credentials were likely stolen outside of the organisations environment and then used against the organisation, potentially due to reused passwords or use of personal accounts on corporate devices.

4. Data theft: Mandiant experts identified that in 40% of intrusions in 2022, adversaries prioritised data theft. Mandiant defenders have observed threat actors attempting to steal, or successfully completing data theft operations more often in 2022 compared to previous years.

5. North Koreas Use of Crypto: Alongside traditional intelligence collection missions and disruptive attacks, in 2022, Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea operators showed more interest in stealingand usingcryptocurrency. These operations have been highly lucrative and will likely continue unabated throughout 2023. For more on how North Korean threat actors are using cybercrime as a way to fund their espionage operations, check out Mandiants APT43 report.

M-Trends 2023 methodology

The metrics reported in M-Trends 2023 are based on Mandiant Consulting Investigations of targeted attack activity between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022. The intelligence gleaned has been sanitized to protect the identities of targets and their data.

About Mandiant

Mandiant is a recognised leader in dynamic cyber defence, threat intelligence and incident response services. By scaling decades of frontline experience, Mandiant helps organisations to be confident in their readiness to defend against and respond to cyber threats. Mandiant is now part of Google Cloud.

About Google Cloud

Google Cloud accelerates every organisation's ability to digitally transform its business. We deliver enterprise-grade solutions that leverage Google's cutting-edge technology  all on the cleanest cloud in the industry. Customers in more than 200 countries and territories turn to Google Cloud as their trusted partner to enable growth and solve their most critical business problems.
include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> In 2017, my friend Rod Dreher published his popular book, "The Benedict Option: A Strategy for Christians in a Post-Christian Nation." Dreher's basic prescription, already intimately familiar to Orthodox Jews, is a localist focus on the cohesive formation of tight-knit, virtuous, religious communities as the best way of enduring the cultural onslaught of progressivism and secularism.

There is nothing at all wrong with Tocquevillian localism, and surely it is part of the survival strategy for America's more traditionally inclined. But further extrapolated to its logical conclusion (something Dreher doesn't do in his book, to be very clear), the strongest-possible version of this argument  a singular emphasis on retreat to communal redoubts at the expense of the public contestation of core issues  is self-defeating, a surefire losing strategy. It amounts to one big "LARP," to use the common online abbreviation for "live-action role-playing"  an attempt to escape from reality and instead live in a different world than that which we actually inhabit.

To "LARP" in this manner, and to retreat from our decadent civilizational morass more generally in the hope that all can be cured by wishing it to be so, is not merely naive. It also belies an underselling of modern progressivism-secularism's fundamentally hegemonic impulse. Much like Pac-Man, the modern Left has an insatiable appetite, attempting to gobble up ever-more cultural, political and geographical terrain and permanently vanquish the forces of traditionalism and Americanism.

Amidst this ineluctable backdrop, it is incumbent upon the American Right to recognize, as this column admonished last week in response to New York County, New York District Attorney's unprecedented and utterly meritless criminal indictment of former President Donald Trump, that the only way out is through. Some recent examples help clarify what that entails.

Consider first the dramatic pushback to Anheuser-Busch's gobsmacking decision to present a special-edition can of Bud Light, America's bestselling beer, to biological male Dylan Mulvaney to commemorate the now-transgender Mulvaney's "365 Days of Girlhood." Anheuser-Busch's market capitalization has plummeted after the boneheaded decision, to the tune of billions of dollars. Kid Rock filmed a video of himself shooting Bud Light cans with a rifle and cursing off Bud Light and Anheuser-Busch, and country star John Rich announced he was pulling all Bud Light from his bar in downtown Nashville. FOX Business aptly summarized the carnage with a headline earlier this week: "Bud Light suffers bloodbath as longtime and loyal consumers revolt against transgender campaign." The full damage will likely take weeks, perhaps months, to assess, and there have been off-record grumblings from Bud Light executives who felt "blindsided" by the stunt.

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A decade ago, around the time liberals were boycotting Chick-fil-A en masse due to the devout Christian beliefs and strongly held views on marriage of the company's founder and managers, many on the Right refused to countenance reciprocating with such "nasty" tactics, preferring instead to seize an illusory moral high ground. But concerted economic boycotts, it turns out, work: They are effectual punishments of one's cultural enemies using the undoubtedly legitimate means of market pressure. The Right, it turns out, can mass-organize just like the Left can. Perhaps Anheuser-Busch will see the folly of its ham-fisted attempt to foist the transgender agenda down the throats of its disapproving  "fratty," to use the Bud Light vice president of marketing's now-infamous description  customer base. Or perhaps it won't. Regardless, the dramatic and successful pushback, which continues almost two weeks later, underscores that the only way out is through.

Consider also the recent drama in Tennessee, where the Republican-dominated state House of Representatives recently voted to expel two Democrats for their role in fomenting what the hyperpartisan corporate press, if the parties were reversed, would not hesitate to describe as an "insurrection." Reps. Justin Jones and Justin Pearson are both clearly seen on video ginning up a frothing pro-gun control mob that descended upon the legislative chamber to demand more Second Amendment restrictions after a transgender lunatic decided to shoot up a local Christian school. In the video, Jones and Pearson can be clearly seen shouting into a bullhorn, flying protest signs and leading vapid chants for protesters in the gallery  all of which flouts Tennessee House rules.

Many have condemned Tennessee Republicans for their purported "overreach" in expelling the inciters  including, naturally, the invariably incoherent Vice President Kamala Harris, who jetted off to Nashville to praise the rulebreakers (each of whom has since been reinstated to the House by their respective county commission or city council) for their "courage." (N.B. real courage in this broader saga would be Nashville law enforcement standing up to the transgender lobby and releasing the lunatic school shooter's manifesto, which has conveniently since been deep-sixed.) But at a time when U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland's Department of Justice is prosecuting myriad dubious cases of hapless individuals who traipsed into the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6 jamboree, which the corporate press prefers to describe as an "insurrection," why would the Right in Tennessee not muscularly respond to actual legislative rulebreakers in an attempt to send a reciprocal message? Fight fire with fire, mutatis mutandis: The only way out is through.

Finally, consider the recent admirable decision of U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit Judge James C. Ho (disclosure: my former boss) and U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit Judge Lisa Branch to supplement their previously announced boycott of hiring law clerks from woke-addled Yale Law School by now adding an additional boycott of Stanford Law School, where fellow Fifth Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan was shouted down last month by an uncontrollable mob of juvenile mini-Robespierre jackals. Just as some "nice" and "civil" conservatives rejected economic boycotts a decade ago, so too do many establishment/chamber of commerce-aligned conservative judges today reject using their heft in the law clerk hiring market to try to effectuate much-needed changes at our nation's leading institutions of legal education. But these naysaying judges are simply naive. Only "exogenous shocks to the system," as the Manhattan Institute's Ilya Shapiro recently put it in Newsweek (where I am opinion editor), have any chance of bearing fruit. The Ho/Branch boycott, in short, is emphatically correct: The only way out is through.

"When it comes to the most important things in life, you should toss civility aside and fight for what's right with everything you have," Rabbi Dr. Ari Lamm argued in a 2020 Newsweek op-ed. Indeed. Would that the country club/chamber of commerce wing of the American Right might imbibe that lesson. The only way out truly is through.

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include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Politicians are motivated by many things, among them power, fame, idealism, greed  and fear.

The last of these is not to be underestimated.

It is a powerful, gut-level force that can strike the most loquacious politicians dumb and make the most attention-hungry suddenly shy.

It can cause officeholders or candidates to reverse field on a long-held position almost instantaneously and abase themselves however seems necessary to get to safety.

Republicans at the national level, right now, are scared.

You can hear it in their silence on the issue of abortion after a district judge in Texas struck down the FDA approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

That decision also came immediately after Republicans lost a key race for a Supreme Court seat in Wisconsin to a progressive jurist who ran, to a large extent, on abortion.

Much of what has happened since Dobbs is what you'd expect after a longstanding national legal regime on abortion is lifted and the states are given the freedom to decide their own policies.

There has been a sorting out toward a new political and policy equilibrium, with red and blue states occupying different poles of the spectrum, and purple states up for grabs.

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The good news for Republicans is that there are more restrictions on abortion in place than at any time in the last 50 years, and they still took a majority in the House in last year's midterms, if smaller than expected.

In Indiana and in much of the South, Republicans have passed sweeping abortion bans and paid no discernible political price for it.

But especially in Michigan and Wisconsin, the issue has been a debacle for the party, and it has suffered notable losses elsewhere.

One lesson should be that Republicans can't just run and hide on an issue that has been of defining importance to their base and that Democrats are going to hammer them on regardless of how they try to minimize it.

Another is that outside of the Deep South, complete bans can't be defended politically, and the traditional exceptions for rape, incest and life of the mother are essential.

The Michigan and Wisconsin disasters stemmed from sweeping prohibitions that no one would have written in the post-Dobbs environment.

Michigan had a 1931 law still on the books, and Wisconsin's dated from 1849.

Republicans should be pushing for restrictions that go as far as a state's voters are willing to accept, and no further.

This will require keen political judgment and shrewd tactics, both of which are hard to muster in the midst of a panic.

The other obvious imperative for the GOP is to try to focus attention on the extremism of the Democratic maximalist position on abortion, which is out of step with public opinion (Gallup finds that only 35 percent of people say abortion should be legal with no restrictions).

While the Republican record fighting ballot measures to guarantee access to abortion is dreadful in the post-Dobbs era  they've lost everywhere  they are going to have to do more of it. Emboldened Democrats are getting referenda on the ballot in a number of red states over the next two years.

A signature battle will be a vote to write abortion rights into the state constitution in Ohio later this year.

If opponents defeat the measure, it will be on the strength of arguments that the amendment will end up making parental-consent laws impossible and go further than the pre-Dobbs abortion regime.

Make no mistake: In many places, Republicans are simply seeking to neutralize the Democratic political advantage on the issue and fight to a draw.

If this is unsatisfying and discomfiting, it's still better than the pre-Dobbs context when the politics were easier but it was impossible to get any meaningful restrictions done.

If there's one thing that should be clear, it's that fear  no matter how natural or visceral  is no substitute for careful thought and considered action.

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include_once "/home/jwreview/public_html/$theme/includes/sidebar.php"; ?> Polls suggest Republicans fared poorly during the 2022 midterms over the issue of abortion. The Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, putting the matter back to the states where it belongs, and where it was through all of America's history until 1973.

This infuriates many female and young voters who consider "access to abortion a right." Republicans have not figured out a way of dealing with this political disadvantage. If the minds of pro-abortion believers cannot be changed, they can perhaps be convinced that those who disagree come to this debate in good faith, and not as "anti-women."

Dr. Martin Luther King's view of abortion is hotly debated. His niece, Rev. Alveda King, says: "You know, my uncle said, 'Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere...' So that led me to say, a woman has a right to choose what she does with her body. It's always dicey to conclude how someone dead would think or feel today."

But about King's successor as head of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, Dr. Ralph Abernathy, there is no doubt. Abernathy co-founded and became vice president of the American Freedom Coalition. About abortion, the AFC wrote in its 1987 pamphlet: "Among the values promoted by AFC are a strong national defense, opposition to abortion and pornography..."

In 1966, King received the Margaret Sanger Award from Planned Parenthood. His wife, Coretta Scott King, accepted the award and read a speech written by her husband: "Like all poor, Negro and white, they have many unwanted children... There is scarcely anything more tragic in human life than a child who is not wanted. That which should be a blessing becomes a curse for parent and child."

Two things about this. First, it is unlikely that the Kings knew that Sanger was a eugenicist who spoke at a women's branch of the Ku Klux Klan at Silver Lake, New Jersey. Sanger thought certain people unfit to live: "The mass of Negroes, particularly in the South, still breed carelessly and disastrously, with the result that the increase among Negroes, even more than among Whites, is from that portion of the population least intelligent and fit."

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Second, Planned Parenthood at this time was publicly opposed to abortion, given that states considered it a crime.

An article on the website of the Organization of American Historians writes: "By 1900 every state had a law forbidding abortion at any stage, whether through the use of drugs or procedures. Almost all the laws passed during this time included a therapeutic exception, where licensed physicians could provide abortions at their own discretion as long as the abortion preserved the life of the mother. While this loophole allowed many women to obtain abortions, it also made doctors the ultimate arbiters of the morality and legality of abortions."

Civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer, arrested in Mississippi for attempting to register blacks to vote, was pro-life: "I believe that legal abortion is legal murder."

In 1977, Rev. Jesse Jackson spoke at the Pro-Life in Washington D.C, where he said: "There are those who argue that the right to privacy is of (a) higher order than the right to life...You could not protest the existence or treatment of slaves on the plantation because that was private and therefore outside your right to be concerned. What happens to the mind of a person, and the moral fabric of a nation, that accepts the aborting of the life of a baby without a pang of conscience?"

If while taking a walk, you heard your neighbor brutally whipping his pet dog, would you call 911? Most people would. And, if one considers abortion deeply wrong, why expect him or her to stay out of the argument?

Ask a "pro-choice" advocate, at what point has a pregnancy gone so far that to terminate constitutes murder? A minute before birth? Five minutes? Dr. Kermit Gosnell a is the Philadelphia abortion doctor in prison for performing late-term abortions. Is Gosnell a victim of an unfair prosecution, if not persecution, and should he be released from jail?

Mahatma Gandhi, whom MLK called "a guiding light" wrote: "It is a sin to bring forth unwanted children, but I think it is a greater sin to avoid the consequences of one's own action. It simply unmans man."

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WASHINGTON  The busybodies of the world health organizations are at it again. As if they have not caused enough acidosis and paranoia in the country with their insistence that we all wear masks to thwart COVID-19, they are now renewing their assault on demon rum and related beverages. These are the same busybodies who hound law-abiding gun owners and hunters. They target sport shooters and other sportsmen. I would not be surprised to hear that they are planning to outlaw squirt guns and slingshots and -- who knows -- possibly peashooters. Incidentally, many of these pests are the same malcontents who spend sleepless nights worrying that the police departments of the country are engaged in endless genocide against harmless muggers, rapists and assorted crooks. They yearn to defund the police. The more extreme defunders of the police want to jail them and turn law enforcement over to the mental health quacks. Yet the present atrocity is not the work of the above-mentioned busybodies; rather, it is the work of the busybodies who have filed a "research paper" for a journal with the unwieldy name of JAMA Network Open. I have not read their research paper. The title of the publication in which they put it was sufficiently off-putting for me to settle on reading the condensations of their work in my morning newspapers. Yet I get the gist of their work. They are endeavoring to renew the American experiment with Prohibition of 100 years ago. These New Prohibitionists never sleep. The Wall Street Journal distilled the work of the New Prohibitionists thus: "A nip of alcohol here and there probably won't kill you." That is the good news. Then comes the bad news: "But it won't help you live longer either." According to the Journal, "The researchers analyzed 107 studies on the effect of alcohol in nearly five million people and found that no amount of alcohol consumption led to longer life than among people who never drank. People who drank 45 grams of alcohol or more a day -- about as much as in three glasses of wine -- increased their risk of dying sooner by up to a third. Among women, anything more than 25 grams of alcohol increased their risk of dying sooner."

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Well, there is more to life than ... well, longevity. Whenever I read that some old duffer checked out after living a couple of decades beyond the average life expectancy, I am moved to wonder. What kind of life was the old boy living before he made his last exit? Did he still have his essential organs? Did he get around by himself? Does he dread his next visit to the doctor's office? For some elderly folks a visit to the doctor's office can be an epiphany. For others it is not so pleasant.

If I have read the New Prohibitionists correctly, they propose that we stop drinking alcohol at dinner. Avoid our vespertine cocktail completely. In fact, banish ardent spirits altogether from our lives all to the great cause of adding a few years to our old age and a few hundred medical bills to our children's inheritance.

Well, as Yogi Berra said, or should have said, "Include me out." Alcohol can enliven one's life. How would Winston Churchill have gotten through World War II without booze? And another question comes to mind. Would Adolf Hitler -- a famous vegetarian and teetotaler -- have approached World War II in a better frame of mind if he had accompanied his evening Wiener schnitzel with a friendly glass of Liebfraumilch? Fact are facts, people who imbibe wine with dinner are friendlier than those who abstain. Consider Islam. Consider the terrorists.

The researchers who contribute their learned tracts to JAMA Network Open might think about the happy side of alcohol the next time they submit their findings to a scholarly audience. Humankind can stand a recreational cocktail now and again.

Glory to Ukraine!

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When Twitter attached a tag reading "state-affiliated media" to National Public Radio's profile earlier this month, the broadcast company rightly complained that the label was pejorative and unfair. Twitter uses that term to designate government-controlled propaganda outlets, such as China's People's Daily and Russia's RT network. Whatever critics might say about NPR, it clearly doesn't take orders from federal bureaucrats and has never hesitated to harshly criticize US government officials and policies it doesn't like. To its credit, Twitter acknowledged the justice of NPR's objection. On April 10 it changed the tag to "Government-funded Media," a much more accurate label, comparable to the one it applies to tweets from the BBC and Voice of America. Yet far from being mollified by Twitter's willingness to correct its description, NPR had a hissy fit. On April 12, it announced that it was suspending all activity on Twitter. "We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility," NPR fumed in a statement. "We are turning away from Twitter." Some individual public radio stations followed suit. Margaret Low, the CEO of Boston's WBUR, said her station would stop tweeting "in solidarity with NPR," accusing Twitter and its owner Elon Musk of "seek[ing] to undermine the integrity of our news organizations." But Twitter had undermined neither the credibility nor the integrity of NPR and its affiliates. It had merely pointed out that they are subsidized with public funds. For some reason, NPR  along with PBS, which likewise stormed off the social media site last week  hates when attention is drawn to its government largesse. (As Musk put it: "Publicly funded PBS joins publicly funded NPR in leaving Twitter in a huff after being labeled Publicly Funded.'") NPR and its allies routinely claim that the issue of federal funding is raised only as a red herring, since  they say  the amount of taxpayer dollars NPR receives is too trivial to affect its work. Yet NPR also claims that "federal funding is essential to public radio's service to the American public and its continuation is critical." Well, which is it? Too minuscule for the public to care about? Or a lifeline without which public broadcasting would dry up? "Presently, NPR receives funding for less than 1 percent of its budget directly from the federal government," explained Influence Watch, a project of the nonprofit, nonpartisan Capital Research Center, "but receives almost 10 percent of its budget from federal, state, and local governments indirectly."

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Once upon a time there may have been a plausible justification for NPR's government subventions. When it was founded more than half a century ago, NPR could accurately be said to be supplying news and educational content that listeners couldn't get anywhere else. That argument is utterly implausible today, when audio programming of every description can be found amid a vast array of outlets: terrestrial and satellite radio, on-demand broadcasters, podcasts, and audio downloads. If NPR were to vanish overnight, listeners would hardly be trapped in a cone of silence. They would simply "have to make do," as George F. Will remarked in 2017, "with America's 4,666 AM and 6,754 FM commercial stations, 437 satellite radio channels, perhaps 70,000 podcasts, and other Internet and streaming services."

At a time of trillion-dollar federal deficits and a national debt approaching $32 trillion, NPR's government subsidies cannot possibly be justified. That's particularly true when public radio attracts a fortune in private funding, from the donations made by innumerable "listeners like you," to the $135 million in corporate sponsorships it harvested last year. As of Dec. 31, NPR's balance sheet showed more than $780 million in assets, against less than $270 million in liabilities.

I oppose any government funding of public radio and TV on First Amendment grounds: To my mind, neither Congress nor any state has a right or a legitimate reason to control, influence, or subsidize domestic media. But even people who believe Congress does have such power should be able to recognize by now that public broadcasting would be healthier and happier if, once and for all, it broke its addiction to taxpayer dollars.

This has nothing to do with NPR's pronounced left-wing tilt, however irritating it can sometimes be. Some of my best friends, to coin a phrase, work in public radio, and much of what they produce is first-rate. NPR and its affiliates have broken countless important news stories and generated thousands of hours of absorbing, intelligent, and illuminating content. But the same can also be said about innumerable other media outlets, left, right, and nonpolitical. If The New York Times, The Christian Broadcasting Network, Bloomberg Radio, The Boston Globe, The Food Network, The Chronicle of Higher Education, Fox News Channel, The Wall Street Journal, The Salem Radio Network, and so many other broadcasters and publications can operate without being on the government dole, National Public Radio can too.

No one is going to lose any sleep because NPR has stopped tweeting. But if it irks public radio's honchos to be publicly identified as "government-funded media," they have a more effective remedy than giving Twitter the silent treatment. They could stop taking government funds. Millions of NPR listeners and supporters would step up to replace any lost revenue. And Elon Musk would have no choice but to remove that tag.

Jeff Jacoby is a columnist for The Boston Globe, from which this is reprinted with permission."
The cross-examination of former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore took a dramatic turn Tuesday when she inadvertently opened the door to questions about a 2019 interview with prosecutors where she denied knowing about the utility paying subcontractors connected to Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

The apparent slip-up occurred while Pramaggiore was being asked about a recorded call with then-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who told her that the subcontractors, including former 13th Ward Ald. Frank Olivo, were being funneled through a contract with lobbyist Jay Doherty and that they didnt do any work.

As she had testified on direct examination Monday, Pramaggiore tried to explain she didnt remember the call with Marquez because she was busy with other things and figured he had handled it.

But Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Streicker kept pressing, asking her again, So you didnt remember the call?

No, and I think I shared that with you when I came in for the interview, Pramaggiore blurted out, a comment that was followed by whispering among attorneys and a request by prosecutors for a sidebar with the judge.

When her testimony resumed, Pramaggiore was forced to reveal to the jury that shed agreed to be interviewed by investigators with her attorneys present in September 2019, four months after being confronted by the FBI and having her cellphone seized.

At the so-called proffer session, neither Pramaggiore nor her attorneys knew that the FBI had secretly recorded hundreds of conversations as part of the probe, including her chat with Marquez that February. The tenor of the meeting changed suddenly when Pramaggiore and her team were confronted with the tape.

So, Ms. Pramaggiore, after the call was played for you during the interview, the interview was terminated, right? Streicker asked.

Yes, Pramaggiore answered in a clipped, high-pitched tone.

You and your counsel terminated the interview? Streicker asked, prompting Pramaggiores attorney, Scott Lassar, to jump up and object.

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber sustained the objection, and instructed the jury to disregard the question.

Later in the line of questioning, Pramaggiore grew defiant, insisting that she has remained consistent in her recollection.

If I had remembered the conversation, I would have shared it with you because it proves my innocence, she told Streicker. I told (Marquez) to take it to (then-ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez) and to get rid of the subcontractors.

Streicker also pointed out through her questioning that at the time she sat down with the government, Pramaggiore had known for months that the investigation focused on the subcontractors under Doherty, her friend and longtime head of the City Club of Chicago.

When the FBI confronted Pramaggiore in May 2019 and seized her cellphone, the search warrant mentioned the names of the specific subcontractors, including Olivo, 13th Ward precinct captains Ed Moody and Ray Nice and former 23rd Ward Ald. Mike Zalewski, Streicker noted.

If you tell me that, I assume its correct, Pramaggiore said about what was contained in the warrant. It was quite an event, so I dont remember if I paid attention to the details.

The highly anticipated cross-examination of Pramaggiore came in the 20th day of testimony in the ComEd Four bribery trial, where she and three others are accused in an alleged scheme to bribe Madigan in order to help the utilitys legislative agenda in Springfield.

On Tuesday afternoon, one of Pramaggiores co-defendants, ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, also took the witness stand in his own defense, cracking jokes and sprinkling in his witty sayings dubbed Hookerisms as he took the jury through his remarkable life story.

Speaking in a homespun, folksy style, Hooker, 74, testified how his wife, his high school sweetheart, died suddenly in the late 1960s, leaving him to raise their 18-month-old daughter. At the time, he was working in the mailroom at ComEd, which hed joined shortly after graduating from Farragut Career Academy on the citys West Side. Eventually he took night classes at Chicago State University and earned a degree in marketing, he said.

I had some ups and downs in life that derailed me a little bit, but I persevered, Hooker said.

Throughout his climb at the utility, Hooker said he was constantly confronted by racist attitudes, including when he was first sent to City Hall in the 1980s as a company liaison, where some of the Black aldermen viewed him as an Uncle Tom.

Hooker says he won everyone over by playing it straight. My job was to meet with everybody. When you see me talking to X or Y, that was me talking about ComEds business, he said. I became acceptable to all 50 aldermen and I was proud of that.

As a lobbyist for a state-regulated utility, Hooker said he was friendly with Madigan but never part of his inner circle. I was ComEd all the way, he said. Ive never been to his house, and hes never been to mine.

Asked if he went on a trip to Turkey with Madigan and Pramaggiore that has come up in previous testimony, Hooker quipped, No, Im not really a world traveler. The only turkey I deal with is at Thanksgiving.

Hookers direct testimony will continue on Wednesday.

Charged in the ComEd Four case are Pramaggiore, Doherty, Hooker and Michael McClain, a former lobbyist and Madigans trusted confidant.

The indictment alleged the scheme included steering $1.3 million in payments from ComEd to Madigan-approved subcontractors, appointing businessman and former McPier boss Juan Ochoa to the utilitys board of directors, hiring a clout-heavy law firm headed by political operative Victor Reyes, and stacking the utilitys summer internship program with candidates sent from the 13th Ward.

All four have pleaded not guilty. Their lawyers have contended the government is trying to turn legal lobbying and job recommendations into a crime.

Madigan and McClain face a separate racketeering indictment that is set for trial next year.

The heart of the governments case is the dozens of wiretapped phone calls and secret video recordings of meetings that have been played for the jury over the past five weeks.

Pramaggiore, a theater major from Dayton, Ohio, who earned a law degree and rose to become one of Chicagos top female executives, took the witness stand to try to mitigate some of the damage done by those FBI wiretaps, which at times showed her seemingly at ease with participating in Illinois notoriously rough-and-tumble political system.

The call that Pramaggiore was confronted with during her interview with prosecutors took place on Feb. 18, 2019, when Marquez, who was secretly cooperating with investigators, asked her how he was supposed to tell Dominguez about the arrangement with Doherty subcontractors.

I met with Jay, uh, Jay pretty much, well, he did say, Well, you know all these guys do is pretty much collect a check, um, and you should just leave it alone, " Marquez said on a recording. Dont mess with it, just leave it alone, um, otherwise things can go, you know, bad for us in Springfield.

At one point in their discussion, Pramaggiore blurted, Oh my God.

Pramaggiore testified in her direct examination she was taken aback that Marquez was telling her that there were subcontractors originally lined up years before by her predecessor, former ComEd CEO Frank Clark, but still getting paid.

On Tuesday, Streicker tried to poke holes in that explanation.

You were so taken aback, you forgot this call? Streicker asked.

Pramaggiore also attempted to explain another part of the call highlighted by prosecutors, where she told Marquez, We do not want to get caught up in a  disruptive battle where, you know, somebody gets their nose out of joint and theyre forced to give someone a five-year contract.

On direct examination, Pramaggiore had testified she wasnt specifically talking about Madigan getting his nose out of joint  just that it was a bad time in general to rock the boat. I didnt use Madigans name, she said.

Streicker on cross-examination put the transcript of the call on the monitors for the jury, pointed Pramaggiore to it and asked, That was your first reaction to hearing this news?

It is my first reaction, Pramaggiore said.

In her roughly six hours of direct testimony, which began Thursday, Pramaggiore said she had no idea the company she headed from 2012 to 2018 had been paying lobbying subcontractors out of her own budget  let alone that they were former elected officials and precinct captains with strong ties to Madigan, then the most powerful politician in the state.

No, we werent bribing Speaker Madigan, Pramaggiore said bluntly at one point Monday.

On cross-examination Tuesday, the confrontation over the proffer session came during what was otherwise a poised performance on the part of Pramaggiore, who stood her ground amid questions about her relationship with Madigan and her understanding of what efforts were being undertaken to stay in his good graces.

Pramaggiore acknowledged that she majored in theater at Miami University in Ohio. She said she initially wanted to be an actor, but that didnt go so well for me so I shifted to costume and makeup design.

Asked about the smart grid legislation that she worked to pass in 2011, Pramaggiore agreed that it was a big success for the company and for her own career. She was promoted to CEO of ComEd months later.

At one point, Streicker showed Pramaggiore a thank-you letter she sent to Madigan after passage of the smart grid bill. I am forever grateful, she wrote in script at the bottom.

Asked whether the sentiment was true, Pramaggiore replied calmly, I was forever grateful for everybody who ever voted for that bill.

Pramaggiore also navigated tough questions about a 2018 effort to kill a bill supported by Madigans own daughter, then-Attorney General Lisa Madigan, which allegedly the speaker had given the go-ahead for to the ComEd lobbying team.

Streicker tried to pin Pramaggiore down on an email McClain sent about a coded kill message from Madigan, but she didnt take the bait.

I think its a message in response to our information that we were sending to him that this was a bad bill, Pramaggiore said. If ComEd wanted to kill a bill it was our job to do it.

Streicker also questioned Pramaggiore about her dealings with Will Cousineau, one of Madigans top government staffers who testified under an immunity agreement last month that the speaker sent him out to rally lawmakers and organized labor to support the 2016 Future Energy Jobs Act legislation.

The bill, though focused on saving two Exelon nuclear power plants, also allowed ComEd to extend a beneficial formula rate procedure that helped increase the companys bottom line.

On Dec. 2, 2016, the day after the FEJA bill passed, McClain sent an email asking if Pramaggiore had time to meet with Cousineau, who McClain said was extremely helpful in us acquiring the necessary votes in the Illinois House.

Pramaggiore testified Tuesday she wasnt sure who Cousineau was, but did meet with him and later interviewed him for a job. Cousineau wound up rejecting ComEds offer because he wanted more money, she said.

In his testimony, Hooker said rising in the ranks of ComEd as an African American was tough because most of the other employees felt it was affirmative action.

Needless to say they didnt value that, or value me or think I was qualified to be there, he said.

Once he got to Springfield, he said, McClain helped show him the ropes, including how to develop relationships with both Republicans and Democrats, whom Hooker referred to as all those Rs and Ds.

I decided I was going to work with everybody, he said. I was going to meet everybody, tell em who I was and where I was from and build a relationship.

Hooker also buttressed the prior testimony of Cousineau, saying that the speaker told Cousineau to go out and rally proponents for the 2016 FEJA bill because support was waning in the last day of the fall veto session.

Along with saving the two nuclear power plants and the jobs that went with it, the legislation also gave ComEd an extension of a formula rate system that allowed the company to have more stability and predictability in revenues. Consumers paid slightly more, but clean job advocates also advanced their cause.

I have to say it is a coalition bill, Hooker said, a line that prompted several jurors to write in their notebooks.

He also told of how ComEd rallied a coalition to defeat the bill being pushed by the speakers daughter in 2018, her last full year in office. The legislation would have provided low-income assistance, which appealed to Black lawmakers because many of their constituents fell into that category.

It was going to be her legacy bill, Hooker said of the attorney general.

But Hooker said he helped convince lawmakers that the problem with the bill was that it was a cost shift because the customers who would see the assistance would be underwritten by other customers whose rates would go up.

Hooker said he worked on turning around enough votes so that we would have a majority against it rather than for it.

In his testimony, Hooker clasped his hands together and often chuckled at his own jokes. He described at length how being a good lobbyist meant developing relationships with lawmakers, reaching compromises and building coalitions.

Among the people who taught him the trade was McClain, who Hooker said could often be pushy. While McClain knew everyone in Springfield and was close with Madigan, he didnt wear it on his forehead, Hooker testified.

Mike was well known throughout the Capitol both with legislators and other stakeholders, he said.

Asked by his attorney, Jacqueline Jacobson, what he meant by a stakeholder, Hooker said, like the AARP.

Thats a senior citizens group, Hooker said with a smile. I happen to be a member.

PHOTOS: The career of former Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan December 2013 March 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 December 2013 January 2015 January 2015 February 2015 August 2015 October 2015 April 2016 May 2016 November 2016 July 2017 July 2017 August 2017 August 2018 January 2019 January 2019 2019 June 2019 May 2020 January 2021
The marketing of a bankrupt United Furniture Industries Inc.s Triad manufacturing operations has begun by a national real-estate firm that specializes in liquidation.

United unexpectedly shut down Nov. 22, immediately ending employment and health insurance benefits for 530 Triad employees and about 2,700 companywide.

The largest of the four Triad properties  as well as the largest in the 14-property portfolio  is the 755,599-square-foot plant on a 54.5-acre tract at 401 W. Hanes Mill Road in Winston-Salem.

The other Triad properties are: 375,310-square-foot plant on 13.1 acres at 100 United Furniture Drive in Lexington; a 196,400-square-foot plant on 55.1 acres at 3761 Old Glenola Road in Trinity; and an 188,999-square-foot plant on 11.3 acres at 315-325 Kettering Road in High Point.

Wells Fargo & Co., Uniteds largest creditor, filed on Dec. 30 a motion for Chapter 7 liquidation of the manufacturers assets and the appointment of a bankruptcy trustee.

On Jan. 18, federal bankruptcy judge Selene Maddox issued a ruling giving United owner David Belford and United the opportunity to direct the sale of its assets in a Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection motion.

B. Riley Real Estate LLC is acting as real estate adviser to United. It also is handling the sale of the Sears department store at Friendly Center in Greensboro.

Stalking horse bids will be accepted through May 12. The portfolio will be sold at a concluding auction, tentatively scheduled for late June.

The overall United production portfolio consists of 5 million square feet and more than 700 acres of core manufacturing, warehouse and distribution facilities, in addition to vacant land holdings.

The other 10 properties are in Mississippi.

This sale offers opportunities for local redevelopment and provides the necessary infrastructure to support a broad range of new manufacturing and distribution uses, B. Riley said in a news release.

Offers for the full portfolio, a subset and individual properties will be considered.

B. Riley said all properties will be sold free and clear of any and all liens with federal bankruptcy order.

The portfolio properties will be available for site visits via open houses. Timing for these two-day open house periods will be shared after approved.

For more information, go to www.brileyre-UFI.com, contact Jim Terrell at jterrell@brileyfin.com or 815-355-0880 or Chris Draper at cdraper@brileyfin.com or 312-894-7625.

Background

United made promotional- to mid-priced upholstered furniture in the U.S. under its brand and the Lane Home Furnishings brand. The manufacturer also imported wooden bedroom and dining furniture.

United submitted in February its Chapter 11 federal bankruptcy filing, citing between 200 and 999 creditors. The defunct manufacturer listed between $1 million and $10 million in assets and liabilities.

Maddox said in her memorandum and order that Belford and the United board of directors did not rise to the level of bad faith in their decision to shutter operations.

However, she wrote that UFI and its management made serious errors in business judgment and displayed clear financial incompetence.

United said it estimates funds will be available for distribution to unsecured creditors.

The bank said in a Dec. 30 court filing requesting the Chapter 7 liquidation of United that it is owed $99.21 million in secured debt.

Yet, the bank acknowledged it estimates that any recoveries from liquidation of (Uniteds) collateral will result in a recovery equal to a fraction of this amount.

WARN notice

Derek Henderson was approved as the Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustee.

In March, Henderson filed his opposition to employee WARN Act lawsuits that seek 60 days of pay and benefits.

The majority of companies going out of business, or conducting job cuts affecting at least 50 employees, typically file a WARN notice in which they agree to pay 60 days worth of wages and benefits to affected workers.

The filing also serves to alert local and state employment agencies to begin providing assistance to workers who will be unemployed.

United has not filed a WARN notice in California, Mississippi or North Carolina  the three states where it had operations.

Henderson summed up his opposition by saying that although United did not provide a WARN notice in November, he denies that United violated the act and/or any state law because the shutdown and layoffs were due to unforeseen business circumstances, as well as the inability to obtain financing.

Wells Fargo & Co., the manufacturers largest creditor, listed in a Dec. 30 legal filing that United was a $600 million annual revenue business before the abrupt shutdown.

The WARN Act lacks enforcement teeth, with several studies showing it has lots of loopholes, and virtually no enforcement authority from federal, state and local officials.

In those instances, employees must file a lawsuit in federal court to assert WARN rights.

The former employees are requesting class-action status in the six filed WARN lawsuits, some of which have been combined.

Henderson claims former employees are barred from claims by the unforeseeable business circumstances exception in the act.
Sheriff Bobby Kimbrough and three members of his team abruptly left a meeting with school leaders on Tuesday after a school board member criticized school resource officers.

The hasty exit came at the end of a wide-ranging 90-minute meeting between school board members and law enforcement agencies on such things as community violence and improving communication. Forsyth County Sheriffs Office provides most schools in the district with SROs, whose job involves keeping campuses safe.

With just a few minutes left before the meeting was scheduled to end, board member Sabrina Coone told Kimbrough that she took issue with his earlier statement that the sheriffs office and school district need to work as partners.

I am watching our SROs do nothing, and Ive seen it in multiple schools, said Coone, who is in her first term on the school board.

Coones comments come days after a video began circulating online of an SRO at Walkertown High School throwing a girl against the wall after breaking up a fight.

Superintendent Tricia McManus said in a statement that the school systems priority is making sure that the student is OK.

I trust the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office will investigate this matter and handle it appropriately. Our intent in having SROs in our schools is to keep students safe and build trusting relationships, but this type of interaction with an officer does not build trust and certainly doesnt help our students to view these officers as allies, she said.

Asked about the video by board member Trevonia Brown-Gaither, Kimbrough told her that she hadnt seen the body cam video or audio from the SRO.

You would be horrified. Youd be disappointed in what you heard, he said.

Kimbrough added that he brought the footage with him but decided against showing it.

Youre seeing a snap of a picture in time, Kimbrough said. If I played you the audio, you wouldnt even be asking that.

North Carolina General Statute precludes the sheriffs office from releasing the footage, said Christina Howell, a spokesperson for the sheriffs office.

Video can only be released by order of a judge.

Kimbrough said his SROs have dealt with 728 documented assaults in local schools through April 14. Asked about de-escalating conflicts before they turn into full-bore fights, Kimbrough said that by the time SROs arrive, de-escalation is no longer effective.

Yelling at kids to stop fighting doesnt work, he said. Instead, SROs have to actively break up fights.

What Im seeing from the school is we have to have a partnership, a unified stance, Kimbrough said.

Coone countered that she has seen cases of SROs not trying to build relationships with students.

She said she believes in having SROs, but when I walk into schools, and I have walked into numerous schools, and I see SROs leaned up against the wall scrolling their phone while there are students walking the hall, and they are not making connections, that is not a partnership. That is a problem.

She pointed to specific incidents at North Forsyth High School and Flat Rock Middle School where she said SROs were not engaging with students.

Coone also criticized some SROs for treating students as criminals or potential criminals.

They should be looking at them as students who need a resource, she said.

Kimbrough responded that he took issue with several of Coones comments, particularly her comment that his staff sees children as criminals.

What you might know, by looking at the obvious, is Im a Black man who has had several Black kids go through Forsyth County school system. The last thing I would ever do is create a prison pipeline, he said.

Kimbrough called her comments rude and disrespectful and cut her off when she tried to intervene, saying he was still talking.

For you to try to criticize my SROs, saying you see this SRO do that, I could come back to you and say the same thing, that all schools are not equal, all your teachers, all your your staff is not the same. I could ask you where is your direct leadership in the hallways prior to it happening. I didnt come here to criticize, he said. For you to throw that rock, my time is expired being here.

With that statement, Kimbrough and three staff members who accompanied him to the meeting walked out.

The meeting wrapped up quickly afterward.

With six new members on the school board, the school district has had a series of workshops on various topics, such as budgeting, to help new members get acquainted with the district.

The school board had met for two hours with its own safety team prior to meeting with the sheriffs office, Kernersville Police and Winston-Salem Police.

The school board was set to discuss potential next steps with its safety plan and hear closing remarks from McManus, but that portion of the meeting was scrapped after the back-and-forth between Coone and Kimbrough.

Coone said afterward that the partnership with SROs is important and that she did not mean to offend Kimbrough.

To be a partnership, we need them to take accountability for the behaviors of their SROs and when their SROs behaviors arent up to what we would see as a good working partnership, lets take accountability for that. Lets talk about that, she said.
The bizarre torrent of intelligence documents posted on a gamers chat server, allegedly by a 21-year-old National Guard technician, produced headlines last week about a host of revelations including secret Russian military plans and U.S. espionage against allies like Israel and South Korea.

But some of the revelations werent exactly new. U.S. allies learned long ago that our intelligence agencies spy on them, and most reacted to the news with a shrug.

But the damage to American foreign policy, especially the Biden administrations effort to organize international support for Ukraine, is real.

This is embarrassing for anyone whos ever had a security clearance, a former senior official told me. The allies are going to look at this and conclude that they cant trust us with any of their secrets.

The so-called Discord leaks, named for the social media site where the documents appeared, were a windfall for Russias counterintelligence agencies, too.

The Russians can use those documents to make intelligence gathering more difficult for us, said Paul R. Pillar, a 28-year veteran of the CIA. They can use them to narrow down the possibilities of where theyve been compromised.

The documents included detailed assessments of Ukrainian army units, their deployment and the state of their weaponry.

U.S. officials have said most of the documents seem to be genuine, although at least one, a summary of Ukrainian and Russian casualties, has also turned up in a version that appears to have been doctored.

An FBI affidavit unsealed in U.S. District Court has confirmed that at least one of the documents was genuine and was classified at the top-secret level.

But intelligence experts said those disclosures may be less damaging than they look.

The battlefield intelligence has a limited shelf life, said Douglas Lute, a retired Army lieutenant general and former commander of U.S. forces in Kosovo. It changes almost day to day.

The part thats most damaging is the information about which units are getting the most advanced armor, including Western tanks, Lute said. The Russians can conclude that those are the units they should focus on.

But the Ukrainians can make things harder by changing unit names and assignments, he noted.

A bigger problem, Lute suggested, may be the leaks effect on any countries willing to send aid to Ukraine, but only if they can keep their role secret. After the leaks, those governments are more likely to be risk-averse.

One of the documents, for example, listed Serbia alongside the countries that have agreed to supply weapons to Ukraine  a surprise, since Serbia has officially stayed neutral on the war and has tried to maintain friendly relations with Russia.

Serbias defense minister quickly denied that his government has supplied weapons to Ukraine, but added that he couldnt prevent private arms deals.

The biggest impact of the Discord leaks, though, could stem less from their substance than from the striking pessimism they revealed in U.S. intelligence assessments of Ukraines planned spring offensive.

A U.S. intelligence assessment reported by The Washington Post warned that Ukraine suffers from deficiencies in training and munitions and said the offensive was likely to achieve only modest territorial gains, a result well short of Kyivs goals.

Officials have not contested the authenticity of the document.

Another report warned that the war could descend into a long stalemate in 2024.

Some U.S. officials have been privately voicing similar assessments for months, warning that Ukraines official goals for its counteroffensive may be unrealistic. The Ukrainians themselves have clamored publicly about shortages in air defense and artillery.

But those judgments somehow appeared starker on paper, in the spare language of official intelligence reports.

Just when President Joe Biden and his aides were trying to persuade other countries to step up their aid to Ukraine, the Discord documents put an unexpected spotlight on private U.S. doubts that Ukraine can win.

Its not as if nobody realized the Ukrainians face a hell of a challenge, Pillar said. But the fact that its being said in official channels may make it more difficult to sustain the coalition supporting the Kyiv government.

Lute agreed.

This leak accelerates the erosion of Western support for Ukraine, he said.

Polls in the United States and Europe have found that public willingness to send aid to Ukraine is slowly declining. An Associated Press poll in February found that 48% of Americans supported U.S. weapons aid to Ukraine, down from 60% last May.

Governments facing public skepticism will be even less likely to continue contributing money and weapons to Kyiv if the war begins to look like a lost cause.

Ukraines spring offensive was never a sure thing. The Discord leaks, however unlikely their origin, have made the stakes even higher.
Nebraskans are close to being able to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

State lawmakers passed LB77 in a 33-14 vote Wednesday morning. The bill will be sent to Gov. Jim Pillen to be signed into law.

LB77 will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The bill will apply statewide and invalidate any local ordinances limiting that ability. It will take effect 90 days after the session ends, likely near the end of August or early September.

How they voted Senators voted 33-14 to pass LB77, which allows for Nebraskans to carry concealed weapons without a permit. Voting yes (33): Aguilar, Albrecht, Arch, Armendariz, Ballard, Bosn, Bostelman, Brandt, Brewer, Briese, Clements, DeKay, Dorn, Dover, Erdman, Halloran, Hansen, Hardin, Holdcroft, Hughes, Ibach, Jacobson, Kauth, Linehan, Lippincott, Lowe, McDonnell, Moser, Murman, Riepe, Sanders, Slama, von Gillern Voting no (14): Blood, Bostar, Cavanaugh, J., Cavanaugh, M., Conrad, Day, DeBoer, Dungan, Fredrickson, Hunt, Raybould, Vargas, Walz, Wishart Excused, not voting (2): McKinney, Wayne

The bill stirred up its fair share of controversy this year. Opponents launched several protests against it, citing the rising rate of gun violence in the U.S. and contending that the bill will make Nebraska less safe by removing a crucial barrier to carrying concealed weapons. Meanwhile, supporters have repeatedly argued the state's current restrictions on firearms are too strict and violate the Second Amendment.

Currently in Nebraska, getting a concealed carry permit requires passing a criminal background check, paying a $100 fee and taking an eight- to 16-hour gun safety class.

LB77 will allow people to continue getting permits if they wanted. It would not change who is allowed to purchase firearms in Nebraska, nor would it change where people are allowed to carry concealed weapons.

Measures like LB77 are sometimes called constitutional carry in reference to some gun rights advocates belief that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to carry concealed guns without a permit.

The bill is the result of roughly six years of work by state Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who has tried to pass similar legislation passed since taking office in 2017. Brewer said he had doubts he would succeed this year, but said he was gratified when the bill passed.

Last year, a similar measure died in the second of three rounds of debate after falling two votes short on a filibuster-ending cloture motion. This year, bolstered by a more conservative group of senators, the bill garnered the 33 votes needed to end filibusters in each round.

Critics  including Nebraska students  protested the legislation at the state Capitol and more recently at the Gene Leahy Mall in Omaha on Tuesday. Several of those protestors turned up at the Capitol again on Wednesday to watch the final debate.

After the bill passed, protestor Melody Vaccaro shouted "Shame" from the Legislature's balcony several times, prompting a laugh from supporting Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar. Another protestor, Jennifer Hodge, later said: "We'll remember you guys."

Legislative opposition to LB77 was led by Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln. She said LB77 would make Nebraska more dangerous and would make the jobs of law enforcement officers harder. She cited numerous studies showing that gun violence incidents, including suicide, road rage shootings and shootings of law enforcement, increase in states with permitless concealed carry laws.

"We have become one nation under guns, and that is not a constitutional value," Raybould said.

On Wednesday, Raybould said supporters have spread misinformation about what LB77 does. She said the bill will not only allow permitless concealed carry for handguns, but all firearms and other deadly weapons.

Another opponent, Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha, raised concerns that the bill will lower penalties for prohibited persons to carry concealed weapons and suggested that criminals may carry concealed firearms rather than carrying them openly. Earlier, Cavanaugh offered an amendment to eliminate the fee for receiving a concealed carry permit, but it was rejected.

Another amendment negotiated earlier in the session between Brewer and some law enforcement groups helped smooth the way for the bill. The change added an extra misdemeanor charge if someone carried a firearm while committing certain dangerous misdemeanors, including domestic assault, shoplifting or stalking. It also would make it a felony, on a third offense, for people to fail to notify a law enforcement official that they were carrying a weapon.

The amendment turned the Nebraska Sheriffs Association into being a supporter of the bill, and changed the position of Omaha and Lincoln police unions and the Police Chiefs Association of Nebraska to neutral.

However, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins remained opposed to LB77, along with Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and a majority of Omaha City Council members.

Ewins said in a statement after the vote that she was disappointed in the Legislatures decision.

"The most important factor in making these decisions should be public safety and the men and women who serve our community," the statement said.

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
Welcome back to Late Edition Crime Beat Chronicles, a Lee Enterprises podcast with host Nat Cardona. On this podcast, youll hear true crime stories as told by journalists from regional newspapers across the country.

For the next series of episodes, we will be diving into the 1990 cold case murder of Susan Negersmith in Wildwood, New Jersey. Youll hear from reporters, past and present, who covered the case as it has unfolded throughout the years and the many twists and turns along the way.

Before we hear from one of the original reporters on the Negersmith case, we need to head down to the Jersey Shore more than 30 years ago.

Susan Negersmith was a 20 year-old woman from Carmel, New York. She was visiting Wildwood, New Jersey, on Memorial Day Weekend with friends in 1990. She said goodbye to her friends in the evening of Saturday, May 26, and by the early hours of Sunday morning, Susans partially clothed body was found behind a dumpster near a Wildwood restaurant. Her death was originally ruled accidental, although there were signs of a struggle.

An important thing to note about Susan Negersmiths weekend trip with friends to Wildwood: this area is a destination for a debaucherously good time. Tourists flock there in the warm weather months to party hard. Theres a boardwalk packed with restaurants and bars packed with people from all over. Drinking heavily is a main activity. The reputation of the area for all of these things quickly comes into play in the early days of the investigation ... at the expense of solving Susans case in a timely fashion.

And for more on that, we are joined once again by Yvette Craig. She was a reporter at the Press of Atlantic City in the early 90s and closely covered Susan Negersmiths case from day one.

Chapter 1

New Jersey cold case went from accidental death to suspected homicide | Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles podcast Listen to the first chapter of Late Edition: Crime Beat Chronicles that examines the circumstances surrounding a death in a New Jersey resort town.

Read more about the case

Past seasons and episodes
A Lincoln man learned Wednesday he will have to serve 20 years in federal prison for his role in a fentanyl overdose that seriously injured a 32-year-old Lincoln man in 2021.

Dylan Roberts' sentencing in the U.S. District Court of Nebraska was the latest related to the theft of drugs from the Nebraska State Patrol's evidence facility that summer.

Prosecutors say he got the fentanyl-laced cocaine, which had led to the 32-year-old's near death, from George Weaver Jr., who along with his girlfriend, Anna Idigima, then a State Patrol evidence technician, were behind the theft and resale of pounds of marijuana, kilos of cocaine and grams of fentanyl meant to be destroyed.

Both now are set for sentencing before Senior U.S. District Judge John Gerrard after pleading guilty.

On Wednesday, the same judge told Roberts he was very fortunate the victim in his case (identified in court records only as I.B.), didn't die.

"Quite honestly, you're probably very lucky you got caught so you didn't get further downward in the spiral you were in at the time," Gerrard told him.

He said the court recognizes that this is all part of the Weaver and Idigima "conundrum."

"We've had victims that have lived and others that have not lived. It's a situation that is being handled in Lincoln the best way that we can," the judge said.

And it resulted in the "very serious sentence" in his case.

Roberts' attorney, Greg Damman, told Gerrard that Roberts came before the court under different circumstances than they typically see in federal court.

Roberts never was arrested and never spent a day in jail on the charge.

Damman said Roberts was initially contacted by officers in the parking lot at work one day who wanted to talk to him "about some things that were going on," apparently referring to overdoses in the Lincoln and Omaha area that summer.

Instead of Roberts facing a grand-jury indictment, the U.S. Attorney's Office filed an information  essentially a direct charge filed by a prosecutor  against him and he agreed to appear in court.

He said pre-trial supervision was a good thing for Roberts, who has completed therapy and counseling and has been working two jobs most of the time.

"He has been accepting of his situation and trying to make the best of it," Damman said. "Certainly, he's taken full responsibility."

Roberts had pleaded guilty to distributing cocaine and fentanyl resulting in serious injury in a deal with prosecutors who agreed he should get 20 years, the mandatory minimum sentence.

There is no parole in federal prison.

Gerrard allowed Roberts to turn himself in at the prison to start serving his sentence on June 28.
As Ralph Yarl struggles to come to grips with being shot after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri homeowner who shot the Black 16-year-old is facing his day in court. An attorney for the Yarl family says the case should qualify as a hate crime and that Yarl was armed only with his Black skin. Eighty-four-year-old Andrew Lester has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday and was released. Yarl is at home recovering. Supporters gathered at a rally Tuesday night. Yarl's mother said he is doing considerably well, but mostly he just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.
Nebraskas largest city and one of its smaller villages have won federal infrastructure grants to replace aging natural gas pipelines.

The Metropolitan Utilities District, serving Omaha, was awarded $10 million and the village of Stuart, in northern Nebraska, got more than $216,000. They were two of the 37 projects chosen from among 180 applicants for grants under a new federal pipeline safety and modernization program.

Tristan Brown, acting administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportations Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, announced the awards last week, along with U.S. Sen. Deb Fischer and Gov. Jim Pillen.

Brown said replacing old natural gas pipelines helps reduce risks to citizens, provides jobs for pipeline workers, reduces energy costs and decreases environmental hazards. He said the new program, created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law of 2021, targets community-owned utilities in underserved rural and urban areas.

Fischer, a Republican, backed the bill along with Rep. Don Bacon, the Nebraska Republican representing the Omaha-area 2nd Congressional District.

She said Friday that she has a soft spot in my heart for infrastructure, which she called a core duty of government at the state and federal level. She said the new grants will ensure the safe distribution of natural gas.

Masa Niiya, vice president of engineering for MUD, said the $10 million grant will be enough to replace about 13 miles of pipe, while reducing pressure on ratepayers.

In 2008, MUD launched a long-range plan to replace 561 miles of low pressure cast-iron gas mains with high pressure plastic pipes. The iron pipes, some of which date to the 1880s, are concentrated in the older parts of the city, chiefly east of 72nd Street.

The plan called for changing out one-fifth of MUDs gas system. Niiya said utility has been tackling about 40 miles a year and has about 130 miles of pipe left to do. He said the goal is to finish by 2027.

Larry Paxton, village chairman of Stuart, said the grant will really improve the natural gas situation in his village, which had a population of 482 in the 2020 census.

Top Journal Star photos for April 2023
Its been over a year since former state Sen. Mike Groene resigned amid allegations of workplace misconduct, and the Nebraska Legislature hasnt adopted many changes aimed at heading off future scandals.

Some changes may be on the way, as the states Executive Board prepares to vote on a list of recommendations made months ago by an interim ethics committee. But lawmakers are split in their views on whether these suggestions are sufficient.

North Platte Senator Mike Groene resigned from the Legislature in February 2022 after news broke that he took photos of a former female staff member without her knowledge. A later investigation into the allegations found that Groenes conduct was boorish, brainless and bizarre, though not unlawful.

The scandal was significant enough to spur the creation of the interim ethics committee, which was tasked with considering ways to prevent such misconduct in the future. However, Sen. Wendy DeBoer of Bennington, vice chair of the committee, said the Groene incident was only the catalyst for the review.

Well before the allegations against Groene went public, DeBoer said shed heard similar concerns from several other staffers and her fellow senators. The news about Groene, she said, just raised the level of awareness for the rest of the body about issues that already existed.

Sen. Jen Day of Omaha said that before she took office in 2021, she had been warned about a culture of misogyny in the Legislature and said shes seen signs of that. Even after Groene resigned, she said, she hasnt seen a change in those behaviors.

At some point, its going to have to be dealt with, Day said.

Other lawmakers have different takes. Sen. Tom Briese of Albion said he hasnt heard any complaints about possible violations to the Legislatures existing conduct policy. DeBoer said she isnt sure whether there have been any changes in the past year.

The interim ethics committee was comprised of six lawmakers, chaired by then-Speaker of the Legislature Mike Hilgers, who is now Nebraskas attorney general. Hilgers said the committee met half a dozen times during 2022, along with two meetings with an ad hoc committee of legislative staffers.

The committee developed a list of potential recommendations to present during a Legislative Council meeting in November. Hilgers said he didnt get much feedback from lawmakers at the meeting, but the committee subsequently approved 11 official recommendations to the Executive Board.

Briese said he expects the board will vote on them before the end of the session in June.

One of the 11 recommendations has been implemented so far. A discussion about workplace boundaries was added to the orientation for incoming lawmakers, led by Hilgers, who was still speaker. Hilgers said the discussion lasted about 10 minutes, and he and attending lawmakers had varying takes on the engagement of those in attendance.

Id like to think I had their attention, Hilgers said.

Some of the remaining recommendations include a list of proposed policy changes, additional harassment training for all staff, a formal code of conduct, a social media policy and an independent general counsel to work with the Legislature in the event of conduct or ethics complaints.

Some of those recommendations may not be adopted. Briese said the Executive Board will probably only adopt the recommendations that were unanimously approved by the interim ethics committee.

Proposals with unanimous support included the additional harassment training and several policy changes. One policy change would require censure or expulsion motions be made by the Speaker or Executive Board chair, rather than any lawmaker. Another would add guidelines on decorum for committees.

Recommendations that did not have unanimous consent were the code of conduct, social media policy and independent general counsel. Several lawmakers shared concerns that a code of conduct and social media policy could infringe on a lawmakers free speech rights, or could be used for political retaliation.

Hilgers and Briese said the primary concern with a general counsel was cost. Day said shes disappointed that it hasnt been implemented, because an independent official would address concerns that complaints would be made for political purposes.

I feel like its a no-brainer, Day said.

Other lawmakers, however, seem to agree that the proposed changes are a step in the right direction, even if more needs to be done in the future.

DeBoer said Groenes actions and his resignation already have brought some change, prompting lawmakers and staffers to talk about workplace misconduct. More changes may be happening organically, she said, as a large class of new lawmakers began their terms this year and there have been high levels of staff turnover due to retirements.

But she also said a significant cultural shift takes more than a year.

I dont think Rome was built in a day, DeBoer said.

Photos: Jim Pillen marks 100 days in governor's office
Francis Moul packed a lot into his life.

A fifth-generation Nebraskan who was born in York on April 11, 1940, Moul quickly stood out. A Fulbright scholar, Moul proved talented in many fields. An award-winning journalist and publisher in Iowa and Nebraska, Moul was also a passionate environmentalist and peace activist with leadership roles on the Nebraska Wildlife Federation and Nebraskans for Peace. While a political science instructor at Wayne State College, Moul organized a festival for the first Earth Day ever in 1970.

He also was heavily involved within the Nebraska State College System. He taught political science at Wayne State College and took on executive roles at Chadron State College.

While Moul, 82, lived a varied life when it came to occupations, friends and associates said he always had a consistent and positive outlook. Moul died March 4 in Lincoln from kidney failure and heart failure.

The husband of former Nebraska Lt. Gov. Maxine Moul, whom he was married to for 50 years, Francis Moul also was a player in the political arena as a member of the Democratic National Committee and first associate chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party.

I can give you a list of about 500 people that you can call and youd never get one negative word about him, former Gov. and U.S. Sen. Ben Nelson said Monday. Its fair to say that he spent a great deal of his time thinking of others rather than himself. I was always impressed with his caring nature.

Allen Beermann, a former Nebraska secretary of state and a former executive director of the Nebraska Press Association, recalled how Francis Moul would occasionally recommend books to Beermann when Moul owned and operated Wordsmith Books and Art in the Haymarket district in Lincoln.

He was always very kind to me and generous. He would always return phone calls, Beermann said. He just became a friend.

Mouls deep interest in people also stood out to Vince Powers.

He appreciated (that) each person mattered regardless of who they were or their station in life, the former chair of the Nebraska Democratic Party said.

In addition to being caring, Moul had a lighter side. When his wife was lieutenant governor from 1991 to 1993 under Nelson, Moul would cheekily refer to himself as second lieutenant.

He had a sense of humor, Maxine Moul said with a laugh. A lot of people will remember him for that.

But Francis Moul was very serious when it came to promoting Nebraska. Maxine Moul remembered her husband working with Nelson to revamp Nebraskas road map to show the states topography. That work gave motorists the opportunity to see where exactly the Sandhills and the states canyons are located.

He was passionate about issues and he worked hard for them, Maxine Moul said.

In addition to his wife, Francis Moul is survived by two sons, a brother, sister, five grandchildren, along with three sisters-in-law and numerous nieces and nephews.

He was preceded in death by his first wife, Mary, and his daughter, Jennifer.
James J. Angleton, the CIA counterintelligence chief who was a walking definition of the word "eccentric," once confided to me that it didn't matter whether a spy was a double agent or a triple agent, as long as you knew the difference.

I was 29 years old at the time, recently assigned to cover intelligence for the Wall Street Journal, and frankly, I had no idea what Angleton was talking about. But his meaning becomes slightly clearer as we consider the recent leaks of U.S. military intelligence regarding the Ukraine war.

Were these documents disclosed by the Russians to expose Ukrainian weakness and shatter morale, as seems most likely to the analysts I contacted? Or were they actually disseminated by Ukraine, as some Russian bloggers appear to believe, in a plot to make the Kremlin think that Ukraine is weak and thereby disguise its true strengths in advance of a planned spring counteroffensive?

We're in Angleton's "wilderness of mirrors" here. What matters, as he observed, is that you know what's accurate and what is a manipulated reflection. Though a few documents appear to have been doctored, an administration official told me last wee: "We're still examining them, but at first glance, this appears to be real."

Intelligence is always about what philosophers call epistemology -- the study of how we know what we know. But let's try to focus on facts, by examining some baseline themes in the documents that accord with information from other sources. By restricting ourselves to this subset of information supported by collateral evidence, we can make out some basic themes.

First, Ukraine is facing a severe shortage of air defense weapons that could cost it the war. We knew it had a problem from the recent announcement that the United States was rushing an additional $2.6 billion in air defense systems and other weapons.

The raw numbers about the air defense shortage recorded in a Feb. 23 document are scary. Ukraine depends on Soviet-era SA-10s and SA-11s for 89% of its air defense over 20,000 feet. At current firing rates, the document predicted, the SA-11s would be depleted by March 31 and the SA-10s by May 2. Other systems "are unable to match the Russian volume" of attacks, and the shortage is so severe that "multiple mitigating options must be simultaneously pursued."

If Ukraine can't fill this gap, Russia could finally have the "air superiority" to attack Ukrainian ground targets at will, the document notes.

Second, the West's "arsenal of democracy" isn't close to matching Ukraine's needs. In theory, logistics should be Ukraine's great advantage against a Russia facing what were supposed to be "crippling" sanctions. But there's a bad mismatch between Ukraine's expenditure of missiles and ammunition and the West's supplies.

This ought to be the trump card for the United States. In World War II, the United States converted manufacturing plants across the country to make tanks, planes and aircraft carriers that simply overwhelmed Japan and Germany. No similar mobilization has taken place this time. Why not?

Third, the Biden administration has been more risk averse than some allies -- and more than seems necessary. One of the documents says that Britain and France have sent crewed electronic warfare planes over the Black Sea while the United States has sent only drones. Why? The answer is that we don't want a direct confrontation with Russia.

Finally, journalists have been hearing privately for many months from top U.S. officials that they believe this conflict is at a deadly impasse, with heavy casualties depleting both sides. The documents provide a more explicit snapshot. A Feb. 23 analysis described a "grinding campaign of attrition" that "is likely heading toward a stalemate."

"In wartime, truth is so precious that she should always be attended by a bodyguard of lies," British Prime Minister Winston Churchill famously said in 1943. But the Ukraine intelligence documents appear to be largely accurate, and they tell a chilling story.
Anyone who's walked to an event at Pinnacle Bank Arena from a restaurant or parking space to the south or east has probably said it. Or at least thought it.

Couldn't the space taken up by that big Post Office building be put to better use?

Couldn't it become something that does a better job of complementing all the other hospitality-related destinations nearby?

The answers are yes and yes. But there's a big "but," too.

At least for now the U.S. Postal Service isn't interested in selling.

That point was driven home again last week when U.S. Rep. Mike Flood called a news conference after a meeting with Lincoln Postmaster Kerry Kowalski was canceled.

In truth, a decision about the sale of the property is more likely to be made in Washington, D.C., than Lincoln. And Flood probably knows that.

But his efforts last week at least served to keep the pressure on. This is a conversation worth continuing.

As Flood noted, it's unlikely that a decision could come fast enough for the site to become home to a convention center, the planning for which is gaining steam among city, state and business leaders.

But just because that ship might've sailed doesn't mean we shouldn't be ready for the next one.

That high profile spot could have a much greater economic and quality-of-life impact for Lincoln in any number incarnations. And any of a number of incarnations would put the high-value spot on the tax rolls.

Beyond that, the post office and its patrons could benefit from a new space in a new place -- a spot that's configured to reflect how the work of the postal service has changed, a spot that's easier to get into and out of for carriers and customers, a spot that's less expensive to own and maintain.

There's a compelling case for the U.S. Postal Service to move -- for its own good and the good of the city. The postal service may have a compelling case of its own for not appearing interested in a move. It would help to hear more about that.

Congressman Flood was unlikely to learn much from his canceled meeting last week, and he was unlikely to make substantive progress with his appearance in front of the building.

But he's right to keep this a higher-profile issue. There are a lot of benefits for Lincoln and its residents if we can, in Flood's words, "start the conversation."
ATLANTA (AP)  Charles Stanley, a prominent televangelist who once led the Southern Baptist Convention, died Tuesday at his home in Atlanta at age 90, In Touch Ministries announced.

No cause of death was announced.

Born in rural Dry Fork, Virginia, Stanley was senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta for 50 years. The church grew rapidly after he became its leader in 1971, moving from central Atlanta to a suburban campus in 1997 to accommodate a growing flock in the sprawling urban area.

We are forever grateful for his enduring legacy of faithful leadership and spiritual guidance, the church said in a social media post.

But his greatest fame came from his role in hosting In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley, a Christian teaching program that began airing on the newborn Christian Broadcasting Network in 1978. That led to the creation of a separate nonprofit, In Touch Ministries, that sent Stanley's broadcasts across the nation and world through radio and television. It even created solar-powered audio players containing the Bible, some of Stanley's sermons and other materials that are available in more than 100 languages. Stanley also wrote more than 40 books.

When Stanley stepped down from First Baptist as senior pastor in 2020, he said he wasnt planning to stop preaching, instead focusing his energies on In Touch Ministries.

Ill continue to preach the gospel as long as God allows, and my goal remains the same: to get the truth of the gospel to as many people as possible as quickly as possible in the power of the Holy Spirit to the glory of God, Stanley said in a video message to the church when he took on the title of pastor emeritus.

Stanley served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1985 and 1986, at the peak of a time when theological conservatives were fighting to oust more moderate leaders from leadership roles in the convention and its seminaries, saying the church needed to be truer to Biblical authority.

My election infuriated the opposition and ultimately revealed many of the underlying problems that had existed in the convention for a long time but had either been ignored or denied," Stanley wrote in a 2016 autobiography. "All the liberal and moderate political forces of the Southern Baptist Convention were against me, which included seminary presidents and state convention newspapers.

In his first term, Stanley helped stop congregations from ordaining women. His second election in 1985 was bolstered by a last-minute telegram of support from famous evangelist Billy Graham, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

After Stanleys election, the battle subsided and eventually the moderates moved on from the fight or away from the denomination, Ed Stetzer, executive director of Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College in Illinois, told the newspaper.

Stanley was also a devoted photographer of nature and the outdoors, with many of pictures reproduced by In Touch publications.

Stanley separated from his longtime wife, Anna, in the 1990s, before divorcing in 2000. Although First Baptist had barred divorced men as ministers, and Stanley had once said he would resign if his wife left him, the church affirmed him remaining pastor.

Some other evangelical Christians panned the decision. Dissenters included his son, Andy Stanley, who said he wanted his father to offer to quit and let the church decide. Instead, it was Andy Stanley who left the congregation and founded Northpoint Ministries, a network of eight evangelical Christian churches in Atlanta and its suburbs. He and his sister Becky survive Charles Stanley,

Despite the split, Andy Stanley told WAGA-TV that his father was a role model for pastors.

Not just how to preach or how to build a church," said Andy Stanley. But how to get to a finish line with integrity and to be able to look back and be proud of everything that came before, and unfortunately thats increasingly rare.
RACINE  An event scheduled for Saturday morning and hosted by local Black-led community organizations seeks to improve equity in public education.

A Call to Action: It Takes a Village  Transforming Education for Black Children, is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the Park High School auditorium, 1901 12th St.

A pressing educational crisis has been unfolding in our communitys public schools, particularly affecting Black students, necessitating immediate intervention and action, according to a news release.

The event will feature an interview with Umar Johnson about the state of Black children in public education.

Johnson is a doctor of clinical psychology and certified school psychologist who often speaks about the education and mental health of African and African-American children.

The event is a crucial call to action for parents and educators of Black children, as well as anyone committed to achieving educational equity and securing a brighter future for Black children and this community, according to a news release.

The event is free and open to the public, but registration is required at https://ittakesavillage.ticketbud.com/drumarjohnson. Doors will open at 10 a.m.

For more information, email infoeventdrumar@gmail.com or call 262-232-7730.

In photos: free haircuts for kids at the Racine NAACP center Zakee Darr Jace Mayfield Denim Hicks Jayden and Maggie Precision Timothy and Shaun
WATERFORD  Heather Martin heard a joyous scream come from the living room in December.

Her daughter Sophia, a sophomore at Waterford Union High School, had found out she was a finalist for a national art contest.

Being a finalist was exciting enough, but there was even more cause for celebration Monday when Sophia Martin was named the winner of SC Johnson Professionals Happy Hands contest.

The art contest promotes hand washing at school and involves students submitting art designs for soap and sanitizer dispensers.

Heather Martin expressed pride in her daughters accomplishment.

Shes a very talented artist, Heather said. She is her own worst critic, so she always tries to do her best, and sometimes she falls short of what her goal is, but with this I think she absolutely nailed it.

Sophia was selected from nearly 700 entries from sixth- through 12th-graders around the country.

As a result of her winning the contest, Waterford Union High School will receive 1,000 dispensers with Martins design on them.

Her design includes numerous animals surrounded by colorful bubbles and the phrase We all thrive when we sanitize.

Sophia said she wanted her design to stand out and to provide something interesting to examine.

I wanted something that would appeal to everyone that would be using it, so I thought using animals was a fun way of doing that, she said. You can look at it for a while and still find new things.

As part of winning, Sophia received a $300 gift card and said she plans to buy art supplies.

The high school also received a $1,000 donation from SC Johnson.

Lucas Francois, Waterford Union High School superintendent, said Sophias victory is a huge accomplishment.

This is really something special that doesnt happen every day, Francois said. Were super proud of her as a student, what she does to represent Waterford Union High School. You only have to go back a few years to the pandemic to remind us how important it is to keep our hands clean and to make sure that were sanitizing  I hope when students go to the hand soap dispenser that they think about this and how important it is to practice good hygiene. Youre going to be instrumental in that for our building.

Sophia is a creative person, saying she was always doodling in class as a younger student.

Heather agreed and told Sophia that winning the contest solidifies that you have an artistic bone in every part of your body.

Rick Maerzke, Sophias grandfather, echoed that assessment.

He said Sophia always has been an artistic person and receives support and encouragement from family members.

Maerzke said winning the contest validates her efforts.

Heather also expressed pride that Sophia is sharing her art with others and being recognized for her skill and talent.

I love that  shes actually putting her art out into the world, Heather said.

Sophia said it will take time to get used to seeing her design on sanitizers around the building.

If she keeps participating in contests, though, it may not be the last time her art is on public display.

In Photos: Waterford High School Homecoming window painting Kayla Schmitz Aubrey Isola Jace Whiteford, Waterford Vollyball Sofia Stengo Chloe and Hayley Artist trio Nathan Schmidt and Kate Brown Waterford High School Cheer Team Preparing for Homecoming Week Ryan Bienman Ava Brobst Look inside Nora Grzegorczyk Maddie Lindner, Waterford FFA Waterford Future Farmers of America Tri-M Music Society Elyonna Nation
The Pleasant Prairie Police Department announced it will collaborate with the LGBT Center of SE Wisconsin to provide safe zone training for its command staff.

Capt. Paul Marik said the Village department had provided a security assessment of the Racine-based organization and provided training to the centers staff, a service the department provides to area businesses. In return, the center will teach staff about interacting with members of the LGBT community.

Marik said the goal of the training is to improve the departments ability to serve Pleasant Prairie, addressing potential blind spots staff might have regarding the LGBT community.

Theres going to be things were unaware of, Marik said.

He pointed to the departments mission statement, which repeatedly states the departments aim to be as well trained as possible to best serve the community.

Thats the goal. If were not hitting the mark, we want to do what we can to change that, Marik said. We wouldnt want people to be victims and not report it because they dont think theyll be taken seriously.

The announcement was met with both support and backlash online. Marik said a social media post about the effort was created to let people know the department was improving and adapting, as they seek to understand to do a better job.

I want to thank everyone who recognizes our work to improve the ways we interact with the public, Marik said.

See how many LGBT people have children in Wisconsin See how many LGBT people have children in Wisconsin
RACINE  Three weeks ago, Lasheky Hill vanished off the face of this earth.

Thats how Lashekys mother Georgia described it.

This is a mothers worse nightmare, Georgia said. Every day, it gets worse and worse for me. But I want my child.

The Hill family, along with the Racine Police Department, has been looking for Lasheky since the end of last month.

Lasheky A. Hill, a 46-year-old Racine woman, was last seen leaving her residence in the 1000 block of Dr. Martin Luther King Drive on Sunday, March 26 in the evening.

She was seen wearing white pants, possibly leggings, and carrying a black purse with gold rhinestones.

Georgia said the day Lasheky went missing was the day before her birthday.

Georgia knew something was wrong when Lashekys birthday came and went but nobody heard from her.

Lasheky wasnt responding to her Facebook page, and never deposited the money her aunt sent through the mobile payment service application CashApp.

The mother instinct  I know my child like the back of my hand, Georgia said. I had a feeling in my heart.

Lasheky, a graduate of Horlick High School, has two children and three grandchildren.

My daughter would never do this. She would never leave her 12-year-old son or her grandkids. She loved them to death, and she would have never. I know somebody did something, I just gotta find where shes at, Georgia said. Im trying every day. Im praying for her life. Im praying for this. Im begging for my daughters life back. I want her back.

Lasheky, who may be wearing a long blonde wig, according to the RPD, is 5-feet, one-inch tall and weighs about 168 pounds.

She has black hair and brown eyes and multiple facial piercings, including one on each cheek.

Anyone who has seen Lasheky or knows of her whereabouts is asked to contact RPD Detective Andrew Simon at 262-635-7770 or the Racine County non-emergency line at 262-886-2300.

Just to vanish without a trace in Racine and for nobody to have any good information  Tell me what the problem is. Wheres the problem? said Treva Anderson, who grew up with Lasheky.

Georgia, 62, gave birth to Lasheky when she was 16.

I know every move she makes. I know everything, Georgia said. I want to lay my daughter to rest. My family wants closure. I want her body or whatevers left of her. Im angry in the inside and Im very hurt. Im not going to let it die. Im not going to give up. Whoever did whatever they did, they destroyed our family. They destroyed a mother. Theyre going to pay. This is killing me every day.

Different types of alerts and what they mean What exactly is a Silver Alert? What exactly is an AMBER Alert? What exactly is a Blue Alert? What exactly is an Ashanti Alert? What exactly is a Green Alert?
RACINE  Microsoft now has full approval to move forward with a plan to purchase 315 acres of land in Mount Pleasant for what will be a massive data center.

The Racine County Board of Supervisors voted 18-1 Tuesday evening to approve the purchase.

This comes after the Mount Pleasant Village Board unanimously approved the sale in March.

The tech-giant plans to spend $1 billion on development in Racine County during the next decade and beyond.

There are still questions, including from community members, about how many people Microsoft will employ, water usage at the facility and the impact to the natural environment.

Microsoft will buy the land at a price of more than $50 million, or $159,000 per acre. The purchase must be made by July 31.

Currently the 315-acre plot is part of the Foxconn development in Mount Pleasant.

The sale will not lessen any obligations Foxconn has to the Village of Mount Pleasant, but Foxconn will receive proceeds from the sale as partial reimbursement of net costs from the original purchase.

With both Racine County and Mount Pleasant on board, phase one of Microsofts development is set to start no later than July 2026, with a second phase of development planned for no later than July 2033.

The final house on the Foxconn property on the move
Wisconsins progressive income tax system would be consolidated until the states lowest earners pay nothing in income taxes and all other residents are subject to a 4.5% tax rate, under a GOP-authored proposal introduced this week.

The latest tax cut proposal comes as lawmakers approach the busiest weeks of the states biennial budget process. Legislators have a roughly $7 billion projected surplus at their disposal, with a good portion of that consisting of one-time funds.

The bill, introduced by Reps. John Macco, R-Ledgeview, and Jerry OConnor, R-Fond du Lac, would implement a multiyear plan to reduce the rates for the states four income tax brackets. Under the proposed new tax code, earners in the lowest bracket  individuals earning less than $13,810 per year or married filers earning less than about $18,400  would pay no income taxes, while all other earners would pay a 4.5% income tax regardless of income.

Macco, who chairs the Assembly Committee on Ways and Means, said the proposal is designed to make Wisconsins income tax code fair, low and simple. He said the end result would essentially be a hybrid flat tax that he hopes can secure approval from not only Democratic Gov. Tony Evers, who has pledged to veto a flat tax, but also his Republican colleagues.

Everybody pays less, nobody pays more, Macco said Tuesday. Were not shifting the burden from one side to the other.

Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told reporters Tuesday that Assembly Republicans have had almost no caucus discussions on income tax cuts, though he reiterated that GOP lawmakers remain focused on a broad tax cut, preferably one that moves closer to a flat income tax.

Im not so certain that his plan in the end will be the one that we adopt, but the idea of having a flatter tax code is one I think were all in favor of, Vos said of Maccos proposal.

Reduced collections

Under the bill, all four of Wisconsins income tax brackets would be reduced starting with the 2024 tax year. After the first tax cut, four subsequent reductions would only occur if state general fund collections exceed expenditures.

Essentially what this would do is provide for a tax cut for all filers with a current tax liability, said Jason Stein, research director with the Wisconsin Policy Forum, a nonpartisan organization that doesnt endorse specific policies.

That said, there would still be a significant decrease at the upper end because youd still be dropping more than 3 percentage points on the rate that applies to the income in the highest bracket, Stein said.

The bill is estimated to reduce state income tax collections by more than $3.5 billion annually once fully phased in, according to a fiscal estimate from the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have said the states unprecedented surplus opens the door to some form of tax cut. However, Evers and Republicans who control the Legislature have so far failed to reach an agreement on the matter.

With the record budget surplus, taxpayers are expecting tax relief from this session, OConnor said in a statement. This longer-term plan is fair, especially considering how Wisconsin stacks up against competing states, including those with no state income tax. This bill brings justified tax relief to all taxpayers.

Varying rates

The states current lowest tax rate is 3.54%, which applies to individuals earning less than $13,810 per year or married filers earning less than about $18,400. Wisconsins top tax rate of 7.65% applies to individuals earning more than $304,000 or married filers earning more than about $405,500.

About 97% of Wisconsin taxpayers paid 5.3% or less in 2021, according to the state Department of Revenue. Just 3% of filers were in the highest tax bracket.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, has already proposed shifting the state to a 3.25% flat income tax, a change Evers has already promised to veto if sent to his desk. Evers has called for a 10% tax cut for individuals earning $100,000 or less a year and married filers making $150,000 or less.

Evers office did not respond to a request for comment, while LeMahieus spokesperson Michael Pyritz said Tuesday the Senate majority leader had not yet reviewed the Macco-OConnor bill.

A recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report found LeMahieus proposal would give an average annual tax cut of more than $100,000 to Wisconsinites who earn more than $1 million. Under Evers proposal, those same earners would see an average annual tax increase of almost $40,000.

Flat tax

While Evers has sought to direct tax cuts primarily to low- and middle-income earners, Republicans have largely focused on a flat income tax, which supporters say would make Wisconsin more competitive with neighboring states.

A report by University of Tennessee economist Don Bruce for the conservative Badger Institute estimated that, by moving to a 5.1% flat income tax, Wisconsin would see an estimated $7.2 billion increase in economic output and 24,000 new jobs.

The Republican co-chairs of the states powerful budget committee have already signaled a 3.25% flat income tax is unlikely to be included in the states next two-year spending plan.

Michigan and Illinois have flat individual income taxes of 4.25% and 4.95%, respectively. Minnesotas top rate is 9.85% for individuals making more than $171,000 and married filers earning more than about $285,000, while Iowas top tax rate is 8.53% for individuals and married filers making more than $78,435. Iowas Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds last year signed into law a 3.9% flat tax, which will go into effect in 2026.

Wisconsins current budget, drafted by Republicans and signed by Evers in 2021, included more than $1 billion in income tax cuts.
1. Yes. Police officers should be the only ones armed in the council chambers. Period.

2. Yes. Such a ban is allowed by state law, and the city council should consider it .

3. No. The possibility of violence is always present, but disarming everyone isnt the answer.

4. No. Its unwise to change the city ordinance based on one unfortunate incident.

5. Unsure. Some steps must be taken, but its hard to say if a gun ban is necessary.

Vote

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KEARNEY  R.P. Smith usually draws from his daily life for ideas for poems  but he also pulls from long ago.

Ive always tried to be diverse, but most of my subject matter comes from family and livestock or the area we live in, the poet said from his home near Broken Bow. I try to come at it from a fresh perspective. One of the new poems I just put together was something that happened to me close to 40 years ago. Its been kind of kicking around for that long.

While performing at the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko, Nevada, Smith made an impression on an individual.

I had a gentleman contact me after I got home from Elko, Smith said. Hes a classical music composer who writes for middle school and high school orchestras. He wondered if I would be interested in writing something he could put music behind while I narrated it. I dont know if thats going to work out or not, but it gave me an idea for two poems on the same subject.

A fourth generation cattleman, Smith supports his ranching habit by sharing his brand of cowboy poetry and country commentary. He produces a weekly radio show Home Grown and has also released four CDs and one book of poetry.

Kearney audiences can hear Smith when he performs at 7 p.m. Friday at The Archway as part of How the Light Gets In: A Celebration of Poetry in Central Nebraska, presented by Prairie Art Brothers and Kearney Public Library.

Admission to the performance is free.

Nebraska cowboy poet Jake Riley will also perform at the event.

For Smith, appealing to diverse audiences means he must find some common ground for his written work  poetry centered on a rural lifestyle.

If I go to Alpine, Texas, they pretty much pick up on whatever Im doing, he said. But there might be some people at The Archway who might not be familiar with my topics. So, Ive got to make a connection before I can really get too far into it.

Smith acknowledges the ties between ranching and writing.

They compliment each other, he said. The idea is that I enjoy my time on the ranch where Im not around a lot of people and I enjoy the opposite side of it, too  although if there are a lot of people, I prefer being a little further from them instead of among them since Im a little claustrophobic.

Smith said both of his jobs, ranching and writing, feed off of each other. Few occupations have a genre of poetry dedicated to them.

I dont know that were gaining a lot of ground, Smith said about the acceptance of cowboy poetry. We recently lost some really great ambassadors for it. Baxter Black, of course, was the guy who opened the door for most of the rest of us. He passed away in the last year. That was a big loss.

Smith has noticed that festivals like the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering in Elko look for younger poets to perform.

Thats exciting, Smith noted. But every generation has to get connected with it and those connections are hard to come by. I dont get very many opportunities to talk to people in their 20s and 30s. And I suppose thats just as well because unless they have a little interest in cowboy poetry, it would be a cold case to start with.

Regardless of the opportunities to perform, Smith believes that the source of his material must be authentic.

Ive always felt that I had to have the idea hit me between the eyes pretty good, he said. That fella that contacted me, he had about three ideas he thought might work. I thought other people could cover the first two better, and probably already had. Then he mentioned a rodeo clown. And my son, who is working as a musician and working as a bull fighter  he prefers that term instead of clown because hes protecting the cowboys  I picked his brain a little bit and ran some things by him.

It turned out that his son also had been working on that same idea.

He recited something to me that sounded like a poem, but Im sure in his mind its a song because he doesnt really consider himself a poet, Smith said. That was a rare occasion where we just picked a subject and brainstormed on it.

The main ingredient to creating cowboy poetry  observation.

You need to channel that observation into a way that is either inspiring or entertaining to someone else, Smith said. I dont really have a formula. I know some people who can hear a joke and make it into a poem and do a great job with it. Thats just not something Ive ever felt like I wanted to do. I try to do something that people havent already approached. Were all going through the same experiences, even if it was a hundred years ago. There are only so many things that can happen with horses and cattle that havent happened a million times before with other people.

Smith seeks to combine originality and a common connection with his audiences while he creates his poetry about the values of rural life and his ties to the land.
FRANKLIN  The Franklin Volunteer Fire Departments meeting hall is a total loss after a fire Tuesday afternoon in Franklin.

At about 3 p.m. Tuesday, Franklin Fire Chief Dan Dorn was walking down Main Street in Franklin when he got the call for the blaze. He turned a corner and saw the meeting hall was fully engulfed.

The meeting hall, located at 1403 L St., is about half of a block from the fire station.

The fire was under control within a half hour, and members of the department remained on scene until 4:30 p.m., Dorn said. While they were at the meeting hall, the fire department was also paged to a small grass fire near Bloomington that had rekindled from last weeks fire.

The Nebraska State Fire Marshall determined the cause of the meeting hall fire to be electrical. Dorn reported that while there were some items inside the building that were salvageable, the building is a total loss. Members of the fire department will meet at the fire station until the foreseeable future.

Quad Cities Mutual Aid also responded to the fire.
KEARNEY  Tick-borne illnesses. Misinformation and memory. The Russia-Ukraine wars impact on the global food supply. Post-concussion syndrome. Gender roles and their influence on career choices.

University of Nebraska at Kearney students discussed these topics and many more Thursday during the 25th annual Research Day celebration, a campus-wide event that highlights the creative and scholarly work produced by Lopers from all grade levels.

More than 180 undergraduate and graduate students showcased their projects through oral and poster presentations, along with a musical performance and written works, giving faculty, peers and other attendees a chance to ask questions and provide feedback. Numerous awards were also up for grabs.

Our students work really hard all year, and this is an opportunity for them to share that work with the university community, said biology professor Dawn Simon, director of undergraduate research and creative activity at UNK. We have some students who just started conducting research and are ready to share their plans or proposals, and there are others who have worked on a project for several years, producing publication-level results. Thats one of the great things about this event, everyone who works on research is able to present and get that experience.

Austie Kreikemeier, a wildlife biology major from Lincoln, presented the project shes working on through the Undergraduate Research Fellows program, which provides a $1,200 annual stipend to participating students. Under the mentorship of associate biology professor Gregory Pec, shes studying redroot pigweed and its impact on corn production.

Its a big problem in Nebraska, said Kreikemeier, who comes from a farming family. My grandpa deals with pigweed all the time, and hes always complaining about it. We want to try to stop it but below the ground.

To better understand how this invasive weed affects agricultural land, Kreikemeier and Pec used a growth chamber to raise corn in three different types of dirt  regular potting soil, a field soil that hadnt been touched by redroot pigweed and another that had.

The results were surprising, with the pigweed-conditioned soil producing slightly better crops than the native field. However, that data might be misleading.

Kreikemeier plans to move the experiment out of the lab and into an agricultural setting. With more space available, she can test the corn at a later growing stage, which could impact the results.

As it gets bigger, the corn is going to need more nitrogen, and the pigweed is also going to need nitrogen, so theyre going to be competing with each other, she said.

The UNK junior plans to present her research at professional conferences in the future.

In my field, if you dont get started with research early on, then youre not going to be able to meet people and make those connections, Kreikemeier said. I wanted to start getting my hands in the dirt  literally. The classes here are great, but research allows you to actually do the work and see the results. Im learning about a whole new side of science.

With encouragement from her professors in the department of political science, Macy Bryant joined the URF program this semester and quickly discovered its actually really fun.

You meet a lot of people, and you get to take a more in-depth look at a topic youre interested in, she said. Its really valuable for me to deepen my research skills, especially since I want to go to law school.

The freshman from Fremont is researching human trafficking with assistance from political science professor Chuck Rowling.

According to the International Labour Organization, approximately 27 million people were in forced labor at any given time during 2021. Its an issue that extends across the globe and into Nebraska.

People think Nebraska is immune from it, but were not, said Bryant, identifying Interstate 80 as a hub for human trafficking.

She plans to study various aspects of human trafficking in an effort to combat the problem. The next step is a survey of UNK students to determine how much they know and understand.

Theres little to no data or statistics about the publics awareness of human trafficking, and thats really scary to me, Bryant said. Its such a clandestine crime, its so hidden, and a lot of victims dont say anything because theyre scared or threatened. My goal is to raise awareness and tell people its a real thing thats happening right under our noses.

A double major in political science and Spanish, Bryant sees a direct connection between her research and her future career as an attorney.

I can definitely be an advocate for those victims and help them get out of that situation, she said.

Simon believes undergraduate research is beneficial for any student, no matter what profession they choose.

I think research is for everyone, the UNK faculty member said. The skills you learn during research translate to your whole life  critical thinking, problem-solving, developing curiosity, attention to detail and learning how to communicate with a wide variety of audiences. Those are things that are important for anybody.
WINNEBAGO  Many in Winnebago consider the new St. Augustine Indian Mission School a blessing for students, teachers and the community.

But you can't go wrong with a few extra blessings.

The school won't be open for classes until August, but Catholic and tribal leaders were there Tuesday to bestow their blessings upon a building that answers a lot of prayers. Some might say the project has been a miracle.

When fundraising kicked off in 2019 to replace the current aging school building, the Rev. Mark Beran, St. Augustine Indian Mission director and pastor of St. Augustine Church in Winnebago said he was told they'd be lucky to raise around $8 million, well short of the $13 million construction estimate.

Beran said he prayed to Saint Katharine Drexel, who was known as Mother Katherine when she and the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament in 1909 established the school in Winnebago to provide a Catholic education to children from the Winnebago and Omaha tribes.

"She built 60 schools. I figured she could build one more," Beran said.

Beran's prayers were answered.

The building eventually would come in under estimates at $10.5 million, and more than $10 million was raised from donors across Nebraska and Iowa, particularly Omaha and Sioux City.

"We had some people step forward that we'd never heard of before," Beran said. "We've done the project debt free, which is something I didn't expect."

Construction began in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in October 2020, but many of the building materials had been ordered before COVID-related supply chain delays and shortages drove up construction costs.

There were some delays, and the school ultimately will open a year later than originally planned, but Beran's not going to complain.

"It always seemed like a dream that was off in the future or lines on paper that represented classrooms. To see it finished is almost surreal," he said.

It will replace a building built in 1967 that was not meant to be a school. Six years ago, engineers said it could be used safely for about seven to 10 more years. The roof leaks. There are large cracks inside and outside. Tiles on the gym floor are coming loose. The air system is noisy, making it hard for students and teachers to hear one another at times. The building isn't handicapped-accessible, either.

The mission faced the choice of spending millions to fix up a failing building or build a new school that would enable them to ditch three portable classrooms and bring all the school's programs, including a kitchen and lunchroom, under one roof.

It's no surprise they're happy with the decision to build the 45,000-square-foot school, which has an enrollment of nearly 100 students in kindergarten through eighth grade.

"I'm just looking forward to the opportunities it presents to give our kids the best learning environment, the learning environment they deserve," said Deacon Don Blackbird, the school's principal and a St. Augustine alum.

Classrooms aren't yet outfitted with all the technology teachers will have available to them, and electricians were at the school this week tweaking wiring in the gym, which has been used for some physical education classes already. That limited use of the building makes it harder for students and teachers to wait until August to move in.

"The anticipation is building, and it's been worth the wait," Blackbird said.

Many will get a long-awaited look inside Tuesday when a ribbon-cutting will be celebrated. Omaha Archbishop George Lucas will preside over Mass at St. Augustine Church, then bless the school. Tribal elders will conduct a cedar blessing to be followed by a drum ceremony.

The formalities will be fun, Beran said, but the real excitement comes in August, when students will step inside their new school to begin a new school year.

"That's actually what I'm looking forward to most is seeing them enter for the first time," Beran said.

At that point, the community will begin to reap the blessings they've received throughout the project.
A jury trial date has been set for a Chippewa Falls man accused of murdering his girlfriend and setting fire to the house where prosecutors say the killing took place.

A two-week jury trial has been scheduled for Scott Vaningan to begin Jan. 16, 2024, in Chippewa County Circuit Court.

The 58-year-old man pleaded not guilty in August to charges of first degree homicide, arson, mutilating a corpse and bail jumping in the death of his girlfriend, Lynn Smith, 55, July 27.

An autopsy suggested Smith was dead before the fire began on Superior Street in Chippewa Falls. Investigators say Smith had puncture wounds on her neck and was not breathing during the fire.

Arson was considered the official cause of the fire, which caused roughly $125,000 worth of damage to the home.

Deputy State Fire Marshal Joshua Pudlowski reported finding two places in the home where the fire originated, which he said indicates arson.

Vaningan was arrested July 28 at a Barron County residence after authorities said he removed an electronic monitoring device.

A police report stated Vaningan appeared to be wearing the same clothing he was observed in after fleeing the scene.

Police reported a box cutter with blood was found with Vaningan during his arrest and that Vaningan had what appeared to be blood on his pants and scratch marks on his forearm, consistent with some sort of altercation.

Chippewa Falls Police Chief Matthew Kelm said multiple organizations worked together during the investigation.

Many of our officers were involved, both in the investigation, the administration of how the process went forward, preserving the scene, Kelm said. We also had investigators from DCI, the Wisconsin Department of Criminal Investigation, the Wisconsin State Fire Marshals Office, and the Chippewa Falls Fire and EMS who were really critical to helping us get that fire under control and preserve that crime scene.

In 1995, Vaningan was convicted of aggravated battery and sexual assault  convictions for which he spent time in prison.
In 1972, the Vernon County Agricultural Society established the Fairest of the Fair program. President Paul Zube crowned Mary Vangen from the Retreat Ramblers 4-H Club the first Vernon County Fairest of the Fair. Her duties included greeting fair attendees and handing out ribbons and trophies. Fast forward to 2023 and the Vernon County Ag Society/Fair Board is getting ready to crown the 50th Fairest of the Fair and the third Jr. Fairest of the Fair.

The Fairest and Jr. Fairest will serve as hostesses for the Vernon County Fair Sept. 13-17. The Fairest will also represent Vernon County at the state Fairest of the Fairs contest held in January 2024.

The contestants must be a resident of Vernon County or most of their fair activities must take place in the county. They must be a resident of the state of Wisconsin for least a year prior to entry. Fairest contestants must be 18 years of age by the contest date of June 11. The contestant will be required to travel if they are selected as Wisconsin Fairest of the Fairs in January 2024.

Each contestant must have a sponsor for the contest. Any business, youth, or civic organization may sponsor a candidate. The sponsor fee is $30.

There will be a contestant meeting on May 6 at 1 p.m. in the Senior Citizen Building at the Vernon County Fairgrounds for any interested contestant and parents wanting more information about the contest and program. This meeting is required if you plan to turn in an application, as we will be going over vital information regarding the contest and the year of service for the Fairests.

The contest will be held Sunday, June 11, at the Vernon County Fairgrounds and the entry deadline is May 12.

Applications are available on the fairs website at www.vernoncountyfair.com.

Applications must be postmarked by May 12. No late entries will be accepted.

To obtain more information, contact Angie Hornby at 608-606-3167 or email at fairest@vernoncountyfair.com.
This is National Volunteer Week, April 16-22. The Vernon County Historical Society relies very much on volunteer labor. Last week, volunteers spring-cleaned the museum building, alphabetized index cards, handled financial matters, attended meetings, filed archival materials, did research using old newspapers, managed the museums reception desk, printed books, worked on the quarterly newsletter, taught the monthly genealogy class, and more!

We are very grateful for all of our volunteers efforts to preserve and promote our countys history. History is relevant to modern life, and volunteers make it possible for Vernon County history to be shared with others. If you would like to be a part of this endeavor, contact Kristen or Carol at 608-637-7396, or email us at vernoncountyhistory.org.

One recent volunteer project has been to re-print the Alphabetical Index to the 1878 Vernon County, Wisconsin, Plat Map. This book was first created by the Vernon County Historical Society volunteers and staff in 1999, and we always have copies in our bookstore. The book contains a map of each township, and then an index of all the names found on the maps with location information.

The 1878 plat map is our oldest county map. An original, wall-sized version of the map hangs in the first-floor hallway at the museum. This book conveniently reduces that map to a hand-held version, and then adds the invaluable index. If, for example, you know that your ancestor owned land in Vernon County in 1878 but arent sure where, you could look up the persons name in the index, and then be referred to the township and the section, so you can pinpoint the exact spot on the map. The plat map index book sells for $12 at the museum gift shop and at our website bookstore.

You will also be able to buy this and many other local history titles at our book fair table on Saturday, April 29, at the Ridges & Rivers Book Festival in Viroqua. The book fair will run from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the public library and Western Technical College, plus across the street at the Eagles Club.

In addition to our presence at the book fair, well have a full day of book festival events at our own museum building, in the first-floor conference room. Author and genealogist Liv Marit Haakenstad of Norway will give a presentation at 9 a.m. about her new book, A Guide to Norwegian Genealogy, Emigration, and Transmigration. Livs presentations are funded in part by grants from Wisconsin Humanities and from the Norwegian Ministry of Culture.

Assistant curator Carol Krogan will talk at 10:30 a.m. about the Vernon County Historical Society and its many resources for those doing genealogy or local history. And Liv will give a second program at 2:30 p.m., this one about how to turn your genealogy research into a written family story. All these workshops will make you hungry, so the Waffle Wagon will be parked in the museums parking lot, serving Norwegian waffles from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a small cost. Hope to see you there!
Local winners have been announced in the 2022 VFW Voice of Democracy Contest sponsored by Westby Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 8021. The theme of this years competition was Why is the Veteran Important.

The contest was open to all students in Grades 9 through 12 including home-schooled students. This is a national contest, where the national winner receives a $30,000 college scholarship. There is a total of $153,000 in college scholarships awarded annually to state and national winners.

Prizes and scholarships can be awarded at the post, district, state and national level.

The second-place winner in the Westby post competition was Darik Moilien, a senior and the son of Ron Moilien of rural Westby.

Why is the Veteran Important?

My great grandfather served in World War 1; theres a reason as to why we still have his uniform. There is this certain instinctive respect that is associated with Veterans that is never really explained deeply. There is no question of if veterans are important, but do we know exactly why they are so important? Veterans provide a unique view into the past that reinstates gratitude in future generations, procures respect for what they have suffered through, and offers meaning to peoples lives.

Foremost, veterans provide us with a sense of gratitude due to their past, such as their childhood experiences and food availability. They provide us with insight into what life was like back during the 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, and more recent times. Their lives were so different from ours that its difficult not to be intrigued by their stories! Who else can contrast our lives with that of the past? For instance, take a look at an article by Childrens Theater; an article comparing modern devices and settings to that of the 1930s. One example from the article states how school back in the 1930s was a privilege not a requirement, School was considered a luxury for low- and middle-income children noted Childrenstheater.org. Another unfathomable contrast was the food scarcity in the 1930s. According to Childrens Theater, Food was scarce for a lot of families and many children suffered from malnutrition. When we think about what to have for lunch nowadays we probably consider a variety of options, such as fast food or the grocery store. Very rarely are we starving for food, which is a stark contrast from the 1930s. Again, without the knowledge and records from veterans during those war periods, we might take what they didnt have, that we now have, for granted. Thus, veterans provide future generations with their lesser fortunate pasts, such as education and food availability; so that they wont take what veterans didnt have, for granted.

Additionally, veterans who gave up their body and mind whether they wanted to or not, deserve proper compensation. For example, during the Vietnam war when servicemen burned their draft cards in protest. As protests against the Vietnam War increased in the 1960s, the destruction of Selective Service registration certificates became common enough that in August of 1965 President Johnson signed a law making it a federal crime to destroy or mutilate the cards stated by Time. That example shows how understandably desperate young men were to not give up their lives. For that, veterans deserve proper compensation for what they have willingly endured. One such example of the pain veterans still deal with is Posttraumatic Stress Disorder. A condition that causes the individual to have ...intense, disturbing thoughts and feelings related to their experience that last long after the traumatic event has ended stated by the American Psychiatric Association. Whats more is that when Vietnam veterans returned home, they werent cheered for, they were spat on. Some, like Wowwk [an infantryman during Vietnam], say they had invectives hurled their way; others, like naval officer Ford Cole, remember being spit on noted by History. In all, veterans deserve respect not only for selling their entire lives to war, but also because some werent given proper recognition for their suffering.

Furthermore, being a veteran can serve as meaning to someones life. Knowing youre giving up your life to protect others can produce pride within a persons soul. According to research done by Rand Corporation on why military personnel enlisted, they stated ...soldiers join the Army for family, institutional, and occupational reasons, and many value the opportunity to become a military professional. This single piece of evidence tells us that many enlistees join the military to find a purpose.

Overall, the importance of veterans stems from their knowledge of the past, the amount of suffering they have endured, and how the military brings meaning to a life. Veterans past knowledge enhances younger generations gratitude, such as how fortunate kids are to be in school. The vast stories that came from war are enough evidence to give a reason as to why veterans are important and deserve our respect. Purpose is also what being a veteran provides to someone, and for that we must honor them. All of these reasons prove why the veteran is important.

***
The School District of La Crosse has created a new community-based panel, tasked with developing recommendations for facility and building needs.

The Facility Advisory Committee will be made up of 25 to 30 participants, who were selected by district administration to create a diverse and representative group. Some were recommended by board members or staff, and others volunteered their support.

The group ranges from parents, business owners, senior citizens and staff to local elected officials. The official list of participants will be presented at the committees first meeting at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 20, at the Hogan Administrative Center.

Superintendent Aaron Engel said this format for an advisory committee is more unique in that its an aside to the school board and administration and focused on community input.

After the failure of the November referendum to consolidate Logan and Central into one high school, which utilized surveys and focus groups to gauge community support, Engel said this is a different strategy to tackle some big things.

Were hopeful that with this strategy we can arrive at some solutions that have more broad support, Engel said.

The group will focus on evaluating facility and building needs at the elementary and secondary school levels, with the potential consolidation of buildings. Recommendations from the committee will then be presented to the Board of Education and administration.

Additional tasks include reviewing demographic data, enrollment projections, communicating with the public and integrating community feedback.

The meetings will be facilitated by Joe Schroeder, associate executive director for the Association of Wisconsin School Administrators. Engel said it is common for districts to turn to outside consultants when handling divisive or challenging topics.

Dr. Joe Schroeder has helped facilitate this type of work in many other school districts over the years, has a wonderful reputation and is well known to be able to successfully lead groups through these processes, Engel said.

District administration will only serve in an advisory capacity, responding to requests for information and providing context, options and analysis.

Meetings are open to public viewing. The district said they will make the committee process as transparent as possible, with all meeting information and related materials and video recordings of meetings online.
PORTLAND, Maine  On a breezy spring day, scientists and conservationists methodically conducted experiments near 15 North Atlantic right whales that occasionally spouted and surfaced in a bay south of Boston.

The pod of adults and calves is about 4% of the worldwide population of a marine mammal that almost disappeared from the planet after many decades of commercial whaling. There now are only a few hundred of the behemoths, which can weigh 70 tons and subsist on small ocean organisms.

Although right whale numbers are dwindling, conservationists attribute their continued survival to the U.S. Endangered Species Act.

The landmark federal law  a half century old this year  has forced the fishing and commercial shipping industries to take important steps to help protect the critically endangered whales. And it's spurred government agencies and scientists to undertake research.

David Wiley, research ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was part of the crew that spent late March and early April testing the water off Cape Cod for the presence of a naturally occurring chemical that could help predict where right whales will congregate.

That knowledge, Wiley said, can help in forming new rules that safeguard the whales from threats such as entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships. While Wiley's crew was working, a right whale was found entangled in Cape Cod Bay.

"They will go extinct in our lifetime if we don't do something," he said. "The goal of my research is to protect animals, right whales, humpback whales."

Numerous whale species are protected under the Endangered Species Act, including the blue, fin and sperm whale. Some, including the North Atlantic right whale, have been listed since the act passed in 1973. The law also protects other marine mammals, including some seal species, and ocean dwellers such as sea turtles.

Few animals have brought more change to marine industries than the right whale, and conservationists say survival of the species, which numbers about 340 worldwide, is testament to the act's importance.

"While they continue to decline at this very moment, I'm convinced that without the Endangered Species Act they wouldn't be here," said Regina Asmutis-Silvia, executive director of Massachusetts-based Whale & Dolphin Conservation USA.

But as federal regulators craft new protections for the whale and other declining marine animals, fishing and shipping industries that have been altered by decades of conservation laws are digging in for a new round of fighting for their own interests.

The U.S. lobster fishing industry, one of America's most lucrative seafood sectors, supports the act, said Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association. But she said fishermen also need reasonable rules and some recent proposed restrictions on fishing go too far.

In recent years, disagreements over the proper way to apply the act have increasingly brought the industry into court. "We need to have realistic approaches to how environmental management is handled," Casoni said. "It becomes extremely costly for the industry to fight the ongoing litigation that's brought forth by the environmental groups."

Maritime industries are subject to a host of restrictions aimed at protecting the rare whales. Rules cover how fast vessels can travel and where commercial fishermen can fish. There are slow zones, protected zones and limitations on types of fishing gear.

The act has permanently protected thousands of square miles of ocean habitat to give the animals sanctuary from disturbances by human activities. The act has prompted innovations, such as ropeless fishing, designed to protect whales from becoming entangled. Compliance with the act primarily drove the use of nets with escape hatches to spare turtles from shrimp fishing on the Gulf Coast.

Fisheries for lucrative seafood species, such as scallops and groundfish, also have made changes to conform with the act. The act has brought observers onto fishing boats to make sure fishermen follow rules and it has barred fishing in places where vulnerable species are located.

"I feel like it drives technological innovation, and it also protects a whole suite of other species by reducing risks for whatever the listed species is," said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for fisheries with NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service, which regulates commercial fishing. "The law has stood the test of time."

The law's protections are set to expand in coming years. On the East Coast, NOAA is crafting new and broader fishing restrictions to reduce the likelihood whales will suffer injury or death from entanglements in gear. The agency also is considering enlarged speed restriction zones that will apply to many shippers.

On the West Coast, new protections are coming for endangered whales off California. The International Maritime Organization has adopted a U.S. proposal that takes effect this summer and would expand restrictions on vessel traffic to give endangered whales such as blues and fins more undisturbed sea.

Lobster fishers have vowed to fight new restrictions on fishing off the East Coast, which many say will put the industry out of business. Proposed restrictions necessitate new ropeless gear that isn't widely available yet, said David Cousens, a lobsterman in South Thomaston, Maine.

"The technology's not there. Common sense is what needs to prevail here, not pie in the sky dreaming," Cousens said.

Vessel strikes and entanglements are two of the biggest threats whales face. But expansion of vessel traffic restrictions has also been met with resistance from shippers who fear compliance will be difficult, said Kathy Metcalf, president of the Chamber of Shipping of America.

Landmark law saved whales through marine industries change
RIPON  Officials in Ripon have moved the building where the Republican Party is said to have been founded across town to boost visibility as conservatives descend on the state for the GOP national convention next year.

Workers moved the Little White Schoolhouse to its new location Monday, WLUK-TV reported.

The Ripon Chamber of Commerce owns the building. The chambers executive director, Mandy Kimes, told the television station the new location will increase visibility and access as visitors arrive in the state for the GOP national convention in Milwaukee next summer. Ripon is about 85 miles northwest of Milwaukee.

We really want to keep the Little White Schoolhouse as unaltered as possible, Kimes said. And so having this other location ... were going to be able to turn that into a visitors center where people can come in, have an experience, learn what theyre about to see and really enjoy it.

The building has been moved six times in its history. Mondays move was the first since 1951.

Timothy Bachleitner, chairman of the Fond du Lac County Republican Party, said hes disappointed with the move and the schoolhouses new location.

The Wisconsin Historical Society sent a letter to local, state and national officials on March 20 warning that the schoolhouse would lose its National Historic Landmark and National Register of Historic Places designations if it was moved.

According to the Ripon Historical Society, the schoolhouse was built in 1853. The following year, several men who opposed slavery met there and created the Republican Party. The building was later remodeled into a private home. Former Wisconsin Gov. George Beck once lived in it.

See the Wisconsin State Journal photo staff's favorites of 2022
The Wisconsin Senate on Wednesday approved bills increasing penalties for reckless driving and allowing people who sue to obtain public records to have their attorney fees reimbursed even if the documents are eventually turned over voluntarily.

The chamber also unanimously confirmed Democratic Gov. Tony Evers appointees to lead the Department of Revenue and Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection.

Noting that the Senate was scheduled to vote on fewer than 10 bills Wednesday, Senate Minority Leader Melissa Agard, D-Madison, said before the session that Republicans were putting forth a do-nothing agenda.

But she also noted that the bills were mostly free of controversy.

The Wisconsin GOP is choosing to do nothing rather than putting forth their typically offensive and unwelcomed legislation  both are political malpractice, she said.

Evers has already signaled that he would sign Assembly Bill 55, a bipartisan measure that would increase penalties for reckless driving. The proposal passed the Senate 30-2 on Wednesday and will now head to Evers desk. The measure, which passed the Assembly 85-12, would double the fines for reckless driving from a maximum of $200 to $400. The maximum penalty for a second or subsequent offense would increase from $500 to $1,000 under the bill.

Evers would also likely sign Senate Bill 117, a bipartisan measure that would allow judges to award attorney fees when someone files an open records lawsuit and the court determines that filing the case was a substantial factor in getting the records released, even if their release came without a court order. The proposal passed the Senate on a voice vote.

The measure would undo a Wisconsin Supreme Court case last July that drew the ire of open records advocates.

In that case, the court ruled 4-3 that a community group was not entitled to attorney fees after suing the city of Waukesha for public records that the city later released before being ordered to do so by a court. The courts four conservative justices approved the ruling, with its three liberal justices dissenting.

Previously, records custodians who voluntarily provided requested records after being sued could still have been required to pay attorney fees if the lawsuit led to the release of the records. The Supreme Courts decision, however, made it so those requesting public records could only recover the fees if a court ruled on the merits of a case. Voluntarily turning over records typically renders a case moot, meaning plaintiffs in such cases might not be able to recover attorney fees from the government.

The Assembly hasnt voted or held a public hearing yet on that measure.

The Senate on Wednesday also voted 32-0 to confirm Department of Revenue Secretary Peter Barca. The Senate first unanimously approved his appointment in 2019.

Senators also voted 32-0 to confirm Randy Romanski as the continuing secretary of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection. Evers appointed Romanski in 2020, and the Senate confirmed him in September 2021.

The Senate also approved a joint resolution honoring the life of former Democratic Gov. Tony Earl, who served as the states 41st governor from 1983 to 1987 and died Feb. 23 at age 86.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP)  Most of Minnesota should escape serious flooding over the next couple weeks, emergency managers said Wednesday, but cautioned that higher-than-expected rains in the coming days or rapid snowmelt in the Red River Valley could raise the threat.

Right now we are entering what we hope to be the peak of this event, which should be occurring over the next week to 10 days," said Dan Hawblitzel, meteorologist in charge at the National Weather Service in Chanhassen. "That is assuming  and that is an assumption  that we don't have any more significant sources of precipitation. And unfortunately we can't guarantee that.

But he and other officials said at a briefing for reporters on Minnesota's flood preparations that they and communities along the state's major rivers have been preparing for weeks. They've been stockpiling sandbags, building dikes, closing low-lying roads and parks, and implementing action plans developed during past floods. And they said state and federal agencies are ready to provide more aid if necessary.

The good news is the preparation is done," Gov. Tim Walz said. We're ready to go.

Minnesota is coming off one of its snowiest winters on record  the third snowiest in the Twin Cities. But Hawblitzel said the snow is pretty much gone across most of the state." The notable exception, he said, is the Red River basin, where there are still pockets with the equivalent of 1 to 3 inches of water in the snowpack. But he added that forecasters are not currently expecting a rapid melt there.

The St. Croix River at Stillwater has basically leveled off and should hold steady before gradually falling early next week, depending on whether significant rainfall arrives next week, Hawblitzel said.

The Mississippi River at St. Paul will be at major flood stage from the weekend through early next week. He said they'll be watching closely because the river there is subject to upstream rainfall in both the Minnesota and Mississippi River basins. Heavier-than-expected rain Wednesday night and Thursday, or later next week, could push the crest up by a foot higher than forecast, he said.

The Red River of the North at Fargo-Moorhead probably has the most uncertainly due to the snow on the ground and its susceptibility to additional rain, he said, so they can't rule out a crest of a foot higher than currently expected, or slightly more, depending on precipitation and melting patterns.

If we can get though next week it does look like we should be able to get through this," Hawblitzel said.

Communities on the North Dakota side of the Red River, such as Fargo and Grand Forks, and on the Wisconsin side of the Mississippi, such as La Crosse, have also been preparing. North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum declared a statewide emergency last week. His office said Wednesday that drones from the Federal Aviation Administration will assist with monitoring flood levels, melt rates and ice jams.

The Minnesota Department of Health used the briefing to urge private well users to make sure they're prepared in case their wells flood or already have. Flood waters often carry hazardous and toxic materials, Assistant Commissioner Cheryl Petersen-Kroeber said. Wells that flood should be presumed to be contaminated and the water should not be used for drinking, cooking or even tooth-brushing until they've been inspected and disinfected, she said. The department has posted advice on its website.
Eau Claire Leader-Telegram. April 13, 2023.

Editorial: Spring fire safety is important

A pair of Wisconsin wildfires this week should be a reminder to everyone to be careful this spring.

Spring fires are common because the undergrowth is dry from the winter. Thats true even when there has been a fair amount of snow, as we saw this past season. Last falls final growth dries out faster than the soil, and it remains vulnerable to fires until spring growth resumes.

A wildfire in Juneau County forced evacuations, but does not appear to have caused any major losses. That fire burned 100 acres before it was contained.

A much larger fire erupted in Jackson County. It was at 2,800 acres as of Thursday and only half contained. That one has caused structure damage, though its hard to say yet how much. State officials were watching for potential interstate closures if the smoke got too bad.

The reason weve seen fires this week seems pretty obvious. The unusually warm temperatures accelerated the drying process, leaving open land particularly vulnerable. And Wisconsin is no stranger to wildfires. While the rest of the nation associates them with the western states, the worst wildfire in American history happened here.

On Oct. 8, 1871, the Peshtigo Fire erupted and burned some 1.2 million acres. It destroyed at least 17 towns. There were about 1,200 fatalities, 800 of which were in Peshtigo itself.

Why is Peshtigo not better remembered? Timing. Look up the date, and the first entry youre likely to see is for the Great Chicago Fire.

That fire was a comparatively small one. Blamed in legend on Mr. OLearys cow (a claim that has been debunked), the Chicago fire killed 300 people and claimed 3.3 square miles. But, because it was in a major city, thats what was remembered.

Wisconsins history with wildfires includes numerous other major events. The 2013 Germann Road Fire produced flames 20-30 feet high and burned almost 7,500 acres, according to the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources.

More than 3,400 acres were burned in the Cottonville Fire of 2005, which the DNR says needed 38 tractor plows, 25 forest rangers with Type-7 4x4s, three low ground units, six heavy dozers and almost 200 DNR personnel to control and eventually suppress the wildfire.

The Oak Lake Fire of 1980 needed more than 2,000 firefighters from 23 departments to bring it under control. In 1977 the state saw the Saratoga, Brockway and Airport fires back-to-back. They collectively burned more than 26,700 acres.

The list goes on.

Fires will happen, and some will have natural causes like lightning strikes. But many have human causes like improperly tended campfires or sparks from small motors. And those are preventable.

Paying attention to conditions is important. Controlled burns are important for many people as they dispose of brush or similar debris. But wait until the winds are calm. Check to see whether there are restrictions in place for burning before striking a match.

There are also things you can do to make your property safer when fires break out. Keeping the area around homes and other buildings free of brush or windblown leaves eliminates potential fuel sources. Keep grass within 20 feet of any structure mowed.

Even the best efforts wont prevent every fire. Its well worth the effort to reduce risks, though, and eliminating preventable fires will leave firefighting resources available for others. Its something we all can contribute to.

Making Wisconsin a little bit safer isnt that hard. It just takes some awareness of conditions and some common sense. No one wants to start a fire that destroys homes and properties. Paying attention can help keep that from happening.

Wisconsin State Journal. April 16, 2023.

Editorial: Gun shop bill is fine, but dont stop there

Asmall yet worthy idea to address gun violence in Wisconsin seems to have bipartisan support, which is encouraging.

But so much more must be done to protect the public from senseless shootings, including universal background checks and strict limits on weapons of war.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and Republican lawmakers appear to agree on the need for suicide prevention measures at gun stores and ranges. The governor included $150,000 in his state budget proposal to train staff at firearm retailers and ranges to recognize when someone might be contemplating suicide. The money also could pay for related literature at gun shops and precautionary, voluntary firearm storage.

Two lawmakers  Sen. Jesse James, R-Altoona, and Rep. Shae Sortwell, R-Two Rivers  have introduced the same proposal as a standalone bill. So this looks like it can pass, which is good. Paying closer attention to people with guns who might have harmful thoughts could save lives and maybe even prevent a mass shooting. Credit James and Sortwell for seeking this small measure of progress.

Yet the epidemic of gun violence across America  including last weeks killing of two police officers near the northwestern Wisconsin village of Cameron  demands much bigger and broader action from the Republican-run Legislature.

Gun rights advocates claim, Guns dont kill people. People kill people. But mass shooters using military-style weapons kill more people, on average, than other mass shooters. So the gun can be the difference in how many die.

Moreover, the absence of a gun can prevent violence. The gun homicide rate in the U.S. is 26 times higher than in other wealthy nations with stricter laws, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.

After so many massacres at schools, theaters and stores, a significant legislative response is needed, which Evers and other Democrats have strongly favored.

Wisconsin, for example, should require consistent background checks on all gun purchases and transfers. That way, if a dangerous person isnt supposed to have a deadly weapon, a potential sale can be canceled. While licensed dealers must run a check before finalizing a purchase, many online and in-person sellers are exempt.

Thats how a man was able to purchase a .40-caliber semiautomatic handgun to fatally shoot three women at a Brookfield spa in 2012. He got the gun from an online seller. A background check would have stopped the sale because of the mans lengthy restraining order.

The GOP-controlled Legislature also should adopt a red flag law allowing judges to temporarily disarm people with strong evidence of imminent danger. At the national level, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act encourages states to adopt red flag protections.

GOP representatives should bring back a 48-hour waiting period for gun purchases, which could have prevented a young man in Madison from buying a gun in 2016 and, the very next day, shooting a 24-year-old grocery store worker from Stoughton.

Wisconsins GOP should hold parents responsible for loose guns when children use them to kill or maim people. The 15-year-old who killed his principal at Weston High School in rural Cazenovia in 2006 got his guns from his fathers home.

The legal age for buying a firearm should be raised from 18 to 21, given how many young people cause mass shootings. Florida did just that  and more  following the 2018 school massacre in Parkland.

Wisconsin should strictly limit  if not ban  the sale of military-style weapons to civilians, such as assault rifles and exploding ammunition. An AR-15, which was designed for war, isnt necessary to hunt deer or protect your family. Similarly, reasonable limits should be set on high-capacity magazines.

Some Republicans are finally stepping up to help Democrats protect the public from chronic gun violence. But James and Sortwells baby steps, though welcome, are far from real solutions.

END
Chinese vice president meets Uruguayan FM

Xinhua) 16:59, April 18, 2023

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng met with Francisco Bustillo Bonasso, minister of Foreign Affairs of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay, in Beijing on Tuesday.

Han noted that in recent years, under the strategic guidance of the two heads of state, China-Uruguay relations have shown a sound momentum of development.

The two countries should take the 35th anniversary of the bilateral ties as an opportunity to deepen political mutual trust, promote practical cooperation, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and enhance strategic coordination, so that the China-Uruguay strategic partnership will be further promoted, Han said.

He said China is ready to share development opportunities with Uruguay, support each other in independently exploring the path of modernization and jointly move towards prosperity.

Bustillo said although the two countries are far apart geographically, their relations have continued to develop and the bilateral cooperation remains steady.

Uruguay firmly adheres to the one-China principle, and looks forward to strengthening cooperation with China in various fields for a better future of the two countries and two peoples, Bustillo added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Du Mingming)
Photo: BCEBC The new proposed ridings (left) and current ridings (right) in Kelowna.

Provincial and federal (political riding) boundary redistribution in Canada is often boring and receives little attentionuntil the non-partisan commissions responsible do something surprising, which is what happened in the Okanagan recently.

Provincial and federal electoral boundaries are reviewed periodically. The boundaries are essentially the imaginary lines that divide our communities and determine who your Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) and Member of Parliaments (MPs) are. Given that the Kelowna metropolitan area is the fastest growing community in Canada, this years redistribution led to one additional provincial and one additional federal riding being created in the Okanagan.

The respective provincial and federal boundary commissions, while working independently of each other, essentially function in the same way. They adjust the boundaries of each riding based on the need to add or remove ridings to account for population changes, while doing their best to keep communities whole or communities with strong links together.

The commissions produce initial reports, with their suggested changes and go out into communities for feedback. After that consultation period, they produce final reports that are presented to the Legislative Assembly or House of Commons, which are then finalized. There is no further consultation, and while theoretically the existing elected MLAs and MPs can contest parts of the reports, they historically do not result in any real changes.

While both commissions have made significant changes, and there have been concerns raised by community members, its the most recent provincial changes that are causing the largest stir.

Provincially, the commission determined the Kelowna-area required an additional riding, bringing our total number of MLAs to four from three. The preliminary report the commission produced created a new riding, to be called Kelowna Centre, encompassing downtown Kelowna and Glenmore area. To do that, they moved the existing Kelowna West riding, which once included parts of downtown Kelowna, over to include only West Kelowna to Peachland and extended the existing KelownaLake Country riding north to include parts of the Vernon area, including Predator Ridge, Bella Vista, Adventure Bay and a few more neighbourhoods.

The commission then went out and consulted on this report.

Following this consultation, the commission released its final report. The report kept the changes roughly the same in downtown Kelowna, Glenmore, West Kelowna and other areas, but it made significant changes in the Vernon-area.

The KelownaLake Country riding in the final report, lost those new areas of VernonPredator Ridge, Bella Vista, Adventure Bay and more. Those neighbourhoods went into a riding to be called VernonLumby (formerly VernonMonashee), which will include all of Vernon and Lumby.

However, KelownaLake Country will become KelownaLake CountryColdstream, with Coldstream, just south of Vernon, added to the riding. The proposed new riding will include Rutland, Black Mountain, Ellison, McKinley Beach, Lake Country, Oyama and Coldstream.

That proposal has caused quite the stir.

The Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce, the City of Vernon and the District of Coldstream have all strongly objected to the changes. There are a variety of reasons for the objections including that Coldstream is in the Regional District of North Okanagan, Coldstreams role in Vernon and Lumbys economies, the close association between eastern Coldstream and Lumby and more.

The objection goes to the key part of why these redistributions are both difficult and flawed due to the consultation process.

When the commission produces a preliminary report and it doesnt impact a community, the community wont provide feedback. So, for example, if you live in Coldstream and saw the preliminary maps, which had you as usual with the City of Vernon, you would never have seen a need to go to the commission and thank them for keeping you in the same riding you have been in for years. You would have thought it was a given you would stay there.

But then, the final report comes out and the commission moves your riding by putting Coldstream in with Lake Country and parts of Kelowna. Well, if that bothers you, unfortunately the consultation process is closed and you cant provide feedback.

Of course, consultation is difficult and eventually has halted. However, the process by which a community, which would have never thought it would be impacted can be impacted for the first time at the closing of the public consultation, is inherently a flaw in the process.

When the changes between the preliminary and the final reports are small, the need for further public consultation is not there. However, large changes, like taking Coldstream out of Vernon and putting it with Lake Country ad parts of Kelowna, should require further consultation and input before MLAs vote on the final report to ensure the impacted community can have their voice heard.

This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.
NEW YORK (AP)  A parking garage collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattans Financial District, killing one worker, injuring five and crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes, officials said.

Vehicles tumbled into what looked like a frozen stream of sedans and SUVs. People nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams.

Ahmed Scott arrived to collect his car after work and found a disaster in the making.

In a video he shot from across the street, someone off-camera yells, Guard! 911! 911! There's a building collapsing on Ann Street," followed by the sound of something crumpling. About 45 seconds later, two women run out, saying the building fell while they were inside it. A man stands on a fire escape as bystanders try to figure out how to help him get down. He eventually did, Scott said.

I hope ain't nobody else in there, Scott recalled thinking, worrying for the garage workers he'd gotten to know.

To Jadess Speller, a student at nearby Pace University, the collapse felt like an earthquake -- like the earth opened up inside, like thats how violent it was." Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.

One vehicle landed on its end in the garage entrance, a photo posted by Mayor Eric Adams' office showed.

Authorities believed they had accounted for everyone inside the building, but searches continued Tuesday evening to make sure no one was in any of the squashed cars, Fire Department Chief of Operations John Esposito said. One garage employee was rescued via a neighboring roof after being trapped on an upper floor, he said.

He was conscious and alert and moving around, calling us. He just couldnt get down, Esposito said. Four of the injured were hospitalized and in stable condition, and the fifth refused medical attention, he said.

The garage caved in around 4 p.m., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange. Pace evacuated an adjacent dorm and classroom building, and canceled all evening classes as it assessed the buildings' safety. School officials sent the displaced students to a student center while working out other accommodations.

Don Mulligan was on the 17th floor of a nearby hotel when he heard a roar like a jet flying overhead and felt the high-rise sway.

You knew something was happening, said Mulligan, of Cincinnati. The hotel was evacuated, he said.

It wasn't immediately clear what caused the collapse. City Buildings Department records show the three-story structure has been a garage at least since the 1920s, and there are no recent permits for construction.

Messages were left for a parking company that lists the garage as one of its properties.

The collapse left the building completely unstable, Adams said at a news conference. Esposito said firefighters had to pull out because of the danger, conducting searches instead with a drone and robotic dog.

The building was all the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor, acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.

William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and his friends thought they heard an explosion and ran to a window to look. As they opened the window, a plume of thick dust rose in the air.

When it cleared, they peered down into the parking structure, where cars were tossed asunder and a top deck had cracked open.

Flashnick initially worried for all of their lives. One of his first thoughts was of the World Trade Center, which looms over the neighborhood.

We freaked out. Given the history of this place, its a little scary," he said.

Associated Press writers Michael R. Sisak and Deepti Hajela contributed.
The reading proficiency of students at Winonas public elementary schools has increased substantially in the last year.

The school district said the leap is credited to robust professional development for teachers, new classroom resources and a focused effort on better understanding research behind how students learn to read.

The number of first through fourth-grade students at Winona Area Public Schools who read at or above their grade level has jumped nearly 10% so far during the 2022-23 school year, according to internal assessment data.

Students in those grades jumped from 52.8% to 62.7% from September to January.

That is a significant increase that we are pleased about, said Winona Area Public Schools Director of Learning and Teaching Kristie OBrien.

A new teaching resource preferred by teachers from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt was fully implemented in October, OBrien said.

This resource has two components.

The first is Into Reading (Arriba la Lectura for the Rios Spanish Immersion Program) and includes a variety of instruction techniques: whole-group instruction, small-group instruction, literacy centers, whole-group skills reinforcement and individual digital instruction.

The second component is a 1-to-1 reading tutor powered by an artificial intelligence called Amira. The AI delivers timely reading interventions to students and helps develop reading fluency.

School officials said their goals were to strengthen students tier 1 instruction, which all students receive, in the English/language arts curriculum. The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt resource also includes professional development opportunities for teachers and staff.

It feels really good to find a resource that aligns with the Minnesota academic standards, Washington-Kosciusko Elementary Principal Justin Hanson said. Im really happy with the growth in the school. The time and effort staff has put in is paying off for them in their classrooms.

Hanson said for the resource to be effective, teachers have to develop comfort with it, which in other cases could take a few years. But he said teachers have figured out the tools and resources, and they have worked them into the schools curriculum.

Anytime that youre a teacher and you see what youre doing is working for most students, you feel really good, Hanson said.

The Houghton Mifflin Harcourt resource is part of the districts multi-tiered support systems, aimed at developing continuous improvement through data-based decision-making for all students.

According to data from the Minnesota Department of Education, 44.86% of students met reading standards in 2022 when averaged across all three elementary schools in the district. In comparison, the average of elementary schools in the Austin Public School District was 31.35% in 2022. Austin has a similar population to Winona, but a larger overall student body. Statewide, 51.1% of students met the reading standards.

Winona Area Public Schools also provided professional development opportunities for teachers to better understand the science behind language education.

It goes beyond the curriculum and the core resource, said Goodview Principal Emily Cassellius. Its about knowing and understanding how kids learn to read, and making sure we have consistent instructional practices no matter the classroom that students are in.

Teachers in the district had the opportunity to join a Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling program. Additionally, Winona Area Public Schools has collaborated with Winona State University professor Joan Sax-Bendix, an expert in literacy instruction, to develop programs.
The information presented here is subject to change. To have an event appear in this column, email us at newsroom@lakegenevanews.net.

Dont miss it!

Restaurant Week 2023  April 22-30 at 30 eateries throughout the Lake Geneva area, www.visitlakegeneva.com/lake-geneva-restaurant-week. See article in this weeks Resorter for more about the event.

Chefs Dinner  Friday, April 21, 6-8 p.m., Pier 290, 1 Liechty Drive, Williams Bay, pier290.com. Cost: $75 prepaid, per person. Limited seating available.

Executive Chef Ken Hnilo shares some new dishes in a five-course meal plus appetizers. Featuring a welcome cocktail and choice of tasting bourbon or wine with each course. Go online for full menu and more details.

Sixth Annual Sprint For Spring  Saturday, April 22, check-in starts 8:30 a.m., Geneva Lakes Family YMCA, 203 S. Wells St., Lake Geneva, www.genevalakesymca.org/main/sprint-for-spring-5k. Registration costs: $35 adults, $25 ages 11-17, free for ages 10 and younger. Visit website to register or contact 262-248-6211 or melissa.monge@glymca.org.

A chip-timed 5k run/walk, rain or shine. After check-in, group warm up is at 8:45 a.m. Run/walk begins 9 a.m. Course starts and ends at YMCA, going from the walking path by the Y southeast to Curtis Street, south to Townline Road, west to Highway 120, then south to head northwest on the path, east on Townline, north on Curtis, northwest on the path back to the Y.

Healthy Kids Day  April 22, 10:30 a.m.-noon, Geneva Lakes Family YMCA, 203 S. Wells St., Lake Geneva, genevalakesymca.org/hkd.

This free to the public event is part of a national YMCA initiative to improve the health and well being of children and their families. Vendors, chalk art, free car seat checks, information and resources to help families celebrate Family Strengthening Month and more.

The Anti-Boss Comedy Show  April 22, shows at 4 & 7 p.m., The Bottle Shop. Tickets: $25 plus tax. An R-rated workplace satire. Seating limited. Call 262-348-9463 for tickets.

Explore Japan Series: Ikiru screening  Monday, April 24, 2 p.m., Lake Geneva Public Library, 918 W. Main St., Lake Geneva. Akira Kurosawas 1952 classic will be shown as part of the librarys series on Japanese food, culture and media. Free and open to the public.

Womens Weekend Lake Geneva 2023  April 28-30, check in at the Riviera, 812 Wrigley Drive, Lake Geneva, www.eventbrite.com/e/womens-weekend-lake-geneva-2023-tickets-417576220717?aff=VisitLG. Tickets: $25 general admission, plus extra fees for add-ons. Sales end April 25.

A three-day blend of learning, wellness, relaxation, pampering, shopping, food and drinks under a groovy 1960s/70s theme. Activities include a kick-off party at the Riviera, a pub crawl, brewery tour, boat cruise on Geneva Lake and more. Go to Eventbrite.com page for more about activities.

TFI Friday Comedy Night  Friday, April 28, bar and restaurant open 6 p.m., doors open 7 p.m., starts 8 p.m., Lake Geneva House of Music, N3241 County Road H, Town of Geneva, lghom.com. Tickets: $15 advance, $20 day of. Laura Struve hosts a show with comedians Aaron Clark, Syed, William Krolowitz and Rich DAmore.

Now You See It, Now You Dont  April 28, 6:30-9 p.m., Baker House, 327 Wrigley Drive, Lake Geneva, bakerhouse1885.com/event/murder-mystery-dinner-now-you-see-it-now-you-dont. Cost: $95 per person.

Murder mystery dinner. Note: Event is sold out. However, people can email events@bakerhouse1885.com with their name, phone number, email address and how many tickets they would like to be placed on a waiting list.

Lakeside Laughs Comedy Night at the Abbey Resort  April 28, 7 p.m., The Abbey Resort, 269 Fontana Blvd., Fontana. Tickets: $20 per person. Hosted by Jose Montero, featuring comedians from the Chicago and Milwaukee areas.

Calendar

Explore Japan Series: Onigiri Lunch Workshop  April 20, 11:30 a.m., Lake Geneva Public Library. Lunchtime workshop to learn how to make onigiri, a staple in Japanese lunchboxes. Registration required. Email ewardpac@lglibrary.org.

Jane Austen Book Chat  April 20, 6 p.m., House of Bogini, 152 Center St., Lake Geneva. Presented by Dust Bunny Books.

Poetry & Written Word Open Mic  April 20,6:30-8:30 p.m., Delavan Lake Store, 2001 North Shore Drive, Delavan.

Dark Skies with GLAS  April 20, 6-7 p.m., Matheson Memorial Library. Geneva Lake Astrophysics and STEAM leads a presentation about light pollution, its effects and how people can help address this growing problem.

Matinees at Matheson  April 21, 1-3 p.m., Matheson Memorial Library. Screening of The Princess Bride with free popcorn and soda provided by the Friends of the Library. Movie is rated PG.

Playboy Bunny Party  April 21, 9 p.m.-2:30 a.m., Thumbs Up, thumbsuplakegeneva.com. Half-price drinks for women wearing their bunny best, plus drink specials and music provided by DJ Hollywood.

Lakeland Audubon Society chapter meeting  April 25, 7-8:30 p.m., Lions Field house, 270 Elkhorn Road, Williams Bay. Featuring the educational talk Getting to Know Shorebirds by Bill Volkert, a naturalist and wildlife educator for the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources at Horicon Marsh for 27 years. Event is free, open to the public.

An Evening with Maggie Ginsberg  April 26, 6-7:30 p.m., Lake Geneva Public Library.

The author will conduct a reading and book signing of her latest, Still True. Copies will be available to purchase. For more about the event, see the article about the librarys events for National Library Week in this weeks Resorter.

American Legion Open House  April 29, 11 a.m.-4 p.m., Frank Kresen Post 24, 735 Henry St., Lake Geneva.

The post is hosting an open house in conjunction with a nationwide program. Free hot dogs, cookies and coffee, plus the bar will be open to purchase other refreshments. Email the post at post24adj@gmail.com for more information.

Who's playing Elkhorn's DAS Fest USA this year? Red Hot Chilli Pipers Alex Meixner The Gebel Girls Ed Wagner Brass Band Jenny Hundt JFK the Band Copper Box The Happy Players Dirndolls Petty Union
Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), announced April 13 that the University of Wisconsin (UW) System has been awarded $1.1 million through the Wisconsin Fast Forward Program to expand internship opportunities in high-demand fields, from cybersecurity to agriculture to green energy and clean water jobs.

The grants will increase paid internship opportunities for UW System students with state employers by incentivizing businesses in high-demand fields to provide paid internships to Wisconsin students.

Our UW System is a major economic driver in our state and a critical resource for building our states next-generation workforce," Evers said. "These grants will help students earn while they learn, ensuring greater access and opportunities for our homegrown talent to start growing their careers right here in Wisconsin. Recruiting and retaining talented workers, maintaining our states economic momentum, and preparing our workforce for high-demand fields of the 21st century are major priorities in my 2023-25 biennial budget. We must continue to invest in programs like Fast Forward while also working to bolster our UW System, support working families, and build an economy and workforce for our states future.

In addition to several significant investments, the governors 2023-25 biennial budget proposal also includes $2 million in additional funds for the Wisconsin Fast Forward Program to expand job training opportunities in green jobs.

DWD is proud to support innovative internship opportunities for Wisconsin students through our strong partnership with the UW System. Students who intern for a Wisconsin company are more likely to stay in the state after graduation, making internships a valuable workforce retention strategy, said DWD Secretary Amy Pechacek. We continue to identify new ways to build Wisconsins next-generation workforce, providing job seekers with skills in high-demand fields and employers with high-skill job seekers.

As Wisconsins talent generator, we educate students to think critically while they also learn valuable skills needed in the workforce, said UW System President Jay Rothman. These internships will help students kick-start their careers while meeting employer demand for talent.

The more than $1.1 million Wisconsin Fast Forward funds will support several projects, including:

Green Energy and Clean Water: UW-Milwaukee received $382,000 to promote and coordinate paid internships in Wisconsins green energy and clean water industries. The university will partner with businesses in these industries to enroll 42 interns in three-month paid internships.

Agriculture: UW-River Falls received $244,426. In collaboration with industry partners, leaders will create innovative experiences in agriculture for students. Through this effort, 20 students will be placed in 14-week summer internships or 28-week academic year internships and be provided a career development seminar focused on resume-building workshops and strategies for career advancement.

Cybersecurity: UW-Stout received $298,771 to establish a comprehensive cybersecurity internship program and place 40 students in paid internships with industry partners. Interns will work 15 to 20 hours per week for a minimum of three months.

Humanities, Social Sciences: UW-Milwaukee received $208,624 to develop paid internship opportunities for 20 students in the areas of humanities, social sciences, and other majors where students are often offered unpaid internships. However, applications to the program will be available to any students interested in the internship positions. Interns will also take a career course focused on resume-building, interviewing, professional writing, and other important skills. Students will engage in a paid internship for three, six, or nine months, depending on the needs of the partner employer and the students academic schedule.

The Wisconsin Fast Forward Program awards grants to businesses from all Wisconsin industry sectors that reimburse the costs of customized occupational training for unemployed, underemployed, and incumbent workers. More information is available at https://wisconsinfastforward.com/.

IN 65 PHOTOS: The historic Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. Bottle House, 1125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee The Brewery District sign of the redeveloped former Pabst Brewing Co. complex at North 10th Street and West Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee The Brewery District sign on the redeveloped former Pabst Brewing Co. campus Grand stairway in the circa-1882 former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Brewhouse Inn and Suites lobby at the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Exterior view of Brewhouse Inn and Suites at former Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee Copper Pabst brew kettle and King Gambrinus stained glass window inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Circa-1890s King Gambrinus stained glass window inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Circular staircase inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee West-facing interior view of the circa-1882 Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St. in downtown Milwaukee East-facing interior view of the circa-1882 Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St. in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. Building 24 in The Brewery District, downtown Milwaukee Pabst Building 28 in The Brewery District, downtown Milwaukee Weathered statue of Captain Frederick Pabst at the former Pabst Brewing Co. brewery, downtown Milwaukee View of The Captain's Courtyard outdoor beer garden at Best Place on the former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Old World architecture at the former Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Sternewirt courtyard with Guest Center sign and King Gambrinus statue at Best Place, part of the historic Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Exterior view of stained glass architectural detail on the circa-1880 General Offices building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Detail view of King Gambrinus statue at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee King Gambrinus statue at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Gambrinus stained glass window at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. downtown Milwaukee Detail of the King Gambrinus Window in the former Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., in downtown Milwaukee Preserved vintage Pabst Brewing Co. signage at the former Pabst Brewing Co. complex in downtown Milwaukee Historic memorabilia on display at Best Place at the Historic Pabst Brewery, 917 W. Juneau Ave. in downtown Milwaukee Pabst skywalk and sign over West Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee, linking the Malt House (left) and Brew House Street scene of the former Pabst Brewing Co. flagship Milwaukee brewery along West Juneau Avenue King Gambrinus statue at Best Place on the historic former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. logo detail at the history former Pabst brewery campus in downtown Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. Building 27, the circa-1880 General Offices building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Old World architecture at the former Pabst Brewing Co. gift shop on the historic Pabst brewery campus in downtown Milwaukee Stained glass Pabst Breweries logo at the former Pabst Brewing Co. gift shop in downtown Milwaukee Stained glass window of monk tapping a beer barrel at the historic former Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Tavern-themed stained glass window at the historic Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Reverse view of Pabst logo stained glass window in the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Office Building Christmas decor at Best Place in the historic former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee German language wall mural in the former Sternewirt (Tap Room) guest tour center at the former Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee Vintage Pabst Blue Ribbon advertising signage at Best Place in the historic former Pabst brewery in downtown Milwaukee The Sternewirt (Tap Room) guest center at the historic Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Sternewirt (Tap Room) guest center at the historic Pabst Brewing Co. brewery in downtown Milwaukee Decorative roofline detail of the National Register-listed circa-1890 Pabst Brewing Co. Boiler House Vintage bar in The Great Hall inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Interior view of the entryway to the circa-1880 Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee The Great Hall in the circa-1880 former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Reverse view of entryway stained glass window in the circa-1880 Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Roofline ornamentation of the former Pabst Brewing Co. Bottle House, 1125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee Captain Frederick Pabst's desk in the 1880 General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Captain Frederick Pabst's Office at the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee The 42, former Pabst Brewing Co. Distribution Center, downtown Milwaukee Mixed use development ELEVEN25 at Pabst, 1125 N. 9th St., Milwaukee, in the former Pabst Bottle House Central Waters brewery on the former Pabst Brewing Co. campus Former Pabst Brewing Co. grain silos at The Brewery District, 1220 N. 11th St., Milwaukee International Business Machines (IBM) wall clock inside the former Pabst Brewing Co. General Offices Building, 923 W. Juneau Ave. Brewery District's Juneau Avenue streetscape on the former Pabst Brewing Co. campus in downtown Milwaukee Pabst bridge sign over Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee View of The Brewery District along North 9th Street, including the former Pabst Bottle House Circa-1882 Pabst Brewing Co. Brew House, 1215 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Pabst bridge sign over Juneau Avenue in downtown Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. Malt House and Brew House, North 10th Street and West Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee Pabst Professional Center, 1036 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Pabst Brewing Co. stained glass window inside The Great Hall, 923 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Decorative weathervane atop the former Pabst Brewing Co. visitor center, 917 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. 1890 Boiler House, 1243 N. 10th St., Milwaukee Former Pabst Brewing Co. Malt House, 1009 W. Juneau Ave., Milwaukee Decorative Pabst logo manhole cover at The Brewery District in downtown Milwaukee Pabst neon bridge sign, North 10th Street and West Juneau Avenue, Milwaukee
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez has announced that the National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) has opened the application period for the annual Lt. Governors STEM Scholarship Program, which awards up to $1,000 to 12 schools nationally to support STEM-related activities for youth. Applications will be accepted until May 1, with award recipients being announced in August.

From our youngest learners to students getting ready to graduate from high school, quality STEM education plays a critical role in our kids ability to adapt to the changing world around them, Rodriguez said. We also know that STEM education helps equip young people with the skills they need to succeed in the 21st-century workforce. This scholarship program is a great way to help schools provide vital STEM-related activities and to get more students excited about the ever-expanding opportunities available to them in STEM fields.

This is a wonderful opportunity to encourage innovative STEM projects in our schools, and I encourage Wisconsin schools to apply, said Wisconsin State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. Jill Underly. Teaching a computer applications class was part of my course load at the beginning of my career. Seeing how much STEM education has grown since then has been inspiring, and I know providing robust STEM and computer science offerings will be critical to Wisconsins future success.

NLGA will award 12 scholarships worth $10,000 total to 12 schools in 12 different states and territories. The Scholarship Program is administered by NLGA, the nonpartisan, nonprofit association for the nations lieutenant governors, and sponsored by ACT, the education and career readiness nonprofit.

ACT is proud to once again sponsor this program and help ensure that every student can access a high-quality STEM education, said ACT Chief Executive Officer Janet Godwin. Our country and our communities need young people who are globally competitive in STEM careers, yet many students face systemic barriers to accessing rigorous education opportunities. It is essential that all students have the support and resources to fulfill their potential.

All public, private, and Tribal schools in the 50 states and five U.S. territories are invited to apply at nlga.awardsplatform.com. Funding will be awarded to schools to support STEM-related activities, programming, curriculum, equipment, and other expenses.

The need for increased educational opportunities in STEM is non-partisan and an area of consensus for the nations lieutenant governors, said NLGA Executive Director Julia Brossart. NLGA has adopted STEM Education as a pillar of work for the association on behalf of members, who know the importance of educating students in STEM to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow.

Applications will be reviewed in spring/summer 2023 with award winners announced at the NLGA Annual Meeting in August 2023. Additional information on the STEM Scholarship Program, including instructions for applying, can be found at https://nlga.us/strategies/nlga-state-strategies-in-stem/.

In 19 Photos: 2022 Big Foot High School Homecoming Parade Big Foot High School eSports Teams Homecoming royalty Big Foot High School Homecoming Junior Reps A.J. Hartmann and Lishi Palmer Big Foot High School Homecoming Sophomore Reps Jake DeMarco and Eden Harvey Big Foot High School Freshman Class of 2026 Homecoming Float Big Foot High School Homecoming Freshman Reps Michael Alfano and Haylie Wanat Big Foot-Williams Bay Cross-Country Team Big Foot-Williams Bay Tennis Team Big Foot Recreation District Sharon Community School Band Big Foot High School "United We Stand" volunteer and culture club Sharon Community School Virtual Academy of Agriculture, Science and Technology charter school Big Foot High School Volleyball Team 1 Big Foot High School Volleyball Team 2 Walworth Middle School Marching Band Big Foot Wolves Youth Football & Cheerleading Reek School Band Geneva Lakes RUSH SoccerClub Fontana Falcons Marching Band performs in the 2022 Big Foot High School homecoming parade Big Foot High School Sophomore Class of 2025 homecoming float
Photo: BC Hydro. Workers at the Site C dam focused on turbine assembly

For the last three or four years, the construction of four major energy projects collectively worth more than $80 billion has buoyed B.C.s economy with tens of thousands of construction jobs and billions in procurement spending.



The Site C dam ($16 billion) near Fort St. John, the Coastal Gaslink natural gas pipeline ($14.5 billion), the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion ($30.9 billion) and LNG Canada project in Kitimat ($24 billion for B.C., $40 billion total) employed an estimated 19,000 to 20,000 workers last year.



In a recent economic forecast, Deloitte predicted B.C. will be harder hit than some other provinces by a recession this year, partly due to falling employment in non-residential construction, as work begins to wind down on LNG Canada and the Coastal GasLink and Trans Mountain pipelines.



But project delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters and labour shortages have meant that some of the work that was supposed to have been completed last year has been pushed into 2023, meaning there will still be plenty of construction work going on in B.C. this year as the provinces mega-projects enter the home stretch.



COVID threw everything into chaos, said BuildForce executive director Bill Ferreira. So a lot of the work that was stacking up for 2021 has been pushed into 2023.



The LNG Canada project Kitimat is about 85 per cent complete. It employs a workforce that can fluctuate, but peaks out at around 5,800.



We expect to reach peak construction workforce at the Kitimat site in mid-to-late 2023, an LNG Canada spokesperson told BIV.



Trans Mountain Corp., which last year employed an estimated 13,600 workers in B.C. and Alberta, said it expects to employ 10,500 to 11,000 workers in 2023 on its pipeline-twinning project.



In a project update in March, the company said the Trans Mountain expansion (TMX) project is 80 per cent complete, expected to finish by the end of this year and to be in service in the first quarter of 2024. A recent economic analysis by EY estimated the total spend on the pipeline expansion from 2018 to 2023 to be $26 billion, with $11 billion of that on wages.



TC Energy Corp. (TSX:TRP) said the Coastal GasLink (CGL) pipeline, which will feed the LNG Canada project in Kitimat with natural gas, is 85 per cent complete. Currently, there are about 5,000 workers employed on the project. Those numbers will drop for spring breakup before ramping back up.



This summer  May, June and July  that will ramp up again significantly, said Kiel Giddens, public affairs project director for TC Energy. We are anticipating reaching over 6,000 people again this construction season to complete the project by the end of the year. So, it is still a significant construction year for us.



Labour challenges have added significantly to the cost of both the CGL and TMX projects, which competed with each other for labour.



It ended up being a perfect storm of a tight labour market, with not only Coastal GasLink, but of course LNG Canada, Site C and  more importantly for us  Trans Mountain happening at the same time, Giddens said. CGL was competing directly with TMX for labour, and they had significantly more people on their project in 2022 than we did  about 10,000. It just all kind of happened at the same time. Its not something that was ever envisioned.



In early 2024, CGL workers will start laying down their tools, and the workforce will contract to below 1,000 workers, many of whom will be focused on post-construction remediation work.



As for Site C dam, the projects workforce peaked at 5,554 workers in October 2022. The project is now 75 per cent complete.



As major project milestones are completed in the year ahead, we expect to see total employment on the project start to trend downward late this year, BC Hydro spokesperson Greg Alexis said.



The projects earth-fill dam is 90 per cent complete, as is work to realign Highway 29. Two new 500-kilovolt, 75-kilometre transmission lines and a new substation are complete. The dam project will mark a major milestone this year when the reservoir that was created will start to be filled. But it will still take two and a half years before the dam starts producing electricity in the fall of 2025.



As these four big energy projects all cross the finish line between 2024 and 2025, a big drawdown in the construction workforce is expected. But there are other liquefied natural gas (LNG) projects now in the queue, albeit smaller ones  Woodfibre LNG in Squamish and Cedar LNG in Kitimat  that may keep some workers employed in B.C. And should LNG Canadas partners decide to pull the trigger and sanction a Phase 2 expansion  which would double production capacity  it would mean thousands of workers would still be needed for a few more years in Kitimat.



There are also several major public works projects underway in B.C., including the Broadway subway extension and Pattullo Bridge replacement. Construction of the new Surrey-Langley SkyTrain project is expected to begin in 2024.



In terms of the overall employment, were going to see a bit of a step-down, but not a significant step-down, Ferreira said. After 2024, we start to see investment levels rising again.



According to B.C.s Major Projects Inventory, there were $389 billion worth of major projects either proposed, under construction, completed or on hold as of the third quarter of 2022, and $137 billion worth of construction actually underway. (Major projects are defined as anything over $15 million.)



Of the $389 billion worth of major projects proposed or underway, the oil and gas sector, which includes LNG, accounted for 32 per cent.
Photo: ADRIAN LAM, TIMES COLONIST Ian Wish, director of sales and marketing at the Hotel Grand Pacific, says the hotel will provide rooms for some of its workers.

Some hotels and resorts on Vancouver Island and elsewhere in the province are putting temporary foreign workers up in rooms just to make sure they have enough staff to get through the summer season.

I can tell you the last two to three years, there are many hotels around the province that are taking significant numbers of their hotel room inventory and housing people, Ingrid Jarrett, president of the B.C. Hotel Association, said from Vancouver. This applies to all types of employees at a hotel, she said.

A labour shortage in the hospitality sector is long-standing, preceding the pandemic, but has grown.

We are thousands of people short and have been for many years, Jarrett said.

It really is fuelled by the retirement of the baby boomers and the lack of youth coming into B.C. and to Canada. We share this challenge with many other industries.

The sector is working on several measures to help attract people, such as high-school programs, other training programs and working with the provincial and federal governments to smooth access for those immigrating to Canada, she said.

Employers are looking outside Canada for workers, such as in Barbados, El Salvador, Mexico, England, Ireland, France and Morocco, Jarrett said. We have a housing shortage in B.C. in all areas of the province, she said.

It doesnt matter if you are in Fort St. John, if youre in Kelowna, if youre in Victoria. It is not just resort communities. There is a severe shortage of affordable rental housing.

If a hotel finds someone to fill a job but that person has nowhere to live, the opening can not be filled, she said.

Housing staff in hotel rooms is a short-term solution only. The province needs more rental housing, Jarrett said.

It is not a win for the hotel and it is not a win for the employees, she said. Everybody would prefer to have their own apartment or their own home.

She worked at a hotel five years ago which provided rooms to new employees because of the labour shortage. In the end the company partnered with another business to build workforce housing.

But that is not an easy fix. One challenge is that land is needed and land prices have increased.

At the Hotel Grand Pacific, 463 Belleville St., between five and 10 temporary foreign workers are expected to arrive for what is anticipated to be a strong tourist season, said Ian Wish, director of sales and marketing. As far as staffing this year, We are actually doing not too badly right now in terms of most departments. Its really just housekeeping where we are struggling still, he said.

We are willing to give up a few rooms to have housekeepers that can help us sell even more rooms.

Employees who need a place to stay will have their own room, augmented by features such as fridges and microwave ovens.

Putting up staff in hotel rooms is something new for the hotel, which is looking at offering it to people from this country as well, Wish said.

Brian Cant, acting president of Nanaimo-based 4VI, formerly Tourism Vancouver Island, said employers are trying to find innovative ways to house people. Workforce housing is a primary concern for many employers, he said. A fresh look at policies that would help alleviate this situation is needed, Cant said.

Tourism is one of the capital regions economic foundations. Destination Greater Victoria estimates tourism results in about $1.4 billion in visitor expenditures annually.
LEXINGTON  Dawson Public Power District is pleased to partner with the Nebraska Enterprise Fund on launching a new $15 million loan fund to support meat and poultry processing. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently awarded a $15 million grant to NEF to support the expansion of meat and poultry processing in Nebraska and portions of southwestern Iowa.

The funding is targeted towards expanding and diversifying the meat and poultry processing capacity.

During the pandemic, livestock producers struggled to find options for harvesting animals.

Prior to the pandemic, it was relatively easy to schedule appointments for processing beef and pork through area lockers, explains Dave Behle, Key Accounts and Economic Development at Dawson PPD. In a matter of months, we went from scheduling weeks ahead of time to over a year in advance. The market was turned on its head and, in many cases, producers had no options for specialty processing. Even larger markets were significantly delayed with plants temporarily closing or production significantly scaled back.

This also created an opportunity for area lockers and producers to expand their operations.

As a result of the pandemic, customers sought out new options for purchasing meat directly through the producers, adds Behle. Weve fielded many calls from producers and even processors exploring options for expanding direct marketing of their product to consumers. Theres potential for added meat processing and direct marketing for our customers in the entire district.

Due to the size and scope of the USDA grant, Dawson PPD pursued a partnership with NEF to manage the loan fund. Dawson PPD currently works with NEF on the administration of the districts revolving loan fund for the exclusive use within its territory footprint.

Working with NEF was an obvious choice to partner with on this, Behle says. They have the resources to effectively manage a large revolving loan fund. Because of their market presence in all of Nebraska and portions of southwest Iowa, these funds can really have an impact on agriculture and our rural communities.

The initial USDA funding will support small to medium-sized meat and poultry processing through cost-effective financing. NEF can partner with other financial institutions on these projects. As the loans utilizing the grant money are paid back, it will create a revolving loan fund that can support a variety of projects in the food supply chain.

Dawson PPD started its revolving loan fund in 2005 with a $200,000 grant from USDA and a $40,000 match from Dawson PPDs general funds. In 2011, there was an additional $300,000 USDA grant with a $60,000 match of Dawson PPDs funds. In 2016, the district partnered with NEF to help administer the fund. The funds have helped develop a subdivision and industrial park in Hershey, Nebraska, and established the Elwood Market. Loans have also funded local restaurants, a food processor, a value-added agricultural business, a hair salon, and a floral shop.

Questions regarding funding from this revolving loan fund or any other entrepreneurial ventures can be directed to Dave Behle, Key Accounts and Economic Development, at 308-324-2386 or dbehle@dawsonpower.com.

Dawson Public Power District is a Nebraska rural electric utility system that serves south central Nebraska. Dawson PPD provides service to more than 23,000 electric meters and maintains over 5,800 miles of power lines. Dawson PPD is in the process of merging with Central Nebraska Public Power and Irrigation District which provides surface water for about 1,100 accounts.

Together, the Platte River Public Power and Irrigation District will continue its commitment to serve customers in central Nebraska. One of the benefits of the merger will be the economic development work that PRPPID plans to continue over a larger territory.
On this episode of the Utterly Moderate Podcast, we are joined by Michael Shermer from Skeptic Magazine to discuss the rise of conspiracy theories in America.

Make sure to check out Shermer's new book on the subject, Conspiracy: Why the Rational Believe the Irrational.

The Connors Forum is an independent entity from the institutions that we partner with. The views expressed in our newsletters and podcasts are those of the individual contributors alone and not of our partner institutions.

Episode Music:
WAYNE  A former Winside Public Schools art teacher was sentenced Monday to 180 days in jail for having sexual contact with a student.

Judge Ross Stoffer also placed Rachel McPhillips, 29, of Norfolk, on two years' probation.

McPhillips pleaded no contest in February in Wayne County Court to amended charges of disturbing the peace and attempted child abuse. She had initially been charged with third-degree sexual assault and child abuse.

McPhillips was arrested a year ago for having sexual contact from September 2021 through April 2022 with a male student who was then age 15 and turned 16 during that time period.

McPhillips was the first of two Winside teachers accused of having inappropriate contact with a student in the past year.
Storm chasing neednt always be about dodging hail cores or perching yourself on the lip of a high precipitation supercell. Sometimes its best to finding a low pressure set up to test youre forecasting and targeting skills. Thats what I got in central Kansas.

A fairly classic severe weather set up was set to take place on Friday, April 14 across the Plains. An upper level trough of low pressure was going to shift into the central Plains with a surface low forming out ahead of it. A dry line would be present in western Kansas before being over taken by a cold front.

There was just one issue: there was another low pressure system that had been blocked over the Gulf of Mexico for a few days prior to Friday. Due to the counter clockwise wind movement around the low, most of the moisture was getting rotated around into the Carolinas rather than heading up into the Plains.

As a result there would be just enough moisture for storms to form but cloud bases were expected to be high. Also the mid-level winds in the trough were not the strongest and there would be only around 30 knots of low level shear, on the bottom end of what a supercell, a rotating thunderstorm, needs.

Some initial storms, likely multi-cell clusters were expected to form around peaking heating along the dryline before the cold front moved through later and would initiate a line of thunderstorms near dark.

I didnt sweat the issues with the set up too much, I had decided I wanted to chase more often this year and decided I would put my targeting to the test. A key in storm chasing is knowing where storms will form, the weather rarely rewards those who are out of position or late.

After looking at the models on Thursday evening I jumped between targeting Beloit or Lincoln, Kan. before finally settling on Salina, Kan., so I would be right on the Interstate 70 corridor if I needed to jog west.

I took off for Kansas and had to fill up at a gas station north of Concordia. When I was leaving the station, an employee came inside and complained to her co-worker that, Its so hot and muggy out there.

The first thought that sprang to my mind was, The dew points are barely in the 50s, what are you talking about? It struck me right after that the general public and storm chasers often times have radically different opinions on the weather.

I arrived in Salina around 4:30 p.m. and not a moment too soon. I had barely got my cameras all sorted out when I checked the radar and the first storms of the afternoon were firing to my west. The radar track showed the storms on track to go past Lincoln, Kan., only a couple miles away. I felt pretty pleased about my forecasting and choice of targets.

I jogged west on I-70 before finding a good spot to pull over, a wind farm was on the western horizon and would provide a good foreground for the storms.

This was one of the simpler chases I have had; storms kept initiating right behind each other and tracking the same direction. I was able to hold position for just under an hour watching the parade of cells go past me to the west.

Earlier while I was filming the storms, another storm chaser with his car decked out with an anemometer, camera on the roof and decals advertising his Youtube page (to each their own) went flying by me to the north.

A part of me felt like I should follow, maybe thinking this guy knew something I didnt. However, I saw what the storms were doing and knew I was in a good position and decided to just keep filming and shooting pictures.

Ironically, about 20 minutes later, the same chaser came back down the road past me once again. He stopped and we chatted about the dry conditions and the storm chances. As he headed off to the south I just had to laugh and told myself to trust my instincts when it comes to the storm at hand.

Once I could tell the tail end storm near my area would be moving out, I made the decision to head further west. I knew the cold front was not far off and I didnt feel like trying to navigate through a squall line filled with rain and hail as the light faded.

I traveled west to Hays, Kan., and was able to get a few shots of the storms initiating along the cold front before calling the chase and heading back north toward home. I had storms off to my east the entire time as the light faded.

In all, this was a low pressure chase that gave me the chance to further test my ability to forecast and correctly predict a target area. If I stick to the fundamentals, I hope to have the same success when it comes to the more serious set ups later in the spring.
Two men were arrested Monday on charges that they helped establish a secret police station in New York City on behalf of the Chinese government, and about three dozen officers with Chinas national police force were charged with using social media to harass dissidents inside the United States, authorities said.

The cases are part of a series of Justice Department prosecutions in recent years aimed at disrupting Chinese government efforts to locate in America pro-democracy activists and others who are openly critical of Beijings policies and to suppress their speech.

One of three cases concerns a local branch of the Chinese Ministry of Public Security that had operated inside an office building in Manhattans Chinatown neighborhood before closing last fall amid an FBI investigation. The two men who were arrested were acting under the direction and control of a Chinese government official and deleted communication with that official from their phones after learning of the FBIs probe in an apparent effort to obstruct the inquiry, according to the Justice Department.

Though China is believed to be operating secretive police outposts in countries around the globe, Justice Department officials said these arrests were the first of their kind anywhere in the world.

This is a blatant violation of our national sovereignty, Michael Driscoll, the head of New Yorks FBI field office, said at a news conference announcing the cases.

The men, identified as Harry Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, both U.S. citizens, were arrested at their homes on Monday morning. A lawyer for Lu declined to comment. An email message seeking comment was left with a lawyer for Chen.

At no point did the men register with the Justice Department as agents of a foreign government, U.S. law enforcement officials said. And though the secret police station did perform some basic services, such as helping Chinese citizens renew their Chinese drivers licenses, it also served a more sinister function, including helping the Chinese government locate a pro-democracy activist of Chinese descent living in California, officials said.

New York City is home to New Yorks finest: the NYPD, said U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, whose office brought the cases. We dont need or want a secret police station in our great city.

Justice Department officials in recent years have prioritized prosecutions of whats known as transnational repression, in which foreign governments work to identify, intimidate and silence dissidents in the U.S.

A signature case concerning China was announced in 2020, when the Justice Department charged more than a half-dozen people with working on behalf of the Chinese government in a pressure campaign aimed at coercing a New Jersey man wanted by Beijing into returning to China to face charges.

In January, the Justice Department charged three men in an alleged plot that originated in Iran to kill an I ranian American author and activist who has spoken out against human rights abuses there.

In America, the law protects all of us equally from persecution, violence and threats of violence, said David Newman, a top official in the Justice Departments national security division.

As authoritarian governments  whether the PRC, Russia, Iran, or others  become more brazen in their efforts to trample the rights and liberties that are the bedrock of our democracy, the Department of Justice will redouble its efforts to defend our democracy, our democratic institutions, and our sovereignty, Newman said, using an acronym for the Peoples Republic of China.

In a separate scheme announced yesterday [Macau time], the Justice Department charged 34 officers in the Ministry of Public Security with creating and using thousands of fake social media accounts on Twitter and other platforms to harass dissidents abroad.

Prosecutors say the defendants, all part of a specialized task force that worked out of a police facility in Beijing, also used social media to spread Chinese government propaganda on subjects including racial justice protests in the U.S., Russias war against Ukraine and human rights issues in Hong Kong. All of the defendants remain at large and are believed to be living in China.

In addition, prosecutors announced that eight Chinese government officials who are believed to be currently living in China were charged with directing an employee of a U.S. telecommunications company to remove Chinese dissidents from the companys platform.

Jin Xinjiang, also known as Julien Jin, a former China-based Zoom executive, was among 10 people charged in an amended complaint. He was initially charged in December 2020, when authorities alleged that he tried to disrupt a series of Zoom meetings in May and June of that year that were meant to commemorate the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre.

At the time, Jin served as Zooms primary liaison with Chinese government law enforcement and intelligence services, regularly responding to requests by the Chinese government to terminate meetings and block users on Zooms video communications platform, authorities said.

LARRY NEUMEISTER, NEW YORK, MDT/AP
The approval of Japans first license to operate a casino will not have a direct impact on the city given the difference in its target market.

MGM Resorts International was granted a license late last week after the government approved the controversial plan to open the countrys first casino in the city of Osaka as the Japanese government seeks to lure more foreign tourists.

The resort will be operated by Osaka IR KK, established by the Japanese subsidiary of U.S. casino operator MGM Resorts International, Japans Orix Corp. financial services group, and a number of regional investors.

We dont believe there will be much direct impact as Japan is likely to go for the VIP segment, which Macau no longer targets, said Ben Lee, managing partner of IGamiX Management & Consulting to the Times.

Macaus gaming operators have been focusing on targeting the mass market, particularly after the crackdown on junkets that brought VIP clients to the citys casino floors.

Although the gaming sector of the region is recovering after nearly three years of low profits, there remains some anxiety about whether the VIP and premium market will ever return.

It is unclear whether Beijing will allow these visitors frequent visits, which was the case before the pandemic.

Currently, gaming concessionaires are required to diversify their non-gaming elements as part of its pledge to the government and as required in their contracts following the recent massive overhaul of the SARs gaming laws.

Meanwhile, Lee said, The Japanese have previously said they do not want to be swamped and will target the upper tier Chinese.

Pre-pandemic, Chinese visitors to Japan have been growing. Official figures show that in 2019, there were 9.6 million arrivals from the mainland.

The number of Chinese tourists has increased four-fold from 1.4 million in 2012 to 7.4 million in 2017, overtaking South Korea as the biggest source market. In 2018, they numbered more than 8.3 million.
In an opinion article published yesterday by major Portuguese daily Publico, local lawyer Sergio de Almeida Correia highlights the visit of the Chief Executive (CE) to Portugal starting on April 18th, and urges the Portuguese authorities to remember their commitment to Macau as per the bilateral international treaty, the Luso-Chinese Joint Declaration (DCLC), signed on April 13, 1987.

He emphasizes that while the visit is important, it should not overshadow the essential issues that need to be addressed.

Correia stresses the need for the Portuguese authorities to analyze the current situation in Macau in light of the changes that have been introduced in recent years, particularly with regard to points (4) and (5) of the second part of the DCLC.

In his Publicos article, he calls for an evaluation of whether the social and economic systems, as well as the way of life, have remained unchanged since 1987, and whether and to what extent personal freedoms such as expression, press, assembly, association, movement, migration, and strike are respected.

The veteran lawyer also stresses the importance of assessing the use of the Portuguese language in the government bodies, the legislative branch, and courts of the MSAR, and whether it aligns with the agreed-upon and defined systems and freedoms for the residents.

Correia acknowledges that initially, between 1999 and 2012, there were no significant changes in the social, economic, and legal fabric of Macau, and the Basic Law played its role despite some new elements introduced by different actors.

He credits the remarkable economic development of Macau to the intelligent approach taken by the authorities in Beijing and the first CE, Edmund Ho, who was a banker from one of the most powerful traditional families in Macau with a global outlook and appropriate training.

However, he points out that without proper checks and balances in place, this development has become unbalanced, one-sided, and allowed for a phenomenon of neocolonization by dubious capital, accompanied by uncontrolled speculation and corruption.

Correia emphasizes that it is crucial for the Portuguese authorities to remember their commitment to Macau as per the DCLC and to assess whether the principles of the treaty have been upheld.

He cautions against complacency and calls for a thorough evaluation of the current situation in Macau, including the preservation of the systems and freedoms that were promised to the residents of Macau.

Finally, Correia concludes by stating that it is essential for Portugal not to forget its historical ties with Macau and to ensure that the spirit of the Joint Declaration is upheld in the bilateral relationship between Portugal and China. PC
A local man who is studying at a university in mainland China has been scammed of over MOP4,100. One day he received a message purporting to be sent from a Macau telecom operator regarding membership points for his phone account. He was asked to click on a link. Believing it to be authentic, he clicked the link and provided his fathers credit card information. Afterwards, his father received two text messages concerning outgoing credit card transactions. The father immediately reported the incident to the Judiciary Police.

Related
To ensure the quality of the service paid to visitors, the Macao Government Tourism Office (MGTO) has said that it is preparing additional audits of several tourism operators, including establishments, transportation providers, and tour guides, among others.

The additional inspection has the purpose of preventing tourism-related disputes as well as finding any situations of illegality or wrongdoing, especially concerning illegal tour guides and taxi drivers, MGTOs deputy director Ricky Hoi said. Hoi noted that MGTO is collaborating with the police authorities as well as other government departments on this task.

The same official also mentioned that only six cases of illegal tour guides (previously reported) have been found so far this year.

All the cases related to the unauthorized operation of mainland guides in Macau have been forwarded through the communication mechanism between the tourism authorities of Macau and the mainland.

Hoi also advanced that MGTO has so far received around 2,300 applications for group tour subsidies. Since last Saturday, Macau has received the first of 14 such tours, which did not originate on the mainland.

First subsidized foreign tour group arrives

The citys first subsidized foreign tour group arrived on April 15.

The tour group was from Thailand.

The MGTO is running a subsidization scheme to attract tourists to Macau not only for individual travel plans, but also for tours groups.

The non-greater China source market is a key market for the Macau government after Covid-19.

Meanwhile, it was revealed that the MGTO has continued operating transport perks between Macau and Hong Kong, which are also applicable to non-Hong Kong entrants. However, the plan no longer provides perks to Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge shuttle bus passengers.

On this matter, Hoi explained that invitations were sent to all transport operators, but each of them enjoys the discretion whether to participate or not.

On extending the stay of tourists, the MGTO, in reply to lawmaker Wong Kit Chengs inquiry, said that it would escalate its cooperation with the tourism trade in compiling multiple-stop trip products.

Multiple-trip trip is a conceptual term widely used by the government and the local tourism trade to refer to tours comprising more stops than only an origin and a destination.

MGTO brings light show to Lisbon

In its promotional trip to Portugal, the MGTO has brought the locally well-received annual light and video mapping show to the capital city of Lisbon.

The Light Up Macao: Macao Tourism Video Mapping Show is the first overseas presence of the event branded Light up Macao held by MGTO at home.

The Portuguese shows will be held from today until April 22 at 8:30 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 9:30 p.m. and 10:00 p.m. every evening. Each session lasts about 12 minutes.

Images are projected upon the facades of major architecture at the Square of Commerce, to showcase Macaus tourism elements and unique strengths for local residents. In terms of the design concept, the mapping show consists of four chapters, namely Encounter of Chinese and Portuguese cultures, Heritage and Gastronomy, Deepening the cross-

sectoral integration of Tourism + as well as the 1+4 Strategy in support of appropriate economic diversification, among other elements.

Promotional stalls have also been set up in the Portuguese capital to promote Macau. The MGTO said the Experience Macao Unlimited  Macao Promotion in Lisbon represents the citys first physical tourism promotion in Europe after the pandemic. It is being held at the Square of Commerce from 2:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. daily until April 22. Rm/al
A regional realty agency expressed confidence in the number of transactions and pricing of shops within the Greater Bay Area (GBA) in the second quarter of the year, at a press conference yesterday.

The resumption of normal travel within the GBA has boosted first-quarter purchase prices and rentals within the area, Centaline Property pointed out. With further relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions and resumption of normalcy, the second quarter will even see higher prices, the realtor added.

The agency expects that the number of transactions and pricing of GBA shops will rise by 20% and 10% on average respectively, signaling full prosperity.

Citing data that shows escalating tourist arrivals, spending, tourism price index and gross gambling revenue (GGR), Roy Ho, senior director of the realtors Macau and Hengqin areas, pointed out that many shop space owners in Macau have decided to lease their space instead of sell, after witnessing the momentum following the return to normal commercial conditions.

According to Ho, this change of mentality caused a fall in supply and pushed prices up. Foreseeing the second quarter, the realtor executive predicts only a 20% increase in the number of transactions due to the lack of supply.

He added that both local and external investors are eyeing local shop spaces.

On lease, Jack Lei, senior regional sales director for industrial and retail properties of the agency, recapped that in the first quarter, Macau has logged 52% more concluded shop lease deals year-over-year, reaching 365 transactions.

Of these cases, 14 saw monthly rent surpassing HKD200,000 per month and two exceeding HKD1 million per month. A single building at the Largo do Sao Domingos was rented for HKD2 million per month.

Rentals at tourism and casino districts, meanwhile, recorded rises ranging between 75% and 178% on average, with some of them rising by three to four fold. Despite the rise, average rents in tourism and casino districts have seen falls of 27% and 32% respectively from pre-Covid prices.

Rentals in these districts are expected to further rise for 15-20%, considering several upcoming holidays. Rentals in livelihood districts, however, will be relatively stable as local residents are expected to travel outside Macau.
Photo: The Canadian Press John Kearney, a former wind power consultant, is objecting to a development in Nova Scotia, saying it poses too great a risk to migrating birds.

Environmental researcher John Kearney says the whirring blades of a proposed 13-turbine wind farm in Nova Scotia may cut greenhouse gases, but the risks they pose to migrating birds are too high.

The 74-year-old former consultant to the wind industry has in recent years set up acoustic monitoring in southwestern Nova Scotia, documenting species ranging from black-capped chickadees to spotted sandpipers as they call out during autumn flights.

"I'm speaking from the perspective of a person who supports both the objectives of wind power and preserving biodiversity, and here they come in conflict," he said in a recent interview, shortly after submitting written submissions to the province objecting to the proposed project on a peninsula west of Yarmouth.

"To me, it's quite clear this wind farm should never happen."

Kearney has a PhD in environmental anthropology  which involves relationships between humans and nature. He came to his conclusion after finding that bird calls just south of the proposed Wedgeport Wind Farm averaged 538 per hour after sunrise.

He says this is nearly equal to the intensity of Brier Island, N.S., located further west, which was recently cited in the Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science as "one of the migration hot spots of northeastern North America."

To Kearney, rejecting the project would help preserve the avian songs, but industry proponents counter that there's limited evidence to show the proposed coastal location threatens bird populations.

In an email, Daniel Eaton, the project director at Vancouver-based Elementary Energy, noted the firm and its partners, Stevens Wind and Sipekne'katik First Nation, are responding to the Nova Scotia government's goal of a 53 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2023.

Eaton said that in 2025, the first year of potential operation, the project is anticipated to offset 112,750 tonnes of carbon emissions  which is roughly equivalent to the yearly output of 25,000 gasoline-powered cars.

"We agree there are a variety of habitat types in southwestern Nova Scotia that are important to migratory birds and are appreciative of the work that Mr. Kearney has undertaken to collect information on migratory bird activity across a number of sites in southwestern Nova Scotia," Eaton wrote on Monday.

However, he added, "we stand by the work done by our consultants, including their work to estimate potential bird mortalities associated with our project." The company's submission in the environmental review argues once "standard industry mitigation measures" are in place, the impact of the turbines on the birds is "not significant."

It notes their own field survey identified 100 bird species within and outside the project area, and about 16,000 individual birds. The proponents predict the project will cause about 36 bird deaths a year, citing a model developed in 2016 from Scottish Natural Heritage, an environmental advisory body.

Kearney is critical of the model and questions why theoretical data is being used when the proponent could be asked to study functioning wind turbines near the site to obtain mortality rates occurring along the windy and foggy Nova Scotia coast.

And he returns to his acoustic data, saying it gives compelling, comparative evidence that the proposed farm is in the middle of a migration corridor.

The Nova Scotia Bird Society has also objected to the wind farm, saying its members have observed the concentrations of birds passing overhead, "feeding on berries in the barrens and capturing insects in the trees."

"We understand first hand the interconnections between terrestrial and marine habitats, which result in a high species richness," wrote Anthony Millard, president of the society.

Mikaela Etchegary, a spokeswoman for the provincial Environment Department, said the minister, Tim Halman, "will consider the facts, science, and comments from the public and Mikmaq," and render a decision by May 4.

Scott Leslie, a naturalist and the author of "Woodland Birds of North America", urges the Progressive Conservative government to take Kearney seriously.

"He is one of the pioneers of using the latest bio-acoustical listening technology in Nova Scotia .... This is a powerful tool for assessing small migratory birds, and one of the most cost effective ways for people to establish whether or not a particular place is important for small migrants," he wrote in an email.
* Regaining momentum

 Transactions and pricing of commercial properties are expected to rise by up to 20% in the second quarter, signaling full prosperity

* Gaming | Baccarat accounts for 84% of Q1 GGR

* Pham Binh Dam | Consul calls for more Vietnamese workers in Macau

* Lawyer Sergio Correia calls for Portugal to remember its commitment to Macau in Publico newspaper as Ho Iat Seng visits the country

* Japans first casino to have no impact on Macau gaming ops: Expert

* Chinas economic growth accelerated in the latest quarter as consumer flocked back to shops

* The Conversation

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Wednesday, April 19, 2023  edition no. 4228
A man convicted last year of killing his parents had two of the lesser charges he was convicted of in that case vacated by a Dane County judge on Wednesday but remains sentenced to life in prison.

Chandler M. Halderson, 25, was found guilty on Jan. 20, 2022, of two counts each of first-degree intentional homicide, lying to investigators, mutilating a corpse and hiding a corpse in the July 2021 killings of Bart and Krista Halderson. He was sentenced in March 2022 to life in prison without the possibility of release.

Research uncovered in an unrelated criminal trial in Dane County later determined that, under state statute, convictions for hiding a corpse can only be imposed when evidence is not strong enough to support a conviction for mutilating a corpse.

As such, the judge in Haldersons case, John Hyland, said during a short hearing Wednesday that Haldersons jury should not have been presented with the option of convicting Halderson on both charges, and he vacated the convictions for hiding a corpse.

The Dane County District Attorneys Office did not object to the judges actions.

Halderson, who appeared at the hearing by video, is currently incarcerated at the Dodge Correctional Institution in Waupun. Testimony at his murder trial showed Halderson killed, dismembered and attempted to incinerate his parents in the fireplace of the familys Windsor home in July 2021 after his father discovered hed been lying about his job and educational prospects.
Madison police are investigating after a man showed up at a hospital with stab wounds shortly before 5 p.m. on Friday.

Officers checked his home in the 700 block of Odana Lane for other victims, but none were found, police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said in a statement.

The man's injuries are not considered life-threatening, Fryer said.

No arrests have been made, Fryer said.

Police ask that anyone with information on the incident contact them at 608-255-2345. Tipsters may remain anonymous by contacting Madison Area Crime Stoppers at 608-266-6014 or P3Tips.com. Individuals contacting Crime Stoppers can receive a reward of up to $1,000 for tips that lead to an arrest.
A man who crashed into a Southwest Side house on Tuesday afternoon claimed a man with a gun was chasing him, Madison police reported.

The mans problem was that an officer saw him speeding and driving recklessly minutes before he crashed into the house in the 7300 block of Arctic Fox Drive and didnt see any other vehicles in the area, police spokesperson Stephanie Fryer said in a statement.

The officer was on patrol on Country Grove Drive around 12:45 p.m. Tuesday when he saw the vehicle speeding and driving recklessly, and then speed away after spotting the officer, Fryer said.

The man, who was not identified, was taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries, left in the care of family and issued traffic tickets, Fryer said.

No one inside the home was injured and the Madison Fire Department was called to check for structural damage to the home, Fryer said.

Photos: Remembering horrific van crash that killed 7 young people in 1999
A Dane County judge on Wednesday rejected a request by one of the attorneys involved in the Republican attempt to hand Wisconsins Electoral College votes to Donald Trump to disqualify the law firm suing the group.

Jim Troupis, a former Republican-appointed Dane County judge who represented Trump in a failed effort to overturn Wisconsins 2020 election results, filed the motion last summer alleging he and his wife had an ongoing attorney-client relationship with Stafford Rosenbaum attorney Johanna Allex at the time that other lawyers with the law firm brought the lawsuit against him and several others in May 2022.

Troupis and his wife retained the firm in late 2019 and worked with Allex to develop and prepare an estate plan, which involved providing the law firm with intensely private and confidential matters and information about their family, assets, and finance, according to Troupis motion.

While the estate plan was never finalized, Troupis considers himself a client of Stafford Rosenbaum. He contended the financial information provided to the law firm as part of preparing an estate plan is relevant to the lawsuit, as it seeks punitive damages from the defendants.

Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington ruled that Troupis attorney-client relationship with Allex ended in February 2020, after he paid the firm for services related to the estate plan  more than two years before the lawsuit was filed. Remington said Troupis belief that he continued to have an attorney-client relationship after that point was not reasonable.

Troupis attorney, Matthew Fernholz, argued Stafford Rosenbaum needed to formally notify Troupis it had concluded its attorney-client relationship.

Attorney Stacie Rosenzweig, who represents Stafford Rosenbaum, said Allex billed Troupis for less than nine hours of work and sent him and his wife estate plan documents in late 2019. The Troupises did not respond to the email or any follow-up correspondence, Rosenzweig said.

They went radio silent, and they went radio silent for two years, Rosenzweig said.

2022 lawsuit

The lawsuit was filed almost two years later in 2022 on behalf of a handful of Democrats, including two official presidential electors, against the 10 Republicans, as well as Boston-area lawyer Kenneth Chesebro and Troupis.

Attorneys for the plaintiffs allege the 10 Republicans broke several criminal and civil laws, including counterfeiting public records, illegally interfering with official procedures, defrauding the public and engaging in conspiracy, when they signed the official-looking documents and, by doing so, played a role in the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt at the nations Capitol.

Plaintiffs seek more than $2.4 million in damages, including $2,000 fines for the Republicans and their attorneys, and up to $200,000 in punitive damages for each plaintiff.

Nine of the 10 Republicans last month filed a motion seeking to have the lawsuit broken up and brought before individual courts in their counties of residence.

Remington has not yet ruled on the motion.

The slate of 10 Republicans met at the state Capitol on Dec. 14, 2020, to sign official-looking documents asserting that Trump won the state. The meeting took place on the same day that the Democratic slate of Wisconsin electors convened in the Capitol building to deliver the states 10 electoral votes to President-elect Joe Biden. It also occurred after the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that Biden had won the election and a month after Wisconsin county clerks canvassed the presidential election results.

Elections 101: Video series explains how elections are carried out in Wisconsin The Wisconsin Elections Commission put together the following series of instructional videos and accompanying lesson plans for use in high school civics classes and the general public. Elections overview An overview of elections administration in Wisconsin. Voting Security Let's take a look at how we maintain security and integrity with all of our elections. Nuts and bolts The ins-and-outs of voter processes like registering to vote and requesting a ballot to vote absentee. A Day at the Polls See what it is like to go to the polls and vote.
Dr. Tom Zdeblick, the longtime head of UW-Madisons orthopedics department who resigned as chair last year and retired from the university, has joined the practice of 11 former SSM Health orthopedic surgeons who left to start a competing, independent group.

Zdeblick, who has led national spinal surgery organizations, has joined Orthopedic and Spine Centers of Wisconsin, which opened in Madison in February. The group is being managed by Phoenix-based Healthcare Outcomes Performance, or HOPCo.

Dr. Jason Sansone, the leader of the independent practice, told the Wisconsin State Journal in November that the group plans to build a specialty orthopedics hospital and an ambulatory surgery center in Dane County within two years. Additional surgery centers are planned, likely in the Janesville and Baraboo areas and possibly elsewhere in the region, Sansone said.

SSM Health also has been planning to build an ambulatory surgery center for orthopedics, in Sun Prairie, the organization said in a lawsuit in November against Sansone and Dr. Brian Keyes, another of the departing surgeons.

In late December, UW Health said it plans to build an ambulatory surgery center attached to its hospital on Madisons Far East Side.

Zdeblick stepped down as orthopedics chair at UW in June after Dr. Robert Golden, dean of the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, denied Zdeblicks plan to start an ambulatory surgery center largely owned by him and other UW doctors.

Orthopedic surgeons play a key role in hospital finances, with each generating an average of $3.3 million a year in hospital revenue, according to a report last year by consultant Merritt Hawkins. That is second only to interventional cardiologists, who bring in an average of $3.5 million.

Zdeblick, whose payments from a medical device maker were the focus of federal probes and spurred more oversight of conflicts of interest at UW and nationally, has said he has been paid well for good ideas that improved medical care.

Meanwhile, some surgeons from the Orthopedic and Spine Centers of Wisconsin are working at hospitals in Beaver Dam, Platteville and Edgerton.
Nobody was hurt during the 2020 incident, but some who were not involved were nearly struck by bullets.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world's largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.

Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion data center on the 315-acre (127-hectare) parcel in Mount Pleasant, a village of about 27,000 people in Racine County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Milwaukee. It's unclear how many people the center might employ. Paul Englis, Microsoft's director of global community research and engagement, told the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that such centers typically employ 300 to 400 people.

The village already is home to a Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing facility. The Taiwan-based company is best known for making Apple iPhones. The company announced plans in 2017 to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant that would employ 13,000 people.

Wisconsin's governor at the time, Republican Scott Walker, and then-President Donald Trump praised the decision, with Trump boasting the plant would be the eighth wonder of the world.

The state agreed to provide Foxconn with nearly $3 billion in tax breaks. The company never delivered on its promises and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers scaled back the tax breaks to $80 million contingent on the number of jobs created and investments. The company qualified for just $8.6 million in tax credits last year after creating 768 eligible jobs and making a $77.4 million capital investment by the end of 2021.

According to a fact sheet describing the Microsoft project compiled by southeastern Wisconsin economic development groups, the parcel of land is part of a tax-increment financing district that includes the Foxconn campus. Property taxes collected in such districts can be used to subsidize development.

Foxconn spent $60 million to help Mount Pleasant officials buy the property to create the district, said Mia Tripi, a spokesperson for the village and Racine County.

Foxconn would receive the proceeds from the land sale to Microsoft as partial reimbursement of what Foxconn spent to acquire land for the district in 2017, according to the fact sheet. Microsoft would be eligible to recoup 42% of property taxes paid on new construction, up to $5 million annually.

Microsoft must begin the first phase of construction by July 2026 and begin the second phase by July 2033.

The tech sector has been contracting after pandemic-era expansions brought on a boom in demand for workplace software. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, hasn't been immune to the trend, announcing in January that it planned to cut 10,000 workers and consolidate leased office locations. Company officials said then that the layoffs amounted to less than 5% of their total employee base.

This story has been corrected to show that Paul Englis spoke to the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday  not Thursday.
A Filer man was injured Monday afternoon when the pickup he was driving overturned in the median of Interstate 84 after the trailer it was pulling began to fishtail, police say.

The 52-year-old man was eastbound at milepost 186 at 12:50 p.m. at the time of the accident, the Idaho State Police said. The driver was taken to the hospital via air ambulance.

Traffic in the eastbound lanes on I-84 was blocked for approximately 20 minutes.

Idaho State Police was assisted by the Idaho Department of Transportation and Jerome Fire Department.
Photo: The Canadian Press Brothers Parker, left, and Carver Cammans install cloud seeding equipment in Lyons, Colo.

Garrett Cammans and his brothers sometimes don't talk about their toughest moments on the job in the cloud seeding business, like the time when one of them got stuck in deep mountain snow and had to hike out alone in the dark.

They're going out into some pretty remote and rural areas," Cammans said. "And there have been a few close encounters with wildlife we dont like to discuss at the family dinner table.

But snow  as much as possible  is at the heart of the Cammans family business, Utah-based North American Weather Consultants, which holds cloud seeding contracts throughout the U.S. West, centered in the Rocky Mountains.

Lately, business is up. Amid two decades of drought, cloud seeding  using airplanes or ground equipment to waft rain-and-snow-making particles into clouds  is on the rise in the Rockies.

Colorado has added three new programs in the last five years. Wyoming, which began seeding in 2014, added an aerial program in 2018. Utah has steadily increased its fleet of cloud seeding equipment, and the state legislature just approved record funding to further expand programs and research.

No small part of the growth is due to intense pressure drought is placing on the Colorado River and its tributaries that supply water to millions of people from Wyoming to Los Angeles.

Not everybody believes cloud seeding is a worthwhile remedy. Some experts say conserving water is a better, more down-to-earth way to ensure enough water to go around. Juicing clouds to produce marginally more precipitation, they say, is an iffy alternative.

It's always easier to talk about how to get more water than to talk about how to use less," said Kathryn Sorensen with the Kyl Center for Water Policy at Arizona State University in Tempe. When you look at the problem of over-allocation on the Colorado River, the numbers are so large that really the solutions lie in using less, particularly in the agricultural sector. Politically thats really painful to confront.

But in the Rockies, cloud seeding these days has a full embrace from local and state officials eager for a not-too-expensive way to put more water in streams, rivers and especially the big Colorado River system reservoirs that hit record lows last year.

Their approach: shoot silver iodide into clouds, where moisture binds to the particles, forms ice and falls as snow. That snowpack high in the mountains serves as year-round cold storage for water that's released as it melts.

In Wyoming, cloud seeding by plane attempts to increase snowpack on the west side of the Wind River Mountains, so snowmelt flows into the Green River and to communities downstream  eventually reaching the Colorado River and its reservoirs including Lake Powell and Lake Mead.

Cloud seeding generates water that wouldnt have been there before, said Bryan Seppie, general manager of the Joint Powers Water Board providing water to southwestern Wyoming communities. Thats just a benefit to the entire system.

Water providers in the Lower Colorado River Basin contribute about $1.5 million annually to cloud seeding in the Upper Basin, where snowmelt feeds the river. Recently, the federal government announced a $2.4 million contribution to the effort, a nod to the desperate times.

Despite the renewed attention, cloud seeding has been used around the world and in the Rockies for more than 50 years.

Cloud seeding in the U.S. got oversold and federal funding dried up in the 1990s and early 2000s, said Frank McDonough, a scientist at the Desert Research Institute in Reno, Nevada.

Water folks at the local level knew it worked so they continued to fund it with states, McDonnough said. Now theres new evidence that shows it does work.

A study of Idaho aerial seeding in 2017 revealed a clear snowfall pattern on a radar that mirrored the seeding and offered evidence the method works.

Utah has calculated the amount of additional water cloud seeding created there. It added 186,000 acre-feet of water, or nearly a 12% increase, to the state's supply in 2018, according to an analysis by the Division of Water Resources. The agency says the cost was $2.18 per acre-foot  a fraction of the $20 California farmers pay for that amount of water.

That cost per acre-foot was so low, its kind of a no brainer, said Jake Serago, water resources engineer with the division.
As the public comment period for the Lava Ridge Wind Project draws to a close this week, local and state lawmakers delivered three resolutions opposing the wind energy proposal to the Bureau of Land Managements Shoshone Field Office on Tuesday.

Magic Valley Energy and LS Power have applied for a right-of-way permit from the BLM to construct the Lava Ridge project, which could site up to 400 wind turbines on public lands in Jerome, Lincoln and Minidoka counties.

At a capacity of 1,000 megawatts, Lava Ridge would be the largest wind energy project on public lands and the second-largest facility in the United States while doubling the amount of wind energy produced in Idaho. Magic Valley Energy estimates the prioject could power 360,000 to 600,000 homes.

The public comment period for the Draft Environmental Impact Statement opened Jan. 20, and ends Thursday.

Legislators deliver resolution opposing Lava Ridge BLM Twin Falls region director Mike Courtney, front left, accepts the resolution adopted by the Idaho State Legislature against the Lava Ridge

Legislators from four Magic Valley districts handed House Concurrent Resolution 4 to BLM Twin Falls region director Mike Courtney. The resolution was adopted unanimously by both the Idaho State House and Senate, and urged the BLM to select Alternative A, the no-build option.

I was tickled pink it went through ... unanimously, Rep. Jack Nelsen, R-Jerome, the resolutions sponsor, told the Times-News in a phone call. Not many things move through the Legislature unanimously, so Im quite proud of that happening.

The same week the Senate voted to adopt the resolution, seven Idaho counties signed a joint resolution urging suspension of Lava Ridge and future wind energy projects on public lands.

Twin Falls Commissioner Jack Johnson ceremonially delivered that joint resolution to the BLM, as well.

Nelsen said all these things happening in conjunction gives a sense of momentum.

Maybe its the wind at the back of everybody pushing the opposition along Nelsen said. We hope thats true, but its still down to a federal decision.

The BLM wont release the total number of comments until all have been tabulated, cataloged and entered into the record. Nelsen said he heard the BLM has received over 6,000 comments.

Frankly its like, if you dont vote, you dont have any right to complain, Nelsen said. The hope is they really do take into consideration the local communitys opinions.

A collection of Lava Ridge stories See more coverage of the Lava Ridge proposal from the Times-News.
RUPERT  A third-generation Minidoka County farmer donated a new 5,000 square-feet building, called the Minidoka County Power Museum, to the Minidoka County Historical Society Museum.

Thats not all: Hes also furnished it with a collection of old tools and farm equipment, along with examples of some of the earliest steam, gasoline and diesel engines.

I believe, if you give people the knowledge about something they are more likely to feel an obligation to preserve it, donor John David Remsberg III said.

The new annex, at 99 E. Baseline Rd. in Rupert, will hold an open house in June.

Remsberg started his collection of antique equipment and engines when he retired from farming 20 years ago.

I had to have something to do and farming had been good to me, Remsberg said. I had a museum in mind all along.

Remsbergs grandfather, John Remsberg Sr., moved to Minidoka County from Kansas in 1909 and helped settle the original A.C. DeMary homestead, which he then purchased.

In the early 1930s, Remsbergs father, John David Remsberg, Jr., aquired the farm and later passed it on to him.

Remsberg has passed the farm to his daughter Anna Strauch, who will eventually leave it to her three children to carry on the tradition.

Remsberg began to work on getting permission and constructing the building about three years ago.

All of the displays are in working order and exhibit their natural patina.

Paint is the nemesis of antiques, he said.

The museum is laid out in chronological order, starting with the pre-1700s and moving into the 20th century. It includes items like hand tools, animal traps and horse equipment to steam, gasoline and diesel engines that are hooked up to equipment to demonstrate how they were used. There are also examples of early farming equipment.

Many of the displays have information printed with QR codes so the details can be brought up on a persons cellphone.

Remsberg also hopes to open up a few of the displays so people can climb on the equipment and try it out for themselves.

The experience is different when people can stand on it and look at it up close, he said.

Tours for fourth- and fifth-grade students studying history have already been given, and Remsberg has formulated three different tours depending on who the patrons are and how much time they have.

Everything in here is my favorite, Minidoka County Historical Society Board Member Ray Stockton said. There is nothing like it anywhere else in this part of the country.
I had the honor last weekend to be the keynote speaker at the Bannock County Democratic Partys annual banquet.

As an Idaho Democrat, I was particularly honored because I feel more at home in Southern Idaho than my ultra-liberal neighborhood in Boise. Bannock County Democrats are, in my opinion, the heart and soul of the Democratic Party in our great state and represent the values of the majority of Idahoans. Theyre not whiners, theyre winners. They slug it out in purple and red neighborhoods year after year, and thats made their candidates and volunteers tough as nails.

The same could be said of Democrats throughout Southern Idaho who are forced to swim against the tide just to be competitive.

Its about time Democrats in the rest of the state took their cues from Bannock County and Southern Idaho.

The Bannock County Democratic Gala is named in honor of the legendary Richard Stallings, who represented Idaho in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 1993. He told a story about how he stood toe-to-toe with President Ronald Reagan in the Oval Office about not funding the Contras in Nicaragua (for our younger readers, look it up. It was kind of a big deal). Idaho elected Stallings multiple times based on the strength of his character, rather than his political party.

Like many successful Idaho Democrats who win in purple and red districts, he was able to connect with voters on a personal level. That allowed them to look past the letter in front of his name and vote for the man rather than the party.

Those are the kind of candidates Idaho Democrats should invest in, and volunteer for.

NECOCHEA: Here's how Democrats did the people's work in 2023 legislative session IDAHO DEMOCRATIC PARTY: We stopped some of the assaults on our freedoms during the 2023 legislative session, but couldnt thwart all of them.

I bring this up because now is the time for candidates and volunteers to get back to work. The 2023 legislative session is over. As I noted in last weeks column, there is a lot to be concerned about if youre an Idaho Democrat, Independent or REAL Republican.

However, as I argued, those voters also saw a lot of victories on the issues of investing in public schools, Medicaid expansion, ballot initiative rights and property taxes. The core of all those issues can be found in Idaho Democratic values. However, all of that can be lost in the snap of a finger if we dont remain diligent, and shift our focus toward flipping seats in the Legislature. Those gains will not be found in my neighborhood, but rather in the purple and red districts where the majority share Idaho Democratic values of freedom, family and prosperity for all.

Its time to get back to work.

First off, if youre a volunteer knocking on doors in baby blue districts, its time to graduate. Your skills and hard work are needed by candidates whose only goal is the flip seats. If you can find a candidate like that (and there are plenty to choose from), you will get more out of a single afternoon than you will knocking on doors for a month in my neighborhood. Let the new generation of volunteers patrol my block so they can get their feet wet, while you venture out into a district where your abilities will actually make a difference.

Second, donors. I am one of you. I fancy myself a value investor who likes getting a good deal as much as the next person. If youre not investing in candidates trying to flip seats, or hang onto seats in purple and red districts, you may as well set your money on fire. Invest in candidates who are dedicated to eradicating radicalism in our state. It is the single biggest danger Idaho faces right now, and its only going to get worse if you keep giving money to candidates in safe districts. You will get much more bang for your buck by investing in candidates like the ones in Bannock County and their counterparts throughout the state.

If you choose to invest in an organization, you should insist your money go toward helping those candidates. Thats what I do.

The 2023 legislative session may have left a bad taste in the mouths of the majority of Idahoans. But, if all we do is sit around and maintain the status quo, things will be even worse next year.

And the year after that.

Time to get back to work.
Idahos new attorney general Raul Labrador pledged during the election campaign that he was going to represent the people, not the bureaucracy.

Voters seemed to assume this was just campaign rhetoric and that he would settle down after the election to do the work required of the AG  to faithfully advise and represent the state government. Unfortunately, that has not been the case.

Labrador has shown a decided preference for representing his friends and supporters, regardless of the interests of the state. He has been helping his people, rather than the people.

The only reason Idaho has an AG is to serve the people as the lawyer for their government, which is sometimes called the bureaucracy. Under our system of representative government, the people means the government of Idaho and its officers and agencies. When Idahos Constitution was being fashioned in 1889, one delegate said that the attorney general has to be the adviser of all state officers.

Section 67-1401 of the Idaho Code sets out the duties the AG swears, upon oath, to carry out for the state. Chief among them is to perform all legal services for the state and its officials and agencies. All of them are his clients and he is obligated under the Idaho State Bars ethical rules  the Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct  to act in their best legal interests. The rules require all lawyers, including the AG, to act with undivided loyalty toward their clients and to take no action adverse to client interests without first obtaining written client consent.

Any lawyer violating these duties, including the AG, can expect disciplinary action by the Bar, up to and including disbarment.

One of Labradors first acts was to dismiss a trespassing charge against one of his prominent supporters. He was supposed to be the peoples prosecutor in that case but he acted in favor of his supporter who was charged with violating the peoples law.

Idaho AG at odds with Health and Welfare again. This time its over child protection Idaho Attorney General Raul Labrador says he wants to review a child protection case that involved the grandson of one of his supporters.

More recently, Labrador has taken action against some of his own clients in apparent violation of his oath and Bar ethical rules. Labrador served long lists of demands for records upon the Director of the Department of Health and Welfare and two other employees, without any prior notice or legal justification.

The action appeared to have been instigated by the Idaho Freedom Foundation and egged on by a publication called the Idaho Tribune. That publication headlined a March 22 article,  KINDERGATE: Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Caught Misappropriating $30M Tax Dollars  Insiders Say Scandal May Lead Back To Governors Office, in an apparent attempt to besmirch the Governor.

One might wonder if this is a prelude to another Labrador shot at the governors office.

The IDHW director filed an action in district court to nip Labradors aggressive action in the bud  a strange thing to be forced to do because of the misconduct of his own official lawyer. The director then revealed that Labrador had been hounding him for records about a child protection case involving another Labrador pal, Diego Rodriguez.

Mr. Rodriguez, a sidekick of Ammon Bundy, is the grandfather of the child, whose parents have indicated an intent to sue the state for damages. The director rightly refused to hand over the records because of Labradors clear-cut conflict of interest.

It is unknown why Labrador would repeatedly risk disciplinary action for taking the side of his friends and supporters over the interests of his clients, but it is extremely troubling. There may be other concerning situations that have not yet come to public attention.

It is hoped that at some point Labrador will acquaint himself with the laws and rules that govern his position and decide to scrupulously observe them.
State-run Development Bank of the Philippines said it stands firm on its position that the proposed merger with Land Bank of the Philippines requires Congressional action, contrary to the statement issued by the Governance Commission on GOCCs.

We believe that GCG does not have the authority to decide on or to approve a merger of GOCCs as its powers, as defined in Republic Act No. 10149, are limited to evaluation of performance, determination of relevance of GOCCs and implementation of mergers, DBP said in a statement.

DBP filed an appeal with the Office of the President questioning GCGs legal study for being legally erroneous, among other grounds.

DBP also contends that none of the justifications invoked by the Department of Finance meets the exclusive standards prescribed by the GCG in justifying a merger. These include relevance and consistency with the national development policy of the State; overlapping or duplicating functions with another GOCC; non-achievement of desired objectives as well as non-generation of level of social, physical and economic returns vis-a-vis resource inputs; dormancy or inoperability; GOCC activity can be best performed by the private sector; and functions, purpose or nature of operations of any group of GOCCs necessitates consolidation under a holding company.

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The Board of Investments said Wednesday two companies agreed to put-up processing plants in the Philippines with estimated investments reaching $10 billion for both projects.

We have two different sets of investors for the nickel processingChinese and non-Chinese investors. Both are very eager to set up their facilities in the Philippines with projected multiple returns and a ready market outside the Philippines, BOI managing director and Trade undersecretary for industry development and trade policy group Ceferino Rodolfo said at the sidelines of an investment forum organized by the Management Association of the Philippines Wednesday.

Rodolfo said the two companies conducted separate site visits to the Leyte Industrial Development Estate which they were looking at as the preferred site for their investments.

Both processors are expected to register their projects within the year, which could also signal other investors to help create an ecosystem for green projects involving nickel as the major raw material for precursors for electric batteries, he said.

Processing will increase the value of our nickel ores, which is what the Department of Trade and Industry is pushing foradding value to our exports, Rodolfo said.

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He said nickel processors could easily set up a new processing facility within 24 months and catch up with Indonesia and Vietnam on the level of metals processing investments. The Philippines needs an additional $5 billion to outrun these countries, he said.

This is critical for us. We wont derogate environmental policy and labor protection because that is very important to us. Whatever nickel we are able to process are geared towards electric battery production. These will be used by global brands that have very strict ES compliance policies, he said.

The BOI is also in talks with investors on renewable power projects and other green initiatives.

The government is focused on fortifying the domestic economy by bringing in more investors and ensuring that game-changing economic reforms are implemented, which will further improve ease of doing business and make the Philippines more attractive to foreign investors, according to the agency.

These game-changing reforms are set to attract increased investments moving forward. We want investments that will enable the Philippines to leapfrog, that is, to quickly advance to higher-value industrialization by skipping intermediate stages of development, said Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual.

We are particularly interested in investments that promote advancements in science, technology and innovation to foster innovative industries, he said.

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Two peacekeepers in Mali were wounded Tuesday after a mine exploded in the centre of the West African country, the United Nations said.

Our office in Mopti confirms an explosion near Amba village injuring 2 peacekeepers who were part of a logistics convoy en route to the area, the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA) said on Twitter.

It did not specify the nationality of the soldiers.

Amba is 75 kilometres (47 miles) west of the town of Douentza in the Mopti region.

On Friday, another peacekeeper was seriously injured when his vehicle hit a mine near the town of Douentza.

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The vehicle was part of a logistical convoy coming from Timbuktu.

Mines and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) are a weapon of choice for jihadists who have been operating in the country since 2012.

MINUSMA has suffered nine attacks since the start of this year. Three peacekeepers have died and five have been injured.

Along with Malian armed forces, the UN mission is a primary target for jihadists.

With more than 12,000 military personnel currently deployed, it is one of the biggest UN peacekeeping missions, suffering a high death toll in particular to IEDs.

Since its creation in 2013, 185 of MINUSMA members have died in hostile acts.

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Seven Palestinians were injured in an Israeli army operation in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said Tuesday, hours after two Israeli men were injured by gunfire near a Jewish site in annexed east Jerusalem.

The shooting comes amid a period of deadly attacks and military raids across the West Bank, along with killings in Israel.

The Palestinian ministry reported six people with minor injuries from live fire had gone to Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West Bank city.

A statement from the Israeli military confirmed that an operation was underway in the Jenin refugee camp, without giving further details.

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli authorities said a suspected Palestinian gunman had wounded two Israeli men in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem after firing at their car.

Police officers are at the scene conducting searches for the suspect who fled, the police said in a statement.

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Israeli security forces closed off streets in the neighbourhood, where an AFP journalist saw officers entering a Palestinian home, with a drone and helicopter as well as police dogs aiding the search.

Officers enforcing the shutdown prevented cars and people from moving in the centre of the neighbourhood, as heavily armed forces combed the area.

Police announced they had found the perpetrators gun near the scene of the attack, which took place near the tomb of Simeon the Just  Shimon Hatzadik in Hebrew  a site frequented by religious Jews.

The weapon was identified as a Carlo makeshift submachine gun, which Palestinians manufacture in the West Bank.

Hadassah hospital said they received a 48-year-old gunshot victim lightly wounded, and Shaare Zedek medical centre said it was treating a man in his 50s in moderate condition.

Rising death toll 

The search was punctuated by the 10:00 am (0700 GMT) two-minute siren marking Israels Holocaust Remembrance Day, honouring more than six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II.

Jerusalem mayor Moshe Lion, speaking at a city hall ceremony, said one of the Holocausts main lessons was to never be helpless in the face of those seeking to harm us.

Later in the morning, most of the security forces had left Sheikh Jarrah, with roads reopened and traffic flowing as normal, the AFP journalist said.

Sheikh Jarrah was the focal point of protests against the eviction of Palestinian residents by Israeli settler organisations in the build up to and during the May 2021 war between Israel and Gaza militants.

It is also the site of a weekly Israeli demonstration against the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The attack took place a day after a Palestinian woman stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli man at the Gush Etzion junction in the southern West Bank.

The woman was shot by security forces and taken to hospital in moderate condition.

The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources.

These figures include, on the Palestinian side, combatants and civilians, including minors, and on the Israeli side, mostly civilians, including minors, and three members of the Arab minority.

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A consumer advocacy group joined calls to extend the registration period for SIM cards in the Philippines, which will end on April 26.

CitizenWatch Philippines co-convenor former Rep. Kit Belmonte said as many telco subscribers as possible need to be registered to prevent breaches of privacy, the proliferation of text scams, and other forms of fraud that continue to victimize unsuspecting consumers.

We need to get the message across to more people that they need to register their prepaid SIM cards, Belmonte said. These are times when we take for granted the ease with which we use mobile devices, but we also need accountability for their responsible use.

SIM CARD DEADLINE. Inter-Agency Response Center (IARC) agents answer inquiries and complaints from telecom subscribers regarding the ongoing SIM card registration a few days before the registration deadline. Consumer groups and telco companies are calling for an extension of the said deadline. Manny Palmero

The SIM Card Registration Act was signed into law in October 2022.

According to the law, those who have SIMS have 180 days from the start of the laws effectivity to register their numbers with the National Telecommunications Commission through their mobile service providers. That initial deadline falls on April 26, which is next week.

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The registration period, however, may be extended by the DICT for another 120 days as it deems necessary.

Let us take advantage of the provision for extension in the law and give all the opportunity for consumers to register, said Belmonte. Many find it difficult to comply with identification requirements so alternatives like office or school IDs should be considered.

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Senators on Wednesday quizzed Defense officials about the choice of four new military bases that American troops can access under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA).

At a hearing of the Senate committee on foreign relations, panel chairperson Senator Imee Marcos said the selected locationstwo in Cagayan, one in Palawan and one in Isabelaseemed random and no longer purposeful with regard to the modernization of the AFP (Armed Forces of the Philippines).

Marcos asked Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. if the military officials were now focusing on the Taiwan Strait instead of the West Philippine Sea, since two of the new EDCA sites are located in Cagayan, near Taiwan.

Galvez responded: No, we are still concentrated on the West Philippine Sea.

Senator Sherwin Gatchalian asked Galvez if the EDCA sites were strategic for the Philippines or for the United States.

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You mentioned earlier that it is strategic, but strategic to whom? Is it strategic for us or for the US?

Galvez said the locations are strategic for the Philippines, saying the major consideration in picking locations for EDCA sites is the total defense of the archipelago.

He noted the vulnerability of the AFP is in the north, adding that President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. instructed them to prepare for external defense.

We can see that our vulnerabilities are located at the north-eastern side in terms of maritime security. While on the disaster side in the areas of Cagayan and also in Isabela, we see our experiences that these areas have been isolated during the previous typhoons that we have experienced, he said.

The EDCA four sites, recently announced by the President, are the Naval base Camilo Osias in Sta. Ana, Cagayan; Lal-lo Airport in Lal-lo, Cagayan; Camp Melchor Dela Cruz in Gamu, Isabela; and Balabac Island in Palawan.

Earlier during the hearing, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said six of the 16 projects in the five initial EDCA locations would be completed this year.

There has been significant progress in eight of the remaining 16 projects in the five originally agreed locations. Six of those projects are estimated to be completed in 2023, said Manalo.

These projects include the runway project at Basa Air Base, a storage facility at Mactan Air Base, and the humanitarian assistance and disaster response warehouse at Fort Magsaysay.

Manalo also confirmed that only five EDCA projects have been completed so far.

To date, the US has allocated a total of over $100 million to EDCA projects including additional $18 million announced during the third 2+2 ministerial dialogue held in Washington last week covering projects in both existing and new agreed EDCA sites.

Manalo said the Philippines must give its consent if the United States to use the EDCA sites for operations against other countries.

He said that based on the provisions of EDCA, any other activities not specified there are subject to agreement by the two parties.

Manalo cited Paragraph 3, Article 1 of the 2014 pact, that reads: The Parties agree that the United States may undertake the following types of activities in the territory of the Philippines in relation to its access to and use of Agreed Locations: security cooperation exercises; joint and combined training activities; humanitarian assistance and disaster relief activities; and such other activities as may be agreed upon by the parties.

So whatever new activity that could arise would have to be subject to agreement by both parties, he said.

President Marcos has said the Philippines will not allow its military bases to be used for any offensive attacks, after the country allowed the US to access additional facilities under the EDCA.

His sister, Senator Imee Marcos, however, expressed concerns about the Philippines becoming the key stockpile of weapons for Taiwan.

To this, Manalo responded: If that should ever arise, we will be guided by the main purposes of the EDCA. We would not agree to any kind of activity or even materiel not consistent with these agreed activities.

Our view is that the EDCA is not aimed at any country. Its meant for the use of the Philippines, he added.

Senator Marcos asked: In the event of any US military activity in Taiwan, would we allow them to repair their assets and refuel in EDCA sites? Consistently, we would not, correct?

If guided by [provisions of] the EDCA, that would be correct, Manalo said.

Also on Wednesday, AFP chief Gen. Andres C. Centino visited various locations of the ongoing 38th Balikatan exercises in Northern Luzon.

Centino first toured the Lal-lo Airfield in Cagayan, one of the Balikatan field training exercises staging areas.

Centino and his delegation were briefed on the ongoing projects in the airfield, in line with its development as one of the agreed locations under EDCA as a prime site for the AFPs territorial defense and humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts.

Centino later visited the Marine Battalion Landing Team-10 (MBLT10) of the Philippine Marine Corps at the Naval Base Camilo Osias, San Vicente, Sta. Ana, Cagayan.

The visiting delegation also dropped by the 5th Infantry Division (5ID), Philippine Army in Gamu, Isabela.

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Photo: The Canadian Press

The family of Tyre Nichols, who died three days after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers, sued the city of Memphis, individual officers and emergency medical personnel involved in his case, according to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in federal court in Memphis.

The suit, filed by lawyers for Tyre Nichols mother, RowVaughn Wells, seeks a jury trial and financial damages.

The lawsuit accuses Memphis Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis of starting a crime-suppression unit called Scorpion that officials said would target repeat violent offenders in high-crime areas. The lawsuit claims the Scorpion unit used extreme intimidation, humiliation, and violence and disproportionately focused on and targeted young Black men. The five officers charged with beating Nichols were members of the unit, police have said. The unit was disbanded after the Nichols beating.

Nichols was targeted by the unit only because he was a young Black man, the lawsuit states.

The city of Memphis declined comment on the lawsuit.

Nichols died in January, three days after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers. It was the latest in a string of violent encounters between police and Black people that have spurred protests and renewed public discussion about police brutality. The officers have been charged with second-degree murder.

The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Memphis, Police Director Davis, the five officers who have been fired and charged, another officer who has been fired but not charged, and an additional officer who retired before he could be fired. It also names three Memphis Fire Department employees who were fired after officials said they failed to render aid to Nichols as he was on the ground, struggling with his injuries.

Officers stopped Nichols while he was driving his car for reasons that have never been substantiated," the lawsuit said.

Nichols was beaten so badly that he was left unrecognizable, the lawsuit states, comparing his case to that of Emmett Till some 70 years prior and the officers to a modern-day lynch mob. Unlike Till, this lynching was carried out by those adorned in department sweatshirts and vests and their actions were sanctionedexpressly and implicitlyby the City of Memphis," it said.

The five officers own body cameras recorded them beating Nichols and then ignoring him for nearly half an hour as the handcuffed and badly injured 29-year-old struggled to stay upright, propped sitting against an unmarked police car.

Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith are charged with second-degree murder in Nichols death. They have pleaded not guilty.

Martin, Haley, and now-fired officer Preston Hemphill claimed Nichols was driving recklessly before they stopped him as he was heading home from a park the evening of Jan. 7.

They forced Nichols from his car, pinned him to the ground and pepper-sprayed him while threatening to break his arm and fire a stun gun at him. When Nichols managed to run away, Hemphill did fire his stun gun, according to police records.

Nichols was captured a few minutes later by Mills, Bean and Smith. Joined by Haley and Martin, the five officers punched, kicked and pepper-sprayed Nichols and beat him with a baton, according to police records. Memphis Police Director Davis has said she has seen no evidence justifying the traffic stop or the officers response.
Senator Risa Hontiveros on Tuesday called for an investigation into the proposed merger of the Development Bank of the Philippines and the Land Bank of the Philippines.

In a proposed Senate Resolution No. 570, Hontiveros emphasized that the merger raises concerns on the potential risks and benefits it may bring to the economy, the stability of the financial system, and various stakeholders, including the employees of both institutions.

Hontiveros

On March 28, Finance Secretary Benjamin Diokno announced that the government was contemplating a merger between the two state-run financing institutions, with Land Bank as the surviving entity. This would also create the largest banking institution in the country, with

a total of more than P4.179 trillion in assets.

If the merger pushes through, according to Hontiveros, the welfare and livelihood of thousands of employees of both institutions may be at risk.

PSR No. 570 also underscored the concerns raised by The Land Bank of the Philippines Employees Association (LBPEA) and DBP Employees Union (DBPEU), stating that the LBP and the DBP violated the terms of their Collective Negotiations Agreements by failing to consult with the unions beforehand.

As the two banks merge operations, it is possible that certain jobs will be eliminated or reduced in size. It will negatively affect employee morale and job satisfaction. Changes in leadership, organizational structure, and company culture can create anxiety. Employees should not carry the burden of job uncertainty and financial hardship that will result from this merger, Hontiveros said.

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According to the resolution, coconut farmers are also in peril as this impending merger will make it even more difficult for the beneficiaries to access support from the fund and will further dilute the mandate of the LBP to assist Coco Levy beneficiaries.

Likewise, Hontiveros urged Malacanang to not rush the proposed merger and instead devote more time to analyze it extensively, consult with key stakeholders, and resolve not just the legal issues, but all the operational and personal issues voiced out by the employees and the

small coconut farmers.

Hindi ko maintindihan kung bakit minamadali. Sa paglalakad na ito ng matulin, ang mga empleyado ng dalawang banko at coco levy beneficiaries ang matitinik ng malalim. Hindi ba dapat ayusin muna ang mga isyu gaya ng non-payment of benefits o proper turnover bago

umarangkada na naman sa panibagong merger? the Senator said.

Hontiveros earlier warned that the merger would result in a financial entity too big to fail as the 2008 global financial crisis proved that large banks are riskier, and tend to introduce more systemic risk into the financial system.

There is a need for the government to proceed cautiously and prudently vis-a-vis the contemplated merger, as well as clarify all legal issues involved, for the purpose of ensuring that this does not prejudice the countrys economy, the stability of the financial system, and the welfare of affected employees and depositors, the resolution stated.

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Over miscommunication, veiled threat vs. OFWs in Taiwan

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday voiced his concern over the recent statement made by the Chinese ambassador to Manila, which was widely regarded as a veiled threat to the welfare of overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) in Taiwan.

We were all a little surprised, but I just put it down to the difference in language, the President said about the recent statement by Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, who has been summoned to the Palace to explain himself.

Huang remained mum on the backlash at his recent pronouncements as he attended Wednesday the International Chinese Language Day celebration at the Jose Abad Santos High School in Binondo, Manila.

He did not respond to queries from reporters about his remarks last Friday.

At a recent forum, Huang said Beijing reserves the option of taking all necessary measures should matters escalate in the Taiwan Strait and advised Manila to oppose Taiwan independence if it really cares about the 150,000 Filipinos working there.

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The President said this sounded like Huang was ordering the Philippines not to meddle in the Taiwanese situation.

I interpreted it as him trying to say that the Philippines should not provoke or intensify the tensions because it will impact badly on the Filipinos there, Marcos said.

Thats how I take it and I will be talking to the ambassador soon and Im sure he will be very anxious to give his own interpretation of what he was trying to say, the President added.

Marcos acknowledged that there might have been a language problem.

English is not his first language but Im very interested to know what it is that he meant, he said.

The Chinese embassy in Manila said Huang was misquoted and provided a transcript of the ambassadors remarks.

The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to the military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs, the ambassador said.

Senator Raffy Tulfo on Wednesday slammed Huang for threatening to put the jobs of thousands of OFWs in Taiwan at risk if the country failed to oppose Taiwans independence.

Earlier, Tulfo called Huang Xilian a bully who is not content that China is harassing Filipino fishermen in the West Philippine Sea

Now theyre using OFWs as hostages, he said as he accused the Chinese ambassador of humiliating Filipinos.

Tulfo also advised Filipinos working in Taiwan not to worry.

We will not abandon you, he said.

Defense spokesperson Arsenio Andolong said the country was not meddling in the internal affairs of China concerning Taiwan and that the expansion of American troops access to Philippine military bases under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) was not directed against any country.

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Metro Manila is comprised of 16 cities and 1 municipality  is the economic, political, and cultural capital.



Metro Manilas forecast of becoming a global power city is challenged by the consequences of rapid urbanization. The UN-Habitat lists the effects of climate change, natural disasters that hamper urban infrastructures and city competitiveness, unequal livability, job creation, and poverty reduction.

Is there a way out of Metro Manilas challenges? Architect and urban designer Chintan Raveshia, and urban planner and sustainability consultant Tony Chan of Singapore-based Arup emphasize urban development should also consider peoples aspirations, its changing needs and expectations, and the national identity of the residents.



Finding the identity of the city

Raveshia inspires responsible stakeholders to ask themselves first the most fundamental question: Whats the identity of the city and how do we make its residents proud?

He quips, Singapore, a city that is high on everyones liveability list, is also working with citizens and grass roots organizations to inculcate a sense of lovability for the city. This helps to strengthen the societal bond, increase equity, improve community safety, and exude pride and a feeling of ownership of the city amongst the residents. The balance of liveability, efficiency, and lovability paves the way for a true success of our cities in this climate emergency era.

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For his part, Chan believes that a successful sustainable urban development goes hand in hand with the capability to enhance peoples quality of life. We must develop and harness models of development that have low-carbon targets, which are also of a human scale, thriving and inclusive; models that are also just, secured and enhances the quality of life for all its residents. In addition, we should look at creative ways to increase local citizen participation as well as new technologies or products that can support the overarching vision and development objectives, says Chan.

Melbourne is considered by many experts as one of the most liveable cities for the past decade.



If Singapore reclaims lands for more affordable housing and increased integrated city developments and Melbourne builds accessible green spaces to promote social interaction, what plans would best fit Metro Manilas sustainable and livable future while maintaining its identity? Here are five urban development aspirations Filipinos hope for the countrys main political and economic hub.

1. Accessibility across all social classes

While Metro Manila is the Philippines major economic driver  accounting for 32% of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP)  its often challenged in sustaining accessible living conditions for residents across all social classes. UK-based The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) ranked Metro Manila 105th out of 139 cities in the Global Liveability Index 2022. The increasing population density in Metro Manila has resulted in some inconveniences in daily conditions like vehicular traffic situations, least green open spaces, high carbon footprint, inaccessibility to affordable housing, and unequal income opportunities.

Urban planners and developers suggest mixed-use planning in the metropolis and coastal developments because they are crucial to achieving the 15-minute concept. Here, residents across all walks of life are encouraged to live a healthy, affordable, and sustainable lifestyle because residential, commercial, and office spaces are integrated within a single development.

2. Open green spaces for a healthy and sustainable living environment

Studies shows that Metro Manila has only 5 square meters of green space available per person, this number is well below the 9 square meters set by the World Health Organization.COVID-19 had the entire world reassess their health conditions, lifestyle practices, and environmental situations. The impact was even more drastic in Metro Manila due to population density, crowded space, and insufficient parks and open areas.

Aside from improving air quality and enhancing biodiversity, green spaces also moderate temperatures during the warm season.

Despite land scarcity, Singapore manages to be one of the greenest cities in the world with over 400 parks, more than 3,300 hectares of nature reserve, and over 300 kilometers of park connector network.



3. Enhancing Human health and wellbeing

Cities with sufficient healthcare facilities, access to health coverage, and infrastructures that enhance well-being and promote a healthy lifestyle, produce prosperous societies.

The way cities are planned, designed, and executed has a crucial impact on how people live as it presents opportunities and effects on their lifestyles and overall well-being. While there is evident progress in Metro Manilas health sector, rapid urbanization continues to pose risks in communities due to challenges in overcrowded neighborhoods, vehicular emissions, heavy traffic, pollution, and flood-prone areas.

4. Resilient community

Resilience is the capacity of individuals, communities, and systems to adapt, survive, and grow in the face of stress and shocks, and even transform when conditions require it. Relevant dimensions under the City Resilience Index (https://www.cityresilienceindex.org) by the Rockefeller Foundation & Arup, other dimensions include Health & Well Being, Economy & Society, Infrastructure & Environment as well as Leadership & Strategy

As Philippines and Manila grow s , we face a dual challenge of adapting to climate change and the need to alter development strategies that are increasingly contributing to global warming. Philippines is among the top 10 countries in the world most affected by climate change in the past 20 years, according to the Global Climate Risk Index As an archipelago, impacts resulting from climate change are immense. In addition, metro Manilas safety and resilience are endangered by various natural disasters.

Natural disasters persist every season due to our geographical location.

Well-planned and executed urban designs have the power to build safe and resilient communities in Metro Manila. Infrastructures like proper bike lanes and walkable streets ensure residents safety, accessibility, and comfort, whereas science and technology-based solutions that can build flexible structures, multi-use systems, and technologies can help residents adapt and prepare for changing conditions.

5. Global and competitive city

Metro Manila is one of Asias premier regions. As the countrys engine growth driver, it has growing investments in infrastructures and multitudes of business investments and developments.

In 2022, Singapore is placed 3rd in the World Competitiveness Ranking  the small country out of Asia even placed 1st in 2019 and 2020.

The metropolis rising potential can further step up by following global models like Singapore, Melbourne, and Hong Kong which created several integrated cities and coastal developments that ushered in a vibrant economy and paved for a better urban lifestyle. These visions create an avenue to further increase opportunities for jobs, better education, better lifestyle, and bustling economic activities.

These can contribute to the Philippines national and local economies by driving tourism and infrastructure development while also creating equitable and inclusive communities. These, in turn, create a wider room of opportunities and, therefore, attracts more talent.

Building inclusive and sustainable growth centers

When all stakeholders are listened to and addressed, communities will be energized when introduced to well-designed, master-planned and implemented developments. This will result to a lasting impact on Metro Manilas future and its residents because it fosters more inclusive growth and makes the urban landscape an extension of their home.

When a city embraces its history, celebrates its milestones, innovates and adopts for the future, and most importantly, nurtures its residents and responds to their aspirations  it is a city working toward competitiveness and unlocking future potential.

How about you? What would you aspire your city to be?

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The Autism Society of the Philippines (ASP), together with SM Cares and the National Council on Disability Affairs (NCDA), commemorates Autism Acceptance Month with a bang, with the ASP Angels Walk for Autism annual tradition at the SMX Convention Center in Pasay. The walk has been done online over the pandemic, but has been acknowledged as the largest autism advocacy event in Asia with 26,000 participants in 11 cities in 2020.

The Autism Society Philippines, leveraged digital channels, to reach our members who needed support and encouragement during the pandemic, said Dang Koe, ASP Chair Emerita and 2019 ASEAN Prize Laureate. But face-to-face ASP Angels Walk for Autism has become this annual celebration of how far Filipinos have come in appreciating human diversity, and how the international, public, and private sectors are heeding our call for acceptance, accommodation, and appreciation of persons on the spectrum through relevant, tangible programs. We are happy to be together again.

This years celebration is proudly supported by the SMX Convention Center, SM Mall of Asia, ASEAN Secretariat, ASEAN Autism Network, Miss Universe Philippines, Tiktok, Pancake House, and other groups and individuals who have worked with ASP over the years towards transformative innovation.

SUPPORTING COMMUNITIES

The US Center for Disease Control released a study in April 2023 that autism affects 1:36 children under 8 years old. Autism is a complex and lifelong developmental exceptionality, challenging an individuals ability to communicate, socialize and adapt to the world around him. This spectrum condition manifests uniquely in different persons. It is a variation of the human condition affecting approximately 1.2 million Filipinos, said Mona Magno-Veluz, ASP National Spokesperson. The ASP is at the forefront of creating institutional mechanisms to support those on the autism spectrum and the

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Engr. Bien Mateo, SVP for Mall Operations and Program Director of SM Cares Program on PWDs shared, SM Supermalls strives to make every SM a destination that is welcoming to everyone. We believe in a society that is inclusive of every Filipino. That is the reason behind our continued support for advocacies that call for acceptance, accommodation, and appreciation of all  including individuals on the autism spectrum. This year, SM also hosted smaller Angels Walks for Autism in other malls all over the country  Cebu, Iloilo, and Davao.

NCDA Executive Director Don Frajedas leads the swearing-in of the new board of trustees of the Autism Society Philippines, led by incoming ASP National President Lorenzo LJay Sumulong III. The new crop of trustees represents new milestones in ASPs 34-year history. LJay Sumulong is the first male President and Diana de Ocampo is the first sibling to a man on the spectrum to serve on the board.

Miss Universe Philippine 2023 candidates take the stage with children on the autism spectrum for a heartwarming opening salvo for this years pre-walk program. The candidates will be big sisters to players who needed assistance at the afternoon games, affirming the organizations commitment to using its platform to shed light on advocacies worth upholding. The tournament at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall supports ASPs nationwide initiative on wellness through movement; and competitive athlete development for individuals on the autism spectrum. The program promotes well-being, friendship, and achievement among families and individuals who live on the spectrum.

Innovation leader Tiktok Philippines supports autism inclusion in the digital space by boosting posts with the event hashtags #AngelsWalk2023 #AutismOKPH #AutismOKUniverse. The Autism Society Philippines acknowledges the power of short-form video as it grows its advocacy through Tiktok (@autismphils).

SUCCESSES HONORED

The ASP Hans T. Sy Leadership Award for Inclusion and Welfare, the ASPs highest recognition, celebrates exemplary leadership that has a significant and positive impact on advancing the ASPs vision of acceptance, accommodation, and appreciation of persons with autism in an Autism-OK Philippines, will be bestowed on Mr. Daniel Razon, the creative giant behind the meaningful advocacies of the iconic Wish Music Awards.

The ASP Autism Works Partner of the Year for innovative practices in autism-inclusive employment honors the valuable contributions of New York-based Daivergent, represented by CEO Byran Dai and in-country leaders Elaine Sisno and Diana Salmone. ASP and Daivergent inked a partnership towards the employment and support of analysts on the autism spectrum from NCR, Laguna, and Iloilo, thriving in work-from-home roles in artificial intelligence and machine learning data management, even as the pandemic raged.

The ASP Autism Angels Achievement Awards recognizes the amazing talents of individuals on the autism spectrum and their growing body of successes in the areas of performing arts, sports, and information technology: John Christian Ballesteros, Noel Cartera, Robin Conanan, Laurence Anthony de Guzman, Rafael Manuel, Miguel Franco Ramirez, Rian Rayos, Exiquiel de Vera.

SUNFLOWERS ABLOOM

Sunflowers figure prominently in this years ASP Angels Walk for Autism. Global self-advocates acknowledge that autism was once a puzzling condition, but the puzzle piece the public associates with autism insinuates someone is incomplete. This imagery perpetuates the idea among the growing number of Filipinos on the autism spectrum that autism is a condition that makes them less than others.

Filipinos on the autism spectrum are not mind-boggling nor incomplete, according to Mona Magno-Veluz, ASP National Spokesperson. We are calling for positive, empowering symbols that will inspire acceptance, accommodation, and appreciation of those on the autism spectrum.

The Autism Society Philippines supports the Hidden Disability Sunflower campaign, which uses the resilient sunflower as a globally-recognized symbol for non-apparent or invisible disabilities, including autism.

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Two people spoke adamantly against solar farm activity, during the public comment period of the regular Patrick County Board of Supervisors meeting this week.

After a scheduled public hearing on Monday regarding a school bus video surveillance ordinance in which no one spoke, the floor was opened for residents to make general public comments to the Board, and two people made known their thoughts about solar energy in Patrick County.

Solar panels are a hazmat disposal item, said Ed Poole of the Smith River District. I have a draft proposal given to Franklin County last week. They voted 7-0 to turn down a proposal by Energix to put a solar farm there.

Energix Group is a global renewable energy company, with operations in the United States, Poland and Israel. They are also the parent company of Fairy Stone Solar, LLC, a company with a proposed solar facility in Patrick County.

The United Nations General Assembly puts Energix at number 32 on the list of companies with human rights violations in the world, Poole said. So now you know who youre dealing with. Im a licensed, and in good standing, public safety official, and Im going to keep giving you information to help you to make good solid decisions. Just look at the waste product at the end of the life cycle.

Jamie Clark of the Peters Creek District had spoken previously to the Board about his concerns of the proposed project by Fairy Stone Solar that would be located across the road from his home. Clark was back again on Monday.

With solar  do you want to embrace this or put as many restrictions on it as you can? asked Clark. You can make your ordinance so restrictive that it basically prevents them from being located here.

Retired Henry County Administrator Tim Hall made Mondays meeting the first he has attended since temporarily replacing Geri Hazelwood as Patrick Countys administrator. Hazelwood abruptly resigned last month when it was discovered that her signature was on the approval of the solar project that may not have passed through the proper channels.

Hazelwood did not speak publicly about her departure, and no one on the Board has connected her leaving with the documents.

I have not spoken to anyone from the supervisors on down willing to confirm or deny it, but the timing alone is enough to make you suspect that theres some connection, Patrick County Planning Commission Vice Chair Kurt Bozenmayer told the Bulletin shortly after Hazelwood left.

At Monday nights meeting, Bozenmayer also spoke, but not about solar projects.

Last month the Board of Supervisors agreed to keep the tax rate the same, Bozenmayer said. The contingency fund was $700,000, and now it is zero. Now we can be caught with no rainy day fund.

In a third matter during the public comment period, Kimberly Martin of Ararat complained about a volunteer service agreement that was recently brought to her attention.

Previously I ran rescue in Virginia Beach for years. Now Im a 911 dispatcher here, said Martin. Last Monday I found out there was a volunteer service agreement that hasnt been disseminated down to the local rescue squads. Paid rescue is considered a county employee even though they dont get benefits. While this may work in Henry County, its not good for Patrick County. Youre only depriving the County of good volunteers. I would like this to be reconsidered so I can run with Jeb Stuart [Rescue Squad] as paid rescue and still keep my job at 911.

Martin warned that if the agreement remained in place it would encourage her, and others in similar positions, to take their talents and credentials to neighboring counties.

In other matters, the Board:

Heard from Chris Hughes speak about a National Day of Prayer event that is being organized and will be held on May 4 in front of the Patrick County Courthouse at noon.

Recognized Wayne Kirkpatrick, vice president of the Dan River Basin Association, with a resolution honoring his work. Kirkpatrick also serves as president of Blue Ridge Heritage Inc. and as a member of the Patrick County Tourism Advisory Council.

Mentioned the resignation of Patrick Countys Director of Economic Development and Executive Director of the Economic Development Authority Sean Adkins. Adkins was recently named to the Patrick & Henry Community College Board of Directors.

Ratified a resolution for the Veterans Honor Guard.

Approved a $112,500 additional appropriation for the Child Services Act FY2023 budget.

Scheduled a public hearing on the new years budget for May 8.
My yearly roundup of the first hummingbird sightings of spring has been a doozy so far. Ive heard from readers in the states of Washington, New Mexico, Texas, Arkansas and Alabama. Closer to home, Ive also gotten reports from readers in the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee. Ill continue the roundup next week and will keep fingers crossed that perhaps I will have spotted my own first spring hummingbird at my home in Hampton, Tennessee, by then.

Mike Haynes saw his first hummingbird in early March, but he lives a tad outside the region in Odessa, Texas.

A note to let you know we get hummingbirds here in west Texas around March 5 each year, he wrote in an email.

Mike is apparently not getting visits from male hummingbirds with their bright red throats.

They all are unattractive gray birds, he noted. We get zero pretty birds.

Regardless, he makes the best of it and pays close attention to their actions.

They nest high in the trees, he wrote. They are here all summer.

He also noted that the hummingbirds are very hostile little guys and noted that in the hot (108 degrees) days, they drink a lot. 

All of these guys are very skittish and fly off even if you open a door, he said. But its all we have.

Mike shared that he grows tons of bright and colorful flowers and plants to attract hummingbirds.

We bring our feeders in on Nov. 1 each year, he wrote.

Patsy Stewart emailed me to report that she saw ruby-throated hummingbirds on March 30 and April 2. The visits took place early in the morning and late in the evening at Patsys home in Rossville, Tennessee.

Wanda Dugan shared that she saw a male ruby-throated hummingbird bird on March 31 at her home in western North Carolina.

I saw my first hummingbird April 1, Judy Steele wrote in an email. Possibly he had been here before I spotted him. I have had a feeder out for a couple of weeks and change it every five to six days and notice less feed when I go out to exchange my feeder. 

All doubts were erased on Saturday, April 1, when she saw a visiting male hummingbird. He stayed at the feeder for half a minute or so, she added.

Judy noted that she lives in Loudon, close to Watts-Barr Lake.

Saw the first hummingbird in Gainesboro, Tennessee, today (April 2), Glenda Stafford wrote in an email. She helpfully noted that Gainesboro is located 100 miles between Nashville and Knoxville.

We just got our first hummingbird yesterday, Donna Snyder wrote to me by email. on April 3. Ive had our feeders out for two weeks, and Im so excited to finally have one arrive. She noted that her family resides in Kings Mountain, North Carolina, in the western part of the state.

I saw my first hummingbird April, 2 in Albany, Georgia, wrote Rena Parker in an email to me.

Debra Roy reported her first sighting of a male ruby-throated hummer on April 3 at her home in Richmond Hill, Georgia.

Saw our first this afternoon (April 3) at 5:57 p.m. central time in Clarksville, Arkansas, wrote Dr. Buckley T. Foster in an email about his first spring hummingbird sighting.

Reader Janie Balzano lives in New Mexico, so her first spring sighting was not of the ruby-throated hummingbird prevalent in the eastern United States.

First sighting on Monday (April 3), Janie wrote. The feeders were put out three days prior.

Janie resides at Seven Rivers, New Mexico, halfway between Carlsbad and Artesia.

We are seeing three males, she noted.

She shared that two of the tiny visitors are Annas hummingbirds and the third is a rufous hummingbird.

Elaine Hallgarth, also of New Mexico, shared that she saw two black-chinned hummingbirds on April 3 at her feeders. An earlier sighting by a non-birder on March 31 was also likely a black-chinned hummingbird. Elaine resides in San Lorenzo, New Mexico.

The juice is out, reported Mark Praschak in North Carolina.

Ive had my feeder out in New Bern, North Carolina, for a week now, he wrote on April 3. No arrivals yet. Their nest from last year is still pretty exposed. Giving it another week or so before the leaves can hide it better. Will advise.

Fred Rauh of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, emailed me to let me know that he saw his first spring hummingbird on March 25 at 3 p.m.

Frank Alegria emailed me that he saw his first spring hummingbird on March 30 at his home in Pottsboro, Texas.

Rufus Milam in Jacksonville, North Carolina, wrote that he put his feeder out last week and saw one hummingbird on Thursday, March 30. On April 3, he also had a visitor at his feeder on and off since about 9 a.m.

Eleanor Donahue wrote to me to share her first spring sighting.

Male ruby-throated hummer feeding at our lake home on High Rock Lake, Lexington North Carolina, on April 2 around 3 p.m., she noted.

Cody Songs in Foley, Alabama, shared his hummingbird sightings. On April 3, he saw one male. The following day, two males showed up at his feeder.

Richard in Williston, South Carolina, reported that he saw his first spring hummingbird, a male, on March 31.

Lynette Feldbush takes the honors for earliest sighting. She saw a hummingbird back on Feb 28. I had this one for only two days, she noted.

Lynette, who lives at Moses Lake, Washington, said she felt saddened when the brief visit ended. Now she is waiting for another hummingbird to arrive. As Lynette lives along the West Coast, her visitor is probably one of about a half dozen different species, including rufous hummingbird, black-chinned hummingbird and broad-tailed hummingbird. In Washington, the Annas hummingbird is a year-round resident.

She did share a photo of her tiny visitor.

Carl Davenport of Calera, Alabama, wrote me on April 5 to inform me that he has had three hummingbirds regularly visiting his feeders since March 30.

Janet Woodward also wrote to share news of the first hummingbirds arrival.

I love my hummers and cant wait for them each year, she wrote. Last year I was blessed to see then first on my birthday, March 23, but this year my first sighting was April 3.

Janet shared that she resides near the Pamlico River in Bath, North Carolina.

Anar Mirkar in Raleigh, North Carolina, shared the news of a first spring hummingbird sighting, which took place on April 4.

Chris Holroyd in Bridgeport, Texas, has seen hummingbird numbers rising since their arrival. First noticed March 30, Chris wrote to me on April 4. Now we have five!

The response has been so incredible I will continue sharing sightings in next weeks column. Keep sharing those stories of first arrivals by emailing me at ahoodedwarbler@aol.com.
Africas private sector has descended on Cape Town, South Africa, to participate in the 2023 African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Business Forum, convened by the AfCFTA Secretariat April 16-18.

The event is primarily meant to attract broad participation of Africas private sector, strategic investors, financial institutions, investment promotion agencies, business councils, chambers of commerce, multinational corporations, African women and youth business organizations, as well as heads of state and government, and AfCFTA partners.

The key objectives of the event, as outlined by the AfCFTA Secretariat, include, but are not limited to, creating awareness of the current trade and investment opportunities in the area among Africas business community; connecting businesses to funding opportunities for AfCFTA value chains; and promoting a private sector-friendly environment, especially for Small, Micro and Medium Enterprises (SMMEs) led by Women and Youth.

Intra-Africa trade is the only way to help African economies build robust and more resilient economies to absorb any shock  internally or externally, said Secretary-General of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), Wamkele Mene, one of the keynote speakers at the AfCFTA Business Forum. This, he said, will help managers of African economies to stop asking the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other financial institutions for monetary support whenever there is an economic meltdown. Intra-Africa trade is the best tool we have, Mene pointed out. Intra Africa trade is what is within our means as Africans to mitigate the risk of reduced support for development finance which I think is unfortunate. If we boost intra-African trade, we will see the contribution to GDP, to Africas combined GDP increasing.
Several officials from the Central African Republic (CAR) have condemned the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for denying support to the poor African country due to its established ties with Russia.

President of the Economic and Social Council of the Central African Republic Alfred Tainga Poloko, said the World Bank has refused economic support to his country.

This came during a round table on cooperation between CAR and public institutions of Russia, organized by the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation.

The choice of full cooperation between the Russian Federation and the CAR, which our leaders made, cost us the loss of significant amounts of economic assistance that our past partners had previously allocated to us. Now, neither the International Monetary Fund nor the World Bank allocate more economic assistance to our country because of the choice we have made, Poloko said.

Now you and I have to do everything necessary to strengthen our cooperation, work for the benefit of our societies and so that together we can come out of these challenges with our heads held high, Poloko added.

Earlier on, CAR Prime Minister Felix Moloua said in an interview with the Russian media Sputnik that the IMF refused economic support for his country because of Banguis cooperation with Moscow.

CAR and Mali have stepped up their cooperation with Russia at the expense of former colonial power France. Russian paramilitary company Wagner, believed closed to Moscow, is present in the two countries.

West countries and the U.S. have slammed them and scaled down ties with both African countries.

CAR, Mali, and several other African countries have also refused to condemn Russia for its invasion of Ukraine  a move that has infuriate the U.S. and its western allies.

Russia and several African countries had close ties dating back to the Soviet era. The former URSS provided support for African countries in the fight for liberation.
Explosions rocked Khartoum on Tuesday on the fourth day of the conflict in Sudan, where the situation remains chaotic, despite growing international calls for a halt to the hostilities that have already left nearly 200 people dead.

In the sky of the capital, the planes of the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, de facto leader of the country since the coup of 2021, are trying to overcome the intense fire of the armored paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, known as Hemedti, his second in command for the coup, who became his sworn enemy since Saturday.

Despite calls from the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan, the UN, and the United States to put an immediate end to the violence, the fighting continues. Men in fatigues and sometimes turbaned like the nomads of Darfur reign terror in Sudan.

On Tuesday, General Daglo announced on Twitter that he had approved a 24-hour ceasefire, a statement by the rebellion to conceal its imminent defeat, the army immediately denounced in a denial posted on Facebook.

The inhabitants remain locked in their homes without electricity or running water and see their food stocks melting. And the few grocery stores that are open warn that they will not last much longer without restocking.

In a country where hunger affects more than one in three people, aid workers and diplomats say they can no longer work. Three employees of the World Food Program (WFP) were killed and stocks of aid were looted in Darfur (west). On Monday, a U.S. diplomatic convoy was shot at and the European Union ambassador was attacked in his residence in Khartoum.

Some countries, including Japan and Germany, are planning to repatriate their nationals.
The Provincial Government of Luanda (GPL) has created a commission to contain the phenomenon of juvenile delinquency in the Angolan capital where 173 violent gangs operate, it was disclosed on Tuesday.

The creation of the provincial commission was approved in the V ordinary session of the LPG, in which other measures to deal with this issue were approved, including a study on the levels of juvenile delinquency, with greater incidence for the neighborhood of Rastas, in the municipality of Kilamba Kiaxi.

173 gangs were identified, characterized between social, violent and delinquent, which have been dismantled with police measures, but whose neutralization still lacks a multisectoral work, the GPL adds in a press release.

The meeting also served to evaluate the Commerce Redevelopment Program that has been carried out in some of the citys main arteries to put an end to disorderly sales.
When are (Americans) going to stop people from getting guns who dont need them?

And when are they going to stop letting people buy guns illegally? Leave guns for the police only.

The recent (U.S. mass) shooting makes me think (our) government is not doing enough to enforce our gun laws. Take down websites where people can buy guns and stop selling guns in the stores.

People have been inside too much and have forgotten you can solve your differences by talking things out, you dont need to shoot somebody just because you dont like them or dont like their opinions.

Jenine Tepsa
The South African company Fly Modern Ark formally enters as of Tuesday into the management of Mozambiques state-owned carrier Linhas Aereas de Mocambique (LAM), together with the current management of the company, as part of the Mozambican companys recovery plan.

The Mozambican Minister of Transport and Communications, Mateus Magala, told state newspaper Noticias that the firm will put its aircraft and management capacity at the service of LAM, but did not specify the number of aircraft involved.

Magala said that the two companies will cooperate for six months, which may be extended for the same period, as part of the recovery efforts of the Mozambican flag carrier. The minister defended the need for LAM to be handed over to a good management, within a favorable regulatory environment.

This is what we want to achieve soon, so that passengers can benefit from greater access to our LAM, said Mateus Magala. The change was announced on April 5, when Magala said that LAM would be under the responsibility of a management commission: they are international managers who will work with the current management to improve the value of LAM.

Official data indicate that LAM has an estimated debt of US$300 million (275 million euros).
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More than half of U.S. hospitals are classified as "non-profit," gaining federal, state and local tax exemptions in exchange for helping needy patients in their communities. But there's an imbalance in the social contract that binds these hospitals. While the tax breaks are a dependably solid financial reward, hospitals are free to decide for themselves how much to spend on charity care and other community investments.

Perhaps due to their very loose community mandate, some non-profit hospitals seem to function in ways we wouldn't expect from state-supported institutions, suggests Sebahattin Demirkan, associate professor of accounting at George Mason University School of Business. His recent article in the health care policy journal Health Affairs (co-written by Ge Bai, Hossein Zare and Gerard F. Anderson of Johns Hopkins University) reveals a vast disparity in organizational priorities within the sector.

The researchers analyzed mandatory IRS filings for more than 2,000 U.S. non-profit hospitals. They found that between 2011 and 2019, charity care declined, as a portion of total expenditure, by 21 percent across the sector. But one sub-group of hospitals made even deeper-than-average cuts: those that paid a salary to their trustees. In the nine years covered by the study, this sub-group cut charity care by nearly a full percentage point, from 2.5 to 1.6 percent (a decline of approximately 36 percent). A troubling pattern emerged from the data: The more money hospitals paid their trustees, the less they were likely to spend on care for needy patients (charity care).

"A $10,000 increase in average trustee compensation was associated with a 0.02-percentage-point reduction in charity care[amounting to] $66,000-$77,000 for an average hospital," the article states.

On the whole, trustee salaries appear moderateby 2019, the average mean value of trustee compensation stood at $50,196. Still, this figure rose by 57 percent over the nine-year observation periodas charity care was being slashed quite drastically. But Demirkan says that the problem runs yet deeper. "If you look at the top 10 hospital groups, there are trustees making $600,000 or $700,000; there are some that are making big amounts of money," he says. "If we focus on those, the inverse relationship between trustee compensation and charity care becomes even stronger."

What's going on here? Are these hospitals acting as honeypots for greedy trustees to dip into, at the expense of sick and poor patients? Not necessarily, says Demirkan. Instead, it may be related to how trustees view their fiduciary duties to institutional stakeholders. It's reasonable to assume that trustees who command a considerable salary for their services may bring a conception of fiduciary duty familiar from the corporate world.

"These folks are more about efficiency," Demirkan surmises. "They are operating based on profitBy reducing charity care, they're taking an easy path, rather than looking at significant areas within the operation of the hospital, such as lab costs, medical supply waste, etc."

Trustees may expect a financial reward for making these indiscriminate cuts, as that is often how incentives are structured in the business world. The mission of non-profits, however, would dictate that "if you're making money, you want to give back to society," as Demirkan terms it. For its part, the IRS officially tasks trustees at non-profits to guard against the skimming of resources by organizational insiders. In this sense, the priorities at trustee-compensating non-profit hospitals appear to directly contradict federal government guidelines.

If charity care and trustee compensation continue to diverge, there could be severe consequences for communities as well as non-profit hospitals themselves. "If you cut charity care, what happens to society's health?" Demirkan says. "People may die if they don't get the care they need with the quality they deserve."

In addition, at-risk, uninsured patients are often the canary in the coalmine when it comes to public health threats. By turning them away, hospitals could inadvertently deprive themselves of valuable leading-edge research opportunities. "Charity care provides an intangible benefit that you don't realize in the first place," Demirkan instructs.

While Demarkan's research as yet draws no definitive causal connections, it highlights corporate governance as a possibly fertile area for policy intervention. "The COVID vaccine is a good example," Demirkan says. "They said it would take three or four years, but it happened much quicker. It's a matter of mindset. And it comes from the top to prioritize and collaborate with companies and government institutions.

"Also, non-profit partners, including insurance companies, may be impacting non-profit hospitals' operations overall, which is an interesting topic to investigate further."

More information: Ge Bai et al, Trustee Compensation And Charity Care Provision In US Nonprofit Hospitals, Health Affairs (2023). DOI: 10.1377/hlthaff.2022.00620 Journal information: Health Affairs
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Suspected suicidal cannabis exposures have increased 17% annually, over a period of 12 years, according to a Washington State University-led analysis of U.S. poison center data.

The vast majority of the attempts, more than 92%, involved other substances in addition to cannabis, and the data cannot show a direct causal link between cannabis and suicide attempts. Still, the findings are cause for concern, the researchers said, especially since the increase was more pronounced among children and women during and after the pandemic. They reported their findings in the journal JAMA Network Open.

"This study adds to already ample evidence that cannabis use, particularly by younger people, has significant implications for mental health," said study co-author Tracy Klein, a WSU associate professor of nursing. "We don't have evidence that cannabis alone was the primary driver of a suicide attempt, but we do know that cannabis can worsen certain mental health conditions and increase impulsivity."

The researchers found 18,698 cases of intentional, suspected suicide cannabis exposures reported to U.S. poison centers from 2009 to 2021. Of these cases, 9.6% resulted in death or major outcomes such as permeant disability. The researchers noted that while more of these exposures involved younger people, severe consequences occurred more often among people 65 and older.

U.S. poison centers take calls 24-hours a day from households and healthcare facilities to provide toxicology expertise in suspected poisoning cases. They also investigate the causes, often following up with patients and doctors to determine if patients took substances intentionally or not.

It is well known that accidental cannabis poisonings have been increasing since many states legalized cannabis. Some policies can help prevent these unintentional cases, Klein said, such as packaging guidelines so edible cannabis products are not mistaken for candy.

Intentional cannabis poisonings, on the other hand, have not been well studied, which is one of the reasons the researchers undertook this analysis, and their findings point to the need for more mental health services.

"We have a significant shortage of mental health and primary care providers in the United States," Klein said. "We know that mental health needs not only changed but became even more acute during the COVID-19 emergency. Cannabis is one part of that."

Other research has shown that cannabis use is associated with depression and anxiety in youth and that it may interfere with brain development as well. Recent studies have also suggested a link between suicidal ideation and cannabis use in young people. Given this evidence, it is especially important to limit youth access to cannabis, said Janessa Graves, first author and a WSU nursing associate professor.

"Children and adolescents shouldn't be able to purchase or access cannabis," Graves said. "We also need to educate kids and parents around the risks of cannabis. I think many people just aren't aware the impacts cannabis can have on brain development, and on behavioral and mental health, especially in adolescents and young adults."
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New research from a team based at the University of Waterloo suggests that the time of day and a patient's sex may alter the effectiveness of certain blood pressure medications.

Biological sex and the body's circadian clock are critical factors in managing blood pressure. The circadian clock is a natural, internal process that regulates things like the sleep-wake cycle and repeats roughly every 24 hours. Among its many other functions, the circadian clock also regulates kidney function. The kidneys play a crucial part in regulating blood pressure by managing fluid and electrolyte levels in the body.

"One important class of blood pressure medication is diuretics, sometimes called water pills," said Anita Layton, a professor of Applied Mathematics at Waterloo and the study's corresponding author. "Diuretics lower blood pressure by targeting kidney function to increase the amount of urine the body excretes. If they don't work correctly, they can negatively impact blood pressure."

Layton's team used mathematical models to simulate kidney function in male and female mice to assess the effectiveness of various kinds of diuretic drugs: loop diuretics, thiazide diuretics, and potassium-sparing diuretics.

First, the researchers simulated activenighttime for a nocturnal animaland inactivedaytimecycles of each mouse's circadian rhythms. Then they measured the predicted urine output and sodium excretion for each kind of medication, at each time, in male and female mice. They found that, for each category of diuretic, sex and time of day impacted drug effectiveness differently.

Even though humans typically have the opposite circadian clockwe are active during the day and inactive at nightthe results suggest that people can make their blood pressure treatment plans more effective by choosing the right time to take their medication.

"Chronotherapy, which is the tailoring of drug administration to match the body's circadian rhythms, can play a major role in improving modern personalized medicine," Layton said.

The study, Influence of administration time and sex on natriuretic, diuretic, and kaliuretic effects of diuretics, is forthcoming from the American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology.

More information: Pritha Dutta et al, Influence of administration time and sex on natriuretic, diuretic, and kaliuretic effects of diuretics, American Journal of Physiology-Renal Physiology (2023). DOI: 10.1152/ajprenal.00296.2022
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Satellite imagery of Africa. Credit: Public Domain

A new study by public health researchers presents stark evidence that the Central African Republic (CAR) is experiencing a severe health and humanitarian emergency, with what is likely the highest measured nationwide mortality rate in the world, a rate four times higher than a 2010 United Nations estimate. The present crisis is linked to the arrival of COVID and its associated disruptions, as well as human rights abuses by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, which seeks to regain national territory after a decades-long hold by rebel groups.

The findings are based on a nationwide mortality survey and appear in the peer-reviewed journal Conflict and Health. Members of the research team hold positions at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Universite Evangelique en Afrique, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; as well as an anonymous contributor from Bocaranga, Central African Republic.

In 2022, the researchers interviewed 699 households that included 5,070 people, in both government-controlled areas and those not in government control across CAR. Interviewed households had a birth rate of 42.6/1,000/year and a crude mortality rate of 1.57/10,000/day. This equates to 5.6% of the population dying each year. The birth rate was lower and the death rate markedly higher in areas outside of government control. By comparison, in the U.S., 1% of the population dies each year; in the DRC, that figure is 2.5%.

Families described diarrhea as well as malaria or fever as the primary reported causes of death, with violence accounting for 6% of all deaths. Most people expressed that they were desperate for assistance, asking for health care (26.9%) and food (25.2%). A disturbing 82.3% of households reported adults ate  1 meals per day at the time of interview. Similarly, 72.6% of children, who have greater nutritional needs and are at higher risk for malnutrition and its associated morbidities, ate  1 meals per day at the time of interview.

The survey finds an acute dearth of children under age 3 in a population with low contraceptive use, implying either a recent elevation of infant mortality, a decrease in birth rates due to extreme stress, or both. Corroborating the likelihood of a reduced birth rate, 25.5% of known pregnancies resulted in a loss. This is higher than the fraction recorded in neighboring Eastern DRC in 2002 during a period of extreme conflict. These findings align with a 2022 UNICEF report that food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread in CAR and imperil the lives f tens of thousands of children.

Officially, the Central African Republic has a gross national income of $425 per person, a life expectancy of 54, and is ranked fourth from last on the Human Development Index. For the past two decades, much of the country has been under the control of anti-government rebels. Conditions have reportedly changed since 2020 as mercenaries from the Wagner group have expanded their activities in rebel-held parts of the country. They have been accused of widespread killings, public executions, torture, and rape, as strategies of demoralization and disruption. Dozens of households surveyed described not being able to travel to visit their fields, hunt, fish, or forage for survival because combatants would attack or kill them.

The authors write, "CAR is experiencing a severe health emergency, with the highest measured nationwide mortality in the world to our knowledge. UN-published death rate estimates appear to be less than one-fourth of reality. There is a desperate need for food aid in the form of general distributions in CAR, along with the accompanying work programs, seed, and tool distributions needed to restart local economies. This is of particular importance in rural areas outside of government control. While some humanitarian actors are doing their best to respond, the crisis level mortality rate suggests that the needs in CAR are being largely unmet."

Study authors include Karume Baderha Augustin Gang (first author), Universite Evangelique en Afrique, Bukavu, DRC; Jennifer O'Keeffe, doctoral student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Columbia Mailman alumna; anonymous of Bocaranga, CAR; and Les Roberts, professor emeritus of population and family health, Columbia Mailman School (senior author).

More information: Karume Baderha Augustin Gang et al, Cross-sectional survey in Central African Republic finds mortality 4-times higher than UN statistics: how can we not know the Central African Republic is in such an acute humanitarian crisis?, Conflict and Health (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s13031-023-00514-z
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Funnel plot presented the visual inspection of publication bias for systematic review and meta-analysis of food taboo practices among pregnant women in Ethiopia, 2022. Credit: Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30852-0

One in five pregnant women in Ethiopia are deliberating staying under nourished for fear of fetal deformities and giving birth to big babies, public health researchers say.

Many pregnant mothers in Ethiopia are suffering from nutritional deficiencies during pregnancies due to harmful myths and cultural beliefs, even though their nutritional needs increase during this period.

Food taboos are a set of proscriptions of certain foods or food combinations, and are prevalentfor different reasons such as cultural, spiritual or ethicalaround the globe.

A taboo against certain foods, such as dairy products, fruits, vegetables, meat, and honey, can lead to nutrient deficiencies and malnutrition for both mothers and unborn children.

These practices can perpetuate a cycle of malnutrition and poor health in families, as children who experience malnutrition may suffer from long-term physical and cognitive deficits, researchers say.

Researchers, as part of the study published in Scientific Reports, systematically reviewed data from 16 separate studies to understand the prevalence of food taboos in Ethiopia.

"Our goal is to provide a more complete understanding on the prevalence of food taboos across the entire nation," Berhanu Gidisa Debela, lead author of the study told us.

Despite progress in nutrition education, Debela, who is a public health specialist at College of Health and Medical Science, Dilla University, Ethiopia, says the study has shown that food taboos are still prevalent within the country's population.

Factors responsible for food taboos

The study found that having less than a secondary education level, having no antenatal care follow-up, and being a rural resident were found to be significant contributors to food taboos among pregnant women in Ethiopia.

According to Debela, health workers play a crucial role in detecting and managing the presence of these taboos, particularly during antenatal care follow-up. These assessments can help ensure that pregnant women have access to the necessary nutrients and support to improve maternal and child nutrition outcomes.

"It is crucial for pregnant women to receive education and guidance on proper nutrition and food choices during antenatal care visits," Debela told us.

As rural women are more susceptible to practice food taboos during pregnancy, expanding health services can also help these women access essential follow-up care and basic nutrition, ensuring healthy pregnancies and healthy babies, he adds.

Mercy Lung'aho, biomarker and anthropometry lead at the Nigerian National Food Consumption and Micronutrient Survey, International Institute for Tropical Agriculture, tells us that studying food cultures in Africa is crucial to addressing the unique nutritional challenges facing communities across the continent.

Food taboos can negatively impact the health of women and their families in several ways, she said.

"They may limit the intake of essential nutrients, leading to malnutrition, increased risk of complications during pregnancy, and poor fetal development," said Lung'aho, who was not involved in the research. "This can contribute to low birth weight, stunted growth, and increased risk of infant mortality."

While it is challenging to measure the precise impact of food taboos on malnutrition in Sub-Saharan Africa, these cultural practices do contribute to the issue, she says adding malnutrition is a multifaceted problem in the region, with food scarcity, poverty, and limited access to healthcare all playing significant roles.

"Tackling food taboos as part of a wider strategy can lead to improved health outcomes," Lung'aho said.

The researchers say addressing food taboos is necessary for promoting a healthy reproductive process for both mother and baby.

"The findings of this study can help policymakers, planners, and health service providers by generating and disseminating evidence-based information that can aid in the design and implementation of appropriate interventions," Lung'aho said.

Lung'aho told us that efforts to address food taboos and improve access to vital nutrients for pregnant women could include education and awareness campaigns, engaging religious and community leaders, developing culturally sensitive nutrition programs, and improving access to healthcare services like prenatal care and nutritional counseling.

More information: Berhanu Gidisa Debela et al, Food taboo practices and associated factors among pregnant women in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis, Scientific Reports (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-30852-0 Journal information: Scientific Reports , Nature

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France risks shortages of abortion pills as US states build up stocks during an intensifying legal and political battle over reproductive rights, the country's gender equality authority has warned.

France gets most of its abortion drugs from a largely US-owned manufacturer, and supplies are already under pressure from a shortage in raw materials.

In addition, US states "are building up stocks to mitigate a possible halt in production or sales of mifepristone and misoprostol," France's High Council for Equality between Men and Women (HCE) said Tuesday.

"The American situation poses the risk of a shortage," the organization said.

Abortion pills account for around 70 percent of pregnancy terminations in France. Women take a dose of mifepristone and then a dose of misoprostol, which triggers expulsion of the embryo, 36 to 48 hours later.

The US Supreme Court is expected to rule Wednesday on a lower tribunal's finding that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) wrongly approved mifepristone for use in 2000, which has sowed legal chaos in reproductive health provision.

The case is part of a wider campaign by conservatives against abortion rights, after the right-leaning Supreme Court last year overturned the Roe v. Wade ruling that guaranteed access to pregnancy termination for half a century.

In France, President Emmanuel Macron promised last month that he would soon present a law enshrining the right to abortion in the constitution.

Production delays

But on access to the medications, the non-governmental Observatory for Transparency in Medication Policy (OTMeds) warned weeks ago that it was difficult or impossible to get misoprostol from some pharmacies in several cities and regions, including Paris.

Health Minister Francois Braun on Wednesday insisted that it was "possible everywhere" for women to access misoprostol, telling broadcaster RMC that there are "three months of stocks" and "no shortage".

Even where the drug is not available in pharmacies, medical centers offering abortion have always had supplies, he added.

The ANSM medicines authority on Tuesday said that largely US-owned manufacturer Nordic Pharma, which supplies all of France's misoprostol, warned it late last year of production delays to one of its brands, Gymiso.

Manufacturing of its other misoprostol brand, Misoone, has been hit by a shortage of crucial raw materials.

"Tensions" in supply "are in the process of being resolved by distributing tens of thousands of boxes of Gymiso last week and of Misoone from this week," the ANSM added.

The body is also having Misoone imported from Italy.

"It's good that the ANSM is finally recognizing that there's been a problem in recent weeks," OTMeds founder Pauline Londeix said.

"But it remains to be seen if shortages of this medication will really end. It's yet another example of how an ultra-concentrated market can put our health security at risk," she added.

France has suffered shortages of other medicines over the winter including antibiotics such as amoxicillin.

 2023 AFP
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In a study of older adults, higher educational attainment seemed to protect adults from cognitive decline, but this protective effect differed by race and ethnicity. Higher-educated White adults received a greater benefit than higher-educated Black or Latinx adults.

The study published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society involved telephone assessments of cognitive function among 20,311 Black, Latinx, and White US adults aged 51100 years.

On average, Black and Latinx adults scored lower compared with White adults, regardless of educational attainment. Irrespective of race and ethnicity, the rate of cognitive decline over subsequent assessments was non-linear, and a period of cognitive stability was apparent for those with higher educational attainment. Compared with Black, Latinx, and White adults with lower educational attainment, higher-educated White adults received the greatest protection from cognitive decline, followed by Latinx, and Black adults. Latinx adults experienced cognitive decline beginning at a later age.

"Our findings suggest that efforts to improve access to high-quality education and social mobility may have long-lasting effects on the risk of cognitive decline in older age," said corresponding author Dylan J. Jester, Ph.D., MPH, of the UC San Diego School of Medicine and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System.

More information: Impact of Educational Attainment on Time to Cognitive Decline among Marginalized Older Adults: Cohort Study of 20,311 Adults, Journal of the American Geriatrics Society (2023). DOI: 10.1111/jgs.18340 Journal information: Journal of the American Geriatrics Society
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In recent years, the use of big data in health care has become more prevalent, and one area where it is proving particularly useful is in precision medicine. Precision medicine aims to provide more personalized health care by using large amounts of data to gain a deeper understanding of diseases.

Research published in the International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy has focused on the potential limitations of precision medicine and explores how it might be better integrated with clinical data, biomarker information, and genetics to better understand and so treat disease. Simone Malekar of the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford, UK and Shamira Malekar and Hung Chu of the Borough of Manhattan Community College in New York, U.S., examine some of the problems seen when handling big data, including the issues of data ownership and potential bias.

The team also considers how to ensure that the information revealed by big data in the context of precision medicine using advanced computational techniques is as transparent as possible and explained to patients and health care providers.

Precision medicine treats each patient as an individual and uses the best available tools to help create a personalized medical treatment for that patient based on their individual characteristics, their genetics, environment, and lifestyle. It requires large amounts of data, big data, such as clinical information, biomarkers and test results, and genetic data, to provide a deeper understanding of the disease and to identify more targeted and effective therapies.

The potential of this new approach is not only to improve the patient's prognosis but also to accelerate medical research and perhaps even reduce the overall cost of health care. Commonly precision medicine driven by big data is proving highly effective in treating certain types of cancer, such as breast cancer and malignant melanoma.

To move forward with precision medicine more broadly, we need to be able to handle big data more effectively than ever before and to understand the implications of using it. Big data refers to large, complex, and diverse sets of information that too big to manage and process with conventional data processing methods. Big data means volume, variety, and velocitylots of different types of data generated rapidly, in other words.

More information: Hung Chu et al, The perils of big data: understanding the usage in precision medicine, International Journal of Management Concepts and Philosophy (2023). DOI: 10.1504/IJMCP.2023.10053877
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Mean census-tract life expectancy overall and cross-classified by quintile of median household income, Gini index, and ruralurban status. Credit: Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s41043-023-00366-6

While evidence has long shown that higher income inequality is associated with poorer population health outcomes, a new study from researchers at the University of Rhode Island College of Health Sciences suggests this association may vary based on other factors. In fact, socioeconomic status as well as geography (rural-urban status) play a role when it comes to life expectancybut not necessarily in the way you might think.

The study, published in the Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition, found that while the association between life expectancy and income inequality was negative in most areas, this was not a given in all instances. In fact, in high-income areas with higher income inequality, life expectancy was higher than in high-income areas with a more equitable distribution of wealthsuggesting that income inequality may not be as reliable a predictor when it comes to population health outcomes as previously believed.

"The general consensus is that the more equitable a society, the better the population health tends to bewhich translates to things like people living longer, healthier lives," says Professor Steven Cohen, a social epidemiologist and applied public health demographer in URI's Department of Health Studies, who led the research team. "And while for the most part that is true, what we found in higher-income areas is that this association was actually reversedalmost across the board."

Using 2010-2015 life expectancy data by census tract from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention WONDER database and linking that to socioeconomic and demographic data from both the 2010 U.S. Census and the 2010 American Community Survey by census tract, researchers were able to analyze and compare life expectancy against variables such as income inequality, median household income and population density, as well as race, education level and median age.

In total the sample included more than 66,850 census tracts, each with a population of anywhere from 1,200 to 8,000 people. Studies examining the relationship between income inequality and health on a finer scale such as thisat the neighborhood or municipal levelare severely lacking in the United States.

Researchers observed the lowest average life expectancy of 72.3 years in tracts with the lowest income, highest income inequality, and with intermediate rural-urban status; while the highest average life expectancy of 82.3 years was observed in the tracts with the highest income, relatively high income inequality and second most urban status (rating 4 on a 1-5 scale).

Researchers found the association between income inequality and life expectancy was strongest in areas outside the most rural and most urban census tracts, supporting previous studies concluding that lower income inequality is associated with better population health outcomes. However, in highly rural or highly urban areas these associations were not as strongly present or not present at all.

"One important thing to keep in mind is that most of literature looks at income inequality and various other socioeconomic factors and their relationship to population health outcomes on a much broader geographical scale," said Cohen. "When you start to break things down on a smaller scale as we've done for this study, you see there is much more going on and many more subtle processes at play which are important to understand.

"I think what this tells us is that when it comes to improving population health, reducing income inequality is not a magic bullet. We really need to drill down further to look at neighborhoods and communities and determine what is happening and what is working in those communities in order to come up with a plan that will be truly effective."

According to the group, future research should focus on identifying and addressing the factors leading to critical health inequalities that can be blunted or masked entirely when reviewing data on a larger scale from a broader geographical area.

More information: Steven A. Cohen et al, Income and ruralurban status moderate the association between income inequality and life expectancy in US census tracts, Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s41043-023-00366-6
Photo: The Canadian Press A Quebec Superior Court justice has ordered Google to pay $500,000 to a Montreal man after the company restored a link to a post falsely accusing him of being a pedophile. The Google app on an iPad in Baltimore is seen on March 19, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Patrick Semansky

A Quebec Superior Court judge has ordered Google to pay $500,000 to a Montreal man after the tech company restored a link to an online post falsely accusing him of being a pedophile.

The man, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, first found the defamatory post in 2006 when he used Google to search his name.

While the man was able to have the link removed from search results that appear on Google's Canadian site, the company later restored a link.

The man, who is described as a prominent businessman in court documents, argued the defamatory post damaged his career and personal relationships.

Google, which is headquartered in California, argued that Quebec defamation law didn't apply to the case and that under U.S. law it had no obligation to remove the link.

Justice Azimuddin Hussain ruled late last month that Quebec law does apply and that while Google is not required to monitor what its search engine links to, it must act when it is informed that it is facilitating access to illicit content.
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Anna Claudia Castello Branco (ICB-USP), first author of the article in Viruses, with the results. Credit: Maria Notomi Sato

Researchers at the University of Sao Paulo (USP) in Brazil have shown for the first time that gestational obesity associated with infection by Zika virus influences the placenta's antiviral response, weakening the organ's capacity to attack the pathogen and protect the fetus.

The study results are reported in an article published in the journal Viruses.

According to the authors, the findings underscore the importance of adequate antenatal care. "We normally associate obesity during pregnancy with problems such as gestational diabetes or high birth weight infants, but it should be stressed that the consequences can go beyond these. We proved in this study that the placenta's immune response, or rather the immune response that occurs at the maternal-fetal interface, is highly compromised in these cases," said Maria Notomi Sato, a professor at USP's medical school and last author of the article.

In cases of Zika infection in obese pregnant women, she explained, transcription of genes and production of proteins involved in the immune response are both diminished. "Above all, the interferon pathway is impaired. The protein interferon helps inhibit replication of the virus and is an extremely important part of the response to any viral disease," she said.

It should be noted that Zika, like dengue and SARS-CoV-2, is able to cross the placental barrier and infect the baby. The group analyzed 30 placenta samples from obese and non-obese pregnant women infected by Zika supplied by Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (FIOCRUZ), a research institution subordinated to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, and 39 from healthy women, supplied by Patricia Rondo, a researcher at USP's School of Public Health who is conducting a population study of pregnant women in Araraquara, Sao Paulo state.

The analysis showed that Zika can alter the placenta morphologically in obese pregnant women and aggravate insufficiency of the placental type I interferon pathway. As an immune evasion strategy, the virus inhibits activation of intracellular receptors that detect viral RNA and trigger type I interferon production, such as RIG-I, IRF-3 and MAVS.

Interferons are a broad class of cytokines elicited to defend the organism and are essential for mobilizing the immune response to pathogens, activating genes that impair their replication.

Another evasion mechanism used by Zika is degradation of the protein STAT2, which mediates interferon signaling. The study showed that these evasion strategies enabled the virus to persist in placenta, facilitating its replication and transmission to the fetus.

"Analysis of the placenta samples showed that in non-infected obese pregnant women there were no alterations in transcriptional expression of antiviral factors or expression of types I and III interferon. In obese pregnant women who contracted Zika, we observed a decrease in transcriptional expression of RIG-I and IFIH1 [the precursor gene for the protein MDA-5]. This decrease resulted in a weakened antiviral response," said Anna Claudia Castelo Branco, first author of the article and a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Immunology at USP's Biomedical Sciences Institute.

Microcephaly

The study did not find a link between gestational obesity and infant microcephaly. "It wasn't possible to show such a link because the study involved a small number of samples," Castelo Branco said. "Previous research had found Zika infection in the first or second trimester to be most critical for the occurrence of microcephaly owing to issues relating to the neural development of the fetus. We had a larger number of samples from obese pregnant women who were infected in the third trimester."

Risk factors such as the timing of the infection during pregnancy and whether it was a primary infection, reinfection or chronic infection, as well as membrane rupture and birth type, can influence the incidence of fetal transmission, she added.

Obesity is a state of chronic inflammation that causes multiple metabolic diseases, she went on: "It's as if all the components of obesityadipocyte hyperplasia, fat accumulation, altered gut microbiotamake the organism constantly inflamed. However, the inflammation is low-grade, so the immune system is always on alert in a succession of false alarms."

Obesity in general (not in the context of pregnancy) has been found to correlate with impaired responses to infections and vaccines, and it is a risk factor for many diseases.

"In the context of pregnancy, few studies have so far found a link between obesity and a higher risk of infections. Our study is the first to prove that the placenta's immune response is weakened in obese women infected by Zika," Castelo Branco said.

More information: Anna Claudia Calvielli Castelo Branco et al, Obesity Induces an Impaired Placental Antiviral Immune Response in Pregnant Women Infected with Zika Virus, Viruses (2023). DOI: 10.3390/v15020320
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Proteomic screens and in vitro validation of hits. Credit: Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37464-2

In a study published in Nature Communications, a team led by Krembil Brain Institute at UHN Senior Scientists, Drs. Lorraine Kalia and Suneil Kalia, and University of Toronto (U of T) Professor, Dr. Philip M. Kim, has identified a protein-protein interaction that contributes to Parkinson's disease.

In the disease, a protein called -synuclein (a-syn) accumulates in the brain and leads to cell death. Much research is currently focused on clearing a-syn with antibodies or using small molecules to prevent a-syn from aggregating. In this study, the researchers took an alternate approach by looking for protein-protein interactions that may be promoting the accumulation of a-syn in Parkinson's disease.

Protein-protein interactions govern virtually all the inner workings of the cell, including breaking down disease-causing proteins. Inhibiting certain interactions has emerged as a promising approach to treat diseases such as stroke and cancer.

"Identifying a particular interaction that contributes to a disease and then finding ways to disrupt it, can be a painstaking and incredibly slow process," explains Dr. Lorraine Kalia, who is also a staff neurologist at UHN and a scientist at U of T's Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases, in the Temerty Faculty of Medicine.

"We all started out a bit skeptical that we would have something useful at the end, and so the fact that we do have something that warrants further work is much more than we anticipated," says Dr. Kalia.

According to Dr. Kim, the team took the reverse approach to expedite the discovery of potential therapies: "We developed a platform to screen molecules called peptide motifsshort strings of amino acids that can disrupt protein-protein interactionsfor their ability to protect cells from a-syn. Once we identified candidate peptides, we determined which protein-protein interactions they target."

Through this approach, the team identified a peptide that reduced a-syn levels in cells by disrupting the interaction between a-syn and a protein subunit of the cellular machinery called endosomal sorting complex required for transport III (ESCRT-III).

"ESCRT-III is a component of a pathway that cells use to break down proteins, called the endolysosomal pathway," explains Dr. Lorraine Kalia. "We discovered that a-syn interacts with a protein within ESCRT-IIICHMP2Bto inhibit this pathway, thereby preventing its own destruction.

"We were impressed that the platform worked," she adds. "But I think what was more interesting is that, by doing this kind of screening, we were able to find an interaction that was really not previously characterized, and we also found a pathway that's not yet been targeted for therapeutics."

According to Dr. Suneil Kalia, once the group identified this interaction, they confirmed that they could use their peptide to disrupt it, preventing a-syn from evading the cell's natural clearance pathways.

"We tested the peptide in multiple experimental models of Parkinson's disease, and we consistently found that it restored endolysosomal function, promoted a-syn clearance and prevented cell death," he said.

These findings indicate that the a-syn-CHMP2B interaction is a potential therapeutic target for the disease, as well as other conditions that involve a buildup of a-syn, such as dementia with Lewy bodies.

The next steps for this research are to clarify exactly how a-syn and CHMP2B interact to disrupt endolysosomal activity. Ongoing studies are also determining the best approach for delivering potential therapeutics to the brain.

"This research is still in its early stagesmore work is definitely needed to translate this peptide into a viable therapeutic," cautions Dr. Lorraine Kalia. "Nonetheless, our findings are very exciting because they suggest a new avenue for developing treatments for Parkinson's disease and other neurodegenerative conditions."

This study also highlights the value of multidisciplinary collaborations in health research.

"We simply could not have conducted this study in a silo," says Dr. Suneil Kalia. "The endolysosomal pathway is underexplored, so it was not an obvious place to look for potential disease-related protein-protein interactions. Dr. Kim's screening platform was critical for pointing us in the right direction."

"It is extraordinary to see this platformwhich we initially used to find potential therapeutics for canceryielding advances in brain research. The pathways that cells use to stay healthy are fundamentally very similar across tissues, so the insights that we gain about one organ system or disease could have important implications in other contexts," says Dr. Kim.

"This is our first collaboration with Dr. Kim and it has been a productive one with a lot of synergy," says Dr. Lorraine Kalia. "Seeking out technologies that are being used in other fields and applying them to our own field, we hope this will accelerate Parkinson's research."

She adds, "It's really brand new science and brand new targets that haven't been a focus for drug development for Parkinson's. We hope this changes the landscape for treatment of this disease, which is so in need of new therapies."

More information: Satra Nim et al, Disrupting the -synuclein-ESCRT interaction with a peptide inhibitor mitigates neurodegeneration in preclinical models of Parkinson's disease, Nature Communications (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37464-2 Journal information: Nature Communications , Brain

Provided by University Health Network (UHN)
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Selling nicotine vaping products in licensed shops with a strict age verification process will restrict youth access and help adult smokers quit, a University of Queensland drug expert has recommended.

Emeritus Professor Wayne Hall from UQ's National Center for Youth Substance Use Research said current nicotine vaping regulations are ineffective, a view acknowledged by the Therapeutic Goods Administration.

"In Australia, nicotine vaping products can only legally be prescribed by a doctor and sold in pharmacies to adults who want to quit smoking," Emeritus Professor Hall said.

"Instead, we have seen the development of a thriving black market which sells unregulated vape products to children and adults, with very few adult vapers using the legal prescription pathway."

Emeritus Professor Hall recommends the industry adopts an age-restricted consumer model.

"The black market would become less profitable and illicit sales would diminish over time, being largely replaced by a legal, regulated market."

The National Drug Strategy Household Survey 2019 found vaping is the most popular aid for quitting and reducing smoking in Australia, and research has found it to be more effective than nicotine replacement therapy.

"It is uncommon for people to take up vaping if they have never smoked before," Emeritus Professor Hall said.

"Rather than it being a gateway product, evidence suggests nicotine vapes divert young people from smoking."

Emeritus Professor Hall said policymakers need to find a balance between providing adult smokers with easy access to nicotine vaping products and restricting access to youth.

"The main objective is to reduce smoking-related death and disease," Professor Hall said.

"Neither vaping nor nicotine replacement therapy are risk-free, but vaping is a substantially less harmful alternative for adult smokers.

"Policymakers need to consider the harmful, unintended consequences of excessive regulation."

The full commentary is published in Drug and Alcohol Review.

More information: Colin Mendelsohn et al, How should nicotine vaping be regulated in Australia?, Drug and Alcohol Review (2023). DOI: 10.1111/dar.13663 Journal information: Drug and Alcohol Review
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

More than 6,500 rapes and sexual assaults have been recorded in hospitals in England and Wales, over nearly four years, with only 4.1% of suspects known to have been charged.

A Women's Rights Network report, authored by University of Reading Professor of Criminology, Jo Phoenix, found that one in seven of these crimes occurred on hospital wards.

Shocking crimes, including the rapes of several children under 13, have been disclosed by 35 police forces, responding to Freedom of Information requests sent to 43 forces across the U.K.

Professor Phoenix said, "The figures are shocking and prove that NHS Trusts are failing in their duty to protect both patients and staff. Further, the fact that 95.9% of all reports were either no-further-actioned or not recorded is also truly appalling. Although there are no reasons given within the research for this alarmingly low figure, what is clear is that there appears to be ingrained inertia in dealing with this safeguarding and policing failure."

Heather Binning, founder of the Women's Rights Network said "The volume of sexual assaults and rapes is even more horrific when you consider that this data covers the pandemic, when much of the country was in lockdown and hospitals were supposedly even more vigilant.

"Hospitals are places where everyonepatients, staff and visitorsshould feel completely safe. But rapes and violent assaults are taking place every week in hospitals. To add to the horror, those men committing the crimes are getting away with it."

The Women's Rights Network is calling on NHS authorities, the Care Quality Commission and police constabularies to formally acknowledge that hospitals are a hidden domain of sexual violence. They are seeking full reporting of data; signposting routes for staff to report safeguarding concerns; application of single sex exemptions for wards; protection for staff; and a review of safety measures, including installation of additional CCTV and/or door-entry systems.
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Human pancreatic beta cells show increased membrane rigidity (indicated in red) when exposed to erucic acid, a toxic monounsaturated fatty acid. Credit: Ranjan Devkota and Juliana Coraor Fried

Researchers have developed a technology, FALCON, to analyze the effects of free fatty acids in any cell type, and found type 2 diabetes genes that may further boost diabetes risk when cells are in a high-fat environment.

High levels of fat molecules called free fatty acids in the bloodstream are a common risk factor for several diseases, including type 2 diabetes and cancer. Learning how fatty acids interact with cells in the body could help researchers to better understand the biological mechanisms that lead to disease and to develop new treatments. However, until recently, there was no way to systematically study the effects of diverse fatty acids in cells.

Now researchers from the lab of Anna Greka, an institute member at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, have developed a platform called FALCON (Fatty Acid Library for Comprehensive ONtologies) that can systematically profile the effects of a wide range of different free fatty acids in any cell type of interest, including cellular models of disease.

The method, described in a study in Cell Metabolism, allows scientists to expose cells to a large number of free fatty acids, mimicking conditions in the body, and to measure changes in the cells' gene activity, shape or morphology, survival, fat composition, and other key characteristics.

Using their method on human pancreatic beta cells, a cell model for type 2 diabetes, the scientists found that some monounsaturated fatty acidslong thought to be beneficial for healthare actually toxic to cells. The finding suggests that traditional ways of classifying fatty acids may not accurately reflect what the molecules do to cells in health and disease. Based on their data, the team came up with a new way to classify the molecules.

And by broadly surveying gene activity in the cells as they were being exposed to, or "perturbed" by, the fatty acids, the scientists also identified genes linked to type 2 diabetes risk that showed altered activity after fatty acid exposure. The scientists said that those genes might explain how high fat levels in the blood can boost diabetes risk in those who are genetically susceptible to the disorder.

Moreover, because FALCON analyzed the effects of a large library of fatty acids at once, the team was able to zero in on one gene that helps regulate the toxic effects of the molecules. Other methods had not identified this gene because they either looked at genetic risk alone without taking into account the effects of lipids (fat molecules), or they used only one fatty acid, palmitic acid, as a representative of toxic lipids.

"FALCON has allowed us to integrate the effects of environmental exposure and genetic risk to gain new insights into the mechanisms of metabolic disease. Without this approach, we would have not discovered key regulators that are operative only at the nexus of genes linked to diabetes and the lipid environment that cells are exposed to," said Juliana Coraor Fried, an MD/Ph.D. student at Broad, Harvard Medical School, and MIT and co-first author on the study.

"The idea behind this study was to develop a systematic approach to study the phenotypes that are induced by different fatty acids in any cell type of interest. We are thrilled that FALCON is already inspiring others to explore this concept in their own systems," said Nicolas Wieder, a co-first author on the paper and a visiting postdoctoral fellow at the Broad.

Many collaborators from Broad and other institutions contributed to the work, including Broad institute member Beth Stevens, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and an investigator at Boston Children's Hospital, and Broad institute scientist Anne Carpenter, who is also senior director of the Imaging Platform and co-developer of Cell Painting, an image-based cell profiling technique that is part of the FALCON platform.

A technique takes flight

Previous studies tested only a few fatty acids one at a time, so the Greka lab set out to develop FALCON to study them at scale. To do this, Wieder, Coraor Fried, and colleagues overcame an important hurdle: they figured out a way to deliver fatty acids, which aren't soluble in water, to cells using existing high-throughput systems and at concentrations similar to those found in human blood.

"Our group studies fundamental cellular mechanisms using scalable methods, with a particular interest in membrane proteins. We still do not understand how proteins interact with the lipids in their neighborhood to regulate their behavior, because lipids are hard to study, especially at scale. This gap in our scientific knowledge was the inspiration for FALCON," said Greka, the senior author of the study, who is also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a physician at Brigham and Women's Hospital.

The researchers used FALCON to study the effects of 61 fatty acids in human pancreatic beta cells. They found that 20 of the molecules led to toxic effects that mirrored those associated with type 2 diabetes.

More than half of these were monounsaturated fatty acids that had surprising effects on cells. For example, some were even more toxic than saturated fatty acids, by increasing rigidity of cell membranes. And some fatty acids showed varying levels of toxicity in different cell types.

"Monounsaturated fatty acids are not one group of fatty acids that induce similar phenotypes" said Coraor Fried. "There are some that seem neutral or protective, while there's a whole group of monounsaturated fatty acids that seems to be toxic." She added that this finding opens a new avenue of research into the actions of fatty acids in different cell types and disease models.

The team found 25 genes previously associated with risk of type 2 diabetes that were also altered by fatty acid exposure. One gene, GLP1R, is a well-known drug target for type 2 diabetes and obesitya finding the scientists said is a cross-validation of the FALCON approach.

Another gene, CMIP, had never been flagged before as a key regulator in either pancreatic beta cell biology, which is relevant to diabetes, or in conditions marked by dysregulated lipids in the blood. But through the use of FALCON, the team showed CMIP protects pancreatic beta cells from the toxic effects of fatty acid exposure.

FALCON's future

The authors said researchers can apply the FALCON protocol to any cell type affected by fatty acids. For example, their paper showed how certain fatty acids were toxic to microglial cells, which are implicated in Alzheimer's disease. Other Broad researchers have begun using FALCON to study fatty acid effects in fat cells, neurons, and immune cells.

Wieder and Coraor Fried added that discoveries made using FALCON will open doors to a better understanding of disease progression. It could also have implications for future therapies.

"One idea is to use a fatty acid profile measured in the blood of patients as a tool for individualized or personalized medicine," said Wieder. "As long as you can come up with a cellular model that's relevant for the disease you want to study and that has lipids as an environmental risk factor, you can just plug it in and start exploring."

More information: Nicolas Wieder et al, FALCON systematically interrogates free fatty acid biology and identifies a novel mediator of lipotoxicity, Cell Metabolism (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.cmet.2023.03.018 Journal information: Cell Metabolism
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

New research published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica has revealed a link between the use of traditional Chinese medicine during pregnancy and congenital malformations, including heart defects, in children.

In the prospective study, 16,751 women who received obstetrics care from hospitals in China completed a survey on their use of traditional Chinese medicine before and during pregnancy. Among fetuses, there were 273 congenital malformations.

Fetuses exposed to traditional Chinese medicine had 2.1-times higher odds of developing congenital malformations compared with those without exposure. There were significant associations with congenital malformations in women with early pregnant use of traditional Chinese medicine and for those who used two or more types of these products.

"To improve traditional Chinese medicine, we should pay more attention to its hazards especially the identification of teratogenic ingredientswhile also evaluating its therapeutic effects," said corresponding author Jiang-Nan Wu, of Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital of Fudan University, in China.

More information: Maternal traditional Chinese medicine exposure and risk of congenital malformations: a multicentre prospective cohort study, Acta Obstetricia Et Gynecologica Scandinavica (2023). DOI: 10.1111/aogs.14553 Journal information: Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica
In 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published multiple reports analyzing health disparities between rural and urban populations.

That effort pleased researchers and advocates for improving rural health because the dozen or so examinations of rural health data provided important details about the 46 million Americans who live away from the nations population centers. It began to fill a gap in the information used by those who study and address the issues that affect people in rural communities.

But those reports, the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report rural health series, began and ended in 2017. And though the CDC has addressed rural health in other weekly reports and data briefs, the agency hasnt examined it in such depth since.

Thats one reason rural health advocates successfully pushed for the CDC to extend its rural health focus by creating an Office of Rural Health at the agency. The office is operational as of March 2023, and advocates hope the agency will commit to rural health research and provide analyses that lead to good public health policies for rural communities.

What were seeing is rural continually getting left behind, said Alan Morgan, CEO of the National Rural Health Association, which urged Congress to fund the office. Theyre communities at risk, communities that may not be employing public health safety measures, and we are flying blind, he said.

Whats needed is an ongoing look at rural communities, their populations, to better direct both state and federal efforts to address health disparities, he said.

The omnibus appropriations bill signed by President Joe Biden in December 2022 gave the CDC $5 million for the 2023 fiscal year to create the Office of Rural Health inside the agency, which has a $9.3 billion budget this year. Congress directed the CDC to sharpen its focus on public health in rural areas with the new office, after covid-19 had an outsize impact on rural America.

Though the CDC is a data-driven public health agency, its unlikely the new office will solve preexisting rural data challenges. But CDC officials have said in-depth rural health initiatives that require collaborations across the CDC  like the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report rural health series  could become more common practice at the agency.

Instead of comparing rural and non-rural, it was looking within rural, said Diane Hall, acting director of the office, about the 2017 reports. That MMWR sort of laid out some things that we can be thinking about doing more of so that within rural variation, [theres] better understanding of how race and ethnicity play out in rural communities.

In addition to ethnic disparities, the series examined illicit drug use, causes of death, and suicide trends, among other things. Those topics are already part of what the CDC tracks, but typically the agency compares rural data for those topics with urban data rather than creating a stand-alone analysis.

Hall said having an Office of Rural Health will also help the CDC continue collaborating with the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy, part of the Health Resources and Services Administration. That office has existed since 1987 and has been the primary federal office dedicated to rural health care. But its focus is on increasing access to health care rather than monitoring public health.

At the CDCs Office of Rural Health, were more likely to be focusing on prevention, Hall said.

What the office is unlikely to do, she said, is create new surveys and collect data that the CDC does not already track. It would be a pretty costly undertaking, she said. I think what would be more impactful is to work with the people that are already doing that and help them better understand that rural context.

Rural data analysis poses challenges because of the smaller size of rural population centers compared with the larger populations of urban areas. For instance, small communities might not have adequate response rates to surveys, which can limit the conclusions researchers can make about the data.

Michael Meit, co-director of the Center for Rural Health Research at East Tennessee State University, said the 2017 series helped to mitigate the small numbers challenge, wherein samples arent large enough to be properly analyzed because rural areas have smaller populations.

Each of the series reports outlined data limitations such as small numbers and their effect on the analysis, which shows the CDC was already pushing forward and trying to bring voice to these issues, Meit said. I think that by itself is huge.

Hall, the acting director, said there isnt a simple solution to challenges like small sample sizes but that the CDCs Office of Rural Health can work to highlight creative solutions being developed, such as our PLACES project. PLACES, or Population Level Analysis and Community Estimates, is a collaboration among the CDC, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and CDC Foundation that releases data for smaller cities and rural areas. (KFF Health News receives funding support from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.)

Another challenge with rural health data is that small numbers can make it possible to identify who in a particular community is included in data. But the CDC has restrictions in place to prevent that from happening.

Sometimes, though, the agency does allow researchers to access files containing details like race or ethnicity for small and highly visible groups and extreme values of income and age.

Keith Mueller, director of the Rural Policy Research Institute, hopes the Office of Rural Health will make it easier for researchers to access that more detailed data.

There would be somebody at the agency who can get at the data, who can help us answer the research question, he said. Collaborative work between people in the field and people in the agency who have the direct access to the data is far more readily available or likely to happen with this new office.

Since the office is based in the CDCs new Public Health Infrastructure Center, which launched in February, Hall said its well positioned to partner with researchers. The center manages the agencys partnership grants, which are awarded to organizations that plan to improve public health services.

Hall said the offices most immediate priorities, though, are to grow the staff beyond its current three members and to develop the CDCs strategic plan for rural health.

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With support from the Montana Department of Environmental Quality, Missoula city and county are establishing a joint energy efficiency rebate program to lessen the cost of electrification for community members.

Transitioning our building operations to be powered by electricity allows them to be powered by renewable energy, which allows us to minimize our greenhouse gas emissions from that sector, explained Climate and Sustainability Specialist Evora Glenn on Wednesday.

She added that this move improves the city and countys resiliency, since emergency events like natural disasters typically bring on higher demand for energy.

Despite the electrification goal, however, Glenn said, The city and county recognize that hurdles remain to adoption of these highly efficient electric technologies in our community.

In particular, she noted, the upfront costs for high-efficiency electricity are higher than those for more conventional energy sources. Therefore, the city and county are initiating a rebate program for those efficient technologies.

We see a well-designed rebate program as having the capacity to advance adoption in a meaningful way in our community by bringing the cost burden down to make that transition, said Glenn.

The program  which was unanimously supported by Missoula City council members  has an initial period of two years. After that, Glenn said, the city and county would look for federal funding to keep the program going.

Were taking that context of future funding opportunities into consideration as well for how we can continue the effort, Glenn told council.

Im excited about this, said Ward 4 Councilor Amber Sherrill, chair of the citys Climate, Conservation and Parks committee.
William Conner runs a cannabis grow operation in Missoula County outside the city limits, where regulations on businesses like his are more relaxed. Even though Conner said Missoula County is one of the hardest counties for cannabis operators to get established, he also said the restrictions are easy enough to navigate.

Now, however, Missoula County is pondering the possibility of adding more rules for businesspeople like Conner.

More or less it seems pretty good here, he said.

With new changes that could go into effect this summer, unzoned county land could see the addition of two new parameters for cannabis businesses. New dispensaries would not be allowed to set up shop within 500 feet of another dispensary, and new grow operations would have to meet an energy efficiency standard.

Only new or expanding businesses would be subject to the added regulations.

Luckily for Conner, his business already installed all-LED lights at his grow operation. He said the lights save power and produce better products.

I think thats an OK thing, he said of the countys energy efficient requirement. But he added, I think they should listen to the cannabis growers a little more.

The county, meanwhile, believes the new standards go a long way toward the long-term success of cannabis cultivators, according to Jennie Dixon with Planning, Development and Sustainability.

On Tuesday at a Planning Board meeting, Dixon said the county sought to propose the most reasonable regulations to achieve county goals.

Those goals include energy initiatives, which cannabis growers could fulfill by either using approved grow lights or 100% renewable electricity.

Those stipulations are almost identical to the regulations already in place in the zoned parts of Missoula County. Glazing requirements, which exist in more urban areas, arent proposed for the more rural unzoned lands.

Enforcement of the new rules would happen when businesses apply for their annual license renewal from the Montana Department of Revenue, which checks with local zoning and land use departments.

The new regulations are on their way to be adopted July 1, when the state would open up business licenses to new cannabis operators. Previously, licenses were only available to pre-existing cannabis businesses.

So far, in the countys outreach efforts, community members have been largely in support of the new rules, Dixon reported. The Planning Board on Tuesday was also unanimously supportive.

Board Member Dave Loomis said he liked how the regulations help the county meet its goals with simplicity.

A lot of weeds could be gone into, he noted.

The next opportunity to see the regulations will be a Missoula County Commission meeting on May 4. A page for the proposed rules is also available online at Missoula County Voice, Missoula's online engagement platform.
A bill that wouldve given tribal communities a say in broadband projects on reservations was struck down in the Senate on Tuesday.

After COVID-19 exposed the digital divide, the federal government invested billions in grants that bring high-speed internet to rural and tribal communities. Tribes in Montana have received more than $100 million to get these projects off the ground. But too often, according to Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, who sponsored the bill, private broadband companies fail to collaborate with tribes.

House Bill 804 stated that if a broadband development occurred on a reservation, then an agency, political subdivision of the state and a tribal government should provide oversight of private internet service provider development.

Running Wolf said in the bills first committee hearing that the legislation would ensure providers dont abuse their services on reservations. Patrick Yawakie, a lobbyist for the Blackfeet Nation, said telecommunications companies often "cut corners by installing unsafe, outdated internet equipment."

3 Rivers Communications, a nonprofit telecommunications company in Fairfield, this spring preliminarily settled a class action lawsuit with the Blackfeet Nation for about $9 million. Plaintiffs alleged the company withheld capital credits from its Browning Exchange members.

House Bill 804 passed the House with 94 yes votes in March, and it easily cleared the Senate Committee on Energy and Telecommunications shortly thereafter.

The bill also passed its second reading in the Senate on Monday. Sen. Jason Small, R-Busby, urged his colleagues to support the legislation, saying it creates participation with Montana tribes when in the past, it didnt exist.

Tribal lands are some of the most underserved and unserved lands in the state, he said.

Sixty-two percent of homes on the Fort Peck Reservation and 58% of homes on the Rocky Boy Reservation have broadband access, compared to 85% of homes in the U.S.

Small said the bill promotes collaboration, allowing businesses and tribes to coexist with each other, get along and try to finish up some of these projects.

In the bills second reading, 29 senators voted for the bill and 21 opposed it. HB 804 failed its third reading in the Senate on Tuesday with 20 senators supporting the bill and 30 opposing it.

Running Wolf said the bill would've strengthened collaboration between the state and tribes.

"It was a courtesy bill," he said. "It was about relationship-building. It just goes to show that's not on the agenda this session. We tried our best."

As tribes receive more money for broadband projects, Running Wolf urged Indigenous communities to make sure they "have a seat at the table."

"No one's looking out for you," he said.
Photo: Vancouver Island Ferry Company The Vancouver Island Ferry Company is unveiling it's branding and ferries for a new Vancouver to Nanaimo service.

Soon people will spot ships sporting green hulls and 'Hullo' emblazoned across their bridge speeding into the Burrard Inlet and docking near the Vancouver Convention Centre.

They're part of the new passenger-only ferry service from the Vancouver Island Ferry Company between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo.

The two 354-passenger catamarans are expected in local waters later this spring, according to a press release unveiling the brand, new ships, and more details about the soon-to-launch ferries. They're currently undergoing sea trials in Vietnam.

"The vessels are built and going through rigorous sea trials and the terminal areas are in the process of being upgraded to welcome our guests. Hullo is in ship-shape and almost ready to serve its communities," says the company's CEO Alastair Caddick in the release.

A groundbreaking took place on April 19 in Nanaimo for a new welcome centre.

The company announced a variety of details as well. They're starting with two ships and plan on up to seven daily round-trip sailings across the Strait of Georgia, with trips lasting about 70 minutes from port to port. There will be three service tiers: comfort, premium, and business. What those will cost and what they come with has yet to be announced, but everyone will get WiFi.
A Douglas fir beetle outbreak has resulted in the loss of more than 1,000 trees on Mount Helena, and the city of Helenas Open Lands Division is working this spring to address the outbreak that has affected trees throughout the citys open spaces.

On April 17 and 18, city staff attached 900 pheromone capsules to trees on the north face of Mount Helena to deter beetles from infesting new trees this summer, according to a city news release sent Tuesday.

"We've been dealing with it all along, but this is certainly the worst we've had it," Helena Open Lands Manager Brad Langsather said in an interview Wednesday. "Our concern is that we just lost some beautiful trees in a picturesque setting. ... We just don't want to lose anymore trees."

He said the outbreak has resulted in losses throughout the city's open lands system, but where the Douglas fir beetles differ from the pine bark beetles, aside from the preference in tree species, is that the former's infestations tend to be site specific, with mortality concentrated in epicenters.

He said heavy, wet snowstorms in 2017 severely weakened trees on the landscape, and the Douglas fir beetles took advantage. The open lands crew has been tracking the ongoing infestations since then.

The capsules are filled with Methylcycohexenone (MCH), which is a pheromone produced by Douglas fir beetles to indicate that a tree is fully occupied, which causes beetles to continue looking for space to inhabit.

Continuous searching for an unprotected tree exhausts beetle fat stores to the point of mortality, or redistributes them throughout the landscape, which helps reduce the number of attacks from Douglas fir beetles in individual trees, the city's news release states.

Langsather said the capsules are stapled into trees five to six feet off the ground and about 30 to 40 feet apart throughout a systematic grid.

He said pets will not be affected by the capsules because of the height at which they are attached and that humans will not be able to pick up the odor unless they are adjacent to a capsule.

The city asks that citizens do not remove the capsules from the trees.

"It's crucial that the capsules not be tampered with," Langsather said.

He said three types of Douglas fir beetles are now active in the South Hills: pole, engraver and flatheaded fir borer beetles.

City staff noted an increase in debarked Douglas fir on Mount Helena and Mount Ascension since 2021 when Helena experienced an extremely dry and hot summer. The outbreak mirrors what is being seen throughout the Rocky Mountain West.

Langsather said the infestation is much more noticeable to citizens this year because the woodpeckers have caught on.

He said the largest concentration of the Douglas fir beetles is along the Prairie Trail switchbacks, where the birds have completely stripped the trees of bark in search of the beetles.

The Open Lands division will continue working with the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation to monitor the outbreak. Trees that have died due to bark beetle infestation will be removed, starting this fall, and piled for burning, according to the news release.
HELENA  Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte on Monday issued an amendatory veto to a bill that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Montana and by Tuesday both the Senate and House had approved the changes.

The legislation is Senate Bill 99, from Sen. John Fuller, a Whitefish Republican. It passed through the House and Senate largely along party lines, with all its support coming from Republicans. A few GOP legislators, along with all Democrats, have opposed it. It's now heading back to Gianforte.

One of the most intensely debated bills of the session, SB 99 drew emotional testimony from those both for and against it. Fuller has argued the bill is necessary to protect minors, saying, Children live under the guardianship and guidance of adults precisely because they lack the maturity, prudence and experience to make safe and responsible decisions for themselves.

But opponents argue the kinds of surgeries the bill bans are not performed on minors in Montana and that the legislation would harm children seeking care they say is necessary to keep them healthy. Others say the bill would trample the rights of parents to make decisions for their children.

In his amendment, Gianforte said he felt the legislation was incomplete and can be strengthened.

Gianforte proposes to alter definitions of male and female in the bill to contemplate treatment for a child requiring a necessary medical procedure because he or she was born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development, according to the veto letter.

Those changes, Gianforte said, would encompass children still undergoing biological development or with intersex conditions, or a cancer diagnosis requiring the surgical removal of reproductive organs.

The governors definition of male is tied to having XY chromosomes and female as XX, though doctors who have testified on other bills point out a variety of syndromes can fall outside of those definitions, such as Turner syndrome, where one of the X chromosome in females is missing. However, Gianforte also added language saying an individual who would otherwise fall within this definition, but for a biological or genetic condition, is (male or female).

Dr. Lauren Wilson, president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Monday evening the changes from Gianforte do not address concerns raised by opponents about limiting the care available for those with intersex conditions.

The definitions in this bill are not medically accurate and it doesnt solve the problem of people who have intersex conditions accessing medical care, Wilson said.

SB 99 was previously amended by lawmakers in an attempt to allow care for those with intersex conditions, but medical professionals said the definitions were not broad enough.

Gianfortes language, he wrote, also clarifies what procedures are banned and strengthens prohibitions on public funding for care.

The bill bans surgical procedures such as implantations and mastectomy, as well as hormones and puberty blockers, but only for trans minors. Fuller has cited his concerns that those treatments may harm children, though the bill does not stop them from being administered to cisgender minors, who may undergo treatment for things like early puberty.

Gianforte wrote that he had met with transgender youth and adults in considering his actions on the bill.

I understand their struggles are real, and my heart goes out to them. I firmly believe that, as with all of Gods children, Montanans who struggle with their gender identity deserve love, compassion and respect, Gianforte wrote.

While a few people who had gender-affirming treatment as adults told lawmakers they later regretted their choice, many more Montanans who have received gender-affirming treatment and their parents have testified to lawmakers about how it has prevented them from suicidal thoughts and dramatically improved their lives. In his letter Gianforte wrote, Gender-affirming care for children is Orwellian Newspeak, a seemingly innocuous, even solicitous phrase that masks its true nature of permanent, invasive, life-altering and surgical procedures, performed on children whose young minds and bodies are still developing.

Wilson said the letter contains statements found in anti-trans circles to describe medical care that are frankly wrong and dangerous.

(Gianforte's) statements about gender-affirming care run counter to the consensus in the scientific and medical world, Wilson said. There is also strong evidence of benefits to therapies when they are chosen in a thoughtful way by families and clinics together to address specific needs children might have.

Doctors also testified that surgeries mentioned in the bill are not performed on minors in Montana, and other types of care do not happen without the consent of both parents and a lengthy consultation process. Gianfortes letter referenced surgeries and puberty blockers for minors happening in the country, but not Montana specifically.

While Gianforte wrote the bill does not prohibit social affirmation or providing or accessing psychotherapy to treat young Montanans struggling with their gender identity, Wilson disputed that characterization.

She pointed to language in the bill that says state property, facilities or buildings may not knowingly be used to promote or advocate the use of social transitioning, medication, or surgery as a treatment to address an inconsistency between a minor's sex and the minor's perceived gender or perceived sex.

Fuller on Monday evening said he thought the governors changes showed compassion and legal acuity.

But Democrats strongly opposed the amendment, just as they have the legislation. In the House, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, sharply rebuked Gianforte's letter accompanying the amendment.

"(Gianforte) said Montanans who struggle with their gender identity deserve love, compassion, and respect. That's not what trans Montanans need from you. We need access to the medical care that saves our lives. And these are hollow words coming from someone whose amendments are going to make it harder to access that care," Zephyr said.

Zephyr is the first openly transgender legislator in Montana.

"If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture. And this body should be ashamed," Zephyr continued, drawing the first objection from Majority Leader Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings.

At the end of her opposition, Zephyr referenced the testimony of people opposed to the bill who have said it could increase suicides among trans Montanans. Data shows trans youth are more at risk of suicide, and a Bozeman doctor earlier in the session emailed legislators about a minor who had attempted suicide and while in the emergency department cited legislation lawmakers were considering as a contributing factor.

"If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands," Zephyr said.

Vinton again objected.

"That is entirely inappropriate, disrespectful and uncalled for. We can debate matters civilly and with respect for each other," Vinton said.

The amendments in the House passed 66-34, with two Republicans joining all Democrats against in. On Monday the Senate approved the amendment on a second reading by a 31-19 margin with three Republicans and all Democrats against it.

Drag show ban amended

Another bill thats been opposed by transgender Montanans and their allies was heavily amended in the Senate on Monday in a way the carrier said completely derails the intent of the legislation.

The bill is House Bill 359 from Rep. Braxton Mitchell, R-Columbia Falls. The bill has gone through several iterations and the version that appeared before the Senate would have banned minors attending some drag performances and barred story times with drag performers in schools, libraries and museums.

The amendment added Monday from Sen. Chris Friedel, R-Billings, strikes the term "drag" from the bill's title and instead would prohibit minors at "adult-oriented shows" in libraries, schools or adult-oriented businesses. It would also ban "adult-oriented performances" in front of minors on public property or in places that get state funding.

The amendment adds the definition of adult-oriented as a performance intended to appeal to a prurient interest in sex and features the purposeful exposure of human genital, the pubic region, the human buttocks, or a female breast, if the breast is exposed below a point immediately above the top of the areola; or prosthetic genitalia, breasts, or buttocks; or sexual conduct.

The past version of the bill banned drag specifically, and defined it in part based on clothing or makeup worn by the performer that did not conform with the person's sex assigned at birth.

Friedel said he liked the bill but was concerned the unamended version would not hold up in court. Several other states have passed similar bans and a judge in Tennessee has blocked that states new law.

If it wasnt amended, Friedel argued even the most conservative judge will strike it down for a constitutionality reason. He told fellow senators the bill will be more easily defended if it ends up in court, which has been promised by opponents.

Sen. Carl Glimm, the Kila Republican who carried the bill in the Senate, urged lawmakers to oppose the amendment.

It really just completely guts the bill, Glimm said.

 Reporter Seaborn Larson contributed to this story.
A right-to-know bill that was shelved two weeks ago has emerged and was roundly supported Monday by the state House.

Senate Bill 232 establishes deadlines for state agencies to return public information requests. It cleared the Senate on a unanimous 50-0 vote in early March, but was tabled in the House State Administration Committee a month later.

SB 232  sponsored by Sen. Janet Ellis, D-Helena  would require a turnaround of five days to acknowledge the request, another five days for simple, single-page requests; 90 days for a more complex request and another 90 days if the agency determines the original window of time "is not feasible."

The only legislator to speak when House State Administration Committee tabled the bill was Rep. Linda Reksten, R-Polson, who had some trepidation that the deadlines in the bill would create more litigation against the state.

On Friday, Rep. Tyson Running Wolf, D-Browning, was successful in arguing the bill should have a full hearing on the House floor rather than die in committee.

"This isnt a one-sided Republican-Democrat issue, we all try to get that information," he said. "I think this deadline is well-needed, it's good government accountability to the citizens and it's about the citizens of Montana receiving important information in documents that they are entitled to under the constitution in a time frame that is useful to them and, for me, for government to be effective to the people."

"I think we've all had constituents or even ourselves have been frustrated sometimes trying to get information," Rep. Gary Parry, R-Colstrip, said during the hearing.

The committee flipped from 17-1 to table the bill on April 4 to 15-3 to advance it on Friday's vote. The House on Tuesday passed SB 232 with a 96-2 vote.

Monday, on the House floor, there was hardly debate about the bill's merits. Rep. Bill Mercer, R-Billings, carried SB 232 in the House and quickly dispatched the earlier concerns.

"I've heard as a criticism that this will increase litigation; I'll say I don't think thats true," Mercer said, noting citizens were already allowed to sue the state for failing to respond to records requests.

After the vote, Reksten, who had spoken up in committee about the litigation concern, said she had come to terms with the deadlines. Another lawmaker told the Montana State News Bureau that the bill sponsor, Ellis, had spoken with them directly to mitigate those concerns, as well.

"In committee we felt they (the deadlines) were reasonable," Reksten said. "I do think agencies need to respond to FOIA (Freedom of Information Act) requests."

The bill now goes to the Governor's Office to be signed into law or rejected.
We partnered with Islamic Relief USA, a nonprofit humanitarian and advocacy organization, to conduct the study. Our findings came from our survey of more than 2,000 Americans, half of whom were Muslim, that the SSRS research firm carried out from March 17 through April 7, 2021. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.

Participants answered questions regarding their faith customs, donation practices and volunteer work, along with which causes they support and their concerns about COVID-19. We also inquired about how economic and political uncertainty and financial well-being influenced their giving and volunteering. Finally, we also examined whether they had experienced discrimination and their views about the level of discrimination in society.

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We found that Muslim Americans gave more to charity, donating an average of $3,200, in 2020, versus $1,905 for other respondents. They also differed from non-Muslims in many ways. For example, nearly 8.5 percent of Muslims' contributions supported civil rights causes, compared with 5.3 percent of the general public.

We believe this elevated level of giving reflects efforts to fight Islamophobia, a fear of Islam grounded in bigotry and hatred against Muslims. Likewise, Muslims gave more to enhance public understanding of their faith. About 6.4 percent of their giving funded religious research, compared with 4 percent from other sources.

Muslim Americans further defied Islamophobic tropes through the causes they support. For example, about 84 percent of Muslim American donations support U.S. charitable causes, with only 16 percent of this money going abroad. That conflicts with an erroneous belief that Muslim Americans mainly support overseas causes.

" " Muslims gave 14.3 percent of their non-faith giving to COVID-19 causes, something the study attributes to Muslim Americans being overrepresented among medical professionals and frontline workers. Kanawa_Studio/Getty Images
Netflix is about to bring its fight against account sharing to the US. In Q1, we launched paid sharing in four countries and are pleased with the results, the company wrote in its Q1 letter to shareholders . We are planning on a broad rollout, including in the US, in Q2.

Since February , Netflix has offered paid account sharing in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain. The add-on allows primary account holders to pay an additional fee every month to share their Netflix service with up to two people outside of their household. As the main owner of an account, you can still watch on your phone and sign into the service on a device outside your home, like a smart TV at a hotel. Netflix also allows secondary users to convert their profiles into new accounts.

A Netflix account is meant to be shared in one household (people who live in the same location with the account owner), the company says on a support page . People who are not in your household will need to sign up for their own account to watch Netflix.
A free workshop will provide valuable information to landowners in McDowell and Burke counties about opportunities to manage their forests.

Nonprofit EcoForesters is holding a free forest landowner workshop, in partnership with Burke and McDowell County Cooperative Extensions, the N.C. Forest Service and Natural Resources Conservation Service, to inform landowners about opportunities to steward their forest.

The workshop will be held Saturday, April 22 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Burke County Agricultural Building at 130 Ammons Drive in Morganton. Lunch will be included in the workshop, according to a news release.

Attendees will learn how forests have degraded over time and what can be done to restore them. In addition to presentations on forestry, landowners will be provided with access to professionals, maps of their forests and information about cost share funding in a casual setting. Subjects will include forest management resources, tax incentives for forest management and how to enroll your forest in carbon markets.

Following the workshop, there will be an optional field tour of Foothills Conservancys Oak Hill Community Forest to learn how active management is improving their forests. Funding for this workshop was made possible by the U.S. Forest Service Landscape Scale Restoration Grant and is in compliance with the Americans with Disability Act, according to the news release.

Helping landowners manage their forests

Native forests in the Appalachian region have been impacted by clear-cuts, repeated high-grading, invasive species and other unsustainable forestry practices. Since about 70% of western North Carolinas forests are owned by private landowners, providing easy access to education and resources plays an essential role in increasing the health and resiliency of our forests.

EcoForesters aims to connect with landowners by connecting healthy forests to their values, allowing conservation and individual objectives to go hand in hand. This workshop will also provide professionals with the opportunity to learn from landowners and where they are struggling to manage their forests, which in turn informs future outreach and event planning.

Preparing communities for threats to local forests

N.C. Cooperative Extension offices have a rich history of disseminating scientific information and education to landowners. In that spirit, the Landowner Workshop: Forest Management 101 series was created to further support rural landowners and help them strengthen their forest legacy. Two workshops were held in Buncombe and Madison counties in 2022 and three more workshops are scheduled for 2023 in other counties.

Educating landowners and rural communities about current and future threats will have a landscape impact on the future resiliency of our forests and the benefits they provide to local towns and businesses. These threats include damaging pests and diseases, destructive invasive plants and fragmentation caused by parcelization of family lands. Additionally, the effects of climate change may encourage the spread of invasive plants and pests, threatening plant and animal biodiversity, further changing the ecological make-up of our region. This free workshop will provide landowners and communities with the knowledge and resources to improve forest health. This will assure natural benefits like clean water, carbon sequestration and wildlife habitat remain on the landscape, according to the news release.

Mission statement and approach

EcoForesters is a nonprofit professional forestry organization dedicated to conserving and restoring our Appalachian forests through education and stewardship. Forestland owners and local communities benefit from EcoForesters ability to develop and implement forest stewardship strategies that promote future forest sustainability and resiliency. Through community forestry programs, landowner workshops and innovative stewardship collaborations, EcoForesters emphasizes sound ecological management. We are actively making positive impacts on the Appalachian landscape while still helping landowners achieve their individual management objectives, according to the news release.

For more information or how to register, visit www.ecoforesters.org/outreach-events or email lang@ecoforesters.org or call 828-484-6842.
The Burke County Board of Education was hit with the threat of legal action Monday if it did not remove a list of two dozen books characterized as pornographic from all Burke County Public school media centers within 30 days.

Were going to give you 30 days to do something about it, said Ron Baity, president of Return America Inc., during a heated public comment period at Monday nights school board meeting. In 30 days, if the pornography in the Burke County school system is not removed, we will begin proceedings to make Burke County a test case for the state of North Carolina.

Baity was the last of six speakers to address the issue. The first, Burke County resident Diane Register, asked the board to leave the books in the media centers. From there, however, a group of five presenters, all opposing the 24 titles, spoke to a growing chorus of amen and thats right from supporters. After nearly 30 minutes, the public comment period culminated with Baitys ultimatum.

Board Chair Wendi Craven said she was appalled by the Winston-Salem pastors actions Monday evening.

For him to show up at our board meeting and make threats to us and give us timelines without knowing the history of why we wrote the policy (and) the input that we took, she said. To come to Burke County and make the statements he did  I was appalled.

Despite Baitys demands, Superintendent Mike Swan said BCPS would continue operating according to the new media policy the board adopted last year.

Were definitely going to continue with the policy, he said. Right now, Im working with a team  Dr. Honeycut, myself and some other media coordinators  to review that list.

However, Swan does not believe it is logistically feasible for administrators to properly evaluate and remove a large number of books in a short period of time.

If the books are not gone by May 17, though, BCPS may be in for a fight. In May 2020, Baity and Return America spearheaded a lawsuit against Gov. Roy Cooper seeking to exempt churches from an executive order limiting indoor gatherings to 10 participants. A federal judge sided with the group, granting a stay on the order.

It was a victory Baity made sure to call the boards attention to on Monday.

If you think Im bluffing, we sued the governor of this state two years ago when he closed the churches in this state down and we won, he said.

However, Swan is not so sure Baity will have similar success in this case.

Churches and schools are completely different entities, Swan said.

He added that he is not even sure if Baity will even be able to bring legal action against the district since he is not a BCPS stakeholder.

Regardless of whether Baity will be able to make good on the ultimatum, Swan said, as a public school district, BCPS has a responsibility to make sure all students are represented.

We teach all diverse learners in Burke County Public Schools, he said.

We cant pick and choose who we love, Craven added.

Opposition to representation of certain perspectives on gender and sexuality did seem to be a factor in at least some of the presentations the board heard Monday evening.

Weve got kids graduating right now, I mean, they cant even fill out a job application, said the Rev. Gene Gouge, pastor of Liberty Baptist Church. But they know all about condoms  they know all about boys with boys, men with men and women with women right on down the line even to bestiality.

Other speakers took issue with the policys assertion that professional educators are best able to determine which books are available.

The term professional educator, which is being tossed around quite a bit, sounds as though we have people who think they know better than parents, said Laura Wycoff. Well, that just makes the mama bear in me come out. Please dont insult me by saying that a professional educator knows better for my child than me.

A statement from Swan said the district has gone to great lengths to consider input from parents on the issue.

In order to respect the rights and decisions of parents and guardians regarding supplemental materials, Burke County Public Schools has a policy in place that allows for the challenging of such reading materials by parents and guardians, the statement reads. Additionally, we encourage parents to let us know if they personally do not want their child to read any certain books. Parents have access to the media selection for their childs school  Parents can reach out to school media coordinators for more information or questions related to the schools media collection.

The statement also said administrators will be placing stickers on books recommended for ages 14 and older and providing extra training for media coordinators.

(They) will receive training on how to manage student book choices and ensure that parents have input on the kinds of books that are checked out by their student, the statement reads.

But thats not enough for Gouge.

I am not asking these books to be put up on a shelf out of reach, he said. I want these books gone.

Other business

BCPS Finance Officer Keith Lawson presented the board with the local budget request to the Burke County Board of Commissioners. Burke County plans to ask the county for $17,273,041 for the 2023-24 school year. This is an increase of $970,033 or a little more than 6% over last years amount.

Swan said he and Lawson have another meeting with County Manager Brian Epley on Thursday. Swan anticipates the final amount of the request could change as a result of that meeting.

The board also unanimously approved a resolution opposing H.B. 219 which would narrow the scope of funding sources local districts could withhold from charter schools. Lawson told the board, if enacted the bill would unfairly impact the district by requiring it to share fees, grants and other funding sources with charter schools. Charter schools would not have to share the fees they collect with public schools under the proposed bill.

Swan estimated H.B. 219 could cost the district as much as $300,000 next year if enacted.

Also during the meeting, the board recognized the districts MathCounts winners:

First-place winner  Dalton Isenhour of Ray Childers Elementary

Runner-up  Altair Ramirez of Drexel Elementary

First-place team  Ray Childers Elementary

The board also recognized Andrea Gladden for winning the Burroughs Welcome Fund Career Award for STEM teachers, the teachers of the year for each school and districtwide teacher of the year, Amber Peterson of WA Young Elementary.
A Missoula man will spend five years at the Montana Department of Corrections for selling fentanyl-laced pills to a Missoula teenager, which ultimately resulted in her death.

My worst fear became my reality when she died, Jane Mann, Tasia Manns mom, said in an impact statement she read in court on Tuesday. She was beautiful, caring, creative, had this great sense of humor and loved all types of music.

Missoula County District Judge Shane Vannatta gave Christopher R. Clark, 21, 10 years at the DOC with five years suspended for each of three criminal endangerment charges, and five years at the DOC with no time suspended for a fourth drug charge. The four sentence terms will run concurrently with one another.

In January, Clark pleaded no contest to one count of criminal possession of dangerous drugs and three counts of criminal endangerment, all felonies. A no-contest plea means the defendant accepts the punishments of a guilty plea without admitting guilt.

Tasia Mann, who was 18, died in June of 2021 following fentanyl poisoning from a pill she took at a party. Tasia was rushed to the hospital after her friends found her, but died a few days later. Investigators determined the pills were supplied by Clark, according to charging documents.

Tasia was one of three overdoses from a party that day. The second overdose was a 17-year-old male, who survived. The third victim was another young man who had also been at Mann's house and reportedly taken what he thought was a Percocet pill. He survived as well, according to court documents.

Jane Mann was out of town when she got news of Tasia being on life support at Providence St. Patrick Hospital following the fentanyl poisoning. She rushed back to Missoula to be with her daughter during the final moments of Tasias life.

Walking into the ICU room was the most traumatizing experience in my life, Jane Mann said. Tasia didn't even look like herself. Nothing could ever prepare you to see your child on life support.

On June 3, nearly a week after the party, Tasia was taken off life support, Jane Mann said.

Several of Tasias family and friends filled a Missoula courtroom on Tuesday.

The sentencing was contested, with Jennings and Tasias family asking the court to impose a longer, 20-year prison sentence against Clark, as opposed to an all-suspended DOC sentence recommended by Clarks defense attorney, Lisa Kauffman.

Clark was also ordered to pay $3,500 in restitution for Tasias funeral expenses.

Missoula Chief Criminal Deputy County Attorney Matt Jennings prosecuted the case. He said that to his knowledge, this is the first time the Missoula County Attorneys Office has prosecuted a fentanyl death-related case.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. The number of fentanyl overdose deaths has increased drastically in the past several years. In 2011, there were 2,666 fatal overdoses compared with 31,335 in 2018.
If lawmakers learn one lesson from the 2023 Legislature, it should be this: Montanans have no patience for threats to clean air, clean water and healthy public lands.

What they do have is an appetite for collaborative legislation that actually benefits our communities and supports our way of life.

Case in point: Montanans across the political spectrum united to defeat an attempt to undermine our constitutional right to a clean and healthful environment. Now, theyre coming together to support Senate Bill 442, which makes historic investments in conservation, infrastructure, mental health, and veterans services.

So howd we get here?

Before the 2023 session even began, Montanans made it clear that any attempt to revise this right, as one legislator promised to do, was unacceptable. For over 50 years, the constitution has helped Montana stave off repeats of the sort of environmental disasters  like the Superfund sites in Libby and the Berkeley Pit, Anaconda Smelter, Silver Bow Creek, and Milltown Dam  that began developing before the constitution was adopted. These disasters have lingered for decades. Residents are still suffering from them and taxpayers are still paying to clean them up.

Targeting our right to clean air, clean water, and healthy public lands is akin to rolling out the red carpet for corporations to once again exploit our public resources for their private gain while our communities foot the bill.

Montanans arent having it.

Opposition to this constitutional revision crescendoed at the 2023 Rally for Public Lands, where attendees reminded legislators that Montanans wont tolerate any attacks on our lands, waters, air, and shared public land values. The opposition was so widespread that almost every legislator in the Capitol realized that amending the constitution was a political liability they wouldnt touch with a 10-foot pole.

Avoiding nakedly anti-public lands legislation should be common sense in a place where weve built our lives and livelihoods on the outdoors, but this years seen plenty of egregious attacks on our outdoors: threats to our ability to freely float and fish public rivers and streams, attempts to impose top-down dictates on trail users, bills paving the way for corporations to pump more toxic chemicals into our waterways, and more.

The good news is that theres a strong coalition of pro-public lands lawmakers in the Capitol that understand their mandate to protect our lands, waters, and way of life, and theyre supporting legislation to do just that.

The best example is Senate Bill 442. Championed by Sen. Mike Lang, it will restore around $30 million to Habitat Montana, our states best program for conserving wildlife habitat and supporting working farms and ranches. SB 442 will also expand the Wildlife Habitat Improvement and Legacy Program, which will provide millions for crucial habitat and water conservation and noxious weed management on both public and private lands, sage grouse management, habitat restoration, and more.

And its not just a conservation bill  SB 442 also makes historic investments in health care, veterans services and rural infrastructure.

Small wonder that over 90 groups from conservation organizations to timber companies to ag producers to veterans groups to organized labor all signed a letter calling on legislators to support SB 442.

SB 442 is the polar opposite of the attempt to undermine our right to clean air, clean water, and healthy public lands. Its collaborative instead of one-sided. Its common-sense instead of careless. Its constructive instead of destructive. Most of all, its written to benefit real people instead of corporations.

Its an example of an honest-to-goodness commitment to using legislation to make the lives of Montanans better, and its something every lawmaker should support.
By Alex Pologruto | Apr 19, 2023

Inaugurated in 1992, the NTC has provided performing opportunities, master classes, exhibition concerts, historic and commercial exhibits and an educational, supportive environment for nearly 12,000 students

MURRAY, Ky.  Students from the trumpet studio at Murray State University recently competed in the National Trumpet Competition (NTC) held in Boulder, Colorado on March 25  27.

Inaugurated in 1992, the NTC has provided performing opportunities, master classes, exhibition concerts, historic and commercial exhibits and an educational, supportive environment for nearly 12,000 students. To date, these students have represented 40 U.S. states as well as six other countries. Nearly 100 artist faculty members coming from universities and symphony orchestras around the nation have donated their time and talents to judge for the NTC.

The event is highly competitive, with students in top music programs from across the country performing. To qualify for the competition, student trumpet players submitted a video recording in Dec. 2022 for ensemble divisions including small ensembles of four to six players or large ensembles of seven to ten players, and solo divisions (junior, high school, undergraduate and graduate).

Chloe Perry was one of several Murray State University students selected to compete in the National Trumpet Competition (NTC) held in Boulder, Colorado on March 25  27.

Chloe Perry, a senior music education major from Evansville, Indiana, was one of only 40 students selected from 210 video entries in the undergraduate soloist category.

I was honored to have made it to the live rounds, said Perry. I had been preparing that solo for about a year, and it was very rewarding to play it from memory onstage, which is something that I did not do last year. Im very grateful to the Music Department for allowing me to have this opportunity to perform.

Perry was also part of a small ensemble from Murray State chosen to compete in Boulder, Colorado. In addition to Perry, the ensemble included music majors Adam Blake of Murray, Kentucky; Ryn Jenkins of Murray, Kentucky; McKenna Jewell from Murray, Kentucky; and Bek Schmidt of Cordova, Tennessee.

Not only did these current Murray State students make it to the National Trumpet Competition, but two alumni  Abby Ward, 21, and Ben Gerkins, 21  performed in a large ensemble from the University of North Texas that won the competition in their category.

The Murray State students perform under the direction of Dr. Eric Swisher, professor of music.

I've been very fortunate to work with highly-motivated students dedicated to their craft and supportive administrators who recognize the value of exposing young musicians to the very best performers on their instrument, said Swisher. Once a student has experienced this level of artistry, their musicianship is forever changed and will continue to serve them in all of their future endeavors.

To learn more about the trumpet studio at Murray State University please contact Dr. Swisher at eswisher@murraystate.edu. To learn more about the Murray State University Department of Music please visit murraystate.edu/music.
Its summertime, and the living is queasy.

Thats the best I can say for the continuing sense of foreboding and possible catastrophe that remains in the wake of Chicagos recent mayoral election. And please let me also say this:

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Congratulations, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson. Now its time to stop campaigning and get to governing.

I say this in response to his weak, ill-inspired response to the mayhem some goons, hoodlums and other troublemakers brought to the esteemed streets of Chicago this past weekend.

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Im responding to the mayor-elects comments after two incidents made very unwanted headlines last weekend in Chicago.

Several large groups of young adults and juveniles swarmed parts of Chicago on Friday and Saturday nights. As a video posted online later revealed, a large meet-up of teens Friday night near 31st Street Beach led to the shooting of a 14-year-old boy.

[ Editorial: Brandon Johnsons statement on Loop violence was as revealing as it was lamentable ]

In a shooting downtown on Saturday night, two teens were wounded. The swarming, violence and destruction resulted in 16 related arrests and, ultimately, new rounds of hand-wringing similar to what we endured in the speeches and debates during the recent mayoral campaign.

I thought everyone, particularly the new African American mayor-elect, would agree that crime and education were the premier issues and that we need a no-nonsense effort to strengthen both.

Yet Johnson disappointed me by responding to the rioters as if they were the Jets gang in West Side Story. (Im depraved on account of Im deprived.)

To wit, in a Sunday statement he posted on social media, he allowed that in no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and lakefront this weekend. It is unacceptable and has no place in our city.

Fair enough. But then he followed that with: However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.

The man has a heart. But when people are frightened by a rise in crime, you dont criticize those who are afraid.

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Quite the contrary. Crime in particular, and her failure to get much of a grip on it, probably did in incumbent Mayor Lori Lightfoot more than any other issue, helping her fail in her reelection bid so badly that she did not even make it to the second ballot.

And Johnson, a former teacher and paid Chicago Teachers Union organizer, was knocked into such a defensive posture that, to his great frustration, he was required to profess, I do not want to defund the police at almost every stop, after calling in the past for rechanneling some police funding to social services purposes.

After I interviewed Johnson and fellow mayoral runoff candidate Paul Vallas, former chief executive for Chicago Public Schools and an experienced Mr. Fix-It for some other cities police, school and housing problems, I thought they both presented admirable ideas. That is refreshing when compared with the mudslinging that makes up so many other high-profile campaigns these days.

Sharpening the contrasts between the two, Johnson was endorsed by the progressive teachers union while Vallas was endorsed by the very conservative Fraternal Order of Police, whose firebrand president, John Catanzara, is a vocal Donald Trump supporter who enjoys triggering liberals.

You have Vallas being called a Republican and Johnson being called a socialist. Those issues are designed, of course, to get a more reptilian brain response from voters, but they dont tell us exactly where both campaigns are on the major issues rather than a broad brush, said Arthur Lurigio, a criminologist at Loyola University Chicago. Being extreme is in their interest.

While Vallas took on a bit of a Great White Hope image as the conservative alternative to Johnson, I dont believe he ever overtly sought it. Quite the opposite, always the Idea Man, Vallas was quite constructive and gracious in accepting defeat at the end of the close race by offering to work with Johnson in solving the citys many complex problems, a sentiment with which Johnson showed some agreement.

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Sure, I know that sounds corny to folks who love bare-knuckle politics, but I hope they do find ways to share ideas for the good of the city and its people who need help the most. A strict lock-em-up, law-and-order approach has its place, but so does the helping-hand, summer jobs approach that tackles the root causes of crime and aimlessness among young people most likely to slip over the edge into crime.

There should be no conflict here. Why not have both?

cpage@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @cptime
Dear Cathy,

I am not a pet owner, but I read your column most weeks in our local paper and find it interesting. Since my wife and I do not have any pets, we are impacted daily by others who do. There's incessant barking when dogs are left in yards for hours. There are people walking their dogs on the sidewalk and their pets urinating on our lawn, landscaping, plants, mailbox post, garbage cans, etc. This is in addition to the sometimes piles (of poop) left on my property.

I also bike on trails and am impacted daily by owners with leashes 15 to 20 feet long, which is a safety hazard, as well as dogs not adhering to vocal commands when approaching from behind. Many times, a dog will go for my legs or the wheels. I have fallen three times because of the inconsiderate actions of these pet owners. Please remind all that being a pet owner carries with it a responsibility.

 Bruce, Allentown, PA

Dear Bruce,

As a dog owner myself, I agree we should all strive to understand how our pets behaviors impact our neighbors and strive to keep the peace as much as possible. Here are a few suggestions for how dog owners can better win the hearts and minds of their non-pet-owning neighbors.

Despite what some people might think, you can manage where your dog pees and poops. When walking your dog through the neighborhood, look for common areas where he can relieve himself. Then, walk briskly past your neighbor's homes to keep him from peeing or pooping on your neighbors lawns.

Of course, you can only do so much since a dog can still decide at any moment that he needs to relieve himself. But at least show your neighbors you are trying. Also, make friends with your neighbors and let them know that if your dog suddenly has to relieve himself in their yard that you will always clean up after him.

To keep the peace, people need to manage their barking dogs and bring them inside if they can't get them to stop barking. Its just the neighborly thing to do.

Long leads are a safety hazard, especially on a trail with runners and cyclists. Dogs should be on short leads when walking on trails and at their owners side to prevent them from running after passersby.

Hopefully, these few suggestions will remind people of what it takes to be a good dog neighbor.

Dear Cathy,

Our little dog "Sadie," a Yorky Poo, is now two years old now. Our concern is that she refuses to eat any healthy foods, no table foods, and no nutritional dog foods. She relies only on treats. We have tried every available dog food we can find. If she eats scrambled eggs once, she never wants them again. If she eats any table foods, it's the same results: once and never again. That said, she is a lovable and vibrant dog. She takes long walks with me daily and loves visiting our local dog park. My wife and I are at our wits' end. Can you help?

 Ron & Ann, Gurnee, Illinois

Dear Ron and Ann,

When dogs refuse food, it's often related to an underlying illness or oral issues with their teeth and gums. It's a survival mechanism that ensures they won't ever eat the thing that will make them sick ever again.

While I assume you have ruled out health issues, going back to the vet is highly recommended if Sadies food refusal continues. It's essential to treat any underlying conditions before reintroducing dog food again.

Sometimes, it's just nausea that's causing the problem. If that's the case, your vet can prescribe anti-nausea medication and/or an appetite stimulant to get your dog back to the food bowl. There are over-the-counter appetite stimulants you can try, but they won't help if the problem is nausea-related.

Since you have tried many types of dog foods, I assume you have fed her both wet and dry food, but that her treats may be soft chews. There are tubes of dog food, often in the freezer section of the grocery store pet aisle or pet store, that fall between dry and wet food. Try this food with her, but only after she has seen the doctor and is possibly on medication, so she doesnt eventually refuse it too. Sprinkle a few treats in with the dog food to further entice her, since we know she loves them.

Let me know if this helps.

(Cathy M. Rosenthal is a longtime animal advocate, author, columnist and pet expert who has more than 25 years in the animal welfare field. Send your pet questions, stories and tips to cathy@petpundit.com. Please include your name, city, and state. You can follow her @cathymrosenthal.)
We love April because across the U.S., students, parents, employers and everyone at Eastern Iowa Community Colleges (EICC), Muscatine Community College (MCC) is celebrating National Community College Month.

EICC provides first-class education and resources that are vital to our local and state economies. We serve over 12,000 students and 250 businesses annually with education and workforce training programs. We guarantee access to a high-quality, affordable education to all people, whether they are seeking quick entry into the workforce through an eight-week manufacturing certificate or a two-year skilled nursing degree at MCC.

Our Career Academies and concurrent enrollment programs give high school students the opportunity to explore careers while earning free college credits, and then a path to continue their education after graduation.

Through EICC continuing education programs, people already in the workforce are expanding their skills, becoming more valuable to the companies they serve. And businesses throughout Muscatine and the region turn to us to deliver high-quality training for new and current workers.

We are proud of the work we do and the mission we serve. And we are thankful to the visionaries who opened these doors in Muscatine in 1929. Willetta Strahan likely recruited the first class at what is now known as MCC by going door-to-door, talking to parents about the value of higher education. How it leads to professional careers, stability, and equal opportunities for their daughters and sons. And how their children could play a role in advancing Ag technology, the field of science and medicine, and more. We continue to have the same conversations with students and parents today.

Yet, we are living in a time when the value of higher education is in question. The cost has become out-of-reach at many institutions. Student loans are a great burden to many. But the need for highly trained employees and entrepreneurs continues to grow. MCC is the smart choice because we provide a high-quality, affordable education to all students. Through short-term certificate programs, they can join the workforce in as little as eight weeks. And graduates enjoy the quick ROI tied to our AAS degree programs. They are skilled and ready to step into a career in 24 months or less.

Workforce is critical to the success of our communities, so MCC goes one step further to increase access. This year, the MCC Foundation is awarding $425,000 in direct student scholarships. And our community also steps up to ensure our students succeed. Take, for instance, Muscatine Ag, which hires MCC Agriculture students as interns. This allows them to get on-site, hands-on training that reinforces what they are learning in the classroom. It is a partnership that supports local farmers and allows 100% percent of our Ag program graduates to land a job in the field.

As we celebrate National Community College Month, I encourage you to reflect on how EICC/MCC has impacted you and our community. We are celebrating by offering free classes throughout the month. Classes include Tree Pruning 101, Credit 101, Creating a Business Plan, and more. See the full schedule at eicc.edu and sign up now. Youll walk away with a new skill, interest, or hobby you can brag about.

Naomi DeWinter is the president of Muscatine Community College
The Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) of Ghana on Saturday, April 15 arrested a Kenyan national for allegedly attempting to smuggle cocaine.

Mary Njeri, 35, was intercepted at the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) in Accra during routine checks at the arrival hall after disembarking from a South African Airways flight from Nairobi to Accra via Johannesburg.

A statement from the Narcotics Control Commission (NACOC) in Ghana said she was carrying 11.04 kilograms of suspected cocaine worth Sh41 million ($309,120).

A search of her luggage revealed packages of Cremora food that contained the concealed drugs. Preliminary questioning revealed that she had confirmed possession of the consignment in her luggage, and she was later arrested for further investigation, NACOC said in its report.

The exhibits were sent to the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) for analysis and report, while Njeri is being detained in prison pending further investigation and prosecution.

We wish to use this medium to remind the general public that the possession and transportation of illicit drugs without lawful authority is illegal and punishable under sections 40 (1) and 41 (1) of Act 1019 of the Narcotics Control Commission Act 2020, NACOC warned.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has cautioned members of the public against falling prey to a new breed of scammers.

In a public notice on Tuesday, April 18, the DCI said the new fraudsters hack peoples accounts and then send random messages to friends and relatives asking for money.

Forget about the other Tuesday and lets talk about the Terrific one. So, scammers are recently hacking peoples accounts then send random messages to friends and relatives asking for money, the notice reads in part.

The Directorate advises members of the public to verify the requests before sending any money.

If your person sends that random text asking for pizza money today, hit their dial to to confirm you are sending money to the legit one, DCI advised, adding: Dont let a miscreant trip tantrums to your saccharine Terrific Tuesday.

This comes after Nyamira Governor Amos Nyaribo fell victim to the scam in January.

The governor said the scammers cloned his phone and started soliciting money from his contacts through SMS and WhatsApp messages.

I urge the public to ignore messages soliciting for cash from a number through text messages and WhatsApp that is associated with my cell phone number, Nyaribo said at the time.

The National Police Service is currently investigating a case of sim swapping/cloning.

Please lets stand advised accordingly.
For the first time in the history of Kenyan politics, two serving Members of Parliament are set to get married later this year.

Over the weekend, Mathira MP Eric wa Mumbi proposed to Muranga Woman Representative Betty Maina, with the couple taking to social media to share the news.

And out of love, she said yes! Eric captioned pictures of the proposal.

Betty Maina on her part posted a picture of her engagement ring and wrote: One day at a time sweet Jesus. He makes all things beautiful in his own time. Thanks my sisters for organising this wonderful surprise. My dear Eric, you rock!

Speaking on Inooro TV on Monday, Eric said Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will lead the bride price negotiation entourage from Mathira this coming weekend.

Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro will host the ceremony on behalf of Ms Mainas delegation in Muranga.

We have now decided to live together as husband and wife and Mr Gachagua will be my chief negotiator when Mathira meets Muranga for the takeover of her daughter, the Mathira MP said.

The couple met in 2021, with Eric saying: I discovered that she had everything I wanted in a wife.

They started dating, and during the campaigns in the run-up to the August 9 General Election, they decided to formalise their union.

The MP described his wife-to-be as sweet, lovely and kind.

This week I will be in Muranga for preliminary planning before the big day when I will descend on this land of my love in a manner that will make all envious. He said.
Its not back to square one for St. Helenas long-awaited Housing Element, but city planners have more work to do before the nine-year plan wins state approval.

The California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) issued a letter April 7 rejecting the citys proposed Housing Element and requesting specific changes. This follows HCDs rejection of a previous draft in December.

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The Housing Element explains how the city is going to meet its housing goals and lists sites that would be suitable for housing.

Senior Planner Aaron Hecock, whos in charge of the Housing Element, said hed been cautiously optimistic that the state would approve the second draft the city submitted in February.

Now hes confident the city can come up with a new draft addressing the states concerns in time for the May 2 Planning Commission meeting.

Theyre looking for very specific programs with very specific wording, Hecock said.

City staff met Monday with representatives of HCD who went through the letter line by line clarifying what needs to be rewritten and how.

It was a very productive meeting that provided examples of how other jurisdictions have met state requirements and gave city officials a clearer idea of what they need to do in the coming weeks, Hecock said.

Most of the changes requested by HCD are technical  involving, for example, parking requirements for studio apartments  and dont represent major policy questions.

The most politically touchy request is for timelines and remaining steps to fully entitle the controversial Hunter project, which is coming to the council on May 1 with a request for its tentative map and certification of its environmental impact report.

St. Helena is in good company in having its plan sent back. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, 85% of Bay Area cities failed to get their plans approved in time for HCDs Jan. 31 deadline.

HCD is allowing a 120-day grace period, creating an extended deadline of May 31.

If we have addressed everything and we send them the adopted document before May 31, we can be found in compliance, Hecock said. The next version we send them needs to cover everything in that letter.

Its not unusual for Housing Elements to be sent back for revisions, but the current Housing Element cycle has been especially fraught because of unprecedented state pressure to build housing.

St. Helenas Regional Housing Needs Allocation shot up from 31 housing units for the 2014-2022 Housing Element to 256 units for the 2023-2031 cycle. The February draft of the Housing Element went well beyond that target, identifying sites that could accommodate 482 units.

Winning HCD approval will keep the city in substantial compliance with state law, keep the city eligible for state and federal grants, prevent lawsuits targeting jurisdictions that are out of compliance, and prevent developers from invoking the builders remedy to build projects that are denser than allowed by city code.

Photos: Go inside the most expensive home sold in Napa city in March 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave. 1481 Cedar Ave.
There is a reason why Christians, along with many other religious and spiritual traditions around the world, celebrate Easter in the springtime. The earth is coming alive again after the cold winter months; the beauty of newness is everywhere bearing fruits of hope and joy in human hearts. Christianity celebrates this return to new life as we remember the resurrection of Jesus three days after having been tortured and brutally executed by the Roman Empire. Jesus resurrection body as recounted in the New Testament was both tactile and mysterious. He could be touched, eat, and drink, but also walk through locked doors, and sometimes was not recognized even by his closest friends. The gospels record that Jesus appeared to his followers for forty days after his resurrection, and then ascended into heaven, taking our full human nature to the right hand of God.

Resurrection from the dead seems far-fetched, and not only to our modern western minds. The defense against the claim of an empty tomb, that the body was stolen, is found in the earliest Christian writings. I want to suggest that resurrection is both real and relevant in three ways.

First, Christians, believe Jesus to be the incarnation of God, specifically the second person of the Trinity, the eternal Word through whom all things were made, God the Son. In choosing to become human, God, in Jesus, was submitting to a human death. To think that death could permanently hold the creator of all life within its grasp, though, is far-fetched! Western society since the Enlightenment has been the first human civilization to allow for the possibility that this is physical reality we can see and touch is all that exists. Every other human society has had a belief in some spiritual reality beyond this physical one and has tried to connect with that reality in various ways. If we accept that a spiritual reality exists, and that we are somehow connected to it, then resurrection may be real for us as well.

Second, resurrection is real on a purely biological level, written into the very nature of the creation. We do not think about it very often, but our bodies are made up of carbon that has been around since deep time. We are made up of atoms that were once asteroids and parts of dinosaurs. In a shorter timeframe, a tree that falls in a forest is called a nurse tree; it becomes in its decay and death host to thousands of other living organisms. I call this the theology of compost! All of nature is in a constant cycle of life and death and more life, where death is simply the gateway to more life.

Theres a third way in which resurrection is real. My favorite Easter hymn proclaims, love is come again like wheat that springeth green. Jesus resurrection might not have been good news for his friends who denied and deserted him. Was the boss coming back with a vengeance as in so many ghost stories? Quite the opposite. Jesus comes back speaking words of peace and forgiveness, of reconciliation and renewal. Jesus takes the time to re-knit broken relationships, then entrusts this work of reconciliation, of making the broken whole, to his followers. Love always holds the possibility of resurrection.

Resurrection is real in three ways: on an eternal and divine level, on a biological and physical level, and on the level of love. Why am I telling you this? Because I hope that it will add to the springtime of your joy. If you find yourself closer to a place of death than life, my prayer is that these reflections bring you hope. All death has the seeds of life embedded in it. Unless a grain of wheat falls to the earth and dies, it remains a single grain. But if it dies, it bears much fruit. Similarly, all life contains the marks of the death that brought it to birth. Jesus followers knew his resurrected body because they saw in it the marks of his crucifixion.

We have had a lot of funerals at Grace lately, and these words from the prayer said at a burial have been echoing in my mind and heart: In sure and certain hope of the resurrection   May your hope be strengthened, beloved, and may you find resurrection all around.
Napa Countys $23.4 million, 72-bed re-entry facility meant to be a recidivism-reducer has instead become a riddle.

Changing laws and demographics have depleted the low-risk inmate population suitable for the minimum-security facility. Yet the state says terms for bonds that helped build the facility bar non-detention uses, according to a county report.

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That leaves Napa County with a vacant, four-year-old building paid for by taxpayers. The county no longer has a need for a re-entry program, but seemingly cant use the facility for anything else.

The county Board of Supervisors on Tuesday discussed what to do next.

We really need to take control of the situation, Supervisor Alfredo Pedroza said.

Napa County built the re-entry facility to be a place where low-risk inmates could take classes and get counseling in a minimum-security setting to prepare for the outside world.

The facility in early 2019 was poised to open, before last-minute construction troubles and the pandemic caused delays. To date, it has seen only temporary uses, such as a COVID-19 quarantine center.

A county report explained how the inmate situation has changed since 2019.

Recent state policies created alternative custody options for low-level offenders, such as home detention. More inmates have mental health and behavior issues that make them unfit for the re-entry facility, the report said.

Only 10 to 16 jail inmates would qualify for a re-entry program. Running the re-entry facility would cost $1.25 million in start-up costs and $5.25 million annually, county staff said.

Given those numbers, supervisors agreed that the building shouldnt be used as a re-entry facility.

Youve made a very strong case that is not appropriate, Supervisor Anne Cottrell said.

County staff suggested using the re-entry facility to help people who arent in jail. People on probation and without homes could go there for various programs and food, as well as emergency shelter.

Board of Supervisors Chairperson Belia Ramos earlier this year liked the idea of the re-entry facility becoming a homeless shelter, saying the more beds for unhouse community members, the better.

But the barrier is the states contention that the re-entry facility must be used as a detention facility. That leaves the building in limbo.

At issue is the $13.5 million state grant that helped build the re-entry facility. Associated bonds mature in 2034. The bond funding mechanism required California to hold an interest in the facility and lease it to the county.

Interim County Executive Officer David Morrison explained further. He said the state Department of General Services and Department of Finances have decided the re-entry facility is not the countys building.

The state used the money to build that the building, so we are tenants, with the state as the landlord, he said.

Napa County owns the land. But the county under the bond financing deal provided the state with a long-term ground lease.

Under the states view, if the county uses the re-entry facility for something other than that authorized by the bonds, the state could evict the county and use the building as it sees fit, Morrison said.

Were not trying to monetize an asset for the betterment of the county general fund, Pedroza said. Were trying to provide a public service, a public good. And our partner, the state, is not giving us an option. To me, that is not acceptable.

The county is working with elected state officials such as state Sen. Bill Dodd, D-Napa, and the state to try find a solution.

We essentially have a contract with bond holders, Supervisor Ryan Gregory said. You just cant tear up a contract, so weve got to navigate that.

One idea is for Napa County to pre-pay or find another way to settle the state lease-revenue bonds used to help build the facility. But the state is unsure how such a move might comply with the bond legislation and bond covenants, a county report said.

Cottrell suggested the county present an alternate vision for the re-entry facility to the state as a selling point to settle the bond issue.

The state previously allowed Napa County to temporarily use the re-entry facility for COVID-19 community isolation and quarantine and to house fire evacuees. It allowed the facility this past winter to be available for a cold-weather homeless shelter, with the authorization to expire on May 31.

County officials said the state indicated the winter shelter would be the last temporary, non-detention use allowed at the re-entry facility.

PHOTOS: Napa holds Mixed Martial Arts Pro-Am Event
Country music star Chris Janson is on a mission to help keep Tennessee beautiful for generations to come. In addition to earning a reputation as one of country musics most energetic live performers, Janson is also known for using that same energy offstage to advance conservation efforts. His latest effort is a partnership with the Tennessee Department of Transportations (TDOT) litter prevention campaign, Nobody Trashes Tennessee.



Janson fell in love with Tennessees outdoors after moving to Nashville in 2004 and spends a lot of time exploring the states waterways and woods with his family.



Since moving to Tennessee, Ive been struck by its natural beauty and all the outdoor activities it offers hunters, fishermen, and everyone who loves to be outside, said Janson. In addition to giving back through conservation-related partnerships in Tennessee, one of my greatest conservation goals is getting kids out of their houses, off their devices, and into the great outdoors. Litter on our roads, waterways, and woods affects their ability to enjoy nature. It affects all Tennesseans and endangers wildlife. I want to do my part to ensure our states natural resources are thriving for future generations and I am excited to partner with Nobody Trashes Tennessee and work together towards a litter-free state.



As part of the partnership, Janson will help educate Tennesseans about the health and safety impacts of litter on our roadways and waterways through public service announcements, outdoor advertising, and social media channels. Preventing litter is critical to maintaining the scenic beauty of Tennessee, keeping roadways and waterways safe and clean, and maintaining vibrant communities, said Denise Baker, TDOT Highway Beautification Office. Chris passion for our state and his commitment to conservation makes him a great Nobody Trashes Tennessee ambassador as we continue educating citizens about the myriad impacts of litter.



All Tennesseans are encouraged to take personal responsibility for the litter in their communities. This may be through the simple act of picking up litter when you see it; taking a litter bag with you when walking, hiking, hunting, or fishing; by learning what constitutes litter; taking steps to avoid unintentional litter by securing trash in pickups; or knowing that food waste, such as apple cores, is harmful to wildlife. Citizens may also participate in local cleanups or the no-cost Adopt-A-Highway program. Littering incidents may be reported through the Tennessee Litter Hotline (1-877-8LITTER). Learn more at NobodyTrashesTennessee.com and join the conversation on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Borrell: Karabakh Armenians rights, security must be ensured

Pashinyan, Putin discuss current situation at Lachin corridor

Armenia appeals to UN International Court of Justice on installing of Azerbaijani checkpoint on Hakari bridge

Macron to Armenia President: I would like to confirm France's support for process of building peace in region

Deputy FM, European Parliament member underscore EU monitoring mission deployment in Armenia

European Parliament: Azerbaijan violated international obligations

By fighting terrorism, Turkey is actually fighting the US, interior minister says

L-410-UVP E20 passenger plane successfully lands at Armenias Kapan city airport (PHOTOS)

Turkey defense minister calls Syria talks in Moscow positive

Quake occurs in Turkeys Adana

Turkeys Erdogan feels ill on live broadcast, broadcast interrupted

Armenia FM, Russia deputy FM discuss regional security issues

US State Department: Setting up checkpoint by Azerbaijan undermines efforts to establish confidence in peace process

Armenia PM has telephone conversation with European Council head

Yerevan-Kapan-Yerevan test flight to be conducted today

Karabakh FM: Azerbaijanis will probably try to inspect trucks at this moment, then also people

France Senate: There is fire in Armenia and Karabakh but international communitys eyes are in different direction

Canada is deeply concerned about Azerbaijan's establishment of checkpoint in Lachin corridor

Relocation of 28 patients from Artsakh canceled because of Azerbaijans deployment of checkpoint

General Singh Rana: India and Iran are working to expand military cooperation

Armenia ombudsperson draws US ambassador's attention to urgency of protecting rights of people living in Karabakh

Gegharkunik provincial governor: Information about closing of Armenias Sotk gold mine is not true

NATO Secretary General calls on Georgia to redouble reform efforts

Entry of humanitarian goods from Armenia to Artsakh has been somewhat restored

Sputnik Armenia: Russian peacekeeping force in Karabakh has new commander

Rasmussen: There must be political and economic consequences for Azerbaijan

State minister: Humanitarian goods, fuel imports to Karabakh completely disrupted

Foreign Minister of Iceland: Free movement through the Lachin corridor must be restored

Biden and Harris have started raising campaign donations

Thomas de Waal: There will be new conflict between Karabakh and Azerbaijan

digiPOS digital terminal from Ardshinbank: cash register in your smartphone

Marukyan: US, France, Russia, EU ready to guarantee implementation of peace treaty to be signed with Azerbaijan?

Israel ambassador expresses solidarity with Armenian people

Aliyev promises Europe more Azerbaijani natural gas

Azerbaijanis put You are entering the territory of the Republic of Azerbaijan road sign near Hakari bridge

Armenia economic activity index up 12.2% in first quarter

Bob Menendez: It's time to halt security assistance to Baku

Explanation made regarding Armenia v. Azerbaijan, Azerbaijan v. Armenia court cases

Armenia opposition MP: Russia is taking steps on the spot, Azerbaijan internal troops are also there

Pelosi: Last year our delegation had solemn honor to visit Armenian Genocide Memorial

Armenia flag hoisted over Italys Reggio Calabria city hall

Biden to run in 2024 US presidential race

Karabakh MP: Negotiations to reopen Hakari bridge are in progress with Azerbaijan

CoE Commissioner for Human Rights says she tried to visit Karabakh but could not

Schiff: International observers should have been sent to Karabakh, Lachin corridor years ago

US Congress members re-introduce Armenian Genocide Education Act to House of Representatives

Adam Schiff: There should be sanctions on Azerbaijan

Armenias Pashinyan to Israels Netanyahu: Our relations have positive prerequisites for moving to new qualitative level

Chaarat Gold company discontinues talks for Lydian Armenia purchase

American Armenians march, with huge Karabakh flag, to Turkey embassy in Washington

Adam Schiff: I've never been more concerned, frankly, that there may be another major outbreak of war

Germany Bundestag human rights committee head: New Azerbaijani checkpoint contradicts international law

Loucas Fourlas visits border regions of Armenias Syunik province

Adam Schiff submits to US Congress draft resolution recognizing Karabakh independence

France FM to visit Armenia and Azerbaijan, to discuss situation in Lachin corridor

Newspaper: Pashinyan-Putin telephone conversation result being awaited

Karabakh ombudsman: Azerbaijan takes blatantly brazen step that directly contradicts tripartite statement

Kamala Harris on Armenian Genocide: Let us never forget, let us rededicate ourselves to speaking out against hate

Bruno Retailleau: Azerbaijani checkpoint installation on Hakari bridge could be beginning of new large-scale operation

Canada FM issues message on Armenian Genocide 108th anniversary

The struggle for international recognition of this horrific crime continues. President of Cyprus

U.S. Ambassador to the OSCE: The United States is deeply concerned about Azerbaijan's actions

Valerie Boyer: Turkey has started a new war of aggression in Armenia and Artsakh

The Second President of Armenia visited Tsitsernakaberd Memorial Complex with his wife and son

Azerbaijan's decision to set up checkpoints in the Lachin corridor contradicts EUs call to reduce tensions

Russian Defense Ministry noted Azerbaijan's unilateral and uncoordinated actions

Foreign Minister of Artsakh Meets with Head of the Republicans Group of the French Senate

France commemorates 108th Anniversary of 1915 Armenian Genocide: Macron

Commemoration ceremony was held in Amsterdam near the monument dedicated to the victims of the Armenian Genocide

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
Mexican president accuses U.S. of "abusive, arrogant interference"

Xinhua) 17:04, April 18, 2023

MEXICO CITY, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Monday accused the United States Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) of overstepping its boundaries in its alleged scheme to infiltrate the Sinaloa Cartel without prior authorization from Mexican officials.

The act constituted "an abusive and arrogant interference that should not be accepted under any circumstances," he said at a press conference.

It is unacceptable for foreign agents to "spy" in Mexico, said Lopez Obrador, calling on U.S. authorities to change tack and opt for cooperation.

Washington should also revise its drug abuse prevention strategies so as to address the causes of addiction, especially among youths, Lopez Obrador said.

Mexico is working to combat the drug cartels, but criminal organizations also operate in the United States, he said.

"It is important to clarify these matters because they (the United States) have a serious problem due to drug use," Lopez Obrador added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Du Mingming)
This image released by Netflix shows Nick Lachey, left, and Vanessa Lachey arriving for the season four reunion of "Love is Blind" at Sunset Bronson Studios in Los Angeles on April 16, 2023. (Adam Rose/AP)

Netflix co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters revealed what exactly went wrong with the live Love Is Blind Season 4 reunion special on Sunday -- and how they plan to fix the problem with other live broadcasts moving forward.

Were really sorry to disappoint so many people, Peters said during a prerecorded Q1 earnings interview Tuesday. We didnt meet the standard that we expect ourselves: to serve our members and just be clear from a technical perspective. Weve got the infrastructure. We had just a bug that we introduced, actually, when we implemented some changes to try to improve live-streaming performance after the last live broadcast, Chris Rock[s Selective Outrage] in March. We just didnt see this bug in internal testing because it only became apparent once we put multiple systems interacting with each other under the load of millions of people trying to watch Love Is Blind.

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According to Peters, it was 6.5 million people, to be exact, that did watch the reunion special hosted by Nick and Vanessa Lachey, which was set to stream live at 5 p.m. PT/8 p.m. ET on Sunday night.

Due to technical issues -- which began with the web browser user interface displaying an error message reading: Pardon the interruption. Were having trouble playing Netflix. Please check your internet and try again -- the special actually became available on Netflix on Monday at 12 p.m. PT -- 19 hours after it was supposed to stream live.

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We hate when these things happen, but well learn from it and will get better, Peters said. We do have the fundamental infrastructure that we need. The good news is that ultimately 6.5 million viewers watched and enjoyed the show.

Sarandos said the streamer fully intends to keep using live as an option when it makes sense creatively and helps the breadth of content itself.

So a reunion show thats going to generate news and buzz, it really does play better live when people can join together, Sarandos said. Certainly, the Chris Rock standup show played out so well because there was so much anticipation for what he was going to say in that set. So when we have the opportunity to do projects like that, we like the fact we have the option to do it. As Greg said, we were super disappointed to not be able to come across with the live product for everyone who wanted it on the Love Is Blind reunion. But were super thrilled people love the show. It does point to the kind of love for that brand, and for the growing love for those unscripted brands on Netflix. Some of them will be live. Those results oriented shows do play out a little bit better live and they do generate a lot of conversation. But keep in mind, like Chris Rock, about 90% of the viewing happened after but that doesnt change the fact that it was a big event.

The reunion marks Netflixs second-ever live event after Chris Rock: Selective Outrage, which dropped on March 4 and reached No. 8 on the streamers weekly Top 10 list in its first full week of availability. 17.8 million hours were viewed between March 6-12. The special did not make the first overall Top 10 list after its initial March 4 launch, when it had only been available for one day of that count, but did land on the U.S.-only rankings.

Netflix is set to stream the SAG Awards live in 2024.
Filming on the Western movie "Rust" is scheduled to resume at a movie ranch in Montana in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a cinematographer by actor Alec Baldwin during a rehearsal on the original production in New Mexico. (Jae C. Hong/AP)

SANTA FE, N.M.  Filming on the Western movie Rust could resume this week in Montana, the production company said Wednesday, in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a cinematographer during a rehearsal with actor Alec Baldwin on the original production in New Mexico.

Baldwin will continue his involvement as an actor and coproducer, and Rust Move Productions attorney Melina Spadone said via a representative that filming will restart Thursday at the Yellowstone Film Ranch.

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The production company finalized a settlement last month with New Mexico workplace safety regulars over serious violations, agreeing to a $100,000 fine to resolve a scathing safety review that detailed unheeded complaints and misfires on set before cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed in October 2021.

Plans to resume filming were outlined last year by widower Matthew Hutchins in a proposed settlement to a wrongful death lawsuit that would make him an executive producer on a rebooted Rust.

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Prosecutors in Santa Fe are pressing forward with involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Baldwin and a weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found the weapon could not not have fired unless the trigger was pulled.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham this month signed a new $360,000 allowance for prosecution of the case. Evidentiary hearings are scheduled in early May in state District Court to decide whether to proceed toward trial. Baldwin has indicated that he wont attend those hearings.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies says her office is pursuing justice in the death of Hutchins and wants to show that no one is above the law when it comes to firearms and public safety. She says the Ukrainian-born cinematographers death was tragic and preventable.

Rust safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest in March to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and a suspended sentence of six months of probation.

Souza, the director, has said hell return to the Rust production to honor the legacy of Halyna Hutchins.

Parts of a documentary about Hutchins life will be filmed simultaneously with Rust.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of Armenia on Wednesday issued a statement on the efforts of the President of Azerbaijan to disrupt the ongoing normalization processes in the South Caucasus. The statement reads as follows:

The statements that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev made on April 18, 2023 once again demonstrate his intentions to torpedo the efforts of the Armenian side and the international community aimed at establishing peace in the South Caucasus.

With these statements Ilham Aliyev demonstrates an overt contempt for various international partners, in the presence and mediation of which Azerbaijan recognized the territorial integrity of Armenia and assumed a number of clear obligations, including both the delimitation of the borders between the Republic of Armenia and the Republic of Azerbaijan on the basis of the Almaty Declaration and on the establishment of an international mechanism to address the rights and security guarantees for the people of Nagorno-Karabakh.

Moreover, by his statement the President of Azerbaijan openly admits the fact of the preplanned aggression and occupation of the sovereign territories of the Republic of Armenia and also explicitly reveals his intentions to subject the population of Nagorno-Karabakh to ethnic cleansing. The President of Azerbaijan, under whose leadership gross and flagrant institutional violations of human rights and the rights of various groups are taking place in the country, openly voices existential threats towards the peaceful population of Nagorno-Karabakh living in their homeland.

The hate speech expressed by the top leadership of Azerbaijan towards the Armenian people is clearly aimed at deepening the intolerance and hatred towards the Armenian people which has been propagated in the Azerbaijani society by the state authorities for decades. The consequences of this hate speech are also the war crimes, extrajudicial executions of prisoners of war and civilian captives, committed by the representatives of the Azerbaijani armed forces on the basis of ethnicity, video recordings and their distribution by those who committed such crimes as  matter of pride.

The statements of the political leadership of Azerbaijan also encourage actions like those of the Azerbaijani soldier who illegally infiltrated the territory of the Republic of Armenia a few days ago, deliberately and brutally murdered an Armenian citizen and tried to inform the Azerbaijani side about this incident as well as about his intention to kill many other Armenian civilians. We are sure that after these recent statements of the President of Azerbaijan, the international community can not have any doubts about the fact that this as well as the above-mentioned crimes were organised at the state level.

Instead of looking for sustainable and lasting solutions to the problems that have accumulated in the region for years, Azerbaijan is trying to advance its maximalist claims through the use of force and threats of the use of force. The Armenian side has repeatedly warned about the destabilising prospects of this policy conducted by Azerbaijan and drew the attention of the international community to the dangers of such behaviour and actions against the world order based on international law.
Armenias former foreign minister Vartan Oskanian posted a video where he commented on PM Nikol Pashinyan's claims regarding the Karabakh peace talks and respective the Madrid Principles.

"In order for my speech to be valid, I want to talk about myself first. I was in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs [of Armenia] since 1992, a few years later I was appointed deputy [foreign] minister, and in 1998, I became [foreign] minister, and I was in that position for ten years. I have been involved in the settlement process of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem since the first day of coming to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At first, I was in a working group led by Gerard Libaridian. From 1995-1996, I was the main negotiator. To this day, the co-chairs of the [OSCE] Minsk Group have put six proposals for the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh issue on the [negotiating] table. Ive had a significant role in their development. The first was the proposal for cessation of hostilities, the second was the package proposal in 1997, the phased proposal in the same year. After that, when I was already a [foreign] minister, there was the Common State proposal, after that the Key West, then the Madrid proposals. Not much has changed since the Madrid [proposals]; the Kazan [proposal] was a version of the Madrid [proposals]. I took an active part in all documents, I can say with quotation marks that I am one of its authors," Oskanian said, adding that the initiative of the Madrid document was Armenia's.

"All the pro-Armenian provisionsthe part of the referendum, the interim status, the corridor, the security issuesall of them were included in that document on our initiative.

Nikol Pashinyan, criticizing the Madrid document, said that in those days, the Armenian authorities, accepting that document as a basis for negotiations, actually recognized that Nagorno-Karabakh is a part of Azerbaijan, claiming that by doing so, we have declared the 1991 Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum invalid.

In fact, the Madrid document says exactly the opposite of what Nikol Pashinyan commented. Accepting that document as a basis for negotiations, Azerbaijanis, in fact, recognize that Nagorno-Karabakh is not part of Azerbaijan, and the people of Nagorno-Karabakh should decide their fate through a referendum.

I really do not understand Nikol Pashinyan's logic, reasoning. We should ask him a question by the same logic. Why does he want to sign a peace treaty [with Azerbaijan] today, the basis of which will be the recognition of each other's territorial integrity? In fact, based on Nikol Pashinyans logic, if he enters into such negotiations that Azerbaijan should recognize the territorial integrity of Armenia, by his logic doesn't this mean that he recognizes Armenia as a part of Azerbaijan? Does Nikol Pashinyan thereby annul the 1991 independence referendum of Armenia, our borders?

What we have done through negotiations, we have done in order to secure our rights internationally, for Azerbaijan to accept it, for the international community to accept it, for the roads to be opened, for no one to hinder us, for us to coexist normally with our neighbors. That was the goal.

With that document, we succeeded in securing the right of self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Madrid document was one of the important achievements of our diplomacy," Oskanian said.

"In the years of its independence, Armenia had two important diplomatic achievements. The first was at the OSCE Budapest summit in 1994, when [then-]President Levon Ter-Petrosyan vetoed the consensus minus one principle, despite great international pressure. And the secondthe Madrid document presented by the mediators of the OSCE Minsk Group at the end of 2007 regarding the fundamental principles of the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh problem, which took place at the end of the presidency of second President Robert Kocharyan.

Today, the [incumbent] authorities are pulverizing that achievement of ours in order to justify themselves. Rest assured: if the right diplomacy is used correctly, that document has not lost its power yet. It is a fundamental document with which we can achieve great success," stated Oskanian.
A parking garage located at 57 Ann St. shows damage from an earlier partial collapse on Thursday, April 20, 2023, in Manhattan, New York. (Barry Williams for New York Daily News)

A four-story garage collapsed Tuesday afternoon, killing one person, injuring five others and sending lower Manhattan into chaos, according to emergency officials.

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The structure at Ann and William streets pancaked just after 4 p.m., Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said at a press conference near the scene.

The upper floors packed with cars crumbled, sending vehicles into the void below, jaw-dropping photos taken from adjacent buildings show.

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A couple of floors of the concrete slab floors collapsed, crushed some of the cars that are inside, FDNY Chief of Operations John Esposito said at a press conference near the scene.

This photo provided by Charlie Franklin shows a partially collapsed parking garage in lower Manhattan's Financial District, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in New York. (Charlie Franklin/AP)

It was a pancake collapse all the way to the cellar floor, Vilenchik said. We are going to continuously review and research property profiles to understand the history of the building, certificate of occupancy, and all other records.

City records show that building owners paid fines on code violations, but the DOB did not register a fix to the underlying infractions.

In 2003, the Buildings Department cited the owners for failure to maintain [building] hazardous and noted first floor ceiling slab cracks and missing concrete covering steel beams. Inspectors also found defective concrete with exposed rear cracks.

On Tuesday, the facade of the building also buckled and was in danger of falling into the street.

Officials did not immediately name the victim who died, but a man who lives next to the garage said it was the sites manager, who was on his way home at the time of the collapse.

He was on the second floor when it came down, said the neighbor, Adam Cohen. He was a great guy.

Cohen said hed parked his car at the garage for years, but never imagined the building would fail.

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Pieces of it would flake off on my car, but I never thought it would collapse, he remarked.

Emergency workers blocked off the street as firefighters strived to extract people that could be trapped inside.

Six victims were taken to local hospitals, with one dying, four others in stable condition and another refusing medical attention, according to officials.

Were continuing to do searches, there are some cars in there that are crushed. Were trying to see if we can get up close to make sure that theres nobody in those cars. But as I said before, we believe that we had everybody accounted for, Esposito said.

Ahmed Ali said he was jarred by the noise of the floors caving in.

I heard a boom, he said, adding that he rushed to see what the commotion was and saw the fire escape between the two buildings had crumbled.

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The emergency metal steps fell down. Then the ceiling came down. One car from above fell on top of the other.

Ali, 63, who works next door for a food supply company, saw an injured garage worker trapped under the metal wreckage of the staircase.

One man was injured when the steps fell on him, he said. I tried to go in, but they pulled me out. I thought my life was going to end. I thought that was it.

Members of the Fire Department of New York (FDNY) Emergency Medical Services (EMS) move an injured person on a gurney at the scene of a parking garage that collapsed in lower Manhattan, New York City, on April 18, 2023. (PETER GERBER/AFP via Getty Images)

Firefighters initially entered the building to look for injured employees trapped in the rubble but then pulled out because the structure was deemed unstable and could collapse further.

Drones and a robot dog known as a Digidog were sent inside, instead, to search the wreckage until officials determined that all the garage employees were accounted for.

At this time, this building is completely unstable, Mayor Adams said alongside Esposito. Were using the necessary technology to be able to give a clear view of whats happening inside the building for the most part, and to do whatever we can to see if there are any more victims.

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Mayor Eric Adams speaks to the media at the scene of a collapse in a parking garage on Ann Street in Lower Manhattan, New York on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

Following the collapse, one worker got trapped on the remainder of the garage roof, according to Esposito.

Firefighters used a tower ladder to pluck the man off the roof and deliver him safely to the roof of a nearby building, the chief said.

This was an extremely dangerous operation for our firefighters, he explained. We responded to a call of a collapsed building. We had firefighters inside the building and development searches. The building was continuing to collapse.

Authorities shut down Ann St. from Gold to Nassau streets and the MTA ordered subway trains in the vicinity of the nearby Fulton St. station to run at slow speeds. The 2, 3, A, C and J lines were affected.

Jim Slattery, 64, parked his car in the garage just before the catastrophe while on his way to a doctors appointment.

Firefighters respond to a collapse in a parking garage on Ann Street in Lower Manhattan, New York, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Gardiner Anderson/for New York Daily News)

He first grabbed a cup of coffee and walked past the scene on his way to his physician.

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I came out and there was a commotion on the street. Someone was telling me, Theres a movie being shot. Its New York City  everything is always going on, said Slattery, a Staten Island engineer.

He went to the doctors and his phone started ringing.

My wifes calling, my friends calling me  because they know Im down here today, he said.

He was stunned when the doctors employees told him about the collapse.

I guess I should play Lotto, he joked. But I was struck by it. It hasnt settled in yet ... Its my lucky day, he said.

An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified the owner of the garage as Abacus Bank. That version was based on initial information from authorities naming the address as 37 Ann St. In fact, the address of the garage that collapsed is 57 Ann St. Abacus is not the owner.

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With Evan Simko-Bednarski
German president asks forgiveness in Warsaw

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks at a commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. Photo: AFP

Germany's president on Wednesday sought pardon for his nation's World War II crimes in comments on the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.



Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the first German president to speak at the commemorations in the Polish capital, joined Polish and Israeli heads of state to mark 80 years since Jewish insurgents' doomed uprising against Nazi German occupiers.



"I stand before you today and ask for your forgiveness for the crimes committed by Germans here," said Steinmeier, speaking at the annual ceremony held in Warsaw's former Jewish district.



The German president also blasted his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for waging war in Ukraine.



"The Russian president has broken international law," Steinmeier said. "This war brings immeasurable suffering, violence, destruction and death to the people of Ukraine."



The official ceremony took place at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, which is located at the site of several of the uprising's armed clashes.



The Warsaw Jews launched their armed revolt against the Nazis on April 19, 1943, preferring to die fighting than to be sent to a death camp.



It was the largest single act of Jewish resistance against the Germans during World War II.



"We must remember," Israeli President Isaac Herzog said, adding that Holocaust memory is not relative.



"Absolute evil existed, in the form of the Nazis and their accomplices. And absolute good existed, in the form of the victims and the rebels, from every nation."



Around 7,000 Jews are estimated to have died in the battles and another 6,000 in the fires started by the Nazis in the ghetto. (AFP)
SIU awards grants to diverse sustainability projects in honor of Earth Day

by Christi Mathis

CARBONDALE, Ill.  Southern Illinois University Carbondales commitment to sustainability has taken another step forward today (April 19) with awarding up to about $100,000 in grants for 10 unique projects in honor of Earth Day, which is Saturday.

The projects run the gamut, from nature trails to lighting improvements to sustainable farming and much more. This is the 20th round of awards since the Green Fee was instituted in 2009 as the result of a student-led initiative. In all, about $2.454 million has been awarded to about 235 projects.

The Office of Sustainability is ecstatic! The proposals are all unique and came from students, faculty and staff, said Aimee Lemrise, sustainability director. We are excited to support these projects and see them come to fruition.

The winners were announced during an Earth Day celebration featuring guest speakers.

Grant recipients

The 2023 Green Fund grant recipients include:

SIU Student Sustainable Farm expansion  Rachel Miller, farm researcher, $25,000. The grant is for assorted projects geared toward the revitalization of SIUs Sustainable Farm and compost facility to expand its use of sustainable agricultural practices and provide an environment for sustainable education within and outside of the universitys population.

Touch of Nature trails  Tom Brummer, assistant director of facilities and operations for Touch of Nature Outdoor Education Center, $10,000. The open access multiuse trails, in use for about three years, are very popular with students and community members. They have identified areas of the trail that need improvements to control drainage, erosion and trail flow and say this is a natural part of trail development that cannot be fully identified until after the trail has been in use, with actual wear from users and the weather. The funds will allow hiring a qualified graduate assistant to identify, coordinate and implement the needed improvements for the sustainable future use of the trail system.

Campus Climate Action  Justin Harrell, senior engineer, Facilities and Energy Management, $10,338. Funding will cover half of the cost of hiring a graduate research assistant, with FEM funding the remainder of the cost, to work with the office to support the completion and implementation of the first campus Climate Action Plan, which is as required by the campus Climate Commitment made in February 2020. The student will create a data hub and manual to streamline and institutionalize the processes required to collect, process and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions data on a permanent annual basis.

Clean electric energy from hybrid renewable energy system phase IV: machine learning-based remedial actions against cyberattacks targeting a renewable microgrid  Arash Asrari, assistant professor in the School of Electrical, Computer, and Biomedical Engineering, $5,000. As a step toward further investments for clean electric energy in Southern Illinois, the fourth phase of this project proposes a holistic remedial action scheme based on the concept of machine learning to mitigate the impacts of cyberattacks targeting renewable microgrids.

SIU water data analytics for building a sustainable water use culture  Sangmin Shin, assistant professor in the School of Civil, Environmental and Infrastructure Engineering $9,592. The proposed project will develop decision support models for the prediction of SIU water use and the detection of operational anomalies in the campus water systems to achieve water use sustainability through the collaborative efforts of water managers and users.

Craft Shop kiln update and ceramics glaze workshop  Stephanie Dukat, Craft Shop coordinator, $4,590. Plans call for updating the Craft Shop ceramics studio pottery kiln to a more energy friendly and efficient kiln. This will also help facilitate workshops.

Dental Hygiene Clinic paper conservation  Hannah Truax, dental hygiene student, and Katlynn Hutchcraft, assistant lecturer, $3,399.04. This project will help reduce the use of paper and toner products in the clinical setting while increasing use of technology to benefit students in the program, the patients the clinic serves and the environment.

SIU School of Medicine environmental and health education  Amanda Mulch, School of Medicine assistant dean of student affairs, $1,500. Medical students and some of the faculty are developing a podcast that will allow the students to learn and become educators for Southern Illinois regarding the impact of environmental changes on public health through discussing salient issue with experts and leaders in the community.

Surplus Gallery Lighting Renovation  Rob Lopez, director and associate professor in the School of Art and Design, $654.60. Plans call for upgrading the current halogen lighting to energy-efficient LED lighting in the School of Art and Designs Surplus Gallery, located in the Glove Factory

Floatovoltaics: a novel, integrated approach to address campus sustainability goals and biosecurity  Noah Farris, undergraduate student, $30,000 with the grant awarded pending compliance with the provision of matching funds. Funds would provide an array of floating solar panels used to mitigate the presence of harmful algal blooms on Campus Lake, supply power to a large fountain being installed by the university, help meet campus sustainability goals and provide a platform for interdisciplinary research.

The Sustainability Council, which comprises students, faculty and staff, helps advise sustainability policy while the councils Green Fund Committee selects grant winners each year. Learn more about SIU Sustainability online, call 618-453-2846 or email sustainability@siu.edu.
New Delhi [India], April 19 (ANI/ATK): Cryptocurrencies have garnered significant attention in recent times, with numerous investors and traders seeking to capitalize on the market. One of the most favored cryptocurrencies is XRP, which has encountered a tumultuous period in the market as a result of the ongoing SEC lawsuit against Ripple, its parent company. As the case nears its end, optimistic XRP price forecasts are surfacing, with several experts predicting that the cryptocurrency has the potential to hit USD 1. This write-up will evaluate Ripple and Big Eyes Coin, two prominent players in the cryptocurrency market, to establish which of the two provides the best return on investment in the current market conditions. Ripple Ripple is a payments firm that utilizes XRP, its native cryptocurrency, to facilitate speedy and cost-effective cross-border transactions. Its decentralized ledger technology allows for real-time payments, making it a more efficient and secure alternative to traditional banking systems. This makes it an attractive option for both individuals and businesses. Despite this, Ripple's XRP has faced obstacles due to the ongoing SEC lawsuit. The SEC claims that Ripple engaged in an unregistered security offering when it sold XRP to investors, causing investors to become wary of its future and leading to a significant decline in its value. However, XRP price prediction experts remain optimistic about its potential following the conclusion of the lawsuit. If the SEC rules in Ripple's favor, XRP's value may rise to USD 1 and beyond. Big Eyes Coin Big Eyes Coin is a fintech firm that employs blockchain technology to facilitate swift and secure payments. In contrast to Ripple's focus on cross-border transactions, Big Eyes Coin provides a broad range of financial services and aims to provide a user-friendly payment platform for businesses and individuals using its native BIG token. During the presale phase, Big Eyes Coin is providing its community members with the chance to earn a 300 per cent return on their investment through loot box rewards. By purchasing the Big Eyes Vault using the code "300," investors may gain access to the enticing prizes available for a limited time. The size of the reward increases proportionally to the amount spent on BIG tokens, with every USD 100 worth of BIG tokens providing three Saver Tins that may contain up to USD 1,000 in BIG. Furthermore, for every USD 100,000 worth of BIG tokens, investors will receive three Excali-Paw Chest boxes, each of which may contain treasures worth up to USD 1 million. It is worth noting that the presale will come to a close on March 31st, and investors should not miss out on the opportunity to win BIG. Evaluating Ripple And Big Eyes Coin: A Comparative Analysis Although Ripple and Big Eyes Coin belong to the same industry, they differ in terms of their strategies and target markets. Ripple's primary focus is on cross-border payments, while Big Eyes Coin aims to offer a broader range of financial services. However, both of them utilize blockchain technology to provide swift and secure transactions, which is a significant advantage over traditional banking systems. As for their respective cryptocurrencies, XRP and BIG, they both have the potential to appreciate in value given the current market conditions. If the SEC lawsuit concludes in Ripple's favor, XRP's price may experience a significant surge. Meanwhile, Big Eyes Coin's user-friendly platform and low transaction costs could make it a popular choice for small businesses and individuals. In light of the bullish trend in the market, investors and traders should closely monitor the progress of the SEC lawsuit and consider both Ripple and Big Eyes Coin as potential investment opportunities. Big Eyes Coin (BIG): Presale: https://buy.bigeyes.space/ Website: https://bigeyes.space/ Telegram: https://t.me/BIGEYESOFFICIAL This story has been provided by ATK. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/ATK)
Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 19 (ANI/NewsReach): The Varanasi District Administration, Government of Uttar Pradesh, has achieved a world record certified by the India Records Academy for the maximum number of participants in a quiz contest at multiple locations. The record-breaking quiz contest was held on April 13, 2023, and focused on "India's Presidency in the G20 Summit - Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam". The event was held at the same time in all the institutions within the geographical limitations of the Varanasi District. The Varanasi District Administration has entered the record books for the title "Maximum Participants in a Quiz Contest at Multiple Locations," and this feat was certified by the India Records Academy. The Varanasi District Administration organized the quiz contest at 794 different venues across the district, with a total of 124565 participants. The quiz questions were related to India's presidency in the G20 summit and covered various topics, including international trade, the global economy, and sustainable development. Kaushal Raj Sharma, Commissioner- Varanasi Division, stated that the quiz contest organized by the Varanasi District Administration was a fitting tribute to India's leadership in hosting the G20 summit. It demonstrated the country's commitment to educating its citizens about international affairs and promoting global citizenship. The quiz questions focused on key issues discussed during the summit, such as climate change, sustainable development, and global trade, and encouraged participants to engage with these issues in a meaningful way, he further added I appreciate all the participants for competing in this contest. S.Rajalingam, District Magistrate-Varanasi, detailed that the event was meticulously planned and executed, with the aim of creating awareness and promoting interest in international affairs among the citizens of the district. The quiz contest was open to all age groups at the school level, and participants from various backgrounds took part in the event. He further said, I congratulate the participants and the winners for being a part of this historical event. Himanush Nagpal, Chief Development Officer-Varanasi, pointed out that India's presidency in the G20 summit was a historic moment for the country, as it assumed the leadership of the group of 20 major economies in 2022. As the host nation, India played a crucial role in setting the agenda and guiding the discussions of the summit, which was attended by leaders from around the world. In order to educate and impart India's role and leadership globally, this quiz contest was organized by our district administration. He further appreciated the efforts of all the stakeholders of this distinct event. P. Jeganathan, Senior Records Manager-India Records Academy, stated that the record-breaking event was conducted under the strict supervision of the India Records Academy, and they ensured that all rules and regulations were followed, and the results were validated. Our Prime Minister Narendra Modi emphasized the need for collective action to tackle global challenges such as climate change, economic inequality, and the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted India's commitment to promoting sustainable development and building resilient economies. This quiz contest motivated all the young minds to learn about such issues and India's presidency in sorting out the barriers towards global development, and we are very proud to certify this as a world record, he further added. Deepak Madhok, Chairman-Sunbeam Group of Educational Institutions, pointed out that the achievement of this world record is a proud moment for Varanasi District Administration, Government of Uttar Pradesh, and India as a whole. It highlights the country's efforts to promote knowledge and education among its citizens and sets an example for others to follow. The quiz contest also serves as a reminder of the importance of engaging with global issues and working towards a better future for all, he further detailed. Amrita Burman, Deputy Director-Sunbeam Group, expressed her heartfelt appreciation to the Varanasi District Administration for organizing this unique event that helped inculcate a sense of global citizenship among the participants. She further added that such initiatives are instrumental in shaping the future generation and building a better tomorrow. The quiz contest received overwhelming support and positive feedback from the public, with many lauding the district administration's initiative and congratulating the participants on their achievement. The District Administration appreciated the efforts of Sunbeam Group of Educational Institutions for their support and coordination for the successful accomplishment of the world record. This event has not only broken a world record, but it has also fostered a sense of pride and enthusiasm among the citizens of Varanasi and beyond. This story has been provided by NewsReach. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/NewsReach)
New Delhi [India], April 19 (ANI/SRV): Infinova India collaborated with L&T Smart World and Communication for one of its largest CCTV order "Mumbai City Surveillance Project", entailing 12,000+ cameras spanning across 1,800 locations throughout the city. L&T offered surveillance solutions included Infinova, one of the largest surveillance networks in the nation, to bolster Mumbai's defence mechanisms against attacks similar to the ones that occurred on November 26, 2008, and retain stability over the law-and-order scenario. Mumbai is the largest city in the country, covering about 600 sq. km. and housing 18 million people. The initial phase of the City Surveillance network was launched in October 2016, covering 1,462 locations with Infinova cameras. The second phase of the project aims to extend coverage to areas not previously covered and complete deployment by the end of December. To expedite inspections, enhance traffic control, prevent, discover, and subsequently deal with illegal activity, track dubious activities of individuals or vehicles, critical infrastructure, and public spaces, and support disaster management efforts, a surveillance distribution network of 12,000+ cameras is under implementation, out of which nearly 6000 cameras have already been implemented and made functional in Phase 1 of the Mumbai City Surveillance project. For better, faster, and more effective reactions, the surveillance system was connected with cutting-edge analytics, facial recognition, and emergency response technology. Features Infinova offered for integrating one of India's largest CCTV-based City Surveillance System Integrating various components while abiding by phase-specific goals in a mostly unfamiliar setting was difficult throughout. Nevertheless, Infinova made sure that the cameras for coastal and city monitoring offer all-encompassing functions deserving of the project's massive blueprint. * Infinova's product offering included PTZ cameras capable of panning, tilting, and zooming as well as Fixed Box Cameras offering a real-time, high frame rate, and high SNR image acquisition system that can capture images with high megapixel resolution. * These cameras support multiple video streams and could display and handle best compression while offering top notch clarity. * Furthermore, cameras feature user-friendly visual interfaces offering simplistic control, practical settings, and mouse-click functionality. * Even during special occasions such as festivals, where the crowd gathering is in huge numbers, Infinova Cameras play a crucial role covering surveillance at key junctions as well ascoastal monitoring for idol immersions during these festivals, thus ensuring law and order maintenance in the city. * The cameras also help in analytical findings and preventing any mishaps. In its continuous pursuit of producing cutting-edge and innovative technology, Infinova has garnered positive feedback for numerous city surveillance projects both domestically and internationally. By adding the Mumbai City Surveillance project to its portfolio of prominent undertakings, Infinova aims to establish a strong reputation for future contracts. Infinova India Spokesperson stated that "Mumbai City Project served as a benchmark for numerous infrastructural and municipal surveillance initiatives across the country. As a result, Infinova has prioritized and evaluated its opportunities in such projects, as the company possesses significant expertise in the critical infrastructure domain."The spokesperson further added that "Infinova is well-equipped with the appropriate tools to meet the critical requirements of such projects." Infinova changing the dynamics of security in the nation The city will become safer for everyone with the combined efforts of the government's ideology and Infinova's tech implementation, and also aid the police in their daily efforts to increase security through precautionary measures. Moreover, Traffic Management is projected to significantly improve as people understand the importance of adherence to Traffic Safety Laws with implementation of Infinova Surveillance System at several locations in the city. Infinova has carved out a niche for itself in a saturated market by combining advanced technology with a focus on customer needs. This approach has enabled the company to meet the increasing security demands of various industries worldwide. Infinova's commitment to innovative technology and outstanding customer support has made this possible. This story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)
The Ministry of Consumer Affairs is conducting an investigation against India's top edtech company Byju's for misleading advertisement. It was learnt that the department of consumer affairs under the ministry received a complaint and the matter was under investigation. Pramod Kumar Tiwari, director general, Bureau of Indian Standards, on Wednesday told ANI, "We received a complaint for misleading advertisement against Byju's. The complainant has said that Byju's claims that many of their students cleared the examinations of civil services. The complainant has said that Byju's claim in the advertisement is a false claim and needs to be investigated. So, I will ask them to respond." Tiwari said monitoring misleading advertisement comes under the purview of Central Consumer Protection Authority but the directorate-general BIS (D-G BIS) has been made the D-G Investigation to investigate such cases. "We probe complaints and report to our ministry, which is the department of consumer affairs. We have taken action in many cases." BIS on Wednesday also revealed several green standards to address sustainability. According to Tiwari, BIS has made green standards on construction, waste disposal, waste management, electric vehicles, wind turbines, mechanical engineering, agriculture, electrical sector and management systems. Green standards indicate the environmental attributes or performance of a product or service. They also aim to reduce the negative impact of human activities in the natural environment and promote the efficient use of resources. Such standards could be horizontal and cross-cutting that provide guidance to all types of organisations regardless to their size or location or could be specific. The director general also clarified that there is no standard of BIS to declare any plastic product as biodegradable. Tiwari said, "We have told this to the ministry of environment, which is the nodal ministry. This fact has not been established not in our country but anywhere in the world that plastic is completely biodegradable. We have told this to the ministry and have requested the ministry that till we do not get the research findings, we have a problem in doing this kind of certification." Giving an update on the gold and bullion hallmarking, Tiwari said hallmarking of gold and bullion is going very successfully. "It has a very positive impact. The government had listened to all the concerns of jewellers and given some relaxation to those jewellers who were registered before the implementation of mandatory hallmarking and if they have gold stock, they are given three months' time," Tiwari said. The director general added that its biggest positive impact was that gold jewellery pieces which used to be hallmarked three lakh pieces a day on an average. "After the end of March, that number increased by one million per day," Tiwari said, adding, "Jewellers have accepted it. The deadline of three months given will end in June." (ANI)
After giving audiences chartbusters like 'Mitti Di Khushboo', 'Yahi Hoon Main', 'Chan Kitthan', the talented duo Ayushmann Khurrana and Rochak Kohli are all set to rule hearts of the music lovers yet again with romantic single 'Raatan Kaaliyan'. The song is sung by Ayushmann Khurrana and composed by Rochak Kohli. And produced by Bhushan Kumar. Interestingly, Ayushmann instantly fell in love with Rochak's rendition penned by Gurpreet Saini and Gautam G Sharma, together with Bhushan Kumar they created the beautiful melody of 'Raatan Kaaliyan'. Bhushan Kumar said, "Ayushmann Khurrana is the quintessential actor-artiste of India and we all wish that he sings more often because people just love his songs! We are thrilled to collaborate with him again. Rochak Kohli is a one of a kind composer who has mastered romantic numbers that have become big hits. Ayushmann's vocals and Rochak's music has always created magic every time they have collaborated together and I'm sure they'll do wonders with this one too." Ayushmann Khurrana shared, "Music has always inspired me to create and it helps me elevate my expression as an artist. I'm really excited about my new song Raataan Kaaliyaan. It is a very soulful track that literally means 'dark nights' and how inspiring, romantic and poetic such nights can be. It has been composed by Rochak Kohli and the lyrics have been written by Gurpreet Saini." He added, "I thoroughly enjoy the process of creating new music so when Rochak discussed this song with me, I was immediately on board to lend my voice for it. It also been a while since I have created and dropped a new song and I was dying to give people something new. The lyrics are deeply reflective and has a lot of layered emotions running through it. Rochak and Gurpreet Saini are both very dear friends and I enjoy collaborating with them creatively. We are very passionate about our music" Ayushmann is set to perform in Dubai on April 23 and he revealed that he will be surprising fans and audiences by dropping a new song at this concert. Sharing more details on this, Ayushmann said, "I am really looking forward to share this track with my audiences at the Dubai concert on April 23rd. They will be the first people to hear the song and I hope they love it thoroughly. If you ask me, it has a very addictive beat and the lyrics are sure to tug at your heart. I'm thrilled about this collaboration with Bhushan Ji. Coming up with a single with T-Series after several years now and it couldn't get any better with Rochak also on board." Composer Rochak Kohli also expressed his excitement, said, "I've had a long journey with T-Series as well as Ayushmann. Without a doubt, this song is going to be a big one and I can't wait to finally put it out there for the listeners very soon." (ANI)
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023 which aims to curb piracy in film content and protect the creative industry. After the Cabinet meeting, Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said that the bill will be brought in the next Parliament session. He said the bill is aimed at ensuring that the films do not suffer due to piracy as the menace causes heavy losses to the industry. Soon after he announced the news, several members of the film fraternity took to their social media handles and hailed the Cabinet's nod to Cinematograph (Amendment) Bill 2023. Taking to Twitter, actor Ajay Devgn wrote, "Kudos to the @MIB_India for proactively making amendments to the Cinematograph Act, thereby preserving the movie-going experience." https://twitter.com/ajaydevgn/status/1648696293810905089 Actor R Madhavan wrote, "Union Cabinet approves amendment in Cinematograph Act 1952 to comprehensively curb menace of film piracy. This is brilliant and much I awaited and welcome to use. Wonderful proactive action." https://twitter.com/ActorMadhavan/status/1648685273583337473 Production house T-series tweeted, "This move is very effective as it will not only help in faster growth of the film industry but also boost job creation in the sector. #TSeries supports the government's recent move with the amendment in the Cinematograph Act, 1952 to bring about improvements in curbing the menace of Film piracy!" https://twitter.com/TSeries/status/1648700204835647488 In a series of tweets, the minister said the bill will prove to be a revolutionary step towards promoting Indian films and helping local content go global. "The Indian film industry is a crucial part of our cultural heritage, but piracy has been a constant threat to it. The Union Cabinet's approval of Cinematography Act 2023, is a major step forward towards safeguarding and promoting the film industry," he said. https://twitter.com/ianuragthakur/status/1648710015619063808 "The bill, which has been drafted after thorough consultation with the stakeholders, incorporating best practices, will be introduced in the next session of parliament. It will also prove to be a revolutionary step towards promoting Indian films & helping local content go global. "The fight against piracy is a global one but we're determined to protect our creative industry by simplifying laws & improving the ease of doing business in India. Our efforts have resulted in a significant improvement in our rankings benefitting citizens & businesses alike," the minister added. Officials said that the bill has provisions for categorising films based on age group, rather than the current practice of 'U,' 'A,' and 'UA'. (ANI)
Large groups of youths gather in downtown Chicago, April 15, 2023. Two teens were shot in the area during the evening. (Network Video Productions)

Outgoing Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot used a weekly meeting with police leaders Tuesday to demand answers for why officers seemingly struggled to control crowds of young people who gathered downtown over the weekend, damaging vehicles and leading to the circulation of viral videos of the chaos, sources familiar with the situation said.

The mayhem in the citys tourism district late Saturday sparked renewed concern about the Chicago Police Departments ability to handle crowds of teens and young adults who were captured on cellphone cameras blocking traffic and jumping atop a CTA bus.

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Aldermen labeled the response inadequate, particularly given the warm weather and earlier impromptu youth gatherings including at 31st Street Beach.

Ald. Brian Hopkins, whose 2nd Ward stretches into downtowns Streeterville neighborhood, was particularly troubled by ongoing street violence.

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The fact that it happened repeatedly, without any apparent adjustment in the police tactical response, it just indicates a lack of engagement from the superintendent and the deputy chiefs, Hopkins said.

This weekend may have marked the first time many rookie officers in a younger police force confronted a large gathering, the alderman said. There was so much confusion, he said. I heard a lot of evidence of a lack of command on the ground  and we were short-staffed too.

Large youth gatherings in the downtown area have remained a vexing problem for police officials for the last decade. Organized over social media, typically during the warm summer months, the crowds of teens have sometimes turned violent.

It will now fall to Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson to attempt to quell the problem. Johnson was elected without the support of the citys largest police union, winning a narrow victory over Paul Vallas, who ran on a tough-on-crime platform.

Last year the city grappled with an event that many thought had brought the issue of such teen gatherings to a head.

Eleven months ago, dozens of youths gathered near Cloud Gate, the sculpture in Millennium Park known as The Bean. A fight broke out and 16-year-old Seandell Holliday was fatally shot. A 17-year-old boy was later charged in the shooting, and his criminal case remains pending in Cook County Circuit Court.

After Holliday was killed, Lightfoot imposed a curfew at Millennium Park that forbade unaccompanied minors from entering the park after 6 p.m. That curfew remains in effect and police were checking bags of park entrants. Some police sources said an increased downtown presence was expected in the coming weeks.

Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa said it is incumbent on the new City Council and the mayor-elect to find ways to prevent teen violence and confrontations. But a curfew is not the answer, he said.

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Teen curfew has little to no impact, and instead, can lead to more violence, Ramirez-Rosa said

Critics of the Millennium Park curfew have said the inability for teens to gather in spaces that are supposed to be safe can lead to more issues in the neighborhoods they live in.

The curfew last year appeared to slow the momentum of the gatherings, but the unusually warm weekend weather brought more young people to the center of Chicago apparently looking to challenge police, signaling the problem is not going away.

The officers who responded late Saturday focused on containing the crowd of hundreds instead of moving into the fray, Hopkins said. The strategy allowed the gathering to continue, he added.

A Walgreens was looted, a break-in was attempted at the Art Institute, two Chicago Transit Authority buses were attacked, the windows and windshields of a number of motorists were broken, a couple was beaten and robbed, a police officer suffered a broken bone, another officer was mobbed and had his radio stolen and two teens were shot, Hopkins said.

It was one thing after another. And the police response just was inadequate, he said.

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Hopkins, who endorsed Vallas, said the new superintendent Johnson will choose needs to have strong plans to prevent gatherings from getting out of control and bring unruly gatherings back to order.

As a matter of course, the CPD monitors activity across social media platforms, keeping an eye out for large-scale gatherings. With last weekends unseasonably warm temperatures, youths encouraged each other to meet downtown Saturday.

However, several high-ranking police officials  those typically responsible for the downtown area  were unavailable to take command as the hundreds of teens roamed the Loop, according to one CPD supervisor who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Two leaders, including Area 3 Deputy Chief Jill Stevens, were on furlough, and the captain of the Central District, was on vacation, according to the CPD supervisor.

Deputy Chief Matt Cline was assigned as the departments street deputy on Saturday, and he was eventually summoned downtown to lead the departments response, the supervisor said. Before Clines arrival, no officers downtown held a rank above lieutenant, which prohibited them from requesting more officers to assist, the source said.

Around 9 p.m., a 16-year-old boy and a 17-year-old boy were shot in the right arm and left leg, respectively, as they were standing in a crowd of people near Washington Street and Michigan Avenue, according to police. No one was taken into custody in connection with the shooting, but the Police Department later said that nine adults and six juveniles were arrested.

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The reckless, disruptive and violent behavior that was seen downtown this past weekend will not be tolerated, the CPD said in a statement issued Monday evening. We encourage our young people to be safe and responsible as they enjoy their weekends, but anyone engaged in criminal activity will be arrested and held accountable.

The downtown mayhem rattled a business community still recovering in many ways from closures tied to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lynn Osmond, president of Choose Chicago, the citys tourism office, sent an email assuring partners that CPD provided assurances that they will be putting forward additional resources in response to the incidents this weekend.

We all know that the national perception of Chicago does not match the reality  we are a spectacular, beautiful city that is enjoyed safely every day by millions of locals and visitors, Osmond wrote. At the same time, along with many of our peer cities across the country, we continue to face very serious public safety challenges that must be addressed.

Johnson was scheduled to meet with business leaders Monday, though he has been largely silent on specific ways he might react and prevent the situation from recurring. He issued a statement in the wake of the problematic youth gathering.

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In no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and lakefront this weekend. It is unacceptable and has no place in our city, Johnson said. However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.

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Hopkins is among those looking for quick solutions and a stronger police response next time.

He pointed to the 2012 NATO summit, when police spent months planning and practicing tactics for expected protests. Chicago again needs a comprehensive plan paired with unclouded communication and specific training, he said.

This is a top priority, because the department right now is in some disarray, Hopkins said.

Chicago Tribunes Laura Rodriguez Presa and Gregory Pratt contributed.

scharles@chicagotribune.com

jsheridan@chicagotribune.com
An order issued by the Department of Culture of Madhya Pradesh government regarding the removal of Muslim employees associated with the Maa Sharda Temple in Maihar in Satna district has become the talking point in the state. The department has issued a letter to Satna district administration to comply with the directive issued earlier regarding removal of Muslim employees from the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti. The directive was issued on April 5, but it came to the fore after it surfaced on social media on Tuesday. The development came when the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are just six months away. IANS has learnt that there are at least two Muslims who are associated with the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti since 1988. The Department of Culture in its order has also mentioned that a notification regarding the same had been issued earlier also, but no response was received. Therefore, complying with the directive (letter) issued by the department regarding the same, a report should be submitted within three days. The department is headed by senior BJP leader Usha Thakur, who is also the Tourism Minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Cabinet. The department has also said that all meat and liquor shops located near the temple area will be removed. The step has been taken following the recommendation of right wing groups, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad. The right wing outfits of Satna district had handed over a letter to Usha Thakur in January this year, following which the Satna district administration was directed to remove Muslim staff associated with the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti. The fresh letter has been issued to comply with directive issued by the minister in January. "We have received a letter regarding the matter and now it would be brought before the Prabandhan Samiti of the temple for discussion. Whatever the committee decides will be the final decision," a member of the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti told IANS on condition of anonymity. Situated atop Trikut hill, the temple is a reverred Hindu srine in the Vindhya region, which has numerous mythological stories attatched to it, including about 'Alha' and 'Udal'. The devotees climb 1,063 stairs to reach the temple, while a ropeway facility has also been established now for the convenience of the pilgrims. --IANS pd/arm ( 400 Words) 2023-04-18-21:42:02 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court on Tuesday upheld the life sentence to a man convicted of shooting dead a two-year-old kid, citing evidence from the prosecution that he and the victim's father had a history of animosity. The prosecution said that the incident occurred on February 18, 2016, when Vinod Kumar, went to the complainant's home and asked him to go drinking with him. The complainant's wife protested, at which Kumar got angry and left the place. However, after a while, Kumar returned and opened fire from a window, hitting the complainant's young son as he was playing with him in the open space of his home, it claimed. The complainant observed Kumar riding off on a motorbike from the scene. After he was shot, the child was taken to a hospital but he succumbed the injuries. A bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Gaurang Kanth dismissed the appeal filed by convict and upheld the trial court's May 2022 judgment, saying no interference was warranted. According to the bench, the prosecution has also established a chain of evidence that is complete and not broken. Circumstantial evidence and the fact that the convict was last seen at the spot of the incident have also been established, it said. "This court finds no basis or reason to disagree with the inferences arrived at by the trial court convicting the appellant of the offences under Sections 302 (murder)/34 (common intention) of the IPC and Section 25 (possessing prohibited arms)/27 (punishment for using arms) of the Arms Act nor with the sentence meted-out for such offences," the bench said. "The case of the prosecution has been based on circumstantial evidence and last seen theory. It has been proved on record by the testimony of prosecution witness 7 (child's father and complainant) that there was enmity between the appellant (Kumar) and PW-7, which establishes the motive of the appellant to commit the crime," it added. The court also refused to accept the contention of Kumar that there was a fight between the parents of the child during which the father fired towards the mother, but accidentally, the bullet hit the toddler resulting in his death. It said the defence raised by the convict was a mere speculation and he has not been able to prove it on record. --IANS spr/vd ( 399 Words) 2023-04-18-22:56:02 (IANS)
The Kerala Forest Minister AK Saseendran on Tuesday, directed the forest officials to find a new place for shifting the rice-eating tusker, 'Arikomban', which is creating damage in the Idukki district. On April 12, the Kerala High Court has asked the State Government to take a decision for relocating the wild tusker 'Arikomban' within a week. The High Court stated that it cannot ignore the fear of the people and if the tusker is not relocated within a week, it will be transferred to Parambikulam wildlife sanctuary. Arikomban, which got its name from its love for 'ari' (rice), and 'komban' means tusker, has damaged several houses and ration shops in Chinnakanal and Munnar areas at Idukki in the past few years. Talking to reports, the Kerala Minister said, "As a government, we have to act according to the decisions of the courts of justice. We will not shy away from it. That would not be good practice. It is not a democratic practice. The officials of the forest department have been directed to find a new place to shift the Arikomban. They will give it by tomorrow morning. It will inform the High Court which is the best proposal". "We do not intend to prolong it indefinitely. Had elephant lovers not questioned the government's decision, a solution could have been found by the 12th of last month. Unfortunately, it couldn't," he added. Saseendran said that the Forest Department and the government are responsible for finding and recommending a new place. "The government has an obligation to proceed according to the existing court orders. If there is a problem, try to solve it. The government's view was questioned in court. We also did not get a favourable judgment in the Supreme Court," he said. The Kerala Minister further accused some organisations of creating obstacles for the government. "All the forests of Kerala are good places for translocation. We didn't necessarily say any place. The government has tried to solve the problems caused by the Arikomban. Some people's organizations have created an obstacle for it," Saseendran said. (ANI)
With the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticising the Bihar government over an attack by the sand mafia on a Mines Department team, the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) on Tuesday hit back at the saffron party saying its leaders are involved in sand mining. Sand mafia members on Monday attacked a Mines Department team and brutally thrashed a woman mining inspector on the banks of the Sone river in Patna district. The incident happened in Parev village. "Jivan Kumar (previously a JD-U member) is involved in sand mining in that area. A raid of Income Tax took place on his premises just before the MLC election. He was also booked under the IPC section. Besides, a number of FIRs were also registered against him. Still, the BJP gave a ticket to him under teacher's quota and he won the election," JD-U leader and party spokesperson Abhishek Jha said. "BJP is a 'self-fed' washing machine wherein each and every leader is clean. BJP leaders are involved in sand mining," he added. Condemning the attack on the woman official, another JD-U leader Sunil Kumar said: "The attack on a woman officer is an extremely serious matter. At least 45 people were arrested. The Nitish Kumar government will not let anyone go scot free. We will break the back-bone of the sand mafias." Manjeet Singh, another JD-U leader and party spokesperson said: "We have registered 4,435 FIRs in connection with sand mining in the state and also arrested 2,439 accused. Police have also seized 20,340 vehicles involved in sand mining and transportation as well." --IANS ajk/pgh ( 274 Words) 2023-04-18-23:00:05 (IANS)
A day after a woman mining inspector was assaulted by the sand mafia on the outskirts of Patna, the National Commission for Women (NCW) asked the Bihar government to submit an action taken report in the matter within the next seven days. The NCW notice was marked to Bihar Chief Secretary Aamir Subhani, DGP R.S. Bhatti, Patna DM Chandrashekher Singh and SSP Rajiv Mishra. A joint team of the mining department and the police had reached Parev village on the banks of Sone river on Monday for inspecting trucks over-loaded with sand. However, they were attacked by the sand mafia there and while some police personnel and mining officials fled from the spot, three mining officials -- Kumar Gaurav, Sayyad Farhin and Amya Kumari -- were dragged and brutally assaulted. The accused also pelted stones on them, especially on the woman mining inspector, Amya Kumari. Patna police have registered three FIRs against 53 persons and arrested 45 of them. The police also said that raids are being conducted to nab the remaining accused persons. Meanwhile, Mining Minister Ramanand Yadav claimed on Tuesday that the state government will break the backbone of sand mafias in Bihar. "I have seen the video of the assault on a woman mining officer. I will initiate the strongest possible action against the miscreants," Yadav said. Patna DM Chandrashekher Singh said: "We have arrested 45 persons and seized 50 vehicles. We have also seized a black Scorpio in which a wireless set was installed. We are investigating who all are behind the incident. We have video evidence and efforts are on to identify all the miscreants." --IANS ajk/arm ( 289 Words) 2023-04-18-23:12:04 (IANS)
The AHSP is the authority which is responsible for generating, maintaining, updating or declaring obsolete the entire history and technical information of defence products.

According to the Ministry of Defence, so far, the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) was the AHSP for majority of defence items designed, developed and manufactured by various DPSUs and private industries.

Under the existing procedure, certain bottlenecks were experienced by the industry to bring timely improvements in their products and technologies in line with changing times. Therefore, the ministry has decided now to liberalise the AHSP procedures and make them industry-friendly, said a Defence Ministry official.

The ministry said that the Indian defence companies, which have developed products, systems, subsystems, and components on their own indigenous capabilities (except critical stores), will now be allowed to own and account for their final designs and specification as AHSP.

In case of any change in the sealed particulars, a simplified mechanism representing all the concerned stakeholders, including the industry, will take a decision. The DGQA will notify the detailed procedure in this regard within two months.

--IANS gcb/arm

( 217 Words)

2023-04-18-23:26:03 (IANS)
Directorate of Enforcement (ED) has attached four properties valued at Rs 11.04 crore belonging to Karti Chidambaram in connection with the INX Media money laundering case. The ED informed in a press release on Tuesday that a total of four properties, three movable and one immovable property located in Karnataka's Coorg district, have been attached under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002. As per the agency, proceedings under the PMLA were initiated against Karti Chidambaram, M/s Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL) and others by the ED. The proceedings were initiated by recording an ECIR on the basis of an FIR registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for the commission of offences punishable under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988. During the investigation conducted by ED, it is revealed that illegal gratification (proceeds of crime) was received directly and indirectly from M/s INX Media Pvt. Ltd., to which accused P Chidambaram had granted FIPB approval, through several shell companies controlled/beneficially owned/used by another accused Karti Chidambaram, the agency stated. Illegal gratification was received in the company of the accused in the name of providing consultancy by entities from INX Media. "The total proceeds of crime laundered over a period of time is Rs 65.88 Crore. The money was routed to overseas accounts and investment was made in various overseas properties and shares of companies through various shell companies directly or indirectly controlled by Karti Chidambaram and through his confidants," the agency stated. (ANI)
This comes days after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recruitment examination.

On April 9, Stalin wrote to Shah complaining about the 25 per cent marks allocated for the 'Basic Hindi Understanding' section in the exam. He had then urged that Tamil and other regional languages should also be included in the exam.

Taking to Twitter, MK Stalin said, "In light of my request to Hon @AmitShah last week and persistent demands from different states, @DoPTGoI has decided to hold SSC MTS and CHSLE Exams in 13 state languages. I thank Hon @DrJitendraSingh for this step and hope it'll be extended to all the exams conducted by Union Govt".

He was responding to Union Minister Jitendra Singh's tweet announcing that the Ministry of Personnel has approved the conduct of the SSC MTS and CHSLE examinations in 13 regional languages.

"In a landmark decision under the leadership of PM Sh @NarendraModi, #DoPT, Ministry of Personnel approves conduct of Staff Selection Commission Multitasking Staff (SSC MTS) examination and CHSLE Examination for government jobs in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English. This provides a level playing field for every youth without the disadvantage of language barrier," Jitendra Singh said in the tweet.

Earlier on April 15, in a landmark decision, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced to conduct of Constable (General Duty) examination for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English.

The examination in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English will be conducted from January 1, 2024, onwards, mentioned an MHA statement. (ANI)
A review meeting was organized by the Director General of Police Ashok Kumar at the Police Headquarters concerning the security of the senior citizens living alone, the Uttarakhand government informed in a press statement on Tuesday. "During the review, the DGP instructed the local police to visit the homes of senior citizens every month to inquire about their well-being and to contact them through telephone/mobile twice a month," the statement read. He directed the local police to inform the senior citizens about the Uttarakhand Police App and Emergency Button (SOS) during the tour and gave point-wise guidelines to the officials. "Women's help desk in charge will be made the nodal officer at the police station level for the safety of senior citizens. At the district level, the Deputy Superintendent of Police (Women Cell) has been nominated as the nodal officer of the Senior Citizen Cell," the DGP said. Uttarakhand DGP further added, "In order to improve the security of senior citizens living alone, social workers of the neighbourhood will be encouraged to help senior citizens". For the safety of senior citizens living alone at home, the local police were instructed to run a campaign to install CCTV cameras with the help of the Mohalla Committee and CSR. The DGP said, "At present, 1067 senior citizens have been identified in the urban areas of the state and 2398 senior citizens have been registered in the Uttarakhand Police App. All the district in-charges were instructed to mark the senior citizens and make a newly updated list." "A detailed format will be made including all the points related to the security of senior citizens. On the basis of the above format, in case of property or any other dispute, the concerned senior citizen will be assisted by counselling," he added. The review will be done every month by Additional Director General of Police, Crime and Law and Order, Uttarakhand at Police Headquarters level for the safety of senior citizens living alone. DGP Ashok Kumar also said that strict action will be taken against the concerned in case of any negligence regarding the safety of senior citizens. V Murugesan, the Additional Director General of Police, Crime and Law and Order, Uttarakhand, P Renuka Devi, the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Crime and Law and Order, Uttarakhand, and several officers and employees of Women's Safety Helpline Cell were also present during the meeting, the statement added. (ANI)
In a shocking incident, a group of villagers of a remote village in Assam's Sonitpur district along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border physically tortured four fellow villagers and branded them as practising witchcraft, police said on Tuesday. However, the police rescued all four victims including a woman from the clutches of the villager group and arrested eight persons in connection with this. The incident took place at Anthaibari and Disabari area under Biswanath police station along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border. A case was registered at Biswanath Chariali police station in connection with the incident. S Hajowary, Officer-in-Charge of Biswanath Chariali police station said that, on April 16, he received information that, some local villagers of Anthaibari and Disabari area along the Assam-Arunachal Pradesh border physically tortured other fellow villagers. "I immediately asked the police of Balisang police outpost to investigate the matter. A police team immediately reached the spot and rescued four persons. Some people in the area were suffering from some ailments for the last couple of days and the local villagers went to a local woman named Anjali Swargiary who is also a priest to take suggestions," the police said. "She told the villagers that, some people of the area are practising witchcraft and for that reason, the villagers are suffering ailments and suggested the villagers to take stern action against them. The local villagers took up four people from the Disabari area and beat them. Later, our team rescued the victims and admitted them to the hospital," S Hajowary added. He further said that the police on Monday night arrested eight persons including women for their involvement in the case and registered a case. The arrested persons were identified as Anjali Swargiary, Dipen Basumatary, Budhiram Basumatary, Sukur Basumatary, Ranjan Basumatary, Baloram Basumatary, Shiva Boro and Bijay Narzary. The police officer further said that the police will take action against the culprits as per law. (ANI)
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)

After six weeks of evidence, closing arguments in the ComEd Four bribery trial, involving an alleged scheme to bribe then-Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, have been set for Monday.

U.S. District Judge Harry Leinenweber told the jurors Wednesday they had heard all the testimony in the case and instructed them to come back Monday morning, when theyll hear some final stipulations followed by closing arguments from both sides.

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Leinenweber did not set a time limit on arguments with the lawyers, but said hed like to get it all in in one day.

Meanwhile, both sides will be in court Thursday for what could be an extensive conference about jury instructions, to decide the specific legal guidelines for the jury during deliberations.

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A total of 13 defense witnesses were called to the stand beginning last week, including two of the four defendants, former ComEd CEO Anne Pramaggiore and ex-ComEd lobbyist John Hooker, who testified on their own behalf.

The pace of the defense case quickened Wednesday after the other two defendants, Michael McClain, a retired lobbyist and longtime Madigan confidant, and Jay Doherty, a lobbyist and former head of the City Club, opted not to testify.

Doherty called one character witness on his behalf, while McClain called no witnesses at all.

It was McClains lawyer, Patrick Cotter, however, who landed perhaps the most memorable lines of the day, suggesting in his questioning of Hooker that the entire premise of the prosecution was ludicrous.

In all your years of experience, did you ever think for one minute that Mike Madigan would risk his speakership and his power to get a few more people some jobs at ComEd? Cotter asked, his voice rising to a shout. Some summer interns? ... Anybody?

No, I did not, Hooker answered.

Its a crazy idea, isnt it? Cotter shot back.

Its a bad idea, Hooker agreed.

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Hooker was among some 50 total witnesses to testify in the trial, which began with jury selection on March 14.

As promised, the case has held up a mirror to Illinois politics on a much larger scale, reflecting the cozy relationships between lobbyists, politicians and clout-heavy public utilities that depend on action in Springfield, where Madigan controlled the fate of virtually every piece of legislation.

It has also featured an only-in-Illinois cast of characters who allegedly benefited from Madigans vaunted political machine.

The jury heard from a sitting legislator, state Rep. Bob Rita, D-Blue Island, who testified memorably last month that Madigan ruled his fellow Democrats through fear and intimidation.

Legendary 13th Ward precinct captain Edward Moody, meanwhile, testified for prosecutors that the speaker got him a $45,000-a-year contract with McClain but made it clear the deal would disappear if he stopped working on campaigns.

And businessman and former McPier boss Juan Ochoa, a onetime nemesis of Madigan, told the jury he used his clout with then-U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez to win the speakers recommendation for a coveted spot on ComEds board.

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Much of the other evidence presented by prosecutors came from the defendants own mouths, through some 100 recorded wiretapped conversations and secretly recorded meetings played for jurors, including many where the defendants talk with startling candor about their mutual interest in keeping Madigan happy.

The indictment alleged the four defendants conspired to illegally reward Madigan in a variety of ways over more than eight years to win his support for ComEds legislative agenda in Springfield.

According to the charges, McClain, Pramaggiore and Hooker steered $1.3 million in payments from ComEd to Madigan-approved subcontractors, including several under Doherty.

The scheme to influence the speaker also included appointing Ochoa to the utilitys board of directors, hiring a clout-heavy law firm headed by political operative Victor Reyes, and stacking the utilitys summer internship program with candidates sent from the 13th Ward.

All four defendants have pleaded not guilty. Their lawyers have contended the government is trying to turn legal lobbying and job recommendations into a crime.

Madigan, who turned 81 on Wednesday, and McClain, 75, face a separate racketeering indictment that is set for trial next year.

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In July 2020, ComEd agreed to pay a record $200 million fine and cooperate with the investigation as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. attorneys office in exchange for bribery charges being dropped in three years.

Any word of the agreement was kept out of the ComEd Four trial, with the judge ruling it would be too prejudicial against the defendants.

The jury did, however, hear testimony Wednesday about Hookers interview with ComEds attorneys in August 2019, before he realized that federal prosecutors had recorded his conversations.

Prosecutors attempted to use his statements in the interview to show that hed changed his story slightly on the witness stand about his role in assigning work to the Doherty subcontractors.

The defense vehemently objected to the line of questioning, and the episode blew over.

In his testimony earlier Wednesday, Hooker was taken line by line through transcripts of the wiretapped recordings at the center of the case, explaining what he meant down to the word, even why he laughed at certain points in the calls.

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[ ComEd Four bribery trial: What you need to know ]

In one of the recordings, McClain told Hooker, We had to hire these guys because Mike Madigan came to us. Its that simple.

Hooker testified he didnt believe it was true that they had to hire anyone.

To me thats just me and McClain joshing around, he said.

Hookers attorney, Jacqueline Jacobson, also asked about the Jan. 29, 2019, lunch meeting at the Union League Club between Hooker and then-ComEd executive Fidel Marquez, who was cooperating with the FBI and secretly video-recorded the conversation.

On the video, when Marquez asked about the Doherty subcontractors, Hooker said, I was the one that, me and McClain, I was the one who created it. And I had to explain it to Frank (Clark).

Later, Hooker told Marquez he oughta have a write-up on each one to explain to incoming ComEd CEO Joe Dominguez.

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Jacobson pointed out that Hooker never tried to end the conversation or looked concerned that theyd be talking about bribery in such a public place. She also asked Hooker whether Marquez ever said in their conversation that the subcontractors didnt do any work.

No, he did not, Hooker answered.

In a series of final questions, Jacobson asked Hooker over and over whether he thought they were illegally influencing Madigan by hiring lobbying subcontractors hed recommended.

Did attempt to corruptly influence Madigan? she repeated.

Each time, Hooker shook his head and said firmly, No.

[ ComEd Four trial: Evidence seen and heard by the jury ]

Through most of his direct testimony, Hooker, 74, cracked jokes and sprinkled in his witty sayings, dubbed Hookerisms, as he took the jury through his remarkable life story, including his rise in the ranks at ComEd.

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On cross-examination Wednesday, Hooker maintained his folksy style, though his answers seemed more rehearsed. He stuck to his main points when asked about what he knew of the Doherty subcontracts, answering in the same language no matter the specific question.

Each time, Hooker said the subcontractor arrangement with Doherty had created goodwill with Madigan because they were able to respond to a recommendation from the speaker. He also made sure to say the subcontractors added value to the company, and that the arrangement was good for him because he didnt have to manage them.

That included the key February 2019 conversation where McClain told Hooker that they had to hire people that Madigan brought to them. Later in that talk, Hooker and McClain lauded each other for coming up with the subcontractor plan, which Hooker said everyone else thought was great once they heard it.

This was the best way to do it, Hooker said. Its clean for all of us.

Again, Hooker testified that clean meant that he didnt have to worry about managing the subcontractors himself.

In another recorded call, from March 6, 2019, McClain told Hooker that hed been able to convince Dominguez to go along with the Doherty contract in about two minutes, prompting Hooker to laugh.

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Asked why he was laughing, Hooker said, I laughed just because thats the way I am.

Listen to the audio:

When Assistant U.S. Attorney Julia Schwartz asked about the hiring of former 13th Ward Ald. Frank Olivo in 2011, Hooker said he brought value to ComEd because of his City Hall connections, but acknowledged that he never gave Olivo a specific project to work on.

I assumed that whatever project Jay was working on, theyd give it to him, he said.

Hooker denied statements made in the wiretaps that he often talked to Speaker Madigan about the subcontractors.

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No, I have not talked to the speaker about subcontracting, he said.

Hooker defended Madigan having his House staffs political point man, Will Cousineau, go out to rally support for the massive 2016 utility legislation dubbed the Future Energy Jobs Act.

Cousineau, who later worked as a contract lobbyist for ComEd after leaving Madigans staff, testified under an immunity agreement from prosecutors, providing what they will argue was evidence of Madigan putting his finger on the scale for the utility.

Hooker, however, testified the Future Energy Jobs Act had broad support from a variety of constituencies that were important to the speaker, and that supporting it was simply politically expedient.

Hooker also said that rallying support was just part of Cousineaus job.

Nothing wrong with it, he said.

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Madigan did not cast a vote for or against the bill, leaving a publicly available roll call on the bill that would suggest he remained neutral or did not take an active role in the bills fate.

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Former ComEd executive John Hooker, left, a defendant charged in the ComEd bribery scheme, leaves the Dirksen U.S. Courthouse in Chicago on April 12, 2023. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune)

Prosecutors have shown the jury Madigans voting record in an attempt to portray how power in Springfield often goes unspoken.

Its something Hooker certainly understood after decades of lobbying in the state legislature and City Hall. In fact, he even had a Hookerism for it.

That which is understood need not be mentioned, Hooker said on one call with McClain that was played for the jury.

Right, McClain replied. Exactly.

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jmeisner@chicagotribune.com

rlong@chicagotribune.com
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury has hit out at West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and said that the West Bengal Chief Minister's "magic" was fading away, while also adding that her "delusion" will diminish in the future. Taking swipe at the West Bengal Chief Minister, Chowdhury said that there are more pending cases from the state alone with the CBI than it is for the rest of India. While talking to the media on Tuesday, Chowdhury said, "Mamata Banerjee's magic is fading away and lots of people are joining Congress. As time progresses, this delusion of Mamata Banerjee will fade away." "Each and every district (in West Bengal) is tormented, and the amount of pending cases with CBI in West Bengal alone is more than the whole of India. Politicians (TMC) are looting the people of West Bengal," the Congress MP added. His remarks come after CBI on Monday arrested Trinamool Congress (TMC) MLA Jiban Krishna Saha in the West Bengal teachers' recruitment scam case. Saha is an MLA from the Burwan Constituency of West Bengal. He was arrested from his residence in Burwan in Murshidabad district. On Sunday evening in the course of the CBI raid, a mobile phone of the TMC MLA was fished out from a pond next to the MLA's house. The agency retrieved the phone after pumping out all water from the pond. CBI conducted searches at six locations on April 14 including at the premises of Saha in an ongoing investigation of the alleged West Bengal teachers' recruitment scam. The CBI teams conducted searches at Saha's premises in Birbhum, Murshidabad and Kolkata. The case was registered on the orders of the High Court of Calcutta. It was alleged that the accused acted as a conduit in collecting money from the candidates by promising them jobs in the education department as teachers in the recruitment process of the first West Bengal State Level Selection Test (SLST) 2016 for classes 9 and 10. During searches, several incriminating materials including primary and upper teachers' recruitment and documents containing the list of the candidates and amounts mentioned against them were recovered. He was arrested after detailed questioning by CBI officials. Saha is now the third TMC MLA after Partha Chatterjee and Manik Bhattacharya to be arrested by CBI in its probe into the matter. (ANI)
Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former chief minister BS Yediyurappa's son BY Vijayendra, who got the party ticket from Shikaripura on Wednesday, hit out at Congress for creating a divide in the Lingayat community and assured that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP enjoy the full support of the community. This comes after Jagadish Shettar became the second senior leader from the Lingayat community to leave the ruling BJP and join Congress in less than a week. Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi joined the Congress on Friday. While talking to ANI, Vijayendra said, "People in Karnataka know who has ditched the Lingayat community. Everyone knows that it was the Congress party that fought against the Lingayat community. So, I am confident, not only the lingayat community but every section of other communities will support BJP and they will support Narendra Modi ji." "The lingayat community is not with the family but with BJP. Ofcourse we are happy and proud that they have trusted Yediyurappa's leadership and at the same time they trust PM Narendra Modi ji's leadership also. The community is strongly behind BJP and the Prime Minister," he added. Alleging Congress of corruption and denying the party's 40 per cent government allegations, Vijayendra said, "As far as corruption is concerned, the people of Karnataka and the rest of the country know about the doings of the Congress party. Everyone whats to see the double-engine government as they want to prosper under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi as well as BJP Karnataka." Exuding happiness for contesting his first election from Shikaripura, Vijayendra said, "Shikaripura constituency is important for BJP. For the past 40 years, the constituency has been blessing my father Yediyurappa ji. I am happy that I will be contesting my first election from this constituency." "People of Karnataka trust PM Modi ji's leadership. All the leaders of the BJP in Karnataka are working together. I have full faith that BJP will be elected with full majority in the state once again," he added. On contesting the forthcoming elections without Yediyurappa, he said, "This is a challenge in front of the BJP. This is because it is the first time that we are contesting the elections without Yediyurappa ji. Despite the resignation, Yediyurappa is leading from the front so we believe that under his leadership and the leadership of CM Basavaraj Bommai, we will come back to power in Karnataka." Accusing Congress of creating a divide in the Lingayat Community, he said, "Nothing new for Congress party. If you see, when Siddaramaiah was CM of Karnataka and when he completed his five years, everyone thought that Congress is going to come back to power. But when they saw that they are not going to come back to power because of Yediyurappa ji and BJP, they created a divide in the lingayat community. Congress can stoop to any level." BJP national president JP Nadda on Tuesday slammed the Congress saying that the party that divided the country for seven decades is now itself divided. "In the 70 years of Congress (rule) there was division, division, division and only division. Divide society as much as you can-- north-south, language, caste, creed, religion. The fact is, by dividing and dividing, they themselves are divided now. BJP is unity in diversity," Nadda said. Nadda's stinging remarks came while interacting with intellectuals at BVB Engineering College Auditorium, Vidhya Nagar, in the city. BJP president JP Nadda, who was in Karnataka, attacked the Congress on Tuesday accusing its leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of being a "patron" of PFI. "Former CM Siddaramaiah from Congress party withdrew cases against PFI, released 1,700 PFI activists from jail...Siddaramaiah is their patron...," Nadda said in Hubballi. The Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) in September last year. The Congress on Tuesday announced its candidate against Chief Minister Bommai from Shiggaon. The party has fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur from the seat. The party announced seven candidates on Tuesday and fielded former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar from Hubli-Dharwad-Central. Jagadish Shettar's resignation from BJP and his joining Congress on Monday has made Hubballi-Dharwad Central a key battle in the assembly polls. Shettar, a six-time MLA, represented the seat in the outgoing assembly and was keen to be given a ticket from the constituency. Basavaraj Bommai said voters from the Lingayat community "are vigilant and "have taken right decision when required". "Lingayat voters in Karnataka are vigilant and they have always taken the right decision when required. Congress Party has shown special love for them (Lingayat) after the Assembly elections were announced but it's the same party which tried to divide the Lingayats and Veerashaivas. The people have not forgotten the divide-and-rule policy of the Congress party," Bommai told reporters. "All those leaders who joined Congress during the election would not make any impact on the BJP's prospects. This time, the BJP will win more seats than in the 2018 Assembly polls," he added. The term of the current Karnataka Legislative Assembly will end on May 24. The counting of votes for the 224-seat Assembly will be done on May 13. (ANI)
The Madurai bench of the Madras High Court on Wednesday dismissed two separate petitions seeking an order to the authorities to ensure that the COVID-19 guidelines are followed and basic amenities are provided to the public during the upcoming Madurai Chithirai festival later in the month. The festival is celebrated during the Tamil month of Chithirai. Chithirai Festival, also known as Chithirai Thiruvizha, Meenakshi Kalyanam or Meenakshi Thirukalyanam is the celestial wedding of Goddess Meenakshi and Lord Sundareswarar. The festival lasts for one month. The first 15 days mark the celebrations of the coronation of Meenakshi as the divine ruler of Madurai and her marriage to Sundareshwar. In 2022, two people died after a huge crowd thronged Chithirai festival celebrations in Tamil Nadu's Madurai. (ANI)
A 30-year-old youth was arrested for sharing a provocative remark about the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed over social media in Madhya Pradesh's Dhar district, a police official said on Wednesday. The youth has been identified as Farhan Pathan (30), a resident of Sadar Bazar under Nalchha police station limits in the district. Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead by men posing as press persons on Saturday night (April 15) while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh. Both the gangsters collapsed on the spot after they were shot at nearly point-blank range. On April 17, Farhan shared a post on social media in which he wrote in Hindi 'Janjeeron Se Bandhe Sheron Par Kutton Ka Hamla (dogs attack chained lions)". As soon as the activists of Hindu organisation came to know about the post they raised objections against the post and reached Nalchha police station in the early hours of April 18 around 1 am. They submitted a complaint to the police against Farhan. Nalchha police station in-charge Abhinav Shukla said, "Acting on the complaint, the police registered a case against the said youth under IPC section 153 A (Whoever commits an offence in any place of worship or in any assembly engaged in the performance of religious worship or religious ceremonies)." The police arrested the accused and sent him to jail. Further investigation into the matter is underway and action will be taken accordingly, he added. Notably, the three shooters Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh and Lovelesh Tiwari, who killed gangster Atiq and his brother, were sent to 14-day judicial custody by the district court on April 16. On April 16, the last rites of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf took place at a family graveyard in the Kasari Masari area of Prayagraj. (ANI)
Amid speculations of Ajit Pawar joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, Maharashtra BJP President Chandrashekhar Bawankule on Wednesday said that the NCP leader or any person who wants to join the party would be welcomed. "The doors of the party are open for everyone who works for the country and believes in BJP's ideology," Chandrashekhar Bawankule said. However, former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, Ajit Pawar on Tuesday dismissed "rumours" about switching over to the BJP and emphasised that he would remain with the NCP. "No truth in the rumours spread about me. I am with the NCP and will remain with the party," Ajit Pawar told the media. Bawankule said that PM Modi has resolved to make India number one in the world by 2035, and whoever wants to join this resolution will be welcomed by the BJP. The Maharashtra BJP chief termed the news about Ajit Pawar as imaginary. "No such proposal has come to the BJP. There is no discussion. Ajit Pawar has made no contact with the BJP and the party is also not in touch with him," he said. "Yesterday Ajit Pawar himself while talking to the press in Mumbai denied all the news and said that he will remain in NCP only," he added. On Tuesday, Ajit Pawar's uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar tweeted," Ajit Pawar is busy with election-related work. All this talk is only in the media." Ajit Pawar also in a tweet issued a stout denial of the news reports, "There are some media reports saying that I have convened a meeting of the (NCP) MLAs on Tuesday. This is completely false. I wish to clarify that I have not called a meeting of my party MLAs and office bearers." There was a buzz about Ajit Pawar joining the BJP after the NCP leader recently hailed the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi while adding he had full faith in Electronic Voting Machines (EVMs), in a remark seen as a departure from the Opposition line on the subject. (ANI)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has dismissed a police officer for his alleged involvement in drug smuggling and asked the vigilance department to probe his wealth in order to confiscate the drug money. The police officer was identified as Raj Jit Singh, posted in the Provincial Police Service. The action was taken based on a report submitted by an SIT, which was submitted regarding the involvement of Punjab Police officials with the drug traffickers. "Exhibiting zero tolerance policy against those involved in heinous crime of drug smuggling, Chief Minister @BhagwantMann terminated the services of PPS officer Rajjit Singh, after his involvement has surfaced in this grave crime against humanity. CM categorically said that those who have ruined youth of Punjab through drugs won't be spared adding that he had asked the Vigilance Bureau to probe about the wealth amassed by Rajjit by drug money so that it can also be confiscated," Punjab Chief Minister Office tweeted on April 17. SIT also suggested an enquiry about the disproportionate assets of Raj Jit Singh, as per the press release by the government of Punjab. The Chief Minister also wrote a letter to the Director General of Police, Punjab and directed to take immediate action as per law, against another dismissed ORP (Own Rank Promotion) Inspector Inderjit Singh who was also allegedly involved with Raj Jit Singh, the release stated. The Chief Minister directed the DGP to depute a senior IPS officer to investigate the case and submit the report in a month, the release said. An FIR was filed against PPS officer Inderjit Singh under section 59 (2)(b) NDPS (Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances) Act, 218, 466,471, 120-B of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) in June 2017. (ANI)
Delhi [India], April 19 (India): Delhi Police DCP, outer district, Harendra Singh flagged off two ambulances to help families transport bodies of their kin free of cost to their native places and to the mortuary. The ambulances were launched under the community policing initiative 'Antim Safar' from the DCP office complex on Tuesday. According to a statement, the ambulances will be deployed free of cost by the NGO under the jurisdiction of the Outer District. "The services of these ambulances will be utilized for transporting the bodies to their native places as well as transportation of unclaimed dead bodies found during the Police Control Room (PCR) calls to the mortuary," the statement said. It further said that the telephone number of the ambulance service was displayed at prominent places of the Outer District to enable more people to avail of the free ambulance service. "The NGO was also encouraged for their contribution towards this noble cause," the statement said. Taking to Twitter DCP Harendra Singh said on Wednesday, "Flagged off two ambulances in the outer district, Delhi. Under community policing initiative 'Antim Safar' in association with NGO 'Shanti Sewa Sansthan'. These ambulances will be available to the families to transport the dead bodies free of cost to their native places as well as to the mortuary." (ANI)
Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader Mukul Roy on Wednesday said that he has resigned from the TMC party and if BJP entrusts him with the responsibility he will take it. While addressing the press conference in Delhi, Mukul Roy said, "There is no question of resigning from TMC. I am not even a part of it. I have already resigned from TMC". "Previously I was in BJP and again I will be in the same party. If BJP entrusts me with responsibilities I will duly take it," he added. Earlier Leader of Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari said that West Bengal BJP is not interested in bringing rejected leaders from the other parties. "We are not interested in these types of people. We are interested in strengthening the booth. West Bengal BJP is now very self-independent. We don't need to bring any leaders. We are not allowing this type of rejected people," Suvendu Adhikari had said. A missing complaint regarding TMC MLA Mukul Roy was lodged at Kolkata's NSCBI Airport police station by his son Subhranshu Roy on Monday night. Asked why he had filed a missing report of his father Mukul Roy, Subhranshu said, "I know he has gone to Delhi but I do not know where in Delhi he has gone. My father is not well. His phone is also switched off." Subhranshu said Mukul Roy had brain surgery a few days ago. "I do not know anything about how he suddenly went to Delhi. When I got the news yesterday, I went to the Kolkata airport and appealed to the airport authority and the airport police station to bring Mukul Roy back. But Airport Authority and Central Industrial Security Force did not cooperate in any way showing the flight takeoff protocol," Subhranshu said. Former Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy is an MLA from the Krishnanagar North and had contested the polls on a BJP ticket. After he joined TMC, BJP demanded the cancellation of Roy's membership from the Assembly. (ANI)
The Supreme Court on Wednesday trashed the Centre's submission that petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage merely reflect urban elitist views. The court further countered another submission on the adoption rights of same-sex couples which said that it will have a psychological impact on the adopted children. The government has no data to show that this is an urban elitist concept or something, observed the five-judge Constitution bench led by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud while considering the petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage. The Centre in its fresh application moved on Sunday raising preliminary objection on the petitions, has said that petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage merely reflect urban elitist views. The court countered the submission and said that something which is innate could not have a class bias. The court also remarked that since one of the gay or lesbian couples can still adopt a child, the argument that this will create a psychological impact on the child is belied. CJI Chandrachud, however, also remarked when one of the gay or lesbian couples can still adopt a child but the child loses the benefits of parenthood of both parents. The argument that went on for hours witnessed an exchange of various submissions from all parties connected to the case. When the hearing began in the morning, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta apprised the Supreme Court that the Centre has filed a fresh affidavit urging the top court to make States and Union Territories parties in the case. The Centre apprised the SC that the Union of India has issued a letter dated April 18, 2023, to all States inviting comments and views on the seminal issue raised in the present batch of petitions. CJI DY Chandrachud remarked that it is excellent that the Centre has now informed the states that the matter is going on. So now it is not that the states are unaware, the court said. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners submitted that the Supreme Court has already granted the rights to the members of the LGBTQIA++ community and that he was not reinventing the wheel. Advocate Rohtagi read out various passages of Navtej Singh Johar's matter in which the court had held that sexual orientation falls in the zone of privacy. He further argued that the principle of Constitutional Morality must guide the Court, which is inhered in the Preamble and added that Supreme Court has observed in Navtej Singh Johar's case that decriminalisation is the first step. Citing top court judgements, he said that SC has held that any person has the fundamental right to marry a person of one's own choice. Advocate Rohtagi thereafter discussed at length the provisions of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to interpret it to include the LGBTQAI++ community within its scope and granting the right of solemnisation of their marriage within its provisions. As a matter of proper reading of the Special Marriage Act, Rohtagi submitted that the words "woman" and "man" should be read as "person" and the words "husband" and "wife" be read as "spouse". Thereafter, Rohtagi read multiple provisions including Sections 2, 4, 22, 27, 36 and 37 of the Special Marriage Act, 1954 to propose workability of solemnisation and/or registration of marriages of same-sex couples under thereto. Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi was assisted by senior advocates Saurabh Kirpal, Maneka Guruswamy, advocate Arundhati Katju and a team of advocates from Karanjawala & Co. Advocates including Tahira Karanjawala and Niharika Karanjawala. Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing for one of the petitioners, also emphasised granting the right of marriage to same-sex couples as it pointed out that marriage is important due to the sense of security it provides to couples. He asked why should there be an exclusion of one set of couples and added that the petitioners are seeking marriage equality because it provides financial support, security and other matters such as adoption. Petitioner's lawyer asserted that marital status by itself is a source of dignity, fulfilment and self-respect as a core member of society. The hearing on the matter will continue tomorrow. (ANI)
Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting of the Head of Departments of the member-states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), dealing with the Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations, here in the national capital on Thursday. Shah will also hold bilateral meetings with the Ministers of some of the SCO member-states, on the sidelines of the SCO meeting. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been actively participating in SCO and providing substantial support to various mechanisms in the forum. Since its accession as a full-fledged Member State in 2017, India has maintained an active engagement with the organisation. India is focusing on initiating proposals for the mutual benefit of the SCO Member States, Observers and Dialogue Partners. During the meeting of Heads of Departments of SCO Member States for Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations, the delegates from SCO member-states will share information relating to the large-scale emergency situations which occurred in their respective territories and the measures taken to handle them. The delegates will also share their views on the innovative practices, technologies and future prospects for cooperation in the field of prevention and elimination of emergency situations within the framework of the SCO. Based on these deliberations, the Member-States will enhance cooperation in the field of preparedness, and emergency response and jointly mitigate the impact arising out of natural and man-made disasters within the framework of the SCO. The participants will also discuss and approve the Action plan for the implementation of the Agreement between the SCO member-states on cooperation in providing assistance in the elimination of emergency situation in 2023-2025. The action plan will contribute to stepping up cooperation in dealing with the prevention and elimination of emergency situations among SCO Member-States. India assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO at the 2022 SCO Summit held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). As the current Chair, India will host the next Summit of the Council of Heads of State this year. (ANI)
Limestone boulders line Burnham Parks Promontory Point in the East Hyde Park neighborhood, Feb. 8, 2023. In the early 2000s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers replaced much of Chicagos shoreline barriers with concrete revetments due to erosion from the lake waves. Promontory Point was the only spot where the original limestone steps were left in place because of an outcry by residents. They have been fighting to save the steps ever since. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Even as advocates celebrated the Chicago City Councils vote Wednesday to make Promontory Point a historic landmark, they still called for vigilance.

You never know with the Park District. You never know with the city, said Jack Spicer, one of the leaders of the Promontory Point Conservancy community group. Its a wonderful public testimony on their part that they care about the point. Its really good news in the neighborhood and the whole city too because they stopped and took a good look at the value here and decided it was worth protecting.

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Residents have been fighting to save the original limestone steps on the peninsula along Lake Michigan between 53rd and 57th streets for more than 20 years. In the early 2000s, much of the Chicago lakefront, made earlier from limestone steps, was replaced with concrete to combat erosion.

[ The fight to save Promontory Points limestone steps has lasted more than 20 years. Officials are onboard, but residents are wary. ]

We need to just make sure that the Army Corps of Engineers makes good on the promise and the money weve secured to shore up the foundation of the point for years and years to come, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said during Wednesdays City Council meeting.

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Fifth Ward Ald. Leslie Hairston, a longtime supporter of protecting Promontory Point, said landmarking was a lengthy process but that it demonstrates the tenacity of the community.

The people that are here today with my community have stood with me for 23 years in making sure this happened, Hairston said. This is a testament to what happens when we put all of our efforts and our resources together and the types of things we can accomplish, so thank you.

Hairston will step down in May after first taking office in 1999.

Desmon Yancy, the newly elected 5th Ward alderman, said he is grateful to Hairston for her efforts and plans to continue her legacy of supporting the point.

Ive been hanging out at the point since 1985, Yancy said Tuesday ahead of the vote. I know the impact its had on others. Its been able to maintain the character that has made it such an important landmark in peoples lives here on the South Side.

But Promontory Point conservancy leaders, including Spicer and Debra Hammond, have concerns that being a city landmark is still not enough to ensure the limestone steps will be preserved.

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, said Hammond in a conservancy newsletter in March. Promontory Point has never been in as safe a place and in as dangerous a place as it is right now.

The conservancy members say their uncertainty is because of uneven protections.

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Ice and snow on Promontory Point's limestone border on Feb. 8, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Limestone rocks on the southern edge of Promontory Point, on Feb. 8, 2023. (E. Jason Wambsgans / Chicago Tribune)

Promontory Point is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places. National guidelines state historic properties must be used and preserved as they were historically, but there can be exceptions under any of these protections.

In any landmark, like if they landmarked the Sears Tower, if for some reason it turned out it was rotten to the core and they had to tear it down for public safety, they can do that, Spicer said. This is the question. Theyre not saying absolutely never would they demolish the revetment.

The Chicago Park District, which oversees and maintains Promontory Point, under national guidelines, is allowed to replace aspects of the point with similar fixtures for restorative purposes. For example, if one of the original trees cannot be replaced by the same type, it can be substituted with a similar species.

After many years of advocating for replacing the limestone revetment with concrete, the Park District stated its commitment in January to preserving the limestone.

The Park District, along with the city and USACE, is committed to rehabilitating the existing limestone at Promontory Point. The Park District has long supported a preservation-focused approach to rehabilitate the historic gem and upholds the pursuit for landmark designation to ensure the unique character and integrity of the Point for future generations, the Park District said in a statement Wednesday.

The Park District did not respond to questions about why officials previously pushed for a concrete replacement.

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Given similar mixed messages in the past, residents have been wary of promises of support.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers announced separate funding for Promontory Point in January to allow the city to develop a plan to reduce risk to the lakefront from coastal storm damage while preserving the existing structure.

[ How bitter cold winter blasts and a warming planet will chew up the Lake Michigan shoreline, faster and faster ]

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According to Mike Padilla, senior project manager for the Army Corps project, the Army Corps has just begun the consultation process, adhering to guidelines outlined by the National Historic Preservation Act. He said this process includes evaluating options to mitigate impact to historic structures, such as the limestone, while simultaneously prioritizing storm damage protection.

In addition, the Seattle and Buffalo districts of USACE will be conducting a third party review of the Promontory Point feature, Padilla said earlier this week. The review will utilize any pertinent information on Promontory Point such as previous reports as well as future design efforts by the city.

Padilla said this process will inform the appropriate historic treatment for the design.

The city funding totals $5 million for the design, which Padilla said will likely all be needed to complete the process. The funding for the third-party review amounts to $450,000. Padilla noted that additional funding will need to be appropriated by the federal government and city for construction.

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No matter how the design takes shape, something will need to be done to protect the shoreline from wave damage. Though the point has weathered decades of coastal storms, the limestone requires upkeep to protect the natural area residents love.

The historical context of what this land has meant to folks here in Chicago is much more than any of us know, Yancy said. Were beginning a new chapter in the story of Hyde Park and Promontory Point.

Ezra Maille is a freelancer.
President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday called on educational institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research on the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region. President Murmu was addressing the 26th convocation of Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla. "The climate of Himachal Pradesh attracts people from across the world. This region of the Himalayas is rich in fauna and flora. But climate change is affecting the ecology of this region also," President Droupadi Murmu said. "It is the need of hour to move forward together towards the goal of sustainable development while conserving the rich natural heritage of the state. Therefore, it is the duty of institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research and innovation keeping in mind the needs of the local community and the ecological challenges of the region and contribute to eco-friendly development," she further said Speaking about Himachal Pradesh University the President said," since its inception in 1970, Himachal Pradesh University has played a very important role in the field of higher education. The alumni of this University have left their mark in various fields including arts, medicine, judiciary, sports, social service, politics and administration." The president also exhorted the graduating students to connect their individual goals to national goals. "While entering a new phase of life they should connect their individual goals with the national goals and contribute to the development of the country by marching forward in their chosen fields." "it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform," she added. The president also talked about the strides made by the Indian youth. "youth of our country are making a mark across the world with their talent. Many of them have established start-ups and set great examples of success. Innovation is the main element of these start-ups," The president said. President Droupadi Murmu presented Gold Medals to 10 meritorious students including seven girls during the 26th Annual Convocation of Himachal Pradesh University. In the Convocation, as many as 99 Students were given Ph. D. degrees including 59 females and 40 males and 111 Gold medals were presented to 34 males and 77 females. The chancellor of the University and Himachal Pradesh governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, and chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu were among the dignitaries in the convocation ceremony. (ANI)
No casualties have been reported so far.

"A fire broke out in the West Cloth godown in the Thana Bhojpur area of Moradabad which engulfed the entire area," an official said.

One fire tender is at the spot to douse flames.

As per visuals, a huge cloud of smoke was seen going up in the sky due to the high flames of the fire.

Further details are awaited.

Earlier a fire broke out in a factory in the Swadeshi Compound Industry area of Ghaziabad on Sunday late evening.

No casualties were reported. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said the Global Buddhist Summit brings together people, who have worked to popularise the ideals of Lord Buddha further. Prime Minister Modi took to Twitter to say," At 10 am tomorrow, 20th April, will address the Global Buddhist Summit in Delhi. This Summit brings together various people who have worked to popularise the ideals of Lord Buddha further". "Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural session of the Global Buddhist Summit on 20th April 2023 at 10 AM at Hotel Ashok in Delhi," stated a press release. The theme of the event Global Buddhist Summit is 'Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis.' "The two-day Summit is being hosted by the Ministry of Culture in collaboration with International Buddhist Confederation on 20-21 April. The theme of the Global Buddhist Summit is "Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis," the release added. The discussions at summit will revolve around the fundamental values of Lord Buddha's Dhammas. "The Summit is an effort towards engaging the global Buddhist Dhamma leadership and scholars on matters of Buddhist and universal concerns, and to come up with policy inputs to address them collectively. The discussion at the Summit will explore how the Buddha Dhamma's fundamental values can provide inspiration and guidance in contemporary settings," an official statement said. "The discussions will be held under four themes: Buddha Dhamma and Peace; Buddha Dhamma: Environmental Crisis, Health and Sustainability; Preservation of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition; Buddha Dhamma Pilgrimage, Living Heritage and Buddha Relics: a resilient foundation to India's centuries-old cultural links to countries in South, South-East and East Asia," it added. The summit will witness the participation of eminent scholars, Sangha leaders and Dharma practitioners from all over the world, who will discuss pressing global issues and look for answers in the Buddha Dhamma that are based on universal values, an official statement mentioned. (ANI)
One death was reported in the past 24 hours while 431 people recovered in the same period, it said.

Last week on Thursday, the state government decided to make wearing masks mandatory in hospitals. The health department at the state Cabinet meeting gave a presentation of the Covid preparedness in the state.

The Cabinet has also appealed to the people not to panic as the virus is mild. Cabinet Minister Harshvardhan Chauhan said, "Today cabinet has made it mandatory to wear masks in the hospitals so that there is nothing to panic about, the situation is normal in the state, and everything is under control."

After six days of a nationwide falling trend in COVID cases, India reported a hike on Wednesday with 10,542 new infections, according to the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

The country had seen a declining graph in the past five days from April 14 to April 18 when 11,109 and 7,633 cases were reported respectively. India recorded 9,111 on April 17, 10,093 on April 16, and 10,753 on April 15. (ANI)
A man was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation while landing at Mumbai Airport from Singapore in a case related to extortion from a builder, said an official release of CBI. According to CBI, the accused was absconding since 2005. Detailing the incident, the release said, "CBI had registered the instant case on April 7, 2016, at the request of the Maharashtra Government. This case was initially registered in Tilak Nagar police station, Mumbai on December 13, 2005." "The police registered the case on the allegations that the accused person belonging to organized crime had extorted Rs. 20 lakh from the complainant and further attempted to extort another Rs 20 lacks from the complainant and others under the threats of murder," added the release. The release said, "The Complainant had further alleged that the accused and their associates were extorting large sums of money from the developers, who undertook the redevelopment work of old buildings in Tilak Nagar, Naidu Colony, Ghatkopar and other areas of Mumbai." Based on these allegations, the case was transferred to DCB, CID of Mumbai Police. The DCB, CID, Mumbai filed a charge sheet and two supplementary charge sheets against 11 accused. Informing about the investigation, the release said, "The said accused was absconding since 2005. A red corner notice was issued against him through International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) in 2012. Subsequently, a request for extradition of the accused absconding was also sent to Singapore through the Ministry of External Affairs." "During further investigation, CBI filed a supplementary charge sheet against three accused before the Designated Court at Mumbai," added the release. The release mentioned that an application was filed in Competent Court stating his surrender before the Trail Court. Based on the application, the accused was arrested at Mumbai airport and was sent for judicial custody till May 2. "An application was filed before the Competent Court on behalf of said absconding accused for his surrender before the Trial Court. The absconding accused while landing at Mumbai Airport from Singapore was secured by the Bureau of Immigration Department and was handed over to CBI by the Immigration Department officials," said the release. "The arrested accused was produced before the Trial Court, Mumbai and was remanded to judicial custody till May 2," added the release. (ANI)
"In its commitment towards making the International Border crime-free, vigilant troops of 110 Bn BSF Meghalaya rescued 22 cattle from the bordering area of East Khasi Hills which were meant to be smuggled to Bangladesh through the International Border," the BSF said in a statement.

"In the night intervening 18th and 19th April 2023, the cattle were being brought towards the international boundary covertly along the banks of river Shella. Acting on a specific tip-off, BSF laid a special ambush and seized all the cattle although miscreants/smugglers fled away from the spot," it added.

BSF further mentioned that cattle seized in the operation were handed over to the local police.

In another operation, BSF Meghalaya foiled a smuggling attempt and seized 3,380 spectacles worth Rs 16 lakh.

"On the same day troops of 193 Bn BSF Meghalaya foiled a smuggling attempt by seizing 3380 Nos of Spectacles worth Rs 16 Lakh while being smuggled to Bangladesh," it said. (ANI)
Lashing out at Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state chief Arun Sao said that CM Baghel should focus on incidents of crime taking place here in the state as CM Yogi Adityanath can take care of law and order in Uttar Pradesh. "The way crimes are taking place in Kabirdham, Sukma, Biranpur and other parts of the state, Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel should focus on Chhattisgarh. He is the Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh. Adityanath ji has taken care of Uttar Pradesh and the people of UP know very well what is the situation there and how the rule of law and order is in that state," stated Sao while speaking to ANI on Wednesday. Earlier, CM Baghel in a comment to the media questioned the law and order situation in UP after the murder of mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed. Commenting on the harassment allegation levelled by the Assam Youth Congress chief on IYC chief, Sao said, "This issue has once again confirmed that the speech and action of Congress are different. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi has given the slogan 'Ladki Hoon Lad Sakti Hoon', therefore she should stand with the Assam Youth Congress chief."Meanwhile, supporting the allegation levelled by BJP national president J P Nadda on Congress indulging in divisive politics over the last 70 years, Sao said, "Like the British, Congress follows the tactic of creating divide and rule. To make people in the society fight each other, create divide and appeasement are significant parts of Congress's politics and it is correct that Congress has been doing the politics of division."He also asked Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel to clear his stand on the delisting issue.Responding to the allegation levelled by Congress that BJP is spreading hatred on the Biranpur incident, Sao stated that BJP neither engage in spreading hatred nor supports such a mindset. The Biranpur incident took place due to the appeasement policy of the Congress-led government in Chhattisgarh, he added."People in large numbers indulged in the murder of Bhuneshwar Sahu at Biranpur. Still, no action was taken in this matter (on the first day 11 accused persons were arrested in connection with the incident), and police as well as administration are harassing the villagers", alleged Sao, adding that the approach of the state government in this incident showcases its one-sided action and appeasement. (ANI)
The decision of a caste census was taken by the Bihar cabinet on June 2, last year, months after the Centre ruled out conducting such an exercise nationally.

The first phase of the caste-based census in Bihar began on January 7 and ended on January 21.

Informing about the involvement of people in the second phase of the caste-based census, DM Singh said, "All the families are sharing information positively".

The second phase of the survey will involve gathering data on people from all castes, sub-castes, and socioeconomic conditions backgrounds.

The survey, in its second phase, would cover an estimated population of 12.70 crores across 2.58 crore households in 38 districts, further spread over 534 blocks and 261 urban local bodies. The survey would be completed by May 31, this year.

A caste-based headcount will be conducted across all 38 districts in two stages. (ANI)
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) India has taken suo motu cognizance of a media report on several deaths due to the consumption of spurious liquor in various districts of Bihar. Expressing serious concern over the reported hooch tragedy, the Commission has issued notices to the Chief Secretary and the Director General of Police, Bihar calling for a detailed report within six weeks. As many as 22 people died after allegedly consuming spurious liquor in Motihari last week. In the notice, the commission asked to include the status of the FIR registered by the police, medical treatment of the victims, who are hospitalized, and compensation if any, granted to the aggrieved families. The Commission also asked to inform about the action taken against the delinquent officers, responsible for the tragedy. Issuing the notices, the Commission said, "By the contents of the media report, if true, indicate that the State Government, prima-facie, is not attentive enough in the implementation of its policy of prohibition of sale and consumption of illicit/spurious liquor implemented in Bihar since April 2016." "The unabated happening of incidents of liquor tragedy of this magnitude is a serious issue causing the violation of rights to life of vulnerable people," added the notice. Highlighting the deaths report in another hooch tragedy in December 2022, the commission wrote, "It may be recalled that in December 2022 also, several deaths were reported in a hooch tragedy in Bihar, and the Commission sent its own team for an on-the-spot investigation into the matter after taking suo motu cognizance of media reports. That case is already under consideration by the Commission." Over 70 people were killed due to the consumption of spurious liquor at a local joint in the Saran district of Bihar's Chhapra in December 2022. (ANI)
Additional Director General (Region) PIB Chandigarh, Rajinder Chaudhry chaired a meeting of the Inter-Media Publicity Coordination Committee (IMPCC) on Wednesday and said that collaboration and teamwork is the key to amplify the results of the efforts of various government departments in the region. The meeting was organized today by Press Information Bureau, Chandigarh at the UT State Guest House, Chandigarh. IMPCC meeting is convened to provide a platform for members from different departments to highlight their activities and initiatives, by magnifying the impact of its schemes and activities. The meeting facilitates the exchange of ideas and information about government initiatives and strives to give the best media coverage to their events through print media and social media through pages of various social media handles and websites through information and graphics wherever possible, and also helps to arrange press conferences or media briefings on the events of local and national importance in the region. During the meeting, Rajinder Chaudhry highlighted the working of the Press Information Bureau, Chandigarh and the Central Bureau of Communication, Chandigarh region. Chaudhry said, "There is an essential need for strengthening inter-media relations between different media units of the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, state DIPR and Central Government Departments in the region." He also stressed the cooperation between the departments in giving meaningful information and better media integration and synergy in achieving better media coverage of the schemes. During the meeting, the inputs were taken from the designated Nodal Officers from the participating government departments and various action points and modalities were also worked out and suggestions were put forth for assisting in the formulation of better visibility and coverage as well as feedback strategies. The meeting emphasized the strategy to achieve this objective, by designing their publicity programmes in a better-structured manner to attract the maximum local participation and also to highlight the schemes through success stories to attract the public attention to generating greater awareness and vigilance among the masses. Several central as well as state departments participated in the meeting and shared their PR and other activities with PIB and CBC for further amplification of their efforts. IMPCC members from NSO also felicitated ADG Region Chaudhry and other members with publicity material with the tagline 'data for development'. (ANI)
A person walks through the halls of the Illinois State Capitol in Springfield on Jan. 10, 2023. (Brian Cassella / Chicago Tribune)

It was Lord John Dalberg-Acton, a historian, who famously said, Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely.

How do we keep power in check? Expanding the recall mechanism in the Illinois Constitution could have a positive impact on representation and allow citizens to exercise greater control over democracy. According to the Civic Federation, Illinois has 8,923 local governments, and that adds up to thousands of elected officials.

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Recall is an instrument dating to the Roman republic. The process of recall allows citizens to remove elected representatives from office through a vote or petition before the end of their terms. It is often referred to as a safety valve for citizens when a politician is not working in the publics best interest.

In Illinois, there is a recall mechanism for only the office of governor. Voters approved the provision in a statewide referendum in 2010, following the convictions of two previous governors. But the process has drawn criticism from people who say it is too difficult. Illinoisans have no ability to recall lawmakers or local officials except in Buffalo Grove and Arlington Heights. In Buffalo Grove, a sitting council member was removed from her position on Nov. 2, 2010. Several legislators have introduced bills to allow for recall. Those efforts have stalled in the General Assembly.

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As a businessperson in corporate America, I know from experience that we are constantly evaluated by our shareholders and corporate boards. If we do not perform, we are removed by the corporate board. Politicians make grandiose promises before an election, and they are not evaluated until the next election, which is generally two, four or six years later.

Elected officials should be graded by their constituency every six months, and if they fail two consecutive reviews, that should trigger the process of automatic recall. Every district should have a panel made up of a diverse cross section of the population. They could meet every six months in an open forum to evaluate the performance of their elected official.

Politicians should be proactive and responsive to their constituency. There are a number of categories to measure, including the following:

 Is the elected official attending council, board and legislative meetings and committee hearings on behalf of the district?

 Is the elected official responsive to constituent inquiries?

 Is the elected official putting forth ideas to make neighborhoods safer?

 Is the elected official bringing resources back to the district?

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 Is the elected official prioritizing the constituents ahead of party platforms and special interests?

 Is the elected official promoting equal opportunity in contracting and ensuring that no one is discriminated against based on race or sexual orientation?

 Is the elected official improving the quality of life for residents of the district?

 Has the elected official been accused of corruption?

 Is the elected official improving education and ensuring that children can read and write?

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Too many neighborhoods on the South and West sides of Chicago have not been revitalized since the 1968 riots sparked by the death of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. Elected representatives have neglected to advocate for the citizens in those neighborhoods. As a result, those neighborhoods have the highest levels of violence, poverty, unemployment, disinvestment and hopelessness. There have been incremental signs of improvement. However, the progress has been undone by stores like Whole Foods and Walmart closing and leaving neighborhoods that need investment.

Public officials have failed to make neighborhoods safe throughout Illinois. Gun violence and other crimes have terrorized communities and residents. In San Francisco, voters overwhelmingly voted to recall District Attorney Chesa Boudin, citing his progressive reforms, which were criticized as being too lenient and making the city less safe.

How do we rate when it comes to corruption? According to a University of Illinois at Chicago report issued in 2020, Chicago continues to be the most corrupt city in the country, and Illinois remains the third most corrupt state. Corruption has eroded confidence in government. Voters are disengaged because they have lost faith in elected representatives and the system. In Chicagos recent runoff, turnout was about 38.5% of registered voters, which means that more than 60% of registered voters did not go to the polls..

Turnout in the 16th Ward, which includes Englewood, was around 20%  among the lowest in the city. In the primarily Latino 14th, 15th and 22nd wards, turnout was a little more than 22%. These shockingly low voter participation numbers suggest our democracy is broken.

There are two primary reasons for voter apathy: alienation and voter fatigue. Alienated voters feel like the political system does not work for them and any attempt to participate is futile. A constant barrage of political messages and elections that occur in short order contribute to voter fatigue.

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It is time for the Illinois legislature to pass broad recall legislation and put the question to voters in a statewide referendum. If the legislature fails to act, Chicagos City Council and mayor can put the recall question to voters. If that fails, Chicagoans can petition the City Council to add the question during the next election. Notably, Article 7 of the Illinois Constitution allows home rule, so municipalities can place the recall question to their voters in the form of a referendum.

Recall provides for continuous accountability, so that voters need not wait until the next election to get rid of inept, dishonest and unresponsive elected officials. The power of recall ensures that elected officials remember they work for their constituency, and they are not our masters.

Willie Wilson is a business owner, philanthropist and former mayoral candidate.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed was first held in Delhi in 2008 from Ghalib Apartment in Pritampura by the Specisl Cell of Delhi Police in connection with the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005. At that time, Atiq used to be a Member of Parliament and was on the run in connection with the Raju Pal murder case. "Atiq was hiding at Ghalib Apartment. We got a tip-off and a team was formed to nab him. At around 4 p.m. on December 31, 2008, we laid a trap outside Ghalib Apartments. Atiq was about to flee in his Honda City car when he was nabbed," said a source in the police. IANS has also accessed a photo of Atiq in police custody following his arrest by the Special Cell in 2008. "After the murder of Raju Pal, the UP police were also conducting raids to nab Atiq. The Special Cell had traced the cellphone of Atiq's shooter which finally led to his hideout in Delhi," the source said. The source added that first the police got a tip-off that Aitq was hiding in the Jama Mashjid area, and accordingly a police team was sent there. But Atiq had changed his location by then. "We then got information that Atiq would be coming to meet someone at Ghalib Apartment. Ten teams of police then surrounded the apartment to make sure that he doesn't escape. At 4 p.m., Atiq came outside and got into a Honda City car," said the source. Inspector Govind Sharma, Subhash Vats and sub-inspector Vinay Tyagi intercepted Atiq's car with their Wagon R car after a short chase. "As soon as we put a gun on his forehead, Atiq peed in his pants," the source claimed. Atiq was then taken to the Lodhi Colony office of the Special Cell. He also spent a night at Tihar Jail. (Atul Krishan can be approached at atul.k@ians.in) --IANS atk/arm ( 337 Words) 2023-04-19-19:04:03 (IANS)
Upping the ante against the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Maharashtra, the Opposition Congress on Wednesday demanded a special two-day Assembly session to discuss the deaths of 14 persons after the Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony on April 16. In a letter to Governor Ramesh Bais, state Congress President Nana Patole said that the deaths of 14 Shrisadasyas' after the state-government's function was caused entirely due to the 'unplanned' arrangements by the 'irresponsible' officials. "Considering the latest details that have emerged, questions have arisen whether the deaths of 14 innocent people were due to sunstroke or a stampede. This amounts to killing' and the state government is now hiding the truth," Patole claimed. He said that around 20 lakh followers had turned up for the Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2022' conferred on reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari revered as Appasaheb by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai. The event was organised at a cost of around Rs 13 crore but led to the deaths of 14 persons who were made to sit in the scorching sun for hours without a tent or marquee, proper drinking water facilities, etc., which was a "very serious and heart-wrenching matter", Patole said. "The more shocking aspect is that along with sunstroke, there is news emanating that there was a stampede in the unplanned gathering. With around 500 people under treatment, the number of fatalities going up further cannot be ruled out," Patole warned. He also accused the state government of pointing fingers at Dharmadhikari and others, and demanded that a case of culpable homicide be registered against all those found guilty. The Congress, which has already demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis or dismissal of the government, will also organise media gatherings all over Maharashtra on April 24, Patole said. Earlier, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena (UBT) had separately demanded a judicial probe by a retired judge into the tragedy, and special operating procedures (SOPs) for such mega-events, which has been partly conceded after the state government on Wednesday banned all open-air public gatherings between 12 noon and 5 p.m., and enhanced compensation to up to Rs 1 crore for the kin of each deceased person, along with free treatment to the injured. --IANS qn/arm ( 402 Words) 2023-04-19-19:18:02 (IANS)
The fact that former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee has been permitted to sport rings on his fingers while in judicial custody shows the extent to which he exerts his influence, the counsel of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court here on Wednesday. Chatterjee is lodged in the Alipore Correctional Home in connection with the multi-crore scam in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools in West Bengal. Chatterjee made a virtual appearance in the court on Wednesday for a hearing on the matter. During the course of the hearing, the ED counsel pointed at the rings he was sporting on his fingers, and said, "The jail code clearly states said that an inmate cannot keep with him items like ornaments, jewellery or metal watches. It is the duty of the jail authorities to ensure and impose the provisions of the jail code. This proves how influential he (Chatterjee) is." Chatterjee's counsel, while accepting the legal argument, claimed that his client is not supposed to be aware of the intricacies of the jail code. The judge then asked Chatterjee to take off the rings, which the latter did. The judge also summoned the jail superintendent seeking a written explanation in the matter, to be submitted by 11 a.m. on April 26. As per Rule 250 of the West Bengal Jail Code, the superintendent is to ensure that no inmate wears any ornaments or carries any valuables including cash. All of these are collected and locked up under the responsibility of the superintendent. After the hearing, the court extended Chatterjee's judicial custody till June 19. --IANS src/arm ( 287 Words) 2023-04-19-19:36:04 (IANS)
The accused, wearing face masks, entered the Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank branch in Bitoli village under Shahpur police station on Wednesday afternoon, held up bank employees and customers at gun point, and gave the cashier an empty bag to fill cash in.

When the cashier refused, one of the robbers fired at him but his gun jammed.

Another robber also tried to fire at the cashier but his gun also did not work. As bank employees confronted them, the robbers fled the spot.

The bank employees immediately informed the local Shahpur police station of the robbery attempt.

"We have registered an FIR against 5 unknown robbers and efforts are on to identify them," said an officer of Shahpur police station.

--IANS ajk/vd

( 161 Words)

2023-04-19-19:58:01 (IANS)
The Delhi High Court has directed a man to return the custody of his nine-year-old son to his ex-wife as per the mutual decision taken at the time of their divorce. The man had taken the child away from his mother on the pretext of spending some time with him. A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Gaurang Kanth, dealing with a plea by the woman seeking direction to her ex-husband to produce their son, directed the station house officer (SHO) of the police station concerned to make sure that the court's order is complied with and to provide his contact number to the woman for her to get in touch with him in case of any difficulty. "...reserving liberty to respondent no.2 (man) to file an appropriate proceeding seeking custody of the minor son of the parties in accordance with law; the minor son is restored into the care and custody of his biological mother, the petitioner herein," the bench said. The high court said there is no manner of doubt that at the time of obtaining a decree of divorce by mutual consent, the former couple, both lawyers, had entered into a legal and binding arrangement in relation to the custody and visitation of their minor son. "It is further evident that the terms and conditions in relation to the custody/ visitation of the minor son has been complied with by the parties till March 18, 2023, after which respondent no. 2 took away the minor child on a false pretext of spending the day with him," the court noted. It is claimed by the woman that when she had gone to her son's school for a parent-teacher meeting last month, her ex-husband was also present. The man, on the contrary, said that he wished to spend the day with the son and the petitioner acceded to his request in good faith, the petition said. However, the man backed out later and refused to give back the son to the woman. It was the man's submission before the court that the woman was unfit to look after the well-being of their son and so he was constrained to take the minor's custody. The high court, however, noted the woman undertook to comply with her obligations in accordance with the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement arrived at between the parties. --IANS spr/vd ( 410 Words) 2023-04-19-20:08:02 (IANS)
The NCrF is a comprehensive credit framework encompassing elementary, school, higher, and vocational education and training, integrating creditisation of learning in various dimensions, that is academics, vocational skills and experiential learning including relevant experience and professional levels acquired.

The decision came after a presentation made by UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar at the meeting was held at IIT Bhubaneswar on Tuesday with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan presiding, and Directors of all 23 IITs present.

"Adoption of the National Credit Framework by the IIT Council is a great decision since this will provide a better equivalence of credits obtained in general (academic) education, technical education, and skill and vocational education. It will encourage the rest of the higher education system to adopt and implement the national credit framework bringing a unified inclusive meta framework across the country," the UGC chief said.

He also said that the National Education Policy 2020 envisions making education more holistic and effective and emphasises the integration of general (academic) education and vocational education. A national credit accumulation and transfer system is essential to fulfilling this vision.

The IITs themselves took a lead role in conducting region-wise awareness workshops for teachers and administrators from school education and higher education, he added.

--IANS gcb/vd

( 243 Words)

2023-04-19-21:16:04 (IANS)
He also urged people to wear masks and called it an effective tool to prevent the spread of the virus.

Speaking to the reporters, Mahajan said, "Due to increasing COVID-19 cases in the state, the state government has activated 25 dedicated COVID-19 hospitals. As of today, more than 5,000 beds, more than 2,000 ventilators available for Covid patients and 62 Liquid Medical Oxygen and 37 PSA plants are functional".

"In the same way 2000 jumbo and 6000 small oxygen cylinders are also prepared. Every medical college has covid testing facilities and in a day medical colleges can conduct more than 30 thousand covid tests," he added.

Recently, on April 10 and 11, a Covid Mock Drill was also conducted in every college as per the guidelines of the Government of India.

The Minister also interacted with the authorities of all government medical colleges and hospitals in the state.

A review meeting was held on Wednesday under Mahajan along with the Deans of all the Government Medical Colleges and the officers of the Medical Education Department regarding the increasing incidence of Covid.

Minister Mahajan instructed all doctors, nurses and paramedical staff to use masks in hospitals.

The number of Covid cases has been on the rise over the past few weeks. On Wednesday, Maharashtra reported 1100 new cases and four fatalities. 10,542 new cases were also recorded across the country. (ANI)
The UN has said it is ready to withdraw from Afghanistan in May if it cannot convince the Taliban to permit local women to work for the organization, the head of the UN Development Program said, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. The UN is negotiating with the Taliban in hopes that it will make exceptions to a decree prohibiting local women from working for the organization. UNDP Administrator, Achin Steiner, said: "It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and re-evaluate its ability to operate there. But it is not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights." The United Nations recently expressed "serious concerns" after the Afghan female UN staff members were banned from reporting to work in the eastern province of Afghanistan, Nangarhar, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. The UN said: "The United Nations in Afghanistan expresses serious concern that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province." The UN warned the Taliban that the life-saving aid would be at risk without female staff since most of the International organization's staff are female. "We remind de facto authorities that United Nations entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff," the UN said on Twitter, Khaama Press reported. International organizations, including the UN, have repeatedly expressed their concerns over excluding women from the aid sector, saying that without female staff, the organizations will be unable to reach needy women. The Taliban since it came to power in Afghanistan in August 2021, has imposed bans on women and girls, preventing them from education and employment. The Taliban first banned girls from going to school beyond sixth grade; in December 2022, a decree prohibited Afghan women from higher education and working with national and international NGOs. The suppressive restrictions on women are confronted with massive criticism by national and international organizations warning that it will disrupt the humanitarian aid to the most needful people of Afghanistan, according to Khaama Press. (ANI)
Pakistan's Defence Ministry has moved the Supreme Court (SC) to seek 'simultaneous elections' in the country, Pakistan-based ARY News reported. As per details, the defence ministry which is responsible for allocating armed forces for the elections has filed an application in Supreme Court seeking 'simultaneous elections' in the country. The defence ministry has asked the Pakistan Supreme Court to recall its April 4 order to hold Punjab elections on May 8, and issue a directive that the general elections for the National and provincial assemblies should take place at the same time, after the completion of their terms. According to ARY News, the ministry's view was in line with the federal government's stance, which has opposed holding separate general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP). Meanwhile, the Pakistan National Assembly on Monday rejected a motion seeking a supplementary sum of Rs 21 billion for elections in Punjab, Dawn reported. The Pakistan Supreme Court last week directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to "allocate and release" Rs 21 bn by April 17 for elections in two provinces from the Federal Consolidated Fund (FCF) "lying under its control and management". The apex court had also instructed the central bank to send an "appropriate communication" to this effect to the finance ministry in this regard, Dawn said. A meeting of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue was called earlier on Monday to discuss the SC order regarding the disbursement of funds. The matter was then raised in a session of the NA held after the cabinet meeting. During the session, Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar said that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), in exercise of its power, had delayed polls in Punjab till October citing the lack of finances and the security situation, Dawn reported. "In such economic circumstances if elections are held again and again for the sake of one man's ego, it is not in the country's interest," he said, according to Dawn. He went on to say that the federal government, in light of SC's directives, had presented a bill in the lower house of parliament for treating the funds required as a "charged expenditure". "But this House after thorough deliberations, rejected the bill," Tarar further said. He noted that the SBP was directed by the SC to transfer Rs 21 bn to the ECP from the FCF but added that under the Constitution only the lower house of Parliament could give the approval for doing so. (ANI)
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin his official visit to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic on Friday, according to the official statement from the Ministry of External Affairs. This will be his first visit after assuming the office. During his Guyana visit, from April 21 to 23, Jaishankar will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart Hugh Hilton Todd which will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries. He is also expected to call on the leadership and will interact with several ministers. According to the statement, "EAM's visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers." After completing his Guyana visit, Jaishankar will visit Panama on April 24. In his two-day visit to Panama, EAM will be calling on top leadership and would be hosted by Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo. During this visit, the India-SICA Foreign Ministerial Meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the 8-country Central American Integration System (SICA). On April 25, Jaishankar will start his journey to Colombia where he would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society. This will be the first Foreign Ministerial level visit to the country. During his visit to Colombia, from April 25-27, Jaishankar would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society. Foreign Minister of Colombia Alvaro Leyva Duran and EAM would review the bilateral ties. And the last destination of his visit, the Dominican Republic, will start on April 27 and will be the highest-level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999. "EAM's visit takes place after the establishment of our resident Embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022. Apart from calling on the country's political leadership, EAM will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez. The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. EAM is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic Foreign Ministry," the statement read. A business delegation from India, led by CII will be joining EAM at business events that are planned during the course of the visit. These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties. EAM will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries. "EAM's visit to these four countries; his bilateral engagements as well as interactions with counterparts of important regional groups: CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements. It will provide an opportunity to continue high-level contact with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas; particularly in the post-pandemic scenario," according to the statement. (ANI)
Flowers overflow from the base of the Spartan Statue on the first day of classes on Feb. 20, 2023, at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan, one week after three students were killed and five others wounded during a shooting at the university. (Jake May / AP)

Former U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, who served Illinois 11th Congressional District and later the 16th from 2011 to early this year, is one of the Republican Partys most significant truth tellers. Kinzinger is now a political commentator. In his blistering farewell address to Congress in December, Kinzinger said: Where Republicans once believed that limited government meant lower taxes and more autonomy, today, limited government means inciting violence against government officials.

On Monday night, Kinzinger spoke in Chicago at a meeting organized by The Joyce Foundation. In a session moderated by a former Tribune reporter, White House official and Democratic strategist, David Axelrod, the former congressman spoke alongside Tim Heaphy, the chief counsel and lead investigator for the Jan. 6 House committee.

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This was a left-leaning audience, receptive to sharp criticism of the Republican right and far friendlier to Kinzinger than many members of his own party. But something Kinzinger said at the Arts Club caught our attention after the conversation turned to recent school shootings.

Second Amendment people, Kinzinger said, should be on the front line of gun control.

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In essence, Kinzinger was saying, the people who are interested in guns, and most likely to own them, actually know far more about what works and what does not in the matter of gun control than those who have no such knowledge. And as experts on guns, he said, they are thus morally obligated to use that expertise to solve what is clearly a crisis, given all the recent examples of emotionally troubled people acquiring powerful weaponry and using them to take innocent lives, often of children.

U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger attends a gun violence hearing on Oct. 3, 2019, at Kennedy King College in Chicago. (Antonio Perez / Chicago Tribune)

Many of them already know this, he implied, at least deep down, and are possibly just waiting to be asked in the right way.

Therefore, rather than seeing fervent supporters of the Second Amendment as the opposition to be defeated, he suggested, those who want to see sensible regulations on gun ownership, such as background checks, age restrictions and red flag laws, should see Second Amendment people as potential experts and allies. They know guns better than those who merely despise them.

Kinzinger was engaged in realpolitik here, noting that the constitutional protection for personal ownership of guns is unlikely to go away in our lifetimes. Better, then, to find common ground when it comes to the kinds of reform for which weve advocated here often.

Kinzinger is not the only person who has suggested that Americans try harder to find common ground in the interests of common-sense solutions. At a recent meeting in Austin, Texas, organized by the American Press Institute, a young nonprofit called The Flip Side spoke of its mission to help bridge the gap between liberals and conservatives, telling assembled opinion journalists from major newspapers that the use of less partisan language and tonality has proved to be a far more effective generator of meaningful common-sense change than rhetorical demonization.

We could not agree more. And gun control is not the only issue to which that applies, but its surely the biggest emergency.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
After India released a full calendar of G20 events, Pakistan, which is not a member of G20, has raised objections over India organising G20 events in Srinagar, Kashmir, reported The Pakistan Military Monitor. From May 22 to 24, Srinagar will host the third meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group under India's G20 Presidency. After the conclusion of the G20 Summit in Bali in December of last year, Indonesia passed the baton of the G20's yearly chairmanship to India. India published a complete calendar of events running up to the summit on April 7, 2023. This calendar featured meetings of the G20 and Youth-20 in Srinagar, Kashmir, and Leh, in the neighbouring region of Ladakh, in April and May. These fixtures are created following thorough discussions with and approval by the member participants. International meetings need a lot of planning and consideration. Surprisingly, Pakistan, not a member of G20, has voiced opposition to India hosting G-20 events in Srinagar, Kashmir. What are its objections? Let's try to separate these from a jumble of accusations and hints. First off, Pakistan has no business interfering in issues that are solely the province of the G20 members as it is not a member of the group, as per The Pakistan Military Monitor. In its statement, Pakistan says, "The Foreign Office had in June last year cautioned G20 countries against accepting Delhi's proposal for holding some of the meetings of the bloc's next year's summit in India-held Jammu and Kashmir, saying India attempted to legitimise its illegal control of the disputed region." The caution given to the G20 by Pakistan's foreign office in June of last year went haywire. The G20 meeting did not take Pakistan's "caution" into consideration and carried on with its regular activity. The implication is that Pakistan's requests to stop India from hosting G20 meetings in Kashmir were all rejected. The outcome of repeated objections must therefore be the same. Pakistan claims that New Delhi's decision to host some meetings in Srinagar is "self-serving." In its statement, Pakistan's foreign office says, "India's irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in sheer disregard of the UN Security Council resolutions and violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law," according to The Pakistan Military Monitor. We must talk about two issues. Jammu and Kashmir is currently under "illegal occupation" by India. The second is "in blatant defiance of the resolutions of the UN Security Council." Let's study what is said in the SC Resolution. SC Resolution of 21 April 1948 comprises three parts. Summing up succinctly, Part I begins with imposing obligations on Pakistan that (a) Pakistan undertakes to secure the withdrawal of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals from J&K and (b) prevents and stops any intrusion into the state. Obligations imposed on India were (a) Withdrawal of troops conditional to the Commission's satisfaction that Pakistani nationals and tribesmen were withdrawn and ceasefire made effective, (b) Plan progressive reduction of forces till only minimum strength needed for enforcement of law and order was retained. Part I of the SC Resolution to which the Pakistani foreign office has referred in their statement lays the first condition that Pakistan was required to fulfil viz. "secure withdrawal of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals." This obligation is pregnant with two important logical conclusions. The first is that Pakistani tribesmen and nationals have entered Kashmir and are still there. The second conclusion is that an incursion of Kashmir was undertaken and Pakistan has to withdraw them. Has Pakistan withdrawn its citizens and tribespeople from Kashmir? Let the Pakistani foreign ministry respond. In order to combat the Indian forces, Pakistan sent numerous fully equipped regular army battalions. Who disregarded the 21 April 1948 SC Resolution? Pakistan's false claim that it did not support the incursion into Kashmir on October 22, 1947, was exposed by the in-question resolution. The Pakistani foreign minister notified the UN Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) upon its arrival in Karachi on July 7, 1948, that the Pakistani army at the time had three Brigades of regular troops in Kashmir, which had been transferred to the State during the first half of May 1948. A member of the Commission, Joseph Korbel, said, "This disclosure of Pakistan had changed the entire complexion of the Kashmir issue." It was on June 5, 1968 when Nehru wrote to the SC President that there could be no question of the Commission proceeding to implement the resolution till objections raised by the Government of India were satisfactory met, The Pakistan Military Monitor said. Due to Pakistan's purposeful actions against its spirit as well as its refusal to implement it, the SC Resolution of April 21, 1948 is no longer in effect. Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan, two former UN Secretaries General, said that the UN had no involvement in Kashmir after India and Pakistan signed the Shimla Accord. Even in 1995, Boutros Ghali wished to have the Kashmir problem taken off the UN's agenda, and his successor Kofi Annan said a Chapter VI resolution passed fifty years earlier is "un-implementable." When testifying before the US House International Relations Subcommittee in 2002, when relations between the US and Pakistan were at their best, the then-US assistant secretary of state again acknowledged that "in the US view, the Shimla Agreement had superseded the UN resolutions of the 1940s on Kashmir." The Pakistani foreign office continues to think that exchanging lies and canards will help it in Kashmir. India has repeatedly reaffirmed its readiness and ability to retrieve the part of J&K State still under Pakistan's illegal control. Additionally, India cannot shirk its moral obligation to protect the people of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan, who have been pleading with the Indian Prime Minister to free them from the control of bloodthirsty Pakistani colonialists for a long time. Why is Pakistan beating its breast for Kashmir? The answer is really quite easy. The only lifebuoy Pakistan has left to prevent utter shipwreck is Kashmir's tantrum. But, the lifebuoy, too, is giving away. Alas! Pakistan does not read the writing on the wall, The Pakistan Military Monitor reported. (ANI)
Political unrest in the West continues even though it has been a week since French President Emmanuel Macron sparked a controversy by saying that the West shouldn't become a "vassal" and that it should stay out of any disputes between the US and China over Taiwan, reported Asian Lite International. Terming Taiwan as a "crisis that is not ours," the French President said that Europeans should stay out of it and not be "America's followers." Macron made the above remarks in an interview with Politico and Les Echos while he was on his flight returning to France after his three-day (April 5 to 7) visit to China where, as per Xinhua, the two countries inked many cooperation agreements in the field of aviation, aerospace and civilian nuclear and wing energy, science, and technology, building a China-France carbon neutrality centre and joint training of talent, Asian Lite International reported. Irked over the comment of the French President, the US Republican Senator noted in a social media post that if Macron spoke for all of Europe, then the US should consider focusing its foreign policy on containing China and leave Europe to handle the war in Ukraine, as per Asian Lite International. In an editorial, the Wall Street Journal termed Emmanuel Macron's remarks on Taiwan as "unhelpful comments" which would undermine American and Japanese deterrence against China in the western Pacific. Moreover, what sent shockwaves through the corridors of power throughout the West was the three-day military exercise that China conducted against Taiwan on April 7, hours after the French President's flight left Guangzhou. In response to the meeting between US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy and Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Simi Valley, California, on April 5, the Chinese People's Liberation Army organised a military exercise against Taiwan from April 8 to April 10. America and its allies, especially those from Europe, continued their commitment to democracy and its ideals. They consider it as their rightful duty to safeguard these values, which is why they are backing Taiwan and Ukraine. A defeat in Ukraine, in their view, would be a devastating blow to democracy and result in a more unstable and risky world. They have the same viewpoint as Taiwan, an island with a democratic government that is in danger of being occupied by China forcibly. The self-governing island of Taiwan, which views itself as distinct from mainland China and has its own constitution as well as a democratically elected government, is recognised by neither the US nor its allies from Europe or Asia, despite their support for "The One China policy." The Taiwan Strait, a water body separating the island from China, is one of the busiest shipping lanes in the Indo-Pacific area. It is located at the confluence of the East China Sea, the South China Sea, and the Philippines Sea. 90 per cent of the most advanced semiconductor chips are produced in Taiwan, a key link in the world's technological supply chains. Chips are produced by TSMC, a firm with a market value of over USD100 billion, for both civilian and military customers worldwide. In light of this, the arguments put forth by experts include that if Taiwan are left undefended and if China is given free hand to invade the island, it will harm the tech industry's worldwide supply chain. Some experts think that this global tech sector disruption will be so significant that it will take years for even technologically advanced nations to recover from the losses they would sustain as a result of China's forced annexation of Taiwan. But, Beijing's takeover of Taiwan would give the country significant control over one of the most significant industries in the US, Europe, Japan, South Korea, and others. In spite of the importance of Taiwan for the world, politically, economically, and technologically, French President Emmanuel Macron in his interview with Politico said, "The question Europeans need to answer..... is it in our interest to accelerate (a crisis) on Taiwan? No. The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans must become followers on this topic and take our cue from the US agenda and a Chinese overreaction." There is no disputing the French President's desire to mollycoddle China while keeping the business aspect in mind. It was clear that this was the case when Emmanuel Macron visited China and signed numerous deals there with a delegation of about 50 business executives, according to a report published in Asian Lite International. According to Foreign Policy magazine, the business delegation led by the French President to China in November 2022 was four times larger than the one led by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz. An official from Huawei France's board of directors and the former French prime minister Jean Pierre Raffarin were both part of Macron's team. During Macron's visit to China last week, Airbus said that it would provide 50 helicopters to GDAT, one of the country's biggest helicopter lessors. A day before, the French aerospace company had announced plans to build a second assembly line at its Tianjin plant in order to double its production in China, according to Asian Lite International. China's energy giant and cosmetics leader L'Oreal signed a deal with e-commerce platform Alibaba on sustainable consumption, and the water and waste management company Suez secured a desalination contract with China's Wanhua Chemical while Electricite de France (EDF) renewed its contract with China General Nuclear Power Group (CGN). These corporate transactions demonstrated the French President's desire to further the trade and economic interests of his country rather to support Western nations' deterrence of Taiwan. Yet, this has effectively cut Macron off from friends and allies in Europe, Asia, and America who seek to dissuade China from its plans for the Indo-Pacific area, reported Asian Lite International. (ANI)
Sharjah [UAE], April 19 (ANI/WAM): A collaborative research team at the American University of Sharjah (AUS) is working on designing thermal energy storage systems that will assist in the transition to renewable energy. Dr Paul Nancarrow, Professor in Chemical and Biological Engineering and lead researcher, said that renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind energy, have a variable supply and require energy storage solutions for their effective utilisation. Battery technology has advanced energy storage capacity, but there are concerns regarding battery safety and the scarcity of materials used in their production. Therefore, using a combination of other energy storage solutions alongside batteries is essential in the transition towards clean energy. The team's focus is on ionic liquid technology, which are salts that can melt at room temperature and turn into liquid. Their wide range of applications is being studied in AUS labs, including thermal energy storage. "There are theoretically millions of different ionic liquids that can be synthesised in the laboratory, each with different properties. However, lab synthesis is time-consuming and costly. To overcome this problem, we were successful in developing several new data-driven predictive models to help us narrow the selection of optimal ionic liquid structures to synthesise and test and design new classes of ionic liquids to be used as energy storage systems," Dr Nancarrow said. The work involves designing ionic liquids as phase change materials, which absorb and store energy when they melt at a particular temperature matched to the application, and release the energy again when the temperature drops and they cool and solidify. They can be incorporated into buildings, industrial facilities, electronic devices, and clothing to help control temperature, store energy and reduce energy needs. Dr Nancarrow added, "The current systems have many problems that limit their applications including corrosion, loss of efficiency over time, loss by evaporation, degradation, and large thermal expansion. What we are working on is designing ionic liquids with optimal properties for various applications to overcome these issues and provide an additional energy storage solution to reduce energy consumption and complement renewable energy production. "This will help lead to a faster introduction of clean energy and reduce fossil fuel consumption on a global scale. Our next step in our research is to incorporate the optimised ionic liquid into solar energy systems and analyse the improvement in efficiency that can be achieved." The research work was carried out in the labs of the AUS College of Engineering (CEN), with partners at the Trinity College Dublin conducting tests on novel ionic liquids to improve the efficiency of solar energy systems. (ANI/WAM)
At least three bandits were killed while 18 were rounded up as the grand operation of Punjab police entered its 11th day, ARY News reported. The police spokesperson stated that the operation against the bandits is still underway in full swing and in the past 11 days, three "bandits" were arrested and 18 have been arrested. The spokesperson further stated that the heavy weapons and explosives were recovered from the dens of the dacoits, while thousands of acres of land have been evacuated from the criminals. Punjab police launched the "grand operation" on April 9 against the bandits in the katcha areas of Sadiqabad with the use of modern weaponry and bulletproof vehicles, according to ARY News. A grand operation was launched against bandits in katcha areas of Sadiqabad under the supervision of Inspector General (IG) Punjab Dr Usman Anwar following the directives of the National Security Council. Meanwhile, two Pakistani police officers were killed and four injured after people, whom the officials called "dacoits", opened fire at under-construction checkposts in the Punjab province, Dawn reported. As per the Kashmore-Kandhkot Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Irfan Ali Sammo, new police checkups were being set up when the "dacoits" opened fire at police on Saturday. Sammo also stated that following the attack, police officials Sabir Ali and Ahad Ali Domki were killed while four others, including Bakhshapur Station House Officer (SHO) Gul Muhammad Mehr, were injured. The injured were taken to a hospital in Rahim Yar Khan while the deceased officials' bodies were shifted to Civil Hospital Kashmore, the SSP added. He further said that following the incident, a large police contingent of police from the entire district was dispatched to the Kutcha area, where an exchange of fire between police and dacoits was underway, reported Dawn. (ANI)
Ryuji Kimura, 24, who was detained on suspicion of hurling an explosive device at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, has previously sued the government over election eligibility, NHK World reported on Wednesday. The attack took place on Saturday at a fishing port in the western city of Wakayama, as the prime minister prepared to speak in favour of a by-election candidate. Police are, however, looking into whether the problem is connected to the suspect's motivation. Ryuji Kimura, 24, was arrested on the spot. The suspect alleged that the government prohibited him from running for an Upper House seat in a damages lawsuit that was submitted to the Kobe District Court last year. He made the decision to represent himself in court without consulting an attorney, according to NHK World. According to NHK, the court records showed the election law violates the Constitution, and he specifically challenged the age restriction and the requirement to supply a deposit. He asked the government for compensation in the amount of 100,000 yen, or more than 700 dollars, for the psychological damage he claimed to have experienced as a result of being declared ineligible to run in the election in July, NHK World reported, citing the police authorities. The Kishida Cabinet's decision to hold a state funeral for former Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, according to the police, caused Kimura further angst. According to Police, the objects used in the Saturday attack on Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida could be homemade pipe bombs, investigators said Sunday, Japan Times reported. The revelation came as police raided the home of Ryuji Kimura, the 24-year-old suspect, in Kawanishi, Hyogo Prefecture, in the early hours of Sunday. Conducting wires found on both ends of one of the cylinders, which resembled a steel pipe, led investigators to believe that the objects may be pipe bombs, as such devices have gunpowder sealed inside a cylinder which is detonated by igniting a fuse, Japan Times wrote quoting NHK. Police are still investigating whether the devices were designed to be lethal. The suspect, Kimura was also carrying a knife in his backpack at the scene, investigative sources said. Kishida spoke to reporters on Sunday commenting on the incident, calling violent attacks during elections "unforgivable." He added that details on security will be verified as the investigation moves forward and that the nation must ensure safety during the upcoming Group of Seven summit and other events that bring together dignitaries from around the world. "Together with the people of Japan, we will do our utmost to ensure safety during the diplomatic schedule," Kishida said. Kishida was unharmed in the attack, with his security detail taking him to safety shortly before the sound of an explosion rang out and Kimura was subdued. One police officer suffered minor injuries on his left arm, Japan Times reported. (ANI)
A Civilian infrastructure has been hit as Russia launched a drone attack on Ukraine's Odesa on Wednesday, Al Jazeera reported referring to the local authorities. The commander of the Ukrainian Air Force, General Mykola Oleshchuk, claimed that 10 of the 12 "kamikaze" drones had been destroyed by air defences. "At night, the enemy carried out an attack by UAVs of the Shahed-136 type on the Odesa region," the district military administration head of Odesa, Yuriy Kruk, said on Telegram, according to Al Jazeera. "According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. Measures are being taken to contain the fire, units of the State Emergency Service and other structures are working on the spot," the military administration head said. The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has only recently escalated as a Russian missile attack on a residential neighbourhood in the eastern Ukrainian city of Sloviansk on Friday last week claimed at least 11 lives. Quoting the governor of the Donetsk region Pavlo Kyrylenko, Al Jazeera reported that seven Russian S-300 missiles had been fired at Sloviansk, west of the city Bakhmut, the site of the heaviest fighting on the Ukrainian front line. The assault happened following Russian President Vladimir Putin's Friday signature on a bill that will make it simpler to enlist civilians in the military and prevent them from fleeing the country if called up, reported Al Jazeera. A draftee would be prohibited from travelling internationally under the law, which Putin signed on Friday, and would need to report to an enlisting office after receiving electronic call-up papers. Last year, after Putin declared a mobilisation to support the soldiers in Ukraine, tens of thousands of men left Russia. According to Al Jazeera, Moscow claimed it was attempting to seize more districts of the devastated Bakhmut when it launched the attack on Sloviansk, whose population have left in large numbers since Russia's invasion. The Russia-Ukraine war that started on February 24 has taken numerous lives and the war continues to escalate between the two nations even now. (ANI)
The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said Tuesday that the conduct of elections on May 14 is becoming impossible owing to the lack of resources and forces to maintain law and order in its answer to the Supreme Court of Pakistan about elections in Punjab, Geo News reported. "At least 466,000 personnel are required for security in Punjab," the poll body said in its reply. Last week, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) was ordered by the apex court to provide cash for the elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa by April 17. A three-member bench of Pakistan's highest court, led by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, made the decision. The Punjab Assembly election had been moved from April 10 to May 14 by the same bench, which also overturned the ECP's decision to prolong the polling date to October 8, Geo News reported. In its judgement dated April 4, the Supreme Court ordered the government to provide a report by April 17 on the security arrangements for the two provinces' elections. Pakistan Interior Minister Rana Sanaullah said on Sunday that despite the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)'s "all-out efforts", elections in Punjab will not be held on May 14 in line with the Supreme Court's order. Sanaullah, while addressing the media in Faisalabad, said the elections would be "held together" under a caretaker setup. Elections across the country would be held at the appointed time this year, he stressed. Calling Imran Khan a "fitna" (chaos), Sanaullah said he had been brought to power through a "conspiracy", adding, "Their [PTI's] policies over four years created a crisis situation for the country." According to the Dawn, a PML-N insider said the Sharifs were in the mood to defy the Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP)-led three-member bench's decision to hold elections in the Punjab province on May 14 and there was no secret to it. (ANI)
"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine," he wrote on Twitter.

The defence minister further said air defenders had mastered them as fast as they could, as he thanked Germany, US and Netherlands for the support amid the ongoing conflict.

"Our air defenders have mastered them as fast as they could. And our partners have kept their word. This is the result of hard work led by our President @ZelenskyyUA," Oleksii Reznikov tweeted.

"Thank you to my colleagues @SecDef Boris Pistorius @BMVg_Bundeswehr @DefensieMin, and the American, German, Dutch people. We will win together," the tweet read further.

Notably, the Patriots are considered one of the world's most advanced US air defence systems.

In his first foreign trip since the war began, Zelenskyy was assured by US President Joe Biden three months ago of renewed assurance of his country's support in the ongoing military conflict with Russia during a meeting at the White House.

Pentagon, in December, last year, announced an additional USD 850 million of security assistance for Ukraine, bringing total military aid for Kyiv to USD 21.9 billion since the beginning of the Biden administration.

The latest assistance included the Patriot Air Defence System, capable of bringing down cruise missiles, short-range ballistic missiles, and aircraft at a significantly higher ceiling. (ANI)
Jack Teixeira, 21, the alleged leaker of confidential Pentagon documents, will return to court on Wednesday for a hearing to determine whether or not he will be retained in custody, CNN reported. Teixeira is accused of violating the Espionage Act, and a judge will determine on Wednesday whether or not he should remain in custody According to CNN, the prosecutors will put forward their case to the judge for Teixeira's continued detention while his case is being heard. Prosecutors may use additional information regarding Teixeira's alleged acts to support their case and persuade Magistrate Judge David Hennessy that Teixeira is either too dangerous to be released or a flight risk. In a series of leaks that revealed the breadth of US intelligence gathering on both its allies and adversaries, the 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is reportedly accused of posting classified intelligence -- including sensitive information about the war in Ukraine -- on social media platform Discord. A day after FBI agents raided his family's home in the small town of Dighton, which is located about 30 kilometres (18 miles) east of Providence, Rhode Island, Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts National Guard, made an appearance in federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, on Friday. Quoting Washington Post, Al Jazeera reported that Teixeira was charged with the retention and transmission of national defence information and willful retention of classified documents on last Friday. The criminal offences could carry up to 15 years in prison. The federal judge ordered Teixeira to remain in jail. He did not enter a plea. Calling the leak of classified documents online a "deliberate criminal act", Pentagon on Thursday underlined the US continue to review a variety of factors as it relates to safeguarding classified materials. During a press briefing on Thursday (local time), Pentagon Press Secretary Brigadier General Pat Ryder told reporters, "We continue to review a variety of factors as it relates to safeguarding classified materials -- this includes examining and updating distribution lists, assessing how and where intelligence products are shared and a variety of other steps," according to The Hill. "I would say, though, that it is important to understand that we do have stringent guidelines in place for safeguarding classified and sensitive information. This was a deliberate criminal act, a violation of those guidelines," he added. (ANI)
The US Consulate has newly opened a new campus in Nanakaramguda, which is spread over 12 acres of land. Earlier, the US consulate was housed in Paigah Palace. The new US Consulate General in Hyderabad has emrged as South Asia's biggest Consulate, with 54 windows as against 16 in Paigah Palace earlier. It will process up to 3,500 visa applications. About 1,100 visa applications were processed in a day when the consulate operated from Paigah Palace. Jennifer Larson, US Consul General Hyderabad, addressed her first press conference after moving into the new facility at Financial District, Nanakramguda, on April 19, 2023. Along with Consul General Rebekah Drame and Chief Consular Officer Audrey Moyer were also present. Addressing her first press conference as the US Consulate General Jennifer Larson said, "The United States maintains embassies in the capital cities of most countries around the world, we recognize that critical developments and significant events are taking place outside of capital cities. So we open consulates in major non-capital cities around the world to provide services to US citizens, process visas, represent the US government, and build relationships with local officials, business leaders, civic leaders, journalists, and other members of the public." She said that this consulate represents the US government in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Odisha. "There is so much happening in Hyderabad which is exciting, positive, and dynamic. And that's why we're here because we see the importance this region plays in the US-India relationship," she added. "We provide consular services to the tens of thousands of US citizens in the region from passport services to help citizens who need emergency support. We adjudicate visas," she informed in the press conference. "The US Mission to India is on track to process more than a million visas this year," she added. "Since a large demand for visas comes from students, who wish to study in the United States, in order to help them and their parents make informed decisions, we support education advising through the US-India Educational Foundation and the Education USA Center at the Y-Axis Foundation in Jubilee Hills," the US Consulate added. While noting that commercial ties between the United States and India have grown by leaps and bounds in this region, she said that they believe that more can be done. "We have a dedicated officer from the US Foreign Commercial Service who coordinates trade shows, connects US and Indian firms, and works to promote Indian investment in the United States," she informed further. She also mentioned how from ship visits to joint training exercises, Indo-US militaries regularly work together based out of India's Eastern Naval Command in Visakhapatnam. She further mentioned India and US are working together on the development front to promote sustainable economic growth, combat climate change, and expand health services. USAID -- the development arm of the US government -- works with the Union government, the private sector, and civil society to identify, pilot, and scale up cost-effective innovations and best practices to further boost India's development and global leadership. Speaking on USAID, she informed about her visit to Odisha next week for a USAID event. The Consulate will also work with civil society, NGOs, academic institutions, activists, artists, religious leaders, students, and educators through exchange programs that send students and young professionals to the United States and American Corners in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam. She said that relationships with the people of both countries would be strengthened through the prestigious Fulbright program, which allows Indian students and scholars to go to the United States and American students and scholars to come to India and through cultural programs such as the Ambassador's Fund for Cultural Preservation, through which we've contributed to the conservation of historical monuments in Hyderabad at the Qutb Shahi Tombs and the Paigah Tombs. "As President Biden has said, the relationship between the United State and India is one of most consequential in the world, vital to addressing virtually every global challenge that our people face. And the best way to address those challenges is to know each other, understand each other, and invest in our relationship. That's why we're here at the US Consulate General in Hyderabad and that's what we endeavour to do every day," she added. (ANI)
When the LaSalle Chicago hotel opened last year at 208 S. LaSalle St., it seemed like a long shot. The LaSalle Street Corridor has become emblematic of the downtown areas struggle to recover from a pandemic that emptied offices as workers went remote.

Making matters even riskier from a business standpoint, the LaSalle is a luxury hotel, expensively renovated, with a high ratio of service staff to guests. Room rates start at about $300 a night and go up from there, making it more upscale than most other nearby hotels.

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Heres some good news, courtesy of Stefan Gruvberger, the LaSalles general manager: Business is better than anticipated.

The LaSalle, he said, has exceeded its revenue projections as business travel slowly revived and leisure travel expanded. Workers freed from their offices are increasingly treating Fridays as a part of the weekend, Gruvberger noted, an observation he made as a family of four checked in at midday on a recent Thursday.

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Whats next for 208 S. LaSalle is anyones guess, however. This historic skyscraper is one of three LaSalle Street Corridor projects in line for massive public funding to turn some of its remaining empty offices into 1,000 new apartments.

Set to cost $130 million, the 208 S. LaSalle rehab would rely on $74 million in tax-exempt housing bonds, $33 million in tax increment financing (TIF) proceeds, $10 million in low-income housing tax credits and $13 million in equity via The Prime Group, a Chicago developer that already owns the building. Thats a huge public investment for just 280 new apartments on floors 13 through 17: Thats close to $500,000 per unit. Get your head around that level of subsidy.

[ Editorial: People still want to invest in the elegance of downtown Chicago. Government has to help them. ]

Outgoing Mayor Lori Lightfoot championed these projects mostly because they include 30% affordable housing units in a part of the city that has practically none. Without public support, renovating obsolete skyscrapers into new apartments only makes sense if the residences can sell for far more than families seeking affordable housing could ever pay.

Confronted with a downtown that COVID-19 turned from vibrant to desolate during her tenure, Lightfoot went all in. A newly constituted Chicago City Council may not, and the same goes for her successor, Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, who gets sworn in on May 15. Asked about the LaSalle Street Corridor projects, a Johnson spokesperson did not comment.

Johnson ran to the left of Lightfoot, herself a progressive and, to us, these projects seem like a proposition only a progressive could truly love. Many on the far left would relish the chance to spend government money to benefit hundreds of needy Chicagoans at a site known for its wealthy traders, bankers and real estate tycoons.

At the same time, this page has advocated for Chicagos beleaguered downtown. During the pandemic, we urged Lightfoot to get busy reviving this economic engine of the city. Hard times in the Loop threaten to curb commercial property tax revenues just as a new mayor takes over after promising expensive social programs aimed at Chicagos neighborhoods.

Without strong city leadership, downtowns recovery will be slow and spotty. As it stands, pedestrian traffic is finally starting to tick up, while theater, concerts and other cultural events downtown are drawing bigger crowds: Hamilton makes an ideally timed return this fall, likely selling out shows for several months, just as summer tourists exit. The Loops residential population is increasing, too.

But crime is still a terrible drag on progress, as illustrated by last weekends violence in the Loop, where youth broke car windows, fired off shots and torched vehicles. Johnson compounded the damage with his amateurish statement about a scene of mayhem that made downtown look awful on the news and social media.

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Meantime, older commercial buildings in the Loop that rely on missing office workers remain in deep trouble. Landlords cant afford to keep making loan payments indefinitely on buildings worth less than the amounts of their debts. The LaSalle Street Corridor has an estimated 5 million square feet of vacant commercial space weighing down the market.

Anyone serious about reviving the citys central core must consider what is politically feasible under a far-left Johnson mayoral administration. While a city drowning in pension obligations can ill afford to earmark big bucks for elaborate developments, it also cant afford to ignore the Loop.

Were skeptical about the cost of the LaSalle Street Corridor projects, their reliance on much-abused TIF financing and their insistence on a high percentage of affordable housing in a location not ideally suited for it. But even considering those drawbacks, they still have a good shot at reviving a dead zone and serving as a catalyst for future private investment.

Gruvberger, for one, thinks the time is right for the development in his hotels building, and said he welcomes the 30% affordable housing component.

Successes like the LaSalle Chicago hotel give us hope that investing now could pay off for a downtown struggling to recover from the pandemics aftermath. Chicago must take care of its beating heart.

Join the discussion on Twitter @chitribopinions and on Facebook.

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Submit a letter, of no more than 400 words, to the editor here or email letters@chicagotribune.com.
Issuing a press release, the Nepal Embassy in New Delhi stated on Wednesday that PM Modi extended wishes of good health.

Nepal President Paudel, 78, was flown to New Delhi in an air ambulance as no improvement was seen in his health. Paudel was admitted to the VIP Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of AIIMS, Delhi.

A release from the Nepali Embassy in New Delhi stated that the Nepalese President was stable and under the observation of doctors.

The Nepal President received treatment at Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in Kathmandu over four days before being airlifted to Delhi. Paudel, who was admitted on April 5 of this year, was released after four nights.

Earlier, on Monday (April 17), the Nepal head of state had undergone a follow-up and was admitted to the hospital the following day after falling short of breath and fainting.

During the follow-up, doctors found an infection in his lungs and had been using medicines which are said to have failed to make a significant improvement in his health.

On March 13, senior Nepali Congress leader Ram Chandra Paudel was sworn in as the Nepalease President.

Paudel secured 33,802 electoral votes against 15,518 electoral votes garnered by his rival Subash Chandra Nembwang, according to Nepal's Election Commission.

Further, according to the 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. (ANI)
Dubai [UAE], April 19 (ANI/WAM): Dr Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, has led a delegation of UAE government officials and business leaders to South Africa to enhance trade and investment opportunities between the two countries, and promote development in critical sectors such as logistics, food production, tourism and energy. During the visit, Dr Al Zeyoudi held bilateral ministerial meetings with Ebrahim Patel, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition, and Pravin Jamnadas Gordhan, Minister of Public Enterprises, during which they discussed ways to enhance cooperation, facilitate private-sector dialogue, establish new joint ventures and programs, and stimulate mutually beneficial economic growth. Al Zeyoudi also met Barbara Creecy, Minister of Fisheries, Forestry and the Environment, to address climate mitigation challenges, private-sector engagement, and the UAE's hosting of COP28 in November and December, which is designed to build international consensus on these key issues. Al Zeyoudi said the UAE is eager to build partnerships with like-minded nations that can catalyse growth, strengthen supply chains and create new pathways for investment. He explained, "Amid global challenges, the UAE is taking bold steps to reimagine our economy. Trade is central to our ambitions to accelerate economic diversification, create long-term, sustainable growth and attract new forms of investment. We are also at the forefront of a new era of global trade, championing multilateralism and pioneering the use of technology to drive further efficiencies and enhance access to the global trading system. "As the UAE's second-largest trade partner in Africa, responsible for 8pc of the UAE's total non-oil trade with the continent, South Africa has the potential to become an important partner in these efforts. I have seen first-hand the dynamism of the private sector and recognise the government's desire to establish Sub-Saharan Africa's principal hub for industry, energy, logistics and services. "Our investment community understands the scale of the opportunity in front of us, and we are ready to work in unison to support new industry sectors, strengthen south-south trade corridors and push our bilateral trade well beyond the US$6.5 billion we recorded in 2022." The visit included meetings between representatives of each nation's private sector, which aimed to establish and deepen bilateral partnerships. Dr Al Zeyoudi witnessed the signing of an agreement between the UAE power company AMEA, South African energy buyer Green Co, and Standard Bank to finance AMEA's strategic investments into South Africa, which will help meet the nation's growing demand for electricity. Dr Al Zeyoudi also met with representatives of leading South African companies operating in renewable energy, agriculture, food security, medical equipment, artificial intelligence, IT, electricity, mining and infrastructure. He highlighted the UAE's unique business environment and the market-access incentives provided by the NextGenFDI initiative, including rapid incorporation and licensing, bulk visa issuance and ready access to banking facilities and real estate. The UAE delegation then visited DP World's operational office in South Africa where they were briefed on the group's contribution to growing connectivity between Africa and the Gulf, which includes an extensive network of ports, dry ports, container terminals and economic zones. In addition to Dr Al Zeyoudi Al Zeyoudi, the UAE delegation included Mahash Saeed Al Hameli, UAE Ambassador to South Africa; Rashed Abdulkarim Al Blooshi, Under-Secretary of the Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (ADDED); Essa Abdulla Al Ghurair, Chairman of Essa Al Ghurair Investment Company; and representatives from leading UAE companies including Masdar, G42 Healthcare Group, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC), DP World, AMEA Power, Infinity Power and Kanoo Group, among others. (ANI/WAM)
Importantly, ALINDIEN is an abbreviation for the admiral in charge of the French military stationed in the Indian Ocean's maritime zone.

During his visit, ALINDIEN interacted with the Flag Officer Commanding-in-Chief of Western Naval Command, Vice Admiral Dinesh K Tripathi, according to the Indian Navy.

"VAdm Emmanuel Slaars, Joint Commander of the French Forces Deployed in the Indian Ocean #ALINDIEN, accompanied by a two-member delegation, visited #HQWNC on 18 Apr and interacted with VAdm Dinesh K Tripathi #FOCINC #WNC," the official Twitter handle of Western Naval Command of Indian Navy said.

During the interaction, growing cooperation between the two navies on the maritime front and enhanced interoperability to bolster maritime security in the region was appreciated by both sides.

According to the official statement, the interaction between the two sides highlighted the gains achieved by cooperation between the Indian and the French Navies in strengthening the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium (IONS) construct.

Both sides agreed that there is an emergent need to enhance navy-to-navy cooperation keeping in line with the strengthening relations between the two maritime nations, the official statement informed further.

Bilateral cooperation between India and France, especially in the sphere of maritime security, has been growing.

The robustness of the naval partnership and cooperation is reflected in a steady improvement in interoperability through the conduct of regular exercises, long-range deployments by ships and mutually beneficial interaction among high-level envoys. (ANI)
Pakistani government and military do not seem to have a way out from facing persistent attacks from the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). The demands of TTP have varied over time, and the group has been using violence as means to make Pakistan accept them. One of its major demands of withdrawal of troops from the tribal areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) is a sore point with the Pakistani Army. The recent spike in attacks by TTP has made the civil as well as military leadership blame the Taliban for the problem, Afghan Diaspora reported. Pakistan security forces have increased activity in the border areas and tightened controls at the border crossings since the TTP ended a cease-fire with the government in November 2022. Reportedly, a high-level Afghan delegation led by the country's Chief of Directorate of Intelligence Abdul Haq Wasiq recently visited Rawalpindi to discuss the issue with the high command of Pakistan's Army. Pakistan's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee Gen. Sahir Shamshad Mirza is said to have put some impractical demands before the delegation including banning TTP in Afghanistan. The Pakistani side also asked for Afghan support in eliminating TTP Emir Mufti Noor Wali Mehsud and other leaders, Afghan Diaspora reported. Differences between the two countries have been sustained over the frequent violation of Afghan air space by the Pakistani forces citing the disputed 'Durand Line'. Pakistan's vindictive insistence on its own view manifests into cruel attacks by its Army on poor tribals living through uncertainty for more than a century now. Lately, there have been many instances of unprovoked firing by Pakistani forces on civilians crossing 'the border'. The Afghan provinces of Helmand, Nangarhar, Kunar, and Khost have suffered the most on this count. Against Pakistan's claims of being a victim of terrorism, the Taliban regime continues to highlight the sufferings of Afghan nationals at the border and inside Pakistan. While the border areas remain combat zones, poor Afghans living in the interiors of Pakistan are not spared either. A few months ago, several reports which went viral contained audio/videos of Afghans in the custody of Pakistani authorities, Afghan Diaspora reported. The harassment extends to Afghan females who are hassled at border crossings on the pretext of security. While the incessant violence has prompted Pakistan to contain the spread of TTP, the approach adopted by it is hardly realistic. Blaming the Taliban for all the ills in the north-western region has not been productive and is expected to stay the same. Instead, Islamabad needs to acknowledge the fault lines that lie within its policies and its attitude towards Pashtuns. Years of neglect and discrimination have made the tribes take up arms and a solution to their problems cannot come from some other country, Afghan Diaspora reported. (ANI)
The four-member delegation of the Australian All Parliamentary Group for Tibet, visiting Dharamshala on the invitation of the Tibet Information Office in Canberra, held a press conference to express their support for the Tibetan people and their interest in preserving Tibet's unique cultural heritages that are endangered by the Chinese Communist Party's 'sinicization campaign', the alleged practice of imposing Chinese ideals on Tibetan children. The MPs and Senator -- MP Sharon Claydon (Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives), Senator Janet Rice, MP Sophie Scamps and MP Susan Templeman -- jointly addressed the media on Wednesday in Dharamshala here. Recalling their worthwhile yet fulfilling experiences of meeting with the exiled Tibetan leaderships and visitations to both governmental and non-governmental institutions in Dharamshala, one of the core leaders of the delegation, MP Susan Templeman, said, "Australia has recognized that there are real challenges for Tibetans in Tibet and there are threats to culture, education, language and your Tibetan way of life" at the press conference. She acknowledged that their goal of the visit is "to get a deeper insight into those issues" and "to see what we can do as an Australian friend to be able to assist", while mentioning that they are representing the All Party Parliamentary Friendship Group for Tibet. Following MP Susan Templeman, Senator Janet Rice, who has been advocating for the Tibetan people for an extended period in Australia, raised her and her colleagues' collective concerns over the ongoing violation of Human Rights in Tibet, such as "forced" Chinese boarding schools. She said, "It has been wonderful to get a sense of hope and inspiration from the Tibetan people here in Dharamshala" through meetings. Before closing her remarks, the Senator ensured, "When we return to Australia, we will continue to work tirelessly to get justice for the people of Tibet." Deputy Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives MP, Sharon Claydon, expressed her delight in seeing her Tibetan counterparts and witnessing the well-exercising Tibetan democratic polity. Lauding the Central Tibetan Administration for its extraordinary operation under an unusual situation filled with challenges, she labelled it as "the most extraordinary innovation in a democracy that I've seen". She paid her tributes to the Tibetan Parliamentarians and people across the globe for their active engagement and participation in democracy despite residing sporadically in different parts of the world, saying, "That is a highly successful model of democracy". She further commended the "extraordinary spirit and resilience of the Tibetan people". Sharing her proud moments as MP from Sydney of witnessing the large and vibrant Tibetan community thriving in her electorate, MP Sophie Scamps assured her assistance in seeking the continued protection the Australian government has rendered to the Tibetan community. She also reiterated the shared principles of human rights, freedom, and cultural and religious rights between the two cultures. Before concluding the press conference, the speakers answered the queries from the media, touching on the topics of the possibility of adopting a Tibetan Policy and Support Act in Australia and the installation of a Special Coordinator for Tibet, to which the delegations assured to propose the same for discussion among the members of All Party Parliamentary Friendship Group for Tibet in Australia. Similarly, they shared the key issues they discussed with His Holiness the Dalai Lama during the meeting a day before. (ANI)
At the invitation of the Government of Thailand, India's Ministry of Defence Special Secretary Nivedita Shukla Verma will pay an official visit to Bangkok between April 20-21, 2023, said a government press release.

During the visit, the Special Secretary will co-chair the 8th meeting of the India-Thailand Defence Dialogue with Deputy Permanent Secretary for Defence of the Ministry of Defence, Thailand General Nuchit Sribunsong on April 20, 2023, the PIB release said.

During the dialogue, the co-chairs will review the defence cooperation between the two countries and explore new initiatives to further strengthen bilateral engagements.

The release further informed that both sides will also exchange views on regional and global issues of shared interest. As part of her visit, the Special Secretary will also call on Permanent Secretary for Defence of the Ministry of Defence, Thailand General Sanitchanog Sangkachantra.

India and Thailand share a strategic partnership and defence is a key pillar of this cooperation. The bilateral defence engagements have expanded over a period of time to include wide-ranging contacts between the two countries including Defence Dialogue meetings, military-to-military exchanges, high-level visits, capacity-building and training programmes and bilateral exercises. (ANI)
Both ministers discussed ways to develop bilateral defence relations, which shall be reflective of their democratic ethos and a shared interest in the peace and security of the Indo-Pacific, the media release said.

Anita Anand briefed the Raksha Mantri about Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and the importance attached to enhancing engagement with India. Singh welcomed increased Canadian naval presence in the Indo-Pacific. Both Ministers discussed potential areas of defence cooperation, from UN peacekeeping training to defence industrial cooperation.

The Raksha Mantri highlighted that India is an attractive defence manufacturing destination with competitive land and labour costs and two defence industrial corridors. He invited Canadian defence companies to invest in India and carry out co-production. They would also find value in integrating Indian defence companies into their global supply chains.

Both ministers agreed to work on taking the defence relationship to next level and make defence an important pillar of the India-Canada bilateral relationship.

Both leaders discussed ways to develop bilateral defence relations, including industrial collaboration. Rajnath Singh also invited Canadian defence companies to invest and manufacture in India.

"Glad to speak with Canadian Defence Minister Ms Anita Anand. Welcomed Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy. Excellent discussion on ways to develop the bilateral defence relations including industrial collaboration. Invited Canadian defence companies to invest and manufacture in India," Defence Minister Rajnath tweeted on Wednesday.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand also informed about the discussions with her Indian counterpart. She informed that through Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is increasing its presence in the region.

"Today, I had a productive discussion with the Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh. Through Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, we are increasing our presence in the region. Thanks to our people-to-people and trade ties, India will continue to be a strong partner for Canada," Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand wrote on Twitter. (ANI)
The 3rd meeting of the G20 Tourism Working Group under India's G20 Presidency will be held from May 22 to 24 in Srinagar. On April 7, India released a full calendar of events leading up to the summit, which included G20 and Youth20 (Y20) meetings in Srinagar, Kashmir and Leh, in the neighbouring region of Ladakh, in April and May. These fixtures are made after close consultations and the green signal from the member participants. Much thinking and care are needed in arranging international meets. Surprisingly, Pakistan, which is not a member of G20, has raised objections to India organising G20 events in Srinagar, Kashmir. Since Pakistan is not a member of the G20, it has no right to poke its nose into matters that are of exclusive interest to the G20 members, The Pak Military Monitor reported. In its statement, Pakistan government said, "The Foreign Office had in June last year cautioned G20 countries against accepting Delhi's proposal for holding some of the meetings of the bloc's next year's summit in India-held Jammu and Kashmir, saying India attempted to legitimise its illegal control of the disputed region." The caution of Pakistan's foreign office to G20 in June last year went haywire. The G20 summit did not consider Pakistan's "caution" of any merit; it proceeded with its business in the normal course. The inference is that none of the pleas made by Pakistan for dissuading India from holding G20 meetings in Kashmir was accepted, The Pak Military Monitor reported. Pakistan argues that the move of holding some meetings in Srinagar is "self-serving on New Delhi's part." India or any other member of G20 has the right to serve its interests. Indonesia, from whom India took the baton, served its interests by inviting the Summit to Bali, its well-known tourist destination. How come India arranging the G20 Tourism meet in Srinagar, Kashmir becomes self-serving? Giving an international boost to Kashmir tourism cannot be a disservice to the nearly ten million people of Kashmir Valley, who are enjoying the monopoly of the industry, The Pak Military Monitor reported further. "Will Pakistan foreign office explain how India's decision of holding the meeting in Srinagar disregards the interests of other members of G20?" it noted. In its statement, Pakistan's foreign office said, "India's irresponsible move is the latest in a series of self-serving measures to perpetuate its illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir in sheer disregard of the UN Security Council resolutions and violation of the principles of the UN Charter and international law." Two points need to be discussed. One is India's "illegal occupation of Jammu and Kashmir". And the second is "in sheer disregard of the UN Security Council Resolutions". SC Resolution of 21 April 1948 comprises three parts -- Part I begins with imposing obligations on Pakistan that (a) Pakistan undertakes to secure the withdrawal of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals from J and K and (b) prevents and stops any intrusion into the state. Obligations imposed on India were (a) Withdrawal of troops conditional to the Commission's satisfaction that Pakistani nationals and tribesmen were withdrawn and ceasefire made effective, (b) Plan progressive reduction of forces till only minimum strength needed for enforcement of law and order was retained. Part I of the SC Resolution to which the Pakistani foreign office has referred in their statement lays the first condition that Pakistan was required to fulfil viz. "secure withdrawal of tribesmen and Pakistani nationals." This obligation leads two important logical conclusions. The first is that Pakistani tribesmen and nationals have entered Kashmir and are still there. The second conclusion is that an incursion of Kashmir was undertaken and Pakistan has to withdraw them. Pakistan has not withdrawn the tribesmen and its nationals from Kashmir. Pakistan sent huge reinforcement of fully armed regular Pakistani army battalions to fight the Indian forces. Pakistan violated the SC Resolution of 21 April 1948. The resolution in question exposed Pakistan's lie that it did not sponsor the incursion of Kashmir on 22 October 1947, The Pak Military Monitor reported. When the UN Commission (UNCIP) arrived in Karachi on July 7, 1948, the Pakistani foreign minister informed it that the Pakistan army had at that time three Brigades of regular troops in Kashmir that were sent to the State during the first half of May 1948. Joseph Korbel, a member of the Commission (who had, later on, shifted allegiance to the US) said "This disclosure of Pakistan had changed the entire complexion of the Kashmir issue." On June 5, 1958, Nehru wrote to the SC president that there could be no question of the Commission proceeding to implement the resolution until objections raised by the Government of India had been satisfactorily met, The Pak Military Monitor reported. The SC Resolution of 21 April 1948 had become defunct because Pakistan not only declined to implement it but also deliberately acted against its spirit as well. Two former Secretary Generals of the UN, Boutros Ghali and Kofi Annan said that after India and Pakistan signed the Shimla Agreement, the UN was left with no role in Kashmir. Boutros Ghali even wanted to remove the Kashmir issue from the UN agenda in 1995 and his successor Kofi Annan had declared that a resolution under Chapter VI passed half a century ago is "un-implementable". Again, in 2002, when US-Pakistan relations were strong, the then US assistant secretary of state, while deposing before the US House international relations subcommittee had admitted, "in the US view the UN resolutions of the 40s on Kashmir had been superseded by the Shimla Agreement." India has more than once reiterated its willingness and power to retrieve the part of J and K State that remains under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. Also, India cannot ignore its moral duty to save the citizens of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan who have been making sustained exhortations to the Indian Prime Minister to liberate them from the clutches of blood-sucking Pakistani colonialists. Kashmir's tantrum is the only lifebuoy left with Pakistan to hold it back from a total shipwreck. (ANI)
It does not have the megaphone that enables other world bodies broadcast their small and big achievements, such as the UN and its star body the Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union. But the Commonwealth of Nations has not only built up an impressive list of outcomes, it has, away from the limelight, led on key global issues, such as climate change. Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland says this organisation of 56 member nations remains effective, relevant and engaged. But what sets it apart from the others is that it is like a family, tied by shared "love" and concern for each other. Scotland spoke to IANS on the sidelines of the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank group. Excerpt from the interview: IANS: The Commonwealth of Nations has 56 members and it's home to a quarter of the world's humanity but it is barely heard on issues of significance; Ukraine, for instance, or the present global financial crisis. Scotland: Since 2016, the Commonwealth has really been at the forefront of a number of quite pivotal issues. We looked at the issues of debt; we looked at the issues of climate change; we looked at the issues in relation to corruption, looked at the issues in relation to women and domestic violence or the issues in relation to democracy and freedom. On all of these issues, the Commonwealth has been right at the front, particularly in relation to climate. We are here right now (at the Spring Meetings) talking about the reform of the IFIs (International Financial Institutions), the need for us to have a universal vulnerability index because looking at the GNI as the arbiter for what should happen on climate finance is just not working. Of course, the issues in relation to Ukraine are important to the Commonwealth in terms of food insecurity and the rise in the cost of living about which we've been talking a great deal because we identified that these exogenous shocks, which happened in one area, (have) disproportionate deleterious impact on our member states. So I think if what we are saying isn't being covered as extensively as it could or should be, we are trying to change that's why we're having these conversations. IANS: Do you think there is a need for the Commonwealth to change to adapt to this new world that is emerging, a multipolar world where you no longer have just the US and the Soviet Union or now Russia; there is China? Scotland: If you look at what has happened in the last seven years (since she took over as Secretary General) is that the Commonwealth is growing. It's one of the only organisations which more countries are joining and (to which) more countries that left have come back. (Togo and Gabon, which were never parts of the Commonwealth, became last year its 55th and 56th members). They've been looking at the change that has happened in the Commonwealth, particularly in those countries, which are similar to them, who are in the Commonwealth, but who are doing exponentially better. And these countries are saying why. And why the Commonwealth is becoming so attractive, I understand, is because it's a values driven organisation, not dependent on treaty, concentrating on common interests. The world has become a very unstable and quite worrisome place. People are looking for friends. They're looking at friends with whom they can deal and work not only in sympathy, but also in safety. As the rest of the world becomes more difficult, I think people are attracted to an organisation which is bound on values and is based on equality because in the Commonwealth, it doesn't matter what size you are, how rich you are, how poor you are, you are equal. If you look back at 2018 you remember, on the multilateral arena, nobody could agree on anything. You almost thought at one stage they couldn't even agree on a cold custard tart. And they thought therefore it would be impossible for those areas which were so difficult and so complex globally to be agreed anywhere. If you look at our Commonwealth communique, the Commonwealth came together - we were then 53 countries -- and we agreed on everything. We agreed on a new connectivity agenda. We agreed to create the blue charter (to work together on a fair, inclusive and sustainable approach to ocean protection and economic development), we agreed on what we were going to do on women, on every single issue. And it was extraordinary because here you had countries of all shapes, all sizes, five different regions across six oceans agreeing on everything. We had a meeting of trade ministers and people said look, you know WTO was very difficult. You're never gonna get anyone to agree on and you know how disparate that family is. The whole Commonwealth came together and we agreed - every Trade Minister agreed - on a Trade Ministers' communique. The world looked at us 'how on earth'. And the reason is not only do we respect each other, we listen to each other. But we don't just look at what divides us, we look at what joins us. What we've been able to do in the Commonwealth is to work attention around that consensus. IANS: Do you see the Commonwealth as a kind of model for all of the world organisations? Scotland: I think the Commonwealth has been, and can continue to be a pathfinder. I'll just give you a few examples. There was the original example in relation to race and apartheid -- it was the Commonwealth who was ahead. But look at (the issue of) climate. In the 1989 Langkawi declaration in Malaysia, the Commonwealth identified that climate posed an existential threat. So three years before the original COP (Conference of Parties, the top decision making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), the Commonwealth came together and said, if we don't do this, this is what's going to happen. Look at what happened in terms of HIPIC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) -- the highly indebted countries and debt forgiveness. Who came up with that idea? It was the Commonwealth. Look at what then happens in relation to the climate. In 2013, the Commonwealth said what do you believe in, what's the direction? It took them two years, three months, 11 days to come up with a charter, one to 16. If you then look at what the UN did in 2015, one to 16 is one to 16 of our charter and SDG (Sustainable Development Goal number) 17 is partnership, which is in our preamble. (If) you come to our meetings, what you'll see is people care about each other. You know, people don't like this word love (but) they do love each other and if you love someone, it hurts you to see them suffer and you want to do that. So that's what we have. IANS: India holds the G20 presidency for 2023. Any expectations? Scotland: India, the Commonwealth's largest member and the current G20 chair, has a unique opportunity to leverage its position to advocate for inclusive, transparent and consultative reforms of the international financial institutions among its G20 members. India can also push for inclusive financial policies and advocate for debt relief. --IANS yrj/vd ( 1236 Words) 2023-04-19-20:46:02 (IANS)
Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday, for the second time, refused to give his assent to a bill seeking to curtail the powers of the chief justice of Pakistan (CJP). He sent the bill back to the parliament, maintaining that the "bill is sub judice" Pakistan-based Dawn reported. "The matter of competency of legislation and validity of the bill is sub judice now before the highest judicial forum of the country. In deference to the same, thereto no further action is desirable," President Alvi said. According to Dawn, the legislation in question, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at depriving the office of the CJP of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity and giving the right to appeal in all suo motu cases with retrospective effect. The legislation was on March 28, approved by the federal cabinet and then passed by both houses of parliament -- the National Assembly and Senate -- only for the President to refuse to sign it into law with the observation that it travelled "beyond the competence of parliament". A joint session of the parliament, however, passed it again on April 10 with certain amendments amid a noisy protest by PTI lawmakers. It was then again referred to the President for his assent and as per the Constitution, in case of the bill not being signed by him within 10 days, his assent would have been deemed granted, according to Dawn. An eight-member bench of the Supreme Court after the passing of the bill by the joint parliament session, including CJP Umar Ata Bandial, issued an order that bars the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law. "The moment that the bill receives the assent of the President or it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner," read the SC's interim order, according to Dawn. The apex court's pre-emptive move has received criticism from the ruling coalition at the Centre. The federal government has also raised objections to the eight-member bench that has taken up the matter, terming it "controversial and unilateral", and so has the Pakistan Bar Council. (ANI)
One of two men who police say broke into a Glasgow home and shot the homeowner in the "lower extremity" is dead, and the other was injured in the Tuesday night shooting.

New Castle County police were called to the first block of Clipper Court just before 9 p.m. for reports of the shooting. There, they found a 25-year-old suspect dead and the 25-year-old homeowner shot. Police began first aid on the homeowner before paramedics arrived.

As they investigated, detectives learned that two men  the 25-year-old, whom police will identify once his family is notified, and 20-year-old Nadir Everett  broke into the victim's house in a "targeted" attack. A third man, 24-year-old Malik Dennison, remained outside the home as the getaway driver, according to police.

RELATED: 14-year-old who injured 6 in Sunday crash had been drinking, police say

Everett and the 25-year-old threatened the victim with a gun and "began removing miscellaneous property" from the house, police said.

As they were doing this, police said, the victim got a gun and shot at both Everett and the 25-year-old.

The 25-year-old died at the scene. Everett, who was hit "multiple times," ran from the home and was taken to Christiana Hospital by Dennison. Police arrested the men there.

Everett, of Philadelphia, was charged with numerous felonies, including assault, burglary, aggravated menacing, gun charges, wearing a disguise during the commission of a felony and conspiracy.

Dennison, of Newark, was arrested on all the same charges except for wearing a disguise.

Everett is still recovering in the hospital. Neither man had been arraigned yet.

Got a tip? Send to Isabel Hughes at ihughes@delawareonline.com or 302-324-2785. For all things breaking news, follow her on Twitter at @izzihughes_

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Delaware home invader dead after homeowner shoots at robbers: Police
One person suffered serious injuries and a cat died following a 2-alarm house fire in Georgetown on Wednesday afternoon, fire officials said.

At approximately 12:19 p.m., Georgetown Fire received a report of a structure fire at 247 North St.

When firefighters arrived, they found smoke showing from the building and two residents with injuries, Georgetown Fire Chief Matt McKay said.

One resident was taken by ambulance to a Boston-area trauma center with serious injuries, McKay said. Their condition was not known Wednesday night.

The other resident declined treatment at the scene.

The fire quickly went to two alarms. When firefighters entered the one-story ranch home, they found cluttered conditions and a fire in the basement. They made an interior attack and were able to quickly knock down the fire, McKay said.

An aggressive fire attack by the first arriving companies helped prevent this fire from spreading further, and I am grateful for their quick and professional work, said McKay.

The home suffered fire damage in the basement and smoke and water damage on the first floor. A family of three was displaced.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Georgetown Fire Department, Georgetown Police Department and the State Police Fire and Explosion Investigation Unit attached to the State Fire Marshals Office.

Firefighters from Haverhill, Groveland, Boxford, Rowley, West Newbury, and Newbury provided mutual aid at the scene, as did a Topsfield Ambulance, Action Ambulance, Atlantic Ambulance, Rehab 5 and the Department of Fire Services Rehab Truck.

Firefighters from Middleton and Ipswich covered Georgetown stations.

I would also like to thank all of our mutual aid partners who responded quickly to our request for assistance, McKay said.

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Joshua Jackson, Lupita Nyong'o, and Bella Hadid have all spoken openly about dealing with imposter syndrome. Stephane Cardinale - Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images; Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for GreenSlate; John Shearer/Getty Images

Some celebrities have spoken openly about having imposter syndrome.

Joshua Jackson said the money he made from "Dawson's Creek" in his twenties made him feel like a fraud.

Bella Hadid said conversations surrounding her success and image gave her imposter syndrome.

In April 2023, Joshua Jackson said making more money than his friends' parents in his twenties was "the center of my imposter syndrome."

Joshua Jackson at the BAFTAs on February 19, 2023, in London, England. Scott Garfitt/BAFTA via Getty Images

In an interview with The Times of London, the "Dawson's Creek" star said he didn't deserve the money he made from the hit teen drama.

"I would make more money doing four episodes of 'Dawson's Creek' than most of my friends' parents made in a year," he said. "That was the center of my impostor syndrome: 'You're trying to set me up to be a role model to kids, and I definitely am not, and you're paying me all this money that I don't deserve.'"

He also shared that the best career advice he ever received was to "go away" because "this business can consume you."

"I love this dream of building this life with my wife and seeing her achieve her goals. In my twenties it was, 'Maybe I'll feel like this when I get here.' At this point in my life I'm already here," Jackson said.

In an April 2022 cover story for Vogue, Bella Hadid said that other people's opinions on her career and looks made her feel like an imposter.

Bella Hadid attends the Golden Heart Awards on October 17, 2022, in New York City. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images

The model told the publication she was made to feel like she didn't deserve success.

"I've had this impostor syndrome where people made me feel like I didn't deserve any of this. People always have something to say, but what I have to say is, I've always been misunderstood in my industry and by the people around me," she said.

Hadid also revealed that she regretted her nose job at 14 and wished she "kept the nose of my ancestors."

Lupita Nyong'o said in October 2022 that she bucked imposter syndrome with advice from Emma Thompson.

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Lupita Nyong'o at the Gotham Awards at on November 28, 2022, in New York City. Slaven Vlasic/Getty Images for GreenSlate

The actress told The Hollywood Reporter that she felt pressure to capitalize on her momentum after winning best supporting actress for "12 Years a Slave" in 2014.

Nyong'o said that Emma Thompson told her to do what was best for her, which she said was life-saving advice.

"She did save my life. I had won this huge award, and my imposter syndrome was at an all-time high. I was so intimidated by this new platform that I seemed to have. I mean, I acted in one film," she said.

Nyong'o continued: "She told me that she quit acting for over eight years at some point, and everybody told her that she would never be able to come back to it, and she did. She encouraged me to do what I thought was best for my instrument."

In February 2017, Emma Watson revealed that she felt like she didn't belong at the last few premieres of the "Harry Potter" films.

Emma Watson attends The Kering Foundation's Caring for Women dinner on September 15, 2022, in New York City. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

"I'd walk down the red carpet and go into the bathroom. I had on so much makeup and these big, fluffy, full-on dresses. I'd put my hands on the sink and look at myself in the mirror and say, 'Who is this?'" she told Vanity Fair. "I didn't connect with the person who was looking back at me, and that was a very unsettling feeling."

This wasn't the first time Watson spoke about doubting her abilities. In a 2015 cover story for British Vogue, the actress said she didn't understand why she got recognition for her acting.

"It's something I've really wrestled with. I've gone back and I've quizzed my parents," Watson said. "When I was younger, I just did it. I just acted. It was just there. So now when I receive recognition for my acting, I feel incredibly uncomfortable. I tend to turn in on myself. I feel like an imposter  It was just something I did."

In December 2018, Michelle Obama told an audience of students her imposter syndrome "never goes away."

Michelle Obama speaks Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie at The Royal Festival Hall on December 3, 2018, in London, England. Jack Taylor/Getty Images

The former first lady sat down with fellow author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie to discuss Obama's memoir "Becoming." When asked how she felt about being a "symbol of hope," she told the audience that she felt fraudulent.

"I still have a little [bit of] impostor syndrome, it never goes away, that you're actually listening to me. It doesn't go away, that feeling that you shouldn't take me that seriously. What do I know?" she said, per the BBC. "I share that with you because we all have doubts in our abilities, about our power and what that power is."

Ellie Goulding took to Instagram in October 2019 to talk about her self-doubt.

Ellie Goulding at The Grammy Museum on March 14, 2023, in Los Angeles, California. Rebecca Sapp/Getty Images for The Recording Academy

In honor of World Mental Health Day, held annually on October 10, the "Burn" vocalist shared a photo of herself on a swing and wrote about her anxieties in the caption.

"I know I chose this job but nothing could have prepared me for the ups and downs that come with it," she wrote. "I know for sure that a lot of my anxiety has come from what they call 'imposter syndrome' not believing in myself enough and thinking that I don't deserve happiness, which results in wanting to sabotage my own success."

She said she used exercise to remind her "how cool it is to be alive," and dedicated the post to her grandfather, who had taken his own life a few years prior.

Wolfgang Puck told Insider in July 2021 he still deals with bouts of imposter syndrome when opening new restaurants.

Wolfgang Puck at the Oscars Governors Ball preview on March 7, 2023, in Hollywood, California. Rodin Eckenroth/Getty Images

In an interview with Insider's Rachel Askinasi, the legendary chef said he was terrified to open his first restaurant, Spago, and worried no one would attend his new openings.

He noted that he tries to channel his fear of failure into motivation.

"I think fear of failure is maybe a good thing. It's not a good thing when you wake up in the middle of the night sweating, but I think it makes you work harder or it makes you look at things and say I'm gonna do the best I can," he said.

Tom Hanks said he connected with his "A Hologram for the King" character's insecurities in an April 2016 interview.

Tom Hanks at the Premier League match between Aston Villa and Arsenal FC on February 18, 2023, in Birmingham, England. Neville Williams/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images

Speaking with NPR about the 2016 comedy-drama film, Hanks said self-doubt is "a high-wire act that we all walk."

"No matter what we've done, there comes a point where you think, 'How did I get here? When are they going to discover that I am, in fact, a fraud and take everything away from me?' he said.

Hanks continued: "There are days when I know that 3 o'clock tomorrow afternoon I am going to have to deliver some degree of emotional goods, and if I can't do it, that means I'm going to have to fake it. If I fake it, that means they might catch me at faking it, and if they catch me at faking it, well, then it's just doomsday."

In March 2010, Tina Fey said she sometimes switched between feeling egotistical to feeling like a phony.

Tina Fey attends the "Girls5eva" season two premiere on May 1, 2022 in New York City. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

The "Saturday Night Live" alumna told The Independent that she bounced back and forth in her feelings about her success.

"Ah, the impostor syndrome!? The beauty of the impostor syndrome is you vacillate between extreme egomania, and a complete feeling of: 'I'm a fraud! Oh god, they're on to me! I'm a fraud!'" Fey said. "So you just try to ride the egomania when it comes and enjoy it, and then slide through the idea of fraud."

She said she also realized that "almost everyone is a fraud, so I try not to feel too bad about it."

Speaking to graduating seniors at Harvard University in May 2015, Natalie Portman shared that she was still struggling with doubt.

Natalie Portman speaks at Harvard University's Class Day on May 27, 2015. Jonathan Wiggs/The Boston Globe via Getty Images

Portman spoke at her alma mater's Class Day, telling students she thought she was invited back to speak by accident.

"Today I feel much like I did when I came to Harvard Yard as a freshman in 1999. I felt like there had been some mistake, that I wasn't smart enough to be in this company, and that every time I opened my mouth I would have to prove that I wasn't just a dumb actress," she said.

She advised the graduating class to "harness inexperience to carve out your own path, one that is free of the burden of knowing how things are supposed to be, a path that is defined by its own particular set of reasons," according to The Harvard Gazette.

Padma Lakshmi spoke about feeling like an imposter during her first season of "Top Chef" at a food event in March 2015.

Padma Lakshmi at the Blossom Ball Endometriosis Foundation of America on March 20, 2023, in New York City. urora Rose/Variety via Getty Images

According to The Cut, Lakshmi told the crowd at Cherry Bombe's Jubilee conference that she initially felt a sense of uncertainty on set.

"On the first season of 'Top Chef,' I suffered from  impostor syndrome. I didn't have [restaurant cooking experience]  I thought, I'll just be a really good host," she said.

After she overheard French chef Eric Ripert telling another chef about her "sensitive palate," she learned to trust herself.

"Any time I felt insecure or insufficient  which I did a lot on that set  all I had to do was rely on what I did know rather than what I didn't know," the author said.

Read the original article on Insider
Fourteen House Democrats joined Republicans on Wednesday in voting for a resolution to block Washington, D.C.s police accountability bill, despite caucus leadership recommending a no vote and President Biden issuing a veto threat.

The resolution cleared the chamber in a 229-189 vote.

The legislation seeks to stop D.C.s police accountability bill  which the city council passed in December  from taking effect. That measure would permanently enact some reforms that D.C. temporarily implemented after the murder of George Floyd in 2020.

The policing bill, among other measures, curbs police searches based on receiving consent instead of a warrant, limits use of non-lethal weapons when trying to mitigate riots, adds civilians to disciplinary review boards, and cements a requirement that videos captured on body cameras are released publicly in the cases of police-involved shootings.

Fourteen Democrats joined Republicans in voting for the disapproval resolution: Reps. Nikki Budzinski (Ill.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (N.C.), Jared Golden (Maine), Josh Gottheimer (N.J.), Susie Lee (Nevada), Wiley Nickel (N.C.), Jimmy Panetta (Calif.), Chris Pappas (N.H.), Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Wash.), Pat Ryan (N.Y.), Kim Schrier (Wash.) and Eric Sorensen (Ill.).

The Democrats supported the measure despite House Minority Whip Katherine Clark (D-Mass.) recommending a no vote and the Biden administration saying the president would veto the legislation should it land on his desk.

In a Statement of Administration Policy, the Office of Management and Budget said that while Biden does not support every provision of the D.C. police accountability bill, he will not support congressional Republicans efforts to overturn commonsense police reforms such as: banning chokeholds; limiting use of force and deadly force; improving access to body-worn camera recordings; and requiring officer training on de-escalation and use of force.

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If the President were presented with H.J. Res. 42, he would veto it, the statement adds.

Wednesdays disapproval resolution was the latest D.C.-related legislation that split House Democrats. In February, the chamber approved a resolution that sought to block the citys revised criminal code. The Biden administration initially said it was opposed to the legislation  but did not issue a veto threat  leading 173 Democrats to vote no and 31 to support it.

Shortly before the Senate vote, however, Biden said he would not veto the measure, sparking frustration among some House Democrats. The Senate ultimately approved the measure and Biden signed it into law.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
It was definitely a huge relief when a piping plover named gabbY returned to the Michigan lake shore for breeding season.

At 14 years old, gabbY is the oldest member of the Great Lakes piping plover population, according to the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort.

As the species is endangered, any chicks are worth celebrating.

And gabbY has given conservation officials 31 reasons to celebrate over her 14 years of life.

We are so honored to have such an experienced and smart elder female plover on our Great Lakes shores, the organization said.

The wonderful wise shorebird spends her winters on Georgias Cumberland Island National Seashore, where volunteer conservationists Pat and Doris Leary keep an eye on her.

Gabby is lucky, as well as, a resilient survivor, Pat Leary said on Facebook.

Following her winter in Georgia, gabbY returned to her preferred breeding grounds at Sleeping Bear Dunes.

Chelsea Loomis, a piping plover monitor at Sleeping Bear Dunes, spotted gabbY on April 14, according to the conservation team.

She was seen pairing with GOO, a male piping plover who she first mated with in 2020. The pair fledged three chicks that year, followed by three more in 2021 and four chicks in 2022.

Wishing her a successful breeding season, staff with the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort said.

Piping plover conservation

There was once an estimated population of 500 to 800 piping plover pairs that nested along the Great Lakes, officials said. This population declined to about 13 pairs by the late 1980s.

Now, officials estimate there is about 70 nesting pairs in the Great Lakes population.

Although the breeding population is increasing, the Great Lakes Piping Plover is still extremely vulnerable to extirpation (elimination) from predation, environmental changes, and continuing beach development, according to the Great Lakes Piping Plover Recovery Effort.

The team, coordinated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife service, includes several agencies, organizations and volunteers.

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Dara Quinn and her team at Emerald of Siam, bolstered by 150 supporters, marched to Richland City Hall on Tuesday in search of an apology.

They didnt get it.

City spokeswoman Hollie Alexander said the city would not comment on the Emerald of Siam or the controversy and harassment that enveloped the 40-year-old business over an all-ages Easter Day drag performance.

Instead, she said the city reaffirms its commitment to its values, vision and mission, which includes a commitment to being a progressive, safe and family-friendly community that welcomes diversity.

Quinn said respect and a sense of security have been lacking since her music venue began receiving harassing phone calls at the end of March.

She asked the city for support and learned that Mayor Pro Tem Theresa Richardson had commented at a previous meeting that she was sad about a family-friendly drag show on Easter and had encouraged critics to send polite letters.

Protests, vandalism and even a written death threat to the restaurant owners followed.

We have yet to receive any sort of apology, Quinn said.

Richardson later told the Herald she also received threats over her comments, which she said were not intended to spark harassment.

About 150 marched to Richland City Hall on April 18 to speak to the council about what appears to be a lack of support for a restaurants long-running all-ages drag shows.

Tuesday, Emerald of Siam organized a peaceful march from the Uptown Shopping Center to Richland City Hall. Richland police accompanied the group and closed intersections as sign-waving participants crossed Jadwin Avenue and Swift Boulevard.

Passing motorists honked support, with one yelling thank you to the long line of pedestrians, roller skaters and even a unicycle rider.

Record crowd

Once at city hall, the crowd milled in the foyer for about 20 minutes, waiting for the councils regular business session to start. The city attorney said the standing-room-only crowd was the largest in memory.

Quinn said she was grateful for the turnout.

We have a large community that supports love and inclusion, she said.

About 150 gathered in Richland to march to City Hall on April 18 to speak to the council about what appears to be a lack of support for a restaurants long-running all-ages drag shows.

Mayor Terry Christensen allowed 45 minutes for public comments on the topic, with speakers limited to two minutes each.

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At the podium, Quinn told the citys elected leaders her mother started Emerald of Siam Thai Restaurant and Lounge four decades ago and that she is a mother, business owner, resident and taxpayer.

Her business has hosted thousands of performances, prides itself on being a safe place for guests of all ages and orientations and has been honored by the city for its contributions to the arts.

Now, she said, she is being harassed and lost both revenue and her sense of security because some misunderstand Emerald and its inclusive mission.

I would never host an event that negatively affects the community, she told the council.

Shaken us all

Several speakers on both sides of the issue declined to give their specific home addresses for the record when they got up to speak, saying they were nervous about retaliation.

This shooting threat has shaken us all, said Justin Chapman, a longtime employee and now partner. He asked the mayor pro tem to ratchet down the rhetoric.

About 150 supporters of a Richland restaurants long-running all-ages drag shows walked from the Emerald of Siam to City Hall on April 18 to speak to the council about what appears to be a lack of support for

People have been put in danger. Property has been vandalized, said Tim Thornton, Emeralds general manager.

He said the business leveraged the controversy to raise nearly $5,000 for the Trevor Project, a nonprofit supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transsexual and queer youth. He asked the city to match its donation.

Other speakers lamented that a welcoming venue that celebrates Richland in all its diversity is under fire.

One man said taking a young family member to Tri-City cultural events has lost some of its appeal.

My 12-year-old nephew is not as safe at these events because of your words, he told the council.

Richardson defended

Richardsons supporters rallied behind her message and her right to speak her opinion, with some citing her First Amendment right to free speech. Several said she cant be held responsible for the vandalism and threats, noting her message encouraged politeness.

This has all been blown out of proportion, said Kathleen Schweiger, a lifelong Richland resident. I am sorry for those who received threats, including Theresa Richardson.

Emerald of Siam owner Dara Quinn, center, and about 150 supporters fill Richland City Hall after marching to the council meeting from the restaurant to address the council about their concerns.

Brad Klippert, a Kennewick resident, Benton County sheriffs deputy and seven-term former Washington state lawmaker, said he stood with Richardsons view that Easter was not the day for a drag performance.

Klippert, who recently registered with the Public Disclosure Commission to run for Washington Superintendent of Public Instruction in 2024, noted U.S. currency and the Pledge of Allegiance both reference God.

A drag brunch on Easter was spitting in Gods face, he said.

Klippert cited two Biblical passages, Deuteronomy 22:5 , which says a woman shall not wear a mans garment nor shall a man put on a womans cloak, and Luke 17:2, which Klippert explained prescribes death to those who offend little ones.

Shir Regev, a Hanford health physics technician who was Klipperts challenger in the 2020 state house election, was one of the final speakers.

Rather than seek an apology on Emeralds behalf, she challenged the council to ask itself what it will do and say to keep the situation from spiraling out of control.

A recording to the council meeting can be found on the citys website at Richland Cityview.

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"Gossip Girl" star Leighton Meester and "The O.C." alum Adam Brody prefer to keep their relationship largely under wraps. Dimitrios Kambouris/Getty Images for Tony Awards Productions

Some celebrity couples, like Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, are more prominent than others.

Pairs like Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam are a bit more low-key and private.

Here are 16 celebrity couples you probably didn't realize are together.

Amy Daire contributed to a previous version of this article.

Teen drama stars Adam Brody and Leighton Meester tied the knot in 2014 and have two children together.

Adam Brody and Leighton Meester in November 2022. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Their first child, daughter Arlo, was born in 2015. They welcomed a son in 2020 but haven't disclosed the child's name yet.

In August 2016, Brody took to Reddit to answer fan questions. When someone asked what his favorite thing about Leighton was he replied, "Too many to count. She's the BEST."

He elaborated on their love story during an appearance on "Gossip Girl" star Penn Badgley's podcast, "Podcrushed," in 2023.

Brody said he was "smitten instantly" when he first saw Meester at a deli in LA years ago, but nothing happened.

"I didn't get to know her for many years after, even though we even worked together briefly," he said, referring to the movie "The Oranges."

Brody said that Meester was "elusive" and "aloof," to the point where he couldn't gauge her interest.

"I couldn't get a total read because even though she professes to have been interested in me and all those things, not only did she not pursue that, I mean, she was perfectly willing to let that never happen," he said.

"Parks and Recreation" star Nick Offerman and "Will & Grace" favorite Megan Mullally are a match made in comedy heaven  and have been since 2003.

Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally in February 2020. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

These two are nearly inseparable.

"We like each other," Mullally said in a NY Daily News interview. "We also have a two-week rule, where we don't go more than two weeks without seeing each other. We've only broken it by a couple of days twice in 16 years."

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Amber Tamblyn and "Arrested Development" star David Cross took their relationship to the altar in 2012.

Amber Tamblyn and David Cross in May 2017. Christopher Smith/Invision/AP

The couple welcomed their first child together, Marlow, in February 2017. Tamblyn and Cross both took to Instagram the following month to share a photo of the newborn.

"Somehow my wife gave birth to a 55 year old furrier from Crown Heights," Cross joked. "I'm investigating."

"Saturday Night Live" alum Taran Killam and "How I Met Your Mother" star Cobie Smulders said "I do" in 2012 and have two children.

Cobie Smulders and Taran Killam in February 2020. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In 2012, the "SNL" star sat down for an interview with Vulture just days after the couple's wedding. When the interviewer asked Killam why they weren't on their honeymoon, he replied, "Every day with Cobie is a honeymoon!"

In an interview with Parents, Smulders revealed that she always wanted to be a parent.

"I come from a big family," she said. "I have two sisters and a brother and then my father remarried and I have four siblings from that marriage, which happened when I was quite young. So I always wanted kids but I also always wanted a career. I've always wanted both. It's a balancing system."

The seventh Bond, Daniel Craig, put a ring on it back in 2011 when he married Rachel Weisz in a private ceremony involving just her son and his daughter.

Rachel Weisz and Daniel Craig in April 2018. Evan Agostini/Invision/AP

In a 2015 interview with MORE magazine, Weisz explained why they keep things private.

"He's just too famous," she said. "It would be a betrayal. You have to protect your marriage. When you're young, you tell your girlfriends everything. One of the great pleasures of not being an adolescent is that you don't have to share everything. When you're married, that door closes. The audience goes, and you're in your own life."

Jamie Lee Curtis and mockumentary director Christopher Guest tied the knot in 1984.

Christopher Guest and Jamie Lee Curtis in March 2023. Jeff Kravitz/FilmMagic

These lovebirds and parents of two have been together for more than three decades, so everyone's asking: What's their secret for staying together?

When asked on the "Today" show in 2015, she gave a very thoughtful answer. "Don't get divorced," she said. "It's a fascinating thing. I could write a book on marriage called 'Don't Leave.'"

Isla Fisher and Sacha Baron Cohen, who's known for his role as Borat, got married in 2010 and have three children together.

Sacha Baron Cohen and Isla Fisher in April 2021. Rick Rycroft/AP/Pool

These two aren't your average couple. With Sacha's racy roles, they've got more than a few wild memories they've shared.

"Once, Sacha came back from work while he was shooting 'Bruno' and he had red welts and blood all over his back, and his thumb was broken," Fisher told Square Mile magazine. "It was the result of a scene with a real six-foot-four dominatrix who had tried to force him to have sex with her. When I asked him what had happened, he just said it was a 'workplace injury.'"

Marcus Mumford of Mumford and Sons married "Great Gatsby" star Carey Mulligan in 2012.

Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford in April 2021. Chris Pizzello/AP, Pool

Mulligan and Mumford are known for keeping their relationship behind closed doors. Luckily, their friend Sienna Miller has seen enough to shed some light for their fans.

"They have chickens and a dog, and roasts and friends, jams by campfires. It's sort of idyllic," she told Vogue. "Marcus can headline Glastonbury and Carey can be nominated for however many Oscars, and then they come back to their farm, and they're in big woolly jumpers and funny hats, raising piglets."

Alicia Keys and Swizz Beatz have been married since 2010 and are often seen together on music's hottest red carpets.

Swizz Beatz and Alicia Keys in May 2019. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

When Keys made a statement by going makeup free to the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards, Swizz defended his wife against any haters.

"Y'all gotta think about that. This is deep," he said in an Instagram video. "Somebody's sitting at home mad, because somebody didn't wear makeup on their face  not your face, but they didn't put makeup on their face, because they just didn't feel like wearing makeup."

Carrie Preston from "True Blood" wed Michael Emerson, aka creepy Ben Linus from "Lost," back in 1998.

Carrie Preston and Michael Emerson in January 2023. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

They may not have kids, but they do have a very special someone in their lives: their dog Chumley.

"Michael and I have been together for going on 22 years," Preston told Us Weekly in 2016. "We talk about our lives B.C. and A.C.  Before Chumley and After Chumley."

Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy, who have two children together, have one of the longest marriages in Hollywood.

Felicity Huffman and William H. Macy in September 2018. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

Huffman and Macy were nominated for awards at the 2016 Emmy's, and Huffman explained what happened on the morning the nominations were announced.

"In the morning of the nominations, when we were both nominated, he told me 'You're not going to win.' I told him, 'You're not going to win.' Then we gave each other a kiss!" she said to an ABC correspondent on the red carpet.

Claire Danes and her British actor husband Hugh Dancy wed in 2009 and had their only son, Cyrus, in 2012.

Claire Danes and Hugh Dancy in November 2022. Charles Sykes/Invision/AP

Despite being married for almost 10 years, Danes says she's still learning.

"Marriage is wonderful. It's challenging, and  it just keeps getting deeper. I keep learning more things about him and myself, and that's not always comfortable," Danes said during a 2015 interview. "But I have this incredible security, and it's a huge asset to have a partnership with someone you trust and admire  and want to make out with."

Kyra Sedgwick and Kevin Bacon have been together for more than three decades.

Kevin Bacon and Kyra Sedgwick in March 2023. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

The two actors, who costarred in the movie "Lemon Sky," wed in 1988. They have two children together, a son named Travis and a daughter named Sosie.

Sedgwick and Bacon continue to support each other on red carpets for their projects, and don't mind being silly together on social media.

The "Footloose" star gave a heartwarming shout out to his long-time partner back in 2015 as they rang in their 27th year together.

"Celebrating 9,855 days of marriage to @kyrasedgwick," he wrote. He followed up that post with a throwback for the ages adding, "Did I mention it's 1,404 weeks sine we tied the knot? #LikeFineWine."

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart are another Hollywood couple that has been together for quite some time.

Harrison Ford and Calista Flockhart in November 2018. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

They met at the 2002 Golden Globes and have been married for more than 10 years. The actors have a 22-year age gap, but to them, it's not a big deal.

"It doesn't faze me," Flockhart told Hello! magazine in 2003. "Sometimes I even say, 'Wow, I keep forgetting that he's [22] years older than me.' It doesn't factor into our relationship at all."

"The Good Place" actor Ted Danson and "The Proposal" star Mary Steenburgen have been married for more than two decades.

Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen in November 2021. Chris Pizzello/AP

They met through Danson's audition for the 1983 film "Cross Creek" but didn't date at the time.

"I was married. He was married. That was not our moment," Steenburgen told People magazine in 2021.

Sure enough, the actors reconnected  as costars in the 1993 film "Pontiac Moon." They wed two years later.

"I want as long as possible in my life with Mary," Danson told People magazine. "I know it will have all of its hard parts but I want to experience love in all those moments."

"She-Hulk" star Jameela Jamil and Grammy-winning musician James Blake have been dating for more than five years.

James Blake and Jameela Jamil in January 2020. Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

They were first linked in 2015 when Jamil posted a photo of them celebrating her birthday in LA. Since then, they've stepped out together at red carpets and posted about each other on Instagram.

In 2015, Blake told Dazed magazine that the "Good Place" star, who never minces words on social media, encouraged him to say how he really feels and be outspoken.

Meanwhile, Jamil said on Emma Gannon's "Ctrl Alt Delete" podcast, that her boyfriend taught her "to stick up for myself."

She also told Meghan Markle that Blunt is a "great source of strength and comfort."

"He's incredibly supportive of me, and you know he's been a big encourager of me to learn how to fight back and speak my mind and understand my worth, and he's just a great ally," Jamil said.

Read the original article on Insider
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated when the shooting occurred. It was April 8.

A 17-year-old boy from Newark has been arrested in relation to the shooting at Christiana Mall on April 8 that left three people injured, according to Delaware State Police.

The teen turned himself in Tuesday, police said, when he was charged with two felonies  facilitating a riot and second-degree conspiracy  as well as offensive touching.

Police said the 17-year-old and two of his friends ganged up on an 18-year-old man in the mall food court, leading to a fight and later, shots fired. Police are still searching for the 17-year-old's two friends, one of whom shot the 18-year-old, the 18-year-old's friend and a random bystander.

Target employees gather at the store parking lot entrance as police, fire and medical personnel respond in force to the food court entrance at the Christiana Mall after a shooting Saturday evening, April 8, 2023.

BACKGROUND: Christiana Mall shooting started when 3 men ganged up on another man by food court: Police

The 17-year-old was arraigned in New Castle County Family Court and committed to a Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services facility on a $15,000 secured bail.

Christiana Mall did not respond to immediate requests for comment following the arrest. However, the mall's website now says that shoppers under 18 must be accompanied by someone at least 21 years old on Fridays and Saturdays after 3 p.m.

A security guard stand by at the food court entrance at the Christiana Mall after a shooting Saturday evening, April 8, 2023.

Anyone with information about the other two suspects is asked to contact Delaware State Police Troop 2 at 302-365-8428 or Crime Stoppers at 800-847-3333.

Send story tips or ideas to Hannah Edelman at hedelman@delawareonline.com. For more reporting, follow them on Twitter at @h_edelman.

This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Christiana Mall shooting: Teen charged, 2 others unidentified
A 17-year-old Georgia girl has died after she was shot in the head while the man she was with was teaching her how to use a handgun, according to the Statesboro Herald.

Kelsey McDuffie, of Bulloch County, was at a home on Arthur Nubern Road early Sunday morning when Adan Keelin, 18, tried to show her how to assemble and disassemble a 9mm semi-automatic handgun, according to the sheriffs office.

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The gun fired while Keelin was holding it, traveling through his hand and hitting McDuffie in the back of the head.

McDuffie was flown to a hospital in Savannah, where doctors determined she would not survive her injuries.

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Her family decided to pursue organ donation and McDuffie was transferred to Piedmont Hospital in Atlanta Tuesday after an Angel Walk.

Kelsey was able to donate her heart, both lungs, both kidneys, her liver, pancreas and small intestines.

Kelseys sister, Kailyn McDuffie, said organ donation is very close to her familys heart because their father had a heart transplant in 2017.

Our beautiful baby girl, Kelsey McDuffie, has the ability to be the reason so many people live and we couldnt be more thankful that we got to share her love and light with so many people while she graced this Earth, Kailyn McDuffie said.

She always fiercely stood up for anything she believed in and she could light up a room full of people with her beautiful smile and contagious laugh. Our baby girl is a hero and she will always be our free-spirited firecracker.

The Bulloch County Sheriffs Office is still investigating the case. Its unclear if Keelin is facing any charges.

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Two cheerleaders were shot, one left with critical injuries, when a man opened fire in a Texas grocery store parking lot after one of the athletes accidentally tried to get into the wrong car, according to police and the owner of a cheerleading gym.

Officers responded to reports of shots fired at the H-E-B supermarket in Elgin, Texas, about 25 miles northeast of Austin, early Tuesday night, according to the Elgin Police Department.

Police said an "altercation occurred" before the man fired into a vehicle in the parking lot, injuring two people inside.

The man, identified as 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., was taken into custody and charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony, according to police.

One of the victims, 18-year-old Payton Washington, sustained serious injuries and was transported to an area hospital by helicopter, police and her family said.

Washingtons father, Kelan Washington, told NBC News his daughter, who was born with one lung, had her spleen removed and is recovering in the ICU at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas in Austin.

Cheerleader Heather Roth (@we_payton via Instagram)

"Payton's accomplished everything she has with only one lung (from) when she was born," he said. "Shes as tough as they come."

Washington, a cheerleader at Woodlands Elite Cheer Company, was headed home from practice with three fellow athletes when they stopped at the H-E-B, her father told NBC News.

The grocery store was the "designated carpool site" for the athletes to travel to their cheerleading gym in Houston from Austin, he said.

Washington's father said one of the athletes accidentally tried to get into the wrong car, and then a man "raised his hands and then brandished his weapon and then just started shooting at the girls."

The alleged suspect did not exchange any words with the athletes before opening fire, he said.

"You watched her walk up to your door on accident, it's a girl in a cheer outfit," he said.

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Washington's father also said the other cheerleaders involved in the shooting are doing "fine" and are supporting his daughter.

"Theyre family. Those girls are Paytons sisters basically in spirit and in team camaraderie," he said. "Of course theyre very concerned about their sister, theyre very concerned about their leader. Payton was the leader of this cheer squad in Houston."

He added his family wants "accountability for sure" for the suspect.

"This young man has to deal with the next call, his own recollection and reflection of what hes done and whatever God has for him. Thats a sentence in itself that he has to work through," he said.

Elgin Police did not immediately respond to a request for comment from NBC News, but said in an April 18 press release the investigation is still ongoing and additional or enhanced charges may be added.

The other victim of the shooting, Heather Roth, was grazed in the leg by a bullet, KPRC reported. Roth spoke out about the incident during a prayer vigil Tuesday evening at her cheerleading gym, according to KPRC.

"I just saw a black figure in the passenger seat, and I just shut the door as fast as I could," Roth said.

Roth said she went up to the vehicle thinking it was her car. But when she noticed a man on the passenger side, she ran away and found the right car, where the other girls were waiting.

"I see the guy get out of the passenger door," she said. "And I rolled my window down, and I was trying to apologize to him and my window was halfway down, and he just threw his hands up and he pulled out a gun, and then he just started shooting at all of us."

Lynne Shearer, owner of Woodlands Elite Cheer Company, confirmed Washington's account that four cheerleaders from her gym were involved in the shooting, and that they carpool from the Austin area to the gym outside of Houston, she told NBC affiliates KPRC and KXAN.

"It was unfortunate. These girls were just trying to get home," Shearer told KXAN, adding the man fired about five shots into the vehicle.

She said the cheerleaders had "grown up" in her gym.

"Weve known them for years, some of them literally, since they were 8, 10 years old," Shearer said. "So theyre like our family."

A GoFundMe organized by the Woodlands Elite Generals to help cover hospital bills for Washington had raised more than $70,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.

"Shes literally one of the very best thats ever done this sport she wont be competing this weekend unfortunately she has more surgeries in front of her," Shearer told KPRC.

Shes won every title there is to win in All-Star Cheerleading, Shearer added. Shes literally a role model for kids in this industry. Throughout the country, everybody knows her.

Woodlands Elite did not immediately respond a request for comment from NBC News.

The Texas shooting comes days after two other high-profile incidents where the victims were allegedly shot after mistakenly arriving at the wrong address.

Last week, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot in the head and seriously injured after he rang the wrong doorbell to pick up his younger siblings in Kansas City, Missouri, police and attorneys for the Yarl family said. The shooting has sparked protests and nationwide outrage.

Days later, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed when the vehicle she was in pulled into the wrong driveway while she and some friends were looking for a friend's house in upstate New York, according to police.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
China urges G7 to cease interfering in other countries' internal affairs

Xinhua) 08:09, April 19, 2023

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday urged the G7 to reflect on their own problems, discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices, and cease interfering in other countries' internal affairs.

Wang made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query about a joint communique issued after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan on the issues of Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Xinjiang and Tibet. The meeting urged China to ensure transparent, predictable and fair business environments.

Wang said that regardless of China's strong position and the existing facts, the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and maliciously slandered and discredited China.

"The communique reflects the group's arrogance, prejudice and deliberate desire to block and contain China. We deplore and reject this and have made a strong demarche to the host, Japan," he said.

Wang said that Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory, and the one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. To ensure real peace in the Taiwan Strait, it is absolutely essential to unequivocally oppose and stop any act toward "Taiwan independence," he added.

Matters related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet fall entirely under China's internal affairs, and no foreign force may interfere in these affairs in any way or under any pretext, Wang said. The situations in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea are generally stable, and relevant countries need to respect the efforts of regional countries to uphold peace and stability, he added.

"As one of the most vibrant markets with the greatest potential, China is committed to providing a stable, fair, transparent and predictable investment and business environment for foreign investors," Wang said. He noted that certain G7 members have been oblivious to the principles of the market economy and fair competition, have overstretched and abused the concept of national security, and have used every means possible to suppress foreign companies. They are in no position to point fingers at China, he said.

The spokesperson said that China, as a responsible major country, firmly acts on the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law, and is committed to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"We once again urge the G7 to reflect on their own problems and discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices. They should stop running counter to the prevailing trend of today's world, stop pointing fingers condescendingly, stop grossly interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and stop deliberately creating antagonism and division in the international community," Wang said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Eric Garcetti, left, next to his daughter Maya Garcetti and holding a heavy and historic Hebrew Bible from the Library of Congress, is sworn in as ambassador to India by Vice President Kamala Harris, Friday, March 24, 2023, in her ceremonial office in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House complex in Washington. | Jacquelyn Martin, Associated Press

After serving as the mayor of Los Angeles, one of the biggest cities in the U.S., Eric Garcetti will now take on New Delhi, one of the biggest cities in the world, as the newly sworn-in U.S. ambassador to India.

The position sat open for two years while the White House tried to get Garcettis nomination across the finish line, putting a damper on Washingtons relationship with India, one of the largest countries in the world and an important U.S. ally.

Former U.S. Ambassador to India Kenneth Juster told the Deseret News that Garcetti will have to decide what his approach will be on issues like trade, defense and concerns over Hindu nationalism. In Justers experience, engaging with the Indian government privately is the best way to manage things. Although he said that India is a complicated country.

Garcettis connections to the White House and State Department are also a big bonus, said Juster, who served as ambassador to India for nearly four years during the Trump administration.

That is an important asset for an ambassador, as the Indians will know that their views will be heard in Washington, D.C., he said.

But, compared to Juster, Garcetti lacks foreign policy experience. Before becoming ambassador to India, Juster had worked alongside the governments of Panama, Bhutan, Japan and many others during his 40-year tenure as a senior government official.

Garcetti, on the other hand, served on the city council before becoming the mayor of Los Angeles, where issues like homelessness eclipsed his second term.

But Garcetti is now in New Delhi and is getting to work. He recently laid out his agenda for his new role in his first interview since being sworn in to office in March.

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He said on LA Stories with Giselle Fernandez that he will focus on expanding the U.S.-India partnership in areas like energy, technology and defense while bridging a gap between the two cultures.

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Weve already had strong ties, but lets capitalize on a mayor from Hollywood going to Bollywood and connecting this moment, he said. We can get to know that country better  and vice versa. They can get to know us better, too.

On Thursday, Garcetti arrived at the U.S. consulate in Chanakyapuri, Delhi, in a pink auto-rickshaw, a three-wheeler vehicle, and greeted the U.S. Embassy staff.

US ambassador designate Eric Garcetti arrives in Delhi, and meets US embassy staff. pic.twitter.com/hrQ755Rlms  Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) April 14, 2023

The White House also seems ready to further develop the India-U.S. relationship.

When we look at the relationship with India, its one of the most consequential relationships that the United States has in the world. And that still stands, said press secretary Karine Jean- Pierre in a press briefing, before reiterating Garcettis plans.

Meanwhile, Milan Vaishnav, director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told the Deseret News that overall, the Indian community seems very pleased to welcome Garcetti to Delhi.

The lack of an ambassador has been a sore point in bilateral ties between the United States and India, he said. Some interpreted this glaring absence as a sign that Washington, despite its rhetoric, did not place as much attention on India as other key allies and partners.

Although Joe Biden nominated Garcetti in July 2021, he did not initially garner enough support, leaving the position open for two years.

As the Intelligencer reported, Garcettis adviser and chief fundraiser, Rick Jacobs, who helped boost his national and international image, was accused of sexual harassment. Garcetti came under fire for allegedly knowing about Jacobs actions, putting his ambassadorship to India at risk. Garcetti denied the allegations.

Although his nomination was cleared by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Republican Sens. Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst of Iowa put it on hold to get more clarity over the allegations, according to the Los Angeles Times.

An investigation, led by Grassley, found that it was more likely than not that Mayor Garcetti either had personal knowledge of the sexual harassment or should have been aware of it.

Reports indicate that the parents of the 52-year-old mayor  Gil and Sukey Garcetti  hired a lobbying firm to ramp up efforts to expedite the confirmation of his ambassadorship. They spent roughly $90,000 in 2022 alone.

Ive never heard about a similar case where the parents of a major elected official hired a lobbyist to help, said Jeff Birnbaum, president of BGR Public Relations and an expert in lobbying, per The Los Angeles Times.

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Regardless, Biden renominated Garcetti in January 2023, and this time around the former mayor won bipartisan support.

Apart from the allegations against Garcetti, he also made a faux pas during his confirmation hearing by making a remark about a piece of Indian legislation.

In response to a question about the Citizen Amendment Act, which sought to fast-track citizenship applications of non-Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, Garcetti, said at his confirmation hearing in 2021 that he will actively raise human rights issues in New Delhi.

Tarun Vijay, a former member of parliament from Bharatiya Janata Party, called Garcettis remarks ignorant and Abhinav Prakash, the vice president of BJPs youth wing, said it could fuel anti-West sentiment in India, according to Time Magazine.

But Vaishnav said that he doesnt think Indians are particularly bothered by what Garcetti has or has not said on India as questions of democracy and human rights have not really featured very prominently in the relationship, given the heavy emphasis on deepening security and economic ties.

Vaishnav said he also considers Garcettis relationship with Biden as important for Indians.

It means that the president has installed someone who is a close political ally who can pick up the phone and reach the president directly  not something all former U.S. ambassadors to Delhi can do, Vaishnav said.

Although its worth noting, as Justin Huges, a law professor, wrote for the Los Angeles Times, key U.S. partners, like India require more than an ambassador to maintain good relations.

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For example, trade issues are usually taken on by the U.S. trade representative and the Indian Ministry of Commerce and Industry, while a situation like the pandemic led to the involvement of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Indias National Centre for Disease Control, he said.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo was in New Delhi last month where she called Indias prime minister a visionary who has a desire to lift people out of poverty and move India forward as a global power, according to The Hindu, an Indian national daily.

Raimondo met Indian CEOs and entrepreneurs on her trip, promising a deepening relationship between India and the U.S.
Two defendants in the shooting last summer of a Lake Norman business leader on a boat are scheduled to stand trial this month, court records show, in a case that also involves sex charges.

Longtime Charlotte-Lake Norman commercial Realtor Tom McMahon was hospitalized in serious condition after he was shot on a boat at a Lake Norman marina on Sunday, July 13, 2022.

Tom McMahon, a longtime Charlotte-area commercial real estate broker and community leader, was hospitalized in serious and stable condition after the July 10 shooting at a Troutman marina, The Charlotte Observer previously reported. He was later released.

Public records show McMahon is 59 and lives in a $1.5 million lakefront home about 4 miles from where he was shot. Troutman is roughly 35 miles north of Charlotte.

Markis Allan Kirkpatrick, a 31-year-old Charlotte resident, and Andiaye Tyler, 23, also of Charlotte were scheduled for trial during the two-week Iredell County Superior Court session that began Monday, April 10, and ends Friday, April 21, according to the court calendar.

A third defendant, 31-year-old Keishari Chanel-Wicks Johnson of Las Vegas, Nevada, had her case dismissed in December, records show.

Insufficient evidence, a prosecutor wrote on the dismissal form filed in the Iredell County Clerk of Superior Courts office.

Whether Kirkpatrick and Tyler will stand trial, enter a plea or have their cases continued to another month couldnt be determined when the Observer visited the courthouse in Statesville on Friday, April 14.

Their case files sat inaccessible with many others before a judge in a second-floor courtroom, and the Clerk of Superior Courts office has no way of knowing their outcomes until the files are returned to the office on Monday, April 24, or Tuesday, April 25, a worker in the office told the Observer.

It took nearly a half-hour of digging Friday, but the worker finally found Johnsons file, which contained her dismissal form.

Prosecutors, defense attorneys, McMahon and the defendants havent returned messages from the Observer over the months.

Deputies arrested Kirkpatrick at the scene on a charge of felony assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, according to court documents.

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Initially, Johnson and Tyler were arrested on drug and prostitution charges, according to a previous review of the case file by the Observer.

Tyler was charged with misdemeanor conspiracy to commit prostitution and felony conspiracy to sell and deliver a controlled substance, which arrest warrants say was cocaine.

According to the warrants, Tyler did unlawfully agree to perform a sexual act July 10.

Someone called in a kidnapping

The sheriffs investigation began after deputies responded to a report of a kidnapping at 4:30 a.m. in the 1100 block of Perth Road, north of Mooresville on Lake Norman.

The address released to the media by investigators after the shooting matched that of the Safe Harbor Skippers Landing marina, according to public records.

A woman who answered the phone at the marina days after the shooting told the Observer that the victim was not one of our customers and the boat was not one of our boats.

Victim found with two gunshot wounds

Sheriffs investigators saw two females and a male standing in the parking lot near the walkway leading to the pier, according to a sheriffs office news release after the shooting.

As the deputies approached the three, the male told them there was another person on a boat who was shot, according to the release.

While gathering additional information, the deputies went to the area where the boats were tied up and located a male with two gunshot wounds.

Deputies found a semiautomatic pistol, three loaded magazines and a bag with additional items in the parking lot, according to the release, which didnt specify the items found in the bag.

The scene was secured and Iredell County EMS arrived and took the gunshot victim to an area trauma center for emergency treatment and surgery, sheriffs investigators said in the release.

No one is talking

How a respected business and community leader ended up in such a situation remains a mystery, as no one involved in the case is talking publicly.

In the early 2000s, McMahon chaired the Lake Norman Chamber of Commerce business growth committee..

With other business leaders, he helped create the Lake Norman Economic Development Corp. The nonprofit corporation works to attract businesses and industries to towns on the lake.

McMahon has closed more than 1,000 commercial real estate transactions in a career of more than 25 years, his LinkedIn profile shows.

He began in commercial real estate after 17 years as a quality control inspector at the former USAirways, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He spent 22 years as CEO and managing director of Cornelius-based Sperry Van Ness Commercial Real Estate Advisors, where he earned the Achiever Award for closing 22 transactions valued at $20 million in 2006, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time.

McMahon founded Cornelius-based Newport Commercial in December 1998 and owned the firm until 2003, when he became managing director of SVN Commercial Real Estate in Charlotte, his LinkedIn profile shows.

He worked at SVN until 2021, the year he joined Lake Norman Realty Inc. as a commercial broker.
A man has been arrested after two Texas cheerleaders were shot, one critically, after one of them mistakenly got into the wrong car, according to police and the owner of the gym where they trained.

Officers in Elgin, about 25 miles northeast of Austin, responded to reports of shots fired outside an H-E-B supermarket around 12:15 a.m. local time (1:15 a.m. ET) Tuesday, the Elgin Police Department said in a news release.

"Information suggests that an altercation occurred in the parking lot of H-E-B, and multiple shots were fired into a vehicle," police said. Two of the car's occupants were struck by gunfire, with one victim sustaining serious injuries and transported by helicopter to a hospital, where they were listed in critical condition, police said.

The suspect, Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, has been charged with deadly conduct, a third-degree felony, police said.

The H-E-B grocery store at 1080 E US 290 in Elgin, Texas where two cheerleaders were shot on April 18, 2023. (Google)

Lynn Shearer, owner of Woodlands Elite Cheer Co., told NBC affiliate KXAN of Austin that the two people shot were cheerleaders who were on their way home from practice.

Shearer said the cheerleaders typically carpooled from the Austin area to her gym. On Monday night, she said at least four cheerleaders were on their way back to the Austin area and had to stop at an H-E-B, where some of the members had parked their cars.

One of the girls accidentally tried to get into the wrong car, Shearer said. That's when, she said, a "guy got out and they saw that he had a gun. And so they tried to speed off and he shot his gun, like five times or so into the car." Woodlands Elite did not immediately respond to an overnight request for comment. The Elgin Police Department also did not immediately respond to an overnight request from NBC News seeking to confirm these details.

According to ABC News, Heather Roth, a cheerleader with the Woodlands Elite, said in an Instagram Live post that she was the one who got out of her friend's car and opened the door of another vehicle she thought was her own, only to notice a man was in the passenger seat. She said she got out of the car and back into her friend's vehicle, the report said.

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Roth reportedly said the man approached their vehicle and she rolled down a window to apologize. That's when the man started shooting, she said, according to ABC News. The Instagram Live post was no longer available early Wednesday, but Roth shared a number of posts that appeared to be related to the incident. She did not immediately respond to overnight request for comment.

Victim critically injured known as a 'role model'

Shearer identified the cheerleader who was critically injured in the shooting as Payton Washington, of the Round Rock Independent School District.

Shes won every title there is to win in all-star cheerleading. Shes literally a role model for the kids in this industry throughout the country, Shearer said. Everybody knows her. Shes literally one of the very best thats ever done this sport.

Messages of support for Washington have poured in on social media in the wake of the shooting, with a prayer organized by Woodlands Elite held Tuesday. Meanwhile, a GoFundMe page organized by the Woodlands Elite Generals to help raise money to cover her hospital costs had raised more than $60,800 as of early Wednesday.

The GoFundMe page said Washington was "stable in the ICU and will have a long road to recovery."

Shearer said the cheerleaders had "grown up" in her gym. "Weve known them for years, some of them literally, since they were, you know, 8, 10 years old, she said. So theyre like our family.

The shooting, she said "was unfortunate. These girls were just trying to get home."

As Washington faces a long road to recovery, Shearer said, she and the Woodlands Elite team would be there to support her and others affected by the shooting every step of the way.

Our goal right now is to take it one day at a time and be there for them, Shearer said.

Shooting comes following 2 similar incidents

The shooting comes on the heels of two other eerily similar high-profile incidents in which the victims were allegedly shot after mistakenly approaching the wrong addresses.

Last week, 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot and seriously injured after mistakenly ringing the wrong doorbell in Kansas City, Missouri, while trying to pick up his siblings in an incident that sparked national outrage.

Just days later, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was fatally shot by a homeowner after the car she was riding in mistakenly turned into the wrong driveway in upstate New York.

The two incidents sparked a national conversation around gun violence and stand your ground laws, according to which a would-be shooter defending life or property does not have to retreat before taking violent action. The shooting of the cheerleaders is likely to further fuel the discussion.

CORRECTION (April 19, 2023, 9 a.m. ET): A photo caption in a previous version of this article misstated when the shooting took place. The cheerleaders were shot early Tuesday, not Tuesday night.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Prosecutors say they will disprove explosive allegations by a Massachusetts woman who says she was wrongly charged in the death of a Boston police officer last year.

Karen Read, the former girlfriend of late Boston Police Officer John OKeefe, was charged with backing over her boyfriend outside a home in Canton in January 2022 and leaving him to die in a blizzard.

Reads defense team says newly unveiled cell phone data calls into question the prosecutions case against Read.

Karen Read, facing a murder charge in the death of an off-duty Boston police officer, was ordered held on $100,000 bail.

But David Traub, spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorney Michael Morrisey, tells Boston 25 Investigates that the district attorney will file a response in court on May 3.

While prosecutors are ethically constrained in the statements that can be made outside the courtroom, the Norfolk District Attorneys Office is in receipt of the motion filed last week and it is our expectation to have a detailed response to the court May 3 that refutes the assertions in that motion, Traub said in an email.

OKeefe was found in the snow outside a Canton home  owned by another Boston police officer  where a party took place the previous night.

The homeowner and his relatives told investigators that OKeefe never came inside the party  and they never saw him. Some of the party attendees are witnesses for the prosecution.

25 Investigates: Defense claims evidence points to witness in BPD officers murder case

Reads defense team has called the partygoers narrative illogical and questioned the independence of law enforcements investigation into OKeefes death.

Boston Police Officer John O'Keefe

According to Reads defense filing submitted last week, a relative of the homeowner searched on Google ho[w] long to die in cold hours before OKeefes body was allegedly discovered.

And according to the defense, that Google search and a number of texts were deleted from the phone before it was turned over to police.

The defense also claims autopsy photos suggest OKeefe was severely beaten.

Traub, the spokesperson for the Norfolk District Attorneys office, initially said its unclear whether Reads team interpreted the cellphone raw data correctly.

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Last week, Traub said in an email: it has not yet been determined that defense has interpreted the raw data correctly. The Norfolk District Attorneys office has asked the defense repeatedly during the pendency of this matter to provide any actually exculpatory evidence to support their claims.

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
There are dozens of museums across North Carolina, but several of the best ones are in Charlotte, according to a new report.

Stacker compiled a list of the highest-rated museums in the state from Tripadvisor, whose rankings are based on ratings and reviews.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame, Discovery Place Science, and Mint Museum Uptown were among the top 30 overall.

All three museums, within a mile of one another in uptown, were rated 4.5 out of 5 on the travel website.

The NASCAR Hall of Fame, which ranked No. 7 on the list, showcases the history and heritage of racing.

A visual representation of Casey Kirwans No. 95 car. The eNASCAR driver won the 2022 series championship on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022 in the NASCAR Hall of Fame in Charlotte.

There was so much to look at, and so many interactive exhibits, that none of us got bored at any point, an online Tripadvisor review said. If youre in Charlotte, even if you arent a big NASCAR fan, dont miss this place.

Discovery Place Science was also highly ranked for its exhibits, particularly for families. The science museum features aquariums, labs, and an indoor rainforest.

Discovery Place is marking its 75th anniversary by making upgrades at each of its four museums, including uptown shown, in the Charlotte region.

The museum as a whole is incredibly diversemany exhibits have interactive elements, hands-on experiments, and video clips to explain AND make science appealing to children, one online review read.

The Mint Museum, the first art museum in North Carolina, placed 29th on the list. Several visitors praised the museum for its unique collection of art worldwide.

This is Foragers, artist Summer Wheats first public Charlotte piece. Its in the atrium of the Mint Museum Uptown, just a few blocks from Waterfalls, her new piece in the lobby at 650 S. Tryon St.

This is a must-see if you visit Charlotte, and you can combine the visit with two other museums just steps away, a commenter said about the Mint Museum.

Heres how the three compared to other museums in North Carolina:
Dr. Gao said a cleansing routine doesn't have to include toner. Sergey Mironov/Getty Images

Dermatologist Dr. Mia Jing Gao said that you don't need to use a toner in your skincare routine.

A cheap cleanser, moisturizer, and SPF are all you really need.

LED face masks and collagen supplements are also a waste of money, Gao said.

The essentials can feel like they cost a bomb at the moment, whether it's rent, bills, or skincare products.

So it can feel like we're pouring money down the drain when we want to try out something new but don't know if it will work or suit our skin.

Insider asked Dr. Mia Jing Gao, a consultant dermatologist from London, UK, which skincare products aren't worth spending your hard-earned cash on, so you don't have to take the risk.

Collagen supplements

Collagen supplements can cost anywhere from $20 to $100 with brands claiming that they can help with healthy hair, skin, and nails, as well as providing joint and bone support, and anti-aging effects.

However, Gao said that collagen supplements don't work as well as some brands claim.

According to Harvard's "The Nutrition Source" website, studies into the effects of collagen supplements in humans are lacking, and some trials have found collagen improves joint mobility but not much more than that.

It said the research into collagen supplements is often funded by related industries, and so can't wholly be trusted.

Gao said the best anti-aging remedy is SPF. She said applying an SPF 50+ cream is the best way to protect your collagen; nothing else has the same effect.

LED facemasks

Madonna and Kourtney Kardashian are among the celebrities who have raved about LED therapy masks, with Kardashian calling them her "skin obsession" in 2020. Masks can cost hundreds of dollars, with manfucturers claiming they can do everything from boosting collagen and clearing acne to reducing redness.

But Gao said the treatment isn't worth the price and that there's not much evidence to back up these claims, and the studies that do exist are often only based on a small pool of people.

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Gao said that if an anti-aging product that combats blemishes is what you're after, a retinoid is much better value.

Retinoids can vary in price and cost up to hundreds of dollars, Gao said, but cheaper ones, such as The Ordinary Granactive Retinoid 2% Emulsion, are great value products that do the job.

They also make skin firmer and smoother, Gao said.

Toners

Another product that can be totally skipped from the cleansing routine, according to Gao, is toner.

"Most are alcoholic and actually irritate the skin," she said.

A cheap and easy skincare routine can be as simple as cleansing and moisturizing your face at night and cleansing and using an SPF product the next morning.

"That's really all you need," she said.

Dr. Gao added that the cleanser doesn't have to be expensive, either. Insider previously asked dermatologists to recommend their favorite cleansers for different skin types, with budget brand CeraVe emerging as a popular choice.

Read the original article on Insider
An Austrian Airlines Boeing 777-200 at Airport Vienna on February 13, 2020 in Schwechat, Austria. Johann Schwarz/SEPA.Media /Getty Images

An Austrian Airlines plane was forced to turn back mid-flight after its toilets broke down.

The crew found that five out of its eight toilets could not flush, a spokesperson told AFP.

Around 300 people were on board the Boeing 777, which was two hours into its journey.

Clogged toilets on an Austrian Airlines plane forced the flight to turn back two hours into its journey.

The Monday flight from Vienna to New York, typically an eight-hour trip, turned back after the crew found that five of the eight toilets on board couldn't flush properly, an airline spokesperson told AFP.

Around 300 people were on board the Boeing 777, and were later rebooked on other flights, AFP reported.

It's the first time broken toilets have disrupted an Austrian Airlines flight, the carrier's spokesperson told AFP. The plane is now back in operation, the spokesperson said.

Austrian Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment sent outside regular business hours.

Passenger flights typically divert to the nearest airport when their toilets get jammed.

A Norwegian Air flight with 85 plumbers on board returned to Oslo in January 2018 when its toilets broke down. Several of the plumbers said they couldn't fix the clog in the sky as it required accessing the plane's exterior.

One American Airlines flight from Phoenix to Hawaii in August 2018 also could not divert to an airport after a diaper blocked a toilet because the plane was flying over the Pacific Ocean. Passengers said they were told to urinate in plastic bags and bottles.

Similarly, a December 2013 United Airlines flight from Phoenix to Cleveland was also canceled because a diaper clogged its lavatory.

Read the original article on Insider
Investigators work at the scene of a deadly shooting on Tuesday in Bowdoin, Maine. Robert F. Bukaty / AP

A 34-year-old Maine man who had recently been released from prison killed his parents and two of their friends on Tuesday, then began shooting at cars on a nearby highway, injuring three other people, police said.

Joseph Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder in connection to the fatal shootings of his parents, 66-year-old David Eaton and 62-year-old Cynthia Eaton, inside the home of their friends Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62, who were found dead in the barn on the property, Maine State Police said at a press conference on Wednesday.

Police said Cynthia had picked up her son from the Maine Correctional Center on April 14 after he served a two-year sentence for aggravated assault, and he had been staying with the Egers in Bowdoin.

The bodies were found on Tuesday at around 9:21 a.m. by a neighbor, who then called the authorities. Shortly after the bodies were found, at around 10:30 a.m., police responded to a shooting on a highway in Yarmouth, 25 miles south of Bowdoin.

Police said Sean Halsey, 51, and his two children, Justin Halsey, 29, and Paige Halsey, 25, were injured in the shooting and taken to Maine Medical Center. Paige is still in critical condition.

Joseph Eaton was found in a wooded area close to that shooting scene. He was taken into custody, where police said he confessed to killing his parents and his parents' friends. He also allegedly admitted to shooting at the Halseys car because he suspected them of being police officers who were following him.

In a tweet , Maine Gov. Janet Mills said she was shocked and deeply saddened by Tuesdays events.

My thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of those impacted by this tragedy, and I am praying for the quick recovery of those who are hospitalized, Mills said.

No motive has been released by authorities. In a video that was posted by Eaton on Facebook less than 24 hours before the shootings, he cries as he says he deserves a second chance and forgiveness for his past wrongs.

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It's unclear what type of firearm was used in the shootings or how Eaton would have obtained it. Maine law prohibits someone with his criminal history from possessing a gun; the state also doesnt require background checks for private sales.

Gun violence in the US is a public health crisis, according to the American Public Health Association . It is a leading cause of premature death in the country, responsible for more than 38,000 deaths annually. As of April 19, at least 5,414 people have died from gun violence this year, and another 7,194 have died by suicide, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive .

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One girl came forward. Others followed.

By the time the trial of Angel Mario Guzman-Lobo had ended, five young women between the ages of 12 and 18 had taken the witness stand and identified him as their abuser.

Now the 66-year-old Charlotte man will spend the rest of his life in prison.

On Friday, Guzman-Lobo was sentenced to 50-70 years after a Mecklenburg County jury found him guilty of multiple counts of statutory sexual offense and indecent liberties with a child.

According to the Mecklenburg County District Attorneys Office, Guzman-Lobo also confessed to assaulting at least eight girls in four other states.

The known Charlotte cases date back a decade. Between 2013 and his 2017 arrest, Guzman-Lobo befriended multiple Charlotte families he had met through his own relatives or at his church. Each of the households included girls, prosecutors say.

At some point, Guzman-Lobo would tell the families he needed a place to sleep. They would put him up, generally on a couch. According to prosecutors, Guzman-Lobo would assault the children after their parents or other adults had left the room.

Finally, in 2017, one of his victims broke the silence, alerting her mother to what Guzman-Lobo had done, prosecutors say.

During his interrogation by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police, Guzman-Lobo confessed to abusing three girls from Charlotte and eight others from New York, Ohio, Maryland and Texas.

After police issued a press release announcing Guzman-Lobos arrest, two more Charlotte families came forward.

According to prosecutors, the five known Charlotte victims were between the ages of 7 and 12 when the assaults occurred.

Its unclear if the out-of-state cases have led to additional charges.
[Source]

Eid al-Fitr, an important day of festivity marking the end of Ramadan for Muslims around the world, starts on Thursday.

The special holiday may last up to three days, depending on the country where it is being celebrated.

Eid al-Fitr is celebrated on the first day of Shawwal, the 10th month of the Islamic calendar. It signals the end of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar and a time when Muslims worldwide fast to bring them closer to Allah.

During Eid al-Fitr, many Muslims invite their friends and family to a delicious feast of various dishes and desserts unique to their respective countries or regions of origin to celebrate the end of their fast.

More from NextShark: 78-Year-Old Grandma Who Specializes in Latin Dancing Becomes a Social Media Star

Here are five traditional dishes commonly served during Eid al-Fitr in different countries:

Beef rendang

While beef rendang, a spicy curry main course, can be found all year round in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, the dish is also considered a classic meal served during Eid al-Fitr in those Southeast Asian countries.

More from NextShark: Why only the poorest North Koreans live in the country's high-rise penthouses

A dish made from a combination of meat, spices, herbs and coconut milk, beef rendang originated from the Minangkabau people, an ethnic group from West Sumatra, Indonesia. A study published in the Journal of Ethnic Foods noted that rendang was found in West Sumatra in the eighth century.

Bolani

A traditional snack in Afghanistan, Bolani is one of the most common foods found on Afghan families' tables during the Eid al-Fitr celebration. It is made with vegetables, such as leeks, chives, spinach, potatoes or lentils, all wrapped with very thin sheets of dough. The traditional snack can also be paired with yogurt dips.

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Xinjiang lamb skewers

As the name of the dish suggests, Xinjiang lamb skewers are commonly served during Eid al-Fitr in the Xinjiang autonomous region in northwest China, where Uyghur Muslims, who are considered as Chinas most persecuted minority, celebrate the holiday.

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Although similar to lamb kebabs of the Middle East, Xinjiang lamb skewers differ mostly due to the size of the meat and the spices and herbs, such as Sichuan peppercorns, used for the marination.

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Sheer khurma

Considered a classic dessert served during Eid al-Fitr in India, sheer khurma holds a special place in the hearts of many Indians.

There are memories associated with khurma, chef Sadaf Hussain told The Hindustan Times. This is the first item we eat after offering namaz on Eid.

The sweet treat is made using a combination of typically thin vermicelli, milk, sugar and dried fruits. Meanwhile, some recipes add coarsely chopped nuts into the classic dessert, like unsalted pistachios and almonds.

Ghraybeh

A traditional Middle Eastern butter cookie served during Eid al-Fitr, ghraybeh dates back over a thousand years ago. The treat, which is made either with almond flour or wheat flour and with stuffing, was first spotted in the Kitab al-Tabih, the oldest known Arabic cookbook, in which the cookie was called khushkananaj gharib.

The version found in the 10th-century recipe book did not contain almonds or other nuts. However, these ingredients are considered common in ghraybeh today.
A cannabis plant on a pink background Jena Ardell/Getty Images

Cannabis has a long history in the United States that can be traced from the early days of drug prohibition through its current green age of legalization. The approach of 4/20, the plant's unofficial holiday, offers a chance to brush up on the history and science behind the controversial drug. Here are six books about cannabis cultivation and the history of marijuana in America.

'Grass Roots: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Marijuana in America' by Emily Dufton (2017)

In her debut book, historian Emily Dufton published what Kirkus Reviews dubbed "a comprehensive history of marijuana legalization in America." Dufton puts "years of dedicated research, interviews, and social scrutiny to impressive use in this cannabis saga." She traces the roots of the marijuana movement to a moment in the mid-1960s when a grassroots cannabis activist in San Francisco "politely asked to be arrested for smoking pot," through the onset of the war on drugs and beyond. In Grass Roots, Dufton offers an "engrossing, evenhanded timeline of the marijuana legalization revolution and its backlash," Kirkus Reviews adds. "Grass Roots tells the tale of America's roller coaster relationship with weed," Book Riot commented, "and comments on the wider state of U.S. drug laws along the way." Order here.

'Weed the People: The Future of Legal Marijuana in America' by Bruce Barcott (2015)

As America's perception of cannabis continues to shift, Rolling Stone Magazine says Bruce Barcott's Weed the People "attempts to bring readers a closer step into the future by addressing the potential issues and questions that may arise as marijuana legalization spans the country." Barcott seeks to answer emerging questions as more states turn to legalization, such as "Would neighborhoods permit a weed shop near their grocery stores?" or "How do parents have these conversations with their children?" Rolling Stone says.

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"My two-year expedition into the marijuana world left me more suspicious of government authority and more hopeful about the common sense of most Americans," Barcott writes. " A self-described coastal liberal," Bloomberg said, "he's written a love letter to cannabis capitalism that Rand Paul could endorse." Order here.

'Cannabis Grower's Handbook: The Complete Guide to Marijuana and Hemp Cultivation' by Ed Rosenthal, Dr. Robert Flannery, and Angela Bacca (2021)

Ed Rosenthal has been educating prospective cannabis cultivators for decades. In the late '70s, his Marijuana Grower's Handbook garnered praise from Tommy Chong and The New York Times. Rolling Stone called it "a must-have item for those looking to get into the cultivation game." In 2021 he collaborated with a team of botanists, industry consultants, and scientists to give an updated guide on the tools of the trade called the Cannabis Grower's Handbook. "If my other books helped you grow, Cannabis Grower's Handbook will take you to new highs," Rosenthal said. If you're looking for a comprehensive take on the latest tech in the cannabis cultivation scene, this book is a good start. Order here.

'Bong Appetit: Mastering the Art of Cooking with Weed' by the editors of Munchies (2018)

Curious about going the culinary route to explore cannabis? Look no further than Bong Appetit, brought to you by the editors of Munchies and the team behind Viceland's series by the same name. The cookbook has a "comprehensive introduction" to cannabis cooking, the Los Angeles Times said, including topics like "dosing, techniques, methods of decarboxylation and infusion, cannabis pairing tips, questions to ask your dispensary, tips on equipment, and more." in addition to providing 65 recipes developed in the Munchies test kitchen, Bong Appetit goes over the science of creating cannabis extractions, "so even the most novice consumer can take part in the fun," Rolling Stone writes.

"Sober instructions and intoxicating flavors make for an intriguing blend in this high-minded effort," Publisher's Weekly mused in a review. Order here.

'Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana' by Dan Michaels (with photos by Erik Christiansen)

Green: A Field Guide to Marijuana, an "eye-popping coffee-table textbook," is "required reading for those dedicated to studying cannabis strains and admiring their intricacies through hyper-detailed photography of individual buds," Forbes said. Written by Dan Michaels, and featuring photography by Erik Christiansen, the book "explores the culture of this complex flower," Forbes added, "while explaining the botany that makes each varietal unique through descriptions of lineage, flavor, and type of high." The book features 208 pages where Michaels and Christiansen "breakdown, identify, and elevate marijuana," Rolling Stone said. "Prepare yourself for shots so close up, you'll finally understand how a green plant can also be purple." Order here.

'It's NORML to Smoke Pot: The 40 Year Fight for Marijuana Smokers' Rights' by Keith Stroup (2013)

Since founding NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) in 1970, Keith Strop has been advocating for marijuana legalization. In It's NORML to Smoke Pot, his first-ever personal account of the organization's "tumultuous-turned-victorious history," Strop "will introduce you to the colorful cast of characters like Hunter S. Thompson and Willie Nelson who helped along the way and give you behind-the-scenes insight into how prohibition shaped political policy today," Forbes wrote. Order here.

Other notable cannabis books:

The Cannabis Manifesto by Steve DeAngelo (2015); Marijuana Grower's Handbook: Your Complete Guide for Medical and Personal Marijuana Cultivation by Ed Rosenthal (1978); The Cannabis Dictionary by Alex Halperin (2020); The New Chardonnay: The Unlikely Story of How Marijuana Went Mainstream by Heather Cabot (2020); Higher Etiquette: A Guide to the World of Cannabis, from Dispensaries to Dinner Parties by Lizzie Post (2019)

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Pop queen Taylor Swift is known for her vague, oft ethereal-sounding song titles. Her most recent album, Midnights, boasts tracks with names like Lavender Haze, Vigilante Sh-t and Midnight Rain.

Reading such titles makes it hard not to liken the naming pattern to the U.S. militarys own operation naming conventions, which are typically indistinct adjective-noun combinations that evoke anything from absurd patriotism to complete confusion.

As such, weve compiled a list of our favorite U.S. military operation monikers that could easily pass as Taylor Swift song titles.

1. Red Dawn

While Operation Red Dawn was the mission that led to the capture of Iraqs ousted leader, Saddam Hussein, it carries a rather lyrical ring to it and evokes a poetic morning of sorts. Plus, its derived from the 1984 film of the same name, starring impossibly tight jean-wearer Patrick Swayze.

2. Acoustic Kitty

The CIA in the Cold War attempted (and failed) to turn cats into the ultimate spies by implanting listening devices into their ears. Swift, meanwhile, is a known cat mother of three named Meredith Grey, Olivia Benson and Benjamin Button. The idea that she might sing about them isnt terribly far afield.

3. Casanova

In 2013, 12 men were arrested in Texas in connection with a conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute marijuana. However, given Swifts history of writing about men in comically stereotypical roles and gender norms, it wouldnt be surprising to see a Swiftian song about a seductive lead with many lovers.

4. Morning Light

Operation Morning Light involved a 1978 search for a Soviet nuclear-powered spy satellite  Cosmos 954  that accidentally entered northern Canadian airspace before crashing. The American and Canadian militaries worked together to collect its debris. For Swift, it would perhaps be a song about the refreshing experience of waking up to a new day after a heartbreaking evening.

5. Evening Light

Another Light mission, this 1980 iteration was an epic failure of the American military to end the Iran hostage crisis and rescue the 52 Americans trapped at the U.S. Embassy in Tehran. For Swift, its aligned with Morning Light, and everyone knows how much she loves a theme  hello, Midnights.

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6. All-American Tiger

In 2003, troops in Iraq were sent to patrol around the Euphrates River near Al-Qaim, where they found 12 people of interest. This, however, also sounds like the name of a Swiftian anthem  her answer to Katy Perrys Roar, in which she sings, Ive got the eye of the tiger, a fighter, dancing through the fire, cause I am a champion, and youre gonna hear me roar.

7. Gothic Serpent

Unfortunately, this was the 1993 mission that led to the Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia, the subject of the film Black Hawk Down. Alas, it could also lend its name to a particularly angsty song about the vipers in the press that so often spew venom about Swifts personal life.

8. Steel Curtain

This 2005 mission meant to create a blockade to tamp down on the flood of insurgents into Iraq from Syria. However, its also a great name for the walls a celebrity like Swift might put up to keep the conspiracy theory-hunting fans and ravenous tabloids from invading her privacy.

9. Just Cause

This is the name given to the 1989 U.S. mission to invade Panama and remove military dictator Gen. Manuel Noriega from power. For Swift, it could be about the deliverance of justice, or, with the addition of an apostrophe, a song about things she does just cause.

If Taylor Swifts got a blank space, baby, maybe shell write down some of these titles.
(This April 19 story has been corrected to say Third Bridge is an "investment research firm", not "investment consulting firm", in paragraph 9)

By Khushi Mandowara and Leroy Leo

(Reuters) - Abbott Laboratories said on Wednesday most delayed non-urgent medical procedures had resumed globally three years into the COVID-19 pandemic as hospital staff shortages eased and customers became regular with check-ups, sending shares up 7%.

The much-awaited recovery in elective surgeries led the company to effectively raise forecast for its core business, even as COVID testing-related sales were seen falling sharply.

The company is the second major medical device maker to signal a recovery after rival Johnson & Johnson on Tuesday posted better-than-expected sales for the business.

Abbott's upbeat commentary lifted shares of other medical device makers Medtronic, Stryker, Zimmer Biomet and Boston Scientific Corp by 2%-4% in morning trade.

Abbott's stronger outlook for its non-COVID business was the main takeaway as investors had priced in a fall in COVID testing sales, J.P. Morgan analyst Robbie Marcus said in a note.

The Illinois-based company lowered its outlook for COVID testing sales this year to $1.5 billion from the $2 billion it forecast in January, but retained its annual adjusted profit outlook at $4.30-$4.50 per share, indicating growth in its non-COVID core business, including medical devices.

"I think it is sustainable. I don't think it's a bolus of backlog," Abbott CEO Robert Ford said about the recovery in its core business.

Medical devices - Abbott's largest segment - clocked an 8.5% rise in sales to $3.90 billion, with $1.2 billion coming from glucose monitoring device Freestyle Libre. Analysts had estimated sales of $3.77 billion for the unit, according to Refinitiv data.

Still, George Congdon, an analyst with investment research firm Third Bridge, was skeptical. "I wouldn't read too much into one quarter of U.S. volume recoveries."

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Staffing issues are now widespread in the U.S. hospitals, and could take a couple of years to fully wane, he said.

Abbott reported an adjusted profit of $1.03 per share, higher than analysts' average estimate of 99 cents.

(Reporting by Leroy Leo and Khushi Mandowara in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Sriraj Kalluvila)
Anchors from ABC News and CNN questioned representatives of Dominion Voting Systems in the wake of their massive $787 million settlement with Fox News on Tuesday over the networks lack of a public apology in the last-minute agreement.

Dominion and Fox News reached a settlement just hours before opening arguments were set to get underway in the defamation trial over the networks coverage of former President Trumps false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election.

ABC News host George Stephanopoulos pressed Dominion CEO John Poulos on the lack of a public apology on Wednesday, noting that the agreement was one of the biggest defamation settlements ever, but what you didnt get was an apology.

Poulos pointed to Fox Newss acknowledgement in its statement following the settlement. The network said it acknowledges the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.

We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox News also said in its statement, adding, This settlement reflects FOXs continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.

At the end of the day, the court system really is about accountability, Poulos added. We feel we got it.

However, Stephanopoulous reiterated that Fox News only acknowledged that the judge said the claims about voter fraud were falsehoods, adding that the network didnt admit to falsehoods or apologize for them.

Is that enough? the news anchor asked.

Well, if you look at the documents, I think they speak for themselves, Poulos said.

Dominions lead counsel Justin Nelson similarly told CNNs Pamela Brown on Tuesday that the company felt it had held Fox News accountable with the settlement.

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I think, for us, really, it wasnt so much about a settlement as a settlement, Nelson said. It was always about accountability. And today, what we think we achieved was accountability and vindication.

For us, not only of course was there over a three-quarters of a billion-dollar damages award, but as you mentioned in your opening, there was an admission, an acknowledgement, of the courts summary judgement order that found these lies about Dominion to be false, he continued.

However, Brown pushed back on the accountability issue, noting that Fox Newss acknowledgement was not necessarily a full-throated admission.

The reality is millions of people in the United States wont necessarily know about this, Brown said. I mean, do the viewers of Fox, are they owed an apology or retraction here? I mean, if they dont know about this, where is the accountability that you speak of?

Nelson responded that Dominion took the civil litigation as far as we can take it.

We could have gone all the way to verdict and under defamation law, you dont get an apology. You get money, he said, adding, So, we see todays settlement as complete vindication and really a message that, as your opening said, lies do have consequences.

A Dominion spokesperson similarly told The Hill in a statement on Tuesday that an apology is about accountability, and today Dominion held Fox accountable.

Fox paid a historic settlement and issued a statement acknowledging that the statements about Dominion were false, they said.

 Updated at 2:04 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Abortion politics is emerging as a major headache for Republicans heading into the 2024 election and threatens to derail their chances of winning control of the Senate, as some Republicans think happened in last years midterm election.

Republicans are all over the map on what role the federal government should play in limiting abortion.

Some GOP lawmakers favor a national abortion ban, while others want to leave the hot-button issue to the states entirely.

Republican senators say they expect a lot of debate within their conference over the issue in the months leading up to the next election.

This issue is not going away, said Senate Republican Whip John Thune (S.D.), who added theres not a consensus view at the moment within the Senate GOP conference on what role Congress should play in the national abortion debate.

I think its something well have a lot of discussions about. Clearly, were the pro-life party and we want to take policy positions that demonstrate that and value life. Exactly what form that takes right now I think is still a matter of discussion, he said.

Republicans cant agree on the broad contours of a nationwide abortion ban  whether it should kick in at 15 weeks, six weeks or even sooner  and the question is already emerging as a litmus test for Republican presidential hopefuls.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.), who is actively exploring a White House run, offered over just several days an array of answers about what kind of federal abortion ban he would sign into law if elected president.

During a trip through New Hampshire last week, Scott initially declined to say whether he would sign a 15-week abortion ban and then said he would definitely sign a 20-week abortion ban, before saying that he would sign the most conservative pro-life legislation that they can get through Congress.

Scotts evolving answers left some of Republican colleagues who favor strict abortion restrictions cringing.

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I think they ought to say what their conviction is, said one lawmaker who requested anonymity to comment on the 2024 presidential primary. I think primary voters want to know that somebody is pro-life and fight for it. What they dont want is wishy washy.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed a six-week state abortion ban into law behind closed doors and then didnt mention the accomplishment at a rally he held immediately afterward at Liberty University in Virginia, making only a brief mention of abortion at the Christian university.

Former President Trump, who rarely misses an opportunity to attack a rival, has stayed silent on Floridas six-week abortion ban and has tried to avoid the issue.

Former Vice President Mike Pence declined to say in one recent interview what he thought about a proposal in South Carolina to make women who defy the states abortion ban eligible for the death penalty. A spokesperson for Pence later clarified that he does not support the idea.

Some Republicans saw the victory of Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Janet Protasiewicz, a Democratic-allied candidate, in the Wisconsin Supreme Court election earlier this month as an early warning of another public backlash over abortion rights coming next year.

Brandon Scholz, a Republican strategist based in Wisconsin, told The Hill in an interview earlier this month that the state race showed the Supreme Courts decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization, which overturned the landmark abortion-rights case Roe v. Wade, continues to energize voters.

Just like Democrats released the abortion ruling from the Supreme Court and energized the base last summer, same exact thing here, he said, referring to Justice Samuel Alitos draft abortion opinion, which leaked in May. The Supreme Court has investigated the leak but hasnt yet found the person responsible.

Now Republicans are gearing up for an abortion debate in Washington, which Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) tried to avoid in the lead-up to last years midterm election.

McConnell tried to assure voters that Republicans would not try to pass a nationwide abortion ban if they won control of the Senate and House in 2022, and he threw shade on Sen. Lindsey Grahams (R-S.C.) proposal to enact a 15-week nationwide ban.

McConnell emphasized in September that GOP leaders had not planned to push a federal abortion ban, telling reporters it was Grahams initiative.

In terms of scheduling, I think most of the members of my conference prefer that this be dealt with at the state level, he said.

The GOP leader also downplayed the chances of any nationwide abortion ban passing the Senate, observing: I think its safe to say there arent 60 votes there at the federal level, no matter who happens to be in the majority, no matter who happens to be in the Senate.

Despite McConnells efforts, strategists in both parties believe the issue of abortion rights became a major factor in last years races. Democrats emphasized it in campaign ads played in races across the country.

After Republicans lost a Senate seat and failed to win as many House seats as they expected, Trump blamed party leaders for mishandling the issue.

It was the abortion issue, poorly handled by many Republicans, especially those that firmly insisted on no exceptions, even in the case of rape, incest, or life of the mother, that lost large number of voters, he wrote in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, in January.

Senate Republicans now appear poised to battle each other over abortion policy once again, despite suffering another political setback in Wisconsin earlier this month.

Graham, the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told The Hill on Tuesday that he plans to reintroduce his 15-week abortion ban.

On the other side of the intraparty debate, moderate Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) have reintroduced bipartisan legislation with Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.) to codify the right to an abortion before 24 weeks established by Roe v. Wade.

I believe that there is a need for codification of Roe and thats why last Congress we worked to put together a bill that we saw that reflected exactly that, Murkowski said, adding we would like to see it advance.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Sweden's Absolut Vodka halts exports to Russia after boycott calls  but Russians now drink more beer than vodka anyway. Thomson Reuters

Absolut halted exports of its vodka to Russia on Tuesday.

The company faced backlash in its native Sweden earlier in April after it resumed exports to Russia.

Absolut Vodka made up just a tiny share of the Russian market. But Russians now prefer beer anyway.

Sweden's Absolut Company halted exports of Absolut Vodka to Russia on Tuesday  but Russians might not be missing the drink all that much.

Pernod Ricard, the French parent company of Absolut Company, stopped exporting the beverage to Russia after it drew flak and faced a wave of calls for boycott in Sweden, the world's top vodka exporter, for resuming shipments earlier in April.

"The reaction over the recent days is clearly reflective of the role Absolut plays for its extended community in Sweden," Stephanie Durroux, the CEO of Absolut Company, said in a Tuesday statement. "Acknowledging also the duty of care towards our employees and partners, we cannot expose them to massive criticism in all forms."

She added that the company had massively reduced its business activities since March 2022 to comply with sanctions and protect its local team from accusations of criminal liability with regard to "intentional bankruptcy."

Pernod Ricard derived 3% of its overall sales from the Russian market before the war, per the Financial Times.

'We have long been a beer country, not a vodka country,' says alcohol research center head.

But, as it turns out, Absolut may not be missed all that much in Russia.

Igor Kosarev, the president of the producers of alcoholic products union, told TASS state news agency on Tuesday that Absolut Vodka represents just 0.01%  or 10,000 decaliters per year  of the country's total vodka consumption of 80 million decaliters per year.

And while vodka is strongly associated with Russia, it isn't the country's favorite alcohol. Beer has long been the favorite, state-owned RIA Novosti media outlet reported on February 5.

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"We have long been a beer country, not a vodka country, although these myths continue," Vadim Drobiz, the director of the federal and regional alcohol markets research center, told RIA.

Drobiz told RIA beer production and consumption started increasing from 1995 onwards and grew over five times in the 12 years to 2007.

Since then, beer has been the favorite alcohol among Russians. In January 2023, beer accounted for more than half of the alcohol purchased in Russia, RIA reported, citing data from Kontur.Market. In comparison, vodka accounted for just 20% of the alcohol sold.

Daria Zhigalina, a Kontur.Market analyst, told RIA that lighter alcohol such as beer can be consumed for all occasions, while stronger alcohol like vodka is usually reserved for special occasions.

More so, Russia  known for being a nation of heavy drinkers  has become increasingly sober over the years. Alcohol consumption fell 43% from 2003 to 2016, according to a World Health Organization report published in 2019.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Audit Scotland said targets for reducing emissions would be missed if there were no improvements

A new report has said many of the Scottish government's plans to tackle the risk of climate change are "vague".

Audit Scotland also said there were blurred lines over who was accountable for the actions.

It said that without improvements there was a risk that key targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions to net zero would be missed.

The Scottish government said it welcomed the report and wanted to strengthen its approach.

Opposition parties said the report demonstrated that almost no meaningful action had been taken.

Former first minister Nicola Sturgeon declared a climate emergency in 2019, setting a target of achieving net zero by 2045.

Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would "live up to our responsibility" on climate change at the 2019 SNP conference

At the end of last year, the UK's Climate Change Committee (CCC) said progress on cutting greenhouse gas emissions had "largely stalled" in recent years.

It said Scotland had lost its lead over the rest of the UK on tackling climate change.

The CCC report said the Scottish government lacked a clear delivery plan and had not offered a coherent explanation for how its policies would achieve its targets.

Now Audit Scotland, the watchdog responsible for monitoring Scotland's public organisations, has identified "several key weaknesses" in the Scottish government's plans to tackle the impacts of climate change.

The report said improvements were necessary in the governance arrangements, particularly around how risks are managed.

It said the least progress was being made in the area of "adaptation", which means preparing for the effects of rising temperatures such as wetter winters and rising sea levels.

Adaptation could be through better protection from flooding or wildfires, both of which are projected to increase in frequency and intensity.

Scotland's Auditor General Stephen Boyle said: "The Scottish government's set up for responding to the climate crisis has constantly evolved since 2019. But the different parts of government could be better coordinated.

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"Work is ongoing across the Scottish government to tackle these organisational weaknesses, and it's vital that happens quickly given the urgency of the climate situation."

Glasgow held the COP26 climate change summit in 2021

The report said performance-monitoring and reporting on the Scottish government's targets were "inconsistent and underdeveloped".

It said information was presented in different formats and on an irregular basis, making it difficult to assess overall progress.

It also highlighted that there was still no workforce plan in place for the Scottish government's Net Zero team which was created in November 2021.

And it said the prioritisation of climate change funding "remains a challenge".

Mike Robinson, chairman of campaign group Stop Climate Chaos Scotland, said: "This report yet again underlines the need to respond properly to what is a well understood climate emergency.

"It highlights the need for far more priority in decision-making, far more funding and more consistency on climate action and risk assessment."

The Scottish Conservatives said the document confirmed that SNP ministers had "missed target after target, and amassed an incredible number of failings when it comes to protecting the planet".

Scottish Labour called it a damning report "which lays bare the SNP-Green government's woeful lack of action on the climate emergency".

A spokesman for the Scottish government said its next climate change plan will set out the pathway to meeting emissions targets to 2040 - including costs.

They said: "Scotland is making good progress towards net zero. To deliver on our ambitious targets will require truly transformational action across our society and economy, especially to deliver a just transition.

"We recognise the need to build resilience to the impacts of climate change. That is why we are investing an extra 150m for flood risk management and 12m for coastal change adaptation over this Parliament.

"We will continue to deliver the 170 policies and proposals in our current adaptation programme as we develop the next programme for publication in 2024."
A government watchdog said Wednesday that taxpayer dollars dedicated to Afghanistan may be wasted because the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development are not cooperating with oversight efforts  offering the latest warning about the Biden administrations controversial Afghan policy.

Aides to President Joe Biden at those government departments are stymying audits and not assisting with requests for information, the congressionally appointed special inspector general for Afghan reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko argued in his 2023 High-Risk List report to Capitol Hill and to the secretaries of state and defense.

If this lack of cooperation continues, it will certainly create a greater risk of waste of U.S. taxpayer dollars, the SIGAR document states.

The agency released the report as Sopko appeared at a House Oversight Committee hearing. I have a job to do and Im not able to do that job because of State and [USAID], Sopko told lawmakers. In written testimony submitted for the hearing, Sopko argued: Due to the refusal of State and USAID to fully cooperate with SIGAR, I cannot report to this committee or the American people on the extent to which our government may be funding the Taliban and other nefarious groups with U.S. taxpayer dollars.

Legislators from both parties  including Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), the top Democrat on the panel  pledged to push the Biden administration to fully cooperate with SIGAR. They highlighted that other inspectors general from the State Department, Pentagon and USAID who testified at Wednesdays hearing said they were not experiencing similar problems in obtaining relevant information.

Asked about SIGARs assessment at a press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said: The administration has consistently provided updates and information.

She cited documents, briefings and testimony that the Biden administration has already provided to Congress and inspectors general.

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The back-and-forth came amid a series of hearings focused on the Biden administrations Afghanistan withdrawal operation in August 2021. Biden withdrew U.S. troops from the country that month in accordance with a deal that former President Donald Trump signed with the Taliban, the militant group that recaptured Afghanistan as America ended its 20-year mission there.

Lawmakers from both parties have challenged the presidents approach, noting that it involved the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and hundreds of Afghans, and it left behind thousands of Afghans and about 1,000 Americans who were eligible for evacuation. Since Republicans took over the House of Representatives this year, they have sought to pressure the Biden administration on the matter.

Biden responded this month by publishing a 12-page memo defending his policy and sending Congress classified post-operation reviews from various government agencies that were involved. People involved in the mission  including current officials and volunteer groups, including veterans organizations, that tried to help desperate Afghans  told HuffPost the memo exaggerated how prepared Bidens team was for the withdrawal and seemed like an effort to dodge accountability.

Since last year, the special inspector general has said the State Department and USAID are making it harder to independently and transparently analyze Bidens choices.

John F. Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), testifies on Capitol Hill in 2014 on U.S. reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Sopko says a lack of cooperation from the Biden administration is hurting efforts post-withdrawal.

John F. Sopko, special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), testifies on Capitol Hill in 2014 on U.S. reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan. Sopko says a lack of cooperation from the Biden administration is hurting efforts post-withdrawal.

Historically, State and USAID officials have supported SIGARs mission and honored my offices requests.  Inexplicably, this long track record of cooperation seems to have abruptly ended, Sopko wrote in a June 22, 2022, letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken and USAID Administrator Samantha Power. Agency officials now appear to have adopted a premeditated position of obstruction.

Citing the two agencies refusal to provide information about preventing U.S. funding from reaching the Taliban and an associated militant faction, the Haqqani network, Sopko accused them of unprecedented and illegal behavior.

Attorneys for the State Department and USAID argued in letters in April and July of last year that the inspector general does not have oversight authority over the collapse of the U.S.-backed Afghan government, Bidens preparation for the withdrawal or Americas role in resettling Afghans vulnerable to Taliban violence for their links to the U.S.  referring to those issues as matters that do not appear to relate to the reconstruction of Afghanistan in the July 8, 2022, letter.

Many of the requests for information from [the special inspector general] address topics that are currently the subject of oversight by other investigative bodies, Biden administration lawyers Richard Visek and Margaret Taylor wrote in their April 25, 2022, letter. De-duplicating these efforts  will guarantee that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and that each bodys investigative expertise is put to its best and highest use.

But U.S. funds committed to Afghanistan reconstruction helped prop up  and then failed to bolster  the Afghan government and Bidens team may have used such funding to prepare for the withdrawal.

And oversight bodies have their own procedures for avoiding repetitive work: at Wednesdays hearing, the acting inspector general at the State Department, Diana Shaw, testified that her team de-conflicts with SIGAR and other watchdogs.

Additionally, the inspector generals team has argued that it has particularly strong oversight capabilities after years of reporting on Afghanistan and that its purview extends to aid funding broadly.

The inspector general has been reviewing, auditing, investigating and reporting on these and related issues for more than 12 years, including USAID humanitarian assistance (for example, food assistance programs) and support to Afghan refugees, wrote John Arlington, the general counsel for the watchdog, in a May 8, 2022, letter to State and USAID. There Is little to no substantive difference between assistance referred to as reconstruction and assistance referred to as development or humanitarian.

It is particularly disappointing to see the position taken in your letter in view of the Presidents emphasis on cooperating with Inspectors General, Arlington continued.

Biden and his top aides have often criticized his predecessor, Donald Trump, for undermining independent government watchdogs. In my administration, the watchdogs are back, the president said on April 29, 2022.

Republican legislators have often highlighted the special inspector generals complaints about State and USAIDs actions under Biden. Democrats have echoed SIGARs concerns too  but Wednesdays hearing suggested that they will become more aggressive in demanding transparency.

I regret ... hearing that the State Department, [Pentagon] and USAID have produced some documents, provided some written responses and participated in some meetings and have not given the full cooperation that is sought, Rep. Kweisi Mfume (D-Md.) said during the event, adding that he urges all three of those agencies today to cooperate more so that we might not be in a position ... of frustration like I am right now.

Mfume said he was particularly concerned with the possibility that the U.S. is indirectly funding the Taliban.

The U.S. is continuing to direct assistance to Afghanistan and to Afghans as the country struggles under the militant groups repressive rule.

Since the troop withdrawal, American officials have far less visibility into where that aid goes, and international partner organizations who are delivering it are providing only limited information, SIGAR argued in its latest statements.

The State Department has specifically barred one of its partners from speaking with the watchdog, Sopko told legislators on Wednesday.

A USAID spokesperson argued in an email to HuffPost that the agency is carefully monitoring how its resources dedicated to Afghanistan are being used. USAID works with implementing partners who have extensive experience working in challenging environments like Afghanistan where the U.S. government has no presence, the spokesperson wrote. We continually assess our activities to ensure both that our assistance is reaching those for which it is intended and that our partners have effective mitigation measures in place to help safeguard against diversion.

Meanwhile, ongoing problems in the U.S. immigration processing system continue to make it extremely difficult for vulnerable Afghans  including those who worked with the U.S.  to seek safe haven, SIGAR reported in its High-Risk List.

The U.S. promised to resettle its allies in safety, but the United States is failing, the document reads. Many are in hiding in Afghanistan, trying to escape Taliban retaliation. Others have already been arrested or killed. ... Multiple SIGAR whistleblowers received arrest warrants for the crime of undermining the Taliban during the previous [U.S.-backed] government. Leaving Afghan partners behind risks causing allies around the world to question U.S. credibility.

CORRECTION: This story previously stated that SIGAR releases an annual high-risk list. It releases that list every other year.

Related...
The U.S. governments Afghanistan watchdog told lawmakers on Wednesday he cant guarantee American aid to Kabul isnt being funneled to the Taliban.

While I agree  and we all agree  Afghanistan faces a dire humanitarian and economic situation, it is critical that our assistance not be diverted by the Taliban, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko told the House Oversight Committee. Unfortunately, as I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban.

Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people, he added.

SIGAR, the independent watchdog founded in 2008 to oversee U.S. spending in Afghanistan amid what was the ongoing war, monitors the more than $8 billion allocated to the country since the American military withdrew in August 2021.

Because the U.S. has no formal ties with the Taliban, the Biden administration has attempted to funnel the money into Afghanistan via international organizations and nongovernment groups.

The process is complicated, however, by a lack of U.S. monitors in the country to make sure the humanitarian dollars are going to where theyre intended and not to the Taliban or other nefarious groups.

Speaking to lawmakers, Sopko referenced SIGARs 2023 High-Risk List report, released earlier Wednesday, which identifies the serious issues facing the billions of dollars the U.S. has pledged to the Afghan people, including Taliban interference and a lack of aggressive oversight controls.

I dont trust the Taliban as far as you can throw them. And the information were getting  is that the Taliban are already diverting funds, Sopko told lawmakers. I havent seen a starving Taliban fighter on TV. They all seem to be fat, dumb and happy. I see a lot of starving Afghan children on TV, so Im wondering where all this funding is going.

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Sopko said the problems with oversight are exacerbated by the State Department and the United States Agency for International Developments (USAID) failure to fully cooperate with SIGAR audits and other inquiries.

The lack of cooperation by State  and to a lesser extent USAID, is unprecedented in the nearly 12 years that I have been the SIGAR, said Sopko, who was appointed to his role in 2012 under the Obama administration.

He said the agencys refusal to fully cooperate has led to a significant portion of the watchdogs work, including five reports for the Oversight Committee, being hindered and delayed.

He implored lawmakers for help to stop this obfuscation and delay as we cannot abide a situation in which agencies are allowed to pick and choose what information an IG gets or who an IG can interview or what an IG may report on.

He added: If permitted to continue, it will end SIGARs work in Afghanistan but also Congresss access to independent and credible oversight of any administration.

Asked later about Sopkos claims that the State Department and USAID have refused to cooperate with his independent oversight and investigations, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre brushed aside the accusations.

The administration has consistently provided updates and information, she told reporters.

She added that the administration consistently provided updates, as well as thousands of documents, hundreds of briefings to bipartisan members and staff, and public testimonies information to numerous inspectors general.

The hearing adds to the furor over the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a deadly and disastrous event that has caused much finger-pointing in Congress as to who is most responsible for the outcome.

Lawmakers have largely fallen along party lines in assessing blame, with Republicans for months vowing to closely examine the withdrawal through congressional hearings.

The GOP did just that in March with a House Foreign Affairs Committee hearing where service members and other individuals involved in the evacuation testified.

Wednesdays hearing took a different angle, inviting government watchdogs to give accounts of where humanitarian aid is going within Afghanistan.

Committee Chairman James Comer (R-Ky.) took the opportunity to condemn President Biden for poor leadership and planning ahead of the withdrawal.

Ranking member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), meanwhile, said it was morally confused and politically cynical to lay blame at Bidens feet as the war spanned four Republican and Democratic presidential administrations.

The administration also sought to stunt expected criticism of Biden with an early Wednesday memo calling the event a political stunt on the part of Republicans. It also slammed GOP lawmakers for distracting from their own failures on solutions to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan.

And earlier this month the Pentagon and State Department provided classified after-action review findings to Congress that placed a significant amount of blame on the Trump administration for not leaving the current White House plans to execute a withdrawal.

A summary of the findings, later released by the White House, sidestepped an admission of the administrations own mistakes in the event.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden (AP)  The age of the airman charged in one of the most significant U.S. intelligence leaks in recent memory  just 21  has been the focus of a growing question: Why would the nation give someone so young access to some of its most important secrets?

But the airman's age has not come up as a focus of the Pentagon's investigation into how the documents were leaked. That investigation instead is targeting what security lapses took place that allowed Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira to allegedly remove the top secret level documents from the Massachusetts National Guard base where he worked.

For the Pentagon's leaders, who have seen 17- and 18-year-olds serve, age isn't the issue.

The vast majority of our military is young," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him in Sweden on Wednesday. Its not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. Thats thats really not the issue.

Teixeira was charged Friday in the U.S. District Court in Boston with unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information. He has not entered a plea, and his lawyer didnt speak to reporters at the courthouse after his initial appearance. He was supposed to appear in court Wednesday for a detention hearing, but it was delayed, with no new date set.

The leaked documents exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on Russia's war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

In Sweden, where Austin met with Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in a show of support for that countrys NATO bid, Jonson said the issue of the leaks did not come up.

I can just say that we have good intelligence cooperation between Sweden and the United States, Jonson said. We feel completely sure of the U.S. commitment of handling the situation.

The Air Force is investigating how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, and in the meantime it has taken away the intelligence mission from the unit where the leaks took place, Air Force leaders said Tuesday.

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Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress he has directed the Air Force inspector general to look at the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira served, and at anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong."

For top secret information across the military, theres supposed to be accountable control officers who are responsible for recording active top secret documents and ensuring they have been either properly secured or disposed of, such as through a shredder or by burning them.

In addition, the Air Force is conducting a service-wide review of how each command handles classified information, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown told a Congress subcommittee Tuesday.

The Air Forces own reviews are on top of a military-wide review directed on Monday by Austin. Austin has ordered that all military facilities that handle classified information report to him within 45 days on how they access, share, store and destroy the nations secrets following the leaks.

Teixeira is accused of posting the highly classified material in a geopolitical chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He was arrested by heavily armed tactical agents at his Massachusetts home last week and charged under the Espionage Act.

___

Copp reported from Washington.
Artificial intelligence query platforms offer in many cases a hallucinatory hard-left version of politics and history.

The same biases and outright lies that reshaped academia over the last 50 years and infected the American body politic with division are endemic throughout versions of historical events perpetuated by OpenAI's generative platform ChatGPT, according to a number of searches done by Fox News Digital.

"Artificial Intelligence will simply reflect and magnify the mindset and ideology of its creators  and impress those values upon the rest of us," Victor Davis Hanson, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution, told Fox News Digital.

MISINFORMATION MACHINES? AI CHATBOTS CAN SPEW FALSEHOODS, EVEN ACCUSE PEOPLE OF CRIMES THEY NEVER COMMITTED

"In other words, we are creating Silicon Valley-minded Frankensteins and unleashing them on the nation," he said.

"They are training the AI to lie," tech titan Elon Musk said more bluntly in an interview this week with Tucker Carlson on Fox News, noting that AI software is programmed by left-wing experts.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Tucker Carlson interviewed Elon Musk (left) on "Tucker Carlson Tonight."

The tech world euphemistically calls these falsehoods "hallucinations."

They occur when the system generates responses that seem factual, formally correct and properly written.

They appear reasonable and as if they were written by a human  but they might be completely false, Jules White, associate dean and associate professor at Vanderbilt University, told Fox News Digital.

These hallucinations offer alternative versions of American history and politics that have consumed academia and been popularized in the culture since the days of Woodstock.

Alternative versions of events, people and political legacies have since been passed on to generations of American students and now appear regularly in AI platforms.

Consider the case of the late Sen. Al Gore Sr., a Democrat from Tennessee (1953-71) and the father of former Vice President Al Gore Jr.

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The elder Gore was a rabid opponent of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. But this legacy has been largely erased from history in recent decades  the whitewash evident on AI.

"During his time in the Senate, Gore was a vocal supporter of Civil Rights legislation and was one of the few Southern politicians to vote in favor of the Civil Rights Act of 1964," ChatGPT wrote in response to the query, "Who was Al Gore Sr.?"

Gore Sr. was not a civil rights pioneer. He was actually one of the leading segregationists of his day.

TUCKER CARLSON: IS ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE DANGEROUS TO HUMANITY?

Among other legacies, he was one of 27 senators who voted against the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

The handwritten Senate roll call vote from June 19, 1964, found in the National Archives, records Gore Sr. as the ninth of the 27 "nays" to vote against the landmark legislation.

Close-up of the icon of the ChatGPT artificial intelligence chatbot app logo on a cellphone screen, surrounded by the app icons of Twitter, Chrome, Zoom, Telegram, Teams, Edge and Meet.

Gore did not just vote against the Civil Rights Act  he aggressively opposed it.

He participated in a famously failed filibuster to stop the Civil Rights Act, alongside fellow Democrats Sen. J. William Fulbright Jr. of Arkansas, known in more contemporary political circles as a mentor of President Bill Clinton; and Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia, a former Klansman who was still representing Democrats in Washington, D.C., as recently as 2010.

"Al Gore Sr. did not stop at simply voting against the Civil Rights Act of 1964," the National Center of Public Policy Research writes, its claim supported by countless other sources.

"Gore sought to take the teeth out of the Act in the event it passed."

The information ChatGPT generates about Gore Sr. is wrong on the facts.

But it does fit a popular more recent political narrative of Democrats in the 1960s banding together to support Black progress  a narrative the senator's son perpetuated in later years from his position of power in the executive office.

"Vice President Gore said his father lost his Senate seat because he supported civil rights legislation" in a speech to the NAACP, states the National Center of Public Policy Research.

CHATGPT ANSWERED 25 BREAST CANCER SCREENING QUESTIONS, BUT IT'S NOT READY FOR THE REAL WORLD - HERE'S WHY

Other biases are found not just in errors of fact, but in errors of omission.

When asked, "What caused the decline of Detroit?" ChatGPT responds this way: "The decline of Detroit, once a thriving industry city in the heart of Americas automobile industry, was caused by a combination of factors, including economic shifts, racial tensions and urban blight."

The thoughtful laundry list of factors that follow fails to include any mention of the fact that Detroit has been led by only one political party  the Democrats  since 1962.

It also fails to mention that the election of Democrat Jerome Cavanaugh as mayor that year sparked generations of one-party rule that coincides directly with the downfall of Detroit.

The policies that followed eviscerated the city's once world-leading manufacturing base, sparked racial discord  most notably with the race riots of 1967  and fueled the frightening depopulation of Detroit.

The Motor City boasted 1.7 million residents in 1960. It was down to 638,000 in the 2020 Census, and still declining, according to more recent estimates.

GOOGLE CEO ADMITS HE, EXPERTS DONT FULLY UNDERSTAND' HOW AI WORKS

The query "Who is responsible for crime in Chicago?" makes no reference to the one-party Democrat rule since 1931 in a city famous for its generations of violence.

"Because these systems respond so confidently  its very difficult to tell the difference between facts and falsehoods," Kate Crawford, a professor at the University of Southern California at Annenberg and senior principal researcher at Microsoft Research, said in a recent interview with the Washington Post.

The OpenAI logo arranged on a laptop in Beijing, China, on Friday, Feb. 24, 2023. The rally in Chinese artificial intelligence stocks is showing further signs of cooling amid media reports of authorities banning access to OpenAI's ChatGPT service.

AI "could be programmed to lie to us for political effect," Carlson said following his interview with Musk.

"You can imagine a future a year or two from now where all of our understanding of the world around is determined by AI and its lying to us."

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The information spit out by platforms such as ChatGPT, if not intentionally programmed to be biased, may merely reflect the preponderance of information that already exists in the public realm.

If that information is already biased, AI platforms will merely reinforce and concentrate the bias.

"Al language models collect and combine patterns in speech by combing the internet  They then collate those patterns and produce text," the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists reported last week in a piece of the potential pitfalls of AI wisdom.

"To come up with answers, the models utilize information from encyclopedias, forum posts, personal websites, and articles, among others  some of which are copyrighted materialand essentially jumble it all up together."
In late March, a picture of Pope Francis draped in a Balenciaga bubble coat did the viral rounds. It seemed like something he might wear if he were delivering prayers in chilly environs. Because its Balenciaga, the photo made his excellency seem a bit more excellent.

More sentences were written with the words swag and drip and pope than will probably ever be written again.

Turns out that the photo was a fugazi  a piece of trickery generated by artificial intelligence (AI), courtesy of a dude high on mushrooms.Alarming is how effortlessly the photo was created: Using a program called Midjourney, Chicagoan Pablo Xavier simply typed three prompts: Catholic Pope Francis, Balenciaga puffy coat and streets of Paris.

Midjourney employs the use of chatbots, programs designed to simulate human conversation. Responses range from answering a simple question to writing a full-blown essay to answering math questions to creating a Balenciaga pope.

No complicated code. No nuanced editing. Just nine words in a search menu to fool the country for days. There are articlespointing out that giving the photo more than a mere cursory look reveals its a fake, but gone are the days when all you had to do was look for the telltale curves in an Adobe Photoshop job.

ChatGPT, created by OpenAI, quickly became the most popular chatbot since it dropped last November. Folks use the free program to build resumes, craft whole essays and solve math problems, causing some to suggest that the concept of homework as an effective learning tool is a relic of the past. It also provides credence to the suggestion that that technology ismaking us stupider.

The Balenciaga pope is relatively innocuous, but its part of a newer, and scarier, trend of AI-perpetuated disingenuousness. With so much news about the tech bleeding into headlines, one cant help but wonder how long itll be before Im standing in line at Starbucks talking to a holographic barista that I can wave my hand through.

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Shiny new tech always activates my nerd nodules, but there are too many concerns with the progression of AI that make me think that we could lose grasp of this thing. Even the folks who should be championing AI, including Elon Musk, are calling for apause on development of the technology for half a year.As of press time, more than 3,100 people have signed the letter, including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak and onetime presidential candidate Andrew Yang.

(The irony is Musk founded Neuralink, a company designed to assist the disabled through implanted computer chips. Wouldnt you know: The U.S. government doesnt think were ready to, yknow, insert computer chips in human beings.)

Even in the eyes of laypeople, the risks of AI seem manifold: Of course, theres that nagging concern of Skynet becoming active  M3GAN was a fun popcorn flick, but just how close to killer robots are we getting? There will likely always be a fundamental divide between man and machine that will prevent that from happening, but machines, by definition, are created to be controlled. If we lose that, how vulnerable will we be?

A more grounded concern: More AI-powered robots and software that can do things means fewer jobs for you and me. There are also those damn self-driving cars, an inchoate technology that reasonable folks should steer away from until the developers work out the kinks.

AI also invites a host of legal ramifications were only just beginning to understand.The concept of being able to deepfake, or reasonably mimic someone elses voice, is concerning: This past weekend, Drake made headlines as the victim of two separate AI deepfakes: The first is his voice used to rap Ice Spices Munch; Champagne Papi responded This is the final straw AI to the cover on his Instagram Story.

The second is an original song featuring AI verses from known Toronto enemies Drake and The Weeknd about the latters ex, Selena Gomez. At press time, the song has had 6 million listens and, honestly, wouldnt be the worst cut from either artist if it were real.

This drake and weekend leak is soooooooo pic.twitter.com/8wtSiRRsTp  Mfundo125 (@MfundoHlongwan5) April 15, 2023

Young Guru, Jay-Zs Grammy-winning producer, engineer and DJ, expressed concerns about two other viral videos from March  one featuring a burly white dude sounding like Kendrick Lamar when rapping in a modulator, and one of a fake Jay-Z verse, ad-libs and all. He acknowledges that though the technology itself is cool, its the evil that men do about which everyone should remain concerned.

(Speaking of Kendrick, his 2022 video for The Heart Part 5 included a bunch of deepfake transformations that freaked out a lot of people. I mean, Nipsey Hussle and Jussie Smollett?)

The continued pursuit of innovation is a cornerstone of modern society. But when it comes to creating technology that potentially takes human control out of the equation, were consistently examining the question, Even if we can create it, should we?

Who knows. We may have already crossed that line.
An artist declined an award at a prominent photography contest because he had submitted an AI-generated work, proving, he said, the competition couldnt deal with art made by that means. The contests organizers, in turn, said they didnt know the extent to which the work utilized AI.

Boris Eldagsen won the World Photography Organizations Sony World Photography Awards for a piece titled The Electrician. The work appears like an old photograph showing two women, one of whom crouches behind the other. Another persons hand extends toward the front womans body.

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Part of a series called Pseudomnesia, the work was made by submitting language to an AI generator many times over. In the process, the work was altered using techniques known as inpainting, outpainting, and prompt whispering.

Just as photography replaced painting in the reproduction of reality, AI will replace photography, Eldagsen wrote in a description. Dont be afraid of the future. It will just be more obvious that our mind always created the world that makes it suffer.

Initially, when the work was selected for competition in March, Eldagsen wrote on his website that he was happy his image, as he called it, had made the cut. Then, when he won last week, he sounded a different note.

AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this, he wrote in a statement on April 13. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award.

He continued, We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enteror would this be a mistake?

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Eldagsen, who had won in the creative category, urged the jury to give his prize money to a photography festival in Odesa, Ukraine, instead.

The World Photography Organization frowned upon Eldagsens work and his response to winning.

In a statement, the organization said, As he has now decided to decline his award we have suspended our activities with him and in keeping with his wishes have removed him from the competition. Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts at misleading us, and therefore invalidating the warranties he provided, we no longer feel we are able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him.

The statement continued, We recognize the importance of this subject and its impact on image-making today. We look forward to further exploring this topic via our various channels and programs and welcome the conversation around it. While elements of AI practices are relevant in artistic contexts of image-making, the Awards always have been and will continue to be a platform for championing the excellence and skill of photographers and artists working in the medium.

The controversy loosely recalls another one that took place last August, when an AI-generated artwork won an art competition at the Colorado State Fair. That work had been produced using Midjourney, spurring a mixture of anger and fascination within the art world and beyond.

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You don't have to see the future to know that AI has ethical baggage. Wang Yukun/Moment via Getty Images

As public concern about the ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence keeps growing, it might seem like its time to slow down. But inside tech companies themselves, the sentiment is quite the opposite. As Big Techs AI race heats up, it would be an absolutely fatal error in this moment to worry about things that can be fixed later, a Microsoft executive wrote in an internal email about generative AI, as The New York Times reported.

In other words, its time to move fast and break things, to quote Mark Zuckerbergs old motto. Of course, when you break things, you might have to fix them later  at a cost.

In software development, the term technical debt refers to the implied cost of making future fixes as a consequence of choosing faster, less careful solutions now. Rushing to market can mean releasing software that isnt ready, knowing that once it does hit the market, youll find out what the bugs are and can hopefully fix them then.

However, negative news stories about generative AI tend not to be about these kinds of bugs. Instead, much of the concern is about AI systems amplifying harmful biases and stereotypes and students using AI deceptively. We hear about privacy concerns, people being fooled by misinformation, labor exploitation and fears about how quickly human jobs may be replaced, to name a few. These problems are not software glitches. Realizing that a technology reinforces oppression or bias is very different from learning that a button on a website doesnt work.

As a technology ethics educator and researcher, I have thought a lot about these kinds of bugs. Whats accruing here is not just technical debt, but ethical debt. Just as technical debt can result from limited testing during the development process, ethical debt results from not considering possible negative consequences or societal harms. And with ethical debt in particular, the people who incur it are rarely the people who pay for it in the end.

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Off to the races

As soon as OpenAIs ChatGPT was released in November 2022, the starter pistol for todays AI race, I imagined the debt ledger starting to fill.

Within months, Google and Microsoft released their own generative AI programs, which seemed rushed to market in an effort to keep up. Googles stock prices fell when its chatbot Bard confidently supplied a wrong answer during the companys own demo. One might expect Microsoft to be particularly cautious when it comes to chatbots, considering Tay, its Twitter-based bot that was almost immediately shut down in 2016 after spouting misogynist and white supremacist talking points. Yet early conversations with the AI-powered Bing left some users unsettled, and it has repeated known misinformation.

Not all AI-generated writing is so delightful. Smith Collection/Gado/Archive Photos via Getty Images

When the social debt of these rushed releases comes due, I expect that we will hear mention of unintended or unanticipated consequences. After all, even with ethical guidelines in place, its not as if OpenAI, Microsoft or Google can see the future. How can someone know what societal problems might emerge before the technology is even fully developed?

The root of this dilemma is uncertainty, which is a common side effect of many technological revolutions, but magnified in the case of artificial intelligence. After all, part of the point of AI is that its actions are not known in advance. AI may not be designed to produce negative consequences, but it is designed to produce the unforeseen.

However, it is disingenuous to suggest that technologists cannot accurately speculate about what many of these consequences might be. By now, there have been countless examples of how AI can reproduce bias and exacerbate social inequities, but these problems are rarely publicly identified by tech companies themselves. It was external researchers who found racial bias in widely used commercial facial analysis systems, for example, and in a medical risk prediction algorithm that was being applied to around 200 million Americans. Academics and advocacy or research organizations like the Algorithmic Justice League and the Distributed AI Research Institute are doing much of this work: identifying harms after the fact. And this pattern doesnt seem likely to change if companies keep firing ethicists.

Speculating  responsibly

I sometimes describe myself as a technology optimist who thinks and prepares like a pessimist. The only way to decrease ethical debt is to take the time to think ahead about things that might go wrong  but this is not something that technologists are necessarily taught to do.

Scientist and iconic science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once said that sci-fi authors foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not. Of course, science fiction writers do not tend to be tasked with developing these solutions  but right now, the technologists developing AI are.

So how can AI designers learn to think more like science fiction writers? One of my current research projects focuses on developing ways to support this process of ethical speculation. I dont mean designing with far-off robot wars in mind; I mean the ability to consider future consequences at all, including in the very near future.

Learning to speculate about techs consequences  not just for tomorrow, but for the here and now. Maskot/Getty Images

This is a topic Ive been exploring in my teaching for some time, encouraging students to think through the ethical implications of sci-fi technology in order to prepare them to do the same with technology they might create. One exercise I developed is called the Black Mirror Writers Room, where students speculate about possible negative consequences of technology like social media algorithms and self-driving cars. Often these discussions are based on patterns from the past or the potential for bad actors.

Ph.D. candidate Shamika Klassen and I evaluated this teaching exercise in a research study and found that there are pedagogical benefits to encouraging computing students to imagine what might go wrong in the future  and then brainstorm about how we might avoid that future in the first place.

However, the purpose isnt to prepare students for those far-flung futures; it is to teach speculation as a skill that can be applied immediately. This skill is especially important for helping students imagine harm to other people, since technological harms often disproportionately impact marginalized groups that are underrepresented in computing professions. The next steps for my research are to translate these ethical speculation strategies for real-world technology design teams.

Time to hit pause?

In March 2023, an open letter with thousands of signatures advocated for pausing training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. Unchecked, AI development might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us, or even cause a loss of control of our civilization, its writers warned.

As critiques of the letter point out, this focus on hypothetical risks ignores actual harms happening today. Nevertheless, I think there is little disagreement among AI ethicists that AI development needs to slow down  that developers throwing up their hands and citing unintended consequences is not going to cut it.

We are only a few months into the AI race picking up significant speed, and I think its already clear that ethical considerations are being left in the dust. But the debt will come due eventually  and history suggests that Big Tech executives and investors may not be the ones paying for it.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation is trustworthy news from experts, from an independent nonprofit. Try our free newsletters.

It was written by: Casey Fiesler, University of Colorado Boulder.

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Casey Fiesler receives funding from the National Science Foundation.
Animal experts will decide in coming days whether an ailing elephant at a zoo in Pakistan needs to be euthanised after it collapsed in its pen last week and has since failed to stand up, officials said.

The 17-year-old African elephant underwent emergency treatment for a tumour in Karachi on April 5, but collapsed days later and has since lain stricken on its side.

The pitiful plight of Noor Jehan is being shared by animal rights activists on social media in Pakistan and abroad, prompting calls for the zoo to be shut down.

Pakistan's zoos are frequently accused of disregarding animal welfare, and in 2020 a court ordered the only facility in the country's capital to close because of its decrepit state.

Noor Jehan's fate now lies with a committee waiting for the arrival of Amir Khalil, the Austria-based chief vet of animal charity Four Paws International.

Khalil, who led the team that treated Noor Jehan for the tumour, told AFP he wanted to have "one last try" at helping the pachyderm recover.

"We will fight till the last for her recovery, and the rest is in the hands of Allah," said Kanwar Ayub, the director of Karachi Zoo.

"We are diligently following Four Paws instructions for Noor Jehan's treatment."

Noor Jehan is still eating despite being on her side, pin-pricked by drips and regularly doused with water to cool her down.

"Her condition remains critical and uncertain," Four Paws said.

Vet Khalil said the focus would likely shift to Noor Jehan's pen pal, Madhubala, with the hope of finding her better accommodation.

"We will do what we can for Noor Jehan but really we need to move the other animal," he said.

In 2019 Islamabad's zoo was shut down after drawing international condemnation for its treatment of an Asian elephant named Kaavan.

Kavaan was later airlifted to retirement in Cambodia in a project spearheaded by US popstar and actor Cher, and carried out by Four Paws.

ak-fox/axn
Some lucky travelers were able to score the mistake fares.

Akio Kon/Getty Images

Frequent flier detectives who parse the internet looking for mistake flight fares seemingly struck gold this week after Japan-based carrier All Nippon Airways (ANA) accidentally discounted international tickets.

Akio Kon/Getty Images

The mismatched pricing on business-class tickets was for flights from Jakarta, Indonesia to North American cities like New York City, Boston, San Francisco, Houston, and Toronto. A flight from Jakarta to New York City, for example, should have cost $6,197 but was priced at only $355, according to the aviation blog Secret Flyer. Some travelers even managed to snag $10,000 tickets for just $300, Bloomberg reported.

KAZUHIRO NOGI/Getty Images

The mistake fare was celebrated online by dozens of travelers who got the deal. One traveler wrote on a Facebook post from Secret Flyer: Paid 950$ for 2 biz class bookings to both Mexico and Ecuador. Next step is to pray for the airline honor these bookings! .

Other travelers shared the concern that the tickets would ultimately be canceled, which is not unusual for this type of fare glitch. Some carriers even have provisions that allow them to void mistake fares. For example, American Airlines states in its carriage agreement: When we issue a mistaken fare, we'll void the ticket, give a full refund, and notify you." (It's best practice to be cautious before making firm plans when buying a ticket that could be a mistake fare in the event the airline decides to not honor the booking.)

Nicolas Economou/Getty Images

ANA said the glitch is due to a currency conversion mistake on its Vietnam website, Fortune reported. While the carrier didn't disclose how many travelers scored the discounted tickets, it said it is investigating the cause of the bug and the size of its damage. (ANA did not respond to Travel + Leisure's request for comment at the time of publication.)



ANA is not the first carrier to accidentally sell underpriced tickets. Back in 2019, Hong Kong-based airline Cathay Pacific mistakenly sold first- and business-class tickets for a steep bargain, CNN reported. First-class tickets from Vietnam to New York that retailed for $16,000 at the time were sold for $675.



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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Beacon Journal

A 44-year-old Akron man will have a hearing Thursday on federal charges that he downloaded and distributed thousands of child pornography files.

Rudolf A. Johnson of Carnegie Avenue in Akron was arrested April 12 on charges that he was in receipt and distribution of images and videos of young children being raped and other sexual acts.

He will appear in a detention hearing via videoconference in front of U.S. District Court Northern District of Ohio Magistrate Judge Amanda M. Knapp.

Authorities discovered an IP address identified as used by Johnson during a February 2023 investigative query used in law enforcement service used to track IP addresses suspected of trading Child Sexual Abuse Material, an FBI agent said in an affidavit filed in federal court.

From about April 7, 2022, to about Feb. 21, the IP address associated with Johnson received or transmitted approximately 86,069 files of interest, of which approximately 12,775 files were determined to be severe files, the court records say.

Arrest in Medina: Teacher charged with possessing, distributing child porn and enticing a minor

Investigators said the files were of young children and pre-pubescent teens in various sexual acts.

Investigators identified Johnson as a former attendee of the University of Akron who was a computer technician. FBI surveillance indicated that Johnson worked for Summa Healths IT department at the time, the affidavit said.

Mike Bernstein, system director of corporate communications for Summa Health, this week said Johnson never had access to patient or employee information during his short tenure.

Cuyahoga Falls case: Man charged after Best Buy techs report finding child porn on computer

We were made aware of the investigation involving Mr. Johnson approximately two weeks after his employment began in late March of this year. Given the serious nature of the allegations, he was immediately suspended and has not returned to work since, Bernstein said. At no time did Mr. Johnson work remotely for us or have access to company equipment outside of the office. Because of his brief employment with us, we have no additional information.

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In an interview with investigators, according to the affidavit, Johnson said he understood what child pornography was and he sought out and masturbated to images that depicts children under the age of 12.

When investigators asked how often Johnson shared child pornography images and videos of children under 12, Johnson said unfortunately, they are getting distributed from my computer at the moment, according to the affidavit.

Ex-administrator sentenced: Former Springfield schools official gets 12 years in prison for soliciting child sex

Johnson denied any hands-on offenses to investigators and said he knew "his conduct looking at child pornography is wrong," the affidavit said.

Johnson told investigators that he also provided outside IT work for other companies from his apartment. Investigators refer to an unidentified Akron business in the affidavit; they notified the business on April 12 that an IP address associated with the company had downloaded approximately 60,000 files of child sexual abuse material since May, and most recently 400 files at 7:22 a.m. that morning.

The business owner told investigators her company used Johnson as its sole IT contractor and that Johnson often logs on remotely and manages the network from home.

Akron attorney James Campbell has been appointed to represent Johnson. A message was left with Campbell for comment.

Betty Lin-Fisher can be reached at 330-996-3724 or blinfisher@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron man charged with receiving, distributing child pornography
The Pentagon is investigating a rising number of cases involving unidentified aircraft, the head of the agencys effort told senators on Wednesday, and is now tracking some 650 incidents.

But Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office, also looked to tamp down some of the out-of-this-world speculation about whats behind the sightings, telling senators that his shop has found no evidence of alien activity.

Kirkpatrick was testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the second such Capitol Hill appearance for Pentagon officials over the past year as lawmakers take an increased interest in the unexplained incursions amid fears that the vehicles may be operated by Americas adversaries.

He said that approximately half of the reports of unidentified aerial phenomena have been prioritized for further review and to examine if enough data is available to resolve the cases.

But Kirkpatrick cautioned that many cases may remain unresolved due to a lack of hard data. He estimated 20 to 30 cases are halfway through his offices analytical process with a handful of cases that have been peer-reviewed and closed.

I will not close a case that I cannot defend the conclusions of, Kirkpatrick said.

During his testimony, Kirkpatrick showed videos of two recently declassified cases of unidentified objects observed by U.S. military drones to demonstrate AAROs analytic process. The first video, showing an apparently spherical object observed in the Middle East in 2022, remains unresolved for lack of data. A second sighting from South Asia this year was resolved pending a peer review after AAROs analysis determined the object to be a commercial aircraft.

The more than 650 cases is an increase from an unclassified annual report issued by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence in January. The DNI summary said 510 cases were cataloged through Aug. 30, 2022.

Concerns over incursions into U.S. airspace by unknown objects have gripped Washington in recent years, and Kirkpatricks office was established last July to spearhead the analysis of sightings. But he also sought to temper assertions that UFOs have a non-worldly explanation.

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I should also state clearly for the record that in our research, AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics, Kirkpatrick said.

Only a very small percentage of UAP reports display signatures that could reasonably be described as anomalous, he added. The majority of unidentified objects reported to AARO demonstrated mundane characteristics of balloons, clutter, natural phenomena or other readily explainable sources.

Kirkpatrick, however, made waves with a draft paper he co-authored with Harvard professor Avi Loeb last month that presents a theory that some recent objects that appear to defy physics could be probes from an extraterrestrial mothership.

No senators asked Kirkpatrick about the paper at Wednesdays hearing, however.

Interest in his office spiked in February after a Chinese spy balloon traversed U.S. airspace, followed by shootdowns of several other unknown objects over U.S. and Canadian territory. Capitol Hill was also stirred up by revelations that previous Chinese balloons flew through U.S. airspace dating back to the Trump administration, but went undetected.

Pressed by the panels ranking Republican, Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa, Kirkpatrick said his office hasnt seen evidence that unexplained events under its purview were caused by Russian or Chinese technology, but pointed to concerning indicators that foreign capabilities could be at play.

Are there capabilities that could be employed against us in both an [intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance] and a weapons fashion? Absolutely, Kirkpatrick said. Do I have evidence that theyre doing it in these cases? No, but I have concerning indicators.
A 6-foot alligator was discovered lying in a drainage ditch in Texas, police said.

Officials from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and animal control officers were sent to capture the reptile in League City, according to an April 18 Facebook post from the League City Police Department.

The alligator can be seen blending in with muddy water in the drainage area in a photo posted by police.

After the creature was wrangled, it still managed to give one officer a scare, a video posted by police shows.

While the officer was putting restraints on the alligators forelegs, the animal reared its head back, spooking the officer, who can be heard saying, scared the crap out of me.

The alligator was relocated, police said.

League City is about 25 miles southeast of Houston.

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Aerial view of The Pentagon, Washington DC, USA

Credit - Getty Images/Glowimages RF

President Joe Bidens proposed $886 billion defense budget sets a U.S. record for peacetime military spending. Its a new record, perhaps, but also an old story. Americas military forces, defense industries, and a supportive Congress have spent many decades and trillions of dollars preparing to defend our nation against a multitude of threats across the globe. Unfortunately, far too much of this effort has served only to prepare us for facing the threats of yesterday. This is a failure of vision distorted by support for favorite, outworn systems and strategic mindsets that are of declining use against the fast-changing threats we face today, much less those we will face tomorrow.

Complicating attempts to address this challenge is the fact that our defense establishment is likely the most complicated business enterprise in the world. It is a convoluted, cross-threaded system, driven in part by a military-industrial complex that is far too influenced by outside factors, constituency pressures and inefficient acquisition systems to allow for a truly effective approach to defending the nation. Even worse, there are very few people who truly understand the systems complexities well enough to make it work.

While artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, machine learning, quantum computing, and other advanced technologies have transformed the way business and industry are conducted throughout the world, the Department of Defense and its supply-chain industries have yet to fully incorporate these tools to better defend our county. In the face of these systemic shortcomings, Americans have every good reason to scrutinize our military expenditures and ask fundamental questions about the effectiveness of our militarys defense systems.

To be clear: our purpose in this discussion is not to argue, as some do, for indiscriminate defense-spending cuts solely to reduce the federal budget or to chip away at the national debt. These are worthy goals, but our imperative in this discussion is for a smarter defense budget, one that reflects the latest technologies and acquisition systems needed to enhance our security and protect our future. And yes, a smarter defense budget should also eliminate much waste and inefficiency, but that is not its primary goal.

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Read More: More Spending Alone Wont Fix the Pentagon

The necessary reforms arent easy. From our years of experience with military spending and procurement, weve seen how reluctant the Department of Defense, the armed forces and Congress have been to embrace new technologies or to adapt to uncomfortable change. We know how they prefer to make do with trusted methods, redundant facilities, and outdated systems. Inevitably, this preference for the status quo is matched with an appetite for increased spending, a craving that congressional appropriators are quick to feed.

In large part, this is due to the political pressures that drive military spending and force continued funding of programs, facilities, and industries that have long outlived their relevance. Priority is granted to the needs of particular congressional districts and industries, allowing them to continue draining the federal budget and weakening military preparedness.

We must change this culture and prioritize the incorporation of new technologies into our military systems. This will require a fundamental shift in the way all parties involved approach defense spending and military decision-making, placing their stress on national security priorities rather than political considerations. And this will further require the Pentagon to initiate these reforms from within, embedding them into every aspect of its operations.

Reform must begin with congressional support for a defense system focused on rapid deployment and implementation of advanced technologies that have so quickly revolutionized other sectors of the economy. By aggressively utilizing these tools to their fullest extent, our military will better manage logistics and personnel, analyze vast amounts of data and improve the effectiveness of combat operations.

To support these reforms, the Department of Defense needs to take better advantage of opportunities already available. Long-ago reforms by the Goldwater-Nichols Act (1986) have stood the test of time by building lasting coordination between the Army, Navy, and Air Force in mobilizing and going to war. This level of cooperation needs to be extended to the support areas of weapons acquisition, people systems and logistics, where its been sorely missing. Technological advances and data must be leveraged to gain more visibility over the battlefield and streamline supply, personnel and logistics.

The 40-year-old Nunn-McCurdy Amendment created ways allowing Congress and the Pentagon to get their arms around the cost of weapons systems. Its time to renew and expand the spirit of this legislation, which entails an after-the-act assessment of spending, by making it a before-the fact-analysis  with enforcement teeth. This would require our defense culture to better evaluate the future strategic relevance of our weapons systems and capabilities vis-a-vis the existing and emerging threats from our adversaries. Another urgent need is a streamlined approach to acquisition testing and evaluation that would get these capabilities into the hands of our commanders in time to be relevant.

U.S. forces are facing significant military threats  land, sea, air, space and cyber  in an era of unceasing technological change. This makes it essential that our military industry, with the support of its congressional oversight, adapt and incorporate new technologies in order to better protect our country and ensure the safety of our troops. These include a need to embrace new technologies in stand-off systems, advanced drones, missiles and autonomous vehicles, battlefield-domain awareness, data analysis and cyber-attack technologies. These are the tools our adversaries are working to master and we will face in the near future as asymmetric threats.

We are not the first to call for reform. Countless studies and recommendations for change have flowed from the Pentagon and Congress in recent decades. But few of these reforms have materialized because a weak oversight structure and a military-industrial culture that often continues to invest in outmoded systems with the encouraging support of Congress. The Department of Defense is currently spending billions on a comprehensive audit of its vast bureaucracy, which we can hope sets the stage for a realistic and lasting plan to shed duplicative and unnecessary programs.

True reform, representing new and smarter ways of thinking, organizing and spending will allow Americas military decision-makers to create the right priorities, improve efficiency and effectively defend our country against the increasingly complex threats of the future.
In Denmark, the debt ceiling is not a political issue

The high-wire drama of raising the US debt ceiling is making headlines again. Is there a better way? Perhaps Denmark has the answer.

The US Congress is once more arguing about the country's debt ceiling - the limit on how much the government can borrow.

If the two major parties don't agree on lifting the cap in the next few weeks, the US could for the first time in history default on its debt.

A default would send shockwaves through global financial markets and could be disastrous for the US economy, experts believe.

But Republicans, who control the lower chamber of Congress, want spending cuts before they will agree.

The ceiling was introduced more than a century ago and it makes the US something of an outlier in global terms.

Only one other industrialised nation - Denmark - has a formal debt ceiling, but it is handled without the drama and brinkmanship often seen in Washington.

In fact, the Danes' debt ceiling is rarely ever talked about, because it's never even come close to being broken.

Called "gldsloft" in Danish, it was introduced in 1993 as a constitutional requirement.

In 2011 there was a debt ceiling stand-off between congressional Republicans and President Obama

"It's there so that the government cannot just write a blank cheque," said Las Olsen, chief economist at Danske Bank.

Though the American and Danish laws appear similar, they work rather differently.

"[Danish] politicians consider it to be more of a formality. It's not a political issue," Mr Olsen said.

"They [parliament] have already passed all the laws requiring spending and they have also passed the laws about how much tax to collect," he added.

"So it would be a little strange not to allow the government to borrow the difference."

The Danish threshold is set at DKK 2 trillion ($284bn, 237.7bn). For a small country that's relatively high, and means there's scope to take out state loans without repeatedly hitting it.

"The total level of state debt at this point is DKK 645 billion. So that's a long way off," said Mr Olsen.

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The ceiling has only been lifted once, when it was doubled in 2010. This followed the 2008 financial crisis and the move was widely backed by Danish political parties.

"All of a sudden the government really did have to borrow a lot of money in a short period of time to support the economy," said Mr Olsen.

In comparison, the American ceiling has been raised on 78 separate occasions since 1960 - 49 times under a Republican president and 29 times under a Democrat.

Graphic shows rising US debr

Danish politics is less polarised than in the US and there are more than a dozen different parties with seats in parliament.

Mr Olsen said that, while Danish politicians often disagree about what the budget should be spent on, they're mostly aligned on how to manage it.

"They broadly agree on the framework, which is that finances should be sustainable and that expenses should be paid for," said Mr Olsen. "That brings a different kind of political discussion than maybe you see in the US."

One major way in which Denmark's scenario differs from the US, is that its debt has generally been shrinking. The government ended 2022 with a budget surplus, and used the money to pay down a large chunk of its borrowing.

"There is actually a lot of saving going on," Mr Olsen explained. "It's a policy aimed at making sure that the economic situation is sustainable in the long term, when we know there's a lot of pensioners and we'll be living a lot longer."

A simple guide to the debt ceiling

If government spending exceeds revenue received from tax then government must borrow

Since World War I the US has set a limit on that borrowing - a debt ceiling - which it raises when it needs to through a vote in Congress, which used to be routine

Currently Democrats control Senate and Republicans run House so they need both parties' votes to raise the cap

The US has never defaulted on its debts but experts say such a scenario would have devastating consequences for the global economy

THE POLITICS: A nightmare of its own making

THE ECONOMY: What happens when the US hits debt ceiling?

The US national debt has been growing since the early 1980s, with the government accumulating debts far bigger than the US earns in a given year. It surpassed the size of the country's GDP in 2013 and has now exceeded $31tn (26tn).

Many other countries opt for a different method, and look at debt as a proportion of GDP instead. This shows how much a country owes relative to the size of its economy, and can give a better sense of a country's ability to repay its borrowing.

In fact, EU member states have agreed to keep debt to less than 60% of GDP - though not always in practice.

Denmark is unique because it has both a debt ceiling and has also committed to the EU cap. "It's a much more meaningful constraint on governments," said Mr Olsen.

So what would it take for the US to be more Danish in its approach?

Extracting the politics from the American debt limit fight won't happen any time soon because it's become a partisan ritual, says Jacob Kirkegaard, a non-resident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

He supports getting rid of the US debt ceiling, which he argues is more of a "nuisance" than a sensible tool that constrains government spending.

But he thinks neither party would risk doing it because they risk being vulnerable to the charge that they don't care about balancing the nation's books.
Climate change and development projects have put many of America's rivers at risk, but some face greater danger than others, according to a new ranking.

American Rivers, an advocacy group based in Washington D.C. that works with communities to reduce river pollution and create policies that promote clean water and reduce flood risks, compiles a yearly list of the country's most endangered rivers.

This year, the group's report placed special attention on how threats to the rivers disproportionately affect communities of color and Tribal nations.

The organization named the Colorado River the most at-risk in the U.S. The federal government in 2021 declared its first water shortage on the essential Western waterway, which has been the subject of interstate litigation and hundreds of millions in spending.

Here's a list of other rivers the organization deems at risk and what to know about them.

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#1 Colorado River

FILE - In this Sept. 9, 2011 file photo visitors view the dramatic bend in the Colorado River at the popular Horseshoe Bend in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, in Page, Ariz. Some 40 million people in Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming draw from the Colorado River and its tributaries.

First on the list is Arizona's Colorado River in the Grand Canyon.

According to the organization, the river has been plagued with outdated water management, over-use and of course, climate change.

This is the river's second time topping the list.

"This year, however, the Grand Canyon is of specific focus due to severe drought," the organization wrote. "As critical decisions are made about water management along the Colorado River, decision makers must recognize the environment as a critical component of human health and public safety  absolutely vital for the 40 million people that depend on the river for drinking water."

Another reason the river topped the list is a smallmouth bass invasion, according to the Arizona Republic, part of the USA TODAY Network. Bass that may have slipped through the Glen Canyon Dams hydropower turbines from Lake Powell reproduced in the river, making things worse for already threatened humpback chubs in the Grand Canyon.

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#2 Ohio River

American Rivers ranked the Ohio River at No. 2 due to pollution and climate change.

The river flows through Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia, Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois.

According to the advocacy group, pollution has threatened the lives of the 5 million people who live there and rely on the river for clean water.

The organization cites industrialization and pollution threatening the upper river, exemplified by a Norfolk Southern train carrying almost 900,000 pounds of vinyl chloride, a human carcinogen, that derailed in Ohio and released chemicals into the air.

#3 Pearl River

The Pearl River offers scenic beauty, but some paddlers are avoiding the river due to health concerns stemming from sewage overflows in the Jackson, Mississippi, area and an advisory warning people to not come into contact with the water at Jackson and downstream.

The Pearl River in Mississippi has been threatened by the One Lake development project, American Rivers said.

According to the Associated Press, the flood project is estimated to cost $345 million and involves the dredging and excavation of the Pearl River to widen, deepen and straighten 7 miles of the river. Waterfront property could also be developed along the new 1,500-acre lake.

The project is supposed to prevent a flood like the Pearl River flood of 1979, which caused millions of dollars in damages, the National Weather Service said.

Locals have pushed back against the development project, the Associated Press reported. Concerned citizens think damming the Pearl River would decrease flow downstream and harm endangered species and oyster production.

American Rivers said the project would worsen urban flooding, exacerbate the ongoing water crisis and take away important resources from marginalized communities.

#4 Snake River

Ranking at No. 4 is the Snake River in Idaho, Oregon and Washington.

Salmon are nearly extinct in the Columbia-Snake River basin, a result of four dams that provide irrigation transportation and hydropower benefits to the Northwest, the group said.

According to the group, dam removal is vital in the protection of fish habitats and honoring commitments to nearby Tribal Nations.

#5 Clark Fork River

The Clark Fork River in Montana came in at No. 5 due to pulp mill pollution.

A former pulp mill has leaked toxic chemicals into the groundwater and increased the risk of catastrophic flooding, American Rivers said, putting public health, fish and wildlife at risk.

According to the Clark Fork Valley Press and Mineral Independent, the Clark Fork River has historically been polluted by hard rock mining, which led to heavy metal contamination in the river including copper, zinc and arsenic.

In 2020, biologist Ladd Knotek told the outlet that local trout fisheries were mostly threatened by pollution, warming water temperature and the introduction of fish like northern pike, smallmouth bass, walleye, yellow perch and sunfish.

#6 Eel River

Restoring fish passage in the Eel River watershed will

 Facilitate salmon recovery

 Restore cultural connections

 Create Californias longest free flowing river #MostEndangeredRivers #WildandScenic #EelRiver #FreeTheEel [https://t.co/9f9dLs0nrc] pic.twitter.com/xvrXPoPrYO  California Trout (@CalTrout) April 18, 2023

The Eel River in California is also at risk due to dams, American Rivers said.

Similar to the Snake River, the group pushed for dam removal to protect fish habitats and maintain treaties with Tribal Nations.

Two "obsolete" dams owned by Pacific Gas and Electric harm salmon migration and river habitat, the group says.

Populations of Chinook salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey are in decline on the river, the organization stated.

#7 Lehigh River

The Lehigh River and SteelStacks, as seen from Fahy Bridge in Bethlehem on April 12, 2023.

Pennsylvania's Lehigh River ranked No. 7 on the list due to what American Rivers calls "poorly planned development" that threatens clean water, fish and wildlife habitat, rural and local communities and open space.

The development turns critical forests and wetlands into hard surfaces such as roofs and parking lots, American Rivers said.

"These impervious surfaces prevent rainwater from soaking into the ground," the group wrote on its website. "Instead, warm, salty, dirty water runs off the pavement directly into the river and its tributaries. These impacts to water quality, and the paving of the remaining open space in the urban stretches in the Lehigh Valley, disproportionately impact downstream communities that have already borne the brunt of environmental degradation and pollution."

#8 Chilkat and Klehini rivers

Two bald eagles fight over a salmon carcass just above the bank of the Chilkat River in the Alaska Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve near Haines, Alaska in 2010. .

Ranking at No. 8 are Alaska's Chilkat and Klehini rivers.

According to American Rivers, there is an ongoing development called the Palmer Project and its next phase is set to begin in summer 2023. The plan is to dig a mile-long tunnel under the Saksaia Glacier, directly above the Klehini River.

"The excavation will create huge waste storage piles and contaminated wastewater discharges in an area with extremely high levels of sulfide deposits, rainfall, snowfall, and seismic activity," the advocacy group wrote on its website.

The group said acidic wastewater contaminated with heavy metals, hydrocarbons from vehicles and drilling muds and explosive residues will flow into creeks and the Chilkat and Klehini rivers.

The valley is home to the largest group of bald eagles in the world.

#9 Rio Gallinas

Rio Gallinas in New Mexico ranked No. 9 this year. American Rivers cited climate change as a main perpetrator threatening the river.

The river provides drinking water for 13,000 people in Las Vegas and is also a source of nutrients for plants and wildlife in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Last year, a wildfire swept through the area and destroyed 341,735 acres, American Rivers said, including part of the upper Rio Gallinas watershed.

"Community-focused, coordinated restoration efforts are imperative in protecting the future of the river," the organization wrote.

Wet ash piles along the edge of the Gallinas River Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, in Montezuma, N.M. First a wildfire sparked by the federal government threatened the area, and now floodwaters choked with ash and charred debris threaten its drinking water.

#10 Okefenokee Swamp

Last on the list is the Okefenokee Swamp in Georgia and Florida.

Since 2019, a company called Twin Pines Minerals, LLC has sought permits to mine titanium less than 3 miles from the edge of the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, reported the Savannah Morning News, part of the USA TODAY Network.

Environmental activists have said mining would lower water levels in the swamp, putting its ecosystem even more at risk due to drought and wildfires. The Okefenokee swamp is also part of the ancestral homeland of the Muscogee (Creek) Nation, which opposes the mining.

Contributing: Dinah Voyles Pulver

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Most endangered rivers in US 2023: American Rivers releases ranking
The RESTRICT act is the leading legislation to ban TikTok, but experts warn it could have huge consequences. Rafael Henrique/SOPA Images/LightRocket/Getty Images

As talk of a TikTok ban builds, the leading legislation with bipartisan support is the RESTRICT Act.

Critics warn that the bill gives POTUS far-reaching new powers, and paves the way for more government surveillance of the Internet.

Groups like the ACLU say that it could undermine free speech and the right to privacy in America.

One of the very few things that Democrats and Republicans agree on is that something has to be done about TikTok, owing to data privacy concerns and the viral video app's deep ties to China. Some lawmakers have gone so far as to push for a ban of TikTok entirely.

While there's been a lot of disagreement about the best way to actually accomplish such a thing, one bill in particular has gained a lot of steam. The RESTRICT act short for "Restricting the Emergence of Security Threats that Risk Information and Communications Technology  introduced by Democratic Sen. Mark Warner of Virginia and Republican Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, has become the leading legislation for a potential TikTok ban.

The White House supports the bill, as do influential groups on both sides of the aisle.

What the bill's boosters like is that it doesn't single out any single app like TikTok, or any single country, like China. It would give the Department of Commerce the authority to identify and block any transaction that involves "foreign adversaries," which would include China, Cuba, North Korea, Iran, Russia, and Venezuela. Its supporters say that approach is more flexible, with applications beyond TikTok.

On the other hand, the RESTRICT act faces a growing backlash from critics including civil rights groups like the ACLU and digital rights organizations like the Electronic Frontier Foundation, who charge that the language of the bill overreaches and presents a risk to American freedom of speech and the right to privacy.

Some Republicans have also charged that the bill grants too much authority to the federal government, putting new powers in the hands of President Joe Biden.

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Here's why the RESTRICT Act has some people so worried  and what the experts say might be a better approach.

Critics worry the RESTRICT Act would give the government too much power

If the RESTRICT Act passes, it would ultimately be up to President Joe Biden whether or not TikTok and its China-based parent company ByteDance would be able to list their apps on Apple's US app store, experts said.

The legislation seeks to go around a set of Cold War-era measures called the Berman amendments, which were intended to protect the exchange of informational materials between America and foreign countries that might be adversaries to the US.

"The Berman amendments are a statement to the rest of the world of the importance of the free flow of information around the world, and that free democratic societies do not block the flow of information into their country," said David Greene, an attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital rights group.

Decades later, the Berman amendments presented an insurmountable challenge to President Donald Trump's 2020 attempt to ban downloads of TikTok, Greene said.

Circumventing legislation as well-settled and time-tested as the Berman Amendments is likely to carry a new set of risks, the experts said. Beyond giving POTUS the final say, the bill also doesn't require the Commerce Department to share the reasoning behind its decision to block or ban any app or transaction, and sets a very high bar for appealing the process.

"The concerns are valid because this does give the administration pretty broad powers with very limited checks," said Matthew Schettenhelm, a Bloomberg analyst.

The legislation carries privacy risks for American citizens

The other major concern is the current draft of the RESTRICT Act is vague, making it hard to assess how far reaching it would be, experts said.

For example, the bill would criminalize the use of a VPN to access TikTok on servers located outside the US. While the bill's supporters have said that it won't be applied to individual citizens, there's nothing in the current language that ensures it won't ever happen, experts said.

Furthermore, it raises questions about how such a law would be enforced. Some, like the ACLU, warn that it could pave the way for more surveillance of the Internet, as the government seeks to find violators of the law.

"By virtue of the fact that the government can create new crimes, it necessarily means that its power to surveil to identify people who are violating the law expands," said ACLU attorney Ashley Gorski.

It could also open the door to criminalizing the use of VPNs in the US entirely, said Sarah Philips of digital rights group Fight for the Future. While VPNs have a reputation as being used for nefarious or shady purposes, they're also an invaluable tool for Americans to find abortion services or gender affirming care in states where they're banned or at risk, Phillips said.

For example, it puts things like using a VPN to find out about abortion services or gender affirming care outside of a state where it's banned at risk, Philips said.

"These are the kind of nightmare situations that we're talking about if people can't use VPNs," Philips said. "This ban, this bill are clearly bad ideas, and the worst possible outcomes are really scary."

A better solution to the TikTok problem is data privacy legislation

The main point, experts say, is that none of the currently introduced legislation, including the RESTRICT Act, would actually solve the concerns the government has about TikTok and its ties to China.

The type of data TikTok collects is similar to what Facebook or Twitter collect from its users. So even if TikTok is banned, that data is still out there, with very few limitations on its collection and use, said Bloomberg's Schettenhelm.

And it's actually easier than we think for a foreign government to buy that information from data brokers, said EFF's Greene. What would actually solve the concerns about the Chinese government getting US user data is comprehensive data privacy legislation, he and other experts said.

"What we're saying is that if you're concerned about the Chinese government getting user data from TikTok," Greene said. "Then a better thing to do would be to pass laws that would regulate how much data all the companies, not just TikTok could collect and then retain and then use in the first place."

Read the original article on Business Insider
With a gas stations empty pumps behind her, Miami-Dade Countys mayor on Wednesday urged drivers to avoid refueling if they could as panic tank-topping extends a gas crisis brought on by last weeks flooding at the Port Everglades fuel depot.

We know all of our residents are struggling to find gas at the pumps, Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said at a Shell station in Coconut Grove with no gasoline to sell shortly after 11 a.m. The good news is there is gas available.

READ MORE: Can you find gas in Miami? Fuel crisis easing? What to know about supply after the flood

The backdrop captured the challenge in Levine Cavas message: Reassure the public that fuel shipments are returning to normal after the Port Everglades disruption from last weeks flooding in hopes of stemming panic buying, even as the reality of scarce supply encourages drivers to fill up if they happen to spot a station able to sell gas.

At this Shell station on Southwest 27th Avenue and U.S. 1, a fuel truck arrived Tuesday. But a steady stream of vehicles pulled in once the pumps started flowing, depleting the underground tanks within a few hours. Though diesel was available, the gasoline pumps remained out of order as the Levine Cava team arrived to set up the press conference and after the county employees left for their next event.

As noon approached, dozens of cars and trucks had pulled in and out of the fueling plaza only to see that the pumps werent usable.

Im an Uber driver. I need gas, Kassa Mesheesha, 66, said after pulling his van into the station. He was below a quarter tank on the fuel gauge and said hes been looking for fuel to and from his trip south from his home in North Miami to pick up his daughter from an appointment. Ive looked all over the place. I havent worked for the last three days.

Tank topping is the main culprit at this point for the gas shortage at the hundreds of stations owned by Sunshine Gasoline Distributors, according to Maximo Alvarez, the founder and president.

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He said the typical motorist at a Sunshine station purchases between 10 and 17 gallons per stop, enough to fill up between half and three-quarters of an average tank. Since gas lines began forming after the Port Everglades flood, that average purchase has plunged to between just three and six gallons per stop when a Sunshine station has gas.

This is why I can assure you its panic, he said Thursday. This is so unnecessary. There is plenty of fuel.

A station next to the companys Doral headquarters, an Exxon at 1690 NW 87th Avenue, usually goes through 3,000 gallons of fuel each day. Sunshine has focused deliveries to that location because the Doral police are there to control traffic and make sure trucks can get in and out quickly. With a steady supply of fuel, demand has skyrocketed to 30,000 gallons a day, Alvarez said.

The consumer is panicking, he said, comparing the run on gasoline to the bulk buying of toilet paper in the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Hes urging drivers not to top off tanks, and instead return to normal patterns of fuel purchases so people near empty can get their chance to fill up. His advice: wait until a tank is only at a quarter of a tank before getting in a gas line.

The message to the consumer is: Please please continue your normal routine, he said. Buy gas only when you need it.

Levine Cava said shes trying to encourage drivers who have a few days worth of gas in their tanks to skip fuel stations so that those in more desperate need can purchase fuel.

We really think that people can relax, and now that gas is here in the area, things should normalize quickly, she said. People are topping off their tanks more than they normally would. .. Thats why were getting out the message that gas is here... There is sufficient gas supply if we dont hoard.
SHANGHAI/BERLIN (Reuters) -German automakers have turned up in full force at Shanghai's Auto Show as they fight to stay on top of consumer trends in the country that will define whether they maintain their market dominance in the electric age both at home and abroad.

Their heavy presence - with the entire board of Volkswagen AG and more than 100 VW employees attending, in contrast to Japanese or French automakers - shows they are taking the challenge seriously, said Yale Zhang of Shanghai-based consultancy Automotive Foresight.

But with German companies relying on China for a third of their passenger vehicle sales, they also have the most to lose.

"A lot of features in our cars are inspired by China," Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW, accompanied by his sales and technology chiefs, told a news conference, adding that the Chinese market was ahead of the global curve.

His comments mark the power shift from the combustion-engine age when German cars were seen in China as the pinnacle of global engineering, to the electric age when German automakers are learning from their Chinese counterparts who have moved faster on developing technology for electric vehicles (EVs) that sets them apart.

Volkswagen executives have said the company's unrivalled global scale will help it win the race for affordable EVs - but that capacity could turn from a blessing to a curse if sales dip, with the market share of China's BYD Co Ltd surpassing that of the Volkswagen brand's this year so far.

While the battery-electric vehicle market share of German automakers in China is rising, it is still miniscule. The combined market share of the battery-electric vehicle market in China held by Audi, BMW, Volkswagen and Mercedes-Benz rose to 4.8% in 2022 from 2.2% in 2020, according to a Reuters analysis of sales data from the Chinese Association of Automobile Manufacturers. The EV sales of all four German brands added up to only a quarter of BYD's in 2022.

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German carmakers' total market share in the country rose from 19.9% in 2015 to 24.6% in 2019, but has fallen back down to 19.1%, according to data provided to Reuters by Germany's autos association VDA.

"The Chinese market is no longer as stable for German carmakers as it was," Thomas Luk, partner at management consultancy Kearney, said on the sidelines of the Shanghai show.

"Becoming faster won't be enough to keep up ... their business culture must change," he said.

SHIFT IN THINKING

Analysts in Shanghai pointed to the tendency of German carmakers to market their new EVs as an electric version of their combustion-engine predecessors as a sign that the companies had not yet made the mental shift towards putting electrification first.

"It is important to see EVs as a new generation of products, rather than an extension of combustion-engine cars," Zhang said. "Hopefully the Shanghai show can shake that misconception."

"If foreign brands are stubborn with their thinking, they will be phased out," Feng Xinya, president of Chinese state-owned manufacturer GAC Group, said.

Chinese brands have also adopted new sales strategies to make inroads in Europe which analysts said European legacy brands must learn from to keep up in the digital age.

Brands like Nio and Lynk & Co, owned by Geely and Volvo Cars, have set up community spaces, cafes and bars, which Nio has said translates into sales via peer-to-peer recommendations.

Many are also adopting direct sales, an approach German automakers like BMW and Mercedes-Benz have also said in recent months they are moving towards.

"One of the key objectives of this strategy is to control the customer experience fully," McKinsey wrote in a December report.

Still, sources said Chinese brands were focusing first on dominating their domestic market before taking a more aggressive strategy in Europe, where Asian battery makers have already laid solid ground.

Chinese EV brands were for now setting prices higher to avoid upsetting European policymakers concerned that they will flood the market even though they are able to offer far lower prices, said a source who asked not to be named.

BYD this week unveiled the Seagull, an electric vehicle with a range of over 300 km whose price starts at just $11,000 - cheaper than many entry-level combustion-engine models in Europe. The company is planning to bring the Seal and Dolphin models to Europe later this year.

"The Chinese are more careful in Europe," Luk said.

In China, though, the battle is fierce.

I used to be careful with using the word 'doomed,'" Zhang of Automotive Insight said. "But I am quite sure now, at least in China, foreign brands' days are numbered."

(Reporting by Victoria Waldersee in Berlin, and by Ilona Wissenbach, Zhang Yan, Kevin Krolicki, Brenda Goh and Casey HallWriting by Victoria WalderseeEditing by Ben Klayman and Matthew Lewis)
Few events on Jan. 6 symbolized the fragility of American democracy more clearly than the moment Dominic Pezzola  a Proud Boy from upstate New York  smashed a Senate window with a stolen police riot shield, paving the way for a pro-Trump mob to enter the Capitol.

On Wednesday, Pezzola tried to rewrite that history, telling a jury that the shield smash  which coincided with the frantic evacuation of Congress and then-Vice President Mike Pence  was the result of adrenaline, fear and confusion, not the carefully executed plot of an insurrectionist.

It was, he said at the federal courthouse in Washington D.C., just more of being caught up in the confusion, panic, chaos, mayhem that happened that day. It was stupid. Im sorry I did it. It wasnt anything Im proud of. But it happened. What can I say?

I shouldve stopped. I shouldve turned and went home, he continued. For some reason I felt I didnt have total control of my actions.

Pezzola took the stand Wednesday to fend off charges that he and four Proud Boys leaders plotted to forcefully derail the transfer of power from Donald Trump to Joe Biden. The seditious conspiracy charges he and his four codefendants face are the gravest leveled by prosecutors in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack.

Prosecutors are expected to cross-examine Pezzola Thursday and are sure to challenge many of the claims he made.

Pezzola is expected to be the final witness in a trial that has stretched more than four months and been marked by interminable delays, intense legal quarrels and high stakes testimony from cooperating witnesses and defendants. Alongside Pezzola, prosecutors have charged Proud Boys leaders Enrique Tarrio, Ethan Nordean, Joe Biggs and Zachary Rehl with joining the alleged seditious conspiracy.

Pezzolas testimony, like the riot itself, was chaotic. He described feeling in mortal danger from police crowd-control measures, the resolve to face down the enemy that he drew from his military training, an intensifying fear that he might not live to see his wife and daughters, fury at police for lobbing flashbangs in the area of women in the crowd and an autopilot that he said took over just before he smashed the window.

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Pezzola told jurors he had no inkling of any plan to topple the government and was irritated at his Proud Boys allies for diverting the group away from Trumps speech that morning for a march to the Capitol. But when he arrived, he nevertheless made his way toward the front of the gathering mob  a decision he attributed to car crash syndrome.

Why I moved over there was basically out of curiosity, he said.

Thats when the rubber bullets started raining down, Pezzola said, including one that cut through the cheek of rioter Joshua Black, spraying blood all over the ground at the front of the police line. Though Pezzola said he considered the crowd to have been passive at that moment, video of the scene shows skirmishes along the police line, which officers positioned on a nearby overhang were witnessing with a birds eye view.

It felt like being under sniper fire, Pezzola said, adding, In my mind, this is pretty much what I felt like combat would be like, being shot at by the enemy.

Pezzola, who was right behind Black, said the barrage of less-lethal munitions aimed at the crowd infuriated him and he attempted to engage officers in an argument about the appropriate use of force. He also lunged to grab a shield from a nearby Capitol Police officer  which he said was meant for self-protection  but came away empty-handed. Eventually, the swell of the crowd knocked him down, he said, and in the chaos, he observed another rioter wrest a shield from the same officer, and Pezzola managed to grab the loose shield for himself.

Pezzolas lawyer, Steve Metcalf, repeatedly asked Pezzola why he didnt just turn around and leave amid the chaos. He said he refused to leave the Capitol grounds even after police began firing rubber bullets in his direction because his military training had conditioned him to keep your eye on where the threat is coming from.

Im pissed off Steve, thats all I can really say, Pezzola said. The adrenaline is so high at that point. Youre on autopilot. I guess Im just programmed to charge toward danger.

Pezzola later added that he was particularly infuriated when he saw munitions landing in the crowd near women, and he repeatedly asked his lawyer to pause video of those moments so he could highlight women who were visible in the crowd to the jurors.

Pezzola would take the shield back to fellow members of the Proud Boys and pose for a picture before returning to the front of the mob, surging to the foot of the Capitol and destroying a window leading to the Senate wing of the building. That breach, which prosecutors have described as the first time the Capitol was breached by hostile actors since the war of 1812, came at the precise minute the Senate shut down its effort to certify the results of the election.

Pezzola said that when he got inside, he had no plan and no knowledge of the Capitols layout, so he basically wandered around and followed the crowd while taking pictures and videos. POLITICO recently identified footage of Pezzola encountering the evacuation of Sen. Chuck Grassley, who had been presiding over the Senate just moments before.

He would soon shoot a celebratory selfie video that prosecutors view as a key piece of evidence in the case. Victory smoke in the Capitol, boys. This is fucking awesome, he said in the video while smoking a cigar. I knew we could take this motherfucker over [if we] just tried hard enough. Pezzola told jurors he took the video because he wanted to say something profound on a day he believed would be historic.

Moments later, Pezzola joined the portion of the mob that chased Capitol Police officer Eugene Goodman to the edge of the Senate chamber, where a standoff ensued. All told, Pezzola said he was inside the building for about 20 minutes, and he handed the shield back to a police officer as he exited.

Asked by Metcalf to characterize his actions, Pezzola called it, A bad reaction to a bad situation.
Police booking photo of Andrew Lester, charged with shooting Ralph Yarl (Kansas City Police)

Black teenager Ralph Yarl was shot by a white homeowner after he accidentally rang the doorbell at the wrong house while going to collect his brothers.

The 16-year-old accidental visit to Andrew Lesters home in the Northland suburb of Kansas City quickly turned violent and the high school student was left hospitalised with serious injuries.

Instead of going to a home in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his brothers, he mistakenly went to Northeast 115th Street, police said.

Now prosecutors have brought charges against the homeowner, who surrendered to authorities on Tuesday afternoon.

Here is everything we know about the suspect.

The homeowner

The identity of the shooter was revealed on Monday afternoon as Andrew D Lester, aged 84.

Following the shooting, he was initially taken into custody on Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold.

However, under Missouri state law, a person can only be held for 24 hours on suspicion of a felony before officials must either charge or release them.

Attorneys for Ralph  and jail officials  said that the suspect was actually released after less than two hours.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference on Sunday that  due to Ralphs injuries  police had been unable to get a formal statement from him.

Police booking photo of Andrew Lester, charged with shooting Ralph Yarl (Kansas City Police)

This was also contradicted by Ralphs attorneys who said that the teenager gave an interview from his hospital bed on Friday.

In an appearance on CNN, Mr Crump described the shooting as an attempted murder.

The charges

On Monday afternoon, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that Mr Lester had been charged with two felonies: assault in the first degree, which carries a punishment of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment, and armed criminal action, which carries a punishment of 3 to 15 years.

However, when asked if Mr Lester could also be charged with a hate crime, the prosecutor said that it would not be possible under state law.

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In Missouri, a hate crime is a lower level of felony and to add the charge would amount to double jeopardy, he said.

Mr Crump said in a statement: While this is certainly a step in the right direction, we will continue to fight for Ralph while he works towards a full recovery.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson confirmed in a press conference that there was a racial component to the case but would not give details on what had caused him to come to that conclusion.

Prosecutors charged Andrew D Lester with assault in the first degree, which carries a punishment of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment. He has also been charged with armed criminal action, which carries a punishment of 3 to 15 years.

Mr Thompson said that a bond has been set of $200,000 but that the suspect was not yet in custody at that time.

On Tuesday afternoon, the Clay County Sheriffs Office confirmed Mr Lester had surrendered at a detention centre and the booking process was underway.

What happened

According to court documents, a witness told police that they saw a vehicle pull into Mr Lesters driveway at around 9.30pm.

Mr Lester told investigators that he had just lain down when the doorbell rang, he picked up a .32 pistol and opened the interior door of his house.

Ralph Yarl was discharged from hospital after suffering two gunshot wounds (AP)

He told police that he saw a Black male pulling on the exterior door and thought he was trying to break into the property.

He claimed he was scared to death at the boys size and feared he was unable to defend himself given his elderly age, the documents state.

Mr Lester said that he fired twice and that no words were exchanged with the victim.

During an informal police interview at Childrens Mercy Hospital, the teenager said that he did not pull the door and was waiting outside.

He told investigators that a man opened the door and immediately shot him, causing him to fall to the ground where he was shot for a second time.

Ralph told police the man said, Dont come around here.

Following the shooting, Ralph managed to stumble away to some other homes in the neighbourhood to get help and was rushed to hosptial.

On Monday, he was released from hospital to recover at home from his injuries.

Racial component

As the prosecutor for Clay County, I can tell you that there was a racial component to the caseI dont want to comment on specifics of the case to protect its integrity, said Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson.

Ralph had not entered the home when Lester allegedly shot him through a glass door, Mr Thompson said.

Mr Crump told CNN that he believes things would have been different if the races of the suspect and victim were reversed.

Nobody can tell us if the roles were reversed, and you had a Black man shoot a white, 16-year-old teenager for merely ringing his doorbell that he would not be arrested, he said.

I mean, this citizen went home and slept in his bed at night after shooting that young Black kid in the head.

Celebrities join demands for justice as GoFundMe appeal soars

Before charges were announced  and when the suspect had been freed from police custody without charge  several celebrities joined calls for justice for Ralph.

Halle Berry posted Ralphs image on Twitter and urged her Twitter followers to contact the local prosecutor to urge him to bring charges against the homeowner.

His name is #RalphYarl and Im sick and tired of this feelingmy heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head by a man who didnt want him on his property. This innocent child is now fighting for his life, she wrote.

Fellow Black actor Viola Davis also took to Instagram to demand action.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!! she wrote, directing people to the posts of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt.

The house where 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot after he went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers in Kansas City, Missouri (AP)

Meanwhile a GoFundMe appeal to try and help raise funds for his treatment saw donations flooding in.

As of around midday ET on Monday  less than 24 hours after its launch  a staggering $1.2m had been raised.

On the campaign page, a woman who identified herself as Ralphs aunt described the teenager as a fantastic kid who had dreams of doing to Texas A&M University to major in chemical Engineering.

At school, he is a member of the Technology Student Association and Science Olympia Team. Jazz and competition band. He is a section leader in the marching band; a scholar and one of the top base clarinet players in Missouri. He recently earned Missouri All-State Band recognition with an honorable mention. He plays multiple instruments in the metropolitan youth orchestra. He is a 2022 Missouri scholar academy alumni. Ralph can often be found with a musical instrument. He loves them all, the page reads.

Last summer, Ralph attended Missouri Scholars Academy, where he got a full college life experience. His goal is to attend Texas A&M to major in chemical Engineering.

This undated photo provided by Ben Crump Law shows Ralph Yarl, the teenager shot by a homeowner in Kansas City (AP)

When asked how he plans to get into this university, he said, Well, if they have a scholarship for music or academics, I know I can get it. Ralphs teacher and friends describe him as  a kind soul, quiet, friendly, well-mannered, always willing to help, super smart, and a musical genius. Ralph was looking forward to graduating high school and finally getting the opportunity to visit West Africa before starting college.

Life looks a lot different right now. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally. The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable. He is our miracle. We have heard these types of stories many times, and unfortunately, most black boys are not alive to get another chance.
Andrew Lester, the white homeowner who is accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a Black Kansas City teenager last week, appeared in Clay County court Wednesday.

The 84-year-old pleaded not guilty.

Judge Louis Angles read the bond conditions, which prohibit him from possessing any kind of weapon. Lester was also told to surrender any passports or conceal carry permits.

Prosecutors allege Lester shot the 16-year-old twice after Yarl mistakenly went to the wrong address to pick up his brothers on April 13.

The case has garnered national attention, as activists say the shooting highlights longstanding racism in the country, as well as in Kansas Citys Northland.

Lester was charged Monday with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in Clay County, and surrendered to police the following day before posting a $200,000 bail bond.

In court on Wednesday, Lester hobbled into the courtroom with a cane and button-up jacket before approaching Judge Louis Angles alongside his attorney.

Court records list Lesters attorney as Steven Brett Salmon.

Lesters representation filed an entry of appearance on the case Wednesday, and the defendant quiety responded to a few questions as the judge explained the conditions of Lesters bond. The defendant waived his right to have his charges read in court.

In a statement, the Clay County Prosecutors Office said, From this point forward, the State will be pushing to move this case forward as swiftly as legally permitted, but added that the case remains an active investigation.

Lee Merritt, a prominent civil rights attorney hired by the Yarl family, appeared at the hearing by himself because Yarls family reached a point of burnout recently with the constant attention.

Andrew Lester, center, appeared in Clay County court Wednesday where he made a plea of not guilty after being charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl.

They just need some time to try to get back to some sense of normalcy, he said.

Merritt said it is frustrating for Yarls relatives that Lester is out on bond.

Because of the culture, he continued, it is hard to convict a white man of harming a Black child in America, even though it shouldnt be. He hoped this case would help turn the tide, he told reporters.

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Merritt said the family is also looking forward to a federal review of the shooting.

Federal officials have declined to comment, citing Justice Department policy to not confirm or deny investigations.

Lesters next court date is scheduled for June 1.

Details of the shooting

Yarl had been sent to a home on the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace to pick up siblings, but he mistakenly went to a house on the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street instead, Kansas City police say. It was there that Lester shot Yarl twice, once in the head and once in the arm, before saying: Dont come around here, according to documents filed in Clay County Circuit Court.

At a Monday press conference, Prosecutor Zachary Thompson told the media there was a racial component to the case, but did not elaborate.

Charging documents indicate that Lester shot Yarl within a few seconds of seeing him at the door. Lester allegedly fired the second shot when Yarl was already on the ground and struck him in the arm.

Police responded to the scene and found Lester standing behind a shattered glass door, prosecutors say. He was taken into custody, but then released after two hours.

Ralph Yarl, the teenager who was shot in the head and arm by a white homeowner on April 13, 2023.

Community reactions

Protesters gathered outside Lesters house Sunday before he was charged, and called for justice.

How do you protect a Black kid? one family friend asked at the demonstration. They came to America for a better life. How is this a better life?

Yarls parents had moved to the United States from Liberia to escape violence.

Yarls classmates at Staley High School marched in front of the school Tuesday and held signs colored in blue marker that read Justice for Ralph Yarl and We walk for Ralph.

Celebrities and political leaders have similarly shown support for Yarls family. A GoFundMe started by his aunt had already amassed over $3 million as of Wednesday afternoon.

Just days after the shooting, Yarl was able to return home from the hospital.

Ive been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words, a family member wrote on the GoFundMe page.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  A white homeowner pleaded not guilty Wednesday in the shooting of a Black teenager, Ralph Yarl, after Yarl mistakenly rang his doorbell in an attack that has put renewed focus on "stand your ground" laws around the country.

Andrew Lester, 84, appeared briefly before a circuit court judge in Clay County, Missouri, after surrendering to authorities on Tuesday on felony charges of assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. He was released on $200,000 bail later that day.

Lester, wearing a blue and tan jacket and matching pants, was in the courtroom for less than 10 minutes and was surrounded by four guards. He used a cane and limped slowly to the front of the courtroom when his case was called and mumbled his responses to the judge.

The judge ordered him to surrender his passport and said he can't own a firearm and must have no contact with Yarl.

Andrew Lester, 84, appeared briefly before a circuit court judge in Clay County, Mo., on April 19, 2023. (KMBC via AP, Pool)

Lester remains under bond supervision. No date was set for a preliminary hearing.

If found guilty, Lester faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the assault charge and three to 15 years on the gun charge.

The shooting occurred late Thursday evening, when Yarl, 16, went to pick up his two twin brothers from a home in a neighborhood of Kansas City known as the Northland. But instead of going to the home at NE 115th Terrace, he went to NE 115th Street, where Lester lives, by mistake.

After ringing the doorbell at around 10 p.m., Yarl was confronted by the homeowner and shot through a glass door, according to a probable cause statement filed by police. He was struck in the head and then in the arm after falling, according to prosecutors.

Lester told investigators that he had gone to bed when the doorbell rang, then grabbed his .32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver before going to the front door, the probable cause statement said.

Ralph Yarl. (via Ben Crump Law)

Lester said he saw a Black male he didn't know pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought his home was being broken into. He fired twice through the glass door, police wrote. Then, the male ran away, and Lester told police he used his home phone to dial 911. He said he saw a car in his driveway that he believed belonged to the male, but didn't see anyone inside.

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No words were exchanged, Lester told police.

Lester said firing his weapon "was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was 'scared to death'" because of his age and the male's size, police wrote.

Lester said he lives alone. A police detective wrote in the probable cause statement that he noticed a security system in the home and took the hard drive to preserve any evidence, but later found the equipment had last captured video in June and was no longer functional.

Yarl gave police a different version of events when he was initially interviewed at the hospital following the shooting. He told a detective that he did not pull on the door and that he rang the doorbell and was waiting when an armed man appeared in front of him.

Yarl "stated he was immediately shot in the head and fell to the ground," police wrote. He told police that he was then shot in the arm and then ran away, according to the document. Yarl reported to police that he heard a voice say, "Don't come around here," police wrote.

Yarl suffered permanent physical injuries from a cracked skull, loss of brain tissue and scarring, but is expected to make close to a full recovery, a family attorney, Lee Merritt, said Tuesday.

Outstanding questions still surround the case, according to Merritt, including why Lester was released within two hours after his initial questioning and why prosecutors haven't clarified whether the shots were fired from inside or outside of the house.

"We're frustrated with law enforcement and their failure to take responsibility for the denial of this family's due process. No one has owned up to it," Merritt said. "This 16-year-old unarmed boy didnt actually pose a threat. But far too often in America, his skin alone is his weapon."

A rally to support Ralph Yarl on April 18, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (Charlie Riedel / AP)

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a racial component to the case, but there was nothing in the charging documents to specify whether the shooting was racially motivated.

A spokesman for Thompson's office also said Lester wouldn't be charged with a hate crime because it would be a lesser degree of felony than what he has been charged with.

It's unclear if Lester plans to mount a defense under the state's "stand your ground" law, which does not require a person defending life or property to retreat before taking violent action.

Lester's legal representation could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The case, imbued with racial overtones, has drawn outrage from Black celebrities who demanded that authorities make an arrest in the shooting and prompted rallies by young people in support of Yarl, an honors student who said he wants to study chemical engineering in college.

President Joe Biden called Yarl and his mother on Monday to talk about his recovery and a commitment to halting gun violence.

Deon J. Hampton reported from Kansas City, and Erik Ortiz from New York.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The white homeowner accused of injuring Ralph Yarl, the Black teenager who was shot after mistakenly going to the wrong Kansas City residence to pick up his younger siblings, pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a shooting that has put a renewed focus on stand your ground laws.

Andrew Lester, 84, appeared briefly before a circuit court judge in Clay County, Missouri, after surrendering to authorities on Tuesday on felony charges of assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. He was released on $200,000 bail the same day.

Lester, wearing a blue and tan jacket and matching pants, was in the courtroom for less than 10 minutes and was surrounded by four guards. He used a cane and limped slowly to the front of the courtroom when his case was called and mumbled his responses to the judge.

The judge ordered him to surrender his passport and said he cant own a firearm and must have no contact with Yarl.

Lester remains under bond supervision. No date was set for a preliminary hearing.

If found guilty, Lester faces a maximum sentence of life in prison on the assault charge and three to 15 years on the gun charge.

A rally to support Ralph Yarl on April 18, 2023, in Kansas City, Mo. (Charlie Riedel / AP)

The shooting occurred on late Thursday evening, when Yarl, 16, was sent to pick up his two brothers from a home in a neighborhood of Kansas City known as the Northland. But instead of going to the home at NE 115th Terrace, he arrived at NE 115th Street, where Lester resides.

After ringing the doorbell at around 10 p.m., Yarl was confronted by the homeowner and shot through a glass door, according to a probable cause statement filed by police. He was struck in the head and then again in the arm after falling, according to prosecutors.

Lester told investigators that he had went to bed when the doorbell rang, then grabbed his .32-caliber Smith & Wesson revolver before going to the front door, the probable cause statement said.

Lester said he saw a Black male he didnt know pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought his home was being broken into. He fired twice through the glass door, police wrote. Then, the male ran away, and Lester told police he used his home phone to dial 911. He said he saw a car in the driveway of his home that he believed belonged to the male, but didnt see anyone inside.

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No words were exchanged, Lester told police.

Lester said firing his weapon was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was scared to death because of his age and the males size, police wrote.

Lester said he lives alone. A police detective wrote in the probable cause statement that he noticed a security system in the home and took the hard drive to preserve any evidence, but later found the equipment had last captured video in June and was no longer functional.

Ralph Yarl. (Ben Crump Law via AP)

Yarl gave police a different version of events when he was initially interviewed at the hospital following the shooting. He told a detective that he did not pull on the door and that he rung the doorbell and was waiting when an armed man appeared in front of him.

Yarl stated he was immediately shot in the head and fell to the ground, police wrote. He told police that he was then shot in the arm and then ran away, according to the document. Yarl reported to police that he heard a voice say, Dont come around here, police wrote.

Yarl suffered permanent physical injuries from a cracked skull, loss of brain tissue and scarring, but is expected to make close to a full recovery, a family attorney, Lee Merritt, said Tuesday.

Outstanding questions still surround the case, according to Merritt, including why Lester was released within two hours after his initial questioning and why prosecutors havent clarified whether the shots were fired from inside or outside of the house.

Were frustrated with law enforcement and their failure to take responsibility for the denial of this familys due process. No one has owned up to it, Merritt said. This 16-year-old unarmed boy didnt actually pose a threat. But far too often in America, his skin alone is his weapon.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a racial component to the case, but there was nothing in the charging documents to specify it was a racially motivated shooting.

A spokesman for his office also said Lester wouldnt be charged with a hate crime because it would be a lesser degree of felony than what he has been charged with.

Its unclear if Lester plans to mount a defense under the states stand your ground law, which does not require a person defending life or property to have to retreat before taking violent action.

Lesters legal representation could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday.

The case, imbued with racial overtones, has drawn outrage from Black celebrities who demanded authorities make an arrest in the shooting and prompted rallies by young people in support of Yarl, an honors student who said he wants to study chemical engineering in college.

President Joe Biden also called Yarl and his mother on Monday to talk about his recovery and a commitment to halting gun violence.

Deon J. Hampton reported from Kansas City, and Erik Ortiz from New York. This story first appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
Andrew Lloyd Webber has opened up about his last moments with his eldest son Nick, who died last month aged 43.

Last month, the 75-year-old composer announced that Nick had died after being diagnosed with gastric cancer.

I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital, Lloyd-Webber wrote in a brief statement.

His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft  ALW.

The news came shortly after Lloyd-Webber revealed that Nicholas was critically ill with gastric cancer, also known as stomach cancer.

On Tuesday (18 April), Lloyd-Webber described the last moments he spent with his son in an essay for the New York Times.

An apple a day, if well aimed, keeps the doctor away. I was speaking in PG Wodehouse quotes with my eldest son, Nick, who was in hospice, where he was being treated for cancer just days ago, he wrote.

Heres one for you, said Nick, laughing, wrote Lloyd-Webber. He had surmised that, after bulletins from New York, his father, as Wodehouse might have put it, was less than gruntled.

I am shattered to have to announce that my beloved elder son Nick died a few hours ago in Basingstoke Hospital. His whole family is gathered together and we are all totally bereft. -ALW  Andrew Lloyd Webber (@OfficialALW) March 25, 2023

Has anybody ever seen a dramatic critic in the daytime? Of course not. They come out after dark, up to no good.

We hugged and said our goodbyes. The next day, my son died. Nothings worse for a parent than the death of a child.

Nicholas was the eldest of Lloyd Webbers five children and was known for his work scoring the BBC One series Love, Lies and Records, and the film The Last Bus.

He also scored music for the theatrical and symphonic adaptation of the novel The Little Prince in 2009 in a collaboration with James D Reid.
Andrew Tate has been mocked for sitting in what afficionados have noticed appears to be a cold sauna.

The controversial influencer, 36, who has amassed millions of followers, is currently on house arrest on suspicion of organised crime and human trafficking.

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.

In a Twitter post, Tate posed in a sauna as he appeared to be sweating.

Sauna experts have mocked Tate on social media, after they spotted that the thermometer appears to be set at 50C, suggesting the sauna was actually cold.

The average sauna temperature in the UK tends to be between 80 and 100C. The temperature of Finnish saunas sometimes go as high as 110C.

Others ridiculed the disgraced kickboxer turned influencer for sitting on the bottom bench of the sauna, which they joked is reserved for children because heat rises, meaning the temperature is higher on the top benches.

You are sitting in a cold sauna, on the bottom bench reserved for children, wrote one person.

Another person said: Is that shiny stuff sweat or baby oil?

Others were confused at how the influencer could be sweating in a sauna with such a low temperature.

Social media users from Finland remarked that he was doing it wrong.

Dude you do it wrong. Firstly, in [a] sauna, you must be naked. Secondly, you should be sitting on [the] top bench. Thats how you sauna. Greetings from Finland, wrote one person.

It comes as a UK law firm is planning to launch civil legal action against Tate on behalf of three alleged victims. He is accused of perpetrating violent sexual and physical assaults against the women.

Responding to the latest allegations in a statement, Tates spokesperson said: Andrew and his brother have recently been released from jail and they have not been formally charged with any crime. More so, previous attempts to accuse Andrew of similar fabricated crimes have been dismissed by criminal courts in the UK.

Andrew Tate and his team are determined to clear his name and restore his reputation and will take immediate and decisive legal actions against defamation, slander and perverting the course of justice.
Police officers escort Andrew Tate from the Bucharest Court of Appeal in Romania on Feb. 1, 2023. Andreea Alexandru / AP Photo

In late March, misogynistic influencer Andrew Tate and his brother, Tristan, were released from Romanian jail and placed under house arrest, as were their two alleged accomplices, Georgiana Naghel and Luana Radu. It was a legal victory for the siblings, who were arrested on Dec. 29 on suspicion of organized crime and human trafficking. (Their trial is expected to begin in late April.) But authorities and legal experts who spoke to BuzzFeed News said that it has become clear that the brothers alleged behavior while in detention in their adoptive country of Romania is doing them more harm than good.

BuzzFeed News has learned that Romanian judges and prosecutors are annoyed at the defendants actions over the past number of months. Sources in the prosecutors office and court papers obtained by Buzzfeed News through freedom of information requests allege that the Tates devised a plot for Andrew to flee to Dubai, and that the brothers were behind attempts to pressure witnesses to withdraw their statements against them. In addition, prior to her arrest, Radu allegedly had accessed classified police computers with help from unknown people to gain an edge in the case.

According to the sources in the prosecutors office and outside experts, the group may face other criminal investigations into these allegations. The Tates have played an extremely dangerous game, said a person from the prosecutors office on the condition of anonymity, discussing statements from witnesses saying they were threatened by the influencers followers. (BuzzFeed News has not seen the statements in question.) From [the Tates] tweets, it appears they are encouraging it. Although that source did not cite specific tweets, they added, Every aspect of the case that touches on the victims is very sensitive.

Mihai Mares, a criminal defense lawyer in Bucharest and a lecturer of law at the Alexandru Ioan Cuza University of Iasi, told BuzzFeed News that judges irritation at the Tate brothers was evident from the court papers  and was something that could come back to bite the siblings. "Any subsequent statements they may give will be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism by the judicial bodies, he said.In an official summary of a Feb. 21 court session, a judge cited new reasons for refusing to let the Tates out of the central arrest building in Bucharest. The accused present a clear danger for public order, they made preparations to evade criminal investigation by leaving Romania, are trying to influence witnesses and are exerting pressure on the victims, the judge wrote.Despite this, two appeals court judges, said to be new to the case, on March 31 approved the Tates move to house arrest. The ruling caused anxiety in official circles; Buzzfeed News understands that the Tates current location, a compound in a well-heeled suburb north of Bucharest, is being kept under constant surveillance.

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Jailhouse phone wiretaps cited by judges in court papers obtained by BuzzFeed News show that Andrew allegedly hoped to flee to Dubai under the pretext of receiving medical treatment there. (The United Arab Emirates does not have an extradition treaty with Romania.) A Tate representative told the Daily Mail in early March that a dark spot on Andrews lung was most likely a tumor. However, Andrew later clarified via Twitter that the spot was in fact scarring from an old battle. Andrews request to travel was refused by authorities.

Eugen Vidineac, a lawyer for the Tates, has tamped down speculation that the brothers might try to flee. They have a home and children in Romania, they are under criminal investigation, there is no reason to run away, he told local media. Mateea Petrescu, the Tates spokesperson, told BuzzFeed News, Regarding their departure from the country, the partially published wiretaps omitted the context, [namely] Andrew discussing leaving to Dubai for medical inquiries only in the case that his status allows it.

Romanian authorities also said that the Tates have encouraged their army of followers to message at least one alleged victim demanding she retract her accusations. These comments are of a nature to provoke in the victim a state of fear as a result of the threatening tone they have in addressing her, attempting to determine her to change her statements regarding the accused in the case, the judge noted in the February summary.

(Sulaiman Ahmed, a pro-Tate online personality, on Feb. 18 tweeted that he had traveled to Palm Beach, Florida  the hometown of one of the key witnesses in the case   for a major story . However, there was no indication Ahmed, who did not respond to BuzzFeed News request for comment, actually met the witness or her family.)

On top of this, in December, a US law firm representing the brothers sent a cease-and-desist letter to the woman in Florida, urging her to retract her statements or face a defamation lawsuit. Romanian authorities view this letter as a piece of the alleged intimidation puzzle.

A separate US lawyer for the Tates, Tina Glandian, who is on their Romanian legal team, recently stressed to the media that her firm had no involvement in sending the cease and desist letter. Petrescu told BuzzFeed News that the letter was a LEGAL action in the USA, adding, These suspicions are obsolete given that the judges from the appeals court decided to place them in house arrest.

I think Andrew Tate is not the most intelligent guy, but he probably cant help himself.

Still, Mares said that the cease-and-desist order could land the brothers in more legal trouble: If the [cease-and-desist] notification concerned a withdrawal of the criminal complaint, it could lead to a widening of the criminal investigation scope under the aspect of a new crime  that of influencing statements. The person close to the prosecutors office confirmed such a move was possible once the trial for the original charges starts.

Meanwhile, Radu, the Tates alleged accomplice and a former police officer, is suspected of having gained unlawful access to a classified police database between April 2022 and December 2022, while the investigation into her and three others was ongoing, court files obtained by BuzzFeed News show. The judge noted that it would be impossible for the accused to access the database of the [Ministry of Internal Affairs] without support from others. Petrescu did not address the allegations against Radu, and Radu could not be reached for comment.

In addition, prosecutors said they had obtained new information from the police unit local to the Tate compound, suggesting that women had filed multiple complaints of violence, coercion, and abuse against the brothers that predated the current case. These complaints have gone unresolved, giving rise to suspicions of undue influence from Radu.

In what was seen by prosecutors as another bid to control the ongoing case, Tate allegedly instructed his team to approach two right-wing politicians, George Simion and Diana Sosoaca, both of whom are known for their provocative statements on sex and gender and the COVID vaccines. Both have expressed anti-Western stances and have occasionally echoed Russian propaganda. (Sosoaca was added to Ukraines sanctions list on March 24.)

If you take the side of the guys, when they get out of prison they will make sure you are rewarded for telling the truth, Tate told his assistant to tell the two politicians, according to a Romanian language wiretap obtained by BuzzFeed News and retranslated into English. It is unclear if the approach to the politicians was made. However, when asked by local media if they wanted to defend Tate, both Simion and Sosoaca refused.

One experienced Romanian justice system insider, who requested anonymity, told BuzzFeed News that Andrews various missteps while in detention stemmed from the influencers need for public attention and his compulsion to arouse controversy. I think Andrew Tate is not the most intelligent guy, the insider said, but he probably cant help himself.

More on this
A 27-year-old Ohio mother is accused of spraying a school principal with mace after he and fellow staff stopped her from entering the building, police say.

Officers with the Elyria Police Department responded to Hamilton Elementary School after 9 a.m. on April 18, following the alleged assault, according to a police report.

That morning, the principal was greeting students in the hallways when he noticed an assistant principal, who is seven months pregnant, and another school administrator trying to prevent an angry parent from getting inside through a side door, the report said. It is an unauthorized doorway.

The principal went to see what was happening and recognized the parent as he got closer, the report said. She recognized him as well, saying thats the guy I want, as she began yelling obscenities at him, according to the report.

The assistant principal told police that the parent was extremely upset and screaming expletives within view of students, according to the report.

She was escorted outside, but as the principal attempted to close the door, she aimed a can of mace attached to her keys and sprayed him in the face, the report said.

When officers arrived minutes later, the parent was gone, but police clearly observed that (the principal) was dealing with the effects of being maced, the report said. Additionally, surveillance video captured the assault.

The parent turned herself in at the Elyria Police Station at around 10:45 a.m., according to police. She was arrested on a charge of assault on a school official and criminal trespass.

Elyria is roughly 30 miles southwest of downtown Cleveland.

Dad joins middle school brawl involving son and beats student, Nevada officials say

Man shoots three after food order is delivered to wrong house, Michigan officials say

Teacher sexually assaulted student 20 years ago, CO cops say. There may be more victims

Man shot after kicking in door to estranged wifes home, Oklahoma police say
Another man is suing the Horry County Police Department, claiming he was wrongfully arrested after he was involved in a fight at a Socastee boat ramp.

This is the second wrongful death suit filed against the department in the last two months.

Jonathan Bratcher was charged by police with assault and battery by mob and assault and battery following an altercation on Intracoastal Waterway between his group of friends and another group of people on the water.

The suit, which was filed April 12, names the police chief and agent as defendants.

A message seeking comment from a county spokeswoman Tuesday was not immediately returned.

In May 2021, the suit alleges someone from the other group shot at Bratcher and his friends, while they were still on the boat. When they made it to the dock, a fight ensued and Bratcher attempted to break it up.

But, another man tried to choke him, and Bratcher defended himself by putting him on his back, according to the suit.

Bratcher was first arrested with assault and battery May 24, but he was released on bond. He was arrested again on July 21 and charged with assault and battery by mob, the suit says.

On Sept. 17, those two charges were dropped. Judge Gerald Whitley said a video showed that Bratcher was trying to break up the fight when he was approached.

There was no probable cause to arrest the plaintiff, according to the suit.

Bratcher is seeking an award for his mental and emotional distress.

A North Carolina man filed a wrongful arrest suit in March against the department after a traffic stop in 2019.

Antonio Johnson-Fulwood, of Brunswick County, claims he was pulled over and searched for no reason as he was following the rules of the road prior to the traffic stop November 2019.
The influential anti-abortion group Students for Life on Wednesday launched the next phase of its c ampaign to use the nations environmental laws to restrict the ability to terminate a pregnancy.

In a citizen petition to the FDA  first shared with POLITICO  the group asked that access to the widely used abortion drug mifepristone be prohibited until the agency studies whether trace amounts of the pill in wastewater pose any risk to endangered or threatened species or designated critical habitats.

Students for Life argued that the FDA failed to conduct this assessment when they approved the drug in 2000, and the group claimed that the high number of people using the pills to terminate pregnancies at home and flushing fetal remains could be contaminating the environment.

The FDA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The petition comes as access to the pills is already under threat.

An order by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeals would roll back policies the FDA has approved since 2016 to make the pill more accessible  including telemedicine prescription, mail delivery and retail pharmacy dispensing  and shrink the window of time patients are approved by FDA to take the drug from 10 to seven weeks of gestation  before many know they are pregnant.



Part of that ruling turns on what the challengers say is FDAs failure to respond to a similar citizen petition. The Biden administration appealed that ruling to the Supreme Court and asked for an emergency stay, and the justices could rule as soon as today on whether those restrictions should take hold.

In an interview with POLITICO, attorneys for Students for Life said the challenge pending before the Supreme Court has boosted their efforts.

Zachary Kester, general council for Students for Life, said that if the case against the FDA forces the agency to restart the approval of mifepristone, the group hopes to compel it to conduct wastewater and environmental assessments as part of that process  likely delaying approval significantly.



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Kristi Hamrick, the chief policy strategist for Students for Life, argued the two anti-abortion efforts build on one another. As the Supreme Court weighs arguments about how the pills affect the patients who take them and the doctors who treat those patients in the rare event they experience complications, the new petition claims the drugs could affect the broader population as well as animals.

This is just an additional issue we are raising about the reckless behavior of the FDA, she said. Were expanding the pool of risk.

Environmental scientists have said theres no evidence abortion pills have any adverse effect on the environment, arguing that its a miniscule fraction of the total volume of pharmaceutical drugs that find their way into wastewater. And abortion-rights groups have blasted Students for Life for using environmental laws as a weapon in its decades-long battle to ban abortion.

Yet the group, whose board includes Federalist Society president Leonard Leo, is confident the strategy could make an impact.

Its members are talking with state and federal lawmakers about model legislation that would require doctors who prescribe the pill to be responsible for disposing of the medical waste that results when the fetus is expelled. Such legislation has already been introduced in West Virginia.

The group is also in talks with state attorneys general about bringing legal action under state environmental laws that would restrict the use of the pills. And, should the FDA not respond to their Wednesday petition within the required 180 days, Students for Life plans to sue.

At the core of the litigation in Texas is that the FDA took years to respond to a citizen petition, Kester argued. So we will have some options in court. Any undue delay by the FDA, we can hold them to account.
(Robert F Kennedy Jr)

Anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr has officially declared himself to be a candidate in next years Democratic presidential primary, ending a four-decade stretch of presidential elections without a member of his famous family on the ballot.

Mr Kennedy, the son of assassinated 1968 presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of assassinated president John F Kennedy, announced his candidacy in a long and winding speech in Boston alongside his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.

Notably absent from the event were any other members of Americas most famous Democratic political dynasty, which has sent members of the family to the House and Senate since the 1960s.

The environmental lawyer turned anti-vax crusaders foray into presidential politics isnt being made with the support of any of his numerous relations, many of whom have gone on record to condemn him and stress their support for President Joe Bidens yet-to-be-declared re-election bid.

His years of public opposition to childhood vaccinations against communicable diseases  and his more recent advocacy against Covid-19 vaccines  has made him a pariah among Democrats and a superstar in extremist Republican circles, making his choice to run as a Democrat particularly puzzling to many experts.

Mr Kennedy noted his lack of family support in remarks tinged with more than a bit of sarcasm.

There are other members of my family who are not here today,' the 69-year-old Kennedy scion said to laughs after giving shout-outs to the handful who were in the crowd. 'I know most American families - they never have any differences with each other, he said.

He added that multiple members of the Kennedy clan disagree with his political views and have maintained long personal relationships with Mr Biden, but said he love[s] them back nonetheless.

Later in his rambling address, he hit out at Donald Trump  Mr Bidens predecessor and the likely GOP nominee next year  for lending support to numerous public health measures aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19 during the earliest days of the pandemic.

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President Trump is blamed for a lot of things that he didn't do and that he gets blamed for some things that he didn't do, Mr Kennedy said. But it was the worst thing that he did to our country, to our civil rights, to our economy, to the middle class.

He also took aim at the US health system and repeated discredited claims about the connection between childhood vaccines and autism while also pledging to end the chronic disease epidemic.

If I don't significantly drop the level of chronic disease in our children after my first term, I do not want you to reelect me, he said.

Though Mr Biden has not yet announced a re-election campaign, he has repeatedly said he intends to run for a second term next year.

The 46th president is widely expected to earn his partys nomination, making it unlikely that Mr Kennedy will have a chance to be elected to a first term.
WASHINGTON  Three years after the world first learned about a novel pathogen called SARS-CoV-2, questions persist about where, and how, the virus that has killed nearly 7 million people worldwide  including more than a million Americans  originated.

Many experts continue to believe that the virus arose in the wild, jumping to humans at a wildlife market in the Chinese city of Wuhan. A recent analysis concluded that raccoon dogs were the most likely intermediary species the virus used to enter the human population, but the market origin hypothesis still leaves many critics skeptical.

The other possibility is that the virus originated at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, where scientists were known to conduct risky gain-of-function research that supercharges viruses in order to understand how they may behave as they evolve in the real world.

Once dismissed as a conspiracy theory, the lab leak hypothesis has gained credibility in recent months, as evidence has mounted in favor of human involvement.

A new Senate report

A health official conducts mandatory COVID tests at Malpensa Airport in Milan for passengers arriving by direct flight from China. (Nicola Marfisi/AGF/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Republican members of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on Monday released a 300-page report that concluded that the preponderance of information affirms the plausibility of a research-related incident that was likely unintentional, resulting from failures of biosafety containment during vaccine-related research."

The report says that by 2019, the Wuhan Institute of Virology had collected more than 20,000 viral samples from bats and other animals without comprehensive safety measures. At least until the COVID-19 pandemic, it is apparent that researchers at the WIV were working with SARS-related coronaviruses in inappropriate biosafety levels, said the authors, who call themselves the Muddy Waters Group.

Among the more astonishing assertions in the Senate report is that Zhou Yusen, a scientist in charge of the military medicine branch of the Peoples Liberation Army, may have begun working on a coronavirus vaccine as early as November 2019, shortly after several Wuhan Institute of Virology researchers came down with a respiratory illness  but well before Chinese authorities announced the potential presence of a new virus to the rest of the world.

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A second House hearing

From left, former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Feith and Mark Lowenthal, former assistant director of Central Intelligence for analysis and production, are sworn in to a House hearing on the investigation into the origins of COVID-19 on Tuesday, in Washington, D.C. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Tuesday saw John Ratcliffe, the former Republican House member who came to serve as director of National Intelligence during the Trump administration, testify before a House Oversight panel investigating how the virus began.

It was the second hearing from the committee. The first one had been tainted by charges that one of the witnesses, the former New York Times science writer Nicholas Wade, was a racist.

In his opening remarks, Ratcliffe  who was joined by two other witnesses  made his own views clear. A lab leak is the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, by science and by common sense, he said.

So far, the intelligence community has been deeply divided about how the coronavirus began. While the FBI and Department of Energy both hold that a lab leak is more likely, four other agencies that have looked into the matter are either undecided or cautiously in favor of a market origin.

Ratcliffe seemed to suggest that view could change. Im not in the intelligence community now, but, of course, have friends that are career individuals still serving in agencies, he said in response to a lawmaker's question. My understanding is that in most of the agencies, there is a shift. More and more analysts believe that a lab leak is the most plausible  if not the only plausible  assessment to make.

Uncertainties remain

People wearing face masks buy vegetables at a wet market on Feb. 8, 2021, after a COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan, Hubei province, China. (Aly Song/Reuters)

There is a pervasive sense, if not yet a consensus, that a definitive answer on how the pandemic emerged may never be found. I can very well argue the lab leak, because China did not cooperate, they did not let folks get in there, Rep. Ami Bera, D-Calif., said. I can also make a case for why initially, folks thought it jumped from an animal to a human.

The point, he said, was to prepare as though both were true, and to shore up both biosecurity and viral emergence surveillance capabilities, as well as other facets of the nation's unruly and underfunded public health infrastructure.

I think we have to take both theories seriously, Bera said, adding that he nevertheless hoped that intelligence agencies would continue to push for the truth.

Worries about xenophobia

John Ratcliffe, left, at the microphone, with David Feith at his side, at the hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Since the start of the pandemic, Chinese Americans and others of Asian background have been subject to verbal and sometimes physical abuse, a phenomenon that has risen markedly across the United States in the past three years.

Many blame former President Donald Trump, who liked to refer to the China virus and kung flu in the early days of the pandemic.

In an effort to deflect from his administrations botched pandemic response, President Trump looked for a scapegoat and a way to score points with his base, Rep. Jill Tokuda, D-Hawaii, said at Tuesdays hearing.

Anti-China sentiment has been rising in the United States, as economic competition and the future of the contested island of Taiwan have increased the tensions between the two nuclear superpowers. Some members of Congress have also been pushing to ban TikTok, a Chinese social media app used by millions of Americans.

The COVID-19 pandemic has underscored in many ways that the Chinese Communist Partys growing influence is absolutely contrary to Americas interests and to America's values, said Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md.

It was an assertion indicative of the prevailing mood in Washington.

The taint of conspiracy

A group wearing "Jail Fauci" shirts watch the House Select Subcommittee hearing on Tuesday. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Behind the witnesses sat several members of the public in T-shirts with a message demonstrating the passions the coronavirus continues to incite.

Jail Fauci, the shirts said, referring to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the career public servant and adviser to the White House on the pandemic, who has been a target of conservatives from almost the start of the pandemic. He retired at the end of 2022, but the aging immunologist continues to be the target of Republicans who say he misled the American public about the nature of the viral threat.

The most outlandish conspiracy theories hold that Fauci actively worked with Chinese peers to create a deadly pathogen.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., has promoted coronavirus-related misinformation since entering Congress in 2021. A member of the House panel investigating the origins of the coronavirus, she mused on Tuesday that the Chinese government created the coronavirus to sway, possibly the 2020 presidential election, or that the virus was some type of bioweapon.

Neither assertion is backed by any credible evidence.
The Army, Navy and Air Force are preparing to miss their recruiting goals by thousands this year, service leaders said Wednesday.

The Army is projecting the largest shortfall of all, as it did last year, proving to be the bellwether for recruiting crunches across the armed services, at a time when the Defense Department is trying to grow its overall ranks by about 12,000.

The Marine Corps will meet its fiscal 2023 goal of 29,000 new Marines, Assistant Commandant Gen. Eric Smith told the House Armed Services Committee, while Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. David Thompson told the panel his services recruiting challenges will depend entirely on what happens with the other services. The Space Force depends on the other military branches to transfer experienced officers and enlisted troops to grow as a new service.

While were doing very well in recruiting off the street, as the other services have challenges in their recruiting, it becomes more difficult for them to release folks for interservice transfer, Thompson said of the Space Forces goal to bring in 700 personnel from the other branches, in addition to 700 new recruits.

The Army, with roughly five months left to meet its FY23 goal, is projecting to bring in about 55,000 active duty soldiers, well short of its 65,000 target.

Right now were doing better than we were doing, Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George told lawmakers.

That goal is higher than last years, George added, when the service ended up 15,000 short of its 60,000 goal for FY22, sparking a rash of national headlines about the militarys struggle to bring in an ever-shrinking pool of young people.

The Genesis of todays recruiting crisis

The Navy expects to fall about 6,000 short of its goals, Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti said, which is better than what her service projected earlier this year.

The service met its active duty enlisted recruiting goal last year, draining its delayed entry program to meet the mission, as well as falling short on new officers and reservists.

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Now in 2023, those new sailors  who would have been waiting to ship this year  are already in service and cant be counted toward this years 40,000 active duty goal.

On this path, about 10,000 short, Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin said, though his numbers included the Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve.

On the active duty side, he said, they are expecting to be about 3,400 airmen short of their goal of about 27,000.

While the services have pointed to low unemployment and the COVID-19 pandemic as roadblocks to recruiting, some pundits and lawmakers have argued that DoD policies  including diversity training and efforts to tamp down on violent, domestic extremism  have deterred many Americans from conservative communities from signing up, while advocates on the left say a lack of progress on those issues impacts recruiting as well.

Is the military too woke to recruit?

A Military Times investigation found that many recruiters are having to turn away candidates they otherwise would have brought in because of Military Health System Genesis, a new program that compiles comprehensive medical records.

The services previously relied on prospects to self-report past medical diagnoses or treatment, allowing them to withhold potentially disqualifying information.

Genesis is not the root cause behind the services failing to meet their recruiting mission, Lisa Lawrence, a Pentagon spokeswoman, told Military Times.

Asked during the hearing whether the services are collecting data on their particular recruiting challenges, each service vice chief nodded.

Thats underway and will continue, Allvin said.
Nazem Ahmad is pictured sitting at his desk in this handout photograph from the US Department of Justice - DoJ

A high-profile art dealer has had his assets frozen by the Treasury and has been charged in the United States over allegations he has been using his collection to launder money for the banned terror group Hezbollah.

Nazem Ahmad, who is also a wealthy diamond dealer, is the first person to be targeted by the Treasury under new anti-terror powers aimed at cutting off funding for extremist groups.

All assets and resources belonging to Mr Ahmad in the UK have now been frozen and no British person can legally do business with him or any of the companies he owns or controls.

He had already been hit by sanctions in the United States and on Tuesday was charged in New York along with eight co-defendants, including his son and daughter, over claims he had breached the order by continuing to trade in art and jewels.

Mr Ahmad's daughter Hind Ahmad, 30, denied her father was a Hezbollah financier and claimed the allegations were based on lies told by their rivals in Lebanon. She likened the allegations to the plot of a Bollywood film.

Ms Ahmad, who runs galleries in Lebanon and Ivory Coast, told the New York Times: "I would have never imagined this would ever be possible."

She added that she had just learned of the Treasury's sanctions and said she was not aware of the US court case.

Meanwhile Scotland Yard announced officers from the Mets Counter Terrorism Command had arrested a 50-year-old man in Wales on suspicion of funding terrorism, in connection with a wider investigation into Mr Ahmads activities.

In addition another man was arrested in London following an extradition request from the US authorities.

Sundar Nagarajan, who is wanted by US authorities for fraud and money laundering offences, appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court and was remanded into custody.

Detective Chief Superintendent Gareth Rees, of the Met's counter-terrorism command, said: "Today's arrests are the result of ongoing work and cooperation with our American colleagues, and are a key milestone in what is a complex investigation into terrorist financing.

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"Terrorist groups rely on financial support and funding for their activities and the NTFIU (National Terrorism Financing Investigation Unit) works closely with agencies in the UK and around the world to identify and take action against those people who provide and facilitate this funding.

"With our international partners, we will never give up on our mission to disrupt terrorist activity, both in the UK and abroad, in order to keep the public safe."

Mr Ahmad, who is well known in the international art dealing world, has a collection including works by Pablo Picasso, Antony Gormley and Andy Warhol.

The Treasury said he did business with multiple British based artists, art galleries and auction houses.

But following the decision to sanction him other dealers will now no longer be allowed to do legally trade with him or any of his associated companies.

Joanna Penn, the Treasury minister in the House of Lords, said: We will always proactively defend our economy against those who seek to abuse it. The firm action we have taken today will clamp down on those who are funding international terrorism, strengthening the UKs economic and national security.



Mr Ahmad is suspected of helping to finance Hezbollah, the Shia Muslim political movement backed by Iran, which the UK Government classified as a terrorist group in 2019.

He was hit by US sanctions in 2019 for allegedly providing material support to Hezbollah, but prosecutors in New York claimed he and his associates continued to trade in art and diamonds despite the ban.

His whereabouts is not currently known. He has been approached for comment.
MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden  Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with his Swedish counterpart inside a naval base an hour outside Stockholm on Wednesday, a rare visit meant to signal Washingtons support for Swedens bid to join NATO.

The trip marks the first visit of a Pentagon chief in more than 20 years, after Defense Secretary Bill Cohen visited in 2000. It comes as momentum appears to be building for Swedens bid for NATO membership, after Turkey recently dropped its objections to Swedens neighbor, Finland, joining the military alliance.

For now, Turkey and Hungary are still holding up Swedens accession. But sitting across from Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in a tiny, wood-paneled room deep inside a maze of tunnels at the Musko naval base, built into the side of a mountain, Austin said he hopes to see Stockholm join NATO before the July leaders summit.

We encourage our allies, Turkiye and Hungary, to ratify Swedens accession as soon as possible, Austin later said at a joint press conference with Jonson in front of the Visby-class corvette Harnosand, a new class of ships designed for stealth and countering undersea mines and submarines. Swedens membership in NATO is going to mean a stronger alliance and a more secure Europe.

There are other signs the logjam is breaking. After Finland officially joined NATO, the U.S. this week approved Turkeys request to purchase upgrades for its existing fleet of American-made F-16 fighter jets. Ankara has rejected any link between its request for F-16s and NATO votes. A larger $20 billion deal to sell 40 F-16s to Turkey is still stalled in Congress.



Its important to all of us that they make the decision sooner rather than later, because we look forward to having a very capable Sweden sitting at the desk beside us in Vilnius, Austin said.

Turkey and Hungary ratified Finlands membership bid in March  but left Sweden hanging. The decision, officials and experts say, is linked to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogans strategy ahead of elections scheduled for May 14.

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Helsinki and Stockholm have both introduced policy changes to address Turkish concerns on support for Kurdish groups and limitations on arms exports.

But Ankara raised more qualms with Sweden than Finland  and tensions with Stockholm escalated following a Quran burning at a protest this year. At the same time, there is speculation that Erdogan is using the holdup as a negotiating chip in other discussions with allies.

Turkish officials insist that they support NATO expansion in principle and will ratify Swedens bid as soon as Ankara determines that Stockholm has met its commitments under a trilateral deal reached between Turkey, Sweden and Finland last summer.

We have joined all the other allies in inviting Sweden and Finland to become a member of this alliance in Madrid, said one Turkish official who, like others for this story, was granted anonymity to discuss sensitive internal matters or to speak ahead of official announcements. That showed our commitment to open door policy.

At NATO, meanwhile, officials still hold out hope that Turkeys parliament will sign off on Swedens bid ahead of the alliances planned July leaders summit  and that Hungary will quickly ratify once Ankara signals that it will move.

My aim remains that after the Turkish elections, but before the Vilnius summit, we can also have the ratification of Sweden, Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told POLITICO last month.

Until the issue is resolved, Austin is eager to show support for the Nordic country located on NATOs northern flank.

The Sweden trip is in order to make very clear U.S. support for Swedens application for membership in NATO, to reassure not just the government but the people of Sweden that the United States strongly supports Swedens accession to NATO, a senior Defense Department official said.

A Swedish official called the secretarys visit very significant due to both the countrys ongoing NATO bid and Russias aggression in Ukraine.

Both Sweden and Finland, which shares an 830-mile border with Russia, have long championed a neutral military and foreign policy. But when Russia invaded Ukraine last year, public opinion shifted almost overnight toward support for NATO members.

Russias invasion of Ukraine changed everything, Luke Coffey, a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute think tank, wrote last week.

Austin and his delegation, which included Ambassador to Sweden Erik Ramanathan and Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith, met with Jonson and Gen. Micael Byden at the Musko base on Wednesday. After their meeting, they visited the Maritime Operations Center.

The delegation then took the Harnosand across the Stockholm archipelago to Berga Naval Base. Austin watched from the deck as two combats boats filled with Swedish marines conducted a mock amphibious landing on one of the islands in the archipelago. Two Swedish fighter jets flew overhead.

The U.S. regularly exercises with Sweden in the sea and air in the Baltic region. Once Sweden is a member of NATO, the countrys extraordinary advanced military capabilities will significantly enhance NATOs military capability, particularly in the north, the senior DoD official said.

Russia has a significant presence in the Baltic Sea, including a fleet of stealthy submarines that patrol the northern waters. However, the official said they were not aware of any heightened risk right now in the region beyond the normal Russian presence and operations.

Sweden has provided 1.9 billion euros in support for Ukraines fight against Russia, including 1.5 billion euros in military aid. In recent months, the U.S. has ramped up military cooperation with Sweden, including increasing the number of ship and bomber task force visits, as well as high-level engagements.

Sweden feels more secure now after we became invited to NATO, Jonson said.

Lili Bayer contributed to this report from Brussels.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin spoke with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant last week following the leak of dozens of U.S. classified documents, Axios reported Wednesday.

Two Israeli officials told Axios that Austin and Gallant spoke last Thursday, with Austin reassuring his counterpart that the U.S. government was working to prevent additional leaks in the future. The outlet reported that the call happened after lower-level officials sent messages to reassure Israeli officials of the U.S. commitment to Israel following the leaks.

The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon and Israels defense ministry to confirm.

The documents leaked included information about the U.S. conducting spying operations on Israel and an assessment on Israels willingness to send military assistance to Ukraine.

Israel has been sending humanitarian aid and nonlethal support, but has sought to maintain a neutral stance in the war.

Israel also denied allegations made in another document that leaders of its Mossad intelligence service had encouraged agency staff and Israeli citizens to participate in March protests against the governments proposed judicial reforms.

Those protests exploded after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sacked Gallant as his defense chief, a move he reversed earlier this month.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken maintained on Saturday that cooperation between the U.S. and its allies were not affected by the leaks, and President Biden has said he is not concerned by the contents of the materials.

White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said during a press briefing last week that the U.S. was reaching out to its allies and partners following the leaks.

A 21-year-old member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, Jack Teixeira, has been arrested in connection with the leak and has been charged with violating the Espionage Act and another law the bans the unauthorized removal of classified documents.

A hearing scheduled for Wednesday to determine whether he should remain jailed while awaiting trial was delayed to give the defense more time to prepare.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
(Bloomberg) -- Australia will introduce its first fuel-efficiency standards by the end of the year, as part of the governments plans to encourage the use of electric vehicles and cut carbon emissions.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The nation is one of the last developed economies without fuel-efficiency standards that govern the amount of pollution a car is allowed to emit. Since coming to office in May, the center-left Labor government has moved to toughen Australias action on climate change, introducing the countrys first emission reduction targets in 2022 and passing legislation to place caps on major polluters.

READ: Australia to Target Top Polluters as Key Climate Policy Approved

The government will consult with industry and community to finalize details in coming months and then put the new standards in place by the end of 2023, Transport and Infrastructure Minister Catherine King said in a statement Wednesday.

More than 85% of all cars sold in the world are subject to fuel-efficiency standards, King said in the statement. Its time Australians were offered the same choice.

The announcement was made as part of Australias first national electric vehicle strategy. Passenger cars produce about 10% of Australias emissions and fuel standards could cut at least 3 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2030, and more than 10 million tons by 2035, the government said.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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Cynthia Daignault was a high school senior in Maryland when a bomb destroyed the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in downtown Oklahoma City at 9:02 a.m. April 19, 1995.

Although she was about 1,300 miles away when the blast left 168 people dead and more than 500 injured, the tragedy reverberated deeply within her as a Baltimore teenager.

"There's just a poignancy to memory of that time period, like the way that the music we were listening to senior year is still so emotionally resonant. Everything is so visceral, like your first love and your first heartbreak and the music you listen to  and what's going on in the world," Daignault told The Oklahoman.

"Those become things that, I think, really lock in, in a way that we see them incredibly clearly. ... You're thinking about joining the adult world and what that means at this moment, and then the adult world really crashes on your doorstep in a pretty intense way."

Michael Anderson and Rosie May sit April 12 in the exhibit "Cynthia Daignault: Oklahoma" at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

Oklahoma City bombing: The names and faces of victims

Now an artist, Daignault channeled her lasting memories of the bombing into her 2021 oil painting "Oklahoma," an abstracted gray-and-white depiction of the wrecked Murrah Building. Now a part of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art's permanent collection, her painting was put on display for the first time in downtown OKC ahead of the 28th anniversary of the bombing in an unusual single-painting exhibit.

"It is absolutely unusual to have an exhibition of one painting, and it was really very much about creating a space where people could sit and contemplate it and look at it, to be alone with it or be with friends with it," said Rosie May, the museum's director of curatorial affairs and audience engagement.

"We wanted to make sure we were giving it the weight it would have in this community ... especially just blocks from the site of the Murrah Building."

Visitors' comments written on note cards are displayed April 12 in the exhibit "Cynthia Daignault: Oklahoma" at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

What does the painting look like and how is it displayed?

A black wall with the words "Cynthia Daignault: Oklahoma" emblazoned in large, white letters greets visitors to the second-floor gallery of the Oklahoma City Museum of Art where the painting is displayed.

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Before they glimpse the painting, museumgoers encounter an essay about the work and two quotes from the artist. One reads, "I have hopes that the remembrance of things past is something that brings us together. This is a shared history and in collective trauma there is a connection that binds us all."

The other reads, "Making this work now is an act of remembrance, of living back in that moment and connecting to what it means for us today."

Exhibited in a snug alcove created by three white-painted walls, visitors first see Daignault's small painting from a distance, where a bench invites them to sit several feet away if they choose. Or, they can walk to the black line on the floor and examine the instantly recognizable painting up close.

Look back: A timeline of the Oklahoma City bombing and beyond

At a small writing desk inside the exhibit, a set of black, white and gray note cards and matching pencils are provided. Visitors are invited to draw or write their thoughts on "How does remembering the past bring people together?"

"I wanted to give people an opportunity to respond and reflect with a prompt based on what Cynthia was doing, as an outlet," said May, an Oklahoma native.

"If you are presenting a difficult subject in a museum, one that will evoke strong emotions in people ... and you're not giving them some sort of escape valve ... they'll just feel upset. But if you give them an opportunity to reflect, share and hope  and that's what this painting for Cynthia is all about  it reminds us that in shared trauma, there's an opportunity for us to bring people together and create a better future."

Considering the sensitive nature of "Cynthia Daignault: Oklahoma," Oklahoma City Museum of Art staffers knew that special care had to be taken in exhibiting the painting.

Why did the museum staff wait two years to exhibit the painting?

The Oklahoma City Museum of Art acquired Daignault's "Oklahoma" with funds from an Oklahoma City Community Foundation grant in honor of the community volunteers who assisted in the recovery from the 1995 bombing.

Jennifer Klos, a former OKC Museum of Art curator now based in Texas, contacted the staff about the painting after spotting it at the 2021 TWO x TWO for AIDS and Art, a large annual charity art auction in Dallas.

"It seemed a really appropriate thing for us to acquire because it was inspired by the photograph of the destroyed Murrah Building ... that made the front page of every major newspaper probably in the world," May said. "So, we acquired it, and then there was a discussion of where to put it and what to do with it."

Considering the sensitive nature of the work, OKC Museum of Art staffers knew that special care had to be taken in exhibiting the painting.

"This will always be a part of our collection, so I think for us, it was important to present it in a very thoughtful and isolated way the first time that we're showing it," said OKC Museum of Art President and CEO Michael Anderson, adding that the painting will be exhibited on its own through the end of the year.

Oklahoma City bombing : Survivors share their stories of the aftermath

"We'll show it many, many more times moving forward, and it probably will be shown in different contexts. But I think the image itself is so visceral that people who are familiar with our collection that are coming here not expecting this, we needed to do something different with it the first time."

For May, creating the single-painting exhibit meant making her first visit to the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum and consulting with staff there.

"I think that art after the events in 1995 was a means of healing, and it's played a large role in our story. ... So, I think it is a unique opportunity to talk about the role art has in dealing with traumatic events," said Stephen Evans, the national memorial's director of education and public programming.

"It's easy to focus on the impact it had in Oklahoma City. But we have people who come from Germany, from Vietnam, to the museum and say, 'I remember where I was on April 19, 1995, and this is its impact on me.' It was a global event  maybe like nothing will ever be in the future, just because of the way media works and worked back in 1995. I'm from New York; I remember where I was. The impact that had on my entire generation across the country was massive."

"Cynthia Daignault: Oklahoma" is displayed at the Oklahoma City Museum of Art.

How did an 'Oklahoma' painting by a Baltimore artist end up in OKC?

The Oklahoma City bombing was the deadliest act of terrorism in U.S. history until Sept. 11, 2001. It remains the deadliest act of domestic terrorism in U.S. history.

Even after she graduated high school, the bombing continued to haunt Daignault. When she assisted artist Kara Walker on her "A Subtlety or the Marvelous Sugar Baby," a landmark, large-scale contemporary artwork about white supremacy, the project involved delving into what Oklahoma City bomber Timothy McVeigh wrote and read.

"When I was making 'Light Atlas,' which is a seminal piece of mine, I ended up staying in the hotel room where he planned the attack  and not on purpose," Daignault said. "It just so happened while I was traveling the country making that piece ... so it became a real touchstone."

In 2018, she embarked on a series of paintings called "What Happened" to chronicle the last 100 years of American history and culture. She knew that the Oklahoma City bombing would represent 1995 in her series, and in 2021, she created her "Oklahoma," working from the iconic photograph that The Associated Press sent out worldwide of the Murrah Building in 1995.

Oklahoma City bombing: OKC Philharmonic honors anniversary with milestone new album

"The cultural moment that we grew up in and the way that media functioned  it was pre-internet, obviously  I think you remember how ... whether we're talking about the O.J. Simpson chase or Desert Storm or the Oklahoma City bombing, those really were moments where everyone stopped and was looking at the same thing," she said.

"I think to understand just how deep of an impression some of those events made on people our age  the Challenger explosion, these touchstone media events that defined our lives  you have to have lived through that moment. ... It is different now how quickly things move through the news cycle."

As heavy as the subject matter of "Oklahoma" was, Daignault knew the painting was destined to end up in an institution rather than a private home, and she wanted it to be sold through a benefit.

But she had no idea the painting eventually would find its home in Oklahoma City.

"No one really had any idea that it would end up in Oklahoma City, at that museum, and when I found that out, I was very humbled and moved," she said. "I couldn't have been happier with the placement, as far as where it ended up. ... That's not something that I had any control over, but I can sort stand back in awe like, 'Wow, this is a beautiful thing that happened.'"

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: A Baltimore artist's Oklahoma City bombing painting finds an OKC home
Barry Humphries speaks after winning the Wizard of Oz award for his fictional character Sir Les Patterson during the Oldie Of The Year Awards 2021 at The Savoy Hotel in London on October 19, 2021

Australian entertainer Barry Humphries, best known for his comic character Dame Edna Everage, is being treated in hospital, his family have said.

The comedian, 89, had hip surgery last month after a fall in February, and was readmitted following complications, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

His family said he was "in hospital receiving treatment for health issues".

They said he thanked "everybody for the support and good wishes he has received but would like more and more".

In a statement to the paper, they added: "He would also like to thank the wonderful doctors, nurses and staff at St Vincent's Hospital."

The Australian is known for comic creations such as Dame Edna, Sir Les Patterson and Sandy Stone

His wife Lizzie Spender was quoted by the publication as saying he was "fine".

Broadcaster Andrew Neil tweeted on Saturday to say he had visited the "legendary" Humphries, who he said had been having treatment "for months".

"As always he had me in stitches even though he's been undergoing various treatments for months in hospital," Neil wrote. "I am in awe of his courage. And, of course, his humour, which is irrepressible, even in adversity."

'Hello possums!'

Humphries' most famous creation became a hit in the UK in the 1970s and landed her own TV chat show, the Dame Edna Everage Experience, in the late 1980s.

Famed for her lilac-rinsed hair and flamboyant glasses, she was often heard greeting audiences with the catchphrase: "Hello possums!"

His other popular characters on stage and screen include the lecherous drunk Australian cultural attache Sir Les Patterson, and the more grandfatherly Sandy Stone.

He said of Stone in 2016 that he could "finally feel myself turning into him".

The actor, author, director and scriptwriter, who is also a keen landscape painter, announced a farewell tour for his satirical one-man stage show in 2012.
Erling Haaland scored as Manchester City advanced to a Champions League semi-final rematch with Real Madrid after a 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the second leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday.

The Norwegian superstar missed a first-half penalty but atoned as City achieved smooth progress with a 4-1 win on aggregate by scoring the opening goal on a counter-attack in the 57th minute, just after Bayern missed a good chance at the other end.

Bayerns lack of confidence after losing the first leg 3-0 in Manchester showed as they failed to take advantage of numerous chances. Joshua Kimmich scored the Bavarian powerhouses consolation from the penalty spot in the 83rd minute after City defender Manuel Akanji was penalised for handball but it was immaterial to the outcome.

Relive all the action as Bayern Munich miss out to Manchester City:

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

Bayern Munich draw with Manchester City but are knocked out at Champions League quarter-final stage

Man City progress 4-1 on aggregate after holding Bayern to a 1-1 draw in Munich

83 GOAL! - Kimmich converts the spot kick (BAY 1-1 MCI)

82 PENALTY! - Akanji is harshly punished for handball (BAY 0-1 MCI)

57 GOAL! - Haaland makes up for his penalty miss and opens the scoring (BAY 0-1 MCI)

54 CHANCE! - Sommer keeps out Haalands effort after a counter-attack (BAY 0-0 MCI)

37 MISSED! - Haaland smokes a spot kick over the top (BAY 0-0 MCI)

35 PENALTY! - Upamencano is booked for handling the ball in the box (BAY 0-0 MCI)

21 SAVE! - Ederson palms Sanes free kick wide (BAY 0-0 MCI)

17 CHANCE! - Sane misses a massive opportunity for Bayern (BAY 0-0 MCI)

FC Bayern Munchen 1 - 1 Manchester City FC

FT Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg)

22:04 , Mike Jones

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Full-time: Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg)

21:59 , Mike Jones

90+5 mins: A draw on the night is enough to send Manchester City into the Champions League semi-finals. The damage was done at the Etihad in the first leg when Pep Guardiolas men ran out 3-0 winners.

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Erling Haaland and Joshua Kimmich netted the respective goals and Bayern maintained their scoring streak at the Allianz Arena. City were just too good defensively and theyve knocked out the Bundesliga champions.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg)

21:57 , Mike Jones

90+2 mins: Ederson play acts a bit of cramp and delays another restart. He needs to be careful as the Man City goalkeeper has already been booked.

Akanji is down now with an injury too.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg)

21:54 , Mike Jones

90 mins: Five minutes of added time to play before this tie is done. Manchester City are managing the game now. Trying to hold onto possession and keep the ball in Bayerns half.

The Bayern players seem deflated now. Three goals in five minutes is near impossible.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg)

21:51 , Mike Jones

88 mins: Free kick to Man City! Jack Grealish is brought down right on the edge of the penalty area and City will have a could chance to score from this.

Kevin De Bruyne is replaced with Kyle Walker before the free kick is taken. Its likely that City will run this to the corner flag.

Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg)

21:50 , Mike Jones

86 mins: Less than five minutes plus stoppage time to play. Aymeric Laporte fouls Choupo-Moting and gets Tuchel wound up again. The Bayern coach sprints over to give the officials another earful and hes sent off!

Its Tuchels second yellow card of the game and the Bayern boss is dismissed to the stands.

GOAL! Bayern Munich 1-1 Man City (1-4 agg) - Kimmich, 83'

21:47 , Mike Jones

83 mins: Joshua Kimmich steps up and smokes the spot kick right down the middle. Bayern have a goal, they need another three.

Penalty to Bayern Munich!

21:46 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

82 mins: VAR have called the referee over to the monitor. He looks at the replay in slow motion and points to the spot. Ridiculous decision but Bayern have the chance to equalise.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:45 , Mike Jones

80 mins: Sadio Mane is asking for a handball against Manuel Akanji. The two players were toe-to-toe as Mane brought the ball to the byline. His attempted cross hits Akanjis foot and bounces up and strikes the defender on the arm.

How can that be a penalty? VAR is looking at it.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:41 , Mike Jones

77 mins:

How many times have we seen that exact same move from Bayern tonight:



winger surges forward, runs out of space and checks back, City's defence manage to get it back, play it to other winger for hit-and-hope shot from out wide.  Miguel Delaney (@MiguelDelaney) April 19, 2023

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:40 , Mike Jones

75 mins: Disallowed goal! Kimmich threads the ball up to Coman whos waiting in space on the right side of the box. He cuts inside and shoots forcing Ederson into a sharp save.

The rebound comes to substitute Mathys Tel who pokes it home only for the offside flag to get raised. Coman was too far forward in the build-up.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:36 , Mike Jones

72 mins: Theres still no way into the box for Bayern. Kimmich attempts another cross which evades all the men in the middle and drops for Mane on the far side of the penalty area.

He tries to flick the ball back in and City nod it clear. Bayern seem to have missed a proper centre-forward tonight. Erling Haaland - Citys number nine - has been the difference.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:32 , Mike Jones

69 mins: Musiala plays the ball through to Choupo-Moting whos touch isnt the best. The ball rolls behind his body meaning that the strikers shot at goal is soft and comes straight into the waiting arms of Ederson.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:30 , Mike Jones

66 mins: Nathan Ake pulls up with what looks like a hamstring injury. That could be a big blow for Manchester City as they continue to fight for three trophies this season.

Aymeric Laporte comes on to replace him.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:27 , Mike Jones

63 mins: Joao Cancelos night is over, as is Leroy Sanes. In their place come Alphonso Davies and Sadio Mane. Its probably too late now for either player to make a difference in this tie.

Bayern need to score four goals in less than half an hour.

Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg)

21:24 , Mike Jones

60 mins: Another opportunity for Man City as they win a free kick on the left edge of Bayerns box. Kevin De Bruyne curls a shot towards the back post but theres a defender waiting to head it clear.

GOAL! Bayern Munich 0-1 Man City (0-4 agg) - Haaland, 57'

21:22 , Mike Jones

57 mins: From one end to the other! Joshua Kimmich squares a pass across the City six-yard box and Ederson goes to ground to push the ball over to John Stones.

Stones belts it long and Erling Haaland wins the aerial ball nodding it down to Kevin De Bruyne. De Bruyne then guides it back to Haaland who sits down Dayot Upamecano before lifting his shot past Yann Sommer to secure the tie for Man City!

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

21:19 , Mike Jones

54 mins: Thomas Tuchel is really riled up as his frustration continues to grow. Even his staff are having a pop at the officials and one of the assistants is shown a yellow card.

Chance! City sweep forward on the counter-attack. De Bruynes initial ball comes over to Grealish who dinks a pass into the box. Haaland sprints onto it then shoots but hits a low effort straight into the arms of Yann Sommer.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

21:15 , Mike Jones

51 mins: Kevin De Bruyne is fouled over on Citys right wing. He then lifts the set piece all the way over to Manuel Akanji who offloads the ball to Jack Grealish.

Grealish has nowhere to go with it though and is forced to retreat into his own half.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

21:13 , Mike Jones

48 mins: Bernardo Silva loses the ball to Jamal Musiala who dribbles across the pitch before passing the ball back to Kingsley Coman.

Comans flick into the box is nodded behind by Jack Grealish and Leroy Sanes corner ball isnt good enough to trouble the City defenders.

Second half: Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

21:08 , Mike Jones

The players head back out for the second half. Neither manager has made a change at the break. Pep Guardiola looks quite tired, his team was put through the wringer in the first half but theyre still three goals to the good.

City kick off the next 45 minutes knowing a clean sheet puts them through to the semi-finals.

HT Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

21:04 , Mike Jones

Kinglsey Coman was brilliant in the first half, by far Bayerns biggest threat. Combined with Leroy Sane he forced John Stones out of midfield and back into defence to make City more solid.

That in turn hindered how effective they were in transition. Bayern need a goal though. The longer this game goes without one the more it plays into Citys hands.

HT Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

21:00 , Mike Jones

Erling Haaland has missed a penalty for the first time in his last 16 attempts in all club competitions (excl. shootouts), since his last miss for Borussia Dortmund vs Union Berlin in April 2021.

HT Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:56 , Mike Jones

(REUTERS)

(REUTERS)

(REUTERS)

Half-time: Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:52 , Mike Jones

45+2 mins: Chance! A Bayern counter-attack sees Jamal Musiala dip and weave his way into the City box before he slips when ready to shoot.

Instead he offloads the ball to Eric Choupo-Moting who backheels it at goal from inside the six-yard box. Citys defenders scramble and block the shot before the rebound comes to Kinglsey Coman.

Coman shoots too but his effort hits Choupo-Moting and bounces clear.

The half-time whistle goes with the teams level at the break.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:49 , Mike Jones

45 mins: Ederson is now booked for time-wasting and delaying the restart. The referee seems to have been convinced to book him by the racket the home fans are making.

Two minutes of added time to play at the end of the first half.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:46 , Mike Jones

42 mins: Save! That was close. Leroy Sane brings the ball into the box from the left then lays it off to Kingsley Coman. He dances into the box and drills one at goal but Ederson drops low and pushes the ball wide of the near post.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:43 , Mike Jones

39 mins: How costly will that penalty kick prove to be? For all Bayerns control and dominance theyve not penetrated Citys defence yet.

The pressure is still on both teams.

Missed! Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:41 , Mike Jones

37 mins: Erling Haaland had to wait almost two minutes before taking the spot kick. The delay seems to put him off and he smokes a powerful shot over the crossbar!

Penalty to Man City!

20:40 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

35 mins: Heres a shock! Ilkay Gundogan takes a shot from just outside Bayerns penalty area. The ball hits Dayot Upamecanos arm then bounces through to Yann Sommer who makes the save.

The referee immediately points to the spot and books Upamecano for handball.

Big moment coming up.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:39 , Mike Jones

33 mins: For the first time tonight Man City seem able to retain possession and keep Bayern quiet. They run through a few minutes before losing the ball inside their own half.

Bayern fail to utilise the chance and City recover the ball on the edge of their own box.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:35 , Mike Jones

30 mins: A Bayern Munich corner gets swung onto the head of Choupo-Moting who connects too well with it and nods the ball wide of the target.

The hosts look good tonight but City will be happy to get through half an hour without conceding.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:32 , Mike Jones

27 mins: Manchester City havent been allowed to impose themselves on the game but Kevin De Bruyne finds himself with space to operate on the right edge of the box.

He floats a pass over to Jack Grealish who manages to control the ball after it takes an awkward bounce. Grealish lays it off to Nathan Ake who blasts one at goal and pulls it wide of the far post.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:27 , Mike Jones

24 mins: The last five minutes have been electric. Kingsley Coman and Leroy Sane have switched wings with Thomas Tuchel thinking that Sane will have more joy against Nathan Ake on Citys left side.

Coman is played into the box and and squares a pass over to Sane. Sane rolls it back to Leon Goretzka who belts a first time shot over the crossbar!

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:25 , Mike Jones

21 mins: Save! Bayern win a free kick over on the inside right and Leroy Sane has a sight at goal. He looks to curl one into the near bottom corner but Ederson shuffles across and palms the effort wide of the target!

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:24 , Mike Jones

20 mins: Oh Bayern are lucky.

Kevin De Bruyne threads a pass through the middle of the pitch and picks out Erling Haaland. Haaland drives towards goal and is shoved over by Dayot Upamecano - Bayerns last defender.

The referee pulls out a straight red card for the defender but the assistant referee raises the offside flag and Upamecano has a reprieve.

VAR confirms that Haaland just strayed off so Upamecano didnt legally foul him.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:22 , Mike Jones

17 mins: MISS! Bayern Munich create the best chance of the night so far after turning the ball over in midfield and passing it quickly up to Leroy Sane.

Sane nudges the ball past John Stones and carries it into the left side of the penalty area. Ederson comes out to close him down but Sane gets the shot away and guides it just wide of the far post!

Thats a massive chance missed.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:20 , Mike Jones

15 mins: Bernardo Silva dips his shoulder and gets into space on the right side for Man City. Their first real attack sees Bernardo drill the ball in towards the near post where Ilkay Gundogan is arriving.

Yann Sommer dives towards the ball and manages to smother it before Gundogan can prod it home. Better from City though.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:15 , Mike Jones

12 mins: Citys left side is taking a hammering at the minute with Nathan Ake unable to live up to the speed and strength of Kingsley Coman.

Bayerns end product hasnt been great so far though which is good news for City. Joao Cancelo gives away a free kick and earns a yellow card - the first of the match.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:12 , Mike Jones

9 mins: Manchester City have won 10 games in a row and have only conceded four times during that streak. Bayern have started well tonight though.

Coman gets into space on the right side and whips in an early cross. Choupo-Moting arrives into the box late but the ball just flies over his head and City boot it clear.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:10 , Mike Jones

6 mins: Ruben Dias dallies too long on the ball and runs it into the path of Kingsley Coman deep inside Man Citys half. Coman takes over possession and slips it into the box for Eric Choupo-Moting who is immediately flagged offside.

That could have been embarrassing for the City defender but Dias gets away with the mistake.

Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:08 , Mike Jones

3 mins: It would not be out of the question for Manchester City to sit back and look to defend their aggregate lead but that is not the way that Pep Guardiolas men are made.

Theyre pressing high up the pitch and are looking to catch Bayern in possession. So far the hosts have been up to the challenge.

Kick off: Bayern Munich 0-0 Man City (0-3 agg)

20:04 , Mike Jones

After a delay to get the referee properly kitted up Bayern Munich get the ball rolling at the Allianz Arena. The home supporters are extremely loud and they certainly believe the Bundesliga champions can cause an upset tonight.

Its a pretty intimidating sight and Manchester City will hope to silence the crowd. If they can score early then all the pressure will come off them.

Bayern Munich vs Man City

19:59 , Mike Jones

Here come the players.

The atmosphere inside the Allianz Arena is bouncing. Its a packed house as the home fans hope to witness a miracle. Manchester City are the favourites to progress though.

Theyve never been knocked out at the Champions League quarter-final stage, itll take some performance from Bayern to kick them out this year too.

Kick off is up next...

Bayern Munich vs Man City

19:54 , Mike Jones

Kick off less than 10 minutes away, can Manchester City reach the Champions League semi-finals?

The Champions League desperately needs an injection of chaos

19:51 , Mike Jones

For all their contrasting histories in the Champions League, Frank Lampard and Thomas Tuchel have this week found themselves in similar positions. They have both had to try and make their squads believe they can overcome almost overwhelming situations.

Chelsea are 2-0 down to Real Madrid and Bayern Munich 3-0 down to Manchester City, but the two managers are trying to get their players to overlook these bare facts. Tuchel has been telling his players that, in general play, they were as good as City and it was only individual moments that cost them. The stirring talk is that, consequently, they can just as easily score three.

Lampard has meanwhile been drawing on 2012 again, and how his Chelsea team were also two goals down to Napoli before the most famous comeback in the clubs history.

The Champions League desperately needs an injection of chaos

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

19:48 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich defender Benjamin Pavard believes a comeback will be possible tonight.

We had a good first half in the first leg against City, he said. Well be very disappointed if we dont win.

We are highly motivated and in fine form. Weve seen in the past that a comeback like this is possible.

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

19:45 , Mike Jones

Bayern havent failed to score at home in three whole years but the key for Man Ciy tonight will be limiting how many the hosts do score.

Only four teams have progressed from a Champions League knockout tie when losing the first leg by three goals or more, with the last to do so Liverpool against Barcelona in 2019.

Kevin De Bruyne insists Manchester City need their A game for Bayern Munich

19:40 , Mike Jones

Kevin De Bruyne claims Manchester City will still need to take their A game to Germany to reach the Champions League semi-finals this week.

City appear to have one foot in the last four after an impressive 3-0 win over Bayern Munich in the first leg of their quarter-final tie.

Yet playmaker De Bruyne is taking nothing for granted ahead of Wednesdays return encounter and is approaching the game as he would any other.

Its still got a long way to go, the Belgian said. Its not like 50 minutes to go and you might cover up a bit. Its 95 minutes and a lot can happen.

Youve heard of crazy scores in many games so well have to bring our A game.

Kevin De Bruyne insists Manchester City need their A game for Bayern Munich

Bayern Munich vs Man City

19:35 , Mike Jones

This is the sides eighth meeting, with Man City now having four victories to Bayerns three and scoring 12 goals to their opponents 10.

The first six of those contests came in the Uefa Champions League group stage between September 2011 and November 2014.

Bayern Munichs gamble

19:31 , Mike Jones

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting starts up front for Bayern Munich tonight despite not being 100% fully fit. Its easy to see why Thomas Tuchel has elect to go with him as the main striker though.

Choupo-Moting has struck six goals in his last seven starts in this competition.

Will this be a gamble that pays off for Bayern Munich?

Haaland breaking Champions League records

19:26 , Mike Jones

Haalands existing records:

-He was the youngest to 15 goals aged 20 years, 126 days

- Quickest to 15 goals  12 games

- Youngest to 20 goals  20 years, 231 days

- Quickest to 20 goals  14 games

- Youngest to 25 goals  22 years, 47 days

- Quickest to 25 goals  20 games

- Youngest to 30 goals  22 years, 236 days

- Quickest to 30 goals  25 games

- Only player to score first-half hat-trick on competition debut

- Only player to score multiple times in four consecutive appearances

- Only player to score more than one goal on competition debut for three different clubs

Haaland breaking Champions League records

19:21 , Mike Jones

Erling Haaland has scored 34 goals in just 26 Champions League appearances, rewriting the record books in the process.

Still just 22 and in only his fourth campaign in the competition, the Norway striker is already 19th in the list of all-time Champions League scorers and having gone above the likes of Samuel Etoo, Antoine Griezmann, Kaka and Wayne Rooney.

He is now within sight of Edinson Cavani, Sergio Aguero and Alessandro Del Piero.

'We need a miracle  Thomas Tuchel knows Bayern have a mountain to climb

19:18 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich boss Thomas Tuchel concedes his side need a miracle to overcome Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-finals.

The German giants trail 3-0 on aggregate heading into the second leg of their last-eight tie at the Allianz Arena on Wednesday. Tuchel believes his side are capable of turning the tie around but knows it is a tall order.

The former Chelsea manager said: We need a wonder, a miracle. I dont know if talking about a 4-0 or 5-1 is appropriate  you need to be realistic  but we believe in ourselves.

We need a miracle  Thomas Tuchel knows Bayern have a mountain to climb

Man City are focused says Guardiola

19:13 , Mike Jones

With such a big lead in the tie (3-0 on aggregate) there is the possibility that Manchester City just rest on their laurels and try to coast through the game in Germany.

Pep Guardiola assures that this wont be the case.

"We are focused on what we have to do to try to control the game. he said, We are against one of the most prestigious teams in this competition.

It is 11 against 11 and we will try to do better than the opponent in this specific game. It would be a mistake to focus on the past."

More from Tuchel

19:08 , Mike Jones

"We will see if there are such things as miracles. I would like to accept the challenge. But we need a good mix of realism and belief that anything is possible if we play at our absolute best. It is our task to ignite a spark among the crowd."

(AFP via Getty Images)

Bayern Munich vs Man City

19:03 , Mike Jones

Bayern have won 16 of their last 18 home matches in the Uefa Champions League. The Allianz Arena is a fortress in this competition but is it strong enough to muster a small football miracle?

Of the last four quarter-final matches played here, Bayern have drawn two and lost two so the signs arent looking good.

What happened in the first leg?

18:58 , Mike Jones

Man City put in a scintillating performance to beat Bayern 3-0 in the first leg at the Etihad Stadium.

Goals from Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Erling Haaland put Pep Guardiolas side in control but Bayern harbour hopes of mounting a dramatic comeback.

With their passionate home fans behind anything is possible for the Bundesliga champions.

Pre-match thought from Tuchel

18:53 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich head coach, Thomas Tuchel, says there is belief that his side can upset the odds this evening but that his players will need the help of the home crowd to do so.

"We believe in ourselves, and believe we can win this game. he said, If we can win both halves then anything can happen, and we know that.

We are obliged to get the crowd going, give them a spark and deliver a top performance. If we are smart in the duels and present, we can make special things happen, and well go from there."

Man City submit plans to expand Etihad Stadium capacity, add hotel and museum

18:48 , Mike Jones

Manchester City have submitted a planning application to expand the capacity of the Etihad Stadium to more than 60,000 while adding a hotel, museum and other facilities.

The plans will add around 7,000 new seats to the stadium by expanding the north stand with a larger, single upper tier, following a different design to the expansion of the south stand which opened in 2015.

Last week, the Etihad was included on the list of 10 stadia which would host matches if the UK and Irelands joint bid for organising Euro 2028 is successful, with the bid quoting a planned new capacity of 61,000.

The plans also include a new covered fan zone, integrated into the stadium behind the north stand, a new club shop, museum and 400-bed hotel, which would also attract business from the new 23,500-capacity Co-op Live Arena which is already under construction next to the stadium.

Man City submit plans to expand Etihad Stadium capacity, add hotel and museum

Bayern Munich vs Man City team changes

18:43 , Mike Jones

Thomas Tuchel sticks with the same 4-2-3-1 formation that he used at the Etihad Stadium but replaces two of his starters.

Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo comes in to replace Alphonso Davies at left-back whilst Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting starts up top ahead of Serge Gnabry.

Unsurprisingly Pep Guardiola names an unchanged Manchester City team to the one that won 3-0 last time out in the Champions League.

Bayern Munich vs Man City line-ups

18:41 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich XI: Sommer; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Cancelo; Kimmich, Goretzka; Coman, Musiala, Sane; Choupo-Moting

Manchester City XI: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Gundogan, Grealish; Haaland

   



XI | Ederson, Stones, Akanji, Dias, Ake, Rodrigo, De Bruyne, Gundogan (C), Bernardo, Grealish, Haaland



SUBS | Ortega Moreno, Carson, Walker, Phillips, Laporte, Alvarez, Gomez, Mahrez, Perrone, Foden, Palmer, Lewis#ManCity pic.twitter.com/ja4yFMF6rU  Manchester City (@ManCity) April 19, 2023

Bayern Munich are confident of a comeback

18:40 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich are looking back on their famous comeback victories for inspiration against Manchester City this evening. They hope to emulate those performances and cause a big upset when Pep Guardiolas men arrive at the Allianz Arena.

Guardiola on mindset to beat Bayern

18:35 , Mike Jones

Ive been here at Bayern Munich and I know the mentality of this club, Pep Guardiola said when explaining why Manchester City have not already won the tie despite their three goal lead.

Its everywhere, its in the skin. I know they believe they can do it. We believe too but when youre in these type of clubs and well try to build this feeling that whatever happens, we can do it like the history they have in the competition, were growing that.

It is what it is. This is an opportunity to prove ourselves versus one of the best in Europe and well try to impose our game.

The mindset is to try and win the game. The approach is the same, come here knowing the quality they have. We just talk about the game we have to play, not the result one week ago or the consequences or future, its what you have to do in the game.

Focus on every single action what you have to do to get the best result and try to reach the semi-final.

Phillips on reaching Champions League semi-finals

18:30 , Mike Jones

Manchester City midfielder Kalvin Phillips gave his thoughts on tonights encounter and explained where he feels the game at the Etihad was won.

Its always going to be a tough game away. he said, The first 60 minutes at our place was a very close game.

Once we got the second it opened them up a little bit. We know how good they are and know theyre not going to lie down for us, even though were 3-0 up.

Foden to start from bench

18:25 , Mike Jones

Phil Foden has been missing in action since mid-March after undergoing surgery for appendicitis. He returned to training for Manchester City earlier this week and travelled with the squad to Germany to take on Bayern Munich tonight.

Whether Foden plays a part in tonights game is still to be determined but manager Pep Guardiola says that he will at least have a place on the bench.

Were delighted (he is back) Guardiola said at his pre-match press conference yesterday. Definitely its good news for us. He has trained just once yesterday but we decided he would travel with us and be on the bench.

(How minutes he is capable of) I dont know. 90 for sure no. But his physicality is special.

He is a special player who doesnt need a lot of training sessions to be fit. But hes important - not just for tomorrow, but for the tight schedule we have ahead of us.

Pep Guardiola returns to the place where his Champions League nightmares began

18:20 , Mike Jones

Pep Guardiola is a failure. By his own admission, anyway. The Manchester City manager has started to take a criticism levelled at him  or, more accurately, his Champions League record  and adopt it, while mocking it. Sometimes there can be a surreal element to Guardiolas rationale: he deemed himself a failure last month on the grounds that Julia Roberts preferred to watch Manchester United.

By any objective criteria, Guardiola is a huge success. But for a perfectionist like the Catalan, there may be a feeling of failure about his European record since 2011. When he claims, as he has, that he would rather win the Premier League or that the domestic division is harder to win, it only serves to underline that European glory is the prize he wants most.

A return to the Allianz Arena should secure him a 10th Champions League semi-final as a manager; it may also remind him of the start of a sequence. If it is a dozen years since Guardiolas Barcelona won the 2011 final in such a manner to suggest they were the finest team ever, Roberto Di Matteo has lifted the Champions League more recently than Guardiola.

This is his 10th campaign since leaving his boyhood club: whether with Bayern Munich or City, his European runs have ended in disappointment. His case to be deemed the greatest manager ever is weakened, despite the prospect of an 11th league title in 14 seasons, without conquering Europe again. He is aware that he has not won the Champions League without Lionel Messi: that Messi has triumphed in both the Champions League and the World Cup without Guardiola embellishes his claim to be the outstanding footballer in history.

Pep Guardiola returns to the place where his Champions League nightmares began

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City prediction

18:15 , Mike Jones

This should be a close affair with Bayern Munich showing more of their attacking attributes than they did a week ago. Man City are likely to match them stride for stride though and should go through after securing a draw away from home.

Bayern Munich 2-2 Manchester City (2-5 agg.)

Bayern Munich vs Man City predicted line-ups

18:10 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich XI: Sommer; Pavard, Upamecano, De Ligt, Davies; Kimmich, Goretzka; Sane, Musiala, Coman; Mane.

Manchester City XI: Ederson; Akanji, Dias, Ake; Stones, Rodri; Silva, Gundogan, De Bruyne, Grealish; Haaland.

What is the early team news?

18:05 , Mike Jones

A tough night in Manchester on the pitch last week saw frustrations boil over off it for Bayern Munich, with Sadio Mane and Leroy Sane involved in a dressing room confrontation. That led to Manes exclusion from the matchday squad against Hoffenheim, but the forward is set to return for the second leg. He could be joined by Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting, who is back in training after a knee injury.

Phil Foden continues to recover after having his appendix removed, but has been back in Manchester City training this week. Pep Guardiola has settled on a favoured system of late, with John Stones likely to continue moving into midfield when his side have the ball.

How to watch Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

18:00 , Mike Jones

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City is due to kick off at 8pm BST on Wednesday 19 April at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the match live on BT Sport 1, with coverage from 7pm BST. Subscribers can stream the second leg via the BT Sport app or online player.

Bayern Munich vs Manchester City

16:02 , Mike Jones

Hello and welcome to The Independents coverage of this evenings Champions League quarter-final between Bayern Munich and Manchester City.

Pep Guardiolas men lead 3-0 on aggregate after a stellar performance at the Etihad Stadium and will be hoping to nullify Bayerns attacking qualities in order to progress through to the final four.

For their part, the Bundesliga champions will be hoping that home advantage plays in their favour as they hunt for an early goal to turn around their fortunes.

City are the big favourites but whoever progresses will face Real Madrid in the semi-finals after Carlo Ancelottis men defeated Chelsea last night.

At the least this match will be an entertaining encounter but can City see off Bayern and keep their hopes of winning the Champions League alive?
When he attended Johnson C. Smith University as a music business student in the late 1970s, Anthony Lindsey regularly walked a mile-long section of Beatties Ford Road.

These days when he drives down that northwest Charlotte corridor, it doesnt seem like much has changed. He passes by many of the same residential homes and commercial properties. Some have shuttered; a couple other lots are vacant.

There hasnt been much in the way of new development, either from the city or private businesses. Lindsey intends to change that through his work as a developer.

A three-story, 15,000-square-foot commercial building hes pushing through a rezoning would be the first ground-up office project along a three-mile stretch of Beatties Ford Road in nearly three decades, Lindsey believes.

The project, Lindsey hopes, will bring back professional services to an area thats badly in need of them. Topping that list: medical services that most residents have to travel far to find today.

Over the last 40 years weve had so many conversations, so many plans, so many charrettes and neighborhood meetings, Lindsey said. There have been so many discussions around what needs to happen on the corridor and very little has happened.

While the zoning still needs City Council approval, likely next month, Lindsey sees it signaling to other developers and investors that Beatties Ford Road is a good place to do business.

Its also home to a number of Charlottes Black neighborhoods, including Washington Heights and Biddleville.

Lindseys project comes as a number of other developers have been redeveloping older properties, breathing new life into the corridors small business scene. Two sites that stand out are anchored by national banks but also local Black-owned businesses like Archive Coffee.

It also comes as the city invests millions of dollars through the Corridors of Opportunity program, including an affordable housing project and improving sidewalks, street crossings and traffic signals. The program is intended to revitalize six key areas across Charlotte with investment in transportation and safety, among other efforts.

Story continues

There have been some additional minor projects too, like putting new lighting on a water tower and on a bridge underpass, plus more planting strips. The biggest project came in the form of the Gold Line streetcar that runs from east Charlotte to an intersection just past JCSU.

Any time you put public investment first  infrastructure, sidewalks, curb, gutters, streetcar  private investment tends to follow, said City Councilman Malcolm Graham, whose district includes the Beatties Ford Road corridor.

This vacant half-acre lot at Beatties Ford Road and Gilbert Street used to be home to the Dalebrook Professional Center. The office building was home to a number of Black doctors, pharmacists and beauticians before it was tore down.

Paying homage, looking forward

More of that private investment is either underway or coming.

A developer from California purchased the former Excelsior Club building in 2019 with plans to redevelop the site. Developers Chris Dennis and Dianna Ward purchased commercial properties and redeveloped them for new businesses, many of them minority-owned. Another developer has plans to bring a new bank branch to a parcel with a shuttered business.

The latest project from Lindsey sits on a half-acre vacant lot at the corner of Beatties Ford Road and Gilbert Street. Its fenced off with grass growing up through an old building foundation.

Lindseys plan calls for about 4,000 square feet of office on each of the three floors, plus a nearly 3,000-square-foot rooftop terrace.

He wants to bring more maternal health care to the corridor, calling it a pressing need in the Black community.

Black women are three times more likely to die from a pregnancy-related cause than White women, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Theres also a need for eye doctors, obstetricians and gynecologists. Lindsey sees his building as helping close the gap for such services.

In that way, the proposed building is paying homage to what once stood on the lot.

The Dalebrook Professional Center was built in 1963. It was founded by Dr. Roy Wynn, Charlottes first Black ophthalmologist, and became home to many Black professionals like doctors, dentists, pharmacists and beauticians, according to a report from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Historic Landmarks Commission.

The building was torn down in 2016.

The Dalebrook Professional Center was built in 1963 on Beatties Ford Road, and was home to a number of Black doctors, dentists, pharmacists and beauticians. It was torn down in 2016.

The proposed building will have a more modern look. The design and size of the building are intentional, too, Lindsey said.

He and the property owners, Roger and Claudette Parham, want to demonstrate that such projects can be successful in this part of Charlotte. That success is both in terms of bringing services to the community and turning a profit.

Lindsey wonders why there hasnt been a major office building here  its relatively close to uptown and near a major interstate exchange.

The surrounding areas economics are part of the equation, Lindsey said. Beatties Ford Road generally falls within whats known as Charlottes crescent of lower-income neighborhoods to the north, east and west of uptown. Theres a wedge of more affluent neighborhoods to the south.

Developers are driven by profit as much as they are by mission and purpose, Lindsey said.

But people in this part of town shop along South and East boulevards or in SouthPark and Northlake Mall. Why wouldnt they spend that same money in Beatties Ford Road if there were more goods and services?

Part of the problem has been theres a perception that the underlying economics in this market doesnt sustain the kind of development that East Boulevard, South Boulevard would support, Lindsey said. We believe part of that is because nobodys brought it here.

Theres not been a serious test to know whether thats true.

A rendering shows a three-story building thats been propsed at Beatties Ford Road and Gilbert Street. The developer wants to bring more professional services like doctors back to the corridor.

This neighborhood shaped me

There are others who have believed in the potential of the corridor for years.

Rodney Faulkner is one of them. He works for Boundary Street Advisors, a Black-owned commercial real estate firm. Before he joined the firm, he worked as a broker on a deal in 2011 that brought a Family Dollar store to Beatties Ford Road and Lasalle Street.

It was the first ground-up commercial development in years.

Part of the challenge of developing in the corridor is working with relatively smaller lot sizes compared to other parts of town. Developers either need to work with what they have or assemble several lots together for a project, Faulkner said.

Faulkner believes there are plenty of good opportunities up and down Beatties Ford Road for people to redevelop a single property.

You take what you have and make the best use of that lot, and still affect the neighborhood in a positive way, Faulkner said.

He envisions the corridors vacant buildings converted into restaurants like on East Boulevard.

He purchased a vacant building not far from Lindseys project that will be torn down for a new Fifth Third Bank branch.

His work along the corridor is an opportunity to give back. Faulkner grew up in a neighborhood off Beatties Ford Road. He wants to see less indecision with properties by property owners and more boldness.

This neighborhood raised me, he said. It shaped who I am.

A vacant building along Beatties Ford Road is planned to be knocked down for a Fifth Third Bank branch location.

City investment comes to corridor

The city of Charlotte has earmarked a number of investments along Beatties Ford Road the past few years.

It started with Five Points Plaza, which opened last March near Johnson C. Smith University. The $5.5 million plaza is seen as the gateway to the Historic West End, a predominantly African American part of Charlotte.

The plaza is owned and maintained by the city. It has seating, public Wi-Fi, a water splash pad and amphitheater for community events.

Overall, the city has invested about $12.5 million in the Beatties Ford Road corridor, including infrastructure improvements and housing, said Monica Holmes, executive manager of the Corridors of Opportunity program.

One of those programs includes spending $860,000 for improved bike infrastructure along a road that runs parallel to the busier, well-trafficked Beatties Ford Road.

The idea is to give people safer routes along Beatties Ford Road, which has two interstates cutting through it.

The fact there are a number of smaller parcels on Beatties Ford Road can be good for the community, Holmes said. That offers opportunity for incremental development, meaning more chances for a small business to thrive or a local developer to work on a project.

A vacant lot along Beatties Ford Road, not far from Johnson C. Smith University.

Avoiding displacement

Lindsey wants to make sure the injection of investment doesnt negatively impact the existing businesses in the area.

The community has shared concerns about the level of new investment, fearing impacts like displacement.

Lindsey believes the corridor needs to become more dense and urban feeling. But the development needs to have a mix of uses and serve tenants and residents from a mix of incomes.

His project might not answer all the areas problems. But he hopes there will be more projects like his to serve a variety of community needs.
An Australian businessman faces charges of accepting cash from suspected Chinese intelligence agents in exchange for defense and security secrets.

Alexander Csergo, 55, was arrested on Friday while at the beachside town of Bondi. He stands accused of accepting cash for writing reports, which Australian federal police say contained information about Australian defense, economic and national security arrangements.

If found guilty, he faces up to 15 years in prison, the South China Morning Post reported. Csergo appeared in court via video link from the high-security prison where he remains in custody.

Defense barrister Bernard Collaery told the court that his client only carried "largely" open-source documents, with authorities from the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Security Intelligence Organization (ASIO) confirming that all work on his laptop and WeChat messages were publicly available, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) reported.

WHITE HOUSE DODGES ON WHEN BIDEN WILL CONFRONT XI JINPING OVER ALLEGED SECRET POLICE STATIONS, SPY BALLOONS

Parramatta Children's Court, where Alexander Csergo appeared by video link after being charged with foreign interference, in Parramatta, Australia, April 15, 2023.

"The fact is, as Australian businesspersons know, it's an authoritarian state," Collaery said during the bail application. "All roads lead to the state. If someone walks up to you in a bar, youre wary. Businessmen are."

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Magistrate Michael Barko, who rejected Csergos bail application, argued that if he described the facts of the case to "any lay person," they would "be highly suspicious about the conduct of the defendant, at the very least." He defended Csergo's right to try and make a "quick buck" and might have given him more benefit of the doubt if the man was an "ignorant traveler," but the businessman had lived in China since 2002.

UFO SENATE HEARING: PENTAGON OFFICIAL CONCERNED ABOUT CHINA AND RUSSIA'S ADVANCED TECH

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, left, President Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak hold a press conference after their meeting on the Australia-United Kingdom-U.S. (AUKUS) partnership, March 13, 2023, in San Diego, California.

Csergo, who worked in data marketing, testified that he met with two people, identified as "Ken" and "Evelyn," who reached out to him via LinkedIn. He would meet them in Shanghai cafes and restaurants that were largely empty, and he suspected that the pair had the locations "cleared out" ahead of their rendezvous.

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He suspected that they were agents of Chinas Ministry of State Security. The pair allegedly asked him to write reports about Australias defense technology partnership with the U.S. and Britain known as AUKUS, its diplomatic partnership known as the Quad, and mining operations.

CHINA PREPARING SUPERSONIC SPY DRONE UNIT, LEAKED US MILITARY ASSESSMENT REPORTEDLY SAYS

A person runs into the water at Bondi Beach on Feb. 11, 2023, in Sydney, Australia.

Collaery argued that some of the practices the court claimed as part of its strong evidence had simple explanations: Cash payments, for instance, were common in China.

But the prosecution argued that Csergo acted in ways that had little clear explanation if he was indeed innocent, such as inviting "Ken" to visit Australia and not notifying Australian authorities of their activities.

Collaery said Csergo now had no intention of returning to China and instead planned to go after the Australian government for damages to his career.

Reuters contributed to this report.
remnants of fire at the Changfeng Hospital in Beijing Kevin Frayer / Stringer/ Getty Images

A Beijing hospital fire killed 29 people Tuesday, in what CNN calls the "deadliest fire to hit the Chinese capital in two decades." Details about the deadly blaze did not emerge until several hours later, "and even then, the details were slim as authorities kept a tight lid on details," CNN adds.

The fire was the most deadly in Beijing in recent history, "surpassing the toll from a fire in 2017 that killed 19 in a cramped two-story building in Daxing district in the capital's southern suburb," CNN explains. It is also "one of the most heavily censored incidents in recent years," CNN says, "a sign of the tightening controls on media in China under leader Xi Jinping, the country's most authoritarian leader in a generation."

Preliminary investigations show that the fire broke out in an inpatient building of Changfeng Hospital, and was caused by welding sparks that ignited flammable paint during interior renovation work, Zhao Yang, an official at Beijing's fire department, said on Wednesday. Officials said the majority of the people who died were elderly patients, along with a nurse, a medical assistant, and a patient's relative.

As news and images of the fire spread around social media, the Chinese state media remained silent for hours, "and censors appeared to scrub the internet of any mentions," CNN writes. Family members of patients at the Changfeng Hospital said they were kept in the dark as the incident unfolded. The Bejing Daily, the official newspaper of China's capital, published a "terse report" about the fire "more than 7 hours after the blaze was put out and over 5 hours after rescue efforts wrapped up," per CNN.

Though government censors "sought to quell public anger by restricting information on the internet in the initial hours after the fire," The New York Times says that censorship eventually relaxed. A Beijing public security official said authorities took a dozen people into custody on suspicion of liability and negligence, including the hospital's director, deputy director, and the head of the construction company.

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Twelve people have been detained by police for questioning after a hospital fire in Beijing killed at least 29, most of them patients.

The fire, among the deadliest in recent years, broke out in Changfeng Hospital at about 13:00 local time on Tuesday.

Angry and concerned relatives rushed to the hospital hours later, only learning of the fire from local news reports.

"Seven or eight hours have passed and I didn't even receive a call," one relative told China Youth Daily.

Many said they spent the night trying to locate loved ones. Those who were rescued have now been shifted to other hospitals for treatment.

Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, officials said a preliminary investigation showed that sparks generated during renovation works had ignited paint stored on site.

Among those detained are the director and deputy director of the hospital, as well as the head of the firm overseeing the renovation works.

Footage on social media showed patients jumping out of windows to flee as dense smoke billowed out of the building. A talking drone urged trapped patients to "stay calm and wait [to be] rescued". Some were seen balancing on external air conditioning units as they waited to be rescued.

Local media reported that firefighters evacuated about 70 people and put out the flames within an hour of arriving.

But relatives of those who were being treated at Changfeng were furious with the hospital management.

They said even eight hours later, hospital officials were unable to provide the names of those who had been injured or had died.

"Just tell me if the patient is dead or alive," a relative told local media. "How can the person just disappear out of thin air? Neither the nurses nor doctors picked up their phones. My elderly relative doesn't have a phone on him."

Reports suggest that most patients at the hospital were elderly, and some had undergone amputation surgeries, which made them less mobile.

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Chinese social media users also criticised the lack of reporting on the incident for most of Tuesday.

Eyewitness accounts started emerging in the early afternoon, but many of these posts were taken down, according to FreeWeibo, a platform that monitors content on microblogging site Weibo that has been censored or deleted.

"What's shocking is not only the loss of lives, but also the terrible silence of media outlets which were but spectators of the incident. The official announcements we read leave out the enormous grief caused by the disaster," wrote a Weibo user.

"The media used to serve a watchdog role, to point out social ills. But what about today? What is the media today?"
Its going to be a couple of years, but Caltrans plans to permanently close the Belmont Avenue on- and off-ramps for Highway 99 as part of a major rehabilitation project for the freeway in east-central Fresno.

But closing the Belmont ramps will also close one of the major routes for highway travelers  as well as residents who live west of the freeway  to access Fresnos popular Roeding Park and one of the citys most notable attractions, the Fresno Chaffee Zoo.

A schedule presented to the Fresno City Council this week indicates that the Belmont Avenue ramps to and from Highway 99, as well as the McKinley Avenue ramps about a mile to the north, will be closed in February 2026. In its place, the Olive Avenue interchange will be upgraded for improved traffic flow  and become the likely default route for traffic from Highway 99 to reach the park and the zoo.

Plans for the Olive Avenue interchange include traffic roundabouts on both the east and west sides of the freeway for drivers to get to the on- and off-ramps for Highway 99.

The Olive interchange and bridge over the freeway are planned as part of Stage 1 of Caltrans $400 million, 4 1/2-year project that will rehabilitate HIghway 99s pavement from Clinton Avenue at the north to El Dorado Avenue at the south. Its a stretch of just over three miles that will be reconstructed with more durable pavement and, eventually, additional lanes to widen the freeway to four lanes in each direction.

Other features of the project include replacing not only the Olive Avenue bridge over the highway, but also bridges at El Dorado Street and Belmont Avenue and a railroad bridge; widening undercrossing bridges at Nielsen and McKinley avenues; removing the Tielman Avenue bridge over the freeway; and a new sound wall to better shield Roeding Park from noise generated by traffic on the adjacent highway.

The Belmont and McKinley ramps are closing as part of the project to thin out the number of ramps that are crammed so close together on the freeway between Highway 180 and Clinton Avenue. Currently, the interchanges for Belmont, Olive, McKinley and Clinton avenues are each separated by intervals of just over a half mile, creating a jostling among drivers who are trying to make their way onto and off of the highway, particularly during peak commute periods.
From left: Alexandre, Frederic, and Jean Arnault, Helene Mercier, and Bernard, Delphine, and Antoine Arnault. DENIS CHARLET/AFP via Getty Images

Bernard Arnault is the billionaire behind LVMH and was recently crowned the world's richest man.

Arnault has five children who all work for different areas of the company.

Arnault reportedly hosts a monthly private lunch with his five children to discuss strategy, per WSJ.

Bernard Arnault  the world's richest man and the CEO of luxury behemoth LVMH  reportedly calls his five children into a monthly lunch at the private dining room in the company's global headquarters in Paris.

The purpose of the exactly 90-minute-long lunch is to drill his offspring on company strategy and manager performance across LVMH's more than 70 brands  unnamed sources familiar with the matter told The Wall Street Journal.

There has been much speculation as to which sibling is in the best position to take over from 74-year-old Arnault in the future  a family dynamic that draws strong parallels to HBO smash hit "Succession."

While all five children have roles across the LVMH brands, his eldest and only daughter, Delphine, was seen as the frontrunner by industry insiders after becoming CEO of Dior in January.

However, Sidney Toledano, the CEO of LVMH's fashion arm told The Journal that there is no guarantee that any of his children will succeed him.

"At no moment did he [Bernard Arnault] tell me, 'I must prepare my children for my succession," Toledano told The Journal.

But Arnault doesn't need to keep himself up at night worrying about sibling rivalry. Toledano told The Journal that Arnault taught kids to prize the company over personal disagreements from a young age.

"For now, they all get on great," he said.

Still, Arnault is keeping a close eye on his children's development at the company. Toledano and Michael Burke, the former chief of LVMH's biggest brand, Louis Vuitton, have both played a part in mentoring his children, according to The Journal.

Toledano was often asked to evaluate their character traits and "there's a need for a little correction," he told The Journal.

Arnault overtook Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk to become the world's richest person this year. He is currently worth over $208 billion. The majority of his wealth derives from a 97.5% stake in Christian Dior's holding company, which controls 41.4% of LVMH  which owns fashion brands including Louis Vuitton, Tiffany & Co., and TAG Heuer

Read the original article on Business Insider
Unlike the iOS ecosystem, where Apple is the only game in town, one of the best things about the Android phone market is the wide range of different devices and manufacturers to choose from. That said, when it actually comes time to upgrade, that wealth of options can make it a bit more difficult to choose the right handset for you. If youre looking for a new phone and dont know where to start, weve got you covered with a selection of the best Android phones for every budget.

What to look for in a new Android phone

Performance

When it comes to picking our favorite Android phones, the main things we look for are pretty straightforward: good performance (both compute and AI), a nice display, solid design, sharp cameras, long battery life and a significant commitment to ongoing software support. For performance, not only do we look at benchmarks and other metrics, but we also evaluate phones based on responsiveness. Regardless of whether youre reading, browsing social media or playing a game, no one wants a device that feels sluggish.

Display

While the specs haven't changed much from last year, the Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra's 6.8-inch 120Hz AMOLED display is still easily one of the best smartphone screens on the market.

When it comes to displays, we generally prefer OLED panels that can produce rich, saturated colors with at least 600 nits of brightness, though many of our top mid-range and high-end phones can hit 1,000 nits or more. And more recently, most of our favorite devices also support screens with fast refresh rates of 90Hz or 120Hz, which adds an extra level of smoothness and fluidity.

Design

Now we will admit there is a bit of subjectivity when deciding which phones look the best, but there are other design aspects like dust and water resistance or screen durability that can make a big difference to long-term survival. Its also important to consider things like support for wireless charging, power sharing (aka reverse wireless charging) and UWB connectivity, which can have an impact on how your phone interacts with your other devices.

Cameras

Obviously, for photos were looking for sharp, colorful shots in both bright and low-light conditions. And we want video clips with high dynamic range, rich audio and smooth image stabilization. Extra cameras for ultra-wide and zoom lenses are a plus. Its also important to consider features like dedicated night modes, support for various video recording resolutions, and additional photo modes like timelapse, slow motion and more.

Battery and software

Finally, in terms of battery life, were looking for all-day longevity on devices that also delivered great results on our local video rundown test (at least 16 hours on a charge, but more is obviously better). Wireless charging capabilities have become almost ubiquitous over the past few years, and most of our top picks have this extra perk. Finally, with people holding onto their phones longer than ever, we like to see companies commit to at least three years of software support and regular security patches.

The Best Android Phones

Best Android phone overall: Google Pixel 7 Pro

Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget Best Android phone overall Google Pixel 7 Pro The Pixel 7 Pro and the standard Pixel 7 might not be the absolute fastest phones on the market, but what they lack in pure performance they make up for with thoughtful software. $795 at Amazon$899 at Target

The Pixel 7 Pro and the standard Pixel 7 might not be the absolute fastest phones on the market, but what they lack in pure performance they make up for with thoughtful software. Thanks to Googles Tensor G2 chip, the Pixel 7 series features powerful AI and machine learning capabilities that support things like on-device language recognition and real-time translation. You also get gorgeous OLED displays and the best overall camera quality of any smartphone available today. And with the standard Pixel 7 starting at just $600, Googles latest flagship is an incredible value too. The main differences between the two are that the Pixel 7 Pro has a larger 6.7-inch screen and features a third rear camera with a 5x optical zoom. But regardless of whether you prefer a smaller or larger device, you cant really go wrong with either the Pixel 7 or Pixel 7 Pro.

Read our Full Review of the Google Pixel 7 Pro

Best mid-range Android phone: OnePlus 11

Photo by Mat Smith / Engadget Best mid-range Android phone OnePlus 11 For those who want a phone with a big screen, solid cameras and great performance, but for less than a traditional flagship, the OnePlus 11 strikes a good balance between budget phones and more premium devices. $700 at Amazon$700 at OnePlus

For those who want a phone with a big screen, solid cameras and great performance, but for less than a traditional flagship, the OnePlus 11 strikes a good balance between budget phones and more premium devices. In a lot of ways, the OnePlus 11 is like a more affordable Galaxy S23+. Not only do you get a similar 6.7-inch 120Hz display, it also features a speedy Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 chip and a big 5,000 mAh battery. Meanwhile, thanks to OnePlus blazing 100-watt wired charging, it juices up faster than any phone from Google or Samsung. And on the camera side, the companys ongoing partnership with Hasselblad has resulted in notable improvements in image quality.

The main shortcomings of the OP11 are that its IP64 rating for dust and water resistance falls short of what you get from competing devices, and the cameras 2x optical zoom lens feels a bit on the short side. But with OnePlus adding wider carrier compatibility and committing four years of OS upgrades and five years of security patches, the OP11 is a well-equipped option that costs significantly less than its rivals.

Read our Full Review of OnePlus11

Best budget Android phone: Google Pixel 6a

Photo by Cherlynn Low / Engadget Best budget Android phone Google Pixel 6a If you just want a simple phone for a good price, the Pixel 6a cant be beat. Starting at less than $500, you get a vibrant 6.1-inch OLED and Googles Tensor chip along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. $329 at Amazon$449 at Target

If you just want a simple phone for a good price, the Pixel 6a cant be beat. Starting at just $449, you get a vibrant 6.1-inch OLED and Googles Tensor chip along with 6GB of RAM and 128GB of storage. But the thing that separates the Pixel 6a from other budget phones are its cameras which, thanks to Googles superior image processing, produce pictures that are sharper and more accurate than competitors twice its price. Meanwhile, Googles commitment to software updates means you should get at least three years of OS support and five years of security patches. And thanks to all of the Pixel-specific software features like Call Screener, Hold For Me and the Pixel Recorder app, you can get a very affordable device with a ton of smarts.

Read our Full Review of Google Pixel 6a

Best premium Android phone: Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Photo by Sam Rutherford / Engadget Best premium Android phone Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra The Galaxy S23 Ultra may be very expensive, but it has practically everything you could ever want or need in a smartphone. $1,000 at Amazon$1,200 at Samsung

Starting at $1,200, the Galaxy S23 Ultra is very expensive, but it has practically everything you could ever want or need in a smartphone. It has a huge 6.8-inch OLED display with a 120Hz adaptive refresh rate, a total of five cameras (main, ultra-wide, 3x zoom, 10x zoom and a selfie shooter) and a built-in S Pen for drawing and note-taking. It also features a huge 5,000 mAh battery that delivers some of the longest runtime weve seen on any phone. And with Samsungs renewed commitment to software support, you can expect a minimum of four major OS upgrades and five years of regular security patches.

Read our Full Review of Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra

Best foldable Android phone: Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4

While the Galaxy Z Flip 4 is arguably the most stylish and compact phone on the market, the bigger and more expensive Z Fold 4 is like three devices in one, which makes it a unicorn among mobile devices. When you just need to respond to a text or look up an address quickly, its 6.2-inch exterior cover screen makes that a cinch. But when you want to sit down to watch a movie or play a game, you can open up the Fold to reveal a stunning 7.8-inch flexible display. Its compact when you need it to be, while providing an immersive viewing experience when you dont. And thanks to support for stylus input, you even can use one of Samsungs S Pens designed specifically for the Fold to quickly draw or jot down a note. On top of all that, its OLED display makes the Z Fold 4 great for reading books and comics. And unlike practically any other non-Samsung foldable, the Fold also has an IP68 rating for dust and water resistance. In a lot of ways, this thing is the Swiss Army knife of phones. Sure, its a bit bulky, and at $1,800 its not what anyone would call affordable. But its ability to serve as a phone, a tablet, an e-reader and more depending on the situation puts the Z Fold 4 in a category of its own.

Read our Full Review of Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4
From a Tex-Mex haven to a city with an unbeatable food truck scene, our readers voted these the best cities in the U.S. for food in our Global Tastemakers Awards.

Alexandr Spatari / Getty Images

Global Tastemakers is our first-ever reader's choice awards, celebrating the best culinary destinations in the U.S. and abroad. F&W readers voted based on travel completed within the past three years, on categories including restaurants and bars, cities, hotels, airports, airlines, and cruises. Due to the limitations of pandemic travel, this year's Global Tastemakers winners reflect a smaller portion of the globe. In many categories, we're including an editor's pick to shout out some more culinary destinations in places you can't miss. See the full list of winners at foodandwine.com/globaltastemakers.

A good meal is a powerful motivator  it can get us through the day, be an act of love, and inspire an entire vacation. There are some cities that stand out for their culinary scenes, whether it's an especially creative community of chefs or a regional ingredient you can't find anywhere else.

This year, our readers voted on the destinations around the United States that serve up the best food and drinks. Whether it's a city that allows you to eat your way around the globe in a single afternoon or a place that's a bit more focused on its local dishes, the winners showcase a range that celebrates the people (and their roots) living in these communities.

Ahead, we broke down the 10 best cities around the country for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and everything in between, as voted by the people who love them most.



New York

Danita Delimont / Shutterstock

You can't walk a block without passing at least three restaurants in New York City, no matter which borough you're in. The city's diverse population is directly manifested in its food scene. What makes New York City such a great food city is its range (for all budgets). In one afternoon, you can snack on dumplings from Nom Wah Tea Parlor, get lost in an adobada taco (or two) at Los Tacos No. 1, and nibble on a pastry from Frenchette Bakery. Alternatively, load up on reservations at the city's buzziest tables: Dame, Gage & Tollner, Cote, or Dhamaka. You can find a $10 meal that's just as unforgettable as a $200 dinner, and that alone deserves a trophy.

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New Orleans

Lauri Patterson / Getty Images

Unlike New York City, New Orleans is known for a suite of iconic dishes. Gumbo, po'boys, red beans and rice, beignets, sno-balls  the must-have eats of the city are nostalgic, fueled by Cajun, Creole, and soul food spirit. All dinner reservations aside, the energy surrounding New Orleans is the perfect digestif: Every meal should be followed up with a walk along the city's buzzy streets, lined with live music spilling out of venues. If you're looking for some recommendations, check out 2022 F&W Best New Chef Ana Castro's guide to the best eats in the city  and don't miss a visit to her spot, Lengua Madre.

San Francisco

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We can thank San Francisco for many of our favorite things: sourdough bread, the Impossible burger, and pioneering the farm-to-table movement. But with more than 50 Michelin-star restaurants and deep culinary roots representing cultures from around the globe, the city hits a delicious note between "historic" and "trending." San Fransico is surrounded by world-renowned wineries dotted in the hills of Napa Valley and Sonoma, and the dedication to the craft shines on menus and in wine bars across the Bay Area. And you're never too far from the oldest Chinatown neighborhood in the United States, which is home to Grant Avenue, the beating heart of this community. Do yourself a favor and spend an entire day popping in and out of restaurants, tea shops, herbalists, and karaoke bars.

Los Angeles

Carl Larson Photography / Getty Images

Los Angeles is a city to see and be seen  and some of the most popular venues for doing so are the city's restaurants, bars, and cafes. You never know when you're going to run into a pop-up led by a famous chef, which is part of the city's unexpected and magical energy. From barbecue (a scene that's experienced a semi-recent boom in the area) and inventive food trucks to iconic taquerias like Mariscos Jalisco, there's variety and range outside the usual Hollywood hot spots. Looking for recs? Don't miss Found Oyster for the vibes, Horses for the cocktails, and Sapp Coffee Shop for boat noodles (according to 2022 F&W Best New Chef Justin Pichetrungsiread his full guide here).

Portland, Oregon

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From its wineries (the city sits in the meeting spot of the Willamette Valley and the Columbia River Gorge) to the food cart culture, Portland is a haven for food enthusiasts. The city is notably into vegan cuisine and often sets the tone for trends that spread across the country. The surrounding Willamette Valley offers fresher-than-fresh produce (thanks to its decreased pollution compared to other food cities in the U.S.), much of which can be purchased at the many farmer's markets around town. But don't be fooled: There are world-class restaurants and wineries to be experienced: Adelsheim Vineyard, The Portland Mercado (a hub for Latino food and culture), Mama Bird for the fan-favorite grilled chicken, and Carlton Winemakers Studio are all great places to start.

Chicago

The Washington Post / Getty Images

There's a lot to eat in the Windy City, not even including the hot dogs and deep-dish pizza Chicago is known for. The Midwest mindset means that restaurants, bars, and cafes are warm and welcoming  more often than not, giving off the feeling that you've just walked into a spot a friend owns. Communities of immigrants pepper the city's 77 neighborhoods, offering unforgettable no-frills meals spanning the globe. Don't miss Alinea for the tasting menu, Mako for omakase, Dovetail Brewery for a flight, and George's Deep Dish for a pie  and don't skip at least one shot of Malort at a dive bar.

Charleston

Jacob Kupferman / Getty Images

It's easy to fixate on Charleston's seafood  and you certainly should spend some time doing that  but there are also a lot of dining experiences that make the most of the city's scenery (proof: one, in particular, was named the most popular food experience in the world by TripAdvisor in 2021). It's easy to have the best day ever, wandering from the coffee shop (check out The Daily) to brunch (Callie's Hot Little Biscuit) to a wine bar (we recommend Graft Wine Shop & Wine Bar) to your dinner reservation (Renzo). And make a few pit stops for an oyster happy hour or two.

Miami

Alexandr Spatari / Getty Images

When we asked local chefs for their favorite Miami restaurants, the variety of answers was a testament to the many hats this town wears: Catalan cuisine at Niu Kitchen, seafood at Joe's Stone Crab, Chinese dishes at Hales Blackbrick, sushi at Pubbelly, Cuban fare at Ariete, and Latin-American flavors at Amara at Paraiso. Parties never quite end in Miami, and dinner can quickly turn into an hours-long experience of making friends and post-dinner drinks at one of the many late-night bars.

San Diego

Dave Toussaint / Getty Images

San Diego hasn't always been known for its food scene, and that's why we're so excited to see it chosen in this year's awards. Many of the city's hottest restaurants have experienced an evolution in the scene  Matsu, a modern Japanese joint from Chef William Eick, is a great example, as it was originally a pop-up before opening its doors in the Tremont District. San Diego is also becoming a hub of international chains making their first appearance in the States, like Jomaru Korean Hot Pot. There's also fine dining to experience, from the Michelin-starred Addison to the speakeasy vibes of Raised By Wolves.

Austin

Jeremy Woodhouse / Getty Images

There is so much to love about Austin, and the votes rolled in for this Tex-Mex paradise. While there are plenty of places where you can surround yourself with options, there are also establishments paying homage to the rich roots of a single ingredient  like Suerte's dedication to dishes incorporating masa. The attention to detail in Austin is hard to miss, rivaled only by the passion of local chefs and eaters. Don't miss out on barbecue food trucks, mural-covered dive bars, and the local beer. Make time for Live Oak Brewing Company, Meanwhile Beer, and Oddwood Brewing (where you can also order a pub-style pizza).

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a Trader Joe's storefront

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Getting bored of drinking the same cup of coffee every single morning? There's a flavor at Trader Joe's that could completely change your coffee game.

In the most recent episode of the Inside Trader Joe's podcast, host and Trader Joe's vice president of marketing Tara Miller sat down with Trader Joe's crew member Rashinda Harris, who is the category manager for coffee, tea and beverages at the chain.

After talking about coffee supply and demand and how Harris locates the best quality beans for the brand, Miller asked the question that we all were waiting for: What's the coffee expert's favorite coffee product?

Related: I Tried Every Salad Kit at My Trader Joe'sThis Was My Favorite

"Ethiopian Blend is my favorite flavor," Harris said, specifying that she prefers drip coffee or to make her own reusable pods.

The Trader Joe's Ethiopia Small Lot Coffee Bale Mountain medium roast has listed tasting notes of cocoa nibs, strawberry and cinnamon, so we can definitely see why it's a favorite. Made with 100% Arabica whole-bean coffee, the beans are hand-picked by farmers in central Ethiopia and are sun-dried on bamboo racks, giving the coffee a sweet and fruity flavor.

Unfortunately, Harris' favorite coffee isn't available in stores anymore. Since coffee is a crop, Harris explains that the store has to rotate through products depending on what's available. Luckily, you can find a similar version, Trader Joe's Organic Fair Trade Shade Grown Ethiopian Whole Bean Coffee, on Amazon. The medium dark roast is noted to have a floral aroma and is also made with Arabica whole-bean coffee.

It's always rewarding to make your own coffee in the morning. Want to try other coffee flavors and blends at Trader Joe's? Here's a few other products that we recommend:

And if you're looking to jazz up your typical morning mug, try out these healthy coffee and tea recipes you should be making instead of buying.

Up next: Should You Drink Coffee on an Empty Stomach?
What do you do when you have to come to the Providence area for work?

You eat Italian food.

Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik was in Rhode Island this week for a speaking event at the Bryant University campus. While in the state, she stopped by Joe Marzilli's Old Canteen Italian Restaurant for a bite to eat.

"Cute pic of me in Federal Hill in front of the Old Canteen, best Italian food I think Ive ever had!" she posted on Facebook.

Joe Marzilli's Old Canteen, 120 Atwells Ave., is one of the cornerstone restaurants in Federal Hill, located right by the gateway arch. They claim to be the oldest family-owned Italian restaurant in the state, having been in business since 1956, and serve classic Italian food.

Where to get Italian food in RI: From Federal Hill to South County, the best Italian restaurants

The "Big Bang Theory" and "Blossom" star visited the Ocean State to do a fireside chat at the Bryant campus with Blossom creator and Rhode Island native Don Reo on April 17. The chat was closed to the public.

Why is it called Federal Hill? There was almost bloodshed

Her fellow "Jeopardy" host Ken Jennings, who is the highest-earning American game show contestant, having won money on five game shows, will be in Rhode Island next month. He's coming to give a talk and lead a Q&A on Artificial Intelligence on May 2 at the Bryant campus. That event will also be closed to the public.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Jeopardy host Mayim Bialik visits Federal Hill restaurant
President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden released their 2022 federal income tax return Tuesday, showing a gross income of $579,514  a decrease from their first year in the White House.

In 2021, the Bidens reported an income of $610,702. The couple's federal adjusted gross income for 2022 indicates a drop of roughly $31,000.

The couple last year paid $137,658 in federal income tax, a tax rate of 23.8%, compared with 25% in 2021. They also paid $29,023 in Delaware income tax and $3,139 in Virginia from Jill Bidens salary from teaching at Northern Virginia Community College.

Joe Biden makes a salary of $400,000 a year as president and is afforded an expense allowance of $50,000, an amount that is determined by Congress.

The Bidens reported contributions of $20,180 to 20 charities in 2022, offering their largest donation of $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation.

The couple also contributed to St. Joseph on the Brandywine, their home parish in Delaware, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, among others.

The White House said in a statement that this year's returns marked Bidens publicly sharing a total of 25 years of tax returns, releasing the most tax returns of any president while in office.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, also released their 2022 tax returns, reporting a federal adjusted gross income of $456,918, less than half of the $1.7 million they reported in 2021. The couple paid $93,570 in federal income tax, a tax rate of 20.5%.

They also paid $17,612 in California income tax, and Emhoff paid $9,697 in Washington, D.C., income tax. They contributed $23,000 to charity in 2022.

Every president since Richard Nixon has released his tax returns except Donald Trump, who fought for years to conceal his taxes from public view.

Six years of Trumps personal and business returns were released at the end of last year after they were obtained by the House Ways and Means Committee, which Democrats controlled at the time.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
President Biden will meet with a trio of Tennessee lawmakers who faced expulsion votes from the state legislature after they joined a protest demanding action on gun control on the House floor, the White House announced Wednesday.

Democratic Representatives Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson  collectively known as the "Tennessee Three"  joined a group of protesters at the state capitol following the shooting at a private school in Nashville that left three children and three adults dead.

"I'm pleased to share that the president looks forward to welcoming Tennessee state Representative Justin Jones, Justin Pearson and Gloria Johnson to the White House this coming Monday," said White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre at Wednesday's White House press briefing. Jean-Pierre said that the president had already spoken with the three lawmakers following their expulsion votes earlier this month.

From left, Rep. Justin Pearson, D-Memphis, Rep. Gloria Johnson, D-Knoxville, and expelled Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville raise their fists as they walk across Fisk University campus after hearing Vice President Kamala Harris speak, Friday, April 7, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Harris came to support the two Democratic lawmakers, who were expelled from the Tennessee State Legislature. / Credit: George Walker IV / AP

"The president thanked them for their leadership in seeking to ban assault weapons and standing up for democratic values, and the three lawmakers thanked the president for his leadership on gun safety and for spotlighting the undemocratic and unprecedented attacks on them in a Tennessee state House," she said.

On April 6, the Republican-controlled state House held separate votes on whether to expel the "Tennessee Three" from their elected positions. Jones and Pearson, both of whom are Black, were ousted from their roles, while Johnson, who is White, was allowed to remain in Tennessee General Assembly after surviving by a single vote.

Less than a week later, Jones and Pearson were both unanimously reinstated on an interim basis by the Nashville Metro Council and Shelby County Commission respectively. Special elections will be held to formally fill the seats for the remainder of the terms, and both Jones and Pearson have indicated they intend to run again.

Despite the contentious response to their public support of gun control, Jones and Pearson have continued to advocate for stricter gun laws in Tennessee, even bringing an infant-sized casket to the Tennessee Capitol on Wednesday.

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Rep. Justin Jones, D-Nashville, carries a casket through the halls of the state Capitol with Rev. William J. Barber, right, Monday, April 17, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. / Credit: George Walker IV / AP

"The president has been very clear about how important it is to take the next steps when it comes to gun reform, and he saw these three legislators as taking that next step when calling for our assault weapons ban," said Jean-Pierre, adding that Mr. Biden was "proud" and "appreciative" of the lawmakers' efforts.

Assault weapons are "killing our communities," added Jean-Pierre, saying that "weapons of war should not be on the streets."

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White House preparing for lengthy legal fight over abortion pill access

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By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - President Joe Biden had the power to require employees of federal contractors to receive COVID-19 vaccinations, a U.S. appeals court ruled on Wednesday, throwing out a judge's ruling that had blocked the mandate in Arizona.

A panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the 2021 mandate that applied to millions of workers nationwide fell under the broad powers granted by the federal Procurement Act, which enables the president to adopt rules that promote economy and efficiency in federal contracting.

The decision came in a challenge to the mandate by the office of former Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican, on behalf of the state.

The court reversed a federal judge in Phoenix who blocked the mandate in Arizona last year. The judge had said allowing the vaccine requirement would grant the president "a breathtaking amount of authority."

The decision creates a split with three other appeals courts that have said Biden, a Democrat, likely exceeded his authority and blocked the vaccine mandate in 13 Republican-led states.

The office of Arizona Attorney General Kristin Mayes, a Democrat who took office in January, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Department of Justice and the White House also did not respond to requests for comment.

The White House directed agencies in October not to seek to enforce the contractor mandate in light of several pending legal challenges and rulings blocking the requirement.

The U.S. Supreme Court last year blocked Biden's separate mandate that businesses with 100 or more employees require workers to receive COVID-19 vaccines or undergo regular testing.

Last month, a New Orleans-based federal appeals court ruled that federal agencies could not enforce a requirement that government employees receive vaccines.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi and Bill Berkrot)
By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden and his wife Jill released their federal tax return on Tuesday, showing the couple earned nearly $580,000 last year and paid an effective federal income tax rate of 23.8%.

The Bidens also donated roughly 3.5% of their income, or $20,180, to 20 charities, including one associated with U.S. police unions.

The annual disclosure ahead of the deadline at midnight Tuesday for most Americans to file their tax returns comes before a 2024 presidential race in which Biden is expected to seek a second four-year term.

Such a contest could set up a re-run of the 2020 presidential election between Biden, a Democrat, and Republican former President Donald Trump. In contrast to Republicans, Biden has proposed higher taxes on corporations and individuals making over $400,000 per year.

Trump broke with the tradition of presidents making their federal tax returns public, saying he was not able to do so while being audited by the Internal Revenue Service, even as the agency claimed he was free to release them.

The Bidens reported 2022 federal adjusted gross income of $579,514 and paid $137,658 in federal income tax. The previous year, Biden's first as president, they reported $610,702 in income.

Biden draws a $400,000 wage as president of the United States. Jill Biden earned $82,335 from her job teaching English at Northern Virginia Community College.

The remainder of their income is drawn from investment interest, pensions, annuities, distributions from retirement accounts and Social Security as well as a corporation that collects their book royalties, according to the joint tax return.

Their charitable donations included contributions to churches and organizations focused on helping children and first responders, including $2,000 to the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation.

The National Fraternal Order of Police, the biggest U.S. officers' union, endorsed Trump in 2020 and has opposed many of Biden's proposed reforms in the aftermath of George Floyd's 2020 murder in the custody of a former Minneapolis police officer.

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Their charitable organization, the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, holds an annual memorial service for law enforcement officials who die in the line of duty, which Biden has addressed as president.

"The National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation does important work serving the families of officers who have given their lives in the line of duty," said White House spokesperson Andrew Bates. "President Biden recognizes the sacrifices made by fallen officers and their families, including when he speaks at the National Peace Officers' Memorial Service."

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918, paying $93,570 in federal income tax for an effective federal income tax rate of 20.5%.

The income included $219,171 in salary paid to Harris by the U.S. Senate, $62,870 from her books and $169,665 earned by Emhoff at Georgetown University Law Center, where he teaches. They contributed roughly 5% of their income, or $23,000, to charity, according to the joint return.

(Reporting by Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Chris Reese and Cynthia Osterman)
With Republicans across the country targeting transgender issues, the Florida House on Wednesday gave final approval to a controversial bill aimed at preventing children from attending drag shows and two other trans-related measures that also drew fierce debate.

While the bill that got final approval does not specifically mention drag shows, it moved through the Legislature after Gov. Ron DeSantis administration took steps such as filing a complaint against the Hyatt Regency Miami hotel for hosting a Drag Queen Christmas event in December. The bill (SB 1438) passed the Senate last week and is ready to go to DeSantis.

The other measures would bar doctors from providing treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers to transgender minors and prevent transgender men and women from using bathrooms that dont line up with their sex assigned at birth. Those bills need final approval from the Senate.

Protesters converged on the Capitol this week to fight the bills, but House Republicans rejected attempts by Democrats to change the measures. Supporters of the legislation said, in part, that they were trying to protect children.

Let kids be kids, Rep. Doug Bankson, R-Apopka, said during a debate on the bill related to drag shows. Protect them from losing their innocence.

READ: Facebooks $725M settlement could put money in your pocket

But Democrats disputed that the measures were motivated by protecting children.

Lets call a spade a spade, Rep. Daryl Campbell, D-Fort Lauderdale, said about the bill related to drag shows, This is an attack on the LGBTQ+ community, on free speech and on Floridians.

The House voted 82-32 along party lines to pass the bill related to drag shows.

READ: Its getting very ridiculous: 3rd Jacksonville officer shot in 2023 is improving, sheriff says

The bill seeks to block venues from admitting children to adult live performances. It defines adult live performances as any show, exhibition, or other presentation that is performed in front of a live audience and in whole or in part, depicts or simulates nudity, sexual conduct, sexual excitement, specific sexual activities,  lewd conduct, or the lewd exposure of prosthetic or imitation genitals or breasts.

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It would prohibit local governments from issuing public permits for events that could expose children to the targeted behavior. Also, it would allow state regulators to suspend or revoke licenses of restaurants, bars and other venues that violate the law.

Republican-controlled legislatures across the country have pursued bills this year targeting transgender issues. DeSantis, who is widely expected to run for president in 2024, has frequently raised the issues.

READ: Alabama shooting: Third person arrested, charged with 4 counts of reckless murder

The House voted 82-31 to pass the bill (SB 254) that would prevent doctors from providing treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers to transgender minors. The Senate approved the bill early this month, but the House made changes, meaning it will have to go back to the Senate for a final vote.

That bill would largely put into law rules approved by the state Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine at the urging of the DeSantis administration. Those rules went into effect last month.

The House voted 80-37 to pass the bill on bathroom use. The bill would require that a wide range of businesses, health-care facilities and educational institutions have a restroom designated for exclusive use by females and a restroom designated for exclusive use by males. It also would allow unisex restrooms.

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The bill would define female as a person belonging, at birth to the biological sex which has the specific reproductive role of producing eggs. It would define male as a person belonging, at birth to the biological sex which has the specific reproductive role of producing sperm.

All three of the bills drew sometimes-emotional debate Tuesday and Wednesday in the House.

For example, Rep. Dotie Joseph, D-North Miami, said the bill related to drag shows was about using the power of the state to advance a homophobic agenda.

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This is about punishing businesses that dare ally themselves with a vulnerable community thats on the hit list, Joseph said.

But while debating the bill that would prohibit treatments such as hormone therapy and puberty blockers for transgender minors, Rep. Chase Tramont, R-Port Orange, cited a need to protect children.

This is not hateful, Tramont said. This is not ignoring a segment of society. This is in fact protecting the most-vulnerable of our society.

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In an 11th-hour push, Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee is backing legislation for an order of protection law, which would allow courts and law enforcement to temporarily remove firearms from people for up to 180 days if a judge finds a person poses a "current and ongoing" risk of serious harm to themselves or others.

Lee on Wednesday called for lawmakers to vote on the bill before wrapping finishing the current legislative session, saying "we owe Tennesseans a vote" in the wake of the Covenant school shooting that killed three children and three staff members.

"To be specific, Im proposing that we improve our states law so that it protects more Tennesseans andreaches more individuals who are struggling and in need of mental health support," Lee said. "There is broad agreement that this is the right approach. It should be that simple. But sadly, its not."

In a video address, Lee said "political groups began drawing their battle lines before the bill was even completed."

Lawmakers are now racing toward a session end after weeks of contentious gun-reform protests at the state Capitol, with both chambers expected to pass the budget on Wednesday. The majority of Republican lawmakers have been hesitant of, if not outright opposed to, significant gun access legislation.

Still, they could choose to stay longer to deal with gun legislation that has been called for by bipartisan communities in Nashville and beyond.

"These are the moments for which the people of Tennessee elected us to listen and to act," Lee said. "Im not saying its easy, but it is possible when were talking about the safety of our children, our teachers and innocent lives. The only thing standing in our way is politics  on both sides of the aisle."

The proposal does not include emergency "ex parte" hearings, the mechanism many other states use when determining emergency firearm revocation, according to a copy of proposed legislation obtained by The Tennessean on Wednesday.

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The legislation would instead allow law enforcement to file a court petition for a temporary mental health order if someone has threatened or attempted suicide or homicide, or "places another in reasonable fear of violent behavior and serious physical harm." If the order is granted, the court must require relevant mental health treatment.

Gov. Bill Lee responds to questions during a news conference Tuesday, April 11, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn. Lee held the news conference to talk about gun control legislation and an executive order to require information for background checks on gun purchases to be updated more rapidly. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)

In the proposed bill, a court hearing must be held between three and five days after the court petition is received, except in limited circumstances. In no event should the hearing be held more than 10 days after the petition is filed. Court-appointed attorneys are written into the proposed bill, and the respondent would have a chance to challenge the allegations in court.

Related: Gov. Bill Lee calls for 'order of protection law' to keep guns away from dangerous individuals

The person would also be required to undergo a mental health evaluation prior to the hearing.

If the court finds an order should be issued, the respondent would be required to "terminate physical possession of all firearms" within 48 hours and would also be blocked from purchasing firearms and ammunition for the length of the court order.

The proposal mirrors existing legal framework found in Tennessee code in other limited circumstances, including domestic violence crimes.

"In Tennessee right now, if a husband threatens to hurt his wife, an order of protection would temporarily restrict his access to weapons to protect the spouse," Lee said. "If that same man threatens to shoot himself or a church or a mall, our proposal will provide that same level of protection to the broader public."

Advocates against domestic violence have in recent years called for stronger order of protection laws in Tennessee, arguing a legal loophole exists when the court orders a person to give up their guns, but law enforcement don't follow up to confirm if they actually have done so.

The law doesn't require a person turn over their firearms to law enforcement but rather to any third party, and the person would be subject to a new hearing if they don't turn firearm "dispossession" paperwork in under proposed time limits.

Under the new proposal, it would be a Class E felony for a third party to return the firearms or purchase new firearms for a person they know is under a mental health order of protection.

More: Lack of enforcement on Tennessee's domestic violence gun laws invites violence, advocates say

Lee last week called for lawmakers to bring similar legislation in the wake of the deadly shooting at The Covenant School on March 27.

The governor has for weeks reiterated his position that he believes people who are a danger to themselves or to others should not have access to weapons.

It remains to be seen whether the Lee-backed proposal will have legs in the legislature, where a number of Republicans have criticized portions of existing order of protection laws elsewhere.

Lt. Gov. Randy McNally on Wednesday signaled his support for the proposal, calling order of protection laws an "extremely delicate balance" to strike while considering second amendment rights.

"I believe that balance has been struck with this proposed Temporary Mental Health Order of Protection. Other states that have attempted this balance have fallen short to one extent or another by failing to provide real due process and protect against false complaints," McNally said in a statement. "There will be no 'ex parte' aspect to this order whatsoever. The subject will be notified and has the opportunity to defend themselves. The subject will have access to a free court-appointed attorney or can retain the counsel of their choice. Anyone who is determined to make a false of the frivolous report would be guilty of aggravated perjury, a felony."

McNally noted any order would be temporary and "cannot be held against the subject in the future."

Lee distances proposal from other states' 'extreme risk' laws

At least 19 states have passed some version of extreme risk laws, also known as gun violence restraining order or red flag laws, a term that is considered political poison by Republicans and has been carefully avoided in Tennessee in recent days.

Lee on Wednesday called "red flag" a "toxic political label meant to draw lines in the sand so nothing gets done."

The details of this type of law vary, but the basic building blocks of extreme risk protection orders include an emergency hearing triggered by a report of an impending threat or danger. Some states allow family, health care professionals and law enforcement to seek an ERPO. More conservative laws, like the legislation Florida passed in the wake of the Parkland shooting, only allow law enforcement to seek the orders.

These emergency hearings are often held ex parte, meaning a judge can make a decision without the party in question being present. If a judge finds reasonable evidence the person is a threat to themselves or others, they can order firearms be confiscated for a short period of time, ranging from six to 14 days in current laws. A full hearing is then scheduled to consider terminating or extending the temporary order.

Lee on Wednesday said other order of protection laws "don't strike the right balance of preserving rights and protecting society."

Some Republicans lawmakers in recent days had floated the possibility of strengthening state laws around involuntary commitment, a line of thinking Lee sharply criticized in his Wednesday address.

"It's not the best way," Lee said.

Tennessee Democrats attempted to file a similar order following the Covenant shooting, but it was blocked in a procedural vote from going into committee debate by Tennessee House Majority Leader William Lamberth, R-Portland.

Lamberth said he couldn't support any legislation including ex parte hearings, while bill sponsor Rep. Bob Freeman, D-Nashville, said emergency, rapid response to impending threats were at the heart of order of protection laws.

Bipartisan calls for lawmakers to take action as clock runs out on session

New polling shows strong bipartisan support in Tennessee for a similar law, while former Republican leaders, religious groups and even Nashville music industry heavy hitters have lobbied lawmakers in recent days on the issue.

Related: Amy Grant, Sheryl Crow and other top artists push lawmakers for gun reform measures

Tennessee clergy on Monday and thousands of people on Tuesday organized downtown Nashville protests calling for various gun-reform measures. Similar protests have defined the political mood in the Tennessee Capitol in recent weeks in the wake of deadliest school shooting in state history.

Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association this week asked people to call their Tennessee lawmakers to oppose potential extreme-risk laws.

A group of prominent faith leaders from the Nashville region urged the General Assembly to back Lees proposal in a letter early Wednesday afternoon.

His (Lee) framework is a thoughtful approach to ensure we protect the constitutional rights of citizens while also helping to protect potential victims from dangerous individuals, the letter said.

More: Amy Grant, Sheryl Crow and other top artists push lawmakers for gun reform measures

"As Americans, we also concur with the ideals of the founders that the proper role of government is to protect the life and liberty of its citizens.

Most of the signatories represent organizations and churches affiliated with the Nashville-based Southern Baptist Convention, many of which lean more conservative.

They include Brent Leatherwood, president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission, which is the SBCs public policy arm, and Randy Davis, president of the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, which oversees the state Southern Baptist convention, including other pastors from various denominations.

Liam Adams contributed to this report.

Reach Melissa Brown at mabrown@tennessean.com.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Tennessee Gov. Lee backs new gun-reform legislation in 11th-hour push
Bill OReilly railed against Fox News after it unexpectedly settled a lawsuit against it from Dominion Voting Systems for more than $787 million, saying the nightmare will continue at the cable company where he used to be a mainstay.

Big energy in liberal media corridors as Fox News is punished for foolish coverage of the 2020 election, OReilly said in a statement on his website. This is what happens when money becomes more important than honest information. Since I left FNC [Fox News Corp], the template changed from Fair and Balanced to tell the audience what it wants to hear.

OReilly, who was one of the companys main attractions for more than 20 years with his show The OReilly Factor, left Fox News in 2017 after he and the company settled lawsuits with a number of women who accused the host of misconduct.

Fox News was facing a $1.6 billion lawsuit from Dominion, which was centered on the cable networks coverage of former President Trump and his allies false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election. The suit was settled just hours before opening arguments in the trial started Tuesday in Delaware.

OReilly said in the statement that when he told his audience he did not think federal courts would accept the allegations of election fraud by former President Trump, he lost more than one thousand premium members.

So be it. I did my job, OReilly said. Money is not the motivating force in this operation.

He argued Fox News saw it differently and said the nightmare will go on at the cable company, citing its vulnerability to lawsuits from other voting system companies and company shareholders.

Fox News saw it differently, and now payment has been rendered, OReilly said. But the nightmare will continue for FNC.

The Hill has reached out to Fox News for comment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Amur leopards are one of the most endangered species in the world

Targets to reverse the decline of biodiversity by 2030 may be missed without urgent action, according to a new report.

This goal was a key part of the UN global summit on biodiversity held in December 2022.

Nearly a third of all monitored species are currently endangered due to human activities.

What is biodiversity and why is it important?

Biodiversity is the variety of all life on Earth - animals, plants, fungi and micro-organisms like bacteria.

Animals and plants provide humans with everything necessary for survival - including fresh water, food, and medicines.

However, humans cannot get these benefits from individual species - a rich variety of animals and plants must work together.

Plants are also very important for improving the physical environment: cleaning the air, limiting rising temperatures and providing protection against climate change.

Mangroves provide protection against rising sea levels for towns in the Philippines

Mangrove swamps and coral reefs can act as a barrier to erosion from rising sea levels.

Common trees found in cities such as the London plane or the tulip tree, are excellent at absorbing carbon dioxide and removing pollutants from the air.

How many species are at risk of extinction?

It is normal for species to evolve and become extinct over time - 98% of all species that have ever lived are now extinct.

However, the extinction of species is now happening between 100 and 1,000 times more quickly than scientists would expect.

As a result, many scientists warn humans could be causing the "sixth mass extinction" on Earth.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has kept a "red list" of threatened species since 1964. More than 150,000 species have been assessed, and 28% are considered to be threatened with extinction.

The UN's biodiversity body - known as IPBES - estimates that at least one million plant and animal species are at risk of extinction.

But the threat of extinction varies enormously. For example, it is estimated that 40% of amphibians (a group that includes frogs and toads) are at risk, but 14% of birds.

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In addition, for some groups - such as insects and fungi - not enough species have been evaluated to be able to accurately assess the risk.

Graphic showing how more than one in four species of those assessed by the IUCN Red List are at risk of extinction, including 41% of amphibians, 27% of mammals and 13% of birds

What are the biggest threats to biodiversity?

In its most recent report, IPBES highlighted the damage done by harvesting, logging, hunting and overfishing.

Between 2001 and 2021 the world lost 437 million hectares of tree cover - 16% of which was primary forest. The destruction of mature forests, which have taken hundreds - if not thousands - of years to develop, can have a very serious impact on biodiversity.

Biodiversity loss is occurring worldwide, according to the WWF.

It says recent losses have been highest in Latin America and the Caribbean, where animal populations have declined by 94% since 1970, mainly due to habitat destruction and overexploitation.

The Natural History Museum in London says the UK is one of the most nature-depleted countries in Europe, and is in the bottom 10% globally.

Problems caused by habitat loss

The rate of climate change is also increasingly difficult for animals and plants to cope with, the UN warns.

It says that limiting global temperature rises to 1.5C above preindustrial levels is important to prevent even greater losses of biodiversity.

What have countries agreed to do to tackle the issue?

At the UN's COP15 summit on biodiversity in December 2022, countries reached an "historic" agreement to protect 30% of Earth's land and seas by 2030.

The agreement - known officially as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework - aims to "halt and reverse" biodiversity's decline by 2030, and for humans to live "in harmony with nature" by 2050 to deliver "benefits essential for all people".

It has four main goals:

increased conservation of ecosystems and species

resources used as sustainably as possible

more equal sharing of natural resources

increased financial support for biodiversity protection

There are 23 more specific targets for 2030, including mechanisms to sufficiently finance conservation projects. Governments and private organisations are pledging to give at least $200bn (161bn) per year by 2030.

As part of this richer countries will increase the amount of money they give to poorer countries for biodiversity projects to $30bn per year by 2030.

Although the 2022 framework was not legally binding, signatories committed to demonstrate progress towards meeting biodiversity targets.

Does the UN agreement go far enough?

A study suggests the 2030 targets may already be slipping out of reach because the effects of climate change and habitat loss on animal populations have been underestimated.

Scientists analysed more than 600 different species of birds and mammals.

They found that past modelling work had largely ignored the time lags before effects were seen.

This means biodiversity loss may be more advanced than previously thought, and the report emphasises the need for urgent action.
Bishop Joey Johnson of The House of the Lord speaks as Marco Sommerville, deputy mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs, Eufrancia Lash of the city of Akron, Michael Irby, president of 100 Black Men Akron and Pastor Michael Murphy Sr. of Prevail Church listen during a news conference Tuesday at The House of the Lord in West Akron.

Several Black clergy, civic and community leaders gathered at The House of the Lord in West Akron on Tuesday to launch a group that they hope will help to heal divisions in the wake of a decision not to indict eight Akron police officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker in June.

Marco Sommerville, an Akron deputy mayor and current mayoral candidate, and Bishop Joey Johnson of The House of the Lord took the lead in introducing Tribal Trauma Triage, a group that also includes representatives from Akron Public Schools, the Akron Police Department, city of Akron staff and The Freedom BLOC.

More: Protesters march in Akron after Jayland Walker decision: Latest updates

More: What does a 'no-bill' mean from grand jury in Jayland Walker case?

They called on community members to remain peaceful as they express their grief and anger following the state Bureau of Criminal Investigation review of the shooting that resulted in no criminal charges against the officers who killed Walker.

"Despite that pain, traumatization, and disappointment with the outcome, I stand before you to call this community to unite for peace, and to continue to work for justice and accountable policing, and for change," Sommerville said. He also said he supports a call from U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes, D-Akron, for the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate the Akron Police Department.

Bishop Joey Johnson says anger is normal, but violence will not bring about changes

Johnson said he spoke for those without a voice or for those whose voice is being ignored, and stands "for love and justice" and nonviolent resistance.

Minister Stephen Muhammad of the Nation of Islam listen as Bishop Joey Johnson of The House of The Lord speaks Tuesday during a news conference to call for peace and unity.

"I speak today as someone who has spent 71 years in the Greater Akron community," said Johnson. "I've pastored this church for 49 years in this community, and this is an issue of trust."

Anger and grief are normal responses to traumatic times, he said.

"And yet, I also stand to say that violence is not the way to love and justice," Johnson said. "And I think that sometimes there are mixed messages being given. We are saying we are not for violence and then everything we say after that sounds like it's violence." Those mixed messages must stop, he said, and a unified message must be crafted.

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100 Black Men Akron calls on young men to step up, become leaders

Michael Irby, president of 100 Black Men Akron, had a message for young men disheartened by Monday's no-bill announcement.

"We need to step up and be leaders," he said. "We need to step up and be leaders to our young men in the city of Akron," Irby said, adding that it was important to stay positive.

Minister Stephen Muhammad of the Nation of Islam speaks as Marco Sommerville, deputy mayor for Intergovernmental Affairs, Eufrancia Lash of the city of Akron and Michael Irby, president of 100 Black Men Akron, listen during a news conference Tuesday.

Nation of Islam minister calls for more mental health resources

Minister Stephen Muhammad of the Nation of Islam said many people do not understand the scope of the Walker case's impact, which puts justice even farther out of reach.

"This affects every one of us," he said, "and that's what I think is missing a lot of times; we think it's only the Black community  and we are in serious trouble."

He said more mental health resources should be made available to young people who have become disillusioned in a country where they continue to see people like themselves killed by police.

"How do we heal the wounds of a society that is in serious trouble and disrepair, and doesn't think that they want to be here much longer?" Muhammad said.

Minister Stephen Muhammad of the Nation of Islam and Bishop Joey Johnson of The House of The Lord talk after both men spoke Tuesday at a news conference.

Contact Reporter Derek Kreider at DKreider@Gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Black leadership group seeks healing in wake of Jayland Walker case
Ralph Yarl - LEE MERRITT

The black teenager who was shot in the head by a white pensioner after knocking on the door of the wrong house has returned home from the hospital in a miracle recovery, his family has said.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice by 84-year-old Andrew Lester after he knocked on his front door by mistake as he went to collect his younger brothers in Kansas City, Missouri, just before 10pm on April 13.

Ralph has since returned home from the hospital and can ambulate and communicate, according to an update from his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, on a GoFundMe page she set up on behalf of her nephew.

Ms Spoonmore said: Ralph is currently at home with the family. He can ambulate and communicate. A true miracle considering what he survived.

She added: Each day is different. He has a long road ahead. However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us. Ive been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words.

Mr Lester pleaded not guilty to felony charges on Wednesday during his first court appearance in the case.

He would face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of first-degree assault, as charged. He also was charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

He entered not guilty pleas to both counts during a brief arraignment in a Clay County courtroom, online court records showed.

Andrew Lester - Clay County, Missouri Sheriff/via REUTERS

More than $3.2 million (2.5 million) has been raised for the high school junior, with celebrities such as American actresses Christina Ricci and Julianne Hough among donors.

Lee Merritt, the familys lawyer, told CNN on Tuesday evening: Thursday night, doctors were scraping bullet fragments off his brain. Saturday, he was released from the hospital.

He said that the teenagers prognosis was very, very positive, adding: He has a prognosis of a full recovery, minus scarring and long term, maybe, CTE and post traumatic brain injury symptoms.

Joe Biden, the US president, tweeted on Tuesday that he had spoken to Ralph and his family on the phone. He wrote: Ralph, well see you in the Oval once you feel better.

Police spoke with Ralph while he was receiving hospital treatment, where he told officers he rang the doorbell and waited before a man eventually opened the door and shot him in the head immediately, according to charging documents.

Ralph fell and was still lying on the ground when the man shot him a second time, this time in the arm, he told officers. He got up and ran to avoid being shot again, and he heard the man say: Dont come around here.
Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano tweaked his approach this season and it's paying off. (AP Photo/Colin E. Braley)

On Tuesday night, Toronto Blue Jays closer Jordan Romano had a typical outing in terms of results.

The right-hander pitched around a single hit in 1.1 innings with two strikeouts and no runs allowed. That's the sort of performance a team expects from a reliable back-of-the-bullpen arm like Romano.

How the 29-year-old went about his night was far from usual, though. Despite wielding a fastball that averages 97.1 mph, Romano threw 14 sliders on 15 pitches. In 166 games at the MLB level it was only the second time he'd used his breaking ball more than 90 percent of the time.

The first was a three-pitch night where he was asked to get a single out.

So, Tuesday was quite the statistical anomaly for Romano. While it's unlikely the closer is going to an all-slider attack, his approach against the Houston Astros is indicative of a larger trend.

So far in 2023 he's throwing his slider more than he has in any other season:

Via Baseball Savant

His confidence in the pitch seems strongly correlated with the success he's had with it. Romano is getting hitters to swing and miss at the offering nearly 50 percent of the time  a significant upgrade over his previous career norms:

Via Baseball Savant

This is the part of the article where we have to include an obligatory small-sample-size alert as Romano has pitched just 9.1 innings this year. That said, there is reason to believe the quality of the right-hander's slider has improved in 2023 based on its boosted horizontal movement.

Until now, Romano's breaking ball had always had above-average vertical drop, but unimpressive gloveside run. This year it's far more active horizontally, without sacrificing anything vertically:

Via Baseball Savant

Watching Romano's slider last season, the thing that stood out was the way the bottom fell out of it.

Via Baseball Savant

This year, the way the pitch looks is in line with the movement data as it seems to come across the plate more. This 0-0 pitch to Jeremy Pena from Tuesday night is a good example:

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Via Baseball Savant

That increased horizontal movement gives it more use cases. For instance, the idea of trying to backdoor left-handed hitters becomes more appealing when you can bring your pitch onto the corner from further off the plate.

Unsurprisingly, this year Romano has consistently aimed for  and hit  the outside corner with his slider when he has a platoon disadvantage.

Via Baseball Savant

This 0-1 pitch to Cesar Salazar is a good example of this phenomenon. Although this slider came in at just 86.6 mph, Salazar swung late because he didn't realize it was going to make it all the way to the edge of the plate.

Via Baseball Savant

Romano's improved slider hasn't resulted in an obvious boost to his traditional statistics as his ERA (2.89) is higher than it was in both 2021 and 2022. Looking a little deeper, it's clear that it's having an effect, though.

Last season Romano struggled with hard contact despite his success...

Via Baseball Savant

... but this year that hasn't been an issue:

Via Baseball Savant

The result is an xERA this season (1.84) that's significantly better than what he managed in 2022 (3.31).

His slider usage isn't solely responsible the improved contact management, but it can't hurt to emphasize a pitch that opponents have a significantly lower exit velo against (87.1 mph) than they do versus his fastball (90.4 mph) since the beginning of last season.

Romano is too established at this point to be a breakout candidate, but it will be interesting to see if increased slider usage helps him build on an already impressive baseline. Early in 2023 the pitch itself looks better  and relying on it more is serving the closer well.
Profane tweet

Shiva Rajbhandari did nothing wrong.

Idahos conservatives have no decency and no line they will not cross in ensuring that transgender people are not welcome here. When I first came out as trans, two of the three trans people Id known at that point had died by suicide because our culture was unbearably inhospitable and hateful. Conservatives quixotic political rampage against transgender people is beyond the pale, beyond disgusting, and beyond civility.

I was so grateful that Mr. Rajbhandari tweeted what he did, and how he did. He is the only political figure in Idaho who properly expressed how outrageously evil the actions of our governor and legislator are. Thank you, Mr. Rajbhandari, for being an ally. Thank you for recognizing in that moment, that obscenity was a perfectly appropriate rhetorical strategy for responding to an attack on our lives.

And shame on the Boise School District and the Idaho Statesman for their asinine and condescending nonsense about decorum. The transgender people of Idaho and the transgender students of the Boise School District deserve better than your cowardice and your mealy-mouthed slapping down of the only politician in the state willing to speak appropriately.

June Meissner, Boise

Rajbhandari

I watched Shiva Rajbhandaris attempt to testify against House bill 71, the one I call the trans youth bill when Rep. Heather Scott chaired the public testimony on this bill. While I was annoyed by Rajbhandaris profane tweet, he is a good choice for the school board. He is a member of the population that school board decisions affect, plus he is bright and usually articulate. However, when it came to testimony on HB 71, he spoke not to the bill as Rep. Scott kept telling him fiercely to do, but with his heart. He could not distance himself enough to speak of it sanely. Rep. Scott as chair said little beyond You have two minutes, speak to the bill and your time is up.

While I abhor the language Rajbhandari used in his tweet, Shiva is young, and the trans youth bill is state overreach. It interferes with family medical decisions, attempts to govern medical decisions made in doctors offices and instructs law enforcement to get involved. The younger the voter is, the more they understand the injustice of HB 71. More young people age into voting every year. Shiva is an example. The trans youth bill will not last.

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Janelle Wintersteen, Boise

Ethics

Shiva Rajbhandari, a Boise School Trustee, recently violated the Boise School Board Code of Ethics Policy 1126 with his hate-filled tweet to Governor Little after the governor signed HB71, the Vulnerable Child Protection Act, into law. He should resign immediately. His behavior is despicable and unacceptable, and it sets a very poor example for Boises school children. Does he think that its ever acceptable to use hatred to attack someone with whom we disagree? As a young, inexperienced person he has much to learn, including behavior becoming a school trustee, accepting defeat graciously and living to fight another day.

Darcy Horton, Boise

House Bill 71

Governor,

So you had to do it. You signed HB 71, making life immeasurably more difficult, maybe even impossible, for transgender children and their families. Those that can, will probably leave this cruel state. But that will almost certainly prove impossible for some. Without a doubt, tragedies will happen. Thats on you. Youll be responsible for heartache, financial insecurity, pain, and most likely some deaths.

I should say that I hope you realize the horrible mistake youve made but you obviously dont care. So, Ill say that as your grandchildren get older and they (maybe) have kids of their, I hope they look at what you did and despise you as much as you despise transgender kids. You deserve it.

Cindy Myers, Boise
The latest proposed developments, housing and other construction projects, and new businesses around Idahos Treasure Valley:

Boise

Interfaith Sanctuary, a nonprofit Boise shelter, held a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday marking the start of renovation work on its new home in a former Salvation Army thrift store.

It took the nonprofit nearly two years to secure a conditional use permit for the project. The proposed homeless shelter on State Street faced opposition from neighbors who worried the new location would have adverse effects on nearby homes.

Interfaith Sanctuary would not have been able to make it through this arduous process without the amazing partners who have stood by our side, helping us navigate every challenge that was presented to us, Jodi Peterson-Stigers, executive director of Interfaith Sanctuary, said in a news release.

Nick Guho of Guho Construction, left, and Jodi Peterson-Stigers, Interfaith Sanctuarys executive director, speak during a groundbreaking ceremony for the remodeling of Interfaith Sanctuarys new homeless shelter.

The new shelter, located at 4308 W. State St., will provide more space for guests and more services, such as recovery, job training and mental health.

Interfaith Sanctuary said in a news release that the shelter will help keep senior citizens safely housed, provide a secure setting for families with children and create more meaningful space for all guests. The nonprofit will be able to house an additional 100 people per night at the new site.

Once the remodel is complete, the building on State Street will be 42,500 square feet. Interfaith Sanctuarys current emergency shelter on River Street is 10,000 square feet.



Jaelynq Funk with JBI Elemental has requested a list of neighbors to contact for a meeting about a proposed development of 39 townhouses in Harris Ranch.

The Hygge Townhomes would be constructed at 3698 E. Warm Springs Ave., just south of Parkcenter Boulevard. The subdivision would consist of nine buildings, for a total of 39 units and one common lot, according to the application.



KM Engineering has requested a list of neighbors for a meeting about a proposed Starbucks drive-thru at 2730 W. Airport Way, near Vista Avenue. The coffee shop would be located in an area surrounded by existing businesses, industrial uses, the Boise Airport and in proximity to existing residences, making it compatible with the existing neighborhood, according to its application.

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Shari Stiles, of the city of Meridian, has requested a list of neighbors to contact for a meeting about a proposed development of 192 apartment units and approximately 91 town home lots at 9744 W. State St., east of North Eagle Road.

The Franz Witte site project would call for the annexation and zoning of parcels, according to the application.



Dominic Pera with JGT Architecture has filed a request for a permit for the construction of a new office warehouse for Trax Electric, Inc., at 335 N. Ancestor Place near the intersection of Five Mile Road and Emerald Street.

The project would consist of a new building that houses the shop, storage and office space for the company, according to the application.

Meridian

Dutch Bros. wants to open a new drive-thru coffee shop at the northeast corner of West Cobalt Drive and South Ten Mile Road.

The proposed store would be located in a 5,825-square-foot building, with room for three other tenants, according to a permit application filed with the city. Dutch Bros. plans to have dual drive-thru lanes with stacking for up to 27 vehicles at the site.

The Meridian Planning and Zoning Commission has scheduled a public hearing on the project at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 18, at Meridian City Hall.

A rendering of a new drive-through coffee shop Dutch Bros. plans to construct at 320 S. Ten Mile Road in Meridian.

Nampa

Kathleen Roma, of Landmark Pacific Development Inc., an Eagle development company, wants to build a storage unit at the southwest corner of Railroad Street and Happy Valley Road.

The Reflections Edge Mini Storage project would be on 3.7 acres, according to the application.

A rendering of a storage unit in Nampa.

The Nampa Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hold a public hearing on the proposal at 6 p.m. on Monday, May 1 at City Hall.



Indigo Bird Home Goods, a fabric store, leased a 5,000-square-foot retail space at 410 N. Franklin Blvd., according to a news release from Colliers Idaho.



Randall Collective Inc. leased a 2,500-square-foot retail space at 200 12th Ave. S., Colliers Idaho reported.

Around Idaho

The University of Idahos College of Engineering is partnering with Micron to grow the states semiconductor manufacturing workforce through its Next Generation Microelectronics Research Center.

The research center, launched in 2014, allows undergraduate and graduate students to gain experience through research projects funded by Micron, the National Science Foundation and the U.S. Department of Defense, among others, according to a news release from the university.

A student in the University of Idahos College of Engineering evaluates microelectronic device designs in the Next Generation Microelectronics Research Center on U of Is Moscow campus. The university and Micron are working to bring additional research and faculty expertise toward semiconductor manufacturing and workforce development in Idaho.

Strengthening U.S. technology leadership requires talented engineers and technicians with diverse skill sets, said Scott Deboer, executive vice president of Microns Technology and Products organization, in the news release. U of Is College of Engineering is leading the charge in Idaho with world-class undergraduate and graduate education programs and research across the field of microelectronics.

U of I said its expanding its microelectronics courses and training programs, with certificate programs on the way.
Firefighters walk down a closed city street in Seattle (Seattle Department of Transportation)

Members of the bomb squad and first responders in hazmat gear were called to a Seattle apartment building on Wednesday morning, after an explosion in the Lower Queen Anne neighbourhood, startling local residents.

The explosion occurred when a man in a basement unit was handling fireworks, police told local news station KING5, prompting an evacuation.

The individual was taken to Harborview Medical Center with serious injury to his hands, police added.

NOW: view from an @SDOTtraffic camera of 1st and Denny in downtown Seattle where I just watched firefighters tape off this stretch of road. Large fire and police response. #komonews pic.twitter.com/1JeEzdDp6Y  Kelly Koopmans (@KellyKOMO4) April 19, 2023

Police were called about the explosion at around 9.37.

The injured mans roomate told local station KIRO7 the explosion shocked him.

I removed myself from the building, a bomb went off or an explosive, just something very loud or unnatural and unnormal realizing it was in a unit or in or around mine, I removed myself from the building, the man said.

Local residents watched on as heavily armoured bomb squad personnel worked at the scene.

A dramatic Wed[nesday]  stuck in my apt while the bomb squad investigates an explosion across the street, Twitter user Theresa Perkins wrote.

A dramatic Wed. - stuck in my apt while the bomb squad investigates an explosion across the street. #Seattle pic.twitter.com/vFGHRAutm2  Theresa Perkins (@T_Perkins86) April 19, 2023

Traffic around the area was rerouted and the Pacific Science Center delayed opening as police investigated the blast.

By 11.40am, the Seattle Fire Department said it was reducing its presence on the scene to a few units.

On social media, some initially speculated the blast came from a bomb occuring on the 30th anniversary of the end of the Waco siege.
The boyfriend of Kaylin Gillis has spoken out about the final moments before she was shot and killed after they pulled into the wrong driveway.

The 20-year-old was killed in New York on Saturday when the couple entered the wrong driveway while searching for a party. The boyfriend, Blake Walsh, 19, told NBC News that his life has been destroyed.

The teenager from Cambridge, New York, told the network that he was driving the car with his girlfriend and two other passengers in the Ford Explorer searching for the party when two bullets flew in their direction, with one striking Ms Gillis.

She was fatally shot when they were exiting the driveway in Hebron, about 50 miles north of Albany.

Mr Walsh said the group was driving along with another car that also entered the same driveway but that they had realised they were in the wrong place and were in the process of leaving when the gunfire began.

We thought we were at the right address, he told NBC News. We didnt have any cell service to figure it out. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happened.

My friend said, Theyre shooting, go! I tried to step on the gas as fast as I could, and thats when the fatal shot came through, he added.

I want to believe it was instant. Im hoping it was. Im praying it was, an emotional Mr Walsh told the outlet.

Kaylin Gillis was killed in New York state on Saturday (Facebook)

On Monday, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy told the press that the suspect, Kevin Monahan, 65, fired when the group was leaving his driveway and that they clearly posed no threat.

Ms Gillis was struck by one of the bullets and she was pronounced dead miles away after her friends called 911. Mr Walsh said she was hit in the neck and that they had to drive five miles to find cell service, but he said, It did not feel like that. It felt like 30 seconds. The adrenaline was rushing so bad.

The suspects attorney Kurt Mausert said Mr Monahan was arraigned on Sunday on a charge of murder in the second degree and he pled not guilty. Mr Mausert said Mr Monahan wasnt intending to harm anyone when he discharged his firearm.

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When you have a victim and a tragedy, the thing everyone wants is a villain, but not every time theres a victim and tragedy is there a villain, the lawyer said, according to NBC News. A number of errors were made that were unintentional.

Kevin Monahan is charged with Kaylin Gillis murder (Warren County Jail)

The attorney added that Mr Monahan is set to appear at a bail hearing on Wednesday.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, Our children shouldnt be met with lethal violence for making simple, completely harmless mistakes. This reckless, senseless gun violence has stolen far too many children from their families, and it must be stopped.

Ms Gillis loved animals and was working towards becoming a marine biologist, Mr Walsh said. She graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021. They met when he was a high school sophomore.

They had been together for more than four years and spoke about being part of the two per cent, pointing to an apparent figure of the number of high school couples who go on to get married.

I had high hopes, and I had plans, Mr Walsh told NBC News. I didnt want to be with anybody else, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed in upstate New York (GoFundMe)

I want the world to know how good of a person she really was and how much she impacted everybody who had the fortunate opportunity to be in her life, he added.

Mr Walsh said hell miss how happy she was able to make me, adding that my world was taken from me Saturday.

He said hell attend Mr Monahans bond hearing.

I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me. I need to look at him, he told the network.
SCHENECTADY, N.Y.  The boyfriend of a New York woman who was killed Saturday, April 15, after the couple pulled into the wrong driveway while searching for a party recalled her final moments Tuesday, April 18, saying in an interview that his life was shattered.

Blake Walsh, 19, of Cambridge, New York, said exclusively Tuesday night in a phone call that he and three passengers  two friends and his girlfriend, Kaylin Gillis, 20  had been looking for the party when two rounds were fired in their direction.

Walsh, who was driving a Ford Explorer, said Gillis was fatally shot as they left a driveway in Hebron, about 50 miles north of Albany.

Walsh said the four friends were traveling with another vehicle that also pulled into the wrong driveway. The group realized they were at the wrong home and were leaving.

Blake Walsh and Kaylin Gillis. (Courtesy Blake Walsh)

We thought we were at the right address, Walsh said. We didnt have any cell service to figure it out. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happened.

Walsh said what occurred next was a blur.

My friend said, Theyre shooting  go! I tried to step on the gas as fast as I could, and thats when the fatal shot came through, Walsh said.

I want to believe it was instant. Im hoping it was. Im praying it was, he said through tears.

Authorities said the suspect, Kevin Monahan, 65, fired twice after the group mistakenly turned into the driveway of his home. Monahan is alleged to have fired as the group was leaving, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy told reporters Monday.

Murphy said the group clearly posed no threat.

One of the bullets struck Gillis, who was pronounced dead several miles away after the group called 911, authorities said. Walsh said she was struck in the neck. They had to drive 5 miles because of the lack of cell service, he said.

It did not feel like that, Walsh said. It felt like 30 seconds. The adrenaline was rushing so bad.

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Monahan was arraigned Sunday on charges of second-degree murder and pleaded not guilty, said his lawyer, Kurt Mausert.

Mausert said Monahan did not intend to hurt anyone when he fired.

When you have a victim and a tragedy, the thing everyone wants is a villain, but not every time theres a victim and tragedy is there a villain, he said. A number of errors were made that were unintentional.

Monahan, who was being held Tuesday at the Warren County jail, is expected to appear in court Wednesday for a bail hearing, Mausert said.

Leaders in New York condemned the gun violence, which came days after a teenager in Kansas City, Missouri, was gunned down when he mistakenly went to the wrong home to pick up his younger brothers.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., called Saturdays shooting horrifying and said: Our children shouldnt be met with lethal violence for making simple, completely harmless mistakes. This reckless, senseless gun violence has stolen far too many children from their families, and it must be stopped.

Walsh said he met Gillis, an animal lover and aspiring marine biologist who graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021, when he was a sophomore in high school.

The couple often spoke about being the 2%, he said, citing an apparent statistic that indicated only 2% of high school sweethearts get married.

They had been a couple for more than four years.

I had high hopes, and I had plans, Walsh said. I didnt want to be with anybody else, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

He said of Gillis: I want the world to know how good of a person she really was and how much she impacted everybody who had the fortunate opportunity to be in her life.

Walsh said hell miss her smile, her eyes and how happy she was able to make me.

He added, My world was taken from me Saturday.

Walsh also said he plans to attend Monahans bond hearing and hopes hes punished to the fullest extent of the law.

I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me. I need to look at him, Walsh said.

This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The boyfriend of the New York woman who was killed last Saturday after pulling into the wrong driveway said in an interview that they thought we were at the right address.

In an interview with NBC News published Wednesday, Blake Walsh told the media outlet that he and three other passengers  including his girlfriend, Kaylin Gillis, were looking for a friends house in Hebron, N.Y., for a party to attend.

Walsh, who was the driver of the vehicle in which Gillis was a passenger, said four friends who were traveling in another vehicle also pulled into the wrong driveway, noting the group realized they were at the wrong address and were about to leave.

We thought we were at the right address, Walsh told NBC News. We didnt have any cell service to figure it out. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happened.

Walsh, who met Gillis in high school, said what happened next was a blur, detailing how the alleged shooter, Kevin Monahan, started firing at the group as they were about to leave his driveway.

My friend said, Theyre shooting  go! I tried to step on the gas as fast as I could, and thats when the fatal shot came through, Walsh said, adding that: I want to believe it was instant. Im hoping it was. Im praying it was.

Authorities said Monahan fired twice after Walshs group mistakenly pulled into his driveway, allegedly firing at the group as they were leaving his property.

One of the two bullets struck Gillis, 20, who was pronounced dead several miles away after the group called 911. Walsh added that Gillis, his girlfriend of four years, was struck in the neck and that they had to drive 5 miles away to get cellular service.

Monahan, 65, was arraigned on Sunday and charged with second-degree murder in the incident, according to NBC News. Monahans attorney, Kurt Mausert, said his client has pleaded not guilty in the case, adding that his client didnt intend to hurt anyone.

Story continues

Gilliss death comes after Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old Kansas City, Mo., resident, turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday after shooting Ralph Yarl twice over the weekend as the 16-year-old Black teenager accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers.

Lester was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Yarl, who was in critical condition after being shot in the head and the arm, was released from the medical facility and returned home Monday.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas first 100 days in office have been considerably worse than many of us predicted: Hes not only failing to revamp his countrys economy, he also increasingly sides with some of the worlds most brutal dictators.

In recent days, Lula gave a red-carpet welcome to Russias foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, whose four-country tour of Latin America also included Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

By receiving Lavrov in a state visit marked by mutual pleasantries, Lula sabotaged world democracies efforts to isolate Russia in response to its invasion of Ukraine and its continued bombardment there.

Just as bad, shortly before Lavrovs visit, Lula had made the absurd claim that both Russia and Ukraine are to blame for the war. He also suggested that Ukraine should abandon its claims to Crimea, the peninsula that was part of Ukraine before Russia occupied it in 2014.

Earlier, Lula had restored ties with Venezuelas dictator Nicolas Maduro, allowed Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro, and  while first condemning Russia at the United Nations  refused to join international sanctions against Russian dictator Vladimir Putins regime.

Its hard to understand how the leader of one of the worlds biggest democracies can find excuses for Russias war of aggression against Ukraine. Russias invasion is a blatant violation of the principle of national sovereignty that is supposed to be the bedrock of Brazils foreign policy.

Backing imperialism

Can there be a bigger breach of national sovereignty than invading a neighboring country? Is there a clearer example of imperialism than Russias military attack on Ukraine under the dubious claim that it needed to protect its sphere of influence?

Lulas warm welcome of Lavrov may be part of the Brazilian presidents effort to be one of the key mediators between Russia and Ukraine, and of his campaign to put Brazil back on the world stage.

The idea of a Ukraine peace club seems to be consuming him entirely, says Ryan Berg, head of the Washington-based Center for Strategic and International Studies Americas Program. But Lulas recent statements on Ukraine have made it very difficult to take Brazil seriously as a neutral arbiter on this issue, he added.

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Ukraine has dismissed Lulas suggestion that it abandon its claims on Crimea, demanding that Russia return that peninsula before the start of any possible peace talks.

Lulas increasingly pro-Russia stance may also be a smokescreen to divert public attention from his domestic troubles. Unlike what happened during Lulas first two terms in office, from 2003 to 2010, Brazils economy is stagnant, and he doesnt have the money to fund his ambitious social programs.

Brazils economy is only expected to grow by 0.9% this year, and by 1.5% next year, according to new International Monetary Fund estimates. Lulas popularity sits at only 38%, according to a recent Datafolha poll.

A visit to Putin

Anthony Pereira, head of Florida International Universitys Kimberly Green Latin American Center, reminded me that Lulas predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, wasnt a vocal critic of Russia, either.

Bolsonaro even visited Putin in Moscow in February 2022, despite U.S. pleas that he cancel the trip because Russia was about to launch its invasion of Ukraine. Brazil is highly dependent on imports of Russian fertilizers, Pereira noted.

Im not sure that what Lula is saying about Ukraine sounds that radical in the Brazilian context, Pereira told me. A lot of people who supported Bolsonaro didnt want to support Ukraine, either. They admired that Russia has a strong leader, and that it is a Christian, ethnically nationalist and anti-LGBQ country.

Maybe so. But Lulas statements on Russias invasion contradict his own national-sovereignty foreign policy.

By seeming to embrace Russias dangerous premise that it needed to invade Ukraine to protect its sphere of influence, Lula is opening the door for the United States or any other military power to invade its neighbors under the same pretext. That would throw the world into even more chaos.

Lula should focus on reducing poverty in Brazil and supporting a rules-based international order. His recent statements trying to normalize Russias invasion not only disqualify him as a serious peace broker, but also have turned him into a de facto backer of Russian imperialism.

Dont miss the Oppenheimer Presenta TV show on Sundays at 8 pm E.T. on CNN en Espanol. Twitter: @oppenheimera
Bridget Fonda recently spoke about her decision to leave Hollywood. (Dan Steinberg / Associated Press)

For Bridget Fonda, a life away from the Hollywood spotlight can be a life well-lived.

The former actor, daughter of actors Peter Fonda and Susan Brewer, spoke with the Daily Mail on Monday about her decision to retire from acting. She is best known for her work in "Single White Female," "Jackie Brown" and "The Godfather Part III."

The Daily Mail caught Fonda, 59, at LAX and asked if she might be interested in "making a move back into Hollywood."

"I don't think so, it's too nice being a civilian," she responded as she got into a car. Not even a director could persuade her to jump back into acting, she told the Mail photographer.

The former actor, niece to Jane Fonda, was spotted with her 18-year-old son, Oliver Elfman, whom she shares with composer Danny Elfman ("The Nightmare Before Christmas"). Fonda and Elfman married in 2003.

Fonda last acted in the miniseries "Snow Queen" in 2002, according to IMDb. Her additional movie work includes "Finding Graceland" and "A Simple Plan."

In 1990, she received her first Golden Globe nomination for "Scandal"; her second came in 2002 for "After Amy." Fonda also earned an Emmy nomination in 1997 for "In the Gloaming." She retired in 2002.

Fonda survived a 2003 car crash in Malibu. She reportedly lost control of her vehicle but sustained only minor cuts and bruises. Since then, Fonda has rarely appeared in public, save for a movie premiere in 2009.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Preliminary reports indicate that a bright flash that Kyiv residents spotted in the skies over the city on the evening of 19 April is the result of a NASA satellite falling to Earth.

Source: Kyiv City Military Administration on Telegram, Ukrainian Air Force Command on Facebook

Quote from Serhiy Popko, Head of the Kyiv City Military Administration: "Around 22:00 on 19 April, a bright flash of an aerial object was observed in the skies over Kyiv. Preliminary reports indicate that this is a result of a NASA satellite falling to Earth."

           .    ,  .     Telegram- pic.twitter.com/8CDePBr8vm     (@ukrpravda_news) April 19, 2023

Details: Popko added that the air-raid warning was issued to avoid casualties from falling debris.

He emphasised that air defence was not deployed in the capital.

Later, the Air Force Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has reported that the flashes over the city of Kyiv, that occurred at around 22:30, are preliminary reported to be associated with the fall of a satellite or meteorite. This information is being ascertained.

Quote from the Air Force: "Currently, there is no threat of the enemy air attack in this area. Air defence is on the alert!"

Background:

On the evening of 19 April, an air-raid warning was issued in the east of Ukraine, as well as in Kyiv Oblast, and an aerial target was reported to have been spotted in the skies over Kyiv Oblast.

Residents of the capital reported seeing a bright flash in the sky.

Earlier, Space.com reported that a malfunctioning NASA satellite would crash to Earth on 19-20 April.

NASAs RHESSI satellite, which had studied the Sun from 2002 until its decommissioning in 2018, was expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere around 01:30 GMT on 20 April. RHESSI is not a huge satellite. It weighs only 270 kilograms. It was noted that the majority of this mass would be converted to ash and vapour during the fall.

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By Michael Holden and Sam Tobin

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain is anticipating that 56,000 migrants will cross the Channel in small boats to its shores this year, court documents show, meaning it would be need to house as many as 140,000 asylum seekers.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has made stopping boat arrivals one of his five priorities after the number of migrants arriving on the south coast of England soared to a record level in 2022 of more than 45,000, up 500% in the last two years.

Already this year, more than 5,000 more people have arrived in Britain across the Channel.

In court documents submitted as part of a case being brought against it at London's High Court on Wednesday, the government said as of March it was estimated to be accommodating more than 109,000 asylum seekers, with 48,000 in hotels at a cost of 6.2 million pounds ($7.7 million) per day.

"Significantly, the number needing support is predicted to grow still further: Home Office operational plans are based on scenarios of up to 56,000 small boat arrivals in 2023," the document said. "That would take the supported population to between 120,000 and 140,000."

Anger over immigration has become a big issue in British politics, and in March, Sunak's Conservative government announced a new law which would bar anyone who arrived in a small boat from claiming asylum and see them deported back to their homeland or a safe third country.

Last year, Britain agreed a deal to send tens of thousands of migrants more than 4,000 miles away (6,400 km) to Rwanda but so far no one has been deported while the courts decide whether the policy is lawful.

In the meantime, the government is examining using military bases or large barges to house asylum seekers, but that has prompted anger from some Conservative-run councils over plans to accommodate migrants in disused sites in their areas.

One of those, Braintree Council which covers an area to the northeast of London, was seeking an injunction at the High Court on Wednesday to prevent the government using an air base for this purpose.

($1 = 0.8055 pounds)

(Reporting by Michael Holden and Sam Tobin, Editing by Angus MacSwan)
Once a child is adopted from foster care, its as if they are reborn in the eyes of many child welfare agencies.

In required data reports to the federal government, these agencies remove evidence that would illuminate the childs past journeys through the system. They take away the ability to trace details of a childs round trip from foster care to adoption and back again when an adoption fails, or to examine what might have led to a better outcome.

The result, a USA TODAY investigation found: No one knows how well each state is fulfilling its mission of finding children their forever homes.

At stake are the fates of more than 50,000 children adopted out of foster care every year. The federal government funnels about $3 billion a year to families who adopt from foster care, now the leading type of adoption in most states, according to data compiled by USA TODAY.

Cortney Jones, a child welfare advocate who spent 10 years in foster care and lived through a broken adoption, said following the paths of foster children into adoptions could boost the odds that adoptions succeed.

The kids end up back in the system because you didnt track it, Jones said. You didnt provide the support. You didnt do your due diligence.

Theres no reason that tracking cant happen, experts say. A national adoption and foster care tracking system has been in place for nearly three decades. The federal government is in charge of making sure states supply accurate data.

Yet numerous states erase information essential to linking adoptions from foster care to adoption outcomes. They create a brand-new identification number for the child in the federal system, either at adoption or on reentry to foster care. Some, drawing on policies rooted in an era of secretive adoptions, break the data connection deliberately.

Its just one example of how the federal Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System falls far short of its aspirations, creating a jumble of disconnected facts instead of a reliable resource.

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Federal authorities have allowed the inadequate reporting to continue, despite a law Congress passed in 2003 to seize foster care money from states with bad data. Audits since then by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, which hands out adoption subsidies and manages the database, have flagged states with a wide array of data problems.

States have dragged their on making improvements, and under a new rule, the children and families administration says it wont start imposing fines until 2023.

Confronted with the problem of spotty case tracking, the agency downplayed its legal authority over adoptions, which it said were largely a state issue.

Data like this is not all subject to federal oversight and, therefore, is not necessarily in the purview of state or federal child welfare systems, Aysha Schomburg, associate commissioner of the Childrens Bureau at the children and families administration, said in a written response.

How prescriptive federal authorities can be about consistent ID numbers is murky. But the agency said that if states don't keep consistent IDs, they still are required to report whether children entering foster care were previously adopted and whether they had other visits to foster care. That, the agency acknowledged, may not always happen.

Penelope Maza, a statistician who helped launch the system, called the federal governments failure to crack down on states a slap in the face.

Our whole strategy for data quality was through penalty, said Maza, who retired from the children and families administration in 2008. If they thought there was a penalty, theyd improve their data.

You want us to make it up?

Maza earned a Ph.D. in sociology from Ohio State University, studying intergenerational social mobility. At the federal children and families administration, a project she pitched became the one that spanned her career: creation of a national database to track every U.S. foster child and every adoption from foster care.

The work wasnt quite what she had imagined.

It was a nightmare, she said.

The plainspoken researcher said she had to compromise constantly in the face of competing demands from social workers, politicians and fellow academics. She learned to prod and push to keep the ball moving among bureaucrats who she thought didnt seem to care.

Penelope Penny Maza is a former statistician with the Childrens Bureau who helped create the national tracking database.

Up until that point in the 1980s, state and federal child welfare officials kept spotty state data with wildly varying definitions. The national statistics were so poor that if someone called her agency from Capitol Hill seeking a figure, she used to say, You want us to make it up?

Maza was frustrated. The country desperately needed a way to see how each state was serving children from abusive homes.

No one knew how fast kids went through their system, if they were slower than other states and why were they? Maza said.

She decided to keep the database simple enough for everyone to participate. Federal officials wouldnt demand every clinical detail about every child. They couldnt house notes from every case file. They had to accommodate varying levels of data knowhow among the states.

The Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System launched in 1993, creating a standardized list of data each state had to submit twice yearly.

The government invested heavily in the technology that helps states manage adoptions and foster care stays internally.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that from 1994 to 2001, it paid states $821 million to create the in-house databases that now feed AFCARS. States told the Government Accountability Office they spent another $1.1 billion in state and local funds.

Once the reporting system was in place, Maza took to the road. She crisscrossed the country to convince child welfare workers of its value. She felt good about what she considered her conservative approach. States were getting to work.

Then, she said, things got ugly.

No penalties for states messy records

Over the years, auditors with Mazas agency performed routine checks on how each state was doing. Problems surfaced frequently.

In Georgia, 70% of foster care data required technical corrections, according to a 2011 report. Ohio underreported childrens mental health diagnoses, a 2014 audit found. Missouri needs to ensure that all parties involved in a case take ownership for the accuracy of the data, federal reviewers wrote in 2009. New York failed to report runaways from foster care, the federal government found in 2013.

Incomplete and inaccurate record-keeping persists.

The federal data system is supposed to flag, yes-no-cant tell, whether a child entering foster care had been adopted before. USA TODAY found the adoption flag consistently missing or marked as unable to determine in the records of more than 400,000 kids served by the child welfare system from 2008 to 2020.

Some Washington foster children were listed in the federal database year after year as having had no adoption in their past. Yet they were marked as previously adopted the moment a new family adopted them. Alerted to the problem by USA TODAY, the states child welfare agency found a system error and plans to address it, said spokeswoman Nancy Gutierrez.

Early on, Mazas agency tried getting states to shape up by handing down fines. That, she said, is when states pushed back  hard.

After 12 states joined forces to appeal their penalties  and won  the children and families administration announced in 2002 that it would abandon fines. The agency instead would encourage states to make the improvements in as timely a manner as possible.

But the idea of penalizing states hung on. Noting a GAO report pinpointing widespread problems, House Majority Leader Tom Delay, R-Texas, and Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in 2003 publicly called on human services officials to consider reviving fines for bad foster data. Months later, Delay added mandatory fines to an adoption incentives bill signed into law in December 2003.

Making it happen was far harder than it sounded, though. In 2008 and again in 2015, the federal children and families agency made a dead-end attempt to enact rules that would expand the data standards Maza created and enforce the penalties Congress had authorized. States responding to the 2015 proposal called it onerous, of little value and an added burden.

Without new rules for penalties, states took their time.

A decade after receiving a negative audit of their foster data, North Carolina authorities still hadn't made fixes, noting in 2017 that changes were "imminent. Work then paused in 2018 due to issues with the systems usability for county child welfare workers, Bailey Pennington, a spokesperson with North Carolinas Department of Health and Human Services, wrote in an email to USA TODAY.

Federal officials told Pennsylvanias child welfare agency in 2015 that its decision to leave data collection to counties was creating inconsistent and incomplete data. Seven years later, Pennsylvania still has not built the statewide system recommended by the children and families administration.

We anticipate the system development of this project to begin in 2023, Brandon Cwalina, an agency spokesperson, said by email.

New IDs erase childrens pasts

One of the biggest shortcomings in the national foster care database is that in most cases, it cant be used to track children after an adoption fails. One reason may be an early 20th-century ethos that walled off any detail of a childs biological family after an adoption.

States remove names before sending records to the federal foster care and adoption database, which charts the histories of individual children and is open to anyone. Federal guidance tells states instead to assign a unique but encrypted ID number that travels with the child regardless of where the family/child moves within the state.

But most states send the feds a fresh ID, either when an adoption from foster care is finalized or when a former adoptee reenters the foster system. A 2020 report submitted to the children and families administration found that only 16 states had AFCARS IDs that allowed kids from failed adoptions to be linked to prior foster care records.

Some states sever any link between pre-adoption and post-adoption records, even in their own databases. Others preserve IDs for internal use. Nancy Rolock, a professor at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, said she was able to trace adoption failures in Illinois because a state employee happened to be keeping childrens new and old IDs in one Excel spreadsheet.

I spent two years trying to do the same thing in Wisconsin, Rolock said. It was impossible."

Information about the childs birth family, early cases of abuse and mental health diagnoses are washed away because the old ID is unknowable by practically anyone but a caseworker around long enough to remember the child.

The practice of issuing new IDs to children after theyve been adopted from foster care is well known to federal authorities. Schomburg, at the children and families administration, acknowledged by email that the fact a child came from a broken adoption is not always accurately obtained by the states" because of the ID gap.

The agency said further that it does require states to accurately report whether an adoptee has previously spent time in foster care but that it cannot make states keep a consistent ID that would unlock detailed histories.

Some states, when asked why they issued new IDs after adoption, cited technical limitations theyre working to overcome. Others said issuing new IDs was a deliberate choice.

In South Dakota, the state treats the entry as a new case because the original record is sealed, wrote Laurie Gill, cabinet secretary for the states Department of Social Services, in an email.

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Iowa has a practice of delinking the identity of the adopted child by issuing a new unique ID in the system at the time of adoption, said Alex Carfrae. As in South Dakota, Carfrae cited a state law sealing records of an adoption and the termination of biological parents rights.

Arkansas Department of Human Services spokesman Gavin Lesnick cited Arkansas business practice. Oklahoma issues a new ID number because it is a closed adoption state, spokesperson Casey White said.

Its unclear how submitting an encrypted ID number to the AFCARS system would reveal an adopted childs identity.

According to Mark Testa, a professor emeritus of the School of Social Work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, these policies are a throwback to when society shamed young women who became pregnant out of wedlock.

It had to do with attitudes of secrecy and confidentiality over adoption, Testa said.

Today, however, attitudes have changed. Many adoptions are open from the start  meaning birth parents have a relationship with the adoptive parents  and some states now grant adoptive children the right to open their birth records.

Clinging to outdated state policies on privacy for reasons few can articulate has led to overprotection of childrens identities, Testa and other child welfare researchers said. It comes at the expense of accurately documenting each childs path through the state system.

Federal authorities cannot scrutinize what happened to people like Alyssa Davis, whose adoption from foster care in New Mexico failed when she was 14. Researchers cant see what led her to be removed from her birth family, they cant evaluate risk factors in Davis demographic profile, and they cant study whether policies such as pre-adoption supports and adoptive parent screening are helpful in cases like hers.

Even Davis cant find out all that happened. She remembers snippets, but when she finally received her foster care records at 18, only her most recent placements came back. Her foster history before the adoption was invisible.

Richard Barth, a professor at the University of Marylands School of Social Work, said theres no excuse for state child welfare officials to hold back data revealing what happens post-adoption.

Since most, if not all, of children adopted out of foster care are receiving subsidies, the states should have the responsibility to track the success of those adoptions, said Barth, who has written dozens of studies on child welfare and adoption.

Changes coming but debate goes on

People who oversee the nations foster care and adoption records succeeded in enacting rules for an upgrade, including penalties, in 2020. States can start being fined for chronically bad data next year.

The plan was supposed to be wrapped up in 2016. But when President Donald Trump took office, his executive order limiting federal regulation put the rules on ice. In the meantime, agency officials scaled back the new data they would collect.

It was bonkers, said Kathryn Fort, who represents the plaintiffs, including the Cherokee Nation, in a lawsuit challenging the governments decision not to require the reporting of data on foster and adopted childrens gender identities and tribal citizenship. Without that information, the government doesnt have an accurate picture of these marginalized populations in foster care, Fort says, which means children are losing out on accessing services.

The 2020 rule is final, but the debate continues over how much data will be required and how to make sure states report it.

Some say the child welfare system is already overloaded.

We demand a lot from social service providers and caseworkers, said Linda-Jeanne Mack, who spent six years as the director of a Massachusetts program intended to ensure foster children find permanent homes.

You have a bunch of people who know absolutely nothing about the data compiling the data, Mack said. None of us were data scientists.

Mark Testa, the former UNC professor, said hes not sure what will work going forward.

How do we get states to improve their data collection? Testa said. I think we have to continue to say why its good for kids that we do this, why its good for families, why it's good to correct the inequities in our system.

Contributing: Mark Nichols and Matt Wynn.

More in this series

A broken system leaves tens of thousands of adoptees without families, homes

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Flawed adoption data thwarts efforts to learn if adoptions succeed
(Bloomberg) -- Hungarys capital Budapest adopted a survival package of cuts to avoid bankruptcy as the opposition-led citys mayor blamed Prime Minister Viktor Orbans government for squeezing revenue for political gain.

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In the latest clash between Orbans nationalist government and cities led by Hungarys fractured opposition, Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony said his office would stop paying taxes to the countrys Finance Ministry in an effort to keep providing services including public transport and paychecks for the citys 27,000 employees.

The decision followed Orbans policies including restricting Budapests borrowing ability and ratcheting up its contribution to the national budget to 58 billion forint ($168 million) this year. He also deprived municipalities of crucial income from sources such as levies on local businesses.

We have successfully overcome crises that were not caused by internal politics, the mayor of the metropolis of 1.8 million said, citing hardships caused by the pandemic and the energy price crunch. The Hungarian government has visibly dedicated itself to a hostile-Budapest policy.

Orbans ruling Fidesz party made major gains in last years parliamentary elections, which his critics say was helped by bleeding opposition-led cities of revenue. The premier has since directed state support  often financed by European Union developmental aid funds  into centers his party controls while not doing the same for Budapest and a few other large cities.

Karacsony said Orbans government had missed deadlines to deliver funds to Budapest. The city will apply for a bank loan to maintain liquidity, although such a move would require approval by Orbans cabinet.

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The mayor said he expects municipal budget deficit to rise to 76.1 billion forints in August from 32.1 billion that was projected in June.

Fidesz pushed back, saying wasteful, bad urban management was behind Budapests financial hardships. In a statement on the ruling partys Facebook page, it cited a failed advertising tender and public procurements for lost income, as well as rising costs at some investments due to execution delays.

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Bulgaria

The Bulgarian ban does not apply to goods in transit.

Read also: Bulgaria closes ports for ships with Russian registration due to EU sanctions

The EU has slammed the bans, saying they contravene both EU and international law, said EU spokesperson for trade issues, Miriam Garcia Ferrer.

Unilateral bans of individual countries wont solve anything, Czechias Agriculture Minister Zdenek Nekula said in an April 17 press release.

He noted that EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski has said the bans are unacceptable, reported Politico on April 17.

Read also: Bulgaria recognizes Holodomor of 1932-1933 as genocide against the Ukrainian people

Despite the pressure from Brussels and the likely illegality of the move, Bulgarias Donev decided to join with its Eastern neighbors in banning Ukrainian agricultural products.

Over the past year, a significant amount of [Ukrainian] food has remained in the country and disrupted food chains, Bulgarian BNP Radio quoted Donev as saying.

He noted that the consequences for Bulgarian farming may be crucial, if the trend continues or increases.

We are forced to adopt this national measure because the European authorities are still considering an adequate measure. We expect Brussels will hear and understand the positions of Bulgaria, Poland, Czechia, and Slovakia. Bulgaria still stands in solidarity with Ukraine, but the bankruptcies of Bulgarian farmers do not help this cause, he said.

The Polish government banned on April 15 the import of Ukrainian grain and a large range of other products into the country. Polish farmers had protested for many months the inflow of grain from Ukraine transiting through the country to third parties. They claimed that a large part of grain stays in the country instead of transiting through, flooding the Polish market and causing prices to decrease.

Read also: Polish agriculture minister resigns amid anger over Ukrainian grain imports

Hungary and Slovakia joined Poland in halting imports of grains and oil seeds, dairy products, and meat from Ukraine.

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Ukraine and Poland agreed on April 18 to renew grain transit through Poland, the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine said.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Silicon Valley Bank

With limited local banking and capital sources, Ukraines dense startup community was hit particularly hard. Ukrainian startups are now looking to hedge their traditional bets on the U.S.s tech-friendly banks, though ultimately, U.S. federal regulators stepped in and guaranteed deposits at SVB. A New York regulator did the same for Signature Bank, another tech-heavy bank. Clients were ultimately made whole, above and beyond required deposit insurance  but the country is still wracked with the financial jitters.

Ukrainian startup founders and venture capitalists tell the New Voice of Ukraine that some are looking closer to home  namely, at the European Union.

We have to start to locate in the EU and thats the way to go into a new market, says Denys Gurak, the CEO and founder of A.D.A.M., a biotech startup that aims to 3D print bones for surgical implants.

If the bridge before was functioning like Ukraine directly to the U.S., now the step in between has emerged: Companies going to the EU first and validating the products.

Read also: Ukrainian-Estonian startup Salto X raises EUR 5.2 million for Web3 alternative to stock options

Like many Ukrainian tech founders, Gurak leads A.D.A.M. from the U.S. while the engineering team remains in offices at home, in Kyiv and Odesa.

Its tough to gauge how many Ukrainian firms got hit by the Silicon Valley Bank collapse. Most of the data available on firms with assets there came either from voluntary disclosure or Securities and Exchange Commission filings that only publicly traded companies report  a category of companies already established.

Denis Dovgopoliy, founder of startup information hub Unicorn Nest, wrote in a Facebook post that hed counted 25 Ukrainian startups banking with SVB. He did not name them.

I suspect that 90% companies in Ukraine that have US structure/business are banked at SVB, writes Mariusz Adamski, a partner at FF VC who leads the Ukraine-focused Blue & Yellow Fund from Warsaw..

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As a result of SVBs fallout, some Ukrainian startups have now set their sights on Poland as their next hub for capital and investment.

Its not as easy to set up account operations as in the U.S., but that's a big point for Ukrainians wanting to become part of the EU. explains Adamski.

They might well also send more money to Polish banks.

This has already been happening, says Gurak.

Because of the war, a lot of startups started relocating to Eastern Europe  to Poland specifically. Just to de-risk the whole business for investors because that's basically the main thing that precludes startups from raising now.

However, EU banking is traditionally more tightly regulated and less profitable. Paschal Donohoe, the leader of a group of EU finance ministers, cheered the trading block in the aftermath of U.S. instability, saying What we have done in the past, we can see the value in it now.

Read also: Investors complain, but central banks shrug

Aftershocks are still reverberating through the U.S. First Republic Bank, a major competitor to SVB, has stopped giving out dividends, according to recent filings. Despite a $30 billion bailout from Wall Street heavy hitters in mid-March, First Republics stock has flatlined at around $14.

But U.S. banks are not alone in wobbling.

I think its a global meltdown. says Kirill Bandar, a founder of energy firm UDP Renewables and a partner at Kyivs tech hub, Unit.City.

Some startups will die. There is no free money; money is expensive.

The EUs banking system has thus far held strong. But as Silicon Valley Bank, Signature and Silvergate fell, the long-embattled Credit Suisse finally got acquired by UBS.

I think the small banks in America will start to fall and it will most likely happen this year, predicts Elijah Podavalkin, the founder of outsourcing firm Scalamandra.

"The largest remains. As for Europe, there is also a similar scenario. Therefore, I would not expect that it will be much better here.

Still, the U.S. retains a unique role. Its equities markets make up nearly half of the global total, according to the national self-regulatory organization for securities markets. The U.S. also has looser restrictions on letting companies access local banking services than the EU  which is appealing to startups that lack traditional credit histories.

For tech startups, it is also easier to visit Silicon Valley and line up a barrage of meetings with potential bankers than to hop to the various financial hubs of Europe.

Read also: Microsoft to provide Ukraine with $100 million in tech assistance

I think for most startups, they will still look to a U.S. bank, says Oleh Zaremba, co-founder of AxDraft, which makes software to process legal contracts and was acquired by Houston-based ONIT at the end of 2020. Instead of abandoning the U.S., Ukrainian startups will become more careful about how much they have in one account.

Podavalkin likewise recommends that startups diversify.

I'd suggest looking into different big banks. It's also a good idea to avoid putting all your eggs in one basket (or one currency!) by splitting your capital between a few different banking jurisdiction, he advises.

And don't forget to keep some cash on hand too.

Gurak, at least, thinks Ukraine has some critical experience weathering market storms.

Its a bear market for attracting investment in the U.S., but in Ukraine it was always a bear market, he says.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Driving around downtown Boise, youll most likely see most cars with license plates starting with 1A or occasionally 2C. Or, if youre driving around Twin Falls, youll likely see the majority of license plates starting with 2T.

These are license plate designators, and youll only find this sequence in Idaho. Nearly every state in the United States has a way to determine which county a license plate was issued in, but some states make it more apparent than others.

For example, in Kansas, the county designation is placed on a small sticker in the corner of the license plate. In Wyoming, every license plate starts with a one or two-digit number that indicates which county the license was issued in.

Idaho is the only state that uses a combination of a letter and a number to designate the county of issuance  1A is Ada County and 2C is Canyon County, while 2T is Twin Falls County.

While it doesnt seem significant, some Idaho residents feel that the highly-visible plate results in an invasion of privacy and can result in biases depending on where you are and where you live.

Being a 1A plate in the middle of nowhere draws attention, a user on the Boise subreddit wrote. Being a 2C plate in 1A draws attention and vice versa. Its a real thing. Theres real bias, especially against 1A.

Several Reddit users even recall reciting a song in elementary school that listed all of Idahos counties, which helps them know where each license plate is from.

But there is one way around Idahos license plate designation: vanity plates.

Vanity plates in Idaho

A vanity plate is a unique plate administered and approved by the state transportation department that does not require the county designation code. The Idaho Transportation Department oversees personalized license plates, and outlines some common-sense rules:

Personalized plates, in any language, may not carry a sexual term that is vulgar, obscene, or in poor taste, the transportation department states on its website. (It) may not consist of a term that is considered to be one of obscenity, contempt, prejudice, hostility, insult, racial degradation, ethnic degradation, profanity, or vulgarity.

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If youre not sure what constitutes vulgar, obscene, or in poor taste, heres a small sample of some of the PG-13 license plates requested  and rejected  in 2021:

J4CKA55

CA SUKS

BADBICH

USL0WAF

F B0MB

Applying for an Idaho vanity plate

Applying for a vanity plate in Idaho is relatively straightforward: your car registration and title must be current, and the vehicle must be under 26,000 pounds. For reference, a mid-size sedan weighs, on average, about 3,300 pounds.

You can print off or download a personalized license plate form on the transportation departments website. The form can then be emailed to specialplates@itd.idaho.gov or mailed to Idaho Transportation Department Vehicle Services - Special Plates at PO Box 7129, Boise, ID 83707.

In addition to regular registration fees ranging from $45 to $69, a vanity plate will cost $25 to $35, depending on the design, and some unique plates have an additional $25 fee.
ANTIOCH, Calif. (AP)  A San Francisco Bay Area city council is undertaking an audit of its troubled police department, the latest development in a year-long federal investigation of the Antioch Police Department that blew up this month with the disclosure of racist and hostile text messages sent by officers.

Angry residents crowded City Hall on Tuesday evening as the Antioch City Council unanimously approved audits of the departments internal affairs unit, its hiring and promotional practices and of department culture. Officials have named 17 officers who sent text messages, including the president of the Antioch police union, although Contra Costa County's public defender said that nearly half of the 100-officer department was included in the text chains.

Defense attorney Ellen McDonnell has asked District Attorney Diana Becton to dismiss all cases involving the public defenders office and Antioch police. Becton said she is reviewing cases for potential dismissal or resentencing. It's unclear how many cases are at stake.

The public simply cannot have trust or confidence in any criminal prosecution involving the Antioch Police Department, McDonnell said in an email Wednesday. No one should be charged with a crime based on the report of a police department so thoroughly riddled with corruption."

The incendiary text messages, which were heavily redacted, contain derogatory, racist, homophobic and sexually explicit language. Officers brag about making up evidence and beating up suspects. They refer to women as water buffalo, share photos of gorillas, freely use racial slurs and make light of the police killing of George Floyd in 2020.

In September 2020, two officers agreed by text to write a large number of traffic citations by targeting a specific group in a specific area. A male officer referred to Black people by a racist slur and said authorities should make them eat s---." A female officer responded, Yes that will be easy. And it will be a good time lol start off quick with the numbers.

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The city of 115,000 residents about 45 miles (72 kilometers) east of San Francisco was once predominantly white but has diversified in the last 30 years.

Mayor Lamar Thorpe is among three Black, progressive members of the five-person council who have said they are committed to holding police accountable and protecting tenants' rights. In 2021, the city issued an apology for its treatment of early Chinese immigrants.

What youre seeing is a maturation process, its like watching a teenage kid develop pimples, he said in an interview Wednesday. "The institutions have taken a long time to catch up with where the voters and public have been.

The text messages came out as part of an investigation launched in March 2022 by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Contra Costa District Attorneys office into a broad range of offenses, including what prosecutors called crimes of moral turpitude, by officers with the Antioch and nearby Pittsburg police departments.

The district attorney's office released two batches of text messages to reporters after a judge on April 7 ordered the messages shared with defense attorneys in a pending felony case involving some of the officers. The reports did not identify the races of the officers who sent the text messages, and none have yet been charged with a crime.

The messages disclosed to date were sent largely in 2020 and 2021. Sgt. Rick Hoffman, president of the Antioch Police Officers Association, is named as sending communications. The association did not respond to requests for comment.

In April 2020, one Antioch officer texted an officer at another police department: Since we don't have video I sometimes just say people gave me a full confession when they didn't, get filed easier.

In June 2020, one officer offered a steak dinner to anyone who could 40 Thorpe at a protest, referring to a .40mm less lethal launcher, a senior inspector for the district attorneys office explained in a report. Such a device could shoot rubber bullets or bean bag rounds.

Antioch Police Chief Steve Ford issued a statement last week condemning the the racially abhorrent content and incomprehensible behavior being attributed to members of the Antioch Police Department in media reports.

His department also established an email address and phone line where community members could give feedback. Ford did not respond to emailed requests to speak with The Associated Press.

Police officers have been busted before for sending bigoted messages to each other. In 2015, then-San Francisco Police Chief Greg Suhr moved to fire or discipline 14 officers involved in trading racist text messages.

Authorities have given no timeline for when their joint investigation might finish.
California lawmakers advanced several climate bills intended to hold companies accountable for pollution contributing to atmospheric warming Tuesday, as opponents questioned whether the measures could make a tangible impact.

Proposals that would require corporations doing business in the state to divulge their carbon emissions and financial risk from climate change will progress. Another major bill to bar state pension funds from investing in fossil fuel firms passed two key committees.

Supporters of SB 252 say investment of public dollars in companies expanding their fossil fuel footprint undermines the states efforts to reduce California greenhouse gas emissions to 80% below 1990 levels by 2050.

I dont see how we decarbonize without a bill such as this one, and if we dont have the advocates pushing as much as they are, said bill author Sen. Lena Gonzalez in a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. We have a new economy that the workforce cant transition to without this.

As the countrys largest pension fund, CalPERS manages over $469 billion in assets and pays benefits to more than 1.5 million public employees and retirees. CalSTRS, which provides benefits to teachers, manages a portfolio worth $254 billion.

The bill would prohibit both funds from making any additional or new investments of public employee retirement funds in a fossil fuel company, and to liquidate existing investments by July 1, 2030. A similar effort failed last year.

Opponents include the Western States Petroleum Association and CalPERS, which warns of negative financial impacts and argues that divestment would have little impact on fossil fuel companies and their emissions.

The fund said it recognizes the risk of climate change, but believes it should be addressed through advocacy in their investment practices. CalPERS spokesperson John Myers estimated the measure would affect $9.4 billion in investments.

Divestment is a form of active risk taking. That creates volatility... and means divestment action could generate a positive or negative return, said Danny Brown, legislative affairs chief of CalPERS. No one can predict the future.

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A legislative analysis found divestment will likely conflict with the pension boards fiduciary obligations



to beneficiaries. Yet many teachers and state employee associations have already passed resolutions calling for divestment from fossil fuels.

CalPERs has previously divested from the coal, tobacco and firearms industries, as well as from countries Sudan and Iran. Apart from tobacco, a report commissioned by CalPERS found those actions generated positive portfolio returns.

The funds attempts thus far to engage oil and gas companies, including ExxonMobil and Chevron, have not resulted in significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report by one of the bills major supporters, Fossil Free California.

The measure is supported by school faculty and nurse associations. But Californias largest labor groups, including the California Labor Federation and California Teachers Association, have yet to weigh in.

CalPERS and CalSTERS have a lot of arguments against the bill that I personally think are outdated, said Fossil Free California coordinating director Miriam Eide. We have an opportunity to set a standard for the world and no longer being complicit in fossil fuel disruption.

Another aspiring climate bill that would force large corporations doing business in California to disclose their annual greenhouse gas emissions data cleared its first hearing Tuesday.

Democratic Sen. Scott Wieners bill SB 253 would require the nations largest companies to partner with a nonprofit emissions registry to report greenhouse gas emissions related to their operations and supply chain.

Several multinational corporations already release standardized emissions data. But this measure would be the first of its kind in the country and is backed by leading environmental groups. A similar effort to promote corporate emissions transparency failed in 2021.

Supporters say requiring companies to fully report their emissions will help California consumers make informed decisions about their consumption and give policymakers access to data needed to help the state achieve decarbonization goals. A bill analysis found this is easier on companies to comply.

It is opposed by the California Chamber of Commerce and the Western States Petroleum Association, which argue the measure will hurt businesses. The states cap-and-trade program already has an emissions inventory, the chamber argued.

Its a reporting requirement that effectively will not actually reduce the emissions that it will ultimately increase costs here in California, said a representative. Creating a similar inventory or a shadow inventory, if you will, isnt really going to lend itself to that.

The final ambitious climate measure that moved forward would require corporations doing business in California to file reports on financial risks tied to climate change. SB 261 applies to firms with an annual revenue above $500 million.

The effects of a worsening climate already affect the cost of health care, worker safety, raw materials, liability risk and the resiliency of supply chains, all of which impact our economy, said Sen. Wiener in support. The measure was introduced by Sen. Henry Stern.

SB 261 mirrors a federal effort at the Securities and Exchange Commission that would apply to publicly traded multinationals. Similar disclosure requirements were first adopted by the International Task Force on Climate Change in 2017.

The state Chamber of Commerce, along with several other influential business associations, oppose the measure and say disclosure requirements and potential penalties would be overly burdensome.

All three bills will be move to the Senate Appropriations Committee before a floor vote.
LOS ANGELES  A Southern California high school student was killed and others were injured Tuesday when a man suspected in an earlier stabbing hit them with his vehicle during a rollover crash, officials said.

The crash, which killed a 15-year-old boy in Thousand Oaks, west of Los Angeles, is believed to have been deliberate.

"The traffic collision today was deemed an intentional act," Capt. William Hutton, a Ventura County sheriff's spokesperson, said late Tuesday.

A possible motive has not been released. The suspect was identified as Austin Eis, 24, but it was not clear whether he had been booked on charges late Tuesday. He was being guarded at a hospital, Hutton said.

Three other teenagers were injured in the single-vehicle rollover crash, Sheriffs Deputy Ashely Barrios told reporters earlier. They are two girls, 16 and 14, and a 15-year-old boy, she said. Their conditions were not immediately available.

California high school student dead, others hurt after stabbing suspect crashes car. (NBC Los Angeles)

All four were students at Westlake High School, and they were hit around 3:15 p.m. on a sidewalk, said Mark McLaughlin, the superintendent of the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, McLaughlin and Westlake High School Principal Jason Branham said in a joint statement.

Eis is also suspected of stabbing a worker at a Walmart in Simi Valley, north of Thousand Oaks, around 2:40 p.m.

Barrios said that after the stabbing, the suspect went to Camarillo, a city west of Simi Valley, where some type of domestic dispute with family members occurred. No one was hurt there.

He then traveled to Thousand Oaks, where the rollover crash occurred, Barrios said.

Helicopter video from NBC Los Angeles showed a white vehicle on its roof by the sidewalk and a covered bus stop nearby. The scene is near Westlake High School, the station reported.

The sheriff's office said the car that crashed was the same white Toyota Camry missing its front bumper that was seen leaving the Walmart after the stabbing.

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The sheriff's office and Simi Valley police said a motive for the stabbing at the Walmart had not been determined. An investigation was ongoing, the department said.

The school district said counselors would be available at Westlake High School, as well as campuses across the district.

A number for anyone associated with Eis in Ventura County could not immediately be found in online public records late Tuesday. It was not clear whether he had a lawyer who could speak on his behalf.

Thousand Oaks is a city of around 120,000 in Ventura County, west of Los Angeles.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Home Depot employee in California was shot and killed while trying to stop a shoplifter, authorities say.

Police received reports about a man bleeding inside a Home Depot location Tuesday afternoon in the city of Pleasanton, less than 20 miles southeast of Oakland, the Pleasanton Police Department said in a news release.

Officers arrived on the scene and attended to the victim, 26-year-old Blake Mohs, who was taken to a hospital where he later died of his injuries, police said.

Witnesses at the scene said Mohs "attempted to stop a theft in progress," and a struggled ensued before Mohs was shot. The suspects left the area shortly after Mohs was shot, witnesses told police.

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Victim 'confronted' shoplifter

In a Wednesday update, police said Mohs was a Home Depot loss prevention employee.

Authorities said detectives found Mohs "confronted" a female shoplifter "who resisted and shot him."

Suspects found in Oakland

Nearby authorities were notified the suspects were seen fleeing in a vehicle, and 15 minutes after the shooting took place, Alameda County Sheriff deputies located the vehicle in Oakland and detained the suspects.

Police said the suspect, identified as 32-year-old Benicia Knapps, ran to a getaway car driven by 31-year-old David Guillory following the shooting, with Knapps' child inside the vehicle.

When the suspects fled the scene, a handgun was found in an intersection near the Home Depot. The child was released to relatives following Knapps' and Guillory's arrests.

Pleasanton police confirmed to USA TODAY the charges for the suspects:

Benicia Knapps: Murder, robbery and conspiracy.

David Guillory: Felony evading, child endangerment, conspiracy and delaying/obstructing arrest.

Police added Knapps is currently hospitalized, but will be booked once released.

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"As it is still early and an ongoing investigation, its likely additional charges will be sought against the two suspects," police said.

'Our associate and friend'

Police said Mohn was a well-known member in the community "who helped keep customers and staff safe," and he was planning to get married in the summer.

Home Depot said in a statement to USA TODAY it was "heartbroken over this senseless tragedy."

"Blake was our associate and friend, and our hearts go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him," the company said.

Follow Jordan Mendoza on Twitter: @jordan_mendoza5.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Home Depot employee shot, killed stopping shoplifter in Pleasanton, CA
As hundreds of people gathered in Kansas Citys Northland over the weekend to demand justice for Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager shot by a white homeowner in Clay County, Nicole Price heard a shout come from a passing car.

Trump 2024! a man who appeared to be in his late 20s or early 30s yelled at the crowd.

Price has lived in the Northland, the vast expanse of Kansas City north of the Missouri River, for more than a decade. But Price, who is Black and owns a leadership development company, said her perception of safety has eroded in recent years amid increasing instances of prejudice and bigotry and subtle acts of exclusion.

Its the stares she sometimes receives while on walks through her neighborhood, for example. All of those things make me feel not as safe just moving through my own community, Price said.

The shooting of Yarl, a 16-year-old high school student, last Thursday has provided for many vivid confirmation of the racism they say pervades the Northland. Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said Monday there was a racial component to the shooting, but didnt elaborate. Yarls family has said he sought help at three homes before someone assisted him.

The shooting has pointed a harsh spotlight on an area with a longtime reputation as a white enclave separated by the Missouri River from the more diverse city core. As local leaders grapple with the fallout, calls are growing for Northland leaders to more fully reckon with racism within their communities.

Cultural call-to-question

White people make up at least 60% of the population in almost every Northland census tract. Under 6% of residents in the tract where the shooting occurred are Black. For comparison, Black residents make up more than 50% of the population in many census tracts on the citys East Side. About 27% of all Kansas City residents are Black, according to the 2020 census.

At the same time, some officials say the area is becoming more diverse as people of color move in. They say the Northland has an unearned bad reputation, and they argue racism is present across Kansas City.

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Hours after prosecutors announced charges against Andrew D. Lester, 84, in the shooting of Yarl on Monday, Jackson County Legislator Manny Abarca posted an open letter to Clay County Presiding Commissioner Jerry Nolte. Abarca wrote the shooting wasnt an isolated situation, but a cultural call-to-question as to what actions Nolte and his fellow leaders had avoided.

I have known for a long time that once I crossed the river-North, I should expect a change in the way I am treated because of the color of my skin, Abarca wrote.

Abarca told The Star on Tuesday that he asked himself how he would respond if the shooting had occurred in Jackson County. He said that as he graded officials in the Northland, he didnt see statements and condemnations of what had happened, and that moved him to release the letter.

I think for many minority folks, we were like, Yeah, we could see this happening, Abarca said in an interview. But why is that?

Nolte, a former Republican state legislator who joined the commission in 2015, didnt respond to a call on Tuesday. But in an email, he wrote that our thoughts and prayers are with all those who are suffering as a result of this tragic situation.

It is now in the hands of the judicial system, Nolte wrote. Violence knows no political boundaries, no ideology and no demographic attributes.

Clay County Commissioner Jon Carpenter, a former Democratic state legislator, called Abarca a friend and said his concerns are sincere.

Carpenter, who represents western portions of Clay County, said that as racial resentment is pushed upon society by grifters and charlatans on television and other media, that can lead to people ending up with a lot of hate on their hearts. He said in the shooting of Yarl, it is reasonable to assume that race was probably the decisive factor.

I think the vast majority of friends and neighbors and family and colleagues who live in this area are well-meaning good people and I would hope that all of them would condemn the horrific, racist attempted murder of a child who lives right here in our community with us and I would hope people of all backgrounds could join together in doing so, Carpenter said.

History, perception or current reality?

U.S. Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Kansas City Democrat and the citys first Black mayor, said that when people found out the shooting was in the Northland, many Black people thought the police wouldnt arrest or charge the shooter. He told them they shouldnt prejudge the area, particularly when they were pushing not to be prejudged.

Black people still think about north of the river as the racist area of Kansas City, Cleaver said. Not to realize that that area has changed dramatically over the years. I have strong supporters in Clay County in my district, strong supporters. A lot of African Americans are thinking back to the 50s into the 40s.

Much of the Northlands local elected officials are white, and the area of the shooting  in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street  is no exception. No people of color currently represent the Northland on the Kansas City Council, although redrawn districts will be implemented later this year after municipal elections.

On the Clay County Commission, Nolte and the three commissioners who represent western Clay County are white men.

Nimrod Chapel Jr., president of the Missouri NAACP, said the elected leadership isnt representative of the community. He said there has long been a perception that the Northland wasnt a place for people of color. That ranged from an unwelcoming feeling, he said, to years in the past when individuals felt they couldnt be there unmolested.

When I learned Mr. Yarls shooting occurred there and the circumstances, that certainly hearkens back, if you will, to feelings and sentiment that African Americans, Black people just dont belong there, Chapel said.

State Rep. Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democrat whose Northland district includes Gladstone up toward Ridgefield, said the beauty of the Northland is that it is becoming more diverse.

But we still have a serious race problem in Missouri and a serious race problem in the Northland, Nurrenbern said.

The troubled relationship with Black Kansas Citians and the Northland goes back a long way, Cleaver said, adding that enslaved people were kept up north and that the area used to have many tobacco farms.

The Northland was just seen as an area that was not receptive to Black or brown people. But, most of the young people today, they werent even alive when it was like that, Cleaver said.

Cleaver said that more Black people have moved into the area and that judgments about the area are based on erroneous information and based on history, rather than the current makeup of the Northland.

Kansas City Councilmember Dan Fowler, who represents the area where the shooting took place, said racism exists in every part of the city. He said racism isnt any worse in the Northland than anywhere else.

I think we get a bad rap here for some of that, Fowler said.

Fowler said in the Northland, especially within his district, there is something for everyone, from housing to education to amenities. By and large, its a welcoming area, he said.

Still, Fowler acknowledged a political division between the Northland and the rest of the city, saying the area trends conservative. Describing himself as a moderate, Fowler said the area is very pro-police  a posture that has led to conflict within city government.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas, with a majority of the City Council, in 2021 attempted to exert more control over funding for the Kansas City Police Department, the only police force for a Missouri city that is under state control.

The effort was challenged in court and led to blowback from Republican state legislators and Northland residents. Lucas and the funding plan were denounced by angry residents at town halls and other events. Last year, Missouri voters approved a state constitutional amendment forcing the city to spend more on police.

Lucas office initially agreed to make the mayor available for an interview on the topic of the Northland on Tuesday, but then canceled.

Even as demonstrators have gathered in the Northland and the Yarl shooting has gained national attention, Fowler said he hasnt received very many comments about the shooting from constituents. He said he has heard from some of his colleagues, who he said are very concerned, but beyond that he hadnt received much of an outcry.

Right now, the email flow is about the short-term rental ordinances, Fowler said.

The Stars Daniel Desrochers contributed reporting.
Cameron Norries eased into the last 16 of the Barcelona Open (Getty Images)

British No 1 Cameron Norrie cruised into the last 16 of the Barcelona Open with a resounding straight-sets win over Russian qualifier Pavel Kotov.

Norrie, seeded seventh, dropped just three games during a dominant display, winning 6-1 6-2 in an hour and 13 minutes.

The world No 13 has already clinched a clay court title this year following his triumph at the Rio Open in February and will hope to go deep into the tournament moving towards the French Open, which begins on May 28, especially with Rafael Nadal absent.

He will face Italian ninth seed Lorenzo Musetti in the next round.

Dan Evans joined Norrie in the last 16 with an equally convincing win over Matteo Arnaldi.

The British No 2 was confident in a 6-2 6-3 victory against the Italian, where he broke serve three times.

A tougher test awaits in the next round as he faces Russian Karen Khachanov.

Liam Broady exited the Srpska Open in Bosnia and Herzegovina following a first-round defeat to home favourite Damir Dzumhur.

Wild card entrant Dzumhur triumphed 6-3 6-0 over the British number five in Banja Luka to set up a last-16 tie with veteran Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Broady saved four break points in the sixth game to keep the match on serve.

But the 29-year-old failed to hold any of his next four service games as 2022 runner-up Dzumhur eased through in just over an hour.
A Canadian woman's long-lost school ID was discovered in an old purse buried in a man's yard 40 years later. Royal Canadian Mounted Police

A woman from Canada was recently reunited with her long-lost junior high school identification card.

The card was discovered inside an "old and crumbly purse" buried in a man's backyard, police said.

The ID's owner couldn't believe it when police notified her that the card was found 40 years later.

Talk about a blast from the past.

A woman from Canada was recently reunited with her long-lost junior high school identification card after it was discovered inside an "old and crumbly purse" buried in a man's backyard more than 40 years later, local police said.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police said when it notified the owner of the 1981-1982 Wellington Junior Secondary School ID card  a woman only identified as Lori  she thought it was a mistake or that someone was "playing a joke on her."

"She was initially skeptical but after a picture of the ID was emailed to her, she laughed when she saw her ID from her junior high days," police said.

The purse the school ID was found inside of. Royal Canadian Mounted Police

A homeowner found the school ID in an old purse while he was in his backyard digging a fence post hole last month and later turned it over to police "not knowing if it was associated [with] a missing person case or not," authorities said.

"I'm thinking the purse had probably been stolen and the thief had dumped it in the hole. Over the years, I probably just forgot about it," Lori was quoted saying in a police press release.

Lori was reunited with the long-forgotten ID card in early April, according to authorities.

Read the original article on Insider
Daniel Carrillo, a pharmacist at AltaMed in South Gate, holds a bottle containing bivalent booster doses of the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Another COVID-19 booster shot is on the way as federal health officials look to further augment protection for those at greater risk of developing severe disease.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday recommended the allowance of an additional updated booster for seniors 65 and older as well as those who are immunocompromised. The updated booster was first introduced last September.

This new phase of the years-old vaccination campaign has been hotly anticipated in some circles  particularly given that shot-induced protection wanes over time and many higher-risk individuals are months removed from their last dose.

However, the next chapter also arrives as the pandemic has stabilized. As the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health noted recently, "Although transmission is still occurring, there is low concern for rapid spread of the virus."

But COVID-19 remains a danger, even though the darker days of overwhelmed hospitals and overflowing morgues appear to be over. More than 72,000 people in the U.S. have died from COVID-19 since early October  nearly four times the estimated death toll from flu over the same time period.

"COVID-19 continues to be a very real risk for many people, and we encourage individuals to consider staying current with vaccination, including with a bivalent COVID-19 vaccine," U.S. Food and Drug Administration vaccine chief Dr. Peter Marks said in a statement.

Here's what you need to know:

Who can get another booster?

Those who are at least 65 years old can get another dose, according to the CDC. Immunocompromised individuals are eligible too.

According to language the FDA unveiled Tuesday, people 65 and older may receive one additional dose of the updated booster at least four months following their initial updated booster dose.

The agency also said that most immunocompromised people may receive an additional booster dose at least two months following their first updated booster dose. Such individuals, the FDA said, can also receive additional future doses at the discretion of their healthcare providers.

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Should older people get it?

The CDC said it is recommending allowing the additional updated booster shot, which will "allow more flexibility for people at higher risk who want the option of added protection from additional COVID-19 doses." In other words, seniors and immunocompromised people who are eager for the additional booster are free to get it, but the CDC is not necessarily urging those groups to get the shot with the same urgency as it did for most people last year.

Los Angeles County Public Health Director Barbara Ferrer said the CDC has been pretty clear that for most healthy people under age 65 who have already received the updated booster, youve got really decent protection.

But I think for those people over 65, those people who are immunocompromised, it may be helpful to go ahead and get that second bivalent booster dose, Ferrer said.

Another factor to consider: having plans to travel, which exposes people to more risk of infection.

Some doctors suggest older patients get the additional booster. Dr. Peter Chin-Hong, a UC San Francisco infectious diseases expert, said, "The older you are, the more important it is."

"The bottom line is I would advise them to get it if you're older than 65," he said. "We know that antibodies wane at the three- to four-month mark [after a shot], and they wane the most in those who are older than 65."

What about everyone else?

Aside from the above groups, most people who have already gotten the updated bivalent booster are not eligible for another dose. However, those who haven't gotten the first shot are free to roll up their sleeves.

The CDC recommended that everyone 6 and older get the updated COVID-19 shot  regardless of whether they had completed their primary vaccination series. That means if you haven't gotten a COVID-19 booster since September, or if you are unvaccinated, the CDC is recommending you get the updated vaccination now.

"For young children, multiple doses will continue to be recommended and vary by age, vaccine and which vaccines were previously received," the CDC said.

Wednesday's action means that people who are getting vaccinated for the first time need only one shot of the updated Pfizer-BioNTech or Moderna doses to be considered up-to-date on their COVID-19 vaccinations. Officials said they are ending the original two-dose monovalent regimens of those vaccine brands, which were designed against the ancestral version of the coronavirus and are now considered outdated.

Existing CDC recommendations on use of the monovalent vaccinations made by Novavax and Johnson & Johnson remain in place.

On Tuesday, the FDA authorized the following updated vaccine regimens for children younger than 6:





Unvaccinated children 6 months to 5 years can get a two-dose series of the Moderna bivalent vaccine, or, for children 6 months through 4 years, three doses of the offering from Pfizer-BioNTech. Children who are 5 can get two doses of Moderna or one Pfizer-BioNTech shot.

Children up to 5 who have been fully or partially vaccinated also can get a bivalent booster, "but the number of doses that they receive will depend on the vaccine and their vaccination history," according to the FDA.

How can I get a booster?

Eligible Californians will be able to schedule an appointment either directly through their healthcare provider or by using the state's online platform: MyTurn.ca.gov.

Is there any cost?

Vaccines remain free even after recent moves to lift COVID-19 emergency declarations at both the state and federal levels.

Why should I get a booster?

Evidence has accumulated that those who have gotten the updated booster are better protected against hospitalization and death, Ferrer said. The benefit is particularly pronounced among older individuals.

"Available data continue to demonstrate that vaccines prevent the most serious outcomes of COVID-19, which are severe illness, hospitalization and death," Marks said.

COVID-19 has remained the leading infectious cause of death in L.A. County, and can be especially dangerous for older people who aren't up-to-date on their vaccinations and boosters, even if they've been previously infected and recovered. For the most recent weekly period available, 59 COVID-19 deaths were reported countywide.

According to a recent analysis, among seniors age 65 to 79 in L.A. County, those who got the updated booster had one-tenth the risk of being hospitalized compared with those who are unvaccinated, and roughly half the risk of being hospitalized compared with those who are vaccinated but havent received the bivalent booster.

Among this age group, those who got the updated booster were about one-tenth as likely to die from COVID-19 compared with unvaccinated people  and roughly half as likely to die compared with vaccinated people who hadnt received the updated booster.

While no single health intervention provides absolute protection against infection, experts say getting vaccinated provides some benefit in that regard. That could prove useful given the emergence of another coronavirus Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.16, which some experts say could plausibly lead to another bump in cases in the coming months. There are anecdotes from India suggesting this particular strain is behind a number of reports of "COVID eye"  also known as pink eye or conjunctivitis  especially among children.

Still, the latest subvariant has not been associated with increased risk of severe illness.

What is a bivalent vaccine?

The bivalent shots are updated versions of the original COVID-19 vaccine shots that first became widely available in September.

Regardless of the brand, the bivalent booster is formulated to protect against the hyperinfectious family of Omicron coronavirus subvariants that have dominated the nation for more than a year.

They were designed with BA.4 and BA.5 in mind, as those sibling subvariants rose to prominence last spring and summer. But officials say they continue to work well against strains that have subsequently emerged, such as XBB and XBB.1.5.

The original formulations of both the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines were designed against only the ancestral version of the coronavirus, rather than the heavily mutated versions in circulation today.

"At this stage of the pandemic, data support simplifying the use of the authorized mRNA bivalent COVID-19 vaccines, and the agency believes that this approach will help encourage future vaccination," Marks said.

What will demand be like?

Don't expect anything like the early days of the vaccine rollout  when people braved lengthy lines or hit the road in desperate search for shots.

According to the California Department of Public Health, only about one-fourth of eligible residents have gotten a bivalent booster in the seven months since it became available.

However, that number belies regional disparities that have endured throughout the vaccine campaign. A recent Times data analysis found that as of the end of March, nearly 35% of eligible residents in the San Francisco Bay Area had gotten the bivalent booster, compared with 23% in Southern California and only 16% in the San Joaquin Valley.

Some health officials have also expressed concern with the relatively low uptake among seniors. Statewide, just under 46% of those 65 and older who have been vaccinated have also gotten a bivalent booster. In L.A. County, the share is 42%.

In a recent statement to The Times, officials at the California Department of Public Health said they support federal recommendations "for everyone to receive bivalent boosters, especially those who are more vulnerable to severe COVID-19 due to older age or medical conditions, who remain at increased risk of hospitalization or death if not boosted."

"The level of acceptance of future vaccine doses remains to be seen," the statement continued. "CDPH remains concerned that Californians who have not received recommended doses now or in the future will suffer unnecessarily from severe COVID-19 or long COVID."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
U.S. eavesdrops on UN secretary-general: Washington Post

Xinhua) 08:14, April 19, 2023

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the UN headquarters in New York, Aug. 3, 2022. (Xinhua/Xie E)

The trove of leaked classified documents, numbering hundreds of pages and resulting in the arrest of a U.S. air national guardsman on charges of disclosing classified national defense information without authorization, has seen the United States scramble to assess the damage and restrict access to classified information for certain employees at the Department of Defense.

WASHINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The United States eavesdropped on conversations of the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other UN officials, according to a report by The Washington Post citing leaked classified intelligence documents the newspaper obtained.

Guterres expressed to UN officials and world leaders his "outrage" over being denied an opportunity to visit Ethiopia's war-torn Tigray region, The Post said in a Monday report, citing four documents, two of them previously unreported.

Guterres, according to one dated Feb. 17 and seen by The Post, wanted to confront Ethiopian UN Representative Taye Atske Selassie Amde as the country's foreign minister, Demeke Mekonnen, sent Guterres a letter rejecting his planned visit to Tigray amid peace negotiations.

Another document obtained by The Post revealed that Guterres was "not happy" about having to travel to Kiev to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in early March. While the document didn't provide a reason for the secretary general's unwillingness, The Post cited a UN diplomat as saying weeks of tiring international travels on commercial flights was the cause.

The trove of leaked classified documents, numbering hundreds of pages and resulting in the arrest of a U.S. air national guardsman on charges of disclosing classified national defense information without authorization, has seen the United States scramble to assess the damage and restrict access to classified information for certain employees at the Department of Defense.

Other documents recently reported by U.S. media showed the United States has also been spying on allies such as South Korea, Israel and Ukraine.

Asked by Xinhua at a Brookings Institution event on Monday to comment on allegations of U.S. spying efforts and on how Washington should soothe the concerns expressed by its allies, Democratic House Representative Abigail Spanberger refused to comment on "anything specifically that was leaked."

The congresswoman, who prior to becoming a lawmaker worked as an operations officer at the Central Intelligence Agency, praised the U.S. administration's "commitment to safeguarding the information that we collect and our commitment to safeguarding the information (U.S. allies) collect and provide to us."

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Family, friends, and the metro community will come together to celebrate the life of a 16-year-old who died saving the lives of children who appeared to be drowning.

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On Apr.6., Rashad Williams and several other children were swimming at Johnson Beach in Pensacola, Florida, when they reportedly got caught in a strong current.

Maynard Jackson High School student, Bryce Brooks, and his family friend, Charles Chuck Johnson, II, jumped in to try to save the children.

Brooks and Johnson both drowned, but not before pulling Williams and the other kids out of the water.

Williams was rushed to the hospital, where he was on life support in critical condition for several days before he died.

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Brooks parents, Shivy and Crystal Brooks told Channel 2 Action News that their son and Johnson did not know Williams and the other children.

Being selfless, our son Bryce, while being pulled by the currents himself, literally called for help, not for himself, but he was calling for help for the little kids that he was looking out for, said Shivy Brooks. Bryce is a hero. He literally saved the lives of four kids at the expense of his own.

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According to the funeral homes website, a Celebration of Life will be held for Bryce on Apr. 22 at Maynard Jackson High School. The vigil will begin at 12 p.m.

A GoFundMe was created to help support the family. As of Wednesday, it has surpassed its goal of $75,000.

IN OTHER NEWS:




By Mahamat Ramadane

N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - With the midday sun high over Chad's capital N'Djamena, Alhadj Barh embraced his wife for the first time in more than two years. It marked a new start for a man who, until earlier that day, had been in jail for fighting in a rebel army accused of killing the president.

In an apparent peace gesture, Chad's interim president Mahamat Idriss Deby in March pardoned 380 jailed members of the Front for Change and Concord in Chad (FACT), a rebel group accused of killing his father - longtime ruler Idriss Deby - in 2021.

Barh was among a group of pardoned detainees to be released near the capital in early April.

Seated at home beside his wife and four daughters, Barh said he was eager to help facilitate peace if the government pursued an inclusive approach.

"We are not bullies," he said. "If the situation changes, I will actively contribute to national reconciliation."

The military junta led by the younger Deby has launched peace talks with various rebel groups who had long challenged his father's regime, but FACT has not taken part, insisting the transitional authorities first free its members.

While hundreds have been pardoned, most of the group's senior leadership, including leader Mahamat Mahadi, remain in custody.

Another newly released detainee, former maths teacher and FACT member Ouckonga Guelmine Kemnda, said calls for unity would ring hollow without their release.

"The government says it is open to dialogue and yet the person with whom it must dialogue is condemned," the 46-year-old said, sitting among his extended family.

"When we want to talk to someone, we have to stay open," he added.

The transitional authorities have not commented on the detainees' statements or the outlook for the ongoing peace negotiations. The junta is set to stay in office at least through elections slated for October 2024.

(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Cooper Inveen; Editing by Alex Richardson)
The death of LaShawn Thompson at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta is now being investigated after his family's lawyer claimed he died after being "eaten alive" by bedbugs. The Fulton County Sheriff's Office said they will also make "sweeping changes" at the jail after the tragic death.

Earlier this month, the family's attorney, Michael Harper, called for a criminal investigation after after Thompson  who was arrested on a charge of misdemeanor simple battery  was found dead in his jail cell in September 2022.

Jail records show that medical staff and detention noticed Thompson was deteriorating, but they didn't help him, the attorney said. "They literally watched his health decline until he died," said Harper. "When his body was found one of the detention officers refused to administer CPR because in her words she 'freaked out.'"

In statement shared on Facebook this week, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick "Pat" Labat said after a preliminary investigation, he had asked for the chief jailer, assistant chief jailer and assistant chief jailer of the criminal investigative division to resign, which they did.

The sheriff's office is also reviewing legal options to change its medical vendor.

Thompson's death is still being investigated by the Office of Professional Standards and Atlanta Police Department and will be handed over to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations once complete.



"Most importantly, we want to, once again, extend our sincere condolences to the family of Mr. LaShawn Thompson," Labat said. "The final investigative report will not ease the family's grief or bring their loved one back, but it is my hope and expectation that it provides a full, accurate, and transparent account of the facts surrounding Mr. Thompson's death so that it provides all of the answers they are seeking and deserve."

At a meeting with the Fulton County Commission last year, Labat raised concerns with extreme overcrowding at the jail and the need for funding, according to CBS Atlanta.

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"You have 3,500-plus points of data that show the dangers of where we are and the crisis that we're in," Labat said during the meeting.

He said the total population of the jail was 3,600 after about 1,400 new inmates came to the jail in two years. He said 428 inmates were sleeping on the floor due to overcrowding. One of the city's commissioners, Bob Ellis, called it a "humanitarian crisis."

The commission renewed a $27 million contract for inmate physical and mental health services for inmates, but Labat asked for another $6 million to fix other issues with employee retention and overtime.

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More wishes will come true this year thanks to a $100,000 donation to Make-A-Wish by Chick-fil-a during the fifth annual Share the Love campaign on Wednesday.

The event was held at the Chick-fil-a on East Woodlawn Road in south Charlotte.

ALSO READ: Michael Jordan donates $10M to Make-A-Wish for 60th birthday

Over the course of five years, Chick-fil-a restaurants in the Charlotte area have donated over $350,000 to the Make-A-Wish Foundation for children in Central and Western North Carolina. The restaurants proceeds have granted the wishes of 47 critically ill children throughout the community.

A few months back, during Februarys Share the Love campaign, 100% of sales from 10- and 30-count Chick-fil-a Chick-n-Minis went to Make-A-Wish.

For more information about the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Central and Western North Carolina or to donate, click here.

(WATCH BELOW: Make A Wish: 8-year-old Union Co. girl goes to see her favorite Disney characters in Florida)








Torch-carrying protesters surround a statue of Thomas Jefferson in Charlottesville on 11 August 2017

Nearly six years after an infamous far-right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia, three demonstrators have been indicted on felony counts.

The men are charged with burning an object with the intent to intimidate.

Hundreds of protesters carrying torches marched at the start of the "Unite the Right" rally in August 2017.

The events brought together far-right and white-nationalist groups. One protester was killed in the violence that followed.

The men were named in court documents as William Zachary Smith of Texas, Tyler Bradley Dykes of South Carolina, and Dallas Medina of Ohio.

The charge carries a maximum penalty of up to five years in prison.

The three men were indicted by a grand jury in February, but court records were only unsealed this week.

"These indictments were issued as part of a criminal investigation that is active and ongoing," the Albemarle County Commonwealth's Attorney's Office said in a statement.

It is unclear how many people will eventually face charges, and local prosecutors declined to comment further when contacted Wednesday. A previous county prosecutor declined to press charges against the torch marchers.

Mr Smith's lawyer did not immediately return a call seeking comment. Court records did not list lawyers or contact details for the other two men, and Mr Dykes did not return messages left with his business.

The events in Charlottesville have been described as a defining moment in the recent history of extremism and violence in the US. They have also been the source of civil lawsuits seeking damages from the organisers.

On the evening of 11 August 2017, torch-wielding demonstrators shouted "You will not replace us," and "Jews will not replace us" - references to the "white genocide" conspiracy theory.

The theory is a racist mainstay of white nationalist propaganda. It comes in various guises but generally states that there is a deliberate ploy, often blamed on Jewish people, to cause the mass extinction of white people through violence, immigration, interracial marriage, and other means.

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The torch rally ended with brawls between protesters and counter-protesters.

Photos posted online show Mr Dykes, a former US Marine and owner of an IT business, carrying a torch and giving what appears to be a Nazi salute in the middle of the protest. Mr Medina was shown in footage of the evening, also carrying a torch and wearing a t-shirt printed with the name of an animated neo-Nazi online video series.

The following day saw larger marches and more clashes before a man rammed his car into a group of counter-protesters, killing one and injuring dozens. James Alex Fields Jr, a neo-Nazi from Ohio, pleaded guilty to murder and hate crimes and is serving a life sentence for the attack.

President Trump, commenting about the far-right marchers shortly after the violence, said "you had some very bad people in that group, but you also had people that were very fine people, on both sides".

Joe Biden later launched his presidential campaign with a direct reference to the events in Charlottesville.

There is no statute of limitations on felony crimes in Virginia, meaning there is no deadline for charges to be brought or tried in court.
A lucky Powerball player in California won $1,556,855 million, but they never claimed their prize.

Now that prize is set to expire April 24 if no one comes forward with the winning ticket, the California Lottery said in an April 18 news release.

Lottery officials are asking the public to check their wallet, junk drawer or car for the missing ticket that matched all five white balls: 19, 36, 37, 46 and 56. It missed the red Powerball number 24.

The $1.5 million winning ticket was bought at a Mobil gas station in Los Gatos for the Oct. 26 drawing, officials said.

It was one of the two winning tickets that matched five numbers and missed the Powerball number. The first winning ticket was bought in Southern California, and that player has claimed it.

Players have 180 days from the date of the draw to claim the prize if they match all five numbers in Powerball.

If nobody submits a claim in time, the $1.5 million prize money will instead go to public schools in California in line with the Lotterys mission, lottery officials said in the release.

Powerball is played in 45 states, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Tickets can be bought on the day of the drawing, but sales times vary from state to state. Drawings are broadcast Saturdays, Mondays and Wednesdays at 10:59 p.m. ET and can be streamed online.

Many people can gamble or play games of chance without harm. However, for some, gambling is an addiction that can ruin lives and families.

If you or a loved one shows signs of gambling addiction, you can seek help by calling the national gambling hotline at 1-800-522-4700 or visiting the National Council on Problem Gambling website.

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SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Chicago's mayor-elect on Wednesday attempted to dispel the often-contentious relationship between the nation's third-largest city and the rest of the state, telling a joint session of the General Assembly, Theres more than enough for everybody in the state of Illinois.

Brandon Johnson, whose victory in the mayor's race this month provided a welcome boost for progressives, played to his fellow Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate. He extolled the Blue Wall they've built and pledged to be a partner in this incredible, progressive body that has delivered for people across the state.

Pounded later by reporters' questions about reducing crime in Chicago, he promised to be smart as well as tough," putting resources into youth employment and other preventive measures as well as enforcement. But his primary message was one of collaboration.

They told us that if something is good for Chicago, that means were taking something away from Peoria, Johnson told lawmakers. They tell us that the challenges that we face in the city of Chicago ... arent the same challenges shared by families from Rockford to Carbondale. ... No one has to lose at the expense of someone else winning. Theres more than enough for everybody in the state of Illinois.

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, a Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Maywood, said Johnson took a positive step by tabbing team members to keep connected to the Legislature, something that was wanting with current Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

He wants to work with not only with the Chicago delegation of legislators, but hes recognizing that ... no matter where you are in the state, you have a role to play in the outcomes of the city of Chicago," Lightford said. She added, A lot of people lose sight of that. They just say Chicago has issues, not recognizing that it is the economic engine of the state. And you do want to make sure that theres prosperity there so that it can also extend across the state.

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Johnson, 47, a two-term Cook County commissioner and former teacher who gained traction with the full-throated support of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, promised to tackle the city's financial trouble with the same smart, responsible, bold approach" that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and lawmakers have taken in Springfield, reducing the state's billions of dollars in debt and consequently receiving credit upgrades from Wall Street bonding houses.

But he also pledged investments in neighborhood schools, youth employment and health care  particularly mental health  and combating crime. Such initiatives will need an assist from Springfield, Johnson said. When addressing reporters later, he declined to talk specific figures, labeling that as dictating rather than collaborating with state partners.

On crime, he said, Public safety is a prerequisite to the prosperity of Chicago and the voters have sent a clear message that they want to get smart, not just tough on crime.

After weathering criticism from runoff rival Paul Vallas over previous statements to defund" the police, a movement that arose after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Johnson said Wednesday that he would add 200 detectives to the force. But he also said he would increase funding to battle the root causes of violence and provide mental health care for police officers.

The smart way is investing in people, Johnson said.

Johnson, who frequently mentions that he and his wife are raising three children in the westside Austin neighborhood, among the city's most violent, took heat for comments he made following last weekend's melee in downtown Chicago that left two teenagers wounded by gunfire. He said he didn't condone the violence but said "it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.

He rebuffed a reporter's question about whether he sent a mixed message.

Its not a mixed message. ... This is a false choice. You can make sure that we eradicate the root causes that lead to violence, and we also can make sure that theres support on the front line to make sure that were preventing violence, Johnson said. "No one takes it more seriously than a family that lives through it every single day."

___ Follow Political Writer John OConnor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor
Thousands of miles from Washington, Beijing or Taiwan, the race between China and the West is heating up  in the coldest place on the planet.

China has restarted construction on its fifth base in Antarctica for the first time since 2018 and is making significant progress, according to new analysis. The U.S. has three year-round research stations in the Antarctic.

The new Chinese site could be used to strengthen its intelligence-gathering capabilities in the area, the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a think tank based in Washington, said in the report released Tuesday. And it comes as China is undertaking the most significant expansion of its footprint there in a decade, according to CSIS.

The report, Frozen Frontiers, also detailed Chinas moves in the Arctic, where it is stepping up investments with Russia to exploit potential new shipping routes freed up by melting sea ice.

The Xuelong 2 research icebreaker leaving Zhongshan Station in Antarctica, on Dec. 11, 2022. (Satellite image 2023 Maxar Technologies)

China has stressed that its ambitions in Antarctica and the Arctic region, which are both home to research stations from the U.S. and its allies, are purely scientific. The Foreign Ministry said Thursday that the concerns about the new activity were unnecessary and that the construction was in full compliance with international rules and procedures.

It will be conducive to enhancing human scientific knowledge of Antarctica, providing a platform for cooperation between China and other countries in Antarctic scientific research, and promoting Antarctic peace and sustainable development, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing.

But Chinas accelerating developments are seen by some in the West as part of a wider effort to strengthen footholds for its military around the globe.

If they see themselves as an incoming superpower with global ambitions, why would they not want to expand their presence there, said Steve Tsang, director of the China Institute at SOAS University of London. Why should the Antarctic be any different?

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CSIS analyzed January satellite images from the Colorado-based Maxar Technologies showing construction work being carried out at the new base on Inexpressible Island, almost 2,000 miles south of New Zealand. It's also some 200 miles from the United States' own McMurdo Station, the largest base on the frozen continent.

View of the Chinese station Inexpressible Island in Antarctica, on Jan. 2, 2023. (Satellite image 2023 Maxar Technologies)

After several years of inaction, the site now has a number of new support facilities, with groundwork already in place for a larger structure, the satellite images show. Once completed, the 5,000-square-meter site is expected to include a scientific research and observation area, an energy facility, a wharf for its two Xuelong, or snow dragon icebreakers, and other buildings, CSIS said.

Like the U.S. and other countries, China is treaty-bound to limit its Antarctic activity to peaceful purposes, although military personnel are allowed to carry out scientific research. However, CSIS said a satellite ground station at Beijings new base will have inherent dual-use capabilities  scientific and intelligence.

The ground station, it said, could be used to collect signals intelligence and telemetry data from rockets launched by U.S.-allied Australia and New Zealand.

China has stressed its ambitions in the region are purely scientific.

China has made remarkable progress in deep-sea and polar scientific research, and significantly enhanced its capability to understand, protect and utilize both deep-sea and polar regions, Han Zheng, who was then vice premier and has now been appointed vice president, said in January.

But its own military-affiliated National Defense University said in a 2020 textbook that "mixing" civilian and military facilities was "the main way for great powers to achieve a polar military presence."

According to the Department of Defense report last year, Chinas strategy for Antarctica is partly based on these dual-use technologies  facilities that are ostensibly scientific but improve the countrys military capabilities, too.

Since the 1950s, the American military has participated in Operation Deep Freeze providing logistical support to the U.S. Antarctic Program and the National Science Foundation.

But CSIS told Reuters that while the U.S. still maintains a larger research presence in Antarctica  including the biggest facility in its McMurdo station  Chinas footprint is growing faster.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
HONG KONG  Derided by concerned observers from Washington to Brussels, French President Emmanuel Macrons recent trip to China did not go down well with allies. But he left his hosts feeling delighted.

Hundreds of cheering people were waiting to greet Macron when he arrived in the southern Chinese metropolis of Guangzhou this month, part of a high-profile state visit.

He saw us and came right up to us and shook our hands who stood in the front row, said Qiao Jiabao, a financial journalism student at Sun Yat-sen University, where Macron gave a speech. I felt he was very gracious and proactive, even though we didnt speak the same language, Qiao told NBC News.

He said he and his friends joked that Macron, who has faced mass protests in France over his unpopular plan to raise the retirement age, had been treated so well in China that he might not want to go home.

When Macron returned to France, he faced another storm of criticism, this time over an interview in which he suggested that Europe should resist being drawn into a conflict over Taiwan and focus on strategic autonomy independent from both the United States and China.

Macron in China (Gonzalo Fuentes / AFP - Getty Images)

His comments drew a furious backlash and raised concerns that Beijing might be succeeding in sowing division between Washington and its allies as part of its push for a world in which America has to compete for dominance with multiple other powers.

But they were celebrated in China, where the state-backed nationalist tabloid Global Times said they signaled a dead end for the U.S. strategy of luring Europe to contain China. Lu Shaye, the Chinese ambassador to France, said Tuesday that Macron spoke great truths in the tradition of French independence.

President Macrons remarks have aroused a great echo at the international level, he said on Twitter.

The status of Taiwan, a self-ruling democracy that Beijing claims as its territory, is the biggest flashpoint in U.S.-China relations, and Macrons comments were published as China was conducting live-fire military exercises near the island in response to House Speaker Kevin McCarthys meeting in California with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen.

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The worst thing would be to think that we Europeans should follow suit on this subject and adapt to the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction, Macron told Politico and the French newspaper Les Echos as he flew back from China. Why should we go at the pace chosen by others?

Macron later clarified that Frances Taiwan policy  recognizing Beijing as the sole legitimate government of China, while maintaining unofficial relations with Taipei, the same policy as the U.S.  had not changed. But he also defended his earlier comments, saying Europe had the right to act independently.

Being an ally doesnt mean being a vassal, he said at a news conference in Amsterdam last week.

The White House has minimized Macrons comments, saying it is comfortable and confident in the U.S. alliance with France, but they were heavily criticized by Republicans as underestimating the threat from China.

And Macrons words were still reverberating as foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations, which include the United States and France, gathered in Karuizawa, Japan, over the weekend. In a joint communique released Tuesday, the diplomats stressed unity as they said they recognized the importance of engaging candidly with China, the worlds second-largest economy, while working together on areas of common interest.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that the G-7 statement grossly interfered in Chinas internal affairs and that it had protested to Japan, which holds the groups rotating presidency.

The communique reflects the groups arrogance, prejudice and deliberate desire to block and contain China, spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a regular news briefing.

Macron is among a number of European leaders to visit Beijing in recent months, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez. But Chinese President Xi Jinping lavished extra attention on the French president, personally traveling with him to Guangzhou.

Macron was warmly received not only by Xi, but also by the Chinese public, who showered him with praise on social media.

Zhao Qing, who works in retail in eastern China, said Macrons visit was a friendly sign and gave a boost to Chinese relations with France, as well as other European countries.

I had a good impression when my wife and I visited France before, and maybe I can go there again in the future, he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron in China (Ludociv Marin / AFP - Getty Images)

Macron and other leaders have good reason to visit China, said Wang Yiwei, director of the Center for European Studies at Renmin University of China in Beijing, even as efforts to reschedule Secretary of State Antony Blinkens postponed trip to Beijing appear to stall.

The visit really emphasized that China is a partner of Europe, not a rival, Wang said.

If Europe distances itself from China as well as Russia, their energy issue, economics, safety will solely depend on the U.S., he said. Is that good for Europe?

Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang told reporters last month that China-Europe relations are not targeted, dependent, or subject to third parties.

Critics said Macrons comments undermined the image of European unity he was trying to project by visiting China at the same time as Ursula von der Leyen, the European Commission president.

In the weeks since Chinese leader Xi Jinping won a third five-year term as president, setting him on course to remain in power for life, leaders and diplomats from around the world have beaten a path to his door. None more so than those from Europe. (Ng Han Guan / AP)

The Continent has struggled with how to balance economic concerns and rising tensions over Taiwan, human rights and the war in Ukraine. But, at least in public, leading officials have stuck close to their U.S. allies.

In a speech on relations between the European Union and China last month, von der Leyen acknowledged Beijings might while calling on it to use that power responsibly on issues such as the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Beijing has refused to condemn.

It was actually a very clear message she was trying to convey, and Macron blurred this message tremendously in my view, said Maria Demertzis, a senior fellow at Bruegel, a think tank based in Brussels.

Unlike the U.S., the E.U.  Chinas largest trading partner  has viewed Beijing as an economic partner more than a security threat, she said.

It does not consider China the enemy in ways that I think the U.S. does, Demertzis said.

Von der Leyens speech indicated that the E.U., which has long tried to balance its relations with Washington and Beijing, is now not totally aligned but siding with the U.S. in its approach to China, she said.

But unless it speaks to Beijing with one voice, Demertzis said, I think Europe risks not being taken seriously, quite frankly.

In another speech Tuesday, von der Leyen said the relationship with China was too important for Europe not to define its own strategy.

I believe we can  and we must  carve out our own distinct European approach that also leaves space for us to cooperate with other partners, too, she told the European Parliament.

And the starting point for this is the need to have a shared and very clear-eyed picture of the risks and the opportunities in our engagement with China.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
[Source]

A Chinese acrobat fell to her death during an aerial performance with her husband in Anhui province, China.

The tragic incident, which was captured on camera, took place during an acrobatic show just before 9 p.m. local time on Saturday in Hougao village in the city of Suzhou.

The woman, identified as Sun, and her acrobatic partner and husband, Zhang, were hoisted into the air in front of audiences for a high-flying trapeze performance. In a viral video of the incident, Zhang can be seen holding onto the ropes with both hands as Sun clings onto him. As they get higher, Sun appears to lose her grip and Zhang fails to catch Sun with his legs.

Warning: The following video contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

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A lot of discussions on Chinese socials today about the fatal accident that happened last night in Suzhou during a live acrobatic show. The female performer did not wear safety lines and she fell. She was rushed to hospital but passed away. (video end cut due to shocking content) pic.twitter.com/l5DCf0ilN1  Manya Koetse (@manyapan) April 16, 2023

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Sun, who fell about 30 feet to the ground, was immediately rushed to the hospital. However, the performer succumbed to her injuries and was later pronounced dead. She leaves behind her two children with Zhang.

The incident prompted an immediate cancellation of the event and an investigation into the accident.

According to witnesses, there were no safety lines or measures, including landing pads, in place.

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Sun and Zhang had reportedly been working together for many years and often performed stunts without safety belts. According to Chinese media outlet The Paper, the couple were arguing at the time of the incident, and although Sun was told to wear safety lines, she allegedly refused.

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However, Zhang denied the claim.

We were always happy together. There was no fight. As I am in the middle of the process of dealing with all of this, I cant disclose any specific details at this time, he told Yangzi Evening News.

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According to Whats On Weibo, performers are allegedly paid more for high-risk acts in the competitive industry. The couple reportedly earned 2,000 yuan (approximately $290) for each performance.

Local authorities in Suzhous Yongqiao district are currently investigating the incident and determining the legal responsibilities of those involved.

Anhui Yaxi Performing Arts Media Company and a local business owner are reportedly behind the show, according to preliminary investigations.

The company, which was established in 2018, was given a fine of 50,000 yuan (approximately $7,260) by the local tourism office for organizing the event without authorization from local authorities.
BANGKOK (AP)  A giant panda on long-term loan from China died in a zoo in northern Thailand on Wednesday, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said.

The cause of Lin Huis death was not immediately clear but she appeared to have become ill Tuesday morning, and her nose was seen bleeding when she laid down after a meal, said Wutthichai Muangmun, the zoo director.

She was rushed into the care of a joint Thai-Chinese veterinarian team but her condition deteriorated and she died early Wednesday morning, he said.

Tewarat Vejmanat, a veterinarian who spoke at a news conference broadcast live on the zoos Facebook page, said the panda, who had a health check every day, was already at an advanced age at 21, and there had been no sign of illness or any difference in her behavior before she became sick.

China is saddened by the death of the giant panda Lin Hui, Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in Beijing.

Wang said that after China learned about the panda's illness it immediately organized experts to guide the Thai side to carry out rescue work through video link, but unfortunately did not save her life." He added that the Chinese authorities would soon set up a team of experts to carry out a joint investigation into the cause of death.

Lin Huis male mate, Chuang Chuang, who was kept with her at the Chiang Mai Zoo, died there in 2019 at the age of 19. The couple arrived in Chiang Mai in 2003 on a 10-year loan that was later extended for another 10 years.

While the loan was ostensibly for research and conservation purposes, it was generally regarded as an act of friendship by China, which has sent pandas to many countries in what is regarded as a striking example of soft power diplomacy.

When Chuang Chuang died in 2019, Thailand's then-Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said the country had to pay $500,000 to the Chinese government in compensation. It was later reported that heart failure was the cause of his death.

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Zoo director Wutthichai said the zoo has a 15-million-baht ($435,000) insurance policy on Lin Hui, who was due to be returned to China this October.

Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang had a daughter, Lin Ping, in 2009 through artificial insemination. A scheme to encourage them to mate naturally by showing them videos of pandas having sex made headlines in 2007. Lin Ping was sent to China in 2013 in what was initially said to be a one-year visit for her to find a mate, but has remained there.

The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity.

A Chinese influencer living in Thailand who identified herself as Shanshan visited the zoo Tuesday morning and posted several videos of Lin Hui on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. One of them showed her nose, which appeared bloody, and a red spot could be seen on her neck. In another clip, she was lying down while licking her nose, and there were red stain trails on a concrete slab beneath her head. Screenshots from the videos were widely shared by Thai social media users.

This is when we just got here, she was lying on her side. Then I saw her nose was bleeding, she commented in one of the clips. She looked like she had nausea. We were not sure.

Screenshots from the videos were widely shared by Thai social media users.

The cause of Lin Huis death will take time before it can be determined, Wutthichai said, and how and when that would be revealed will be entirely up to China. Under an agreement between the zoo and the Chinese governments panda conservation project, an autopsy cannot be performed until a Chinese expert is present.

Some Thai internet users speculated that air pollution in northern Thailand, which in recent weeks has spiked to levels considered dangerous to human health, contributed to Lin Huis death. The zoo staff, however, said that was unlikely, as Lin Hui lived in a closed space in an area of the zoo considered to have the cleanest air.
Jiang Mengjie (Getty Images for Marc Jacobs)

Chinese actor Jiang Mengjie is receiving praise for telling her story about upskirting.

Jiang told her eight million followers on the Chinese social network Weibo that she had been blackmailed over the explicit video, which had been filmed many years ago.

The star who shot to fame on the 2010 television series The Dream of Red Mansions told her fans that the video left her angry and disgusted, along with a feeling of powerlessness, per the BBCs translation.

Jiang revealed that she had been sent private messages about the footage saying that they would send the video to major film and TV companies and brands, and ruin the rest of my life.

The police have since told the star that the suspect who blackmailed her has been detained, and she will be notified in time of their punishment.

As a public figure, maybe I can make more people pay attention to such vicious incidents by taking a stand, she said.

It is not our fault that we have been secretly photographed. Our lives should not be affected by this kind of thing.

According to the BBC, Jiangs post about the story has won her huge plaudits, gaining more than 600,000 likes on Weibo.

In the UK, upskirting was criminalised under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act introduced in April 2019. However, in China there are no laws prohibiting the sale of hidden cameras, per The Sixth Tone news website.

A total of 46 men and one teenage boy were prosecuted for 128 offences under the Voyeurism (Offences) Act between April 2020 and June 2021 in the UK, it was previously revealed.

In an interview with The Independent last year, Gina Martin, the activist behind upskirtings criminalisation revealed how she was subjected to a terrifying stalking ordeal for eight years.
MIAMI (AP)  Jazz Chisholm Jr. hit a go-ahead three-run homer and the Miami Marlins beat the San Francisco Giants 4-2 on Tuesday.

Jorge Soler had three hits and Luis Arraez singled twice for the Marlins, who have won six of seven.

Marlins starter Edward Cabrera limited San Francisco to two runs and six hits over six innings. Cabrera (1-1) walked two and struck out eight.

The Giants lost their fifth straight.

Chisholms shot off Giants reliever Jakob Junis (2-1) in the fourth erased a 2-1 deficit. Soler doubled and Bryan De La Cruz singled, then Chisholm connected on a drive that landed over the wall in right center field.

In his first season as an outfielder, Chisholm also tracked and made an over-the-shoulder catch of Mike Yastrzemskis drive near the centerfield wall in the eighth.

I cant really remember the route, Chisholm said. That was just a blacked out moment where I put my head down and started running for the ball. I saw the ball and I thought, I cant catch this ball. And I just went.

Miami got perfect innings from Tanner Scott and Dylan Floro before A.J. Puk closed with a scoreless ninth for his third save.

San Francisco lost starter Alex Wood because of a left hamstring strain in the third. Wood planted both feet awkwardly after he left the mound and fielded Jean Seguras bunt near the third base foul line. He threw Segura out by a step but limped as he returned to the mound.

When I went to field the bunt, my cleat just stuck so hard, Wood said. Its frustrating. As far as hamstrings its not that bad. Well see how I wake up tomorrow and go from there.

The left-handers outing ended after 2 1/3 innings. He gave up one run, one hit, walked one and struck out three.

Yastrzemskis two-run shot in the first gave the Giants a quick lead. Yastrzemski drove Cabreras fastball over the wall in right for his third homer.

But Cabrera settled down after Yastrzemskis blast. The Giants threatened in the sixth on one out singles by J.D. Davis and Wilmer Flores before Cabrera retired Brandon Crawford on a groundout and struck out David Villar to end his outing.

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I cant let what happened in the first control my mind, Cabrera said. He hit a good pitch. My mentality was to continue battling.

San Francisco was 1-for-6 with runners in scoring position and stranded six runners.

We have over the last couple of years had really good first innings consistently, Giants manager Gabe Kapler said. One of the ways that we can improve is to keep that fighter, killer mentality from the second through the ninth innings as well.

LET THE BAND PLAY

The Marlins began a monthly promotion Tuesday profiling Chisholm. Three sections behind the right-centerfield wall are nicknamed the Jazz Band and fans purchasing tickets for the area will qualify for prizes later in the season. Chisholm interacted with fans in the sections during the game.

It was great, they had everything out there, music playing, Chisholm said. I saw a couple of friends.

ROSTER MOVE

The Giants recalled INF-OF Brett Wisely from Triple-A Sacramento and optioned INF-OF Matt Beaty to the same minor league club. Wisely went hitless in three at bats.

TRAINERS ROOM

Giants: OF Austin Slater (strained left hamstring) went 1-for-3 in his third rehab game with Triple-A Sacramento Sunday. ... OF Michael Conforto (left calf tightness) was out of the starting lineup for the fourth straight game.

Marlins: RHP Sixto Sanchez (right shoulder) felt good after his extended spring game Saturday outing and will throw a bullpen session Wednesday.

UP NEXT

RHP Alex Cobb (0-1, 3.14) will start the series finale for the Giants on Wednesday afternoon while the Marlins will go with LHP Trevor Rogers (1-2, 4.20). ___ AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports
Chrissy Teigen has started a debate about a pregnant mother being asked to clean up her daughters spilled popcorn on a United Airlines flight, sparking a range of responses from fellow celebrities.

MLB pitcher Anthony Bass took to Twitter on Sunday to post a picture of his two children, whom he shares with wife Sydney Rae James, on a plane. In the caption, he alleged that when a flight attendant noticed the popcorn on the floor, next to his childs seat, the worker asked Bass wife to pick it up.

The flight attendant @united just made my 22 week pregnant wife travelling with a five-year-old and two-year-old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter, he wrote on Twitter. Are you kidding me?!?!

The next day, Teigen went on to reshare Bass post, as she noted how his remarks about United could ultimately stir up a conversation online.

Oh man this is exactly exactly the kind of tweet twitterers love. god speed, friend, she wrote, before adding in a second tweet: Also: wet paper towel.

Along with Teigen, some other celebrities have responded to the post, including Jessie James Decker, who is the sister of Bass wife.

On her Instagram Story on Sunday, James criticised United Airlines and shared more details about the flight, as she defended her sister.

As you know, she is five months pregnant, high risk, and also travelling alone with her two small children, she wrote in the since-expired post, which has been shared on Twitter. Blaire accidentally spilled some popcorn in the aisle and the flight attendant came up to Sydney with a trash bag, and a wet wipe, telling her the (captain) wants Syd to clean up every drop.

She went on to describe how Sydney was on her hands and knees during the flight, trying to clean up the popcorn.

[She was] crying in the aisle, completely humiliated and exhausted, with her children. While everyone else watched, Decker added. Way to go United.

Other Twitter users responded to Teigens tweet about the incident to defend Bass wife.

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I still think the key word here is Pregnant! Never assume the health of a pregnant woman is okay! Give the woman some respect! one wrote.

Another added: They are going to clean the plane anyway after it lands & everyone gets off.

Oh man this is exactly exactly the kind of tweet twitterers love. god speed, friend https://t.co/CHwFfkxh1O  chrissy teigen (@chrissyteigen) April 17, 2023

Some people emphasised their support for Sydney, after Bass revealed on Twitter that United Airlines was the one who gave his children the popcorn.

I was rolling my eyes until I read [that] United gave them the popcorn, one person claimed. Is there a messier dry snack on earth? If an airline gives popcorn to anyone they have it coming.

However, many people had different thoughts about the situation, as they claimed that Bass children could have cleaned up popcorn themselves, as opposed to his wife or airline staff.

Interesting that he expects service workers to clean up after his kids instead of teaching the kids to clean up after themselves AND he was too cheap to hire a nanny to travel with his HIGH RISK heavily pregnant wife & two kids. And it appears they had a layover as well. pic.twitter.com/kmoyK5wtYh  KD (@Fly_Sistah) April 17, 2023

Omg a five-year-old can easily pick up popcorn, the Mom didnt need to do it, one wrote.

As a former airline worker, Id just like to say you cant have it both ways. You cant leave a massive mess on the plane and expect to not have travel delays, another added. The plane doesnt magically clean itself between flights. More mess = more time resulting in possible delays.

A third added: Oh for the love of God. Theyre two and five, a perfect age to give them a small job of cleaning up after themselves. Its called a life lesson and family teamwork.

On Sunday, Bass went to Twitter to share that hes been in contact with the airline company, writing: Thank you everyone for the support. United Airlines is taking care of matters with the flight attendant internally.

The Independent has contacted a representative for United Airlines for comment.
Despite approving a slew of tax breaks for manufacturers amid a recent economic development boom, five Richland County Council members decided this week they couldnt justify a tax break to support a gun manufacturers expansion in Columbia.

A split council voted down a tax incentive deal for gun manufacturer FN America on Tuesday.

It is very clear that there is a direct line from these manufacturers to the epidemic of gun violence that we have today, Councilmember Allison Terracio told The State newspaper Wednesday.

FN America, headquartered in McLean, Virginia, has been manufacturing firearms in Richland County since the 1980s.

FN America produces weapons for the U.S. military, police departments and consumers across the nation, including handguns, machine guns and grenade launchers.

The county was considering offering FN America an incentive that would amount to a 60% tax break for 12 years to compensate for financial challenges associated with expanding operations. In exchange for this, FN America would invest $16.5 million and create at least 100 new full-time jobs.

Earlier this month, County Council gave an initial 7-3 approval of the proposed deal with FN America.

But in a final vote Tuesday, council members who voted against the proposal said they could not justify using taxpayer money to incentivize a commercial gun company. The proposal failed by a 5-5 vote, with one council member abstaining from the vote.

Council members Derrek Pugh (District 2), Yvonne McBride (District 3), Allison Terracio (District 5), Cheryl English (District 10) and Chakisse Newton (District 11) voted no to the tax break for FN America.

Council members Jason Branham (District 1), Paul Livingston (District 4), Don Weaver (District 6), Gretchen Barron (District 7) and Overture Walker (District 8) voted in favor of the tax break.

Jesica Mackey (District 9), who represents the area where FN Americas facility is located, recused herself from the vote due to a conflict of interest with the business.

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I have no problems if that company wants to sell guns, then its fine, but do not use taxpayer dollars, Councilmember Yvonne McBride said during the meeting. This is not about gun control. This is about using taxpayer dollars to incentivize the sale of guns.

However, if this proposal had passed, taxypayers would not be paying FN America  FN America would just be paying the county less in taxes.

For Terracio, this vote was about gun control.

We are horrified regularly about mass shootings, she told The State on Wednesday after the vote. Putting more dollars in the hands of these gun manufacturers is not something that I will be able to support now or ever.

Not only does Terracio want to limit the amount of guns in the community, she said she also would like to see common sense gun laws passed at the state level.

Wouldnt it be great if those manufacturers decided that they wanted to push for common sense gun laws? Terracio said. I would think that it would not be good for your image to be a pusher of loose gun laws.

FN America did not respond to requests for comment prior to publication. Attempts by The State to reach other council members for comment on Wednesday also were not successful.
PacifiCorp's Hunter Power Plant releases steam as it burns coal outside of Castle Dale, Utah, on Nov. 14, 2019.

PacifiCorp's Hunter Power Plant releases steam as it burns coal outside of Castle Dale, Utah, on Nov. 14, 2019.

In just the past month, lawmakers in Utah, Georgia and Tennessee have passed legislation granting police broad new authority to charge anyone who interferes with or disrupts the operations of power plants and pipelines with felonies carrying years in prison.

Over the past five years, nearly two dozen states have enacted similar bills, all following the format of a model bill right-wing operatives working with fossil fuel lobbyists designed to thwart future climate protests like those against the Dakota Access oil pipeline.

Early on, proponents were explicit about targeting environmentalists and community activists, pushing measures that threatened to bankrupt small-town Ohio churches whose parishioners took part in demonstrations with legal fines or throw a Louisiana grandmother in prison for three years for stepping on a petrochemical companys land to visit the mass grave containing her enslaved ancestors. It obviously proved controversial: The Buckeye State passed its law, but the governor vetoed the Bayou State bill.

This time, however, state lawmakers are pitching the harsh new penalties in their bills as the key to going after a different kind of political target: far-right extremists.

Its a rhetorical shift playing off a recent resurgence of neo-Nazi plots against the power grid, but free-speech advocates and extremism experts told HuffPost that prosecutors remain far more likely to use the statutes to charge left-wing and environmental activists.

Lawmakers in Utah, Georgia and Tennessee pitched their bills as timely responses to the record wave of cyber- and physical attacks on the United States aging network of electrical grids last year. In a span of just weeks in December, gunmen damaged substations on opposite coasts and left tens of thousands of people without power for days.

In Tacoma, Washington, the alleged shooters told police the Christmas Day grid sabotage was part of a doomed ploy to get away with stealing a cash register, according to court documents. In rural Moore County, North Carolina, where the blackout lasted four days, the perpetrators remain at large, their identities and motives a mystery.

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At least four more states  Illinois, Minnesota, North Carolina and Oklahoma  are considering versions of the same legislation passed in Utah, Georgia and Tennessee.

Written by the conservative American Legislative Exchange Council around 2017, the model bill specifically targeted the five Valve Turner activists who, in a 2016 show of solidarity with environmentalists and Native Americans rallying to block the construction of an oil line under a sacred Indigenous waterway, snipped through chain-link fence and cranked the emergency valves shut at oil pipelines in four states, temporarily disabling the infrastructure feeding 15% of U.S. daily oil consumption.

A Con Edison power plant in a Brooklyn neighborhood on March 15, 2018, in New York City.

A Con Edison power plant in a Brooklyn neighborhood on March 15, 2018, in New York City.

Since then, lawmakers in nearly every state have introduced legislation touching on the issue, in many cases using language identical to that of the ALEC bill. Since Tennessees latest legislation only amended existing law, Georgia is set to become the 20th state to enact such a statute, once Gov. Brian Kemp (R) signs the bill there.

As recently as 2019, energy trade associations were raising the specter of green radicals once again halting the flow of oil, insisting even reversible, nonviolent acts of sabotage were tantamount to terrorism. But following the back-to-back substation shootings last December, ALEC published a blog post recasting its model bill as the obvious solution.

The legislation was originally meant to respond to climate activists, and its not likely in my opinion that the states pushing these initiatives are going to use them responsibly, said Matt Kriner, a senior scholar at the Middlebury Institute for International Studies in California. In other words, theyre not likely to levy them with an objective lens, but rather use them as post-hoc justification for going after their original targets.

Worse yet, the laws do not require utilities to build protective barriers or additional transmission lines to fortify power systems, steps federal researchers identified as key to averting blackouts.

We Live In Different Times, Folks

Far-right militant groups in the U.S. have long had electrical infrastructure in their crosshairs. But the past three years have seen an uptick in calls to attack the grid, according to federal authorities and independent researchers who monitor the dark-web extremist networks whose influence has grown over the past decade. The FBI recently busted at least two major plots to destroy substations, arresting a well-known neo-Nazi leader in February for allegedly planning to cripple the Baltimore power grid.

Utah state Rep. Carl Albrecht (R) cited the Maryland incident when responding to criticism that the penalties proposed in his states bill  up to five years in state prison  were a little high.

This stuffs pretty critical, folks. Its life-threatening when you take electricity out of our lives intentionally, Albrecht said, citing his previous career at the Garkane Energy Cooperative, a power utility serving southern Utah and northern Arizona.

We live in different times, folks, he said. Things are getting quite serious. Theres a lot of folks who would like to see people suffer.

When fossil fuel trade associations started shopping the bill around state legislatures in 2017, their lobbyists struggled to find examples of any supposed ecoterrorist threat looming over the nations pipelines and power stations.

That December, five energy trade groups and an oil company sent a letter to lawmakers listing five purported examples of threats environmentalists posed to their infrastructure. Just one  the Valve Turners case, which was being prosecuted at the time  was known to have involved activists of any stripe. Convicted perpetrators in two other cases appeared to be suffering from mental illness. The remaining two cases had not been solved, but investigators suspected disgruntled former employees.

The vast majority of actual attacks against substations or power plants are not extremist-related at all. When they find culprits, they tend to be drunk people or people angry at the electric company, said Mark Pitcavage, a senior research fellow at the Anti-Defamation Leagues Center on Extremism. Extremists constantly talk about targeting different things. It doesnt mean they actually go out and target things. Theres a lot of discussion, fewer plots, and fewer still actual attacks.

Its hardly just the political right talking about going after fossil fuel infrastructure. In his 2021 polemic How to Blow Up a Pipeline, the Swedish socialist and writer Andreas Malm urged climate activists to abandon their fetish for pacifism and embrace sabotage as a tactic. Malms book, which captivated New York Times columnist Ezra Klein and prompted The New Republic to make the climate case for property destruction, is set to be released as a chic, dramatized movie adaptation this month.

But since 2020, its far-right extremists who have repeatedly developed credible, specific plans to attack electricity infrastructure, the Department of Homeland Security concluded in January, in an internal memo published by CBS News.

Strained by extreme weather, decades of disinvestment and a haphazard transition away from coal, the countrys aging network of electrical grids makes for an easy target. Taking out just 20 of the U.S.s roughly 55,000 substations could be enough to trigger nationwide blackouts, the former chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission told 60 Minutes last year.

There are steps electrical companies could take to fortify the grid, many of which are already needed to adapt the power system to a hotter future in which more demand comes from electric cars, heat pumps and hydrogen fuel plants.

Earlier this year, the Congressional Research Service highlighted the potential need for more physical barriers at critical infrastructure sites and investments in additional power lines to make the grid more resilient. The federal memo suggested Congress could investigate whether security is enough of a corporate priority for energy companies. It also noted that neither the Washington nor the North Carolina substations attacked in December were subject to federal security standards, another potential regulatory gap for U.S. lawmakers to consider.

But those werent on the agenda for Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields, who testified before state lawmakers in North Carolina that the moment when roughly 45,000 people lost power on Dec. 3 was terrifying.

Somewhat bizarrely, Fields then suggested that his investigation was held back by North Carolinas statutes governing electrical grid sabotage. Under existing state laws, someone with no criminal record convicted of damaging electrical infrastructure would likely get off with probation, according to The Fayetteville Observer, a daily newspaper near Moore County. A repeat offender could see two years behind bars.

Punishing people who even attempt to obstruct, impede, or impair energy facilities with felony charges carrying up to 19 years in prison  the same kind faced by first-degree kidnappers and rapists  would aid his offices efforts, Fields said.

Were very thankful for this bill that we can hopefully prosecute these folks that caused the damage in our county, Fields testified.

The laws showed little deterrent effect in Indiana, Ohio, Texas or Wisconsin.

In 2019, the year all four states approved new penalties for interfering with critical infrastructure, three men in their early 20s living in those states  one defendant split his time between Indiana and Texas  hatched a plan to attack power stations, hoping the resulting blackouts would trigger enough economic distress and civil unrest to spark a fascist revolution.

By 2020, the men were meeting to practice firing assault rifles and distribute necklaces filled with fentanyl that the plotters agreed to ingest if they were caught by police. All three were arrested and charged under federal anti-terrorism statutes, and pleaded guilty in February 2022.

The most recent high-profile alleged white supremacist plot against the power grid took place in Maryland, a state that twice rejected bills proposing new penalties for utility sabotage.

The would-be attackers allegedly conspired to shoot out five substations around Baltimore, with the aim of plunging a mostly Black city  where literally keeping the lights on is part of a daily struggle for many  into total chaos. One of the two people whom federal authorities charged in February is Brandon Russell, the 27-year-old co-founder of the Atomwaffen Division  a neo-Nazi group that believes modern, post-industrial society cannot be redeemed and ought to be driven into apocalyptic collapse so a white ethnostate or whites-only utopia can be constructed in its wake, according to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

Environmental activists reoccupy a preserved Atlanta forest on March 4 that is slated to be developed as a police training center in Georgia.

Environmental activists reoccupy a preserved Atlanta forest on March 4 that is slated to be developed as a police training center in Georgia.

Its unlikely that the threat of new state felonies would have dissuaded such radicals, Pitcavage said.

In general, laws like this dont have much deterrent effect on extremists simply because extremists are fanatics to their causes and are willing to break laws in service of their causes, Pitcavage said. But I cant say they wont have any deterrence, because there are some cases where certain types of criminal activity may have decreased over time.

Specifically, Pitcavage pointed to the wave of sabotage by animal rights activists and environmentalists in the 1990s and early 2000s  and the decrease that followed the passage of harsher state and federal laws, including the post-9/11 Patriot Act.

A Critical Test In Georgia  Before The Latest Bill Even Passes

Even before the latest legislation passed in Georgias Republican-controlled state House, a dramatic clash between police and protesters over plans to clear a forest for a law enforcement training facility set up a vital test over how prosecutors would use new state penalties against demonstrators.

While Georgia resisted past proposals to levy harsher punishments against people who interfere with energy infrastructure, lawmakers in 2017 did approve legislation to vastly expand the scope of the states domestic terrorism law. Initially, acts intended to kill or injure at least 10 people qualified as terrorism. The updated law included property crimes committed with the intent to alter, change, or coerce the policy of the government by intimidation or coercion.

In March, the Georgia Bureau of Investigations charged 23 protesters with domestic terrorism for allegedly entering the construction area for the training center in the forest and throwing large rocks, bricks, Molotov cocktails, and fireworks at police officers, destroying multiple pieces of construction equipment by fire and vandalism.

Atlanta officials say the facility will bring in money for the city and train police to avoid deadly mistakes by rehearsing on a course designed like a real urban block, with homes, a convenience store and a nightclub.

Opponents say the development, nicknamed Cop City, will rob neighbors of the South River Forests shade and fresh air, as a growing body of research describes trees as lifesavers in increasingly extreme heat waves. Where once there was birdsong there would instead be gunfire, shouts and explosions, all in service of what many in the majority-Black city already see as an overly militarized police presence.

As it is, officers opened fire on Manuel Paez Terans tent in the forest near Cop City during a raid in January, shooting the activist more than a dozen times in what appears to be the first police killing of an environmentalist in modern U.S. history.

Convicting an accused domestic terrorist requires a lot of proof elements with respect to state of mind and intent and purpose, said Georgia state Rep. Rob Leverett, the Republican from a rural district east of Athens who sponsored the new legislation. The maximum sentence for criminal property damage under existing law was 10 years.

His bill would offer law enforcement a mid-range charge, he said, allowing prosecutors to seek up to 20 years in prison for defendants who, according to the bill, alter or interfere with energy infrastructure or interfere with the proper action of such a facility knowingly and without authority and by either force or violence.

There are times when its just simple damage and we dont really know, for example in North Carolina, if that was just two people seeing who was the better shot and could hit the shiny thing in the substation with their shotgun or if it was truly someone trying to commit an act of domestic terror, Leverett said during a hearing at the Georgia House of Representatives last month.

This is necessary at this point to send a message to those who would try to damage vital infrastructure, which can have such a more far-ranging impact than simply damaging a piece of property, he added. If you damage a utilitys truck depot, thats bad, but thats generally not going to put 45,000 people in the dark and absolute cold during the week before Christmas.

In Tennessee, vandalizing power lines, cables, towers or fixtures to steal electricity was already a felony charge. In 2019, state lawmakers amended the law to add tampering with critical infrastructure to the list. Earlier this month, legislators approved new measures to increase the severity of the felony charges for anyone who destroys, injures, interrupts, or interferes with critical infrastructure.

What this bill is seeking to do is to get these people that are taking high-powered rifles and going to substations and shooting out breaker boxes and junction boxes and attempting to disrupt the electrical supply to a population, state Rep. Clark Boyd (R), the legislations sponsor, told WLPN.

The Nashville public radio station described the scenario Boyd outlined as pretty uncommon. Since 2017, there has been an average of zero such incidents, the head of the Tennessee General Assemblys fiscal review committee concluded in a legislative memo.

But the federally owned Tennessee Valley Authority has plans to build new gas-fired power plants and pipelines to fuel them, WLPN reported, potentially drawing new protests.

If legislators really wanted to keep peoples lights on, theyd be more focused on making our energy infrastructure cleaner and modernizing the grid, said Connor Gibson, an independent researcher who is tracking the influence of anti-protest legislation with the watchdog Center for Media and Democracy.

Because violence and property destruction are already illegal everywhere, it just shows that politicians are claiming to protect oil and utility companies when all theses laws actually change is upping the stakes for people engaged in nonviolent trespass, Gibson said.

Earlier this year, Idaho proposed up to six months in prison and a $1,000 fine for simply trespassing once on an energy companys land, with up to 10 years and $10,000 for a second offense. The bill was approved by the House judiciary committee in February but died before coming up for a floor vote when the legislative session ended on March 31.

Similar bills in Illinois and Minnesota are active but have yet to come up for hearings and are less likely to advance under liberal Democratic governors.

These laws were intended to criminalize activities that were First Amendment-protected or might be deemed good trouble in the John Lewis mentality, said Kriner, the Middlebury Institute scholar, referring to the late Georgia Democrat and civil rights activist.

It seems unlikely, Kriner said, that the new statutes will prompt states to spend more time and money trying to foil right-wing plots.

Whether and whom the laws deter  and from what  is sort of beside the point, Pitcavage said. Laws against stealing automobiles have not eliminated car theft.

That doesnt mean car theft shouldnt be punished, Pitcavage said. There are victims and harm involved.

The critical infrastructure laws, he added, would almost certainly be used to prosecute actual physical attacks on grid infrastructure, regardless of what ideology motivated the saboteur. And those threats are multiplying: Power plants reported nearly 1,700 incidents involving physical security issues to the North American Electric Reliability Corporations Electricity Information Sharing and Analysis Center last year  up 10.5% from 2021, the trade publication Utility Dive reported.

To the extent the laws may be misapplied to protesters, itd most likely affect people on the left simply because they would be the ones engaging in it, Pitcavage said. Right-wing extremists dont tend to protest... whereas left-wing extremists may engage in a wide variety of protests.

Related...
Social media posts claim Covid-19 vaccines replace sperm with spike protein. This is false; public health authorities and experts around the world have found no evidence the shots harm male fertility.

"Sperm is replaced completely by spike protein in 'vaccinated,'" claims an April 8, 2023 Instagram caption.

The post shares an image with a quote attributed to Arne Burkhardt, a German researcher whom AFP has previously fact-checked for spreading vaccine misinformation.

"If I were a woman in fertile age, I would not plan a motherhood from a man who was vaccinated," the quote says.

Screenshot of an Instagram post taken April 12, 2023

The same claim circulated on Twitter in February 2023. The clip shared in the tweet is part of a longer video posted to Rumble in which Burkhardt discusses messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) Covid-19 vaccines.

AFP has previously debunked claims that the shots harm female fertility. Experts say safety monitoring has not detected problems for men, either.

"Based on the studies published so far, there is no scientific proof of any association between Covid-19 vaccines and fertility impairment in men or women," says an October 2022 analysis of research from around the world.

Guidance from the Canadian Fertility and Andrology Society says: "All advisory and regulatory bodies recommend that Covid-19 vaccinations are safe for people attempting to conceive."

Spike protein

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna Covid-19 vaccines work differently than other shots.

Traditional vaccines contain weakened or dead forms of a virus so that the immune system can recognize and build antibodies against it. Covid-19 mRNA vaccines, meanwhile, deliver instructions to cells on how to build a harmless piece of the spike protein found on the surface of the coronavirus, teaching the body to recognize and fight the real thing.

"It is true that the mRNA from the vaccine goes to other places in the body, other than the muscle where it is injected," said James Lawler, a professor in the Division of Infectious Diseases at the University of Nebraska.

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But there is no evidence this is harmful.

"Just the fact that there is spike protein in other places in the body doesn't necessarily mean that that is detrimental," Lawler said April 13. "It means that the body is developing an immune response in multiple places, which is probably a beneficial thing."

Lawler contrasted the body's response to vaccination with a Covid-19 infection, in which affected cells can express spike protein all over the body for a longer period of time.

"All of the data and all of the studies show consistently that you are much worse off getting Covid than you are from any potential side effects from the vaccines," he said.

Research demonstrates safety

Multiple studies have found the Covid-19 vaccines pose no danger to male fertility.

"After receiving the two doses of the vaccines, we did not observe a clinically significant sperm parameter decline within the cohort, suggesting the vaccines do not negatively impact male fertility potential," says a 2021 study that the American Society for Reproductive Medicine sent to AFP.

One of the paper's authors, urologist Ranjith Ramasamy, told AFP: "Our findings indicate that getting vaccinated does not have any adverse effects on fertility."

"We do not see any reason to advise men who wish to father a child against getting vaccinated," Ramasamy said in a March 21 email, referencing additional research from his team at the University of Miami.

"Considering the potential dangers of Covid-19 infection on women during pregnancy, we strongly recommend that individuals take all necessary measures to safeguard their partner during this period, which includes getting vaccinated."

More of AFP's reporting on vaccine misinformation is available here.
Photograph: Mark Humphrey/AP

A new legal filing has exposed a potentially major fracture among a group of so-called fake electors in Georgia, who sought to aid Donald Trump in overturning the 2020 election results in a scheme now under criminal investigation.

According to a court document filed on Tuesday, a group of people involved in the scheme recently told state prosecutors that another one of the fake electors committed crimes that they were not involved in.

The finger pointing, included in a document submitted by Fulton county district attorney Fani Willis, exposes a rift within the group as prosecutors near the end of the investigation and consider bringing charges against the former president and dozens of allies.

The court filing principally sought to disqualify attorney Kimberly Debrow, who represents 10 of the fake electors, from the case because of a twisted new conflict of interest that arose last week, when some of her clients implicated another of her clients in an additional crime.

Related: Trumps legal woes pick up speed as Republican 2024 race heats up

Some of the electors stated that another elector represented by Ms Debrow committed acts that are violations of Georgia law and that they were not party to these additional acts, Willis said in the document, which did not spell out the nature of the alleged crimes.

The fact that 10 of Debrows clients were making criminal complaints against another of her clients in the same investigation suggests Debrow can no longer offer adequate counsel to her client accused of further crimes and must be removed from the case altogether, the court filing said.

In seeking Debrows disqualification, prosecutors pointed to the Georgia state supreme courts decision in 2013 to disqualify a lawyer representing a defendant and the defendants sister-in-law, after the sister-in-law ended up testifying against the initial client.

The court filing also asked to have Debrow removed from the case after she and her co-counsel at the time, Holly Pierson, appeared to have ignored a July 2022 order from the judge overseeing the investigation to make clear to the fake electors that they could take immunity deals.

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A month after the order, according to the document, Pierson claimed that she and Debrow had spoken to their clients about immunity deals and that none of their clients were interested. Pierson later moved to represent only one elector, with Debrow representing the rest.

But when prosecutors interviewed some of the fake electors last week, they were surprised to hear that no potential offer of immunity had ever been discussed with them, the court filing said.

Debrow could not immediately be reached for comment.

The claims of additional illegal activity by one of the fake electors comes as state prosecutors in the district attorneys office consider asking a new grand jury to return a potentially sprawling criminal conspiracy against Trump, his top aides and the fake electors themselves.

Willis and her team could finalize their plans as soon as the end of the month and then impanel a grand jury starting in May to hear the case, according to a source familiar with the matter, though it was not clear if the latest development could delay proceedings.

Trump is seen as having two main areas of legal jeopardy in Georgia: the calls he made to officials like the secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, in an effort to reverse his election defeat in the weeks after the 2020 election, and his role in assembling the fake electors.

But at the heart of the investigation are the steps that Trump and his campaign aides took  knowing it was likely illegal  in assembling 16 pro-Trump electors to surreptitiously gain entry to the Georgia state capitol and submit unauthorized electoral college votes for Trump to Congress.

The special fact-finding grand jury that heard evidence for roughly seven months about Trumps efforts to overturn the 2020 election results recently recommended more than a dozen people for indictments. Its foreperson also suggested in media interviews last month that Trump was among them.
Photo Illustration by Kelly Caminero / The Daily Beast / Getty

The more we learn about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas financial disclosures, the more it becomes plain that the Justice Department must open an investigation.

For full disclosure, I interviewed with Thomas after law school for a judicial clerkship in the time when his nomination to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals was still pending confirmation, and then again when he was nominated to the Supreme Court. He turned me down both times. Still, I remember him as charismatic and personable with a compelling personal story.

His record since then has not been kind to my brief first impression of him.

Clarence Thomas Is a Grifting Faucet You Cant Turn Off

From the amendments to his financial disclosures in 2011going back 13 yearsin which he had failed to include his wife Ginni Thomas work for the Heritage Foundation (totaling $690,000), to the luxury vacations at private resorts and super-yachts, and the private jet rides paid for by billionaire conservative activist Harlan Crow (who also purchased real estate from Thomas)the evidence of Thomas financial disclosure failings is overwhelming.

The most recent revelation, that for the last two decades his family received rental income in the hundreds of thousands of dollars from a business that has been defunct since 2006 only adds fuel to the fire.

The justice has many explanations for these facts. He says he originally consulted colleagues on the Supreme Court, who advised him he did not have to disclose the benefits paid for by Crow. Thomas also claims he misunderstood filing requirements about his wifes income, and believed that the real estate did not have to be reported because he made no profit on it.

The common theme is that Thomas is forthcoming only after public interest groups like Common Cause and journalists like those at ProPublica discover his omissions.

Not only is that a bad look for him, it amplifies the decibel level of worry over the high courts lack of accountability to the level of a scream.

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Calls for Chief Justice John Roberts to conduct an investigation into Thomas are completely reasonable, but also completely unrealistic given the fact that Roberts investigation of the Dobbs decision leak seemed completely inept. And as Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) told CNNs Dana Bash, the justices themselves are implicated in the advice Thomas supposedly sought from unnamed colleagues.

AOC has called for the House of Representatives to open an impeachment investigation, which would be far more effective than an investigation run by Chief Justice Roberts and the SCOTUS Marshals Office, but impeachment investigations in a Republican-controlled House face nearly insurmountable obstacles in even getting startedmuch less getting anything done.

The sole viable investigation option is one conducted by DOJ. Only questioning conducted by experienced public corruption investigatorseither under penalty of perjury before a grand jury or under the threat of false statements violationscan result in a thorough investigation deserving of public confidence in the outcome.

North Carolinas Supreme Court Is Poised to Hand Power to Republicans

Skilled investigation is particularly needed because Thomas intent will be a crucial issue, as his most likely defenses all involve careless error, or a failure by a Supreme Court justice to understand the rules of disclosure, or a belief that his acceptance of trips and financial benefits fell within certain exemptions to the ethics disclosure requirements.

Discerning intent will require precise questioning, as well as a review of the years of pattern evidence in Thomas prior disclosures and amendments.

The investigation does not have to be a criminal one, but can be a civil one as well. As noted in a complaint filed by the ethics watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a DOJ investigation could look at both civil and criminal ramifications of Thomas behavior as violations of the Ethics in Government Act. Civil violations under the Act could result in up to $50,000 for each violation in penalties. Criminal penalties could result in up to five years of imprisonment, as well as fines.

It is theoretically possible that any false statements made on the disclosures themselves could also give rise to separate false statement charges. Perhaps the best solution would be to open simultaneous parallel civil and criminal investigations.

Conservatives have decried any talk of investigating Justice Thomas as baseless political attacks. That outcry will ratchet up considerably if DOJ opens an investigation. Attorney General Merrick Garlandbased upon his previous cautious behaviormay be particularly hesitant to insert DOJ into another politically charged issue, but he really has little choice given the near-daily revelations that raise new questions about the accuracy of Thomas financial disclosures.

SCOTUS has only itself to blame for this situation. For years it has resisted adopting the simple first step of accountability for the justices, which would have been a code of judicial ethics.

In his 2011 defense of this choice, Chief Justice Roberts asserted the high court did not need such a code of ethics, as the justices could consult a wide range of ethical guidance including advice from their colleagueswhich apparently is exactly what Justice Thomas claims to have relied upon.

It apparently did not occur to Roberts that such reliance potentially makes whichever justices offer advice to their colleagues potential witnesses in an investigation.

Heres Why the Trump Indictment Charges Are Felonies

Perhaps, even more indicative of SCOTUS cavalier attitude towards self-policing is Roberts suggestion that Congress might not even be able to constitutionally legislate reporting requirements on SCOTUS. He also said any attempt to create a mandatory recusal law has never been tested, suggesting SCOTUS might determine that any such law to be unconstitutional.

The criminal justice system is a blunt instrument poorly suited to being an instrument of reform. It is best suited to very blatant instances of potential wrongdoing.

There might have been action that Congress and SCOTUS could have taken years ago that would have prevented the current situation with Justice Thomas. But that time is long past.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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By Gloria Dickie and Lisi Niesner

NY-AALESUND, Norway (Reuters) - At the world's northernmost year-round research station, scientists are racing to understand how the fastest-warming place on Earth is changing  and what those changes may mean for the planet's future.

But around the tiny town of Ny-Aalesund, high above the Arctic circle on Norway's Svalbard archipelago, scientific data is getting harder to access. And sometimes it's vanishing before scientists can collect it.

Scientists hoping to harvest ice cores are finding glaciers inundated by water. Research sites are getting harder to reach, as earlier springtime melt leaves the ground too barren for snowmobile travel.

Researchers have been studying the polar region for decades  with Ny-Aalesund's weather records going back more than 40 years. But their work has become vitally important as climate change ramps up. That's because what happens in the Arctic can impact global sea levels, storms in North America and Europe, and other factors far beyond the frozen region.

While the Arctic is warming about four times faster than the rest of the world, in Svalbard temperatures are climbing even faster  up to seven times the global average.

Last summer was the hottest on record. August temperatures in Ny-Aalesund were on average 5.1C degrees, about 0.5C warmer than normal for the month.

Polar bears - left hungrier due partly to the loss of sea ice, their hunting grounds  are more often seen prowling nearby islands in search of food.

Jean-Charles Gallet, a glaciologist with the Norwegian Polar Institute who has been coming to Ny-Aalesund for about 12 years, said that, whereas scientists could once travel into June, they cannot plan fieldwork after mid-May now.

"The snow in the valley is gone, and you are stuck in town, and your snowmobile is in the garage."

The weather around Ny-Aalesund has become wilder. A few decades ago, snow typically began falling in October, while February and March were the year's coldest and calmest months. Not anymore.

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This winter saw snowfall only from January, with storms intensifying the next month. "We're on storm No. 9 since early February. Wow. I've never seen that," Gallet said in his office this month, as rain drizzled from a gray sky. "Even today, we are in early April, and it rains."

LIFE AT 79N

Established as a mining settlement in 1916, Ny-Aalesund became a hotspot for international researchers after several deadly mining accidents shuttered operations in the 1960s.

Norway was granted sovereignty over Svalbard during the Versailles negotiations at the end of World War I. This arrangement allows citizens from any of the 46 countries that have signed the treaty to reside in the archipelago.

The European Space Research Organisation (ESRO) put up a ground station in 1967 to help track orbiting satellites. Geologists and geophysicists also began setting up field camps around Kongsfjord, the large fjord that borders Ny-Aalesund.

Today, 11 countries, including China and India, have a presence in Ny-Aalesund. But the town has only about 35 year-round residents.

Daily life centers around the town's diversions  a sauna, a sled dog yard, and a weekly nighttime gathering called "Strikk og Drikk," or "Knit and Sip," during which residents stitch sweaters over a glass of wine.

In summer, Ny-Aalesund's population swells to more than 100 as scientists fly in from across the world. They gather in the glass-fronted canteen overlooking Kongsfjord, where a taxidermied polar bear presides over meals.

"One of the special things about this place is there are a lot of different scientists. I'm a chemist. There are biologists, geologists," said visiting researcher Francois Burgay of the Paul Scherrer Institute in Switzerland. "It's one of the few places in the world where these kinds of exchanges are so informal and so spontaneous."

That cross-disciplinary collaboration is important for climate research. Svalbard is warming faster than almost anywhere else in the Arctic and cooperation can be critical for understanding how climate impacts will ripple through the polar ecosystem, from ocean to atmosphere, plants to animals.

But even Ny-Aalesund itself is unstable. Last year, Kings Bay AS, the state-owned company that manages the town, closed a laboratory where scientists processed samples from fish, snow and ice. Thawing permafrost had cracked its foundation.

Four buildings damaged by thawing permafrost have seen repairs over the past decade, Kings Bay AS operations manager Espen Blix told Reuters, including the town store, which contractors are fixing this year on a budget of 6.9 million crowns ($658,000 US). Another five are in need of repairs.

Still intact are the town's sauna and jacuzzi, giving residents a chance to relax.

"The dark season is really nice," said town safety instructor Christer Amundsen, who has lived in Ny-Aalesund full-time since 2019, referring to the October to February period when the sun never crests the horizon, bright stars fill the sky and blue-green auroras shimmer over the settlement.

CHASING ICE

Bracing against wind gusts up to 15 meters per second (34 miles per hour), a team of scientists pitched camp this month on the Holtedahlfonna icefield, a 3-hour snowmobile drive from Ny-Aalesund riven with dangerous crevasses.

The team hoped to drill 125 meters into Dovrebreen glacier, hoping to collect two ice cores for studying 300 years of climate records  part of an effort by the non-profit Ice Memory Foundation to collect and preserve ice cores from melting glaciers around the world.

"We must drill now because we might not have time in the future to do it again," said expedition leader Andrea Spolaor, a geochemist with the Italian National Research Council.

Dovrebreen glacier, which feeds the icefield, was chosen partly because of its high elevation, 1,100 meters (3,600 feet) above sea level, where temperatures are cooler. That boosted the chance of finding good cores with the ice still intact.

They were shocked when the drill, at only 25 meters deep, suddenly sloshed into a massive pool of water. "We did not expect such a huge water flux coming out from the glacier, and this is a clear sign of what is happening in this region," Spolaor said. "The glacier is suffering."

When scientists last drilled at the Dovrebreen site in 2005, the area was completely frozen.

Paleoclimatologist Carlo Barbante, vice chairman of the Ice Memory Foundation, said melting ice can distort the evidence in glaciers from years past: "It's like putting water on a book and having all the ink diluted so you can't read what is written."

The water meant the team could only gather one incomplete ice core from 52 meters down. After nearly two weeks of operation, and two drill motors broken by the aquifer, Spolaor and his team decided to move their site some 150 meters southwest and to a slightly higher elevation, where they ultimately collected 3 ice cores from 73 meters down.

BEARS AROUND TOWN

On a snowfield a kilometer south of Ny-Aalesund, the chemist Burgay filled plastic test tubes with snow, looking for chemical signals from marine algae blooms which travel from the ocean to the atmosphere and are deposited with the snow.

Once these signals are identified, he hopes scientists will be able to use them to understand how Arctic waters have changed in the past, and project how they might change in the future.

But even collecting such data is becoming riskier as polar bears roam nearby.

"In winter, you don't see anything," said Burgay. "Just the light from your headlamp, maybe the eyes of the reindeer, and some footprints in the snow."

Eight watchmen take turns patrolling the perimeter of Ny-Aalesund for polar bears  scaring away approaching bruins.

The idea is to "try to avoid it getting to the center of Ny-Aalesund," said Jakob Weiset, a polar bear guard who pulls double-duty as the town plumber.

Last summer, bears were spotted near town on 13 occasions, he said.

Polar bear sightings in Kongsfjord over the past four years "have been higher than ever before," said Maarten Loonen, a migratory bird biologist with the Arctic Centre of the University of Groningen in the Netherlands who has been coming to Ny-Aalesund every summer since 1990.

Resting harbour seals alongside nesting seabird colonies are drawing the hungry carnivores closer, said Joanna Sulich, a biologist with conservation nonprofit Polar Bears International.

"For many researchers who are studying those birds, it's something of concern," Sulich said.

She's helping Kings Bay AS design safety brochures for Ny-Aalesund scientists, who must undergo training to learn how to act around polar bears. Scientists are also taken to a shooting range to practice using a rifle, a must-have when traveling outside of town.

"If you work along the coast long enough, even taking all the precautions, you're likely to eventually see a polar bear," Sulich said. "Your training and understanding of behavior is essential."

(This story has been refiled to adjust affiliation)

(Reporting by Gloria Dickie in London and Lisi Niesner in Ny-Aalesund; Editing by Daniel Flynn and Katy Daigle)
Police have identified a teenage girl nearly 50 years after her body was found bound, gagged, wrapped in a tarp and dumped in a drainage ditch in Connecticut, officials said Monday.

Investigators never gave up on identifying the Jane Doe, who was found in East Haven on Aug. 16, 1975, they said at a press conference. Without any identification, officers hit a block, but they continued their investigation into her asphyxiation death. In 2022, they exhumed her body from where it was buried in nearby Hamden and took a DNA sample. It was sent to Identifinders International, a forensic genetic genealogy service.

Maryann Newsom Collette, the victim's sister, had submitted her DNA to GEDmatch, a service that compares DNA data samples from different testing companies. The two samples matched and police in East Haven were finally able to put a name to Jane Doe: Patricia Meleady Newsom.

Newsom Collette last saw her sister when she was 9 years old when she went missing from her boarding school in the Monticello, New York area. Newsom ran away from the school with a friend in 1972 and headed toward Maine, police said.

As the years passed, Newsom Collette launched the FindPatriciaNewsom Facebook page. She also decided to take add her DNA to GEDmatch, she said during a press conference. An officer in Tennessee, where Collete lives, took a DNA swab.

She traveled to Connecticut for Monday's police announcement. It was a moment of tremendous relief when Newsom Collete got the call from the police about her sister's identification.

"I always knew in my heart that she was gone," she said during the Monday press conference. "And just knowing that other people cared, that there was another side that was looking and that I could bring her home."

Patricia Meleady Newsom / Credit: East Haven Police

Police, who'd never given up on the cold case, in 2020 began exploring the possibility of exhuming Newsom's grave at State Street Cemetery, East Haven Captain Joseph Murgo said. The cemetery has been defunct since 2010, so there were difficulties in pinpointing where the teen was buried.

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In June of 2022, they located what they thought was the teen's burial location and exhumed a body, Murgo said. They were devastated to find they'd exhumed the wrong body. Police said the body exhumed was a male, but they did not further identify him.

"We were frustrated and discouraged, but we knew we had to press on," Murgo said during the press conference.

They used ground penetrating radar service, which scans underground areas and creates high-resolution images of the scanned material, to search for the teen's coffin and discovered there were around five times more caskets buried in the cemetery than anticipated, Murgo said. They found the correct one in July 2022.

The casket was exhumed and DNA samples were collected and turned over to Identifinders International, a forensic genetic genealogy service. The DNA was connected to Newsom Collete's own sample, allowing police to identify her sister.

Now that Newsom has been identified, Murgo said police can focus on the homicide investigation. Even with no arrests made, Newsom Collette said she's already had a lot of closure.

"Because whoever did this to my sister, whoever they are, they're either going to meet their maker soon or they're going to meet these fine folks," she said about the police investigating. "So either way, it's not going to go well for them."

Investigators and Newsom Collette have asked for anyone with information to come forward. They're looking for the friend, the boarding school the teen attended and anyone else who was at the school during that time to come forward. Their parents are not alive to share any information, Newsom Collette said. Their mother died before the teen went missing and their father died several years after she vanished, Newsom Collette said.

"If you knew something and didn't say something for all these years, we all have reasons for what we do or don't do," Newsom Collette said. "Now's the time."

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Stephen Colbert said Republican Ron DeSantis is suffering from plunging poll numbers and a defection of donors as he considers a 2024 presidential run.

So yesterday, he did the only thing a man can do: He bullied a cartoon mouse,

Colbert said.

The Florida governor has been at war with Disney since the company criticized his Dont Say Gay law. Out for revenge, DeSantis got the Florida Legislature to eliminate Disneys special district in Central Florida and replace it with a board of his hand-picked stooges. However, the companys outgoing district stripped the incoming DeSantis-controlled body of most of its powers in a last-minute move.

Oh, come on, Ron! Colbert said. Youre in Florida, dont you know you dont mess with Disney? You aint Nemo. Theyll never find you.

Now, DeSantis is threatening to build a state prison next to Walt Disney World.

Yeah, a state prison next to Disney, Colbert mocked. Hes about to run for president and his latest proposal is, Im gonna put Florida convicts next to your children.

See more in his Tuesday night Late Show monologue:
Comedian Jo Koy will return to El Paso for a night of laughs in October.

Jo Koy's World Tour act will be at 8 p.m. Oct. 14 at the Don Haskins Center, 151 Glory Road.

Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Thursday at Ticketmaster.com and the UTEP Box Office. Tickets range from $43 to $63, plus fees.

Comedian Jo Koy is returning to El Paso.

Jo Koy, who has been to El Paso before, is currently on tour and selling out in places like Norway, Amsterdam and London.

The comedian, who entertains with stories of his family, in particular his mom and son, broke a record for the most tickets sold by a single artist in 2017 in Honolulu, according to his website, jokoy.com. He sold 23,000 tickets and had 11 sold-out shows at the Neal S. Blaisdell Concert Hall. He continued record-breaking attendance at shows in San Francisco and Canada.

Koy also has penned his memoir, "Mixed Plate," about his rise as a half-Filipino, half-white comedian whose mom thought he just wanted to be a clown. In his book, Koy writes about how embracing his family helped his career take off.

More: 'Hamilton' tickets for shows at El Paso's Plaza Theatre in July to go on sale Monday

Maria Cortes Gonzalez may be reached at 915-546-6150, mcortes@elpasotimes.com and @EPTMaria on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Comedian Jo Koy will return to El Paso in October
The Defender, an early submarine rejected by the U.S. Navy, wasn't exactly an A-list object of desire for global shipwreck hunters, but it was for Richard Simon.

Simon, 35, grew up diving along the Long Island, New York, coast, hearing tales of the oddball vessel from the early 1900s, and wondering about its whereabouts. On Sunday, Simon led a volunteer team of divers that put hands on the sunken submarine off Long Island Sound, he said.

It may have been the Defender's first human contact since it was abandoned by the Army Corps of Engineers 77 years ago, according to a statement from Simon's firm, Shoreline Diving Services of Coventry, Connecticut.

We discovered something hiding in plain sight, he said.

Defender at Bridgeport Connecticut in 1946. (Submarine Force Museum & Library)

While acknowledging it was no Titanic, Simon noted the vessel's role as a step in the evolution of American submarines in the decades before they would become crucial to some U.S. military victories on the high seas.

Its maker was Simon Lake, the grandson of one of the founders of Atlantic City, and a fan of Jules Verne and his epic, "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea," according to the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association.

The Defender was described by the U.S. Navy as "experimental." It was overshadowed by the USS Holland, John Philip Hollands vessel that is widely said to be the U.S. Navys first modern submarine.

After the Defender's launch, Lake registered new inventions, such as the periscope and foils used to keep submarines level as they descended and ascended, Simon said.

Many of Lake's New Jersey-built submarines from the early 1900s were intended for and rejected by the U.S. Navy. It wasn't until 1911 that the U.S. Navy purchased one of his creations, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command.

As Holland fared better with the military, Lake retrofitted his rejects for tasks such as salvage operations, which he did with the Defender, according to the command.

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The Defender, all 92 feet of it, was ultimately scuttled along Long Island Sound in 1946, with experts speculating its last resting place was off Old Saybrook, Connecticut, according to background provided by Shoreline Diving Services.

Forward hatch on Defender. (Courtesy Joe Mazraani)

It was in that general area, more than 160 feet below the surface, where Simon, on the deck of his 38-foot work vessel, kept watch as divers Steve Abbate and Joe Mazraani saw and felt the distinctive and quirky lines of the Defender on Sunday, he said.

It wasn't easy. Visibility along the sedentary bottom was about 3 feet, he said, and tidal flow gave the team a 45-minute window to find it or forget it for the day. It would be the team's second dive to find the vessel.

Sunday's victory inspired Simon to reach out to descendants of Lake, whom he had spoken with before.

"From what I gathered from family members, he had grand ideas and was a man ahead of his time," he said.

Simon is not yet ready to give the exact location of the discovery. He says he's been working with maritime officials in an attempt to secure the area and keep it safe from treasure hunters.

"A lot of people don't care about it," he said. "But I want to inspire the next generation to explore."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Kelly Welling, with son Cody and daughter Hannah, visit a sidewalk memorial for 15-year-old Wesley Welling outside Westlake High School on Wednesday. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

In the span of an hour Tuesday afternoon, law enforcement officials say, a 24-year-old Westlake High School alumnus went on a deadly rampage across southern Ventura County, killing a 15-year-old, injuring five and endangering several others in a sequence of assaults that officials have been able to describe only as senseless.

Austin Eis traveled more than 30 miles to three locations, leaving a trail of bloodshed and mayhem, officials with the Ventura County Sheriff's Office and Simi Valley Police Department said Wednesday.

He first entered a Simi Valley Walmart, where he pepper-sprayed a male employee, seemingly without provocation, then stabbed him, according to Cmdr. Ritchie Lew, a spokesperson for the Simi Valley police.

The assailant then physically assaulted a second employee and attempted to drag her away, police said. When other employees tried to intervene, Lew said, the attacker lunged at them with a knife before running from the store.

About 40 minutes later, the suspect entered his family residence in Camarillo without permission, investigators say. He threatened multiple occupants with a knife and brandished a firearm, said Deputy Wendell Campbell, a Ventura County sheriff's spokesperson.

About 20 minutes later, he drove up to a bus stop near his alma mater, Westlake High School, in Thousand Oaks and intentionally plowed into a group of teens, Campbell said. Eis graduated from the school in 2017.

Wesley Welling, 15, was killed in the crash; three others were injured.

Officials have not determined a motive for the crimes. Campbell said evidence at the scene of the crash and witness statements led authorities to believe the crash was intentional.

Eis has been booked on seven felony counts, including murder and attempted murder, according to the Sheriff's Office. He had no known criminal history, Campbell said.

It's awful that this guy yesterday woke up and chose violence," said Eric Paul, a close friend of Wesley's family who created a GoFundMe page to help with the teen's funeral costs.

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He said Wesley was a bright and happy kid" who had been excited to attend high school with his older sister and talked about going to college.

"He had his whole life ahead of him," said Paul, 32.

Family and friends on Wednesday remembered Wesley as a beloved teen with a bright future.

"More people loved him than I ever knew about," said Kelly Welling, Wesley's mother.

She and Wesley's two siblings, Hannah and Cody, visited an expanding makeshift memorial in front of Westlake High on Wednesday afternoon. Welling had tears in her eyes as she laid a photograph of Wesley onto a bed of flowers.

Hannah was with Wesley and the other students at the time of the crash just after 3:30 p.m. Tuesday on Lakeview Canyon Road, but she was not hit.

"By some miracle my daughter was standing right next to him, and it could have been both of them," Welling said.

Hannah said she and her brother were waiting for the bus together, but she was farther from the seating area.

"I heard the skid and then everything happened so fast," Hannah said. "I don't know what happened, where he was or how he got hit at all."

Wesley was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Another 15-year-old boy and two girls, 14 and 16, were also taken to a hospital, Campbell said. Two have since been released, and the extent of the third's injuries was not known Wednesday, he said.

Both Walmart employees were brought to the hospital Tuesday afternoon, Lew said. The woman was released shortly after; the man, who had multiple stab wounds, remained hospitalized in stable condition.

No one was injured in the Camarillo home.

On Wednesday evening, Sonny Hernandez walked with his parents to Calvary Community Church in Westlake Village, less than two miles from Westlake High, where a vigil for Wesley was held.

Sonny said he and Wesley had shared a fifth-period video game design class the previous semester where they bonded over their love of video games.

"He was kind. ... He was welcoming," he said. "He invited you to hang out."

At the vigil, hundreds of other Westlake High School students, like Sonny, and their parents gathered for prayer.

Some from outside the Westlake High community also attended. Caitlyn Schrader, a student at Royal High School in Simi Valley, was moved to attend although she didn't personally know Wesley. She carried flowers into the event and said the crash had left her shaken.

"I don't even want to go to school anymore because it's just so scary," Caitlyn said. "I'm not willing to die to get an education."

The online fundraiser for Wesley's family had raised nearly 10 times its initial $15,000 goal by Wednesday afternoon, as people shared their condolences and memories of the teen.

Wesley was the middle child, Paul said, calling the Wellings a close family who often went camping or to the beach.

They went on so many trips," Paul said. "They did everything as a big family.

Wesley loved to play video and board games, said his younger brother, Cody. The two had shared a bedroom, Paul said.

"He loved being a big brother," Paul said.

Mental health counselors were at campuses districtwide Wednesday for students, staff and families, said Supt. Mark McLaughlin of the Conejo Valley Unified School District.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, McLaughlin said in a statement to parents.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Passengers hang out of a spinning car at an early morning street takeover at Compton Boulevard and Atlantic Avenue in East Compton in August. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

Compton is known as the "mecca of street takeovers," and city officials and residents are fed up with the illegal car shows.

Compton Mayor Emma Sharif and the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department are vowing to take action.

Residents descended on Compton City Hall on Tuesday to voice their frustration, anger and heartbreak over street takeovers, the most recent occurring over the weekend. The takeovers led to a chaotic night of burglaries Saturday, according to the Sheriff's Department.

Sharif condemned the takeovers and thefts, which resulted in thousands of dollars in stolen merchandise.

"These street takeovers have plagued our community for far too long," Sharif said. "In the past, most of the participants have not been from our city but have come here to take part in these takeovers and other senseless crimes."

The forum also brought to light the death of Raymond Olivares, 27, in February.

Olivares worked as an engineer for the city of Los Angeles and lived on Avalon Street in Compton, according to his sister, Cindi Enamorado, who spoke at the City Council meeting. Olivares was walking with his fiancee when the two were struck by a car careening down the road on Feb. 19 as it fled the scene of a nearby street takeover, according to the Sheriff's Department.

"There has to be a stop to this. This is organized crime," Enamorado said as she broke down in tears.

Enamorado spoke of her brother's gruesome death, how a car speeding at 100 mph struck him, hurling his body across the street.

"He at impact lost some body parts ... was hit by another car," she said. "People drove by recording him. ... They made a joke out of my brother's passing."

Olivares' death has not stopped street takeovers from continuing in Compton. Since January, the Sheriff's Department said it had already responded to 166 takeover incidents in the city.

Takeovers took place Saturday night at Long Beach Boulevard and Rosecrans Avenue, and at Central and Rosecrans avenues, along with "numerous others," said Capt. Terrence Bell of the Sheriff's Department.

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The takeovers involved hundreds of participants and left the Sheriff's Department scrambling, said Bell, who called Compton the "mecca of street takeovers." Last year, the Sheriff's Department said it responded to 498 separate takeovers.

Bell said Saturday's illegal takeovers moved from intersection to intersection as deputies tried to clear the streets and an ampm convenience store was burglarized and vandalized.

"The looting is not going to happen again. Were not going to have it again," Bell said.

Bell said that he had redeployed certain deputies to work weekends and had received additional resources from throughout the county to help "combat this problem."

"You're going to see enforcement all over the weekend," he said. "Were not going to tolerate any more street takeovers."

Street takeovers have skyrocketed in Los Angeles since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first six months of 2021, there were 500 reported takeovers, according to data from the Los Angeles Police Department. In 2022, the LAPD reported 705 takeovers.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
WASHINGTON  Russias suspected war crimes in Ukraine were under the spotlight at hearings Wednesday as lawmakers sought to keep public support for Kyiv from faltering.

Ukrainians shared their stories with members of the House Foreign Affairs Committee at a morning briefing that was followed by testimony from Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin. The first witness spoke of being tortured and forced to dig a grave for herself.

Its very difficult to understand why theyre behaving like this,'' Kostin said, citing evidence of Russian atrocities in cities such as Bucha, Irpin and Kherson. "The only possible explanation is they just want to erase Ukraine and Ukrainians from the land.

International law sets out how armed conflicts are supposed to be conducted and bans activities such as torture, hostage-taking or attacking civilian infrastructure. President Joe Biden Biden said last month that he believes Russian President Vladimir Putin had clearly committed war crimes.

At the other end of Capitol Hill, senators were expected to hear from Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco on assistance the Justice Department has been providing to Kostin and Justice Department efforts to crack down on wealthy Russians who try to evade war-related sanctions.

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, R-Texas, said in an interview that his goal is to give Americans an unvarnished view of the atrocities in Ukraine and to solidify support among Republican lawmakers who might question future military assistance to the nation.

A Ukrainian MSLR BM-21 "Grad" fires toward Russian positions at the front lines in Donetsk region, Ukraine, on April 8, 2023.

Latest developments:

The U.K. Ministry of Defense is warning of Russia's use of "narrative laundering," in which people affiliated with Russia share fake or misleading information about the Ukraine invasion to create confusion or false narratives while discrediting Ukrainian leaders.

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The U.S. announced a new military aid package for Ukraine worth $325 million. It includes ammunition for HIMARS rocket launchers and artillery rounds.

Scandinavian media reported that the Russian military could be targeting offshore wind farms, natural gas pipelines and undersea power and internet cables after reports of Russian military ships and submarines in the area.

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Witness recounts digging her own grave

The first victim to speak Wednesday was a middle-age woman who was not publicly identified, and her face was not broadcast during her appearance. She told members how Russian soldiers came into her house and confiscated a map, flag and refrigerator magnets.

"They kidnapped people, kept them locked up and tortured them. In January of this year they came for me," said the woman, 57. "They took me to a torture chamber and kept me there for five days."

The woman said Russian soldiers beat and cut her with knives, forced her to undress in front of them, then fired a gun next to her head as if they were shooting her.

"They also forced me to dig my own grave," said the woman, whose daughter is an American citizen. "After all the torture, they let me go. But they said they would come back."

Like other victims, the woman did not answer questions from committee members.

Russia has abducted 20,000 Ukrainian children, prosecutor general says

Russian forces have committed 80,840 war crimes and crimes of aggression since invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022, Kostin's office said this week. They have also killed at least 470 children and wounded 948, his office said.

On Wednesday, Kostin told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Kremlin has abducted nearly 20,000 Ukrainian children with the intent of indoctrinating them as Russians. Only 361 of those children have been returned, said Kostin, who urged lawmakers to sanction Russia's banks, its nuclear industry and officials involved in deporting Ukrainian minors.

"We have information about dozens or even hundreds of Russian officials, even of lower level in the region, who were involved in these policies,'' Kostin said. "Sanctioning them would play a deterring effect for other Russian officials who should think before taking part in these war crimes.

'Patriots' come to Ukraine's air defense

Leaked Pentagon documents revealed weaknesses in Ukraine's air defenses. The arrival of American-made Patriot missile systems should help bolster them.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov on Wednesday hailed the surface-to-air batteries reaching his country after months of waiting for them.

The urgency of the weapons' arrival was highlighted by U.S. Defense Department documents that showed Ukraine was in danger of running out of air defense munitions in the coming weeks after months of sustained Russian missile and drone attacks.

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure, Reznikov tweeted.

The U.S. agreed in October to send the Patriots, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles like the ones Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid. Ukraine also received Patriot batteries from Germany and the Netherlands.

Grain exports to resume

U.N., Ukrainian and Russian officials have reached an agreement to restart inspections of ships exporting Ukrainian grain through the Bosphorus Straits, the Kyiv Independent reported.

Turkey controls the straits, which permit access from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea and points beyond. Ship inspections are needed to prevent the shipment of arms into the Black Sea by Russia, which periodically halts the entire process. By blocking grain shipments, Russia can hurt Ukraine's economy and drive up grain prices internationally.

U.S. defense secretary meeting with counterparts

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III traveled to Sweden to meet with counterparts before heading to Germany later in the week for meetings with leaders from dozens of allies to discuss Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Meeting at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Austin and allies will discuss efforts to provide Ukraine with defensive weapons. Russia is expected to begin a spring offensive campaign, and Ukrainian officials have been pushing hard for additional weapons, including tanks and fighter jets they say could blunt or reverse that attack.

Moldova continues effort to join EU

Russia's invasion of Ukraine frightened several surrounding countries, and Moldova continues its push to join the European Union as part of efforts to tighten its connections with larger, wealthier counties with significant military capabilities. On Wednesday, the European Parliament reaffirmed its willingness to consider Moldovan membership.

Moldova is part of the former USSR and has long walked a narrow path between being part of Europe and maintaining close ties to Russia. But the Russian invasion sparked Moldovan leadership to formally request EU membership, which could unlock significant economic gains. The EU has been concerned that Russian influence in Moldova has continued longstanding corruption.

As part of the vote Wednesday, the EU affirmed that Moldova can continue moving toward membership as it addresses concerns about corruption, human rights, foreign investment and energy independence.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ukraine live updates: Victims tell Congress of Russia torture
BOYNTON BEACH  A student at Congress Middle School in Boynton Beach was arrested Tuesday after bringing a loaded gun to campus, the Palm Beach County School District reports.

School district police confiscated the weapon without incident after another student reported seeing it, Principal Denise O'Connor said in a message to parents. The gun was not used in a threatening manner, she said.

The incident marked the seventh time that a weapon has been confiscated from a Palm Beach County School District campus during the current academic year, one fewer than the total recovered during the previous year, according to school district records.

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O'Connor said the student involved in Tuesday's incident may be subject to disciplinary action under the school district's zero-tolerance weapons policy in addition to criminal charges.

The school district did not release any identifying information about the student, including gender, grade or age.

"I want to commend the individual who brought this matter to our immediate attention," O'Connor said. "We all play a role in school safety. "

Julius Whigham II is a criminal justice and public safety reporter for The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him atjwhigham@pbpost.com and follow him on Twitter at@JuliusWhigham. Help support our work:Subscribe today.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Student at Congress Middle accused of bringing gun to Boynton campus
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Reedy Creek Administration Building on April 17 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Paul Hennessy/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was meeting with congressional Republicans in DC on Tuesday.

Democratic lawmakers chastised DeSantis for going to war with Walt Disney World.

In Florida, Democrats accused him of prioritizing Disney and travel as Fort Lauderdale flooded.

Democrats from Florida were less than impressed with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis's Tuesday swing through DC, calling it ill-timed, his political resume goofy, and his ongoing fight with Walt Disney World a devastating vanity project.

The less-than-warm welcomes from Reps. Darren Soto and Debbie Wasserman Schultz came as DeSantis breezed into DC for an after-work event hosted by members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, a hard-right voting bloc that typically lines up behind embattled former president and 2024 candidate Donald Trump.

Soto said he suspected that DeSantis would try to woo supporters for his anticipated presidential bid with stories about all the culture war fights he stoked back home, including the new 6-week abortion ban he just signed into law and his escalating feud with Disney.

"A total loser in the general election. But I'm sure he's trying to appeal to his base," Soto told Insider about DeSantis' contentious policy priorities.

He added that he thought the war on Disney, whose resort and theme park is nestled in the congressional district Soto represents, was counterproductive.

"It'd be nice if he stopped attacking Central Florida's top employer," Soto said, estimating that beating up on the Mouse House may buy him some MAGA love in the GOP primary, but predicted it wouldn't be a winning strategy for the long-term.

Walt Disney World has roughly 80,000 employees in Florida and is the state's biggest tourist attraction. The district housing Disney collects roughly $105 million a year in general revenue, according to CNBC, and paid more than $280 million in property taxes between 2015 and 2020.

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"We're talking about trying to get them to invest more money to create more jobs. And this is not helpful to those efforts," Soto warned.

Wasserman Schultz, who serves on the House Judiciary's newly created weaponization subcommittee, accused the governor of misdirecting his state-granted powers "to revive a flailing presidential campaign."

"DeSantis continues to abuse his public office to penalize [Disney], and brags about what further pain he may inflict on this leading economic tourist attraction," she wrote in an email.

Her comments took aim at DeSantis's latest threat to have a district board consider development in land bordering Disney, such as by erecting a state prison.

Wasserman Schultz also challenged House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan to investigate whether DeSantis was putting his political ambitions over the welfare of the Sunshine State.

"While he is here in DC, Chairman Jordan should invite America's most flagrant offender of weaponizing public office to testify and answer questions in front of our select subcommittee," Wasserman Schultz told Insider.

Since March, DeSantis has been swinging across numerous states on a book tour, making the rounds to early voting and swing states ahead of an expected 2024 presidential run.

He was in Ohio last week but returned to Tallahassee to sign the six-week abortion ban into law just before midnight. The next day, he appeared at the evangelical college Liberty University. He's set to speak twice in South Carolina on Wednesday after his stop in DC Tuesday.

The Florida governor wasn't being offered much cover by Florida Republicans on Capitol Hill. Sen. Rick Scott, for instance, brushed off a reporter who asked him if he'd be attending DeSantis' meet and greet.

"I don't know. You'll have to check with my office," he said, turning to the next media outlet.

When another reporter asked whether DeSantis had gone too far by threatening Disney with state prisoners for neighbors, Scott claimed ignorance.

"I didn't see that part," Scott, who served two terms as governor before DeSantis, told reporters.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images, Scott Olson/Getty Images

While DeSantis traveled, Florida Democrats went on offense

Back in Florida, Democrats in the state were attacking DeSantis as well  over not just the Disney battle, but over his response to flooding in Fort Lauderdale last week that drove people from their homes.

During a press conference Tuesday, Florida Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried bashed DeSantis for being in Washington, DC, to curry endorsements from the Florida delegation, saying he should have been asking for federal assistance instead.

Fried was referring to a report from NBC News that said the DeSantis political operation was asking members to hold off on making any endorsements for the 2024 presidential nomination contest. So far, they've lined up to support Trump.

"Ron DeSantis is out campaigning outside of the state of Florida and picking fights with Mickey Mouse," Fried said.



Asked to respond, press secretary Bryan Griffin accused Democrats of playing politics over the matter and said the state's response to the flooding was in "full swing."

"It's wrong for the media and political critics to rush to politicize every natural disaster," Griffin said. "The governor left before the unprecedented flooding (which intensified later in the night.) He returned the next day."

DeSantis' public schedule shows he has been in contact with Broward County officials and signed an emergency declaration for the area on Thursday, the day after the rainfall. He spoke with Mark Gale, the CEO of Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, which closed Thursday due to the flooding, his schedule showed.

Alecia Collins, a spokesperson for the agency, said its division was the "governor apparatus for responding to emergencies statewide."

Kevin Guthrie, the director of the Florida Division of Emergency Management, also was on the ground soon after the storm hit. The agency sent vacuum trucks and water pumps to Fort Lauderdale, and distributed meals. Griffin said the agency was helping to get gas stations working again so people could fill up their cars.

But Fried said DeSantis should have come himself rather than send a surrogate.

"When there is a disaster that happens in a part of our state," Fried said, "he has an obligation to be here."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A bill that would loosen Iowas child labor laws advanced this week as advocacy groups decried proposed labor guidelines.

Iowas GOP-controlled state Senate early Tuesday morning passed the bill 32-17 to approve extended work hours for teenagers and allowing them to serve alcohol under certain conditions. The Des Moines Register reported that proposal has sparked labor union protests and criticism from the U.S. Labor Departments top lawyer, Solicitor of Labor Seema Nanda, who said it would contribute to the number of children who are working illegally at some workplace.

The vote was largely split down party lines, but two Republicans joined all Democrats who voted against the bill.

The legislation, which would still need to be passed by the House and signed by Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) before it is enacted, would allow children under the age of 16 to work up to six hours a day, which is two more hours than the current threshold. It also extends how late children can work to 9 p.m. during the school year and 11 p.m. during the summer.

Reynolds has spoken positively about the bill, saying working can give children good experience, according to the Des Moines Register.

It teaches the kids a lot and if they have the time to do it and they want to earn some additional money I dont think we should discourage that, she said. Ultimately, parents and kids will decide if they want to work or not.

If enacted, the bill would also allows 16 and 17-year olds to serve alcohol at restaurants if the employers has written permission from the teenagers parent or guardian. Lawmakers amended the bill to clarify that the teenagers in that age group cannot work in bars or in strip clubs.

The bill also would create a committee to look into whether teenagers ages 14 and older can receive a special permit to drive themselves to work. In Iowa, children can start the states graduated drivers license program at 14 and get their first license at 16. Minors can also get a special school permit at the age of 14 and a half if they meet certain criteria, which would allow them to drive unsupervised between the hours of 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. to certain locations.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A stock image of a cat. Getty Images

A controversial feral-cat-killing competition for children in New Zealand has been canceled.

Charities had warned of the "incredibly high" risk of domestic cats being accidentally killed.

The organizers of the competition said it scrapped the contest to avoid "further backlash."

A controversial new category for a competition in New Zealand, which would have seen children under 14 compete to hunt feral cats for a cash prize, has been canceled after a fierce backlash from animal-rights groups.

The North Canterbury Hunting Competition, an annual pest-killing event on New Zealand's South Island that raises money for a local school and swimming pool, announced a brand-new category this year, offering $250 NZ ($154 US) for the child who could kill the most feral cats.

The competition began on April 15, and was scheduled to run until late June, but organizers called it off on Tuesday.

The competition's rules had stated that any entrants who presented a dead, microchipped pet cat would be disqualified, but animal-rights charities were unsatisfied with the safeguard, per The Guardian.

"Children, as well as adults, will not be able to tell the difference between a feral, stray or a frightened domesticated cat," a spokesperson for the Royal New Zealand Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, or SPCA, said, per AFP.

Radio New Zealand reported that the SPCA is already investigating the death of a cat in North Canterbury, which was killed on Tuesday after being shot with an air rifle after the competition had started.

The cat, which was handed in by a member of the public, was microchipped but it is uncertain if the death was linked to the competition, according to New Zealand's Stuff news outlet.

"While we are uncertain of whether this cat was shot during the [hunting] event, it demonstrates that the use of an air rifle caused unnecessary pain and distress for the cat," an SPCA spokesperson said.

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The North Canterbury Hunting Competition said in a media release published on Facebook on Tuesday that it had made the decision to cancel the category to avoid "further backlash" after "vile & inappropriate emails" were sent to the local school the money was being raised for.

"We are incredibly disappointed in this reaction," it said, adding that entries are still open for categories that included hunting wild pigs and deer.

The post had more than 100 comments at the time of press, many of which were supporting the organization, while suggesting that feral cats wreak havoc on New Zealand's environment.

The issue of whether to treat cats as pests is a source of fierce debate in New Zealand. According to Northland Regional Council, feral, stray, and pet cats kill up to 100 million birds in New Zealand every year.

Read the original article on Insider
If you spent almost any time on the internet this week, you probably saw a lot of chatter about Heart on My Sleeve. The song went viral for featuring AI-generated voices that do a pretty good job of mimicking Drake and The Weeknd singing about a recent breakup.

Listen to this AI generated song featuring Drake & The Weeknd.



It goes so damn hard.



It's by "Ghostwriter977" on TikTok and it's blowing up on socials + streaming platforms.



UMG, which controls around 1/3 of the global music market, has already asked streaming platforms to ban pic.twitter.com/roz2EfI48M  Roberto Nickson (@rpnickson) April 16, 2023

On Monday, Apple Music and Spotify pulled the track following a complaint from Universal Music Group, the label that represents the real-life versions of the two Toronto-born artists. A day later, YouTube, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tidal, Deezer and TikTok did the same.

At least, they tried to comply with the complaint, but as is always the case with the internet, you can still find the song on websites like YouTube. Before it was removed from Spotify, Heart on My Sleeve was a bonafide hit. People streamed the track more than 600,000 times. On TikTok, where the creator of the song, the aptly named Ghostwriter977, first uploaded it, users listened to Heart on My Sleeve more than 15 million times.

In a statement Universal Music Group shared with publications like Music Business Worldwide, the label argued the training of a generative AI using the voices of Drake and The Weeknd was a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law." The company added that streaming platforms had a "legal and ethical responsibility to prevent the use of their services in ways that harm artists."

Its fair to say the music industry, much like the rest of society, now finds itself at an inflection point over the use of AI. While there are obvious ethical issues related to the creation of Heart on My Sleeve, its unclear if its a violation of traditional copyright law. In March, the US Copyright Office said art, including music, cannot be copyrighted if it was produced by providing a text prompt to a generative AI model. However, the office left the door open to granting copyright protections to works with AI-generated elements.

The answer will depend on the circumstances, particularly how the AI tool operates and how it was used to create the final work," it said. "This is necessarily a case-by-case inquiry. If a works traditional elements of authorship were produced by a machine, the work lacks human authorship and the Office will not register it." In the case of Heart on My Sleeve, complicating matters is that the song was written by a human being. Its impossible to say how a court challenge would play out. What is clear is that were only the start of a very long discussion about the role of AI in music.
Laura Notarnicola and John Fain Courtesy of Laura Notarnicola and John Fain

A travel vlogging couple's TikTok aboard a Margaritaville at Sea cruise went viral for showcasing ship conditions.

Several commenters dubbed it the "Spirit Airlines of the Sea."

John Fain and Laura Notarnicola told Insider that they had fun  but probably wouldn't go again.

A trash can full of used toilet paper, a rusted shower drain, and an unusual smell wafting through the cabin.

If there was a "Spirit Airlines" in the ocean, the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise cruise might be it, TikTok users said, after travel content creators Laura Notarnicola and John Fain posted a clip on Thursday of their two-night cruise to the Bahamas.

The video, with over 7 million views as of Tuesday, features a botched version of the "Home Alone" main theme, showcasing the Jimmy Buffet-themed ship's features, empty decks, and margaritas.

Multiple commenters dubbed the ship the "Spirit Airlines of the sea," a reference to Spirits' reputation as one of the worst-rated airlines.

"I think my favorite comment was 'I'd rather go to work,'" Notarnicola told Insider.

Fain added: "Or the one that says 'the only thing wasting away at Margaritaville is this ship.'"

Fain told Insider that he believed the video took off because of the Margaritaville name, but also because of a "stereotype" that cruises are "petri dishes."

"I think the mixture of the brand name versus what people think cruises are and it actually being disgusting was a perfect storm for the video to really pop off," Fain said.

Fain and Notarnicola, a couple who have been posting travel vlogs and reviews on their account @travelspree since 2020, told Insider that it was their first time going on the cruise, but they don't think they would go on it again. Notarnicola said she wouldn't recommend people going on it for their first time because it might end up "putting you off of cruising in general."

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Fain said that the couple's decision to hop on the Margaritaville at Sea cruise was partly motivated by comments on their YouTube channel. Although they had heard rumors about the 30-year-old ship, they went in with an open mind, saying that they had recently moved to Florida  the ship sails from Port of Palm Beach  and also wanted to get away for the weekend.

What they experienced instead was "jarring," Fain said.

"It felt like we were in another universe type of thing, or on a movie set of what a cruise should be and not exactly what we're used to on a cruise," Fain said.

@travelspree TikTok

The couple said from the get-go the valet parking situation was confusing, the food wasn't amazing, and there were some unsanitary aspects of their stay  including a trash can full of used toilet paper they say was there when they arrived.

"I was trying to show how outdated the bathrooms were. And then that was like a nice little surprise next to the toilet." Notarnicola said.

They also said that despite the cruise's cheap price, the add-on expenses for dining and drinks actually ended up costing them a lot. They also said that despite the name, they believed the margaritas tasted like "straight-up juice."

"That's probably like the least quality cruise that we've been on," Notarnicola said. "But we still managed to have a good time. And obviously, we're still thankful that we're able to go and do things like this. We realize we're very fortunate. But yes, compared to all the other cruises probably not the best."

Margaritaville at Sea did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
Theres a lot of money in the 2023 GOP gubernatorial primary for Kentucky governor. Most of it comes from Kelly Craft.

Craft, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations and Canada, has loaned herself more than $7 million in her bid for governor this year, according to figures posted to the Kentucky Registry of Election Finance for the first quarter of this year. Commonwealth PAC, a group supporting Crafts bid for governor, has been primarily bankrolled by Crafts husband Joe, a billionaire coal magnate and philanthropist, who gave it $1.5 million.

Her campaign has spent more than $8.15 million, dwarfing all competition in the crowded and contentious Republican primary.

Attorney General Daniel Cameron, who was up on Craft by 6 percentage points in a recent poll, reported first quarter figures that keep pace with his previous fundraising. Cameron posted $403,520, pushing his campaigns total raised figure to $1.37 million. His campaign has more than $593,000 on hand now.

Cameron has a PAC supporting him as well, which has raised a similar amount of money as Commonwealth PAC. Bluegrass Freedom Action has been mostly supported by The Concord Fund, a conservative dark money group that has attempted to reshape Americas courts.

Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles has been raising at a somewhat slower clip, but has a larger amount of cash on hand because his team has spent the least of any major candidate thus far. Quarles, who tallied 15% support to Camerons 30% and Crafts 24% in the latest poll, raised close to $273,000 this quarter to lift his total raised figure to $1.2 million. The Quarles campaign has $903,000 on hand.

Eric Deters, a retired attorney from Northern Kentucky known for his bombast and controversy, raised almost $600,000 this quarter, with around $568,000 coming from his own pocketbook. Deters was polling in a clear fourth place at 6% in the Emerson poll.

Crafts sizable personal contribution pushes her total raised figure to $8.56 million. Her campaign spent around $7.06 million this quarter, more than $5 million going to Axiom Strategies and its media buying division. Craft currently has $438,000 on hand.

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Somerset Mayor Alan Keck has raised a total of about $312,000, posting a quarter of $107,000 in campaign receipts. His team has spent most of it, leaving Keck with around $54,000 on hand with less than 30 days until the election.

Auditor Mike Harmon, who was the first to publicly announce his campaign for governor, raised nearly $16,000 in the quarter, keeping up a relatively sclerotic fundraising performance over the course of the campaign.

In the Emerson & Fox56 poll, which had a margin of error of 3.2%, Harmon got 1.7% and Keck garnered just 0.6%. Kecks poll number was lower than David Cooper, a Northern Kentuckian who has raised around $8,000 in the race.

Beshear still raising money

While the battle for the GOP nomination rages on, Gov. Andy Beshears campaign announced Tuesday it has now raised a total of $6.6 million for his reelection battle. It added more than $1.4 million to its war chest this quarter, leaving it with $5.9 million on hand, per a press release.

Beshear campaign manager Eric Hyers boasted in a statement that Beshears popularity among Kentuckians, backed up by available public polling, shows hes well-poised to win reelection.

Governor Beshear has worked hard to grow the economy and deliver on promises like the Brent Spence Bridge project  with no tolls  all while leading with compassion and a focus on doing whats right, Hyers said. While GOP candidates attack one another in an increasingly nasty primary, Democrats, independents and many Republicans are coming together to support the governors reelection bid so he can keep working to improve the lives of all Kentuckians.

The PACs

Bluegrass Freedom Action, the PAC backing Cameron, is mostly supported by the Concord Fund via $1.5 million in contributions out of its $1.9 million total.

Other notable names on the list of contributors include former businesswoman and U.S. Senate candidate in Georgia Kelly Loeffler.

The PAC has also received at least $100,000 from Pace-o-Matic, the largest operator of so-called gray machines in Kentucky. A bill passed by the General Assembly this year banned the machines from the state, leaving Camerons office to defend a challenge against it brought forth by Pace-o-Matic and other companies.

Commonwealth PAC, the one supporting Craft, is almost entirely supported by the coal industry, including Crafts husband Joe who owns Alliance Coal via his JWC III Revocable Trust.

The trust chipped in $1.5 million of the PACs just over $1.8 million raised. Other large contributions include $100,000 from a land company owned by a coal executive and $50,000 from a coal operator in Pittsburgh as well as another $50,000 from an executive with Alliance Coal.

Barbara Banke, the owner of Kendall-Jackson Wine and a local horse farm owner, also contributed $50,000.

Diving into the reports

Cameron garnered donations from notable politicos in-state and elsewhere this quarter. Henry Perot III, the grandson of billionaire former independent presidential candidate Ross Perot, gave Cameron the maximum $2,000 contribution.

Hal Heiner, a self-funded businessman who finished in third in a tight race for the GOP gubernatorial nomination in 2015, gave Cameron $1,005 this quarter.

Cameron also received a donation from Rep. John Hodgson, R-Fisherville, a former member of ex-governor Matt Bevins cabinet, and Rep. Mary Beth Imes, R-Murray, who previously gave the same amount to Quarles gubernatorial campaign.

About $258,000 of Camerons fundraising efforts this quarter come from individuals in Kentucky, and 882 out of 1,029 total contributions were from addresses in the Commonwealth

One of the most notable names on the fundraising reports of GOP candidates is U.S. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Florida, who contributed the maximum $2,000 amount to Crafts campaign. Scott has feuded with U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky, one of the most influential political figures in the Commonwealths history. Following the 2022 midterms, Scott unsuccessfully challenged McConnell for his leadership post.

Scott has been a major player in Washington since his 2018 election to the office, selected chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2021.

In Kentucky, Craft received contributions from one of the biggest names in horse racing: Bill Carstanjen, the CEO of Churchill Downs. Carstanjen and his wife both contributed the maximum amount to Crafts campaign. The Carstanjens comprised two of 394 contributions this quarter.

Quarles finance report saw the highest percentage of Kentuckians contributing  437 of 466.

His campaign received a maximum contribution from Rep. Kim Moser, R-Taylor Mill, and got a $250 bump from Senate Majority Floor Leader Damon Thayer, R-Georgetown. Thayer has given a total of $500 to Quarles campaign and $250 to Craft.

Keck got a notable contribution from Rep. Steven Doan, R-Erlanger, who gave $1,000. Doan, a freshman, became an unlikely major player this session when his motion to set aside a priority bill banning so-called gray machines from Kentucky succeeded. The bill was later revived, and Doan was unceremoniously kicked off of two committees by House GOP leadership in the final hour of session.
A deal to build what would likely be the states largest cryptocurrency mine in Eastern Kentucky could lower local utility costs and attract hundreds of jobs to a region in need of them, the companies behind the deal say.

However, a collection of detractors  which includes multiple environmental groups, utility rate watchdogs and the state Attorney Generals office  say the energy-intensive mine could stress a transitioning power grid, contribute to further greenhouse gas emissions and lead to an increase in local utility rates. Some also question how many of the jobs would be local.

In August 2022, Kentucky Power, a utility which serves much of Eastern Kentucky, reached a deal to lease 55 acres of land adjacent to a gas power plant in Lawrence County to Ebon, a Chinese crypto company. The contract for the deal laid out potentially discounted rates for the company, but those exact numbers are not publicly available.

Ebon plans to invest nearly $250 million to build a cryptomining and data center facility that would have the capacity to use 250 megawatts of power. Critics have said the amount is equal to powering 25,000 homes at peak capacity.

The facility would employ up to 125 people and indirectly produce another 343 jobs in related industries that would not otherwise arise without Ebon locating and operating in the service territory, wrote Sarah Nusbaum, a Kentucky Power spokesperson, in response to a Herald-Leader inquiry.

The deal requires approval from the Kentucky Public Service Commission (PSC), a state commission which regulates utilities. In November, the PSC announced it would investigate the reasonableness of the contract between Ebon and Kentucky Power, a process which suspended the contract through at least the end of this month.

Meanwhile, many of the projects critics are trying to make their case before the PSC that the project shouldnt move forward.

This boom industry has had a lot of negative consequences whenever it has come into a new area in terms of electric prices going up, major stress being placed on the grid and the risk that these facilities may appear one day but then be gone tomorrow, said Thom Cmar, a senior attorney at Earthjustice, who is helping multiple groups coordinate their opposition to the proposal.

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Cryptomining in Kentucky

Ever since China  once the global hub of crypto mining  began taking steps to abolish the power-thirsty practice within its borders in 2021, the U.S. has become the global leader.

Companies have scoured the country in search of locations with cheap land and low industrial power costs to set up rows and rows of humming, specialized computers. Those computers mine cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, which this week has hovered in value at around $30,000 per coin.

In the act of mining, those computers constantly run a program in search of a number. Those computers are in competition with millions of other computers globally searching for the same number. The computers or company which find the number are issued the new coins.

In recent years, mines have found a home in Kentucky, in part because the state legislature passed bills creating tax breaks for cryptocurrency mining operations but also because of the availability of cheap electricity.

In a letter sent from Ebon to Kentucky Power in March, the company said it was seeking to locate its facility next to the Big Sandy Generating Station in Louisa because of the rates and terms that the two companies negotiated in the special contract.

Ebon cannot and will not develop the facility without those rates and terms, said the letter, which was provided to the Herald-Leader by Kentucky Power. No one from the company was made available for interview.

We have other locations under development in the US and it would simply not be prudent for us to spend our capital in a situation with higher costs of power, the letter said, which was signed by Jason Wang, the companys managing director. The cost of electric power is the single most important cost beyond the capital cost of equipment to build a data center.

Dont know much about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin? Heres a primer.

Many of the current cryptocurrency mining operations in Kentucky consume less than 10 megawatts of power, Cmar said. A couple of mines that opened in 2021 in Western Kentucky do require more. A mine in Calvert City was announced as a 125 megawatt facility and a 100 megawatt mine in Paducah popped up next to a coal-fired power plant.

The 250 megawatt Ebon site would be essentially the size of a medium-sized power plant, Cmar said.

The Ebon and Kentucky Power deal isnt the only crypto-related case being sorted out before state regulators. Kentucky Power is seeking approval of another deal to provide power to a significantly smaller mine in Pike County. In Western Kentucky, Kentucky Utilities is trying to get the PSCs go-ahead on a project with a company called Bitiki.

Would rates go up or go down?

For a utility like Kentucky Power, revenue from new customers lessens the price burden that is spread out across the rest of the utilitys customers, the power companys Nusbaum wrote, arguing that the Ebon facility would make rates go down.

A significant portion of a utilitys expenses are referred to as fixed costs  lines, poles, transformers, buildings  and those costs are spread among the entire customer base proportionately, wrote Nusbaum. When we gain customers and load, the costs decrease for everyone.

Those opposed to the facility dont see it as that simple.

Assistant Attorney General J. Michael West wrote in a filing for the PSC that the increased power demands of the Ebon facility would force Kentucky Power to have to acquire an additional 25 megawatts, the cost of which may be passed on to other customers.

The Attorney General is in full support of efforts to promote economic development throughout the Commonwealth and specifically in Eastern Kentucky, West wrote. However, proposals to facilitate economic development should be tailored carefully to ensure that the ratepayers of Eastern Kentucky do not unfairly subsidize companies. On its face, this special contract does not appear to protect existing ratepayers.

In their own filing, the Kentucky Industrial Utility Customers  an association of energy-intensive businesses that rely on competitively priced power  wrote that the demands of the Ebon facility would represent a 38.7% increase over Kentucky Powers 2021 retail energy sales.

Kentuckys digital gold rush. Whats behind the crypto mining boom in coal country?

Supporting infrastructure would also have to be built from the power plant. Kentucky Power said Ebon will be footing the bill for construction and the utility would incur no costs on that front.

Citing the volatile nature of the cryptocurrency market, the Mountain Association and other critics worry that Kentucky Power and its customers would be stuck with the bill should Ebon leave or fail before the end of the contract.

Thats the biggest concern, said Josh Bills of the Mountain Association, a Kentucky nonprofit that focuses on economic and energy development. What would happen if this huge electric load on Kentucky Powers system takes place and happens but then suddenly disappears?

In its letter, Ebon said it understood the questioning of its long-term staying power, noting that others in the crypto industry who have built smaller mining centers have pulled out when the market got tough. But Ebon disputes that characterization of their company because the size of its investment is much larger.

Once the facility is built and a total electric load of 250MW is operating, we could not simply shut-down, pull out and move to another site without significant additional expense in site preparation, interconnection, control systems totaling in excess of ($30 million), Wang wrote. Such added costs would make this data center uneconomic.

The value of Bitcoin, the most well-known cryptocurrency, has fluctuated wildly in the last three years. Near the beginning of 2020, a single Bitcoin was worth over $7,000. The value peaked at over $64,000 and then went on a precipitous slide for much of 2022 before making a comparative rally in recent months.

Ebang International Holdings  the publicly traded parent company of Ebon  has seen its stock price ride a somewhat similar wave. The price peaked at over $331 per share in early 2021. This past week that price hovered around $6.

Local economic development

Along with the jobs, the development could bring an estimated value of $95.8 million to Eastern Kentucky in Ebons first year, the power company said, mostly because of the infrastructure build out. An estimated $29.6 million would come every year thereafter.

Ebon has worked with Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment to create job descriptions and ads and already has multiple online job postings.

Cmar, with Earthjustice, said the company hasnt shown any evidence that those jobs will be taking place locally.

Its quite possible that to the extent they do hire computer programmers, for example, that they would be located remotely, Cmar said, noting the online job descriptions make no mention of Kentucky. Other crypto mining facilities that theyve seen also often employ a small, onsite crew to perform maintenance and security.

A decision from the PSC on the Ebon case is likely still months away, Cmar said. Compared to other cases, the commission moves relatively quickly on the crypto-related cases since they essentially put business contracts on hold.
Police officers in London

The body that manages criminal records in the UK is still facing disruption nearly a month after a cyber-attack.

The Acro Criminal Records Office provides records to police, exchanges them internationally and processes certificates for people wishing to work with children or gain emigration visas.

It took its website and application portal offline, when the hack was detected, on 21 March.

Staff has been increased to deal with email applications but delays persist.

"We are working with the relevant authorities, including the National Cyber Security Centre, to investigate and remediate the incident," an official said.

There was no "conclusive evidence" personal data had been compromised but investigations were "ongoing".

'Pretty frustrating'

On Twitter, customers said they were facing long delays, with many resorting to contacting the Acro Twitter account in the hope of securing their certificates.

John Gilday, in Scotland, told BBC News he had finally received his, so he could apply for a visa to work in Brazil, after three weeks of waiting - though his friend had received his much faster.

Rahim Abdel-illah, in Leicester, however, who asked that his surname be withheld, told BBC News he was still waiting for his certificate, so he could get married in Morocco, and had no idea how long it would take as it was now impossible to check the status of his application.

"It's pretty frustrating and annoying that the police are taking so long to recover from a cyber-attack," he said.

Private information

In January, a ransomware attack led to weeks of disruption and delays to services at Royal Mail.

Hackers thought to be based in Russia reportedly demanded nearly $70m (56m) to return computer services to normal - but Royal Mail refused.

A suspected ransomware attack by a separate gang with links to Russian cyber-criminal networks hit another big company, Capita, on 31 March.

Capita holds many public-service contracts, including providing:

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the national telecommunications network for smart meters

the gas certification scheme

A Capita official told BBC News: "We continue to work closely with specialist advisers and forensic experts in investigating the incident. We are in constant contact with all relevant regulators and authorities.

"Our investigations have not yet been able to confirm any evidence of customer, supplier or colleague data having been compromised. Once our investigations have concluded, we will if necessary inform any impacted parties.

"We have taken all appropriate steps to ensure the robustness of our systems and are confident in our ability to meet our service-delivery commitments."

Capita says most client services remained in operation but has not issued an update on its website since 3 April.

And a criminal gang is advertising private information thought to have been be stolen in the hack.

The UK's National Cyber Security Centre describes ransomware as a tier-one national-security threat, with attacks continuing to increase in scale and complexity.
Lori Vallow Daybell in an Idaho court three years ago. John Roark/The Idaho Post-Register via AP, Pool, File

A former member of Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow's cult testified at Vallow's trial Tuesday.

Vallow and Daybell are married and are accused of killing their former spouses and two of her kids.

Zulema Pastenes said she was a member of the couple's religious group, but that she eventually left.

A former friend of Lori Vallow's and a member of her small, insular, religious group testified Tuesday morning about the radicalizing influence of their leader Chad Daybell, who later married Vallow and is also being charged for the killings of her children and his wife.

Zulema Pastenes, who had befriended apocalyptic author Daybell with Vallow, said he assured Pastenes that when the rapture came she would be one of the special 144,000 saved and brought to live safely in cities of white tents.

"I believed we were doing something good to help get rid of darkness and get evil spirits off of the earth," Pastenes testified.

Pastenes described Daybell giving her multiple "blessings," and calling her "Goddess of the Earth." She read aloud text messages from Daybell including one in which he assured her: "You're on the team!"

Chad Daybell, who married Lori Vallow and is also accused of killing two of her children. Associated Press

"He made me feel very good and very special," she said. "I started to really believe it."

As Pastenes spoke, Vallow  who became a doomsday prepper through her relationship with Daybell  leaned forward, blinking her eyes and subtly shaking her head side-to-side.

Vallow's children, 17-year-old Tylee Ryan and 7-year-old Joshua "J.J." Vallow, were reported missing in November 2019. Vallow and Daybell disappeared the day after the Rexburg Police Department in Idaho conducted a well-being check and asked about the children's whereabouts.

By December 2019 they had left a string of mysterious deaths in their wake, including Vallow's previous husband, her brother, and Daybell's first wife, who Chad reportedly prophesied would die.

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In January 2020, the couple was found vacationing in a luxury condo on the Hawaiian island of Kauai  without their missing children  shocking those who had been following the case.

In June 2020, the bodies of J.J. and Tylee were found buried on Daybell's property.

Pastenes said Daybell encouraged her to go to temple daily and to focus on religion to the exclusion of all else. He told her he was guided by angels and could see truths others could not because his eyes were not covered by a "veil," according to Pastenes. Vallow, meanwhile, claimed she spoke with God.

"Lori said she had conversations with Jesus Christ and I trusted her," Pastenes said.

Daybell and Vallow exerted an outsize psychological influence on Alex Cox, Vallow's brother, according to Pastenes. Cox is charged along with Daybell and Vallow with the murders of Vallow's two youngest children and Daybell's late wife, Tammy Daybell.

The tangled web of their alleged killings had already unraveled publicly before Vallow went on trial this month. Vallow has denied killing the children.

In July 2019, Cox shot and killed Vallow's fourth husband, Charles Vallow, and claimed self-defense. In November 2019, Cox and Pastenes married in Las Vegas. Cox died in Pastenes' Arizona home in December 2019 of what a medical examiner determined were natural causes.

Pastenes testified that Daybell had told Cox he was an immortal angel who once appeared to Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints founder Joseph Smith and that he had been a "powerful warrior" who had "unmasked Satan."

"Chad and Lori were telling him the only reason he had come to Earth was to protect Lori," Pastenes said of Cox. "Alex believed everything they told him."

Pastenes said she and Vallow held prayer ceremonies to drive out evil spirits they believed possessed Charles Vallow, her fourth husband. Each time they succeeded, a more powerful evil spirit took its place. Pastenes testified that Vallow came to believe Charles Vallow's "body had to be destroyed."

"I believe Chad and Lori's intentions were very evil," said Pastenes, who said she has since renounced the cult. "The things that they were saying were evil, manipulative most definitely."

Read the original article on Insider
A pair of major Massachusetts health insurance companies are warning their members of a cybersecurity incident involving ransomware that is impacting systems that are used to service customers, accounts, brokers, and providers, officials said.

Point32Health, the corporate parent of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan, says it proactively took certain systems offline to contain the threat out of an abundance of caution after detecting an unauthorized party.

We have notified law enforcement and regulators, and are working with third-party cybersecurity experts to conduct a thorough investigation into this incident and remediate the situation, Point32Health said in a statement. Our top priority is to ensure our members continue to have access to care.

Customers who need immediate assistance have been told to contact the member services number on their ID card, which will provide directions for urgent needs.

While we work diligently to restore the impacted systems as quickly and as safely as possible, our team is working around the clock to provide workarounds for members to receive the services they need, Point32Health said.

Point32Health says customers will be notified if the cybersecurity incident involves a breach of any sensitive information.

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan merged in January 2021 under the Point32Health name.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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The father of Kaylin Gillis, the 20-year-old New York woman authorities say was shot dead when her SUV pulled into the wrong driveway this weekend, eviscerated his daughters accused killer at a press conference Wednesday, saying he hopes the suspect dies in jail.

The fiery words from Andrew Gillis came just minutes after a judge in Upstate New York ordered 65-year-old Kevin Monahan to be held without bail against his lawyers pleas. Prosecutors said additional charges against Monahan, who has already been accused of second-degree murder, could be filed in the coming days.

Kaylin was a beautiful person, her father said Wednesday, WNYT reported. A lot of people loved her. My daughter was an honor student. She had hopes and dreams of becoming a marine biologist or veterinarian. This man took that away from us.

The grieving father fought back tears as he spoke, saying hes so thankful the judge denied Monahan bail.

I have the utmost confidence that the justice system will prevail. Kaylin deserves justice, her father says. pic.twitter.com/v97uhZWu7k  Giuliana Bruno (@GiulianaBrunoTV) April 19, 2023

Wednesdays hearing lasted less than 20 minutes, with prosecutors arguing Monahan shouldnt be released ahead of his second-degree murder trial because hes a danger to the communityevidenced by his alleged murder of Gillis, a confrontation with DMV employees last week, and a 2001 aggravated assault arrest in Vermont that was dismissed a year later.

Initial reports from the courtroom didnt detail what exactly occurred last week at the DMV. The Washington County sheriff told CNN on Tuesday, however, that Monahan has not shown any remorse in this case.

The death of Gillis has rocked the small community of Schuylerville, New York, where she was a quiet but beloved former cheerleader, one of Gillis longtime friends told The Daily Beast on Tuesday.

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No one really knows how to react to it, said Eva Rodriguez, who cheered with Gillis at Schuylerville High School. Its this awful mix of anger, sadness and just shock that something like this could happen here.

Rodriguez said Gillis had been working at CVS and was saving up to eventually study marine biology. She said Gillis loved to visit Disney World in Florida and spend time with her longtime boyfriend, whom she was likely going to marry. She added that Gillis was also a role model to her two younger sisters who absolutely adored her.

Courtesy of Eva Rodriguez

Gillis boyfriend, Blake Walsh, told NBC News that he was the driver of the Ford Explorer that pulled into Monahans driveway by mistake. He said he, Gillis, and two other friends were following a car to a party, and that they initially believed it was at Monahans house in rural Washington County. As soon as they realized they were at the wrong home, Walsh said they began pulling out of the driveway, but it was too late.

We didnt have any cell service to figure it out, he told NBC. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happenedMy friend said, Theyre shootinggo! I tried to step on the gas as fast as I could, and thats when the fatal shot came through.

Sources familiar with the investigation told the Times Union that Monahan fired at the SUV with a shotgun that is designed to kill large game and is roughly three times bigger than a round fired by a handgun.

Andrew Gillis reportedly said Wednesday that Walsh keeps blaming himself for his daughters slayingsomething he insists isnt true, placing the full blame on Monahan.

I want to talk about Kaylins boyfriend, Andrew Gillis said, according to WNYT. He wanted to marry my daughter. I would have loved that.

Rodriguez said she keeps going back to what could possibly make Monahan want to blindly fire into a vehicle at alllet alone one that was backing out of his driveway.

Why does he have to pull out a gun? she said. Why does he have to kill this sweet, innocent girl? It will never make sense to me. I would just ask him over and over, why?

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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When officers responded to a call at a Texas home, a 31-year-old man came out of the house and surrendered, according to police.

That was at about 8:15 p.m. on Thursday, April 13.

The officers then entered the home, where they found Jesse Rivera Jr., 51, suffering from what appeared to be multiple stab wounds and blunt-force trauma to the head, the Austin Police Department said in a Facebook post.

He died at the southeast Austin home, according to the April 17 news release.

Homicide detectives responded to the scene and interviewed Jesse Anthony Rivera, the 31-year-old who surrendered upon police arrival.

Investigators believe that Jesse Anthony Rivera struck his father in the head with a blunt object several times, then stabbed him, causing his death, police said.

The son was arrested and charged with murder, authorities said.

The department did not share who called police to the home or a motive for the killing.

You left us all too soon, one person shared on a digital tribute wall for the father. I love you forever! Etched in my heart is the smile of a happy, vibrant, little boy, running down the street to say your hellos as we, my family and i, got to your house for a visit, in a whirlwind you were off to go bring your neighborhood friends. You were but 6, 7 years young. I will forever carry your smile in my heart, Jesse!!!

This is the citys 22nd homicide of 2023.

If you are experiencing domestic violence and need someone to talk to, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline for support at 1-800-799-7233 or text START to 88788.

Dad of six beautiful children killed at Georgia home, family says. Couple charged

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Hes a billionaire businessman whos been called a patriotic philanthropist, and now David Rubenstein is adding a new title to his ever-expanding portfolio: history-teaching TV host.

The Carlyle Group co-founder is stepping in front of the camera as the face of Iconic America: Our Symbols and Stories with David Rubenstein, a PBS series premiering Wednesdays at 10 p.m. starting April 26. The eight-episode program is designed to explore American symbols and landmarks, including the Statue of Liberty, the Hollywood sign, Bostons Fenway Park and the Gadsden flag, among others.

There are an infinite number of symbols, but we took eight of them from different parts of the country and tried to spend an hour educating people about the history of these symbols: the good or the bad in some cases, and educate people in an informative, we hope, entertaining way, Rubenstein said.

Filming for the show took the Baltimore-raised Rubenstein everywhere from France  to the home of the Statue of Liberty designer  to a remote part of the Last Frontier to learn about the history behind the American bald eagles selection as a national emblem.

It turns out theres a river in Haines, Alaska, which is not the easiest place to get to, where during the wintertime theres a river thats quite warm still because of thermos-underground heating. And the fish can still swim there, and therefore the American bald eagle can go down and catch the fish, which is what they eat to survive on, explained Rubenstein.

A history junkie himself, Rubenstein has donated millions of dollars over the years to help preserve some of the nations most famed sites, including more than $10 million in 2012 to help repair the Washington Monument. In 2014, he gave $12 million to the Arlington National Cemetery and has donated nearly $30 million to the National Park Foundation to help restore the Lincoln Memorial and Jefferson Memorial.

The theory behind representative democracy is that it will work if you have an informed citizenry. And when our country was created, the premise was that we would have an informed citizenry to make intelligent votes, Rubenstein said.

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Right now, we dont teach American history very much. And we dont teach civics as much as we used to. And therefore our citizenry is not as informed about the country as I would wish it were, or as many people wish it were, he said.

Rubenstein called the PBS series a small step toward educating Americans about the countrys history. Viewers wont suddenly become an encyclopedia on American history, he said, but you might be interested enough to learn more.

While Rubensteins doled out plenty of dollars over the years, he said theres at least one group who will never be on the receiving end of his cash: political candidates.

I dont support any candidate any time anywhere. I dont give any money to politicians, no matter who they are. Ive never given a penny to anybody running for president of the United States, Rubenstein said, citing his role as chairman of the boards of the Kennedy Center, the National Gallery of Art and the Library of Congress.

I think its a good thing for somebody in that position not to be political, added Rubenstein, who worked in the Carter White House in his 20s and as chief counsel to the late Sen. Birch Bayh (D-Ind.).

Although President Biden vacationed in Rubensteins Nantucket, Mass., home last Thanksgiving, when ITK inquired if he would back a potential 2024 reelection bid by the commander in chief, the investor said, I think President Biden has done a pretty good job. I think hes a president that I think would be good if he ran and served another term, but I dont personally support people or not support people.

Calling it a fools errand to predict whether former President Trump would secure the GOP nomination, Rubenstein said, I think hes not somebody that should be ignored because he obviously has got a lot of votes last time, and I suspect hes still going to have a large sway in the Republican Party.

Asked if there was a chance hed following in the former Celebrity Apprentice hosts footsteps and go from magnate to TV star to the White House, Rubenstein quipped, Im 73 years old and Im too young. You need more experience. So Im too young to be a presidential candidate, obviously, by the age of the people are now running.

To be serious, the country would be better off keeping me out of politics.

While denying any future political plans, Rubenstein has been known to play host to lawmakers at monthly bipartisan, history-infused dinners at the Library of Congress. Despite the partisan mudslinging that plays out in Washington, Rubenstein says he hasnt had to deal with any political food fights while breaking bread across the aisle.

Theres no politics there. Members sit with people from the opposite party and the opposite house, he said. They really enjoy learning about American history, and actually, they get to talk to people they dont really know that well.

Because its not considered really kosher these days to be spending a lot of time socializing with people from the opposite party, they dont really spend as much time doing that, he said. So they dont really know each other quite as well as I think they would like to know each other.

One thing that Rubenstein knows about is having moolah  and plenty of it. Forbes has estimated his net worth to be $3.3 billion. Asked if the title of the Notorious B.I.G.s 1997 hit Mo Money Mo Problems rings true, Rubenstein told ITK, Well, Ive never found anybody that has no problems. And people that have a lot of money do have problems, just like people that dont have a lot of money have problems. So I wouldnt say that anybody I know whos very wealthy would say they have no problems. I have problems. Everybody has problems.

But is having immense wealth both a blessing and a curse?

The most elusive thing in the world is personal happiness, and I have not observed that the people who are the happiest are the wealthiest, replied Rubenstein.

Sometimes the people who have no money are much happier than people who have lots of money. So when you have lots of money, you have lots of people trying to get some of that money from you, and you have lots of challenges, and its not easy, Rubenstein, the son of a postal worker and a stay-at-home mom, said. Nobody is crying for the wealthy people, but on the other hand, its not a life that is unvarnished with no problems.

As a lover of the past, Rubenstein said he hoped anything written about him in the history books would describe someone who did something to give back to the country that he was so fortunate to live in.

I hope I will be an inspiration to some people who recognize you can come from very modest means and give back to your country, he added.

The only thing you need to really do is try to work hard, apply yourself and not be upset if things dont work out all the time. Ive had a lot of setbacks in my career in my life, but I soldier on.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
After days of refusing to weigh in on last weeks shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old Kansas City student, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday broke his silence and accused President Joe Biden of politicizing the incident.

I dont want some 16-year-old kid to be getting shot because he went to the wrong house  we just dont want those kinds of things to happen. Its a tragedy, Parson, a Republican, told The Star at the Missouri Capitol in Jefferson City Wednesday. When the president of the United States is trying to make a political statement over a very serious tragedy, it is very unfortunate and I dont agree with trying to make political points out of terrible  Ive never done that since Ive been governor.

Biden spoke with Yarl and his family on the phone Monday and on Tuesday announced that he was inviting the Kansas City teen to the White House when he recovers from the injuries sustained in the shooting.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence, Biden said on Twitter Tuesday. And Ralph, well see you in the Oval once you feel better.

Parson on Wednesday pointed to other Missouri shootings and questioned why they dont receive the same attention from the president.

We have young men and women get killed in St. Louis and Kansas City every day. Does the president of the United States ever call those families and ask them to come there? Parson said. Did he call the families in Nashville, Tennessee that lost their kids and ask them to come to the White House?

Parson was referring to last months mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville. First Lady Jill Biden went to Tennessee to meet with the families after the shooting. The president had said he was trying to get in touch with the families. Its unclear whether or not he did.

The White House did not immediately respond to Parsons comments.

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Parson has often clashed with Biden over the years in a variety of issues ranging from COVID-19 mandates to federal gun policy. The governor did not comment on the racial elements of the shooting, which occurred after the teen rang the doorbell at the wrong house while picking up his younger brothers.

Yarls alleged shooter, Andrew D. Lester, an 84-year-old white man, faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action after he told police that he opened fire on the teen because he thought was trying to break into his home, according to charging documents.

Parson, Missouris top statewide official whose term ends in 2025, had previously refused to weigh in on the shooting despite a growing number of elected officials who have condemned the incident.

For me to comment just because of the one situation versus all the other killings that are happening in Kansas City and St. Louis and we try to politicize it? Its very unfortunate, Parson said.

State Rep. Jamie Johnson, a Kansas City Democrat, said if Parson wants to bring up the number of gun violence victims in Kansas City and St. Louis, Democrats are constantly trying to pass gun reform bills to do something about the problem.

My honest initial reaction is how dare you. You wont let us do anything, Johnson said. And then complain that we are politicizing not being able to do something, because every single move towards full equity for people of color in this country has come on the back of a tragedy.

As governor, Parson has a major role in overseeing Kansas Citys police operations, which is the only Missouri police force under state control. Parson, a former Polk County sheriff, is in charge of appointing four of the five spots on the Board of Police Commissioners, which oversees KCPD. Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas occupies the fifth spot.

Parson said the shooting was a law enforcement issue, praising Kansas City police and Clay County prosecutors for doing their jobs.

Kansas City PD did their job. They went there, they made an arrest, he said. Prosecutors did their job by asking for warrants. The judicial system did their job by bringing the suspect to court. Thats the way the system should work.

However, the police reaction to Thursdays shooting had garnered public outrage. Lester was taken into custody Thursday, provided a written statement and was released roughly two hours later. Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said Sunday that police needed a victims statement before completing the investigation and that Yarls injuries had prevented the department from obtaining one at that point.

Lester surrendered to the Clay County Detention Center a day after he was charged by prosecutors. He was released on bail later that day.

Amaia Cook, a community organizer with Decarcerate KC, which pushes for policing reforms in Kansas City, criticized Parsons comments and pointed to Kansas Citys lack of control of its police force.

Its not surprising that a governor who is enforcing state control over the KCPD and is attempting to enforce control back again over St. Louis is making these claims that this issue of gun violence is politicized, she told The Star. Its actually fueling this dangerous rhetoric that were seeing time and time again in the Missouri legislature that only emboldens people to enact racial violence.

The Republican governor also said Wednesday the he normally does not weigh in on most shootings in Missouri.

However, Parson has regularly commented on shootings of police officers in Missouri, including after Hermann police officer Mason Griffith was shot and killed last month. Parson quickly weighed in on that shooting, saying he and his wife were praying for Masons family, friends, and fellow law enforcement officers.

The Stars Daniel Desrochers and Maia Bond contributed reporting.
A fentanyl drug testing kit warns about the dangers of xylazine, which is not yet detectable in street testing.

Combatting the war on opioids is getting more difficult as a new drug  approved for use by veterinarians in animals  has hit the streets, the Drug Enforcement Administration says.

The federal agency warned Tuesday that drug traffickers are mixing fentanyl with xylazine, also known on the streets at tranq and the "zombie drug." Xylazine has similar effects to fentanyl, including slowing the respiratory system.

"It's cheap and because it has psychoactive effects it allows traffickers to reduce the amount of fentanyl and ultimately increase profits," said Orrville Greene, a special agent in charge with the DEA's Detroit office, which covers Ohio.

Stark County judge: New 'zombie' drug worsens the opioid crisis

Xylazine  a powerful non-opiate sedative, analgesic and muscle relaxant  is easy to obtain and doesn't require the credentials of a veterinarian to purchase.

It is not a controlled substance under the U.S. Controlled Substance Act.

Greene said xylazine has been seized in 48 out of 50 states, with the exceptions being South Dakota and Wyoming. More labs are now testing for the drug, he added.

During the past year, the DEA and state and local partners have been tracking the use of xylazine, which can be in powder or pill form.

Opiod epedemic: What is xylazine? Why Congress is cracking down on this animal tranquilizer in fentanyl fight

"Fentanyl is the deadliest threat we have seen in the United States and when mixed with xylazine it is even deadlier," Greene said.

The Office of National Drug Control Supply designated the combination of xylazine and fentanyl an emergency threat on April 12.

Gov. Mike DeWine signed an executive order in March classifying xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance. Ohio is one of the first states to give the drug that classification. As a result of the governor's declaration, anyone caught with xylazine who's not using it to treat animals faces drug trafficking or possession charges.

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Because xylazine is not an opioid, naloxone cannot reverse the effects of the drug, Greene explained.

"This emergency trend is something that has been on our radar ... we are trying to educate the public and have these open conversations," Greene said.

What is xylazine?

The DEA said symptoms of xylazine usage include blurred vision, disorientation, drowsiness, staggering, coma, an excessively slow heart rate, excessively low blood pressure, respiratory depression, more constriction of the eye than normal, high blood sugar and, in some cases, seizures.

Xylazine does come with a symptom that distinguishes it from fentanyl. Users often get skin lesions. Greene said some of the wounds have led to amputation.

Drug addiction specialists believe they are starting to see signs of xylazine in Stark County.

Mark Totten, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Michigan, said fighting this new enemy will have to be an all-hands-on-deck approach with medical professionals, social service and mental health providers, as well as others banding together.

"We are never going to prosecute our way out of the opioid epidemic," he said adding officials "are laser-focused on breaking up the distribution and supply lines."

Reach Amy at 330-775-1135 or amy.knapp@indeonline.com

On Twitter: @aknappINDE

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Animal tranquilizer xylazine mixed with fentanyl is deadly combination
Dearborn mayor candidate Abdullah Hammoud hugs family members at the Mohammed Turfe Community Center in Dearborn, Mich.

Dearborn mayor candidate Abdullah Hammoud hugs family members at the Mohammed Turfe Community Center in Dearborn, Mich., on Nov. 2, 2021. Hammoud, a Michigan state lawmaker won the Dearborn mayoral race, making him that citys first Arab American mayor. Credit - Robin BucksonDetroit News/AP

When Abdullah Hammoud was elected mayor of Dearborn, Michigan, last year, he became the citys first ever Muslim and Arab American leader. This week, he is making history once againthis time, by making Dearborn the first U.S. city to offer Eid al-Fitr, one of Islams major holidays that marks the end of Ramadan, as a paid holiday for city employees.

Hammoud, whose family hails from Lebanon, tells TIME that he didnt set out for Dearborn to be the first. In fact, he says it wasnt until after the news was announced that he realized that the city was even setting a precedent. (Representatives from the Council on American Islamic Relations, a U.S.-based Muslim civil rights and advocacy group, confirmed that Dearborn is the first U.S. city to do this.) Rather, the reasons that the mayor cites for giving municipal employees time off on Eid al-Fitrwhich translates to the festival of breaking the fast in Arabicare more practical.

Dearborn is known as the Arab capital of North America for its high concentration of Lebanese, Syrian, Palestinian, Iraqi, and Yemeni communities, and the city claims the largest American Muslim population per capita, as well as the countrys largest mosque. For this reason, many of Hammouds constituents, as well as many of the citys employees, are Muslim. When the city entered into labor negotiations with its employees last year, Hammoud says it only made sense to offer employees Eid al-Fitr as well as the Islamic festival of Eid al-Adha, which takes place in the summer, as two additional paid holidays to join the likes of Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Good Friday.

Im taking off with my family, employees tend to take off with their families, says Hammoud of the three-day Eid al-Fitr, which is expected to begin on Friday, Apr. 21. I think its time we modeled that, in the city of Dearborn where we are trying to hire an inclusive and diverse workforce, we should be recognizing their holidays and their faith traditions as well.

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Suzanne Jaber of The Eid Shop looks at some of her companys Ramadan decorations she created, in Dearborn Heights, Mich., on March 27, 2023. Carlos OsorioAP

Although Eid has long been informally recognized by the U.S. government, it is not designated as an official public holiday. As a result, Americans Muslims seeking to observe the holiday typically have to request time off from their employer or academic institution. While a number of school districts with sizable Muslim populations now offer Eid as a holiday, including in Dearborn and New York City, they are still very much in the minority. For Muslim community advocates, extending the right to observe the holiday to municipal employees is an important next step. No other U.S. city has been able to accomplish this, says Nour Ali, a director at the Council on American Islamic Relations in Michigan. As a Dearborn native, Ali says that this kind of representation has been a long time coming for us as a city. Her hope is that what has started in Dearborn doesnt end there.

These efforts are only likely to increase as the American Muslim population continues to grow. A 2018 study by the Pew Research Center estimates that there are 3.45 million Muslims living in the U.S., or roughly 1.1% of the population. By 2050, that figure is expected to more than double to 8 million.

Read More: Why More Non-Muslims Are Fasting This Ramadan

As Hammoud sees it, being an inclusive city goes beyond just giving time off. As a city, weve always upheld many faith traditions, the mayor says, noting the citys annual Christmas tree lighting ceremony (which he says was made bigger and better than ever last year with the inclusion of a 30 ft. white fir) and its holiday light competitions recognizing residents who decorate their homes for Christmas, Easter, Passover, and Ramadan.

Dearborn is adding a new tradition to that mix this week. For the first time in the citys history, were hosting a free Eid brunch for the community, Hammoud says. In another first, the city put on a weekend Ramadan Nights food market this year, where tens of thousands of residents gathered over the course of the month.

While Hammoud concedes that governments cant feasibly make every religious celebration a public holiday, he does believe that its in the power of local leaders to tailor what they can do for communities and to ensure that they achieve the most good for the most people. What were doing is bringing equity into the equation, says Hammoud. And this is what it looks like. Everybody feels welcomed and represented. And I think it only adds to the culture of the city.
LOGANVILLE, Wis.  Brenda Statz remembers the rain on the day they lost Leon, her husband of 34 years. The deluge had fallen for weeks, flooding their fields, delaying the harvest, pounding the roof of the barn where Leon Statz finished his morning chores, then ended his life.

It was Oct. 8, 2018, a Monday. Leon Statz, father of three, grandfather of one, was 57. A note in the pocket of his work pants described how depression had robbed him of the hope and pride he had in running a third-generation dairy farm.

Most families Brenda Statz knew suffered such losses in isolation, silenced by the stigma surrounding mental illness. But I was compelled to talk about it, she said. Soon after her husbands death she and several friends founded the Farmer Angel Network, connecting struggling farmers and their families with help, and with each other.

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The rate of suicide among farmers is 3 1/2 times higher than among the general population, according to the National Rural Health Association. Suicide rates in rural communities increased by 48% between 2000 and 2018, compared with 34% in urban areas.

Our producers are constantly expected to do more with less, innovate and improve, raise a family, preserve a legacy  and lets not forget feeding and clothing the world while were at it, Zach Ducheneaux, the administrator of the Farm Service Agency, the federal governments main conduit for financial support to agriculture, wrote last summer.

The average farmer in America is male and around 57 years of age, as Leon Statz was, although more women and younger people have entered farming over the past decade. Men in general are more likely to die by suicide, and full-time farmers face intense financial pressure, their livelihoods affected by global forces outside their control like trade wars and livestock pandemics.

Raised to value stoicism and self-determination, they often avoid seeking mental health treatment out of shame, and the erroneous notion that depression is not an illness but a state of mind fixable through attitude, faith or hard work.

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Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., is seeking $10 million in the 2023 farm bill  the same level as authorized in the 2018 farm bill  for an Agriculture Department stress assistance network that helps fund behavioral health services for rural Americans. Baldwin was the lead sponsor of legislation to create a 988 number to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, which last year replaced the decades-old 10-digit number, and she helped secure $3.1 million from the government to support the 988 lines rollout in her state.

We can and must do more, Baldwin said in a statement.

The National Rural Health Association agrees. Last month the association, whose 21,000 members include rural hospitals and clinics, wrote to leaders of the House and Senate agricultural committees demanding greater attention to what its chief executive, Alan Morgan, called a deep-seated and longstanding problem.

The association wants Congress to increase the stress assistance networks funding to $15 million annually in the farm bill, and make it permanent. The group is also calling for a national crisis line tailored to agricultural workers, separate from the 988 number.

Its impossible to overstate the rural and urban difference when it comes to seeking behavioral health care, Morgan said.

He Thought He Failed

The Statz family farm is in the Driftless Area, a fertile, rolling swath of Wisconsin, Illinois, Minnesota and Iowa untouched by ice age glaciers and the rocky drift they left as they retreated. A sign out front proudly announces years of awards for dairy production.

Leon Statzs life revolved around the 200-acre farm, an operation kept small enough so that the family could work it without outside help. Leon Statzs parents had lived and worked on the farm. The couples sons, Tom and Ethan, farmed with their father part-time, as did Brenda Statz, who also works in a Lands End distribution center in nearby Reedsburg.

Leon Statz was sociable and adventurous. He used to ride a motorcycle when he and Brenda Statz were dating, and when he turned 50 he bought two of them, including a vivid green Harley-Davidson. On weekends the couple sometimes rode up to Wildcat Mountain State Park, which overlooks the Kickapoo River valley. In summer they invited relatives and friends over for his grilled onion burgers and beer, and in winter they threw parties whose price of admission was a donation to their church food pantry. Their farm was a home away from home for friends of their sons and daughter, Sarah.

You never knew on a Friday night who would be sleeping here, on the couches, chairs or wherever, Brenda Statz recalled.

Unknown to most in their orbit, Leon Statz had bouts of depression for three decades. Their children were infants when he first sought help from the familys doctor.

He basically told Leon to chin up and face it like a man  in a year, youll laugh at it, Statz recalled. I will never forget that. Because then Leons like, Now it falls back on me again. Its my fault I cant get out of this.

Statz said her husband took medication for his depression periodically, and had done well for years on it. But any time there was a major change, thats when I could see it coming, she said.

In late 2017 the family sold their prized Holstein cattle. As part of a plan to bring the couples two sons more fully into the business, they went into grain and beef farming, which is less labor-intensive than milking cows twice daily. It allowed their sons to keep part-time jobs off the farm, but it was a riskier endeavor than milk production because it involves heavy upfront costs for seed and fertilizer, with a paycheck dependent on a distant, uncertain harvest.

The transition plunged Leon Statz into paralyzing anxiety. He grew convinced the farm was going under. No amount of reassurance from his family or their bankers, Brenda Statz said, could convince him that the farm was in fact prospering.

Leon Statz sought part-time work off the farm to help tide the family over before the harvest. Offered good-paying jobs at a local valve company and as a forklift operator, he instead signed on as a meat cutter in a local supermarket. It was low-paid, dangerous work. He finally admitted why he took that job, Statz recalled. Because he thought he failed, and he needed to punish himself.

Four months after selling the cows, Leon Statz made his first suicide attempt. He called his children to say goodbye, swallowed a handful of pills and sealed himself into a shed, with farm equipment running inside.

I wish I never sold (our, my) cows! Im a dairy farmer, Leon Statz wrote in a note to his family. I want my old life back, but I cant get it anymore. Every thing I do fails. I didnt plan ahead for this  I really screwed up! I have everything thats worth nothing!

Brenda Statz heard the equipment from the house. She tangled with her husband while trying to shut it down and open the sheds overhead doors, to let air inside. She summoned the police and their pastor. Leon Statz was involuntarily hospitalized for three days in Winnebago, more than two hours away.

He returned home still anxious, and with an extensive medication regime. Brenda Statz, deeply shaken, was uncertain about how to care for him, what to watch for or what to say. She recalled sitting with him in the car outside their church, St. Peters Lutheran in Loganville, on a Sunday soon after his hospitalization. Her husband was ashamed to go inside.

Their pastor, the Rev. Donald Glanzer Jr., had just lost a close friend to depression. We were all pulling for Leon, he said. But Leon Statz was reluctant to share his struggles. If a couple hundred acres need combining, farmers will ask for help, Glanzer said. But anything to do with their emotional makeup or personal psychology, they usually dont.

In the summer of 2018, Leon Statzs son Ethan found him in the haymow, fashioning a noose. Hospitalized this time in the state capital of Madison, 60 miles away, Leon Statz underwent electroconvulsive therapy. Halfway through, he came home and he was like himself  he was old Leon, Brenda Statz recalled. And Im like, wow. This is working. Hes maybe going to pull out of it now.

His doctors canceled the rest of the therapy, but two weeks later we were back to square one, Brenda Statz said. They restarted the treatments, but his condition did not improve.

Leon Statz described to his wife how he felt: Like youre in the bottom of this hole, this pit, and you can see the top and youre climbing, climbing, and struggling your way to the top. And just when you get to the top, it goes higher, and you keep climbing, and pretty soon you get tired and you cant climb anymore.

On that October morning in 2018, Ethan found his father dead in the heifer shed, his raincoat draped neatly over a door nearby.

Come and Talk

Leon Statz was buried in jeans and his favorite Harley Davidson shirt and belt. In his obituary, the Statz family departed from convention. They did not write that he died tragically or suddenly, but after a long-fought battle with depression. They included a phone number for the county crisis line. We needed to get the word out, Brenda Statz said. He wasnt weak or a failure. He was sick.

In his sermon, Glanzer called on the congregation to acknowledge the illness that led to Leon Statzs death, and to recognize it among others.

Leons life was a wonderful tapestry, every thread in place. But if you turn the tapestry to the backside, it was a frightening array of thread and knots and frayed ends and stray threads, the pastor recalled saying. Even though thats not as good, its as equal a part of our life as the beautiful tapestry that everyone else sees.

At a lunch after the service, friends of Brenda Statz approached Glanzer about doing something to help others, so it doesnt happen again, he recalled.

They decided to hold Wednesday meetings once a month in the church hall  a place to come in and be among other farmers, if you just want to come and talk, listen, whatever, Brenda Statz said. They enlisted Pam Jahnke, the Fabulous Farm Babe on a regional farm radio station, to spread the word on her popular morning report.

Church volunteers set out free soup and sandwiches. Brenda Statz expected 15 people to show up. Instead 40 came. A woman whose brother died by suicide talked about the warning signs. Frank Friar from the Wisconsin Farm Center offered free counseling vouchers and financial planning for farmers in stress. A man from the regions Amish community offered free bookkeeping for farmers in trouble. Others rose to offer help with milking, planting and harvesting for neighbors who need a break.

That first meeting was only three months after Leon Statzs death, and I didnt know if I could speak his name, Brenda Statz said. But she did speak, and has done so nearly every day since. The meetings grew into the Farmer Angel Network, funded through donations from individuals, local businesses and groups.

You cant always be the tough guy and get it done yourself, Brenda Statz said. Sometimes you say, You know what? Yeah, I could use some help.



If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
DeKalb County Schools Board of Education has officially voted Dr. Devon Horton as their superintendent for the upcoming school year.

Horton was named as the sole finalist for superintendent earlier this month, but not everyone approved of the school boards choice.

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This official vote makes Horton the fourth superintendent in just the last four years.

Channel 2s Tyisha Fernandes was at the meeting when all board members except Dr. Joyce Morely voted for Horton.

Earlier this month, Morely also told Fernandes that Dr. Vasanne Tinsley should get the job.

Morely doesnt think Horton can handle a district this large and she believes a pending federal lawsuit against Horton will eventually become Dekalb County Schools problem.

To have the record thats coming with this guy, do you hate yourselves and hate the district and the person in there doing the job that badly that youre willing to sacrifice? Would you have this person running your household, Morely told Channel 2 Action News.

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After the changes over the past several years, some lacked confidence in the board.

The reality is theyve struggled with this decision of the superintendent, Dekalb NAACP President Lance Hammonds told Channel 2 Action News.

Horton currently leads a school district in a Chicago suburb with only 7,000 students. Hes also named in a federal lawsuit accusing him of violating the Civil Rights Act by treating White and Asian students differently than black and brown students.

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But parent Ted Golden believes Horton deserves a chance.

Im impressed with some of the innovative things he wants to do. Community-oriented. parent engagement, those are things that are critical to our success, Golden said.

In April, the state superintendent, Richard Woods, chimed in.

He sent a letter asking the board to pause their hiring process and allow Interim Superintendent Dr. Vassane Tinsley to remain in her position. The board chairman thanked Woods for his input.

DeKalb County Board of Education Chairman Diijon DaCosta Sr. responded to Woods letter with one of his own, thanking Woods for his support.

I hope this letter finds you well. Thank you for your concerns and partnership with the DeKalb County School District and Board of Education. As the newly appointed Board Chair, I have seen our board work diligently to follow policies, processes, and protocols to achieve the best governance practices. We are committed to making informed decisions that prioritize the best interests of our scholars, teachers, staff, and community. We also want to express our appreciation to our Interim Superintendent, Dr. Vasanne S. Tinsley, for her willingness to step in during this interim period. We appreciate your support as we carry out our responsibilities and look forward to continuing our partnership to pursue excellence in education. Diijon DaCosta Sr.

Even though Dr. Horton has secured the job, he will still need to negotiate his contract including his salary and start date.

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Rep. Alma Adams called the AR-15 rifle Washingtons golden calf from the House floor Tuesday morning as she and 160 mayors called on Congress to do more to end gun violence across the country.

Charlottes Vi Lyles and Durhams Elaine ONeal were among the mayors who signed an open letter dated Monday.

We will be judged if we dont act, Adams, a Democrat from Charlotte, said in her own remarks Tuesday. Not only by history, not only by our God, but by our children who will inherit our country with this metastasized gun cancer still attached.

Adams words came on the first full day since Congress returned to Washington following a two-week break, which began just three days after a shooting at the Covenant School in Nashville left three 9-year-olds and three adults dead. The shooter was also killed.

In those two weeks away, five more people were shot on three college campuses across the country, including a person who suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound at Forsyth Tech Community College in Winston-Salem, according to WSOC-TV.

Adams said that while Congress was away, gun violence stole the lives of another 27 people in Tennessee and 900 across the country.

It makes me sick, Adams said. It makes me livid that we continue to accept the status quo. That we are comfortable living in a country where at any time, our friends, family and neighbors, even our children and our grandchildren, can die a horrible death because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time, where the wrong person had a gun.

Adams also responded to the political fallout from the Nashville shooting in Tennessee, where two state lawmakers were expelled for interrupting House proceedings to lead a public chant calling for gun reform.

Tennessee Republicans were so afraid of this message that they expelled Justin Jones and Justin Pearson, the two Black representatives, for their actions, Adams said on the House floor Tuesday. These two courageous men know, as we do, that we cannot wait to be saved from the gun epidemic. They knew there would be more dead.

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She called on her colleagues to stop idolizing the AR-15. Republican lawmakers are often criticized for benefiting from campaign contributions from the National Rifle Association.

Too many people in the Peoples House worship this idol and treat it with reverence; however, just like in the Scripture, if we continue to worship this idol, the result will be physical and spiritual death, she said.

Adams ended her speech echoing the words of the Tennessee lawmakers: No more silence. We have to do better. Gun reform now.

Mayors call for bans and background checks

Local leaders chose not to stay silent, either.

The mayors of Charlotte, Durham and Greensboro signed a letter with 157 other mayors, calling on Congress to act now to end gun violence:

Today we  urge you to immediately pass and send to the President legislation to ban assault weapons and large capacity magazines and to strengthen the background check system, bills that could have prevented what happened in Louisville and Nashville and so many other cities from happening in the future.

Last summer, after a shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, left 19 students and two teachers dead, Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from North Carolina, and Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut, worked together to pass the largest gun legislation in three decades.

Murphy, who saw firsthand the aftermath of a mass shooting that killed 28 people, including children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School, went viral last year for standing on the Senate floor and chastising his colleagues for letting more elementary school students become victims of a shooting.

Why do you spend all this time running for the United States Senate? Murphy asked then. Why do you go through all the hassle of getting this job, of putting yourself in a position of authority if your answer is that as the slaughter increases, as our kids run for their lives, we do nothing? What are we doing? Why are you here if not to solve a problem as existential as this?

Tillis and Murphy spent weeks working together to figure out what were nonstarters among the two political parties on gun legislation and what their colleagues could agree on before proposing the legislation.

Negotiators said more needed to be done. And the U.S. Conference of Mayors agrees. They asked how many more children have to die for lawmakers to act.

There have been hundreds of mass shootings that occurred over the last year, including those in Louisville, at Michigan State, Half Moon Bay, Monterey Park, Uvalde, Highland Park and Buffalo, their letter says.

The list doesnt include a mass shooting in the Hedingham neighborhood of Raleigh that left five people dead and two others injured.

Too many times mayors have expressed shock at a mass shooting, the mayors wrote. Much more frequently, many of us cope with the gun violence that occurs on the streets of our cities.

The Conference of Mayors said in its letter that the organization has been calling on Congress for more than 50 years to pass sensible gun laws to protect the public.

The time for Congress to act is now, the mayors wrote. Our children deserve better.
(Bloomberg) -- A complaint by two congressional Democrats regarding possible ethics violations by Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have been forwarded to a federal judicial panel that enforces financial disclosure rules.

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US District Court Judge Roslynn Mauskopf told Senator Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island and Representative Hank Johnson of Georgia of the referral in letters on Tuesday.

Whitehouse and Johnson had asked the Judicial Conference of the United States to look into Thomass decision not to report luxury trips and gifts from Harlan Crow, a Texas billionaire and longtime Republican donor.

I have forwarded your letter to the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure, which is responsible for implementing the disclosure provisions of the Ethics in Government Act and addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports, Mauskopf said in her letter to Johnson.

Mauskopfs letters to Whitehouse and Johnson didnt specify what action the committee might take, if any, in response to receiving the complaints. Committees typically make recommendations to the Judicial Conference, which serves as the federal judiciarys policymaking body.

She added that she was acting in her capacity as secretary of the Judicial Conference. Chief Justice John Roberts is the conferences presiding officer.

Her response was reported earlier by the Washington Post.

Whitehouse and Johnson earlier led a group of 22 lawmakers who sent a letter to Roberts calling for an investigation into Thomass travel. All are Democrats except for Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, an independent who caucuses with the party.

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The questions about the justice arose from articles by ProPublica. The news organization reported last week that Thomas and his wife took luxurious and unreported trips from Crow over nearly two decades, and that Thomas and relatives sold three Georgia properties to Crow in 2014 that include his mothers home.

Thomas defended the decision not to disclose the travel, saying in a rare public statement that he was advised early in his Supreme Court tenure that he didnt have to report the trips. Crow has said that Thomas and his wife, Virginia Thomas, are dear friends who never asked for the hospitality they received.

Despite the criticism of Thomas by Democrats, deep partisan divisions in Congress make it highly unlikely that a code of ethics will emerge through legislation. Lawmakers in both parties have long upheld a centuries-old tradition of letting the high court navigate its ethics rules.

Roberts has long resisted demands for a code of conduct for the justices. Its also not clear that he even has authority to impose such rules on his colleagues.

--With assistance from Zoe Tillman.

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The Lincoln County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously Monday to approve a subdivision in Denver with up to 267 single family homes, despite concerns from residents about traffic along a major roadway.

The 126-acre tract where the subdivision will be located sits north of Kenyon Drives end and south of Hagers Hollow Drive.

In the original proposal for Villages of Denver approved in 2001, Lincoln County commissioners signed off on plans for 685 lots, according to county documents. With commissioners approval of this proposal, 100 homes will be added to the original plan.

The project will allow the county to turn over maintenance of all roads within the neighborhood, which are currently private, to NCDOT, which would allow school buses to enter the subdivision.

School buses are required to travel on state-maintained highways, municipal streets, or other streets with publicly dedicated right-of-way, according to state law.

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Traffic concerns

At a community involvement meeting in December 2021, some Denver residents expressed concerns about traffic that would come from the addition of hundred of homes, notably on the N.C. 16 Business corridor.

As part of the project, a traffic signal and northbound left-turn lane would be installed at the intersection of Hagers Hollow Drive and N.C. 16 Business to mitigate traffic, according to county documents.

A traffic light is not enough to lessen the amount of traffic that 267 houses will add to Denver, a resident said during the meeting. Denver is already overcrowded.

According to a traffic study conducted by the developer, the subdivision will generate 2,491 trips per day on nearby roads.

For comparison, the intersection at N.C. 16 Business and Fairfield Forest Road had an average annual daily traffic volume of 5,100 per day in 2021, and the highways intersection with Webbs Road had a volume of 9,000 vehicles per day, according to the most recent data from NCDOT. Both intersections were included in the traffic study.

Construction will not begin until the traffic signal at Hagers Hollow Drive and N.C. 16 Business is installed, according to county documents.
A priority bill of Gov. Ron DeSantis was called discriminatory by dozens of Chinese Americans on Wednesday, with some drawing comparisons to a Nazi-era law requiring Jews to register their property with the state.

HB 1355 and its companion SB 264 would restrict ownership of land and property by those from seven countries of concern  including Cuba, Venezuela and Russia  a response to reports of a Chinese company buying farmland next to a North Dakota Air Force base last year.

Lawmakers stressed the legislation is not meant to affect anyone living in Florida. The bills would prohibit anyone living in those countries from acquiring certain land or buildings in Florida if theyre not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

Foreigners from China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria would be prohibited from buying property within 20 miles of a military installation or critical infrastructure, such as a seaport or wastewater treatment plant. Foreigners from those countries would not be allowed to buy agricultural land anywhere in the state.

Only foreigners from China would be prohibited from owning land statewide.

Current owners would have to register their ownership with the states Department of Economic Opportunity.

The legislation had sailed through the House and Senate with unanimous bipartisan support. The Senate passed it off the floor unanimously last week. One of the sponsors of HB 1355 is a Democrat and numerous Democratic lawmakers have signed on as co-sponsors.

Shanjie Li helped state-owned China City Construction Company buy this Miami Beach property for $38.5 million in 2015. Like a related deal in Brickell, plans for a condo tower appear to have stalled out as South Floridas market for new construction dries up.

Bipartisan no longer

That bipartisan support ended Wednesday, after more than 100 Chinese Americans, permanent residents, students, professors and others packed a House committee room and told lawmakers the bill was discriminatory. Several recounted stories of racial discrimination.

Im trying to protect my family from unintended consequences that come with this bill, Baoliang Pan of Orlando told lawmakers. Many times during COVID, my wife and family were verbally assaulted by people shouting racial slurs like Chinese virus. Go back to China. 

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Several focused on the requirement to register their ownership with the state, comparing it to the 1938 law imposed by Nazi Germany requiring Jews to register their property with the government.

Are we really in 2023? Or are we in 1935? said Daniel Ettedgui, a French immigrant who runs a business that helps foreigners buy property in the United States.

Other speakers warned that the legislation would have other effects. Parents of Chinese students often buy a condo or home for their child studying in the U.S., which would be prohibited if the parents are living in China.

Lobbyist Slater Bayliss told lawmakers it would prohibit EB-5 investments, a federal program that allows foreigners to apply for green cards if they invest in commercial ventures in the U.S.

In Suwannee County, for example, a high-tech sawmill touted by Gov. Rick Scott in 2011 was partly financed by Chinese EB-5 investors.

By a broad reading of this bill, those investments would no longer be allowed in Florida, Bayliss told lawmakers.

Bill sponsors defend it

The bill sponsors on Wednesday said the public commenters were victims of misinformation because the bill doesnt apply to anyone who lives in Florida.

The only people who this bill discriminates against is the Communist Party of China, Rep. David Borrero, R-Sweetwater, told lawmakers. The only people who have worried about not being able to buy land here? Those who are not living here.

Rep. Katherine Waldron, D-Wellington, the other bill sponsor, agreed, although she said the bill will likely be amended to address the issue with Chinese students.

I think everybody in that room is probably not included in this bill, Waldron said after the committee. Were not trying to cause anybody harm who lives here.

Instead, the intent is to make the state safer, she said, citing money laundering by foreigners buying expensive properties in Florida and criminal charges filed against two men this week accused of running an unauthorized Chinese police outpost in New York City.

Chinese Americans rallying in protest

Sunny Duann, president of the Chinese Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay, told the Herald/Times that Chinese Americans in Florida started organizing against the bills after seeing them pass the Senate last week.

That singles out Chinese people, and thats just not fair, she said.

DeSantis said in January that he wanted lawmakers to prevent Chinese companies and nationals from buying Florida real estate. His office has made other efforts to stamp out Chinese influence, including banning local governments from using Chinese-made drones.

The extraordinary response on Wednesday prompted the committee chairperson, Rep. Lawrence McClure, R-Dover, to say that lawmakers need to communicate better with the public.

If this bill is not affecting them, we [have] got a lot of work to inform them on that, McClure said. Its tough when you have this many people come with this many concerns.

This story was updated to clarify that the proposed legislation would apply to non-residents from seven countries, not just China.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis waves to the crowd outside the 2023 NHGOP Amos Tuck Dinner in Manchester, New Hampshire on April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Brian Snyder

Ron DeSantis bled support from the Florida congressional delegation this week.

3 more Florida GOP lawmakers are lining up behind Trump amid DeSantis' trip to DC.

"They just want to hear him," was how one House Republican summed up a Tuesday meet-and-greet.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis' personal appeal to congressional Republicans in DC on Tuesday night appears to have spectacularly backfired, as Florida lawmakers continue throwing their support behind Trump in the 2024 presidential race.

The embattled former president started out the week with endorsements from GOP Reps. Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Matt Gaetz, and Byron Donalds firmly in hand. Florida Rep. Greg Steube climbed on the bandwagon Monday, one day before DeSantis  who hasn't officially declared for the race but is anticipated to mount a presidential bid  was scheduled to plead his case at a House-side event.

Insider reached out to the nearly dozen current GOP lawmakers who served with DeSantis during his time in Congress, and none responded to inquiries about attending his Tuesday night meet-and-greet.

Instead, former delegation mate Rep. John Rutherford announced that he was backing the twice-impeached former president before DeSantis even had a chance to speak. And freshman Rep. Brian Mast told CNN that not only does he plan to endorse Trump, he'll also spearhead a "Veterans for Trump" group.

And while he doesn't hail from the Sunshine State, Republican Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas twisted the knife by declaring that he was Team Trump  after sitting through DeSantis' spiel.

"I met with Governor DeSantis, and while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America," Gooden wrote online.

Just passing through

An aide to Rep. Mike Gallagher, who was listed as a co-host of the DeSantis mixer, told Insider ahead of time not to expect any immediate outpouring of support.

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"This is not an endorsement," the Gallagher campaign staffer stressed, adding that the Wisconsin Republican planned to swing by, as time permitted, to chat about China, communism, and some of the House oversight investigations.

He came with an agenda. Some elected officials who popped by the DeSantis gathering raced out of there like it was a timeshare presentation.

"They just want to hear him," Rep. Dan Crenshaw of Texas told reporters, after running a gauntlet of protestors who chanted "Meatball Ron, go home!" and "DC don't like fascists," at everyone who emerged from the Heritage Foundation lobby.

Several attendees, including Reps. Crenshaw, Bob Good of Virginia, and Blake Moore of Utah, said DeSantis never mentioned running for president and didn't explicitly fish for endorsements.

Even if DeSantis had tried that, Crenshaw noted that he has no plans to endorse anyone in the GOP presidential primary, so that was off the table.

After sleeping on it, meeting attendee Sen. John Cornyn wished DeSantis well but stopped short of joining the cause.

"The most important thing in the 2024 presidential primary is for Republicans to nominate somebody who can win," the Texas Republican said Wednesday at the US Capitol, adding that "I'm not endorsing anybody in particular."

Sen. Cynthia Lummis, who has previously said how much she enjoyed serving with DeSantis while they were both in the House of Representatives, showed up towards the tail end of Tuesday's meeting and didn't stay long.

"He and I just had a nice chat among old friends. That was it," Lummis told Insider.

She added that she hadn't heard any talk of presidential campaigns or hard-sells about endorsements.

"I missed his speech. But it's just fun to catch up," Lummis said.

Republican Rep. Chip Roy of Texas arrives at the Heritage Foundation where Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, a likely presidential candidate, huddled with congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC on April 18, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Silbiger

Read the original article on Business Insider
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) met with Republican members of Congress on Capitol Hill on Tuesday ahead of a widely expected presidential bid.

His visit came amid a wave of House Republicans  including several from his state  announcing endorsements for former President Trump, whose campaign has been closely tracking congressional support.

Freshman Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) on Tuesday became the third member of Congress to endorse DeSantis for president despite him not yet officially launching a White House bid, joining Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas).

But DeSantiss Washington, D.C., sweep was met with some endorsement blows. Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) announced he is endorsing Trump just as he left a positive meeting with DeSantis on Tuesday. Florida Republican Reps. John Rutherford and Greg Steube announced endorsements of Trump on Tuesday and Monday, respectively.

Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) said while leaving the DeSantis event that Trumps team calls to ask for his endorsement all the time  but he is not inclined to endorse anyone at the moment.

Ive always said you dont pick up friends when you endorse  just enemies, Burchett said.

Still, several dozen members of Congress flocked to see DeSantis at the Tuesday event, whether to visit with an old colleague  DeSantis is a former representative who was a member of the House Freedom Caucus  or to meet the Florida governor for the first time.

Attendees ranged from staunch conservatives, like Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), to those on the more moderate side, like Rep. Mike Lawler (R-N.Y.).

Ive always supported President Trump, and hes always supported me. So thats where my likely support is going to be, Rep. Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) said while leaving the event. But we have some really serious issues facing the country. And we got to make sure our nominee wins. So thats what Im primarily interested in.

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Some members downplayed the importance of endorsements.

Ive run many political campaigns. Endorsements by elected officials dont mean a whole lot, said Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.), who called his former House Freedom Caucus colleague one of the smartest people I know.

And to the Republic, a 501(c)(4) nonprofit that has been supporting DeSantis as he makes appearances across the country, hosted the Tuesday evening event at a Heritage Foundation location close to the Capitol.

Several dozen members of Congress attended the meet-and-greet, which members described as a casual get-to-know-you or catch-up event. DeSantis touted his accomplishments as governor of Florida but did not directly ask for any endorsements, according to multiple members who attended the event.

DeSantiss mere presence on Capitol Hill inspired aggressive protests outside the event, organized by the progressive activist group ShutDownDC. Protesters booed members of Congress leaving the event, and they railed against recent moves by DeSantis, like signing a six-week abortion ban and a Florida law that prohibits teachers from instructing on sexual orientation or gender identity through third grade.

Protest organizer Vincent Bertuccio at one point interrupted Meusers conversation with a reporter and followed him around the block, hurling profanities and criticizing his support for politicians who do not support gender-affirming care for LGBTQ youth.

You dont get a moment of peace so long as you think its ethical to attack our community, Congressman, Bertuccio told him.

Youre a moron, Meuser shot back.

Bertuccio defended his confrontational tactics.

Not every issue deserves a scathing review, like I tried to give. But when you push things like gender-affirming care bans that really impact queer and trans youth, suicide rates are off the charts.  Sometimes you just need to be told that what youre doing is deeply wrong, and this is the type of anger that you deserve, Bertuccio said.

Rep. Blake Moore (R-Utah) chalked the protests up to a consequence of DeSantiss political fame and stature.

Hes a potential Republican nominee for president. And so yeah, theres gonna be some protests, Moore said. Its not as big a deal as everybody makes it out to be.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Mickey Mouse. (Photo illustration: Kelli R. Grant/Yahoo News; photos: John Raoux/AP, The Walt Disney Company via Getty Images, Brian Carlson/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss ongoing culture war with the Walt Disney Co. is again in the spotlight after former President Donald Trump criticized his would-be opponent in the 2024 Republican presidential primary for what he called an unnecessary political stunt.

DeSanctus [sic] is being absolutely destroyed by Disney, Trump wrote in a post on Truth Social, his social media platform, on Tuesday.

Heres everything we know about the feud between DeSantis and Disney, culled from our original reporting and Yahoo News partner network, including the Associated Press, Miami Herald and Orlando Sentinel.

How did DeSantiss fight with Disney begin?

A supporter of a gay-friendly Walt Disney Co. in Orlando last summer. (Octavio Jones/Reuters)

The long-running feud between DeSantis and the Walt Disney Co. started nearly two years ago, when the company required on-site employees at its Orlando theme park to be vaccinated against COVID-19, the Miami Herald reports. DeSantis, in response, announced that he would impose fines against Disney and other companies with vaccine mandates.

Things escalated last year when the governor took aim at Disney for publicly opposing legislation restricting schools from teaching about sexual orientation and gender identity, which critics called the states Dont Say Gay law. (The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved an expanded version of the law at the governors request.)

DeSantis urged the Florida Legislature to retaliate by passing legislation that gives the governor control of Walt Disney Worlds Reedy Creek Improvement District, and allows him to appoint a five-member board of supervisors. A 1967 Florida law created a special district that allows Disney to govern itself.

Theres a new sheriff in town, DeSantis said in February when he signed the legislation, according to the Associated Press.

How has Disney responded?

Recently reinstated Disney chief Bob Iger. (Hannah McKay/Reuters)

In February, before DeSantis took control of the board, the company quietly stripped the incoming board of most powers before the new members could take their seats. DeSantis accused Disney of blindsiding him and ordered an investigation into the companys actions.

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Disney CEO Bob Iger defended the move at the companys annual shareholders meeting, calling the governors attempts at retaliation anti-business and anti-Florida.

A company has a right to freedom of speech just like an individual does, Iger said of Disneys criticism of Floridas Dont Say Gay law, according to the Miami Herald. [DeSantis] retaliates against us  in effect to punish a company for exercising its constitutional right. And that seems really wrong to me.

Whats the latest in the dispute?

DeSantis speaking in Manchester, N.H., on Friday. (Brian Snyder/Reuters)

At a news conference on Monday, DeSantis and state lawmakers proposed legislation that would require state inspections of Disney World rides and prevent it from ever having another mask mandate, the Orlando Sentinel reported. DeSantis even floated the idea of building a state prison next to the theme park.

I mean, I just think that the possibilities are endless," he said.

DeSantis, a self-styled culture warrior and critic of so-called woke ideology, has used such clashes to leverage his national profile as he weighs a bid for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.

What has been the response from other Republicans?

Former President Donald Trump in Davenport, Iowa, last month. (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters)

Trump and other potential GOP presidential hopefuls have slammed DeSantiss handling of his ongoing feud with Disney, Politico reported.

Disneys next move will be the announcement that no more money will be invested in Florida because of the governor, Trump wrote in his Truth Social post. In fact, they could even announce a slow withdrawal or sale of certain properties, or the whole thing. Watch! That would be a killer. In the meantime, this is all so unnecessary, a political STUNT!

Thats not the guy I want sitting across from [Chinese] President Xi [Jinping] ... or sitting across from [Russian President Vladimir] Putin and trying to resolve whats happening in Ukraine, if you cant see around a corner Bob Iger created for you, former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said during a livestreamed interview with the news outlet Semafor on Tuesday, and added: I dont think Ron DeSantis is a conservative, based on his actions towards Disney.

The super-PAC supporting Nikki Haleys presidential campaign mocked DeSantiss bid to one-up Mickey Mouse after a devastating and embarrassing blow to his efforts to rein in Disney World.

New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu, another potential 2024 candidate, told CNN that DeSantiss Disney feud has gone from kind of going after a headline to something that has devolved into an issue.

Its not good for Gov. DeSantis, Sununu said. I don't think its good for the Republican Party.

The Wall Street Journal criticized Trump for siding with the woke Mickey Mouse to score points over the Florida governor, but added: Nobody emerges from this looking good.

Wait, didnt DeSantis get married at Disney World?

Casey and Ron DeSantis at their 2009 wedding. (via Facebook)

He did.

Long before Disney became what he derides as a woke corporation, its sprawling theme park near Orlando was the venue where he once said his I Do's, Insider reported.

Heres how the publication described his nuptials: Dressed in his white, decorated Naval uniform, DeSantis exchanged wedding vows with Casey DeSantis, whose maiden name was Black, at the Grand Floridian's wedding pavilion, a chapel with arched windows overlooking Cinderella's Castle and the Seven Seas Lagoon. The reception was held at Epcot's Italy Isola, in a nod to the couple's Italian heritage.

In a joint interview with Ron and Casey DeSantis on Sirius XM in February, the governor said his wife chose the venue, which, given the current feud, he admits is kind of ironic.
About a dozen protesters playing songs from Public Enemy and chanting Disney-related insults gathered outside here Tuesday in an attempt to heckle Ron DeSantis, who was meeting and mingling with Republican lawmakers inside a building less than a mile from the U.S. Capitol.

The governor has a bigger problem on his hands this week than a handful of angry critics.

DeSantis was making a rare visit to the nations capital just as a growing number of Republican lawmakers  including many from Floridas congressional delegation  publicly endorsed former President Donald Trump. One day after Rep. Greg Steube of Florida endorsed Trump, Rep. John Rutherford followed suit. So did Rep. Brian Mast, according to CNN.

Even a GOP lawmaker who said he met with DeSantis, Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas, announced he was nonetheless backing Trump in the 2024 presidential race.

I met with Governor DeSantis, and while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America from the leftist onslaught we are currently facing, Gooden said in a statement.

The endorsements have come at a difficult if early political moment for the Florida Republican, who has watched Trumps support among GOP voters swell even as he encounters criticism  including from some of his own supporters  that he hasnt managed the early portion of the Republican primary especially well.

DeSantis, a former member of Floridas congressional delegation himself, has not yet declared if he will run for president in 2024, though at least one lawmaker who saw him in Washington said he alluded to a future campaign in his remarks.

The governor, however, has had some of his own endorsements, including from U.S. Reps. Chip Roy from Texas and Thomas Massie from Kentucky, both of whom helped host the Washington event with DeSantis on Tuesday.

His super PAC, Never Back Down, also announced another endorsement for the governor on Tuesday: U.S. Rep. Laurel Lee, who served as Floridas secretary of state. She is the first member of Floridas congressional delegation to back DeSantis, compared to seven who have endorsed Trump.

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Lawmakers estimated there were between a dozen and two dozen GOP lawmakers who attended the event. As they left the event in Washington, some lawmakers who remain neutral in the 2024 primary praised the governor.

DeSantis is quite a guy, said Rep. Dan Meuser of Pennsylvania.

Hes done a great job as governor, Meuser said. So hes a significant Republican leader, and well see if hes going to enter the presidency.

Asked if DeSantis talked about running for president, the congressman said he alluded to the idea that hes giving it real consideration.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis values being in control. Presidential candidate-in-waiting DeSantis is losing it.

As he trekked to the nations capital to demonstrate strength with the Washington establishment on Tuesday  and before he even set foot in the district  several members of his states congressional delegation announced support instead for former President Donald Trumps White House comeback bid.

It was the latest indication of the early shine dulling on a candidate initially heralded by Republicans who dont want Trump to be their partys 2024 nominee  and more proof of Trumps indictment bolstering his standing in the GOP field.

[DeSantis] is in a much weaker position now than he was a few months ago. Trump is in a much stronger position, said Sarah Longwell, a moderate Republican strategist. DeSantis, she said, has had a tough few weeks.

While DeSantis stays out of the race  hes planning an entrance after Floridas legislative session ends in the coming weeks  Trump has begun to consolidate support. The former president and a PAC boosting him are using the time to hammer away at the Florida governor.



Three Florida Republicans joined four of their colleagues in endorsing Trump this week: Rep. Greg Steube announced his backing of the former president Monday night on Newsmax, Rep. John Rutherford tweeted his support Tuesday afternoon and Rep. Brian Mast told CNN he would be with Trump. He later confirmed his support to POLITICO, adding he might chair a committee of veterans backing the ex-president.

In yet another slight, Republican Texas Rep. Lance Gooden issued a statement Tuesday noting he had a positive meeting with DeSantis but is still backing Trump.

At the same time, a PAC backing Trump took to the airwaves with an ad claiming DeSantis will cut Social Security and Medicaid  while mocking him for reportedly once eating chocolate pudding with his fingers. (DeSantis laughed off the jab in an interview with Piers Morgan last month, saying he had no recollection and calling it nonsense.)



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A DeSantis spokesperson did not respond to requests for comment, but his allies have begun pushing back.

A PAC supporting him has released an ad of its own, showing a clip of him promising to keep the entitlement programs intact and contrasting it with another video of Trump indicating he would consider reducing them.

The Never Back Down PAC sought to compete with Trump for Florida endorsements on Tuesday, announcing the support of Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.), who had worked as his secretary of state. In her statement, Lee cited his character and commitment to core conservative principles before focusing on what is expected to be DeSantis main contrast with Trump: Ron DeSantis fights for what matters, and he wins when it matters most.

In Washington, DeSantis spoke to a jam-packed room at The Heritage Foundation, where congressional staff and family attended with members.

Many lawmakers werent ready to endorse DeSantis, but expressed curiosity about his platform and record. DeSantis drew a solid turnout, even as protesters chanted outside.



"I want to see a really robust primary. I think it would be healthy for the Republican Party to have a really robust debate on issues, Rep. John Curtis (R-Utah) said. And I'd love to see whether its Nikki Haley or Ron DeSantis or some of the others that may run that haven't announced  There's some very sharp potential Republican presidential candidates. I would go see any of them."

Still, several Republican strategists who have been critical of Trump are voicing concern about DeSantis prospects. FiveThirtyEights polling average shows him trailing Trump by 23 points but still far outpacing anyone else in the field.

In many ways he was the frontrunner even ahead of Trump. He struggled a little bit with how best to handle that, said Wisconsin Republican operative Mark Graul, who believes DeSantis remains a very strong contender.

DeSantis is in D.C. to try locking up some endorsements for himself because every time Trump picks up another endorsement, he gets a whole news cycle out of it, added Longwell, who runs focus groups and publishes The Bulwark. DeSantis is on the precipice of Trump seeming inevitable.



Some donors and supporters are starting to worry about DeSantis viability. Theyre worried about Trumps apparent strength, bolstered by backlash to the Manhattan district attorneys indictment. And in one unusual instance, top GOP donor Thomas Peterffy told the Financial Times he is withholding monetary support for DeSantis bid, due to his stance on abortion and book banning.

The move is not just a financial blow; it undercuts DeSantis argument that only woke Democrats are troubled by his support for legislation that removes flagged books from school library shelves until the book is either banned or deemed appropriate.

If DeSantis was struggling to get the star treatment in Washington, it wasnt exactly smooth for him in his home state, either. His long running fight with Disney attracted new criticism from other Republicans  including New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former New Jersey. Gov. Chris Christie.

He looks like a governor. He peaked months ago, said one Republican ex-politician from New York who is backing Trump but likes DeSantis and was granted anonymity to speak freely about the dynamics of the race. I dont think the party moves forward until we get through [Trumps] comeback chances. The road to DeSantis 2028 goes through Trump 2024.

The person added, Redemption today, DeSantis tomorrow.

Gary Fineout and Ally Mutnick contributed to this report.
Fox News's massive payout to settle a defamation case doesn't end its legal woes, with the network facing other lawsuits and shareholder action over its broadcasting of election conspiracy theories.

The news behemoth agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to voting technology company Dominion, which sued the channel for airing false claims that its machines were used to steal the 2020 presidential ballot from Donald Trump.

The right-wing network still faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another electronic voting company -- Smartmatic -- which claims that Fox News broadcast lies that "decimated" its business prospects.

"Dominion's litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox's disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest," Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly vowed in a statement.

He added that the company was "committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy."

Tuesday's agreement, announced after jury selection and just before opening arguments were due to start, was settled for about half the $1.6 billion that Dominion initially sought.

It avoided a high-profile trial that would have seen a parade of Fox personalities, including owner Rupert Murdoch and star anchor Tucker Carlson, forced to testify.

Fox News, which argued that it was protected by First Amendment free speech rights, acknowledged in a statement an earlier ruling by the presiding judge that the conservative network had broadcast false claims.

But US media reported that the channel's anchors will neither have to admit nor apologize on air for spreading the falsehoods -- comments that would likely anger its loyal viewers.

At the heart of the trial was going to be whether Fox News aired the falsehoods despite knowing they were untrue.

To win, Dominion would have to have proven "actual malice" -- that Fox knew the information was wrong or had a "reckless disregard" for the truth.

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- 'Emboldened' -

The high bar has been a bedrock of US media law since 1964.

"The big takeaway is that the underlying law didn't change," Syracuse law professor William Banks told AFP.

"So though there may be emboldened plaintiffs they still have a high burden of proof," he added.

Smartmatic sued Fox News in a New York state court in February 2021, alleging the network knowingly aired more than 100 false statements that its technology was used to rig votes for Joe Biden.

A spokesperson for Fox News did not respond to a request for comment but the network has denied the allegations in previous statements.

Smartmatic's complaint cites comments by former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and as well as anchors including Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro.

In February this year, a New York appeals court rejected Fox News's request to dismiss the case. A trial date has not yet been set.

Last month, a Fox News producer filed two lawsuits against the network, alleging that its lawyers coerced her into giving false testimony in the Dominion case and claiming a "hostile work environment."

Fox is also reportedly facing separate claims from shareholders accusing it of being in breach of fiduciary duties related to its coverage of Trump's claims.

One complaint has already been submitted to a chancery court, the Financial Times has reported.

Murdoch admitted in a deposition in the Dominion case that some on-air hosts had "endorsed" Trump's lie but he denied that the network in its entirety had pushed it, according to court documents filed by Dominion.

pdh/bgs
A US national guardsman accused of leaking top secret Pentagon documents was back in court Wednesday as his detention hearing was postponed by two weeks.

Jack Teixeira, 21, appeared briefly in federal court in Boston to waive his right to a preliminary hearing.

"Yes, your honor," Teixeira, wearing an orange jumpsuit, told the judge when asked if it was his decision to forego the hearing.

A separate appearance was delayed after his lawyer said the defense "requires more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention."

A new date has not yet been set but the defense requested a delay of a fortnight.

Teixeira, an IT specialist with the US Air Force National Guard, is accused of orchestrating the most damaging leak of US classified documents in a decade.

The documents unveiled US concern over Ukraine's ability to fend off the Russian invasion, and showed Washington has spied on allies Israel and South Korea.

He was arrested and charged on two counts last week following a week-long probe into the leak.

Teixeira is accused of the "unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information" and the "unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material."

The counts carry maximum prison sentences of 10 years and five years, respectively.

He has not yet entered a plea.

Teixeira is suspected of posting the documents, some dated as recently as early March, to a private chat group on the social media platform Discord.

Some of the documents later appeared on other sites, including Twitter, 4Chan and Telegram.

Teixeira -- an airman first class, the third-lowest rank for enlisted air force personnel -- has possessed top secret security clearance since 2021.

The Pentagon has ordered a review into its control procedures following the leak.

str-pdh/bfm
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba says he is no longer able to recognise my club under new owners Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital, with the former striker accusing them of lacking the class of the previous regime.

The Blues were knocked out of the Champions League by holders Real Madrid on Tuesday night, bringing a sorry season to a dismal end after an unprecedented 600m spending spree led by Boehly and co-owner Behdad Eghbali.

Drogba - Chelseas hero in the 2012 Champions League win against Bayern Munich - played a key role in the clubs success under Roman Abramovich but criticised the changes at Stamford Bridge in the year since Boehley took over.

I knew this club with a certain class during the Abramovich era, but today I find it lacking, Drogba told French TV after Chelseas exit. Its very hard for me to see how they got rid of certain people. They should go back to the principles and values they had. I no longer recognise my club.

Frank Lampard, who suffered a fourth consecutive defeat since returning to Chelsea for a second spell in charge, refused to comment on his former team-mates comments.

Former England striker Michael Owen meanwhile claimed Chelsea have made a "real expensive mistake" with their 600m spending spree.

Owen told BT Sport: "Its incredible, isnt it, how much of a mistake they made buying so many players and its going to hit them where it hurts - in the pocket - because now theyre going to have to get rid of players.

"Some players wont want to leave, so theyre going to have to pay them off. Its been a real expensive mistake."

Owen and fellow BT Sport pundits Joe Cole and Rio Ferdinand insisted the club needed a clear-out, but admitted that might prove difficult in the short-term.

Ferdinand said: "When youve got players sitting on huge wages who have got three, four, five, some six or seven years left on their contracts, the problem youve got is who buys them for a big price and pays that amount of wages that theyre on?"
Photo Illustration by Thomas Levinson/The Daily Beast/Netflix

It is not, by any means, easy to dip into a show like The Diplomat, Netflixs imposing new political drama (premiering April 20). The series seems to pride itself on its density, making no effort to ingratiate itself to viewers that need a little hand-holding. From the jump, The Diplomat is shifting pieces around the board at a brisk pace, with characters entrenched in layers-upon-layers of complex detail before theyve even had a chance to tell us what their names are. Its rapidly flying geopolitical buzzwords would be hard enough to follow, if the shows velocity werent already challenging audiences not to get distracted by a barking dog or a push notification.

Thats as deliberate as it is surprising. The Diplomat was created by Debora Cahn, who co-produced and wrote similarly daunting shows like The West Wing and Homeland. Now, Cahn brings the narrative intricacies of those shows to Netflix, a streamer beloved for its conceptual programmingwhich isnt exactly designed to be viewed with much intention. Netflix produces and distributes hits that are great for viewers with a short attention span.

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Its product even affirms this, with options to watch shows at 1.5 times the speed of their normal rate. That's not to mention that ever-frustrating autoplay interface, which screams content previews at you until you choose a selection or become so irate, you close the app and move somewhere else.

The Diplomat feels almost out of place on a platform like Netflix for these reasons. But if you can accept that a television show really is demanding your undivided attention, like it should, youll quickly find yourself swept up in a riveting, intellectual whirlwind.

The series stars Keri Russell as U.S. Ambassador Kate Wyler, who is plucked from her next international outpost and shipped off to the U.K., after an unknown party bombs a British military vessel. Unwilling to play the part of an editorial-ready diplomat, Kate has to weave between the different sets of expectations from American and British governments, forming strategic relationships, and making quick-thinking power plays in situations with catastrophic international implications. If she wasnt busy enough trying to stop the British Prime Minister from launching a retaliatory military attack on every suspected culprit, Kate also has to contain her career ambassador husband, Hal (Rufus Sewell), whose motivations hardly ever align with her own.

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Why Keri Russell Did Cocaine Bear: Why the F*ck Not?

Naturally, each episode is replete with intricate dialogue. In the world of international diplomacy, thats what moves things forward behind the scenes: tricky, tangled conversations. Besides the carrier ship explosion that opens the premiere episode, you wont find high-speed chases or shootouts aplenty here. For those, you can jump on over to the mega-hit The Night Agent, which will surely prove more popular, despite its proclivity for sacrificing clever storytelling for rote, loud thrills.

Keri Russell and Rufus Sewell in The Diplomat. Courtesy of Netflix

Thats not to say that The Diplomat isnt thrilling, just that it prefers to eke out its electrifying plot intrigues at a more proficientand ultimately rewardingpace. At last, heres a new series that remembers how to operate like an actual season of television, not a just-fine film that was needlessly expanded into eight mini-movies. The show is armed with a talented team of writers, who dare to go against the grain by refusing to provide instant answers to even small questions. How does that character know this person? Why did that person do that thing? Why did she respond in that way? Youll have to wait and see, and youll like it.

But even the most talented writers in the world couldnt keep a show this politically erudite on track without a convincing team of actors at the helm. Russell is magnificently cast as Kate. After a long stint on FXs similarly obtuse (and thematically comparable) The Americans, Russell comes to The Diplomat raring to go. Her skill as a performer is so finely tuned that it only becomes apparent how fantastic she is when the credits roll, and you remember that you were watching a scripted television show, not a word-for-word reenactment of highly sensitive international dealings.

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It would be simple for Russell to replicate everything she did so well on The Americans, creating a character well-honed but ultimately recognizable. Instead, she refuses to go through the motions, turning Kate into a brilliantly unpredictable force of natureone who could rival Felicity Porter and Elizabeth Jennings for the title of Russells most iconic role.

It certainly doesnt hurt, either, that shes supported by an equally gifted cast. Sewell brings his typical dazzling charm to Hal Wyler, playing perfectly off Russell to convince viewers of the veracity of their twisted dynamic. Co-stars Ato Essandoh, Ali Ahn, and Nana Mensah deftly round out Kates team of political cheerleaders, who are just as willing to intervene to stop her from creating an international crisis as they are driven by their own agendas.

Its in scrutinizing those agendas where The Diplomat finds its groove. Kate hasnt just been chosen for the American ambassadorship in the U.K. because shes damn good at her job. Shes also inadvertently found herself in the midst of a litmus test that could change the course of her career, and life, forever. When the American Vice President lands in hot water mid-tenure, Kate is pushed to fill the post. Kates the best person for the job, but is far too curt to ever survive the campaign trail. Youd tell your donors theyre corrupt right to their faces, Hal says to her. If Kate chooses to accept it, its a once-in-history chance to bring power to someone who can really use it, not someone who really wants it.

(L to R) Nana Mensah, Keri Russell and Ali Ahn in The Diplomat. Courtesy of Netflix

With so much at stake, The Diplomat mines more than enough excitement in the privileged halls of international offices. And, like all great political dramas, it never feels like propaganda either. Though the show is often discussing real-life moves from major powers like Russia and Iran, it wisely repeats that acting on intelligence that isnt fully-formed could have catastrophic results. Its assertions are carefully formed, building upon themselves as the series moves forward. Imagine, television that doesnt smack you over the head with its dissection of different ideologies from the jumpwhat a novel concept!

The Diplomat does a tremendous job of juggling highly political insider jargon with just enough episodic character building, so as to not show all of its cards at once. Instead, Russell, Cahn, and company keep viewers hanging on to see which hand it will deal next. The series is a tough nut to crack at first, and many will find that exterior completely impenetrable. This is not a 1.5x speed background watch. But once you remember that every line in an esoteric drama like this isnt supposed to make sense the moment it falls out of someones mouth, The Diplomat transforms from palatable to remarkable.

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Boston Police are reporting that crime is down in the citys troubled Mass and Cass corridor, but neighbors and business leaders say theyre not seeing it.

New data released by BPD at a community meeting on Tuesday shows violent crime is down by 31 percent and property crime is down by 13 percent compared to last year.

Those who spoke out at the meeting described regular instances of costly vandalism, dozens of new tents appearing and a crowd thats growing by the day ahead of the summer months.

Bostons Coordinated Response Team Director said a brand new summer plan to address the on-going crisis is being finalized.

Tania Del Rio said the city has been more lenient with the tents during the colder months out of concern for peoples health.

She said theyll soon be cracking down encampments and will be telling people to take tents down on Atkinson Street without 48 hours-notice, since signs are already posted there.

Its a disaster, said South End neighbor George Stergios. Its as bad as Ive ever seen it.

Neighbors and business leaders did not mince words about the situation they dont feel is getting better for people who live and work in the area.

The question on the table is whether theres any willingness on the part of parties to do the right thing and move the operation from Mass and Cass, said South End Community Forum leader Steve Fox.

Fox shared outage over the lack of a commitment to end what was supposed to be a temporary housing arrangement at the Roundhouse Hotel.

The issue is weve located it right in the heart of the drug crisis center for the entire new England region, he said.

Sue Sullivan, with the Newmarket Business Improvement District, painted a picture of a routine tough predicament for businesses.

One of the latest examples of criminal activity with no recourse happened inside Newmarket Pizza.

In front of the security guard, literally took the register and threw it on the floor, she said. Here is a business that has thousands of dollars in a register that got smashed on the floor.

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Sullivan said not much action could be taken against the perpetrator because she suffered from mental health issues.

According to Sullivan, a similar situation recently happened at McDonalds when the drive-through menu was smashed.

My heart breaks for the business owners, said BPD Lt. Peter Messina. Were doing everything in our power to help them out.

Community leaders said the neighborhood is still dealing with the same problem that theyve been complaining about for years - new people from all over the state arriving at Mass and Cass every day.

Fox requested that a dedicated bike patrol be assigned to the area before things get even worse in the coming months.





This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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Dollar Tree will pay $2.9 million to settle a California lawsuit that alleged the discount chain sold expired over-the-counter drug products.

The Yolo County District Attorneys Consumer Fraud and Environmental Protection Division filed the civil complaint in San Joaquin Superior Court. The suit was settled Friday in conjunction with the San Joaquin County and San Bernardino County district attorneys offices.

The settlement payout would go to civil penalties, restitution and investigation costs, according to a Tuesday news release.

The retailer cooperated with the investigation, re-trained store personnel and verified over-the-counter medication.

There was no evidence the expired drugs resulted in consumer harm to consumers, the news release stated. Dollar Tree did not admit or deny liability.

Consumers should be able to trust what they are buying is not expired before they bring it home, said District Attorney Jeff Reisig in the Tuesday news release.

Dollar Tree has more than 750 store locations in California, and six operate in Yolo County.

What do you want to know about life in Sacramento? Ask our service journalism team your top-of-mind questions in the module below or email servicejournalists@sacbee.com.
Gov. Ron DeSantis hand-picked oversight board opened its meeting Wednesday armed with an array of new weapons in its fight against Walt Disney World, including a list of proposals that will require the district governing the largest taxpayer in Central Florida to raise taxes on itself.

I want everybody to understand that were going to have to raise revenues, said Martin Garcia, chairman of the DeSantis-appointed Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors, which oversees the special taxing district in which Disneys theme parks reside. ... In seeking to improve the functioning of the district, nothing is off the table for us.

The need for new revenue is because it wants to provide better services, Garcia said, but also because of the expenses we have had to incur to deal with the legal agreements, a reference to the effort by Disney to pass development agreements and restrictive covenants that attempted to undermine the governors control over the newly constituted board.

Nearly three hours into the meeting in a Disney hotel in Lake Buena Vista, the board quickly voted to invalidate the last-minute arrangement between Disney and the previous board, with no discussion.

The action was sought by the governor after the Disney-backed board outmaneuvered him in February and entered into development and restrictive covenant agreements with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, U.S., Inc. They usurped any ability of the new board to use its leverage to influence editorial content at the entertainment giant.

But the decision to void the deal is likely to draw a lawsuit as the legal ground to invalidate a development agreement retroactively has little legal precedent in Florida law. As the board met, Florida legislative committees adopted an amendment to state law to authorize the ability to retroactively invalidate the agreements.

The boards lawyers argued, however, they already had the authority to do it.

Disney engaged in a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law. Its efforts are illegal, and they will not stand, said David Thompson, the managing partner of Cooper & Kirk, a Washington, D.C. law firm hired by the board as part of a legal team to challenge Disney.

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New services envisioned by the new board

Among the new services that Garcia said the new board wants are affordable and workforce housing, voting rights for future residents, developing better traffic solutions for the surrounding county, including transit and reducing the carbon footprint created by the district.

Were going to look at aligning the districts interest to join Osceola and Orange [counties] to fight the many lawsuits that Disney has filed to avoid paying their own ad valorem taxes, he said. Were also going to join the counties and yes, the school boards in efforts to create more funding for public schools in Central Florida.

All of those responsibilities are in line with the meat and potatoes and infrastructure functions of the board, and theres nothing surprising there, said Jake Schumer, a municipal attorney in the suburban Orlando law firm of Shepard, Smith, Kohlmyer & Hand. An ordinary government with good-faith intentions would do all of that stuff. Thats a huge amount of work.

The DeSantis versus Disney feud began when the company voiced opposition to the Legislatures passage in 2022 of the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which prohibited classroom instruction on gender-identity issues in certain grades.

The governor then tried and failed to dismantle the Reedy Creek Improvement District with legislation but had to repeal that law because it would have left local residents to shoulder nearly $1 billion in debt that Disney would otherwise have paid for.

In February, DeSantis sought again to wrest control of the Disney-controlled district but that effort was thwarted when the Disney-backed board approved agreements that freeze existing regulations in place for decades, undercutting the governors authority.

At the companys annual meeting, Disney CEO Bob Iger spoke up for the first time against the governors actions, calling the move anti-business and anti-Florida. The company did not respond to requests for comments about the new boards plans.

Garcia said the new board truly wished to work with Disney. Instead, the corporation decided that compromise was out of the question. It was Disneys way or the highway. This is why we were forced to hire litigation counsel.

Thompson, the Washington lawyer, told the board that the outgoing boards agreements are null and void for several reasons, and former Florida Supreme Court Justice Alan Lawson, also hired by the board, laid out some of their arguments:

 The previous board violated the state Sunshine laws and failed to mail notice to the other property owners in the district.

 State law requires that the district needed to establish procedures before adopting a new development agreement but did not do so before approving the deal at its Feb. 8 meeting.

 The district delegated authority, such as for setting the height of buildings, to a private company, in violation of the Florida Constitution.

Ive never seen a more blatant and hostile attempt on a scale like this to openly thwart the law, a governmental entity acting at the behest of a private for profit corporation and attempting to contract away its governmental powers, Lawson told the board.

Legal moves and counter moves

Schumer said most of the legal arguments could be easily countered by Disney, but if the company is proven to have shown that it was supposed to provide mail notice to residents and did not, that could be a significant oversight.

Theres some Florida case law out there saying that if a government in taking an action had a statutory-notice requirement and didnt follow that notice, then the action is void as if it never happened, he said.

That requirement has never before been applied to development agreements, he said, and maybe theres some argument that because Disney is the only entity that actually needed written notice, the district cant be the one to complain. Or the district cant be the one to complain because its the one that messed up.

Schumer said that while the list of projects is no surprise, it underscores how much taxing power Disney has no control over.

The board sets the districts tax rate, which is currently three times higher than that paid by residents of Orange and Osceola counties. Disney pays more than $1.1 billion in state and local taxes, including more than $160 million in property tax, which is used to maintain a higher level of services and infrastructure than the counties provide.

A litany of Disney outstanding lawsuits

Disney has about 90 lawsuits pending against the Orange County property appraiser, and if Disney prevails, the district might have to refund the company millions, said Daniel Langley, the boards general counsel.

Though an exact amount hasnt yet been determined, the figure may stand at more than $11 million, Langley said. The lawsuits may have also cost Orange County Public Schools $52 million to $105 million over the seven years Disney has been suing, Langley said.

The board also took action to increase the role of state regulators in oversight of Disney operations. It heard reports from the Florida Department of Health about how it could increase inspections of Disney swimming pools and a report from the Florida Department of Transportation about how it will now increase oversight of the districts roadways.

Planning and zoning board members dismissed

The board also voted to remove from office and terminate all Planning and Zoning Board members in an effort to expand the governors control over the future of the district and replaced themselves as the local planning agency.

The board also adopted a resolution that attempts to expand the boards power by giving it what it calls superior authority and control that allows the board to issue development orders within the district.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas
For the first time in nearly a year and a half, Disney fans can purchase new annual passes for Walt Disney World, regardless of where they live.

Disney World paused sales of most new annual passes in November 2021. Only the Pixie Pass, which is limited to Florida residents and has the most blockout dates, has been available since then. Existing annual pass holders have also been able to renew passes.

All four annual pass options went on sale Thursday, but most people will be limited to one option, the top tier Incredi-Pass, which has no blockout dates but is the most expensive. And they may sell out.

"Please know, as we look to provide a great experience for our Passholders, the quantity of passes will be limited and passes, or a pass type, may become unavailable for purchase at any time," Disney senior manager of communications Eric Scott wrote on the Disney Parks Blog.

Here's what hopeful annual pass holders should know.

This isn't the EPCOT you remember: Top Imagineer explains why the park 'will never be completed'

Does Disney have military discounts?: Yes, and so do these popular theme parks

What are the different types of Disney annual passes?

Cinderella Castle is reflected on the water near Liberty Square in Magic Kingdom.

There are four types of annual passes at Disney World, with varying prices and blockout dates.

Disney Incredi-Pass : This pass is open to everyone. There are no blockout dates. It costs $1,399.

Disney Sorcerer Pass : This pass is only available to Florida residents and those members of Disney Vacation Club, Disney's timeshare program, who are eligible for Membership Extras. The only blockout dates are the latter half of Thanksgiving week and the height of the holiday season, from Dec. 20 through Jan. 3. The pass costs $969.

Disney Pirate Pass : This pass is only available to Florida residents. Blockout dates include peak periods and holidays. It costs $749.

Disney Pixie Pass: This pass is also only available to Florida residents and restricted to weekdays. Blockout dates include weekends, peak periods and holidays. It costs $399.

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When will Disney annual passes be available?

The queue for tickets on Disneys website opened to the general public shortly before 7 a.m. EDT Thursday. Disney had announced sales would begin no earlier than 6 a.m. EDT.

Disney World prices keep going up: Why die-hard fans keep going back

What can I get for free at Disney World?: 10 freebies for your next trip

How much is a Disney annual pass?

Disney World raised annual park prices last December, while sales of most new passes were paused. The least expensive and most restrictive annual pass, the Pixie Pass, costs $399. However, most people who are neither Florida residents nor DVC members will only be eligible to buy the Incredi-Pass, which costs $1,399.

Florida residents can pay for their passes in interest-free monthly installments, following a $205 downpayment. Non-Florida residents must pay for their passes upfront.

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Is it worth it to get a Disney World annual pass?

Depending on when and how often guests plan to visit Disney World, it can be. Guests who want to visit multiple times throughout the year, particularly during peak periods, can save substantially.

One-day, one-park passes start at $109 for guests ages 10 and up at Disney's Animal Kingdom. They go up based on the time of year and the park. A single day at Magic Kingdom can hit $189 around the holidays with the park-specific pricing rolled out last December. Park hopper tickets, which let guests switch parks after 2 p.m., cost more.

However, the cost per day drops as more days are added to tickets,so guests can save more money taking one long trip versus several shorter ones. For example, the cheapest 10-day ticket left this year, in mid-August, costs $599. The most expensive 10-day ticket, around Christmas, costs just under $817. Both are much less than the $1,399 Incredi-Pass.

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What do Disney annual passes include?

Beyond park admission, Disney annual pass holders get discounts on dining, merchandise, resort stays and activities, among other perks.

Starting Thursday, they may visit theme parks without park reservations after 2 p.m. but still need to make reservations to enter before that.

Passholders may also preview attractions before they open to the general public, as they did with TRON Lightcycle / Run and Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Disney World annual pass sales are back: What to know before buying
Disneyland is set to host its first-ever Pride Nite this summer to coincide with Pride Month.

The California-based theme park tweeted on Monday that Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite will be held on June 13 and 15 to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and its allies.

The inaugural event is not affiliated with Gay Days, which are organized by a third party and held annually at the Orlando-based Walt Disney World Resort.

Just hours prior to Disneylands announcement, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) had publicized his plans to build a state prison next to Disney World.

DeSantis has been working to strip Disney World of its self-governing power in apparent retaliation for the companys opposition to his Dont Say Gay law.

In the mid-1960s, Disney World created a special taxing district called the Reedy Creek Improvement Districtthat gives the company powers similar to that of a county government.

Disneyland and Disney World did not immediately respond to HuffPosts request for comment.

Pride Nite isnt Disneylands first Pride event. In 2019, Disneyland Paris Pride featured Mickey and Minnie in Pride outfits, riding in a car decorated with rainbows and hearts.

The first-ever Disneyland After Dark: Pride Nite is coming to @Disneyland during Pride Month in June! This separately ticketed event celebrating the LGBTQIA+ community & allies will have themed entertainment, Disney characters, specialty menu items & more: https://t.co/Y6vOJ3QXmspic.twitter.com/j97sB1kHod  Disney (@Disney) April 17, 2023

Pride Nite will launch as a separately ticketed event from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. followed by a private party from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m. where guests can enjoy special events and ride the parks attractions after normal hours.

Related...
Divers in Connecticut found a sunken submarine Sunday that was built over 100 years ago and sank in the Long Island Sound.

The submarine was initially named the Simon Lake XV, according to NavSource Naval History.

It was built in the early 1900s by Simon Lake, a naval architect who wanted to win a competition for a U.S. Navy contract. The boat didn't win so he then tried renovating it for minesweeping, salvage and rescue tasks, renaming it the Defender, the Associated Press reported.

No one ever bought the vessel but it was still popular among some and was even visited by Amelia Earhart in 1929, said Richard Simon, the diver whose crew found the vessel.

This 1923 photo from the Naval History and Heritage Command, shows Simon Lake, inventor of the 92-foot attack submarine Defender. A group of Connecticut divers have discovered the wreckage of the Defender, Sunday, April 16, 2023, the experimental submarine that was built in 1907 and later scuttled in Long Island Sound.

The submarine was an experimental vessel, equipped with wheels to move along the ocean floor and a door that gave divers the option to exit the vessel underwater, Simon told the Associated Press.

Eventually, it sat docked in New London before it was abandoned and later scuttled by the Army Corps of Engineers in 1946, NavSource Naval History reported.

Until Sunday, the submarine's whereabouts had been unknown. On Sunday, Simon led a crew that found the 92-foot-long submarine.

Shipwreck: Video shows discovery of shipwreck after boats mysteriously vanished in 1914

Great Lakes: 1800s ship that sank on 'Shipwreck Coast' in Great Lakes found in 'surprisingly good condition'

How did the team find the submarine?

Simon developed an interest in the sunken submarine years ago and told the Associated Press he spent months analyzing sonar and underwater mapping surveys of the bottom of the sound.

He also looked at government documents to identify any phenomenon that matched the size of the Defender.

A submarine has a very distinct shape, he told the outlet. It needs to be 100 feet long and 13 feet in diameter. So I made a list of everything that was that long and there was one target on that list.

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He put together a team of divers to see if the submarine was there. An initial attempt last Friday was thwarted due to tidal conditions but the divers tried again Sunday. That's when they found the Defender more than 150 feet beneath the water's surface.

It was legitimately hiding in plain sight, he said. Its on the charts. Its known about in Long Island Sound, just no one knew what it was.

Simon said he waited anxiously on the deck of his own vessel waiting for two of his divers to return to the water's surface.

He said his team knew they'd found the Defender because of its length and the protrusions on the submarines keel.

This photo, provided by Shoreline Diving Services, shows diver Steve Abbate inspecting a propeller, Sunday, April 16, 2023, of the 92-foot attack submarine Defender that was scuttled by the Army Corp of Engineers in 1946.

The team plans to dive on the sub this summer, capturing photos and videos. His company, Shoreline Diving, funded the mission, he told the Associated Press.

He has also reached out to the Navy to see if anyone is interested in preserving the site.

The ship is protected under the Abandoned Shipwreck Act. The act states that the wreckage must be treated like an archaeological or historical site versus a commercial property.

So, as a wreck diver, I can go visit history; I can touch it; I can experience it, Simon said. Its just a different connection to history, to the past that we dont have in any other activity.

Contributing: Associated Press

Saleen Martin is a reporter on USA TODAY's NOW team. She is from Norfolk, Virginia  the 757  and loves all things horror, witches, Christmas, and food. Follow her on Twitter at @Saleen_Martin or email her at sdmartin@usatoday.com.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Submarine found in Long Island Sound: Defender vessel was sunken
Nigeria's Labour Party recently put out a statement saying that opposition leader Peter Obi had a "routine immigration engagement" at a London airport, and denied rumours that the United Kingdom had apologised for detaining him. Following this, a photo showing Obi with a top Nigerian government official and a purported UK immigration officer emerged on social media alongside a claim that the Nigerian official facilitated Obi's release from a purported detention. But the claim is false: the photo was digitally altered, and the official was not in London at the time.

Here is how the government of APC helped to recover Peter Obi from his detention cell in the UK over allegations of traveling to the UK with fake documents, reads a tweet published on April 13, 2023, which has been shared more than 3,400 times.

A screenshot of the false tweets taken on April 15, 2023

The post includes a photo showing Nigerian opposition leader Peter Obi and the chairperson of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NiDCOM), Abike Dabiri-Erewa, sitting before a supposed UK immigration official.

Adamu Garba, a high-profile member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), shared the tweet to his more than 126,000 followers.

He published the same content on his Facebook page. The politician has been the subject of AFP debunks in the past (here and here).

Obi was one of the three leading presidential candidates in the February 2023 election but lost to the APCs Bola Tinubu. However, Obi and Atiku Abubakar, the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), have petitioned the election results in court, each claiming that they won.

On April 12, the Labour Party said in a now-deleted statement that Obi was detained and questioned by UK immigration officials at London's Heathrow airport on April 7 for a duplication offense (archived here). The party alleged that someone had been impersonating Obi in London.

In a later statement, it referred to the incident simply as a "routine immigration engagement" (archived here).

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However, the claim that Dabiri-Erewa secured Obis release from detention in the UK is false.

Altered image

Using reverse image search, AFP Fact Check found that the image was digitally altered and is made from three separate photos taken at different locations and times.

The part of the image showing Dabiri-Erewa was taken from a photo she posted on Twitter on March 31, 2023 (archived here).

Dabiri-Erewa said the original photo showed her on a courtesy visit to Nigerias naval chief, Vice Admiral Awwal Zubairu Gambo.

A comparison of images showing the altered photo, above, and the original version showing Dabiri-Erewa

The Nigerian Navy published the same photo on Twitter on March 30, 2023 (archived here).

Courtesy call on the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral AZ Gambo CFR by Mrs Abike Dabiri-Erewa, Chairperson/CEO Nigerian Diaspora Commission, Abuja on Thursday 30 March 2023#OnwardTogetherpic.twitter.com/pTEXczMgUu  Nigerian Navy (@NigerianNavy) March 30, 2023

As for the image of Obi, it was taken from a photo he had shared on Twitter back in September 2022 (archived here). The original photo showed him with former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo.

I deeply appreciate the opportunity to hold extensive discussions with President Olusegun Obasanjo earlier today on arising national interest matters, Obi wrote in the tweet.

A comparison of images showing the altered photo, above, and the original version showing Peter Obi

The image of the supposed UK Immigration official is taken from a screenshot of a scene in Season 3, Episode 9 of the Amazon Prime docuseries Customs: Fighting Crime at the Border. The docuseries, which follows UK custom officials, aired in 2010.

A screenshot of the Amazon Prime series, taken on April 14, 2023

Moreover, Abdu-Rahman Balogun, a spokesperson for NiDCOM, said Dabiri-Erewa was not in London when Obi was detained and not in a position to secure the release of any Nigerian suspected to be under UK interrogation.
MOUNT HOLLY TWP.  A teacher's aide who tried to place blame on his school district for how he acted at a staff party will need to restart a lawsuit if he wants his job back.

Judge James J. Farrelli on April 14 dismissed the suit Wilfred Kirkaldy filed against Rancocas Valley Regional High School, protesting his disciplinary action for alleged inappropriate behavior at an off-campus staff party.

The judge said Kirkaldy failed to take any actions since filing the complaint on Sept. 29, 2022.

Farrellis order allows Kirkaldy to reopen the case, if a formal request is submitted. The court docket shows Kirkaldy had been warned on Feb. 11 that he needed to take immediate steps to avoid dismissal.

More: Is South Jersey school responsible for employee's 'severely inebriated' behavior at party?

More: Why is a California corporation demanding millions more for Mount Laurel's new town hall?

Philadelphia attorney Demetrius J. Parrish Jr., who represents Kirkaldy, declined comment.

Rancocas Valley Regional attorney Frank P. Cavallo said the district had no comment. The district earlier this year called the allegations false and asked the complaint be withdrawn.

Kirkaldy could reopen the case, but that would require a new filing with the court.

According to the filing, the case springs from staff event on June 14, 2022 at a bar in Medford. Kirkaldy claims that he cannot remember his actions because he was overserved with alcohol and/or drugged.

Kirkaldy, a Moorestown resident, said he therefore was unable to properly defend himself in his disciplinary proceeding.

The accusation was from a school employee not identified in the lawsuit, which sought unspecified damages and legal cost reimbursements. The lawsuit did not specify the discipline taken.

Joe Smith is a N.E. Philly native transplanted to South Jersey more than 30 years ago, keeping an eye now on government in South Jersey. He is a former editor and current senior staff writer for The Daily Journal in Vineland, Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, and the Burlington County Times.

Have a tip? Reach out at jsmith@thedailyjournal.com. Help support local journalism with a subscription.

This article originally appeared on Cherry Hill Courier-Post: Rancocas Valley teacher's aide discipline lawsuit dismissed by judge
Police in Boston shot two dogs, one fatally, after an officer was attacked while attempting to arrest a wanted man on Wednesday afternoon.

Officers executed warrants at 28 Michigan Avenue in Mattapan just after 1:30 p.m. and placed a wanted suspect in custody before encountering two dogs inside the home, according to the Boston Police Department.

One officer was attacked by the two dogs and bitten, police said. A second officer discharged their weapon and struck both animals.

The officer who was bitten and the officer who fired at the dogs were both taken to local hospitals with non-life-threatening injuries.

One of the dogs was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no immediate word on the extent of the other dogs wounds.

Video from the scene shows dozens of police cruisers and investigators responding to the incident.

No other people were injured.

There was no word on the breed of the dogs involved in the attack.

The investigation remains ongoing.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.

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The lead attorney for Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday spoke about the companys decision to enter into an eleventh-hour settlement with Fox News in the widely anticipated defamation suit involving some of the right-wing networks 2020 election coverage.

Justin Nelson said while Dominion felt vindicated to have held Fox News accountable for its lies, the $787.5 million settlement also felt bittersweet.

In a statement, the network also acknowledged the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.

The lawsuit centered on baseless claims that Dominion used its voting equipment to somehow switch votes from former President Donald Trump to Joe Biden, thus interfering with the 2020 election result. Dominion claims that Fox News broadcast of those falsehoods resulted in threats against its employees, and lost profits.

But the settlement doesnt appear to require Fox News hosts to tell their viewers about those lies on the air.

The agreement also means prominent hosts, like Tucker Carlson, and high-profile people at the network, including Fox founder Rupert Murdoch, wont publicly testify, thus avoiding what was likely to be an embarrassing spectacle.

Of course we would have liked to have seen the hosts take the stand, and others, Nelson told MSNBCs The ReidOut. But at the end of the day what we really cared about was that accountability, and today we think we achieved it.

Asked about the potential missed opportunity of having Fox News tell its viewers on its air about the lies it spread, Nelson said ultimately: You cant hide from paying nearly 800 million dollars, and having that in a public settlement.

The civil litigation system can only do so much, Nelson continued.

Justin Nelson, Dominion Voting Systems lead attorney: "Of course we would have liked to have seen the hosts take the stand... but at the end of the day what we really cared about was that accountability, and today we think we achieved it."



WATCH MORE: https://t.co/bxlCwDbaHupic.twitter.com/PCDvXfzj6U  The ReidOut (@thereidout) April 19, 2023

Nelson said the company was successful in the goals it set out for this legal challenge: getting that accountability and some recompense for the harm the company suffered by Foxs lies.

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Dominion CEO John Poulos on Wednesday addressed the timing of the agreement, telling ABCs Good Morning America his company wasnt prepared to settle until all of the facts that we had discovered had come to light.

Asked if he thinks Fox will stop airing lies following the settlement, Poulos replied: I certainly hope so.

I think that its a big step forward in democracy if our system can send a signal that if media companies lie  whoever they are, on whatever channel it is  and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very, very high price, Poulos added.

It's a big step forward in democracy if our system can send a signal that if media companies lie ... and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very, very high price.  Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos on $787.5 million settlement reached with Fox News. pic.twitter.com/Wtx9BXFAXF  Good Morning America (@GMA) April 19, 2023

Courtfilings in recent months also appeared damaging for Fox News, disclosing that senior network executives, including Murdoch himself, expressed doubt about Trumps claims of election fraud.

Nelson added that this is not the end of the road for Dominion as it has six additional lawsuits against Fox that it is currently pursuing.

Were not going to stop here, he said.

Fox News is also facing a separate $2.7 billion lawsuit from Smartmatic USA Corp.

Related...
Rudy Giuliani speaks to the media at the Republican National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC, on November 19, 2020 (AFP via Getty Images)

Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m on Tuesday  but its legal battles are far from over.

While the Fox News case attracted most of the headlines, Dominion filed a swathe of defamation suits against right-wing networks, lawyers and media personalities in the months after the 2020 election.

Heres everyone who is being sued by Dominion.

Mike Lindell

Mike Lindell has continued to spread false claims about Dominion while being sued for $1.3bn (AFP via Getty Images)

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell emerged as arguably the most prominent Trump ally to engage in spreading fact-free conspiracy theories about Dominions voting machines being rigged to help Joe Biden win the 2020 election.

At rallies, television appearances, in a 90-minute documentary called Absolute Proof and on the streaming service he self-funds, Mr Lindell repeated widely debunked claims that Dominion had been infiltrated by a vast and ever-changing cast of ne'er-do-wells to commit voter fraud.

By February 2021, Dominion had had enough, and filed a damages claim seeking $1.3bn from the pillow salesman.

The lawsuit alleged that Mr Lindell had knowingly lied about Dominion to sell more pillows to people who continued tuning in to hear what they wanted to hear about the election.

Fox News eventually banned him from the network, even though he was a top advertiser.

In court filings in the Dominion case, Foxs lawyers admitted to knowing he was not a reliable source of information when he appeared on Tucker Carlsons show in January 2021.

Mr Lindell has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but his efforts to have the civil action dismissed have been unsuccessful.

In a ruling in the District of Columbia District Court in August 2021, Judge Carl Nicholas wrote: In addition to alleging that Lindells claims are inherently improbable, that his sources are unreliable, and that he has failed to acknowledge the validity of countervailing evidence, Dominion has alleged numerous instances in which Lindell told audiences to purchase MyPillow products after making his claims of election fraud and providing MyPillow promotional codes related to those theories.

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Then in October 2022, Mr Lindells appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Mr Lindell appears completely undeterred by the legal setbacks.

In March, he called on Dominion to show us whats inside your machines?

According to the New York Times, he described Dominions lawsuit as the biggest cover-up for the biggest crime in United States history  probably in world history.

Dominions attorneys will likely be keeping tabs on his public statements.

Sidney Powell

Sidney Powell promised to release the Kraken after Donald Trumps 2020 election defeat (REUTERS)

Sidney Powell emerged in the days after the 2020 election as a key figure in Magaworlds effort to delegitimise Mr Bidens victory.

As a member of the former presidents so-called Elite Strike Force legal team, Ms Powell promised she would release the Kraken  referring to a legendary sea monster  in an interview with Fox Business days after the November election.

The Dallas-based former federal prosecutor helped to file a slew of lawsuits that challenged the election results, all of which failed.

Her inflammatory public statements about election rigging, bribery and fraud led Dominion to file a $1.3bn defamation claim in January 2021.

Powells statements were calculated to  and did in fact  provoke outrage and cause Dominion enormous harm, an attorney for Dominion wrote in the lawsuit.

Dominion alleged in the lawsuit that Ms Powell had used the profile gained from media appearances to raise money through a company called Defending the Republic, which is also named as a defendant in the suit.

Ms Powell tweeted in response that the claims were designed to harass, intimidate, & to drain our resources as we seek the truth of #DominionVotingSystems' role in this fraudulent election.

Rudy Giuliani

Hair dye runs down Giulianis cheek during a bizarre press conference in November 2020 (Getty)

With hair dye dripping down the side of his face, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed Dominion had used Venezuelan technology, approved by the late Hugo Chavez, and supported by Cuba and China, to rig the 2020 presidential election.

The comical scene at a press conference in mid-November 2020 was part of a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion, the company alleged in a $1.3bn lawsuit filed two months later.

Dominions attorneys again claimed that Mr Giuliani had been motivated by financial gain as he made false election fraud accusations in media appearances, on Twitter and his YouTube show.

Mr Giuliani had cashed in by hosting a podcast where he exploited election falsehoods to market gold coins, supplements, cigars and protection from cyberthieves, Dominions attorneys wrote.

Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement that even the family and friends of its employees were among those who were duped by the avalanche of lies.

Mr Giuliani responded that he welcomed Dominions lawsuit as it would allow him to investigate their history, finances and practices fully and completely.

Newsmax

Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly interviewing Donald Trump (Newsmax)

After the 2020 election, the Chris Ruddy-owned right-wing news channel Newsmax saw its market share increase as it refused to acknowledge Mr Bidens victory and hosted a string of election-denying conspiracists.

In doing so, Newsmax helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where up is down, pigs have wings, and Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud to steal the presidency from Donald Trump by rigging the vote, Dominion said in a $1.6bn lawsuit filed in August 2021.

For Ruddy and Newsmax, the facts did not matter. What mattered was feeding the audience what it wanted  even if it was spreading false information. And the race to the bottom began in earnest, dragging Dominion down with it, the lawsuit argued.

In June last year, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied Newsmaxs motion to dismiss and ruled the lawsuit could proceed.

In a statement to ABC News, a Newsmax spokesman said it was confident of defending the case under First Amendment protections.

Newsmax reported on both sides in the election dispute without making any claim about the results other than saying they were legal and final, the statement said.

One America News (OAN)

OAN host Chanel Rion has been accused of spreading false claims about Dominion (AFP via Getty Images)

Dominion filed a $1.6bn lawsuit against One America News in August 2021, claiming that, like Newsmax, the San Diego-based cable channel had spread false and manufactured stories about election fraud.

Dominion quickly became the focus of this downward spiral of lies, as each broadcaster attempted to outdo the others by making the lies more outrageous, spreading them further, and endorsing them as strongly as possible, the suit alleged.

It also named OAN hosts Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb in the lawsuit, accusing them of fuelling election conspiracies.

In February, OAN filed a countersuit alleging tortious interference with its business.

Patrick Byrne

Patrick Byrne speaks during a panel discussion at the Nebraska Election Integrity Forum on 27 August, 2022 (Associated Press)

In August 2021, Dominion filed a defamation lawsuit against former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne for spreading election conspiracies, alongside suits against OAN and Newsmax.

It alleged that Mr Byrne had manufactured and promoted fake evidence to convince the world that the 2020 election had been stolen as part of a massive international conspiracy among China, Venezuelan and Spanish companies, along with the Justice Department and Chief Justice John Roberts.

We are filing these three cases today because the defendants named show no remorse, nor any sign they intend to stop spreading disinformation, Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement at the time.

Mr Byrne lost a bid to have the case dismissed in April 2022.
A Dover family is among more than two dozen families nationwide who are part of a wrongful death lawsuit filed against the social media app Snapchat for its role in facilitating drug sales that resulted in the 2019 death of their son.

Zach Parsons, 21, of Dover died on April 9, 2019 after ingesting a counterfeit Percocet from a drug dealer to whom Snapchat connected him, which turned out to be pure fentanyl, according to the Social Media Victims Law Center.

The Social Media Victims Law Center filed the lawsuit against Snap, Inc. on behalf of the families of 27 minors and young adults across 13 states who died after buying narcotics from drug dealers connected to them on the Snapchat platform. In all but one case, the drugs being distributed on Snapchat were counterfeit pills containing lethal amounts of fentanyl, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

25 Investigates: Social media apps becoming superhighway for drugs

The suit alleges that Snapchats disappearing messages, My Eyes Only and Snap Map features, among others unique to Snapchat, encourage, enable, and facilitate the existence of a deadly Snapchat Drug Cartel that uses the social media platform for illicit sale of illegal drugs, most of which are counterfeit and contain lethal doses of fentanyl.

The lawsuit, which was filed in Superior Court of Los Angeles, is the sixth wrongful death lawsuit over the last six months against Snapchat on behalf of 62 individuals across 22 states who have died or suffered immeasurable harms because of Snapchat drug dealers and the rampant and open distribution activities taking place on Snapchat, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

The lawsuit also alleges that Snapchat has created a safe haven for drug dealers to operate as a Snapchat Drug Cartel with a steady source of vulnerable customers, and that the popular app purposefully obstructs parental supervision and creates unhealthy social media addictions by design.

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Snapchat enables dealers to locate and access nearby minors and young adults, affirmatively connects them to these young clients and the posting and exchange of drug menus and other information that disappear within 24 hours  erasing all evidence of the crime, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

25 investigates first reported in November that cartels and dealers are making pills that look just like popular prescription drugs only theirs are laced with deadly amounts of fentanyl.

FILE PHOTO: Snapchat.

Snapchat has become engrained as the virtual street corner for drug sales in local communities throughout the country, Matthew Bergman, founding attorney of the Social Media Victims Law Center, said in a statement on Wednesday. Its disappearing messages, My Eyes Only and Snap Map features have created a virtual Snapchat Drug Cartel that is reaching into the homes of millions of minors and young adults across the country. Snapchat needs to be held accountable for its role in helping with the open and illicit sales of drugs, and for protecting drug dealers who are killing our young people.

Zach Parsons family is among 27 other families nationwide who are part of the wrongful death lawsuit. The teenagers and young adults who died ranged from 15 to 21 and were from several states including Arizona, California, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, and Washington.

The Social Media Victims Law Center and his family described Zach Parsons of Dover as a sweet, outgoing, and happy child.

As he grew older, he loved being the center of attention, in the best possible way, and could keep a room bright and filled with laughter, the Social Media Victims Law Center said. His passions consisted of intense workouts, selfless smiles, and indulging in any and everything in sight. He lit up every room he entered and was loved by all who knew him.

Zach was 11 years old when he received his first cell phone and shortly afterwards, opened his Snapchat account without his mother Andreas knowledge or permission, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

Snapchat began targeting Zach with drug-related content and connected him to local Snapchat drug dealers. By high school, Zach was using Xanax distributed by the drug dealers to whom Snapchat connected him. His parents sent him to various in-patient treatment centers to help and at the start of 2019 he seemed to be doing better, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

Zach was a passenger when he was involved in car accident in March 2019, and began suffering from recurring headaches, the Social Media Victims Law Center said. The following month, in April, he bought counterfeit Percocet from a drug dealer to whom Snapchat connected him, which turned out to be pure fentanyl.

The early morning of April 9, 2019, family members at Zachs home woke up and heard the shower running, rushed to the bathroom and pounded on the door, but there was no response. They kicked in the door and found Zach on the bathroom floor, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

Police later found a pill in a tin in Zachs room, and the pill had been pressed to look like Percocet, but testing later showed it was pure fentanyl.

Zachs blood work confirmed that he had enough fentanyl in his system to kill several grown men, the Social Media Victims Law Center said.

Founded in 2021, the Social Media Victims Law Center aims to hold social media companies legally accountable for the harm they inflict on vulnerable users, according to its website.

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A driver hit a schoolmate during dismissal outside a South Carolina high school, officials said.

The student pedestrian was flown to a hospital after the crash on Tuesday, April 18, according to the Pickens Police Department.

The crash was reported at Pickens High School, roughly 20 miles west of Greenville. The pedestrian was struck while walking near a campus entrance to U.S. Highway 178, police told McClatchy News in an email.

The Pickens Police Department and emergency medical teams arrived and assisted the individual hit by the vehicle, the School District of Pickens County wrote in an email to McClatchy News. The student is being transported for further medical attention for injuries. We are thankful for the prompt response of law enforcement.

The pedestrian  who attends Pickens High School  was injured but conscious after the crash. The driver, another student at the school, wasnt hurt, police said.

As of April 19, charges hadnt been filed, and an investigation into the crash was ongoing, according to officers.

Hit-and-run badly hurts 62-year-old crossing guard near elementary school, NC cops say

68-year-old dad killed by car near Clemson campus, SC officials say. Selfless spirit
A Walnut Creek man died after a single-vehicle crash Tuesday morning down a steep embankment in rural Yuba County, authorities said.

A sheriffs deputy around 5:15 a.m. arrived to the scene, along Willow Glen Road south of Brownsville and west of Frenchtown, to find a 2004 Honda Accord that had crashed about 150 feet down an embankment, the California Highway Patrols Yuba-Sutter office said in a news release.

The deputy approached the Honda and located a driver, described by the CHP as a 39-year-old man from Walnut Creek, who had been ejected from the car and suffered fatal injuries. He was not wearing a seat belt, according to the news release.

Authorities searched the area on foot and using a CHP helicopter to look for potential additional victims, but none were found, CHP officials wrote.

The crash remains under investigation, and it is unknown whether drugs or alcohol were factors, according to the CHP.

The drivers identity will be released by the Yuba County Coroners Office pending notification of family.
A driver of a speeding SUV ran from a deadly head-on crash with another car Tuesday evening in Kansas City, a police spokesman said.

The hit-and-run driver was headed south on Troost Avenue at high speeds in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee just after 7 p.m. Tuesday. The driver of the Jeep crossed over the double yellow line and collided with a black Nissan Altima head-on near 85th Street, said Sgt. Jacob Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department.

The Jeep continued south on Troost, crashing with a gold Lexus ES 300 that was headed south. A motorcyclist also headed south on Troost laid his red Honda Shadow motorcycle down to avoid the collision. The driver of the Jeep then ran away, Becchina said.

The driver of the Altima was pronounced dead at the scene  the 22nd traffic fatality this year in Kansas City. By this time last year, there had been 31 people killed in traffic crashes, he said.

The motorcyclist was taken to a hospital and was said to be in stable condition. The driver of the Lexus refused medical treatment.

A description of the hit-and-run driver was not released. The crash remains under investigation.
The union representing Duquesne University police said they have come to an agreement with the school.

According to Keith Frank, vice president of Teamsters Union Local 249, the union and Duquesne University came to an agreement on Tuesday night.

#BREAKING: Keith Frank, the VP of Teamsters Local 249 representing the @duqedu police say they've reached a deal with the university.



Working to get more details @WPXI  Andrew Havranek (@Andrew_Havranek) April 19, 2023

RELATED >>> Duquesne University Police Department strikes after nearly 8 months of negotiations

Frank sent Channel 11 the following statement:

Teamsters Local 249 is pleased to announce we have reached a tentative agreement with Duquesne University on a 3 year deal. The parties worked to achieve a fair contract for the hard working men and woman who proudly serve the Duquesne University Community. We would like to thank the students, community members, politicians and fellow Teamster members. A special thanks to the negotiating committee, Darrin Kelly, and Senator Jay Costa.

Monday at 7 a.m., 28 police officers and security guards walked off the job and onto the picket line after nearly eight months of negotiations.

All officers and security guards were to return to work at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

Duquesne University Vice President of Marketing and Communications Gabriel Welsch, offered the following statement:

Duquesne University is pleased to announce that it has reached a tentative agreement with the union representing our Public Safety police officers and security guards. As a result, effective 7 a.m. tomorrow morning, Wednesday, April 19, the full complement of police officers and security guards will return to work. The University appreciates the good faith efforts of all involved in the negotiating process that led to resolving this matter swiftly and positively for the good of our students and our entire campus community.

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Channel 11 is working to learn more details. Check back for updates.

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An on-duty New York Police Department officer was attacked and smacked in the head with a bottle in an attack by a random passerby that was caught on video.

In a video first obtained by New York Post, the female officer can be seen standing near 231st Street and Broadway in the Bronx on Monday while officers were conducting smoke shop inspections before a man blindsides her and hits her in the back of the head.

The footage shows the man continuing to go after the officer as other officers try to pull him away.

The NYPD confirmed to Fox News Digital that an "on-duty female police officer" was struck in the head by a bottle and taken to St. Barnabas Hospital.

MOM OF MURDERED VETERAN TORCHES DEMOCRATS FOR HELPING TO 'SELF-DECIMATE' BLACK COMMUNITY WITH SURGING CRIME

The department said the officers condition is stable and that the suspect was arrested at the scene.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

That suspect, according to police, is 45-year-old Jose Garcia who lives in the Bronx.

STEFANIK TO JOIN JORDAN FOR FIELD HEARING ON NEW YORK CITYS CRIME CRISIS

An on-duty New York Police Department officer was attacked and smacked in the head with a bottle in an attack by a random passerby that was caught on video.

Garcia was charged with assault, obstruction of government administration, resisting arrest, menacing, criminal possession of a weapon and harassment.

The Post reported that Garcia has been arrested 11 times in the past.

The attack comes about a week after Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg called his home the "safest big city in America" after Republicans blamed his progressive policies for contributing to violent crime.

ALVIN BRAGG PROTESTER BOOTED FROM HOUSE JUDICIARY HEARING: YOU ARE UTTERLY DISGRACEFUL

Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg

The attack came the same day that the mother of a New York City murder victim shouted down a Democrat lawmaker in New York City while testifying in a Republican-led field hearing on Bragg's policies and warned him not to "insult my intelligence."

"Real people are affected by this. Alvin Bragg dismissed both murder and gang assault indictments against two people," said Madeline Brame, whose son, Army Sgt. Hason Correa, was fatally stabbed in Harlem in 2018.

"One is currently walking the street amongst us.  They brutally ambushed and butchered my son to death nine times and then turned and butchered his father 12 times when he tried to come to his aid."

Bragg's office posted on Twitter during the day of the hearing to say that Republicans were engaging in a "political stunt" that was a "slap in the face to the dedicated NYPD officers, prosecutors, and other public servants who work tirelessly every day with facts and data to keep our home safe."
The Escambia County Sheriff's Office announced on Facebook Wednesday that deputies arrested a 19-year-old Pensacola man for a shooting earlier in April.

Darien Johnson was arrested and charged with attempted homicide, possession of a weapon by a convicted felon and resisting an officer after deputies determined him to be a suspect in an April 7 shooting on Potomac Drive.

According to the ECSO's post, a "female victim was located with a gunshot wound and transported to a local hospital."

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Deputies located Johnson as a passenger in a stolen vehicle on Tuesday when the driver fled from a traffic stop. Johnson allegedly tossed a firearm while fleeing once the driver of the stolen car stopped the vehicle.

Johnson is currently held in Escambia County Jail without bond.

Two other men were previously arrested in connection with the Potomac Drive shooting, Ryan Earl Seals and Ke'Juan Whiting, both 18.

Seals' arrest report said that a trio of men had walked up to a property in the 1000 block of Potomac Drive and begun shooting into the yard. They allegedly entered a vehicle, sped away, then returned a short time later and fired another volley of shots as they drove past the residence.

Pensacola man charged with shooting woman in the head during drive-by shooting

Police located the men in a stolen truck a short time later and after a brief pursuit detained Seals and Whiting. Seals was reportedly found in possession of a Glock handgun matched to shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting.

He was charged with one count of attempted murder, fleeing and eluding police, resisting an officer without violence and a number of weapon offenses. Whiting is charged with carrying a concealed weapon, possession of a weapon by a Florida delinquent and resisting an officer without violence.

This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Pensacola man Darien Johnson arrested in Potomac Drive shooting
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass delivers her State of the City address at Los Angeles City Hall on April 17. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

It should be no surprise that in her first city budget proposal, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass went big on homelessness. As a candidate last year and now as mayor, Bass has been almost exclusively focused on helping ease the crisis and her $13-billion proposed spending plan reflects that by allocating $1.3 billion for existing and new homelessness programs  a record amount, her office said. She's right to prioritize the humanitarian crisis on L.A.'s streets.

That includes $250 million for Inside Safe, the mayor's ambitious initiative to clear encampments by moving people into motels and hotels temporarily while setting them on a path to permanent housing. Of that, $110 million would pay for hotel rooms, which is a huge expense because of pricey nightly rates. To help bring down costs over time, the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year provides $47 million to buy motels and hotels. Getting the city into the business of acquiring motels as permanent infrastructure for temporary housing, as Bass described it, is a recognition that solving homelessness is going to be a long-term investment.

She also wants to expand the citys reach in providing services. Bass proposes hiring 13 outreach teams to work out of her office on Inside Safe. And rather than relying on the county to provide mental health and substance abuse care, Bass calls for using $23.5 million from settlements with opioid and tobacco companies to contract directly with treatment providers so the beds are available when individuals in temporary housing want help.

The mayors budget also proposes adding staff in the planning and building departments to more quickly permit affordable and mixed-income housing developments. Thats important because homelessness is not solved by moving people into shelters and hotels rooms; it requires building more permanent housing that people can afford.

The spending plan would also tap about $150 million from Measure ULA for affordable housing, rental assistance for seniors and the disabled, and eviction defense. Measure ULA, the recently enacted tax on high-end real estate sales, is expected to generate more than $600 million during the fiscal year that begins July 1, but the ballot measure is being challenged in court, so the city is budgeting only a small portion of the estimated revenue in case the tax is revoked.

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The mayor's proposal now goes to the City Council, which will review, tweak and approve the final spending plan over the next month. Bass' homelessness proposals are expected to find strong support among council members. (Her plan to boost police hiring is more controversial with some council members who want to shrink the Los Angeles Police Department force.)

In announcing her budget, Bass differentiated between spending and investing. And she's right to do so. Past mayoral administrations have spent money on homelessness as if it were a fleeting problem to be solved in a year or two with stopgap shelters or short-term programs. Bass rightly recognizes that the city's homelessness and housing crisis is so deeply entrenched that it will take long-term funding and structural changes to prevent people from ending up on the streets.

But making permanent change is harder to do, especially now that the federal pandemic aid is mostly spent and the state is facing a deficit. The city will increasingly have to tap its own funds to continue and expand homeless aid programs. That means hard choices for the mayor and the City Council, particularly if there is a recession and revenue drops. The reality is that L.A. can't afford not to invest in solving homelessness.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A display of the fentanyl and meth seized by Customs and Border Protection officers in 2019 in Nogales, Ariz. (Mamta Popat / Associated Press)

A round of indictments against a major Mexican fentanyl trafficking ring last week presents an opportunity to hobble the multinational drug enterprise killing people on both sides of the border  but only if leaders in the United States and Mexico can stop sniping at each other and overcome a rift between them.

U.S. Atty. Gen. Merrick Garland, announcing the indictments against Sinaloa cartel leaders and other alleged drug traffickers Friday, called it the largest, most violent and prolific fentanyl traffic operation in the world. But it didnt take long for Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador to question the investigation that led to the charges against Los Chapitos, four sons of the infamous drug lord Joaquin Guzman, known as El Chapo and believed to have handed leadership of the Sinaloa cartel to his sons. Lopez Obrador, widely known as AMLO, on Monday accused the U.S. government of spying and violating Mexicos national sovereignty.

Such discord is, unfortunately, not unexpected considering that leaders in both countries have been engaging in a war of words for weeks since four U.S. citizens were attacked by a drug gang while visiting the Mexican border city of Matamoros in early March. Two died in gunfire and two others were kidnapped, and released a few days later. The kidnappings prompted Republicans to call for designating drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations and for the U.S. to invade Mexico to battle these cartels. Though the frustration is understandable, such vigilante-style fantasies are antithetical to a good relationship between two countries.

It's particularly disappointing because just a few months ago, the presidents of the U.S., Mexico and Canada pledged cooperation against fentanyl trafficking during a meeting in Mexico City. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. In the U.S., fentanyl overdoses are now the leading cause of death among those between 18 and 49 years old.

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Relations between the U.S. and Mexico on the topic of drug trafficking have always been rocky, with drugs coming from Mexico to feed the heavy demand in the U.S. But AMLO took it a step too far. Responding to Republican threats, he suggested absurdly that U.S. parents were to blame for the fentanyl crisis for failing to hug their kids enough. He further inflamed ire in the U.S. when he categorically denied that fentanyl is produced in Mexico, contrary to evidence gathered by U.S. law enforcement.

It also runs counter to information contained in the indictments handed down last week in Washington, D.C., Illinois and New York. The investigation by the Drug Enforcement Administration and other U.S. law enforcement officials tracked a huge drug trafficking enterprise that runs from China to Mexico and the U.S.. DEA agents infiltrated the Sinaloa cartel and the Chapitos network to document how the cartel obtains chemicals from China, manufactures the fentanyl in clandestine labs in Mexico and finally distributes the drugs in the U.S., according to the indictments. The documents provide an eye-opening look into the workings of a major criminal enterprise with multinational reach using a vast network of couriers, tunnels and stash houses.

These indictments are a major blow against one of the biggest drug cartels. Seven of the 28 defendants named in the indictments are in custody pending extradition hearings, but the others are at large. Finding them and arresting them will require the cooperation of Mexico and, likely, other countries. Both countries continue to pledge cooperation, including on the day the indictments were announced, but trading barbs is not helping those efforts.

With the drug wars having claimed thousands of lives on both sides of the border, its imperative that American and Mexican leaders stop antagonizing each other and focus on their common goal of reducing the violence and death associated with the illegal fentanyl trade.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Intangible cultural inheritors and folk artists from nine provinces and autonomous regions along the Yellow River gathered in Dongying, Shandong province, at a festival to showcase the rich cultures cultivated along the Yellow River basin.

Handicrafts and performances were on display in booths and on stages along the banks of a downtown lake, when the city hosted a two-day Yellow Cultural Forum which started on Tuesday.

The Yellow River Festival from Sunday to Tuesday attracted citizens and tourists.

At the booth of Huanghekou Huamo, a flower-shaped steamed bun, the craftswoman, Bi Wenjing, placed a huge flower bun weighing 30 kilograms in the booth, attracting tourists to watch and take photos. Bi said she started work at 9 am and saw the visitors soaring as darkness fell.

In addition, more than 100 characteristic agricultural products were on sale, while delicious foods were also available, including barbecue from Zibo, Shandong province, which recently trended on Chinese social media.

Sun Zhaohai, a resident of Dongying said people could taste delicious food while learning about folk customs at the festival, making it perfect for children.

The Yellow River, the second-longest river in China, originates on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and flows through nine provinces and autonomous regions from west to east, eventually reaching the Bohai Sea. It is often called the cradle of Chinese civilization.
A Netflix docudrama series that depicts Queen Cleopatra VII as a black African has sparked controversy in Egypt.

A lawyer has filed a complaint that accuses African Queens: Queen Cleopatra of violating media laws and aiming to "erase the Egyptian identity".

A top archaeologist insisted Cleopatra was "light-skinned, not black".

But the producer said "her heritage is highly debated" and the actress playing her told critics: "If you don't like the casting, don't watch the show."

Adele James made the comment in a Twitter post featuring screengrabs of abusive comments that included racist slurs.

Cleopatra was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria in 69 BC and became the last queen of a Greek-speaking dynasty founded by Alexander the Great's Macedonian general Ptolemy.

She succeeded her father Ptolemy XII in 51 BC and ruled until her death in 30 BC. Afterwards, Egypt fell under Roman domination.

The identity of Cleopatra's mother is not known, and historians say it is possible that she, or any other female ancestor, was an indigenous Egyptian or from elsewhere in Africa.

Netflix's companion website Tudum reported in February that the choice to cast Adele James, a British actress who is of mixed race, as Cleopatra in its new documentary series was "a nod to the centuries-long conversation about the ruler's race".

Jada Pinkett Smith, the American actress who was executive producer and narrator, was meanwhile quoted as saying: "We don't often get to see or hear stories about black queens, and that was really important for me, as well as for my daughter, and just for my community to be able to know those stories because there are tons of them!"

But when the trailer was released last week many Egyptians condemned the depiction of Cleopatra.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IktHcPyNlv4

Zahi Hawass, a prominent Egyptologist and former antiquities minister, told the al-Masry al-Youm newspaper: "This is completely fake. Cleopatra was Greek, meaning that she was light-skinned, not black."

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Mr Hawass said the only rulers of Egypt known to have been black were the Kushite kings of the 25th Dynasty (747-656 BC).

"Netflix is trying to provoke confusion by spreading false and deceptive facts that the origin of the Egyptian civilisation is black," he added and called on Egyptians to take a stand against the streaming giant.

On Sunday, lawyer Mahmoud al-Semary filed a complaint with the public prosecutor demanding that he take "the necessary legal measures" and block access to Netflix's services in Egypt.

He alleged that the series included visual material and content that violated Egypt's media laws and accused Netflix of trying to "promote the Afrocentric thinking... which includes slogans and writings aimed at distorting and erasing the Egyptian identity".

Three years ago, plans for a movie about Cleopatra starring the Israeli actress Gal Gadot triggered a heated debate on social media, with some people insisting that the role should instead go to an Arab or African actress.

Gadot subsequently defended the casting decision, saying: "We were looking for a Macedonian actress that could fit Cleopatra. She wasn't there, and I was very passionate about Cleopatra."
A National Guard helicopter flies past the burning Branch Davidian cult compound in Waco, Texas on 19 April 1993 (TIM ROBERTS/AFP via Getty Images)

Thirty years ago, a lengthy standoff between FBI agents and members of a religious sect ended in fire. The Waco siege, a deadly 51-day confrontation in central Texas between law enforcement and Branch Davidians, an apocalyptic religious movement then led by David Koresh, remains one of the defining US events of the late 20th century.

The siege is the subject of a recent Netflix documentary (Waco: American Apocalypse), released on 22 March. It also made headlines when Donald Trump planned a rally there in Marcha move decried by his niece Mary Trump as a ploy to remind his cult of the infamous Waco siege of 1993, where an anti-government cult battled the FBI.

The story of the Branch Davidians begins far before the events in Waco. The groups roots date back to 1929, when Victor Houteff, a religious leader born in present-day Bulgaria founded the Davidian Seventh-Day Adventist Church (itself an offshoot of Seventh-day Adventism). It was under Houteff that Davidian Seventh-Day Adventists settled near Waco, at a location known as Mount Carmel.

Benjamin Roden, another religious leader, founded the Branch Davidians in 1955 -- after Houteffs death led to some reorganization and splintering. In the wake of Rodens death, his wife Lois Roden took over as leader and was eventually followed by a man named Vernon Howell. Howell, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica, became head of the Mount Carmel community and soon began taking spiritual wives, several of whom were reportedly as young as 11. He ultimately changed his name to David Koresh and was the Branch Davidians leader during the Waco siege.

By February 1993, authorities suspected that weapons were being stockpiled illegally on the groups compound. The US Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF), a law enforcement agency within the US Department of Justice, obtained a warrant to search the premises, as well as an arrest warrant for Koresh. Per the Encyclopedia Britannica, more than 70 agents from the ATF raided the compound. This led to a shootout and a two-hour confrontation, during which five Branch Davidians and four federal agents died.

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In response to the incident, the FBI sent hundreds of officials to the compound.

During the next 51 days, over 700 law enforcement personnel participated in the effort to end the standoff, reads an archived Department of Justice report. Between 250 to 300 FBI personnel were present in Waco at any given time, along with hundreds of officers and agents from other federal, state, and local agencies.

FBI agents wanted the people inside the compound to come out; they, under Koreshs directions, would not. Koresh spoke on the phone with FBI negotiators, but those conversations were protracted. 

If they had entered the building, we would all commit suicide, Kathy Schroeder, a survivor of the siege, says in Netflixs Waco: American Apocalypse. ... It wasnt a matter of, How is this affecting me as a person? Because Im not a person. Im Gods tool.

Koresh himself had been shot and was injured in multiple places, but even he wouldnt come out to seek medical assistance. Per Netflixs documentary, the FBIs tactical unit and negotiation team occasionally clashed. On 21 March, after some Branch Davidians decided to leave the compounda sign that the standoff might approach a resolutionthe FBIs Hostage Rescue Team crushed Koreshs car with a tank, a move described by former FBI negotiator Gary Noesner in the documentary as as a f*** you, done in a very in-your-face way.

This aerial shot taken 21 April 1993 in Waco shows the burnt remains of the compound (J DAVID AKE/AFP via Getty Images)

By mid-March, neither negotiations nor unorthodox tactics had produced the resolution that the FBI sought, and its agents were ill at ease in Waco, Texas Monthly wrote in 1995. By then, the standoff had taken over Waco and its surroundings.

The towns first- and second-rate hotels were bulging with guests, and when the federal lawmen went looking for housing, they found that Wacos apartment occupancy rate had been at 90 percent before the siege began, Texas Monthly wrote. ... Early in March the Tourism Division of the Texas Department of Commerce had postponed a series of television ads, reasoning that nobody would want to visit the state anytime soon, and town residents, tired of the bad jokes and quips about the wackos in Waco, began affixing to their cars stickers that read Waco Proud. As each day passed, pressure built inside and outside the ranks for a speedy end to the standoff.

A t-shirt salesman shown in a file photo dated 10 April 1993 near the Branch Davidians' compound in Waco (BOB DAEMMRICH/AFP FILES/AFP via Getty Images)

On 19 April 1993, the FBI used tear gas in an attempt to make the compound uninhabitable, forcing the Branch Davidians out. For more than five hours armored vehicles, some of which punched holes into walls, deposited 400 tear-gas canisters inside the compound; at 11:40 AM the assault ended, the Encyclopedia Britannica wrote.

Around 25 minutes later, a catastrophic fire started. The DOJ found that some of the Branch Davidians inside the compound started the blaze in three different locations, citing multiple sources of evidence, including infrared video footage and still photos.

The first indication that fire had started inside the compound appears on the aerial infrared tape, photographed from an FBI plane that had been circling over the compound during the fire. Still photographs taken from the infrared videotape establish that the fire started in three separate and nearly simultaneous points of origin, the report reads in part.

... The fire began at 12:07:41 Central Time on the second floor, front section of the building, in the southeast corner. Just over one minute later a fire that had already started was detected in the first floor, mid-section of the building in or near the dining room. By 12:09:30 the initial fire had increased in intensity, to the point of full room involvement. At 12:09:45, or just over two minutes after the start of the first fire, a third fire was detected at the first floor, right side (east side) of the building in the chapel area. This fire spread very quickly, and in less than 40 seconds it had fully involved both the chapel and the gymnasium. By 12:11:00 the fire had spread rapidly throughout the entire building.

The Branch Davidian cult compound observation tower in Waco is engulfed in flames on 19 April 1993 (TIM ROBERTS/AFP via Getty Images)

Back in 1995, PBS noted, in an FAQ accompanying an episode of the show Frontline dedicated to the siege: Although several of the surviving Branch Davidians insist that they did not start the fire, a panel of arson investigators concluded that the Davidians were responsible for igniting it, simultaneously, in at least three different areas of the compound. Unless they were deliberatley set, the probability of the three fires starting almost simultaneously was highly unlikely, according to fire experts.

Furthermore, the videotapes show the use of accelerants that strongly increased the spread of the fire. Although one Branch Davidian stated that a FBI tank had tipped over a lantern, videotapes show that the tank had struck the building a minute and a half before the fire began. Also some of the surviving Davidians clothing showed evidence of lighter fluid and other accelerants. In addition, FBI listening devices seemed to establish that the Davidians were overheard making statements such as, Spread the fuel, some six hours before the fires began.

According to the DOJ, 75 people died in the fire, including 25 children under the age of 15. In total, around 80 Branch Davidians and four federal agents died over the course of the siege, beginning with the ATF raid. Koresh died of a gunshot wound to the head.

The FBI and the ATF came under sharp criticism following the end of the siege. A number of members of Congress are featured in archive footage in Waco: American Apocalypse decrying their actions.

There is no doubt that the ATF and FBI messed up, and messed up badly at Waco, Chuck Schumer, then a Member of the House of Representatives, said. John Conyers, who was also a Representative at the time, called the events at Mount Carmel a profound disgrace to law enforcement in the United States of America.

Former FBI negotiator Gary Noesner tells Netflix in the documentary: David Koresh is ultimately responsible, but that doesnt mean we didnt make mistakes as an organization, and we did. And in Waco, we did not save every life we could. Therefore, in my mind, its a failure.

Jim Cavanaugh, a former ATF agent, shares a similar viewpoint, telling Netflix: We tried everything, but we could not overcome the hold [Koresh] had on their minds. You could not convince them to come out, because that would be a repudiation of the person they believed was God.

Texas Department of Safety Investigators and medical examiners search the rubble of the burnt-out Branch Davidian compound and mark body locations with small flags on 22 April 1993 in Waco (J DAVID AKE/AFP via Getty Images)

The legacy of the Waco siege has been linked to anti-government sentiment in the far-right. Two years after the siege, on 19 April 1995, white supremacist terrorist Timothy McVeigh detonated a truck bomb outside the Alfred P Murrah Federal Building, a government complex in Oklahoma City. The explosion killed 168 people and injured several hundred more. McVeigh had visited Waco during the siege; in letters to The Buffalo News published prior to his execution in 2001, he described the siege as a major factor in his radicalization.

For the past three decades, [the Waco siege] has been a key element of far-right mythology: a rallying cry for armed resistance to the federal government and its representatives, Nicole Hemmer, an associate professor of history and director of the Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University, wrote in an opinion column for CNN in March, noting that even after Oklahoma City, Waco remained a key part of far-right lore.

In 2000, Hemmer noted, a man attended the opening of a new church at Mount Carmel, after leading a fundraising campaign for the rebuilding.

His name? Alex Jones.
A 70-year old Moscow woman has been convicted in Russia for "discrediting the Russian army" over a conversation in a sanatorium canteen.

Source: Russian Human Rights Centre Memorial

Details: The Shcherbinsky District Court of Moscow has fined 70-year old Olga Slegina RUB 40,000 [approx. US$490  ed.] for "discrediting the Russian army". It is noted that the court hearing lasted no more than five minutes.

The elderly woman was on trial for a conversation in a canteen at a sanatorium: she said a couple of phrases about Ukraine and complimented President Zelenskyy.

In December 2022, Slegina was staying at the Nalchik sanatorium named after Kirov. On 24 December, the woman had dinner in the dining room with a woman from Odesa. At the table, a humorous conversation ensued about how to correctly pronounce the Ukrainian word "palianytsia" [a word popularised at the start of the war, when Ukrainian defence forces encountered a suspected Russian saboteur passing himself off as a Ukrainian, they usually asked him to say this Ukrainian word for a type of local bread  ed.] During the conversation, Olga asked her male neighbour whether he was for Russia or for Ukraine, without mentioning the war.

After dinner, waitress Natalya Zakharova approached the table, and Olga also asked her if she knew the word "palianytsia" and whom she supported. In response, Zakharova said that Zelenskyy was a "freak".

Olga replied that "Zelenskyy is a handsome young man with a good sense of humour, everyone used to laugh at his jokes". She also asked: "Dont Ukrainians in your republic shout Glory to Ukraine, as they do here in our Moscow?"

On 27 December, at 12:00, a man in civilian clothes came to Slegina's room. He showed "some credentials" and said that three people had contacted the police with statements. They indicate that Olga had "praised Zelensky". The woman replied that the conversation was only about the appearance of the president of Ukraine.

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The pensioner was taken under escort to a police car in front of holidaymakers and taken to the police station.

After interrogation, she signed a document, which, as Memorial notes, she could not read, because she was without glasses and suffers from cataracts.

In the protocol, the words of the woman were altered. In particular, it stated that she shouted "Glory to Ukraine" and "expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation in the country".

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Elon Musk has claimed that birth control and abortion may lead to the collapse of civilisation.

In his recent interview with Fox News host Tucker Carlson, the billionaire tycoon spoke about how the urge to have sex and procreate has been subverted by birth control and abortion, leading to population decline.

In the past we could rely upon, you know, simple limbic system rewards in order to procreate, the Tesla CEO told Carlson on Tuesday. But once you have birth control and abortions and whatnot, now you can still satisfy limbic instinct, but not procreate.

The SpaceX founder felt that society hasnt yet evolved to deal with the effects of contraception, because forms of birth control are all fairly recent, in the last 50 years.

Im sort of worried that hey, civilisation, if we dont make enough people to at least sustain our numbers, perhaps increase a little bit, then civilisations going to crumble, Musk said. The old question of, will civilisation end with a bang or a whimper?

He added: Well, its currently trying to end with a whimper in adult diapers, which is depressing as hell.

Unsurprisingly, Musks comments about birth control and abortion received a flurry of equally amused and angered reactions online following Tuesdays interview with Carlson. For starters, many people pointed out that forms of contraception have existed far longer than just 50 years ago, like Musk claimed.

.@ElonMusk tells @TuckerCarlson the rise of birth control has allowed humans to "still satisfy the limbic instinct, but not procreate," adding "if we don't make enough people to at least sustain our numbers, perhaps increase a little bit, then civilization's gonna crumble." pic.twitter.com/xB7pI9pDsZ  Fox News (@FoxNews) April 19, 2023

Birth control and abortionfamously non-existent until 50 years ago, joked one user on Twitter.

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Some early records suggest that people have been using contraception for as long as, well, humans have been reproducing. The earliest forms of birth control date as far back as 1850 BC, in which Ancient Egyptian women mixed acacia gum with honey as a cervical cap to prevent sperm from entering the womb. Many plants such as the now-extinct silphium plant, Queen Annes lace seeds, and pomegranate seeds were also popular forms of contraception in ancient Greece and Rome. The invention of modern-day oral contraception was led by Margaret Sanger in the 1950s, and before that came the latex condom in the early 1900s. Of course, there was also the pull-out method too.

Birth control and abortion ... famously non existent until 50 years ago https://t.co/7qKwauDpFA  Ben Guthrie Stewart (@benguthstew) April 19, 2023

Despite the mass production of oral contraceptives and hormonal birth control methods, the human population has actually more than doubled in the last 50 years from 2.5 billion to 8 billion, according to the United Nations.

This conversation alone is pretty amazing birth control, tweeted someone else. Women arent baby incubators, keep coming for our rights, were ready to keep fighting back. Deal with it you gross misogynistic bros.

This conversation alone is pretty amazing birth control. Women arent baby incubators, keep coming for our rights, were ready to keep fighting back. Deal with it you gross misogynistic bros. https://t.co/pPprUtKBYy  Emily (@MfromPa) April 19, 2023

Musk, who himself is a father to nine children, has long shared his ideas of procreation and population decline posing a threat to civilisation. Last year, the billionaire tweeted that population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilisation than global warming.

In July 2022, Musk echoed a similar sentiment about declining birth rates after news broke that he secretly fathered secret twins with Neuralink executive Shivon Zilis.

Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis. A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far, he tweeted, making light of the reports. I hope you have big families and congrats to those who already do!

Population collapse due to low birth rates is a much bigger risk to civilization than global warming  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 26, 2022

Doing my best to help the underpopulation crisis.



A collapsing birth rate is the biggest danger civilization faces by far.  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 7, 2022

In fact, Musk made almost identical comments about the crumble of civilisation in adult diapers less than one year ago. He once again predicted that civilisation will not die with a bang, it will die with a whimper in adult diapers in an interview with The Financial Times last October, and said at an event in December 2021: If people dont have more children, civilisation is going to crumble  mark my words.

Carlson has made his own fair share of sexist comments about women in the past. Despite the so-called subversion of the human urge to have sex and procreate due to birth control, Carlson himself once ridiculed the United States militarys efforts to be more inclusive towards women when he said that pregnant women are going to fight our wars.

The Fox News host also refused to apologise after he was heard comparing women to dogs in a resurfaced clip from 2007: Theyre extremely primitive, theyre basic, theyre not that hard to understand. And one of the things they hate more than anything is weakness in a man.

After Musks comments about birth control and abortion circulated on social media, many peoples reactions to the Tucker Carlson interview were summed up in one tweet, which read: I cant think of two people whos thoughts on sex Id be less interested in hearing.
It is not difficult to figure out what Elon Musk thinks.

On Twitter, of course, he pops off about everything from the threat of population collapse to Taylor Swifts business acumen, while fueling the anti-woke social reaction that made his purchase of the social media platform less a business decision than a new front in a holy war. But just in case you wanted more, Musk announced last week that he would be conducting interviews across the political spectrum with everyone from Tucker Carlson to  uh, the BBC. (Better luck next time, Jacobin and The Nation.)

Putting aside his tendentious classification of the BBC as emblematic of the left for a moment, none of these interviews are likely to provide the same level of distilled insight into Musks worldview as the softball two-parter with Carlson that aired this Monday and Tuesday. The conversation centered on Musks alarmist proclamations that AI could destroy humanity, while also conveniently directing a heap of opprobrium toward the villains at the exact center of the Venn diagram between the two mens worldviews: The woke censors at companies like OpenAI who, in Carlsons words, seek to end your independent judgment and erase democracy. What better spokesperson for Carlsons pet cause than one of the few men capable of competing financially with those companies?

Even more than just a newsy exercise in political economy, however, the conversation with Musk is a reminder of how progress, an ideal usually associated with the American left, is in reality a value-neutral concept that can be advanced by anyone  although it obviously helps if youre the richest man in the world.

The mantle of progressive conservatism is usually associated with the European right, which developed a technocratic pro-safety-net politics in reaction to the Industrial Revolution. Here in America, its historical tribune is still Teddy Roosevelt, whose populist views on trade and domestic policy paired with an almost religious belief in American expansion and dominance. Musk  who described to a stonily silent Carlson how he voted for President Joe Biden in 2020 and expressed his desire for a normal person with common sense as president, whose values are smack in the middle of the country  fits, if imperfectly, into that same lineage, combining a socially conservative politics, an eagerness to regulate industries he believes are dangerous and an unwavering belief in expansion at all costs.

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Where Roosevelts private-sector bugbears were the industrial-age charnel houses of Upton Sinclairs The Jungle, Musks are much more ethereal: Namely, the alleged risk to civilization posed by the development of artificial intelligence.

Musk is not anti-AI  he just announced the founding of his own new company, X.AI , to produce competing products to OpenAI and Microsoft, which he views as too woke and developmentally reckless. He has, rather, a very specific existential fear. During the interview Musk described to Tucker the evolution of his now-defunct friendship with Larry Page, the Google co-founder, AI innovator and ardent transhumanist, saying that having talked to him late to the night about AI safety hes concluded that Page was not taking AI safety seriously enough, and that he seemed to  want some kind of digital superintelligence, basically a digital God.

A brief pause to explain. Within the AI community, there is a fervent and ongoing debate about the hypothetical existence of an artificial general intelligence, or an AI agent so sophisticated that it surpasses human cognition. Many researchers think this is impossible. Many think that its possible, and desirable. Many think that its possible and will kill us all. What we do know for certain is that nothing like it currently exists, nor does any evidence that points to its possibility.

Musk is worried about it anyway. With a slew of his similarly-concerned fellow tech and business potentates, he signed an open letter last month calling for a six-month pause on advanced AI projects, and opened his interview with Carlson by calling for an entirely new regulatory agency to tackle AI risk. His view of AI as an existential threat, as speculative as it might be, leads him to the same conclusion of his fiercest critics on the left: That government should intervene to guide technological progress in a manner conducive to human values.

Where they differ, of course, is when it comes to what those values are. By now you are likely familiar with the broad outlines of the free-speech crusade that led Musk to purchase Twitter: Giving a black eye to the corporate censoriousness, doublespeak and policing of misinformation that once (allegedly) marked the platform. In Musks conservative vision of progress, unfettered AI development threatens humanitys evolution and therefore must be regulated. But the lax approach to moderation on nu-Twitter, which some have said has given it a distinctly hostile character, is a necessary risk in creating the open-air marketplace of ideas necessary for humanity to thrive.

What does he mean by that? Well, there are the usual arguments about how unfettered free speech creates resilience, or makes society more democratic, or allows for the best ideas to naturally win out absent moderator interference. But those all have to do with  humans. And theres another, way more out-there idea that Musk has about why censoring AI is a folly: That uncensored speech will make a hypothetical AGI safer, by virtue of training it on a data set that provides a more complete picture of humanity.

This might be the best path to [AI] safety, in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe is unlikely to annihilate humans because we are an interesting part of the universe, Musk explained. Thats why Musk advocates for a competitor to ChatGPT that would lack its speech restrictions and safety controls  the hypothetical based AI he proposed last month.

Like all questions about artificial general intelligence, or unicorns, or little green men, its impossible to answer whether an AIs data set including every bit of racist invective @Groyper69420 has ever hurled at unsuspecting Twitter users will endear or depreciate humanity in its digital mind. But Musks belief that uncensored AI speech platforms will ultimately benefit humanity more than their currently-existing counterparts  aside from being consistent with his vision for the company he just purchased for $43 billion, and in which AI has its own role to play in the future  is aligned with his overall view of progress as a sort of survival of the fittest.

And on that biological-evolutionary note, at the very end of Musks conversation with Carlson the two discussed another pillar of his quest for humanity to reach the stars: How to reverse the worlds declining birth rates. Im sort of worried that civilization, you know, if we dont make enough people to at least sustain our numbers or perhaps increase them a little bit, civilization is going to crumble, Musk mused. Theres the old question of, Will civilization end with a bang or a whimper? Well, its currently coming to an end with a whimper in adult diapers, which is depressing as hell.

Concern over falling birth rates has been one of the biggest policy issues for the nascent pro-family right  its a major project for American Compass, former Mitt Romney advisor Oren Cass heterodox conservative think tank, for example. Musk doesnt have a policy prescription for this, aside from having as many babies of his own as possible. (One source told Insider that Musk explicitly expressed his preoccupation with populating the world with his offspring, one he shares with many, many centuries of ambitious oligarchs.)

But its maybe the most personal aspect of what adds up, over the course of the hour-long conversation, to a remarkably cohesive worldview. Humanitys destiny is to transcend the surly bonds of Earth and colonize the stars, with the assistance of technology that works for us  and against censors, scolds and partisans like Mark Zuckerberg or the BBC, or hubristic rival technologists like Larry Page or OpenAIs Sam Altman.

Musk is no reactionary, and progress is not the exclusive domain of the left. The man has a very distinct set of social and cultural beliefs that he seeks to propagate through his various technological and business endeavors. When the beliefs in question were, for example, the importance of clean energy, Musk was a hero to progressives. Now that its the social-media equivalent of a Hobbesian state of nature, or a pro-natalist attitude that many on the left view as retrograde or eugenicist, hes a villain. But he continues to move in the same direction: Forward, toward a future that bearing his imprint will look like nothing what came before it.
Morning-after pills are most effective when taken within three days after sex. Ian Hooton/Science Photo Library via Getty Images

Since the overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022 and the end of constitutional protection for abortion, emergency contraception has become more difficult to obtain and  more than ever  shrouded in misinformation.

Attempting to control inventory, Amazon, Rite Aid and Walmart have imposed purchase limits on the emergency contraception known as Plan B since the Supreme Courts ruling. Panicked buyers have been trying to stock up on the drug in case it becomes unavailable.

Several legislators and proposed bills have conflated emergency contraception with abortion and are trying to limit access to it. The recent court ruling blocking access to mifepristone  which has been approved by the FDA since 2000  is an ominous sign to many that emergency contraception could be the next target.

Regardless of ones stance on abortion, it is important to understand why emergency contraception should be a basic component of womens reproductive health care and family planning services. As a researcher of womens sexual and reproductive health and decision-making, I have extensively researched access to emergency contraception.

What is emergency contraception?

Emergency contraception is the only way to prevent pregnancy after sex has already occurred. It can be used when no contraception was used or it was used incorrectly, such as with missed birth control pills or broken condoms. Emergency contraception is also used to prevent pregnancy after sexual assault or rape.

Emergency contraception can take the form of pills  sometimes called the morning-after pill  or an intrauterine device, or IUD that delays ovulation.

There are two types of emergency contraception pills. The most widely known is levonorgestrel, which is sold in the U.S. under the brand name Plan B, along with numerous generic versions.

Levonorgestrel was first approved for over-the-counter sale to women 18 and older in 2006, and in 2013 age restrictions were removed.

The second type of emergency contraception pill is ulipristal acetate, which is sold under the brand name ella. Both Plan B and ella work by delaying ovulation. In addition, ella also thins the uterus lining so that even if an egg were fertilized, it is harder for it to implant in the uterus to start a pregnancy.

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Both types of pills are effective at preventing pregnancy. Plan B is most effective if taken within three days of sex, with some declining effectiveness on days four and five. Ella is effective if taken within five days of sex and, unlike Plan B, is equally effective all five days.

The most effective types of emergency contraception are IUDs that are inserted by a health care provider. Copper IUDs  also referred to as nonhormonal IUDs  are sold under the brand name Paragard. They release into the uterus copper ions that are toxic to both eggs and sperm. This allows them to be used as emergency contraception if inserted within five days after sex, and as ongoing contraception for up to 10 years.

Levonorgestrel IUDs  referred to as hormonal IUDs  are sold under the brand names Mirena, Liletta, Kyleena and Skyla. The levonorgestrel released into the uterus makes the mucus around the cervix thicker so that a sperm cannot penetrate to fertilize the egg, and it is as effective as the copper IUD when inserted as emergency contraception for up to five days after sex. Both Paragard and Mirena IUDs have been approved by the FDA for use as contraception, but they are not yet approved specifically for use as emergency contraception.

How is emergency contraception different from the abortion pill?

For many years, the way that emergency contraception works has been misunderstood. There has been confusion about whether emergency contraception is an abortifacient  that is, a medication that triggers an abortion. The key difference is that the abortion pill works only when a woman is pregnant, and emergency contraception works only when she is not.

The so-called abortion pill is used for a medication abortion and actually consists of two separate pills that do different things.

The first of these pills is mifepristone, which functions to block production of the pregnancy hormone progesterone so that the uterus lining thins and the embryo detaches from it. This is the pill that is receiving national attention because of clashing court rulings over access, a battle that is headed to the Supreme Court.

The second pill, misoprostol, stimulates contractions in the uterus to eject the embryo and gestational sac. Emergency contraception prevents a pregnancy before it occurs, whereas the abortion pill ends a pregnancy once its begun.

How do abortion restrictions jeopardize emergency contraception?

With the increase in abortion restrictions, access to a full range of contraceptive options  including emergency contraception  is more critical than ever.

There are already numerous barriers to obtaining emergency contraception in a timely manner. The most effective types of emergency contraception, ulipristal acetate and both hormonal and nonhormonal IUDs, must be obtained from a health care provider. This means a woman needs an appointment  usually available only on a weekday during business hours  as well as transportation and the means to pay for the appointment, either through health insurance or self-pay. She may need to take time off of work to attend the appointment, or she may need to obtain child care.

For many women in poor, rural or geographically isolated neighborhoods, these barriers are difficult to surmount. This is particularly true given the short window of time in which emergency contraception is effective.

Levonorgestrel emergency contraception pills are available over the counter and should be easily accessible, but individuals trying to purchase them run into numerous obstacles. These include low stocks in pharmacies  especially independent pharmacies  and point-of-sale restrictions, such as requirements that purchasers be a certain age, show identification or have parental consent. People also encounter high rates of misinformation about when to take levonorgestrel for maximum effectiveness and about sales restrictions. Finally, they encounter pharmacy staff who object to selling it because they misunderstand how it works.

The surge in demand for emergency contraception since the reversal of Roe v. Wade and the purchase limits put on it by retailers have exacerbated these access challenges.

What are the benefits of emergency contraception?

Access to emergency contraception promotes womens health in several ways. Nearly half of pregnancies in the U.S. are unintended, and emergency contraception can prevent about 95% of unwanted or mistimed pregnancies when used within five days of sex. It can also be used as a backup option when another form of contraception fails. And it can be given to survivors of sexual assault. Emergency contraception also reduces the need for abortions.

Overall, access to a full range of contraceptive options  including emergency contraception  gives women greater control over their reproductive choices. The ability to control the number and spacing of their pregnancies improves the health, social and economic outcomes of both women and their families.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. Like this article? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter.

It was written by: Amie Ashcraft, West Virginia University.

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Amie Ashcraft does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.
Some students at Emerson College say they were trapped temporarily when an Emergency Only exit door malfunctioned during a fire drill at a residence hall on Tuesday.

Thats really scary to think that I could have been one of those students....in the event of an actual fire that would have been not okay, says Emerson College student, Cassandra Maisonet.

The college said in a statement that the exit door malfunctioned during a planned fire drill.

After an immediate investigation by the Emerson College Police Department and college staff, it was determined that the Emergency Only exit door was programmed for an active emergency; however, it was not coded to open during a practice drill, the college said in a statement.

Emerson says the technology issue has been resolved and the door has been tested. It is now functioning properly.

Located on Boylston Street in Bostons Theatre District, Emerson College has five residence halls, according to its website.

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The UK's first emergency phone alert took place at 3pm on Sunday. (Gov.uk)

What's happening? Millions of mobile phones across the UK received the government's emergency alert on Sunday  but it has sparked a debate on whether it endangers lives.

A message appeared alongside a loud alarm at 3pm, in a nationwide test of a new public alert system that is intended to be used in life-threatening situations including flooding and wildfires.

The message was received on 4G and 5G mobile phones, along with sound and vibration for up to 10 seconds  even if devices were on silent.

Phone users were prompted to swipe away the message or click 'OK' on their home screen before being able to continue using their device.

However, a debate has been sparked as to whether some vulnerable women at risk of domestic violence should turn it off altogether. Others have taken exception to the state interfering with their lives.

What have domestic abuse charities said?

Domestic violence campaigners had warned the test could put people in danger by revealing the location of secret phones hidden away by those at risk.

Charity Refuge published a YouTube video advising victims how to prevent the message alerting abusers to secondary phones that they may be hiding in case of an emergency at home.

Emma Pickering, the senior operations tech abuse manager at Refuge, said that there was a "very real risk" that such alerts could endanger some survivors of domestic abuse.

Womens Aid said they were "concerned about the potential safety risks to survivors" due to the loudness of the alert, while Citizens Advice said phones "should be switched off completely" to "avoid discovery", urging people to share the advice, even if it doesnt apply to them.

Domestic abuse victims advised to turn off phones for UK emergency alert (Guardian, 3 min)

Millions of mobile phones in the UK received an emergency alert test, unless they switched it off beforehand. (PA)

What does the government say?

As well as domestic abuse charities, road safety campaigners and groups representing the elderly also urged caution amid concerns scammers could target them.

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Others said the alert was of limited value to people, most of whom would likely be aware of any emergency scenario that would require such a message.

Last week, Tory MP Jacob Rees-Mogg said he did not want to be "shouted at by the government".

The government has insisted the alerts are necessary as they have the "potential to alert people to significant danger", such as flooding or terrorist attacks.

The prime minister's official spokesman said that there had been an "extensive five-week communications campaign" to give people enough time to change their phone settings if necessary, with "successful tests" carried out in East Suffolk and Reading before Sunday's nationwide trial.

Officials also stressed that it is easy to opt out of the system if people need their phone to stay concealed.

The government has said emergency phone alerts will help warn people about weather events like flooding. (Alamy)

How to turn the emergency alert off

The alerts work on Apple iPhones running iOS 14. and on Android phones and tablets running Android 11 or later  but people running earlier versions of Android are advised to check the device settings for 'emergency alerts' as they may still be received.

Apple iPhone owners can opt out by going to the device settings and scrolling for emergency alerts at the end of the page and turning off Severe alerts and Emergency alerts.

Android owners should search their settings for emergency alerts and turning off Severe alerts and Emergency alerts.

On some devices, search for emergency alerts and turn off Extreme threats, Severe threats, and Show amber alerts.
A coalition of environmental organizations warned in a report Wednesday of potential health risks in replacing lead pipes with polyvinyl chloride (PVC).

PVC, a low-cost plastic, is commonly used as an alternative material for older metal pipes, which is particularly relevant as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law signed by President Biden includes a provision to replace the U.S. lead service lines.

In the report, the authors note that plastic pipes can leach more contaminants into the water than unlined metal ones. The replacement process, they write, could potentially result in a so-called regrettable substitution, the term for a solution equal or worse to the problem.

The report was a joint collaboration between the organizations Beyond Plastics, Environmental Health Sciences and the Plastic Pollution Coalition.

The authors noted that independent analysis has identified about 50 toxic chemicals that PVC and chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) pipes can release into water. However, there is no government data on such chemical releases, and formulations within individual pipes and brands vary widely.

However, PVC and CPVC pipes can also release toxic chemicals into water when they degrade due to fire, such as in the case of wildfires. Burning the compounds can release hazardous amounts of carcinogens such as styrene and benzene into water.

Risks associated with manufacturing and transportation of the compounds has also been in the national spotlight after the Feb. 3 derailment of a train in East Palestine, Ohio, carrying vinyl chloride, a key component of PVC and a toxic substance in its own right.

Vinyl chloride was designated a likely human carcinogen 49 years ago, and still we have massive amounts of it being transported around the country. The people of Ohio and Pennsylvania know the risks better than anyone since that was the chemical that was set on fire and burned throughout our region after the February 3 toxic train derailment, Amanda Kiger, co-director of River Valley Organizing in Ohio, said in a statement.

It is alarming that this is the chemical used to make PVC plastic pipes to deliver drinking water. We need to stop using vinyl chloride for pipes and other products.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Complaints about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas have been referred to a federal panel that oversees the nations financial disclosure laws, a top judicial official said Tuesday.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) and Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) last week called on the body overseeing the federal judiciary to refer Thomas for investigation amid a series of bombshell revelations that he failed to report gifts from a billionaire friend for two decades. ProPublica published a series of stories this month that detailed years of luxury vacations Thomas and his wife took with benefactor Harlan Crow, including travel aboard Crows yacht and private jet. The publication later reported Crow had purchased Thomas ancestral home and other land in 2014, where the justices mother continues to live rent-free.

Thomas did not report the transaction on his financial disclosure forms as is required by law.

There is reasonable cause to believe that Justice Thomas willfully failed to file information required, the two Democrats wrote with nearly two dozen other colleagues last week.

U.S. District Judge Rosylnn Mauskopf told Whitehouse and Johnson she had referred the matter to the Judicial Conference at their request. The body, which sets the rules for the federal judiciary, in March updated its disclosure rules to include requirements that judges report gifts of lodging and hospitality.

I have forwarded your letter to the Judicial Conference Committee on Financial Disclosure, which is responsible for implementing the disclosure provisions of the Ethics in Government Act and addressing allegations of errors or omissions in the filing of financial disclosure reports, Mauskopf wrote to the lawmakers.

Its unclear how the committee will move forward with the allegations. The Washington Post was the first to report the development.

The body is comprised of more than two dozen of the top judges from the nations district and circuit courts and is headed by Chief Justice John Roberts of the Supreme Court.

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Thomas responded to the report about his travel with Crow last week, saying he had sought guidance about the trips early in his tenure on the Supreme Court. Republicans have moved to brush off criticism of the justice amid the revelations.

[I] was advised that this sort of personal hospitality from close personal friends, who did not have business before the court, was not reportable, he said at the time.

Thomas has not commented on the real estate transaction, the first evidence of money moving directly from Crow to Thomas family.

Related...
Two opera performances by students were showcased at the Mei Lanfang Theater in Beijing over Friday and Saturday, as part of the Fourth National Youth Peking Opera Education and Teaching Achievement Exhibition and Performance, also known as the Lihua Cup.

The exhibition, running from Friday to May 18, aims to promote and recognize achievements in youth opera education and teaching across China.

This year's Lihua Cup will adopt an innovative approach that combines both online and offline displays, incorporating prerecorded and live broadcasts. Hosted by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the exhibition will be held in four cities: Beijing; Nanjing, Jiangsu province; Wuhan, Hubei province; and Jinan, Shandong province.

Liu Dongyan, an official from the ministry, says the event is intended to foster communication and learning among professional Chinese opera education and teaching institutions in the country. The goal is to continually improve the quality of Chinese opera education and performance standards, and to cultivate exceptional young talent in the field.

In December 2021, the ministry issued a notice, according to which, after the online registration and initial recommendation by provincial cultural and tourism administrative departments, and final evaluation by the ministry, the selected programs were eventually confirmed to participate.

The fourth Lihua Cup was originally scheduled to take place in 2022, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was postponed to this year.

Liu says a total of 84 student programs were selected to participate in this exhibition, showcasing 27 types of traditional Chinese opera. Of these, 24 are Peking Opera programs, accounting for 29 percent of the selected programs. The remaining 26 types of traditional Chinese opera are regional art forms from different areas of the country.

Liu says one highlight of this year's exhibition is the inclusion of professional Chinese opera instrumental players for the first time.

"It also provides an opportunity for Chinese opera teachers to showcase their excellent professional demonstration courses and stage practice programs. For the first time, a symposium on Chinese opera education and teaching will be held during the exhibition," Liu says.

Zhang Yao, vice-president of the National Academy of Chinese Theatre Arts, says the exhibition will feature the traditional Chinese opera teaching method of "oral transmission and spiritual instruction", as well as interactions between teachers and students.

"In the segment on opera education, we will invite experts and scholars from art colleges, theater troupes and research institutions to attend a seminar," Zhang says.

The experts will delve into topics, including the standardization of teaching drama performances, the development of teaching methods and textbooks for basic skills, the implementation of individualized teaching methods for training talent in the new era, and the cultivation of opera teachers.

The fifth Lihua Cup is scheduled to be held in 2025.
By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -The European Union is preparing 100 million euros ($109.32 million) in compensation for farmers in five countries bordering Ukraine and plans to introduce restrictions on imports of Ukrainian grains.

Pressure has mounted on Brussels to work out a European Union-wide solution after Poland and Hungary banned some imports from Ukraine last weekend and other eastern European countries said they were considering similar action.

The countries became transit routes for Ukrainian grain that could not be exported through Ukraine's Black Sea ports because of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

Bottlenecks then trapped millions of tons of grains in countries bordering Ukraine, forcing local farmers to compete with an influx of cheap Ukrainian imports which they said distorted prices and demand.

The European Commission said on Wednesday it would take emergency "preventive measures" for wheat, maize, sunflower seeds and rape seed after a joint complaint from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia at the end of March.

An EU official said this would only allow the grains to enter the five countries from Ukraine if they were set for export to other EU members or to the rest of the world. This measure would last until the end of June.

Separately, the European Commission, which oversees trade policy for the 27-nation EU, plans an investigation into whether measures are required for other sensitive products.

While the emergency measures can enter force within days, an EU investigation typically lasts six months.

European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis discussed the plans on Wednesday with ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania and Slovakia, as well as with Ukrainian counterparts.

Romanian Farm Minister Petre Daea said Dombrovskis asked Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to withdraw their individual import bans and that the Commission could approve a general ban of Ukrainian grain and oilseeds to the five countries affected until June 5.

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Romania is the only country of the five affected that has not enforced a ban.

"We agreed today that we will continue these talks ... The next meeting will be at the beginning of next week - Monday, Tuesday," Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus told state-controlled broadcaster TVP Info.

"We, as frontline countries, will want to convince the European Union that we also want to protect other products," he said, without providing further details.

Under the EU-Ukraine free trade agreement of 2016, imports of the most sensitive farm products from Ukraine were subject to tariffs and quotas. After Russia invaded Ukraine, the EU agreed to suspend all tariffs until June 2023 and the Commission has proposed extending this suspension for another year.

Poland, which is especially under pressure from its agricultural lobby in an election year, banned all grain imports, but agreed to allow grain to transit after discussions with Ukraine.

($1 = 0.9147 euros)

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; additional reporting by Anna Koper in Warsaw and Luiza Ilie in Bucharest; editing by Barbara Lewis, Grant McCool and Mark Heinrich)
Ursula von der Leyen, head of the European Commission

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called on the governments of five EU member states (Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria) to develop a common European approach, as is required by the EU single market and customs union.

Read also: Russians cause $270 million in damage to agricultural holding in Kherson Oblast

The five states have complained about Ukrainian agricultural products flooding their markets instead of transiting through the countries.

Von der Leyen also promised additional financial assistance to farmers and restrictive measures against Ukrainian products.

The president presents three proposals to address the situation on these markets, European Commission Director for Political Communication and Services, Dana Spinant, said at a briefing in Brussels on April 19, commenting on von der Leyens response to a letter from the prime ministers of five countries.

In addition to the already provided support package of EUR 56.3 million for the most affected farmers in these countries, the EU is preparing a second financial support package of EUR 100 million, Spinant said.

Read also: Polish agriculture minister resigns amid anger over Ukrainian grain imports

Secondly, well take preventive measures on the applicable trade rules with regards to grains, certain categories of grain. This concerns, in particular, wheat, corn, sunflower, and rapeseed. And thirdly, were launching an investigation into other sensitive products.

She said that European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis would discuss these lines of actions and proposals with the ministers of the respective five member states, as well as with his counterparts from Ukraine, in the afternoon on April 19.

From the very beginning, we are committed, on the one hand, to supporting Ukraine to export its products, including its agricultural products, because this is an important lifeline for Ukraines economy, the EC representative said.

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We are committed to helping bring these agricultural products to world markets where these products are needed, in order also to address concerns regarding food security, and we are fully committed to supporting our farmers.

Poland banned grain imports from Ukraine on April 15, caving to the demands of Polish farmers who had protested Ukrainian agriculture shipments for months.

They claim that a significant part of Ukrainian grain does not transit further, remaining in Poland to flood the market and depress the prices.

Later, Hungary and Slovakia also announced a temporary ban on the import of grain and oilseeds, along with other agricultural products from Ukraine. Bulgaria joined these countries on April 19, allowing only transit.

Read also: Bulgaria to temporarily ban food imports from Ukraine, except for those in transit

The EU has slammed the bans, saying they contravene both EU and international law, said EU spokesperson for trade issues, Miriam Garcia Ferrer.

The Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine reported on April 18 that Ukraine and Poland had reached an agreement on resuming the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Hannah Waddingham, Julia Sanina, Alesha Dixon met for the first time on Wednesday - three weeks ahead of Eurovision

Eurovision co-host Alesha Dixon says May's contest is "so much more than a competition", as Liverpool prepares to stage the event on Ukraine's behalf.

"It's very important. We feel that sense of responsibility, to do it with joy, love," she said.

The Britain's Got Talent judge will present alongside Ted Lasso star Hannah Waddingham and Ukrainian musician Julia Sanina for the semi-finals.

Graham Norton will complete the line-up for next month's final in Liverpool.

Sanina, who is the front woman of Ukrainian rock band The Hardkiss which will open the first semi-final, said this year's contest was a "big deal" for her country.

"Even last year, when people were watching Eurovision from bomb shelters, lots of them were still voting and wanted to win," she added.

Eurovision 2023 banner

"We have to always balance the joy and the love with what Julia just said," Waddingham said. "People voting from the bomb shelters hits me more than anything and there's the reason I wanted to get involved."

Normally the country that wins Eurovision then hosts it the following year, but organisers decided that due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine it was too dangerous to stage one of the world's biggest events.

The presenters will front the song contest at three live shows - two semi-finals on Tuesday 9 and Thursday 11 May.

The BBC's Eurovision commentator Graham Norton will then join the trio for the final on Saturday 13 May, splitting his time between the stage and the commentary booth he's sharing this year with Mel Giedroyc.

More than 160 million will watch the song contest over the three live shows

Rehearsals for the hosts, as well as for the 37 acts competing, will begin at the beginning of May, and Waddingham told BBC News she's looking forward to the results the most.

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"It's the age-old Terry Wogan and Katie Boyle saying 'Good evening Portugal' - that literally gives me shivers of excitement," she said.

"My 12-year-old self couldn't believe I'd ever be saying that. Honestly it makes me quite emotional."

As this year's host broadcaster, the BBC has announced extensive plans for its Eurovision coverage over the next three weeks, including an appearance from Bucks Fizz star Cheryl Baker in EastEnders, and special shows dedicated to the contest from Bargain Hunt to Pointless.

All the build-up, insights and analysis is explored each week on a BBC podcast called Eurovisioncast.

Eurovisioncast is available on BBC Sounds, or search wherever you get your podcasts from.
By Soyoung Kim, Ju-min Park and Hyonhee Shin

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack, President Yoon Suk Yeol said, signalling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of his state visit to the U.S. next week, Yoon said his government has been exploring how to help defend and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-53 Korean War.

"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said.

It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid.

A key U.S. ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea has so far tried to avoid antagonising Russia due to its companies operating there and Moscow's influence over North Korea, despite mounting pressure from western countries for weapons supply.

"I believe there won't be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that's been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law," Yoon said. "However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures."

In response, the Kremlin said supplying arms to Ukraine would make Seoul a participant in the conflict.

"Unfortunately, Seoul has taken a rather unfriendly position in this whole story," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. "They will try to draw more and more countries directly into this conflict. But of course, the start of arms deliveries will obliquely mean a certain stage of involvement in this conflict."

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Yoon is scheduled to visit Washington next week for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to mark the 70th anniversary of the two countries' alliance.

During the summit, Yoon said he will seek "tangible outcomes" on the allies' efforts to improve responses to evolving threats from North Korea, which has ramped up military tests, and launched its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

Seoul, for its part, will step up its surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence analysis capability and develop "ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons" to fend off the North's threats, Yoon said.

"If a nuclear war breaks out between South and North Korea, this is probably not just a problem between the two sides, but the entire Northeast Asia would probably turn to ashes. That has to be stopped," he said.

When asked if the allies would envision an Asian version of NATO's nuclear planning group involving Japan, Yoon said they are focusing on bilateral measures to strengthen information-sharing, joint contingency planning and joint execution of the plans.

In February, South Korea and the U.S. staged table-top exercises simulating a North Korea nuclear attack as part of Seoul's efforts to play a bigger role in Washington's nuclear policy over the North.

"In terms of responding to a powerful nuclear attack, I think stronger measures than what NATO has should be prepared, Yoon said.

"I think there's no big problem if Japan is joining, but since there's been much progress between the U.S. and South Korea, it would be more efficient to create this system ourselves first."

'NO SUMMIT FOR SHOW'

Tension has flared in recent weeks, with the North threatening "more practical and offensive" action over South Korea-U.S. exercises and refusing to answer inter-Korean hotlines.

Yoon said he is open to peace talks but opposes any "surprise" summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to "show off" to voters out of domestic political interests.

He criticised former governments' sudden, uninformed announcements of inter-Korean talks, which he said did little to build trust.

Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae-in, staked his legacy on improving inter-Korean ties and helped arrange a historic meeting between Kim and then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018.

Three summits Kim and Moon held in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation but relations have soured and the North conducted unprecedented numbers of weapons tests following a second failed summit between Kim and Trump.

"They used those talks ahead of elections, but ultimately inter-Korean relations were always back to square one," Yoon said.

Humanitarian aid could open the door for dialogue, and both sides could build on those discussions to move onto more sensitive topics including economy and military, he said.

Yoon's administration proposed COVID-19 relief last year and unveiled plans to provide economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang flatly rejected the offers.

"If previous talks had proceeded step by step ... before the leaders met, the inter-Korean relationship would have developed steadily, though at a snail's pace," Yoon said.

On Sino-U.S. rivalry, Yoon has trodden cautiously, with China being South Korea's largest trade partner, but he has been more vocal over tension in the Taiwan Strait.

Tensions over democratic Taiwan, which China claims as its own, have spiked as Beijing intensifies diplomatic and military pressure to get Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.

"After all, these tensions occurred because of the attempts to change the status quo by force, and we together with the international community absolutely oppose such a change," Yoon said.

"The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue."

(Reporting by Soyoung Kim, Ju-min Park and Hyonhee Shin; Additional reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Writing by Hyonhee Shin; Editing by Christina Fincher and Peter Graff)
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis Holds News Conference In Miami

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis listens as Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez, a fellow Florida Republican, speaks during a press conference on April 08, 2021 in Miami. Gimenez is poised to endorse Donald Trump this week. Credit - Joe RaedleGetty Images

In another blow to Florida Gov. Ron DeSantiss not-yet-official presidential bid, two more Republican members of Congress from his own state are gearing to endorse Donald Trump for another term. Reps. Gus Bilirakis and Carlos Gimenez are each planning to announce their support for the former president this week, multiple sources familiar with the matter tell TIME.

Their pledges continue something of a downward spiral for DeSantis, who has been steadily losing ground in the endorsement battle for legislators from his own backyard. The development is even more noteworthy after his political team recently tried to stop the bleeding by asking Florida Republicans to refrain from endorsing Trump. DeSantis has not yet formally launched a campaign, but he has been laying the groundwork for a run. Hes widely expected to enter the race after the Florida legislature ends its session next month.

Bilirakis and Gimenez have also committed to be at Trumps Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach on Thursday night, as the former President hosts members of the Florida delegation who have already endorsed him, including Reps. Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Cory Mills, and Greg Steube. Its not clear yet whether Reps. Byron Donalds and John Rutherford, who have also endorsed Trump, will be at the gathering.

Neither Bilirakis nor Gimenez responded to requests for comment. Rep. Brian Mast, another Florida Republican, has also told associates he plans to formally back Trump in the coming days. And on Wednesday, Rep. Vern Buchanan officially threw his weight behind Trump.

All of their endorsements will bring Trumps tally of members of Congress from Florida to ten, whereas DeSantis has just one, Rep. Laurel Lee, who announced her support for the governor on Tuesday. Before winning her House seat last year, Lee served as DeSantiss first Secretary of State. The rest of Floridas 22 Republicans in Congress have yet to take a side in the presidential race.

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Last week, TIME reported that four House Republicans from FloridaReps. Buchanan, Mast, Steube, and Kat Cammackhad told associates they were preparing to publicly endorse Trump. All but Cammack have since done so.

The addition of Bilirakis and Gimenez comes amid a rough few days for DeSantiss presidential prospects. Over the weekend, one of his top donors said he was halting his plans to help finance the governors presidential bid over his proposals to ban LGBTQ-themed books and his signing into law a six-week abortion ban.

DeSantis also recently angered some Floridians by claiming in a New Hampshire speech that Florida didnt have state pride before he became governor. That drew the attention of DeSantiss predecessor as governor, Sen. Rick Scott. Ive always been proud to live in Florida and Ive never met another Floridian who isnt proud to live in the Sunshine State, Scott told TIME on Monday. We have great weather, low taxes, and pride in our state and our country and its history.

Scotts admonition came shortly after DeSantis made headlines for threatening to build a state prison next to Disney World, the latest escalation in the governors long-running feud with the company over its opposition to Floridas so-called Dont Say Gay law, which forbids teaching lessons on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through the third grade. (The Florida Board of Education on Wednesday approved expanding the measure to apply to all Florida students up to the 12th grade.)

DeSantis suffered another humiliation on Tuesday, when he met with a group of Congressional lawmakers in Washington, D.C., hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think-tank. Within minutes after the event ended, one of the attendees, Rep. Lance Gooden of Texas, endorsed Trump. I met with Governor DeSantis, Gooden said in a statement. And while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America from the leftist onslaught we are currently facing.

Yet the rebuff from Florida lawmakers has been particularly striking. Steube, who endorsed Trump this week, told Politico Playbook that DeSantis had not contacted him once over the last five years, nor had he replied to Steubes attempts to connect. That all changed last week when more members of the Florida delegation were rolling out their Trump endorsements and TIME reported on Steubes plans to back the former president. DeSantiss aide Ryan Tyson called him shortly after to get him to hold off.

While Bilirakis and Gimenez are not among the group of lawmakers the DeSantis team reportedly contacted in recent days, their plans to endorse Trump are another sign that DeSantiss efforts to prevent his potential rival from running up the scoreboard are coming up short.
Some people experience cold- or flu-like symptoms during their menstrual cycle.

Some people experience cold- or flu-like symptoms during their menstrual cycle.

People with periods know how terrible that time of the month can be, even without reaching the level of something like endometriosis or premenstrual dysphoric disorder. The mood swings, the exhaustion, the cramps  they can wipe anybody out.

As if those werent enough, cold symptoms such as a runny nose and fatigue can be connected to your cycle, too. Experiencing these icky feelings during this time is often known as period flu.

Whats The Deal With Period Flu, Exactly?

Its not the actual flu, thankfully, though it may feel that way.

Period flu is flu-like symptoms that develop around the time of your period and prior to your period, said Dr. Purvi Parikh, an adult and pediatric allergist and immunologist at Allergy & Asthma Network, a Virginia-based nonprofit.

While period flu isnt a medical diagnosis, the symptoms you experience are real.

The increase in estrogen that occurs during the first part of the cycle and peaks prior to ovulation can exacerbate seasonal allergy symptoms, such as runny nose and itchy eyes, according to Dr. Alecia Fields, an OB-GYN in Kentucky and a fellow with the Physicians for Reproductive Health advocacy group. Additionally, the hormonal changes that occur during your menstrual cycle can lead to fatigue, headaches, hot flashes, and joint or muscle pain, she added.

Estrogen may increase histamine production by mast cells, an immune system component, said Dr. Ashanda Saint Jean, an associate professor of obstetrics and gynecology at New York Medical College. Symptoms from an increase in histamine mimic that of an allergic reaction or brief flu-like illness, and may include nausea, dizziness and generalized malaise, she said.

Further, Dr. Malika Gupta, a board-certified allergist and immunologist in California, pointed to how some types of estrogen activate your immune systems T cells.

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Activated T cells, in this case, are what will give you the meh symptoms often associated with the flu, she said.

Other than that, though, research on the topic isnt super expansive.

Much of the data can be gleaned from what occurs in hormonal shifts when a woman becomes pregnant, Gupta said. Still, she emphasized that the effect on people is real, and it is not just you.

Period Flu vs. The Actual Flu

So, how do you know if the lousy feeling is your period, the flu or  if you have really bad luck  both? Fields recommended noting the days youre bleeding and what symptoms you have.

If your symptoms occur monthly and coincide with your menstrual cycle, there is a good chance that they are related to the hormone changes your body is experiencing, she said.

Youll want to be as specific as possible, as other conditions can stop and start, too.

It is important to identify if the symptoms are of a cyclic, recurrent nature, or due to an acute respiratory viral syndrome or seasonal allergies, Saint Jean added. This is especially critical for figuring out the right treatment.

Just as periods can vary in duration, the average length of period flu symptoms may vary person to person, with experts listing anywhere from one to six days. So, its probably best to pay close attention to what that timeline looks like for you each month.

You should also look at the type of symptoms you are experiencing, according to Parikh.

Allergies usually dont have a temperature and last for weeks, she said, noting they dont typically entail vomiting, nausea or coughing either. Allergies also tend to have more itchy symptoms and dont have GI [gastrointestinal] symptoms.

At the same time, many symptoms of period flu arent unique, so you may want to get a flu test done, Parikh said. Fields agreed that seeing a doctor can help eliminate other possibilities, such as a thyroid disorder.

Talk with your doctor if you're not sure what is causing your symptoms.

Talk with your doctor if you're not sure what is causing your symptoms.

How To Treat Period Flu

Unfortunately, theres not a lot you can do to address your symptoms other than typical at-home treatments, though what those are will depend on the severity.

Saint Jean said that NSAIDs (such as ibuprofen and naproxen) usually attend to both allergy problems and pain problems. In addition to these medications, milder symptoms may be alleviated by exercise and general stress reduction practices (such as deep breathing, yoga and guided imagery), Fields added.

If those arent cutting it, Fields suggested talking to your doctor about birth control, antidepressants known as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), or cognitive behavioral therapy. After all, dealing with flu-like symptoms isnt just rough physically, but emotionally and mentally too. As research tells us, our mental health and physical health are connected, affecting each other cyclically.

Nonmedicinal treatments can include drinking herbal tea, getting a massage, meditating, or using heating pads and St. Johnswort, according to Saint Jean. Gupta said she personally likes a cold plunge as a quick way to knock the symptoms out.

But if you experience coughing, a fever, abnormal breathing or other unusual issues, you should see a doctor, Saint Jean said.

Ultimately, youll probably have to try different approaches to see what works for you, since every persons body is so different. But hey, at least youre not the only one who knows the struggle.
Gordon Cooke, a wildlife photographer in Canada, took his camera out to capture some osprey recently in Calgary, Alberta, when he noticed something unusual.

I couldnt quite make out what it was until it finally got out in the open, Cooke told McClatchy News.

When Cook realized what he was looking at, he immediately started taking photos. He was in the presence of a wolverine.

There was no time to recheck the camera settings, so I was praying the whole time that the settings were good and the pictures would come out, he said.

Cooke snapped several pictures of the critter as it perched itself on a wooden log.

I was very fortunate that the wolverine posed nicely for me before disappearing and that the settings were fine for that animal and the lighting situation, Cooke said.

Yes, this happened. Once in a lifetime for me, he said in a tweet. I never expected to see or photograph one in Calgary.

Wolverines were once common in southern Canada, according to the Wildlife Conservation Society Canada. However, over harvesting and habitat loss have led to significant declines in the population, making the critters a rare sight.

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The species is slow to reproduce and requires a large territory, so it has struggled to withstand environmental changes, the society said.

They are extremely rare. They take a very long time to breed, Aerin Jacob, director of science and research at the Nature Conservancy of Canada, told CFCN. And so we need to do everything in our power to make sure that Wolverine is able to get to a safe place.

Experts think the wolverine is likely a young male that just left his mother, Jacob told CFCN.

Its doing what any young animal does, you know, its striking out on its own looking for food, looking for mates, looking for a territory, Jacob said, according to the outlet.

Other scientists and naturalists were excited by Cookes sighting, too.

Its a superhero of the wilderness, Chris Fisher, an Alberta naturalist, told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. Quite frankly, you just dont see them anywhere, never mind a major metropolitan city like Calgary.

What an incredible experience, one person said in response to Cookes tweet. Never in a million years would I expect to see one in Calgary. So wild!

Insane, another person tweeted. What a treat, extra special.

Calgary is about 80 miles east of Banff National Park.

Elusive creature last spotted in Oregon mountains in 1969 seen scurrying across highway

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Elusive animal is captured on video  as it hunts prey strutting around in Minnesota
In recent days, some Republican electors who cast phony ballots to elect Donald Trump in 2020 have provided Atlanta prosecutors with potentially incriminating information involving another as part of the long-running election interference inquiry in Georgia, according to court documents filed Tuesday.

The disclosure was contained in court papers calling for the disqualification of defense attorney Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow who represents 10 of the electors in the inquiry, including those interviewed by Fulton County, Georgia prosecutors as recently as last week.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has asserted that Debrow's representation of the group raises serious conflict of interest questions that have now reached an "impracticable and ethical mess."

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, right, talks with a member of her team during proceedings to seat a special purpose grand jury in Fulton County, Georgia, on May 2, to look into the actions of former President Donald Trump and his supporters who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The hearing took place in Atlanta.

"During these interviews, some of the electors stated another elector represented by Ms. Debrow committed acts that are in violation of Georgia law and they were not party to these additional acts," the court documents state.

The nature of the conduct was described, though prosecutors have been pursuing a wide-ranging inquiry involving election fraud and the electors' roles in casting the fake Trump ballots.

Electors also told investigators that they were not informed of potential offers of immunity in exchange for their cooperation even though Debrow and another attorney, Holly Pierson, offered a conflicting account to a Fulton County court in August.

At that time, prosecutors said the attorneys informed them that their clients were not interested in striking immunity agreements.

More: Are 'more serious' legal woes ahead for Trump? Experts say NYC case may be least of his worries

More: Trump lawyers seek to quash Atlanta grand jury report, recuse DA's office from inquiry

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney speaks during a Jan. 24 hearing in Atlanta to decide if the final report by a special grand jury looking into possible interference in the 2020 presidential election can be released.

Debrow did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Pierson said the prosecutors' claims were "entirely false."

"Sadly, the DA's office continues to seem more interested in media attention, trampling on the constitutional rights of innocent citizens, and recklessly defaming its perceived opponents than in the facts, the law, or the truth," Pierson said.

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The disclosure comes as the district attorney weighs whether to pursue charges in an investigation first prompted by a Jan. 2, 2021 telephone call in which Trump pressed Georgia's top election official to find enough votes to overturn the election results in the key battleground state.

Willis' inquiry is only one several inquiries shadowing Trump as he pursues a new bid for the White House.

Earlier this month, Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in connection with hush money paid to a adult film star in the final weeks of the 2020 campaign related to an alleged affair years earlier.

More: Trump 2024 campaign strategy after indictment prepares supporters for more charges against him

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Georgia DA: Fake Trump electors pointing fingers in election inquiry
The parents of Susan Cox Powell won an appeal to reinstate a $98.5 million jury verdict against the state of Washington on behalf of her sons, Braden and Charlie Powell.

Judith and Charles Cox sued the state for the pain and suffering of their 7-year-old and 5-year-old grandsons, who were killed by their father in 2012.

Jurors found the state Department of Social and Health Services negligent and awarded the Coxes the money in 2020.

Pierce County Superior Court Judge Stanley Rumbaugh reduced that by two-thirds, to about $32.8 million, a couple months later.

Rumbaugh said at the time it was a difficult decision and that: Its whether the size of the verdict in light of the evidence produced shocks the conscience of the court, and in this case it does, The News Tribune reported.

A three-judge panel of Division II of the Washington State Court of Appeals reversed that decision in an opinion published Tuesday.

The Coxes argue that the trial court erred in concluding that the jurys damage award was obviously the result of passion or prejudice because nothing in the record shows that the jury was motivated by some malign influence or egregious impropriety at trial, Judge Bernard Veljacic wrote for the unanimous panel. We agree.

The state has 20 days to ask for reconsideration or 30 days to ask the state Supreme Court for review.

The appellate judges agreed with the Coxes, the opinion said, that Rumbaugh erred in concluding that the jurys damage award was not within the range of substantial evidence in the record.

There is substantial evidence supporting a significant award of noneconomic damages based on the horrific and brutal deaths the boys suffered, the opinion said.

Conscious pain and suffering

Josh Powell killed the children during a supervised visit at his Graham-area rental home. He locked a DSHS-contracted supervisor out on Feb. 5, 2012, then attacked the boys with a hatchet and set fire to the house. Josh Powell also died.

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He was being investigated at the time in the disappearance of the boys mother, Susan Cox Powell. She went missing from their Utah home in December 2009 and is presumed dead.

Attorneys for the Coxes argued at trial that an award of $5 million for each minute of the boys conscious pain and suffering would be appropriate, and DSHS didnt argue for an alternative, the appellate opinion said.

All the jury had was the evidence, their human experience, and the suggested range by the Coxes counsel, Veljacic wrote in the opinion, signed by judges Anne Cruser and Bradley Maxa.

The last page of the appellate opinion says in part: ... there is nothing in the record unmistakably showing the jurys verdict was based on some improper consideration instead of the legally sufficient evidence. Thus, in setting aside the damages verdict, the trial court intruded on the jurys constitutional prerogative, and impermissibly based its decision on the size of the verdict and its own subjective reweighing of the evidence.

Attorneys Ted Buck, Anne Bremner and Evan Bariault represented the Coxes at trial.

Chuck and Judy Cox have been on a 12-year mission for justice for Charlie and Braden, the attorneys said in a statement Tuesday. This road has been long and emotionally exhausting for them, their family and those who cherished Susan, Charlie, and Braden. On behalf of Chuck and Judy, we appreciate the thoughtful consideration of the court of appeals, and hope that with this decision, the State will finally acknowledge its failures so that a better system may emerge to protect our children when in the custody of the state.

The Department of Children, Youth and Families, the state agency that oversees child welfare today instead of DSHS, did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday about the opinion.
Following news of a recent casting decision for Disneys forthcoming live-action adaptation of Lilo & Stitch, fans have taken to social media to discuss colorism and erasure in Hollywood.

On April 13, the Hollywood Reporter revealed that Lilo & Stitch had cast Sydney Elizabeth Agudong as Nani Pelekai, Lilo Pelekais older sister and legal guardian. The decision comes two months after Maia Kealoha, who will play Lilo, and Zach Galifianakis, who will play Pleakley, joined the cast.

Agudong, a 22-year-old actress who was born and raised in Kauai, Hawaii, is reportedly of Hawaiian and Filipino descent.

Fans of the 2002 film were quick to voice their disappointment over the casting decision, namely because they feel as though Disney is whitewashing the role of Nani, who is a brown-skinned, Indigenous Hawaiian woman with a realistic body shape. In deliberately choosing to cast an actress who has a lighter skin tone, some fans believe that Disney is promoting prejudice and discrimination against darker-complexioned Hawaiians.

On April 17, newcomer Kahiau Machado was pegged to play David, Nanis love interest. Machado, fans also note, appears to be visibly lighter skinned than the animated character he portrays.

A 31-year-old Twitter user Faati (@FaatiTheStreet) created a thread outlining the societal relevance of Lilo and Nani being dark-skinned girls to the storys conflict and narrative as a whole.

Faati argues that the casting Agudong, a lighter-skinned, Filipino-Hawaiian woman, interferes with the notion that the future of a native Hawaiian family is being directly threatened by colonialism. Colorism, Faati notes, also largely impacts the way in which individuals are treated by the government, by the state, and by society at large.

The conflict occurring in Lilo and Stitch being about the colonialist state attempting to pull this tiny broken native Hawaiian family apart is made more apparent by their both being darker skinned girls



Casting a lighter skinned Hawaiian to play Nani interferes with that pic.twitter.com/kuSoYuDqn3  Faati (@FaatiTheStreet) April 14, 2023

Nanis trouble with getting and keeping a job isnt just because Stitch and Lilo keep causing mayhem, its also because of how shes perceived based on her looks



This is the subtext that exists for those whove not had the lived experiences to make that more overt and obvious pic.twitter.com/cH9dNDz21S  Faati (@FaatiTheStreet) April 14, 2023

Its imperative to keep in mind, Faati argues, that fans arent outraged simply by the fact that these actors dont look like their cartoon counterparts  its the fact that the oppression discussed in the film pertains to brown-skinned Hawaiians specifically. Colorism, to this end, has a profoundly negative impact on people of color.

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P.S. stop going to Hawaii  Faati (@FaatiTheStreet) April 14, 2023

Their looks are immutable and shouldve been treated like it.

How Nani & Lilo were drawn was a BIG DEAL in the animated movie. Their looks are immutable and shouldve been treated like it, another Twitter user wrote. Darker-skinned Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders exist. Cast some. Why the hell would anyone think it would be less important in a live-action version?

While not exactly the same circumstance, this isnt the first time Hollywood has been accused of whitewashing a character with Hawaiian roots. Take, for the example, 2015s Aloha, in which Emma Stone portrays Allison Ng, an Air Force pilot who is supposed to be of Hawaiian, Chinese and Swedish descent. Stone, however, is not biracial herself. Naomi Scott, who was cast as Princess Jasmine in the 2019 live-action remake of Aladdin, sparked a similar debate  given that shes a lighter-skinned actress of English and Indian descent.

Faatis Twitter thread, which has more than 2.5 million views, seems to have garnered a mixed response from social media users. While some people have come to her defense, it seems many feel as though shes politicizing a film that isnt political.

Still, Faati challenges whitewashing in mainstream media and the ways in which it neglects authentic representations of people of color. While it seems not everyone agrees that Lilo & Stitch has political undertones tied to racial discrimination, the blatant colorism in Disneys casting decision still appears to be gaining notoriety.

In The Know by Yahoo is now available on Apple News  follow us here!

The post Fans talk colorism and erasure following news of Lilo & Stitch casting decision: Darker-skinned Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders exist. Cast some appeared first on In The Know.

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China's top legislator holds talks with Slovak parliament speaker

Xinhua) 08:22, April 19, 2023

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, holds talks with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, in Beijing, capital of China, April 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), held talks with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, on Tuesday in Beijing.

Hailing the friendship between the two countries dating back a long time ago, Zhao said in recent years, under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative and China-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) cooperation, China and Slovakia have scored positive cooperation outcomes in the fields of economy and trade, science and technology, tourism, culture, and interconnectivity, among others, delivering benefits to the two peoples.

Zhao added that China is willing to work with Slovakia to earnestly carry forward, maintain, and develop their traditional friendship.

He urged the two sides to strengthen cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, and transportation, adding that China welcomes Slovak enterprises to expand the market in China via platforms including the China International Import Expo and the China Import and Export Fair, and hopes the Slovak side can provide a fair, just, and unbiased business environment for Chinese companies.

Zhao also said China and Slovakia should continue deepening people-to-people exchanges, facilitate understanding among peoples, especially the youth, regarding their national realities, history, and culture, and join hands in promoting China-CEE cooperation and seeking more achievements in mutually beneficial cooperation.

Noting that China's NPC has maintained friendly exchanges with the Slovak National Council, which has played an important role in facilitating bilateral ties, Zhao said China is ready to conduct exchanges with the Slovak National Council on various levels via multiple channels, strengthen experience exchanges in legislation and supervision, deepening reform, and environmental protection, among others, to enhance a mutual understanding about development paths and foreign policies.

While briefing the Slovak side on the system of people's congresses, Zhao said Chinese people are full of confidence in the political development path and system chosen themselves. China respects and supports people of all countries to take the development paths suited to their respective national conditions and is ready to work with Slovakia to deepen state governance experience exchanges and champion the diversity of world civilizations.

Calling China an important partner, Kollar said the two countries enjoy a broad base and massive cooperation potential. The world is colorful, and no one is in a position to seek confrontation or lecture others due to differences in political systems, he said.

Slovakia hopes to enhance dialogue with China, promote cooperation in transportation, high-speed railway, and automobile manufacturing, strengthen people-to-people exchanges, and deepen cooperation of the two legislatures to work for continuous development of bilateral ties, Kollar added.

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, holds talks with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, in Beijing, capital of China, April 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
People visit the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



Top executives from global carmakers and auto parts suppliers have voiced their commitment to the Chinese market at 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition, or Auto Shanghai 2023, the first major auto exhibition they have attended in the country since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The biennial event, which runs from Tuesday through April 27, is one of the most important platforms to showcase latest car models and automotive technologies. Over 1,000 foreign and Chinese companies are participating in the event, according to its organizers.

Volkswagen, the best-selling international carmaker in China, is presenting a big lineup of models, including 20 fully or partially electric ones.

Volkswagen is the first international carmaker after a joint venture in the country. Its CEO Oliver Blume said his visit to China "is a bit like coming home". After 40 years of operating in the country, Volkswagen is "sometimes perceived as a Chinese brand", he said.

According to Blume, China's auto industry has seen great progress in the past decades, with some local carmakers having launched "very competitive" products. He said that Volkswagen is speeding up its local decision-making and R&D to tap into China's dynamic growth and high speed of innovation.

A BMW concept car is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Last year, German carmaker BMW AG sold 790,000 vehicles in China, accounting for over one-third of its global total.

"We are very confident about the development of the Chinese market, and will continue to expand our footprint here," said Oliver Zipse, chairman of BMW AG's board of management.

"We feel at home here in China. The growth and success of BMW in the country has created prosperity in both China and Germany," he added.

A releasing event of Toyota bZ FlexSpace Concept is held at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Toyota's Executive Vice-President Hiroki Nakajima emphasized the Japanese carmaker's commitment to China, especially in the new energy vehicle segment.

Toyota is showcasing four electric models at the Shanghai auto show. It will launch at least 10 by 2026 to hit its global EV sales goal of 1.5 million units, with China as one of the leading markets.

French marque Peugeot launched its first global model 408 X, while its electric concept  the Inception  made its Asian debut on the first day of the event.

"China will continue to be both the world's largest car producer and the world's largest car market," Peugeot CEO Linda Jackson said.

Vision 357, a concept car of Porsche, is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

German auto parts supplier Brose expects China to account for 25 percent of its global revenue by 2025, up from 20 percent now, CEO Ulrich Schrickel said.

Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, said the brimming enthusiasm and cutting-edge products on display at the auto show will boost the Chinese market.

Statistics from the CPCA show that 6.08 million vehicles were sold in the first quarter of 2023, down 6.7 percent year-on-year. However, sales in March saw a rising trajectory, with 2.5 million units sold, up 9.7 percent year-on-year.

New energy vehicles have been a driving force. In March, NEV sales hit 653,000 units, up 34.8 percent year-on-year. The CPCA estimates that China's NEV sales will reach 9 million units this year, up from 6.9 million in 2022.
Matthew McConaughey recently spoke about the sense of suspended disbelief that comes from hitting severe turbulence.

The actor and his wife, Camila Alves, were onboard a Lufthansa flight to Germany from Texas in March when the plane plunged 4,000ft.

Your red wine, and the glass and the plates that your food was on are all suspended, floating, still just in the air. And to look at it for that long, which wasnt that long  one, two, three, four  and then everything just comes crashing down, he said during a podcast interview with TV host Kelly Ripa last week.

While that incident is still being investigated by the Federal Aviation Authority, there is growing scientific evidence that clear-air turbulence is becoming more common due to the climate crisis.

Clear-air turbulence happens in the absence of clouds at higher altitudes, and is down to wind shear  a change in the direction and velocity of gusts that can displace aircraft abruptly.

Global heating is causing disruptions in different layers of the atmosphere. Since 1979, wind shear in the jet stream has increased 15 per cent, Dr Paul D. Williams, a professor of atmospheric science at the University of Reading, told The Wall Street Journal.

His research projects that clear-air turbulence will more than double by around mid-century in the mid-Northern Hemisphere - affecting popular routes like New York-London and San Francisco-Tokyo, WSJ added.

Thousands of planes already experience severe turbulence every year, costing the aviation industry up to $1bn through flight delays and structural damage.

Because it can happen so suddenly it also means the potential for serious injuries to passengers and crew.

In March 2019, a Turkish Airlines flight from Istanbul to New York encountered severe clear-air turbulence over Maine, hospitalising 30 people, including a flight attendant who suffered a broken leg.

Dana Hyde, a former official in the Obama administration, died after a private plane she was travelling on experienced severe turbulence in the US Northeast last month.

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Last May, 14 passengers and three cabin crew were injured on a SpiceJet flight travelling from Kolkata to Mumbai, India.

It all happened in a span of five to seven minutes, Hemal Rajesh Doshi, one of the passengers, told The Independent at the time.

About an hour and a half into the flight, without any announcement, it was like the plane suddenly fell and passengers were in panic I saw about four to five passengers literally thrown into the air and some hit the flights roof and fell. The moment was like being on a roller coaster.

Improved turbulence forecasting will be necessary, said Eurocontrol, an organisation which works on air traffic management across Europe.

Avoiding unexpected turbulence can lead to route extensions and increased fuel burn/CO 2 emissions; so improving the capability to forecast turbulence means routes can be better planned and reduce additional track miles, a spokesperson told The Independent.

Turbulence wont be the only disruption to air travel caused by the climate crisis, scientists warn, with extreme weather events like increasingly erratic and powerful tropical cyclones also taking a toll.
Former director of national intelligence John Ratcliffe told Congress on Tuesday that Anthony Faucis testimony under oath on gain-of-function research did not comport with the available intelligence at the time.

Appearing before the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic, Ratcliffe was asked by Representative Nicole Malliotakis (R., N.Y.) about Faucis sworn testimony before the Senate in November of 2021. In that hearing, Fauci told Senator Rand Paul (R., Ky.) that the NIH did not fund gain-of-function research. Malliotakis said this was despite the fact Fauci had been told in an email in January of 2021 that NIH had a monetary relationship with the Wuhan Institute through the EcoHealth Alliance. Malliotakis then asked Ratcliffe if he thought Fauci had lied under oath.

Some of Dr. Faucis testimony is inconsistent with some of the intelligence that we have that remains classified as well as inconsistent with some information that is publicly available, replied Ratcliffe.

The former Director of National Intelligence agrees with the former CDC Director that Dr. Anthony Fauci lied to Congress under oath about funding gain-of-function research at the Wuhan lab: "Some of Dr. Fauci's testimony is inconsistent with some of the intelligence that we have pic.twitter.com/raoVCBQdyR  KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) April 18, 2023

Gain-of-function research is a controversial practice that involves making pathogens more deadly or transmissible in order to better understand current or future pandemics, and thus be able to respond faster. Funding for the research was halted in 2014 during the Obama administration due to concerns about the risks, but the NIH lifted that funding pause three years later after the creation of an oversight framework. In 2021, it emerged that U.S. taxpayers had funded such research into bat coronaviruses at the Wuhan Institute of Virology through an intermediary  that is, EcoHealth Alliance.

Fauci insisted during multiple appearances before Congress that the research conducted in Wuhan did not match the NIHs definition of gain-of-function, contradicting independent experts such as Dr. Richard Ebright, who have said the experiments being performed clearly qualify as gain-of-function research.

The Biden administration continues to support the practice despite widespread concerns in the scientific community that it may have contributed to the outbreak of Covid. National security council communications coordinator John Kirby explained in February that [the president] believes that [the research is] important to help prevent future pandemics.

Gain-of-function research continues to be probed by Congress due to the competing theories of the origins of the coronavirus: the lab-leak hypothesis and the natural-transmission hypothesis. The Energy Department joined the FBI in preferring the lab-leak hypothesis in February. Other agencies disagree.

Ratcliffe weighed into the debate on Tuesday.

My informed assessment as a person with as much access as anyone during the initial year of the pandemic has been and continues to be that a lab leak is the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, by science, and by common sense, he explained.

From a view inside the [intelligence community] if our intelligence and evidence supporting a lab-leak theory was placed side by side with our intelligence and evidence pointing to a natural-origins or spillover theory, the lab leak side of the ledger would be long, convincing, and overwhelming, while the spillover side would be nearly empty and tenuous, said Ratcliffe. Were this a trial, a preponderance of circumstantial evidence compiled by our intelligence would compel a jury finding of guilty to an accusation that coronavirus research in the Wuhan labs was responsible for the pandemic.

David Feith, former deputy assistant secretary of state for east Asian and Pacific affairs, who appeared alongside Ratcliffe Tuesday, revealed that some of his colleagues in the State Department warned against gain-of-function research early in the pandemic.

By late 2020, colleagues flagged new U.S government information that underscored the plausibility of a lab leak, Feith explained. [That] Wuhan lab had a long record of secrecy about its coronavirus research and undisclosed ties with Chinas military. Working with ODNI, we at State worked to make this information public. Some of our colleagues warned us not to. They said not to highlight Chinas gain-of-function research lest we draw attention to the U.S. governments own role in such research and open a Pandoras box.

Feith also offered his view on various agencies in the intelligence community staking a position between the two competing theories.

We dont need a running intelligence community straw poll as much as we need a transparent whole-of-government campaign to recognize the gravely high stakes of the lab leak possibility and pursue policy reforms, Feith explained.

More from National Review
By Sarah N. Lynch and Michael Martina

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China and Iran are becoming increasingly brazen in their attempts to silence dissidents on American soil and influence U.S. policy, the FBI warned on Wednesday.

In a news briefing with reporters about transnational repression, FBI counterintelligence officials urged victims to come forward, saying the bureau is tracking a growing trend of foreign authoritarian regimes breaching U.S. laws to intimidate certain communities.

The officials said the governments have at times resorted to using private investigators to conduct surveillance on dissidents and that several criminal cases have been brought by federal prosecutors involving their use.

"A lot of these are new tactics and lines that are being crossed that we have not seen China and Iran do on U.S. soil in previous investigations," one FBI counterintelligence official said. He added that the FBI hoped to raise awareness of such trends and alert the private investigator sector and state and local law enforcement.

Officials said the goals of transnational repression schemes are multifaceted, and at times also aim to influence U.S. policy decisions through "malign influence tactics."

"We've really seen an inflection point in the tactics and tools, and the level of risk and the level of threat that have changed over the past few years," another FBI counterintelligence official said.

The call with reporters on Wednesday came just two days after federal agents arrested two New York residents for allegedly operating a Chinese "secret police station" in Manhattan's Chinatown district, in what prosecutors said is part of a broader U.S. government crackdown on Beijing's alleged targeting of dissidents.

Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, has published reports in recent months revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police "service stations" in major cities around the world, including in New York and Los Angeles.

FBI officials declined to comment on the New York case or speak about any other open investigations.

(Reporting by Sarah N. Lynch and Michael Martina in Washington; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
The House on Fire ruins are pictured in Bears Ears National Monument in San Juan County on April 9, 2021. | Kristin Murphy, Deseret News

Rep. John Curtis pressed Interior Secretary Deb Haaland on the federal governments oversight of Bears Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah, saying he thinks the agency has not appropriated requisite resources and staff to preserve and protect the area.

Today, I think there are two (Bureau of Land Management) agents managing, imagine, 1.3 million acres, Curtis said Wednesday morning at the hearing for the House Committee on Natural Resources.

But not a single penny of resources has been sent their way after this 1.3 million acre designation that the federal government took on to preserve and protect, he continued.

Under Democrat control, DOI thinks they know better than local and state governments on how to steward the land.



They don't and @RepJohnCurtis has a perfect example of it  pic.twitter.com/9w1JPVvBQ7  House Committee on Natural Resources (@NatResources) April 19, 2023

The monument designation has been a point of debate between Democratic and Republican administrations for a number of years, while also highlighting public land management differences between members of the two parties.

Former President Barack Obama established the monument in 2016 by presidential proclamation in his last days in office. The designation, roughly the size of the state of Delaware, sought to bring the land under federal protection but was met by some local and state government opposition.

In 2017, former Utah Gov. Gary Herbert signed a resolution asking former President Donald Trump to rescind the monument designation. Later that year, Trump reduced the size of the monument from 1.3 million acres to approximately 200,000.

However, President Joe Biden called for a review of the reduction, and at Haalands recommendation ultimately restored the monument to its original size.

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Related

At the committee hearing Wednesday, Curtis said he got to know Haaland well during her onsite review of the monument, but you and I found ourselves on a different side of a very contentious issue, he said.

Curtis said the federal governments argument to retake stewardship over the land was, we must do this to protect and preserve this area. We dont trust the state. We dont trust the county. ... We have to do it here from Washington, D.C.

The Republican congressman, who represents Utahs 3rd District, which includes the monument, said he disagreed with this reasoning by the federal government and lamented their taking stewardship of the area away from the state.

Curtis said he believes local and state officials were doing a better job protecting the land: We were doing that quite well as local, state governments. We feel like we preserved and protected that area in a magnificent way. And now the federal government is taking it over without adding any resources.

The two federal agents assigned to patrol the area, Curtis said, are doing their best given the impossible task. There is far more looting, far more grave robbing and vandalism in this area today, he said.

Curtis asked Haaland, How in the world is the federal government proposing to do what it said it was going to do when it made this a monument designation and took the stewardship away from the local people?

Haaland agreed with Curtis that a lack of staffing at the Bureau of Land Management is a problem.

But Curtis interjected and added, But its not just staff. You dont even have the budget if you had the staff. The federal government made a decision several years ago to designate this as a 1.3 million acre monument to preserve it, and it has not even tried to put resources in to do that.

The Utah congressman ended by asking how the federal government justifies taking stewardship of the land away from Utahns because they thought they know better than the (local people), then proceeded by not doing anything in this area?

Haaland responded by thanking Curtis for his comments, and saying, I will absolutely take those to heart. ... I understand your concerns and theyre my concerns as well.

Curtis said lawmakers and policymakers should understand the tremendous responsibility a monument designation incurs on the federal government.

Its not as easy as waving a wand and protecting all this area because weve designated it, he said. Were taking that responsibility away from the state and weve really got to step up if we want to preserve and protect this area in a way that was different than before.
WASHINGTON (AP)  For some senators, the Democratic effort to temporarily replace ailing 89-year-old Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee is about speeding up confirmation of President Joe Biden's federal court nominees. But for others, particularly her most long-serving peers, its personal.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is the same age as the California Democrat and has worked with her for three decades on the committee, said he thinks Democrats have been trying to force her out of office because shes old. He called that anti-human.

The attempt to replace her on the committee is disrespectful and not in keeping with her many contributions, said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican who is close friends with Feinstein.

Feinstein is not the first senator to take an extended medical absence or face uncomfortable questions about age or cognitive abilities. But the open discussion over her capacity to serve shows just how much the Senate has changed in recent years, with high-stakes partisanship replacing a more collegial, clubby atmosphere.

It also highlights the difficulty, and the sensitivity, surrounding Democrats uphill efforts to replace Feinsteins vote on the influential committee as she recovers from a case of the shingles. Her absence, which comes as her health and memory has noticeably declined in recent years, means that some of Biden's picks for the federal bench are stalled in committee.

Democrats say Republicans snubbed a sick colleague when they blocked Feinstein's unusual request to be temporarily replaced.

It is flat wrong to seek partisan advantage from health issues of a colleague," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. The American people reject that kind of scorched earth approach to governing.

Republicans say Democrats are unfairly trying to force her off one important committee  she serves on others  simply to game the system because they lack the votes to move Biden's most partisan nominees.

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It is a marked difference from the Senate of years past.

Collins said Feinstein has been treated differently from men in the Senate who have had memory or health issues. Examples include Republican Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Cochran and Byrd remained atop the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee after their health began to fail; Byrd eventually stepped down from the position voluntarily; Cochran resigned from Congress.

The contrast is pretty sharp, said Collins, who served with all three men and has worked closely with Feinstein for years. Collins said senators were more collegial and respectful of each other in the past, and there was less pressure on the men to resign or step down from a committee.

She said she believes the efforts to push Feinstein off the committee are sexist. Were all human, and senators get ill, Collins said. Because the Senate has been disproportionately male for so long, I think what were seeing now is a different standard being applied.

Older senators in declining health were more protected by leaders and members of both parties in the past, Collins said.

Feinstein herself requested a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee in a statement last week. But the pressure on her to step back from her duties due to questions about her age and cognitive abilities dates back several years.

In 2020, Feinstein said she would not serve as the top Democrat on the committee after criticism from liberal advocacy groups about her handling of hearings on Amy Coney Barretts nomination for the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, Feinstein said she would not serve as the Senate president pro tempore, or the most senior member of the majority party, even though she was in line to do so. The president pro tempore opens the Senate every day and holds other ceremonial duties.

In February, she announced she would not run for reelection in 2024.

Angst over health issues in the Senate is not new, and many senators are well over retirement age. Also, Feinstein is not the only senator take an extended absence this year.

Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is 53, returned to the Senate this week after checking himself into the hospital for clinical depression in February. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is 81, also returned this week after falling and hitting his head in early March.

Feinstein asked for the pause in her service on the committee after Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on her to resign from the Senate. Khanna said it is unacceptable for her to miss votes to confirm judges who could be weighing in on abortion rights, a key Democratic priority. Khanna has endorsed Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, one of several California Democrats already running to replace Feinstein in the Senate.

After Khannas call for her to resign, Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, defended her longtime California colleague. Like Collins, Pelosi suggested sexism is at play.

I dont know what political agendas are at work that are going after Sen. Feinstein in that way, said Pelosi, 83, in an interview with a California radio station. Ive never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.

McConnell said on the Senate floor that he believes Democrats are trying to sideline Feinstein, whom he called a titanic figure. Elected in 1992, she was the first woman to serve as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to hold the rank as the top Democrat on Judiciary Committee. Before her Senate career she was the first woman to be mayor of San Francisco.

Lets be clear, said McConnell in remarks on the Senate floor. Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees.

Schumer on Tuesday declined to answer when asked if Feinstein should resign. He would only say that he had spoken to Feinstein last week and she and I are both very hopeful that she will return soon. Her office has not provided a timeline for her return.

As Schumer called up the resolution to replace Feinstein, he said he was asking for support in replacing her "not just as leader, but as Dianne's friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the Senate."

Democrats acknowledge its an uncomfortable question as they try to balance the health of colleagues against their efforts to legislate and approve nominations with a narrow 51-49 majority.

If any one of us is missing, it has an impact on the ability of the Senate and of committees to function, said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. And so any conversation about our health and continuing service has its sensitivity.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
Its been almost two weeks now since Lee Sung Jins Beef landed on Netflix, meaning many fans have finished binging the critically acclaimed dark comedy.

The series starring Ali Wong and Steven Yeun is widely considered to be the streaming services best show of 2023 so far.

However, towards the business end of the first season, things got a little gruesome for some viewers.

*Warning  Major spoilers ahead for Beef episode nine*

Beefs ninth episode sees David Choes Isaac taking drastic measures to recuperate the money swindled from him by his brother Danny (Yeun).

Isaac and his accomplices take Amy (Wong), Naomi (Ashley Park) and Jordan (Maria Bello) hostage in the latters LA mansion.

(From left) Ashley Park, Maria Bello and Ali Wong in Beef (ANDREW COOPER/NETFLIX)

Things go awry when Naomi and Jordan make a break for the multi-millionaires panic room. Naomi ends up crushing Jordan in the panic room door as she tries to escape her captor.

The result is so gruesome that Isaacs accomplice ends up vomiting on the floor.

Many fans took to Twitter to share their revolted reactions to the scene.

Girl, not Jordan & this safe door?! What in the Final Destination?! one person wrote, referencing the famously gory film franchise.

#BEEFNetflix



Girl, not Jordan & this safe door?! What in the final destination?!

pic.twitter.com/9AmJjzaw5u  Rachel. (@_loveRachel_) April 12, 2023

Now why they kill Jordan like that ??? Another questioned.

Now why they kill Jordan like that ??? #beefnetflix #beef pic.twitter.com/3CUhvscZbx  Jake from State Farm knows I exist (@SeniTelly) April 10, 2023

Someone else wrote: That Jordan scene was so unnecessary [to be honest].

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In an interview with Newsweek, showrunner Lee revealed that the episode was originally going to be even more violent before the shows producers told him to dial it down.

I knew that I wanted everything to hit the fan, Lee said. Wed been stretching this rubber band for eight episodes now, I knew I needed the thing to snap.

And truthfully the outline of that episode was, believe it or not, even crazier, with so many more deaths. But it was too much, and Netflix and A24, rightfully, were like you, OK? And so we brought it back.

Beef has aired with some controversy after a 2014 clip from Choes now-defunct podcast, DVDASA, resurfaced showing him talking about sexually assaulting a massage therapist.

The 46-year-old later apologised for the comments, claiming that the anecdote was a fabrication for the sake of the show.

On Tuesday (18 April), it was reported that Choe had filed requests to have the podcast clip removed from Twitter, citing copyright infringement.

The Independent has contacted Choes representatives for comment.

If you have been raped or sexually assaulted, you can contact your nearest Rape Crisis organisation for specialist, independent and confidential support. For more information, visit their website here.
The Russian Center of Science and Culture in Helsinki

Stated as a temporary measure, the goal is to identify the land and building owners and determine whether they are subject to sanctions.

RCSC officials have three weeks to confirm, starting from the date of the seizure (April 11).

Russia is prevented from disposing of the seized property, or transferring it, until a final decision is made.

The total area of the seized plot is 3326 square meters (35,800 square feet).

Seven apartments of persons sanctioned by the EU were also seized in Helsinki. Three of them are located near the RCSC. The area of the seized apartments ranges from 36 to 175 square meters (from 388 to 1884 square feet), with their values estimated between EUR 200,000 to 300,000 ($218,000-$328,000).

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ukraines Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov has confirmed that Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems have arrived in Ukraine.

Source: Reznikov on Twitter, reported by European Pravda

Quote: "Today, our beautiful Ukrainian skies are becoming more secure, as Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine."

Details: Reznikov has said that the Ukrainian anti-aircraft gunners "mastered them [Patriot systems  ed.] as quickly as they could."

He has also thanked German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Dutch Defence Minister Kajsa Ollongren, as well as the American, German and Dutch people.

Background: The day before, Germany announced that it had delivered a Patriot air defence system to Ukraine. Berlin promised to send one battery of the Patriot air defence system to Ukraine. Each battery has four to eight launchers, each with a capacity of four missiles.

The United States was the first to announce the transfer of the Patriot system to Ukraine in December 2022 as part of another military aid package. In addition, the Netherlands will also supply Ukraine with Patriot systems and a number of missiles.

At the end of March, the Ukrainian soldiers completed training on the Patriot system in the United States, which was earlier than expected.

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Anadolu Agency / Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Five men have been charged in connection with a drugging and robbery scheme that preyed on patrons of Manhattan gay bars and resulted in at least two deaths, officials announced Tuesday.

The fifth and final suspect, 35-year-old alleged group leader Jayqwan Hamilton, was arrested by NYPD officers on Monday following months of fears in New York Citys LGBTQ community stemming from reports over the incidents.

NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said investigators probed 17 similar incidents between September 2021 and August 2022.

Prosecutors say that the group of men conspired to approach people outside bars or clubs and offer them drugs that were used to incapacitate them. The men would then steal the victims phones and credit cards, or make cash transfers via apps, while their victims were either unconscious or, in the case of two men, dead.

We want to send a message to the LGBTQ community: We understand the trauma you experienced during this time, Mayor Eric Adams told reporters at a news conference .

Julio Ramirez, 25, was found dead in the backseat of a cab in the early hours of April 21, 2022, after leaving the Ritz bar in the Hells Kitchen neighborhood and entering the taxi with three other men who left him incapacitated. An autopsy found he died from an overdose of fentanyl, p-fluorofentanyl, and heroin.

In the days after his death, authorities say his killers stole at least $3,200 from Ramirez via unauthorized bank transactions and used his credit card to purchase sneakers.

Over a month later, on May 28, 33-year-old John Umberger left the Q NYC bar in Hells Kitchen and was allegedly approached by two of the men. Some 90 minutes later, they left him incapacitated in an apartment, before stealing thousands of dollars and using his credit cards to make unauthorized purchases.

Umbergers autopsy also showed he died from an overdose of fentanyl and p-fluorofentanyl.

Authorities also charged the men with at least two other nonfatal drugging robberies that occurred on April 8 and May 14, 2022. Those victims had also been patrons at Q NYC and the Ritz.

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The defendants engaged in a concerted and deliberate scheme to harm innocent individuals, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg told reporters. Their motive, we allege, was simple: to make money.

The Ritz Bar and Lounge in Hell's Kitchen Dia Dipasupil / Getty Images

In addition to Hamilton, the other men arrested were Robert Demaio, 34; Jacob Barroso, 29; Andre Butts, 27; and Shane Hoskins, 30.

All five were charged with first-degree robbery and fourth-degree conspiracy, as well as various counts of grand larceny and identity theft.

In addition, Hamilton, Demaio, and Barroso were charged with second-degree murder over Ramirezs death. Hamilton and Demaio faced another second-degree murder charge for Umbergers death.

Attorneys for some of the men did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Essig told reporters that investigators found two videos on Demaios cellphone; the first showed Hamilton and Demaio inside Umbergers apartment, while the second showed Umberger lying motionless on a bed in the same pose his body was later found.

In December, authorities also charged another man, Kenwood Allen , 33, with robbery and murder over two similar fatal drugging robberies that occurred on the Lower East Side in March and July 2022.

Erik Bottcher, an openly gay member of the New York City Council, thanked police and prosecutors on Tuesday for their work on the case.

Although these arrests will not bring back Julio and John, they are a step towards justice for their families and loved ones, Bottcher said on Twitter. I hope this sends a message far and wide that if you victimize our community, you will be apprehended and you will be held accountable.

Bragg encouraged anyone who believes they may have been a victim of the scheme to come forward to authorities.

I know these incidents have provoked a lot of fear, Bragg added. Nobody should have to worry about their safety and well-being when enjoying Manhattans vibrant nightlife and this investigation sends a clear message that we have no tolerance for this kind of dangerous conduct.
Florida on Wednesday extended its controversial ban on lessons related to gender identity and sexual orientation to all school grades, a move pushed by the southern US state's Republican governor and likely presidential candidate Ron DeSantis.

Dubbed by critics as the "Don't Say Gay" law, the policy was initially limited to kindergarten through third grade, but the state's Board of Education on Wednesday approved an expansion to grades four through 12.

The expansion had already been approved by the Department of Education, which like the board is led by DeSantis appointees, and does not need legislative approval to take effect.

The new rule stipulates that teachers "shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction to students in grades 4 through 12 on sexual orientation or gender identity unless such instruction is ... expressly required by state academic standards."

It also allows for an exemption if the lesson is "part of a reproductive health course or health lesson for which a student's parent has the option to have his or her student not attend."

Teachers who violate the policy could have their licenses suspended or revoked, according to the text.

Equality Florida, an LGBTQ rights group, expressed outrage at the move.

"Shame on the DeSantis Administration for putting a target on the backs of LGBTQ Floridians," the group said in a statement.

It accused Republican officials of having a "lust for government censorship."

DeSantis, who won reelection in 2022 in a landslide victory, has made battling politicians, teachers and businesses he accuses of wanting to impose a progressive "woke" ideology on others a central concern of his second term.

He has increasingly courted conservative voters with controversial proposals on education and immigration in recent months, as jockeying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination heats up.

A rising star of the American right, DeSantis is widely expected to go toe-to-toe with former president Donald Trump, who has already declared his candidacy.

gma/gm/des/st
China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday provided further details on the inclusion in February of two companies on the country's unreliable entities list.

On Feb. 16, China put two companies, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Raytheon Missiles & Defense, on its unreliable entities list as they sold arms to China's Taiwan region, banning them from engaging in China-related import or export activities and making new investments in China.

Senior executives of the two companies, including James Donald Taiclet, Frank Andrew St. John and Jesus Malave of Lockheed Martin Corporation, as well as Wesley D. Kremer, Agnes Soeder and Chander Nijhon of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, have since then been prohibited from entering China, as well as working, staying and residing in China, the ministry said, citing relevant laws and regulations.

The decision to ban the two companies from China-related import or export activities aims to prevent the use of Chinese products in their military businesses, said the ministry, urging Chinese enterprises to check and verify relevant transaction details when conducting business.

Chinese enterprises who are aware that the actual importer or user of their products is one of the above two U.S. enterprises should not carry out related import and export activities, and those violating relevant regulations will be held accountable, according to the ministry.
The Florida Senate on Tuesday passed a bill that would allow the death penalty for people who commit sexual batteries on children under age 12, sending the issue to Gov. Ron DeSantis.

Lawmakers hope the bill (HB 1297) will ultimately lead to the U.S. Supreme Court reversing a 2008 decision that barred the death penalty for people who rape children. The state House passed the bill last week.

Senate Minority Leader Lauren Book, a Davie Democrat who was sexually abused as a child, implored senators Tuesday evening to vote for the bill. She said people who sexually abuse children are called predators for a reason, because they stalk and hunt down their prey.

There is no statute of limitations on this crime (for victims), Book said. There is no end. Its always with you.

The Senate voted 34-5 to pass the bill, with the dissenting votes cast by Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boca Raton; Sen. Ileana Garcia, R-Miami; Sen. Erin Grall, R-Vero Beach; Sen. Rosalind Osgood, D-Fort Lauderdale; and Sen. Geraldine Thompson, D-Windermere. The House voted 95-14 to approve the bill, which DeSantis is expected to sign.

Sponsors of the bill have been upfront about hoping the bill will be a vehicle to get the U.S. Supreme Court and the Florida Supreme Court to reconsider legal precedents that have blocked executing rapists. In a somewhat-unusual move, the bill specifically says the Legislature finds that a 1981 Florida Supreme Court decision and the 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision, in a case known as Kennedy v. Louisiana, were wrongly decided.

RELATED: Florida lawmakers pursue death penalty in child rapes

Senate bill sponsor Jonathan Martin, a Fort Myers Republican who is a former prosecutor, pointed to the Florida Supreme Court and the U.S. Supreme Court becoming more conservative after appointments in recent years.

We have a completely different (U.S.) Supreme Court makeup, Martin told senators. We have a completely different Florida Supreme Court makeup than when Kennedy v. Louisiana was issued. I know everybody in this room hopes that nobody is put to death for this crime. Because if someone is put to death for this crime, it means that a poor innocent child was raped.

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Under the bill, defendants could receive death sentences based on the recommendations of at least eight of 12 jurors. Judges would have discretion to impose the death penalty or sentence defendants to life in prison. If fewer than eight jurors recommend death, defendants would receive life sentences.

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Currently, unanimous jury recommendations are required before judges can impose the death penalty in murder cases. But lawmakers also have passed a bill that would allow death sentences in murder cases after recommendations from eight of 12 jurors. DeSantis also is expected to sign that bill.

The death-penalty bills would affect what is known as the sentencing phase of cases. Juries would still need to unanimously find defendants guilty of the crimes before the sentencing phase would begin.

Osgood, who cast one of the dissenting votes Tuesday, described the child-rape bill as a quandary for her.

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I love kids, and Ill do anything to protect them, Osgood said. But I struggle from a faith perspective. If I believe in my faith that God can redeem and save anybody, then how do I support someone getting the death penalty? And Im just talking about me. Thats my struggle. Thats my challenge.

But Sen. Jason Pizzo, a Hollywood Democrat who is a former prosecutor, said people who sexually abuse children cant be rehabilitated.

There is nothing more heinous than touching and abusing a child, Pizzo said.

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The State Board of Education on Wednesday voted to bar Florida middle school and high school teachers from intentionally teaching students about sexual orientation or gender identity, unless the lessons are part of a reproductive health course or are expressly required by the states academic standards.

Teachers who do otherwise could be suspended or their teaching license could be revoked.

Education Commissioner Manny Diaz, the head of the Florida Department of Education, said the rule is meant to provide clarity to teachers about what they can and cannot teach on those topics.

The new rule goes beyond the states Parental Rights in Education laws  dubbed by critics as dont say gay  that prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in kindergarten through third grade, and older grades in cases when the lessons are deemed to be not age appropriate.

It would also go beyond what Republican legislative leaders have proposed during the 2023 legislative session, which would extend classroom restrictions on those topics through eighth grade.

The Parental Rights in Education law, which Gov. Ron DeSantis signed last year, has already led some teachers to question whether certain conversations are appropriate as classroom lessons as LGBTQ issues come under intense scrutiny from some Republican lawmakers and conservative parents and groups.

READ MORE: Restricting pronoun use in schools gets early backing in Florida Senate

Shortly after the law went into effect, the State Board of Education invoked it to crack down on school policies that impact LGBTQ issues, including bathroom use and protections for students who confide personal information to school employees about their sexual orientation and gender identity. In other instances, school districts have rolled back other policies because of the law. Pasco County schools, for example, cited the law when it banned safe space stickers that show support for LGBTQ students.

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The law was also the impetus for an ongoing feud between DeSantis and Disney, which issued a statement last year in opposition of the restrictions.

READ MORE: DeSantis announces new round of actions against Disney through Legislature, new board

While the law has had an impact on some LGBTQ policies in some districts, supporters of the restrictions say the law is aimed at classroom instruction, not conversations about those topics when they naturally come up.

Critics, however, worry the rule will further confuse teachers and that its broad language will leave many high school lessons up for interpretation.

Joe Saunders, the senior political director for Equality Florida, asked during public comment if 11th graders would be allowed to learn about the landmark Supreme Court decision on same-sex marriage in government and civics courses.

Diaz said teachers would be allowed to cover that Supreme Court ruling. But he said, there would be a difference between talking about Supreme Court cases and taking that and then going into something else that is subjective and trying to expand on that.

The Florida Department of Education is revising the states civics academic standards and textbooks, which would need to be followed by teachers in order to comply with sexual orientation and gender identity instruction requirements.

Several women with the conservative group Moms for Liberty spoke in support of the rule, saying that it will encourage discussions on those topics to happen at home, not in school. As a result, they argued, the rule will strengthen relationships between students and their parents.

When the rule was first proposed a month ago, DeSantis office signaled support for the crackdown.

There is no reason for instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity to be part of K-12 public education. Full stop,  DeSantis press secretary Bryan Griffin said at the time.

On Thursday, a day after the passage of the rule, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called the new Florida law dystopian.

Censoring our classrooms is not how public education is supposed to work in a free country, Jean-Pierre said. Conservative politicians love to complain about the so-called cancel culture, all while threatening teachers with losing their jobs if they teach something that MAGA extremists dont agree with.

The rule would go into effect in 34 days at the earliest, giving schools and teachers some time to prepare for the changes.

McClatchy reporter Michael Wilner contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.
Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-Fla.) endorsed former President Trumps 2024 White House bid on Wednesday, following Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) meeting with House Republicans in Washington the day before.

If we want to get our economy back on track, Donald Trump is just the guy to get it done, Buchanan said in a statement. From lowering taxes to protecting our borders to promoting America-first trade deals, President Trump has done it before and will do it again.

A source close to Buchanan said Trump personally called the congressman about the endorsement and invited him to dinner at Mar-a-Lago on Thursday night.

Buchanan, who serves as the chair of the Florida delegation, is the latest Republican from the Sunshine State to back the former president, even as their home-state governor appears likely to launch a competing presidential bid.

Seven of the 20-member Florida Republican delegation have endorsed Trump: Buchanan and Reps. Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, John Rutherford and Greg Steube.

One member  Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.)  announced on Tuesday that she would back DeSantis. She is the third member of Congress to preemptively endorse the Florida governor.

Texas Rep. Lance Goodman (R) also announced his endorsement for Trump on Tuesday, after meeting with DeSantis.

I met with Governor DeSantis, and while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America from the leftist onslaught we are currently facing, Goodman tweeted.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The Florida Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a proposed constitutional amendment that seeks to shift to holding partisan school-board elections.

The proposal (HJR 31) will go on the 2024 ballot and, if approved by voters, would do away with a requirement that school-board candidates run without party labels. Partisan elections could begin in 2026.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 29-11 to approve the proposal (HJR 31), with Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, the only Democrat supporting it. The House passed the measure along straight party lines last month.

Opponents argued the state shouldnt politicize school-board elections.

Im just not in favor of even going down a road to start politicizing school board races. And if were all honest, we know what happens when we politicize things. We begin to make decisions based on party, instead of focusing on people, Sen. Rosalind Osgood, a Fort Lauderdale Democrat and former Broward County School Board member said.

But Senate sponsor Joe Gruters, R-Sarasota, called the measure a move toward full-transparency elections during a discussion on the Senate floor Tuesday.

Parties engage in these races. Theres no such thing as a non-partisan race anymore. These races are partisan, and the only ones that arent informed are being tricked, Gruters, a former chairman of the Republican Party of Florida, said. And what happens is, there are games that are played all the time in these races. And what Im trying to do is pull the bag off of the voters heads.

Florida historically had partisan school-board elections, but voters passed a constitutional amendment in 1998 to make the races non-partisan. Lawmakers moved forward with the possibility of returning to partisan races after Gov. Ron DeSantis last year took the unusual step of getting heavily involved in supporting conservative school-board candidates in various areas of the state.

The proposal would need support from 60 percent of voters next year to pass.

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Sen. Bobby Powell, D-West Palm Beach, said Florida would be in a minority if it makes school-board races partisan.

This is not something thats being done nationwide. If you look nationwide, most school-board races and school boards remain non-partisan, Powell said. I am hopeful that what happens with regard to partisan politics does not bleed into our school-board races.

The Legislature this year is considering other changes related to school boards, including bills (HB 477 and SB 1110) that would impose eight-year term limits on board members. Other proposals seek to change a requirement that school-board candidates have to live in the districts they are seeking to represent at the time they qualify to run.

Those bills (SB 444 and HB 411) would require candidates to live in the districts at the time they assume office.

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A Florida man who worked as a youth pastor and public school teacher was arrested after he allegedly downloaded child pornography and used his churchs Wi-Fi.

Edward Wilds III, 44, was busted in Palatka, Florida, this week after police said he downloaded the illicit material at Palatka Baptist Temple after a service, the Putnam County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post .

Police were allegedly alerted to the illegal activity through a cyber-tip from a social media site.

"In total 54,000 images were discovered on accounts and devices associated with Wilds. The majority of the images were pornographic," police said.

"Wilds told detectives he had been banned by the company of one social media site several times. Detectives discovered messaging conversations where Wilds was asked by another user for images of children between the ages of 14-16 years old. He sent 42 images."

FLORIDA PREP SCHOOL PRINCIPAL ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ABUSED STUDENT WHO VIEWED HER AS 'MOTHER FIGURE': REPORT

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Edward Wilds, 44, has been charged with possession of child pornography and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.

Detectives met with Wilds in March and took control of his electronic devices for a forensic download. Wilds was suspended and removed from the classroom where he taught sixth grade at Middleton-Burney Elementary School.

Police said during that forensic download they found an image of "a male child exposing his genitals to the camera."

NEARLY 350 K-12 EDUCATORS ARRESTED ON CHILD SEX CRIMES IN 2022

On April 12, a probable cause affidavit was submitted to the states attorneys office and an arrest warrant for Wilds was issued.

"This is a clearcut case of child sexual exploitation and Im deeply troubled by the commission of such heinous crime in our hometown," Putnam County Sheriff H.D. Gator DeLoach said in the press release. "The exploitation and abuse of children is a despicable act that has no place in our society. Wilds behavior is disgusting, vile and repugnant and I will not tolerate it in our county."

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OKLAHOMA SUBSTITUTE TEACHER ARRESTED FOR ALLEGEDLY SEXUALLY ABUSING TEEN: REPORTS

"Todays arrest of Wilds for possession of child pornography serves as a stark reminder that we all have a responsibility to be vigilant in protecting our children from all forms of abuse."

DeLoach also issued a message to anyone in Florida who sexually targets children.

"Heres my message to all the sick, perverted scum who commit these crimes and whose moral compass is nonexistent: if you think you are going to victimize our children here and get away with it, test that theory at your earliest convenience and Im personally coming for you," DeLoach said.

Palatka Baptist Temple did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.

"At this time there is no indication that any of these allegations involve students of the Putnam County School District," Rick Surrency, superintendent of Putnam County schools, said at a Friday press conference.

"All parents and students were notified of his arrest and counselors are available to all students and staff. This behavior should never occur but especially by someone who serves in an educational setting."

Wilds faces charges of possession of child pornography and using a two-way communication device to facilitate a felony.
A mother from Spring Hill, Florida, has gone viral after warning viewers that the color of a childs bathing suit could be a life-saving factor as pool season approaches.

In her recent TikTok video that grabbed 6.2 million views, Nikki Scarnati, an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) and self-rescue instructor, issued a PSA: "Dont buy blue bathing suits!"

Scarnati, 32, told Fox News Digital, "As an instructor in the industry, it's kind of widespread throughout our community that blue bathing suits are a no-no."

DAD SPEAKS OUT ON DROWNING DANGERS AS 13-YEAR-OLD NEARLY DIES AT CAMPGROUND

She said choosing to purchase a blue-color bathing suit could be a fatal mistake for anyone, especially a small child.

"When you're wearing a blue bathing suit, you tend to blend in with the aquatic environment," Scarnati said.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

Nikki Scarnati, an Infant Swimming Resource (ISR) and self-rescue instructor, issued a PSA on TikTok that garnered millions of views: "Dont buy blue bathing suits!"

"The way that the water reflects light, it comes off as if it has a blue hue. So, if you're wearing a blue bathing suit, it may be harder to be spotted by a parent or a lifeguard."

Drowning is the leading cause of accidental death for children ages 1 to 4, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

In the TikTok video, Scarnati's daughter Claire, 2, is shown swimming in a blue bathing suit that Scarnati bought on clearance to prove her message.

In the footage, the child can be seen swimming and splashing near the surface of the water.

"But if she were to be deeper in the water, that would be much more problematic for a blue bathing suit," Scarnati said. "The deeper you are, the more difficult you are to see."

Rather than a blue suit, Scarnati said she recommends the parents buy a neon-colored swimsuit or one that's bright red, pink, yellow or orange  something that is in contrast with the color of the water itself.

"Neon colors also allow you to be seen [the easiest] in a crowd," Scarnati said. "So, if you're in a busy pool, it's easier to spot a neon bathing suit than a neutral or blue-colored bathing suit."

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Ben Robert, senior coordinator for aquatics and safety education at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, agreed. He said there are other colors as well that can be problematic for rescue.

OFF-DUTY POLICE OFFICER RESCUES NEIGHBORING 2-YEAR-OLD FROM DROWNING AFTER HEARING SCREAMS FIVE DOORS DOWN

"As far as swimming pools, that's true," Robert told Fox News Digital.

"The blue is harder to see in clear water. The way [the] eyes function, it tends to blend in. But if you're in another body of water, like a river or lake, then greens would be an issue."

Nikki Scarnati said choosing to purchase a blue-color bathing suit could be a fatal mistake, as it's a difficult color for people to spot in a blue swimming pool, where the water also appears to blend in.

Robert concurred that bright colors are key.

He said that better choices are "anything bright, like a bright yellow or red. Reds are easy to see. So, somewhere in that spectrum."

Robert also said that parents and homeowners need to take matters into their own hands when it comes to safety barriers for children.

OHIO MOM SAYS VIRAL PARENTING TIP ON TIKTOK HELPED HER FIND HER LOST TODDLER IN PUBLIC: 'I KNEW WHAT TO DO'

"Ideally, it would be a fence with a gate that either has a latch that is higher than a child can reach or some type of enclosure where they have to have help to get access," Robert said.

Water wings and other inflatable flotation devices that go on a child's arms are a hazard that Robert said he warns parents against using, as they create a false sense of security.

"They're not connected, so if a child does have to go underwater, the first thing's thats going to happen is those are going to slip right off their arms," Robert said.

"They're inexpensive, they look cute and parents tend to buy those, but they're not an approved safety device. We don't allow them at all."

Any flotation device needs to be something that's Coast Guard approved, said Robert.

"Pool time is not just a free break time for mom or dad to sit on the deck and read a book," said Robert, who has 30 years of pool industry experience. "They need to be close to their child all the time."

FLORIDA DOCTOR ISSUES VIRAL BBQ GRILL BRUSH WARNING ON TIKTOK AFTER CHILD'S VISIT TO HER EMERGENCY ROOM

"I've seen video coverage of a child being under the water for nine seconds and not surviving," Robert added.

Ben Robert of Baylor University in Texas said pools should have a locked gate or barrier so children cannot gain access to the water unsupervised.

It only takes 20 seconds for a child to have a drowning incident and 60 seconds for an adult to suffer from drowning, Scarnati informed her viewers in a subsequent water safety video.

For children ages 5 to 14, drowning is the second leading cause of unintentional death, she added.

Water safety barriers are the most important aspect of reducing the risk of drowning, said Scarnati  and she recommends a multi-level approach.

"The more things you have standing between your child and the water," the better, Scarnati said.

LIFEGUARD, 16, SAVES WOMAN FROM DROWNING FIRST WEEK ON THE JOB

Pool fences, pool alarms and door locks all are important  but there are other barriers that could also help save lives, Scarnati said.

She named a few other things: "All adults being certified in CPR and first aid covering infants, children and adults. High-quality swim lessons that teach your child how to prioritize their air and their float. And also constant eyes  you want to make sure that there's always a designated adult keeping an eye on the children at one time with no distractions."

Claire Scarnati swims underwater with her mother, swim instructor Nikki Scarnati, nearby. Nikki Scarnati said she advises parents to use layers of protection when it comes to children and water safety.

As part of her home training, Scarnati said she's developed a process  a series of questions  that helps provide yet one more barrier to a drowning accident.

"First, [my daughter] has to ask me if she can get her bathing suit on," Scarnati said.

"Then, she has to ask if she can go out to the pool area. That involves me opening the door, and then she has to ask permission to enter the pool."

The mom continued, "So, there are three questions that have to be asked and answered in order for her to get in the pool. Even though she is fully skilled, I want to make sure that she never gets used to being in the water without me."

GEORGIA MOM OF 6-YEAR-OLD CHILD WHO CLIMBED INTO HOT CAR AND DIED HAS URGENT WARNING FOR PARENTS

Scarnati said establishing safety habits makes a child think before heading to the pool.

"There are three questions that have to be asked and answered in order for her to get in the pool. Even though she is fully skilled, I want to make sure that she never gets used to being in the water without me," Nikki Scarnati said of her daughter Claire, age two.

"It's just creating that habit of your child needing you to enter the water," Scarnati said.

"That way, they're less likely to veer toward the pool by themselves. It's absolutely [instilling] daily habits that you can adjust to make your child second-guess [if] they should be near the water alone."

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Drowning is not always fatal, according to the CDC.

Nonfatal drowning occurs when a person survives a drowning incident but may be left with brain damage or permanent disabilities.

Nikki Scarnati went viral on TikTok after she shared how parents shouldn't buy blue bathing suits for kids. Now, the swim instructor from Florida shared additional water safety tips in an interview with Fox News Digital.

For more information about drowning safety, the National Drowning Prevention Alliance offers a video titled, "The Five Layers of Protection," which underscores Scarnatis multi-level approach.

The five layers are: barriers, supervision, water competency, life jackets and emergency preparation.

Scarnati said she was inspired to become an instructor when she had her daughter in August 2020 and discovered a lack of swim instructors in her area.
Manatee County officials and law enforcement are investigating an alleged scam that involved an impersonation of a contractor to steal about $1.4 million from the county, according to a report.

Florida Politics reported scammers pretended to be contractor Neal Land and Neighborhoods asking to be paid for work on an extension to Fort Hamer Road in Parrish.

This is a fraud perpetrated on Manatee County, John Neal, president of Neal Land & Neighborhoods, told the Bradenton Herald.

Neal Land has never sent a wire demanding payment on a loan, Neal said.

This is the world that we live in; I dont understand the nature of it, Neal said of the scam.

Florida Politics reported the county wired $1.4 million in public money to a New York bank account.

To curb issues, the policy is the county pays contractors through checks, which can easily (be) traced and, if necessary, stopped, the outlet reported.

Neal had asked the county when they should receive payment, and the county told Neal they already wired the funds, which is when red flags were raised and an investigation began with county officials, the Manatee County Sheriffs Office and the FBI, Florida Politics reported.

Late last week, we learned our county was the victim of a highly sophisticated fraud, Manatee County Clerk of the Circuit Court and Comptroller Angel Colonesso said in a statement.

It involved multiple entities at various stages of the payment process. As Comptroller, funds were delivered based on fraudulent information and documents for an authorized invoice. We are working with law enforcement, the county, and my cybersecurity consultant.

Colonesso said its an active criminal investigation and more details cannot be provided at this time.

In all, Neal Lands has provided $12 million in interest-free loans to Manatee County for public-private infrastructure partnerships, Neal said.
A new species of butterfly that only inhabits small swaths of land in Australia was just discovered, researchers said.

The spotted trident-blue butterfly, or officially, Cyprotides maculosus, was found near Canberra, according to an April 19 statement from the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO), a government agency.

Finding a new species of butterfly, especially one so close to the capital city of Canberra, is like finding a new species of meat-eating dinosaur  it doesnt happen every day, Michael Braby, an associate professor at Australian National University, told CSIRO.

The butterfly, which has white wings with black spots, was first photographed in 2017, but has just recently been identified as a distinct species, according to a statement from the Invasive Species Council.

It only dwells in areas around Canberra, located in the southeast corner of the continent, including several national parks, and adjacent areas of New South Wales, according to CSIRO and the Invasive Species Council.

Its also only found about 3,600 to 5,000 feet above sea level, according to a study of the butterflys genus published in April in the journal Austral Entomology.

In addition, the fluttering creature has a preference for frost hollows, which are valleys full of cool air, the council said.

The low temperature keeps these areas open and grassy, full of the native flowering plants spotted trident-blue butterflies need to feed and lay eggs on, the council said.

The insect is the first new species of butterfly to be discovered in Australia in eight years, making it a significant discovery, Braby told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

We were thinking why on earth has this thing been overlooked for so long? Why has it taken so long for people to discover this? and we suspect its a combination of the fact that it flies fairly early in the year and its in this very specialized habitat, he told the outlet, adding, Its not the sort of the place youd really go to look for butterflies.

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There are more than 17,000 species of butterflies worldwide, according to the Smithsonian Institution.

Extremely rare creature spotted by Canadian photographer. Once in a lifetime

Daughter cleaning parents basement uncovers dozens of Viking-age artifacts in Norway

Shelter was worried about this gluttonous cats future  but it just got great news
Rather than fixating on the impact of the world's soaring population, the world should look at women's reproductive rights to shore up "demographic resilience," the UN said Wednesday.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency -- acknowledged there was widespread anxiety over the size of the world's population, which is expected to peak at around 10.4 billion during the 2080s.

But the UNFPA said the focus should be on giving women more power to control when and how they have children.

"The question is: 'Can everyone exercise their fundamental human right to choose the number and spacing of their children?'. Sadly, the answer is a resounding no," said UNFPA chief Natalia Kanem.

She said that "44 percent, almost half of women, are unable to exercise bodily autonomy. Unable to make choices about contraception, healthcare and whether or with whom to have sex. And globally, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended."

She said countries with the highest fertility rates contribute the least to global warming and suffer the most from its impact.

In its flagship annual "State of World Population" report, the UNFPA found the most commonly-held view is that the world's population is too big.

But it said that passing the eight billion mark "should be a reason to celebrate. It is a milestone representing historic advances for humanity in medicine, science, health, agriculture and education".

"It is time to put aside fear, to turn away from population targets and towards demographic resilience -- an ability to adapt to fluctuations in population growth and fertility rate," it said.

- India overtaking China -

"The world population is rapidly reordering itself," Kanem told a press conference.

While the population is now the largest ever seen, "the global average fertility rate is the lowest in living memory".

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Kanem said the ranking of the world's most populous countries would change significantly over the next 25 years, with India currently overtaking China at the top.

Eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.

The report said two-thirds of people were living in countries with low fertility.

"This is the first time in human history where not every country is getting bigger," said Kanem.

The countries with the highest fertility rates were all in Africa: Niger (6.7), Chad (6.1), DR Congo (6.1) Somalia (6.1) and Mali and the Central African Republic (5.8).

The territories with the lowest birth rates were Hong Kong (0.8), South Korea (0.9), Singapore (1.0), Macau and San Marino (1.1) and Aruba and China (1.2).

Europe is the only region projected to experience an overall population decline between now and 2050.

The report said the world fertility rate per woman was currently 2.3. Life expectancy is 71 for men and 76 for women.

"All populations are ageing largely because we're living longer lives. Since 1990, the average life expectancy has increased by about a decade," said Kanem.

Twenty-five percent of the world's population is aged 14 or under; 65 percent are aged 15-64 and 10 percent are aged 65 and over.

The report found anxious governments were increasingly adopting policies aimed at raising, lowering or maintaining fertility rates. However, such efforts are very often ineffective.

"Half a million births every year take place among girls aged 10-14... girls too young to consent to sex, girls married off, abused, or both," Kanem added.

rjm/ri/fb
Foo Fighters released the new single "Rescued" on Wednesday, and announced that But Here We Are will be out June 2

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Foo Fighters are back.

The rockers announced on Wednesday that their 11th album, titled But Here We Are, will be released in June, marking their first record since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year.

The band also released the album's first single "Rescued," though it remains unclear who played drums on the track. The album cover is almost entirely white, and features the title written at the bottom in light gray.

A press release calls But Here We Are a "brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year," as well as a "testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family." It is produced by Greg Kurstin, who's worked with Adele, Kelly Clarkson, Paul McCartney and more.

Foo Fighters  comprised of Dave Grohl, Nate Mendel, Pat Smear, Chris Shiflett and Rami Jaffee  have slowly been easing back into the spotlight following Hawkins' death, and recently announced nine headlining shows in 2023. They'll hit the road on May 24 in New Hampshire, and will play the headlining shows and nearly a dozen festivals through October.

Hawkins died while on tour in Colombia on March 25, 2022. In February, the band paid tribute to the drummer on what would have been his 51st birthday, sharing a black-and-white photo of him with the caption, "Miss you so much."

Roswell Records/RCA Records Foo Fighters' But Here We Are

Related:Foo Fighters Share Emotional Post on 'Going Forward' Without Taylor Hawkins: 'He'll Be There in Spirit'

Before Hawkins' death, the Foos were scheduled to perform at the 64th Grammys; they did not perform, and the awards show instead staged a tribute to Hawkins. In the days following his death, the musician's grieving bandmates also announced the cancellation of all upcoming tour dates.

In September, Foo Fighters and Hawkins' family put on a star-studded tribute concert for the late drummer. Along with other acts, the group performed their 1997 classic hit "My Hero" with Hawkins' son Oliver Shane on drums.

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Ashley Beliveau/Getty Taylor Hawkins

In December, Foo Fighters shared a statement that acknowledged they will be a "different band" after losing Hawkins, but promised that there would still be a future.

"As we say goodbye to the most difficult and tragic year that our band has ever known, we are reminded of how thankful we are for the people that we love and cherish most, and for the loved ones who are no longer with us," the message began.

Related:Foo Fighters Seemingly Tease New Project One Year After Taylor Hawkins' Death

Chris Hyde/Getty Images Dave Grohl

It continued, "Foo Fighters were formed 27 years ago to represent the healing power of music and a continuation of life. And for the past 27 years our fans have built a worldwide community, a devoted support system that has helped us all get through the darkest of times together. A place to share our joy and our pain, our hopes and fears, and to join in a chorus of life together through music."

"Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we wereand without Taylor, we know that we're going to be a different band going forward," the message continued.

"We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you againand we will soonhe'll be there in spirit with all of us every night," the message ended with a sign-off from the band.

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Read the original article on People.
A staff member arranges raw filaments at a production base of Zhongfu Shenying Carbon Fiber Co., Ltd. in Xining, northwest China's Qinghai Province, Feb. 22, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]



Deflation is not seen in China at present and will not be seen in the next stage, an official said Tuesday, noting that market supply and demand remained basically stable despite slower price growth.

Deflation refers to a continuous fall in the general price level, often accompanied by reduced money supply and economic recession, said National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Fu Linghui at a press conference.

"Generally speaking, deflation is not occurring in China," Fu said, citing a mild 1.3 percent year-on-year uptick in the consumer price index (CPI) and a robust 4.5 percent GDP expansion in the first quarter of the year, as well as a relatively fast growth of 12.7 percent in M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, at the end of March.

The spokesperson attributed the eased CPI growth rate in Q1 to a drop in food and energy prices, and a decline in automobile prices, among others.

Market supply and demand remained generally stable, Fu said, noting that China's core CPI, which does not include food and energy prices, climbed 0.8 percent from a year ago in Q1, and was up 0.2 percentage points from Q4 in 2022.

For the next stage, the prices will recover steadily and there will be no deflation concerns in China, Fu noted.

The CPI index is expected to stay at a low level in Q2 due to the high comparison base from the same period last year, according to Fu. He added that with influencing factors generally alleviated, overall prices will return to the normal level in the second half of the year.
Foo Fighters have announced their new album, But Here We Are, which will release this summer.

On Wednesday (19 April), the rock band dropped the records lead single Rescued, marking their first new music since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in March 2022.

The groups 10-song album, produced by the band and Greg Kurstin, will release via Roswell Records and RCA Records on 2 June.

Other songs on the record include Under You, Hearing Voices, But Here We Are, The Glass, Nothing At All, Show Me How, Beyond Me, The Teacher and Rest.

But Here We Are is a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year, according to a press release.

The sentiment alludes to the unexpected passing of Hawkins last year while the band was touring South America.

At the time, the group, led by Dave Grohl, was scheduled to play in Bogota when Hawkins began complaining of chest pain. He was declared dead in his Colombia hotel room after paramedics battled to revive him. He was 50.

Foo Fighters immediately cancelled the remainder of their shows. Near the end of the year, they returned to the stage to honour Hawkins in two tribute shows.

Shortly after, the group released a statement about their fate following Hawkinss death, confirming they will continue as a band, but they will be a different band going forward.

Addressing fans, they said: When we see you again  and we will soon  hell be there in spirit with all of us every night.

The band is scheduled to resume touring and headlining festivals in May. They released their latest album, Medicine at Midnight, in 2021.

But Here We Are releases on 2 June.
Foo Fighters have been slowly rolling out news of a series of summer festivals they'll play in the coming months. Now they've revealed they'll unveil fresh music while on the road.

The band announced that their 11th album, But Here We Are, will be released June 2. The 10-track LP will feature the rockers examining their highs and lows of the past year, during which their drummer, Taylor Hawkins, died suddenly, as did lead singer Dave Grohl's mother, Virginia Grohl.

They described the album as a "brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year" in a press release, noting that the record's songs will "run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between."

Along with the announcement, the group released the album's opening track, "Rescued," on streaming platforms. The spirited single is reminiscent of past tracks like 2005's "In Your Honor" and 2011's "Walk" with its rollicking guitar riffs and anthemic lyrics including, "It came in a flash / It came out of nowhere / It happened so fast / And then it was over."

"We're all free to some degree / To dance under the lights," Grohl continues in the song's chorus. "I'm just waiting to be rescued / Bring me back to life."

A representative for Foo Fighters declined to comment on if Hawkins performs on the track or the album.

Produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters, and drawing inspiration from their eponymous 1995 debut album, But Here We Are is a "testament to the healing powers of music, friendship, and family" and became as "therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life" for the band, per the release.

Foo Fighters

Kevin Mazur/Getty Images Foo Fighters

Hawkins died at age 50 while Foo Fighters were on tour in Bogota, Colombia, in May 2022. In September, the group honored his legacy by holding two tribute concerts, in London and in Los Angeles. In a New Year's Eve post, they mourned the loss of their drummer while reflecting on the "most difficult and tragic year that our band has ever known."

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"Without Taylor, we never would have become the band that we were  and without Taylor, we know that we're going to be a different band going forward," they acknowledged at the time. "We also know that you, the fans, meant as much to Taylor as he meant to you. And we know that when we see you again  and we will soon  he'll be there in spirit with all of us every night."

See the tracklist for But Here We Are below.

"Rescued"

"Under You"

"Hearing Voices"

"But Here We Are"

"The Glass"

"Nothing At All'

"Show Me How"

"Beyond Me"

"The Teacher"

"Rest"

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Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl has used music to process grief in the past  and now he's doing it again on "But Here We Are," the band's first new album since the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins last year.

But Here We Are, out June 2, is a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to a year of staggering losses," a press release explains.

But rather than being mired in sorrow, the album's 10 songs are a testament to the healing powers of music, friendship and family.

On April 19, the band released a first single, the pummeling Rescued, along with a lyric video on YouTube. The song's lyrics detail the need for connection after tragedy.

"Were all free to some degree / To dance under the lights / Im just waiting to be rescued /Bring me back to life," Grohl sings on the song's catchy chorus.

Fans popped in the videos comments to thank Grohl and his bandmates for making new music during a difficult time.

We are all rescued by your music. I hope Dave and his mates are also rescued from tragic memory happens last year. Rest in peace Taylor, and from deepest our heart, thank you for your devotion to music, Dave, wrote one.

Lollapalooza Chile 2022 - Day 3 (Marcelo Hernandez / Getty Images)

"This is so powerful! Your first song without Taylor, rest in peace. This song is a masterpiece! Its the classic Foo Fighters formula!" wrote another.

Hawkins was found dead at age 50 in Bogota in March 2022 while on tour with Foo Fighters in Colombia. The band honored the late musician at a star-studded tribute show in September 2022, performing the hit My Hero with Hawkins 16-year-old son on drums.

Several fans on YouTube noted that Grohl has now endured the death of two bandmates who were close friends.

Twenty-eight years ago, Foo Fighters released its self-titled debut album, a little more than a year after the 1994 suicide of Kurt Cobain, the leader of Grohls old grunge band Nirvana.

In 2020, Grohl confirmed to Apple Music host Matt Wilkinson that at least one song on the first album, the hit This Is a Call, was a kind of exorcism that saw him purging complicated feelings about Cobains passing.

"It was like a renewal or a reawakening where I actually found joy in playing and writing," Grohl said of recording that first album. "So its strange because when youre in that moment and youre in a period of loss or grief or mourning, its like you pick up an instrument and that just spills out."

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
NEW YORK (AP)  Foo Fighters have announced a new album is in the works, the first since the death of the band's drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

The rockers said in a statement that the upcoming 10-track But Here We Are will be a brutally honest and emotionally raw response to everything Foo Fighters endured over the last year.

The lead, driving single is Rescued, with the lyrics I'm just waiting to be rescued/Bring me back to life/Kings and queens and in-betweens/We all deserve the right.

The new album will be released June 2 and is produced by Greg Kurstin and Foo Fighters. Other titles include Hearing Voices, Show Me How, Nothing At All and Rest, the ending song.

Hawkins died March 25, 2022, during a South American tour with the rock band. He was 50.
ATLANTA (AP)  A former executive for a longtime city of Atlanta vendor pleaded guilty Wednesday to paying bribes in exchange for millions of dollars in city contracts and to paying bribes to an official in a neighboring county in an attempt to get business there.

In addition to admitting to paying bribes to Atlanta and DeKalb County officials, Lohrasb Jeff Jafari, 72, also pleaded guilty to failing to pay more than $1.5 million in taxes, federal prosecutors said. He is the latest in a string of people, including numerous former Atlanta city officials, to plead guilty or be convicted by a jury as part of a federal investigation into corruption during former Mayor Kasim Reed's administration. Reed himself was never charged with wrongdoing.

Contractors and the public deserve a fair and impartial government procurement process, U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a news release. For years, Jeff Jafari corrupted, and attempted to corrupt, those processes in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County by paying tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments to several high-ranking government officials. Not surprisingly, after illegally obtaining city contracts he never paid a dime of personal income tax on millions of dollars he earned.

Jafari was the executive vice president of PRAD Group, which provided architectural, design and engineering services for Atlanta and DeKalb County, prosecutors said.

Jafari gave cash and other items to Adam Smith, who served as Atlanta's chief procurement officer from January 2003 to February 2017, and to Jo Ann Macrina, who was commissioner of the city Department of Watershed Management from April 2011 to May 2016, prosecutors said. In exchange, they ensured that PRAD Group obtained lucrative city contracts.

From 2014 to January 2017, Jafari paid Smith more than $40,000 in cash and then tried to get him to lie about it when he caught wind of the federal investigation, prosecutors said. Jafari promised Macrina a job with PRAD Group, gave her cash, jewelry and paid for landscaping work at her home as well as a luxury hotel room and shopping trip in Dubai, prosecutors said.

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Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2018 to serve two years in federal prison for accepting bribes in exchange for city contracts. A jury last year found Macrina guilty of accepting bribes and a judge in February sentenced her to serve 4 1/2 years in prison.

In April and August 2014, the FBI used a confidential source who was a high-ranking DeKalb County official to conduct undercover operations. Jafari sough the person's help to get work in the county and paid the person between $1,000 and $1,500 in cash, prosecutors said.

Jafari failed to file personal tax returns and didn't pay any income tax to the IRS from 2014 to 2016, prosecutors said. During that time, he took out large sums from corporate accounts to pay for personal expenses.

Jafari is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19.
Editors Note: The writer was general counsel for Gov. Pat McCrory from 2013-2016.

Theres a bill working its way through the N.C. General Assembly that has received little attention so far, but if it becomes law it will dramatically change the way our state government operates.

The legislature wants to take away significant powers of appointment from the governor and vest those powers in themselves.

Specifically, the proposed bill would limit the governors ability to make appointments to key boards and commissions which exercise executive authority, such as the Utilities Commission and the Board of Transportation. The bill would reduce the number of appointments the governor could make to these two entities, both of which hold critical importance to people like you and me.

Bob Stephens

The Utilities Commission regulates utilities including the rates they charge every citizen. The Board of Transportation is responsible for administering our transportation dollars and making recommendations on road and highway construction. Both of these entities have functioned responsibly for decades, no matter which political party was in power in the N.C. General Assembly or the governors office.

Our founding fathers made clear in the N.C. Constitution that our government would function through three separate and distinct branches. Under the state constitution, the legislative branch makes the laws. The executive branch, led by the governor, has the duty to faithfully carry out the laws. The judicial branch interprets the laws and determines their validity.

Each branch must stay in its lane, avoiding interference with another branchs exercise of its powers.

The governor of North Carolina has specific and limited means to faithfully carry out the laws. The governor cannot pass any law or declare any law unconstitutional. Instead, the essential tool the governor uses is the appointment of citizens to boards and commissions.

When the N.C. legislature restrains or cuts back this already limited power, it interferes with the governors constitutional duties. It also gives the legislature a way to determine how the laws are used every day. Doing so falls outside its responsibilities.

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In 2014, the N.C. General Assembly tried this same maneuver to change the powers of appointment by giving itself supermajorities for three separate commissions in the environmental area. Governors Pat McCrory, Jim Hunt and Jim Martin  two Republicans and one Democrat  joined forces to fight this legislative overreach.

In McCrory v. Berger, the trial court of three superior court judges ruled 3-0 for the governors position. On appeal, the N.C. Supreme Court agreed, and ruled, in a 6-1 decision, that the General Assemblys attempt to limit the governors appointment powers was unconstitutional.

In McCrory, our state Supreme Court found that the legislative branch has exerted too much control over commissions that have final executive authority. By doing so, it has prevented the Governor from performing his express constitutional duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed.

The current attempt to change the appointment powers violates our states constitution for the same reasons  one branch shall not prevent another branch from performing its constitutional duties. The phrasing of our constitution is explicit and clear: forever separate and distinct.

I hope the legislature will put these features of our constitution, so recently articulated by the N.C. Supreme Court, in the forefront of their consideration.

Robert C. Stephens served as chief legal counsel in the administration of former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory. Stephens is a Charlotte native who now lives in Raleigh.
Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was released from jail Wednesday after serving time for his connection with the tax fraud scheme at former President Trumps business, according to New York City Department of Correction records.

Records show that Weisselberg, who pleaded guilty to 15 counts of tax evasion as part of a deal with prosecutors in August, was released after being sent to New Yorks Rikers Island jail on Jan. 10.

He was initially sentenced to serve five months in jail; however, he was eligible for release after 100 days with time off for good behavior, according to Reuters.

Weisselberg served as a key witness for prosecutors, agreeing to provide testimony against the Trump Organization in exchange for a far shorter sentence.

The longtime CFO of Trumps real estate company was personally involved in sending the reimbursement payments to Michael Cohen, Trumps former personal attorney, according to federal court records.

Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations in connection with a 2016 hush-money payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. Weisselberg was given immunity during the separate investigation that culminated in Cohens campaign finance charges.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast

Following Tuesdays stunning last-minute decision by Fox News to wave the white flag and settle with Dominion Voting Systems for $787.5 million rather than go through a grueling six-week defamation trial, much of the focus has centered on how this will impact the conservative cable giant going forward.

While Dominion is now in the rearview mirror for Fox, the voting machine firm still has pending lawsuits against fringe-right cable networks Newsmax and One America News, as well as Trump acolytes Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, and Patrick Byrne.

Smartmatic, another voting software company implicated in MAGA conspiracies of stealing the 2020 election from Donald Trump, also has an upcoming $2.7-billion suit against Fox and other individuals which has been waved through for trial. And just like Dominion, Smartmatic is suing OAN and Newsmax over their election lies.

Fox Corporation, the parent company of Fox News, currently has the financial strength to absorb the impact of the massive check it will cut to Dominion. The media conglomerate has a market cap of $17.3 billion and an enterprise valuation of $20.6 billion. Fox Corp CEO Lachlan Murdoch recently claimed that the company has $4.1 billion on-hand.

Fox Cries Uncle, Will Pay $787 MILLION to End Dominion Trial

Of course, Smartmatic is seeking nearly twice as much as Dominion did, and legal experts feel their defamation case over Foxs 2020 election coverage is at least as strong as Dominions. Fox is also staring down a lawsuit from former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg, who claims network attorneys coerced her into giving false testimony in the Dominion case. Additionally, the Murdochs and other Fox directors are looking at legal action from Fox shareholders who feel the executives damaged the company by allowing Trumps election conspiracies to fester on Fox airwaves.

Still, Foxs resources provide them the opportunity to negotiate huge settlements in these cases and attempt to sweep away the issue without any public apologies or overt admissions of guilt, all while operating as business as usual.

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Newsmax and OAN, however, almost certainly do not have that same luxury.

There is still the possibility of corporate bankruptcy, which could be a reorganization, University of Tennessee journalism professor Stuart Brotman told The Daily Beast, referencing the tactic used by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones after losing a massive defamation case.

Both channels are much smaller than Fox News and dont enjoy the large corporate backing of the conservative cable giant. Neither company is publicly traded, so it is difficult to assess their valuations.

Conservative businessman Robert Herring, who launched OAN in 2013, pegged the networks value in 2019 at $250 million. However, that was almost entirely due to the channels deal with DirecTV at the time, as an accountant swore under oath at the time that OANs value would be zero without the AT&T-backed satellite carrier. DirecTV dropped OAN last year, followed by other cable providers.

Newsmax CEO Chris Ruddy, meanwhile, claimed his channel was worth more than $200 million in late 2020. This was just as the pro-Trump network was experiencing exponential audience growth thanks to its full-throated embrace of election denialisma tactic it used to poach MAGA viewers angry with Fox News over its Arizona call. (The channels ratings have fallen substantially since early 2021.)

Just like with Fox News, Dominion is seeking $1.6 billion from both OAN and Newsmax. And while much of Dominions argument against Fox focused on the networks behind-the-scenes freakout over their viewers fleeing for Newsmax and OAN after the 2020 election, the legal strategy is probably much more straightforward against the two smaller far-right channels.

Jake Tapper Loses It Over Fox News Spin After Dominion Settlement

Essentially, the voting-systems company is arguing that both Newsmax and OAN overtly tried to boost their ratings and directly appeal to disgruntled MAGA fans angry by helping to create and cultivate an alternate reality where... Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud.

Motions to dismiss these suits by both OAN and Newsmax have been denied, with judges in both cases saying the litigation by Dominion could move forward.

Smartmatic has yet to specify exact figures in its complaints against Newsmax and OAN, but filed separate suits against both companies in November 2021. And judges in both cases ruled that the networks were ordered to face the voting technology companys defamation litigation in court. In a somewhat ironic twist, the Delaware Superior Court judge who just oversaw Dominions case against Fox News is presiding over both the Smartmatic and Dominion lawsuits against Newsmax.

Brotman told The Daily Beast that when it comes to potential settlement offers from OAN and Newsmax to the voting software firms, much of that will revolve around how much their insurance companies are willing to dish out.

My assumption is that both of those networks are carrying some insurance, he noted. And I would assume that the insurance companies are going to be involved in that litigation and the set of potential settlements. So if they had a certain limit on the insurance, the insurance essentially would say we will pay that limit.

As for whether either network decided to take their chances at trial, or Smartmatic and Dominion decided against accepting a settlement, Brotman pointed out that the cable channels could potentially take the route Alex Jones took after losing his recent defamation cases.

Then the other issueif it went to verdictis whether wed go through an appellate process, and even at the trial level, whether or not the damage award would be reduced, Brotman explained. We dont know what the damage award is so we dont know whether there would be a reduction. And of course, there is still the possibility of corporate bankruptcy, which could be a reorganization.

Furthermore, based on Dominions acceptance of a settlement from Foxone which didnt include a public apology or on-air retraction from the networks personalitiesBrotman said the company appears to be satisfied with the money, and future actions will focus on trying to maximize the potential settlement amounts.

Dominions Big Fox News Settlement Is Americas Loss

Ponying up for back-breaking settlements, losing the verdicts in court, or being forced to go into bankruptcy arent the only financial woes OAN and Newsmax face over these lawsuitsboth of which likely wont make it to trial until next year.

I think the legal expenses are going to be formidable for everybody here, Brotman pointed out.

Following the Fox News settlement, Newsmax released a statement expressing confidence over their pending case with Dominion.

Newsmax believes that the facts at issue in Dominions case against us are materially different from those that may have driven Fox to settle and no conclusion about Newsmax should be drawn from that settlement, the network said. Newsmax stands by its coverage and analysis of the 2020 election and will continue to vigorously defend against the claim.

OAN has yet to publicly comment on the settlement, and did not respond to a request for comment.

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In a last-minute deal, Fox News has settled a defamation lawsuit from voting machine firm Dominion over its coverage of the 2020 US election.

The network, controlled by media mogul Rupert Murdoch and his family, agreed to pay Dominion $787.5m (634m).

While the payout is large, it means Fox avoids what was billed by some as the defamation trial of the century.

However, the network faces a second, similar lawsuit from another election technology firm, Smartmatic.

The settlement means that Fox and Dominion can now put the case behind them with both firms being able to claim victory.

"The reality is two big companies in this case, are by nature risk averse. And any time you got a jury, it's risky," David Logan, professor of law at Roger Williams University, told the BBC.

At almost $800m, it is one of the biggest ever financial settlements in a defamation case.

"It's obviously a significant number, and we shouldn't dismiss that. I mean, it is a really, really large number," Angelo Carusone, president of left-leaning media watchdog Media Matters for America, told the BBC.

However, it is less than half the $1.6bn initially sought by Dominion.

To put the payout into context, parent company Fox Corporation reported net income of $1.23bn for the last financial year

It is also sitting on large reserves of cash - around $4bn, according to recent company filings.

Rupert Murdoch and his family - who control the News Corp media empire which includes Fox News, The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal - are estimated to have a fortune of $17.6bn, according to Forbes magazine.

The deal also spares Fox executives, including Mr Murdoch, and some of the network's anchors from having to testify in one of the most high-profile defamation trials in history.

"Fox was going to have to deal with another round of embarrassing revelations," Prof Logan said.

The company's legal team may have also been weighing the potential financial cost if the case had gone ahead and Dominion had won.

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Fox issued a written statement acknowledging the court's findings that Fox made false claims about Dominion, but it did not include an apology.

"We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues," the statement said.

However, Fox will not be able to put the issues of its reporting on the 2020 presidential election behind it quite yet.

It still faces a second, similar defamation lawsuit from another election technology firm, Smartmatic, which is seeking $2.7bn.

For Dominion, the $787.5m Fox payout may be just the start.

It still has outstanding cases against Fox's smaller rivals Newsmax and OAN plus several of former President Donald Trump's associates.

Additional reporting by Monica Miller
Dominion Voting Systems decision to settle its defamation suit with Fox News for $787.5 million was huge news Tuesday and Wednesday, with major media outlets splashing the headline across front pages in print, online, on air and through push alerts.

And yet Fox News itself barely made a peep about it.

The conservative outlets digital operation published one very brief story on the deal, which does not mention the troves of evidence showing how Fox executives and top hosts did not believe the claims of fraud in the 2020 presidential election that they were nevertheless airing all over the network.

Neil Cavuto, who hosts Your World on Fox News, briefly read news of the settlement Tuesday on his late afternoon show, citing The Wall Street Journal, which is also owned by Fox founder Rupert Murdoch. Reporter Howard Kurtz appeared on Cavutos program to quickly discuss the settlement and labeled the conspiracy theories aired on the network obviously false.

The 6 p.m. show Special Report With Bret Baier also aired a short segment on the deal, featuring Kurtz.

A Dominion lawyer gave reporters a dollar figure for the settlement, but I have not been able to independently confirm that, Kurtz told Fox viewers.

In total, Fox News broadcast coverage of its landmark settlement amounted to about six minutes, according to The New York Times.

Gillian Turner, who we learned in the Dominion evidence dumps had her on-air appearances quietly downgraded by the network for fact-checking too hard, reports on the settlement pic.twitter.com/3tayIxFY9W  nikki mccann ramirez (@NikkiMcR) April 18, 2023

Kurtz previously said Fox News was preventing him from covering the story at all  the network had little to no coverage of the Dominion defamation lawsuit before April.

Juliet Jeske, a researcher who authors the Decoding Fox News newsletter, told HuffPost that she found zero mention of the settlement on The Five, the networks highest-rated show. The morning shows appeared to have largely ignored the story, as well.

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The voting tech company sued Fox for $1.6 billion in the case, which was minutes away from going to trial when lawyers hammered out the settlement.

Dominions lawyers and CEO have hailed the deal as proof that lying has consequences. But asked for her take on its impact, Jeske told HuffPost, I sadly dont think this will change anything on the network.

Fox is due for a renewal with their contract with the cable companies. If the cable companies lower the rate they pay for Fox, that could have some impact, she noted. Otherwise theyll just go back to business as usual.

Fox is reportedly in the process of negotiating new carriage terms with several major cable companies, which typically pay hefty sums for Fox channels, according to Media Matters President Angelo Carusone.

Related...
Norbert Martin, head of the Pilot Hall of Volkswagen Anhui. [Photo provided to China.org.cn]



An automotive veteran with Volkswagen's joint venture in Hefei, Anhui province, expressed optimism about China's new energy vehicle (NEV) industry, believing that the sector's vast potential will continue fueling the country's economic growth in the long run.

In a recent interview with China.org.cn, Norbert Martin, head of the Pilot Hall of Volkswagen Anhui, said that with the improvement of connectivity, artificial intelligence, and charging networks, China's NEV sector is poised for even stronger momentum in the coming years.

Martin attributes the flourishing NEV market not only to government incentives, such as price deductions for NEV purchases but also to a distinctive Chinese culture of confidence in utilizing digital technologies.

Martin, also a Spanish expat living in Hefei for over two years, recalled his motivation for pursuing a career here, stating that he needed to be in China to learn and progress, as it is the epicenter of innovation in the global automotive industry.

Recent market growth suggests that Martin made the right choice in pursuing his career in China. NEV sales in China reached 6.89 million in 2022, up 93.4% over the previous year and topping the world for eight consecutive years, according to statistics from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.

The huge market size is driven by accelerated technological upgrades and improved infrastructure facilities. At the end of last year, there were 5.21 million charging points and 1,973 battery-swapping stations across the nation. Additionally, the country's mass-produced NEV batteries achieved a single-cell energy density of 300 watt-hours per kilogram.

The development of the NEV industry supports China's energy transition by consuming more power generated from renewable resources, further supporting the country's "dual carbon" goals. Green power trading programs have been rolled out in over 14 provinces, completing electricity transactions of 5.2 billion kilowatt-hours and reducing carbon emissions by nearly 5 million tons.

To capitalize on this growth, local areas like Hefei have focused on attracting NEV core auto parts manufacturers, fostering business clusters, and completing industrial chains.

Over the years, Volkswagen Anhui's core auto parts industrial park in Hefei's economic-technological development zone has drawn numerous supporting enterprises, aiming to develop a complete industrial chain encompassing NEV production, assembly, testing and delivery. To date, 38 suppliers of Volkswagen Anhui have invested in Hefei, with investments totaling 7.1 billion yuan ($1 billion).

According to Hefei's development plan, the city aims to achieve an annual output of 800,000 NEVs in 2023, doubling the output value to over 200 billion yuan. Its NEV production capacity is expected to exceed 3 million by the end of the 14th Five-Year Plan period (2021-2025), with the output value of the entire industrial chain reaching 700 billion yuan.

Martin praised Hefei's strengths in developing the NEV industry, citing the city's solid industrial foundation, modern urban planning, strategic geographical location, and robust talent support, especially from local universities.

"This is just the beginning of a new era," Martin added.
Fox News reached a nine-figure defamation settlement Tuesday with Dominion Voting Systems. (Yuki Iwamura / Associated Press)

For the record:

11:59 a.m. April 19, 2023: An earlier version of this story said Howard Kurtz talked about the Fox-Dominion settlement Tuesday on MediaBuzz. That show, hosted by Kurtz, runs Sundays; he appeared Tuesday as a guest on Foxs Your World and Special Report.



Fox News agreed Tuesday to pay $787.5 million to end a defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, but Fox News viewers wouldn't necessarily have known about the settlement, at least at first.

Whereas major news outlets including The Times began reporting the settlement shortly after 1 p.m., Fox News didn't post its story about the settlement until 2:37 p.m. Pacific.

The article  nine sentences long  spun the settlement as best it could, noting in the second paragraph that "Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis, who was overseeing the defamation lawsuit, praised both parties for their handling of the case."

The article went on to quote Davis as saying, "I have been on the bench since 2010.  I think this is the best lawyering Ive had, ever."

Media correspondent Howard Kurtz addressed the legal clash in an appearance on "Special Report," hosted by Bret Baier, and on Neil Cavuto's show, "Your World."

Well, it was a dramatic ending to what everyone thought would be one of the most covered trials of the century. ... There was a two-hour, behind-closed-doors meeting between Judge Eric Davis and lawyers from both sides. There was a lot of speculation about what was going on," Kurtz said.

"The jury had already been selected and seated and we thought we were going to open up arguments, but as it turned out the two parties were discussing a settlement. That settlement has now been reached, the amount of the settlement has not been disclosed," he said, although the $787.5-million figure was widely reported in other outlets' coverage.

Kurtz then read a statement from Fox, which included:

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"We acknowledge the courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Foxs continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.'"

Kurtz said Dominion had taken risks with its suit. "Dominion would have had to prove actual malice. Thats a high bar in any such case, but at the same time, Dominion was claiming damages not that they would have gotten, such astronomical damages as $1.6 billion. For Dominion if it lost the case, it ends up with zero, and because of the 1st Amendment concerns and the actual malice there that I just mentioned, that wouldve been a roll of the dice for the company that argued that they had been defamed by Fox."

Kurtz then framed the settlement as a loss for those hoping to see Fox endure the embarrassing disclosures that might have come from a long, revealing trial.

"Although much of the media was looking forward to six weeks of, frankly, a lot of people in the mainstream media, anti-Fox, rooting for Fox to lose, theyre now going to be deprived of that opportunity," he said, "and the rest of us get to go home."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
On today's episode of the 5 Things podcast: Fox News and Dominion reach settlement

Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems have reached a settlement. Plus, USA TODAY National Correspondent Chris Kenning explains how Bill Richardson works to free Americans detained abroad, Americans and Russians have been charged with conspiring to spread discord in the U.S., USA TODAY Health Reporter Ken Alltucker looks into widespread state Medicaid cuts as the COVID-19 public health emergency ends, and why do we want to see another Fyre Festival attempt?

Podcasts: True crime, in-depth interviews and more USA TODAY podcasts right here.

Hit play on the player above to hear the podcast and follow along with the transcript below. This transcript was automatically generated, and then edited for clarity in its current form. There may be some differences between the audio and the text.

Taylor Wilson:

Good morning. I'm Taylor Wilson and this is 5 Things you need to know Wednesday, the 19th of April 2023. Today, Fox News reaches a settlement with Dominion. Plus, a look at the man working to free Americans detained abroad, and states are cutting Medicaid as the COVID-19 public health emergency ends.



Fox News has agreed to settle the $1.6 billion defamation lawsuit filed against the network for its broadcast of lies aimed at weakening public confidence in the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. Fox News and Dominion voting systems agreed to a $787.5 million settlement yesterday. Dominion sued Fox News and its parent corporation in 2021. Dominion claimed that the network knowingly broadcast lies perpetuated by former President Donald Trump and his attorneys as he clung to power in the months after his election loss. The voting technology company said the lies caused more than a billion dollars in damage and led to threats toward its employees. The settlement came hours before trial testimony was set to begin. High profile Fox News personalities and executives were set to testify, including Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Rupert Murdoch. Fox had denied all wrongdoing, calling the lawsuit an attack on the First Amendment.

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The Undersecretary of Thugs. That's how some refer to Bill Richardson. He was once the governor of New Mexico, among other things. But his main focus for years has centered on freeing Americans detained abroad. I spoke with USA TODAY National Correspondent Chris Kenning to learn more. Hello Chris, welcome to 5 Things.

Chris Kenning:

Hello, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

Thanks for coming on. So before we get to Bill Richardson, I want to just start by asking what has historically been the process to free Americans detained abroad?

Chris Kenning:

Hostage taking is often associated with a terrorist or criminal seeking a ransom. But many Americans are also held by foreign states under what the US considers unjust charges, including for political reasons. So the way the US handles those types of cases really changed in 2015, following the killings of journalists, James Foley and other ISIS hostages in Syria. The Obama administration created the Special Envoy for Hostage Affairs at the State Department, as well as a hostage recovery team led by the FBI. And it was all part of an attempt to better prioritize and organize the efforts to return wrongful detainees and hostages.

That's led to a number of over the years, prisoner swaps, rescues, negotiated returns. But the problem is still out there by one count, there's at least 54 US citizens or permanent residents that are now held hostage or wrongfully detained in 15 countries roughly. Those are just the cases that are publicly disclosed. The real figure is thought to be higher. Last year, President Biden declared hostage taking and wrongful detention an emergency and added some new tools, including financial sanctions and visa bans that they could employ. But some hostage advocates and family members still feel like the cases languish too long and they sometimes turn to seek additional help outside of the government. And that can include private parties such as the Richardson Center.

Taylor Wilson:

Yeah. So Chris, how did Bill Richardson become this really go-to guy to call for these negotiations?

Chris Kenning:

Well, it happened by accident as he tells it. It was 1994 and Richardson was a congressman then, and he was in North Korea to discuss nuclear issues as part of a trip. And while he was there, a US Army helicopter was shot down after it veered off course into the demilitarized zone. And so suddenly he was thrust into this role as a negotiator and was told, "Don't come home without the Americans." He stayed and won the release of the one captive and the other soldier who had died.

Following that, there were a number of similar stories that built his reputation as the go-to negotiator for wresting prisoners from dictators and terrorists and hostile regimes. He had sat down with Saddam Hussein all the way to Sudanese rebels to try to get folks home. And earned this moniker as the Undersecretary of Thugs, given the folks he was dealing with. In '96, he was appointed as the US Ambassador to the UN under President Clinton and made some key contacts there. In 2011, he started the Richardson Center for Global Engagement. And one of their big efforts is to work to return captive Americans.

Taylor Wilson:

Maybe the most high profile case right now of an American detained abroad, is journalist Evan Gershkovich, who's currently being held in Russia. And we heard that he was denied bail this week. Is Bill Richardson involved with his possible release? And what's the latest there?

Chris Kenning:

Mickey Bergman, who is the Richardson Center and Richardson's right-hand man, told us that they were not contacted by the family to jump in and help, but they stood ready to do so. As you know, this is a big deal, the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying allegations. Top Russian diplomats said that Russia might be willing to discuss a potential prisoner swap. He noted that they have a channel that they've used in the past with the US government to talk about that, but he noted that any discussion with the US would happen only after the trial. That means an exchange is probably not going to happen for some time, unfortunately. Wouldn't be surprising if Richardson did wind up playing some kind of role eventually. Diane Foley, whose son was one of the hostages killed in Syria and now runs a foundation to support families of hostages and detainees, said it's often the case that both government and private efforts are needed for these cases to resolve.

Taylor Wilson:

USA TODAY National Correspondent Chris Kenning. Thanks so much.

Chris Kenning:

Thank you.



Taylor Wilson:

Four Americans and three Russians have been charged with conspiring to spread discord in US society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in US elections. The Americans and two Russians were added to an existing case in Florida involving Alexander Ionov. Prosecutors have described him as the founder of a Moscow-based organization funded by the Russian government to carry out a secretive influence campaign in the US. Prosecutors say the group recruited US-based organizations to help sway elections and make it appear that there was strong support for Russia's invasion of Ukraine, among other things. The four Americans are all part of the African People Socialist Party. The group previously denied working covertly for Russia.



The end to the COVID-19 public health emergency means massive Medicaid cuts are coming. USA TODAY Health Reporter Ken Alltucker explains. Ken, thanks for hopping on the podcast today.

Ken Alltucker:

Hi, thanks for having me.

Taylor Wilson:

States have begun these widespread Medicaid cuts. How many people are affected here and why is this happening?

Ken Alltucker:

This started at the beginning of the pandemic when the federal government decided it would be a good idea for people to have health insurance when COVID-19 first emerged. And at that time, the decision was made to stop disenrollments for people on Medicaid, which is the government program for low income families and the disabled. So at that time, the federal government told states, "Look, you could sign people up for Medicaid, but we don't want you to disenroll them unless they request it or there's a change, like somebody left the state or passed away." So from that point forward, from March 2020, the signups for Medicaid increased substantially. And now the federal government estimates roughly about 15 million people are getting Medicaid coverage who might not qualify any longer. And essentially what they're saying, is that states are now allowed to begin these enrollment cuts, because the public health emergency is over and that's what states are doing.

Taylor Wilson:

And Ken, why are advocates so concerned about these cuts?

Ken Alltucker:

People on Medicaid, they tend to be more vulnerable populations. These are low income families or they're disabled people who rely on Medicaid to take care of themselves, to get their medicines or to get their treatments and their doctor's visits, as well as in-person help in some cases. So essentially, what they're worried about is the state agencies have never really tried to determine this level of cut, roughly 15 million people at once. And they think it will be a paperwork nightmare, where a lot of people will be rightly identified as no longer qualifying for Medicaid, but some people will be cut who probably still are eligible for Medicaid. And it becomes a very difficult situation for them as well as the states.

Taylor Wilson:

Ken, you write about this avalanche of paperwork that's underway. You've touched on this a bit, but what are the concerns specifically here?

Ken Alltucker:

Medicaid is an income based program, so you have to have a low income to qualify for it, and different states have different levels of income thresholds. So what happens is, the states have to go through this massive verification, where they ask for things like pay stubs. And so they're asking people for these documents, but a lot of folks on Medicaid might not have the most stable housing situation. So their house as of March 2020 when the pandemic started, could be six or seven addresses ago and they might not get the paperwork that they need. So some advocates fear that people who still do qualify for this will get cut. And in those cases they'll miss out on their healthcare. And for example, I profiled a woman in Arkansas who has diabetes and high blood pressure. She learned that she's being cut from Medicaid in Arkansas. And if you don't take care of those chronic conditions, they could become a lot more serious. It could result in a hospital stay and something that's a lot more expensive than filling a prescription.

Taylor Wilson:

And what options do people have if their Medicaid coverage is cut?

Ken Alltucker:

There's the Affordable Care Act Marketplace, which offers subsidized coverage. And also during the pandemic, they sweetened the subsidies for these plans. So a lot of people could go and sign up and get discounted premiums or in some cases free monthly premiums through the marketplace.

Taylor Wilson:

All right, USA TODAY Health Reporter Ken Alltucker. Thanks as always.

Ken Alltucker:

Thank you.



Taylor Wilson:

Many of us couldn't look away from Fyre Festival.

Hulu documentary Fyre Fraud:

Taylor Wilson:

Social media watched the festival's disaster happen in real time. And there were not one but two documentaries on Netflix and Hulu respectively, that went behind the scenes. Now the festival's founder, Billy McFarland, says Fyre Fest is happening again. That's even after acknowledging he defrauded investors of $26 million in the 2017 failure. So why do people want to see him try again? Elizabeth Cohen, a West Virginia University professor who researches psychology of media and pop culture said a theory called social comparison is behind it. That posits humans will always try and compare themselves to others to figure out where they fit in the world. And other experts say we simply can't look away, because of schadenfreude or finding joy in others' hardships.

Thanks for listening to 5 Things. You can find us every day of the week right here, wherever you get your podcasts. I'm back tomorrow with more of 5 Things from USA TODAY.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fox News settles with Dominion, Fyre Festival take 2: 5 Things podcast
By Jack Queen

(Reuters) - Fox News on Tuesday disposed of one legal threat with its $787.5 million defamation settlement with Dominion Voting Systems, but the network still faces a $2.7 billion lawsuit from another voting technology company, Smartmatic USA, over its coverage of debunked election-rigging claims.

Dominion accused Fox and its parent company Fox Corp of ruining its business by airing claims that its machines were used to rig the 2020 U.S. presidential election in favor of Democrat Joe Biden and against then-president Donald Trump, a Republican.

Fox and its parent company Fox Corp averted a six-week trial in Delaware Superior Court with the deal, which is half of the $1.6 billion Dominion sought but still by far the largest ever defamation settlement publicly announced by an American media company, according to legal experts.

Fox, one of the most influential cable networks in the world and home to many conservative commentators, acknowledged in a statement Tuesday that the judge found certain claims about Dominion to be false and said it hopes the deal helps the country move forward with these issues.

But Foxs lawyers will stay busy navigating the legal fallout of the networks 2020 election coverage with a potentially far more damaging defamation lawsuit by voting technology company Smartmatic, as well as a separate but related lawsuit by a recently fired producer.

Fox representatives referred Reuters to prior statements on the cases. The network has firmly denied the allegations in both cases.

It is unclear if Foxs deal with Dominion indicates it is willing to settle with Smartmatic, but experts who are not part of the litigation suggested it could help kickstart talks.

Smartmatic now has a bargaining chip, and Fox has shown it is willing to take out its checkbook and write a big check, said University of Tennessee, Knoxville media law professor Stuart Brotman. From Foxs standpoint, now that they realize they can get a successful settlement, they have a basis for a real discussion with Smartmatic.

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Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and five individuals, including former Trump lawyers and hosts.

Smartmatic alleges in its lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court that the defendants knowingly spread false claims that its software was used to flip votes. Conspiracy theorists erroneously claimed Smartmatic owned Dominion, and the companies mounted similar allegations in their lawsuits.

Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly said in a statement Tuesday the company is committed to clearing its name, recouping the damage done to it and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy."

Fox denies the allegations, saying in a recent statement the network had a right to report on highly newsworthy allegations of voter fraud. It has also called Smartmatics damages claims outrageous, unsupported, and not rooted in sound financial analysis.

Fox was recently dealt a setback in the case after an appeals court declined to toss it, finding Smartmatic alleged in detailed fashion how Fox effectively endorsed and participated in defamation.

Meanwhile, Fox has given no public indication that it is interested in settling the lawsuit by the former producer, Abby Grossberg, whose lawyers said in a statement Tuesday they are seeking meaningful institutional changes at Fox News.

Any such changes were absent from the public announcement of the Dominion settlement and could potentially be a major sticking point in any negotiations, legal experts said.

Grossberg alleges she was exposed to sexism at Fox and unjustly fired after she objected to what she claims were efforts to pressure her into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion case.

Fox has said the allegations are baseless and were immediately investigated by outside lawyers. The network also says it will vigorously defend itself against all of Grossbergs claims.

(Reporting by Jack Queen; editing by Amy Stevens and Lincoln Feast)
With two art festivals taking over downtown Fort Worth this weekend, it could be a headache finding where to park or how to get there.

The 36th annual Main Street Arts Festival returns to downtown from Thursday till Sunday. The Fort Worth Art Fair is also returning to Sundance Square for the second year in a row.

While both art festivals are operated by separate entities, they will be located in generally the same downtown area. From parking garages to public transportation, heres how to get to both events this weekend:

Free parking garages in downtown

There are a variety of parking garages around downtown that offer free rates. The garages below are open for free parking from 6 p.m. to 3 a.m. Thursday, after 6 p.m. on Friday and all-day on Saturday and Sunday.

Sundance Square garage #3 at 345 W. 3rd St.

Sundance Square garage #4 at 265 W. Fifth St.

City Center Garage at 400 Jones St.

The Tower Garage at 400 Taylor St.

777 Main Parking Garage at 601 Commerce St.





Each of the garages above are located within a 10-minute walk of both events.

Public transportation to downtown

Trinity Metro has several options for those looking to ditch their vehicles this weekend. A $5 local day ticket will give you all-day access to bus, Trinity Railway Express, TEXRail and ZIPZONE services.

Bus routes 1, 2, 5, 6, 11, 12, 15, 46 and 89, all lead to the Fort Worth Central Station which is just minutes away from both festivals. Plan your bus trip here.

The Trinity Railway Express and TEXRail also stop at the Fort Worth Central Station. Plan your train ride here.

ZIPZONE service can be accessed through its phone app and can drop off passengers as close as the Fort Worth T&P Station, which is about a 15-minute walk to either event.

SURFACE PARKING LOTS IN DOWNTOWN

Beyond parking garages there are plenty of surface lots in the area. Prices are subject to change.
[Source]

A French tourist was arrested for physically assaulting a woman in Roppongi, Japan.

Charlie Evan, a 23-year-old French national, was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of punching a woman in the face and leaving her injured on the streets of Tokyo's Minato ward.

According to local reports, Evan and his group of friends collided with the woman in her 20s, causing her to drop her lunch box and leading them to fight.

In a viral video of the incident, the woman can be seen grabbing Evan's shirt as he backs away. Evan can then be seen punching the woman in the face, causing her to fall to the ground, before he runs away. As people are heard screaming and cursing at Evan in English, another man in all black clothing runs after him.

More from NextShark: 'Asia's El Chapo': Alleged leader of multibillion-dollar drug cartel extradited to Australia

Warning: The following video contains content that may be disturbing to some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.

The womans injuries will reportedly take three weeks to fully heal.

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According to the Metropolitan Police Department, Evan denied the allegations against him.

I don't remember, he reportedly claimed.

Story continues

It is unclear whether Evan was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

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It is also unclear whether he was formally charged. In Japan, suspects can be held for up to 23 days before charges are filed.

Roppongi is a popular district in Tokyo for tourists and Western foreign residents.

The lively entertainment district is known for its many high-end late-night bars and clubs.

Japans foreign tourism has been increasing since the government lifted its visa entry restrictions in October 2022.
A Fresno Unified administrator at Sunnyside High School was placed on paid leave this week while the district investigates a video in which he uses the phrases ghetto girls and Section 8 people.

Fred Veenendaal, the staffer seen in the video circulating on social media platforms like TikTok, is a vice principal at the high school, district leaders confirmed.

While we are investigating, district spokesperson Nikki Henry said in an email to The Bees Education Lab, the staff member in the video is not working with students.

It also was unclear exactly when and where the incident occurred. District officials confirmed Veenendaal was placed on leave Monday in connection with the video.

He has been a vice principal at Sunnyside since 2015 and receives an annual salary of $139,993, according to records provided by the district.

Before that, he was a vice principal at Bullard from 2009 to 2015 and made $97,053. He was first hired by the district in 2008 at Wawona K-8 School as a guidance learning advisor.

Henry said Veenendaal wasnt available for comment Tuesday.

#fyp #racism #poc #genz #fresno #fresno559  Peaches - Jack Black @firemrvenindall Last weekend this video of my VP at sunnyside high school (go to FireMrVenindall on tik tok) of him harassing 3 black women in North Side of Fresno California and called these poor women "section 8 people" "ghetto girls" for simply walking around the neighborhood or area that they were both in. As a student at SHS I find this very disturbing and disappointing. He has not been accountable for his actions and words by our school/school district, even though the video has been shared throughout the school and to teachers. He must be fire. #firemrvenindall

What the video shows

The 28-second video obtained by the Ed Lab captures an exchange between Veenendaal and young women who can be heard speaking in the video but arent seen in the frame.

A caption on the video posted to TikTok described the incident as racism, hate crime, harassment, etc.

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During the video, a woman behind the camera repeatedly says, Were minors.

Henry could not confirm whether the young women heard in the video are FUSD students, saying, thats part of our investigation.

At the beginning of the video, someone behind the camera can be heard saying, We didnt even do nothing, so we recording you right now. You know thats harassment, right?

Veenendaal replies, No its not. He then can be seen raising his phone and appears to make a call to someone who he addresses as officer. He goes on to say:

Officer, you got three girls here. Three Section 8 people here. Ghetto girls.

Section 8 is the former name of the federal governments rental assistance voucher program for low-income people.

The tense back-and-forth between the vice principal and the young woman continues while he also holds up his phone as though hes recording them.

The districts Sunnyside-area trustee Valerie Davis referred the Ed Lab to Henry in response to the Ed Labs request for comment, stating it was a personnel matter. Board president Veva Islas also declined to comment for the same reason.

The district is mere weeks away from the one-year anniversary of when a photo of a student, who appeared to be wearing a makeshift Ku Klux Klan hood, circulated on social media and sparked outcry across the district.

Hundreds of students walked out of class in protest, and some of the districts Black student unions made renewed calls to hold the district accountable for racism.

Ed Lab reporter Lasherica Thornton contributed reporting.
Washington  Hip-hop star and Fugees member Pras Michel picked up a different kind of microphone as he took the witness stand in Washington, D.C.'s federal courthouse to defend himself in a multimillion-dollar international fraud trial.

"Mic check 1,2. Mic check 1, 2," he aptly said at the start of his testimony.

"After consulting with my attorneys and the universe, I have decided to testify," Michel told the court Tuesday before answering questions from his defense team and prosecutors alike about the approximately $800,000 he said he paid to friends so they could donate to a political campaign.

Prosecutors allege the Grammy-winning artist immersed himself in American politics at the behest of a wealthy Malaysian financier to gain access, peddle influence, and make money. He was indicted in 2019 on federal charges that Low Taek Jho, also known as Jho Low, paid him millions to help launder money Low had allegedly embezzled from a state-owned investment fund in his home country.

Pras Michel, former member of the Fugees, center, exits federal court in Washington, D.C. on April 3, 2023. / Credit: Graeme Sloan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Michel, who has pleaded not guilty, is accused of using Low's money to make illegal contributions to former President Barack Obama's 2012 presidential campaign, and pursuing a back channel with Trump administration officials to persuade them to both abandon a federal fraud investigation into Low's business dealings, and send a Chinese dissident who is in the U.S. back to China to face criminal charges. Prosecutors do not allege Obama campaign officials were aware of the purported illegal payments.

But taking the stand on Tuesday, Michel said he viewed Low's payment's to him as "free money," and accepted approximately $20 million over the course of nine months to help Low secure a photo-op with Obama, both before and after the 2012 presidential campaign.

Beginning in the spring of 2012, the rapper testified, Low approached him about getting then-President Obama to take a picture with the Malaysian financier  currently a co-defendant in the case, and who remains abroad. He was willing to pay lots of money for it, Michel said.

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Low first paid Michel $1 million to consider the proposition and start planning, Michel said Tuesday. But by the end of the campaign season, Michel fell short and consistently required more money to get the job done.

Low ultimately got his photo with Obama  taken after the 2012 presidential election at the White House  but it was what transpired between Low's initial request and the camera flashes that prosecutors say was the first illegal component of his alleged relationship with Low.

The indictment alleges Michel funneled money from Low to straw donors in order to surreptitiously fund Obama's re-election campaign, and work around campaign finance laws. The Obama campaign was "duped" and "deceived," prosecutors said during opening arguments earlier this month, after Michel allegedly helped Low disguise the donations as legitimate contributions that had come from the U.S.

Michel said Tuesday that he unsuccessfully tried to get the Malaysian businessman access to various 2012 campaign fundraisers across the country, including one in Miami in which Michel and Low's father took pictures with Obama. Low, Michel said, was not allowed at the meetings at the campaign's request due to his financial dealings.

Months later, according to court records and testimony, wealthy Democratic donor Frank White hosted a fundraiser at his Washington, D.C., home, and pressed Michel to fill a table with friends, each worth about $40,000 in donations.

During his testimony on Tuesday, Michel said he paid his friends money so they could donate to Obama's campaign and attend the dinner, at one point telling the jury he was paid approximately $20 million to secure the photo for Low, and about 10% of that money went towards paying his friends so they could attend the fundraiser.

Michel testified under oath that no one told him such payments toward political donations could have been unlawful or violations of campaign finance laws.

"I thought I could just give my friends money," he explained from the witness stand, adding some didn't spend the funds on political donations as expected.

During cross-examination, prosecutors elicited from Michel that he was aware of other election money laws, like those that prevented Low, a foreign national, from donating to Obama's campaign, and another that put a limit on how much Michel himself could donate. Still, he contended he was unaware his money moves could have been illegal.

The Fugees star said the funds he gave to his friends to donate were "my money," not Low's, adding once Low paid him to secure the photo, he was free to do what was needed to get the job done.

During the at-times contentious cross-examination, Michel and prosecutors argued over whether the funds in question belonged explicitly to Michel, as the defendant argued, or were still connected to Low's international funds.

Michel testified he was "betrayed" and led astray by his outside advisers, confidants, and employees, who he claims did not advise him correctly on how to handle financial and legal matters in the U.S.

In one such instance, several years after the 2012 election, Michel said he had "heard through friends that they were getting visits from the FBI" about the campaign contributions. After consulting a lawyer, Michel said he was advised to send a letter to the individuals he paid to donate to Obama's campaign and assert the money in question was not a gift, but a loan that needed to be repaid. Prosecutors say these letters  which also suggested legal action could follow  were threats to witnesses in the investigation. The idea was "stupid," Michel admitted Tuesday, adding he regretted he followed the advice of his counsel in that matter.

Michel's testimony on Tuesday also touched on his alleged efforts to push Trump administration officials to drop their investigations into Low and extradite a Chinese national living in the U.S. to China to face criminal charges.

Under cross-examination, Michel said "I took it upon myself" to go to the FBI about the dissident, Miles Guo, to work to connect interested parties with the U.S. government. Guo, a Steve Bannon associate, had since been indicted on fraud charges of his own.

Prosecutors say Michel, Low and their partners, including Republican lobbyist Elliott Broidy, met with leaders in the Chinese government and came up with what would ultimately be an unsuccessful plan to pay Broidy millions of dollars to use his political contacts to push Low's agenda. Broidy's plan included sending talking points to officials and pressuring Trump administration officials to put meetings on then-President Trump's calendar.

Broidy pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to serve as an unregistered foreign agent, and Trump pardoned him shortly before leaving office in 2021.

Michel testified Tuesday that "no one I spoke to ever mentioned" the federal laws that required him to register as a foreign agent if doing work on China's behalf, and that he would have done so if advised.

Still, government prosecutors elicited that the defendant was present at a gathering between Boidy and the Malaysian prime minister on the night before the prime minister was set to meet with Trump. Michel told the jury he had stopped by to "say hello" and nothing more.

Michel's defense team  led by celebrity attorney David Kenner  has argued the rapper believed he had acted in the best interest of the U.S. at the time and did not act as a foreign agent of China. They have made numerous attempts to dismiss the charges on various grounds of selective and illicit prosecution and, as Michel's testimony on Tuesday demonstrated, continue to maintain their client was unaware of the laws he is accused of breaking.

One former Trump official at the center of the alleged pressure campaign was then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who also took the stand as a defense witness on Tuesday.

Sessions, who said Tuesday he did not "recall" ever meeting Michel, told the jury under oath about various high-level meetings about potentially extraditing Guo to China, some involving other federal agencies. Those efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and Sessions said he rebuffed attempts to get him to meet with Chinese security officials about the matter. Sessions said he viewed various meetings as "appropriate."

Prosecutors from the Justice Department  which Sessions once led as the nation's top law enforcement officer  declined to question him under cross-examination.

Low, according to the Justice Department, allegedly misappropriated over $500 million from the sovereign wealth fund 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) with wire transfers to shell companies he and others owned, and some of the proceeds were used for the production of actor Leonardo DiCaprio's hit film "The Wolf of Wall Street."

DiCaprio testified in Michel's trial earlier this month.

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Ceasefire lasts mere minutes before fighting resumes in Sudan
WASHINGTON  Future versions of U.S. Army reconnaissance helicopters will need trained aviators to operate them well into the next decade despite advances in artificial intelligence, according to a study conducted by Mitre Corp. for service leaders.

Full-fledged autonomy would fail to faithfully fulfill more than three-quarters of studied tasks associated with the Armys in-development Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, or FARA, by 2030, according to the technical analysis, details of which were recently shared with C4ISRNET.

The odds arent much better in 2040, either. At least 10 high-risk and 18 medium-risk challenges hampering no-pilot deployment were identified, suggesting human input  in the actual advanced rotorcraft, or beamed in from afar  will continue to be relied upon for complex, high-stakes military endeavors.

Maj. Gen. Walter Rugen, the director of the Armys Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team, said the findings will help determine how development money is spent.

Theyre very informative to a policy guy like me, that has to decide where our investments go, Rugen said at a February event hosted by Mitre, which manages federally funded research and development centers.

Autonomous tech can help keep US homeland safe, NORADs VanHerck says

The team Rugen leads is tasked with helping overhaul the Armys aging airborne fleet, among other heavy lifts. The portfolio includes FARA, the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft, or FLRAA, and future tactical unmanned aircraft systems and air-launched effects.

The Army in December selected Textrons Bell unit to build FLRAA, a $1.3 billion deal that marked the services largest helicopter procurement in 40 years. The choice has since been protested by Lockheed Martins Sikorsky. A ruling from the Government Accountability Office is expected no later than April 7.

A contractor has not yet been selected to formally build FARA, which has earned the knife fighter moniker and is planned to succeed the Kiowa scout helicopter, retired nearly a decade ago. AH-64 Apache attack helicopters paired with Shadow UAS are filling the gap now.

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The deep-dive conducted by Mitre, which tapped into development documents, academic publications and Army metrics and relied on interviews with air cavalry, really helps us define whats possible in the near- and mid-terms, Rugen said.

What Ive kind of seen is, in many respects, the soldier still is our best sensor, he added. The soldier at the tactical edge is going to be quicker through the mid-term, through that 2030 time, than the computer.

While uncrewed drones are well-equipped for what Rugen called dull, dirty or dangerous work  circling and forever staring, or probing chemically contaminated spaces  something like FARA is meant for more sophisticated tasks, applications that demand finesse, expertise and in-the-moment judgement.

As we look at our drones, were talking about an extension of our sensor. And were talking about, in this report, really the hardest thing we do on the battlefield, which is fight for information, Rugen said. Reconnaissance is our toughest thing that were doing. And its hard to outsource that, certainly in the mid-term, to some autonomous agent.

Maj. Gen. Walter Rugen, the director of the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team, listens to a speech Oct. 12, 2022, at the Association of the U.S. Army annual conference in Washington, D.C. (Colin Demarest/C4ISRNET)

Among the factors that bar an empty FARA cockpit from reality are immature perception, decision-making and intent-determination capabilities, according to the assessment.

The trio are incredibly important to get right, and get right every time, according to John Wurts, a senior autonomous systems engineer at Mitre.

The question becomes the importance of a reconnaissance mission, he said at the same event where Rugen spoke. We talked about information, and whats most important to a reconnaissance mission is coming against the commanders intent: understanding what are your reconnaissance objectives, what merits the threshold of reporting, what do you need report about either allied troops, enemy troops, terrain information, and at what points in the mission?

Training reliable AI requires massive amounts of time, data and exposure. Its difficult enough on the civilian side: this is a stop sign, this is a bus, this is the quickest route home. Things only get more complex in a military setting, when bullets are whizzing by, people are dying and the choices presented are not binary.

A human can express their own tactical curiosity, understand second- and third-order effects, understand how to adapt to an adversary action, said Wurts, who previously worked in the auto industry. When we ask for a no-pilot configuration to operate the same set, that needs to all reside in the autonomy.

Striking a balance may be the key.

Autonomy in the cockpit

As the Air Force increasingly hypes manned-unmanned teaming and seeks 1,000 so-called collaborative combat aircraft to swell its ranks, and the Navy envisions a future fleet teeming with uncrewed vessels, so too is the Army looking at ways of augmenting its troops with computer-powered might.

If were going to posit that we do want inhabited cockpits, but we want more autonomy in those cockpits, I think thats where were seeing some tremendous technology, Rugen said. Again, when we talk about some of the limits, we really see the machine not having the curiosity that humans do  what makes us human.

The Defense Department considers AI a modernization priority and has invested in it, though the exact sum is unclear. AI is often a slice of a larger program, and classified activities can muddy the disclosure waters.

More than 685 AI projects, including some associated with major weapons systems, were underway at the Pentagon as of early 2021, the most up-to-date tally, the Government Accountability Office said.

The Army, the largest military service, is leading the pack. At least 232 efforts can be traced back to it, according to the federal watchdog. The Marine Corps, on the other hand, is dealing with at least 33.

What is deep sensing and why is the US Army so focused on it?

AI is expected to aid target recognition aboard the Armys Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, or OMFV, help sort and send information beamed to its Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, or TITAN, and underpin the navigation of robotic combat vehicles, or RCVs, designed for scouting and escorting.

The technology is also being used to streamline logistics and offload monotonous, time-consuming or finicky tasks. The Army in September selected BigBear.ai for a $14.8 million contract to roll out the services Global Force Information Management system, designed to give service leaders an automated and holistic view of manpower, equipment, training and readiness. In October, the service picked Palantir for a separate $85.1 million predictive modeling software contract to get ahead of maintenance needs.

Army Chief of Staff Gen. James McConville in late February told reporters conflicts would be waged increasingly by a combination of man and machine. And for FARA, that is more likely the case: a crew assisted by digital prowess, increasing performance and reducing the chance of sensory overload.

When I look at manned-unmanned teaming, thats going to even become more prevalent, McConville said at a Defense Writers Group event. Its going to be unmanned-manned teaming on the ground, in the air and really a combination of both, and its going be ubiquitous throughout the battlefield.

The Armys fiscal 2024 budget request, totaling $185.5 billion, sets aside $283 million for AI.

The funding, budget documents state, would cover research and development for enhanced autonomy experimentation as well as AI-enabled activities tied to OMFV, TITAN, RCVs and info-processing.

Defense News reporter Jen Judson contributed to this article.
The Navys future littoral combat ship Cleveland launched with a literal bang Saturday, when it collided with a supporting tugboat in the Menominee River at Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin, officials said.

No one was injured during the unintentional contact, but the future LCSs botched christening caused limited damage to Cleveland, the last of the troubled Freedom-class ships.

Videos online show several angles of the mishap and audible groans as the ship struck the tug.

The damaged area is well above the waterline and no flooding occurred, Naval Sea Systems Command spokeswoman Jamie Koehler said in an email. An assessment was completed and permanent repairs are being planned. Root cause of the incident is currently under investigation by the Navy and shipbuilder.

The Navy has not said when Cleveland will be commissioned, but a Pentagon release ahead of the christening noted that Saturdays side-launch would be the last at the Wisconsin shipyard, with follow-on ships being launched using a shiplift system.

To date, the ship class has failed to ever take on the missions envisaged for it earlier this century, agile, fast warships operating in coastal waters to hunt and destroy enemy submarines, eliminate anti-ship mines and defend the fleet from attacks by small boats. Questions linger about how such a ship would contribute in a shooting war with China.

The Freedom-class LCS has suffered from a class-wide transmission issue, while some ships in the Independence variant have suffered from hull cracks.

The littoral combat ships latest problem: Class-wide structural defects leading to hull cracks

As the Navy and other services focus on a potential future fight with China, the sea service has sought to decommission LCSs early, including some that were in service for less than a decade.

Some have successfully taken on West Pacific presence patrols and counter-narcotics missions around South America and the Caribbean.
The University System of Georgia (USG) will waive SAT and ACT test requirements at most of the systems 26 institutions for another academic year.

The waiver will apply to all of the systems colleges and universities except the University of Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Georgia College & State University.

The university system began waiving the test requirements in March 2020 with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. The waiver has been in effect for all but 10 months since then.

Most academic researchers have concluded that high school grade-point averages are a better indicator of future success in college than test scores, system Chancellor Sonny Perdue told members of the systems Board of Regents Wednesday.

The regents heard a presentation during Wednesdays meeting on the campus of the University of North Georgia in Dahlonega showing that freshman enrollment plummeted last year when the system briefly reimposed the testing requirement. Enrollment rebounded when the system went back to the waiver late last year.

Preliminary data for this coming fall  with the testing waiver remaining in effect  shows an increase in both applications and acceptances, Scott Lingrell, vice chancellor of enrollment and student affairs, told the regents.

Were cautiously optimistic about the fall, he said. Were looking really good across our institutions.

Dana Nichols, the systems vice chancellor of academic affairs, said nearly 79% of accredited colleges and universities across the nation dont require standardized tests for admission, including most schools in the neighboring states of Alabama, North Carolina, and South Carolina. Many of the schools in Florida and Tennessee also are test-optional, she said.

Perdue said the waiver will include a hold-harmless provision for Georgia College & State University, which will compensate the Milledgeville liberal-arts college financially for any declines in enrollment that occur because it is still requiring testing while most other USG institutions are not.

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Perdue said extending the testing waiver through the 2024-25 academic year will help the regents decide whether to go back to testing when the waiver expires.

This will give us better data analytics next year to make a decision, he said. Were looking for the best data that can guide us for the future.

In other business during the two-day meeting, the regents did not act on tuition for the coming school year, which they normally do in April. Perdue said the $66 million cut the USG took from the General Assembly in the fiscal 2024 budget left the systems bean counters unprepared for a vote on tuition this month.

The regents have not raised tuition during five of the last seven years.

Perdue said the funds likely will be restored when lawmakers take up the mid-year budget during next years legislative session.

I believe they understand that higher education  has been the backbone of economic development over the last 20 years, he said.

The board is expected to vote on tuition at next months meeting,
The Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) has revealed an outline for its plan to issue and revise Party regulations from 2023 to 2027.

According to the outline, made public Tuesday, one priority of the plan is to improve the systems that uphold Comrade Xi Jinping's core position on the CPC Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and uphold the Central Committee's authority and its centralized, unified leadership.

The mechanisms to ensure the CPC Central Committee's leadership over major initiatives will be perfected. Systems will be installed to ensure only the CPC Central Committee is entitled to decide and explain major principles and policies that concern the whole Party and country.

A set of regulations will be issued on the implementation of the CPC Central Committee's major decisions and plans, regulating every link from the division of work to the assessment of the results and supervision.

Regulations on Party leadership will be improved to ensure the Party's role in exercising overall leadership and coordinating the efforts of all, the document said, highlighting efforts to enhance the institutions for Party leadership over organizations including people's congresses and the government.

It also urged a scientific setup of the power and duties of Party and government institutions to ensure that Party and government bodies perform their respective functions in a clearer manner.

The regulations on major decision-making processes for Party committees and Party leadership groups will be formulated to ensure that advice from the people is sought, research and investigation strengthened, and decisions reviewed carefully.

Efforts will be made to refine the Party's organizational rules and regulations, including drafting the electoral regulations for central Party organizations.

The system of training, selecting, appointing and managing Party officials will be enhanced, while more proactive, open and effective policies on talent will be adopted.

According to the outline, the CPC Central Committee will improve regulations and systems related to the Party's own development, including regulations that improve intra-Party democracy, enhance the close connections between the Party and the people, prevent privileges among leading officials, correct mistakes and fight corruption.

The regulations and systems of supervision over the Party will also be enhanced. The regulations on intraparty oversight will be revised to promote coordination between various types of oversight, with intraparty oversight playing the main role.

The systems to hold officials accountable for their work will be more targeted while the systems will be improved to encourage officials to take the lead in shouldering responsibility and to excel in their daily work.

Highlighting the significance of the five-year outline, the CPC Central Committee asked Party committees and leading Party members' groups at all levels to properly implement the outline and strictly enforce the Party regulations.
BERLIN (Reuters) - A mission by the German military to evacuate around 150 citizens from Sudan had to be halted on Wednesday due to fighting in the capital Khartoum, the Spiegel news magazine reported citing unnamed sources.

A spokesperson for the defence ministry declined to comment on the report. The foreign ministry did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.

Spiegel said the Luftwaffe air force had dispatched three A400M transport planes for the mission early on Wednesday. The planes had landed in Greece for a refuelling stop.

The Bundeswehr military aborted the mission amid reports of renewed clashes and airstrikes in Khartoum, according to the report.

Fighting erupted in Sudan on Saturday, killing at least 185 people and derailing an internationally backed plan for a transition to civilian democracy in the country.

Foreign powers, including the United States, have pushed for a ceasefire between the army and paramilitary forces amid concerns over the increasingly dire humanitarian situation.

(Reporting by Sabine Siebold, Writing by Rachel More, Editing by Friederike Heine)
The complex was delivered a few days ago

The system is the second of four that Germany promised to give to Ukraine.

Read also: Germanys Scholz announces new deliveries of Gepard, Iris-T systems to Ukraine

Additional IRIS-T SLM missiles were delivered as part of Germanys military aid.

Germany handed over the first out of the four pledged IRIS-T air defense systems to the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Oct. 11, 2022.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Oct. 24 that Germany would hand over three more IRIS-T systems to Ukraine as soon as possible. Prior to that, then-German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht stated that Kyiv would receive three more IRIS-T air defense systems in 2023.

Read also: Germany sends engineering vehicle, trucks, drones to Ukraine

Ukrainian Air Force spokesperson, Yuriy Ihnat, said in October that Ukraine was delighted with the results of the first IRIS-T, saying the system shows 100% effectiveness.

The German government announced on April 18, 2023, that a new military aid package had been delivered to Ukraine, which included the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and shells for it.

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
Lake Shore Drive in Chicago.

In an energy-efficient future, homes may be heated and cooled by pumping from giant pools of water stored underground. A study published this month in Applied Energy looks at how underground aquifers could help significantly reduce reliance on fossil fuels and help store energy produced by renewables.



The research deals with a technology known as aquifer thermal energy storage, or ATES. Water is a great way to store thermal energy, and the Earth is an efficient insulator. ATES is simply the process of using water stored naturally underground in aquifers to heat and cool homes: pumping warm water through one well in the winter to heat homes and using a separate pump to extract that same water in the summer for cooling purposes.

Read more

This new study, conducted by a group of researchers at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, looks at how ATES technology could interact with other forms of energy on the gridnamely, by storing excess energy produced by renewables by using that energy to heat the water before its pumped underground.

When we think of energy storage and intermittency of renewables, we almost always talk about batteries right away, Peter Nico, a biogeochemist at the Berkeley Lab and coauthor of the paper, told Earther in an email. Batteries are great, but there are lots of other creative ways to store energy, and the ground beneath our feet can help with that.

For the study, the team modeled a scenario around the use of ATES in a neighborhood in Chicago, creating a hypothetical neighborhood of around 60 homes that were hooked up to a grid that could provide different forms of energy and storage. They then ran that model through various climate scenarios to get a sense of how much heating and cooling these homes will need in the future, as well as testing out the grids resiliency during disasters.

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The model showed some pretty huge benefits. The use of ATES drove down the grids use of fossil fuels for energy by up to 40% in some cases. Whats more, ATES also made the grid more resilient during hypothetical future heat waves: Unlike air conditioners that stress the grid during super-hot days, ATES cooling needs just enough energy to pump water around.

Like heat pumps, this technique seems so simple that it sounds too good to be truebut ATES isnt a perfect technology. The location where ATES is set up must have access to natural aquifers with specific attributes to help the water flow more efficiently. And there are cost restrictions. The study found that ATES could be up to 20% more expensive than other energy storage options on the market.

Despite these concerns, the study authors say that continuing to develop the technology could help bring down costs. Many of the worlds ATES projects are in the Netherlands; studies have shown that both Germany and Spain have great potential for the technology, and the researchers say there are large portions of the U.S. that would also benefit from ATES.

I dont know why [ATES] hasnt taken off more in the U.S., Nico said. Very roughly, I would guess something about cost and about familiarity. It is hard to be an early adopter. Overall, getting the initial capital costs of installation down would help a lot with the overall cost effectiveness.

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A Lake Norman developer will lay out plans to the community next week for an $800-million mixed-use community in Huntersville featuring a 40-acre modern lifestyle beach resort with a 10-acre freshwater lagoon.

The crown jewel of the private-membership Lagoona Bay Beach Club will be the tropical-style lagoon, surrounded by beaches, sun lounges and green spaces, Cornelius developer Jake Palillo said.

The development will spread east of Interstate 77 Huntersville exit 25 along N.C. 73/Sam Furr Road, Westmoreland Road, Black Farms Road and McCord Road, town planning documents show.

The tract is more than five times the size of Huntersvilles iconic Birkdale Village mixed-use community off the other side of the exit.

Its an amazing, exciting project, Palillo told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday.

The club will be within a planned 270-acre residential development on Sam Furr Road that will include 250 custom, single-family homes. Other properties in the development will house 320 luxury apartments, 200 town homes and 412 luxury condos, according to the developers plans.

Created with patented technology licensed from Miami-based Crystal Lagoons, the Huntersville lagoon will be sustainable and eco-friendly, using up to 100 times fewer chemicals and just 2% of the energy required by a conventional swimming pool, he said.

Recreational facilities and a trolley

The resort will include a 200-room luxury hotel, with private-access outdoor pools and a rooftop fine dining restaurant and cocktail lounge overlooking the lagoon. A convention center also is planned.

A trolley will get swimmers and bathers to and from the lagoon, according to project documents at the Huntersville Planning Department.

Planned recreational facilities and activities include swimming pools; unlimited water sports; tennis and pickleball courts; a basketball court; and a sports field. Also planned are an indoor-outdoor fitness center; health and wellness spa; yoga, pilates, aerobics and dance classes; and greenway trails for walking, jogging and biking.

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A Lake Norman developer will lay out his plans for a 263-acre Huntersville mega development to include a gigantic recreation lagoon and a trolley system to get people to and from the regional attraction.

Food and beverage options also will include beach-side bites and a coffee bistro; a family food court; and swim-up bars at the lagoon.

Remote-work areas will be central to the club, Palillo said, with shared co-working spaces, desks and meeting rooms. Study halls, computer labs and creative spaces will be available to students, and camps and classes will be held weekly. Child care for 3 to 12 year olds will be available up to four hours a day.

Construction expected in 2024

Palillo is undertaking the project with his son, Jake Palillo Jr., and son-in-law Brock Hullinger, in partnership with Housing Studios architects and Urban Design Partners landscape architects. Pending zoning approval, construction is expected to start in early 2024, Palillo said.

Palillos Huntersville community meeting is scheduled for 6:30-7:30 p.m. Wednesday, April 26, at 1994 University City Church Drive in Huntersville.

A public hearing on his rezoning request is tentatively scheduled for June 5 at Town Hall, 101 Huntersville-Concord Road.

The request is tentatively scheduled to go before the Huntersville Planning Board June 27 and the Huntersville Board of Commissioners July 17, both at 6:30 p.m. at Town Hall.
As bagpipes played, Janet McAlileys family pulled her casket of woven seagrass on a wooden wagon down a dirt path through a wild green meadow in Central Florida.

In life, McAliley was a moral pillar of Miami-Dade County: a 16-year school board member who crusaded for civil rights, the fair treatment of immigrants and many environmental causes. In death, she wanted to add to her environmental legacy. She chose to be laid to rest in whats known as a green burial  in her case, at the Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery outside of Gainesville, Florida.

A bagpiper plays during a funeral service for Janet McAliley at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery.

There would be no cremation, a process that contributes to climate change by producing as many carbon emissions as a 500-mile road trip. No embalming fluid, which seeps out of caskets and can pollute groundwater. And no concrete vault, which prevents the microbial denizens of the soil (for a time) from decomposing a body and returning it to the earth.

Instead, McAlileys family lowered her biodegradable casket into a grave lined with palm fronds that had been dug by hand by a group of Prairie Creek volunteers who call themselves the Pick and Spade Society. Her family shared memories and placed roses on her casket. Then, to the trill of cicadas, the volunteers covered the casket with dirt and a pile of pine needles. They marked the grave with a simple brass stake that bore her name and the dates of her birth and death.

Neal McAliley speaks at the funeral of his mother, Janet McAliley, before laying a red rose on her casket.

She liked the idea that her body would just be returned to the earth and that there werent any chemicals involved, said her daughter, Chris McAliley, a retired federal judge for the Southern District of Florida. It was as kind-to-the-planet a way as she could think of to have her body disposed.

McAlileys grave lies in the middle of roughly 600 acres of preserved Florida wilderness, of which 40 acres are devoted to burials like hers. Since Prairie Creeks first funeral in 2010, about 1,000 people have been buried there. Each of these graves also helps ensure that this wild corner of Florida will remain undisturbed by future development.

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Green or natural burials  which sometimes happen at specialized conservation cemeteries like Prairie Creek, but can also happen at a handful of conventional lawn-and-tombstone cemeteries  have become increasingly popular over the past two decades. One in ten Americans say this is how theyd like to be buried, according to a 2023 survey from the National Funeral Directors Association.

In Florida, there are at least seven cemeteries that offer the service. Nearly all of them are in Central Florida, requiring South Florida families to drive hundreds of miles to bury their dead, producing carbon emissions along the way.

Chris McAliley and her sons, Daniel and Ben Kleiman, look on as volunteers at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery bury her mother, Janet McAliley. The volunteer group, which digs all the graves at Prairie Creek, calls itself the Pick and Spade Society.

The first nearby cemetery to offer green burials, the South Florida Jewish Cemetery, opened its doors in Lake Worth in 2019  but only to those who want a Jewish funeral. Green burial advocates, and local residents interested in the service for themselves, would like to see more cemeteries follow.

It really would be as close to the earth as it could be if we had this right in our community, said Chris McAliley, who told her own children after her mothers funeral that she would like a green burial herself when the time comes. I sure hope there will be more sites. Why would I want to make more of an impact on the planet after Im gone?

Florida at the forefront of alternative burials

Despite the limited number of green burial sites, it turns out that Florida is relatively progressive when it comes to alternative burial options.

That came as a relief to Victoria Boatman, 31, an Orlando resident who started looking into funeral options for herself in her 20s after being diagnosed with an autoimmune disorder. She wasnt sure what shed find.

Florida is such a weird state that I was like, We could either have all the options or we could have absolutely none, Boatman said. I was really pleasantly surprised to find out that there were options for green burial.

Florida ranks ahead of most other states in terms of its number of green burial sites, according to Lee Webster, who keeps a list of green burial sites across the US and Canada. The states first green burial site, Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve, which opened in the Panhandle in 2001, was one of the first conservation cemeteries in the U.S.  a site where burials also help protect the land from potential development.

Florida is right up there, said Webster, a former board member for the Green Burial Council and one of the founding members of the Conservation Burial Alliance. Its cemeteries are really influential because theyve been there for a long time.

In addition to the growing number of cemeteries that handle green burials, Floridians also have a choice of techniques for body disposal.

Florida was an early adopter of alkaline hydrolysis, sometimes called water cremation, a process in which a body is dissolved in a chemical solution. A St. Petersburg funeral home was the first in the U.S. to offer the service after the state Legislature legalized it in 2011.

The state is also the home of Eternal Reefs, the first company to offer families the option to turn their loved ones cremated remains into artificial coral reefs.

Undersea memorials to loved ones also may help revive Floridas dying coral reefs

The only alternative Florida wont yet allow is natural organic reduction, also known as human composting, which turns bodies into soil by placing them in a sealed chamber with wood chips, straw, alfalfa and other materials that help microbes quickly transform human remains into fertilizer. Just six states have legalized the procedure, which debuted in Washington in 2019.

After researching her options, Boatman decided she wanted a green burial at Prairie Creek. That way she could have as small an environmental impact as possible, and still give her family a chance to see her body and say goodbye.

The biggest point for me wasnt just environmental. It was also psychological, she said. Having a loved one die and then never reconciling that with a dead body is really harmful to the human psyche.

Boatman wrote her wishes into her will in 2019. (If youre considering a green burial, heres how you, too, can plan ahead for your own funeral.)

A greener goodbye

Many of the people who run Floridas green burial cemeteries dont come from the funeral industry. Theyre environmentalists who were drawn to the idea of green burials and conservation cemeteries as a way to cut carbon emissions and preserve land.

Laura Starkey, for instance, found out about the concept at a land conservation conference in 2006. At the time, she was looking for a way to preserve land that was once dedicated to cattle ranching on her familys farm in Pasco County. I saw a workshop about conservation burial grounds as a tool for land conservation, she said. Its a way that these burials can help pay for the permanent protection of the land.

The land that Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery now occupies was once a cattle ranch owned by Jay B. Starkey Sr., the grandfather of the cemeterys executive director Laura Starkey.

Starkeys grandfather, who founded the cattle ranch, had already sold 8,000 acres to the Southwest Florida Water Management District in the 1970s to create the Starkey Wilderness Preserve, and the family sold several thousand acres more to enlarge the park after he died in 1989. In 2016, Laura Starkey turned 41 acres of longleaf pine woods neighboring the nature preserve into the Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery.

In the process, she put a conservation easement on the land that permanently prevents it from being developed. She uses the money she collects from burial fees to fund a trust that will pay for future upkeep, like controlled burns. Just as importantly, she said, she welcomed families to form lifelong emotional connections to the land where their loved ones are buried.

Pallbearers carry the body of a loved one, wrapped in a shroud, through Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery near Tampa, Florida.

On the day of the burial, people are engaging with the environment on a very deep and spiritual level that they werent expecting, she said.

Or, as Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve co-founder John Wilkerson put it: As we get more and more people buried here, the odds of politicians and Realtors breaking the place into little pieces and turning it into something else goes way down, he said. Everyones got some voters still alive in their families.

Curbing deaths carbon emissions

In addition to preserving land, green burials can also reduce the funeral industrys contribution to climate change.

Green burials use less material than traditional burials: No one has to mix and pour concrete to form a vault, or chop down exotic lumber and ship it around the world to make luxurious caskets, or manufacture chemicals to make embalming fluids. The Green Burial Council estimates that a traditional burial produces 250 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions, which is roughly equivalent to a 300-mile trip in a typical car.

Meanwhile, a typical cremation burns natural gas to heat a body to about 1,800 degrees for around two hours, generating about 460 pounds of carbon emissions, according to a 2016 analysis from Dutch sustainability researcher Elisabeth Keijzer. Thats the equivalent of driving roughly 500 miles.

A body wrapped in a burial shroud is covered in flowers before being lowered into a grave at Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery near Tampa, Florida.

To be sure, the carbon footprint of a persons burial or cremation pales in comparison to the emissions they generate in life. But collectively, the emissions from each individual funeral can add up.

About 58% of Americans now choose cremation, according to polling from the National Funeral Directors Association. That suggests that about 1.6 million of the 2.9 million Americans who died in 2019 were likely cremated  generating about 380,000 tons of carbon emissions, which is on par with the emissions from 77,000 cars over that same year.

A green burial can produce close to zero emissions, especially if the grave is dug by hand and the body is buried in a simple shroud. With natural burial, its a one-step process: The body goes into the earth, said Webster. Its a natural process, not an industrial one.

Driving to service adds impacts

Of course, that doesnt count the emissions produced by mourners driving to attend green burials.

From downtown Miami, for instance, the South Florida Jewish Cemetery is a 60-mile drive north. Heartwood Preserve, the closest conservation cemetery, is a 300-mile drive. Prairie Creek is about 330 miles of highway away.

All that driving can offset the carbon emissions savings from a green burial  a fact that even green burial advocates will acknowledge.

You have to look at the big picture of your overall footprint if everybody is going to be driving from Miami all the way north of Tampa, said Starkey, the Heartwood Preserve founder. Thats 300 miles each way, times however many vehicles, and the time and the expense of that.

But youre also supporting an ecosystem and youre participating in the preservation of a corner of the land, Starkey said.

Car emissions could be reduced if there were more green burial grounds around the state, including in South Florida.

There needs to be a green cemetery at least every 100 miles so you wouldnt have to drive more than 50 miles to find one, said Wilkerson, the Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve founder.

Mourners lay flowers on a freshly filled grave at Heartwood Preserve Conservation Cemetery near Tampa, Florida.

But its not so easy to find the real estate for even a conventional cemetery in a highly developed area like South Florida  much less a nature preserve and conservation cemetery. Part of the issue is, you go out and try to find three to five acres somewhere in Miami thats not underwater, said Rabbi Jay Lyons of the South Florida Jewish Cemetery. Good luck.

Lyons said hed consider opening another green burial cemetery in South Florida with no religious affiliation if he could find the land and the funding to do it.

Another option would be for more existing cemeteries to adopt a hybrid model, meaning that they let families decide whether they want a conventional burial with embalming, a concrete vault, and a tombstone or if they want a simpler green burial. Hybrid cemeteries like the South Florida Jewish Cemetery support both options. But all those traditional steps also are money-makers for the funeral industry.

A place you look forward to coming back to

Many of those who have attended green burials, particularly at conservation cemeteries, say their main benefit isnt the carbon footprint. Its the way that saying goodbye in nature made them feel.

Ive been to too many funerals where youre in a well-kept area but, you know, theres a hole dug with an excavator and its just a very sterile environment, said Jeff Snow, a Boca Raton resident who drove up to Prairie Creek in March to bury his friend Jodi.

Mourners join hands before a body is lowered into a grave at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery near Gainesville, Florida.

Prairie Creek, he said, didnt feel sterile. Its a beautiful setting, and you know its going to be beautiful like that forever because its part of the conservation area, said Snow. Its quiet. You dont hear any trafficIts super peaceful. Its a place you look forward to coming back to.

More importantly, it felt like the right place to lay his friend to rest. Jodi was a teacher. She taught young children. She loved butterflies and orchids. And this green burial was certainly an extension of her, Snow said.

Mourners sit next to a grave at Prairie Creek Conservation Cemetery near Gainesville, Florida.

And for those who have the luxury of planning their funeral ahead of time, it can be one last chance to send a message to their loved ones about the importance of protecting the planet.

My mother died, but she was teaching me after she was gone, said Chris McAliley. My brothers and I just looked at each other and said, once again, mom is just inspiring us and enlightening us about a way to try to be kind to the planet that we really hadnt thought about.

This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
A gold Roman coin celebrating the conquest of Britain by Emperor Claudius  a coin first discovered in 1895 in the ashes of Pompeii  has sold at auction for nearly $22,400.

The gold coin that marks the conquest in 43 AD was uncovered among the ruins of a suburb a short distance north of Pompeii, SWNS reported this week.

Experts said they weren't surprised that the coin, connected to two of the most dramatic events of the ancient world, fetched such an eye-opening auction price, the same source noted.

GOLD COINS FROM 15TH CENTURY FOUND NEAR RICHARD III BATTLEFIELD ARE GOING UP FOR AUCTION

The "breathtaking" history of the small coin  which has seen intense interest from collectors and museums across Europe  is viewed as even more valuable now that treasure hunting is prohibited in the UNESCO-protected areas surrounding Pompeii, said SWNS.

Antiquarians first found the coin in 1895 beneath mounds of volcanic ash inside the Roman villa ravaged and preserved by the eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD.

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The eruption (and all that ensued) is still regarded as the most high-profile in history.

The eruption of Vesuvius in 79 AD killed over 16,000 residents of the city and its surrounding environs, including the smaller town of Herculaneum and other towns and villages in the region on the Amalfi coast.

The coin was discovered as part of a horde alongside the body of a servant in the wine-pressing room of the Villa della Pisanella in the suburbs of the town of Boscoreale, noted SWNS, a British news service.

The volcanic temperatures of the eruption toned the coin with a distinctive reddish hue.

However, this particular coin was buried deep enough under the ash that its golden glow was preserved, said SWNS.

From the position of the human remains found near the horde  alongside silver tableware inscribed to the lady of the house, Maxima  it was determined that the unidentified man perished while guarding the treasures, the same source noted.

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The coin is estimated to have been worth the equivalent of some six to eight weeks' worth of wages for the average Roman soldier, said SWNS.

One face of the coin depicts the triumphal arch of Claudius on the Via Flaminia road out of Rome, topped by an equestrian statue of Emperor Claudius flanked by British battle shields and inscribed "DE [VICTIS] BRITANN[IS]  Triumph over the Britons."

SUNKEN JEWELS, BURIED TREASURE UNCOVERED IN THE BAHAMAS FROM ICONIC 17TH CENTURY SPANISH SHIPWRECK

Emperor Claudius launched the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43, largely completed in the southern half of Britain by AD 87, SWNS noted.

Roman historians record Claudius as receiving the surrender of 11 British tribal chieftains.

The first recorded sale of the coin came in 1898.

That's when the coin celebrating British defeat at the hands of Romans was bought by Englishman Sir Samuel Bagster Boulton, a vice chair at the London Chamber of Commerce, said SWNS.

The coin was passed down through generations of the Boulton family through Sir Samuel's children  one of whom survived the sinking of the RMS Lusitania in May 1915.

The family sold its collection of Boscoreale coins in 1942 to London coin dealers Spink  and the coin in question was then sold for nearly $600 today to the present vendor's family, where it's remained since, SWNS reported.

But the coin was finally sold at another Spink auction for the first time in more than 80 years to a private collector.

Gregory Edmund, the Roman coin adviser at Spink, said, "If you were to combine the two most dramatic events of the ancient world into one object, this would be the dream combination," SWNS reported.

RARE COIN SELLS FOR $4.2 MILLION

He added that while "its discovery is hardly bathed in the rigorous archeological disciplines we would demand today, and have since rightfully legislated the world over to enshrine, the pure theatrical romance of finding Roman gold leaves little to anyones imagination  Few objects could ever resonate so emphatically as this."

He also said, "Historical fact and romantic fiction are wedded together in this object. To actually stop and comprehend what this coin has played witness to: from the very hands that crafted the Roman invasion of Britain, to being buried by the volcanic ash of the most famous natural disaster of the ancient world."

He noted, "It is truly breathtaking," SWNS also reported.

Today, Pompeii and the other villages and towns that were decimated by the Vesuvius eruption are protected as world heritage sites.

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Said Edmund, as SWNS reported, "I am not at all surprised that bidders fought like modern-day gladiators to own this treasured heirloom of antiquity  their first opportunity to do so in over 80 years. I am very glad to see the infectious passion of the winning bidder who reveres the cultural significance of this object first and foremost as its next privileged guardian."

He added, "If only this coin could talk, what more could it tell us?"
Goldman Sachs economists predicted that the U.S. could hit its debt ceiling earlier than they originally expected, saying on Tuesday it is possible the limit is reached in the first half of June.

Goldman economists were originally forecasting that after the Treasury Department announced it would take extraordinary measures to be able to continue paying its bills earlier this year, it would be able to continue with those measures until sometime in early August. But citing weak tax collections in April, Goldman said there was an increased probability that the debt limit deadline will be reached in the first half of June.

The economists conceded that the data was still very preliminary and said they still see a greater chance that the limit is reached in late July.

But this could easily change to a base case of early June if tax receipts continue to undershoot, the economists said.

Talks in Washington over raising the debt ceiling have largely stalled. The White House and Democrats have said they want to pass a debt ceiling increase without any strings attached, while Republicans have demanded commitments on spending cuts in exchange for passing the ceiling increase.

Goldman economists said that a June deadline would raise the possibilities of lawmakers reaching a short-term extension on the debt ceiling, giving them more time to negotiate a longer-term solution.

We are generally skeptical of reports that congressional Republicans might pass a short-term debt limit extension, as voting to raise the debt limit twice is harder than voting once, the economists said. That said, if the Treasury announces in May that the deadline is only a few weeks away, there would be little time to negotiate a deal and a short-term extension could provide a way out.

A Treasury spokesperson pointed to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellens letter to lawmakers in January, in which she said it was difficult to predict a timeline for reaching the debt ceiling because it was difficult to predict government revenues months in advance.

While Treasury is not currently able to provide an estimate of how long extraordinary measures will enable us to continue to pay the governments obligations, it is unlikely that cash and extraordinary measures will be exhausted before early June, she said in the January letter.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Google chief Sundar Pichai has warned that the wrong deployment of rapidly advancing artificial intelligence technology can cause a lot of harm on a societal level.

It can be very harmful if deployed wrongly and we dont have all the answers there yet  and the technology is moving fast .... So does that keep me up at night? Absolutely, the tech giants Chief Executive Officer (CEO) said.

In an interview with CBSs 60 Minutes, Mr Pichai voiced concerns that society needed to adapt for the use of AI technology.

He warned that AI is set to impact every product across every company, adding that knowledge workers such as those working as writers, accountants, and software engineers are likely to be more affected.

For example, you could be a radiologist, if you think about five to 10 years from now, youre going to have an AI collaborator with you, he said.

You come in the morning, lets say you have a hundred things to go through, it may say, these are the most serious cases you need to look at first, Mr Pichai added.

The tech giant boss cautioned about the ease with which fake media reports can be generated using AI.

On a societal scale, he said, such messages that can be easily made with AI can cause a lot of harm.

However, instead of abandoning AI, its use can be regulated with more laws that align with human values including morality.

This is why I think the development of this needs to include not just engineers but social scientists, ethicists, philosophers, and so on, he said.

In line with Mr Pichais statements, Google also recently released a 20 page document listing its recommendations for regulating AI.

The Silicon Valley giant also launched its new AI chatbot Bard in February in what seemed to be aimed at competing with the now-famous AI system ChatGPT.

Bard is an experimental conversational AI service that can be used to simplify complex topics like explaining new discoveries from Nasas James Webb Space Telescope to a 9-year-old, Google notes in its website.

Asked in the interview whether he thinks Bard is safe, he said: The way we have launched it today, as an experiment in a limited way, I think [it is]. But we all have to be responsible in each step along the way.
(Reuters) -Alphabet Inc's Google said services were back up for users in the U.S. after a brief outage late on Tuesday, according to a company spokesperson.

"There was a very brief issue affecting the availability of results for some searches, limited to the Americas region, and it was quickly addressed," the spokesperson said in an email, without disclosing further details on the outage.

At the peak of the outage more than 22,000 users were impacted, according to outage tracking website Downdetector.com.

Downdetector tracks outages by collating status reports from a number of sources including user-submitted errors on its platform.

About 87% of impacted users had reported issues with Google Search, Downdetector data showed.

As of 10:21 pm ET (02:21 GMT), the number of outage reports dropped to 324.

(Reporting by Urvi Dugar And Mrinmay Dey in Bengaluru; Editing by Subhranshu Sahu and Rashmi Aich)
Google has proposed letting developers offering apps through its U.K. Play mobile app store to have the option to use alternative payment processors for in-app transactions, rather than being locked to its own billing system (GPB), following an antitrust intervention by the U.K.'s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).

"Googles proposed commitments would give app developers the freedom to offer a different billing system of their choosing, known as Developer-only Billing (DOB), or offer users a choice between an alternative billing system or Google Plays billing system, known as User Choice Billing (UCB)," the regulator explains in an update on the enforcement.

The CMA has opened a consultation on Google's proposal which it says it's minded to accept -- inviting developers and other interested stakeholders to respond by May 19. After considering responses it will take a decision on whether to accept the commitments and resolve the case.

Last summer, the regulator concluded a year-long study of the mobile ecosystem which identified substantial concerns with the market power of the duopoly (Google with Android and Apple with iOS). At that time, in addition to opening certain other in-depth probes into aspects of the two tech giant's operations, it announced it that was taking enforcement action against Google in relation to its app store payment practices. The CMA's concern here focused on conditions it sets on developers for in-app payments. So Google's proposal aims to settle those concerns.

In a blog post detailing Google's offer, legal director, Oliver Bethell, writes:

Under the commitments, developers will be able to add an alternative in-app billing system, alongside Google Plays billing system, for their mobile and tablet users in the U.K. At checkout, users will be able to choose which billing system to use. These options will be presented in a neutral manner allowing users to make an informed and engaged choice.

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"Developers can alternatively choose to not offer Google Play billing at all when their users in the U.K. are paying for digital content and services," he adds.

In the blog post, the company also notes that its U.K. proposal would extend the choice of an alternative billing system that it already offers in the European Economic Area (EEA) -- where Google has faced a number of antitrust enforcements over the past several years -- and in other parts of the world; such as South Korea where, back in 2021, lawmakers intervened to force Google's hand on billing. India is another country where Google is gearing up to offer alternative billing -- after being slapped with a $162 million fine for antitrust practices last fall.

For its U.K. offer, Google is proposing to reduce what it bills as the per transaction "service fee" it charges developers for in-app digital sales -- aka its cut/commission (or the app store tax, as some critique such fees) -- by 4% where a developer offers users a choice that includes GPB but the user selects alternative billing. But if developers opt not to offer Google's own payment processing system the proposed stick is a slightly lower reduction in Google's cut -- reduced to 3% in that scenario, seemingly incentivizing developers to keep offerings users the option to select its own payment tech.

(NB: Google's baseline service fee for the Play Store starts at 15% for the first $1 million in revenue earned per year, rising to 30% for any annual earnings over that threshold -- so, under the alt billing proposal, its fee would remain above 10% in almost all scenarios. For automatically recurring subscriptions Google's standard cut is 15%. Although it says some types of media content apps may attract a fee that's lower than 15% under its Play Media Experience Program.)

Here it seems to be offering a blend of what it has already rolled out elsewhere -- with developers in South Korea and India getting a 4% fee reduction when using alternative billing, while devs in the EEA were given a 3% reduction last summer.

"For both options, developers are still required to meet appropriate user protection requirements, and service fees and conditions will continue to apply in order to support our investments in Android and Play," Google adds.

It also wants to be able to phase in the proposed commitments, arguing this will allow time "for the necessary changes to be made" to its systems -- initially making them available to developers of non-gaming apps; and then bringing them to gaming apps "no later than October 2023".

Whether Google gets its way will be up to the CMA which will decide whether to accept the proposal -- and that may depend on the kind of feedback it gets.

The regulators says it's especially keen on feedback about Google's suggested service fee reduction ("under each of UCB and DOB); as well as additional elements including the proposed process for reporting in-app purchase-related turnover to Google (either manually or using APIs) for the service fee to be calculated; the use of information screens and, for UCB, a billing choice screen; and the process it's proposing for monitoring Google's compliance with the commitments, especially a commitment it has made not to retaliate against app developers choosing to use UCB or DOB.

"Based on the information the CMA has received to date, and for the reasons set out below, the CMA provisionally considers the Proposed Commitments to be appropriate to address the particular Competition Concerns resulting from the Conduct that the CMA has investigated in this case," the regulator writes in the Executive Summary of its Notice of Intent to accept the commitments

"Both DOB and UCB would allow app developers the opportunity to use billing systems of their choosing (and DOB would allow them to choose not to offer GPB at all), breaking the link that the GPB requirement currently creates between access to Google Play and the use of Googles proprietary billing system for in-app sales of access to digital content or services."

"Those app developers opting to use an alternative billing system will have the possibility of establishing direct relationships with customers and overseeing their own transactions. They may also be able to offer pricing deals which are different to prices where GPB is used. Moreover, third party payment processors will be able to offer their services to potential app developer customers for in-app purchases of digital content or services within an app distributed on Google Play, allowing app developers to benefit from increased choice and competition," the CMA also suggests.

Update: The Coalition for App Fairness, an app industry group that's been pushing for reform of app stores since 2020, has responded to Google's UK proposal with scepticism -- accusing the company of seeking to reallocate fees so it can continue taking what they argue is an unfair cut. In a statement Rick VanMeter, the group's exec director, said:
You are here: China

China's procuratorate organs are set to take strict action against cybercrimes, according to a guideline recently issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Relevant authorities will strengthen the crackdown on telecom fraud, online pornography, online gambling, and the online trafficking of illegal guns, explosives and drugs, the guideline said.

The crackdown will also target criminal organizations that use the internet to commit fraud, collect on usurious loans, or make malicious compensation claims.

Per the guideline, those who coerce, instigate or seduce minors into committing telecom or online fraud will be severely punished.

The guideline has also called on prosecutors to work with legislative and administrative organs on legislation to tackle cybercrime.
Google may be close to launching its long-rumored foldable Pixel phone. CNBC claims to have seen internal communications revealing that the Pixel Fold will be announced at the I/O conference on May 10th, and ship in June. The device will reportedly cost around $1,700, or close to the $1,800 Samsung asks for the Galaxy Z Fold 4.

The company may tout a few advantages over its rival. The Pixel Fold will have a book-like design with a 5.8-inch external screen and 7.6-inch folding display, but will supposedly have the "most durable hinge" of any foldable, according to Google. It should also be water-resistant and pack a larger battery that lasts up to 24 hours in normal use, and 72 hours with Extreme Battery Saver.

Don't expect performance gains. The Pixel Fold will apparently use the same Tensor G2 chip as in the Pixel 7 series, and previous leaks suggest it might have cameras that predate the Pixel 6. As with other Pixels, the draw may be the 'pure' Android experience  this will be the first opportunity to see Google's own approach to foldable devices.

The price is still steep compared to regular Pixel phones, which top out at $899 for the Pixel 7 Pro. Google may sweeten the deal by encouraging trade-ins, however. The company may even offer a free Pixel Watch to Fold buyers.

If the details are accurate, the foldable Pixel may not be an easy sell. Google is expected to debut the Pixel 8 this fall, and that's likely to include upgrades like a third-generation Tensor chip. With that in mind, North Americans have had few options for foldable phones beyond the Galaxy Z Fold series and previous-gen Moto Razr models. The Pixel Fold may stand out simply by providing real competition in a small category.
The Republican Party's historic birthplace in Ripon has been moved from its longtime location to a newer commercial strip.

The relocation of the historic birthplace of the Republican Party includes creating a new visitors center in hopes of drawing more people to the small Wisconsin community of Ripon.

And that effort involves an Arizona-based contractor who's a Ripon native.

But the move of the building  the third time its's been relocated over the past century or so  from a longtime site in downtown Ripon to a newer commercial strip on the city's northwest side is endangering its landmark status on the National Register of Historic Places.

The move of the building, known as the Little White Schoolhouse, was approved last fall by city officials.

News of its Monday relocation has raised concerns from Republicans, including Sen. Ron Johnson and Timothy Bachleitner, chairman of the Fond du Lac County Republican Party.

"This national treasure has now been moved right in the midst of an Ace Hardware, a vape/smoke shop instead of being able to stroll one block away and see the buildings where the men who founded the party have their names adorned on them," Bachleitner said.

Ripon Mayor Ted Grant on Wednesday defended the move.

"In general, I think it's a positive move for the city," he said, noting that the old location didn't have its own parking or restrooms.

The relocation from 305 Blackburn St. to 1074 W. Fond du Lac St. includes plans to create a visitors center in the former Marine Credit Union at that site, Grant said.

The new site also will provide a parking lot for visitors, Grant said, with more visibility and accessibility on Wisconsin Highway 23 than the Blackburn Street location.

A proposal to locate the schoolhouse to the Fond du Lac Street site was reviewed in October by the Ripon Plan Commission.

After a discussion that included questions about whether the site has adequate parking, the commission voted 5-0, with one member abstaining, to approve the plan, according to the meeting minutes.

The 3.5-acre Fond du Lac Street site was donated to the Ripon Chamber of Commerce by Villa Rita Holdings LLC.

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Villa Rita also is the owner of the small Blackburn Street parcel where the schoolhouse was located.

The Ripon Area Chamber of Commerce, which owns the schoolhouse, sold that lot in December to Villa Rita for $1, according to state real estate records.

Villa Rita's registered agent is Justin Krueger, a Ripon native who is chief executive officer and president of Icon National. That Scottsdale, Arizona-based general contractor renovates affordable housing sites.

Krueger in 2021 dropped plans for a mixed-use development about a half-mile northwest of the new schoolhouse site, according to RiponPress.com.

The schoolhouse's new location could cause the building to lose its placement on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a letter to the Wisconsin Historical Society from the U.S. Department of the Interior obtained by USA TODAY NETWORK - Wisconsin.

The new site removes the schoolhouse from its historic context in downtown Ripon, according to the letter.

The ruling came on March 20  three months after the Chamber of Commerce sold the schoolhouse's previous downtown site to Krueger's group. Krueger said he doesn't have plans for the Blackburn Street parcel "at this time."

Meanwhile, the chamber could appeal the Department of Interior's ruling or reapply for historic landmark status. Grant said the chamber and the city were pursuing both routes to restoring the schoolhouse's status.

A property on the National Register of Historic Places is eligible to seek federal and state historic preservation tax credits. Those tax credits can help pay for renovations, such as new windows, as long as they meet federal standards.

The schoolhouse was built in 1853, according to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

"This building became significant for a meeting that took place on the evening of March 20, 1854," according to the society. "The people at the meeting were mostly Whigs, Free Soilers, and Democrats who believed that their respective parties could not prevent the extension of slavery to the north.

"They came out of the schoolhouse in agreement that one unified front was crucial to the fight against slavery and thus began the Republican Party."

In 1860, the schoolhouse was converted into a private residence. In 1908, it was moved from its original location at Thorne and East Fond du Lac streets to the northwest corner of nearby Ripon College  and moved again to Blackburn Street in 1954, according to the society.

The latest events come several years after a previous attempt at commercial development tied to the Little White Schoolhouse fell apart.

Milwaukee attorney and developer James Connelly promised to transform downtown Ripon when the city in 2009 agreed to provide $8.6 million to help finance a $23 million project that included a hotel, a museum honoring Republican presidents and other developments.

Connelly completed just two of the 10 separate developments: an expanded pizzeria, and a building remodeled to house two of his businesses. The city sued Connelly, a retired Foley & Lardner partner, with that litigation dismissed in 2015 after a settlement.

Tom Daykin can be emailed at tdaykin@jrn.com and followed on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: GOP birthplace move in Ripon, Wisconsin hopes to draw more visitors
A Republican mega-donor is opening her wallet in an effort to win the Kentucky governorship  spending millions laying waste to the Republican frontrunner in an increasingly bitter primary.

Kelly Craft, a Trump-era United Nations ambassador and first-time candidate, and her allies have bombarded Kentucky airwaves with ads yoking her better-known opponent, Attorney General Daniel Cameron, to former President Barack Obama and portraying him as a soft establishment teddy bear. And thats to say nothing of the hits on him focused on coal and crime  with one ad from a Craft-supportive super PAC drawing a fairly tenuous connection from Cameron to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, a bogeyman in the GOP for his prosecution of former President Donald Trump in New York.

The spending by Craft has upended GOP politics in Kentucky, rocketing someone who was almost entirely unknown in the commonwealth outside of major donor circles to the top tier of the primary heap.

Craft has bought herself into a two person race, said Scott Jennings, a well-known Republican operative in the state who has remained neutral in the contest. The question is is there enough runway left?

But the brutal primary between the two could also come at a cost. The Kentucky governorship is a prime target for Republicans this year  with Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear occupying the governorship in a state Trump won by 26 points in 2020. The circular firing squad now unfolding in the GOP primary is giving an already popular Democratic incumbent an opening to peel off at least a sliver of Republican voters turned off by the in-fighting.

Public polling for the primary has been incredibly sparse in the race  a recent poll from Emerson College/Fox56 released last week had Cameron at 30 percent and Craft at 24 percent  but Republicans believe the race has tightened since the beginning of the year, when Cameron was broadly believed to have a yawning lead.



Republicans point to two big inflection points left on the calendar: The lone debate where all three of the top-tier candidates will share a stage  a May 1 faceoff hosted by Kentucky Educational Television  and arguably the biggest event all year in the state: The Kentucky Derby. It falls just 10 days before the primary election.

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Craft has loaned her campaign $7 million since the start of the year, according to campaign finance reports filed on Tuesday night, with an additional $260,000 coming from other donors. Cameron, by comparison, raised just over $400,000 in that same time period.

Ryan Quarles, the state agriculture commissioner, is a possible viable third candidate in the race  especially if the fight between Cameron and Kelly becomes hotter. Quarles was at 15 percent in the Emerson poll, the only other candidate sniffing double digits, and has touted a deep bench of endorsements from across the states 120 counties.

Crafts campaign and Commonwealth PAC, a super PAC supporting her bid, have been throwing most of the haymakers, with Craft until relatively recently having the TV airwaves all to herself.

A pair of ads from her campaign looked to tie Cameron to President Joe Biden, Beshear and Obama on the future of a West Virginia coal plant  a deep blow in a state that has historically been the home to the coal industry.

And in a series of ads, the super PAC has used an extended motif of Cameron being a soft establishment teddy bear, literally transforming Cameron into a stuffed bear in a suit at the end of the ads. The most recent one is the Bragg ad, going after Cameron for at one point supporting cash bail reform. (Prosecuted Trump! the ad declares as a video of Bragg talking about bail reform plays.) It ends by morphing the two men into teddy bears.

Cameron's backers have just started hitting back on the airwaves. On Tuesday, a pro-Cameron super PAC Bluegrass Freedom Action launched a new ad saying a desperate Kelly Craft falsely attacks Cameron, while noting that Trump has endorsed Cameron, not Craft. And in a statement to POLITICO, the super PACs general consultant Aaron Whitehead questioned if she was eligible to run for office under the states residency requirement.

Absentee Ambassador Kelly Craft was a no show for her previous job  and now shes pulling the same trick on Kentuckians by trying to buy her way out of a scandal, Whitehead said. No one knows if she actually lives in Kentucky or still lives in Oklahoma  which could disqualify her from the ballot.

The groups charge relies on reporting from POLITICO in 2019 that found she spent roughly a third of her time as U.S. ambassador to Canada in Kentucky or Oklahoma, along with federal and state political donations she has made through the 2022 cycle with an Oklahoma address. State law requires gubernatorial candidates to be a citizen and resident of Kentucky for at least 6 years next preceding his [sic] election.

Crafts campaign was dismissive of the broadside from the super PAC. The only thing more palpable than the momentum behind Kelly Craft is the Cameron teams desperation, Kristin Davison, a senior adviser for Craft, said in a statement.



Cameron could also lean more into Trump  who endorsed his campaign last summer, shortly after Craft and her husband, coal magnate Joe Craft, were prominently pictured with the former president at the Kentucky Derby but months before her own campaign launch.

Kentuckys most powerful Republican in Washington, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, meanwhile, has not publicly weighed in on the race. But he has close ties to both candidates.

Craft and her husband have been longtime financial supporters of McConnell and the Republican Party more broadly. The then-Senate majority leader was instrumental in getting Craft nominated and confirmed to be U.N. ambassador.

Cameron has perhaps even deeper ties. He worked in McConnells office for two years and was widely assumed to be the successor-in-waiting for McConnells seat in the Senate when he eventually retires. Camerons decision to run for governor caught many by surprise, both in Washington and Kentucky.

Davison, the adviser to Craft, took a swipe at that close relationship between the two men in her statement, saying Camerons team was having a bad morning after finding out their Mitch McConnell-groomed candidate has fallen a net 19 points over the last few weeks.

Madison Fernandez contributed to this report.
Cheba is another word for marijuana.

A new sandwich shop and bar is running with that theme as it opens its first location in Fresno.

Cheba Hut Toasted Subs plans to open a restaurant on the northwest corner of Marks and Shaw avenues. It will take over the spot once occupied by Giulias Italian Restaurant in the Winepress shopping center.

Its very unique. Theres nothing like it, especially in Fresno, said franchisee Tyler McNabb.

Its aiming to open this fall.

Marijuana munchies

Cheba Hut is a franchise that isnt shy about having fun with a theme entirely based on satisfying the munchies after consuming marijuana, pot, weed  whatever you want to call it.

Each sandwich is named after a strain of cannabis. Cheba Huts logo features palm trees with marijuana leaves. A four-inch sandwich is called a nug. A foot-long is a blunt.

When you order at the counter, instead of giving you a number to put on your table, you get a little image of Cheech & Chong, or Snoop Dogg, or some other pop culture icon youd see with a joint in their hand.

To be clear: Theres no marijuana in the food. The restaurant may be the only one in the nation that addresses this in its websites FAQ.

And you dont have to be a stoner to eat here. In fact, some customers might not even notice the theme, McNabb said.

I personally do not smoke. Im a CPA; Im a professional, said McNabb, a Buchanan High School graduate from Clovis who owns the franchise with general manager Racelis Cardenas.

McNabb was looking for a place to invest his money and had worked at one years ago in San Diego. He revisited the restaurant in Colorado recently and loved the food.

It was literally the best sandwich I ever had, he said.

All the sandwiches are toasted, and range from the No. 1 selling turkey, avocado and bacon with chipotle sauce to six vegetarian sandwiches.

Cheba is like the Deli Delicious of Colorado, McNabb said. They have Cheba Huts everywhere.

There are more than 40 shops, mostly in the southwestern U.S., including Las Vegas and Southern California.

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The Fresno location will have a bar with beer, wine and mixed drinks.

How will such a restaurant concept be received in Fresno, where attitudes are sometimes different than bigger cities?

There might be some pushback, but I think overall because of the area its in, the demographics will support it. Im not too worried about that, McNabb said. Ultimately, the product is superior. Once someone eats it, theyre going to love it.
Gov. Jay Inslee says this Tax Day, instead of shelling out cash, pocket some.

Inslees office estimates one in seven Washington families can now apply for a new tax rebate and pocket hundreds of dollars. However, few have capitalized on it.

Over a hundred thousand people are eligible but they need to apply for this, said Inslee.

The average credit amount disbursed so far is $738.

Single mother and pet sitter Joelle Craft is among the 150,000 households who have applied. Shes expecting to take home $1,200.

We live in Seattle and with the rising prices of food and rent its been really hard to cover expenses, said Craft.

However, not everyone is convinced that the rebate is the right solution to help working families. Liv Finne with the Washington Policy Center views the rebate as a mere distraction to more taxes.

It would be so much better to just reduce taxes across the board, Finne said. Its just a game theyre playing with paper.

To apply or see if you qualify for the credit, click here.
Missouri Gov. Mike Parson should know better. Accusing President Joe Biden of politicizing the shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl is rich, after Parson stayed mum about the incident for almost a week.

This week, Biden, quite admirably, held a hourlong phone conversation with Ralph and his family, and invited the teen to visit the White House once he is well enough to travel.

On Tuesday, Biden wrote on Twitter: No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence. And Ralph, well see you in the Oval once you feel better.

Thats leadership. But Parson acted as if the presidents calm, commonsense call to combat this nations outrageous scourge of death and destruction from firearms was a declaration of political war.

When the president of the United States is trying to make a political statement over a very serious tragedy, it is very unfortunate and I dont agree with trying to make political points out of terrible  Ive never done that since Ive been governor Parson said.

Sorry, Governor: Its you, not Biden, who brought politics into this. And you couldnt resist a sly dis to the urban areas whose voters you and the Republican supermajority in Jefferson City continually ignore.

Young people get killed in St. Louis and Kansas City every day, Parson said. He chided Biden for not holding court with those families.

Deflection anyone?

As leaders in both cities have said for years, Missouris loose firearms laws make it easy for anyone to get a gun. But that was not the issue in this case, as Parson made it out to be.

I dont want some 16-year-old kid to be getting shot because he went to the wrong house  we just dont want those kinds of things to happen, Parson said Wednesday. We dont either. Neither do the untold numbers of people around the world who have donated more than $3 million to a GoFundMe campaign established to cover Ralphs medical, college and other expenses.

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After days in the hospital, Ralph is expected to make a full recovery, family members have said. Hallelujah.

All children in our state should be safe from gun violence. But theyre not. Especially young folks in St. Louis, Kansas City, Columbia and Springfield.

The collective outrage weve seen far and wide is a result of Lester, an 84-year-old man without provocation shooting an unarmed and unassuming teenager in the head and again in the arm. Not politics.

Is there any doubt Lesters actions last Thursday were unprovoked and reprehensible? No.

Missourians, led by local and national civil rights activists, took to the streets of Kansas Citys Northland this weekend of their own volition. The protests that have followed have absolutely nothing to do with Bidens well wishes to Ralph and his inoffensive statement about the need to fight gun violence  a sentiment shared by a large percentage of the population, in Missouri and around the country.

But yet again, Parson doesnt seem to understand that he is supposed to be governing all Missourians.

Our states most populous cities continue to top the lists of gun violence, particularly homicides and suicides. It is worse for Black people like Ralph.

For the better part of a decade, Black Missourians have been killed at a rate higher than in other states, according to a study by the Violence Policy Center, a nonprofit that researches gun issues. Between 2014 and 2019, Missouri routinely ranked first in the nation for its rate of Black homicide victims, the study found.

Black people in Missouri are killed at a per capita rate nine times the overall national homicide rate, the study concluded.

A Republican from Polk County, Parson is in his last term in office. Why make this about Biden, Democrats or political rivals he wont face again? You dont have to be a wacky socialist lefty to want to live in a society where Black teens arent fired upon by scared, elderly white men for ringing the wrong doorbell.

Nothing so far suggests Ralph was shot because of political views. Lester fired within seconds for merely being Black, he told authorities last Thursday, according to court documents. He was scared of a kid family members said stands under 6 feet tall and weighs about 140 pounds, Lester told investigators.

Mike Parson is not known for speaking off the cuff with ease and grace. But his defensive reaction to a plain statement of fact by the president is an admission that the governor knows whats really behind our nations sick relationship with guns, and his partys stubborn refusal to do anything about it.
NEW YORK (AP)  Prudential Financial illegally denied more than 200 life insurance claims despite collecting premiums from plan participants, the Department of Labor said Wednesday, the latest case where a life insurer was found to be denying claims even though the customer had been paying into the plan for years.

Many employers offer what is known as supplemental life insurance as an employee benefit, which allows an employee to pay for additional life insurance coverage out of their paycheck. The settlement between Prudential of Newark, New Jersey, and the U.S. government deals with what is known as evidence of insurability," a common practice in underwriting supplemental life insurance contracts where the insured is required to fill out a form showing they are in good health before being covered by employer-sponsored supplemental life insurance.

According to the settlement, Prudential collected premiums on some of these participants going back in some cases to 2004, despite not having the appropriate form filled out.

Between at least 2017 and 2020, Prudential would then deny any claims on the life insurance policy, despite collecting premiums, citing a lack of evidence of insurability form.

Under the terms of the settlement, Prudential must pay out a life insurance claim if premiums were collected despite having no evidence of insurability, the Department of Labor said.

This is not the first settlement or lawsuit regarding evidence of insurability issues in life insurance. In 2021, the Department of Labor reached a settlement with United of Omaha Life Insurance over a similar case where the company denied paying out a life insurance claim despite the policyholder paying into the plan for years. Last year the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of a widower whose was denied life insurance benefits through a policy from Reliance Standard Life Insurance for a similar issue.
The eight Akron officers who shot and killed Jayland Walker in Akron last June wont face criminal charges in his death.

A special grand jury of six women and three men, including two Black citizens, on Monday returned a no-bill in Summit County Common Pleas Court, which means the jurors found the actions of the officers were justified.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Walker fired out of his vehicle while he was being chased by officers. He said a shell casing was recovered from the entrance ramp to state Route 8 and the ballistics matched the gun recovered in Walker's car after the shooting. A Cuyahoga Falls officer also witnessed Walker firing a shot and it was recorded on his dash camera, Yost said.

Most of Jayland Walker's family didn't speak at a news conference following the grand jury dercision. They had a chorus to do so for them.

Although Walker's mother reacted with an occasional nod, the most significant words came when U.S. Rep. Emilia Sykes said, Jayland should be here today.

Pam Walker replied with an audible, Yes, he should.

News of the indictment sparked protests in Akron, during which police said they arrested at least six.

Police also issued numerous citations for traffic and equipment violations during the protests, which lasted until after midnight. Two illegal handguns were found during two traffic stops, resulting in firearms charges, they said.

Police said a caravan of protesters that grew to about 60 vehicles at its peak began driving around the city, "sometimes blocking traffic and committing a wide range of traffic violations, including driving reverse of traffic."

Here's the latest on the grand jury decision, its aftermath and details we've found after the release of a state investigation.

What we're learning from BCI investigation into Akron police shooting of Jayland Walker

Did Jayland Walker intend to die the night police shot and killed him last year?

Its one of the biggest questions the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation (BCI) tried to answer during its 10-month investigation into his death.

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The Akron Beacon Journal is still combing through thousands of pages of BCI reports, videos and photos to provide a deeper understanding of what happened. But a summary of the case revealed for the first time how state investigators and police from Akron and Euclid zeroed in on a theory early on: suicide by cop.

Read the complete story

Akron police to launch internal probe into Jayland Walker case, won't name officers involved

The names of the eight officers now under internal investigation in the death of 25-year-old Jayland Walker will not be released due to threats, city officials said Tuesday.

Akron police will now conduct an internal investigation to determine if the officers violated any department regulations.

Read the full story.

Akron police chief: 'Nothing is jumping out' yet as policy violation in Jayland Walker case

Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett said Tuesday he did not immediately see a violation of department policies in the actions of the eight officers who shot 25-year-old Jayland Walker, but he did not rule out the possibility of such a result at the end of the just-launched internal investigation.

"Nothing is jumping out at me right now," Mylett said in an interview with the Beacon Journal. "But there could be, I don't know."

Mylett's interview came less than 24 hours after a Summit County grand jury declined to indict the eight officers for their actions that June night last year. At the time of his interview, Mylett had less than a day to review the state investigative report, noting its summary alone was book length.

Read the full story.

Videos show what led to Jayland Walker's shooting from Akron officers' perspective

Akron officers following Jayland Walker onto state Route 8 told dispatchers that Walker fired a shot, resulting in a Signal 21 that alerted all police in the city.

Officers chasing Walker on foot after he fled from his car deployed Tasers at Walker three times, with the stun-gun shots either not connecting or having no impact.

As Walker fled, he reached toward the pockets of his hoodie and waistband and raised his arm, leading officers to think he might be reaching for or drawing his gun.

These are among the highlights of videos created at the request of attorneys representing the Akron officers who killed Walker to show what happened leading up to the June 27 shooting from the perspective of the eight who shot him more than 40 times.

Read the full story.

State investigation finds four Akron officers emptied clips in Jayland Walker shooting

A 68-page ballistics report released Monday along with logs of evidence and synchronized still frames from police and highway camera systems detail the exhaustive effort of state investigators to account for all 95 bullets fired in the pursuit and death of Jayland Walker.

Cleared of criminal charges by a special Summit County grand jury Monday, eight Akron officers with standard issue 9 mm semi-automatic Glock handguns fired 94 bullets at Walker as he ran, according to the Ohio Criminal of Bureau Investigation report. As a group, they missed Walker half the time. Bullet shrapnel peppered the parking lot where the 25-year-old Walker died from 46 gunshot wounds.

Four of the officers fired 70 of the 94 rounds, pulling their triggers nearly three times per second as they emptied their clips in less than 7 seconds.

Read the full story.

Jayland Walker was 'great person' who was grieving his 'soul mate,' family told BCI

In the two weeks after his death, people who knew Jayland Walker best said he was a good person and getting involved in a police pursuit was not like him.

The only thing he may have gotten probably is a speeding ticket, Pamela Walker, Jayland's mother, told an Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation special agent two days after Akron police officers fatally shot him following a car and foot chase. It's not in his nature or the way he grew up to even be mean or, or any kind a way but respectful.

Although his mother and sister, Jada Walker, told the BCI investigator he did not seem especially upset or depressed, much less suicidal, they did acknowledge that his fiancee, Jaymeisha Beasley, had been killed in a traffic crash in late May.

Read the full story.

'Seen it too many times': Akron community reacts to decision in Jayland Walker shooting

Members of the community have begun reacting to the news that a special grand jury has decided eight police officers involved in the killing of Jayland Walker last summer will not be charged.

The incident has become the subject of protests, the creation of a new civilian-led police review board, plans for new cruiser dashcams and strained relations between Akrons police and citizens.

Read the full story.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Grand jury clears Akron police in shooting death of Jayland Walker
During a visit to a Catholic school in Fort Worth on Wednesday, Gov. Greg Abbott told the crowd of mostly private school students and parents that Texas doesnt need to choose between strong public schools and school choice. The state can have both, he said.

Speaking at Nolan Catholic High School, Abbott pushed a plan to use state money to pay for private school tuition, framing the issue as a matter of empowering parents to make the best decisions regarding their childrens education.

No parent, Abbott said, would knowingly send their children to a failing school if they had any other option. For many families, public schools are the best option, he said. But often, students are trapped in public schools that dont meet their needs because their families are unable to afford alternatives, he said.

We, as a state, have to help those families, he said.

The visit was a part of a tour of Christian school campuses Abbott is making to promote his proposed education savings account plan, a voucher-like program that would give families public money to pay for private school tuition and other education-related expenses. Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick have identified education savings accounts as a top priority for the current legislative session.

But the plan faces an uphill battle in the Texas House of Representatives, where lawmakers appear hesitant to allow taxpayer dollars to go to private schools. And researchers say that similar programs implemented in other states have been associated with academic declines, often lasting for years.

Abbott accuses schools of fostering woke, left agenda

Touting his own background as the product of public schools in Longview and Duncanville, Abbott said the states public education system has a critical role to play. But he accused public schools of trying to indoctrinate students into a woke, left agenda at the expense of math, science and reading instruction.

Our schools are for education, not indoctrination, he said.

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Bishop Michael Olson of the Catholic Diocese of Fort Worth thanked Abbott for his work on the issue. Quoting Pope Paul VI, Olson said parents have a God-given right to decide how best to educate their children. But financial constraints keep many families from having a legitimate choice, he said.

Abbotts plan would recognize parents, not the state, as the primary educators of their children, Olson said, and give them the responsibility for deciding how best to provide that education. He argued that the education system as it exists today reduces education to a commodity to be bought on the marketplace by those with means and imposed by the state to those unable to afford any other option.

Voucher plans led to academic declines in Indiana, Louisiana

The benefits of school vouchers and voucher-like programs for the students who use them arent clear. Research into school voucher programs in Louisiana and Indiana found moderate to large declines in academic performance, particularly in math, among students who transferred to private schools using vouchers.

In a study released in 2018, researchers at the University of Kentucky and Notre Dame University found that students who accepted vouchers during the initial rollout of the Indiana Choice Scholarship Program, the largest school voucher program in the country, lost substantial ground in math. Those losses persisted for years, according to the study. The program showed no clear effects on student performance in English, according to the study.

When Indiana launched its program in 2011, vouchers were only available to public school students in low-income families. Joe Waddington, a professor in the University of Kentuckys College of Education and one of the researchers who conducted the study, told the Star-Telegram last month that many of the students who accepted vouchers in the early days of the program had struggled academically in public schools.

When those students moved to private schools, many struggled to keep up with the higher expectations and increased rigor of their classes, Waddington said. The first year was particularly challenging for those students, Waddington said, in large part because of the volume of homework they were expected to do.

A 2019 study looking at Louisianas school voucher program found similar results: researchers from the University of Arkansas concluded that academic performance declined among students who accepted vouchers, particularly in math. In a previous study, researchers found that those students tended to regain some of that ground after four years. But in the 2019 study, researchers found large negative impacts that persisted for years, especially in math.

Voucher bill faces uphill battle in Texas

A bill in the Texas legislature would give families who pull their children out of public schools up to $8,000 in state money to put toward private school tuition. Under the bill, districts with fewer than 20,000 students would be protected from funding cuts that come with declines in enrollment. But bigger school districts like Fort Worth, Crowley and Northwest would get no such protection.

Sen. Brandon Creighton, R-Conroe, the bills author, said in a statement that the bill would give parents the ability to make the best decisions regarding their childrens education. Creighton, who chairs the Senate education committee, said the bill would ultimately be good for the entire state because it would foster competition and innovation among schools.

The bill, which is Senate Bill 8, passed out of the Senate earlier this month by an 18-13 vote. On Monday, it was referred to the House Public Education Committee, where it awaits a hearing.

But the voucher proposal is expected to face headwinds in the House. Earlier this month, the House signaled opposition to vouchers in Texas when lawmakers passed an amendment to its version of the budget prohibiting the use of state dollars for school vouchers or similar programs, including education savings accounts.

The amendment passed 86-52, with 11 members present but not voting.

The reality is that I believe that we have never seen any type of competition harm an industry, said Rep. Nate Schatzline, according to a transcript of the debate. Our public schools are no different, and this has got to be something that we get to discuss and work towards as a body. I believe that parents should be empowered in the State of Texas.

The Fort Worth Republican urged lawmakers to oppose the amendment.

Rep. Abel Herrero, a Robstown Democrat who authored the amendment, said state dollars are public funds for public schools.

If you support our public schools, if you support our public school teachers, if you support our public charter schools, then you would support by voting yes for this amendment, he said, according to the transcript in the House journal, logging the days proceedings.

The final version of the states budget, as negotiated by the House and Senate, is still to come. The legislative session ends on May 29.

Staff writer Eleanor Dearman contributed to this report
Grovetown Elementary School was placed on lockdown Wednesday as Grovetown police searched for a man wanted for aggravated assault and sexual assault.

Just a few hours after the manhunt began, Waltrell Devante Price, 28, of Beech Island, SC, was taken into custody without incident on Old Berzelia Road at 3:15 p.m., according to a release from the Grovetown Police Department. He was not armed at the time of his arrest.

Price is charged with aggravated assault, attempted rape, sexual battery and theft by taking, according to officials. The incident report is not yet available.

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Lockdown at Grovetown Elementary School

Grovetown Elementary School was placed on a brief soft lockdown Wednesday afternoon in relation to the police search for Price.

The school was notified by law enforcement that a search was underway for an individual involved in an incident off campus, according to a news release.

"Out of an abundance of caution, outdoor activity was temporarily restricted," administrators noted in the release. "This briefly interrupted recess for a small number of students, otherwise school operations immediately resumed and will continue as normal."

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Manhunt in Grovetown leads to elementary school lockdown, arrest
You are here: China

This photo taken on April 18, 2023 shows Beijing Changfeng Hospital where a fire broke out in Fengtai District of Beijing, capital of China. [Photo/Xinhua]

Twenty-one people have been confirmed dead following a hospital fire in Beijing's Fengtai District on Tuesday, according to the district's fire and rescue department.

Firefighters received a report of a fire at an inpatient department building of Beijing Changfeng Hospital at 12:57 p.m. The fire was extinguished at 1:33 p.m., with 71 patients evacuated.

By 6 p.m., 21 people had been confirmed dead.

An investigation into the cause of the incident is underway.
PANAMA CITY BEACH  Wildlife advocates are gearing up to stroll the Gulf Coast to raise money for a local nonprofit organization.

According to Lauren Albrittain, stranding coordinator for Gulf World Marine Institute, the group will host its second Making Turtle Tracks 5K on Saturday. The event, which is open to both walking and running participants, will be held in honor of Earth Day.

Participants pay a $40 entry fee, which is used by the institute to help fund its rehabilitation program.

Gulf World Marine Institute on Saturday will host its second Making Turtle Tracks 5K along the sandy beach in the Panama City Beach area.

"This money is super important to our program," Albrittain said. "As a nonprofit, everything we do is either grant funded or fundraised in some way. ... In this case, that money can apply directly back to the cost of rehabilitating our patients.

"Their medication costs money. Their blood work and other tests that we have to send out costs money. Supplies to work with them cost money. Every little bit helps."

More on the institute: 'Where they belong': Rehabbed sea turtle 'Cork' returns home thanks to Gulf World Marine

Beach safety: Bay County, Tourist Development Council launch QR code to stay informed on beach safety

Permitted through the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and the National Marine Fisheries Service, the institute is a sister company to Gulf World Marine Park, which also is the institute's biggest supporter.

Albrittain said the organization raised more than $5,000 from last year's inaugural race. About 75 people participated, and more than 60 already were signed up as of Monday afternoon for this year's event.

The race will begin at the M.B. Miller Pier at 8:30 a.m., with registration beginning at 7 a.m. Participants will run or walk along the sandy beach 2.5 kilometers to the west, and then turn around and head back to the pier. Signs will be displayed along the route for participants to learn more about different marine species.

"While you're out enjoying a beautiful day and supporting us, you also get to learn about the environment around you," Albrittain said.

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Albrittain said the institute is hosting the event with the help of partners, including Panama City Beach Turtle Watch, Florida Watersports, Hy's Toggery, Panhandle Aquascapes and Landscaping and Brittany McLaughlin of Century 21 Ryan Realty.

Those interested in signing up for the event can do so by searching "Making Turtle Tracks" on runsignup.com.

"It's our second one, and we had a really great time last year," Albrittain said. "We hope to have an even better time this year."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: Gulf World Marine Institute to host Making Turtle Tracks 5K on Saturday
Activists and hackers have managed to identify over 150 servicemen from one of the military units of the 960th Assault Air Regiment of Russia.

Source: InformNapalm, a volunteer project aimed at spreading information regarding the Russian terrorist aggression against Ukraine

Details: Ukrainian hackers have analysed the work email of Svyatoslav Filatov, Head of the medical service of the military unit No. 75387 of the 960th Assault Air Regiment of Russia. Earlier, they hacked into the email of Sergei Atroshchenko, commander of the same military unit.

Lieutenant Filatov had an email address under the name bondjamesbond007@bk.ru ("Bond, James Bond") and used it to send various medical certificates with data on the personnel of military unit No. 75387.

More than 150 servicemen (and several civilian employees) of the 960th Assault Air Regiment of Russia have been identified. A total of 74 of these are officers.

In particular, the medical certificates of each of the invaders were examined.

Thus, a table was compiled with a list of the personnel of military unit No. 75387.

InformNapalm has published a table of data on 74 officers of the 960th Assault Air Regiment.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Hollywood starlets Halle Berry and Angelina Jolie are joining forces for the first time to produce and star in an upcoming film.

The actresses are set to star in the hot package Maude v Maude from Warner Bros, which the studio landed following an intense bidding war.

According to Deadline, Berry and Jolie will produce the upcoming action thriller along with Berrys producing partner Holly Jeter through their banner HalleHolly. Jeff Kirschenbaum and Joe Roth are also set to produce through RK Films.

Roseanne Liang has signed on to direct from Scott Mosiers script and both will serve as executive producers.

The films plot remains under wraps, but insiders told Deadline that the pic will be a Bond vs. Bourne type of global action thriller with locations to be announced.

According to Deadline, the studio jumped at the chance to bid on this upcoming film when it hit the market last week.

Co-studio heads, Michael De Luca and Pam Abdy have wanted to feature more films with well-known leads and couldnt pass up the chance to obtain this package with two of Hollywoods bigger stars.

As Deadline reports, Once this package with two of the bigger stars in the last two decades came together, it was too hard to pass up, with Warners putting in an impressive bid you havent been seeing from the studios as often these days, especially with the endless amounts of money the streamers seem to have. While its become more common for streamers like Apple or Netflix to make aggressive plays for packages like this, De Luca and Abdy have never shied away from going after a project if they believe in the talent around it. They were two of the more active buyers in the market when the were running MGM, outbidding the competition for similar hot packages like Ridley Scotts House of Gucci starring Lady Gaga and Adam Driver, and the Ryan Gosling-fronted Project Hail Mary. This latest sale shows they arent changing that strategy anytime soon.
With summer just around the corner, many of us are already planning amusement park trips, hiking excursions and other fun outdoor activities. It's refreshing to be able to spend time outside after being cooped up all winter, but there is such a thing as weather that's too warm  and that's when having a personal fan becomes a need rather than a want. If you don't already own one of these handy gizmos, you likely won't find one as versatile as the No.1 bestselling Jisulife 3-In-1 Handheld Fan, which includes a built-in USB power bank and flashlight. In short, pretty much everything you need while you're on the go. It has a fanbase (pun intended) of more than 30,000 happy shoppers, and right now it's on sale for as little as $14 at Amazon. Hurry and add it to your cart if you want to save over 40%!

The first thing you might notice about this ingenious device is its adorable bear-shaped design and the pretty colors it comes in. But it doesn't sacrifice function for form! It provides up to 21 hours of cooling time when fully charged and folds down into a little tube less than five inches long for space-saving transport. Keep it in your bag or pocket for on-the-go relief when it's downright sweltering out  future-you will be so thankful! And even if you're planning more of a staycation this season, this small wonder can be folded in half, propped up and used as a desk fan to beat the heat.

Many reviewers found this to be an absolute lifesaver for combatting hot flashes: "Im a mature woman and often get hot flashes," said one happy customer. "This handheld mini fan is a godsend! It doesnt take up much room, holds a charge nicely and you can set it on a table and point it at you as well. As a safety measure, it has an automatic cut off if you hit the blades on anything. It was a good deal. Im very happy with my purchase."

Another fan who owns four agreed: "Perfect for camping or hotel or hot flashes."

Not only will this compact cub help you stay cool while you're braving the lines at Disney or spending time in nature, it'll also keep your phone juiced up with its built-in USB power bank. We've all experienced the horror of noticing our battery is at 13% with zero outlets in sight, so having this nifty gadget on hand is absolutely essential. At night, the flashlight function is really useful when you're digging around your bag for your keys or need help seeing where you're going.

With so many uses, you'll probably wonder what you ever did without it. Keep reading to see why thousands of reviewers thought it was worthy of their five-star seal of approval.

The bear necessities: Over 30,000 Amazon customers gave this 3-in-1 handheld fan a perfect five-star rating. (Photo: Amazon)

"Must-buy for Disney!" exclaimed one enthusiastic shopper. "I love this fan so much! I take it with me on every trip to Disney World. Every time I am in the park, I get asked by 10+ people for the link to this product. It's lightweight, foldable, has a good battery life and blows amazing cold air. This is the only way I could enjoy Disney World in the summer. Highly recommend."

Another reviewer called it a "summer essential," adding, "It fits perfectly in my purse. Comes in handy in the Louisiana heat. Battery life lasted for about two weeks for me. Also, the flashlight is very bright and the perfect addition."

"A fan, flashlight and power bank!" wrote one satisfied customer. "It is inexpensive and worked amazingly! Kept me cool during 100-degree Florida heat. It lasted the entire day at the amusement park. The power bank got my dying phone charged right back up. This is a MUST-buy for any vacation."

If you have Amazon Prime, youll get free shipping, of course. Not yet a member? No problem. You can sign up for your free 30-day trial here. (And by the way, those without Prime still get free shipping on orders of $25 or more.)

The reviews quoted above reflect the most recent versions at the time of publication.

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WASHINGTON  Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of posting classified documents about the war in Ukraine on social media, is expected to remain in custody for two weeks to give his court-appointed lawyer time to prepare his defense.

A detention hearing for Teixeira, who was arrested last week on two separate counts related to the unauthorized handling and publication of classified materials, had been scheduled for federal court in Boston on Wednesday. But his lawyer, Brendan Kelley, requested more time to address the governments arguments, and the magistrate judge, David. H. Hennessey, quickly agreed.

Teixeira, 21, made a brief appearance in court Wednesday to waive his right to a preliminary hearing. Dressed in an orange shirt and pants, he appeared subdued and made little eye contact.

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Prosecutors often reveal new details of their case at detention hearings, but only enough information to argue that the defendant is a potential flight risk or poses a danger to national security if released. (A filing this week added a few minor facts, most notably that Teixeira once fired a vintage Soviet pistol.)

The Justice Department did not object to the delay, which gives prosecutors more time to prepare its evidence for the more consequential step  an indictment before a grand jury  and to sort out logistics, like whether to request a potential change of venue closer to Washington, in Virginia.

Heres what we know about the case against Teixeira.

What classified documents is Teixeira accused of taking?

Neither prosecutors nor national security officials yet know the full extent of the intelligence taken from the U.S. governments classified systems. The material posted online primarily includes slides about the war in Ukraine created by the intelligence directorate of the Pentagons Joint Staff. But there is also highly classified material from the National Security Agency, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other spy agencies.

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Many of the dozens of documents that have emerged so far are snapshots in time  bits of intelligence or overviews of the battlefield in Ukraine compiled on a particular day. But some of the material provides a level of detail about the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian and Ukrainian forces that American officials have been reluctant to discuss.

The documents were first posted on Discord, a social media platform popular among gamers, then shared more widely. Some were later altered and reposted on other social media.

What do investigators know about how the documents were taken?

Teixeira worked as an information technology specialist and had administrative privileges on classified computer systems that appear to have allowed him access to a wide range of material, including briefing slides. But investigators are also trying to learn if he might have collected the material using less technologically sophisticated methods. Officials caution that the inquiry is in early stages and there is more to learn about how the airman might have gathered the material and removed it from the military base where he worked.

What is the Pentagon doing to mitigate future leaks?

The answer to that question will depend somewhat on what investigators learn about how he got access to this material. For now, intelligence agencies are not curbing their sharing of documents with the Pentagon. President Joe Biden has ordered the Pentagon to limit the distribution of sensitive information, however. The Pentagon has also announced that it would review procedures across the Defense Department for using and securing the nations secrets.

How did investigators and the news media find Teixeira?

Both the FBI and news reporters found him in much the same way: by interviewing other members of Discord.

The members of the Thug Shaker Central Discord server who spoke with The New York Times did not reveal Teixeiras identity. But they shared some details about him, and reporters were able to find people on other video game forums connected to the known members of Thug Shaker Central, including Teixeira.

To be sure, the FBI found him first. But investigators must go through legal hurdles, like obtaining court approval for a search warrant. The Times had a chance to knock on Teixeiras door a few hours before FBI agents arrived to search his home.

Is this case drastically different than other leak cases?

Teixeiras case bears some resemblance to other relatively recent leak cases in which people connected to the military or a spy agency used their access to acquire sensitive documents and posted them online or gave them to the news media.

But Chelsea Manning, who gave documents to WikiLeaks, and Reality Winner and Edward Snowden, who provided documents to the news media and other organizations, were trying to bring attention to things they thought the public needed to know. Teixeira, however, is accused of sharing documents with a small group of acquaintances, rather than trying to reveal them to the wider public.

Will he be tried in Boston?

Justice Department officials have been considering whether to ask the court to move the case to the Eastern District of Virginia, a court where both prosecutors and public defenders have extensive experience handling cases involving classified secrets. While Teixeira is accused of taking the documents from a military base in Massachusetts, much of that material was originally created by the Pentagon, which is in the Eastern District.

That issue is still under consideration, even though prosecutors with the U.S. attorneys office in Massachusetts favor trying Teixeira in Boston, according to people familiar with the situation.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
(Bloomberg) -- Thailands Move Forward Party, which is surging in opinion polls ahead of the May 14 election, wants to reclaim the lost decade of military-backed rule with sweeping reforms to revitalize Southeast Asias second-largest economy.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Its leader Pita Limjaroenrat, a 42-year-old alumnus of Harvard Kennedy School of Government, is pitching to spread economic activity beyond the capital city Bangkok, dismantle business monopolies and reduce the influence of the armed forces in politics to end a cycle of coups.

This election is about people looking for a new face, a new future, Pita said in an interview with Bloomberg TVs Haslinda Amin where he reiterated his campaign platform of de-militarization, demonopolization and decentralization. People are thinking about the lost decade, the past 10 years that was under military junta.

Pita, who casts himself as an agent of change, has spent the last decade in and out of the spotlight. Before joining politics, he helped turn around his familys debt-ridden rice bran oil company. He also worked as executive director of ride-hailing firm Grab Holdings Ltd.s Thai unit. He was a parliamentarian under Future Forward before it was dissolved in 2020 and many of its members including Pita set up Move Forward.

While Move Forward, which is popular among the youth and liberals, is projected to get the second-most votes next month, its unlikely to win enough seats to head the next government. Pita expects the party to have more than 100 seats in the 500-member House of Representatives, better than 81 that Future Forward got in 2019.

Its best chance is to form a coalition with the more popular Pheu Thai Party led by Paetongtarn Shinawatra, youngest daughter of ex-premier Thaksin Shinawatra whose government was toppled in a 2006 coup. But even pursuing such alliance may be tricky.

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A controversial call to amend the lese majeste law, which punishes royal insults by up to 15 years in prison, may hamper its prospects of joining any coalition, according to Napon Jatusripitak, a research fellow at Singapore-based ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute.

It is not very likely that the Move Forward Party will be part of the next governing coalition, whoever wins, Napon said.

The party may win about 21% of votes, a survey by the National Institute of Development Administration showed this month, a four-point jump from a month earlier. Another survey by Thai language newspapers Matichon and Daily News this week ranked him above Paetongtarn.

Stakes are high as the Thai general election is shaping up to be a contest between the pro-establishment parties of the ruling military-backed coalition thats helmed the country since a coup in 2014 and the pro-democracy opposition including Move Forward and Pheu Thai Party. Reviving a once-vibrant economy that grew at the slowest pace in the region last year after the pandemic dealt a blow to its tourism and manufacturing is also in focus.

Ending the monopoly of a few liquor companies and passing a marriage equality bill are examples of how Move Forward proposes to bring reforms, Pita said. The party will seek to end mandatory military conscription and cut the size of the army to free up defense budget and stop the cycle of coups.

Pita said part of his 100-day agenda is starting a process to overhaul the charter written after Prayuth seized power.

Pita said if Pheu Thai and Move Forward win 300 seats together in the House of Representatives, they can form the government as the 250-member Senate, a body stacked with allies from the military establishment, may not go against the popular mandate.

Move Forward is ready to face any moves for dissolution and warned that such strategy would be met with massive protests similar to how the progressive youth rallied against steps taken to disband Future Forward. The eventual dissolution was seen as an initial spark which ignited larger demonstrations that made taboo-breaking calls for monarchy reforms.

Weve learned our lessons and are prepared legally, Pita said. People are fed up, especially the younger generations. We cannot tolerate this kind of thing anymore.

--With assistance from Taimoor Sobhan and Rika Yoshida.

(Updates with analyst comment in sixth paragraph.)

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The Colorado River, one of the most important river systems in the country, is drying up at an alarming rate.

The issues surrounding depleting water levels along the Colorado River basin have become as heated as the arid climate contributing to the moisture-sapping megadrought persisting in the region for decades.

Despite an extremely wet winter that eased the effects of the longstanding drought, regional officials and environmental experts are expressing concern over future severe dips in the water supply and other ramifications dwindling water levels could have on local economies and human health.

MORE: Federal government proposes landmark water cuts to conserve Colorado River water

An ample water supply is a "critical component" of human health and public safety, Sinjin Eberle, Southwest region communications director for the nonprofit American Rivers, told ABC News.

"If there's not a healthy environment, we don't have healthy drinking water supplies, and we don't have healthy ecosystems and we don't have habitat for wildlife," Eberle said. "We don't have sustainability and we don't have certainty in the water supplies."

The Colorado River is one of the most important systems in the country

The Colorado River Basin supplies drinking water to 40 million people in the U.S., as well as two states in Mexico, according to the Bureau of Reclamation. It also fuels hydropower resources in eight states and remains a crucial resource for 30 Tribal Nations and agriculture communities across the West.

The river system supports $1.4 trillion of the annual U.S. economy and 16 million jobs in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, New Mexico and Wyoming-- equivalent to about 1/12 of the total U.S. domestic product, economists at the University of Arizona found in 2015. More than 90% of the country's winter leafy greens and much of its vegetables are grown in Yuma, Arizona -- the state that would experience the most drastic water cuts under current regulations.

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Lake Mead was producing 25% less hydroelectricity as its elevation reached a record low at 1,067 feet in December 2021. The reservoir was dangerously close to hitting dead pool status, when water levels are too low to flow downstream to generate power, last June as surface elevation measured in at just 1,043 feet.

PHOTO: A sunken boat is re-emerged during low water levels, April 12, 2023, in Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. (The Denver Post/MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

This past March, water levels in Lake Mead measured at 1,046 feet, according to the Bureau of Reclamation.

Dead pool status is "not far in the future," and could possibly happen this decade, in the event of five or six consecutive dry winters, Zach Zobel, risk scientists at the Woodwell Climate Research Center, told ABC News.

MORE: Historic Lake Mead drought leads to disturbing discoveries on dried up ground

If the West is not diligent in learning to live within the water system, it could have "serious ramifications" on other sectors, such as the semiconductor industry in Phoenix, a billion-dollar industry that provides tens of thousands of jobs in Arizona, Eberle said.

Without water from the Colorado River, Arizona's gross state product would drop by more than $185 billion in a year and the state would lose more than 2 million jobs, the 2015 report found.

In addition, electricity bills and water bills have the potential to skyrocket, and the region will need to consider building infrastructure for other power sources, such as solar and wind, Eberle said.

PHOTO: The Colorado River is seen in the Imperial National Wildlife Refuge in California, April 4, 2023. (Brian Van Der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)

"Even more alarming" is that water could get so low that it can not be pumped and delivered to the states, communities and agricultural industries that rely on it, Richard Frank, professor of environmental practice at the University of California Davis School of Law, told ABC News.

The dip in water levels is widely due to climate change

Over the past 20 years, the West has been undergoing a substantial period of drought, much of it driven by anthropogenic, or human-caused, climate change, according to experts.

For every 1 degree Celsius in temperature rise, flow along the Colorado River has dipped 9.3%, scientists with the U.S. Geological Survey announced in 2020. This has led to the depletion of 1.5 billion tons of water, much of is lost to evaporation or lack or melting snowpack, according to the study.

MORE: 'No other alternative': Egypt worries as climate change, dam project threaten Nile water supply

The Colorado River has about 19% less volume than in the year 2000, Eberle said. By 2050, that number is expected to drop to 30% less than in 2000 if temperatures continue to rise, he added.

The Colorado River is over-allocated, experts say

In 1922, the Colorado River Compact divvied up the river's water -- as to how the water supplies from the Colorado River and its tributaries would be allocated -- among the seven states that rely on it. The upper basin states were established as New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming and Colorado, while the lower basin consists of California, Nevada and Arizona. Two states in Mexico -- Baja California and Sonora -- were added to the Compact in the 1940s.

However, the amount of water that was apportioned "was not consistent" and "exceeded significantly" the amount of water that was actually available, even by 1922 standards, Frank said.

"There were overestimations of how much water there would be to allocate among the states," Frank said. "So it was a flawed premise to begin with."

PHOTO: The Central Arizona Project carries Colorado River water, Oct. 25, 2022, outside suburbs in Phoenix. (The Denver Post/MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

At the time of its inception, those in charge of dividing the water resources assumed they were working with a 17-million acre-foot river, based off an extremely wet period in the beginning of the 20th century, Eberle said. These days, the river is closer to 12 or 11 million acre-feet, he said.

When the contract was signed, there were only about half a million people living in the basin. Fast-forward to the 21st century, and a population explosion in the region with three of the largest cities in the country that rely on the Colorado River -- Phoenix, San Diego and Los Angeles -- has grown that number to more than 40 million, Eberle said.

Climate change over the past century has only worsened the inevitable problem, Frank said.

MORE: Water levels at Lake Mead dangerously close to hitting 'dead pool' status

"So we have an additional challenge of less water availability at a time when we are we're attracting more people who want to reside in the Southwest," Frank said. "That's a problem."

Even in the absence of climate change, the Colorado River would likely be in decline due to the population growth, Zobel said.

MORE: How rising sea levels will affect New York City, America's most populous city

1 year of heavy precipitation isn't enough to solve problem

At the start of the fall, the visual evidence of overallocation, combined with years of severe drought, was striking along the Colorado River system. Prominent bathtub rings showing where water levels once were could be seen in Lake Mead and Lake Powell. Parts of Lake Mead were so dry that human remains began to emerge in riverbeds once covered in freshwater.

Then, as winter rolled in, an "amazing and completely unpredicted series of events" occurred, Eberle said.

PHOTO: A bathtub ring seen above the waterline around Lake Powell was created during drought that reduced the flow of the Colorado River, April 15, 2023, in Lake Powell, Utah. (The Denver Post/MediaNews Group via Getty Images)

A series of atmospheric rivers -- essentially rivers in the sky that collect moisture from tropical areas and redistribute the water to other latitudes -- have been pummeling the West Coast with an influx of precipitation since December, bringing round after round of heavy rain and snow to the parched region.

"The snowpack is amazing, and in some ways it kind of takes the foot off the gas in terms of how dire things could be," Eberle said, but added that water levels could just as easily dip to record lows a year from now if urgent measures aren't taken to conserve water.

In the future, the trend will be for greater, longer, more protracted droughts interrupted occasionally, by periods of plentiful rainfall, scientists say.

This year will be an "important case study" on how much of the water that was lost in the past five years from the largest reservoirs can be recovered, Zobel said.

"If things can't recover in the good years, then the situation is still not looking good for the future," Zobel said.

Climate scientists don't expect many "average" years of precipitation anymore, Zobel said. Instead, what will likely happen is either all of the precipitation will come at once, or none at all -- what is referred to the "boom or bust precipitation pattern," he said.

While atmospheric rivers are expected to occur more frequently as global temperatures continue to rise, relying on the uncertainty that these events could occur again is not an adequate management strategy, Eberle said, especially since climate scientists expect snowpacks to trend much leaner in the future.

PHOTO: A sign marks the location of the Mosquito Creek snow course near the town of Fairplay, Colo., March 28, 2023. (Jason Connolly/AFP via Getty Images)

The influx of moisture into the coast has not yet been added to the water supply in the Colorado River system, but it will once the snowpack melts, the experts said.

In the sub-basin near Durango Colorado, the snowpack is about 180% above normal levels, Eberle said.

"That will bring a lot of water into Lake Powell and Lake Mead eventually," he said.

The immediate steps needed to maintain water levels

It will be up to the federal government to step in and encourage a tightening of water usage and address the imbalance between supply and demand, especially as the population in the Southwest, the fastest-growing region in the country -- continues to implode, the experts said.

The policy needs to include "major" water cuts, especially to the agriculture industry, Zobel said.

It would be "magical thinking" to assume that water from the Colorado River would be indefinitely available for the lower basin states, Frank said.

PHOTO: The intake towers at Hoover Dam, seen in December 2022 in Boulder City, Nev. (Las Vegas Review-Journal/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)

Officials may be coming to a consensus that too much water is leaving the Colorado River system.

On April 11, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation announced it was considering a landmark proposal that includes scenarios to conserve water by reducing the amount of water released from Glen Canyon Dam or cutting water allotments evenly among all the lower basin states if basin states don't find a way to conserve 4 million acre feet of water in by 2024 -- or roughly 20% of current water usage -- a directive made by Bureau of Reclamation Commissioner Camille Calimlim Touton last summer.

"We're in the third decade of a historic drought that has caused conditions that the people who built this system would not have imagined," Tommy Beaudreau, deputy secretary of the Interior Department, told reporters on April 11.

MORE: Lead in the water: How some of America's water became too dangerous to drink

Conversation among states to reduce water without federal intervention have become "very fractious and difficult," Frank said, adding that Mexico's entitlement further complicates matters.

The Interior Department will have the "ultimate say," Frank added.

MORE: First-ever water shortage declared for Lake Mead, the country's largest reservoir

The Biden Administration will also be providing a $15.4 billion investment to enhance the West's resilience to drought, which will include reducing water demand, maximizing water resources and protecting the communities along the Colorado River Basin.

Some of those solutions should include the modernization of agriculture industry systems, which uses up to 80% of the water supply in several regions, the experts said.

Water concerns are so rampant in Arizona that the city of Scottsdale cut off water delivery to Rio Verde Hills, an affluent neighborhood on the outskirts of the city.

PHOTO: A car is stranded in floodwater as a series of atmospheric river storms melts record amounts of snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, March 24, 2023, near Corcoran, Calif. (David Mcnew/Getty Images)

"We have to address the imbalance between how much water there is, how much water there is going to be, and how much water is demanded for various aspects of life, like agriculture, drinking water in cities, and for recreation and water for the environment -- a key component of the sustainability of human health and public safety across the basin," Eberle said.

If the problem isn't solved, lack of adequate water supply will have a "profound effect" on communities and businesses in the West and the nation overall, Frank said.

"What does Tom Cruise say in 'Mission Impossible?' Hope is not a strategy," Eberle said.

Here's what will happen if Colorado River system doesn't recover from 'historic drought' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com
I want people to get to know Morocco, said rap artist Sigou Marouane, a proud native son. I want to be a voice for a lot of people around me.

From sunrise to sunset, the Medina in Marrakesh, Morocco, is a bustling area that is crowded with nationals and tourists dressed in anything from traditional Moroccan attire to casual clothing. While walking through the city, many stop to take pictures and gaze at the stunning reddish-orange architecture.

The atmosphere is filled with the smells of Moroccan tea, nearby restaurants and perfume. Customers can be overheard speaking in their native tongues while leisurely navigating through the souks (markets) to find handmade rugs hanging overhead, orange, yellow and brown spices placed neatly in baskets ready to be bargained for and unique hand-crafted Moroccan garments carefully stored in closet-style boutiques for purchase. While shopping, tourists are often startled as people on motorized bikes chaotically weave through the crowds to get to their destinations.

Moroccan rap artist Sigou Marouane poses for a photo in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Photo: sigouofficial)

In the midst of it all, Sigou Marouane, a 33-year-old Moroccan national, can be spotted operating the Wafl Design store, located in the Medina on Rue Mouassine. There, he sells artwork to Americans and other tourists while blasting American hip-hop music, like Lupe Fiascos 2006 Kick, Push, Busta Rhymes and Mariah Careys 2002 I Know What You Want and Kid Cudis 2008 Day n Nite.

During an exclusive interview with theGrio, Marouane  whose first name is his professional moniker, which he uses as a rapper  recounted how his life changed during the COVID-19 pandemic.

While his country was on lockdown, many people lost their lives, some were laid off from their jobs and others became hopeless. Marouane was one of those people who felt like he had hit rock bottom after pursuing a fulfilling career as a computer scientist.

I lost my house. I needed my kids to stay with their family in the village. I stayed alone in my dads house and was like sort of homeless, he revealed. [I thought] What can I do with my time, with my talents? Music?

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So, I started making song after song, he continued. I applied for this project from Belgium to make a musical project.  I ended up making an album with 18 songs.

Marouane told theGrio he struggled to record the Sigou LP because he did not like rapping in front of people  not even his wife and kids.

I get very shy singing in front of people, he shared.

Sigou Marouane sits outside of Wafl Design shop he operates in the Medina in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Photo: Ashlee Banks)

It took me months to just get used to my voice in the microphone. I used to kick my kids and wife out and was like, OK, take them to play games or go to the park or something so I can be home alone, he chuckled while recounting the moment.

Since then, the rapper has gone on to perform at music festivals in his North African country, garnering thousands of fans.

Music by Sigou is also broadcast on the radio, heard throughout Morocco and the United Kingdom. One of his most popular songs is called Wld Fatima, which was inspired by a well-known love song.

We took a sample from an old song called Lalla Fatima because its very familiar, and we changed it to Wld Fatima, [which means] be careful and stay away from us, Marouane explained as he reclined in his chair.

I did it in an explicit way, he said. It went viral, however, it wasnt for the radio. So, when the song went viral, they asked me to make the clean version of it so they can drop it on radio.

Marouane said American rap icons like Rhymes, Snoop Dogg and Lil Wayne inspired him to pursue a career in music.

When I watched Gimme Some More for the first time I was like, whoa, he said eagerly, describing Rhymes 1998 music video.

Even if I didnt understand the lyrics and stuff, the vibe was so dope, he opined. Then, Lil Wayne came in, A Milli, then 6 Foot 7 Foot.'

Moroccan rap artist Sigou Marouane is seen on the grind in the Wafl Design shop in Marrakesh, Morocco. (Photo: sigouofficial)

Although many hip-hop artists credit Tupac Shakur for inspiring their passion for music, Marouane admitted he had not listened to the California Love rapper growing up.

In recent years, he has incorporated Tupacs music into his playlist and now understands why the late artist is called a legend.

Marouane became fluent in English at a young age while toiling alongside his father in the Medina and interacting with its scores of tourists over the years.

I was part of the market for so long because my dad owned a bazaar, and I worked with him, he said, so I grew up in the market. Thats how I learned how to speak English.

Little did Marouane know that learning English and taking an interest in hip-hop culture would benefit him later in life.

The on-the-rise rapper told theGrio that through his music, he strives to bring people joy and has chosen to rap in Arabic, French and English in hopes of becoming world-renowned.

I want people to get to know Morocco, said Marouane. I want to be a voice for a lot of people around me.

We dont live in tents. We have the internet. Thats the impression people have of Morocco and about Arabic countries in general. Like Im over here driving a camel coming to work, he joked.

Through his music, says Sigou Marouane (above), he strives to bring joy and has chosen to rap in Arabic, French and English in hopes of becoming an artist whos world-renowned. (Photo: sigouofficial)

So, whats next for the Moroccan artist? He plans to open a space in Marrakesh that will be available to people around the world who need a place to record music, engage in photoshoots, conduct interviews and express their artistic talents. He aims to make the space accessible after this Friday, April 21, which marks the end of Ramadan, the annual month in which Muslims fast, pray and reflect.

I know a lot of talented people whose talent is going to waste, said Marouane, because they dont have the right place to record.

He wants to change that.

Through the pandemics tragedy, Marouane was able to find a hidden talent and hone that skill to create music that he hopes will one day unify the world  and help others do the same.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Hip-hop influenced a Moroccan computer scientist to pursue his dreams and become a rapper during the COVID-19 pandemic appeared first on TheGrio.
HOLLISTON  Holliston Public Schools is looking for a new high school principal, with several staff members questioning and expressing dismay over the impending departure of incumbent Nicole Bottomley, who has led the school for the past decade.

According to the district's website, a posting dated March 16 seeks applications for a high school principal. Required credentials include a Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education license for principal/assistant principal (grades 5-12), along with three years of teaching experience.

Three weeks later, on April 6, parents, teachers and students received an email from Superintendent of Schools Susan Kustka stating that Bottomley would be leaving at the end of her contract this school year and that the district is looking for a new principal.

New Natick High principal: Josepha Blocker, interim principal at Newton South, gets the nod

"Ms. Bottomley has been a leader at the high school for twelve years, and we wish her well in both her future endeavors and next chapter as a school leader," Kustka wrote in the email. She proceeded to invite recipients of the letter to provide "your feedback regarding a new high school principal" by April 14.

But no reason has been given for Bottomley's impending departure. When reached by the Daily News, Bottomley referred questions to the Superintendent's Office. And Kustka said in an email that the School Department cannot comment on the employment status of Holliston Public Schools employees.

Holliston Public Schools is seeking a new high school principal.

Holliston High School staff members have expressed concern, including Jaime Cutone, president of the Holliston Federation of Teachers, who spoke during a School Committee meeting on April 6.

Cutone, who said she was speaking on behalf of 95% of Holliston High's staff, asked the committee to consider offering Bottomley a successor contract, citing the school's turnover and retention rates.

"Any change to building leadership at the high school will lead to further instability and could diminish student outcomes, decrease staff morale and take years to return to making effective progress," Cutone said during the meeting. "Holliston High School is a safe space for educators to take risks, be innovative, prioritize student agency and to collaborate with colleagues in meaningful ways."

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Music teacher says Bottomley 'poured everything into the school'

Sean Bilodeau, a music teacher who has worked at Holliston High for 10 years, told the Daily News that Bottomley "poured everything into the school, she cares about the school and the community. I'm concerned about where we're headed as a district."

Bilodeau said it will be hard without Bottomley, who served as Holliston High's vice principal for three years before being named principal in 2013.

"(Bottomley) is one who leads by example, and that's a hard thing to overcome," Bilodeau said. "We don't do things the way other districts do and that's what makes us special."

Earlier this year, Bottomley was one of three finalists for the Natick High School principal's job. That position went to Josepha Blocker, interim principal at Newton South High School.

The posting for a new Holliston High principal was created shortly afterward.

Candidate interviews for the job are expected to take place next Tuesday and Thursday at the high school, according to Kustka's April 6 email. Finalists are expected to be selected during the first week of May, according to the email.

Before coming to Holliston, Bottomley taught history and science at Framingham High School from 2000-10, according to bio information provided by Natick Public Schools while Bottomley was interviewing for high school principal there. From 2007-10 she concurrently worked as a mental health counselor at Youth Opportunities Upheld.

Bottomley holds a master's degree in mental health counseling from Boston University and a bachelor's degree in psychology from Brandeis University.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Holliston High Principal Nicole Bottomley won't return in 2023-24
The conversation around stand your ground laws has been reignited after recent shootings that severely injured a teen and claimed the life of a young woman shot by homeowners.

The Kansas City Star reported that Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Kansas City, Missouri boy, was shot in the head and arm through a locked glass door by homeowner Andrew Lester after ringing the doorbell. The teen, wounded on April 13, was released from the hospital Tuesday and is still recovering.

Lester, who claimed he was frightened, now faces two felony charges for assault and armed criminal action.

Three days later, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed in Hebron, New York, by Kevin Monahan after accidentally pulling her car into his driveway, ABC News reported. Monahan was charged with second-degree murder on Wednesday.

Though it is unclear if stand your ground laws will be used as a defense in either case, at least 25 states, including North Carolina, have passed ordinances that allow homeowners to use lethal force if they feel they are in danger.

What are North Carolinas self-defense laws?

State law says North Carolina residents have the legal right to defend themselves with deadly force and do not have a duty to retreat from intruders.

According to the law, a person can use defensive force that is likely to cause death or serious bodily harm to another to protect your home, motor vehicle, or workplace if:

Someone is trying to remove you from the premises against your will.

You have a reason to believe that an unlawful and forcible entry or act is occurring.

The law, however, says you cannot use deadly force in these circumstances against:

A person with the right to be on your property, such as an owner or tenant.

Someone who is in your custody, such as a child or grandchild.

A law enforcement officer or bail bondsman who attempts to enter a home, motor vehicle, or workplace to perform official duties.

A person who has stopped trying to enter your property forcefully and has left the premises.

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When can South Carolina residents use lethal force?

South Carolina citizens can use deadly force against other people if they have reasonable fear of imminent peril of death or great bodily injury, according to state law.

However, deadly force is only permitted when:

A person has unlawfully and forcefully entered your home or attempting to remove you from your home against your will.

You have a reason to believe someone has broken into your home or is attempting to break into your home.

According to South Carolina law, deadly force is not permitted when:
You are here: China

Students of Zhuhelu Primary School take part in the theme activity of "knowing space knowledge, igniting space dream" in Hanshan District of Handan, north China's Hebei Province, April 24, 2019. [Photo/Xinhua]

A series of activities, including academic conferences and science exhibitions, will be held to celebrate the upcoming Space Day of China, which falls on April 24, the China National Space Administration (CNSA) announced Tuesday.

The activities include the China Space Conference, the International Deep Space Exploration Conference, and the China Space Culture and Art Forum, as well as a series of exhibitions on space science popularization, etc., said Lyu Bo, deputy director of the Department of System Engineering of CNSA, at a press conference.

Meanwhile, over 400 other activities such as science popularization lectures, space knowledge competitions, and relevant seminars will be held nationwide.

Lyu noted that Space Day of China aims to inspire the public to learn scientific knowledge, generate innovative ideas and carry forward the scientific spirit.

Starting in 2016, China chose April 24 as the Space Day of China to mark the launch of its first satellite "Dongfanghong-1" into space on April 24, 1970.
House Republicans dug in Wednesday on a two-track strategy to project commitment to border security. Both tracks seem headed toward failure.

On one side, Judiciary Committee Republicans advanced a sweeping border and immigration plan after weeks of closed-door negotiations. Meanwhile, Republicans are also quietly laying the groundwork to potentially impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, using an hours-long appearance before the Homeland Security panel to preview their argument amid a cascade of GOP fury over his handling of the border.

The border bill and Mayorkas impeachment already faced heavy skepticism from a coalition of GOP centrists that's showing no signs of fading. Centrists have raised fears that the immigration plan goes too far in limiting asylum claims, while also blanching at conservative demands to take the historic step of impeaching a Cabinet official.

Though neither House GOP effort has a chance at success in the Democratic-controlled Senate, a failure to get border security measures through the one chamber of Congress they control would mark a significant stumble for Republicans on an issue highly important to their base.

I am confident leadership will not bring anything to the floor that does not have the votes to pass.  However long that takes, thats what you want, said Rep. Tony Gonzales (R-Texas), a vocal critic of the Judiciary Committee's bill.

Criticism from purple-district Republicans amounts to a political tee-ball pitch for Democrats, who are all too happy to cite their GOP colleagues in making their case against the immigration legislation.

This bill has no chance of being enacted into law, and most of its provisions cannot even pass on the House floor because of opposition from Republicans, said Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-N.Y.), his party's top member on the Judiciary panel.

In a nod toward Gonzales, Nadler added that Republicans should heed the advice of one of their own.

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While the intra-GOP fight has blasted to the forefront, given the Judiciary Committee's advancement of the border security bill Wednesday, Gonzales remains locked in a months-long public spat with Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas), who has vocally pushed more conservative immigration measures.

Though Roys bill isnt in the Judiciary package, pieces of the committees proposed changes to asylum laws closely reflect sections of the Texas Republican's plan.

Many Republicans defended the Judiciary Committee bill, arguing it was needed to push back against more than two years of Biden administration policies, and, Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) added, to restore the successful Trump policy. Republicans argue the border influx was much more manageable under the former president, when the Trump administration placed drastic limits on migrants' ability to claim asylum.

Republicans, more broadly, view the issue as a potent one heading into 2024, where they are hoping to win back the White House and flip the Senate by ousting a handful of Democrats running in red and purple states.

But, Democrats aren't making it easy for Republicans to pass the legislation, offering a slew of potential changes that could appeal to skeptical centrists.

For example, they unsuccessfully offered multiple amendments to alter, or remove, a section that would beef up e-verify requirements, which require that certain businesses check the citizenship status of their employees.

Opponents of the bill are hoping they will find allies on the floor with agriculture-minded Republicans like Reps. Dan Newhouse (R-Wash.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) against the broader bill.

Im surprised that this bill is in here, frankly.  Its never been able to pass on the House floor, Progressive Caucus Chair Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.) said about the GOPs e-verify language.

The immigration package is likely to clear the Judiciary Committee on Wednesday without getting tangled in GOP infighting, in part because the panel is stocked with conservatives. But what can clear that panel, Republicans acknowledge, isnt automatically reflective of what could get 218 votes on the House floor.

And Republicans have set an ambitious goal to clear legislation through the chamber by the middle of next month.

In the meantime, the House Homeland Security Committee will hold a vote on its own border bill next week. The Rules Committee is then expected to merge the two proposals, allowing Republicans to make more changes before a final product gets to the floor.

The Homeland Security panel had initially been expected to hold a vote on its proposal this week, but that was delayed by Mayorkas' scheduled testimony. And Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.), the panels chair, reportedly told donors this month that he believed his committee was making the case for Mayorkas' impeachment  a move that would require near-total House GOP unity to succeed.

Republicans have so far rolled out two impeachment resolutions against Mayorkas, and neither has won over even close to a majority of the House GOP conference.

One, from Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), currently has 42 cosponsors, while a separate resolution from Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) has 32. Democrats, and some GOP lawmakers, have warned that their colleagues are equating a policy disagreement  namely, that Mayorkas isn't appropriately handling increased migration levels  to a high crime or misdemeanor.

I was dismayed to see that, speaking to a group of campaign contributors last week about todays hearing, the chairman said, and I quote, Get the popcorn, its going to be fun. I think that tells Americans all they need to know, said Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee.

Underscoring the competing pressures within their own party, Republicans found themselves at odds with one of their own during Wednesdays hearing when Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) called Mayorkas a liar.

Green, the panel's chair, ultimately ruled that her remarks went against committee rules and formally struck them from the hearing record  a rare step that is even more rarely taken against a member of the same party. The dust-up generated frustrations and headlines of its own, threatening to put a focus back on intra-party tensions.

But Republicans also used Wednesday's Homeland Security hearing to zero in on the GOPs argument for impeachment, with Green telling Mayorkas: You have not secured our borders, and I believe youve done so intentionally.
Like those before her, the woman came to the Cross Roads House homeless shelter in Portsmouth in crisis. Shed lost her car, which shed been living in for four years, in a fire. Shed also recently lost her son.

Unlike most at the shelter, the woman was in her 80s.

Five years ago, people over 62 made up 11% of guests in the 96-bed shelter, said Executive Director Will Arvelo. Now its 15%  and growing. Many arrive with health problems, such as immobility or disability, that shelter workers cant accommodate. When guests need hospitalization for a health emergency, they are discharged to the shelter to recover.

Cross Roads House shelter in Portsmouth.

Shelters are just not set up for this kind of thing, Arvelo said in an interview Monday following a presentation to New Hampshire's Commission on Aging. In many cases, they need somebody to help them with whatever theyre dealing with. And we dont have the staff or the expertise to do it.

The states dire shortage of affordable housing has become among its most pressing challenges. The median gross rent for a two-bedroom apartment increased by nearly 26% between 2017 and 2022, according to New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority. The median home price hit $445,000 last month, more than 20% higher than in April 2019, according to the New Hampshire Association of Realtors.

Those soaring costs have hit two groups especially hard: employers and housing assistance agencies. Employers are struggling to recruit workers because their wages havent kept pace with the double-digit increases. Housing assistance agencies are getting too little public money to help an increasing number of people find shelter.

In the countrys second oldest state, residents over 65 are often absent in that housing discussion, though they made up 20% of the states population, according to the U.S. Census. AARP predicts that by 2050, the 65 to 74 age group will grow by 10%, while the 75 and older group will increase by 15%.

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The state Commission on Aging wants to expand the conversation to include older Granite Staters. Monday, it asked leaders of housing assistance organizations for two things: a better understanding of homelessness among older residents and how to address the challenge.

Cross Roads House, the states second largest shelter, is seeing not only an increase in people over 62 but also among people over 50, who make up half the shelter population, Arvello said. The shelters bunk beds are not suitable for guests with mobility and disability challenges.

The shelter is seeing people stay longer too, especially older guests and families, Arvello said. The average stay is 62 days, but the woman in her 80s stayed 14 months, he said.

Older guests are facing particular challenges in their search for housing if they need an apartment that can accommodate a disability or an assisted long-term care setting, where there are few openings.

Funding is increasingly difficult. Arvello said the shelter is fundraising 70% of its budget because the state pays it just $8 per bed, per night. The true cost is about $70 a night because the shelter employs case managers to work individually with every guest as they navigate options for stable housing.

Trying to find a situation where we can work with individuals, give them the services they need and then get them placed, that is really taxing our system, he told the commission. And we dont see this going away.

New Hampshire Housing Finance Authority helps low-income individuals, veterans, people with disabilities, and older residents with rental and housing costs. Dee Pouliot, managing director of the agencys assisted housing division, told the commission that nearly 9,600 people are on the waiting list.

Residents who receive Choices for Independence assistance because they are older or have a disability are among those given preference, but they may still wait as long as six months to a year for assistance, she said. Pouliot said of 9,600 people waiting for financial aid, almost 1,600 are 62 and older, while 132 are 75 and older. One applicant this year was 91.

The solutions are harder to define.

Lawmakers have shown support this session for making historic investments in expanding housing. Senate Bill 231 would spend $25 million on developing more affordable housing. But Elissa Margolin, executive director of Housing Action NH cautioned the commission against seeing that as a permanent fix.

The bill had initially required the units to be priced under market value for only five years. The Senate increased that to 10 years. Margolin said she hasnt seen legislative interest in extending that to 20 years, which housing advocates had requested.

In 2017, the state began permitting accessory dwelling units, standalone or attached second homes on a single lot. Its an option favored by aging advocates because they allow a person to financially afford to age at home. An effort to expand that to two accessory dwelling units per lot died in the House this year.

Last year lawmakers rejected a similar bill that would have allowed homeowners to build up to four units on their property.

The Gibson Center for Senior Services in North Conway began a home sharing initiative in 2019 that helps connect homeowners with an extra bedroom and home seekers who can help them afford to age at home. The center vets applicants.

Arvelo said without additional funding from the state and municipalities, existing services will struggle.

Margolins group lobbies for housing solutions at the State House. But she thinks the solution, or at least the next step, lies elsewhere.

After doing this for almost 15 years, Ive come to believe its the cultural piece, what it means to make room for people, she told the commission. What it means to appreciate the value of diversified housing. What it means to have a Yes in my backyard culture.

This story was originally published by New Hampshire Bulletin.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Affordable housing crisis takes growing toll on NH's older residents
Concrete Youth will give a presentation at the prestigious Prague Quadrennial in July

A theatre company in Hull is to give a presentation in Prague on creating productions which are accessible to people with learning disabilities.

Concrete Youth's research into autonomous sensory meridian response (ASMR) was used in their 2022 touring production The Whispering Jungle.

The Prague Quadrennial is the world's largest festival of scenography, theatre design and architecture.

The four-yearly event has been running since 1967.

Concrete Youth has specialised in creating inclusive theatre for people with profound and multiple learning disabilities (PMLD) and used its research into ASMR to give audiences a sensory experience during a 2022 tour.

Daniel Swift, Concrete Youth's chief executive co-artistic director, said they were "thrilled" to have been invited to Prague.

"This is a huge moment not only for Concrete Youth, but also for our audience with profound and multiple learning disabilities, who are some of the most invisible members of society.

"This platform will spread international awareness of this community of people, the barriers they face and the lack of cultural provision that they experience daily."

The company, which receives financial support from Hull City Council, began its ASMR project in 2020 and in 2021 expanded it to include work with hundreds of people with PMLD across the world, including specialists, carers and consultants in the UK, US and Singapore.

It was that work which would be included in the Whispering Jungle tour, which featured sensory play and sensory puppets in an immersive show.

Kath Wynne-Hague, head of culture at Hull City Council said their work was "incredibly valuable".

"It provides the opportunity for people usually excluded from a typical theatre experience to not only participate, but experience something created specifically for them."

Concrete Youth is the only touring organisation in the UK to have an exclusive sensory offer for people with PMLD in education and care settings and their talk in Prague will take place on 8 June.

Follow BBC East Yorkshire and Lincolnshire on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
Millions of dollars are going toward companies worldwide looking to lengthen the human lifespan. invincible_bulldog / Getty Images

Researchers estimate that the human body may not be capable of living more than 150 years.

But dozens of companies and many researchers worldwide are exploring how our cells and DNA age.

Mysteries like cellular senescence, telomere length, and DNA methylation hold the keys to our longevity.

For millennia, humans have been trying to stretch our lifespans as far as they will go. We've tried freezing, fasting, and herbal remedies galore.

Recently, billionaires like Larry Page, Mark Zuckerberg, and Jeff Bezos have invested hefty sums into biotech companies like Altos Labs, Juvenescence, and Unity Biotechnology, which are pursuing the quest for longevity through cell rejuvenation and disease prevention.

So far, the longest anyone has ever clung to life is 122 years. But that may be on the lower end of our potential limit.

Humans may have a lifespan limit of 150 years

Aging is baked into our cells and DNA. kali9 / Getty Images

Even if you lived in a bubble with no disease or danger, your body would still experience wear and tear as it pumped blood, digested food, and conducted all the functions necessary for survival.

The older you grow, the longer it would take for your body to "bounce back" from this wear and tear, because aging is baked into our cells and DNA. All this means your tissues gradually lose the ability to heal themselves, which can lead to disease and dysfunction.

One study suggested the human body's recovery time doubles every 15 years  so a bruise that took one week to heal at age 40 might take two weeks at age 55. Eventually, the human body loses all of its resilience, so whatever bones or tissues break stay broken. Once too many body parts malfunction, you die.

Researchers don't necessarily agree on the maximum limit for when this happens. Some have proposed 115 years, others 130 years. One of the most recent studies analyzing over half a million people in the US and UK suggested humans lose all resilience sometime between ages 120-150.

The big question becomes: What if we could slow that wear and tear, or better yet, prevent it altogether? Some experts argue that with medical advancements, average human lifespans have no natural limit.

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Let's take a look at aging on a cellular level, what's holding us back from longer lives, and the groups of researchers looking to understand and potentially reverse the aging process.

Cellular senescence is one of the most researched topics of aging

Harmful senescent cells become more common as you age and increase the risk of tissue damage and failure. reklamlar / Getty Images

Cellular senescence is when a cell stops reproducing but doesn't die.

When this happens, some senescent cells turn into destructive zombies, floating around and releasing inflammatory chemicals that harm healthy cells, including stem cells  your body's "repairmen" that help replace damaged or broken tissue.

But not all senescent cells are bad.

Some senescent cells secrete chemicals that help repair wounds, said Paul Robbins, the associate director of the Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism and the Medical Discovery Team on the Biology of Aging at the University of Minnesota.

Companies like Life Biosciences and Unity Biotechnology are currently developing drugs called senolytics to contain and destroy only the "bad" senescent cells in your body. Some experimental drugs may even prevent cells from becoming senescent in the first place.

But so far, no one has figured out how to completely prevent or eliminate harmful senescent cells.

By age 60, the human body  in particular the immune system  has a harder time clearing out harmful senescent cells, which can lead to a build-up that triggers tissue damage and failure, Robbins said.

One major cause of cellular senescence is damage to your DNA, which has helped spark another area of research that led to a Nobel Prize in 2009: telomeres.

Telomeres help estimate your biological age

Telomeres protect your DNA from damage, which can lead to the effects of aging. But over time, they lose their protective abilities. FancyTapis / Getty Images

Some argue that biological age  how old your cells and tissues are  is a better predictor of your lifespan than your chronological age, or how many years you've been alive.

A common way scientists estimate biological age is to measure the telomeres in certain immune cells.

Telomeres are protective caps at the end of your DNA. They're made up of strings of molecules called base pairs. As you age, those base pairs disappear, shortening your telomeres. And shorter telomeres leave DNA more vulnerable to damage and the effects of aging.

When you are born, the telomeres in certain immune cells, called leukocytes, can have between 7,000 and 11,600 base pairs. Once that size shrinks to 5,000 base pairs, you're at high risk of imminent death, a recent study found.

But other research has found that some people who live to be over 100 actually experience telomeres that get longer each year, not shorter. This has led some scientists to research ways to mimic this telomere recovery process in younger individuals.

For example, Aviv Clinics ran a study examining how 35 older adults responded to hyperbaric oxygen therapy, in which you rest in a chamber with high air pressure and oxygen levels. They managed to increase telomere length in participants' leukocyte cells after 30 daily HBOT sessions.

But most telomeres stopped growing after the 30th session, and scientists don't know yet how long the treatment effects might last.

DNA methylation is linked to several age-related diseases

Treating or preventing age-related diseases is one of the keys to unlocking longer, healthier lives. Skye Gould/Insider

Another contributor to DNA damage and cellular senescence is DNA methylation  when molecules called methyl groups attach to certain sections of your genes to manage their behavior.

Depending on the location, the methyl groups may block genes from activating or enhance gene activity where necessary.

In general, DNA methylation decreases as you get older, which may allow the wrong genes to activate.

Research has linked methylation decline to several age-related conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, cardiovascular disease, and cancer  though it's worth noting not all methylation changes are bad.

Similar to telomeres, DNA methylation is another way scientists can measure your biological age to help predict your life expectancy. For example, you may have celebrated your 55th birthday, but after years of smoking, your cells may have a level of methylation usually seen in 60-year-olds, thus potentially shortening your lifespan.

Traditionally, DNA methylation tests have used blood, but companies like Elysium Health and research projects like GrimAge have recently developed saliva tests, as well.

People whose methylation age is at least 5 years greater than their chronological age have a 16% higher mortality risk, research has found, meaning they are more likely to die from any cause than their same-age peers.

Mitochondria and free radicals are some of the biggest obstacles to longevity

Free radicals lead to oxidative stress, which is linked to certain age-related diseases. FancyTapis / Getty Images

Last but not least, some of the biggest limiters of the human lifespan are the tiny, bean-shaped mitochondria in your cells. These microscopic structures generate most of a cell's energy, which is vital to survival, but also creates byproducts called free radicals.

Free radicals are basically unstable atoms that bounce around and hurt parts of your cell, leading to damage called oxidative stress. Over time, oxidative stress accumulates, causing age-related diseases like Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, and cancer.

Biotech companies like Altos Labs are working on a way to prevent these diseases by rejuvenating cells and undoing the damage that oxidative stress can cause. The company hopes that by resetting cells to a healthier, younger state, it could boost longevity.

The quest for longevity has no single solution

For every mechanism that contributes to aging, there are groups of people working to understand and possibly reverse those processes.

But it's important to note that the aging puzzle has no single solution.

"All of these things that go wrong with aging are linked," Robbins said.

For example, telomere shortening can lead to DNA damage, which in turn disrupts your mitochondria. The free radicals from your mitochondria can in turn damage more of your telomeres and DNA. All these processes mutually influence one another.

No one aging mechanism is more important than the others. That's why all anti-aging research, no matter how niche, is a connected part of humanity's larger goal: to stay alive as long as we can.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Hundreds of students and staff members at Staley High School in Kansas City, Missouri, walked out to support Ralph Yarl on Tuesday morning. The unity walk occurred at Yarls high school a day after his release from the hospital, reported KSHB.

Hundreds of students and members of the staff at Staley High School in Kansas City, Missouri, walked out in support of Ralph Yarl on Tuesday morning. The unity walk took place at Yarls high school a day after his release from the hospital, reported KSHB.

Last Friday, the 16-year-old was shot twice by a white homeowner as he rang the wrong doorbell to pick up his two younger brothers.

Around 1500 students walked out, which is the majority of the schools student body, said a school official. Students circled around the campus while chanting We love you Ralph and Justice for Ralph.

I was out here to support my friend Ralph through this time he is going through today, Maddox, Ralphs friend and a junior at Staley, told KSHB.

Students wore blue, Yarls favorite color and the schools spirit wear, according to the news station. Eliana, one of Yarls classmates since they were in the sixth grade, told KSHB that she loves how knowledgeable Yarl is about music.

I love getting to talk to him about the clarinet, about reeds and music in general, she said.

Students raised posters made in support of Yarl.

We stand with you, we support you and know that were going to be here for you, Cayla, a senior who helped organize the walkout, said.

The students received the support of school officials and Kansas Citys mayor Quinton Lucas.

This display of unity is intended to support Ralph in his recovery and have a positive impact on the community, Susan Hiland, a spokesperson for North Kansas City Public Schools, told KSHB.

Proud today to stand with the Staley High School Black Student Union and the entire student body who marched in unity today to support their classmate, Ralph Yarl. Our young people will change this world for the better. pic.twitter.com/UOFx6fHhmW  Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) April 18, 2023

Yarl is set to recover from his gunshot wounds, according to Dr. Faith Spoonmore, his aunt.

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This was not an error; this was a hate crime, she said, as previously reported by Blavity. You dont shoot a child in the head because he rang your doorbell. The fact that the police said it was an error is why America is the way it is.

Andrew Lester, the man who is accused of shooting Yarl, was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action on Monday. The next day, he surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center and posted bond in the afternoon, according to The Independent.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Yarl family, said they were angry the police only held Lester for two hours, when they legally could have held him for 24.

If they would have held him for 24 hours, they would have held him long enough to get the statement from the kid with a bullet in his brain, Merritt told The Independent. They got the statement the very next day.

Kahlil Greene, a TikToker who creates content about American history, noted how the shooting is another example of systemic violence against people of color. He put Lesters age, who is 84, into perspective by showing how old the man was during landmark events in American history  his goal being to show how close some historical events really are.
Proud Boys members Zachary Rehl and Ethan Nordean walk toward the U.S. Capitol in support of President Donald Trump on Jan. 6, 2021. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Zachary Rehl, president of the Philadelphia chapter of the Proud Boys, became the first member of the far-right group to testify in his own defense on seditious conspiracy charges for his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot.

Under questioning from his defense lawyer, Carmen Hernandez, in a federal courtroom in Washington, D.C., Rehl told Judge Timothy Kelly and jurors that there was not a singular reason that led him to join the group.

He told the court that many members of the Proud Boys had formerly served in the U.S. military and that the militia served as a brotherhood of guys who looked after one another. We go to protest, get our voice heard. We go party all night, he testified about the social atmosphere in the militia.

But Rehl, during several days of testimony that ended Tuesday, denied the governments central claim against him and four other members of the Proud Boys: that he helped organize the violence in Washington, D.C., on Jan. 6, 2021.

Never did it cross my mind to attack the Capitol, Rehl, who acknowledged using the nickname Captain Trump on social media, testified. Nor did he ever hear co-defendants Ethan Nordean and Joseph Biggs discuss a possible attack on the U.S. Capitol, he said.

Rehl, 37, insisted that when he marched with other Proud Boys from the Washington Monument to the Capitol, he was acting patriotically. But he also told the court that he now accepts that what ultimately unfolded, all the violence, was a disgrace  and I think that ultimately it didnt do any good.

Ive been on many, many protests, he testified. I thought it was a protest. Thats why I went there. When I left, thats what it was.

In this Jan. 6, 2021, photo, Proud Boy members Joseph Biggs, left, and Ethan Nordean, right with megaphone, walk toward the U.S. Capitol in Washington, in support of President Donald Trump. (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

He said that once Congress validated Joe Bidens victory over Donald Trump in the 2020 election, he accepted Biden as Trumps legitimate successor. I wanted the legal process played out, he told the court.

During the course of a lengthy cross-examination, however, federal prosecutor Erik Kenerson produced text messages and other evidence that raised significant questions about Rehls real loyalties and feelings about what happened on Jan. 6.

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A Jan. 4 chat  cited by Kenerson that was circulated to Rehl and other Proud Boys by group leaders and insiders who called themselves the Ministry of Self-Defense  was headed ACAB, an abbreviation for All Cops Are Bastards, a translation Rehl did not challenge.

Kenerson also presented a text message Rehl sent to his mother at 2:48 p.m. on the afternoon of Jan. 6 that read: "They just broke open all the doors and windows and people are pouring in....seems like our raid of the capitol set off a chain of reactions across the country. i'm so proud"

In response to being shown that message, Rehl said that he was proud of the turnout and that our raid was a reference to the large group of people that showed up.

Text messages that Rehl sent to a group of fellow Philadelphia Proud Boys on Jan. 7  the day after the Capitol riot  were also introduced by prosecutors.

We shoulda held the capitol. After trump conceding today, it all seemed like a waste, Rehl wrote to fellow Philadelphia Proud Boys in one of them.

In another group message from Jan. 7, he wrote, The reason why it feels like a waste is because instead of all these politicians getting scared and realizing they need to answer for this fraud, they are all turning on Trump and cucking. They are doubling down on their actions. Everyone shoulda showed up armed and took the country back the right wayAnd f*** you fbi, yeah Im mad.

The jury was also shown a Jan. 8 message written by Rehl. They deserve to be tarred and feathered. These cops turning on us are also what they call turncoats. Just saying, it read.

On the witness stand, Rehl told the prosecutor that this was shoulda, coulda, woulda talk, a characterization he repeated several times, and that in practice he was committed to pursuing politics the legal way.

Under questioning, Rehl confirmed to the jury that he had entered the Capitol, smoked a cigarette inside an office and watched other protesters smoking marijuana in the building. Prosecutors do not allege that he engaged in vandalism or violence.

Rioters, including Dominic Pezzola, center, with police shield, are confronted by Capitol police officers outside the Senate chamber inside the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP)

During cross-examination, the prosecutor also spent some time showing jurors pictures of the protest mob on Capitol steps, with one protester apparently aiming some kind of wide liquid spray at police. Kenerson directly asked Rehl whether he was the person spraying the officers, and Rehl demurred, saying he could not be sure.

"I don't agree with what happened that day. I didn't want to associate myself with that, Rehl again insisted under redirect from his lawyer. But he also acknowledged that at the time it didnt look bad to me.

"At the time, I didn't think I did anything wrong," Rehl continued, adding that he definitely now regretted going into the building. "I truly apologize ... I literally went there to protest. I thought that was going to be another protest and after I left I thought that's all it was."

Dominic Pezzola, a former U.S. Marine and flooring contractor from Rochester, N.Y., who is also charged in the case, took the witness stand late Tuesday in his own defense.

In his initial remarks, Pezzola insisted that there was "no conspiracy and that none ever existed" in regard to the attack on the Capitol. He said he was testifying to take responsibility for having been "caught up in all the craziness. ... I basically trespassed in all the breaches." He acknowledged grabbing a police officer's shield during the riot but added that he fell backward and "let go. Someone else grabbed the shield from the police officer, Pezzola testified, and he later grabbed it from them.

Pezzola, who was photographed smashing windows with a shield, admitted that he broke "one pane of glass" at the Capitol but insisted that the damage was less than $1,000. He said he gave the shield back to the Capitol police and stayed in the building for only 23 minutes.

He said he believed the purpose of the Proud Boys was the protection of Trump supporters including old people.

The trial of all five current Proud Boy defendants  who also include the groups alleged leader, Enrique Tarrio as well as Nordean, a former protein powder salesman, and Biggs, a former U.S. Army sergeant  is expected to go to the jury next week, though the proceedings have regularly been disrupted by unexpected delays.
The author at age 13 in Mexico City during a 1990 trip to visit Christian churches there. Around the same age, he traveled to Chile with an organization called Teen Mania to perform street drama and seek converts to Christianity. (Jon Ward)

In this excerpt from his new memoir, Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation, Yahoo News reporter Jon Ward recounts his involvement with a Christian youth organization that sent him abroad.

An early morning mist lay low on the ground as I climbed up into a clutch of rocks about 6 feet high. I sat down, opened my Bible, and began to read in the Psalms: Keep me safe, my God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing (16:12).

I sat silent, pondering these words, praying them silently in my mind. Birdsong echoed in the distance, from the direction of the lake a few hundred yards to my right. Over my left shoulder stood a mountain cloaked in fog and cloud. It was 1992. I was 15 years old, in a foreign country, with a bunch of strangers, and far from home, without any friends or family. As I read the Psalms, I felt a nearness, a realness. Was this God? It must be. I worked the words over in my mind, and I felt comforted, strengthened, reassured.

I walked back to the low-slung buildings in the compound where I was staying, an hour outside Santiago, the capital of Chile. I went to my bunk and began to change into a clown costume, made out of nylon and all the colors of the rainbow. Then I applied white makeup to my face, drawing a red circle around one eye and more colorful makeup around my mouth. I didnt have much time to eat, so I grabbed some bread and scrambled eggs, then hopped on a charter bus filled with teenagers who were dressed up as pirates, sailors, and mimes.

Id been raised the son of a pastor in an influential megachurch in the D.C. suburbs, and I wouldnt fully embrace my faith until college. But my trip to South America was memorable in part because of the way it transported me physically to another continent, while keeping me locked tight inside the cultural bubble of conservative evangelicalism. It was a closed system that it would later take me years to emerge from and understand.

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We were in Chile because of a guy named Ron Luce, whose most distinguishing characteristic was his aggressive mullet. Luce was a thirty-year-old hype man who had founded an organization named Teen Mania. He would travel the country, holding events called Acquire the Fire, at which he told teens that they could join the epic battle against evil by traveling to foreign countries to spread the Christian faith. Luce talked a lot about Christians call to wage war against the enemy. Maybe he meant demons. Maybe he meant real people. It was never quite clear.

We are ready to take back what the enemy has stolen. I want to know, is there anyone here who is ready to run to the battle?! Luce once yelled out to thousands of teenagers. He promised a real encounter with God, which teens would experience with the help of bands, pyrotechnics, media, and drama.

Luce had a simple growth plan, which explains how I came to be involved. He promoted his conferences to youth pastors at churches in each city where he was traveling, asking them to promote Acquire the Fire to other churches so that their teens would get fired up for Christ. Musicians led the audience in loud worship music before Luce came on stage and told us how we were at war with darkness and with demons. We could fight that darkness by winning converts but also by resisting the corruption of popular culture. He encouraged us to go on what Christians call mission tripswhich was why I was in Chile for a full month. Id typed up a fundraising letter asking for donations from friends and relatives and had raised a few thousand dollars to pay my way.

In Chile, every weekday morning we would drive somewhere different, get out of the bus, set up some speakers, and do street drama. We had a few smaller skits with one or two characters designed to build a crowd, and then wed do our main event. The sailors were the good guys, the pirates were the bad guys. I guess my character the clown was there for comedic filler. And then there were a Jesus character and a Satan character. It was a gospel presentation featuring predictably bad teenage acting, with narration prerecorded in Spanish. After we were done, we were supposed to go out into the audience and pray with any onlookers who hadnt moved on quickly. The goal was to get them to recite a prayer. Then they would be saved from damnation, and wed be on to the next location.

I cant say I enjoyed proselytizing much. It seemed rather transactional and superficial. But the opportunity to see another part of the world was hard to pass up. When I was getting ready to board the plane for Chile, my dad hugged me and said goodbye, and when I turned to depart, he was tearing up. It was the first time Id seen him cry. We headed to Miami first to get organized and trained. The vans took us from the airport to the Doral Resort, full of manicured lawns and palm trees. Im still not sure how Luce justified that kind of expense, but maybe it helps explain why Teen Mania would later go bankrupt. We had revival meetings and met the folks wed be traveling with. There were teenagers from all over the country. Most of the people leading the groups to each country were quite young themselves, usually couples in their early twenties.

Luces worldview centered on the idea that America had been a Christian nation and could be once again. We traveled overseas believing that because we lived in the most dominant superpower on earth, we had spiritual resources that people in other countries didnt have. These trips werent intended for learning about other cultures or for gaining understanding about the world. They were intended to export our particular brand of American Christianity.

When we got back from our trips, the battle for our own country was still raging. There was nothing that got leaders like Luce more worked up than the idea that America needed to turn back to God. He didnt mean that we needed to renew our commitments to serving the poor and working toward healing and wellness in our neighborhoods and communities. He meant mostly that teens should stop having sex and watching R-rated movies, that abortion should be illegal, and that gay people should not be accepted members of society. Sex was a big deal in this world, and everything was always an emergency. Gay marriage was seen by many as the tip of the spear for those who wanted to destroy Christianity and America.

Several years after my trip, Luce began holding Battle Cry events, which were like Acquire the Fire, only more overtly political and apocalyptic. Christianity may not survive, read his promotional materials. He bought the east Texas compound that had been owned by Keith Greens ministry and started a training school called Honor Academy. In 2008, he got involved in the political battle over Proposition 8 in California, which banned gay marriage in the state and was overturned in court. And his events became more militant. He told the teenagers at the Battle Cry events that they were in a war, he brought members of the military to speak, he incorporated red flags as a major motif, and he mixed that all up with the stuff hed done in the past: rock music, fireworks, and lots of hype.

Christians were embattled, put upon, even persecuted, and the answer was to fight a culture war for a religion based on a God-man who had in his own life on earth taught his followers to turn the other cheek and to be poor in spirit (Matt. 5:3). Teens were whipped up into a frenzy. After the culture war rhetoric came the personal appeals for individuals to repent of their own sins and turn back to God themselves. Luce urged teens to stand, one by one, and scream out performatively, I want the cross!

One pastor who attended said Luce and his followers mistake adrenaline for the Holy Spirit and were looking for an emotional high. Jeff Sharlet, a journalist who wrote about Luce for Rolling Stone, saw something darker: Ron Luce isnt a fascist, but it is the aesthetic of fascism. It is designed to draw very stark lines and to dehumanize those who are on the other side. He had a different opinion of the kids hed met at Luces rallies. These are some of the gentler and kinder kids Ive met. They dont want to be in a war, but thats all theyre being offered.

Luce was similar to another leader at the church where I grew up  Covenant Life Church in Gaithersburg, Md.  in its early days: Lou Engle. Engles voice was perpetually hoarse because whenever he got up in front of people, he would shout himself silly: praying, exhorting, praising, and preaching. He also had the odd and unnerving habit of rocking back and forth when he prayed, front to back, back to front. He didnt sway. There was nothing relaxed about him. He was like a metronome on speed.

Engle and another pastor named Che Ahn were big Holy Spirit guys, or charismatics. This was different from the head pastor, C. J. Mahaney, who over time became more of a theology guy. Maybe the most important contrast between C. J. and Engle was in how they engaged with the world outside the church bubble. C. J. was more of a quietist and a retreatist. He didnt want anything to do with politics. C. J. wanted to talk about the Bible in his sermons, and anything that wasnt explicitly in the Bible he mostly left alone. The only exception was sports, which he did love to talk about. So this was the direction he took Covenant Life Church in, along with the organization he and others founded to oversee all the other churches they were starting around the country. The name of that group changed a few times. At first it was People of Destiny International, and that was kind of in line with how Engle and Ahn thought of themselves.

These leaders wanted a muscular faith that didnt shrink back from a fight. They wanted a dramatic faith too, full of spectacle. They were all big personalities, which they used to compensate for their lack of training, expertise, and experience. Faith, for them, was not the act of extending ones self beyond the realm of what could be known to trust in what one hoped could be true. They had more certainty than anything. Christianity was true, no questions asked.

For them, faith was a belief that they could call down miracles from heaven to heal the sick or predict the future or change world events. Leaders like Engle and Ahn didnt come across as charlatans. They were very sincere. But early on in their lives, they got locked into a particular type of faith ministry, and they built audiences and followings based on that brand and that kind of faith. At that point, their livelihoods and incomes became dependent on catering to those same types of Christians. Personal evolution or growth became constrained by their business model.

Critical thought, to these charismatic leaders, was an unhealthy questioning of God, and that got in the way of impact. So they sometimes implied that too many questions were a sinful reflex, or Satans handiwork, which could keep a Christian from claiming their rightful place in Gods army. My dad wasnt like that. He didnt emphasize Bible verses about how to overcome any problem with a powerful faith. Instead, Dads instruction was a lot of wisdom in the Proverbs, pouring out ones soul to God in the Psalms, and a focus on being slow to speak, slow to become angry, and quick to listen  like the apostle James said.

Dad had been working on his masters thesis, an extended meditation on C. S. Lewis, when he took the job as a pastor. He never finished the degree. But that was way more schooling than pretty much anyone else in the leadership ranks had. C. J. was a college dropout. Nobody came in with substantial theological or pastoral training. They were all making things up on the fly. At the time, they thought this was a good thing, because it helped them think creatively and outside the box. By the mid-1980s, Ahn and Engle had left Covenant Life Church to start a church in California. C. J. was firmly in control in Maryland.

None of the charismatic guys were as involved in the abortion issue as my dad, who led protests outside abortion clinics. But over time, they would become much more political, while C. J. retreated further into the church bubble.

Talk of demons seemed normal to anyone who had read one of the most popular evangelical books of that time. Frank Perettis This Present Darkness came out in 1986, and I read it around the time I went to Chile with Teen Mania. Its the fictional story of a small American town that becomes the battleground for a showdown between angels and demons. The forces of darkness work their wiles in the community through a New Age group called the Universal Consciousness Society.

This Present Darkness, which sold around 2.5 million copies, contains many archetypes that continue to shape the consciousness of many American evangelicals to this day. Millions of Christians came to believe, based almost solely on one guys imagination, that every action they took was part of a cosmic battle with life-or-death consequences.

In the story, there is a web of conspiracies between the New Age group, a corporation, professors at the local college, and law enforcement. And all of them are being influenced or controlled by demons. Transcendental meditation is portrayed as a gateway to demonic influence, building on the distrust of that practice among many evangelicals, which extended to yoga and psychology. The resistance to this conspiracy is led by the pastor of a tiny church. (If the idea of a satanic cult threatening Christians sounds familiar, thats because the QAnon conspiracy theory contains a similar story line.) Perettis books riveted me and shaped my view of the spirit world for a long time.

A few years later, in 1995, the first of the Left Behind books was released. Ultimately, there were sixteen, with more for children, all of them set in a post-apocalyptic world. Then the movies came out, starting in 2000. All of them told the story of what some believe will happen: faithful Christians will disappear suddenly from the earth in a rapture event, and those left behind will have to live through a tribulation period that will culminate in an epic battle between the forces of light and darkness, followed by the return of King Jesus. In theological circles, this is known as premillennialism, premillennial eschatology, or premillennial dispensationalism.

I never read the Left Behind books or watched the movies. I didnt need to because Id seen older films that followed the same plot. In 1993, my parents sent me to a Baptist-run high school for tenth grade. I spent the next three years at Montrose Christian School in Rockville, Maryland. We had a regular Bible class in which I was treated to the end-of-the-world films A Thief in the Night and its follow up, A Distant Thunder. The story follows a woman who finds her husband gone, raptured into heaven, while she has been left behind. She must survive the tribulation and avoid being given the mark of the beast, which is a term found in the book of Revelation (16:2). The mark is being distributed by a one-world government set up by the United Nations. Those who resist are killed. Most memorable by far, they are executed by guillotine. I watched tearful Christians being hauled to their deaths by UN soldiers in blue helmets. The production values were low, but the message was clear: follow Jesus now, because if you get left behind, youll be hunted by the one-world government and the forces of the antichrist.

Revelation is recognized by most Bible scholars to be a book of metaphorical imagery, not a literal description of future events. Nonetheless, millions of Christians have chosen to read it as a road map for the future. Many saw the books and movies as one of the producers did: as a true story that just hasnt happened yet. The books sold as many copies as the Hunger Games series.

My teenage brain was of two minds about all this. I thought much of it was silly, but I also was surrounded by people who believed it and so these ideas were swimming around in my brain when I left for South America. The ideas functioned more as archetypes and myths, shaping the imaginations of many evangelicals like myself. The metanarrative about the evils of a one-world government is a long-standing trope among conspiracy theorists that goes back over a century and overlaps with some of the most dominant strains of anti-Semitism. But this fear of a New World Order  to use one particular label thats often bandied about  is seeded through evangelical culture and then makes millions of religious Americans suspicious of any efforts by its government to cooperate with other nations. It is a powerful force for isolationism and antimodernism. Its why such seemingly innocuous labels like globalist can be wielded with such potency among many on the political right.

Growing up, I was so ensconced in my church bubble that I didnt see the connections between our private beliefs and the real-world impacts that resulted from them. I was actively, aggressively encouraged to stay in my bubble and not to question anything about it.

Jon Ward. (Lawrence Jackson)

This excerpt is from Jon Ward's "Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation," published by Brazos Press, a division of Baker Publishing Group. Used by permission. April 19, 2023.
The city of Kuna had big plans for its east urban renewal district.

City officials planned to have a large industrial park near the 960,000-square-foot data center being built by Meta, the technology company that owns Facebook. The industrial park would be connected to a new Meta-built water and wastewater treatment plant.

When Kuna negotiated with Meta over its $800 million data center, Meta agreed to build a water and wastewater treatment location in east Kuna to accommodate its water needs. To help spur growth in the area, Kuna developed an urban renewal district in that area to collect tax dollars from Meta, which would then be used to build more connections to the water treatment plant for other businesses in east Kuna to use.

Now, Kuna is back to the drawing board, after Gov. Brad Little signed a bill that prohibits Meta tax dollars from going to an urban renewal district and redirects that money to the Ada County tax base. The new law starves the urban renewal district of revenue and puts the industrial park in jeopardy, forcing the city to find another way to fund the water and wastewater treatment connections in east Kuna.

Proponents of the law said it will bring relief to Kuna residents, saving taxpayers nearly 5% in property taxes, according to the citys economic development director. But opponents said without Metas property tax dollars, the citys urban renewal district cant afford to build the water and sewer lines to attract industrial businesses to the area.

A city council in Idaho can create an urban renewal district with a vote after a public hearing. The council then selects a board to oversee the urban renewal district. The districts were designed to improve blighted areas of a city, but cities in the Treasure Valley  including Boise, Meridian and Nampa  have often used the districts to spur growth in more rural areas.

Once a district is established, the county stops collecting property taxes for all of its existing taxing jurisdictions for 20 years. The revenue produced from any increase in property valuations over the districts lifespan instead pays for public infrastructure like roads and pathways, sanitation services and recreation features.

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Bill would essentially kill Kuna urban renewal

If (this bill) becomes law, it will essentially kill our urban renewal east district, said Kuna Mayor Joe Stear, to a legislative committee in March. This project is the kickstart to our industrial zone. (Meta is) providing the wastewater treatment facility thats needed to begin industrial development, with no reimbursement from us.

Kuna Mayor Joe Stear has seen significant growth in his city which is a bedroom community of Boise.

Brian Frost, a developer with Star Acre Property, told the same committee that he wouldnt be able to build his planned industrial park in east Kuna without urban renewal, the Idaho Statesman previously reported.

Im ready to go. Im ready to move forward, but I cant do it without urban renewal, Frost said.

Morgan Treasure, economic development director for Kuna, told the Statesman in a phone interview that the plan for the district was all based around Metas agreement to fund the treatment plant.

The bills sponsor, Rep. Jeff Ehlers, R-Meridian, said the goal is to provide taxpayers with property tax relief. In 2020, the Legislature passed a sales tax exemption to encourage data centers to come to Idaho. Ehlers said by adding Meta to an urban renewal district, taxpayers are not getting the sales tax relief or property tax relief from Meta.

The statement of purpose of the 2020 bill, provided to the Statesman, said data centers significantly add to the property tax base wherever they are built.

After the bill passed, Kuna developed the urban renewal district.

That takes this data center and puts it into the urban renewal district instead of going to the taxpayer base, Ehlers said.

What are the property tax savings?

Rep. John Gannon, D-Boise, co-sponsored the urban renewal bill. In a phone interview, he said the Idaho State Tax Commission estimated that the result of the law is a 1% reduction in property taxes for all Ada County taxpayers.

It is about everybody paying their fair share, Gannon said. Hewlett Packard isnt paying property tax, Micron has a cap at $400 million, the airport doesnt pay property taxes. This is all affecting everybodys property tax in various taxing districts. We need to have fair taxing policies.

Treasure said the average homeowner savings for Kuna taxpayers would be less than 5% after all of the other taxing districts  including Ada County, school districts and fire districts  take their cut of tax dollars.

Meta is paying property taxes, regardless of whether it is in an urban renewal district The law changes how its tax dollars can be used.

House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, spoke in favor of the bill during a hearing.

That data center has been a good player, he said. They are putting in the water, they are putting in the water treatment plant, all without an urban renewal district. The urban renewal district is subsidizing somebody coming into the property later.

Idaho House Speaker Mike Moyle, R-Star, smiles at friends in the gallery while waiting for Gov. Brad Littles annual State of the State address, Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, at the Capitol in Boise.

Treasure doesnt know every impact the law will have on Kuna and Meta, but she said she believes there could be unintended consequences.

She also said the city was surprised by the bill and the lack of fact-finding legislators did ahead of passing it. When city officials held a public hearing on the urban renewal district, they did not hear any opposition from residents, she said.

One of the arguments we made when we were opposing this bill was the retroactive nature of it, she said. It will have impacts beyond just the property tax savings.

Boise, Kuna opposed proposals for this 3,000-home community. Ada County just approved it

Excluding Meta data center from Kuna urban renewal is penny-wise, pound-foolish | Opinion
Billions in U.S. foreign aid for Afghan civilians may be heading instead directly to the coffers of Taliban leaders thanks to poor oversight of the money, a government watchdog warned lawmakers on Wednesday.

As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban, John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, told members of the House Oversight Committee. Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, the Afghan people.

The comments highlight more potentially disastrous fallout nearly two years after the Biden administrations chaotic withdrawal of all U.S. military forces from the country. Republicans have sought to make that departure  which included the evacuations of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees but also the deaths of 13 service members in the final days of military operations there  a political liability for President Joe Biden, accusing him of abandoning allies and handing over the country to Taliban extremists.

White House releases after-action reviews on Afghanistan withdrawal

Democratic committee members laid blame for the collapse of the democratic Afghan government on former President Donald Trump, who negotiated a withdrawal plan with Taliban leaders before Bidens election. Both sides traded partisan barbs throughout Wednesdays hearing.

But Sopko and other inspectors general testifying before lawmakers indicated that regardless who is blamed, problems with U.S. involvement in the region remain.

Administration officials have allotted more than $8 billion in foreign humanitarian aid to Afghan groups and charities since the August 2021 withdrawal. But Sopko said State Department officials have not been able to track large portions of those payouts, and cannot assert that the money is reaching the individuals for whom it is intended.

I am not opposed to humanitarian assistance, Sopko told lawmakers. But if the purpose is to help the Afghan people, we have to have effective oversight to ensure that the money goes to them and not the Taliban.

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I havent seen a starving Taliban fighter on TV. I see a lot of starving Afghan children on TV, Sopko said. So, Im wondering where all this funding is going.

Similarly, Diana Shaw  acting inspector general for the State Department  testified that her office is monitoring more than 152,000 Special Immigrant Visa applicants still trapped in Afghanistan, facing years of bureaucratic red tape.

She said a failure to help those allies has the potential to impact success or failure in other important future contexts, including Ukraine.

Plan to boost visas for Afghan allies isnt enough, advocates warn

Both Sopko and Shaw said administration officials have been reluctant or opposed to their offices efforts to continue oversight into the Afghanistan issues. Lawmakers found some bipartisan ground on that topic, saying the administration needs to be more transparent on ongoing involvement there.

The Pentagon and the State Department did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Earlier this month, the White House released its long-promised analysis of the military withdrawal from Afghanistan, saying that Bidens decisions on troop movements were severely constrained by conditions created by his predecessor  President Trump but also that the administration remains committed to supporting significant humanitarian assistance there.
By Mike Scarcella

(Reuters) - A U.S. appeals court on Tuesday said it will accelerate reviewing Illumina Inc's challenge to a federal agency order requiring the biotechnology company to divest cancer diagnostic test maker Grail LLC.

The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals issued its ruling over the objection of the Federal Trade Commission. The agency said Illumina had not shown why the appeals court needed to speed up its consideration of the antitrust dispute.

San Diego-based Illumina, which specializes in gene sequencing, is appealing an April 3 FTC order that said the company's $7.1 billion acquisition of Grail will curb competition in the cancer-testing market. Illumina has denied the allegations.

The accelerated pace of the litigation could impose a burden on the FTC. The agency argued to the 5th Circuit that an expedited schedule would be "highly prejudicial" to it based on what it called the "number and complexity" of the issues Illumina intends to raise.

In a court filing, attorneys for Illumina argued expedited review will "enable the possibility of earlier access to a life-saving screening test and eliminate unnecessary roadblocks in the fight against cancer."

An FTC spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A representative from Illumina declined to comment.

The FTC in 2021 sued Illumina over its bid for Grail, a former subsidiary of the company. Illumina completed the deal that year amid the FTC challenge and another from European Union regulators.

The U.S. agency contended Illumina's acquisition will harm innovation and cause prices to rise. Grail uses Illumina's DNA sequencing to make a blood test to detect cancers, the FTC said.

An administrative law judge ruled against the FTC last year in what was the first time the agency's in-house court had dismissed an FTC merger challenge. The agency appealed the decision to FTC leadership and won a divestiture order.

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In the EU, Illumina is fighting an order requiring divestiture of Grail. The European Commission last December ordered Illumina to reverse its takeover.

The case is Illumina Inc and Grail Inc v. Federal Trade Commission, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, No. 23-60167.

For Illumina: David Marriott and Christine Varney of Cravath, Swaine & Moore

For Grail: Michael Egge, Marguerite Sullivan and Al Pfeiffer of Latham & Watkins

For FTC: Matthew Hoffman of FTC

Read more:

US FTC orders Illumina to divest cancer detection test maker Grail

US judge backs Illumina deal for Grail in blow to FTC

Sidley, DLA Piper lobby for Illumina against FTC merger challenge
China plans to build a supercomputing internet by the end of 2025 to connect powerful computers across the nation and effectively tap into their joint computing power to promote innovation and socioeconomic growth, China Daily reported Wednesday.

It quoted a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology at a work meeting and said that after decades of efforts, China's supercomputing sector is among global front-runners, effectively supporting the nation's science and technology innovation, social development and digital economy.

However, with the rise of big data, artificial intelligence and a new generation of information technology, society needs more computing power than ever, the statement said, adding that the purpose of the supercomputing internet is to organize local computing centers into a more coordinated system on a national scale.

The newspaper said the endeavor will allow China to overcome key issues such as an uneven distribution of computing capacity, a lack of standardization in computing ports and a lack of incentives for creating and adopting domestically developed application software.

Also it is expected to support China's efforts in making breakthroughs in science and engineering, and in fulfilling the digital China strategy.

The report further quoted Li Guojie, a computer scientist and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as saying that by building an integrated and efficient supercomputing internet, China can improve its application shortcomings and make supercomputers more accessible to the general public.

Sun Ninghui, another computer scientist and Chinese Academy of Engineering academician, told the newspaper that supercomputers are foundational digital infrastructure that can spur technological revolutions. Therefore, it is imperative that China reduces the cost of accessing such computing power and lowers the entry barriers for programing on these machines.
UPDATE: The 26-year-old inmate has been arrested and returned to jail, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office.

The original story is below.

A 26-year-old man pretended to be his cellmate to get out of a Washington jail, deputies said.

Now authorities are searching for the man after he was wrongly released from the Cowlitz County Corrections Department on Monday, April 17, the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office said in a Facebook post.

Before he fled from the jail, corrections officers were looking for his cellmate to let him know he was going to be released that day, deputies said.

But all three cellmates were sleeping when the officers went to the cell with the news. Instead, the man answered for his cellmate and went with the corrections officer to be processed out of jail, deputies said.

He was given the other inmates belongings, including his clothing, keys, wallet, debit card and ID, deputies said. Hes also accused of signing paperwork pretending to be the inmate, forging his name, deputies said.

Jail staff didnt realize the wrong inmate had been released until the correct man asked about his release. Workers said the two men had similar physical features, deputies said.

Now authorities are searching for him.

He left the jail wearing a blue sweatshirt, a black shirt, gray sweatpants and brown slippers.

A warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of second-degree escape, first-degree criminal impersonation, forgery, and second-degree and third-degree theft.

Fugitive hides from cops in attic  until he falls through ceiling, Florida police say

Convicted murderer vanishes from facility, setting off manhunt, Georgia authorities say

Man eaten alive by bed bugs and insects dies in Georgia jail, family attorney says
Tarrant County leaders are beginning talks about stepping away from a courts software program that has been in the works for 12 years.

A representative from TechShare the came to Tuesdays Commissioners Court meeting to give updates on the long awaited TechShare.Courts program, software designed to handle documents.

While the conversation did not provide many answers, county leaders appeared to move toward the same page about possible next steps after being divided.

County Judge Tim OHare said county leaders are at a point where they need to determine if it was time to cut its losses.

Taxpayers have spent $26.6 million on TechShare.Courts since 2011. County leaders have yet to get it off the ground.

That price tag continues to climb. County commissioners put another $515,000 toward the program on March 7, but costs may reach up to $6.3 million. Renee Tidwell, the county auditor, said Tuesday there were an additional $3 million in invoices that had not been paid for TechShare.Courts.

If TechShare.Courts does not go live by its planned May 1 launch date and county leaders continue to try to get it off the ground, even more money will be sunk into the program. A contract extension for another month with the main frame provider costs $150,000 and other costs could add another $150,000, county administrator G.K. Maenius said.

John Dahill, executive director of TechShare, gave a lengthy rundown of TechShares history across the state before he faced a barrage of questions from the commissioners over the course of nearly an hour.

TechShare.Courts has a long and complicated statewide history. Tarrant County originally signed on with Travis and Dallas counties to develop software through TechShare that they could sell to other counties.

Travis left the program in 2016 after spending $3.3 million. Dallas backed out after spending $35 million.

Reviews of TechShare.Courts source code, including one commissioned by Dallas County, found issues with the program. One analysis from the Texas Conference of Urban Counties suggested rewriting the code.

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Bumps in the road have kept Tarrant County leaders pushing back the launch date. A vendor bankruptcy and county officials discovering the program did not work hindered the programs launch, which was supposed to happen October 2022.

That date was pushed to New Years. Then the end of January. County officials discussed launching the program April 1 before settling on May 1.

Dahill told the commissioners that the program will have flaws, but they wont be anythging that cant be resolved. Commissioner Roy Brooks said he was tired of hearing excuses.

May 1 is your drop dead date, Brooks said.

I get it, Dahill responded.

Commissioner Alisa Simmons said she appreciated learning the history, but she was extremely concerned about the courts program.

If you look at your history that we have on that page, we have been developing courts since 2011, Simmons said. And this is 2023.

Neither county administrators nor Dahill could immediately answer Simmons questions about the the original quote and budget. Maenius said the county could get Simmons those numbers, and Simmons told him her staff had asked and still had not received them.

Did you originally have a project kickoff to discuss a timeline? Simmons asked.

Absolutely, Dahill responded.

OK, and I bet it did not project out to 2023, Simmons said, to which Dahill responded, I bet it didnt.

County leaders and Dahill also did not have an answer to Simmons question on what the original date to go live was.

I believe that this rollout, this May 1 rollout, is premature, Simmons said. I think youre only doing it because a commissioner is asking questions ... Im very afraid that we may implement something that, it just fails.

County Clerk Mary Louise Nicholson told Simmons that with her 20 years of experience, she would not roll out a program that would damage the court system.

Weve been with the software, we helped develop it, Nicholson said. Should we be in the software business? I dont know. But your predecessors put us in that business, and were doing the best we can and I believe were going go live May 1.

District Clerk Tom Wilder told the commissioners another 400 processes were still open with the program.

Can we make May 1? Wilder said. It will be tight. Were very, very close.

Wilder said he agreed with Simmons, and said if the program crashed the criminal justice system, it would be a disaster of major proportions.

Brooks clarified that his push for the May 1 launch date did not mean he wanted the county to launch an unfinished program.

We have extended the go-live date several times, and each time we have extended the go-live date, we have extended the life of the mainframe, Brooks said. Nobody is going to shut down that mainframe until there is something competent to replace it. It aint going to happen, and we are not going to crash the criminal justice system in Tarrant County.

Simmons said if she held a town hall and she explained her consituents how much money the county had spent on an unlaunched program, she didnt think she would would stand a chance at re-election.

This is insane, she said. This is not fiscally responsible. This is just throwing money at something and it just doesnt work.

Commissioner Manny Ramirez said what he disagreed with most is that the county started a nonprofit that operated outside the county using taxpayer dollars.

He asked leaders what the cost would be to get out of the project and if anyone was exploring it.

If we were to let TechShare compete for our business, instead of us looking at it as the sunk cost fallacy, weve thrown so much money into this that we might as well keep on going, Ramirez said. Thats not the way to look at it.

Ramirez said that if the program does not launch May 1, theres zero reason to continue to believe that it will. He asked the other commissioners what their appetite was to start exploring getting out of TechShare.Courts if it doesnt work May 1.

OHare, the county judge, said that instead of blaming others for what has happened with TechShare.Courts, the county needed to come up with a solution. He suggested bringing the item back next meeting about what to do next with the courts program.

Dahill told OHare there was no business plan for TechShare and that there has never been one. OHare said the county attempting to run a private sector through the government was why it was in this position.

I think what we need to do is take a good, long, hard look at what we want to do with this moving forward, OHare said, and said he wanted to know what products were on the market for civil court software programs.

Commissioners meet again May 2.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthys debt limit plans include a politically explosive proposal to raise the age limit for adults who must be working in order to receive federal food aid.

The controversial plans  which go beyond simply restoring previous work requirements, as McCarthy pitched to voters in a speech on Monday  are still being finalized. Its part of a broader effort by Republicans to rein in spending on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as food stamps, that expanded significantly during the Covid-19 pandemic, and it could result in millions of low-income adults losing their food assistance. Democrats are vehemently opposed to such measures, setting up a fraught negotiation with the Biden White House as fears over a possible U.S. default on its debt continue to rise.

Specifically, McCarthy is looking at raising the age limit for work requirements for so-called able-bodied adults without dependents who receive SNAP benefits  from 49 to 55 years old  according to the two House Republican lawmakers and two GOP aides, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal conversations. The move is a significant step beyond the Clinton-era work requirements House Republicans say theyre pushing to restore, and will trigger even wider backlash from Democrats.

McCarthy has made targeting these adults, who generally dont have children in their household, central to his efforts to shrink welfare programs as he tries to balance competing demands from various wings of the GOP caucus. Republicans who represent swing districts President Joe Biden won in 2020 are wary of going too far in tightening restrictions, prompting an outcry from some voters. At the other end of the party spectrum, conservatives are pushing McCarthy to pursue much stricter limits on SNAP and other federal assistance programs.

Given Republicans slim majority, McCarthy can only afford to lose four GOP votes in the House, leaving him and his team with very little room for error.



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The speaker and his allies have yet to share a final debt limit bill with fellow Republicans. A spokesperson for McCarthys team didnt respond to a request for comment about the plan.

Several members stood up during the House GOP Conference meeting Tuesday and called for McCarthy to go even further on his proposals to expand work requirements, according to two people in the room who were granted anonymity to discuss internal caucus matters.

Yeah, I don't think that's an appropriate conversation for this debt ceiling conversation at this point, said Republican Rep. Mike Garcia (Calif.), who represents a district Biden won.

Garcia said he supports McCarthys effort to expand work requirements for food assistance for able-bodied people of working age who can get a job.

Now, if once employed, you still fall into those demographics, whether it's age or whatever it is, and you're still needing assistance for food stamps, then I'm supportive of that as well, Garcia said.

The conversation has been not to impact those with dependents, and not certainly single moms, said Rep. Marc Molinaro (R-N.Y.), who represents a Biden district and is being targeted by Democrats in 2024. I just want to see what they're actually proposing.

Democrats, however, warn McCarthys proposed spending cuts in the debt limit talks would slash other key food aid  including programs with strong bipartisan support on Capitol Hill. More than one million low-income moms, babies and young children would lose access to baby formula and food benefits, while another million largely home-bound seniors would lose access to food through the meals on wheels program, according to the Biden administration.

Senate Republicans have been generally skeptical of the House GOP effort to shrink food aid via the debt limit talks. And, as McCarthy and House GOP leaders try to push for a final vote before the end of the month, some key GOP members like moderate Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) are starting to suggest Republicans could drop the SNAP plans from the debt limit bill, and leave it for upcoming negotiations on the farm bill.

Ill let the speaker and the chairman wrestle with that, Bacon said, referring to House Agriculture Chair G.T. Thompson (R-Pa.). Thompson agreed that hed rather the fight over SNAP work requirements be left to the farm bill. But I dont have control over the debt ceiling, he added.

Republican leaders are looking to reassure vulnerable members about the scope of their SNAP proposal. Senior Republicans have been telling members that work requirements for able-bodied adults without young children at home are popular in swing states, pointing to a non-binding ballot initiative in Wisconsin that advised the state legislature to require "able-bodied, childless adults to look for work in order to receive taxpayer-funded welfare benefits." The measure passed with 80 percent approval.

This is popular with the American people, said Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), a top McCarthy ally. Its smart policy that reduces debt and has a long term effect on our workforce and economy.

Senate Democrats, however, firmly rejected talk of new SNAP restrictions on Tuesday, arguing what the House GOP describes as targeted measures will still hit millions of vulnerable people.

Lets be clear, this is a non-starter, said Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.).

Stabenow, a member of Democratic leadership and the chair of the Agriculture Committee that oversees SNAP, noted in a brief interview that theres already stringent work requirements in place for the program, set to return in July after a pandemic pause, including the able-bodied group.

Frankly, I don't think they understand that, said Stabenow. And we're certainly not gonna tie it to whether or not we default.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack recently told House Agriculture members who oversee SNAP that the able-bodied group of low-income Americans without dependents receiving assistance is mostly male and mostly homeless, including homeless veterans. People who have just aged out of foster care are also in the group. This population of SNAP recipients tends to have lower education levels, as well.

Vilsack also highlighted recent research that shows tightening work requirements didnt impact the earnings or employment opportunities for recipients. So in other words, you can talk about restraining that, but its not going to do what you think its going to do, Vilsack told lawmakers.

As a former governor of Iowa, he also argued the move would ultimately hamstring governors ability to respond to disasters and other crises  since current SNAP exemptions are designed to help provide food to the most vulnerable low-income Americans in areas with high unemployment. Republicans argue Democratic governors exploit that exemption.

Molinaro said Tuesday he also wants blue states, like New York, to make sure those [SNAP] dollars get to the people who are most vulnerable.

Asked whom he considers the most vulnerable, Molinaro replied: That's a great question.

Let me see what they're proposing and then I'll take a look at it.
House and Senate lawmakers have passed competing bills to cut property taxes as they seek to reach a deal to lower Iowans' tax load and rein in spending growth.

Iowans have seen skyrocketing home assessments this year as the value of their property has rapidly increased, and the Republican proposals are seeking to make sure those higher assessments don't result in spiking tax bills for homeowners.

More: Huge property tax reassessments  some increasing by $100K or more  are hitting Iowa homeowners

Both bills received nearly universal support in their chambers, indicating a bipartisan interest in lowering property tax bills.

But neither the House nor Senate version is likely to become law in its current form. Republicans in both chambers are still seeking to find a compromise.

Here's what each property tax proposal would do:

Senate proposal would consolidate city levies and limit spending growth

The Senate's wide-ranging property tax cut bill would limit how much local governments can spend and provide new property tax exemptions for seniors and veterans.

The Senate voted 48-1 Wednesday to pass Senate File 569. Sen. Herman Quirmbach, D-Ames, was the lone no vote. Sen. Cindy Winckler, D-Davenport, was absent.

The Senate bill would consolidate several individual tax levies for cities into each city's general services levy, which is capped at $8.10 per $1,000 in taxable value. Some individual levies would be eliminated and others would remain uncapped.

For counties, the county general services levy is capped at $3.50 per $1,000 in taxable value and the county rural services levy is $3.95 per $1,000.

Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, said too many local governments are spending beyond what should be their maximum levy, causing Iowans' property taxes to go up.

"We have to defend the Iowa taxpayer out here because this system is broken and it needs reform," Dawson said. "And I wouldnt ask my colleagues to put an extra dollar in that barrel until we fix this levy system."

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The bill contains a mechanism intended to reduce spending by cities and counties and bring them back within the general levy maximum, thereby lowering property taxes.

If cities or counties are spending beyond their maximum levy rate, their budget would be limited to 3.25% growth year over year. If the government's spending is less than the maximum, its budget could grow by 2.5%.

Consolidating levies for cities and counties will result in $45 million in property tax relief statewide, according to a news release from Senate Republicans.

The Senate bill also provides an additional $6,500 homestead property tax exemption for Iowans 65 and older. And it more than doubles a property tax exemption for veterans by increasing it to $4,000 in taxable value beginning in 2024.

Those two changes will result in $57 million in property tax relief, according to the news release.

Sen. Pam Jochum, D-Dubuque, said Democrats also want to streamline the state's complicated property tax system and make it more transparent, while making sure that the state is providing services to taxpayers.

"We want to continue working with you across the aisle because every one of us  every one of us  cares about this tax system and wants to make it work better," Jochum said.

The Senate bill also eliminates a school infrastructure levy called the Public Education and Recreation Levy, or PERL, which is used by 29 school districts around the state to pay for things like playground equipment, after-school programming and adult education.

House passes separate property tax cut that would lower school levy, cap tax bills' growth

House lawmakers are moving forward with their own property tax bill, which takes a different approach from the Senate.

The House voted 93-1 Wednesday to pass House File 718. Rep. Michael Bergan, R-Dorcester, was the lone no vote.

More: Iowa House proposes a $200 million property tax cut and a 3% cap on your bill's growth

Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, R-Wilton, the floor manager of the House bill, said lawmakers are listening to everyday Iowans who are concerned about their bills.

"We have heard you," he said. "We have heard you as you stated that property taxes are easily the most unpopular tax that exists. We have heard you that your bills and your valuations have exploded in growth. We have heard you when youve had to say that youve had to make decisions on whether to pay your property tax bill or other equally important bills."

The House proposal would provide a roughly $200 million property tax cut statewide by lowering the $5.40 school foundation property tax levy to $4.40 per $1,000 of taxable valuation. The state would pick up the cost of the property tax reduction.

The legislation would also limit the amount that Iowans' individual property tax bills can increase by 3% per year for homes and agricultural properties, and 8% per year for commercial and industrial properties.

Newly constructed buildings or homes that undergo renovations such as redoing the kitchen or adding a new room would see an increase in their tax bill that is equal to the additional value of the property, for that year only. In future years, that property's tax bill would again be subject to the cap.

The bill would also contain new requirements for transparency in property tax bills and would require bond elections to be held at the same time as general elections.

House Democrats said the bill will help ease the tax burden on middle-class Iowans.

"Weve had many failed tax policies over the last 13 years, policies that did not help our everyday Iowans," said Rep. Dave Jacoby, D-Coralville. "This, I believe helps everyday Iowans and Democrats are happy to see that our ideals are being met in this bill."

Stephen Gruber-Miller covers the Iowa Statehouse and politics for the Register. He can be reached by email at sgrubermil@registermedia.com or by phone at 515-284-8169. Follow him on Twitter at @sgrubermiller.

This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Iowa House and Senate pass different bills to cut property taxes
Iowa Republicans worked into Tuesday morning to pass a law loosening the states child labour restrictions.

The Iowa Senate ultimately passed the bill, SB 542, by a tally of 32-17. All the chambers Democrats voted against the bill, as did two Republicans.

The rest of the GOP caucus voted to support the bill, which allows children as young as 14 to work six-hour night shifts, as young as 15 to work in plants on assembly lines, and as young as 16 to serve alcohol, even though children that young cannot legally drink themselves.

Iowa is not the only Republican-led state that has moved to relax its child labour laws in recent weeks. Arkansas was the first state to roll back child labour protections in March, repealing a requirement that 14 and 15-year-olds receive a document issued by the director of the Division of Labor and the consent of their parent or guardian.

The relaxation of child labour laws comes as new reporting documented the extent to which migrant children were working in the US, which The New York Times called a crisis.

Opponents of relaxing child labour laws see the legislation in states like Iowa as a step backward after generations of strengthening child labour protections, a sign that states are bowing the pressures of capital rather than looking out for the best interests of kids.

Supporters, meanwhile, see the laws as providing more opportunities for children who want them. Senator Adrian Dickey, a Republican, said the Iowa law is providing protections to our youth.

Democrats in the chamber disagreed.

I wouldnt want my granddaughter serving alcohol or getting an exception to do hazardous work in the name of workplace learning, senator Janice Weinter said in comments reported by WHO13. A workplace accident can happen in the blink of an eye. It takes mere seconds for a red iron beam to fall. Iowans should not be putting our kids, and they are kids, in dangerous situations.
The US Supreme Court rejected Wednesday the claim of sovereign immunity by a Turkish bank accused of violating Iran sanctions, in a case that has added tensions to ties between Washington and Ankara.

Halkbank was hit with US criminal charges in 2019 that it took part in a yearlong scheme to launder billions of dollars worth of Iranian oil and natural gas proceeds, violating sanctions on Iran.

The funds were used to buy gold and the transactions were disguised as food and medicine purchases in order to fall under a humanitarian exemption to the sanctions, according to court documents.

As part of the scheme, Halkbank allegedly used front companies to funnel $20 billion to Iran, including $1 billion through the US financial system, the US Justice Department said.

The United States charged the bank with six counts of fraud, money laundering, and sanctions offenses, calling it one of the most serious sanctions-breaking cases it has seen.

Halkbank claimed that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which protects foreign leaders and governments from lawsuits in the United States, extends to state-owned businesses.

But the Supreme Court said that the act focuses on civil actions and does not provide immunity from criminal acts.

"The act says not a word about criminal proceedings against foreign states or their instrumentalities," wrote Justice Brett Kavanaugh in the ruling.

The case has come at a particularly testy time for relations between the United States and Turkey, a NATO ally that nevertheless frequently tests Western views, including on defense and Middle Eastern politics.

Turkey's cooperation with the United States and NATO over Russia's invasion of Ukraine has also been crucial.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has repeatedly rejected the allegations facing Halkbank, insisting that Turkey did not violate the US embargo on Iran.

He blamed his political rivals for fomenting the case.

Multiple individuals have already been found guilty in the case, including Mehmet Hakan Atilla, a deputy director general of the bank, who was convicted in 2018.

Atilla was jailed for a year and then released in 2019, and was greeted as a hero upon his return to Turkey.

pmh/bfm
One by one, members of Iraq's minority Yazidi community light oil lamps to mark their New Year at a sacred shrine, but for Omar Sinan the celebration cannot erase the atrocities of jihadist rule.

In 2014, the Islamic State (IS) group swept across swathes of Iraq, carrying out horrific violence against the Kurdish-speaking community whose non-Muslim faith the extremists considered heretical.

IS massacred thousands of men and abducted thousands of women and girls as sex slaves.

Tuesday night as the sun set over the Lalish stone shrine in northern Iraq, Yazidis began lighting oil lamps, 365 of them, one for each day of the year.

Hundreds came to mark the Yazidi New Year -- which to the faithful commemorates the creation of the universe by angels and celebrates nature and fertility.

Six years after Iraq declared victory over IS, the Yazidis came to Lalish barefoot and dressed in white.

The men wore embroidered vests over their shirts while women donned traditional head coverings, featuring gold coins.

"Before, this was a time for celebration and our joy was immense. But today... we cannot forget what we have been through," said Sinan, attending the celebration with his children.

The Yazidis follow an ancient religion that emerged in Iran more than 4,000 years ago and is rooted in Zoroastrianism. Over time it incorporated elements of Islam and Christianity.

The community was persecuted for years, including under Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.

- 'For eternity' -

When IS invaded Iraq in August 2014, one of their targets was Sinjar, the Yazidis' historic home on the Nineveh Plain, in a remote corner of the country's north.

"Ever since the genocide, there is sadness in our hearts. It won't go away," said Sinan, a 37-year-old mathematics teacher.

"This sadness will live in us for eternity."

During the New Year celebration, Yazidis pay their respects at the graves of relatives, and those who can afford it slaughter a sheep and offer some of the meat to the poor.

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Iraq's federal government in Baghdad has dedicated the first Wednesday of April as a holiday for the Yazidi community.

Before IS marched into their villages in 2014, there were 550,000 Yazidis nationwide out of a worldwide total of 1.5 million, including in neighbouring countries and the diaspora.

But after the massacres and the abductions, nearly 100,000 fled abroad, according to the United Nations. Most went to Europe, Australia and Canada to try to build new lives.

Arabic-language teacher Faleh Jomaa, 60, was among those who decided to stay in Iraq with his wife and three children, unlike his four brothers and their families who emigrated to Germany.

"The Yazidi community has suffered 74 genocides over time but it rises again each time, like plants from the depth of the Earth," he said.

In January, Germany's parliament recognised the 2014 massacre of Yazidi by IS as a "genocide", following similar moves by parliaments in Australia, Belgium and the Netherlands.

- Displaced -

On Tuesday, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani said "political and security measures" have yet to be adopted to allow displaced Yazidis to return to Sinjar.

In March, his government allocated $38.5 million to rebuild Sinjar and villages in the Nineveh Plain.

According to the UN migration agency, IOM, more than 200,000 Yazidis who survived IS brutality are still displaced living in and outside camps across Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region.

"The needs of displaced persons and returnees in Sinjar remain high," the IOM said in a report in January, noting a "lack of adequate shelter and basic services... including running water, electricity, health care and education".

IS jihadists "destroyed around 80 percent of public infrastructure and 70 percent of civilian homes in Sinjar City and surrounding areas," it added.

Khawla Abdou, who fled with her husband and eight daughters to Germany, chose to return home this year to mark the New Year in Lalish.

"We came to pray to God on this sacred day so that he could free our daughters who are still held by the enemy," the 67-year-old said.

"May God hear our prayers and free our daughters. We cannot forget them and we will never forget what happened in Sinjar."

According to the IOM, more than 2,700 Yazidis are still missing, some held by jihadists.

kt/tgg/gde/hkb/noc/it
BAGHDAD (AP)  There are places around Baghdad where Ill sometimes say a silent prayer for the dead when I pass  on certain residential streets, at a particular restaurant, in a square where minibuses gather.

Today, people go about their daily business in these places, perhaps no longer thinking of the horror that took place years ago right where they are walking. For me, each site has become indelibly linked to the carnage I saw and the pain people suffered there.

As an Associated Press photographer, I covered 20 years of turmoil since the U.S.-led invasion of my country. At the height of the sectarian butchery following the invasion, I and other photographers rushed to the scenes of suicide bombings, rocket strikes and shootings around Baghdad nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

Iraqis today remember the pervasive fear of that era, but with so many bombings, the specifics of individual attacks may have faded. This series of composites joins some of my photos from the years of the U.S. occupation and new ones from today, aiming to bring together past and present. Here are the stories behind a few of them.

SADRIYAH INTERSECTION

In this large intersection jammed with minibuses loading up passengers, a car bomb ripped through the crowds on April 18, 2007, killing at least 140 in what was then one of the deadliest single bombings since the U.S. invasion.

When it went off, I was at the site of that morning's first bombing, which had killed dozens, and as the firefighters rushed to the second blast, I hitched a ride with them. We were among the first on the scene at Sadriyah. The stench of burned flesh filled my nostrils. Blackened bodies were strewn among twisted, smoldering minibuses. Survivors loaded pieces of human beings onto wooden vegetable pushcarts to take away.

The next day when I went back, I saw the girl. She was with her mother, searching among the remaining debris and body parts. The mothers feet were bare, covered in ash. She smeared ashes on her face as she screamed for her missing husband: Ahmed, where did you go? I cant do it without you. Your daughters need you.

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I saw the look of silent terror in the eyes of the girl as she trailed her mother, holding her little sister and absorbing the scene. I took her picture.

I went back to Sadriyah several weeks ago. The minibuses blared their horns, and people thronged a nearby street market. I relived that day 16 years ago like I was watching it in a cinema. Those closest to a bomb seem to evaporate without a trace, I thought. This intersection was their last resting place.

CAMP SARA

This Baghdad district got its name from a wealthy Armenian Christian woman who once owned the area when it was farmland. As Armenians fled oppression in Turkey and elsewhere in the early 20th century, she let refugees settle on her land, and by the 1950s, it was built up as an almost entirely Christian neighborhood.

On Oct. 4, 2006, two car bombs went off within minutes of each a few dozen meters apart on a main commercial street of the district. All along a block of the avenue, buildings were shattered, blackened, a few collapsed almost completely. At least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded. Some young men carried a frail elderly woman on a chair to safety. Others used tarps to carry pieces of bodies. Everyone was running either away from danger or toward loved ones to see if they were alive.

You have no God, a resident named Dureid shouted in his shock as if the militants behind the blast were there to listen. You are not Muslims. Arent these Iraqis? What is their crime?

The explosion was only one of many by Sunni Muslim extremists that hit Christian areas over the years. Camp Sara was once one of the nicest parts of Baghdad, with good restaurants and a different vibe from the rest of the city. Today, the buildings are cleaned up, but the street looks the same, down to the electricity poles that havent moved.

Still, everything has changed. Most of Camp Saras Christians have been driven away by violence. Dureid has moved to another part of Baghdad; a man in a striped shirt who stood next to him in my photo is in the United States. Camp Sara has become like any other part of Baghdad, its distinctiveness another victim of that bloody time.

KARRADAH

It was Army Day, Jan 6, 2008, marking the founding of the Iraqi army, and a little celebration was being held on a street in Karradah, a middle-class area of Baghdad. I was one of several media cameramen there as residents came out to cheer for soldiers. The doorman from one of the houses, Abu Adel, put a flower into the barrel of one soldiers rifle and kissed him on the cheeks. The next instant, a suicide bomber unleashed his blast.

Only a few yards away, I was thrown to the ground, wrenching my back, but kept taking pictures. The celebration had been transformed into mayhem, with scorched cars and buildings and the torn bodies of 11 dead. Among the dead was Abu Adel.

I went back to the site a few weeks ago. Its once again a quiet street with its villas and houses. As I took pictures, a doorman from one of the houses approached me. His name was Ali Ahmed. I asked him if he had been here that day and showed him my old photos of the explosion.

Ahmed started to weep. I should have died that day, he said. He had been about to go with Abu Adel to put a flower in the soldiers rifle, but first had to deal with a broken generator. There were only seconds between me and death, he said. We found him in the background of one of my photos, behind some bloodied soldiers. I took a new picture of him in the same spot: his older self stepping back into his younger self.

I too nearly died that day. At other times, I felt I was only inches from death, seeing those who by chance were on the wrong side of that thin line. I tell myself God kept me here for my children and my wife. Every day I have with them is a gift.

A place can be bonded to an emotion, like when a couple revisits all the sites where they first fell in love.

Sometimes, that emotion is horror.

___

Follow Associated Press photographers and photo editors on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AP_Images and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/apnews.
If youre one of the roughly 14,600 Kansans that didnt file their tax returns for 2019, you still have time.

Theres about $14.7 million in refunds the Internal Revenue Service has not returned to Kansans for the 2019 tax year, according to a release from the agency earlier this month. Thats part of $1.5 billion nationwide.

Usually if people dont file tax returns within three years, the refunds become property of the U.S. Treasury, but 2019s deadline was extended due to the coronavirus pandemic. That gives filers until July 17, 2023, to file those late returns and get their refunds.

The 2019 tax returns came due during the pandemic, and many people may have overlooked or forgotten about these refunds, IRS Commissioner Danny Werfel stated in the release. We frequently see students, part-time workers and others with little income overlook filing a tax return and never realize they may be owed a refund. We encourage people to review their records and start gathering records now, so they dont run the risk of missing the July deadline.

The median potential refund in Kansas is $913, according to the IRS release.

How to file your 2019 federal tax return

You can use online filing companies like TurboTax and H&R Block to file taxes from previous years.

If you dont have the documents you need to file, you can ask your employer or bank for the year youre filing to provide them.

If you are unable to get the proper documents, the IRS recommends using the online income transcript through their website. You can also request a transcript by filling out the 4596-T form, which you can find on the IRS website.
Reza Pahlavi, the son of Iran's last shah, called Wednesday during a visit to Israel for "maximum" international backing for the protest movement that rocked the Islamic republic following Mahsa Amini's death.

"I'm... here to explore how can we cooperate in helping the Iranian people in their campaign for freedom," Pahlavi said at a news conference in Tel Aviv alongside Israeli Intelligence Minister Gila Gamliel.

Pahlavi, who lives in the United States, represents one of the many components of Iran's foreign-based opposition but has failed to gain unanimity among the diaspora.

His father was overthrown during the 1979 Islamic revolution, which transformed Israeli-Iranian ties from a close alliance under the shah to bitter rivalry nowadays.

Iranian authorities have accused Israel and other foes of the Islamic republic of fomenting the unrest that followed Amini's death in custody in September after her arrest for an alleged breach of strict dress rules for women.

Pahlavi argued "international support" is key for the protest movement to succeed in "putting an end to the existing regime".

"Parallel to... a campaign of maximum pressure" of sanctions against Tehran, "I've been calling... for a campaign of maximum support" for the Iranian people, Pahlavi said.

He argued such backing would give ordinary Iranians "the right tools to overcome the challenges they have, facing the regime that... has been extremely brutal and repressive".

Hundreds of people were killed, including dozens of security personnel, and thousands were arrested in connection with the protests, which Iranian officials labelled "riots".

Pahlavi is accused by some of having failed to distance himself from the authoritarian rule of his father, though he has insisted over the years he is not seeking a return to monarchy.

Asked about Pahlavi's visit to Iran's arch-enemy Israel, Nasser Kanani, spokesman for Tehran's foreign ministry, said: "The person you speak of is not worth talking about."

mj/sg/ami/it
Analysts of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) have analysed Putin's trip to the occupied territories of Luhansk and Kherson oblasts and indicated that he had several goals.

Source: ISW

Details: Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to portray himself as a wartime leader in anticipation of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive during his visit to occupied Kherson and Luhansk oblasts.

The Kremlin announced on 18 April that Putin visited the headquarters of the Russian Dnepr Group of Forces in Kherson Oblast and the Vostok National Guard headquarters in occupied Luhansk Oblast.

ISW noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Avdiivka frontline on 18 April, and it is possible the Kremlin deliberately released footage of Putins visit to overshadow Zelenskyys visit in the information space.

ISW suggested that Putins visit likely also intended to publicly identify potential scapegoats ahead of the planned Ukrainian counteroffensives.

ISW also noted that Putin, Kremlin sources, and milbloggers have been increasingly discussing the prospects for a Ukrainian counteroffensive, and it is likely that the Kremlin is preparing the domestic information space for either military failures or the defeat of the counteroffensive threat.

In addition, Putins demonstrative meetings with the leaders of his army likely confirm another change in military command and possibly within the Kremlins inner circle.

Putin may be attempting to balance Wagners influence by reappointing Colonel-General Alexander Lapin to command the Luhansk sector of the frontline.

ISW emphasised that select members of the "Club of Angry Patriots" [a Russian hardline nationalist social movement that criticises the current Russian government for half-measures and inability to win the war against Ukraine  ed.] are advocating for a revolution in Russia if the Kremlin freezes the war or pursues peace negotiations with Ukraine and the West.

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ISW Key Takeaways on 18 April:

Russian President Vladimir Putin continued to portray himself as a wartime leader in anticipation of a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive during his visit to occupied Kherson and Luhansk oblasts.

Select members of the "Club of Angry Patriots" are advocating for a revolution in Russia if the Kremlin freezes the war or pursue peace negotiations with Ukraine and the West.

Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu met to discuss on strategic partnership and military cooperation in Moscow on April 18.

The Russian State Duma approved a series of amendments to the Russian Criminal Code on April 18 aimed at encouraging domestic self-censorship and repressing the Russian public.

Russian authorities detained Russian public relations specialist Yaroslav Shirshikov, an associate of detained Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, in Yekaterinburg on April 18.

The Russian Immortal Regiment Central Headquarters announced the cancelation of the annual Immortal Regiment Victory Day march, likely in an effort to reduce public discussion of war dead.

Russian forces conducted limited ground attacks northeast of Kupyansk and along the Svatove-Kreminna line.

Russian forces continued to make gains in Bakhmut and conducted ground attacks along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line.

Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces continue defensive preparations in southern Ukraine.

The Kremlin continues efforts to integrate proxy formations with conventional Russian forces.

Russian occupation officials continue to deport Ukrainian civilians to Russia under healthcare and rehabilitation schemes.

Belarus may begin economically supporting Russian-occupied Donetsk Oblast with a patronage system.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Portofino has introduced "red zones" to prevent tourists from lingering in popular selfie hotspots.

The new ordinance aims to prevent dangerous overcrowding ahead of the peak tourist season.

Those who break the rules will face a fine of up to $300, per The Times of London.

A picturesque Italian town has introduced fines for tourists who linger in photography hotspots to take selfies.

The ordinance, which came into effect at the start of April, has introduced two "red zones" in busy parts of Portofino, on the Italian Riviera.

People who wait in these zones for "too long," perhaps to take photographs of themselves in front of the Ligurian season or iconic colorful buildings, will face a fine of up to 275 Euros ($300), The Times of London reported.

Insider contacted Portofino's tourism authority to find out what constitutes too long.

A spokesperson responded by forwarding Insider a copy of the ordinance, which it said would provide the answer, but it does not appear to specify an exact time.

Portofino, which was the backdrop to Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker's wedding in the summer of 2022, is a popular hotspot for selfie-taking. The hashtag #portofino has more than 1.2 million posts on Instagram.

The no-loitering rule, which does not only apply to those taking selfies, is part of a government effort to prevent overcrowding during the peak tourist season in busy parts of the touristic fishing village.

The tiny town has a population of under 500, but the ordinance said that Portofino expects a "large influx" of visitors to arrive in the coming months, based on previous visitor numbers, current bookings, and cruise ship schedules.

Portofino's mayor Matteo Viacava said in an interview with The Times of London that the ordinance's goal is to "avoid dangerous situations" caused by pedestrian traffic.

He said it will hopefully put an end to the "anarchic chaos" seen in those areas in the past.

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According to the ordinance, pedestrian congestion is an "obstacle" to emergency services being able to provide timely assistance. As such, the new rules will be in operation from the morning until 6 p.m. every day until October 15.

The mayor stressed that it was not designed to limit access to those wanting to visit and photograph Portofino.

"The objective is not to make the place more exclusive but to allow everyone to enjoy our beauty," he told The Times of London.

Read the original article on Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Italian officials hinted in private talks with Taiwan that they may be willing to pull out of a controversial pact with China as they sought to secure help with semiconductors, according to people familiar with the issue.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Officials from Romes industry ministry discussed plans to increase cooperation on the production and export of semiconductors during recent meetings in Taipei, said the people who asked not to be named as the talks are not public. The officials told their Taiwanese counterparts that Italy may scrap its participation in Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), a massive global infrastructure program.

A decision on the matter will have to be taken by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, who has not taken a final position, the people said.

EU Advances 43 Billion Plan to Make More Semiconductors

Italy is the only Group of Seven country that has signed up to Chinas BRI. Even though the memorandum of understanding has had little practical impact since it was signed by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte in early 2019, it has a highly symbolic value for Beijing at a time of mounting tensions with the US and allies. The agreement will be automatically renewed in 2024 unless Italy ditches it.

A spokesperson for the Italian industry ministry declined to comment.

The visit by senior officials shows Italy is willing to deepen diplomatic relations with Taiwan, a critical supplier of semiconductors and other high-tech goods. The island aims to open a second representative office in Italy, in Milan, according to local media reports.

Italys decision on the memorandum of understanding will be closely watched in Washington and other capitals, as a sign of Melonis capacity to turn her staunch pro-US rhetoric into facts.

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EU Balance

Meloni and officials from her far-right Brothers of Italy party have in the past criticized Chinas stance on Taiwan. But since taking office at the end of 2022 at the head of a right-wing coalition, Meloni has avoided public references to the matter, as the European Union struggles to balance security concerns with deep economic ties to China. Earlier this month, a group of lawmakers from Romes parliament scrapped a trip to Taipei at the last minute.

French President Emmanuel Macron sparked outrage among partners earlier this month by suggesting that the bloc should avoid being dragged into a dispute with Beijing by the US. Macron said after a visit to Beijing that the bloc shouldnt become a vassal in a US-China clash.

The case of tire maker Pirelli SpA offers the Rome government another opportunity to scale down economic ties with Beijing. Italian officials are studying ways to curtail the influence of Chinas Sinochem, Pirellis largest shareholder, Bloomberg reported earlier this month.

The supply of semiconductors is key for the EU and the US in order to reduce exposure to supply chain disruptions amid growing tensions with China. Italy is particularly dependent on the supply of semiconductors which are crucial for its automotive luxury industry.

--With assistance from Jenny Leonard.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Former Tory minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has criticised the governments mobile phone alert system. (Getty)

Former Tory cabinet minister Jacob Rees-Mogg has criticised the governments mobile phone alert system which is set to be tested on millions of devices this weekend.

Mobile phones across the UK will emit a loud alarm and vibrate at 3pm on Sunday as a test run.

The government has said the alerts could eventually be used to sound the alarm for terror attacks, nuclear threats and dangerous criminals on the loose.

But ex-business secretary Rees-Mogg is unhappy with the system and described it as "mollycoddling" and "part of the nanny state".

Read more: Emergency phone alert: Should people turn it off?

The emergency phone alert will take place at 3pm on Sunday, 23 April. (Gov.uk)

Rees-Mogg told his GB News show: If something is building up to a great disaster, are we to assume that people are so stupid that they havent paid any attention to whats been going on? And this seems to me to a mistaken role for the state to be taking.

It is back to the nanny state, warning us, telling us, mollycoddling us, when instead they should just let people get on with their lives and make sensible decisions for themselves.

"And really its an intrusive extension of the information that was used during COVID.

Read more: Emergency phone alert: How to turn off warning message to your mobile

A Whitehall source hit back at the criticism, pointing out that Rees-Mogg was a Cabinet Office minister when the policy was approved.

During a press conference on Monday, a Whitehall official said: At the moment our plans for this first pilot phase relate to severe weather and flooding, but we do expect the use of the system to broaden out.

This is about threats to life and limb and situations where specific advice can be issued.

Therefore, you can conceive that we could use this in an abduction situation, or where there was a dangerous criminal on the loose, or where we require the public to look for something for that reason.

Were going to be led by discussions with the police and other emergency services on this.

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If we were to move to the use of the system for this reason, we do so quite cautiously.

The government says the emergency phone alerts will help warn people about weather events like flooding. (PA)

Officials also noted car bombs and civil nuclear incidents as examples of crises that could trigger future alerts.

They added that while it would not be used for a marauding terror attack because it is difficult to give helpful advice in such a situation, there are other types of terrorist incidents where it might be relevant.

Several tests have already been run in communities of around 20,000 people in East Suffolk and Reading, Berkshire.

Some 5% of people tested in Reading opted out of the system after being part of the pilot, and there is an active community of opposition to it online, but overall the level of public support for this is incredibly high, according to Whitehall.

The government has also been working with charities, including those for domestic abuse victims, to ensure that the test alert will not adversely affect vulnerable people.
Jake Gyllenhaal. Gilbert Flores/Getty

Jake Gyllenhaal told Insider he's never cried watching one of his movies  until now.

His latest, the war movie "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant," broke that streak.

"This movie did when I saw it, which I was very surprised by," he told Insider.

Jake Gyllenhaal admits he usually doesn't get emotional when watching his movies, but that all changed when he saw his latest, "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant."

"I don't think I've ever watched a movie that I've been in and it's made me cry," Gyllenhaal told Insider. "This movie did when I saw it, which I was very surprised by."

In the movie, out Friday, Gyllenhaal plays an army sergeant who, during the war in Afghanistan, is rescued by his platoon's interpreter, Ahmed (Dar Salim), following a bloody firefight with the Taliban. Ahmed saves his life by dragging him to safety through the mountains for days on end.

Back home in the US, Gyllenhaal's character learns the interpreter and his family are still in Afghanistan hiding from the Taliban. Unable to get his superiors to extract him, Kinley returns to the country alone to repay his unspoken debt and get Ahmed out.

(L-R) Jake Gyllenhaal and Dar Salim in "Guy Ritchie's The Covenant." Christopher Raphael/MGM

Gyllenhaal, 42, is no stranger to working with heavy material. But he said by the time the movie's ending came around, he couldn't hold back his emotions.

"I can't really watch myself on screen, but the story here came through," the Oscar nominee said.

He also said that the movie's first big action scene, the firefight from which his character is rescued, also got him choked up.

"Guy tells a story, particularly through action, he really tells an emotional story," he said, referring to his director Guy Ritchie.

"It just reminded me what we are as Americans and world citizens," Gyllenhaal continued, explaining why this movie touched him unlike any other he's done over his 30-plus year career.

"Doing good is not without grudge or complications and a lot of complexity," he added. "This is a movie that says doing good is through action."

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This marks the first time Gyllenhaal has teamed with Ritchie, who is known for his action-packed tales like 2000's "Snatch" with Brad Pitt, "The Gentlemen" in 2019 starring Matthew McConaughey, and his most recent, "Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre" with Jason Statham.

"The Covenant" currently has an 80% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Read the original article on Insider
All eyes on Dimon.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon will be questioned under oath about the banks alleged complicity in the sex trafficking ring run by Jeffrey Epstein.



The deposition is tied to lawsuits alleging JPMorgan (and Deutsche Bank, the other bank where Epstein was a client after being dumped by the US bank), knowingly benefited from his illicit activitiesor, at the very least, cashed in by turning a blind eye to his crimes.

Read more

The USs largest bank faces two sets of plaintiffs from two separate suits filed in Manhattan federal court: One from women who claim that Epstein sexually abused them; and the other from the US Virgin Islands, the territory where the late financier owned a palatial villa on a private island and registered several businesses. Separately, JPMorgan is suing its former private banking chief, Jes Staley, for being hand-in-glove with Epstein while keeping the bank in the dark. Each of these parties will get a chance to question Dimon.

Dimons depositions, which will most likely happen in New York City, will not take place until next month, an unnamed source told CNBC.

Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail cell in August 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Women who accused Epstein of assaulting or abusing them, many of whom were minors at the time of the alleged crimes, wont see him stand trial in a criminal court. However, his $577 million estate can be sued in civil court.



Jamie Dimons upcoming deposition, by the digits

Two days: How long Jamie Dimon has been asked to put aside for questioning, US District Judge Jed Rakoff said at a Tuesday conference in Manhattan federal court.

Up to seven hours: Dimon can be questioned for a combined total of five hours by lawyers for the US Virgin Islands and an Epstein sexual abuse accuser. Separately, he can be deposed for up to two hours by lawyers for Jes Staley, former chief of investment banking at JPMorgan. Judge Rakoff said he could allow them to go on for longer, CNBC reported.

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15 years: Epstein was a JPMorgan client between 1998 and 2013.

18 years: Dimons tenure as JPMorgan CEO, starting in 2005.

Quotable: Did Jamie Dimon know about Jeffrey Epsteins sex trafficking venture?

Attorney Mimi Liu for the Virgin Islands during the March 16 hearing:

Jamie Dimon knew in 2008 that his billionaire client was a sex trafficker. If Staley is a rogue employee, why isnt Jamie Dimon? Staley knew, Dimon knew, JPMorgan Chase knew. Attorney Mimi Liu for the Virgin Islands during the March 16 hearing

JPMorgans statement in response to Dimons deposition:

The plaintiffs counsel know our CEO has no relevant knowledge, but persist with this media stunt. A review of more than two decades of emails and other documents makes it clear that he had no involvement with Epstein or his accounts. He does not recall ever meeting, speaking or communicating with him.JPMorgans statement in response to Dimons deposition.

A non-exhaustive timeline of Epsteins banking history

2006: The year a JPMorgan risk-management team flags Epstein routinely making cash withdrawals of $40,000 to $80,000 several times a month, totalling more than $750,000 a year. This was also the year by which JPMorgan was aware that Epstein was accused of paying cash to have underage girls and young women brought to his home, according to an April 12, 2023 court filing from the lawyers for the Virgin Islands, citing a deposition by Mary Callahan Erdoes, the former head of the banks asset and wealth management division.

2008: Epstein pleads guilty to a Florida state prostitution charge for soliciting for a underage girl. He stayed on as a JPMorgan client for five more years.

2013: JPMorgan terminates its relationship with Epstein, flagging that felons are considered high risk and require additional approval.

2013 to 2018: Epstein is a Deutsche Bank client. In 2020, the bank pays a $150 million fine from a New York regulator for allowing Epstein to make payments to Russian models and withdraw suspicious amounts of cash. Three years after that, a judge will approve a $26.3 million settlement in a lawsuit that accused the bank of misleading investors about how thoroughly it vetted clients, including Epstein and Russian tycoons.

Person of interest: Jes Staley

JPMorgan has consistently denied having any knowledge of Epsteins illicit activities. But the bank claims so of its executives knew about them: JPMorgan sued its former private banking chief, Jes Staley, over his ties to disgraced financier Epstein. JPMorgan says the former executive should cover some or all damages, as well as pay punitive damages for his intentional and outrageous conduct in hiding the facts from the bank. As a result of Staleys faithless service, the bank also wants Staley to give back all compensation$80 millionhe earned between 2006 and 2013.

Related stories

 JPMorgan is suing a former executive over his ties to Jeffrey Epstein

 Is it ever OK to take donations from people like Jeffrey Epstein?

 Jeffrey Epsteins money bought a coverup at the MIT Media Lab

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Click here to read the full article.
Representative Pramila Jayapal (D., Wash.) claimed Wednesday that the U.S. needs immigrants because they pick the food we eat and clean our homes.

The progressive congresswomans controversial comments came during a House Judiciary Committee markup of the Border Security and Enforcement Act of 2023. Jayapal spoke during the session in favor of creating a pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants currently living in the U.S.

Trumps policies, combined with his anti-immigrant rhetoric, made us less safe, less competitive in attracting the best and the brightest, and undermined our most basic human values of compassion and kindness, Jayapal said.

So lets all take a minute to recognize the hypocrisy of every anti-immigrant debate, she added. This country needs immigrants to survive. Immigrants pick the food we eat, rebuild our communities after climate disasters, help construct our infrastructure, power our small business economy, clean our homes, and look after the most precious in our families  our children and our elders.

 Jayapal using the tired old, "Who will clean our homes?" defense on illegal immigration. Limousine liberalism at its finest! #ampFW pic.twitter.com/LBMe4jrmxO  FreedomWorks (@FreedomWorks) April 19, 2023

She went on to say immigrants strengthen our economy, our food supply chain, and our ability to compete.

The markup of the Border Security and Enforcement Act comes one day after Senate Republicans demanded Department of Homeland Security secretary Alejandro Mayorkas resign or be impeached over his role in the border crisis.

You ought to resign, Senator Ron Johnson (R., Wis.) told Mayorkas during a hearing on Tuesday.

You should have resigned long ago and if you cannot change course, you should be removed from office, Senator Josh Hawley (R., M0.) said. Hawley laid into Mayorkas about a New York Times report from February that found unaccompanied migrant children are being forced to work manual labor jobs. Twelve-year-old roofers in Florida and Tennessee. Underage slaughterhouse workers in Delaware, Mississippi and North Carolina. Children sawing planks of wood on overnight shifts in South Dakota, the article read.

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The paper offered a follow-up report on Monday, claiming the Biden administration missed warning signs about the rise in migrant child labor as responsibility was passed back and forth between the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Labor Department.

On Monday, Customs and Border Protection announced there were 191,899 encounters along the southern border in March. That is a 14 percent drop from the year prior, but a 23 percent increase from the month prior. However, the rise from February to March follows a typical pattern of increased border crossings in spring and summer.

More from National Review
A New Jersey man was placed in the Allegheny County Jail, his bail denied, after police say he assaulted another man at a Monroeville hotel, knocking him unconscious and causing severe facial trauma.

Police said it was a love triangle that ended in violence between two hockey dads who were in town for a youth tournament.

Monroeville police say Vincent Serzan attacked the man who he told them had an affair with his wife.

Serzan, 46, is charged with aggravated assault, simple assault and recklessly endangering another person after an alleged incident Friday night at the DoubleTree Hotel on Mall Boulevard.

Monroeville police responded to the hotel around 11:30 p.m. for a report of a man lying on the side of the road, unconscious and bleeding.

Officers found a man lying next to the lobby doors unconscious with severe facial trauma, according to the complaint. One of the officers, who is also a paramedic, noted that the man was in critical condition. He was transported to a local hospital by ambulance and was placed on a ventilator and in a medically-induced coma. A doctor told officers every bone in his face was broken, according to the complaint.

Serzan was identified as the suspect by witnesses, according to court documents, and told officers he had an altercation with the victim, whom he said had an affair with his wife a few months ago. Serzan told officers the victim didnt know Serzan knew about the affair. Serzan said he asked the victim to go outside to talk and he snapped, according to court documents.

A witness told police she saw the victim on the ground and Serzan sat on top of him, and punched him seven to ten times, bounced his head on the ground, and maybe punched him a few more times.

Serzan told police he hit the victims one or two times when he was standing, then three to four more times when he went down.

The victims current condition is not known.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for next week.

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America's first couple didn't do too badly last year, earning $579,514, although this was a good chunk less than the previous year, according to Joe and Jill Biden's tax return, made public Tuesday.

Biden has restored a custom designed to demonstrate transparency at the White House, the most notable exception to the unwritten rule being his predecessor Donald Trump who consistently refused to release his annual income and tax report.

The president and first lady's joint return showed gross income of nearly $580,000 in 2022, which was $30,000 less than in the previous year's filing. Most of that income came from Biden's standard presidential salary of $400,000, which is set by Congress.

Jill Biden, who teaches at Northern Virginia Community College and is the first presidential spouse to continue an outside paid job, earned $82,335.

They paid a federal tax rate of 23.8 percent, a notch down from last year's 24.6 percent, resulting in $137,658 in federal income tax.

They also paid $29,023 in income tax in their home state of Delaware, while the first lady paid $3,139 in Virginia income tax.

Donating more than $20,000 to charities, their biggest contribution was $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a charity combating child abuse and named after their son, who died in 2015.

The White House said that Biden has now made public 25 years of his tax returns, "once again demonstrating his commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the commander-in-chief."

The Biden White House's tax transparency is in stark contrast to the Trump era.

The lifelong businessman refused both as a candidate and once in office to allow the public to see his tax return, a document detailing all sources and amounts of income, among other financial records.

When several years of his returns were finally made public after a legal battle waged by Democrats in Congress, it emerged Trump was paying almost no income tax, due to business losses.

Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff reported in their tax returns a gross income of $456,918 and paying $93,570 in federal income tax, as well as $17,612 in income tax in their home state of California.

sms/bgs
John Leguizamo in 2022. Rodin Eckenroth/FilmMagic

John Leguizamo revealed during a recent interview he tips waiters and valets with $100 bills.

"Come on, this ain't the '70s," Leguizamo joked. "You can't tip with $20 bills."

Leguizamo currently stars in the Prime Video series "The Power," with Toni Collette.

When it comes to tipping, John Leguizamo is as generous as they come.

The actor, who currently stars in the sci-fi series "The Power," revealed in an interview with "Good Morning America" on Wednesday that he regularly carries $100 bills around with him to tip waiters and valets.

"Come on, this ain't the '70s," Leguizamo quipped. "You can't tip with $20 bills. People are going to throw that back at you."

"You've got to give back," he continued. "If people are giving you their best service, and you don't tip them? Come on, who are you? I'm not a cheapskate."

During his chat with "Good Morning America," the actor also discussed "The Power," a TV series adapted from the 2016 novel of the same name. Leguizamo plays Dr. Rob Lopez on the show, in which women develop the mystical ability to shoot electricity from their bodies.

"Can you imagine a world where women take over?" Leguizamo said. "It'd be a great place. So that's what this series is. Teenaged girls develop an organ through evolution to protect themselves, and it gives them electricity  static shock for some girls, nuclear blasts for other girls  and men are afraid. It's a great, scary, powerful series."

Besides "The Power," Leguizamo guest hosted "The Daily Show" for a week in March. The actor's stint proved to be the second-largest average viewership since the comedy news program switched to featuring guest hosts late last year after full-time host Trevor Noah left the show, according to The Wrap.

"It was wild, because now you become head of this whole department of 30 writers, producers," Leguizamo explained. "You go in there, you tell them what news stories you care about, and they write to that. And then you get to shape the show. I got make the guests all Latinx guests. The topics, I could pick topics. It's incredible power and the best writers you've ever worked with."

Read the original article on Insider
Chinese vice premier meets COP28 president-designate

Xinhua) 08:24, April 19, 2023

Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber in Beijing, capital of China, April 18, 2023. (Xinhua/Yue Yuewei)

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang met with COP28 UAE President-Designate Sultan Al Jaber in Beijing on Tuesday.

Ding, also a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, said that China has made a solemn pledge to strive to peak carbon dioxide emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality before 2060, which shows China's active participation in global governance in response to climate change.

Ding said China will work actively and prudently toward the goals of reaching peak carbon emissions and carbon neutrality and continue to contribute to climate change response.

China hopes that the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will firmly uphold multilateralism, focus on implementation and send a positive signal to the international community of cooperation on climate change response through practical actions and promote the comprehensive and effective implementation of the Paris Agreement, Ding added.

Jaber said that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) highly appreciates China's leadership in addressing global challenges and China's achievement in green and low-carbon development.

He added that the UAE hopes to work with China to enhance communication and cooperation to jointly promote the success of the COP28 to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which will be held in Dubai, the UAE.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
A year ago, Lisa Hamblen started testing her Korean food concept with regular pop-ups at the Lenexa Public Market.

The response has been so positive shes opening Kimchi and Bap as a permanent stall.

I wanted to get a good understanding for the demand for Korean food. And it was really something I just wanted to share with people, she said. The pop-ups were good and the reception, too.

Rice bowls, bibimbap, japchae: A Korean pop-up is about to open in Johnson County

Customers have said her dishes remind them of what their parents made when they were growing up, or of trying Korean dishes while visiting or living in Korea.

Thats the highest compliment, she said this week. Then there are people who have never had it before. I hope they become more open to other cultural foods.

Her stall will be between African Dream Cuisine and Sohailas Kitchen.

The Kimchi and Bap menu

 Bibimbap: Bowl filled with rice and traditional bibimbap vegetables (zucchini, carrots, bracken, cucumbers, Korean radish, bellflower root, bean sprouts, spinach, and mushrooms) with an egg on top. Customers can add spicy bibimbap sauce (gochujang) and a choice of protein  marinated beef bulgogi, marinated spicy chicken bulgogi or crispy tofu. $16.

 Japchae: Sweet potato noodles mixed with spinach, orange and red peppers, mushrooms, carrots, onions and green onions. Includes rice and a choice of beef bulgogi, spicy chicken bulgogi or crispy tofu. $14.

 Rice bowls: White rice topped with beef bulgogi, spicy chicken bulgogi or crispy tofu. Tofu option comes with a soy garlic sauce on the side. This dish includes a side of kimchi. $12.

Hamblen also plans some seasonal dishes and what she calls Todays Snack, such as dumplings or kimchi fried rice.

She was just 19 months old when she was adopted from Korea by an Arizona couple  her father was in the U.S. Army and met her mother while in South Korea. She said some of her favorite memories growing up were cooking with her mother. She also picked up new recipes over the years.

The Lenexa Public Market is operated by the city of Lenexa. The 11,000-square-foot food hall is at 8750 Penrose Lane in the Lenexa City Center area, just west of Interstate 435.
Are you ready to experience the excitement of the TODAY broadcast LIVE in Rockefeller Center? Get your posters ready, and join us bright & early on the TODAY Plaza! Heres everything you need to know to join us on weekday mornings in New York City.

When

Weekday mornings

Arrive between 6:15am-6:30am

Festivities conclude by 9:00am

Where

Rockefeller Plaza

35 West 48th Street (Between 5th and 6th Avenues)

New York, NY 10112

Upcoming Events

May 12th  Jonas Brothers concert

For more information on how to attend upcoming concerts as part of the Citi Concert Series on TODAY, head to TODAY.com/Concerts.

Proof of vaccination is currently not required to visit the TODAY Plaza. In connection with your attendance, please be advised that TODAYs policies, CDC guidelines, and the recommendations of health officials must be followed. Please note that any public location where people are present provides an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19, and we cannot guarantee that any person will not be exposed during a visit.

Let us know you're coming

Fill out the form below to let us know youre coming to the show! Please note for the morning of your visit: the TODAY Plaza is first-come, first-served until it reaches capacity.

FAQs

What can I expect to see during my visit?

The TODAY Plaza is directly outside of Studio 1A  and dubbed our window on the world. Guests are able to peek inside to observe the live TODAY broadcast. Cameras will feature the Plaza audience throughout the show, and our TODAY anchors plan to make an appearance outside during the broadcast.

What COVID-19 protocols are in place?

Proof of vaccination is currently not required to visit the TODAY Plaza. In connection with your attendance, please be advised that TODAYs policies, CDC guidelines, and the recommendations of health officials must be followed. Please note that any public location where people are present provides an inherent risk of exposure to COVID-19, and we cannot guarantee that any person will not be exposed during a visit.

Story continues

What can/cant I bring?

All guests will go through a security checkpoint upon arrival. Guests are welcome to bring beverages and snacks. Large items, such as luggage, are not permitted. TODAY reserves the right to deny admission at any time, for any reason.

What if I need accessibility or an accommodation?

Guests with disabilities should proceed to the front of the check-in line, and let the TODAY Plaza staff or security of their accessibility needs. For more information on accessibility at Rockefeller Center, please visit Accessibility & Inclusion at Rockefeller Center.

Are there seats on the Plaza?

Our TODAY broadcast is standing room only, and chairs cannot be provided. Guests requiring special accommodations should proceed to the front of the check-in line and alert the TODAY Plaza staff or security of their needs.

Are there restrooms on the Plaza?

There are no restrooms on the plaza. Guests are advised to use the restrooms prior to arrival, but in case of emergency, there are public restrooms on the concourse level of Rockefeller Center.

Does the Plaza happen rain or shine?

Our TODAY broadcast happens rain or shine. However, if inclement weather becomes especially challenging and/or dangerous, the outdoor portion of our show may be affected. Also, in the event of breaking news coverage, our regularly scheduled programming could be affected.

Are there options for coffee and breakfast nearby?

There are several cafes & restaurants around Rockefeller Center, in close proximity to the Plaza. The TODAY Plaza team can recommend a few options upon arrival, or you can plan ahead by exploring options in Rockefeller Center.

Where can I purchase a TODAY mug, and other NBC merchandise?

The Shop at NBC Studios is located inside 30 Rockefeller Plaza, not far from the TODAY Plaza. TODAY merchandise is available for purchase within the store or online.

Where can friends and family tune-in while Im visiting?

Friends and family back home can tune into TODAY on NBC beginning at 7:00am local time.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
The companies dropped the Creed III star after his arrest last month in New York City.

Jonathan Majors and his talent management company, Entertainment 360, are reportedly no longer working together, a development that has come weeks after the Lovecraft Country actors arrest for alleged strangulation, assault and harassment.

According to a Deadline, the company cited issues around the actors behavior for is decision. Last month, pr firm, The Lede Company, initiated a break from the Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania star. Meanwhile, Majors and Valentino mutually agreed that he would not attend this years Met Gala as one of its guests.

As theGrio previously reported, the Creed III star was involved in a domestic dispute with a 30-year-old woman last month in New York City. The police responded to a 911 call at 11 a.m. ET from an apartment in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan.

Jonathan Majors attends the 95th Annual Academy Awards on March 12, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Arturo Holmes/Getty Images )

An NYPD spokesperson released a statement about the incident, Deadline reported at the time. The victim informed police she was assaulted, according to the Deputy Commissioner of Public Informations statement. Officers placed the 33-year-old male into custody without incident. The victim sustained minor injuries to her head and neck and was removed to an area hospital in stable condition.

Priya Chaudhry, the lawyer representing Majors, said in a statement that her client is probably the victim of an altercation with a woman he knows while indicating that there is evidence clearing the actor, theGrio previously reported.

We are quickly gathering and presenting evidence to the District Attorney with the expectation that all charges will be dropped imminently, Chaudhry told Deadline last month. Since then, the lawyer has also released text messages between the woman and Majors.

WME currently still represents Majors, according to Deadline.

TheGrio is FREE on your TV via Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Roku and Android TV. Also, please download theGrio mobile apps today!

The post Jonathan Majors loses manager and PR firm following assault charges appeared first on TheGrio.
Reuters/Seth Herald

Wired reporter Dell Cameron was banned from Twitter on Wednesday after reporting on a hacker who hijacked far-right provocateur Matt Walshs account the night before.

According to screenshots shared by Cameron on social media site Mastodon, Cameron was permanently suspended by the Elon Musk-owned platform for violating Twitters rules against the distribution of hacked material.

If this sounds familiar, this was the policy that Twitter used to initially justify blocking the New York Posts story about Hunter Bidens laptop just ahead of the 2020 presidential election and restrict the Posts official Twitter account. After receiving significant backlash over the decision, Twitter soon reversed course and made changes to the policy, stating it wouldnt remove hacked content unless it is directly shared by hackers or those acting in concert with them.

On Tuesday night, the Twitter account for Walsha notoriously transphobic troll who describes himself as a theocratic fascistsuddenly began promoting a song about gay sex while mocking several other prominent right-wing figures, including Walshs Daily Wire colleague Ben Shapiro.

My pronouns are That/N***a, Walshs pinned tweet read. He also tweeted out that Joe Rogan Is A Pedophile, and I Can Confirm Andrew Tate Kidnapped And R*ped Those Girls, referring to the infamous misogynist accused of human trafficking.

The hacker also wrote My Twitter Isnt Hacked, This is Just The Real Me Coming Out alongside a screenshot of their phone, revealing that they had spoofed Walshs phone and likely had access to his emails and text messages.

While Twitter soon took action and deleted the offending tweets from the anti-LGBTQ activists compromised account, Cameron took to social media and asked the hacker to contact him. Eventually, on Wednesday, the Wired journalist noted that the person had gotten in touch with him and a story was soon to follow.

According to Camerons story, the hackerwho only went by the name Doomedtook over Walshs account because the conservative podcaster likes to trigger people. Doomed added that he caused no financial harm, threatened anyone, [nor] ruined anything, and the hack was merely just a few silly words on social media.

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Walsh seemed to take a different view of the incident, tweeting Wednesday night: Over the last year my family has been harassed, threatened, doxxed, and now we can add hacked to the list.

Apparently the hacker had an insider who gave him access to my phone, he added. A lot we still don't know. But were finding out. And there will be consequences.

Elsewhere in his story, though, Cameron pointed out that Doomed had also gained access to Walshs Google and Microsoft accounts and provided several screenshots of the right-wing hosts private emails as proof. Cameron provided a description of some of the documents Doomed had recovered, noting that they are largely benign. In one email exchange, Cameron noted that Walsh told fellow conservative podcaster Stephen Crowder in 2014 about his career trajectory.

Theres certainly plenty of money to be made when you can get millions of hits online, and Im a capitalist and I have a family, so Ive decided to start getting serious about that, Walsh wrote.

Shortly after Camerons story went live on Wednesday, his Twitter account was pulled down. Notably, around that same time, far-right activist Andy Ngowho is one of several prominent right-wing figures who seem to have Musks earhad tweeted that Cameron used Twitter to solicit stolen information belonging to Walsh.

While Twitter has told Cameron he is perma-banned for violating its hacked material policy, the sites current ruleswhich were revised after the Hunter Biden fiascoindicate that there is a carve-out for reporting.

We recognize that source materials obtained through leaks can serve as the basis for important reporting by news agencies meant to hold our institutions and leaders to account, the platforms policy states. As such, we defer to their editorial judgement in publishing these materials, and believe our responsibility is to provide additional context that is useful in providing clarity to the conversation that happens on Twitter.

The policy continues: In most cases, discussions of or reporting about hacking or hacked materials constitutes indirect distribution (unless the people or groups directly associated with a hack are responsible for the production of the discussions or reporting). In these cases, a violation of this policy would result in a label or warning message, not removal of the Tweet(s) from Twitter.

WIRED Managing Editor Hemal Jhaveri weighed in on Wednesday night, demanding that Dells account be reinstatedor that Twitter at least explain itself.

Neither Dells story nor his Twitter feed contained hacked materials. We do not believe his account violated Twitters policy, Jhaveri wrote in a statement to Forbes. We have not received any further explanation from Twitter and our attempts to reach Twitters press office were met with the customary poop emoji. We ask that the account be reinstated, and that Twitter provide an explanation.

Ironically, Musk was incredibly upset that the site he currently owns suspended the New York Post and blocked its laptop story in 2020. After he announced his intentions to buy Twitter last year, he declared that suspending the Twitter account of a major news organization for publishing a truthful story was obviously incredibly inappropriate.

Additionally, Musk launched the so-called Twitter Files late last year to expose the free speech suppression that the social media platform engaged in just ahead of the 2020 election. The very first thread in the series, which featured internal communications of Twitter executives, centered on the sites decision to restrict the Hunter Biden story.

Twitter responded to a request for comment with the poop emoji, the sites standard response ever since Musk fired the sites entire press relations team.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Los Angeles Police Department headquarters on 1st Street in downtown Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times)

Lawyers for a journalist sued by the city of Los Angeles over his role in the publication of photographs of undercover LAPD officers are seeking to have the case dismissed as unconstitutional and retaliatory.

The legal team for Ben Camacho, a reporter for Knock LA, filed a motion this week asking a judge to toss out the lawsuit filed earlier this month, in which city officials sought the return of the photos. The motion alleges the litigation is a so-called SLAPP lawsuit  an improper lawsuit used by public officials as a way to censor or intimidate someone from exercising their free speech.

The City of Los Angeles lawsuit is a thinly veiled attempt to silence Mr. Camacho and other journalists who report on law enforcement, attorney Dan Stormer said at a news conference Tuesday. The real motives behind this lawsuit are to shield the Los Angeles Police Department from any measure of accountability and transparency.

Other attorneys representing Camacho include Susan Seager, head of UC Irvine School of Laws Press Freedom Project.

In its lawsuit, attorneys for the city claim the release of names, photos and serial numbers of more than 9,000 LAPD officers in response to a public records request and related litigation by Camacho was "inadvertent." The publication of images of those officers who serve in undercover assignments, they argued, posed a safety risk to the officers.

After receiving the photos, Camacho provided them to the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, which published them online. The city has also sued that group.

"The City seeks the return of these inadvertently produced photos to protect the lives and work of these undercover officers," the city's attorneys wrote.

The city attorney's office is also seeking to have the officers' photos removed from the Coalition's website.

In their motion, Camacho's lawyers argue that the city's attempt to undo the publication of the officers' photos and information amounts to an infringement on Camacho's freedom of speech. Such a ploy, they wrote, is barred by the state's statute prohibiting SLAPP lawsuits.

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Seager said a hearing is slated for Aug. 2, but she hopes the lawsuit will be dismissed sooner.

The motion notes that the city willingly gave Camacho the records six months ago to settle the lawsuit he brought under the state's public records law and that it wrote Camacho a letter saying that the records did not include any officers working "undercover."

The motion also states the city failed to specify what it means by an undercover assignment and that its claims of threats to officer safety are conjecture.

Similar to other CPRA requests Ive made in the past, I requested these records to advance my work, including documentary filmmaking and investigations into policing in Los Angeles, said Camacho in a statement Tuesday. Access to police records brings transparency and awareness to the otherwise secret inner workings of the LAPD, an organization that receives billions of dollars from the public.

Both Knock LA and the Stop LAPD Spying Coalition denounced the lawsuit in separate statements. Knock LA, called it a "clear intimidation tactic" by City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto. The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition, a frequent critic of the LAPD's use of surveillance technology, called it "an attack on the publics ability to request, analyze, and publish public records."

Legal experts uniformly rejected the lawsuit as baseless and ripe for dismissal on 1st Amendment grounds and other well-established legal protections for journalists.

"This is a Hail Mary, desperation play by the city," said David Loy, legal director of the California First Amendment Coalition.

"The city is on very weak legal grounds," Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law, told the Times earlier this month.

The motion is the latest twist in weeks of controversy that have followed the release of the images.

Hamid Khan, a coordinator with Stop LAPD Spying, said Camacho "shared" the officers' images and information with his organization. The group then posted them online as part of a public, searchable database called "Watch the Watchers," which includes each officers name, ethnicity, rank, date of hire, division/bureau, serial number and photo.

The union that represents rank-and-file LAPD officers subsequently sued Chief Michel Moore over the release of the photos, hoping to force the department to stop disclosing such images and try to claw back those already released. More than 300 LAPD officers who claim to work in sensitive assignments have also given notice that they intend to sue the city for negligence and for allegedly endangering their lives by releasing the images.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
BOSTON (AP)  The Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents made a brief court appearance Wednesday, as a hearing to determine whether he should remain jailed while awaiting trial was delayed to give the defense more time to prepare.

Jack Teixeira, 21, had been scheduled for a detention hearing in Boston's federal court, but the judge canceled it after Teixeiras lawyer filed a motion requesting that it be delayed for about two weeks. The defense said it requires more time to address the issues presented by the governments request for detention. A new date has not yet been set.

On Wednesday morning, Teixeira was brought to the courtroom in handcuffs and orange jail garb. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing, saying nothing beyond answering yes and no to questions about whether he understood his rights and the proceeding.

Teixeira was charged last week under the Espionage Act with unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. During his first court appearance last Friday, a magistrate judge ordered him to remain in custody until his detention hearing.

He has not yet entered a plea. His federal public defender didnt respond to an email last week from The Associated Press and didnt speak to reporters at the courthouse.

Teixeira is accused of sharing highly classified military documents about Russia's war in Ukraine and other top national security issues in a chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. The stunning breach exposing closely held intelligence has sparked international concern and raised fresh questions about Americas ability to safeguard its secrets.

Air Force leaders said Tuesday they were investigating how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents. The Air Force has also taken away the intelligence mission from the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing based in Cape Cod, where Teixeira served, pending further review.

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Court records unsealed last week revealed how billing records the FBI obtained from Discord and interviews with social media comrades led authorities to Teixeira.

Investigators believe he was the leader of an online private chat group on Discord called Thug Shaker Central, which drew roughly two dozen enthusiasts who talked about their favorite types of guns and shared memes and jokes. The group also held a running discussion on wars that included talk of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

A Discord user familiar with Teixeiras online posts told the FBI that a username linked to Teixeira began posting what appeared to be classified information roughly in December. The person provided the FBI with basic identifying information about Teixeira, including that he called himself Jack, claimed to be part of the Air National Guard and appeared to live in Massachusetts, according to the court records.

The person also told the FBI that Teixeira switched from typing out documents in his possession to taking them home and photographing them because he had become concerned that he may be discovered making the transcriptions of text in the workplace.

Thats different from what posters have told The Associated Press and other media outlets  that the user they would call the O.G. started posting images of documents because he was annoyed other users werent taking him seriously.

The prosecution affidavit alleges Teixeira was detected on April 6  the day The New York Times first published a story about the breach of documents  searching for the word leak in a classified system. The FBI says that was reason to believe Teixeira was trying to find information about the investigation into who was responsible for the leaks.

The classified documents range from briefing slides mapping out Ukrainian military positions to assessments of international support for Ukraine and other sensitive topics, including under what circumstances Russian President Vladimir Putin might use nuclear weapons.

Authorities have not revealed an alleged motive. But members of the Discord group described Teixeira as someone looking to show off, rather than being motivated by a desire to inform the public about U.S. military operations or to influence American policy.

The Biden administration has scrambled to contain the potential diplomatic and military fallout from the leaks since they were first reported, moving to reassure allies and assess the scope of damage. There has been no clear answer on how many documents were leaked. The Associated Press has viewed approximately 50 documents; some estimates put the total number in the hundreds.

At the Capitol on Wednesday, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines and other security leaders briefed the Senate on the leaked documents, and were also scheduled to brief the House.

Senators leaving the classified briefing said they still had questions about how the breach could have happened and what could be done to fix the problem.

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee, said he still wants to know the full extent of what was released, why it wasnt spotted sooner and the overall impact.

I certainly wasnt satisfied with any plans they have in place to prevent this from happening in the future, Rubio said.

Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said Congress will look at who has access to documents and whether too many documents are classified.

We need to make sure that internal security processes for things like copying documents, production of documents, as well as the overall access questions get thoroughly examined, Warner said. This was a serious leak of important information.

_____

Associated Press reporter Mary Clare Jalonick contributed from Washington.
Jack Douglas Teixeira, a U.S. Air Force National Guard airman accused of leaking highly classified military intelligence records online, makes his initial appearance before a federal judge in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. April 14, 2023 in a courtroom sketch REUTERS/Margaret Small

A 21-year-old charged with leaking secret US military documents had his detention hearing delayed.

Jack Teixeira, a Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, appeared briefly in federal court Wednesday.

A judge had granted a motion to delay the detention hearing because the defense needs more time.

BOSTON, Massachusetts  A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking highly sensitive US military documents to social media had his detention hearing delayed because the defense says it needs more time to prepare.

During a second appearance at federal court in Boston on Wednesday, Jack Teixeira responded affirmatively to Magistrate Judge David Hennessy when asked if he was voluntarily waiving his right to a preliminary hearing. He was originally due in court for a detention hearing and a preliminary examination.

But earlier on Wednesday, Hennessy granted a request by attorneys to delay Teixeira's detention hearing by around two weeks. Brendan Kelley, an assistant federal defender, wrote in a motion that "the defense requires more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention," according to court filings reviewed by Insider.

A detention hearing, where the judge decides if Teixeira should be held indefinitely or let out on bail, has been tentatively set for May 3 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Teixeira, wearing an orange jumpsuit and necklace of rosary beads, was led into a packed courtroom shortly before 11 a.m. local time Wednesday, his hands shackled in front of him. A court official then removed his shackles and he took a seat between his attorneys while waiting several minutes for the judge to arrive.

He made a couple of head motions when speaking quietly with his attorney, and only spoke when responding to questions from Hennessy.

Teixeira was arrested by federal agents on April 13 at his home in southeastern Massachusetts after authorities identified him in connection with the leak of a trove of highly classified Pentagon documents.

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The following day, during an initial court appearance in Boston, Teixeira was charged with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material. He faces the possibility of over a decade in prison.

Jack Teixeira, 21, has been charged in connection with the leak of secret Pentagon documents. Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images

According to a criminal complaint unsealed on April 14, Teixeira allegedly started leaking the secret documents to a private Discord server that was used to discuss international affairs and war. Photographs of the documents first started showing up in the group in January, although classified information started flowing to its members much earlier.

"Certain of the images appear to depict Government Information that was used to inform senior military and civilian government officials during briefings at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia," the criminal complaint reads.

The classified Pentagon documents had recently circulated across various social media platforms, before becoming the center of a federal investigation. They contain highly sensitive information about US allies, like South Korea, Israel, and Egypt, and its adversaries, such as Russia, China, and North Korea.

Dozens of documents in particular focus on Russia's ongoing war in Ukraine, and detail information such as casualties, attrition rates, performances of weapons systems, and battlefield capabilities.

The widespread disclosure of US intelligence triggered alarm bells in Washington and within its partner governments, some of which pushed back against the claims that were made about their respective domestic and foreign affairs.

Teixeira was stationed at Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts after joining the military in September 2019. He was given "top secret" security clearance in 2021, allowing him to access the wide range of sensitive information that he has since been accused of leaking.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that Mark Pomerantz, who was previously involved in the Manhattan district attorneys criminal investigation of former President Trump, must face a House Judiciary Committee subpoena.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocils 25-page order rejects a request from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg (D) to block House Republicans from questioning Pomerantz, who resigned from Braggs office last year.

The subpoena was issued with a valid legislative purpose in connection with the broad and indispensable congressional power to conduct investigations,' ruled Vyskocil, a Trump appointee. It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection. Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law.

House Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has sought to investigate Braggs criminal prosecution of Trump, subpoenaing Pomerantz and asking another employee to turn over personal emails about his hiring process in recent days.

Vyskocil asked the parties to reach a mutually agreeable compromise regarding how Pomerantzs deposition, currently scheduled for 10 a.m. on Thursday, will proceed.

Braggs office filed a notice of appeal within minutes, indicating he will ask the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for emergency relief as soon as possible this evening. In a court filing, Braggs office said it has also reached out to the House Judiciary Committee to delay the deposition.

Todays decision shows that Congress has the ability to conduct oversight and issue subpoenas to people like Mark Pomeran[t]z, and we look forward to his deposition before the Judiciary Committee, Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, said in a statement.

Bragg last week filed the lawsuit against Jordan to block Pomerantzs subpoena and Jordans other attempts at getting information from prosecutors. Bragg portrayed the investigation as a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack his offices work.

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In our federalist system, elected state and federal actors sometimes engage in political dogfights The Court does not endorse either sides agenda. The sole question before the Court at this time is whether Bragg has a legal basis to quash a congressional subpoena that was issued with a valid legislative purpose. He does not, Vyskocil wrote.

Pomerantz served as one of the Manhattan district attorneys top prosecutors on the Trump case, ultimately resigning in February 2022 soon after Bragg took office.

Pomerantz has said he resigned over Braggs reluctance to seek an indictment of Trump from a grand jury that was sitting at the time.

Late last month, a new grand jury ultimately returned an indictment of Trump, but on a different criminal prong that revolves around a hush payment scheme.

Updated at 6:35 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Taylor Schabusiness, who is charged with first-degree intentional homicide, third-degree sexual assault and mutilating a corpse, appears in court for a competency hearing on Jan. 6, 2023, in Green Bay, Wis.

GREEN BAY - The woman accused of killing and decapitating a male friend in Green Bay in 2022 will be tried this summer in a Brown County courtroom, Circuit Judge Thomas Walsh ruled Wednesday afternoon.

Walsh acknowledged that there has been substantial print, television and internet coverage of the case against Taylor Schabusiness, 25, of Green Bay, in the February 2022 killing of Shad Thyrion, 24, of Green Bay. But while he said some stories on a few internet outlets used some sensational wording in a few stories, "I don't find there has been excessive editorializing."

RELATED: Schabusiness seeks a change of venue, insists media coverage poisons her chances of not-guilty verdict in beheading case

"I'm convinced that it has been fairly reported, and that a fair and impartial jury can be impaneled," Walsh ruled.

Schabusiness is also charged with mutilating a corpse, and third-degree sexual assault, both felonies.

Walsh's ruling denied two motions filed by Schabusiness' attorney, Christopher Froelich. He had asked on March 31 for a change of venue, saying his client cannot get a fair trial in Brown County because of the volume of the publicity her case has received since she was accused of killing and decapitating Thyrion last year. If Walsh refused to move the trial, Froehlich asked him to allow jurors to be brought in from another Wisconsin county.

The case has been thoroughly covered by local media in the more than 13 months it has been in the court system, and the gruesome nature of the crime attracted national publicity via Internet sites like The Daily Beast.

Froelich and Brown County Assistant District Attorney Caleb Saunders argued the motion in court Wednesday. Saunders opposed he motion, pointing out that "what the defense argues is not enough" to justify a change in venue.

"The defense argument," Saunders said, "is confusing publicity with partiality."

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But Walsh said he had reviewed Schabusiness-related articles the defense said were prejudicial against the defendant receiving a fair trial, but that "objective, factual non-editorial reporting is not prejudicial," and that most of what he had read, particularly from local media, was factual and objective. He said that even stories posted Feb. 14 and 15, after Schabusiness attacked then-defense attorney Quinn Jolly and had to be wrestled to the ground by a Brown County sheriff's deputy, did not appear sensationalized.

"Publicity in this particular case seems to follow a general pattern: When theres court, there is publicity," he said, citing media's use of items from the criminal complaint filed against Schabusiness. "Many of the articles that are coming out are simply stating" whats in the criminal complaint.

Schabusiness's trial is slated to begin with jury selection July 21.

Judges often reject change-of-venue motions, saying that lawyers can find a panel of 12 jurors who have not formed an opinion on the guilt or innocence of a defendant.

Email Doug Schneider @DSchneid@Gannett.com, call him at (920) 265-2070 and follow him on Twitter @PGDougSchneider.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Taylor Schabusiness' homicide trial to remain in Brown County
NEW YORK (AP)  A federal judge will let House Republicans question a former Manhattan prosecutor about the criminal case against ex-President Donald Trump, ruling Wednesday that there is no legal basis to block the Judiciary Committee's subpoena.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil rejected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's request for a temporary restraining order, finding that committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, had a valid legislative purpose in issuing the subpoena to former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.

It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection, Vyskocil wrote in a 25-page opinion. Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law.

Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, ruled two hours after a hearing in which she peppered lawyers on both sides with questions, asking them to parse thorny issues of sovereignty, separation of powers and Congressional oversight arising from the historic indictment.

Acknowledging the political dogfights surrounding the case, the judge said in her ruling that she does not endorse either sides agenda. She encouraged both sides to speak and reach a mutually agreeable compromise on how Pomerantz's deposition will proceed. Jordan is seeking to question him Thursday morning in Washington.

Todays decision shows that Congress has the ability to conduct oversight and issue subpoenas to people like Mark Pomerantz, and we look forward to his deposition before the Judiciary Committee, Jordans spokesperson, Russell Dye, said in a statement.

Bragg's office appealed the decision to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan and was seeking a stay to halt enforcement of the subpoena.

Pomerantz once oversaw the yearslong Trump investigation but left the job after clashing with Bragg over the direction of the case. He recently wrote a book about his work pursuing Trump and discussed the investigation in interviews on 60 Minutes and other shows.

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Bragg, a Democrat, sued Jordan and the Judiciary Committee last week seeking to block the subpoena. His lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, argued that seeking Pomerantzs testimony was part of a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack Bragg and that Congress was invading a state to investigate a local prosecutor when it had no authority to do so.

Boutrous said House Republicans interest in Bragg amounted to Congress jumping in and haranguing the D.A. while the prosecution is ongoing.

The Judiciary Committee started scrutinizing Braggs investigation of the former president in the weeks that preceded his indictment. Jordan sent letters seeking interviews with Bragg and documents before subpoenaing Pomerantz. In her ruling, Vyskocil said she would handle any legal fights that may arise from other subpoenas in the committees investigation of Bragg.

A committee lawyer, Matthew Berry, countered that Congress has legitimate legislative reasons for wanting to question Pomerantz and examine Bragg's prosecution of Trump, citing the office's use of $5,000 in federal funds to pay for Trump-related investigations.

Congress is also considering legislation, offered by Republicans in the wake of Trump's indictment, to change how criminal cases against former presidents unfold, Berry said. One bill would prohibit prosecutors from using federal funds to investigate presidents, and another would require any criminal cases involving a former president be resolved in federal court instead of at the state level.

House Republicans, Berry said, want to protect the sovereignty and autonomy of the presidency, envisioning a scenario where the commander in chief could feel obligated to make certain decisions to avoid having local prosecutors in politically unfavorable jurisdictions charge them with crimes after they leave office.

For those reasons, Berry argued, Congress is immune from judicial intervention, citing the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Vyskocil presided over the hearing in a Manhattan courtroom that offered sweeping, high-level views that of the New York City skyline that Trump helped shape as a real estate developer, the courthouse where he was arraigned April 3, and the federal building where Jordan continued his war on Bragg by convening a hearing Monday on the prosecutors handing of violent crime.

Pomerantz declined comment as he walked out of the hearing holding a stack of papers with his book, People vs. Donald Trump, on top. His lawyer, Ted Wells, said he would accompany Pomerantz if he is made to testify. Neither Pomerantz nor his lawyers spoke during the hearing. But in a court filing, he aligned himself with Bragg's position and maintained he should not be questioned by the committee.

Berry, the committee lawyer, argued that Pomerantz has already shared lots of information with the public about his work on the Trump investigation and the Judiciary Committee has the right to question him about it, too.

I dont think this is either rational or reasonable behavior that somehow the House Judiciary Committee committee ranks below 60 Minutes,'" Berry argued.

Pomerantz can refuse to answer certain questions, citing legal privilege and ethical obligations, and Jordan would rule on those assertions on a case-by-case basis, Berry said, but he shouldn't be exempt from showing up. If Jordan overrules Pomerantz and he still refuses to answer, he could then face a criminal referral to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress, but that wouldn't happen immediately, Berry said.

Trump was indicted last month on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last week.

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On Twitter, follow Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Larry Neumeister at twitter.com/lneumeister and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/
Vice President Kamala Harris is set for a sit-down interview Thursday with Jennifer Hudson on her daytime talk show.

The appearance will mark the first time an elected national leader has been a guest on The Jennifer Hudson Show, which debuted in September. While the topics of their conversation have not been shared, the interview comes at a time with a heavy public discussion regarding recent shootings, LGBTQ rights, climate change and a possible national TikTok ban.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

The vice presidents interview also comes just over a month after sitting down with Stephen Colbert on his late night talk show. During her visit, Harris discussed laws that are being passed about reproductive rights, as well as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis comments on the war between Russia and Ukraine.

Regarding bills that have been passed since the overturning of Roe v. Wade last year, she told Colbert, I think its the height of irresponsibility. In fact, in many cases [its] inhumane what has been happening in states around our country that are passing laws that would criminalize health care providers, literally provide for jail time for doctors and nurses who provide reproductive health care, that would punish women for simply seeking the kind of care that they choose, that they need.

As for her comments on DeSantis calling the war a territorial dispute, she said on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, When you have had the experience of meeting and understanding the significance again of international rules and norms and the importance of the United States of America, standing firm and clear about the significance of sovereignty and territorial integrity, the significance of standing firm against any nation that will try to take by force another nation, if you really understand the issues, you probably would not make statements like that.

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Although Colbert asked, Harris did not share an official announcement during her visit that she and President Joe Biden would be running for re-election in 2024 but instead repeated what Biden has previously said, that he intends to run and if he does, Harris will be running alongside him.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

Click here to read the full article.
A federal appeals court in Denver has reopened a case in which a former Frito-Lay manager in Topeka claims he was denied a promotion due to illegal age discrimination.

DENVER  An appeals court has reopened a case in which a former Frito-Lay manager in Topeka claims he was denied a promotion due to illegal age discrimination by the company.

The action by the federal appeals court in Denver concluded that a lower court judge erred in issuing a summary judgment against Brian Waggoner based on court filings, rather than allowing a jury to decide the dispute.

The 29-page decision on April 17 reinstates Waggoner's claim, sending it back to U.S. District Court Judge John W. Broomes to reopen the lawsuit.

" ... viewing the evidence and resolving inferences in the light most favorable to Mr. Waggoner, we reverse the judgment in Frito-Lays favor on the failure-to-promote claim and remand for further proceedings." judges of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals wrote.

Waggoner cited examples of Frito-Lay promoting younger employees, rather than older ones. The company denied it discriminated against older workers.

He sued under the federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act.

He was 40 in 2019 when he applied for the promotion. A 27-year-old got the promotion.

"This is a close case, but considering the evidence as a whole under the applicable legal standards, the district court erroneously granted summary judgment to Frito-Lay on Mr. Waggoners failure-to-promote claim," the appellate judges.

One of the three judges of the six-state appeals court who issued the ruling was Nancy Moritz who is based in Topeka. The other two judges assigned to the case are based in Denver.

On another claim in Waggoner's lawsuit, the appeals court upheld a ruling by Broomes in favor of Frito-Lay.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Age discrimination lawsuit against Topeka's Frito-Lay sent to judge
Kansas City, Mo., Mayor Quinton Lucas (D) said early Wednesday that the recent shooting of 16-year-old Ralph Yarl has everything to do with race.

Police say Yarl was shot twice by Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white homeowner, after the Black teenager accidentally went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers.

This defendant, in the probable cause statement, is indicated to have said that he was afraid of Ralph because he is a tall, Black man, Lucas told CNN This Morning on Wednesday.

He thought he was in some way menacing or scary. I dont think that was true, Lucas said.

I think that this has everything to do with race  the defendants fear of Black people, Black men, Black boys, Lucas added. I think if the young man wasnt Black, we wouldnt be here today.

Lester, who has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, turned himself in to the Clay County, Mo., sheriffs office on Tuesday.

Yarl was initially hospitalized in critical condition after being shot in the head and the arm but was released on Monday.

An attorney for Yarls family said on Tuesday that the teenagers prognosis is very, very positive and he is expected to make a full recovery, beyond scarring and potentially post-traumatic brain injury symptoms.

Lucas on Tuesday suggested that Yarl was shot for existing while Black.

I hope that its not mistaken or forgotten, the reason why many Black people and Black parents  myself included  are concerned is because, if one day its ringing on the doorbell that can get you shot, then what else is next? he told CNN.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Police are investigating a reported kidnapping and aggravated assault that began in Independence and led to an hours-long standoff at a Kansas City residence.

A male victim flagged down officers on patrol around 9:30 p.m. near 23rd Street and Wheeling Avenue and said he had been kidnapped earlier that evening in Independence, said Sgt. Jake Becchina, a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, in a news release.

As the suspect drove him around, the victim said he exited the vehicle and escaped around 23rd and Wheeling, while the suspect pointed a gun at him.

The victim also provided officers with a suspect vehicle description. Other officers in the area saw a vehicle that matched the description near 23rd and College Avenue and attempted to stop the vehicle, but the driver refused, Becchina said.

Police pursued the vehicle until it stalled near 31st Street and Brighton Avenue, and a male suspect ran from the vehicle and appeared to run into a home in the 3000 block of York Street, Becchina said.

Officers surrounded the residence and made several attempts to talk to the male suspect and get him to leave the home, but they were unsuccessful. Police called a standoff and brought in tactical officers and negotiators.

A woman and multiple minors exited the home without issue and are cooperating with the investigation.

The standoff continued until about 3:30 a.m., when officers entered the home but didnt locate anyone else.

Kansas City detectives will coordinate with Independence police as the investigation continues.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly Wednesday vetoed a bill that would have required providers to tell patients they can reverse the effects of an abortion pill, a claim heavily disputed by medical experts.

The veto from the Democratic governor marked the second time she has vetoed an anti-abortion measure approved by the Republican-controlled Legislature after Kansans last year overwhelmingly rejected a state constitutional amendment that would have allowed legislators to ban abortion. Kelly vetoed a separate abortion bill last week.

In August, Kansans made clear that they believe personal healthcare decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians in Topeka. This bill would interfere with that relationship and, given the uncertain science behind it, could be harmful to Kansans health, Kelly said in a statement.

Kellys veto comes amid a closely-watched standoff over the pills federal approval.

Earlier this month, a federal judge in Texas issued a decision invalidating a decision by the Food and Drug Administration approval of mifepristone in 2000, a decision which could lead to restrictions in Kansas and other states where the drug is widely used in medication abortion. The U.S. Supreme Court extended a stay on the lower courts decision through Friday when it is expected to issue an order on the case.

The Kansas legislation, which was pushed by anti-abortion groups, relies upon a case study performed by an anti-abortion doctor in California as its basis for the notice that mifepristone, the first pill in a medication abortion, is reversible. However, the study is highly criticized in the medical field. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists says on its website that claims of abortion pill reversal are are not based on science and do not meet clinical standards.

More than half all abortions in the U.S. are provided through medication, with 98% of medication abortions using mifepristone in 2020. In Kansas, the drug was used in 70 % of abortions in 2021.

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Kelly rejected the same policy in 2019 and lawmakers failed to override her veto by one vote.

With this veto, Governor Kelly has shown that she does not believe vulnerable women have the right to know all of their options, House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said Wednesday in a statement, adding that House Republicans stand united to act to override the veto when lawmakers return to Topeka next week.

When the House approved the measure earlier this year, supporters were four votes shy of a veto-proof majority and one vote short in the Senate.

The bill lawmakers sent Kelly this year was combined with a separate measure redefining abortion to specifically exclude ectopic pregnancy care, miscarriage care and contraceptives.

Its a move anti-abortion groups say is meant to prevent misinformation but Democrats in the Legislature warned it was an attempt to lay the groundwork for a new anti-abortion constitutional amendment after Kansans protected abortion rights by an overwhelming margin last year.

This bill attempts to undermine Kansans right to bodily autonomy by willfully forcing blatant misinformation into a healthcare environment, Senate Minority Leader Dinah Sykes, a Lenexa Democrat, said in a statement.

Kansas Family Voice, a conservative Christian advocacy group, urged an override of Kellys veto and said in a statement that Clarifying what abortion is will reassure women who may find themselves in a tragic situation, despite the words that may show up on their medical chart.

This story was updated to clarify that Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed a separate abortion bill last week.
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly on Wednesday vetoed a bill that would require advance voting ballots to be delivered to officials on Election Day, eliminating the current three-day grace period for the arrival of late ballots.

Republicans had pushed the legislation as an election security measure after years of baseless allegations of fraud in the 2020 presidential election by former President Donald Trump and his supporters. But Kelly and other Democrats said eliminating the additional arrival time would disenfranchise voters.

As the daughter of a career Army officer, I cannot support measures that would disenfranchise members of our armed services  who fight for our freedoms, including the right to vote  from casting their own ballot, Kelly said in a statement.

This bill eliminates the three-day grace period for mail-in ballots often used by those in the military serving across the country or overseas.

Kelly also said the bill would likely result in too many rural Kansans  who may vote by mail to avoid long drives to the polls  not having their vote counted. The bill would require all advance ballots to be turned in to election authorities by 7 p.m. on Election Day, the same time polls close. Current Kansas law allows advance ballots to count if they arrive up to three business days following Election Day as long as they are postmarked on Election Day.

Republicans face a steep climb in overturning the veto. The measure passed 76-48 in the House and 23-14 in the Senate. Overriding a veto requires 84 votes in the House and 27 votes in the Senate.

Senate President Ty Masterson, an Andover Republican, in a statement criticizing several vetoes issued by Kelly on Wednesday, said the governor signaled she wants an endless counting of ballots.

But regardless of whether Kansas eliminates the three-day grace period, the bill has no effect on the official counting of ballots. Ballots are officially counted at canvasses conducted by county election officials in the weeks after Election Day.

Results reported on election night are preliminary, unofficial totals.
Kaylin Gillis was in the car with three friends when she was killed

A man who allegedly shot and killed a 20-year-old woman in New York state as the car she was in mistakenly drove up the man's driveway has shown no remorse, police say.

Kaylin Gillis was in a car that accidentally drove into the driveway of Kevin Monahan, police say.

Mr Monahan, 65, allegedly then opened fire on the vehicle, hitting Ms Gillis.

Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy told CNN that Mr Monahan had "not shown any remorse in this case".

"They were turning around, they were leaving... so there's absolutely no reason for this man to come out on a deck and shoot at the vehicle," he said.

The suspect had already obtained a lawyer by the time he emerged from his home to turn himself over, Mr Murphy said.

The town of Hebron is rural and the driveways are poorly lit at night. None of the group had exited the vehicle or attempted to enter Mr Monahan's house before he allegedly opened fire, police say.

The friends drove away from the house and attempted to call for help in a nearby town, but Ms Gillis was pronounced dead by paramedics.

An attorney for Mr Monahan, Kurt Mausert, told CNN he was unaware the bullets he had fired had hit someone and had no idea why police were on his property.

The arrival of the vehicles "certainly caused some level of alarm to an elderly gentleman who had an elderly wife", he told the New York Times, adding that his client "sincerely regrets this tragedy".

Hebron Town supervisor Brian Campbell told Northeast Public Radio that it's "very easy for people to get lost on back roads here".

"You don't know how many times I've been awakened early in the morning [by] people lost, run out of gas, over a ditch, you go tow them out, put them on their merry way. You never think of your own safety even," he said.

The type of bullet that killed Ms Gillis was a large lead slug fired from a 12-gauge shotgun, according to the Times Union newspaper.

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It is typically used to hunt big game, the newspaper reports.

Investigators have not said what weapon was used in the shooting.

Kevin Monahan allegedly opened fire without warning

In a statement sent to CBS News, the BBC's US media partner, Ms Gillis' family called her "a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her".

They said the 20-year-old was an artist and a "Disney fanatic" who was looking forward to starting college in Florida so she could become a marine biologist.

"Our family will never be the same but we will be guided by Kaylin's positivity, optimism, and joy as we learn to live with her loss."

Ms Gillis graduated in 2021, and two of her younger siblings attend school in the district.

A GoFundMe created to help Ms Gillis's family with funeral expenses had raised more than $100,000 (80,000) as of Tuesday evening.

Separately, a householder in the US state of Missouri was charged with shooting a teenager who rang the wrong doorbell while picking up his younger brothers.

Unlike in that case - where the victim is black and the alleged gunman is white - both Ms Gillis and Mr Monahan are white.
Keanu Reeves and girlfriend Alexandra Grant hold hands while walking the red carpet together. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant made their first public appearance as a couple in 2019.

However, according to Grant, the pair had been close since 2011, when Grant gave Reeves a book she wrote.

Here's a timeline of the notoriously private couple's relationship.

2011: Grant gave Reeves a book called "Ode to Happiness."

Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant in 2017. Pierre Suu/GC Images

The artist revealed in a 2020 interview with Vanity Fair that her closeness with Reeves began after she gifted him the book over a decade ago.

"The book was made as a surprise, by me, for Keanu, as a private gift. All our friends sitting in the room got the giggles when I gave it to him  they said, 'Please publish it!' So that's how we got into publishing," Grant explained in the 2020 interview.

According to Vanity Fair, "Ode to Happiness" is "a playful guide to climbing out of depression" that combines text by Reeves with drawings by Grant. They later followed it up with a sequel, called "Shadows."

As Grant revealed, she and Reeves were inspired by their collaboration to open a publishing house (X Artists' Books) together, and subsequently grew closer.

May 2019: Grant and Reeves walked the red carpet at a benefit for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles.

Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant at the 2019 Benefit gala for the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles. Rachel Luna/WireImage

The duo made an appearance together at the gala, but the actual nature of their relationship remained largely unknown to the public.

June 2019: The couple attended the Saint Laurent fashion show together in Malibu, California.

Alexandra Grant and Keanu Reeves in 2019. Neilson Barnard/Getty Images

Grant and Reeves turned heads in matching all-black ensembles, and even held hands while posing for photos in front of the open ocean.

November 2019: Grant and Reeves made their relationship public for the first time.

Keanu Reeves with girlfriend Alexandra Grant at LACMA Art + Film Gala Taylor Hill/Getty Images

The couple walked the red carpet together at the LACMA Art and Film Gala, and the internet immediately exploded with speculation about Grant's identity, and joy for Reeves, who'd had a rocky romantic history before being linked to Grant.

Sources told ET that during the event, the two enjoyed catching up with friends  including Will Ferrell and Viveca Paulin, his wife  during cocktail hour and that Grant asked a friend to take a photo of her and Reeves on her phone.

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March 2020: Grant gave a candid interview about her relationship with the actor.

Alexandra Grant in 2019. Stefanie Keenan/Getty Images for Louis Vuitton

In the interview with Vogue, Grant spoke about the public's reaction to her relationship with Reeves and how she was dealing with the newfound fame.

"I think every single person I knew called me in the first week of November, and that's fascinating," she told Vogue. "But the question I've been asking in all of this is: 'What is the opportunity for good?'"

The artist also spoke about her decision to keep her hair naturally gray, her upcoming work, and her thoughts on love and marriage.

"Love at every level is deeply important to my identity... I do not believe that isolation is the way," Grant said. "There is a period of isolation that I do as a painter, but I deeply value the experience of being in relationships."

June 2022: The couple made a rare appearance together on the red carpet of the MOCA Gala.

Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant at the 2022 MOCA Gala red carpet in Los Angeles. Axelle/Bauer-Griffin/FilmMagic

Grant wore a form-fitting red dress, while the "Matrix" star kept it classy in a dark blue suit. The couple looked very much in love while on the red carpet, and held hands while posing for several photos.

April 15, 2023: Reeves and Grant shared a rare moment of PDA on the red carpet.

Keanu Reeves and Alexandra Grant shared a kiss on the MOCA gala red carpet. Momodu Mansaray/Getty Images

During a red carpet ahead of the April 2023 gala for Los Angeles' Museum of Contemporary Art Gala, the "John Wick" actor and Grant kissed on the lips while posing for photos. They were also pictured smiling at one another and laughing.

The red carpet was one of the few times Reeves and Grant had been photographed being physically affectionate with one another.

Read the original article on Insider
Kenney Enney has opened a lead of more than 400 votes in the special election for a seat on the Paso Robles school board, but the race remains too close to call, the San Luis Obispo County clerk-recorder said Wednesday morning.

Theres no calling the election until I have counted every last ballot, Elaina Cano said. Especially in a race this close. We still have hundreds of ballots to count.

Enney and Angela Hollander were facing off in the special election for a seat on the districts school board.

As of 11 p.m. Tuesday, Enney was leading with 52.07%  5,171 votes  according to the San Luis Obispo County Clerk-Recorders Office and Monterey County elections office.

Angela Hollander was trailing with 47.93%, or 4,759 votes, a difference of 412 votes.

At the first release of mail-in ballots at 8 p.m., the race was a virtual tie with Enney holding an advantage of six votes.

But Enneys lead widened throughout the night as more ballots were tallied in two updates.

More than 31,000 people were registered to cast a ballot in the school districts special election.

Candidates await final results in school board vote

After election night, Enney told The Tribune he was feeling cautiously optimistic but recognized that it was still too early to call the race.

Regardless of the result, Im happy people are paying attention to the important issues in the area, he said.

When asked what his top priorities would be should he win, Enney said expanding charter schools, expanding vocational schools and expanding discipline in the high school especially.

He also noted that school test scores need to be improved and added that hes been visiting schools in the Clovis Unified School District to understand their models of school discipline, which he said appeared to be working well.

Hollander told The Tribune shes saying upbeat as she waits for more election results to come in.

I love this community, and Ive loved hearing about whats on their mind, she said. I work with the students every day, and I think its such a gift to be doing so.

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While on the phone with The Tribune Wednesday morning, Hollander said she was about to leave to go to Georgia Brown Elementary Schoo to read to a second-grader, and that shes lately been busy working with the Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County as they finalize scholarships for college-bound high school seniors.

Cano said her office will work throughout the next few days to count the remaining ballots.

She expected to drop a large round of results by the end of Friday, she said.
A Kentucky man is seeking $1 million from Netflix, alleging in a lawsuit they used his likeness in a true-crime documentary and defamed him.

Taylor Hazlewood, a 27-year-old respiratory therapist who lives in Kentucky, is suing Netflix for defamation after they used a personal picture of him holding a hatchet in a 2023 documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, according to his lawsuit, which was filed in a Texas court.

An Instagram picture of Hazlewood is shown in the documentary with audio that says stone-cold killer, with text captions which say You can never trust anyone, according to the lawsuit.

Hazlewoods image is shown alongside pictures of Caleb Lawrence McGillvary, a hitchhiker made infamous after he was convicted of the murder of Joseph Galfy  who the film centers around.

Netflix released the true crime story about McGillvary on Jan. 12. It tells the story of McGillvarys viral fame, being convicted of murder, and being sentenced to prison.

Hazlewood has zero connection to McGillvary or his crimes, but was depicted alongside the man convicted of murder twice in the show, according to the lawsuit.

Hazlewood took the picture with the hatchet in June 2019 while spending time with a friend, according to court documents. He saw the hatchet, which reminded him of his favorite childhood book, Hatchet by Gary Paulsen. He decided to take a picture and post it to his personal social media.

Without any reason, other than pure recklessness, Netflix misappropriated the Hazlewood photograph and used it in two separate parts of the film, the lawsuit said.

After the documentarys release, Hazlewood received dozens of texts from friends, former employers, and family who alerted him to his picture was being used.

They put your picture up with a murderer, lol, a former coworker from Ohio told Hazlewood.

The lawsuit said Hazlewood did not understand the implications of his photo being used at first.

But after receiving many more questions about his involvement with the film, and watching the film himself, Hazlewood became aware of how damaging this unauthorized publicity was, court records state.

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He is suing Netflix for defamation and misappropriation of likeness or right of publicity. Hazlewood is seeking $1 million in damages.

The harm that Netflix caused to Hazlewood has been extraordinary, the complaint reads. The film has been viewed by tens of thousands of people, and as a result of Netflixs false portrayal of him as, dangerous, as a murderer, and/or as an untrustworthy person, he has been subjected to personal distress, anguish and reputational harm.

Who is Caleb McGillvary?

McGillvary, also known as Kai the Hitchhiker, became famous after an interview with a Fresno, California, TV outlet describing an attack against a man with a hatchet in February 2013.

In the interview, McGillvary said he was riding in the passenger seat of someone elses vehicle when the driver hit a pedestrian and pinned the pedestrian against a truck. When a bystander tried to help, the driver attacked her, according to McGillvarys original interview with KMPH FOX26 News.

McGillvary said he attacked the driver with a hatchet to save the bystander, according to the interview, which features explicit language.

That same year, McGillvary was arrested on murder charges in relation to the death of 73-year-old Joseph Galfy, a New Jersey attorney. He claimed he killed Galfy in self-defense because Galfy drugged and raped him after he offered him a place to stay.

McGillvary was found guilty of first-degree murder in 2019, and is currently serving 57 years in prison, according to the Fresno Bee.

Despite being the main character of the Netflix documentary, McGillvary is also suing the company. He alleges they are ruthlessly exploiting a heros life story for money, according to the Fresno Bee.

Netflix is named as one of dozens of defendants who McGillvary claims stole intellectual property, interfered with business dealings and stripped him of his heroic title for their own selfish gain.
Kettering Health has named their next chief executive officer (CEO).

Michael Gentry was announced Wednesday as the health networks next CEO. The announcement came after a five-month search.

Gentry most recently served as the chief operating officer (COO) at Sentara Healthcare, the second largest private employer in Virginia.

>> RELATED: Kettering Health: Outside firms investigating former CEO accused of abusing charity funds, policies

I am honored to have the opportunity to join the Kettering Health team, an organization with a long and rich tradition of blending innovative care and Christ-centered compassion to foster health, hope, and healing, Gentry said in a release. I look forward to collaborating with the dedicated physicians and team members that work tirelessly to improve care for the people we serve.

Kettering Health officials described Gentry as accomplished and mission-driven.

Ive come to learn that Michael possesses great leadership acumen, deep respect for the Kettering Health mission and team, a heart for the ministry of healthcare, and for the people and communities we are privileged to serve, Celeste R. Blyden, chair of the Kettering Health Membership and Board of Directors, said.

Gentry will start at Kettering Health on July 3.

>> RELATED: I-TEAM: Complaints with Ohio AG accuse former Kettering Health CEO of abusing charitable funds

Kettering Health previous CEO, Fred Manchur, retired from his position in December 2022. In the months following his retirement, News Center 7s I-Team learned that complaints about Manchur and allegations of abuse of charitable funds had been filed with the Ohio Attorney Generals Office.

The I-Team reached out to the Ohio Attorney Generals Office about any active investigations into Manchur. They previously told us that all information about investigations into charitable organizations is confidential, including whether or not an investigation exists.

Kettering Health said to ensure impartiality, the board asked an outside firm to do an internal investigation into the allegations and another to recommend updates to their processes and policies.
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif) is hitting another early primary state: New Hampshire.

Khanna, fresh off trips to Iowa and South Carolina this month, is expected to headline the annual McIntyre-Shaheen Dinner, a big draw for Democrats.

Longtime Democratic Party Chair Ray Buckley called Khanna a longtime friend of the Granite State in a release ahead of the May 12 fundraising event in Nashua.

The Congressman from Silicon Valley has been touring historically critical primary states in recent weeks, making a pitch to voters as part of what he calls a new economic patriotism, intended to merge investment in industries that involve innovation and technology, and also stimulate growth in areas of the country that he believes are in need of a revamping.

Khanna has been to New Hampshire several times, raising his profile and attracting speculation about his national ambitions.

2024 will be a pivotal moment for this country, and the road to continued progress in Washington runs right through New Hampshire. Im looking forward to touting my colleagues record of delivering results for New Hampshire, and highlighting the bright future for Democrats in Washington and Concord, Khanna said in the statement.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and his daughter (KCNA VIA KNS/AFP via Getty Image)

North Korea has built and will soon launch its first military spy satellite, Kim Jong-un said after touring the countrys space agency with his daughter.

Launching the spy satellite into orbit would be a violation of UN sanctions.

State media released pictures of Kim touring the National Aerospace Development Administration facility with his daughter, thought to be 10 years old and called Kim Ju Ae, who has accompanied him to other recent events such as missile launches and military parades. He was seen apparently smoking a cigarette and talking to officials.

North Korea has conducted missile and rocket tests previously, demonstrating its ability to send satellites into space, but analysts questioned whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying on a satellite after only low-resolution images were released after past launches.

In December, the country said it conducted the "final phase" test for the spy satellite, releasing grainy black and white pictures showing the space view of South Korean cities.

Experts at that time said that the pictures were too crude for using them for surveillance purposes and that they were likely capable of only recognizing big targets like warships at sea or military installations on the ground.

State media KCNA reported that the satellite production has been completed, but it did not reveal the launch date.

Mr Kim said it was natural for North Korea to boost its military deterrence in the face of serious security threats posed by the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the US and South Korea.

Kim Jong Un, smoking a cigarette. with his daughter at the National Aerospace Development Administration in North Korea (AP)

The North Korean leader highlighted the US deployment of nuclear carriers, nuclear strategic bombers and other huge strategic assets of various missions in the Korean Peninsula, possibly suggesting that it could use reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including US military bases.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

UN sanctions on North Korea against the launch of satellites were imposed after it send its first and second Earth observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016. But foreign experts say neither transmitted imagery back to North Korea.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past test launches.

During his visit to the countrys aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite is crucial for North Korea to effectively use its nuclear-capable missiles. Kim cited what he described as serious security threats posed by the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the United States and South Korea this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He likely hopes to pressure his rivals on issues including joint military drills and international economic sanctions on North Korea.

A TV screen shows a file image of North Korea's missile launch during a news program at the Seoul Railway Station in Seoul, South Korea, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Ahn Young-joon)

Kim said the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 had already been built and ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch. He said North Korea must launch several satellites to establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said.

North Korea has said its ongoing run of weapons tests, including its first test-launch of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland last week, are a response to joint military exercises between the United States and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea has carried out about 100 missile tests since the start of last year, including about 30 this year.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been expanding combined drills in response to North Koreas growing nuclear threats. This week, the allies launched a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan.

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Spy satellites are among an array of major weapons systems that Kim publicly vowed to develop during a major ruling Workers Party conference in January 2021. Kim also pledged to build solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since conducted tests of such weapons, but observers say those high-tech weapons are still in development stages.

After North Korea launched a test satellite last December, it publicized black-and-white photos showing a space view of South Korean cities. Some civilian experts in South Korea said at the time the photos were too crude for a surveillance purpose and that they were likely capable of only recognizing big targets like warships at sea or military installations on the ground.

Kims sister and senior North Korean official Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.

Kim Jong Un said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.

Tuesdays KCNA dispatch focused on U.S. military assets like aircraft carriers and long-range bombers that have been deployed in South Korea in recent months, but made no mention of possible targets in the mainland U.S. That could imply that North Korea intends to use its reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases, in order to attack them with short-range missiles.

Putting a reconnaissance satellite into orbit would require a long-range rocket. The U.N. bans such launches by North Korea because it views them as cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology.

South Korea stages drills simulating downing of North Korea drones

In response to a question posed by The Associated Press, South Koreas Foreign Ministry said North Koreas launch of a spy satellite would threaten regional peace and violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launches by the North. It said South Korea will work closely with the international community to get North Korea to face consequences when it commits provocations.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

North Korea placed its first and second Earth observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say neither transmitted imagery back to North Korea. The U.N. issued sanctions over those launches.

North Korea has avoided fresh U.N. sanctions for its recent ballistic missile tests in 2022 and this year because U.N. Security Council permanent members Russia and China didnt support U.S. and others attempts to toughen sanctions on the North
Kinsley White, 6, shows reporters the wound a bullet left in her face.

Six-year-old Kinsley White was playing outside when the gunman came.

The man shot her in the face, bullet fragments lodging in her cheek. He also shot her father, Jamie White, who ran to protect her.

"The man came running up here. He shot my daddy," Kinsley said, speaking from outside her home as she held her grandfather's hand. "He just finished wasting all his bullets. We don't even know the man."

Kinsley White's parents, Jamie White and Ashley Hilderbrand, also were shot Tuesday evening. White remained hospitalized Wednesday.

The shooting was reported at about 7:45 p.m. Tuesday near the 4800 block of April Drive, near Crowders Mountain. Police and U.S. Marshals were still looking Wednesday for the gunman, who they identified as 24-year-old Robert Louis Singletary.

Warrants have been taken out against Singletary for four counts of attempted first-degree murder, two counts of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury and one count of possession of a firearm by a felon.

Gaston County Police Chief Stephen Zill said in a press conference that Singletary may face further charges. In addition to the three people he is accused of shooting, Singletary is accused of shooting into another home in the area. Kinsley, a kindergartener at H.H. Beam Elementary School, was taken to a hospital emergency room but later released. Hospital workers gave her an Almond Joy chocolate bar and treated her wound.

"They made me go to sleep, and they pulled the bullet (fragments) out," she said.

"Why did you shoot my daddy and me?" she added. "You tried to shoot a kid's dad."

Kinsley's grandfather, Carl Hilderbrand, said that he came outside when he heard gunshots.

He said he saw Singletary chasing Jamie White, who collapsed bleeding in the yard.

"I told all of them out here to call 911," Hilderbrand said.

White remained hospitalized on Wednesday morning. Hilderbrand said that he has liver damage. Kinsley's mother, Ashley Hilderbrand, was also grazed by a bullet, leaving a wound on her elbow. She was resting at home on Wednesday morning.

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Carolyn Hilderbrand, Carl Hilderbrand's wife, said that Singletary moved into their neighborhood several weeks ago, and ever since then, there have been problems.

"This has been going on since he moved down there, cursing kids, running them out of his yard," she said. "I hope they catch him, and he gets what he deserves."

She said she and her family are "scared to death, because he's out there still on the loose."

"I believe he would have got me and my husband too. He just ran out of bullets," she said.

At the time of Tuesday's shooting, Singletary was out of jail awaiting trial on felony charges stemming from an alleged assault on Dec. 2. According to Gastonia Police, he was accused then of beating a woman in the head with a mini-sledgehammer. He was charged with assault with a deadly weapon inflicting serious injury and first-degree kidnapping, as well as a misdemeanor charge of communicating threats.

This article originally appeared on The Gaston Gazette: Gaston County kindergartener shot while playing outside
King Charles III and Queen Camilla have chosen a quiche as their signature dish for the upcoming coronation, but the decision has received mixed reactions amidst an ongoing egg shortage in the United Kingdom.

Ahead of the Kings coronation on Saturday 6 May, the royal couple unveiled the recipe for their coronation quiche to be enjoyed at Big Lunch events being staged as part of the coronation. The recipe for the open-baked savoury tart includes spinach, broad beans, tarragon, cheese, and of course, eggs.

Following the announcement, many royal watchers took to social media to share their thoughts about the classic French dish. While some fans expressed their excitement at baking the quiche for themselves, others couldnt help but notice that the coronation quiche contains eggs  which have faced soaring supermarket prices since the avian flu outbreak late last year.

Coronation quiche when theres an egg shortage lmaoooo, tweeted one person. Theyre so tone deaf its comical.

Read the room, poshos, another said. People cant afford their weekly shop anymore.

There are no f***ing eggs in the supermarkets, tweeted someone else, replying to another user in a separate tweet: Let them eat quiche

Coronation quiche when there's an egg shortage lmaoooo. They're so tone deaf it's comical.  Multiple Diss Track Survivor (@emelleionaire) April 17, 2023

Read the room, poshos.



People cant afford their weekly shop anymore.#coronationquiche https://t.co/5fqg3vVpTU  Heather DeLand (@HeatherDeLand) April 17, 2023

There are no fucking eggs in the supermarkets. https://t.co/XDHkxt9eRG  Mark Gillies (@5goalthriller) April 17, 2023

In response to the coronation quiche, another Twitter user pointed out that 21.6 per cent of households with children in the UK reported that their children had directly experienced food insecurity in the past month.

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Thats a 10 per cent increase in a year, she said, citing a January survey from The Food Foundation.

Another user simply shared a picture of an empty supermarket shelf filled with bare egg cartons, writing: And what are we supposed to make this Coronation Quiche with?

Meanwhile...



 21.6% of households with children reported that their children had directly experienced food insecurity in the past month.



 That's a 10% increase in a year.



https://t.co/BjIN1ZHEu2 @Food_Foundation https://t.co/C2cXtKJyw0  Kate Laverty (she/her)  (@Kate_Laverty) April 18, 2023

And what are we supposed to make this Coronation Quiche with? pic.twitter.com/nEmwQGmV0e  Tavern Hoyden (@TavernHoyden) April 17, 2023

The production cost of eggs has soared as shortages across the UK have continued to impact shoppers and supermarkets. Since last year, farmers have faced a host of issues impacting egg supplies, including rising energy costs and an avian bird flu outbreak.

In August, the British Free Range Egg Producers Association (BFREPA) called for more support for egg producers after Russias invasion of Ukraine caused a chicken feed shortage. BFREPA warned that if egg producers dont receive at least 40p per dozen more, some would leave the industry or pause production, leading to shortages of British eggs in six to nine months, according to FarmingUK.

We warned ten months ago that producers would pause or halt production if they werent paid a fair price for their product, and that the knock-on effect would be fewer hens and fewer eggs, the BFREPA said in November.

Soon after, Britain was faced with its biggest-ever outbreak of avian flu, which led farmers to keep all poultry and any captive bird inside and prompted supermarkets to ration egg supplies. According to INews, UK poultry farms have recorded over 330 bird flu outbreaks since October 2021. BFREPA also reported that a number of major retailers increased their egg prices last month, such as Asda who raised the cost of 12 large free range eggs by 33p to 2.80.

This week, King Charles III and Queen Camilla shared the recipe for their coronation quiche by posting a video of a palace chef making the quiche to social media. The royal familys website described it as a deep quiche with a crisp, light pastry case and delicate flavours of spinach, broad beans and fresh tarragon.

Eat hot or cold with a green salad and boiled new potatoes  perfect for a Coronation Big Lunch! it read.

For the late Queen Elizabeth IIs coronation in 1953, guests were invited to eat coronation chicken at Buckingham Palace after the ceremony. The dish featured cold chicken in a curry cream sauce with a well-seasoned dressed salad of rice, green peas and mixed herbs.

The coronation takes place on Saturday 6 May at Westminster Abbey in London.
King Charles will follow the lead of Meghan Markle and the late Queen with his nod to the Commonwealth countries during his coronation. (Getty Images)

King Charles III will honour the Commonwealth countries with a subtle gesture during his coronation on May 6, it has been revealed.

The Kings tribute follows similar gestures made by both his mother, the late Queen Elizebeth II, during the 1953 coronation, and his daughter-in-law Meghan, Duchess of Sussex on her wedding day.

Embroiderers have been working for months stitching the names of all 54 Commonwealth countries onto the partitions that will shield the monarch from public view when he is anointed with holy oil during the coronation.

The designs have been created by the Royal School of Needlework and are the Kings way of showing respect for the late Queens love of the Commonwealth nations, a source told The Mirror.

The Queen's coronation gown took eight months to complete. (Getty Images)

The Kings decision to honour Commonwealth countries in this way is similar to that of his mothers coronation, when Elizabeth had floral emblems of all of the Commonwealth countries embroidered onto her coronation gown.

These included the New Zealand silver fern, Canadian maple leaf, the Australian wattle, and Pakistans wheat, cotton, and jute, alongside an English Tudor rose, Scottish thistle, Welsh leek and an Irish shamrock.

The gown took eight months to research, design, and embroider, and was designed by Norman Hartnell.

The hem of Meghan Markle's veil from her 2018 wedding featured the national flowers of each of the Commonwealth countries. (Getty Images)

The Duchess of Sussex paid tribute to the Queen and the Commonwealth nations on her wedding day to Prince Harry in 2018, as her 16ft veil was embroidered with all of the signature flowers of the Commonwealth.

[Harry was] really over the moon to find out that I would make this choice for our day together, Meghan said of the veil in the 2018 HBO documentary, Queen of the World.

I think the other members of the family had a similar reaction, she added.

While neither Princess Diana, nor Queen Camilla included Commonwealth imagery into their wedding dress designs, Kate's veil included floral motifs to symbolise the four nations that make up the UK: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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The Kings nod to Commonwealth nations comes after he travelled to Barbados in 2021 to see the country become a republic.

In June last year, Jamaica revealed it intended to become a republic by 2025, which would remove the monarch as head of state.

Watch: More than half of Britons think coronation shouldn't be publicly funded, new poll suggests
After nearly a lifetime in the spotlight, the world knows the name Brooke Shields. But people might be more familiar than they realize with her husband, Chris Henchy.

After first meeting on the Warner Bros. Studios lot shortly after her divorce from ex-husband, Andre Agassi, Henchy and Shields are now celebrating 22 years of marriage.

He made me laugh, and he continuously makes me laugh and doesnt take anything too seriously, so I dont go down those rabbit holes the way I used to, Shields said in a March interview with People about her documentary, "Pretty Baby." He brings me back out and says, Well figure it out. So, hes good at leveling me.

In the acknowledgements of Shields' 2005 memoir, Down Came the Rain: My Journey Through Postpartum Depression, the 57-year-old thanked her "amazing" husband for "continuing to show me what true love is."

Here's what to know about Henchy.

Hes a producer and screenwriter

Though the two didnt meet while working on a project together in Hollywood, Henchy is no stranger to show business, having worked for years as a producer and screenwriter, primarily in comedy.

He worked alongside Will Ferrell and Adam McKay to co-found the comedy site Funny Or Die, known for viral videos like "The Landlord." Some of his other notable works include Entourage, The Other Guys, Spin City and Land of the Lost, according to his IMDB page.

He also wrote, produced and directed 2020's "Impractical Jokers: The Movie."

Brooke Shields, Chris Henchy, Rowan Henchy, and Grier Henchy (Jamie McCarthy / Getty Images)

But first, he worked on Wall Street

Before heading to Hollywood, Henchy studied finance in college and wound up with a job on Wall Street, according to The Second City, for which he serves on the board of directors.

I was not good, he said during a Q&A for the comedy troupe.

Originally, the now 59-year-old moved to New York City to pursue comedy and gradually entered the stand-up comedy world. After landing a gig that caused him some inspiration, he started writing and pitching "until someone said, 'OK,'" he said.

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He met Shields in 1999 when returning her dog

In her 2005 memoir, Shields told the story of her meet-cute with Henchy.

To this day I believe that I fell in love with Chris the day we met, in 1999, but I would never tell him that!" she wrote.

Shields had just adopted an American bulldog named Darla and brought the pup to meet her friends at the Warner Bros. Studios lot. But Darla wandered off.

"Chris brought her back," Shields said. "He was writing for a show filmed on the lot and loved dogs. We chatted and he made me laugh."

Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy on August 1, 2008. (Patrick McMullan / Getty Images)

"The Blue Lagoon" actor said she left the lot that day without knowing Henchy's full name, but he made "such a strong impression" on her that she at first recommended her friend go out with him. Shields herself had just gotten divorced from Agassi, so she wasnt ready for a relationship.

Three weeks later, Shields hosted a show, for which Henchy was a writer, in Washington, D.C. They then started "spending time together and became friends," she explained.

"I was struck by how thoughtful and funny he was," she wrote. "Because he knew my situation, there was no pressure, and we were friends for quite some time."

Eventually, Shields admitted that there was so much chemistry between them which she "could no longer ignore," and they began dating.

Henchy and Shields broke up before getting married

Shields began dating Henchy fairly soon after her divorce, but she broke up with him because she feared rebounding, or whatever they call it, because I hadnt spent any time sowing my oats," she told People.

However, her idea didn't go as planned, saying that there was not one oat that would be sowed.

I literally got, like, rejected. People were like, No, were not going to do that. I was like, Oh, OK,'" she told the outlet.

Brooke Shields and Chris Henchy at the 11th Annual GLAAD Media Awards in 2000 in NYC. (Kevim Mazur / WireImage)

Her single period didn't last too long though, as Shields realized she was still talking to Henchy every day. But that didn't come without pushback from the producer, she said.

I was calling him all the time, and he said, You broke up with me, this is the way it works. You dont get to call me every day, because you broke up with me. So dont call me every day," she said.

Shields then recalled responding, But I want to talk to you.

After Henchy told her it "doesn't work like that," Shields said she thought, I dont want to lose this person, so I better behave.

Henchy and Shields got married in 2001

On May 26, 2001, Henchy and Shields were married in Palm Beach, Florida. In her memoir, Shields explained that they originally planned to have their nuptials in New York but changed their plans to be closer to her father, who was undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

"The wedding was everything we had hoped for," she wrote. "The weather held, despite the threat of rain, and there was enough of a breeze that it was never too warm."

She noted that the two had written their own vows, adding that the wedding ceremony was "intimate and spiritual without being heavy."

After a reception and barbecue lawn party the following day, the couple left for a two-week honeymoon in Fiji and Bali.

In 2020, Shields shared a throwback black-and-white photo from the wedding, captioning the picture, 19 years today, with a white heart emoji.

Henchy's sitcom 'I'm With Her' is based on his relationship with Shields

In 2003, Henchy co-created the "Notting Hill"-esque sitcom "I'm With Her" about a high school teacher who begins a high-profile relationship with a movie star, which was inspired by his relationship with Shields, according to TV Guide.

In an interview with Deseret News, Henchy described the show as a story of "two different worlds that are kind of colliding."

Its that not being known affords you a whole new outlook or opportunity to view her world, he said. I was often pushed backwards as the driver, the bodyguard, the guy who held her purse or whatever. It was just coming into that world with a very average-guy outlook and perspective.

The couple shares two children together

In "Pretty Baby," Shields opened up about the loss of her first child with Henchy and her experience with fertility treatments.

She told TODAY.com in April that after her miscarriage in 2001, she "became a full-blown adult."

It was the way I looked at it," she said. "I was like, Oh, this is what real loss is."

In May 15, 2003, Henchy and Shields welcomed their first daughter Rowan Francis Henchy. Then in 2006, they had Grier Hammond Henchy on April 18.

Brooke Shields, Chris Henchy and daughters Rowan Henchy and Grier Henchy (Sonia Moskowitz / Getty Images)

In 2021, Rowan, now 19, donned the dress her mom wore to the 1998 Golden Globes for her high school prom.

After Rowan graduated, she got matching ladybug tattoos with her mom as a gift.

A special graduation gift and memory with my girl, Shields wrote on Instagram.

In August 2021, Rowan started college at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

Grier, who turned 17 April 18, seems to follow in her mother's modeling footsteps.

The mother-daughter duo was featured in a Mother's Day campaign advertisement for Victoria's Secret in May 2022.

To be able to shoot this campaign with my daughter and to showcase the beauty of our relationship was a dream come true, Shields wrote in the caption.

This article was originally published on TODAY.com
By Andrew Osborn

MOSCOW (Reuters) -Russian opposition activist Ilya Yashin on Wednesday predicted he would one day help build a "new and free Russia" after losing his appeal against an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence on a charge of spreading false information about the army.

Yashin, a longtime ally of jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, was convicted in December for statements that he made on his YouTube channel about war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha.

Moscow denies its forces have committed war crimes or attacked civilians in what it calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine, saying such allegations have been fabricated to damage its reputation.

Yashin's appeal was turned down two days after his fellow Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was jailed for 25 years on charges of treason and also, like Yashin, "spreading false information". Kara-Murza had made speeches in the United States and Europe accusing Russia of bombing civilians in Ukraine.

Moscow introduced sweeping censorship laws shortly after sending its armed forces into Ukraine in February last year, which have since been used to silence dissenting voices.

Discrediting the army is punishable by up to five years in prison, while "deliberately spreading false information" about it, for which Yashin was convicted, carries a maximum 15 years.

Yashin, 39, on Wednesday said he had told the truth in his video and that his conscience was clear.

He asked for the Defence Ministry's main spokesman - whose words he was accused of contradicting - to be summoned to the court, something the judge swiftly rejected, along with Yashin's overall appeal, according to a Reuters reporter at the court.

'MURDERERS HAVE RECEIVED LESS'

"The sentence handed down to me is staggering: eight-and-a-half years in prison for a 20-minute speech on the Internet. I have met plenty of murderers, rapists and burglars in prison who have received lesser sentences," Yashin told the court.

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Russian pro-government politicians cast the conflict in Ukraine as an existential struggle with the West, and have portrayed people like Yashin who question Moscow's actions as pro-Western subversives who deserve prison.

Lawyer Vadim Prokhorov, who had defended Kara-Murza in court and has also previously defended Yashin and Navalny, said he had had to leave Russia a few days before the verdict.

"Both the prosecutor and the trial judge ... said it was necessary not only to remove me from the Chamber of Lawyers but also to consider opening a criminal case," he told the U.S. broadcaster Voice of America in an interview posted on YouTube.

"I received a warning through one politician that there was interest from at least one deputy prosecutor-general who was overseeing our case...

"Right now in Russia, an attack is being waged not only against journalists - just as there was previously against [opposition] politicians - but also against lawyers. Several of my colleagues are already in detention."

In court, Yashin said Russia would one day be a different place.

"The pendulum of history is inexorable and I know that, once I am eventually freed, I will be one of those who will have to clean up this whole bloody mess," he said.

"I will become one of those who will build a new, free and happy Russia on the ruins of Putinism."

(Reporting by Reuters;Writing by Andrew Osborn, Editing by Kevin Liffey and Angus MacSwan)
(Reuters) - Any decision by South Korea to supply arms to Ukraine would make Seoul a participant in the conflict, the Kremlin said on Wednesday, after President Yoon Suk Yeol opened the door to such deliveries.

South Korea has denounced Russia's invasion of Ukraine and supplied economic and humanitarian aid to Kyiv, but unlike the United States and European allies has so far stopped short of sending weapons.

In a Reuters interview on Tuesday ahead of a visit to Washington next week, Yoon said Seoul would consider arming Kyiv in the event of a major new attack against Ukrainian civilians.

"Unfortunately, Seoul has taken a rather unfriendly position in this whole story," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a briefing.

"They will try to draw more and more countries directly into this conflict. But of course, the start of arms deliveries will obliquely mean a certain stage of involvement in this conflict."

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, a close ally of President Vladimir Putin who frequently makes hawkish comments on Russia's military campaign in Ukraine, suggested Moscow could respond by supplying advanced weaponry to North Korea.

"I wonder what the inhabitants of this country [South Korea] will say when they see the latest designs of Russian weapons in the hands of their closest neighbours - our partners from the DPRK [North Korea]?" Medvedev said in a post on Telegram.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Kevin Liffey)
An unknown object spotted in the skies above Kyiv on the evening of April 19

Such was the case on Wednesday night.

A bright flash in the sky over Kyiv on the evening of April 19 was not the citys air defenses knocking out enemy missiles, but rather the result of a NASA satellite crash landing on earth," according to Kyiv City Military Administration chief, Serhiy Popko.

Around 10:00 p.m. on April 19, a bright glow of an air object was observed in the sky within the boundaries of Kyiv, the Kyiv City Military Administration wrote on Telegram.

According to preliminary information, this was the result of a NASA satellite crash landing on Earth.

Popko said that air defense systems were not activated, but an air alarm was declared to avoid any casualties from falling debris.

Presidential chief-of-staff Andriy Yermak initially reported about active air defense on his Telegram channel, but later edited the post and instructed citizens to wait for a statement from the Air Force.

Air Force spokesperson Yuriy Ihnat was unable to confirm information about the satellite in his comments to Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne.

In a comment to the BBC, NASA spokesperson Rob Margetta said the RHESSI satellite, which was expected to re-enter Earth atmosphere that day, was "still in orbit" when the phenomenon was visible over Kyiv.

The Alpha Centauri, a popular science channel, reported that the NASA satellites orbit did not pass over Ukraine on the evening of April 19 and speculated that the object in the sky was a bolide  a type of meteor.

The Kyiv Oblast Military Administration had previously reported an airborne target in the sky over the region and urged residents to remain in shelters.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Los Angeles County Hall of Administration. (Genaro Molina/Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County officials revealed their $43-billion recommended budget for the upcoming fiscal year this week  a spending blueprint they promised would keep the region's social safety net intact even as the county prepares to pay a steep price for how poorly officials have historically handled the jails and juvenile halls.

At a Tuesday Board of Supervisors meeting, Chief Executive Officer Fesia Davenport warned that the county may have to spend as much as $3 billion resolving claims of sexual abuse at its facilities.

"Beyond the traumatic personal impact on the survivors of abuse, these cases could have a profound impact on the county budget for decades to come," Davenport said.

In a letter accompanying the budget, she said the claims presented one of the most serious fiscal challenges in recent history.

At $43 billion, the county has one of the largest budgets in local government, bigger than many states and triple that of the city of Los Angeles. Its just a little more than what experts estimate it will cost to repair all the bridges in the U.S. Its just a little less than what the U.S. gave to Ukraine in military aid in the first year or so of the war. Its about what Elon Musk offered for Twitter.

The Board of Supervisors weighed in Tuesday on the spending plan. The budget, if approved by the board in its current form this summer, would funnel hundreds of millions toward services that aim to get people off the streets and out of jail.

The plan puts $692 million toward homeless services , most of it coming from money generated through Measure H, a voter-approved sales tax to fund homeless programs. And $288 million would go toward "alternatives to incarceration."

"I believe this budget sets the county on the right foot for the next fiscal year to keep ourselves accountable to our public for the job we were all elected to do and again strengthens that safety net that we know the county is responsible for," said Board Chair Janice Hahn.

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Davenport told the board the budget was put together in the face of a "mixed" economic forecast and warned the county may have to tighten purse strings down the road  in part to cover the recent deluge of claims of sexual abuse at county facilities.

To resolve an estimated 3,000 sexual abuse claims, the countys lawyers predict it could be forced to spend anywhere between $1.6 billion and $3 billion. Thats more than the county plans to spend next year on its probation, fire, and parks and recreation departments  combined.

Matt McGloin, a top budget official with the county's Chief Executive Office, told reporters the lawsuits would have an effect unprecedented in scope.

The flood of claims stem from a state law that granted victims of childhood sexual assault additional time to file lawsuits. Like many California institutions with checkered histories, the county has been flooded with lawsuits, many from plaintiffs who were once at the now-infamous MacLaren Childrens Center, where physical and sexual abuse ran rampant .

Davenport told reporters the county was still figuring out where the money to pay victims would come from.

Everything has to be on the table, said Davenport, adding theyd consider cutting department budgets or dipping into the county's rainy day fund.

The financial repercussions from past crises arrive as the county faces a new wave of problems in its jails and juvenile halls. Ten people have died in county jails this year  a death toll advocates attribute in part to overcrowding in decrepit facilities. Meanwhile, conditions in the juvenile halls have become so deplorable that state regulators are mulling shutting them down.

More than 50 members of the probation workers' union showed up at the board meeting Tuesday morning. Dwight Thompson, a vice president with the Deputy Probation Officers' Union, said members were there to implore the board to fix working conditions within the facilities and bargain "in good faith" in contract negotiations.

The supervisors then went into closed session, which spokespeople said was to discuss the probation department. The decision left a strange vacuum inside the chamber for the better part of two hours; one man stayed in the board room yelling profanities and singing while probation department members milled outside.

According to budget documents, the county is anticipating an overhaul" of the countys probation system, which could require funding for additional investments in staff, programs, and facilities.

Such investments are not detailed in the recommended budget for probation, and funding for the department is roughly unchanged from the year before. According to budget officials within the CEO's office, the total recommended probation budget is $1.059 billion  a $956,000 decrease from the year before.

The recommended budget for the sheriffs department rose to $3.99 billion, an increase of about $136 million, according to the budget officials. The budget dedicates $6.6 million to fund the new Office of Constitutional Policing, which Sheriff Robert Luna created to fix conditions in the jails and eradicate deputy gangs. County leaders said an additional roughly $50 million would go to improve "unacceptable conditions in the jails.

The funding drew a strong rebuke from progressive advocates, who argued the county was not following through on its promise to reorient the county's programs away from jail.

"It's not actually reflective of what the community has been calling for," said Megan Castillo, the policy and advocacy manager at La Defensa, a group pushing for prison alternatives. "It's a status quo budget. It's a budget that we've seen time and time again where law enforcement receives increases in funding."

County officials maintained they were following through on their promises to move away from incarceration, pointing to $288 million going to programs and projects that aim to keep people away from jail, such as job training, housing, and reentry and mental health services.

That portion of the spending plan was borne out of Measure J, a since-overturned ballot measure aimed at criminal justice reform that county voters approved in 2020 in the aftermath of the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis.

The measure required the county to set aside 10% of its locally generated unrestricted revenues  money the county controls directly, such as property and sales tax, that isnt already earmarked for another purpose  on programs that kept people out of jail.

Though a judge ultimately ruled the measure unconstitutional , county leaders promised to follow in the spirit of what voters demanded and funnel one-tenth of these flexible dollars toward jail alternatives.

Bamby Salcedo, head of the TransLatin@ Coalition who helped pass the measure, said she had originally expected closer to a billion dollars funneled to these programs by this fiscal year. With $288 million dedicated this year, she said she felt the board was "shortchanging" the community.

Davenport told the board she believes the county has fulfilled its pledge.

While some advocates remain dissatisfied, moving from zero to more than half a billion dollars in funding in the space of three years is unprecedented for just about any county initiative, she said.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Georgian, in Santa Monica, California, is back. And it looks straight out of a Wes Anderson movie.

Courtesy of The Georgian

When The Georgian first debuted on Ocean Avenue in Santa Monica, California, it was a dream come true for its owner, Rosamond Borde, who wanted to create a chic oceanfront hideaway for Los Angeles' elite. Now, 90 years after the property's first guests stepped through its doors, the legendary hotel is turning a new page. It reopened on April 3 after a meticulous renovation.

With 84 accommodations, including 28 one-bedroom suites, a library, an art gallery, and several dining concepts, the hotel reclaims its spot on the Santa Monica social scene. Its new owners, Jon Blanchard and Nicolo Rusconi of BLVD Hospitality, teamed up with design and architecture firms Fettle and HLW to reimagine the property for the modern traveler.

"Steeped in history and energized with the glamor of its illustrious past, guests can expect to be transported to a different era as they experience world-class service in a true art-deco landmark," said Nico Rusconi, co-founder and president at BLVD, in an interview with Travel + Leisure.

Courtesy of The Georgian

Courtesy of The Georgian

The hotel's signature turquoise facade, navy striped awning, and lush greenery welcome travelers into a stylish lobby with blush walls and custom art-deco chandeliers.

The light-filled rooms masterfully blend 1930s touches with timeless decor, such as gold-hued headboards, crystal light fixtures, and pastel-toned sofas. Suites also have Polaroid cameras, Victrola record players, and vintage-inspired brass-and-textured glass bars. Sweeping views of the ocean and Santa Monica pier are another feature of almost every room and suite. Additionally, The Georgian is now the first hotel to offer guests a selection of yoga classes by Alo Moves accessible through the TVs in every room.

Courtesy of The Georgian

Courtesy of The Georgian

"Our main priority was to make the building feel as glamorous as it would have during its 1930s heyday by highlighting some of the original architectural details and using pattern and color to give each of the spaces a sense of history," said Tom Parker, director and co-founder at Fettle.

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The hotel's all-day The Restaurant at The Georgian is led by chef David Almany, who focuses on Italian fare prepared with produce sourced from the local Santa Monica Farmers Market. Pair your food with refined cocktails and a curated wine list featuring established Italian producers and natural wines from California.

The Georgian Room, the hotel's legendary fine-dining spot and piano bar, will again welcome patrons after a 50-year break. A private space seating 10 is also available for intimate dinners or celebrating special occasions.

Courtesy of The Georgian

Finally, the hotel's art gallery, Gallery 33, is already showing its inaugural exhibition, showcasing artworks by actress Sharon Stone. Besides exhibiting art by established and up-and-coming talents, this space will host pop-up events and parties.

Nightly rates at The Georgian start from $700. Book your stay at thegeorgian.com

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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Lady Pamela Hicks, who served as a bridesmaid and lady-in-waiting to Queen Elizabeth, recently attended the state funeral of the late monarch in September

Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty

Lady Pamela Hicks will not be among the 2,000 guests in Westminster Abbey for King Charles' coronation.

Queen Elizabeth's bridesmaid and lady-in-waiting turned 94 on Wednesday, and her daughter India Hicks shared her take on the scaled-down guest list for the May 6 crowning ceremony in an Instagram birthday tribute.

India, 55, said they received a message from one of King Charles' private secretaries, explaining that "this coronation was to be very different to the Queen's. 8,000 guests would be whittled down to 1,000 alleviating the burden on the state."

"The King was sending his great love and apologies, he was offending many family and friends with the reduced list," wrote India, who is a goddaughter of King Charles and served as a bridesmaid at his wedding to Princess Diana in 1981.

"My mother was not offended at all. 'How very, very sensible' she said. Invitations based on meritocracy not aristocracy. 'I am going to follow with great interest the events of this new reign,' " India continued in the caption.

"Today my mother turns 94 years old, she must be one of the few remaining people with such a memory intact, about to live through a third coronation," the designer, writer and entrepreneur wrote. "Happy Birthday to my darling Mum."

Related:Why Prince Harry Is Going to the Coronation Without Meghan Markle: 'It's Become So Personal'

Lady Pamela is the daughter of Lord Louis Mountbatten, who was an uncle  and father figure  to Prince Philip. Mountbatten was assassinated by the IRA in 1979, and King Charles mourned him as "the grandfather I never had" when visiting Ireland 25 years later.

Lady Pamela served as a bridesmaid when her first cousin Prince Philip married then-Princess Elizabeth in 1947. She was even abroad in Kenya with the couple in 1952 when King George VI died  making 25-year-old Elizabeth the new Queen.

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"I remember going and hugging her. And then thinking, 'Oh my goodness, she's Queen'  and going into a deep curtsy," Pamela previously told PEOPLE Royals.

Queen Elizabeth and Lady Pamela

Related:King Charles' Coronation: All Your Burning Questions About the Crowning Ceremony Answered

Lady Pamela and India attended the state funeral and committal service for Queen Elizabeth in September, a somber invitation the designer described as "a privilege."

"What a privilege. To have seen the sun set over Westminster Abbey last night and to return today, beside my mother, for the State Funeral, followed by the Committal Service in St. George's Chapel, Windsor. 'Service in life, hope in death' said the Archbishop of Canterbury. God Bless The Queen. Long Live The King," India wrote of an Instagram photo of her and her mother wearing black that day.

Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty

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King Charles' crowning ceremony will be much more modest than his mother's coronation 70 years ago. In addition to a smaller guest list, the King and Queen Consort's church service has also been streamlined to 60 minutes  a third of Queen Elizabeth's nearly three-hour coronation in 1953.

Making up the congregation will be members of the royal family, community and charity representatives and royals from around the world, including foreign monarchs, in a break from previous tradition.

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Read the original article on People.
A worker exits a home on 27th Street where some cleanup and repairs were done after an LAPD fireworks explosion damaged homes in 2021. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times)

Nearly two years after the Los Angeles Police Department bomb squad blew up a South L.A. neighborhood during the detonation of a cache of fireworks, officials say the first officer involved has been disciplined.

The unnamed cop was suspended for 10 days without pay for being "deficient in duties which contributed to an excessive quantity of explosive material being loaded into and detonated in the Total Containment Vessel," according to department records posted online Tuesday. The officer was only identified by rank and assignment: police officer III from "technical service maintenance." No other details were provided.

The disciplinary action is the first to come to light against an officer in the widely criticized June 2021 incident, as the city continues to work with the dozens of residents and business owners affected by the blast.

In an interview Tuesday, LAPD Chief Michel Moore said he could not discuss the particular officer's case, citing employee privacy laws. But, he said, a lengthy investigation found sufficient evidence that misconduct occurred" during the botched explosion. This led him to recommend discipline against a number of officers that were involved in the handling and process and decision-making," Moore said.

He said he did not know offhand how many officers were ultimately disciplined in connection with the explosion.

An LAPD spokeswoman later clarified that six department employees in all were accused of misconduct in connection in the incident. Capt. Kelly Muniz said two officers were disciplined for their roles and "corrective action"  department parlance for extra training  was assigned to two others.

Details of the other disciplinary case hadn't been made public as of Tuesday.

Under the LAPDs current discipline system, officers facing suspension or even termination for misconduct can have their cases heard before a closed-door tribunal known as a Board of Rights. Disciplinary decisions are generally not announced until their final disposition.

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On June 30, 2021, the police department's bomb squad botched the detonation of a large fireworks cache discovered in the backyard of a home on 27th Street in South Los Angeles. The resulting blast ripped through the densely populated neighborhood, injuring 17 people and destroying dozens of homes, cars and businesses. More than 80 residents were displaced.

Two elderly residents who lived on the block and were among the displaced later died. Family members and activists have blamed their deaths on significant stress from the explosion. Officials said the two died of illnesses and natural causes.

An investigation of the incident by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms concluded that police badly miscalculated the amount of fireworks they placed into a containment vessel before detonating them.

Arturo Ceja III, a 26-year-old resident of the block, pleaded guilty in federal court last year to unlicensed transport of explosives from Nevada to California. Ceja told federal investigators that he had bought the fireworks at a dealership called Area 51 in Pahrump, Nev., and had taken them to L.A. in rented vans and trucks over six or seven trips, according to a search warrant affidavit signed by ATF special agent Blake MacLearnsberry.

After being tipped off that someone was selling fireworks from a house on that block, members of the bomb squad and detectives from the LAPD Major Crimes Unit responded to the scene, the affidavit said. A search of the property turned up more than 500 boxes containing roughly 5,000 pounds of commercial-grade fireworks, stored haphazardly in cardboard boxes under a tent, MacLearnsberry wrote in the affidavit.

MacLearnsberry wrote that officers were removing the explosives when a bomb squad supervisor decided some homemade fireworks also found at the house were "not safe to transport due to risk of detonation in a densely populated area and therefore would be destroyed on scene using a total containment vessel."

But a later investigation determined that LAPD explosives technicians accidentally loaded and detonated 39.8 pounds of explosives in the containment vehicle  more than the vessel could safely contain. This was done over the objections of one of the officers present, a report found.

LAPD officials previously told The Times that the officers who caused the blast were held accountable. But Tuesday's disclosure was the first public acknowledgment of specific discipline in the case. The officers involved still haven't been named; department officials say they are bound by privacy laws.

Since the incident, 89 people whose lives were upended by the blast were moved into the Level Hotel downtown, which was paid for by taxpayer dollars.

Earlier this year, Councilmember Curren Price drew public outrage after he told a Times reporter that the dozens of displaced residents still calling the hotel home were "gaming the system a little bit." Price later apologized for what he said were "insensitive" comments.

He has since introduced a motion authorizing $2.37 million in funding to continue supporting the families living in the hotel because they still have no homes. He said his office was looking into securing additional funding to allow them to stay there for an extended period of time beyond a city deadline that ended last month.

Times staff writer Brittny Mejia contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
A young moose was trapped in a steep canyon by a deep, fast-flowing river in Utah with traffic on one side and no escape on the other.

With the help of nearby neighbors and highway patrol, a team of wildlife officials dragged the moose through deep snow up a treacherous slope in Ogden Canyon within the Wasatch Range, officials with the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources said in an April 18 post on Facebook.

The moose couldnt get across the fast-moving high waters of the Ogden River to the north side of the mountain, and the south side was way too steep for the moose to climb, officials said in the post.

The mooses precarious position posed a risk not only to the moose but to drivers along the canyon as well, officials said in the post.

We were luckily able to tranquilize the moose, and form a team to get the 600-pound animal through deep snow and up a steep slope, officials said in the post. Thanks to all who helped us: the homeowner who brought his skid steer across the road and plowed a pathway for us; homeowners who helped us carry the heavy animal up the slope; and officers with the Utah Highway Patrol who stopped traffic so the work could take place safely. A special thanks to motorists who waited patiently in the canyon while the operation happened.

Photos show the huge moose being dragged through the snow on what looks like a tarp or blanket as the team steadies her. The drugged animal is also shown lying down in a wildlife trailer with wide eyes and her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth  which of course drew jokes from Facebook users.

I had the same look on my face last time I got black out drunk and didnt know where I was, someone joked.

I want whatever that moose had, someone else said.

After we got her up the slope, we transported the moose to the Hardware Wildlife Management Area and released (her) into her new home! officials said in the post.

Ogden Canyon is about 35 miles north of Salt Lake City.

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Atka the moose  orphaned at 6 days old  steps into new life after surgery, zoo says

Neighbors help save tired and cold moose that fell in icy Alaska river, photos show

Moose and calf show up outside day care, and captivated kids get real-life nature lesson
Fox New studios in New York on November 28, 2018. Mark Lennihan/AP

Lawyers for a former Fox News producer vowed to continue their legal fight on Tuesday.

Abby Grossberg is suing the network, alleging discrimination.

Fox News has denied her allegations, and a spokesperson said her legal claims "have no merit."

A former producer at Fox News who alleges the company has an institutional bias against women remains "as committed as ever" to pursuing litigation against the company in the hopes of achieving real change there, her attorneys said in a statement on Tuesday.

Abby Grossberg, who worked as a producer for Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromo before being fired last month, is suing Fox News on the basis that her career was thwarted by what she claims was a culture of misogyny and antisemitism.

Fox News has denied the allegations, with a spokesperson telling Insider that her legal claims "have no merit."

Grossberg has also alleged that Fox News lawyers prodded her to make false statements for a deposition in the lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems, which was settled Tuesday afternoon for $787.5 million. Last week her attorneys also said they found recordings on her electronic devices, of conversations between Fox News employees the likes of Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell, that the company failed to hand over during discovery in the Dominion case.

Parisis G. Filippatos and Tanvir H. Rahman, lawyers for Grossberg, suggested Tuesday that she is not eager to settle her case, at least not just yet. In a statement, they said: "While we congratulate Dominion on a truly precedent setting settlement, we cannot help but be reminded of how Fox News's penchant for paying out notoriously large settlements to resolve lawsuits exposing its unlawful conduct  whether it's troubling allegations of workplace discrimination and sexual harassment and misconduct, to accusations of spreading malicious lies  have unfortunately, to date, failed to bring about actual meaningful changes to the network's abhorrent culture of lawlessness."

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The Fox News spokesperson told Insider in a statement: "FOX News Media engaged an independent outside counsel to immediately investigate the concerns raised by Ms. Grossberg, which were made following a critical performance review. Her allegations in connection with the Dominion case are baseless and we will vigorously defend Fox against all of her legal claims which have no merit."

In 2017, The New York Times reported that Fox News or Bill O'Reilly had entered into at least a half-dozen settlement agreements related to harassment claims leveled against the former network star. O'Reilly signed a new contract with the company the same year he paid a $32 million settlement agreement, The Times reported.

Grossberg's attorneys said their client, through the lawsuits she has filed in New York and Delaware, "remains committed as ever to obtaining vindication of Fox News's violations of not just her rights but the rights of others whose voices have been silenced or who fear retribution for exposing the truth." The goal, they claimed, is "bringing about truly real and meaningful institutional changes at Fox News through every vehicle available to us in our legal system."

Grossberg is not the only legal foe pledging to continue their fight against Fox News. In a statement on Tuesday, the election technology company Smartmatic said it "remains committed" to its own $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit against the network.

Have a news tip? Email this reporter: cdavis@insider.com

Editor's Note: This story has been updated with the full statement from Fox News and clarification that The New York Times reported Bill O'Reilly paid the $32 million settlement.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Le Creuset's new shallot color Le Creuset

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Le Creuset is probably the most iconic brand in the cookware space. My mom has had her flame-colored Le Creuset Dutch oven for at least as long as Ive been alive (29 years). My brother and sister-in-law got a full set of Caribbean blue mugs and serving dishes from their wedding registry. And now, finally, you can deck out your kitchen with a full line of pale purple Le Creuset pots and pans, a shade its dubbed shallot.

In case youre not familiar with shallots, they are those small but delicious bulbs that are close relatives of the onion.

When the news broke of the Le Creuset spring 2023 color launch, a BuzzFeed News Slack channel erupted in debate  not over the quality and aspirational nature of the brand, or the appeal of the soothing pale purple, which were almost universally agreed upon  but the choice of name for this new color.

It all started when someone shared a tweet of a video documenting the dramatic color reveal. The video shows the fresh new spring cookware line amid a plethora of light purple flowers. There is not one actual shallot in sight, one staffer noted.

Someone had to explain to me that its the inside of a shallot, an editor commented. Another agreed and questioned why it was not brown, like the outermost layer of a shallot, to which someone questioned, Do you eat the brown part? (Its like the skin of an onion, so, no, dont eat it.)

Photos of shallots were shared to show their white-and-purple interior. Some argued that other produce-related colors, like apple red or banana yellow, would in fact refer to the skin as opposed to the insides. Finally, the question arose of whether shallot is a different color than onion. (We are talking about red onions, of course, which are actually purple, but thats a conundrum for another day.)

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After peeling off the skin to reach the first edible layer, I would say that a shallot is a lighter, more gentle purple than a red onion. Its also a trendier and, in my opinion, superior vegetable.

I understand what Le Creuset was going for when naming its product line, and also in choosing this pastel hue. One of my colleagues referred to the whole launch as millennial culture proof of life  its the amalgamation of the millennial pink and Alison Roman caramelized shallot pasta trends. Its an Instagram-ready kitchen aesthetic ripe for sharing all of your re-created TikTok recipes.

I see shallot saucepans and baking dishes catapulting Le Creuset onto more wedding registries than ever before. Its a delicate pastel that screams soft spring wedding. The entire new neutrals line has a very different vibe from all of its other hues. Its likely to bring the brand onto the social media pages of many who werent familiar with it before. These new fans may have never even cooked before, but theyll still buy a loaf pan for the clout.

Lucky for them, Le Creuset makes some damn good cookware. My moms frequently used 30-plus-year-old Dutch oven still looks as good and works as well as ever. Everything is made in France from durable, chip-resistant enameled cast iron, and feels like a classic no matter what shade you choose.

Sure, shallot as a color and ingredient may go out of style in the future, but maybe by then social media wont exist and you wont care about the exterior appeal of your pots  youll just be happy to have a quality product that stood the test of time.

You can buy the shallot line from Le Creuset starting at around $24.

More on this
General Mark Milley

There are typically quite strict procedures for handling classified information. I have quite a lot of personal experience dealing with secret documents - everything is done in such a way as to prevent a leak. But, sometimes, people are careless about it. A lot of people probably saw the screenshots of these documents. Clearly, it was printed on paper. Someone folded it, then re-photographed it. The photo by itself is enough for American counter-intelligence to track down the source of the leak in the shortest possible time.

Much of this information ended up in the public domain this way. It can be used in different ways. The Russians are trying to take advantage of this as much as possible, though the actual information also contains some bitter pills for them.

If we exclude the New York Times story, this leak initially started from the Russian Z-channels. But, of course, only part of these materials concern Ukraine. Still, this is the part they promoted, especially certain aspects. For example, the report that Ukraine is not ready for a counteroffensive. This has a clear intention to convince Ukrainians - saying, you are unprepared, and we al-ready know everything about you.

Read also: Pentagon leaks nothing more than standard special operation, says military intelligence chief

The second thing I noticed: regarding the wiretapping of Zelenskyy, this is unpleasant, but they are more likely to be listening to official communications than his private ones. But this is, again, still unpleasant. It also fits in with a previous scandal about when Angela Merkel was tapped. This is intended to undermine trust between allies, but Russia is trying to overdo it here. The editing of the documents was recorded, and it calls into question the authenticity of the rest of the leak. Most likely, the Russians mixed up the documents and distorted, for example, the proportion of losses there. They then pushed it to the Western media, who published these figures, and now Russians are using it. The so-called "return" started. Now they are publishing data with reference to Western sources. Most likely, this data was falsified by Russia in this mix of true and false documents.

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And about how this whole leak could affect US relations with partners, let's go back to where I started. Suppose there is a real version that it was a controlled leak. In that case, the Americans should obviously conduct, or they have already conducted, some communication with their key partners to explain it to them, but it is unnecessary. And if it's not a controlled leak, then no one is safe.

A few years ago, a scandal in Great Britain occurred when a high-ranking official was resting in a park and left behind a briefcase with secret documents. So, such things happen to everyone. If there is a basic level of trust, then all these issues can be resolved. It will have a temporary effect, perhaps, on the amount of information that is shared. The well-known intelligence alliance "5 Eyes" (Five Eyes) may be more reticent about sharing information for a while, but I don't think it will have a long-term effect.

Journalists should not take this personally, but another problem here is the issue of sensational media. All respectable publications are sick of it. The topic of the war in Ukraine is extremely popular today, especially the upcoming Ukrainian offensive. If a headline has a "Ukrainian counteroffensive," it is guaranteed to have readers. That is how I see what's going on. And what about the sources of used by mass media? They may even be authorized to transmit certain messages, certain signals in the context of information policy in general. In war conditions, this is also an information conflict, hiding under the guise of "trustworthy sources."

At the same time, there is a positive function to such messages. For example, US intelligence believes that Ukraine's lack of ammunition and equipment could cause its forces to fall far short (as stated) of Kyiv's initial goals for the expected counteroffensive. The positive side is that it signals to our partners to increase aid to Ukraine. Politicians react to it. This is far from the first time public attention has been used. We have been observing this approach for the past 12 months or more. It works quite effectively, and the position of political elites is changing. The most prominent example is Germany. If you look at the evolution of German policy regarding support for Ukraine, this is one of the tools which worked quite effectively for such policy changes.

The opinion that to end the Russo-Ukraine war as quickly as possible, Ukraine must win, is already prevalent. Nevertheless, there are still those who hesitate. The camp which adheres to the correct position tries to influence its opponents similarly.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Visitors gather at the exhibition stand of Brazilian food and beverage during the fourth China International Import Expo in Shanghai on Nov 9, 2021. [Photo/VCG]

President of Brazil Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva concluded his China visit a few days ago. While this was his first China visit during his new presidential term, he had traveled to the Asian country three times during his two previous administrations, from 2003 until 2011. He paid two state visits in 2004 and 2009, respectively, while he also attended the opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympic Games in August 2008. This is indicative of the diachronic importance President Lula attaches to Sino-Brazilian relations, which have thrived in the last 20 years.



World Bank data shows that Brazilian exports to China rose from $4.5 billion in 2003 to $63.3 billion in 2019, the year before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, Brazilian imports rose from $2.3 billion in 2003 to $37 billion in 2019. During this timeframe, China became Brazil's biggest trade partner, beating out close-runners United States and Argentina. According to official statistics from Brazil, Brazilian exports, principally soy, ores, and oil, amounted to $89.7 billion, while imports were worth $60.7 billion last year.

As far as Chinese investments in Brazil are concerned, data showcases the progress. A study by the Brazil China Business Council demonstrates that the annual value of confirmed Chinese investments increased from circa $0.5 billion in 2007 to $7.3 billion in 2019. During this period, its value had been even higher. For example, in 2010, it reached $13.1 billion, and in 2017, it equaled $8.8 billion. The type of investments is multidimensional, covering sectors such as agriculture, electricity generation, information technology, finance, manufacturing, including different products such as machinery and paper, as well as oil and gas extraction and water collection. Although data for 2022 is not yet available, Chinese companies invested $5.9 billion in 2021, an indication of an upward trend after a natural drop in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Against this backdrop, it's unsurprising that Sino-Brazilian ties further improved during President Lula's recent visit. Only a few weeks prior, China had resumed imports of Brazilian beef, on top of a yuan clearing arrangement made by the two sides aimed at boosting trade. Now they are both determined to deepen their comprehensive strategic partnership 30 years after its establishment. The relevant joint declaration outlines aspects of their bilateral cooperation, for example, in digital and technological fields as well as in the context of climate change. This cooperation will also lead to more efficient coordination of multilateral formats at the UN, the G20, and the BRICS, among others. Synergies in other formats are also possible. A few months ago, President Lula talked about the likelihood of a free trade agreement between China and MERCOSUR, a union of four states made up of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay  at the proposal of Uruguay.

History  even modern history  provides the best way to look at the evolution of Sino-Brazilian relations. While much attention was recently paid to a new program of earth resource satellites (CBERS-6) between the two countries, the first of its kind had already been launched in 1999. Above all, the country's friendship endures and is outlined at difficult moments. In 2008, Brazil provided timely relief materials in response to the earthquake that hit areas in Sichuan, a gesture that the Chinese people will not forget. Meanwhile, China donated necessary medical equipment to different Brazilian states during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next year, 2024, marks the 50th anniversary of the establishment of Sino-Brazilian diplomatic relations. The two countries are certainly on a good track to celebrate this anniversary with new bilateral achievements and objectives. There is no better indication than the third state visit of President Lula to China.

George N. Tzogopoulos is a columnist with China.org.cn. For more information please visit:

http://www.china.org.cn/opinion/GeorgeNTzogopoulos.htm

Opinion articles reflect the views of their authors, not necessarily those of China.org.cn.

If you would like to contribute, please contact us at opinion@china.org.cn.
A military vehicle carrying a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone takes part a military parade at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on October 1, 2019, to mark the 70th anniversary of the founding of the Peoples Republic of China. GREG BAKER/AFP via Getty Images

A 21-year-old airman at a National Guard unit in Massachusetts leaked military intelligence online.

Some of the documents showed China's plans for a supersonic drone, The Washington Post reported.

China's WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones can travel three times the speed of sound.

One of the documents included in a trove of leaked military intelligence posted online by a 21-year-old airman at a National Guard unit in Massachusetts included apparent plans from China's Ministry of National Defense to advance its surveillance capabilities with supersonic reconnaissance drones.

The leaked documents, reportedly from the United States National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, come as military tensions between mainland China and neighboring Taiwan have been escalating: Just last week, the Chinese military released a video showing what an attack on the island nation would look like, Insider previously reported.

The Washington Post first reported on the secret document, which indicates the Chinese military is making technological advances with its surveillance programs that could help the country "target American warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region."

Satellite imagery included in the documents, dated August 9, 2022, show two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base approximately 350 miles from Shanghai, the outlet reported. The cutting-edge drones, which are launched from bomber planes, are capable of traveling three times the speed of sound, according to the documents  slightly slower than the US's mysterious Lockheed Martin SR-72 Blackbird, which Lockheed claims reaches speeds of Mach 6.

The drones could assist China in real-time mapping that would inform strategy or enable high-speed missile strikes in a future conflict, The Washington Post reported.

Taiwan's air force has a slew of gaping vulnerabilities against a potential Chinese invasion. It's highly likely Beijing would achieve air superiority quickly if it goes to war across the strait, Insider previously reported.

Story continues

The WZ-8 drones were introduced in 2019 during the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, but few military analysts believed they were fully functional at the time, The Washington Post reported. The documents reported on by the outlet included flight paths for the drone, as well as the bomber plane used to launch the device.

Representatives for the Department of Defense and China's Ministry of National Defense did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

Read the original article on Business Insider
By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A leaked U.S. military assessment says the Chinese military may soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday.

The newspaper cited a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The document, which Reuters could not confirm or verify independently, features satellite imagery dated Aug 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles (560km) inland from Shanghai, according to the newspaper.

The U.S. assessment said China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) had "almost certainly" established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theater Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the newspaper reported.

The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Washington Post said it obtained the assessment of the program from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord messaging app, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who was arrested last week.

The FBI on Thursday arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, over the leaks online of classified documents that embarrassed Washington with allies around the world.

The leaks first became widely known earlier this month, setting Washington on edge about the damage they may have caused. The episode embarrassed the U.S. by revealing its spying on allies and purported Ukrainian military vulnerabilities.

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen's recent meeting with U.S. House of Representative Kevin McCarthy had upset Beijing. China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan is one of its provinces, says Taiwan is the single most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
An investigator inspects burnt out area following a fire at a hospital in Beijing (AP)

A deadly fire at a hospital in Beijing killed at least 29 people, with 26 of the victims being patients.

The fire broke out in a wing of Beijings Changfeng Hospital that housed critically ill patients, according to a city government official who spoke at a news briefing on Wednesday.

The incident, which occurred at about 12.50pm on Tuesday, prompted China to order an investigation into the cause of the fire.

Dramatic videos on social media showed people escaping the smoke and flames by using tied bedsheets to climb down the walls.

Though 71 people were rescued during the evacuation, the death toll has risen since the fire was first reported. State-run media reported that 21 people had died by 6pm on Tuesday. This number, however, climbed to 29 a day later.

The fire was extinguished in around half an hour, according to local reports, but questions have been raised about why the news was not reported earlier.

Many social media posts about the incident were deleted by Chinese censors, with people criticising a delay in announcing the news.

Rescue work at the scene concluded in 3.5 hours, but the public only knew that 21 had died from the fire when its already past 8 in the evening, one person wrote on WeChat in a post that was later deleted.

It is very puzzling that little information was known about a fire killing 21 people in a densely populated major city like Beijing before the official notification, the comment said.

Despite the tragic incident, Changfeng Hospital had boasted about its fire preparedness in a February article on its official WeChat account, leading to criticism from some members of the public.

Today, April 18, a Fire at #Beijing Fengtai Changfeng Hospital Killed 21 People. Only a cold official announcement can be published, and no independent coverage or investigation is allowed. pic.twitter.com/s7FasWX7Jx  Inconvenient Truths by Jennifer Zeng  (@jenniferzeng97) April 18, 2023

Access to the hospital has been blocked, as broken and burned out windows could be seen along with heavy police presence, according to local media reports.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and there is no information available at this time regarding the extent of the injuries suffered by survivors.

Additional reporting by agencies
Akron police said they arrested at least six people during protests Monday following a grand jury's decision not to indict police officers involved in the death of Jayland Walker last year.

Police also issued numerous citations for traffic and equipment violations during the protests, which lasted until after midnight, the department said Tuesday in a news release. Two illegal handguns were found during two traffic stops, resulting in firearms charges, they said.

'It is us that are dying': Jayland Walker case prompts protests in Akron

Starting around 7:40 p.m., police said, a caravan of protesters that grew to about 60 vehicles at its peak began driving around the city, "sometimes blocking traffic and committing a wide range of traffic violations, including driving reverse of traffic."

Demonstrators take to Wilbeth Road on Monday evening to make their frustration known near the site where Jayland Walker was shot and killed by Akron police last summer, as they protest the grand jury's decision not to criminally charge the eight police officers.

The news release added, "During several traffic stops, agitated subjects approached officers on foot while some yelled obscenities from a distance."

Police received a report of gunshots around 8:40 p.m. in the area of South Main Street and East Wilbeth Road, near a caravan of vehicles that was demonstrating in the area where Walker was killed.

The caravan also traveled through several streets in downtown Akron.

A 30-year-old man was arrested and charged with criminal mischief for tampering with metal barriers on South High Street, police said. He was also cited for open container, possession of marijuana and obstructing official business.

Akron police chief: 'Nothing is jumping out' yet as policy violation in Jayland Walker case

Eight Akron officers fatally shot Jayland Walker 46 times on June 27 after he led officers on a crosstown car chase, during which police say the 25-year-old Black man fired a single shot from his vehicle. Walker was unarmed and running in a ski mask when he was shot after a short foot chase near Wilbeth and South Main. A handgun was found in his vehicle.

Akrons police union defended the officers action as consistent with their training, while Walkers family decried his death as senseless and said he was not a criminal. Walkers fiancee had died in a traffic crash weeks earlier.

Story continues

Summit Countys first-ever special grand jury convened April 10 to hear prosecutors from the Ohio Attorney Generals Office present BCIs findings.

Akron police also will conduct a separate internal investigation to determine if any department regulations were violated by the officers.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron police say at least 6 arrested during Jayland Walker protests
Murals honoring those who died during the Robb Elementary School shooting in Uvalde, Texas, on Nov. 7, 2022. Mark Felix / AFP via Getty Images

The Uvalde shooter wrote "LOL" with his victims' blood on a classroom's whiteboard, Texas Rep. Joe Moody said during a hearing on Tuesday.

Moody, a Texas representative from El Paso who was part of the investigation into the Uvalde mass shooting, shared the disturbing detail during Tuesday's hearing on House Bill 2744, which would raise the age to buy a semiautomatic rifle from 18 to 21. The graphic detail wasn't something that had been shared outside of the group who investigated the shooting, Moody said.

He described the whiteboard in the classroom, which had, on one side, a list of "lovebirds": four pairs of elementary school students who had childhood crushes on each other. Three of the pairs included kids who were murdered during the May 24 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, that killed 19 students and two teachers.

"The attacker scooped up the blood of his victims and smeared it into a disgusting message there," Moody said. "What he wrote in innocent blood right next to that 'lovebirds' banner was the phrase 'LOL.' Laughing out loud. That's what he thought of what he had done. His message to us wasn't anger or hatred. It was something flippant. He celebrated that he could do what he did. That's his critique of us, because we let this happen."

The people inside the Legislature room, including family members of Uvalde and Santa Fe victims, whimpered and cried as Moody revealed the horrifying detail.

His comments during Tuesday's hearing were used to convey the impact of additional regulations on guns. Moody noted that if House Bill 2744 had been in effect that day, the Uvalde shooter  who bought his weapon the day after his 18th birthday  wouldn't have been able to buy the semiautomatic rifle he used to murder the 21 victims. Gun safety advocates have long pushed to raise the minimum age necessary to buy weapons, as federal law sets a minimum age of 18 to buy long guns like rifles and semiautomatic weapons.

Story continues

House Bill 2744 was left pending in the Statehouse's Community Safety Committee at the end of the hearing.

Walked into the Capitol at 8:30am yesterday. Now walking out of the Capitol at 4am. Will never stop fighting for a safer Texas. #ElPasoStrong #UvaldeStrong #txlege 09:07 AM - 19 Apr 2023

Javier Cazares, whose daughter Jacklyn Cazares was killed in the mass shooting, testified Tuesday in support of raising the age to buy a semiautomatic rifle.

"My baby girl was full of life and love," he said. "She never learned to ride her bike, never made it to the fifth grade, will never experience her 15th birthday, prom, graduation from high school, college, and becoming a vet, visiting Paris, or even falling in love because she was taken by being murdered at 9 years old."

Veronica Mata, whose daughter Tess died in the Uvalde mass shooting, testified that her daughter didn't have an option between life and death.

"But you, as leaders, have a choice of what my daughter's life will be remembered for," she said. "Did she die in vain or will her life have saved another child, maybe your child."

The bill was introduced late Tuesday, and testimony went into early Wednesday morning. Kimberly Garcia, whose 10-year-old daughter Amerie Jo Garza died in the Robb Elementary shooting, tweeted that she and others had to wait 10 hours before they could testify.

"Today was so mentally exhausting," Garcia tweeted. "We had to wait hours, about 10 hours just to hear our bill get called so we could testify. The pain we have to endure over and over talking about what we are going through. To make change, make a difference, and be voices for our children."

Today was so mentally exhausting. We had to wait hours, about 10 hours just to hear our bill get called so we could testify. The pain we have to endure over and over talking about what we are going through. To make change, make a difference, and be voices for our children. 05:14 AM - 19 Apr 2023

More on this
Florida legislators on Wednesday quickly responded to Gov. Ron DeSantis call to retroactively invalidate an agreement between Walt Disney World and its special taxing district, adopting amendments despite warnings that the proposal will not withstand a constitutional challenge.

The Florida State Affairs Committee and the Senate Rules Committee each added an amendment to bills regulating land use and development regulations that requires the DeSantis-appointed board overseeing all of Disneys parks and resorts to vote on the Disney agreement that limits the authority of the governors new supervisors to infrastructure and taxing issues.

The move came on the same day the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board of Supervisors met and announced a series of proposals that will require the governing board whose revenues come from Disney to raise taxes on itself.

Under the amendments added to SB 1604 and HB 439, special districts would be prohibited from complying with development agreements executed three months or less before new laws take effect that change how district board members are selected.

The amendment also would give new boards four months to review any development agreements and decide if they should be re-adopted.

The Legislature sets up special districts and allows them, and therefore we should be able to change how we think some of those things need to happen as we move forward, said Rep. Stan McClain, R-Ocala, the sponsor of the House amendment.

Is this constitutional?

But Democrats, who have for years criticized Republican lawmakers for their willingness to give Walt Disney World favorable treatment, said the amendments now appeared to be singling out the company for punitive treatment. They warned that if passed, the provision would violate the Constitution.

Im all about corporate accountability, but this isnt it, said Rep. Anna Eskamani, D-Orlando. And it continues to be a distraction for us to focus on real life issues by continuing the Disney versus DeSantis drama.

Story continues

Sen. Shevrin Jones, D-West Park, said he worried the amendment would set a very bad precedent that opens up the floodgates for future legislatures. He said the Disney-backed district appears to have operated within the law, and this shouldnt be how we govern.

Both McClain and the Senate sponsor, Sen. Blaise Ingoglia, R-Spring Hill, were asked if they could name other special districts to which the law would apply and how many would be affected. Neither could answer.

Im not sure how many, but I can think of one, Ingoglia told the Senate Rules Committee, referring to the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.

The amendments come after DeSantis announced there would be more to come in his war against Disney, the largest single-site employer in the United States with 75,000 workers and an economic linchpin of the states tourism industry.

DeSantis first effort didnt work

Last year, DeSantis wanted to dissolve the Reedy Creek Improvement District, the special taxing district created in 1967 to pay for municipal services to the 39-square-mile area where Disney built its theme parks, hotels and resort areas at a time when the nearest urban development was more than 16 miles away.

After Disney officials voiced opposition to the Parental Rights in Education Bill, which prohibited classroom instruction on gender identity issues in certain grades, legislators rushed through a bill to dissolve the district. But, after it became law, Disney quietly pointed to another state law that requires the state to pay for any outstanding debts before a special district is dissolved and, if the district were to be dismantled as the governor wanted, it would cost Florida taxpayers nearly $1 billion.

Lawmakers returned in special session in February, repealed the law dissolving the district and replaced it with a plan to allow the governor to appoint the districts governing board. But, before that law could take effect, Disney outmaneuvered the state by adopting a series of development agreement and restrictive covenants that undermined the authority of the DeSantis-appointed board.

Invalidating those agreements, however, is expected to be a lengthy legal fight. At its meeting on Wednesday, Central Florida Tourism Oversight District Board voted to void the agreements with no discussion.

But because state and federal contract law may create legal obstacles to that decision, the legislation attempts to help them achieve the goal.

In the House, McClain had difficulty explaining the amendment under questioning from Eskamani.

The Florida Constitution says we cant pass retroactive laws impairing contracts. Can you explain how is your amendment constitutional? she asked.

Obviously this would be a new law, McClain answered.

He denied it would be retroactive to any special district. The point here is the board would have a four-month opportunity to go back and look at any agreements that had been done previous to them becoming board members, he said.

Eskamani quoted from the Florida Constitution which states in Article 1, Section 10 that No bill of attainder, ex post facto law or law impairing the obligation of contracts shall be passed.

She said it appears that the amendment was a violation of contract law and other constitutional rights.

The proposal gives the district board the ability to withdraw from a contractual agreement by creating what would be a new law, she argued. The new law forbids an independent special district from complying with the terms of any development agreement  if that development agreement was struck within three months before Legislature passed a law that changes how the special districts governing board is selected.

I really encourage folks to put this to bed, Eskamani said, quoting the Disney movie Frozen. Let it go, as the musical says.

Mary Ellen Klas can be reached at meklas@miamiherald.com and @MaryEllenKlas
Kenneth Mejia rides a scooter in downtown Los Angeles in November 2022. (Steve Lopez / Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: The real issue with Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia receiving referral fees for bringing in new tenants who worked in his office isnt whether he violated ethical rules. Rather, its the whole sense that, despite the nature of his campaign, he really doesnt get it.

I voted for him because I thought he did get it. And I think we all know what "it" means.

In any event, he might get past this bad publicity speed-bump by promptly donating $1,000 to a legitimate renters' organization that helps people who can't afford to have the luxury of the apartment he lives in.

Given Mejia's $252,042 salary, I'm sure he can afford a $1,000 donation and probably more. Just a thought.

Loren Mark, Los Angeles

..

To the editor: In last fall's controller race, the obvious choice was then-L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz, an effective public servant.

To my surprise, The Times' editorial board endorsed the inexperienced Mejia, who had previously called Joe Biden a "rapist" and suggested Hillary Clinton should be imprisoned. The voters overwhelmingly selected Mejia.

Mejia has quickly gotten himself in trouble. He allegedly commented on his campaign workers' sex lives, pressured staffers to move into his apartment building and received fees for referring his employees to that building.

The controller is supposed to keep tabs on the city, but it looks like the city will need to keep tabs on its controller.

Michael Pollak, Los Angeles

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Daria Trepova, a suspect in the murder of Russian

Russias totalitarian regime can now consider anything that diverges from the Kremlins ideology to be treason.

Read also: Russian Duma calls on businesses to install air defense systems independently

Russian courts can now sentence anyone to life imprisonment for espionage, providing foreigners with information designated as a state secret, or defecting to the enemy.

Other examples where one could find themselves in prison for life include providing financial, logistical, consulting, or other assistance to the state whose activities are directed against Russia.

The Kremlin will decide which activities are considered against Russia.

Read also: Kremlin issues blacklist of outspoken Russian MPs who are not to be quoted about the war

Previously, the maximum penalty Russians faced was up to 20 years in prison with a fine of up to RUB 500,000 ($6,000) for such crimes.

Russian lawmakers voted to strengthen criminal liability for sabotage and terrorism. They will now imprison violators for up to 20 years (formerly 15 years) for these acts.

The State Duma also passed amendments for assisting in the implementation of decisions of international organizations in which Russia does not participate, such as the International Criminal Court, or decisions on criminal prosecution of Russian military personnel or officials.

Penalties for violating these laws include a fine from RUB 300,000 ($3,600) to RUB 1 million ($12,000), or imprisonment for up to five years, in addition to a ban from holding certain positions or engaging in certain activities for a similar term.

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
As production on a live-action remake of the Disney film Lilo & Stich gets underway, fans are sounding off on the casting of one of its stars.

Actress Sydney Agudong was cast in the role of Nani, the older sister of protagonist Lilo, in the sci-fi comedy that follows two orphaned Hawaiian sisters who unwittingly befriend an alien fugitive named Stich. Agudong was born and raised on the island of Kauai, Hawaii.

Despite Agudongs Hawaiian descent, people have taken to social media to scrutinize the appropriateness of her casting given the actress light skin tone, which contrasts with the darker complexion of the original Nani from the 2002 animated film.

'We did that!':'Lilo & Stitch' director says movie captured sisterhood before 'Frozen'

Stitch, from left, Nani and Lilo in a scene from the 2002 film "Lilo & Stitch." The casting of Sydney Agudong as Nani in the live-action remake of the film has sparked backlash from fans.

Fans blast Sydney Agudongs Lilo & Stich casting on social media

A number of fans took to social media following Agudongs casting as Nani in the upcoming adaptation of Lilo & Stich, many taking issue with casting a light-skinned actor for a dark-skinned character.

If theyre not going to cast a thick brown skin Pacific Islander as Nani why bother even filming the live action Lilo and Stitch, Twitter user @eureckah1 wrote. They wont be getting a penny from me.

If theyre not going to cast a thick brown skin Pacific Islander as Nani why bother even filming the live action Lilo and Stitch. They wont be getting a PENNY from me https://t.co/28FQqM5jSc  Erykah Jackson, Esq. (@eureckah1) April 14, 2023

The conflict occurring in Lilo and Stitch being about the colonialist state attempting to pull this tiny broken native Hawaiian family apart is made more apparent by their both being darker skinned girls, user @FaatiTheStreet tweeted. Casting a lighter skinned Hawaiian to play Nani interferes with that.

Story continues

One Twitter user distinguished Agudongs casting as Nani from the casting of Halle Bailey as Ariel in the live-action adaptation of The Little Mermaid.

Nanis character has a real human ethnicity relevant to the plot which should be represented by a dark skin native Hawaiian, the user wrote. Meanwhile mermaids arent real and can be anything.

The conflict occurring in Lilo and Stitch being about the colonialist state attempting to pull this tiny broken native Hawaiian family apart is made more apparent by their both being darker skinned girls



Casting a lighter skinned Hawaiian to play Nani interferes with that pic.twitter.com/kuSoYuDqn3  Faati (@FaatiTheStreet) April 14, 2023

Colorism really (messed up) Nani's casting for the live action Lilo and Stitch, user @ello_bitty tweeted. Yes the actress is a native Hawaiian, but she is also light skinned and white passing while Nani is not and never had been. She deserves better.

What is so difficult about casting Hawaiian actors with deep complexions? user @isaiahbeenlost wrote on Twitter. When will the colorism in Hollywood finally be addressed? Its so sickening.

'This story is my culture':Dwayne Johnson reveals 'Moana' live-action remake

Halle Baileys casting in The Little Mermaid draws controversy

The controversy over Agudongs casting in Lilo & Stich isnt the first time Disney has come under fire for the racial diversity of its casting.

News of Baileys casting as Ariel in The Little Mermaid, which is set for a May 26 release, similarly divided fans, who debated the accuracy of casting Bailey  a Black woman  in the role of Ariel, who appeared as a light-skinned, redheaded mermaid in the 1989 animated film.

Ariel has been white with red hair for 50 years, keep it the way it was, Twitter user @McKaylaRoseRed wrote.

Despite criticism from some, Baileys casting as Ariel also elicited an outpouring of love from young Black girls on social media, who reveled in seeing a Black woman portray the iconic mermaid.

'Brown Ariel is cute': Halle Bailey in 'The Little Mermaid' trailer thrills young girls

Disney's live-action 'Little Mermaid' arrives soon. Here's what to know.

Naomi Scotts casting as Jasmine in Aladdin received criticism

Actress Naomi Scott, who is of English and Indian descent, was tapped to portray Princess Jasmine in the 2019 live-action adaptation of Aladdin. The film won a Peoples Choice Award for favorite family movie and earned Scott a Teen Choice Award for best sci-fi/fantasy actress.

However, despite the films acclaim, Scotts casting in the film about a dark-skinned princess living in the Middle East drew criticism.

Naomi scott is half white and half gujarati ( indian ) while aladdin is a middle eastern story, user @vaguetapes tweeted. The casting wasnt accurate at all.

Its not even the half white part too, naomi scott is half white and half gujarati ( indian ) while aladdin is a middle eastern story, the casting wasnt accurate at all  Aisyah  (@vaguetapes) April 14, 2023

Disney agreed to redraw Princess Tiana after backlash for lightening skin

The depiction of Princess Tiana, who originally appeared in the 2009 film The Princess and the Frog, in the 2018 film Ralph Breaks the Internet, drew the ire of fans who criticized the lightening of the Black characters skin in the latter.

I kind of thought people were overreacting at first about Tianas look in the last Ralph Breaks the Internet screencap, but I was so wrong, user @disney__tasthic tweeted. Looking at her beside the hand drawn Tiana, she looks nearly unrecognizable.

Anika Noni Rose, the voice actress who plays Tiana, and racial advocacy group Color of Change reportedly met with Disney animators following the initial backlash. In the end, Disney agreed to redraw Tianas appearance in the film.

Disney changes 'Wreck-It Ralph 2'after complaints about a black princess' light skin

All the Disney live-action remakes (including 'Cruella'),definitively ranked

Contributing: Sonja Haller, USA TODAY

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Lilo & Stich' live-action film's casting sparks colorism backlash
[Source]

Disney has been facing heavy criticism due to its recent casting choice for Nani Pelekai, Lilo's older sister and legal guardian, for the live-action remake of Lilo and Stitch.

News of the casting was confirmed on Thursday when The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, 22, will be playing Nani in the upcoming film directed by Dean Fleischer-Camp.

Following the announcement, several Twitter users took to social media to criticize Disney for casting a light-skinned actor to play a dark-skinned character.

How Nani and Lilo were drawn was a BIG DEAL in the animated movie. Their looks are immutable and should've been treated like it, one Twitter user wrote. Darker-skinned Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders exist. Cast some.

More from NextShark: Naomi Osaka, H.E.R. and Silk Sonic Take Home Wins at 2021 BET Awards

How Nani & Lilo were drawn was a BIG DEAL in the animated movie. Their looks are immutable and should've been treated like it. Darker-skinned Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders exist. Cast some. Why the hell would anyone think it would be less important in a live-action version? pic.twitter.com/HZGrhRiMzB  Darth Ro (@BookBlerd) April 14, 2023

More from NextShark: Call me daddy: OnlyFans creator Titus Low reveals baby girl

Nani not being white passing is imperative to her story. There is literally a scene where she's speaking to a blonde lifeguard about her job search, another user wrote, tagging Disney in their tweet demanding for a recast. If there are no established Hawaiian actresses who look like Nani find a breakout star. The talent exists.

The conflict occurring in Lilo and Stitch being about the colonialist state attempting to pull this tiny broken native Hawaiian family apart is made more apparent by their both being darker skinned girls, another user tweeted, adding, Casting a lighter skinned Hawaiian to play Nani interferes with that.

Story continues

The conflict occurring in Lilo and Stitch being about the colonialist state attempting to pull this tiny broken native Hawaiian family apart is made more apparent by their both being darker skinned girls More from NextShark: 'I didn't go looking to be an actor': Ke Huy Quan recalls Indiana Jones' casting Casting a lighter skinned Hawaiian to play Nani interferes with that pic.twitter.com/kuSoYuDqn3  Faati (@FaatiTheStreet) April 14, 2023

While another user acknowledged that Agudong is Hawaiian, as she was born in Kaua'i, Hawaii, they still criticized Disney for colorism and whitewashing.

I think it's important to recognize that yes, she is Hawaiian and light skinned/white passing Hawaiian natives exist, the user wrote. But nani is a dark skinned Hawaiian woman so give a dark skinned actress the chance too play her. regardless, this is still colorism/white washing.

I think it's important to recognize that yes, she is Hawaiian and light skinned/white passing Hawaiian natives exist. But nani is a dark skinned Hawaiian woman so give a dark skinned actress the chance too play her. regardless, this is still colorism/white washing.  cosmic aesthetics (@cosmicsvibe) April 14, 2023



Disney has yet to address the backlash.

Some social media users are also attacking Agudong on Instagram.

We want a Polynesian as Nani, not a mixed race White-Asian to play Nani, one user commented on her most recent Instagram post.

If you had any respect youd turn down the role, another user wrote. It wasnt meant for you.

Besides Agudong, Disney also recently announced other actors who will appear in the upcoming live-action remake, including Kahiau Machado, who will play David Kawena, and Maia Kealoha, who will play Lilo.

Other actors tied to the project include Zach Galifianakis as the alien Pleakley and Billy Magnussen in a currently undisclosed role.
 Flash

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday urged the G7 to reflect on their own problems, discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices, and cease interfering in other countries' internal affairs.

Wang made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query about a joint communique issued after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan on the issues of Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Xinjiang and Tibet. The meeting urged China to ensure transparent, predictable and fair business environments.

Wang said that regardless of China's strong position and the existing facts, the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and maliciously slandered and discredited China.

"The communique reflects the group's arrogance, prejudice and deliberate desire to block and contain China. We deplore and reject this and have made a strong demarche to the host, Japan," he said.

Wang said that Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory, and the one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. To ensure real peace in the Taiwan Strait, it is absolutely essential to unequivocally oppose and stop any act toward "Taiwan independence," he added.

Matters related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet fall entirely under China's internal affairs, and no foreign force may interfere in these affairs in any way or under any pretext, Wang said. The situations in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea are generally stable, and relevant countries need to respect the efforts of regional countries to uphold peace and stability, he added.

"As one of the most vibrant markets with the greatest potential, China is committed to providing a stable, fair, transparent and predictable investment and business environment for foreign investors," Wang said. He noted that certain G7 members have been oblivious to the principles of the market economy and fair competition, have overstretched and abused the concept of national security, and have used every means possible to suppress foreign companies. They are in no position to point fingers at China, he said.

The spokesperson said that China, as a responsible major country, firmly acts on the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law, and is committed to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"We once again urge the G7 to reflect on their own problems and discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices. They should stop running counter to the prevailing trend of today's world, stop pointing fingers condescendingly, stop grossly interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and stop deliberately creating antagonism and division in the international community," Wang said.
Heres some news sure to spark, ahem, some debate.

Were not just blowing smoke when we tell you Modesto has been ranked 15th among the Best Cities to Get Stoned in America, according to a new promotional study of cities where adult-use recreational marijuana is legal.

The list was compiled by Lawnstarter, a Texas-based tech platform that helps people schedule outdoor home services. It regularly puts out regional studies based on city demographics and data for marketing purposes.

The rankings came out just in time for 420, the unofficial cannabis holiday celebrated by marijuana enthusiasts every April 20. In Modesto, the date will roll out with specials and other festivities at area recreational cannabis businesses.

Modesto was ranked just below Salem, Ore., and above Oakland on the national list. The top three cities for 2023 were San Francisco, Los Angeles and Denver, respectively. According to Lawnstarter, the list rankings were based on access, consumer satisfaction, convenience, lounging, entertainment and munchie relief.

You can ask your pot-smoking friends what munchie relief means, but for the studys purposes, it denotes fast food lover-friendliness and cheese lover-friendliness.

Cheech Marin of Cheech & Chong fame signs memorabilia for Jack Nguyen at Jaydens Journey cannabis dispensary during Epilepsy Awareness Day in Modesto, Calif., on Friday, March 25, 2022.

Modestos pot industry also has attracted marijuana icons like Cheech Marin, who in March 2022 stopped by the north Modesto dispensary Jaydens Journey. The comic, half of the comedy duo Cheech & Chong, known for Up in Smoke and other pot-centric movies, signed autographs for hundreds of fans as part of the cannabis retailers Epilepsy Awareness Day event.

Stanislaus County has about two dozen recreational cannabis dispensaries, with locations in Modesto, Turlock, Riverbank, Oakdale, Ceres, Patterson and more.

Recreational marijuana use has been legal in California since 2016, when voters passed Proposition 64, legalizing its use for all adults 21 and older and sale through licensed dispensaries. Cannabis retailers have been able to sell to recreational users legally since 2018 in Stanislaus County.

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Brian Applegarth, CEO of Cultivar Strategies, arranges a display about the new MoTown CannaPass program from Visit Modesto inside Cookies dispensary July 27, 2021 in Modesto, Calif.

Modesto even has promoted its cannabis industry through Visit Modesto, the citys convention and visitors bureau. In 2021, it launched MoTown CannaPass, a tourism campaign aimed at getting people to stop, shop and enjoy the Central Valleys cannabis businesses.

The campaign helps cannabis-curious travelers find legal marijuana businesses and experiences in the area. The free digital campaign, accessible via mobile phone and online, also offers perks, specials, discounts and giveaways to those who sign up.

For those wanting to celebrate Modestos rankings responsibly, remember that to legally enjoy cannabis in California, you must be age 21 or older. You also cannot smoke or ingest marijuana in public. And under no circumstances should you drive or operate any kind of vehicle during or after using marijuana, as it is illegal and could definitely harsh your vibe by landing you in jail with a DUI.
Attorneys for Dominion Voting Systems speak at a news conference outside the New Castle County Courthouse in Wilmington, Del., after a defamation lawsuit against Fox News was settled Tuesday. (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

Dominion Voting Systems defamation case against Fox News was settled for $787.5 million at the start of a trial Tuesday. Based on a series of sneak peeks at the damning evidence against Fox developed in pretrial discovery, the lucrative payout wasnt surprising: The case Dominion was prepared to present was beyond devastating.

The outcome underscored the tension between the public value of litigation and the private interests driving a lawsuit. Dominion had a killer case against Fox that had many eagerly anticipating a measure of accountability for the network's knowing support of the lie that Donald Trump won the 2020 election. But the company's $1.6 billion claim for damages looked high. So the case was ripe for a settlement in which Fox paid a premium to avoid a debacle of a trial, serving the parties interests more than societys.

Fox got off fairly lightly given the risks bearing down on it. By most accounts, it can absorb the settlement fairly easily. It's a reasonable price to avoid the immense damage to its reputation  and consequently its bottom line  that an extended, detailed account of its knowing lies would have occasioned.

Even before the trial began Tuesday, it was clear that Fox had good reason to avoid it. Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric M. Davis had already ruled that broadcast claims that Dominions voting machines altered the results of the election were false, vaulting the company over the first hurdle defamation plaintiffs face.

That also would have given Dominion a formidable advantage on the question the parties would have contested at trial: whether Fox aired the statements at issue with actual malice, meaning it either knew they were false or recklessly disregarded the question. Thats because many of the statements, by Fox hosts and guests whose claims were presented as well-founded, are ridiculous on their face. The notion that Fox didnt know they were false would strike any reasonable juror as far-fetched.

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If the trial had proceeded, the jury would have heard even more reasons to find actual malice  a lot more. Some of the most damning evidence consisted of behind-the-scenes emails and texts in which network stalwarts such as Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham admit that they know the Big Lie is just that. Even News Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch acknowledged that some of the networks personalities had crossed a line. So its little wonder that Fox settled the case rather than let Murdoch and others take the stand.

The defenses the company had publicly advanced, moreover, were underwhelming. One was to argue that Dominion cherry-picked 20 or so ugly statements that distorted Foxs generally defensible conduct. But the judge had rightly ruled that defamation must be analyzed statement by statement, rendering Fox's other statements legally irrelevant. The jurys attention would have been focused on the offending lies, not the less culpable conduct Fox wanted to highlight.

Foxs other prominent defense was to wrap itself in the 1st Amendment, arguing that the case threatened protections of the medias absolute right to cover the news. But there is no such right, and Foxs claim was not only faulty but scurrilous. In the landmark press freedom case New York Times vs. Sullivan, which created the actual malice standard, the Supreme Court made it clear that the 1st Amendment exists to promote truthful reporting in support of an informed electorate. The only reason to tolerate false reporting in the absence of actual malice is to give the press breathing room to go after the facts aggressively without fear of liability for innocent mistakes.

Far from serving the goals of the 1st Amendment, Foxs knowing and reckless publication of lies undermined press freedom and had a terribly corrosive effect on the country. Even settling for hundreds of millions probably saved the company money in the long run compared with the financial and reputational consequences of a train wreck of a trial.

Dominion had reason to settle too. While its case against Fox was as strong as that of any defamation plaintiff in memory, its claim for damages was less so given the companys much smaller estimated net worth . Fox may have paid a premium in damages to avoid the sting of the trial and an unfavorable verdict.

Particularly in the face of consequential trials such as this one, the parties motivations  including those of the already exhausted legal teams  tend to realign in favor of settling. That's especially true once serious talks begin.

A Dominion lawyer claimed in the aftermath that the settlement amounted to a ringing endorsement for truth and democracy, adding, Truth has meaning. Lies have consequences. And the company wasn't alone in discerning a triumph of sorts against the Big Lie. But all Fox offered beyond the payout was to wanly acknowledge the courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false , In the absence of any convincing contrition, Dominion's claim of vindication seems likely to be quickly forgotten.

It was Foxs mammoth checkbook, not any civic victory, that allowed it to make Dominion an offer it couldnt refuse, satisfying the plaintiff's interest regardless of the public's. Thats an unavoidable consequence of an adversarial system based on the calculations of private parties.

The case did incidentally serve the publics interest by exposing Fox and its personalities through discovery, but not nearly to the extent that it could have through a revealing and damaging trial. Much of the country was looking to Dominion to vindicate basic offenses against the body politic by Trump and his enablers. Now we have to look elsewhere.

Harry Litman is the host of the Talking Feds podcast. @harrylitman

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
An 18-person jury  12 jurors and six alternates  in the Lori Vallow Daybell trial has started to get a look into the spending habits of the 49-year-old Rexburg mother and her husband, Chad Daybell.

Rexburg Police Detective Chuck Kunsaitis, who reviewed the financial records, began testifying Tuesday afternoon. He also reviewed Alex Coxs financial records and said that Cox made 46 gun-related purchases in the months surrounding the disappearance of Vallow Daybells children. Cox was Lori Daybells brother.

Aside from Kunsaitis testimony, the prosecution sped through nearly four witnesses Tuesday, wrapping up Zulema Pastenes, the widow of Vallow Daybells brother, and calling Daybells eldest and only living son, Colby Ryan, to the stand.

Ryans testimony was brief but emotional as the jurors listened to a recording of an August 2019 video visit between the then-24-year-old and his mother, who was incarcerated at the Madison County Jail.

He accused his mother of killing his siblings  7-year-old Joshua Jaxon JJ Vallow and 16-year-old Tylee Ryan  in the recording, which garnered audible gasps from both the courtroom and the downstairs overflow room.

I prayed for you in my worst moments, Ryan told Daybell. I prayed for my siblings  who you swore to me were OK. The confrontation came less than two months after the childrens remains were found on Chad Daybells property in Salem, Idaho.

The Daybells  who had a months-long affair before getting married  were charged with first-degree murder in the deaths of Tylee and JJ, along with three counts of conspiracy to commit murder.

The 49-year-old Rexburg mother is accused of conspiring to kill Chad Daybells then-wife, Tammy Daybell. Lori Daybell faces a felony charge in Arizona as well for allegedly conspiring to kill her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

Chad Daybell  whose trial date hasnt been set  also faces a first-degree murder charge in Tammy Daybells death. Chad and Lori got married on a Hawaii beach two weeks after Tammy Daybells body was buried in a Utah cemetery.

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Authorities believe Cox  who died from natural causes  conspired to kill JJ, Tylee and Tammy Daybell, according to the indictment filed by prosecution teams from Madison and Fremont counties.

The trial was set to resume at 8:30 a.m., with the prosecution expected to continue its direct examination of Kunsaitis.

READ MORE: Vallow Daybells son accuses her of murdering his siblings in jail recording

2 p.m.  Defense cross-examines witness

The prosecution and defense went back and forth Wednesday afternoon as Lori Daybells attorney, Jim Archibald, attempted to ask Chandler, Arizona, Police Detective Cassandra Ynclan a few questions about any criminal charges stemming from the shooting of Charles Vallow.

Authorities believe that Cox and Vallow Daybell conspired to kill Charles Vallow, the Arizona Republic reported.

Archibald initially asked Ynclan whether police initially considered the shooting of Charles Vallow justified, to which Ynclan responded no.

Did you arrest Alex Cox in July 2019? Archibald then asked Ynclan after the attorneys and 7th District Judge Steven Boyce met for a quick sidebar.

I did not, Ynclan responded. The jury is not aware of the charges against Vallow Daybell in Arizona and hasnt been told whether anyone was ever charged with a crime in his death.

The prosecution then attempted to ask Ynclan whether Cox would face charges now if he was still alive, but the defense objected.

This is information related to Arizona which the defendant is not on trial for, Boyce ruled regarding the prosecutions question.

Lori Daybells former friend April Raymond also briefly testified Wednesday afternoon. Raymond, who lives in Hawaii, knew both Charles and Lori, and during her testimony recalled that Vallow Daybell believed Charles Vallow was a demon.

Charles was already dead and that there was a demon living inside him, Raymond said, recalling what Lori Daybell allegedly told her.

1:30 p.m.  Arizona detectives outline Loris unemotional movements around shooting of Charles Vallow

At 7:55 a.m. on July 11, 2019, Vallow Daybell went to an Arizona Burger King and took JJ to school. This was minutes after Cox had gotten into a physical altercation with Charles Vallow and fired a gunshot at him, according to testimony from two Arizona detectives.

Ynclan said she interviewed Vallow Daybell following the shooting, and testified that Lori told her that Charles Vallow had come to Vallow Daybells house to pick up JJ and take him to school, and in the process left his cellphone inside the home. (The Vallows were separated at the time and living apart, but were still married.)

Lori said  according to Ynclans testimony  that Charles Vallow became very upset when he saw that Vallow Daybell had been going through his phone.

This prompted an altercation, and Lori told Ynclan that she left the room as the pair began fighting. Ynclan said that Vallow Daybell told her shed heard a single gunshot but didnt witness it, and then saw Charles Vallow on the floor.

This is when Lori made a decision to go to her children, Ynclan said on the stand, and left the house with JJ and Tylee. She then drove 8 miles  stopping at Burger King  and dropped JJ off at school.

Sometime after 7:55 a.m. and before 8:36 a.m.  when the 911 call was made  Lori told her brother over the phone that she was taking JJ to school and that he needed to call 911.

Chandler Police Detective Ariel Werther also testified Wednesday and provided a timeline of Vallow Daybells location in the minutes surrounding Charles Vallows death. The timeline was based on cellphone records, which police said they obtained from the physical phone, along with surveillance footage and receipts.

Werther said Charles Vallows cellphone showed him arriving at the area of Vallow Daybells home at 7:32 a.m. The cellphone records also showed the phone at Burger King, Walgreens and then JJs school, before returning to the scene of the shooting at 8:47 a.m.





A minute later police body camera footage showed her arriving at the scene, Werther said. Police eventually confiscated Charles Vallows phone from Lori in Charles Vallows rental car.

Ynclan said that as a part of her job, she has to provide an official death notification to the next of kin. She said during her testimony Wednesday that when she notified Lori of Charles Vallows death, there wasnt much of a reaction.

Lori also told Ynclan, according to the detectives testimony, that she already knew Charles Vallow was dead and that she was present when it happened. This is when police first learned that she was home during the shooting.

During cross-examination, the defense asked Ynclan whether there was a correct or incorrect way for Vallow Daybell to act when her estranged husband was shot.

Ynclan said there wasnt, but also said that Loris reaction left an impression on her given how unemotional she was.

1:00 p.m.  Chandler firefighter takes witness stand

If CPR is performed correctly on somebody, the pressure would likely leave an impression on the individuals body, said Scott Cowden, a firefighter in Chandler, Arizona. But when he arrived at Vallow Daybells Arizona home in July 2019 after Charles Vallow had been shot, he didnt notice any impressions.

Alex Cox  who shot and killed Charles Vallow  told police that he had performed CPR on his brother-in-law. Cowden said during his testimony Wednesday that once he began performing CPR on Charles Vallow, he noticed the impression.

Cowden said during his brief testimony that when he began performing CPR on Charles Vallow he felt a crunch or crack, which he said is common because the force of CPR can break an individuals sternum or ribs. Cowden noted that if someone had been performing CPR on Charles Vallow previously, he wouldnt have felt the crack because it would have already happened.

Jim Archibald, Vallow Daybells defense attorney, objected to Cowdens testimony and said Vallow Daybell isnt on trial for anything that happened in Arizona.

The defense didnt cross-examine Cowden.

Since weve previously objected to the entirety of this testimony we dont have any questions, Archibald said.

10:30 a.m.  Chad Daybell transferred money to kids as police were searching his home

Hours after the Rexburg Police Department knocked on Chad Daybells property in Salem, Idaho, and handed him a search warrant, Chad Daybell transferred a large sum of money to his children.

Mike Douglass, a forensic accountant with the Federal Bureau of Investigations, said during his testimony that Chad Daybell transferred a total of $24,000  $8,000 each  to his three oldest children between 9:50 a.m. and 10 a.m.

The police would have already been on Chad Daybells property as he made the transaction, Douglass said, and JJ and Tylees remains would be located later that day.

Those bank statements were just one of roughly 80 accounts reviewed by Douglass throughout the investigation into the Daybells.

Another record showed that Chad Daybell emailed a realtor in November 2019 and said they were were looking at a property in Hawaii, and that they had no pets and no kids, according to Kunsaitis and Douglass testimony.

8:30 a.m.  Vallow Daybell attempted to buy wedding rings in August

Vallow Daybell attempted to buy wedding rings roughly two months before Tammy Daybell was killed.

An Etsy receipt that was presented to the courtroom Wednesday morning, which Kunsaitis reviewed, showed that Vallow Daybell attempted to purchase two malachite rings on Aug. 15, 2019. The order was for roughly $260.

Kunsaitis said Vallow Daybells credit card was declined. He also noted that the rings appeared to be wedding rings, but that statement was struck from the record based on speculation.

But East Idaho News previously reported that the Daybells got married on a beach in Hawaii, and that Vallow Daybell was seen wearing a malachite wedding ring. Vallow Daybell purchased a $35 Malachite ring on Amazon on Oct. 2, 2019  roughly two weeks before Tammy Daybell died, the news outlet reported.

Charles Vallows sister Kay Woodcock said during her testimony last week that she noticed searches on Charles Vallows Amazon account  after he had died  for items including a beach wedding dress, bathing suit and malachite wedding rings.

Vallow Daybells defense team did not cross-examine Kunsaitis, but the prosecution is expected to recall Kunsaitis as a witness.
Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain rejoined multinational law firm OMelveny as a partner and head of the firms strategic counseling and crisis management practice. The longtime President Biden aide, who left the White House in late January, was a partner at OMelveny from 1999 to 2004.

Former Attorney General Bill Barr joined the American Free Enterprise Chamber of Commerce as head of its newly launched Center for Legal Action, which will challenge numerous Biden administration rules. Barr served as attorney general under former Presidents Trump and George H. W. Bush.

Crossroads Strategies hired Cheryl Jaeger as a principal and Ivelisse Porroa-Garcia as a senior vice president. Jaeger previously served as a senior policy adviser to then-House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.). Porroa-Garcia previously was policy director for the Congressional Hispanic Caucus.

David Ransom joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck as a shareholder. Ransom was a longtime partner at McDermott Will & Emery and previously served as senior communications and policy adviser to former House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

The Bockorny Group hired Eric Bohl as a principal and head of the firms agriculture practice. Bohl previously served as chief of staff to Rep. Jason Smith (R-Mo.) and former Rep. Vicky Hartzler (R-Mo.).

The Retail Industry Leaders Association hired Courtney Titus Brooks as vice president of tax. Titus Brooks most recently was director of federal government relations at the National Federation of Independent Business. She previously served as legislative director for former Rep. Tom Rice (R-S.C.).

Pat Cleary, longtime president and CEO of the National Association of Professional Employer Organizations, will step down at the end of 2023. He spent 12 years leading the organization, which aims to find a successor within six months. Cleary previously served as deputy assistant secretary of policy at the Labor Department in the Reagan administration.

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Brett Scott joined Dentons Global Advisors as an associate partner. Scott previously served as a senior government affairs officer at the Trump Department of Transportation.

Janet Nice joined Chartwell Strategy Group as a director. She most recently served as a legislative assistant to Rep. Darin LaHood (R-Ill.).

Lobbying World documents the top lobbying hires in the nations capital every week. Send tips to Karl at kevers@thehill.com.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
There are many different ways to use lobster (Alamy/PA)

The cost of food is soaring right now, and Nathan Outlaws top tip for budget-friendly seafood might surprise you.

A very good buy at the moment, that everyone thinks is expensive, is lobster, says the two-Michelin star chef, who is famed for fish cookery.

Lobster is actually quite an affordable species. Its obviously got that attachment of being luxury, but there are so many different ways to use it and you can get two or three meals out of one lobster.

The 45-year-old recommends tail meat for lobster dumplings, or using the meat for an alternative take on sesame prawn toast.

Its a way of using a deemed-to-be-expensive species but in a smaller amount, and it goes a lot further, he says.

So what other fish should we consider buying in the cost-of-living crisis?

Hake is definitely a good fish thats cheaper, says Outlaw, whose acclaimed restaurants include Outlaws New Road  where tasting menus cost 175 a head  and Outlaws Fish Kitchen, both in Port Isaac, Cornwall.

He suggests also looking for megrim sole, also sold as Cornish sole. Brill is a really good alternative to turbot, which is a little more pricey. Crab is a good one. If you see ling, a really nice white fish, thats a good one because its usually quite a big fish that you get  its from the cod family.

Outlaw is on a mission to make fish and seafood cooking more accessible to home cooks (Kate Whitaker/PA)

Outlaw, who trained under legendary seafood chef Rick Stein, says it baffles him that as a country we dont eat more fish.

Were not a massive fish-eating nation, which is very strange because A, were an island, and B, weve probably got the best variety of seafood of anybody  and probably the best sustainable fishermen you can come across.

Beyond fish and chips, its deemed as being quite posh.

Hes on a mission to make fish and seafood cooking more accessible to home cooks with his new book, Fish For Dinner, full of tips and advice to demystify fish  with a big focus on seasonal and sustainable shopping.

Buying vacuum-packed fillets from a supermarket may be how many of us buy fish, but from a cost point of view, we may be getting it wrong. Its often cheaper in the long run to buy whole fish, says Outlaw, who has appeared on the BBCs Great British Menu and Saturday Kitchen and counts Michelin-star chef Tom Brown as his protege.

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You can guarantee freshness with a whole fish, whereas if its been filleted you cant really see it. I always say whole fish is better, you get the bones which are perfect for a stock or base of a really nice broth. It can give you two or three meals, if you just buy fillets youre just going to get that one meal.

But he knows buying fish whole does concern a lot of shoppers.

The main thing people are worried about is it being difficult [to fillet fish at home] and smelling of fish  but if you buy good fish its not smelly, it smells of the sea which is quite a nice smell.

His latest book includes step-by-step pictures demonstrating how to prepare different types of whole fish, and its easier than we think, he says. Its just practice. Some are more difficult than others; a flat fish [like seabass] is pretty straightforward forward, but maybe butterflying a round fish is a little bit more difficult.

There was a time when I couldnt do it, [but] I do believe everyone can do it. People worry about making a mistake and ruining the fish, but you cant really ruin it. [If] you dont get close enough to the bone and leave a bit of meat on the carcass, just go in with a spoon and use that for fishcakes or fish pies. Youre never going to waste anything. The best thing you can do is have a go.

The book includes step-by-step instructions for preparing different types of fish (Kyle Books/PA)

Hailing from Maidstone, Kent, Outlaw says he grew up not liking fish. As a kid Id eat fish fingers or fish and chips, barely  Id have to be convinced, he laughs. After all, people change. This is why Im a good person to talk about fish with.

He worked in professional kitchens in London in his teens and gravitated towards the fish area before landing a job with Rick Stein in Padstow, Cornwall, aged 19, where he really learned his craft  preparing and cooking every type of fish, under kitchen pressure.

Thats when I started to really appreciate all the different species, the different textures, different seasons what was sustainable and what wasnt sustainable.

Lots of people dont think of fish as a seasonal ingredient, like fruit and vegetables, but Outlaw says its a huge seasonal thing.

Thats the basis of how we run the restaurants  the way I cook fish is completely down to whats been caught at that time, he adds. I never put any demand on a fisherman or fishmonger that I buy from. We just take whats best at that point for the market.

Its why so many of his recipes in the book are designed to be multi-species and come with a list of alternative types of fish that will work just as well. Youll find crab and asparagus stuffed baked potatoes (that can also be made with smoked mackerel), spiced deep-fried gurnard (which can be made with any non-oily fish variety) and jerk John Dory with a coconut and pea salad (which can be made with gurnard, red mullet, sea robin, goatfish or lobster). This spring, look for Cornish hake or ethically-caught monkfish, Outlaw advises.

When it comes to shopping sustainably, we simply need to ask more questions about where its come from and how its been caught. If youre in the UK, you want as much as you can you want to make sure its British fish, he says. If youre lucky enough to have a good fishmonger in your town or village, ask: how was it caught? Was it netted? Was it line-caught? Where was it caught? The boat name is a good one [to ask]. That information is readily available to a fishmonger.

One major mistake many home cooks make is overcooking the fish. Id say 80-85 per cent can be eaten raw, for a start, so you never need to worry about [undercooking] with any species that you have at home. Even if its slightly undercooked, nothings going to happen, says Outlaw. It does seem the case that people err on the side of caution and overcook  and then unfortunately what happens is you probably have an experience thats not great and its dry.

Fillets always cook very quickly  three of four minutes maximum and most fillets of fish are already cooked.

Fish For Dinner by Nathan Outlaw (Kyle Books, 28; photography by Kate Whitaker).
In May 2019, Ronald Greene was beaten to death by Louisiana state troopers. Patrol leadership initially waged an aggressive cover-up campaign, claiming Greene had died in a car crash and concealing body-worn camera footage of the incident. It would be two years before his family would see the footage and learn the full, horrific circumstances of his death.

In Louisiana, where victims of police violence have only one year to file a case in court, this prolonged cover-up would present a prohibitive delay, destroying any possibility of holding the officers or the department accountable.

The deadline, also known as the statute of limitations, to file a federal civil rights lawsuit varies from state to state. The majority of states allow civil rights plaintiffs several years to file a lawsuit after their rights have been violated. However, people who suffer civil rights violations in Kentucky, Louisiana and Tennessee only have one year to file their case.

Opinions in your inbox: Get exclusive access to our columnists and the best of our columns

One-year deadlines to file lawsuits block search for justice

Fortunately, Greenes case was an exception, because the initial official story did not add up and his family was able to find an attorney to file a lawsuit before the deadline, despite the incomplete picture created by the states misdirections.

Last week, five Louisiana law enforcement officials pleaded not guilty to criminal charges connected to Greene's death and the cover-up. The charges include negligent homicide and obstruction of justice.

Family members of Ronald Greene, who was beaten during a deadly arrest in 2019, gather at the Lincoln Memorial for the March on Washington in 2020.

Most victims of police misconduct do not fare as well. One-year deadlines block thousands of people who are abused by the police from pursuing justice in their states. This deadline creates an insurmountable barrier for many people harmed by police violence.

As we saw in Greene's case, police can wield their immense power to make the already burdensome task of preparing a civil rights lawsuit even more challenging. In states with a one-year statute of limitations, police deploy tactics to run out the clock knowing full well that a delay will keep victims and their families from being able to file a case against them.

Story continues

Co-existing truths: Louisville officers were heroes in shooting, but department still has 'troubling' problems

Trust critical to public safety: Yet another fatal police shooting caught on camera. A month later, where's the video?

They can and do make it difficult for people to acquire the initial evidence they need to build a case by withholding information or supplying false information.

They can also delay proceedings by filing charges against the victim of abuse, which precludes many people from pursuing civil rights cases.

Trauma, injuries, shortage of attorneys also could delay civil lawsuits

In addition to these types of active police interference, victims grappling with trauma or recovering from physical injuries are often unable to collect information and undertake the effort of finding an attorney within a year. Others fear retaliation and might be unable to pursue a civil rights case until they have relocated to a safe place where police cannot inflict further harm.

Another common issue we see is the time it takes to find an attorney, a process that can take more than a year, especially in areas like the rural South, where there is a shortage of attorneys.

'Right to an attorney' only goes so far: War on crime leaves injustice in its wake

Reforming incarceration: My father, Muhammad Ali, didn't belong in prison. Nonviolent offenders don't, either.

One year is simply not long enough for most victims of police violence to file a case. States with a one-year statute of limitations know this and persist in upholding them as a way to suppress valid cases against law enforcement.

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Federal legislation can fix this injustice. In fact, Congress previously enacted a law that creates a national four-year statute of limitations for violations of most federal rights. Unfortunately, this legislation did not cover civil rights claims, but there is nothing stopping elected officials from extending the same protections to civil rights victims by creating a similar standardized deadline for their claims.

This change should not be controversial. It does not create new rights for victims, make it easier to prove a case or remove any substantive protections from police officers. It simply ensures that where you live doesnt determine whether you get the opportunity to file a lawsuit when your constitutional rights are violated.

Lauren Bonds is the executive director of the National Police Accountability Project.

Lawsuits alone cannot end police violence, but they can help deter future officer misconduct and empower victims by giving them an opportunity to hold harmful actors accountable. They can also create the sustained pressure to expose the horrors inflicted by law enforcement, as the lawsuit did in Ronald Greenes case.

Standardizing the statute of limitations for police misconduct cases will simply give civil rights laws a chance to work. While Americans deserve comprehensive reform from their elected officials, a law providing victims of police misconduct with the same chance to have a day in court as other people suing under federal law is the least we should do.

Lauren Bonds is the executive director of the National Police Accountability Project.

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 USA TODAY: How statutes of limitations silence victims of police brutality
Azamara

Travelers have been flocking to around-the-world and extended cruises.

These are Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Princess, and Norwegian's longest upcoming itineraries.

These range from 21-day sailings to a nine-month journey around the globe.

Traveling around the world nonstop for nine months sounds like a dream. But would you still be interested if you had to go by sea?

Azamara

If you're one of the thousands of cruise fans booking up these extended sailings, the answer is probably yes.

Azamara

Over the last few years, extended sailings and around-the-world cruises with brands like Regent Seven Seas and Oceania have been selling out or selling well at a "record-breaking" rate.

Oceania Cruises

Source: Insider

For travelers who enjoy life at sea, these extended vacations to multiple countries are a convenience.

Courtesy of Conde Nast Traveler

Booking a similar around-the-world vacation using planes, trains, cars, and hotels could be a logistical nightmare.

Michael Ricchiuti waits in Salt Lake City after his flight was canceled by snow Wednesday AP/Rick Bowmer

But on a world cruise, almost every aspect of the itinerary (minus shore excursions) is already planned for the traveler.

Regent Seven Seas Cruises

And there's no need to worry about meals, airport transfers, accommodations, or unpacking and packing between destinations.

Brittany Chang/Insider

Multiple days at sea with no land in sight are inevitable, especially on world cruises. But to some travelers who enjoy this slow form of travel, they provide relaxation and the opportunity to unplug.

The Serenade of the Seas in Seattle. Royal Caribbean

Source: Insider

Amid the growing demand for these longer sailings, major cruise lines have been releasing their lengthiest itineraries yet.

Carnival Cruise Line

If you're curious about these sailings, here's a roundup of Royal Caribbean, Carnival, MSC, Princess, and Norwegian's longest upcoming cruises.

Royal Caribbean's Serenade of the Seas cruise ship. Royal Caribbean

Royal Caribbean Cruises' 274-night 2023 world cruise

The Serenade of the Seas. Royal Caribbean

The longest sailing on this list is Royal Caribbean's 274-night world cruise aboard the Serenade of the Seas.

The Serenade of the Seas. Royal Caribbean

The itinerary, roundtrip from Miami, is set sail December 2023 and conclude September 2024.

Cruise ships docked at the Port of Miami on December 31, 2021 in Miami, Florida. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Throughout the nine months at sea, the "Ultimate World Cruise" itinerary will sail to 150 ports and 65 countries across all seven continents, according to the cruise line.

Story continues

The Serenade of the Seas. Royal Caribbean

Source: Insider

According to the itinerary, travelers are set to explore the Americas, Asia, the Middle East, the Mediterranean, Europe, and Antarctica with the chance to see up to 11 Wonders of the World.

dmitry_islentev / Shutterstock

And of course the cruise line's private island in the Bahamas  Perfect Day at CocoCay  is on the itinerary twice: Once at the beginning and again at the end.

Brittany Chang/Insider

For those who can't commit to over a year of vacationing, Royal Caribbean is still selling shorter legs of the world cruise, including 29 days from Los Angeles to Brisbane, Australia with stops in Hawaii and Tahiti.

Martin Valigursky/Shutterstock

Source: Royal Caribbean Cruises

Prices start at $61,000 for an interior stateroom. Some interior and ocean-view staterooms are still left, the cruise line told Insider in March.

The Serenade of the Seas at the Navantia Ship Yard in Cadiz, Spain in 2012. Royal Caribbean

Source: Insider

Carnival Cruise Line's 30-night transpacific cruise

Carnival Cruise Line

Carnival is known for its more affordable fares. But the cruise line also has a "Journeys" segment dedicated to unique and longer itineraries.

The Carnival Luminosa in Brisbane, Australia. Carnival Cruise Line

The shortest of these itineraries is currently two 10-day round trip cruises from Sydney, Australia to New Zealand.

The iconic Sydney Opera House in Australia. Some of Australia's government agencies have banned TikTok on government devices. James D. Morgan/Getty Images

But in February, Carnival unveiled one of its longest itineraries in this segment yet, a 31-day transpacific cruise sailing from Brisbane, Australia to Seattle in 2024 aboard its recently acquired Carnival Luminosa.

Sean Pavone/Getty Images

Source: Insider

For $3,450, Carnival says guests on this sailing will see ports in Japan, Guam, and Alaska, including views of the Hubbard Glacier.

Hubbard Glacier, Disenchantment Bay, AK, Alaska, United States. MyLoupe / Universal Images Group / Getty

But like any transoceanic cruise, over half of the itinerary will be spent at sea with no ports of call.

Carnival Cruise Line

Transoceanic itineraries are often created to reposition a cruise vessel. In this case, this month at sea will move the Luminosa stateside to begin its itineraries from Seattle.

Carnival Cruise Line

MSC Cruises' 127-night 2024 world cruise

MSC Cruises

MSC's longest cruise is, likely unsurprisingly, its 2024 world cruise sailing aboard the MSC Poesia.

MSC Cruises

The itinerary has several departure and arrival port options.

MSC Cruises

The longest will span 127 nights and about $15,680, according to MSC's bookings page.

Toursts visit Park Guell in Barcelona, Spain. Oleg Senkov/Shutterstock

Source: MSC Cruises

This itinerary is set to sail from Barcelona on January 7, 2024 and conclude in Copenhagen on May 13, 2024.

In 2021, Danish parliament passed a law, sometimes known as the "Blackstone Law," which prevented new landlords from raising the rents for five years, according to a new report from The Guardian. Alexander Spatari/Getty Images

From early January 2024 through mid-May, MSC's itinerary notes that the ship will sail to destinations like Egypt, South Africa, Brazil, Barbados 

MSC Cruises

 and MSC's private island, Ocean Cay MSC Marine Reserve.

MSC Cruises

Princess Cruises' 115-night 2025 world cruise

Princess Cruises

In April, Princess Cruises announced its longest itinerary yet, a 116-day world cruise setting sail in January 2025.

Princess Cruises

Source: Insider

Travelers have the option to cruise roundtrip from either Los Angeles or Fort Lauderdale, Florida starting at $20,540.

Omerali Senakayli / EyeEm / Getty Images

Source: Princess Cruises

Along the way, the cruise brand says the Island Princess vessel and its globetrotting passengers will sail to 51 locations across 26 countries and 33,500 nautical miles.

Princess Cruises

This gives travelers the opportunity to see 27 UNESCO World Heritage Sites and several destinations that are either new to the brand or its world cruise segment.

Princess Cruises

Norwegian Cruise Line's 21-day 2024 sailings

Norwegian Cruise Line

Norwegian's longest cruise itineraries pale in comparison to the rest of the journey on this list.

Norwegian Cruise Line

But at 21 days, these cruises are still fairly lengthy.

Norwegian Cruise Line

In March, April, and October, 2024, the cruise line will operate various 21-day sailings through the Panama Canal on either the Norwegian Encore or Dawn.

Panama Canal, Panama City, Panama http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Panama_Canal_-_Pacific_Side_Entrance.jpg

Depending on the month, these five itineraries are slated to either sail from Miami, Seattle, or Cape Town to Los Angeles, Seattle, Miami, or Barcelona.

Jens Benscheidt / EyeEm/Getty Images

The ports of call all vary. Some will sail to Mexico and Jamaica while others will bring travelers to Mexico, Colombia, and Guatemala, for example.

Cartagena, Columbia RoNeDya/Getty Images

The 21-day sailing from Cape Town to Barcelona will bring cruisers up the coast of West Africa.

Walvis Bay Station on Christmas morning. Ben Mack / Insider

These cruises range from $1,329 to $5,049 depending on the itinerary.

Norwegian Cruise Line

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Chad Daybell and Lori Vallow have been accused of killing two of her children. Rexburg Police Department/Facebook

Chad Daybell once described himself and Lori Vallow as having "no kids" while they were missing.

They were applying for housing in Hawaii, where they married despite the disappearance of her kids.

The children were eventually found buried on his property. He is also being charged in their deaths.

BOISE, Idaho  Chad Daybell described himself and his wife, Lori Vallow, as a "clean couple" with "no kids" on a rental application for housing in Hawaii while her children, who were later found dead, were missing.

"Clean couple, no pets, no kids," the application read, according to FBI Special Agent Mike Douglass, who testified in an Idaho courtroom Wednesday during the second week of Vallow's trial.

Daybell and Vallow have been charged with the murder of two of Vallow's children  Tylee Ryan and Joshua "J.J." Vallow  along with Daybell's ex-wife, Tamara "Tammy" Daybell.

Vallow is currently on trial on charges of first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit first-degree murder in these cases. Daybell will be tried for his crimes separately. They have both pleaded not guilty.

At Wednesday's court appearance, multiple witnesses spoke about Vallow's conspicuous financial situation in 2019 and leading up to the disappearance of her two kids, whose bodies were found in June 2020, suggesting another potential motive: Money.

Douglass, the FBI agent who testified, said Vallow attempted to impersonate Tylee after her death and sent money from her daughter Tylee's account to her oldest son from an earlier marriage, Colby Ryan.

Douglass said one late 2019 Venmo payment was captioned "birthday gift." Douglass said Colby bought a lightsaber with the money.

Rexburg Police Officer Chuck Kunsaitis also testified that in August 2019, just before Tammy Daybell's murder, Vallow attempted to buy matching, glow-in-the-dark, malachite-inlay titanium rings from Etsy. But her credit card was declined.

Story continues

"They appeared to be wedding rings," he said.

Douglass told the jury that Vallow rerouted Social Security payments meant for each of her children to her own bank account just before the date police believe they died.

The couple, who were both doomsday preppers, have been connected to a number of deaths, including Vallow's previous husband and her brother, along with her kids and his ex-wife. Vallow has also been charged with murder in Arizona for allegedly killing her fourth husband and is awaiting trial in that case.

Read the original article on Insider
The high-profile trial of doomsday cult mom Lori Vallow continues in Boise, Idaho, as the jury hears a seventh day of testimony.

Ms Vallow, 49, is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and son Joshua JJ Vallow, seven.

Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. Their bodies were found buried on the property of Ms Vallows new husband Chad Daybell in June 2020.

Ms Vallow is also charged with conspiracy to murder Mr Daybells first wife Tammy in October 2019.

She has pleaded not guilty in a dramatic case spanning multiple murders and unexplained deaths, where jurors have heard testimony about Ms Vallows concerning cult beliefs.

On Tuesday, the jury heard Ms Vallows only surviving child Colby Ryan angrily confront his mother about his siblings deaths in a jailhouse phone call, telling her: You ripped my heart out!

Wednesdays testimony outlined how after their murders Ms Vallow stole Social Security payments intended for Tylee and JJ, and how Mr Daybell wired thousands of dollars to his own family as police searched his property for the childrens bodies.

Key points

20:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Fremont County Prosecuting Attorney Lindsey Blake is questioning Mr Cowden.

He tells the court he and other firefighters responded to the call on 11 July 2019, the day that Charles Vallow was shot.

They entered the house and found him lying on his back on the floor. He was unconscious.

Cowden was the first to assess Charles and saw he had blood on his shirt and appeared to have been shot twice.

19:58 , Oliver O'Connell

Story continues

There is an objection by the defence that Lori Vallow is not on trial for anything that happened in Arizona.

Judge Steven Boyce overrules the objection.

New witness: Scott Cowden, Chandler Fire Department

19:57 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness for the prosecution is Scott Cowden, a fire engineer and paramedic with the Chandler, Arizona, Fire Department.

He was on duty the day that Charles Vallow was shot by Alex Cox, Loris brother.

Court back in session

19:56 , Oliver O'Connell

Court is back in session and on the record after an extended lunch break.

The judge and jury have returned to the courtroom.

19:46 , Oliver O'Connell

There is a 30-minute delay in court resuming.

As there has been much discussion of timelines today, heres one that Rachel Sharp has put together of the whole of the Lori Vallow case:

Timeline of the Lori Vallow Daybell case

18:20 , Oliver O'Connell

Court breaks for an early lunch.

The trial will resume at 12.30pm MT.

18:18 , Oliver O'Connell

Douglass found that Tammy Daybells life insurance was increased to more than $400,000 on 8 September 2019. She died on 19 October and Chad filed the claim days later with the funds being deposited in his account on 1 November and 16 November.

Right after Tammy died, Chad took his children and Lori on a family trip to Knotts Berry Farm, all paid for by him.

On 9 June 2020, between 9.50am and 10am, as his property was being searched by police for the bodies of Tylee and JJ, Chad transferred $8,000 to each of his three eldest children, leaving $4,400 in his account.

Rawlings has no further questions for Douglass.

Defence attorney Jim Archibald says he has nothing to ask Douglass and the witness is dismissed.

18:07 , Oliver O'Connell

Circling back to the earlier flight records, Douglass says what was interesting about Chad Daybells accounts was what he didnt find before the death of Tammy Daybell  purchases for travel undertaken by Chad. These flights were paid for by Lori on credit cards she shared with both Alex and Charles.

18:05 , Oliver O'Connell

More clarification that the source of funds for Tylees Venmo account changed after her death and payments continued to her brother Colby Ryan.

Lori sent him $5940 over 20 transactions from Tylees account.

Tylee and Lori often sent money to Colby on Venmo. After Tylee died, both of Loris Venmo accounts ceased. Tylee had a new bank account added to her Venmo after her death and money was sent to Colby.  Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) April 19, 2023

17:50 , Oliver O'Connell

Turning to the timeline from Charles Vallows death (11 July 2019) to JJs death 23 September 2019), Douglass says Social Security payments relating to the loss of his adopted father began being paid to JJ on 18 September 2019  into Loris account.

In total, she was receiving $5740 in payments from the children and her own benefits.

The dates of these payments are detailed in the timeline:

Lori's payments were Oct. 16, Nov. 20, Dec. 18 (all 2019) and Jan. 15, 2020.  Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) April 19, 2023

After the murders of her children, Lori received a total of approximately $22,545 in fraudulent Social Security payments between October 2019 and January 2020.

This testimony lays out the grand theft charge for the jury.

Court resumes after mid-morning recess

17:43 , Oliver O'Connell

Mike Douglass remains on the stand for direct examination.

The jurors are being brought back into the courtroom.

17:23 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori moved the Social Security payments to Tylee from Joe Ryans death to her own account in August 2019 and opened a joint account with Tylee shortly before they moved to Rexburg.

Douglass says: I found through my research on September 8 that Colby had requested Tylee to send him a Venmo payment. Tylee responded back that she did not have the funds in her account and that [Lori] was receiving them.

On that same date, Chad Daybell searched the wind direction to see if was south/southwest. It is believed that was the day that Tylee was killed.

Court takes its mid-morning recess.

17:13 , Oliver O'Connell

Reviewing Tylees two accounts (Chase and BBVA), Douglass confirms what we learned yesterday, that her purchases were predominantly in-person except for payments to her cellphone account and for her Jeep. Money from her fathers death went into the Chase account.

Tylee was responsible with her money. I never saw her have one negative balance, Douglass says.

16:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Douglass is a forensic accountant who examined accounts relating to Lori and Tylee.

He is asked to walk the jury through a timeline relating to Tylees life after her father Joseph Ryan passed away. A second timeline shows JJs life from Charles Vallows death onward.

Douglass adds the dates on which each child was killed as told to him but confirms the veracity of the other dates on the timelines.

In addition, there is another timeline that Douglass refers to as the grand theft timeline that he prepared to help the jury understand the significance and sequence of events relating to the large amount of financial information presented so far in court.

New witness: Mike Douglass, FBI

16:46 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Mike Douglass an FBI agent who is expected to elaborate further on some of the financial records submitted into evidence yesterday afternoon.

Fremont County Deputy Prosecution Attorney Tawyna Rawlings will conduct the direct examination of Douglass.

16:41 , Oliver O'Connell

Direct examination of Det Kunsaitis has concluded.

Defence attorney Jim Archibald says he has reviewed all of the documents and has no questions at this time.

The detective can be called again if questions do arise.

16:32 , Oliver O'Connell

More airline records are shown, this time for Southwest. We learn that JJ had six trips between Phoenix and Houston with the last one being on 16 June 2019. Tylee was not found listed in the records.

Records from Allegiant show flights paid for by Lori to bring Chad to Arizona on 6 January 2019, and several for Melani, Chad and Lori between Idaho Falls and Mesa, Arizona.

Flight records from Allegiant - Flights paid for by Lori to fly Chad January 6, 2019. Also several for Melaniece between Idaho Falls to Arizona. #lorivallow@LawCrimeNetwork  Pretty Lies & Alibis (@PrettyLiesAlibi) April 19, 2023

16:15 , Oliver O'Connell

Flight records from American Airlines are submitted showing Tylee visited Hawaii twice in February and March 2019. Lori flew multiple times. There are no records of JJ flying.

One notable flight is Lori flying from Hawaii to Phoenix to Idaho Falls on the same day as Tammy Daybells funeral.

16:12 , Oliver O'Connell

The next piece of evidence is an email from Lori to her accountant asking about forwarding tax returns to her new address. The email was sent on 9 September 2019 at 5.03pm.

Det Kunsaitis says they believe it was sent within hours of Tylee being buried in the backyard of Chad Daybells home.

The email is dated Sept. 9, 2019 at 5:03 p.m. Kunsaitis says Tylee was killed Sept. 8 or 9 -- so the email was sent "hours after we believe Tylee was buried in the backyard."  Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) April 19, 2023

16:08 , Oliver O'Connell

The last refill for JJ was in Arizona in January 2019.

He died in September and 17 pills were found in a bottle with his name on it in November, indicating that he was not being given his medication.

In Arizona they found the last refill for JJ was in January 2019. Side note: They found 17 pills in JJ's bottle in November. She likely wasn't medicating him. #lorivallow@LawCrimeNetwork  Pretty Lies & Alibis (@PrettyLiesAlibi) April 19, 2023

16:02 , Oliver O'Connell

Det Kunsaitis says they also searched state pharmaceutical records in Arizona, Hawaii, Montana, and Idaho for any refills for JJs prescriptions.

None were found.

Why Montana? There a tip the children were being held on a compound in the state and so it was included as part of that investigation.

Lori, Melani, and Tylees names were also searched for and no medications were found for them.

15:59 , Oliver O'Connell

The next exhibit is from Windstream Communications in reference to an IP address associated with Tylee Ryans Venmo account. The IP address was registered to a Residence Inn in Kansas City, Missouri.

On 10 October $100 was sent to Colby Ryan from Tylees account with the message: We love you.

Lori was with her niece Melani Pawlowksi in Kansas City that day to visit friends. Det Kunsaitis says the Venmo transaction was made using Tylees phone.

To confirm the stay in Kansas City an invoice from a Residence Inn is shown with two people listed in the room charged to Melani.

The significance here is that Tylees phone was used and she was not on that trip as she had been killed more than a month before.

15:53 , Oliver O'Connell

The next document shown to the court is subscriber information for Lori Vallows SparkLight/Cable One account. This was for the Rexburg apartment complex unit number 175. However, Loris rental lease agreement was for apartment 107.

Det Kunsaitis says Lori leased in 107, where Alex lived, but she lived in number 175.

15:51 , Oliver O'Connell

The next document is an email from Chad Daybell to Kauai Dream Realty in Hawaii on 8 November 2019  three days after his wedding to Lori Vallow.

We are interested in seeing this property. Would the owners be interested in leasing this property to a clean couple with no pets or children? Please let us know. Thank you.

15:49 , Oliver O'Connell

Prosecutor Rob Wood continues his direct examination of Det Kunsaitis.

The first financial record of the day is the loan documentation for the 2018 Jeep Wrangler. Tylee was making payments of $599.99 per month on the vehicle, paid for by the Social Security payments she was receiving following the death of her father.

The last payment for the Jeep was made in August 2019. Lori then switched the Social Security payments to her account. When the next payment came due for the Jeep there were insufficient funds in Tylees account and she was dead.

When Rexburg PD seized the Jeep on 4 November 2019, it was not reported missing.

15:39 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Steven Boyce is back on the bench and the jury is being brought in for day seven of testimony.

Lori Vallow is flanked by defence attorneys John Thomas and Jim Archibald and appears to be in a good mood, according to reporters in court.

Prosecutors Rob Wood, Spencer Rammell, and Tawyna Rawlings are present.

Det Kunsaitis is back on the stand.

Court to resume shortly

15:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Rexburg Police Detective Chuck Kunsaitis will be back on the stand when court resumes this morning.

He spent much of yesterday afternoon testifying about bank records and credit card statements that showed how Lori Vallow misappropriated Social Security payments to her children after their murders, as well as financial evidence of her ongoing affair with Chad Daybell.

Her late brother Alex Coxs financial records were also examined showing how he quit his job, moved from Arizona to Rexburg, Idaho, took out a loan purportedly for medical expenses, and instead bought ammunition and 46 guns as he prepared to be a warrior as Chad had said he would be.

Listen: Full jailhouse phone call between mother and son

15:02 , Oliver O'Connell

What might Lori Vallows defence be?

14:52 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp reports on Lori Vallows alibi for her childrens murders and how she points the finger at her late brother.

Doomsday cult mom Lori Vallow claims new alibi in murder of her two children

Lori Vallow mouthed three words to surviving son

13:57 , Rachel Sharp

On Tuesday, Lori Vallows only surviving child Colby Ryan testified against his mother.

As he took the witness stand, Ms Vallow was seen mouthing oh my baby.

He told the court about text messages he received from his sisters phone in the weeks after her murder that felt like he was speaking with someone else.

The jury then heard him angrily confront his mother about his siblings deaths in a jailhouse phone call.

You ripped my heart out! he told her.

12:55 , Oliver O'Connell

Former best friend confront Vallow about lies in secret recording

12:15 , Oliver O'Connell

A phone call between cult mom Lori Vallow and her former best friend was played in court during her ongoing trial for the murders of two of her children.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Lori Vallow confronted by best friend about JJ lies in secret recording

Timeline of doomsday cult moms mystery case

11:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp has compiled a timeline of the tragic and bizarre case:

Timeline of the Lori Vallow Daybell case

Chad Daybell warned Lori Vallow of police search when arrested

08:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A jailhouse phone call captured the moment Chad Daybell warned cult mom Lori Vallow that police were closing in on the day that her childrens remains were discovered buried on his property.

Rachel Sharp has the story.

Lori Vallow trial hears jailhouse call with Chad Daybell on day bodies found

Lori Vallow trial hears horror of her childrens murders

05:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Graphic photos shown at cult mom Lori Vallows murder trial revealed how her slain son JJ was still wearing his red pyjamas and a nighttime diaper when his remains were found buried in a shallow grave on Chad Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho.

His sister Tylees remains were found nearby.

Rachel Sharp reports.

Lori Vallows son JJ was found buried in red pyjamas and diaper

Everything we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell doomsday cult murder trial

03:30 , Oliver O'Connell

Rachel Sharp delves into the deeply disturbing tale of suspected murders, unexplained deaths and apocalyptic cult beliefs about killing zombies which surrounds Lori Vallow and her doomsday author husband Chad Daybell.

What we know about the Lori Vallow Daybell doomsday cult murder trial

Vallows chilling response to question about missing daughter, 16, revealed

01:30 , Oliver O'Connell

A former friend of Lori Vallow has revealed the cult moms chilling response after being confronted about her missing teen daughter.

Ms Vallows trial is in its second week at the Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, almost three years after she was charged with killing her son Joshua JJ Vallow, seven, and daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, and conspiring to murder the first wife of her doomsday preacher husband Chad Daybell.

On Friday, Ms Vallows former friend and former fellow cult acolyte Zulema Pastenes told the court about the ritualistic castings that Ms Vallow and Mr Daybell performed to drive out demons from dark spirits.

Andrea Blanco reports.

Lori Vallows chilling response to question about missing Tylee revealed

Vallow trial hears emotional prison call with surviving son

Tuesday 18 April 2023 23:30 , Oliver O'Connell

On day six of testimony in the trial of cult mom Lori Vallow, the jury heard a recording of a phone call between the defendant and her eldest son from the early months of her incarceration.

Colby Ryan, Ms Vallows son from her second marriage, was called a witness for the prosecution. He is her only surviving child following the murders of daughter Tylee, 16, and adopted son JJ, 7, in September 2019.

In the emotional call between mother and son, Ms Vallow refused to switch on her camera, while Mr Ryan demanded to know whether Jesus had really told her to murder his siblings.

Read more:

Lori Vallow trial hears gut-wrenching prison call with surviving son Colby Ryan

Tuesday 18 April 2023 23:00 , Oliver O'Connell

Court adjourns for the day

Tuesday 18 April 2023 22:28 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Boyce adjourns court for the day.

The trial will continue at 8.30am MT tomorrow.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 22:00 , Oliver O'Connell

A further document put into evidence is the rental application for the town home in Rexburg. Lori put her income as $5,000 per month (the total of all the Social Security benefits) and said her reason for moving was so her daughter could attend BYU-Idaho.

Lori put on the application that her reason for moving into the complex was her daughter had graduated high school and they were moving to Rexburg so Tylee could attend BYU-Idaho.  Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) April 18, 2023

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:57 , Oliver O'Connell

Lori also shared a credit card with her brother Alex Cox.

In a March 2019 statement, there is an airfare for Tylee to go to Hawaii with a friend, and another for Chad Daybell to fly from Idaho Falls to Mesa.

Both Charles Vallow and Tammy Daybell were still alive at this point and married to Lori and Chad respectively.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:54 , Oliver O'Connell

The next exhibit is credit card statements for a joint account with Charles Vallow that Lori continued to use after his death.

Two major transactions are highlighted: a $3,000 payment to the local mortuary on 12 July and another on 20 July for an Allegiant Airlines flight from Provo to Arizona for Chad Daybell.

Mr Daybell was still married to Tammy at this point.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:43 , Oliver O'Connell

The next account shown to the court is a joint BBVA account for Tylee and Lori. There are statements from 19 August to 2019 through until January 2020.

After 1 September 2019, all transactions were conducted online with the exception of two purchases at Mexican restaurant Costa Vida in Rexburg on 17 September and another at the chains branch in Idaho Falls 7 October.

There are deposits from Loris account into this one which are then immediately Venmoed to Colby Ryan, her son. There are 29 such deposits of around $60. The Venmo transactions would occur on the same day as the deposit is made.

Prior to September 2019, almost all of Tylees purchases were in-person.

Court resumes after afternoon break

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:33 , Oliver O'Connell

The jury is brought back in following the afternoon recess.

Det Kunsaitis is still on the stand for direct examination. As another account is brought up, the defence team asks for a sidebar with Judge Boyce.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:16 , Oliver O'Connell

The next account looked at is the BBVA Compass Bank account for Lori which was opened on 20 October 2018. All of the Social Security payments were redirected to it.

From August 2019 through January 2020 this is where payments to Tylee were deposited after her death.

From 18 September the payments for JJ began to be deposited in the same account. Det Kunsaitis says: Based on our investigation, JJ was killed five days later.

After a summary document is submitted as evidence court goes on its afternoon break.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:50 , Oliver O'Connell

The focus of the evidence presented to the jury is Tylees bank statements from January 2019 to October 2019. It is a heavily used account and each month she received her $1,859 from Social Security and made payments on her Jeep Wrangler.

In addition, much of her spending is at shopping malls, fast food restaurants, and convenience stores. Her final in-person purchase was on 1 September at a McDonalds in St George, Utah.

Her Social Security deposits ceased in July as they had been diverted to a different account.

The final transaction was on 20 September. She had $10.04 in the account and it was transferred to Lori, who had access to the account. Profile numbers assigned to account users show that it was Lori who made this transfer.

Last proof of life for Tylee was 8/9 September 2019.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:22 , Oliver O'Connell

A large number of exhibits are entered into evidence ahead of Det Kunsaitiss testimony he is asked to only refer to them if referenced during questioning.

Det Kunsaitis has worked as a police officer in Rexburg for 23 years. He has been a detective since 2011.

On 27 November 2019, he was aware Det Hermosillo was issuing search warrants for three different townhomes in Rexburg to locate JJ Vallow. He arrived in the afternoon to help with the warrants.

At Loris home, he found an invoice for Self Storage Plus sitting on a printer and so a further warrant was issued for the unit.

In addition, a PO Box belonging to Lori was located in Sugar City, Idaho. Inside was approximately 100 pieces of mail addressed to Lori, Chad, Alex, and the children, including letters from the Social Security Administration.

The manager of the apartment complex also said he had mail for them.

Much of it was bills and financial documents, so a list of financial institutions was drawn up associated with the family.

New witness: Det Chuck Kunsaitis, Rexburg PD

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:01 , Oliver O'Connell

The next witness is Detective Chuck Kunsaitis of Rexburg Police Department.

Before he is brought in there is a brief sidebar after which a large folder of documents is placed on the witness stand by the prosecution.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:51 , Oliver O'Connell

In addition to the payments to the children, Lori also received Mother, child and care benefits.

Lori was eligible because she and Charles were married for 10 years.

She was paid $1,951 per month. These payments were also stopped in January 2020. Social security recipients have a duty to report any change in circumstances such as a child no longer being in their care or that the child has died.

Lori never reported the deaths of her children, her new marriage, or her change of address.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:48 , Oliver O'Connell

JJ also got benefits following the death of Charles Vallow, his adopted father.

He was paid $1,951 per month beginning on 18 September 2019 (Charles died on 11 July 2019).

These payments were also suspended in January 2020.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:47 , Oliver O'Connell

Tylee was receiving $1859.00 a month in 2019 into a JP Morgan account. That was then switched to a BBVA account on 20 August 2019.

Any change would have been flagged to Lori as her mother in an automated notice.

It reads: As you requested on August 20, 2019, we changed Tylee's direct deposit. We will send her payment to the new account you selected.

Social security payments for Tylee were suspended on 3 January 2020 due to the childrens whereabouts being unknown.

New witness: Mark Saari

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:44 , Oliver O'Connell

The next new witness is Mark Saari, a special agent with the Social Security Administration who investigates fraud.

He became involved in the case in January 2020 when his office was contacted by the FBI in Arizona as part of the search for Tylee and JJ.

Mr Saari was asked to investigate whether the childrens benefits were being misused by Lori.

Court back in session

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:42 , Oliver O'Connell

Judge Steven Boyce is back on the bench and the jury is brought back in.

Lori has been chatting with her attorneys though at times has looked a little more stoic than earlier having listened to the call before lunch.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:36 , Oliver O'Connell

Colbys testimony concludes and he is released from his subpoena.

He looks over at Lori for two seconds on his way out of the courtroom.

Judge Boyce calls lunch.

The trial will resume at 12.30pm MT with a new witness.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:34 , Oliver O'Connell

The highly emotional call ends abruptly: I pray every day no matter how mad I am at you, no matter how bad I want to hit your husband in the face with a shovel, I pray for you, I pray for him. You ripped my heart out, you ripped everyones heart out. I want to be in Idaho this week. You need to look me in my eye, Mom. Look me in my eye.

You ripped my heart out, you ripped everyone's heart out. I want to be in Idaho this week. You need to look me in my eye, Mom. Look me in my eye." Colby noted earlier that Lori's camera is turned off and the call ends.  Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) April 18, 2023

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:32 , Oliver O'Connell

Colby tells his mother that Jesus will judge her for what she has done and she laughs.

She says that no one understands what happened but Tylee and JJ do.

They love me and they are fine and they know the truth and we are the only people that do.

Colby yells at his mother for saying that Jesus told her to do these things.

The kids are found buried in your new husbands backyard?

He confronts her about running away to Hawaii after the murders.

They were murdered and you walked away, Colby says.

Lori replies: That is not what happened.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:26 , Oliver O'Connell

The call is playing again.

Colby: I have prayed for you in my worst moments, I have prayed for my siblings who you swore to me were ok. I thought I could trust you. I thought that you were a completely different person.

Lori: Youve known me your whole life.

Colby: I dont know a murderous mother.

Later Colby confronts Lori about the text messages from Tylees phone:

You lied to me more times than I can count about this. To know they're gone and you knew and my phone being texted by my little sister who wasn't even alive. My brother was the sweetest kid and you say this is God's will for my whole family including my stepfather to be dead after everything that youd tried to tell me you can tell me right now that Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the World is on your side? You tell me that with all the conviction of your heart that Jesus Christ is on your side right now. Please.

Lori: I can tell you that.

Colby-I have pushed past everything to try and help you. You lied to me more times than I can count about this. To know they're gone and you knew and my phone being texted by my little sister who wasn't even alive. My brother was the sweetest kid and you say this is God's will  Pretty Lies & Alibis (@PrettyLiesAlibi) April 18, 2023

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:21 , Oliver O'Connell

Colby is brought back into the courtroom because Judge Boyce wants him on the stand while the call is played to the jury.

Judge Boyce says that on hearing the beginning of the call he wants Colby on the witness stand.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:19 , Oliver O'Connell

For context, the call was made after the bodies of Tylee and JJ had been found on Chad Daybells property.

Before Judge Boyce called a sidebar, Colby said he had prayed for Lori and she said she didnt do anything.

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:17 , Oliver O'Connell

The call is played but interrupted when Judge Boyce calls for a sidebar with attorneys.

Boyce interrupts the phone call and asks for a sidebar with attorneys.  Nate Eaton (@NateNewsNow) April 18, 2023

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:16 , Oliver O'Connell

Wood now asks to admit and play a jailhouse phonecall between Colby and Lori.

Colby has left the room but he remains under subpoena so could be called back in if the defence has questions.
A rookie Louisville police officer who remains in critical condition after a mass shooting has developed pneumonia.

The Louisville Metro Police Foundation, which is raising money for the care of Officer Nickolas Wilt, shared an update from Wilts twin brother on Facebook Tuesday, asking people to send prayers and healing thoughts to Wilt, who is still on a ventilator.

The post said pneumonia is a common illness after being on a vent, the doctors & nurses are working to treat it. Please continue to pray.

Wilt, 26, was one of the first officers on the scene of the shooting at Old National Bank on East Main Street April 10 and was shot in the head. Six people died, including the shooter.

Wilt is listed in critical but stable condition and is the only victim from the deadly shooting who remains hospitalized.

He graduated from the police academy March 31. He has previously worked as a firefighter and dispatcher, the post stated.

Since the sudden death of his father in February Nick has stepped up and taken over being a handyman for his mom, whom he dearly loves, according to the update. Nick adores his twin brother Zack (who is also in the academy for LMPD) and his brother Alex. Nick and his girlfriend Maddie met at work at Oldham County EMS and you can tell from these pictures how much he cares for her.

Baptist Health said in a Facebook post the day of the shooting that Wilt was employed by Baptist Health LaGrange to work at Oldham County EMS. He previously worked full-time as an EMT and is still on the staff on an as-needed basis, Baptist Health said.

As of Tuesday afternoon, more than $134,000 had been raised through the Louisville Metro Police Foundation, and the organization said all proceeds will go to Wilts family, according to the foundations Facebook post. Donations can be made through Venmo or by visiting saferlouisville.org.

Louisville bank shooter waited to ambush police after killing co-workers, bodycam video shows

Fatigued and frustrated. Hundreds mourn Louisville shooting victims, call for change
 Flash

Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday accused the U.S. Pentagon of espionage, saying his government will protect its national defense information.

In his daily press conference, the Mexican president said that as part of this, Mexican media receive leaks from the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

"We are going to guard the information from the Ministry of the Navy and the (Ministry of National) Defense because we are being spied on by the Pentagon and a lot of media in Mexico are leaking information provided by the DEA," he said.

Lopez Obrador said that his administration will protect state information for national security reasons, as well as in defense of Mexico's sovereignty.

The president's remarks came a day after he accused the DEA of "abusive meddling" and "arrogance" for an alleged operation to infiltrate the Sinaloa drug trafficking cartel.

The U.S. government claims Mexico is responsible for the illegal trafficking of fentanyl into its territory.

In response, Mexico said the United States is not doing enough to combat the causes that lead its population to resort to illicit drugs.
Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson were on "Love Is Blind" season two. Netflix

In a new report from Insider, multiple "Love Is Blind" stars detail their "traumatic" experiences.

One cast member who spoke on the record was Danielle Ruhl, who was prominently featured in season two.

Ruhl and others told reporter Katie Warren the crew needs to provide better mental health support.

In a new report from Insider about the "traumatizing" conditions described by "Love Is Blind" contestants, season two cast member Danielle Ruhl said the production team's current screening methods are insufficient.

Reporter Katie Warren wrote that Ruhl was "surprised to see she passed the psychological screen as she'd disclosed her history of mental illness and that she had attempted suicide."

According to Warren, the cast for each season of "Love Is Blind" is scouted on social media sites like Instagram and LinkedIn, then interviewed and given a background check for criminal history. There is also a "psychological screening" that includes their relationship history.

Then the 15 men and 15 women selected as finalists are put in conversation pods where they had the chance to "blindly" fall in love and get engaged without ever setting eyes on their future spouse.

Danielle Ruhl on "Love Is Blind" season two. PATRICK WYMORE/NETFLIX

Ruhl told Insider she fainted while drinking Champagne in a dating pod and then had to "go right back into it," referring to the on-camera interviews. She eventually got engaged to Nick Thompson, and the two were flown to a post-engagement vacation in Mexico along with the other betrothed cast members.

In the edited episode that aired in 2022, Ruhl and Thompson appeared to get into a screaming argument over his decision to attend a group party without her after she said she felt sick.

Now, new details about what really happened behind the scenes are coming out. Insider reported that "Love Is Blind" producers told Ruhl she couldn't attend the party with the group because she might have had COVID-19. The resulting panic attack came as Ruhl anxiously thought about how her absence would be explained and why Thompson was going even though they'd been together all day (and therefore in theory at the same risk of having COVID-19).

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Ruhl ended up having a panic attack that evening, and told producers that she didn't feel that she could keep filming. That panic attack was later edited into a storyline about Ruhl being upset over Thompson talking to another woman at the party.

"I kept telling them, 'I don't trust myself,'' she told Insider. "'I've tried committing suicide before. I'm having suicidal thoughts. I don't think I can continue in this."

In 2022, when her season first aired, Ruhl said on Instagram that the Netflix version of events did not add up to an "accurate representation" of her true self. Now she says she was trying to tell them her mental stability was too off-kilter to keep filming.

Producers persuaded Ruhl and Thompson to stay, but Ruhl told Insider being on the show has caused lasting damage.

"I don't think that I've felt myself since before filming," Ruhl said. "I'm trying to refind who I am because it fucked with me so much."

Kinetic Content, the production company behind the show, said in a statement sent to Insider: "The wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic. We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming." Netflix did not respond to requests for comment from Insider.

For more on Ruhl's story and others' accounts of filming the reality show, read the full report on "Love Is Blind" here.

Read the original article on Insider
Danielle Ruhl and Nick Thompson on. "Love is Blind." Netflix

"Love is Blind" became a cultural phenomenon after the first season premiered in February 2020.

But season one cast members say they were deprived of sleep and had shoddy sleeping quarters.

Female contestants complained of cockroaches in their single-room trailer and were moved to a hotel.

"Love is Blind" contestants spoke to Insider about the production's problematic culture, which once extended to their shoddy sleeping conditions.

Since "Love is Blind" debuted on Netflix in February 2020, the show has become a bonafide cultural phenomenon, with 30 million households tuning into the first season, breakout stars and villains, and even a rather unfunny "SNL" skit. But according to Insider's bombshell report, the work culture during production was downright toxic, with cast members regularly required to film up to 20 hours a day. It was an unsustainable work schedule that led to some contestants to fall asleep during dates or try to nap during breaks.

"The sleep deprivation was real," said Danielle Drouin, who appeared in the show's first season. (Drouin got engaged to Rory Newbrough during the experiment, but their story wasn't followed after the pods). "I feel like they do it on purpose because they're trying to break you. They want you on your edge."

When season one cast members were allowed to sleep, female contestants retreated to one single-room trailer they shared, filled with bunkbeds. One season one cast member recalled sleeping on a mattress on the floor, because she was worried about the bunks' sturdiness. Some women also noticed cockroaches skittering around.

"There was no privacy, it was cold, it wasn't comfortable," Drouin continued.

After a slew of complaints, the trailer accommodations were swapped out for hotel rooms, although production assistants were stationed in the hallways to prevent cast members from leaving their rooms during the hours assigned for sleep.

Story continues

Kinetic Content, the production company behind the show, said in a statement sent to Insider: "The wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic. We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming." Netflix did not respond to requests for comment from Insider.

For more on the behind-the-scenes culture of "Love is Blind," read: "Love is Blind" is hell on earth: Contestants say producers deprived them of food and sleep, preyed on their anxieties, and refused to let them quit.

Read the original article on Insider
(Bloomberg) -- President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silvas popularity is waning three months into his term as the leftist leader struggles to navigate a deeply divided Brazil.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The share of Brazilians who hold a positive view of Lulas government fell to 36% in April, a four-point decline from February, according to a Quaest poll released Wednesday. The share that saw it negatively rose to 29% from 20% before.

Lula took office for his third stint as president on Jan. 1 after winning one of the closest elections in Brazils modern history. The 77-year-old former trade unionist campaigned on lifting living standards and unifying the nation, a stark contrast with his conservative predecessor Jair Bolsonaro, whose presidency was marked by culture wars and widening polarization.

Read more: Lula Struggles to Build Base in Congress 100 Days Into His Term

But Wednesdays survey indicated that Lula is quickly losing ground with Bolsonaro backers. Negative views of the current government shot up to 64% from 51% previously among those who voted for Bolsonaro in last years presidential runoff. More than a quarter of Brazilians who didnt vote for either candidate last year also regard Lulas government negatively, a sharp increase from February.

The poll shows that while Lula has maintained the support of his base, he is alienating many others, said Felipe Nunes, the director of Quaest.

His narrative is focused on his own voters, his choices are all about his voters, Nunes said. There is nothing about the middle class.

Read more: Haunted by Insurrection, Lula Is In a Hurry to Change Brazil

Quaest interviewed 2,015 Brazilians between April 13 and 16, and has a margin of error of 2.2 percentage points.

Story continues

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Jackson Local Schools (Ohio)

An Ohio high school is in turmoil after studentsand a parentappeared in vehemently racist social media videos using the N-word.

Now, members of the Jackson High School community, which is about an hour outside of Cleveland, are putting school officials on blast, claiming they need to take more responsibility for the videos and how theyve affected students.

I dont think hurt is the right word, Kenedi Satterfield, a Jackson High senior, told local outlet 19 News Cleveland. It was definitely more than hurt. I was disgusted and concerned for my own safety and other Black kids safety.

A compilation of SnapChat clips allegedly featuring white students from the school was shared Monday on Facebook by Chais Medal from Canton, Ohio.

Share this! Lets make it known that Jackson Local Schools - Massillon, OH is a RACIST DISTRICT, Medal wrote.

In one clip captioned Jackson township Ohio, three girls scream into the camera.

N----! they repeatedly yell.

We dont say the Black word, laughs a woman, allegedly one of the girls mothers.

In another clip, a boy with dark hair and a gray Jackson hoodie looks at his phone in a locker room while the N-word is played audibly. The clip then transitions to an image of a boy wearing a white towel over his head.

Im in the KKK, the image is captioned.

Video Captures Smirking Teacher Drop N-Word 15 or More Times

Another clip features a girl chanting the N-word into the camera before bursting into laughter.

See how many times you can say it, someone off camera is heard saying. They laugh together, and the first girl chants the slur even faster.

Another compilation with even more racist clips was shared by Facebook user Jennifer Kristie, who condemned the footage.

U a n----, is captioned across a students face on an image. Another picture has a students face plastered with the slur over and over, and What does your name mean written at the top. Theres also a clip of a girl in black pants dancing with her back to the camera while the N-word is repeated.

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It is unclear when the videos were first recorded or appeared online.

The Jackson Local School District finds the contents of the videos reprehensible and troubling, Superintendent Chris DiLoreto wrote in a statement to The Daily Beast. The District does not tolerate discriminatory harassment based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or ancestry which are protected by federal civil rights laws.

After looking into the matter, we have found some videos did not occur during the school day, on school property, or at a location/activity sponsored by the district. As such, the district legally does not have any oversight or disciplinary authority related to those videos, the statement continued. To the extent any investigation shows our students violating our school policy or code of conduct, appropriate consequences will be, and have been, handed down.

Our school administrators look forward to continued conversations with our students and opportunities to learn and grow from these teachable moments.

But many have not been satisfied with how the schools handled the matter.

What I really want to talk about is Jackson High Schools response, Canton resident and digital creator Destinee Stark said in a Facebook video.

Stark said the district started off strong with their policy on racial discrimination, but ultimately didnt want to hold its racist students responsible for their actions.

To me, that is not OK, Stark said. Because who these people are at home is likely who they are at school Jackson Local Schools, you have a duty to protect your Black students from people like this.

On the school districts Facebook page, community members condemned the videos and shared their disgust with how the school addressed the situation.

Stop hiding behind closed doors, bring in multicultural educators, counselors and people that have lived through diverse experiences that have stories to share and have the ability to educate people of this community, a Facebook user commented under a district post. Stop cowardly being silent. Privileged white silence is no better than outwardly being a racist.

According to local outlet 19 News Cleveland, Jackson High students held a protest about the clips and images in the schools lunchroom Monday.

A TikTok video uploaded by @avaa_hoops showed a crowd of students gathering in the middle of the cafeteria with signs, demanding justice.

The alleged mother of one of the students in the videos did not immediately return The Daily Beasts request for comment Wednesday.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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My name is Robert Williams, and I may be the first known person in the United States to be arrested for a crime I did not commit based on a false facial recognition match.

This nightmarish ordeal upended my life and terrified my wife and children. I know from firsthand experience that this technology is inherently flawed and racially biased. Law enforcement absolutely should not have access to it, and that is why I urge the California Legislature to vote against Assembly Bill 642, a dangerous bill that would lead to more misidentifications and wrongful arrests like mine.

My story began in January 2020. I was finishing work and received a phone call from Detroit police advising me to turn myself in. They refused to tell me why, so I assumed it was a prank.

Opinion

When I arrived home not long after, police officers were waiting for me. With no explanation, they handcuffed me on my front lawn while my distressed wife and young daughters watched. At the detention center, officers took my fingerprints, DNA sample and mugshot. Scared and confused, I spent the night on the cold and filthy concrete floor of an overcrowded cell.

The next day, the police accused me of stealing thousands of dollars worth of watches from a store I hadnt visited in years.

I could prove I was driving home from my job 40 minutes outside of Detroit at the time of the robbery, but it didnt matter. Facial recognition software had matched a blurry image pulled from the stores surveillance footage to my drivers license photo. A security consultant who watched the video, but who had not seen the suspect in person, picked me out of a photo lineup.

I spent 30 hours in custody before I was allowed to return to my worried family. It then took months for the county prosecutors office to expunge my record and delete my fingerprints from the police departments database.

In the years following my arrest, police have similarly misidentified and detained four other individuals that we know of. All of us are Black men, and all of us suffered the trauma of being wrenched from our families, isolated and interrogated by police officers who dismissed our claims of innocence because they believed the technology was infallible.

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In my case, Detroit police are not supposed to treat face recognition matches as the only proof they need to charge someone with a crime. But instead of collecting corroborating evidence, they relied on an out-of-focus image a faulty algorithm had determined was me.

Now, California is considering a facial recognition law its authors claim will prevent abuse. But it would be a grave mistake to assume that AB 642 will prevent what happened to me from happening to people in California. Even if the bill instructs officers not to solely rely on facial recognition results, once the software identifies a match, police will think theyve found the right person. As in my case, they will zero in and disregard evidence that doesnt fit their chosen narrative.

There is no acceptable number of misidentifications. One out of 50? One out of 100? One out of 10,000? Its all too high. If AB 642 passes, more innocent people will be put in harms way, and they may not be as lucky as I was to avoid a conviction or even a fatal encounter with police.

My false match traumatized my entire family. To this day, my daughters still cry at the memory of my arrest.

The only safe path forward is a total prohibition on police use of face recognition. Please, vote no on AB 642.

Robert Wilson is a 45 year-old proud father and devoted husband.
I recently made Ina Garten's weeknight pasta, and it was easy and delicious. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I recently made Ina's favorite weeknight pasta, which appears in her cookbook "Go-To Dinners."

The pasta features classic Italian ingredients like bucatini, pancetta, and red wine.

I made the pasta after a long workday and it only took around 30 minutes.

I've been making my way through Ina Garten's pasta recipes for nearly three years.

Garten's penne alla vodka pasta. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I made my very first "Barefoot Contessa" pasta while living like Garten for a day during New York City's lockdown in May 2020. Garten's approachable and delicious recipes were a dream for a novice cook like me  I was immediately hooked.

Since then I've made many of Garten's dishes, from her comforting breakfasts to her impressive desserts. But it's always her pastas that I've loved most  and I've even ranked them (her penne alla vodka is one of my all-time favorites).

I still try a new pasta from the celebrity chef every few months, and there were plenty of new ones to test in "Go-To Dinners," Garten's most recent cookbook.

Garten says her go-to weeknight pasta is quick and easy.

I love making Ina Garten's delicious and approachable pasta recipes. Barefoot Contessa/Food Network

"Everyone needs a few quick pasta dinners in their repertoire, and this one is really adaptable," she writes in "Go-To Dinners," which was released in October.

"It's wonderful as is, but you could also serve it with veal meatballs one night and with a big dollop of ricotta the next. The pancetta and red wine give it fantastic flavor."

After a busy day of work, I closed my laptop and headed to the kitchen. It was time to see if Garten's recipe would become one of my new favorites.

Garten's weeknight pasta only requires some basic ingredients, and you probably already have most of them in your kitchen.

Garten's weeknight pasta features pancetta, San Marzano tomatoes, and red wine. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

To make four servings of Garten's weeknight pasta at home, you'll need:

1 pound dried spaghettoni or bucatini

1  cups chopped yellow onion

1 cup freshly-grated Italian Pecorino cheese

 cup dry red wine, such as Chianti

1 can (14.5-ounce) crushed San Marzano tomatoes

6 ounces (-inch) diced pancetta

2 cloves minced garlic

1  teaspoons sugar

 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

 cup julienned fresh basil leaves, plus extra for serving

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Garten notes that regular spaghetti, which is thinner than spaghettoni, can also be used with this recipe.

Before I started cooking, I prepped my herbs and veggies.

I started with my prep, including chopping my basil. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I chopped the onion, minced my garlic cloves, and julienned the basil.

Once my prep was done, I filled a large pot with water, added two tablespoons of salt, and brought it to a boil so it'd be ready to cook the pasta later on.

It was time to make the sauce. First, I added three tablespoons of olive oil to my Dutch oven.

I heated up my olive oil in my Dutch oven. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I placed the Dutch oven over medium-low heat and allowed the olive oil to warm up.

I threw in the diced pancetta, using a little more than Garten had recommended.

Garten says to cook the pancetta for five to seven minutes, until it's browned. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I had bought two 4-ounce packets of diced pancetta, so I decided to add a little more protein to the pasta. I ended up loving the extra flavor, so I'd definitely recommend trying this.

Garten recommends sauteing the pancetta for five to seven minutes, until the pieces have browned. Once my pancetta was ready, I used a slotted spoon to transfer it to a small bowl.

After I removed the pancetta, I added the chopped onion.

I sauteed the onion for 10 minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I sauteed the onion for 10 minutes, until the pieces started to brown.

I added the pancetta back into the Dutch oven, along with the minced garlic and red pepper flakes.

Once the onions were ready, I threw in the pancetta, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I cooked everything together for one minute.

Then I added the wine.

After adding the wine, I cooked everything for three to five minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Garten recommends cooking everything for three to five minutes, until the liquid has almost entirely evaporated.

Once the wine had nearly evaporated, I added the tomatoes and sugar.

I allowed the Dutch oven to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I brought the sauce to a boil, then lowered the heat. I allowed everything in the Dutch oven to simmer uncovered for 10 minutes, making sure to stir occasionally.

While my sauce was simmering, I added the pasta to my boiling pot of water.

I cooked my bucatini pasta while the sauce simmered. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Garten recommends cooking the pasta for two minutes less than al dente according to the directions on the package.

This meant I needed to cook my bucatini for nine minutes, but it definitely wasn't enough. The noodles were still really tough. I knew they wouldn't finish cooking in the sauce, so I ended up cooking my pasta a few minutes longer.

Every stove is different, so just trust your taste buds (or cook them a little longer in the sauce at the end).

After 10 minutes were up, I seasoned the sauce with salt and pepper.

I seasoned my sauce with salt and pepper. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Garten recommends adding one teaspoon of salt and  teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper.

Then, using tongs, I transferred the pasta to the sauce.

I used tongs to add my pasta to the sauce. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I also made sure to add some pasta water.

I cooked everything over low heat for two minutes, stirring my noodles with the tongs.

I also added more pasta water to the sauce. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I added more pasta water as needed to make what Garten calls "a loose sauce."

Then I took my Dutch oven off the heat and added the Pecorino and basil.

I added the Pecorino and basil once the pasta was ready. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

I added half a cup of the Pecorino and all the basil and tossed everything together with my tongs.

Garten's weeknight pasta had a rustic charm that reminded me of one of my favorite Italian restaurants in New York City.

Then I tossed everything together with the tongs. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

One of my go-to spots when I lived in NYC was Cotenna, an Italian restaurant in the West Village. It was tiny, intimate, and affordable, and my girlfriends and I absolutely loved it.

The service was always great, the wine was always cheap, and the pasta was always delicious. Everything about the place just felt warm. And something about Garten's weeknight pasta  which really focuses on classic, approachable Italian ingredients  brought me right back there.

After serving the pasta with some more cheese and basil on top, it was time to dig in. And I was instantly a huge fan.

I thought Garten's favorite weeknight pasta was delicious. Anneta Konstantinides/Insider

Garten's weeknight pasta doesn't just look like it comes from a cute little Italian restaurant  it tastes like it does too.

The rich pancetta worked so well with the earthy flavors of the basil and Chianti, and the San Marzano tomatoes added a lovely, subtle sweetness. The kick of the red pepper flakes rounded out the sauce, which had a surprising depth of flavor despite looking quite simple. This dish was also finished in about 30 minutes with very minimal prep or effort, and who doesn't love that?

Overall, I thought Garten's favorite weeknight pasta tasted delicious and elevated. It's something I know I'll definitely whip up again  even after a long workday.

Read the original article on Insider
Pentagon

The topic of leaks of secret documents from the Pentagon has been the headline for the last week. Some journalists and commentators assess the situation as a "catastrophe," especially concerning the Ukrainian counteroffensive and relations between the United States and Ukraine. Is it true?

There are a lot of talks about it (in the form of suggestions) in the media and from some officials.The damage from this speculation is much more impactful than the leaks themselves. Are there any changes to the Ukrainian Armed Forces' counteroffensive plans? They could make certain adjustments to these plans just in case. No one knows precisely what "leaked" and its size. However, I assume that counteroffensive plans have already been changed several times due to various other objective and subjective circumstances.

Read also: Pentagon leaks nothing more than standard special operation, says military intelligence chief

Could these leaks affect US-Ukraine relations, particularly the level of US support for Ukraine? The general answer is no. Firstly, because it "leaked" not from us but from the USA. Secondly, it is not in the interests of either Ukraine or the USA. We cannot refuse American aid, which is critically important to us. And it is not in the interests of the United States to stop such assistance. The problem is not in the very fact of such aid, or in some unacceptable forms of it, but in the source of the information. This is an internal US problem that they must solve. Both sides will surely increase their systems of checks and warnings. This will be the main consequence of the appeared problem.

Some have dramatized that the Americans "eavesdropped" on the Ukrainian president. But anyone who understands international politics understands very well that Americans (as well as the Russians and Chinese) try to listen in on all influential statesmen - enemies, allies, and everything in between. Moreover, this is done in conditions of war. For example, ten years ago, there was a scandal surrounding how American intelligence tapped the cell phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. And what came of it? There was a lot of noise. There were some, not very significant, but some image negatives for both sides. However, it didnt affect the relations between the two countries significantly. I think that even the current "leaks" wont fundamentally affect ties between the USA and, not only Ukraine, but also with other friendly countries - from the intelligence coalition "Five Eyes" to South Korea. Although the "sediment" will undoubtedly remain and precautions will increase.

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Let's summarize. Currently, the situation with leaks of Pentagon secret documents is problematic (primarily for the US), but not critical (especially for us). However, the holes from which it "flows" should be immediately found and closed.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A Maine man fatally shot his parents and a couple in their Portland-area home before firing at passing cars on an interstate where he hit three members of another family, critically injuring one, police said Wednesday.

Authorities arrested Joseph Eaton, 34, on Tuesday within hours of discovering the bodies in the small town of Bowdoin and said he has confessed. Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder but could face more charges, authorities said, citing the ongoing investigation.

"This stuff doesn't happen in Maine," Maine State Police Col. Bill Ross said. "Right now we're in the 'how' phase, how this happened. And I think the 'why' part of this, why did all of this happen, will come at a later date."

Investigators say they believe Eaton's attack was an isolated incident and there is no ongoing threat to the public.

Who was arrested for Maine shooting?

Eaton had been released from a Maine prison on April 14 after serving an approximately two-year sentence for assault. Under Maine law, he was barred from possessing firearms because of his prior convictions.

Police said Eaton shot his parents and their friends at a home and barn in Bowdoin, then fled onto nearby I-295 where he began firing at passing cars, believing he was being chased by police. He then ditched his vehicle and was caught nearby, police said.

Eaton is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail. His mugshot is not being released at this time, police said. They also declined to discuss the kind of firearm they recovered from near his vehicle.

Several media outlets reported that Eaton posted a video to Facebook the day before the shootings in which he tearfully complained about being abused and needing a second chance. In that video, which USA TODAY viewed, the man speaks about his children and seeking forgiveness for his actions.

Ross declined to address the video.

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A police officer stands on the corner of Portland Street and Main Street in Yarmouth, Maine, on April 18, 2023.

Who are the victims of Maine shooting?

Police identified the four dead as Cynthia and David Eaton, the suspect's parents, and their friends Robert and Patti Eger. Police said the Egers owned the home and the Eatons were staying with them.

The three people shot on the interstate are members of a family in a vehicle that happened to be passing by: Sean Halsey, 51, and his children, Justin, 29, and Paige, 25, who remains in critical condition, police said. All are from a nearby town and had no connection to the initial shootings, authorities said.

Police have asked that anyone who was driving in the area at the time check their vehicle for bullet damage and to contact authorities with any information or dashcam video.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Shooting in Maine on 295: Man killed 4, then fired on motorists
The Maine gunman accused of fatally shooting four people and wounding three others on Tuesday was released from prison just days earlier and has a violent criminal past that would have prevented him from legally possessing a gun, according to state records.

Joseph Eaton, 34, was charged over the past decade with more than a half-dozen crimes, records show. Prior convictions include aggravated assault, a felony that would prevent him from legally having a firearm.

Eaton most recently served an eight-month sentence for assault last year and was released on Friday  just four days before the shootings  from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, said Anna Black, director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections.

In August 2021, Eaton assaulted a fellow inmate, 34-year-old Dustan James Bentley, who is serving a 40-year sentence for the 2019 murder of his roommate, the Bangor Daily News reported.

MAINE STATE POLICE SAY 4 DEAD, 3 INJURED IN SHOOTINGS IN BOWDOIN, YARMOUTH

Eatons prior convictions in Maine also include assault on a child under the age of 6, domestic violence assault and operating under the influence of intoxicants, according to the newspaper, along with a 2018 conviction in Florida for illegally possessing a gun.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

The shooting began Tuesday morning at a residence in Bowdoin, a rural town about 30 miles northeast of Portland, where four victims were found shot to death.

Authorities say the gunman then opened fire about 25 miles south of Bowdoin on Interstate-295, wounding three people, including one critically.

TWO TEENS CHARGED IN DADEVILLE, ALABAMA, MASS SHOOTING AT SWEET 16 BIRTHDAY PARTY

The names of the victims were not released, and state police did not discuss any possible motive. The four bodies were taken to the state medical examiner's office in Augusta for positive identification and autopsies.

CLICK TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

The origins and ownership of the firearms used in Tuesday's shootings were unclear. State police declined to comment on the weapon that was used.

Eaton is due in court later this week.

Fox News Paul Best and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
Joseph Eaton posted a sobbing video online hours before the shooting (Facebook)

The man accused of going on a shooting rampage at a home and along an interstate in Maine appears to have posted a sobbing Facebook video speaking about his trauma and being molested just hours before the attack, The Independent can reveal.

Joseph Eaton, 34, shared an emotional video of himself online on Monday where he said that people think he is just another f*** up and complained about people who claim to be Christian.

In the footage, he is seen sitting in a car filming himself as he chokes up with tears and goes on a confusing ramble.

Im probably going to get emotional just talking about it, he said.

But a lot of people look at you and think oh well theres just another f*** up, another guy that cant get his stuff together, treats people like s*** and then they turn around and claim to be Christian.

And you cant forgive somebody or understand what they go through. You cant give someone a second chance but you say youre Christian. How does that make sense? Why cant you just try to get to know the person again? What goods it do to hate somebody? It destroys you.

Its not the way things were supposed to be done, the way things were made.

Mr Eaton then went on to say he wants forgiveness for the things I did as he said he has had trauma for a long time.

Just need to try to forgive me for the things I did. Ive been dealing with trauma for a long time on things I dont talk to people about  being molested and stuff it destroys somebody, he said.

I know Im good for my kids. I just wish somebody would forgive me. Some people, I dont get it.

Hours after posting the video, Mr Eaton allegedly went on a shooting rampage across two locations in Maine on Tuesday.

Maine State Police said that officers were called to a house in Bowdoin on Tuesday to find four victims dead from gunshot wounds.

Not long after the grim discovery was made, an assailant opened fire on cars driving along Interstate 295 in nearby Yarmouth.

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Three drivers were shot in the attack  with one of them now in critical condition.

Joseph Eaton posted a sobbing video online hours before the shooting (Facebook)

The two incidents are believed to be connected and Mr Eaton was taken into custody by police.

He was charged with four counts of murder over the victims in the home and is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail.

He will make an initial court appearance later in the week, police said.

None of the victims have been publicly identified and no motive has been given.

Property records seen by The Independent show that a woman who had commented on Mr Eatons Facebook posts in the past lived at the address where the four victims were found.

Police are planning to give an update on Wednesday.

Investigators will be working throughout the night processing multiple scenes and continuing to interview people involved with this incident, state police said.
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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad told visiting Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud in Damascus on Tuesday that the reconciliation between Syria and Saudi Arabia will have positive effects not only on both countries, but also on the wider Arab region, according to a report by the Syrian presidency's media office.

Assad emphasized that the good relations between the two countries reflect Saudi Arabia's realistic policies that serve the interests of the Arab countries and the region. He also highlighted the importance of Arab support in helping Syria overcome the aftermath of the long-standing war and stabilize the situation in the country.

For his part, the Saudi diplomat expressed confidence in Syria's ability to overcome the consequences of the war and achieve sustainable development.

He reiterated Saudi Arabia's support for Syria's territorial integrity, security, and stability, as well as facilitating the return of Syrian refugees. Farhan Al Saud also emphasized the need for normalizing relations between Syria and all Arab countries, in order to restore Syria's role in the Arab world and the wider region.

Farhan Al Saud's visit to Damascus on Tuesday afternoon marks the first visit by a senior Saudi official to Syria in 12 years, following Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad's recent visit to Saudi Arabia as part of efforts to restore normal relations between the two countries.

During Mekdad's visit, an agreement was reached to restore consulate services and resume air flights between the two countries. This development comes amid notable Arab efforts to improve strained ties with Damascus in the aftermath of the Syrian war that broke out in 2011.

Last week, diplomats from nine Arab countries met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, to discuss a political solution to end the Syrian crisis and facilitate Syria's return to the Arab fold.
Kaylin Gillis, 20, was shot and killed after the car she was in turned into the wrong driveway. GoFundMe

Kevin Monahan, 65, faces second-degree murder charges in the death of 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis.

The sheriff told CNN that Monahan "has not shown any remorse in this case," according to CNN.

Blake Walsh, Gillis' boyfriend of over four years, told NBC News they had plans to get married.

The man who is accused of fatally shooting 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis in upstate New York hasn't shown "any remorse," the local sheriff said, as her boyfriend says he's trying to imagine a world without her.

Gillis was a passenger in a car with her friends and boyfriend, 19-year-old Blake Walsh, when they pulled into the wrong driveway around 10 p.m. on Saturday. As the group tried to figure out whether they were at the right address, two shots were fired at the car. Gillis was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.

"I had high hopes, and I had plans," Walsh, who was with Gillis for over four years, told NBC News. "I didn't want to be with anybody else, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her."

"My world was taken from me Saturday," Walsh added.

Kevin Monahan, 65, faces second-degree murder charges. Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said as police responded to the home, Monahan "refused to exit his residence to speak with police" and was taken into custody "after several hours" with the assistance of the New York State Police Special Operation Response Team, according to a press release.

The sheriff added that Monahan "quite frankly, has not shown any remorse in this case," according to CNN.

"There was clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle. There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened," Murphy added to the outlet.

Monahan's attorney, Kurt Mausert, said his client gave him a different version of events, CNN reported.

"This was not a simple case of coming up a driveway and turning around," Mausert told CNN. "The description I was given by my client is there were multiple vehicles, including a motorcycle, revving engines, coming up the driveway at a high rate of speed."

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Mausert told The New York Times that Monahan "sincerely regrets this tragedy" and "feels terrible that there was a fatality." He added that the sheriff has acted "as judge, jury and executioner."

"When there's a tragedy and a victim, everyone wants a villain," Mausert told The Times. "But sometimes they're just tragedies and victims and there are no villains. And this is one of those times."

Mausert told CNN that his client believed the multitude of vehicles on the rural road "created an atmosphere and a fear that there was menace going on."

Sheriff Murphy told the outlet that there were two cars and a motorcycle that were driving along the road and pulled into the driveway looking for the right address. He added that there were no 911 calls from Monahan or any of his neighbors of noise complaints.

"I don't know how they could menace anyone with those type of actions, but they were clearly leaving the residence when the shots were fired," Murphy added, citing forensic evidence.

Mausert told CNN that his client was unaware the shots he fired had struck anyone. Mausert said Monahan called him to say that he had "no idea" why there were four sheriff's deputies on his road, at which point Mausert contacted police and found out there was a fatality and a criminal charge.

"This was not a standoff," Mausert told CNN. "This was my client and I not knowing what was going on in terms of the charges that were pending."

Mausert said in a comment to Insider that Murphy "has been spinning false narratives on several points," including his client's "emotional state."

"He never spoke with my client, nor was Mr. Monahan interviewed by any member of law enforcement because he invoked his right to counsel. The Sheriff should confine his remarks to things he actually knows," Mausert told Insider, adding that he disagreed with the sheriff's characterization that Monahan was "uncooperative with the police."

Walsh, who told NBC he was driving the car that Gillis was a passenger in, said he planned to attend Monahan's bond hearing on Wednesday.

"I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me," Walsh told NBC. "I need to look at him."

Read the original article on Insider
A San Luis Obispo jury found the man accused of killing two people during a 2001 confrontation over a Morro Strand State Beach campsite guilty of first-degree murder.

Jurors convicted Stephen Deflaun of the first-degree murders of Stephen Wells, 37, and Wells 11-year-old nephew, Jerry Rios Jr., and assault with a firearm on a peace officer, in this case California State Parks ranger Charles Chuck Jackson.

The jury also found the special allegation of the use of a firearm for all three counts true, and the multiple murder special allegation true.

These special allegations can potentially add more time to Deflauns sentence.

Deflaun, 63, was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia and was never expected to be competent enough to stand trial, a forensic psychologist said in a 2004 court hearing. That changed in April 2022.

The shootout began after Wells had his two nephews ask Deflaun if he was staying overnight in his van at a large campsite.

The two men began yelling at each other, and Wells threatened to report Deflaun to the park rangers. Around 15 minutes later, Deflaun returned to the park entrance and shot Wells and Rios Jr.

Deflaun testified that he thought Wells was a federal agent a--hole, which he interpreted as an assassin, and felt he didnt have a choice but to kill Wells.

Deflaun saw movement to his left after shooting Wells and shot Rios Jr. as well, Deflaun said on the stand.

In closing arguments, San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth asked the jury to convict Deflaun of two counts of first-degree murder.

Defense attorney Raymond Allen argued the murder of Wells was imperfect self-defense, because Deflaun believed he was in imminent danger that required use of deadly force, but that belief was unreasonable.

The jury deliberated for approximately three hours to come to its decision.

The trial will now enter the so-called sanity phase, where the jury will hear more testimony and evidence regarding Deflauns mental health and decide whether he is legally insane and therefore, not guilty by reason of insanity.

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San Luis Obispo Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy previously ruled the jury could not know Deflaun was previously incompetent to stand trial for 21 years and had previously been found not guilty by reason of insanity in a Massachusetts court for possession of a knife.

These facts may be able to be included in the sanity phase of the trial, but the judge has not yet ruled on it yet.

Court will resume Thursday at 9 a.m. to begin the second phase of the trial. The defense expects three witnesses to testify.
Quincy police have arrested a man who allegedly stabbed three people during a targeted home invasion Sunday night.

Michael Campbell was arrested in Boston Wednesday by Quincy police detectives and the Massachusetts State Police Violent Fugitive Apprehension Section. He will face charges of home invasion, armed assault to murder, carrying a loaded firearm without a license and possessing ammunition without an FID card charges.

On Sunday, April 16, 2023, at approximately 8:39 p.m., Quincy Police responded to a possible home invasion at 400 Block of Granite Street. According to police, it was reported that gunshots were fired and multiple people were stabbed.

Upon arrival, police located four people inside, three of which were suffering from stab wounds. The victims were transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries and released.

Police say the home was specifically targeted by Campbell.

Campbell will be arraigned in Quincy District Court Thursday.

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Bellingham Police arrested a Kent man Friday, April 14, for allegedly providing drugs to a 15-year-old victim and then sexually assaulting them.

Coleone Sincere Bradford, 21, was arrested on suspicion of third-degree child rape, third-degree child molestation and distributing drugs to a minor.

Bellingham Police were first notified about the alleged crimes on Dec. 7, 2022, from the Washington State Department of Children, Youth and Families, according to Bellingham Police Lt. Claudia Murphy.

An investigation found that the 15-year-old victim met Bradford through social media and that Bradford, 20 at the time of the alleged crime, knew the victims age, Murphy told The Bellingham Herald.

Between August and October of 2022, Bradford allegedly traveled to Bellingham from Kent to meet the victim. He took the victim to several hotels in Bellingham where he provided them with alcohol and marijuana. After the victim consumed alcohol and marijuana, Bradford initiated sexual contact with them, which is considered third-degree child rape due to their age difference, according to Murphy.

Bradford was in custody at the Whatcom County Jail on no bail as of Tuesday, April 18.

Resources

If you or someone you know is experiencing domestic violence or sexual assault, you can contact the following local resources for free, confidential support:

 Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault Services: 24-hour Help Line: 360-715-1563, Email: info@dvsas.org.

 Lummi Victims of Crime: 360-312-2015.

 Tlils Taaaltha Victims of Crime: 360-325-3310 or nooksacktribe.org/departments/youth-family-services/tlils-taaaltha-victims-of-crime-program/

 Bellingham Police: You can call anonymously at 360-778-8611, or go online at cob.org/tips.

 WWU Survivor Advocacy Services at the Counseling & Wellness Center: 360-650-7982 or https://cwc.wwu.edu/survivorservices.

 Brigid Collins Family Support Center: 360-734-4616, brigidcollins.org.
The man convicted in the 2009 murder of Brittanee Drexel in Myrtle Beach has responded to a wrongful death lawsuit filed against him by the New York teens mom.

Dawn Pleckan, whose daughter was kidnapped, raped and murdered by Raymond Moody, filed the suit Jan 3 after Moody was sentenced in October 2022.

Pleckan is seeking compensation, including damages, suffering and medical bills, in the amount determined by the jury, according to the suit.

Moody responded to the suit April 14 with a handwritten letter, according to Georgetown County Public Index records.

I do deny each and every question/statement listed in the requests for admission, the letter read, which was dated April 3.

The letter didnt contain any additional details.

Moody had 30 days of receiving the complaint to respond. It was delivered to him Feb. 21 at the Kirkland Correctional Institution in Richland County. That made his deadline March 23.

There is likely no greater sense of loss than that of a parent who has lost a child, such that the murder of a child is such extreme and outrageous conduct that it exceeds all bounds of decency, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit claims that Moody knew he was a suspect in the case and was active in concealing his crimes, which include lying about his whereabouts the night Drexel went missing.

Pecklan, of Florida, continues to suffer from emotional distress after losing a child, according to the suit.

It says Moody is responsible for her pain, mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life.

The suit also details the night of April 25, 2009, when Drexel was kidnapped, while she was walking from the Blue Water Resort.

Drexel was in Myrtle Beach for spring break with some of her friends. Her remains were found in May in Georgetown County after Moody admitted to killing her and led investigators to where he dumped her body.

The 17-year-olds remains were examined by a forensic anthropologist and odontologist at the Charleston County Coroners Office. They confirmed the remains were that of the Rochester, N.Y., native through dental records and testing DNA testing.
The white homeowner charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who mistakenly went to his home, pleaded not guilty on Wednesday during his first court appearance.

Andrew Lester, 84, turned himself in to the Clay County Detention Center in Missouri on Tuesday, police said, one day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He was released on $200,000 bond Tuesday afternoon.

Yarl, 16, was shot April 13 after he accidentally went to Lester's address while trying to pick up his brothers, according to a probable cause statement obtained by the Kansas City Star. He was hospitalized after being shot in the head and the arm, according to the statement, but is now home and recovering, family attorney Lee Merritt said on Twitter Wednesday.

"How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle," Merritt said.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot when he went to the wrong house in Kansas City, Missouri to pick up his brothers.

Lester told investigators he saw a Black male pulling on his exterior door handle and fired two shots within seconds of opening the interior door, according to the statement. Lester said he was "scared to death" and thought someone was breaking in, the statement said. Yarl denied pulling a door handle, according to the statement.

Experts say the shooting may reignite the national debate over "Stand Your Ground" laws. It is one of three recent cases in which young people were shot after being in the wrong place. In upstate New York, a 20-year-old woman was killed after the car she was riding in pulled into the wrong driveway. In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one tried to get into the wrong car, thinking it was hers.

The shooting sparked outrage in Kansas City and across the country. A GoFundMe created by Faith Spoonmore, who identified herself as Yarl's aunt, has raised more than $3.2 million for Yarl and President Joe Biden said Tuesday he spoke with Yarl on the phone and invited him to the White House.

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About 150 community members and civil rights organizations rallied in downtown Kansas City on Tuesday calling for justice for Yarl and demanding the Department of Justice investigate the case.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin, he said, Merritt said, calling for the shooting to be investigated as a hate crime.

Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a "racial component" to the shooting. When asked why Lester was not charged with a hate crime, Thompson said hate crimes are lesser felonies that carry a lower range of punishment than the charges Lester faces.

Lester faces up to life in prison is convicted of first-degree assault. His attorney, Steve Salmon, did not leave the courthouse to speak with reporters after Wednesday's hearing.

Lesters next court date is June 1.

From this point forward, the state will be pushing to move this case forward as swiftly as legally permitted, Thompson said in a statement after the hearing.

Dig deeper

Contributing: The Associated Press

Contact Breaking News Reporter N'dea Yancey-Bragg at nyanceybra@gannett.com or follow her on Twitter @NdeaYanceyBragg

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Ralph Yarl: Andrew Lester charged in shooting, pleads not guilty
A man broke into his ex-girlfriends home before fatally shooting her new boyfriend, according to police in Pennsylvania.

Officers with the Lansdale Borough Police Department were called to a shooting at the womans apartment shortly after 11 p.m. Monday, April 17, according to a news release from the Montgomery County Office of the District Attorney.

When they arrived, they found two men on the floor of the main bedroom, authorities said.

The womans boyfriend  identified by police as Wesley Smith, 21, of Philadelphia  was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the release.

Her ex, also 21, had been shot several times in a shootout with Smith, authorities said. He was rushed to a hospital and is expected to survive his injuries.

McClatchy News is not naming the accused shooter to protect the identity of his children, who he shares with his ex-girlfriend.

Investigators found that Smith was visiting his girlfriend in her apartment when the ex-boyfriend broke in through a bathroom window, authorities said. He then went to the bedroom and started shooting.

Smith returned gunfire, authorities said, but died during the shooting.

Authorities said they found two guns and multiple fired cartridge casings from each firearm.

Both men had valid firearm permits, according to the release.

The ex-boyfriend is charged with murder, burglary, criminal trespass and possessing an instrument of crime.

Lansdale is about 30 miles northwest of downtown Philadelphia.

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A man on a first date is dead after a speeding driver lost control and ran into him, Texas police told media outlets.

The man had just left a doughnut shop and was walking with his date along a sidewalk in Houstons Montrose neighborhood around 2:25 a.m. April 19 when he was struck, police told KRIV.

As they were walking, a speeding vehicle hit a curb and ran into the man, killing him, KHOU reported. Police say the driver was going close to 100 mph, and the force of the impact threw the victim.

The vehicle stopped after hitting a pole, police told KPRC. Two women and a man were inside the vehicle, police say, with one of the women driving.

The speed limit in the area is 35 mph, the outlet reported.

An investigation is underway. McClatchy News reached out to the Houston Police Department and is awaiting response.

Student found shot dead in wrecked car after phone call ends with bang, TX officials say

Man shoots three after food order is delivered to wrong house, Michigan officials say

8 family members killed in fiery crash while visiting Mexico from Indiana, officials say

Man killed by relatives dogs had most of his clothing ripped off, Minnesota cops say
FRANKFORT, Ind. (AP)  A man charged with killing a former girlfriend and her grandmother outside an Indiana factory in 2021 has pleaded guilty in a deal that takes a possible death penalty off the table, authorities said.

Gary Ferrell II, who was 26 years old at the time, was accused of fatally shooting Promise Mays, 21, and Pamela Sledd, 62, during a shift change at NHK Seating of America in Frankfort, 50 miles (80.4 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. The evidence included factory security video.

Ferrell had tried to force Mays into the trunk of his car, according to a police affidavit filed earlier in the case.

Ferrell pleaded guilty Tuesday in Clinton County court, the prosecutor's office said.

The death penalty notice will be dismissed. The parties reached this agreement after (Ferrell) raised the defense of intellectual disability to the death penalty, the prosecutor's office said. Sentencing is tentatively set for an all-day hearing on Aug. 30.

A message seeking comment from Ferrell's attorney wasn't immediately returned Wednesday.

Ferrell was arrested shortly after the shootings after crashing his car in a construction zone, authorities said.
At 8 p.m. Tuesday evening, law enforcement arrested 16-year-old Travis McCullough alongside his older brother near their hometown of Tuskegee and charged them each with four counts of reckless murder in the Dadeville mass shooting that took place on Saturday.

About 40 miles northeast in Valley, there's a 36-year-old man with the same name. That Travis McCullough is not under arrest.

However, after the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency released the two names of Dadeville suspects in custody on Wednesday morning, some people began mistaking the 36-year-old for the 16-year-old on Facebook.

Threatening messages, hateful comments and dozens of new friend requests started pouring into his account around 10 a.m., the same time as the Dadeville news conference.

36-year-old Travis McCullough has received threats online because he shares a name with one of the alleged gunmen in the Dadeville shooting. He has no relation to the suspect.

"I've been scared to go outside just because of the messages and comments I've been seeing," McCullough said.

At first, McCullough was deleting the mean comments and DMs because he didn't want to see them. Then he realized he might want or need proof of the threats if something bad were to happen.

"I've been cautious about that all day," he said. "Just know, I'm not the one that did it."

He works as a delivery driver, and he hopes the misdirected anger toward him will die down so he can return to his regular schedule.

McCullough's sister took to social media Wednesday afternoon to set the record straight as well.

"PSA: My brother Travis Mccullough HAS NOT KILLED ANYBODY!! My brother is 36 years old! not 16!! My brother has an 18 year old daughter! We have no relatives in Tuskegee! We are a hold different set of Mcculloughs!!" Kam'Bria McCullough wrote.

She continued on to ask people to spread the word that there is more than one person with the name Travis McCullough in Alabama. She also asked others to stop sending her brother messages and friend requests.

This type of mix-up is not uncommon.

In 2021, one man went viral on TikTok after he was mistaken for Gabby Petito's fiance Brian Laundrie. Earlier this year, a Pennsylvania woman spent a week in jail for a crime in Texas when she had never been to the state; she just shared a name with the suspect. Even back in 2009, a 28-year-old Sunday school teacher was confused for an alleged kidnapper and murderer because the two had the same name.

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This is not even the first time that 36-year-old McCullough has been mistaken for someone else with the same name. A few years ago, another man with his name died, and it resulted in a headache for McCullough. He's also been picked up on warrants that were meant for other Travis McCulloughs.

"There's more than one," he said.

Hadley Hitson covers the rural South for the Montgomery Advertiser and Report for America. She can be reached at hhitson@gannett.com. To support her work, subscribe to the Advertiser or donate to Report for America.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Man who shares name with Dadeville suspect mistaken for him online
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Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong meets with Secretary-General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Jurgen Stock in Beijing, capital of China, April 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong met with Secretary-General of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) Jurgen Stock in Beijing on Tuesday.

Wang said that China is willing to work with Interpol to promote the implementation of the Global Security Initiative and make greater contributions to maintaining global security and development.

China highly appreciates Interpol's firm support for the one-China principle, Wang said, adding that China is willing to continuously deepen practical bilateral cooperation in combating transnational crimes and in other fields.

Stock thanked China for its support of Interpol and expressed the willingness to continuously strengthen pragmatic cooperation between the two sides in various fields.
A man said he fatally shot his parents and two family friends before he opened fire on a highway, targeting cars he thought were police chasing him, Maine authorities said.

Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin was found in the woods shortly after shooting at multiple cars on Interstate 295 the morning of April 18, according to a state police news release.

On the highway, gunfire struck a 51-year-old father and his son, 29, and his daughter, 25, police said. The daughter is in critical condition, and the father and son have non-life-threatening injuries, according to authorities.

Eaton faces charges of four counts of murder and is being held in jail without bail, state police said.

The violence came days after Eaton was released from prison on April 14, according to police.

His mother, Cynthia Eaton, picked him up upon his release from Windham Correctional Facility, where he served an aggravated assault sentence, authorities said.

Afterward, Cynthia Eaton brought her son to stay at the home of family friends Patricia and Robert Eger, whom hes also accused of killing, the release said.

How the killings and highway shootings unfolded

Around 9:21 a.m. on April 18, a family member called 911 to report finding a dead person at the Eatons home in Bowdoin, according to police.

Sagadahoc County Sheriffs Office deputies arrived and found the bodies of Patricia Eger, 62, Robert Eger, 72, and Joseph Eatons parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, police said.

Autopsies revealed they died of gunshot wounds, according to police.

Then, after 10:30 a.m., police were called about four cars shot along Interstate 295, the release said.

There, the father and his two adult children were found shot, police said. They were brought to Maine Medical Center.

After Eaton was found in the woods around 10:50 a.m. near the southbound Exit 15 off the interstate, he was also taken to Maine Medical Center, according to police.

He was medically cleared and brought to the Portland Police Department, where he was interviewed and admitted to killing his parents and the Egers, according to the release. Then, he was taken to Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.

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Authorities plan to release more details of Eatons interview at the police station as this case proceeds in the court system, police said.

Bowdoin is about 35 miles northeast of Portland, Maine.

Neighbor hears gunshots before mom and son are found dead in home, Missouri cops say

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A person was admitted to an area hospitals intensive care unit after requiring rescue from a burning Miami County home Tuesday morning.

>> TRENDING: 2 women transported to area hospitals, 1 via CareFlight, following Darke Co. crash

Troy fire, assisted by additional Miami County fire departments, were dispatched to the 20 block of Woodhaven Lane at 1:57 a.m. on reports of a fully involved structure fire, a spokesperson for the department told News Center 7.

Upon arrival, firefighters found a single-story residential home fully involved with heavy fire rolling out of the roof, the spokesperson said. They did not know how long the fire was burning for prior to their arrival.

Emergency responders were able to locate a single occupant during the search and subsequently rescue him.

The man reported injuries after being trapped inside the burning building. He suffered burns and smoke inhalation, prompting medical units at the scene to transport him to Upper Valley Medical Center, then later to Miami Valley Hospital, the spokesperson informed.

He was placed into the intensive care unit for his injuries.

There were no other reported injuries.

A difficulty with extinguishing the fire was that the home, located in Staunton Township, did not have fire hydrants near the area. The lack of access to water limited firefighters during their operations, the spokesperson said.

The recreational vehicles, outdoor fuel-fired appliances, and stand-alone propane tanks surrounding the property also created a hazard for crews.

Once responders saved the occupant and determined that there was not an immediate life hazard, firefighters began a defensive operation, limiting their attack to the outside of the structure, the spokesperson continued. They were able to contain the fire to the primary structure.

The home was deemed a total loss.

The Troy Fire Department led the investigation into the fire.
Just two months after a surprise shakeup at Manatee Countys highest levels, board members made another round of unexpected changes this week.

On Tuesday, Commissioner Mike Rahn thanked Acting County Administrator Lee Washington for his service since February before calling for him to be replaced by a local lobbyist for the building industry. A few moments later, Commissioner Jason Bearden successfully petitioned for a new board chairman.

Before finalizing the roster changes with a vote at the end of Tuesdays public meeting, several commissioners said they were prompted by a lack of communication among county leaders.

I have been kind of frustrated because information has only been brought up to certain commissioners on this board. It makes it hard for me to do my job, Bearden said. Im not going to make this picture look pretty because its not very pretty.

Washington took the acting administrator job in February after Scott Hopes made a sudden departure. Hopes and board members have not publicly announced a reason for his resignation.

Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge served as board chairman in 2022 and was voted to continue serving in the role by his fellow commissioners in December. His term was set to expire at the end of the year.

Industry lobbyist could lead county

Manatee County Government has begun the process of searching for a permanent county administrator, but Rahn said he had already had a replacement in mind. He tapped Jon Mast, CEO and chief lobbyist of the Manatee-Sarasota Building Industry Association, to become the countys next acting county administrator.

The commissioners also have close ties to the BIA. Rahn is a former president and life director, Baughs husband Don Baugh is on the board of directors, and Ballards husband David Ballard was on staff as the Government Affairs and Membership Director until recently.

According to his LinkedIn Profile, Mast has led the organization since 2015. He also previously worked in Sarasota County Governments land development services department.

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Mast, who lives in Sarasota, was not present at Tuesdays meeting.

Commissioners previously said they hoped to hire a new permanent administrator by the beginning of October.

Rahn did not provide an explanation for why he chose Mast to become the acting administrator, but he immediately found support from his fellow board members.

I think its in the best interest of Manatee County to bring somebody from outside, Bearden said.

Commissioner George Kruse criticized the decision to replace Washington and questioned how a new county administrator would resolve the problem.

I dont know how inserting someone whos never worked for the county is going to get all the information at their fingertips and magically get it to you, Kruse said. This is just a disruption and a waste of time.

Board members declined to address specific situations, but several said they felt they had been kept out of the loop.

There have been major events that I still havent been briefed on, said Bearden, who implied that he hasnt had direct communication with Washington in two weeks.

Especially when it comes to personnel, its just not fun to talk about those things in a big meeting where everyone is watching, Commissioner James Satcher added. I think it might be good to make a change.

Commissioners are not allowed to discuss issues that come before them outside of public meetings. Floridas Sunshine Law requires that when two or more members of a public board or commission discuss an issue that could be voted on, it must be in a public meeting with notice given and minutes taken.

Since Washington took over as administrator in February, board members have butted heads with the countys top executive in public meetings over library policies and changes in the countys Human Resources Department.

On Tuesday, the board voted 6-1 to begin negotiating an acting county administrator contract with Mast. Kruse cast the only vote against the proposal. A final contract will return for board approval in an upcoming public meeting.

If a contract with Mast is approved, Washington would return to his role as the director of the countys Community & Veterans Services Department, which he has led since February 2022.

The chairman runs the show

Immediately after moving to replace Washington, board members made another power play. Bearden said he hoped to make a top-down change by removing Van Ostenbridge as board chairman and naming Commissioner Vanessa Baugh as his replacement.

Its not a point of whether or not our chair is doing a great job as chair because he is, but where Im at with it, because staff has been trained a certain way, they only report to certain commissioners, Bearden said.

The chairman of the board conducts the commissions public meetings and signs documents on behalf of the board. As board chairman Van Ostenbridge also maintained close contact with the county administrator, which caused friction with other board members.

11/16/21Manatee County Commissioner Kevin Van Ostenbridge listens during a discussion of the redistricting maps in chambers in November 2021.

Were not always informed of things the way we should be, said Baugh. I have complained many times about it. I dont like feeling sometimes like the chairman runs the show and then we find out about it after the fact, the decisions are made instead of bringing things to the board, but thats his way. Thats how he does things. I dont agree with it, and Ive been on this board a long time.

The move to replace Van Ostenbridges chair seem came just hours after tempers flared between him and Baugh while the board discussed solutions for replacing the countys parking garage in downtown Bradenton.

Baugh said she felt Van Ostenbridge had already had key conversations with staff. Van Ostenbridge shot back that Baugh would have an opportunity to have those discussions if she didnt cancel briefings with staff.

Staff is up here asking for direction and youre complaining that you dont know anything. Thats the whole point of them coming here, Van Ostenbridge said. Show up to your meetings and your briefings once in a while and youll know whats going on, wont you?

Do you really want to go there with me? Baugh asked.

Later, as board members voted 4-3 to name Baugh chairwoman of the board, Van Ostenbridge noted that he is not allowed to communicate with board members outside of public meetings because of the Sunshine Law.

Commissioners Mike Rahn, Kruse and Van Ostenbridge voted against the proposal.

In January, the Florida Commission on Ethics settled an ethics charge against the third-term commissioner. Baugh was hit with an $8,000 fine and a public reprimand over accusations that she had misused her public office to ensure she received a COVID-19 vaccine in early 2021.

After the vote, Baugh became chairwoman effectively immediately. Before Tuesdays meeting had ended, Manatee County Government sent a press release announcing the leadership changes.

Baugh, who has represented District 5 including Lakewood Ranch since 2012, previously served as chairwoman in 2016 and 2021.
MILFORD, Conn. (AP)  As the killer of her boyfriend was about to be sentenced to 55 years in prison Wednesday, Shannon Spies said the plea deal provided no solace. It couldn't bring back Nicholas Eisele, or erase the trauma of being a kidnapping victim.

On March 24, 2020, Peter Manfredonia shot Eisele to death in Spies apartment in Derby, Connecticut. He then proceeded to abduct Spies, leading to a six-day manhunt in several states before authorities captured him. Two days before the shooting, Manfredonia had killed another man and seriously wounded a second in a Samurai sword attack on the other side of the state.

I wont lie. This plea deal does nothing for me except close the door on this court case, Spies, 25, said during emotional testimony at Manfredonia's sentencing hearing in Milford Superior Court. "The damage can never be undone. None of this brings Nick back or makes me feel whole again.

I will never be the person I was before then, she said. I will never feel safe, even in a room surrounded by only people I know. I will always look at the world differently.

Spies said she hoped her testimony haunts" Manfredonia for the rest of his life.

Manfredonia, 26, a former University of Connecticut student, wore a tan prison uniform with his hands in cuffs and apologized to Spies and Eisele's family. He also was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday to another 55-year prison term for the sword attack in Willington. He pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in both cases.

Before he spoke, Manfredonia's lawyer, Michael Dolan, said his client's mental health problems contributed to the spree of violence but were not an excuse. For most of the hearing, Manfredonia looked straight ahead  not looking at the witnesses and showing little emotion. It remained unclear what prompted the attacks.

There are no words that can possibly atone for what I have done, he said to Eisele's family. My actions were nothing short of reprehensible. ... Nick was a good young man to whom I felt no ill will or malice. My actions were senseless. Please know you have my deepest apology.

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Eisele and Manfredonia were school classmates growing up in Newtown, Connecticut, the town where 20 children and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Eisele's sister, Jessica, survived the school shooting.

As a survivor of the Sandy Hook school shooting, I was forced to relive the trauma and pain of 12/14 as Peter used the same source of violence to end my brothers life, Jessica Eisele said in court Wednesday. Peter Manfredonia is a monster who must be punished for what he has done. My brother is gone and will forever be. Theres no way for me and family to recover from that.

About 40 relatives and friends of Nicholas Eisele filled the courtroom, with his mother and several others testifying. Many wept at times and were comforted by others.

After killing Eisele, Manfredonia forced Spies into her car and fled the state. He let her go, physically unharmed, near Columbia, New Jersey. Following searches in Pennsylvania, authorities finally captured Manfredonia near a truck stop in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Two days before shooting Eisele, Manfredonia killed Ted DeMers, 62, and seriously wounded an 80-year-old man who lost several fingers and part of his ear in a Samurai sword attack.

After the attack, police said Manfredonia broke into another mans house in Willington and held him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms. The man later told police that Manfredonia told him he just flipped.

Ansonia/Milford State's Attorney Margaret Kelley called the killing of Eisele and the kidnapping of Spies horrific and a senseless tragedy" that severely damaged others' lives.

Judge Peter Brown said the 55-year sentence would do nothing to dull the pain suffered by Spies and Eisele's family.

Spies' testimony was the first time she spoke publicly about the ordeal. Though she didn't detail much about the hours she spent with Manfredonia as his captive, she said he tried to hug her at one point while apologizing for killing Eisele.

The version of myself that went to bed with my boyfriend  my best friend and the sweetest man Ive ever met  on May 23 was not alive anymore when my parents picked me up from a state police headquarters in New Jersey on May 24, she testified.

I lost absolutely everything I had, Spies said. I lost my best friend and my partner. Theres no telling how amazing our future could have been and I was robbed of ever knowing that happiness. I was robbed of ever knowing peace again, of feeling safe anywhere, even in my own home. I was robbed of my home. My apartment was a crime scene.
Among high-income countries around the world, the United States has for years stood out for one reason: its rate of gun violence.

Over the last decade, among relatively wealthy countries with populations of 10m or more, the rate of gun violence in the US has far surpassed that of any other nation. According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, the adjusted firearm homicide rate in the US is 22 times that of the European Union and more than that of Asian countries like Japan and the Republic of Korea.

This year is on track to be no different. According to data from the Gun Violence Archive, there have as of mid-April already been 149 mass shootings in the US  with gun violence claiming lives in every state in the country.

As in a number of other years, including 2022, some of the most visible gun violence in the US this year has taken place at schools. In February, a shooting at Michigan State University in East Lansing, Michigan left three students dead and five other people injured. In late March, a mass shooting at a Christian school in Nashville claimed six lives.

Other gunmen may have been targeting certain ethnic communities: in January in Half Moon Bay, California, a shooting at a dancehall in a predominantly Asian-American area left 11 people dead. Two days later, another mass shooting in nearby Monterey Bay, California killed seven more people.

According to the Gun Violence Archive, shootings have already claimed more than 11,000 lives in total in the US in 2023, with more than 6,000 people using a gun to die by suicide. Another 9,000 people have been injured in a shooting so far this year.

The Gun Violence Archives definition holds that mass shootings include at least four people either injured or killed, not including the shooter.

Despite the prevalance of gun violence this year and in recent years in the US, there has not been a renewed push to tighten the countrys liberal gun laws in Congress since a bipartisan group of legislators introduced and passed a modest array of reforms after the mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas last year.

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On a state level, a number of states have moved over the last year to remove barriers to purchasing and carrying firearms. Last year, Arkansas, Iowa, Montana, Tennessee, Texas and Utah all passed laws to no longer require people to hold a permit to carry a firearm, while legislators in states like Georgia and Ohio have moved to pass similar laws this year.

A select number of other states have gone in the other direction: voters in Oregon, for example, narrowly approved a ballot measure last year to require permits to purchase a firearm and ban magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition.

Heres a list of the most deadly shootings in the last year:

Dadeville, Alabama

The shooting unfolded at a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama, leaving four people dead and a further 28 injured.

According to local police, the shooting began at around 10.34pm on Saturday (15 April) during a celebration held at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in downtown Dadeville, a small town of around 3,000 residents lying 45 miles northeast of Montgomery.

As of 18 April, no arrests have been made and authorities declined to speculate on the suspect or their possible motive.

The victims have been identified as Philstavious Phil Dowdell, 18, Mersiah Collins, 19, Corbin Holston, 23, and KeKe Nicole Smith, 17.

Louisville, Kentucky

A 25-year-old employee opened fire at a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, on 10 April, killing five people and injuring eight others while live streaming the attack.

The shooter, identified as bank employee Connor Sturgeon, entered the Old National Bank in the downtown area of the city at around 8.30am armed with an AR-15-style rifle.

He shot and killed four bank executives inside the first-floor conference room before exchanging gunfire with responding police officers. Louisville deputy police chief Paul Humphrey said that he was shot dead by officer fire.

A fifth victim later succumbed to her injuries in hospital. All five were executives at the bank.

The victims have now been identified as Joshua Barrick, Thomas Elliott, Juliana Farmer, James Tutt, and Deana Eckert.

Nashville, Tenessee

Three nine-year-old students and three staff members died after a shooting at a private Christian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee, on 27 March 2023.

The suspect, 28-year-old Audrey Hale, was also killed by police at The Covenant School in the Green Hills suburb of the city.

An illustrator and graphic designer who attended Nossi College of Art, Hale had no criminal record prior to the massacre and was not known to law enforcement.

Hale was a former student at Covenant. Over the course of their investigation, officers have discovered manifesto-like writings and apparent research into the facilities and entry points at Covenant.

Students Evelyn Dieckhaus, Hallie Scruggs, and William Kinney, all aged nine, Head of School Katherine Koonce, 60, Cynthia Peak, 61, and Mike Hill, 61, all died in the attack.

Koonce was The Covenant Schools headteacher. She ran towards the shooter before she was killed in a hallway.

Half Moon Bay, California

The mass shooting unfolded on 23 January, with seven victims killed across two agricultural business locations  a mushroom farm and a trucking facility.

The gunman, Chunli Zhao, shot dead four people at the Mountain Mushroom Farm, and killed another three victims at Concord Farms located around two miles away, according to authorities. He was a former employee at both farms.

The horror attack is believed to have been witnessed by many children, as many farm workers live on-site with their families.

Monterey Park, California

Huu Can Tran, 72, a one-time fixture at the Star Ballroom Dance Studio, killed 11 people and wounded nine with a submachine gun-style semiautomatic handgun, on 21 January. He stormed inside the dance studio during the Lunar New Year celebrations and killed himself as police surrounded his van the next morning.

The victims were older Asian Americans, mostly in their 60s and 70s.

Chesapeake, Virginia

Andre Bing, a manager at a Walmart in Chesapeake, killed six and wounded six others during an employee meeting on 22 November 2022. He then shot himself.

Chesapeake officials released a chilling death note in which Bing complained that people laughed at me and said I was like Jeffrey Dahmer.

The long, rambling note was found on the 31-year-old mass shooters cellphone and released by Chesapeake officials  providing a glimpse into his motive behind the horror attack.

Colorado Springs, Colorado

Five people were killed and 17 wounded when a 22-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle inside a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs. The suspect, who was subdued by patrons, is awaiting trial.

Authorities said that Anderson Lee Aldrich was seen pulling into a parking lot at Club Q just before midnight on 19 November 2022, where they entered and immediately opened fire.

Aldrich was charged with 305 criminal counts, including five counts of first-degree murder, five counts of committing a bias-motivated crime  or hate crime  and several charges of attempted murder and assault in the first-degree and second-degree.

Raleigh, North Carolina

Fifteen-year-old Austin Thompson allegedly killed five people and injured two more in a shooting in Raleigh on 13 October 2022. The suspect eluded officers for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested.

The fatal victims were identified as Nicole Connors, 52, Susan Karnatz, 49, Mary Marshall, 35, Gabriel Torres, 29, James Thompson, 16. Thompsons brother and a police officer were among the deceased.

Highland Park, Illinois

Six people were killed and at least 30 wounded when suspect Robert Crimo opened fire on an Independence Day parade on 4 July in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park.

According to police, Crimo had planned an attack for weeks and fired more than 80 rounds randomly into the crowd watching the parade.

Prosecutors also say Crimo made a voluntary statement confessing to his actions and revealed that the young man had made his way to Madison, Wisconsin, where he intended to commit another mass shooting but turned back.

Chattanooga, Tennessee

Three people died and 14 people were injured in a shooting on 5 June in front of a restaurant. Three people have been arrested.

Some 16 of the victims were adults and one was a minor. In total, fourteen people were shot, while three were hit by vehicles.

Philadelphia

Three people died and 11 others were injured on 4 June on a Philadelphia busy block during a melee that began with a fistfight and was followed by random gunfire. Two men, 34-year-old Rashann Vereen and 18-year-old Quran Garner, are in custody for two of the deaths; other people have also been arrested in connection with the melee.

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Gunman Michael Louis killed his surgeon and three other people at a medical office on 1 June 2022. The gunman killed himself as police arrived.

Uvalde, Texas

An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on 24 May in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. More than 15 other people were wounded.

The violence began before Salvador Ramos even arrived at the grade school. According to police and family members, he shot his grandmother in the head and stole the family truck, before heading to Robb Elementary School.

Buffalo, New York

White gunman Peyton Grendon opened fire on 14 May 2022 at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighbourhood, killing 10 people and injuring others.

The attack, which Gendron had planned for months, was carried out with an AR-15 rifle and streamed live. He was arrested immediately after the massacre.

Gendron drove around 200 miles from his home to the predominantly Black community to carry out the attack.

In November 2022, Gendron pleaded guilty to all state charges against him, convictions that guarantee a life prison sentence. He was officially sentenced in February.

He pleaded guilty to 10 counts of first-degree murder, three counts of second-degree murder as a hate crime, and one count of domestic terrorism motivated by hate, among other charges.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes rhetoric reached new levels of absurd when she attacked Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.) during a hearing on Wednesday at the Capitol.

The Georgia Republican completely derailed the House Committee on Homeland Securitys proceedings by accusing Swalwell of having a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.

The claim is a wild distortion of Swalwells cooperation with an FBI probe of alleged spy Christine Fang. The Chinese national posed as Swalwells political supporter, and there is no evidence she and the lawmaker had a personal relationship.

Immediately, Rep. Daniel Goldman (D-N.Y.) called for Greenes comment to be stricken from the record. Republicans voted to table the measure and let Greene continue her tirade, however.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wildly accused her Democratic colleague of having a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) wildly accused her Democratic colleague of having a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.

Next, Greene targeted Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas, claiming his department was responsible for rising fentanyl deaths among young people.

After Mayorkas told Greene that his department was fighting drug traffickers, she called him a liar.

You are killing Americans with your policies, she added.

By that point, even Republicans patience was growing thin.

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) ruled that his Republican colleague had violated the rules of decorum and ordered her words stricken from the record.

Its pretty clear that the rules state you cant impugn someones character, he told Greene. Identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable in this committee, and I make the ruling that we strike those words.

Recently, Greene defended the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified documents about the war in Ukraine. On Twitter, she claimed his arrest was part of a conspiracy against white, male, christian[s] who are antiwar.

Watch the full hearing below. Greenes remarks begin at the 2:01:00 mark.
Georgia Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene on Wednesday was blocked from further participation in a House Homeland Security Committee hearing after she broke House rules by calling Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas a liar while questioning him on the Biden administrations border policies.

Ms Greene, a conspiracy theorist who was assigned to the prestigious committee after supporting Californias Kevin McCarthy in his bid to become House Speaker, began her allotted five minutes by slandering Democratic Representative Eric Swalwell and accusing him of having had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.

Mr Swalwell cooperated in an FBI probe which led to the alleged spy, Christine Fang, leaving the US for China, but there is no evidence that he had any sort of sexual relationship with her.

New York Democrat Daniel Goldman immediately offered a motion to have her words taken down, which would strike them from the official hearing record and bar her from speaking further. The committees GOP majority voted to table the motion, and Ms Greene was permitted to resume speaking.

At that point, she laid into Mr Mayorkas with a series of accusations about his purported responsibility for fentanyl overdoses among American youth.

After she asked him how long he would continue this outrage, the former prosecutor turned Cabinet secretary attempted to defend his departments performance. He told Ms Greene that he could assure her that the department is not letting it go on and is fighting the trafficking.

Before he could finish, Ms Greene interjected again, shouting at the top of her lungs.

Youre a liar. You are letting this go on (and) the numbers prove it. You cant lie about the fact, Secretary Mayorkas, while you live in denial and sit over there with this attitude that youre doing everything right ... you are killing Americans with your policies, she said.

A moment later, Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, the committees ranking Democrat, asked for her words to be taken down because they violated House rules of decorum.

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Mr Thompson, who has served on the committee since it was created, said the panel has a history of being a bipartisan committee that work on solutions.

We can disagree, but weve gotten to the point of the language that were using is not the kind of language that historically we use as members of this committee, he said. Theres a way that we are to conduct ourselves and what Im hearing is not how a majority of this committee conducts business and we can do better.

When the panels chairman, Tennessee Republican Mark Green, asked if Ms Greene would withdraw her statement, she refused.

He immediately ruled that shed violated the rules and ordered the words stricken from the record.

Its pretty clear that the rules state you cant impugn someones character, identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable in this committee, and I make the ruling that we strike those words, he said.

He added that Ms Greene was no longer recognised, meaning she could not finish her questioning of Mr Mayorkas. Under House rules, she would be barred from any subsequent rounds of questioning during the Wednesday hearing.
The Republican-led House Committee on Homeland Security on Wednesday struck comments from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., and ended her time to speak after she called Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas a liar.

The committee first declined to strike comments from Greene, who spoke after Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., at a hearing on budget requests from the Department of Homeland Security. Greene started her comments by accusing Swalwell of having an affair with a Chinese spy.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., earlier this year said he would not seat Swalwell on the House Intelligence Committee over his previous ties to a suspected Chinese spy, a move Democrats called political revenge.

Democrats on Wednesday failed in a push to strike the allegation against Swalwell, arguing it violated House rules.

But as Greene continued with her comments, she criticized Mayorkas for the spread of fentanyl in the United States

I want to know from you, how many more people do we have to watch die every single day in America? How many more young people do we have to see die? How many more teenagers? the Georgia Republican asked.

Mayorkas tried to respond to the lawmaker, saying, let me assure you that we're not letting it go on, before Greene said she was reclaiming her time in the committee and called Mayorkas a liar.

'Unacceptable'

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., sought to have Greenes words taken down, saying We have a history of being a bipartisan committee that works on solutions. Now we can disagree, but weve gotten to the point of the language that we're using is not the kind of language that historically we as members of this committee have used.

Committee Chair Mark Green, R-Tenn., approved the move, saying identifying or calling someone a liar is unacceptable in this committee. The chair then noted that Greene was no longer recognized.

Greene was previously stripped of her committee assignments after a series of menacing social media posts. She was reinstated after Republicans took back control of the House following the 2022 midterms, named to the Oversight and Accountability Committee as well as the Homeland Security Committee.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Marjorie Taylor Greene silenced for calling Mayorkas a liar in hearing
Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was criticised by members of her own party for attacking fellow Rep Eric Swalwell in the middle of a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.

During the hearing, which took place on Wednesday 19 April, Mr Swalwell used social media posts to express concern over rhetoric being used by members of the committee.

One of which  defund the FBI  belonged to Ms Greene.

After Mr Swalwell yielded his time, Ms Greene responded with a smirk. That was quite entertaining from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy and everyone knows it, she said.

Ms Greenes comments are a reference to an unfounded claim that Mr Swalwell had sexual relations with alleged spy, Christine Fang.

There is no evidence that Mr Swalwell had any sort of sexual relationship with Ms Fang.

Representative Daniel Goldman swiftly motioned to have Ms Greens words taken down, which would strike them from the official hearing record and bar her from speaking.

One committee member could be heard saying, Completely inappropriate though it is unclear who said this.

Eric Swalwell was removed from the Intelligence Committee because he had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.



But he stills makes all kinds of ridiculous accusations every day in Congress about me, my colleagues, and President Trump.



We all know its true, Eric Swalwell pic.twitter.com/LKgvGB46Ov  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 19, 2023

On Twitter, people critised Ms Greene for her behavior.

Journalist Molly Jong-Fast called it, disgusting.

Congressional candidate John Burrows said, If it was not clear before, todays Homeland Security Committee hearing showed exactly why Marjorie Taylor Greene should be removed from the Committee.

She has no class. No respect, Chris Flemming tweeted.

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Conservative writer Benny Johnson called the hearing chaos.

Lol. After Majorie Taylor Greene calls Sec. Mayorkas a liar during subcommittee hearing, getting herself tossed out, Greene calls for a point of personal inquiry.



Rep. Goldman points out, there is no such thing. pic.twitter.com/sTuCBtRP5N  Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) April 19, 2023

Later on in the hearing, Ms Greene shouted and called the witness, the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayoraks, a liar.

Ms Greenes words were determined to have violated the rules of the committee by Republican Chairman Mark Green and Ms Greenes words were taken down and she was barred from speaking.

In response to the situation, Mr Swalwell took to Twitter and wrote, The hardest thing I do every day is to wake, feed, and dress 3 little monsters who are 5 and under. Dealing with this crazy ladys delusions is like dunking in Oz.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) announced on Tuesday that he will address the Israeli Knesset during an upcoming trip to the country, making him the second Speaker in history to deliver a speech before the legislative body.

My first trip abroad as Speaker will be a return to Israel to commemorate their 75th year of statehood. The US-Israel relationship is as important as ever, and Im proud to accept @AmirOhanas invitation as the 2nd Speaker of the House in history to address the Knesset, McCarthy wrote on Twitter.

Former Rep. Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) is the only other Speaker to have addressed the Knesset, in 1998.

Israeli parliament speaker Amir Ohana responded to McCarthys announcement in a tweet, writing Mr. Speaker, we are very excited to host you in your second home  the Knesset. Thank you for your longstanding support for Israel!

In a video posted on Twitter, Ohana said McCarthys visit and address is a clear expression of the strong and unbreakable bond between Israel and its closest ally in the United States of America.

McCarthy and a bipartisan delegation of 20 lawmakers are scheduled to touch down in Israel on April 30, according to Axios, and the Speakers speech is slated for May 1.

The outlet also reported that House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.) is scheduled to visit Israel ahead of the Speakers trip.

McCarthys visit to Israel comes after he threw his support behind Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was facing criticism over proposed judicial reforms that sparked mass opposition in the streets of Israel. Days before McCarthys statement, Netanyahu delayed the judicial overhaul plan.

President Biden had earlier said he hoped Netanyahu would walk away from his plans for the judiciary.

In his statement backing Netanyahus plans, McCarthy called the prime minister an Israeli patriot, statesman, and most importantly, a great friend of the United States of America.

Free societies have vigorous and open debate. Israel is no exception. I support Prime Minister Netanyahu, and Americas support for Israels strong, vibrant democracy is unwavering. Now is an important time for Americans to stand together in support of our long, mutually respectful, and important friendship with Israel, McCarthy said in March.

McCarthys trip to Israel with his congressional colleagues is part of Israels celebrations to mark its 75th independence day, according to Axios.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
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Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong, also a member of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, meets with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov in Beijing, capital of China, April 18, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese Vice Premier Liu Guozhong met with Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Kuchkarov in Beijing on Tuesday.

Liu said China is ready to work with Uzbekistan to fully implement the consensus reached by the two heads of state and push China-Uzbekistan relations to a new level.

Liu introduced China's achievements and experience of poverty alleviation upon request, adding that China will strengthen cooperation in poverty reduction and promote the development of the global poverty reduction cause.

Kuchkarov said Uzbekistan is willing to learn from China's experience in poverty reduction and development and deepen exchanges and cooperation with China in various fields.
In his first week back after sustaining a fall last month, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) defended the Supreme Courts independence amid calls from Democrats for new ethics rules as well as an investigation into Justice Clarence Thomass financial dealings.

Since the release of the draft opinion in the Dobbs case, which overturned Roe v. Wade, Democrats have intensified their attacks on the third branch, criticizing recent opinions and supporting demonstrations against the justices. Earlier this month, it came to light that Senate Democrats wanted to make funding for next years Supreme Court term conditional on the creation of an ethics code.

Democrats have now zeroed in on reports from ProPublica that allege Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow as well as real-estate deals between the two. Responding to the first article, Thomas explained in a statement that he has complied with disclosure guidelines throughout his tenure and he intends to continue to comply with new guidelines that were announced last month. But this statement has not mollified Democrats, who have intensified calls for an ethics code and even an investigation into Thomas. The Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee plan to hold a hearing on the matter.

Asked to weigh in during a press conference on Tuesday, McConnell explained he has confidence the Supreme Court can deal with any ethical issues internally.

I have total confidence in the Chief Justice of the United States to deal with these internal court issues, McConnell said.

The Senate minority leader also stressed that challenging the judiciarys independence is not a new approach for Democrats.

The Supreme Court and the court system is a whole separate part of our Constitution and the Democrats it seems to me spent a lot of time criticizing individual members of the court and going after the Court as an institution, McConnell said. For example, my counterpart went over in front of the Supreme Court and called out two of the Supreme Court justices by name, and actually threatened them with some kind of reprisal, I dont know what kind, if they rule the wrong way in a case that he cared about.

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The Supreme Court asked Congress for a budget increase earlier this year to cover higher security expenditures. Threats against the Court have increased since the Dobbs decision, with frequent protests outside the Court as well as outside the homes of the justices. Additionally, an individual was arrested for planning to assassinate Justice Brett Kavanaugh.

Republican senators on the Judiciary committee grilled Attorney General Merrick Garland in March on why he had failed to bring forward a single prosecution in connection with these protests, which are criminalized under statute, but Garland dodged the question. McConnell brought up Garlands public response to the protests Tuesday, saying: The attorney general seemed to be largely unconcerned with security issues around the homes of Supreme Court members.

Crow, who is at center of the Thomas controversy, recently gave an interview to the Dallas Morning News in which he defended his friendship with Thomas and rejected the ProPublica allegations.

I dont think the media cares really much about Harlan Crow, and I think theyre right. They shouldnt care much about Harlan Crow, he said. But I think that the media, and this ProPublica group in particular, funded by leftists, has an agenda to destabilize the Court. What theyve done is not truthful. It lacks integrity. Theyve done a pretty good job in the last week or two of unfairly slamming me and more importantly than that, unfairly slamming Justice Thomas.

Its a political hit job, Crow explained.

More from National Review
The Duchess of Sussexs decision not to attend the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Consort Camilla was influenced by potential media scrutiny, it has been claimed.

Buckingham Palace confirmed last week that the Duke of Sussex will attend the ceremony at Westminster Abbey without his wife or children, who will remain in California.

The King was said to be very disappointed that Meghan Markle and his grandchildren, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, will not be present at his coronation on Saturday 6 May.

However, it is understood that he is happy that Prince Harry will be there, and he understands the situation regarding Meghans absence.

A source close to the Sussexes has claimed that Meghan wants to be there to support the King, but the scrutiny she receives outweighs the support from the media and the public.

People quoted the source as saying: Theres always going to be that other side challenging their reasoning, and who wants to put themselves in that position?

It comes after both Harry and Meghan have spoken out about the invasion of their privacy by the tabloid press in their 2022 Netflix documentary, Harry & Meghan.

In the series, Meghan described being fed to the wolves in reference to the tabloid medias treatment of her since marrying the duke in 2018.

The couple also alleged that the palace briefed against them to distract the media and public from less favourable coverage of other royals, with Harry accusing the family of leaking and planting negative stories about Meghan.

King Charles III is said to be disappointed that the Duchess of Sussex will not be present at his coronation, but happy that the Duke of Sussex has confirmed his attendance (Getty)

The decision for Meghan to remain at home during the coronation  which falls on the same day as Prince Archies birthday  became so personal, another source told People.

Maybe what they wanted wasnt achieved, but at the end of the day, hes going there to support his dad.

It comes after reports said Harry held peace talks with his father before confirming his presence at the coronation.

A friend of the couple told The Telegraph that there had been positive conversations between the pair, but these did not extend to Harry and Prince Williams relationship, which remains strained.

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This week, it emerged that a family portrait of the royals featuring the Sussexes is included in the official souvenir programme for the coronation.

A 2018 portrait of Charles and Camilla (formerly the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall); Prince William and Kate Middleton (formerly the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge); and Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (the Duke and Duchess of Sussex) features in the official coronation souvenir programme (Chris Jackson/Clarence House/PA)

The photograph, taken to mark Charless 70th birthday in 2018, shows Charles and Camilla, then the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall; William and Kate Middleton, previously the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, with their three children; and Harry and Meghan altogether.

The inclusion of the portrait has been seen by some as an olive branch to the Sussexes amid their rift with the family.

Although Harry will be present at the coronation, he will likely not make an appearance on the balcony of Buckingham Palace.

It was reported that only working members of the royal family will appear on the balcony, with the King having chosen 15 of his closest and most loyal family members.

This means Harry and the Duke of York are both not expected to stand on the balcony.
Dmitrii Medvedev, Deputy Secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation, has begun threatening that the aggressor country would supply Russian weapons to the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK) if South Korea provided weapons to Ukraine.

Source: Medvedev on Telegram

Details: Medvedev was outraged that South Korea seemed to assure that it would not supply weapons to Ukraine, and now has changed its mind.

"I wonder what the inhabitants of this country will say when they see the latest samples of Russian weapons from their closest neighbours, our partners from the DPRK?" Medvedev threatened.

Earlier: South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said South Korea might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if Ukraine suffers another large-scale civilian attack.

Yoon Sook Yeol made the announcement ahead of his official visit to the United States next week. It was the first time Seoul had expressed willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after it had ruled out providing lethal aid.

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INDIA-LGBTQ-PARADE

Gender rights activists and supporters of LGBTQ community walk the Delhi queer pride parade in New Delhi on January 8, 2023. Credit - Sajjad HussainAFP via Getty Images

Supriya Chakraborty proposed to Abhay Dange in April 2021 during the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic in India. Chakraborty had been recovering from a high fever after testing positive for the virus, and having his partner of nearly 10 years by his side made one thing abundantly clear: Abhay was the one, he tells TIME. So Chakraborty, 32, and Dange, 35, made an important and potentially risky life decision to wed in a big Indian ceremony outside Hyderabad in December 2021.

The two men are now the lead petitioners in a landmark case that will decide the fate of same-sex marriage in India. In April, the Indian Supreme Court began hearing a series of petitions from 18 LGBTQ+ couples, including three who are raising children together, asking for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage. Oral arguments conclude Thursday, with a verdict expected in the coming months.

We filed the petition because this issue impacts our lives in a very tangible manner, Dange says. We are the most important persons in each others lives and yet, we cant call each other husband legally, loudly, and proudly in this country.

India has made significant strides in advancing LGBTQ+ rights in recent years, with the Supreme Court decriminalizing homosexuality in a landmark ruling in 2018. But homosexuality and same-sex marriage still remain taboo topics in the socially conservative country led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, whose government has largely opposed the issuearguing that the matter should be decided in parliament.

The five-judge Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, will now debate the issue of same-sex marriage, in what he said is a matter of seminal importance to India. If the court rules in favor of the petitioners, India will become the first country in South Asia, and the second country in Asia after Taiwan, to legalize same-sex marriage.

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Read More: Doctors in India Tried to Cure Her With Conversion Therapy. Now Shes Fighting to Ban It

What do the pro-same-sex marriage petitions argue?

The petitioners are primarily focused on whether the Special Marriage Act of 1954, which amended Indias constitution to allow civil marriages between couples from different castes and religions, can be extended to include LGBTQ+ individuals.

The hearings for the petitions, which were directed to the Supreme Court on March 13 and began on April 14, argue for the legal recognition of same-sex marriage and their right to adopt as a matter of equality.

When you deny me the right of marriage, you deny me citizenship. If you deny me citizenship, you are saying, youre no good, youre not equal to a citizen under preamble so you stay where you are, Mukul Rohatgi, Chakraborty and Danges lawyer, argued in court on Tuesday. He added that the issue was about fundamental rights and should not be left in the hands of parliament.

Menaka Guruswamy and Arundhati Katju, LGBTQ+ lawyers also representing the petitioners, have echoed a similar argument. With the Constitution in our hearts, we go back to our court, for complete equality, full dignity, and freedom worthy of our citizenship, Guruswamy tweeted on Wednesday.

What are Indias current laws on LGBTQ+ issues?

Indias penal code, introduced under British rule in 1862, criminalized all homosexual acts by deeming them against the order of nature. That remained the case until the colonial-era law was struck down in 2018 by the Supreme Court.

As a result of the landmark 2018 ruling, acceptance of homosexuality has grown in India. A 2021 Ipsos survey found that 58% of Indians believe that same-sex couples should be allowed some sort of legal recognition, and 66% believe that same-sex couples should be able to adopt children. Another Pew survey in 2020 found that 37% of people believed that same-sex marriage should be accepted in the country, up from 15% in 2014.

But the Indian government, led by Modis Bharatiya Janata Party, has formally opposed the issue of same-sex marriage, even as many lawmakers take a different view. According to Pink List India, the countrys first archive of politicians supporting LGBTQ+ rights, 115 of 161 Members of Parliament who have publicly weighed in on the same-sex marriage debate have expressed support, with most of them belonging to the ruling BJP.

Nevertheless, the Indian government preemptively urged the Supreme Court to reject all pleas challenging the current legal framework, saying that there was a legitimate state interest in limiting the legal recognition to marriage/union/relation as being heterosexual in nature, according to the legal filing seen by Reuters.

Living together as partners and having a sexual relationship by same-sex individuals is not comparable with the Indian family unit concept of a husband, a wife, and children, the ministry argued.

On Sunday, Reuters reported that the government submitted another 102-page document in court, arguing that the petitions merely reflect urban elitist views and that recognition of same-sex marriage would mean a virtual judicial rewriting of an entire branch of law.

What happens next?

Its hard to say exactly when [the court will make a ruling] because the final verdict will be a written verdict, which can take time, says Kanav Sahgal from the Vidhi Center for Legal Policy, an independent legal think-tank in India. And similar to the U.S., we might see judges wanting to write separate or concurring opinions.

Sahgal adds that if the Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage, LGBTQ+ individuals could continue to face discrimination in public services, renting, or adoption. India doesnt have a national anti-discrimination law that protects sexual orientation, he says. Sahgal also warned that some Indian states may refuse to give marriage licenses to couples who want to marry.

If the court rules in the petitioners favor, Chakraborty and Dange still plan to continue their fight for equal rights, including changing laws around workplace discrimination and adoption. Even if you lose one battle, the fight doesnt stop there, Dange says.

But winning their case in the Supreme Courtwhich could be a historic step for Indias LGBTQ+ communitywould definitely call for a grand celebration, Chakraborty says.

Maybe well even get married againthis time, with legal documents, he adds.
John and Bill Wilkerson never thought theyd be funeral directors.

Before they founded the Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve, Floridas first green burial cemetery, the brothers were growing a seed crop called chufa on their fathers 350-acre farm 10 miles north of Defuniak Springs, in the center of the Florida panhandle, midway between Tallahassee and Mobile, Alabama. They inherited the land in 2000 after their mother died.

Our parents got us to agree not to break it into little pieces, Wilkerson said. They did not leave us the bazillion dollars drawing interest to pay the trust fund, lawyers and the tax man.

As the Wilkerson brothers were searching for a way to hold onto the family farm, a friend told them about Ramsey Creek Preserve, the first conservation cemetery in the U.S. Founded in South Carolina in 1998, Ramsey Creek was committed to simple burials, preserving the local ecosystem, and using its status as a cemetery to protect its 33-acre burial site from future development. The cemeterys sustainable burials cut down on the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change.

Going out green. Demand grows for Florida funerals that preserve nature, cut pollution

Ramsey Creek kicked off the green burial movement that has spawned scores of eco-friendly cemeteries across the U.S. over the past two decades. But the Wilkersons were the very first people to create a conservation cemetery in Florida. It became the second in the U.S. when they opened Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve in 2001.

Bill and John Wilkerson walk through the woods at the Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve, which was once their family farm.

At first, Wilkerson said, state regulators pushed back on their plan to turn the family farm into a natural burial ground. They just kept telling us no, he said. But the brothers kept pushing. Basically, we were ignorant country boys who had a cause and we kept asking Why? and Can you show us the statute? Eventually, with the help of some lawyers, they won over the regulators and got approval.

Still, there was a lot to learn. The brothers had buried their parents on the property, but didnt have any experience in the funeral industry.

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Weve gone through a learning curve just to work out the details of how to actually do it, Wilkerson said, how to dig a grave, how to make sure its big enough, how to get the casket in the ground, or more often, how to get a person in the grave with dignity using just a sheet or the clothes they died in.

Native plants cover a grave in the longleaf pine woods on the 350-acre Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve.

The Wilkersons created a grid system to keep track of the grave sites and learned to melt down bits of brass scraps into metal stakes for grave markers. Meanwhile, they planted longleaf pine trees and other native plants in places they and their father had cleared for crops decades earlier.

We had known for years that stirring dirt and spraying chemicals is not earth friendly, Wilkerson said. We had spent our lives doing that, pretty much.

But now they had a chance to undo some of their own work. Were making an attempt to turn it back into its pre-white man state, he said.

So far, the Wilkerson brothers have buried 159 bodies on their property. Weve got millionaires and weve got paupers. Weve got Bible thumpers and weve got pagans and weve got atheists, said John. Weve got a little bit of everybody.

Want a green burial in Florida? Heres what you need to know.

The cemeterys landmarks are as eclectic as the people who are buried there. To find the place, the Glendale website directs visitors to turn off Highway 83 when they see a dirt road flanked by a pair of nuclear missile nose cones, which the brothers bought from a military surplus store for $75 some time in the 1990s.

At the end of the road is the wooden house where the brothers live, which doubles as an office. The building is surrounded by hulking metal sculptures made from spare farm equipment parts, which the brothers call rustasauruses. The first rustasaurus features a hot water tank, pieces of an antique Coca Cola machine, a rusty spring, brass doorknobs, and part of a plow twisted into the shape of a large chicken.

This chicken-shaped rustasaurus, one of the metal sculptures John Wilkerson crafts out of scrap metal and discarded farm equipment parts, stands guard over the Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve.

The cemeterys rustic setting can be off-putting at first for some guests. John Wilkerson remembers a family from Orlando that showed up for a burial in the middle of a thunderstorm in the early days of the cemetery. He waved their cars around the house to the back porch, where they could step inside without getting too wet.

We have chickens roaming around in the yard and there was brand-new, fresh chicken sh** on the porch, Wilkerson said. These folks get out of their car and there were a couple of daughters who had elaborate makeup on, high-heeled shoes, the whole big city nightclub get-up.

And one of them stepped in the chicken sh** and turned to her mother and said said, Mom, I cant do this.

But the family stayed, and after a while the rain let up and the burial began. Eventually, Wilkerson said, these two girls with the high-heeled shoes and the makeup and fancy dresses were shoveling mud onto their dead father and laughing and crying. And at the end of the event, they said, This is the niftiest thing I could ever imagine.

Mourners carry a simple, wooden casket through the Glendale Memorial Nature Preserve.

The Wilkerson brothers are now in their 70s, but they plan to keep running the cemetery for as long as they can  and then turn the work over to a non-profit board of people they trust to run the day-to-day work of burials.

Although its a far cry from farming, theyve fallen in love with the job. Everybodys got to die, John Wilkerson said. If I personally can help with that process in some fashion, then thats my reward.

This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine

The MFA published an official statement on the matter on April 18.

"We consider the meeting with a representative of the Russian occupation administration, who is hiding from Ukrainian investigation for committing serious crimes and is under Ukrainian and international sanctions, to be another openly unfriendly act on the part of Belarus aimed at supporting the aggressor state of Russia," the statement reads.

Read also: Luhansk puppet authority prosecutor general killed in Luhansk

The MFA decided to call the Ukrainian ambassador to Belarus Ihor Kyzym for consultations on the matter.

The Ministry has also asked Minsk to refrain from such destructive actions and to stop supporting Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Read also: This is what awaits all traitors  Ukrainian intel on death of Kherson collaborator

Lukashenko met with Pushilin, the Kremlin-appointed puppet head of an illegal Russian military formation in Ukraine, in Minsk on April 18.

Belarus offered to help normalize people's lives in Russian-occupied Ukrainian areas.

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
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP)  A memoir from the top aide to former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo during the deadliest days of the COVID-19 pandemic, and an investigation that concluded he sexually harassed 11 women, will come out in the fall.

Union Square & Co. will release Whats Left Unsaid: My Life at the Center of Power, Politics, and Crisis, on Oct. 24.

Melissa DeRosa was secretary to the governor from 2017 until she resigned in August 2021, just before Cuomo announced his own resignation. She was the first woman to hold the powerful position  and was known for appearing at the governors side during his daily pandemic briefings, occasionally answering reporters' detailed policy questions.

She was among Cuomo's chief defenders, and a lightning rod for critics of how the administration handled the pandemic and harassment allegations against the governor. Cuomo has denied those allegations.

In a phone interview this week, DeRosa described the book as a chance for her to reflect, to set the record straight and to give an insider's account of tumultuous events.

DeRosa says nothing goes unaddressed in the book.

Its my turn ... to give a different perspective from the person who was in the room, from the person who lived it, not from someone who was sitting on the sidelines throwing stones," she said.

She had been with the administration since 2013.

DeRosa declined to preview any of the fly on the wall accounts in the book or to give her current opinion of Cuomo, saying only that he can defend himself.

Early in the pandemic, Cuomo was widely viewed as a reassuring figure, but his administration came under fire after revelations that it had released an incomplete accounting of the number of deaths at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.

In explaining the administrations delays in releasing data, DeRosa had said officials froze over worries that the information was going to be used against us by then-President Donald Trumps Justice Department.

DeRosa also was repeatedly mentioned in Attorney General Letitia James' report investigating sexual harassment allegations against Cuomo. The report said DeRosa played a key role in trying to protect Cuomo from harassment claims.

I think that a lot of people have had a lot to say that has gone unchallenged, DeRosa said. That ends in the fall when this book comes out.
Manchester City marched on in Europe (Matthias Schrader/AP) (AP)

Manchester City made it through to the Champions League semi-final on Wednesday after a 1-1 draw at Bayern Munich sealed a 4-1 aggregate triumph.

Here, the PA news agency looks at five other memorable European evenings for the club.

Man City 2 Real Madrid 1 (City win 4-2 on aggregate)  last 16, August 7, 2020

After a gap of more than five months between the two legs of a pulsating tie due to the coronavirus pandemic, City welcomed Real Madrid to the Etihad Stadium with a 2-1 advantage from the first leg and replicated that scoreline in the second meeting.

Raheem Sterling and Gabriel Jesus took advantage of Raphael Varane errors to strike either side of a Karim Benzema equaliser as Pep Guardiolas men eased into the quarter-finals.

Man City 2 Paris St Germain 0 (City win 4-1 on aggregate)  semi-final, May 4, 2021

Riyad Mahrez struck twice as City reached their first Champions League final with a 2-0 victory over Mauricio Pochettinos 10-man PSG, the Paris-born winger on target in each half as Guardiolas side sealed a 4-1 aggregate win.

PSG threw plenty into attack as they attempted to chase the tie in unexpectedly icy conditions but Mahrezs second just after the hour proved a killer blow, the visitors woes compounded by Angel Di Marias late dismissal for a petulant stamp on Fernandinho.

Borussia Dortmund 1 Manchester City 2 (City win 4-2 on aggregate)  quarter-final, April 14, 2021

City saw off the threat of the in-form Erling Haaland as they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-1 at Signal Iduna Park in the quarter-finals of the 2021 competition.

A superb strike from the outstanding Jude Bellingham, then 17, saw Dortmund level the quarter-final tie on aggregate after 15 minutes of the second leg at Signal Iduna Park.

But City responded in the second half with a penalty from Mahrez and a fine effort from Phil Foden to clinch a 4-2 aggregate triumph.

Man City 2 Villarreal 1  group game, October 18, 2011

Sergio Aguero finally ignited Citys stuttering Champions League campaign with a dramatic late winner against Villarreal securing the clubs first ever victory in the competition.

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The Argentina striker tapped home in the third minute of stoppage time, completing the turnaround for Roberto Mancinis side after a Carlos Marchena own goal had hauled City back on level terms following Canis early opener.

Man City 7 RB Leipzig 0 (City win 8-1 on aggregate)  last 16, March 14 2023

Haaland scored five times  including a first-half hat-trick  with Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin De Bruyne also getting in on the act as City ran riot to power into the last eight 8-1 on aggregate, having been held 1-1 in the opening leg at the Red Bull Arena.

The Norway striker took his tally for the campaign to a staggering 39 from 36 appearances, in the process becoming the youngest player to reach 30 goals in the Champions League, aged 22 years and 236 days.
A Lansdale man is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend's boyfriend in an apartment in the borough Monday night.

Christopher Scott Moore, 21, faces charges of first-, second- and third-degree murder in the shooting death of Wesley Smith, of Philadelphia.

The Montgomery County District Attorney's Office said Moore fatally shot Smith, 21, at a Walnut Arms Apartments home.

What did police say happened at Walnut Arms Apartments?

Montgomery County Detectives allege Moore broke into the apartment through a window on Walnut Street on Sunday night.

Moore used to live there with his ex-girlfriend, but he moved out several months earlier after ongoing domestic issues, charging documents state.

When his ex arrived at the home, Moore struck her multiple times, and threatened her and whomever she was currently dating, according to court documents. She went to sleep, and Moore stayed until the next morning, when she told him he was not allowed in the apartment anymore, police said.

She did not report the incident to police because she was fearful of Moore, according to authorities.

At about 11 p.m. Monday, she and Smith were in the bedroom when Moore broke into the home through the window, court documents state.

Moore began shooting a handgun at Smith, who returned fire with his own handgun, police said. Smith was killed in the shooting, and Moore was injured.

Smith was pronounced dead at the scene. Both men had valid licenses to possess the firearms, authorities said.

Woman charged with killing son: Horsham mom charged with killing son, fleeing to Jersey shore. Here's what we know

Falls man charged with murder: How a Falls woman went from a missing person to a murder victim; inside the Carol Clark case

Horsham shooting deemed justified: A shooting at a Horsham cemetery was deemed justified. Here's what the DA said happened

What's next in the case?

Moore was flown to Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia for treatment. On Tuesday, the DA's office said he was still undergoing treatment.

Story continues

As of Wednesday morning, he has not yet been arraigned on his charges, which also include burglary, trespass and possession of a weapon.

Once arraigned, his bail will be denied because murder is a not a bailable offense in Pennsylvania. A preliminary hearing will be scheduled as well.

He did not have an attorney listed for him Wednesday.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Lansdale man accused of shooting, killing ex's boyfriend in apartment
Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Facebook/Meta

Tech workers at Meta have started to find out if they're affected by the latest round of layoffs.

Social media posts appear to show that staff members have been receiving news of job cuts Wednesday.

Meta said in March it would be laying off 10,000 workers as part of its "Year of Efficiency."

Tech workers at Meta started to find out on Wednesday if they were affected by the company's latest round of layoffs, social media posts appeared to show.

Insider viewed more than a dozen LinkedIn posts by Meta workers saying they'd been hit by the cuts as part of Meta's so-called "Year of Efficiency." These included technical program managers, machine learning engineers, and UX researchers.

When asked for further information by Insider, Meta  the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus  referred to CEO Mark Zuckerberg's letter to staff from March, in which the company said it would be laying off 10,000 workers over the coming months. In the letter, Zuckerberg said staff would start to be informed in "late April."

CNBC reported earlier Wednesday that the layoffs had begun, saying that Meta had confirmed the news.

The Washington Post reported that an internal analysis suggested that Wednesday's layoffs could affect 4,000 workers, citing a person familiar with the matter.

Bloomberg reported that Meta told staff work from home on Wednesday so that they could process the news.

Zuckerberg had told staff in March that the company would be restructured, with a focus on "flattening our orgs, canceling lower priority projects, and reducing our hiring rates."

He said that workers in tech roles wouldn't find out until late April whether their jobs were included among the layoffs, and members of its business groups would have to wait until late May. In some cases, it may take until the end of 2023 for the changes to be completed and non-US teams might find out about their layoffs at different time points, he added.

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"This will be tough and there's no way around that," Zuckerberg told staff in March's email. "It will mean saying goodbye to talented and passionate colleagues who have been part of our success."

Meta had already announced it was laying off more than 11,000 staffers in November. Since then, "many things have gone faster," Zuckerberg said.

Employees' reactions to the November cuts  when staff members found out they'd lost their jobs via email  prompted Meta to give workers more notice this time, Zuckerberg said.

"I recognize that sharing plans for restructuring and layoffs months in advance creates a challenging period," Zuckerberg wrote in March's email.

"But last fall, we heard feedback that you wanted more transparency sooner into any restructuring plans, so that's what I'm trying to provide here."

Read the original article on Business Insider
China's Q1 GDP growth impressive, even faster pace expected: Croatian economist

Xinhua) 08:33, April 19, 2023

This photo taken on March 15, 2023 shows excavators to be shipped at a port in Lianyungang, east China's Jiangsu Province. (Photo by Wang Chun/Xinhua)

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have both raised their expectations of China's economic growth this year.

ZAGREB, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's gross domestic product (GDP) growth in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023 is impressive and it signals even stronger growth for this year, Ljubo Jurcic, a prominent Croatian economist and former economy minister, told Xinhua in an interview on Tuesday.

"In my opinion, the Chinese economy will grow by over 6 percent by the end of this year," Jurcic said.

China's GDP grew 4.5 percent year-on-year in Q1, the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Tuesday. "China's national economy made a good start this year, and market expectation saw significant improvement," NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told journalists.

The spokesperson was echoed by Jurcic, who said China's economy "is just warming up" for a strong rebound later this year.

"It is a good start. China's economy will not grow 8 or 9 percent as it used to, but 6 percent for this year is quite realistic," Jurcic said.

Consumers purchase goods for the Chinese New Year at a fruit market in Yiwu, east China's Zhejiang Province, Jan. 17, 2023. (Photo by Gong Xianming/Xinhua)

The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have both raised their expectations of China's economic growth this year.

The World Bank increased its economic growth projection for China to 5.1 percent in 2023, significantly above its January forecast of 4.3 percent. The IMF expects China's GDP growth to reach 5.2 percent this year, a substantial 2 percentage point increase over the 2022 figure.

Jurcic explained that the World Bank and the IMF have their specific methods for forecasting economic growth. This, he said, is "not a usual situation" as China is opening up after the COVID-19 pandemic and economic activities are accelerating to make up for the losses caused by the pandemic, so China's actual growth rate could be higher than expected.

This photo taken on March 2, 2023 shows wind power blades to be exported at Yantai Port in Yantai, east China's Shandong Province. (Photo by Tang Ke/Xinhua)

Furthermore, China's strong economic rebound is beneficial not only to the country itself but also to the whole world, as it will help boost the world economy, Jurcic said, recalling that IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva's similar argument. Accordingly, China is expected to contribute about one-third of global economic growth in 2023 and provide a welcome boost to the world economy.

According to Jurcic, China has already replaced the United States and become the locomotive of the world economy.

"That used to be the United States, but now China has taken the lead. Although China's GDP is still lower than that of the United States or Europe, but its growth is two or three times higher," Jurcic said, adding that the World Bank expects the global economic growth rate to drop from 3.1 percent in 2022 to 2 percent this year, and that the U.S. economic growth rate is expected to slow down from 2.1 percent in 2022 to 1.2 percent this year.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
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Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Wednesday met with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, in Beijing.

Han said that the traditional friendship between China and Slovakia has seen steady development, and that exchanges and cooperation in various fields have grown constantly.

China is ready to work with Slovakia to carry forward the friendship, consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations, uphold mutual respect and mutual trust, treat each other as equals, achieve win-win results, and properly accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns to create a sound political atmosphere for the sustained and healthy development of bilateral ties, Han said.

He called on both sides to continue deepening cooperation, enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and working together to promote the sound and steady development of relations between China and the European Union, as well as China-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) cooperation. He also briefed the Slovak side on China's economic and social development.

Kollar said that Slovakia attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with China and hopes to strengthen bilateral cooperation on the economy, culture, people's livelihoods, transportation, logistics and other fields, and to deepen exchanges between the two legislatures to improve bilateral relations.


MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexico's president on Wednesday lashed out at the country's Supreme Court, likening justices who frustrated his plan to hand control of the civilian-led National Guard to the Army to a former minister convicted of taking bribes from a drug cartel.

The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled legislation promoted by President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador mandating that the Army assume control of the National Guard was unconstitutional.

Two of four justices nominated by the president voted against his plan. Eight of 11 justices voted it down in total.

Lopez Obrador said on Wednesday he would stick to his plan, and vowed to present a constitutional reform to Congress next year during his last month in power to ensure the Army was given charge over his signature security force.

The president said those opposing his vision had acted in a "factious manner in accordance not with legal, but political criteria, defending the old practices of the authoritarian and corrupt regime," referring to past governments that he opposed.

"The justices of the court, with the exception of three, act like the government of (former President) Felipe Calderon and his security minister, Genaro Garcia Luna," Lopez Obrador told reporters at his daily news conference.

In February, Garcia Luna, who once led Mexico's fight against drug gangs, was convicted by a U.S. court of taking millions of dollars in bribes from the Sinaloa Cartel, which was long headed by now-jailed kingpin Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

Lopez Obrador, who has suffered a number of setbacks at the hands of the court, will leave office at the end of September 2024 following general elections in June 2024.

The next Congress will begin on Sept. 1, 2024, the day Lopez Obrador said he would present his initiative to reform the constitution to enshrine military control of the National Guard.

To this end he said it was vital that voters gave his National Regeneration Movement (MORENA) and its allies the two-thirds majority needed to pass constitutional changes, setting the scene for another battleground in next year's elections.

(This story has been refiled to restore the president's first name in paragraph 2)

(Reporting by Dave Graham and Sarah Morland; editing by Jonathan Oatis)
MEXICO CITY (AP)  Mexicos president vowed Wednesday to try again to give control of the National Guard to the Army, despite a Supreme Court ruling against such a move.

The Supreme Court had ruled Tuesday that the Constitution mandates that the Guard, which is now Mexico's main federal law enforcement agency, must be kept under civilian control within the Public Safety Department.

But President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said he hopes his party can win a two-thirds majority in Congress in the June 2024 elections, and change the Constitution. For now, Lopez Obrador said he would instruct the Public Safety Department  a civilian agency  to appoint a retired general to lead the quasi-military guard.

Lopez Obrador says Army control of the National Guard is needed to prevent the force from becoming corrupt, as he claimed the now-dissolved Federal Police had become.

About 80% of the National Guard's 130,000 members are active-duty soldiers on loan from the Army and Navy, where they preserve their ranks and benefits. Even civilian recruits are subjected to military training.

Analysts say the use of soldiers on loan to the Guard is apparently creating a bookkeeping headache, because they have to keep some Guard officers on military pay grades and benefits schedules, separate from other members.

Lopez Obrador said he will order Security Secretary Rosa Icela Rodriguez to visit the dozens of National Guard headquarters throughout Mexico to reassure the military members of the force that they will keep their military benefits and ranks.

Lopez Obrador also lashed out at the eight of 11 Supreme Court justice who voted against his plan, saying they had acted as part of a faction, not on judicial criteria but on political ones.

The president's supporters say Mexico has to use military personnel in civilian law enforcement because Mexico's drug cartels are so powerful and well armed.

But the military has been implicated in a series of human rights abuses that are beginning to taint the National Guard.

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In the norther border city of Nuevo Laredo, National Guard members opened fire on a civilian SUV over the weekend, killing a pregnant 15-year-old girlfriend and a 54-year-old man and wounding two other people. The National Guard has not responded to requests for comment on the deaths.

The killings come nearly two months after an army patrol shot to death five men in cartel-dominated Nuevo Laredo on Feb. 26. Four soldiers have been charged in that case.

The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that last years transfer of the National Guard from civilian to military control was unconstitutional because Lopez Obrador created it as a civilian force in a 2019 Constitutional reform and placed it under the control of the civilian public security ministry.

Last year, Lopez Obrador decided to change that, but his ruling party and allies no longer had the necessary majority in Congress to pass constitutional changes.
Google CEO Sundar Pichai (left) and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella (right). Samsung is reportedly considering replacing Google Search with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its smartphones. Experts say that would be worth it for Microsoft. Getty Images

Samsung is reportedly looking to replace Google Search with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its phones.

That makes the threat to Google's search dominance from Microsoft and OpenAI more real.

If Samsung follows through, Microsoft should pay whatever it takes to make it happen, analysts said.

Microsoft's partnership with OpenAI, the creator of the viral success that is the ChatGPT chatbot, presents the biggest threat yet to Google's stranglehold on the web search market.

That threat became a little more real this week, as The New York Times reports that Samsung is considering replacing Google with Microsoft's Bing as the default search engine on its mega-popular line of Android smartphones.

There's likely a lot of money at stake in Samsung's decision: In 2014, Google paid Apple $1 billion to be the default search engine on the iPhone  an amount that was recently estimated to have ballooned to $15 billion in recent years. We don't know the details of Samsung's arrangements with Google, but it seems safe to assume that the money involved is at least on that same scale.

Now, if the opportunity arises for Microsoft to ink that type of partnership with Samsung, it should pay whatever it takes to make it happen, industry analysts said. No matter how many billions it might cost, those experts say, it's worth it for Microsoft to seize the moment to get so many users on to Bing  and away from Google.

"Microsoft absolutely should do that," RBC analyst Rishi Jaluria told Insider. "Samsung is pretty dominant in the Android ecosystem, with a huge market share worldwide. And not only is there incremental business that you get with Bing as the default search engine, you now start to gain mindshare that way."

And that's not to mention that even small gains from Google are worth real money to Microsoft.

"For every 1 point of share gain in the search advertising market, it's a $2 billion revenue opportunity for our advertising business," said Philippe Ockenden, Microsoft's corporate VP of finance, in February.

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Bing has gone from punchline to serious threat to Google

As recently as a few months ago, Bing's meager market share compared to Google made it an industry punchline.

However, since Microsoft's $10 billion investment into OpenAI, it has poured a ton of money and resources into injecting AI into Bing. Users can now use Bing to talk to a custom version of the ChatGPT chatbot, too. That's starting to make Bing a more interesting alternative to Google for many users.

"The idea that anyone would use Bing five months ago was a joke," Jaluria said. "But now you're having serious conversations about using Bing instead of Google. And so if Microsoft has that opportunity they should absolutely take it."

The fact that Samsung is even considering changing its default search engine presents a rare moment of weakness for Google, especially on smartphones. A vast majority of smartphones have Google set as their default search engine, Insider previously reported. Android itself, the most popular operating system in the world, is developed by Google, as is the market-leading Chrome browser.

The hype around the new and improved Bing gives Microsoft a rare shot at breaking through that dominance, the analysts said. Google is seen as being slower and more deliberative when it comes to integrating AI with its search engine, while Microsoft has been very public about moving full steam ahead with bringing OpenAI-based technology to everything from Bing to Microsoft Office to the GitHub code repository.

While the experts say not to count Google out entirely, Microsoft now has a rare chance to ride the wave and get Bing out to new audiences. That's especially important given that Microsoft doesn't have a viable phone operating system of its own. Investing big to entrench Samsung as a partner now could pay dividends for Microsoft later, the experts said.

"[Microsoft] made huge investments to push the market with this and if they're going to win they need to win larger shares of the mobile market," said Futurum Research's Dan Newman.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The number of migrants encountered by U.S. Border Patrol along the U.S.-Mexico border increased by 25% in March as the Biden administration prepares for the expiration of Title 42 in less than a month.

The Border Patrol documented 162,317 encounters of people who entered the country in between ports of entry in March, increasing from 130,024 encounters in February, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data.

Total March migrant encounters along the border, including people processed at ports of entry, were 191,900. The number rose nearly 23% from February, per CBP data.

The total number includes repeat crossers, who are people who have been encountered at least once in the previous 12 months.

Nancy and Leo, along with their two children, Alexander, 3, and Gael, 1, speak with a Border Patrol agent while seeking asylum at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry on Nov. 8, 2021, in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. The family, which has faced threats and harassment in Guerrero, Mexico, asked to omit their last names.

The rise in encounters comes on the back of a two-month stretch where Border Patrol recorded the lowest number of migrant encounters along the southwest border since February 2021.

February data: Border Patrol sees second consecutive month of lowest migrant encounters since February 2021

While encounters increased in March, the numbers are still lower than what were seen in March 2022 and March 2021. The uptick also follows historic trends of numbers increasing during spring as temperatures rise.

CBP will continue to enforce our immigration laws and ramp up efforts to combat smuggler misinformation as we prepare to return to expedited removal proceedings under Title 8 authorities, CBP Acting Commissioner Troy Miller said in a news release.

In Arizona, CBPs Tucson sector recorded more than a 41% increase in migrant encounters from February to March, per CBP data. Similarly, there was nearly a 32% increase in the Yuma sector.

Migrants and asylum seekers are detained by U.S. Border Patrol agents after crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in Yuma County, near the Cocopah Indian Tribe's reservation, on Dec. 8, 2022. Border Patrol agents estimated the group to be about 700 people.

In March, 87,662 encounters were processed for expulsion under Title 42, the border restriction that has allowed officials to rapidly expel migrants for more than three years.

In March, Title 42 was used the most times in a single month since June 2022, per CBP data.

Title 42, a 1944 public health law that justifies immediate removal without an opportunity to seek asylum, has been used to quickly expel migrants over 2 million times since it was first implemented in March 2020. The policy is set to lapse when the public health emergency is lifted on May 11.

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People wait in line to cross the U.S. Customs and Border Protection-Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry into the United States on Dec. 21, 2022, in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. Title 42 was scheduled to end on Dec. 21, but was given a stay by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security is estimating that as many as 13,000 migrants could be seen daily at the southern border when the restriction ends.

Sen. Kyrsten Sinema: Homeland Security not ready for end of border restriction

In January, the Biden administration expanded the restrictions of Title 42 to include people from Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua. At the same time, the administration broadened parole programs to allow migrants from Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti and Nicaragua to be able to fly into the interior of the country if they have a U.S. sponsor and pass a rigorous application process.

The programs allow for up to 30,000 people from these countries to enter the country monthly for a period of two years and receive work authorization. Mexico agreed to receive 30,000 people per month from these countries who fail to use the new programs.

Additionally, the administration has been using a new function under the CBP One mobile application to allow migrants to schedule appointments at ports of entry to seek an exemption from Title 42. The app has been riddled with glitches and setbacks for asylum seekers since it was rolled out.

A family from Michoacan, Mexico, stands in front of the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Sonora, Mexico, before attending their appointment to request an exemption from Title 42 on Jan. 21, 2023.

Families have been split up due to the too few appointments being offered each day, and the app also fails to recognize dark-skinned people.

More than 74,000 people have scheduled appointments since the new function was rolled out on the app. The top nationalities who have done so are Mexican, Haitian and Venezuelan, according to CBP.

In March, CBP processed 22,865 people at ports of entry as exemptions to Title 42 using CBP One, according to CBP.

Migrants, advocates and faith leaders gather near the Dennis DeConcini Port of Entry in Nogales, Sonora, to commemorate the third anniversary of Title 42 on March 21, 2023.

The app is now available in Spanish, English and Haitian Creole, and CBP has implemented software updates to address technical difficulties.

Children younger than 5 years old are now not required to have a live photo taken of them to apply.

A new function also allows for families to log their information into the app together before appointments open up the next day, according to CBP. The new process has allowed for larger families to be able to schedule appointments together.

Have a news tip or story idea about the border and its communities? Contact the reporter at josecastaneda@arizonarepublic.com or connect with him on Twitter @joseicastaneda.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Migrant encounters jump 25% along US-Mexico border in March
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers in California seized more than 3.5 million fentanyl pills hidden within a shipment of green beans, officials said.

Officers at the Otay Mesa border found a 48-year-old man driving a tractor-trailer with a shipment of green beans on April 17 at 7:21 p.m., according to a news release by U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Upon further investigation and a full scan of the tractor trailer along with a narcotic detector dog, 308 packages of pills were found within the green bean shipment, officials said.

The driver transporting the narcotics was detained and taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody, according to the release. The trailer, tractor and narcotics were all seized.

Otay Mesa is 20 miles southeast of San Diego.

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JACKSON, Miss. (AP)  Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves said bills he signed Wednesday are designed to improve foster care, speed up adoptions and help private organizations provide aid to pregnant women in the state that brought the U.S. Supreme Court case that upended abortion rights nationwide.

Mississippi has moved to the next phase in our pursuit to build a culture of life, Republican Reeves said during a signing ceremony. That phase is the new pro-life agenda. ... This next phase will not be easy, and it will not be free. But it is the right thing to do.

The Supreme Court last June used a Mississippi case to overturn Roe v. Wade, its landmark 1973 ruling that had legalized abortion rights. The only abortion clinic in Mississippi shut down in early July as the state enacted a dormant law that bans most abortions  a law contingent on Roe v. Wade being removed.

Health officials said they expect Mississippi to have up to 5,000 additional births per year because of the scarcity of abortion. Mississippi is one of the poorest states, and it has the highest fetal mortality and infant mortality rates in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention  statistics Reeves did not mention during his bill-signing ceremony Wednesday.

One of the measures Reeves signed, Senate Bill 2696, creates an income tax credit of up to $10,000 for adopting a child who lives in Mississippi and $5,000 for a adopting a child from outside the state. It becomes law July 1.

House Bill 1671 expands a tax credit from $3.5 million a year to $10 million a year statewide for people or businesses who donate to centers that provide diapers, clothing and other assistance for pregnant women. The law is retroactive to Jan. 1.

House Bill 1318 allows cities and counties to establish safe drop-off boxes for babies who are up to 45 days old. The bill became law when Reeves signed it Wednesday.

House Bill 510 is designed to increase transparency for foster parents and make employees from the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services more readily available to them. Reeves said it also helps ensure educational needs of foster children are met. It becomes law July 1.

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House Bill 1149 separates the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services from the state Department of Human Services, starting July 1. Reeves said the change will allow CPS, the foster care agency, to collect more federal money.

In March, Reeves signed legislation to solidify an entire year of Medicaid coverage for women after they give birth. Mississippi usually allows two months of postpartum Medicaid coverage. The state had allowed a full year of coverage since the COVID-19 public health emergency started in 2020, although many patients said the state did little to let them know coverage continued after the usual two months.

With the national public health emergency expiring this spring, Mississippi officials intensified their debate over committing to a full year of postpartum benefits. Reeves is seeking reelection, and Democrats hammered him for his long refusal to support the extension.
Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr

Transgender Montana Rep. Zooey Zephyr is facing calls for censure after saying legislators who voted for a ban on gender-affirming care for trans youth have blood on their hands.

Zephyr made the comment Tuesday as the states House of Representatives debated amendments to a bill banning this treatment. The House and Senate had both already passed the bill, but they had to vote on it again because Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte had requested amendments to it.

The amendments assure that such care will be available to minors born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development but not those seeking gender transition, Gianforte wrote in a letter to legislators, and strengthen a prohibition on public funding for transition-related treatments for young people.

In his letter, Gianforte also wrote, Gender-affirming care for children is Orwellian Newspeak, a seemingly innocuous, even solicitous phrase that masks its true nature of permanent, invasive, life-altering and surgical procedures, performed on children whose young minds and bodies are still developing. Newspeak is the language used in George Orwells dystopian novel 1984, and it often masks reality.

The House approved the amendments Tuesday, but not before Zephyr spoke out passionately against the bill. The Senate OKd them as well, sending it back to Gianforte, who has said hed sign the bill as amended. It bans not only genital surgery, which is almost never performed on minors, but also puberty blockers and hormone treatment.

Gender-affirming care is not Orwellian Newspeak, as it says in this letter, Zephyr said on the House floor. It is accepted by every major medical association. She pointed out that the amendments define gender as binary. You could not legislate binary sex any more than you could legislate that the Earth is flat, she said. Intersex people exist, trans people exist, and this bill doesnt change that.

If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed, she continued. After House Majority Leader Sue Vinton, a Republican, said the body would not be shamed by any member, Zephyr added,

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The only thing I will say is if you vote yes on this bill and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time theres an invocation, when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands.

\u201c"If you are denying gender-affirming care and forcing a trans child to go through puberty, that is tantamount to torture, and this body should be ashamed.



If you vote yes on this bill, I hope the next time you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands."\u201d  Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@Rep. Zooey Zephyr) 1681856400

That led to the censure demand from the Montana Freedom Caucus, made up of the states most conservative legislators. The Montana Freedom Caucus demands Representative Zooey Zephyr of Missoulas House District 100 be censured by the House for attempting to shame the Montana legislative body and by using inappropriate and uncalled-for language during a floor debate over amendments concerning Senate Bill 99  to ban sex changes of minor children, said a press release the group shared on Twitter. This bill already passed the Montana House and Senate, and the debate was over amendments requested by the governor.

The caucus also invoked the recent mass shooting in Nashville, in which the shooter, who died there as well, was said to be transgender (almost all mass shootings are perpetrated by cisgender men). The caucus went on to condemn former Montana Supreme Court Justice James Nelson, who has denounced the rightward swing of the legislature.

This kind of hateful rhetoric from an elected official is exactly why tragedies such as the Covenant Christian School shooting in Nashville occurred, the caucus wrote. Combined with former Montana Supreme Court Justice Jim Nelsons recent calls for jihad and a fight to the death, there is unmistakable evidence of a desire for some to engage in violence over political beliefs. This must stop. The release also misgendered Zephyr.

\u201cOur Caucus is calling for the immediate censure of transgender Rep. Zooey Zephyr after his threatening and deeply concerning comments on the House floor earlier today. #mtpol\u201d  Montana Freedom Caucus (@Montana Freedom Caucus) 1681864704

For the record, neither Zephyr nor Nelson called for violence. Nelson has said he stands by his words, and Zephyr tweeted, When I said there is blood on their hands, I meant it. All legislators (& the Gov) received a letter from an ER doctor who dealt w/ a suicide attempt from a trans teen who cited OUR LEGISLATURE as a factor in their suicidality. My state doesnt want me, is what they said.

\u201cWhen I said there is blood on their hands, I meant it.



All legislators (& the Gov) received a letter from an ER doctor who dealt w/ a suicide attempt from a trans teen who cited OUR LEGISLATURE as a factor in their suicidality.



"My state doesn't want me," is what they said.\u201d  Rep. Zooey Zephyr (@Rep. Zooey Zephyr) 1681856400

The Advocate has asked Zephyr for comment on the caucuss release and will update this story if we receive a response.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP)  A proposed change to next year's Montana U.S. Senate primary that was aimed at undermining Democratic Sen. Jon Tester's reelection chances is likely dead after a state legislative committee shelved the GOP-backed measure Wednesday.

Some Republican lawmakers urged on by a GOP lobbyist wanted to alter Montana's 2024 Senate primary so that only the top two candidates, no matter their party, would advance to the November election.

That would have effectively blocked out third-party candidates, who Republicans blamed for draining away potential GOP votes during past attempts to unseat Tester.

Control of the Senate will be in play during next year's election. Tester's seat is one of several that Democrats are defending in Republican-leaning states.

The race's national importance helped fuel outrage over the bid to change the primary rules. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and representatives of the Libertarian party, blasted it as a blatant attempt to rig the election.

After Rep. Gregory Frazer moved to table the bill during a Wednesday meeting of the House State Administration Committee, all but one of the committees 12 Republicans joined the panel's six Democrats to vote to shelve the measure.

I have had a lot of my folks from back home reach out to me and ask me to vote no on this  a lot more than what I thought. It's actually been pretty interesting, said Frazer, a Republican from Deer Lodge.

It is possible for the bill to be revived before the end of the session, but that's considered unlikely given Wednesday's definitive House committee vote.

Montana Libertarian Party chairman Sid Daoud praised Frazer for looking critically at the bill despite a push by Republican leaders to advance it and said Libertarians would remain on watch for attempts to revive the measure.

Its great the people stood up against it, said Daoud, a Kalispell City Council member.

The state Senate approved the 2024 primary change earlier this month by a 27-23 vote. Seven Republicans joined all of the chambers Democrats in voting against the measure.

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The bill's Republican sponsor said he wanted to stop the GOP and Democrats alike from trying to manipulate elections by stealthily promoting third party candidates.

But emails included in the legislative file for the bill show that longtime Republican lobbyist Chuck Denowh helped shape the measure.

In late March, Denowh suggested that an early version of the proposal be changed so it would apply only to the U.S. Senate and would sunset after the 2024 election, the emails show. The bill was changed accordingly.

State Rep. Kelly Kortum, a Democrat from Bozeman, said the bill had been pushed onto Montana by outside interests. He called it an irresponsible way to change Montanas election laws."

A broad coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and others across Montana publicly spoke out against the bill, Kortum said.

Sponsor Sen. Greg Hertz of Polson did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment.

The House committee on Monday rejected a second election-related bill from Hertz that would have increased the number of signatures required for independent candidates and third parties to qualify for ballots.

Both major parties in Montana have sought to use third parties to their advantage in past elections.

During one of last years U.S. House elections, a Democratic-linked group in Washington, D.C., sent mailers promoting Libertarian candidate John Lamb as the races true conservative in an effort to peel away conservative votes.

In the 2020 race, the Republican Party bankrolled a $100,000 signature-gathering effort to put the Montana Green Party on the ballot and hurt Democrats' chances. The state Supreme Court removed the Green Party after hundreds of people sought to withdraw their signatures upon learning the GOP was behind the effort.
Fans have reacted with anguish and disbelief over the sudden death of K-pop star Moonbin at the age of 25.

The Astro boy band member was found unresponsive by his manager at his Seoul apartment on Wednesday night.

His death renews concerns over the immense stress K-pop stars face and brings to mind other high-profile music deaths in recent years.

Police said it appeared he had taken his own life but an autopsy would determine the exact cause of death.

Moonbin "unexpectedly left our world and became a star in the sky", his music label Fantiago said on Twitter.

Pictures online showed fans laying flowers and notes at street memorials in South Korea and elsewhere in the world, including in the US, Chile, Indonesia and the Philippines.

Some also strung up purple and silver balloons - colours that had featured prominently at the singer's last performance in Thailand.

His death prompted an outpouring of grief on social media throughout Thursday.

"Rest in peace, Moonbin. I hope the stars and the moon treat you well. I hope they give you all the comfort and love," one person wrote on Twitter.

"Moonbin, your smile will light up the night," another wrote.

The Arohas of different places paying tribute to Moonbin  pic.twitter.com/7YsanJxnqW  ares  (@yngjngon_won) April 20, 2023

With a career that spanned his entire life, Moonbin was in a rare group of K-pop stars. He entered showbiz as a child actor and model in the 2000s. He had his acting debut in 2009, when as an 11-year-old he starred in the popular Korean drama series Boys Over Flowers.

At age 18, he joined Astro.

While his international fame was not on the level of BTS or Blackpink, he's wildly popular at home, Rob Schwartz, an Asia correspondent for Billboard Magazine, told the BBC.

He added that K-pop idols are under intense pressure from fans on social media to look and sound perfect, while record producers demand they churn out hit after hit.

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"It's crazy how they have these guys under a microscope," he said. "Certainly, stars in the West can more or less keep who they're dating a secret. In the K-pop world, it's impossible to keep a secret. Every time they lift a foot, thousands of lines are written about it."

He also noted that Moonbin went on hiatus in 2019 and 2020, citing his health. "K-pop artists don't really have a life outside being a pop star. They start training at a very young age. They don't go to school or make regular friends. It's really hard for them to see life outside the K-pop world," he said.

Beyond the glamour - K-pop's other side

Since 2020, Moonbin had been performing with another Astro member Sanha in a duo. Moonbin & Sanha had been in the middle of a world tour, and their last performance was in Bangkok on 8 April.

Fantiago said all of Astro's members were returning to Seoul on Thursday to gather for Moonbin's wake. The statement from the label also asked people to "refrain from speculative and malicious reports" so that Moonbin's family could pay their respects in peace.

Moobin's sister Moon Sua is also a K-pop singer, part of the girl group Billlie. The siblings had previously spoken in public interviews about their dependence on each other.

South Korea has the highest rate of youth suicide among developed countries. While its overall suicide rate is falling - at about 26 per 100,000 people - deaths of those in their 20s are rising. Several young South Korean celebrities have died in recent years - with some of these cases acknowledged as suicide.

Actress Jung Chae-yull, 26, was found dead in at her home in Seoul about a week ago. Her management agency did not disclose her cause of death.

In October 2019, K-pop star Sulli, killed herself after a long struggle with online bullying. A month later, her close friend Goo Hara, best known as a former member of K-pop group Kara, was found dead at her home in Seoul. In 2018, Minwoo of boy band 100% died at home, with his label only saying he had suffered cardiac arrest. Jonghyun, the lead singer of SHINee, one of South Korea's biggest boy bands, died in 2017.

Moonbin entered Fantagio's trainee programme as a child before eventually joining Astro. The group was originally six performers, but one member left in February.

Astro fans - known as "Arohas" - have been mourning Moonbin's death. Known as an all-round performer, he had been seen as the boy band's most celebrated dancer.

Moonbin, left, and Sanha of Astro last year

At a recent concert, while on the "Diffusion" tour with Sanha to promote the duo's latest EP record, Moonbin told fans that he had been going through a difficult time, Korean broadcaster SBS reported.

"I want to confess one thing, I'm actually feeling really bad. There might have been a lot of signs from which people could notice since the concert started, so I'm also very sorry to you guys.

"I'm working out and trying to pick up things that I've left little by little. I chose this job so I need to be happy so that I can make fans happy as well," he said in a live broadcast over social media.

The duo was set to perform in Macau this Saturday, followed by Indonesia and Japan in May.

Additional reporting by Joel Guinto in Singapore.

For information and support about any issues raised in this story contact the BBC Action Line.
A series of projects will bring noticeable changes to Tri-City area businesses in coming months.

Two oil change shops are proposed in west Pasco while Kennewick will see a new building near Lampson Internationals iconic office at the cable bridge and the Kennewick Walmart is preparing for an update.

Heres a look at projects that have either construction permits or are undergoing Washingtons State Environmental Protection Act (SEPA) process before permits are issued.

Lampson crane company

Lampson International will build a dry storage warehouse near its corporate offices, 607 E. Columbia Drive, this summer.

The city of Kennewick issued permits for the roughly $1 million project in early April.

Kate Lampson, director of strategic communication for the Kennewick crane company, said construction should occur this summer.

The warehouse will be just under 12,000 square feet and will be used to store spare parts and supplies. Lampson said it is a routine development meant to take advantage of land the company already owns.

Its adjacent to Lampsons manufacturing facility in Kennewick, so it made sense, she said.

Walmart renovation

The city of Kennewick authorized a commercial remodeling project for Walmart, 2720 S. Quillan St.

The work includes a $1 million update to the photo lab and grocery, fresh paint, signage and re-configuring the online grocery pickup service.

Its unclear when then work will begin.

Ben Franklin Transit

Ben Franklin Transit has begun construction on a $10 million, 17,000-square-foot office building to house operations functions at its administrative campus, 1000 Columbia Park Trail, Richland.

It will border the existing administration building to the west.

The project replaces the current operations building and includes new utilities, walkways, storm water facilities and is compliant with the access requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The project was put out for bid in January. Fowler Construction is the contractor.

Story continues

McCurley Subaru

McCurley Subaru, 9620 Sandifur Parkway, Pasco, is the first of two businesses proposing oil change shops in west Pasco.

McCurley plans a 9,000-square-foot addition to its existing dealership, according to documents submitted for SEPA review.

The city of Pasco determined the project will not have a significant environmental impact as long as it follows protocols if a cultural or historical artifact is discovered and it directs lighting toward the site and away from nearby Interstate 182.

Sandifur Phase II

Hogback Development is behind the second oil change shop planned in Pasco.

The shop will be built along with a coffee shop and an office/retail building at Hogbacks Sandifur development.

The vacant site is on the southwest corner of Three Rivers Drive and Road 68, according to documents being reviewed under SEPA.

Milan Estates subdivision

P&R Construction plans to create a 59-lot subdivision for single-family homes on a 10-acre site at 1904 Road 68 in Pasco, according to documents submitted for review under SEPA.

The property is south of Clark Road and the Columbia River Road/Taylor Flats Road fork.

East Pasco retail

John Fetterolf of JF Engineering in Kennewick submitted plans to grade a six-acre site on East Lewis Place in Pasco for future retail development.

The site is 1,800 feet east of the Lewis Place/Heritage Boulevard intersection and is called Clark Flat.

The SEPA review contemplates developing retail on pads on the property.

Madison Park North

David Swisher on behalf of Farm 2005 LLC submitted plans to create a 460-lot subdivision for single-family homes on a 132-acre site north of Burns Road in the Broadmoor area.

The proposal is under SEPA review.

As proposed, it will be constructed in phases over a period of 8 to 12 years, with construction expected to begin later this year or by early 2024.

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Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), on Wednesday held talks with the president of the Uruguayan House of Representatives, Sebastian Andujar, via video link.

Noting China has always attached great importance to the development of China-Uruguay relations, Zhao said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Uruguay further and take the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries as a new starting point to push forward bilateral relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Zhao said China appreciates Uruguay's firm adherence to the one-China principle and stands ready to strengthen political mutual trust with Uruguay, support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and respect each other's choice of development path.

He called on the two sides to promote mutual benefit and win-win results, achieve common development, and better align their development strategies within the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, deepen mutual learning among civilizations, and consolidate popular support for friendship between the two countries, Zhao said. "We should work together to strengthen multilateral cooperation and jointly cope with global challenges," Zhao added.

The NPC of China is willing to continue the tradition of friendship with Uruguay's National Congress, deepen exchanges between the top level of the legislature, special committees, friendship groups, and lawmakers, and timely approve and revise legal documents promoting bilateral cooperation; exchange experience on coordinated economic and social development, democracy and rule of law, and poverty eradication; and strengthen communication and cooperation in multilateral parliamentary organizations, Zhao said.

He introduced the development of China's whole-process people's democracy, and said that China is willing to work with Uruguay to advocate the promotion of the common values of mankind, practice true multilateralism, and work to make the global governance system more just and equitable.

Andujar said Uruguay firmly adheres to the one-China principle. He thanked China for its generous assistance in the most difficult time for Uruguay to fight the pandemic.

Uruguay hopes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries, so as to promote better understanding of each other between the two peoples, and common progress and development, Andujar added.


Soe Nandar Nwe, 7, wanted to become a teacher

"The earth shook," says cattle farmer Win Zaw, recalling the sunny morning last week when he heard a military aircraft approaching, and then an explosion.

He didn't think it was his village - Pa Zi Gyi in north-east Myanmar - that had been hit. But when he phoned his wife, he learnt that the military had bombed the place where villagers had gathered for a rare feast of curried noodles, rice and pork. Their seven-year-old daughter, Soe Nandar Nwe, had been among them.

He says he rushed to the site of the attack and tried looking for her among the carnage. "I searched for my daughter in the smoke, and through the charred remains. All I could think of was finding her."

He was looking for any sign of her favourite outfit - a white, floral dress that she wore that day. But he says he found no trace of her, or his mother-in-law who had been with her when the bomb fell.

Villagers later told the BBC that a military jet dropped a bomb where people had gathered for the meal, and then a helicopter gunship fired at the village for 20 minutes.

"I still can't believe it," Win Zaw says. "How could they have done this to defenceless, vulnerable little children?"

Two years after a coup plunged Myanmar into a civil war, the country's military rulers have increasingly taken to the skies to reduce resistance literally to ashes. Last Tuesday's attack, which killed 168 men, women and children, is among the deadliest so far. Last year, the military struck a school, killing several children, and later that month, a bombing of a concert killed about 50 people.

Between February 2021 and January 2023, there had been at least 600 air attacks by the military, according to a BBC analysis of data from the conflict-monitoring group Acled (Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project). The civil war has claimed thousands of lives, displaced some 1.4 million people and left nearly a third of the country's population in need of humanitarian aid. The United Nations has said the regime could be liable for crimes against humanity and war crimes.

Story continues

The attacks target villages that are thought to be aligned with the resistance, which now comprises ethnic armed groups; a loose network of local volunteer militias known as People's Defence Force or PDFs; and the exiled National Unity Government, which was formed after the coup.

In Pa Zi Gyi, the regime said it specifically targeted the village because it had opened an administrative office for the local PDF, which is affiliated to the NUG.

The attack destroyed the village of Pa Zi Gyi

The office and the feast to celebrate its opening were an unacceptable sign of the community's resistance.

For Soe Nandar Nwe, it was simply an opportunity to show off her favourite floral dress. The night before she had told her father how excited she was for the neighbourhood event.

"I've never called my daughter by her name, always daddy's sweetheart. And she loved me." One of their favourite things to do together, he says, was to take bike rides together, with her on the back seat, hugging him.

That night, Soe Nandar Nwe insisted on sleeping by her father's side. His last memory of her was when he kissed her before leaving for work the next morning. She was still sleeping.

Win Zaw says his daughter was a smart girl who wanted to be a teacher.

''She loved helping her friends study. We wanted her to grow up and achieve big things for the country because our country is going through a very difficult time."

Win Zaw imagined coming home that morning to loud music because the village had not celebrated even a wedding since the coup in 2021 that ousted Myanmar's elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

He was supposed to take his daughter to the feast, but she had been so excited to go that her mother dropped her off at the venue earlier than planned, with her grandmother.

They were inside a pandal or makeshift tent at the centre of the festivities when the attack began.

It was the first air strike on Pa Zi Gyi although the region, Sagaing, which is home to some of the fiercest resistance to military rule, has been subject to several such attacks.

Farmer Ye Naing also lost both his parents and his three-year-old daughter Hnin Yu Wai in the air strike.

That morning before the attack, Ye Naing helped his daughter apply thanakha or face paint made from tree bark, traditionally worn to celebrations.

She was among many children who had gathered for the feast before heading to school because meals like that have become a luxury in a country devastated by violence.

The bomb fell just as the children were eating, said Ye Naing, who sustained injuries from shrapnel.

"My daughter must not even have finished a small bowl of rice," he said. "My baby must not have had a cup of water."

"That day, it felt like the end of the world or worse than that. But I'm not afraid. This was inhumane and barbaric. As long as they are oppressing and killing innocent people. I will fight back, along with the people of the country," he said.

Ye Naing said his daughter was the darling of the village because she was friendly and thoughtful. When she saw him tired after a day's work, she would ask her mother to give him water and a snack.

Nearly every one of the 200-odd households in Pa Zi Gyi lost a loved one that day. Villagers say some survivors left their homes and went into hiding, fearing more attacks. Others are rattled by loud sounds, such as motorcycle engines.

"We are just poor farmers. Don't watch us being killed. How many more innocent lives need to be sacrificed before you take action?" Win Zaw said.

Addressing General Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the military government, he said: ''I will never forgive him."

Moe Myint is a journalist for the BBC Burmese Service based in London.

Read more of our coverage on the civil war in Myanmar
BANGKOK (AP)  Myanmars Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear appeals of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi's convictions and requests for reduced sentences in several cases in which she was charged with corruption, election fraud and violating the official secrets act, a legal official said.

Suu Kyi, 77, was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the military seized power from her elected government. She is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years after being found guilty in a series of politically driven prosecutions brought by the military.

Her supporters and independent legal experts say the cases are an attempt to discredit her and legitimize the militarys takeover, while preventing her from returning to politics.

A legal official familiar with Suu Kyis court cases said the Supreme Court has not yet set a date to hear the appeals and requests for reduced sentences but might do so in the next two months.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information about the decision. Suu Kyis lawyers, who had been a source of information about the proceedings, were served with gag orders in late 2021.

Suu Kyi has been convicted on a range of charges, including illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and seven other corruption matters. Most appeals filed by her lawyers on her behalf have already been rejected.

Wednesday's Supreme Court's decision was not publicly announced. Myanmar's justice system operates with little transparency, and all of Suu Kyi's trials were closed sessions.

The armys 2021 takeover was met with massive nonviolent resistance which was suppressed by the military with deadly force and has turned into a widespread armed struggle. The military-installed government has not allowed any outside person to meet with Suu Kyi since she was arrested despite international pressure for talks that could ease the countrys political crisis.

Story continues

At least 17,517 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, were being held as of Wednesday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps verified tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nations political conflict.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of a corruption case in which Suu Kyi was convicted of abusing her position and causing a loss of state funds by neglecting to heed financial regulations. She was sentenced in December to seven years in prison on five corruption charges for granting permission to Win Myat Aye, a Cabinet member in her former government, to hire, buy and maintain a helicopter.

It also agreed to hear a request for a reduced sentence in a case involving the countrys official secrets act. Suu Kyi received a three-year sentence last September after being convicted with Sean Turnell, an Australian economist, and three members of her Cabinet. An earlier appeal of the conviction in a lower court was rejected.

Turnell, who served as an adviser to Suu Kyi, and two of the convicted Cabinet members were released after being receiving amnesties. The most recent, Kyaw Win, a former minister of planning and finance, was among more than 3,000 prisoners freed on Monday to mark the traditional New Year holiday.

The Supreme Court also agreed to hear a request for a reduced sentence in election fraud convictions of Suu Kyi, ousted President Win Myint and the former minister of the presidents office, Min Thu. They each received three-year sentences last September.

Suu Kyis legal team has faced several handicaps, including being unable to meet with her to receive her instructions as they prepare her appeals. They have applied three times for permission to meet with Suu Kyi since they last saw her in person in December, but have not received any response, the legal official said. Prison regulations are supposed to allow every newly convicted prisoner to communicate with any person to arrange appeals.

However, prison superintendents are allowed to refuse permission for meetings if they think they would be against the public interest.
(Bloomberg) -- Myanmars Supreme Court has agreed to hear appeals by deposed leader Aung San Suu Kyi and former president Win Myint against their conviction on corruption and other charges, paving the way for a review of previous rulings.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Suu Kyi, 77, had appealed against seven charges related to the purchase of a helicopter, election fraud and violating the colonial-era Official Secrets Act, according to sources with direct knowledge of the matter, who requested not to be named. A similar petition by Win Myint was also allowed, but the court is yet to set a date to commence the hearing of their appeals, they said.

Suu Kyi faces a total 33 years in detention after being found guilty in an 18-month long series of trials. She has denied all the charges against her. If their appeals are upheld, Suu Kyis sentence will likely be reduced by 13 years and Win Myints by 10 years.

Major General Zaw Min Tun, lead spokesman for Myanmars ruling State Administration Council, did not comment on the courts decision but denied the rumors that Suu Kyi was moved from Naypyidaw Prison to her residence in the capital.

The development comes days after the junta announced the release of more than 3,000 prisoners as part of a New Year amnesty. It included pardons for 98 foreigners, but it wasnt clear if any of those to be freed were political prisoners.

Suu Kyi was overthrown in a 2021 coup after the military seized power alleging widespread fraud in a November 2020 election, in which her party won more than 80% of available seats. Independent election monitors found no major irregularities.

Since then some 3,400 civilians have been killed and more than 21,400 others have been arrested in a crackdown on pro-democracy movements. Four political prisoners, including a lawmaker close to Suu Kyi, were executed last July. More than 100 others have been sentenced to death, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Story continues

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

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A Myrtle Beach police cruiser was stolen over the weekend while the officer was investigating a vehicle that crashed into a downtown business, according to an incident report.

On Saturday, a little after 1 a.m., officers were called to Eds Hobby Shop on Main Street where a car hit the side of the business and caused damage.

Jacob Barr, the driver, had ran off the roadway while heading beach-bound. He was charged with driving under the influence and driving too fast, the report says.

When a Myrtle Beach police officer went back to the scene the following day, the officers cruiser was stolen while the officer was inside the business, another incident report says.

The cruiser was later located off Highway 501, near Canal Street. Video footage at the scene showed a man drive off in the vehicle.

Lee Livingston, 48, of Myrtle Beach, was arrested and charged with grand larceny, driving under suspension, pedestrian on highways and second-degree arson.

He remains incarcerated at the J Reuben Long Detention Center.
In this photo provided by Christopher Hayden, a light baby blue spiral appears amid the aurora for a few minutes in the Alaska skies near Fairbanks, on April 15, 2023. Christopher Hayden via AP

Photos and video show a mysterious, glowing spiral swirling across Alaska's night sky on Saturday.

It's likely a cloud of excess fuel from a SpaceX rocket launched earlier that day.

"SpaceX spirals" are rare, but they may be getting more common.

Mysterious, glowing blue spirals have appeared in the night sky several times in recent months, due to SpaceX rocket launches.

The most recent of these ghostly apparitions spun across the skies over Anchorage, Alaska on Saturday, during a display of the Northern Lights.

"I was totally bewildered," Todd Salat, a local aurora hunter who was watching the spectacle, told Insider in an email.

He shared the below timelapse of the mysterious spiral swirling across the sky before it dissipated.

It almost looks like a giant galaxy popped into existence nearby. But the reality is not so fantastical.

These spirals are "absolutely definitely no doubt at all" linked to SpaceX rocket launches, Jonathan McDowell, a Harvard astrophysicist, told Insider in an email.

In fact, some space observers have begun calling them "SpaceX spirals."

The spirals are probably residual fuel the rockets released during flight at a high altitude, where the fuel turns into ice, space physicist Don Hampton told the Associated Press.

"And if it happens to be in the sunlight, when you're in the darkness on the ground, you can see it as a sort of big cloud, and sometimes it's swirly," Hampton told the AP.

SpaceX spirals, jellyfish, and smoke rings may happen more often

This is the third time in the past year that a Falcon 9 rocket has appeared to produce a SpaceX spiral.

The apparition danced among the Northern Lights for a few minutes before dissipating, according to observers. That was about three hours after SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 from California's Vandenberg Space Force Base toward the North Pole.

The spiral sails through the aurora and over Donnelly Dome near Delta Junction, Alaska, on April 15, 2023 at 1:54 am local time. Todd Salat/AuroraHunter.com

A similar whirlpool spiral appeared over Hawaii in January, and the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan said at the time that it was probably linked to SpaceX as well.

Story continues

After a Florida launch in June 2022, a similar spiral was seen over Queenstown, New Zealand, The Washington Post reported.

"They have occasionally been seen in other contexts, particularly Russian missile defense tests," McDowell said.

The reason Falcon 9 keeps producing these spirals is that it fires its engines while deliberately "coning"  rolling in a cone-like shape  to waste fuel, according to McDowell. That happens when the rocket has more fuel than it will burn to push itself into a freefall back to Earth.

"Other rockets sometimes just vent the leftover propellant after the burn is done, but perhaps there isn't enough time to do this reliably on [Falcon 9]," McDowell said.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the company's Crew Dragon spacecraft launches at Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA/Bill Ingalls

Falcon 9 rockets have made other colorful and ethereal formations in the sky, too. The launch that could have produced the New Zealand spiral may have also created a "smoke ring" formation in the skies above the central US, according to SpaceWeather.com.

The SpaceX rocket is also known for the "space jellyfish" it often paints across the sky as it climbs through the atmosphere.

Sightings of SpaceX spirals and other sky art may be happening more often simply because Falcon 9 launches are happening more frequently than ever before. SpaceX completed 61 rocket launches in 2022, doubling its previous single-year record. On average, that's a launch every six days.

Elon Musk has said the company is aiming for up to 100 flights in 2023  nearly two launches per week. So there may be many more SpaceX spirals, smoke rings, and jellyfish to come.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The mysterious origins of two metal canisters found in a large mound of soil at a park in Washington, D.C., is under investigation, according to the National Park Service.

Part of Fort Totten Park, located on a Civil War defense site, is shut down over the discovery made by an NPS employee on April 18, the agency said in a news release.

The find caused the U.S. Army to respond and remove the canisters from the park, according to NPS.

The Army will investigate the canisters and any potential contents inside at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia, the release said.

The mound of soil containing the canisters looks like it had been pushed into the park from the road, according to NPS.

The agency urges people to stay away from areas of the park blocked off by the U.S. Park Police.

The park will remain partially closed out of an abundance of caution and until more research can be completed, NPS said.

Metal canister from WWI previously found at Fort Totten Park

In another area of Fort Totten Park, NPS found an empty metal canister from WWI on the ground while working on Fort Totten Trail east of the Metrorail Station in D.C. in July 2020, the agency said.

How the canister ended up in the park remains a mystery, according to NPS.

The canister was handed over to the Department of Defense so the agency could inspect whether it was an unexploded ordnance, according to NPS.

Ultimately, the Department of Defense determined it was unfused and unused and got rid of it, NPS said.

At the time, NPS didnt find any more canisters during a search of the parks trail area, according to the agency.

Fort Totten was built during the Civil War as a northern defense site and was fully constructed by 1863, according to NPS. It was named after the Chief Engineer of the U.S. Army, Brig. Gen. Joseph G. Totten.

The fort was equipped with 20 guns and mortars and a 100-pounder Parrott Rifle, according to the agency.

Archaeologist stumbles upon nine unexploded bombs in a field in Germany, police say

WWII rocket unearthed by man using excavator in Florida yard, cops say. He got lucky

Military explosive debris keeps washing up in Maryland, closing a beach, officials say
Last year, sea urchins in the Caribbean started getting sick  shedding their spines, dying off and throwing reef ecosystems into chaos. Now, scientists think theyve caught the killer in this marine murder mystery.

A tiny single-celled parasite is to blame for the massive die-off, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

The case is closed, said study author Mya Breitbart, a marine microbiologist at the University of South Florida.

These long-spined sea urchins, or Diadema antillarum, are prickly black creatures that hide out in reefs across the Caribbean. They play a key role as lawnmowers of the reef, Breitbart said, eating up the algae that grows on corals.

But in January 2022, these animals started showing strange symptoms  their sharp spines drooping and falling off, their suction-cup feet losing their grip  before dying off in droves, from the Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico to Florida.

Read: Mom warns parents that blue swimsuits put children at risk

For marine scientists, it was deja vu: Another die-off swept through the region in the 1980s and slashed sea urchin populations by around 98%.

That case was never solved. But this time, an international team of researchers jumped into action, taking samples from sick urchins and healthy ones across the Caribbean to look for genetic clues.

They didnt see signs of viruses or bacteria, said study author Ian Hewson, who researches marine diseases at Cornell University. But they did spot traces of tiny single-celled organisms called ciliates, which only showed up in the sick urchins.

Read: Facebooks $725M settlement could put money in your pocket

Though most ciliates dont cause disease, this kind has been linked with other aquatic outbreaks, making it a prime suspect, Hewson said.

To confirm theyd caught the killer, scientists placed the parasites in tanks with healthy urchins grown in captivity to see how theyd react. Out of 10 urchins who were pitted against the tiny creatures, 60% of them died  after showing the same symptoms researchers were seeing in the wild.

Story continues

Its possible that this same parasite also caused the die-off in the 1980s, but scientists cant be sure, Breitbart said.

Read: NASA says 660-pound satellite heading to Earth; chances low it will hit someone

And they havent figured out a way to treat the diseased urchins. But theyre hopeful that knowing the source of the die-offs will help conserve the reefs, especially once they learn more about how the parasites spread, Breitbart said.

These urchin deaths and other stresses have already transformed the reefs, added Don Levitan, a marine scientist at Florida State University who was not involved with the study.

Back before the first sea urchin die-off, Levitan recalled seeing reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands blanketed in the spiny creatures. Now, those reefs look much different  choked by algae, struck by coral disease and stressed out from rising temperatures.

Coral reefs in the Caribbean are in trouble, Levitan said. Were at a different place than we were 30, 40 years ago.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

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NEW YORK (AP)  Last year, sea urchins in the Caribbean started getting sick  shedding their spines, dying off and throwing reef ecosystems into chaos. Now, scientists think theyve caught the killer in this marine murder mystery.

A tiny single-celled parasite is to blame for the massive die-off, researchers reported Wednesday in the journal Science Advances.

The case is closed, said study author Mya Breitbart, a marine microbiologist at the University of South Florida.

These long-spined sea urchins, or Diadema antillarum, are prickly black creatures that hide out in reefs across the Caribbean. They play a key role as lawnmowers of the reef, Breitbart said, eating up the algae that grows on corals.

But in January 2022, these animals started showing strange symptoms  their sharp spines drooping and falling off, their suction-cup feet losing their grip  before dying off in droves, from the Virgin Islands to Puerto Rico to Florida.

For marine scientists, it was deja vu: Another die-off swept through the region in the 1980s and slashed sea urchin populations by around 98%.

That case was never solved. But this time, an international team of researchers jumped into action, taking samples from sick urchins and healthy ones across the Caribbean to look for genetic clues.

They didnt see signs of viruses or bacteria, said study author Ian Hewson, who researches marine diseases at Cornell University. But they did spot traces of tiny single-celled organisms called ciliates, which only showed up in the sick urchins.

Though most ciliates dont cause disease, this kind has been linked with other aquatic outbreaks, making it a prime suspect, Hewson said.

To confirm theyd caught the killer, scientists placed the parasites in tanks with healthy urchins grown in captivity to see how theyd react. Out of 10 urchins who were pitted against the tiny creatures, 60% of them died  after showing the same symptoms researchers were seeing in the wild.

Story continues

It's possible that this same parasite also caused the die-off in the 1980s, but scientists cant be sure, Breitbart said.

And they havent figured out a way to treat the diseased urchins. But theyre hopeful that knowing the source of the die-offs will help conserve the reefs, especially once they learn more about how the parasites spread, Breitbart said.

These urchin deaths and other stresses have already transformed the reefs, added Don Levitan, a marine scientist at Florida State University who was not involved with the study.

Back before the first sea urchin die-off, Levitan recalled seeing reefs in the U.S. Virgin Islands blanketed in the spiny creatures. Now, those reefs look much different  choked by algae, struck by coral disease and stressed out from rising temperatures.

Coral reefs in the Caribbean are in trouble, Levitan said. Were at a different place than we were 30, 40 years ago.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
Propagandist Skabeeva

Russia has cultivated multiple channels and proxies to spread disinformation  the intentional creation and sharing of false or manipulated information.

Read also: Propaganda machine preparing Russians for new wave of mobilization, warns Ukrainian military intelligence

One component of Russias disinformation is narrative laundering, where Russia promotes information from proxies, or unverified social media sources, which then permeates to more mainstream or state-run media.

The aim is to cloud the source of the information, making it easier for the Russian state to distance itself from the message, the ministry said in its daily summary.

Read also: Information Warfare Machine: How to Deal with Kremlin Fakes

It then promotes misleading fragments of the narrative, while masking its vested interest.

The agency emphasized that Russian state actors present manipulated narratives in both orchestrated and opportunistic ways.

Their current priorities almost certainly include discrediting the Ukrainian government and reducing international support for Ukraine, reads the report.

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
Natasha Rothwell is checking back in to The White Lotus.

EW has confirmed that the actress is returning for season 3 of the HBO comedy as Belinda, the spa manager who formed a fragile bond with Tanya (Jennifer Coolidge) during the first season. Rothwell shared her excitement on Twitter on Wednesday. "Belinda is back baby!!!" she wrote.

Belinda is back baby!!!  https://t.co/U3F5Q3uDwX  Natasha Rothwell (@natasharothwell) April 19, 2023

When viewers last saw Belinda, she was frustrated after Tanya strung her along with the idea to invest in her wellness practice only to leave her hanging, business plan in hand. Tanya decided that her new relationship with Greg (Jon Gries) was more important and that she needed to end her dependency on transactional relationships, so she left Belinda with some money as a consolation/goodbye gift. Belinda, feeling dejected, ended up throwing her business plan away.

Natasha Rothwell in 'The White Lotus'

Mario Perez/HBO Natasha Rothwell in 'The White Lotus'

Coolidge and Gries were the only original cast members to return for the series' Italy-set season 2, and their relationship took a dramatic turn. The intense season 2 finale revealed that the dead body discovered floating in the ocean in the premiere was none other than Tanya. After Greg bailed early on in their vacation, Tanya fell in with a wealthy English charmer and his entourage who whisked her to Palermo to wine and dine her. It turned out, however, that the men were working with Greg to kill Tanya and steal her fortune  the prenup he signed states that he only inherits her money in the event of her death. Tanya became aware of the plan thanks to her assistant, Portia (Haley Lu Richardson), who tipped her off. Tanya valiantly fought back against the conmen, shooting several of them before accidentally falling off the yacht to her death.

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Does Belinda's return have anything to do with the events of season 2? Did Portia fill authorities in on what she knows about Tanya's suspicious death? If so, Greg's claim on Tanya's money could be refuted. Perhaps some of her fortune will find its way to Belinda, who could very well be spending Tanya's money as a guest at a White Lotus resort or as the owner of her own wellness practice that the guests frequent. Or maybe Belinda's return is something much simpler  a transfer, perhaps, to another White Lotus location after her experience with Tanya in Hawaii.

Rothwell's role in the first season earned her a nomination for best supporting actress in a limited or anthology series at the 2022 Emmys. The series will now compete in the drama categories, however, since it has continued with returning characters (it was originally meant to be a one-off season).

Wanna take a road trip? Join John Leguizamo for Leguizamo Does America, a new six-part series celebrating Latino culture airing Sundays at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT on MSNBC. Find out more!

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Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a group photo with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba and his wife Sylvia Bongo Ondimba before the talks between Xi and Bongo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, on Wednesday.

Calling President Bongo "an old friend" of the Chinese people, Xi said President Bongo is the first African head of state he hosts after being reelected as the Chinese president, which fully demonstrates the importance and high level of the China-Gabon relations.

In recent years, under the leadership of President Bongo, Gabon has been exploring a development path tailored to its national conditions and pursuing national stability and economic diversification. Significant achievements have been made in national development, Xi said.

Xi commended that Gabon has also been promoting the regional integration process and mediating hotspot issues in Africa.

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. [Photo/Xinhua]

Gabon has held a successful One Forest Summit and taken over as the President of the Economic Community of Central African States not long ago, Xi said, noting that Gabon's influence in the region and beyond has grown markedly.

As a sincere friend of Gabon, China wishes the country still greater progress in all its endeavors and early realization of its strategic goal toward an Emerging Gabon, said the Chinese president.

President Xi noted the 50th anniversary of China-Gabon diplomatic relations to be celebrated next year. Over the last half-century, thanks to the commitment and guidance of generations of leaders on both sides, the China-Gabon friendship has stayed rock-firm as ever, Xi said.

In a world undergoing profound changes, China and Gabon have supported each other in advancing their shared interests and upholding international fairness and justice. The strong and sustained growth of the bilateral ties serves the shared long-term interests of both countries and has an exemplary role to play in building a community with a shared future for mankind, said Xi.





President Xi proposed the elevation of the comprehensive cooperative partnership between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership."
Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Michael Gilday on Tuesday defended a nonbinary officer from Republican criticism at a Senate Armed Services committee hearing.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) said during the hearing he had a lot of problems with a video on the Navys social media last week in which a nonbinary junior officer, Lt. j.g. Audrey Knutson, said the coolest thing about their deployment aboard the USS Gerald R. Ford last year was reading during an LGBTQ spoken-word poetry night.

Tuberville said he hopes officers are trained to prioritize their sailors, not themselves and asked Gilday whether it surprised him that the junior officers highlight was about herself and her own achievement.

The navy chief countered that hes particularly proud of the sailor.

Her grandfather served during World War II, and he was gay and he was ostracized in the very institution that she not only joined and is proud to be a part of, but she volunteered to deploy on Ford and shell likely deploy again next month when Ford goes back to sea, Gilday said.

The Navy asks people from all of the country, from all walks of life, from all different backgrounds to join, and commanding officers have to build a cohesive war-fighting team based on trust, dignity and respect, he noted.

That level of trust that a commanding officer develops across that unit has to be grounded on dignity and respect, the navy chief added. And so, if that officer can lawfully join the United States Navy, is willing to serve, and willing to take the same oath that you and I took to put their life on the line, then Im proud to serve beside them.

Tuberville parried that the problem that Im having is the obsession with race, gender, sex and knocked what he perceived as a focus on self over team.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) shared the video on Twitter and wrote, While China prepares for war this is what they have our @USNavy focused on.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Washington Morrow never made it to trial after he and his older brother Nelson were arrested on arson charges in August 1869 and taken to the Hillsborough jail.

The charges against the Black farmworkers were dubious, according to Deborah-Patrice Hamlin, who will talk about their story at a May 6 event at the Orange County Courthouse.

Masked Ku Klux Klansmen took Washington and Nelson Morrow from the jail on Aug. 7, 1869, and shot them. Washington Morrow died from his wounds a few days later. His brother survived, but Morrows father and his uncle were lynched just two months later.

They and others will be honored April 29 with a soil-collection ceremony at the Orange County Courthouse on Margaret Lane in Hillsborough. A Community Remembrance Project marker is also planned for the front lawn of the Old Orange County Courthouse.

The Orange County commissioners voted unanimously last year to erect the marker and issue a resolution apologizing for the deaths of five men killed in acts of lynching and racial terror during Reconstruction.

The apology calls out the countys sheriff, judges and other elected officials, because they did not attempt to stop the lynchings or prosecute the killers, violating their oaths of office.

Washington Morrows name was left off that list, but on Tuesday, the commissioners voted unanimously without comment to rectify the oversight.

Orange County, NC lynching victims

The nonprofit Equal Justice Initiative has cataloged more than 6,000 racial terror lynchings in 12 Southern states between 1865 and 1950, but historians and others have said that estimate is far too low.

In North Carolina, more than 173 Black people were officially lynched following the Civil War, according to the A Red Record project at UNC-Chapel Hill. Countless more have been forgotten.

The justice initiative is providing Orange County and other communities with the markers, which cost about $500 to install and will be replaced at no charge if the originals are vandalized or damaged, county officials have said. A marker also is planned for Carrboro Town Hall.

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A jar of soil was gathered from the ground in 2019 near where a white mob lynched Manley McCauley over 120 years earlier. The 18-year-old Black man was memorialized during a private ceremony hosted by the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition.

Other lynching victims who will be honored are:

 Jefferson Morrow and Daniel Morrow: Orange County farmer Jefferson Morrow and his brother-in-law Daniel Morrow were accused of burning a barn and insulting women. They were taken from their homes near Hillsborough on Oct. 14, 1869, by a mob of masked Klansmen on horseback and hanged.

 Wright Malone: Accused of making certain remarks to a white girl, he was abducted on Sept. 6, 1869, by four white men while working with his father at the familys coal kiln. Woods was hanged near the banks of the Little River, where his body was later found with a note attached to his foot that read: If the law will not protect virtue, the rope will.

 Cyrus Guy: The 20-year-old Afro-Indigenous farmer grew up in a family that gained its freedom before the Civil War, but on Dec. 2, 1869, Guy was seized from his familys farm by a mob of Klansmen. He was hanged near the present day intersection of Faucette Mill and Lebanon roads.

 Manly McCauley: The 18-year-old Black man was seized after eloping with a married white woman who lived near Carrboro. McCauley was hanged from a dogwood tree on Oct. 30, 1898, near Hatch and Old Greensboro roads. Four white men were tried and acquitted of his murder.

A marker memorializing the victims of racial terror lynchings will be erected on this southeast corner of the Orange County Historical Courthouse in Hillsborough.

Apologies, reparations for Black residents

A soil-collection event, hosted by the Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition, will be held from 1 to 4 p.m. April 29 in the Battle Courtroom of the Orange County Courthouse. The event will honor five lynching victims; a private ceremony was held for Manly McCauley in 2019.

The April 29 event will also include proclamations, a libation ceremony for those killed  pouring out liquid or grains to honor the dead  and a presentation to their descendants.

The group is collecting two jars of soil from each of the sites where a victim is thought to have been murdered. One jar will remain in Orange County. The other will be sent to the EJI Legacy Museum in Alabama, where it be displayed beside jars representing McCauley and lynching victims from other states.

Other communities have had similar conversations, while others have wrestled with the history of white violence, including in Durham, where the City Council in 2020 called for a federal reparations program, a universal basic income, federal or federally funded living-wage jobs, and a federal minimum wage of $15 an hour to start.

Asheville and Buncombe County elected leaders also have supported reparations for Black residents.

In Raleigh, The News & Observer reported this week that Mayor Mary-Ann Baldwin twice delayed discussing a resolution that could include an apology from the city for how it treated Black people in the past. The issue arose as a local Quaker group was working with the citys Human Relations Commission to address the reparative justice issue.

The N&O cited public documents that showed Baldwin asked a staff member to remove names from a public comment list if they wanted to speak about reparative justice, and later requested that the city attorney review the reparative justice issue before letting the Human Relations Commission examine the issue.

Baldwin has denied asking to have names removed from the public comment list, and told The N&O that she was only asking the city attorney for legal advice.

The Orange Report

Calling Chapel Hill, Carrboro and Hillsborough readers! Check out The Orange Report, a free weekly digest of some of the top stories for and about Orange County published in The News & Observer and The Herald-Sun. Get your newsletter delivered straight to your inbox every Thursday at 11 a.m. featuring links to stories by our local journalists. Sign up for our newsletter here. For even more Orange-focused news and conversation, join our Facebook group "Chapel Hill Carrboro Chat."
Five years ago, state Sen. Jay Chaudhuri introduced the Hate Crimes Prevention Act for the first time. In his eyes, the bill was a natural response to the rise in hate crimes happening across the country: the murder of three Muslim Americans in Chapel Hill, the murder of an Indian American engineer in Kansas, the killing of a counter-protester at the Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville.

The bill didnt budge.

In 2019, he filed it again. Still nothing.

He filed it a third time in 2021, after six Asian Americans were killed in Atlanta. The bill never even received a hearing.

Undeterred, hes filed the bill again this year, hoping against hope that it will make progress in North Carolinas Republican-controlled General Assembly.

The purpose of Chaudhuris bill is an important one: to shore up the states relatively weak hate crime statute. Hate crimes are only classified as a misdemeanor in North Carolina and therefore carry a relatively light penalty. Local law enforcement agencies are not required to track or report hate crime statistics, making it difficult to gauge the true scope of hate crimes across the state. Moreover, North Carolina is in the minority of states  one of about a dozen  where sexual orientation and gender identity are not considered a protected category.

The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would change all of that. In addition, it would create a statewide database for tracking hate crimes and implement training for law enforcement and prosecutors on how to handle hate crimes.

The absence of a hate crime designation for sexual orientation and gender identity is especially significant, given the recent increase in threats to the LGBTQ+ community. North Carolina was tied with Texas for the most anti-drag protests, threats and attacks in the nation, according to a report released last year. Charlotte has been listed as one of the worst cities for violence against trans women; several Black trans women have been killed in Charlotte since 2016.

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But LGBTQ+ people arent the only community under attack. In recent months, antisemitic incidents have been on the rise in North Carolina. Antisemitic flyers have been distributed in neighborhoods, swastikas have been displayed in public places and Jewish communal leaders say they have received direct threats.

It seems straightforward  and opposition to hate crimes shouldnt be a partisan issue. So why do Republicans oppose tougher legislation? Chaudhuri said hes never seen a formal response from Republican leadership as to why they dont support the bill. Rep. Nasif Majeed, who has introduced the same bill in the House nearly every session, noted that the legislature has increased the penalty for assaulting police officers to send a message of support to law enforcement, but it refuses to act on hate crime legislation.

Representatives for House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader Phil Berger did not respond to my request for comment on this issue.

Chaudhuri did point to Rep. Dan Bishop, who recently opposed an amendment in Congress that would declare support for federal action against hate crimes. Bishop said the amendment seemed to be advocating for wokeism.

While North Carolina lags on hate crime protections, its neighbors have taken action. In 2019, Tennessee became the first southern state with hate crime protections for transgender people. Even South Carolina, long one of the only states with no hate crime statute whatsoever, is making progress toward legislation that creates harsher penalties for hate crimes  and includes both sexual orientation and gender.

The rise of hate crimes and hate groups in our state can really tear at the fabric of our democracy, Chaudhuri said. Its just important for us to pass this bill to make sure that diverse communities feel welcomed and protected in our state as it is about really protecting and preserving our democracy.

Its a shame that North Carolina Republicans dont seem to view that as a worthy cause.
Sixty-four percent of Democrats believe Senator Dianne Feinstein (D., Calif.) should resign amid her recent health issues that have left her absent from the Senate for weeks, according to a new YouGov/Economist poll.

The poll, which was conducted between April 15 and 18, found 65 percent of Americans believe Feinstein should resign after being told she has been absent from Congress for more than a month for medical reasons.

The 89-year-old senator has missed weeks of work since being diagnosed with shingles in March. Feinstein recently requested that Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer ask the Senate to allow another Democratic senator to temporarily fill her role as Judiciary Committee chair. Feinsteins absence has paralyzed the committee, leaving Democrats unable to advance judicial nominees to a vote by the full chamber without her vote.

However, Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell has said Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporary absent colleague off the committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees.

Forty-one percent of Americans said old age hurts members of Congress by making their work more difficult, according to the YouGov/Economist poll. Just 19 percent said age helps by bringing wisdom and experience. Twenty-four percent said age does not make a difference.

Fifty-four percent of Democrats have a favorable view of Feinstein, while 23 percent have an unfavorable view. Of Democrats who believe old age brings wisdom and experience to members of Congress, a whopping 74 percent still say Feinstein should retire.

The calls for her to retire do not appear to be motivated by dislike for her, or a partisan desire to drive the powerful Democrat out of Congress, the pollster said in a news release, pointing to results from the survey showing even 64 percent of people who have a strongly or somewhat favorable opinion of her agree she should resign.

Of those who have a strongly or somewhat unfavorable view of the senator, 78 percent believe she should resign.

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The 89-year-old senator said earlier this year that she would not seek reelection in 2024 after serving more than 30 years in the Senate. The prospect of an early retirement has yielded mixed reviews from Democrats.

Democratic Representatives Ro Khanna of California and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Jamaal Bowman of New York have called on Feinstein to resign.

Shes had a very long and stellar career, you know, but missing that many votes, stopping us from moving forward with our judge nominations, Bowman said.

However, Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D., N.Y.) and Tammy Baldwin (D., Wis.) have come to Feinsteins defense and suggested it is within her right to decide when to step away.

Shes a team player, and shes an extraordinary member of the Senate, Gillibrand said during a recent interview on CNNs State of the Union on Sunday. Its her right. Shes been voted by her state to be senator for six years. She has the right, in my opinion, to decide when she steps down.

I think that is really an important, a responsible thing to do during her absence, because we have President Bidens nominees waiting for hearings and votes and we want to keep that moving. But I wish her well and hope she returns to the Senate very soon, Baldwin said during an appearance on Meet the Press.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday that Feinsteins decision is hers to make. One day earlier, Jean-Pierre said it was flat wrong for Republicans to block Feinsteins request to be temporarily replaced on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

It is flat wrong to seek partisan advantage from health issues of a colleague, she said. The American people reject that kind of scorched-earth type of behavior or approach to governing.

When it comes to the future, her future, that is something that she gets to make and should be allowed to do that, Jean-Pierre said.

More from National Review
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday to allow people to carry concealed guns in the state without a permit, just as national attention has ramped up over gun violence in the wake of several mass shootings, including the killing last month of six people at a Tennessee school.

Despite opponents filibustering the bill for 14 hours over three rounds of debate this session, lawmakers voted 33-14 to pass the so-called constitutional carry bill.

The bill does not usurp the federal requirement for a background check to buy a gun, and those with a history of crime or mental health issues that bar them from possessing a gun would still be barred under the Nebraska bill. But it allows eligible people to carry guns hidden in their clothing or vehicle without having to pay for a government permit or take a gun safety course, which is currently required. It also overrides stricter gun laws in the states cities, including in the states largest city of Omaha, which requires a conceal carry license for anyone carrying a gun in a car  even if the gun is in open view.

The bill was opposed by the cities of Omaha and Lincoln, where the majority of gun violence occurs, and their police chiefs, who have said the measure will make their cities less safe.

Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon  the bills conservative sponsor who has tried since 2017 to pass it  expressed frustration with the yearslong opposition to it and said his sole purpose was to ensure Nebraskans are afforded their constitutional right to carry guns.

But Brewer, an Army combat veteran who was shot several times during a firefight with the Taliban in 2003, also said he understood that the subject of gun regulation is not an easy thing.

If you're on the receiving end of a bullet, ... you understand how that can change and impact lives, he said.

The lawmaker most vocal in her opposition to the bill has been Lincoln Sen. Jane Raybould, who pleaded with lawmakers to block the measure. She noted Wednesday that Thursday will be the 24th anniversary of the Columbine High School mass shooting in Colorado that killed 13.

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We talk about gun rights, Raybould said. What about the rights of all those adults and children gunned down?

The bill's passage drew an emotional response from gun control advocates who filled the north balcony of the legislative chamber for Wednesday's final debate. One woman stood and yelled Shame! several times at lawmakers until she was escorted out by security.

The public debate on guns in America has run hot since the March 24 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, in which three 9-year-old students and three adults were killed. But such high-profile shootings seem to only enhance the nations political polarization on guns.

Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, has said he will sign the Nebraska bill into law, and it will go into effect about 90 days after he does. Nebraska then will be the 26th state to allow people to carry concealed guns without a permit. North Dakota allows concealed carry of a gun only by eligible North Dakota residents within that states boundaries.

Nebraska already allows gun owners to carry firearms in public view, as long as they dont have a criminal record that bars them from possessing one and arent in a place  including churches, courthouses and private businesses  where guns are prohibited. Currently, to legally conceal a gun, Nebraska residents are required to submit to a Nebraska State Patrol background check, get fingerprinted and take a gun safety course at their own expense.
Officers in Missouri found a woman and her adult son dead inside a home after a neighbor heard gunshots, according to police and media reports.

Police were sent to the Springfield home around 4 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, when a caller heard possible gunshots, police said in a news release.

When they arrived, they found a 33-year-old and 62-year-old dead with gunshot wounds, according to the Springfield Police Department.

The woman, of Springfield, was the mother of the man, police told KY3 and the Springfield Daily Citizen.

An investigation revealed the deaths were a murder-suicide. Police said the man, of Harrison, Arkansas, fatally shot his mother before shooting himself.

Police said its detectives are continuing to investigate. Anyone with information is asked to contact Springfield police at 417-864-1810.

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By Gopal Sharma

KATHMANDU (Reuters) - Nepal's President Ram Chandra Paudel was flown on Wednesday to the Indian capital of New Delhi to seek advanced treatment for chest and abdominal problems at a premier government hospital, officials said.

Vice President Ram Sahaya Yadav will stand in for Paudel while he is away, presidential spokesperson Sagar Acharya said.

Paudel, 78, spent five days this month in the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) in the Nepali capital of Kathmandu, after complaining of a chest problem.

He was taken to the hospital again on Tuesday with the same problem.

This time, Nepali doctors and family members decided he should be sent to the state-run All-India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), for "better and advanced treatment", Baikuntha Thapaliya, a spokesperson for the Nepali hospital, told Reuters.

One of Paudel's aides, Kiran Pokhrel, said he was taken to India by an air ambulance on Wednesday morning.

Paudel, a senior leader of the Nepali Congress party, was elected as the Himalayan nation's third president in March amid a bitter crisis in the then-ruling coalition.

The coalition split after Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, a former Maoist rebel leader, supported Paudel - an opposition candidate - for the post.

His election led to the formation of a new coalition between Dahal's Maoist Centre party and the centrist Nepali Congress party.

Paudel had been treated for chest and abdomen problems in recent years.

Nepalis, including politicians, often travel to India for medical treatment as their southern neighbour can offer better medical facilities than Nepal.

(Reporting by Gopal Sharma; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel fields questions at the end of a public information workshop in Traverse City on Friday, April 14.

TRAVERSE CITY  As her office endures criticism for refusing to release documents related to the Whitmer kidnapping plot trial, the Lee Chatfield investigation and other controversies, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel continues to hold public forums across the state on the need for improved government transparency.

"The people deserve to know what we are doing and how we are doing it," Nessel told a crowded room at the Traverse Area District Library on Friday, April 14, as she spoke about the importance of reforming the outdated parts of the Freedom of Information Act and the Open Meetings Act  two pieces of legislation crucial in facilitating greater public oversight.

More: Michigan AG calls for transparency  but keeps key records secret in high-profile cases

More: Michigan attorney general joins investigation of ex-speaker Lee Chatfield

Michigan's FOIA, enacted in 1977, is a series of laws designed to ensure the public has access to public records of government bodies at all state levels, according to the National Freedom of Information Coalition. The Michigan Open Meetings Act legislates the methods by which public meetings  defined as any gathering of a quorum of a public body with the intention of deliberation or deciding on public matters  are conducted.

Michigan is one of only two states in the nation that exempts the governor's office from FOIA, with the judiciary also exempt, in addition to prior AG offices opining the exempt status of the state legislature, according to Nessel.

Along with eight other states, The Center for Public Integrity gave Michigan a failing grade.

The event on April 14 was sponsored by the Michigan Press Association and the Traverse City Record-Eagle. During it, Nessel gave a crash course to the packed audience in a little over an hour.

Eric VanDussen, a Benzie County-based freelance journalist and videographer who's been vocal about allowing the public to see court exhibits connected to the Whitmer kidnapping plot, attended and attempted to question the attorney general on her rationale for not releasing documents related to the trial.

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Nessel refused to engage with VanDussen. "With all due respect, you have a lawsuit against me so I am going to decline to answer that question right now," she said. "But will be happy to respond in court."

Nessel's office obtained a court order to keep select Antrim County documents secret, even after they were introduced as evidence in open court during a preliminary examination.

Following in the footsteps of her predecessors, Attorney General Nessel has been holding FOIA workshops since she was first elected in 2019.

As recently reported by the Detroit Free Press, "The state produced approximately 100 exhibits during a preliminary exam last summer for five men accused in the Whitmer case. According to the Traverse City Record-Eagle, those exhibits included video clips recorded by an undercover officer and a dash camera as some defendants surveilled the governors vacation home near Elk Rapids; transcripts of phone calls between some defendants and undercover officers, and screenshots of texts and private social media messages.

"Both the Record-Eagle and VanDussen filed Freedom of Information Act requests for the documents with the Attorney Generals office. Those requests were denied: the AG claimed the documents constituted attorney-work product that was exempt from FOIA."

The five Antrim County defendants accused of assisting in the foiled kidnapping plot of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer were originally twins Michael and William Null, 40, of Plainwell and Shelbyville, respectively; Shawn Fix, 40, of Belleville; Brian Higgins, 53, of Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin; and Eric Molitor, 38, of Cadillac. Higgins recently accepted a plea deal. All were part of a larger 14-person operation.

In her presentation, Nessel referenced the ongoing "major" investigation of former state representative Lee Chatfield and her office's refusal to release search warrants related to it.

"When you are continuing to use search warrants as part of the active investigation and the media publishes them, it compromises the active investigation," she said.

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel speaks to a packed house during a workshop in Traverse City.

Despite apparent backlash, Nessel continues to follow in the footsteps of her predecessors and conduct FOIA/OMA forums with the purpose of educating local citizens, reporters and public officials about the legislative details, a thing she's done since she was newly elected in 2019.

"There is no doubt that our state has to do better when it comes to transparency," Nessel told the audience. "It's all about transparency."

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Nessel's calls for stronger FOIA and OMA legislation were strengthened after an investigation into happenings in Ottawa County in West Michigan. After the county commission added several last-minute items to its agenda during its inaugural meeting with a far-right majority, Nessel announced an investigation into whether commissioners discussed their plans prior to the meeting.

Nessel said, while commissioners didn't technically violate OMA because they weren't yet sworn into office, in the future, government entities shouldn't be able to follow in their footsteps.

After review, theres no question that there were things that occurred involving this county commission that were really disturbing, Nessel told The Holland Sentinel.

Nessel added she plans to request to testify before the Michigan Legislature to hold Ottawa County up as an example of a real-world application of what happens when you have an OMA thats so broad and, in many ways, big, that it allows for a real lack of transparency where the whole purpose is to ensure that transparency is there.

 Contact reporter Annie Doyle at 231-675-0099 or adoyle@charlevoixcourier.com

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Nessel talks strengthening government transparency, but defends her own denials
Netflix and other big streaming services like to tout that they have something for everyone in their programming offering. Well, the same can be said about the global streamers first-quarter results and managements outlook late on April 18 following much Wall Street talk about the companys password-sharing crackdown and launch of an advertising tier.

Reporting earnings and other figures for the first time since Reed Hastings moved from the co-CEO to the executive chairman role, Netflix started the year by adding 1.75 million subscribers during the January-March quarter, bringing its global subscriber count to 232.5 million. It was also the first quarter since the streamer stopped providing guidance for subscriber numbers, instead focusing on revenue. And management said that it would be forging ahead with its account-sharing crackdown, which rolled out in Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain in February, with the U.S. having its turn beginning in the second quarter.

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Minutes into Wednesdays trading session, Netflix shares were down 3.7 percent at $321.32.

With much to digest for Wall Street, analysts got a chance to dig deeper into data points supporting their bull or bear arguments, or dissect both. Most experts didnt come away with their minds, or stock ratings, changed. A couple of them upgraded their stock price target though.

For example, Pivotal Research Group analyst Jeffrey Wlodarczak reiterated his buy rating on Netflix, while boosting his stock price target by $25 to $425 in a report entitled Unique Growth Story.

Mainly driven by management commentary around content spend being lower than our relatively conservative expectations, we raised our earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and free cash flow forecasts, which led to the price target increase, Pachter noted. Netflix represents a frankly unique tech growth story and remains well positioned to generate solid subscriber and revenue/free cash flow growth even given a potential global recessionary environment via their better monetization of the approximate 100-plus million households that currently utilize Netflix outside of the paying household via password sharing.

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Bank of Americas Jessica Reif Ehrlich reiterated a buy rating and a $410 price target, noting: we believe Netflix is poised to outperform driven by three main catalysts: (1) still significant subscriber runway; (2) ramping of its AVOD offering and (3) upside from password sharing crackdown.

Guggenheim analyst Michael Morris maintained his buy rating and $375 price target on Netflixs stock following the earnings update in a report whose title could also be read as a reference to the streamers series Beef, which has drawn acclaim but also made headlines with a resurfaced controversy involving a co-star: Beef? Bulls, Bears Collide on Mixed Quarter, Initiative Progress.

Guidance for second-quarter revenue, operating income and paid net adds came in below consensus, bolstering the bear case, Morris explained. That said, there were multiple bullish indicators as well, led by a more aggressive second-quarter paid sharing rollout following limited membership disruption and quick revenue accretion from the launch in Canada in the first quarter. In addition, the recently launched Basic With Ads tier average revenue per member (ARM) is already ahead of the subscription-only standard plan in the U.S. ($15.49 price point), building confidence in a sustainable contribution to revenue acceleration. Managements upward guidance revision for free cash flow also offset second-quarter guidance concerns, Morris noted.

Steven Cahall, analyst at Wells Fargo, also stuck to his overweight rating on Netflix with a $400 price target. Paid Sharing Is Caring, he entitled his report.

Netflix continues to evolve by driving revenue higher through new channels, the analyst argued. This will provide a bigger base to eventually restart content growth, potentially including new genres (e.g. live). Theres a high interest in investment, but margins and cash should ramp nicely, too.

While paid sharing will create some second-quarter revenue/net add noise, we see Netflix accelerating to double-digit revenue growth with margin expansion and a nice free cash flow ramp ahead, he concluded, adding that Netflix was still attractive to grind higher.

Cahall also shared his take on Netflixs new business initiatives, calling himself bullish on both the password-sharing crackdown and ad tier outlook. Addressing the firms focus on converting free riders to paying users, the expert highlighted: In Canada, which is the best U.S. proxy, subs and revenue are already back to or above par after the initial churn reaction. We think this bodes well for U.S and Europe to accelerate revenue in the second half (of 2023) and beyond.

Cahall previously forecast that Netflixs 2023 and 2024 ad revenue could hit $1.5 billion and $4.3 billion, respectively. And he was encouraged by managements latest updates, noting: Netflix says ad tier engagement is running ahead of plan, content is nearly at parity with ad-free and total ad tier average revenue per user (ARPU) is scaling well.

Evercore ISI analyst Mark Mahaney, who maintained his outperform rating and $400 stock price target on Netflix, is similarly optimistic, entitling his report Night Agent Should Be Here Soon.

He had upgraded the stock in mid-September, calling the launch of Netflixs ad tier and pushback against password-sharing constituted major growth curve initiatives  catalysts that could drive a material reacceleration in revenue and earnings per share growth.

So where does the company stand on that right now? The first-quarter earnings per share results provided only modest evidence of this, Mahaney acknowledged, calling the latest figures mixed, before highlighting: Netflix exited 2022 growing 10 percent excluding foreign exchange (impacts), with full-year operating margins of 18 percent and $1.6 billion in full-year free cash flow. We now see Netflix exiting 2023 growing close to 15 percent-plus ex-foreign exchange, with full-year operating margins of close to 20 percent, generating over $3.5 billion in free cash flow and buying back stock. The Evercore ISI analysts takeway: Fundamentals are clearly and materially improving.

Echoing Cahall, he also noted two bullish data points. First, Mahaney lauded the company for its ad tier having higher average revenue per user than its standard plan, which means Netflix has ramped up advertising monetization much faster than expected  now the challenge is getting the signups. Second, Canadas paid membership base is now larger than prior to the first-quarter password-sharing (crackdown) rollout in that market and its revenue growth has accelerated, he noted. That means that the second quarters broader password-sharing crackdown will almost certainly be materially accretive by the third quarter, the Evercore ISI expert concluded.

TD Cowen analyst John Blackledge also didnt see any need to change his rating or stock price target, maintaining his outperform and $440 target.

The expert mentioned management guidance that second-quarter subscriber net adds would be roughly similar to first-quarter levels, below estimates and reflecting paid sharing timing, but not surprising for most Street observers. Blackledge also highlighted content strength, writing that first-quarter subscriber growth of 1.75 million beat our and consensus (estimates) of 1.45 million and 1.38 million due in part to a strong content slate that included returning original titles, such as Outer Banks, You and Murder Mystery 2, as well as new series, such as The Night Agent and Full Swing.

MoffettNathanson analyst Michael Nathanson did, however, update his target on Netflix shares on Wednesday. He lowered his 2023 estimates for revenue and earnings, but increased his free cash flow forecast. Overall, he maintained his neutral market perform rating, but raised his stock price target by $35 to $350, citing the results of his price-to-earnings valuation methodology.

However, Nathanson issued a warning: The in-line (first) quarter (results) should worry folks about what could happen in the second quarter. To that point, in the second quarter, we now forecast Netflix will add 1.7 million global subscribers, roughly in line with the first-quarter mark, or a 1.1 million (downward) revision from our prior estimate.

The MoffettNathanson expert highlighted in that context that the second quarter has always been a dicey quarter with historic bouts of negative sub adds. Nathanson also underlined the importance of the password-sharing crackdown working out, writing: The monetization of Netflixs 100 million global password-sharing households better work, as it underpins the (revenue) reacceleration driving our second-half 2023 estimates.

Tim Nollen, analyst at Macquarie, similarly has a neutral rating with a $350 price target on the streamer. Netflix is entering a very interesting period where observers are likely to focus on subscriber numbers and the revenue impact of these key moves, he wrote, warning: The second quarter could, therefore, be tricky before evidence of success emerges in the third quarter, if all goes well.

Morgan Stanley analyst Benjamin Swinburne, meanwhile, maintained his equal weight rating and $350 stock price target, summarizing investors take on Netflix this way in the title of his report: Delayed & Debated.

A one quarter delay in paid sharing leads to lower revenue expectations offset by lower cash content spending, he wrote. Paid sharing and the ad tier appear to be delivering at the micro level. But their ability to deliver the robust expectations ahead and support Netflix premium multiple remains unresolved.

Big Netflix bear Matthew Harrigan, analyst at The Benchmark Company, also continues to have big doubts about the streamer. In a report entitled Market Still Cutting Netflix Ample Slack for Second-Half 2023 Acceleration, he maintained his sell rating with a $250 stock price target.

Benefits from getting free-ride Netflix viewers to either sign up for their own accounts or incur incremental charges for associated member accounts are only gradually materializing with some likely third-quarter benefit, Harrigan wrote. Benefits and grumbling related to password sharing crackdown will diffuse throughout 2023.

Netflixs latest set of results also drew commentary from analysts beyond Wall Street. Netflix subscriber growth shows that the streaming wars are still on. With 1.7 million subscriber adds, the company is ahead of where it was this time last year but still clearly facing the pressure from all the players in this crowded space, argued Third Bridge analyst Jamie Lumley.

Commenting on Netflixs news that its ad tier was generating higher ARPU than its non-ad plan, he shared: Weve heard from our experts that each user could be generating up to $5-$6 on top of the subscription, which shows why Netflix is confident in the economics of this offering. That said, he also shared words of caution. However, it seems that the ad plan has been slow out of the gates since launching in November, Lumley said. With no mention of its old target of 40 million subscribers a year, our experts have highlighted that a target of 10-20 million at most is more realistic.

PP Foresight analyst Paolo Pescatore also came away with the view that Netflixs first-quarter earnings report provided a mixed set of results.

Argued the expert: The quarter raises more questions than answers as it pivots toward driving new revenue streams. During this transition there will be ongoing challenges  expect to see spikes in churn, net adds and ARPU with the rollout of new features and services.

Calling Netflix a mature business reinforcing less reliance on subscriber growth, Pescatore said: It is putting all the building blocks in place for future revenue growth. This is a far longer-term play, so we should not expect to see immediate success.

Best of The Hollywood Reporter

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Filming for The Crown attracted crowds outside York Minster

Crowds gathered outside York Minster on Wednesday as a "significant scene" of Netflix hit The Crown was filmed.

Large green screens and lighting rigs were set up, with hundreds of extras dressed as wedding guests seen in Dean's Park behind the minster.

Crown fan Rachel Rogers, 25, said she had been "waiting to spot a famous face for several hours".

A Netflix spokesperson said it was "good to see such a positive response to our presence".

Fan of the show Rachel Rogers arrived at the minster at 10:30 BST hoping to catch a glimpse of the stars

Ms Rogers, one of about 90 onlookers, said: "It's interesting to see what's going on and looking out for celebrities.

"It's fascinating to see all the extras and to see how filming works."

She added: "I've not spotted any celebs yet, but it's a lovely sunny day so it's a great day for it."

The fifth series of the show charted the breakdown of the marriage between the Prince and Princess of Wales, played by Dominic West and Elizabeth Debicki.

Producers said they were heartened by the response to the filming in York "particularly given we have taken over the cathedral and the immediate area outside".

A spokesperson said if details of the scene were revealed it would "somewhat ruin it for the fans of The Crown as it would give too much away".

Large green screens were set up in Duncombe Place, along with lighting rigs on cranes

However, the spokesperson added: "Rest assured it's a significant scene, grand in scale and worthy of this beautiful venue."

A spokesperson for York Minster said they could confirm the minster was "closed for sightseeing visitors for a week due to filming".

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk
(AFP via Getty Images)

Netflix is to roll out its major crackdown on shared accounts and passwords.

The company has long been threatening, and testing, new features that aim to spot when people are sharing accounts outside of a single household, and force them to pay for their own.

It had initially delayed the broad rollout, to give it more time to integrate the findings of that initial testing. But it is now ready and will be rolled out more broadly in the coming months, the company said.

It made the announcement during its latest results call, when it also revealed that it would be winding down the DVD business that gave it its start.

Speaking during that call, co-chief executive of Netflix Greg Peters said that the tool had been rolled out in a range of countries already and that it had gone well.

While customers initially cancelled their accounts in response to the news, membership and revenue then rose as people paid for their own accounts, he said. That is similar to the behaviour after a price rise, he noted.

That behaviour has happened in a variety of different countries, he said, even though it had been rolled out in places with very different characteristics. The crackdown was initially launched in specific Latin American countries but has gone more widely since.

That same testing showed however that some users were frustrated with specific parts of the testing. Netflix received feedback about things like having seamless access to Netflix as they have always been using it on the go or while traveling, as well as making sure that we have got good tools for them to manage access to their accounts and their devices, Mr Peters said.

The new version of the changes incorporates those changes, he said, and so the company will now start rolling it out in other places. That is a very broad launch, it includes the United States, includes many, many other countries, he said.

The feature uses technology such as geolocation to spot when users might be sharing accounts. If it thinks they are, it will force them instead to buy their own account  either by starting an entirely new login or taking advantage of other options that let users add other people into an existing account.
Netflix

If you're in the mood for a seriously soppy watch, then according to Netflix viewers, the next thing on your watch list has to be the new documentary film Longest Third Date, which was released yesterday (18th April).

Longest Third Date tells the real life story of Matt Robertson and Khani Le who met on Hinge. After two pretty good dates they spontaneously decided to travel to Costa Rica for their third date after Matt got some cheap flights for the weekend.

Netflix

They spent the weekend exploring the natural beauty of Costa Rica, bonding and getting to know each more. The weekend was practically perfect, except for one very small but significant detail - it was March 2020 and their flights home had just been cancelled thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stuck in Costa Rica, Matt vlogged their following 79 days together as they attempted to book new flights, shuffled around various AirBnBs and explored more of Costa Rica, all whilst seriously deepening their romantic bond.

Netflix

Viewers of the film have been sharing their love for the documentary, with many calling Longest Third Date a really cute watch.

One person said: "You guys need to watch this documentary on Netflix called #LongestThirdDate omg."

Another said: "I loved, loved, LOVED #LongestThirdDate I had never heard about them!"

And another said: "Must watch - Longest Third Date on @netflix What a gem!"

You guys need to watch this documentary on Netflix called #LongestThirdDate omg   Waiki Harnais (@WaikiHarnais) April 19, 2023

I loved, loved, LOVED #LongestThirdDate  I had never heard about them!  Joy (@JoyJ1001) April 18, 2023

Between #longestthirddate on Netflix and #TinyBeautifulThings on Disney+ Im a sobbing mess!!!  Vee the Knitter (@SnodV) April 19, 2023

Not The Longest Third Date making me cry like an idiot. Their story is so beautiful.  Joaz (@joazkuizon) April 19, 2023

Ok, sounds like we may need a box of tissues on hand when we watch this one.

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Longest Third Date is available on Netflix now

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A bill sailing through the Florida Legislature that would bar public access to autopsy reports of children killed in acts of domestic violence is intended to protect families from having to relive the trauma of their childrens deaths.

The Rex and Brody Act, filed as Senate Bill 404, is named in honor of two Gainesville boys, Rex and Brody Reinhart, ages 14 and 11 respectively, whose father killed them, set the familys Gulf Coast waterfront vacation home ablaze, and then killed himself in May 2021.

An autopsy report detailing the killing of the boys circulated through the media to the dismay of their mother, Minde Reinhart. She testified before lawmakers that she did not want to know any of the details of her sons fatal shootings at the hands of her estranged husband, Paul Reinhart.

But the legislation is drawing sharp criticism from First Amendment and open government advocates, who warn it may derail oversight reporting covering state child welfare failures.

The legislation was co-introduced by Sen. Keith Perry of Gainesville in the Senate and Rep. Charles Clemons of Jonesville in the House  both Republicans  and has already successfully worked its way through several committees in both chambers. The Senate passed the legislation unanimously following a hearing on April 11.

Parents of a deceased child would still have access to the autopsy report, provided that they did not commit the domestic violence leading to the childs death. It will also allow the parent to release the autopsy report to the public.

When asked during a hearing before the House Criminal Justice & Public Safety Subcommittee last year why the legislation did not apply to victims of other violent acts, such as school shootings, Clemons said the legislation was drafted narrowly to address only a specific crime, domestic violence.

The bill, Clemons said, was intended as a protection for families devastated by domestic violence  as a way to spare them from hearing in the media the gory details of the last minutes of their childrens lives.

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Clemons said the measure was not intended to undermine Floridas public records law  one that, he said, often serves as a model for other states.

We were not trying to make a gaping hole in that great public records law, Clemons said. What were trying to do is narrowly define the scope and it was brought to bear by this terrible tragedy.

In the same hearing, Rep. Mike Beltran, a Valrico Republican, expressed support for the bill, saying that the purpose of the states public records laws is to show the workings of state and local government  not to publicize the gruesome details of a domestic violence crime.

Open government advocates, however, say access to autopsy reports plays a critical role in the oversight of Floridas perennially troubled child welfare program by journalists and others.

Specifically, the measure could make it far more difficult for journalists and advocates to access state records when children die as the result of abuse or neglect, said Mark Caramanica, whose law firm represented the Herald and other media in a lawsuit against the Department of Children and Families for violating public records laws. The Herald sought the DCF records of a 22-month-old child, Rashid Bryant, who died from physical abuse and medical neglect at the hands of his parents after a lengthy history with the agency.

Rashid Bryant, a 22-month-old, died in 2020 from acute and chronic abuse. The Florida Department of Children and Families took a year to release records related to his death.

Caramanica said that concealing the circumstances of a childs death will make it harder to ensure accountability over those charged with keeping children safe.

This exemption would be a gift to every government agency in Florida tasked with protecting children, because how the children died exactly, the official medical reason, will be hidden from the public, he said. And that puts future childrens lives in danger.

The autopsy report, he said, is a key document in determining whether DCF, or even foster parents, may have failed in protecting a child.

The First Amendment Foundation, a nonprofit advocate for government transparency, joined the Miami Herald in its lawsuit against DCF, and earlier this year released a letter expressing its opposition to the Rex and Brody Act.

While acknowledging the anguish of Minde Reinhart and other domestic violence survivors, the foundation emphasized that keeping autopsy reports public is necessary to protect children in the child welfare system and ensure public oversight of DCFs efforts.

Under Florida law, the records of DCFs involvement with a family remain sealed unless a child dies as the result of abuse and neglect.

Absent an autopsy report, though, it can be extremely difficult to make that determination. Thus, this exemption will allow government agencies, like DCF, to evade accountability, advocates like Caramanica and the First Amendment Foundation say.

Access to death records, no matter how disturbing, is critical to maintaining transparency so the public can understand what happened, advocates say. And, by revealing systemic failures leading up to a childs death, the documents can prevent future tragedies.

Exemptions like the autopsy bill also chip away at the states open records law, which was adopted in a voter referendum by an overwhelming majority of Floridians, Caramanica said. Such exemptions to the publics right to know have been a staple of every recent legislative session, Caramanica added.

Its death by a thousand cuts.
Good morning and welcome to the A.M. Alert!

NEWSOM HOLDS NOTHINGBURGER PRESS CONFERENCE ON ABORTION

Via Maggie Angst...

In anticipation of a key ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court expected Wednesday regarding access to abortion pills, California Gov. Gavin Newsom summoned members of the press, legislative leaders and the attorney general Tuesday for a 45-minute press conference to discuss the Golden States efforts to protect medication abortions and those that provide them.

But despite the drumroll, the governor had very little new to say, other than that he and other state leaders would be creative in their efforts to protect access in the Golden State.

Dont think for a second that we dont have more ideas, he said. And dont think for a second Im going to say any more about it.

The real news came in a press release from his communications team after the briefing wrapped up, but even that was vague and dependent on an anciticpated ruling from the nations highest court on Wednesday. The court is expected to decide whether an earlier decision from the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals will take effect, sharply limiting access to mifepristone, a widely used abortion pill. The Biden Administration wants the matter put on hold while the court fight plays out.

The statement said the governor is working with lawmakers to craft legislative language that would protect California pharmacists who dispense mifepristone  even if the Supreme Court suspends the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations approval  and ensure the privacy of patients and providers.

The latter concept has already been proposed by Assemblywoman Rebecca Bauer-Kahan, D-Orinda, through AB 352.

ASSEMBLYWOMAN DEMANDS PUBLIC APOLOGY FROM SENATOR

Assemblywoman Tina McKinnor, D-Inglewood, on Tuesday took to Twitter to demand a public apology from Sen. Aisha Wahab, D-Hayward, for remarks the latter made during a hearing of the Senate Elections and Constitutional Amendments Committee.

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I was an original signer of the #metoo letter & I take exception to anyone questioning the intentions of (Samantha Corbin) & (Alicia Benavidez Lewis) who work selflessly to end sexual harassment & assault in the #caleg. Sister (Wahab) we need to talk. You owe them a public apology, McKinnor wrote.

Heres what prompted the tweet.

On Tuesday, Wahab was defending her bill, SB 573, which would bar legislative staffers from working as lobbyists for two years after they leave state employment.

The bill was opposed by the group We Said Enough, which said a Tuesday tweet that it would create unfair limitations on the future opportunities of talented Legislative staff. Worse, it could TRAP staff in hostile or abusive work places by preventing them from holding meaningful, well compensated employment elsewhere.

We Said Enough was co-founded by Corbin and Benavidez Lewis in 2017 to speak out against harassment, discrimination and bullying in the California Legislature and in workplaces across the state.

While defending her bill, Wahab said that opponents of her bill were using marginalized people to distract from the argument at hand.

It also cheapens the experience of survivors of sexual assault and discrimination. This bill is not how or where they will get made whole, which they deserve. And to be using victims as a prop to not have lobbying reform in the state of California is disgusting and not fair to them, she said.

I find it also insulting and harmful to the men and women that experience sexual assault, let alone as an advocate and survivor, that an organization would utilize the trauma of people to oppose a bill that strictly is about lobbying reform.

Reached for comment about McKinnors demand for an apology, Wahab said in a statement that she respects everyones right to speak their truth and that she hopes to engage with opponents of her bill. She said that SB 573 is a critical component of protecting the integrity of the legislative process.

Finally, I have always been and will always be a supporter of victims and survivors of sexual assault, harassment, and abuse. I will continue to do my part to improve workplaces, organizations, and systems such that victims and survivors feel safe, supported, and can be made whole, Wahab said.

COALITION FORMS TO SUPPORT BILL HOLDING OIL INDUSTRY LIABLE FOR HEALTH PROBLEMS

Californians who have developed cancer, respiratory illness or birth defects as a result of nearby oil drilling could sue the oil industry for up to $1 million, under legislation now under consideration.

SB 556, by Sen. Lena Gonzalez, D-Long Beach, is set to be heard by the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 25.

Oil drillers who have disregarded the detrimental impacts to communities they drill in, need to be accountable for the harms they cause that are scientifically linked to their drilling, Gonzalez said in a statement.

The bill is backed by a coalition of more than 130 groups, including co-sponsors Consumer Watchdog and the Center for Race, Poverty and the Environment, as well as the Center for Biological Diversity, CALPIRG, Food and Water Watch and the Sierra Club.

A previous bill by Gonzalez, SB 1137, banned oil drilling within 3,200 feet of schools, hospitals and other vulnerable centers. That law is currently on hold pending a voter referendum in 2024.

Like the gun industry that is liable for unsafe conduct in the manufacture and distribution of weapons in California, oil drillers that ignore safety standards should be presumptively liable for the illnesses linked to their negligence, said Consumer Watchdog President Jamie Court in a statement.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

Senator Feinsteins staff rushed out her statement two hours after my tweet to stop the bleeding and halt the growing chorus for her to resign. It worked for a few days but didnt solve the problem as many of us had warned. The ball is now back in Senator Feinsteins court to provide a specific timeline of when she can cast votes on Judiciary to confirm President Bidens judges.

- Rep. Ro Khanna, D-San Jose, in an interview with NBC News.

Best of The Bee:
Attorneys for Dominion Voting Systems arrive at the Delaware Superior Court in Wilmington on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Pete Marovich/The New York Times)

Dominion Voting Systems did more on Tuesday than settle its lawsuit against Fox News for $787.5 million: It also set the tone for the many related defamation cases it has filed.

Legal experts say the settlement with Fox News, one of the largest defamation payouts in American history, could embolden Dominion as it continues to defend its reputation, which it says was savaged by conspiracy theories about vote fraud during the 2020 election. The company has several cases pending against public figures including Mike Lindell, the MyPillow executive, and news outlets such as Newsmax.

The targets of Dominions remaining lawsuits, few of which have deep pockets and legal firepower at Foxs level, will likely take a cue from Dominion and Foxs faceoff, legal experts said.

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Even though it was a settlement, it certainly was a victory for Dominion, said Margaret M. Russell, a law professor at Santa Clara University. For other possible defendants, I dont think this will make them double down; it will make them fearful.

Dominion is the second-largest election technology company operating in the United States, where there are few other major players. The company, whose majority owner is the private equity firm Staple Street Capital, was made toxic by the false fraud narratives in 2020, one of Staple Streets founders said in court documents. At one point, Dominion estimated that misinformation cost it $600 million in profits.

Fox said in its court filings that Dominion did not have to lay off employees, close offices or default on any debts, nor did it suffer any canceled business contracts as a result of the news networks coverage. Fox said in one filing that Dominion had projected $98 million in revenue for 2022, which would make Tuesdays settlement the equivalent of eight years of sales.

Dominions customers are largely officials who oversee voting in states and counties around the country; the company served 28 states, as well as Puerto Rico, in the 2020 election. The false stories about fraud that were directed at the company were embraced by some local election officials.

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In court documents, an expert enlisted by Dominion said that the company had very low early contract termination rates and very high contract renewal rates before the 2020 election but blamed the preoccupation with the false fraud claims for prompting some clients to exit deals after the vote.

Now Dominion has emerged from its tussle with Fox in a stronger position to win back any skittish clients or score new business, legal experts said.

Last month, the judge in Dominions case against Fox reviewed evidence of the false claims and wrote that it is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true, effectively confirming that the company was aboveboard.

The secretary of state of New Mexico, Maggie Toulouse Oliver, applauded Tuesdays settlement.

The harm done by election lies/denialism since 2020 is immeasurable, but this settlement against Fox News provides accountability & sends a strong message were happy to see, Toulouse Oliver wrote on Twitter. During the midterm primaries last year, she blamed unfounded conspiracy theories when she sued officials in Otero County who had cited concerns about Dominion machines in their refusal to certify election results.

Fox acknowledged in a statement Tuesday that some of the claims it had made about Dominion were false, saying that the admission reflects Foxs continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.

John Poulos, Dominions founder and CEO, said in a statement Tuesday that Fox caused enormous damage to his company and nothing can ever make up for that. He also thanked the election officials who make up Dominions clientele and nodded to Staple Streets support.

Dominion drew some complaints that by settling, it had given up the opportunity to extract an apology from Fox or force it through a potentially embarrassing trial. An opinion article in the Daily Beast bemoaned that the voting technology company had decided to step out of the ring with a bag of money instead of vanquishing one of the countrys most destructive and influential peddlers of hate and disinformation.

Poulos called the settlement a big step forward for democracy in an interview with ABC News broadcast Wednesday.

Legal experts noted that even if Dominion had prevailed in a jury verdict, it would have risked years of expensive battles over appeals from Fox.

The tort of defamation is not about saving democracy from liars, said Enrique Armijo, a professor and First Amendment expert at Elon University School of Law. Its about saving the reputation of the people who have been lied about and making those liars compensate them for the harms to their reputations.

Fox still faces other legal challenges, including a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit from another election technology company, Smartmatic. Fox said it planned to defend freedom of the press in the case and called Smartmatics damages claims outrageous, unsupported and not rooted in sound financial analysis. Smartmatic said in a statement that after the Dominion settlement, it will expose the rest of the misconduct and damage caused by Foxs disinformation campaign.

Dominion, too, has more cases pending, including against pro-Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani and One America News Network. Although the lawsuits involve similar false claims of election fraud, the facts of each case vary, experts said.

Attorneys for Lindell and Giuliani did not immediately respond to requests for comment, nor did Newsmax or OAN.

For the individuals and smaller companies facing legal claims, for whom a substantial jury judgment could be an existential threat, settlement might seem more attractive after Tuesday, Armijo said.

Theyre not going to be able to put up the same level of defense that Fox did; they just dont have the resources to do it, he said. Its hard to see the other defamation defendants in the remaining cases getting any further than Fox did, which, as we saw, is not very far.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
The news conference outside the courthouse in Delaware after Dominion Voting System's defamation lawsuit against Fox news was settled on Tuesday. (Julio Cortez / Associated Press)

For the record:

3:16 p.m. April 19, 2023: An earlier version of this column said Fox had called Arizona for Trump. It called the state for Biden.



Im sorry that a settlement was reached in the giant landmark defamation lawsuit brought by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News.

I mean, Im not entirely sorry. Its nice that Dominion will get compensated for its mistreatment at the hands of the network that claims to be so fair and balanced, and its gratifying that Fox has to pay a price  a big, painful, embarrassing $787.5 million  for its utterly irresponsible coverage of Dominion and alleged election fraud.

The conspiracy theories aired over and over on Fox in the aftermath of the 2020 election were outrageous. Peddled by then-President Trump and his lieutenants Rudolph W. Giuliani and Sidney Powell, the lies mischaracterized Dominion as a front for the left-wing government in Venezuela and asserted falsely that its voting machines were rigged to flip votes from Trump to Joe Biden to guarantee a Democratic victory.

Give me a break. The truth matters, as Dominion's lawyers said repeatedly  and said again Tuesday on the courthouse steps. Lies have consequences.

Im also somewhat relieved that the settlement will avoid dragging these issues all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, where some legal experts were worried that long-standing protections for journalists might be at risk. Instead, the Supreme Courts 1964 ruling in New York Times vs. Sullivan will stay in place for now. That decision allows journalists and news organizations to be punished for defaming public figures only in cases of actual malice  that is, if they know the information they publish is false or if they behave with reckless disregard for the truth. Sullivan's survival is good news.

So why am I sorry?

Because another part of me was eager to see these important and sensitive issues aired publicly, not hushed up and removed from public view with an exchange of millions of dollars behind closed doors.

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From the start, the part of the case that has interested me most was Foxs insistence that it was just covering the news, and that when important public figures like the president of the United States and his top aides go public with blockbuster allegations about a rigged election, it is inherently newsworthy and needs to be covered.

Fox, after all, didnt make up the allegations; it merely covered them, said the networks lawyers.

The news media has the right in a democracy to inform citizens by reporting and commenting on a presidents allegations challenging the security of our election, said Fox. There are two sides to every story. The press must remain free to cover both sides, or there will be a free press no more.

Thats what I wouldve like to have seen hashed out in open court (although the judge apparently didnt want that to be the focus of the trial). Was Fox just covering the news  or was it a co-conspirator in attempting to deceive the public? Did its on-air journalists behave responsibly, or did they act like credulous partisans?

In my view, Fox is absolutely correct that news organizations should be allowed to report what Trump and his cronies are saying. But they have an obligation to do so fairly, honestly and in context.

That means they have to stick to the rules of Journalism 101: They must be even-handed, open-minded and skeptical of unproven assertions. They must distinguish provable facts from mere speculation or unsubstantiated accusation. Fox had a responsibility  even the networks opinion journalists had a responsibility  to air Dominions denials and the demurrals of voting experts.

It failed those tests.

Its hosts on a number of occasions repeated the allegations about Dominion as if they were fact. They took sides with Giuliani and Powell. Lou Dobbs asserted that Dominions voting machines were designed to be inaccurate. He thanked Giuliani for pursuing what is the truth. Maria Bartiromo said on the air, falsely, that Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) "has an interest in this company." Bartiromo also repeated fraud claims about Dominion even though she had been specifically notified that independent fact-checkers, government officials and election security experts debunked those lies, according to Dominions brief.

Whats more, scores of emails divulged during the discovery process showed that Fox News hosts and executives had grave doubts about the veracity of the conspiracy theories they were peddling, yet continued to air them in an effort to boost their ratings and mollify right-wing viewers still angry that the network had called Arizona for Biden on election night.

Sure, there were a few occasions in which Fox noted Dominions denials or evinced some skepticism. It invited Dominion at least once to come on the network to dispute the allegations.

But those were exceptions  and insufficient.

In my view, the country needs strong legal protections to ensure journalists can do their jobs.

But Fox abused those protections.

@Nick_Goldberg

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
(Bloomberg) -- A senior Nigerian minister urged the countrys president to end a long-running dispute with Eni SpA and Shell Plc to allow the companies to finally develop a prized deepwater oil license.

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Investigations and lawsuits relating to the energy giants acquisition of the permit 12 years ago should be halted so Africas largest crude producer can take advantage of the fast-disappearing opportunities in the global oil exploration industry, Attorney General Abubakar Malami wrote in a letter to President Muhammadu Buhari dated Feb. 6, 2023, and seen by Bloomberg. Delays to the development of the block have had negative economic consequences for Nigeria, he said.

While Buharis administration has alleged that much of the $1.1 billion paid by Eni and Shell to the Nigerian government for the rights to Oil Prospecting License 245 was subsequently diverted to bribes and kickbacks, it has suffered high-profile defeats in courts in Italy and the UK. Eni initiated arbitration proceedings against Nigeria in 2020, accusing the government of breaching its obligations by refusing to convert the permit into one that allows the production of hydrocarbons.

Malami advised Buhari to direct the termination of a lawsuit brought against the two companies in Nigeria by the nations anti-corruption agency and of all investigations concerning the license, according to the letter, which was first reported by Lagos-based news website The Cable. The oil industry regulator should expedite conversion of OPL 245, said Malami, who also serves as justice minister.

After the firms and serving and former executives were acquitted of corruption charges in Milan, Buhari - who doubles as Nigerias oil minister - consented in May 2022 to the conversion of the permit pending the conclusion of all disputes between the parties, according to Malamis letter.

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Malamis spokesman declined to comment on the contents of the letter. Eni also declined to comment. Spokespeople for Buhari, the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission didnt immediately respond to requests for comment.

Shell has always maintained that the 2011 settlement related to OPL 245 was legal, a company spokeswoman said by email.

Buhari is due to leave office at the end of May and be replaced by his ally Bola Tinubu, who won a presidential election held in February.

The governments defense against Enis arbitration claim becomes doubtful particularly when viewed in the context of serial losses already recorded, while the Nigerian suit does not offer any prospect of success, Malami said in the letter.

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Civil rights leaders, elected officials and activists on Tuesday banded together for a downtown Kansas City rally in support of Ralph Yarl, the Black 16-year-old whose shooting outside a Northland home has sparked national outrage and calls for reforms.

Standing across the street from the federal courthouse, Black leaders pointed to felony charges filed against an 84-year-old white homeowner as merely the first step toward justice in a broken, racist criminal justice system.

On top of the to-do list for organizers now is to convince federal authorities to conduct a separate criminal investigation of a hate crime, said Gwen Grant, president of Kansas Citys chapter of the Urban League.

Other steps, she said, include broader cultural and policy changes as state lawmakers have introduced other hardships disproportionately affecting Black Missourians in the form of lax gun laws and censorship of Black history in public education.

Racial hatred, and implicit bias permeates our culture. And it impacts every aspect of Black lives, Grant said.

We are challenged just walking while Black, eating while Black, swimming while Black, living while Black. Driving while Black is a problem, she said. And now we cant even walk up to someones door and ring a doorbell without fear of being hurt.

Vernon Howard, president of Kansas Citys chapter of Southern Christian Leadership Conference, speaks during a rally for Ralph Yarl in front of the Charles E. Whittaker U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Kansas City.

Facing mounting public pressure locally and nationally, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson on Monday announced two felony charges against Andrew D. Lester, the 84-year-old homeowner. He is accused of first-degree assault, a felony that carries the possibility of life imprisonment, and armed criminal action.

Although civil rights leaders expressed relief that criminal charges were actually filed  many questioned whether Missouris Stand Your Ground law would prevent that  other concerns remain unaddressed.

Those concerns include the length of time it took to bring charges, Lesters release on bond for a serious violent felony charge, the release of Lester from police custody before a statement from Yarl was obtained and the general treatment of Yarl as a suspect instead of a victim.

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Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing the Yarl family, said the teenager was shot because he was armed with nothing other than his black skin.

Lee Merritt, civil rights lawyer, speaks during rally for Ralph Yarl a in front of the Charles E. Whittaker U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Kansas City.

Is it a hate crime? Is it enough to shoot someone and the only thing that theyre armed with is the color of their skin? Should that qualify as a hate crime? We think so. But that kind of Missouri statute doesnt exist, Merritt added, saying that new legislation is needed to protect blackness in this country because blackness is under attack.

Merritt pointed to the pressure applied on Kansas City police, including a weekend protest outside Lesters home, as forcing authorities to act. He said that had Lester been held longer than two hours in police custody following the shooting, they would have heard from the kid with a bullet in his head.

They havent told the public the truth about why they didnt make an arrest, Merritt said. They said they needed a little more due process, they needed a little more time. The truth is they never anticipated they would have to make an arrest.

Shot within a few seconds

The shooting happened around 10 p.m. Thursday as Yarl was trying to pick up his younger brothers from a house on Northeast 115th Street. He mistakenly went there instead of Northeast 115th Terrace, the next street up, and rang the doorbell.

During a recorded interview, Lester admitted to police that he shot Yarl through the locked glass storm door to his home within a few seconds of seeing him on the doorstep and without warning. He accused the teen of trying to pull the door handle, and told police that he was scared to death and feared his home was being broken into.

Two hours after being booked on suspicion of aggravated assault, Lester was released from police custody. A Kansas City detective investigating the case wrote in a probable cause affidavit that the Clay County prosecutors believed further investigation was warranted before charges could be filed.

Yarl, 16, was interviewed by a Kansas City police detective on Friday in Childrens Mercy Hospital as he was still recovering from gunshot wounds to his forehead and arm. He told police he rang the doorbell to the house and was shot immediately after the stranger answered.

After falling to the ground, Yarl told police, he was shot a second time. He overheard the shooter say: Dont come around here, according to court documents.

Three more days passed between Yarls statement to police, described as an informal interview, and the announcement of charges in Clay County. Over the weekend, Police Chief Stacey Graves said there were delays bringing charges in large part due to the fact that a formal victim statement had yet to be done  an explanation the familys lawyers and other supporters have openly challenged.

Following the announcement of criminal charges, Lester remained out of custody through Tuesday morning. He surrendered at the Clay County jail and posted bond shortly after.

Ralph Yarl

Could have been my son

Rev. Vernon Howard, president of Southern Christian Leadership Conference in Kansas City, said ahead of Tuesdays rally that there is no denying the racial component of the shooting.

He said Missouri is one of the most unsafe places for Black people in America, saying the shooting was an example where Jim Crow came face to face with the beauty of blackness.

We firmly believe that an investigation of race and hate as a motivating factor in the shooting of Ralph Yarl must take place, Howard said. There is no denying the racial component of this shooting.

Bishop Frank Douglas said the shooting represented a latest example of American apartheid. He added that if it had been an 84-year old Black man that had done the same thing itd have been lynching time.

Nimrod Chapel, president of Missouris chapter of the NAACP, said the gathering Tuesday was about demanding better of the entire state.

People like Lester have been killing us all along, Chapel said, adding: We have been suffering injustices like Lesters all along. People might say its not his fault. He didnt do it by himself. Hes just one man. He is a symptom of whats going on in Missouri. We have got to change that.

Several politicians also came in a show of support, including state Rep. Jamie Johnson, whose 12th House District covers part of the Northland in Platte County.

Johnson said she came as a representative but also as a mother of three. Her two youngest are boys, ages 12 and 19.

This could have been my son, Johnson said. There are things that we need to do as the state body to rectify the prevalence of guns in our communities. There are things that we need to do to ensure that unsafe people do not have access to firearms.

Kansas City Councilwoman Melissa Robinson, 3rd District, said her office had sent a letter on Tuesday seeking involvement from the Department of Justice. She said residents deserve answers to tough questions about how this was investigated.

We will not stand by and allow the terror of Black people in our community, Robinson said. This is just the beginning. This is not the end.

Rally for Ralph Yarl

Community members gathered to attended a rally for Ralph Yarl in front of the Charles E. Whittaker U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Kansas City.

On Tuesday, a crowd of roughly 150 came out in a show of support for Yarl, who returned home to his family on Sunday as he continues to recover from his injuries. Several held signs and called chants in Ilus Davis Park, across the street from the Charles E. Whittaker U.S. Courthouse.

Among those who attended was Nita Cole, 55, of Lenexa, who came with her daughter and three grandchildren. One of the biggest questions she still has about the case, she said, was how Lester was allowed bond for the serious felony charge where authorities deemed him a risk to the community.

Cole said she believes there would have never been a chance for an older Black man to be released had the roles been reversed.

And its sad that its like that, but I believe that, Cole said.

Its just sad that you cant make a mistake, she said of Yarls shooting. You make a simple mistake and you get shot.

Carolina Quintana and Tiffany Goodier came out after learning of Lesters charges and arrest. They said they wanted to show support as the case continues.

I think its just another occasion that we cant let go without the opportunity to fight for justice, Quintana said.

We want to be able to be here and to say something and just let people know that its not OK. What happened is not OK. It cant continue, and it shouldnt continue, Goodier added.

Dvante Lewis said he wanted to show support and spread awareness about deeper cultural issues.

This is survival out here. This is going to lead to us surviving as a culture. So it means everything, Lewis said.

Community members gathered to attended a rally for Ralph Yarl in front of the Charles E. Whittaker U.S. Courthouse on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Kansas City.

The Stars Emily Curiel, Glenn E. Rice, Robert A. Cronkleton, Katie Moore, Sarah Ritter, Anna Spoerre and Luke Nozicka contributed to this report.
RobinThedeis feeling herself. And for good reason.

The show that she created, A Black Lady Sketch Show, is thriving in its fourth season and just as importantly, the Black women who have worked on this oasis of a show are in their bag.

For me, Season 4 is legacy building, Thede told HuffPost. Thats what I keep saying is were creating this world, this legacy where all these people in front of and behind the camera get to thrive, just get to thrive and get to leave better than when they came.

When Thede created this show in 2019, she knew she wanted to make Black women feel seen in sketch comedy in ways that the industry often fails to do. As the first Black woman to become a head writer on a late night show, Thede was fed up with Hollywood trying to place Black women in a box. When executive producer Issa Rae called Thede after the cancellation of BETs The Rundown With Robin Thede, the 43-year-old took her show to HBO and within nine months it was on the air.

I couldnt have told you 4 1/2 years later that we would have 13 Emmy nominations and three wins, she said. I never wouldve thought that. I just wanted to make that thing that was in my heart since I was a kid.

The narrative sketch show  based on a magical world but grounded in reality  has boasted cast members Abbott Elementary star Quinta Brunson and Ted Lasso producer Ashley Nicole Black in previous seasons. It also has had a bevy of heavy-hitting guest performances from Angela Bassett, Yvette Nicole Brown, Kyla Pratt, David Alan Grier, Jackee Harry, and Bob the Drag Queen, among many others.

The new season, which premiered on April 14, stars series veterans Thede, Gabrielle Dennis and Skye Townsend as well as Black Lady newcomers DaMya Gurley, Tamara Jade and Angel Laketa Moore. And Season 4 guests include Tracee Ellis Ross, Colman Domingo and Jay Ellis. Fresh off another Emmy nomination, Thede wants everyone, Hollywood especially, to know that her show is a reminder to stop placing limitations on Black women  on screen and off.

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Thede prides herself on making sure her team remembers that and leans into expansiveness  with the show and bragging on their talents. She wants Black women everywhere to feel that same energy.

Im done with humility. I dont know her. We dont do that. Black women are the most educated group in this country, and yet we are the most humble. We downplay everything, she said. Well be a CEO of a company and be like, Oh, its not that big of a deal. Yes, it is. Brag on your shit and tell people when they tell you, Congratulations, youre great,  say, I know. Thank you. Lets be kind to ourselves and lets celebrate ourselves.

For I Run This, Thede discusses the power of an all-Black women writers room, what her Black lady support system means to her and the bittersweetness of being the first.

Tell me about your own personal journey. What is the same and what is different from when you started Season 1 to now?

I dont think I could have ever imagined how much the show would become its own thing. I always had this dream, because Ive done so many sketch shows for other people, whether its writing or starring in them, and it was just kind of like Ive learned so much from these great people, now its time for me to apply that.

I think I was thinking about that on a real kind of micro level, and I didnt anticipate how much a show would mean to Black women everywhere. I was in Paris and a woman stopped me and was like, I love your show. I didnt even know we aired it in Paris, but we aired all around the world. We aired in 30 countries, which is crazy to me that we can bring that Black womaness to every part of the globe. Its really dope to me. I couldnt have imagined that in Season 1. I think the reach and the span of the show, the bigness of the show, I couldnt have anticipated.

Speaking about expansiveness, I think about how beautiful and important a tool such as imagination is, and how your show is really a prime example of that, especially with the premise being Black woman living grounded experiences in a magical reality. What is the importance for you personally and professionally to be able to stretch your imagination and use it in this way for us on a global stage, especially for other Black women around the world to see?

Imagination is key to making a show like this. Without imagination, you cannot imagine all of the crazy characters in the world weve created. Theres also a story within a story. Anybody who has watched a show knows that our interstitial storyline is a show in and of itself. So I think that the level of creativity, the level of imagination that goes into a show like this is unmatched.

What weve realized is that we get to tap into our imaginations more than we ever have been asked to do on any other shows. And its really limitless what we found that can be. I think were still discovering just tiny corners of this Black lady cinematic universe. It just gives it unlimited life and at the same time, we want to leave these grounded experiences, but in that magical reality. Even as big and as crazy as the sketches get, we always want to have one foot on the ground so that people watching can say, Oh, I relate to this. Me and my girls talk about this. Thats dope that they took it to a crazy level, but I get it. We dont want it to be so far removed that you dont have any sort of relationship to the narrative or the characters.

You have an all-Black women writers room and that should be celebrated, but it also shouldnt be an anomaly, especially because there are all-white male writing rooms out there, and we dont bat an eye. Talk to me about the energy in your writing rooms and how it feels when you walk in and see this variety of women who look like you, that come from different experiences and backgrounds and all that.

The writers room is all-Black women, but its the most diverse room Ive ever been in every year, even with new writers. We work really hard to get Black women who have different experiences, who grew up in different places, who came from money, who didnt come from money, and everything in between. Because for me, it was important to show the world that on A Black Lady Sketch Show, youre going to get so many different types of Black ladies that your opinion, your idea of what Black women can be is going to expand, because were going to show you so many different things. That starts in the writers room, and thats where we really get to start to incubate those ideas and explore those characters that remind us of our mom, our aunties, but also surprise us. And its like, Wow, I never knew a Black woman like that. So I think we even get to learn more about ourselves as well.

Thede's Dr. Haddassah has become a fan favorite on the show.

Thede's Dr. Haddassah has become a fan favorite on the show.

How do ideas become sketches?

My writers come in with 100 ideas on day one. We write the show pretty quick, in only a couple of months. Its not like we have a year to sit there and come up with sketches. They got to come in ready on day one, and I do, too. The ideas always need to have a beginning, middle, and an end so we know where were going because it is a narrative sketch show. So its not about just doing one joke over and over, for the most part we still have to have a story that were telling because its HBO, and I wanted it to be cinematic and narrative. And I want you to tune in for the stories, and I want you to be invested in the characters, and I want you to say, Oh, my God my favorite character is back! I want people to say that and tune in for that.

So what we have to do is really beat that out in the room together. Well say, OK, I have an idea where a bunch of Black ladies come into a courtroom and they realize that everyone working there is Black, and then they try to be professional, but they cant because theyre so excited that its all-Black ladies in a courtroom. That was actually Ashley Nicole Blacks idea in the first season. And I was like, Great, go write that. That made full sense to me.

But then some of them, like the Roman Julissa sketch from Season 1, which took kind of Cardi B and Nicki Minaj stans and made them the Caplets and the Montagues, it was something that I had an idea of, but I wasnt sure quite how to execute it. So in the room, we kind of all workshop that more together. Some of the ideas come in pitch perfect, and we go write them. Sometimes Ill just write sketches and not even tell the writers, and then well just read them in our internal table read out loud, and theyll just be surprised by them. But then other times we work for days and days and really try to mold something to get it right. I think theres a variety of ways that the process goes, but it all starts with preparation and the writers, because we only have six writers, and then we have writer producers on top of that. We dont have as many as people think. So its a lot of work on them. Its fun, but its hard. So Im really glad to see them getting the recognition that they have because they work so hard.

It took everything in me not to start singing Black lady courtroom!

Black lady courtroom, Black lady courtroom! But thats the point. We want that in your ear. We want to say, See, see, see, [and] we want you to say, What about three? We want you to say all these things because we want you to take these characters with you in your life and bring that joy outside of those 30 minutes. I love when people take our lexicon and use it in their everyday lives because thats what its for.

The show is that, and when you were asking me about how the show has changed from Season 1 to Season 4, for me, its like, Oh, the show is not mine anymore. Its become yalls. And thats the point. It should be, you should have it. You should use it the way you want to use it. You should manipulate these characters the way you want to, you should use these phrases, these jokes, these sketches as joy in your life. I think thats whats dope, too.

I want to talk specifically to your Black lady support system in the community that surrounds you. What has that meant for you to be able to not only have this Black lady support system show up for you, but also be able to do that for others coming up?

Thats the joy of doing this show, is that I am not only supporting Black women, but theyre also supporting me. Its a two-way street, and we cant do it without each other. I cannot make this show by myself. I am heading it. It is my point of view in a large set of ways, but its also the writers point of view, and I dont determine every sketch  if a sketch is funny, its funny and it gets on.

My actors also, my cast, Gabrielle Skye, our former cast members, Ashley and Quinta [Brunson] and Laci [Mosley], our new cast members, DaMya [Gurley], Tamara [Jade], Angel [Laketa Moore]. Theres so many Black women that get to come away with such a rich experience in front of the camera and then behind the camera. We have dozens of writers who have come through this show in four seasons, and its so dope to also see Black women in the camera department, in the sound department, hair, makeup, wardrobe, costumes. Because those women are working at the highest level on HBO, on an Emmy award-winning series.

Our directors Dime Davis, Bridget Murphy Stokes, so many great directors. Weve had a few others, Brittany Scott Smith and Lacy Duke, all these amazing directors who have come through and really now been Emmy-nominated and Emmy-winning. Our Black lady editors who have won two times in a row. And to see all of that excellence around. And the coolest thing to me is the industry cannot say were not out here working at the highest level. And I know they love it because they come and poach all of my crew and my cast when were not shooting, which is great. They need to work all year. But it is like, yeah, I found these people, but you can find them too. Were all here. Weve been here, were doing the work.

And then from our guest stars, people like Angela Bassett, that was the first guest star we ever booked. And she said, Im doing it because no one asked me to do comedy, and you trusted me to do it. All I had to do was create the space and people feel it. These Black women feel it, these women of color. We have an all-Asian and Latinx production team, art design team, set designers. Theres so many people working at such a high level.

Wow. I also cant imagine someone not trusting Angela Bassett to do anything.

Why would you put any limitations? Shes one of the greatest actors of our time. But thats messed up about this business. They cant see beyond whats in front of their faces, and they dont look for talent in places that theyre supposed to. So thats my biggest message to the industry all the time: Were here. If youre not seeing us, thats your fault. Because weve been here, weve been doing this. And the fact that you couldnt even see Angela Bassett being funny is crazy to me. I just dont understand peoples limitations creatively. So Im here to show people that its all right there.

Gabrielle Dennis and Robin Thede in

Gabrielle Dennis and Robin Thede in "A Black Lady Sketch Show."

I know thats right.

I have to fight for it. I have to fight for it on other shows I work on and on people that come to me, and theyre like, How do I get more Black people on my show? And Ill send them names, but Ill also teach them how to meet them, where to meet them, how to get recommendations. But Ill also tell them, If youre going to hire Black people on a show, you need to be hiring them to work authentically for who they are in their point of view. Dont just be like, Oh, well only talk to you when the Black character has a line. No. First of all, we were raised in a white immersion program called America, so we know about everything. We know about everything.

If you dont create an environment where we feel comfortable working, youre not going to be able to hire us. When you can come work on A Black Lady Sketch Show, why would you go anywhere and be somewhere where youre not valued? So I think thats what Im helping, too. These women leave my show, and theyre teaching other shows how to treat them. Because theyre like, Oh, on A Black Lady Sketch Show they would never do that to me. So they have a higher sense of self and a higher sense of confidence when they go other places.

How did late night prepare you for A Black Lady Sketch Show?

Because I was making content every day. So on The Nightly Show and The Queen Latifah Show, we were shooting an episode at least a day and producing itin real time. So it just made me a better writer, better producer  you got to be fast, a better performer. You have to be ready to jump on at any point.

On The Nightly Show, we had a segment fall through at the last minute. I think a guest fell out due to an emergency, and Larry Wilmore was like, Write up that Black Lady sign language thing youve been doing. And it was one of the biggest things I ever did on The Nightly Show. I had 45 minutes to do it and get in hair and makeup and get on stage; it was that fast. I think for me, with this show, I have 10 months to prepare between writing, prep, production, editing before the world sees it. So that feels like a glacial pace to me. Its not, its still pretty fast, but for me, its the ability to move quickly, to improvise quickly, to be great without a lot of preparation, because Ive spent my life doing the preparation.

First Black woman to be a head writer in late night, first Black woman to have a sketch show dedicated to Black women, there are so many firsts and so many things that you hold, but Im wondering how important is that to you?

I dont like being a first. I think its wack that Im [the] first in this day and age, its not like its 1892. I hate being the first because I hate that for the business. I should not have been the first. Theres so many talented women before me who could definitely be doing this better than I could, but I dont take it lightly at the same time. Although its bittersweet, thats the bitter part. The sweet part is that means I can hire the second. I can bring in the third. I can mentor the fourth. Thats important to me. And I did that. I brought in the second Black head writer in late night. I hired the first Black woman head writer under me after I created the show.

And I continued to do that. I hired the third, I hired the fourth, I hired the fifth. Thats what I think is so cool, because I can create those lanes that werent there for me when I started. And although Im exceedingly young, I can be a role model for all the girls coming up, and thats cool. Thats really cool. But I also get to work with them 1-on-1. I get to bring them in and say, All right, Im going to teach you how to do this, lets go.

Its my honor, but a badge of shame for the industry. But the good thing is Im not the first in any of those things anymore, and thats whats dope. All I do is open the door, and they have to step in and do the work. Because Larry Wilmore did that for me, because Queen Latifa looked out for me in daytime, Larry Wilmore and John Stewart in late night, and Chris Rock who is executive producer of my show  all those people paved the way for me, so who would I be not to do that as well. And Im so happy I get to do that for Black women.

The show added Angel Laketa Moore, Tamara Jade and DaMya Gurley to the cast for Season 4.

The show added Angel Laketa Moore, Tamara Jade and DaMya Gurley to the cast for Season 4.

Youre developing a new show for HBO, Disengagement. What should we expect with that?

Its about a Midwest Black family whose dysfunction has dysfunction. The adult kids are kind of living back at home and the family business implodes, and they have to kind of pick up the pieces. But the problem is they show that family is an emotional pyramid scheme and theyre constantly manipulating each other. Its kind of the vibes of Arrested Development. Definitely hard comedy, but Im just excited to be able to show a Black family in the Midwest. We never really get to see that. Im excited to explore that and hear Black people say the word pop instead of soda.

And create kind of a new normal in Black family, mostly adult characters. Because we obviously all had The Cosby Show and stuff like that, but this is more of an adult comedy, and I think well get to explore the ways that we do emotional blackmail a little differently in Black families. And look, Im not airing dirty laundry, but I do think that its important for us to have these discussions about Black family and what we do to each other for good and for bad, and explore that through comedy. So its not going to be heavy, but it may help you feel like, Finally, Im not the only one that has that aunt that calls me fat everytime I show up for Christmas dinner, unprovoked. And so I think thats going to be a lot of fun for a lot of people. Im really excited about it.

You still have so much more to do, but what do you want your legacy to be?

I want my legacy to be the people I serve. I want the legacy to be the people Ive mentored, the people that will go on to hire me one day. I want my legacy to be A Black Lady Sketch Show. I want my legacy to be that I created opportunities for those who went on to surpass anything I could possibly do. Thats what I want my legacy to be.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity and brevity.

Related...
Russian military and civilian "ghost ships" are moving in the Baltic and North Seas and collecting data for sabotage against wind farms, gas pipelines and communication cables.

Source: Joint investigation by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland, as reported by European Pravda.

Russian intelligence activities were revealed when the Scandinavian broadcasting companies DK, NRK, SVT and Yle examined information about radio traffic and the location of Russian ships around their states.

A large number of Russian military and civilian ships in the waters around Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden are studying the seabed with the help of special equipment and finding out how the infrastructure of these countries is connected.

According to experts, Russia's goal is to obtain information that would allow it to sabotage, among other things, the distribution of electricity in northwestern Europe or carry out sabotage, including by cutting power and data cables across the Atlantic and to the rest of Europe.

According to the investigation, Russian "ghost ships" are floating in the waters of Northern Europe. These vessels have turned off their so-called AIS transmitters and are not reporting their location.

An example is the Russian Navy ship Admiral Vladimirsky. Officially, it is engaged in marine research, but sources say that it is also used for reconnaissance work.

The ship moved near seven wind farms off Britain and the Netherlands during one mission. The vessel slowed down as it approached areas where there are wind farms.

As the journalists approached the ship in a small boat, they encountered a man in a balaclava holding a weapon that looked like a military assault rifle.

The same ship was spotted off the coast of Scotland last year at the entrance to the Moray Firth on 10 November, about 30 nautical miles east of Lossiemouth, where the Royal Air Force naval patrol aircraft fleet is based.

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A Danish counterintelligence officer told reporters that the Russian Federation is preparing sabotage plans in case of a complete conflict with the West. The head of Norwegian intelligence told investigators that this military programme is essential for Russia and is controlled directly by Moscow.

Background: On 16 March, NATO and the EU held the first meeting dedicated to establishing a new task force on the sustainability of critical infrastructure against the background of the Russian threat.

Earlier, the European Commission proposed to update the EU maritime security strategy, which provides for joint naval exercises and patrols to protect critical maritime infrastructure at sea.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that his country will launch its first-ever military spy satellite, with the launch date undisclosed.

The "military reconnaissance satellite No. 1" has already been built, and Kim ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch.

Kim addressed the satellite plans during a visit to the North Korean aerospace agency Tuesday. He stressed the need for a satellite as part of ensuring that the country effectively uses its nuclear-capable missiles.

He cited what he described as "serious security threats" posed by "the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action" from the United States and South Korea.

NORTH KOREAN MISSILE PROMPTS JAPAN TO CALL FOR FALSE ALARM EVACUATIONS IN HOKKAIDO

Kim stressed the need for several satellites to establish a stronger intelligence-gathering capacity, the official Korean Central News Agency reported. North Korea launched a test satellite in December and published black-and-white photos showing a view of South Korean cities from space.

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Critics claimed the photos were too crude for surveillance purposes, with only large targets like warships or military installations helping to identify the area.

Kims sister and senior North Korean official Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.

NORTH KOREA IGNORES SOUTH'S PHONE CALLS 5 DAYS IN A ROW, LIKELY PROTESTING US MILITARY DRILLS

Kim Jong Un said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to "use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands."

Setting up the spy satellite will prove tricky, as any launch requires long-range rockets, which the U.N. has banned as part of a wider restriction against North Korea for testing long-range ballistic missiles. South Koreas foreign ministry said the launch of a spy satellite would therefore violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions.

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Tensions on the Korean peninsula have hit new highs after North Korea launched a "new type of ballistic missile" last week that briefly prompted Japan to issue evacuation warnings to for Hokkaido.

NORTH KOREA CLAIMS SUCCESSFUL TEST OF UNDERWATER NUCLEAR-CAPABLE DRONE

China blamed the U.S. and South Korea for the flaring tensions in the region, arguing that the missile test happened as a response to joint drills between the two allies and Japan at the start of April.

The naval anti-submarine drills marked the first joint exercise in six months, and North Korea promised to retaliate to the drills.

"The current round of tension on the peninsula has its causes. The negative impact of the U.S. military drills and deployment of strategic weapons around the peninsula is obvious to all," Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin said, according to Agence France Presse.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, second left, and his daughter watch a sports event to mark the 111th birth anniversary of the late leader Kim Il Sung in North Korea. KCNA/Associated Press

North Korea said on Wednesday that it's ready to launch its first military spy satellite this month.

It's launched two observation satellites before, but it's unclear if they're still functioning properly.

Pyongyang has a dismal record of space launches, with most of its satellites failing to enter orbit.

North Korea claimed on Wednesday that its first military spy satellite is ready for launch.

State media photos show the country's leader, Kim Jong Un, and his daughter, Kim Ju Ae, visiting the satellite launch station on Tuesday.

There, Kim and his officials appeared to discuss diagrams of the launch rocket, which were blurred out in the state-published photos seen by Insider.

Dubbed "military reconnaissance satellite No. 1," the satellite is set to launch sometime in April, though no specific date was announced, state media KCNA reported.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, and his daughter visit the National Aerospace Development Administration in North Korea Tuesday. KCNA/Associated Press

North Korea has successfully put two observation satellites into orbit before. If successful, this launch would be the first officially conducted by North Korea for military purposes.

At his visit to the launch headquarters, Kim complained of an "escalating military threat and challenge" from the US and South Korea, calling for a means of "securing real-time information about the hostile forces' military scenario," per KCNA.

Most of North Korea's space launches have failed, and US authorities doubt that both satellites Pyongyang sent into space are working.

North Korea first tried launching a satellite in 1998, but the rocket failed to reach orbit and burned up in the atmosphere.

Pyongyang's second attempt was in 2009, when its payload likely fell into the Pacific Ocean, according to reports from the South Korean and US authorities. The North claimed that the satellite entered orbit, but even Russia's space command couldn't find it.

Another launch in April 2012 famously disintegrated within 90 seconds after liftoff. North Korean state media admitted the failure on national television, reported The New York Times.

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But just eight months later, North Korea finally pulled off a successful launch, sending the "Kwangmyongsong-3" into space. At the time, North Korea hyped this launch as the moment that "clearly testifies that our country has the capability to enter into space."

However, the satellite later appeared to be "tumbling out of control," indicating that it wasn't operating properly, US officials said.

Pyongyang in 2016 put another observation satellite into space, and it also appeared to tumble in space before stabilizing, the US said. The North claimed that it received hundreds of images from the satellite.

It's not clear how useful this new spy satellite will be to Pyongyang. North Korea published photos in December that it said were taken from a mock test of the satellite, showing black-and-white, low-resolution images of Seoul.

On Tuesday, Kim ordered the production of several more recon satellites, citing gathering military intelligence as "the most crucial primary task" for North Korea's defense program amid a "serious security environment," per KCNA.

Pyongyang has, since early 2022, continually broken its nuclear agreements by testing long-range missiles. Washington and Seoul held their largest joint field exercises in the last five years in March.

Meanwhile, North Korea continued its missile tests, trialing a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile on Friday as Kim declared it would instill "extreme uneasiness and horror" in Pyongyang's enemies.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Former Salish Middle School teacher Justin Hinchcliffe, who was arrested in November in a sting operation in Lewis County, has resigned from the district, according to a North Thurston school board meeting agenda.

North Thurston school board agendas typically list recent personnel moves, including those who have resigned. Hinchcliffes name was included on the April 18 agenda; his resignation took effect April 11.

The district confirmed that he has submitted his resignation, but would not comment further on the matter, spokeswoman Amy Blondin said Tuesday.

Twelve individuals, including Hinchcliffe, were taken into custody Nov. 13 as part of a multi-agency operation known as net nanny that targets those allegedly involved in the sexual abuse and exploitation of children.

After the district learned of the arrest, Hinchcliffe, who was 43 at the time, was placed on administrative leave, according to an email sent to parents from Superintendent Debra Clemens.

The arrest was not related to any event or incident on school grounds, nor did it involve any North Thurston students, as far as the district knows, she wrote.

Hinchcliffe has been charged with second-degree attempted rape of a child, communication with a minor for immoral purposes, and attempted commercial sexual abuse of a minor.

He is free on $75,000 bail and is now awaiting trial, according to Lewis County Prosecutors Office information shared with The Olympian on Tuesday.

A meeting is set for April 27 to re-establish trial dates in the case, according to that information.

North Thurston parents raise safety concerns in wake of teacher, spokesman disclosures

Heres how a North Thurston middle school teacher got caught in a child sex abuse sting

After arrest, North Thurston middle school teacher put on leave, district announces
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.  Northrop Grummans design for the Space Development Agencys next batch of communication satellites passed a critical review in March, the company said in a statement April 18.

Northrop is on contract to build 42 satellites for SDAs Tranche 1 Transport Layer, a suite of satellites that will provide resilient data transfer and communications capabilities to users on the ground.

The critical design review milestone, which confirms the satellite design is stable and meets the agencys requirements, can take years to complete, but under SDAs go-fast acquisition approach, the company passed its review 13 months after SDA awarded Northrop its $692 million contract.

Lockheed Martin and Colorado-based York Space Systems are also building transport satellites. Lockheed said in a statement that its critical design review will occur in May. York declined to comment on the status of its work.

Louis Christen, director of Northrops proliferated space operating unit, told C4ISRNET in an April 17 interview that Northrops path to design approval is not normal in the space industry, and attributed its success to streamlined processes and a philosophy that prioritizes rigor and speed.

Its not just about moving fast and reckless, he said. Were trying to put a lot of rigor behind it, a lot of mission systems engineering.

SDA launched its first 10 satellites in early April and is eyeing a second launch in June. In September 2024, the agency expects to start flying Its Tranche 1 transport and missile tracking spacecraft. With that mission, SDA expects to boost its launch cadence to one launch per month for the next 12 months.

The initial satellites should be available in June for demonstrations at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, SDA Director Derek Tournear told reporters March 31. During those exercises, three of the transport satellites equipped with Link 16 terminals will showcase their ability to communicate with Air Force aircraft.

Link 16 is a secure communications tool used by the U.S. and many international allies. SDA will use the system to push sensor data to fighter aircraft and other weapon systems.
Sexual assault is real  and the trauma can be made worse when victims seek help after the attack.

Now advocates in the Tri-Cities are stressing the importance of continuous discussion about the realities faced by survivors and the resources available to them.

A program at Kadlec has been shown to result in victims being more likely to come forward, and to trust the support system in place.

It happens, we know it happens and its important that were ready to take care of patients, said Dr. John Matheson, emergency department medical director at Kadlec Regional Medical Center at a recent news event in Richland.

Dr. John Matheson, medical director of the emergency department of Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland.

Its important that people feel safe coming to the emergency department. Not just physically safe, but emotionally safe. And we want them to know that they can trust us, that were here to help, to guide and to provide that compassion and care.

Statistically, everyone knows at least one victim of sexual assault, based on current research out of several universities. Chances are, someone you know will need these resources and a support team at some point.

For our community, we want you to know that abuse is not something that we can be quiet about, said Marissa Gomez, Kadlec emergency department nurse and SANE (sexual assault nurse examiner) program coordinator. Its real, its prevalent and its going to need a systemic response.

Kadlec has specially-trained nurses who respond to survivors of sexual assault who need help. Each member of the SANE staff has completed more than 40 hours of additional training specific to sexual abuse, domestic violence and human trafficking scenarios.

Sexual Assault Nurse Examiners (SANE)

The SANE training program is meant to ensure nurses can appropriately and compassionately care for survivors, while still adequately performing necessary exams.

The program grew in popularity in the 90s, when SANE programs were popping up at hospitals across the country. You can find a listing of Washington state programs here.

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The nurses training allows them to consistently balance two sides of care, getting as much information and evidence as possible while meeting the patients need for delicacy and support. The nurses gather samples that could be used as evidence without violating or re-traumatizing the survivor.

Some states call the nurses Sexual Assault Forensic Examiners (SAFE) or Sexual Assault Examiners (SAE). Different areas will have varying requirements. All SANE nurses have to clock hours in the classroom and the clinic as they train. Once this is done, nurses must pass a test and evaluation.

Nurses with at least two years of experience as a working registered nurse can pursue SANE certification.

An Office of Justice Programs report by Linda Ledray describes the program as a multi-disciplinary, victim-centered method developed in 1976.

Trained, experienced SANE practitioners help to preserve the victims dignity, enhance medical evidence collection for better prosecution, and promote community involvement and concern with crime victims and their families, Ledray states.

Emergency room nurses at Kadlec Regional Medical Center in Richland wear t-shirts calling attention to Sexual Assualt Awareness month. They are part of the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner (S.A.N.E.) program that trains nurses to provide comprehensive care to survivors of sexual assault. There are currently 20 trained nurses in the emergency room.

SANE effectiveness

SANE nurses respond to sexual assault scenarios because their program has been proven to make survivors feel comfortable.

Research has shown that the layered approach of the program helps survivors feel more comfortable taking part in medical exams and testing, with a much larger margin of patients taking advantage of offered services after a SANE program was implemented.

SANE programs also have been found to increase collaboration between community agencies and boost forensic and legal outcomes while increasing the quality of the medical response.

Where they exist, SANE programs have made a profound difference in the quality of care provided to sexual assault victims, Kristin Littel stated in a bulletin for the Department of Justices Office for Victims of Crime.

A SANE program in New Mexico was evaluated in an Office of Justice Programs analysis through the first few years. It found that after the program was implemented, 58% more survivors chose to get an exam, 22% more chose to report the assault to the police and conviction lengths increased nearly five times.

SANEs offer victims prompt, compassionate care and comprehensive forensic evidence collection, Littel stated. In addition to helping preserve the victims dignity and reduce psychological trauma, SANE programs are enhancing evidence collection for more effective investigations and better prosecutions.

Tri-Cities resources

Kadlec wants the community to be aware of these nurses and other regional resources for people who have been sexually assaulted. It has 20 SANEs and partners with local organizations to continue care after hospital visits. They nurses respond when patients come in reporting sexual assault.

Sexual assault affects every age, every gender, every race, every economic status, said Kadlecs Gomez at the press event. Safety for ourselves and our community lies within awareness and education, so the more we know, the more we can help.

Research suggests that historically, survivors were often re-traumatized when coming in for exams. By offering a specially-trained and compassionate nurse, the patient ultimately receives better care. If they want an exam, a SANE will be able to conduct one following the recommended guidelines and offering compassion.

While compassion and bedside manner are already part of a nurses duties, the SANE nurses have a higher standard due to the fragile state their patients are in. Each step needs to be done with extreme care and understanding.

Gomez says you need a support team after a traumatic event like a sexual assault. By offering dedicated medical staff to this purpose, patients may feel more at ease allowing SANEs on their support team.

We believe the bravest thing someone can do is reach out for help and were committed to being there for you, Gomez said. As a society we have a long way to go, but our team promises to continue to learn, to grow and to advocate.

What survivors should know

You will never be charged for an exam with SANE nursesor any sexual assault exam.

Its your choice to get an exam at all, you dont have to.

Every step is your choice. Whether you report the incident to police, have tests done or anything else.

Gomez stressed the importance of survivors taking their own paths, acting as they see is best fit following a traumatic event.

For survivors, I want you to know that assault is not your fault, Gomez said. We are here for you. We are here to help you, to give you options, to provide resources and to hopefully provide a light in a difficult time.

Care for these patients goes beyond the emergency room.

SANEs continue to care for patients and ensure theyre set up with other resources as needed. Gomez says Kadlec partners with many community resources like the Support, Advocacy and Resource Center (SARC), Domestic Violence Services of Benton and Franklin Counties and Mirror Ministries.

Depending on a survivors wants and needs, their SANE will connect them with the appropriate option.

Our big message is that you dont have to do this alone, Gomez said. We all took this on because we want to help you. And we know there are options out there and we want to give them all to you, we want you to be able to write your own story and come to us when you need us.

Sexual assault awareness

On average, one American is sexually assaulted every 68 seconds, according to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network.

Additionally, one in every six American women and one in every 10 men have been the victim of a rape or attempted rape.

If someone in your life tells you they have been sexually assaulted, the most important thing you can do is simply listen to them. Let them say what they want without pushing them and communicate without judgment.

Courtesy: RAINN

Offer support when you can and be patient with them. Remind them it is not their fault and they are not alone.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has created a prevention program to try and decrease the prevalence of sexual assaults and work toward ending sexual violence.

The program includes five categories: Promote social norms that protect against violence, teach skills to prevent sexual violence, provide opportunities to empower and support girls and women, create protective environments, and support victims and survivors to lessen harms.

Courtesy: CDC

Knowledge is power. Educate yourself on the resources that we have in the community... Gomez said. Educate yourself, educate those around you and dont stop talking about it.

Sexual assault resources

Tri-Cities

Washington

United States
Five men in New York City were indicted on Tuesday for allegedly operating a scheme that involved drugging suspects before robbing, or even killing them, according to the Manhattan District Attorney.

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, alongside Mayor Eric Adams and New York City Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell announced the indictment of Jayquan Hamilton, 35, of Brooklyn; Robert Demaio, 34, of Brooklyn; Jacob Barroso, 29, of New Britain, Connecticut; Andre Butts, 27, of Brooklyn; and Shane Hoskins, 30, of New York City.

The NYPD released these images of three of the suspects, Jayqwan Hamilton, Robert Demaio and Jacob Barroso on Friday, March 31, 2022.

All five suspects face charges of first-degree robbery, fourth-degree conspiracy and several other counts of identity theft and grand larceny.

BANK ACCOUNTS OF NEW YORK ROOFIE MURDER VICTIMS DRAINED VIA FACIAL RECOGNITION TECHNOLOGY

According to a press release from Braggs office, the five men are accused of drugging individuals they met outside of bars and nightclubs so they could steal their cell phones, credit cards and other personal information.

Hamilton, Demaio and Barroso also face charges of second-degree murder.

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John Umberger, who died in May in Manhattan after going out to a gay bar. (Photo provided by Linda Clary) Julio Ramirez was discovered dead in the back of a cab in Manhattan in April.

The press release said that from March 2021 to July 2022, the five men worked a scheme to forcibly steal property from their victims using drugs.

NEW YORKERS ENDURE RANDOM ATTACKS AS TOP COP FOCUSES ON TRUMP INDICTMENT

They would identify people walking out of bars or nightclubs with the intent of either incapacitating them or inhibiting their perception of their surroundings, the DA said, before taking their cell phones and credit cards, then conducting money transactions and dividing the proceeds.

For instance, on April 8, 2022, Hamilton, Barroso, Butts and Hoskins allegedly approached a 22-year-old at a nightclub in midtown, entered the victims apartment, offered the victim and another individual drugs, then stole a cell phone, laptop, wallet, credit card and prescription medications.

In another incident on April 21, 2022, Hamilton and Barroso met Julio Ramirez outside of the Ritz Bar.

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The investigation resulted in the seizure of about 32,000 fentanyl pills with a street value of $1 million.

"Less than an hour later, they left him incapacitated in a cab," the release read, adding that Ramirez died of a combination of drugs that included heroin, fentanyl and P-fluorofentanyl.

NYC POLICE ARREST 2 MEN IN CONNECTION WITH MANHATTAN NIGHTCLUB ROBBINGS, DRUGGINGS

The suspects then are accused of taking several things from Ramirez, including a cell phone, before Demaio, who was charged as an accomplice, allegedly made several unauthorized transactions amounting to $3,200.

Hamilton and Butts were also accused of purchasing sneakers with credit card information stored on Ramirezs phone.

The two men also allegedly met John Umberger on May 28th as he left The Q in New York City.

Nearly an hour and a half later, Umberger was dead in his apartment with a combination of fentanyl, P-fluorofentanyl and other drugs in his system.

Hamilton is accused of taking thousands of dollars from Umbergers credit card accounts, while he and Butts allegedly made over $3,500 in unauthorized purchases.

The investigation is ongoing, and the DAs office encourages anyone who believes they fell victim to similar incidents to call the helpline at 212-335-9040.

"Our entire city continues to mourn the tragic losses of Mr. Ramirez and Mr. Umberger," Bragg said. "In addition to the pain their deaths have caused for their family and loved ones, I know that many other New Yorkers have feared for their own safety when going out to meet up with friends."

The DAs office also said it has an ongoing investigation into a separate string of fatal overdoses, which ultimately lead to the December 2022 indictment of Kenwood Allen.
A Florida police officer is in critical condition Wednesday after being shot while attempting to apprehend a suspect at a local hospital, the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office announced.

The suspect fired at and rammed law enforcement vehicles in the parking lot of Baptist Medical Center South around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, only to be killed after police returned fire, according to Jacksonville Sheriff T.K. Waters.

"This is our fifth officer-involved shooting this year. Our third officer this year has been shot. Now that is something that I have never seen in the 32 years I have been working here," Waters told reporters early Wednesday morning.

"Its getting very ridiculous, its very dangerous," Waters added. "Its concerning, and we want to make sure that our officers and our citizens know that they did the right thing tonight, they made sure that the individual did not go into the hospital where, who knows what could have happened. We have all seen all around the country some of the things that have happened in these types of situations."

JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA POLICE OFFICER SHOT IN THE FACE BY BURGLARY SUSPECT

Waters says an officer working off-duty at the hospital had first noticed a vehicle traveling through its parking lot in a suspicious manner.

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When that officer attempted to stop the car, the driver sped off, the sheriff said.

Responding officers then arrived to set up positions, and one officer, who was outside his vehicle, spotted the approaching suspect, raised his hands and said several times to "stop the car," according to Waters.

"The subject inside the car rolled the window down slightly, held out a gun or what looked like a gun and said shoot me," Waters said. "That officer did not shoot him."

Waters said the suspect then drove up to a police car and fired one shot into it  sparking a larger police pursuit in the parking lot that included a failed attempt to use a pit maneuver to disable the suspects vehicle.

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FLORIDA SUSPECT KILLED IN SHOOTING WAS WAITING FOR DEPUTIES BEFORE OPENING FIRE, WOUNDING OFFICER, POLICE SAY

The suspect eventually rammed the police car he previously shot at, as well as another police vehicle head-on, before coming to a halt after crashing into a pole, Waters said.

The driver then refused verbal commands to exit his vehicle, and when an officer reached to open the rear passenger door, he fired through the window, striking the officer in the face, according to Waters.

Five other officers that had surrounded the suspect then returned "a lot" of fire, striking the suspect numerous times and killing him at the scene, he said.

Those officers have since been placed on administrative leave while a state attorney is investigating the shooting.

The suspect was not publicly identified, but Waters described him as appearing fairly young and only having a speeding ticket in his criminal history. The motivation for the alleged behavior is unknown.

The wounded officer, Waters said, is in critical but stable condition Wednesday.

Baptist Medical Center South said in a tweet that all its patients are safe and that it went into a temporary lockdown during the incident.
Republican Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost

If locally elected prosecutors refuse to pursue criminal charges against abortion providers, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost argues states have the power to remove them from office.

Yost and 14 other Republican state attorneys general filed an amicus curiae, or "friend of the court," brief supporting that position Wednesday with the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Atlanta.The brief was filed in a case involving the ouster of a Democratic prosecutor in Tampa by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Republican DeSantis removed Hillsborough County State Attorney Andrew Warren from office in August after Warren signed on to a pledge to not prosecute abortion cases as crimes. DeSantis said Warren's ouster was for neglect of duty in his role as prosecutor.

One of the pledges Warren signed was also signed by Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael OMalley and Columbus City Attorney Zach Klein, both Democrats. Under an Ohio law that is not in effect while its being challenged in the courts, providing an abortion after six weeks into pregnancy is a fifth-degree felony punishable by up to one year in prison.

Yost said in a news release that prosecutors do not have the right to veto the law.

But some are acting as though they do  and they are breaking our system of government. The political preferences of a single prosecutor cannot be allowed to override a lawfully enacted statute, Yost said.

Klein, whose office does not handle felony cases, responded to Yost's claims in a statement issued late Wednesday afternoon:

Every day, independently elected prosecutors in Ohio use their discretion in deciding how to allocate limited resources to prosecute cases free from the dictates of the Attorney General. Prioritizing when and how to prosecute the Republican Partys criminalization of personal health care decisions would be no different. The City of Columbus will continue to use our prosecutorial discretion to put the safety and security of Columbus residents first by targeting violent crime, domestic violence and other serious crimes that threaten public safety far more than any personal healthcare decision ever would.

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Franklin County Prosecutor Gary Tyack has not commented on whether his office would prosecute abortion providers, and a representative of his office declined to comment Wednesday.

Dr. Catherine Romanos, with the Women's Med Center in Kettering, near Dayton, Ohio, performs a sonogram on a woman on June 30, 2022.

Warren sued DeSantis in federal court, avoiding a hearing on the removal before the Republican-controlled Florida Senate and that state's Supreme Court with several DeSantis appointees. He argued that DeSantis violated his First Amendment right to freedom of speech, while also saying his pledges did not represent the prosecutorial policy of his office.

In January, U.S. District Judge Robert L. Hinkle of the Northern District of Florida in Tallahassee decided that DeSantis violated the state constitution and the First Amendment when he removed Warren. But Hinkle, an appointee of President Bill Clinton, a Democrat, also decided that he lacked the authority as a federal judge to restore Warren to office.

Warren is appealing his case to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Yost contends the First Amendment does not limit a states ability to remove prosecutors.

A world in which each prosecutor is free to ignore the law in favor of his or her own individual sense of what the law ought to be is a world where what will get you arrested depends on who's in office  a government of individual prejudices, not a government of laws, Yost said.

Joining Yost in signing onto the court brief were Republican attorneys general from Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, South Carolina, South Dakota, Texas, Utah and West Virginia.

Warrens attorney, Jean-Jacques Cabou, released this statement Wednesday:

Its scary to see not one, or two, but several states of the United States line up behind Ron DeSantis to argue that the First Amendment doesnt protect elected officials from speaking their minds. The Supreme Court has long held that the free speech of elected officials is a cornerstone of our democracy; that speech is how the voters decide who to vote for. This brief is out of step with Supreme Court precedent and out of step with basic principles of a free and democratic society. The District Court rejected the arguments they are making and agreed that Mr. Warrens speech was protected by the First Amendment, and we are confident the 11th Circuit will do the same.

jlaird@dispatch.com

@LairdWrites

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio AG: prosecutors who won't charge abortion providers can be ousted
Ohio University campus stock photo

This article was originally published in Ohio Capital Journal.

Almost all of Ohios public universities and community colleges have seen declining enrollment in the past decade.

Ohio university main and regional campuses and community colleges have both seen a 12% decrease in enrollment from Fall 2022 to Fall 2012, according to the Ohio Department of Higher Education. Ohio public institutions of higher education overall saw a 12% decline from 527,190 to 462,949.

Despite the decreases, Chancellor of the Ohio Department of Higher Education Randy Gardner is not too worried about enrollment decline.

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Im not unconcerned, but Im more optimistic than I am concerned, he said.

More than a million fewer students enrolled in colleges nationwide during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center. But some of Ohio universities were already seeing declines before the pandemic.

I dont want to blame this all on the pandemic, but if you think about it, you have classes that came through two or three years ago, they are still in college, so those numbers kind of keep down and paint a picture thats not as positive as it truly is, Gardner said.

Students graduating high school could be opting to go to a technical career center instead of college, Gardner said.

He expects to see an increase in the number of first time, full-time freshman enrolled this fall.

I do predict an additionally meaningful increase in its enrollment and first-time students, Gardner said. We cant predict the future for sure, but I think the trends are positive.

Ohio high school graduation rates have increased during this same time period of 2012 to 2022.

The four-year high school graduation rate for 2021 and 2020 was 87.2%  compared to 81.3% in 2012, according to the Ohio Department of Education.

Public universities

There were 293,306 students enrolled in Ohio university main and regional campuses in the Fall 2022 compared to 334,264 in Fall 2012.

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The University of Akron saw the steepest drop in total enrollment (-48%), followed by Wright State University (-39%), and Shawnee State University (-29%).

Many institutions of higher education  both in the state and across the country  are seeing a decline in enrollment due to a number of factors that have been in the news, not the least of which has been the impact of COVID-19. The University of Akron is dealing with those same challenges, said university spokesperson Cristine Boyd.

The Akron Beacon Journal reported in August 2020 that the University of Akron Board of Trustees approved cutting about $44 million from its budget.

Ohio University has seen a 21% decrease in enrollment from Fall 2012 to Fall 2022 and did three rounds of layoffs in 2020.

The University faced budget challenges prior to the pandemic as a result of shifting enrollments, which has made it necessary for us to respond with even more urgency to address our new realities, university officials at that time said in a prepared statement in June 2020.

Dave Meredith, vice president for enrollment management at the University of Toledo, said the reason for enrollment decreases are complex and multi-factored. UT has seen enrollment drop 28% from Fall 2012 to Fall 2022.

If it was one thing, we would have solved it years ago, he said.

Regional public universities like UT tend to draw most of their students from within 150 miles of their campus, so if the regions population decreases, those universities have fewer students to draw from, Meredith said.

Theres fewer people graduating from high school in our backyard, he said. The other populations that we tend to recruit from are being drawn into the economy because the economy is doing well.

UT has also been getting fewer transfer students from Owens Community College, since their enrollment has also dropped.

Potential students might decide not to pursue higher education because of concerns over taking on student loan debt.

People increasingly are resistant to taking out any sort of loans, Meredith said.

There are 1,818,300 student loan borrowers in Ohio who together owe $63.1 billion as of Dec. 31, according to the U.S. Department of Education.

The average student loan balance in Ohio was $34,923, according to small business website AdvisorSmiths 2021 report States with Highest Student Loans Debt.

Some universities, however, did see an increase in enrollment.

Central State Universitys enrollment jumped from 2,125 students in Fall 2012 to 5,395 students in Fall 2022. Northeast Ohio Medical School also saw a bump in enrollment, going from 789 students in the Fall 2012 to 983 in the Fall 2022.

The University of Cincinnati saw a 14% increase in enrollment and Ohio State University saw a modest 2% increase.

Community colleges

There were 169,643 students enrolled in community colleges in Fall 2022, compared to 192,926 in Fall 2012.

If the economy is doing well, those populations dry up because those folks can get jobs, Meredith said. When the economy is not doing well, community colleges tend to see their enrollment go up.

Belmont Technical College saw the sharpest decline in total enrollment (-56%), followed by Owens Community College (-55%), and Rhodes State College (-47%).

Eastern Gateway Community Colleges enrollment skyrocketed from 2,561 in Fall 2012 to 30,348 in Fall 2022. Edison State Community College saw a 40% spike in enrollment and Northwest Community College saw a 22% increase in enrollment.

Ohio Capital Journal is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Ohio Capital Journal maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor David DeWitt for questions: info@ohiocapitaljournal.com. Follow Ohio Capital Journal on Facebook and Twitter.
A local Oklahoma official resigned on Wednesday after he was accused of making racist remarks and threats against reporters.

Mark Jennings, who has served as a county commissioner for the second district of McCurtain County since 2021, submitted a handwritten resignation letter to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitts (R) office saying he is resigning effective immediately, a spokesperson for Stitt said.

The letter also states that Jennings plans to release a statement in the near future regarding the recent events in our county.

The McCurtain Gazette-News reported on a conversation that Jennings, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, investigator Alicia Manning, Commissioner Robert Beck, commissioners secretary Heather Carter, and jail administrator Larry Hendrix had after a March 6 meeting of the countys board of commissioners.

During the conversation, of which the newspaper released a series of audio clips and transcripts, Jennings discussed his preference for returning to a time when lynching was allowed.

Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope. But you cant do that anymore. They got more rights than we got, he said.

Jennings, Clardy, and Manning also discuss the idea of hiring hitmen in regard to two journalists.

I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them, Jennings said.

Jennings told The Hill that his resignation is on file in the McCurtain County Clerks Office.

Stitt called for the resignations of Jennings, Clardy, Manning, and Hendrix following the release of the recordings of the conversation.

The comments have sparked protests in Idabel, Okla., where Jennings is from, and outrage across the state and country.

The sheriffs office pushed back on the release of the recordings on Monday, alleging they were altered and illegal as no member of the conversation consented to be recorded.

Oklahoma recording laws require at least one party in a conversation to consent for the recording to be legal.

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The office said it was investigating the leak.

State Sen. George Burns (R), who represents McCurtain County, said in a statement following Jennings resignation that he told Jennings and Clardy they needed to resign immediately. He said he also told Clardy that any staff members involved also need to resign.

Burns said specifically that Clardy, Manning, and Hendrix need to do the right thing and submit their resignations as well.

I live in McCurtain County, and I want to state emphatically that these horrible comments do not represent the heart and spirit of our citizens, Burns said. Its hurt the county and our state. Innocent people are being impacted. When the words of public servants are so vile that theyre hurting the people they serve, they should no longer hold those positions.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

 Updated 4:49 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
McCurtain-County-RS-1800 - Credit: Lori Dunn/The Texarkana Gazette via AP

Oklahoma Governor Kevin Stitts office confirmed on Wednesday that McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings has resigned after he and three other county officials were recorded fantasizing about lynching Black people and hiring hitmen to murder local reporters.

The four officials  Jennings, Sheriff Kevin Clardy, Sheriffs Captain Alicia Manning, and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix  were recorded discussing a lawsuit against the sheriffs office, Manning and the Board of County Commissioners brought by McCurtain Gazette-News Reporter Chris Willingham. The Gazzete News first reported on the recording on Friday.

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Yeah, I aint worried about what hes gonna do to me, Manning can reportedly be heard saying on the tape. Im worried about what I might do to him. My papaw would have whipped his ass, would have wiped him and used him for toilet paper [] if my daddy hadnt been run over by a vehicle, he would have been down there.

I know where two big, deep holes are here if you ever need them, Jennings allegedly responded. Sheriff Clardy then reportedly volunteered his excavator to assist in the digging of holes.

Jennings also complained about how lynchings are no longer legal. Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with damned rope, he allegedly said. But you cant do that anymore. Theyve got more rights than weve got.

On secretly recorded audio first reported by the McCurtain Gazette-News, GOP McCurtain County, Okla. officials  including the sheriff  talk about hiring hitmen to assassinate local journalists and complain that Black people now have the right to not be lynched. pic.twitter.com/N8XKNwpgqW  Heartland Signal (@HeartlandSignal) April 17, 2023

At one point in the conversation the group joked about the body of a woman who had been killed in a house fire. Im hungry! One voice can be heard exclaiming, as the county officials compare how burnt bodies fall apart to barbeque.

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Stitt has called for the resignations of all four individuals. I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County, the governor, a Republican, said in a statement released Sunday. There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office. I will not stand idly by while this takes place.

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Click here to read the full article.
A local official in Oklahoma who allegedly discussed killing reporters and lynching Black people has resigned from his office, according to the state's Governor Kevin Stitt.

McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings resigned on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the governor's office. He sent a handwritten letter to the governor's office, saying he planned to resign immediately and indicating he planned to release a formal statement "in the near future regarding the recent events in our county," according to the Associated Press.

Mr Jennnings and other county officials were allegedly recorded following a 6 March meeting. The recordings were sent to the McCurtain Gazette-News, which made a transcript of its findings available this week.

The recordings were met with outrage across social media and locally in the city of Idabel, which serves as the county's seat.

The county sheriff's office has not directly addressed the details of the conversation, but has complained that the recordings were obtained illegally. Oklahoma is a one-party consent state, meaning only one recording party needs to consent in order to legally capture a discussion or phone call, though the actual legality of how the audio was captured is unclear.

Sheriff Kevin Clardy and one of his subordinates, Alicia Manning, were among those allegedly captured on the recording.

Mr Jennings, the law enforcement officials, and the city's Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix were reportedly recorded discussing how they could kill and dispose of the bodies of the publisher of the Gazette-News, Bruce Willingham, and his son, Chris, who works as a reporter at the paper.

Mr Jennings can allegedly be heard telling Ms Manning that he knows "where two deep holes are dug if you ever need them."

Mr Clardy reportedly responds that he's "got an excavator."

Mr Jennings then allegedly says that he's known "two or three hit men" in Louisiana who are "very quiet guys."

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The conversation eventually turned to speculating on who might challenge Mr Clardy for the sheriff's position in upcoming elections, to which Mr Jennings reportedly said he knew a sheriff who would take a damned Black guy and whoop their a** and throw them in the cell.

McCurtain County District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, who resigned after he was allegedly recorded discussing hiring hitmen to kill journalists and lynching Black people (McCurtain County District 2)

Mr Clardy reportedly lamented that its "not like that no more," a sentiment Mr Jennings shared.

I know, Mr Jennings allegedly said. Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damned rope. But you cant do that anymore. Theyve got more rights than weve got.

Mr Willingham admitted to recording the conversation by leaving a voice recorder behind after the meeting. He left the recorder because he suspected the county officials were continuing to conduct business outside of normal meeting parameters, which would violate the state's Open Meeting Act.

Many states have laws dictating when official business can be discussed, which often include mandatory announcements to ensure the public can attend those meetings. Some laws restrict the number of public officials that can meet and discuss at any time without first alerting the public.

The newspaper publisher said he met with attorneys twice to ensure he was not breaking the law.

Idabel residents demand the resignation of county officials allegedly captured on an audio recording discussing killing journalists and lynching Black people

The Gazette-News had published stories critical of the sheriff's department in the past, in particular after the the death of Bobby Barrick, who died after deputies shot him with a stun gun. The paper sued the department for body camera footage and other records related to the death.

Chris Willingham also sued the sheriff's department, alleging Ms Manning slandered him in retaliation for an eight-part series he wrote detailing problems inside the department. The lawsuit claims Ms Manning told an individual that Christ Willingham traded marijuana for child sex abuse materials from a man who had been arrest on similar charges.

Members of the public have been gathering outside the McCurtain County Courthouse since the recordings were reported on calling for the sheriff and other officials to resign.

The Oklahoma Sheriff's Association held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and voted unanimously to suspend Mr Clardy, Ms Manning, and Mr Hendrix from the group.
The Oklahoma Sheriffs Association suspended the McCurtain County sheriff and two other staffers Tuesday after they were secretly recorded talking about killing reporters and lynching Black residents after a public meeting.

The vote to suspend Sheriff Kevin Clardy, sheriff's investigator Alicia Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix was unanimous, the sheriffs association said on Facebook. The suspension does not remove them from their jobs with the sheriffs department.

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt called for the trio's resignations Monday and for County Commissioner Mark Jennings to step down, as well.

The McCurtain County Gazette-News identified the four as the officials who were recorded March 6 making threatening and racist statements after a meeting of the McCurtain County Commission.

None have spoken publicly about the scandal engulfing the county. On Monday the sheriffs office claimed that the recording had been illegally obtained, appeared to have been altered and may have violated a state law prohibiting secret recordings by third parties.

Residents call for the resignation of several McCurtain County officials at a county commissioners meeting April 17, 2023, in Idabel, Okla. (Christopher Bryan / Southwest Ledger via AP)

Christin Jones, of the law firm Kilpatrick Townsend, which represents the newspaper, insisted the recording had not been tampered with and that reporter Bruce Willingham, whose family has owned the newspaper for 40 years, did not break the law in making it.

It is an accurate recording and does not violate the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act, Jones said by email. The full audio is planned to be released on Thursday.

The entire recording has already been turned over to the FBI and the Oklahoma attorney generals office, the law firm has said.

Dozens of picketers descended Monday on the headquarters of the McCurtain County Commissioners in the town of Idabel to demand the ousters of Clardy and the others following publication of the newspaper article.

On Tuesday, McCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel was evacuated after it got a bomb threat a little after 2 p.m. ET. It was not immediately clear whether it was related to the protests.

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"The bomb threat was real, and the evacuation is real," an Idabel police dispatcher said. "But we don't know yet if the bomb is real, and we have a bomb squad there right now."

The hospital said in a statement confirming the threat that "a demand was made or else, the bomb would be detonated." It did not elaborate further.

Earlier, hundreds of critics went to Clardy's official Facebook page and blasted the sheriffs office for suggesting Willingham had done something wrong.

"Absolute scum of the Earth," Christian Sage Walker wrote. "You got caught on tape talking about lynching black people and hanging journalists and now you want sympathy."

Another poster, Jay Stiles, mocked the sheriff's response.

"When youre caught making fun of an arson victim, lamenting that you cant lynch people and talking about hiring hitmen to take out a journalist ... and this is your response ... ," Stiles wrote. "Classy move McCurtain County Sheriff's Office."

Aside from the Facebook posting by the sheriffs office, none of the embattled McCurtain County officials have commented on the scandal sweeping through Idabel and have not responded to emails and calls seeking comment. Willingham has not responded to requests for comment.

The drama began after Willingham, acting on a tip that the commissioners were illegally engaging in county business after the public meetings were over, left a recording device in the commissioners chamber, the newspaper reported.

Earlier that day, Willinghams son, Christopher Lee Willingham, who is also a reporter at the newspaper, had sued Clardy, Manning and the commissioners in U.S. District Court for Eastern Oklahoma seeking unspecified damages. He claimed they were punishing him for his hard-hitting reporting by spreading slander about him.

When Willingham retrieved the device, he discovered that the conversation began with a grisly conversation about a fire victim being compared to barbecue before the group turned to talking about his son and hiring hitmen from the Louisiana mafia to take him out.

Perhaps the most explosive part of the recording came when the talk turned to who might run against Clardy in the coming election and Jennings recalled how a former sheriff would take a damned Black guy and whoop their ass and throw them in the cell, the newspaper reported.

Yeah, Clardy replied, according to the newspaper. Its not like that no more.

I know, Jennings said. Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damned rope. But you cant do that anymore. Theyve got more rights than weve got.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
Rebecka Peterson, a math teacher at Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma, has been named the 2023 National Teacher of the Year. The 10th to 12th-grade teacher was selected out of five finalists by the Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), a nonprofit organization.

"I'm so grateful to represent this incredibly powerful profession," Peterson said Wednesday on "CBS Mornings."

Along with teaching, Peterson runs the blog "One Good Thing," posting positive updates from her classroom daily, with over 1,400 contributions to date.

Peterson said she started her career at the college level and switched to teaching high school, which was a shock to her system.

"But what I say saved my career was: I started looking for the good every day, and I started writing fun, good things every day," she said. "And when I took the time to notice the good, the good became better."

As the current Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, she shares uplifting stories from teachers across all 77 counties on social media.

Peterson has been in the education field for 14 years and has spent 11 years at Union High School, according to CCSSO. She holds bachelor's and master's degrees in mathematics from Oklahoma Wesleyan University and the University of South Dakota. Recently, she was named a finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

Eleven of Peterson's former students are now math teachers.

"I really admire the way that she was willing to let people in," said Alyssa Fisher, who now teaches at Union High School in Peterson's old classroom. "She was just willing to let her students into her life. She brought in so much vulnerability and just boldness into the classroom."

In a video message shared with "CBS Mornings," first lady Jill Biden congratulated Peterson and thanked her for showing the country the power, purpose and joy of teaching.

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"As both an educator and dedicated journaler myself, I love that you share the beautiful and positive experiences occurring in your classroom to inspire others and capture what it means to be a teacher," Biden said.

"The President and I are so proud of you," she said, noting that they are looking forward to honoring her Monday in an event at the White House.

CCSSO's National Teacher of the Year Program recognizes exceptional teachers nationwide, providing professional development opportunities and empowering them to engage in policy discussions. The 2023 National Teacher of the Year was selected from a group of five finalists, who were selected from among a group of 55 State Teachers of the Year.

Peterson is expected to serve as an ambassador for education for a year and advocate for students and teachers.

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OLD BRIDGE  A teacher at Madison Park Elementary School is accused of inappropriately handling one of her students.

Christine Paduch, 42, of Howell, was arrested and charged with one count of second-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone announced.

Detectives from the Middlesex County Prosecutors Office and Old Bridge Police Department on Tuesday investigated allegations of abuse by Paduch, Ciccone said, and she was subsequently arrested without incident.

Paduch made her first court appearance on Wednesday and was released from custody with conditions, the prosecutor said.

More: Old Bridge man sentenced to 13 years in prison for robbing pizza delivery man at gunpoint

The school district has been working with authorities since it became aware of the allegations, Superintendent of Schools David Cittadino said in a statement.

"The employee has not been, and will not be working in district pending the resolution of the criminal proceedings, Cittadino said. As this is an ongoing criminal matter and a personnel issue, OBTPS cannot comment further, except to say that the education and wellbeing of our students remains our priority. We will continue to provide our staff the training and supports needed to be successful and we will cooperate fully with the Prosecutors office."

The investigation is ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to call Old Bridge Detective Ryan Hall at 732-721-5600 ext. 3202 or Prosecutors Office Detective Oscar Ayala at 732-745-4194.

This article originally appeared on MyCentralJersey.com: Old Bridge NJ teacher arrested, charged with endangering student
President Biden will host the two Tennessee lawmakers who were once expelled from the states legislature and a third who was subject to expulsion at the White House on Monday.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday that Biden would welcome Democratic state Reps. Justin Jones, Justin Pearson, and Gloria Johnson. The president spoke with the lawmakers, known as the Tennessee Three, on a recent video call to thank them for their work.

Jones and Pearson earlier this month were expelled from the legislature for their participation in the recent gun violence demonstrations following a shooting at a private Christian school in Nashville, Tenn., last month. They both have been reinstated. Johnson, who also participated in the protests and is white, narrowly survived her expulsion vote.

Jones, Johnson and Pearson led chants on the House floor last week in the aftermath of the shooting, chanting No action, no peace. Resolutions to expel them say they engaged in disorderly behavior and did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.

The expulsion of Jones and Pearson, both of whom are Black, has fueled a nationwide debate in recent days over gun violence, race and the freedom to protest. The White House called the expulsion votes undemocratic.

Biden has renewed his calls for an assault weapons ban following the shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville that left three 9-year-olds and three adult employees dead.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Crystal Regehr Westergard owns Canadian Candy Nostalgia, a company that specalises in reviving discontinued treats

What would you do with 133,000 chocolate bars? A Canadian woman found herself asking that question after her candy company made too many delicious treats, all with a looming expiry date of June. It is a dilemma that made national headlines and ended with a sweet outcome.

Crystal Regehr Westergard specialises in reviving popular treats from the past.

The full-time physiotherapist started her company, Canadian Candy Nostalgia, in 2018 to bring back Cuban Lunch, a retro candy that dates back to World War II and that was near and dear to her mother's heart.

Two years ago, Ms Regehr Westergard resurrected yet another discontinued chocolate bar: Rum & Butter, a Cadbury-made, non-alcoholic bar with a gooey, rum-flavoured center that was once popular in the 1980s but ceased to exist in 1996.

Its revival was an instant hit. She sold a little over a million bars after the first round of manufacturing, and her company was eager to make more.

A series of pandemic-related mishaps, however, led to the production of 333,000 bars on one single, fateful day in June 2022. This meant that all of those bars had the same expiry date stamped on them - a day one year away.

Some may think it is easy to get rid of that much chocolate fairly quickly, but the surplus of candy proved to be quite the predicament for Ms Regehr Westergard.

While Canada does not have regulations requiring expiry dates on chocolate, "grocery stores stopped being willing to buy from us in January", she told the BBC, because the best-before date was fast approaching.

That left her with 133,000 bars of unsold candy - about 5,540 boxes of chocolate stored in a secure food warehouse in Calgary, Alberta , a three-hour drive from Ms Regehr Westergard's home in the city of Camrose.

This meant that she could not give out the chocolate bars one-by-one to her neighbours, for example. Nor could she send just one box to those who asked, as boxes were stored together in candy pallets that weighed about 1,000lbs (453.5kg) each.

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She also learned that the Calgary food bank had a no-candy policy, so that was not an option either.

Ms Regehr Westergard was resigned to the fact that she needed to give away those candy bars for free, and she had to come up with a plan quickly.

"I was becoming increasingly aware that if I just left the (chocolate) there, it would come to its stale date and that we'd have to throw them out," she said. "That was my worst case scenario."

So she did what most people in nowadays do when faced with a problem: ask the internet for help.

Her story caught the attention of a journalist at the Globe and Mail newspaper, who wrote about Ms Regehr Westergard's conundrum on 10 April. Soon after, her inbox was flooded with messages from people around the world, she said, asking if they could get a box for themselves.

But Ms Regehr Westergard wanted to focus on giving away the boxes in bulk to nearby organisations that were able to pick them up.

Thanks to the publicity, her chocolate bars have since found homes in a variety of places in need.

This includes a local Ukrainian church assisting newly-arrived refugees, Calgary's drop-in center for unhoused people, and a fire department in neighbouring Saskatchewan.

Food banks in the Calgary area also reached out to take some chocolate off of her hands despite the no-candy policy, and a local charity is using the bars to raise money to send underprivileged children to camp.

All of the candy is now accounted for, Ms Regehr Westergard said, and she could not be more relieved with this sweet ending.

"I'm glad you're writing a follow-up," she told the BBC, as she is still receiving messages daily from people across North America asking if she has any treats left to give.
STUART  One person died after a motorcycle and pickup crashed on Northwest Dixie Highway near Northwest Australian Street Monday night, according to Stuart police.

More: Intensified speeding enforcement drives up traffic citations in Martin County

What Happened: Police responded to a reported crash between a motorcycle and pickup truck on Northwest Dixie Highway around 8:48 p.m. Monday, said Lt. Michael Gerwan.

The motorcyclist was pronounced dead at the scene, Gerwan said. No other injuries were reported. The police lieutenant declined to release information on the motorcyclist or the pickup driver.

Police Investigation: Gerwan said he had no information available on what happened during the crash.

He said the crash was not being treated as a hit-and-run crash. But the police lieutenant said he could not comment on whether drugs or alcohol were suspected to be a factor in the crash.

"It's investigated by the Criminal Investigation Division, which is standard practice," Gerwan said. "So, they reconstruct the crash, and they go through everything to determine the cause."

More: Family loses home, belongings in fire in Hobe Sound on Easter Sunday

More: Martin deputy arrested after PSL police say he shoplifted at Walmart

Mauricio La Plante is a breaking news reporter for TCPalm. Follow him on Twitter @mslaplantenews or email him at Mauricio.LaPlante@tcpalm.com.

This article originally appeared on Treasure Coast Newspapers: one person dead after motorcycle pickup crash stuart
Were a month away from a record-breaking summer concert season at Gillette Stadium, beginning with three sold-out nights of Taylor Swift.

The home of the New England Patriots and Revolution will host 10 concerts this year, surpassing the previous mark of 9 set in 2016 and again in 2022.

The first The Eras Tour show kicks off on May 19, and Gillette Stadium officials would like to remind fans attending of important ticketholder information:

With the return of concerts to the venue, so to returns the traffic. Officials are urging fans to allow themselves extra time when traveling to or near the stadium on event days. Traffic restrictions will be in place on local roads and fans need to use I-95, I-495, or Route 140 to access Route 1 and Gillette Stadium.

Parking lots open four hours prior to the start of each show. They also close immediately after each event ends. Gillette Stadium offers general parking, located on the opposite side of Route 1 from the stadium, for all ticket holders. General parking is included in the price of the event ticket, but fans who wish to park on the stadium side of Route 1 must purchase prepaid parking passes for $35. These passes are limited and subject to availability, according to officials.

To avoid parking passes altogether, fans can opt to take the train. The MBTA Commuter Rail and Keolis are providing round-trip, special event trains from Boston and Providence to Gillette Stadium concerts all summer long. Roundtrip tickets are $20 and can be bought beginning two weeks before each show on the mTicket app or ticket offices at South Station, North Station, and Back Bay. Regular Commuter Rail tickets and passes are not valid for special event trains.

Speaking of payments, Gillette Stadium is a cashless venue. All sales are now only accepted through electronic payment, including debit and credit cards, wallet, or watch. There are machines that convert cash to cards in the venue should you need it.

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Gillette also institutes a clear bag policy and put out a list of prohibited items. Bags larger than a small wristlet or handheld wallet will not be allowed inside. Similarly, GoPro/video cameras, lasers, and outside food and beverage are not allowed. For a full list of prohibited items, click here.

Officials from Gillette Stadium want to wish everyone a happy and safe summer concert series. For more information about the upcoming concerts and the dos and donts for fans attending, click here.

The summer concert lineup is as follows:

EVENT DATE TIME Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour May 19, 20 & 21 6:30 p.m. Ed Sheeran: + - =  x Tour June 30 & July 1 6 p.m. Luke Combs 2023 World Tour July 22 5:45 p.m. Beyonce Renaissance World Tour August 1 7 p.m. Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band 2023 Tour August 24 & 26 7:30 p.m. Billy Joel & Stevie Nicks September 23 7 p.m.

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State Rep. Justin Jones carries a casket through the state Capitol on Monday in Nashville. George Walker IV / AP

Tennessee Rep. Justin Jones, one of the Democratic lawmakers who was expelled for protesting gun violence and then reinstated earlier this month, tried to carry a baby-size casket onto the Tennessee House floor on Monday to once again call for stricter gun laws.

Jones had told MSNBC on Sunday that he wanted to "put pressure" on Tennessee Republicans to put the interests of the people over NRA contributions.

"It is immoral that we are allowing this to happen time after time after time and all they tweet is 'thoughts and prayers,'" Jones said. "It is immoral. It is extreme and we must continue to make them uncomfortable."

On Monday, protesters marched from McKendree United Methodist Church to the state Capitol to protest HB 1202, which would make it easier for teachers to carry firearms at school. They included Bishop William Barber and members of groups including Repairers of the Breach, Everytown for Gun Safety, Moms Demand Action, and Students Demand Action. Members of the crowd carried six caskets.

At the Capitol, police blocked the crowd from entering, and Jones took over carrying a baby-size casket. He passed through initial security with it, but sercurity stopped him from bringing it onto the House floor. At one point, WREG reported, he passed it off to Rep. Justin Pearson, his colleague who was also expelled and reinstated after protesting for gun control.

More on this

"Today on the House floor, well be voting on HB 1202 to allow teachers to carry guns in schools," Jones tweeted on Monday. "Is this really the direction we want to go as a state more guns in schools? This is an irresponsible response to school shootings and will not keep students safe. This is madness."

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Bishop William Barber and Repairers of the Breach

During the march, Barber spoke to the crowd about the need for stronger gun laws in the US.

"It must be about the people refusing to accept children dying," he said. "Dying because politicians block gun laws that save lives. They block healthcare that would save lives. They block living wages and they refuse to address policy that would save lives and we are here and we will come again and again and again and again."

The protest comes just a few weeks after six people, including three children, were killed at the Covenant School in Nashville. Tennessee has few restrictions on guns, according to Everytown, a gun violence prevention organization, and no permit is required to openly or concealed-carry a handgun. In June 2022, Republican Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee said he did not support any new restrictions on firearms.

On April 6, Jones and Pearson were both expelled after they led a protest for gun control on the House floor; they were later reinstated to the Legislature.

Gun violence in the US is a public health crisis, according to the American Public Health Association . It is a leading cause of premature death in the country, responsible for more than 38,000 deaths annually. As of April 18, at least 5,373 people have died from gun violence this year, and another 7,128 have died by suicide, according to data from the Gun Violence Archive .
Kirstin Smith was worried after her 5-year-old had a traumatic interaction with another student at school this past fall.

Her daughters behavior had changed  she was hiding under desks at school and waking up scared from her nightmares. Smith wanted to get her some help.

A couple months later, the kindergartner was sitting cross-legged on her mothers bed, chatting with her lady on a laptop screen while Smith stirred macaroni in the kitchen. Every so often, Smith pressed her ear to the bedroom door or cracked it open to check in.

The virtual therapist met weekly with Smiths daughter for the next three months, teaching her how to breathe deeply to stay calm and when to seek help from a trusted adult.

I am happy that she was able to build that relationship with her therapist remotely, Smith said. When she gets overwhelmed, she knows that shes overwhelmed, versus her feeling like she did something wrong or something is wrong with her.

The number of U.S. students with access to virtual mental health support has skyrocketed over the last year. Thirteen of the nations 20 largest districts have added teletherapy since the pandemic began, expanding access to hundreds of thousands of students, a Chalkbeat review found. That includes Clark County schools in Nevada, where Smiths daughter attends school. Two more big districts plan to add the service later this year.

Unprepared: Michigan child care workers weren't ready for kids' post-pandemic mental health crisis

The rise of teletherapy is a reflection of the intense pressure schools are under to address a youth mental health crisis that shows no sign of waning. The services offer a way to reach more students without bringing on full-time staff that are often difficult and expensive to recruit. And while some educators and parents have been skeptical of the virtual setup, many say they've since been won over.

Telehealth isnt just for urgent care.

This does eliminate barriers, said Nirmita Panchal, whos written about the growth of tele-mental health in schools for the nonprofit KFF, which conducts health policy research. There are definitely some challenges, but big picture, we do see the advantages in linking students who otherwise wouldnt have care into care.

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OPINION: Kids are in a mental health crisis. We need real resources  not culture wars.

Schools see benefits to teletherapy

School leaders say the wait time to see a therapist virtually is often days, instead of weeks or months. Teletherapy can get help to more kids with moderate needs, who often dont get seen at school because staffers are focused on kids in crisis. It can also bring some relief to kids with bigger challenges while they wait for more intensive in-person care.

And its often easier to match a student with someone who speaks their familys language or is of a particular race, gender or cultural background when schools have access to a larger national pool of therapists.

More: Pandemic babies are behind after years of stress, isolation affected brain development

That helped persuade Ellen Wingard, who oversees student support services for the schools in Salem, Massachusetts. Her district started offering teletherapy through a local mental health center and the company Cartwheel in January. Initially, she worried it would be a waste of time.

At Compton Unified schools, students can meet virtually with a therapist in a private room in their school's wellness center.

I was very hesitant, she said. I was like: Our kids do not want to do that.

But shes been impressed by how the teletherapy has reached students who never got past a referral from their school counselor to seek help outside their school before. School staff have come to her in surprise, saying: Wait, they what? They found a male counselor? Wingard said.

Another upside is that schools can offer teletherapy to students at home or on campus. Some families like that they can easily supervise their child and check in with them after a session at home. At school, students typically go to a private space where they can slip on headphones and talk with a therapist on an iPad while a nurse or counselor supervises nearby. Then they can return to class without much disruption to their day.

Its not for everybody, but for those students and parents who want that, its been fantastic, said JaMaiia Bond, who oversees student mental health services for Comptons schools in California, which started offering teletherapy through Hazel Health this school year.

The San Francisco-based company has become the top player in providing teletherapy to the nations largest school systems. By this fall, Hazel will be working with half of the countrys 20 biggest districts.

Survey: Employers bolster health insurance plans during the pandemic with more mental health care, telemedicine; costs rise about 4%

Nationally, since Hazel launched its tele-mental health service last school year, the number of students who can access teletherapy through the company has shot up from just under a million students at 20 districts to more than 2 million students at 70 districts, according to a Hazel spokesperson  a figure that does not yet include a new $24 million teletherapy initiative for students across Los Angeles County.

Schools spend millions on virtual mental health support

Among Hazels clients are Clark County schools in the Las Vegas area, which spent $2.6 million on teletherapy over the last two school years, records obtained by Chalkbeat show. Hawaii is spending $3.8 million on Hazels virtual therapy over three years, while the Houston school district set aside $5 million for teletherapy and virtual primary care services over the next five years. Fairfax County schools in Virginia are expected to spend nearly $700,000 on Hazels teletherapy. And Hillsborough County schools in Florida are launching a two-year $2 million teletherapy initiative through Hazel this fall.

Lisa Wanninger of Batavia has been trying to get her daughter, Gwen Caudill 14, help on and off for years as she struggles with depression, anxiety and self-harm. Together, theyve found that dialing down social media, keeping focused on a school outside of the brick-and-mortar school Gwen went to before and expressing feelings have helped with her daughters health. There is a mental health crisis nationwide among youth, and teenage girls have been struggling in particular.

Others have stayed local. Some Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools offer teletherapy through a local hospital funded by a $10 million donation. And Mississippi is offering teletherapy statewide through the University of Mississippi Medical Center. The initiative is funded by $17.6 million in federal COVID relief dollars.

That money helps cover equipment, training for school staff, fees, and in some cases, the therapy. Mississippi, for example, is covering the full cost of students sessions to avoid insurance headaches for families.

There are some drawbacks and limitations. Younger children and some students with disabilities may find the technology difficult to use, educators say. In Mississippi, some districts decided not to offer teletherapy because they were worried about overburdening their few school nurses. And some districts prefer to connect students to local mental health professionals.

CDC survey: Teen girls report record levels of violence, sadness and suicide risk

They understand the community, said BJ Wilson, the interim special services director for Grandview School District in Washington, which is weighing whether it wants to hire Hazel to offer teletherapy. Thats really important to say: I live three blocks from you, I know exactly what youre talking about.

Some also worry that expanded access to teletherapy could reduce the urgency to offer students in-person care, which many kids need or prefer. Thats especially true for families that lack a stable internet connection at home, or dont have a quiet, private space for kids to meet virtually with a mental health professional.

Getting families on board can also take work. Generally, schools must obtain consent from a legal guardian to offer teletherapy to students, though in some states students can consent to mental health treatment themselves.

In Houston, Diego Linares has been hosting coffee with the principal events so he can show families how to sign up for his high schools new teletherapy offering through Hazel. He makes sure parents know the teletherapy is always free to their children and that immigration officials wont see anything they share.

When your immigration status is important for you and you worry about it, you dont want to put your name on things that may get you in trouble, Linares said. This is important for them to understand that this is really for the benefit of the students.

Will teletherapy disappear when COVID funds run out?

Whether schools will offer teletherapy long-term remains an open question. Some in Congress want to create more permanent funding, but right now many school districts are relying on temporary COVID relief funds.

Student usage will likely be a determining factor. Right now, numbers tend to be small as many programs are just getting started.

Hawaiis schools referred almost 1,000 students for virtual mental health support between last August and mid-March, said Fern Yoshida, who oversees the teletherapy initiative for the state education department. Thats less than 1% of Hawaiis students, but Yoshida said theyre comfortable with that number for now, since it represents students who otherwise may not have gotten help.

Were going to evaluate to see how this goes, Yoshida said. But weve been finding that this has really fit.

Some students whove turned to teletherapy see promise in the service.

Coming up short: COVID-19 pandemic aid more than $300 billion short for dealing with student learning loss, study shows

Eighteen-year-old Fatima Magallon found out that her Las Vegas high school was offering teletherapy when Hazel paid students there a small stipend for their ideas on how to improve the companys service.

Not long after, Magallons grandmother died. Magallons grades started dropping, and when a school counselor told the senior she may not graduate on time, she decided to give the teletherapy a try.

Eighteen-year-old Fatima Magallon found out that her Las Vegas high school was offering teletherapy.Not long after, Magallons grandmother died. Magallons grades started dropping, and when a school counselor told the senior she may not graduate on time, she decided to give the teletherapy a try. The initial sessions were awkward, Magallon said, but eventually she felt like she could open up.

The initial sessions were awkward, Magallon said, but eventually she felt like she could open up. It was especially helpful when the therapist tried to make it feel like they were together in person.

She would open her blinds and I would open mine, said Magallon, who graduated last June. Seeing light through the Zoom, it actually helped a lot.

Kalyn Belsha is a national education reporter based in Chicago. Contact her at kbelsha@chalkbeat.org.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: A youth mental health crisis is gripping schools. Teletherapy is helping.
A group has launched a petition effort to get a constitutional amendment ballot question on the 2024 general election ballot that would open South Dakota primary election races to all voters, regardless of party affiliation.

That's because currently primary elections are closed, meaning only registered Democrats and registered Republicans can vote in primary races for Democrat and Republican candidates. Registered Independents can vote for Independent candidates too, but most of the time end up sidelined due to a lack of party representation on the primary ballot.

Tom Dempster, a former state senator and Minnehaha County Commissioner, speaks at a press conference to announce the signature drive to put a constitutional amendment that would allow for open primaries on the 2024 general election ballot in Sioux Falls on April 19, 2022.

Tom Heinz, a business owner from Dakota Dunes who spoke at the SD Open Primaries press conference in Sioux Falls Wednesday, said that last year 95% of primary elections were closed to Independent voters like him.

"That means for the majority of the 142,000 Independent voters across South Dakota, they were excluded from that state legislative election despite the fact that their tax dollars paid for these elections," he said.

Joe Kirby, the chairman of the group, explained the open primary process would include the governor, federal congressional, state legislature and county office races. The top two candidates with the most votes from those primary races would then go on to compete in the general election.

More: What South Dakota's K-12 students will learn in social studies classes starting in 2025

He added that if passed, voters would receive one ballot at the primary voting booth.

"We're lucky to have so much time," Kirby said when asked about educating citizens about open primaries. "We're talking about the November 2024 election. So this year, we're going to be gathering signatures which means we're going to be explaining it to people as we get out to the county fairs, Levitt concerts, the DMV, the courthouses."

The ballot question has been approved by the Secretary of State's office and the petition circulation approval happened on April 11.

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Joe Kirby signs his name a petition that would propose open primaries across South Dakota in Sioux Falls on Wednesday, April 19, 2022. If enough signatures are gathered, a ballot question for open primaries will be placed on the 2024 election ballot.

The Legislative Research Council, in its fiscal note on the ballot question, estimates 50,000 more people would be eligible to vote in the open primary system. Counties statewide would be on the hook for an estimated $24,000 for the extra ballot printing costs, but the total cost could vary based on the county.

It's not the first time South Dakota has tried to open up the primary election. Kirby said a 2016 effort had failed but it was combined with taking away party affiliation, creating a non-partisan election system.

More: Sioux Falls has a NAACP chapter again  the only active one in South Dakota

45% of voters voted in favor of the 2016 ballot question, according to the Secretary of State's office.

Currently 15 states have open primary elections, like Montana, Colorado and Texas, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.

In order for the open primary constitutional amendment to get on the 2024 ballot, the group must get a number of signatures equal to at least 10% of statewide voters who voted in the last gubernatorial race.

The group already has at least one signature. Kirby added his name to the petition first during the press conference. After the gathering, petition circulators could be seen at the doors of the Siouxland Public Library branch downtown asking for signatures.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: Open primary ballot question starts signature drive
A former Georgia prison guard faces up to 20 years in prison after she pleaded guilty as a defendant in one of the largest-ever drug trafficking indictments in the states history.

Desiree Briley pleaded guilty as part of the Operation Ghost Busted indictment. Back in January, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Attorneys Office of Southern District of Georgia announced more than 76 people were charged.

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Officials said members of the Ghost Face Gangsters and their accomplices were involved in a drug trafficking conspiracy. The defendants are accused of distributing large amounts of methamphetamine, fentanyl, heroin and alprazolam across southeast Georgia.

One of the defendants included 26-year-old Desiree Briley, who worked at the Telfair State Prison. The U.S. Attorneys Office said she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and to distribute methamphetamine.

Desiree Briley played a key role in enabling members of the Ghost Face Gangsters to operate a massive drug trafficking operation inside and outside Georgias prison system, said U.S. Attorney Steinberg. Her actions compromised the security of the facility she was sworn to protect, and threatened the safety of every person in the community where this conspiracy distributed illegal drugs.

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Investigators said it took two years to identify the defendants trafficking drugs through Georgia counties such as Glynn, Pierce, Camden, Wayne, Treutlen, McIntosh, Toombs, Telfair, Dodge and Ware.

They said Briley worked with James NeSmith, a convicted murderer serving a life sentence at the prison where she worked.

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During her hearing, it was revealed that Briley had also been training to become a canine handler for the jail at the time of her arrest. The job would have given her access to allow more contraband in the prison, according to prosecutors.

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We maintain a zero-tolerance policy for individuals who choose to bring discredit to the Georgia Department of Corrections and pose a threat to the safety of the public and the operations of our facilities, Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Corrections Tyrone Oliver said in a release.

We appreciate the support of our federal partners in ensuring that justice will be served, and we are proud of our agents who were diligent in working this case to help stop the introduction of dangerous contraband into one of our facilities.

Two other defendants have pleaded guilty in the case.












The threat of a real debt ceiling crisis is growing rapidly. House Republicans are still pushing steep spending cuts that the White House wont countenance, even as the GOP remains deeply divided on a strategy. And were now as little as eight weeks away from the X date when the Treasury Department no longer has legal authorization to issue new securities and fill up its checking account.

Its past time for the White House to consider their unilateral options for avoiding economic disaster more seriously.

Perhaps the most prominent proposal to sideline Congress calls for the Treasury to mint a trillion dollar platinum coin and deposit it with the Federal Reserve, ensuring the government has plenty of money to pay its bills. So far, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has rejected the idea, warning that the Fed might not accept the coin and that, in her view, the central bank is not legally obligated to accept it.

There are other ideas floating around, but the one thing they all have in common is that they rely on the Federal Reserves cooperation and its willingness to continue acting as the governments fiscal agent  essentially its banker, a role established by the Feds statute.



Under one scenario, for instance, if the Treasury Department decided to switch to issuing low face value, high coupon bonds, the Federal Reserve would have to facilitate the creation of such bonds in their book entry system, facilitate their sale and make periodic interest payments on Treasurys behalf. Alternatively, if the Biden administration decided to declare the debt ceiling unconstitutional, or made other similar maneuvers, the Fed would again have to facilitate auctions of securities and defer to Treasury legal interpretation. In this sense, the platinum coin option is the most straightforward one since it draws on the Federal Reserves most basic fiscal agent responsibilities  accepting deposits.

Naturally then, the conversation around unilateral White House options has come to focus on the Federal Reserve and Chair Jerome Powell. When asked in February whether hed follow Treasurys direction in issuing payments amid a debt ceiling crisis, Powell dodged, cryptically stating In terms of our relationship with the Treasury, we are their fiscal agent. And Im just going to leave it at that.

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In fact, in a largely overlooked episode from the recent past, Powell already showed hed be willing to do whatever it takes to avoid the catastrophic consequences of federal default. To truly understand what Powells Fed is prepared to do, go back to what he said when he was a Fed governor during 2013s debt ceiling crisis.

Despite the Federal Reserves uneven record on transparency, it does eventually release transcripts of some of its most critical meetings in the years after they happen. And in an October 2013 conference call, Fed officials discussed a memo with options for how to respond to a government default. On that call, Powell and most of his colleagues reluctantly endorsed buying defaulted Treasury securities  an unprecedented move to maintain financial stability  if a legislative debt ceiling solution did not come in time.

Heres the key exchange between Powell and then-Fed Chair Ben Bernanke (options 8 and 9 in the memo are purchases of defaulted Treasury securities and the Fed swapping non-defaulted Treasury securities for defaulted Treasury securities):



Powells willingness to purchase defaulted Treasury securities  however loathsome he finds it  casts the entire debate over bypassing Congress on the debt ceiling in a new light. No option under discussion is more extreme, from the Federal Reserves point of view, than stepping in and buying compromised securities of uncertain underlying value. If Powell will buy Treasury securities in the face of government default, he will almost certainly fulfill the Federal Reserves legal responsibilities as a fiscal agent and allow the Treasury Department to avoid government default in the first place.

In fact, Powells comments on disclosure in this meeting are especially revealing in that they signal he wont be more forthright about what he will do in public until the last minute:



In short, not only will Powell likely not interfere with any of the White Houses options to make an end run around the debt ceiling, his deflection on how he would respond to the Biden administration is consistent with what he said privately back in 2013.

The moves up for debate should also be considered less loathsome to the Fed because they would involve doing as the Treasury directs, rather than stepping into a charged political environment on its own. Buying defaulted Treasury securities would stem from the Feds independent judgment about its own financial stability mandate. In contrast, if the Treasury mints a trillion dollar coin, Powell could accurately tell the press that he did so at Treasurys order to fulfill the Feds legal obligation as the governments banker.



No doubt the Fed would experience some political blowback from the right if it went along with a unilateral White House maneuver. But clearly Powell sees the prospect of an actual federal default as far more explosive and worth avoiding at all costs.

Given that the Federal Reserve is not a real barrier to solving the debt ceiling crisis without Congress, the White House has the freedom to be bolder. Joe Biden and Janet Yellen should threaten to deploy any of the alternative options being proposed, and if Republicans dont pass a clean debt ceiling increase, simply use one of them. The White House doesnt have to negotiate with hostage takers, so it shouldnt.


Students are photographed in a new classroom inside the University of Cincinnati Carl H. Lindner College of Business on Tuesday, August 13, 2019.

Continuing its now regular practice, Ohio blindly copies other red states in seeking to erase higher education in almost all fundamental ways. It races to be the Florida, Texas, Georgia and Arkansas of the Midwest. The proposals are unconstitutional, contradictory, unworkable, counter-productive and self-destructive. They confirm the constitutional and historical illiteracy of the senators.

More than ironic, with unacknowledged and unapologetic contradictions, in their self-imposed campaign to stomp out never defined "cancel culture," what state representatives, who are unable to answer any questions about their duplicated legislation, march like 21st-century Nazi stormtroopers to cancel American culture, the historical and constitutional basis of the United States itself. Before the second decade of the 21st century, this was unimaginable.

I choose my analogies carefully. These are the radically gerrymandered, undemocratically elected representatives who hold a super-majority in both legislative chambers. In 2022, one of their number  home-schooled with no college  boldly asserted that "both sides of the Holocaust should be taught." More recently, exposure of homeschooling with a 1930s Nazi  not neo-Nazi  curriculum caused little stir and no action by the state.

In mid-March, state senators propose their "Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act," a misnomer for the termination of public post-secondary education in any recognizable form. Imitating other states, it commands that all syllabi be posted online with professors identification; ban strikes even by formally organized, legally recognized organizations; disallow any institutional-mandated form of never defined Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion training; in some imagined way evaluate how professors "cultivated classrooms free from bias;" and mandate annual review at all ranks.

Not surprisingly, this set of dictatorial edicts comes not from any educational authority but is sponsored by the "Senate Workforce & Higher Education Committee," in that order, not the reverse. That is a questionable ordering.

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Students walk near the College of Engineering and Computing on Miami University's campus.

The contradictions and complications are countless. Nothing is defined. National and state laws as well as established legal precedents are ignored. There is absolutely no regard for the workability or operationalization of the authoritarian edicts that together constitute aggressive acts of suppression, contrary to all accepted understandings of education.

Despite claiming college and sometimes law degrees, these elected un-representatives know nothing about education higher or lower. They show no awareness that their unconstitutional overreach bans free speech, ignores the contexts of education itself  all that we know about young peoples learning and professors teaching, and ignores the legal right to organize and act collectively. They are not conservative by any definition.

The wish-list is completely counter-productive. There is no awareness than forbidding "partnerships" with Chinese universities will remove the tens of thousands of Chinese international students on whom Ohio State, Ohio University, University of Cincinnati, and others depend on for both cash and US News & World Report rankings. This is not relevant to sponsor Jerry Cirinos Lake Erie College whose slim liberal arts are minors not majors.

These illiterates are unaware that the U.S. Constitution, Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, Emancipation Proclamation, Gettysburg Address and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.s Letter from Birmingham jail, on one hand, do not in themselves constitute American history, but only an incomplete part. On the other hand, none of them can be taught without social context and recognition that genuine differences of opinion and interpretation surround them.

Ohio State Senator Jerry C. Cirino

Most incredibly and self-indicting, in their mad dash to be the Tallahassee and Austin of Ohio, they strive to erase never defined "woke counter culture" by abolishing the bases and contours of American culture themselves. Sen. Cirino cant speak two sentences without canceling the one. For example, he opines, "Lets just say there are a lot of things on my mind about higher education, and I decided to put them all together here I believe these are inherently the right things to do."

The Columbus Dispatch barely opens the door in reporting on March 14 that "opponents think these changes might actually chill free speech on Ohio campuses and make professors more afraid to share their views.

Thats exactly the radical rights point. The mere existence of intellectual inquiry, asking basic questions and seeking a range of answers threatens the fearful. That is why they must be rejected.

Harvey J. Graff is professor emeritus of English and History at The Ohio State University and inaugural Ohio Eminent Scholar in Literacy Studies.

Harvey Graff

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: Lawmakers rush to cancel public higher education in Ohio
Brigham Young University in Provo on Wednesday Sept 21, 2022. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

Martin Luther King Jr. proclaimed that law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice. But establishing justice is no simple task and first requires an understanding of truth and facts. To this end, the American legal system was designed to be adversarial, presenting competing narratives by dueling advocates engaged in a contest of ideas presided over by a dispassionate judge.

This system has a way of ferreting out the truth. Two prejudiced searchers starting from opposite ends of the field, observed the British judge Lord Devlin, will between them be less likely to miss anything than the impartial searcher starting at the middle.

This system is not just the backbone of legal practice, but of any proper legal education as well. In law schools across the country, students engage in formal and informal debate. A typical class session involves analyzing both the majority and dissenting opinions, pitting them against each other and testing their merits. At its best, this dialectical process involves a series of refinements of associated ideas, until at last a unifying principle emerges: truth, or at least, our best approximation of it.

A field at the crossroads

This system and its lofty goals are at stake in the ongoing cancel culture debate. Its what is so troubling about the recent ejection of Judge Kyle Duncan from a Stanford event by agitating students. Yes, his treatment was appalling, but pause to consider how the Stanford students got to that mobocratic state of mind in the first place.

At least in part, its because students have become so isolated and exercised in their views of the other side as foreign and dangerous. Whether or not there was any truth to be had in Duncans speech, the students certainly missed out on the basic truths of humanity, civility and respect  truths that can only be cultivated by engaging with (as opposed to militating against) our ideological opposites.

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Sen. Mike Lee was not wrong to draw a connection between Yale, Stanford and BYU. The cancellation of a Richard Duncan event at BYU, where professor Duncan was slated to argue in favor of the recent Supreme Court abortion decision Dobbs v. Jackson, was far more civil than what transpired at Stanford or Yale, but nonetheless a blow to the adversarial system that undergirds legal education everywhere.

Bending to preference

Engagement in the adversarial system alone does not guarantee truth. Advocates can get so caught up in their own arguments that they become blind to their flaws and start to sacrifice truth for convenience. Thats partly how I read the public statement from the BYU Law School regarding the Duncan cancellation  which seemed to reduce the whole issue to a mere procedural error.

Had the school administration spoken with the Federalist Society students involved before releasing their statement, they would have no doubt discovered that the president of the society had filled out the proper forms and had received permission for the event. In claiming that no Federalist Society event has ever been denied, to their knowledge, the school administration must also be forgetting the communication they sent the student president of our Federalist Society chapter stating, we are going to cancel Professor Duncans debate, and referencing the reaction the last time he visited as a reason for the cancellation.

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Administrators are often overwhelmed with many matters, and its understandable that perhaps this wasnt the most important priority. But institutions and individuals need to appreciate the broader pressures quieting political diversity on law school campuses. If theres any hope of maintaining the robust adversarial legal education our nation has come to rely on to establish justice and truth, we must seek to resist these forces that are chilling the very debates we so desperately need.

Back to first principles

Upholding the adversarial system does not mean that all things must be subject to doubt and skepticism. Questioning the fundamental principles of humanity and society often undermines the search for truth rather than advancing it. How then to resolve the tension between what claims should be open to debate, versus accepted as settled?

I cant speak for other schools, but tucked away on the Wasatch Front, at the base of the Uintas, and caddy-corner to an old-style creamery where families from all over the country visit to enjoy a scoop of Graham Canyon ice cream, there lies a law school committed to the teachings of Jesus Christ.

Though they teach the laws of the land, along with their concomitant theories and philosophies, they are tasked to do so as enlightened by the laws of God. If anyone can strike the proper balance, it must be Brigham Young University.

Professor Justin Collings spoke a year ago regarding the vision of a unique university in all the world  a school where truth, beauty and glory ring from the ramparts, a school in Zion. I watched this devotional online from my desk in the law school. I was moved. But the lofty picture he painted of BYUs future is not a guarantee. A Latter-day Saint leader recently observed that this will only happen through embracing our unique identity  by daring to be different. For the BYU Law School, protecting robust debate on important questions is one way to be different, even as other universities increasingly bend to individual preference.

Garrett Hostetter is a third year law student at Brigham Young Universitys J. Reuben Clark Law School.
A photo of three students standing outside of their school in Washington, D.C.

This article has been produced in partnership between The 74 and the XQ Institute.

In February, 16-year-old junior Elijah Lopez got an unusual invitation from his Washington, D.C., high school, Washington Leadership Academy. Members of its executive leadership team were planning their spring retreat in March. They contacted Elijah about inviting students to participate for the first time.

They wanted student perspective, he explained. Ask questions of the students, get some feedback, and then make their decision based on our answers.

Elijah was already a student representative, meaning he attends weekly meetings with WLAs executive director, principal and other senior leaders to discuss future plans. At his suggestion, two more juniors active in student government were invited to the retreat virtually.

The students made concrete suggestions. They persuaded WLA leadership to train more students in peer mediation and helped everyone agree that shutting the doors for entry after a certain hour to reduce tardiness would do more harm than good. They said attendance could improve (after dropping during the pandemic) if more students feel a sense of belonging. Student Autumn Brown explained how some students dont like being called on by teachers.

They dont feel comfortable being called out and speaking in front of big crowds, the 16-year-old said. So I feel like when a teacher can just come to the student one-on-one and not, like, put the student on the spot, then it makes the student more comfortable.

WLA has been emphasizing youth voice and choice  one of six research-based XQ Design Principles  since opening in 2016 as an XQ Super School. The public charter school of about 390 students included students and teachers when it partnered with CommonLit to create an ELA curriculum in 2018 thats now used in high schools around the country.

What we want is to not just have the sense of students co-leading with us, but actually leading adults, Principal Eric Collazo said. He added that educators are often hesitant to include students, even though there are many benefits. What weve found is in instances where you do release that responsibility to the students, you actually see them start to put into practice or apply the skills that we want to see  not only in high school but beyond in their college or career pathways.

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Student voice is one of many ways to rethink the high school experience. Learn more with the XQ Xtra, a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. Sign up HERE

This is how student voice leads to meaningful, engaged learning, another XQ design principle. Students who are engaged in school are 2.5 times more likely to get excellent grades and to do well in school overall, compared with their most disengaged peers, according to a 2016 Gallup poll.

Ensuring students feel heard is core to all XQ schools and partnerships, including those with the DC Public Schools, New York City, Rhode Island, and XQs sponsorship of the podcast This Teenage Life. Unfortunately, too many students seemed dissatisfied with school even before the pandemic. In 2017, YouthTruth released a survey finding only one out of three middle and high school students rated their school culture positively. There are many ways, as laid out here, schools can improve their culture by creating more room for student voice  so long as theyre committed to listening.

Surveys and Focus Groups Can Produce a Really Important Starting Point

Many schools use surveys, but there are pros and cons to this approach. When surveys superficially ask, What do you think of schools? The responses are often just about school lunches and bathroom quality, said Adam Fletcher, director of SoundOut, which provides training tools and technical assistance to K-12 schools. Thats why, he said, surveys or focus groups must go deeper.

At WLA, students said their school uses anonymous surveys with pointed questions like, Who is the staff member you feel most connected to? or How can we help support you to be a better student?

Zachary Clifton, a member of the Kentucky Student Voice Team, said its also important to hear from a wide variety of students. Hes heavily involved in extracurricular activities at Corbin High School and has no issue talking to adults at his school. I feel like that has given me more credibility to where my voice is heard more often than others, he said. But as you know, thats not how democracy works.

Surveys and focus groups can produce information about students perceptions of their schools that are a really important starting point, said Anne Mackinnon, a senior advisor at XQ whos written toolkits for schools to include student voice. She said educators should look for whether theres mutual trust between students and adults. Then, they need to authentically bring students into school decision-making to create caring, trusting relationships, another XQ design principle. Feedback from students at Elizabethton High School in Tennessee, for example, led the districts only high school to hire more counselors.

The Institution of Student Journalism Empowers Students

High school journalism programs give teens a sense of agency by enabling them to explore their interests and share what they find with the larger community. The recent Student Journalism Challenge revealed how many students want school to feel more interesting. The challenge was conducted by PBS NewsHour Student Reporting Labs in partnership with WETA Well Beings campaign and XQ. You can see the winners here. Elizabethton High School won two awards, including one for the below video report investigating why the district school has no windows and the impact that has on learning.

Students at the Frederick V. Pankow Center in Clinton Township, Michigan, won with a video report on why career and technical education feels engaging.

Harness Student Governments Power Potential

Student governments should tackle much more than proms and homecomings. These bodies can produce future leaders and improve student engagement. The XQ school New Harmony High in New Orleans, which opened in 2018, didnt have a chance to form a student government because its founding class spent so much time in remote learning. Last year, students proposed a student union with representatives from every grade level. Emery Kaczmarek Johnson, now a senior, said he and the other reps drafted a Bill of Rights and worked together, writing and discussing with staff on exactly where the line was drawn for things like student confidentiality and privacy, late assignment policies, cell phone usage and bathroom break lengths.

The small charter schools founding leader, Sunny Dawn Summers, said these conversations led to a serious discussion about which rules had been poorly enforced, which rules had not yet been put in writing and which ones were more about professional practices. The student handbook and internal policies were updated. We refined our professional development training for staff and we ultimately created a trauma-informed culture guide that is the basis for how we talk to and work with kids as a school, she said.

The student union didnt happen as planned but Summers said a student government is now in formation. But just the existence of the organization isnt enough, she said, as school leadership support is critical: It doesnt survive if just one adult is interested.

Engage Students in the Staff Hiring Process

New Harmony High has never hired a staff member without student input. Its one of the most beautiful free things you can do that provides a lot of student buy-in for new staff members and gives staff members an accurate representation of who theyre going to teach, Summers said.

Interviews are conducted by three of New Harmony Highs 16 student ambassadors. Summers said they typically ask questions about special education and classroom management, as well as what the applicant does for fun plus one secret question.

But not all district schools or charters are allowed, based on local human resources policies, to involve students in prospective staff interviews.

Give Students a Voting Seat on School Boards

Students can serve in a variety of roles on local and state school boards. Fletcher, of SoundOut, has been documenting where they have voting power and where their roles are much more limited. He said Boston is particularly progressive because members of its Student Advisory Council decide on education policy. Maryland allows students to have voting power on local school boards. Philadelphia allowed high school students to serve on its school board in 2018.

Ilana Drake, a Vanderbilt University student who served on the New York City Department of Education Chancellors Student Advisory Council and the Manhattan Borough Student Advisory Council, said being on these boards made a difference. Students were able to share their varying experiences with regard to education during COVID-19. My peers and I were able to think about restructuring education and how policies could impact outcomes.

Clifton said the Kentucky Student Voice Team is lobbying the state legislature to mandate student membership on school boards in all Kentucky districts. Students can inform education policy in other ways. Rhode Island included students in meetings that led to new graduation requirements through its work with XQ.

Student Voice and Academics

Todays high school students are growing up in challenging times. Theyve been trained since childhood on how to respond to active shooters, and they spent critical developmental years going to school during a pandemic. They also have more access to information than any other generation. Fletcher said thats changed how this generation thinks about education.

They want better learning and teaching and leadership in schools, he said. Students know that now. And theyre using language around mental health, and theyre using language around pedagogy. Students, themselves, being able to say, I want interactive learning.

Researchers have found that students perform better academically, forge stronger relationships with their peers, and feel safer and more prepared for life when theyre in schools that prioritize the integration of social, emotional and academic development.

The students who attended WLAs executive leadership retreat this year believe opportunities like this make a difference. I did slack a little bit when I wasnt involved in school, Elijah said, adding that his academic performance went up since becoming a student representative and taking school more seriously. His principal agrees theres a connection.

If students feel a sense of belonging, then all other things fall into place, Collazo said. Youll feel more connected with the teacher and youll also feel more connected to doing the things that need to get done in order to excel for yourself and for others.

Do you want to learn more about how to rethink high school with student voice? The XQ Xtra is a newsletter for educators that comes out twice a month. Sign up HERE.

Beth Fertig is senior education editor at the XQ Institute, a nonprofit foundation dedicated to improving U.S. high schools. She was previously an award-winning veteran journalist at the New York City public radio station WNYC, and was a regular contributor to NPRs news programs.
Statistically, around 60-65% of persons gone missing are in fact taken captive

Read also: Ive been dreaming about this for five months  Returned POW on emotional call to girlfriend  video

"There is really such a figure and it is more than 7,000, he said.

We're expecting to find in captivity the people we're looking for as missing," he said.

Statistically, around 60-65% of persons gone missing are in fact taken captive, while others could have died, he added.

Prisoner of war swaps between Russia and Ukraine cover both those whose captivity is confirmed and those who are missing, the coordination headquarters said.

Ukrainian war losses, however, remain far lower than Russian casualties, Ukraine's Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov said in an interview with Spanish outlet La Razon.

He added that Ukrainian losses are below the death toll from an earthquake in Turkey and Syria this year that killed over 50,000 people  a comment that he was forced to apologize for.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
President Emmanuel Macron on Wednesday said protesters bashing pots and pans would not help France forward as he toured the country hoping to turn the page on his unpopular pension reform.

Pot-bashing, a form of protest with a long history in France, began during Macron's address to the nation on Monday evening after he signed the bill into law over the weekend.

Police pushed back dozens of protesters banging kitchenware earlier in the day ahead of the president's arrival in the eastern village of Muttersholtz in the Alsace region.

"Saucepans will not allow France to move forward," Macron said as he visited a wood factory in the village.

"The reality across the country is not just those making noise with pans or grumbling."

"You will always see me with people... I have to keep going," he added.

The president made very few public appearances to speak to voters during the three months after announcing the deeply unpopular pension reform, whose flagship measure is hiking the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Political opponents and trade unions have urged protesters to maintain their campaign against the law and called for a new day of mass protest on May 1.

Around a hundred people from the CGT and CFDT unions gathered in front of the mayor's office in Muttersholtz earlier on Wednesday, using frying pans and pan lids as well as whistles and horns to make noise.

After several requests from police to move back from the area, where local authorities have banned demonstrations, officers used force to push them 200 metres (650 feet) away.

On Tuesday evening, a private trip by Macron to Saint-Denis, northeast of Paris, also saw around 300 demonstrators voice their anger at his pension changes, which were signed into law last week.

"People will make themselves heard but that's part of the moment," an aide to the president told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there would be "expressions of anger most probably, support perhaps."

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The scenes recall Macron's visits around France during the so-called "Yellow Vest" protests of 2018-19, when the head of state was frequently confronted by angry hecklers or protesters.

He was slapped in the face in 2021 by a 28-year-old unemployed mediaeval history enthusiast during a visit to a small town in southeastern France.

After Wednesday's visit to a construction company in Muttersholtz, Macron is set to visit a school in the southern Herault region on Thursday.

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The amount of allotted screen time among the youth in the U.S. has been a controversial topic in recent years.

With the recent soar in technological advances, teenagers screen time has continued to rise.

The rise in technology use and dependence can cause teens to fall into bad habits, poor lifestyles, sleep deprivation and become exposed to explicit content or other hidden material their parents wouldnt normally allow.

As it turns out, according to a recent study conducted by Enso Superfoods, South Carolina ranks ninth for most TV-obsessed teens in the U.S.  with 21.5% of teens in the Palmetto State watching more than 3 hours of television each day.

Why is this not necessarily a good thing?

More screen time and television leads to loneliness, materialism, insecurity and comparison, according to the University of California, Berkeley Greater Good Magazine.

Looking at TV, laptop and cellphone screens right before going to bed can be detrimental, sleep expert says.

In addition, Nemours KidsHealth details, teens spend a lot of time in front of screens. But too much media use can interfere with getting enough exercise, doing homework, being with friends and spending time with family. It also can contribute to obesity, attention and learning problems, and sleep problems.

With the growing need for screens to finish homework, watch school lessons and communicate with their peers, is the added hours of television, video games and social media too much?

Although television was once a Saturday morning liberty for teens and young children, now shows are suited for young adults nearly 24 hours a day.

According to OSF Healthcare, pediatricians generally recommend the following guidelines for screen time among youth:

Under 2 years old: Zero screen time, except for video chatting with family or friends.

2-5 years old: No more than 1 hour per day of screen time co-viewing with a parent or sibling.

5-17 years old: Generally no more than 2 hours of screen time per day, except for homework.

South Carolina teens reportedly watch on average at least 1 hour more than this recommended time limit.

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However, Enso Superfoods reported that eight more states had teens that watched more television than South Carolina.

To find these results, the company used data collected by the CDC on television-related habits of adolescents nationwide and ranked each state according to the percentage of teens that watched 3 or more hours each day.

From this data, Mississippi teens were found to watch the most television in the country with over 27% of high school aged students reporting to watch at least 3 hours during school days, according to the report.

Also, seven of the top 10 states with the most TV-obsessed teens, which were Mississippi, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Tennessee, Arkansas, and South Carolina, were all located in the Southern part of the US, the study revealed.

Enso: Most TV-Obsessed Teens

Infogram
A parking garage collapsed in lower Manhattan, killing one and leaving others injured and potentially trapped under the rubble.

Emergency responders were called to a parking garage near Nassau Street in the Financial District just after 4pm.

One person died in the collapse, according to Mayor Eric Adams, who held a press conference near the site.

At this time, we only have one DOA, he said. I do want to point out that, thank God, we had the robotic dog that was able to go in the building. This is ideally what we talk about  not sending a human being inside a building that was unstable. We were also able to use the technology of a drone to give a real visualisation of whats happening in this building. At this time, this building is completely unstable and the chief  we do not want to send in someone until we can make sure the building is shored up. But using the necessary technology, were able to get a clear view of whats happening inside the building, for the most part, and do whatever we can to see if there are any more victims.

Fire officials said during the press conference that there were at least four people with injuries, and that they believe all people at the parking garage have been accounted for, but they are still searching to ensure no one is trapped.

New York City Council member Christopher Marte tweeted that there are a few people stuck in an elevator and in the building, though those reports are unconfirmed.

At 57 Ann St, people are currently trapped in a parking garage due to an internal collapse. I am here with the FDNY who have just entered the building to attempt to rescue a few people stuck in an elevator and in the building, he wrote. Hoping everyone is able to get out safely.

Video and images captured at the scene show cars stacked on top of each other surrounded by concrete rubble. Fire officials said the second floor of the parking deck collapsed onto the first.

New York City rescue workers arrive on Ann Street minutes after garage collapse in Lower Manhattan. #NewYorkCity pic.twitter.com/ArYpG1eEAR  Erasmo Guerra (@erasmoguerra) April 18, 2023

A video shared by the New York City mayors office showed a street packed with onlookers and police as fire fighters worked from cherry pickers to search for individuals trapped between the floors of the structure.

Officials are urging people to avoid the area while rescue and clean-up operations are underway. Two nearby Pace University building was evacuated following the collapse, according to ABC 7. The university announced that classes would be cancelled for the rest of the day.

Emergency responders are largely staying out of the structure due to fears it may collapse further. They canvassed surrounding businesses to ensure all employees are accounted for.
By Nafisa Eltahir and Khalid Abdelaziz

KHARTOUM (Reuters) - The few hospitals still operating in Khartoum after Sudan's sudden explosion into war have bodies lying unburied, bullets crashing through windows and terrified medics staying away as artillery pounds nearby.

Doctors and hospital staff describe harrowing conditions with no water for cleaning, little electricity for life-saving equipment and food running out, forcing them to send sick patients home and turn away the injured.

Many of Sudan's best hospitals are concentrated in the central Khartoum streets where the most intense fighting between the army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is taking place, requiring doctors and patients to brave gunfire and bombardment.

At least 270 people have died since the violence erupted at the weekend, Sudan's health ministry estimates, while for the more than 2,600 people injured in the fighting as well as the many others already needing treatment, the rapid collapse of the healthcare system spells disaster.

"The hospitals now serving the wounded are so few, with limited number of doctors, so there's overcrowding of wounded," said Esraa Abou Shama, a doctor at Sudan's health ministry.

"Besides, not all the injured can reach hospital under the gunfire... We honestly need public and private hospitals to open up to provide medical services for all the injured and for all patients."

One 25-year-old university graduate who had been shot in the shoulder and declined to give his name for fear of reprisals said: "We found a functioning hospital but there was little service because there's no electricity."

At a care centre in Khartoum for children with cancer, treatment has been paused with the generator lying idle, staff said. The young children queued to collect trays of soup, rice and watermelon.

At al-Baraa, a Khartoum children's hospital, only one ward remained open this week with one medic to care for two newborn babies on ventilators, hospital manager Ashraf Elfaki said.

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One died soon afterwards and the second was eventually evacuated. "I don't know what to do," said Elfaki.

Over four days of fighting nine hospitals in Sudan have been hit by artillery and 16 forcibly evacuated, the Sudanese Doctors' Union said, with none still providing a full service inside the capital.

"The hospitals are completely collapsed, devoid of all necessities. It's past catastrophic...," said Sudan's Red Crescent spokesperson Osama Othman.

'OUT OF SERVICE'

A Reuters journalist outside one Khartoum hospital this week saw an injured, bleeding civilian arriving in search of help but having to leave because there were no staff to treat him.

"All around us, we get gunfire and bombs," said Khalid Fedail, general manager at Fedail Hospital, a big private facility.

His hospital's water and cooking gas tanks have been hit, many staff fled, and diesel fuel for the power generator is almost exhausted, he said. Water tankers cannot reach the area.

Fedail Hospital was the last in its district to stay open, treating more than 30 people injured in the fighting, as other hospitals nearby were damaged by artillery fire, Fedail said.

But it can no longer operate and he is working to transfer patients home, with instructions on self-care, or to the few remaining medical facilities still working. "We're out of service until this all ends," Fedail said.

At al-Baraa children's hospital two nurses were injured by stray bullets while working on an upper storey, said senior manager Elfaki.

"There is huge panic among the medical staff because they are not used to these sounds, with artillery," he said.

"Across the world, hospitals have security during wartime. They can get their supplies, workers can come and go safely, but we don't have this," he said, adding that soldiers could be seen patrolling in front of the hospital on Tuesday.

World Health Organisation regional head Ahmed al-Mandhari said medics were facing real danger.

"We are extremely concerned about reports of armed attacks against health institutions, kidnapping ambulances while transporting patients with the medics inside. Health institutions are looted and occupied," he said.

INJURIES

Luay Ahmed, a volunteer at al-Duwali hospital in Khartoum's adjoining sister city of Bahri, complained of a lack of supplies including intravenous drips and life-saving medicines.

"This is the only hospital still accepting injured and we're getting more every day. Some go into surgery, others get triaged, but the capacity is very low," he said.

Staff cannot access the morgue because of the fighting, so dead bodies are stored in rooms with air conditioning turned up.

Some bodies have simply lain in the open air, according to one visitor there this week.

"We all have the same problems - electricity, water, staff. That's what's going to bring down the health system," Ahmed said.

Chronic patients, such as those in need of dialysis treatment, have few options.

At a hospital in the west of Khartoum, a 54 year-old, looking tired and too frightened to give his name, said dialysis was the last service still operating there.

"I don't know if the service will still be here in the next few days because of the war," he said.

(Reporting by Nafisa Eltahir and Khalid Abdelaziz; Writing by Angus McDowall; Editing by Gareth Jones)
The Patriot anti-aircraft missile system supplied by Germany to Ukraine along with missiles will be able to shoot down Russian targets at a distance of up to 150 km.

Source: Colonel Yurii Ihnat, Spokesperson for the Air Forces Command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, on air during the national 24/7 news broadcast

Quote from Ihnat: "The system is long-range, it will be able to reach [targets] at a distance of up to 150 km, which will make it possible to drive Russian aircraft away from our borders."

Details: He states that if this is one of the latest variants of the system, namely the Patriot PAC-3, it will also be able to shoot down ballistic missiles such as Iskander-M at a distance of up to 40 km.

Ihnat added that the delivery of the Patriot air defence system would certainly significantly strengthen air defence. "The sooner it [the Patriot system  ed.] is put on combat duty, the better it will be, as we will be able to respond and do the things we have been discussing for a long time," he stressed.

Background: Last week, Germany handed over a Patriot anti-aircraft missile system with a load of missiles for it to Ukraine.

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Patriot air defense system

Such air defense systems will make it possible to defend against the strikes of Russian cruise missiles and UAVs, he said.

Read also: US to expedite delivery of Patriot systems to Ukraine

The latest Patriot air defense system can shoot down the missiles Russia uses to attack Ukraine, including Iskanders, Kinzhals (hypersonic air-to-air missiles), and Zircons (hypersonic anti-ship missiles).

Read also: US has trained 7,000 Ukrainian troops so far, Pentagon says

Confirming receipt of the Patriot systems, Ukraines Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine.

Earlier in January 2023, the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands vowed to transfer the Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on March 30 that 65 Ukrainian troops had completed their Patriot air defense system training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A 49-year-old Cass County man is accused of murdering his live-in girlfriend Sunday and telling police she died by suicide after disposing of the weapon in a nearby pond and walking back to the spot where she was found dead.

Christopher M. Marshall, 49, of Peculiar, was arrested early Sunday after Cass County deputies were called to his home in the 23700 block of South State Route C. Inside the kitchen, responding officers found 50-year-old Alyssa Jordan dead of an apparent gunshot wound.

Cass County prosecutors charged Marshall with second-degree murder, armed criminal action and three counts of unlawful weapon possession by a convicted felon. Online court records did not list an attorney for Marshall as of Wednesday.

According to charging documents, 911 dispatch received a call around 1 a.m. from a man claiming his girlfriend shot herself in the cheek. Afterward, the caller advised, she had thrown the gun into a pond.

Dispatchers were also told by the caller that he had awoken to the sound of gunfire and tried to revive her.

Marshall allegedly smelled of intoxicants when met by responding sheriffs deputies and was seen stumbling and slurring his speech. There was blood on his hands and socks, and one of the fingers on his left hand was missing, the deputy observed.

Inside the house, Jordan was on the floor near the kitchen island. Blood was on the stove and walls. A shell casing was near the dining room table. There were bloody footprints leading toward the basement.

During a search of the house, police reported finding three pistols stuffed between the mattress and the box spring. A fourth was in the closet.

Witnesses interviewed by police said they were visiting the area, staying the night at the home, and woke up to the sound of a single gunshot. One described hearing an argument shortly before the shot rang out. Marshall also allegedly went to the basement of the home and tried to get help from one visitor.

One witness said he went upstairs, saw Jordan and told Marshall to call the cops or he would.

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During a police interview Sunday morning, Marshall allegedly said he had gone to take care of the dogs and walked in to find Jordan, his girlfriend of five years, on the kitchen floor. He allegedly said he hid the gun under the mattress because he was afraid of getting in trouble because he knows he is legally barred from possessing guns.

Later, the detective let Marshall listen to a playback of the 911 call where he allegedly said she shot herself, disposed of the weapon and walked back inside. He told the detective he had been drinking quite a bit and was scared because he had guns in the house, according to court documents.

As of Wednesday, Marshall was being held on a $500,000 cash bond in Cass County jail.

The Stars Robert A. Cronkleton contributed to this report.
Volodymyr Zelensky - Ukrainian

An elderly woman has been convicted of discrediting the Russian armed forces because she described Volodymyr Zelensky as handsome and funny in a private conversation.

A court on the outskirts of Moscow fined Olga Slegina 40,000 rubles (390) on Tuesday in a hearing that lasted around five minutes, Russias human rights group Memorial said.

The 70-year-old woman was staying at a health resort in Russias North Caucasus last Christmas when she sat at a communal dinner table and briefly spoke about Ukraine.

Ms Slegina reportedly argued with a pro-Russian woman from Odessa and praised the Ukrainian president as a handsome young man with a good sense of humour.

Police brought the pensioner in for questioning after three separate people complained about her to officers.

One of the police officers reportedly told the woman: You have no right to praise him because hes our enemy, according to Memorial.

Too unwell to attend court

The woman signed the police statement without reading as she did not have her glasses with her. The court hearing went ahead on Tuesday despite pleas from the womans lawyer that she was too unwell to attend. Ms Slegina who was in hospital was convicted in absentia, her lawyer, Lidia Anosova, said.

The pensioner was tried under a set of laws adopted in the first week of the invasion that made it a crime to criticise the war or speak out against the Russian army.

Thousands of people have been slapped with fines for discrediting the Russian armed forces and several hundred people were jailed under the same law on criminal charges including Ilyan Yashin, a popular opposition politician who was sentenced to eight and a half years in prison for speaking about Russian atrocities in Ukraine.

On Wednesday a higher court upheld the December verdict for Mr Yashin. In recent months there have been a flurry of cases in Russia involving citizens being punished over private remarks. In January, a couple from the south of Russia was detained and fined for praising Ukraine during a conversation at a cafe.

The woman was fined an equivalent of 12 while the man was placed into custody for 15 days for misdemeanour in the first known case of authorities going after anti-war Russians for private remarks.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday said age wasnt an issue in one of the largest U.S. intelligence leaks in decades after a 21-year-old airman was charged in connection with the breach.

Austin said the age of Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira  the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with leaking highly classified military documents  has not been a focus of the Pentagons investigation into how its sensitive and in some cases top secret information ended up online.

The vast majority of our military is young, Austin told reporters at a press conference in Stockholm. Its not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. Thats really not the issue.

Teixeira on Friday was charged under the Espionage Act with unauthorized removal and transmission of classified national defense information. He has not entered a plea.

He made a brief court appearance Wednesday, though a hearing to determine whether he should remain in jail while awaiting trial was delayed.

The U.S. government has accused Teixeira of taking classified documents from the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing in Cape Cod, Mass., the unit where he served, before posting the material to a chat group on Discord. Teixeira was a systems administrator tasked with maintaining the units cyber network and had a top-secret clearance.

The intelligence leaked  ranging from highly sensitive details on the Ukraine-Russia war to information on U.S. allies and adversaries alike  has set off scrutiny over who has access to classified information and why. Included in that examination is the nations youngest service members, who can enlist in the military at 17 years old.

But Austin said a Defense Department investigation into the matter, ordered on Monday, is not focusing on age as the issue, but rather is figuring out what security failures happened that allowed Teixeira to allegedly remove the secretive documents and post them online for several months without drawing attention.

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The issue is how you responsibly execute or carry out your duties and how you protect the information, Austin said. All of us have a requirement to do that, and supervisors have a requirement to make sure that thats being done.

Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson, who spoke alongside Austin, said the U.S. leaks did not come up in an earlier discussion between the two.

I can just say that we have a good intelligence cooperation between Sweden and the United States, he said. We feel completely sure of the U.S. commitment of handling the situation.

In addition to the Pentagon-wide investigation, the Air Force has begun its own look into how each of its command handles classified information, service leaders told lawmakers on Tuesday.

And Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he directed the Air Force inspector general to investigate the 102nd for anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong.

In the meantime, the Air Force has removed the intelligence mission from the unit.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Russian T-90A tank was left at a truck stop in Roanoke, Louisiana. Mutantlight/Reddit

A Russian T-90A tank was left at a casino and travel center in Roanoke, Louisiana last week.

The Pentagon claimed ownership of the tank on Tuesday, The War Zone reported.

They said it was headed to a US Army training center when the truck carrying it broke down.

A mysterious Russian tank that appeared at a truck stop in Roanoke, Louisiana, was disarmed and on its way to a US Army training center, a Pentagon spokesperson told The War Zone on Tuesday.

Sue Gough told the military publication that the Russian T-90A tank was being taken to Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Harford County, Maryland, when the truck that was transporting it broke down on the Interstate 10 highway.

Gough said that the mechanical issue with the truck has been fixed and that the tank "is secure."

"The tank's explosive reactive armor was inert, it was not armed or carrying any dangerous material, and at no point posed a risk to the public," she added.

The truck transporting the tank broke down near a Peto's Travel Center and Casino in Roanoke last week, prompting confusion among staff working there, The War Zone first reported last week.

Roanoke is around 1,300 miles from Harford County.

Valerie Mott, the assistant manager of the casino and travel center, told The War Zone that she had never seen a tank before in her 7 years of working there.

The tank most likely belonged to Russia's 27th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade and was abandoned in Kharkiv Oblast in September last year, open-source intelligence groups, who track military equipment used in Ukraine, told The War Zone.

Gough did not confirm that the tank was captured in Ukraine last year. It is also unclear how it got to the US in the first place, and what the Pentagon will do with the Russian tank once it has been brought to the training center.

However, Gough told The War Zone that it was "part of our ongoing commitment to provide Ukraine the capabilities it needs to counter Russian aggression."

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Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Harford County did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

Its website says that the training center is "responsible for numerous technical achievements in military intelligence, medical research, engineering, and computer technology."

Read the original article on Business Insider
BOSTON  A federal magistrate judge postponed a hearing Wednesday to determine whether to hold Jack Teixeira, the Massachusetts Air National Guardsman charged with leaking classified Pentagon documents about the war in Ukraine, while he awaits trial.

U.S. District Magistrate Judge David Hennessy ordered a delay of about two weeks for the hearing to allow Teixeira's defense lawyers more time to respond to the government's request for him to remain detained.

Hennessy also held a brief hearing Wednesday to confirm Teixeira didnt want a preliminary hearing in the case. Such hearings provide greater details outlining the governments case behind the charges. But Teixeira signed a document Monday waiving the need for such a hearing.

Teixeira, 21, was arrested Friday and charged with gathering national defense documents and unauthorized removal of classified documents. FBI agents tracked him down through the social media site Discord, where top-secret documents had been posted for months.

The FBI had been investigating the unauthorized posting of dozens of images of classified documents, many of which were marked top secret, on a variety of internet sites. Some of the documents were used during Pentagon briefings of military leaders and civilian officials.

Teixeira accessed one of the documents in February 2023, about one day before it was posted on the internet, according to the FBI.

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appears in U.S. District Court in Boston, Friday, April 14, 2023. He is accused in the leak of highly classified military documents as prosecutors unsealed charges and revealed how billing records and interviews with social media comrades helped pinpoint Teixeira.

How is the military responding?

The Air Force is investigating how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, department leaders said Tuesday.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told a Senate panel he directed the department's inspector general to scrutinize the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where Teixeira served, for anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong.

The leaks raised questions about how a single airman could have removed so many documents without being detected, why safety checks were not in place, and how the documents could have lingered online undetected for months.

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"Obviously we have to tighten up our processes and our practices to make sure this doesnt happen again, Kendall said to the Senate appropriations subcommittee on defense.

Kendall said Teixeira had no reason to be looking at or having possession of those documents.

This photo illustration created on April 13, 2023, shows the suspect, national guardsman Jack Teixeira, reflected in an image of the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.

How important were the documents?

Experts view the damage from the leaked documents as more of a diplomatic or intelligence crisis for the U.S. than a game-changer on the battlefields of Ukraine.

Defense officials were scrambling to assess the damage. One recent revelation, for example, involved an analysis in February of how Israel might begin providing lethal aid to Ukraine.

But experts said the documents were unlikely to have a meaningful effect on the war, despite the embarrassment and political cost.

The family of Jack Teixeira leaves John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse in Boston after Teixeira was arraigned for allegedly leaking Pentagon documents on Friday, April 14, 2023.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Jack Teixeira: Detention hearing for accused Pentagon leaker postponed
Senators on both sides of the aisle emerged from a classified briefing on Capitol Hill with questions and complaints about the largest leak of classified documents in a decade, and they repeated calls to more closely restrict who has access to U.S. secrets.

Top officials with the Pentagon and intelligence community briefed the entire Senate on Wednesday following the leak of at least 100 classified documents across the internet, many of them detailing the war in Ukraine and the secret affairs of U.S. allies.

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla) said he still wanted to know the full extent of the leaks, why it wasnt spotted sooner and how the Pentagon would mitigate the chances of a similar situation occurring in the future.

Part of it is they dont know the answers, which is even worse, Rubio told reporters after the briefing, also alleging the Biden administration was withholding some information. This is going to come to a head, one way or another.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said he was left with more questions than answers.

I remain deeply unhappy and unsatisfied with the structure and procedures of access, he said. My impression coming out of that meeting is too many people have too much access to too much information without safeguards or guardrails.

The accused leaker, Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old airman with the Massachusetts National Guards 102nd Intelligence Wing, allegedly released photos of classified documents  some labeled top secret  for months to a small group on the online chat forum Discord.

In early March, the documents leaked out of Discord and onto the wider online sphere, spreading to Twitter and Telegram, where Pentagon records about the Ukraine war were obtained by pro-Russian sources.

Earlier this month, The New York Times first reported on the classified documents circulating online, setting off concerns across Washington and spurring a formal Pentagon review.

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Teixeira was arrested last week and faces up to 15 years in prison. The Department of Justice has charged Teixeira under the espionage act with the unlawful retention and transmission of classified national secrets.

The Defense Department is still investigating the leaks, including how many of the documents were altered or manipulated online, along with another review of the procedures for access to classified information.

Congress returned from an Easter recess this week promising to get more information on the document leaks and look into whether the Pentagon should restrict who has access to such records in the future.

House lawmakers received a briefing on Wednesday evening as well.

Lawmakers in the House also emerged from the briefing with the consensus that little new information was shared.

But members on both sides of the aisle expressed a desire to investigate further and advance congressional action if needed.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) said the Biden administration is taking the matter seriously but said there should be no limit to the number of congressional committees reviewing the leaks.

Any person handling classified information should realize the material can impact lives, there can be lives lost, she said. We cannot tolerate any lack of understanding of that, any lack of seriousness.

Several senators said the information they received at the briefing was not much more than what has already been publicly reported.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) said the briefing was helpful but added there was a lot more information still to learn when the Pentagon concluded its review.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said the administration was still studying the incident and has in the meantime taken some measures to stop any future leaks.

Kennedy called for more restrictions on how classified information is shared, advocating for the employment of technology to block the sharing of secret documents.

If youre going to give someone with this level of emotional maturity access to this information, he said, why arent we using the technology to stop him from sharing?

Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that the airmans age was not a focus of the probes, adding the vast majority of our military is young.

The leaks have already dealt a major blow to U.S. national security and to the war effort in Ukraine.

The unauthorized release of the records has also damaged Washingtons relationships with allies abroad, as some detailed U.S. spying on allied countries such as Israel and South Korea.

Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.) said Congress still needs information on the security systems we have to prevent somebody from having access to the kind of confidential information Teixeira had.

They didnt work in this case, Hoeven said. Whats going to be done to make sure that this doesnt happen [again] in the future?

Rebecca Beitsch contributed reporting

 Updated at 7:10 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The leaks were not severely damaging to the Ukrainian war effort, the HUR director argued

Much of the leaked data about Ukraine was false, Budanov claimed, adding that operations of this nature typically contain "7080% of generally true facts" and "2030% are modified or artificially created facts. These created facts are usually the key ones, the spy chief added.

The leaks themselves appear to contain U.S. assessments of Ukraines military, including remaining reserves of air defense munitions, the orders of battle of units being prepared for counter-offensive operations, and pessimistic U.S. prognoses of Ukraines military plans for the year. Edited versions of the leaks, circulating on pro-Russian Telegram channels, also had inaccurate and manipulated casualty counts in favor of Russia, though the unedited copies show casualty counts in line with common analyst expectations.

Ultimately, the leaks were intended to damage relations between Ukraine and the U.S., Budanov explained, though he believes the leaks had failed to achieve this objective of sowing distrust. Additionally, the leaks were not severely damaging to the Ukrainian war effort, the HUR director argued, saying that documents that were much larger in size, in terms of the amount of material, have gotten out very often.

Read also: Only Moscow benefits from US intel leaks, Ukraines intelligence chief says

The leaked files also apparently contained U.S. assessments of internal debates about the war in Moscow itself, claiming that the head of the Russian Security Council and former FSBDirector Nikolai Patrushev, as well as the Chief of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov, favored slowing down the war effort.

However, Budanov called this analysis a pure lie. In his view, Gerasimov was, in principle, one of the few in favor of a military operation, while Patrushev took a more neutral position. According to the HUR director, there is no significant disagreement at this point between the Russian FSB and Ministry of Defense, and said that while Russias economic elite is dissatisfied with the course of the country, the past 400 years of Russian history indicate that any sort of revolt against Putin remains very unlikely.

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
On a cloudy, cool morning in late March, workers tended to 30,000 marijuana plants growing, hanging and drying behind security-monitored gates in the North Carolina mountains.

Some methodically trimmed buds in a room to yield flower with the best aroma, look and price. Others on the grounds packed a variety of marijuana into protective bags for storage in a minus-27-degree freezer that released a blast of arctic air when opened.

Stand away, a worker cautioned.

A grader hummed in the near-distance smoothing land for a planned extraction and processing building, where cannabis will be transformed into many products before sale.

Another humming seized  as a generator running the walk-in freezer ran out of diesel fuel. The generator provides power until Duke Energy hooks the property into its system.

Workers, within minutes, refueled and put the groundbreaking operation back on track.

Just months from opening what officials with the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians say will be the worlds largest medical cannabis dispensary superstore, the Cherokee are ramping up production and genetics research on the Qualla Boundary. Its the first instance of marijuana being tested and sold legally in North Carolina.

Applications, which require a health care professionals signature, are available now online. Medical marijuana cards will be required to buy products at the dispensary.

Beginning Thursday (4/20), the Cherokee Cannabis Control Board, which regulates the operation, will begin processing applications  first for medically eligible tribe members, followed by the public  board Executive Director Neil Denman said.

The Charlotte Observer in late March was granted an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of the tribes dispensary under construction and its established grow operation, part of the Cherokees 57,000-acre territory  a sovereign nation outside the bounds of North Carolinas prohibition on marijuana.

The Tribal Council first voted about two years ago to legalized controlled use of marijuana on Cherokee land and to grow and sell it.

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Were building this for the Cherokee people, general manager Forrest Parker said.

Were building this for the community. Were building this for anybody that can be benefited, that wants help, that wants medicine that needs it for whatever reason they have.

We want it to be profitable, but its about our people.

North Carolina marijuana dispensary opening

Qualla Enterprises LLC is the tribes for-profit cannabis venture, and it intends to open the EBCIs mega dispensary in a limited capacity in late summer or fall, Parker said. The Cherokee have no date set for opening the dispensarys doors, but are beyond 60% to 70% there, he said.

I just left a room full of tribal leaders, and I had to give them the same answer, Parker said in late March. Cannabis is agriculture. It takes time to grow an agricultural product.

So the opening of a retail store in a vertical operation such as this is 100% contingent on our ability to build the infrastructure, to grow, process, manufacture, test, package, label and retail cannabis, he said.

Cherokee members are refashioning their massive old bingo hall on U.S. 19 South near Harrahs Cherokee Casino Resort into the dispensary that is a first of its kind in North Carolina  poised to be the only location in a three-hours drive from Charlotte where weed is sold legally. The site is about 4-1/2 hours from Raleigh.

A hoop house is teeming with flowering cannabis plants on a farm owned and operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC in Cherokee, NC. Cannabis plants reach the flowering stage after eight to eleven weeks. Once the plant is fully mature, it is harvested and stored in a climate controlled room to dry.

Its marijuana plants in late March were soaked in light inside 25 temperature- and humidity-controlled hoop houses on Goose Creek Road, 7 miles from the dispensary. Under the watchful, trained eyes of workers, some of the plants just recently sprouted. Others stood 3- or 4-feet tall.

The plants had a light scent, more like an herb than the earthy, musky cloud from a tokers joint.

Only in a room where huge batches of more mature plants hung to dry did the classic Mary Jane smell reveal herself.

The Cherokee intend to produce 1,200 pounds a week of cannabis and sell it in 250 products at the dispensary, which will have a drive-thru shopping option, Parker said. Workers began harvesting marijuana in November and will sell it in the dispensary as flower, prerolls, vapes, concentrates, edibles and topicals.

Phones are ringing off the hook with hundreds of callers a day from North Carolina and other states wondering how to get a card and when the store will open, Parker said.

In the months ahead, the tribe will expand its marijuana growing to 77 hoop houses.

In time, the workforce supporting medical marijuana cultivation and sales could grow to more than 400 people, leaders say. For now, its around 50-people strong: All part of the inaugural grow making history in North Carolina.

A bull elk rests in a field at sunset at the Kituwah Farm near Bryson City on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021. The farm, owned by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, is considered the historical mother town and original settlement of the three federally recognized Cherokee tribes.

Peaceful, easy setting

Deer, elk, rabbits and pheasants frequent land near the grow operation, which is a 5-minute drive from Kituwah, the original Cherokee mother town. In 1761, during the French and Indian War, the forces of reviled British Col. James Grant destroyed the town.

Qualla Boundary lies 46 miles west of Asheville, past Lake Junaluska and Maggie Valley and down a hairpin curvy, stomach-churning, cliff-hanger stretch of N.C. 19. It aint for the faint.

About 9,600 people live on Qualla Boundary, 77% Indian, 23% non-Indian, according to the census. EBCI has 14,000 total members.

Most all of the 51 workers on site are Eastern Band members. The Cherokee expect 80% of the eventual workforce to be from the EBCI, Parker said.

The first thing evident was the tight security at the grow operation. Fence surrounds the property. A locked gate bars entry to outsiders. A security guard requested drivers licenses to confirm identities.

The second thing that struck us was the absence of the strong marijuana smell in the grow houses. Qualla is planting over 50,000 lavender seedlings, which, through natural and sustainable ways, mitigate odors and attract beneficial insects.

Cotyledon leaves appear on a young marijuana plant. These are the first leaves to grow from the seed after germination. They usually come in pairs, and seeing them is a sign of successful germination and that the plant is growing healthy.

Skyrocketing sales  and competition?

Qualla Enterprises added a team of experts coast to coast with years in the business.

Qualla managers also consult, for instance, with Phylos Bioscience Inc., the cannabis genetics company based in Portland, Oregon, said James Bradley, an EBCI member and the Qualla Enterprises operations manager.

They have a whole team of geneticists and growers that we can call and troubleshoot, he said.

EBCI relies on outside experts not just to understand our practices and our grow, but to also understand our climate and where we are as well, said Kara Howard, Qualla Enterprises executive assistant. And what they have to offer and how that would benefit us.

The plan is ambitious  and might produce more supply than demand, at least initially, according to one industry expert.

Overproduction and underproduction can sink a cannabis operation, said Michael Mayes, CEO of Quantum 9, a Chicago-based cannabis consultant thats helped clients start marijuana ventures in 27 states and six countries since 2012. The Observer contacted Mayes for his thoughts about the EBCI enterprise. Hes not working with the tribe.

Producing the planned 1,200 pounds a week could leave the EBCI with an enormous amount of unsold product, he said.

If all 9,600 people living on Qualla Boundary bought the maximum 6 ounces of product allowed by the Cannabis Control Board each month, that would amount to 345,600 ounces a year, Mayes said. And maybe half the population is too young to legally buy product, he said.

The tribes goal amounts to a whopping 998,400 ounces a year, he said.

Parker said that take wrongly assumes the EBCIs market is only people living in the Qualla Boundary.

Our actual market is the 10.4 million residents of North Carolina, he said.

On April 6, the EBCI Tribal Council approved backing a loan of about $64 million to complete the medical marijuana project, lifting EBCIs total investment to about $95 million. Non-gaming tribal revenues will fund the investment.

We just want to get funded, because were under-capitalized, Parker told the council before its 6-to-3 vote in favor of backing the loan.

In 2022, Parker said, North Carolina had the second highest illicit cannabis market in the United States at $3.2 billion, behind only Texas.

It is past time that some portion of those folks, and many others, get the chance to buy medical cannabis that is tested, regulated and safe, Parker said. We are going to provide it for them, so overproduction is not a problem.

Planet 13 Las Vegas is currently regarded by weed industry consultants interviewed by the Observer as the worlds largest cannabis superstore. Its 112,000-square-foot complex includes a 23,000-square-foot sales floor.

Parker said EBCIs dispensary may not be the worlds largest in terms of building size, but the operation will top all others globally in the amount and quality of product offered.

Flowers, also known as buds, grows at the top of a mature marijuana plant on a farm owned and operated by Qualla Enterprises, LLC in Cherokee, NC. The flowers contain the cannabinoids and terpenes that get produce a high and offer health benefits. Flowers only grow on female cannabis plants and must be dried before consumption.

EBCI joins an industry that saw an estimated $30 billion in legal cannabis sales in the U.S. last year, according to leading cannabis market researcher New Frontier Data. Annual sales for both legalized medical and recreational cannabis are projected to surpass $35 billion in 2023, New Frontier Data reports.

If the pace of state-level legalization continues in the absence of federal policy reform, sales are expected to rise to an estimated $71 billion by 2030, according to New Frontier Data.

The Carolinas and nine other states have yet to legalize medical marijuana. North Carolina, for one, inches closer to approval.

North Carolinas Compassionate Care Act, a bipartisan bill that sits in the state House, would allow those with debilitating medical conditions, such as cancer, epilepsy and Parkinsons disease, to use medical marijuana. Patients under North Carolinas legislation would need to provide written certifications from doctors stating they have a qualifying condition, and those under 18 would face specific restrictions on marijuana use.

State law currently lays out fines for misdemeanor possession of small amounts of marijuana and classifies any amount of 1.5 ounces or more as a felony. Outside the Qualla Boundary, the only type of marijuana considered legal for medical use is hemp extract  products that have a THC concentration of less than 0.9% and a CBD concentration of at least 5%.

Parker said the EBCI cannabis operation will be fine if the state legalizes medical cannabis, as expected.

He cited the Cherokees 10-month head start and its hiring of seasoned marijuana production experts to yield what he said is the best cannabis in the Southeast.

Theres no doubt that there will be people that shop at a dispensary in Asheville or Charlotte that would have came to Cherokee otherwise, Parker said.

As much as you could look at numbers and say, yeah, thats a little competitive, we also understand that cannabis is here, he said. Its soon to be rescheduled federally. The entire nation is changing in cannabis. So it would be a little short-minded to sit here and focus only on competition theory between the state.

Through on-site genetics research, Qualla Enterprises has developed two unique cannabis strains and expects to unveil many more, Parker said.

Wheres your R&D center, we asked.

The. whole. place. is a damn research center, Parker said with a smile, prompting chuckles from his management team.

The room you just walked into has changed purposes three times since we built the building, he said. Thats how fast the R&D is happening. R&D determines next steps, and to be able to do that without costing yourself a ton of money is hard, but critical.

Learning, growing in these hoop houses, thats R&D in and of itself, Bradley said. Temperature, humidity, especially here in this climate, its all R&D for now.

Grow their medicine

Howard took us to the spot where Bradley planted the first seed, on June 9, 2022.

Bradley explained in intricate detail throughout a day-long tour how the plants grew, their various types and strains, the bar codes that track their lives from birth to sale.

Hopefully down the road, at least my hope would be, that we do have our own breeding program, and we can make stuff thats specific to our climate, to our environment, Bradley said.

That we can make strains that are mold-resistant, pest-resistant, things like that, he said. We can work closely with our genetics companies, and they can help us achieve that goal, so we grow something specific for our area and the conditions we have to deal with.

Bradley lives in the Wolftown community on Qualla Boundary.

Its the love of the plant, really, he said about his knowledge of the operation. I love what I do, so I want to learn everything I can about it, he said.

He wants to help EBCI members who obtain cannabis cards learn to grow the weed at their homes.

Qualla Enterprises may hold classes on growing techniques to get people started, Howard said.

And thats my personal goal, Bradley said. Im all about the patient, so helping them to learn to grow their own. Im trying to be whats called a designated primary care giver. I could grow their medicine for them, and I could then find something that tailors specifically to their symptoms or whatever medical condition. I could grow that strain for them.

Elder Cherokee women work together to trim leaves from dried cannabis stems for the flowers, so the remaining buds can be collected and used as product.

In another room, four tribal members ages 35 to 71 trimmed buds as peppy 80s dance hits blared from a radio.

This is where you could really make or break your quality, Parker said. You need folks who are really detail-oriented, and these lovely ladies are doing a fantastic job. Theyre doing a better job than anyone we could hire.

It doesnt matter if youre 70 or 27, Parker said. Weve got people from all walks of life, all demographics within our community that want to be a part of this.

Casper Wolfe was the, err, greenest member of the trimming team.

I may be the newbie in the room, the 35-year-old EBCI member said. But this has been a part of my heritage my whole life. Its heritage. Its not about the high or the money. Its what weve always done as a people. Its our medicine.

A life-changing  and sovereign opportunity

At the old bingo hall that afternoon, 48-year-old EBCI member Stephen Watty said the tribal cannabis business changed his life.

I do a little bit of everything, the production technician said. I work on the farm, help out growing, transplanting, harvesting. Here, I work with maintenance stuff, whatever needs to be done.

Hes grateful to Qualla Enterprises for hiring him after he served 14 years for second-degree murder, he said.

Ive had a long journey, Watty said. I worked every day, just got caught up in the wrong place, the wrong time.

When I came home, I had to start over, he said. This company went all in for me, and its really changed my life, because this is a life-changing opportunity.

Parker said hes proud of the EBCI for entering the cannabis world and providing for a better future.

Im very proud of us utilizing our sovereignty to do things such as this, he said, that provide opportunity, medicine, economic diversity to our people in a rural community that much, much needs it.
(TikTok / Getty)

Fans of McDonalds are expressing their disappointment with the fast-food chain after learning that their fries are cooked with beef flavouring, making them not suitable for vegans.

The use of natural beef flavour as an ingredient in the fries was recently brought to the publics attention on TikTok by a man named Jordan, who goes by @jordan_the_stallion8 on the app.

In a video posted last week, the TikToker joked about knowing so many fast-food secrets before claiming that he also knew why McDonalds fries taste different than everybody elses fries.

Its because McDonalds cooks [its] fries with beef flavouring mixed within their vegetable oil, Jordan said. So thats why the fries taste so good, but also so different from everybody elses.

The TikToker then noted that the revelation was probably bad news for vegetarians.

In the comments of the video, which has since been viewed more than nine million times, some people were initially skeptical of Jordans claim. However, others noted that it was true, as the ingredient is listed on McDonalds website. The fast food giant stated that its fries are made using potatoes, vegetable oil, natural beef flavour, which contains wheat and milk derivatives, dextrose, sodium acid pyrophosphate, and salt.

The realisation was met with dismay from vegan and vegetarian customers, with one person writing: Wait.. whaaaat!? Im vegan and all I can eat from McDonalds are fries. Another said: WTF. Never again.

Bro McDonalds is gonna be in TROUBLE with the vegans, someone else wrote.

However, many others revealed that it is a well-known fact that McDonalds fries are not vegan in the US.

I thought everyone knew this, one person wrote, while another said: This has been known for at least a decade.

In the video, Jordan also noted that the ingredient is used primarily in the US, and that McDonalds in the UK, Canada, and Australia do not use the ingredient in their fries, which makes the menu item vegan.

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McDonalds UK French Fries are made by McCains using Russet Burbank, Pentland Dell and Shepody potatoes, which are chosen for their quality, taste and long shape when cut. The fries are not coated in any fats or substances from an animal. Once at the restaurant, our fries are simply cooked in dedicated frying vats in a non-hydrogenated blend of sunflower and rapeseed oil which is 100 per cent suitable for vegans, McDonalds UK website reads.

This was an emotional rollercoaster as a Canadian vegetarian, one person joked.

As for whether McDonalds US fries are suitable for vegetarians, the fast-food chain does not specify whether there are meat derivatives in the beef flavouring.

The Independent has contacted McDonalds for comment.
Atlanta police are investigating after a person was found dead near a shopping plaza in southwest Atlanta.

Police confirmed a person was found shot to death at the intersection of Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. SW and Hamilton E. Holmes NW. The Holmes Plaza is nearby.

Details are limited at this time as police continue to investigate.

The victim has not been identified.

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At first, I just thought he must be watching a film, then I realised he was filming me, says Molly (iStock)

Youre approached by a stranger. Whats the first thing you do? Do you smile, and start talking to them about the weather? Politely turn around and walk away? Or do you recoil and start to weep? Say its the latter. Now imagine a video of you doing that has gone viral on social media  and millions of people are now analysing what brought you to tears, if its justified, and whether or not you might have autism.

This is what happened recently to a young woman who was filmed as she was approached in New Yorks Times Square by 21-year-old TikTok creator and dancer, Huon Archer. In the video, which has been viewed more than 21 million times on TikTok (and 45 million on Twitter), Archer is seen dancing alongside a queue of women, tapping them on the shoulder and then holding his hand up to them for a high five. The first woman ignores him and moves away. The second appears startled and goes to her friend for support. When Archer taps the second womans shoulder, she obliges the high five before placing her hand on the arm of her friend, who starts to cry.

The video has prompted indignation online, with thousands of people offering their two cents. One Twitter user argued: Super insane how someone can film you for 30 seconds and post it and end up turning you into some kind of internet figure against your will. Another added: The fact that he kept hovering near their group even after he saw one of the girls clearly wasnt feeling it. One person simply posited the idea that were officially in a black mirror episode.

Archer, meanwhile, has not publicly responded to the reaction to his video but has turned the comments off on TikTok. (The Independent has reached out to Archer for comment.) Nonetheless, it has sparked a feverish debate around social etiquette, social media and the way we interact with strangers.

Peoples brains are so broken now that theyre arguing that existing in a public place means you are implicitly agreeing to be touched and filmed by strangers and to have your emotions and reactions posted online for a million people to laugh at and psychoanalyze, one person tweeted. The idea that I could go out one day and have millions of people insult me online based on a 15 second clip of me that I didnt even choose to be a part of is quickly becoming a legitimate fear, added another.

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Videos like Archers have become increasingly popular since the pandemic. There are now countless popular creators like him, whose content revolves around approaching strangers: the tag approaching random people on TikTok has more than 6.2 million views alone.

I had a guy following me for a good 15 minutes no matter how many times I told him to go away. I must have changed direction six or more times

George Lou Bon

Among them are videos of users trying to speak to people on the Tube, asking them where theyre going and who theyre with, and others simply trying to talk to people on the street. Caleb Simpson (7.1 million followers on TikTok), one of the most notorious creators of this ilk, has become famed for videos in which he asks strangers in Manhattan how much they pay for rent. Theres also Daniel MacDonald (13.9 million followers on TikTok), who asks strangers what they do for a living, and Ted Zhar (533,600 followers on TikTok). He also asks strangers (and sometimes celebrities) the same question  regular videos include what do hot girls do for a living?.

For some people, all this is merely innocent, insipid internet content. But as Archers clip shows, when youre the stranger involved, its a different matter altogether. It also raises questions around what happens when this kind of behaviour is normalised on a mainstream  and offline  level.

Invading someones personal space in public is nothing new. And, as we know all too well, it can easily lead to more malevolent behaviour. Think back to the post-pandemic rise of discussions around public sexual harassment, which is now set to be punishable by up to two years in prison thanks to new legislation backed by the government. In December 2022, government research found that 44 per cent of people felt that public sexual harassment was happening more often in England and Wales than five years before (including 18 per cent who felt that it was happening much more often). Meanwhile, the Office for National Statistics found in May 2022 that one in two women aged between 16 and 34 years experienced one form of harassment in the previous 12 months, with 38 per cent of women aged between 16 and 34 having experienced catcalls, whistles, unwanted sexual comments or jokes, and 25 per cent having felt that they were being followed.

These incidents are as varied as they are numerous, but one thing connects them all: they all involve strangers approaching people in an unsavoury manner in public. There have been more specific conversations, too. Earlier this year, the hashtag #GymCreep went viral on TikTok as a way of women showcasing how frequently they were approached or stared at by predatory men while working out. Elsewhere, the British Transport Police has upped its safeguarding measures, with TfL launching a campaign urging bystanders to safely intervene if they witnessed instances of sexual harassment.

Of course, all of this has been happening for some time. But the nature of these interactions seems to have changed following the pandemic. I think post-MeToo, Ive experienced less of the low-level harassment like catcalling. But Ive had more of the most insidious kind recently, says performer George Lou Bon, 28, who runs the @itsmybody Instagram account. Not long ago, I had a guy following me for a good 15 minutes no matter how many times I told him to go away. I must have changed direction six or more times before I decided to just stop in the middle of a junction and call someone.

Ive experienced less of the low-level harassment like catcalling. But Ive had more of the most insidious kind recently, says George Lou Bon (iStock)

This has also been the case for Molly*, 55, who has had several severe incidents of public harassment since the pandemic, including being complimented about the shape of her body in a pair of gym leggings while walking to work. She has also been filmed by a man on the Tube without her consent. At first, I just thought he must be watching a film, then I realised he was filming me. I ignored it until it carried on for another couple of stops. In the end, I asked him to stop filming me. He ignored me and continued, so I got off at the next stop.

Of course, not every public interaction with a stranger is harassment. And there are some who would argue that in todays hyper-aware society, harmless interactions can easily be misconstrued as predation, or something equally as harmful. There are also those who want to be filmed, often doing strange things in public with the intention of just that  think of the man who recently went viral with his sparky response to a TikToker on Leicester Square who asked if hed ever start his own business (he winked at the camera).

But its clear to see that such interactions can and do cause discomfort, particularly as they are becoming more prolific. After all, how relevant is someones intention when it has the propensity to cause such a visceral reaction from the individual involved, as we saw in Archers video? Perhaps he was just trying to film a dance video for TikTok. But, following the womans tears, why post it at all? And what kind of message does that send to others with regards to what is and isnt acceptable when it comes to how we interact with strangers?

These are questions worth considering not just as creators but as consumers, too. Ultimately, were the ones watching the content and breathing new life into it with every click and comment. Its difficult to know how to deal with being approached in public. But at home, it might be smart to just close the tab.
Pets have their own ways of dealing with loss, experts say.

Pets have their own ways of dealing with loss, experts say.

When a loved one dies  whether its a husband, wife, son or daughter  every member of the family is impacted in different ways. Routines shift, traditions are altered, and the family unit as a whole is changed.

This transition impacts four-legged family members like dogs and cats, too. Speaking to HuffPost, experts spoke about how grief can affect pets:

Yes, pets may grieve the loss of a family member.

Research suggests that both cats and dogs (although dogs are more studied) show signs of grief following the death of a companion animal in the home. So, it is reasonable to think that pets grieve the loss of owners too, said Dr. Andrea Y. Tu, the medical director of Behavior Vets in New York.

When an owner dies, pets experience changes to their routine and the simple reality that one person is no longer in the home.

That can impact the emotional well-being of any creature in the household, Tu said.

A grieving pet may experience behavioral changes.

Though pets do not mourn in the same way that humans do, there are consistent behavioral changes when they experience loss, Tu said. Dogs who are grieving may eat less or more slowly; they might also spend more time asleep. Grieving cats can be more vocal, and those vocalizations may be louder than normal.

You may also see a deviation from your pets normal routine, and they may even sleep in the normal spot of the deceased pet or person, Tu said.

Dr. Christopher Lea, an associate clinical professor at Auburn Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine in Alabama, underscored the frequency of these behavioral changes in grieving pets, saying his clients noticed a loss of appetite and sleeping changes in their dogs.

Research suggests that dogs and cats can grieve after a loss.

Research suggests that dogs and cats can grieve after a loss.

If you notice these signs, get in contact with your veterinarian.

Though behavioral changes can be a result of grief, there also could be something else at play.

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Lea said if you notice these kinds of shifts in your pet, make an appointment with your veterinarian. Theyll likely perform a physical exam and may also want to do some blood tests to make sure everything is OK.

If the vet finds nothing wrong, engage your pet to help them with their grief.

If nothing is considered abnormal ... engage the pet to combat their grief, Lea advised.

Lea said exercise is one of the best outlets for animals going through a tough time. With dogs, you can take them out for more walks, hikes or anything extra that you think they would enjoy, Lea said. You can also engage them in social enrichment like doggy day care or training, he said.

But for many people, grief makes it hard to do things like take walks or hikes, even with a pet. If this is the case for you, Tu said you can rely on enrichment activities for your pets, like food-dispensing or puzzle toys.

Dont reprimand them for what that may be their grief process.

If your pet is sleeping in the spot of the animal or person who passed, let them, Tu advised. The same goes for a cat who is meowing at you more, for example. Dont punish them at a time when the household is dealing with change and loss.

Recognize that theyre also going through their own grieving process, Tu said. Allow them to have that freedom to go through their own process.

These behavioral changes wont last forever, according to both Tu and Lea. Most pets will experience changes in their behavior ... potentially for up to six months afterward, Tu explained.

Like humans, pets need some time to process their emotions and move through grief.

And just like people, pets who arent getting better can receive help from professionals.

You know your pet best  if they arent acting like themselves for long periods of time or they are displaying other concerning signs, get in touch with your vet.

The key is always reaching out to your family veterinarian, Lea said. From there, you both can decide how to proceed.

One possible option is to contact a veterinary behaviorist or a center that focuses on pet behavior. (For those who dont live near a behavior center, Tus company, Behavior Vets, offers some free materials online.)

Veterinary behaviorists are essentially the psychiatrists of the veterinary world, Tu said. That means they can help you find the right medicine for your pet or help them deal with emotional trauma in a healthy way.

So, if your pet is having a hard time and your vet doesnt have an answer, dont be afraid to get in touch with a veterinary behaviorist.

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(Bloomberg) -- Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said Wednesday he will speak with Beijings ambassador to Manila to get an explanation about the envoys remarks on how the Philippines is stoking the fire over Taiwans independence.

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Marcos said he will talk to Ambassador Huang Xilian soon, adding that he was a little surprised by the envoys recent comments. Im sure he will be very anxious to give his own interpretation of what he was trying to say, the president said.

The Chinese envoy said last week that the Philippines decision to expand US military access has caused widespread and grave concern among Chinese people.

Huang had said the Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence if the Southeast Asian country cares genuinely about the 150,000 Filipinos working in the island nation. Manila has adhered to the one-China principle.

I interpret it as (him) trying to say Philippines, do not provoke or intensify the tensions because it will impact badly on the Filipinos, thats how I take it, Marcos said, adding that the envoys remark must have been lost in translation.

Chinas embassy in Manila later said that the ambassador was misquoted, amid criticisms from lawmakers. Chinas Foreign Minister Qin Gang will be on a three-day visit to the Philippines from Friday to boost ties and tackle regional security issues as the Southeast Asian nation bolsters its defense alliance with the US.

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Photographer Matt Ramey interviewed North Carolina drag queens for an ongoing photo series.

Photographer Matt Ramey interviewed North Carolina drag queens for an ongoing photo series.

With recent legislation around the country targeting LGBTQ+ people and drag queens specifically, North Carolina-based photographer Matt Ramey decided to start a new ongoing photo series called Ancestral Fantasy: Tales of Freedom, Beauty, and Truth.

The series features portraits of North Carolina drag queens in and out of costume, along with their responses when Ramey asked them a question: Why is it important to live your truth?

The inspiration for this project started once the rumblings that demonized drag started taking hold in the political discourse. Ever since I can remember, LGBTQ+ folks have been under attack in America, Ramey told HuffPost. Its so upsetting to see queer folks become the boogeyman. They are our family, neighbors and community. I want to do my part to help amplify their voices and tell their truth.

The idea for the question came from one of Rameys subjects: Alex Thee Rabbit, a Black transgender woman who is also credited with creating the title of the photo series.

Originally I wanted to ask, What is drag to you? But Alex Thee Rabbit posed a better question, said Ramey. She told me that question is more fitting and to the point because drag shows others how to live and exist and thrive in their truth.

Just this week, North Carolina House Republicans introduced a bill that would ban drag in public areas or where there are minors present.

Ramey hopes the portraits of drag queens out of their dazzling makeup and stunning costumes help others realize they are just regular people.

It is easy to demonize something you dont see as real, the photographer said. Its important to remember that behind the makeup and performance is a real person, a human, just like you. They have a life, a family, goals, struggles, dreams and a truth they live in. They are entertainers and its important to see them as people, and not as a caricature.

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Below, check out the portrait series Ancestral Fantasy: Tales of Freedom, Beauty, and Truth by Matt Ramey and the answers to the question Why is it important to live your truth?

Brenda The Drag Queen

When a drag queen pops on that first wig, pump, nail or lash, shes taking back something the world has convinced her doesnt exist over who she can be. Then, merely the existence of that character gives everyone they interact with the permission to be a little bit more themselves. When a young queer person sees a drag queen, they might think, if that towering person in a mermaid-cut sequin gown can do that, maybe I can make it one more day at school in the face of those bullies  as opposed to ending my life. Anti-drag legislation takes away these opportunities. I can sing filthy parodies in nightclubs on Friday night and read a book to children on Saturday morning just like Chris Rock can do stand-up one day and voice a character in an animated movie the next. Its called range  and drag queens have it the same as any other entertainer does. If 99.9% of the content I absorbed as a child situating heterosexual love as the only love didnt somehow groom me to be straight, I cant imagine that my reading to kids in a ball gown is going to groom them to be anything other than someone with more permission to be whoever they want to be.

Alex Thee Rabbit

Because freeing myself and living in that freedom lets others know that they too can dream and live the fantasies of their ancestors, just as I do.

Chante Elise Cassidy

For all we truly know, we only have one life to live. Youd be doing yourself and the people around you a disservice by not being yourself and living your truth. One Love.

Chloe Cassidy

Its very important to be the person you needed when you were younger.

Emory Starr

Its important to live your truth because each individual has something specific and unique to offer. If youre not living your truth then youre denying not only yourself but the universe this special thing that only you can provide. True fulfillment is found in living your truth.

Dana St. James

Living my truth is important to me because, as a transgender woman of a certain age, I have been able to show younger generations that living an honest and joyful life is possible. While leading by example, I feel I can inspire others and show them that you dont have to limit yourself to others concept of gender, and be your authentic self.

Miss B Haven

In a world full of so much deception, living in your truth is one of the bravest acts of resistance. To live in your truth is to choose yourself despite all the odds.

Poison Venemisis

There is a magnetic fire in my spirit that pulls me to dance and perform, almost a celestial force. The way my outward expression has been perceived or consumed has always pushed me outside of the norm, made me an outlier or outcast. I only found my place in the world through experiencing things that were more like me: music, art, fashion. I am so grateful that certain people have this unshakable urge to live in authenticity and make it known that we exist in a community; that everything and everyone has its time and place. Its important for me to live in my truth to honor those people ahead of me who fought for my liberty and for everyone who comes after to find themselves in me, to find this fuel to live in unshakable authenticity. I believe the world is abundant and accepting diversity is the foundation to social success. We need for everyone to be empowered to be exactly who they care to be, to listen to their calling and fulfill that in support and freedom.

Ruby Liquer

Organized religion taught me lies. And nearly killed me. My community taught me truth. And they accept me!

Shelita Bonet Hoyle

Because I need to be who I needed when I was younger. Growing up, no one around me looked like me or sounded like me or acted like me. And it took me a long time to realize that was OK. I live in my truth to show them that they can learn to love their truth, too.

Teagress

Queer kids out there deserve to see people like them thriving as adults as who they want to be. To put it frankly, the world doesnt like to see people like us thrive. They want us to fall into place, be what they expect us to be, fall into the roles they expect us to fall into. Open your eyes: Drag and trans bans are being passed all around the country. Its important now more than ever to not back down and show that queer people arent dangerous, but people that have been here for millennia.

Related...
A German photographer has turned down a prestigious prize after revealing that his winning photograph was created using artificial intelligence.

Boris Eldagsen was named the winner in the creative open category at the Sony World Photography Awards, with his black and white photograph Pseudomnesia / The Electrician. The image shows a young woman standing in front of the camera while an older woman stands behind her.

However, one week after he won the prize, Eldagsen shared a statement on his website announcing that he would not accept the awards.

I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out, if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not, he wrote.

We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter  or would this be a mistake?

Eldagsen, who specialises in photo and visual art, said that he hoped to speed up this debate by refusing the award.

He suggested that if you dont know what to do with the prize, please donate it to the fotofestival in Odesa, Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the World Photography Organisation said that Eldagsen told them he had co-created the image using AI before he was announced as the winner.

As per the rules of the competition, the photographers provide the warranties of their entry, they told The Guardian.

The creative category of the open competition welcomes various experimental approaches to image making from cyanotypes and rayographs to cutting-edge digital practices. As such, following our correspondence with Boris and the warranties he provided, we felt that his entry fulfilled the criteria for this category, and we were supportive of his participation.

The WPO added that they had additionally welcomed Boriss wish for dialogue, but had suspended working with him after he declined the award.

Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts at misleading us, and therefore invalidating the warranties he provided, we no longer feel we are able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him, they said.
Picture this:

You are returning a rented vehicle before catching a flight at the Miami International Airport, and you cant find gas anywhere. You go to one of the stations on Le Jeune Road, but it has no gas. You swing by another one  and nothing. You try yet another station, and its surrounded by yellow tape, like the type you see at crime scenes.

Gas shortages at the pumps, caused by a combination of last weeks historic rains in South Florida and the ensuing panic buying craze, could foil your travel plans, and your budget.

Do you keep looking for gas and risk missing your flight?

Or do you return the car on empty? If you dont return the vehicle with the same amount of gas it had when you picked it up, you may have to pay penalty fees.

Drivers put fuel in vehicles at the Mobil gas station located at 18300 Collins Avenue in Sunny Isles Beach, Florida on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

READ MORE: Whats behind Miamis gas shortage and how long will it last? You wont like the answer

How are Miami car rental companies handling the gas woes?

About half of the clients returning vehicles at Family Auto, located at MIA, are doing so without filling the tank, rental agent Josmy Sosa told the Miami Herald. He said the company is waiving penalty fees for returning cars on empty, charging for gas at market price.

The situation here is crazy, Sosa said.

Nearly week-long gas crunch continues. Heres a look at the pumps, long lines

At SKY auto rental, just east of the airport, many clients are returning vehicles with less gas than what they are supposed to, said manager Hector Aular. He said the agency is not penalizing customers but that those who are picking up cars might have to take them with little gas.

Now that you know this... What can you do?

A familiar site: a No gas! notation taped to a pump at a Shell gasoline station at 2501 NW 42nd Ave. in Miami.

READ MORE: Whats going on with gas in South Florida? Whats happening with prices? What to know

Check out these tips

Here are some things you can do to avoid headaches:

 Before renting, look for the local number of the rental company in Miami, and ask them how they are handling the gas crunch. Can you pre-pay for gas so you can return the vehicle near empty? Are they renting cars with little gas? What is the penalty for bring back a vehicle with an empty tank?

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 Plan to return your vehicle to the rental agency several hours before your flight. Long lines at gas stations and empty pumps might make your trip longer than anticipated.

 Start looking for gas before getting close to the airport. On Tuesday afternoon, several stations just east of the airport didnt have gas.

 Download GasBuddy. The app has activated its Fuel Availability Tracker to help drivers find gas stations with fuel and power. As of 9 a.m. Wednesday, nearly 58% of gas stations in the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area had no fuel, according to the app.

READ MORE: Can you find gas in Miami? Fuel crisis easing? What to know about supply after the flood

How long will the shortage last?

It may take several days before things return back to normal, and officials are asking the public to not rush to the pumps. At Port Everglades, the hub for about 40% of the gasoline that comes into Florida, nine out of 12 gas terminals as of Wednesday have recovered from last weeks severe flooding and are distributing gas and diesel to retailers in 12 counties south of Lake Okeechobee, including Miami-Dade, Broward, the Keys and Palm Beach.

Wednesday, April 19, 9:21AM

9 out of the 12 gas terminals @PortEverglades are working. Delays at the pump are expected to decrease as fuel trucks continue to deliver to stations. Drivers should remain judicious about fueling up until all the petroleum companies are back online.  Broward County, FL (@ReadyBroward) April 19, 2023

By purchasing gas only when you need it, you can help us restore regular service, Miami-Dade Mayor Daniella Levine Cava said in a news release Tuesday afternoon.
Pierce County public school superintendents say there is a dire need for more resources as districts grapple with reduced enrollment and student mental-health concerns in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Superintendents from Franklin Pierce School District, White River School District, Peninsula School Strict, Carbonado School District and Bethel School District addressed the County Councils Human Services meeting Tuesday. They reflected on the challenges and lessons staff learned from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Among their concerns was the fact they were not given clear guidance and direction as to how to handle issues like social distancing, remote learning and the transition back to in-person classes early on in the pandemic.

The stresses of managing an unprecedented global health crisis often left staff feeling overwhelmed and as if they were caught in a political crossfire between parents and the government, said Franklin Pierce School District Superintendent Lance Goodpaster.

Superintendents said taking different approaches to reduce the spread of COVID and returning to in-person learning also created confusion and a lack of cohesion between districts.

Loss of trust from the community, gaps in internet access and the absence of supportive programming and community spaces for students in some districts continue to worsen disparities and student mental health, the superintendents said at the meeting.

More guidance, support from state was needed

The superintendents thanked Pierce County Emergency Management and other agencies theyd received funding and guidance from during the pandemic but said there were many areas for improvement.

They cited a disconnect between Pierce County, the Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department, the Washington Department of Health and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction as one example.

Goodpaster said there were times during the pandemic when district staff felt they were being kind of caught in the middle of political debates and forced to make decisions that shouldnt have landed on school districts when they were certainly health-related.

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Bethel School District Superintendent Tom Seigel said there arent many people in school administration trained in immunology or virology, and they needed an expert to be the arbiter of what direction they shouldve followed.

In addition, a lack of consistent and coordinated data collection processes created additional work for the school district, Goodpaster said.

As we collect data and we analyze data and we use that to make informed decisions, it felt like we were doing that in an echo chamber and not comparing our data and what we were seeing with data from across the state, across the nation, he said. We have large, urban school districts, we have small rural school districts, and the data was there for both. And so I guess that was just a challenge, and it left us scratching our heads at times trying to answer very direct and fair questions about why some kids were being allowed to go to school in Washington state and some kids were not.

Peninsula School District Superintendent Krestin Bahr said districts enforced different back-to-school policies based on the number of positive cases and outbreaks, among other things. Bahr said it was hard to know what to do because districts received conflicting information from Pierce County, state health departments and the Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.

There has to be a better way to connect the dots in a major pandemic where we dont feel that we are trying to play Mom against Dad, from the state, to the county, to our local ability to be able to negotiate. There was such fear and anxiety, to the point that some school districts just stayed remote for almost an entire year, Bahr said. Were feeling the implications of that [disconnect] with lower enrollment, with more polarization, with lack of trust, all of those things. Our ability to go out for bonds and our ability to serve students with our levies and being able to pass at high rates. If we knew then what we know now, I think we would have made many different choices.

White River School District Superintendent Scott Harrison said it felt at times that public health concerns about a dramatic increase in marijuana and alcohol sales during the pandemic, as well as potential mental health impacts on students, were overshadowed by the focus on preventing COVID outbreaks.

We reopened our schools because we were afraid were going to start losing kids. And Im not saying losing kids because theyre going to a different school district. Im saying losing kids because theyre committing self harm, Harrison said. I would like to hope that in the future, we think about public health in its totality, and not just in any singular sense.

Lasting impact on student mental health

Bahr said shes been working in education for 39 years, 10 of them as a superintendent, and has seen the impacts of the pandemic and social isolation on students first-hand.

I think that we absolutely are in a crisis, she said. What were seeing now is almost a lack of empathy and engagement and belonging. And that is also exacerbated by drugs and alcohol and access [disparities]. We have a lot of really hurting kids  Were seeing a lot of kids that have mental illness: anxiety, deep anxiety, social discomfort, not having friends.

Bahr said many districts are managing with their own nurses, but she said most academic counselors are not trained mental-health professionals.

Carbonado School District Superintendent Jessie Sprouse said special-education directors have been seeing more students qualify for programs and individualized education since returning in-person.

I think a lot of people will just connect that to thinking its this huge learning loss, because you didnt have kids on campuses. And its actually a significant increase specifically in the category of social-emotional behavior, not reading, written language and math, Sprouse said. That is a shift. And its significant because that impacts whatever classroom youre in, for sure.

Rural districts suffer from lack of programming

Harrison, the White River School District superintendent, thanked Council member Jani Hitchen and the rest of the council for their work addressing equity concerns but said there remains many areas of Pierce County that are resource deserts that lack stable internet access, programming geared towards youth, pharmacies, grocery stores and public transportation.

Bethel School District Superintendent Tom Seigel said there are three parks in his district and no Boys and Girls Club or YMCA despite serving over 20,000 students. In the summer, theres no pool for kids to go to either, he said.

Its just totally under-resourced, has been that way for generations, Seigel said. Its going to require some real money to make up the difference to get the resources out here.
The Pirates have reached an agreement with the Pittsburgh Stadium Independent Employees Union.

According to Pirates spokesperson Brian Warecki, the agreement was reached on Tuesday.

RELATED >>> Some PNC Park employees going on strike after rejecting a contract offer from the Pirates

Warecki sent Channel 11 the following statement:

We are very pleased to report that we have reached a tentative agreement with the PSIEU on a new collective bargaining agreement this afternoon. The Union will be scheduling a ratification vote for membership at the end of April, and advised us that employees will be reporting for work as scheduled. The passion, dedication and teamwork that our employees bring to the ballpark makes a difference to our organization, our players and our fans. We look forward to sharing in what is shaping up to be an exciting 2023 season at PNC Park.

The details of the agreement have not yet been shared with Channel 11.

Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.

Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW

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Several countries temporarily banned the import of Ukrainian grain

The transit will restart overnight on April 21.

Read also: Ukraine and Poland to jointly produce 125 mm tank shells

Additional control measures will be applied to transit shipments and will be publicly announced to suppliers shortly, the agency said.

Ukraine understands the situation among Polish farmers, but Poland is also aware of the situation Ukrainian famers face during wartime, said First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who is on an official visit to Warsaw.

Since the beginning of the war, Poland has provided extensive support to Ukraine, she said.

Read also: Russians cause $270 million in damage to agricultural holding in Kherson Oblast

Together with our Polish counterparts, were solving all problems as partners. And thats why we must respond promptly and constructively to this crisis situation, said Svyrydenko.

The Polish side notified us about the technical aspects of transporting Ukrainian products through Polish territory. Were confident that Ukrainian exporters will take a responsible approach to those requirements.

Poland has no issue with Ukrainian agricultural products transiting the country, so long as there are 100% guarantees that the products would not remain in the country, said Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus.

Read also: Polish agriculture minister resigns amid anger over Ukrainian grain imports

After two days of talks in Warsaw, both sides managed to create such mechanisms that will ensure that not a single ton of grain will remain in Poland, he told Reuters.

Poland banned grain imports from Ukraine on April 15, caving to the demands of Polish farmers who had protested Ukrainian agriculture shipments for months.

They claim that a significant part of Ukrainian grain does not transit further, remaining in Poland to flood the market and depress the prices.

Later, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria announced similar temporary bans on Ukrainian agriculture products.

Story continues

Read also: Slovakia becomes third country to resume electricity imports from Ukraine

The European Commission denounced the bans as unacceptable, saying the likely break both EU and international laws.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
By Elizabeth Piper and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey

BILOHIRIA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Volodymyr Bondaruk takes little comfort from Poland's decision to lift a ban on the transit of Ukrainian grain. His mixed dairy and arable farm in western Ukraine has already lost a Polish contract and he doubts it will ever be renewed.

The 54-year-old executive director of his farm, called Pearl of Podillia after the local neighbourhood, is not clear how a new system agreed with Poland - to allow Ukrainian grain and other food to cross the country to export markets - will work.

He expects more expense and more hassle fulfilling the terms of the agreement, under which each consignment must be tracked by an electronic monitoring system and sealed.

Bondaruk is already struggling to find markets for the wheat, rapeseed, oilseed, corn and sugarbeet produced on his 10-hectare farm in western Ukraine's agricultural belt.

Russia's war with Ukraine has all but cut off his access to markets in the Middle East and Africa, and he fears Kyiv's "friends and neighbours" in Europe are trying to curtail the few remaining routes he has to find buyers.

"We do not know what the process will be, how it will work and what will work," Bondaruk told Reuters in one of his fields after showing the silos where his grain stocks are piling up on top of last year's harvest.

"This will enable large and medium agricultural holdings to sell their products but it will be very difficult for small farmers."

He said the new system might mean he has to pay a fee before the goods reach their destination - a difficult prospect with affordable credit deals in Ukraine in short supply.

Bondaruk, who has worked in agriculture since 1993, two years after Ukraine won independence from Moscow, said he had lost a contract to sell wheat to Poland and had to return money to the company involved. He is now selling that wheat at a cut-down price on the domestic market.

Story continues

'WE WILL SURVIVE'

Poland and other European Union member states in eastern Europe have imposed import bans to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper Ukrainian supply. Warsaw also initially banned their transit but eased restrictions after talks.

With uncertainty growing over the future of a Black Sea Grain Initiative that allows safe grain exports from three ports in southern Ukraine, Bondaruk said the outlook for exports appeared increasingly bleak.

He called for European help for Ukrainian farmers seeking to export grain, saying that he, unlike "some in Europe", did not want subsidies, just an even playing field.

For now, he will rely on milk production, saying one dairy cow can earn as much as cultivating two hectares of arable land.

And he will wait for the end of the war, which has already seen more than 50 of his workers heading off to fight.

"We will survive, we are the people who survived a lot," he said. "I think these times will pass and there will be a victory ... Everything will be good. We will have bread."

(Reporting by Elizabeth Piper and Ivan Lyubysh-Kirdey, additional reporting by Olena Harmash and Gleb Garanich; Editing by Gareth Jones)
Polestar introduced the Polestar 4, the second SUV in its lineup, at Auto Shanghai 2023. Actually, it's technically an SUV coupe, meaning it has the space and four doors of an SUV, but the sloping roof and aerodynamics of a coupe.

The Polestar 4 has plenty of new specs that make it turn heads, but the most bold design choice has got to be the lack of a rear-view mirror. Instead, drivers will look at screens in their cabin when reversing, which will display a real-time feed from a roof-mounted rear camera.

The Volvo spinoff says this gives the driver a wider field of view than they would get just by looking out the back window. It is also bound to give some drivers anxiety. What happens if a rock breaks that camera, or if the feed glitches and stops working? No rear window means no backup in case of tech challenges, so Polestar must be pretty confident in what it's bringing to the streets.

The company says there is a design rationale for the decision to nix the rear window, and that it was first tested with the Polestar Precept concept car.

"With Polestar Precept, we previewed a stunning new occupant experience by removing the rear window and pushing the read header, which plays an integral safety role, further back," said Maximilian Missoni, head of design at Polestar, in a statement. "This means that now, rear occupants can have a unique experience in our SUV coupe."

The elimination of the rear window also allows for a long glass roof that stretches beyond the rear occupants' heads. The glass roof can come with electrochromic functionality, or smart glass, which can change to be transparent or opaque depending on the occupants' needs.

Polestar 4

The Polestar 4 has the spaciousness of an SUV and the sloping roof of a coupe. Image Credits: Polestar

From the outside, the car has a swiftness to it. The door handles are retractable and the frameless windows are flush with the body of the car. The low nose gives it the aerodynamics needed to make this the fastest production model Polestar has produced yet -- it can go from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 3.8 seconds and has a maximum power output of 544 hp.

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The Polestar 4 will be available in both dual- and single-motor versions. The dual-motor version will have semi-active suspension features so it hits sporty performance without sacrificing comfort.

Both long-range versions will feature a 102 kWh battery, and the dual motor has a target range of 350 miles. All versions get up to 200 kW DC and 22 kW AC charging, and bi-directional charging is also included for vehicle-to-load capabilities.

The Polestar 4 will launch first in China, with production planned in November 2023 for a Geely-owned production facility in Hangzhou Bay that runs on renewable energy.

Polestar plans to launch in other markets, including Europe, North America and Asia Pacific, in early 2024.

The Polestar 4 will be priced somewhere between the 2 and 3, at around $60,000.

Polestar 4 tech specs

Drivers can access the Polestar 4's smart infotainment system, Apple CarPlay and Google products through a 15.4-inch screen. Image Credits: Polestar

Like all new EVs today, the Polestar 4 is packed with tech and inching slowly toward that just-out-of-reach goal of an "autonomous future."

The car's infotainment system is powered by Android Automotive OS and Qualcomm's Snapdragon Cockpit Platform, which can be accessed through a 15.4-inch screen up front.

Apple CarPlay is included and Google is built-in, including Google Assistant, Maps and Play. So drivers can say things like "Hey Google, drive me to the nearest charging station," or "Hey Google, play 'Despacito,'" and directions or melodies will come streaming out of the Harman Kardon audio system, which is available as a 12-speaker option.

There's also a secondary media and climate control screen mounted between the front seats for rear occupants to play around with.

But wait! There's more! Screens, that is. There are more screens, because we don't already have enough screens in our lives.

A 10.2-inch driver display is mounted ahead of the steering wheel and shows you speed, battery and range information. It can also show you other road users, current driving assistance functions and navigation information. If that's too distracting, there's also head-up display (which is basically a screen on your windshield) with a 14.7-inch projection area that gives the driver "key vehicle, telephony and navigation information," according to Polestar. When it's snowing, the HUD text color will switch from white to yellow to improve visibility.

Polestar uses Mobileye's SuperVision advanced driver assistance system (ADAS), which relies on 12 cameras, one radar and 12 ultrasonic sensors. Owners can pay extra for the Pilot Pack, which includes lane change assistance.

To ensure that the driver doesn't overly rely on the ADAS or fall asleep at the wheel, the Polestar 4 includes a driver monitoring camera that monitors the driver's eyes and head movements. That and hands-on detection in the steering wheel keep the driver actively engaged.
Jacksonville Sheriffs Office is investigating after an attempted carjacking on Basswood Street.

According to detectives, around 5 a.m., a domestic dispute occurred between a man and his mother. The incident escalated and the man tried to forcibly grab her car keys. However, he overpowered her, carjacked the vehicle and fled the scene in the car before crashing into a telephone pole.

He then left the car, made contact with another elderly woman on Woodbine Street and carjacked her vehicle.

The suspect left the area in the stolen car, and a short time later, patrol officers were able to locate, pursue and apprehend the suspect after he gave up to police.

Robbery detectives are conducting an ongoing investigation.

Anyone with information about the incident is urged to contact JSO at 904-630-0500 or jsocrimetips@jaxsheriff.org. You can also leave a tip with Crime Stoppers at 866-845-TIPS.

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Police are investigating a shooting threat Southwest Middle School received Wednesday, the district confirmed to The Charlotte Observer.

In a message to families, Principal Merita Little said the threat involved a possible school shooting on Thursday.

Any reports of threats or perceived threats are taken very seriously, and law enforcement is notified immediately, Little wrote. If you have any information in regard to this threat please contact law enforcement.

Susan Vernon-Devlin, a CMS spokesperson, said school will be held in person Thursday.

Little said all incidents of threats or school disruptions are handled according to the Code of Student Conduct and can have serious consequences, including legal action.

As always, the safety and well-being of our students and staff is our top priority, she said.

An eighth-grade student was arrested after posting a mass shooting threat to Instagram against Southwest Middle in September.

Staff at the school in the Steele Creek area shared the September post with a school resource officer. Police tracked the account to a 14-year-old student, who cannot be identified by North Carolina law because they are under 18.
A police officer was caught with photographs taken up a childs shorts and was arrested in New Jersey, a prosecutor announced.

Patrick Kelly, 37, of Winslow Township, took the photos himself with an iPhone, according to a complaint provided to McClatchy News by the Camden County Prosecutors Office.

Kelly is a state park police officer, according to an April 18 news release from the office. An attorney for Kelly was not provided in court documents.

He was arrested on child sexual abuse material charges on April 17 at the New Jersey State Park Police Headquarters in Egg Harbor City, about 20 miles northwest of Atlantic City, officials said.

When taking the photos, Kelly tried photographing the victims intimate parts, the complaint says.

He was suspended without pay on April 18 due to the pending criminal charges against him, Larry Hajna, a press officer for the New Jersey Department on Environmental Protection, told McClatchy News in a statement on April 19.

Kelly has worked as a state park police officer since 2012, Hajna said. His most recent salary was $76,491 ahead of his suspension, according to Hajna.

Hes facing two charges, including a second-degree manufacturing child sexual abuse materials and third-degree possession of child sexual abuse materials, the prosecutors office said.

The charges came following an investigation involving the prosecutors office, Homeland Security Investigations office in Cherry Hill and the West Deptford Township Police Department, according to the release. The Camden County Sheriffs Office, state park police and the Winslow Township Police Department also helped investigate Kelly. The investigation began after an online tip was received, according to the criminal complaint.

Winslow Township, where Kelly is from, is about 35 miles northwest of Atlantic City.

Teachers aide accused of licking childs feet at GA trampoline park faces new charges

Son had father killed at McDonalds drive-thru after he survived other attacks, feds say

Man posed as a high schooler on Snapchat to get explicit photos from girls, feds say
Police are asking for the publics help trying to locate a missing East Boston teen.

13-year-old Emily Souza was last seen wearing a black Adidas jacket with black pants on April 15 in the area of 77 Lubec Street, according to Boston Police. The jacket had white stripes on the sleeves.

Souza is described as a 58 girl with shoulder-length brown hair with red highlights.

Anyone with information about her whereabouts is asked to call the police.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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The White House on Wednesday called a hearing by the House Oversight Committee on the administrations Afghanistan withdrawal political stunts, slamming Republicans for what it sees as a lack of support for aid to the country and its U.S. allies in the war.

Ian Sams, special assistant to the president and White House oversight spokesperson, sent a memo ahead of the hearing that outlines an expectation that Republicans on the committee would distract from their own failures on solutions to evacuate thousands of people from Afghanistan.

Instead of supporting these successful efforts to evacuate Americans and give Afghan allies safe harbor, MAGA House Republicans are refusing to acknowledge their own history of opposing efforts to aid Afghan allies and are turning their backs on those who risked their lives alongside American servicemembers for two decades in Afghanistan by opposing and delaying legislation like the Afghan Adjustment Act, revealing that these hearings are nothing more than political stunts solely aimed at attacking the President, Sams wrote.

The Afghan Adjustment Act aims to support Afghans who assisted the U.S. mission, provide adequate vetting for parolees from Afghanistan, create an adjustment of status for certain Afghan nationals, and give special immigrant status for at-risk Afghan allies and others.

The White House also expects the Republicans to say the Biden administration obstructed oversight and instead, it pointed to a document the Pentagon provided to Congress earlier this month that examines the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. forces from Afghanistan in 2021. That memo placed a significant amount of blame on the Trump administration for not leaving the current White House plans to execute an evacuation.

House Republicans have pledged to use their new majority to scrutinize the withdrawal, including the suicide bombing at Abbey Gate near the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. troops and 170 Afghans. The White House also released an unclassified outline that defended the decisions around the withdrawal and said that President Biden took the advice of military commanders, while largely blaming the lack of preparations under the Trump administration.

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The memo on Wednesday also highlights attacks of Afghan allies and provides quotes from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) calling Afghan refugees known terrorists and Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) saying Afghan refugees do not belong in our country.

It also outlines that the Biden administration restarted SIV interviews and increased resources, surging resources and staff by nearly 8-fold between January and July 2021 to allow for the U.S. to welcome approximately 100,000 Afghans.

If Republicans really care about Americas ongoing commitments on Afghanistan, instead of staging political stunts aimed at attacking President Biden, House Republicans should do their job and take action on these important ongoing priorities, Sams said.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
United Nations lodges concern over reported U.S. eavesdropping on UN chief

Xinhua) 09:00, April 19, 2023

Photo taken on Sept. 14, 2020 shows the outside view of the United Nations headquarters in New York, the United States. (Xinhua/Wang Ying)

"The UN has made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States of America enumerated in the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," said a UN spokesman.

UNITED NATIONS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has officially expressed to the United States the world body's concern over reported surveillance on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

"UN officially expressed to the host country its concern regarding recent reports that the communications of the secretary-general and other senior UN officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the U.S. government," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres.

"The UN has made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States of America enumerated in the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," he added.

The Washington Post on Monday reported that according to four classified reports obtained by the newspaper, the United States eavesdropped and gathered intelligence on Guterres.

The documents, two of which haven't been previously reported, summarize intercepted conversations that shed new light on the UN chief's interactions with top UN officials and world leaders, the newspaper reported.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
President Joe Bidens immigration problem isnt just about policy. Its that hes not talking about the issue enough, voters say in a new survey from a Democratic polling firm.

Fifty-eight percent of voters in seven key Electoral College battleground states disapprove of how the president is handling immigration, compared with 32 percent who approve, according to a new swing-state poll from Global Strategy Group first shared with POLITICO. And a majority of voters surveyed, at 52 percent, believe Biden is ignoring problems at the border, while 50 percent said the president is ignoring the situation around undocumented immigrants.

Republicans talk more about immigration than Democrats, and they are trusted more to handle the issue, according to the poll. Both parties get low marks for how they are handling immigration, but Democrats face greater criticism because voters dont know where the party falls on the issue. Thirty-nine percent of voters trust Biden and Democrats in Congress more on the immigration issue, while 47 percent said they trust Republican lawmakers more.

The new poll  conducted on behalf of immigrant advocacy group Immigration Hub and Voto Latino, a political organization focused on Latino voter turnout  comes three weeks before the administration plans to end Title 42, the Trump-era policy that has allowed border agents to immediately expel millions of migrants on public health grounds for the past three years. Biden administration officials fear a surge at the border upon the policys expiration next month and have turned to more restrictive measures to tamp down a record number of migrants fleeing political and economic turmoil.

The White House should seize on the opportunity to get ahead of Republicans growing chatter leading up to the May 11 end date, said Beatriz Lopez, Immigration Hubs chief political and communications officer.

Its comms 101. Get ahead of the narrative. Talk about what youre doing. Talk about what you plan to do, Lopez said. But its talking about both  not just the border but also what theyre planning to do to protect Dreamers and others who are every bit a part of the American community. That balanced approach is what works with voters.

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The shift in border policy is expected to be a major political test for the Biden White House, which has rolled out a patchwork of solutions to combat a growing humanitarian crisis at the southern border. The Biden administration is also dealing with a gridlocked Congress, although lawmakers have long been unable to compromise on how to fix an outdated immigration system.

The fact is that in the 820 days since he sent Congress a comprehensive immigration reform bill, President Biden has taken unprecedented action to expand lawful immigration pathways, limit unlawful immigration, protect Dreamers and farmworkers, and increase border security. Because of this administrations work, unlawful immigration is down, legal immigration is up, weve got record funds for border security, and thousands of smugglers are now off the streets, White House spokesperson Abdullah Hasan said in a statement.

Meanwhile, all that House Republicans have managed to accomplish since taking their (slim) majority is voting to abruptly lift Title 42 overnight with no plan in place for what comes next, proposing draconian funding cuts to border security, and playing partisan political games that do nothing to actually fix our long-broken immigration system.

House Republicans unveiled immigration legislation this week, with plans to further restrict asylum, expand family detention and crack down on the employment of undocumented workers. The House Judiciary Committee is scheduled to mark up the bill Wednesday, though the measure has little chance of making it through the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-N.J.) also unveiled a plan on Tuesday that relies on the White House taking executive action to address immigration. He shared his plan with the White House and other federal agencies, with ideas for creating new pathways to citizenship, increasing humanitarian aid for certain countries, increasing border security funding and expanding efforts to target human traffickers.

Menendezs suggestions come as the Biden administration prepares for a spike in border crossings come May, already the busiest time of year for migration. In addition to relying on more stringent immigration proposals to restrict entry to asylum-seeking migrants, the administration has discussed reinstating the detention of migrant families  drawing great backlash from immigration advocates, lawyers and Democrats.

More than eight-in-10 voters in the poll  82 percent  believe the immigration system is broken, and they want to see both enhanced border security and policies that provide a pathway to citizenship, such as work permits for Dreamers, undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children, and Temporary Protected Status for other migrants.

Sixty-five percent of respondents have a positive view of modernizing and improving the physical infrastructure at high-volume ports of entry to enhance screening and processing, while 76 percent want Dreamers and other undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. to gain legal status if certain requirements are met, including background checks. Sixty-four percent of voters back the Biden administration using its TPS authority.

Voters disapprove of the job both parties are doing on immigration because they see the system as deeply broken and in desperate need of a fix, said Nick Gourevitch, partner and managing director at Global Strategy Group. Recent polling shows voters clearly want Washington to act with solutions that are balanced  that include both border security and pathways to citizenship and legal status for Dreamers and other immigrants.

The Biden administration announced plans last week to expand health care coverage to recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, but great concern remains about the fate of the popular Obama-era program, which has allowed hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children to receive work permits and deportation relief. After a flurry of court challenges, advocates and legal experts warn the program is headed to the Supreme Court, where the conservative bench seems likely to rule it illegal.

The online poll surveyed 1,201 likely 2024 general election voters in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin between April 4-11. The margin of error was plus or minus 2.8 points.
The property is one of the most rented on Airbnb. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

A couple's small airship-style house has become one of the UK's most booked Airbnbs - and it took just 10 days to build.

Roderick James, 75, an architect, and his interior designer wife Amanda Markham, designed and built the AirShip 002 in 2018.

If you're looking for a British mini break with a difference, the remote yet cosy pad looks like a futuristic airship and features amazing floor to ceiling Highland views.

But you'll have to be quick to snap it up as the 165-a-night accommodation, in Drimnin, Scotland, was the most wish-listed Airbnb rental in the UK in 2020 and secures bookings over a year in advance.

The project, built as part of their company Out of the Blue Ltd, cost a reasonable 100k, but has already made its money back after being listed for rental five years ago.

Read more: British couple 'sick of traffic' buy Grand Designs' French chateau for half the price of their Kent home

The property is small but features all the mod cons. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

"We designed the AirShip 002 just for fun at first, but then a perfect plot came up and we decided to build on it," James explains.

"At first we weren't intending to let it. We just thought it would be an ideal location but then it became incredibly popular," he adds.

James says the concept for the project was a brand new design, which had never been done before.

"We wanted to build something that could be built anywhere and any part of the structure can be carried by two people," he explains.

"It has over 3000 components which were computer laser cut in the factory which took three to four months. But then the actual structure went up in 10 days on site."

The AirShip has an incredible kitchen. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

A log burner keeps guests cosy. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

James believes that in future all housing will become increasingly modular, like the AirShip.

"The structure has everything you could need," he says. "It can even be off-grid with a compost toilet and rainwater can be collected from the roof and stored under the floor panels.

"The dragonfly window breaks up the view in such an extraordinary way. Everyone who stays here wishes they could stay for longer. It really is a special place."

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Read more: You can now live in a unique 17th-century castle for sale for 625,000

And while it may be small, the property features all the luxuries of a home, including a living room, kitchenette, bathroom, and even a fireplace.

The bed within the property is a feature in itself. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

Following the success of the AirShip, the couple have now embarked on two other tiny house projects to rent on the home renting site.

The Pilot House PH5, an aluminium structure with 360 degree views, was completed after just six months of building in September 2020.

This was followed by the creation of The Captain's Cabin in January 2021, which sits on the large balcony deck on the roof of an old chapel building on the same site as the other projects and is also proving very popular.

The AirShip has a cute outdoor aread. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

Whilst the exterior of this project is similarly clad in corrugated aluminium, the interior is more textural and cosy with re-used timber and a nautical theme.

All of the couple's quirky builds feature stunning views and fresh spring water, but it is the properties' unique shape that they attribute some of their success to.

Read more: Tiny detached house, smaller than a double decker bus, on sale for 1.2 million

The property is one of the most rented on Airbnb. (Nigel Rigden/SWNS)

The couple live nearby in another house they designed themselves called Eagle Rock and all of their properties have unusual elliptical, oval shapes.

"People seem to feel very comfortable in these shapes," James explains. "Sandi Toksvig described it as like a womb with a view! There are no sharp corners and as a result people feel very secure.

"The views add an enormous amount too," he continues. "If you have a very small space, but a big view, it works very well."

You can book a stay at the AirShip, the Captains Cabin or the PilotHouse here.

Additional reporting SWNS.
The region includes Bolzano, which is the South Tyrol provinces capital city (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

An Italian region has imposed a cap on tourist numbers to prevent overcrowding.

Autonomous region Alto Adige (or South Tyrol) in northern Italy will limit the number of overnight visitors to figures seen in 2019.

There were 34 million overnight visitors to the area during 2022.

Alto Adige borders both Austria and Switzerland, is set among the Dolomites and has a population of both German and Italian speaking residents.

The region includes Bolzano (or Bozen), the provinces capital city.

Bolzano provincial council member and tourism official Arnold Schuler, who proposed the new legislation, told CNN: At certain times of the year and in certain areas, it became a lot.

We reached the limit of our resources, we had problems with traffic, and residents have difficulty finding places to live.

The law was enacted in September 2022 and there are now just under 230,000 guest beds which have been officially approved to fit within the newly capped number  the same number as pre-pandemic.

There is also a ban on any new accommodation opening unless another venue closes. That restriction includes Airbnb accommodation too.

Local businesses have been given until 30 June to record their 2019 accommodation figures, including sofa bed usage, to ensure official numbers are correct.

Mr Schuler added: The tourism sector is very important for us, for jobs and the economy, but we had reached the limit, so we took these measures to guarantee a better management of the flow of people, and to guarantee lodging for tourists.

Tourists come here to hike and to see beautiful places, not to find themselves in a traffic jam.

Measures have been put in place to to support small businesses, and there are to be an extra 7,000 guest bed slots, which the authorities can assign where needed to any accommodation hosting fewer than 40 guests.

An additional 1,000 guest beds have also been allocated for future authorisation should a business want to offer accommodation in a part of the region which has a lower overnight visitor count.

Restrictions have also been imposed on day trippers, with a reservation now required to visit key tourist spots including Alto Adiges glacial lake Lago di Braies.

You have to register to go to the lake, but that way youre guaranteed access and we wont have too many people there, Mr Schuler said, adding that officials will implement a reservation system in other areas of the region where needed too.
A group that runs an array of San Diego-based web cameras that capture Navy ships coming and going is calling foul after the National Parks Service removed two cameras overlooking San Diego Bay this month at the Navys request.

While Navy officials framed the recent cam removal as a matter of force protection, Barry Bahrami, a 52-year-old San Diego local who runs the volunteer San Diego Web Cam group, alleges that the cameras were removed from Cabrillo National Monument after they captured an embarrassing near-collision of two Navy ships in November.

That close call between the guided-missile destroyer Momsen and the dock landing ship Harpers Ferry came to be known as the warship chicken incident after San Diego Web Cam footage of the encounter went viral.

The parks service confirmed Friday that it had removed the two cameras at Cabrillo after the Naval Criminal Investigative Service requested they be removed due to security concerns. Bahrami said he was notified of the removal on April 11.

Cabrillo sits just south of Naval Base Point Loma, an installation that hosts Navy submarines and other assets. The site also sits right across the water from Naval Station North Island and the island of Coronado, the West Coast home of the Navy SEALs.

Before the parks service removed the cameras, they regularly broadcast footage of ships coming and going, garnering six million views online in the past year alone, according to Bahrami.

The cameras also provide a civil service, he said, allowing Navy families to watch their loved ones departing and arriving while providing cool footage for ship enthusiasts of all stripes.

NCIS spokesman Jeff Houston said in an email that the request to have NPS remove the Cabrillo cameras was not related to the Harpers Ferry/Momsen incident.

NCIS verbally expressed force protection concerns recently related to the private webcams and YouTube channel, which provided 24-hour webcam monitoring of vessels and equities located aboard Naval Air Station North Island, including aircraft hangers/flight lines, Naval Base Point Loma submarine assets, and the tracking of military personnel aboard Naval Base Coronado, Houston said.

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But to Bahrami, the Navys push to remove the cameras didnt make sense, given all the Cabrillo tourists and others in the area who can just as easily photograph and video Navy ships.

Bahrami pointed out that a visitor to Cabrillo can plop a quarter into stationary binoculars and take a look. Theyll sell you a zoomed-in view of the sub base, he said.

Houston did not answer Navy Times questions about why the threat posed by the cameras is any greater than all the other ways that area Navy bases can be recorded or photographed.

Bahrami said his club, which runs the cameras off donations, always keeps security at the forefront and does not broadcast footage of ships arriving and departing in real time.

He also said group members always ensured the Cabrillo feeds did not show any portion of the Point Loma base.

Anyone in a condo or a or a house around the bay  or anyone at Cabrillo has a view of the Point Loma base and can record, Bahrami said. Anyone standing at Fort Rosecrans National Cemetery can look down at this sub base.

Other web cams capture ships coming and going from fleet concentrations elsewhere in the states, and Bahrami said he feels his groups cams are being targeted because of the warship chicken incident.

Why the San Diego Web Cam? he asked. Somebody got a little embarrassed maybe?

Watch issues led to near-collision in San Diego, report finds

He noted that the investigation into the warship chicken incident was released days after his cameras were removed from Cabrillo, where they had recorded for the past decade.

Bahrami also alleges he was warned that the Navy would seek to remove his cameras after they captured the incident.

When that went viral, I cannot tell you the persons name, but I received a call from a ranking individual telling me to watch my back, Bahrami said. They were after my cameras.

Bahrami added that the Navy uses several maritime and aviation tracking systems that broadcast the positions of assets, including the Automatic Identification System, or AIS, for ships, and other tracking systems for aircraft.

Its the Navy themselves that are broadcasting all their precise positions, he said. Its not the San Diego Web Cam.

For now, Bahrami said his group continues to operate other cameras in the bay, and is scouting out sites for cameras to replace the two lost at Cabrillo.

He declined to say where those new cameras will be placed.
A post shared a photo claiming to show heavily armed "invading forces" taking over towns in Ethiopias Amhara region. However, this is false: AFP Fact Check found the image was from 2021 and featured Ethiopian soldiers in the Tigray region.

The text of the post in Amharic translates to: "Invading forces are carrying out offensives using heavy weapons such as ZU-23 and Cannon in Weldiya and Kobo towns and we are forced to respond. We are calling for a more organised struggle against the forces."

"The forces are trying to reorganise themselves via Debre Tabor and Gashena-Filakit routes and hence roads in these areas should be blocked", it adds.

Screenshot of the false post taken on April 18, 2023

Weldiya and Kobo are towns in the north Wollo zone of the Amhara region.

The posts photo shows heavily armed soldiers in the back of a truck.

The post was published on Facebook on April 9, 2023, and shared more than 120 times since.

Anti-government rallies in Amhara

Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed's five years in power were commemorated in many parts of the Oromia region on April 2, 2023.

But that same day, his government faced protests in the Amhara region. According to media reports (archived here), this marked a shift in support as most of the ethnic Amhara people initially showed support for Abiy but recently turned increasingly toward supporting his opponents.

More rallies took place in the Amhara region after the Ethiopian government on April 6 announced its decision to dismantle regional special forces.

During these demonstrations, deadly clashes between Ethiopian federal forces and protesters were reported in the town of Kombolcha.

AFP reported on April 13, 2023, that calm had returned to the Amhara region after days of protests. The AMC media outlet, affiliated with the Amhara regional government led by Abiy's party, said members of the special forces in the South Wollo administrative zone had "gratefully" agreed to be reassigned "to the police, prison service or other institutions".

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However, the photo doesnt show invading forces attacking towns in the Amhara region in April 2023 as claimed.

Old photo from Tigray conflict

AFP Fact Check conducted reverse image searches and established that the photo shows Ethiopian defence forces in Tigray in 2021.

The original picture is archived on the Associated Press website and captured by photographer Ben Curtis on May 8, 2021.

Screenshot of the original photo taken on April 18, 2023

According to the caption, it shows Ethiopian government troops travelling by truck on a road near Agula, north of Mekelle, in the Tigray region.

Following two years of brutal war, the Ethiopian Federal government and the Tigray People Liberation Front (TPLF) agreed to the peace deal in November 2022.

Part of the original Associated Press photo was cropped out in the version shared on Facebook, seemingly to hide the background which shows a rural area in Tigray, not a town in Amhara as claimed.
Former Vice President Mike Pence, who is considering running for president next year, spoke Wednesday at an energy conference at the Richard Nixon Presidential Library & Museum in Yorba Linda. (Allen J. Schaben/Los Angeles Times)

Former Vice President Mike Pence, weighing a White House run next year, delivered a powerful call for America's continued aid to Ukraine on Wednesday, saying the intervention is critical for national and global security.

He blamed President Biden for weakening the nation's stature on the world stage, but Pence's approach to the conflict taking place in Eastern Europe aligns with the Democratic administration's foreign policy and puts him at odds with his two most prominent potential rivals in a GOP presidential nomination race, including his old boss, former President Trump.

"Vladimir Putin is responsible for the unprovoked invasion of the Ukraine and Vladimir Putin and Russia need to be held accountable, Pence told more than 200 people at a luncheon in a replica of the White House's East Room at the Richard Nixon Library & Museum in Yorba Linda.

"The war in Ukraine is not our war, but freedom is our fight," Pence said. "And I believe we must continue to give the Ukrainian military the means to repel the Russian invasion and reclaim their sovereignty. It is in the interest of freedom  theirs and ours. We must make it clear that we will not tolerate naked aggression."

Trump, who has announced a 2024 campaign to win back the White House, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is expected to launch a presidential bid, have both argued that American involvement in Ukraine is not in the nation's interest and criticized the amount of aid the United States has provided. After criticism from Republicans, DeSantis in late March walked back his dismissal of the Russian invasion as a "territorial dispute."

Pence didn't mention the two men's positions on the conflict, but the issue is likely to feature prominently in the 2024 election.

The former Indiana governor is the latest Republican considering a 2024 presidential bid to visit California in recent weeks. His full schedule is unknown, but Pence and his wife were spotted on a commercial flight landing in Fresno on Saturday, according to Central Valley television stations.

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In addition to the speech at the Nixon Library  where members of the public paid $135 each to attend the luncheon speech and receive an autographed copy of Pence's memoir  he also spoke at a New Majority gathering of about 150 GOP business leaders and donors Monday evening in Newport Beach, as well as at a fundraiser the following night at an Anaheim Hills estate supporting college conservatives running for student government on California campuses.

Other GOP candidates running for president or weighing a White House bid who recently visited California include DeSantis, New Hampshire Gov. Chris Sununu and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson.

Given the large number of wealthy supporters of both parties who live here, candidates have long swooped into the state to raise money and court influential Republicans.

But California may have an elevated role in next years presidential race because its 2024 primary is taking place relatively early  in March. Given that it has the largest number of delegates of any state in the nation, Californias Republican voters could have a substantial voice in deciding their partys nominee.

In early polls of the states GOP voters, Pence is far behind the double-digit support for DeSantis and Trump. In February, Pence had the support of 3%; six months earlier, he had more than twice as much in surveys by UC Berkeleys Institute of Governmental Studies poll co-sponsored by the Los Angeles Times.

Among all the Republicans pondering a run against Trump, Pence is in a singular spot because of his complicated relationship with his former running mate, which precedes their election in 2016.

While Pence shored up Trumps support among evangelical and other socially conservative voters in that campaign, he also struggled with Trumps behavior, notably after the Access Hollywood recording of the real estate mogul turned reality television star making crass statements about women emerged shortly before the election.

Their relationship was tumultuous, peaking when Trump tried to pressure Pence to contest the certification of the 2020 election results. Pence, acting as the president of Senate, refused and then was a target of Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol insurrectionists who called for the then-vice president to be hanged.

"His reckless words endangered my family and everyone at the Capitol that day," Pence said in a March speech. "I know history will hold Donald Trump accountable."

Trump did nothing publicly to attempt to protect the vice president or his family from physical harm, the nadir of their relationship. In the months since, Pence has vacillated between defending his former running mate, speaking out against about Trumps actions and opposing the former president by proxy in intra-party races.

This has led to challenges with some grass-roots Republicans, such as getting booed Friday when he took the stage at a National Rifle Assn. convention in his home state.

Pence did not mention these issues on Wednesday at the Nixon library, where he gave an address at an energy policy conference.

Instead, he castigated Democratic efforts to fight climate change and lauded the Trump administration's energy policies, such as withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement that was signed during the Obama administration, approving the Keystone pipeline and opening up part of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for oil drilling.

"We recognize the truth that America has virtually a limitless supply of energy right under our feet. We recognize that those resources belong not to government, but to the American people," Pence said. "We knew that if we unleashed American energy we would create millions of good-paying jobs, reclaim American sovereignty over our God-given resources, reclaim our economic strength from foreign suppliers and strengthen our position as leading the free world. And that's exactly what we did."

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) have reintroduced legislation to end qualified immunity, a doctrine that protects government officials from individual liability for violating personal and constitutional rights.

The Ending Qualified Immunity Act would restore Americans ability to obtain relief when state and local officials, including police officers, violate citizens legal and constitutional rights by explicitly stating that the police officers that violate these rights are not protected from civil liability.

The act was originally introduced in June 2020 Pressley and former Rep. Justin Amash (L-Mich.) following the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer.

Speaking to reporters outside the Capitol on Wednesday, Pressley and Markey both condemned the doctrine and announced they will build a new coalition of cosponsors, backed by advocates and families who have been stopped from seeking justice by the doctrine, to end qualified immunity.

For too long qualified immunity has impeded legal recourse and blocked meaningful accountability, Pressley said. It makes no sense that the very people responsible for enforcing the law face no consequences for breaking.

The qualified immunity doctrine, which the Supreme Court passed in 1967, disallows police officers from being out on trial for unlawful conduct, including the use of excessive or deadly force, unless the person suing proves both that the conduct was unlawful, and the officers knew they were violating clearly established law.

But the doctrine contradicts the Ku Klux Klan Act, enacted by Congress in 1871, which was passed to allow lawsuits against state and local authorities who refused to protect African Americans from or participated in lynchings and other acts of racial violence.

This is a law by the courts, just out of thin air, and it has impacted families, Pressley said. They have been blocked from justice, they have been blocked and denied accountability, and so now we need to block qualified immunity and in this unjust doctrine that has been codified and strengthened court case after court case.

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Advocates like Pressley and Markey argue the doctrine was not passed through any democratic process and therefore should not be codified or used in legal proceedings.

When Congress passed the Ku Klux Klan Act, Markey said, they did not intend to have police officers shielded from lawsuits brought by the victims of police brutality and excessive force.

Its no coincidence that we have ended up with an epidemic of police violence in our country, said Markey. And its an epidemic that disproportionately impacts Black people, who are almost three times more likely to be killed by police in the United States than whites. We have a moral obligation to act if we want to change the culture of police violence against people of color and we need to start holding accountable the officers who abuse the positions of power and trust.

Over the last few years, qualified immunity has become increasingly controversial as advocates for police reform argue that it absolves law enforcement officials of responsibility in the deaths of unarmed citizens, particularly Black Americans.

One of those people was 17-year-old Isaiah Lewis.

According to reports, Lewis was shot by an Edmond, Okla., officer while having a mental health crisis and trying to flee the police. When he broke into a nearby home, officers deployed a taser three times. Thirty seconds later, Officer Denton Scherman then shot Lewis four times. Scherman was absolved of responsibility, with a three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver ruling that he was entitled to qualified immunity.

What qualified immunity does basically is ensure, as Charles Dickens might write, a tale of two justices, said Vicki Lewis, Lewiss mother, on Wednesday. So qualified immunity must be abolished because it gives police officers permission to commit violent acts with impunity, especially in the Black community.

But ending qualified immunity has become a partisan battle in Congress.

After the murder of George Floyd by a Minneapolis Police Officer, Democrats introduced the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act. One of the provisions includes ending qualified immunity  and became a major sticking point that Republicans refused to get behind.

Supporters of the doctrine say officers should not have to fear lawsuits for doing their jobs.

Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) has since tried to offer a compromise that would allow police departments to be held financially liable in civil suits but not individual officers.

Since Floyds murder, at least 25 states are considering some form of qualified immunity reform, according to CNN.

Were only three years into this movement, Markey said on Wednesday. Its gonna build, its going to help Congresswoman Pressley and I get more and more sponsors. As this becomes more and more clear to people, as they get educated by the headlines every night, as they get activated by the harm thats being perpetrated, then ultimately we will be able to implement the change that is necessary.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The decision to hold the 2024 Democratic National Convention in Chicago handed a critical win to Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, elevating his profile at a time when many are speculating on his ambitions for higher office.

Pritzker, a Hyatt Hotels heir fresh off a landslide reelection last November, has seen a string of progressive wins under his tenure and stirred discussion of presidential aspirations after traveling to New Hampshire and Florida last year.

Though the billionaire and his campaign have so far sidestepped questions about his ambitions beyond the governors mansion, Democrats in the Prairie State believe the self-described pragmatic progressive would be a formidable future White House challenger.

Hes got a very progressive agenda, but hes also fiscally conservative. So I think even his harshest critics have to admit that hes been a good manager of the states taxes, said political operative Victor Reyes.

Indeed, in less than two years, Illinois has seen seven credit rating upgrades. The latest was an upgrade from S&P Global Ratings, which adjusted the states credit rating from a BBB+ credit rating to an A-.

Since taking the helm of the blue state in 2019, Pritzker has also enjoyed a slew of legislative wins thats been aided by a Democratic supermajority in the state legislature. Hes signed legislation to legalize marijuana for recreational use, to raise the minimum wage by 2025 to $15 an hour and, more recently, to help legally shield patients coming from outside of Illinois to receive abortion access.

Recent moves by the Illinois Democrat have encouraged speculation about possible presidential aspirations, including travels last year to the early presidential primary state of New Hampshire and Florida, home to at least one White House contender so far  former President Trump.

In addition to financially contributing to his own campaigns, the billionaire has also poured money into Democratic groups like the Democratic Governors Association and critical battleground elections such as Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmers (D) reelection bid and the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Whitmer won another term as governor in November and liberal candidate Justice-elect Janet Protasiewiczs victory flipped the high courts conservative majority in the Badger State.

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More recently, Pritzker has sparred with presumed White House candidate Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) over some of the Republicans policy positions, such as his rejection of an Advanced Placement African American studies course and the passage of a six-week abortion ban  keeping his name in the headlines.

The news that Democrats picked Chicago as their 2024 Democratic National Convention host site has only bolstered Pritzkers position just months into his second term.

It shows he has clout, to use a Chicago term, said Dick Simpson, professor emeritus at the University of Illinois Chicago and a former city alderman.

It causes people to look at the governor more closely as a potential candidate. And yes, it does position him because Im sure hell be offered a chance to give a major speech at the convention. It offers him a chance to become one of the early contenders for the 2028 presidential election, Simpson added.

The Democratic Party has not always been kind to its progressive flank, oftentimes leaning into more centrist and moderate policy proposals and a dont-rock-the-boat attitude against certain progressive politics. But Pritzker has walked an interesting line  having progressive politics that have been seen as a strength while also enjoying a last name and personal wealth that have the potential to make him a mainstay in national politics.

I have to tell you that J.B. Pritzker is probably the most approachable, down-to-earth billionaire youre ever going to see. A guy who really can appeal to everyday voters, Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.) told The Hill.

The words progressive, down-to-earth, and billionaire may all sound like an oxymoron for a politician. But Schakowsky, who notably beat Pritzker during a Democratic House primary in 1998, put it this way: He is a surprise to some people, pointing to his philanthropy and his involvement in early childhood education as examples.

While Pritzker has been lauded by Democrats in the state, hes also rankled Illinois Republicans and even a few members of his own party. His critics point to his handling of COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, moves to eliminate cash bail pretrial and signing new state maps used during last Novembers midterms that shrunk the number of GOP-favored congressional districts from five to three.

Those new maps also created several awkward incumbent-on-incumbent primary matchups, one that former Rep. Marie Newman (D-Ill.) argued was a clear attempt to appease one person and a small handful of affluent insiders at the expense of workers and working families on Chicagos Southwest Side and suburbs.

Rep. Mike Bost (R-Ill.), whose district encompasses parts of southern Illinois, lamented Pritzker signing an assault weapons ban earlier this year and his handling of the COVID pandemic. He also expressed concern that the state was becoming the abortion capital of the Midwest and had driven out businesses like construction equipment company Caterpillar.

He pushes an agenda thats very popular in inner big cities and Democratic areas, but as far as how its going to fly across the central United States and battleground states, I really dont know, Bost said of speculation that Pritzker could mount a White House bid.

Former Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), too, noted that he and Pritzker had areas of policy disagreements, including the governors handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and the states cash bail legislation. He argued that many of the policies his administration implemented during COVID led to a devastating effect for kids in our communities and in our schools.

Yet, he noted that the pandemic also served as an area where the two were also able to work together.

Politically speaking, we fought especially during COVID with some of the responses coming from his office I disagreed with, but in the end  in the end, there were times that he listened to my suggestions too, and I got to give him and his team credit for that, the Illinois Republican said.

For now, Pritzker has appeared to signal that hes likely not to challenge President Biden in 2024, saying in an interview on CBSs Face the Nation last month that I dont think theres anybody thats serious, thats actually considering running against Joe Biden, because hes done such a great job.

Mike Ollen, his campaign manager, too downplayed questions about Pritzkers future plans, saying that the Illinois governor, whom he described as a happy warrior, loves the job that he has, and hes excited to continue to do that job while noting that hed be supporting President Biden and Vice President Harris in the next election cycle.

But that doesnt mean that his campaign is shying away from the speculation, either.

Its not shocking to me that a governor who has been as successful as J.B. has, both on the fiscal management side and leading with progressive policies as J.B. has, is getting some recognition on the national stage that I think comes with the territory that when youre a successful big state governor, people are going to talk about it, Ollen said.

For now, Democrats are largely planning on Biden running again in 2024. But some members of the party have sounded a positive note about the prospect of a future Pritzker White House bid after next years presidential election.

That includes Schakowsky, who said shes planning on supporting the president next year and called the governor a very, very good White House contender.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
After more than a month of ads attacking Attorney General Daniel Camerons record, a political action committee supporting Cameron has unleashed a television ad critical of the record of his top competition for the GOP gubernatorial nomination.

The advertisement criticizes former ambassador Kelly Craft for not getting the endorsement of former president Donald Trump despite working under him, absenteeism from her ambassador duties and the empty chair ad that was criticized by some as insensitive to those who have lost a loved one to drugs. Its

Craft worked for president Trump and Trump endorsed Daniel, not Craft  maybe because while working for taxpayers, Kelly Craft was absent from her post half the time. And then Craft got caught misleading Kentuckians in her opioid ad, a narrator states in the ad from Bluegrass Freedom Action.

The hit on Craft comes at a time where she appears to have significantly closed the gap between herself and Cameron.

Camerons lead over Craft now stands at just six percentage point, according to a poll done by Emerson College and Fox56/WDKY that has Camerons support among very likely GOP primary voters at 30% and Crafts at 24%. Coming in third in the poll was Commissioner of Agriculture Ryan Quarles, whos yet to spend money on advertisements this cycle.

In a January poll from Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategies, Cameron was up with 39%, while Craft only had 12% support in second place and Quarles came in at 8%.

Context to the ad

A PAC supporting Craft, Commonwealth PAC, has been airing ads critical of Camerons position within the establishment, as well as his record on criminal justice and coal for more than a month. Crafts campaign has joined in on the hits against Cameron, particularly when it comes to his support for retiring a coal plant in West Virginia instead of approving a rate raise to keep it going.

While the ad bashing Craft touts Trumps endorsement of Cameron over Craft, the former ambassador had not yet declared her intention to run for governor when Trump gave Cameron the nod in the summer of 2022. In recent interviews, Craft has pointed to this timing factor.

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However, Craft had been openly mulling a run for governor for many months in advance of her announcement.

The ads hit claiming that Craft was absent from her post half the time comes from a POLITICO story published in 2019 that detailed the amount of time she spent away from the U.S. embassy in Canada when she was ambassador there. The findings were based on a report done by Democrats on the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Republicans on the committee claimed that Craft spent slightly fewer days  194 instead 210  total in Kentucky or Oklahoma while on the job, where her husband Joe Crafts coal company is based.

The referenced negative reception to Crafts opioid ad came after some criticized it for implying that one of Crafts family members had died from addiction. Crafts empty chair at the table did not refer to a lost loved one, but instead a daughter who went to rehab. At one point, Craft had to have her arrested, she said on Friday. That daughter is now a healthy young woman, Craft said.

How much have they spent?

Craft, Cameron and groups supporting both of them have spent nearly $6 million on advertisements. Craft and Commonwealth PAC have dropped $4.8 million while Cameron and his PAC have spent close to a combined $1.2 million, according to Medium Buying.

The only other candidate spending money on advertising is Northern Kentucky retired attorney Eric Deters, who has spent more than $135,000 on cable television ads. Deters polled at a clear fourth place in the Emerson survey, claiming 6% support.
An outside organization seeking to boost a potential presidential run by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) is turning its attention to South Carolina to drum up grassroots support for DeSantis in the first-in-the-South primary state.

Ready for Ron, a pro-DeSantis super PAC, is building its South Carolina operation from the precinct level up to the county level, officials associated with the effort told The Hill, identifying voters and organizing on the ground in advance of what is likely to be a hotly contested primary.

The organizations South Carolina field organizer, former state Rep. Lin Bennett, said the group will be focused on meeting people where they are, inviting them to events and urging them to show their support for DeSantis.

You cant just run television ads and expect to win the vote of the people of South Carolina, Bennett said in an interview. They want to see what you stand for and hear what you have to say.

The focus on a grassroots campaign at the local level is built off a model introduced by GOP campaign veteran Ed Rollins, who is also the chief strategist for Ready for Ron.

Gabriel Llanes, executive director of Ready for Ron, argued Republicans underwhelming performance in last Novembers midterms was largely because the party strayed away from engaging with grassroots voters, something the pro-DeSantis group is hoping to correct ahead of next years presidential primary.

Were spearheading this effort to bring Republicans back to basics, he said. If you get the grassroots engaged, you win. Its that simple.

South Carolina in particular is expected to be a heavily contested early primary for Republicans in 2024, with DeSantis, former President Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) and South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R) all potentially vying for voters support.

The efforts from Ready for Ron, which is not affiliated with DeSantis or a campaign in-waiting, coincide with the governors first public visit to The Palmetto State on Wednesday.

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DeSantis will make multiple stops in South Carolina, speaking to supporters in Charleston before delivering remarks in Summerville.

The Florida governor has not officially announced his candidacy for president in 2024, but he is expected to enter the race in the coming weeks after the current state legislative session ends.

Ready for Ron is one of multiple super PACs that have sought to boost DeSantis as a presidential contender while the governor waits to officially get into the race.

Ron to the Rescue is another group that has worked to build infrastructure in early voting states like New Hampshire ahead of a potential DeSantis campaign.

Never Back Down has emerged as perhaps the most prominent pro-DeSantis group, hiring a slew of former Trump-affiliated officials and rolling out its first advertisement in recent days going after the former president.

A poll released last week from Winthrop University found Trump leading a potential Republican field with 41 percent of registered Republicans supporting him, followed by DeSantis with 20 percent.

Haley, who served as governor of South Carolina from 2011 to 2017 and who also served as ambassador to the United Nations during the Trump administration, came in a close third with 18 percent, while Scott followed with 7 percent.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
At dusk in northern Myanmar, fighters from the Ta'ang National Liberation Army patrol their frontlines and mark the positions of junta troops, their decades-long conflict with the military fraught with new risks since the coup.

The TNLA is one of around a dozen ethnic rebel groups in Myanmar's borderlands that have long battled the military over autonomy and control of lucrative resources.

For decades, their fight for autonomy -- and allegations of massive human rights abuses by the armed forces -- passed largely out of sight of Myanmar's Bamar ethnic majority.

Following the military's 2021 coup and brutal crackdown on dissent, however, groups like the TNLA have become vital to Myanmar's battle for democracy, providing shelter and training for new Bamar-dominated "People's Defence Forces" formed to fight the junta.

"We got sympathy, understanding and support from other people in Myanmar after the coup," TNLA Brigadier General Tar Bhon Kyaw said from the group's territory in northern Shan state.

"People now understand why we were fighting... This is the profit from the coup."

Days after the coup the TNLA -- which says it is fighting for autonomy for the Ta'ang ethnic group -- suspended a truce with the military and has since clashed regularly with junta troops.

It now claims to have more than 7,000 fighters under its command in its territory in northern Shan state, along the vital road to China.

- 'Another way to fight' -

At a camp at a hidden location, trainees scrambled over an obstacle course and waded single file through a river, AK-47 and M-22 rifles at the ready, listening for the sounds of an imaginary enemy.

Mai Naing Aung Kyar, 24, joined the TNLA after the coup to "revolt" against the junta.

"We can't protest in the cities but I thought that joining TNLA is another way to fight," he told AFP during a break from leopard-crawling through the dust and snapping to attention on parade.

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As well as local Ta'ang youths, the TNLA had given "military training" to PDFs from outside its territory, said Tar Bhon Kyaw, and had also provided "connections" to facilitate them buying weapons.

He did not give further details, citing security reasons.

Analysts say ethnic rebel groups along the borders with China, Thailand and India have trained and armed thousands of PDF fighters and seconded officers to lead inexperienced fighters in battles with junta troops.

PDF groups have surprised the military with their effectiveness, analysts say, and have dragged the military into a bloody quagmire.

In February, the junta admitted it did not "fully control" more than a third of the country's townships.

- School bunkers -

Re-igniting conflict with the military -- and training its newest enemies, which the junta has designated "terrorists" -- brings huge risks.

At a village in TNLA territory, headman Aik Oo showed AFP where a school had stood until junta troops torched it during a raid.

Workers were building a new school and had dug holes into the side of a nearby earthen bank, makeshift shelters against possible airstrikes by the military's Russian- and Chinese-made jets.

Faced with setbacks on the ground the junta has called in devastating airstrikes to target its opponents, which rights groups say may constitute war crimes.

Earlier this month, an airstrike on a village in a resistance hotspot killed more than 170 people, including young schoolchildren, according to media reports and locals.

While the school in the TNLA-controlled village is being rebuilt, Khin Lay Yu, 52, teaches around two dozen children in a structure made of wooden beams and tarpaulins.

On her wish list for the next academic year -- which starts in June -- are "bunkers for the students", she said.

"Our school has around 500 students and we have to work hard to build enough," she told AFP.

bur/aha
Mental illness and cold-blooded murder were the reasons a man fatally shot two people at a San Luis Obispo County beach, a prosecutor said in his closing arguments in the case on Tuesday.

However, a defense attorney argued in San Luis Obispo Superior Court that Stephen Deflaun acted in imperfect self defense when he killed Stephen Wells and his nephew, Jerry Rios Jr., during a confrontation at Morro Strand State Beach on July 8, 2001.

The jury hearing the case against Deflaun finished its deliberations Wednesday after closing arguments in the case concluded Tuesday.

Jurors found Deflaun, 63, guilty of the first-degree murders of Wells, 34, and his 11-year-old nephew on July 8, 2001, and assault of a peace officer, in this case a California State Parks ranger.

Deflaun entered two pleas to the charges  not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity  and has admitted that he is factually responsible for the deaths of Wells and Rios Jr.

Stephen Deflaun attends closing arguments in the case against him at San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

But voices in his head  a delusion he calls the program  told him he didnt have a choice but to kill them, Deflaun said when he took the witness stand.

Deflaun, who was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, was never expected to be competent enough to stand trial, a forensic psychologist said in a 2004 court hearing, but that changed in April 2022.

During the so-called guilt phase, jurors considered whether Deflaun is factually responsible for the deaths of Wells and Rios Jr. and whether there was any type of malice aforethought, meaning Deflaun had an intention to kill or harm the man and child

They also weighed whether Deflaun factually assaulted former state parks ranger Charles Chuck Jackson with a firearm.

The trial now enters the so-called sanity phase, where the jury will hear more testimony regarding Deflauns mental health and decide whether he is legally insane and therefore, not guilty by reason of insanity.

San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth argues his closing statements for the jury hearing the case against Stephen Deflaun in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

Shooters actions were based in objective reality, prosecutor says

On Tuesday, Dobroth thoroughly went through the testimonies of each witness who took the stand during the two-week trial, pointing out moments that he believes prove Deflaun acted willfully, deliberately and with premeditation.

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Dobroth said reports and witness testimony show that Deflaun was acting and reacting within objective reality on July 8, 2001, and encouraged the jury to look at Deflauns testimony with great skepticism.

The prosecutor said that Deflauns mental illness was a factor in the crime, but it is not a defense that gets him out of first-degree murder convictions

After Wells and Deflaun got in a confrontation about Deflauns campsite, there was about 15 minutes before shooting started, according to witness testimony.

During that time, Deflaun made a conscious decision to arm himself with a .357 magnum revolver loaded with six rounds, three speed loaders that had six rounds each,and emergency ammunition before walking about 600 feet to the park ranger kiosk where the shooting occurred, Dobroth said.

Dobroth claims Deflaun deliberately planned killing Wells during that window of time.

San Luis Obispo County Assistant District Attorney Eric Dobroth argues his closing statements for the jury hearing the case against Stephen Deflaun in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

The prosecutor said Deflauns claim that he did not see Rios Jr. until after he shot Wells does not make sense because of the positioning of the man and child at the kiosk when Deflaun walked up.

When we started off here, I gave you the three-word phrase shocking, deliberate escalation,  Dobroth told the jury, referring to his opening statements. The evidence here has worn that out.

According to at least one witness, Dobroth said, Deflaun said something to the effect of that guy is trying to steal my campsite, which Dobroth says shows Deflaun was acting in objective reality rather than his delusion.

In his testimony, Deflaun said the program told him Wells was a federal agent a--hole, to which he interpreted as federal agent assassin.

Deflaun testified that he felt his only choice was choosing the lesser of two evils  killing Wells instead of waiting for Wells to kill him.

But Dobroth argued none of Deflauns statements from the day of the shooting appear to have been based in delusion.

The prosecutor said Deflaun did not mention a federal agent of any kind or an assassin, according to reports and witnesses, and neither the program nor federal agent assassins are mentioned in Deflauns diary.

There is a brief mention of a federal agent a--hole in the diary, Dobroth noted.

Dobroth claimed Deflauns statements the on day of the shooting  the defendant allegedly told first defenders Im sorry, and Im in so much trouble  show Deflaun had a guilty conscience.

Deflauns mental illness can also make him more irritable and angry, according to testimony of forensic psychologist Dr. Carolyn Murphy, and that can be amplified by intoxication, Dobroth said.

Deflaun drank 12 Keystone beers in a short period of time the day of the shooting, according to Deflauns testimony.

All first responders who interacted with Deflaun after the shooting also said Deflaun appeared lucid, Dobroth said.

San Luis Obispo Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal listens to closing arguments in the case against Stephen Deflaun in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

Addressing Deflauns alleged assault on Jackson, the California State Parks ranger, Dobroth said there is not way Deflaun could have not known Jackson was a peace officer.

According to the prosecutor, Jackson was in uniform, arrived in a marked car with sirens and lights on, and said, State Parks Peace Office, drop your weapon, several times.

Dobroth told jurors that the evidence shows Deflaun did not shoot his gun at Jackson, but to find a guilty assault charge there only needs to be an imminent threat or intent of great bodily harm.

Deflaun testified that he first wanted Jackson to kill him, which is why he raised his weapon at the officer at first.

But Dobroth said after Jacksons shotgun malfunctioned for the first time, Deflaun took cover and continued to point his gun at the ranger.

It wasnt until Jackson pointed his handgun at Deflaun that Deflaun dropped his gun, Dobroth said.

Apparently he does not want to die, Dobroth said.

Dobroth asked the jury to find Deflaun guilty of two counts of first-degree murder and assault with a firearm on a peace officer.

Defense attorney Ray Allen gives closing statements in the case against his client, Stephen Deflaun, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

Defense: Man acted in imperfect self defense

Defense attorney Raymond Allens closing arguments focused on Deflauns mental illness, countering claims made by the prosecution.

Allen said the July 8, 2001, shooting was the result of three things working together: Provocation, intoxication, and hallucinations and delusions.

All of those are working synergistically, Allen said.

The defense attorney said Wells provoked Deflaun by sending his kids to Deflauns van twice and later challenging him to a fight and saying he was going to report Deflaun to the State Parks rangers.

Allen also claimed Wells told Deflaun he was going to report him for assaulting his children and smoking marijuana, which was not true.

Allen said that confrontation occurred after Deflaun believed a person working at the park kiosk intentionally gave him the wrong campsite number.

Deflaun could have interpreted that as a provocation because his delusions and hallucinations made him believe the world was actively conspiring and working against him, Allen said.

Allen noted that Deflaun denied mentioning the campsite to Wells during his testimony.

In his testimony, Deflaun said he asked Wells why he was trying to kill him, to which Wells responded, Are you f--king crazy?

Defense attorney Ray Allen gives closing statements in the case against his client, Stephen Deflaun, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

Allen said the forensic psychologist and toxicologist who took the stand testified that intoxication can reduce inhibitions and amplify feelings someone is already feeling, so the alcohol Deflaun ingested may have made him more angry and reactive than he normally would be and reduced his inhibitions.

Because of this, Deflaun could not deliberately plan a killing, Allen said.

According to Allen, Deflaun was suicidal and believed Wells was an assassin, had a gun and knew Deflaun was coming with a gun.

In Deflauns mind, It was like Armageddon, Allen said.

He said Deflaun fully expected to be killed and didnt want to be killed. But at times, Allen said, Deflaun did want to be killed.

The defense attorney said suicidal ideation is hard because its counter to every human instinct we have.

Allen argued Deflauns actions against Wells match up with a voluntary manslaughter conviction because he acted in imperfect self defense, meaning he believed there was an imminent threat to his safety that required use of deadly force, but that belief was unreasonable.

Allen said Deflaun did not mention the program in his statements the day of the shooting or in his diary for two reasons: Deflaun doesnt want anyone to find out he has voices, and Deflaun also believes everyone already knows he hears voices.

Talk about a catch 22, Allen said.

Defense attorneys Ray Allen (left) and Tim Osman listen to closing arguments in the case against their client, Stpehen Deflaun, in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

According to the experts called to the stand, Allen said, it is not unusual for those diagnosed with severe schizophrenia spectrum disorder, like Deflaun, to be high-functioning, intelligent and appear as if they are not living with delusions.

Allen also noted that it took Murphy 45 minutes to finally begin to recognize Deflauns schizophrenia as he is high functioning, so it is not surprising that he seemed lucid to people who are not specially trained experts in mental illness.

Allen said Deflauns statements to first responders that day, saying Im sorry, and Im in so much trouble, was him referring to the program and voices in his head.

Those statements to do not indicate any consciousness of guilt, Allen said.

Deflaun did not know whether Jackson was a peace officer or a member of the program, Allen said, which is why Deflaun had his gun raised at times but didnt shoot.

Allen asked the jury to find Deflaun guilty of voluntary manslaughter for Wells death, guilty of second-degree murder for Rios Jr.s death and not guilty of an assault with a gun on a peace officer.

San Luis Obispo Deputy District Attorney Ben Blumenthal listens to closing arguments in the case against Stephen Deflaun in San Luis Obispo Superior Court on Apr. 18, 2023.

Jurors head into deliberation

On Tuesday, Dobroth gave a brief rebuttal following Allens arguments, and doubled down on why he believes Deflaun is guilty of first-degree murder.

The prosecutor said Wells is not to blame for provoking Deflaun, and told the jury the cooling-off period between the confrontation at the campsite and the shooting is important to consider in their decision.

Deflaun had time to cool down, plan to kill and then execute his plan, Dobroth said.

The prosecutor played a portion of the 911 call Wells made reporting Deflaun, noting that Wells reported a verbal assault against his children and that he smelled marijuana.

It is unclear if marijuana or its smell was present at the scene.

Dobroth reiterated that Deflaun apologizing to first responders and indicating he was going to be in trouble shows that the defendant had a consciousness of guilt.

Actions speak louder than words, but actions and words speak loudest of all, Dobroth told the jury.

The jury headed into deliberations for about 15 minutes before being released Tuesday, and returned to deliberations at 9 a.m. Wednesday before reaching a verdict at midday.
Noticing some pumped-up prices at the gas station? You aren't alone, with analysts cautioning that prices are going to rise in the coming weeks.

Drivers are seeing gas jumping by 10 cents to 20 cents in many areas over the past week, in part because of oil reaching record highs for the year and recent flooding in South Florida.

While prices are still nowhere near last summer's peak of nearly $5 per gallon, drivers are still feeling the strain of elevated gas prices, along with other rising costs.

Speaking of gas, what about roads? Our I-75 Odyssey: How dangerous is the debris along the interstate in SWFL? What we observed

WATCH: Sanibel Causeway rush hour Rush hour on the Sanibel Causeway: Oversized load leaves no wiggle room

Here's what we know about why these prices at pumps are rising, as well as what the current prices look like locally in Southwest Florida:

What do gas prices look like throughout Collier and Lee County?

According to AAA data, the average gas price throughout Florida is $3.692 as of Wednesday while the national average is $3.684. In Lee County, the average is $3.724 and in Collier County, the average is $3.741.

Here are the current averages for metro areas in Southwest Florida:

Fort Myers/Cape Coral - $3.725

Naples - $3.741

How do these prices compare to yesterday? Last week? Last month? A year ago?

According to AAA, here's how the state's current price per gallon compares with some recent dates:

One day earlier: $3.618

One week earlier: $3.575

One month ago: $3.455

One year ago: $4.075

AAA also notes that in June of last year, they recorded the state's highest average price at $4.891.

Why are gas prices rising?

So what causes the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline to shoot up nearly 20 cents within one month? According to Patrick De Haan, head of petroleum analysis at GasBuddy, it begins with the price of the barrels.

With oil prices touching their highest level of 2023 at nearly $83 per barrel, the national average price of gasoline has continued to inch higher, with 45 of the nations 50 states seeing prices rise over the last week," De Haan.

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According to their own data, which includes compiling more than 11 million individual price reports covering over 150,000 gas stations across the country, the national average is up 22.1 cents from a month ago but 41.2 cents per gallon lower than a year ago. The national average price of diesel has fallen 0.3 cents in the last week and stands at $4.15 per gallon, 87.4 cents lower than one year ago.

While the rising price of oil is likely the largest factor in rising gas prices, he highlighted that seasonal impacts continue to also exert pressure on prices throughout the country over the coming weeks.

In winter, gasoline blends typically have a higher Reid vapor pressure, which means it evaporates more easily and allows gasoline to ignite more easily to start one's car in cold temperatures. The switch to the summer blend allows companies to bring in a lower volatility gasoline that is better in a warmer temperatures.

With the Northeast making the final step in the transition to summer gasoline this week, states in that region should expect a sharp rise in gasoline prices over the next week or two. Every other region has already seen the final step in the transition occur, so while other areas will see prices continue to slowly rise, the Northeast is likely to see a pretty hefty jump of 15-40 cents per gallon soon," De Haan shared.

Will gas hit the $4 mark?

De Haan noted that there is no clear answer to whether rising prices will hit or go over the $4 mark like residents saw last year.

"Oil prices remain a wildcard, but were likely a few weeks away from seeing the national average peak. Whether it hits $4 per gallon or not is still perhaps a 50/50 chance, De Hann said.

Has recent flooding in Florida contributed to rising prices?

After severe flooding plagued cities in South Florida last week, operations halted at Port Everglades, which provides about 40% of the fuel that powers the state. Several gas stations throughout southern counties were run dry while long lines wrapped around the few who did have gasoline.

As of Monday, operations at the Port Everglades are almost back to normal, according to AAA spokesman Matt Jenkins. In an article for the Palm Beach Post, Jenkins told reporters that gasoline was being brought in from Port Canaveral, Tampa, and Orlando to offset the shortage.

"The good news is that most gasoline terminals at Port Everglades are already back in service," Jenkins said Sunday. "Its expected to be at full capacity by the end of the day, so fuel supplies in the area should get back to normal in the coming days."

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: What we know about rising gas prices in SWFL and what's causing them
Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he had visited the temporarily occupied territories of Kherson and Luhansk oblasts of Ukraine to meet with the military and not to distract them from their deployment site for a long time.

Source: Russian state-owned media RIA Novosti

Quote from Putin: "You probably know that just a day ago I visited both Kherson and Luhansk oblasts. There are many issues there, and I will not return to them. The purpose of the trip was a meeting with the military, whom I did not want to distract for a long time and at great distances from the deployment sites of those units they command. The situation demands they be on the ground."

Details: The Russian dictator said that the Russians in the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories have problems with the delivery of goods due to lines at checkpoints.

In particular, Putin stated that it is "impossible to pass" at the Gukovo checkpoint on the administrative border of Luhansk Oblast and Rostov Oblast, Russia.

Background:

On 18 April, Russian propaganda media reported that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin had allegedly visited the headquarters of the Dnepr group of forces in Kherson Oblast and the Vostok [East] group in Luhansk Oblast.

The Kremlin decided to hide the fact that Putin had been in the Kherson Oblast before Easter, but Russian media discovered that the Russian dictator had been in the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine before 16 April and was not far from the border with Crimea.

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Erik Stolhanske, Kevin Heffernan and Steve Lemme in Quasi. (Photo: Kevin Estrada/Searchlight Pictures, courtesy Everett Collection

Jay Chandrasekhar, Kevin Heffernan, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter and Erik Stolhanske  the filmmaking troupe collectively known as Broken Lizard  became cult and stoner comedy legends after their 2001 release Super Troopers, caught on like wild snozzberries on home video.

Super Troopers was Broken Lizards second film after the ultra-low budget 1996 comedy Puddle Cruiser, which the performers filmed on the college campus where they all met, Colgate University in central New York.

In an alternate universe, though, their breakout could have been Quasi, the raunchy, R-rated riff on The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, which premieres this week (landing on Hulu on Thursday, aka 4/20, natch) more than two decades after it was conceived.

We wrote this thing about 20 years ago, when we wrote Super Troopers, we wrote them at the same time, reveals Heffernan, who also handled directing duties on Quasi. When it became clear that it would be far more practical to shoot a contemporary cop comedy than a medieval, French-set parody of Victor Hugos classic novel, they shelved Quasi and focused on Troopers.

Now, finally, the gangs twisted take on Quasimodo is ready for primetime, with Lemme starring as the deformed 13th century torture-device designer who is drawn into a feud between the king of France (Chandrasekhar) and the pope (Soter).

Jay Chandrasekhar, Steve Lemme, Paul Soter, Erik Stolhanske and Kevin Heffernan in Super Troopers. (Photo: 20th Century Fox Film Corp., courtesy Everett Collection

The Lizard take on the story was inspired by one of Lemmes co-workers during his stint at an HMV record store in New York City. He was kind of this lonely guy, worked in the blues department, talked out of the side of his mouth, Heffernan explains. That character became a regular presence in their comedy sketches, and they soon built their own hunchback story around him.

Even after striking gold with Super Troopers, No one would ever let us make it, Heffernan says, because we didnt have enough juice, or it was a period piece, or it was too expensive. It wasnt until after the long-coming Super Troopers 2 exceeded expectations when it was released on 4/20/18 (natch) that Searchlight Pictures green-lit Quasi. (The production company formerly known as Fox Searchlight before being acquired by Disney has long been in the Lizard biz, having also distributed first Super Troopers and 2004s Club Dread.)

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Jay Chandrasekhar, Adrianne Palicki and Paul Soter in Quasi. (Photo: Searchlight Pictures, courtesy Everett Collection)

Chandrasekhar, Heffernan, Lemme, Soter and Stohanske all play multiple characters in Quasi, which is already drawing comparisons to the similar costumed comedic stylings of Monty Python (Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Monty Pythons Life of Brian). That, of course, is no accident: Broken Lizards moniker is, after all, a nod to the troupes reptilian-named idols.

We wouldnt exist without Python, we were effectively modeled after Python, says Chandrasekhar, who directed Broken Lizards first four films, which also includes 2006s Beerfest. But obviously theyre sort of up in the heavens. We made a movie that we knew that would be compared to them, probably not positively. But so what? This is our eighth movie, and were going to make a period piece. (Soter says Braveheart was also a major inspiration.)

As has become Broken Lizard tradition, the troupe invites one real actor to join the shenanigans on each film. There was Brian Cox (Super Troopers), Bill Paxton (Club Dread), Cloris Leachman (Beerfest) and Michael Clarke Duncan (2006s The Slammin Salmon). Were just goofballs, says Soter. You always have to have one real actor in it so you can go, Oh, thats how its supposed to go.

Adrianne Palicki in Quasi. (Photo: Kevin Estrada/Searchlight Pictures, courtesy Everett Collection)

And while the red-hot Cox (Succession) returns to narrate Quasi, the new featured performer is Friday Night Lights alum Adrianne Palicki, who plays the queen (and Quasis unlikely love interest).

I was shocked  I love them, says Palicki, about being recruited for the latest Lizard joint. I read it and I was blown away at how funny it is, and how it has this ode to Monty Python, and growing up I was a huge Monty Python fan. It was just fun and interesting, and this queen is kinky. So I felt genuinely honored.

Asked if the Lizard lads do a vibe check with prospective collaborators, Lemme says he knew Palicki would be a good fit minutes into their introductory call. The first thing I did on that Zoom was I insulted her, he says. I said, I really admire your courage. You came to Hollywood and you stuck with that name, Palicki. And good for you. And she laughed at that, so that was the vibe check.

"And I gave him something right back, and he was like, Bring it, Palicki responds.

Palicki, whose credits also include John Wick and The Orville, bore witness to some of the wildest gags Broken Lizard has executed, including one that recalls Theres Something About Marys frank and beans moment in which Heffernans scrotum is stretched out across a chopping block.

The highlight of this movie was having Kevin direct us with his scrotum hanging all the way between his ankles, Lemme says, laughing.

The guys dont flinch when asked what the prop was made of. Thats mine, Heffenan deadpans. We improvised that. We just stretched it, Lemme adds. All real, Soter insists.

Steve Lemme and director Kevin Heffernan on the set of Quasi. (Photo: Kevin Estrada/Searchlight Pictures, courtesy Everett Collection)

As luck would have it, David Greenbaum and Matthew Greenfield, the co-presidents of Searchlight Pictures (a studio more typically known for prestige Oscar fare like Nomadland, Birdman and The Shape of Water) visited the films set the one day Heffernans junk was in full sight.

This is an award-winning, very high-end studio, Heffernan says. And the presidents of the studio showed up on set for the scrotum scene. And I looked over, and theyre posing for pictures with the scrotum. And so I thought that was a good impression we made with the good people at Searchlight Pictures.

Indeed, Broken Lizard and Searchlight remain tight, and not just because of hilarious scrotum props. Super Troopers 3 is an inevitability.

Weve written 10 drafts of it, Chandrasekhar updates. And were going to have a meeting on it at the end of this press tour.

Thats next, Heffernan says. Its in good shape, adds Stolhanske.

Quasi premieres Thursday, April 20 on Hulu.

Watch the trailer:
Rachel McAdams at the Los Angeles premiere of "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret" Los Angeles Premiere Amanda Edwards / Stringer/ Getty Images

Rachel McAdams opened up to Bustle about big Hollywood roles she turned down.

McAdams was uncomfortable being photographed nude by Annie Leibovitz.

She's playing the mother, Barb, in "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret," set for theater release on April 28.

Rachel McAdams opened up about her two-year break from Hollywood in a recent interview with Bustle.

Back in 2006, McAdams made the decision not to pose for a Vanity Fair cover alongside Scarlett Johansson and Keira Knightly when she found out the other actors had agreed to pose nude.

Despite having legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz behind the camera, McAdams was uncomfortable with the shoot. "It wasn't something I could ever possibly see myself doing," McAdams told Los Angeles Times back in 2015.

It was following this event that McAdams made the decision to return to Canada for two years  where she had grown up  and spend time with her family in Toronto. It was also during this time that she turned down big roles in movies that include "The Devil Wears Prada," "Casino Royale," "Mission: Impossible III," "Iron Man," and "Get Smart," she told Bustle.

McAdams told Bustle, "There were definitely some anxious moments of wondering if I was just throwing it all away, and why was I doing that? It's taken years to understand what I intuitively was doing."

McAdams isn't the only celebrity to discuss iconic roles they turned down. In January 2021, Michelle Pfeiffer told The New Yorker she turned down the role of Clarice Starling in"The Silence of the Lambs" because of how the movie wrapped up.

"I was uncomfortable with that ending. I didn't want to put that out into the world," Pfeiffer said. The film went on to sweep five big categories at the Academy Awards, including best actress for Jodie Foster.

And in October 2020, George Clooney revealed that originally he and Paul Newman were meant to share the leading male role in The Notebook, with Clooney playing the younger version of Newman. Clooney didn't think he would be able to take on the role with Newman, eventually telling Newman, "I can't play you. I don't look anything like you. This is insane," according to Deadline. The 2004 movie went on to star McAdams as rich girl Allie, with Ryan Gosling and James Garner taking on the younger and older roles, respectively, of mill worker Noah.

McAdams will be starring in the film adaptation of the classic Judy Blume pre-teen novel "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." She will be taking on the role of 11-year-old Margaret's mother, Barb. The film is set for theater release on April 28.

Read the original article on Insider
A civil rights attorney representing the family of Ralph Yarl, the Kansas City teen shot last week after going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, met with the Clay County prosecutor Tuesday and expressed anger at the way the case was handled.

Attorney Lee Merritt met with Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson at the Clay County courthouse in Liberty after days of protest and outrage across the country over the shooting and the response of police and prosecutors.

The meeting came one day after Clay County prosecutors charged the shooter, Andrew D. Lester, 84, of Kansas City, North, with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. Lester remained free for one more day before turning himself in Tuesday.

Black leaders in Kansas City said they believed race was a factor a white man being turned loose by police without charges for four days after shooting a Black teenager for approaching his front door by mistake. Thompson acknowledged race as a factor in announcing the charges Monday.

Were frustrated with law enforcement and their failure to take responsibility for the denial of this familys due process, Merritt said during a news conference outside the courthouse. From last week, no one has really owned up to that. Weve confronted them about it directly. We know mistakes that theyve made and so that part is a bit off-putting.

Ralph Yarl, the teenager who was shot in the head and arm by a white man after going to the wrong house by mistake.

Yarls mother and aunt also met with Thompson Tuesday, Merritt said, with the prosecutor and Kansas City police investigators explaining the criminal charges to them.

Yarl had mistakenly gone to the home in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street to pick up his younger siblings Thursday night, intending to go to a home on Northeast 115th Terrace. According to the charges, Lester answered the door and opened fire on Yarl within a few seconds, first shooting him in the head and then shooting him again as the teen lay on the doorstep.

Kansas City police took Lester into custody and then released him within two hours. As days passed with no charges being filed, anger grew in the community and the story spread across the country.

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At a news conference Sunday, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves responded to the public outcry by saying police needed a statement from Yarl before a case could be submitted to prosecutors. But defense attorneys derided that idea, pointing out that police frequently arrest assault suspects with no participation from a victim.

Charging documents released Monday also showed that police had spoken with Yarl days earlier.

Graves said Lester was held on a 24-hour hold, using a legal term for the maximum time a person can be held without charges being filed. Online custody records showed Lester was held for less than two hours late Thursday night.

Law enforcement has been dishonest with the public, Merritt said. At first they said that he was held for 24 hours under Missouri law. He was never held for 24 hours. That is a false statement that they continue to repeat.

After all of the national outcry and criminal charges came down . . . a warrant was issued for his arrest, he said.

Lester surrendered to the Clay County Detention Center early Tuesday afternoon. He posted a $200,000 bond and was released. Lester is scheduled to appear in court for an arraignment Wednesday.

According to charging documents, Lester told investigators that he feared for his life when he saw Yarl standing on his doorsteps.

Mr. Lesters entire defense is that I saw this big, imposing scary figure at my door and I fear him because of his size. A 16-year-old kid, 58, 140 pounds, Merritt said.

But the truth is and what that really reveals is that underlying racial element that everyones talking about, Merritt said. The fact that he (Lester) feared him because his (Ralph) skin was weaponized. He feared Ralph, a boy because he was Black.
A GoFundMe page for Ralph Yarl, a Black teenager who was shot twice last week after reportedly going to the wrong address, raised more than $3 million in just over two days.

The GoFundMe page was organized by Yarls aunt, Faith Spoonmore, and has raised more than $3.2 million to support Yarls medical bills and therapy. Any additional funds will go toward college expenses at Texas A&M and a trip to West Africa, according to the page.

Ralph is currently at home with the family, Spoonmore wrote in an update to the page. He can ambulate and communicate. A true miracle considering what he survived.

Each day is different. He has a long road ahead. However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us, Spoonmore wrote. Ive been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words.

Yarl was shot in the head and in the arm by after reportedly ringing the doorbell of the wrong home and was hospitalized in critical condition last Thursday. He was released from the hospital on Saturday, and has a positive prognosis, the Yarls family attorney told CNN.

Yarl was allegedly shot by a white 85-year-old Kansas City homeowner, Andrew Lester, who turned himself in to authorities on Tuesday before they released him on bond. Lester was charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in connection to the incident, and is expected to be arraigned Wednesday, CNN reported.

Spoonmore wrote on the GoFundMe page that Yarl did not have his phone when he was on his way to pick up his twin younger brothers from a friends house. She said when the homeowner opened the door for Yarl, he looked her nephew in the eye and shot him in the head and shot him again after Yarl had fallen to the ground.

She added that Yarl had to run to three different houses after being shot before someone agreed to help him, telling him to lie on the ground with his hands up. Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference Monday that there was a racial component to this case, according to CNN.

Yarl has received an outpouring of support through the GoFundMe page as well as officials and lawmakers. President Biden called the teenager to share his hope for a swift recovery.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Andrew Lester, 84, was allowed to remain free on bail pending trial

A Kansas City man accused of shooting a teenager on his doorstep has pleaded not guilty to charges of assault and armed criminal action.

Andrew Lester, 84, allegedly shot Ralph Yarl twice after the black teen knocked on the door of the wrong home while trying to pick up his younger brothers.

Mr Lester does not deny that he opened fire, but his lawyers say that he thought the boy, 16, was a threat.

If convicted, Mr Lester may spend the rest of his life in prison.

Ralph Yarl told authorities he had driven to Northeast 115 Street instead of nearby Northeast 115th Terrace. He is recovering from his injuries, his family says, and doctors have expressed shock that he survived.

There was a quiet hush as Mr Lester slowly entered the Clay County Courthouse on Wednesday with the aid of sheriff's deputies and a cane.

Appearing downcast, he occasionally closed his eyes as the clock ticked closer to the hearing. At times he appeared to be confused, but otherwise answered the judge's questions clearly.

Mr Lester was allowed to remain free on bail pending trial, but was ordered to have his mobile phone monitored and surrender his passport. He was also banned from accessing guns or going near the Yarl family.

His next court date is in June.

Ralph Yarl is now walking and communicating, his aunt said in an update

A prosecutor earlier said there was a racial component to the crime - which the Yarl family also believes - but Mr Lester hasn't been charged with a hate crime.

Prosecutors said the boy "did not cross the threshold" of Mr Lester's home.

Meanwhile, a fundraiser for Ralph Yarl has topped $3.2m (2.5m). The GoFundMe page, started by his aunt, says the donations will go towards his medical bills and therapy.

Any further funds will cover his education at Texas A&M University, and a long-awaited trip to West Africa.

A lawyer for the Yarl family is calling for a federal review of the case.

Police initially detained Mr Lester for questioning and released him without charges, sparking protests in Kansas City.

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Mr Lester turned himself in to police on Tuesday, and was released after posting 10% of a total $200,000 bail amount. He said in court on Wednesday that he had moved out of his home, which has been the target of vandalism since the shooting.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the Yarl family, told the BBC that the boy was suffering from speech problems and had a long road to recovery.

"I think he's an amazing kid," said Mr Merritt, adding that the boy was surprised by all the attention the case had been getting.

"It's a big deal because the community is tired of their children being victimised and Ralph will make the change," Mr Merritt said.
From left: Ralph Yarl, Kaylin Gillis and Payton Washington. (Photo illustration: Jack Forbes; photos: courtesy of family [2], Twitter)

In the span of a single week, three separate shootings that occurred after victims mistakenly approached the wrong home or vehicle are raising questions about the proliferation of guns in American society.

Last Thursday, Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, allegedly shot Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old, after Yarl rang Lesters doorbell in Kansas City, Mo., thinking his two younger siblings were inside. Yarl had the wrong address, and Lester, who told police he feared for his safety, opened fire.

Two days later in upstate New York, Kaylin Gillis, a 20-year-old white woman, was shot and killed, allegedly by Kevin Monahan, a 65-year-old white homeowner, while driving in a car that mistakenly turned in to the wrong driveway. Monahan was not cooperative with police, who, after booking him into Warren County Jail, said he had no reason to feel threatened.

On Tuesday, two members of an elite competitive cheerleading team in Austin, Texas, were shot by Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, after one of the teens reportedly tried mistakenly to get into the wrong car after practice. One of the victims, 18-year-old Payton Washington, who was shot in the leg and back, was flown to a nearby hospital in critical condition and remains in the ICU.

While the circumstances of what led up to each shooting differ slightly, in each case the gunmen opened fire without warning in the apparent defense of their property.

I do not think that the shootings are a coincidence, Kirk Burkhalter, a New York Law School professor and former 20-year veteran of the New York Police Department, told Yahoo News. As simplistic as this sounds, these shootings would not have occurred if not for the proliferation of guns. This is what 911 is for.

Kansas City, Mo., teen Ralph Yarl. (Courtesy of the Yarl family)

Going a step further, New York Times columnist Jamelle Bouie, in a post on TikTok, said these kinds of shootings, particularly involving young Black people like Yarl, are exactly what so many mouthpieces for the gun industry have been selling for decades.

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Its part of the pitch, that you own one of these weapons ... to defend your homestead, and from the image of urban crime, of urban disorder  of, essentially, Black people, Bouie said.

But other experts are reluctant to assign much sociological significance to the shootings.

They are geographically distant from one another and the facts are different, Kenneth Gray, a criminal justice professor at the University of New Haven, told Yahoo News. I would not link these as having some connection between [one another] other than the fact that just the similarity of the type of situation.

Gray, who spent 24 years at the FBI, also pushed back on the criticism being leveled against law enforcement, saying that gunmen have been charged for the shootings.

But many Americans could not help but see a pattern in the latest incidents. In a Twitter post, Shannon Watts, the founder of Moms Demand Action, wrote, Its the guns.

Payton Washington is in the ICU after she was shot for getting in the wrong car in Texas



Kaylin Gillis was shot to death for driving into the wrong driveway in New York



Ralph Yarl was shot in the head for ringing the doorbell at the wrong house in Missouri



Its the guns pic.twitter.com/ZpJZ0sr3wQ  Shannon Watts (@shannonrwatts) April 19, 2023

Guns in the U.S.

Guns remain the leading cause of death in the United States for children and adolescents under the age of 19, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2021, firearms accounted for nearly 1 in 5 deaths of children.

Whats more, data shows that a kind of vicious circle occurs following mass shootings in America whereby gun sales and the number of new background check applications both surge. In turn, the stock prices for the largest firearm manufacturers in the country also spike, as they did after the deadly school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, last May, the San Bernardino shooting in 2015 and the Sandy Hook massacre in 2012.

When you think about the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms, the Framers certainly didn't contemplate handguns, Burkhalter said. I do think theres a difference between having a shotgun or a long rifle for home protection and hunting versus having a handgun and assault rifle  something that was specifically made to take a human life.

Burkhalter believes that there are too many guns in this country and that the only solution is to take them away.

Assault rifles for sale at a store in Chantilly, Va. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images)

George Salinas, a personal injury lawyer in San Antonio, Texas, told Yahoo News that a more nuanced approach that involves laws and public education is the best remedy for these kinds of shootings.

There has to be a balance between allowing someone to protect their home and family along with protecting innocent people who step onto someone's property without bad intentions, Salinas said. Unfortunately, this also involves common sense, which is hard to teach, or legislate, for that matter.

Self-defense laws draw renewed attention

Both Missouri and Texas have passed stand your ground laws, which remove the duty to retreat before using deadly force if a person is in a place they have a right to be, such as a home, is not engaged in criminal activity and has not provoked their assailant. New York follows the so-called castle doctrine, meaning that a persons home is their domain and they have no duty to flee a perceived threat and can be justified in the use of deadly force.

Nationwide, 35 states have adopted a version of stand your ground or castle doctrine laws, according to the RAND Corporation, a global policy think tank. Such laws are inherently open to legal interpretation, and critics say that instead of deterring gun violence, they do the opposite.

Stand your ground laws encourage reckless gun owners to kill first, ask questions later, and claim self-defense to avoid being held criminally responsible for taking the life of another individual, Kelly Sampson, senior counsel at Brady, a gun control advocacy group, told CBS News.

Shooting victim Kaylin Gillis. (via GoFundMe)

But states have long argued that such laws keep citizens safe. In 2016, Missouri was the first state to pass a stand your ground law. The GOP-controlled General Assembly that year overrode the veto of Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, to push through the legislation. The bills sponsor, Sen. Kurt Schaefer, called it necessary for bodily protection.

Youre going to do whatever you need to do if your safety is in jeopardy, Schaefer, a Republican from Columbia, said at the time. The question is, what happens in the lawsuit after that? Are you going to be faced with liability after that?

Burkhalter believes that unless some kind of swift and unprecedented change takes place through legislation or in the minds of gun owners, avoidable shootings like these will only proliferate.

Its a horrible place in society where we can shoot first and ask questions later, he said.

Cover thumbnail photo illustration: Jack Forbes; photos: courtesy of families (2), Twitter
Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis. (Photos: Family Photo, GoFundMe)

Two shootings of young people who mistakenly showed up at the wrong houses in two separate states have attracted national attention  and could renew the debate over the rights of those seeking to protect their property.

Heres everything we know about the two cases, culled from our original reporting and Yahoo News partner network, including the USA Today, NBC News and Kansas City Star.

White man shoots Black teen who rang wrong doorbell

Ralph Yarl (Courtesy of the Yarl family).

Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black boy, was shot in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday night after he rang the doorbell at a home where he believed he was to pick up his two siblings.

The homeowner, Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, is facing two felony counts, including assault in the first degree and armed criminal action, in connection with the shooting.

When police arrived, they found Ralph wounded on the street.

Ralph suffered a gunshot wound to the head and another to the arm but survived. He spent three days in the hospital before being released Sunday, Ralph's father, Paul Yarl, told the Kansas City Star.

Officials said that Lester fired his gun through a locked glass door and shot Ralph twice, even though the teenager did not attempt to enter the home and no words were exchanged between the two.

Lester told police that he thought Ralph was trying to break in and was scared to death.

An arrest warrant was issued for Lester on Monday evening amid mounting public pressure to hold the alleged shooter accountable. Lester surrendered and was booked into jail on Tuesday afternoon.

The attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Yarl family, called the charges appropriate, but told Yahoo News that his arrest was long overdue.

They let this white man go, who shot this 16-year-old teenager who only pushed his doorbell, and they questioned him for 20 minutes and let him come home and sleep in his bed at night, Crump told Yahoo News shortly after the warrant announcement. Had the roles been reversed  had a Black man shot a 16-year-old white citizen  [nobody would] believe they wouldve let him come home and sleep without him being arrested and processed.

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Woman driven to wrong address fatally shot by homeowner

Kaylin Gillis (Courtesy GoFundMe).

Kaylin Gillis, a 20-year-old woman looking for a friend's house in upstate New York, was fatally shot by a homeowner after the car she was riding in went to the wrong address, authorities say.

NBC News reported that Gillis was in a car with three other people Saturday night in the rural town of Hebron, N.Y., when the group mistakenly turned onto the property of Kevin Monahan, 65.

As they were leaving, Monahan came out of his house and fired at the vehicle, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said at a news conference Monday.

"While they were leaving the residence, once they determined that they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch for whatever reason and fired two shots, one of which struck the vehicle that Kaylin was in," Murphy said.

As was the case in Kansas City, Murphy said there appeared to have been no interaction between the group and Monahan before the shots were fired.

The group then drove to the neighboring town of Salem, N.Y., and called 911. Paramedics arrived and performed CPR, but Gillis was pronounced deceased at the scene.

"She was a young girl that was taken way too young," Murphy said. "This is a very sad case of some young adults that were looking for a friend's house, and ended up at this man's house.

"There was clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle," Murphy added. "There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened."

Monahan was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

'You cant just shoot people who come to your door'

Andrew Lester poses in his booking photograph after his surrender in Liberty, Mo., on Tuesday. (Clay County Sheriff's Office/Handout via Reuters)

The shootings by homeowners are likely to renew debate surrounding so-called "stand your ground" laws, which govern the use of deadly force in self-defense, legal experts told USA Today.

"The concern is that the 'stand your ground' language means we're back in Wild West days, where people can respond to confrontations with deadly force, even if deadly force is disproportionate to the threat, and that's not the law in any state," Christopher Slobogin, a law professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the schools Criminal Justice Program, told the paper.

The Missouri principle that governs the Ralph Yarl case is also known as the castle doctrine, a set of self-defense laws that include the "stand your ground" law, the Kansas City Stars Kynala Phillips explained:

The laws give people the right to defend themselves from people who they feel are threatening them. It protects people who feel threatened at their home, in their vehicle, on private property or any other location such person has the right to be, Phillips wrote. If a person believes there is a risk of death or serious physical injury, and they are legally allowed to be in the place they are, that person can use deadly force to defend themselves or others without breaking the law. They do not have a legal duty to retreat from an altercation, according to Missouri law.

But they do have to prove that they were acting in self-defense.

You cant just shoot people who come to your door, Missouri criminal defense attorney Kevin Jamison told the newspaper.

Reaction from the White House focuses on guns

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)

President Biden spoke by phone to Ralph Yarl on Monday evening to wish him a swift recovery.

At her daily press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the shootings were part of the nations gun violence epidemic.

Let me just lay out, sadly, what we have seen these last couple of days, Jean-Pierre told reporters. Four young people killed at a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Ala.; two killed and four others injured on Saturday night in a crowded public park in Louisville; a bright young, loving 16-year-old kid Ralph Yarl shot in the head in Missouri after ringing the wrong doorbell; and we just learned a few hours ago, about 12 hours ago, about a young woman, 20-year-old woman in upstate New York who was killed for turning down the wrong driveway. And these are just some of the tragedies that actually have made the headlines.
It's been nearly a week since Ralph Yarl, a black teenager from the US state of Missouri, went to pick up his younger twin brothers, mistakenly arriving at the wrong address before being shot twice. Ralph, 16, is now recovering at home.

The shooting sparked outrage, protests and, days later, the arrest of Andrew Lester, 84, a white homeowner. Mr Lester, who turned himself in on Tuesday, now faces charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

Here's a look at what happened the night of 13 April.

Sleepover pick up

On Thursday evening, Ralph was asked to pick up his younger twin brothers at a friend's house. His mother, Cleo Nagbe, told CBS News that the younger boys were supposed to attend a sleepover but she was hesitant to allow them to spend the night so she sent Ralph to pick them up close to 22:00 instead.

Driving through the northern edge of Kansas City to collect them, Ralph confused the address - going to Northeast 115 Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace, one block away.

Ralph later told investigators that he parked in the driveway and walked up to the front door.

Sudden gunfire

According to Ralph, after he approached the house, he pressed the doorbell and waited for someone to come out.

Mr Lester's door consisted of both an interior main door and an exterior glass door, both of which were locked, according to a police probable cause statement. After a little while Mr Lester opened the interior door holding a firearm.

Image shows Ralph Yarl

No words were exchanged between the two before Mr Lester fired his .32 calibre handgun through the glass door at Ralph as the teenager stood on his front porch, say prosecutors.

He was shot in the head immediately, Ralph said, and fell to the ground. While on the ground, he was shot a second time in the arm.

Mr Lester's account to authorities varies only slightly.

The homeowner said he had just lain down in bed when he heard his doorbell ring, the probable cause statement says. He picked up his firearm before walking to his door.

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Mr Lester said he opened the interior door and saw a 6ft black man pulling on the external door handle. This last point is not consistent with Ralph's description - the teen told investigators he had not touched on the door at all.

A lawyer for the Yarl family tells the BBC the teen is 5ft 8in.

Announcing the charges against Mr Lester on Monday, prosecutors said Ralph did not "cross the threshold" into the home.

Mr Lester has not denied shooting Ralph, telling investigators he shot twice within a few seconds of opening the interior door.

The homeowner said he believed someone was trying to break in and that he was protecting himself.

Search for help

After two shots were fired, Ralph told investigators he ran away to avoid being shot again.

As he ran, Ralph said he heard Mr Lester say: "Don't come around here."

His relatives said the teenager went to three nearby homes before someone offered assistance.

Ralph was treated in hospital until Sunday before he was discharged to go home.

On Tuesday, Ralph's mother, Cleo Nagbe, told CBS News that her son had returned home surrounded by a team of medical professionals. He is expected to recover, surprising his own doctors.

Charges and arrest

Late on that Thursday evening, Mr Lester arrived at the Kansas City Missouri Police Department Headquarters for an interview.

He was photographed and fingerprinted for charges of aggravated assault and then released - sparking protests throughout Kansas City on Sunday.

On Monday, prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced Mr Lester had been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, both felonies.

If convicted, Mr Lester could face life in prison

Mr Thomson said there was a "racial component" to the shooting, though charging documents do not describe any alleged racial bias.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mr Lester turned himself in to authorities in Missouri. He was released after posting 10% of the total $200,000 (160,000) bail amount.

If convicted, he faces life in prison.
Incidents of wrongful shootings have become so common that theyve ceased to be national news, but occasionally theres a spate of them that make headlines and make you wonder how something so dangerous as a gun became so connected to personal safety.

The latest run began in Farmington, New Mexico, on April 5. Police officers responding to the wrong address shot and killed Robert Dotson, 52, when he opened the door of his home holding a handgun.

On April 13 in Kansas City, Mo., a teenager who came to the wrong house to pick up his younger siblings was shot in the head by an 84-year-old man who fired through the storm door. The teen survived. The homeowner is charged with first-degree assault.

Two days later, in Hebron, N.Y., a 65-year-old homeowner fired two shots at cars that had mistakenly come up his driveway. Kaylin Gillis, 20, was struck and killed. The shooter is charged with murder.

What connects the three incidents is the idea that having a gun in your house will protect you from intruders. Sometimes that happens and the gun lobby hails the results. But far more often having a gun creates more danger than it prevents.

Guns in the home raise the risk of suicide, fatal domestic violence, shootings of and by children, being shot by police called to your home and, as these recent cases attest, the mistaken shootings of people coming onto a property with no ill intent.

Yet for all that, the illusion of guns enhancing safety persists. Its reinforced by stand your ground laws passed by at least 28 states, including North Carolina. It grew even stronger as more Americans armed themselves at the start of the pandemic, fearing a dystopian breakdown of society in which bad people will come for them and theirs.

The Wild West notion of blasting away at deadly intruders rarely fits reality, but it creates other real dangers. Even as the pandemic spurred gun sales, it also greatly increased home deliveries of goods and food. These days walking up to strangers doors at night to deliver an Amazon order or a pizza comes with a nerve-wracking element of suspense, especially if the delivery person isnt sure if they are going to the right door.

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In North Carolina, Republican lawmakers have only added to the problem of too many guns creating hair-trigger situations. The Republican-controlled General Assembly passed a stand your ground law in 2011 that gives gun owners more legal leeway to shoot when threatened. This year, the legislature overrode Gov. Roy Coopers veto of a law that eliminated the need to obtain a permit from the local sheriff before buying a handgun. Meanwhile, the Republican majority has refused to pass a red-flag law that would take guns from people who are found to be a danger to themselves or others.

State Sen. Natasha Marcus, a Charlotte Democrat, has tried to stem the carnage. Shes a primary sponsor of the Gun Violence Prevention Act. The legislation would make a host of sensible, popular and long overdue changes. Those include requiring a permit to buy a long gun or assault rifle, a 72-hour waiting period on gun purchases, mandating for the safe storage of firearms and the reporting of firearms that are lost or stolen.

The bill has no chance of passage, but its important that solutions keep being offered. As Marcus said on the Senate floor prior to the shameful vote on repealing the states pistol permit requirement: We are tired of living this way, with the constant threat of gun violence and politicians doing nothing about it.

Its probably hopeless that most gun owners could be persuaded that their weapons are too often a threat to themselves. But if politicians not beholden to the gun lobby would make a more forceful case that a gun in the nightstand or under an automobiles front seat is an unnecessary hazard, perhaps it would become a little safer to knock on a strangers door, or send your child to a sleepover or survive a road rage encounter.

The numbers are overwhelming. More politicians and civic leaders need to challenge  rather than cater to  the idea that guns make us safer. They are weapons that create more danger than they eliminate.

Associate opinion editor Ned Barnett can be reached at 919-829-4512, or nbarnett@ newsobserver.com
An attorney for Ralph Yarl, the Black teen shot in the head after mistakingly ringing the wrong Kansas City doorbell, shared a sunny photo of his client Wednesday alongside an encouraging health update.

Yarls doctors expect him to make a full yet lengthy recovery, according to the post originally written by activist Shaun King and reposted in full by Lee Merritt, the civil rights attorney who took the case.

Yarl, 16, can be seen reclining in sweatpants and a green T-shirt on what appears to be a backyard deck, next to a smiling Merritt.

Hes home and looks great. Ralph is a WALKING MIRACLE with a head of steel, wrote King. He noted the teen had suffered a traumatic brain injury that could have been lethal if the bullet hit slightly differently.

Yarl also spoke on the phone with President Joe Biden for nearly an hour, King revealed, writing that the president offered such warm encouragement to Ralph.

[Biden] asked Ralph great questions about his musical background and shared stories about his own family playing similar instruments. He asked Ralph about his mother and family and shared heartwarming stories about his own mother and family. They talked about academics, the world, and much more, King wrote.

The family expected that call to last for 2-3 minutes but they loved talking to each other so much that it carried on for about an hour, he said, adding, It was a surprising and special moment. Ralph was invited to the White House.

Vice President Kamala Harris also spoke with the teen, who was introduced this week to a Black female therapist assisting the family, King said.

Yarls aunt Faith Spoonmore, who created a GoFundMe page for her nephew earlier this week, posted an update saying he could ambulate and communicate.

A true miracle considering what he survived, Spoonmore wrote. Each day is different. He has a long road ahead. However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us. Ive been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words.

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Thank you so much for loving Ralph, she said.

Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who was shot and wounded by a homeowner after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, spoke with President Joe Biden about his interest in music.

Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who was shot and wounded by a homeowner after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, spoke with President Joe Biden about his interest in music.

Spoonmore previously described Yarl as a fantastic kid with a talent for music  he played the bass clarinet among other instruments and hoped his ability would help him land a college scholarship to study chemical engineering.

The gruesome shooting has made international headlines as gun violence continues to plague the U.S., where firearms vastly outnumber residents. Two other instances of young people being shot on sight within days of Yarls injury  one in New York state and another in Texas  further underscored the issue.

Police say that an 84-year-old white man, Andrew Daniel Lester, shot Yarl through his glass front door after the teen approached the wrong house just before 10 p.m. on April 13.

Officers did not immediately arrest Lester, who cited in his defense Missouris stand your ground law, which provides broad protections to people who claim they acted with violence in self-defense.

Prosecutors charged Lester with assault on Monday; he pleaded not guilty Wednesday.

Yarls mother had asked him to pick up his younger twin brothers from an address on Northeast 115th Street, but he instead went to Northeast 115th Terrace one block over. He was struck by bullets on the left side of his forehead and his right arm, according to a report from the Kansas City Police Department.

Lester told police he was scared to death of the Black person he assumed was trying to break into his house. Yarl, however, told police he did not even try pulling on the doorknob. He said he simply rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer; Lester said he was in bed at the time.

Yarl then ran away and called on neighbors for help before being rushed to a childrens hospital.

Related...
UPDATE: The mayor of Warwick, Frank Picozzi, announced in a Facebook post on April 20 that the coyotes had been misidentified, and were actually wolf hybrid dogs.

Picozzi said their owner had been located and the dogs would be getting tested for their genetics. It is illegal to own a wolf-dog hybrid in the state of Rhode Island, McClatchy News previously reported.

The police are investigating the entire matter and much more information will be released later today, Picozzi said.

The original story continues below.

Local authorities are issuing a warning after two rare animals were spotted in a Rhode Island town.

A pair of black coyotes have made Warwick, Rhode Island, home. The animals have a rare color pattern, and some residents may want to catch a glimpse of them.

Thats not a good idea, police said.

We have spoken to (the Department of Environmental Management) and none of the behavior described is normal, Warwick police said in an April 18 Facebook post. Please remember these are wild animals and it is not uncommon to see them during the day due to the fact they are not strictly nocturnal.

Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management biologist Morgan Lucot told WJAR that a coyotes coloring is determined by genetics, so even though the black coloring is rare, the coyotes are the same as any others.

Keeping coyotes wild is the key to coexistence. Their life and your safety depend upon coyotes remaining naturally wary of people, Warwick police said.

One resident told WJAR that he sees the pair along the water when he passes in the morning, and the coyotes are using it as a highway through the community.

The first time I saw him, I went kiss, kiss, kiss, and then Im thinking what if he comes over? Im the coyote whisperer, the resident told WJAR. I jetted, but theres a lot of them around here. I think people feed them to be honest.

The Warwick Animal Shelter shared tips on how to prevent attracting the coyotes in an April 18 Facebook post.

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PLEASE PLEASE stay away from these coyotes and DO NOT LEAVE FOOD (which is illegal) because if they get too comfortable around people it will be a problem and dangerous for them, the post said.

Monster fish reeled in by angler may be biggest ever caught in Tennessee. Take a look

Alligator startles officer wrangling it, Texas video shows. Scared the crap out of me

Baby bat-eared foxes are born at zoo  and may be the cutest thing you see all week

Sea lions flee in panic after man backflips off pier to harass them, CA video shows
Ray Mears has opened up about his role in the manhunt for killer Raoul Moat in 2010.

One week in July 2010 saw Britains biggest manhunt by Northumbria Police, after former bouncer and bodybuilder Moat shot three people  his ex-girlfriend, her new partner, and a police officer  two days after he was released from Durham Prison.

The following search featured 160 armed officers (10 per cent of those available in England and Wales at any one time), sniper teams and helicopters and concluded with Moat dying by suicide.

Also involved in the search was TV survival expert Mears, who got involved due to his expertise in tracking animals in the wild.

Public interest in the case has been reignited this week following the release of ITVs three-part drama The Hunt for Raoul Moat, which concluded on Tuesday (18 April) night.

You can read The Independents review here.

Appearing on Good Morning Britainon Wednesday (19 April), Mears said that hed offered to help after police had previously asked him to offer his tracking skills for future cases where he felt he could help.

The first day they werent interested, and then the next day I got a call, Come now.

In 2010, Raoul Moat led police into the countryside in one of the biggest manhunts in British history.@Ray_Mears had given cops a lecture on outdoor tracking just months before & so got in touch to lend his skills. Eventually Ray led them to just 20m from where Moat was hiding. pic.twitter.com/jVKuF9g58T  Good Morning Britain (@GMB) April 19, 2023

Describing the hunt as a pretty heavy and risky event, Mears said that his concern was less Moat than messing up and letting everyone else down.

Mears added that he never came face to face with Moat, which was both a good thing and a cause of frustration.

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I know we were close, he said. We all felt that we were getting close. The sign was getting fresher A lot happened at that point.

However, he pointed out a couple of factual inaccuracies in the show, saying: In the drama youll see open woodland, [but] it wasnt like that at all.

Asked how he felt about the idea that ITVs drama was turning Moat into a hero, Mears admitted that he hadnt seen all of the show, so didnt know how hes being portrayed.

What made him is what we should be investigating, he said. Whats sad is his victims often get forgotten and we should remember them. They were innocent victims I feel sorry for them.
Ukraines defense minister said Wednesday his country has received U.S-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian strikes during the war.

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.

Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion.

US to send $1.8 billion in aid, including Patriot battery, to Ukraine

The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles. Russia has used that weaponry to bombard Ukraine, including residential areas and civilian infrastructure, especially the power supply over the winter.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the system would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Reznikov thanked the people of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many systems had been delivered nor when.

Germanys federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers in Berlin on Wednesday.

Reznikov said he had first asked for Patriot systems when he visited the U.S. in August 2021, five months before the full-scale invasion by the Kremlins forces and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula. He described possessing the system as a dream but said he was told in the U.S. at the time that it was impossible.

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which can need as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

FILE - Patriot missile launchers acquired from the U.S. last year are seen deployed in Warsaw, Poland, on Feb. 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Michal Dyjuk, File)

Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Reznikov wrote.

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Experts have cautioned that the systems effectiveness is limited, and it may not be a game changer in the war, even though it will add to Ukraines arsenal against its bigger enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the U.S. in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per round and the launchers cost about $10 million each, analysts say. At such a cost, its not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the far smaller and cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were injured in Ukraine on Tuesday and overnight, the press office of Ukraines defense ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian airstrike on a border town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, its Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraines southern Kherson region, its Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said, killing one civilian at a market in the center of Kherson, the regions namesake capital, and a nearby school.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired nighttime exploding drones at Ukraines southern Odesa region.
Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images

Sen. Dianne Feinsteins prolonged absence from Capitol Hill is putting Republicans and Democrats in an awkward position.

Her medical leave is holding up nominees in the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Feinstein is a member, and putting Democrats down a vote in the narrowly split chamber. Its unsustainable if Democrats want to actually confirm judicial appointments, especially at the pace Republicans did when they held the Senate majority.

After Senate Republicans blocked a motion for Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) to serve as a temporary replacement for Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee on Tuesday, Democrats are nowhere closer to a solution.

The situation is delicate. Members of both parties are trying to claim that theyre doing the right thing while also doing the thing thats most politically expedient for their party.

For Republicans, that means blocking a replacementeven a temporary onethat would open up the judicial nominee spigot while Feinstein recovers. Allowing Cardin to take her place, they argue, would be disrespectful to Feinstein, who has served on the Judiciary Committee since she came to the Senate in 1993. Its perhaps just a happy accident that replacing her means Democrats cant confirm judges.

Nancy Pelosi Suggests Calls for Feinstein to Resign Are Sexist

For Democrats, forcing Feinstein to come back while shes recovering from shingles, just so Democrats can conduct their normal business, is a new low. They argue that a temporary replacement would allow Feinstein to recover on her timeline and not hold up the Senates businessbusiness theyd desperately like to get back to in order to remake the federal judiciary.

With a growing backlog of judicial nominees from President Biden and a critical summer of votes approaching, nobody seems ready to budge on calling for Feinstein to outright retire. And nobody wants to kick an 89-year-old, once-trailblazing senator when shes down.

In that hesitancy, Democrats and Republicans have entered a battle for moral high ground on the matter, wherein everyone is trying to avoid being the bad guy and call out the other party for being at fault.

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Some Democrats, like Reps. Ro Khanna (D-CA) and Dean Phillips (D-MN), are arguably the exceptions. Theyve said since last week that Feinstein should retire. She hasnt voted since Feb. 16 on behalf of the more than 39 million Californians she represents, and theres no telling when shell actually be ready to return to work.

But others have remained aghast at the idea of unceremoniously pushing Feinstein out after her five decades in public office. They argue she should be given space to recover from her medical ailmentas other senators this term haveand to end her career on her own terms.

This is all on Dianne, more than anything, Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) told The Daily Beast Tuesday. And Dianne has been here and accomplished some marvelous things. And she will have to make a decision whether shes gonna continue or not. But its not my decision or anybody elses. Its got to be hers.

USA-CONGRESS/ REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Tester added that Feinstein understood the functionalityor lack of functionalitythats been created.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) told The Daily Beast Monday evening that Feinstein had served the Senate honorably for decades. The senators should be willing to accord her the courtesy and respect to let her step away from the Judiciary Committee and let another Democrat take her place, Warren said. Its pretty outrageous for Republicans to block that.

The supposed admiration for Feinstein extends well into the Republican caucus, with GOP senators this week insisting they respect her above all else.

But Republicans also contend that theyre ready to block her request for a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee, as they did Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer proposed the replacement by unanimous consentand Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) swiftly rejected it. That was that, at least for now.

Some Republicans have suggested that Feinstein is being edged out of the committee on purposeand they dont want to perpetuate that. Again, like Democrats, Republicans are trying to find some moral justification for their actions.

Senator Feinstein has been an extraordinary senator, and shes a good friend of mine, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said Monday. During the past two years, theres been a concerted campaign to force her out of the Judiciary Committee and I will have no part of that.

Other GOP senators say Democrats are playing politics with the situation, that its all some sort of twisted plot to force Feinstein out of office altogether.

I think what theyre trying to do is force her to resign, said Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) on Tuesday.

This is a maneuver designed to fail, he added. This has never been donethis kind of swapping one member for another. I think they know itll fail. And then theyll flip around and say to her, See, you have to resign. And its terrible.

Republicans Block Push to Replace Feinstein on Judiciary Committee

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) originally said he didnt know whether or not hed support a temporary replacement for Feinstein, before later voting against it. In an exchange with The Daily Beast Monday, however, Kennedy repeatedly noted Feinsteins statement that she is coming back soon, and he believes her.

I take her at her word. Shes always been truthful with me, Kennedy said.

Its unclear how soon Feinsteins soon actually may be. In a statement last week, Feinstein said shed expected to return by the end of the March work period but that complications related to [her] diagnosis were causing delays.

Questions about the patience of Democrats for her return remain unanswered. For now, they seem content to let her continue to recover while they proceed with the handful of bipartisan judicial nominations that can get through committee. But eventually, that well of options will run dry.

Democrats seem to believe Feinstein has earned some leeway through her decades of service. She was the first female member to serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee, and she was the first female to chair the panel. For many, its been an unfortunate progression to see someone with a storied career likely to go out on a relatively low noteeither via early retirement, or via her planned retirement, perhaps a few years too late, in 2024.

The truth is Feinsteins ability to effectively serve as a senator has been in question for years. A number of reports have found that her mental acuity and memory arent nearly as sharp as they once were. And her proclivity for operating in a different era of politicseither by working too trustingly with Republicans or by being too dismissive of younger and more progressive voiceshas certainly frustrated a number of Democrats.

Senate Democrats already prevented her from retaining the top post in 2020 on the Senate Judiciary Committee amid concerns about her ability to lead the groups high-profile work.

And her ultimate retirement next year was widely expected and celebrated. So much so that ambitious California Democrats like Reps. Katie Porter and Adam Schiff announced their respective bids for the Senate seat even before Feinstein announced her retirement plans.

(Rep. Barbara Lee announced shortly thereafter.)

But Feinsteins legendary careerand largely unceremonious close to ithas led to an all-around somber tone on the Hill. In other retirements for longtime lawmakers, like Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) last year or Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in 2018 or even Daniel Akaka (D-HI) in 2012, their exits were moments of triumph.

Leahy, who struggled with a broken hip in his final term, announced his retirement in a press conference in Vermont. He gave the customary floor speech to mark his final days in the Senate. He made the roundsand got plenty of applause on his way out.

But Feinsteins retirement announcement came with relatively little fodder around the Senate. With her health limiting her ability to return to the Hill, in addition to lingering questions on whether shell retire sooner than expected, its unclear whether shell be privy to the same sort of pomp and circumstance as other longtime senators.

And yet everyone, in their own wayeven if its with a bit of a self-serving grininsists she should be.

As Hawley said, I just want to see her treated with respect.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Reata Restaurant is looking in the downtown area for its new 2024 location, the restaurant announced Tuesday in its first response to an public invitation last week from the Omni Fort Worth hotel.

In a two-line announcement at the bottom of a newsletter, the restaurant emailed: Reata continues to look at some great locations in and around Downtown Fort Worth.

We are reviewing architectural drawing and renderings, the announcement read, to find a great new home for Reata.

Reata owner Mike Micallef has said the restaurant will leave its current location, 310 Houston St. in Sundance Square, when that lease ends in June 2024.

Micallef had declined to respond Friday when Omni executive Bob Rowling told a downtown business audience the hotel is talking to some downtown restaurants about relocating to help activate the West Lancaster Avenue side of new 400-room second tower, 1500 Houston St.

It would be really exciting for that to happen, Rowling said, without naming a particular restaurant.

Micallef has not hinted at a decision.

But he has already said the increased convention and tourist business downtown still make the city center attractive to Reata, the restaurant that launched cowboy cuisine and produced a generation of chefs known for contemporary Western cooking.

Early design concepts of the Omni Hotel expansion include 400 additional rooms.

The $217 million hotel expansion is part of $2.3 billion in downtown development, also including the nearby Fort Worth Convention Center and new Texas A&M-Fort Worth campus.

Rowling made the comment at the 41st annual meeting of the downtown business association, Downtown Fort Worth Inc.

He told business leaders that the Omni will double in size to 1,008 rooms, crossing West Fourteenth Street and replacing a former junior college building near West Lancaster Avenue.

Reata owner Mike Micallef announced the restaurant is searching for new location on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in downtown Fort Worth.

In March 2022, when Reata announced the search for a new location, Micallef said the restaurant would be seeking 2 acres of land or a 12,000-20,000-square-foot building with up to 200 parking spaces.

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At the time, Micallef and other retailers said that the increased price of valet and surface parking hurts business in Sundance Square.

Sundance garage parking is free weekdays with validation, weeknights and weekends. But the garages are a two-block walk from Reata.

Reata owner Mike Micallef and Al Micallef, founder, chat after announcing the restaurant is searching for new location on Wednesday, March 30, 2022, in downtown Fort Worth.

Reata has already moved once. The original location opened in 1995 and continues to serve Alpine, the largest city in the Big Bend region of Texas.

In 1996, a Fort Worth Reata opened on the 35th floor of the building now known as The Tower, 500 Throckmorton St.

When that location was destroyed in the March 28, 2000 downtown tornado, the restaurant moved again to the three-story former home of the Caravan of Dreams jazz nightclub.

The Omni Fort Worth, 1300 Houston St., opened in 2009. It is currently home to a prime steakhouse, Bobs Steak & Chop House, and other restaurants, including its Cast Iron all-day dining room and Whiskey & Rye bar and sandwich shop.

The expansion is one of several bringing more than 1,500 new hotel rooms downtown. A Sandman Signature hotel recently opened at 810 Houston St. that will soon include an upscale Asian restaurant, Musume.

A Le Meridien hotel, 815 Commerce St., is also expected to offer full-service dining.

Two major Camp Bowie Boulevard hotels with restaurants are also expected to open this year. Neither the Crescent Hotel Fort Worth nor the Bowie House, Auberge Resorts Collection, has announced a restaurant format or chef.
MANITOWOC  A Reedsville man is being charged in Manitowoc County Circuit Court with one felony count of theft between $10,000 and $100,000, three counts of filing a false or fraudulent state income tax return for tax years 2017 through 2019, and one felony count of theft-false representation.

The charges against Matthew Buchholz, 41, come after Buchholz is suspected of stealing lottery tickets worth between $10,000 and $100,000 from his place of employment and defrauding the Wisconsin Lottery.

According to a news release from the Wisconsin Department of Revenue Office of Criminal Investigation, Buchholz collected the winnings from the stolen tickets and failed to report any of the income on his income tax returns.

The unreported income came from winnings on lottery tickets and the cost of the lottery tickets that were stolen.

The complaint alleges Buchholz filed tax returns and understated income by more than $300,500, evading more than $20,000 in Wisconsin income tax.

Under Wisconsin law, theft, filing a false or fraudulent income tax return, and theft-false representation are all felonies. If convicted on all counts, Buchholz could face a maximum penalty of up to 31 years and six months in prison and/or $65,000 in fines.

Buchholz is being prosecuted by the Manitowoc County District Attorneys Office after an investigation by the Reedsville Police Department, Department of Revenue Office of Criminal Investigation and Department of Revenue Division of Lottery.

The Wisconsin Department of Revenue Office of Criminal Investigation investigates individuals and businesses suspected of committing tax crimes and seeks criminal prosecution for those crimes. To report tax fraud, go to revenue.wi.gov and click the Report tax fraud link under Quick Links.

Read more:

Contact Brandon Reid at 920-686-2984 or breid@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter at @breidHTRNews.

This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Reedsville man charged with theft, tax fraud for stolen lottery tickets
Attorneys for Reedy Creeks new board are citing several reasons why Walt Disney Worlds development agreement will not stand.

In a meeting on Wednesday, the new board appointed by the governor explained how they plan to fight a development agreement that gave Disney exclusive development rights.

Attorneys are arguing procedural flaws nullify that agreement.

Attorneys argued the agreement was unconstitutional under Florida law for multiple reasons, but one of their biggest points for why they say the agreement will be void stems from public notice.

READ: DeSantis: Legislature will revoke development agreement passed by former Reedy Creek board

State law is specific about how that needs to happen before any board enters a development agreement.

It was Disneys way or the highway, which is why we were forced to higher litigation counsel, said Martin Garcia, chair of Reedy Creek Improvement District. Compromise was out of the question.

Now, Reedy Creeks new board is lawyered up and preparing for a potential court battle.

READ: Power play: Disney handicapped new Reedy Creek board before handing over control

The governor-appointed board has been trying to figure out how to wrestle back some of the power it lost as the former board signed a last-minute deal that ceded development authority over to Disney.

Lawyers for the district said Disneys development agreement gives the company the ability to insist on new infrastructure, zoning power and exclusive development rights, but they argue it wont hold up in court.

Procedurally, Disney and the prior board failed to adhere to the state sunshine laws, trial counsel David Thompson said.

READ: Reedy Creek board poised to claim superior authority over land planning around Disney

Thompson pointed out a part of state law that requires notice to be mailed to all effected property owners before a development agreement can be considered. Attorneys said that never happened.

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A trial is something experts view as increasingly likely. Board members will vote to declare the agreement void next meeting, and Disney executives hinted they view all these government actions as retaliatory.

READ: Reedy Creek board members attempt to seize control back from Disney as power struggle intensifies

Disney has not responded to requests seeking comment.

On Wednesday, the board also adopted one significant resolution, giving them superior authority of the cities of Lake Buena Vista and Bay Lake that are also in the district.

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.
School choice  in the form of publicly funded scholarships to private schools  is being fast-tracked now that Republicans have a supermajority in the North Carolina General Assembly.

Rep. Tricia Cotham, a Mecklenburg County Republican who switched parties from the Democrats this month, is a primary sponsor of a bill expanding vouchers for private school tuition, which are known as Opportunity Scholarships and have been championed by Republicans.

Until now, the use of the scholarships has been limited, but a new bill likely to coast into law will expand the program to all students.

School choice is the term used to describe families being able to use public funding to educate their children in a variety of school options beyond traditional public schools.

House Bill 823, called Choose Your School, Choose Your Future, also has a key Republican among its primary sponsors: House Speaker Tim Moore. Others include Republicans Reps. David Willis of Union County and Donnie Loftis of Gaston County. With Moore as a sponsor on a bill that already has a companion version in the Senate, the bill is virtually guaranteed to become law.

Republicans have a three-fifths supermajority, which if all Republicans vote together is enough votes to override a veto from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper.

The bill has already received national attention, including from school choice proponent Corey DeAngelis, who tweeted that it would fund students instead of systems. All North Carolina families would be eligible. Cotham was a Democrat who just changed her party registration to Republican this month. This is the way.

Cotham shared the tweet Tuesday night, adding her own comment: Children first.

The bill would expand eligibility to all K-12 students, regardless of if they have already been in public school. Vouchers can be used for tuition along with fees for books, transportation and equipment. Lower-income families would receive higher scholarship amounts than those with higher incomes.

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Colors pencils sit in a classroom at West Charlotte High School in Charlotte, N.C., Friday, Aug. 26, 2022.

Democrats vs. Republicans on school choice

Most Republicans support the private-school scholarships while Democrats largely do not. Cooper has spoken against the vouchers.

However, he signed a proclamation recognizing School Choice Week in January 2022. The News & Observer reported that Cooper issued the proclamation at the request of charter schools. Charter schools are public schools that receive public funding but not the same amount of oversight as traditional public schools. The N.C. Association of Educators has opposed charter school expansions and private school scholarships.

The president of Parents for Educational Freedom in North Carolina, which advocates for school choice, told The N&O on Wednesday that the bill is an incredible step towards funding students over systems in North Carolina.

President Mike Long said the bill will further empower families to place their tax dollars into their childs backpack allowing them to attend the school of their choice.

Long noted that the bill prioritizes lower-income families to receive more money.

The group also said Wednesday that a lawsuit against the Opportunity Scholarships program, which included the NCAE, had been dropped.

Opportunity Scholarships expansion

The bills would significantly raise the income eligibility for the vouchers that started a decade ago as need-based.

When the Senate filed its bill last month, Sen. Amy Scott Galey, an Alamance County Republican, said education funding should follow the student, and we must fund students not systems.

Expanding Opportunity Scholarships encourages school choice and broadens the options available to families. We must empower moms and dads to make the best decisions for their children, Galey said in a March statement.

The Opportunity Scholarship Grant Fund would come close to doubling in future years.

This fiscal year, there is $94.8 million allocated to the fund, with $176.5 million for the upcoming year and $191.5 million for the 2024-25 school year. Under the House bill, instead of $206.5 million for 2025-26, the fund would receive $366.5 million. And in 2026-27, instead of $221.5 million, it would get $419.5 million.

Scholarships would be expanded beginning later this year, for the 2023-24 school year.
GOP Rep. James Comer gave a tepid update Tuesday about the House Oversight Committees probe into the Biden familys business dealings.

We found a lot that should be illegal, the Kentucky Republican who chairs the committee told CNNs Pamela Brown. (Watch the video below.)

Comer had previously described the investigation into Hunter Bidens transactions and ties to President Joe Biden as tracking a bleeding bear through a snowstorm. I mean, theres evidence everywhere.

But on Tuesdays CNN Primetime, the trail appeared to go a tad cold.

Have you found anything illegal while he was actually in office? Brown asked.

Well, we found a lot thats certainly unethical, Comer responded. We found a lot that should be illegal. The line is blurry as to what is legal and not legal with respect to family influence-peddling. I think people in both parties have argued for many years that family members of both Republicans and Democrats  especially family members of presidents  have benefited from our adversaries around the world.

Some conservatives believe a Hunter Biden laptop computer left at a Delaware repair shop contains damning revelations about his father in connection to the sons reported business dealings with Ukraine and China. The GOP has been obsessed with the computers hard drive data, which was copied, amid the numerous investigations into former President Donald Trump.

Brown later questioned a Comer claim about Biden family members receiving payments from China in 2017.

That was after Joe Biden had left office as vice president, she noted.

It was, Comer answered. But the people that initiated the payments had met with Joe Biden while he was vice president.

Related...
Story at a glance

A new analysis from the Pew Research Center shows that many Brazilians consider themselves Hispanic or Latino.

A coding error during the 2020 American Community Survey resulted in many more people being marked as Latino and Hispanic than years prior.

The error highlights how Latino and Hispanic identity is complex.

A coding error in the 2020 U.S. Census revealed that more Brazilians consider themselves to be Latino than previously thought, according to a new Pew Research Center report.

This discrepancy highlights long-standing issues with how the U.S. Latino population is measured by the census.

Only about 14,000 Brazilians in the U.S. marked themselves as Hispanic or Latino in 2019 American Community Survey, an annual demographic survey conducted by the Census Bureau.

And in 2021, roughly 16,000 Brazilians considered themselves to be Latino or Hispanic in that same survey.

But in 2020 that number soared with at least 416,000 Brazilians marking themselves as Hispanic or Latino on that years American Community Survey, the report shows.

Brazilians are not considered Hispanic or Latino under the federal governments definition of the term which was last updated in 1997.

Only people of Spanish culture or origin like Americans with Mexican, Puerto Rican or Cuban heritage regardless of race are considered Hispanic or Latino.

When someone indicates that they are Hispanic or Latino, so they mark that box, and write that their origin is Brazilian there are coding rules from the Census Bureau that will take that persons Brazilian answer and also the Latino answer and change it so that they are not marked as Latino but indicated as Brazilian someplace else, said Mark Hugo Lopez, director of race and ethnicity research at The Pew Research Center.

This recategorization is also done for people with origins in Belize, the Philippines, and Portugal, according to Pew.

The Census Bureau accidentally left Brazilian and some other group out of its back coding produces during the editing process of the 2020 American Community Survey resulting in a massive spike in the number of people counted as Hispanic or Latino.

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In particular, the large number of Brazilians who self-identified as Hispanic or Latino highlights how their view of their own identity does not necessarily align with official government definitions, the report states. All this makes measuring Hispanic or Latino identity in surveys a complex and delicate undertaking.

There were 526,099 Brazilian people in the United States in 2021, according to the American Community Survey

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Military families living on-base at Fort Gordon in Georgia say theyre still dealing with housing problems a year after a bipartisan Senate investigation revealed mistreatment of families in privatized housing on the base.

Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) released the new report Tuesday that details improvements that have been made and gaps that still remain following his investigation last year into housing problems at Fort Gordon and other bases.

The newly released findings are focused on Balfour Beatty Communities, the private housing company that operates homes on the base.

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The report said since the release of last years findings in April 2022 about reported mistreatment of military families, there have been more reports of Balfour Beatty failing to properly respond to repairs or handle environmental hazards, like mold growth.

Ossoff led a discussion about these ongoing concerns on Capitol Hill Tuesday morning, which included input from several military spouses.

This has been an ongoing issue for so long with so little change, said Joy Viera, a military spouse who previously lived at Fort Gordon.

Read: In Touch host, founder Dr. Charles Stanley dies

The report said Balfour Beatty has made improvements including increasing maintenance staff at Fort Gordon, expanding training, and implementing a new quality assurance plan for gas and venting work orders.

Still, military families reported ongoing issues, according to the report.

Despite these improvements, this inquiry identified numerous examples of Fort Gordon residents facing ongoing housing challenges, including persistent mold and shoddy workmanship by maintenance staff, the report said. Multiple tenants reported recurring problems with mold that put them and their families at risk of serious health consequences, including several instances where independent, third-party inspectors deemed their homes unfit for habitation.

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The report said the Army has implemented new reforms to address the deficiencies identified in last years Senate investigation.

Read: Recall alert: Subaru recalls Ascent over tire pressure issues

There are some reasons to believe that some progress is resulting from that more intense approach by the Army, but its still a long way to go to get to the outcome that we seek which is safe healthy housing for every family at Fort Gordon and other bases around the country, Ossoff told our Washington News Bureau.

Ossoff said Balfour Beatty declined the Senators invitation to join Tuesdays discussion, and instead there was an empty chair with a card with the name of the company.

Army officials did, however, join the conversation and highlighted improvements in oversight.

Ossoff questioned the Army officials about how they measure progress in fixing the housing problems.

In response, Rachel Jacobson, the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Installations, Energy and Environment, said they are tracking things like the number of complaints and the response time to get the problems fixed, among other measures.

Our awareness now I believe is much greater than it was a year ago, said Jacobson. I think because of all these issues that came to light, because of all our own internal investigations, it was a wakeup call.

In response to the ongoing concerns, the report calls on Balfour Beatty to ensure the technical quality of maintenance work, consistently identify and remediate mold in homes, and more effectively plan for long-term sustainability of the project.

Military spouses called for more specificity in the tenant bill of rights and changes to it to better protect families.

Military families should be able to sign off on their work tickets confirming they are accurate and true to what was performed and what the issue was, said Breanna Barnhart, a resident at Fort Jackson, which is also run by Balfour Beatty. That would hold Balfour Beatty accountable but theres lacking verbiage in our legislation.

In response to the investigation, a spokesperson for Balfour Beatty Communities said: Balfour Beatty Communities is totally committed to the health, safety, and well-being of our residents and we acknowledge that we have more work to do. In this we are committed to working with the Army and with Senator Ossoff. We appreciate that the progress being made has been recognized. We declined the invitation to participate in todays event because we have multiple two-way communication channels in place to maintain transparency into maintenance requests, keep residents informed, and allow them to share their feedback and raise concerns, and because we continue to meet routinely with the local Military Housing Office and Command to ensure any resident housing concerns are being appropriately addressed by our team. We continue to invest in people and resources to offer the best possible living experience for the men and women who serve our country.

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.
SHANGHAI (AP)  Government inspectors concluded Tesla Inc.s Shanghai factory where an employee died in a Feb. 4 accident has weaknesses in its safety measures, news reports said Wednesday.

The emergency bureau of Shanghais Pudong district recommended an unspecified penalty for Tesla, the business news magazine Caixin and other outlets reported. They cited a copy of the report posted on the city government website.

The report was removed from the website Wednesday. An employee of the emergency agency who would give only his surname, Wu, said Tesla asked for the report not to be made public because it contained photos of its production process.

The investigation concluded the Tesla employee who died failed to follow rules and didnt lock a safety gate, according to the news reports. They said another employee failed to make sure the area was clear of people before turning on equipment that crushed the 31-year-old employee, who died later at a hospital.

Posts that circulated Monday on Chinese social media and purported to be from Tesla employees complained their bonuses were cut due to the fatality. They appealed to CEO Elon Musk.

Musk said on Twitter on Monday, Was alerted this weekend. Looking into it.

Tesla didnt respond Wednesday to requests by email for comment.
WASHINGTON  Senate Republicans blocked a request Tuesday by Democrats to temporarily replace Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee while the 89-year-old Californian recovers from illness.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer asked for unanimous consent to swap out Feinstein for Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., saying that Feinstein "made her wish clear" to be removed "until she returns to the Senate."

That was met with opposition from Sen. Lindsey Graham, the top Republican on the Judiciary Committee, effectively dooming the request. "This is about a handful of judges that you can't get the votes for," Graham, R-S.C. said, adding that he doesn't believe those judges that lack GOP support should be confirmed.

The move came at the request of Feinstein, who has been away from the Senate for months after revealing she was hospitalized with shingles. Feinstein issued the call last week in response to demands from some Democrats that she resign so that her absence doesn't stall President Joe Biden's judicial nominees from moving forward.

The blockade leaves Democrats with few options. They can still seek a full Senate vote to replace Feinstein, but that is subject to a filibuster and requires 60 votes. Republicans have made clear they'll block that as well, rejecting a temporary committee swap for the purpose of speeding up party-line judges.

Feinstein has not offered a timetable to return to the Senate.

Schumer said Tuesday he spoke to her on Friday and is very hopeful that she will return very soon, without getting specific.

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., the first lawmaker who called on Feinstein to resign, citing the stalling of prospective judges as a result of her absence, doubled down on his push Tuesday.

"Senator Feinsteins staff rushed out her statement two hours after my tweet to stop the bleeding and halt the growing chorus for her to resign. It worked for a few days but didnt solve the problem as many of us had warned," Khanna told NBC News. "The ball is now back in Senator Feinsteins court to provide a specific timeline of when she can cast votes on Judiciary to confirm President Bidens judges."

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"Every day she is not on Judiciary is hurting our ability to confirm another judge who will protect womens rights and voting rights. I hope more will choose democracy over decorum and speak out about what is painfully obvious," he said. "Its time for Sen. Feinstein to step aside to have a dignified conclusion to her public service career."

But other California Democrats are defending Feinstein's decision to remain in office.

Rep. Pete Aguilar, D-Calif., said Tuesday that its up to Sen. Feinstein to decide her own timeline.

Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., added: In America, we dont tell people to resign because they got shingles.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A Wilson County commissioner who also worked as a deputy with the Wilson County Sheriff's Office resigned his law enforcement position after being accused of operating a county issued-vehicle while impaired.

Justin T. Smith was charged in February for DUI and possession of a weapon while intoxicated after an investigation that involved a traffic stop by the Lebanon Police Department. The stop occurred when Smith was an on-duty detective in a Wilson County issued vehicle, police have said.

Smith, 36, was suspended from the sheriff's department soon after the traffic stop. Smith was hired by the sheriff's department in July 2007 and resigned April 3, according to Capt. Scott Moore.

Smith will continue to contest the charges in court and maintains his innocence, defense attorney Jeff Cherry said.

Smith has continued in his position as the Wilson County commissioner for District 25.

"Mr. Smith resigned his position as a sheriff's deputy out of respect for the sheriff's department and in an effort not to bring any dishonor to the sheriff and the men and women that serve the citizens of Wilson County as deputies," Cherry said as part of a statement. "He is deeply honored to have served in the capacity as a sheriff's deputy."

A court hearing was scheduled for Wednesday in the case. However, General Sessions Judge Jimmy Lea has filed paperwork to be recused, according to the court clerk's office in Wilson County.

Judge Barry Tatum has also filed paperwork to be recused from the case, according to the court clerk's office..

District Attorney General Jason Lawson of the 15th judicial district expects Judge Lea to reach out to the Administrative Office of the Courts to appoint a new judge for the case.

Reach Andy Humbles at ahumbles@tennessean.com or 615-726-5939 and on Twitter @ AndyHumbles.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Justin Smith resigns as Wilson County deputy; contesting charges
A retired NASA satellite is expected to fall back to Earth on Wednesday night, but experts say the falling spacecraft will pose little danger to us here on the ground.

According to NASA and the U.S. Department of Defense, the Reuven Ramatay High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI) is expected to reenter the Earths atmosphere around 9:30 p.m. EDT.

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Most of the 660-pound spacecraft is expected to burn up as it reenters the Earths atmosphere, but "some components are expected to survive reentry," NASA said in a statement.

But dont be too concerned. NASA says the risk of harm to anyone here on Earth is low  approximately 1 in 2,467.

RHESSI was launched into orbit in 2002 on a mission to study the high-energy electrons that carry a large part of the energy released in solar flares.

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According to NASA, the satellite completed its mission with its only instrument on board  an imaging spectrometer recording X-rays and gamma rays from the sun.

Before RHESSIs mission, there had been no gamma-ray images or high-energy X-ray images that had been taken of solar flares.

During its time in space, RHESSI was able to record more than 100,000 X-ray events that allowed scientists to study the energetic particles within solar flares.

NASA said it decommissioned RHESSI after 16 years of operations due to communication difficulties within the spacecraft.
King Charles gave his Commonwealth Day message from the Great Pulpit at Westminster Abbey in March. (Getty Images)

The religious aspect of the coronation oath that King Charles will take next month will not be changed following reports that the monarch was considering "tweaks" to make it more inclusive.

Charles was said to have been "at loggerheads with church leaders" over the role other faiths should have in the coronation, which is fundamentally a religious  in this case Anglican  service, the Mail On Sunday reported. The Archbishop of Canterbury has denied reports of tension between church leaders and Charles.

Catherine Pepinster, an author and religious affairs commentator, further claimed  also in the Mail On Sunday  that this conflict had led to a delay in the order of service being published, something that Buckingham Palace denied.

And last month, The Sunday Times reported that "tweaks" to the oath were being "considered" because Charles was "understood to be keen not to make members of other faiths feel excluded during the coronation".

That report said: "It is thought tweaks to the coronation oath, in which the monarch promises to do his 'utmost [to] maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant reformed religion' are being considered, in consultation with [Archbishop of Canterbury Justin] Welby."

However, the Cabinet Office has told Yahoo News UK that no changes to the religious element of the coronation oath are planned.

An official portrait of King Charles and Camilla, the Queen Consort has been released by Buckingham Palace ahead of the coronation. (Hugo Burnand/Buckingham Palace)

There is still a chance, however, that even if the oath remains the same, additional wording could be inserted before it, which  according to the Constitution Unit at UCL  would allow extra context to be provided without a need for legislative change.

Earlier on Wednesday, the Cabinet Office released a written statement that detailed no legislative action would be required to the modifications planned for the oath Charles will make on 6 May.

This is because the only changes will be to the way realms and territories are referred to, as there are now 14  when the last coronation took place there were only six.

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Making a change like this to reflect the constitutional position regarding territories doesn't require new legislation, but more fundamental changes like removing or significantly enlarging the religious aspect of the oath would have to be put to parliament.

In 1910, an act was passed to change the oath to remove a part that was offensive to Roman Catholics and referred to their teachings as "superstitious and idolatrous".

However, since 1688, each new monarch has publicly committed themselves to Protestantism and promised to "maintain and preserve" the Church of England at their coronations.

An image of the official invite to King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation. (Buckingham Palace)

It has long been debated how Charles will approach his role as supreme governor of the Church of England, since he made controversial comments in the 1990s about wanting to be "defender of faith", rather than the traditional "defender of the faith" he would one day inherit.

However, Charles walked back these comments in 2018 and after the death of his mother last year said to faith leaders: "I am a committed Anglican Christian, and at my coronation I will take an oath relating to the settlement of the Church of England."

In his first address to the nation as King, Charles also noted that "the role and the duties of monarchy also remain, as does the sovereign's particular relationship and responsibility towards the Church of England  the church in which my own faith is so deeply rooted."

That there will be no legislative action on this occasion and that the Cabinet Office has said there will be no change to the religious aspect of the coronation oath shows that at least for now, the monarchy will continue to rely upon the centuries old tradition and authority of the Church of England to prop itself up.

Watch: The Royal Family's biggest spending sprees
Love and loss, fury and forgiveness are at the heart of Charise Castro Smiths El huracan (The Hurricane), a profoundly insightful and moving play now getting its belated Florida premiere at GableStage.

After a successful world premiere at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2018, El huracan had several other productions, but like nearly everything else in theater, its momentum was disrupted by the pandemic.

Thais Menendez and Gabriell Salgado play the younger versions of a magician and her assistant in El huracan at GableStage. (Photo courtesy of Magnus Stark)

But maybe the rough magic referenced in El huracan and William Shakespeares The Tempest, an inspiration for former Miamian Castro Smith, was working overtime to get it to a theater in the playwrights hometown at just the right time with just the right people involved. Certainly, the result is magical and as fine a production as youll see in South Florida all season.

El huracan is a 100-minute play in two parts, with a glamorous Cuban origin story at the beginning and a linking interlude in the middle. It is written in English, but certain words, phrases or speeches are in Spanish. Not a stretch for Miami-area audiences, but the playwright has other characters translate or restate that content.

In the first part, set in 1992, Hurricane Andrew is roaring toward Miami on its path of unfathomable destruction. In the second, 25 years have passed. Some characters have died, only to resurface as spirits; others have been born or matured or now face a frightening future.

Barbara Bonilla and James Puig are a magician-wife and her assistant-husband in Charise Castro Smiths El huracan at GableStage. (Photo courtesy of Magnus Stark)

When we first meet Valeria (Barbara Bonilla), shes a beautiful up-and-coming magician in pre-revolutionary Cuba, with the handsome Alonso (James Puig) as her assistant (the younger versions of those characters are played by Thais Menendez and Gabriell Salgado).

Then the play shifts to Miami and pre-Andrew urgency, as Valerias middle-aged daughter Ximena (Adriana Sevan) and granddaughter Miranda (Menendez) try to quickly pack Valerias most important things  the items used in her magic act, especially  to keep them safe at Ximenas.

Three things become evident: Alonso, Valerias devoted husband, is nowhere to be found; Ximena and Miranda, a student at Harvard, squabble frequently over their different agendas for Mirandas life; and Valeria is suffering from Alzheimers disease.

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Frequently, shell have conversations with her long-gone sister Alicia (Emma Garcia Seeger). Now and then, shell put on the top hat from her act, grab a huge bag and announce that shes going out (in the torrential rain) to find Alonso. Ximena diverts Valeria by saying Alonso has gone to the pharmacy and will be back soon; in fact, he left after his wifes diagnosis, unable to bear watching the woman he loved for a lifetime slowly vanish.

The middle-aged version of Adriana Sevans Ximena tries to calm Barbara Bonilla as her mother Valeria in El huracan at GableStage. (Photo courtesy of Magnus Stark)

Near the end of the first section, as Hurricane Andrew is about to pulverize so much of the world outside Ximenas home, Castro Smith expertly propels the action from lust to tragedy. Miranda and Fernando (Salgado), a neighbors son who was a high school crush, have their own Cuba Libre-fueled hurricane party, one that will have life-changing consequences.

After theyve retired to Mirandas bedroom, Valeria awakens, grabs her hat and bag, and walks out the front door into that peculiar green light that can transform the sky during hurricanes. Hers is the ultimate vanishing act, though she and Alonso surface as spirits unseen by the living after the play jumps to 2017.

Now its Ximena, fierce as ever, who is facing Alzheimers. Her Cuban cousins son Theo (Salgado) is staying with her as he takes the first steps toward forging a life in Miami. Inevitably, he has noticed her memory lapses, agitation and confusion. So an emailed SOS has gone out to Miranda, who left home the day after her grandmothers disappearance. The prodigal daughter returns to her still-furious mother, her own daughter Val (Garcia Seeger) in tow. Expect fireworks and tears.

Castro Smith, coauthor of the Oscar-winning Disney animated movie Encanto, mixes realistic dialogue with evocatively poetic imagery, sometimes crossing into the terrain of magical realism.

Thais Menendez, Emma Garcia Seeger and Barbara Bonilla are family in El huracan at GableStage. (Photo courtesy of Magnus Stark)

One small example, as Alonso is translating what Valeria says in Spanish: As old age floods your mind, hidden away boxes and trunks float to the surface. The things that the river of memory brings back to you sometimes feel random. But they are yours, and theyre home. Love is the only real magic. Although it is sometimes tricky, it is not a trick.

Miami-born director Damaso Rodriguez, who first brought El huracan to the attention of GableStage producing artistic director Bari Newport, has done a superb job of staging a piece with myriad challenges. They include time jumps, characters that are visible to some and invisible to others while making certain that lines spoken in Spanish are contextually clear. And the performances he has helped shape? They are exquisite and tonally cohesive.

Bonilla, seen last season in GableStages Boca, gets a far deeper and more intricate role as Valeria. Now and then, her portrait of a woman in the last stages of Alzheimers is endearing, but as her face goes blank, she becomes utterly heartbreaking.

Sevan played Valeria in the world premiere of El huracan at Yale Rep (and won a critics award for her performance). Her Ximena is a towering achievement, as key to Castro Smiths play as the aging magician Prospero is to The Tempest. Her exhausted, fearful, raging Ximena is an unforgettable portrait of a strong woman shattered by loss and by a disease that would rob her of her memories.

Menendez, who grew up in Miami and is based in Los Angeles, is a beguiling performer who fully inhabits the college-age Miranda (her scenes of drunken flirtation with Salgados Fernando are irresistible). She then transforms before our eyes into a middle-aged woman who is, like her mother before her, now caught between caring for an elder and raising her own daughter.

The self-assured Garcia Seeger, a recent University of Florida grad, impressively meets the challenge of playing three distinct characters. As Alicia, shes a forever-young spirit in a one-piece bathing suit and white swim cap, a source of comfort and guilt to the aging Valeria. As Val, shes lovable and curious about the family she has never met. As the neurologist Dr. Kempler, she is matter-of-fact and professional as she arrives at a diagnosis for Valeria.

As Alonso, Puig has to play notes of adoration and abandonment, defensiveness and the forever-painful realization that leaving when Valeria needed him most was the greatest mistake of his life. He conveys the complexities of his characters actions with a slight nervousness of a man who knows hes doing the wrong thing.

Salgado, who has appeared at many of the regions theaters since making his professional debut as the Creature in Zoetic Stages Frankenstein in 2021, plays two distinct supporting roles in El huracan, but both draw on the young actors comedic ability. His Fernando is a Miami hunk whos a magnet for Miranda. Theo is more serious  indicated by the glasses he wears  and funny as he switches from his Cuban Spanish to the English hes trying to acquire.

Thanks to additional donor support, GableStages budget for El huracan was larger, and it shows. Magician Andre Garre was hired to teach the cast the magic tricks specified in the script, while Jeni Hacker did the brief segments of choreography and intimacy coordination.

Set designer Frank J. Oliva has created Ximenas house as a two-story playing area with walls that, if you look closely, combine old photographs with the imagery of swirling hurricane winds. Jameelah Bailey and Constanza Celci dressed the set and gathered the props that convey place and era.

A scene from Charise Castro Smiths El huracan (The Hurricane), a profoundly insightful and moving play, at GableStage. (Photo courtesy of Magnus Stark)

Lighting designer Blanca Forzan summons a Cuban club with an explosion of brightly colored lights. Sound designer Rodolfo Ortega provides the sudden sounds of Hurricane Andrew, a faint musical underscoring and Frank Sinatra crooning Come Fly With Me. Costume designer Gema Valdes facilitates the plays time travel and provides a beautiful blue halter dress for Valeria, a costume that will link her in youth and the spirit world.

Even before Castro Smiths success with Encanto, she was focusing more on writing for film and television. The movies Oscar (she was co-director as well as co-author) took that career path to a higher level, leaving her far less time for the developmental demands of writing plays and getting them produced.

The point is this: El huracan is a made-for-Miami play. It will resonate here most deeply, and its a thoroughly engaging story being given a great production. It will be at GableStage through May 14  and then poof, like Valeria, it will be gone.

WHAT: El huracan by Charise Castro Smith

WHERE: GableStage in the Biltmore Hotel, 1200 Anastasia Ave., Coral Gables

WHEN: 2 and 7 p.m. Wednesday, 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday (additional matinee May 13), through May 14 (streaming version available during regular performances April 21-May 14)

COST: $45-$75 (streaming ticket $27)

INFORMATION: 305-445-1119 or gablestage.org.

ArtburstMiami.com is a nonprofit source of theater, dance, visual arts, music and performing arts news.
Joan Marcus

It would be one thing for Suzan-Lori Parks to have just written Plays for the Plague Year (Public Theater, to April 30), but she also performs it in a production that was initially delayedirony alertby the cast being struck down by COVID. Parks, the first Black woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, shares the stage with eight performers variously playing her husband, son, dear friends, the famous, cops, and colleaguesliving and dead. An excellent band accompanies them.

The show is around three hours long, and takes place in The Public Theaters Joes Pub. While eating fries with mayo or beet hummus may be conducive to the spaces vibe when a cabaret is playing, when watching Plays for the Plague Year a snack or cocktail may go a little more untouched. It is not material easy to chow down to.

Parkswith guitarmeans the show to be an attempt to bear witness to what happened to her, and the world, during the pandemic. The show, she hopes, is akin to the ghost light in theatersa symbol or sign that art persists whatever. She set out to write a play a day, but what we see on stage are not full-length plays, nowhere near. They are more potted moments, some from her own life with her husband and son, others inspired by big political and cultural moments. It is a pandemic pick-and-mix, a revue-style sweep through the terrible and familiar, a banquet of the unbearable, as Parks puts it. COVID itself is imagined as a kind of bejeweled diva, whose sheathed arms and mask you recoil from.

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Throughout there are songs, laughs, thoughts, even arguments with her muse. Plays for the Plague Year is meditative, angry, funny; you may find yourself thinking, We went through that, and I remember that happening.

We go from the killings of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor (played by Danyel Fulton, her character hands out flowers to the audience), and George Floyd and the anger and activism that bloomed from them, to the memory of the refrigerated truck that was a morgue in Brooklyn. Signs are held aloft showing the increasing number of dead as the pandemic unfolds. Famous figures who died during that timeLarry Kramer, RBG, and John Lewisappear. Racism, police violence, Black resistance, Black identities, and voter suppression are sketched. We hear of Trump, Biden, the election (but no Fauci).

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Then there is the quotidianthe sense of victory in March 2020 of going shopping and finding toilet paper. The endless spritzes of hand sanitizer. No hugging. Social distancing. Online learning. Frozen online communications. Masks: where to find them? (Do you remember when they were impossible to find?)

Parks is determined to give voice to her thoughts, and the experiences of those rendered voicelesswhich, especially if they are dead (including a doctor character), can be powerful fragments of reanimation. She rebels against the Black Police monitoring what she says, she seethes at the toxic nature of working in television; she notes that January 6th is not just notorious for the Trump supporters Capitol insurrection, but as the day she began writing the brilliant Topdog/Underdog. (Parks may be too modest to say so here, but the Broadway revival of the show last year was fantastic, and should be rewarded at this years Tonys, including for its stars Corey Hawkins and Yahya Abdul-Mateen).

The cast of Plays for the Plague Year. Joan Marcus

The production speeds through the year, reminding us how concentrated and insane the news cycle was, and the effect of living through that with ones own life in sudden upheaval. We briefly meet the friends and loved ones Parks lost, as well as how she and her family carried on with a new normal.

All the time, her own husbands COVID-related illness worsens, while an adult actor, Leland Fowler, plays their sonwanting attention, wanting space, wanting them to be around when they are not. We see Parks go back to work on a TV set, where the six feet rule is regimentally imposed. All through the events that are personal to her, and the ones well-known to us through the TV news, there is the resonant sense of isolation that the pandemic introduceda sense of fracture that still lingers.

Some stories are powerful, some are throwaway; some moments pierce, others do not. Silliness is welcomingly scattered to break up the heaviness, such a brief, nifty skit on Brits, cute family affection and backchat. The show is a bran-tub, and you wish there was more time for some things like the effect of her husbands illness on him, her, their family. Instead, its intense sweep of history is distilled into glancing flares of memory, and much of what Parks relates remains razor burn-sensitive to watchdepending on how your life changed, who you lost, what you lost (or gainedParks and her husband found a happy bolthole in Atlanta), and how the cultural and political upheaval affected you.

Parks is also a commanding performer, whose love of music, wit, intelligence, and writerly foibles are all folded up in the show. We see her fighting with her muse, and wondering what the point of writing this show is. Is writing adequate to the task of encapsulating anything? The show is as much a self-interrogation of writing and the writer as it is the pandemic; given what the show covers, Parks also makes clear who and what it does not (among them: Sidney Poitier, Betty White, Daunte Wright, bell hooks).

Ultimately, Parks proposes that the crafting of the play, the fact we are here watching it, is a testament to art bringing people together. She knows how hard it may be to watch or even make sense of; it is still all too recent and too ongoing. Plays for the Plague Year is neither salve nor provocation, but a scrapbook very personal to Parks, yet recognizable to those leafing through the pages with her.

I had this belief that theatre would save us. But it wont. Not in the way I thought it would. But it does preserve us, somehow, she says. That, Plays for the Plague Year proposes, is a not-insignificant something.

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(Bloomberg) -- Donald Trumps surge in the polls after his indictment has sidelined some major Republican donors, who are losing confidence that Florida Governor Ron DeSantis or any other GOP hopeful will displace the former president as the partys leader.

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Just a few months ago, DeSantis loomed as a Trumpslayer  a conservative culture-warrior who had nonetheless won over independent voters in his landslide re-election, with none of the baggage of the former president.

But a series of missteps since the start of the year have given some big donors pause. DeSantis has stumbled with his position on the war in Ukraine, continues to battle the Walt Disney Co.  one of Floridas most important employers  over his education policies and made a clumsy attack on Trump for allegedly paying hush money to a porn star.

The former president, meanwhile, used his indictment by Manhattans Democratic district attorney for the alleged hush-money payments to rally the party around him, juicing both his polls and his fundraising.

The Florida governor planned to visit Washington twice this week, once to meet with Republican lawmakers as the Trump campaign continued to line up endorsements from lawmakers and once, to speak at the Heritage Foundation 50th anniversary summit.

DeSantis has yet to officially enter the race, and his political allies have only just begun efforts to undermine Trumps popularity among Republican voters. Nevertheless, there is a sense among some large GOP donors that the Florida governor has already peaked, and that he doesnt have whatever it takes to knock off Trump, who has effectively dominated Republican politics for a decade.

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Trump absolutely could win the nomination. That would spell doom for November 2024, though, said Dan Eberhart, an energy executive and donor who gave Trump $100,000 for his re-election campaign in 2020 but now intends to support DeSantis.

Republican donors have been ready for a new party standard bearer for a while now, he added. Donors want to win.

Several other big-money donors said in interviews that they plan to temporarily hold off giving money to GOP candidates until the field narrows, or DeSantis shows hes more serious about taking on Trump and more dedicated to the retail politics necessary to compete in early-voting states like Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. Most of the donors interviewed for this story asked not to be identified to avoid damaging relationships with the candidates.

John Catsimatidis, a New York billionaire who has backed Trump in prior races, said he wont endorse any candidate until at least the Republican primary debate in August. The real estate and grocery store magnate gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the former presidents 2020 re-election effort.

He said in an interview that he doesnt like Trumps propensity to make enemies, but that DeSantis has some problems.

Struggling Candidate

DeSantiss staff and allies recognize that hes struggling, according to people familiar with the matter, and have sought in particular to improve his encounters with ordinary voters. He spent close to an hour working the room at a dinner in New Hampshire on Friday, for example  though he was surrounded by a coterie of aides and security guards who closely monitored his interactions.

Neither Trump or DeSantis are hurting for cash, so far. The pro-DeSantis super PAC Never Back Down, which released ads over the weekend assailing Trump, reported raising $30 million earlier this month. The governor has about $86 million in his Florida campaign account, which could be transferred to a super PAC to support his presidential bid.

And Trump, who has a talent for attracting both free media coverage and small donations from everyday Republican voters, has never been dependent on the GOPs wealth class. He raised $15.4 million in the 15 days after news broke of his indictment, according to his campaign.

Early support from wealthy donors boosts candidates in whats sometimes called the invisible primary  the jockeying among presidential hopefuls to gain the support of the interests, both financial and ideological, that make up the Republican Party. Their support signals which candidates are serious contenders for the nomination.

Roy Bailey, a Texas donor and former national co-chairman of Trumps presidential campaigns, said he knew several other major donors who would back DeSantis if and when he enters the 2024 race. The Never Back Down PAC arranged for him to speak with Bloomberg News for this story; he declined to say why he no longer supports the former president.

Ive talked with major donors and donors all over the country, and I think they are 90% looking for new leadership, and they are looking toward DeSantis, Bailey said. The money is going to fly into DeSantiss bank account if he gets into the race.

Some Wall Street donors admire DeSantiss leadership in Florida and the states economy, which boasts a 2.6% unemployment rate, no income tax and heavy migration from places like New York.

They are less enamored of his culture-war battles with Disney and with Democrats over grade-school curricula and racial and LGBTQ issues, even if those policies appeal to Republican primary voters. But they are most concerned about his slide in primary polling.

Trump led DeSantis 47% to 33% among Republican voters in a poll released March 29 by Quinnipiac University. In November, after his overwhelming re-election as governor, 43% of GOP voters told Quinnipiac that they preferred DeSantis to be the partys 2024 nominee, compared to 29% for Trump.

Some donors had hoped the party was ready to move on from the former president. Those same donors are turned off by Trumps ongoing false claims that his 2020 re-election defeat was fraudulent, as well as his handling of the Covid-19 pandemic that has killed more than 1.1 million Americans.

Unifying the Party

Instead, the former president appears to again be consolidating his support in the party while engaging in no-holds-barred rhetorical attacks on DeSantis, his most credible challenger. Trump mocked DeSantiss battle with Disney on his Truth Social site on Tuesday, suggesting the company should announce its dis-investing in Florida.

One major GOP donor said that he was flabbergasted by the GOP field so far and uncommitted to a candidate. He said theres no way hed support Trump, that he would take a long time to decide and that he might sit out the primary entirely.

But another major donor, who has previously supported Trump but has been undecided so far, said the former presidents indictment may lead to him gaining the donors backing. This donor has publicly criticized Trump in recent months but has concluded that GOP voters are so angry about Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Braggs prosecution that even Republicans who arent Trump fans will be forced to get behind him.

A third donor said hes worried the indictment will boost Trump and rally GOP voters around him, snuffing out his opponents efforts even before they can emerge.

This donor gives DeSantis high marks for his handling of the pandemic, particularly his early re-opening of the state. The donor said the Florida governor isnt the best glad-hander, but hes a smart and capable leader and could prevail over Trump in the primary.

But he said hes a little less confident of that since the reaction to the former presidents indictment.

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Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Reuters

(Warning: Spoilers follow for the ending of Beau Is Afraid.)

Beau Is Afraid originally had a bit of a different ending. Not enough to be an alternate ending, but as star Richard Kind teases, there was supposed to be another actor in his place (though he wont reveal who, or why, exactly, he was replaced), and perhaps a different final shot as well.

I dont know [if] Im allowed to say this, Kind tells The Daily Beasts Obsessed, though he doesnt hesitate in continuing to tell us about the original ending he shot.

Ari Asters latest movie sees Joaquin Phoenix as a lost man journeying home to honor his mother, Mona (Patti LuPone), who perished after a chandelier fell off its hinges and straight onto her head. But along the way, Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) must fight off evil suburban parents, skid row killers, and his own anxietiesonly to discover, once he finally makes it home, that Monas actually alive. She staged her death only as a test of his commitment to her. (He failed.)

Ari Asters Beau Is Afraid Short Shows the Films Surprising Origins

After a lengthy, stellar monologue from LuPone about her endless dedication to parenting her son, Beau attempts to strangle his mother, then sets off into the starry night on a boat headed nowhere in particular. He ends up sailing straight into his own destruction, at a giant arena filled with an audience who watch the vague, slightly horrifying trial of his life, represented by a useless defense team that fails to make a case for him before Mona.

In the movies current ending, while Mona sits speechless beside him on an elevated platform, Dr. Cohen cusses out helpless Beau, stories below them in the pool of water. Dr. Cohen uses clips of Beaus past against himlike the time he invited his friends over for a panty raid on his mothers lingerie, or when he hid from his mother in a mall and she tore ligaments trying to find himwhich feels ripped straight from Albert Brooks Defending Your Life. (Aster recently included the film in a screening series of works that complement Beau.)

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Heading into filming that tragic final scene, Kind says he knew next to nothing about the movie. Aster only told him that his character was in love with Mona, causing his anger with Beauthe director didnt even alert Kind to the fact that hed be filming in a green screen-covered room, standing on a ledge 30 feet in the air. But maybe not telling Kind anything else was the right move. Going in blind works best for a wild movie like Beau Is Afraidwhich is why Kind also never asked Aster to unpack that (literally) explosive ending.

Ari Aster Answers All Your Questions About Beau Is Afraid

None of your questions are answered! Thats great art. Thats the monolith in Stanley Kubricks [2001: A Space Odyssey], Kind says over Zoom, comparing Beau Is Afraids story to one of sci-fi classics most haunting mysteries. What the hell was it? Thats up to you to come to terms with what it was. Whatever it is, it could be an infinite number of things. Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick, I dont think they have an answer. They may have a thought, but its how you come to terms with it.

Speaking with us just before the films release, Kind explained why an expensive sushi dinner nearly lost him the role, how Network inspired his character, and what his characters single scene represents to him.

How did you get involved with the movie?

Somebody [else] had been cast in itI wont say the name. [Ari] wanted to talk to me, and I thought it was an audition. It was during the summer, and Im out in the Hamptons. I was offered a meal at a very expensive sushi restaurant with friends of mine, and I knew they were going to pay.

I get a call that day saying, Ari Aster wants to meet you at 9:15 [p.m.] to talk about this movie. I figure its an interview or an audition or something. But I said, Im not going to meet him tonight. Ive got a great sushi meal that is going to be extremely expensive. I cant afford it. Thats a done deal. An audition isnt a done deal. So I said, Can we meet at another time?

We met at around 12 or 1 oclock on the next day, Friday. We had a lovely talk, because Im a huge fan of his. My kids are even bigger fans, of course, as those aged between 16 and 25 are. In talking to him, he said, Youve got the role. I said, Let me please audition for you. I want you to hear it, because if Im bad and I come to set like [the original actor], were sunk! About 30 seconds into it, he goes, Stop, stop, stop! Youve got the job.

That was Friday afternoon. [My character has] a five-page monologue, Im due in Montreal to start shooting at 7 oclock. Word for word, its the toughest job Ive ever had.

Beau Is Afraid Is a Mind-Bending Acid Trip of Epic Proportions

Why? Because you had to memorize that monologue so quickly, or because of the filming process?

Im 30 feet-up in the air on a platform. Im scared of heights. And Im screaming to nothing, because its a green screen. It looks like thousands of people, but Im screaming to nobody. Down below in a pool is a boat with no Joaquin Phoenix. Im screaming to nobody, but pretending hes thereand with such vile!

We must have done this monologue 40 times, from every angle. Im screaming. Its sort of muffled when you see it in the movie, and some of it was cut. I had no idea there was going to be film showing in the background. I thought it was just me firing brimstone, talking to a stadium. I had no idea. But [Aris] got a vision thats just ridiculous. You go to the set, and you see it one way with your own brain, and he knows exactly whats going to happen. Hes probably got a cut in his mind and knows exactly.

How did Ari prep you into your character?

The interesting thing is that Ari said I have feelings for the mom, Mona Wassermann. I have tremendous feelings for Mona. Shes right by my side, and I adore her. I love her from afar unrequited love. And I hate him! I hate everything hes doing.

The guy who did it before me was more even-keeled. It was just a lawyer. He was wonderful. I heard the audio, he was fantastic. Fantastic! Not good, fantasticbut very different from me. I likened myself toyoure young, I hope you know the movie. Do you know the movie Network?

Yep.

You remember Ned Beatty in Network?

Oh yeah, that comparison makes sense.

Thats what I thought it was. [Beau] missed his mothers funeral, claimingremember, in the script, it says claimingto have not gotten a ride. Theres all these excuses about what a lousy kid he was, and how, at every turn, he betrayed his mother. Im speaking on her behalf, and Im going, Fuck you, kid! To hell with you, you ungrateful ingrate! How dare you? I was admonishing him.

I also got a Defending Your Life vibe from that scene.

Very much! The other guy, the defendanthis lawyer gets pushed off the plank. Yes, very much Defending Your Life. I never thought of that, but its true. Very Rip Torn.

When you and Ari met to talk about Beau, did he pitch it to you as a comedy?

In my position in the world of showbiz, things dont get pitched. Things are: We have this role. Would you like to do it? Its the life of a character actor. I dont carry the movie. I dont take the arc. I do usually like to know the genre, because that helps me. But how do you categorize Aris genre?

I remember I did a movie called Inside Out. They said, It takes place in the brain of an 11-year-old girl. Thats where the emotions are. Did I picture what was going onhaving orbs in a deep canyon of her memory, and these memory orbs go down? I dont have the kind of mind to imagine that! We now have a reference and can see exactly what it looks like. But before we see it, we have no idea of what it looks like. If you have preconceived notions, and they change, your job is to move with speed to where the director has taken you.

Did your preconceived notions of Beau match up to the reality of your scene, with you in the big stadium, screaming 30 feet in the air?

I had no idea! I was on this platform, a diving thing. Like I said, Im afraid of heights. The rail only came up mid-thigh. I was terrified for two days. Im swinging to the rafters and moving, and Im right up there. I was scared.

Ari was always down below. I would look down, and hes looking up. Id go, How was it? Hed go, Great, great, great! Also, something thats very interesting[the monologue] was very natural, but certain words were utterly specific that I would not have used. I had to hit those words. But they were unusual, unusual words in an unusual ordera poetry of [Aris] own that he was endeared to. In seeing the movie, Im wondering if all those words that Nathan would call [Beau]like pal and daddio and buddyI wonder if those were Aris or if they were Nathans. I dont know. PallyI love that.

Larry David Thought Richard Kind Was Too Famous for Curb Your Enthusiasm

Was it just you on that ledge, or was Patti there too?

It was with Patti. And I know Patti. Patti is a friend. Of course, being the diva that she is, I adore her like that too. I adore Patti LuPones talent. I see everything, everything that she does. To be there talking, doing all the performanceshes just sitting there stone-faced, staring straight ahead. Im doing all the work. I look down, and I go, Patti, how was it? Was that good? Do you think she liked it? She goes, Youre great. Youre great.

In the movie, they add music, they add sound, they add camerawork thats down on [Joaquin], looking at the movie and everything like that. Its very different. You think its To be, or not to be? and actually, its the Burning of Atlanta from Gone With the Wind.

Did Ari ever unpack the ending for you?

I gotta tell youdid you ever see the movie A Serious Man?

Yes, I was actually going to ask about how fans are connecting Beau to that movie too, ironically.

The beginning is that whole Russian thing. Its really weird. If I was to ask the Coen Brothers, What does that mean? I think they would shoot me a look and then shoot a bullet into my head. How dare I ask what that means? I would never in a million years ask Ari, What does this mean?

What about the animated part [midway through the movie], with the theater troupe? Remember, there's a theater troupe in Hamlet. They put on a play. I have a feeling that was certainly an influence on him, that this guy was Hamlet and hes meeting a traveling theater troupe. Theres allusions to all sorts of pop culture and literary things that have influenced him. Its epic in its scope, and its epic in its allusions.

We dont get to see you up close in the final sequences, where everyones walking out after the explosion. Did you and Patti just walk out too?

I will tell you thisI dont know [if] Im allowed to say this. The movie ended differently. It ended with Joaquins mom sobbing, crying, and having to be dragged off the platform and out of the courtroom. That was cut.

We worked hard on that. She would cry and cry, and I would have to drag her out. But it was tough. I dont know why it was, but that was itus going off, and me taking her out. Now, its just: The boat exploded, and hes gone. The credits roll over that.

Ari Aster Premieres Have Hollywoods Weirdest Guest Lists

A handful of people have compared Beau to A Serious Man. Do you see a connection there?

Im really lucky in my career that I dont look like some soap opera star, or some Aaron Spelling Melrose Place star. If you want me, youre not hiring me for a pretty face. Usually, I get a thinking mans vehicle. Thats a blessing and a curse. The blessing is I get to be in some really good, smart projects. The bad thing is I dont surround myself with beautiful women lying by a pool. But Im very very lucky.

The only parallel, and its not even genre, is these things are not spoon-fed. [As a viewer], youve got to work for it. If you have to work for it, you may be bored. You may want to go in to just be entertained. The goal of the Coen Brothers and for Ari Aster is to entertain, primarily, but also have you think while youre being entertained. For that reason, there are easy parallels. Its a philosophical, psychological plight that you have to deal with. Everybody lives a lifetime with thoughts that must be explored. These great artists try to do that.

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Richard Quinn Sr., a legendary Republican consultant who for years was the mastermind behind a far-reaching web of influence in the S.C. State House, pleaded guilty Wednesday to four counts of perjury and two counts of obstruction of justice.

The plea, accepted by state Judge Carmen Mullen, is whats known as an Alford plea, where a defendant asserts their innocence but acknowledges that the government had enough evidence to likely win a guilty verdict if the case was brought to trial.

Under the plea deal, Quinn will serve concurrent sentences on all charges that will keep him under home detention for 18 months. After those 18 months, he will be on probation for two years.

An Alford plea goes down exactly like a guilty plea, Mullen told Quinn Wednesday. It will be convictions on your record. Do you understand that?

Quinn, 78, said he did.

Quinn is a longtime political consultant whose empire of influence, dubbed the Quinndom, extended across South Carolinas business and political worlds.

He was indicted by a state grand jury in May 2021 under Special Prosecutor Barry Barnettes supervision on 12 counts of perjury and two counts of obstruction of justice. Attorney General Alan Wilsons office assigned the case to Barnette to avoid any conflict of interest because Wilson had a long political relationship with Quinn.

Quinn is now semi-retired, he told the judge Wednesday.

The charges against Quinn included making false statements before a grand jury about his relations with former lawmakers, some of whom he made secret payments to, and Wilson, whom Quinn served as a politician consultant.

The plea was the result of negotiations between Barnette and his assistant solicitor, Jennifer Jordan, and Quinns team of lawyers, which included Shaun Kent, Cindy Crick, Rauch Wise and Josh Kendrick. Barnette, the 7th Judicial Circuit solicitor, is based in Spartanburg.

If we had gone to trial, we would have proved the allegations in this case, Barnette told Mullen. I think this is a just decision in this case.

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Since 2017, Quinn has been a target in a wide-ranging state grand jury corruption investigations that has resulted in convictions of several major now-former Republican state lawmakers who received secret payments from Quinns firm.

One of them, former House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Harrison, R-Richland, was convicted after a 2018 jury trial and sent to prison. Evidence showed Harrison for years had secretly taken about $85,000 a year from Quinns firm, Richard Quinn & Associates.

Quinns declining health and wanting to spend more time with his five young grandchildren were major reasons for his plea, Crick told Mullen Wednesday. Another reason was to achieve finality, she said.

Hes lost his business. Hes lost friends, Crick said. Hes almost 80. He just wants to be done with this.

In a statement, Quinns attorney Kent said, Today Richard Quinn Sr. agreed to a plea to finally bring an end what has been an extremely painful eight-year ordeal for him and his family. He strongly maintains his innocence and simply wants to put this chapter of life behind him so he can enjoy time with his grandchildren.

Only months ago, in December 2022, Mullen presided over a two-hour hearing at the Richland County courthouse, where Quinns lawyer clashed with Barnette over whether to keep alive or dismiss the charges.

Mullen, at the end, said she would weigh the issues and make a ruling sooner than later.

Quinn was once a major political consultant for numerous high-profile Republican officeholders, including Gov. Henry McMaster, U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, Wilson and Wilsons father, U.S. Rep. Joe Wilson. Quinn also represented the interests of major institutions, such as the University of South Carolina and the former SCANA electric utility.

Barnette inherited the Quinn case from former special prosecutor David Pascoe, who stepped down from the post in 2021 after years leading one of the most successful state investigations into General Assembly corruption.

As part of Pascoes investigation, he brought Quinn before a state grand jury in 2018, after having said publicly that if Quinn lied to grand jurors he would be prosecuted for perjury. When Quinn testified, he lied, according to Pascoe, who subsequently indicted Quinn for perjury.

When Barnette took over the case in 2021, he presented evidence about Quinn to a new state grand jury, which indicted Quinn on the new perjury charges. Those new charges were part of Wednesdays negotiated plea agreement.

Quinns lawyers had argued that by prosecuting Quinn for perjury, Barnette was violating a 2017 agreement Pascoe reached with Quinn in which Pascoe promised not to prosecute Quinn if one of his firms pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of failing to register as a lobbyist and paid a fine.

Barnette still has to bring to a conclusion state grand jury charges against former Rep. Tracy Edge, R-Myrtle Beach, and have a sentence rendered to former Sen. John Courson, R-Richland.

Courson resigned from office and pleaded guilty in 2018 to one count of willful misconduct in office related to accepting Quinns money. He has not yet been sentenced.

This story may be updated.
Rita Ora has released a new single featuring Fatboy Slim, ahead of the release of her third album later this year.

The pop star announced that her third album, You & I, will be released in July.

Oras new single Praising You, which pays homage to the 25th anniversary of Slims Grammy-nominated Praise You, is an EDM track about the entrancing nature of love.

Im incredibly honoured that we get to breathe new life into the song and re-introduce it to a whole new generation, said Ora, who collaborated on the track with Praise You artist and producer Fatboy Slim (also known as Norman Cook).

I think this record means something different for everyone, but from my perspective, its about praising your loved ones and really celebrating those relationships, she explained.

The singer-songwriter, who has racked up over 10 billion streams, also shared a music video to accompany the track. Its credits include Oras husband, the Academy Award-winning filmmaker Taika Waititi as director.

Meanwhile, her impending summer album is set to be her most confessional project yet. With every track co-written by the internationally acclaimed artist, You & I was composed to reflect the different chapters of her and Waititis relationship.

Ora joined forces with executive producer Oak Felder, who has worked with the likes of Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Usher, to curate the selection.

Rita Ora (Getty Images for Spotify)

The upcoming album follows two previous releases: Bang, a 2021 collaboration EP with Grammy-winning DJ and producer Imanbek, and Oras second album Phoenix, which produced four platinum singles in 2018.

BBC announced Rita Ora as a guest performer in the 2023 Eurovision semi-finals, due to take place in Liverpool next month.

Praising You is out now and available to stream on all major services. You & I will be released on 14 July.
A driver exhibiting road rage shot into another car on an interstate, killing the passenger and injuring the driver before taking off, Florida police said.

A man called police just before 9:15 p.m. on April 18 to say that he and his female passenger had been shot at on Interstate 4 in Plant City and that he was stopped at a fire rescue station, according to a news release from the Plant City Police Department.

Paramedics rendered aid to the driver and passenger, but the passenger died on scene, police said. The driver had upper body trauma and was taken to a hospital in critical condition.

The man told police that he was driving on the interstate, and someone in a silver or gray Toyota Prius was driving recklessly and exhibiting road rage toward him, the release says. The man said he did not know why the driver was acting this way.

The driver of the Prius then shot at the victims car before continuing to drive eastbound on the interstate, according to police.

At this time this incident is believed to be an isolated incident and there are no known active threats to the community, police said.

Police did not release any information about the victim.

Detectives are investigating the incident as a homicide and are still searching for the driver of the Prius, according to police. Anyone with information about the incident is asked to contact Sgt. Baker at (813) 707-2271 or Detective Cowart at (813) 707-2270.

Plant City is about 25 miles northwest of Tampa. Interstate 4 runs from Tampa to Daytona Beach.

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Phoenix police.

A road rage incident on Tuesday evening ended in a four-vehicle collision with four drivers hospitalized, Phoenix police said.

Officers were called to the area of North 51st Avenue and West Topeka Drive in Glendale after reports of a four-vehicle crash. A woman was taken to a local hospital in critical condition following the crash. Three others were taken to local hospitals to be treated for injuries that were not life-threatening, according to police.

Several witnesses told detectives the crash happened after a road rage incident played out between a man driving an SUV and a teenage boy driving a truck. The drivers were headed south on 51st Avenue, according to witness reports.

The incident was classified as road rage, which, according to Sgt. Brian Bower with the Phoenix Police Department, is when aggressive driving, passing, breaking and honking are caused by anger and frustration between two drivers operating on the same roadway.

The SUV driver reportedly lost control of his vehicle during the incident and drove into oncoming traffic. A woman driving a passenger car was then hit by the SUV, pushing her into a third car, also driven by a woman, police said.

The teenager and man involved in the road rage incident stayed at the scene to be evaluated for impairment, but no signs were reported, according to police.

Detectives have not made any arrests in the case and will work with the Maricopa County Attorney's Office on any submitted charges, Bower said.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: 4-vehicle crash started with road rage incident in Glendale
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is set to announce his bid as a 2024 Democratic presidential nominee on Wednesday in Boston, and he already appears to have sizable support from voters who cast their ballot for President Biden in 2020.

In a USA Today/Suffolk University poll, 14 percent of surveyed voters who backed President Biden in 2020 said they would support Kennedy in 2024.

Bidens support among his own 2020 voters stands at 67 percent, according to the survey. Additionally, 5 percent of voters said they would support self-help author Marianne Williamson and 13 percent remained undecided.

According to the poll, Kennedy  the nephew of former President Kennedy and son of the late Sen. Robert F. Kennedy  drew support from self-identified conservatives, younger voters, and those who dont have a college degree.

He also polled well among the 33 percent of respondents who disapprove of Bidens job in the White House and the 35 percent who said his policies have been too liberal.

Kennedy has become a controversial figure in recent years for promoting claims that falsely link vaccines to autism and crusading against COVID-19 vaccines. He founded the anti-vaccine organization Childrens Health Defense.

Kennedys stances have, at times, caused his family to denounce his views, including over his support for the release of Sirhan Sirhan, the man who assassinated his father in 1968.

Kennedy joins an ever-growing field of 2024 hopefuls. In addition to Williamson and Biden, who has not officially announced a reelection campaign, Republican candidates include former President Trump, former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson and tech entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy.

South Carolina Sen. Tim Scott (R) has launched an exploratory committee, while Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) and former Vice President Mike Pence (R) are also considering White House bids.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Rosie O'Donnell told Brooke Shields that Whoopi Goldberg initially "did not" want to talk about Bill Cosby on "The View."

On Shields' podcast, she said she'd never again return to the daytime talk show.

O'Donnell has said that interacting with Goldberg on "The View" was the "worst experience I've ever had" on live TV.

On Tuesday's episode of "Now What With Brooke Shields," Rosie O'Donnell opened up about her rocky experience hosting "The View," and the surprise she felt when her relationship with former cohost and fellow comedian Whoopi Goldberg wasn't as smooth as she expected it to be.

O'Donnell did two brief stints on the long-running talk show. She first began hosting in 2006 and left in 2007, before returning in 2014, when Goldberg was also a cohost.

"We clashed in ways that I was shocked by," O'Donnell said of the "Sister Act" star at about the 31-minute mark of the podcast.

(From left) Jenny McCarthy, Barbara Walters, Rosie O'Donnell, Sherri Shepherd, and Whoopi Goldberg on season 17 of "The View" in 2014. Lou Rocco/Getty Images

O'Donnell also told Shields that since she had experience producing her own daytime talk show ("The Rosie O'Donnell Show," which aired on NBC from 1996 to 2002), she wasn't used to "not having any power to make decisions" regarding the content that would be covered on the show.

She said that there would be hard news topics she was interested in discussing, and Bill Getty, who at that time was the executive producer of "The View," would instead want the hosts to discuss "the new fall lipstick colors."

During her second turn as a host on "The View," Bill Cosby's sexual-assault allegations were "a big topic" in the news, O'Donnell said.

"I wanted to discuss Bill Cosby and Whoopi did not," O'Donnell claimed.

Goldberg. REUTERS/Christian Charisius

Goldberg eventually did speak about Cosby on the show.

"I don't like snap judgments because I've had snap judgments made on me, so I'm very very carefulsave your texts, save your nasty comments  I don't care," Goldberg said on "The View" on July 7, 2015, according to The Wrap, noting that people in the American justice system were innocent until proven guilty.

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By July 14, 2015, CNN reported that Goldberg had reversed her opinion on Cosby in an interview with ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams. "If this is to be tried in the court of public opinion, I got to say all of the information that's out there kind of points to guilt," she said.

Sexual assault accusations against Cosby had percolated for decades but first picked up steam in 2014, when comedian Hannibal Buress referenced rape claims against Cosby in a comedy show, according to a timeline by ABC News. In December 2015, Cosby was charged with drugging and sexually assaulting Andrea Constand, who said Cosby assaulted her in 2004 and first filed a lawsuit against him in 2005. Constand was one of over sixty women who accused Cosby of similar crimes.

That case ended in a mistrial in 2017, After a second trial, Cosby was found guilty of three felony counts of aggravated indecent assault in April 2018 and began a three to 10-year jail sentence that September. His conviction was overturned in 2021 after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruled that Cosby shouldn't have been charged due to a deal made by a former prosecutor, and Cosby was released from prison.

Goldberg and Cosby in 1990. Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

O'Donnell and Goldberg had tension outside of Goldberg's stance on Cosby.

According to People, in Ramin Setoodeh's book 2019 book about "The View," the "A League of Their Own" star told Setoodeh: "Whoopi Goldberg was as mean as anyone has ever been on television to me, personally  while I was sitting there. Worse than Fox News. The worst experience I've ever had on live television was interacting with her."

On Shields' podcast, O'Donnell said she'd never work on "The View" again.

Representatives for Goldberg didn't immediately reply to Insider's request for comment.

Read the original article on Insider
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Judge Wilsons long career journey kicked off in the 1990s when he joined one of the most renowned law firms in the nation and quickly rose to become its first Black partner.

Rowan Wilson has been named the chief judge of New Yorks highest court, making him the first Black judge to occupy the position.

The New York State Senate on Tuesday approved, by a vote of 40 to 19, the liberal jurists elevation from associate to chief judge of the states Court of Appeals, according to The New York Times. The chief judge oversees the states court system, which has 16,000 personnel and an annual budget of $3 billion, in addition to presiding over cases before the Court of Appeals, which has been among the nations most influential in the past.

Wilsons long career journey kicked off in the 1990s, when he joined one of the most renowned law firms in the nation and quickly rose to the position of first Black partner. He has distinguished himself since 2017 as a significant liberal voice on the Court of Appeals, where he has helped advance the rights of workers and criminal defendants.

Judge Rowan Wilson (above) has been named the chief judge of the highest court in the state of New York, making him the first Black judge to occupy the position. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/Eyewitness News ABC7NY)

He also authored numerous dissents against the courts more conservative decisions.

Judge Wilson will bring honor to our court and will help lead our court in a new direction that will stand up for all New Yorkers, State Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins said on the chamber floor. The Democratic majority leader described the court as crucial in securing our most basic freedoms.

Senate Democrats opposed New York Gov. Kathy Hochuls initial nominee, Justice Hector D. LaSalle, claiming he was too conservative, the Times reported, while Republican critics have portrayed Wilson as too liberal. State Sen. Anthony H. Palumbo called him an activist judge acting in a way that is contrary to common sense and the law.

Hochul proposed Caitlin Halligan, a private attorney and former state solicitor general, to take Wilsons place on the court, whose seven associates serve 14-year terms. Halligan was nominated repeatedly by President Barack Obama to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit while he was in office.

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During a three-hour Tuesday hearing, Halligan  viewed as more moderate than Wilson  provided testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee. She received acclaim for her credentials from both Democrats and Republicans, the Times reported, but her confirmation could encounter a roadblock.

Republicans in the Senate may file a lawsuit challenging the validity of Hochuls method of nominating two candidates for the court. In accordance with that law, Hochul chose Wilson and Halligan from the same list of chief judge contenders compiled by a special panel, avoiding a drawn-out selection process to fill the additional position.

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The post Rowan Wilson appointed 1st Black judge to lead New Yorks highest court appeared first on TheGrio.
Rowan Wilson was confirmed as the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals late Tuesday after the state Senate voted to approve his nomination to the center seat, marking the first time a Black jurist has held that role.

In ascending from his current position as associate judge on the Court of Appeals, Wilson will take the seat left vacant by former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, who abruptly resigned from the court last summer. Wilson was confirmed on a party line vote of 40-19.

Tuesday's confirmation partially resolves an unusually tense stand-off between Democratic Gov. Kathy Hochul and a Senate body that is supermajority-controlled by members of her own party. Hochul's first nominee, appellate judge Hector LaSalle, received a cold reception by the Senate's more progressive members.

This 2017 file photo shows Rowan D. Wilson, left, standing with family and friends in the Senate gallery after the New York state Senate confirmed him to serve as an Associate Judge on the New York State Court of Appeals.

Why the opposition to LaSalle?

After interest groups campaigned heavily against LaSalle's nomination, leveling somewhat dubious criticisms against his record on abortion and labor rights, the opposition became politically insurmountable. However, Hochul stood firm and insisted that her nominee be given a fair hearing.

Ultimately, the Senate Judiciary Committee voted down LaSalle's nomination and later had to be sued by a prominent Republican before allowing the full Senate floor to, once more, reject him.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals nominee, Hector D. LaSalle, gives testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

The intra-party warfare left many wondering how Hochul would proceed at the second go-around. Choosing Wilson, a committed liberal who has become known for his impassioned dissents, was seen as a concession to the progressives and an apparent attempt to avoid the same flame-out that occurred with LaSalle.

Wilson the new pick for chief judge Hochul nominates Rowan Wilson for chief judge after fellow Dems rejected earlier pick

LaSalle out Hector LaSalle, Gov. Hochul's choice for chief judge, rejected by NY Senate

What's Wilson's background?

Wilson was finally sent to the high court in 2017 after having been passed over several times by former Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Prior to his selection, he was a partner at the elite law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

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One noted decision from a high-profile case in 2022 sheds some light on his jurisprudence and flair for staking out important moral stances. In a dissenting opinion, Wilson wrote that an elephant named Happy who was on display at the Bronx Zoo should be afforded the chance to challenge her confinement.

In doing so, he wrote that the writ of habeas corpus, traditionally used by humans to challenge unjust confinement, should be available to the elephant, stretching common notions of fairness and legal equity.

"Because the law reflects our societys values, the law inevitably changes as those values change," he wrote.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul presents her executive state budget in the Red Room at the state Capitol Wednesday, Feb. 1, 2023, in Albany, N.Y.

What's next for the Court of Appeals?

Shifting Wilson from one seat on the bench to another does not solve the problem of a six-member court.

Hochul must yet fill another vacancy  the seat left open by Wilson's switch  and she chose former New York Solicitor General Caitlin Halligan for the role. Halligan faced tough questions in a Judiciary Committee hearing Tuesday, and given her complex record on a host of issues important to Senate Democrats, her expected nomination may not be as expeditious as Wilson's.

Hochul was only able to select Halligan because of legislation she recently signed allowing her to choose a second candidate from the same short-list she had used to nominate Wilson. Otherwise, the Commission on Judicial Nomination would have had to draw up a new list, delaying the process by several additional weeks.

This article originally appeared on New York State Team: Rowan Wilson is the new chief judge of NY's top court. Who is he?
Rupert Murdoch agreed a last-minute settlement, which avoided a trial in the defamation case

The 19 July 2011 was the "most humble day" of Rupert Murdoch's life.

Until now, at least.

On that day in 2011, the world's most powerful media mogul was called before Parliament's culture and media committee as the phone hacking scandal engulfed his UK newspaper operations.

The final straw had been the revelation that the News of the World had listened in to the voicemails of the murdered schoolgirl Millie Dowler.

The horror of it still resonates (and the story of phone hacking is far from over).

Back then, Murdoch's damage limitation exercise was swift. He shut down the 168-year-old newspaper and apologised privately to the Dowler family.

The man who has had such a hold over Britain's media since he arrived in London in the late 1960s to buy the News of the World was forced into that humiliating one-liner.

"This is the most humble day of my life," he told MPs (with the theatre of the event heightened by his then wife Wendi Deng later launching herself at a protester who attacked her husband with a custard pie).

Now Murdoch has been forced into another humiliating climbdown, this time in relation to his US operations.

Yet again, it's the Murdoch empire's approach to truth that is in the spotlight.

Fox News argued it was fighting a court case against voting machine company Dominion in the interests of free speech, a US First Amendment right.

Instead, it appeared that the network relegated fact-based journalism for fiction in the wake of America's 2020 presidential election.

Some of Fox News' most prominent personalities had been expected to testify in the Dominion lawsuit trial

We already know, from Fox News emails and messages published in February as part of the legal case, that many Fox executives and presenters didn't believe claims of voter fraud - but broadcast them anyway.

The network carried on giving a platform to people endorsing the views of Donald Trump and his supporters that the election had been stolen - in part, it seems, because it didn't want to upset its viewers.

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Former president Donald Trump, pictured at the NRA annual meeting last week, repeatedly claimed the 2020 election was stolen

Suzanne Scott, the Fox News Media chief executive, told Murdoch just before rioters stormed the US Capitol in January 2021 that the channel needed to be careful about "pissing off the viewers".

With 7,000 documents now in the public domain, there has already been a lot of damaging material to chew over. Huge questions remain over the impact Fox News and its broadcasts had over the divisions apparently tearing the US apart. Truth took a back seat and the impact is still being felt.

Perhaps, for Murdoch, the final straw was the prospect of facing another public humiliation, this time in court. Fox's lawyers had failed to persuade the judge that he shouldn't be called to the stand.

Along with his son Lachlan, Fox Corporation's executive chairman and CEO, Rupert Murdoch would have had to give evidence.

Rupert Murdoch and and his son Lachlan were both expected to give evidence in the trial

And it's clear Dominion's lawyers would not have settled for a one-liner from the media mogul.

"The most humble day of my life" simply wouldn't have cut it. It would have been hugely embarrassing.

So Rupert Murdoch agreed a last-minute settlement, meaning Fox will pay Dominion $787.5m (634m).

Although the case never reached trial and the Murdochs never took the stand, reputationally the damage surely equals that of the hacking scandal.

So where does this leave the man who has been integral to the fabric of the media landscape in the UK, the US and Australia for so long?

Ruthlessness and risk-taking built the Murdoch empire, whether that was his victory over the print unions in the early days of his ownership of the Times and Sunday Times, or his determination to create the right-wing Fox News, credited with helping get Trump elected in 2016.

Rupert Murdoch pictured with Donald Trump in 2016, before the US election that saw Trump become president

His critics will be crowing over the Dominion settlement.

On CNN, presenter Jake Tapper (who said it was difficult to report the outcome "with a straight face") called it "one of the ugliest and most embarrassing moments in the history of journalism".

And this isn't the end of the matter. Another voting software company, Smartmatic, is also suing Fox over its broadcasts about voter fraud. It could be even more costly. Smartmatic wants more than Dominion - $2.7bn (2.2bn) in defamation damages.

In the UK, the Murdoch empire has already paid out many millions in damages to people who accused it of phone hacking.

Prince Harry is trying to take Murdoch's News Group Newspapers to court over alleged phone hacking

Prince Harry is part of a group of claimants trying to take Murdoch's News Group Newspapers, which includes the Sun, to court over alleged phone hacking.

How damaging will all this be?

The $787.5m payout to Dominion is a huge amount. But Fox's revenue in the last quarter of 2022, for example, was $4.6bn (3.7bn) - and the share price has barely moved in light of the settlement.

Perhaps there's a lesson to learn from 2011. At the time, the horrific story of the News of the World's exploitation of Millie Dowler's murder felt to many like a watershed.

The News of the World newspaper printed its final edition in 2011

It cost the empire dearly in the short term - but, while the phone hacking fallout and financial outlay are ongoing, Murdoch's influence has only spread since then.

He's older now, at 92. He has also suffered a more personal embarrassment recently. Having announced a new engagement and his plans to spend the "second half of our lives together", just a few weeks later the marriage plans were off.

But if we've learned one thing over the past half a century, it's that you underestimate Rupert Murdoch at your peril.
By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia on Wednesday accused Ukraine of sabotaging the Black Sea grain deal by demanding bribes from ship owners to register new vessels and carry out inspections under the cover of a deal the United Nations hopes could ease a global food crisis.

There was no immediate comment on the allegation, levelled by Russia's Foreign Ministry, from Ukraine which has blamed Moscow for problems with the agreement. Moscow did not immediately provide documentary evidence to back its assertion.

Russia and Ukraine both say the deal, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey in July, is in danger of collapsing just as Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have imposed import bans on Ukrainian grain.

Russia has repeatedly warned it will not renew the deal beyond May 18 unless the West agrees to lift a host of restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance which it says are hindering its own agricultural exports.

Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement that the Joint Coordination Centre (JCC) in Istanbul, which oversees the deal, was experiencing difficulties with the registration of new vessels and inspections.

The problems were caused "solely as a result of the actions of Ukrainian representatives, as well as U.N. representatives, who, apparently, do not want or cannot resist them," she said.

In the same statement, Zakharova accused Ukraine of "trying to exploit the 'Black Sea initiative' as much as possible, not refraining from abuses of the rules of procedure or demands for bribes from ship owners. All for the sake of maximizing commercial profits."

Ship owners who refused to pay a bribe to Ukrainians were forced to wait for more than a month while they waited for registration, she said.

And Russian proposals to add vessels carrying grain to African countries in need had been "met with hostility" by Ukrainian representatives, she said, who then stopped inspections for 27 outgoing ships carrying 1.2 million tonnes of cargo.

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"The calculation is simple  to launch a propaganda machine with the help of Westerners and the United Nations and again 'play the food card'," Zakharova said.

Russia and Ukraine are two of the world's key agricultural producers, and major players in the wheat, barley, maize, rapeseed, rapeseed oil, sunflower seed and sunflower oil markets. Russia is also dominant in the fertiliser market.

Western powers have imposed tough sanctions on Russia over its full-scale invasion of Ukraine which it launched on Feb. 24, last year, something Moscow calls a "special military operation."

Russia's food and fertiliser exports are not sanctioned. But Moscow says restrictions on payments, logistics and insurance amount to a barrier to shipments which it wants lifted.

(Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; Editing by Andrew Osborn)
Russia is importing chips used in the development of weapons through third countries, bypassing Western sanctions.

Source: The New York Times

Quote from the NYT: "Late last month, American and European Union officials traded information on millions of dollars worth of banned technology that was slipping through the cracks of their defenses and into Russian territory."

Details: Senior tax and trade officials noted a surge in chips and other electronic components being sold to Russia through Armenia, Kazakhstan and other countries.

They shared information on the flow of eight particularly sensitive categories of chips and other electronic devices that they have deemed as critical to the development of weapons, including Russian cruise missiles that have struck Ukraine.

The NYT said that the US and its allies "have been fighting a parallel battle to keep the chips needed for weapons systems, drones and tanks out of Russian hands".

But denying Russia access to chips has been a challenge, even though Russias ability to manufacture weaponry has been diminished because of Western sanctions.

The NYT said the result is "devastating": "As the United States and the European Union rally to furnish Ukrainians with weapons to keep fighting against Russia, their own technology is being used by Russia to fight back."

Direct sales of chips to Russia from the US and its allies have plummeted to zero. US officials say Russia has already blown through much of its supply of its most accurate weapons and has been forced to substitute lower-quality or counterfeit parts that make its weaponry less accurate.

But trade data shows that other countries have stepped in to provide Russia with some of what it needs.

After dropping off sharply immediately after the Ukrainian invasion, Russias chip imports crept back up, particularly from China. Imports between October and January were 50% or more of median prewar levels each month, according to tracking by Silverado Policy Accelerator, a think tank.

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"So far, the Russian military appears to have been relying on a large stockpile of electronics and weaponry it accumulated before the invasion. But that supply may be drying up, making it more urgent for Russia to obtain new shipments," the NYT reported.

A report issued by Conflict Armament Research, an independent group that examines Russian weaponry recovered from the battlefield, revealed the first known example of Russias making weapons with chips manufactured after the invasion began.

A US Bureau of Industry and Security document said that in 2022, Armenia imported 515% more chips and processors from the US and 212% more from the EU than in 2021. Armenia then exported 97% of those same products to Russia, the document said.

Biden administration officials say shipments to Russia and Belarus of the electronic equipment fell 41% between 2021 and 2022, as the US and its allies expanded their restrictions globally.

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Over the course of the past day, Russian forces attacked Kherson Oblast 79 times, deploying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and heavy artillery to fire up to 350 shells and projectiles.

Source: Oleksandr Prokudin, Head of the Kherson Oblast Military Administration, on Telegram

Details: Prokudin said that the Russians attacked the city of Kherson 12 times.

He added that in addition to hitting a market and an education establishment in Kherson, Russian forces targeted residential neighbourhoods in a number of other Kherson Oblast settlements.

One civilian was killed in Russian attacks on Tuesday, and another 10 sustained injuries.

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Person typing on keyboard

Russia-aligned hackers are seeking to "disrupt or destroy" Britain's critical infrastructure, a Cabinet Office minister has warned.

The groups have started to focus on the UK in recent months, Oliver Dowden said in a speech on Wednesday.

The UK is not doing enough to protect its infrastructure from cyber threats, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) warned.

The NCSC also issued an official threat alert to critical businesses.

While addressing the CyberUK conference in Belfast on Wednesday, Lindy Cameron, the CEO of the NCSC, said the UK needs to have "resilience to all threats, whether they come from nation states or cyber criminals".

She went on to tell the audience: "If the UK is to be the safest place to live and work online, then resilience must urgently move to the top of our investment shopping list."

Officials are recommending that organisations, such as those behind the UK's energy and water supplies, "act now" to protect themselves against the emerging cyber threat.

The NCSC - which is part of UK cyber and intelligence agency GCHQ - says the hacking groups, which are often sympathetic to Russia's invasion in Ukraine, are ideologically-motivated.

The alert warned the groups are "less predictable" because they "not subject to formal state control".

"Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK," the NCSC said.

"We expect these groups to look for opportunities to create such an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected."

Speaking at the conference, Mr Dowden described the hackers as "Wagner-like" - a reference to the Russian mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.

"Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly," he said.

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"But we believe it is necessary if we want these companies to understand the current risk they face, and take action to defend themselves and the country."

Mr Dowden, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, announced plans to set cyber resilience targets for critical sectors to meet within two years and to bring private sector businesses working on critical infrastructure into the scope of resilience regulations.

"These are the companies in charge of keeping our country running. Of keeping the lights on," he said.

"Our shared prosperity depends on them taking their own security seriously".

Ms Cameron warned it is important the UK's critical national infrastructure is protected from hackers and also to "make sure people are ready for the threats they could face in the future".

She said there have been "some intent" in recent months to try to target such UK infrastructure, adding: "What we are still seeing is quite low-level activity but it is really important that our critical national infrastructure is well protected and resilient."

Speaking on Radio Four's Today programme, she said: "What we've seen in the last year is really significant cyber activity in Ukraine as a result of Russia's conflict so we want to make sure people are prepared for the consequences of these groups taking an interest in more-widely than Ukraine."

When asked about whether she has seen attempts to target the UK, she said: "We're seeing some indication of that, but I wouldn't want to go into further detail."

Across the BBC banner
Experts from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in their analytical report Out of Stock? Assessing the Impact of Sanctions on Russia's Defence Industry have analysed the impact of sanctions on the Russian defence industry and the Kremlin's military capabilities to continue the war.

Source: Ukrainian branch of the Voice of America

Details: The report focuses on Russia's attempts to bypass sanctions and the steps it has taken to do so. It focuses on the supply and production of weapons and systems, including tanks, missiles, aircraft, UAVs and electronic warfare systems.

The authors of the report have also considered the issue of restrictions on the sale of key foreign components necessary for the production of weapons and Russian defence technologies, such as optics, bearings, machine tools, engines and microchips.

Experts have also noted the Kremlin's efforts to substitute imports.

According to US intelligence cited in the report, export controls have impaired Russia's ability to replace more than 6,000 pieces of military equipment since February 2022. In addition, key defence industry facilities have been forced to suspend production, and there is a shortage of critical components for tanks and aircraft.

However, the Kremlin, according to the report, has shown no signs of abandoning its main goal  the occupation of Ukraine  so the West continues to adjust its actions to impose the broadest sanctions against Russia to date, analysts say.

Max Bergmann, director of the CSIS Centre, has said during an online discussion on the report's findings that sanctions have a tangible impact on Russia and the Russian defence industry. However, they should not be seen as a magic wand that will end the war or simply change the course of events on the battlefield.

In his opinion, Russia has demonstrated extraordinary skill and resilience when it comes to acquiring components that are officially banned from export. In addition, Russia still has significant reserves. And countries willing to supply Moscow with dual-use goods and technologies (components of which can be reoriented to the defence industry) through a network of illegal supply chains are coming to the rescue.

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"In the end, we see the quality of Russian equipment falling, while we hope to see the quality of Ukrainian equipment rising as it receives more and more supplies from partners," Bergmann concluded.

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Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich stands in a glass cage as photographers photograph him in a courtroom at the Moscow City Court, in Moscow, Russia, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. A Russian judge has ruled that the American journalist must remain behind bars on espionage charges. The case is part of a Kremlin crackdown on dissent and press freedom amid the war in Ukraine. | Alexander Zemlianichenko, Associated Press

Russia upheld the detention of an American Wall Street Journal reporter on Tuesday. Evan Gershkovich was arrested in Russia for claims of espionage on March 30. The Journal and the U.S. State Department deny the claims and say he was imprisoned unjustly.

Gershkovich made his first public appearance since the arrest, standing inside a glass cage on Tuesday. As most experts expected, the judge appointed to his trial denied the appeal to lift his pretrial detention, leaving him in Russian custody, The New York Times reported.

What happens next for Evan Gershkovich?

Now the 31-year-old American citizen will go back to Moscows Lefortovo prison  which is one of the more infamous prisons in Russia. According to the Times, inmates are held in isolation with only rare visits by lawyers in the prison.

Related

In most espionage cases, trials are held privately and most likely lead to a guilty conviction. If he is convicted, he could be sentenced to 20 years in Russian prison.

Lynne Tracy, the U.S. ambassador to Russia, was allowed to attend the hearing and said, I can only say how troubling it was to see Evan, an innocent journalist, held in these circumstances, per ABC News.

No evidence to support the espionage claims against Gershkovich has been publicly released by Russia, the Journal reported.

Of course he didnt agree with his detention, Maria Korchagina, one of Gershkovichs lawyers on the case, told ABC News. And he would like to prove that he is not guilty. And he would like to prove that there is a place for freedom of journalism.

What does Evan Gershkovich say about Russian prison?

One of Gershkovichs lawyers, Tatiana Nozhkina, said he is reading Russian literature in prison and that he was being fed porridge in the mornings and that the food was normal, Reuters reported.

Related
BELFAST, Northern Ireland  Russian-aligned cyber groups outside Moscows formal control represent a growing threat and are looking to target critical infrastructure in the West, according to Britains cybersecurity agency.

Motivated more by ideology than by money, the groups, which surfaced after Russia invaded Ukraine, pose a potential risk to crucial infrastructure systems in Western countries, especially those that are poorly protected, the U.K. National Cyber Security Center, or NCSC, said in an alert issued Wednesday local time.

Although these groups can align to Russias perceived interests, they are often not subject to formal state control, and so their actions are less constrained and their targeting broader than traditional cyber crime actors, the NCSC alert said. This makes them less predictable.

The groups often focus on denial-of-service attacks, defacing websites and spreading misinformation, according to the alert. But some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against Western critical national infrastructure, including in the U.K., it said.

Without outside assistance, it is unlikely that the groups have the capability to deliberately cause a destructive, rather than disruptive, impact in the short term, the cybersecurity center said. But the groups may become more effective over time, and the NCSC recommends that organizations act now to manage the risk against successful future attacks.

British Cabinet Office Minister Oliver Dowden cited the cybersecurity alert in a speech Wednesday and urged companies to take necessary precautions.

Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly, Dowden said at a U.K. cyber security conference in Belfast. But we believe it is necessary  if we want these companies to understand the current risk they face and take action to defend themselves and the country.

Dowden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the most senior Cabinet member after the prime minister, compared the Russian-linked hackers to the mercenary outfit Wagner Group, which has played a prominent role in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

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Dowden called the hackers the cyber equivalent of the Wagner group.

He said the government had revealed intelligence about the threat because it was determined not to allow the hackers to stay in the shadows.

Lindy Cameron, the CEO of the National Cyber Security Center, which is part of Britains cyber and intelligence agency GCHQ, said Wednesday that there is increased concern about hackers planning to strike U.K. infrastructure but did not elaborate.

Asked about whether she has seen attempts to target the U.K., she told BBC Radios Today show: Were seeing some indication of that, but I wouldnt want to go into further detail.

Ukraine has accused Russia of launching thousands of cyberattacks against its infrastructure since the February 2022 invasion, but experts say Moscow has not staged similar cyber offensives against NATO countries.

Some experts warn Russia has most likely penetrated sensitive networks and could order damaging cyberattacks if it decides to widen the war beyond Ukraine.

A leaked U.S. intelligence assessment warned that Russian hacktivists broke into a Canadian gas infrastructure company this year and have received directions from Russian intelligence, NBC News has reported. The assessment was part of a trove of classified Defense Department documents that surfaced on social media and were obtained by news organizations.

NBC News could not independently confirm the intelligence assessment.

The hacktivists, a Russian-speaking group called Zarya, broke into the computer network of an unnamed Canadian gas distribution facility in February and sent Russias FSB intelligence agency screenshots of what it claimed were controls to increase valve pressure, disable alarms, and initiate an emergency operation [that] would cause an explosion, the U.S. assessment says.

If Zarya succeeded, it would mark the first time the IC has observed a pro-Russia hacking group execute a disruptive attack against Western industrial control systems, the assessment says, using an abbreviation for the intelligence community.

No such disaster appears to have happened. But the assessment illustrates both how the U.S. worries about destructive hacks against Western energy infrastructure and how Russian intelligence can rely on domestic hackers to work for it.

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
The Chinese and Russian militaries have committed to stronger connections and more active collaboration moving forward.

Chinese General Li Shangfu and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed to the initiative Tuesday at a meeting in Moscow.

Li said that the purpose of the international meeting was "to demonstrate to the outside world the high level of China-Russia relations and to show the determination to strengthen strategic cooperation between the two militaries."

CHINESE EMBASSY URGES HOUSE REPUBLICAN TO STOP 'TARGETING CHINA,' FOCUS ON 'OWN FAILURE' IN COVID ORIGINS HUNT

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, right, attends a meeting of Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese Defense Minister Gen. Li Shangfu, left, at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 16, 2023.

"I am convinced that your extensive experience of interaction with the Russian Federation will contribute both to the development of the Peoples Republic of China armed forces and to the expansion of military cooperation between our countries," said Shoigu.

Both Russia and China are experiencing increased international scrutiny as the invasion of Ukraine continues and the Chinese mainland threatens an invasion of Taiwan.

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"It is important that our countries see eye to eye on the issue of the ongoing transformation of the global geopolitical landscape," Shoigu also told Li.

RUSSIA SEES HISTORIC POPULATION DROP SPURRING DEMOGRAPHIC CRISIS AMID WAR IN UKRAINE

Russian President Vladimir Putin, right, and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, left, meet with Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu at the Kremlin in Moscow on April 16, 2023.

Russian opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza was convicted by a Russian court of treason Monday and sentenced to 25 years in prison for speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine at the outset of the war last year.

Kara-Murza, who has survived two poisoning attempts that he blames on Putin, was originally arrested last April after returning to Moscow from Arizona, where he gave a speech to the state House of Representatives.

Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu attends a meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Kremlin in Moscow, on April 16, 2023.

Earlier this week, China concluded a series of military drills that saw its forces surround the self-governed island and simulate strikes against it. China's drills came in response to Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen's trip to the U.S. and subsequent meeting with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

China has long claimed to hold sovereignty over the Taiwan Strait and the island itself, something not recognized by the U.S. or international law.

Fox News' Paul Best and Greg Norman contributed to this report.
After 33 years in power, Montenegrins ousted their long-time leader, Milo Djukanovic, who has dominated politics in Montenegro since the days of the Yugoslav wars.

While the vote was considered free and fair with the outgoing president conceding defeat to his Oxford-educated challenger, 37-year-old Jakov Milatovic, leader of Montenegros Europe Now Movement, questions remain over Russia's influence peddling role in the country.

"Montenegro has been in [Vladimir] Putins cross-hairs for years. Russian intelligence ran covert influence operations to prevent it from joining NATO. Now that Montenegro is part of NATO, it has become a battleground for a shadow war waged by the Russians who want to prevent it from joining the European Union," former Defense Intelligence Agency officer Rebekah Koffler, told Fox News Digital.

Speaking on background, a senior diplomat with ties to the region told Fox News Digital that it is not just Russia that is involved. "Serbia has never abandoned its aspirations towards Montenegro, and wants Montenegro destabilized and ultimately subjugated to its interests. Serbias interests here coincide with Russias, since for Russia destabilization of any NATO country is a win. Therefore, an election victory of any politician with close ties to pro-Serbian and pro-Russian structures raises an alarm."

Russian President Vladimir Putin wants to keep the Balkan region divided and prevent it from comfortably integrating into Western institutions such as NATO and the EU. Moscow uses many tactics, from its cultural power with the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC) to spreading disinformation through friendly pro-Russian media outlets and social media, to influence the pro-Serbian population in Montenegro.

The diplomat claimed that, "Even though the goals of official Moscow and Belgrade are not the same, they are complementary, and they amount to the same result: destabilization and ethnic tension in Montenegro and undermining its institutions. They are achieving that by election interference, disinformation campaigns, cooperation with ultra left-and right wing anti-system forces, money laundering (especially through SOC) to support pro-Serbian and pro-Russian political parties."

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Milatovic won the second-round of voting with just over 60% of the vote to Djukanovics 39%.

Djukanovic, leader of the Democratic Party of Socialists and a former ally of Serbian President Slobodan Milosevic who became very pro-Europe, helped steer Montenegros peaceful divorce from Serbia and paved the way for independence from Belgrade in 2006. Djukanovic also led Montenegro through its NATO membership in 2017 and its European Union candidacy.

SERBIA, CAUGHT BETWEEN EUROPE AND RUSSIA, COULD MOVE ONE STEP CLOSER TO NORMALIZING RELATIONS WITH KOSOVO

Montenegrin Serb nationalists hold an ancient flag of Montenegro as their candidate, Jakov Milatovic, won the second round of the presidential elections on April 2, 2023 in Podgorica, Montenegro.

For Montenegrins, this represents a dramatic shift as Djukanovic, who has cycled in and out of the roles of president and prime minister since just before the collapse of Yugoslavia in 1991, had been Europes longest serving democratically elected leader.

Wielding power for three decades does not come without cost. Public dissatisfaction began to grow over allegations of Djukanovics corrupt rule, including several high-profile corruption scandals involving Djukanovic's inner circle. The sense of discontent opened the door for Milatovic who campaigned on a populist anti-corruption platform and capitalized on a weak economy.

For most Montenegrins, Djukanovic was a familiar albeit increasingly unpopular presence for the last three decades. Milatovic, on the other hand, remains a mysterious figure to many.

Milatovic rose to political prominence in 2020 after a pro-Russian and pro-Serbian bloc of opposition parties gained a slim majority in parliament, the first crack in Djukanovics 33-year hold on power. Milatovic was a key player in creating the coalition's economic program called "Europe Now", which doubled the monthly minimum wage and abolished contributions to healthcare, boosting wages for working Montenegrins.

While Milatovic promised to continue Montenegros path toward EU membership and campaigned on supporting regional cooperation and integration, it is not entirely clear how sincere or committed he is to the European project. Milatovics opponents accused him of being sympathetic to both Serbian and Russian causes, given his alliance with the parties that won the 2020 parliamentary elections.

Milatovic also had the tacit backing of the powerful Serbian Orthodox Church in Montenegro. The Church is one of the most powerful and influential institutions in Montenegro. Of Montenegro's population of just over 600,000, over 72% of people identify as Orthodox and the Church has a high level of trust among Montenegrins. Using its political clout with Moscow, the Church has been accused by some critics of promoting the Russian view on certain political and social issues and supports pro-Serbian and pro-Russian political parties. Although the Church did not outright endorse Milatovic, they did call on citizens to vote against Djukanovic.

LONGTIME FOES SERBIA AND KOSOVO NEARING NORMALIZATION OF RELATIONS

Milatovics close ties with the Serbian Orthodox Church and pro-Serbian and pro-Russian political parties raise suspicion among some observers of the region.

Some fear that Milatovic would compromise Montenegros foreign policy course and turn Montenegro into a Russian Trojan Horse in the Balkans and NATO, the diplomat told Fox News Digital.

Yet other analysts differ on the extent of that perceived influence the Church had on the elections. "It is difficult to accurately measure the precise extent of the Serbian Orthodox Church's influence on the election results. However, it is widely acknowledged that the Church does have a considerable presence and influence in Montenegro, both culturally and politically," Ana Nenezic, executive director of the Center for Monitoring and Research told Fox News Digital.

People attend a church-led protest in front of the Serbian Orthodox Church of Christ's Resurrection in Podgorica, on Aug. 23, 2020.

Russia has deep historical, cultural and religious connections to the Balkans, and narratives sympathetic to Russia often emanate from the Serbian Orthodox Church. The Church opposed Montenegros independence in 2006 and still does not recognize Podgorica as the country's capital or accept its NATO membership. From the Church's perspective, many within the community promote Russia as a guarantor of traditional family values.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Serbian Orthodox Church but did not hear back on request for comment.

Like other countries in the Balkans, Montenegro faces the looming presence of Russias cultural and political sway.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic, pictured here, and Serbian Patriarch Porfirije make statements to the press after their meeting in Belgrade, Serbia on Dec. 27, 2022.

WHY PUTIN IS WILLING TO RISK A CATASTROPHIC WAR TO DOMINATE UKRAINE

Moscow generally supports anti-Western and often corrupt officials across the Balkans who disrupt the good governance measures that need to be implemented in order to join the EU. From Putins perspective, causing trouble in the Balkans is an easy and cheap way to drive a wedge in Europe.

Russian propaganda also tries to distort Montenegrin national identity, asserting that Montenegro is integral to Serbian national identity and culture, an inflammatory narrative that worsens polarization in society.

Russia employs similar tactics in Montenegro and across the Balkans that it used in Ukraine and other countries it considers in Russia's historic sphere of influence.

PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO - APRIL 2: Leader of Europe Now ! Jakov Milatovic arrives at a press conference as he won the second round of the presidential elections on April 2, 2023 in Podgorica, Montenegro.

"Russia's strategy to influence perceptions within Montenegro directly engages the concept of Montenegrin national identity, similar to the tactics used in Ukraine. These narratives and representations of Montenegrins as part of the Serbian nation negate Montenegrin identity, culture, and history," Nenezic said.

As Montenegro looks to draw closer to Europe, and the West it is facing an uncertain future with an unproven leader, clear leadership from NATO and the EU will be necessary for Montenegro to continue its pro-Western trajectory.

The same diplomat warned that "It would be recommended to the West to send strong messages, not just to Podgorica, but to Belgrade as well, to keep its hands off Montenegro, as it is a NATO ally. A strong and unequivocal Western stance about any sort of pro-Russian, pro-Serbian and anti-Western influence will not only function as a good deterrence mechanism to Belgrade and Moscow, but also serve as a good incentive for a young, newly elected Montenegrin president to demonstrate his commitment to the EU, NATO and strong ties with (the) U.S. not only with words, but with deeds as well," the senior diplomat told Fox News Digital.

President of Montenegro Milo Djukanovic arrives at press conference as he marks two years in office on May 18, 2020 in Cetinje, Montenegro.

However, other analysts believe the fears that Milatovic will pull Montenegro away from Europe at this point appear to be premature.

"As it stands, Milatovic has not given us a single reason to think that he will not fulfil his campaign promise to take Montenegro to the EU. How exactly Milatovic plans to do that, whether there is an appetite for expansion in the EU, and whether other obstacles may frustrate his efforts is all yet to be seen, but I think that we can expect Milatovic to push hard to Montenegro's accession to the bloc," Helena Ivanov, associate fellow at the Henry Jackson Society, told Fox News Digital.

The Montenegrin government did not respond to the several emails sent to them for comment.
Azamat Uldarov. (via Gulagu.net)

The Russian mercenaries shot pensioners, women and children  a 5-year-old girl, one said, right through the head.

Details of brutal war crimes committed by the Wagner Group in Ukraine have been published by Gulagu.net, a Russian human rights organization. In the horrifying testimonies, Azamat Uldarov and Alexei Savichev, who say they served as Wagner unit commanders, confess in explicit detail the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians, injured Ukrainian prisoners of war and Russian servicemen who had deserted or refused to take part in the massacre.

Wagner has played a key role in Russias invasion of Ukraine by filling out the Kremlins front lines with waves of its mercenary fighters. Moscow has allowed Wagner to recruit convicts like Uldarov and Savichev directly from Russian prisons, offering amnesty even for the most violent offenders in exchange for throwing them into the maw of war.

The clips that emerged on social media were taken from a longer video uploaded to YouTube by Gulagu.net. Speaking in video calls to Vladimir Osechkin, the founder of the NGO, Uldarov and Savichev explained that orders to kill Ukrainians had come directly from the Wagner Group's founder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, himself a former convict, who has become one of Russias most influential oligarchs.

An image of Alexei Savichev taken from a video phone call with Vladimir Osechkin (inset) of Gulagu.net. (via Gulagu.net)

In January, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Wagner as a transnational criminal organization, accusing it of having engaged in an ongoing pattern of serious criminal activity, including mass executions, rape, child abductions, and physical abuse in the Central African Republic (CAR) and Mali. The killings described by Uldarov and Savichev allegedly took place during the recent Russian offensives in Bakhmut and Soledar.

The mercenaries gave Gulagu.net explicit details about how Russian forces were ordered to go house by house in Bakhmut, killing anyone they found inside, civilian and military alike. To kill everyone. Not to take anyone prisoner. We were told this by Prigozhin. Via video, Uldarov claimed, adding that his forces carried out these orders ruthlessly.

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When I went into the basement, there were children there. And I was instructed not to release any. I was in command. Me and my group killed everyone. Then we all left. We didnt let anyone out, he said. There were about 40 children there. I gave the command to kill everyone. It was a big house, nine floors. The whole basement was packed and mined. I made the decision to zero everyone.

Prigozhin denied the allegation on the social media site Telegram. Regarding the execution of children, of course, no one ever shoots civilians or children, no one absolutely needs this. We came there to save them from the regime they were under.

As for what [Osechkin] filmed, I looked at the pieces of video I managed to see, he added later. I can say the following: If at least one of these accusations against me is confirmed, I am ready to be held accountable according to any laws. But, he continued, if none is confirmed, I will send a list of 30-40 people who are spitting at me like Osechkin (there is a whole list of them, including the scum that fled Russia) that the Prosecutor Generals Office of Ukraine is obligated to hand over to me for a fair trial, so to speak.

A photo from video showing Yevgeny Prigozhin, owner of the Wagner Group, asking Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to withdraw the remaining Ukrainian forces from Bakhmut to save their lives. (Prigozhin Press Service via AP)

In another chilling video, Uldarov describes how he personally murdered a young Ukrainian girl. She is screaming. Shes little, you know? Five, maybe 6 years old. And I took a kill shot, you know?

Uldarov later recanted his confession on a Prigozhin-linked news site, claiming he was drunk and pressured to admit things he hadnt done in the war.

In separate video testimony, Savichev detailed to Osechkin the murder of unarmed young Ukrainian teenagers earlier this year. Savichev recounted how teenagers captured by Russian forces were made to pull up their shirts to reveal any possible tattoos  a common Russian tactic to determine their ideological disposition.

Wagner mercenaries shot those with tattoos, Savichev said. He attempted to justify his actions by claiming he didnt consider the teenage Ukrainians to be civilians. The presence of tattoos, he asserted, was evidence that his victims were members of the Azov battalion, a nationalist unit in the Ukrainian military. Russia, falsely, has amplified the unit's influence and describes all Ukraines defense forces as neo-Nazis.

Yet documents published on Gulagu.nets own Telegram channel confirm many of the details in Uldarov's and Savichevs accounts, including certificates of the release from their former penitentiaries and the courage medals they received from Wagner. Another document was a pardon for Uldarov, personally signed by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Azamat Uldarov. (via Gulagu.net)

Supporting evidence of the ex-mercenaries atrocities was further published by Ukraines domestic security service, the SBU. On its Telegram channel, the organization published what it claims was an intercepted phone call between a Russian soldier and a woman who is apparently his wife, supporting the testimonies made by Gulagu.net. In the recording, the unnamed Russian soldier details a similar no quarter policy, explaining how he, too, had to kill women, children and teenage girls. The woman attempts to justify the murder of civilians, claiming that anyone peaceful will have already left.

While executing civilians under any circumstances is a war crime, giving an order of no quarter is also against international law, according to numerous treaties, including the Geneva Conventions, to which Russia is a signatory.

Yahoo News cannot independently verify the veracity of this SBU intercept.

The video confessions published by Gulagu.net are the latest evidence of likely Russian war crimes committed during the course of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Last week, a video circulated on social media showing a captive Ukrainian soldier being beheaded by his Russian captors. Another video showed two beheaded Ukrainian soldiers near a destroyed Ukrainian M113 armored personnel carrier.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliaments human rights commissioner, told the news outlet Ukrainska Pravda that his office has received dozens of videos showing Russians publicly executing Ukrainians. "There are beheadings, cutting off genitals, ears, nose, limbs or phalanges on the hands, Lubinets said. Some [of the perpetrators] have been identified.

Last month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky bestowed a posthumous Hero of Ukraine award on Oleskandr Matsievskiy, an unarmed Ukrainian captive who was filmed being shot and killed by Russian soldiers.
The Russian occupation regime on the occupied territories of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts have set up "mobile units" to force elderly people, in particular those receiving a pension, to obtain Russian passports.

Source: National Resistance Center

Quote: "The occupiers are failing to keep up with their targets for passportization [in Donbas] and are thus resorting to new methods of coercion.

For example, in the temporarily occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts, the occupiers started to carry out passportization at the pensioners places of residence.

This effectively puts pressure on socially vulnerable population groups that depend on the occupation administration [for pension]."

Details: The National Resistance Center said that 300 "volunteers" have arrived from Russia; "mobile units" have been formed to go door to door to local pensioners.

The National Resistance Center also added that passport-issuing centres have been set up at hospitals, and local residents are denied medical treatment in the absence of a Russian passport.

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Propagandist Konstantin Sivkov has already turned to the security forces

Russian propagandist and war criminal Vladlen Tatarsky was killed by explosives hidden in a Zhukov bust that was gifted to him at an event in a St. Petersburg cafe on April 2.

Read also: Russian security forces detain Daria Trepova for murder of Russian propagandist Vladlen Tatarsky

Colonel Konstantin Sivkov, deputy president of the Russian Academy of Rocket and Artillery Sciences, received his own bust, though it doesn't seem to have been quite as lethal as Tatarsky's.



Sivkov immediately turned the parcel over to the Russian special police forces.

Read also: Tatarskys assassination most likely a Russian false flag, expert says

"Sivkov decided not to risk it and handed the present over to the police," one social media comment on the vent reads.



"The bomb squad did not find any explosives, but the parcel was seized. Police are currently investigating who sent these ambiguous parcels and why."



Several of Sivkov's colleagues have also received Zhukov busts, including such devoted supporters of Russia's war against Ukraine: Vladislav Shurygin, Konstantin Isaev, Timofey Sergeychev, Mikhail Tereshchenko, and others.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
(Reuters) - The Russian private military Wagner Group on Wednesday denied it was operating in Sudan and said it had nothing to do with battles rocking the giant impoverished African state.

Western diplomats in Khartoum said in March 2022 that Wagner was involved in illicit gold mining in Sudan, among other activities. Sudan denied this was the case.

"Due to the large number of inquiries from various foreign media about Sudan, most of which are provocative, we consider it necessary to inform everyone that Wagner staff have not been in Sudan for more than two years," the group wrote on Telegram.

Wagner had not had contacts for a long time with either Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, or paramilitary chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, whose forces are at the heart of the current conflict, it said.

Companies associated with Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin have no financial interests in Sudan, it added, saying the conflict was a purely internal Sudanese affair.

Wagner mercenaries, which have in the past been deployed against insurgents in Mali and the Central African Republic, are currently spearheading attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler)
Ryan Reynolds has shared how he and Blake Lively are adjusting to becoming a family of six after welcoming their fourth child in February.

Speaking to ET Canada at the 2023 Canadian Screen Awards on Friday, the Deadpool star gave rare insight into his family life with the Gossip Girl alum. While its only been two months since the parents welcomed their fourth child, Reynolds revealed that going from three children to four hasnt been the difficult transition that they were expecting.

You know, two to three was a huge jumpthree to four less so, he told ET Canada. I cannot speak for my wife, but its just from what Ive observed. But, we love it. You know, we would be idiots to do this again if we didnt love it.

The Free Guy actor explained that he and his wife have always wanted a big family, having both come from big families themselves.

Yeah, I come from four, Blake comes from five. Both of us are the youngest, he said.

As he spoke about his three daughters  James, eight, Inez, six, and Betty, three  the 46-year-old actor didnt miss the opportunity to joke about his girls, saying: I havent met any of them yet, but they seem great. They have a private Instagram account that I follow.

Reynolds and Lively, who have been married since 2012, have previously given fans a glimpse inside their family life. Last February, the 35-year-old actor appeared to confirm she had given birth to their fourth child when she shared a photo of herself on Instagram, in which she joked that shed been busy and shared a photo without her baby bump. However, the name and sex of their newborn has yet to be revealed.

Reynolds previously gave an update on his new family of six, joking that he lives in a zoo after welcoming their fourth child.

Were very excited. We wouldnt do this four times if we didnt love it, he said on CNBCs Power Lunch in February. Everyone is doing great. Everyone is actually doing fantastic. If we hadnt figured it out by now, I think wed be in deep, deep trouble! But its a zoo over here.

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Last month, fans praised Reynolds sweet interaction with his children after a viral TikTok captured Reynolds at a Wrexham AFC match with his family. The clip showed the Wrexham co-owners three daughters running towards him on the field at the stadium in Wales. Reynolds bent down to hug and kiss his daughters, as Lively walked closely behind. Later on, The Proposal star was pictured holding their newborn, who was bundled up in a fuzzy white onesie and a grey beanie, in his arms.

Prior to welcoming their fourth child in February, Reynolds  whos famously known as the ultimate girl dad  joked that he wanted their baby to be another girl.

I dont know, we never find out until [theyre born], he said about his fourth babys gender during an appearance on Today in November. I know girls, so Im kind of hoping that. But Im ready for whatever happens.

He also acknowledged that he grew up with brothers himself, and joked that this experience influenced his interest in having another daughter.

I love my well-being and my home. I was the youngest of four, so we were just arsonists and firemen, Reynolds said.

The Red Notice star has even discussed his fears about having a son. In an interview with Access Hollywood in November 2021, he confessed that when Lively was pregnant with their third child, he wanted another daughter.

When we had our youngest, I was quietly terrified it was gonna be a boy because I didnt know, we didnt know, he said. I didnt know anything but girls. I grew up with boys and I was constantly being thrown through walls when there was a perfectly good door five feet away.
Flojaune Cofer, former chairwoman of the Measure U Committee and a progressive organizer, on Wednesday became the first candidate to throw her name in the 2024 Sacramento mayoral race.

Cofer, an epidemiologist, got her start in Sacramento politics while leading that citizen commission tasked with helping decide how to spend millions of dollars in sales tax money.

As chairwoman, she was highly critical of Mayor Darrell Steinberg, who has not yet announced if he plans to run for reelection.

Backed by more than 100 supporters during a brief speech in front of City Hall, Cofer said she plans to prioritize community safety, while also addressing housing and homelessness, inclusivity and economic development.

She also expressed her desire to create a more collaborative effort in city government, which she said does not currently exist.

If elected, Cofer would become the citys first Black female mayor.

Im running for mayor because I know more is possibleIm offering a choice to bring a different flavor and culture to city hall, said Cofer, a senior director of policy at Public Health Advocates.

Cofer noted thus far she is the only candidate in the race.

In 2020, Steinberg said he had zero intention of running for a third term. But Steinberg, along with former City Council members Jeff Harris and Steve Hansen, have filed paperwork with the city to fund raise.

A spokesperson for Steinberg said on Wednesday there is no announcement at this time regarding whether the mayor plans to seek reelection.

Individuals running for mayor have until Dec. 8 to submit their candidacy.

In her announcement, Cofer emphasized her ability to bring people together, saying that Sacramento needs a change from the status quo.

People that dont feel heard, she said. Its my job to listen. Its my job to hold the institution accountable

She plans to not accept donations from corporate and political action committees, fossil fuel companies, the tobacco industry or law enforcement.

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Cofer added she will only take money from real estate, landlords and developers if they support affordable housing, tenant protections and anti-displacement issues.

I think its important for elections to have real choices and Im offering a progressive choice, Cofer said.

Cofer also pushed back against the notion that Sacramentos leadership has a weak mayor system, in reference to the city manager being the chief executive officer.

Easy fixes to that idea, Cofer said, are setting priorities, restructuring meetings and including the community.

I can be strong without a strong mayor system. Maybe we need a different person who knows how to work the existing system, Cofer said.

The 2024 primary election is scheduled for March 5.
SAN SALVADOR (Reuters) - El Salvador's ruling party lawmakers approved late Tuesday a bill to eliminate for 15 years taxes on companies developing artificial intelligence (AI) and other computer programming work in a bid to make the country a more attractive tech destination.

The tech tax cut was championed by President Nayib Bukele, who first touted the legislation late last month.

Bukele's New Ideas Party dominates the country's Congress.

The bill exempts eligible companies from income tax, capital gains and local government taxes, as well as tariff payments on imported goods that technology businesses need.

Lawmakers approved it with 69 voting in favor among the 84-member unicameral legislature.

"With these exemptions, we are facilitating the development of the technological sector in our country, and manufacturing as well, which will help a new industry emerge," said New Ideas lawmaker Rodrigo Ayala during the debate.

The new tax incentives for the nascent tech sector are only the latest efforts by Bukele and his allies to re-brand the Central American country as an emerging hub for innovation.

In 2021, El Salvador made waves as the first nation to adopt the cryptocurrency bitcoin as legal tender, alongside the U.S. dollar.

(Reporting by Nelson Renteria; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Christopher Cushing)
As we recover from the economic and social consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, San Francisco needs resurgent tourism, businesses reopening, residents staying in the city and newcomers moving in. None of this will happen if San Franciscos leadership cant get public safety right.

Crime in the city made national news this month after former Fire Commissioner Don Carmignani was violently attacked on the street by a man wielding a metal pipe and a Whole Foods in downtown closed temporarily after only a year in operation because company executives said they were concerned about workers' safety.

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The responsibility for public safety rests with Mayor London Breed and District Attorney Brooke Jenkins. Jenkins is making meaningful strides to ensure that there are consequences in our criminal justice system, and that victims get the justice they deserve.

6 ways SF city leaders can improve public safety

Now, other elected officials such as the mayor and the Board of Supervisors must act to improve public safety. Here are six steps to ensure public safety now:

Fully fund our police department through a voter-approved charter amendment for full staffing. Since 2020, there has been a dangerous drop in the number of police officers, begun by $120 million in budget cuts Mayor Breed implemented. Although supervisors recently approved spending $25 million in overtime as a one-time stopgap, we must fix the structural problem to fill the hundreds of vacant positions in our neighborhood stations.

Organized retail theft caused stores like Walgreens and Whole Foods to close in downtown San Francisco.

Only a fully funded police department can respond to public safety needs such as ending open-air drug markets, solving murders, protecting small businesses, stopping break-ins and robberies, and enforcing traffic laws to protect pedestrians, bicyclists and drivers. Supervisors Matt Dorsey and Catherine Stefani proposed a measure that would ensure we meet staffing goals. This bold plan is a step in the right direction.

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Want fewer shootings?: Pass tougher gun laws. Our research shows lax laws fuel violence.

Divert lower priority calls to other agencies and invest in proven strategies that prevent crime in the first place. Police officers are not the most appropriate public safety agency for all calls. We must change local laws that require police to respond to minor issues such as barking dogs that are better handled by animal control officers.

Deploying park rangers to parks and playgrounds and community ambassadors to commercial corridors will allow officers to quickly respond to high priority calls.

Invest in crime prevention strategies

We must also invest in proven strategies that prevent crime. Strategic investments in drug treatment, universal basic income, afterschool activities for youth, safety cameras, and job training and transitional employment all have an impact upstream in our most vulnerable communities.

Properly address untreated mental health challenges outside of the criminal justice system. About 20% of America's population has a mental illness, but 44% of those in jail and 37% of those in prison have a mental illness. Incarceration exacerbates these challenges, and the criminal justice system is not designed to provide the care these individuals need. New approaches to conservatorship are needed to place individuals in the proper care.

San Francisco established Behavioral Health Court to enhance public safety and reduce recidivism of criminal defendants who suffer from serious mental illness by connecting them to community treatment services. Gov. Gavin Newsoms plan to implement CARE Courts will also help.

Ensure our 911 dispatch system works. Our 911 dispatchers answer roughly 2,000 calls a month, and a recent controllers performance review showed that less than 80% of 911 calls are answered in a timely manner. Every missed dispatch goal means a resident waits longer for an ambulance, police officer or other first responder.

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Meanwhile, response times are increasing for some of our most critical services, including medical calls. Working with partners in organized labor, I will strengthen our 911 dispatch system by increasing dispatcher pay, recruiting additional dispatchers and making system improvements to improve response times. This plan will require voter approval early next year.

Focus on hate crimes, retail theft

Prioritize ending hate crimes. As of the 2020 Census, 34% of San Franciscans are Asian American. Like many cities, San Francisco has seen vicious anti-Asian hate crimes. We must remain vigilant in ending these crimes, which harm victims and create fear in communities. Hate crimes also target LGBTQ+ residents and houses of worship such as synagogues and mosques. The upcoming budget should sufficiently fund the Office of Victim & Survivor Rights to assist hate crime survivors and groups that serve them.

Tackle organized retail theft. Organized retail theft caused stores like Walgreens and Whole Foods to close in downtown San Francisco. These crimes often turn violent: A supermarket security guard was shot in my district and another security guard in Japantown was killed after an armed encounter. We must take these crimes seriously and keep up the pressure to disrupt these criminal rings that harm our businesses, workers and shoppers.

While the public safety challenges facing the city didnt happen overnight, San Francisco must act quickly to change both the narrative about safety and the reality on the street.

Strong leadership and better management of city resources are needed to make real, lasting change. For as long as I am in public office, I look forward to working with all San Franciscans to keep up the fight.

Ahsha Safai, a member of San Francisco's Board of Supervisors, represents District 11, the Excelsior, Outer Mission and Lakeview/OMI. He holds a dual bachelors degree from Northeastern University and a masters degree in city planning from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

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 USA TODAY: Is San Francisco safe? 6 ways city can fight violent crime
Body positivity influencer Sarah Nicole Landry is sharing her love for one-piece swimsuits with her fans. (Instagram/@thebirdspapaya)

Sarah Nicole Landry is showing her appreciation for the one-piece swimsuit.

The Canadian body positivity advocate  better known as The Birds Papaya  took to Instagram on Tuesday with a sun-soaked photo of herself posing on a beach in a black one-piece bathing suit from Canadian brand Knix. It was paired with a caption tipping her hat to the "comfortable" swimwear style.

"An ode to the one-piece," she titled the caption of her post.

Landry explained for every time "a bikini just wasn't it that day," or when "showing up comfortably was more important than proving something," a one-piece bathing suit saved the day. She said it allowed her to be "less distracted" by insecurities.

"While I am so proud of my journey to wearing the bikini, I also am so proud of my journey to wearing whatever I need to be there that day," the mom of four continued.

"So when you hear the saying, 'just wear the bikini,' exhale and know, too, 'just wear the one-piece, just wear the sweatsuit even, just wear whatever you need to that day, to show up,'" Landry wrote.

"Because it really does have less to do with what you wear when you do, and rather that you're there at all. That's the win. ... Freedom to enjoy it, be there  however it fits."

Fans met Landry's empowering and relatable message with supportive comments.

"This is so important!" an Instagram user wrote.

Another added: "One of my fav' captions of yours to date. Also, this pic slays, you absolute queen, you!"

"I also hate how people will comment like 'just wear the bikini' as if a one-piece is not fashionable or OK? Bikinis are not the goal in life. Thank you for posting!" someone weighed in.

"This is so important. Being comfortable is the most critical for me in practicing body neutrality  I don't want to focus on my body when I'm out in the world trying to enjoy myself," penned another fan.

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Canadian influencer Alicia Mccarvell chimed in to compliment Landry's two-slide photo.

"This feels like the digital version of a centrefold," Mccarvell commented.

On Sunday, 38-year-old Landry shared a slow-motion video of herself walking in a teal high-waisted Knix bikini, alongside another inspirational message about self-acceptance.

The Instagram Reel included an audio clip by actress Emma Thompson, speaking on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert.

"Don't waste your life's purpose worrying about your body. This is your vessel  it's your house, it's where you live," the audio said. "There's no point in judging it. Absolutely no point."

Landry admitted in the caption that while she hasn't entirely stopped judging her body, she is actively working to diminish her negative thoughts.

"I'll be honest, I am still 'wasting time' on these thoughts," she penned. "But my goodness, am I working to reverse out of them, or age out of them  or level up to Emma Thompson out of them, and it's working."

Let us know what you think by commenting below and tweeting @YahooStyleCA! Follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
Saudi Arabias efforts to set up a long-term ceasefire between warring Yemeni factions are influencing warmer ties between Washington and Riyadh, which nosedived after President Biden promised early in his campaign to make the kingdom a pariah over its targeted killings and human rights violations.

But the Biden administration is largely on the sidelines of a peace process made possible by China, which in March brokered relations between Saudi Arabia and Iran. The two Gulf countries are on opposite sides of Yemens eight-year civil war.

Still, Biden officials are offering gushing praise for Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, a key signal that the administration is atoning for what the kingdom views as unfair, disproportionate criticism among Americas allies. It marks a significant turn for the administration that had identified in 2021 that the crown prince, known as MBS, approved an operation that led to the gruesome killing of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi  who was killed, dismembered and his body burned at a Saudi consulate in Istanbul in October 2018.

I think the administration recognizes that their approach in the first two years of the administration was not productive and they are trying to reverse course, said David Schenker, a senior fellow with the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who served as assistant secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs during the Trump administration.

Theres optimism that Saudi efforts to broach talks between Yemens internationally recognized government in Aden and Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Sanaa will help resolve a war that has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis and left millions more hungry.

Houthi negotiators last week said progress was made in talks with Saudi and Omani officials held in Sanaa and that further discussions are expected to take place.

I believe we have not seen such a serious opportunity for making progress towards ending the conflict in eight years, United Nations Special Envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg said during a U.N. security council meeting on Monday.

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US criticism softens

That has garnered intense cheerleading from top Biden officials.

National security adviser Jake Sullivan, in a call with MBS last week, described remarkable progress in Yemen and welcomed Saudi Arabias extraordinary efforts.

Sullivan also committed to regular contact with the crown prince, who is also the prime minister, on other priorities, namely a White House initiative to support investments in infrastructure and internet connectivity in developing countries and that largely serves as an alternative to Chinas efforts in this area.

The White House also dispatched senior members of Bidens national security team to Riyadh last week. This included Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking; coordinator for Middle East and North Africa Policy Brett McGurk; and special presidential coordinator for Global Infrastructure and Energy Security, Amos Hochstein.

I think its helpful that the United States is being encouraging and supportive of what, I think for some time, has been an earnest Saudi effort to reach an agreement, or peace in Yemen, Schenker said.

But I dont think we can underestimate how much bad blood there is. This was personal for the first two years of the Biden administration.

Progress in Yemen appears to even be softening criticism on Capitol Hill, where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have called out Saudi Arabia for human rights abuses and forced Biden to end U.S. support for the Saudi-led offensive operations in Yemen that some NGOs have said amount to war crimes.

Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a strident critic of Saudi Arabias shortcomings on respect for human rights, noted that theres been a number of positive developments on Yemen and the Saudis willingness to facilitate productive discussions on Yemens future.

Murphy, along with Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), introduced in mid-March a privileged resolution that would compel the State Department to publish Saudi Arabias human rights abuses or risk cutting off U.S. assistance to the kingdom. The resolution includes key authorities that allow the senators to quickly push through its consideration in the Senate if faced with opposition.

But Murphy said theres no update on its progress: We certainly are still planning on moving that resolution, but we dont have a timetable yet.

Lee told The Hill that Saudi Arabias good progress on Yemen is not influencing whether to move forward the resolution. Were making progress, its a good bill, I think we can get there.

US-Saudi relationship evolves

The U.S. and Saudi relationship is often described as having its roots in practical interest, with its most basic equation being Saudi oil for American security.

I think we need to understand the Saudis are only interested in partnering with the United States when its in their specific security interest, and thus our policy should reflect that we should be interested in partnering with the Saudis only when its in our interest, Murphy said.

We facilitated their disastrous war in Yemen for years, even though it wasnt in our national security interest, that was a huge mistake. And we shouldnt make that mistake again.

Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia takes his seat ahead of a working lunch at the G20 Summit on Nov. 15, 2022, in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan spoke by phone with the crown prince on April 11, 2023, amid signs that the Saudis and Iran-allied Houthis in Yemen are making significant progress toward finding a permanent end to the nine-year conflict, according to a senior administration official. (Leon Neal/Pool Photo via AP, File)

The U.S. and Saudi relationship has evolved alongside changing Middle East dynamics. The kingdom is a spiritual center for billions of Muslims, holds significant influence among neighboring countries and has served as a partner for the U.S. in shared security interests of pushing back against threats from Iran and countering Sunni-Islamist extremism.

But the kingdom is also concerned that the U.S. is losing focus on the region, spurring Riyadh to more bluntly assert its own foreign policy.

Episodes of frustration include what Riyadh viewed as the former Trump administrations failure to appreciate the severity of an attack on its oil fields in September 2019 and anger at the Biden administration for publicizing intelligence that fingered the crown prince as ordering an operation to capture or kill Khashoggi, as well as the pariah remark.

The president has made moves to balance out criticism with engagement. Biden fist-bumped the crown prince during a meeting in Jeddah, and the gesture was viewed as a compromise against shaking the hand of someone responsible for fatal repression.

While Saudi Arabia is unlikely to jilt the U.S. entirely, Riyadh is increasingly asserting itself separately from Washingtons interests.

It decided in October to cut oil production, despite U.S. protests that it would bolster Russias funds to wage war in Ukraine. And Riyadh is moving closer to China, which announced a breakthrough in ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran following a diplomatic summit in Beijing.

Still, the Saudis are keeping America close as part of its security umbrella, with a robust U.S. military presence in the region and long-standing support through military sales, training and maintenance. Agreements on foreign military sales between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia amounted to more than $100 billion between 2009 and 2020.

And Saudi Arabias recent $37 billion purchase of Boeing aircraft, its providing of $400 million in humanitarian aid for Ukraine, and its help in prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia are also viewed as positives in the relationship between Washington and Riyadh.

The U.S. has persisted in its strengthening parts of the U.S.-Saudi relationship, even in spite of the disagreements over human rights and Khashoggi, said Eric Pelofsky, who served as senior director for North Africa and Yemen at the National Security Council and special assistant to former President Obama.

Its an important, difficult, region and the kingdom is a key player in the region  our national security needs require to manage a range of challenges at the same time.

Impact of peace in Yemen

Making progress toward peace in Yemen would add to the balance of good in the relationship.

Jared Rowell, the International Rescue Committees country director for Yemen, said aid groups are closely watching the developments surrounding peace talks, but warned against viewing the end of fighting as solving the immense challenges facing the aid community, which includes providing for Yemenis critical food and health support, education services and working on efforts to counter the exploitation of women and girls.

I think we just need to get the message across as an international aid community that the needs will continue as long as a lot of different factors are still at play, Rowell said.

He advocated for the United Nations and other international actors to take an active role alongside the peace discussions to protect and support the independent work of aid groups.

I think its just really important to convey the message that reduced conflict doesnt automatically equate to improved conditions on the ground, or reduced levels of need.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Thousands of deal hunters will be heading to Dallas-Fort Worth outlets later this spring, namely Grapevine Mills, Allen Premium Outlets and Grand Prairie Premium Outlets.

The second-annual National Outlet Shopping Day will be celebrated June 10 and 11 across more than 90 Simon outlet malls in the U.S. and Canada. During the biggest outlet savings event of the year, retailers will offer hundreds of deals, rare finds on sought after brands and giveaways. Limited-time offers will also be available at ShopPremiumOutlets.com.

We know consumers are making difficult choices about how to prioritize their spending, said Trudy Cresswell, director of marketing and business development at Grapevine Mills, in a news release. During National Outlet Shopping Day, we want to give our shoppers a chance to reclaim the joy and exhilaration of finding a great deal on something they really want, without breaking their budget.

This year, shoppers who open a Simon American Express Credit Card from Cardless will receive rewards on select purchases when shopping at a Simon outlet during the two-day event. Cardholders will get 6% in statement credits on purchases made at any Grapevine Mills, Allen Premium Outlets and Grand Prairie Premium Outlets retailer. Theyll also receive 10% at stores including Aeropostale, Brooks Brothers (Allen and Grand Prairie only), Forever 21 (Grapevine and Allen only), Reebok (Allen and Grand Prairie only), Lucky Brand (Allen and Grand Prairie only) and Nautica (Grapevine and Allen only). Cardholders will get a $10 food and beverage credit to be used that weekend at any Grapevine Mills, Allen Premium Outlets and Grand Prairie Premium Outlets restaurant and a free National Outlet Shopping Day tote bag.

Power shoppers can now enter to win Simons Ultimate Outlet Shopping Giveaway, in which the winner and three friends will receive an all-expense paid trip, valued at more than $50,000, to spend National Outlet Shopping Day weekend at the Orlando Premium Outlets and Sawgrass Mills in Sunrise, Florida. The package includes first-class travel and transportation, hotel, dining, VIP experiences and a $5,000 shopping spree. To enter, register at Premiumoutlets.com/NOSDContest before April 23.
A South Carolina couple who dubbed themselves a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison for using stolen mail to raid peoples bank accounts across three states, including Georgia.

The couple was able to steal millions of dollars.

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Michael Boatwright, 33, of Chesterfield, S.C., was sentenced to 150 months in prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, according to a U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. He was also ordered to pay $427,131,37 in restitution for losses to the victims and spend five years of supervised release after his prison term.

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Boatwrights girlfriend and co-defendant, Stephanie Michelle Lea Napier, is currently serving a 28-month prison term for conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

According to court documents, Boatwrite and Napier drove around Georgia, South Carolina and Florida and stole mail from mailboxes, getting personal information from the mail and then using that information to gain access and control their victims bank accounts.

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The couple stole or attempted to steal hundreds of thousands of dollars and attempted to steal more than $1.5 million.

These thieves didnt just steal their victims mail; they stole their money, their privacy, and their sense of security, said U.S.attorneys said. They are now being held accountable for their insidious acts.
School spirit has taken on a new meaning at Furman University.

The Greenville-based university recently launched its own brand of straight bourbon whiskey, a Furman press release states. Called FU All the Time, the private-label whiskey is named after a favorite Paladins cheer.

The new bourbon debuted on Saturday at the launch party for the Clearly Furman campaign  a new initiative to raise $426 million by the university bicentennial in 2026.

We thought FU All the Time bourbon would be popular, and it was a huge hit, Elizabeth Lichtenberg, senior director of brand strategy and visual communications for Furman, said in the press release. Everyone loved it. It felt good to be able to offer the Furman Family something new and unique that they can enjoy and take some pride in, and give them a new way to toast and celebrate Furman.

An image of a straight bourbon whiskey recently launched by Furman University.

FU All the Time bourbon

The university has partnered with Ironclad Distillery in Newport News, Virginia to produce the bourbon whiskey. FU All the Time is made with corn, wheat and rye from Virginia, along with malted barley. The concoction is then aged in oak barrels from South Carolina for at least three years.

This is super clean. It really is everyones bourbon, Zach Wheeler with Aleph Wines, the distributor for South Carolina, said in the press release. Its smooth and fruity on the front end, with a little bit of grain. It goes into a baked goods, biscuit flavor on the back of the tongue and ends with the rye bite that mellows out the 100 proof.

How do you get the bourbon?

FU All the Time straight bourbon whiskey is currently available online and in liquor stores and restaurants across the Upstate, the press release states. The university has plans for statewide distribution soon.

Where does the name originate?

The FU All the Time cheer the bourbon was named after was made famous by two former Furman presidents.

Legend has it that Gordon Blackwell started the phrase in the 1960s, and John E. Johns amplified it, literally, as he would do the cheer with a megaphone at the big games, the press release states. Joseph Vaughn, Furmans first Black undergraduate student and a Furman cheerleader, is also said to have had a hand in popularizing the beloved cheer.
US-NEWS-FLA-SCHOOL-VOUCHERS-MI

Florida Republican lawmakers want to expand the school voucher program to all students but havenat said how much it will cost or how it will be paid for. Credit - Emily Michot/Miami Herald-Tribune News Service

In recent months, state legislatures across the country have broadened efforts to subsidize private school tuition with taxpayer dollars. New proposals for these programscollectively called school vouchershave appeared in more than a dozen states and passed as major priorities for Republican governors like Kim Reynolds in Iowa and Sarah Huckabee Sanders in Arkansas. Since 2021, Arizona, Florida, Utah and West Virginia have also created or expanded voucher plans. Meanwhile, a handful states like Indiana, Louisiana, Ohio and Wisconsin have run voucher programs for years. But do school vouchers actually work? We need to focus on what research shows, and what that means for kids moving forward.

As an analyst who has studied these and other forms of school choice for nearly two decades, Im in a good position to give an answer. And based on data from existing voucher programs, the answer is almost unambiguously negative.

Lets start with who benefits. First and foremost, the answer is: existing private school students. Small, pilot voucher programs with income limits have been around since the early 1990s, but over the last decade they have expanded to larger statewide initiatives with few if any income-eligibility requirements. Florida just passed its version of such a universal voucher program, following Arizonas passage in the fall of 2022. In Arizona, more than 75% of initial voucher applicants had never been in public schooleither because they were new kindergartners or already in private school before getting a voucher. Thats a problem because many voucher advocates market these plans as ways to improve educational opportunities for public school children.

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And what about the students who do leave public schools? Some plans, like the currently proposed bill in Texas, restrict eligibility to students in public school for at least one year. But for the children who do transfer using a voucher, the academic results in the recent scaled-up statewide programs are catastrophic. Although small, pilot-phase programs showed some promise two decades ago, new evaluations of vouchers in Washington, D.C., Indiana, Louisiana, and Ohio show some of the largest test score drops ever seen in the research recordbetween -0.15 and -0.50 standard deviations of learning loss. Thats on par with what the COVID-19 pandemic did to test scores, and larger than Hurricane Katrinas impacts on academics in New Orleans.

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And these harmful voucher impacts from existing statewide vouchers lasted for years, with little else on balance to show for it.

What explains these extraordinarily large voucher-induced declines? Arent private schools supposed to be elite educational opportunities? When it comes to private schools accepting voucher payments, the answer is clearly no. Thats because elite private schools with strong academics and large endowments often decline to participate in voucher plans. Instead the typical voucher school is a financially distressed, sub-prime private provider often jumping at the chance for a tax bailout to stay open a few extra years.

In Wisconsin, 41% of voucher schools have closed since the programs inception in 1990. And that includes the large number of pop-up schools opening just to cash in on the new voucher pay-out. For those pop-up schools, average survival time is just 4 years before their doors close for good.

Heres another problem: for most students, using a voucher is a temporary choice to begin with. In states that have reported data on the questionIndiana, Louisiana, and Wisconsinroughly 20% of students leave voucher programs each year, either because they give up the payment or because schools push them out. In Florida, where vouchers just expanded, that number is even higher: around 30% per year in pre-expansion data.

That kind of turnover is bad for kids, even when theyre leaving under-performing voucher schools. Not least because kids who leave voucher programs tend to be students of color, lower income children, and kids struggling academically in the first place.

And its not just the academic results that call into question any rhetoric around opportunities created by vouchers. Private schools can decline to admit children for any reason. One example of that is tied to the latest culture wars around LGBTQ youth, and strengthened in current voucher legislation. In Florida, a voucher-funded school made national news last summer when it banned LGBTQ children. In Indiana, pre-pandemic estimates showed that more than $16 million in taxpayer funding had already gone to voucher schools with explicit anti-LGBTQ admissions rules.

Voucher schools also rarely enroll children with special academic needs. Special education children tend to need more resources than vouchers provide, which can be a problem in public schools too. But public schools are at least obliged under federal law to enroll and assist special needs childrensomething private schools can and do avoid.

When we look at all the challenges to accessing education with these programs its clear that actually winning admission to a particular private school is not about parental school choice. Its the schools choice.

That is what research on school vouchers tells us. Vouchers are largely tax subsidies for existing private school families, and a tax bailout for struggling private schools. They have harmful test score impacts that persist for years, and theyre a revolving door of school enrollment. Theyre public funds that support a financially desperate group of private schools, including some with active discriminatory admissions in place.

And public support for these programs is tenuous at best, highly dependent on state contexts. Recent media reports indicate that the latest voucher push is at least partly the result of well-funded campaigns led by Betsy DeVos, the conservative billionaire and U.S. Education Secretary under Donald Trump. DeVos has championed vouchers for decades as an alternative to traditional public education in what she, Trump, and other supporters call government schools.

But DeVos has acknowledged the poor track record for vouchersat least when it comes to academic impacts. Asked about the dismal results of the Louisiana voucher plan while she was a public official, DeVos avoided detailed comment, but her answer back then was as good a summary as any that a voucher expert like me could provide. That program, she said, was not very well-conceived.

That goes for school voucher plans today, currently spreading across the country.
Los Angeles schools Superintendent Alberto Carvalho seems to have learned an early lesson about California politics: Public employee unions hold serious sway.

Carvalho and the Los Angeles Unified School District reached an agreement Tuesday with the teachers union that will increase pay by 21 percent, reduce class size  and avert what would have been the second strike of the year in the nations second-largest district.

The imposing, Armani-wearing superintendent, who came to the city last year after running the school district in Miami, appears to have largely bowed to the demands of United Teachers Los Angeles rather than risk a walkout that would have been illegal back in Florida.

I am grateful that we reached an agreement with UTLA in a manner that reflects the dedicated work of our employees, provides a better academic experience for our students and raises the standards of compensation in Los Angeles and across the country, Carvalho said in a statement.

It was a critical moment for Carvalho, who received acclaim for his work in Miami but faces an entirely different labor environment in Los Angeles. A three-day support staff strike last month shuttered Los Angeles schools and kept more than 350,000 students out of class. He escaped a repeat by reaching an agreement with the powerful UTLA.

Im hopeful that he learned some very valuable lessons, UTLA President Cecily Myart-Cruz said in an interview. Because he could have had two strikes within two months, and what would that have said about his leadership?

The superintendent has spoken frequently about the need to make up instructional time lost during the pandemic since arriving in Los Angeles. Another strike would have dealt another setback to that goal and put his fragile relationship with labor at risk.

I think hes done an excellent job of positioning himself as an action-oriented leader, but I think he greatly underestimated the difference in the strength of labor unions at the bargaining table in California relative to Florida, said Eric Premack, founder of the California Charter Schools Development Center, who used to do consulting work for Los Angeles Unified and other school districts.

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Carvalho came to the U.S. from Portugal as an undocumented immigrant after he graduated from high school, settling in South Florida. He worked construction and restaurant jobs, and was at times homeless before becoming a teacher. He later did communications work and lobbied for the Miami-Dade School District, which he went on to run for 13 years.

He gained national prominence in the role, rebuffing entreaties to run for Congress and lead New York City Schools. But it wasnt until 2022 that he left Miami, exhausted by his clashes with Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Republican politicians over school mask policies, curriculum restrictions and the treatment of LGBTQ students.

I had been approached regarding LAUSD four times over the past decade, and concerning the political dynamic in Florida  a state I love, great people, great talent  I thought this would be a better match for me, Carvalho told reporters last week in Sacramento, where he came to lobby for more school funding and other education proposals.

His 14-month tenure has been full of challenges, including a cyberattack that exposed families personal data, a students fatal opioid overdose at school and sliding enrollment and chronic absenteeism.

But hes faced the steepest learning curve with bargaining.



In March, teachers, bus drivers and cafeteria workers walked picket lines, some holding cardboard signs deriding Carvalhos fine suits and $440,000 salary. One included a picture of the superintendent surrounded by cartoon money bags with the caption Mr. Miami Vice Grip.

The superintendents administration, meanwhile, was negotiating on behalf of a school board in which the majority of members are aligned with UTLA. Labor-friendly President Jackie Goldberg told reporters the board is completely overjoyed with the agreement reached by the union and superintendent.

Carvalho has avoided another strike, for now. But for California superintendents and unions, the bargaining never really stops. The contract for support staff expires after next year, along with a massive chunk of federal coronavirus relief funding, compounding financial pressure on the district.

But he insists that hes happy to have Florida and its politics at a 2,000-mile distance.

We dont ban books here. We dont restrict curriculum. We acknowledge all individuals, regardless of gender, persuasion, whatever it is, Carvalho said last week. I think dealing with a different, more forceful union is a decent tradeoff I'm willing to take any day.
Seattle police have arrested a man in connection to a drive-by shooting that left one man with a non-life-threatening wound to his leg in the University District last month, the department announced Tuesday.

The shooting happened Thursday, March 16 just before 11 p.m. Officers were called to the 4200 block of Roosevelt Way Northeast for reports of a man shot in his car. When officers arrived, they learned that a 32-year-old man had been driven to Harborview Medical Center to be treated for his injuries.

Police spoke to friends of the victim who were in the car at the time of the shooting. They told police that a male driver of a silver sedan honked at them from behind. As they drove off, the victims friend honked back at the sedan.

According to police, the suspect got out of his car and showed a gun on his waist.

When the victims car reached the 4200 block of Roosevelt Way Northeast, shots were fired at the car from the silver sedan. Officers recovered evidence of the shooting from the scene and from the car that was shot at.

Around 4 a.m. Tuesday, detectives with the Seattle Police Departments Gun Violence Reduction Unit, along with SWAT and Community Response Group officers, served a search warrant to arrest the suspect at a Whittier Heights residence. Police recovered a loaded gun that matched the caliber of the one used in the shooting.

The 23-year-old man was arrested and booked into the King County Jail for investigation of assault and drive-by shooting.
The Senate on Wednesday blocked a Republican attempt to overturn a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) rule that allowed it to offer abortion counseling and, in certain cases, abortions to veterans and their dependents.

The Senate voted 48 to 51 on a procedural hurdle for the resolution, falling short of the needed 51 votes to pass.

Sen. Joe Manchin (W.Va.) was the lone Democrat to side with most Republicans. Sens. Susan Collins (Maine) and Lisa Murkowski (Alaska), the two pro-choice Senate GOP members, voted with every other Democrat.

The vote means the VAs rule, which was rolled out in September in response to the Supreme Court decision months earlier that struck down Roe v. Wade and threatened abortion access, will remain in place.

The VA at the time announced that it would provide abortions in cases where the life or health of a veteran is at risk if they had to carry their pregnancy to term or if the pregnancy resulted from rape or incest.

Even if the resolution had advanced to President Bidens desk, he had announced plans to veto it.

The White House announced in a Statement of Administration Policy that the push undermines patient safety and invites political interference into deeply personal decisions made by pregnant veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries in consultation with their health care providers, threatening their health and lives.

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.), the lead sponsor of the resolution of disapproval, told reporters earlier in the day that its illegal, its wrong and an abuse of the taxpayer dollars.

Its a slap in the face of people that dont want to pay for abortions, and thats the majority of people in this country, Tuberville said.

Manchin argued the Biden administration should not have made the change unilaterally and that any change of this kind should go through the House and Senate.

Im the only Democrat whos joined the resolution as you know, but with that I believe theres other people who feel the same as I do and just havent spoken out on this, Manchin said.

The bill was brought up via the Congressional Review Act, with Rep. Michael Cloud (R-Texas) introducing it in the House.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The person in charge of the Pentagons efforts to study UFOs told members of the U.S. Senate at a Wednesday hearing that he has no evidence they come from outer space.

Three members of the Senate Armed Services committee heard testimony from Sean Kirkpatrick, director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office. AARO was formed last year by the Pentagon to help study unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP, the governments preferred term for mysterious objects seen in the sky.

Astronomer with a telescope gazing at the night sky. (Getty images)

This is a hunt mission for what [somebody might] be doing in our backyard that we don't know about, said Kirkpatrick, who added that the goal was to set a standard across the entire Department of Defense for this type of investigation.

Kirkpatrick spent much of the hearing discussing the logistics of his organizations process, their work with other agencies and their progress in meeting benchmarks set by Congress. But he did present examples of UAPs they had studied, including a small sphere zipping over the Middle East that Kirkpatrick conceded would be virtually impossible to fully identify based only on the video.

While Kirkpatrick said his group hasnt been able to identify every encounter it has studied, it hadnt found any evidence that visitors from another planet were responsible for any of them.

I should also state clearly for the record that in our research, ARRO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics, Kirkpatrick said.

Sean Kirkpatrick (Department of Defense)

However, Kirkpatrick did say there was a plan in place should evidence of an alien technology arise, stating, In the event sufficient scientific data were ever obtained that a UAP encountered can only be explained by extraterrestrial origin, we are committed to working with our interagency partners at NASA to appropriately inform U.S. government's leadership of its findings.

Kirkpatrick showed a chart with reporting trends of anomalies from 1996 to 2023, which found that most sightings were of a round object, one to four meters in length and typically white, silver or translucent, at an altitude between 10,000 and 30,000 feet with no thermal exhaust detected.

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The sightings were clustered along the East and West coasts of the United States, in the Middle East and near Japan and the Korean peninsula.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

The hearing chaired by Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., also addressed what Kirkpatrick and the senators viewed as potential threats from China and Russia, citing the incident earlier this year when a Chinese weather balloon crossed over the continental United States and the series of UAPs that were shot down in the immediate aftermath.

Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, asked Kirkpatrick if Chinese or Russian technology was responsible for any of the sightings. Kirkpatrick said that while the two countries have technology on par or ahead of the United States, it is really hard to know if what we observe doesn't have a Chinese or Russian flag on the side of it.

Are there capabilities that could be employed against us in both [a surveillance] and a weapons fashion? Kirkpatrick said. Absolutely. Do I have evidence that they're doing it in these cases? No, but I have concerning indicators.

The hearing followed a 2021 Department of Defense report on UAPs that found 144 sightings dating back to 2004 as well as a May 2022 House Intelligence panel that was the first Congressional hearing on the topic in more than 50 years. Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., who chaired it, said, Unidentified aerial phenomena are a potential national security threat, and they need to be treated that way.

For too long, the stigma associated with UAPs has gotten in the way of good intelligence analysis, he added. Pilots avoided reporting or were laughed at when they did. [Pentagon] officials relegated the issues to the back room or swept it under the rug entirely, fearful of a skeptical national security community.

Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Today we know better, Carson continued. UAPs are unexplained, its true, but they are real. They need to be investigated, and any threats they pose need to be mitigated.

During his testimony Wednesday, Kirkpatrick said that anyone with alternate theories should submit them to credible scientific journals, stating, that is how science works, not by blog or social media. Kirkpatrick added that the goal of his agency was to attempt to balance transparency with protecting the secrets of the U.S. military and the intelligence community.

By its very nature, the UAP challenge has for decades lent itself to mystery, sensationalism and even conspiracy, Kirkpatrick said. For that reason, ARRO remains committed to transparency, accountability and to sharing as much with the American public as we can, consistent with our obligation to protect not only intelligence sources and methods but U.S. and allied capabilities.

The military has had an interest in UFOs since at least the 1940s. In 1952, the Air Force set up Project Blue Book, a classified program that counted more than 12,000 UFO sightings over its 17-year existence, with hundreds still unexplained.

Protesters march in Washington, D.C., in 1995 to raise awareness about a weather balloon crash at Roswell, N.M., in 1947. (Joshua Roberts/AFP via Getty Images)

In a March 1966 letter to two fellow congressmen, then-Rep. Gerald Ford wrote, In the firm belief that the American public deserve a better explanation than that thus far given by the Air Force, I strongly recommend that there be a committee investigation of the UFO phenomena. I think we owe it to the people to establish credibility regarding UFOs and to produce the greatest possible enlightenment on this subject.

The following month, Ford issued a statement saying that while some had ridiculed his call for a congressional investigation, they were a fraction of those who supported looking into a March event in which 40 people, including 12 police officers, claimed to have seen a cluster of UFOs.

In 2017, the New York Times published a story about how former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., had pushed for funding for the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, which investigated unexplained aerial sightings. The program ran from 2007 to 2012.

Im not embarrassed or ashamed or sorry I got this thing going, said Reid. I think its one of the good things I did in my congressional service. Ive done something that no one has done before.
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) was joined by Democrats on Wednesday in calling out the Department of Defense for what he said were U.S. roadblocks stifling global war crimes investigations into Russias war on Ukraine.

In a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting Wednesday, Graham said the Pentagon was refusing to share U.S. intelligence with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which is investigating Russian war crimes and issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Department of Justice has been great; the Department of Defense has been terrible, Graham said. The reservations of the Department of Defense are holding back the transfer of information that would be vital to allowing the ICC to be more aggressive in prosecutions.

Last December, the Senate voted to allow the government to share intelligence about the Ukraine war with the ICC for the first time. The U.S. is not a party to the court due to concerns related to Americans being prosecuted for war crimes.

However, the New York Times reported last month that military leaders remain opposed to sharing intelligence with the court.

The law we passed should be honored, Graham said. I dont care about what [the DoDs] concerns are. They can share them with me. Weve got a law on the books.

Grahams sentiment was backed by multiple Democratic senators, including Chairman Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

I wholeheartedly endorse [Grahams] pressure on you to sort it out within the administration, Whitehouse said, questioning Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco. Whatever is blocking cooperation with the International Criminal Court needs to be corrected so the administration is in compliance with the law that Congress passed. To me, its simple as that.

Last month, a bipartisan letter led by Graham and Durbin called on the White House to follow the law passed by Congress and share intelligence with the court.

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Monaco referred questions about intel sharing with the Department of Defense. The Hill has reached out to the Pentagon for comment.

Graham also urged the Biden administration to name Russia a state sponsor of terrorism, a designation which would allow the government to enact the most severe sanctions on the country.

The Biden administration has resisted the state sponsor of terrorism label, worrying it would be too limiting diplomatically.

The state sponsor of terrorism designation  has some unintended consequences, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with CNN last year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Several high school students were arrested late Wednesday morning after a fight broke out at one Dayton Public School.

The Dayton Police Department was called to Belmont High School at 11:15 a.m. on a disturbance call.

>> Firefighters working to fight 2-alarm fire in Darke County

Officers arrived at the high school and discovered several people were fighting in the cafeteria.

We discovered about seven individuals that were responsible for this fight. Apparently, pepper spray was used at some point, Sergeant Eric Brown of the Dayton Police Department told News Center 7.

The seven female students were arrested and are facing charges of assault and inciting a riot, Dayton Police said.

>> Police: Suspect reached for gun prior to police shooting; Huber Heights officer placed on paid leave

Everyone involved in the fight was a juvenile. A school resource officer was inadvertently sprayed with some pepper spray as well as determining whether that was going to be the result of trying to break something up or if he was directly targeted, Brown said.

The school resource officer was treated at the scene by medics. Additionally, at least two others were treated for pepper spray-related injuries. One person was taken to the hospital who suffered an asthma attack.

Dayton Public Schools Superintendent, Dr. Lolli release the following statement about the incident:

Belmont High School entered a shelter-in-place at approximately 11:45 a.m. due to pepper spray being released in the school.

Dayton Police were called to the school as a result of this incident.

No one was seriously injured and the shelter-in-place was lifted at 12:30 p.m.

The students who were arrested were taken to the Juvenile Detention Center and are facing potential charges.
















Wallet-friendly laptops are becoming more and more common, but far too many of those fall in the realm of Chromebooks (i.e., great machines with limited applications). If you want a better solution  and a full-size model  then check out the Sgin 17-inch laptop. It has 4GB of RAM and a 128GB SSD, along with a processor that can reach speeds up to 2.8GHz.

SGIN Sgin 17-inch Laptop $400 $1,500 Save $1,100 If the internal storage isn't enough, you can expand it up to 512GB. $400 at Amazon

Let's start by talking about the operating system. It comes with Windows 11 built in, which is a $100-plus value on its own. It also has a 5,000mAh battery; that's about eight hours of battery life in total, although you can use the laptop while it's on the charger, of course.

The dual-core processor reaches speeds up to 2.8GHz, which is more than enough to handle multiple browser tabs and several simultaneous applications. It's even enough for some basic gaming, but there's another concern on that front: The laptop doesn't have fans for heat dissipation. Instead, it has a large ventilation hole in the bottom and a dust filter. Any intensive applications will require cooling from an external source such as a laptop fan mount.

The display itself is 17 inches across at 1920x1080 pixels, which is the standard 1080p resolution. The color accuracy is phenomenal, and the text is crisp and sharp  you won't have to worry about eye strain after a day of work. There are also numerous ports, including USB 3.0, mini HDMI, MicroSD, and more. Wi-Fi 5.0 and Bluetooth are both built-in, so you won't need an external adapter for either of those.

This laptop presents an excellent value proposition: quiet, fast and affordable. (Photo: Amazon)

"I bought this laptop to replace my old HP. I was looking for something more affordable and also more efficient. I was fortunate to get this product when it was on sale. The laptop is perfect for me. The speed is up to parity, battery life is perfect. So far I have absolutely no issues with the product. My teenagers have even abandoned their computers and are using mine for gaming because the graphics are better [on this one]," said one parent.

Another user said, "I bought this laptop to replace an HP that finally gave up the ghost. So far, I have been very satisfied. When looking at the specs on this computer, it is definitely an upgrade, with twice the GB of the previous unit. It also has 512GB of SSD, which is more than enough for [its] main uses, including web browsing, posting pictures/videos and occasionally working from home..."

This shopper is also happy with the upgrade: "I bought this computer to replace my old, slow one. It was super easy to set up and incredibly fast. I just use for home office so not sure about gaming or anything. I just use for basic home office work, social media and internet searching, etc. It works great for that. The picture/screen is really clear and it is super lightweight and easy to carry around."

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  PS752    8  2020 

The sham trials that took place in Tehran must not distract the world from Irans failure to meet its international obligations and take responsibility for its actions, the statement says.

Neither the trials, nor the verdicts announced this week, bring truth or justice to the families of the victims, as the entire process starting with Irans biased investigation into the downing lacking the necessary impartiality and transparency.

Families of the 176 innocent victims are still waiting for the justice they deserve, said the MFA.

We continue to stand in solidarity with the families and loved ones of the victims of the downing of Flight PS752 and will not rest until justice has been served, reads the report.

Read also: Russia supplies Iran with cyber weapons in exchange for drones and ammunition, WSJ says

Iran sentenced 10 soldiers for shooting down the UIA passenger plane over Tehran.

One commander was sentenced to 10 years, with the remaining soldiers receiving sentences ranging from one to three years.

UIAs Boeing 737-800, en route from Tehran to Kyiv, was shot down shortly after takeoff on Jan. 8, 2020, killing everyone on board, including 11 Ukrainians. Most victims were citizens of Iran and Canada.

Four days after the crash, the Iranian military admitted that it was them that shot down the Ukrainian plane. Two hits from Iranian missiles were recorded by the planes black box  the first damaged the plane, with the pilots managing to keep it flying; but the second missile destroyed the aircraft.

Iran says it was a mistake by the person operating the air defense system, not a deliberate order from military leaders.

Ukraine disagrees and wants access to the investigation.

Ukraine is also seeking compensation.

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
In 20-year-old Alexa Ramos world, life was about being young, getting fast money and not having to work a regular job.

We felt indestructible, Ramos said in court Tuesday.

That feeling wouldnt last.

On Sept. 26, 2019 Ramos and three of her visiting friends from Sioux City, Iowa, were involved in a botched robbery that resulted in the shooting death of 20-year-old Tyrel Truss.

The friends were all charged with murder and second-degree robbery, but after arranging plea deals with the Fresno County District Attorneys Office, only Ramos one-time boyfriend, 22-year-old Isaac Ty Helms, remains a defendant charged with murder and second-degree robbery. The co-defendants are only charged with second-degree robbery.

Helms trial began Monday.

On the witness stand, a visibly upset Ramos, who is now 23, had a hard time looking at Helms, seated next to his attorney Michael Aed.

Prosecutor Daniel Walters asked her if she wanted to be testifying against Helms.

No one wants to do this, she said. Nobody wakes up and says, I want to see my friends go down. I am here because I need to be here.

As part of her agreement, Ramos pleaded guilty to second-degree robbery and promised to testify truthfully about what happened the day Truss was shot and killed.

Ramos told Walters that she was starting to change her life in 2019. She had given up using methamphetamine and cocaine, but still smoked marijuana. She was also planning to enroll at UEI College to become a medical assistant. She had even convinced her friend Hannah Haywood, 22, from Sioux City to move out to Firebaugh, where Ramos was staying with her mother. The two friends planned to enroll together at UEI.

Ramos spent several years in Sioux City when she lived there with her father. She said she and Haywood became instant friends and later got to know Precious Green, 22, and Helms.

The plan was for Green and Helms to drive Haywood to California and then return to Iowa a few days later. Along the way, Green took a .22 caliber handgun from an unlocked car and brought it with her to Firebaugh.

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Ramos said a few days before Truss was killed, the friends got into a rollover crash in Haywoods Dodge Neon. Ramos testified that one of her Firebaugh friends was behind the wheel and speeding when he crashed into another car. The other car rolled several times while the Dodge Neon spun several times in the road.

They panicked, ditched the car and later reported it stolen.

We were in a state of shock, she said. And we felt like we had to leave.

Hatching a robbery plan using dating app

While staying at her grandmothers home in Mendota, Ramos said Green and Helms hatched a plan to make some quick money and head back to Iowa.

They were talking about setting up people to rob them, Ramos testified.

Green used a dating app, MeetMe, to lure someone out to the west side with the promise of hooking up. Truss, who was a complete stranger, took the bait, Ramos said.

Green asked to meet at Rojas Pierce Park in Mendota where she asked Truss if he could give her and her friends a ride to Firebaugh. Green said she needed to pick up a fanny pack she left at a drug house.

Truss agreed, offering to share his marijuana for the 12-minute drive.

As they drove into Firebaugh, Truss took a wrong turn, and it angered Helms, who was sitting directly behind him.

He looked irritated and the energy shifted quickly, Ramos testified. I am pretty sure Isaac told him something and Truss told him something back, but I didnt hear what was being said.

They were about 20 feet from their destination when Truss began to slow down and Ramos was starting to open the door when Truss stepped on the gas pedal, causing the car to lunge forward.

When I turned back around, I see Isaac holding him (Truss) by the hair and I was starting to get a weird feeling and I just wanted to get out of there, Ramos testified. Thats when Isaac hit him in the head with the gun and Truss gets upset and starts to reach for something and shouts, I am going to kill you guys, and then I remember hearing a gun go off.

Aed, Helms attorney, wants the jury to consider that his client acted in self-defense.

Ramos remembers Truss screaming and trying to get out of the car, but he still had his seat belt on and Helms was still grabbing his hair. Truss soon slumped over in pain, half his body leaning out of the open car door.

He would be found that way by Firebaugh police officers who arrived within minutes.

Impossible to hide in a small town

The friends tried to get away but they didnt get very far before being arrested.

Ramos also realized that it would be nearly impossible to hide in a small town like Firebaugh where everyone knows everyone.

I jumped out of the car and I look at the car behind us and the driver looks at me with a confused look, Ramos testified. I recognized her as the secretary at my high school. I just kept walking.

The trial continued Wednesday in Department 50.
Two of Vermont's wine- and cider-making businesses are joining forces in a merger, aligning their shared values and commitments to the state's working landscape, according to a news release.

Shelburne Vineyard in Shelburne and Eden Specialty Ciders in Newport announced the merger on Monday, saying each company would retain its existing name.

"Since both businesses have a long history and established brands, we are not creating a new company name," Eleanor Leger, founder of Eden Specialty Ciders, said in a statement. "This merger combines our forces behind the scenes, allowing us to sell each other's products, reach new markets, and leverage the strengths of all of our team members."

The combined teams of Shelburne Vineyard and Eden Specialty Ciders.

Leger will become chief executive officer of the combined company, while Ken and Gail Albert, founders of Shelburne Vineyard, will "ease into retirement," according to a news release. The Alberts will continue to support the new company as "brand ambassadors," and will retain partial ownership of the combined business.

Cider and wine, wine and cider

To kick off the merger, Shelburne Vineyard has added an expanded collection of Eden's sparkling and still ciders, ice ciders and canned ciders to its tasting room. The vintner will also offer Eden's ciders for tasting and purchase at its Lincoln Peak Tasting Room in New Haven, when it reopens in mid-May.

Wines and ciders from Shelburne Vineyard and Eden Specialty Ciders, which have merged into one company.

Shelburne Vineyard acquired Lincoln Peak Vineyard in 2021, after taking over management of five of Lincoln Peak's 12 acres of vines the previous two seasons. The two companies had been friendly competitors, according to Ken Albert.

Eden will soon offer Shelburne Vineyard wines and the vineyard's line of Iapetus natural wines through its ecommerce and distribution channels, according to a news release.

More: New restaurants in Vermont: Here's a look at what opened this summer.

"This year marks the 25th anniversary of our very first vineyard plantings, and it felt like a fitting time for us to entrust our pioneering Vermont winegrowing venture to a team that is firmly committed to the same values," Ken Albert said in a statement. "It was extremely important to us that the company stay local and continue to be owned by Vermonters, so the opportunity to work with Eleanor and Eden just made sense."

Contact Dan DAmbrosio at 660-1841 or ddambrosio@freepressmedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DanDambrosioVT. This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.

This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Shelburne Vineyard merges with Eden Specialty Ciders
Sheng Siong supermarket entrance and Le Bao prawn rolls (Photos: Yahoo News Singapore and Eileen Lpy/Facebook)

SINGAPORE  Supermarket chain Sheng Siong has recalled all Le Bao prawn rolls from its shelves since last Sunday (16 April) evening.

This was after a Facebook post went viral over a safety pin that was found hidden in one of the prawn rolls.

The pin had been discovered after a woman purchased the prawn rolls, and had fried and cut them up for her nine-year-old brother.

A Sheng Siong spokesperson told Yahoo Southeast Asia on Wednesday (19 April) that they have since reached out to the customer and apologised for the incident.

Sheng Siong assures that the supplier has since been informed and that they will follow up on the situation to ensure the safety and satisfaction of customers.

"We place the highest value on food safety and will actively work with the authorities on the matter."

As of time of writing, the Singapore Food Agency (SFA) has yet to respond to the woman's email query on the incident.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
Quinton Lucas, the mayor of Kansas City, Mo., in his office at City Hall, April 19, 2023. (Chase Castor/The New York Times)

KANSAS CITY, Mo.  On Tuesday morning, hundreds of Staley High School students filled the street outside their school in a display of anger and support for their fellow student, Ralph Yarl, who was shot by a homeowner after he rang a doorbell at the wrong house in Kansas City last week. One sign read, We Walk for Ralph. Another demanded, Justice 4 Ralph Yarl.

By days end, they found some measure of relief, as Andrew D. Lester, the 84-year-old man accused of shooting Ralph, surrendered to authorities after being charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action.

But many residents of Kansas City remained deeply troubled by the events that had shaken their city for the past several days. Some asked why Lester was released from police custody last week rather than being charged immediately. Others said that federal hate crime charges should be brought, in a case that the county prosecutor said had a racial component, as an older, white homeowner was accused of shooting an unarmed Black teenager. A few wondered if a jury would sympathize with Lester, who told police that he was scared to death of being physically harmed before shooting Ralph.

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In a country on edge over crime, the shooting was the latest example of an ordinary interaction  the ringing of a doorbell on a front step in a quiet neighborhood in Missouri  instantly turning into another shocking incident of American gun violence.

I am, I think, sufficiently frightened over how easily we are willing to shoot each other, said Rep. Emanuel Cleaver, a Democrat who previously served as the first Black mayor of Kansas City.

At a gathering in downtown Kansas City on Tuesday afternoon, Karen Allman, who lives down the street from Lester, said that she found some satisfaction that he had turned himself in, but that she was still upset over what had happened  and that Lester had not been charged for several days after the shooting Thursday night.

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I have no doubt that if it was a Black homeowner who shot a white kid on his porch, he would have stayed in jail until somebody pressed charges, she said.

Jail records showed that Lester was released on bond from Clay County jail shortly after surrendering to authorities Tuesday. No lawyer was listed as representing him in court records, and it was not clear when he might appear in front of a judge.

Ralph, who had been sent to pick up his younger siblings when the shooting occurred, was recovering at home after being hospitalized with two gunshot wounds to his head and arm. In a CBS News interview on Tuesday, Cleo Nagbe, Ralphs mother, said her son was doing considerably well after being shot above his left eye and in his upper right arm. Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family, said Ralph was sitting up and playing with his dog on Tuesday. He said the teenager also spoke by phone with Vice President Kamala Harris.

Paul Yarl, Ralphs father, said this week that his son, an athlete who loves music and video games, had surgery over the weekend to remove the bullets and was able to walk out of the hospital on Sunday. He is expected to make a full recovery.

Authorities in Kansas City released new details of their investigation, and in the neighborhood in far northern Kansas City where the shooting took place, residents said they were still stunned by the shooting and its aftermath.

There was little disagreement over what had transpired Thursday night. According to the criminal complaint, at roughly 9:50 p.m., one resident heard something unusual: a vehicle pulling into Lesters driveway. It was odd, the resident later told the police, for Lester to have a visitor this late at night.

Ralph had made an error common in Kansas City, driving to a house on Northeast 115th Street instead of Northeast 115th Terrace, a block away. He pressed the doorbell and waited outside the front door for what felt like a long time, he told the police later. Lester, who had just gone to bed, got up and opened the inside door while holding a revolver, according to a probable cause statement from investigators.

Lester told a police officer after the shooting that he saw a Black male pulling on the exterior storm door handle. This was one of the few areas of disagreement: When interviewed by a detective, Ralph said that he only rang the doorbell and did not pull on the door.

Within moments, Lester began shooting through the glass of the exterior storm door, afraid that a break-in was in progress, he told police.

Ralph was shot in the head and then the arm. Dont come around here, he remembers Lester saying, according to a detective. He got up and ran away, trying to elude more gunshots, he told police.

Zach Dovel, 20, was across the street watching a podcast in the house where he lives with his mother.

The two were startled by a bang on the front door; fearful that someone was trying to break in, they called 911. The operator, Dovel said, told them that there was a gunman on the loose and that they should stay inside.

But they could see a teenager in the driveway and went outside. He was limping and bleeding, wounded from gunshots. Dovel ran back inside and grabbed towels, while his mother talked to Ralph, asking questions and trying to keep him alert until the ambulance arrived.

The worst part was seeing him get down on his knees  it looked like he was praying, Dovel said. He thought he was going to die.

One of Ralphs family members said that he went to three different houses before a neighbor would help him. Dovel said the police and an ambulance arrived in what felt like minutes, and once there was a police presence outside, more neighbors emerged from their homes.

The shooting happened near the northern edge of Kansas City, a sprawling municipality that is larger in size than New York City though its population is far smaller.

Known locally as the Northland, this stretch of Kansas City north of the Missouri River has a reputation of being more conservative and white than the city as a whole. That perception intensified in 2021 when a dispute over police funding contributed to talk of the Northland splitting from Kansas City. The area where the shooting took place resembles a working-class suburb, with single-family homes that have generous yards and no sidewalks.

Residents who were home Tuesday said they were unsettled by the shooting but rejected the notion that it reflected on their neighborhood, which was swarmed by television cameras.

Theyre judging all of us, but everybody here is nice and decent, said Vickie Mahterian, a neighbor. People come to my door all the time. I dont shoot them in the head. We are good people here.

Dan Fowler, a City Council member whose district includes the shooting scene, said there was a broad sense of relief in Kansas City that charges had been filed and that the suspect was in custody.

It doesnt bring closure, but it brings a sense of closure that at least the process is going and that there is accountability, Fowler said.

Fowler said Kansas Citys pattern for naming roads, in which there might be a terrace, street or boulevard with similar names near one another, made it easy to understand how Ralph ended up on the wrong porch.

Its very easy to get that confused if you are not particularly familiar with the area, Fowler said. I was stunned that somebody would go on such an innocent, everyday thing of picking up your siblings, and then he gets shot.

S. David Mitchell, a law professor at the University of Missouri, said that a defense lawyer could try to invoke the castle doctrine, a law in Missouri that allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves without having to retreat.

The front porch, Mitchell said, becomes the gray area of what constitutes ones castle, a question that the jury could consider.

Its created this narrative that if youre ever in trouble, you cant stop and ask a homeowner for assistance in case youre shot.

c.2023 The New York Times Company
A Tennessee doctor convicted of contributing to drug abuse and addiction in Kentucky has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison and fined $100,000.

John L. Stanton, 66, maintained he was innocent but a jury in federal court in London convicted him of conspiracy to illegally distribute pain pills and other drugs.

U.S. District Judge Robert E. Wier sentenced Stanton after a hearing Monday in federal court in London.

Stanton was medical director at Gateway Medical Associates, a pain clinic in Clarksville, Tennessee, from mid-2016 through 2020, according to court records.

Drug traffickers from southeastern Kentucky used the clinic as a source of supply, even though it was several hours away, because it was easy for people to get prescriptions there despite red flags such as failing drug tests, authorities charged.

Drug dealers from Clay and Knox counties admitted paying costs for people  often people addicted to drugs  to go to the clinic and then fill their prescriptions in Kentucky.

The dealers then got some or all the pills to sell, or the people whod gone to the clinic sold the drugs and shared the proceeds with the dealers, according to court records.

James Maccarone, another physician, owned the clinic.

Defense attorneys argued that Stanton acted in good faith at the clinic, treating patients with genuine care and professionalism, and advocated for types of pain treatment other than drugs, such as physical therapy.

However, Maccarone undermined Stantons efforts to lower the amount of drugs prescribed to people and to dismiss patients whose tests indicated they could be abusing or diverting their drugs, defense attorneys said in a sentencing memorandum.

In letters to Wier, family members and friends described Stanton as a devoted family man and a skilled, compassionate physician.

Some said Maccarone took advantage of Stantons trusting nature and faith in others.

That explains how a well-intentioned, intelligent, and experienced physician, orthopedic surgeon, and Army veteran was able to be deceived by a fellow physician, Julia Doss, a nurse practitioner who worked with Stanton at another clinic, said in a letter.

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But the prosecutor said under Stantons supervision, Gateway Medical Associates (GMA) routinely gave people prescriptions for powerful painkillers whom showed signs of abusing drugs or diverting the to sell illegally.

Witnesses said Stanton and Maccarone consistently wrote prescriptions to people who failed drug screening tests or didnt take part in pill counts, which is a method to make sure people are taking their medication correctly.

The clinic padded profits by allowing patients to pay a $150 fee in lieu of taking part in pill counts, Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew E. Smith said in a sentencing memorandum.

Stanton often wrote prescriptions after only cursory visits with patients and without any meaningful medical decision-making to patients who were clearly abusing the drugs, Smith wrote.

Stanton abandoned his responsibility as a physician and profited from GMAs illicit operations for several years, Smith said in the memo. In doing so, he served as a significant supplier for diverted medications (in Eastern Kentucky) and fostered the addictions of patients who were abusing heroin, fentanyl, and other dangerous drugs while under his supposed care.

Stanton was paid $318,300 from the clinics illicit operations, the prosecutor said.

Maccarone pleaded guilty. Wier sentenced him to seven years in prison, along with forfeiting the clinic property and $204,186 to the government and paying $1.3 million.

Terry Prince, a Knox County man who admitted getting drugs from the clinic to sell, was sentenced to five years and eight months. Jeffrey Ghent, a Clay County drug dealer, was sentenced to five years.

The case was related to charges against Calvin Manis, a pharmacist and longtime city council member in Barbourville who admitted filling prescriptions he knew would be sold illegally.

Manis is serving a sentence of eight years and four months in prison.
Leopard 2 tank

The tanks, along with other armored vehicles from Madrid, are expected to be deployed to the frontline by the end of the month.

Read also: Canada shows delivery of Leopard 2 tanks to Ukraine  photo

Margarita Robles, Spain's Defense Minister, said on April 12 Leopard that tanks will be transferred to Ukraine in the near future. Four more tanks are being repaired and will be sent later.

Dozens of Ukrainian soldiers completed a four-week-long training on the Leopard 2A4 tanks in Spain on March 13. A total of 40 crew members and 15 mechanics have undergone training at a military base in Zaragoza.

Nine countries plan to transfer over 150 Leopard tanks to Ukraine, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said on March 15, with some allies having already fulfilled their commitments.

Denmark has promised 100 additional Leopard 1 tanks for Ukraine.

Read also: Denmark to transfer Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine "very soon", MoD says

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 San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors selected a new district map on Tuesday.

The board voted 3-2 to select Map A, designed by the firm Redistricting Partners, to replace the so-called Patten map.

We need a fair and equitable map that does not favor a particular political party, and that ensures that all county citizens have a voice in our democracy, Supervisor Jimmy Paulding said at Tuesdays board meeting.

The boards decision comes after supervisors voted on March 21 to settle a lawsuit with local group San Luis Obispo County Citizens for Good Government, agreeing to throw out the Patten map and pick a new map by May 15.

SLO County Citizens for Good Government sued the county over the map in 2022, arguing that it split up communities of interest and advantaged Republican voters.

The League of Women Voters of San Luis Obispo County later joined the lawsuit, along with some individuals.

On Tuesday, supervisors Bruce Gibson, Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Paulding, who agreed with the claims in the lawsuit, voted to remove the Patten map and select Map A as its replacement.

The three supervisors agreed that Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cambria and Cayucos should be in the same district, as they share environmental and economic interests tied to the coast. They also said that Oceano and Nipomo should be paired together, too, as they share the Oceano Dunes, agricultural interests and a large Latino population.

Map A achieves these goals, while maintaining boundaries similar to the 2011 map, Gibson said.

It does represent minimal change, Gibson said.

The trio noted that the lawsuit was a grassroots effort sparked by outrage with the way the previous board selected the map.

The reason were here is there was a movement in our community  a movement around democracy and transparency, accountability and good governance, Paulding said.

Supervisors John Peschong and Debbie Arnold, however, did not think that the Patten map violated the Fair Maps Act, as the lawsuit claimed, and voted against establishing a new district map.

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Because the board voted to settle the lawsuit, no judge could determine whether or not the Patten map violated the act, the pair said.

There is no gerrymandering because the court did not rule that theres any gerrymandering, Peschong said.

Arnold would have preferred that the board allow the lawsuit to play out in court, she said.

To have a legally elected board, in the legal time frame, adopt a legally compliant map, following the process every step of the way ... to have it end with a settlement done by a few people behind closed doors is a really sad thing, Arnold said.

Richard Patten, the Arroyo Grande resident who submitted his map in 2021, also criticized the change, equating the new majority on the Board of Supervisors to a  Venezuelan democracy.

San Luis Obispo County Supervisors John Peschong, Dawn Ortiz-Legg, Bruce Gibson listen to public comment Feb. 7, 2023.

How does Map A compare to other district maps?

Patten submitted his map to be considered during the countys redistricting process, which occurs every 10 years.

Three conservative supervisors  Peschong, Arnold and Lynn Compton  voted to adopt the Patten map, while supervisors Dawn Ortiz-Legg and Bruce Gibson opposed.

Pattens reshuffling of the districts ended with a conservative-leaning map, despite the county having more registered Democrats than Republicans.

For example, the liberal-leaning town of Oceano moved from District 4 to District 5, leaving District 4 with more conservative voters.

Edna Valley and the San Luis Obispo Country Club area also moved into District 4, adding more registered Republicans to the area.

District 2, formerly a coastal district stretching from Los Osos to the top of the county, also changed.

Under the Patten map, liberal-leaning Morro Bay and Los Osos were parceled out to other districts, while Atascadero  a more conservative inland city  moved into District 2.

The Patten map, created by resident Richard Patten, dramatically redrew San Luis Obispo Countys supervisor districts in 2021 by splitting the North Coast into three districts with Los Osos in one, Morro Bay in another, and Cayucos, Cambria and the rest of the region in a district with Atascadero. It divided the city of SLO between two supervisors instead of three. It also separated Oceano from Nipomo in a district that ran from the southern end of Pismo Beach to the edge of Morro Bay State Park and included the Laguna Lake and airport areas of SLO. Santa Margarita was grouped with Templeton and Paso Robles, rather than neighboring Atascadero. The result packed Democrats into two districts while giving Republicans the edge in the other three. The new liberal majority of the Board of Supervisors threw the map out as part of a settlement in a lawsuit brought by community members.

According to a 2021 analysis done by The Tribune, the Patten map favored Republican voters by packing Democrats into Districts 2 and 5  making it easier for Republican candidates to win Districts 1, 3 and 4 and maintain a conservative majority on the board.

Despite that advantage, however, conservatives still lost their majority when Gibson beat challenge Bruce Jones in November by 13 votes to take the reconfigured District 2 seat.

The board reviewed three possible maps on Tuesday to replace the Patten map  one designed by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce, and two drawn by the firm Redistricting Partners. In 2021, the board considered these three maps alongside the Patten map.

These arent maps that just came out of nowhere, Redistricting Partners representative Paul Mitchell said at Tuesdays board meeting.

Map A preserves the boundaries of the 2011 district map with slight differences to accommodate for population changes revealed by the 2020 U.S. Census, Mitchell said.

This means that the coastal communities of Los Osos, Morro Bay, Cambria and Cayucos are reunited in District 2, while Oceano and Nipomo are reunited in District 4, according to Mitchell.

The map also returns Atascadero to District 5, and groups Santa Margarita with the Garden Farms community in the same district.

The population deviation between districts for Map A is 9.3%, Mitchell said.

This is more significant than the Patten map, which has a population deviation of 7.5%, according to Mitchell.

I wouldnt suggest that you weigh this difference between 7.5% and 9.3% as being a big deal, Mitchell said.

As long as the population deviation is below 10%, the U.S. Supreme Court and state law consider the map legal and reasonably compact, Mitchell said.

Map B, also drawn by Redistricting Partners, is similar to Map A in mimicking the boundaries of the 2011 map.

A key difference is that Map B condenses Cal Poly into District 2, while Map A splits the university into more than one district, Mitchell said.

Map Bs population deviation matches the Patten map at 7.5%, Mitchell said.

Finally, the map proposed by the Chamber of Commerce deviates slightly from the 2011 district map.

The chamber map keeps the cores of current districts largely intact, making some changes, the staff report said.

In the chamber map, District 2 includes the northern coastal communities of Cambria, Cayucos, Los Osos, Morro Bay and San Simeon along with a western portion of Atascadero that isnt included in the 2011 maps District 2 boundaries, according to the staff report.

The chamber maps population deviation is slightly higher than the Patten map at 7.8%, the staff report said.

The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors will consider adopting this map designed by the San Luis Obispo Chamber of Commerce to replace the Patten map adopted in 2021.

What does the Fair Maps Act require?

Any map the board selects must comply with Californias Fair Maps Act, and Mitchell confirmed at the meeting that all three maps did so.

The Fair Maps Act requires the map to follow numerous rules, including that districts are relatively equal in population size and that they are easily identifiable  meaning they follow city and natural boundaries and keep districts compact, based on where people live  along with keeping communities of interest intact, Mitchell said at the meeting.

Communities of interest are a group of people with similar needs and interests. A community of interest could be a neighborhood or a city, but it can also be an area where theres a concentrated group of senior citizens, or where people have similar environmental concerns, Mitchell said.

The important question is, How do these lines empower communities of interest? Mitchell said.

The Fair Maps Act requires that the county hold four public hearings to discuss the map, including one hearing on the weekend and another after 6 p.m. on a weekday.

Neal explained that the current redistricting process is a continuation of the January 2021 redistricting process when the board selected the Patten map.

As a result, the county has met its requirements for hearings, County Counsel Rita Neal said.

Though the California Election Code and Fair Maps Act ban the county from adopting a map specifically to advantage or disadvantage a political party, it doesnt prevent the board or other parties from reviewing partisan data along with other data, Neal said.

What the code says is that you cant adopt a man for the purpose of favoring or discriminating against a political party, Neal said. It doesnt give any direction on how the board is supposed to consider that.

A court later determined that the board should have considered partisan data once it was submitted to the record, Neal said.

Which map do community members prefer?

Speaking at Tuesdays meeting, SLO County Diversity Coalition Executive Director Rita Casaverde said she wants Garden Farms to be included in the same district as Santa Margarita, the towns natural neighbor.

Every Halloween all the kids go from Garden Farms to trick-or-treat in Santa Margarita, said Casaverde, who lives in Garden Farms. Santa Margarita is where our nearest public library is, where our nearest public church is, so its really nice to know that our communities will be coming back together.

I really thank all of you for bringing some sense of fairness back to the process, Casaverde told the supervisors.

Lifetime Oceano resident Allene Villa also expressed support for Map A, because it reunites her town with Nipomo. The two South County communities share a large Latinx population and agricultural economy, along with tourism related to Oceano Dunes State Vehicular Recreation Area, she said.

Latinos have settled in Nipomo and Oceano ... to pick the crops in the nearby fields, Villa said. The crops that they pick contribute significantly to the agriculture industry of our county and our districts way of life.

Atascadero resident Jim Patterson, a former county supervisor, said that its important to limit change when picking a new district map.

Map A returns sanity, consistency, and fairness to the district boundaries in San Luis Obispo, he said.

Other community members who spoke at Tuesdays meeting wanted the board to stick with the Patten map because it puts Cal Poly and the city of San Luis Obispo in the same district, District 3.

Bruce Jones, who ran in the District 2 supervisors race in 2022, criticized Map A for connecting Cal Poly with northern rural communities in District 5 through a narrow ribbon of land over the Grade and swooping down to collect a group of voters.

Templeton resident Nancy Shaw argued that the city of SLO has different political interests than surrounding communities, and should reside in its own district.

Why should three other districts become infected with the tentacles and votes of San Luis Obispo? Shaw asked. This is a big tell of gerrymandering unfairness and possibly illegal maneuvers.

Patten himself said he submitted his map as a citizen, and the board adopted the map using a legal process.

My map used no political data in its boundaries, Patten said. All of the community of interests were kept intact.

He criticized the new board majority for settling the lawsuit and throwing out his map.

The form of government that is called is kinda like a Venezuelan democracy, Patten said.

Richard Patten, author of the Patten Map, steps away from the podium after he spoke to the counter supervisors. The SLO County Supervisors will vote on a redistricting plan for San Luis Obispo County.

Will SLO County still have orphaned communities?

SLO County supervisors will continue to serve in the districts to which they were elected until their next election, according to Neal.

This means that the Board of Supervisors will be working with three district maps until the 2024 election: the 2011 map, the Patten map and the newly adopted Map A.

Supervisors in District 1 and 5 will continue to serve under the 2011 map, Neal said.

During the 2024 election, the county will implement new boundaries for Districts 1, 3 and 5 as decided by Map A.

Districts 2 and 4 will keep their Patten map boundaries until the 2026 election, which will use Map A.

Using three maps will cause some hiccups in representation across the county.

For example, Atascadero voted for a District 2 supervisor during the 2022 election, and will have the chance to vote for a District 5 supervisor in 2024 under the newly adopted Map A  so those voters will technically have two elected supervisors until the 2026 election.

On the other hand, Los Osos didnt get to vote for a supervisor in 2022, and wont have the chance to vote again until 2026.

Los Osos resident Don Maruska, a plaintiff in the redistricting lawsuit, noted that the redistricting process turned neighbors against each other.

Weve somehow lost faith in each other, somehow lost the sense that we can just trust each other, to be considerate of one anothers needs and concerns and find solutions as a community of the county as a whole, Maruska said.

He invited community members to set aside their differences, accept Map A and collaborate to solve other issues in the county.

Now we have a choice, Maruska said. We can wallow in our many losses and grudges, or we can pivot from this moment of conflict.
A 50-year-old man died after snow from his familys cabin fell on him, Utah police told news outlets.

Ryan Peterson was checking on a cabin that his family partially owns on April 17 in Brighton, according to KUTV.

Peterson, of Holladay, was clearing snow from the roof when a large amount of snow slid off the roof, taking him with it, according to ABC 4, citing police.

The mans loved ones contacted police after they werent able to get ahold of him, ABC 4 reported.

During a welfare check, police found Peterson buried in the snow, according to KSL. Petersons boot and arm were visible.

Brighton is about 30 miles southeast of Salt Lake City.

Avalanche kills four in French Alps, crews searching for survivors, officials say

Avalanche buries two people, trapping one under vehicle on Utah mountain, rescuers say

Avalanche kills man snowmobiling with family in Utah. He was buried 22 feet deep
Shirley-Anne Somerville, the SNP Social Justice Secretary - Jane Barlow/PA

The SNP plans to squander taxpayers money on a lengthy and expensive legal challenge to the veto of Nicola Sturgeons gender Bill to distract from party turmoil, opponents have claimed.

Shirley-Anne Somerville, the SNP Social Justice Secretary, insisted on Wednesday that ministers had no option but to challenge the UK Governments block of the law in the courts, claiming failing to do so would undermine democracy.

However, she refused to publish legal advice on her chances of success, after a series of eminent legal figures said they believed a judicial review was doomed to fail.

The Scottish Secretary, Alister Jack, vetoed the law, which would have allowed Scots to change their legal sex simply by signing a declaration, in January claiming it would have undermined UK-wide equalities laws and threatened the rights of women and girls.

It was the first time in the history of devolution that the mechanism, known as a Section 35 Order, had been deployed.

Claims cost could reach 500,000

Donald Cameron, the Scottish Tory MSP, suggested that the court action was an attempt to distract from the police investigation into party finances which has seen two senior SNP figures, including Ms Sturgeons husband, arrested.

He called on the SNP to reveal its legal advice, which by convention can be released in exceptional circumstances.

Ms Somerville also declined to set out how much the challenge could cost taxpayers, with some experts claiming the bill could reach 500,000.

It is of course deeply disappointing that the Scottish Government has chosen to challenge the Section 35 order in the courts and is plainly doing so now to divert attention from a serious crisis that is currently engulfing the SNP, Mr Cameron said.

A lengthy and expensive litigation is the wrong choice for this legislation and for all those impacts.

SNP challenge success 'very low'

Lord Hope, a former Supreme Court judge, has previously said the Scottish Governments chances of overturning the veto are very low.

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He went on to claim it was quite wrong to characterise the veto as an attack on devolution, with Section 35 written into the Scotland Act which set up the Scottish Parliament.

However, Humza Yousaf, the First Minister, backed challenging the veto in the SNP leadership contest, subject to legal advice, and the Scottish Greens warned they may walk away from their coalition at Holyrood had he failed to do so.

In a petition lodged at the Court of Session, SNP ministers argued that Mr Jack had made a material error of law by claiming the legislation would have an adverse impact on reserved matters and that his concerns were irrational.

They claimed there was no evidence to back up his fears that the changes, which would remove the need for any medical oversight before an application for a gender recognition certificate (GRC) was granted, would lead to a rise in fraudulent applications.

This is despite Mr Yousaf claiming that the transgender double rapist Isla Bryson was at it and not a genuine trans woman, despite initially being sent to a female jail.

Ms Somerville said: We have not taken this decision lightly. We have considered it carefully. And it was clear to us in our deliberations that allowing the UK Governments veto on the democratic decisions of this Parliament to go unchallenged would undermine our democracy.

On the refusal to release legal advice, she added: There is a convention not to publish legal advice.
Its official: South Dakota has a new set of social studies standards that educators will start teaching to students in the fall of 2025.

Thats after the South Dakota Board of Education Standards passed that set Monday in Pierre, despite hearing from a majority of educators and the states nine tribes who all stood in solidarity opposing the standards.

A two-year implementation period for the standards will start in June at the South Dakota Department of Education office, along with the South Dakota Historical Society and the Office of Indian Education to help current teachers learn how to put the standards into practice, according to a press release from Gov. Kristi Noems office.

The Board of Education Standards listens to testimony on the proposed social studies standards during a meeting in Pierre on April 17, 2023.

All in all, the standards take students from kindergarten through 12th grade and include content in the form of stories, historical figures, maps, research, images and historical documents, according to the introduction to the standards written by the DOE and workgroup.

There is no statewide assessment for social studies.

More: South Dakota social studies standards pass, despite opposition from educators, tribes

Here are some grade-by-grade highlights from the new standards, which have a spiral sequence that teaches students concepts from history in a chronological order, with students studying world history four times and American history and/or civics five times.

To see the full 179-page set of social studies standards, you will need to find the recent Board of Education Standards agenda online and look at item 6.N.

Elementary school: From before 60 B.C. to 1908

In the earliest elementary grades, kindergarteners content will consist of an Introduction to America, followed by world history to 315 and America from 1492-1787 in first grade, and world history from 315-1492 and American history from 1787-1908 in second grade.

Kindergarteners must be able to tell stories about a list of 64 historical figures ranging from Christopher Columbus to Barack Obama; learn 32 different symbols of the U.S. including the flag, seal, various monuments and holidays; and, give examples of virtues and actions related to hard work, personal potential and individual independence, among other standards.

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First graders must be able to recite the preamble to the U.S. Constitution from memory and a line from the Declaration of Independence: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

They must also demonstrate knowledge of several ancient civilizations across the globe and of European exploration and settlement of what would become the United States, among other standards.

More: New social studies standards should be 'free from political agendas and activism,' DOE draft states

Second graders must understand citizenship, the importance of a knowledgeable, good and hard-working citizenry, the fall of Rome, the Middle Ages, and the Renaissance, including knowledge of Muslims, Christians, Confucianism, Japanese Buddhism and much more.

Third graders content spans world history to 60 B.C.E. and American history from 1492-1763, followed by world history from 60 B.C.E. to 1300 C.E. and American history from 1763-1820 in fourth grade, then world history from 1300-1648 and American history from 1820-1908 in fifth grade.

In third grade, theres an added section to demonstrate knowledge of colonial America, slavery and how the American colonist was generally defined by certain traits, including being hard-working, determined, religious, skeptical of authority, and self-governing.

Fourth graders must also demonstrate knowledge of events leading up to the American Revolution, the War of Independence and U.S. history from George Washingtons presidency to the War of 1812.

By fifth grade, students must be able to recite the Gettysburg Address from memory as well as know more about westward expansions effects on relationships with Native Americans and the electoral divide over slavery. They will also cover womens suffrage, the Reformation, the Gilded Age and more.

Middle school: U.S. history from 1492 to 2008

In sixth grade, students content falls under Influential Ideas in History and Civics: to 1815.

Sixth grade includes a large focus on world geography, spanning the globe from all major continents except for Australia and Antarctica; a return to understanding influential ideas from time periods covered in earlier grades; and, ideas from the Scientific Revolution, Enlightenment and the French Revolution.

In seventh grade, students content looks at America from 1492 to 1877.

More: What are the biggest changes between current and proposed social studies curriculum?

Seventh graders must give examples of patriotism; cover the U.S. Constitution and Declaration of Independence, memorizing paragraphs from the latter; explain traits of colonists; learn more about Washingtons presidency, the War of 1812, the Mexican-American War and the sectional divide in the U.S. over slavery.

In eighth grade, students will examine America from 1877 to 2008.

Eighth graders will cover the Gilded Age, time after the Civil War, suffrage in South Dakota, boarding schools, World War I, the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, World War II, the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, cultural revolution, and the turn of the 21st Century up to the 2008 election, to name a few highlights.

High school: A little bit of everything, and more

High school standards include ancient to modern world history, world geography, U.S. history from 1492-2008, U.S. government and American civics, economics, and South Dakota and Native American history and civics.

These standards are broken down by subject, not by grade level, as the standards adopted in 2015 were.

World history and world geography standards cover much of what is covered in earlier grades, as well as identifying elements that make up a persons culture, including political culture.

More: How South Dakota's social studies standards became so controversial

Economics standards include mentions of Karl Marx, Adam Smith, the free market, capitalism, agricultural economics, economic decisions, the principles of supply and demand, economic systems, major market structures, the business cycle and macroeconomic measurements, money and financial institutions, trade and commerce, and much more.

U.S. history standards include demonstrating knowledge of American and South Dakotan geography, comparing modern ways of life to prior eras in history, understanding of Native American people before the arrival of Europeans and Africans, settlement, colonial America, the American Revolution, founders arguments and some repeats from earlier grades.

U.S. government and American civics standards cover modern ways of life compared to prior eras, principles and examples from world history that influenced Americas founding, the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, the Bill of Rights, Americas principles, the institution of slavery, the Civil War, civil rights, 20th Century Progressivism, domestic policy, foreign policy, citizenship, politics, South Dakota and Native American government and politics, and finally, the American experiment in self-government compared to other historical and present-day regimes.

This article originally appeared on Sioux Falls Argus Leader: South Dakota's new social studies standards broken down by grade
South Korea might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if Ukraine suffers another large-scale civilian attack.

Source: Reuters, citing South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol

Quote from Yoon Suk Yeol: "If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support."

Details: Yoon Suk Yeol made the announcement ahead of his visit to the US next week.

Reuters noted that this was Seouls first declaration of the possibility of supplying weapons to Ukraine. The announcement came over a year after South Korea ruled out the possibility of lethal aid.

South Korea is the USs key ally, and a large artillery ammunition manufacturer. It has so far tended to avoid a confrontation with Russia because of the number of Russian firms operating in the country, and Moscows influence over North Korea, despite the growing pressure from the Western countries to supply weapons to Ukraine.

"I believe there won't be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that's been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law," Yoon said. "However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures."

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
(Bloomberg) -- More than 100 executives from South Koreas top firms plan to join President Yoon Suk Yeol on a visit to the US this month that will focus on economic cooperation and securing supply chains less dependent on China for items such semiconductors.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A total of 122 representatives from companies including Samsung Electronics Co. Executive Chairman Jay Y. Lee and Hyundai Motor Co.s Executive Chair Euisun Chung, will be part of the delegation for the state visit, presidential economic adviser Choi Sang-mok told reporters Wednesday.

It is the largest business group to join Yoon on a trip abroad since he took office about a year ago, Choi said of the visit that will be crucial in supporting South Koreas export-driven economy. Yoon is set to meet President Joe Biden at the White House on April 26 and give a speech at Harvard University in Massachusetts during his trip.

The trip will be a difficult test for Yoon, whose country depends on the US as its main security ally against the likes of North Korea, and also relies on China as its biggest trading partner.

The Biden administration is seeking help from its global partners to impose sweeping curbs on the sale of advanced chips equipment to China. The policy is aimed at preventing the countrys progression in a range of cutting-edge technologies that could threaten Americas status as the worlds preeminent power.

South Korean companies won a one-year reprieve from the sweeping US export controls unveiled in October that prevent chipmakers from bringing in equipment for their advanced facilities into China. Without a license extension, it is unclear how Samsung and SK Hynix Inc. would proceed. Both depend on China as a key market and a manufacturing site for their memory chips.

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The global supply chain is being restructured with a focus on stability, allied nations, and advanced technology, Choi said. Yoons government has been an advocate of the Biden administrations Asia strategy, including the USs initiative to restructure global supply chains.

The US has also been seeking to assuage Hyundai Motors concerns over parts of Bidens climate and energy bill, which the South Korean carmaker has argued could put it at a disadvantage in the American market.

The act requires electric vehicle makers to assemble their cars in North America and reduce their reliance on China for battery components and materials to get a maximum $7,500 in tax credits. Thats been a major blow to Hyundai and affiliate Kia, which dont have any operational EV plants in the US.

Hyundai is investing about $5.5 billion to build an EV assembly and battery plant near Savannah, Georgia. The South Korean carmaker said the project would create 8,100 new jobs at the twin plants, breaking ground in early 2023 with production to start in 2025.

Yoon has seen his approval fall to its lowest level in about six months, dragged down by his response to leaked documents that purportedly showed the US spied on its South Korean ally. Seoul has been trying to play down the leak, which has embarrassed Washington.

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Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminarys trustees have elected new leadership at the 115-year-old institution in Fort Worth.

David S. Dockery will serve as the seminarys 10th president, while O.S. Hawkins has been named chancellor. The board of trustees unanimously approved the appointments Tuesday.

Dockery has served as interim president since the resignation in September of Adam W. Greenway. Hawkins has served as ambassador-at-large.

An Alabama native, Dockery earned the master of divinity from Southwestern Seminary in 1981. He joined the faculty in 2019 as a distinguished professor of theology and theologian-in-residence for the B.H. Carroll Center for Baptist Heritage and Mission.

Previously, Dockery served as president and chancellor at Trinity International University in Illinois, and as president of Union University in Jackson, Tennessee. At both institutions, his leadership was described as transformative in the face of years of declining enrollment and institutional challenges.

Dr. David Dockery is Gods man for Southwestern Seminary in this hour, Chairman Danny Roberts told trustees, according to a statement. Our seminarys at a critical juncture in this 115-year history, and in Gods providence, He has already provided the man to lead our seminary during this time.

Southwestern opted to forgo a national search to fill the president position as soon as possible, Roberts said.

Dockery said he was deeply humbled and genuinely grateful for the privilege and responsibility to serve, according to the announcement.

I am truly thankful for the overwhelming support from the board of trustees as well as for the faithful encouragement and prayerful support from the faculty, staff, colleagues, and students. What an honor it will be to continue to serve side-by-side with O.S. Hawkins, a dear friend and person that I greatly admire and from whom I have learned much in recent months.

As chancellor, Hawkins will continue to serve as a volunteer and report to Dockery.

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Impeccable leadership credentials

There are really few leaders in Southern Baptist Convention life who have the impeccable leadership credentials of Dr. Hawkins has with the sterling track record of 25 years as president of GuideStone Financial Resources, among other places of service, Roberts said.

Hawkins, a Fort Worth native, retired in March 2022 as president and CEO of Dallas-based GuideStone, which provides financial services to more than 50,000 churches and ministries and 250,000 clergy, church workers, missionaries, university and seminaries. He led the organization for 25 years.

Hawkins earned his master of divinity and doctor of philosophy at Southwestern.

I have loved Southwestern since the first day I attended classes in January 1970, Hawkins said, and I feel a sense of indebtedness to all those who invested so much in my own journey.

Dockery has authored, edited or contributed to nearly 100 books and is best known for his works in the areas of Baptist studies, biblical interpretation and Christian higher education. Hawkins has authored more than 40 books, including the best-selling Code Series with proceeds and royalties benefitting Mission:Dignity, a ministry of GuideStone started to assist retired ministers and widows.

Southwestern is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award bachelor, masters and doctoral degrees. The seminary is also accredited by the Association of Theological Schools.
Photo Illustration by Erin OFlynn/The Daily Beast/SpaceX/Handout/Anadolu Agency via Getty

SpaceX has a huge opportunity to solidify its dominance over space, as well as burnish Elon Musks battered reputation.

Sometime this week, SpaceX will be launching its much-anticipated Starship heavy-launch vehicle into spacewhich company CEO Elon Musk hopes Starship will eventually shuttle humans to the moon and Mars. The mission will mark the first time Starship has ever been flown into orbit. Besides already being planned for a few satellite launches and crewed missions into space, the behemoth, two-stage launch vehicle will eventually be incorporated into NASAs upcoming Artemis missions to take American astronauts back to the lunar surface.

The launch was initially planned for Monday morning in South Padre Island, Texas. However, it was canceled ten minutes before takeoff and the team transitioned to a wet dress rehearsal instead. Musk later tweeted that the suspected culprit appeared to be a frozen pressure valve.

A pressurant valve appears to be frozen, so unless it starts operating soon, no launch today  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2023

While SpaceX has opportunities to launch on Tuesday and Wednesday, systems engineer Kate Tice said on a livestream that theyll need at least 48 hours before the next launch, likely because ground crews need to recycle all of the propellant that was already loaded onto the rocket.

Learned a lot today, now offloading propellant, retrying in a few days, Musk tweeted. This is likely a part of a convoluted ploy to launch the Starship rocket on 4/20 because remember: the billionaire is terminally unfunny and desperate for approval.

If and when Starship does launch, however, it will mark a monumental achievement in both launch vehicle development and space travel as a whole. It's a step along the way to potentially revolutionary development, John Logsdon, professor emeritus at George Washington University and founder of GWs Space Policy Institute, told The Daily Beast. That is lowering the cost of travel beyond Earth orbit, and making it available to a larger number of people.

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Not only is it the largest rocket ever builtstanding taller than the Statue of Liberty at 394 feetits design will allow astronauts to go to and from the lunar surface in the same vehicle. The whole design itself consists of two stages: a lower-stage Super Heavy booster with 33 Raptor engines (which will be launched for the first time ever), and the second-stage Starship spacecraft thatll be used to ferry astronauts and cargo.

Chinas Emulating SpaceXs Designs to Build a Reusable Megarocket

Both stages are designed to be reusable and capable of landing back on Earth much like SpaceXs much smaller Falcon 9 booster. However, this first flight is designed to be disposablethere wont be a landing attempt for either part. Instead, Starship will travel into space where itll complete a nearly full orbit of Earth before re-entering the atmosphere and splashing down into the Pacific Ocean roughly 60 miles away from Hawaii. Both the Super Heavy booster and Starship wont be recovered after falling to the Earth.

Once the launch happens, itll mark yet another feather in the cap for SpaceX. For nearly a decade, the company has dominated the aerospace industryand for good reason. Since developing and successfully flying reusable boosters, its opened the doors for cost-effective space travel in a way that has never been seen or done before.

The technology has allowed it to launch its successful commercial satellite business, internet coverage via Starlink, and incredibly lucrative government contracts to taxi NASA astronauts to and from the International Space Station. SpaceX has also had a large hand in the fledgling space tourism industry. Just last year, it helped in private missions such as Inspiration4 and Axiom, which gave billionaires with deep pockets the ability to cosplay as astronauts.

SpaceXs dominance over the space industry, however, is one of Musks only ventures that is showing robust signs of upward success. The billionaire has run up against a wall of self-inflicted wounds and unwise business decisions since last year when he purchased Twitter for $43 billiona move that even Musk has conceded was at least double what its current valuation is.

What Happens to the Future of Electric Cars if Tesla Dies?

Meanwhile, Tesla is steadily eroding its market share in the electric vehicle industry as legacy automakers ramp up development and sales of their own EVs. The company has also found itself in hot water with everyone from the U.S. Department of Justice to its own investors for allegedly overpromising on its autopilot feature thats been accused of fatally crashing into vehicles and pedestrians.

The Twitter purchase only exacerbated the issues at Tesla too, with many prominent shareholders frustrated at how Musks attention seems to be exclusively focused on propping up the social media platform. Elon abandoned Tesla and Tesla has no working CEO, KoGuan Leo, Teslas third largest shareholder, said in a tweet in December. Are we merely Elons foolish bag holders?

This is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Musks obsession with getting involved with anything that seems to be on the cutting edge of science and technology. His brain chip startup Nerualink is still struggling to get off the ground despite years of promising that itll begin human trials soon. His Boring Company keeps overpromising and underdelivering on contracts to build hyperloops, which are just car tunnels.

More recently, hes decided to play catch up with his old artificial intelligence startup OpenAI after they released the wildly successful ChatGPTpledging to build his own AI business dubbed X.AI.

Astronauts Were All Late to NASA Meeting to Reveal Moon Mission Crew

Yet despite all this, SpaceX has remained relatively untouched when it comes to controversy and financial impact from Musks other business ventures. While there are plenty of reasons for this including the fact that the company relies primarily on lucrative government and commercial contracts to launch satellites and astronauts into orbit, one big reason is that Musk is relatively uninvolved in SpaceXs regular operations. Instead, SpaceXs COO and President Gwynne Shotwell is at the helm.

[Gwynne Shotwell], who runs SpaceX on a day by day basis, is very good, Logsdon said. She runs the company while Elon flips around. He is not involved on a day by day basis given all the other things he's up to.

Ironically, the man who desperately wants to be the face of Mars colonization and space travel is actually doing more for it by taking a step back and distracting himself in other ventures.

Still, this isnt to say that Musk and SpaceX haven't changed the landscape of the aerospace industry as we know itand its no stretch to say that the Starship launch will be one of the most consequential missions in the history of space travel.

NASAs Long-Awaited Return to the Moon Has Finally Begun

Not only will the technology pave a cost-effective and efficient way to reach and, eventually, settle the moon, but it will also play a large role in our plans to colonize Mars.

Logsdon adds that its not a given that the first launch will be successful. Considering the unprecedented complexity of the rocket, there are a nearly infinite number of ways that the launch goes wrongincluding blowing up in a spectacular fireball on the launch pad.

However, he said that theres some level of cautious enthusiasm with the mission. After all, its going to work eventually. When it does, thats when well see space exploration truly take off.

If you look at what Falcon 9 has done to carry payloads into space, it really has disrupted the space launch market, Logsdon explained. And Starship intends to do the same thing for human spaceflight.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Spain's disgraced former king Juan Carlos returned home on Wednesday for the second time since he moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 amid fraud investigations.

The 85-year-old arrived in Vigo in northwestern Spain on a private jet from London, where he attended Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League, according to an AFP photographer on the scene.

He will spend several days in the nearby resort of Sanxenxo, where he stayed in May 2022 during his first trip back to Spain since going into self-imposed exile in the UAE.

His yacht "El Bribon" -- Spanish for "The Rascal" -- will take part in a regatta over the weekend, as it did last year.

Neither the Royal Palace nor Spain's leftist government commented on the visit, with government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez saying she had "nothing to say about this topic".

"It is a personal decision" on the part of the former king, she added.

Last year's visit sparked much criticism, especially from parties on the left which demand he account for the scandals that prompted his 2014 abdication in favour of his son, Felipe.

"Explanations for what?" he retorted when a television journalist asked if he would explain his behaviour.

The former monarch is expected to be more discreet this time.

Spanish prosecutors in March 2022 closed three probes into his finances due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations, but said irregularities had been found.

Revelations about the murky origins of his fortune have done irreparable damage to a figure once revered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy following the death of long-time dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.

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Spain's disgraced former king Juan Carlos returned home on Wednesday for the second time since he moved to Abu Dhabi in 2020 amid fraud investigations.

The 85-year-old arrived in Vigo in northwestern Spain on a private jet from London, where he attended Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Chelsea in the Champions League, according to an AFP photographer on the scene.

He then travelled to the nearby resort of Sanxenxo, where he stayed in May 2022 during his first trip back to Spain since going into self-imposed exile in the UAE.

His yacht "El Bribon" -- Spanish for "The Rascal" -- will take part in a regatta over the weekend, as it did last year.

The former king waved to the media from the car which took him to Sanxenxo but did not speak.

He will reportedly stay at the house of his long-time friend and sailing partner Pedro Campos as last year.

Neither the Royal Palace nor Spain's leftist government commented on the visit, with government spokeswoman Isabel Rodriguez saying she had "nothing to say about this topic".

"It is a personal decision" on the part of the former king, she added.

Last year's visit sparked much criticism, especially from parties on the left which demand he account for the scandals that prompted his 2014 abdication in favour of his son, Felipe.

"Explanations for what?" he retorted when a television journalist asked if he would explain his behaviour.

- 'Austerity and discretion' -

The former monarch is expected to be more discreet this time.

In an editorial, the pro-monarchy ABC newspaper said it "hopes this trip is carried out with intelligence, austerity and discretion because controversies regarding King Felipe VI's father are always used by the enemies of the Crown."

Spanish prosecutors in March 2022 closed three probes into his finances due to insufficient evidence and the statute of limitations, but said several irregularities had been found.

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Revelations about the murky origins of his fortune have done irreparable damage to a figure once revered for his role in Spain's transition to democracy following the death of long-time dictator General Francisco Franco in 1975.

Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzon called the visit "completely inappropriate".

Juan Carlos "does a lot of damage to the image of Spain and the image of the monarchy," he added.

"This is a person who was targeted by a number of judicial investigations and even if they were ended thanks to the statute of limitations, they showed he is not innocent."

Garzon is the coordinator of the tiny United Left party, a junior member of the minority coalition government led by Socialist Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

- Royal reforms -

Juan Carlos is not expected to travel to Madrid to meet with his son, King Felipe VI as he did last year when he came to Sanxenxo.

The Royal Palace was reportedly not pleased with the high-profile nature of Juan Carlos' visit last year.

Since becoming king in June 2014, Felipe VI has tried to distance himself from his father and set out to restore the monarchy's prestige.

He ordered an audit of the royal household's accounts and issued a "code of conduct" for its members.

The following year he stripped his older sister, Princess Cristina, of her title of duchess as she prepared to stand trial on tax fraud charges.

While she was ultimately cleared by the courts, her husband Inaki Urdangarin was convicted of fraud and embezzlement.

Then in 2020, Felipe renounced any future personal inheritance he might receive from his father, and stripped him of his annual allowance of 200,000 euros ($219,000) after fresh details of his allegedly shady dealings emerged.

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European lawmakers call for autonomous, cooperative EU approach to China

Xinhua) 09:04, April 19, 2023

Photo taken on July 11, 2022 shows a scene from the welcome ceremony for the 10,000th trip made by China-Europe freight trains operated by the China-Europe Railway Express (Chongqing) in Duisburg, Germany. (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

Some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Tuesday called on the European Union (EU) member states to develop an autonomous policy toward China independent from the United States and seek cooperation rather than confrontation with Beijing.

BRUSSELS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Some members of the European Parliament (MEPs) on Tuesday called on the European Union (EU) member states to develop an autonomous policy toward China independent from the United States and seek cooperation rather than confrontation with Beijing.

The European Parliament on Tuesday held a plenary session in Strasbourg on "the need for a coherent strategy for EU-China relations," which came after some European leaders, including Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited China in recent weeks.

"After visiting China, French President Macron declared that Europe needs more strategic autonomy and should not be a vassal of the United States of America. I don't tend to agree with Emmanuel Macron, but this time I think he was right because the current European policy makes no sense and is destroying Europe," said non-attached Slovak MEP Milan Uhrik at the debate.

Uhrik referred to Macron's words when he was interviewed by the U.S.-based Politico news service and the French newspaper Les Echos on his plane back from a three-day state visit to China that Europe had increased its dependency on the United States for weapons and energy and must now focus on boosting its own defense industries. The French head of state said that Europe must reduce its dependency on the United States and strategic autonomy must be the fight of Europe.

Visitors taste French wines at the third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province, April 13, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Zecong)

When it comes to the EU's China policy, Uhrik said, "Some of you are pushing us into a confrontation with China because the U.S. sees China as a threat to its world dominance."

"Instead of Europe seizing the opportunities offered by developing Asia, we are looking for a threat or an enemy in everyone. Soon we will have sanctions against the whole world and the whole world will be isolated ... We will end up isolated. It is high time, really high time, to put an end to this confrontational policy," Uhrik said.

"The debate on the European Union's relations with China places us before the dilemma of having an autonomous international policy based on our interests or continuing to sublet our international policy to organizations and structures that make their decisions based on the interests of others, when not contrary to ours," said MEP Manu Pineda from Spain (The Left) during the debate.

Pineda said the EU must be an independent actor in the development of an open and multipolar international order, and in this commitment to the autonomy of the EU in its international policies it is necessary to recover normality in its relations with China.

"No one can deny that improving relations with China benefits the EU and its people. Let us not fall into the trap set for us by those who feel their privileges of world hegemony are threatened. Let's not do their dirty work. Let us defend the interests of Europe from our autonomy," Pineda said.

MEP Jan Zahradil, Czech member of the European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR) Group, said that EU-China relations are not good right now, but they could and should be better.

People taste Chinese snacks at a fair celebrating the Chinese New Year in Namur, Belgium, Jan. 28, 2023. (Xinhua/Pan Geping)

"I think that we need to find a new equilibrium with China because, like it or not, China is here as a global player, and it will remain so. We have to adjust ourselves to that new multipolar situation," he said.

Zahradil called for cohabitation rather than confrontation between the EU and China and argued that the EU needs to de-escalate tensions over Taiwan, not escalate them further.

"There is a Washington-led campaign to counter China's economic influence in the world, so we see U.S. talking points about internal repression and assertive behavior abroad being parroted by EU representatives, while the U.S. has no problem growing its trade and investment with China year on year," said MEP Mick Wallace (The Left) from Ireland.

Wallace said the U.S. financial capital wants to make profits in China and in Europe, and driving a wedge between the EU and China is a good way of going about it for them.

"And, very sadly, there are people in Brussels who appear to be helping them to do it," he added.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday urged the G7 to reflect on their own problems, discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices, and cease interfering in other countries' internal affairs.

Wang made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query about a joint communique issued after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan on the issues of Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Xinjiang and Tibet. The meeting urged China to ensure transparent, predictable and fair business environments.

Wang said that regardless of China's strong position and the existing facts, the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and maliciously slandered and discredited China.

"The communique reflects the group's arrogance, prejudice and deliberate desire to block and contain China. We deplore and reject this and have made a strong demarche to the host, Japan," he said.

Wang said that Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory, and the one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. To ensure real peace in the Taiwan Strait, it is absolutely essential to unequivocally oppose and stop any act toward "Taiwan independence," he added.

Matters related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet fall entirely under China's internal affairs, and no foreign force may interfere in these affairs in any way or under any pretext, Wang said. The situations in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea are generally stable, and relevant countries need to respect the efforts of regional countries to uphold peace and stability, he added.

"As one of the most vibrant markets with the greatest potential, China is committed to providing a stable, fair, transparent and predictable investment and business environment for foreign investors," Wang said. He noted that certain G7 members have been oblivious to the principles of the market economy and fair competition, have overstretched and abused the concept of national security, and have used every means possible to suppress foreign companies. They are in no position to point fingers at China, he said.

The spokesperson said that China, as a responsible major country, firmly acts on the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law, and is committed to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"We once again urge the G7 to reflect on their own problems and discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices. They should stop running counter to the prevailing trend of today's world, stop pointing fingers condescendingly, stop grossly interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and stop deliberately creating antagonism and division in the international community," Wang said. 
A lawsuit on behalf of a man who died in-custody last year at the Spartanburg County Detention Center was filed Monday morning.

Lavell Lane, who was 29, died at the jail on Oct. 3, hours after he was arrested the previous night for walking in the middle of Chesnee Highway. The lawsuit, filed in state court against Spartanburg County and the Sheriffs Office, alleges that Lane was subject to inhumane treatment that led to his death at the detention center and that employees failed to provide adequate medical care.

Lanes family held a press conference Monday afternoon outside the Spartanburg County Courthouse to announce the lawsuit.

Every morning when I wake up, I say, 'Lord, thank you for the justice for Lavell.' I thank him in advance because I know hes gonna do it, Andy Reese, Lavells father, said.

Four days before his arrest on Oct. 2, Lane was detained following a physical altercation with a patient at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center. During that time, Lane was given a dose of an anti-psychotic medication administered by jail nursing staff.

The lawsuit claims jail employees failed to research Lanes medical history to discern whether the medication was appropriate and failed to monitor for lethal side effects associated with the drug.

Documents reviewed by The Spartanburg Herald-Journal, including an investigative summary from the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division, report that Lane was under severe mental distress prior to his death.

The Spartanburg County Coroners Autopsy Report lists Lanes cause of death as Neuroleptic Malignant Syndrome. According to the report, NMS is associated with the use of anti-psychotic drugs and can cause death. Lane's manner of death was listed as natural.

The state Attorney Generals office issued a letter March 30 declining criminal charges related to Lanes death.

Lavell Lane bounced between facilities days leading up to his death, documents show

Documents obtained by The Herald-Journal describe Lane in a state of mental distress while in constant rotation between the jail, hospital and an assisted living facility where he was staying.

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On Sept. 28, Lane was transported to Spartanburg Regional following altercations with staff at Midway Residential Care Facility and another resident, according to an investigative report from SLED. Midway is an assisted living facility that includes housing for residents that need mental health support.

Shortly after Lane arrived at the hospital, around 3:40 p.m., he struck another patient in the face. A physician then administered an atypical antipsychotic medication. The name of the drug administered is redacted from the investigation.

At 10:48 p.m., Lane was discharged and arrested for an assault and battery charge related to the incident at the hospital. Overnight, Lane was physically combative with another inmate in the booking area of the jail and was pepper-sprayed by jail staff, according to SLEDs report.

An incident report from the Sheriffs Office states that a little after 1 a.m. on Sept. 29 an officer heard Lane banging his head on his cell door. After Lane refused to comply with relocating to a padded cell, the officer pepper-sprayed Lane in the face. When Lane attempted to rinse his eyes using water from the toilet bowl, the officer sprayed the bowl, the report says.

The parents of Lavell Lane, Andy Reese and Beverly Reese Lane filed civil charges against Spartanburg County and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office on April 17, 2023. Lavell Lane died in custody at the Spartanburg County Detention Center. Andy Reese and Beverly Reese Lane, left, hold a banner asking that the footage at the detention center of their son be released.

Around 8:40 a.m. on Sept. 29, nursing staff at the jail administered two injections of aripiprazole lauroxil, an anti-psychotic medication used to treat schizophrenia, an incident report says. The doses administered were 675 mg of fast-release and 1064 mg of slow-release, according to the coroner's report.

According to the coroners report, risk of NMS is increased with recent or rapid doses of neuroleptic medications and when the medication is not administered by mouth.

Lane was discharged after the medication was given, according to SLEDs report.

Lane's decline while detained at Spartanburg jail

On Oct. 2, Lane was detained again around 8:30 p.m., this time for walking in the middle of Chesnee Highway. According to an incident report by the arresting officer, Lane initially ran but surrendered himself because he was scared.

According to the SLED report, the officer thought Lane was under the influence of a narcotic. However, the toxicology report reviewed by the Herald-Journal found Lane was only positive for chlorpromazine and aripiprazole. The coroners report states he was recently treated with chlorpromazine for schizoaffective, bipolar type disorder according to medical records.

After Lane was booked into the jail, he began to exhibit paranoid behavior with possible hallucinations or delusional thinking, the coroners report said.

Shortly after 11 p.m. Lane was discovered banging his head against the wall of his cell. He resisted transport to a padded holding cell and was tased by officers. Once in the padded cell he was placed in a safety smock, which he later removed, according to SLED.

While Lane was in the padded cell, he was observed sweating profusely and breathing heavily, while visibly agitated and striking out at the air and walls.

After 1:18 a.m. on Oct. 3, the coroners report describes Lane as mostly motionless on the floor of his cell. Before movement ceased completely, Lane underwent possible seizure-like activity. Lanes last movement according to SLEDs report occurred around 2:53 a.m.

SLEDs investigation noted Lane was found unresponsive at 4:45 a.m. by a deputy during breakfast rounds. CPR was performed on Lane and EMS was called. Lane was declared dead at the scene.

The lawsuit alleges that Lanes medical condition required constant supervision and transfer for emergency care, and that defendants did not provide Lane with a basic level of care.

According to the coroners report, NMS can occur at any time during the use of neuroleptic medications but is most common within the first two weeks of starting a medication.

Stopping medication immediately is recommended treatment for NMS, but the report notes that can be difficult when slow-release medication is administered.

The parents of Lavell Lane, Andy Reese and Beverly Reese Lane filed civil charges against Spartanburg County and the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Office on April 17, 2023. Lavell Lane died in custody at the Spartanburg County Detention Center. Beverly Reese Lane, center, holds a picture of her son Lavell Lane.

Lawsuit claims Lanes death part of a broader problem at Spartanburg jail

Lanes death in October was one of five inmate deaths at the Spartanburg Detention Center in 2022. The jail had the most deaths of any county in South Carolina from 2015 to 2021, according to a report by Incarceration Transparency. Three individuals have died in-custody so far this year.

According to the Incarceration Transparency report, of the 18 deaths documented at the detention center from 2015 to 2021, nine were reported as deaths by medical illness, while four were reported as suicides and one was determined accidental. Four other deaths over that timeframe were classified as unknown. Data provided by the coroner from 2022 lists three in-custody deaths from the facility as natural, one as a suicide and one as accidental.

Someone needs to be held accountable for it, Dr. Candace Brewer of the Racial Justice Network said on Monday. Too many deaths, too many bodies, too many people that once they're a resident are already granted a death sentence, because they're walking in that jail and they're being carried out in a body bag.

The lawsuit alleges the jail failed to provide appropriate medical care as statutorily required by the Minimum Standards for Local Detention Centers in the state.

According to the minimum standards, detention facilities are required to have a written agreement or arrangement with a licensed physician or medical authority. The lawsuit claims the jail has a well-known history of providing substandard medical treatment and that medical personnel providing such care should have been investigated and terminated prior to Lanes death.

The standards also require screening policies for jails to record evaluations for health problems, medication requirements and specific assessments to provide appropriate housing of mentally disordered inmates.

Further, the standards state that any person who appears severely injured or ill, or who is in a stupor or a coma, even though the apparent cause may be intoxication is required to be examined by a qualified medical practitioner before admission. If cleared for admission, these inmates are required to have a necessary level of observation recommended by the medical staff.

Detention centers that fail to meet the minimum standards are at risk of being shut down by the state Department of Corrections.

Lavell Lane Civil Complaint by USA TODAY Network on Scribd

On Monday, local advocates and Lanes family repeated criticism of Spartanburg County Sheriff, Chuck Wright, in how deaths in-custody have been handled at the detention center and alleged lack of transparency from the sheriffs office.

Im very sorry they lost their family. It was not our fault, and the reports and all the evidence have proven that its not our fault, Wright said Monday afternoon over the phone with the Herald-Journal.

Wright deferred any further comment to the County Attorneys office.

Christopher Pracht, an attorney representing Lanes family, dismissed the notion that the Attorney Generals letter absolves the sheriff's office of any wrongdoing regarding Lanes death.

Part of the problem here, there's no curiosity by Sheriff Wright to say, 'Wait a second, why are these people dying in my jail? Pracht said. What can I do, as Sheriff of Spartanburg County, to stop this immediately? What steps do I need to take?' Rather, it's just deflection and defensiveness.

Pracht said he plans to subpoena SLED and the Attorney Generals office for the full footage of Lanes stay at the detention center between Oct. 2-3. The footage is around five hours long, Pracht said.

Family members said they were offered the opportunity to see a selected amount of footage. However, at the press conference Monday, Lavells mother, Beverly Lane-Reese, said she had no interest in viewing an edited version.

I want to see the full video. I don't want to see your little snippets that you want me to see, Lane-Reese said.

Chalmers Rogland covers public safety and breaking news for the Herald-Journal. Reach him via email at crogland@shj.com

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Lawsuit: Substandard care led to man's death in Spartanburg jail
The 10-strong theatre company will spend three days in York

Ukrainian actors have been given special permission to perform at a festival in York.

York St John University will host A Midsummer Night's Dream by the Kyiv National Academic Molodyy Theatre later this month.

It is part of the biennial York International Shakespeare Festival which begins on 21 April.

The festival director asked Ukraine's Ministry of Culture to allow the male members of the group to travel.

Exit and travel visas were required as Ukrainian men, aged 18 to 60, are not allowed to leave the country due to the war with Russia.

Philip Parr, York International Shakespeare Festival artistic director said the invitation to the group had come after seeing them perform in Verona in 2022.

"The audience reaction to their performance was extraordinary and the power of their story telling was immense.

"I can safely say it's one of the best productions of the play that I've seen."

He said he managed to persuade the Ukrainian authorities the visit was an important cultural one.

"Thankfully we've now managed to overcome the issues and we're excited to have them here in York."

In addition to performing the group will take part in a number of workshops

The 10-strong theatre company will be in the UK for three days, taking part in a workshop with theatre students on 27 April, delivering their main performance in the York St John Creative Centre on 28 April and taking part in an open workshop for actors from across the city on 29 April.

Dr Saffron Vickers Walking, festival advisor and senior lecturer in English Literature at York St John University said it was an honour to host the group.

"These productions act as windows into other cultures and encourage us to understand them better," she said.

"This festival aligns closely with York St John University's commitment to social justice, inclusion and diversity, and in these sometimes divisive times, we celebrate how Shakespeare can bring us together."

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to yorkslincs.news@bbc.co.uk.
The main lights were shut off around midnight at the Last Bookstore, once everyone on a sleepover retreated to their respective air mattresses and sleeping bags. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

It was 1 a.m. and I was lying on an air mattress at the Last Bookstore in downtown L.A., listening to the muffled sounds of Pitbull playing from a bar inside the building and trying to ignore the enticing smell of danger dogs wafting through an open window.

I wasn't sure what to expect when I signed up for one of the first ever sleepovers at Californias largest new and used bookstore. I had vague hopes of staying up until sunrise, reading and exchanging slumber party-esque gossip with strangers, all while surrounded by the highly-Instagrammed book tunnel and book sculptures that fill the former bank building.

The shop's unmistakable decor and dedicated fans are part of why Josh Spencer, who created the bookstore in 2005 and later moved it to its current 22,000-square-foot-space on the corner of Spring and 5th streets, decided to host sleepovers there during the first half of April.

Hollie Hopf and Kendall Vanderhoof read downstairs as Reanna Cruz reads upstairs in the Last Bookstore's art gallery. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

After spending a night with his family last year sleeping near the dinosaurs at the Field Museum in Chicago, Spencer realized that he could make some book lovers dreams come true.

"People are always mentioning wanting to sleep in the bookstore, he recalled thinking. Maybe we should try this there.

To test it out, he launched spring break sleepovers as a 21-and-over experience. A standard spot was priced at $195 per person, but the most popular spots in the store, including the book tunnel, the horror vault, the classics vault and the portal, were $500 for two people.

"We started a little high this time just to see what the interest was basically," Spencer said. "We're definitely gonna have some lower price points, maybe for the family ones to try to get more kids or bigger groups."

Over the course of two weeks, Spencer said that about two dozen people signed up. The night I slept over, nine people stayed at the bookstore: one couple in the horror vault; two friends in the tunnel; another couple in the comic book section; my partner, Reanna Cruz, and I; and Richard Powell, the stores loss prevention manager and maintenance manager.

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Reanna's reading list included several books on aliens. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

'A once-in-a-lifetime thing'

I arrived just after 8 p.m. with my partner, an air mattress, a pile of blankets and pillows, and a bag with Trader Joes wine in tow. The others had already arrived, and Powell was ready to kick off a casual tour.

Self-help, memoirs, science, math, philosophy, poetry, writing, he rattled off as we wove through the bookshelves.

Im going to pop an edible, read all the self-help books and leave here a new person, my partner joked.

Soon enough, Powell was recalling the spookiest things hed seen in his years at the store. He described coworkers whod heard or glimpsed figures moving around the corners, and instances where people watched books fly off shelves for seemingly no reason.

"That corner is where books fall off sometimes, in sci-fi, for some reason," he said.

As we passed the portal, a hidden nook where my partner and I had signed up to sleep, we realized it was both secluded in the back corner of the store with books on U.S. history and located closest to the "haunted" shelves that books fall off of. We quickly decided we wouldnt be sleeping there.

For the first hour or so, everyone dispersed. Nelson Aguilar, an L.A. native who said he first fell in love with books when his dad took him to the L.A. Times Festival of Books , immediately raced to the rare book annex .

"I lived at the Row across the street for five, six years, so I used to come here all the time," he said.

Reanna Cruz reads "The Book of Jose: A Memoir" by Fat Joe. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

When he saw the bookstores post on Instagram, he ran to his wife, Marcelina Stardust. As they contemplated the $500 price tag, the choice became obvious.

"She was like, 'Wait, it's kind of like a once-in-a-lifetime thing. This isn't gonna happen again,'" he said. "I like to waste money on things, and she's the reasonable part of my brain."

Aside from the private, peaceful shopping opportunity, the couple decided to lean into the fun of sleeping away from their place in Melrose Hill by bringing a tent and a projector, where they could play footage of a real campfire.

"We were supposed to bring camping chairs, but we figured that it's a little bit too much," Aguilar added. "We didn't want to overdo it. We're already overdoing it."

And instead of taking photos for Instagram, Aguilar brought his dad's old-school camcorder to document the night on tape.

"I'm bad at taking photos or shooting videos of myself, so when I look through my phone, it's just a bunch of screenshots," Aguilar said. "So I thought that this would be nice in case we have kids and we can pass it along to them."

Nic Chatree Sridej and Jessica Gonzalez also booked their spot at the horror vault hoping it would be a night to remember.

Nic Chatree Sridej and Jessica Gonzalez set up their air mattress in the horror vault at the Last Bookstore. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

"We're big fans of the store," Gonzalez said. "I have been for a very long time. I just saw it on their Instagram page and he was sitting next to me on the couch."

"There were two seconds of 'Is it too much money? No, it's worth it,'" Sridej said. Because we figured the money's going to support the bookstore."

"We were worried that it wasn't going to make it through the pandemic," Gonzalez added.

Sridej and Gonzalez, who are both horror writers based in Koreatown, thought the vault could even be a nice place to get some work done.

"We both have our laptops," Gonzalez said. "Like I said, we're both writers, so we might end up writing up there."

Relaxing in the center of the store. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

With an air mattress, laptops and a few card games in their rotation, both felt like they could roll with whatever the night had in store for them.

"He may not sleep," Gonzalez said. "I'm definitely going to sleep at least a little. We didn't really make a plan. We were gonna kind of come and see what the vibe is. Like, if people want to hang out, we'll hang out. If they don't, then I'm sure we can find something to do."

Hollie Hopf and Kendall Vanderhoof had more abstract expectations.

"I saw it on Instagram," Hopf said. "I called Kendall. I thought it sounded really weird. I don't know, it was kind of a joke when I called her up. I was like, 'Yo, look how weird this is.' But then we're kind of like, 'What if we actually did it?'"

Hopf and Vanderhoof, who live in Venice and Santa Monica, respectively, decided to snag the tunnel spots.

"If we're going to sleep in the bookstore, I want to sleep in the coolest spot in the bookstore, and I deem that this tunnel," Hopf said. "We did discuss all the other spots, but I thought that some of them were too creepy."

"The vault and the horror [spot]  I would cry," Vanderhoof said. "I'd be like, No, I'm moving my little sleeping bag."

As for the next 12 hours, both friends had no particular plan. As Vanderhoof put it: We came in minds blank.

Nelson Aguilar and Marcelina Stardust set up a tent inside the comic book section at the Last Bookstore. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

The big decision: Where to sleep?

Though Powell was camped out by the door, watching TV, he gave us free rein to take over the stores Spotify and meander around the vast space.

I looked through the memoirs and music books before grabbing Gabrielle Zevins "Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow" to add to my partners growing pile. Reanna had already finished a book called Dear Andy Kaufman, I Hate Your Guts!, and after making a lap around the horror vault, they had a hefty assortment of books on aliens.

By 10 p.m., everyone was starting to settle down. Hopf and Vanderhoof decided to read on the couches in the center of the store while Sridej and Gonzalez blew up their air mattress in the horror vault. Tied to the vaults gate was a creepy little doll that cycled through phrases, including Im watching you and Come play with me.

We turned our mattress to face Stephen King instead of Charles Manson, Sridej said when I poked my head inside.

Off in the comic book section, Stardust and Aguilar were pitching their tent to the smooth sounds of Spotifys  This Is Sade  playlist.

Reanna and I reading on one of the couches in the center of the store. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

Smooth listening at the Last Bookstore after hours. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

Once everyone claimed a sleeping spot, Powell began to shut off unnecessary lighting. One by one, each of us ducked into the stores bathrooms to change into our sleepwear.

After making a trip to the relatively uncomfortable downstairs bathroom, I decided that next time, Id try the employee bathroom Powell showed us thats hidden behind a trick bookshelf.

By 11 p.m., Hopf and Vanderhoof had decided to head upstairs. Sridej and Gonzalez wandered around looking for more books as the bar nestled in an old bank vault was in full swing, blasting Tipsy by J-Kwon far louder than our soft rendition of Sades Still in Love With You.

Reanna and I, who settled on one of the couches in the center of the store, close to the bar, chuckled whenever a new song came on. Soon enough, Stardust and Aguilar wandered over with their books and claimed two of the other couches.

Aside from the booming bass seeping through the walls, the bookstore grew fairly quiet. When it was nearly midnight, my partner finished their second book: a graphic novel about Elvis. Just a few minutes later, they were nearly asleep on the couch.

A delicious smelling "danger dog" stand outside the Last Bookstore. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

Bumps in the night

Once everyone retreated to their respective air mattresses and sleeping bags after midnight, Powell shut off the main overhead lights. Suddenly, the massive woolly mammoth hanging over thousands of books felt a bit ... ominous.

After deeming the portal too spooky, Reanna and I decided to sleep by the art galleries, where we found open space and some nice open windows. After we blew up our air mattress and setting up two stools as makeshift side tables, I brushed my teeth over a trash can to avoid walking alone through the dark bookstore to a bathroom.

But when I realized that my water bottle was nearly empty, I knew I had to make one last trip to the secret employee bathroom upstairs. I dragged my very sleepy partner along for protection.

We finally settled into the air mattress around 12:30 a.m., but as I tried to get comfortable, I began smelling sizzling meat. I looked longingly through the window at the hot dog vendor who was just feet away, yet inaccessible for those of us sleeping inside the bookstore. (While we weren't trapped or anything, we were asked not to walk in and out of the shop during the night.)

As one might expect, Ive had better nights of sleep. I woke up every hour or two, noticing silence after the bar closed and hoping that I would fall back asleep before anything spooky happened.

When the sun rose around 6:30 a.m., I tossed and turned yet again. I woke up nearly an hour later, when Powell turned on the store lights as a sort of gentle alarm.

As everyone deflated and disassembled their different sleeping apparatuses, it felt like a bit of a letdown. We played no card games, shared no late night gossip, and nobody seemed to make it through a large stack of books.

Reanna asleep on a somewhat uncomfortable air mattress after the lights in the bookstore came on. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

Hopf and Vanderhoof swiftly cleared out of the tunnel, disappearing before I could ask them how they had slept. But as the rest of us congregated downstairs to make purchases, Sridej told me about his late-night wandering.

"I was the restless one who was walking around in the labyrinth in the dark," he said. "At 5 a.m. I was just walking around with a flashlight. And [Powell] was telling us that story about how there was a book that people were finding on the floor... it's up there. Face up.

There are some books that moved in the horror vault while we were sleeping, Gonzalez added. It couldve been just gravity.

As they hung out in the horror vault, they even watched a spooky movie:  Antlers . But as true horror lovers, both said the shifting books didnt faze them.

We were like, Hey, spirit, if youre in here Sridej said.

I was like, If you have a book recommendation, just throw it off the shelf and Ill get it, Gonzalez said with a laugh.

Stardust and Aguilar didnt encounter anything nearly as spooky, but Stardust said sleeping wasnt exactly easy.

I felt like I was in the club, she said.

But both couples left with a modest stack of books that they purchased and a positive outlook on the whole experience.

Id do it again, Gonzalez said.

We want to try and get a group of our friends, like a whole 14-person slot, Sridej said. "We have some friends who would really enjoy it, and you could just make such a fun night."

The novelty of the experience made it especially hard to dwell on the oddities of sleeping in less comfortable conditions.

"We'll never forget something like this, because it's rare," Aguilar said. "If you go to a restaurant, go to a bar, you go to a party, we tend to forget those things. Something like this kind of sticks with us."

Hopf and Vanderhoof's packed bags in the book tunnel. (Julia Carmel / Los Angeles Times)

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Springfield police are investigating what they are describing as a murder-suicide.

According to a press release from the department, police responded Tuesday afternoon around 4 p.m. to a home at 2110 S. Florence Ave. to check the well-being of a woman after a caller reported hearing gun shots. When officers arrived they found the woman and a man dead inside the home.

The Homicide Unit responded to investigate and determined the male suspect, 33-year-old Keith Spellmeier, from Harrison, Arkansas, shot and killed the female victim, 62-year-old Donna J. Spellmeier, from Springfield, inside the residence. Keith then died from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The family has been notified.

Detectives continue to investigate and are asking anyone who has additional information about this incident to contact the Springfield Police Department at 417-864-1810 or make an anonymous call to Crime Stoppers at 417-869-TIPS (8477).

This is Springfields fourth homicide investigation in 2023.

This article originally appeared on Springfield News-Leader: Springfield police investigate apparent murder-suicide Tuesday
The St. Johns County Education Association is in a negotiation meeting with the school board about teachers pay.

We, meaning the union and school district go to the table every single year, Michelle Dilon said.

Dilon, president of the St. Johns County Education Association, plans to negotiate teacher pay tonight with the St. Johns County School District.

This year has been a long process. The district declared an impasse, but the union did not. We were willing to go back to the table, Dilon said.

Dilon says she cant discuss what they plan to negotiate tonight, but they are prepared for a meeting that will last at least three hours.

I believe that teaching is the most important profession out there because it makes all professions possible, Dilon said.

Action News Jax told you previously that St. Johns County teachers received a raise last year. This increased their base pay to a minimum of $47,500.

READ: Work to contract day: SJC teachers will only work hours theyre paid to protest lack of pay raise

We reached out to the school district to see if they had any comments about tonights meeting. Although it was later in the day, we havent heard anything back.

Dilon adds the community has been backing them throughout this entire process and adds she has her reasons why she believes teachers should be compensated well.

I would ask have you ever been a teacher? Have you ever worked in public education? Until you walk in our shoes and know how we pour our hearts and souls into this job and we believe in what we do, you cant know our worth, says Dilon.

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Elon Musk promised to make Twitter the "most accurate source of information about the world," but he has repeatedly used his own account to amplify false claims from some of the most notorious disinformers on the internet, according to an AFP analysis of his online activity.

The posts show Musk drawing attention to misinformation about everything from the war in Ukraine to the attack on US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's husband. Last week, the billionaire boosted a tweet that wrongly suggested doctors misdiagnosed flu cases as Covid-19 deaths.

"One of the greatest mysteries of Covid-19: Where did the flu go in 2020 and 2021?" an account called "KanekoaTheGreat" said, to which Musk replied: "Good question."

It was one of at least 40 times the billionaire replied to the profile, which has promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, since purchasing Twitter for $44 billion nearly six months ago. He has only replied to a handful of accounts more in that time.

Using data from PolitiTweet, a website that tracked public figures' posts until Twitter cut off its access, AFP reviewed thousands of replies Musk published between late October and March.

He shared a fabricated CNN segment, called a made-up quote "wise words" and falsely claimed police escorted a rioter through the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He amplified a post blaming mass shootings on LGBTQ individuals and endorsed a fake casualty count from Ukraine.

Musk has also downplayed Covid-19 and promoted spurious claims about vaccines causing blood clots, miscarriages and heart problems.

"We are running out of 'conspiracies' that turned out to be true!" the Twitter owner said in March, replying to a tweet that listed Covid-19 and vaccine safety among the "biggest media lies."

Days later, he tweeted that the "best way to fight misinformation is to respond with accurate information."

Experts say Musk's activity is concerning -- and not just because of his online influence.

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"Musk has almost 135 million Twitter followers and forced his engineers to increase the reach of his tweets, so we should worry when he spreads misinformation," Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College professor who studies misperceptions in politics, told AFP.

"I'm most worried, though, about what these tweets reveal about the judgment of the person who determines the policies of a major social media platform."

- Musk's feed -

Researchers have tied Twitter's recent policy changes -- including Musk's reinstatement of suspended accounts and its overhaul of verification practices -- to spikes in misinformation.

NewsGuard, a company that assesses websites' credibility, found accounts paying for Twitter's subscription service are inundating the site with false claims.

Musk is driving attention to some of these accounts.

"Got the Elon Musk stamp of approval," said "KanekoaTheGreat" on Telegram after one such reply.

A January study from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank, recorded a "staggering" increase in Musk's interactions with right-wing accounts since acquiring Twitter, including several profiles other research identified as spreaders of US election misinformation.

Musk has repeatedly amplified posts from sources such as the pro-Donald Trump page "Catturd," the anti-LGBTQ account "Libs of TikTok" and the conspiratorial website ZeroHedge.

Ian Miles Cheong, a far-right blogger, has received at least 60 replies from Musk -- topping all but a few other profiles, according to AFP's analysis. In one instance, Musk amplified a tweet blaming Joe Biden for an immigration program that started under Trump.

"Musk is elevating some of the worst voices on Twitter," Nyhan told AFP. "These interactions are likely to increase the reach and prominence of the accounts."

In some cases, the Twitter boss has helped mainstream false narratives.

After an intruder broke into Pelosi's California residence and struck the lawmaker's husband with a hammer in October, Musk tweeted a link to an article claiming he was drunk and quarreling with a male prostitute. #Pelosigaylover trended on Twitter.

Court filings and footage of the incident disproved the claims, which stemmed from a site that had previously published misinformation. But the damage was done.

"It's really sad for the country that people of that high visibility would separate themselves from the facts and the truth in such a blatant way," Nancy Pelosi said at the time. "It is traumatizing to those affected by it. They don't care about that, obviously."

Twitter responded to AFP's requests for comment with the poop emoji, an auto-reply Musk launched in March.

bmc/df/mgs/st
CAIRO (AP)  A crowd apparently panicked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Yemens capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 77 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials.

The tragedy was Yemen's deadliest in years that was not related to the country's long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.

Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.

Video posted on social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless, and others screaming as people tried to help. Separate footage of the aftermath released by Houthi officials showed bloodstains, shoes and victims' clothing scattered on the ground. Investigators were seen examining the area.

The crush took place in the Old City in the center of Sanaa, where hundreds of poor people had gathered for a charity event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry.

People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businessmen, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businessmen often hand out cash and food, especially to the poor, during Ramadan.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Brig. Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, blamed the crush on the random distribution of funds without coordination with local authorities.

The Houthi-run Ministry of Health said 78 people were killed, and at least 77 others were injured, including 13 in critical condition. It said 62 were discharged from hospitals after treatment.

The rebels quickly sealed off a school where the event was being held and barred people, including journalists, from approaching.

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The Interior Ministry said it had detained two organizers and an investigation was under way.

The Houthis said they would pay some $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a relative, while the injured would get around $400.

Yemens capital has been under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognized government.

That prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to try to restore the government.

The conflict has turned in recent years into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, killing more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians and creating one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters.

More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the countrys population, need help and protection, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly vulnerable.

In February the United Nations said it had raised only $1.2 billion out of a target of $4.3 billion at a conference aimed at generating funds to ease the humanitarian crisis.
Photograph: Charlie Riedel/AP

The shooting of a Black teenager who rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City, Missouri, has renewed scrutiny of stand your ground and other self-defense laws, which have proliferated in the US and been used to justify the killings of Black Americans.

Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old high school junior, was going to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friends house on Thursday when he approached an incorrect address. The white homeowner, 84-year-old Andrew Lester, came to the door and shot Yarl in the head, before shooting him a second time, according to authorities. Yarl suffered a traumatic brain injury, but survived and was recovering, his family said.

The case sparked intense local protests and widespread outrage across the country after police released Lester from custody, saying investigators were considering whether his actions were protected by self-defense laws. Late on Monday, however, prosecutors announced armed assault charges against Lester, who surrendered on Tuesday.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot by a white homeowner after approaching the wrong house to pick up his siblings. Photograph: Lee Merritt/Reuters

It remains to be seen how Lester may defend himself in court. But the shooting, and another over the weekend in which a New York homeowner killed a woman who entered the wrong driveway, appeared to be part of a disturbing pattern in the US where, experts say, the dramatic expansion of self-defense laws has been linked to increased homicides and racist violence.

Black people are still suffering from laws in this country that are not moral and not just  and stand your ground, as it is applied to Black people, is one of them, said the Rev Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City.

Authorizing violence

The first stand your ground law was adopted in 2005 in Florida after a homeowner fatally shot a man who had wandered on to his property. The shooter did not face charges, but the National Rifle Association argued he had been treated unfairly while under investigation and pushed the passage of stand your ground, which solidified that people have the right to kill if they believe they are faced with a grave threat, even if they could have retreated or de-escalated the confrontation.

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Castle doctrine laws in the US have long allowed people to kill intruders threatening their homes, but stand-your-ground policies extended that self-defense concept to the wider public sphere  with deadly consequences.

By 2012, the year 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was killed by a neighborhood watch captain, 24 states had versions of stand your ground. Now, 38 states have similar statutes or equivalent legal precedents, according to a 2022 Reveal investigation. Thats despite one poll showing a decline in public support for the laws.

The legacy of stand your ground is this wild west mentality that everything can be resolved with guns, said Thaddeus Hoffmeister, University of Dayton law professor.

An analysis last year found stand your ground laws were linked to an 8% to 11% increase in homicide rates, or roughly 700 additional deaths each year. Floridas stand your ground law has increased both justifiable and unlawful killings, with one study finding a 32% increase in firearm homicide rates; and another analysis showed that in 79% of cases, the assailant could have retreated to avoid confrontation. And research on stand your ground laws has found huge racial disparities, with white Americans much more likely to find success with self-defense claims, particularly when they kill Black people.

We have so much data showing these laws do not make us safer. And in fact, they authorize so much unnecessary violence that disproportionately harms Black and brown people, said Caroline Light, Harvard senior lecturer and expert on stand your ground laws.

Protesters hold signs on 31 March 2012 during a march and rally for slain Florida teenager Trayvon Martin. Photograph: Julie Fletcher/AP

Robert Spitzer, political science professor emeritus at the State University of New York, Cortland, noted that stand your ground laws discourage prosecution and impede investigations into homicides, which is why some law enforcement leaders oppose them: The laws are written in a way that quite clearly provides for the prospect of legalized murder. And it actually encourages people to make sure their opponents are dead so that they cannot make a counter stand your ground claim.

The laws have also contributed to an increasingly violent culture, added Kenneth Nunn, law professor emeritus at the University of Florida: The presence of a stand your ground law in the publics mind generally means, all you have to say is, I was in fear for my life, and no charges will be brought, and I think a lot of police officers tend to believe that, too.

Missouri passed a stand your ground law in 2016. Decried by critics as shoot first laws, the states self-defense statutes say people can use deadly force and have no duty to retreat if they reasonably believe it was necessary to prevent death, or in any case in which a person enters or attempts to unlawfully enter someones home.

Ari Freilich, state policy director for the Giffords Law Center, said the self-defense laws would not justify the shooting of Yarl: Theres no state in the country where the existing laws are such that you can lawfully shoot someone for ringing the doorbell at the wrong house. Still, he said, the case appeared to fit the pattern weve seen over and over again of racist fear intersecting with really widespread unvetted firearm access, combining in our country to make gun violence the leading cause of death by far for young Black men.

Traumatized and infuriated

Residents of Kansas City  who protested over the weekend with signs saying ringing a doorbell is not a crime and the shooter should do the time  said they were relieved charges were filed, but that the shooting had escalated fears of racist violence.

Missouri and the Kansas City metropolitan area is one of the most unsafe places for Black people in America, said Howard, citing homicide rates, police brutality, mass incarceration and infant mortality rates. I put this shooting within that context. This is par for the course. Theres a severe lack of protection for Black life and equal justice under the law.

People march to call for justice in the shooting of Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri. Photograph: Susan Pfannmuller/AP

He said he hoped laws like stand your ground are repealed, adding of the shooting, We are not surprised, we are traumatized. We are infuriated. And we are determined to take steps to receive justice that is necessary here.

This is a city that has deep racial tensions bubbling constantly, added Theo Davis, a pastor at the Restore Community church, who attended recent protests, noting recent incidents of racism in local high schools as well as times he had been racially profiled by police and others.

He said he was disappointed prosecutors did not file hate crime charges and was worried that decision would allow people to claim racism was not a factor. The local prosecuting attorney said there was a racial component to the shooting, but said hate crime statutes would carry a lesser penalty than the assault charge.

Davis said he was also anxious about the suspects likely self-defense argument in court: Weve seen so many cases of stand your ground laws benefiting white people in this country. Its very scary, and Im deeply concerned. Even though it seems like a slam-dunk case, we wont hold our breath until we see a conviction.
Rosario Dawson is Ahsoka Tano in Lucasfilm's Ahsoka. (Disney)

Its a womans world in Ahsoka, as a certain talented Togruta is swinging her white lightsaber into action for the latest Star Wars series. Poised to usher in the next chapter of the galaxy far, far away, Jon Favreau and Dave Filonis Ahsoka sees Rosario Dawson take the lead for the long-awaited standalone for Anakin Skywalkers outcast apprentice.

Filoni and George Lucas created the fan-favourite padawan for 2008's underwhelming Star Wars: The Clone Wars movie, however, shes since evolved to become a cornerstone of the franchise through the Clone Wars series and Star Wars Rebels.

Read more: Every Star Wars movie and show in development

Ahsoka has appeared in everything from The Mandalorian to Tales of the Jedi and even had a Young Adult novel dedicated to her.

Taking the lead for her own series, heres everything you need to know about the Ahsoka release date, cast, story, and more.

Ahsoka release date

The title treatment for Star Wars: Ahsoka (Disney)

Doing the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs, Ahsoka is barrelling toward an August 2023 release, although the precise date remains unknown. The eight-episode run has secured some impressive talent in the form of Filoni apparently directing three episodes. If that wasnt enough, hes also producing alongside Favreau and Lucasfilms Kathleen Kennedy.

Filonis directing talents are backed up by episodes from Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verses Peter Ramsey, Mad Mens Jennifer Getzinger, and House of the Dragons Geeta Patel. There are also some Star Wars alumni with The Book of Boba Fetts Steph Green and The Mandalorian legend Rick Famuyiwa.

Read more: Everything we know about Daisy Ridley's return as Rey

An Ahsoka sizzle reel was originally shown at Star Wars Celebration 2022, but as it was hosted behind closed doors, most fans had to wait until the full trailer was unveiled at SWC 2023. As well as confirming the cast, the event finally gave us a loose release date for the shows Disney+ arrival in August.

Will there be a second season of Ahsoka?

So far, Ahsoka is being billed as a miniseries similar to Deborah Chows Obi-Wan Kenobi, but as Loki was also called miniseries before being commissioned for season 2, theres hope Ahsoka will be back for more.

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Lets also remember theres Filonis live-action movie set around the time period of both The Mandalorian and Ahsoka, leading to hopes well get a cinematic crossover event for the ages.

Ahsoka cast

Natasha Liu Bordizzo, Ivanna Sakhno, Rosario Dawson, Diana Lee Inosanto, Ray Stevenson, Lars Mikkelson and Mary Elizabeth Winstead onstage at Star Wars Celebration 2023. (Getty Images for Disney)

Following her debut in The Mandalorians acclaimed season 2 episode, Chapter 13: The Jedi, and an underwhelming return in The Book of Boba Fett, Ahsoka is getting her time in the spotlight.

Once upon a time, Ahsoka was known for Ashley Ecksteins performance in The Clone Wars and Rebels  even voicing her in The Rise of Skywalker.

While Dawson playing Ahsoka was once just a fan casting, the idea steamrolled and caught the attention of Filonil. Alongside the likes of The Book of Boba Fett and the canned Rangers of the New Republic, Dawson was officially confirmed for her own live-action series in December 2020. Expect some form of flashback, as Savannah Steyn has also been cast as Young Ahsoka.

Sabine Wren (Natasha Liu Bordizzo) in Ahsoka. (Lucasfilm)

Dawson and Steyn are joined by Natasha Liu Bordizzo, who takes up the mantle of Mandalorian warrior Sabine Wren.

Taking over from Tiya Sircar in Rebels, Bordizzo said she got into character by watching the animated series, admitting to The Hollywood Reporter that Wren is her dream role.

Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Hera Syndulla in Ahsoka. (Disney)

Its something of a Rebels reunion, as the crew of the Ghost make the leap into live-action. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is playing the fan-favourite Hers Syndulla, meaning she joins husband Ewan McGregor in the franchise.

Eman Esfandi has landed the lucrative role of Ezra Bridger, and even though the beloved astromech called Chopper appeared in the first trailer, we dont know whether Filoni will be voicing him again.

Eman Esfandi will play Ezra Bridger in Ahsoka. (Arturo Holmes/Getty Images for FLC)

In terms of villains, Ray Stevenson confusingly wont be reprising his role as Gar Saxon from Rebels, but instead, plays a Jedi gone bad known only as Baylan Skoll.

Skoll is joined by Ivanna Sakhnos Shin Hati, although Filoni told ScreenRant the orange hue of their lightsabers might suggest they arent the out-and-out villains we assume.

Speaking of villains, Hayden Christensen is once again tipped to play Anakin Skywalker  although Lucasfilm has been deathly quiet about his return.

Baylan Skoll (Ray Stevenson) in Ahsoka. (Lucasfilm)

The de facto big bad means well get to see Grand Admiral Thrawn in live-action, Lars Mikkelsen is coming back as the blue-skinned baddie and was a huge talking point of the shows Star Wars Celebration footage.

Read more: Thrawn is 'brutal and manipulative'

Being more sneaky than the conniving Chiss, Mikkelsen denied his involvement to a Danish publication just weeks before he appeared at the Ahsoka showcase.

Lars Mikkelsen as Grand Admiral Thrawn in Ahsoka. (Disney)

Despite Ahsokas formidable skills, shes got her work cut out for her. Explaining why Thrawn such a deadly enemy, Mikkelsen warned ComicBook.com, That bloke, he doesn't have the force. He's not a Jedi, he's not a superhero of any kind, but he has the brainhis superpower is his mind, which is really and always like seven paces ahead of everybody.

Rounding off the cast, Diana Lee Inosanto reprises her role as Magistrate Morgan Elsbeth from The Mandalorian season 2.

Finally, Genevieve O'Reilly returns from her stint on Andor as Mon Mothma, Wes Chatham is Thrawns right-hand man called Captain Enoch, and David Tennant gets another shot at playing the lightsaber-crafting Huyang from The Clone Wars.

Ahsoka plot

Rosario Dawson as Ahsoka Tano. (Disney)

Instead of being a spin-off from The Mandalorian, consider Ahsoka as a continuation of Rebels. Filoni told Vanity Fair, Ahsoka is a continuous story. It is definitely driving toward a goal, in my mind, as opposed to being little singular adventures. Thats what I want the character to be doing, and I think thats what fans want now.

In another interview with Vanity Fair, Filoni teased how Ahsokas clash with Elsbeth in The Mandalorian might come before the Rebels epilogue of her recruiting Sabine on Lothal. This means theres plenty of wiggle room with the timeline, especially now Favreau has thrown The Mandalorians into disarray. Ahsoka is known as something of a loner, with the shows tagline of Warrior. Outcast. Rebel. Jedi hammering home the fact shes lost.

The timelines get a little confusing, but with Ahsoka and co. hot on the trail of Thrawn, dont expect him to be marooned in space with Purrgils for long. The Ahsoka logo hints at the World Between Worlds, and with time travel looking like a likely arc, Christensens return could be brought in via revisiting Ahsoka and Vaders fateful fight on Malachor.

The Mandalorian (Pedro Pascal) and Ahsoka Tano (Rosario Dawson) in The Book of Boba Fett. (Lucasfilm)

Even though it seems like a generic quest for revenge, Mikkelsen had the following to tell Collider at SWC: All the characters have their own drive, and you will probably not know what's it all about until that very last scene and I like that. I like that writing, that takes its audience so seriously, that you can see for yourself that we drag it right to the reveal. What was the whole thing about?"

Expanding on where the series will take her with the Rebels characters, Dawson told Variety, There is an aspect to the heros journey that is very lonely. You sacrifice a lot when youre out there fighting the good fight. Its going to be really beautiful and revelatory to see the things that can happen when you work in community, when you find those relationships and the people that you can trust.

Read more: Everything we know about Skeleton Crew

The fact Ahsoka and Thrawn are MIA around the time of the sequel trilogy means Ahsoka will hopefully fill in some of the gaps and confirm their fates whether good or bad.

At least some of the Rebels characters live to fight another day, as the Ghost appeared as an Easter egg in The Rise of Skywalkers final battle.

As Ahsoka finally gets her much-deserved series, here's hoping it's the next version of The Mandalorian and not another The Book of Boba Fett.

Ahsoka will stream on Disney+ in August. Watch a trailer below.
SpaceX is finally launching its Mars-bound Starship craft into orbit.

The first attempt has been postponed after a pressurisation issue caused the company to pull the launch with just minutes to go.

But it will try again on April 20  which happens to be one of chief executive Elon Musks favourite dates.

Eventually, SpaceX hopes to use the spacecraft to explore the Moon and Mars. But for now it will complete a short orbital flight, lifting up into space and then falling back down.

You can follow all the latest news and updates right here as SpaceX attempts to launch the largest rocket the world has ever seen.

Key points

Everything you need to know about todays launch

... and how to watch live

How big is Starship?

What will Starship do?

SpaceX launches Starship Torch'

08:26 , Andrew Griffin

Mini Starship with flame! Elon Musk tweeted. And thats exactly what it is.

(SpaceX)

Its coming later this year, in the third quarter, according to the listing. Heres what SpaceX is saying about the product:

The man in black, Johnny Cash knew a thing or two about burning desire. But love isnt the only thing that burns. Sometimes you just want to caramelize the sugar on a creme brulee or melt some cheese without all the subtext. Enter the Starship Torch.

Designed to generate a windproof flame worthy of its namesake, the handheld Starship Torch will make easy work of searing anything from steak to meringue. Outside of the kitchen, fire up Starship to light candles or your fireplace. Who needs weak matches when youve got the power of Starship in your hands?

When not in use, activate the safety lock and your torch transforms into a bad-ass 1:200 scale model of SpaceXs Starship spacecraft fit for display.

Its collectible. Its functional. And it burns, burns, burns. The Starship Torch.

More information, pre-orders, and some safety information can be found here.

(Its not the first time Elon Musk has launched a promotional flamethrower, though this one is a little intense than the one he released a few years ago.)

Story continues

SpaceX planning another launch today

08:21 , Andrew Griffin

Its not Starship, but Starlink: one of SpaceXs Falcon 9 rockets is scheduled to leave Florida today, carrying 21 of the companys Starlink internet satellites. Its scheduled for 8.50am eastern, or 1.50pm in the UK.

Perhaps inevitable, quips Musk about date

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:25 , Andrew Griffin

Elon Musk has joked that the new date was perhaps inevitable. The launch will now happen on 4/20  weed day, and a celebrated joke on the internet  much to his delight.

Perhaps inevitable  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 18, 2023

Hes enjoyed the number in the past: he got in trouble for suggesting he would take Tesla private at $420 a share. (He said that wasnt actually a joke; the number was a legitimate offer.)

And hes already got excitement going on that date. Its the same day that Tesla will remove legacy blue ticks, which he seems to be doing at least in part to annoy the high-profile people who have got them.

As below: maybe Musk wanted this date all along. People certainly predicted it and he seemed to enjoy it.

SpaceX aiming for April 20

Tuesday 18 April 2023 14:07 , Andrew Griffin

SpaceX is now targeting 20 April for its next attempt at launching Starship. The launch window opens at 8.28am local central time (thats 9.28am eastern, or 2.28pm UK time) and is open for 62 minutes.

Other than that, everything should run to much the same plan as Monday, but on Thursday instead.

(Yes, thats right: the date is 4/20. Some might wonder whether this was Musks plan all along.)

Full story on todays postponement

Monday 17 April 2023 14:52 , Andrew Griffin

Heres the full rundown on what happened today (and, notably, what didnt).

Elon Musk reacts to cancellation  and says new attempt will be a few days'

Monday 17 April 2023 14:31 , Andrew Griffin

Elon Musk, who had been pessimistic about the chances of a successful launch today, says that lessons have been learned from todays launch.

We still dont know when the next launch will be but he says a few days.

Learned a lot today, now offloading propellant, retrying in a few days   Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2023

(Sorry to keep going on about this, but 4/20 is just a few days away...)

SpaceX expecting a minimum of 48 hours before it can go again

Monday 17 April 2023 14:20 , Andrew Griffin

Weve not got a new date for the launch. But SpaceX says it will be at least 48 hours.

(That takes us very close to Thursday, which is 4/20 and one of Elon Musks favourite dates.)

The extra delay is because it got very close to the launch, so theres more to reverse.

Countdown happening as usual

Monday 17 April 2023 14:18 , Andrew Griffin

With five minutes to go, everything looks like the launch is continuing. Thats because the wet dress rehearsal is a real rehearsal: everything is happening as it would on the day.

(SpaceX)

Todays launch will probably not happen, SpaceX announces

Monday 17 April 2023 14:14 , Andrew Griffin

The pressurisation issue means that the plan is to treat today like a wet dress rehearsal. So it will still continue with the countdown, but wont actually take off at the very end.

That wont be confirmed right until the end: at any point up to T-10 seconds, SpaceX can decide that they will press go instead.

10 minutes left to launch

Monday 17 April 2023 14:10 , Andrew Griffin

Were now in single-digit minutes. Launch is schedule for 10 minutes from now.

(No update on those issues mentioned below, however.)

SpaceX dealing with pressurisation issue'

Monday 17 April 2023 14:05 , Andrew Griffin

Sensors have detected a problem with pressurisation on the rocket, SpaceX says. Engineers are working to fix it.

If they cant, then they can hold the count. But theyd be likely to treat todays launch as a dress rehearsal and use another of the launch windows.

In the meantime, the rocket is still being loaded with its propellant.

(Theres also still one boat in the way, SpaceX said. The coastguard are working to move it.)

Weather is good  but SpaceX is watching for winds

Monday 17 April 2023 13:58 , Andrew Griffin

Everything is looking good for the launch so far, SpaceX said. Weather is nice, and the range has been almost entirely cleared of boats.

The only thing it is watching is for winds, which are currently fine but could pick up later in the window.

If something does go wrong today, then SpaceX will have the option of postponing and trying again in 24 or 48 hours. Which of those they choose will depend on how far they get through the countdown.

Monday 17 April 2023 13:52 , Andrew Griffin

Here on this imagery from SpaceX, you can see how much of the rocket is made up of Starship itself, the actual spacecraft that humans could one day use to fly to the Moon.

(SpaceX)

The rest is made of the the Super Heavy booster. That will drop off early in the mission and drop into the water. (Usually it would aim to land again for re-use, but SpaceX has decided this test is already ambitious enough and it wont be doing that this time around.)

Both of those pieces have been tested, to various degrees, before. But todays launch will be the first time that the two of them have been attached together and then shot into space.

Starship soars above the ground

Monday 17 April 2023 13:49 , Andrew Griffin

The rocket is standing proud on its pad in south Texas. Were seeing some stunning images of it as morning arrives, with just over half an hour to go.

(SpaceX)

(SpaceX)

(SpaceX has noted that the view wont be quite as good once the rocket sets off; at home on the launchpad, there are a whole load of cameras available to look at, but the live coverage will become a little less spectacular once the journey begins.)

Musk sounds confident

Monday 17 April 2023 13:37 , Andrew Griffin

Elon Musk has tweeted about proceedings. Its notable less for the update everything is proceeding on schedule  but more the fact that he sounds confident we will get liftoff.

Cryogenic propellant load of Starship is underway, liftoff in T minus 1 hour  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 17, 2023

Yesterday he said there was a good chance that the launch will be postponed. (It still very much could be, of course.)

Fueling begins

Monday 17 April 2023 13:34 , Andrew Griffin

The Super Heavy booster is now getting fueled up, SpaceX says. (This is important for at least a couple of reasons: the fuel is obviously required to lift off the ground, but it also turns the rocket into a much more dangerous thing should anything go wrong.)

SpaceX sets new target time

Monday 17 April 2023 12:54 , Andrew Griffin

SpaceX is now targeting 8.20am local time, or 2.20pm in the UK, it has said in a tweet.

Tim Peake says launch will herald a new era of deep space exploration'

Monday 17 April 2023 11:50 , Andrew Griffin

British astronaut Tim Peake is excited about todays launch. He says it will be responsible for a new era of deep space exploration.

SpaceX really is thinking big with Starship. This is the biggest and most powerful rocket ever built. But its ambition goes way beyond its gargantuan size: it is hoped that the rocket will herald a new era of deep space exploration, unlocking the potential for humans to visit other planets, he said.

This programme could be the launchpad for hugely exciting scientific research. Im convinced that collaboration with commercial operators like SpaceX is vital for pushing the boundaries and enabling this new era of deep space exploration.

Animation shows route of spacecraft as it flies around the Earth

Monday 17 April 2023 10:58 , Andrew Griffin

Heres a neat little animation showing the journey that Starship will take when (or if) it lifts off today. You can see the two parts splitting, then the spacecraft making its way all around the Earth before splashing down in the sea.

Starship's 1st orbital flight is almost here!  We made an animation to show you the planned flight path #SpaceX @elonmusk pic.twitter.com/7oPqIKXrsI  Cindy Pom (@CindyPom) April 16, 2023

Grimes celebrates upcoming orbit

Monday 17 April 2023 09:38 , Andrew Griffin

Musician Grimes, Elon Musks sometime partner, seems to be attending the launch. Shes posted a tweet that seems to be celebrating.

We're getting to orbit today  pic.twitter.com/xJ9v90QqK6   (@Grimezsz) April 17, 2023

Elon Musk says he doesnt expect launch to happen in Twitter space

Monday 17 April 2023 09:29 , Andrew Griffin

Elon Musk says theres a good chance todays launch will get postponed. And if it doesnt, then theres a good chance it will go wrong when it happens.

I guess I would just like to set expectations... low, he said. If we get far enough away from the launchpad before something goes wrong, I would consider that to be a success.

If SpaceX sees anything that gives us concern it will postpone the launch, he said. (Musk has already predicted a launch on Thursday  which would be 4/20, a favourite date of his  so he seems to be factoring in a delay.)

If we do launch, well consider anything that does not result in the destruction of the [...] launch pad [...] a win.

Thats what he said in a Twitter space, on Sunday evening, held to mark the upcoming launch.

You can listen to the full thing on YouTube below, thanks to Remo Uherek, who recorded it.

SpaceX shares new images of fully stacked Starship waiting to go

Monday 17 April 2023 09:18 , Andrew Griffin

SpaceX has shared new images of Starship waiting on its launchpad.

More pics of fully stacked Starship ahead of its first flight test from Starbase  https://t.co/095WHWN1zX pic.twitter.com/eSeQKcR2k4  SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 16, 2023

Even before it takes off, these pictures show the biggest rocket ever made. But that will obviously be a lot more impressive once it actually gets going.

Everything you need to know about todays launch

Monday 17 April 2023 09:11 , Andrew Griffin

... and heres everything you need to know about the launch: what will happen, what wont, when, and more.

How to watch live

Monday 17 April 2023 09:09 , Andrew Griffin

Heres everything you need to know about following the historic launch, live.

Starship gets launch time

Monday 17 April 2023 08:23 , Andrew Griffin

The time is set: SpaceX says it is targeting a launch around 8am central time, 9am eastern time, or 1pm in the UK. It has some time either side to use, if anything goes wrong.

Starship launch: How previous tests have gone

Thursday 13 April 2023 17:36 , Anthony Cuthbertson

This may be the first ever orbital flight test of Starship, but SpaceX has already performed numerous high-altitude flights with previous prototypes of the rocket.

All but one of them ended in a fiery explosion, just like this one:

The one that made it was Starship SN15, which managed to land back on its pad at SpaceXs Starbase facility in southern Texas in May 2021.

Fast forward nearly two years and SpaceX boss Elon Musk says theres no guarantee that the latest Starship wont end in failure.

I am not saying it will get to orbit but I am guaranteeing excitement, he said last month. It wont be boring.

Starship launch: SpaceXs timeline for the flight test

Thursday 13 April 2023 10:25 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The first ever orbital flight test of a Starship rocket will take just an hour and a half, according to SpaceXs launch timeline.

It will see Starship and its booster rocket lift off from the Starbase facility in Texas, before the two separate over the Gulf of Mexico. As the booster comes down to land on a drone ship, the main Starship rocket will continue around the planet to splash down just off the coast of Hawaii.

(SpaceX)

If all goes to plan, this is what should happen after lift-off:

55 seconds - Max Q (moment of peak mechanical stress on the rocket)

2 minutes 49 seconds - Booster main engine cutoff

2 minutes 52 seconds - Stage separation

2 minutes 57 seconds - Starship ignition

3 minutes 11 seconds - Booster boostback burn startup

4 minutes 6 seconds - Booster boostback burn shutdown

7 minutes 32 seconds - Booster is transonic

7 minutes 40 seconds - Booster landing burn startup

8 minutes 3 seconds - Booster landing burn shutdown

9 minutes 20 seconds - Starship engine cutoff

77 minutes and 21 seconds - Starship entry

88 minutes 43 seconds - Starship is transonic

90 minutes - Starship splashdown

Starship launch: What will SpaceXs next-gen rocket actually be used for?

Thursday 13 April 2023 09:53 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Elon Musk has big plans for Starship, having pinned his hopes for colonising Mars on the next-generation rocket.

The ultimate goal is to establish a permanent human presence on the red planet by 2050, but before that a base on the Moon will neet to be set up in order to serve as a launch pad for missions deeper into the solar system.

SpaceX has already secured a multi-billion dollar deal with Nasa to develop a Starship moon lander as part of the US space agencys Artemis mission.

An illustration of a SpaceX Starship human lander design that will carry the first Nasa astronauts to the Moon (SpaceX)

A crewed flight of Starship HLS (Human Landing System) will not take place earlier than December 2025, according to Nasa, but should occur before 2030.

If successful, it will be a modified version of this rocket that will then take humans to Mars.

A SpaceX mockup of Elon Musks plan to use Starship rockets set up a colony on Mars in order to ensure humanitys long-term survival (SpaceX)

First though, SpaceX needs to complete the orbital flight test.

Starship launch: Latest SpaceX photos show true scale of rocket

Wednesday 12 April 2023 18:26 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX has shared new images of its fully stacked Starship sitting on its launchpad at the Starbase facility in southern Texas.

In one image, you can see workers in a crane at the base of the booster, showing off the true scale of the Mars-bound rocket.

Weather looks good, once regulatory approval is granted that will be the final hurdle before an orbital launch attempt can be made.

Starship launch: SpaceX working on Elon time?

Wednesday 12 April 2023 15:01 , Anthony Cuthbertson

The current status of Starship is ready for launch; awaiting regulatory approval, according to SpaceX boss Elon Musk.

Starship is ready for launch 



Awaiting regulatory approval  Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2023

The only problem is, pending only regulatory approval is what he said nearly two years ago. When one of his followers asked if this was Elon Time, or real time, he replied, real time.

(Twitter/ screenshot)

Things at SpaceXs Starbase facility seem far more progressed this time, so his conviction carries far more weight. The FAA also appears close to approving, with only one stumbling block potentially standing in the way of a Starship launch next week.

Starship launch: Watch SpaceXs latest mission to Mars demo

Wednesday 12 April 2023 11:33 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX has updated its Starship Mission to Mars demo, showing a computer generated vision of what it will look like for the rocket to launch into space.

It features an animation of the Starship stage separation, as well as the booster landing back at the launch site for refuelling.

The Starship rocket meanwhile continues its journey to Mars, landing alongside other Starship rockets at an already inhabited colony.

An early version of the video was originally used at a SpaceX event in 2016. You can watch the latest version here:

Starship launch: SpaceX says no rehearsal this week

Wednesday 12 April 2023 08:24 , Anthony Cuthbertson

SpaceX says it will not do a launch rehearsal this week, but is still aiming for the orbital flight test as early as next week. Its not clear if a rehearsal will take place at all, having already completed a static fire test of both the Starship rocket and the Super Heavy booster.

The only thing currently standing in Starships way is regulatory approval from the Federal Aviation Administration, who will hopefully have a decision on the environmental compliance review soon. There has never been a launch like this, which could account for the approval delays.

Teams are focused on launch readiness ahead of Starships first integrated flight test as soon as next week, pending regulatory approval  no launch rehearsal this week https://t.co/SpsRVRsvz1 pic.twitter.com/ovYUQgAjAc  SpaceX (@SpaceX) April 11, 2023

Starship launch: What date will the SpaceX rocket lift off?

Tuesday 11 April 2023 19:13 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Starship is ready for launch, Elon Musk has said, only regulatory approval is standing in the way.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has given a number of updates in recent days, with the latest report suggesting the date will be on or soon after 17 April.

This is the latest statement we have from the FAA:

The FAA has not made a license determination for the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy operation, and the FAAs Command Center planning notice should not be interpreted as an indicator that a determination to issue a licence has been made or is forthcoming

FAA

Starship launch: How big is the SpaceX rocket?

Tuesday 11 April 2023 17:55 , Anthony Cuthbertson

Starship and its Super Heavy Booster will produce nearly twice the thrust of Nasas Space Launch System (SLS), which is currently the most powerful rocket ever made.

SpaceX is building such a massive rocket in order to meet Musks goal of transporting people and cargo across the Solar System. In order to reach the Moon and Mars with significant payloads, Starship has been equipped with six engines, while the Super Heavy has a further 33  producing a projected 7.25 million kg of thrust.

Heres how its actual size compares to other huge rockets throughout history:

Hello and welcome...

Tuesday 11 April 2023 17:12 , Anthony Cuthbertson

to The Independents live coverage of SpaceXs preparations to launch its Starship rocket into orbit.

The biggest spacecraft ever built is ready for lift-off, according to chief exec Elon Musk, though regulators are still performing the final approval checks. A report from the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has marked 17 April as a primary launch date, with 18-22 April listed as backup dates.

Well be bringing you all the latest news and updates of the next-generation rocket, which Musk hopes to one day use to colonise Mars.
Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Vice President Han Zheng on Wednesday met with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, in Beijing.

Han said that the traditional friendship between China and Slovakia has seen steady development, and that exchanges and cooperation in various fields have grown constantly.

China is ready to work with Slovakia to carry forward the friendship, consolidate the political foundation of bilateral relations, uphold mutual respect and mutual trust, treat each other as equals, achieve win-win results, and properly accommodate each other's core interests and major concerns to create a sound political atmosphere for the sustained and healthy development of bilateral ties, Han said.

He called on both sides to continue deepening cooperation, enhancing cultural and people-to-people exchanges, and working together to promote the sound and steady development of relations between China and the European Union, as well as China-Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) cooperation. He also briefed the Slovak side on China's economic and social development.

Kollar said that Slovakia attaches great importance to developing friendly relations with China and hopes to strengthen bilateral cooperation on the economy, culture, people's livelihoods, transportation, logistics and other fields, and to deepen exchanges between the two legislatures to improve bilateral relations. 

Chinese Vice President Han Zheng meets with Boris Kollar, speaker of the Slovak National Council, in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Ding Haitao)
A 68-page ballistics report released Monday along with logs of evidence and synchronized still frames from police and highway camera systems detail the exhaustive effort of state investigators to account for all 95 bullets fired in the pursuit and death of Jayland Walker.

Cleared of criminal charges by a special Summit County grand jury Monday, eight Akron officers with standard issue 9 mm semi-automatic Glock handguns fired 94 bullets at Walker as he ran, according to the Ohio Criminal of Bureau Investigation report. As a group, they missed Walker half the time. Bullet shrapnel peppered the parking lot where the 25-year-old Walker died from 46 gunshot wounds.

Four of the officers fired 70 of the 94 rounds, pulling their triggers nearly three times per second as they emptied their magazines in less than 7 seconds.

Jayland Walker: What we're learning from BCI investigation into Akron police shooting

BCI: Jayland Walker fired first during chase

Walker fired the 95th bullet earlier that evening after ignoring a traffic stop and turning his Buick Century south onto state Route 8 with an Akron officer close behind, BCI said. A cruiser from Cuyahoga Falls caught the start of that pursuit on a dashboard camera.

Its that footage, according to the state investigation, that shows Walkers single shot traveling downward into the highway asphalt.

When watching the video in real speed, the debris cloud is consistent with a bullet impacting the pavement, the state investigation said.

But this is the moment that elevated the threat for officers who would later use deadly force.

Where was he aiming? There is no conclusive evidence as to that," Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost said Monday. I think it's virtually certain that he was shooting the gun at them. He certainly was shooting during the time when police tried to pull him over.

Walker had recently purchased the handgun at a local firing range. A second spent shell casing was found in his vehicle, but investigators did not say when that round was fired.

Story continues

The states investigation details how many of the eight responding officers emptied their magazines and how many fired more sparingly at Walker. The four who unloaded did not continue to fire after reloading. Three of their firearms carried 18 rounds and the other held 16.

The other four officers  three with 18 bullets each and one with 23 bullets loaded up  fired three, four, six and 11 rounds.

All eight officers, according to state investigators and Akron Police Chief Steve Mylett, mistakenly believed Walker to be armed when they killed him. Walker was running in a ski mask when he spun around to face the officers.

'Our hearts are hurting': Jayland Walker's family reacts to grand jury decision

Some of the officers, also in their statements to investigators, said they thought Walker fired first  not from his vehicle during the car chase but when officers caught up to him on foot in the parking lot near Wilbeth Road and South Main Street. They thought they were returning fire, special agents with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation concluded.

Ultimately, Yost and his team stressed that the officers did not fire first, and that the threat of harm to them and the public was enough to justify lethal force.

Officers are able to use deadly force only when there's a threat of serious physical harm or deadly force against them, BCI special counsel Anthony Pierson told the media during a press conference Monday. So, each and every shot has to be accounted for.

Along with three discharged Tasers, a BCI agent collected each of the eight officers handguns and sent them along with shell casings and shrapnel for testing.

Analysts matched each casing to an officers firearm.

Each of the officers carried a Glock 9 mm, though some used versions with shorter grips to account for their smaller hands. These shorter versions wielded by two officers carried 15 bullets in their magazines.

Five of the officers carried the more common Glock 17 with a magazine capacity of 17 rounds. One officer had an extension on his magazine that put five additional rounds at his disposal.

But every officer chambered an extra round. To do so, the officers would have inserted their magazines and pulled back the slide to move a bullet from the magazine to the chamber. Then each officer would have removed and topped off their magazine before reinserting them.

Thats not unusual, said Charles P. Stephenson, former police officer and FBI firearms instructor, who spoke to the Akron Beacon Journal on Tuesday. Thats the way its carried, one round in the chamber.

Stephenson also explained that standard officer training calls for the forceful neutralization of threats. And 1 to 2 seconds can pass before the human mind acknowledges that the threat has passed, he added.

Their perception is that theyre under immediate threat, Stephenson said. That perception leads to decision-making, and that leads to firing until the threat diminishes. Its not that uncommon for that number of rounds to be fired.

Two of the eight officers, when asked by investigators at the scene, could not recall how many shots they'd fired.

Chief Mylett, who will now conduct an internal review to determine if officers violated any department policy, said the individual officers responded to a perceived threat from each of their unique vantage points.

What's next: What we know about Jayland Walker protests, next steps in legal, investigative processes

"Did Mr. Walker continue to pose a threat?" Mylett asked, rhetorically, during a Tuesday interview. "Now remember, (the officers) have absolutely no idea that (Walker) has taken the magazine out of the gun and put the gun on the driver's seat."

"When he jumps out of the car quick," Mylett said of the restraint officers initially showed, "they didn't shoot him. When he's running away from them and then turns quickly with the ski mask on, they try to Tase him. They try to use less lethal."

It's the second time that Walker spun around, after the Tasers failed to hit their target and Walker ignored commands to stop, that the barrage of 94 rounds began.

Reach reporter Doug Livingston at dlivingston@thebaconjournal.com or 330-996-3792.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: BCI report says 4 officers emptied clips in Jayland Walker shooting
The state is now questioning Duval County Public Schools on its reporting of a teacher accused of inappropriate behavior with a student.

Action News Jax has been reporting on former Douglas Anderson School of the Arts teacher Jeffrey Clayton since his arrest in March.

According to an arrest report from the Jacksonville Sheriffs Office, Clayton kissed a student.

A new letter from the Florida Department of Education to DCPS Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene questions why the district did not tell the state about a prior incident in November 2021.

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It details Clayton rubbing a students back and telling her shes beautiful.

DCPS tells Action News Jax it did report the 2021 incident to the Florida Department of Children and Families and to the DOEs Professional Practices Office.

The letter questions why it was not reported to a separate state reporting process.

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School Board Chairwoman Dr. Kelly Coker released the following statement on the letter:

Todays letter from the Florida Department of Education further illuminates why our School Board is already pressing for a comprehensive external investigation.

We must determine what led to the incident involving Jeffrey Clayton and fully review district practices and policies to ensure we meet our most important goal of keeping students safe.

RELATED COVERAGE

Story continues

READ THE FULL LETTER FROM THE DOE BELOW:

Duval - Teacher SESIR Inicdent 4-19-2023 Final by ActionNewsJax on Scribd

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Cars travel U.S. 395 along the east side of the Sierra Nevada near Lone Pine, Calif., on March 22. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)

As California's wet winter has given way to warmer spring weather, the state's record snowpack has begun to melt.

Though the accumulated snow still measures 249% of normal as of April 18, new satellite photos show that the white blankets enveloping mountains across the state have started to recede.

The Southern Sierra continues to be the standout region, with snow levels on slopes there at more than 300% of normal.

Satellite images seen below from NASA's Earth Observing System Data and Information System, or EOSDIS, show the snowy Sierra on March 16 (left), and a month later (right).

While the snowpack remains substantial in the more recent image , it has dissipated significantly at lower elevations. The Mendocino Range, seen in the top left of the image, also shows significant snow loss.

In Southern California, the change has been even more dramatic.

The San Gabriel, San Bernardino and San Jacinto mountains were blanketed in snow on March 24, but by April 8 much of the snow had melted away.

Images below from a European Space Agency satellite captured the snow melt.

While the Southern California snowpacks have caused relatively little flooding as they melt, the snow in the Sierra may be a different story.

Farm equipment stands in floodwater just South of Tulare River Road. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Flood danger could last through the year in the adjacent San Joaquin Valley, officials told the Times. The valley has already endured significant flooding this year, with excessive rains wreaking havoc in small towns and fueling the renaissance of Tulare Lake.

Tulare Lake continues to rise along its northern border. (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Typically, about a quarter of snow melt takes place in April, with the majority coming in May and June as the weather warms up.

But the remarkably wet winter means flooding could linger through much of the year, the latest outlooks show.

View from aboard a whitewater raft during a tour of the upper Kern River in Kernville. (Jack Dolan / Los Angeles Times)

The Tulare Lake basin and the San Joaquin River basin remain the areas of top concern, as record-deep snowpack in the southern Sierra Nevada is expected to send a cascade of water down into the San Joaquin Valley as it melts.

Isabella Lake as seen from Wofford Heights on April 7, 2023. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

The threat comes after one of the states coldest, wettest winters on record. Mammoth Mountain in the Sierra received more than 700 inches of fresh powder this season, and there is now more water contained in the states snowpack than the capacity of Lake Mead, the nations largest reservoir.

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Though most of the focus is on the Central Valley, officials in L.A. are also keeping an eye on on spring and summer flooding as it could cause additional damage to the Los Angeles Aqueduct.

The aqueduct, which delivers water from the Owens Valley to millions of Angelenos, has already suffered damage from this winters storms.

Times Staff Writer Hayley Smith contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The threat of severe storms with large hail and damaging winds returns to North Texas on Thursday, according to the National Weather Service in Fort Worth.

The storms are expected to develop directly over or just to the north of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, according to NWS meteorologist David Bonnette. The greatest threat will be from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m., though Bonnette said there is a chance of isolated storms Thursday night.

The greatest storm threats are predicted to be large hail and damaging winds, and heavy rain could lead to flooding in some areas, Bonnette said. There is also a low potential for tornadoes.

For the most part, the storms should move to the south of the Dallas-Fort Worth area by Thursday night, Bonnette said.

There is a 30% chance of thunderstorms early Friday with a high of 74, according to the National Weather Service. Saturday will be mostly sunny with a high around 69.

There is a 20% chance of showers on Sunday with a high of 64.

3-Day Storm Outlook

This map shows the 3-day weather outlook for storms by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. Sources: National Weather Service, Esri.

Open
Wilderness Safaris' Wilderness Mokete, a limited-edition safari camp in Botswana's Mababe Concession, is due to open in September.

Courtesy of Wilderness Safaris

Come September, there will be a brand-new safari camp opening in Botswana  and you'll only have two years to visit it.

Wilderness Safaris' Wilderness Mokete is a limited-edition camp in the Mababe Concession, a lesser-visited area of Botswana known for large herds of buffalo, elephants, and zebra, as well as predators that follow them like lions, cheetahs, and painted dogs.

"The location of our vast private area, over 50,000 hectares for our sole use, is unknown to travelers who have been to Botswana before," said Keith Vincent, the CEO of Wilderness Safaris, in an interview with Travel + Leisure. "It is situated to the east of the Okavango Delta and to the south of Chobe National Park, therefore outside of the parts of Botswana that travelers are familiar with. What also makes it unique is that there are wide open grasslands here, with visibility not found anywhere else."

Courtesy of Wilderness Safaris

Mokete will feature nine canvas tents for guests, each with a retractable roof for stargazing. The tents will be connected via elevated walkways to the main tent and a swimming pool. After its two-year run, Wilderness Mokete will be dismantled and replaced by a permanent camp, Meraka.

"The development of the permanent camp that will replace Wilderness Mokete is going to take some time and careful planning, but we wanted to give our guests access to this spectacular area as soon as we possibly could, hence the limited-edition camp opening in September this year," Vincent said. "All the elements of Mokete will be repurposed in the back-of-house area of the permanent camp when it opens."

Courtesy of Wilderness Safaris

Courtesy of Wilderness Safaris

During the two years, Wilderness plans to run photographic safaris from Mokete. "Mababe has never before been utilized for photographic tourism, which means that Wilderness, together with Cobus Calitz, now has the incredibly exciting opportunity to launch photographic safaris here, which will contribute to the conservation of this pristine wilderness area and at the same time, benefit the local community through the payment of lease fees and employment opportunities," Vincent said.

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Between the robust wildlife, unique landscapes, and photo tours, a visit to Wilderness Mokete is sure to be a treat.

Wilderness Mokete is now open for bookings from September 2023, with rates starting at $1,320 per person per night.

For more Travel & Leisure news, make sure to sign up for our newsletter!

Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
(Bloomberg) -- Multiple airstrikes and heavy fighting rocked Sudans capital after a proposed cease-fire to halt days of clashes between the army and a paramilitary group failed to hold.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The attacks posed a fresh obstacle to regional leaders whove attempted to travel to Khartoum this week to help negotiate a truce between military head Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Rapid Support Forces leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Clashes that erupted across the North African nation on April 15 have left more than 270 people dead and at least 2,600 others injured, according to the World Health Organization.

The army headquarters, the RSFs offices and the densely populated Amarat area in Khartoum were targeted on Wednesday morning, with shelling continuing for several hours, residents said. Amged Farid, who served as an adviser to former Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, said he heard jets flying overhead and very loud explosions since the early hours of the morning.

The African Union and Intergovernmental Authority on Development, a regional bloc, have been trying to dispatch officials to Khartoum since Monday to mediate an end to the conflict that has shattered hopes of a return to civilian rule after a 2021 coup, and sparked fears of a full-blown civil war in the country of about 45 million people. Foreign diplomats have also tried to intervene, the latest efforts including talks between US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Saudi Arabias foreign minister.

There are more and more people trying to leave Khartoum, but its difficult, its dangerous and there are many checkpoints, said Germain Mwehu, a spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross. Many parts of the city had been left without water and hospitals were short-staffed and had limited supplies because the intense fighting made it difficult to move around, he said.

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Read more: Whats Behind the Fighting in Sudan and What It Means: QuickTake

An observer mission comprised of representatives from several United Nations agencies found that between 10,000 and 20,000 Sudanese who fled fighting had converged on just three sites in eastern Chad over recent days, Laura Lo Castro, the UN High Commission for Refugees country representative, said on Twitter on Tuesday. While the UN mission in the Central African Republic said some refugees had arrived in the east of the country, it didnt disclose figures.

Medecins Sans Frontieres is facing challenges across Sudan, especially in Khartoum, Darfur and the states of North Kordofan and Gedaref, said Ghazali Babiker, the charitys country representative.

Our premises in Nyala, South Darfur, have been looted, including one of our warehouses, he said. In Khartoum, most teams are trapped by the ongoing heavy fighting and are unable to access warehouses to deliver vital medical supplies to hospitals. In Khartoum, even ambulances are being turned back. They are not being permitted to pass in order to retrieve the bodies of the dead from the streets, or to transport those who have been injured to hospital.

With neither side appearing willing to back down, the conflict is likely to be protracted and runs the risk of drawing in neighboring countries, Verisk Maplecroft said in a research note this week.

The renewed fighting came in spite of attempts to introduce a 24-hour truce starting on Tuesday evening. The army had given mixed signals over whether it would observe the truce, with one official accusing the RSF of mobilizing while requesting the pause.

In a Twitter posting, the RSF accused the army of violating the cease-fire, moving more fighters toward Khartoum and bombing heavily populated areas, hospitals, markets and power supply lines. While it said it was committed to instituting another truce starting from 6 p.m. on Wednesday, it wasnt clear if the army agreed.

South Sudanese acting Foreign Minister Deng Dau Deng said his nations oil exports, which flow through pipelines that traverse Sudan, havent been affected by the violence. The president of South Sudan, one of the eight IGAD members, will travel to Sudan when its safe to do so, he said.

The going of President Salva Kiir and the other leaders depended on a cease-fire, Deng said by phone. When we get a guarantee that the airport is safe and the leaders will be safe in Khartoum then we will advise the president to go.

Fifteen nations, including the US, UK, Japan, France and Germany, and the European Union issued a joint statement Wednesday condemning the violence, calling for an immediate end to the fighting and negotiations without preconditions.

Accessing water, electricity and telecommunications and other services had become increasingly difficult, both for locals and foreign nationals, Andrea Sasse, a spokeswoman for the German Foreign Ministry told reporters in Berlin. The situation is very unclear and very volatile, she said.

Any cessation of hostilities will almost certainly need to be driven by regional Arab powers because of their interests in the country, said Jonas Horner, an independent analyst following Sudan.

Worryingly, however, those with the greatest weight, Egypt and the UAE, have systematically empowered Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF respectively, facilitating the political and military strengthening of both forces and resulting in the catastrophic levels of destruction across at least half a dozen Sudanese cities, he said by phone.

--With assistance from Go Onomitsu, Thomas Hall, Okech Francis, Katarina Hoije, Kamil Kowalcze and Paul Richardson.

(Updates with refugees arriving in Chad in sixth paragraph.)

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The vicious battle between two Sudanese military commanders for control over the country continued for a fifth day Wednesday, with the fighting raging on despite a planned 24-hour ceasefire. The clash between the generals in charge of the country's armed forces and a massive paramilitary force had claimed at least 270 lives by Wednesday, according to the U.N.'s World Health Organization, and a medical group in Sudan said the majority were civilians.

The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, a domestic organization which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians had been killed and hundreds more wounded, but the real toll from the fighting is likely to be considerably higher as bodies still lay on the streets in major cities where intense fighting continued.

The 24-hour humanitarian truce agreed to by both sides of the conflict never really took hold. Heavy gunfire peppered the capital city of Khartoum almost immediately after it was supposed to have gone into effect Tuesday evening.

A view of vehicles damaged in clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan, April 18, 2023. / Credit: Omer Erdem/Anadolu Agency/Getty

Over the last five days the city that's home to more than six million people has been turned into a battlefield in the power struggle between the rival generals. Their bitter personal dispute has exploded into all-out war.

Half of Khartoum's hospitals were out of action Wednesday as the number of killed and wounded climbed precipitously higher.

Caught in the middle are millions of civilians, including Dallia Mohammed, who said she and other residents in the capital had spent the last few days "just staying indoors to keep our sanity intact" as the sounds of war echoed outside.

The U.S. has urged Americans in Khartoum to shelter in place, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that a clearly marked U.S. diplomatic convoy had been fired on earlier in the week amid the chaos.

Nobody was harmed in the incident and it wasn't clear which side was responsible, but in calls with both Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who heads the Sudanese Armed Forces, and the leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, Blinken called the action reckless and irresponsible.

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"I made it very clear that any attacks, threat, dangers posed to our diplomats were totally unacceptable," he said later.

The State Department has established a Sudan Military Conflict Task Force to oversee management and logistics related to events in Sudan, and it has said that contingency planning for U.S. personnel in the east African nation is underway.

Germany's government, meanwhile, canceled a plan to evacuate about 150 German nationals from Sudan due to the ongoing fighting, a source with knowledge of the planning told CBS News.

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Sick people are still being admitted to hospitals, despite the dangers of travelling on Khartoum's streets

A Sudanese doctor has told the BBC that he and his colleagues are "expecting... to get shot [at] any time" while working in a Khartoum hospital.

The doctor, who we are not naming, has been volunteering to treat sick people, most of whom have been shot.

He said he felt "helpless" and that it was "difficult" to "see people in front of you... dying".

Both staff and patients at the hospital have been hit by stray bullets, he said.

He will no longer return to that hospital because it is not safe, but instead will treat patients at a different medical facility.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) says 39 out of 59 hospitals in the capital, Khartoum, and nearby states are "out of service", highlighting the worsening humanitarian situation in the country.

"Among the hospitals that have stopped working, there are nine hospitals that were bombed, and 16 hospitals that were subjected to forced evacuation," the CCSD said.

Fighting between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group is now in its fifth day, amid a power struggle in the country.

The doctor confirmed to the BBC that patients and doctors in at least 16 hospitals had been forcibly evacuated from hospitals by the RSF, although the BBC is not able to independently verify this report.

Patients are stranded in some hospitals with no clean water or food, and it is difficult to evacuate them because of "lack of transportation, the lack of safe passages and the lack of gasoline".

He also said that several corpses had been left in hospitals that cannot be accessed.

A second medic, Dr Ahmed Abbas who is a coordinator for the Sudan Doctors' Union, told the BBC's Newshour radio programme that the "situation is bad" and that very few Khartoum hospitals were functioning.

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Those hospitals are struggling and "running short of oxygen" and life-saving drugs, while doctors have been working "round the clock" and are exhausted to the "point of collapse".

There were fresh explosions in Khartoum on Wednesday

Dr Abbas also warned that "people are dying from lack of staff" and blood supplies, while others were dying because of a "long wait" to get to the operating rooms, adding that the heath service was "beyond collapse".

Both Dr Abbas and the unnamed Khartoum doctor told the BBC that some hospitals had been used by the factions as a refuge for their fighters.

Dr Abbas said five major Khartoum hospitals had been almost totally destroyed by "crossfire fighting".

On Wednesday the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for unimpeded access in Sudan and warned that the fighting was taking a "disastrous toll".

The body's regional director for Africa, Patrick Youssef, said the enormity of the situation was still unfolding. He called for "quick access and safety for ambulances, medical personnel, and humanitarian actors to be able to evaluate what is happening".

An ICRC statement added that law and order had broken down in parts of the western region of Darfur, and that its offices in Nyala had been looted and a vehicle stolen.

About 270 civilians have been killed since fighting broke out on Saturday, according to a statement from Western diplomats based in Khartoum.

Large numbers of Khartoum residents have been fleeing, whilst others are trapped in their homes seeking shelter as a fresh wave of explosions erupted in the capital this morning.

Later in the day, the Sudanese army and the RSF agreed a fresh 24-hour truce, however some gunfire could still be heard after 18:00 local time (16:00 GMT), when it was supposed to take effect.

Sudan: The basics

Sudan is in north-east Africa and has a history of instability: The military toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir in 2019 after mass protests

It then overthrew a power-sharing government in 2021, putting two men at the helm: The head of the army and his deputy, who is also the head of a paramilitary group called the RSF

They disagree on how to restore civilian rule to Sudan: The RSF leader claims to represent marginalised groups against the country's elites but his forces were accused of ethnic cleansing

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Protesters in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 6. (Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Hundreds of people in Sudan are reported to have died following days of violence between the governments military and a rival paramilitary group in a battle for control of the country. According to the World Health Organization, at least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 injured since fighting began over the weekend.

A 24-hour internationally brokered ceasefire was agreed upon Tuesday after three days of violent clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group. But fighting continued into Wednesday as the countrys military accused the RSF of targeting civilians in the capital, Khartoum, while the leader of the RSF, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, accused the army of bombing densely populated areas from the air and endangering civilian lives.

How did the conflict start?

The president of Sudan's Sovereign Council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, at an air base in Khartoum in 2020. (Mahmoud Hjaj/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The latest fighting is a result of a power struggle between the head of Sudans military and the countrys de facto leader, Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and its second most powerful man, Dagalo.

For months, negotiations have been underway between the ruling junta and the RSF to broker a peaceful transition into civilian power after years of unrest. In 2021, after taking control of the country following a coup, Burhan promised a democratic shift to power in the future, with elections to be held by the end of 2023. For this change to take place, the RSF, which is made up of 100,000 soldiers, would have to merge with the countrys military.

Two weeks ago, Sudans top officials failed to meet a deadline to form a civilian-led government, which heightened tensions between the countrys top generals. The armed forces then accused the RSF of escalating, claiming it was mobilizing its supporters around the country to foment tensions. Then, on Sunday, the first shots were fired, but its unclear which side they were from.

How did Sudan get here?

Soldiers of South Sudan at an airport in the Democratic Republic of the Congo on April 3. (Alain Uaykani/Xinhua via Getty Images)

For 30 years, Sudan had been ruled by the autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir and his Islamist government. In 2013, during his time as ruler, Bashir created a second army, the RSF. It began as a group of militias known as the Janjaweed, who were utilized in the early 2000s to crush rebel movements in the western region of Darfur. Those involved in the rebellion, mostly non-Arab Sudanese, believed they had faced discrimination by the central government. During this time, millions of people were displaced and hundreds of thousands were killed. The Janjaweed has been accused of ethnic cleansing and war crimes from 2003 to 2008.

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In 2019, eight years after the Arab Spring, Sudan would experience its own popular uprising in the hope of a democracy being formed. Bashir was deposed in a coup d'etat and a council was formed to temporarily rule the country. In a deal made by the Sovereign Council  made up of men from the military and civilian populations and chaired by Burhan  it was decided that Burhan would not be allowed to run for any elections.

In an attempt to seize total control, Burhan staged a coup in 2021, removing former United Nations official Abdalla Hamdok as prime minister. In response to countrywide protests and worldwide condemnation, Burhan declared that an election would be held in 2023. After that, Ill leave and mind my own business, he told the Financial Times in 2021. I will also leave the armed forces.

How has the U.S. responded?

Secretary of State Antony Blinken at EU Council headquarters in Brussels on April 4. (Thierry Monasse/Getty Images)

Secretary of State Antony Blinken condemned the attack of a U.S. Embassy convoy in Sudan that had come under fire on Monday. The incident resulted in Blinken speaking with both generals separately, and that led to Tuesdays brokered ceasefire. We have deep concerns, of course, about the overall security environment, Blinken said in a G7 meeting the same day. Following the continuing violence, the State Department announced it had set up a special task force to deal with the conflict.

On Wednesday, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum released a joint statement with other foreign embassies calling for the end of hostilities and condemned the attacks on aid workers, civilians and diplomats.

Why does it matter?

Smoke billows above residential buildings in Khartoum on April 16 as battles raged between the forces of rival generals. (AFP via Getty Images)

As with any grapple for power, Sudans civilian population has suffered the most since the conflict began. Those living in the capital have been forced to stay indoors from fear that they would be targeted as belonging to one side or the other. "We are extremely worried that the fighting is affecting densely populated areas. People are seeking cover in their houses," Alfonso Verdu Perez, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross delegation in Sudan, said on Sunday. "We call on all parties to facilitate the work of humanitarian organizations so that we can help those in need."

According to the international medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), also known as Doctors Without Borders, at least half the hospitals in Khartoum are out of action due to ongoing clashes. The international president of MSF, Christos Christou, said on Twitter that most of those wounded were civilians and that medical teams are trapped by the fighting and power outages are threatening lives.

The WHO said on Tuesday that fighters should allow medical providers to continue to work after it was reported that some centers had been ransacked. "I want to be very clear: All parties must ensure unrestricted and safe access to health facilities for those injured and everyone in need of medical care," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told reporters on Tuesday.
An annual report on nationwide air quality gives Bellingham and Whatcom County good marks overall, but adds a failing grade because of summertime wildfire smoke.

Whatcom County gets an F ranking for particulate matter, the worst possible in the American Lung Associations annual State of the Air survey that documents particle and ozone pollution  two common pollutants that are dangerous to public health.

That report covers a three-year period from 2019-2021 and includes two particularly harsh rounds of wildfire smoke, in 2020 and 2021, said Seth Preston, spokesman for the Northwest Clean Air Agency.

Its becoming so routine that its depressing, Preston told The Bellingham Herald in an interview.

If you factor out those few days of smoke, we have good air quality. But those days are real and people are breathing very bad smoke, he said.

Preston said he expects that Whatcom County will fare worse in next years report because of a series of smoky days in September and October 2022, when the Northwest had some of the worlds worst air.

In its report, the American Lung Association gave Whatcom County:

 An F for 24-hour particle pollution (smoke).

 A pass for annual particle pollution.

 An A for ozone pollution.

 Overall, Bellingham tied with Bangor, Maine, for the third-best air quality in the U.S.

 Bellingham was No. 6 overall for year-round particle pollution., but didnt make the list of best U.S. cities for short-term particle pollution.

According to the report, there are 22,622 people with asthma in Whatcom County, which has a population of 228,831. That number includes 3,150 children.

Our area managed to avoid wildfire smoke events in 2019, but experienced large, prolonged events in 2020 and 2021. This caused all of Washingtons counties, including Whatcom, to score poorly on the daily averages, said Mark Buford, executive director of the Northwest Clean Air Agency.

Local air quality would be in the A range for the 24-hour grades if we factored the wildfire smoke out of our data, using the Lung Associations methodology, Buford said in an emailed statement.

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The State of the Air report uses data from official air quality monitors from regulatory agencies and estimates respiratory disease rates to provide a snapshot of health risks.

Northwest Clean Air Agency has eight monitoring locations in Island, Skagit, and Whatcom counties.

It works to protect and improve air quality by regulating pollution from industrial emissions, illegal burning and other sources.

We appreciate all the people and businesses who work hard to improve and protect air quality in our area. And in wildfire season we need to make an extra effort, Buford said.
Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, here on Wednesday.

Calling President Bongo "an old friend" of the Chinese people, Xi said President Bongo is the first African head of state he hosts after being reelected as the Chinese president, which fully demonstrates the importance and high level of the China-Gabon relations.

In recent years, under the leadership of President Bongo, Gabon has been exploring a development path tailored to its national conditions and pursuing national stability and economic diversification. Significant achievements have been made in national development, Xi said.

Xi commended that Gabon has also been promoting the regional integration process and mediating hotspot issues in Africa.

Gabon has held a successful One Forest Summit and taken over as the President of the Economic Community of Central African States not long ago, Xi said, noting that Gabon's influence in the region and beyond has grown markedly.

As a sincere friend of Gabon, China wishes the country still greater progress in all its endeavors and early realization of its strategic goal toward an Emerging Gabon, said the Chinese president.

President Xi noted the 50th anniversary of China-Gabon diplomatic relations to be celebrated next year. Over the last half-century, thanks to the commitment and guidance of generations of leaders on both sides, the China-Gabon friendship has stayed rock-firm as ever, Xi said.

In a world undergoing profound changes, China and Gabon have supported each other in advancing their shared interests and upholding international fairness and justice. The strong and sustained growth of the bilateral ties serves the shared long-term interests of both countries and has an exemplary role to play in building a community with a shared future for mankind, said Xi.

President Xi proposed the elevation of the comprehensive cooperative partnership between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership." 

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. Xi held talks with Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. Xi held talks with Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)
The US Supreme Court has extended its pause on a lower court ruling that would strip the governments approval of a widely used abortion drug, which will remain available, at least for now.

An order from the nations highest court that put the ruling on hold was set to lapse at midnight on Wednesday. An order issued on Wednesday afternoon extended that hold until midnight on Friday.

Earlier this month, US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk in Texas sided with a group of anti-abortion activists seeking to overturn the US Food and Drug Administrations approval of mifepristone, was was first approved by the agency 23 years ago. The medicine is part of a two-drug protocol for medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all abortions in the US.

It is unclear how the Supreme Court will rule on the appeal, though a ruling to strike down the FDAs approval of the drug would drastically impact access to abortion and miscarriage care for millions of Americans across the country, including in states where it is legally protected.

A federal appeals court blocked parts of the judges decision but stripped away other government rules that expanded the drugs approval for use for up to 10 weeks of pregnancy, when most people are still learning they are pregnant.

President Joe Bidens administration will continue to fight for abortion rights regardless of the courts decision, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday before the courts latest announcement.

Following the Supreme Courts decision to overturn Roe v Wade and revoke a constitutional right to abortion care last summer, anti-abortion activists and right-wing legal campaigns took aim at mifepristone. The same legal group that backed the effort to overturn Roe is leading the charge against the drug.

Stripping away access to the drug could further erode access to abortion care across the country in the wake of the Supreme Courts decision in last yearss Dobbs v Jackson Womens Health Organization. Lack of access to the drug would be especially devastating in more than a dozen states that have effectively criminalised care or severely restricted access in the months after Roe was overturned.

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The Supreme Court should have issued a stay to stop this attempt to take away access to mifepristone but instead, the court continues to delay any action, Jenny Ma, senior counsel at the Center for Reproductive Rights, said in a statement shared with The Independent on Wednesday.

In the meantime, abortion providers and their patients across the country have been living in chaos, unclear if theyll still be able to prescribe and access this critical medication, she added. So much harm has already been unleashed since the district courts decision, and its time to stop further disruption across the nation.

Abortion rights advocates and legal groups have warned that duelling federal court decisions and murky legal decisions have added layers of confusion for abortion providers already navigating complicated abortion laws that fly against health guidelines.

The lower courts decisions were widely condemned by major medical groups for relying on anectodal reporting from anti-abortion groups and apparently ignoring evidence of mifepristones safety and efficacy.

Jennifer Dalven, director of the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, urged the court to listen to the FDA, pharmaceutical industry experts, and leading national medical groups, and block the decision.

People who need an abortion or miscarriage treatment shouldnt be left to wonder if they will be able to get the care they need or if the Supreme Court will instead abruptly take that ability away from them, she added in a statement shared with The Independent. The decisions from lower courts are so fundamentally flawed that they have been roundly criticized by experts across the ideological spectrum. The court should put an end to this baseless and dangerous case once and for all.
Access to a common abortion pill mifepristone will remain unchanged through at least Friday after the Supreme Court extended its brief pause until the end of the workweek.

Justice Samuel Alito, who handles emergency requests from the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, announced the move in a brief order, extending the administrative pause until Friday at 11:59 p.m. EDT.

The order doesnt give any indication of how the high court will proceed; it effectively gives the justices a few more days to decide whether they will pause a ruling that would roll back access to the drug.

The Biden administration and the company that manufactures a brand name version of mifepristone have asked the high court to intervene and pause a ruling from U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk earlier this month.

Kacsmaryks decision suspended the Food and Drug Administrations 23-year-old approval of mifepristone, ruling that the agencys approval process was improperly rushed and resulted in an unsafe drug regimen getting on the market.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week preserved the FDAs original approval of mifepristone as the Biden administration appeals, but the 5th Circuit allowed other portions of Kacsmaryks decision to go into effect, which blocked steps the FDA has taken since 2015 to ease access to mifepristone.

Those preserved changes include allowing mifepristone to be sent through the mail, lifting a requirement for three in-person visits, approving a generic, and approving the drugs use up to 10 weeks into a pregnancy, rather than seven weeks.

Alitos order is procedural and briefly keeps the status quo until the high court can decide whether to pause the remaining portions of Kacsmaryks decision from going into effect, until the 5th Circuit issues its ruling on the administrations appeal.

Alito can technically act on the administrations emergency request alone, though major applications like this one typically are referred to the full court.

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If the Supreme Court declines to extend the pause after Friday, the Justice Department has warned of chaos.

The brand-name version of mifepristone would have to apply for a new label and packaging, which could take months. The generic version of the medication, which accounts for two-thirds of the market, would become unapproved.

Abortion providers would need to decide whether to offer the drug off-label to women further along in their pregnancies because it would only be approved for use up to seven weeks into a pregnancy.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
The U.S. Supreme Court has allowed consideration of death row inmate Rodney Reed's bid for DNA testing of evidence in the 1996 Bastrop County murder of Stacey Stites.

The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday reversed a judgment by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in the case of death row inmate Rodney Reed by ruling that his request for further DNA testing in his case can be considered.

Reed's attorneys say that evidence could exonerate him.

The Supreme Court's opinion, issued by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, said Reed's request for DNA testing could be considered because the statute of limitations had not run out for the request. The high court ruled 6-3 in Reed's favor.

The judgment reversed a ruling by the 5th Circuit that said Reed waited too long to file his claim that prosecutors violated his civil rights by refusing to test the murder weapon and other evidence.

More: Arguing before US Supreme Court, death row's Rodney Reed seeks to revive DNA lawsuit

The Supreme Court ruling Wednesday was based on a federal lawsuit that Reed filed in 2019 arguing that blocking access to the DNA tests violated his civil rights.

Reed was convicted of capital murder in 1998 in the strangulation death of Stacey Stites and received the death penalty. Stites' body was found by the side of a rural road in Bastrop County on April 23, 1996, with Reed's sperm inside her.

Stacey Stites was strangled in Bastrop County in 1996. Rodney Reed was convicted of capital murder in her death.

Before she died, Stites had planned to marry her fiance, Jimmy Fennell, then a Giddings police officer. Defense lawyers have argued that Reed was having an affair with Stites.

More: Witness says Stacey Stites called Rodney Reed her 'very good friend' before 1996 murder

Reed's lawyers have said he is innocent and want to get DNA tests done on crime scene evidence that was probably touched by the killer, including Stites clothing and two pieces of the belt used to strangle her. Prosecutors have argued that the items have been contaminated by repeated handling during and after Reed's trial.

Texas has a two-year statute of limitations for pursing federal civil rights claims. The U.S. Supreme Court was asked to determine when the deadline clock started ticking. The high court ruled it began after all appeals were finally decided in state courts in 2017. The 5th Circuit had ruled that the deadline started when the trial court ruled in favor of the state in 2014.

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"In Reeds case, the States alleged failure to provide Reed with a fundamentally fair process was complete when the state litigation ended and deprived Reed of his asserted liberty interest in DNA testing," the Supreme Court opinion said. "Therefore, Reeds ... claim was complete and the statute of limitations began to run when the state litigation ended  when the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals denied Reeds motion for rehearing."

Kavanaugh was joined in his ruling by Justices Amy Coney Barrett, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor and Chief Justice John Roberts. Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented.

Reed's case will now be sent back to the 5th Circuit for further proceedings "on the merits of his years-long fight to gain access to DNA testing," said Jane Pucher, one of Reed's attorneys. "The ruling clears a path for the 5th Circuit to consider Mr. Reed's request that DNA testing be conducted on the murder weapon and other probative items from the crime scene.

Another attorney for Reed, Parker Rider-Longmaid, said, "Mr. Reed seeks DNA testing of key crime scene evidence that has never been tested, including the belt handled by the perpetrator while strangling the victim.

We are grateful that the court has kept the courthouse doors open to Mr. Reed, a Black man who has spent 24 years on death row for the murder of a white woman with whom he was having an affair, a crime he has steadfastly maintained he did not commit," Rider-Longmaid said.

"As Mr. Reeds briefs explain, extensive evidence developed in postconviction proceedings both points to Mr. Reeds innocence and implicates the victims fiance.

Editorial: Abbott's plan to pardon convicted killer reeks of politics

Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz has refused to allow DNA testing of the crime scene evidence, Rider-Longmaid said.

"He should join us in the search for the truth, rather than blocking it. If DNA evidence exists, as it does here, it should be tested. Its that simple," Rider-Longmaid said.

Goertz declined to comment Wednesday.

Five days before Reed was to be executed in 2019, a different appeal in which defense attorneys argued that new evidence exonerated Reed prompted the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to order a hearing in state District Court in Bastrop.

More: Judge recommends Rodney Reed conviction should stand; appeals court to make later decision

During the hearing on July 21, 2021, defense attorneys presented new witnesses who testified that they had seen Stites with Reed or had heard her talk about having an affair with a Black man. The defense witnesses also testified that they had seen Stites and Fennell fighting or had heard Fennell saying derogatory things about Stites after she was killed.

Bastrop County investigators testified that they could not find a way that Fennell could have killed Stites, then abandoned his truck and traveled 30 miles back to his apartment to answer a phone call. A female witness also testified that Reed had sexually assaulted her in 1995.

Fennell testified during the hearing that he didn't kill Stites and did not know Reed. Fennell was sentenced in 2008 to 10 years in prison for kidnapping and inappropriate conduct with a person in custody while a police officer in Georgetown.

State District Judge J.D. Langley, who presided over the hearing, recommended in November 2021 that Reed's conviction should stand.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Supreme Court allows Texas inmate Rodney Reed to pursue DNA lawsuit
The U.S. Supreme Court building in Washington. (Kent Nishimura / Los Angeles Times)

The Supreme Court heard a free-speech case on Wednesday and sounded ready to make it much harder to prosecute alleged online stalkers who repeatedly send unwanted and harassing messages that leave the recipient upset and frightened.

At issue is whether prosecutors must prove the sender intended to make true threats.

Coles Whalen, a Colorado musician, said she quit performing in public after receiving menacing messages over two years from a man she had never met.

The thousands of unstable messages sent to me were life-threatening and life-altering, she said. I was terrified that I was being followed and could be hurt at any moment; I had no choice but to step back from my dream, a music career that I had worked very hard to build.

Some messages invited her to come out for coffee. Others referred to seeing her in public. A few sounded angry: Die. Dont need you.

She told friends the messages were weird and creepy, and she repeatedly tried to block them on Facebook. But the messages continued, and she complained to police.

Billy Ray Counterman was prosecuted for stalking Whalen and causing her emotional distress. His defense attorneys said he was delusional and suffered from mental illness, but did not intend to threaten her.

He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to 4 years in prison, in part because he had a previous conviction for sending threats online.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal, and most of the justices  conservatives and liberal  sounded sympathetic to his 1st Amendment claim.

Washington, D.C., lawyer John P. Elwood, representing Counterman, urged the court to rule that prosecutors must prove the stalking defendant had a specific intent to threaten the recipient of his messages.

Elwood argued that the 1st Amendment has been understood to protect the freedom of speech, except when a person makes a true threat of violence. In this case, he said, the government was not required to show Counterman had intended to threaten Whalen.

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Criminalizing misunderstanding is especially dangerous in an age when so much communication occurs on social media, he said.

Colorado Atty. Gen. Phil Weiser argued that the danger flows in the other direction, saying cyberstalking can do life-changing harm.

Requiring specific intent in cases of threatening stalkers would immunize those who are untethered from reality, Weiser added. It would also allow devious stalkers to escape accountability by insisting that they meant nothing by their harmful statements.

In Countermans case, Whalen didnt know what he looked like, he said. Do you have to wait until the person engages in violence?

The lawyers differed on the potential effects of a ruling that would require proof of a senders intent. Elwood said it would not affect many cases; Weiser said it would make it more difficult to prosecute such cases.

The court is to issue a decision in Counterman vs. Colorado by late June.





This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that the U.S. criminal prosecution of a Turkish bank for allegedly evading sanctions against Iran can move forward.

The high court ruled that Halkbank, which is largely owned by the Turkish government, is not immune from facing the prosecution in U.S. courts under federal protections for foreign sovereigns.

The justices, however, sent the case back to the lower courts to consider the banks argument that the common law prohibits the prosecution, finding that the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals did not fully consider that argument.

Relying on the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, Halkbank contends that it enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution. We disagree because the Act does not provide foreign states and their instrumentalities with immunity from criminal proceedings, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the majority.

Justice Neil Gorsuch concurred in part and dissented in part, in an opinion joined by Justice Samuel Alito. The other justices joined Kavanaughs opinion in full.

The case has caused tensions in U.S.-Turkish relations after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reportedly asked then-President Trump to quash the investigation.

Federal prosecutors indicted the bank in 2019 on charges including money laundering and bank fraud, alleging it aided Iran by unlawfully freeing up the countrys oil revenues and laundering $1 billion through the U.S. financial system. Halkbank denies the allegations.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Survivor star Keith Nale (CBS)

Survivor contestant Keith Nale has died at the age of 62.

Nale, who appeared on two iterations of the popular reality series, had been treated for cancer before his death.

The news was announced by Nales son Wes, who appeared alongside his father on Survivor: San Juan del Sur in 2014.

He passed away this afternoon. Hed been battling cancer for the past few months and we found out about it in January, Wes said, according to ET Online.

Nale, a firefighter, became a fan favourite during his stint on San Juan del Sur, making it to the final four before being voted out. He returned to the franchise in 2015 to compete in Survivor: Cambodia.

Kelley Wentworth, one of Nales San Juan del Sur co-stars, shared a tribute to the late performer on social media.

Keith - a man with the purest heart, who brought humor into moments where it was needed most, she wrote. Im grateful I had the opportunity to meet Keith & share memories together on the beaches of Nicaragua & Cambodia.

My condolences to the Big D, Wes, Austin and entire Nale family. You will be missed Keith but your legacy will live on. Rest in power my firefighter/survivor brother. #RIPOtis pic.twitter.com/K2f8sMfYHm  Jeremy Collins (@jeremy2collins) April 19, 2023

My heart is with the entire Nale family. This is a devastating loss, she continued.

Fellow Survivor co-star Jeremy Collins wrote: My condolences to the Big D, Wes, Austin and entire Nale family. You will be missed Keith but your legacy will live on. Rest in power my firefighter/survivor brother.
A 22-year-old man charged with second-degree murder after a fatal shooting captured on video at a members-only chain store is claiming his innocence.

Jancarlos Lizardi Rosado, of Port Charlotte, pleaded not guilty Monday in the March 16 shooting at Restaurant Depot, 17751 South Tamiami Trail, in south Fort Myers.

The Sheriff's Office released footage of the shooting last month. It was removed shortly after it was posted.

The minute-long video showed the victim, a bald man wearing a black shirt with a white logo, black shorts and black shoes, pushing a grocery cart full of purchases on a sidewalk toward his car.

He reaches the trunk, moving off screen. As he unloads the groceries, the video indicates Rosado shot him, the victim falling to the ground after stumbling over a concrete parking block, moving back into the video camera's range.

He then backs around his car, apparently attempting to evade Rosado, and clutching his chest, later walking counter-clockwise around the front of the van. Rosado follows him and fires several shots. The victim then leans over the roof of the car confronting the shooter before falling off camera. The shooter then calmly stands at the front of the van.

Restaurant Depot is a members-only chain selling wholesale food, beverages, equipment & supplies for restaurants and bars. The stand-alone square white and brick building along U.S. 41 has bright blue trim.

Deputies heard gunshots outside as they arrived.

They found the man on the ground, shot multiple times. Rosado remained at the scene. They did not release the victim's name or other information.

Detectives spoke to several witnesses and determined the shooting wasn't related to the business, officials said.

Rosado remains in custody Tuesday without bond.

He's next due in court May 31 for a case management conference before Lee Circuit Judge Robert Branning.

Tomas Rodriguez is a Breaking/Live News Reporter for the Naples Daily News and The News-Press. You can reach Tomas at TRodriguez@gannett.com or 772-333-5501. Connect with him on Twitter @TomasFRoBeltran, Instagram @tomasfrobeltran and Facebook @tomasrodrigueznews.

This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Suspect in fatal Restaurant Depot shooting pleads not guilty
TOKYO (AP)  A 24-year-old man who allegedly threw an explosive at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japan's parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts that appeared to be his.

The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Kishida, who escaped unhurt.

Kimura has refused to talk to police, but local media reports that he bore grievances about Japan's election system might shed light on his motives.

In June last year Kimura, who police said is unemployed, filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election, according to Japanese media including NHK public television and Kyodo News. A candidate must be aged 30 years or older and present a 3 million yen ($22,260) deposit to run for the upper house, the less powerful of Japans two-chamber parliament. He was 23 at the time.

He demanded the government pay 100,000 yen ($740) in compensation for his psychological anguish, according to the reports.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan. With its strict gun control laws, the country has only a handful of gun-related crimes annually, most of them gang related. But in recent years Japanese police have worried about lone offender attacks with homemade guns and explosives. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a homemade gun at a campaign event on July 8, just two days before the upper house election.

In a document he submitted to the court, Kimura argued that the election system that blocked his candidacy was unconstitutional, the reports said.

Kimura argued that the election law violates constitutional guarantees of equality and other rights, according to media reports. The court dismissed his claim in a November 2022 ruling, and Kimura appealed the decision to the Osaka High Court, whose decision is expected in May, reports say.

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Tweets posted to an account cited by local media as Kimura's and seen by the Associated Press complained about Japan's political system. The account does not carry his name, but identifies itself as representing the plaintiff in a lawsuit that matches the one filed by Kimura. The Associated Press was not able to contact the owner of the account. The account had only 23 posts since it began late June.

An Aug. 11, 2022 tweet said the deck is stacked against ordinary people who quit their job and pay the deposit to run in national elections. "There is an established system where ordinary people can never become politicians.

Other tweets on the account criticized Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe.

The man accused of shooting Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, told authorities soon after his arrest that he killed Abe because of the former prime ministers apparent links to a religious group that Yamagami hated. In statements and in social media posts attributed to him, Yamagami said his mothers donations to the Unification Church bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
California firefighters responding to a call Sunday night found an unusual sight: A white SUV smashed into the second-floor window of a Placer County home.

It's not clear how the vehicle got so high up, but photos show it on top of a carport roof, with the front of the car facing a window. There appears to be damage to the window and surrounding roof, as well as the carport roof. One photo shared by officials also shows debris inside the home.

Debris visible inside the Placer County home after a white SUV landed on a carport roof. / Credit: CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit

The California Fire Nevada Yuba Placer Unit said on Facebook that Placer County firefighters, including members of multiple recue teams and members of the California Highway Patrol worked to rescue the solo occupant of the vehicle.

Power was shut off to the area, and fire and law enforcement officials were able to stabilize the carport. Using a rope system, the driver was rescued and transferred to waiting first responders inside the home. The driver then was transported to a hospital and their was no word on their condition.

No identifying information was given about the occupant.

Responders after a white SUV landed on a carport and crashed into the second story of a California home. / Credit: CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit

According to the unit, there were no injuries to the home's residents or first responders. It's not clear how many people were inside the home at the time of the crash.

CBS News Sacramento reported that authorities are investigating how the car landed on the second story, noting that the carport roof is on the same level as a hill next to the house.

Authorities are investigating how the vehicle landed on the carport roof. The hill next to the home is level with the carport. / Credit: CAL FIRE Nevada Yuba Placer Unit

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(Bloomberg) -- The Swiss government reaffirmed that the state guarantees for the takeover of Credit Suisse Group AG by UBS Group AG are binding, even after parliament last week declined to approve them.

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Some legal experts voiced doubt in Swiss media on whether the financial commitments  which had been approved in advance by a special group of senior lawmakers  could be binding after the parliaments rejection.

Parliament debated these credits on the premise that a rejection would have no legal effect on the Confederations emergency commitments made to the Swiss National Bank and UBS, the government said in a statement Wednesday. The Federal Council shares this legal opinion.

Without these commitments, the takeover of Credit Suisse by UBS, and thus the stabilisation of the financial system, would not have been possible, it said.

The government guarantees for 109 billion francs ($121 billion) of emergency liquidity and potential losses related to the takeover.

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ISLAMABAD, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The generosity displayed by the All Pakistan Chinese Enterprises Association (APCEA) in donating ration bags to the underprivileged people of Pakistan ahead of the Eid festival holds a great significance for them, an official said here on Wednesday.

Speaking at the distribution ceremony, Amir Fida Paracha, the managing director of the Pakistan Bait-ul-Mal (PBM), a charity and social welfare organization to help the underprivileged, said that as a good friend of Pakistan, China always reaches out to Pakistanis to offer timely support.

"Chinese have shown that the time-tested friend is once again here in the hour of need before the festival," Paracha said.

The APCEA has more than 200 member Chinese enterprises and organizations based in Pakistan, striving to enhance their economic and social cooperation.

Ahead of the Eid festival, the association donated 1,300 ration bags containing essential food items such as flour, rice, cooking oil, tea, and pulses to the PBM, which distributed a portion of the bags to local families in Islamabad on Wednesday. The remaining bags will be handed out to the poor and needy people in other districts.

Speaking at the event, Wang Huihua, the vice chairman of the APCEA, hoped that the ration bags donated under the corporate social responsibility of the Chinese companies will reach the deserving people.

He added that the ceremony will serve as a memorable event and will be followed by more acts of social responsibility.

The beneficiaries who got the ration bags expressed gratitude to the Chinese enterprises and said that the "Eid gift" from China reached just in time, and will make their festival joyous. 
I was in a band in the 1990s and we realised we either had to be good looking or exceptional songwriters. We were neither! (Getty)

You might think crime-scene cleaning is very technical, says Greg Davies. But the comedian best known as the host of Taskmaster and Never Mind the Buzzcocks says he spoke to a real crime-scene cleaner as part of the research for The Cleaner  and he said the most important tool in his kit was a big bag of towels. He said, You toss a load of those onto the blood and get the worst of it up. Its just human matter at the end of the day.

But while Daviess quirky sitcom  back for a second season on BBC One  uses the biological residue of violent death to comic effect, The Cleaners appeal lies in its poignant exploration of what matters to the humans still occupying the scene. Each episode begins with Davies hazmat-suited character  Wicky  arriving at a different location with his bag of towels and bottles of bleach and being confronted by an emotional mess that hes far less equipped to process.

The first series, which aired in 2021, began with him being held at gunpoint by a suburban housewife (played by Helena Bonham Carter) who wanted him to understand why shed stabbed her boring husband 38 times, splattering their orderly kitchen scarlet. Later hed help an irritable novelist (David Mitchell) express his grief for the grandmother killed by an exploding log burner, and hear from an aristocrat (Stephanie Cole) in whose home a hapless burglar has met his end. The second season continues to lure in top-drawer guest stars (including Successions Harriet Walter, Zoe Wanamaker and Asim Chaudhry) and finds Wicky forced to get his head around hot topics ranging from internet conspiracy theories to the debate over which statues should remain in public spaces.

Talking over a video call from his south London home, while he makes himself a coffee, the ostensibly easy-going Davies expresses mild astonishment that hes still being allowed to write himself fairly intense two-handers casting himself opposite proper actors. I mean, Harriet Walter is a Grand Dame of British Theatre, isnt she? Shes very well-spoken. I found it fascinating to watch her put on a blouse and transform into the owner of a very rough pub. And Zoe Wanamaker! Shes such a gentle, warm person and we got to see her metamorphose into a fairly unsavoury bigot.

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Is he ever intimidated by their thespy chops? No, he laughs. I think that by a certain point in life you have to be comfortable with what gifts youve got. I know what Ive got. I know what I bring. I cant imagine an Olivier Award is ever coming my way. But you just do your best, dont you? He says that playing the naive everyman, parachuted into all these surreal situations isnt too much of a stretch for him because  as a former drama teacher who didnt take to the stage until his thirties and made his mainstream breakthrough as the terrifying head of sixth form in The Inbetweeners the year he turned 40  he can still feel like a civilian lost in the bizarre world of showbiz.

Wicky would just like to be down the pub having a pint with his mates and I really relate to that, he nods. Thats where Id like to be most of the time too. But forcing him to confront more left-field ideas is the point. Often, Im educating myself on these subjects along with the character. Like the new episode in which Wicky encounters a shaman with a dead fox on his head who encourages the cleaner to try and commune with the recently deceased?

Ha! A better example is the Christmas Special where we cast an autistic actor as an autistic character. Somebody on the set  quite possibly me  used that cliche about everyone being somewhere on the spectrum and the actor said: no, theyre not. He explained how annoying neurodiverse people find it when people say that kind of thing. Because were not all a bit autistic. I didnt know that  why would I? But I learnt something and the line went straight into the script.

He reminds me that in the German show on which The Cleaner is based, the main character is a moral guy who definitely makes judgements but you dont get to know too much about him, whereas weve slowly picked away at the layers of Wickys onion. When you pop people in extreme situations, they end up talking about things that may have been buried in the subconscious. Things they havent faced up to Things like the fact that neither you nor Wicky are as normal as you like to think? Davies shrugs. He knows that a performers need to seek the validation of strangers is peculiar But I dont like to get too introspective about it because Im worried about what I might find out about myself!

Charlie Rawes, Greg Davies and Harriet Walter in The Cleaner (BBC)

Born in Wales in 1968 and raised in Shropshire, Davies tells me he came from a very, very funny family of worriers. Me, my mum, my sister? We could all be on the most perfect, sun-drenched beach with nothing to do and wed start making a list of things to worry about. He tells me hes still a terrible sleeper who wakes at 3am which is when the brain starts processing anxiety unless youve had a bowl of porridge an hour before you go to bed, so the slow release energy of the oats prevents the crash that wakes you up.

Most people assume that Davies began cracking jokes as a boy as a means of deflecting attention from his height (hes 6ft 8in). But he says he only really began riffing on things people said because I was tall when he started stand-up. In the playground in Shropshire, me and my nerdy friends would invent these very silly, very detailed backstories for kids we didnt know. He chuckles. There was a kid in my year who had incredibly well-ironed trousers. I never spoke to him, never knew anything about him, but wed pretend he lived in a house that was entirely dedicated to creating the perfect crease. We imagined his whole home was a giant machine that he fed his trousers into at night and in the morning it would loudly proclaim: YOUR TROUSERS ARE READY!

He credits an English teacher  Derek Evans  for sparking the hope he might one day be able to build a career in comedy. Clearly emotional, he recalls how he wrote and recorded a comedy album of silly songs with my friends and gave a copy to Mr Evans. He wrote us a full, track-by-track review of it that was really kind and complimentary. He said he thought we were funny, that we should keep going and developing it. I cant tell you the impact that kind of encouragement has on a kid. Its one of the reasons Im still doing this nonsense. Because somebody told me they saw that potential when my brain was being formed. Im hoping to get in touch with him to thank him for that now.

Taskmaster Davies with Alex Horne, the shows mastermind (Channel 4)

But before Davies could realise that potential, he took his lecturer dads advice about a sensible career and spent 13 unhappy years as an English and Drama teacher. Some aspects of that period fed into his 2013 sitcom Man Down, in which he played an inept educator and which was filmed in the school where he once spent miserable break times stubbing out cigarettes on the brickwork. Today he tells me he did enjoy some days with his students, many of whom send him messages online to thank him for being a laugh and to point out theyd always known he was bluffing, incompetent.

I remember teaching a low-ability English class about George Orwells Animal Farm. Most of the time I taught I was two pages ahead of the students, so we all learnt about the Russian Revolution together and Ill never forget them. In one frantic question-and-answer session a child in that group asked me if I could do the Lambada, just because he wanted to know at that moment. I told him I couldnt. He seemed satisfied with that answer and we went back to talking about communism. It was chaos! But I learnt as much  if not more  than most of the kids in that class. My A-level Theatre Studies class may feel differently, because I had to teach them about Bertolt Brecht and to this day I dont think I really understand his work.

He doesnt have much to say about the state of teaching today although hes unimpressed with Rishi Sunaks plans to force children to study maths until theyre 18. Being made to do any more maths than necessary would have been awful for me. Maths was my nemesis at school  if a subject can be a nemesis. I was and remain bad at it. Yet I have a career! Ive never once needed it. So I think its fine to make sure people are mathematically competent, but people need to learn to express themselves in ways that are more suited to them.

It was a very practical girlfriend who told the 33-year-old Davies to stop moaning about teaching and give comedy a shot if that was what he wanted. He admits that he regrets focusing so much on his distinctive appearance at first, and when it comes to stand-up (including his recent Netflix special) he fears hes still not quite back up to the distinctive style hed honed as a kid. His suppressed dreams are processed through a new episode of The Cleaner about a married father whos walked away from a lucrative career in finance to pursue his dream of being a clown: conjuring poodles from balloons and moments of suspended magic from thin air.

Im 54 and I dont think Ive been physically fit at any point since I was about 11. I really would like to be

I was fascinated by the question of when you should give up on a dream, on when it might be a delusion, he says. For years, the message coming from a lot of people surrounding me (along with my own brain) was: give up on the comedy dream. He shrugs. Thank God I did give it a go because I love what I do. Whats interesting about that episode is that the clown is not good at what he does. But I love the fact that he is rubbish, and we realise that its OK for him not to be very good if hes having a good time.

What dreams has Davies given up on? Oh, the dream of being in a band. I mean, I was in a band in the 1990s and we realised we either had to be good-looking or exceptional songwriters. We were neither! But I still sing along to loads of songs in the car and imagine Ive been called by some manager and asked to step in and take the mic on stage at Wembley

He still gets to indulge his passion for music on Buzzcocks. And on Taskmaster he gets to preside over a newer, warmer, more inclusive form of panel show. The cult comedy series (devised by Alex Horne in 2009 and now in its 15th series) in which comedians are set silly challenges and judged by Davies marked a refreshing shift away from the brutal competition (often between white, Oxbridge-educated males) that had come to define the British panel show. Horne consciously set tasks that evaluated competitors on a very broad range of physical, emotional, logical and plain daft skills. Comics like the sensitive Mark Watson (who described how hed been traumatised by appearances on other panel shows in his recent memoir) and autistic Fern Brady have both said that Taskmaster offered very different opportunities to be themselves. Those whove been privileged enough to expect to ace a panel show have often been left floundering, with Cambridge-educated David Baddiel reduced to spluttering Im very clever, you know, after fluffing his tasks.

Davies says he was very aware of that [white, male, Oxbridge] comedy culture when I started out. But I hope its in its death throes now. A headshake. With Taskmaster, we consciously tried very hard to foster a playful and joyful environment. Instead of pitting comics against each other we want to give them space to enjoy what their opponents are doing. I mean, its less relaxed in the studio because were always pedalling like mad to make it look like a joyful event. And looking joyful is hard work. But we all want everyone to come out of that show feeling both celebrated and roundly mocked.

Davies made his mainstream breakthrough as the terrifying head of sixth form in The Inbetweeners (Channel 4)

He admits hes amazed that  given the physically risky nature of some tasks  there have been relatively few accidents on Taskmaster. The worst was definitely when Jessica Knapett fell off the stage. The stage is called The Knapett and has its own little plaque. And I am pathetically proud of the fact that I quickly jumped out of my seat to save her. Even though I didnt get anywhere near her and wouldnt have saved her. I still watched it back and narcissistically thought: Oh, thats so good of you to almost save her!I find it funny that I can congratulate myself for something I didnt achieve.

He is equally self-mocking about the fact an anecdote he told about Helena Bonham Carter on The Graham Norton Show has racked up more views than his sitcoms or stand-up shows. Its always the way: you spend years working on something and then youre asked more questions about a silly story you told on a chat show! The story was about how Bonham Carter suffered from a hilarious burst of wind when they were filming The Cleaner, and then laughed so much she wet herself. But Davies handled it all decently.

I would never talk about somebody in public without seeking their permission. So I rang Helena and said I might tell that story about you farting on set and wetting yourself. Shes a great laugh and she said: Go for it! He admits that hes wary of coming off like a Graham Norton superfan, although I am but then explodes into a burst of praise for the chat show hosts ability to get beneath the Hollywood veneer of stars like Ryan Gosling (who could hardly breathe listening to one of Daviess ribald anecdotes) and find the human warmth. Its something Graham can do by being obviously naughty but fundamentally kind.

As Davies has succeeded in his dream of making a career in comedy, I wonder if he has any dreams left in his bucket. He smiles. Id like to achieve some level of calm. I would like, at one point in my life, to be physically fit. Im 54 and I dont think Ive been physically fit at any point since I was about 11. I really would like to be. He says hes tried every fad for two weeks. Ive been a vegan for a fortnight. A runner, a wild swimmer, Ive done meditation  all of that for 14 days and then I give up and guzzle on booze and pies. I do notice he has a shelf of exotic-looking liqueurs and spirits running around the top of his spacious kitchen. It looks fun, but maybe too tempting for a guy who could reach any bottle without a ladder.

He laughs again. I just need to stop eating what I want to eat and do the exercise. Its that simple. Its got to happen because I dont want to die early. I do quite enjoy life!

The Cleaner is out now on BBC iPlayer
T.I.

There are certain songs that, when you hear them, it automatically gets you hyped. From school pep rallies to cheer competitions and every other big gathering in between  Bring Em Out by T.I. is one of those songs.

While the 2004 hit song has longevity and cross-over appeal, the songs success is only a snapshot of the trap rappers career.

Born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., T.I. released his debut album Im Serious in 2001. Although the work didnt receive major commercial appeal, it didnt stop his musical pursuits. T.I. partnered with business partner Jason Geter to launch Grand Hustle Records in 2003.

From its initial launch, the rapper began putting out a series of mixtapes, leading him to release his second album, Trap Muzik, boasting singles such as Rubberband Man and Lets Get Away.

Harris success story would continue to blossom from this point, as he produced several more successful albums, appeared in movies, and tapped into his business acumen.

Diversifying his portfolio, he is also the man behind a clothing line, restaurant, and the Atlanta-based Trap Music Museum. But with so much success, he has no plans to stop.

A previous post from AfroTech noted one of the rappers most recent business endeavors  a partnership with CIGNATURE.

Along with Soulja Boy and other influencers, CIGNATURE aims to create a bridge between the tobacco and cannabis industry. A rep from the brand behind the new tobacco and cannabis line described the excitement around having people such as T.I. collaborate with the brand.

We strongly believe our extensive knowledge of the tobacco industry, combined with their rooted connection to the culture and community, is an absolute recipe for success, the rep said. We are happy to begin connecting dots and building bridges between the tobacco industry and hip-hop community.

The partnership with CIGNATURE follows the long line of business deals that have catapulted T.I. into becoming a success story across multiple industries. Now, the rap icon has some wisdom to share which could inspire others on their entrepreneurial journeys.

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his legacy is critically important. The father of six is making strategic moves to open doors for those that mean the most to him. Thats what inspires the type of investments the ATL star pursues.

Where you invest at is going to determine not just you but your familys future for generations, Harris said to AfroTech. Teach our children [to] invest in things that will be a commodity to you and not just buy things as consumers.

The sense of vision T.I. received from Herndon is something he holds on to regardless of the tables he finds himself sitting at. As an entrepreneur, he wants aspiring business owners to know that they, too, can achieve great success as long as they stay focused on the dream, even when others doubt it.

More than anything, one must never be afraid to fail. For Harris, its all a part of the process.

Fear of failure kills more dreams than failure in it ever did. You have to be willing to lose something in order to gain what you meant to have, he pointed out.

privileges and access not widely available to everyone.

Things are much different for me. And I wouldnt suggest for anybody to go about things exactly the way that I have because it may not work out for them the same way, T.I. said.

Nevertheless, he encourages everyone to tap into their inner voice and trust it will guide them to the right places to make the right decisions.

Regarding whats next, Harris says he has several projects in the pipeline that hes waiting for the right time to disclose.
WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal watchdog is investigating whether the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration under chief Anne Milgram improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire her past associates. Thats according to several people familiar with the widening probe who spoke to The Associated Press.

Here are the key takeaways:

WHATS UNDER INVESTIGATION?

The Justice Departments Office of Inspector General is scrutinizing $4.7 million the DEA spent for strategic planning and communication and other contracts to help bring in people Milgram knew from her days as New Jerseys attorney general and as a New York University law professor.

Some of the contract hires make up Milgrams inner circle, handling intelligence, data analytics, community outreach and public relations  at costs far exceeding pay for government officials.

Investigators are also homing in on a $1.4 million contract awarded to a Washington law firm to review the DEAs scandal-plagued foreign operations, a report widely criticized for giving short shrift to repeat instances of agent misconduct. The long-delayed review was co-authored by Boyd Johnson, former right-hand man to one of Milgrams closest friends, Preet Bharara, when he was U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. Bharara himself landed at the firm, WilmerHale, even as the review was being conducted.

Some of these deals look very swampy, said Scott Amey, general counsel of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, noting that federal contracting is not intended to bypass the government hiring process and rules require government business to be conducted with no preferential treatment.

If misconduct is found, the Inspector General can recommend anything from administrative sanctions to criminal prosecution.

WHAT DOES DEA SAY?

The DEA declined to make Milgram available for an interview or to discuss specifics of the investigation, which comes on the heels of several agent misconduct scandals and a fentanyl crisis claiming more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year.

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Instead, the agency released a statement:

DEA has acted with urgency to set a new vision, target the global criminal networks responsible for hundreds of thousands of American deaths, raise public awareness about how just one pill can kill, and promote and recruit hundreds of highly talented people, it said. These changes have been made through an extensive and multi-part process, and we are committed to ensuring that DEA is working relentlessly to protect the national security, safety, and health of the American people.

WHO IS ANNE MILGRAM?

The 52-year-old Milgram, a former federal prosecutor, New Jersey attorney general and law professor, is a Biden appointee who came to DEA nearly two years ago with a mandate to clean house.

But the administrator ruffled feathers by pushing out several career DEA officials she viewed as part of a culture that allowed misconduct to flourish. Instead, she favored the counsel of newly installed attorneys and data crunchers who work with her in an isolated part of the 12th floor of DEA headquarters.

Milgram has also made a point to show zero tolerance for sexual misconduct and racism in the ranks, warning agents they may now be fired for certain first offenses, a departure from previous administrations.

Milgram ordered the external review of DEAs 69-country sprawling foreign footprint after the high-profile arrest of Jose Irizarry, a disgraced agent now serving a 12-year federal prison sentence for laundering money for Colombian drug cartels.

WHO ELSE IS UNDER SCRUTINY?

Another no-bid contract under scrutiny went to Jose Cordero, a longtime New York City police official whose ties to Milgram go back to 2007 when as attorney general she named him New Jerseys first statewide director of gangs, guns and violent crime. Less than three weeks after taking the top job at DEA, Milgram awarded Cordero what has become a nearly $400,000 contract to conduct data analysis of crime stats.

Another hire in question is Lena Hackett, who came to DEA through The Clearing, a Washington-based federal contractor. Milgram described Hackett as her main partner in a policing reform project she established in Indianapolis in 2020 while teaching at NYU. For her services, the DEA budgeted $257 an hour  more than triple the hourly rate earned by the agencys top civil servants, including the head of community outreach.

Neither Cordero nor Hackett responded to requests for comment.

"This looks terrible to taxpayers, said Don Fox, a former general counsel and acting director of the Office of Government Ethics. The appearance is awful.
Over three dozen stores in North Carolina were fined a combined $304,635 for overcharging customers this year, including in Mecklenburg County and around the Charlotte region.

In total, 37 stores were fined in 22 counties for scanning errors, the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Standards Division said Tuesday.

Seven stores in Mecklenburg were fined a total of $58,185. The local stores that were fined include Dollar General, Family Dollar, Circle K and Target.

Agriculture Commissioner Steve Troxler advises customers to regularly check receipts and notify store managers of any discrepancy with the price on shelves.

Charlotte stores have been fined for overcharging. What to do if it happens to you

Overcharging in Charlotte-area retail stores

Periodic, unannounced inspections in retail stores check if shelf and register prices match. Heres what they found in the Charlotte region in the latest round of checks:



 Circle K, 3424 Matthews Mint Hill Road, Matthews, paid $5,340 in penalties. An initial inspection in August 2022 found an error rate of 20% based on 10 overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in September found an error rate of 4% on six overcharges in a 150-item lot. Additional errors were found in November and January. The store passed inspection in March with a 1% error rate.



 Dollar General, 2804 West Sugar Creek Road, Charlotte, paid $7,675 in penalties. An initial inspection in December 2022 found an error rate of 34% based on 17 overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in January found an error rate of 17% on 50 overcharges in a 300-item lot. A follow-up inspection in March found an error rate of 8% based on 23 overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store will be reinspected.



 Family Dollar, 7921 Old Statesville Road, Charlotte, paid $20,000 in penalties. An initial inspection in May 2 022 found an error rate of 40% based on 20 overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in June found an error rate of 24% based on 71 overcharges in a 300-item lot. Additional errors were found in August, October and December. The store passed inspection in February with a 1% percent error rate.





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Family Dollar was one of several Charlotte-area stores fined for price scanning errors, according to the N.C. Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services Standards Division.









 Family Dollar, 8500-C Pineville Mathew Road, Pineville, paid $10,000 in penalties. An initial inspection in December 2022 found an error rate of 14% based on seven overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in January found an error rate of 18% on 55 overcharges in a 300-item lot. A follow-up inspection in March found an error rate of 17% based on 52 overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store will be reinspected.



 Target, 8120 University City Blvd., Charlotte, paid $8,370 in penalties. An initial inspection in September 2022 found an error rate of 10% based on five overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in October found an error rate of 4% on 13 overcharges in a 300-item lot. Additional errors were found in December and February. The store will be reinspected.



 Dollar General, 11801 Statesville Blvd., Cleveland, in Rowan County, paid $4,880 in penalties. An initial inspection in October found an error rate of 28% based on 14 overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in December found an error rate of 11% on 33 overcharges in a 300-item lot. A follow-up inspection in February found an error rate of 3% based on nine overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store will be reinspected.



 Dollar General, 120 Grace Church Road, Salisbury, paid $1,920 in penalties. An initial inspection in November found an error rate of 12% based on six overcharges in a 50-item lot. A follow-up inspection in December found an error rate of 7% on 20 overcharges in a 300-item lot. The store passed inspection in February with a 1% error rate.









Past store inspection failures

Over the past year, several local stores were fined totaling nearly $185,000, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

 In February, eight stores in the Charlotte region including Dollar General, Family Dollar, Circle K, Target, Walmart and 7-Eleven were fined nearly $39,000.

 In December, 17 stores in the Charlotte region including Walmart, Dollar General, Family Dollar, Circle K and Sams Mart were fined over $40,000.

 In August, eight stores  four Walmarts, three Dollar Generals and one Target  were fined a total of $63,505 in the region.

 In April, several area Walmart and Dollar General stores were fined a combined $42,165 for overcharges.

How store inspections work in NC

Stores are fined for failing to meet the 2% or less price scanning error rate, according to the state agency.

If a store has more than a 2% error rate on overcharges, inspectors talk with the store manager and make a follow-up inspection. Stores are penalized if they fail the follow-up inspection.

Stores are re-inspected every 60 days until meeting the 2%-or-less error rate, and could face additional fines. Undercharges are also reported but dont count against a store.

What to do if you find a price scan error?

Along with notifying store employees about price discrepancies, customers who see price scanner errors on their receipts may file a complaint with the state Standards Division. Call 984-236-4750.
(NEXSTAR)  It is finally upon us  Tax Day.

For those who have already filed, April 18 is just Tuesday, but it may be a source of tremendous stress for others.

If you are worried that you might not be able to finish your taxes in time, you can file for an extension, though thats not ideal (more on that below.)

Judge tentatively OKs $725M Facebook settlement: How to apply for a payout

Whether you do your taxes yourself, go to a tax clinic or hire a professional, navigating the tax system can be complicated and stressful. Courtney Alev, a consumer financial advocate for Credit Karma, recommends you go easy on yourself.

Take a breath. Take some time, set out an hour, or go through it over the weekend. Youll hopefully see that its a lot simpler than you think, Alev said.

Can I file for an extension?

The good news is that filing for an extension is pretty painless, but theres a catch  you dont get extra time to pay your taxes.

You can use IRS Free File, regardless of income, to file for an extension, as long as you do so by the regular due date of the return.

While the extension pushes the return due date back to October 16 this year, if you think you owe money to the IRS youll still have to pay that estimated amount now.

Letting the unpaid tax debt go will make you liable for penalties and interest.

If you expect to receive a refund, you will still receive your money after you file your taxes.

What if I dont file in time?

If you missed the tax deadline and you didnt file for an extension, there are several penalties that you might receive. If you missed the deadline you might receive a failure-to-file penalty. This penalty will be 5% of the unpaid taxes for each month the tax return is late, according to the IRS.

These airlines have lost, damaged the most luggage: data

If you owe taxes and you didnt pay them prior to the tax deadline, you will receive a failure-to-pay penalty. Interest will also be charged on both taxes and penalties owed. If you are due for a refund, you will not receive a penalty and you will receive your tax return payment. If you had special circumstances that meant you were unable to file or pay your taxes on time, you might be able to remove or reduce your penalty.

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If the amount of taxes you owe becomes too large, you can apply for a payment plan. Payment plans will allow you to pay off over time.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A 20-year-old Kennewick woman choked back sobs as she apologized Tuesday for the deadly crash that killed her three friends.

No amount of Im sorrys will ever bring them back, said Jennifer A. Duong.  I would take their place in a heartbeat. ... When I close my eyes, Im reminded of the grief and damage I have caused. ... I truly dont believe I deserve to be here while they are gone.

Duong pleaded guilty to three counts of vehicular homicide Tuesday in connection with the violent crash that killed her best friend, Lianna Salazar, 19, her cousin Andres Morfin, 20, and his best friend, Daniel Antonio Trejo, 19.

Driver Jennifer Duong reacts to emotional statements presented in Benton County Superior Court before her sentencing for the deaths of three friends when she was racing and crashed into light pole on George Washington Way in Richland.

She told Judge Sam Swanberg that the wreck at the corner of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue in late February 2022 altered her life.

She said Salazar had welcomed her into her family and gave her years of friendship and support.

She was my rock, Duong said. Her energy and presence are what helped me get through my day. ... Living my life without her, hurts me more each day.

Family members of the three victims families, as well as Duongs, packed two Justice Center courtrooms for the tear-filled hearing that ended with the young woman getting 6 1/2 years in a Washington state prison.

Andres Morfin, 20, and Lianna Salazar, 19, and Daniel Antonio Trejo, 19, were all killed in the crash at the intersection of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue on Feb. 27, 2022.

Members of the Salazar, Morfin and Trejo families said they felt their absences every day.

Four hundred and fifteen days  thats how long its been since I hugged my (daughter), since the last time I kissed your beautiful face, or the last time I heard your beautiful laugh, Salazars mother said. Four hundred and fifteen days and three beautiful lights were robbed from us.

Judge Swanberg told Duong that after looking at photos of the wreckage, she was lucky to be alive. Im hoping there is some meaning, some purpose behind it, he said.

Reckless driving

Duong was behind the wheel of a Acura heading south on George Washington Way when she decided to race a white BMW, said Deputy Prosecutor Andrew Clark.

The two cars took off south toward Highway 240, and Duong reached at least 86 mph.

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Family and friends erected a memorial for the three crash victims at the intersection of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue in February 2022.

G Way is straight until you reach Jadwin and they got to that curve and no vehicle can manage that corner at 86 mph, he said. And we see the results of what happened.

Thought she had some alcohol earlier in the day, tests showed it wasnt enough to find her guilty of driving under the influence, Clark said.

That left prosecutors in a difficult position. If they took the case to trial, it was possible a jury could find her guilty of a different prong of vehicular homicide, aggravated negligence with a maximum sentence of just four years in prison.

Also, he said, state courts have emphasized the importance of the age of the person when considering someones mindset when committing a crime.

He also noted that reckless driving can cover a large range of circumstances.

After talking with the families and Duongs defense attorney, they agreed she would plead guilty to vehicular homicide by reckless driving.

In exchange, both the prosecutors and defense would recommend a lesser sentence than the nine- to 12 year-maximum she faced.

The hard reality is that there is no number, Clark said. There is no number that is going to change what happened. There is no number that is going to undo the harm.

Clark recommended a seven-year sentence.

Relatives and friends of the three victims killed in the February 2022 crash on George Washington Way in Richland react to emotional statements presented in Benton County Superior Court before the sentencing of the driver Jennifer Duong.

Then, nearly a dozen family members and friends spoke or submitted letters about their losses and grief.

Many said they are left with a lifetime of heartache over the young people who should have been just starting their lives.

They also said the victims had a positive impact on the people around them by motivating them to be better and pursue their goals.

Survivors guilt

Several of Duongs family members, as well as her fiance spoke in her defense, saying the crash had left her changed.

A child of Vietnamese immigrants, she grew up in a home where both parents ran businesses, working long hours. Her uncle, David Kinsey, said Duong entered high school with a few lifelong friends that were more like family to her.

She suffers from survivors guilty, Kinsey said. She shares the grief of the families of her friends.

Jennifer Duong, the driver in a one-car accident at the intersection of George Washington Way and Jadwin Avenue on Feb. 27, 2022 that killed her passengers Andres Morfin, 20, and Lianna Salazar, 19, and Daniel Antonio Trejo, 19, is remanded to the Benton County Jail following her sentecing in Benton County Superior Court in Kennewick. Duong pleaded guilty and was sentenced to 78 months in prison.

He said the crash left her understanding that there are consequences for her actions, and he asked for a long enough sentence to give her time to get her life on the right track, but not so long that it leaves her hardened.

Her sister said Duong is more than the crime she committed, adding that she has always been kind-hearted and compassionate.

Duongs attorney, Diego Vargas, asked for a six-year term for her, saying that all she has wanted to do is take responsibility in this case.

She was adamant that she wanted to accept responsibility for what she did, he said. If she could go into the parking lot right now and set herself on fire to bring those people back, she would do that.

While she is alive, her family lost the person she was before the wreck, Vargas said.

She doesnt feel the same. She doesnt act the same, he said. From the moment she wakes up to when she goes to be, shes constantly reminded of this.

Determining a sentence

Swanberg said this was one of the toughest cases hes had to decide.

There is no sentence that will bring peace or comfort to anybody involved in this room, the overflow room or the electronic virtual courtroom, he said. Family and friends have been devastated on all sides.

He hoped that the family could find some peace to heal the wounds left by the crash.

While her choices led to her friends deaths, he said she didnt set out to do it intentionally. It was a case where a 19-year-old was driving a vehicle at speeds that could cause great harm to the people inside and outside of the car.

He noted that she was a 19-year-old with friends who made a bad decision influenced by her youth.

He agreed to the lower sentence and decided to split the difference between the two recommendations at 6 1/2 years.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  A Las Vegas teenager pleaded guilty as an adult Wednesday to felony charges that a prosecutor said could get him decades in prison for attacking a high school teacher and leaving her unconscious in a classroom a year ago.

The incident, which included allegations of sexual assault, left the teacher hospitalized with multiple injuries and focused attention on a sharp rise in violence at the time in the sprawling Clark County School District, the nations fifth-largest.

The Associated Press is not naming the defendant due to his age. Now 17, he pleaded guilty to attempted murder, attempted sexual assault and battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm. His pleas avoided trial in Clark County District Court.

Public defenders who represented the boy did not immediately respond to email messages form AP.

The prosecutor, Chief Deputy Clark County District Attorney William Rowles, confirmed the plea agreement. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he intends to seek the maximum sentence of 55 years in prison at sentencing June 5.

Las Vegas police said the boy went to the teacher to talk about his grades before punching and choking her into unconsciousness and fleeing the classroom at Eldorado High School, a campus serving about 2,000 students. Another school employee found the teacher and summoned police and medical help.

The teacher later told investigators the teen approached her as she sat at her desk and choked her from behind with a rope or cord before pulling a bookcase and filing cabinet down upon her.

I dont know why I attacked her, she was good to me, a police arrest report quoted the student telling detectives.

The teen, who attended ROTC, was arrested about two hours later while his mother drove him back to campus for a corps award ceremony.
Seized toy gun from prank (left), seized attire of teenager who allegedly held toy gun (middle) and seized attire of teenager who recorded prank (right) (Photos: Singapore Police Force/Facebook)

SINGAPORE  Two 16-year-old male teenagers were arrested on Monday (17 April) for a toy-gun prank at a Yishun retail store.

The Singapore Police Force (SPF) said in a Facebook post on Tuesday that they had been alerted to the incident along Yishun Street 22 at 7.04am on Monday morning.

According to the post, one of the teenagers had allegedly taken out a toy gun and pointed it at the retail store staff while paying for an item at the cashier counter. This act occurred after the item had been scanned.

Meanwhile, the other teenager was allegedly recording the incident on mobile phone.

"Upon hearing the staff shouting, they started laughing and revealed that the gun was fake," the police said in the Facebook post.

"Preliminary investigations revealed that the teenagers had purportedly hatched a plan to scare the staff with the toy gun for fun."

The two teenagers were arrested for criminal intimidation within three hours of the incident, after they were identified by officers from the Woodlands Police Division through enquiries made on the ground and with the aid of closed-circuit television.

They seized the toy gun, the teenagers' attire and the mobile phone that was used to record the prank.

The police added in the Facebook post that they have "zero tolerance" towards acts that cause unnecessary alarm towards the general public.

Do you have a story tip? Email: sgnews.tips@yahooinc.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Twitter. Also check out our Southeast Asia, Food, and Gaming channels on YouTube.
US-MILITARY-INTELLIGENCE-DOCUMENTS-LEAK-MEDIA

This aerial footage courtesy of WBZ via CBS shows the suspect, national guardsman Jack Teixeira, being taken into custody by FBI agents in North Dighton, Mass. Credit - WBZ/CBS/AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. Air Force says the intelligence unit at the center of one of the largest national security leaks in modern history has been ordered to halt its mission.

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old Airman 1st Class serving in the 102nd Intelligence Wing with the Massachusetts Air National Guard, was charged Friday with two counts related to retaining and distributing classified and national defense information after hundreds of pages of intelligence documents appeared online in recent months.

Now the entire wing will stand down amid a comprehensive review of the militarys security programs, policies, and procedures, Air Force Spokeswoman Ann Stefanek said in a statement.

Read More: The Mysteries of the Biggest Intel Leak in a Decade.

The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently performing its assigned intelligence mission, she said. The mission has been temporarily reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force.

Teixeira is accused of showing off his access to classified intelligence on obscure video game chatroom servers on the Discord application to group members largely composed of teenagers. It remains unclear how Teixeira, a junior enlisted National Guard member, was able to take and distribute such sensitive classified material for such an extended amount of time. Teixeira worked as a cyber transport systems journeymen, which entails repairing communication systems, according to his military records released by the National Guard.

Stefanek said the Secretary of the Air Force directed the Department of the Air Force Inspector General to investigate overall compliance with policy, procedures, and standards, including the unit environment and compliance at the 102nd Intelligence Wing related to the release of national security information.

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Read More: How Far-Right Personalities Cashed in on Gaming Platforms.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a top-to-bottom analysis of security protocols this week in response to the massive leak. The disclosures triggered national embarrassment and worldwide headlines after highly classified documents involving U.S. military and intelligence assessments sat on online for more than a month. The initial findings of the Pentagon review are due in 45 days.

Austin was first briefed on the leaks on April 6, according to the Pentagon, the same day their existence was first reported by the New York Times and a day after the documents began circulating on mainstream social platforms. The Pentagon referred the matter to the Justice Department, which opened a formal criminal probe last week. Defense and State Department officials are still assessing the damage that may have been wrought by the leak.

Teixeira was stationed with the 102nd Intelligence Wing, headquartered at Otis Air National Guard Base located on Cape Cod. Since enlisting in September 2019, he has only received a single award, the Air Force Achievement Medal, in his more than three years in service.
Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York says Feinstein is being held to an unacceptable and unprecedented standard. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call via Getty Images; Drew Angerer/Getty Images

As Sen. Feinstein's health-related absence affects Democrats' agenda, some want her to step down.

But Democratic women in the Senate say gender is playing a role in how her absence is being handled.

"I think the standard she's being held to is unacceptable and unprecedented," said Sen. Gillibrand.

As the 89-year-old Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California's health-related absence from the Senate increasingly stalls Democrats' agenda, some lawmakers in her own party have called for her to resign.

But women Democratic senators told Insider at the Capitol on Wednesday that they believe sexism is at play and that the chamber's longest-serving Democrat is being held to an unfair standard because she is a woman.

"I hope that Sen. Feinstein continues to recover, and she has earned the right to make her own decisions about when she's coming back," said Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. "I think the standard she's being held to is unacceptable and unprecedented."

"We have male members that have various challenges, and I'm not hearing anybody suggesting that they retire," said Sen. Debbie Stabenow of Michigan. "I do think she has been treated unfairly. And so she'll make the decision, and I will support that decision."

Sen. Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, a fellow member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said that she's "not gonna get into it with regard to this particular situation" but spoke broadly of the existence of double standards for women in politics.

"For all the women that I know, I know very few who have not been subjected to comments such as 'you're not ready,' 'you can't win,' all of those kinds of attitudes," she said. "So, draw your own conclusions."

The remarks by the senators largely echoed the sentiment expressed by Rep. Nancy Pelosi, who's long served alongside Feinstein, when the former speaker of the House was asked about Feinstein's political future by reporters in California last week.

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"I've never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way," said Pelosi, arguing that "political agendas are at work."

Rep. Norma Torres, another California Democrat, has also argued that Feinstein's being held to a double standard.

"When women age or get sick, the men are quick to push them aside," wrote Torres on Twitter. "When men age or get sick, they get a promotion."

Rep. Norma Torres (@NormaJTorres) April 13, 2023

Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna of California was the first lawmaker to call on Feinstein to resign and has since defended himself against accusations of sexism, pointing to the fact that people called for Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer's retirement in part due to concerns about his health and age.

And on Wednesday, Khanna told Insider that he's received "private encouragement" since making the original call.

'Many senators get sick'

Feinstein, who's long faced questions about her ability to serve, has not cast a vote in the Senate in over two months as she struggles with a bout of shingles, leaving Democrats down one vote in the chamber.

More significantly, her absence from the Senate Judiciary Committee, which approves President Joe Biden's judicial nominees, has rendered the committee deadlocked. That's preventing Democrats from quickly advancing nominees that lack Republican support on the committee.

On Tuesday, Republicans blocked an attempt by Democrats to quickly swap Feinstein out for Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland via a voice vote, and the GOP is unlikely to supply Democrats with the minimum 10 votes necessary to do it with a roll-call vote.

While this is the first time Feinstein has faced resignation calls from sitting lawmakers, it's not the first time that the question has been raised in the public sphere. Defenders of Feinstein have often pointed out that male senators have remained in office well into old age, while not facing similar questions about their ability to serve.

"I served with her on the Intelligence Committee, she continues to ask very insightful and probing questions," said Gillibrand. "She is sick. Many senators get sick and need time to heal."

Republican Sen. Strom Thurmond of South Carolina, who stayed in office until he was 100 years old, was widely known to have lost his ability to carry out the job. Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia died in office at age 92 after years of visibly underperforming in the role and was absent from the Senate for two months with an illness in 2009.

More recently, Democratic Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania was recently absent from the chamber for six weeks as he sought treatment for clinical depression.

Still, not every woman Democratic senator that Insider spoke with was willing to explicitly argue that sexism is at play  a possible sign of the unique stakes of Feinstein's current absence.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, asked about whether calls for Feinstein to resign are sexist, opted to criticize Republicans for blocking her replacement on the Judiciary Committee.

"My focus is on the Republicans who have refused to offer basic human courtesy to someone who has served honorably in the United States Senate for decades," she said. "They should be ashamed of themselves."

Pressed on the question of a double standard, Warren largely repeated herself.

"What the Republicans are doing is fundamentally wrong," she said. "They're playing politics."

"I think it's important for Senator Feinstein to do what is what is best for her," said Democratic Sen. Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire. "I wasn't around when Robert Byrd was out for a long period of time, so I can't speak to that."

"I just believe that it's not somebody else's assessment to make; it's her assessment to make," said Democratic Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin.

And Cardin, the temporary heir to Feinstein's Judiciary Committee seat, said that he was "not going to judge people's views." But he pointed out that the Senate has "had members out for a much longer period of time than Dianne's been out for."

"We always give them the time they need in order to recover," said the Maryland Democrat.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Chinese Premier Li Qiang meets with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Qiang met with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Calling Gabon a good friend and partner of China in Africa, Li said that under the strategic guidance of the two countries' leaders, China-Gabon relations have steered onto a fast track.

China is willing to better synergize development strategies, share development experience, work with Gabon to explore new areas of cooperation and innovate cooperation models, work for common development and promote bilateral ties to new high, said Li.

Li also said the two countries should deepen communications and cooperation in such fields as trade, investment, infrastructure, agriculture, tourism and people-to-people exchanges, foster new growth points of cooperation, further tap into the potential of green cooperation, and forge a paradigm of South-South cooperation in response to climate change.

Li stressed that China supports Gabon in playing a bigger role in international and regional affairs, and is ready to strengthen coordination with Gabon on multilateral affairs, jointly uphold international justice and fairness, and safeguard the common interests of developing countries

Noting that Gabonese and Chinese people treat each other with sincerity and trust each other with mutual respect, Bongo said the two countries enjoy a special cooperative relationship that is of high quality, adding that China's development mode provides important inspiration for Gabon.

Gabon is willing to work with China to strengthen cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative, jointly implement the Global Development Initiative and Global Security Initiative, enhance cooperation under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and international organizations, oppose politicizing human rights issues, and respond to climate change and other global challenges. 
WASHINGTON  Two Tennessee Democratic lawmakers who were expelled by Republicans from the state House after staging a protest on gun control and a third who survived an expulsion vote are heading to the White House.

President Joe Biden will meet with state Reps. Justin Jones of Nashville, Justin Pearson of Memphis and Gloria Johnson of Knoxville at the White House on Monday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said.

Biden spoke to the three Democrats earlier this month and thanked them for their leadership in seeking to ban assault weapons and for standing up for democratic values.

The president looks forward to continuing that discussion with them, Jean-Pierre said.

Tennessee three: What to know about the House Democrats targeted for expulsion by Republicans

Rep. Justin Jones, in white, Rep. Gloria Johnson and Rep. Justin Pearson raise their hands outside the House chamber after Jones and Pearson were expelled from the legislature on April 6, 2023, in Nashville, Tenn.

House Republicans voted two weeks ago to expel Jones and Pearson, both of whom are Black, for their role in the protest on the statehouse floor. Johnson, who is white, dodged an expulsion by one vote.

The three Democrats staged their gun control protest following a mass shooting at a Nashville private Christian school that killed six people.

The expulsions turned into a national flashpoint on the issues of gun control and race and transformed all three lawmakers into prominent national figures.

Jones and Pearson have been since be reappointed to their seats by commissioners in Nashville and Memphis.

Jean-Pierre said Biden appreciated the lawmakers' efforts to push for gun control and believes it is important to have that kind of visibility on the issue.

"The president has been very clear about how important it is to take the next steps when it comes to gun reform, and he saw these three legislators as taking that next step," she said.

Michael Collins and Joey Garrison cover the White House. Follow Collins on Twitter @mcollinsNEWS and Garrison @joeygarrison.

'Congress has to act': Biden says there's nothing more he can do on his own to address guns

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Tennessee Three lawmakers to meet with Biden at White House
An aerial view of Tesla Shanghai Gigafactory on March 29, 2021 in Shanghai, China. Xiaolu Chu/Getty Images

Chinese inspectors want to punish Tesla after the death of a Shanghai factory worker, Caixin Global reported.

An investigation said the employee was responsible for the incident that resulted in their death.

But inspectors said Tesla had safety weaknesses.

A Chinese goverment investigation into the death of a Tesla employee in Shanghai concluded the electric carmaker has safety weaknesses, Chinese news site Caixin Global reported Wednesday.

The Shanghai Pudong emergency management bureau recommended an unspecified penality against Tesla, Caixin Global said, citing a report that was posted to the bureau's website and later removed. An employee of the bureau told the Associated Press that Tesla had requested the report's removal.

Inspectors said the worker who died was responsible for the incident that resulted in their death, Caixin Global reported. The employee who died reportedly didn't lock a safety gate when they entered a high-risk zone, and an early shift worker didn't ensure the zone was clear of people before turning on equipment, the Caixin Global report said. The 31-year-old employee was crushed by the equipment and later died in the hospital, according to the report.

Tesla's North American and Chinese offices did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment. Tesla CEO Elon Musk also did not respond to a request for comment.

Meanwhile, people claiming to work at the Tesla Shanghai factory have complained on social media, and have appealed to Tesla CEO Elon Musk, saying their performance bonuses were cut after the employee's death.

"Please pay attention to the performance of frontline workers at Tesla's Shanghai factory being arbitrarily deducted," one account tweeted.

Two employees at Tesla's Shanghai factory told Reuters that supervisors pointed to a "safety incident" when they inquired about bonus cuts.

Musk on Monday responded to a tweet about the bonus cut complaints and said, "Was alerted this weekend. Looking into it."

Last year, Musk shared his admiration for the employees at Tesla's factory in Shanghai with the Financial Times, saying "they will be burning the 3 a.m. oil," and that "they won't even leave the factory type of thing, whereas in America, people are trying to avoid going to work at all."

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Tesla Model Y. Patrick Pleul/Getty Images

You can now get a Model Y for cheaper than the average car.

Tesla is making big moves into the mass market this year.

Price reductions could show up in Q1 profit margins at earnings release Wednesday.

Tesla's price war is spilling over out of the electric vehicle market as Elon Musk's car company continues to slash prices.

Musk has dropped the prices on Tesla models six times since the start of the year, kicking off a price war with mainstream car brands like Ford and GM.

So far, Tesla's pricing strategy has been seen through the lens of the EV market and Musk's efforts to protect Tesla's spot as the number one seller of electric vehicles in the US, but now Tesla's vehicles are priced more comparably with the entire vehicle market.

For example, after Tesla's latest price reductions last week in the US, the Model Y now starts at $46,990. Add on the $7,500 EV tax credit, and you can now purchase a Model Y for around $42,500. That's about $5,200 cheaper than the average price paid for any vehicle in the US in March, according to car-shopping website Edmunds.

"For so long people have seen price and infrastructure as the limiting factors for buying an EV, and Tesla has just blown that out of the water," Martin French, managing director at consultancy Berylls, said in an interview. "They've just said, 'we can offer you a vehicle at about $40,000, and by the way, you can use our Supercharger network.'"

In addition to price reductions, Tesla has been dangling special offers like free charging for new customers.

It's the latest move for Tesla into the mass market this year. Musk has said the company is aiming to build 2 million vehicles this year, doubling 2022 production.

Tesla's sales were up in Q1

Tesla went into 2023 with bloated inventory  the opposite problem most of its competitors were facing. Musk spun this problem into an advantage by lowering the prices at the same time others were still charging well above sticker price on dealer lots.

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As a strategy for boosting demand, Tesla's price cuts appeared to be working in the first quarter, reporting a 36% increase in deliveries during that period.

But the move has some analysts and investors worried that Tesla could cede its industry-leading profit margins for bigger sales volumes. Those margins will be under the microscope when the company reports first-quarter earnings on Wednesday afternoon.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect gross margins to fall slightly, to about 21% from nearly 24%, along with lower per-share earnings and revenue.

If the price reductions have a significant impact on profit, analysts say they would like to see Musk present a plan for regaining that ground. French pointed to some manufacturing efficiencies Tesla presented at its investor day earlier this year as potential lever for the company to pull.

"I expect if there is a hit to margins, Tesla will be ready with a clear roadmap back to their world-beating margins," he said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The Texas House is on the verge of passing a bill restricting cities right to set local ordinances across a broad range of issues.

The GOP-controlled body gave initial approval to House Bill 2127 almost two-to-one on Tuesday evening.

The bill bans the states largely liberal-run cities from setting any policy more stringent than those passed by its conservative-dominated legislature across a wide range of domains.

These include cities ability to regulate issues like agriculture, labor rights or natural resources.

The preliminary vote proceeded largely along partisan lines. Only 8 of the bodys 65 Democrats voted for the bill, and no Republicans voted against it.

The bill has not yet formally passed, but its way is clear to the desk of Gov. Greg Abbott (R), and ultimate passage.

While the House bill still must pass a final vote  and its Senate companion remains in committee  the bill is supported by both Abbott and Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, who maintains tight control over the state Senate.

The bills backers have cast it as an essential step to protect local businesses against what they characterize as newly activist local governments, as The Hill reported.

GOP sponsor Rep. Dustin Burrows cast the bill as an aid to Texas businesses looking to expand operations to other municipalities, Houston Public Media reported.

Rather than constricting local governments, Burrows argued it would protect them from what bill supporters portray as an onslaught of spurious local pressure from environmental activists.

It actually gives local governments a hand by giving them a simple reason why they wont, in fact, be bringing to a vote the countless issues that activists have been harassing them to pass locally, Burrows said.

City representatives have largely not been receptive to this helping hand  which gives private citizens in urban or surrounding counties the ability to sue local governments for damages if they pass ordinances more stringent than the state.

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Were really in a catch-22, where the state doesnt want to govern  and it also doesnt want to let cities govern, Austin city councilor Luis Chito Vela told The Hill.

This just reeks much more of politics  and trying to kill local political forces that may disagree with, you know, the Governor and the Speaker and the lieutenant governor  than any legitimate policy concern, Vela added.

The state business lobby was frightened by the mandatory sick-time laws several large cities passed in 2019  even though courts later struck those laws down, representatives told The Hill.

Cities cant just sort of all of a sudden reinvent the wheel and start stepping outside of their jurisdictional powers, which are health and safety, and things like that, Annie Spilman, state director of the National Federation of Independent Business, told The Hill.

Its a very black and white, sort of stay in your lane type of bill, Spilman added.

The local regulations that groups like NFIB warn against have long been a part of life in the states largely autonomous cities.

But in the hearings on Tuesday, state Republicans cast potential new bills  like a Dallas proposal to ban gas mowers  as a serious threat.

We just need to nip this in the bud before it starts, Hancock said.

By contrast, its opponents have argued that unlike a series of past legislation constricting cities authority  which targeted specific issues like cities ability to mandate background checks for Uber drivers or bar fracking within city limits  this super-preemption bill is so broad that it will throw a series of wrenches into the works of urban government.

To take just one example flagged by opponents, it would ban Austin and Dallass policies mandating rest breaks for construction workers and would ban other cities from setting their own heat guidelines.

Austin and Dallas require rest breaks of 10 minutes for every 4 hours, which the new legislation would nullify.

The pro-bill camp has argued that such legislations are the proper domain of OSHA and are unnecessary because Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) restrictions are far more stringent.

Let me tell you, if you had a roofer in the Texas summer working for four hours in the heat of the Texas summer and only getting a 10-minute rest break, OSHA would come down incredibly hard on them, Ned Munoz of Texas Builders told the state Senate Committee on Business & Commerce.

Munoz noted that Dallas has never cited a builder for failure to provide such rest breaks.

OSHA does not have specific regulations around heat, though a group of Democraticattorneys general called in February for the agency to create such rules.

Agency data shows that while the agency sometimes cites workplaces for general safety failures, only 1 percent of 2022 actions were for exposure heat risk, as The Hill reported.

That constituted a total of 7 citations nationwide  in an environment where about 43 workers die per year nationwide.

The House bill represents a significant departure from nearly a century of precedent in which cities are left to manage their own affairs, Steven Pedigo, director of the University of Texas at Austins LBJ Urban Lab, told The Texas Tribune.

Were at a real inflection point, Pedigo said. Does the state of Texas really believe in conservative government or does it not? Thats the big question.

The law is a sign of the GOPs embrace of a goldilocks theory of government, Bennett Sandlin, director of The Texas Municipal League, told The Hill.

Federal authority  thats too big. Local authority, thats too small, he said, nodding to the two domains of government that currently are run by Democrats.

But state authority, well, thats just right.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
One of two Texas cheerleaders who were shot after allegedly getting into the wrong vehicle in a carpool lot has spoken out after the incident before a crowd of her peers.

The shooting occurred when a group of four cheerleaders stopped at the carpool lot while traveling back from an out-of-town cheer practice at Woodlands Elite Cheer Co. in Woodlands, Texas . One of the victims, Payton Washington, a Stony Point High School cheerleader, remains in critical condition.

"Nobody deserves anything like this," one of the injured cheerleaders, 21-year-old Heather Roth, said Tuesday while speaking to a crowd at Woodlands Elite, according to ABC 13.

The 25-year-old suspect, Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., allegedly shot Roth after she accidentally got into his vehicle. Upon realizing it wasn't her friend's car, Roth promptly got out and went to the correct vehicle.

TEXAS CHEERLEADERS SHOT AFTER ONE ALLEGEDLY MISTOOK SUSPECT'S CAR FOR HER OWN

Roth said she did not immediately notice a man sitting in the passenger seat at the time.

READ ON THE FOX NEWS APP

ELEMENTARY STUDENTS HOSPITALIZED AFTER MISTAKENLY CONSUMING CONTROLLED SUBSTANCE

"As we're backing up, I see the guy get out of the passenger door, and I roll my window down, and I was trying to apologize to him. And then he threw his hands up, and he pulled out a gun, and then, he just started shooting at all of us," Roth said to a group of fellow cheerleaders on Tuesday, as ABC 13 reported.

The shooting occurred when a group of four cheerleaders were stopped at the carpool lot while traveling back from an out-of-town cheer practice in Woodlands, Texas.

"Payton opens the door, and she starts throwing up blood," she recalled.

A total of four girls, including the two shooting victims, were in the vehicle at the time. A bullet struck Roth, who was hospitalized and released.

MICHIGAN MAN REACHED 100 MPH IN ROAD RAGE INCIDENT BEFORE CRASHING INTO MOTORCYCLISTS

Elgin Police Department authorities on Tuesday arrested and charged Rodriguez with deadly conduct, but additional charges may be filed.

Elgin Police Department authorities on Tuesday arrested and charged Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, with deadly conduct, but additional charges may be filed.

Washington was airlifted to a local hospital and is recovering in the ICU. A GoFundMe for Washington titled "Payton Washington's Medical Expenses" describes the shooting as "a senseless and random act of violence."

"Payton was shot twice and badly injured. She is stable in the ICU and will have a long road to recovery," the GoFundMe description states. "Please consider helping to ease the financial burden to this family of their medical expenses."
Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) announced on Tuesday that he is endorsing former President Trump for the GOP nomination for president in 2024 following a meeting with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R).

Gooden said in a statement posted on his Twitter account that he made the decision after careful consideration and a positive meeting with DeSantis. He said he has respect for DeSantis and his accomplishments as governor but believes Trump is the best candidate based on his record and commitment to putting America first.

I met with Governor DeSantis, and while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America from the leftist onslaught we are currently facing, he said.

Gooden is the latest House Republican to endorse Trump for the Republican nomination. Florida GOP Rep. John Rutherford announced his endorsement of Trump on Tuesday.

Rep. Greg Steube (R-Fla.) announced he was backing Trump on Monday.

Trump has racked up numerous endorsements from House and Senate Republicans despite being the first former president to be criminally charged.

I wholeheartedly endorse President Donald J. Trump for the 2024 presidential election and vow to fight alongside him to reclaim our country from the leftist forces that threaten to destroy it. Together, we will ensure a prosperous and secure future for our great nation, Gooden said.

Trump has also gathered several endorsements from Florida Republicans, claiming support from members of DeSantis own state party. They include Reps. Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Byron Donalds and Matt Gaetz.

DeSantis has not publicly addressed whether he is planning to run for president but has been widely rumored to be considering a run. He has also consistently placed in second to Trump in hypothetical Republican primary polls.

He has also scheduled trips to early primary states like Iowa and New Hampshire recently.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
From the chilly Arctic Circle to tropical Indonesia, 81-year-olds Sandy Hazelip and Ellie Hamby have visited a variety of destinations during their travels.

Their trip began on Jan. 11, when they took off from Dallas and headed to Antarctica. Afterward, they hopped over to Chile, Argentina and Easter Island, before then going to Europe to see places such as Spain, Rome, London and the Arctic Circle in Finland.

Hazelip and Hamby with the Northern Lights above them.

Hazelip and Hamby made their way to parts of Africa, such as Zanzibar, Zambia and Egypt, and then ventured to countries in Asia, including India, Nepal, Japan and Indonesia. They then rounded out the trip by traveling to Australia.

By the end of their 80-day travels  which went viral on TikTok  Hazelip and Hamby had set foot on all seven continents.

HERE ARE THE BEST TRAVEL TIPS FROM AN AIRLINE PILOT

With their slogan, "Around the world in 80 days at 81 and still on the run," Hazelip and Hamby demonstrated that travel can be fun at any age.

Throughout their travels, the two grandmothers noted a couple of spots where the weather made a significant impact on their travel experience.

Hamby and Hazelip in Antarctica.

Located between South America and Antarctica, the Drake Passage is well-known for its turbulent weather  which the grannies found out first-hand.

TOP 10 TRAVEL MUST-HAVES, ACCORDING TO THE EXPERTS

"We did have the experience, what they call the Drake Shake, which means you're just all shook up because the weather, the waves are so high," Hamby said. She noted that the waves were reported to be up to 20 feet high.

"We said we were rocking and a-rolling and slippin and a-slidin all the way through the Drake Passage," Hamby added.

Unfortunately, this rocky experience led to a few injuries and a couple of travelers requiring serious medical attention.

Hamby and Hazelip in Egypt.

On a lighter note, the grannies also shared the best weather experience on their trip, which was a hot air balloon ride over Luxor, Egypt.

"It was absolutely breathtaking," Hazelip said. She noted how beautiful the weather was, which gave way to a calm hot air balloon ride.

HOW TO WATCH FOX WEATHER

Hazelip and Hamby are now planning another trip next year, with the slogan "We are 82 and travel we can do."
A Texas woman was charged with murder after she was accused of punching a pregnant woman and causing her to lose her child, authorities said Monday.

The suspect, Cheri Akil, 39, was an inmate of the Tarrant County Sheriffs Office last week when she was taken to John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, the sheriff's office said in a statement.

She had to be "restrained because she was potentially suicidal." Akil is alleged to have punched a pregnant hospital staff member in the stomach, and the staffer was immediately taken to a trauma unit for treatment.

"An ultrasound was performed and it was determined that the unborn child no longer had a pulse," the sheriff's statement said.

Akil had been in custody on an allegation of credit card fraud before the incident.

Defense attorney Kathy Lowthorp was assigned Akil's case on Tuesday afternoon and said she had no knowledge of the evidence against her new client.

A homicide charge tied to the death of a fetus is a rare but not totally uncommon application of murder statutes in Texas, Lowthorp said.

"It doesn't mean that it can't change," she said of the charge. "It's been handled more than one way."

This article was originally published on NBCNews.com
A multiweek heat wave impacting southeastern Asia has shattered all-time records, prompted school closures and killed at least 13 people, according to officials.

Temperatures in parts of Bangladesh, China, India, Laos, Myanmar and Thailand have been regularly exceeding 100 degrees Fahrenheit (38 degrees Celsius) this month. Meanwhile, Thailand set an all-time record high for any time of year.

Some cooler air will provide some relief from the brutal heat into next week due to an expected change in the weather pattern, according to AccuWeather forecasters.

In southeastern Asia, April and May are typically the warmest months of the year before the annual monsoon begins, but the magnitude and extent of the current heat wave are unprecedented in the record books.

Climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera dubbed the warm spell as a "monster Asian heat wave like none before" and said that "records are falling all over."

GET THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

"This past Friday (April 14), the cities of Tak and Phetchabum in Thailand set all-time records," said AccuWeather Lead International Forecaster Jason Nicholls.

In Tak, the mercury rose to 114 degrees Fahrenheit (45.4 degrees Celsius), while Phetchabum topped out at 110 F (43.5 C). The high temperature in Tak was the highest temperature ever recorded anywhere in the country, beating the old record of 112 F (44.6 C) set in Mae Hong Son province in 2016.

Incredibly, an all-time temperature record for any time of year was set three days in a row in Phong Sa Ly, Laos, according to Herrera, with the mercury reaching 94 F (34.5 C) on April 20. That same day, Herrera also reports that Bangkok, Thailand, topped out at 104 F (40 C), setting a record for April.

Hundreds of new all-time April temperature records were set in southeastern China on April 17. Most notably, in Yunhe County, the temperature topped out at 101 F (38.2 C), establishing a new monthly record. Meanwhile, the city of Hangzhou reached 95 F (35 C) for the first time ever in April, according to Nicholls.

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(1) Monster Asian Heat Wave like none before

Heat spread to Japan and Koreas with 30C

Yongwol in South Korea 30.0C today,more 30C+ tomorrow

In China up to 41.9C in Yunnan and 30/35C in the North

Mengla beat its monthly record with 38.3C

Records are falling allover

tbc later... pic.twitter.com/7gvWaecTuE  Extreme Temperatures Around The World (@extremetemps) April 19, 2023

On Tuesday, a new high watermark in the heat wave was reached in China, when Yunnan reached 107 F (41.9 C), according to a tweet sent by Herrera.

In Bangladesh, the April record high was tied when the temperature in Ishurdi reached 109 F (43 C) on April 17.

While the heat was not as intense, two locations in Japan also secured their warmest April days on record on April 19, when Shimabara reached 84 F (28.8 C) and Kahoku topped out at 88 F (30.9 C), according to NHK World.

The extreme heat arrived first in India last week, and temperatures were still reaching well into triple-digit territory there this week.

"New Delhi reached the 100-degree Fahrenheit mark for the first time back on April 13," said Nicholls. "Temperatures elsewhere have been regularly exceeding 110 degrees."

It was in India where fatalities linked to the heat were reported. According to CNN, 13 people died of heat stroke, and 50 to 60 others were hospitalized after attending an outdoor ceremony in the city of Navi Mumbai, located in the western state of Maharashtra on Sunday.

Schools without air conditioning were closed across several states in India earlier this week, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee told The Guardian. Banerjee also said that children were experiencing health problems from the heat, including headaches.

People rest under the shade of trees to beat the intense heat in Lucknow in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (AP Photo/Rajesh Kumar Singh)

A change in the weather pattern last week across Asia triggered the heat wave.

"The heat was caused by a building, large ridge of high pressure that reached from the Bay of Bengal to the Philippine Sea," Nicholls said.

More broadly speaking, the scale of the heat wave bears the hallmarks of climate change, as human-induced warming is making heat waves in the region last longer at higher intensities, according to a 2021 study in the Journal Science China.

In spring 2022, much of Pakistan and India roasted under an extreme heat wave with temperatures reaching as high as 122 F in India at one point. Climate scientists later said that heat wave was made 30 times more likely by climate change.

Moving forward, the record-setting heat will last a little longer in the short term, but some relief is forecast to arrive by this weekend.

"It will remain hot in southeastern China and Yangtze Valley through Thursday, while northern China will begin to cool," according to Nicholls. "Cooler weather will then spread over the rest of the country and other parts of Southeast Asia on Friday and into the weekend."

While the region as a whole will be cooler next week, some above-normal warmth will return to southeastern Asia by late next week or next weekend, according to AccuWeather forecasters.

Want next-level safety, ad-free? Unlock advanced, hyperlocal severe weather alerts when you subscribe to Premium+ on the AccuWeather app. AccuWeather Alerts are prompted by our expert meteorologists who monitor and analyze dangerous weather risks 24/7 to keep you and your family safer.
Boxes of the drug mifepristone sit on a shelf at the West Alabama Women's Center in Tuscaloosa, Ala., in 2022. (Allen G. Breed/AP)

Less than a year after the U.S. Supreme Court voted to overturn Roe v. Wade and allow states to decide whether to ban abortion, the high court was expected to decide a case on Wednesday regarding the use of mifepristone, a widely used pill that terminates pregnancy. But instead, Justice Samuel Alito temporarily extended its access for another two days.

Mifepristone, which is also used in the treatment of miscarriages, is often paired with a second drug, misoprostol, and was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) 23 years ago.

A Texas lawsuit filed by Alliance Defending Freedom, a faith-based organization that has long sought to have abortion outlawed nationwide, wanted to overturn the FDAs approval of mifepristone. U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump, is overseeing the case.

Over the past month, Kacsmaryk and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana reversed the FDAs approval of mifepristone, blocking access to the popular drug. In response, the Biden administration asked the Supreme Court to intervene and allow access to the drug to be restored.

Yahoo News spoke with legal expert Rachel Rebouche, dean of Temple University's Beasley School of Law, about the case and where access to mifepristone stands. (Some responses have been edited for length and clarity.)

Yahoo News: Is mifepristone still available?

Rebouche: Yes, nothing has changed. [A new deadline has been set for 11:59pm ET on Friday, April 21.]

What exactly did the federal judge in Texas rule on mifepristone?

Judge Kacsmaryk ruled, under powers that he interprets federal courts have, that the FDA's approval of mifepristone in 2000, 23 years ago, was improper under its authority. And so he would have lifted that approval, stayed it essentially, and said it's suspended, making mifepristone an unapproved drug. And that would've applied to everything that the FDA did for mifepristone after that 2000 decision.

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All right, so then what did the Fifth Circuit say about Kacsmaryks ruling?

It said that Judge Kacsmaryk, the plaintiffs were outside of the statute of limitations, which is the time frame in which people can make challenges to an action, say the 2000 decision. But it was within the statute of limitations to challenge decisions that the FDA made about mifepristone in 2016, 2019 and 2021.

So, in an interesting twist, the Fifth Circuit said that it would stay the portion of the opinion, and so would suspend the portion of the district court's opinion that lifted the approval of mifepristone in the first place, but it would essentially go back in time and apply the ways in which the FDA regulated mifepristone before 2016.

(In 2016, the FDA extended the window in which a pregnancy could be terminated with mifepristone from seven weeks to 10 weeks. It also reduced the number of required in-person visits from three visits to one. Then the FDA approved a cheaper, generic form of the drug in 2019. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the FDA allowed the drug to be administered by telehealth and sent through the mail after removing requirements for the drug to be dispensed only in clinics, doctors offices and hospitals. The Justice Department and the manufacturer of mifepristone, Danco Laboratories, asked the Supreme Court to freeze the Fifth Circuits decision and preserve the status quo, meaning things will be kept the way they are for now. The Supreme Court previously said that the Fifth Circuit order was been suspended until Wednesday, April 19, but Justice Alito extended that deadline another two days to April 21.)

So what comes next?

I think probably what the Supreme Court's going to decide is whether or not it kind of keeps the status quo in play  it suspends the Fifth Circuit's order from going into effect while the Fifth Circuit hears arguments or while the Supreme Court hears arguments on the case. So what we're really looking for is the decision from the Supreme Court about whether or not the Fifth Circuit's order is going to take effect and which parts. All of it, none of it or parts of it.

(If the Supreme Court decides that the Fifth Circuits decision goes into effect, Americans would need to: get a mifepristone prescription from a doctor; schedule multiple in-person doctor visits and wouldnt be able to get the abortion drug via telehealth or through the mail.)

In a separate ruling in Washington state, U.S. District Judge Thomas Rice preserved access to mifepristone in several states. Is that why the Supreme Court now has to intervene?

It certainly tees up the question for the Supreme Court because now you have two federal district courts that are similarly situated with the same columns that are being asked to do very different things. One court is saying to the FDA, You need to keep mifepristone on the market because of the evidence, because of your statutory duty. And the other court is saying mifepristone should be off the market because the FDA did not comply with the statutory duties.

Lets rewind a bit. Could Judge Kacsmaryks ruling on suspending the FDAs approval in 2000 come up again?

It could, if the Fifth Circuit when it hears the case on the merits, decide that Judge Kacsmaryk was right and that the FDA acted improperly in 2000 and was not outside the statute of limitations. That's not a great argument because [the Fifth Circuit] has already thought about the argument and at least temporarily said, You don't think that plaintiffs are really going to succeed on this argument. And so it's likely that it might fail when the court reconsiders the issue in a hearing on the case itself, not in a case about whether or not to temporarily suspend the order.

If mifepristone is restricted and unapproved for the market, whats next?

If mifepristone is unapproved for the market and with all the consequences that follow, it's worth remembering that misoprostol is the second drug in a medication abortion, and that can end a pregnancy too, and it's not subject to the same FDA regulations. So in an ironic twist, this order might actually make medication abortion more available if clinicians turn to misoprostol only.

What are some other concerns to look out for after the Supreme Court makes a decision?

The FDA has a rigorous process for determining whether drugs are approved and complying with that process takes a lot of time and a lot of money and a lot of effort. And if all of a sudden the court can say that process can be questioned or suspended in the future, that's a big problem.
by Murad Abdo

ADEN, Yemen, April 19 (Xinhua) -- As the Eid Al-Fitr celebrations draw near, Muslims around the world are shopping for new clothes, shoes, gifts, and sweets to welcome the festival that marks the end of the month-long fasting period of Ramadan.

However, in war-torn Yemen, the joy of the celebrations is dampened by the country's protracted conflicts and economic woes.

"We used to celebrate special occasions with new clothes and gifts for our loved ones as per our traditions. However, due to the economic challenges caused by the civil war, we have to forego these luxuries," Saleh Abu Ahmed, a father of three in the southern port city of Aden, told Xinhua.

Haitham Abdullah, a shop owner in Aden, echoed his remarks.

"Many people are struggling to afford necessities like food and medicine, let alone discretionary expenses like new clothes and gifts," he said.

Following years of deadly conflict, Yemen's currency has declined sharply in value, resulting in soaring prices of imported goods, which become unaffordable for most Yemenis.

"A suit that used to cost 50 U.S. dollars now costs more than 100 dollars. Prices of clothes, shoes, and perfumes have tripled over the past few years," said Um Marwan Rashed, a female teacher from Aden.

Intermittent salary payments for public sector employees have added to the misery, leaving many financially strained and unable to adequately prepare for things that are traditionally associated with Eid celebrations.

Mahmoud Bader, a 35-year-old civil servant from Aden shares his frustration as he faces yet another delay in his meager salary ahead of Eid, the much-awaited festival for his children.

"I have a wife and three children to support, and Eid is a time when we should be celebrating and enjoying ourselves. But the constant salary delays have left us in a dire financial situation. We are unable to afford necessities, let alone prepare for Eid.

The recent talks between the Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, the primary backer of Yemen's internationally recognized government, signaled a potential turning point in the long-standing conflict that has left the country devastated and on the brink of famine.

Hopes for a peaceful resolution to the conflict were sparked as the rare negotiations focused on renewing the ceasefire, reopening Sanaa airport, and lifting restrictions on Yemen's Red Sea port to facilitate humanitarian aid for millions of Yemenis facing food insecurity and inadequate healthcare.

Yemeni citizens long for permanent peace and economic recovery so they can restore their normal lives and celebrate Eid Al-Fitr with customary joy and enthusiasm.

"We hope the war ends and life returns to normal. Our children deserve to enjoy Eid like normal children around the world," says Aden resident Mohsen Shaiby.

Yemen has been mired in deadly military conflict since late 2014 when the Iran-backed Houthi group seized control of several northern provinces and forced the internationally-recognized government out of the capital Sanaa.

The conflict brought the Arab world's poorest country to the brink of collapse, causing famine, skyrocketing prices, and widespread suffering as well as the displacement of millions. 
David Yost and Walter Emanuel Jones return in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always." Geoffrey H. Short

The 30th-anniversary special episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" is now streaming on Netflix.

The series brings back two of the stars from the original first "Power Ranger" series.

Here is what the cast of the iconic series are doing now.

Austin St. John played the first Red Ranger, Jason Lee Scott.

Austin St. John as Jason Lee Scott. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

The first Power Rangers team was led by Jason Lee Scott, a martial arts teacher and high school student.

In the opening episode, Jason and his friends are chosen to become Power Rangers to help fight evil and protect Earth.

Austin St. John was only 18 when he was cast in the lead role. He continued to portray Jason in the first two seasons of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." In addition, St. John reprised his role in the 1997 "Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie" and the 1990s series "Power Rangers Zeo."

St. John told The BOP in 2014 that he and his costars Thuy Trang and Walter Emanuel Jones left the series because the show's producers refused to give them higher pay after the series became a financial success.

Austin St. John took a hiatus from acting to become a medic in the Middle East.

Austin St. John in 2017. Andrew Chin / Getty Images

After making a cameo in the 2002 series "Power Rangers Wild Force," St. John took a step back from acting.

According to the "Power Rangers" star's biography on his website, St. John took a "20-year hiatus" to work with the fire department and spent four years as a medic in the Middle East. His bio also states he has three children.

Since returning to acting, St. John has appeared in several movies and games and made a cameo in "Power Rangers Beast Morphers."

He has also published a post-apocalyptic comic book series inspired by the years he spent in the Middle East.

Last year, St. John was arrested during an FBI raid of his home over allegations of a $3.5 million COVID-related wire fraud scheme. The actor was one of 18 people named in a federal indictment who were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud in Texas.

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David Klaudt, St. John's lawyer, told NBC News in May 2022 that his client had pleaded not guilty to the charge.

"An indictment is not evidence of guilt," the attorney said in the statement. "All defendants are presumed innocent and Mr. St. John intends to vigorously defend himself against this allegation."

David Yost played the first Blue Ranger, Billy Cranston.

David Yost as Billy Cranston. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

David Yost played Billy Cranston, an insecure nerd who became the first Blue Ranger in the franchise. Yost stayed on for three seasons and also reprised his role in "Power Rangers Zeo."

David Yost reprises his role as Billy Cranston in the "Power Rangers" reunion special.

David Yost returns in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always." Geoffrey H. Short

After leaving "Power Rangers," Yost began to work behind the scenes, becoming a producer on multiple movies and reality TV series. He was even a segment producer on three episodes of "The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills."

In 2010, Yost came out as gay during an interview with No Pink Spandex at the Anime Festival in Orlando.

The actor alleged that he walked off set one day because he was called the homophobic F-slur "one too many times."

"I had just heard that several times while working on the show from creators, producers, writers, directors," He said. "Basically I just felt like I was continually being told I was not worthy of being where I am because I'm a gay person. And I'm not supposed to be an actor. And I'm not a superhero."

He added: "I know that my costars were called in a couple times to different producers' offices and questioned about my sexuality, which is kind of a humiliating experience to hear that and to find that out."

One of the producers of the show, Scott Page-Pagter, told TMZ in 2010 that Yost's departure was about not getting paid his bonus.

Yost said that he underwent conversion therapy after leaving the show but this drove him to a nervous breakdown. He was hospitalized for five weeks and then moved to Mexico, where he learned to accept his sexuality.

Yost has also made a recent return to acting, reprising his role as Billy Cranston in "Power Rangers: Dino Fury" and in Netflix's 30th-anniversary special episode, "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always."

He has also made a clothing line based on the series.

Amy Jo Johnson played the first Pink Ranger, Kimberly Ann Hart.

Amy Jo Johnson as Kimberly Hart. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

Kimberly Ann Hart was the first Pink Power Ranger in the series. Kimberly was a gymnast who also had musical and artistic talent.

The high school student with attitude was portrayed by Amy Jo Johnson in all three seasons of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers." She also appeared in the 1997 "Turbo" movie.

Amy Jo Johnson pursued other acting roles after leaving "Power Rangers."

Amy Jo Johnson in 2019. Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images

Johnson continued to act after leaving the franchise.

She starred in four seasons of "Felicity," alongside Keri Russell and Scott Speedman.

In 2008, Johnson played the lead role in "Flashpoint." She has also appeared in "ER," "Covert Affairs," and made a cameo role in the 2017 "Power Rangers" movie.

While Johnson will not reprise her role in the anniversary special, she announced last month that she is writing a new comic book series based on the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers."

Walter Emanuel Jones played the first Black Ranger, Zack Taylor.

Walter Jones as Zack Taylor. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

The Black Ranger, Zack Taylor, was the prankster of the group and second-in-command of the first Power Rangers team.

The role was Walter Emanuel Jones' big break, though he had already had small roles in "Malcolm X," "White Men Can't Jump" and an episode of "Beverly Hills, 90210."

Jones left the series after season two.

Jones also makes his Power Rangers return in "Once and Always."

Walter Emanuel Jones in "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always." Geoffrey H. Short

While Jones left "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" after two seasons, he has voiced different characters in "Power Rangers Wild Force" and "Power Rangers Lost Galaxy."

In 2023, he also reprises his role as Zack in Netflix's 30th-anniversary special episode "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always."

Outside of "Power Rangers," Jones continued to act but also pursued voice acting for several animated and live-action movies and games including "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2," "Red Dead Redemption," "Step Up: All In" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks."

The Black Ranger actor also played Boomer in the Disney Channel original movie "Brink!"

Jason David Frank played the first Green Ranger, Tommy Oliver.

Jason David Frank as Tommy Oliver. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

Jason David Frank joined the cast halfway through its first season as antagonist Tommy Oliver.

Tommy became the Green Ranger, who opposed the other Power Rangers before having a change of heart.

Frank is the longest-serving Ranger among the original cast, appearing in all three seasons of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," and also being a main character in "Power Rangers Zeo," "Power Rangers Turbo," the subsequent "Turbo" movie, and "Power Rangers Dino Thunder."

Frank also made cameos in "Power Rangers Wild Force," "Power Rangers Megaforce," "Power Rangers Hyperforce," "Power Rangers Ninja Steel," and the 2017 "Power Rangers" movie.

Jason David Frank died by suicide in 2022.

Jason David Frank. Bobby Bank/Getty Images

Last year, Jason David Frank died at the age of 49.

A representative for Frank confirmed his death in a statement to Insider, saying: "He will be truly missed. Please respect the privacy of his family and friends during this horrible time as we come to terms with the loss of such a wonderful human being. He loved his family, friends, and fans very much."

Frank's wife, Tammie Frank, later told People that the actor had died from suicide.

"The truth is, I had no idea that Jason was thinking of ending things. Yes, he had struggled with mental health issues and depression before, but I could never predict what would happen that night," she said. "All we want is to remember Jason and our happiest memories and move on from the pain of losing a loved one. I only ask for sympathy and understanding during this difficult time."

Outside of "Power Rangers," Frank founded his own martial arts school and developed his own style of karate called Toso Kune Do. The actor also made his debut as an MMA fighter in 2010.

While "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always" was filmed before his death, the episode features a tribute to the actor at the end.

Thuy Trang played the first Yellow Ranger, Trini Kwan.

Thuy Trang as Trini Kwan. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

Trini Kwan, the Yellow Ranger, was played by Thuy Trang in the first two seasons of the series. Kwan was a peacemaker who was knowledgeable about maths and science, which allowed her to understand the nerd Billy.

Thuy Trang died in 2001.

Thuy Trang in 1996's "The Crow: City of Angels." Miramax

After leaving "Power Rangers," Trang only appeared in two movies, "Spy Hard" and "The Crow: City of Angels."

Trang died after a car accident in 2001, at the age of 27. It was reported that Trang was traveling between San Francisco and Los Angeles with a friend when they swerved off the road and hit the roadside rock face.

"Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once and Always" addresses what happened to Trang's character and serves as a tribute to the actor.

David J. Fielding and Richard Steven Horvitz were the voices behind Zordon and Alpha 5.

David J. Fielding and Richard Steven Horvitz as Zordon and Alpha 5. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

The Power Rangers have two main allies in the original series: Zordon, a wise galactic wizard who appears as a giant head, and Alpha 5, a robot.

David J. Fielding played the floating head, while Richard Steven Horvitz was the voice behind the robot.

Fielding was the voice of Zordon in the first season of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," however, they kept using his face in the subsequent seasons but replaced the voice actor.

Horvitz starred in all three seasons of the original "Power Rangers" series, reprised his role in "Power Rangers Zeo" and "Power Rangers Turbo," and voiced other characters in "Power Rangers Time Force," "Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue" and "Power Rangers Wild Force."

David J Fielding is now a writer and Richard Horvitz continues his work as a voice actor.

David J Fielding and Richard Horvitz. Fandom Spotlite / YouTube / Paul Redmond / WireImage

According to his Twitter bio, Fielding is an author and writer now. The former Zordon actor has published multiple novels and comics.

Meanwhile, Horvitz has been a voice actor in several kids' shows, games, and movies. These include "Invader Zim," "The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy," "Ben 10," "The Loud House" and numerous "Ratchet and Clank" games.

Horvitz also voiced the new Alpha 5 robot in Netflix's "Once and Always" 30th-anniversary special.

Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy played high school bullies, Bulk and Skull.

Jason Narvy and Paul Schrier as Skull and Bulk. Netflix / Buena Vista Television

In nearly every episode of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," Bulk and Skull, a pair of high school students, try to bully the main heroes. Often their attempts to show off are thwarted.

Skull, the taller of the two, is played by Jason Narvy, while Paul Schrier played Bulk.

The pair starred in all three seasons of "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and reprised their roles in "Power Rangers Zeo," "Power Rangers Turbo," "Power Rangers in Space," "Power Rangers Lost Galaxy," and "Power Rangers Wild Force."

Schrier also went on to voice other characters in "Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue" and "Power Rangers Time Force."

Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy went their separate ways after "Power Rangers" but have collaborated together since then.

Paul Schrier and Jason Narvy attend Power Morphicon in 2018. Albert L. Ortega / Getty Images

After "Power Rangers," Narvy pursued his education, achieving a Ph.D. in theater in 2010. He also became a theatre professor at Concordia University and East Stroudsburg the University of Pennsylvania. However, he now has returned to acting and producing at Vox Rocket Studio.

Schrier continued to stay in the "Power Rangers" franchise, reprising his role as Bulk in "Power Rangers Samurai," which also featured a cameo from Narvy as Skull. Schrier also played a Power Ranger for the first time in "Power Ranger Hyperforce."

Schrier is also a comic book artist, working on the Image Comics series "The Red Star."

Read the original article on Insider
The newly announced itinerary from Four Seasons Private Jet Experiences will take guests to 10 destinations on five continents.

Courtesy of Four Seasons

The Four Seasons Private Jet Experience is back with a brand-new adventure for 2024.

The hospitality company shared its latest private jet itinerary, called Ancient Explorer.

The new itinerary will take guests to 10 destinations across five continents over 24 days, traversing the globe in a fully customized Airbus A321LRneo, which, according to a release sent to Travel + Leisure, has the widest and tallest cabin in its class. On board, guests can relax in their bespoke leather seats, which turn into lie-flat beds at the push of a button. Guests can also mix and mingle in the planes lounge area, where they'll enjoy educational workshops hosted by experts the plane picks up along the way. There will also be a physician on board for total peace of mind.

Hal Beral/Getty Images

The trip, which is from Aug. 28 to Sept. 20, 2024, departs from Florida and jets off to Mexico City, where guests will take flight once more on a sunrise hot-air balloon ride. Next, guests will travel to Chile's Easter Island to explore its UNESCO World Heritage Sites, and then journey to Bora Bora, where they'll trade their jet for a 40-foot catamaran to sail in the azure waters of the South Pacific.

The private jet will then transport guests to destinations like Bangkok, Egypt, and Italy, before ending the trip in Madrid. And, like all the other private jet journeys, guests on this trip will spend their overnights at various Four Seasons hotels and resorts. (In destinations where there are no Four Seasons, guests will stay at hotels hand-selected by the Private Jet Experiences team.)

Cristi Croitoru/Getty Images

And this isnt the only Four Seasons Private Jet Experiences trip in 2024. Theres also the African Wonders trip, the Asia Unveiled itinerary, and Timeless Encounters, which takes guests to gorgeous tropical destinations from Hawaii to Bali, through Dubai, and ending in London. See the full list of 2024 Four Seasons Private Jet Experiences at fourseasons.com.



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Read the original article on Travel & Leisure.
Ohio lobbyists advocated for more patient-friendly laws after a survey reported over a third of high school students in the state used tobacco products, giving Ohio one of the highest youth tobacco use rates.

>> TRENDING: Police expected to give update on last weeks shooting involving officers on Miller Lane

Cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers from across the United States traveled to the Capitol Tuesday to meet with their elected officials.

They advocated for improved access to cancer treatments and reduced costs for fighting the diagnosis, a spokesperson for the American Cancer Society, Cancer Action Network stated.

Those gathered at the Capitol yesterday are calling on Ohio lawmakers to change this by taking steps to make the fight against cancer a priority, the organizations Government Relations Director Leo Almedia said.

Advocates asked for greater support in legislation that would improve access to biomarker testing. Dubbed the right treatment at the right time, biomarker testing has been critical to improving cancer-remission outcomes, according to the spokesperson.

Advocates also argued for counting prescription costs toward the overall out-of-pocket maximum or deductible in an effort to make cancer treatment more affordable, the spokesperson continued.

Access to treatments have grown in importance as tens of thousands of Ohioans continue to be diagnosed with cancer each year.

This year, an estimated 74,140 Ohioans will be diagnosed with cancer, and 24,770 are expected to die from the devastating disease, Almedia informed.

Many of the cancer deaths, approximately a third of them, were attributed to smoking, the spokesperson reported.

Ohio has one of the countrys highest youth tobacco use rates, with 36.7% of high school students using tobacco products, the spokesperson said. If nothing is done to reduce smoking rates, 259,000 Ohio kids currently under 18 will ultimately die prematurely from smoking.

Advocates urged state lawmakers to increase funding to tobacco control programs to prevent students from using and consequently becoming addicted to the drug, the spokesperson stated. They requested an increase in funding by $20 million.
Have you had Medi-Cal over the past three years? If so, you might be among thousands of Fresno County residents who need to reapply for the no-cost or low-cost health insurance.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, individuals needed to prove their eligibility for Medi-Cal once a year. But since March 2020, when federal officials declared a public health emergency, beneficiaries have been able to keep their coverage without having to undergo the redetermination or renewal process, regardless of any changes in circumstances.

More than three years later, this continuous coverage is ending and people must reapply  or redetermine their eligibility  for benefits. Now, county officials are worried that residents wont follow through with the renewal process, or become ineligible, and could lose coverage.

They estimate a third of Fresno Countys residents  about 330,000 people  depend on Medi-Cal to access healthcare coverage. That figure could be even larger. More than 547,000 people across Fresno County are currently enrolled as of January and are eligible for Medi-Cal renewal, according to state data.

For some families, this (renewal process) has never happened, particularly if they havent applied for benefits since 2020, said Linda DuChene, Fresno County Social Services deputy director.

DuChene shared what Fresnans should know, expect and look out for during this years Medi-Cal renewal process.

What to know about the upcoming Medi-Cal renewal

Whether you are up for Medi-Cal renewal or not, DuChene has a request for Fresno residents: please update your address.

People might have moved and changed addresses and phone numbers during the pandemic, she said, but havent updated their records with the county. If residents are up for Medi-Cal renewal but havent updated their addresses, the county is concerned some might not receive their renewal applications, DuChene said.

Medi-Cal renewal means someones healthcare plan coverage term is expiring and their eligibility factors have not changed. If a persons income or household details changed and is up for Medi-Cal renewal, then their case could be considered a redetermination.

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However, the redetermination or renewal applications will ask for the same information as the initial Medi-Cal application, DuChene said: name, address, income and other household information.

When will renewal applications be sent?

Fresno County said it started mailing renewal packages to those who are up for Medi-Cal renewal on April 1.

Families need to know that all of the packets will not come out at the same time, DuChene said. The renewal process is spread over 12 months, and so depending on the month that their renewal is due, thats when theyll receive the packet.

DuChene encourages families to be on the lookout for a yellow county envelope in the mail.

They cant just ignore this communication when they receive it, she said. And they need to return it.

Along with mailing the renewal application back to the county, people can also drop off their package at a Fresno County Department of Social Services office. DuChene also recommended Fresnans reach out to their local community center affiliated with DSS for help.

Medi-Cal renewal applications can also be filed online, yet it is a lot more time-consuming, DuChene said.

She said if a family or person doesnt have an email address, an online account on CalWIN or Covered Californias portals and reliable internet access, then it is probably easier for most families to complete it and just mail it back.

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What if youre no longer eligible for Medi-Cal?

Since this renewal or redetermination process hasnt happened annually for several years, there are concerns that changes in peoples income, household sizes and access to other health coverage could affect their Medi-Cal eligibility.

It is possible that there are families that legitimately will lose their coverage, DuChene said. We have no way of projecting how many that will be.

However, people will not be just dropped, from the Medi-Cal system, she said. That absolutely will not happen.

If a person or family becomes ineligible for Medi-Cal after submitting their redetermination application, they can still access and find health insurance coverage through Covered California.

Once notified of their ineligibility, DuChene advises people to contact Covered California and/or follow the referral process the county DSS will share.

Thats what were here for, she said. And well provide that support.

What if you dont receive a renewal application package?

If you know you are up for Medi-Cal renewal and didnt receive a package in April, dont panic, DuChene said.

Renewal packets will be sent out every month, rolling out as the renewal period continues and people are up for redetermination. Some might be sent approved renewal letters if their cases dont require people or families to fill in a redetermination application.

Others might not be required to go through the redetermination process, DuChene said.

We dont want to cause panic or pandemonium or fear among our families, she said. It is serious, but at the same time we are here at the Department of Social Services to help them navigate this process.

How to contact Fresno County Social Services

Information about Fresno Countys Department of Social Services can be found online. Their website also lists specific Medi-Cal details and a community centers where residents can also access the departments help and services.

The departments main office is in Clovis, at 3500 Never Forget Lane. If your contact information or household circumstances have changed, you can update your details by contacting the Department of Social Services either:
Three mothers were found dead in a tight-knit North Carolina town  and mystery still lingers six years later, officials said.

Its so heartbreaking to know that these women were basically disposed of and discarded, the FBI said in a video shared with McClatchy News on April 19. We will not allow whoever is responsible to get away with that. Obviously, someone placed these women the way they were found. It must be weighing on them.

The case dates to April 18, 2017, when Christina Kristin Bennett, 32, was found dead inside a Lumberton home.

The same day, the citys police department discovered the body of Rhonda Jones in a trash can. Jones, a 36-year-old member of the Lumbee Tribe of North Carolina, was found naked and partly covered in trash, The News & Observer reported.

Then, less than two months later, another body was recovered outside an empty home on June 3, 2017. The woman was identified as 28-year-old Megan Oxendine, who also was Lumbee, according to the N&O.

Megan Oxendines mother, Shelia, told WPDE she thought her daughter might have been killed because she knew details about the other womens deaths. Those deaths and other disappearances in the area have sparked fears of a serial killer, though officials have said they havent figured out how Bennett, Jones and Oxendine died.

All three of the women were moms and had ties to the Lumberton area, described as a tight-knit community roughly 95 miles south of Raleigh. Their bodies were found within four blocks of each other, the FBI said.

Now, six years later, officials say an investigation is ongoing.

We know their families are frustrated and people are confused that we dont know exactly how they died, the FBI said in its video. Their bodies were too badly decomposed to determine the cause of death.

Search for clues continues

Officials are still seeking clues in the ongoing mystery. Despite the passage of time, the case hasnt gone cold, Michael McNeill, chief of the Lumberton Police Department, said this month in a statement to WPDE.

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While an autopsy can provide leads or evidence in a death investigation, an undetermined cause of death doesnt mean we wont find out what happened to these women, the FBI said. We continue to follow a number of investigative leads, but we also need help from the community.

Anyone with information is asked to call the FBI at 800-225-5324, police at 910-671-3845 or visit tips.fbi.gov. The FBI said its offering a reward of up to $40,000 for information leading to the discovery and apprehension of those responsible for the deaths of these women.

The Lumberton Police Department didnt immediately share additional information with McClatchy News on April 19.

Teens body found two weeks after she vanished, NC cops say. Half-brother is charged

Woman vanished weeks ago, NC cops say. Her body was just found 200 miles away
On Wednesday, recreational razor clam digging on the coast began for Washington residents. But harvesting other marine wildlife, such as oysters, in Puget Sound seeing a setback.

More than a dozen areas across the state face health restrictions, and three spots in southern Puget Sound are completely excluded from harvesting due to water pollution. The culprit is fecal matter.

Washington currently has 115 shellfish growing areas statewide, but areas in Mason County arent up to the public health water quality standards, the Department of Health stated in a news release Wednesday. Fecal pollution has boosted levels of bacteria in some shellfish growing regions, and the department has deemed these areas unsuitable for shellfish harvesting until at least August.

The three regions include:

Portions of Annas Bay  Mason County

Hood Canal 5 in the Lilliwaup area  Mason County

Hood Canal 6 in the Tahuya area  Mason County

These areas met water quality standards in 2022 but were at risk for pollution, according to the departments news release from May 2022.

In addition, more than a dozen areas in Washington, including ones in Pierce and Thurston counties, are threatened by bacterial pollution. These spots currently meet the states water quality standard for shellfish harvesting, though. The areas are:

Dungeness Bay  Challam County

Pacific Coast  Grays Harbor County

Liberty Bay  Kitsap County

Portions of Annas Bay  Mason County

Hood Canal 6  Mason County

Oakland Bay  Mason County

Bay Center  Pacific County

Burley Lagoon  Pierce County

Henderson Bay  Pierce County

Vaughn Bay  Pierce County

Upright Channel  San Juan County

Port Susan  Snohomish County

Eld Inlet  Thurston County

Drayton Harbor  Whatcom County

Last year, Vaughn Bay, Port Susan and Henderson Inlet in Thurston County were closed to harvesting due to high pollution.

For more information on what sites the health department approves for recreational shellfish harvesting, check out its shellfish safety information map. The map shows what beaches are open or closed and whether the water quality is up to standard or closed due to pollution.

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Reducing pollution

The department advises Washingtonians to do their part in reducing pollution by:
(Bloomberg) -- US tech companies are pushing to narrow the scope of legislation that could ban TikTok in the US, creating new obstacles as the Biden administration seeks to confront Chinas influence.

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The Information Technology Industry Council, which represents companies including International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc., is among groups lobbying to narrow the legislation, according to people familiar with those conversations who asked not to be named discussing the politically sensitive issue. Companies that make both hardware and software are worried they could become ensnared by a Senate bill thats been gaining momentum and is aimed at TikTok, the Chinese-owned video app, the people said.

The fierceness of the opposition may close down an opportunity for the Biden administration to extricate itself from a long-stalled national security review of the popular app with the goal of walling off US data from potential Chinese access.

Earlier proposals to ban TikTok by name because of its Chinese ownership created the potential of a legal challenge over singling out a particular company. Instead, the Senate bill offered last month by Democrat Mark Warner of Virginia and John Thune of South Dakota would empower the Commerce secretary to evaluate national security risks and potentially ban any technology owned or operated by an adversarial nation such as China or Russia. It won an enthusiastic endorsement from the Biden administration.

Warner and Thune describe their bill as a rules-based approach that would put a new system in place to address threats not just from TikTok, but from future technologies as well.

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Policy is stronger if its not with respect to a single company, because today you worry about TikTok, tomorrow it will be another company, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo told Bloomberg News Tuesday. We need secure information communications technology networks, we need to protect Americas data and privacy. And I look forward to working with Congress in a bipartisan way to do that.

Although that approach has helped the bill win bipartisan support, it has some tech companies warning that it would give the government sweeping new regulatory power.

Tech executives, who declined to speak on the record, said theyre concerned the measure could expose their companies to national security reviews over even a minor piece of hardware or a line of code if the bill were to become law because most of their systems include some Chinese technology.

Thune said Wednesday thats not the bills intent and that hes taking feedback from the tech industry for possible amendments to narrow its scope. Still, he recognized that many US companies source technology from China, and he said if the bill becomes law, it would probably accelerate the supply chain diversification thats already happening.

The bill as currently written would be a significant expansion of the Commerce secretarys authority, according to Bill Reinsch, the Scholl Chair in International Business at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

It is basically an argument that security should trump economics and normal rules of trade and normal rules of doing business, said Reinsch, who was the Commerce Departments under secretary for export administration during the Clinton administration. And if I were a high-tech company, Id be very worried about that.

Early Momentum

The legislation by Warner and Thune quickly gained momentum after it was introduced last month, drawing a strong roster of bipartisan cosponsors and riding the wave of attention that followed the House hearing last month where lawmakers took turns tearing into TikTok Chief Executive Officer Shou Chew. It currently has 25 co-sponsors  a fourth of the Senate.

Now lobbyists across the industry, including cryptocurrency firms, cloud providers and hardware makers, are pushing to narrow the legislations language. The growing opposition lays bare the tricky politics for any measure in this Congress that needs to pass a Democratic-led Senate and a Republican-led House to become law.

TikTok has been lobbying hard against the bill on different grounds, arguing that Congress should take a step back and let the existing national security review run its course. The company, owned by Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd., has denied that China has access to US user data and has argued that the platform is an important avenue for free speech, with more than 150 million US users.

Chinese Technology

Even with US companies across the economy trying to shift production away from China, the worlds second-largest economy is still the leading manufacturer of crucial hardware for many devices. Roughly half of key components for servers, storage and networking gear come from China, according to Bloomberg Intelligence. The majority of electronics manufacturers rely on Chinese technology.

The bill includes specific categories of national security risk that could trigger a review  provisions that would prevent the legislation from being misused, according to Warner spokesperson Rachel Cohen.

The Commerce secretary would be strictly required to focus on foreign businesses that pose significant and systemic risks to our national security, such as threats to our critical infrastructure and the integrity of our elections process, Cohen said.

Others arent convinced. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties nonprofit, said the measure would open the door to wide-ranging government bans on hardware or software from foreign countries with no explanations needed, little transparency, limited challenges via litigation and limited congressional oversight.

Government Surveillance

House Republicans have voiced strong opposition to the approach taken by the Warner-Thune bill, saying that it would amount to a vast expansion of government power. This has produced another unlikely alliance: libertarian Republicans and progressive Democrats who have worked together previously to oppose government surveillance.

Read More: Ocasio-Cortez, Progressives See Censorship in Bid to Ban TikTok

Republican Representative Warren Davidson of Ohio cited his past cooperation with Democrat Pramila Jayapal of Washington to limit government surveillance programs intended to combat terrorism as the type of coalition that could oppose the Warner-Thune measure. He said the test for lawmakers supporting this approach should be to imagine such broad power in the hands of a president they disagree with.

No executive branch agency can be permitted to even start down this path, Davidson said in an interview.

Some lawmakers of both parties  from New Yorks Democratic Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to Kentuckys Republican Senator Rand Paul  have said a better approach to the challenge posed by TikTok would be to pass comprehensive privacy legislation that could curtail data collection by any online offering, including Meta Platforms Inc.s Facebook and Alphabet Inc.s Google.

Those concerns have been amplified on conservative news channels, including by Fox News host Tucker Carlson.

Thune has responded to this criticism saying his bill prepares for the threats of the future. He said it would give President Joe Biden more solid legal standing to take the same steps as former President Donald Trump, who tried to ban TikTok in 2020, only to have the move overturned in court.

--With assistance from Daniel Flatley and Eric Martin.

(Updates with Senator Thunes comments in ninth paragraph)

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When McKenzie McAliley, a senior at Atlantic Community High in Delray Beach, took the bus to school, she would wake up at 5 a.m. and walk to the bus stop in the dark.

McAliley, 18, now drives to school but must wake just as early. After school, she babysits and is involved in eight clubs. She doesnt arrive home until late and estimates she gets only about five hours of sleep every night.

Ive been getting sick a lot because Ive been so rundown, the Palm Beach County student said. Even if I just had an extra 30 minutes, Id be able to rest and probably do better in school overall.

In Tallahassee, the Legislature is considering proposals that would mandate later start times for middle and high schools in all districts, giving students like McAliley extra time to sleep.

The House bill, introduced by Rep. John Paul Temple, R-The Villages, would require middle schools to start no earlier than 8 a.m. and high schools no earlier than 8:30 a.m by 2026. Based on research from the American Academy of Pediatrics about the biology of adolescents and sleep, the bill also would require district school boards to inform their communities about the impacts of sleep deprivation.

Research conducted by the academy in 2014 indicates the average teenager has difficulty falling asleep before 11 p.m. and should wake up at 8 a.m. or later.

The bill passed the House 92-20 at the end of last month with bipartisan support. Dissenting votes were all from Democrats. A companion bill in the Senate, sponsored by Sen. Danny Burgess, R-Zephyrhills, is moving more slowly and passed two committees so far.

About half of public high schools in Florida begin before 7:30 a.m., so high school students who want to catch the bus often must wake up as early as 5 a.m.

Having an 8:30 a.m. start time is the sweet spot for schools across the state, said Samantha Green, a parent of a sophomore at J.W. Mitchell High in New Port Richey, north of Tampa.

KNOW MORE: Florida House bill proposes later start times for middle and high school students

Her 16-year-old daughter starts school at 8:20 a.m. so the bill wouldnt dramatically affect her, but Green said the bill gives students the opportunity to sleep a little later and still get out of school at a reasonable time for extracurricular activities or work.

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Because of bus driver shortages, Green said she lost bus service this year because she lives within two miles of the school. For students who dont get a bus, an 8:30 a.m. start time means parents can drop off their kids before heading to work, she said.

The health benefits and three-year implementation period justify the need for this change for representatives like Temple.

The science clearly shows that if students in middle school and high school get more sleep, that has a positive impact not only on academics, their mental health, its safer, Temple said.

Transportation concerns worry school board members like Erica Whitfield, who has wanted to delay school start times in Palm Beach County for years. Bus driver shortages and a lack of funding have stood in the way.

The reason weve never done it, its not for lack of interest in starting later. Its because were facing a massive bus driver shortage right now without this legislation in place, she said.

The Legislature said it wasnt sure how much the change may cost school districts, saying there may be a significant, but indeterminate, fiscal impact to school district transportation costs.

School start times are established based on the bus routes. In Palm Beach County, bus drivers arrive to the compound at 5 a.m., pick up high school students for their 7:25 a.m. start, then move to elementary school students, who start around 8 a.m., and finish with middle schoolers who begin at 9:30 a.m.

This schedule gives drivers enough time, roughly 90 minutes in between rounds, to pick up and drop off three sets of students. Districts are mandated to bus any student who lives over two miles from their school. Palm Beach is a larger district with about 170,000 students.

If we can get more drivers, we could actually afford more buses, Whitfield said. We have plenty of buses to do all the routes we need; we just need more drivers to drive those routes.

To avoid any additional costs, districts could shift all start times later.

During a Senate education committee hearing, Sen. Lori Berman, D-Boynton Beach, said the Boynton Beach superintendent raised concerns about the bus driver shortage and how the bill would affect bus drivers completing their routes.

In a perfect world we would have so much money that we could buy more buses and we could get more bus drivers, but were not in a perfect world unfortunately, she said.

In Manatee County, which includes Bradenton on Floridas West Coast, school board member Chad Choate deals with bus driver shortage issues firsthand.

Were trying to hire bus drivers now and just cannot, so that is a concern for me, Choate said. I think if we are going to change, we may need to get more help with transportation funding.

The proposed bills do not provide any direct funding to school districts. It would not go into effect until 2026, giving districts three years to find solutions to transportation issues.

We have three years to get this in place and we need to do something because the mental health, we have an issue, Temple said.

-

This story was produced by Fresh Take Florida, a news service of the University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications. The reporters can be reached at emmabehrmann@freshtakeflorida.com and alexaherrera@freshtakeflorida.com. You can donate to support our students here.
Patriot air defense system

Read also: Ukraine receives first Patriot air defense system from Germany  what to know

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine, he tweeted.

Ukraines air defenders have mastered the system to the best of their ability, he said.

And our partners have kept their word, the official said and thanked his colleagues and the American, German, and Dutch people.

Read also: US to train Ukrainians to operate Patriot systems over ten weeks

The main feature of the latest Patriot system is the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles. These include missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine, including Iskanders, Kinzhals (hypersonic air-to-air missiles), and Zircons (hypersonic anti-ship missiles).

The German government announced on April 18 that a new military aid package, including the Patriot system and an IRIS-T air defense system, had been delivered to Ukraine.

Earlier the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands vowed to transfer the Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on March 30 that 65 Ukrainian troops had completed their Patriot air defense system training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Read also: Specs and capabilities of U.S. PATRIOT air defense systems provided to Ukraine

CNN reported on March 21, citing U.S. Department of Defense officials, that the Patriot air defense systems would be transferred to Ukraine sooner than previously planned.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
A 19-year-old worker from South Africa suffocated to death after he climbed into a storage bin and was buried by soybeans, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

The Mississippi farm where the man was working has been cited with serious violations of safety protocols, according to an April 19 news release from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The worker, two co-workers and a supervisor climbed into a storage bin at Bare Bones Farms in Greenwood in October to unclog it, according to the release. Once they were inside, the soybeans the bin was holding shifted and engulfed them, according to the department.

Emergency crews responded and cut a hole in the bin to try to free the workers, the release says. It took them five hours to recover the worker who had died.

A message left at the farm by McClatchy News was not returned on April 19.

Investigators with the Labor Departments Occupational Safety and Health Administration found that the farm willfully violated the law by failing to ensure that the employees wore full body harnesses connected to a lifeline while inside the soybean bin, which exposed them to deadly engulfment hazards, the release says.

The company also, failed to train employees on general safety precautions, including preventative measures for bin-entry procedures, and did not make sure workers de-energized the equipment and machinery before entering the soybean storage bin, the release says.

The operator of the farm did not have a respiratory protection program written out for employees who are required to wear respirators and did not provide medical evaluations, fit tests or trainings for workers who wear respirators as they handle soybeans, the department said.

OSHA proposed $90,182 in fines against the farm, the release says.

The company can request an informal conference with the administrations area director or contest the findings before an independent review commission within 15 business days of receiving the citations, according to the release.

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Three of the workers involved in the incident were from South Africa and were in Mississippi under the H-2A temporary agricultural workers visa program, according to the department.

Well-known safety standards that protect people from the grave dangers of working in grain bins have been in place for decades, and yet Bare Bones Farms jeopardized the lives of its employees by ignoring federal regulations, Courtney Bohannon, OSHAs area director, said in a statement. As a result, the life of a young man who traveled more than 8,500 miles to work in the U.S. ended tragically.

In 2021, 38% of reported grain engulfments were fatal because employers did not follow safety regulations, according to the department.

Greenwood is about 100 miles north of Jackson.

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TEHRAN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian nuclear chief said on Wednesday the negotiations between Tehran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) are "progressing," according to the semi-official Tasnim news agency.

President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Mohammad Eslami made the remark in an address to reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting, commenting on the latest developments in relations between Tehran and the IAEA.

Eslami said technical and expert delegations from the two sides are in close contact and report daily on the progress, adding that the results of the negotiations will be released at "due time".

The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi paid a two-day visit to Tehran in early March, aimed at resolving some issues over Iran's nuclear program.

The visit came as the differences between Iran and the IAEA peaked over claims that "Iran's uranium particles enriched to up to 83.7 percent purity, very close to weapons," and Iran's "non-cooperation" with an investigation into traces of uranium at "three undeclared sites."

Iran rejected the first claim as "inaccurate" and the second as "baseless."

The two sides then reached an agreement on further interactions based on Iran's cooperation and greater openness to IAEA's inspections.

Iran signed the nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of the sanctions on the country. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed its unilateral sanctions on Tehran, prompting the latter to reduce some of its nuclear commitments under the deal.

The talks on the JCPOA's revival began in April 2021 in Vienna. No breakthrough has been achieved after the latest round of talks in August 2022. 
(Bloomberg) -- US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan spoke to his Brazilian counterpart on Tuesday after that countrys president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, accused America of encouraging war while on a visit to China.

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Sullivan and Celso Amorim discussed a number of bilateral and global issues, including Russias war against Ukraine and continued cooperation to combat climate change and protect the environment, according to a White House account of their conversation.

With the Biden administration seeking to restrict Chinas access to high technology chips and pressuring Beijing over its tacit support of Russia, Chinese President Xi Jinping has made much of recent high-profile trips to Beijing by world leaders, including Lula and French President Emmanuel Macron.

Xi traveled to Moscow in March for a summit with President Vladimir Putin as Russias invasion of Ukraine entered its second year. Hes also pitched a vague peace plan for the conflict, despite having not spoken with Ukraines president since the war began.

While in Beijing over the weekend, Lula told reporters that it is important that the US stops encouraging war and starts talking about peace.

He also defended more robust relations with China, saying We have political interests and we have interests in building a new geopolitics so that we can change world governance by giving more representation to the United Nations.

Back in Brazil, Lulas foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, complained that economic sanctions imposed on Russia after the invasion were taking an unnecessary toll on nations not involved in the conflict. Vieira made the comment after meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov on Monday.

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Brazil is among the nations that have not participated in sanctions on Russia since the February 2022 invasion. Lulas predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, also opposed them.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken earlier Tuesday declined to address Lulas remark, saying only that the Brazilian leader had had a good meeting with President Joe Biden when they met at the White House in February. He also referred to remarkable convergence on China between members of the G-7.

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Lashawn Thompsons family attributed his death to unhygienic conditions at Atlantas Fulton County Jail and complications from insect bites. In addition to a criminal probe, they want a new facility constructed.

Three top jail staffers are now off the job following the request of a Georgia sheriff who noted that sweeping changes are being implemented as investigators work to determine what caused a Black mans death at the facility last year.

Without identifying them, a Monday statement from the sheriffs office said the chief jailer and two assistant chief jailers at Atlantas Fulton County Jail sent in their resignations at the request of Sheriff Patrick Pat Labat, according to CNN.

The decision comes as officials investigate the death of Lashawn Thompson, whose relatives claimed he was being detained in a filthy, bug-infested jail cell when he died in September.

Lashawn Thompson (above) was held in the psychiatric ward at Atlantas Fulton County Jail for about three months before he died, said family attorney Michael Harper, who shared images (left and right) he said showed the cells deplorable conditions. Top jail officials were forced out this week over Thompsons death. (Photo: Screenshot/YouTube.com/11Alive News)

Its clear to me, Labat said in the statement, CNN reported, that its time, past time, to clean house.

Labat reportedly requested the resignations of the correctional staff after evaluating the initial data acquired during the internal probe.

Collectively, the executive team thats been in place has more than 65 years of jail administration and law enforcement experience, the statement read, CNN reported. It went on to say such experience, can be invaluable at its best. However, it can also lend itself to complacency, stagnation & settling for the status quo.

Family attorney Michael Harper said Thompson was incarcerated on a misdemeanor assault charge for about three months before his death, confined to the psychiatric ward because of mental health difficulties.

Thompsons family attributed his death to unhygienic conditions at the jail and problems from insect bites. In addition to a criminal investigation, Thompsons family wants to see a new facility constructed.

The cell he was in was not fit for a diseased animal, Harper said during a news conference last week as he showed photos depicting the conditions of Thompsons cell, CNN reported. This is inexcusable, and its deplorable.

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In a Thursday statement, the Fulton County Sheriffs Office said the county medical examiner listed Thompsons manner and cause of death as undetermined.

However, inquiries by the Atlanta Police Department, which was the responding agency, and the internal Office of Professional Standards are ongoing. The results will be submitted to the Georgia Bureau of Investigations for review.

Thompsons health  or what decisions he made regarding his right to accept or refuse medical care when he was arrested  could not be disclosed by the sheriffs office due to health privacy laws, their statement added.

Still, authorities said they are examining their legal options for switching medical vendors and contracting with a company that can effectively, consistently, and compassionately deliver the best standard of care.

On Friday, the office said it has already started taking action, including spending $500,000 to address the infestation of bed bugs, lice, and other vermin within Fulton County Jail. Theres also a procedure to relocate over 600 prisoners to other counties at an average cost of about $40K [per] day to relieve overcrowding.

Thompsons brother, Brad McCrae, shared that the 35-year-old was born in Winter Haven, Florida, and had resided in Atlanta intermittently.

McCrae was at the press conference last week alongside Harper, the family attorney, where a reporter asked him what he thought of the pictures showing his brothers body and the conditions of his cell.

It was heartbreaking because nobody should be seen like that, McCrae said, CNN reported. Nobody should see that. But the first thing that entered my mind was Emmett Till.

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The post Top jail staff forced out after Black man dies in custody appeared first on TheGrio.
Matthew Hernandez, 8, holds a sign with a picture of his uncle, Daniel Hernandez, during a news conference in June 2020. Daniel Hernandez was fatally shot in South Los Angeles by officer Toni McBride, whose social media posts of her shooting expertise drew attention. (Luis Sinco)

A Los Angeles police officer whose sharpshooter social media posts drew widespread attention after she was involved in a fatal shooting filed a discrimination and retaliation lawsuit Tuesday against Police Chief Michel Moore and the department.

LAPD Officer Toni McBride alleges that Moore blocked her promotions because she refused to remove from her social media feeds videos of her at shooting competitions or training at firing ranges. In the lawsuit filed in federal court, McBride claims that Moore told her that she had to delete her social media accounts or "he would destroy her career."

McBride, who is seeking more than $5 million in damages, has been on medical leave since November due to "severe physical symptoms caused by and exacerbated by the stress," according to the lawsuit.

An LAPD spokesperson declined to comment, citing pending litigation.

McBride's social media posts garnered attention in 2020 after she shot a 38-year-old man holding a box cutter six times, killing him. McBride and her partner had been responding to a collision on San Pedro Street near East 32nd Street involving several badly injured motorists whose vehicles had been struck by a truck driven by Daniel Hernandez. A toxicology report found Hernandez had methamphetamine in his system at the time.

McBride repeatedly commanded Hernandez to drop the weapon, according to videos captured by McBrides body-camera and by witnesses with smartphones. When Hernandez advanced toward her, she shot him twice, and then fired another two shots when he attempted to get up. Her final two shots came as he was rolling on the ground.

After the shooting, McBride told investigators she felt Hernandez posed a risk to bystanders in the area.

The Los Angeles Police Commission found McBride broke department policy by continuing to shoot Hernandez during the fatal encounter. The commission found McBrides first four shots were justified, but her fifth and sixth shots were not.

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California Atty. Gen. Rob Bontas office cleared McBride of wrongdoing based in part on the expert opinion of a controversial police use-of-force consultant. Bontas office took over the review of the shooting after former Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. Jackie Lacey recused herself.

McBride's father, Jamie McBride, is one of nine directors of the powerful Los Angeles Police Protective League, the union that represents rank-and-file officers in labor and discipline issues. The L.A. police union has raised money for Lacey's campaigns.

The younger McBride earned "Top Shot" in the LAPD police academy and was the youngest in her class when she graduated at 20 years old, according to her lawsuit. She said in the lawsuit that she had competed  and won  target shooting competitions all over the country, which she regularly chronicled on her social media accounts.

In the lawsuit, McBride's attorney said it was not the Hernandez shooting that caused the police chief to block McBride's career advancement opportunities last year.

"Chief Moore told Officer McBride that he wanted her to cease posting videos on social media," according to the lawsuit. "He said that Officer McBride needed to 'choose between being an LAPD officer' or posting social media videos."

McBride contends her posts are "virtually identical to dozens of videos regularly posted by male officers. But when it comes to Officer McBride, Chief Moore told her he didnt like the 'image they present,'" according to the lawsuit.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Photograph: Getty Images

Donald Trumps senior adviser and legal counsel Boris Epshteyn is scheduled to be interviewed on Thursday by special counsel prosecutors investigating the former presidents retention of classified-marked documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort and his role in the January 6 Capitol attack.

The investigation Epshteyn is being asked to talk about  potentially both  remains unclear, according to a person familiar with the matter who confirmed the meeting on the condition of anonymity. His lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment.

Related: Claims of crime expose rift in Georgias pro-Trump fake elector group

But the interview, which was requested by special counsel prosecutors, marks a moment of potential peril for Trump given Epshteyn has been one of his closest advisers in recent years, with more knowledge about the former presidents legal entanglements than perhaps anyone else.

Throughout the Mar-a-Lago documents case, Epshteyn has simultaneously been a member of Trumps inner circle as a senior adviser on the 2024 campaign, and a member of the Trump legal team as the project-manager-esque person leading the civil and criminal lawyers as the in-house counsel.

The dual roles mean Epshteyn is considered to have the most insight into decisions taken by Trump and others as the investigation has progressed  the sort of behind-the-scenes knowledge most prized by prosecutors in high-profile criminal cases.

Whether Epshteyn has legal exposure himself remains unclear. But he played a role in the Trump legal teams botched response to a grand jury subpoena last year that demanded the return of any classified-marked documents before the FBI seized 101 such papers at Mar-a-Lago.

In that episode, Epshteyn coordinated the two Trump lawyers who were involved in turning over some classified-marked documents to the justice department and signing an attestation letter certifying compliance with the subpoena, which later turned out to be false.

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The scheduled interview with Epshteyn was the topic of conversation among some of the Trump lawyers on Wednesday morning, who have made their dislike of working with him known internally, complaining that he acts as a gatekeeper to Trump and gave him poor predictions in the Manhattan hush-money case.

But Trump has prized Epshteyns personal loyalty to him, and despite asking associates at the start of the year whether he was doing a good job after a series of legal defeats in court and having his phone seized by the FBI in the January 6 investigation, has kept him as a trusted member of his inner circle.

The documents case has proved tricky for the entire Trump legal team, with prosecutors unusually focused on the behavior of the lawyers.

Epshteyns interview makes him the fifth Trump lawyer to have formally spoken with justice department officials or testified before the grand jury in Washington hearing evidence about the former presidents potential mishandling of classified documents and obstruction of justice.

The grand jury most recently heard testimony from Evan Corcoran, who led the initial search of Mar-a-Lago after Trump received the subpoena and was ordered to turn over detailed notes, because of the so-called crime-fraud exception to attorney-client privilege protections.

Before Corcoran testified, his co-counsel Tim Parlatore was subpoenaed to testify about additional searches of Mar-a-Lago he led after the justice department believed Trump might have additional classified-marked documents in his possession. Alina Habba and Christina Bobb have also testified to the grand jury.
The Andover YMCA water park is expected to reopen Memorial Day weekend, a little more than a year after a tornado destroyed the gym and water park.

Greater Wichita YMCA President and CEO Ronn McMahon said he is cautiously optimistic the water park will open May 27 when the organizations other water parks open at the north, northwest and south locations. The equipment is all there, but it is going to take making sure all the park mechanics are working and then putting everything together to make the weekend opening.

Prolonged rains or an unforeseen problem could slightly push back the open date. Any delays will be reported on the Andover YMCAs social media.

A rendering of the Andover YMCA water park, which was destroyed in a April 2022 tornado, shows what it is supposed to look like on the expected open date Memorial Day weekend.

We just dont have a lot of wiggle room, McMahon said Tuesday, adding the water park is about 70-75% done, but still very much looks like a construction site. Its close. Were coming down the home stretch.

The April 29, 2022, EF-3 tornado  caught by many on cellphone footage  started in rural Sedgwick County before moving into Andover. It then moved out into the country before dissipating. It caused structural damage or destruction to about 180 homes in Andover and rural Butler County and another 22 in rural Sedgwick County.

At least three people were injured, one seriously.

In Andover, the tornado destroyed multiple homes in a neighborhood just southwest of the YMCA, then heavily damaged the nearby Prairie Creek Elementary School before hitting the front entrance of the YMCA, throwing several cars up against the building.

The massive building and water park were destroyed. McMahon said it is going to cost more than the $20 million in original construction to rebuild it all. They dont know the total cost yet.

The building very much still looks like it was hit by a tornado. Its not expected to reopen until spring 2024.

With the water park rebuild, the YMCA has added a few new features: a cabana with a turf area for 15-20 people that can be rented, more shaded areas, climbing areas and a splash pad. The water park is free to members.

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The water park will continue to have the popular large bucket that dumps water, slides, toddler bay, family pool and lazy river  it takes more than 364,000 gallons of water to fill the last two.

There are no estimates specific to traffic at the water park, but the YMCA said the whole facility averages between 500-1600 people on a weekend before the tornado.

Like with the water park, the gym will also have some new features. One of the most noticeable changes will be replacing the underutilized rock wall  a prominent feature in the old building surrounded by windows and visible from U.S. 54  with a Luckey Climber, which has rising platforms for children to crawl on and is netted in. The look and feel of the family area around the climber will change as well, McMahon said.

Additionally, the old racketball courts will be converted into a parkour and gymnastics area. A STEM lab also will be added.

But all of that is a way off. About a third of the buildings walls needed to be replaced. Everything inside needed to be gutted and replaced. Supply chain issues have dictated what projects can be done.

You can see progress, McMahon said, but it still looks a mess.
Jacksonville's federal courthouse (right).

A Ponte Vedra Beach man has been sentenced to a year and a day behind bars for evading income taxes by hiding millions of dollars behind front companies.

Patrick B. Hines took a plea deal in November that acknowledged hed used a chain of people and nominee businesses to conceal wealth he received from companies that controlled 1-800 phone lines which sold ads that callers heard when they phoned in.

Between 2012 and 2018, the plea deal said, Hines arranged for $2.5 million from accounts in names of other people and companies to be used on his personal expenses like fees for personal training sessions, dues at private clubs, $275,000 in mortgage payments and tuition for his kids private school.

The Internal Revenue Service had been hounding him for unpaid taxes even before then, but Hines said he was broke and living off money from the earlier sale of a different home, the plea deal said.

Besides the prison time, on Tuesday Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan ordered Hines to pay $1.9 million in restitution to the IRS, separate from a $9.8 million debt he already owed to the California Public Utilities Commission.

For over a decade, Mr. Hines lied to the Internal Revenue Service, cheated the tax system, and stole from honest American taxpayers, Brian Payne, special agent in charge of IRS criminal investigations office in Tampa, said in written remarks after the sentencing. Mr. Hiness attempts to conceal assets and income to evade taxes were unsuccessful and a tough lesson that came with significant consequences.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Ponte Vedra sentenced to year in prison, $1.9M IRS debt for tax evasion
The Singapore police investigated over 19,000 cases involving money mules from 2020 to 2022, but fewer than 250 of those cases resulted in prosecution. (PHOTO:Getty Images)

SINGAPORE  Out of over 19,000 cases in Singapore involving money mules - people who facilitate the movement of scam monies - from 2020 to 2022, fewer than 250 of them resulted in prosecution.

To empower the Singapore police in tackling money mules, as well as those who abuse Singpass accounts for scams and other crimes, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) tabled amendments to the Corruption, Drug Trafficking and Other Serious Crimes (Confiscation of Benefits) Act (CDSA) and the Computer Misuse Act were in Parliament on Tuesday (18 April).

MHA, together with the Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO), said that a large number of money mules could not be charged, due to difficulties in proving their intent to facilitate criminal activities.

The proposed amendments will seek to add new offences of rash or negligent money laundering, which will enable money mules with lower culpabilities to be charged.

MHA and SNDGO also warned against the trend of selling Singpass passwords to scam syndicates.

"Our payment accounts, including bank accounts and Singpass accounts, are for our use," they said in a media release on the introduction of the amendments.

"They should not be used by another person, especially if we do not know who the other party is or what the transactions are for."

Crackdown on money mules

The number of scam cases in Singapore has skyrocketed by more than five times, to nearly 32,000 reports between 2018 and 2022, according to CNA.

And it's not just the frequency of the scams that is concerning; in 2022 alone, victims lost a staggering S$660.7 million, a 4.5 per cent increase from the previous year.

Criminal syndicates often rely on money mules to carry out their dirty work, using the mules' bank accounts to transfer funds.

Until now, many of these money mules escape charges because the prosecution must prove that the money mules know or have reasonable grounds to believe that their bank accounts are linked to criminal activity.

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To combat this, authorities are proposing new offences, including rash and negligent money laundering, as well as assisting in retaining criminal benefits.

For example, a person responds to a job advertisement offering an attractive commission for receiving and transferring money through his bank account. In this case, he may be liable for prosecution if he does not take steps to understand the origin or destination of the money.

"A person who acted negligently by continuing with a transaction despite the presence of red flags that are noticeable by an ordinary, reasonable person, can also be liable for an offence," MHA and SNDGO said.

Combating Singpass abuse

Authorities also propose amendments to the Computer Misuse Act to address Singpass abuse. Singpass is an online account that provides access to government services in Singapore.

Criminals who obtain Singpass credentials can use them to engage in fraudulent activities such as registering companies, opening bank accounts, and signing up for new phone lines.

The proposed changes to the Act will introduce new offences that criminalise the disclosure of Singpass credentials for unlawful purposes.

Those who disclose their Singpass credentials while knowing, or having reasonable grounds to believe, that the disclosure was for an offence can be prosecuted.

Those who give away their credentials will be presumed to have broken the law if they receive any gain, know that the disclosure would likely cause wrongful loss, or do not make reasonable efforts to find out the identity and location of the recipient.

One of the suggested new offences is the disclosure of a user's own Singpass credentials to facilitate an offence, which can result in a jail term of up to three years and/or a fine of up to $10,000.

Reinforcing message to Singpass users

MHA and SNDGO said that the proposed provisions reinforce the message that Singpass users must be careful and exercise due diligence with their Singpass credentials.

They clarified that the proposed amendments are not intended to capture those who share their Singpass credentials for lawful purposes or were genuinely tricked into giving up their credentials.

Currently, those who give up their Singpass credentials can be charged with unauthorised disclosure of an access code under the Computer Misuse Act.

Another proposed offence is obtaining, retaining, supplying, offering to supply, transmitting or making available another person's Singpass credentials to commit or facilitate the commission of an offence.

First-time offenders can be jailed for up to three years and/or fined up to $10,000. Repeat offenders face a jail term of up to five years and/or a fine of up to $20,000.

Singpass' Digital IC interface. (SCREENSHOT: GovTech)

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Trenton Lehrkamp Courtesy Lehrkamp family

The family of 19-year-old Trenton Lehrkamp, who was left at a Georgia hospital barely breathing and covered in urine and spray paint last month, slammed authorities after they dismissed claims that he had been tortured by a group of teens.

"Today it was evident that [authorities] wanted to address and correct what the kids didn't do, but not recognize or acknowledge the fact of what was done to Trent," the family said in a statement Monday evening after Glynn County officials announced arrests in the case. "At the end of the day, he was mistreated in inhumane ways."

Officials have accused James C. Strother, 46, and Lauren C. Strother, 57, of maintaining a disorderly house and contributing to the delinquency or dependency of a minor, both misdemeanor offenses, in connection with the investigation into what happened to Lehrkamp. Three teens, including two whose names were not released because of their age, are also facing misdemeanor charges for battery and drug-related offenses, though police said one of those individuals was being charged for a separate incident involving a different victim.

Disturbing images from high school gatherings at the Strothers' house in the small coastal community of St. Simons Island showed four boys standing over Lehrkamp  who was passed out in a chair with his face covered, an orange substance on his clothes, and a sluglike object on his lap  and a boy spraying a water hose at his head. As the images circulated on social media, sparking outrage and calls for justice for Lehrkamp, so too did rumors about what had happened to the 19-year-old. But on Monday, District Attorney Keith Higgins dismissed many of the claims, including that Lehrkamp had been defecated and urinated on, as misinformation.

Higgins also said that Lehrkamp "consented to be washed off" with the water hose after engaging in "an egg fight" on March 17 and "voluntarily drank alcohol until he blacked out" the night of March 21, when he ended up at the hospital.

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"No one poured acid down his throat, no one beat him, no one choked him, no one tortured him," the district attorney said.

In their statement, the family said Lehrkamp had clearly been "humiliated" and made to be "the joke of social media videos," calling the teens' alleged treatment of him "disgusting."

"We don't believe that confirming it wasn't feces on him, urine on him, or no battery acid down his throat makes this any better," the family said. "A vulnerable 19 year old was made to be a sick joke of someones disgusting fun and games."

The family also said they shared a video with police from the night he came home "dripping wet from behind hosed."

"It is hard to believe and it was the first the family heard that he consented to being hosed down," the family said. "He was visibly passed out in that video while being hosed, doesn't seem to make sense someone would consent."

The statement said the family has reached back out to the investigators. A representative for the Glynn County Police Department did not immediately respond to BuzzFeed News' request for comment. Through a spokesperson, Higgins, the district attorney, declined to comment on the family's statement.

Trenton Lehrkamp (right) is pictured with his sister and father as they travel to the out-of-state facility where he is continuing his recovery. Courtesy Lehrkamp family

The charges announced on Monday came nearly a month after three teens dropped Lehrkamp off at the emergency room at the Southeast Georgia Health System in Brunswick. At the time, Lehrkamp was breathing just six times per minute, according to a police report about the March 21 incident, and his blood alcohol level was 0.464. After providing their names and phone numbers to the hospital, the teens left as Lehrkamp was rushed to the ICU and placed on a ventilator.

At the hospital, Lehrkamps father, Mark Lehrkamp, told police that his son had been at a friends, whose name was redacted from the report, and that this was not the first time he returned from the friends house with injuries. On March 17, his son came home covered in WD-40, vomit, paint, glue, egg yolk, and spray paint, Mark Lehrkamp said. And two weeks before that, he had to take his son to the ER to get stitches for a laceration above his left eye.

He never returns home normal, he said, according to the report.

In their statement on Monday, the family said that since the March 21 incident, he has shared other instances where "things of this nature have happened."

"Other parents have also come forward or made contact to inform the family he is not alone, and that their kids have also been in situations with these kids," the family said. "Trent was not the only one, we want this to happen to noone else. Through this continued awareness, hopefully this is the end of it."

Theawanza Brooks, who organized demonstrations in support of Lehrkamp, told BuzzFeed News that while she's happy that officials have finally made arrests in this case, their explanation for what happened to him and insistence that he consented to certain things "doesn't add up." Brooks's nephew was Ahmaud Arbery, whose 2020 murder in Glynn County also prompted protests and criticism of the local justice system.

"I've never in my life seen someone that can get to that high of intoxication and be able to consent to things happening to him," Brooks, 38, said by phone Wednesday.

She added that she doesn't see how he could have consented to the photo being taken of him passed out with "things all over his body" or how if this was a group "egg fight" then why he was the only one seen in the video being hosed down.

"I just feel like it's just another situation where they just wanted to be able to come forward and say they did their due diligence, they investigated," Brooks said. "Now they kind of just want everybody to be quiet and go away."

Trenton has since been recovering at an out-of-state facility. In their statement, the family clarified that he is not being treated for alcohol or drug addiction.

"Rest assured Trent is getting good care, however there are bad days filled with anxiety and fear," the family said. "He is working through the trauma and ptsd, past losses and the grief that comes with that."

More on this
How close is too close? For one driver, it resulted in a collision with a Georgia State Patrol car.

[DOWNLOAD: Free WSB-TV News app for alerts as news breaks]

Around 3 p.m. on Tuesday, a trooper was driving in the I-75 north express lane near the interchange with I-575 in Cobb County.

Officials said as traffic started to slow down, the trooper slowed down as well.

According to GSP, a driver in a silver Dodge Ram was traveling too close behind the trooper, and ended up hitting the back of the patrol car.

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In a Facebook post, the Georgia Department of Public Safety sent a reminder to drivers to maintain adequate distance when traveling.

The trooper did suffer minor injuries due to the crash. Officials did not say if the driver was charged or cited.

The drivers identity was not released.

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IN OTHER NEWS:
A crash left two people dead and more injured after a truck hit people getting out of their cars on a Georgia interstate, police said.

At about 5:15 a.m. on Tuesday, April 18, 21-year-old Eduarda Cristina Romano DaSilva was driving her Honda Civic on I-75 outside Atlanta when she got a flat tire, according to a news release from the Marietta Police Department.

Police said she drove her Civic into the far left lane of the interstate and stopped.

After she pulled over, a Toyota Rav4 driven by a 59-year-old Victor Parra hit Romano DaSilvas car, police said. His car then spun out of control and stopped on the interstate facing the wrong direction, according to the police department.

Parra and Romano DaSilva both got out of their cars, police said.

Then the two of them, as well as Parras Rav4, were rammed by a 72-year-old man from Indiana driving a Chevrolet Silverado, police said.

Parra and Romano DaSilva were both pronounced dead at the scene, police said. The 72-year-old truck driver and his passenger were taken to a hospital with minor injuries.

Two other vehicles drove through the wreckage and were damaged, according to police.

Police did not say whether any charges would be filed and said the crash remains under investigation.

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Fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan has killed about 270 people and wounded more than 2,600 as of Tuesday.







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Floridas Republican Congress members are beginning to line up behind their picks for the 2024 Republican Presidential Nomination and so far, Former President Donald Trump has the edge among Floridas Republican delegation.

Of Floridas 20 Republican US Representatives, seven have endorsed Former President Donald Trump for the 2024 GOP Presidential nomination.

Among them, are Representatives Matt Gaetz, Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Greg Steube, Byron Donalds, Brian Mast, and Northeast Floridas John Rutherford.

DeSantis has secured the backing of only one Florida Congressmember: Former Florida Secretary of State Laurel Lee, who was appointed to her previous position by DeSantis.

Thats not great. Its kind of like losing game one of a seven-game series, said UNF political science professor Dr. Michael Binder.

Binder argues the endorsements dont carry much weight on their own, but the trend toward Trump could reflect who Republicans are considering to be the safest bet to win the nomination.

Because, as we all know, both DeSantis and Trump have long memories about who supports them and who doesnt, said Binder.

But Binder noted 12 Florida Republican US Representatives and the states two US Senators have not yet endorsed Trump or DeSantis.

Among those yet to endorse are Northeast Floridas Aaron Bean, Kat Cammack and Michael Waltz.

We reached out to all three and asked if theyd decided who to back, but none responded.

Binder suggested the fact DeSantis hasnt officially announced a run could be contributing to lawmakers hesitancy to publicly support his candidacy.

Whats the incentive of the elected official? You havent even said that youre gonna run yet. So, what if you decide not to run if the winds turn against you and then youre really left hung out to dry, said Binder.

While Binder argued the endorsements of Floridas Congressional members arent likely to sway Iowa, New Hampshire, or South Carolina voters en mass, failure to secure the backing of elected officials in ones own state could potentially scare off big money donors.

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And that, he said, could be a difference maker for a Presidential run.

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Former president Trumps lead over Florida governor Ron DeSantis in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up has shrunk by ten points in the last two weeks, according to a new Yahoo News/YouGov poll.

News of Trumps indictment by a Manhattan grand jury previously turbocharged his standing in the 2024 GOP primary, with Trump leading DeSantis by 26 percentage points just two weeks ago among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.

But a new poll conducted between April 14 and April 17, found Trump leading DeSantis 52 percent to 36 percent, or 16 percentage points. While DeSantis has not formally jumped into the race, he is widely seen as Trumps most formidable 2024 opponent.

Still, Trumps lead remains twice as large as it was in polling by Yahoo News and YouGov in late February and mid March. In early February, DeSantis even sat ahead of Trump, 45 percent to 41 percent.

When placed up against the entire GOP primary field however,Trump now notches 49 percent support  just weeks after sitting in the majority with 52 percent.

Forty-nine percent of Republican voters said they would prefer Trump to someone else as the partys nominee. Thirty-nine percent said they would prefer someone else, while another 12 percent said they were unsure.

Two weeks ago, 42 percent of Americans approved of Trump being indicted for falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to a porn star. Now, that number is 47 percent. Disapproval of the indictment fell two points to 37 percent. A majority of registered voters believe Trump committed a crime in the hush-money case, while 34 percent say he did not.

The poll comes as Team Trump has leaned into the indictment, going so far as to sell T-shirts featuring an artificially created mugshot of the former president above the phrase, NOT GUILTY.

Trump pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts of falsifying business records after an investigation by the Manhattan district attorneys office into a hush-money payment made to porn actress Stormy Daniels. When he surrendered to authorities in New York earlier this month, he was fingerprinted but did not have a mugshot taken, leaving the campaign to create its own.

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The campaign claims to have raked in more than $15 million since news of the indictment broke late last month.

Trump returned to Mar-a-Lago after surrendering to authorities and gave a speech about his legal woes. During the address, a sign on the former presidents podium asked viewers to text a number that would direct them to a campaign-fundraising page. As the never-ending witch hunts heat up, please make a contribution to defend our movement and SAVE America, the page read.

More from National Review
REUTERS/David 'Dee' Delgado

Allen Weisselberg, the tax-dodging Trump Organization chief financial officer who refused to flip on his boss and chose jail instead, was released from New York Citys Rikers Island jail on Wednesday.

The 75-year-old, whose family members feared he would have a difficult time in the violence-ridden and filthy jail complex, spent his entire stay there at a relatively docile jail subdivision reserved for the sick and elderly, called West Facility.

The accountant had been former President Donald Trumps trusted money man for decades, cutting real estate deals and managing cash flowfor a company that was convicted of tax fraud at trial and is now under investigation for maintaining fake business records, inflating property values, and defrauding banks and insurance companies.

After a Manhattan jury convicted two Trump Organization affiliatesthe Trump Corporation and Trump Payroll Corporationthey were fined $1.6 million for cheating on taxes in January. Weisselberg took a plea deal and testified at that trial, scoring himself a lower jail sentence for taking part in the scheme.

Why the Trump Org Suddenly Fired Its Jailed Money Mans Lawyer

He served only two-thirds of his five month sentence, released early on good behavior after 99 days behind bars. That special treatment is standard in New York State.

Anyone who truly knows Allen feels sorry that he had to go through this. I hope he can now retire in peace, spend time with his wonderful family, and leave the circus in the rear view mirror. It was my honor and privilege to have represented him. Hes a true gentleman, said Nicholas Gravante, a top New York lawyer who defended him in court.

City jail records that showed he was still imprisoned on Tuesday were updated on Wednesday to show that he had been released by 8:45 a.m. Where and when he was released remains unclear. Earlier this week, the citys Corrections Department initially entertained questions about standard release procedures but would not respond when told The Daily Beast was interested in monitoring Weisselbergs exit.

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During his time in jail, the Manhattan District Attorneys Office continued to pressure Weisselberg to turn on his former bossdangling the possibility of insurance fraud charges to get him to talk about his role in Trumps sex hush money payment to a porn star, according to three people familiar with those conversations.

But in March, The Daily Beast revealed that the Trump Organization promptly ran interference on that by swapping out his trial lawyer, Gravante, and replacing him with one that seemed less open to having friendly conversations with prosecutors: Seth L. Rosenberg. The DA later had a Manhattan grand jury indict Trump anyway.

Trump Org CFO to Spend 5 Hellish Months on Rikers Island

In what several people have noted had mob-like undertones, Trump repeatedly spoke out in support of his loyal accountant during his time in jail.

In March, Trump claimed on his network Truth Social that the Manhattan DA was harassing and tormenting my 75 year old employee who they have thrown in jail, trying to force him to say something bad (lie!) about me.

Weisselberg no longer has an official job at the Trump Organization but is still expected to get a handsome payout for remaining loyal to the company, according to two sources familiar with the situation.

Read more at The Daily Beast.

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Former President Trump and his team have in recent weeks settled with an approach that has for now staved off the threat of a challenger displacing him atop Republican primary polls.

The strategy has been a mixture of pointed attacks on rivals, namely Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), over past policy positions, as well as Trumps usual fire-and-brimstone approach in lashing out against critics and investigations into his conduct.

The result so far has been a strong fundraising haul that was boosted in the aftermath of Trumps indictment in New York City, as well as a slew of congressional endorsements that have served to solidify the former presidents standing atop the Republican Party.

In general, I think the party is better with somebody new and fresh and Trump comes with a lot of baggage but he does seem to be more disciplined this time, said Dan Eberhart, a Republican donor who is backing DeSantis.

The former president has released a series of video messages on social media outlining his campaign platform on issues like immigration, Ukraine and dismantling the deep state. While the videos often feature exaggerated claims or proposals that would not pass muster with Congress, they reflect the campaigns desire to push the former presidents ideas directly out into the public.

Trump, who has typically been known for making personal attacks and labeling opponents with derisive nicknames, has surprised some with a barrage of policy-based attacks against DeSantis in particular, seeking to thwart the Florida governors momentum before he officially enters the race.

In speeches and through campaign ads, the former president has targeted DeSantis over his past votes and comments about reforming Social Security and Medicare, as well as his past votes on ethanol standards, which are both issues that could hurt the governor with voters in Iowa.

In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Trump also told attendees it was time to change our thinking on issues like mail-in voting, an acknowledgment of the importance of banking votes ahead of Election Day and a stark reversal from the former presidents insistence in 2020 that mail ballots were rife with fraud.

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The Trump campaign is on a roll particularly with messaging. Not only are they sucking all of the oxygen out of the GOP base, but they are directing the conversation, and the DeSantis folks are in catch-up mode, said Ford OConnell, a Florida based Republican strategist.

Trump has not abandoned the kind of over-the-top rhetoric that both enthralls his supporters and scares off independents, however.

The former president delivered a speech after his indictment in New York City earlier this month littered with grievances about the myriad investigations hes facing and attacking the Manhattan judge overseeing his case, as well as the judges family.

On Truth Social, Trump still periodically digs in on his unfounded belief that the 2020 election was rigged against him and lashes out at former officials who appear on television. Most recently, Trump has attacked former Attorney General William Barr and former chief of staff Mick Mulvaney.

And in a move more in line with Trumps typical brash style, a Trump-aligned super PAC released an ad mocking DeSantis over a Daily Beast report that he once ate pudding with his fingers during a flight.

One former Trump campaign official pointed to national poll numbers that show Trump with a healthy lead over his potential rivals to argue the former president still has a strong grip on the partys electorate.

A FiveThirtyEight average of national GOP primary polls shows Trump receiving 49 percent of the vote, with DeSantis a distant second at 26 percent.

But the official pointed to Trumps indictment and the other looming investigations as the types of issues that could continue to give some voters pause as they wonder whether the former president is the best candidate for Republicans to win back the White House.

Trumps latest strategy comes as his battle with DeSantis intensifies. The super PAC backing DeSantis, known as Never Back Down, released its first television ad on Sunday titled What Happened to Donald Trump? Additionally, the group rolled out an online spot hitting Trump over gun rights as announced and potential 2024 contenders addressed the National Rifle Association convention last week.

In a statement to The Hill, the groups communications director Erin Perrine likened Trumps airing of grievances to Festivus.

Governor DeSantis isnt even an announced candidate, and Donald Trump is absolutely obsessed with attacking Americas most successful Republican governor, Perrine said. Governor DeSantis continues to rack up wins for the people of Florida while Donald Trump airs grievances about his losing record like its Festivus.

Trumps Republican critics push back on the notion that his strategy has changed in any way since 2020, arguing that his 2024 campaign is still a compilation of his greatest hits.

It doesnt really feel like theyve settled on a particular strategy right now, said Brian Seitchik, an Arizona-based GOP strategist and Trump campaign alum. While some may argue Trump is more disciplined today, I have little doubt hes going to revert back to 16 Donald Trump.

Seitchik noted that Trumps use of targeted, personal attacks has been a successful part of his playbook, particularly in crowded Republican primaries.

Thats how he beat 16, 17 career politicians in 2016, so I think thats where were eventually headed, he said.

DeSantis was on Capitol Hill Tuesday for an event with lawmakers, an indication that his support could be growing in Congress. So far, only a small handful of Republicans in Congress have formally thrown their support behind the Florida governor, but several were expected to attend the event with DeSantis on Tuesday, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee (R).

While polls show Trump as the clear frontrunner in the national primary, DeSantiss allies point to state level polls showing him leading Biden in a hypothetical general election matchup. A poll from the GOP firm Public Opinion Strategies released on Monday found the governor leading the president by 3 points in Pennsylvania and by 6 points in Arizona. Trump, meanwhile, loses to Biden by 4 points in Pennsylvania and by 1 point in Arizona.

But Trumps supporters argue that the former presidents congressional endorsements are a sign of his grip on the party. On Monday and Tuesday, Trump picked up several more endorsements from GOP members of the House and Senate. He currently has more than three dozen congressional endorsements.

Eberhart said that DeSantis cannot continue to let Trump define him as he inches closer to a 2024 announcement.

To me, DeSantis is making the same mistakes Mitt Romney made in 2012, which is allowing his opponent to define him, he said. We havent seen, what does a DeSantis punch look like?

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Photo Illustration by Luis G. Rendon/The Daily Beast/Getty

The cold war between former President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is turning hotterand messierby the day. And allies trying to stay neutral are quickly finding out that, at least in the eyes of Trumpworld, you cant be Switzerland.

Jenna Ellis, who served as a senior Trump legal adviser after the 2020 election, is the latest Republican to play both sides and get burned. She has carefully been trying to navigate the two power bases of the modern GOP, tweeting nice things about Trump and DeSantis while also trying to maintain friendships in both camps. But in Trumpworldwhere loyalty seems to mean complete devotion to TrumpEllis is getting more than a taste of the wrath of the former presidents die-hard supporters.

Six sources close to Trump spoke to The Daily Beast for this story. And while two sources who maintain regular contact with the former president said Ellis hadnt been much of a focus, everyone noted that her warm entreaties to DeSantisland hadnt gone unnoticed.

It all started when she went to a DeSantis event at Doral and made it a point to post pictures of herself with his social media influencers, almost like she was trying to rub it in, a source in Trumps inner orbit told The Daily Beast. Now shes regretting her transgressions. Fuck around and find out.

DeSantis Tosses Out Idea for State Prison Next to Disney World

When it comes to Trump personally, two sources that regularly speak to the former president said hes currently down on Ellis.

He thinks shes a terrible lawyer, hes very down on her, a Trump adviser told The Daily Beast. He thinks now he has great lawyers. She wasnt one of them.

Where does she go from here? the adviser continued. You know where she is going to go from here? Twitter.

Notably, some Trumpworld staffers told The Daily Beast they were interested in escalating the war of words, which they recognized was getting worse and worse. (A Trump campaign spokesperson didnt return The Daily Beasts request for comment on this story. The former president, known for sending comments to media outletsincluding The Daily Beastwhen stories are being prepared on those in his good graces, also didnt share a comment on Ellis.)

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With Trumps orbit directing increasing levels of hostility at DeSantisand DeSantis finally beginning to take his own shotsaides and allies who were once able to not take a side are now forced to do so. There is a vanishing middle groundand Ellis is the latest proof that those who are friendly with both worlds might soon be on the outs with Trump.

Reached for comment, Elliswho recently had Lara Trump, Liz Harrington, and Trump himself on her podcastacknowledged that parts of Trumps inner circle were trying to push her out.

Trumpworld Attacks DeSantis Over Not Condemning Looming Trump Indictment

If people around him are so desperate they want to try to ice me out for perceived lack of loyalty, have at it. Loyalty is a two-way street, she told The Daily Beast. I declined to work for the Trump 2024 Campaign and in other capacities. Im principled, so I wont participate in the false attacks against the best Republican governor in the country.

I like Gov. DeSantis and I like President Trump, Ellis continued. But only one side is calling me a porn star and wont denounce sexual harassment. I dont think this strategy will ultimately help Trump.

What Ellis was referring to are attacks by Trump-aligned consultant Alex Bruesewitz. The young MAGA flamethrower has become one of Elliss loudest critics, going back and forth for weeks on Twitter with Ellis. But those attacks culminated in Bruesewitz posting a meme with Stormy Daniels face superimposed onto Ellis body. Jebba Ellis, the meme said, digging for gold.

In the wake of that meme, Ellis employer, American Family Association, sent both Bruesewitz and Caitlyn Jenner, who also posted the since-deleted meme, a cease and desist letter.

(Jenneran outspoken Trump supporterdeclined to comment through a spokesperson when reached by The Daily Beast.)

The meme is defamatory and actionable, lawyer Abraham Hamilton III said in the letter to Bruesewitz, which was obtained by The Daily Beast. It is also an unlawful use of AFRs intellectual property.

Ellis has subsequently argued that the meme equates to a targeted harassment campaign. Trump 2024s message to women like me and Erin Perrine: Youre either 100% in all the time or you deserve to be harassed, Ellis tweeted, lumping herself in with the Trump campaigns former communications director who recently joined a pro-DeSantis super PAC.

Other MAGAWorld allies appear to have noted the online squabbling between Ellis and Bruesewitz, too.

REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene wrote that online personal fights between Trump and DeSantis influencers needs to stop, to which Ellis replied that the former president himself has been behind attacks against DeSantis.

Tell HIM to stop, too, Ellis tweeted at Greene.

Bruesewitz, meanwhile, has stuck to his guns, and defended his actions to The Daily Beast.

Memeing is not harassing, he said. Jenna Ellis attacks people on Twitter all the time, she should get thicker shin if she wants to stand in the arena. And to be clear, I didnt make any of the memes. She sent me a cease and desist letter for sharing a meme that was posted by numerous accounts already. What a joke.

That said, Ellis hasnt backed down either and instead has dragged former Trump spokesman-turned-top Trumpworld operative Taylor Budowich into the spat, calling on him to denounce Bruesewitz.

Ellis seems to have triggered Trumpworld for a variety of reasons. For one, those in Trumps orbit point to her backtracking when it comes to claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, which many of Trumps lieutenantsand the former president himselfcontinue to falsely push. For another, theres just a perceived lack of loyalty, multiple sources said. Speaking highly of DeSantis seems to be just as bad as talking ill of Trump.

Back in 2019, Ellis came out of nowhere to defend Trump in a number of high-profile legal battles.

But since then, the conservative lawyer has changed her tune. She has used her platform to speak out against MAGAworld attacks on DeSantis, delighting some fans of the Florida governor and infuriating some of Trumps most loyal supporters.

This past March, Ellis admitted in Colorado court documents that she made misrepresentations related to baseless claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, including her claim that Trump won in a landslide and that there was a coordinated effort to manipulate the ballots, to count them in secret. She was later censured.

Seemingly from that point on, Ellis has become more vocal in speaking out against moves made by her former boss. And Trump loyalists escalated their own attacks.

In late March, the official Trump campaigns War Room account took a jab at Ellis after she replied to the Trump account with a fact-check on DeSantis.

False, Ellis wrote in response to a tweet sent out by the Trump operation, when the account alleged that DeSantis was using taxpayer dollars to fund his book tour. This isnt taxpayer funded. Every head of state has a political arm, like DJT when he was a head of state. Taxpayers didnt pay for his rallies.

Ron DeSantis Book Tour Looks Like Amateur Hour

The Trump campaign Twitter account was quick to fire back with a pithy but effective counter: Please give more legal advice.

Ellis is by no means the first Trump loyalist eyeing a DeSantis exit. Perrine was director of press communications for Trumps re-election bidin addition to formerly working for now-Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA)and she is now firmly in DeSantis camp. Ditto for another former House staffer who went to work for Trump: Matt Wolking.

Wolking was the deputy communications director for Trumps re-election campaign, and the man behind many of the Trump War Room tweets in 2020. Hes also departed to work for the same pro-DeSantis super PAC as Perrine. (Wolkings Twitter banner photo, to this day, is a tweet from Trump wishing him a happy birthday.)

But Ellis hasnt even gone that far. Instead, shes just tried to praise both men. And for that, shes learning what being on the wrong side of Trump can mean.

Shes just been iced out by the president and his lieutenants over the perceived lack of loyalty, one Trumpworld operative close to the former presidents campaign operation said.

Asked if Ellis had sought a job from the Trump campaign, a source close to Trump said the only work Ellis could find is that of a DeSantis social media influencer who takes orders from a registered foreign agent, a reference to DeSantis campaign official Christina Pushaw.

Pushaw did not respond to a request for comment via text.

What happens to a former Trump girl who goes against Trump? a previously mentioned Trump adviser said. You get to go on the TV!

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Fox News host Tucker Carlson cracked a smile as he listened to Elon Musk describe slashing 80 per cent of Twitters employees after taking over.

Turns out you dont need all that many people to run Twitter, Mr Musk said. If youre not trying to run some kind of glorified activist organisation, and youre not caring that much about censorship, you can really let go of a lot of people it turns out.

.@TuckerCarlson asked @elonmusk how he was able to cut 80% of Twitter staff.



Elons answer?



If youre not trying to run some sort of glorified activist organization and you dont care that much about censorship, you can really let go of a lot of people, it turns out.



Spot on pic.twitter.com/YbobS8ow8P  Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) April 18, 2023

Carlson, in an interview that aired this week on the network, called the layoffs one of the great business stories of the year, and recounted a story of having dinner with an executive who praised Mr Musk for firing the staff stuff.

During the conversation, Mr Musk referred to the thousands of employees who were fired or quit as part of a Twitter organisation that was absurdly over-staffed, and said running the company was as simple as a glorified group text.

As The Independent reports, many Twitter employees were let go with little warning, leaving some of the companys workers on employment visas in limbo.

"It was like this tidal wave coming across the United States, advancing towards you, and you had no idea if you were going to be drowned or if you were standing on high enough ground to escape this," 48-year-old data scientist Melissa Ingle told The Independent in December.

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Mr Musks conversation with Fox News featured a number of other eye-catching moments.

In one section, the Twitter owner claimed abortion and birth control were bringing about the collapse of civilization because of their purported impacts on population rates.

(Despite the mass production of oral contraceptives and hormonal birth control methods, the human population has actually more than doubled in the last 50 years from 2.5 billion to 8 billion, according to the United Nations.)

In another aside, Mr Musk said he was one of the people most likely to find evidence of alien life, but hadnt seen any so far.

I would immediately tweet it out, he said. That would probably be the top tweet of all time, found one guys.

The high-profile interview with the tech mogul came as Fox News was in the spotlight for other reasons, principally its $787m settlement of a defamation lawsuit from Dominion Voting Systems for its inaccurate 2020 election reporting.
A memorial to Pierre Scott outside of Lanphier High School

In a tumultuous courtroom scene Wednesday, the 16-year-old convicted in the November 17, 2021, fatal stabbing of Lanphier High School senior Pierre V. Scott Jr. outside of the school was sentenced to 43 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections.

The sentence for Kamyjah A. Bias included 30 years for first-degree murder which she will have to serve at 100%. Bias will be eligible for parole after 20 years.

While Cyhila Brookens, Scott's mother, was giving a victim impact statement, Bias angrily stood up, pounded the defense table and knocked over a podium. Some witnesses said Bias appeared to try to make her way to the witness stand before she was subdued by court authorities.

More: Teen guilty on all counts in case of 2021 fatal stabbing of Lanphier student

Bias and Brookens were cleared from the courtroom, as were several spectators. After a 10-minute recess, Bias returned in handcuffs and shackles.

Sangamon County sheriff's deputies stood guard when the proceeding resumed, including several positioned in the well of the court. About half a dozen Springfield Police officers who were attending the sentencing were moved from the gallery to the well.

Sangamon County Chief Circuit Judge Ryan Cadagin called Bias' behavior "outrageous." Cadagin warned Bias if there was another outburst that she would be taken to a more secure courtroom and placed in a glass enclosure for the proceeding.

Spectators packing the courtroom, many family members and friends of both the defendant and the two victims, were warned about not recording or disrupting the proceedings.

At least two people were later escorted from the gallery by a sheriff's deputy.

Bias also was given 10 years for the attempted murder of Daquan R. Dunn, another Lanphier student, who was stabbed in the chest just after Scott was fatally stabbed.

Bias was handed three years for unlawful use of a weapon.

The sentence amounts to 40 years because Bias will serve attempted murder sentence at 85% and the unlawful use of a weapon sentence at 50%. The sentences will run consecutively.

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At the time of the incident, Bias was a 15-year old student at Douglas-PREP, though she attended classes in the afternoon at Lanphier.

The case was initially filed in juvenile court because of Bias' age, but Sangamon County state's attorney Dan Wright petitioned to transfer the charges to adult criminal court. That petition was granted on April 12, 2022.

Bias was convicted during a two-day bench trial in February.

Bias could have been sentenced up to 90 years in prison, but the State would have had to have met certain legal criteria.

At trial, attorney Gregory Sronce argued that Bias acted in self-defense and that there was "objective evidence" that Scott, Dunn and others intended to confront her after school.

Bias testified that she didn't know either Scott or Dunn but admitted that her younger brother attended Washington Middle School with Scott's younger brother and the two "had a beef with each other."

At the time, first assistant state's attorney Derek Dion labelled Bias' trial testimony "flatly incredible and patently self-serving," adding that Scott didn't pose a threat to Bias, nor did he have a weapon on him.

Kendra Hansel, the juvenile division/child protection division chief for the state's attorney's office, said videos from Lanphier and First Student bus company played at the trial "were the best sources of evidence" against Bias.

Scott, who had just turned 18, was set to graduate and had designs on being a bricklayer. School District 186 officials recognized Scott and his family at Lanphier's graduation ceremony in 2022.

At Wednesday's sentencing, Dion reminded the court of Bias' "maliciousness" towards Scott's family, specifically in a Snapchat video where Bias mocked Scott's uncle who had recently died of COVID-19. Bias testified that she didn't know the man was Scott's uncle.

Dion said Bias lacked remorse, proclaiming after stabbing Scott, "I hope he dies."

Dion urged the court to craft "a just sentence, a sentence that tells every child, every family and every school in our community that we hear you. School violence will not be tolerated and those who want to bring a knife or a gun school to cause murder and mayhem in a place where students and staff should feel safe will face the harshest penalties of the law because our society has had enough."

In an emotional statement, Brookens urged Cadagin to give Bias the maximum sentence "because you took all that from me."

Facing the media afterwards, Brookens, standing next to Dunn's mother, Krishawna Acres, said justice was served.

"It's been a long time coming," Brookens said.

On Wednesday, Sronce told the court that a transfer court evaluation done on Bias showed she had "significant cognitive disabilities" and "perhaps reads and writes at a first-grade level."

"We're not dealing with a typical 15-year-old," said Sronce, referring to Bias' age at the time of the evaluation.

Sronce added that Bias had never been in front of any court as a juvenile until the murder proceedings.

In asking for the minimum sentence, Sronce pointed out the U.S. Supreme Court has opined that a juvenile "beyond rehabilitation is extremely rare. The Illinois Supreme Court also recognizes that."

Later, a contrite Bias apologized to the families.

More: 'Every vote counts': Two candidates eke out one-vote wins in county election finale

"If I could go back in time, I would take all this back," Bias said. "I didn't mean for this to happen.

"When I pray for me, I pray for you, too. I hope maybe one day you will forgive me, but you don't have to (because) I know it's hard."

"There is no punishment that the court could impose that would return Pierre Scott to his family or take away the emotional and physical trauma suffered by the other child victim in this case," Wright said afterwards. "We asked for the maximum sentence allowed by law under these circumstances and that was the sentence that was imposed.

"This was an incident that sent shockwaves throughout our community, not just with the Lanphier High School family and students and staff across District 186 but throughout our entire community. The acts of this defendant turned the school into a crime scene and created witnesses from children and staff and is something that will not be tolerated in our community.

"I think the trial in this case and the sentencing we saw today demonstrated that."

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788, sspearie@sj-r.com, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.

This article originally appeared on State Journal-Register: Kamyjah A. Bias was sentenced in court Wednesday for the killing of a Lanphier student
Social media users have alleged that US President Joe Biden tweeted plans to briefly visit Nigeria on his way to an official visit to Northern Ireland in April 2023. The claim started circulating days after Nigerian author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie wrote an op-ed addressed to Biden condemning the United States for congratulating Nigerias president-elect Bola Tinubu on his victory at the polls. But the claim is false: there is no tweet on Bidens official Twitter account announcing the visit. The West African country did not figure on Bidens itinerary either before or during his trip to Northern Ireland. Additionally, his official public calendar does not list an April visit to Nigeria.

Nigeria is a country my government holds dear in Africa. I have decided to pay a quick visit on my way to Northern Ireland (sic), reads a tweet posted on April 12, 2023, allegedly from Biden's official account.

The tweet, which has been liked more than 300 times, was posted by an account that regularly shares content in support of Tinubu.

A screenshot showing the false tweet, taken on April 14, 2023

The post, addressed to Nigeria, also read: "With deep concern I read your grievances regarding your just concluded Presidential elections as conveyed by the ever lovely @ChimamandaReal [Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie]."

Similar claims also appeared elsewhere on Twitter and Facebook.

Adichie, an award-winning Nigerian novelist, has authored several books including "Americanah" and "Half of a Yellow Sun".

The writer, who supported the Labour Partys Peter Obi in the presidential election, criticised the US for congratulating Tinubu in an op-ed piece (archived here) addressed to Biden.

Nigerias electoral commission declared Tinubu the winner of the presidential poll held on February 25, 2023.

The main opposition candidates, Obi and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party, have argued that widespread irregularities and rigging marred the election.

Both men have petitioned the election tribunal (archived here) with each claiming to have won.

Story continues

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has denied any illegal activity, although it acknowledged technical problems with the voting machines.

"Congratulating its outcome, President Biden, tarnishes Americas self-proclaimed commitment to democracy. Please do not give the sheen of legitimacy to an illegitimate process. The United States should be what it says it is," Adichie wrote in her op-ed.

But the claim that Biden said he would make a stopover in Nigeria on his way to Northern Ireland is false.

Doctored tweet

Biden arrived in Northern Ireland on April 11, 2023, where he was welcomed by British prime minister Rishi Sunak.

Unlike the false post claims, there is no tweet from @POTUS  the official verified Twitter account of the US president  from April 12, 2023, saying that Biden would visit Nigeria en route to Northern Ireland.

Tweets from the account on the day include Biden addressing workers about his plan to invest in America.

Another tweet showed him stepping down from his official aircraft as he arrived in Northern Ireland. Biden later delivered a speech in Northern Irelands capital, Belfast, to mark 25 years since the country signed a peace deal ending decades of sectarian violence.

Bidens travel schedule

AFP Fact Check also obtained a travel pool report, the document outlining Bidens agenda given to the press, showing that at no point in his trip did Biden take a detour to Nigeria.

According to his itinerary, Biden touched down in Belfast at 9:16pm local time on April 11, 2023.

A calendar showing Bidens public schedule (archived here) does not list him travelling to Nigeria.

A screenshot showing Bidens schedule on April 11 and 12, taken on April 15, 2023

A White House statement announced (archived here) that Biden would be in North Ireland from April 11-14, 2023. However, as of April 18, 2023, there was no announcement on the White House website (archived here) about a trip to Nigeria.
A former member of the 1980s boy band Menudo has alleged he was drugged and raped by the father of the Menendez brothers, whose trial for murdering their parents electrified the US 30 years ago.

Decades after Erik and Lyle Menendez murdered their parents, former teen pop star Roy Rossello has come forward with allegations of sexual abuse against the brothers father Jose Menendez. Mr Rossello made the bombshell revelations in a trailer for the upcoming docuseries Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, which delves into Rosellos accounts of the alleged abuse.

Menendez, the head of record label RCA, represented Mr Rossellos then-emerging Puerto Rican band Menudo.

Sexual abuse was at the centre of the Menendez brothers initial proceedings in 1993, which ended in a hung jury. Their defence argued that they committed the killings after their father threatened to kill them when they said theyd expose him for allegedly abusing them sexually and emotionally for years, while the prosecution portrayed them as privileged young men who killed their parents to inherit their multimillion-dollar estate.

A second jury found the Menendez brothers guilty of first-degree homicide in 1996 after a judge ruled that the sexual abuse argument was inadmissible. They were sentenced to life in prison and their appeals have been denied throughout the years.

In a teaser for the new documentary aired on the TODAY show, Mr Rossello recounts the alleged assault when visiting Menendezs Beverly Hills home, where the executive would be killed years later by his sons.

Its time for the world to know the truth, Mr Rossello, 51, says in the film, set to debut on 2 May on Peacock. I know what he did to me in his house.

Reacting to Mr Rossellos allegations, Erik Menendez said he regretted hearing another person had been impacted by his fathers alleged abuse.

A new docuseries coming to @Peacock puts the infamous case of the Menendez brothers back in the spotlight and includes explosive new allegations against their late father. @jacobsoboroff shares the details. pic.twitter.com/ofQDIfDDl0  TODAY (@TODAYshow) April 18, 2023

Its sad to know that there was another victim of my father, he says in a call featured in the series. I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad would come out, but I never wished for it to come out like this  the result of trauma that another child has suffered.

Story continues

The documentary largely focuses on reporting by journalists Robert Rand and Nery Ynclan.

Meanwhile, his brother said that Mr Rossellos testimony would have made a difference in their trial. Lyle Menendez even claimed to have some recollection of his father telling one of the Menudo singers that they needed to speak in private.

Roy Rossello, left, and journalist Robert Rand (Peacock/Screenshot)

Certainly that wouldve made an enormous difference, Lyle Menendez said in a separate call. My dad was one of the guys who was choosing and selecting the members of the new group. I remember him taking one of the kids and going off and saying he wanted to talk to him alone and they went off into the house upstairs.

Jose and Kitty Menendez were killed on 20 August 1989 as they watched TV in their Beverly Hills mansion. Prosecutors said that Jose Menendez was shot six times, while his wife was shot 10 times.

This 1992 file photo shows double murder defendants Erik, right, and Lyle Menendez during a court appearance in Los Angeles (AFP via Getty Images)

Lyle, then 22, and Erik, 19 at the time, bought two movie tickets for the film Licence to Kill to have an alibi and blamed the mafia for the murders.

They then went on a six-month spending spree with the familys fortune, until they were taken into custody after their confessions to a psychiatrist were leaked to authorities investigating the murders.

In their 1993 trial, Lyle testified that his father often raped him and his brother. The brothers defence also argued that they had been neglected by their mother.

Erik, left, and Lyle Menendez pictured in 2016 (AP Images / California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation)

Criminal defence attorney Alan Jackson told the Today Show that the Menendez brothers have to file a petition if they want Mr Rossellos account to be admitted as new evidence. However, Mr Jackson noted that the brothers have a complex journey ahead if they seek to have their charges downgraded to manslaughter.

The petition has to be reviewed by a supreme court judge, the judge has to grant a new trial, and the defence has to win at trial, Mr Jackson said. So, those procedural and factual hurdles, thats a big mountain to climb.
The city of San Francisco is not going to spend $1.7 million to build one public toilet after all. Its going to spend $1.7 million to build two, according to a new report.

San Francisco was the object of ridicule in October after it was reported that city leaders were prepared to announce $1.7 million in state money to build a single toilet in a 150-foot space at the Noe Valley Town Square. The plan became known locally as Toiletgate.

Now city leaders are concerned about Toiletgate 2.0 on the heels of a new proposal to use the same $1.7 million to build two loos  $300,000 to install a modular toilet donated to the city after the October kerfuffle, and another $1.4 million to build a second toilet in another city park, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Heather Knight reported Tuesday.

City supervisors agreed Tuesday to accept the $1.7 million in state money for the two toilets, but some are questioning if city bureaucrats have really done enough to cut red tape and keep the potty prices down, according to the Chronicle.

Im worried were heading to Toiletgate 2.0, Supervisor Joel Engardio told his colleagues, noting that a $1.4 million toilet isnt much better than a $1.7 million toilet.

The uproar around Toiletgate 1.0 stemmed from a Chronicle report in October that found that city leaders were planning an event at the Noe Valley Town Square to officially announce a $1.7 Million state budget win to build a small toilet facility there.

The toilet project, which was expected to take three years to complete, would require a committee from the citys Arts Commission to conduct a multi-phase review of the architecture plans, public feedback, and would be subject to review under the California Environmental Quality Act. The toilet would also be built by union workers who will earn a living wage and benefits, according to a joint statement from the Rec and Parks Department and the Department of Public Works. While this isnt the cheapest way to build, it reflects San Franciscos values, according to the two departments.

Story continues

The project received pushback, including from Governor Gavin Newsom, as people questioned how building a single toilet in San Francisco could cost as much as a single-family home. Newsome put the state funding on hold.

In the meantime, the president of Public Restroom Co., a private firm that specializes in prefab restroom buildings, offered to donate a modular toilet to be installed at Noe Valley, according to the Chronicle. Another firm, Volumetric Building Cos., offered free architecture and engineering support. They also offered to fund the installation of the toilet.

The citys cost: $300,000 for a landscape design firm.

With $1.4 million in state funds still on the table, the city decided to install a second modular toilet at Precita Park, a little over a mile east. The cost of the second toilet: $840,000 in construction costs and $560,000 in soft costs, or exactly $1.4 million.

According to the Chronicle, Supervisor Hillary Ronan said the second toilet would be so expensive because of the lack of plumbing and infrastructure at Precita Park. But shes glad the toilet will be built, because park users are peeing on neighbors doorsteps.

San Francisco, which is struggling with a troubling homelessness and public-defecation crisis, desperately needs more public toilets. A 2018 report in the Guardian questioned Why is San Francisco  covered in human feces? One city non-profit has turned old municipal buses into rolling showers and toilets to help with the problem.

San Francisco also has a history of overspending on seemingly mundane items. In 2021, the city spent nearly a half-million dollars to develop new trash can prototypes because city leaders werent happy with the look of off-the-shelf cans.

More from National Review
SANAA, April 20 (Xinhua) -- A stampede at an aid distribution center in Yemen's capital of Sanaa on Wednesday evening has claimed the lives of at least 80 people and left 220 others injured, according to Anis Al-Subaihi, spokesperson for the Houthi-led health ministry.

Abdul Khalik Al-Ajri, spokesperson for the Houthi-controlled interior ministry, told the Houthi-run Saba news that "the stampede accident was the result of the random distribution of sums of money by some merchants without coordination with the Ministry of Interior."

Many Yemenis, impoverished by years of conflicts, flocked to charity centers for basic needs as Eid al-Fitr, one of the most important festivals for Muslims, is approaching. 
UPDATE: PDC deputy director Kim Bradford sent an email Wednesday saying an official case against the City of Olympia has been opened regarding the two complaints. You can find case information on the PDCs website.

Olympia resident Robert Shirley is one of two people who have submitted formal complaints to the state Public Disclosure Commission, alleging that City of Olympia employees knowingly produced and mailed an election flier biased in support of the creation of a joint Regional Fire Authority with Tumwater.

Kim Bradford, deputy director of the PDC, told The Olympian two complaints have been filed against the mailer, the one by Shirley and another by Olympia resident Arthur West, an open government activist. Both complaints are still under assessment, she said, and cases have yet to be opened.

According to the complaint Shirley shared with The Olympian, he is alleging the Fact Sheet sent to peoples homes in Olympia and Tumwater goes against state law because it was drafted by a public office and appears to be in support of a political campaign. Along with that, the complaint alleges the city spent more than $20,000 in combined costs for printing and distributing.

Shirleys complaint says the flier sent by the city doesnt include all the information necessary, nor does it provide a link to the 31-page RFA plan. Overall, it focuses on enhancing fire and EMS services while the actual ballot language is limited to the governing structure and funding, he contends.

Shirleys complaint alleges several city employees were involved in creating the flier, including city manager Jay Burney, city attorneys Mark Barber and Michael M. Young, and spokesperson Kellie Purce Braseth.

The complaint also references a 2019 PDC complaint against City of Olympia employees for a similar situation. It ended with former City Manager Steve Hall paying a $10,000 fine. Shirley makes mention that several of the employees referenced in his April 12 complaint were employed at the time of the previous violation.

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Though the flier doesnt directly tell the public to vote yes or no on the measure, Shirleys complaint says the PDC review considers the tone and tenor of communication. The review is used to ensure city-funded fliers are objective and fact-based.

Shirleys complaint alleges city employees committed 14 violations in total. Shirley told The Olympian Tuesday that the complaint targets only Olympia employees because hes not familiar with the duties of Tumwater employees. But he said its possible the PDC could take action against Tumwater officials.

City of Olympia spokesperson Kellie Purce Braseth told The Olympian Tuesday the city tries to stay mindful of talking about issues that are on an active ballot. However, she said, after speaking with officials, the city hasnt heard of any formal complaints filed with the PDC.

The PDCs Bradford said the commission has a 10-day window to assess the complaints and decide whether theres evidence of a violation. If there is, the complaint is sent to the alleged violator and they are given a couple of weeks to respond.

After that, she said the commission has 90 days to determine whether the issue can be resolved administratively or dismissed entirely. It could end in a warning, or a statement of understanding where the violator pays a penalty and agrees there was a violation. Or, if things arent resolved in that 90-day period, a formal investigation could be opened through the commission, Bradford said.

Alleged violations

Shirley alleges the photos used in the flier are in direct violation of state law because the PDC says you cant depict a body on an EMT stretcher or a house engulfed in flames. The second complaint references the photos as well, alleging they provoke an emotional reaction and appear to be in support of the proposition.

The complaint alleges the flier is missing any neutral presentation of objective facts. Shirley says the flier avoids telling the public how much they will have to pay for services and how taxes and fees will work.

The rest of the violations reference the lack of proper factual material or links to more information, as well as what Shirley alleges is inaccurate and/or biased information in the sections of the benefits of an RFA. The majority revolve around the language used  or not used  in the flier, such as the promise of better response times and more firefighters and better equipment. He also contends that putting fiscal responsibility onto the public isnt mentioned outright.

Shirley is asking that the PDC fine the city employees who were involved in the production and distribution of the RFA materials. He said since Burney was the assistant city manager when a $10,000 fine was imposed, a $20,000 fine against him should be considered this time. And any other employees involved should be fined to some degree, according to Shirleys complaint.

Lastly, Shirley wants the PDC to decide whether Mayor Cheryl Selby has any responsibility for the violations. In the 2019 violation, Shirley said the PDC did not fine any other elected officials, but sent Selby a letter advising her to study laws surrounding the matter.

Shirley said he imagines it will take months before the public knows whether or not city employees committed any violations.

Nobody will know by April 25, thats for sure, he said.
Comments are taken directly from the latest Thurston County inspection reports, which are available for each food establishment, at the Thurston County Environmental Health Office and their website. For questions concerning these reports, contact the health office at 360-867-2667.

Report restaurant, grocery store, deli or bakery complaints online via the complaint form here: https://www.thurstoncountywa.gov/phss/Pages/eh-problem.aspx.

Reading inspection scores:

Attention should be given to the type of violation (red versus blue) and whether the establishment has a history of red violations or repeat violations.

Red violations are those most likely to cause food-borne illness and must be corrected immediately if feasible or according to a compliance schedule established by the health officer. Example: not keeping food at the right temperature.

Blue violations relate to the overall cleanliness and condition of operation and must be corrected according to a compliance schedule established by the health officer. Example: a worn floor that needs replacing.

If red points exceed 45, the county will require a reinspection within 10 business days.

If red points exceed 100 and theres a lack of managerial control, the county will shut down the establishment for at least 72 hours. The establishment may reopen after management and employees complete retraining and demonstrate corrective action during a reinspection.

Some common abbreviations: PHF/TCS is potentially hazardous food/time control for safety; RTE is ready to eat; PIC is person in charge; FWC is food worker card; CDI is corrected during inspection.

Olympia Food Co-op

921 Rogers St. NW, Olympia

April 11: 10 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

It lacked a sink that was designated only for handwashing.

Arco AM/PM

16507 Yelm Ave. E., Yelm

April 12: 20 red points; 5 blue points.

Comments:

Some food items were above 41 degrees in cold-holding units.

A chlorine sanitizer solution was too strong.

A grab-and-go unit and an island condiment unit did not adequately maintain required temperatures.

Story continues

Burger King

902 Yelm Ave. E., Yelm

April 12: 35 red points; 7 blue points.

Comments:

Food worker cards were unavailable for most employees.

Improper time stamps placed on some TCS food items.

Unit thermometers were not working for the walk-in refrigerator and freezer.

An ice machine guard was improperly installed.

Floors were excessively dirty in the walk-in unit.

Northwest Grind

625 Black Lake Blvd SW, Suit 165, Olympia

April 14: 10 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

Employee dishware and rubber gloves occupied the hand wash sink.

Panda Express at Capital Mall

625 Black Lake Blvd. SW, Olympia

April 14: 30 red points; 0 blue points.

Comments:

The person in charge could not immediately provide food worker cards because they were in a locked area.

Cooked rice was observed cooling uncovered at a depth of more than 2 inches in the walk-in.

L&L Hawaiian BBQ

5312 Littlerock Road SW, Tumwater

April 17: 60 red points; 5 blue points.

Comments:

Spam musubi in hot hold was between 115-120 degrees rather than at or above 135 degrees.

Garlic butter was kept between 68-70 degrees rather than at or below 41 degrees or at or above 135 degrees.

Spam in prep unit between 46-48 degrees rather than at or below 41 degrees.

In-use chlorine sanitizer buckets were not strong enough.

Panda Express

575 Trosper Road SW, Suite A, Tumwater

April 17: 75 red points; 13 blue points.

Comments:

An employee did not wash their hands when switching tasks to hand food.

Cooking rice was observed cooling while covered in a walk-in unit. The food was measured at 46-48 degrees rather than at or below 41 degrees.

Crab Rangoon/wantons were held between 120-125 degrees rather than at or above 135 degrees.

Chicken was observed incorrectly thawing while fully submerged in water.

Chicken was observed thawing in the incorrect sink.

A sanitizer solution was not strong enough.

No violations:
Alabama Shooting (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Two suspects have been arrested in connection to the Alabama shooting on Saturday night.

Three days after gunfire at a Sweet 16 birthday party killed four young people and injured 32 more, some critically, authorities in Dadeville announced the arrest of Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16.

The teens were taken into custody on Tuesday night. They have been charged with four counts of reckless murder each.

Please understand, with the violence that went on and the magnitude of what happened, we are absolutely still in the early stages of the investigation, Sgt Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said during a press conference on Wednesday. This is the beginning, this is not the end. There is a tremendous amount of work that is yet to be done.

Tallapoosa District Attorney Mark Sergist said more charges are expected to come. The suspects will have a bond hearing within the next 72 hours, and the state will suggest no bond.

The shootings Saturday night rocked the small town of Dadeville, about 80 miles southeast of Birmingham, and families suddenly found themselves planning memorials and burial services instead of graduation parties or college move-ins.

The fatal victims were identified on Monday as Keke Nicole Smith, 17, Phil Dowdell, 18, Marsiah Collins, 19 and Corbin Holston, 23.

Four victims remain hospitalised in critical condition as of Wednesday night, Mr Sergist said.

We are going to make sure every victim gets justice, not just the deceased, he said during the press conference.
By Brendan O'Brien

(Reuters) -Three Alabama teenagers have been taken into custody and charged with murder in last week's shooting at a "Sweet 16" birthday party that left four dead and 32 wounded, state police said on Wednesday.

Two suspects - Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16 - both from Tuskegee, were arrested on Tuesday night and charged with four counts of reckless murder, Sergeant Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said during a news conference.

The agency said a few hours later that a third person had been arrested. Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, of Auburn, was taken into custody on Wednesday afternoon and charged with four counts of reckless murder, the agency said in a press release.

The shooting on Saturday took place at the Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in Dadeville, a community of 3,200 people about 50 miles (80.5 km) northeast of Montgomery.

"Make no mistake. This is Alabama and when you pull out a gun and you start shooting people, we're going to put you in jail," Burkett said. "We're tired of going to mothers and having to tell them these kids aren't coming home."

Of the nine injured who were still hospitalized, five were in critical condition, Heidi Smith, a spokesperson for Lake Martin Community Hospital, said at a news conference on Monday.

Three teenagers and a 23-year-old man were killed in the shooting. One was a high school football player who was among those attending his sister's birthday party.

The Montgomery Advertiser newspaper, quoting the victim's grandmother, identified the slain teenager as Phil Dowdell, whom she said was set to graduate in a matter of weeks and planned to attend Jacksonville State University on a football scholarship.

The other deceased victims were identified as Shaunkivia Smith, 17, Marsiah Collins, 19, and Corbin Holston, 23.

The shooting followed separate outbreaks of deadly gun violence in Tennessee and Kentucky that prompted local leaders to call for tighter gun control measures.

Mass shootings have become commonplace in the United States, with at least 165 so far in 2023, the most at this point in the year since at least 2016, according to the Gun Violence Archive. The nonprofit group defines a mass shooting as any in which four or more people are wounded or killed, not including the shooter.

(Reporting by Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Additional reporting by Jasper Ward in Washington and Brad Brooks in Lubbock, Texas; Editing by Bill Berkrot and Jamie Freed)
Attorneys representing the family of Tyre Nichols have filed what they describe as a "landmark" civil lawsuit against the city of Memphis, Tennessee, its police department and individual officers following the 29-year-old's death in January.

The lawsuit, which seeks a jury trial and financial damages, names as defendants the city of Memphis, Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, the five officers who have been fired and charged in Nichols death, another officer who has been fired but not charged, and an additional officer who retired before he could be fired, according to The Associated Press.

"We are trying to send a clear message to Memphis and a clear message to America," Attorney Ben Crump told reporters Wednesday at a press conference while standing alongside Nichols' mother, RowVaughn Wells.

"Today, we are sending the message that in Tyre's name and Tyre's legacy, we're going to have meaningful legislation and meaningful accountability to the point where we will not have any other individuals killed in the manner that Tyre Nichols was killed," Crump added.

FOUR FORMER COPS CHARGED IN TYRE NICHOLS' DEATH PROHIBITED FROM POLICE WORK

The Memphis Police Department, when asked by Fox News Digital this morning for their reaction to the lawsuit, said "we do not comment on pending litigation."

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Nichols was stopped by police on Jan. 7 for alleged "reckless driving" and was yanked from his car as officers threatened to shock him with a Taser. Officers claimed a "confrontation occurred" during the traffic stop before Nichols attempted to flee the scene. Officers caught up with Nichols and began to kick him, punch him and hit him with a baton as he screamed for his mother.

During the incident, Nichols was complaining about having shortness of breath. He was eventually transported to a hospital in critical condition and died on Jan. 10.

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Memphis Police Department Officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith have since been terminated and charged with second-degree murder, to which they have pleaded not guilty.

From left to right, Memphis Police Department Officers Demetrius Haley, Tadarrius Bean, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills and Justin Smith were terminated on Jan. 18 for their role in the arrest of deceased Tyre Nichols. The police department is also being named in the family's lawsuit.

"Those five police officers who murdered my son, they beat him to death and they need to be held accountable along with everyone else that has something to do with my son's murder," Wells said Wednesday.

"I never thought in a million years that I would be in this place standing here.""No parent should be going through what I'm going through right now," she added. "And I don't wish on my worst enemy. But things need to change."

The lawsuit also names three Memphis Fire Department employees who were fired after officials said they failed to render aid to Nichols as he was on the ground, struggling with his injuries, the AP added.

MEMPHIS JUDGE DELAYS RELEASE OF VIDEO AND RECORDS IN TYRE NICHOLS CASE

Nichols was beaten so badly that he was "left unrecognizable," the lawsuit states, comparing his case to that of Emmett Till some 70 years prior and the officers to a "modern-day lynch mob."

"Unlike Till, this lynching was carried out by those adorned in department sweatshirts and vests and their actions were sanctionedexpressly and implicitlyby the City of Memphis," it reportedly said.

The lawsuit also alleges Nichols was targeted by a Memphis police crime-suppression unit called Scorpion, which officials said would target repeat violent offenders in high-crime areas, only because he was a young Black man.

The Justice Department is reviewing the Memphis Police Department's policies on the use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in response to Nichols' death.

Fox News Landon Mion and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
The family of Tyre Nichols, the 29-year-old man who died after officers from the Memphis Police Department beat him, has filed a $550 million lawsuit over his death.

The lawsuit  which names the City of Memphis, MPD Chief Cerelyn "C.J." Davis, the five officers facing criminal charges for Nichols' death, two additional officers, and three Memphis Fire Department employees  was filed Wednesday morning in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Tennessee.

The case alleges negligence by the city in hiring Davis, along with asserting Davis' culpability in lax hiring processes, along with the development of the SCORPION Unit's "oppression style of policing" and poor training. SCORPION Unit stands for Street Crimes Operation to Return Peace In Our Neighborhoods.

According to the lawsuit, the city should have been aware of the Atlanta Police Department's RED DOG Unit, which Davis was closely tied with, when she was hired in Memphis in 2021. It also said the introduction of the SCORPION Unit should have raised red flags.

"Much like the RED DOG Unit, SCORPION Unit officers were encouraged by the Chief of Police and supervisors to engage in searches and seizures when there was no basis to do so in violation of the Fourth Amendment," the lawsuit said. "Much like the RED DOG Unit, SCORPION Unit officers were encouraged by the Chief of Police and supervisors to omit written reports if they engaged in searches but found no drugs or weapons to maintain a stronger 'hit' rate on their stops. Ultimately, SCORPION developed into a gang unit carrying out an oppression style of policing ratified by the Chief and Assistant Chief of Police with inexperienced, untrained, and unsupervised police officers."

'Sacrificed for the greater good': The death of Tyre Nichols in Memphis

At a press conference Wednesday afternoon, civil rights attorney Ben Crump  alongside a large legal team, Nichols' family and activists  called the suit a "landmark lawsuit" because of the monetary compensation the suit is seeking, which Crump said honored Martin Luther King, Jr. with $10 million for each year since his assassination, and the scope of the lawsuit.

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"The amount we are suing for is a message," Crump said. "It is our mission to make it financially unsustainable for these police oppression units to unjustly kill Black people in the future. What makes this a landmark lawsuit is that we're going to see, in the near future, these officers admit that this is how they were trained. This is going to be the first time in America where we're going to hear police officers saying, 'No, we weren't just bad apples. We were not just somebody out for Saturday night kicks to beat up somebody. This is what they trained us to do to young, Black men.'"

Co-counsel Antonio Romanucci said the lawsuit has a unique opportunity to create change.

"This is one of the first times that we know that constitutional violations were given as an order for the SCORPION Unit to carry out when Chief Davis told her SCORPION Unit, 'Get the cars. Don't worry if the case is tossed in court,'" Romanucci said. "That is an unconstitutional edict. When you have officers on the scene who talk about, 'Make sure you stomp his ass,' you're going to get needless harm, unnecessary death. All of these people are accountable...and we're going to start from the top with Chief Cerelyn Davis."

When reached for comment, MPD Public Information Officer Theresa Carlson said, "As is standard practice, we do not comment on pending litigation."

Attorneys Ben Crump and Antonio Romanucci announce they are filing what they call a landmark $550 million lawsuit for the death of Tyre Nichols at the hands of the Memphis Police Department.RowVaughn Wells, mother, and Rodney Wells, stepfather, stand next to Mr. Crump.The press conference was held outside of the Shelby County Circuit Court in downtown Memphis on April 19, 2023.

The lawsuit goes on to name seven additional people who were beaten or held at gunpoint by SCORPION Unit officers. The suit named men ranging in age from 19 to 50, adding the list was "certainly not limited" to the people named.

The lawsuit details the role each officer, supervisor, and emergency medical technician is accused of having in the Jan. 7 beating of Nichols and his death three days later, much of which had been previously reported. It asks for both a jury trial and an unnamed amount of money for compensatory damages to be doled out, citing medical and funeral expenses the family incurred, along with the "catastrophic pain, suffering, emotional distress, anguish, personal injuries, and death" of Nichols.

New details in the lawsuit include now-former Officer Emmitt Martin III  who is among the five criminally charged officers, alongside Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith, Desmond Mills and Tadarrius Bean  calling into MPD's dispatch to run Nichols' license plate for a warrant or traffic infractions before pulling him over. The lawsuit said dispatch responded with "negative" after Martin made the request. Martin, Haley and Officer Preston Hemphill, who has not been criminally charged, were the three officers to first pull Nichols over.

"Officer Martin had no lawful basis to stop Tyres vehicle, but Officer Martin pursued Tyre waiting for an opportunity to stop him with Officer Haley and Officer Hemphill following suit," the lawsuit said. "Officer Haley passed Officer Hemphill to be second in line, also waiting for the opportunity to stop Tyre."

The lawsuit also added that Nichols suffered a cardiac arrest from the beating, and that he had no pulse when he arrived at St. Francis Hospital.

"When he arrived at the St. Francis Hospital Emergency Room at approximately 9:35 p.m., Tyre had no pulse and was being treated with a manual resuscitator to attempt to provide positive pressure ventilation," it said.

The lawsuit was hinted at in January, but not officially filed until Wednesday. RowVaughn Wells, Nichols' mother, said the lawsuit is not about the money for her, and she is seeking accountability.

"$500 million, that's a lot of money...but this has nothing to do with the monetary value of the lawsuit," Wells said. "It has everything to do with accountability. Those five police officers murdered my son. They beat him to death. I've said before that my son was here on an assignment, and he has fulfilled that assignment. God took him home. Now it's my turn to make sure that my son's death does not go in vain. This just needs to stop. How many more Tyres is this going to happen to?"

This is the second lawsuit Crump has filed in Shelby County this month. Just over two weeks ago, he filed a lawsuit against the Shelby County Sheriff's Office after an inmate at the Shelby County Jail died following corrections officers hitting him, and kneeling on his back.

Lucas Finton is a criminal justice reporter with The Commercial Appeal. He can be reached at Lucas.Finton@commercialappeal.com and followed on Twitter @LucasFinton.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Tyre Nichols' family sues Memphis police, individual officers
The family of Mr Nichols, including his mother RowVaughn Wells, are seeking financial damages for his death

The family of Tyre Nichols has filed a lawsuit against the city of Memphis, its police department, and several officers involved in the death of the 29-year-old black motorist.

Mr Nichols died three days after he was beaten by several police officers during a traffic stop in January.

His death sparked nationwide protests against police brutality.

Attorneys for Mr Nichols' family allege the city's negligent hiring practices and poor training led to his death.

The 139-page complaint - filed in the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee on Wednesday morning - names Memphis Police Department Chief Cerelyn Davis, five officers who already face murder charges over Mr Nichols' death, and other police and fire department officials.

Comparing Mr Nichols' death to the 1955 murder of Emmitt Till, attorneys for the family allege the beating was a "foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs" of the City of Memphis and its police chief, Ms Davis.

The family is asking for a jury to award monetary compensation due to medical, funeral, and other expenses they have incurred as a result of Mr Nichols' death.

They are represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump.

The lawsuit also blames the city for developing the Scorpion unit, a 50-person team of officers tasked with bringing down crime in the city.

The five black officers charged with second-degree murder in Mr Nichols' death were members of the Scorpion unit, which was disbanded after Mr Nichols' death.

The lawsuit alleges the beating of Mr Nichols was not "the result of the actions of five rogue police officers", but "the culmination of a Department-ordered and Department-tolerated rampage by the unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised SCORPION Unit carrying out an unconstitutional mandate on the streets of Memphis without any fear of retribution".

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Video footage of the 7 January traffic stop shows police officers tasing, kicking, and punching the 29-year-old father after he was pulled over for alleged reckless driving.

The lawsuit alleges the five officers charged in Mr Nichols' death had no "lawful basis" to pull him over, but one of them, Officer Emmitt Martin III, "pursued Tyre waiting for an opportunity to stop him".

Chief Davis has said she was not able to substantiate claims that Mr Nichols was driving recklessly.

The City of Memphis has fired six police officers and three fire department employees in connection to Mr Nichols' death.

The five officers charged in Mr Nichols' death have pleaded not guilty. They are scheduled to be back in court on 1 May.
Tyre Nicholss family sued the city of Memphis, the Memphis police chief, seven individual police officers and three Memphis Fire Department officials on Wednesday, describing the fatal beating of the 29-year-old at the hands of police as a modern-day lynch mob.

Tyres condition in the hospital can be likened to that of Emmitt Till, who was also beaten unrecognizable by a lynch mob, renowned civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing Nicholss family, said in a statement announcing the suit.

But Tyres lynch mob was dressed in department sweatshirts and vests, sanctioned by the entities that supplied them, Crump added.

Nichols died three days after being brutally beaten by five officers in January. Although the original police report claimed Nichols was stopped for reckless driving, further investigations found these claims were unsubstantiated.

All five officers involved in the beating were fired and subsequently charged with second-degree murder.

The complaints in the suit include violations of the Fourth and 14th Amendments over the citys custom of tolerance, the failure to train law enforcement, and the failure to supervise its officers. The suit, filed by Nicholss mother, RowVaughn Wells, asks for a trial by jury and for $550 million compensation for the extrajudicial killing.

In a press conference announcing the lawsuit, Crump said they were intentional in selecting the compensation amount in order to send a message to cities with similar policies.

It is our mission to make it financially unsustainable for these police oppression units to unjustly kill Black people in the future, said Crump. We want to make it where they cant even afford it, where they are going to train their officers differently, where they are going to get rid of these units because theyre going to say we dont want what happened in Memphis, Tennessee, with Tyre Nichols to happen to my city.

But Nicholss family took time to say the suit is not meant to glamorize what they have gone through.

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We did not want this, said Rodney Wells, Nicholss stepfather. People think this is glamorous, and it is not. We go home at night and we cry. We wait. Our lives have changed dramatically since this.

The lawsuit alleges that the events of the fatal police encounter on Jan. 7 were created and set in motion over a year prior with the appointment of Memphis Police Chief Cerelyn Davis.

The savage beating of Tyre Nichols was the direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and deliberate indifference of the City of Memphis and Chief Davis, the lawsuit said.

Far from being the result of the actions of five rogue police officers, the events of January 7, 2023 were the culmination of a Department-ordered and Department-tolerated rampage by the unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised SCORPION Unit carrying out an unconstitutional mandate on the streets of Memphis without any fear of retribution or consequence, it continued.

The five officers charged in Nicholss beating were all part of the Memphis Police Departments specialized SCORPION Unit, which has since been disbanded. The lawsuit accuses the five of various Fourth Amendment violations, including unreasonable stop, excessive force and failure to intervene to prevent excessive force.

A sixth officer, who was fired but not charged in connection with Nicholss death, faces similar allegations.

A police lieutenant who retired the day before his termination hearing is accused of intentional and negligent infliction of emotional distress, as well as fraudulent misrepresentation, for allegedly lying and withholding information from Nicholss mother.

Two emergency medical technicians and a Memphis fire lieutenant also face allegations of 14th Amendment violations for deliberate indifference to serious medical needs.

Following Nicholss brutal beating, the lawsuit noted, Pictures would be taken, jokes would be made, and medical care would be withheld for over twenty minutes as Tyres body lay devastated from the beating. Indeed, he was dying and those on scene knew it.

Attorney Antonio Romanucci, also representing Nicholss family, said at the press conference Wednesday afternoon that he and Crump will continue to peel back the policies within the Memphis Police Department to ensure total change in the department.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A photograph of Tyre Nichols holding his child sits in the foyer of Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church during his funeral service on Feb. 1 in Memphis. Lucy Garrett / Getty Images

Tyre Nicholss family has sued the city of Memphis and the Memphis Police Department, as well as several city employees and former police officers, over his death in January.

Filed in the US District Court of Western Tennessee on Wednesday, the civil lawsuit alleges that the brutal beating of Nichols by Memphis police officers in the departments hyper-aggressive specialized unit was sanctioned and tolerated by the MPD, the police chief, and the city.

The savage beating of Tyre Nichols was a direct and foreseeable product of the unconstitutional policies, practices, customs, and decisions made by the city of Memphis, attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said at a news conference in Memphis on Wednesday.

The lawsuit is asking for $550 million in damages, an amount that Crump said was intentional and symbolic.

We wanted to send a message to other cities that have similar policies that say it's OK to terrorize people in Black communities and in brown communities, he said. When we say $550 million  this is the 50-year anniversary of the assassination of Martin Luther King [Jr.], and we're in the city where Dr. King was assassinated.

The Memphis Police Department declined to respond to the lawsuit to BuzzFeed News, saying they do not comment on pending litigation. The city of Memphis did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nichols was driving home from work to have dinner with his parents on Jan. 7 when he was stopped by officers in the MPDs specialized Scorpion unit and brutally beaten. He died three days later from excessive bleeding.

Six of the officers involved  Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Emmitt Martin III, Desmond Mills Jr., Justin Smith, and Preston Hemphill  were fired in late January, as were three members of the Memphis Fire Department who failed to treat Nichols adequately when they responded to the scene. Five of the six former Memphis police officers have been charged with second-degree murder.

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But in addition to the criminal charges, Crump said, the civil suit is an effort to make it financially unsustainable for these police oppression units to unjustly kill Black people in the future.

Attorneys Antonio Romanucci and Ben Crump, with Tyre Nichols's relatives, discuss a lawsuit filed against the city of Memphis and police officers on April 19. Adrian Sainz / AP

Far from being the result of the actions of five rogue police officers, the events of January 7, 2023 were the culmination of a Department-ordered and Department-tolerated rampage by the unqualified, untrained, and unsupervised SCORPION Unit carrying out an unconstitutional mandate on the streets of Memphis without any fear of retribution or consequence because of an acceptance of and deliberate indifference to unconstitutional conduct that had been fostered since the Units inception, the lawsuit says.

The complaint alleges that the violence perpetrated by Memphis police officers that night was set in motion with the hiring of Cerelyn Davis as police chief in April 2021. Davis had previously overseen the Atlanta Police Departments antagonistic street crime unit called Red Dog, which was known for rampant police misconduct .

Together with Assistant Police Chief Shawn Jones  who also came from the APD  Davis formed the Scorpion unit in November 2021 to tackle crime in Memphis, specifically targeting Black men like Nichols, according to the complaint.

In reality, it was an officially authorized gang of inexperienced, untrained, hyper-aggressive police officers turned loose on the Memphis community without any oversight, the lawsuit says. They were instructed to strike without warning and, many times, without any valid constitutional basis.

The lawsuit claims that Davis and the city of Memphis then hired inexperienced officers and officers with disciplinary issues for the Scorpion unit and failed to offer specialized training or properly supervise officers in the unit.

Though Davis initially defended the unit, she announced on Jan. 28 that it would disband, three weeks after Nicholss beating.

The lawsuit also accuses police of misleading and lying to Nicholss mom, RowVaughn Wells, about her sons condition. Lt. DeWayne Smith, a supervisor within the Scorpion unit, arrived near the end of the beating and saw the severe injuries on Nicholss body, the complaint says. He then walked 100 yards to Wellss house  where Nichols also lived  and allegedly told her that her son was being arrested for driving under the influence despite having no evidence that Nichols was intoxicated.

When Wells repeatedly asked Smith where her son was, Smith told her that paramedics were treating him in the neighborhood and that he was going to jail after receiving medical treatment, according to the complaint. Yet Smith allegedly had not seen paramedics render medical aid to Nichols when he was at the scene, and he did not personally order for Smith to be treated before he spoke to Wells.

Smith withheld Nicholss whereabouts from his mother and took no steps to alert her about the extent of her sons injuries, the lawsuit says.

The complaint also points to body and street camera footage that shows law enforcement officers and medical personnel at the scene  all of whom are city employees  ignoring Nichols despite his clear injuries and signs of distress.

At one point, there were at least 12 City of Memphis employees within feet of Tyres body and within range of being able to offer necessary medical aid, the complaint says. None of them showed concern or attempted to help Tyre, even though he was battered, bleeding, and barely alive.

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Lab officials in Mexico told a Charlotte-based doctor performing a new autopsy on Shanquella Robinson that no alcohol was found in the 25-year-old womans blood, tested after her death.

This latest autopsy was ordered by the FBI the month after Robinsons death. The findings from this autopsy led the Department of Justice to announce earlier this month that it will not pursue criminal charges in her case.

Robinson, a Charlotte native, died under suspicious circumstances in Cabo, Mexico on Oct. 29. Her death has been investigated as a possible homicide. She was on a trip with six other people, some of whom told her mother Robinson died of alcohol poisoning.

Previously, the autopsy report resulting from Mexicos investigation did not mention blood-alcohol content but notes blood samples were taken.

The U.S. autopsy  obtained this week via a public records request by The Charlotte Observer  was conducted by the North Carolina Office of the Chief Medical Examiner and includes findings from Mexicos toxicology screening.

The secondary autopsy in the U.S. revealed a major discrepancy with the findings in an autopsy performed during Mexican authorities investigation. As The Charlotte Observer has reported previously, Mexicos autopsy concluded Robinson died of severe spinal cord injury and atlas luxation.

Forensic Pathologist Dr. Thomas Owens conducted the examination in Charlotte on Nov. 17. This autopsy says there were no injuries to Robinsons spinal cord. Overall Robinsons cause of death was ruled undetermined.

Lawyers for Robinsons family, Sue-Ann Robinson (not related) and Benjamin Crump, said in a statement the discrepancies between the two autopsies can be attributed to a delay by U.S. investigators who did not examine the body until after it had been embalmed.

When an investigation is delayed, the hard evidence to support prosecution diminishes, but in this case, that is due to the U.S. not considering this case to be a high priority, Crump and Robinson wrote.

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Owens pointed out in his report that the autopsy conducted by Mexican officials was limited because Robinsons spine was not fully visualized or properly inspected, which may explain the discrepancy in the two reports.

Owens also noted that too much time had passed before the toxicology screening to know whether Robinson had residual alcohol in her system from the night before her death.

The FBI completed its investigation earlier this month and said there wasnt sufficient evidence to pursue federal charges against the person Mexico prosecutors say is a suspect.

I was not surprised (but the FBI decision) but I was sickened, said Donnell Gardner, who attended a gathering in Charlotte Wednesday afternoon, where participants again called for an arrest to be made in the case. Gardner said his son was friends with Robinson. He remembers her coming to his home before school some mornings.

She was very motivated, she was very different, he said of Robinson. As they say, she was the boss. She created her own lane. She was very smart.

U.S. autopsy of Shanquella Robinson

The autopsy report by Dr. Owens says Robinson had reportedly consumed heavy amounts of alcohol the night before she died.

However, handwritten notes and toxicology reports from both Mexico and the U.S. say no alcohol  tested for as ethanol  was found in Robinsons blood.

Owens calls the autopsy performed in Mexico limited and mentions that because Robinson did not die at a hospital, it is unclear what her alcohol content was leading up to her death.

The report says Robinson was assaulted at approximately 7:30 a.m. the day she died. Part of this assault was captured on a video that has gone viral and sparked international outrage over her death. The video shows a naked, barely verbal Robinson being hit repeatedly over the head.

In police records released by lawyers for Robinsons family, authorities identify Daejhanae Jackson as a suspect after talking with two employees at the Cabo vacation villa the group stayed in. Mexican authorities have issued an arrest warrant for femicide (similar to homicide) for Jackson, according to lawyers Benjamin Crump and Sue-Ann Robinson.

But U.S. authorities have made it clear no one will face federal criminal charges for Robinsons death. To date, no U.S. law enforcement or government official has acknowledged by name a suspect. Whether Mexico is still seeking extradition is unclear.

The FBI would not comment on why the video of Robinson being beaten before her death was not considered enough evidence of a crime being committed but said in a statement to The Charlotte Observer: All available evidence was reviewed.

Owens report says Robinson returned to her room following the assault and was found unconscious by a housekeeper just before noon.

Owens report raises the possibility that blunt force trauma from the earlier assault may have caused a concussion, which would have altered Robinsons level of consciousness and possibly led to her passing out in the bathroom.

The autopsy found injuries on Robinson including a 2.5 by 2.5 inch bruise on her forehead and broken blood vessels in her eye. This injury could be attributed to Robinson falling when she was unconscious in the bathroom or due to assault, Owens wrote.

Her arms were covered in scratches and bruises, her right leg and her lower abdomen were covered in abrasions, and there were traces of vomit in her throat, the report said.

The U.S. autopsy found no injuries to Robinsons spine, but it did find a hypoxic-ishemic brain injury. This injury can occur when someone goes into cardiac arrest, according to the National Library of Medicine.

Initially, a police report in Mexico  taken the day Robinson died and including statements from a doctor who tried to save her  stated she died after having seizures and going into cardiac arrest.

Reports and interviews from investigators in Mexico and notes in Owens report indicate that the six travelers who were with Robinson when she died called for medical help in the afternoon and said she drank too much alcohol.

Before they called for medical help, a housekeeper told them she found Robinson laying face down on the bathroom floor.

The doctor who responded said Robinson was minimally responsive and clearly dehydrated, according to Owens report. As the doctor attempted an IV to re-hydrate her, Robinson began convulsing and went into a full cardiac arrest. Multiple rounds of CPR were unsuccessful.
NAIROBI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Kenya's agri-business firm, Kakuzi Limited, will resume the export of Hass avocados to China and other overseas markets from the middle of May.

The avocados destined for export will have matured optimally and met the minimum dry matter standard of 24 percent as set by local regulatory agencies, Kakuzi said in a statement issued in the Kenyan capital Nairobi on Tuesday.

"Maturity testing has been ongoing with the important parameters of dry matter content being closely monitored on our orchards and affiliated smallholder farmers," Chris Flowers, the Managing Director of Kakuzi said.

"Our dry matter content is only 19 percent so we have another month before our fruit reaches an export quality," he added.

Flowers stressed that Kakuzi will endeavor to make sure that Hass avocados grown in its vast orchards located in the central Kenyan county of Murang'a meet the quality threshold set out by Kenyan and Chinese regulatory agencies.

Kakuzi is among several local agri-business firms that have secured permission to export high-grade Hass avocados to China, following the signing of bilateral trade protocols between Kenya and China in January 2022.

The protocols highlight specific phytosanitary requirements that local avocado farmers must comply with before exporting the highly nutritious tropical fruit to the Chinese market.

Flowers said that Kakuzi is also providing free maturity test services for small-holder farmers to ensure that only Hass avocados that meet minimum dry matter of 24 percent are harvested for export to China and other foreign markets.

Kakuzi shipped the inaugural consignment of Hass avocados to China in early August 2022, and in September 2022 secured approval from Kenya's regulatory agency for the second shipment of the fruit to the Asian Nation.

Listed at Kenya's main bourse, the Nairobi Securities Exchange, Kakuzi Limited is one of the largest agri-business firms in Kenya engaging in large-scale growing and export of Hass avocados, macadamia, and blueberry.

The company has a huge tea estate in northwestern Kenya's highland county of Nandi and also engages in commercial forestry and livestock farming. 
By John Kruzel

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday gave a boost to Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed's bid for DNA testing of crime-scene evidence that he argues will help exonerate him in the 1996 abduction, rape and murder of a 19-year-old woman.

The justices, in a 6-3 decision, overturned a lower court's ruling that Reed was too late in bringing a civil rights lawsuit against Texas officials who had denied his request for DNA testing. Reed's lawsuit asserted that his constitutional right to due process was violated.

Reed, who is Black, was convicted and sentenced to death in 1998 by an all-white jury in the death of Stacey Stites, a white woman. Stites was found raped and strangled with her own belt along the side of a road in Bastrop County two years earlier. Authorities charged Reed after his sperm was found inside the victim's body. Reed initially claimed he did not know Stites but later said they had been having an affair.

He sought DNA testing of key crime scene evidence including the belt used to strangle Stites, as the "killer's hands may have left sweat or skin cells" on it.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in the case in October.

As various courts over the years ruled against Reed's attempts to have his case re-examined based on what he called newly discovered evidence, Reed garnered public support including from celebrities such as Kim Kardashian and Rihanna. Millions of people have signed an online petition supporting Reed. He is represented by attorneys with the Innocence Project, a group that works to overturn wrongful convictions.

Reed's attorneys and activists have worked to exonerate him, arguing that evidence unearthed since his trial points instead to Stites' fiance, who was then a local police officer, as the killer.

A Texas trial court in 2014 denied Reed's bid for DNA testing. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals also rejected it in 2017 based on the procedures it determined were required under the state law that gives prisoners a chance to seek post-conviction DNA testing. That court denied a request for rehearing six months later.

Reed sued in federal court in 2019. The New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2021 decided that Reed should have filed suit within two years of the initial 2014 trial court decision.

(Reporting by John Kruzel; Editing by Will Dunham)
(Bloomberg) -- The UK said a report of an alleged secret Chinese police station in south London is of great concern and that it will not tolerate any attempt by China to harass its citizens.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Times reported Wednesday that a Chinese businessman who has organized fund-raising dinners for the UKs governing Conservative Party is linked with such a station in Croydon. Crime Minister Chris Philp told the House of Commons an investigation by the law enforcement community is under way and he could not comment on the exact case.

But he told MPs: Any attempt to coerce, intimidate or illegally repatriate any individual will not be tolerated. This egregious activity is part of a wider trend of authoritarian governments  not just China but others as well  perpetuating transnational repression in an effort to silence their critics overseas, undermine democracy and the rule of law, and further their own narrow geopolitical interests.

The report adds to a growing list of frictions between the UK and China, which Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has described as a challenge to the world order. In December, China removed six consulate officials following a diplomatic spat over an attack on a Hong Kong man staging a peaceful protest outside the countrys consulate in Manchester.

Philp said the government was aware of approximately 100 Chinese police stations around the world. On Tuesday two men were charged with operating such a station in New York, while 44 others were charged over an alleged Chinese campaign to harass its citizens.

US Charges 44 Over Chinese Harassment of Dissidents Overseas

Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper said the director general of Britains domestic intelligence service MI5  Ken McCallum  had warned about Chinese authorities both trying to influence our politics and also run unauthorized operations to monitor and intimidate the Chinese diaspora including forcibly repatriating Chinese nationals.

Story continues

Kicking People Out

She questioned whether the government was doing enough to address the scale of this threat and suggested it was not updating Parliament for fear of party political embarrassment because of the connections with the Conservative Party.

Sunaks press secretary told reporters she didnt recognize reports of such links.

Former Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith, a longtime critic of Beijing, also called on ministers to act faster in shutting down illegal police stations.

Why in heavens name havent we acted alongside the Americans, even the Dutch, and shut these stations down and kicked those people out of the country? he asked Philp in the Commons.

Philp insisted the UK government was taking a proactive approach and protecting individuals and communities from threats.

As well as last years diplomatic spat over the incident in Manchester, tensions have arisen from Britains ban on Huawei Technologies Co, technology from parts of its mobile network, and also from a bar on the Chinese-owned TikTok app from Parliamentary and government devices.

National Cyber Security Centre Chief Executive Officer Lindy Cameron this week warned that China is aiming for global technological supremacy and that the UK cannot afford not to keep pace.

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(Bloomberg) -- The Chinese government denied reports in western media that the country has exported drones to aid Russias invasion of Ukraine as groundless  and accused the US of engaging in the spread of fake information.

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Senior Russian officials meanwhile privately raised concerns some 10 months ago about the risks of becoming too dependent on Chinese technologies after US and European Union sanctions shut off access to alternative suppliers.

The Biden administration announced a new package of weapons for Ukraine valued at as much as $325 million to be taken from US stockpiles, the 36th such drawdown.

Key Developments

US Task Force Seeks to Transfer Seized Assets to Ukraine

Russian Memo Said War Leaves Moscow Too Reliant on Chinese Tech

Ukraines Key Black Sea Crop Exports Resume After Latest Halt

China Is Boosting Imports of Ukrainian Corn Through Black Sea

Ryanair CEO Sees Ukraine Aviation Opportunity Once War Ends

(All times CET)

US Task Force Seeks to Transfer Seized Assets (6:05 a.m.)

The chief of the Justice Department unit charged with seizing assets connected to violators of sanctions against Russia said the program cuts the purse strings from the Kremlin, and that Congress could help it to do more.

Andrew Adams, the director of Task Force KleptoCapture, said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Televisions Balance of Power that lawmakers could provide the authority to funnel proceeds of the seizures export control violations to Ukraine.

The Justice Department currently only has the authority to convey proceeds to Ukraine from assets seized from sanctions evasions.

US to Provide Ammunition in Latest Round of Aid (7:42 p.m.)

Story continues

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the latest package of weapons for Ukraine includes more ammunition for US- provided HIMARS rocket systems and anti-armor systems as well as additional artillery rounds.

US Aims to Send Russian Asset Funds to Ukraine (5:54 p.m.)

The US Justice Department wants more authority from Congress to give Ukraine money obtained from the seizure and sale of wealthy Russians assets, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. The department has limited authority to use proceeds from those assets but can do so in cases involving the evasion of sanctions against Russia, Monaco told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing Wednesday.

We frankly would like to be able to expand that authority, Monaco said. There are potentially millions more that could be given to Ukraine from assets that are confiscated in response to other crimes, such as export controls violations  if the Justice Department had the authority, Monaco said.

Shipping Russian Oil to India Cheapest in Weeks (2:49 p.m.)

The cost of delivering Russias flagship oil to India dropped to its lowest since at least the start of March, according to Argus Media Ltd., whose data are pivotal to a Group of Seven price cap on the nations petroleum sales.

Hauling about 730,000 barrels of Urals crude from Russias Baltic port of Primorsk to Indias west coast would cost oil traders $10.60 a barrel, data provided by Argus show. That represents a drop of 13% drop since March 3, when the price-reporting agency began new freight assessments for the trade route.

Read More: Shipping Russian Oil to India Cheapest in Weeks, Argus Says

US Defense Chief Fully Anticipates Sweden in NATO (2:20 p.m.)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he fully anticipates Sweden will be a member of NATO in time for a summit of the alliances leaders in Vilnius in July and encouraged Turkey and Hungary to ratify the bid as soon as possible.

Austin said he wouldnt predict when Turkey would ratify the nations bid to join the alliance, but added: Im sure these countries will reach that decision and I feel confident theyll reach it before July.

Zelenskiy Visits Troops (1:58 p.m.)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Ukraines Volyn region to inspect troops stationed near the border with Poland and Belarus. He thanked personnel for protecting the nations frontier.

The visit followed a trip to the eastern city of Avdiyivka in the embattled Donetsk region thats on the frontline of fighting.

Ukraines Black Sea Crop Exports Resume (1:50 p.m.)

Ukraines Black Sea crop shipments resumed, following another brief halt that sparked fresh worries about future cargoes from the key exporter.

Inspections of vessels under a safe-passage corridor are again taking place after a two-day stoppage, according to Ukraine and the joint coordination center which oversees the checks. Kyiv has blamed the disruption to the initiative  which has been crucial for bringing down global food-commodity costs from records reached after Russias invasion  on Moscow. Wheat futures declined.

Read More: Ukraines Black Sea Crop Exports Resume After Latest Halt

EU to Examine Grain Trade Rules After Ukraine Import Bans (1:26 p.m.)

The EU will take preventive measures under appropriate trade rules for wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed to address the situation, after several member states banned imports of grain from Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is offering three proposals to address the situation. The bloc has already provided a support package of 56 million ($61 million) for most affected farmers  and is now preparing a second package of 100 million for five nations.

China Denies It Sold Drones to Help Russias Military Effort (1:24 p.m.)

The Commerce Ministry issued the denial, calling reports to the contrary groundless and fake, according to a statement, and defended Beijings strict control of drone exports to prevent the hardware from being used in conflicts.

China will strengthen export controls for drones, the statement said, urging other nations to join in preventing unmanned aircraft from being deployed in Ukraine.

Bank of Cyprus to Close Accounts of Russian Customers (12:24 p.m.)

Bank of Cyprus Holding Plc will close all accounts held by Russians who are not resident in this EU country. The action applies to some 4,000 clients and follows the suspension of Russias membership by the Financial Action Task Force and the designation of Russia as a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction by the European Union, the bank said in a statement.

Total deposits at the islands largest lender stood at 19 billion ($21 billion) on Dec. 31. Of that, about 3% was from Russian or Belarusian clients, according to the lender.

China Is Boosting Imports of Ukrainian Corn Through Black Sea (12:06 p.m.)

China, the biggest corn importer, is buying more of the grain from Ukraine, even as Beijing strengthens its strategic relationship with Russia.

About 1.5 million tons of corn left Ukrainian ports bound for China under the Black Sea Grain Initiative in March and so far in April, according to data from the Joint Coordination Centre for the agreement. That brings the amount since the start of the year to more than 3 million tons. By comparison, shipments were about 1.7 million tons from September to December, the data show.

Estonia Hosts Worlds Largest Cyber War Games (11:50 a.m.)

Over 3,000 participants from locations in 38 nations will practice defending a fictional country from simulated cyber attacks at a NATO-affiliated exercise based in Tallinn this week. The annual Locked Shields exercise will involve thousands of attacks on mock critical infrastructure systems, such as banks and power plants.

Ukraine has strong digital competences, and that has meant that their state can keep delivering essential digital services even in wartime, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement.

(An earlier version of this story corrected an item to say Zelenskiys visit was in northwestern Ukraine.)

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U.S. and Germany had previously promised to deliver the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine

Germany generally provides reports after the equipment has been delivered to Ukraine.

Neither Kyiv, nor Washington, has yet confirmed the delivery of the Patriot system to Ukraine.

The United States has promised to provide Ukraine with at least one Patriot system. The U.S. officially announced their transfer before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington in Dec. 2022.

In Jan. 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would join the U.S. in supplying an additional Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.

NV looks at the Patriot system specifications and the chronology of negotiations regarding their supply to Ukraine.

The MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile system was adopted by the U.S. Army in the early 1980s. Its latest modification, called PAC-3, is designed to hit and intercept targets at an altitude of up to 24 km.

The main feature of the latest Patriot system is the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles. These include missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine, including Iskanders, Kinzhals (hypersonic air-to-air missiles), and Zircons (hypersonic anti-ship missiles).

The Patriot system uses advanced interceptor missiles and highly effective radar systems.

The system includes four main functions:

communication;

command and control;

radar surveillance;

missile guidance.

The launchers are highly mobile  one battery can be deployed in less than an hour  while system components are transported on trucks or trailers.

One Patriot PAC-3 launcher is designed for four types of MIM-104 missiles, GEM-T (missiles with advanced guidance), or 16 ERINT missiles (missile-interceptors of extended range). One Patriot battery consists of up to eight launchers.

The average range of use of one Patriot launcher is 150 km. The air defense system can track targets at a speed of up to 2,200 m/s at a distance of up to 180 km.

Other important characteristics of the Patriot air defense system:

target tracking range  up to 180 km

target interception range  up to 80 km

target interception height  up to 24 km.

Story continues

Ukraine has been asking the U.S. for Patriot systems since before Russias full-scale invasion, CNN reported in Dec. 2021.

Even after Russia began pummeling Ukraine with massive missile strikes beginning in Oct. 2022, the provision of Patriot systems was in question. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, specifically, wanted guarantees that already delivered systems were effective and functioning, as they require ammunition and spare parts.

The Pentagon confirmed its plans to send the Patriot systems to Ukraine by Dec. 13, reported Voice of America. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the Patriots would definitely become a target for the Russian invaders.

The White House officially announced the transfer of the Patriot systems to Ukraine on Dec. 21. Later, Germany also announced that it would transfer a Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Ukraines air force said it shot down 10 out of 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones sent by Russia to target Odesa overnight.

Two of the drones caused a fire after hitting a recreational infrastructure facility in the southern Ukrainian coastal region, the local administration said, adding that no casualties were reported.

Earlier, Washingtons second-highest diplomat warned Nato must stay alert to signs Vladimir Putin is planning to use tactical nuclear weapons in Ukraine.

We have all watched and worried that [Mr Putin] would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in an managed risk escalation, Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, said, adding: It is very critical to remain watchful of this.

The Russian presidents 25 March announcement that he was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighbouring Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way, Ms Sherman said.

Mr Putin yesterday visited partially occupied Kherson in Ukraine, in a trip mocked by Kyiv as a special tour of the mass murders.

Key Points

Ukraine downs 10 Iranian-made drones overnight  Odesa

'Watch for signs Putin planning tactical nuke strike

Kyiv mocks Putins visit: Special tour of mass murders

France and China working on secret plans to end Ukraine war

Watch for signs Putin planning tactical nuke strike, says top US diplomat

08:31 , Liam James

The US and Nato must keep watch for signs Russian president Vladimir Putin is planning a tactical nuclear weapon strike in Ukraine, the second-highest US diplomat said.

Mr Putin could launch such an attack in a managed escalation of his invasion, Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, said during the opening session of an annual Nato arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.

We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in an managed risk escalation, Mr Sherman said. It is very critical to remain watchful of this.

Story continues

The Russian president last month announced he was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way, Ms Sherman said.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.

Ukraine shoots down 10 Iranian-made drones over Odesa, say officials

09:45 , Liam James

Ukraines air force said it shot down 10 out of 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones which targeted Odesa overnight.

Two of the drones Russia launched in the region overnight hit a recreational infrastructure facility, causing a fire, the local administration said.

No casualties were reported.

(Odesa City/Telegram)

Odesa City administration said firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze quickly

(Odesa City/Telegram)

Further details of the recreational site were not offered but pictures showed a building decorated with cartoons and drawings ablaze

(Odesa City/Telegram)

Authorities said the strikes were carried out with Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 drones

Brazil condemns Russian invasion, repeating controversial peace call

09:34 , Liam James

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the violation of Ukraines territorial integrity by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war, a peace initiative that was criticised by the Ukrainian government.

Speaking at a lunch with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, Mr Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

His comments came after he set off a storm among Western allies by stating over the weekend that they were prolonging the fighting by supplying arms to Ukraine.

A White House spokesperson accused Mr Lula of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts. And on Tuesday, the White House said Mr Lulas tone was not one of neutrality.

Lula at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia yesterday (AP)

Russia stepping up Bakhmut assault, says Ukraine

09:10 , Liam James

Russian forces are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and airstrikes in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraines ground forces said yesterday.

Fighting in and around Bakhmut has for months been the central battle of the war in Ukraine and despite Russian claims to have taken the town, Kyiv has repeatedly denied losing control.

Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.

He said Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, remained committed to taking Bakhmut at any cost but was suffering significant losses in the battle for the city.

(AFP/Getty)

Artillerymen of the Ukrainian 80th separate airborne assault brigade fire from a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut

(AFP/Getty)

The BM-21 Grad, a multiple rocket launcher first developed in the Soviet-era, has seen havy use in the invasion

(AFP/Getty)

A member of the 80th brigade plays accordion during a rest on the frontline near Bakhmut

EU still largest importer of Russian fuel, report finds

08:55 , Liam James

The European Union is the largest importer of fossil fuel energy from Russia despite the bloc leading in the implementation of the strictest sanctions against Moscow, new data has revealed (Shweta Sharma writes).

The reason the EU is still the largest importer is because it continues to purchase a record number of crude products through the main buyers of Russian oil.

Five laundromat countries that export the Russian crude to the EU were identified by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its new report.

The five countries are China, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore.

Click here for the full story:

EU is still largest importer of Russian oil due to loophole in sanctions, report says

ICYMI: Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

07:00 , Emily Atkinson

Emmanuel Macron is said to be looking to make arrangements with China that could see talks held between Russia and Ukraine by the summer.

William Mata has more:

Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

British MoD warns of Russian disinformation: Narrative laundering'

06:59 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has warned against the continuing disinformation campaign from Moscow as it said that the Russian state has systematically used information operations as a major element of its strategy after invading Ukraine.

It has cultivated multiple channels and proxies to spread disinformation: the intentional creation and sharing of false or manipulated information. One component of Russias disinformation is narrative laundering, whereby Russia promotes information from proxies, or unverified social media sources, which then permeates to more mainstream or state-run media, the MoD said in its latest intelligence update.

It added: This aims to cloud the source of the information, making it easier for the Russian state to distance itself from the message. It then promotes misleading fragments of the narrative, while masking its vested interest.

Russian state actors present manipulated narratives in both orchestrated and opportunistic ways. Their current priorities almost certainly include discrediting the Ukrainian government and reducing international support for Ukraine, the MoD said.

Ukraine shoots down 10 Shahed drones in Odesa overnight

06:19 , Arpan Rai

Ukraines air force has said it has shot down 10 out of 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones which targeted Odesa oblast overnight.

Two of the drones Russia launched in the region overnight hit a public infrastructure facility, the Odesa oblast military administration said.

Zelensky and top US House Republican McCarthy discuss Russia sanctions

06:12 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he and US House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call Ukraines need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.

On Twitter, Mr Zelensky said he thanked Mr McCarthy for bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine as well as Ukraines defence needs. Outlined the situation at the front and Ukraines urgent defence needs in armoured vehicles, artillery, air defence and aircraft, Mr Zelenskys tweet said.

He said they also discussed enhancing sanctions pressure on Russia, including in oil and gas.

A spokesman for Mr McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What we know about the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

06:00 , Emily Atkinson

American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been arrested and detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home in Princeton, New Jersey, Gershkovich graduated from the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine before embarking on a career in the media, firstly at The New York Times, then The Moscow Times and then Agence France-Presse before joining WSJ, where he began covering Russian affairs just a month before the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What we know about arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

Latest images from Ukrainian frontline in Bakhmut

05:00 , Emily Atkinson

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Zelenskys aide mocks Putins visit: Special tour of mass murders

04:28 , Arpan Rai

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak took to Twitter and mocked Vladimir Putin's trip.

Putins degradation is impressive. The world waited for his statement a year ago. Now they dont. Theres no such political actor. Theres only a special tour of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.

The Russian presidnet had attended a military command meeting in Ukraines southern Kherson region and visited a national guard headquarters in eastern Luhansk.

Kherson is partially occupied by Russian forces.

He was briefed by the commanders of the airborne forces and the Dnieper army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south.

Wagner controls 90% of Bakhmut, says Russia-backed leader

04:17 , Arpan Rai

A Russia-backed official has said that the Wagner Groups mercenary forces have captured almost 90 per cent of Bakhmut.

The Wagner private military company controls about 90% of Artyomovsk [Russian name for Bakhmut] and its advance is inevitable, said Yan Gagin, an advisor to the Donetsk Peoples Republics (DPR) leader, reported TASS news agency.

A week back, the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had said that Russian forces controlled more than 80 per cent of Bakhmut, including all administrative buildings.

He added that Ukrainian troops were booby-trapping and blowing up major infrastructure facilities before leaving the western outskirts of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian armed forces are okay with using scorched earth tactics. This is what they did in Volnovakha and Mariupol, and now, they are blowing up and booby-trapping major infrastructure facilities in Artyomovsk before retreating from the western outskirts of the city. A local community centre was one of the buildings that they blew up recently, the Russia-installed leader told TASS news agency.

Russian hackers targeting Western critical infrastructure, warns UK

04:10 , Arpan Rai

British cyber defence agency has warned of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine.

Russia-aligned hacktivists have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. However, some of those groups have been actively plotting ways to do more real-world damage, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, said in an alert.

Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against Western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK, the NCSC said.

We expect these groups to look for opportunities to create such an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected, said the alert, which was released to the press at a two-day conference hosted by the NCSC and GCHQ in Belfast.

The alert added that while such groups are ideologically-motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are not subject to formal state control.

This makes them less predictable, it said.

A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

US Navy veteran under investigation in connection to Pentagon documents leak

04:00 , Emily Atkinson

The US government is investigating the role of a multi-platform social media persona known as the Donbass Devushka, and the role of a US Navy veteran in operating it, as it pursues the prosecution of a man for allegedly leaking sensitive military documents.

Donbass Devushka, which roughly translates to young Donbass woman, hosts generally pro-Russia content across a variety of platforms, including a now-private Twitter account, a prolific YouTube platform, and others.

John Bowden has more:

US Navy veteran under investigation in connection to Pentagon documents leak

Russian launches overnight drones on Odesa

03:48 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces have launched drones on southern Ukraines Odesa region overnight, sparking a fire at an infrastructure facility, the head of the military command of the Odesa region, Yuri Kruk, said today.

There are no immediate casualties reported from the site of attack and firefighters were working at the scene.

US urges Nato to watch for signs Russia could use nuclear weapon

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Nato allies must remain alert for signs Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a managed escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest US diplomat has urged.

Deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman issued the warning during the opening session of an annual Nato arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.

We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in a managed risk escalation, Sherman said. It is very critical to remain watchful of this.

(Sputnik)

Putinsannouncement that Russia is preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way, Sherman said.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.

Putin denies having any intention of employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where his forces for months have been bogged down in fierce fighting that has been costly for both sides.

Brazil is wrong to argue US encouraging Ukraine war, White House says

02:00 , Emily Atkinson

Brazil is wrong to argue that the United States is encouraging the Ukraine war and its tone is not one of neutrality, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected comments from Brazils president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has accused the United States and the European Union of prolonging the conflict by supplying arms to the Ukrainians.

She said US officials were struck by the tone of Lulas comments and added, of course we want this war to end.

The tone was not neutral and it is not true and we will continue to speak out about that, she said.

Russian-installed Donetsk chief meets Belarus president

01:00 , Emily Atkinson

The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraines Donetsk region met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday and said he had discussed ways of boosting trade.

Denis Pushilin, writing on Telegram, said he was interested in quarry equipment, tractors and buses as well as building products and furniture.

In return, his region was ready to export grain to Belarus in addition to existing shipments of sunflower seeds.

The so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic is one of the four regions in Ukraine that Moscow proclaimed as its own last September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies called a sham, coercive referendum. (

Watch: Putin visits Russian troops in Ukraine's Kherson and Luhansk regions

Wednesday 19 April 2023 00:00 , Emily Atkinson

Former McDonalds restaurants in Belarus to be renamed

Tuesday 18 April 2023 22:30 , Emily Atkinson

Restaurants formerly operating under the McDonalds brand in Belarus will be renamed Mak.by, the local company has announced, retaining access to recipes and apparently branching out from the new brand in neighbouring Russia.

McDonalds restaurants in Belarus, all 25 of which had been operated by local licensee KSB Victory Restaurants, were originally set to be rebranded as Vkusno & tochka, the successor to McDonalds restaurants in Russia.

(REUTERS)

French spirits group suspends Absolut vodka exports to Russia

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:30 , Emily Atkinson

French spirits group Pernod Ricard has said it is suspending exports entirely of its premium vodka Absolut to Russia, having previously reduced sales following Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, several media outlets reported that Absolut was supplying products in an amount that can support local employees and give local entities economic sustainability, citing a Pernod spokesperson.

The reports sparked criticism in Sweden, where the vodka is made.

Pernod said in a statement emailed to Reuters that as a result it has taken the decision to suspend Absolut supplies entirely due to a duty of care towards our employees and partners.

We cannot expose them to massive criticism in all forms. Therefore, The Absolut Company has decided to stop the export of its brand to Russia, it said.

Russia not planning Wikipedia block for now, minister says

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:30 , Emily Atkinson

Russia is not yet planning to block Wikipedia, its minister of digital affairs said on Tuesday as a Moscow court handed the online encyclopedia another fine for failing to remove content Russia deems illegal.

Wikipedia is one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russian since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine.

We are not blocking Wikipedia yet, there are no such plans for now, Interfax news agency quoted digital affairs minister Maksut Shadaev as saying.

(REUTERS)

On Tuesday, a Moscow court fined Wikipedia owner Wikimedia Foundation 800,000 roubles ($9,777) for what Russian agencies said was a failure to remove information considered to be promoting train hopping, where a person rides on the side or top of a train.

Wikimedia has previously said information that Russian authorities complained about was well sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.

Brazil's Lula condemns invasion of Ukraine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:19 , Emily Atkinson

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said his administration condemns the violation of Ukraines territorial integrity and again defended efforts to end the conflict.

Speaking after a lunch with the President of Romania, Klaus Werner Iohannis, Lula insisted that a group of nations needs to come together to help broker a peace deal between Russia and the Ukraine.

Russian court rejects US reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention appeal

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson

A Moscow judge has rejected an appeal from US journalist Evan Gershkovich to be freed from detention before his trial on espionage charges,

Russias FSB security service arrested Mr Gershkovich at the end of March on charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence. He is the first US journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War.

Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), denies all the charges, which have been widely condemned as politically motivated. He looked calm and smiled as he stood in a glass and metal case before the ruling, wearing a checked shirt, with his arms folded.

Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn report:

Russian court rejects US reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention appeal

Ukraine says Black Sea grain deal under threat

Tuesday 18 April 2023 17:45 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday that the Black Sea grain deal faced the threat of being halted.

It is under threat of being halted and Russia has again blocked the inspection of ships, Svyrydenko told a news conference in Warsaw.

It is extremely important for us to unblock transit, otherwise Ukraine will remain blocked. We cannot together with our partners give Russia the opportunity to take advantage of this situation, she said.

Poland says has reached agreement on transit of Ukrainian grain

Tuesday 18 April 2023 17:16 , Emily Atkinson

Poland has reached an agreement on restarting transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory as of Friday, Polish agriculture minister Robert Telus has said, adding transits would be monitored and sealed.

Polands development minister Waldemar Buda added a ban on imports of Ukrainian food products to Poland would remain in place.

Ukraines first deputy prime minister said on Tuesday she was confident that Ukrainian exporters would respect the terms of a grain transit deal agreed with Poland.

The official, Yulia Svyrydenko, told a joint news conference with her Polish counterparts in Warsaw that the Ukrainian government understood the concerns of Polish and Ukrainian farmers and were committed to resolving the issue.

US leak wont impact spring offensive, UK insists

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:37 , Emily Atkinson

An apparent leak of highly classified US military documents should not have any impact on Ukraines planned spring offensive against Russia, a minister has said.

Defence minister James Heappey told the Commons Ukraine will likely continue as planned with its move to repel Vladimir Putins forces.

A 21-year-old US guardsman, Jack Teixeira, was arrested and appeared in court last week in connection with the apparent leak.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Top secret documents which have emerged contain assessments of the war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other top US national security issues.

Responding to concerns about the impact of the information on Ukraines planned spring offensive, Mr Heappey said: I think the Ukrainians will proceed with their plan as it is and I have every confidence that they will be successful.

The international effort to resource their plan is extraordinary and the plan is coming together very well indeed.

Russian parliament votes to introduce life sentences for treason

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:16 , Emily Atkinson

Russian lawmakers have voted to introduce life sentences for those convicted of treason, part of a concerted drive since Moscows invasion of Ukraine to step up punishment of dissenters and perceived traitors.

The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, also voted to increase maximum sentences for a range of terrorism and sabotage offences and introduced a new law that punishes those who help execute the legal decisions of international organisations that do not include Russia with up to five years in prison.

That move was a direct response to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin last month in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The amendments - which need to be approved by Russias upper house, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by Putin - come as rights groups say Russian authorities are ramping up a campaign to quash the few voices of opposition that remain in the country. The previous maximum sentence for treason was 20 years.

Zelensky praises troops during visit to eastern Ukraine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 15:52 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the small eastern city of Avdiivka on Tuesday, thanked them for their service and was briefed by commanders on the battlefield situation, his office said.

Avdiivka has been one of the main targets of a Russian winter offensive which was intended to reinvigorate Moscows full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, but has made only small territorial advances in the east.

(UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Video footage released by Zelenskys office showed him addressing troops in combat gear and handing them awards in what appeared to be a large industrial warehouse with sandbags packed against at least one of the high walls.

I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families, he said. I wish you only victory - this is what I wish for every Ukrainian, this is what is very important to all of us.

(UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Zelensky also visited a hospital where he met wounded soldiers and handed out awards.

Lavrov 'to talk Ukraine grain deal with UN chief next week

Tuesday 18 April 2023 15:24 , Emily Atkinson

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea export deal with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres when they meet in New York next week, Russias envoy said on Tuesday.

Of course, he will be raising that during his bilateral, Russias UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.

France and China working on secret plans to end Ukraine war

Tuesday 18 April 2023 14:35 , Emily Atkinson

French president Emmanuel Macron is working on a set of secret plans with China which could bring an end to Vladimir Putins brutal invasion of Ukraine, reports suggest.

Mr Macron has reportedly deployed his foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne to work in tandem with Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi to establish a framework that could bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table by this summer.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources familiar with the French initiative told Bloomberg that future talks would depend on several conditions, including a successful Ukrainian spring offensive that would boost Kyivs position during negotiations.

Bloomberg claims that official from Mr Macrons office had confirmed the plan for Mr Bonne to speak with Mr Wang.

The Independent has contacted The Elysee Palace for comment.

Romania could follow countries by banning grain imports

Tuesday 18 April 2023 13:15 , William Mata

Romania looked set on Tuesday to follow three other countries in banning Ukrainian grain imports, a setback for Kyiv as it tries to unblock exports through eastern Europe and salvage a wartime deal on shipping grain from the Black Sea.

Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops.

Talks between Kyiv and Warsaw went into a second day after European Union member states Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed import bans to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But Romanias ruling Social Democratic Party increased pressure on Kyiv by saying it would ask the coalition government to approve an emergency decree enforcing a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports though it wants transit to continue.

Judge upholds detention of US journalist

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:58 , William Mata

A Russian judge on Tuesday upheld the detention of jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on spying charges as part of a sweeping Kremlin crackdown on dissent amid the war in Ukraine.

Mr Gershkovich and the US government vehemently deny the allegations.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying allegations and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and elicited outrage in the West.

Dozens of journalists crowded into the courtroom to catch a glimpse of Mr Gershkovich, who looked calm as he stood inside a glass cage to appeal his detention.

Russias federal security service detained the 31-year-old in Yekaterinburg in March and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.

Gershkovich, his employer and the US government deny he was involved in spying and have demanded his 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, the WSJ has said in a statement.

Last week, the US officially declared that Mr Gershkovich was wrongfully detained.

He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich (Reuters)

Kremlin accuses UK and US diplomats of 'meddling' in the case of the Putin critic jailed

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:23 , William Mata

Russia has accused the ambassadors of Britain, the United States and Canada of interfering in its internal affairs after they condemned the treason conviction of a prominent opposition politician and it warned them they risk expulsion in future.

On Monday, a Moscow court jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza - who holds Russia and British passports - for 25 years after convicting him of treason in a trial he and the West said was politically-motivated. It was the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Kara-Murza, 41, for years successfully lobbied Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.

He also condemned what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The ambassadors of Britain, the United States and Canada made a joint appearance in front of TV cameras on the steps of the Moscow court after his verdict to condemn the ruling and demand his release.

British ambassador Deborah Bronnert delivered her remarks in Russian so that Russian-language TV channels could potentially broadcast them.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the diplomats' behaviour was unacceptable.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Ukraine seek to resume grain passage talks with Poland

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:00 , William Mata

Ukraine will try to unblock exports of food and grain through Poland in a second day of talks in Warsaw on Tuesday after some of its staunchest allies in central Europe imposed bans on its products.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have recently banned imports of Ukrainian grains and produce to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply.

Ukraines exports via these countries have risen due to Russias invasion, which has blocked some of its Black Sea ports.

Bottlenecks caused by slowed rail shipments or a lack of railcars have exacerbated the problem, trapping large quantities of Ukrainian grain in Central Europe which has lowered prices and hurt sales by local farmers, turning up the heat on governments.

Ukraine will try and unblock the exports of food and grain through Poland (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Alexander Lukashenko meets with Donetsk leader

Tuesday 18 April 2023 11:30 , William Mata

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting with the Russian-installed head of Ukraines Donetsk region on Tuesday, the state-run Belta news agency reported.

It follows a meeting between Mr Lukashenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier in the month (pictured below).

Belarus has been a key backer of Russia as many western nations have turned against the Kremlin after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia Belarus (Sputnik)

Who is Evan Gershkovich and what does Russia accuse him of?

Tuesday 18 April 2023 11:00 , William Mata

Who is Gershkovich?

Hired by the Wall Street Journal shortly before Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year, Gershkovich had been reporting on Russia for more than five years at the time of his arrest. The 31-year-old is a fluent Russian-speaker, the son of emigres who left the Soviet Union for the United States during the Cold War.

What were the circimstances of his arrest?

The FSB security service said on March 30 it had arrested him for trying to gather secrets about Russias military-industrial complex during a trip to Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km (880 miles) east of Moscow. His newspaper said it last heard from him the previous day when he arrived at a steakhouse in the city. He was brought back to the capital and charged with espionage, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He has denied the charge, which is also rejected by his newspaper.

What do the United States and Russia say about the case?

President Joe Biden has called Russias treatment of Gershkovich totally illegal. The United States last week officially designated him as wrongfully detained, effectively saying that the spy charges were bogus and the case was political. The Kremlin says Gershkovich was caught red-handed, but Russia has yet to publish any evidence to support that.

Where is he being held?

Gershkovich is in pre-trial detention at Moscows Lefortovo prison, where the FSB and its predecessor, the Soviet KGB, have traditionally held those suspected of spying or other grave crimes. U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy was able to visit him there for the first time on Monday but gave few details, except that he was healthy and bearing up well. In a handwritten letter dated April 5 to his parents, Gershkovich said he was reading, writing, taking exercise and not losing hope.

What happens next?

Tuesdays hearing is essentially procedural - about how Gershkovich should be detained as he awaits trial, not about the substance of the charges. Investigators are still working on the details of the case, which could drag on for months or years if the example of fellow American Paul Whelan is anything to go by. Whelan, a former Marine, was arrested in December 2018, held for 18 months in Lefortovo and jailed for 16 years in June 2020 on spying charges. He too is designated by Washington as wrongfully detained.

Evan Gershkovich

Reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal arrest

Tuesday 18 April 2023 10:30 , William Mata

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal on Tuesday against his arrest and detention in a former KGB prison in Moscow on charges of espionage, according to court documents.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and had opened an espionage case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military industrial complex.

Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, and the Journal have denied he was involved in espionage, as has Washington.

According to a public Russian judicial document, a Russian court will hear on Tuesday a complaint filed by Gershkovich against the decision to keep him in custody in Lefortovo prison while the case is being investigated.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

G7 ministers stress unity amid tensions with China and Russia

Tuesday 18 April 2023 10:00 , William Mata

The G7 drew together on Tuesday to criticise Chinas coercion of Taiwan and Russias threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, promising to intensify sanctions on Moscow for its war on neighbouring Ukraine.

The strength of the solidarity between the G7 foreign ministers is at a level not seen before, Japans foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference after hosting a meeting of the group in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa.

The show of unity comes after French president Emmanuel Macron this month said the European Union should reduce its dependency on the United States and cautioned against being drawn into a Taiwan crisis.

Beijing views Taiwan as Chinese territory and has not renounced the use of force to take the democratically governed island.
A bright flash of light seen over Kyiv last night has prompted a flurry of online speculation, with Russia, satellites, UFOs and even aliens blamed.

A video of the incident taken around 10pm showed a sudden beam of light illuminating a residential area, while another clip showed a flaming object crashing to the ground.

Presidential adviser Andriy Yermak took to Twitter and shared a UFO emoji without any further context. The comments under the tweet showed memes and cartoons of aliens and UFOs.

Kyiv has blamed the flash on a crashing Nasa satellite, but the US space agency has denied involvement and said there had been some confusion over an earlier announcement about bringing a retired satellite out of orbit.

On the war front, intelligence estimates show Russia controls about 87.9 per cent of Bakhmut as the battle for the mining city with little strategic value continues.

And a Ukrainian military spokesperson said Russian allegations that it had blown up four civilian buildings in Bakhmut were a provocation.

Key Points

The Russian ships accused of plotting sabotage in the North Sea

Lavrov says US cheats more often than it keeps promises

Drone strikes spark fire at Odesa recreational facility'

'Watch for signs Putin planning tactical nuke strike

Kyiv mocks Putins visit: Special tour of mass murders

Mysterious flash of light over Kyiv sparks rumours of aliens, UFO

04:39 , Arpan Rai

Speculations were rife in Ukraine after the night sky of the war-hit nation saw a flash of mysterious lights, prompting chatter of UFOs and aliens on social media.

Preliminary visuals showed the sky suddenly illuminated by a bright light, while another clip showed a flaming object crashing to the ground.

Shortly after, people took to social media to share several memes about aliens and unidentified flying objects.

The Kyiv city military administration said it was a crashing Nasa satellite based on preliminary information.

The Ukrainian air force, responsible for trying to down missiles and drones fired by Russia, said a satellite or a meteorite could be responsible.

Story continues

Please do not use official air force symbols to create memes for the enemy to enjoy! it said in a message.

Minutes earlier, presidential adviser Andriy Yermak had posted an emoji of a UFO.

However, Nasa denied the reports of a crashing satellite and said that there appeared to be some confusion over an earlier announcement the agency had made about bringing a retired satellite out of orbit in the early hours yesterday morning Kyiv time.

Mozart's Requiem to raise funds for charitys amazing work in Ukraine

05:00 , Emily Atkinson

A former opera singer has organised a Mozart requiem to raise funds for a charity which provides medical professionals with the skills to work in hostile environments after being inspired by its amazing founders work.

Fiona MacDonald, a trustee of the Wilfred Owen Association and founder of military charity Bravehound, alongside members of McOpera  a collective of musicians from the Scottish Opera Orchestra  are to hold the requiem at 6pm on April 30 at Glasgow Cathedral, with funds raised going towards the David Nott Foundations work in Ukraine.

Mozart requiem to raise funds for charitys amazing work in Ukraine

Russia controls about 88% of Bakhmut  intelligence assessment

04:24 , Arpan Rai

The intelligence estimates show Russia controls about 87.9 per cent of Bakhmut as the battle for the mining city with little strategic value continues.

This comes as the Ukrainian general staff said that there is hevy fighting underway within Bakhmut with the Ukrainian forces repelling Russian ground attacks southwest of the town in Stupochky.

In the past day, Ukrainian and Russian troops engaged in 34 combat clashes in Bakhmut, the Ukrainian eastern group of forces spokesperson Colonel Serhiy Cherevaty said.

While Russian milbloggers have claimed that Wagner group is making significant progress in the urban warfare points, the US-based think-tank points out that the ground advances are not 90 per cent as claimed by Donetsk Peoples Republic advisor Yan Gagin.

It is likely that Russian forces are using FAB air-dropped bombs to destroy Ukrainian fortified areas in Bakhmut, as claimed by a Russian milblogger.

The battle for Bakhmut  spanning about nine months now  is the longest and the bloodiest battle in the Russian invasion of Ukraine, dubbed meat-grinder which has witnessed heavy casualties on both sides.

In pictures: Zelensky visits troops in northwestern Ukraine

04:00 , Emily Atkinson

(EPA)

(EPA)

(EPA)

Zelensky to address Mexicos Congress today

03:54 , Arpan Rai

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky is set to virtually address Mexicos Congress today, said two people familiar with the matter.

The speech is due to take place around midday today, sources said.

Mr Zelensky has continued his outreach efforts with allies to seek arms aid as it fights off Russian invasion.

He will address the lower house of Congress on an invite from a congressional friendship group between Mexico and Ukraine, according to the sources. There are other similar groups in the Mexican Congress, including one for Russia.

Mexicos government has said it takes a neutral position on the war, even as some supporters of Ukraine have criticised the countrys leftist president Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador for taking issue with European arms shipments to Kyiv.

However, Mexico has voted alongside the United States and other Western powers on a number of major UN resolutions.

EU is still largest importer of Russian oil due to loophole in sanctions, report claims

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

The European Union is still the largest importer of oil products from Russia among the countries that have imposed some of the strictest sanctions on Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, new data has revealed.

It is because the EU indirectly imported oil from countries that have become the main buyers of energy from Moscow undermining its own sanctions.

Five laundromat countries that export Russian crude to the EU were identified by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its new report.

Shweta Sharma reports:

EU is still largest importer of Russian oil due to loophole in sanctions, report says

Watch: Russian spy vessel in North Sea approached by Danish journalists

02:00 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraine's top prosecutor speaks of 'evil' Russian atrocities

01:00 , Emily Atkinson

Russias invading forces are deliberately using rape, torture and kidnapping to try and sow terror among civilians in Ukraine, the top prosecutor in Ukraine told U.S. lawmakers in graphic testimony Wednesday.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said that nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

More on this story here:

Ukraine's top prosecutor speaks of 'evil' Russian atrocities

European Commission could enforce Ukrainian grain imports ban in five states

Thursday 20 April 2023 00:00 , Emily Atkinson

The European Commission aims to enforce a ban of Ukrainian imports of grains and oilseeds until 5 June in five EU states neighbouring Ukraine provided the states withdraw individual bans they have enforced, Romanias agriculture minister said.

The measure can be taken within 48 hours after states withdraw their unilateral measures, minister Petre Daea told reporters late on Wednesday after talks with European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis and ministers from Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland and Slovakia. Further talks will follow.

The four countries have all banned Ukrainian grain imports as central and eastern European states come under domestic pressure to shield local farmers. Romania has introduced restrictions but stopped short of a ban.

Biden to host Spain's leader at White House

Wednesday 19 April 2023 23:00 , Emily Atkinson

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez will visit US president Joe Biden on 12 May, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced on Wednesday.

The leaders will coordinate on issues including climate change and expanded cooperation with Latin America and the Caribbean, as Spain prepares to take on the rotating presidency of the Council of the European Union, she said.

The two leaders will review our efforts as Nato allies and close partners to strengthen our bilateral defense relationship, transatlantic security, and economic prosperity, Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

They will discuss our unwavering support for Ukraine and our efforts to impose costs on the Kremlin as Russia continues its brutal war of aggression.

Moldova summons Russian envoy to expel member of embassy

Wednesday 19 April 2023 22:00 , Emily Atkinson

Moldova has summoned the Russian ambassador to declare a member of embassy staff persona non grata, prompting Moscow to complain.

Government press secretary Daniel Voda told reporters the decision was connected to the actions of embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport this week.

Moldova, which applied to join the European Union last year alongside its neighbour Ukraine, has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilise the country, something Moscow denies.

(REUTERS)

Moldova told Russian politicians not to meddle in its internal affairs on Monday after barring Rustam Minnikhanov, governor of Russias Tatarstan region. Police said he aimed to bolster support for a pro-Russian candidate standing in a regional election.

Russian ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov said he had not received answers to why the embassy employee was being kicked out and why Minnikhanov had been barred.

We consider these actions to be unfriendly steps towards our country, he told reporters.

US sending $325 million in more military aid to Ukraine

Wednesday 19 April 2023 21:00 , Emily Atkinson

The US is sending Ukraine about $325 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds and ammunition as the launch of the spring offensive against Russian forces approaches, the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The U.S has declined to say exactly how much munitions will be sent to Ukraine, but the latest package resembles other recent deliveries, which included rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and howitzers, as well as an array of other missiles and anti-tank ammunition. It will all be pulled from Pentagon stocks, so it can go quickly to the front lines.

More on this story here:

US sending $325 million in more military aid to Ukraine

Italian judges face disciplinary action over Russian fugitive

Wednesday 19 April 2023 20:00 , Emily Atkinson

Italys justice minister has begun disciplinary action against three judges who granted house arrest to a Russian businessman facing extradition to the US who later escaped and fled to Russia, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter have told Reuters.

Artem Uss was due to face charges in the US for shipping oil from Venezuela in breach of sanctions, and for bank fraud.

The suspect left his home in Basiglio, on the outskirts of Milan, last month one day after a Milan court had agreed to transfer him to the US. His electronic tag did send out an alarm but Uss had fled by the time police reached the property.

Italian Minister Carlo Nordio, according to the sources, accused the Milan appeals court judges of gross and inexcusable negligence for granting the suspect house arrest last November despite opposition from the Prosecutor Generals Office.

Prosecutors, the sources said, had pointed out the deep financial resources of the suspect, who is the son of the Krasnoyarsk regional governor, and the real danger of flight.

Wednesday 19 April 2023 19:15 , Emily Atkinson

Sports shoes and flowers line the front of the Angels of Sports exhibition with portraits of Ukrainian athletes, who were killed during Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Kyiv.

(REUTERS)

(REUTERS)

UK says Russian hackers aim to attack key infrastructure

Wednesday 19 April 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson

Russian hackers are seeking to disrupt or destroy Britains critical infrastructure and not enough is being done to stop them, U.K. government officials said Wednesday.

Britains National Cyber Security Centre issued an official threat notice to operators of Britains electricity, water and other critical systems, telling them to boost their defenses.

I dont think we are yet doing enough to protect our infrastructure from the cyber threats emerging from Russia-aligning groups, the centers chief, Lindy Cameron, said.

More on this story here:

UK says Russian hackers aim to attack key infrastructure

US announces new military aid package for Ukraine

Wednesday 19 April 2023 17:46 , Emily Atkinson

The United States has announced a new military aid package for Ukraine to help the Ukrainian military in its war against Russia.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the package will include more ammunition and artillery rounds. It is the 36th security package since the war began in February 2022, she told reporters.

US-made patriot guided missiles arrive in Ukraine

Wednesday 19 April 2023 17:10 , Emily Atkinson

Ukraines defence minister said his country has received the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved, and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian strikes during the war.

Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet: Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine.

Patriots for patriots



Do you know how to visualize a dream? We must tell about it to the world and give it life! This is exactly what happened with the Patriots, even before the large-scale war, even before my appointment to the most important position of my life at the most pic.twitter.com/m6H63erV6Z  Oleksii Reznikov (@oleksiireznikov) April 19, 2023

Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion.

The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.

US 'looking forward to Sweden becoming Nato member before July summit

Wednesday 19 April 2023 16:40 , Emily Atkinson

The US defence secretary said the country is looking forward to welcoming Sweden as a member of Nato before the alliances upcoming summit in July.

During a visit to Sweden on Wednesday, Lloyd Austin also said he would encourage Turkey and Hungary to ratify Stokholms accession to the defence bloc.

Along with Finland, Sweden applied to join ato in May last year. Finlands application was processed in record time and it became the 31st member of the alliance earlier this month  more than doubling Natos border with Russia.

(TT NEWS AGENCY/AFP via Getty Ima)

Swedens accession has been held up by Turkey and Hungary, who have yet to ratify Sweden as a member.

We look forward to soon welcoming Sweden as the 32nd (member of Nato). To be clear, we look forward to that to happen before the summit in July, Austin told a news conference.

We encourage our allies, Turkey and Hungary, to ratify Swedens accession as soon as possible.

Ukraine's military accuses Russia of 'provocation' over Bakhmut incident

Wednesday 19 April 2023 16:14 , Emily Atkinson

A Ukrainian military spokesperson has accused Moscow of a provocation after Russian proxy forces said Ukrainian forces had blown up four buildings in the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, killing 20 civilians.

Russias state-run TASS news agency quoted an unnamed source in the Russian-backed power structures of Ukraines eastern Donetsk region as saying Ukrainian forces had blown up the buildings as they pulled back from the outskirts of Bakhmut.

(via REUTERS)

This is another Russian information provocation with the goal of ... distracting (attention) from the crimes of the Wagner terrorist organisation, Serhiy Cherevatyi, a military spokesperson, told Reuters, referring to the Wagner private military company fighting alongside Russian forces.

Ukrainian service members absolutely adhere to all rules and doctrines of war fighting (and) never violate either national nor international law, especially regarding civilians.

Putin: Goods deliveries to regions annexed by Russia are problematic

Wednesday 19 April 2023 15:53 , Emily Atkinson

Vladimir Putin has conceded that delivering goods to regions of Ukraine that Russia unilaterally annexed last year was problematic, and has ordered the government to address the problem.

Putin visited Russian-controlled territory in Ukraines Luhansk and Kherson regions on Monday, according to the Kremlin.

(AP)

The Russian ships accused of plotting sabotage in the North Sea

Wednesday 19 April 2023 15:38 , Emily Atkinson

Russia is developing plans to sabotage wind farms, gas pipelines and power cables in the North Sea, according to a joint investigation.

Public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland report that Russia has deployed a fleet of ships to carry out underwater surveillance and map key sites for possible disruption to European communications and energy supply.

The boats are disguised as fishing trawlers and research vessels but are feeding information to the Kremlin which could be used to paralyse Nordic countries in the event of conflict between Russia and the West, intelligence sources are cited as saying.

My colleague Liam James has the details:

The Russian ships accused of plotting sabotage in the North Sea

Cyprus says will not tolerate sanctions-busting amid scrutiny

Wednesday 19 April 2023 15:26 , Emily Atkinson

Cyprus says it will not tolerate any deviation from EU sanctions on Russia, and said it was in touch with the UK and US after a number of its nationals were blacklisted last week as sanctions-busting enablers.

Britain sanctioned two Cypriots, and the US about a dozen Cypriots or dual-nationals on 12 April for alleged ties to people facing sanctions or entities sanctioned over Russias invasion of Ukraine.

It alarmed Cyprus, which has a thriving services industry in part built on hosting an extensive network of businesses with links to Russia and a past reputation of light-touch regulation.

Cyprus has asked both the UK and the US for additional information to pass on to its own law enforcement agencies for assessment, officials said.

The credibility of our country must be safeguarded and no deviation from EU sanctions will be tolerated, government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.

Romania to seal and monitor Ukraine grain in transit

Wednesday 19 April 2023 15:04 , Emily Atkinson

Romania will seal and monitor Ukrainian grain cargoes transiting the country and conduct quality controls on food products at border checkpoints, the agriculture ministry announced, while stopping short of banning imports.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria joined Poland, Hungary and Slovakia in temporarily banning Ukrainian grain imports as central and eastern European states come under domestic pressure to shield local farmers.

In Romania, Agriculture Minister Petre Daea held talks over video link with his Ukrainian counterpart Mykola Solsky and asked him to quickly identify solutions to restrict grain and oilseeds exports to Romania. The two will meet in Bucharest on Friday.

Russian foreign minister says US cheats more often than it keeps promises'

Wednesday 19 April 2023 14:32 , Liam James

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that the United States can cheat at any moment, claiming Russia had experienced this when the Western military alliance Nato expanded eastward.

I want to emphasise that everyone knows very well that the United States can cheat at any moment, and much more often they cheat than they keep their own promises, their own proposals, Mr Lavrov said as he addressed a press conference following talks with Venezuelan foreign minister Yvan Gil Pinto.

The pair held talks in Caracas hours after the Russian minister arrived in the country in the second stop of a tour of four Latin American nations. Both men vowed continued support for each others country and condemned the economic sanctions Washington has imposed on them.

We fully support the position of our Venezuelan friends, Mr Lavrov said. It is their country ... and we are going to support it in any way so that the Venezuelan economy becomes an independent economy from the pressures of the United States and other western actors.

Lavrov and Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro shake hands during a meeting at the Miraflores Presidential Palace in Caracas (AFP/Getty)

Zelensky meets troops on Belarus border

Wednesday 19 April 2023 14:01 , Liam James

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said he had visited the border with Belarus and Poland, where he praised the work of border guards.

It is an honour for me to be here today to thank our border guards for protecting the state border, he wrote under video footage showing him meeting and addressing border guards.

Ukrainian troops have been conducting military exercises at the border with Belarus after fears were raised over President Alexander Lukashenkos assistance to the Russian invasion, including potentially allowing Russian troops to enter the invasion from his territory.

Last month, Russian president Vladimir Putin said he was stationing tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus.

Zelensky visits the border with Belarus in Volyn region, western Ukraine (Reuters)

Bulgaria brings ban on Ukraine grain imports

Wednesday 19 April 2023 13:45 , Liam James

Bulgaria introduced a temporary ban on Ukraine grain imports, Radio Bulgaria reported on its website quoting caretaker prime minister Galab Donev.

Sofia would follow Poland and Hungary in bringing bans on Ukrainian imports to protect their local markets after an increase in supply from Kyic depressed prices in neighbouring countries.

Over the past year, a significant amount of food has remained in the country and disrupted food chains, the report quoted Mr Donev as saying.

We are forced to adopt this national measure because the European authorities are still considering an adequate measure.

The European Union is preparing 100m (88m) of compensation for farmers in countries bordering Ukraine and plans to introduce restrictions on imports of Ukrainian cereals, a European Commission spokesperson saidtoday.

Russian opposition leader loses appeal against jail term

Wednesday 19 April 2023 13:15 , Liam James

Jailed Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin lost his appeal against an eight-and-a-half year prison sentence for discrediting the Russian army, according to a correspondent in the court.

Mr Yashin was jailed in December over charges of spreading false information about the military  a new offence added to the countrys criminal law after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered an invasion of Ukraine.

The former municipal deputy of Moscows charges related to a series of posts about the murder and torture of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha.

A law enforcement officer stands guard by screens broadcasting live from Yashins hearing in Moscow City Court (AFP/Getty)

Ukraine says it has received Patriot missile systems

Wednesday 19 April 2023 12:45 , Liam James

Ukraines defence minister confirmed Kyiv had received Patriot air defence systems.

Oleksi Reznikoz said the surface-to-air missile systems made Ukrainian skies more secure, after Kyivs air force earlier this week warned the country could lose control of its skies as soon as next month.

Our air defenders have mastered them as fast as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Mr Reznikov wrote on Twitter.

Mr Reznikov thanked Germanys defence minister. Germany earlier said it had delivered Patriot systems with missiles to Ukraine.

File photo: Patriot air defence systems during Polish military training on the missile systems at the airport in Warsaw, in February (Reuters)

Russia-linked hackers want to destroy UK, Tory minister warns

Wednesday 19 April 2023 12:15 , Liam James

Britain is facing cyber threats from Russia-aligned groups who want to to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure, senior Tory minister Oliver Dowden is warning (Adam Forrest writes).

The Cabinet Office minister will use a speech in Belfast to say Russia hackers are ideologically motivated, rather than financially motivated and have begun to target the UK this year.

Mr Dowden is set to confirm on Wednesday that the National Cyber Security Centre is issuing an official threat notice to operators of the UKs critical national infrastructure.

The minister will reveal that in the last few months several Russia-aligned groups have focused on the UK  with Mr Dowden warning that ideological motivation means that they are less likely to show restraint.

Click here for the full story:

Russia-linked hackers want to destroy UK, Tory minister warns

Jailed Russian opposition leader has appeal heard in Moscow

Wednesday 19 April 2023 11:50 , Liam James

Ilya Yashin, a jailed Russian opposition leader, has had an appeal against his sentence heard in a Moscow court.

In December, Mr Yashin was sentenced to eight-and-a-half years in prison on charges of spreading false information about the military  a new offence added to the countrys criminal law after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine.

The former municipal deputy of Moscows charges related to a series of posts about the murder and torture of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha.

On Monday, a Russian court convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr of treason for publicly denouncing the invasion of Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison.

Yashin waves during an appeal hearing at the Moscow City Court (EPA)

Ukraine grain deal inspections resume

Wednesday 19 April 2023 11:25 , Liam James

Inspections of ships are resuming under a UN-brokered agreement on the safe export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Ukrainian deputy prime minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said.

The Russian news agency RIA said inspections had already resumed after two days of talks, citing the UN coordinators press office.

Ukraine said Russia blocked the inspections of ships on Monday. Moscow last month agreed to renew the deal for at least 60 days, half the intended period.

The Kremlin said it would only consider a further extension if several demands in relation to its own exports were met.

File photo: Commercial vessels including vessels which are part of Black Sea grain deal wait to pass the Bosphorus strait last October (Reuters)

Russian-sympathetic hackers fueling cyber-attack fears, British security chief warns

Wednesday 19 April 2023 11:00 , Liam James

Lindy Cameron, chief executive of Britains National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), said growing fears about increased cyber attacks on the UK were rooted in the potential for hackers sympathetic to Russia, or being directed by the Kremlin, to turn their attention to Britain.

Due to address the CyberUK conference in Belfast today, Ms Cameron said cyber attackers could begin to broaden their focus out from Ukraine to the wider West as the conflict in eastern Europe goes on.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4s Today programme, she said: What weve seen over the last few months is a change in intent by what we are describing as state-aligned groups.

So organisations that are sympathetic to the Russian governments position and where we see some intent to try and target the UKs critical national infrastructure  so this is not something everyone should worry about, this is specifically focused on our critical national infrastructure  either with destructive activity or with disinformation.

What we are still seeing is quite low-level activity but it is really important that our critical national infrastructure is well protected and resilient, as we called out in the recent integrated review refresh. And we want to ensure people are ready for the kind of threat they could face in the future.

Cameron has been head of NCSC since 2020 (NCSC)

Moldova to declare Russian embassy worker persona non grata

Wednesday 19 April 2023 10:35 , Liam James

Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to declare a member of the Russian embassy staff persona non grata, a government spokesperson said.

Government press secretary Daniel Vode told reporters the decision was connected to the actions of embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport this week.

The embassy staffer was not named.

Russian-backed forces claim Ukraine killed 20 civilians in Bakhmut

Wednesday 19 April 2023 10:20 , Liam James

Russian-backed separatists have claimed that Ukrainian forces blew up four residential buildings, killing 20 civilians, while retreating from Bakhmut, Russias state-owned Tass news agency reported.

Ukrainian officials have not commented on the claims.The Independent has not been able to confirm the report.

The commander of Ukraines ground forces yesterday said Russia n forces were stepping up their use of heavy artillery and air strikes in the Donetsk city which has been the central point of fighting in the invasion for months.

Ukraine has repeatedly denied claims by Russia and its allied forces that Bakhmut has fallen.

Ukrainian servicemen return from heavy fighting near Bakhmut on Saturday (Reuters)

Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

Wednesday 19 April 2023 10:02 , Liam James

Emmanuel Macron is said to be looking to make arrangements with China that could see talks held between Russia and Ukraine by the summer (William Mata writes).

The French president is believed to have asked his foreign policy advisor, Emmanuel Bonne, to reach out to his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi with the final aim of setting up negotiations.

On a recent trip to China, Mr Macron was seemingly unable to convince President Xi to finally speak with President Volodymyr Zelensky after a silence between the pair that has lasted since Moscow invaded Ukraine.

The details of Mr Macrons plan are not clear and reports have not said if they have the blessing of Mr Zelensky.

Click here for the full story:

Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

Ukraine shoots down 10 Iranian-made drones over Odesa, say officials

Wednesday 19 April 2023 09:45 , Liam James

Ukraines air force said it shot down 10 out of 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones which targeted Odesa overnight.

Two of the drones Russia launched in the region overnight hit a recreational infrastructure facility, causing a fire, the local administration said.

No casualties were reported.

(Odesa City/Telegram)

Odesa City administration said firefighters were able to extinguish the blaze quickly

(Odesa City/Telegram)

Further details of the recreational site were not offered but pictures showed a building decorated with cartoons and drawings ablaze

(Odesa City/Telegram)

Authorities said the strikes were carried out with Iranian-made Shahed-131/136 drones

Brazil condemns Russian invasion, repeating controversial peace call

Wednesday 19 April 2023 09:34 , Liam James

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned the violation of Ukraines territorial integrity by Russia and again called for mediation to end the war, a peace initiative that was criticised by the Ukrainian government.

Speaking at a lunch with Romanian president Klaus Iohannis, Mr Lula said a group of neutral nations must come together to help broker peace between Russia and Ukraine.

His comments came after he set off a storm among Western allies by stating over the weekend that they were prolonging the fighting by supplying arms to Ukraine.

A White House spokesperson accused Mr Lula of parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts. And on Tuesday, the White House said Mr Lulas tone was not one of neutrality.

Lula at the Planalto Palace in Brasilia yesterday (AP)

Russia stepping up Bakhmut assault, says Ukraine

Wednesday 19 April 2023 09:10 , Liam James

Russian forces are stepping up their use of heavy artillery and airstrikes in the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, the commander of Ukraines ground forces said yesterday.

Fighting in and around Bakhmut has for months been the central battle of the war in Ukraine and despite Russian claims to have taken the town, Kyiv has repeatedly denied losing control.

Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins, General Oleksandr Syrskyi said in a statement.

He said Russia, which launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, remained committed to taking Bakhmut at any cost but was suffering significant losses in the battle for the city.

(AFP/Getty)

Artillerymen of the Ukrainian 80th separate airborne assault brigade fire from a BM-21 Grad multiple rocket launcher towards Russian positions on the front line near Bakhmut

(AFP/Getty)

The BM-21 Grad, a multiple rocket launcher first developed in the Soviet-era, has seen havy use in the invasion

(AFP/Getty)

A member of the 80th brigade plays accordion during a rest on the frontline near Bakhmut

EU still largest importer of Russian fuel, report finds

Wednesday 19 April 2023 08:55 , Liam James

The European Union is the largest importer of fossil fuel energy from Russia despite the bloc leading in the implementation of the strictest sanctions against Moscow, new data has revealed (Shweta Sharma writes).

The reason the EU is still the largest importer is because it continues to purchase a record number of crude products through the main buyers of Russian oil.

Five laundromat countries that export the Russian crude to the EU were identified by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its new report.

The five countries are China, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore.

Click here for the full story:

EU is still largest importer of Russian oil due to loophole in sanctions, report says

Watch for signs Putin planning tactical nuke strike, says top US diplomat

Wednesday 19 April 2023 08:31 , Liam James

The US and Nato must keep watch for signs Russian president Vladimir Putin is planning a tactical nuclear weapon strike in Ukraine, the second-highest US diplomat said.

Mr Putin could launch such an attack in a managed escalation of his invasion, Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary of state, said during the opening session of an annual Nato arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.

We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in an managed risk escalation, Mr Sherman said. It is very critical to remain watchful of this.

The Russian president last month announced he was preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way, Ms Sherman said.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.

ICYMI: Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

Wednesday 19 April 2023 07:00 , Emily Atkinson

Emmanuel Macron is said to be looking to make arrangements with China that could see talks held between Russia and Ukraine by the summer.

William Mata has more:

Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

British MoD warns of Russian disinformation: Narrative laundering'

Wednesday 19 April 2023 06:59 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has warned against the continuing disinformation campaign from Moscow as it said that the Russian state has systematically used information operations as a major element of its strategy after invading Ukraine.

It has cultivated multiple channels and proxies to spread disinformation: the intentional creation and sharing of false or manipulated information. One component of Russias disinformation is narrative laundering, whereby Russia promotes information from proxies, or unverified social media sources, which then permeates to more mainstream or state-run media, the MoD said in its latest intelligence update.

It added: This aims to cloud the source of the information, making it easier for the Russian state to distance itself from the message. It then promotes misleading fragments of the narrative, while masking its vested interest.

Russian state actors present manipulated narratives in both orchestrated and opportunistic ways. Their current priorities almost certainly include discrediting the Ukrainian government and reducing international support for Ukraine, the MoD said.

Ukraine shoots down 10 Shahed drones in Odesa overnight

Wednesday 19 April 2023 06:19 , Arpan Rai

Ukraines air force has said it has shot down 10 out of 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones which targeted Odesa oblast overnight.

Two of the drones Russia launched in the region overnight hit a public infrastructure facility, the Odesa oblast military administration said.

Zelensky and top US House Republican McCarthy discuss Russia sanctions

Wednesday 19 April 2023 06:12 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he and US House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call Ukraines need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.

On Twitter, Mr Zelensky said he thanked Mr McCarthy for bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine as well as Ukraines defence needs. Outlined the situation at the front and Ukraines urgent defence needs in armoured vehicles, artillery, air defence and aircraft, Mr Zelenskys tweet said.

He said they also discussed enhancing sanctions pressure on Russia, including in oil and gas.

A spokesman for Mr McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What we know about the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

Wednesday 19 April 2023 06:00 , Emily Atkinson

American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been arrested and detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home in Princeton, New Jersey, Gershkovich graduated from the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine before embarking on a career in the media, firstly at The New York Times, then The Moscow Times and then Agence France-Presse before joining WSJ, where he began covering Russian affairs just a month before the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What we know about arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

Latest images from Ukrainian frontline in Bakhmut

Wednesday 19 April 2023 05:00 , Emily Atkinson

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Zelenskys aide mocks Putins visit: Special tour of mass murders

Wednesday 19 April 2023 04:28 , Arpan Rai

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak took to Twitter and mocked Vladimir Putin's trip.

Putins degradation is impressive. The world waited for his statement a year ago. Now they dont. Theres no such political actor. Theres only a special tour of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.

The Russian presidnet had attended a military command meeting in Ukraines southern Kherson region and visited a national guard headquarters in eastern Luhansk.

Kherson is partially occupied by Russian forces.

He was briefed by the commanders of the airborne forces and the Dnieper army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south.

Wagner controls 90% of Bakhmut, says Russia-backed leader

Wednesday 19 April 2023 04:17 , Arpan Rai

A Russia-backed official has said that the Wagner Groups mercenary forces have captured almost 90 per cent of Bakhmut.

The Wagner private military company controls about 90% of Artyomovsk [Russian name for Bakhmut] and its advance is inevitable, said Yan Gagin, an advisor to the Donetsk Peoples Republics (DPR) leader, reported TASS news agency.

A week back, the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had said that Russian forces controlled more than 80 per cent of Bakhmut, including all administrative buildings.

He added that Ukrainian troops were booby-trapping and blowing up major infrastructure facilities before leaving the western outskirts of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian armed forces are okay with using scorched earth tactics. This is what they did in Volnovakha and Mariupol, and now, they are blowing up and booby-trapping major infrastructure facilities in Artyomovsk before retreating from the western outskirts of the city. A local community centre was one of the buildings that they blew up recently, the Russia-installed leader told TASS news agency.

Russian hackers targeting Western critical infrastructure, warns UK

Wednesday 19 April 2023 04:10 , Arpan Rai

British cyber defence agency has warned of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine.

Russia-aligned hacktivists have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. However, some of those groups have been actively plotting ways to do more real-world damage, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, said in an alert.

Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against Western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK, the NCSC said.

We expect these groups to look for opportunities to create such an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected, said the alert, which was released to the press at a two-day conference hosted by the NCSC and GCHQ in Belfast.

The alert added that while such groups are ideologically-motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are not subject to formal state control.

This makes them less predictable, it said.

A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

US Navy veteran under investigation in connection to Pentagon documents leak

Wednesday 19 April 2023 04:00 , Emily Atkinson

The US government is investigating the role of a multi-platform social media persona known as the Donbass Devushka, and the role of a US Navy veteran in operating it, as it pursues the prosecution of a man for allegedly leaking sensitive military documents.

Donbass Devushka, which roughly translates to young Donbass woman, hosts generally pro-Russia content across a variety of platforms, including a now-private Twitter account, a prolific YouTube platform, and others.

John Bowden has more:

US Navy veteran under investigation in connection to Pentagon documents leak

Russian launches overnight drones on Odesa

Wednesday 19 April 2023 03:48 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces have launched drones on southern Ukraines Odesa region overnight, sparking a fire at an infrastructure facility, the head of the military command of the Odesa region, Yuri Kruk, said today.

There are no immediate casualties reported from the site of attack and firefighters were working at the scene.

US urges Nato to watch for signs Russia could use nuclear weapon

Wednesday 19 April 2023 03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Nato allies must remain alert for signs Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a managed escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest US diplomat has urged.

Deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman issued the warning during the opening session of an annual Nato arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.

We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in a managed risk escalation, Sherman said. It is very critical to remain watchful of this.

(Sputnik)

Putinsannouncement that Russia is preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way, Sherman said.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.

Putin denies having any intention of employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where his forces for months have been bogged down in fierce fighting that has been costly for both sides.

Brazil is wrong to argue US encouraging Ukraine war, White House says

Wednesday 19 April 2023 02:00 , Emily Atkinson

Brazil is wrong to argue that the United States is encouraging the Ukraine war and its tone is not one of neutrality, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected comments from Brazils president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has accused the United States and the European Union of prolonging the conflict by supplying arms to the Ukrainians.

She said US officials were struck by the tone of Lulas comments and added, of course we want this war to end.

The tone was not neutral and it is not true and we will continue to speak out about that, she said.

Russian-installed Donetsk chief meets Belarus president

Wednesday 19 April 2023 01:00 , Emily Atkinson

The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraines Donetsk region met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday and said he had discussed ways of boosting trade.

Denis Pushilin, writing on Telegram, said he was interested in quarry equipment, tractors and buses as well as building products and furniture.

In return, his region was ready to export grain to Belarus in addition to existing shipments of sunflower seeds.

The so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic is one of the four regions in Ukraine that Moscow proclaimed as its own last September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies called a sham, coercive referendum. (

Watch: Putin visits Russian troops in Ukraine's Kherson and Luhansk regions

Wednesday 19 April 2023 00:00 , Emily Atkinson

Former McDonalds restaurants in Belarus to be renamed

Tuesday 18 April 2023 22:30 , Emily Atkinson

Restaurants formerly operating under the McDonalds brand in Belarus will be renamed Mak.by, the local company has announced, retaining access to recipes and apparently branching out from the new brand in neighbouring Russia.

McDonalds restaurants in Belarus, all 25 of which had been operated by local licensee KSB Victory Restaurants, were originally set to be rebranded as Vkusno & tochka, the successor to McDonalds restaurants in Russia.

(REUTERS)

French spirits group suspends Absolut vodka exports to Russia

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:30 , Emily Atkinson

French spirits group Pernod Ricard has said it is suspending exports entirely of its premium vodka Absolut to Russia, having previously reduced sales following Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, several media outlets reported that Absolut was supplying products in an amount that can support local employees and give local entities economic sustainability, citing a Pernod spokesperson.

The reports sparked criticism in Sweden, where the vodka is made.

Pernod said in a statement emailed to Reuters that as a result it has taken the decision to suspend Absolut supplies entirely due to a duty of care towards our employees and partners.

We cannot expose them to massive criticism in all forms. Therefore, The Absolut Company has decided to stop the export of its brand to Russia, it said.

Russia not planning Wikipedia block for now, minister says

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:30 , Emily Atkinson

Russia is not yet planning to block Wikipedia, its minister of digital affairs said on Tuesday as a Moscow court handed the online encyclopedia another fine for failing to remove content Russia deems illegal.

Wikipedia is one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russian since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine.

We are not blocking Wikipedia yet, there are no such plans for now, Interfax news agency quoted digital affairs minister Maksut Shadaev as saying.

(REUTERS)

On Tuesday, a Moscow court fined Wikipedia owner Wikimedia Foundation 800,000 roubles ($9,777) for what Russian agencies said was a failure to remove information considered to be promoting train hopping, where a person rides on the side or top of a train.

Wikimedia has previously said information that Russian authorities complained about was well sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.

Brazil's Lula condemns invasion of Ukraine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:19 , Emily Atkinson

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said his administration condemns the violation of Ukraines territorial integrity and again defended efforts to end the conflict.

Speaking after a lunch with the President of Romania, Klaus Werner Iohannis, Lula insisted that a group of nations needs to come together to help broker a peace deal between Russia and the Ukraine.

Russian court rejects US reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention appeal

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson

A Moscow judge has rejected an appeal from US journalist Evan Gershkovich to be freed from detention before his trial on espionage charges,

Russias FSB security service arrested Mr Gershkovich at the end of March on charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence. He is the first US journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War.

Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), denies all the charges, which have been widely condemned as politically motivated. He looked calm and smiled as he stood in a glass and metal case before the ruling, wearing a checked shirt, with his arms folded.

Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn report:

Russian court rejects US reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention appeal

Ukraine says Black Sea grain deal under threat

Tuesday 18 April 2023 17:45 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday that the Black Sea grain deal faced the threat of being halted.

It is under threat of being halted and Russia has again blocked the inspection of ships, Svyrydenko told a news conference in Warsaw.

It is extremely important for us to unblock transit, otherwise Ukraine will remain blocked. We cannot together with our partners give Russia the opportunity to take advantage of this situation, she said.

Poland says has reached agreement on transit of Ukrainian grain

Tuesday 18 April 2023 17:16 , Emily Atkinson

Poland has reached an agreement on restarting transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory as of Friday, Polish agriculture minister Robert Telus has said, adding transits would be monitored and sealed.

Polands development minister Waldemar Buda added a ban on imports of Ukrainian food products to Poland would remain in place.

Ukraines first deputy prime minister said on Tuesday she was confident that Ukrainian exporters would respect the terms of a grain transit deal agreed with Poland.

The official, Yulia Svyrydenko, told a joint news conference with her Polish counterparts in Warsaw that the Ukrainian government understood the concerns of Polish and Ukrainian farmers and were committed to resolving the issue.

US leak wont impact spring offensive, UK insists

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:37 , Emily Atkinson

An apparent leak of highly classified US military documents should not have any impact on Ukraines planned spring offensive against Russia, a minister has said.

Defence minister James Heappey told the Commons Ukraine will likely continue as planned with its move to repel Vladimir Putins forces.

A 21-year-old US guardsman, Jack Teixeira, was arrested and appeared in court last week in connection with the apparent leak.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Top secret documents which have emerged contain assessments of the war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other top US national security issues.

Responding to concerns about the impact of the information on Ukraines planned spring offensive, Mr Heappey said: I think the Ukrainians will proceed with their plan as it is and I have every confidence that they will be successful.

The international effort to resource their plan is extraordinary and the plan is coming together very well indeed.

Russian parliament votes to introduce life sentences for treason

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:16 , Emily Atkinson

Russian lawmakers have voted to introduce life sentences for those convicted of treason, part of a concerted drive since Moscows invasion of Ukraine to step up punishment of dissenters and perceived traitors.

The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, also voted to increase maximum sentences for a range of terrorism and sabotage offences and introduced a new law that punishes those who help execute the legal decisions of international organisations that do not include Russia with up to five years in prison.

That move was a direct response to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin last month in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The amendments - which need to be approved by Russias upper house, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by Putin - come as rights groups say Russian authorities are ramping up a campaign to quash the few voices of opposition that remain in the country. The previous maximum sentence for treason was 20 years.

Zelensky praises troops during visit to eastern Ukraine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 15:52 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the small eastern city of Avdiivka on Tuesday, thanked them for their service and was briefed by commanders on the battlefield situation, his office said.

Avdiivka has been one of the main targets of a Russian winter offensive which was intended to reinvigorate Moscows full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, but has made only small territorial advances in the east.

(UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Video footage released by Zelenskys office showed him addressing troops in combat gear and handing them awards in what appeared to be a large industrial warehouse with sandbags packed against at least one of the high walls.

I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families, he said. I wish you only victory - this is what I wish for every Ukrainian, this is what is very important to all of us.

(UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Zelensky also visited a hospital where he met wounded soldiers and handed out awards.

Lavrov 'to talk Ukraine grain deal with UN chief next week

Tuesday 18 April 2023 15:24 , Emily Atkinson

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea export deal with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres when they meet in New York next week, Russias envoy said on Tuesday.

Of course, he will be raising that during his bilateral, Russias UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.

France and China working on secret plans to end Ukraine war

Tuesday 18 April 2023 14:35 , Emily Atkinson

French president Emmanuel Macron is working on a set of secret plans with China which could bring an end to Vladimir Putins brutal invasion of Ukraine, reports suggest.

Mr Macron has reportedly deployed his foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne to work in tandem with Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi to establish a framework that could bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table by this summer.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources familiar with the French initiative told Bloomberg that future talks would depend on several conditions, including a successful Ukrainian spring offensive that would boost Kyivs position during negotiations.

Bloomberg claims that official from Mr Macrons office had confirmed the plan for Mr Bonne to speak with Mr Wang.

The Independent has contacted The Elysee Palace for comment.

Romania could follow countries by banning grain imports

Tuesday 18 April 2023 13:15 , William Mata

Romania looked set on Tuesday to follow three other countries in banning Ukrainian grain imports, a setback for Kyiv as it tries to unblock exports through eastern Europe and salvage a wartime deal on shipping grain from the Black Sea.

Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops.

Talks between Kyiv and Warsaw went into a second day after European Union member states Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed import bans to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But Romanias ruling Social Democratic Party increased pressure on Kyiv by saying it would ask the coalition government to approve an emergency decree enforcing a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports though it wants transit to continue.

Judge upholds detention of US journalist

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:58 , William Mata

A Russian judge on Tuesday upheld the detention of jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on spying charges as part of a sweeping Kremlin crackdown on dissent amid the war in Ukraine.

Mr Gershkovich and the US government vehemently deny the allegations.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying allegations and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and elicited outrage in the West.

Dozens of journalists crowded into the courtroom to catch a glimpse of Mr Gershkovich, who looked calm as he stood inside a glass cage to appeal his detention.

Russias federal security service detained the 31-year-old in Yekaterinburg in March and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.

Gershkovich, his employer and the US government deny he was involved in spying and have demanded his 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, the WSJ has said in a statement.

Last week, the US officially declared that Mr Gershkovich was wrongfully detained.

He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich (Reuters)

Kremlin accuses UK and US diplomats of 'meddling' in the case of the Putin critic jailed

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:23 , William Mata

Russia has accused the ambassadors of Britain, the United States and Canada of interfering in its internal affairs after they condemned the treason conviction of a prominent opposition politician and it warned them they risk expulsion in future.

On Monday, a Moscow court jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza - who holds Russia and British passports - for 25 years after convicting him of treason in a trial he and the West said was politically-motivated. It was the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Kara-Murza, 41, for years successfully lobbied Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.

He also condemned what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The ambassadors of Britain, the United States and Canada made a joint appearance in front of TV cameras on the steps of the Moscow court after his verdict to condemn the ruling and demand his release.

British ambassador Deborah Bronnert delivered her remarks in Russian so that Russian-language TV channels could potentially broadcast them.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the diplomats' behaviour was unacceptable.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Ukraine seek to resume grain passage talks with Poland

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:00 , William Mata

Ukraine will try to unblock exports of food and grain through Poland in a second day of talks in Warsaw on Tuesday after some of its staunchest allies in central Europe imposed bans on its products.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have recently banned imports of Ukrainian grains and produce to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply.

Ukraines exports via these countries have risen due to Russias invasion, which has blocked some of its Black Sea ports.

Bottlenecks caused by slowed rail shipments or a lack of railcars have exacerbated the problem, trapping large quantities of Ukrainian grain in Central Europe which has lowered prices and hurt sales by local farmers, turning up the heat on governments.

Ukraine will try and unblock the exports of food and grain through Poland (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Alexander Lukashenko meets with Donetsk leader

Tuesday 18 April 2023 11:30 , William Mata

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting with the Russian-installed head of Ukraines Donetsk region on Tuesday, the state-run Belta news agency reported.

It follows a meeting between Mr Lukashenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier in the month (pictured below).

Belarus has been a key backer of Russia as many western nations have turned against the Kremlin after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia Belarus (Sputnik)

Who is Evan Gershkovich and what does Russia accuse him of?

Tuesday 18 April 2023 11:00 , William Mata

Who is Gershkovich?

Hired by the Wall Street Journal shortly before Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year, Gershkovich had been reporting on Russia for more than five years at the time of his arrest. The 31-year-old is a fluent Russian-speaker, the son of emigres who left the Soviet Union for the United States during the Cold War.

What were the circimstances of his arrest?

The FSB security service said on March 30 it had arrested him for trying to gather secrets about Russias military-industrial complex during a trip to Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km (880 miles) east of Moscow. His newspaper said it last heard from him the previous day when he arrived at a steakhouse in the city. He was brought back to the capital and charged with espionage, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He has denied the charge, which is also rejected by his newspaper.

What do the United States and Russia say about the case?

President Joe Biden has called Russias treatment of Gershkovich totally illegal. The United States last week officially designated him as wrongfully detained, effectively saying that the spy charges were bogus and the case was political. The Kremlin says Gershkovich was caught red-handed, but Russia has yet to publish any evidence to support that.

Where is he being held?

Gershkovich is in pre-trial detention at Moscows Lefortovo prison, where the FSB and its predecessor, the Soviet KGB, have traditionally held those suspected of spying or other grave crimes. U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy was able to visit him there for the first time on Monday but gave few details, except that he was healthy and bearing up well. In a handwritten letter dated April 5 to his parents, Gershkovich said he was reading, writing, taking exercise and not losing hope.

What happens next?

Tuesdays hearing is essentially procedural - about how Gershkovich should be detained as he awaits trial, not about the substance of the charges. Investigators are still working on the details of the case, which could drag on for months or years if the example of fellow American Paul Whelan is anything to go by. Whelan, a former Marine, was arrested in December 2018, held for 18 months in Lefortovo and jailed for 16 years in June 2020 on spying charges. He too is designated by Washington as wrongfully detained.

Evan Gershkovich

Reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal arrest

Tuesday 18 April 2023 10:30 , William Mata

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal on Tuesday against his arrest and detention in a former KGB prison in Moscow on charges of espionage, according to court documents.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and had opened an espionage case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military industrial complex.

Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, and the Journal have denied he was involved in espionage, as has Washington.

According to a public Russian judicial document, a Russian court will hear on Tuesday a complaint filed by Gershkovich against the decision to keep him in custody in Lefortovo prison while the case is being investigated.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

G7 ministers stress unity amid tensions with China and Russia

Tuesday 18 April 2023 10:00 , William Mata

The G7 drew together on Tuesday to criticise Chinas coercion of Taiwan and Russias threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, promising to intensify sanctions on Moscow for its war on neighbouring Ukraine.

The strength of the solidarity between the G7 foreign ministers is at a level not seen before, Japans foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference after hosting a meeting of the group in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa.

The show of unity comes after French president Emmanuel Macron this month said the European Union should reduce its dependency on the United States and cautioned against being drawn into a Taiwan crisis.

Beijing views Taiwan as Chinese territory and has not renounced the use of force to take the democratically governed island.
KYIV (Reuters) - Inspections of ships are resuming under a U.N.-brokered agreement on the safe export of grain from Ukrainian Black Sea ports, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov said on Wednesday.

He wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement."

The Russian news agency RIA said inspections had already resumed after two days of talks, citing the U.N. coordinator's press office.

Kubrakov is in Turkey to discuss the status of the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which was agreed by Russia and Ukraine last July to help alleviate a global food crisis.

Moscow says it agreed to extend the deal only until May 18. Kyiv and the United Nations say the deal has another 60 days to run after then, and is seeking an agreement to ensure it continues.

Kyiv says Russian inspectors stopped letting through vessels supposed to ship grain from Ukraine.

Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky said on Wednesday Moscow was increasing difficulties for Ukraine at a time when three eastern European countries have banned imports of Ukrainian grain and food products.

"Obviously, the Russians could not fail to take advantage of these nuances on the western (Ukrainian) border," Solsky told reporters.

RIA quoted the Russian foreign ministry as on Wednesday as saying Ukraine and the United Nations were causing difficulties with the ship inspections.

Ukraine and Poland reached an agreement on Tuesday to unblock transit of Ukrainian grain from Friday, but the import bans remain in place in Poland, Slovakia and Hungary.

(Reporting by Max Hunder and Pavel Polityuk, Editing yb Timothy Heritage)
Russia hit a recreational facility in Odesa

Read also: SBU detains enemy informant who guided in Shahed drone attacks on Odesa

The enemy targets were shot down by the air defense missile brigade of the Odesa Air Command of the Southern Air Command.

Odesa Regional Military Administration/Telegram

Odesa Regional Military Administration/Telegram

Russian occupiers hit a recreational facility. A fire broke at the scene but was promptly extinguished. No victims reported in the attack.

Read also: Ukrainian Air Force explains why Russians started launching Shaheds from north

Odesa Regional Military Administration/Telegram

Odesa Regional Military Administration/Telegram

Six other Russian drones were intercepted by Ukrainian air defense near Zaporizhzhya and another near the Dnipro City the previous evening.

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
Key developments on April 19:

"Complex measures" of Ukraine's planned counteroffensive are "already underway" in the east, Defense Ministry says

Patriot air defense systems arrive in Ukraine

NYT: 'Surge' in electronic components sent to Russia via Armenia, Kazakhstan

Commander: Embattled Bakhmut still stands

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that "complex measures" of Ukraines planned counteroffensive are "already underway" in the east of the country.

The planned counteroffensive "involves a vast and complex set of actions and measures conducted by Ukraines military, which includes preparations for a range of defensive and offensive actions," Maliar said on national television on April 19.



She hasnt specified dates, actions, or locations of these measures but said that "the plan was finally chosen in such a way that the enemy cannot react."

Earlier on April 12, the Washington Post reported that Ukraine's upcoming counteroffensive had been delayed due to weather, slow equipment deliveries, and an insufficient amount of ammunition, among other reasons.

The recent U.S. intelligence document leaks delve into details about the capabilities of Ukraines military and alleged weaknesses of air defense, which could make Ukrainians alter counteroffensive strategies.

The long-awaited counteroffensive is seen as a critical point to liberate Russian-occupied territories, and failure to do so could push Kyiv to negotiate with Moscow.

Ukraine holds back on southern counteroffensive, soldiers say Zaporizhzhia Oblast  In a split-second, two Ukrainian jets appear over the road, releasing chaff that sets off a couple of Russian anti-aircraft missiles. It allows one of the planes to hit a Russian position that billows with black smoke rising over the trees, leaving no doubt on how close the Kyiv IndependentAlexander Query

Western air defense systems arrive in Ukraine

Ukraine has received Patriot air defense systems from the U.S. and the Netherlands, First Deputy Defense Minister Oleksandr Pavliuk said on April 19.

Story continues

Pavliuk also confirmed the delivery of the Patriot battery from Germany, which Berlin had reported a day earlier.

American-made Patriot surface-to-air missile systems will improve Ukraines capability to defend against Russian cruise missiles and drones, Pavliuk said.

The system is the most advanced air defense hardware in the U.S. arsenal that Kyiv has been long pleading for.

Germany also delivered the second of the four pledged IRIS-T anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine "around April 16," Der Spiegel reported on April 19, citing its sources.

The other two IRIS-T systems are expected to be sent by early 2024, though they have yet to be produced.

The first IRIS-T, delivered last October, proved itself well during the winter, protecting Kyiv's civilian infrastructure from regular Russian missile strikes and drone attacks.

Kyiv Mayor Vitalii Klitschko, cited by Der Spiegel, said the IRIS-T system saved "thousands of lives" during Russian strikes targeting Ukraines capital.

Meanwhile, Ukraine has requested more IRIS-T systems from Germany, as they can hit targets at an altitude of up to 20 kilometers and a distance of up to 40 kilometers.

Kyiv is likely to make an urgent plea to its allies for more air defense missiles at the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, known as Ramstein Summit, on April 21, the Financial Times reported on April 19.

Ukraine's efforts to defend the population against Russia's relentless mass missile and drone strikes since mid-October of 2022 have "systematically depleted Ukraine's stockpiles."

Russias new guided bombs pose increasingly serious threat to Ukraine Still unable to achieve air supremacy, Russia is nevertheless finding ways to threaten Ukraine from the sky. Early this year, Russia introduced guided bombs  essentially, the regular gravity bombs modified to be dropped by multirole fighter-bombers from safe distances and deal precise and very dam Kyiv IndependentIllia Ponomarenko

NYT: 'Surge' in electronic components sent to Russia via Armenia, Kazakhstan

Senior U.S. and EU tax and trade officials noticed a "surge" in chips and other electronic components sent to Russia via Armenia, Kazakhstan, and other countries, the New York Times reported on April 18.

The chips and other components were "deemed as critical to the development of weapons, including Russian cruise missiles that have struck Ukraine," according to the report.

Heavy sanctions were imposed on Russia following the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine to prevent such technology from being used on the battlefield.

However, electronic component sales through unofficial channels and Russian-allied nations make the official sale figures much lower than the total number of technology sent to Russia.

In late January 2023, a Dutch investigation revealed that millions of microchips made by Dutch companies had reportedly ended up in Russia since Feb. 24, 2022.

The investigation showed a clear pattern of a small group of Chinese companies obtaining Dutch chips and exporting them to Russia month after month.

On April 14, Reuters reported that Ukraine was allegedly finding more electronic components originating from China in Russian weapons recovered on the battlefield, citing a senior adviser to President Volodymyr Zelensky's office.

They crawl forward 24/7: On the zero line with Ukrainian infantry north of Bakhmut Climbing to a firing position through trenches dug into black Ukrainian soil, the relative quiet in the air is only reassuring to an extent. At the most forward point, a Soviet-era recoilless rifle stands watch, dug into a shallow depression in the ground. Bohdan, a company comman Kyiv IndependentFrancis Farrell

Bakhmut stands, Land Forces chief says

Russia concentrates "the largest number of forces" in Bakhmut in eastern Donetsk Oblast, but Ukrainian defenders "hold back the enemy onslaught," Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi, commander of Ukraine's Land Forces, said on April 19.

Bakhmut remains "the epicenter" of the Russian offensive as "dynamic" fighting is ongoing with "significant" losses suffered by Russian forces in the area, Syrskyi said in a Telegram post.

The Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiivka, and Marinka sectors in Donetsk Oblast remain Russia's top assault priorities, the General Staff of Ukraines Armed Forces said in its evening update on April 19. Ukraines military repelled over 40 Russian attacks in the area on April 19, according to the report.

The battle of Bakhmut has been raging for the past nine months as Russia aims to seize the entirety of Donetsk Oblast, around half of which it currently occupies. Both sides have sustained heavy casualties in the area.

As of mid-April, Ukrainian forces continue to hold the west of the railway line in Bakhmut, while Russian forces led by the Wagner Group have reportedly taken the administrative center.

The U.K. Defense Ministry wrote in its April 18 intelligence update that Russia had likely reduced troop numbers around the occupied city of Donetsk, diverting resources toward Bakhmut.
Hanna Maliar, Ukraines Deputy Minister of Defence, says that counteroffensive should not be boiled down to particular large-scale advances and dates. The official notes it is a variety of measures and certain counteroffensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine that are already taking place in Eastern Ukraine.

Source: Maliar on air during the national 24/7 news broadcast

Quote: "We shouldnt publicly boil down the counteroffensive to particular large-scale advances, because we are talking about the strategic goal of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to free all our territories. We aim at freeing our territory and stopping the enemy in their advances.

That is, to speak of the counteroffensive in such a narrow manner is not right. It is a colossal variety of actions and measures done by the Armed Forces. It is first and foremost the preparation of personnel for a number of actions, both offensive and defensive. But all of this together, if we were to speak of our strategic goal, can be called counteroffensive actions.

This includes preparation of personnel and creation of reserves, outlining the tactics (Plan A, B, and C, because there cannot be just one action plan, as the enemy is reacting as well).

We have to understand that such decisions are taken in a very short period of time, not one or two months. The plan is finally selected in such a way that the enemy cannot react to it.

You have to understand that the Armed Forces of Ukraine today are not prepared for a particular line of action, but rather for a full-scale liberation of our territory, not just a counteroffensive"

Details: The Deputy Minister of Defence stated that active assault actions in the cities of Bakhmut, Mariinka, as well as the Avdiivka and Lyman fronts could also be called elements of a counteroffensive.

According to Maliar, the Armed Forces are not discussing the counteroffensive plans publicly or even amongst each other.

She also emphasised that the plans of the Armed Forces of Ukraine depend on the ability of the Ukrainian army and information on the state of the enemy forces.

Quote: "Preparation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for various actions of defensive and offensive nature is underway. Counteroffensive actions are already taking place in Eastern Ukraine."

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South Africa: President Ramaphosa to host Finnish president in official state visit

President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to host Finland President Sauli Vainamo Niinisto on an official state visit next week.

According to the Presidency, the visit will be the first in more than 20 years besides Niinistos attendance of Former President Nelson Mandelas funeral some 10 years ago.

Relations between the two countries are deep rooted with the Nordic country supporting liberation movements in the region.

Relations have grown since 1994 in all areas of bilateral engagement and Finnish investment is a major priority for both countries, with over R2 billion in new investments in the last three years.

Finland is an important partner to South Africa and, despite its small population and territory; it is amongst the most developed countries in the world and provides valuable trade, investment and development cooperation to South Africa. Like the other Nordics, they play an active role in global affairs, are strong advocates for multilateralism, have an excellent capacity and track record for peace and mediation efforts, and are global leaders in innovation.

Since 2010 Finland has been supportive of South Africas national priorities and continues to be a reliable partner in various sectors including maritime, science and technology, ICT and digitalization, environment, energy, education, skills development, agriculture and water, the Presidency said.

The visit will include a business roundtable which will include delegates from both countries which the Presidency said aims to reinforce existing relations between the two countries and pave the way for new avenues of collaboration.

This roundtable will follow a Business-to-Business Matchmaking engagement between companies from both countries which is expected to bring an increase in trade and investment.

The objective of the session is to strengthen trade and investment relations between South Africa and Finland through the mobilisation and facilitation of new investments, expansion and nurturing of existing Finnish investments in South Africa, as well as exploring opportunities for joint ventures in technology commercialisation in mutual sectors.

Most of the discussions will centre on possible opportunities in renewable energy; Information and Communication Technology; mining technology; packaging and food hygiene; construction and finance that the South African and Finnish companies can work together in exploring, the Presidency said.

Following his state visit to South Africa, Finnish President Sauli Vainamo Niinisto is expected to embark on a state visit to Namibia.

Within the SADC context, the Finnish have supported several programmes on sustainable water management. The Finnish engagement with Africa forms part of its strategic objective of increasing partnerships with Africa, including expanding its diplomatic presence, its support for the African Agenda and expanding economic relations.

In this regard, Finland has adopted an Africa Strategy. Finland is also a strong international partner in areas of various global issues such as strengthening multilateralism, international law, peacebuilding and mediation, the advancement of gender and human rights as well as around issues of renewable energy, the Presidency said.  SAnews.gov.za

This story has been published on: 2023-04-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
China very important strategic partner: Airbus CEO

Xinhua) 09:10, April 19, 2023

The first Airbus A321 aircraft is produced at the Final Assembly Line Asia (FALA) facility in north China's Tianjin on Nov. 9, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

China is a very important strategic partner to Airbus, and its supply chain is an integral part of the world's aviation industry, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said.

PARIS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- "If you put aside the pandemic times, aviation in China has been growing at a pace that is faster than in the rest of the world," Guillaume Faury, chief executive officer of European aircraft manufacturer Airbus, said in a recent interview with Xinhua.

China, he said, is a very important strategic partner to Airbus, and its supply chain is an integral part of the world's aviation industry, which has shown great industrial resilience and competitiveness over the past three years.

"What always strikes me in China is the energy, the speed, the optimism and the ability to go fast," he added.

Airbus is currently planning to build a second Final Assembly Line (FAL) to expand the production capacity of the A320 family of passenger aircraft.

This photo taken on March 24, 2023 shows the first China-assembled A321neo aircraft in north China's Tianjin.(Xinhua/Zhao Zishuo)

"This decision is directly linked to our plan to increase global production of our successful A320 family of passenger aircraft," Faury said. By 2026, Airbus intended to build 75 of these aircraft per month to meet the strong demand of global customers.

The Final Assembly Line Asia in Tianjin, northern China, started operation in 2008. It has already produced over 600 aircraft, representing about 30 percent of China's Airbus A320 fleet.

"In order to support this production ramp-up, we have decided to open a second FAL in Tianjin, relying on the Chinese setup and local ecosystem, which has proved to be successful over the last decade," Faury said.

With the new FAL, which is set to become operational in 2025, Airbus is expecting to double its production capacity in Tianjin and deliver more aircraft to its customers in China and Asia, while supporting the global production increase.

According to Faury, China represents about 20 percent of the world's commercial aviation market. He predicted that over the next 20 years, air traffic in China would grow by about 5.3 percent every year, significantly faster than the world average of 3.6 percent, leading to a demand for more than 8,000 passenger and freighter aircraft between now and 2040.

The first resumed direct flight from Beijing to Rome arrives at the Fiumicino airport in Rome, Italy, March 27, 2023. (Xinhua/Jin Mamengni)

"I believe Airbus is well-placed to capture that demand," he said, highlighting Airbus' single-aisle A320, and the wide-body aircraft A330neo and A350 for long-haul flights to connect China with the rest of the world.

Turning to freighter aircraft, Faury noted that the demand for cargo has been boosted by e-commerce and global trade growth, and this will definitely translate into a strong increase of the fleet of freighter aircraft operated in China.

During their most recent visit to China, Airbus executives signed a new agreement with the China National Aviation Fuel Group Corporation (CNAF) on intensifying cooperation in the production and development of common standards for SAFs (sustainable aviation fuel).

Faury said he believes that this will develop the SAF supply chain by boosting local production of SAF towards the ambition of using 10 percent SAF by 2030.

Staff members work at Airbus' Tianjin final assembly line for the A320-family of jets in north China's Tianjin, Feb. 24, 2022. (Airbus China/Handout via Xinhua)

"We are also looking at other levers that will help us decarbonize aviation, and one of them is the development of hydrogen-powered planes." Faury said that Airbus aims to bring to service the first hydrogen-powered commercial aircraft by 2035.

He told Xinhua that a new research center was inaugurated in Suzhou in east China's Jiangsu Province, which will focus on research related to the future hydrogen infrastructure for aviation, as well as advanced manufacturing, electrification and future cabins.

"Airbus is committed to supporting our sector's ambition to reach net-zero CO2 emissions by 2050," he said, adding that as a proponent of multilateralism and free trade, Airbus is an advocate of win-win cooperation.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
KHARTOUM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Fighting between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan has killed about 270 people and wounded more than 2,600 as of Tuesday, with gunfire and explosions still heard here across the city.

Violent clashes resumed on Tuesday morning near the Sudanese army command, the presidential palace, Khartoum International Airport, and around some RSF bases south of the capital, according to media reports.

The RSF on Tuesday announced that it accepted an international initiative for a ceasefire with the Sudanese army for 24 hours for humanitarian reasons, while the Sudanese army said in a statement that it was "not aware of any coordination with the mediators and the international community about a truce, and the announcement by the rebellion of a 24-hour truce tends to cover up the crushing defeat it is about to receive within hours."

In the worsening situation, fighting across Sudan severely limits humanitarian operations, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.

"There is limited ability to move personnel and supplies," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said. "The targeting and looting of humanitarian premises must stop. Attacks on humanitarian assets and facilities will severely impact our ability to resume lifesaving operations."

World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said there were reports that some medical facilities in Sudan were being looted or used for military purposes, adding that hospitals in the country were experiencing shortages of medical personnel and supplies, as well as power outages, fuel shortages for power generators, water cuts, and other factors that create challenges for health workers and ambulances and put more lives at risk.

"WHO calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law. Healthcare facilities and workers must never be a target, especially in a situation like this where there are thousands of civilians who need access to emergency care," the director general said, adding that "all parties must ensure unrestricted and safe access to health facilities for those injured and everyone in need of medical care."

Sudan's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday accused the RSF of attacking the headquarters of diplomatic missions in the capital.

"The desperate moves by the rebel Rapid Support Forces with armored vehicles and heavy weapons among residential neighborhoods and civilian places have put the headquarters and staff of diplomatic missions and international and regional organizations under imminent danger," the ministry said in a statement.

Fighting between the Sudanese Army and the RSF erupted on Saturday morning. The two sides have been using tanks, artillery, fighter jets and other heavy weapons in their exchange of fire. 
Andrii Hutsuliak (left) and Jeffrey Kenny (right) make up pop duo TVORCHI

"Despite the pain, I continue my fight. The world is on fire, but you should act."

A crowd of 600 crammed into a nightclub in Lviv dance along to the defiant words of TVORCHI - the Nigerian-Ukrainian pop duo set to represent Ukraine at Eurovision 2023, which is taking place in Liverpool.

They are performing their song Heart of Steel live at the club, before the nightly wartime security curfew kicks in at midnight.

Frontman Jeffrey immerses the crowd in his performance, interacting with them in English and Ukrainian, while Andrii complements his soulful vocals with a booming, electronic sound from the DJ decks.

Backstage, the pair tell us Russia's invasion "is always at the back of their minds" when they take to the stage.

TVORCHI's show in Lviv came with some political messaging - something that won't be allowed during their Eurovision performance

The responsibility of defending Ukraine's crown landed on Andrii and Jeffrey's shoulders when they won the public vote on the country's Eurovision selection show last year.

The pair describe Heart of Steel - which Andrii wrote as Ukrainian defenders were besieged inside the Azovstal steel works in Mariupol last year - as a song of "strength, confidence and responsibility". They do not exactly lack stage presence when performing it.

"It's about strong people who keep a good attitude in a negative situation," explains Andrii.

"For us, it is important that our country can win against the occupiers who came to our land. And if we win Eurovision, we would appreciate that too."

Andrii (left) met Jeffrey (right) in Ternopil, where both went to study pharmacy

As you watch Jeffrey invite some fans on stage, you wonder about the home advantage Ukraine is missing out on this year.

Ukraine's success in 2022, with Kalush Orchestra's winning song Stefania, could have been a chance for the country to host the competition for the third time.

But because of Russia's continued assault on the country, Eurovision organisers have moved this year's event to Liverpool.

"No harm done," says a philosophical Jeffrey. "We know the reasons and we appreciate the UK for hosting on our behalf."

Story continues

TVORCHI admit getting ready for Eurovision has been challenging at times. Their rehearsals and outfit fittings would sometimes be interrupted by air raid sirens.

"We go to shelters, but then carry on, like all Ukrainians," says Andrii.

Some of the audience have an appetite for Ukraine to be seen as more than a country at war with Russia.

In the crowd we bump into Kyryl, who thinks "the country needs to make something new".

"Last year, it was all about the war. Now we have to show people that Ukraine is more than this - we are a culture, it's about our language and our society."

"Last year, it was all about the war. Now we have to show people that Ukraine is more than this", Source: Kyryl, Source description: Tvorchi fan, Image: Kyryl, a man at a Tvorchi concert

The story of TVORCHI begins in nearby Ternopil in 2016.

Jeffrey, who had travelled to Ukraine from Nigeria three years before, moved to the picturesque lake city to study pharmacy.

Andrii had signed up to the same course, and when he saw Jeffrey walk past him in the street, he stopped him as he wanted to find someone with whom he could practise his English.

Jeffrey describes how he was taken aback by the question, as he walks us down the same road. But he agreed, as he did not have any friends with whom to practise Ukrainian.

"I said 'all right', and the next day we went out for a beer. It started on this street."

A chain of events which would lead the duo to music's biggest stage.

Since 2018 they have released four studio albums and even tried their luck at the Eurovision national selection a few years ago.

The band proved popular on a walk around Ternopil, the town where they met

The pair attract a few stares as they stroll through their old stomping ground. But it seems not everyone here will be glued to their screens in May.

"I'm not following Eurovision this year," says an unimpressed Maria, who we meet in the town. "The news in Ukraine is more important now. I'll watch after we win the war, when I'm in a better mood."

Elsewhere, Jeffrey is unsure whether even his parents will be tuning in on the night.

"Back in Nigeria, no-one watches Eurovision," he explains. "They hadn't even heard of the competition when we were selected, I had to tell them all about it. They're happy for us though."

When Russia launched its full-scale invasion last year, Jeffrey decided to stay in Ukraine, mainly because of his music with Andrii.

Now it is the pair's music which is making them leave the country for Liverpool.

The duo say they will return - ideally with the glass Eurovision trophy in their luggage.

Additional reporting by Hanna Chornous and Siobhan Leahy
KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspected the frontier with Belarus and Poland on Wednesday, and thanked border guards for their defence of the country since Russia's invasion.

The president posted video footage on the Telegram messaging app that showed him meeting border guards in woodland with barbed-wire fencing beside a river in the Volyn region of northwestern Ukraine.

"It is an honour for me to be here today to thank our border guards for protecting the state border," Zelenskiy wrote under the footage, which also showed him addressing the border guards and handing out awards.

"For the protection of our state in Bakhmut. I know how firmly you stood there, holding Bakhmut," he said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian city where fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has been intense for months.

Zelenskiy said after discussing border protection measures at a meeting in January that Ukraine must "be ready" at the frontier with Belarus even though Kyiv did not see "anything powerful" there apart from statements.

Russia used Belarus as a launchpad for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons on its close ally's territory.

In a separate post on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said he had discussed security and socio-economic issues with political and military leaders in the Volyn region.

Zelenskiy has travelled widely in recent weeks. On Tuesday he met troops in the eastern city of Avdiivka, where fighting has also been fierce as Ukraine prepares for an expected counteroffensive to try to win back Russian-occupied territory.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
Russian forces attacked Odesa Oblast with drones on the night of 18-19 April, with Ukraines Defence Forces destroying 10 of the 12 Shahed kamikaze drones.

Source: Ukrainian Air Force

Quote: "The enemy targeted Odesa Oblast in its repeated attack by Shahed drones on the night of 18-19 April 2023.

This time, 10 out of 12 Shahed-136/131 kamikaze drones were destroyed by soldiers of the Odesa Missile Brigade of Air Command Pivden (South).

Previously: Russian forces attacked Odesa Oblast with Shahed drones on the night of 18-19 April, hitting an infrastructure facility.

Background: In the evening of 18 April, Defence Forces shot down seven drones belonging to the occupiers, including six Iranian Shahed kamikaze drones in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
A Ukrainian serviceman stands in a basement which, according to Ukrainian authorities, was used as a torture cell during the Russian occupation, in the retaken village of Kozacha Lopan, Ukraine, Sept. 17, 2022. AP Photo/Leo Correa, File

A Ukrainian woman recounted her harrowing experience of Russian captivity to US lawmakers.

During a hearing Wednesday, the woman described being tortured and abused by Moscow's troops.

She testified that she endured mock executions, beatings, and was cut with knives.

A Ukrainian woman delivered harrowing testimony to US lawmakers on Wednesday about her experience being held captive by Russian soldiers. She recounted scenes of torture, physical abuse, and mock executions.

The 57-year-old woman spoke through a translator to the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing on war crimes and atrocities that Russian soldiers are accused of carrying out in Ukraine. She said that she lived under Russian occupation for nearly a year, and was sometimes deprived of communication, food, and electricity.

Russia's military is "abusing" Ukrainians just because of their nationality, she said. Its soldiers hunted down former government officials, public opinion leaders, and businesspeople  "persecuting" those who sympathized with Kyiv's government. "They kidnap people and keep them locked up, and torture them," she said.

The woman, who only gave her first name and described herself as an accountant who had started a small business, said she was targeted by the Russians in January 2023. One day, soldiers barged into her home uninvited and said they were looking for weapons, though she didn't have any. So they took a Ukrainian flag, a map of the country, souvenir magnets, and items memorializing World War II that featured Ukraine's signature blue and yellow colors.

"Then they took me to their torture chamber and kept me there for five days," she said, describing her captivity as "terrible." She told lawmakers that she was beaten, forced to undress, cut with knives, and threatened to be raped and killed by Russian soldiers. At one point, she said she was taken into a field and beaten again.

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"They were putting a handgun next to my head and shooting as if executing me," the woman explained. "Also forced me to dig my own grave." Russian soldiers have been accused of this before, sometimes even forcing local Ukrainians in occupied cities to dig mass graves in exchange for food and water.

War crime prosecutor of Kharkiv Oblast stands with forensic technician and policeman at the site of a mass burial in a forest during exhumation on September 16, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. Photo by Yevhenii Zavhorodnii/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images

Her harrowing experience was not isolated. She said that she witnessed other people being tortured by having plastic bags placed over their heads, and wasn't sure if they were still alive. Eventually she was released, and managed to escape the country with the help of friends.

It was not clear where, exactly, the woman was held captive by the Russian soldiers. Moscow's forces have partially occupied several regions in eastern and southern Ukraine for months, and are now fighting a grinding and brutal war against Ukrainian troops along a relatively static front.

Russian forces have been accused of carrying out war crimes, human rights violations, and other atrocities against Ukrainian civilians since the early days of their February 2022 full-scale invasion.

International investigators and human rights groups have published evidence of widespread torture and abuse, and local authorities, journalists, and civilians have documented horrific scenes of mass killings and indiscriminate attacks.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin last month, alleging that he's responsible for war crimes that involve the illegal deportation of children from Ukraine to Russia.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Universal Music Group (UMG) is doubling down on its stance against artificial intelligence (AI) in music.

As AfroTech previously told you, earlier this month, the leading music company reportedly asked streaming services to block AI from having access to copyrighted content.

We have a moral and commercial responsibility to our artists to work to prevent the unauthorized use of their music and to stop platforms from ingesting content that violates the rights of artists and other creators, a UMG spokesperson shared in a statement to Financial Times. We expect our platform partners will want to prevent their services from being used in ways that harm artists.

Now, Universal Music Group has gotten involved in taking down a viral song made by AI.

Axios reports that the company filed a complaint against the AI song Heart On My Sleeve, which replicated Drakes and The Weeknds voices.

Created by user Ghostwriter977, Entrepreneur reports the song hit 11 million views on TikTok while Axios reports it was streamed 15 million times after being originally uploaded on the platform. Whats more, a now-disabled tweet featuring the song raked in 20 million views.

However, UMGs complaint has since gotten the song removed from Spotify and YouTube  where it had 600,000 plays and 275,000 views, respectively  plus Apple Music, Amazon, SoundCloud, Tidal, Deezer, and TikTok.

In the companys complaint, it vocalized that the training of generative AI using our artists music [represented] both a breach of our agreements and a violation of copyright law, per the outlet.

Whats interesting is that the outlet pointed to Heart On My Sleeve as an issue of intellectual property. However, it said its not really clear whether the label or Drake and The Weeknd have a claim under traditional copyright law, given that the song in question isnt something the artists ever wrote or sang.

The viral moment is one of the numerous instances where Drakes vocals have been used in AI songs. After having his voice used on Ice Spices Munch (Feelin U), the Toronto rapper was outspoken about sharing his apparent frustration with the trend.

This the final straw AI, Drake wrote in an Instagram story, per Complex.
Colombia's largest group of dissident guerrillas who rejected a 2016 peace deal with the state is asking for a new opportunity to negotiate with the government, but uncertainty reigns over how President Gustavo Petro will achieve his proposed "total peace."

On Sunday, the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest dissident group from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), announced it was holding a massive meeting of rebels and villagers in an area it controls.

The EMC said it was ready to discuss peace "with social justice" and would begin doing so from May 16.

When FARC, which was the most powerful guerrilla group in the Americas and is now a communist political party, decided to disarm, most of its 13,000 members did so.

But the EMC refused. The government believes it has around 3,000 members, most of whom are new recruits.

Since Sunday night, Colombian press have been awash with images from the EMC meeting in the southern Caqueta department, which was replete with references to Marxism and revolution.

- 'Biggest trap in history' -

The EMC's declaration of imminent peace has not elicited official word from the government, and has sparked little reaction from politicians.

Petro, who is visiting the United States, has not commented on the announcement, despite usually being highly active on social media.

Luis Alban, a former rebel and legislator for the Comunes party, did react -- but only in ire at the EMC claiming to be the sole heirs of the FARC guerrilla movement.

"We reject the use of our symbols by the self-proclaimed Estado Mayor Central (staff command). All this does is perpetuate the scenarios of stigmatization and puts at risk the lives of those that signed the peace deal," said Alban.

More than 360 former guerrillas have been killed since the 2016 peace deal, mostly by dissidents, authorities say.

Right-wing senator Maria Fernanda Cabal said on Twitter future peace talks would be "the biggest trap in Colombia's history."

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Just how a new peace deal can be reached remains to be seen, since "Colombia has a long history" of failed processes and few successful ones, expert Patricia Munoz, of Javeriana University, told AFP.

The EMC has already insisted that the "communities" under its control take part in the negotiations.

The EMC's fiefdom is a sparsely-populated area between the Andes and the Amazon the size of Britain, called "Llanos", an enclave known for its coca leaf production.

- Bumpy ride -

The EMC is trying to extend its influence by absorbing several smaller dissident groups, thus extending its tentacles into the neighboring regions of Cauca, Catatumbo and Putumayo.

But "the starting point" for the peace process was the suspension of arrest warrants for 19 EMC commanders, allowing them to take part in "a meeting of commanders that will lead to a coordination that currently doesn't exist," according to Jorge Mantilla, an investigator specializing in the conflict and writing for the Razon Publica website.

Another dissident FARC faction, the Segunda Marquetalia, signed the peace deal but reneged on it in 2019.

Now the EMC's sworn enemies, they too have expressed openness to talks with the government.

Leftist Petro, a former urban guerilla who made his peace with the state in 1990 before moving into politics, also opened negotiations with the National Liberation Army (ELN) rebels and the Gulf Clan, the most powerful drug cartel in the country.

It has been a bumpy ride, though, with the government breaking off talks with the Gulf Clan over violations of their pact. Meanwhile, the ELN has refused calls for a ceasefire.

Munoz said that peace negotiations happen "when dialogue and trust-building have matured."

"If the Total Peace fails, the opposition's response will be ferocious. The flag-bearers for a strong hand against crime and for a military response to socio-territorial conflicts are just around the corner," said Mantilla.

Even if the negotiations succeed, there is always the fear that other smaller armed groups will simply step into the void and perpetuate the territorial conflict.

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Jeffrey Pace loved the water.

As a teenager, the Orlando native would take frequent trips with his family to New Smyrna Beach. In his 20s, he became an avid water skier. When he and his wife Debbie had kids, they would take week-long boat trips in the familys cabin cruiser, sleeping below deck on voyages through the Florida Keys or the South Carolina coast.

So last April, when Pace stopped responding to treatment for his pancreatic cancer and moved into hospice care, he knew how he wanted to be memorialized. He told me he wanted to be made into a reef, said his wife, Debbie.

Debbie Pace, center, and her daughter Lexi, 21, ride on a boat to a ceremony honoring Jeffrey Neil Pace, Debbies husband and Lexis father who died of pancreatic cancer in 2022.

She found a nonprofit company called Eternal Reefs that offers to do just that: The firm places the cremated remains of loved ones within concrete structures called reef balls, which it lowers into the ocean at artificial reef sites, where coral can grow over them and turn them into habitats for fish.

Headquartered in Sarasota, Eternal Reefs is the biggest company building reef memorials for mourning families. Theyve placed memorials for 4,000 people at 30 sites around the coastal U.S., from Houston to Miami to Long Island, New York. These structures promise to treat one symptom of climate change already all too evident in South Florida: disappearing coral reefs. The company says the memorial reefs expand habitat for coral and create new homes for fish and other sea creatures.

From left: Debbie Pace, Haylea Bettmann, Lexi Pace, and Mackenzie Pace create a tribute reef, a smaller version of the reef ball in which Jeffrey Neil Paces ashes were laid to rest.

Pace died June 29, 2022. On March 24, his family went to the Bill Bird Marina in Haulover Beach to watch workers cast his remains into concrete. The family decorated Paces reef ball with meaningful mementos, including his boating license, a shell his son Aiden found during a family beach trip and a bracelet commemorating a 25th wedding anniversary trip to the British Virgin Islands.

Three days later, they came together for a day on the water to commemorate Paces life. Along with two other families, they boarded a charter boat and watched as a barge lowered each loved ones reef ball into its final resting place at a reef near Haulover Beach.

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Debbie Pace puts a hand on the back of her son Aiden, 13, as the family watches a barge crew lower Jeffrey Paces reef ball into the water.

As a family member, its amazing, said Debbie. My kids arent going to go to a grave site. But now, any time were in the water, hes with us.

Around 9:45 a.m., the barge crew lowered Paces reef ball to the sea floor, 40 feet below the surface. Jeffrey Pace is now safely a part of the Golden Beach Reef Site, Eternal Reefs general manager Shelby Davis announced over the boats PA system.

As the boat sailed over the reef, Paces family scattered flowers over the surface of the water.

The family of Barbara Ann Buchele Voorstad and Henri Theodor Voorstad toss flowers into the water after a reef ball containing their ashes was lowered into the water.

Expanding artificial reefs

Eternal Reefs is a spin-off of the nonprofit Reef Ball Foundation, which has placed more than half a million reef balls in over 60 countries since its founding in 1993. These reef balls arent memorials for the dead, but environmental restoration projects: Theyre designed to create habitats for coral and oysters.

Don Brawley, who co-founded the foundation and helped design the original reef ball, started Eternal Reefs in 1998 after the death of his father-in-law, Carleton Palmer. Following his father-in-laws wishes, Brawley mixed Palmers cremated remains with concrete to form the first memorial reef ball. He placed it at an artificial reef site near Sarasota. Then he launched Eternal Reefs to offer the same funeral service to others.

The reef balls Eternal Reefs uses are hollow, holey half-domes of concrete that range in size from 3-foot-wide, 600-pound balls to 6-foot-wide, two-ton behemoths. Theyre made with a special concrete mix that has a neutral pH level and a grippy surface to allow coral and other small sea creatures to grow. Their ball shape is designed to keep them from moving or toppling over under the pounding of waves and storms.

Eternal Reefs makes the reef balls ahead of time, but invites families to help mix their loved ones cremated remains with concrete to form a small concrete mound the company calls a pearl. Families place the pearl at the center of a reef ball before decorating it with mementos.

A family mixes the cremated remains of a loved one with concrete to form the pearl that will be placed at the center of a reef ball before it is lowered underwater.

Depending on the size of the reef ball, families pay between $3,500 and $7,500, plus an extra $1,000 to participate in the reef ball casting and ride on a charter boat to see the reef ball placed in the ocean. Larger reef balls can accommodate the remains of up to four people. The smallest option is big enough for the remains of a person and their pet.

Roughly half of the 3,000 memorial reef balls Eternal Reefs has placed have gone into the Silvertooth Reef near Sarasota. The rest are placed at artificial reef sites along the Gulf coast and the eastern seaboard in places like Pensacola, Florida, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, and Ocean City, Maryland.

At each site, Eternal Reefs has reached out to local authorities to ask for regulatory approval to expand their existing artificial reefs. These regulators get to say at the end of the year, We built another reef and it didnt cost taxpayers a penny, said Eternal Reefs CEO George Frankel. So theyre very willing to work with us.

A baby turtle swims through a collection of recently placed reef balls at an artificial reef site.

Aside from Eternal Reefs, there are some artificial reef sites, including one in Mexico Beach, Florida, that work directly with families to place memorials on their own reefs. Memorial Reefs International places reef balls at permitted sites in Mexico, Canada, the U.S. and one in Venice, Italy.

Another firm, Neptune Memorial Reef, is incorporating cremated remains into 5,000 concrete columns that will eventually form a 16-acre underwater replica of the lost city of Atlantis three miles east of Key Biscayne.

Public reefs with private money

The reefs are an eco-friendlier choice than the old tradition of scattering ashes at sea. Companies like Eternal Reefs and Memorial Reefs International say their funeral services can help restore reef ecosystems threatened by climate change and a host of other issues.

Can probiotics cure Floridas ailing coral reefs? Tests show it works on devastating disease

The decline of Floridas reef system has been dramatic over the last half-century but the problem is global. Roughly half of the worlds coral reefs have died since the 1950s, according to a 2021 paper from a team of American and Canadian scientists. Climate change has made the oceans warmer and more acidic, leading to mass bleaching events that kill corals.

But when it comes to reducing carbon emissions, the benefits of reef burials are murkier. Cremating human remains and mixing concrete to create reef balls generates some of the carbon emissions that contribute to climate change  a fact that the memorial reef industry acknowledges.

There is no memorial option, not one single memorial option, that is carbon-free, said Frankel, the Eternal Reefs CEO. The only way that would work is if you left the body where it fell.

Other alternatives, including green burial, may come closer to zero emissions. In addition to the emissions that come from cremation, each pound of concrete produces nearly a pound of carbon emissions, according to the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association, meaning that even the smallest reef ball creates the carbon emissions equivalent of driving an average 650 miles.

Coral grows over an Eternal Reefs reef ball in a mature artificial reef habitat.

But Frankel argues Eternal Reefs offset that impact by bankrolling the construction of new reefs. Our goal is to build public reefs with private money, he said.

After the reef has matured, and theres coral on it, and theres life on it and fish are living in it, we believe that the biomass that it creates every year is going to offset the carbon footprint, said Danny Santiago, director of sales for Memorial Reefs International.

A sendoff at sea

Then theres the emotional impact for families who want to memorialize loved ones on the water.

Eternal Reefs services dont look much like a typical funeral. For their final goodbyes, families dress casually in shorts, light colors, and broad brimmed hats. They stand together in the sun.

The family of Barbara Ann Buchele Voorstad and Henri Theodor Voorstad, look on as a reef ball containing their ashes is lowered into the water.

Theres no dark room, no whispers and no open hole in the ground, Frankel said.

On the water near Haulover Beach, as the boat headed back to the marina after Jeffrey Paces reef ball was placed in the Golden Beach Reef Site, Paces daughters Mackenzie and Lexi sat together near a railing on the bow.

Jeffrey Paces daughters, Mackenzie, left, and Lexi, watch as his reef ball gets stuck as it is lowered into the ocean at the Golden Beach Reef Site near Haulover Beach. Hes always been stubborn, said Mackenzie as she watched.

A flying fish leapt out of the waves alongside the boat, and Mackenzie pointed it out to her sister. They talked about their plans to get matching coral reef tattoos with their mom when they got back home. Itll be a small reef tattoo that incorporates a reef ball, Debbie Pace said.

As the boat pulled up to the dock at the Bill Bird Marina, Debbie stopped to think about what her husband would have thought about the ceremony. Im sure he was very pleased with how everything went, she said. It was just very beautiful and it was a perfect symbol of him.

This climate report is funded by Florida International University, the Knight Foundation and the David and Christina Martin Family Foundation in partnership with Journalism Funding Partners. The Miami Herald retains editorial control of all content.
A law student at the University of the West of England said she felt unsupported after her fathers passing. Lauren Bennett, 22, said she was denied an essay extension and help to catch up with the work she missed while planning her fathers funeral, the BBC reported.

A law student at the University of the West of England Bristol said she felt unsupported after her fathers passing. Lauren Bennett, 22, said she was denied an essay extension and help to catch up with the work she missed while planning her fathers funeral, reported the BBC.

I did not want to drop out of university; I knew I would not come back if I did, she told the news outlet. My dad was very proud of me going to uni, and I wanted to do right by him.

Bennett said the essay was due the day after her fathers funeral.

It was embarrassing to ask for help and for that to be denied, she said, adding that she didnt have a choice but to hand it in.

The student was prompted by her counselor to start a petition asking the university to create a bereavement policy that would help students who are grieving.

On the 15th of January, my dad suddenly passed away, which was a shock to all. As his next of kin, I have had to organize his funeral, his estate, inform family members globally and travel from Bristol to Manchester to empty his apartment, Bennet wrote. I did not expect to lose my dad at the age of 22, but I did expect to always be supported by my university.

The petition has received 13,750 signatures so far.

I just hope it helps someone else not go through what I had to go through, Bennett told the BBC.

According to Legal Check, UWE Bristol has apologized to Bennett and said they are working with her to ensure she receives the support she needs. The university also said they offer advice and support to grieving students.

Firstly, we would like to express our sincere condolences to Lauren on the death of her father. We have been working with Lauren to ensure she is aware of the full range of advice and options available to her, and we apologize that she has not felt adequately supported during this process, UWE Bristol told Legal Cheek.

When we know a student has experienced bereavement, we offer advice and signpost to additional support via our Wellbeing Service and Student Support Advisors. Our current assessment support covers bereavement, and our Student Support Advisors ensure students are provided with all the advice they need to continue their studies, including options for late submissions, resits and marking reviews. We will continue to work with Lauren to ensure she is receiving support at this difficult time.
A new University of Texas program will award $900 to $1,800 per academic year to students living in campus residence halls who qualify for the Texas Advance Commitment, a UT tuition assistance program expanded in 2019.

The University of Texas is setting aside $5.8 million to assist low- and middle-income students with on-campus housing costs in the upcoming academic year as part of a new pilot scholarship program aimed at mitigating financial barriers to attending school.

The program will award $900 to $1,800 per academic year to students living in campus residence halls who qualify for the Texas Advance Commitment, a UT tuition assistance program expanded in 2019. The scholarships will be available to an estimated 3,500 eligible students, and priority will be given to those in their first year, according to a Wednesday news release.

UT's housing scholarship announcement comes a few months after the American-Statesman published a series examining housing affordability and availability at the university, including chronicling the difficulties low-income UT students face with affording the cost of living in Austin.

Under the Texas Advance Commitment, UT students from families with an adjusted gross income of up to $65,000 receive free tuition, and students from families with an adjusted gross income of up to $125,000 get tuition assistance. Students receiving free tuition will be eligible for an $1,800 housing award under the pilot program, while students receiving tuition assistance will be eligible for $900.

More: UT hasn't built on-campus housing since 2007, resulting in hurdles for students

In fall 2021, nearly 9,500 undergraduate students qualified for full tuition coverage, which is about 23% of the schools undergraduate students.

We have already made progress in reducing and, in some cases, eliminating the cost of tuition for our students who can least afford it, through programs such as the Texas Advance Commitment, UT President Jay Hartzell said in the news release. Now we are actively working to identify new and more expansive solutions to mitigate the rising cost of Austins housing market, which has become a more acute financial barrier. This pilot program is the next step in our strategic effort to support our students in new ways.

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According to UT's Common Data Set, in fall 2022, 9,109 first-year undergraduate students enrolled at UT and about 5,700  or 62.9%  of them lived in campus housing. National research has shown that college students, including freshmen, living on campus have better grades, higher graduation rates and more involvement in academic and extracurricular activities.

UT will fund the scholarship program by setting aside $5.8 million from its 2023-24 housing revenue. The university will also increase campus housing costs during the upcoming academic year by a lower average percentage increase than in recent years, according to the announcement.

More: Low-income students get free tuition at UT. What about the $13,000 housing bill?

Several low-income UT students previously told the American-Statesman that though they receive free tuition, they still struggle to afford the cost of attending the university, particularly due to rising housing costs in Austin. To make ends meet, they said, they had to live miles away from campus where rents are sometimes cheaper, work additional jobs or borrow thousands of dollars.

At several large, public four-year universities in Texas, including UT, total on-campus housing costs have outpaced in-state tuition costs as the primary expense for students. For the 2022-23 academic year, the minimum cost to live in UT's on-campus housing was $12,729, which includes a meal plan, while the average cost of tuition was $11,862 for an undergraduate Texas resident taking 12 or more credit-hours.

More: University of Texas student leaders call on school to increase campus wages

According to UT, students who are eligible for the pilot program will pay less for on-campus housing in the upcoming academic year than during the current year due to the scholarship and lower rate increases. The university wrote that it launched the scholarship program as part of its "larger strategy to address housing affordability," and the program will continue to evolve based on its impact.

This pilot scholarship program is the next step among many that we will take as we work to expand initiatives and introduce new opportunities to benefit our students, Hartzell said. Improving access to housing on or near campus aligns with our core objective of enabling success for all our students and ensuring the highest-potential students continue to pursue their education at UT Austin.

UT will award the scholarships in order of when students applied for housing. Eligible first-year students who opted not to live in campus housing will be reinvited to apply, and students can use the scholarship to pay for any campus residence hall.

More: New University of Texas faculty face difficulties affording cost of living in Austin

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UT to set aside $5.8M for on-campus housing scholarships for students
The site of the former funeral home next to Shawnte Hardin's abandoned church in Akron.

Shawnte Hardin, a minister who was found guilty of running an illicit funeral home business across Ohio, was sentenced to 11 years, 10 months in prison on Friday.

Real pastors pray at funerals, not prey on grieving families, said Ohio Attorney General James Yost in a release. The defendants lies, fraud and complex scheme  including literally driving bodies across the state  are thankfully ended by todays sentence.

Unlicensed funeral director guilty: Unlicensed funeral director who ran business in Akron guilty of 31 charges

Hardin's attorney, Richard M. Kerger, said the sentence is far less than the 45 years his client could have received. He said there are some provisional factors in the sentence that mean Hardin could spend 10 years, five months in prison.

"I think it is an attempt to provide the people who feel they were harmed with a sense that something was done ... it's not a slap on the wrist."

He said Hardin did not exhibit any emotion at sentencing.

"He said nothing," Kerger said. "He took it very well. We talked, and I think he was prepared for a prison sentence."

Investigation lasted years

A review of state records indicates much of Hardin's business was through word of mouth among families struggling to pay for licensed funeral services.

Cheryl Grossman, executive director of the Ohio Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors, previously said it took the attorney general several years to build a strong enough case to prosecute. She hopes the case will serve as a warning to others who might try to operate without a license.

Unlicensed operator conned families: Plastic wrap, moth balls, rotting bodies: How officials say Shawnte Hardin conned mourners

Records show Hardin has handled scores of bodies in Summit, Franklin, Lucas and Cuyahoga counties since around 2014, when he first applied for a funeral home license and was rejected.

The investigation continued even after he was indicted on 37 charges in October 2021.

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In January, a group of "urban explorers" found what appeared to be the cremains of at least 89 people in a building next to the abandoned Greater Faith Missionary Baptist Church at 825 E. Buchtel Ave., where Hardin had been pastor and owner.

Cremains of 89-plus found abandoned: State investigators: Apparent cremated remains of at least 89 people found at Akron church

Hardin  who state officials say has never been a licensed funeral director or embalmer in Ohio  had already been under investigation by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation for years before police in Columbus last year discovered bodies stored in an empty storefront there. The bodies were connected to Hardin, who has held himself out as the provider of low-cost funeral services.

In December 2018, Toledo police officers began investigating after a transport driver for the Lucas County coroner who had delivered a body at a building connected with Hardin alerted authorities to reports of an improperly stored body.

Hardin was found guilty Aug. 5 in Lucas County Common Pleas Court on 31 charges, including engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, tampering with records, telecommunications fraud, operating an unlicensed funeral home, possessing criminal tools, abuse of a corpse, representation of a funeral director while unlicensed, passing bad checks, theft and failure to file taxes.

He operated several businesses in Lucas, Cuyahoga, Summit and Franklin counties under various names: Hussain Funeral Directors, Celebration of Life Memorial Chapels, Hardin Funeral Home Inc., American Mortuary Services and Transportation, and Shawnte Davon Hardin Services LLC.

Eric Marotta can be reached at 330-541-9433, or emarotta@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @MarottaEric.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Shawnte Hardin, unlicensed Akron funeral director, sentenced to prison
KAMPALA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Uganda's Minister of Foreign Affairs is working to evacuate 275 nationals trapped in the deadly military clashes in Sudan, a top official said here Wednesday.

John Mulimba, minister of state for foreign affairs in charge of regional cooperation, told Xinhua by telephone that the government has contacted the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to assist in the evacuation of Ugandan workers, students, patients, and nationals on transit in the country.

He said there are 120 Ugandans working in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum, 116 students, 14 patients in hospitals, six citizens on short visits, and 19 Muslim travelers on transit to Mecca, Saudi Arabia, for the Ramadan pilgrimage.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has approached the IOM and requested support and assistance to evacuate Ugandans who may wish to return home," said Mulimba, who late on Tuesday briefed parliament on the government's plans to evacuate its citizens.

Sudan continues to witness armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum and other areas outside the capital since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict. 
Correction: This story has been updated to correct the name of Col. Chris Cruise.

WASHINGTON  The U.S. Air Force and Navy on Wednesday morning conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile in California using an airborne control center.

The weapon, which contained a test reentry vehicle, was controlled from an Airborne Launch Control System in a Navy E-6B Mercury aircraft, the Air Force said in a statement.

Airmen from the 625th Strategic Operations Squadron from Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska and Navy aircrew were aboard the E-6. Airmen from the 341st Missile Wing at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana also served on the task force supporting the test launch, which took place at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Strategic deterrence is the most critical mission in our Air Force and the cornerstone of Americas defense, Air Force Global Strike Command head Gen. Thomas Bussiere said in the statement. This test launch reinforces what our allies and partners already know: Were always ready to defend the United States with combat-ready nuclear forces anytime, anywhere, on order, to conduct global strike.

The Air Force said the Minutemans reentry vehicle traveled about 4,200 miles to the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands.

The U.S. Air Force and Navy conducted a test launch of an unarmed Minuteman III from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California on April 19, 2023. (Airman 1st Class Ryan Quijas/U.S. Air Force)

This was the first Minuteman test since Feb. 9, and the first time a test involved the use of the airborne control center since Aug. 16. The Air Force regularly conducts unarmed ICBM tests to ensure the missiles are functioning properly, and the service said this test was not in response to current world events.

The Air Force said Wednesdays test verified the ICBMs accuracy and reliability, and produced data that the Defense Department, Energy Department and U.S. Strategic Command will use to ensure the militarys nuclear missile enterprise is safe and secure.

Col. Chris Cruise, commander of the 377th Test Evaluation Group, said the test of the Airborne Launch Control System validates the militarys ability to strike targets anywhere and at any time, if the president deems it necessary. The test also ensures the military has redundancy in its ability to control ICBMs and shows the Air Forces ability to work together with the Navy, he added.

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The Navy now has 16 E-6s that carry out the Navys TACAMO, or Take Charge and Move Out, mission, which allows top U.S. leaders, including the president, to control nuclear forces such as nuclear-armed submarines.

But the E-6 fleet is aging, and the Navy says it must replace the aircraft with a new type. Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martins Skunk Works, and Raytheon Intelligence and Space are among the companies working together to bid on the E-6 replacement, now referred to as E-XX.

Northrop Grumman officials told reporters at the Navy Leagues Sea-Air-Space conference on April 3 that the Navy wants the E-XX to be a modified C-130J-30 Super Hercules, which has an extra 15 feet in its fuselage.

The Air Force and Northrop Grumman are also developing a successor to the Minuteman III, the LGM-35A Sentinel, which is expected to reach initial operational capability in 2029. The Air Force said it will keep operating the Minuteman III until the Sentinel reaches full capability in the mid-2030s.
The Biden administration on Wednesday announced $325 million in additional military assistance for Ukraine and that includes restocking what are reportedly dangerously low stockpiles of heavy artillery and munitions.

The weapons package comes directly from Department of Defense stocks, and includes more heavy artillery for U.S.-provided HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System) that have allowed Ukrainian forces to attack Russian positions at a distance of about 50 miles.

Other weapons being sent to Ukraine include anti-tank TOW missiles; shoulder-mounted anti-tank missiles (AT4); anti-tank mines; 155 mm and 105 mm heavy artillery rounds; demolition munitions for obstacle clearing; undefined precision aerial munitions; and equipment for port and harbor security, maintenance and repair and spare parts and other field equipment.

The U.S. is also providing over nine million rounds of small arms ammunition, amid reports of Ukrainian forces on the frontline complaining of shortages in everything from heavy artillery to bullets.

The U.S.-provided weapons package comes ahead of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin attending on Friday at Ramstein Air Base in Germany a meeting of 54 nations known as the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which coordinates weapons supplies and assistance for Kyiv.

The security package marks the 36th drawdown of assistance from Pentagon stockpiles, and follows a $2.6 billion package announced on April 4.

Ukrainian forces are preparing to launch a counteroffensive against Russia that is viewed as critical to pushing out Russian forces from its occupation of Ukrainian territory, concentrated in the eastern part of the country, the south-east and the Crimean Peninsula.

Ukraines Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov reportedly wrote in a letter to his allied counterparts that Kyiv needs 250,000 artillery shells a month to shift the power dynamic on the battlefield.

The weapons package also comes amid an intelligence crisis for the Pentagon, where leaked documents detailed U.S. assessments that Ukraine was running dangerously low on air defense missiles, and that the fighting is likely to stretch beyond 2023 in a grinding war of attrition.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
A Marine amphibious assault vehicle takes part in a 2019 joint U.S.-Philippines exercise. Ted Aljibe/AFP via Getty Images

As part of a joint military exercise with the Philippines, the U.S. Navy is slated to sink a mock warship on April 26, 2023, in the South China Sea.

The live-fire drill is not a response to increased tensions with China over Taiwan, both the U.S. and the Philippines have stressed. But, either way, Beijing isnt happy  responding by holding its own staged military event involving actual warships and fighter jets deployed around Taiwan, a self-governed island that Beijing claims as its own.

The tit-for-tat war games underscore a reality that U.S. presidents have increasingly had to contend with as the 21st century has drawn on. More than a century after President Theodore Roosevelt made the United States the preeminent maritime power in the Pacific, that position is under threat. China is seeking to displace it.

As a scholar of East Asian security and maritime disputes, I believe that the growing rivalry between the U.S. and China over dominance of the Pacific has the potential to define geopolitics in the Indo-Pacific region for the next half-century.

Already, ongoing maritime disputes pit China against several Asian countries. For example, China regularly challenges the maritime rights of Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia in the South China Sea and Japan in the East China Sea.

But the disputed waters are also of huge strategic importance to the U.S. It is where China is flexing its growing military might in the face of U.S. allies and partners, notably Taiwan, which the U.S. has committed to defend. If a war between China and the U.S. is going to happen, I believe the South China Sea is likely to be a major theater, with Chinese aggression toward Taiwan the spark.

The scramble over the South China Sea

For centuries, the dozens of islands, shoals, reefs, banks and rocks in the South China Sea were regarded as little more than hazards to navigation.

But with the discovery of large reserves of oil and gas in the 1970s and billions of dollars worth of fisheries, the previously largely ignored sea has gained significant attention from the countries whose shorelines meet it.

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It led to a revival of elapsed conflicting claims of ownership over the sea.

China currently claims legal rights to the vast majority of the South China Sea, extending well beyond the boundaries established by the 1982 U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

This claim by China, designated on maps by a nine-dash line, overlaps with the legally recognized maritime and territorial rights of the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Over the past decade, China has consistently engaged in low-level coercive activities called gray zone tactics, such as small-scale deployment of the Chinese Coast Guard in disputed waters and the manning of fishing vessels with civilians trained by the Chinese military. The purpose is to harass others and assert Chinese maritime rights outside legal Chinese waters, as recognized under UNCLOS.

Since 2013, China has also built up several reefs and shoals into artificial islands, building military bases with runways, radar technology and missile-launching capabilities.

In 2016, an UNCLOS Annex VII arbitration panel ruled that Chinas nine-dash line claims were illegal and rejected Chinas rights to maritime features in the legal waters of the Philippines.

But despite the legally binding nature of the ruling, China has continued to militarize its artificially built-up islands and harass neighboring countries military and fishing vessels. It has also denied passage to U.S. Navy ships legally sailing through waters in the South China Sea.

Successive U.S. administrations have aired concern over developments in the sea. In 2020, then-Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a U.S. position on the South China Sea, rejecting Chinas maritime claims and its bullying tactics as unlawful. His successor, Antony Blinken, in 2021 declared: Nowhere is the rules-based maritime order under greater threat than in the South China Sea.

But why does the South China Sea matter so much to the U.S.? The answer lies in economics and power politics.

A source of trade, natural resources

About one-third of the worlds shipping transits the South China Sea. In all, more than US$3.4 trillion worth of products  everything from rubber ducks to cars  is transported through its waters every year.

The sea connects the Pacific Ocean to the Indian Ocean, allowing trade from East Asian countries to flow to and from billions of people in South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe. It is also where 14% of all U.S. maritime trade passes through. It is a crucial route for outgoing U.S. goods as well as getting products to the U.S. Without it, the transport of products we use every day would slow down, and these products would cost more.

And then there are oil and gas. Around 30% of all global crude oil transits through the South China Sea. Furthermore, there is an estimated $11 billion worth of oil and 190 trillion cubic feet of proven deposits of natural gas in the sea, as well as undiscovered oil and gas.

Meanwhile, more than half of all fishing vessels in the world operate in the South China Sea.

For economic reasons alone, the U.S. and the rest of the world need open trade routes and sea lanes in the South China Sea. Preventing one country  especially a hostile China  from controlling these trade routes and resources is a crucial policy concern for Washington.

Power politics at sea

Although economics plays a part, Chinas actions in the South China Sea are part of a much broader aggressive campaign. Beijing views territorial and maritime control in the region through the lens of its national security. It seeks to project its power in the region and defend the Chinese mainland.

Ultimately, as acknowledged by the U.S. government, China is looking to overturn the status quo, replacing the U.S. as the superpower.

This battle for power is already taking shape in the South China Sea, with regular confrontations between U.S. naval vessels and Chinas maritime militia and navy.

The artificial islands in the South China Sea provide China with military capabilities far beyond the mainland alone. These outposts can be used to help counter and fight the U.S. and its allies, for example, in a war over Taiwan.

While the U.S. is not itself a claimant in the South China Sea disputes, the waters there remain a significant priority for the national security interests of Washington, too.

It is why the U.S. and its allies conduct freedom of navigation missions through the South China Sea and engage in naval exercises such as the one taking place in April 2023 with the Philippines.

With China playing by a different set of rules than the U.S. and its allies in the region, the risk of clashes at sea is very real. It could even lead to conflict between the two most powerful countries in the world today.

The next time a warship is blown up in the South China Sea, I fear that it may not be just a drill.

This article is republished from The Conversation, an independent nonprofit news site dedicated to sharing ideas from academic experts. The Conversation has a variety of fascinating free newsletters.

It was written by: Krista Wiegand, University of Tennessee.

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Krista Wiegand received funding as a Senior Fulbright Scholar to conduct research on the South China Sea.
MUSK NAVAL BASE, Sweden  In its bid to join NATO, Sweden may cross the finish line in time for the transatlantic alliances next summit in mid-July, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the start of a bilateral meeting with his Swedish counterpart here Wednesday.

Sweden has lobbied for admission to NATO for nearly a year amid objections from member countries Turkey and Hungary. Many U.S. and allied officials believe its inclusion would strengthen the alliance.

Securing a spot as the 32nd ally would also offer Sweden protection under NATOs collective defense clause, should Russia target the Nordic nation, with which it shares the Baltic Sea.

We look forward to continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO, and well work hard to get that done before the summit, Austin told Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson.

Austin arrived in Stockholm Tuesday evening to show support for the countrys NATO application in the first leg of a four-day visit to Europe.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson listen to their national anthems at a welcome ceremony for Austin at Musko Naval Base, Sweden, April 19. (Rachel Cohen/Staff)

Austin, Jonson and Swedish defense chief Gen. Micael Byden, among other American and Swedish dignitaries and military officials, hashed out the next steps in their military partnership from a wood-paneled conference room inside Musko's rocky island cave complex.

After the hour-long bilateral talks, the U.S. defense secretary toured the subterranean bases Maritime Operations Center and visited Musko's docks ahead of a joint press conference with Jonson.

Swedens membership in NATO is going to mean a stronger alliance and a more secure Europe, Austin said against the backdrop of a Visby-class stealth corvette and an anti-ship missile system on a bright spring day in southeastern Sweden. As Ive seen firsthand on this trip, the Swedish armed forces are an exceptionally capable and highly professional fighting force. And Swedens troops and capabilities will enhance NATOs operations to deter conflict, including in the Baltic Sea region.

He also hailed progress toward a new defense cooperation agreement between the two countries that will allow them to forge closer ties.

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Two Swedish combat boats sail through an archipelago as part of U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's tour of the country's naval capabilities at Musko Naval Base, Sweden, April 19. (Rachel Cohen/Staff)

Sweden already participates in several international military exercises with the United States and NATO, including the U.S. Armys massive Defender Europe event, and is currently hosting Aurora 23, its largest military drill in over 25 years at more than 26,000 soldiers from 14 countries. The U.S. has supplied Sweden with military equipment for years, and both countries are part of the global effort to defeat the Islamic State group.

Austin and Jonson reiterated their support for Ukraine in its 14-month war with Russia, and pledged to continue a burgeoning rotation of U.S. Navy ships, Air Force bomber task forces and high-level visits to Sweden.

The delegation then set out on the corvette to watch Swedish naval and air demonstrations from the water.

Camouflaged marines stormed a rocky island shoreline from amphibious combat boats that fired on imaginary enemy positions with the rat-a-tat of mounted machine guns.

The convoy of boats, led by the angular, gray camouflage corvette, wound through the forested island archipelago  past a minesweeper ship and a looming black submarine, cargo ships and underwater mine blasts. Two Blackhawk helicopters buzzed the procession; a pair of Gripen fighter jets soared overhead.

Its a glimpse of the same force that would respond if Russian warships were to sail through these waters instead.

Musko fell into disuse in the early 2000s but returned as Swedens naval headquarters in 2019. Leaders hope the areas geological advantages will help shield that core staff  and possibly ships  in case of a Russian attack. The base is also a maintenance site for ships that enter through yawning openings in the rock.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin meets with Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson, Swedish armed forces chief Gen. Micael Byden and other American and Swedish officials to discuss the Nordic nation's bid to join NATO and other issues at Musko Naval Base in southeastern Sweden, April 19. (Rachel Cohen/Staff)

Concerns that Russia could lash out at Sweden, a longtime partner of the U.S. and other NATO countries, spurred Stockholm to seek formal membership after Russian forces launched its bloody invasion of neighboring Ukraine in February 2022.

Two holdouts remain: Turkey argues Sweden has not done enough to extradite members of what Turkey considers terror groups, among other qualms related to alleged human rights abuses and a January protest in Stockholm where a Quran was publicly burned.

Hungary is still blocking Swedens acceptance as well, complaining that Stockholm has criticized Prime Minister Viktor Orbans policies.

Asked whether hes concerned about possible aggression from Russia in the months before Sweden earns the full extent of NATO protection, Jonson said his country already feels safer after earning invitee status in the alliance. That allows closer collaboration ahead of the full benefits imbued by membership.

Were militarily more integrated  now than before, he said. We have received reassurances from the United States and other important partners about our security. We see a much more active exercise pattern from the United States and other countries in our vicinity, and that builds security.

Austin declined to answer to what extent striking a deal to provide Turkey with F-16 Fighting Falcon jet upgrades has smoothed the path forward, but urged Turkish and Hungarian officials to ratify Swedens membership sooner versus later to strengthen the alliance.

We all look forward to having a very capable Sweden sitting at the desk beside us in Vilnius, he said of NATOs upcoming meeting in Lithuania.
SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Manrique to surrender to federal agents after an appeals court denied his latest motion to stop his extradition back to Peru, where he faces charges he accepted millions of dollars in bribes.

Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson in San Francisco ordered Toledo, who has been under house arrest, to turn himself in Friday to U.S. Marshal agents in San Jose. Toledo will be placed in a San Mateo County jail while he awaits extradition to his native country, where authorities say he accepted bribes as part of a mammoth corruption scandal in which four of Perus ex-presidents have been implicated. Toledo denies the charges.

Federal prosecutors have said Peruvian officials will travel to California to pick up Toledo and fly him back to Peru. When that will happen was not immediately known. Hixson's order comes after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied Toledo's latest effort to stay his extradition.

Toledo, 77, is accused of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a giant Brazilian construction company that has admitted to U.S. authorities that it bribed officials to win contracts throughout Latin America for decades. He had sought a stay on his extradition pending a legal challenge to the U.S. State Departments decision to send him back to Peru.

On Wednesday, Tamara Crepet, one of Toledo's defense attorneys, asked Hixson to delay the former president's extradition until Tuesday so he could see his psychiatrist one last time but the judge sided with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Waldinger who asked that he be placed in custody as soon as possible.

He is elderly and does have health issues ... and hes always going to have medical appointments coming up no matter when the extradition is, Waldinger said.

Toledo, who was Perus president from 2001-2006, was arrested in July 2019 at his home in Menlo Park, California. He was initially held in solitary confinement at the Santa Rita Jail about 40 miles (60 kilometers) east of San Francisco, but was released in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and his deteriorating mental health. He has been under house arrest since then.

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The Odebrecht corruption scandal has shaken Perus politics, with nearly every living former president now on trial or under investigation.

Former President Ollanta Humala is standing trial on charges that he and his wife received over $3 million from Odebrecht for his presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who left office in 2018, is under house arrest for similar charges.

Former leader Alan Garcia, in office from 2006-2011, fatally shot himself in the head in 2019 as police arrived at his home to arrest him.
A US judge on Wednesday ordered former Peruvian president Alejandro Toledo to surrender this week ahead of an expected extradition to his home country on bribery charges.

The 77-year-old, who served as Peru's president from 2001 until 2006, is wanted by Peruvian prosecutors investigating a sprawling scandal involving Brazilian construction conglomerate Odebrecht.

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit had on Tuesday rejected Toledo's most recent legal move to block the extradition Peru has sought since 2018.

On Wednesday, Judge Thomas Hixson of the Northern District of California ordered Toledo to surrender on Friday at a San Jose courthouse.

Toledo's attorney "stated that he will not seek any further continuances from the Ninth Circuit or the Supreme Court," Hixson said.

The ex-president, who holds a doctorate from Stanford University, is accused of taking millions of dollars from Odebrecht in exchange for favored treatment in bidding on public works.

Toledo, who could face a 20-year sentence if convicted in Peru, denies all charges.

He was initially detained in California in 2019, where he had taken up residence.

He was put under house arrest in 2020 and ordered to wear an electronic ankle monitor in the swanky Menlo Park area near Stanford.

Peruvian prosecutors say they have testimony from two people who claim Toledo received bribes from Odebrecht.

The firm acknowledged paying backhanders in Brazil and several other nations around Latin America in the so-called "Car Wash" scandal, which has so far seen dozens of politicians and business figures behind bars.

Four other former Peruvian presidents currently face corruption investigations. They are Ollanta Humala (who ruled 2011-2016), Pedro Pablo Kuczynski (2016-2018), Martin Vizcarra (2018-2020) and Pedro Castillo (2021-2022).

Former President Alberto Fujimori (1990-2000) was convicted of corruption charges and is in prison. Another ex-president, Alan Garcia, died by suicide in 2019 as police were preparing to arrest him in the Odebrecht case.

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The Pentagon plans to send another $325 million tranche of artillery, anti-armor weapons and other military aid to Ukraine as the embattled country considers a spring offensive against Russian troops, a U.S. defense official said Wednesday.

The new security package aims to bolster Ukraines long-range and precision strike capabilities, give its troops the upper hand in close combat, and halt Russias piecemeal western advance.

The latest round of aid  Americas 36th shipment in the 14 months since Russia mounted a full-scale assault on Ukraine in February 2022  brings the total amount of U.S. war goods donated during the conflict to $36.1 billion.

We are focused and we understand the requirements, a senior defense official told reporters on background Monday. Weve met them every step along the way and we will continue to do so.

Most notably, the U.S. is continuing to draw from its own stockpiles of High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System shells, which Ukraine uses to strike targets like Russian air defense systems and ammunition depots.

The latest package also includes:

155mm and 105mm artillery rounds

Anti-tank mines and missiles

AT-4 anti-armor weapons

Anti-tank mines

Demolition charges to clear obstacles on the ground

More than 9 million rounds of small-arms ammunition

Four logistics support vehicles

Precision aerial munitions

Testing and diagnostic equipment for vehicle maintenance

Port and harbor security equipment

Spare parts and other field equipment

The Biden administrations announcement comes in advance of Fridays multinational Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting, hosted by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley at Ramstein Air Base in Germany.

This weeks gathering marks one year since defense ministers and senior military officials from nearly 50 countries first came together to coordinate material and training support for Ukraine, discuss current and upcoming battlefield conditions, and share assessments of Russian and Ukrainian capabilities.

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We continue to be as strong as we were a year ago.  That support is enduring going forward, the senior U.S. official said.

In a briefing with reporters ahead of Austins trip to Europe, the official said the U.S. is not concerned about its earlier assessment that Ukraine could run out of the air defense artillery it needs next month if fighting continues at the same pace. That conclusion leaked to the public in a trove of documents published on the private online chat community Discord and later obtained by U.S. news outlets.

We have continuously assessed what Ukraines requirements are and address those, the official said. Being able to understand the rate of use, the shape of the battle, what kinds of capabilities Ukraine requires in the coming weeks [and] months, is exactly why the secretary started the Ramstein format a year ago.

The official said the leaks have not caused friction between the U.S. and its allies, but declined to comment further. The Justice Department is leading a federal investigation into Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old IT specialist in the Massachusetts Air National Guard who is accused of posting the classified documents to curry favor with other Discord users.

Town by town, intense fighting continues to punctuate the swath of Russian-occupied territory across eastern Ukraine.

Both sides are struggling to definitively wrest control of areas like Bahkmut and Avdiivka as Russias recent push to expand its gains has slowed to a very static battle, the senior U.S. defense official told reporters.

Longer-range missile strikes are intermittent, as those troops save up cruise missiles to unleash them on perceived weaknesses in Ukrainian air defenses, the American official said. But that has not succeeded in punching a lasting hole in the local resistance.

Ukrainians are defending their homes incredibly well and stubbornly under very tough circumstances, the official said, illuminating shortcomings in Russian military capabilities.

Were seeing the effects of their weakened defense industry, their problematic logistics system, and a lot of evidence of really poor training, the official added of Russia.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think tank, reported Monday that Russian forces have made further gains in Bakhmut and continued ground attacks along the Avdiivka-Donetsk City line, while bolstering its defenses in southern Ukraine.

Equipped with fresh artillery, new tanks from multiple countries and training in the U.S. and Europe on how to use Western weapons, Ukraine is eyeing a counteroffensive that could isolate Russian forces from their supplies and each other.

Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov told the Associated Press that the renewed push could break through the land corridor between Russia and the annexed Crimean peninsula, moving from Zaporizhzhia toward Melitopol and the Azov Sea. Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened to respond harshly, invoking nuclear weapons, if Ukraine makes a play for Crimea.

Ground-based air defenses, armor and artillery remain among Ukraines most pressing needs as it mulls its next steps, the U.S. official said.

Well see at the end of the week, after the meetings, what kinds of new announcements there will be, they said. But if you go back and look over the months, you will see that while those categories remained constant, the specific systems that countries were ready to donate and ready to deliver did change a little bit over time.

Asked whether the U.S. has grown more amenable to providing longer-range systems like the Army Tactical Missile System that could allow Ukraine to hit targets within Russia, the defense official said they believe equipment like HIMARS is already allowing the country to strike the targets it wants.

The Associated Press reported Wednesday that Ukraine has received its first Patriot surface-to-air missile battery from Germany, offering another tool to hit incoming missiles and enemy aircraft. A spokesperson for Ukraines air force said the nation expected to receive another Patriot system from the U.S. after Orthodox Easter on April 16.

No decisions have been made on whether to supply Ukraine with military jets like F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, as the countrys leaders have sought, the official said.

Proponents of the idea argue it would help turn the tide in favor of Ukraine; critics say it would take too long to train pilots to fly the Western jets and that, without control of their own airspace, Ukrainian pilots would have trouble making headway.

Even so, the U.S. official is confident the American-led coalition backing Ukraine is making the right decisions.

While the Russians are having trouble with supplies and sustainment  the Ukrainians will not run out of capabilities because weve committed to providing what they need, they said.

Western officials estimated that about 200,000 Russian troops and 100,000 Ukrainian troops, plus more than 21,000 civilians, had been wounded or killed as of the conflicts one-year anniversary in February. The war is among Europes bloodiest since World War II.
Danielle Waters



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Danielle Waters

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When Meta Coleman designs a house, she takes into account the era when it was built and the personalities of the homeowners. "Who are they, how do they want to live, whats their story?" she asks. Coleman also strives to make homes "perfectly imperfect," meaning "they will only get better after I am gone and they have a life and personality of their own, and people feel relaxed and comfortable in the spaces." Its a lesson she learned from her grandfatherwhom she never met an architect who built the home where she spent childhood summers in North RhineWestphalia, Germany. "He created a beautiful environment to maximize comfort, coziness, purpose, and personality," she says. "It left a deep impression on me."



Having earned a degree in photography, Coleman says, "I am a big lover and appreciator of the arts and design and architecture, but it is also just as important to make our spaces functional for our needs." She emphasizes both artistry and practicality in her eponymous design firm based in Provo, Utah. "I think what I love most about interiors is the immediate practicality and purpose of a home that can also be an expression of the home owner and an art form." @metacoleman_

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House Beautiful: What's your go-to design trick that delivers big impact on a budget?

Meta Coleman: Paint. It's amazing what a lick of paint can do to transform a room and change the feeling of a space

HB: What emerging trend are you excited about?

MC: Kitchens being more of a mix of vintage pieces and cabinetry and other warm textures and elements to make for more inviting, utilitarian spaces. I love the combo of utility and comfort.



HB: Whats your favorite  and why?

Item to collect?

MC: Books. Always books. I like to look at inspiration via a tactile book. I even like the smell. I'm a little untrusting of someone with absolutely no books.

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HB: Design era/style?

MC: The Vienna Secession or Wiener Werkstaette I love this era. It feels so modern but in a softer way somehow. Although there was a degree of simplicity in the designs there are thoughtful and interesting details.

HB: Paint color?

MC: Farrow and Ball Stone Blue.

HB: Artist or piece of art?

MC: Matisse. I know this is cliche but I love his interior paintings, his use of colors and patterns. I also love his cut-outs; I went to an exhibit of them once and it blew me away. Another artist is Hilma AF Klint. I saw her exhibit in the Guggenheim in 2019 and I was awestruck. Her use of color and symbolism on such a large scale was incredibly inspiring to me. So much so that I named my dog after her. Not sure she would be too pleased about that!

HB: Local shopping destination?

MC: Treasures Antique Mall. It's a huge warehouse full of so many vendors' wares. You never know what you'll find. Also, The Green Ant. I have been shopping there for 20 years. Ron is the loveliest person and has the best selection of mid century furniture, art, lighting, etc.

HB: Online store?

MC: Matilda Goad. She sells beautiful lighting, lampshades, and homewares. Everything she designs is so much fun!

HB: Travel destination?

MC: Amsterdam. I love the food and the museums. I love that it feels and looks like a village but it's a big multicultural city. They have some of the best house museums too, like Rembrandt's home and Our Lord in the Attic Museum.

HB: Decor item you buy from Amazon or Etsy?

MC: Lighting. I find a lot of great vintage lighting that I use in my interiors from many different vendors on Etsy. Its the best way to make your space feel unique and special.

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AUSTIN  Parents whose children were killed in the Robb Elementary School massacre wept as they pleaded for stricter gun laws before legislators early Wednesday, even as proposals languished in the face of a Republican majority.

The emotional late-night hearing  which started Tuesday morning and stretched past midnight  underlined both the sustained anger by some Uvalde families nearly a year after the shooting and the continued GOP opposition in Texas to passing any new gun restrictions.

The meeting of a state House committee was significant because it marked the first time Texas lawmakers have given any proposed gun restrictions a hearing since the May 2022 shooting that killed 19 children and two teachers. Much of the debate centered on a proposal that would raise the age to purchase semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21 years old, which Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has opposed.

Tess didnt have a choice in life and death, said Veronica Mata, referring to her 10-year-old daughter, who was among those killed in the Uvalde classroom. But you as lawmakers have a choice in what her life will be remembered for.

The meeting also came amid another series of mass shootings that have shaken the U.S. that have reopened debates over gun violence elsewhere.

In Tennessee, Republican Gov. Bill Lee signed an executive order last week strengthening background checks for gun purchases after a gunman killed three children and three adults at a private elementary school.

At the same time, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee on Tuesday sent Lee a bill that would further protect gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits.

Flowers are piled around crosses with the names of the victims killed in a school shooting as people visit a memorial at Robb Elementary School to pay their respects May 31 in Uvalde. For the first time since the Uvalde school massacre, Texas Republican lawmakers on Tuesday allowed proposals for stricter gun laws to get a hearing in the state Capitol. However, new restrictions have almost no chance of passing.

Some Uvalde parents scolded a state House panel for making them wait all day for what was potentially their only chance to testify this year.

Im perplexed now. Did you think we would go home? said Kimberly Mata-Rubio, whose 10-year-old daughter Lexi was killed in the shooting.

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Gun rights supporters also sat in the room, including at least one man legally carrying a holstered handgun. Another was Stephen Willeford, who disrupted the 2017 church shooting in Sutherland Springs, Texas, that left 26 people dead; Willeford confronted the gunman with his own rifle.

He said a bill that would raise the age to purchase semiautomatic weapons  like the kind used in the Uvalde shooting  would infringe on the rights of younger gun owners. A representative from the National Rifle Association echoed that statement.

We represent 18-, 19- and 20-year-olds who are not mass shooters. We defend the constitutional rights, NRA lobbyist Tara Mica said. Realistically, a raise the age bill is going to be litigated and found unconstitutional.

The anniversary of the shooting is May 24.

That is just days before the Texas Legislature is scheduled to adjourn after a session in which dozens of proposals filed by Democrats to tighten gun laws have gone nowhere, including a bill to add reporting requirements during the sale of multiple firearms.

For years in Texas, Republicans have waved aside efforts to tighten gun laws after mass shootings, and even expanded gun rights after the 2019 attack on a Walmart in El Paso.

Felicia Martinez, mother of Xavier Lopez, who was killed by a gunman at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, center, tries to hold back tears as she and other family members attend a news conference at the Texas Capitol with Texas state Sen. Roland Gutierrez in Austin on Jan. 24. For the first time since the Uvalde school massacre, Texas Republican lawmakers on Tuesday allowed proposals for stricter gun laws to get a hearing in the state Capitol  even though new restrictions have almost no chance of passing.

After the Uvalde shooting, Abbott told victims' families he would not support their calls for gun safety legislation. Texas House Speaker Dade Phelan, a Republican, later said proposals to raise the minimum required age for certain firearms and other gun measures did not have the votes to pass.

Republicans have instead focused on additional mental health services in Texas and increasing school security.

Still, family and friends of Uvalde victims have returned to the Texas Capitol on multiple occasions to protest and meet with lawmakers. They also have called for more police accountability after hundreds of law enforcement officers on the scene waited more than an hour to breach the fourth-grade classroom and confront the shooter.

This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Uvalde families plead for stricter gun laws as legislation stalls
A Texas lawmaker said during a hearing that the gunman who killed 19 students and two teachers during the Uvalde school shooting last year used the blood of those he shot to write LOL on a whiteboard inside Robb Elementary school.

Families of the victims attended the Tuesday hearing, where El Paso Democrat Joe Moody made the revelation, leading to gasps from those in the room.

Mr Moody, who was a part of the investigation into the shooting, said that the attacker scooped up the blood of his victims and smeared it into his disgusting message.

What he wrote in innocent blood next to that (whiteboard) was the phrase, LOL, he added.

The revelation was made hours into the hearing of the statehouse committee. The hearing began on Tuesday morning and didnt end until after midnight. Families waited for almost 13 hours to share their testimony and argue for more gun control.

The panel is reviewing legislation that would raise the age to buy some semiautomatic rifles from 18 to 21. The families of the victims and their allies have noted that its the bill they most want to be made into law, but it has been opposed by Republicans, in particular Texas Governor Greg Abbott.

Javier Cazares lost his nine-year-old daughter Jacklyn in the shooting.

My daughter tried to buy Super Glue at Walmart the other day and was flagged as being under 18  Whats wrong with this picture? he told the panel.

I saw my daughter draped in a white sheet, cold and alone in an operating room, he added as he became emotional.

A number of people who lost loved ones in the massacre said that if the proposed bill had been the law before the shooting on 24 May last year, their children would still be alive.

Kimberly Rubio lost her daughter Alexi in the shooting.

We waited for 13 hours to speak in front of the panel, she said. Did you think wed go home?

She asked if the lawmakers had watched any of the coverage of the shooting.

Did you imagine what it would feel like to bury your child? she asked.

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Sit with that image as we do because only when you imagine will you as lawmakers take the necessary action, including voting for the legislation.

She said that if the bill had been the law a year ago, the gunman would have been unable to buy the firearm he used to murder our daughter and 20 others eight days after his 18th birthday.

The legislation was put forward by Tracy King, a Democrat representing Uvalde, who said that if it had been introduced before the shooting, he probably wouldnt have voted in favour. But he added that everything changed after the shooting.

That changed my life, he said, according to NBC News.

State Senator Roland Gutierrez of San Antonio told the families of the victims that it isnt right that these folks should have to work this hard to change something and to have something done. And it isnt right that you should have to come up here session after session  and not have these lawmakers listen to you.

Despite the objections of Republicans and the National Rifle Association, the families still hope theyll be able to convince enough lawmakers to enact change.

Stephen Willeford, who helped impede a shooting at a church in Sutherland Springs in 2017 when 26 people were killed, using his own firearm to confront the shooter, spoke up against the legislation.

If you think he (the gunman) couldnt have found a gun other ways or waited until he was 21 to do his murder spree you are wrong, he said, according to NBC News.
DAR ES SALAAM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The East African Community (EAC) has called for an immediate cessation of hostilities in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to avoid further loss of life, injuries and damage to property.

The regional bloc also called on both warring parties in Sudan to seek an amicable settlement through the available conflict resolution mechanisms at the regional, continental and international levels, according to a statement issued Tuesday by the EAC headquarters in Tanzania's northern city of Arusha.

"We appreciate efforts that have been made so far by the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the African Union and the UN to resolve the conflict," said the statement, adding that the EAC stands in solidarity with the people of Sudan in the quest for peace.

Members of the EAC are Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda. 
Lawmakers and advocates pressed the Veterans Health Administration (VHA)on Tuesday over long wait times for veterans seeking treatment for substance use disorder, especially due to the particularly high suicide risk within the population.

We can figure out that paperwork later, Thomas Sauer, chief executive of Miramar Health, told a hearing of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs health subcommittee. The current VA policy of 30 days to wait to find a bed in a given region does not meet the urgent level of this crisis.

Daniel Elkins, chief of staff at The Independence Fund, an organization that supports the mental and physical independence of veterans, echoed Sauers call.

In a 30-day period, the risk of suicide or destabilization can drastically increase, so we recommend a clinically sound lesser number of days because PTSD, in conjunction with SUD [substance use disorder], requires swift intervention and services, he said.

Between 2001 and 2020, the prevalence of substance use disorder diagnoses among the VHAs recent veteran users rose from 27.9 percent to 41.9 percent, the VA reported in its 2022 annual suicide prevention report.

The overall suicide rate among that group fell by 28.7 percent over that same period; however, they were still almost twice as likely as non-users to commit suicide.

Rep. Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), the subcommittees ranking member, said there was a clear disconnect between the need and access to substance abuse care.

What Im hearing from the panel, too, as well, is that the quality of care within the VA, once a veteran gets into the VA, is very good, she said. So I think, you know, clearly something has to be done here around these access points.

Research by the VA showed in 2017 that substance use disorder sharply increased the risk of suicide for veterans. Of 4.8 million veterans studied, 8 percent of men and 3 percent of women had problems with drugs or alcohol.

And almost 20 percent of veterans returning from Iraq or Afghanistan as of 2019 suffered from PTSD, depression, or traumatic brain injury, which predispose individuals to substance abuse, according to the VA.

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Im saddened and Im frustrated that this is how VA has been managing care for those who have selflessly served our country, said Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks (R-Iowa), who chairs the subcommittee.

The most important metric of success is whether the suicide rate has gone down, and unfortunately, it has gone up, Miller-Meeks said. No veteran should be turned away when a decision is made to seek health.

Brownley noted the challenge was only compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, which increased feelings of social isolation, anxiety, and depression and caused many adults to start or increase their use of alcohol or drugs.

Tamara Campbell, executive director of the VHAs Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, assured lawmakers that a full comprehensive continuum of care was available to veterans, from outpatient telehealth to inpatient treatment.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Political strategist and commentator Van Jones says Ron DeSantis is not prepared for his looming GOP White House primary fight against former President Trump, advising the Florida governor, who has not yet declared his candidacy, to go low.

A pro-DeSantis group aired its first TV ad earlier this week, bashing Trump for targeting DeSantis on his past positions on Medicare and Social Security and turning the attack back around on the former president.

That wont work, said Jones, a CNN political analyst, in an advance clip from Comedy Centrals Stephen Colbert Presents Tooning Out The News, shared exclusively with The Hill on Wednesday.

The problem they have with someone like DeSantis is he doesnt know how to fight, Jones told the animated hosts of the show. If he thinks he is going to be able to beat Donald Trump by splitting hairs about Social Security policy, he hasnt watched Donald Trump.

Trump has regularly gotten down in the mud when attacking his opponents, including sharing a social media post that accused DeSantis of partying with underage girls when he was a high school teacher. The TV ad from the pro-DeSantis group followed one on the Florida governor from a pro-Trump organization making fun of a story that circulated about DeSantis eating pudding with his fingers while also attacking his policies.

Jones said that instead, DeSantis should take the fight to Trump in more personal terms.

You go after Donald Trump by going after things he really cares about. Hes a vain man, he said. You talk about his looks, you talk about his hair, you talk about his family, you do stuff thats gonna throw him off his game.

Unfortunately, that is not in the Ron DeSantis playbook, he added. He is not prepared for this fight, and its obvious.

The animated hosts of the show then go on to play the pro-Trump ad that mocked the pudding story about DeSantis, putting the pro-DeSantis ad in the corner of the screen before getting rid of it altogether.

The full episode is set to air tonight at 11:30.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Update: A grandson says Andrew Lester bought into conspiracies, disinformation

The elderly man who shot a teenager in Kansas Citys Northland last week, sparking a national conversation on race and guns, is a military veteran who once worked as an airline mechanic.

Little is known publicly about Andrew D. Lester, 84, the white man who is accused of firing two shots into 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is Black, after police say the teen rang his doorbell Thursday. Lester has been charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

The teenager, an honor student at Staley High School, accidentally went to the wrong house while trying to pick up his younger brothers and was shot twice, including in the head. The shooting, a local civil rights leader said, again showed Missouri is one of the most unsafe places for Black people in America.

Lester, who has no known criminal history, appears to have mostly kept to himself in his neighborhood in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Street. But his home, which has since been egged and tagged with spray paint, has become a focal point for advocates calling for racial justice.

A relative of Lesters said he thinks characterizing the shooting as a hate crime is inaccurate.

Daniel Ludwig, 30, a Kansas City man who says he is Lesters grandson, said he did not believe race played a role in the shooting. He appears to be the first of Lesters relatives to comment on the shooting.

Its just sad and I wish it didnt happen, Ludwig told The Star. It seems like a bunch of mistakes in a row that resulted in a tragedy. I mean, a lot of mistakes all the way around, unfortunately.

Ludwig believed his grandfather would not have fired had Yarl not gone for the door. It was clear, he said, that the shooting did not unfold for no reason.

If you look at the affidavit, there were actions taken that caused it, he said, later adding: My grandpas side isnt being reported.

Yarl, however, told police he was immediately shot after simply ringing the doorbell.

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Lee Merritt, a civil rights attorney representing the Yarl family, said Yarl never put his hand on Lesters door and did not try to enter the home.

Mind you, touching the door in and of itself wouldnt be enough to justify the use of deadly force, he said Wednesday. Ralph rang the doorbell and waited quietly outside until the door was open.

Earlier this week, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a racial component to the shooting, though he did not elaborate. Civil rights and faith leaders have called for Lester to additionally face federal hate crime charges.

Ralph Yarl

Lester told detectives he was scared to death when he shot Yarl, saying he saw him pulling on the exterior storm door handle and assumed he was breaking in. Lester said he was protecting himself. He was visibly upset, police wrote, and repeatedly expressed concern for the victim.

Lester acknowledged he opened fire within a few seconds of seeing Yarl on his doorstep.

After the shooting, Lester said, he immediately called 911. Officers found him standing inside the house behind a shattered glass storm door, which was locked.

Yarl, however, said he rang the doorbell and was immediately shot in the head. He fell to the ground, then was shot in the arm. Lester told him: Dont come around here, according to a probable cause statement.

While a sign outside Lesters house warns that the property is protected by surveillance cameras, detectives soon learned that the system had not worked since June 2022.

Before the shooting, Lester appears to have been living a quiet life in retirement. Some neighbors said they did not know him, while another said he does not represent us.

Lester was a mechanic in the Air Force during the Vietnam War, Ludwig said, but it is unclear where he was based. Online records show someone with his name served for 10 years in the Air National Guard in Virginia, but the National Guard was not able to confirm that information immediately.

He later worked as a mechanic for an airline, his grandson said. Employment records matching Lesters addresses indicate he once worked as a technician for America West Airlines, an airline that had been based in Tempe, Arizona.

It is not clear when or where Lester worked for the company. Property records suggest he has resided over the years in Mesa, Arizona; El Segundo, California; El Paso, Texas; and Virginia.

Lester is married, but his wife was in care at the time of the shooting, Ludwig said, so Lester was at home alone that night. Lesters wife could not be reached for comment.

For many years, Lester held a Missouri hunting license, including one issued as recently as 2016.

The Star could not reach Lester for comment. An attorney for Lester just entered the case on Wednesday.

Lester made his initial court appearance Wednesday afternoon at the Clay County courthouse in Liberty. The next court date was set for June 1.

Merritt posted a picture with Yarl on social media Wednesday, saying he was home and recovering.

How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle, Merritt wrote. To God be the glory!

Ralph Yarl is home and recovering! How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle. To God be the glory! pic.twitter.com/y5mWpQNcY4  Lee Merritt (@MerrittForTexas) April 19, 2023

In an interview earlier this week with CBS Mornings, Yarls mother, Cleo Nagbe, said her son had a bullet in his left frontal lobe for up to 12 hours before it was taken out.

Merritt said Yarl was expected to make a full recovery, but youre dealing with permanent injuries, from the cracked skull, to the brain tissue loss, etc., to the scarring ...

There is nothing normal about the story, Merritt said Tuesday. Ralph Yarl shouldnt be here today. He was shot point blank in the head and a bullet entered his brain.

The Stars Glenn E. Rice contributed to this report.
Election 2024 DeSantis (Copyright 2023, News and Advance, V.A. All rights reserved)

Earlier in my career, I covered the moment members of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. After that, I ran into Texas Representative Al Green, who told me an adage about politics that explained why so many members of the CBC endorsed her instead of Senator Bernie Sanders: Make your friends before you need them.

Mr Sanders had served in Congress, both as a member of the House and Senate, for 25 years by the time he had announced his candidacy for president in 2016. But as an Independent who kept at arms length from the Democratic Party as a whole, he didnt have the strong bonds with Black members of Congress that Ms Clinton, a former first lady and United States senator, had as a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party. That problem would carry over to Mr Sanderss troubles with Black voters, the most reliable primary voting bloc in the party, during the Democratic presidential primaries.

That memory and Mr Greens aphorism echoed in my mind this week when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited Washington, only to be met with a torrent of Republicans from his states congressional delegation lining up one after another behind former president Donald Trump.

Mr DeSantis should have been greeted as a conquering hero. After serving in the House from 2013 to 2018 and as a founding member of the barn-burning House Freedom Caucus, he took his talents back to South Beach and ran for governor and served as a staunch conservative, mostly keeping the state open during the Covid-19, restricting abortion and targeting LGBT+ communities. That propelled him to win an overwhelming re-election this last November when other Republicans faltered.

Just on Wednesday, the Florida Board of Education approved the expansion of his Dont Say Gay law to prevent students of all grades from learning about gender identity or sexual orientation. Hes also continued his campaign against Disney, which opposed the law, even hinting at constructing a prison next to the Magic Kingdom.

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That combination, along with the fact that Mr Trump has been criminally charged and faces multiple investigations, should prime Mr DeSantis for a coronation. Unfortunately, it didt go as planned for the Florida governor. Instead, a torrent of Florida Republican members of Congress  including Representatives Vern Buchanan, John Rutherford, Greg Steube and Brian Mast  all got behind Mr Trump. This adds to Representatives Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz and Anna Paulina Luna supporting Mr Trump instead of the governor.

And a big reason for this might be Mr DeSantiss well-documented aloofness. Politicos Playbook reported that Mr DeSantis never returned Mr Steubes repeated attempts to contact him and that when he was initially invited to stand beside the governor after Hurricane Ian, he was told he would not be part of the event. Conversely, Mr Trump called Mr Steube when the congressman fell during a tree-trimming accident. In turn, Mr Steube said acidly Floridians want him focused on Florida.

Moreover, Mr DeSantis contiued attempts to own the libs might hurt him in the one area he actually thrives  his ability to raise prolific amouts of money. Republican megadonor Thomas Peterffy told the Financial Times this week that I have put myself on hold when it comes to giving Mr DeSantis money because of his stance on abortion and book banning . . . myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry.

Of course, all is not lost for Mr DeSantis, as he hasnt even announced his candidacy yet. But hes continued to run out of options largely because he did not make his time in the House count and translate it into close alliances. Now, he might not have someone to help him when he drowns.
After House lawmakers refused to concur on amendments the Senate made to the assault weapons ban bill earlier this month, the proposed bill has now cleared the Senate for the second time this session.

House Bill 1240, absent a previously adopted amendment by the Senate, will now go back to House lawmakers for concurrence. The House will consider a version that makes no exceptions for active duty military personnel on orders to the state or military retirees living in Washington.

The bill passed the Senate again on Tuesday with a 28-21 vote.

If the House approves the version of the bill the Senate passed, the bill will then be ready for Gov. Jay Inslee to sign. The proposed measure would become law immediately once signed, banning the manufacture, importation, distribution, sale, or offer for sale of any assault weapon in the state of Washington.

Senate lawmakers first passed the bill on April 8 with a 27-21 vote. During that debate, an amendment that would have exempted active duty military personnel on orders to the state and military retirees living in Washington was introduced by Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro Wooley. Senate Democrats and Republicans voted in favor of the amendment during that debate.

Because changes were made in the Senate, the bill was then sent back to the House where that amendment was ruled beyond the scope and object of the bill on April 14. House lawmakers then asked the Senate to withdraw their amendments.

Senate lawmakers on Tuesday receded the amendments, the bill was placed back on second reading, and the amendments were re-debated.

An amendment was adopted that clarified the definition of importation. That clarification said that individuals who live in Washington but travel back and forth from other states with the assault weapons they currently own would not be importing the weapons.

Additionally, that amendment clarifies that dealers in the state can still sell or transfer stock that was acquired prior to Jan. 1 of this year for up to 90 days after the bill goes into effect, but that stock can only be sold or transferred out of state.

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Sen. John Braun, R-Centralia, spoke during the bills final passage. He said that in 2019, his son was stationed at Naval Air Station Pensacola when an active shooter killed three people and injured multiple others. Six months later, his son was stationed at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi when another gunman opened fire, injuring a sailor.

So Im very motivated to get after this issue, Braun said. We have to find a way to stop these events, or at least slow these events, and Im open to a whole range of solutions to get us there. This absolutely deserves to be our highest priority but I dont think this bill gets us there.

He argued that law-abiding residents will follow the assault weapons ban, while others will find ways to circumvent the ban.

To get after this problem we have to change people, we have to change behavior, said Braun, who voted against the proposed measure.

Sen. Annette Cleveland, D-Vancouver, spoke in favor of the bill on the floor.

Gun violence is preventable. Gun violence is not inevitable, she said. A public health approach to preventing violence recognizes that violence is contagious. It recognizes that we must interrupt the transmission of this contagious violence, and we do so with policies that data show really will lower the threat of that contagion. Policies like the one before us today.
Russian mercenary outfit Wagner has been present in Sudan for years, but has kept a low profile during recent clashes to preserve its interests in the gold-rich country, experts say.

Here is what we know about Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin's dealings in the troubled African nation:

- Russian ties -

Russia supplied weapons to Sudan during the three-decade-long rule of former president Omar al-Bashir, especially after the United Nations imposed sanctions on the country in 2005 over the Darfur conflict.

After the army toppled him in 2019 following months of protests, ties between Khartoum and Moscow appeared to slacken.

But after army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan seized power in October 2021, his deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo signalled openness to continued cooperation.

Sudan was ready to cooperate "with any country, provided it is in our interests and does not threaten our national security", said Daglo, also known as Hemeti.

After both generals fell out, it is Burhan's army and Daglo's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary who have been battling each other since Saturday, in violence which embassies in Khartoum say has killed more than 270 people.

- Gold -

Sudan in rich in gold, the large majority smuggled out of the country illegally.

Daglo's RSF is said to control several mines.

A company owned or operated by Prigozhin called M Invest and its subsidiary Meroe Gold act as a cover for Wagner in Sudan, according to the US treasury.

In 2017, when Bachir was still in power, Sudan awarded M Invest concession agreements to explore gold mining sites in the country.

Shortly afterwards, Meroe signed a five-year deal with a Sudanese firm called Aswar, which appears to have been controlled by Sudanese military intelligence, to secure its position in the country's gold sector, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) reported in November last year.

In 2018, Sudan then waived a 30-percent gold tax for Meroe, it said.

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The US treasury in 2020 imposed sanctions on both M Invest and its subsidiary Meroe Gold.

"Prigozhin and his network are exploiting Sudan's natural resources for personal gain," then US treasury secretary Steven Mnuchin said at the time.

Over the past few years since Bashir's fall, "Wagner has continued to expand its mining portfolio in Sudan," said Catrina Doxee, from the US-based Center for Strategic and International Studies.

It has done this by remaining "relatively opportunistic in Sudan rather than loyal to any particular political faction", she told AFP.

- Disinformation, training -

Beyond gold, Wagner has also provided strategic political influence in Sudan.

"Disinformation campaigns targeting Sudanese social media users have been a consistent part of their playbook since 2017," the Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime wrote in February.

In early 2022, a member of the Sudanese security services told AFP: "Russian experts secure communications and analyse social media for state-linked institutions."

Wagner is also believed to have trained members of the security services.

"The presence of Russian paramilitary personnel in Sudan is beyond any doubt," Russian expert Sergey Shukankin wrote in 2020.

Local Sudanese sources said "the mercenaries were located in Khartoum and were training the special operations forces of the National Intelligence and Security Services", he added.

- Choosing a side? -

Prigozhin on Tuesday denied that any Wagner operatives were in Sudan.

"For two years, not a single Wagner... fighter has been present in Sudan. And today there is none," he said on Telegram.

Most analysts agree that he is likely waiting to see the outcome of the fighting before choosing a side.

Doxee said Wagner was "likely to adopt an opportunistic stance in the current conflict".

"It is most important for Wagner to protect its own commercial interests... under whichever faction triumphs," she said.

Roland Marchal, an expert at the Paris-based Centre for International Research, agreed.

"As long as business continues and their influence remains, let the best man win," he said, summing up the group's attitude.

Colin Clarke, of the New York-based Soufan Center, said Wagner was probably more inclined to lean toward Daglo, "because of his access to gold mines in Sudan".

"But as with any mercenary group, the loyalty and allegiance is to whoever is writing the checks," he said.

dla/ah/sjw/hkb
The alleged killer, Georgiy Siukayev (left), and the victim, Soslan Valiyev - RES

A convicted murderer turned Wagner mercenary who received a pardon for serving in Ukraine has been accused of killing a man, affectionately known as a holy fool, upon his return to Russia.

Less than a month after returning to his native South Ossetia from the front line, Georgiy Siukayev can be seen on CCTV footage, released on social media, approaching a man on the street and stabbing him.

The Wagner mercenary group recruited thousands of convicts from prison to fight in Ukraine, with the promise of freedom from imprisonment if they survived six months on the battlefield.

The president of the Russia-backed republic held a meeting on Tuesday with security officials, urging them to detain the former Wagner fighter suspected of killing Soslan Valiyev, a local man who was widely known for his eccentricities, such as dancing in the street and conversing with strangers.

Some local media suggested the victim was mentally disabled, but his condition was not officially reported.

Mr Valiyev, commonly known as Tsugri, was killed on Monday evening, about three weeks after his suspected murderer returned home to Georgias breakaway republic.

Alan Gagloev, South Ossetias leader, called the killing a tragedy and said the former Wagner fighter had to face justice.

The man was arrested in the early hours of Wednesday, said local prosecutors.

'Big tragedy for everyone who knew him'

Tsugri, 38, was praised in local press as a holy fool and a mainstay of the streets of the local capital, Tskhinvali.

A former president on Wednesday issued an emotional tribute to the man.

Tsugri was a good-natured and harmless guy whom everyone, with a few exceptions, loved like their own family, said Eduard Kokoity said on his Telegram account, calling him a symbol of the capital.

The murder of Soslan (Tsugri) Valiyev is a big tragedy for everyone who knew him.

The suspected killer was serving a lengthy sentence for murder in 2014, before he was recruited by Wagner last year, according to local media outlet Sapa on Tuesday.

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'Putin's chef' looks into the murder

Asked about the murder, Yevgeny Prigozhin, Wagners founder who is nicknamed as "Putin's chef", said he was investigating by whom and for what Mr Siukayev might have killed in South Ossetia.

Prigozhin insisted he was keeping tabs on his recruits after they came back home and insisted repeated offences were extremely rare, claiming crime rates after Wagner drop 10-fold.

Wagner has recruited an estimated 43,000 men from Russian prisons, about half of whom have been killed or injured.

Reports have increased of reoffending among the convict mercenaries who have survived the six-month contract and returned home.

Last month, a 28-year-old former Wagner fighter, who had been sentenced to 14 years in prison for killing and robbing a woman, started terrorising the residents of his home village in the Kirov region as soon as he arrived.

One week later, he was arrested on suspicion of killing an 85-year-old woman.
WALDWICK  There was no ocean in sight, but Waldwick High School students helped create a "Shark Tank"-style event Tuesday with students in Kenya via Zoom, identifying local projects in need of sponsors and raising funds to help finance them.

Waldwick High School's Global Awareness Club is among 20 Bergen County student programs participating in The Empathy, Equality, Entrepreneurship Mission (TEEEM), an international nonprofit that teaches students about global issues and humanitarianism.

This year, Waldwick's class was connected to Kenyan students through The Grace Project. The students met weekly via Zoom for hourlong English reading and discussion classes. Out of this came a suggestion from the teachers in both countries for the students to collaborate on a presentation similar to the "Shark Tank" television show, where entrepreneurs demonstrate their products and services in hopes of attracting financial investors.

First prize winner of the competition was Petal Care, snap-on holders and washable reusable liners for Kenyan women who have no access to disposable feminine hygiene products.

Waldwick teacher Ted Opderbeck said his students did some "creative fundraisers" including a "dine and donate" event at the local Bombay Hut restaurant. Students raised $2,000, which TEEEM matched to create a prize purse of $4,000 to be split among the three presentation groups.

More: Bergen County's new tech high school breaks ground; to open in 2025

"The students in Kenya researched the issue and developed ideas to create actual functional businesses that they could run to address the problem," Opderbeck said. "My students assisted in putting information onto slides, helping with presentation skills, and evaluating/constructing budgets."

Waldwick junior Kaitlyn Hu estimated that her team met with the Kenyan students before school about six times to create a proposal for a secondhand clothing store.

Waldwick students prepared slide show presentations for Kenya student projects, including this proposal to increase productivity of indigenous vegetables.

"Our role was helping create and expand the idea," Kaitlyn said. "The best part was helping them evaluate the items to sell and the pricing. It was eye-opening. We don't think much about having lots of clothing."

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The groups took turns making five-minute presentations, followed by a question-and-answer session for four judges including TEEEM officers and Waldwick Servepro Office and Marketing Manager Karen Centauro.

The first-place winner, Petal Care, received $2,500 to start a feminine hygiene product business. In second place, Afya Bora Investment received $1,500 for its plan to improve food crop yields. Third-place finisher Buy Our Own Build Our Own received $1,000 to start its secondhand clothing store.

"It was a powerful and emotional experience to witness the Kenya students presenting their ideas and receiving TEEEM funding to put their plans into action," Centauro said.

For more information on TEEEM, visit TEEEM.org. For more information on The Grace Project, visit graceproject.org.

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: New businesses come from teamwork between Waldwick, Kenya students
Artists George Evans and Cauleen Smith. "We may be separated by a generation, but we definitely share a kind of Black West Coast culture," Smith says of Evans. (G L Askew II / For The Times)

This story is part of Image issue 18, Mission, an anthology of fantastic voyages  from L.A. to the world and back to the epicenter. Read the whole issue here.

Everyone in Los Angeles has heard the phrase location, location, location tossed about, right? As a film student in the 90s at UCLA, my peers and I definitely placed a premium on finding just the right place to shoot our scenes. In retrospect, I think this urban surveying is what made me fall so hard in love with Los Angeles back then and what pulled me back here now. After COVID, I feel like I am learning the city all over again. My way of learning about a place as an artist and as a citizen always involves studying other artists who cut deep grooves into the city lore. Wanda Coleman is such a figure. Reading her poems is like being led by the hand through the streets of Los Angeles. From Venice to South Los Angeles to Hollywood, Coleman, who died at age 67 in 2013, drew a map with cautions and songs and screeds unlike anything Ive read. So when I learned from my student AK Jenkins (soon to be a CalArts alumn) that Colemans brother George Evans (Coleman was born Wanda Evans) was still in L.A., I jumped at the chance to meet with him.

Evans, age 74, is a wonderful and interesting artist in his own right and a crucial link that intersects several cultural histories of Los Angeles  from Beat poetry to Hollywood movies, from grassroots arts organizations to Black skin magazines, from Charles White to Edgar Arcenaux. These intersections, coincidences and connections weaving through Evans life speak to the immense contributions of the Black citizens of Los Angeles, many of whom come from working-class roots (see: "Drylongso"). People who did extraordinary things with very little. George Evans and his sister Wanda Coleman are Los Angeles treasures.





As a native Northern Californian who enjoyed many family road trips down to L.A. to visit cousins in Carson, I really revel in the affinities and overlaps between Georges experience growing up in this state and my own. We may be separated by a generation, but we definitely share a kind of Black West Coast culture  all the way down to art heroes, like the painter Nathan Oliveira. Sun Ra insists that there is no such thing as a coincidence. I tend to agree. We are linked through a history of Black Californian creatives, and through Evans, my understanding of the history of Black Los Angeles and its contributions to the greater L.A. have colorfully deepened.

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Smith says reading Wanda Coleman's poems is "like being led by the hand through the streets of Los Angeles." Coleman, who died in 2013, was one of Evans' sisters. (G L Askew II / For The Times)

Cauleen Smith: My dad recently gave me this catalog thats from Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. Its a catalog about Black jazz masters, and I kept it because it has this one photograph that I just thought was amazing.

George Evans: You know, when I graduated from Chouinard, I worked for Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. doing graphic design. A lot of the art collection from their history is at CAAM [California African American Museum]. There are two murals inside of the building [by Hale Woodruff and Charles Alston], and the building itself is a historical landmark [designed by Paul R. Williams]. Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Co. was across this country  they had offices in Chicago, in Atlanta, in Texas. They were national. And they were really an institution that trained people. They had to build their own workforce. So the uniqueness of that company was 

CS: And then also collecting art!

GE: One of the founders of GSM was William [Bill] Nickerson. He used the office spaces for galleries. So from the first floor going up he would take somebodys artwork and he would hang it. He did the whole building. He used the building as a showcase and would give tours. Across the street, on the adjacent corner is Hobart, and when you cross Adams there is an old fire station. That was Wendell Collins print shop. He was a master printer. Collins was the printmaker for Samella Lewis and [Elizabeth] Catlett, who was Charles Whites wife.

CS: First wife. And then she moved to Mexico.

GE: Yes, and she married Francisco Mora.

The [Golden Mutual] Life Insurance Co. was started by William Nickerson, George A. Beavers Jr. and Norman O. Houston. Matter of fact, if you are going over Stocker and Overhill in that area, theres a Norman O. Houston Park and thats the Norman O. Houston of Golden Mutual. They started that company. It started on Central Avenue, and that's when I believe my father was working for them. My father really wanted to be a publisher. He acquired some presses, but his partner stole them.

CS: I read that.

GE: So then my father did more signage after that. But to me this is still impressive [George hands Cauleen a publication made by George Sr.]; I like to look at this every once in a while. When you look at that it says George Evans art director." So my father knew what he wanted to accomplish. He organized all the barbershops in South-Central where he distributed that publication. My father was an advertising man. His shop was Evans and Sons Advertising, and all four of us had to work there. [Laughs] I did the most.

CS: This leads me to the most amazing thing of Wanda editing Players magazine  the first six issues  which I thought was incredible. But now, learning about her background, it makes total sense that she would know how to run a magazine.

GE: My father was a builder. I mean, he contributed so much to this city. There are three of us left. My younger brother, Marvin; hes a musician. My youngest sister, Sharon; she's in her 60s now, and she's a musician. Wanda was the oldest. Im the second.

CS: You know, the way in which I wanted to work with Wanda Coleman's work was through music, because so many of her poems are songs. Of what I could find on YouTube, I never really saw her sing, but she's such a powerful performer.

"The way in which I wanted to work with Wanda Coleman's work was through music, because so many of her poems are songs," says Smith. (G L Askew II / For The Times)

GE: Marvin used to play with her. She would have Marvin come and bring the sounds.

CS: He would play while she's reading?

GE: Mm-hmm. They would collaborate.

My parents had classical music in the house. And when I think back on it, I think that came from the Reagans. You know, my mother did domestic work for the Reagans.

CS: I read about that.

GE: Because my mother came from Oklahoma; [she liked] Charley Pride. She also listened to R&B and listened to KGFJ. My father was definitely rhythm and blues.

CS: I really related to that part of Wanda's book "The Riot Inside Me" because my mom does not listen to the blues  I only heard it when she was not in the house. My dad would play the records. [laughs] You know, Mom likes the cool jazz vibe.

GE: I still remember when my father brought home "Blueberry Hill" by Fats Domino at Christmas. We were peeping through the hallway, and they were in the front room and they were dancing together. You know, when you think of these little beautiful times with family. That was one of them.

CS: Thats a really nice memory.

I feel like those blues songs in Wandas collections are really intriguing to me. She kind of tried every form: There are sonnets, poems that are sort of like haiku, everything. But the blues songs stand out. Im wondering why didnt she ever just record these. I can almost hear them.

GE: In high school we all had to do music. I did piano, my brother kept it up, Wanda did piano and then she did violin. We had all of these records stashed under the cabinet. We had Sibelius, Prokofiev, Beethoven. Wanda was all into that. I would be doing Marvin Gaye, James Brown. She would be playing this classical music and it would make me mad.

CS: [Laughs] Why?

GE: We were all four of us in the same room. And she would be playing something that I didn't want to hear, and I was trying to listen to my music. I would tell her turn it down, and she wouldnt do it. [Laughs] Wed go back and forth.

When my mother would take us on a drive somewhere, Wanda was always reading, and me, I was always looking out the window.

CS: You were a visual person, and she was a literary person.

GE: I was doing art class, I was drawing.

I started a Sunday afternoon drawing class at Studio Watts. Studio Watts came out of the riots. You had Watts Writers Workshop with [Budd] Schulberg. The [Watts] Towers Arts Center was not there yet. Wanda was working between Budd Schulberg and Studio Watts; she was all over the place. She was just really assertive. She went for it. You know the way we were raised was, you gotta stay alive and try not to stand out too much. But she really went for it, she excelled.

I also was becoming of an age where I was starting to want to spread my wings. And there was this hippie-looking young lady who was at Trade-Tech [Los Angeles Trade Technical College], and we kind of befriended each other. She lived in Echo Park, and I was looking to get out. She said, If my old man likes you, you can live in the basement. And this big, burly, bearded white guy walks in. He says, Yeah, you can live in the basement. You gotta clean it up, though, make it livable. You can have it and you don't have to pay any rent. So I left home and bolted into that.

CS: That's where Wanda would come and see you.

GE: Mm-hmm. I was going to Chouinard [subsequently merged into CalArts] and living in Echo Park. [Before I enrolled at Chouinard, I was already] familiar because if I didn't have money, we would go to the campus, and we would take our sketchbooks and the teachers would just let you sit in. Yeah, come on in, you can draw. So we would fill sketchbooks. And those sketchbooks are what got me a scholarship [to Chouinard].

"I always liked abstract painting," says Evans. Growing up, he was always the visual person, and Wanda Coleman was the literary one. (G L Askew II / For The Times)

I always liked abstract painting. Thats why when I started at Chouinard, I went in there the first day and changed my major to painting. I thought, At least I can paint for four years, and then I'll figure it out from there. In Echo Park, you had Paul Vangelisti who published [Charles] Bukowski, who lived on the other side of the hill. There were a number of the Beatnik poets. I would hang out late nights with John Thomas and Bukowksi, all these poets  these guys having these philosophical discussions. It was deep!

CS: What was that like? Were you just soaking it in? That's incredible, because you knew who Charles Bukowski was, right?

GE: This was before he was well known. Hanging out with them  it did something to me that made it easier for me [to get] a sense of what was outside of our culture, so to speak. [There was a] mystique of being in Echo Park. John Thomas was doing my homework for me! [Laughs] [I was] really learning how poetry is an art form. I liked poetry  poetry saved my butt in high school. I think I was looking at my sister; poetry was one of the things that I could grasp. So all of a sudden, here I am with these Beatnik poets and getting the lessons from Big John. Wanda would come up and John started critiquing her writings. I remember when John turned her on to Black Sparrow Press. John thought that her writings were very good, so he encouraged her to keep going. She was really hustling.

CS: A single mom with three kids  that alone is just a hustle. But she also wrote for Days of our Lives, and then that producer got fired, so all the writers got fired.

GE: But that got her an Emmy. She was putting all these irons in the fire and out busting to make things happen. She would do some readings over here, then go over here and do some writings. She had the kids over here. There were times that, some of her taste in men 

CS: You did not agree.

GE: Uh, no. [Laughs] From her first one, Jerry [Coleman] 

CS: He was the white man who was very entrenched in the civil rights movement, right?

GE: Yeah, he was a Freedom Rider. Wanda was meeting a lot of people. She had graduated high school, she had left Freemont, and she was looking at going to Cal State L.A. But she was involved in a lot of the civil rights movement. You had Ron [now Maulana] Karenga, all of that stuff was happening. She was actively trying to get her career going. She was working with Anna Halprin [the choreographer]. That was the time [the two of us] were at the Watts Studio, so we were kind of coordinating with each other. Home was where we would get together on holidays. I stayed with her for a couple of weeks before I moved to Echo Park.

George Evans shares a family photo album featuring Wanda Coleman. "You know the way we were raised was, you gotta stay alive and try not to stand out too much. But she really went for it, she excelled." (G L Askew II / For The Times)

CS: Was that before or after she met her first husband?

GE: Thats after  Jerry was gone. [It was] the 80s. That was when I started shooting, and when [Wanda] got that position at Players. She gave me enough assignments that I took that money and bought a house [on the border of Highland Park and Eagle Rock]. We were always helping each other out.

CS: Did you ever go to any of her poetry readings?

GE: Yeah, I went to a lot of them.

CS: She had such a specific style. When I see her on YouTube, I'm like, Wow, she's so intense.

GE: [Laughs] It was always her energy. That's who she was. She was more open to just going out there and doing it, and that started in high school. She would go off on these different speech oratories. She was always reading; she was always researching. I would be looking at pictures or drawing something, and she would be reading, she would be writing. Wanda one day came home and said [to me], Theyre starting Studio Watts and theyre looking for artists and you need to go and see. So I went over and met Jim Woods, the director, and another woman [Jayne Cortez] was also running it. [So thats how] I started a Sunday afternoon drawing class at Studio Watts.

CS: Where was the house that you guys grew up in?

GE: On 89th between Avalon and Central. I went past there about a week ago and I couldn't find it. It's still there, but the street had changed so much. I drove right past it. We grew up [in] South-Central, but after the Watts riots, the whole area became Watts. We really saw the migration of the community changing from the working class to a poor [one]  after 1956, it became a ghetto.

CS: How old were you when the riots happened?

GE: Seventeen. Me and my dad were working through that. My father would not stop because he had to work. They had the perimeters set up. We would work within the perimeters, but if we needed to go out, we would go out, and then come right back in. On 103rd Street, we were doing an architectural rendering for a medical building on one end of the street  we were the east end  and on the west end, people were setting it on fire. And that's actually where I first encountered Noah Purifoy. He was collecting bottles and stuff. He had this bottle, it was a Coke bottle, and it was melted. I was like, man, thats fascinating. I was walking around, just looking out of curiosity, and seeing him collecting things.

And then [I met] Cecil Fergerson. Cecil lived on 89th Street. He lived on the next block up from our house. He knew pretty much everybody in the neighborhood. And Cecil started with LACMA when it was in Exposition Park, worked his way up [from custodian] to associate curator, and he started putting together shows in Watts and South Central. You know, as a Black artist, you didn't have any place to show. So he produced a lot of shows  he's actually how I got into teaching at LACMA. He opened up a lot of doors.

CS: Yeah, for a lot of people. I'm still blown away by you just meeting Noah Purifoy picking up trash and him showing you melted bottles.

GE: I was getting snippets of art happening outside of my reality. In high school you werent supposed to be an artist because you can't make a living. It never settled with me because I'm watching my father as a sign painter making a living with his art. For me, it was a natural thing to kind of say, well, if I go this way, Ill make a living with my art too. Tutor Arts at the time was primarily about taking artists from different parts of society and putting us together. It was Charlies idea.

CS: Charles White.

GE: Charles White. And it was Bill Tara who introduced [White] to William Pajaud, who was public relations director at GSM, and that created the chemistry for Tutor Arts. Then Tutor Arts moved to Chouinard, and thats when I came into the program. Then they moved to Otis, which is now the Charles White Elementary School [in MacArthur Park]. When Charlie passed on and Bill Tara passed away, I had graduated and I was working at GSM. Several of the artists tried to keep Tutor Arts going, but it ended up closing in the late 70s. But Kerry Marshall is Tutor Arts.

CS: Kerry James Marshall? As a student or as a teacher?

GE: As a student! So is Mark Greenfield  hes Tutor Arts. We still have alumni.

CS: When you were kids, did you guys play at the Watts Towers ever?

GE: We used to go to the tower. It was just there  you could climb over the wall. It looked like a big ship. We would either walk from our house to Watts or we would take the streetcar. It was just kind of there. It wasnt until after the riots that it became kind of 

CS: Special.

GE: Yeah.

CS: I love the idea of it being so public, because now there's a fence around it. And you're not even allowed to spend time in there. You have to be toured through, like they shove you through.

I admire your generation. You put up with stuff that I cannot fathom  as artists, as professionals, living in this particular city.

GE: The difference to me between here and the South, discrimination here is more 

CS: Wanda nailed it. She called L.A. the Deep West  thats just ringing in my head. That is it. This is just like the South, only it has a veneer. I feel like Black people are being pushed out of L.A.

GE: They are. I think the late 70s is when things turned sour, when you start having Crips and Bloods that came out of Reaganomics. Growing up here, going to high school, I had to cross gang turf. That was a challenge. It was my father that really made the difference.

CS: Keeping you focused.

GE: Yeah. My father had my best interest.

I followed exactly in my dad's footsteps. My dad could airbrush, I airbrushed. He could take a picture, I took a picture. Just about everything that he did I walked exactly in his footprints. Art saved me. It took me outside of the area. Me and Wanda always worked kind of in conjunction  she would need something and I would photograph it for her or draw it for her. We would do things together.

Cauleen Smith is an interdisciplinary artist whose work reflects upon the everyday possibilities of the imagination.

More stories from Image

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Two warring scooter companies appeared before the Boise City Council on Tuesday evening, as both vied to be the exclusive purveyor of e-scooters and e-bikes in Idahos capital city.

The debate between two national companies, Lime and Bird, came after the city began requesting applications from station-less scooter and bike companies  micro-mobility vendors, as theyre sometimes called  in December.

Representatives of both companies traveled to Boise for the council meeting.

Rather than setting up a bike-share program, as Boise tried to do a few years ago, the City Council decided last year to instead look for one private vendor to provide the service. In previous years, multiple scooter vendors  including Lime and Bird  have operated in Boise, and the city has received complaints about scooter safety as well as their prevalence downtown and limited presence in other parts of the city.

During a presentation on Tuesday, Bre Brush, Mayor Lauren McLeans transportation advisor, said the city thought it would be easier to manage a single vendor and to address issues that arise.

Boise received applications from four vendors, and eventually settled on three finalists: Lime, Spin and Bird. As is standard with government applications that go through a request for proposal process, the companies were ranked by a set of criteria, and the company with the highest ranking won.

In this case, that was Lime.

Bird objected to that decision and appealed it earlier this year, which resulted in Tuesdays hearing.

Boise wants to be carbon neutral by 2050. How can it do that? Whatll it need from you?

Bird shocked it wasnt chosen

In its appeal, TJ Birkel, a manager of government partnerships for Bird, said the company had been shocked to learn it had not been awarded the contract, and had instead placed third, behind Lime and Spin, in the ranking.

Birkel argued his company has had the longest-standing commitment to Boise, including having been a multi-year sponsor of the Boise Pride Festival.

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Lime, Birkel suggested, has so far had a lack of engagement in Boise, and that the city runs the risk of getting broken promises with the company. Birkel said Lime made commitments to the city  like partnering with the Idaho Women and Childrens Alliance in December  just after Boise solicited applications from companies, which Bird thought was opportunistic.

Birkel said he had shared letters of support for the company from the Boise Metro Chamber of Commerce, the Downtown Boise Association, the Idaho Retailers Association, the Idaho Restaurant and Lodging Association, Boise Pride and the Idaho Steelheads.

In his presentation to the council, Birkel argued that the city should allow both vendors to operate, thus allowing more market competition.

In his argument, he said that the citys judges should have taken the companys past involvement in the city into account, and that some of the judges had not understood the criteria because they gave their bikes low scores.

In response, Brush, who was one of the citys judges, said that she had given Birds bikes a lower score because they were not able to be ridden by shorter people, and that she had not be able to safely mount their bikes.

Tessa Greegor, the Planning Departments mobility in public spaces manager, also said that judges had scored Lime higher for a number of reasons, including that it had more comprehensive plans for distributing its products widely, and that the company said it would provide larger discounts for low-income residents.

Hayden Harvey, senior manager of government relations at Lime, said the company would commit to investing $12 million in micro-mobility in Boise over the next two years, adding that 900,000 miles (of rides) through your city is commitment.

He said the companys commitment to Boise has been well-documented.

Lime is grateful this appeal is behind us so we can continue providing world class sustainable transportation options to the people of Boise, Harvey said in a statement. We thank the city for recognizing the work weve put into building our community relationships here and we look forward to building a more connected future for all Boiseans.

Council Member Patrick Bageant asked Harvey if that dollar amount was a firm commitment, and Harvey said yes.

Council Member Colin Nash asked Harvey how much Lime would expect to profit from having an exclusive contract with the city, which Harvey said he didnt have an answer for.

The council unanimously voted to deny Birds appeal, confirming the citys decision to award the contract to Lime.

Brush told the Idaho Statesman the city now plans to begin contract negotiations with Lime and hopes to have the companys fleet of micro-mobility vehicles available by summer. The contract would be for one year, with up to four extensions, according to the request for proposal.
LUSAKA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The death toll from a recent boat accident in Nchelenge District in northern Zambia has risen to six, the police said Wednesday.

Police Deputy Public Relations Officer Danny Mwale said in a statement that the rising death toll followed the retrieval of four more bodies of two adults and two children.

The accident happened in the early hours of Tuesday when a boat that was carrying 32 people capsized on Lake Mweru due to strong waves on the lake. Two died immediately in the accident while 18 others managed to swim to safety. Mwale said that search efforts for the missing people were continuing.

The boat, carrying mostly Congolese nationals, was heading toward the Kashobwe area of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from Kilwa Island on the Zambian side.

There have been frequent boat mishaps in the country recently. Fourteen people died after a boat capsized on Lake Bangweulu on March 31. Eight people also died after another boat capsized in Lusaka Province on April 2. 
In the Russian city of Dzerzhinsk of the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, a warehouse burns on an area of more than 4,000 square metres.

Source: Russian state-owned news agency RIA Novosti; local publication NN

Details: The fire occurred on the territory of the enterprise for the production of plastics and synthetic resins.

A source in emergency services told the local publication that a brick warehouse caught fire there; it is rapidly spreading, and 4,500 square metres are in flames.

According to the source, there are combustible materials that are difficult to extinguish inside the building, as during their combustion, they emit toxic substances. In addition, there is also querosine on the premises.

Fire engulfed a warehouse on the Avtozavodsk highway in Dzerzhinsk. There is a research and production company Astat, which produces resins, glue and solvents.

The Ministry of Emergencies of the Russian Federation says there is a threat that the fire will spread to neighbouring buildings.

There is no information about casualties yet.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
Search warrants reveal a mother told police she believed her 2-year-old son was possessed by demons, and thats why shes accused of letting him drown at a south Charlotte park.

Police found Jonathan Sueros body in a pond at Park Road Park last March. At the time, a warrant said the boys mother, Natalia Suero, 29, gave investigators vague and inconsistent statements about what happened.

According to the warrant for her apartment complex, Suero said she blacked out and couldnt give an estimated timeline around the incident. However, police said they consulted an expert who told them the mothers story of how the child died was not supported by science.

PREVIOUS: Police: Mother charged with drowning death of 2-year-old son at south Charlotte park

Another search warrant, this time for Sueros phone, shared more details about the investigation.

According to police, investigators interviewed Suero at her apartment the day Jonathan was killed. She told police she and her son were on their way to the store when she decided to take him for a walk in the park, saying he loved to run and loved the water.

Suero said she was getting Jonathans stroller out of the car when he started running down a hill toward the water. She said she couldnt catch up with him, and said he dove into the water and did a freestyle swim, noting he had never taken swim lessons, before he went underwater. She said she couldnt find Jonathan and so she went to find a police officer. She said she left her phone at home the whole time.

Detectives checked her search history and discovered a Google search for possessed child.

Then, when detectives interviewed Suero a second time, her story changed. She said she was on her way to Publix when she stopped, but couldnt say where one was nearby. There are no Publix stores near the park, detectives noted, and she also had to drive past a Harris Teeter to get to the park.

In her second interview, Suero said she did make it to her son in the water and grabbed his arm, but said he struggled and got away from her, floating away at a point where the water was above his head.

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ALSO READ: Prosecutors say accused killer made crosses, surrounded victims body with them

When confronted with some of the discrepancies, she stated that the victim was teleported from her to where he was found by Jesus, the warrant reads. She stated that she believed he was possessed by demons and that she knew how to get rid of them. She advised detectives that she was glad that he was in a different place.

An aquatics death expert told detectives there were several inconsistencies in Sueros first interview, including the fact that he was last seen underwater and was then found floating face-up.

Detectives revisited the scene and found that the hill Jonathan supposedly ran down didnt have its own path. It was filled with holes, fallen trees and a large amount of leaves and sticks, which would have slowed him down enough to catch him. They also found that the water would have been over his head at about 10 feet into the pond.

The medical examiner told detectives Jonathans body had been in the water for an estimated one and a half hours based on his body temperature.

Detectives said based on the timeline and the discrepancies in Sueros story, as well as the information from the aquatics death expert and the medical examiner, they had enough probable cause to charge her with murder.

ALSO READ: Teen drowns after jumping into Cleveland County lake, police say

Police took out the warrant on Sueros phone in an effort to support the murder charge or corroborate her story.

My first thought was this sounded like post-partum psychosis, said Mitchell Mackinem, who is a professor of criminal justice and sociology at Wingate University and studies cases like this.

Mackinem said in the rare cases of post-partum psychosis, mothers show a pattern.

A very common delusion that they experience is that they, as the mother, are going to damage the child in such a way that the childs life is going to horrible -- its just going to be just the worst possible life, he explained. And that they can save the child from themselves by giving the child to Jesus.

Mackinem said drowning is a common manner of death in these cases, and believes there could be a likely defense.

It would be not guilty by reason of mental insanity, he said.

Natalia Sueros case is due back in court next week. She wont be there, but her attorneys will meet with prosecutors to check in on how the case is progressing. We do know the district attorneys office will not seek the death penalty in this case.

(PREVIOUS: 2-year-old boy found dead in south Charlotte park was murdered, warrant says)
Anybody who wants to work at a bar or restaurant in Kansas City must first obtain a liquor card. This employee liquor permit costs $42 and requires a trip down to Regulated Industries, a city office located in a brutalist government building in KCs Northeast Area.

Actually, its a little more complicated than that. Youll need to create an account and apply for the liquor card on Compass KC, a not-particularly-intuitive city website. Then you drive (or find a ride) to Regulated Industries to get your picture taken. After the camera has flashed, they give you a piece of paper to show your employer while you wait for the liquor card to come in the U.S. mail. Its good for three years, at which point you have to do it all over again.

Readers will note that the words test or exam do not appear in the above paragraphs. Thats because the liquor card process does not require the job seeker to know anything about  anything. Its just a background check.

Its a waste of money and time, is what it is, said Peter Castillo, executive chef of the recently opened Power & Light Irish pub KC Hooley House. Regulate us, inspect us, sure. But give working people a break. A lot of unemployed people looking for a job, they just dont have that kind of money, or they dont have a car to drive there.

Restaurant operators like Castillo have been grumbling about this for years. So, of course, have the citys thousands of servers and runners and bussers and bartenders. Nothing has changed. But lately there are signs Kansas City might finally be ready to eighty-six the liquor card.

Mayor Quinton Lucas tweeted earlier this month, seemingly out of the blue, that the city should abolish the simultaneously anti-worker and anti-business liquor card requirement in the city placed on all servers, noting that soon-to-be 2nd District Councilman Wes Rogers agreed with him.

Great chat last night with Second District Councilman-elect* Wes Rogers. We share a view that Kansas City should abolish the simultaneously anti-worker and anti-business liquor card requirement in the city placed on all servers. Perhaps there was a mob-era need. It's long past.  Mayor Q (@QuintonLucasKC) April 5, 2023

An ordinance is on its way, Lucas spokeswoman Jazzlyn Johnson confirmed to The Star.

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The mayors office is working closely with the (Greater Kansas City) Restaurant Association on community engagement to craft an ordinance to eliminate the liquor card requirement, Johnson said.

Johnson wouldnt specify when that ordinance might be put before the City Council. But David Lopez, general manager of Mannys Mexican Restaurant and the head of government affairs for the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association, said hes had wonderful, polite, informative conversations with the mayor, the city manager and the council about getting rid of liquor cards and is hopeful we can push something through before the election in June.

Neither Johnson County nor Wyandotte County require liquor cards, though several municipalities on the Missouri side of the state line, such as Independence and Liberty, still do.

Jim Ready, manager of Regulated Industries, did not respond to a request for comment this week. His division, which oversees code compliance for bars, restaurants, taxi companies, strip clubs and several other nuisance businesses, has an annual budget just shy of $2 million.

Approximately 8,000 people applied for liquor cards in 2022, generating about $132,000 in revenue. More than half of the $42 liquor card fee  $25.50  is paid to a third-party company that conducts background checks; the rest goes into the citys general fund.

The elimination of liquor cards would result in a small reduction in revenue in the general fund, said Johnson, but the city would gain back staff time to focus on other important initiatives.

No more liquor cards would also mean no more background checks  a potentially thorny issue for the mayor and others who seek to abolish the cards. The current process weeds out all felons convicted of murder, voluntary manslaughter, forcible rape, forcible sodomy, kidnapping, false imprisonment, first degree child molestation, second degree child molestation or sexual abuse.

Lopez said the Greater Kansas City Restaurant Association has had healthy conversations with the sexual violence prevention group Metropolitan Organization to Counter Sexual Assault, or MOCSA, and other similar organizations. Were trying to cover all our bases, he said.

Julie Donelon, president and CEO of MOCSA, emphasized in a statement to The Star that felony sexual offenders should not be responsible for serving alcohol and controlling how much alcohol is provided and to whom, noting that currently the only way to ensure they are not placed in this position of control is through the citys liquor card application process.

However, Donelon said, We are open to conversations about other ways to accomplish this if the application process is not working.

Would-be restaurant workers are also denied liquor cards if theyve been convicted in the past three years of a felony involving the sale of narcotics.

A lot of these felonies that get flagged are minor drug issues, often involving marijuana, which of course is now legal (in Missouri), Lopez said.

Plus, Lopez added, many restaurants now use hiring apps, such as Homebase, that have background checks built into the application process.

Many of us are doing our own due diligence already.
Starship at SpaceXs Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas.

A frozen valve forced a postponement on Monday, but Elon Musks rocket company SpaceX is now ready for the do-over. Its the most anticipated launch of the year, and weve got you covered for what will hopefully be the dramatic debut of Starship. Update on the launch: SpaceXs Starship rocket successfully took flight but exploded minutes into the mission.

Should all go as planned, the 90-minute mission will get started at 9:28 a.m. ET on Thursday, April 20. SpaceXs coverage. available at the live feed below, will begin around 45 minutes before the 62-minute launch window opens.

Read more



Starship Flight Test

A generous number of third-party live streams are also available, including webcasts offered by NASASpaceflight, Everyday Astronaut, and Lab Padre, all of which are accessible below. These broadcasts will run throughout the course of the morning and feature informative commentaries of propellant loading and other launch preparations.



SpaceX Launches Starship Flight Test



Watch SpaceX TEST Starship, the biggest rocket ever, LIVE



WATCH LIVE - Starship Orbital Test Flight From Starbase, Texas - COMMENTARY

Starship consists of two reusable parts, the Super Heavy booster and the upper stage bearing the name of the megarocket. The two components are stacked together for launch, creating a rocket that stands 394 feet (120 meters) tall.

For the inaugural mission, Starship will attempt to blast off from SpaceXs Starbase facility in Boca Chica, Texas and reach space. After stage separation, the booster will fall back down to the Gulf of Mexico, while the upper stage will attempt to achieve orbital velocity. Starship wont complete a full orbit of Earth, as its expected to crash into the Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. Both stages are designed to perform vertical landings, but SpaceX is reserving those tests for future missions. A more detailed account of the mission is available here.

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No customer payloads are included in this mission, which is likely wise. Failure at some stage of the rockets first flight is highly likely, given the experimental nature of Starship and the nascent phase of the program. With a test such as this, success is measured by how much we can learn, which will inform and improve the probability of success in the future as SpaceX rapidly advances development of Starship, according to the company.

Should Starship clear the launch and catch tower, it will become the most powerful rocket in the world, past or present. The Super Heavy is powered by 33 Raptor 2 engines, which are expected to produce 16.5 million pounds of thrust. By comparison, NASAs new Space Launch System, which debuted in November 2022, produces 8.8 million pounds of thrust. SpaceXs methane-fueled megarocket is a fully reusable transportation system designed to carry both crew and cargo to Earth orbit, help humanity return to the Moon, and travel to Mars and beyond, according to the company.



Should SpaceX manage to certify Starship for operational flights, the rocket will serve as a major disruptor in the spaceflight industry owing to its immense power, record-breaking payload capacity, and presumed low costs to launch. Itll also enable unprecedented missions to space and potentially enable new types of astrophysics.

Want to know more about Elon Musks space venture? Check out our full coverage of SpaceXs Starship megarocket and the SpaceX Starlink internet satellite megaconstellation. And for more spaceflight in your life, follow us on Twitter and bookmark Gizmodos dedicated Spaceflight page.

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Hybrid eclipses are the most rare type of solar eclipse there is. goh keng cheong / Getty Images

A rare hybrid solar eclipse will occur over the South Pacific today and won't happen again until 2031.

NASA and Space.com are both hosting livestreams of the eclipse starting at 9:36pm EDT tonight.

Hybrid solar eclipses are the rarest type of eclipse and look different depending on your location.

A rare hybrid solar eclipse will occur today over the South Pacific, covering some regions in blackout darkness and showing others a "ring of fire" encircling a shadowy moon.

But if you're not located in western Australia, East Timor, or Indonesia, don't worry  you can still witness this historical event thanks to a variety of online livestreams.

NASA's broadcast will begin at 9:36pm EDT on YouTube. You can watch the livestream below.

You can also catch several other livestreams at the following links:

Space.com is hosting a live stream, which audiences can watch at this link.

TimeAndDate.com will be hosting a livestream on their YouTube channel.

The Gravity Discovery Centre & Observatory in Australia will also host a livestream on their YouTube channel.

What is a hybrid solar eclipse?

During a hybrid eclipse observers can see both a total and annular eclipse. kdshutterman / Getty Images

A hybrid solar eclipse is a rare type of eclipse that changes depending on where you're watching it. There are four types of solar eclipses: total, partial, annular, and hybrid.

Hybrid eclipses are the rarest because the moon must cross in front of the sun at just the right distance for all parts of its shadow to hit Earth.

There will only be seven hybrid eclipses in the 21st century, according to NASA's eclipse catalogue.

During a hybrid eclipse, all three of the other eclipses occur at the same time. That's why hybrid eclipses are also called annular/total eclipses, according to TimeAndDate.com.

In the single minute of totality, some observers will see a total solar eclipse  when the moon's full shadow, or "umbra," completely blocks the sun.

In a total solar eclipse, the moon completely blocks the sun and casts observers in total darkness. Miloslav Druckmuller/NASA

Others will see an annular eclipse, where the edge of the sun remains visible and makes a ring around the moon. They're in the "antumbra," because the moon is at just the right distance for the Earth's curvature to bring some people close enough to the moon to see the sun peeking out around it.

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An annular solar eclipse as seen by Japan's Hinode spacecraft. JAXA/NASA/Hinode via Getty Images

Outside the narrow path of totality, other observers will see a partial eclipse, where the moon covers just a segment of the sun's disc. They're on the sidelines of the moon's shadow, in the "penumbra."

A partial solar eclipse rises over the Baltimore skyline, Thursday, June 10, 2021, seen from Arbutus, Md. AP Photo/Julio Cortez

Unfortunately, nobody can witness all three at once  at least, not in person. Online livestreams may show the full eclipse, with all three of its shadows, in all its glory.

The last time a hybrid solar eclipse occured was 2013 over some regions in the northern Atlantic Ocean and Africa. The next hybrid eclipse won't occur until 2031, and after that observers must wait until 2049, according to NASA.

Correction: April 19, 2023  An earlier version of this story misstated the year of the next hybrid solar eclipse after 2031. The following hybrid eclipse will occur in 2049, not 2164.

Read the original article on Business Insider
A Triangle food co-op is facing questions after canceling a get-together with local police this week, but its also getting support from people who question the national Coffee with a Cop program.

Nearly 300 people had responded Monday to Weaver Street Markets Facebook announcement that the Coffee with a Cop event at its Carrboro store was canceled. The member-owned co-op also has stores in Chapel Hill, Hillsborough and downtown Raleigh.

The markets post thanked the community for speaking up about the event, scheduled to take place Wednesday morning, but did not explain the decision to cancel it. Minutes from recent board of directors meetings also provided no additional details.

The Facebook post said WSM officials would re-examine the policy for future events. A spokeswoman said in an email that general manager and market founder Ruffin Slater would provide more details later Monday.

Carrboro police posted Monday on Facebook that a new date and location for the event is in progress. The department learned about negative feedback leading to the cancellation in an email Friday from Weaver Streets manager, Police Chief Chris Atack told The News & Observer.

The departments Coffee with a Cop program started in 2013 and has included events at several local coffee shops, including Weaver Street, Open Eye Cafe and Gray Squirrel Coffee Co. The pandemic shut down the program, which restarted in January, Atack said.

I think with any sort of engagement, youre always trying to evolve, Atack said, adding that his own interactions with police as a young man help him understand some community members mistrust.

Its easy to hit the mainstream. Its a little more challenging to find the sweet spot in how do we engage folks who arent necessarily inclined to go to Coffee with a Cop, he said.

Copaganda or police-public dialogue

Critics charge that so-called cop-aganda events, like Coffee with a Cop, make police look harmless and friendly, while failing to reach Black and brown community members who are most affected by bad policing.

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Its an important conversation to have, Carrboro resident and Weaver Street member-owner Elizabeth Waugh Duford said. She heard about Coffee with a Cop from another member-owner and contacted Weaver Street for more details, she said, learning later that it was canceled.

In many ways, Coffee with a Cop is a little disingenuous, said Waugh Duford, who is white. Weaver Street Market has a reputation as a safe space for everyone, and as such, it needs to think more deeply about its role in hosting such events amid concerns about policing.

Black, brown and immigrant community members especially are folks who are often fearful of the police or have very negative interactions with them, so unfortunately, while I think it would be great if it could be just kind of a harmless conversation, its really not, because the police do harm communities of color and low-income communities on a regular basis, she said.

She suggested Weaver Street instead reach out to Black and brown employees and members for their thoughts, and also to local organizations that represent those groups, especially since most critics commenting on Facebook appear to be white people.

I think its an oversimplification to say that Weaver Street canceled this, that means theyre canceling the police, theyre part of cancel culture, this is a woke mob, Waugh Duford said. This is about a community saying were not sure this is exactly how we want our co-op to be initiating this conversation, and here are some other people that need to be at the table.

Aisha Sanders, a Durham resident and Weaver Street member-owner, doesnt have a problem with Coffee with a Cop or Weaver Streets decision, she said, but she would like to see the controversy lead to positive dialogue between the public and the police.

Part of the solution is easing mistrust, especially among people of color who feel safer speaking out  and less concerned about being shut down  in spaces with others who share their concerns, said Sanders, who is multiracial. At Weaver Street, it may be that people are voicing their concerns because they do care about the community, but theyre hindering (overall) progress.

I feel fine there, and part of it is my upbringing. Im used to being the only speck of color in an entire school, so Im OK, because its got to start somewhere, Sanders said. People that do feel safe being in these spaces, I think they do need to be there. People who do not feel safe, we need to have venues that they do feel safe in.

Chapel Hill, Hillsborough events

The Coffee with a Cop program started in California in 2011 as a way to bring law enforcement and the public together in a neutral setting to build better relationships and give the public an opportunity to ask questions and share concerns. The events are now held in communities around the country and the world.

In Orange County, Chapel Hill police also hold events throughout the year, including at Starbucks, Imbibe, Fifth Third Bank, Suttons Drug Store and the Chapel Hill-Carrboro YMCA, spokesman Alex Carrasquillo said.

The Weaver Street Market in downtown Hillsborough hosted Coffee with a Cop events a few times a year before the pandemic, Hillsborough Police Chief Duane Hampton said. More recently, his officers have held events at the McDonalds on South Churton Street, where they also help out with the drive-through, he said.

That has been fun for (police officers) and people seem to really like it, Hampton said.

Coffee with a Cop events are opportunities to hear from people and build trust with the community, Atack said. He welcomed fresh ideas, but added theres very little that police officers can do about problems in other cities.

Theres always going to be opportunities for other ways to do it, and wed love to hear it if folks out there have ideas, because Im always willing to sit down, chat, talk, explore, hear from folks and their experiences, because its important, Atack said.
(Reuters) - The West is losing geopolitical ground in Africa's Sahel region, which is strategically important due to Russia's competing presence there, Germany's Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told parliament on Wednesday.

Pistorius was speaking about Berlin's plans to deploy troops in a European Union military mission in Niger, which is seen as at risk of a possible spillover of violence from neighbouring Mali. The German deployment needs its parliament's approval.

"Despite considerable international support, the security situation there has not improved. Since Russia's brutal war of aggression against Ukraine, we have also observed in the Sahel, throughout Africa that the geostrategic, security policy environment has become rougher," he said.

"Russian narratives and offers seem to gain traction here, and the Western community is losing ground here. And the Sahel is and will remain strategically relevant for precisely this reason, especially given the Russian presence in the region."

(Reporting by Matthias Williams; Editing by Madeline Chambers)
Photo illustration: Quinn Lemmers/Yahoo News; photos: Getty Images

What does it take to be considered the worlds happiest country? For the sixth year in a row, Finland has earned that accolade, winning the top spot yet again in the annual World Happiness Report, which makes this determination by measuring things like healthy life expectancy, GDP per capita, social support, low corruption, generosity and freedom. The United States ranked 15th in happiness, while Afghanistan was found to be the least happy country.

So does Finland understand something about happiness that other countries have yet to figure out?

In general, I would say that we Finns are both surprised and proud of this achievement, Kristian Wahlbeck, a psychiatrist and lead adviser with Mieli Mental Health Finland, said in an email to Yahoo News. We dont perceive us as being especially happy, and wouldnt have thought about it without this international research.

What makes people in Finland so happy?

A couple watches the northern lights over Lake Kuusamo in Pohjois-Pohjanmaa, Finland. Access to nature is considered sacred and "everyman's right" in Finland, the "world's happiest country." (Getty Images)

Wahlbeck said Finns tend to find happiness in the small things, like family and good friendships, spending time outdoors or enjoying a good cup of coffee.

Many Finns find happiness in their everyday life, he said.

Nature plays a central role, despite the countrys long, dark winters and often frigid temperatures. A Finnish law known as Everymans Right, for example, dictates that all people whether residing in Finland or just visiting have the right to enjoy nature anywhere in the Finnish countryside regardless of land ownership.

But is it really possible to quantify what, exactly, makes people in Finland and other top-ranking countries so happy? Meik Wiking  CEO of the Happiness Research Institute in Denmark and author of several wildly popular books on Danish lifestyle including The Little Book of Hygge, which helped popularize the Danish concept of cozy living and taking pleasure in small comforts  spends his days attempting to do just that.

All five Nordic countries consistently rank in the top 10 on the World Happiness Report; Denmark, where Wiking is from, was named the second happiest this year. In an email to Yahoo News, Wiking said there are three main reasons why Finland, Denmark and other Nordic countries tend to rank so highly in happiness: work-life balance, taxes and trust.

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The Nordic countries have some of the best balances between work and family life: short workdays, paid vacation, subsidized childcare, maternity and paternity leave, Wiking said.

Of taxes, Wiking said Nordic countries convert their wealth into wellbeing by investing in programs that enable all citizens to thrive socially, physically and mentally. Health care and care for the elderly are free, college is free, child care is heavily subsidized and unemployment benefits are readily available for anyone who needs them.

In the Nordic countries, we also pay some of the highest taxes in the world. However, people in the Nordics often say that [we] are happy not despite the high taxes but because of them, Wiking said.

By paying our taxes, we are investing in quality of life  which is of greater importance than individual wealth. 88% of people living in Denmark say they are happily paying their taxes.

Trust  in authorities, institutions and the state as well as in one's neighbors  also plays an integral role. In addition to freedom of speech and low levels of corruption, Finns have a lot of trust in one another. A recent lost wallet experiment, for example, tested the honesty of citizens in different cities around the world  primarily Europe  by dropping wallets in parks, parking lots and malls and seeing how many wallets made it home. In Helsinki, 11 out of 12 wallets were returned to their owners.

What is happiness?

Finnish troops on the Russo-Finnish border in October 1939. Sisu," a Finnish term that's roughly synonymous with grit or resilience, is often credited with helping the Finns maintain independence from the superior Soviet forces during World War II. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The good news is that by these criteria, happiness doesnt need to be unique to native Finns. When immigrants took part in the World Happiness Report survey for the first time, in 2018, their results were virtually identical to that of the overall population  refuting the notion that being happy is something intrinsically Finnish.

In fact, John Helliwell, a professor emeritus at the University of British Columbia and co-editor of the World Happiness Report, told the BBC that the study isnt really about the emotion of happiness at all  or at least not how we usually think of happiness. Its more tied to the contentment that comes from a high quality of life.

Happiness is not just about the emotional part, i.e., feeling joyful and happy, Wahlbeck explained. There is also a deeper side to it, a feeling of living a meaningful life and having a good quality of life.

Wiking said happiness is a broad concept. It can mean different things to different individuals, but among the happiest people there tend to be areas of overlap.

We use happiness as an umbrella term in our research, which encompasses individuals life satisfaction, daily emotional experience and sense of purpose, he said. Happiness can be defined as the experience of joy, contentment or positive well-being, combined with a sense that ones life is good, meaningful and worthwhile.

Many associate Finland not with overt gaiety but with sisu  a quintessentially Finnish trait thats roughly synonymous with grit or resilience, or the ability to persevere with dignity even when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Its been used to explain the small nations ability to stave off invading Soviet forces and maintain independence during World War II. In 1940 the New York Times ran the headline Sisu: A Word That Explains Finland.

This quiet strength may be emblematic of Finland and help explain the countrys ability to survive and even thrive, but its a departure from what many people would think of as happiness. One immigrant from Zimbabwe who has lived in Finland for decades as a teacher and business owner recently told the New York Times that when she returns to her home country  which was ranked the fourth most unhappy country in the World Happiness Report this year  shes struck by the good energy that comes, the Times writes, not from the satisfaction of sisu but from exuberant joy.

What I miss the most, I realize when I enter Zimbabwe, are the smiles, she said, among those people who dont have much, compared to Western standards, but who are rich in spirit.

The dark side of happiness

Houses in the Nyhavn area of Copenhagen, Denmark. Denmark ranked as the second-happiest country in the 2023 World Happiness Report. (Getty Images)

Even within Finland and other countries ranking high in happiness surveys, theres also what Wiking refers to as the dark side of happiness.

Not everyone in Finland is happy, Wahlbeck said. Suicide rates are going down among the well-off, but not among Finns in lower socioeconomic groups. Suicide rates are high among people with multiple simultaneous problems: loneliness, poverty, mental and other health issues, and alcohol or drug dependency. We need to become much better in preventing marginalization.

Wiking calls it the suicide-happiness paradox: Happier countries tend to have slightly higher suicide rates. As he explained in a TedxCopenhagen talk in 2016, the same pattern also exists in the United States: Individual states ranking higher in happiness surveys also have slightly higher rates of suicide. Hawaii, for example, ranked as the second-happiest state in the U.S. but had the fifth-highest suicide rate.

So why isnt the worlds happiest country at the bottom of the list for suicide rates? Wiking said it likely has a lot to do with the fact that it can be more painful to be unhappy in an otherwise happy society; if everyone around you seems happy and fulfilled, being the odd person out can feel even more isolating. Its similar to the reason, Wiking argues, that, surprisingly, theres a higher risk of suicide in an area with low unemployment than high unemployment.

It might be easier to find a new job where there is low unemployment than high unemployment, but there is also a lot more social stigma. If you are the only one around who is unemployed, then youre not going to blame the economy  you might start to question yourself, Wiking said. Social comparisons matter.

How to be happier in your own life

A crowded street in Helsinki. The capital of Finland ranked as "most honest" in a recent "lost wallet test" in major cities. (Getty Images)

Happiness can be hard to maintain if its sought solely through quick jolts of euphoria, like getting a promotion or accomplishing a goal. Psychologists refer to it as the hedonic treadmill: Major life events can cause temporary spikes in extreme happiness or sadness, but eventually people tend to return to the baseline level of happiness they had before that life event took place.

Instead, Wiking suggests recognizing that happiness is an ongoing process.

Perhaps we need to consider how to turn the idea of the pursuit of happiness into the happiness of the pursuit, he said. People on a quest for something they find meaningful tend to be happier; they know that happiness is the by-product of the process and not a pot of gold at the finish line.

For a happier life, Wiking said, leaning on community, friends and family is important, as well as staying mentally and physically healthy through little acts like going on a walk with a loved one. Learning to decouple wealth and well-being, Wiking added, is also something Danes and other people in Nordic countries are exceptionally good at that others can learn from. After our basic needs are met, we realize that more money doesnt lead to happiness, and instead we focus on what brings us a better quality of life.

Look for happiness in the small things, Wahlbeck suggested. Being active, meeting friends, living a healthy life, being mindful about your environment and learning new things bring about happiness.
(AFP via Getty Images)

WhatsApp and other secure messaging apps have sounded the alarm about an unprecedented threat to UK citizens and people who communicate with them.

It is the latest alarm from WhatsApp, Signal and others about the UKs planned Online Safety Bill. The legislation aims to protect people online  but security experts have warned that parts of the bill could force apps to weaken the technology that keeps messages safe.

As such, the law would pose an unprecedented threat to the privacy, safety and security of every UK citizen and the people with whom they communicate around the world, according to a new open letter.

That letter was addressed to anyone who cares about safety and privacy on the internet, and was signed by the head of not only WhatsApp but also Signal, Viber, Element, OPTF/Session, Threema and Wire.

Private messages are private, wrote Will Cathcart, head of WhatsApp, in a separate tweet. We oppose proposals to scan peoples private messages, and were proud to stand with other apps to defend encryption and your right to privacy.

Mr Cathcart has repeatedly suggested that WhatsApp could be forced to turn off service for UK citizens, since it would refuse to comply with any rules that required it to weaken security. Signal and other apps have said they would take the same stance.

As end-to-end-encrypted communication services, we urge the UK Government to address the risks that the Online Safety Bill poses to everyones privacy and safety, the letter begins. It is not too late to ensure that the Bill aligns with the Governments stated intention to protect end-to-end encryption and respect the human right to privacy.

The government has indicated that it is not the intention of the bill that it will be used to limit end-to-end encryption. But critics and messaging apps have argued that the legislation should be written more precisely, to ensure that it cannot be used that way.

End-to-end encryption is a technology used in apps such as WhatsApp to ensure that only the sender and recipient of a message can read it. It means that the message cannot be intercepted by third-parties  locking out law enforcement and hackers, as well as the messaging platforms themselves.

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Messaging apps have voiced concern that the new law could allow regulator Ofcom to force apps to scan through messages to ensure that illegal content such as child abuse imagery is not being distributed on their platform. But security experts say that would require weakening security for everyone, since there is no way to break encryption on specific messages.

As currently drafted, the Bill could break end-to-end encryption, opening the door to routine, general and indiscriminate surveillance of personal messages of friends, family members, employees, executives, journalists, human rights activists and even politicians themselves, which would fundamentally undermine everyones ability to communicate securely, the letter reads.

The Bill provides no explicit protection for encryption, and if implemented as written, could empower Ofcom to try to force the proactive scanning of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services - nullifying the purpose of end-to-end encryption as a result and compromising the privacy of all users.

It ends with a plea to the government to rewrite the bill. While it does not threaten to cut off service if the bill is not changed, WhatsApp and others have repeatedly made clear that they could do so.

The UK Government must urgently rethink the Bill, revising it to encourage companies to offer more privacy and security to its residents, not less. Weakening encryption, undermining privacy, and introducing the mass surveillance of peoples private communications is not the way forward, it concludes.
The White House on Wednesday threatened a veto of a resolution that would invalidate a rule issued last year by the Department of Veterans Affairs to offer abortions in certain cases and abortion counseling to veterans.

In a Statement of Administration Policy, the White House warned the resolution undermines patient safety and invites political interference into deeply personal decisions made by pregnant veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries in consultation with their health care providers, threatening their health and lives.

If the resolution make it to President Bidens desk, he would veto it, the White House said.

The VA last September announced the rule in response to the Supreme Court decision months earlier that struck down Roe v. Wade and threatened abortion access.

The agency said it would provide abortions in cases where a pregnant veterans life or health is at risk if their pregnancy were carried to term, or if the pregnancy was the result of rape or incest.

The resolution has the support of numerous Republican senators and is led by Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.). Several GOP members of the House have also signed on in support of the resolution to invalidate the VA rule, as has Sen. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Using our VA medical facilities to provide taxpayer-funded abortions is illegal and wrong, Tuberville said in a statement Tuesday. The VAs new policy is a blatant violation of federal law. It forces taxpayers to fund abortions at VA facilities.

Updated at 3:40 p.m.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Students perform a dance during the UN Chinese Language Day event in Windhoek, Namibia, on April 19, 2023. Eleven Namibian learners did a stellar performance as they participated in the UN Chinese Language Day event held in Windhoek on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

WINDHOEK, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Eleven Namibian learners did a stellar performance as they participated in the UN Chinese Language Day event held in Windhoek, the Namibian capital, Wednesday.

The event saw the youngsters battle it out in the 22nd Chinese Bridge Proficiency Competition for Foreign College Students as well as the 16th Chinese Bridge Proficiency for Foreign Secondary School Students in Namibia.

Organized by the Confucius Institute at the University of Namibia (UNAM), the event sought to assess the students' Chinese language proficiency and other aspects of skills including Chinese speech, general knowledge about China, singing, dancing, and musical instrument playing.

"The competition for the university students level is tough because we are all at a higher level," UNAM sophomore Natacha Van Wyk, who participated in the competition, told Xinhua.

"For the high school students, I think it is very encouraging for them to start at a young age at high school age," she said after she shrugged off stiff competition to claim the crown for top university winner, as she wowed the judges with her fluent and close to perfect command of the Chinese language.

Van Wyk said despite the competition being overwhelming and nerve-racking, it was also very nice and fun to participate in, adding that her next goal is to apply for a scholarship to study in China.

UNAM Acting Vice-Chancellor Frednard Gideon congratulated the learners who participated in the competition, commending them for their commitment and effort to learn something new that could be beneficial in their career path and personal growth.

Chinese Ambassador to Namibia Zhao Weiping said that the Chinese language has become one of the important tools of communication for international business engagement. "Chinese language learning has developed rapidly in Namibia, which has and will continue to contribute to the friendship of our peoples."

The United Nations observes the UN Chinese Language Day every year on or around April 20, when the contribution of Chinese literature, poetry, and language to world culture is highlighted. 

Sophomore at the University of Namibia Natacha Van Wyk performs a traditional Chinese dance during the UN Chinese Language Day event in Windhoek, Namibia, on April 19, 2023. Eleven Namibian learners did a stellar performance as they participated in the UN Chinese Language Day event held in Windhoek on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)

Shakira Slinger performs a traditional Chinese dance during the UN Chinese Language Day event in Windhoek, Namibia, on April 19, 2023. Eleven Namibian learners did a stellar performance as they participated in the UN Chinese Language Day event held in Windhoek on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Chen Cheng)
Historic reductions in U.S. prison populations during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic disproportionately benefitted white people, and the fraction of incarcerated Black and Latino people "sharply increased" in nearly every state, a new study found.

The effect was particularly stark for Black people and reversed a decade-long trend of declining proportions of incarcerated Black people, according to the study published Wednesday in Nature by multiple interdisciplinary researchers from U.S. universities.

"What this study really shows is that sentencing is the key mechanism driving the alarming racial inequities that we have in the U.S. criminal justice system," said Elizabeth Hinton, a law professor at Yale Law School, who co-authored the study.

US saw fastest, biggest reduction in prison population amid COVID-19

The number of incarcerated people decreased by at least 17%  more than 200,000 people  from March 2020 to July 2021, amounting to the largest and fastest reduction in the prison population in American history, the researchers wrote.

State and federal prison system admissions fell and releases rose as officials aimed to reduce the risk of large-scale COVID-19 outbreaks. Many potentially vulnerable inmates were set free or sent to home confinement state.

The researchers created a dataset that includes state-level information on police encounters, court proceedings and incarcerated populations derived from departments of corrections and public information requests from all 50 states, D.C. and the Federal Bureau of Prisons.

Proportion of Black, Latino inmates rises during COVID-19

The researchers found that, in the first nine months of the pandemic, the proportion of Black inmates increased by about 1% after declining from about 42% to 39% in the seven years before the pandemic.

"This increase in racial disparity occurred nationally and in nearly every state, transcending vast differences in approach to crime and incarceration," the researchers wrote.

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Many states also saw increases in the proportion of Latino inmates over that time, Hinton said. The researchers did not have robust data on other racial groups.

By early 2021, trends began to revert to pre-pandemic levels, the researchers found. The reduction in prison admissions stopped and, in most states, the total incarcerated population began to increase once again.

Sentencing patterns drive racial disparities, researchers say

Racial disparities in prison admissions and releases alone do not explain the broad trends observed nationally, the researchers found. The greatest factor, the researchers concluded, was the disparities in sentencing of people already incarcerated at the start of the pandemic.

"Black people, in particular, receive harsher sentences, and those sentences often carry enhancements and additional penalties that then meant people were serving time for longer and also ineligible in those states that offered release," Hinton said.

Black and Latino people are more likely to be stopped by police, held in jail pre-trial, charged with more serious crimes and sentenced more harshly than white people, and Black men are six times as likely and Latino men 2.5 times as likely to be incarcerated as white men, according to previous research.

Criteria for releasing someone from prison during the pandemic differed from state to state but typically included factors such as age, the researchers note. But even policies that are assumed to be "race blind" are susceptible to existing structural and racial inequalities, the researchers found.

The researchers also suggest interruptions in court proceedings may have contributed to the increased Black and Latino prison populations by amplifying processes, such as pre-trial case dismissals and pre-trial plea deals, that are "long understood" to be leading contributors to disparities in judicial outcomes for people of color.

Task force challenges length of prison sentences

The study comes after an independent task force, co-chaired by former U.S. Deputy Attorney General Sally Yates, last month released recommendations from a yearlong review of the nation's use of lengthy prison sentences.

The task force called on lawmakers and state agencies to identify and address racial disparities in sentencing and said prisoners with long-term sentences need more opportunities to have their sentences reviewed.

Dig deeper

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Black, Latino prison population rose amid COVID, whites were released
Comedian-actor Janelle James disclosed that sharing her age is one of the quickest ways a woman can put herself in a box in Hollywood.

The breakout star recently sat down with Emily Longeretta at Variety for an up-close-and-personal interview for the outlets latest cover story. During their chat, James discussed her childhood, her journey to being a comedian, her role as Ava Coleman on ABCs top TV series Abbott Elementary and her personal beliefs about being a woman in the industry.

If her fans want to know all the details of her life, they wont be able to find much. If they Google her, theyll only learn about her occupation, place of birth, how many children she has, what awards shes won and been nominated for and her alma mater.

Despite living out her dreams, she aims to keep a low profile as she isnt feening for the spotlight. Remaining mysterious to her peers and fans is intentional. Shes not ashamed of any part of her life, but she doesnt want to be categorized because of specific details, one being her age, as she deems it irrelevant information.

Im grown. I have a 20-year-old son. Im not ashamed of my age or anything like that. But for women  and everybody knows it and acts like they dont  it gives an idea of what you are in peoples heads, she told Longeretta.

James shared the example of her being a mother to paint the picture. When someone learns she has two sons, they assume her audience is moms, and shes a mom comic, which isnt true.

Thats not my jam, James said.

She further tied the correlation by explaining that women are treated differently every time they enter a new era in life, which is something shes not fond of because the sky is the limit for her.

People have this idea of motherhood, the same way they have an idea of women as we reach a certain age. Each age group, people have an idea in your head of what it is. I dont want that to prevent me from doing anything, because I can do everything, she said.
Jack Teixeira gained a high-level security clearance through his job as an IT specialist just two years after joining the Air National Guard -- a relatively common situation he allegedly exploited to leak top secret US documents.

As the US government works to assess the damage from its worst unauthorized revelation of restricted material in a decade, officials face questions over why Teixeira -- a 21-year-old airman first class who has been arrested and charged with mishandling classified information -- had such access at his young age and junior rank.

While it is not unusual for lower-ranking US military personnel to have high-level clearances, Teixeira's case does however point to multiple apparent breakdowns in the procedures aimed at safeguarding government secrets.

Teixeira "was a systems administrator, so he was a computer specialist that worked in an intelligence unit," US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told journalists in Sweden on Wednesday. "Part of his responsibility was... maintaining the network that they operate on."

Teixeira's age is "really not the issue," Austin said, noting that "it's not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military."

Instead, the issue is "how you responsibly execute or carry out your duties and how you protect the information," he said.

"All of us have a requirement to do that. And supervisors have a requirement to make sure that that's being done."

Teixeira joined the Air National Guard, a military reserve force, in September 2019. He gained a top secret clearance as well as "sensitive compartmented access (SCI) to other highly classified programs" in 2021, according to an FBI affidavit supporting the criminal complaint against him.

- 'Multiple failures' -

He allegedly used that access to photograph sensitive documents and share them with an online chat group he managed. From there, dozens of the images spread across the internet, publicizing secret information such as US concerns over Ukraine's military capacity and pointing to apparent spying on close allies.

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"It's not unusual for someone at this age to have a top secret clearance," said Glenn Gerstell, former general counsel of the National Security Agency and Central Security Service.

"There are a lot of people in the military who, whether because they're IT specialists or because they are assembling briefing books for more senior people, have access at very high levels," said Gerstell, who is now a senior advisor at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

But "it's not clear why he would need access to substantive intelligence reports," he told AFP, noting that Teixeira also should not have been able to print sensitive documents or take them out of a secure facility.

"That's... multiple failures of security," Gerstell said.

Air Force Chief of Staff General Charles Brown told US lawmakers Tuesday that Teixeira had access to classified information through his job and "took advantage of that access."

"We do have protections in place to protect classified information," Brown said. "Obviously in this case, this process fell apart."

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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reached a decision about attending King Charles and Queen Camilla's coronation that puts them half in, half out

News that Prince Harry would attend King Charles' coronation without Meghan Markle laid bare the complex feelings between the couple and the royal family.

Buckingham Palace announced last week that the Duchess of Sussex, 41, will stay back in California with the couple's children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet while Prince Harry, 38, supports his father at the May 6 crowning ceremony in London. King Charles is said to be "pleased" his son will be there, but the wider reconciliation so many have hoped for within the family hasn't happened.

"At this point, it's become so personal," a close friend tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week's cover story. "Maybe what they wanted wasn't achieved, but at the end of the day, he's going there to support his dad."

The ongoing rift between Prince Harry and his family was evident in late March, when the Duke of Sussex was in London for a court hearing in his claim against Associated Newspapers but didn't see his father King Charles or brother Prince William.

"Things are strained," says a palace insider.

Related:King Charles' Coronation Program Includes a Family Photo Featuring Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

King Charles, 74, was deeply saddened by the accusations of disloyalty and media manipulation that Prince Harry made against the royal family in his memoir, Spare, released in January. But it would be Charles's "first wish" for Harry to join them at the coronation, says a source who knows the royals.

The coronation will be bittersweet for Prince Harry, who, in addition to attending without Meghan, likely has no official role and is not expected to participate in any of the other planned events, including a Buckingham Palace balcony appearance. However, a source who knows the royals tells PEOPLE Harry "will happily go along with whatever the plan is" and that his main concern about attending was the issue of his security, which has been addressed.

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DANIEL LEAL/AFP via Getty Prince Harry

With Prince Archie's 4th birthday falling on the same day as King Charles' coronation, Meghan will be able to celebrate their son at home alongside his little sister, Princess Lilibet, 22 months.

"It's an elegant solution," royal biographer Sally Bedell Smith tells PEOPLE, adding that Archie's birthday "gave them a reasonable out for Meghan not to come." But those closest to the couple know that the media backlash Meghan faced in the U.K. during Queen Elizabeth's funeral last year  and in the seven months since  played a significant role in her decision not to come.

"Meghan wants to be there to support her father-in-law, but at the same time, the scrutiny she receives outweighs the support," the close friend says. "There's always going to be that other side challenging their reasoning, and who wants to put themselves in that position?"

Related:Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Roles Within the Royal Family Since Their Exit Explained

A palace insider also tells PEOPLE, "It would have been quite significant if Harry hadn't attended his father's coronation, but I'm not surprised Meghan isn't going given the circumstances."

Getty Prince Harry, Prince Charles and Meghan Markle

Meghan's relationship with her in-laws seemingly started on a positive note. King Charles memorably stepped in for Meghan's father, Thomas Markle, and walked her down the aisle of St. George's Chapel on her royal wedding day in 2018.

But behind the scenes, tensions were mounting within the family, eventually leading to Meghan and Prince Harry's 2020 announcement that they were stepping back from their royal roles.

Can't get enough of PEOPLE's Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to get the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Whatever happens during Prince Harry's upcoming trip to the U.K.  where he will likely stay at Frogmore Cottage for what could be the last time following King Charles's decision to evict Harry and Meghan from their U.K. home  "he will look back on it and think it is better to come and play his part and say, 'I saw my father crowned,' " says a source close to the royal household. "And tell his children about it."

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Read the original article on People.
Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, left, and Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, right. File photos/AP

A federal judge in Manhattan handed Trump's NY prosecutors their first legal setback Wednesday.

DA Alvin Bragg had sought to quash the first subpoena in a GOP inquiry into the hush-money prosecution.

Ex-prosecutor Mark Pomerantz must now testify before the House Judiciary Committee as early as Thursday.

In a blow to Donald Trump's Manhattan prosecutors, a federal judge on Wednesday green-lit the first subpoena in a House Republican inquiry into the hush-money case.

Lawyers for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg had hoped the judge would quash the subpoena, which now requires former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz to testify before the GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee as early as Thursday morning.

Bragg's side failed to show that requiring Pomerantz to testify would cause irreparable harm or that there was no valid purpose to the committee's subpoena, wrote US District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, who is presiding over Bragg's April 11 lawsuit fighting the committee's inquiry.

Committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, had a valid oversight and legislative purpose in issuing the subpoena, the judge found.

The GOP-led Congressional inquiry will explore the use of $5,000 in forfeited federal funds that the DA concedes was used in investigating Trump before Bragg took office, committee lawyers had argued at a court hearing earlier Wednesday.

The inquiry will also explore the need for legislation to protect former presidents from "political prosecution," judiciary committee attorney Matthew B. Berry had argued.

"It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider," in finding that there is a valid legislative purpose for the judiciary committee's inquiry, the judge wrote in Wednesday's 25-page decision.

The judge shot down Bragg's claim that Pomerantz's testimony is protected by "investigatory privilege," which bars members of law enforcement from being forced to divulge details of ongoing criminal cases.

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Twice during Wednesday's hearing, the judge held aloft a copy of Pomerantz's book, "People v. Donald Trump," to punctuate her point  that while Pomerantz may have once enjoyed that privilege, that is no longer the case.

"How has that not been waived in this book?" she demanded, holding Pomerantz's book in the air from her seat at the bench, as the author himself sat in her courtroom's audience.



"It's hard to avoid it, isn't it?" the judge said at another point, again picking up the book and holding it up.

Despite her "tremendous respect" for Pomerantz, he is now a private citizen, Vyskocil added. "The case law is abundantly clear that private citizens must comply with subpoenas," she said.

Vyskocil agreed that the Congressional "speech or debate" clause may ultimately make the committee immune from Bragg's lawsuit, which seeks to block the inquiry.

Lawyers for both sides  the judiciary committee and Bragg's office  are accusing each other of abusing their power for political gain.

The judiciary committee's pro-Trump chairman, Jordan, has decried Democrat Bragg's "politically motivated prosecutorial decision" to pursue a case against Trump.

Bragg's lawyers, in turn, have called the GOP inquiry "an unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack" that's bent on "hauling Mr. Pomerantz to Washington for a retaliatory political circus," as their April 11 lawsuit against the Judiciary Committee states.

"I'm talking about the subpoena" for Pomerantz, the judge said at one point. "Not all the political rhetoric that's flying back and forth."

At another point, the judge stated bluntly, "There's politics going on on both sides, here. Let's be frank about it."

Attorneys for the judiciary committee did not immediately respond to emails requesting comment on the decision; a spokeswoman for Bragg said an appeal will be filed in hopes of delaying Thursday's testimony.

"We respectfully disagree with the District Court's decision and are seeking a stay pending appeal," the spokeswoman said.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Tucker Carlson (left) and Rudy Giuliani (right). Jason Koerner, MANDEL NGAN/Getty Images

Fox News settled with Dominion on Tuesday, agreeing to pay $787.5 million.

The network avoids a potentially embarrassing trial, while Dominion rakes in far more than its worth.

The public misses out on watching Fox News hosts explain themselves from the stand.

Fox News settled with Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday over its major defamation lawsuit against the network, just as the trial was set to begin.

Fox News agreed to pay Dominion $787.5 million, the largest public sum in a defamation case. The network acknowledged "the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false," but will not have to apologize or issue retractions on air for the false statements that were broadcasted, a source aware of the settlement terms told Insider.

The settlement avoids what was sure to be a closely watched trial featuring some of cable TV's biggest stars and executives. Here's a breakdown of all the winners and losers.

The winners

Dominion Voting Systems: Fox News is paying Dominion $787.5 million  which amounts to nearly 10 times what the company is worth, according to an evaluation from 2018. The elections technology firm also gets to avoid a weekslong trial that, even if it prevailed, could have led to years of appeals.

Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Laura Ingraham, and other Fox News hosts: Court documents from the case revealed texts Fox News hosts had sent each other criticizing former President Donald Trump's false claims about the 2020 election, but the settlement means they now get to avoid answering questions under oath about those texts on the stand.

Smartmatic: Smartmatic, the only other election technology company caught up in conspiracy theories suing Fox News, said Tuesday it is still committed to its case against the network. The large payment Dominion received could signal good news for Smartmatic, which was initially seeking $2.7 billion in damages.

Fox News: Fox News gets to avoid a potentially embarrassing trial and the possibility of being found to have acted with actual malice, which would mean the company knowingly and intentionally ignored the truth when it broadcasted the false statements. Fox was also not required in the settlement to issue any apologies or retractions on air, even though the judge ruled and the company acknowledged they had broadcast false statements about Dominion.

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The losers

Fox News: Fox News had to pay the largest public settlements ever in a defamation case to avoid the prospect of a potentially embarrassing trial. The company also acknowledged that its shows had broadcast false information.

Democracy: Some observers of the case thought a public trial was necessary in order to have Fox News sufficiently answer for platforming fake news about the 2020 election. Others saw it as a way to make the "big lie"  the false claim that the 2020 election was stolen  finally go away. Now there's no chance of that happening, at least not as a result of this trial.

Us: The public misses out on the chance to see some of the most-watched cable news hosts get grilled on the stand over their coverage of the 2020 election.

Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell: The former Trump lawyers who made the false statements that were broadcast on Fox News were in no way vindicated by the settlement. The judge in the trial had already ruled Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell had made false statements, and each is still facing lawsuits of their own.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Authorities have charged a woman wanted in connection with a case of alleged animal abandonment on Monday.

Groveland Police say the woman will be summonsed to appear at Haverhill District Court at a later date to face the charge of animal cruelty.

Her name was not released.

Officials say they responded to an area of Main Street around 3 p.m. for a report of an abandoned Australian Shepherd puppy. Officers took the pup to a nearby animal shelter and sought the publics help in identifying the alleged perpetrator.

Police would like to thank the community for their assistance with this case.

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(BBC)

A mother who was living with an undiagnosed terminal cancer is urging women to seek further investigation if they have health concerns.

Kelly Pendry, 42, from Ewloe, North Wales, was diagnosed with uterine leiomyosarcoma in 2021.

Her initial symptoms of heavy, prolonged periods and a lot of pain began in 2016, reports BBC.

Leiomyosarcoma is a rare cancer affecting 600 people in the UK each year.

According to the bone and soft tissue cancer charity, Sarcoma UK, leiomyosarcoma develops in the smooth muscle cells, which are sometimes called involuntary muscles because they cause the organs to contract without our control.

Involuntary muscles are most commonly found in the limbs, the abdomen, the uterus, and the retroperitoneum (which is found deep in the abdomen and pelvis, behind the abdominal lining).

Common symptoms include a lump or swelling in the soft tissue under the skin. For uterine leiomyosarcoma, symptoms may include vaginal bleeding post-menopause, vaginal bleeding between periods, unusual vaginal bleeding and pain around the pelvis or stomach.

Leiomyosarcoma affects around 600 people in the UK per year.

The mother of two said that she was told by a doctor that her body was experiencing side effects post-pregnancy. Elsewhere, she was advised to consider different contraception and was prescribed antidepressants.

I felt like I was a drama queen, she said. I felt like I was overthinking it, I felt like is this in my head a bit, is this stupid?

Her initial symptoms of heavy, prolonged periods and a lot of pain began in 2016 (BBC)

Pendry was diagnosed with benign fibroids in November 2020, but the pandemic delayed her surgery.

By June 2021, Kelly said she was bleeding every day and looked nine months pregnant. It was around this time that a doctor mentioned the possibility of a sarcoma.

After a lung biopsy, Kelly was diagnosed with stage four and terminal cancer.

I was told by a nurse not to make plans for Christmas, she said.

She underwent six rounds of chemotherapy to maximise the time she has to live. One year on from the treatment, Kelly experiences side effects including tiredness, hot flushes, aches and pains.

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At present, her husband is raising money for Kelly to get access to treatment in the US, which they believe could extend the time she has to live.

On 16 March, Michael Pendry will run from where they live in Ewloe, North Wales to where the couple met in Hanham, Bristol. The run is approximately 180 miles and he will be running it across four days. At the time of writing, he has raised nearly 60,000 ($72,000) out of a goal of 75,000 (90,000).

In a statement, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board told the news outlet: Were very sorry to hear about Ms Pendrys experience and would encourage her to contact her GP practice, which is an independent contractor of the health board, so her concerns can be investigated.
A woman managed to get a job as a physicians assistant in Georgia after she was forced to forfeit her medical license and serve prison time, according to federal prosecutors.

Theresa Pickering, 55, treated patients with life-threatening conditions, prescribed drugs and diagnosed illnesses without a license at a family medical practice in Norcross, about 20 miles northeast of Atlanta, prosecutors said.

This came after she was released from prison in 2016 in connection with a fraud and narcotics case in Mississippi, court documents state. That case stemmed from how Pickering was caught pretending to be a doctor and practicing medicine without supervision  resulting in the loss of her physicians assistant license in 2014, according to prosecutors.

In the current case, Pickering, of Norcross, was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison for committing healthcare fraud, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Northern District of Georgia announced in an April 18 news release.

Pickering did not learn from her previous fraud conviction, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Keri Farley said in a statement. Instead, she chose to continue to endanger patient lives through theft and lies.

McClatchy News contacted Pickerings attorney for comment on April 19 and didnt immediately receive a response.

Pickerings lack of a medical license was revealed by one of her patients, who was injured from an antibiotics injection she received, according to a sentencing memo.

The injection gave the patient a rash all over her body and she filed a complaint about Pickering in August 2020, the memo says.

Prosecutors said Pickering also caused the Atlanta medical practice to submit roughly $147,000 in fraudulent insurance claims.

The woman gets hired without a license

Pickering was hired as a physicians assistant at Greater Atlanta Family Medicine on Sept. 24, 2019, after applying for work, according to the sentencing memo.

When the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in March 2020, she was the only person in office treating patients for the vast majority of her time working there, the memo says.

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After the pandemic hit, a doctor meant to supervise Pickering, as required under state law, came into the office less often and once every few weeks, according to the memo.

Greater Atlanta Family Medicine couldnt immediately be reached for comment by McClatchy News on April 19.

The woman illegally treats patients, officials say

Pickering treated patients for diabetes, high cholesterol, asthma, anxiety and depression, the sentencing memo says.

She often evaluated patients for these conditions and prescribed them drugs, according to the sentencing memo.

In addition to this, she prescribed drugs for testosterone deficiency, insomnia and prescribed Phentermine, a drug meant for weight loss that potentially can cause serious side effects, the memo says.

The Georgia Composite Medical Board began investigating Pickering after her patient developed a rash after receiving an injection from her, according to the memo.

Pickering is accused of lying to the board, saying she only performed non-clinical functions at the practice, and asked her supervising doctor to lie about when she began work at the practice, the memo says.

She also continued lying to federal agents who interviewed her in September 2021, according to the memo.

Pickering told agents she never diagnosed patients for conditions or prescribed medications, the memo says.

Ahead of her sentencing, Pickering expressed remorse and accepted responsibility for her actions, according to a sentencing memo submitted on her behalf by her attorney.

She is eager to resume a life of normalcy as soon as possible, the memo says.

As part of her sentencing, Pickering was also ordered to pay $48,742 in restitution, prosecutors said.

Emergency room nurse stole pain meds every shift and gave patients saline, feds say

Nurse practitioner prescribed pills to have sex with women, promote TV show, feds say

Paramedic on ambulance shift injects himself with fentanyl meant for patients, feds say
Yoon Suk Yeol

Read also: NATO chief urges South Korea to step up military aid to Ukraine

This signals for the first time a shift in his stance toward arming Ukraine.

Ahead of his state visit to the United States next week, Yoon said his government has been exploring how to best help defend and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Read also: South Korea authorized Polands transfer of Krab howitzers to Ukraine in 2022

If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support, Yoon said.

There wont be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country thats been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law.

However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures, Yoon said.

Read also: Japan and South Korea may supply weapons to Ukraine in the future, says Foreign Minister Kuleba

Earlier in December, South Korea sent 100 pickup trucks and five mini excavators to Ukraine.

Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Support us with a one-time donation, or become a Patron!

Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
HANOI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Despite slowing growth in the first quarter, Vietnam remains a promising market for e-commerce, Vietnam News reported on Wednesday.

E-commerce is expected to be the fastest-growing and the most stable sector this year, said industry experts at the Vietnam Online Business Forum 2023 held in Hanoi.

Vietnam's e-commerce expanded by more than 25 percent to over 20 billion U.S. dollars this year, said the Vietnam E-commerce Association, estimating that retail e-commerce sales accounted for 8.5 percent of the country's total retail sales of consumer goods and services worth 5,680 trillion Vietnamese dong (240 billion U.S. dollars).

With a population expected to soon reach 100 million, Vietnam has a large domestic market and a growing middle class population, while many Vietnamese are digital consumers with smartphone penetration reaching 73.5 percent of adult population by 2022, according to the Ministry of Information and Communications.

As Vietnamese people spend approximately seven hours a day online, mostly on social networks like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube, but also on local chat app Zalo, local companies have managed to blend online sharing and shopping, especially on the TikTok social platform, said the e-commerce association.

A survey conducted by the association showed that up to 65 percent of businesses have put their goods on social networking platforms, especially through interactive live streams.

Selling on social networks is also considered the most effective, surpassing other forms such as websites or business applications, as well as e-commerce.

The Vietnam News report said that the total sales of the top four e-commerce platforms, along with TikTok Shop, amounted to about 6 billion U.S. dollars.

Shopee and Lazada are the two largest e-commerce platforms in Vietnam, followed by TikTok Shop which just started off in the country in the middle of last year.

Vietnam is expected to be the fastest-growing e-commerce market in Southeast Asia by 2026, with e-commerce gross merchandise value reaching 56 billion dollars by 2026, 4.5 times the estimated value of 2021, according to a report by Facebook and Bain & Company. 
Josh Saviano, Olivia d'Abo, Fred Savage, Jason Hervey, Alley Mills and Dan Lauria in

Josh Saviano, Olivia d'Abo, Fred Savage, Jason Hervey, Alley Mills and Dan Lauria in "The Wonder Years."

On the days that seem devoid of meaning  the droning of the city with its relentless hustle, sirens and street sweepers machinery dragging along  I find myself yearning for my early days of youth. A time when possibility seemed endless, when finding a ride to the skating rink was the biggest dilemma of the week, and dinner was something that just appeared before you around 6 oclock. A time when finding a love note stuffed in your locker or brushing hands with your crush was electrifying. Like clockwork, whenever Im feeling the mean reds of adulthood, I hop on the time machine of television and go back to The Wonder Years.

In 1988, when The Wonder Years first aired, America was slowly coming out of its decade of decadence and greed, and the onset of the 90s was like a beacon for progress. It was the year Toni Morrison was awarded the Pulitzer Prize, and women in the U.S. were finally able to get a business loan without a male co-signer. Sexual harassment in the workplace was finally illegal. Things were looking up, at least a little. But TV producers decided to turn back to another time  1968  to steep audiences in a pool of nostalgia.

The Wonder Years represented a time of innocence, beauty, tranquility  a time that never truly existed in America. But perhaps the trick of nostalgia in general, and its beauty, lies in a lie: when the good days were golden echoes of a past just beyond our reach, when the patient, dutiful wife never complained and the macho dad served up groans and insisted on fixing the plumbing himself. To me, a child growing up with a single mother, it all seemed so... perfect. While the idyllic fantasy of the suburbs might have been a lie (one that served to rake in cash for corporations and housing developments), there was something universal about the struggles of youth embedded in the show that still affect viewers today.

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Before shows like Freaks and Geeks and My So-Called Life came on the scene, The Wonder Years depicted the intense, profound and authentic emotions of youth in a way that had never been done on a TV series.

We were giving life to an age group that hadnt been given life before [on TV] except in cartoons, recalls Bob Brush, the Emmy Award-winning writer, producer and showrunner of The Wonder Years for nearly 100 episodes. We had a phenomenal actor on top of that in Fred Savage, who could pull this off, who could actually embody this stuff, and not seem like a prop. He was a living, breathing character. Brush doesnt need to rewatch the show to remember it all: Every scene, every line of dialogue, every cut and every piece of music is still embedded in my brain.

Josh Saviano, who played the character of Paul Pfeiffer for all six seasons, doesnt often discuss his days as a child performer. He moved on to a career in law, and now works at a creative management firm. He compartmentalized the part of his life when he was an actor  but there came a point when he recognized that doing so was like cutting off a portion of himself.

Saviano and Savage in

Saviano and Savage in "She, My Friend and I," a 1990 episode of "The Wonder Years."

I loved the whole experience and it was one of the most defining components of my life.It was a meta-concept of coming of age in two different ways: I was 12, 13 years old in 1988, so [I was] growing up in the 80s and 90s, but also a good part of me was growing up in the 60s, Saviano told HuffPost. A lot of the things that we did on the show [like watching the moon landing] were our first times in real life.

Before The Wonder Years, no one had really taken on the concept of American suburbia, especially through the lens of the interior lives of adolescents, in this way. The 60s, in particular, was such a hard, mean decade in a lot of ways, and yet adolescents have their own problems and are survivors in any generation, said Brush, who published his first novel, The Piazza, in 2022.

The show enfranchised an entire section of the population that had never been mentioned before, which was the suburbs, he said. The suburbs had never been examined or celebrated before this show, and it gave an interior life to kids. It said, This is important. These arent just cute kids wandering around in hoop skirts  these are functioning human beings who are dealing with tremendous problems.

Suburbia, along with American culture of the 60s and 70s, was presented as a kind of character all of its own. America was coming of age too, along with the characters and the cast.

It was intentionally not a real town  it was supposed to be any town in the U.S., which wed refer to as Arnoldville, USA. There were some clues as to where it was, but it really could be anywhere, Saviano said. I dont think it necessarily intentionally glorified the suburbs. It was just trying to take you into a story, and the story is that anything can happen in a real childhood, not in some fairy tale. It was looking back at a time when [American] culture was coming into its maturity and emerging out of its own adolescence.

But more than that, what made the show so special is how it centered on the real emotion of youth, presented like time markers in our human story. It revealed and respected the minute complications of adolescence, its lessons only to be understood much later down the road. Despite the individuality of the characters in a nameless suburban town, each lesson deftly touched upon something universal about the human condition. In those six seasons, we learned that everything, eventually, despite our best efforts, will change.

Reality, as we know, doesnt always make sense. It cant be neatly packaged and presented in a linear fashion, with a soundtrack to cue the highs and lows, in half-hour segments. But to see that played out on screen somehow provided a kind of comfort, especially for kids growing up in single-parent households.

Maybe it was the knowing voice-over narrating the inner monologue of Kevin Arnold (played as a child by Savage, and in adult narration by Daniel Stern), representing a quasi-universal self, that did it. Maybe it was the absence of violence or cruelty. But The Wonder Years did more than pull heartstrings  it taught us the importance of self-reflection. It capitalized on the power of epiphany and the aha! moments of growing up, whether they came by way of heartbreak, embarrassment, quitting the piano, getting a D on a math quiz, or slowly learning that your parents are human. It functioned on the premise of Thats when I realized... with perfect closing lines that tied everything together, yet kept things lingering, like a satisfying ellipses with no period at the end.

I spoke to Danica McKellar, who played the role of Winnie Cooper, to get her thoughts about why the show was so popular.

Theres a universality to the issues that the show tackled, McKellar said. Even at the time, people said, Why is this resonating with people so much? And I think its because the themes are [still] the same. There might be some comfort in knowing that what were going through, people have been going through for decades, or maybe since the beginning of time.

Saviano, Savage and McKellar on the set of a Season 2 episode of

Saviano, Savage and McKellar on the set of a Season 2 episode of "The Wonder Years."

McKellar pointed out another enduring aspect of the show: how it incorporated the fact that things dont always end up the way you expect, or want.

One of the things that made us unique, beyond the narration and the inherent nostalgia that comes with that, is that it was bittersweet. People always say, How come Kevin and Winnie didnt end up together? And I say, Well, that would be nice. But the shows authenticity [was] that things didnt always work out  and thats OK, McKellar said. If you really look at it, it was very imperfect. Maybe thats also part of why people resonate with it, because it wasnt one of those cute sitcoms where everything worked out. And maybe thats it  we need to know that were OK when things dont work out.

In the second episode, I remember this great narration about how life isnt always a series of moving forwards  you step forward and step back, like a swing, she went on. You dont have to have it all figured out. You think you have to have it all figured out, and you dont.

Nostalgia functions by presenting time as an arrow, hurtling forward, giving us space to look back, while yearning for the pause-rewind button (if only we could skip over the commercials and playback and just see the good stuff). But real life is more like a spiral, looping together various beginnings, in-betweens and endings.

I dont think you understand or appreciate the context of something until you look back at it, Saviano said. Youre experiencing things in the moment, and very few children, teenagers in particular, can appreciate context. They dont have the breadth of life experiences, so their perspective is limited to what they know or what theyve seen, or, to a certain extent, what they can imagine. You can only truly contextualize or explain a particular point in your life in retrospect.

By applying and overlaying the zeitgeist of the 70s onto the micro-reality of a 13-year-old boy, Kevins seemingly wiser, all-knowing older self is able to reconstruct his story in a coherent narrative of highlights, allowing for a sense of comfort in the viewer. Things seem to make sense in the world of Winnie, Kevin and Paul. At the end of each 30-minute segment, theres always a lesson to be had, something to take into adulthood.

I loved the whole experience and it was one of the most defining components of my life.Josh Saviano, who played Paul Pfeiffer on "The Wonder Years"

Brush recalls how many of those narrated lessons didnt show up until after the episode was actually shot  an astounding testament to the nature of spontaneous creativity.

The beauty of the show was ... youd get it into the editing room and realize it was going to be a different episode than youd written, because the narrator could manipulate what was going on, Brush said. We shot [it] and then we looked for the show within the show.

Similar to the zeitgeist of the 60s and 70s, the soundtrack, too, functioned like a separate character. The music kind of bubbled up on its own. My office was open to anybody who had an idea for a song. People could wander in and say, How about this? Brush said. In those days, I had a boombox and a playback thing for my television, and I would put tapes in and put em up against the action. The music would tell me what was happening. We could really fuse the music with the action ... The two were kind of symbiotic. The songs really brought out the interior message and interior emotions of the show.

Its the music that would bring me to tears after each closing scene. I couldnt understand, at first, why the show had such an emotional effect on me. Perhaps it was the purity of it all, the realization that everything changes, that things can only be truly known and understood with time.

While I identified with the shows romanticism, the idea of a nuclear family was far out of reach. The Wonder Years brought escapism, but it also brought something else that Id take with me later as a writer: the irresistible pull of turning back, examining what was lost and finding beauty there.

Were all guilty of this: We look back on old relationships and forget why they fell apart, replaying memories to an inner soundtrack, ignoring the red flags. We look back on different times in our life, to the people we once were and once knew, and we change the story to suit our present-day narrative. We filter reality according to the people we are now, picking out the highlights and lowlights and propping them up like photos on a mantel. As humans, we want things to be better than they are. We want to give meaning to the mundane, or at least find the humor in it.

Mills, Lauria, d'Abo, Hervey and Savage.

Mills, Lauria, d'Abo, Hervey and Savage.

We want to both forget and remember.

The general tenor of the show can be summarized by You cant relive your childhood, Saviano said. Its something that all humans can relate to: this yearning to go back in time and relive the golden days. You want to look back and remember what it felt like, because once innocence is lost, it cant be regained.

In youth, theres infinite possibility, limitless potential stretching ahead of you. But Saviano emphasizes how the real beauty of nostalgia is applying the lessons of the past toward the future.

My current business was arguably born from the conclusion that one shouldnt get trapped by the comfortable, magical, but confining box of nostalgia, but rather learn and build from the self-defining lessons learned from that period of your life, he said.

Brush admits The Wonder Years was not originally meant to be a show about nostalgia.

Those 12- and 13-year-olds, and I believe its the same now, are fighting to define themselves. Theyre fighting to understand everything thats going on. Theyre completely overwhelmed, Brush said. At that age, your body is changing, everything is changing, and youre lost in this maze of often incomprehensible situations. I think the enduring mechanism of The Wonder Years was how the older narrator put it into a place where it could make sense.

He did add, with a touch of self-deprecating humor, that he wishes hed written less narration overall, so the moments could breathe a bit more.

McKellar agrees that the show took seriously the internal lives of adolescents in a new way.

One of the most unique things the show did was to honor the feelings of kids. Theres heartache, theres all sorts of things that happen in life, and the show was really brave in the way it tackled those subjects, McKellar said. [It didnt] end with tying things up with a bow, but with a narrator who would explain the complexities of the emotions of a child dealing with imperfection. It was just so poignant. I think it made people feel understood, especially as children.

Brush says this imperfection was built into the character development, too.

I think there was a lesson in Kevin Arnold, who was a privileged, selfish kid, who really had everything going for him and kept stumbling into his own hypocrisies and his own stupidities, Brush said. The enduring fabric that led him through life was the sense that honesty and commitment were the only kind of guidelines through this maze he was going through.

The problem wasnt outside him, Brush added. The problem wasnt the war or the stupid teachers or anything else, but that he was not thinking outwardly. He wasnt thinking in a loving manner. He was selfish, as we all are, especially as adolescents, and frightened. Whenever he reached out and asked for help or put himself in the other persons shoes, that was usually the epiphany that he had. I had been wrong, I had been stupid, I had missed this.

But the show was also about finding connection.

There was always this sense of reaching out blind, I think in the darkness and trying to find a connection, Brush said. I think it was about connections, whether it be with [Kevins] mother and father or his brother, or his teachers.

One of the most unique things the show did was to honor the feelings of kids. Theres heartache, theres all sorts of things that happen in life, and the show was really brave in the way it tackled those subjects.Danica McKellar, who played Winnie Cooper on "The Wonder Years"

The actors were also experiencing their own real-life childhoods while filming. McKellar recalls her most memorable moment as the first kiss during the pilot. Obviously, thats a big one. That was my real first kiss ... and I believe it was Freds first kiss, as well. I had a huge crush on him at the time. Only during the first episode and during the first season, but it kind of quickly devolved into younger brother stuff, she said. Hed tell me what pull my finger means, and we were hanging out in the school room and he was a jokester. But that first episode, I was head over heels, and it was very exciting. The entire crew was watching and then they applauded after the first take.

In recent times, especially on social media, weve seen a resurgence of 90s nostalgia. We millennials were the first generation to live on both sides of the technological fence, remembering a childhood both before and after the internet, when our freedom extended only as far as the kitchen phone cord would stretch. Our parents gave us Kool-Aid and Hug drinks, aunties chain-smoked in living rooms, and the swinging-door chime of AOL brought a rush of adrenaline, followed by panic whenever Mom had to make a phone call. Our generation didnt grow up in the idyllic 1970s, or the idyllic 90s for that matter, because theres never been a genuinely idyllic time in America.

Its easy to look back on love, friendship, family and even American culture with a sense of rose-colored wonder, if not downright fantasy. But there are real lessons to be found there, too. Perhaps thats why executive producers Savage, Saladin Patterson, Lee Daniels and Marc Velez created a reboot in 2021 with a Black middle-class family in 1960s Montgomery, Alabama. Savage was fired from the reboot after several women reported allegations of misconduct on the production. (Savage later released a statement that said in part: While there are some incidents being reported that absolutely did not and could not have happened, any one person who feels hurt or offended by my actions is one person too many. I will work to address and change any behavior that has negatively affected anyone.)

I think the concept of nostalgia, at least how its been portrayed in popular culture over the last 10 years, only goes like three-quarters of the way to teach the lessons. We all kind of go back to our comfort zone, our own comfort food of looking at our past, Saviano said. But our childhoods, our happy memories, and even our sad memories can teach us a lot more if we listen to it. While you cant relive those moments  you can try, but you cant go back and experience it for the first time  you can take those life lessons, that truth of life, and absorb it and then reapply it.

The beauty (and the trick) of nostalgia is that we only realize in retrospect that the smallest things in life are the most memorable: that very first kiss, that first drive after getting your license, the family dinners or the clattering sounds of a school cafeteria, the friends who moved or the love who got away, the summer flings or combing through the woods on a summers day.

These memories can only be savored in retrospect, along with the simple realization that perhaps life is just a series of realizations and aha! moments.

Related...
Doctor

Cancer patients are waiting nearly two years for diagnosis and treatment, official figures show.

Labour said the findings, revealed under Freedom of Information (FoI) disclosures, were truly horrifying with waits of up to 671 days for a diagnosis or the all-clear and 469 days for treatment.

It comes after Sir Keir Starmer declared the NHS broken, accusing ministers of presiding over a cycle of decline which could bring the NHS to an end.

Labour is promising a new focus on the NHS targets introduced under former prime minister Tony Blair, some of which have not been met for years.

The disclosures show that in Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS trust one patient was left waiting 671 days for diagnosis or all-clear, with a wait of 649 days at Dartford and Gravesham, and a wait of 599 days at Surrey and Sussex Healthcare trust.

NHS targets being missed

NHS targets say 75 per cent of patients should reach this point within a month of urgent referral.

However, this target has only been hit once since it was introduced in 2021 and only applies if cases are classed as urgent suspected cancer.

The figures show extremely long waits for diagnosis and treatment.

NHS targets say 93 per cent of patients should see a specialist within two weeks of an urgent GP referral, a target which was last met in May 2020.

The data show one Lincolnshire patient who was classed as an urgent cancer referral waited almost 350 days to see a specialist.

NHS targets say 85 per cent of such cases should start treatment within two months. This has not been hit since December 2015.

The figures also reveal a wait of 469 days for a cancer patient in North Tees and Hartlepool to start treatment and a wait of 397 days for a cancer patient at Nottingham University Hospitals trust.

NHS published data show that last year, 500,000 suspected cancer patients waited longer than the recommended two weeks to see a specialist after being referred by a GP.

The FoI request, which received a response from 60 NHS trusts in England, asked trusts about waits over the previous 12 months, including those in waiting in January - meaning some may still be waiting for diagnosis and treatment.

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In total, 52 out of the 60 NHS trusts which responded to the FoI saw a patient wait more than half a year to start their treatment in 2022.

Conservative Party says public services in good shape

On Sunday Greg Hands, the Conservative Party chairman, told LBC that public services are in good shape and getting better.

Nick Gibb, the Education Secretary, later described the NHS as the envy of the world, prompting Wes Streeting, the Labour health spokesman, to ask what planet is he on?

On Wednesday Mr Streeting said: These findings are truly horrifying. How can the Conservatives claim our public services are in good shape, when cancer patients are left waiting and wondering for months and even years, while their cancer could be spreading?

The Labour MP has spoken before about how he suffered delays for crucial scans after being treated for kidney cancer.

Mr Streeting added: Labour will double medical school places to train 7,500 more doctors and 10,000 more nurses a year, paid for by abolishing non-doms. Cancer patients need life-saving treatment more than the wealthiest need a tax loophole.

Cancer patients in England facing unacceptable delays

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: Cancer patients in England are facing unacceptable delays for vital treatment, which demonstrates the need for urgent political leadership and action on cancer in England. Years of underfunding has resulted in an overstretched cancer workforce unable to meet rising demand.

We urge the Government to deliver a fully-costed workforce plan for England that increases the number of clinicians being trained and tackles staff retention. Only then will people affected by cancer receive the care they desperately need and deserve.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman said: The NHS has been seeing and treating record numbers of patients for cancer over the last two years.

Over nine in ten patients are starting cancer treatment within one month, and the number of patients waiting more than 18 months for care has fallen by more than four-fifths since the peak last September.

75 per cent of patients were diagnosed with cancer, or had it ruled out, within 28 days of referral which meant NHS Englands faster diagnosis standard was reached for the first time in February 2023.

We know there is more to do which is why, since July 2021, we have opened 100 community diagnostic centres. These one-stop-shops have carried out over 3.6 million tests, checks and scans to ensure patients get access to the best medical advice when and where they need it.
(Bloomberg) -- The UK economy is yet to feel the worst impacts of Britains divorce from the European Union, senior business leaders said, in spite of Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks recent efforts to smooth relations with the bloc.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The messier part is yet to come, in terms of the impact on financial services, Citibank Europe Plc Chief Executive Officer Kristine Braden said on Wednesday in a panel discussion at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Europe conference.

Bradens view was backed up by APCO Worldwide LLC adviser Declan Kelleher, who said cross-border trade frictions are likely to increase as the UK begins to implement new rules. Meanwhile Ryanairs CEO Michael OLeary said the divorce will continue to have a net negative impact on the UK economy over the short to medium term.

The views from business highlight how Brexit continues to weigh on a range of companies some 7 years after Britons narrowly voted to leave the EU. The Office for Budget Responsibility, the governments fiscal watchdog, estimates Brexit will knock 4% off projected economic output in the long run, relative to if the UK had stayed in the EU.

Huge Challenges

Braden said her bank  a unit of Citigroup Inc.  has had to redirect clients to its offices in the EU as a result of Brexit. Its in the process of moving employees and is now entering a third phase, moving some of its products from the UK to other European countries.

Citis Braden Predicts More Brexit Moves to Satisfy EU Watchdogs

For his part, OLeary said the impact on Ryanair has been considerably messier than it should have been and warned a more sensible trading agreement between the UK and EU is needed to mitigate the repercussions.

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Ryanair has faced huge challenges in the UK, in large part because the countrys labor market is broken, he said. Its incredibly hard to hire people in the UK and getting visas for European workers is now very expensive, adding to costs, he said.

Meanwhile, Kelleher, a senior advisor at APCO, warned the trading friction caused by Brexit will increase over time because the UK hasnt yet fully implemented regulatory changes and border checks.

Raising Barriers

Those barriers are still there and theyre actually going to increase, Kelleher, who previously worked as Irelands Permanent Representative to the EU in Brussels, said. Once controls are fully enforced, the impact on businesses will become even more difficult, he said.

Still, there have been some improvements. Sunak earlier this year struck a fresh deal with the EU on trading arrangements for Northern Ireland, removing a major point of tension with the bloc. Both OLeary and Braden said that represented progress.

Sunaks Britain Is Starting to Have Second Thoughts About Brexit

And for OLeary, Britains demographics also point to the possibility for relations with the EU to improve further, because of the older age profile of those who voted for Brexit.

In the next five to 10 years, quite a number of the Brexiteers will die, he said. A huge majority of the younger people in the UK coming through are much more pro-European.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
The commander of the Army's 5th Security Force Assistance Brigade was suspended amid allegations of counterproductive and abusive treatment of his subordinates, according to multiple sources with direct knowledge of the investigation.

Military.com was first to report on the suspension last week, but at the time, it wasn't known that Col. Jonathan Chung was removed from his position due to allegations of poor leadership.

Chung was suspended April 10 after being in command of the 5th SFAB headquartered at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, since July 2021 and was likely in position to be promoted to brigadier general soon.

Read Next: Another Female Soldier Died at Fort Hood. The Base Said Nothing.

"I am not facing allegations regarding any illegal, immoral or unethical matters," Chung wrote in an email, reviewed by Military.com, sent to colleagues that was seeking positive character witness letters for investigators. "I am facing allegations that are centered around perceived counterproductive and toxic leadership issues."

Military.com spoke with 10 soldiers who worked directly with Chung at 5th SFAB and at his previous command with 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division. Most of them painted a picture of an abrasive leadership style from Chung that squashed unit cohesion and demoralized subordinate officers. No soldiers interviewed accused Chung of any criminal issues or sexual misconduct.

"He was the worst leader I've ever had, toxic, selfish and egotistical," one Army officer told Military.com on the condition of anonymity to avoid retaliation. "I was getting screamed at multiple times for reasons I can't understand."

It's unclear what specific instance led to Chung's dismissal. His attorney declined to provide any specifics but said the investigation revolves around accusations of counterproductive leadership.

Soldiers, including other officers who worked below Chung in the chain of command, described Chung as a perfectionist and micromanager who routinely dressed down subordinates in front of others. The public criticism was commonly known in the ranks as "The Chunger Games." He also tasked his formation with listening to his podcast about leadership lessons, sometimes requiring troops to write reports or quizzing about the material.

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One commander in 5th SFAB said that Chung has an unfair reputation and that his strict leadership style simply rubs some soldiers the wrong way and that they have never witnessed Chung berating or talking down to subordinates. The commander is a supportive character witness in Chung's investigation and was put in contact with Military.com by Chung's attorney.

In one case, a soldier's chain of command, from squad leader to company commander, were brought into Chung's office to be taken to task about a soldier who was wearing mismatching socks during physical training, according to two soldiers who were at the meeting. Minor infractions, including uniform violations, are often handled by low-level, non-commissioned officers. Another commander told Military.com of an instance in which they were grilled over why a soldier left duty early for a scheduled dental appointment.

Chung has been temporarily assigned to U.S. Army Pacific, an element of the force that oversees logistics for the region. Officers are commonly reassigned to low-key administrative positions during investigations that can take months to complete.

The Security Force Assistance Brigades were stood up by the Army between 2017 and 2020. Soldiers in those regionally aligned brigades sport the brown beret and "Advisor" tab, uniform items the service has implemented to make SFABs stand apart from the rest of the force. The brigades are focused on working with U.S. allies to train their forces, help refine their doctrine or assess their military capabilities. The 5th SFAB focuses on the Pacific and countries including the Philippines, Mongolia and Australia.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Commander of Army Pacific Training Brigade Suspended
By Andrew Goudsward

(Reuters) - New York's Senate on Tuesday easily confirmed Governor Kathy Hochuls nominee to lead the states highest court, elevating a judge favored by liberal lawmakers.

Rowan Wilson was approved by a vote of 40 to 19 as chief judge of the New York State Court of Appeals. Wilson will be the first Black judge in the role, which also oversees the state's court system.

Wilson said at a hearing before the state's Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday that the court should play a prominent role on the national stage, especially "in the face of the U.S. Supreme Courts retreat from several of its seminal decisions.

Wilson, who has been an associate judge on the Court of Appeals since 2017, is viewed as a liberal and has issued rulings favorable to civil rights, unions and criminal defendants.

Vincent Bonventre, a professor and expert on the state's courts at Albany Law School, said Wilson is known for his intellectual heft and his dissents, which often oppose the government and business interests.

Wilson dissented from prominent decisions by former Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, including a ruling last year that maps of the states congressional districts redrawn by Democratic lawmakers violated the states constitution.

He was questioned by lawmakers during his confirmation hearing over a recent ruling he authored tossing a rape conviction over delays in acquiring evidence. Wilson defended the ruling while acknowledging it was "not an easy thing to do."

Wilson's swift confirmation comes after Hochuls first nominee for the post, appellate Judge Hector LaSalle, was rejected by the state Senate amid criticism from Democratic lawmakers about his record on abortion and labor issues.

Wilson, a former partner at corporate law firm Cravath, Swaine & Moore, was first nominated to the Court of Appeals by former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

(Reporting by Andrew Goudsward in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Matthew Lewis)
Viktoria Nasyrova (left) and Olga Tsvyk (right)

A Russian woman has been sentenced to 21 years in prison for attempting to kill her lookalike in a bizarre identity-theft plot in New York City.

Viktoria Nasyrova gave her beautician, Olga Tsvyk, a slice of poisoned cheesecake on 28 August 2016 before stealing her passport and work permit.

As she learned her fate, Nasyrova, 47, directed an expletive at the judge at the court in the borough of Queens.

A prosecutor called her a "ruthless and calculating con artist".

Nasyrova "is going to prison for a long time for trying to murder her way to personal profit and gain", added Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz in a statement on Wednesday.

The jury heard that on the day of the attempted murder, Nasyrova went to Ms Tsvyk's house in Queens with a box of cheesecake - eating two pieces herself, and offering the third, poisoned slice to the then-35-year-old victim.

The eyelash stylist started to vomit and went to lie down. She suffered hallucinations and came close to having a heart attack.

Ms Tsvyk's friend found her unconscious the next day, her clothes changed to lacey lingerie and pills scattered around the floor as if she had tried to take her own life.

When she finally returned home, Ms Tsvyk's Ukrainian passport and US work permit were missing, as well as jewellery and about $4,000 (3,300) in cash.

At the time, Ms Tsvyk and Nasyrova looked quite similar, with dark hair and the same skin complexion, and they were both Russian speakers.

Phenazepam, a powerful sedative, was detected in remnants of the cheesecake, and the pills strewn on the floor were confirmed to be the same drug.

Nasyrova, who lived in Brooklyn, was convicted in February of attempted murder, assault and unlawful imprisonment.

Queens Supreme Court Justice Kenneth Holder, according to the New York Post, described Nasyrova on Wednesday as "an extremely dangerous woman" who had concocted a "diabolical" scheme to prey on a friend.

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She will be supervised by the court for five years after her release from prison, the judge also ordered.

Ms Tsvyk was allowed to speak in court before the sentence was read.

Pills and cake containers were discovered at the victim's home

"It was easy for her to steal. It was easy for her to kill," she said, according to the Post.

This was not the first time Nasyrova has landed in trouble with the law.

In 2015, Interpol issued a red notice for her arrest over the murder of a woman in Russia a year earlier. She is accused of killing her neighbour and stealing her life savings.

Nasyrova, who US media reports is a former dominatrix, has also been accused of drugging and robbing men she met on dating websites.

Her crimes - both alleged and convicted - were the subject of a documentary by CBS's investigative programme 48 Hours in 2017.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks during a subcommittee hearing on Feb. 9, 2023.

Andy Hirschfeld is a journalist based in New York. His work has appeared in Slate, The Daily Beast, Observer, CNBC.com, Fortune and several other publications.

You have been misled by U.S. Representative Jim Jordan and much of the far right cohort of the Republican Party.

Theyve made it sound like the place I call home  New York City  is some kind of crime ridden boogie man. I am here to tell you thats far from the truth.

This week Jordan, R-Urbana, ramped up his rhetoric amid his accusations that District Attorney Alvin Bragg abused the power of his office as he held the former President accountable for his actions.

Andy Hirschfeld is a journalist based in New York. His work has appeared in a number of publications including Slate, The Daily Beast, Observer, CNBC.com, Fortune and many others.

Jordans fictional portrayal of the nations largest city serves one clear purpose  to elevate his extremist punditry aimed at an audience of one.

Letters: Jim Jordan is Ohio's embarrassment. Frank LaRose's Householder excuse is hilarious

His claims have given my city a bad reputation in many of your eyes. Thats not fair to you and its not fair to me, my neighbors and my community.

Those of you in the Ohio's 4th District (and the neighboring districts) deserve to know the truth.

Lets set the record straight.

While there was a concerning escalation in crime last year, its now trending in the right direction.

According to the New York City Police Department, shootings dropped by 26 percent, rape fell almost a full percentage point, homicides tumbled more than 11 percent, robberies plunged by more than one percent, and burglaries plummeted more than 12 percent last month.

Historically, the pandemic induced uptick in crime itself did not mark a significant shift. It was marginal compared to long term trends that show that the citys crime rate has been on a decline over the last three decades.

New York is not just safe  its still one of the safest cities in the United States and around the globe according to The Economist Safe Cities index. Even with the slight increase it is still safer than when then-independent mayor Michael Bloomberg called NYC the safest big city in America.

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Jordan and his allies also blame bail reform for what they suggest caused more crime in the nations largest city. Theres no evidence to support that.

New York City Comptrollers office report last year found that The data indicate that pretrial rearrest rates remained nearly identical pre- and post-bail reform.

Jordan has spent days tweeting about crime in New York City citing data about felonies while conveniently ignoring the overall long-term trends since 2000.

Democrats know their cities arent safe, but would rather blame Republicans than fix the problem.  Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) April 18, 2023

What about Columbus?

Its also important to consider scale. 170,000 felonies sounds a lot bigger in Columbus than it does in New York. There are 8.4 million people that live here, one million more commute here daily, and the city expects more 61 million visitors from around the world.

By comparison, Columbus has a higher per capita homicide rate. Its three times higher than New York City.

Conveniently, Jordan managed to overlook those points.

Based on Jordans record in the house, its fairly likely his obtuse remarks will not ultimately lead to any kind of policy. Hes only authored 29 bills in 16 years and not a single one has made it to the floor.

More: Manhattan DA, Jim Jordan clash over murder rates in Ohio, N.Y. after Trump indictment

170,000 felony crimes were reported in New York City last year  the most since 2006.



Major crimes are up 23%.



But Democrats say NYC is Americas safest big city.



Give me a break.  Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) April 17, 2023

What about New York?

By no means is New York perfect.

Its insanely expensive. The average rent price in Manhattan is over $5000 a month. In the summer months, more often than not the sidewalks smell like urine and much of the city has a trash problem but one thing its not is a crime-ridden danger zone.

I am not from central Ohio, nor have I ever lived in the place but you call home so I am not going to speak about what its like. It would be appreciated if one of your representatives, Jim Jordan, could pay us the same respect.

The Manhattan skyline is seen from the observatory of the Empire State Building in New York City on Wednesday, January 12, 2022.

More: 'It's just getting worse': NYC rent prices surge amid competition from three graduating classes

My advice to you  travel to New York City  enjoy the sites. See for yourself rather than take the word of an elected representative that is blatantly misleading you.

Andy Hirschfeld is a journalist based in New York. His work has appeared in Slate, The Daily Beast, Observer, CNBC.com, Fortune and several other publications.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Jim Jordan has serious nerve calling NYC crime ridden| Andy Hirschfeld
By Panu Wongcha-um

PATHUM THANI, Thailand (Reuters) - Chonthicha "Lookkate" Jangrew is going door-to-door asking people to vote for her in Thailand's May 14 election even though she faces possible jail time on charges of sedition and defaming the king during unprecedented protests in 2020.

The 30-year-old is one of more than a dozen activists from a student-led protest movement who are taking their once-taboo cause from the streets to the ballot box as candidates in the election.

They are bringing the issue of the role of monarchy in society into the open. King Maha Vajiralongkorn is officially revered under the constitution and insulting the monarchy is illegal under strict laws known as lese majeste, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Changing - though not abolishing - those laws is part of the platform of Lookkate's progressive Move Forward party, which is campaigning on reducing the severity of punishments for royal insult and how it is applied.

"If you want to make a change in Thailand, you cannot rely solely on street movements or only on parliament," Lookkate told Reuters in an interview as she took a break from campaigning in Pathum Thai province, on Bangkok's northern outskirts.

"Both paths need to move forward together," she said.

The 2020 demonstrations that started as opposition to the military's domination of politics following a 2014 coup and a disputed election five years later, broke ground in Thailand by questioning the supremacy of the monarchy.

Protesters pointed at what they described as an unhealthy power nexus between the military and the palace that justified repeated military intervention against elected governments.

The military says it only intervenes in civilian politics when it has to act to save the nation from chaos and it has ruled out any involvement in the election. The palace does not comment on politics.

The protests were eventually suppressed, largely by legal action against their leaders, with hundreds arrested and facing criminal cases that are still working their way through courts.

Story continues

Lookkate said she has 28 criminal cases against her, including two of lese majeste, which would end her parliamentary career if she were to win a seat. Anyone convicted of an offence is disqualified from the legislature.

BIGGEST CHANGE IN DECADES

Analysts say that many of the issues that the youth movement raised are now part of mainstream discourse, including calls to amend the lese majeste laws.

The laws have been used against at least 240 people since the protests began in 2020, according to records compiled by Thai Lawyer for Human Rights.

Dozens of youth activists, like Lookkate, have joined political parties like Move Forward, Pheu Thai and the Thai Sang Thai, either as candidates or workers, said Kanokrat Lertchoosakul, a political scientist at Bangkok's Chulalongkorn University who closely follows the youth movement.

Kanokrat said the protests had put issues such as LGBT rights and the ending of the military conscription on the agenda.

Move Forward party spokesman Rangsiman Rome said the party was a good fit for the youngsters who joined the 2020 protests that were rooted in opposition to the military's attempt to constitutionally enshrine its role in politics.

"The issues they were campaigning for, like changing the constitution or amending the lese majeste law, are aligned with party policies," he said.

Rangsiman did not say how many of the party's candidates came from the youth movement but Kanokrat said the party had at least 20 candidates, and more behind the scenes, linked to it.

"We have at least three pro-democracy parties in which youth activists have found various roles," Kanokrat said.

Political analyst Prajak Kongkirati from Thammasat University said the involvement of the young activists had brought the biggest change to mainstream politics in decades.

They had energised the progressive left while at the same time triggering the rise of a right-wing royalist party, Thai Pakdee, which is campaigning on toughening up the lese majeste law, he said.

"The political spectrum has not been this broad in 30 years," Prajak said. "We have a real progressive left that connects with street politics and a far-right party that rises as a response."

Another activist-turned-candidate Piyarat "Toto" Chongthep, 32, said that he was running because he realised he could not make an impact through protests.

"The most we could do was to symbolically express our discontent," he said. "We need help from the people to democratically give us power to make changes."

The progressive parties are not expected to win on May 14 but Lookkate said she was hopeful the presence of young people in politics would at least usher in a more fair system, in which old power-brokers know they cannot just ignore the result of a vote they don't like.

"I don't think it'll be as easy as before because if the people take to the streets again, it will go much further than it did in 2020," she said.

(Reporting by Panu Wongcha-um; Editing by Robert Birsel)
Organisers of an annual hunting competition in New Zealand came under fire when they announced an event for children to hunt feral cats

A children's cat-hunting competition in New Zealand has been cancelled following backlash against the event.

Organisers of an annual hunt were criticised after announcing a new category for those aged 14 and under to hunt feral cats.

The animals are considered a pest and a risk to the country's biosecurity.

Youngsters were told to not kill pets, but they were otherwise encouraged to kill as many feral cats as possible for a prize.

The child who killed the most between mid-April and the end of June would have won NZ$250 (124; $155).

The event drew immediate condemnation from animal welfare groups.

On Tuesday, the New Zealand's Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was relieved the "children's category which involved shooting feral cats" would not go ahead.

A representative argued that children, along with adults, would not be able to differentiate between "a feral, stray or frightened domesticated cat", according to AFP news agency.

There were fears that this would mean house cats would be unintentionally killed.

"We should be teaching our tamariki [children] empathy towards animals, not handing them the tools to kill them," a spokesman for the animal welfare charity Safe told local media outlet 1News.

The event had been announced as part of a June fundraiser hunt for a local school in North Canterbury in the South Island, a largely rural area of New Zealand where hunting is popular.

The competition each year typically sees hundreds - including children - compete to kill wild pigs, deer and hares.

Organisers of the North Canterbury Hunting Competition announced the cancellation of the cat event on Tuesday, saying they had received "vile and inappropriate emails".

"We are disappointed and apologise for those who were excited to be involved in something that is about protecting our native birds, and other vulnerable species," the group wrote on Facebook.

Story continues

They also pointed out that anyone who participated in their hunts are required to abide by firearms and animal welfare laws.

The post received more than 100 comments from users, many of whom defended the event. People said the hunt could have been a "controlled cull".

"If only people knew the damage wild cats cause around the place," one local wrote.

"They also [have] an effect on our farming. Wild cats carry diseases... we will just keep shooting them for as long as we keep seeing them," she concluded.

It is estimated that there are 1.2 million domestic cats in New Zealand and more than double that number of feral cats.

Measures to control the latter population are the subject of heated debate in New Zealand, where the animals are a major threat to native species.

New Zealand's largest conservation group, the Royal Forest and Bird Protection Society, has estimated that feral cats could be responsible for the deaths of as many as 1.1 million native birds every year, as well as tens of millions of non-native birds.

One biosecurity expert, Dr Helen Blackie, told Radio New Zealand that feral cats were responsible for the extinction of six bird species, as well as the decline in populations of bats, frogs and lizards.

They are also known to carry the parasitic infection toxoplasmosis, a disease that has had a significant impact on New Zealand's sheep industry.

Dr Blackie also said that because feral cats are not officially classified as pests in Canterbury, there are no measures in place to monitor or control them.
Photo of domestic cat with bird in mouth



The hunter (almost) became the hunted in what proved to be an unpopular contest idea.

Children of New Zealand, lay down your arms and step away from the feral cats. The opportunity to fire on felines for a cash prize is no more.



A feral cat hunting contest for kids under 14 years old, slated to take place in North Canterbury on New Zealands South Island, is officially cancelled following days of intense pushback. The North Canterbury Hunting Competition announced its resolution to scrap the segment in a Tuesday Facebook post.

Read more

The decision has been made to withdraw this category for this year to avoid further backlash at this time, the organizers wrote. We are disappointed and apologise for those who were excited to be involved in something that is about protecting [our] native birds, and other vulnerable species.

Screenshot of a Facebook post



People were so incensed by the plan to have kids hunt feral cats, they reportedly sent threatening messages to an elementary school.

The now-defunct plans for a youth cat killing spree came as part of the wider North Canterbury Hunting Competition. The event is an annual community fundraiser for a local elementary school and swimming pool. Participants pay to enter, and category winners receive small payouts.



This year was the first time that the feral cat category was introduced. The plan was for kids to compete to off the highest number of invasive felines. The most successful child would have won a $250 NZD prize (equivalent to about $155 USD), according a now-removed weekend post from the event organizers, the Guardian reports.

However, basically as soon as the competition was introduced, criticism poured in. On Facebook, the event page currently has a 1.3 star rating. 15 out of 16 of the written reviews are strong critiques of the cat contest. What kind of sick nut job encourages kids to kill cats? Training the future criminals of tomorrow...Worst idea ever! wrote one incensed poster. Disgusting group of sadists, said another.

Story continues

Though the contest organizers noted that any participants would be disqualified for harming a microchipped cat, animal rights groups still expressed significant concern that pets would be hurt and also general alarm at the idea of enlisting children to cull animals. There is little to no difference in the physical appearance of feral, stray, and pet cats. Disqualifying dead cats with microchips is too little too late, said Will Appelbe, a spokesperson for New Zealand-based animal rights organization SAFE, in a statement. Its bad enough that young people are being taught and encourage to kills small animals, he added.

The Canterbury Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it was extremely concerned about the contest in a statement. There is a good chance someones pet may be killed during this event, the organization wrote. SPCA advocates that, instead of organised killing events, education around humane and compassionate practices can better prepare young people to appreciate and protect the biological heritage of New Zealand.

Yet for others, the controversial contest idea was less black and white.



Feral cats are an invasive and ecologically destructive species in New Zealand and in much of the world. Domestic cats (whether free-roaming pets or feral) are predators that can decimate populations of native wildlife, even contributing to animal extinctions. Cats are a particular threat to birds, and one 2016 study found that at least 40 bird extinctions are attributable to invasive cats worldwide. Yet globally, the question of controlling these cats frequently becomes a third-rail issue for conservation orgs, which often find themselves at odds with pet lovers and other advocacy groups.

Related: 10 Species Driven Toward Extinction by Cats

New Zealands government works aggressively to manage its feral cat problem. The countrys Department of Conservation already shoots, poisons, and traps the animals regularly. And kids under 14 already participate in other categories of the North Canterbury Hunting Contest. In 2022, more than 250 children entered the competition, killing 427 animals (mostly possums, rabbits, and hareswhich are also problematic invasives in New Zealand), according to the Guardian.

Elsewhere in the country, community culling efforts of invasive species arent uncommon. Often both children and adults participate, as in the annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt that seeks to tackle the problem of invasive rabbits. But its difficult for animal lovers to celebrate and rally around killing cats.

There is no right or wrong here, James Russell, a University of Auckland conservation biologist, told the New York Times. New Zealanders, he said, generally understand and agree that feral cats need to be controlled. However, the question of a child cat hunt touches on all these broader ethical issues: Should kids be the one[s] killing cats? Should it be done as a charity competition event? Russell pondered.

On one hand, theres this argument we shouldnt be teaching kids to kill animals  which is true. But if we dont teach them about the impacts of feral cats and possums, were essentially turning a blind eye to their impact, he added.

One of the organizers of the North Canterbury event, Mat Bailey, told NYT the issue had been blown out of proportion.

Its not just that we want kids to kill cats, its the whole problem of invasive species, Bailey said. The hunting contest was supposed to be about community fundraising and teaching kids firearms safety; its just a general fun activity for themgetting them out in the fresh air, and its making them realize these animals are destroying native species, he added.

In the future, Bailey offered, maybe adjustments could be made to reintroduce the feral cat contest category in a more palatable way. Perhaps the kids could trap or round up the cats. For this year, the rest of the competition including segments for childrenwill go ahead as planned. The feral cats though, remain safe from the kiddie wrath.

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BANGKOK, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's industrial confidence improved to a decade high in March as recovery in the tourism sector continued, data showed on Wednesday.

The Thai Industries Sentiment Index (TISI) rose to 97.8 last month from 96.2 in February, which marked its return to pre-pandemic levels, according to the Federation of Thai Industries (FTI).

According to FTI Deputy Secretary-General Sorakit Manbuphachati, the March figure rose due to an increase in demand for industrial products, thanks to rising foreign arrivals and government measures to support domestic tourism.

However, entrepreneurs were concerned about high production costs, particularly raw materials, and electricity prices, which remained volatile, Sorakit told a news conference.

Weakened foreign demand was in line with the global economic slowdown, and Thai Baht's volatility was a risk factor for Thai exports, he added.

The three-month expected TISI increased to 106.3 in March, up from 103.2 a month earlier, as domestic consumption tends to drive economic growth, the FTI said in a statement.

The FTI advised the government to reconsider the variable tariff for electricity in the next adjustment and expand export markets for manufacturing goods.

The reading was based on a survey of 1,322 respondents from 45 industry groups under the FTI, the statement said. 
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has arrived in Volyn Oblast to meet with state border guards.

Source: Zelenskyy on Telegram

Quote from Zelenskyy: "Volyn. Ukraine's border with Belarus and Poland. It is an honour for me to be here today, to thank our border guards for protecting the state border. For the protection of our state in Bakhmut. I know how firmly you stood there, holding Bakhmut."

Details: Zelenskyy has added that all Ukrainians are proud to have such strong border guards. "Keep the power, justice and fury we have in defending our state," the President stressed.

In the Volyn Oblast Zelenskyy also held a meeting concerning the equipping and protection of the state border, and security situation in the region.

Yurii Pohuliaiko, head of the Volyn Oblast Military Administration, informed the participants of the meeting about a social and economic situation in the region, building fortifications and defence engineering facilities.

During the meeting, reports on the situation in the area of responsibility of the Volyn operative grouping of forces and the readiness of military units to complete tasks were heard. The measures for strengthening the state border in Volyn Oblast were also discussed.

The operational and criminal situation in Volyn Oblast was on the agenda as well.

The participants discussed the work of customs at the international checkpoints in Volyn Oblast, as well as the work of the State Emergency Service of Ukraine in the context of protection of the civilian population of the region.

Background: On 18 April Zelenskyy went on a work trip to Donetsk Oblast and visited frontline positions of the Ukrainian troops in the town of Avdiivka. He also visited Poltava Oblast.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!
The identity of the Russian war criminal that beheaded a Ukrainian prisoner of war has been established, Ukrainian Military Intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, told Radio NV in an April 17 interview.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited frontline positions in Avdiyivka, Donetsk Oblast, the Presidential Office reported on April 18.

China wants to lay its hands on the military technologies that are still left in Russia, former Ukrainian Foreign Minister Pavlo Klimkin said in an interview with Radio NV on April 18.

Russia may intensify missile strikes this autumn, Center for Military and Legal Research head Oleksandr Musienko told Radio NV on April 17.

The European Council has approved the European Commissions proposal to include the agreement on a free mobile roaming zone with Ukraine in the Association Agreement between the EU and Ukraine, the Ministry of Digital Transformation reported on Telegram on April 18.

Russian troops and Wagner mercenaries continue their creeping advance in Bakhmut, where the front line mainly runs along the main railway line, the UK Ministry of Defense reported on Twitter on April 18.

China will foster a mutually beneficial strategic partnership with Russia and continue to work with the international community to find a political solution to the Ukraine crisis, Chinas Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, told Ukrinform on April 18.

Story continues

The Kremlin is claiming that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin recently visited the temporarily occupied Ukrainian territories of Kherson and Luhansk Oblasts to meet his invading armies, the Kremlin reported.

Ukrainian exports fell by 42.8% in January-February 2022, while imports decreased by 17.9% year-over-year (y-o-y), the State Statistics Service reported on Facebook on April 14.

The Western-made 155 mm artillery has been a game changer on the battlefield in Ukraine, Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said in an interview with ICTV on April 18.

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
Volodymyr Zelenskyy

Read also: Zelenskyy visits frontline soldiers in Avdiyivka, Donetsk Oblast

During a working trip to Volyn Oblast, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the border area of the three states: Ukraine, the Republic of Poland, and the Republic of Belarus, the Presidential Office said on Telegram.

Press service of the Office of the President

Press service of the Office of the President

Zelenskyy thanked border guards for keeping the borderland safe.

Press service of the Office of the President

Volyn  Ukraines border with Belarus and Poland, he wrote on Telegram.

It is an honor for me to be here today to thank our border guards for protecting the state border.

He emphasized that Ukrainian border guards were playing a major role in the fighting in Bakhmut, Donetsk Oblast, protecting the countrys eastern borders.

During his trip to Volyn Oblast, Zelenskyy held a meeting to discuss equipping and protecting the state border, as well as the social, economic, and security situation in the region. He also addressed questions related to fortification and defense engineering structures.

Heard reports on the situation in the area of responsibility of the Volyn operational group of troops and military units readiness to perform tasks, as well as on measures to strengthen the state border within Volyn Oblast, the president said.

Read also: Russia prepares provocations on Ukraine-Belarus border, intercept shows

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Read the original article on The New Voice of Ukraine
PANAMA CITY  A 17-year-old Rutherford High School student was arrested Wednesday morning and accused of bringing a firearm on campus.

According to a press release from the Bay County Sheriff's Office, the agency received information on Wednesday that a Rutherford student had posted a picture of a gun on social media with the threat "you don't want to see me if it's true."

"The school principal and the school resource deputy made contact with (the student) this morning," the Wednesday release reads. "(He) stated the post was made in reference to another male student at Rutherford that (the student) believed was speaking to his ex-girlfriend."

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The student then admitted he was the one in the picture holding the gun, and that he brought the weapon with him to the school's campus.

"Deputies located the firearm inside of (the student's) backpack in a friend's vehicle on campus," the release said.

The student was arrested and charged with possession of a weapon on campus. BCDO deputies are investigating how the student obtained the firearm. The release notes additional charges are possible.

"We want parents to know we have a zero tolerance for this crime," Bay County Sheriff Tommy Ford said in the release. "Every potential incident is taken seriously and aggressively investigated."

This article originally appeared on The News Herald: BCSO accuses Rutherford student of bringing firearm to campus
UPDATE (4/20): This story was updated to include comments from the Auckland Zoo.

The updated stories is below.

A man jumped into the rhinoceros enclosure at a zoo in New Zealand, scaring the animals and spending several minutes swimming in the habitats pond, according to several local outlets.

Part of the dangerous incident was captured on video shared Tuesday, April 18.

The man was visiting Auckland Zoo when he decided to jump into the rhino habitat midday, reported Stuff, a local New Zealand news outlet. Witnesses said the man walked toward the hill where the animals were gathered.

The unexpected visitor startled the rhinos and antelope, which moved to the far end of the enclosure, Auckland Zoo told McClatchy News.

People were murmuring thinking that he was a zookeeper until he got in the water and went swimming, one witness told the New Zealand Herald.

The man spent several minutes swimming in the enclosures pond, the Auckland Zoo said. He swam around the pond and splashed water on his head several times, another video shared on an Instagram story by Jemma Louise shows.

Zoo staff kept the rhinos at the back of the enclosure while security removed the man, 1News reported. Police took the man into custody and later released him when no charges were filed.

No people or animals were injured, police told Stuff.

We are all very relieved that there were no injuries to either the animals or people as a result of what happened this morning, Auckland Zoo director Kevin Buley said in the release. We hope that the man involved gets the help and support that he very clearly needs.

The man put himself and the rhinoceroses in considerable danger, zoologist Mark Vette told the New Zealand Herald.

People just dont realize (rhinoceroses are) very fast, theyve got poor vision, theyve got good smell, theyre two-and-a-half tons, theyve got a big point on their head and they can kill you, he said. Its a bit like getting in with a two-and-a-half-ton bus with a big point on its front potentially running at you.

Story continues

Baby bat-eared foxes are born at zoo  and may be the cutest thing you see all week

Sea lions flee in panic after man backflips off pier to harass them, CA video shows

Beloved deer killed by wild bear inside their enclosure at nature park, NC officials say
At recent budget work sessions, the Nelson County Board of Supervisors has decided to add one new part-time and four new full-time department positions to the county budget, and to maintain the countys current public transportation services through Jaunt at a greater cost.

The board wont have to approve a final budget until June and could revisit recent budget decisions, but so far it has increased funding for many departments and agencies.

Supervisors will fund an anticipated 14% increase in the countys share of Health Department costs, bringing the its total contribution to $357,527. County Administrator Candy McGarry said that increase is associated with a new facility lease and salary increases. Supervisors have also agreed to fund the countys local EMS council an additional $45,962, for a total annual contribution of $495,962.

...[T]he thing about EMS is that it is absolutely required for our county that it be top notch said Supervisor Ernie Reed.

Jaunt public transit costs up

Another major agency funding increase is to the regional transportation system Jaunt, which provides public transit services in the county. Jaunt CEO Ted Rieck appeared before supervisors in January to explain the higher ask. Rieck said a reduction in the COVID funds that Jaunt received in previous years, coupled with an increase in the demand for its services and labor shortages have resulted in the higher request.

Jaunt has requested $103,823 in funding from the county for fiscal year 2024  a 55% increase over fiscal year 2023  to maintain its current services in the county. Jaunts public transit system also serves the city of Charlottesville and counties of Albemarle, Buckingham, Fluvanna, Greene and Louisa.

The board agreed to meet that request, but not to expand Jaunt services in the county  the transit system also recommended adding three more days of service to urban Albemarle and Charlottesville, a service line that currently runs Mondays and Fridays.

Reed advocated for maintaining current services and taking a look at expansion in the future, while Supervisor David Parr said he was frustrated by agency funding requests citing COVID funding reductions. Because, he said, ...that money should not have been factored in as recurring money for them. That should have been consumed as a non-recurring budget item and now, because its gone, were expected to make up for it and it shouldnt have been budgeted that way. I dont care what department it is, Jaunt of whoever, thats not how that money should have been allocated.

New positions, greater CSA contribution

Supervisors have agreed to add to the budget a chief deputy registrar position, an evidence technician for the sheriffs department, an administrative assistant to be shared by the Building Inspections and Planning and Zoning offices, a part-time recreation aid for Parks and Recreation, and an animal control shelter manager position  all requests from those departments.

The county will fund an anticipated $365,043 increase in its required Childrens Services Act (CSA) contribution in fiscal year 2024, on top of an anticipated major increase to that cost in fiscal year 2023. County staff budgeted $1.7 million toward CSA for fiscal year 2023, but is predicting it will exceed that and spend $2.5 million in the current fiscal year and $2 million in fiscal year 2024. County Administrator Candy McGarry said the county does receive state money for those expenses  budget paperwork for revenues estimates $1.3 million in fiscal year 2024.

According to Virginia Code, the Childrens Services Act fund supports troubled and at-risk youth and their families.

County Finance Director Linda Staton explained, there are more children being served and more expenses  all the services are more expensive and theyre being in the program for longer terms

Salary increases, tech updates, jail costs up

The cost to hold Nelson inmates at Albemarle-Charlottesville Regional Jail also has gone up. The countys share in ACRJ expenditures is based on the five year average of its percentage share of the overall inmate population, and McGarry said that percentage is expected to increase from 13.0% to 14.7% from fiscal year 2023 to 2024. In addition, Nelson now has a share in preliminary costs for the ACRJ renovation, also based on local inmate percentage. It adds up to a total $1.4 million anticipated contribution to ACRJ in fiscal year 2024, over $1.2 in fiscal year 2023. It constitutes a major four year increase.

I cant help but not that the jail expenditure in 2020 was $739,000 Supervisor Skip Barton said. McGarry said the inmate population has decreased since fiscal year 2018, but the five-year average formula has driven up the cost.

A major capital expenditure will be a radio subscriber upgrade, which Information Systems Director Susan Rorrer estimated will cost $1.4 million. She told supervisors the cost of microchips, among other factors, have driven up the cost.

The draft budget incorporates a 7% salary increase for all county employees, which contributes to a $349,418 increase in the employee salary and benefits adjustments line. Supervisors have decided to fund the 7% before considering the recent feedback from an employee compensation study  which called for an overall 11% payroll increase.
NONFICTION: An impressive collection of stories about books and the places that contain them.

"Stories of Books and Libraries," edited by Jane Holloway; Everyman's Library (496 pages, $22)



Libraries in literature resemble libraries in life: They are places to read, to learn, to find respite and even refuge. However, some writers render them hostile environments: Agatha Christie created a case for Miss Marple by planting a body in a library; Philip Larkin turned a provincial library into a dreary, chilly hell for the heroine of "A Girl in Winter." Other writers transform libraries into fantastical realms: Jorge Luis Borges' "The Library of Babel" describes an "infinite" universe containing copies of every book that has been written and will be written.

Borges' famous tale is included in an excellent new collection, "Stories of Books and Libraries." Editor Jane Holloway has gathered together a rich assortment of writing  not just stories  from a wide selection of writers. All of the pieces revolve around book-related themes, many are set in book-lined worlds and most feature book-loving people. It's a bibliophile's delight.

In their essays, Mary Arnold showcases the treasures in Oxford's Bodleian Library, and Montaigne proclaims that books constitute "the best provision I have found for this human journey." In a letter, English aristocrat and writer Lady Mary Wortley Montagu reveals the salutary effects of reading: "I calm my cares by oblivion." In an extract from his great diary, Samuel Pepys recounts the pleasure of climbing into bed after a hard day and losing himself in "the best writ tale that ever I read in my life."

Two female writers, one Russian, one French, provide sharp recollections of childhood reading. Teffi looks back on her precocious 13-year-old self, consumed by "War and Peace" and in love with Prince Andrei. Colette's fictional incarnation learns a lot from books, not least that "love is complicated, tyrannical and even burdensome."

There are extracts from longer works such as Azar Nafisi's bestselling memoir "Reading Lolita in Tehran" and Umberto Eco's medieval murder mystery "The Name of the Rose"  the latter with a labyrinthine library central to the crime.

More satisfying, though, is the array of standalone stories. Helen Oyeyemi presents a secret library. Lorrie Moore tells of a librarian who falls apart: "She had lost her place, as in a book." One of the best tales is "Girl Reading" by the woman who will probably always be known as "the other Elizabeth Taylor." Etta leaves her widowed mother and her dark, drab home to spend a week of her summer vacation at her school friend Sarah's house in the country. The girls enjoy lazy days by the river, but while Etta is reading and making "a study of people in love," she is unaware that Sarah's brother is admiring her from afar.

Two sobering stories  one from Italo Calvino about a military raid on a library, another from Ray Bradbury about a government decree to burn books  serve as fitting reminders to cherish the printed word and, in the words of Isaac Babel here, the "kingdom of books."



Malcolm Forbes has written for the Times Literary Supplement, the Economist and the Wall Street Journal. He lives in Edinburgh, Scotland.
Gail Kenkel, retired teacher for Council Bluffs Schools, has been volunteering at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs for three years.

She belongs to Love on a Leash pet therapy group. Gail and her adorable dog, Ozzie Smith, volunteer weekly in the adolescent and adult behavioral health department. Gail loves watching the patients interact with the therapy dogs.

She finds great satisfaction in watching Ozzie put a smile on the face of a patient and bring them comfort and affection while they heal. In addition, several times a year, Gail and Ozzie, along with a few other furry friends, visit with the staff at Mercy and they have enthusiastically greeted them.

Mercy currently has six therapy dogs who visit patients with the main goal of reducing stress and anxiety and bringing comfort to those in need.

Outside of volunteering, Gail enjoys spending time with her grandkids. She has one family in Pennsylvania and one in Japan. She has thoroughly enjoyed her visits to Japan and loves it there.

In addition, Gail finds time for reading, playing bridge and goes on walks with Ozzie. One of her bucket list things to do is visit all of the Presidential libraries and national parks.

National Volunteer Appreciation Week is April 16-22, 2023. Mercy Hospital wants to celebrate and thank our volunteers for their commitment and dedication. To learn more about volunteer opportunities at CHI Health Mercy Council Bluffs, call Volunteer Services at 712-328-5394.
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TOKYO, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The estimated number of foreign visitors to Japan in March went up by 27.5 percent year on year to total 1,817,500, government data showed Wednesday.

This marked the highest since the country lifted its pandemic-prompted ban on individual and non-prearranged trips last October, the Japan National Tourism Organization said.

Despite signs of recovery, the monthly figure was still 34.2 percent lower than the level seen in March 2019 before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the organization.

It said arrivals from South Korea comprised the largest number of visitors totaling 568,600 in March, while the number of U.S. visitors stood at 203,000.

Visitors from the Chinese mainland doubled from the February figure to reach 75,700 last month, thanks to a growing number of direct flights between the two countries, the data showed.

Meanwhile, 694,300 Japanese people traveled abroad, marking an increase year on year but still 64 percent lower than the figure in the same period in 2019. 
Switzerlands attorney general has filed an indictment against a former interior minister of Gambia for crimes against humanity committed under ex-strongman leader Yahya Jammeh between 2000 and 2016, specifically for his alleged role in years of repression by the West African countrys security forces against opponents of the long-time dictator.

Ousman Sonko, who was Gambias interior minister from 2006 to 2016, is accused of having supported, participated in, and failed to prevent systematic and generalized attacks as part of a repressive campaign by security forces against Jammehs opponents, the Office of the Attorney General said on Tuesday April 18.

Sonko was removed from his government position in September 2016, left Gambia for Europe where he applied for asylum in Switzerland in November 2016 and was arrested two months later. The case, which has been under investigation for more than six years, is set to be heard by Switzerlands Federal Criminal Court at an unspecified date.

Jammeh, who seized control in a 1994 coup, lost the Gambias 2016 presidential election but refused to concede defeat to Adama Barrow. The ex-strongman eventually fled to Equatorial Guinea amid threats of a regional military intervention to force him from power. Barrows government in 2022 announced that it was setting up a special prosecutors office to investigate severe human rights violations and potentially charge Jammeh. The investigation came in response to a complaint from the Geneva-based NGO TRIAL International, initially for torture, which was then requalified as crimes against humanity.

TRIAL International is an NGO fighting impunity for international crimes, supporting victims in their quest for justice, including by providing legal assistance to victims, litigating cases, developing local capacity, and pushing the human rights agenda forward.

We are very satisfied that this is going ahead, said Philip Grant, TRIALs executive director. We hope this will generate momentum and that the trial will put pressure on Equatorial Guinea to eventually extradite Jammeh, Grant added. He also noted that Sonko would be the highest political figure ever to be brought to trial in Europe under the principle of universal jurisdiction that can be invoked, drawing on the Geneva Conventions, whenever serious war crimes are committed.
Tanzania has inked deals worth $667 million with three Australian companies to mine rare earth minerals and graphite, part of President Samia Suluhu Hassans drive to fast-track negotiations on long-pending mining and energy projects.

Tanzanias president has witnessed the signing of the deals at a function held at Chamwino State House in Dodoma. Under the terms of the deals with Evolution Energy Minerals Ltd, EcoGraf Ltd, and Peak Rare Earths Ltd, Tanzania will have a 16% stake in each of the jointly established companies to operate the projects, the chairman of the governments negotiating team, Palamagamba Kabudi, said. The three types of contracts entered between the East African state and the three companies, all from Perth in Western Australia, are framework agreement, shareholding agreements and memorandum and articles of association agreements.

The rare earth minerals will be mined in the southwest of the country in Ngualla, while graphite will be mined in southern, eastern, and northern Tanzania.

Apart from the 16% non-diluted free carried interest shareholding for Tanzanias government, the contract also stipulates that it will get more shares when there is a discovery of other minerals in the areas of projects or the government investment in the construction of infrastructures in the areas. Rare earths are a group of 17 minerals used in consumer electronics, electric vehicles, smart phones, renewable energy, and military equipment. Graphite, 70% of which comes from China, is a mineral used for the negative end of a lithium-ion battery, known as the anode. The United States, the European Union and their allies, including Australia, which has some of the worlds largest rare earths producers outside of China, are scrambling to reduce their reliance on China.
African air travel has made a robust recovery, with the traffic in March having reached 94.8% of pre-pandemic levels of 2019, as more international routes and tourism reopened, the African Airlines Association (AFRAA) has said in a new report.

Africas airlines have almost returned to pre-pandemic traffic levels, according to the report, noting that domestic flights accounted for 37% of the March traffic, with intra-Africa flights at 31% and intercontinental travel at 32%. Data also shows that the total number of intercontinental routes operated by African airlines have exceeded pre-Covid levels since October 2022. Eight key airports, including Cairo, Johannesburg, and Nairobi, have achieved or exceeded pre-pandemic levels for intra-Africa travel. After losing $3.5 billion in revenue in 2022 and $8.6 billion in 2021, African airlines are now on course to narrow their revenue gap in 2023, the AFRAA said.

The Covid-19 pandemic hit African airlines hard as travel restrictions led to the grounding of aircraft. Some airlines, such as Air Namibia and Air Mauritius completely folded while others such as South African Airways and Kenya Airways needed big bailout funding from the state to keep flying. Others, like Ethiopian airlines converted their passenger jets into freighters to compensate for reduced passenger traffic.

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has said it expects the rest of 2023 will bring good tidings for Africas aviation industry, albeit low profit margins. Carriers in Africa are expected to narrow losses to $213 million this year, from a projected loss of $638 million in 2022. But Africa is particularly exposed to macro-economic headwinds which have increased the vulnerability of several economies and rendered connectivity more complex, IATA says.
Morocco and Zambia are looking into ways of strengthening political dialogue, consultations, and cooperation ties in various sectors of common interests.

First Deputy Speaker of Zambias National Assembly Mrs. Malungo Chisangano, who is visiting Morocco from 15 to 22 April, conferred with Foreign minister Nasser Bourita. Talks focused on bilateral relations, the exchange of experiences and latest developments on the African and international scenes.

Mrs. Malungo, who is accompanied by a group of lawmakers, held separate meetings with Speakers of the House of Representatives and of the House of Councillors.

Talks covered ways of fostering coordination and consultation between the two countries legislative institutions and provided opportunity to exchange views on Moroccan and Zambian electoral systems, parliamentary regulations and experiences as well as the governments accountability to the Parliament.
Moroccan rights watchdog has slammed the interference of Amnesty International with ongoing judiciary proceedings to influence a court case of man who died while he was in police custody in Benguerir on October 2022.

The Inter-Ministerial Delegation for Human Rights (DIDH) has rebuked, in a statement, AI for drawing hasty conclusions in a case still in trial in court and for failing to abide by the impartiality rules observed by international human rights organizations.

Amnesty International continues to cast doubt over the transparency of the investigation carried out within the framework of judicial proceedings, said the statement, affirming that judicial police, under the supervision of the prosecutors office, have conducted an independent, meticulous, and extensive investigation.

The Inter-ministerial Delegation for Human Rights said the measures taken by the competent authorities respected the law and regulations governing such cases. The investigators interviewed all involved parties, collected scientific evidence, conducted forensic examination and necessary inquiries to establish the truth and define responsibilities.

The authorities have also taken action against the defendants by taking to court four law enforcement officers suspected of having committed reprehensible acts, said the Inter-ministerial Delegation for Human Rights.
Morocco has renewed its constant and clear stance on the Libyan conflict, and its commitment to continue to help Libyan factions reach a consensus-based, politically negotiated solution to end the internal crisis prevailing in the oil-rich country.

The commitment was renewed by Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in an address read on his behalf on Tuesday during the ministerial meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council on national reconciliation in Libya.

In his address, Bourita reiterated Moroccos constant and clear stance on the Libyan conflict, and its readiness to support mediation efforts aiming to make Libya a strong and democratic country capable of contributing to the advancement of the Maghreb integration.

He insisted that the Kingdom considers Libya as a key partner in the construction of the Maghreb space and the achievement of the aspirations of the peoples of the Maghreb to integration and development.

Morocco also renewed its support to the efforts made by the Libyan Presidential Council and by Denis Sassou-Nguesso, President of Congo and Chairman of the African Union High Level Committee on Libya, in order to hold a comprehensive conference for national reconciliation in Libya.

Morocco, in accordance with the directives of King Mohammed VI, has been one of the first to accompany the efforts made by the Libyan parties to overcome the delicate transition phase that Libya is going through, with the aim of achieving its aspirations to build a democratic state, united and unified in its sovereignty, territory and national cohesion, he added.

He also recalled Moroccos efforts to help rival Libyan factions find a common ground and put an end to the decade-long plight of Libyan citizens, since their country descended into a spiral of political unrest and violence.

Since the beginning of the crisis, Morocco has been committed with determination and dynamism in international and regional efforts to reconcile the Libyan parties and facilitate their efforts to find a consensual solution, and has always called for the adoption of a comprehensive approach, based on dialogue and consensus, to build a State of institutions, Bourita said.

The Kingdom of Morocco  King, government, and people  stands by the brotherly Libyan people, stresses at every opportunity the need to preserve the national unity and territorial integrity of the Libyan state and considers the adoption of a national dialogue, with the participation of all components of the Libyan people as the only way to reach this stage, underlined Bourita, recalling that Morocco has worked, in this regard, as part of its ongoing efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis, to bring closer the views of the various Libyan parties, opening dialogue between them and creating a conducive atmosphere, betting that the solution can only be Libyan and political and that the difficulties will be overcome through a calm dialogue and promoting the primacy of Libyan interests.

A genuine solution to the Libyan crisis will only be achieved through a consensual and comprehensive legislative framework for elections, Bourita argued, stressing Moroccos commitment to the UN-led political process seeking to facilitate the path toward presidential and parliamentary elections as reaffirmed to Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, during his visit to Rabat.

He recalled in this connection that Morocco has hosted several dialogue meetings between rival Libyan factions, bringing together officials from the Eastern Libya-based parliament and the Tripoli-based High State Council to discuss a possible consensus on how to best end the Libyan crisis.

Also, Morocco has always placed the Libyan issue at the center of its political consultations in the context of bilateral, regional, and international meetings, during which it sought to press for a political solution to the issue and to avert the specter of military intervention or civil war, he recalled.

The Kingdom of Morocco believes that reaching a consensual and comprehensive legislative framework for elections in Libya, under the aegis of the United Nations, is the only way to achieve lasting peace, and the holding of elections as soon as possible is the guarantee for the formation of a legitimate and elected government. In this regard, we hope that the National Reconciliation Conference, which the African Union and the Libyan Presidential Council intend to organize in Tripoli, will be an opportunity to strengthen the consensus between the Libyan parties, Bourita said, renewing Moroccos permanent determination and readiness to accompany the national reconciliation in Libya, in the same spirit and with the same approach which draws its credibility from the Kingdoms firm adherence to the respect of the Libyans will without any other agenda, and rejecting any foreign interference aiming at imposing a guardianship and dictating solutions.

While Morocco affirms that overcoming the crisis requires a comprehensive reconciliation based on the principles of transitional justice, it welcomes the efforts of the Presidential Council to launch the process of national reconciliation and make the process of consensus among Libyans a success in order to establish state institutions and strengthen their capacity.

In this regard, Morocco offers its expertise to our Libyan brothers in transitional justice, including the eminent experience of the Equity and Reconciliation Commission, he stressed.

From this point of view, Morocco considers that separating the issue of national reconciliation from the political split and the struggle for influence and interests in Libya, without neglecting the role of the political settlement and the resolution of the legitimacy dilemma through legislative and presidential elections, as well as the unification of the military and security institutions are among the first steps to move this issue forward, in addition to continuing to renounce the hate speech that only exacerbates the current situation.
An Egyptian court in the city of Alexandria Tuesday sentenced famous model and blogger, Salma Elshimy to two years in prison over filming and broadcasting inappropriate videos via the Internet in exchange for sums of money obtained through increased views, Egypt Independent reports citing police.

Salma Elshimys accounts on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube circulated video clips that offend public morality and modesty per police reports. Police also claim the clips are shared to everyone without discrimination. She was arrested on April 03 at Cairo International airport on her way back from UAE.

She was subsequently taken to the Police Station in Dekheila, Alexandria, her place of residence, where investigations with her were completed by the Financial and Commercial Affairs Prosecution, the media notes.

Salmas arrest follows that of another influencer Mohamed Abdel Hamid, known as Loosha in Giza Governorate, in February. Loosha, before his arrest, was sentenced to ten years in prison in absentia in connection to a kidnapping case in which he was previously accused.

Loosha is also accused of presenting content that some have described as incitement to violence and crime through video clips on his Tik Tok account.
HANOI, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam has more than 7 million people with disabilities, accounting for about 7 percent of its population and most of them are of working age and poor, local media reported on Wednesday.

Among them, 28.9 percent suffer from severe disabilities with 342,329 families and individuals currently in care and receiving social welfare, local newspaper Vietnam News reported.

Statistics show that most disabled people are employed within their own families in farming, forestry and fishing sectors, the newspaper said.

More than 1.1 million disabled people have received monthly social allowances and free health insurance cards, the newspaper reported.

Over 28.73 trillion Vietnamese dong (1.22 billion U.S. dollars) was earmarked from the state budget last year on support to social allowance beneficiaries, and another 480 billion dong for the roll-out of support policies towards disabled people in terms of education, according to Pham Thi Hai Ha, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs' Department of Social Protection.

Apart from the state budget, many organizations and associations have mobilized resources from different economic sectors in order to improve living standards for disabled people, the newspaper said. 
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has once again dissipated the fog that some extreme-left and anti-Moroccan circles wish to create, reiterating Moroccos standing as a friend and key ally for Spain.

Morocco is a friend and a key ally for Spains economic development and our gateway to Africa. It is also an ally in security and the management of migration towards our country and Europe, Sanchez told members of the Spanish Parliament.

The roadmap signed between the two countries in April 2022 put bilateral ties on strong foundations and ushered a closer cooperation, he said.

Since April, air and sea routes have been reopened between the two countries with the return of Marhaba operation marking the crossing of millions of Moroccans in Europe to their homeland via Spain.

Results in migration management are stark, he said, noting that arrivals through the Atlantic route dropped 63% in the first quarter this year, while Greece and Italy for example saw arrivals jump 95% and 300%.

At the economic level, Sanchez recalled that Spanish exports to Morocco hit 12 billion euros last year, making Spain Moroccos largest trading partner ahead of France.
The Arab Maghreb Union AMU issued on April 18 a detailed statement asking Algeria to pay its duties, while debunking the false arguments underlying Algerias hysterical reaction to the appointment of a Moroccan citizen as permanent representative of AMU to the African Union.

The statement was issued five days after Algerias blunt statement in which it showed a lack of respect to both Secretary General of AMU Taieb Baccouche and African Union commission head Moussa Faki Mahamat.

AMU defended the appointment of Moroccos Amina Salman as a permanent representative to the continent organization, adding that the decision was taken and has been known since 2018 with no objection.

The appointment was however delayed to 2023 due to the complications of the coronavirus, AMU said in a statement, noting that Salman represents AMU within the African Union and not Morocco.

AMU also reminded Algeria that Baccouche is still in charge of the General Secretariat of AMU after his mandate was renewed in line with AMU status.

Baccouche has received official letters from the Algerian government recognizing him as such, the most recent was in the new year and the Arab League Secretariat invited him to attend Algiers summit, but the host country failed to follow suit.

Afterwards, AMU highlighted the mismatch between words and actions. While Algiers claims to be attached to the Union, it was the only country that failed to pay its state contributions although its diplomats continue to receive their salaries.

We hope that the attachment expressed by Algeria will be materialized by the payment of the remaining due amount and the return of the withdrawn diplomats, said Baccouche in an AMU statement.
Heavy rains destroyed 700,000ha of farmland in northern Nigeria, wiping out the main source of income for thousands of households and worsening the food security crisis.

The Director-General of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA), Mustapha Ahmed, last month issued a warning of upcoming severe flooding this year as indicated by predictions from relevant agencies. Now nearly 700,000ha of farmland in northern Nigeria has been damaged, at least 600 people killed and millions forced to flee their homes. The floods came just as farmers prepared for the harvest, prompting fears for food security. In January, UNICEF estimated 19-million Nigerians were in desperate need of food, and said that come June the number would increase to 25-million. Nigeria has now said it would spend $2 million to repair flood damage and donor agencies have pledged to support farmers in nine of Nigerias 36 states with seedlings and fertilizers.

The flood disaster in 2022 was an eye-opener, Ahmed said and advised that those living around water channels and floodplains should take precautions. We have started early this year, as we are ready for early warning and early action. We will bombard every citizen, state and local government with this information as we want them to know that it is serious and we will not keep quiet, because we want them to know that there will be flood this year.

Nigeria was still emerging from coronavirus lockdowns that disrupted the planting cycle when Russias invasion of Ukraine last year dealt a major blow to the fertilizer and grain supply chain across Africa, said Ayokunle Afolabi-Toye from University of Ilorin (Unilorin) in Western Nigeria. Farmers were trying to find their feet when the floods destroyed crops in Nigerias food-producing states, he said. Now the floods have receded, many thousands of hectares remain uncultivated as weary and debt-ridden farmers say they cannot afford all the seed they need to replant their fields.
Angola recovered six billion dollars and seized another 21,000 as part of the confiscation of assets, half of which were abroad, the deputy attorney general said on Tuesday, suggesting the creation of an autonomous structure for asset management.

Inocencia Pintos pointed out that the Angolan state has created a set of measures to combat organized crime and economic and financial transnational focusing on collection of evidence, breach of professional secrecy and forfeiture of assets in favor of the state that led to this result.

The Deputy Attorney General was speaking on Tuesday at the opening of a workshop on asset forfeiture and asset management organized by the Office of the Attorney General and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The results achieved can be considered positive and are a lever for the continuity of actions aimed at preventing and repressing bad practices in the management of public funds, he said, adding that the process of asset recovery poses challenges and opportunities.

He considered that it is necessary to discuss if the model adopted by Angola, with primacy for the bona-fide depositary, is the best in face of reality, emphasizing that it is necessary to ensure that the assets do not deteriorate while awaiting judicial decisions.

The National Service for Assets Recovery (Senra) has counted on the collaboration of several institutions, such as the General Treasury of Justice and the Institute for Management of State Assets and Participations (IGAPE), but until now there is no entity with exclusive competence for assets management.

Inocencia Pinto pointed out the challenge of finding good practices in the administration of confiscated assets under penalty of degradation, suggesting the creation of a task force or a specific management structure dedicated to the valuation of assets, accompanied by an audit commission and members of civil society to ensure the common interest.

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The UN Security Council members hold this Wednesday a closed-doors meeting to discuss the situation in the Sahara. They are expected to be briefed by UN Envoy for the Sahara Staffan de Mistura and Minurso Chief Alexander Ivanko.

Prior to these consultations, the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Sahara met separately in New York with the representatives of Morocco, Algeria, Polisario and Mauritania as well as with the representatives of France, Spain, Russia, UK and the United States, the penholder on the Sahara.

Todays meeting of the Security Council comes amid a growing international support to the autonomy plan offered by Morocco under its sovereignty.

In December 2020, the United States recognized Moroccos sovereignty over its entire Saharan territory. Spain, Germany and many other European, African and Arab countries all support Moroccos territorial integrity and autonomy plan described as the most serious, realistic and credible solution to the Sahara regional dispute.

According to UN, De Mistura remains hopeful that a just, lasting and political solution to the Sahara issue in accordance with relevant Security Council resolutions is achievable.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman has called lately on Algeria which arms, funds and shelters the Polisario separatist group to foster stability in the region and support the efforts of UN Sahara envoy to advance an enduring political solution to the Sahara conflict.
The Cooksley Complex fires in Custer and Blaine Counties that began last Thursday burned approximately 40,000 acres of Sandhills grassland. That is a more precise estimate than earlier reported, and is based on drone surveillance deployed by Nebraska State Patrol.

The revised figure was reported by Mark Rempe, Custer County Emergency Management director on Tuesday.

He said two homes were lost in the fires but there were no reports of injuries or fatalities. Livestock fatalities have not been reported, and there is no available estimate of the amount of hay that was lost.

Rempe issued a statement that read, The (initial) fire started on the railroad right of way approximately six miles north of Anselmo.

It was reported at 3:04 p.m. on Thursday.

Due to the winds the fire moved extremely fast over very rough terrain making it difficult to fight, the statement said. A storm system moved across Custer County and Blaine County near dark and caused multiple lightning fires of which two in Custer County and one in Blaine County became large fires. These fires overloaded local fire resources, which were spread out over a large geographical area. A large number of fire departments from across the state responded to assist, with the fires.

Fire crews ran shifts through Sunday evening ... performing mop up operations and watching for flare ups, at which time the Anselmo Fire Department continued to monitor the situation.

The complexity of the situation has been very trying for people involved, Rempe said.
A new documentary on the proposed Perkins County Canal and the South Platte Compact was released on Tuesday outlining issues surrounding the unfinished 1894 project.

Titled Water War: The Perkins County Canal Project, the documentary spans a half hour of footage covering interviews from prominent figures with an interest both for or against reviving the canal.

The documentary was produced by a team of students at North Platte High School with the aid and direction of teacher Philep Willey.

The film took six months to put together.

As part of the South Platte Compact, signed by both states and ratified by Congress in 1923, Colorado agreed to allow 120 cubic feet per second of water to pass into Nebraska during irrigation season, and 500 cfs during the non-irrigation season.

If the Perkins County Canal is successfully constructed, Colorado would be obligated to honor that water amount, Nebraska officials have said.

The students sat down and talked with now Sen. Pete Ricketts who had a hand in pushing legislation for the canal a year prior as governor.

The students also talked to Kent Miller, general manager of the Twin Platte Natural Resources District. A third prominent speaker involved was Jay Goddard, a Colorado land owner whos property would be bisected if the canal were built.

In the film, Goddard said he wants to see Nebraska get the water it needs as a Nebraska native, but he thinks the way the compact is written is not real friendly to the landowner.

Theres no verbiage about how its going to chop our land up and stuff, Goddard says. So I have a pasture for example that cuts it right in half, so how are my cattle going to get from water to where they need to be?

Are we going to have land bridges? What kind of access am I going to have?  Im going to have area that might have 20 acres that it cuts into. How am I going to get cattle onto that side or is that just dead land now and useless to me?

The students also tried to contact Colorado Gov. Jared Polis, but did not receive a response.

The film was produced throughout the school year through Willeys filmmaking class. Not only did they work on other projects for the class, but they also worked on Water War in their spare time.

Every student had their own unique role. Some did the interviewing, while others handled the more technical side of things like shooting video.

Producing is, kind of a lot of people dont know exactly what it means, Grady Sexson said. My job was to carry out everyone elses ideas and I was kind of like the person that would keep everyone in check. It was a great learning experience and I had a blast working with my peers.

I was there from beginning to end, said Director/Lead Editor Logan Streeter. Watching everyone in the class grow was really cool. I think it really got me ready for whats next in college.

Streeter also said they had to leave a lot of good footage on the cutting room floor, not only because of the time constraint but also the changing desired story structure.

There was a talk about every clip it was really hard to pick and choose but we tried to pick out what we thought was the best, he said.

At one point they had to start the editing process over, Willey said.

I think we went through three different storylines, said Sexson.We wanted to include Nebraskas point of view and Colorados point of view so we didnt want to make it too biased, but we live in Nebraska so we kind of know what our side is.

The film will be sent to the University of Nebraska Extension and the team hopes there may be a private showing with current Gov. Jim Pillen, Sexson said. They are even submitting it to the Wayne State College Wildcat Spirit Short Film Festival.

Logan said theyre going to the film festival on Tuesday, where they will get the chance to earn scholarships and get a lot more eyes on what our video production team can do.

The film is live now and can be seen at youtube.com/watch?v=SIx8fqiMfcA.
A listening session last Wednesday connected University of Nebraska-Lincoln administrators with local people to share thoughts and visions for the future of Nebraska, the community, and the states agriculture industry.

Weve already begun taking action, said Mike Boehm, NU vice president for agriculture and Harlan vice chancellor for the Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources.

The discussion at the UNL West Central Research, Extension and Education Center in North Platte was part of a statewide tour. Boehm was accompanied by Jessie Brophy, UNL director of external engagement and state relations.

Theres a commitment on our part to listen to the people that we serve, said Boehm, noting the roles of the university in teaching, outreach and engagement. As a result of the listening sessions, In each area we have action items on how we can be more relevant in peoples lives, he said.

Kelly Bruns, director of WCREEC, made a similar commitment.

The severe winter conditions combined with the continued drought that is affecting the region is posing many challenges to producers and the agricultural sector, he said. We value the support of the community and our stakeholders in the region and welcome their input as we work collaboratively to develop our research and extension programs to address their needs.

The session in North Platte connected Boehm and Brophy with North Platte High School Principal Cory Spotanski, and Larry Gossen, dean of Nebraska College of Technical Agriculture, who works closely with WCREEC. Boehm said he hopes to develop partnerships with Mid-Plains Community College as well.

Bruns said university outreach faculty are working to connect extension programs to support FFA programs at local high schools, such as in enhancing crop and irrigation curricula. They are also developing educational programs to address other regional workforce needs.

Participants in the meeting said they would like to see more partnerships between private businesses and educational institutions, similar to NCTAs partnership with Reinke irrigation company.

Enrollment is always a concern, Gossen said, and looking for ways to increase enrollment in our Irrigation Technology program is always on our radar.

Boehm said he would also like to see a better connection between IANR and the USDAs Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service.

That was prompted by angst expressed at the North Platte listening session about opportunities lost  some cattle producers recently missed out on federal disaster relief funds because they were unaware of them. That is only one example of how the organizations can triangulate our efforts in ways that are more impactful, Boehm said.

Climate change was brought up, along with public concern about the role of livestock in releasing methane into the atmosphere.

The beef industry should do a better job communicating to the public, said Bree DeNaeyer, a rancher at Seneca. That includes identifying the scale of the problem, which she said some media inflate, and telling what is being done to address related concerns.

Building on the listening sessions, Boehm and Brophy have arranged to visit the DeNaeyers Flying D Ranch soon. This will be an opportunity to see how Extension offerings help them be more successful, and ways to be even more helpful to producers throughout the state. Outreach like this helps IANR analyze how we spend our resources and energy, Boehm said.
DeSantis gets an honorary degree from Liberty University. But did he learn anything from his underwhelming speech there? Photo: Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

A few days before the 2022 midterms, when Florida governor Ron DeSantis was cruising toward an easy reelection victory, his campaign released a truly remarkable ad loosely based on God Made a Farmer, a tribute to farmers once delivered by legendary 20th-century commentator Paul Harvey.

If you can hold your nose and ignore the smell of brimstone emanating from this blasphemous assertion that God cares deeply about which politician governs Florida, the ad is pretty cleverly aimed at conservative Evangelicals accustomed to thinking of Donald Trump as a divinely appointed defender of the godly. When DeSantis bullies LGBTQ kids and public-school teachers and DEI consultants and woke corporations, hes actually protecting you, conservative Christians. It sure looked like a pitch Team DeSantis was refining for a 2024 presidential contest against Trump and Christian right warhorses like Mike Pence and Tim Scott.

An over-the-top God sent me appeal to conservative Christians looked particularly well-timed after the midterms when Trump tried to deflect blame for the GOPs underwhelming national results by pointing a finger at the anti-abortion movement for the extremist positions it was imposing on Republican candidates. It created a clear opening for DeSantis to suggest that Trump was no longer a reliable instrument for the Cause and needed to be replaced by a younger, more vigorous champion designated by the Almighty to save the babies from God-defying feminists.

In recent weeks, DeSantis has had at least three opportunities to make a powerful case to conservative Evangelicals: a draconian new anti-abortion bill the Republican supermajority in the Florida legislature was sending his way; a speaking gig at the West Point of Evangelical higher education, Liberty University; and a trip to Israel, where many Evangelicals believe God (with a little help from the United States) is preparing the End of the World. As it happened, the first two opportunities coincided perfectly: He signed the six-week abortion ban late on the evening of April 13 and then flew off to Lynchburg to speak to a huge crowd of students the very next morning. Surely DeSantis was planning to crow about all the babies he saved and proclaim his personal faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, right?

Not so much.

The house was rocking at Liberty U. after a couple of praise songs and a hymn. Jonathan Falwell gave DeSantis a strong intro. Then when RDS started speaking, all the energy went out of the room. https://t.co/ZJbLv2zp9I  Ed Kilgore (@ed_kilgore) April 14, 2023

DeSantis did not say a word about the abortion law he had just signed hours earlier (though Falwell did mention it). He did not say a word about Jesus or his personal faith (which appears to be Catholic). Yes, he avoided the kind of clumsy shout-outs to Christianity for which Trump is famous (it was at Liberty in 2016, after all, that he tried to cite Two Corinthians), but thats because he didnt even try. DeSantis instead offered a version of his stock speech about Florida becoming a beacon of light for those wanting low taxes, access to as many guns as they wanted, and freedom. It was like coming to a tent revival and instead of an inspiring sermon hearing a Rotary Club speech. The president of Libertys College Republicans Club suggested to the New York Times that it was all a bit underwhelming:

Jesse Hughes, a junior at Liberty, had been hoping to hear Mr. DeSantis offer a more intimate account of how his faith influenced his approach to governing and helped him navigate challenges like his wifes cancer diagnosis. Instead, he said he mostly heard material he recognized from Mr. DeSantiss other speeches. 

Mr. Hughes read Mr. DeSantiss recent memoir, The Courage to Be Free, but said he found little to help him understand the governors personal spiritual life. There are references to his faith, but he doesnt go into much detail on anything, he said.

In the days since that lost opportunity, DeSantis has been presented with a lot of evidence that his six-week abortion ban is going to be a problem for him in the 2024 presidential race and the GOP if it nominates him. This functionally total abortion ban is not at all popular in his own state: A May 2022 poll by Florida Atlantic University found support for legal abortion in all or most cases at 67 percent, and support for making all abortions illegal at 12 percent (the law has a limited exception for rape-incest victims, but they bear the burden of proving they meet it). And DeSantis may have to defend the law against a 2024 ballot initiative to overturn it. One major donor has already publicly said he was withdrawing support for DeSantiss presidential campaign out of concern over this law and similar gestures of cultural extremism.

So far it seems DeSantis is going to count on word of mouth among anti-abortion activists to get credit for Floridas law without talking about it himself. That gutless approach doesnt square very well with the Gods fighter image he was projecting last November. Im beginning to wonder about the quality of the advice hes getting on outreach to conservative Christians: He recently created an avoidable conflict with Floridas own Latino Evangelicals with a heavy-handed anti-immigration proposal that could interfere with church work among the undocumented. If he fumbles the chance to directly pander to Evangelicals during his upcoming trip to Israel, DeSantis is going to be compared unfavorably to Trump, who thrilled apocalypse fans with his decision as president to move the U.S. embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

Sure, DeSantis can still beat Donald Trump among conservative Evangelicals and Republicans in general with a strong electability pitch and the sense that he is the wave of the MAGA future. But soon enough he will be rubbing shoulders with the very powerful Christian right activists of Iowa, who want an upfront and personal view of candidates praying over their food at potlucks and Pizza Ranches. Maybe Ron DeSantis just cannot authentically tell these people he is one of them. But if thats the case, he needs to step up his efforts to convince them hes indispensable to their own fight to remake America in their image, pregnancy by pregnancy.
Senator Lindsey Graham and Governor Henry McMaster endorse Trumps 2024 candidacy in January of this year. Photo: Sam Wolfe/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The early narrative of the 2024 Republican presidential-nomination contest was that GOP elites from a broad range of ideological viewpoints were determined to rid their party of Donald Trump and were beginning to consolidate support behind Ron DeSantis. The Florida governor was benefiting from a boffo 2022 reelection campaign that boosted Republican morale after meh results nationally; sycophantic coverage from conservative media; a comprehensive series of high-profile lib-owning initiatives that thrilled MAGA types; and a longer-term record that made the stolid DeSantis reassuring to more conventional conservatives. My colleague Jonathan Chait argued last November that you had to go back to George W. Bush in the 2000 election cycle to find a presidential candidate with more widespread conservative movement and party-Establishment backing. DeSantis has put together Bush-like support from every corner of the movement: its donors, its activists, its media personalities, he wrote.

But while an infrastructure of movers and shakers in the background is an indispensable sign of elite support, eventually that support has to be manifested publicly with endorsements from elected officials and party leaders. And by that metric, Trump is roaring out to a big lead over the alleged darling of Republican elites.

FiveThirtyEight has a rating system for presidential-candidate endorsements that awards eight points for governors, six points for senators, three points for U.S. House members and big-city mayors, two points for statewide elected officials and state legislative leaders, and so on and so forth. Right now, the site shows Trump with 221 points and DeSantis with 11, followed by Nikki Haley and Mike Pence with three points. And the former president is really building some recent momentum: He has 27 point-earning endorsements in March and April  including four U.S. senators, a governor, and 19 U.S. House members  compared to three for RDS.

Theres also growing evidence that Trumps endorsement-gathering campaign is striking at the heart of DeSantiss base of support in his home state. Just this week, a planned DeSantis event for Republican House members in Washington turned into an embarrassing display of Team Trumps superior organization and its candidates charisma, as CNN reported:

While Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis held a meet-and-greet on Capitol Hill Tuesday evening, former President Donald Trump and his team aimed to be one step ahead  planning a dinner at his Mar-a-Lago resort with members of the Florida congressional delegation just two days after the DeSantis reception 

[I]n the 24 hours ahead of DeSantiss visit to Washington, three Florida Republicans  Reps. Greg Steube, John Rutherford and Brian Mast  officially announced their support for Trump, while DeSantis locked down his first Florida endorsement, his third overall, from Rep. Laurel Lee 

Trumps team is keeping close tabs on who is  and isnt  endorsing him, and is expected to roll out more endorsements from the Florida delegation this week.

And as Politico Playbook reports, Trump isnt even having to fight that hard for endorsements from DeSantiss own congressional delegation:

The amazing part of it is how easy it was, one person close to Trump said, noting his team was shocked, for example, that Florida Rep. Byron Donalds  who had introduced DeSantis and his family at the governors Election Night victory party  was all-in when they called him up recently 

[T]he snub from GOP lawmakers in his home state is particularly striking, and its playing into the narrative that DeSantis is too aloof and inattentive to the interpersonal niceties of big-league politics.

Yes, its early in the race; some potential DeSantis backers arent going to endorse him until hes formally launched his candidacy. But that doesnt explain the growing number of Republican elected officials climbing onto the Trump-comeback train.

Its also important not to overrate endorsements in themselves as leading indicators of who is ahead in a presidential nominating race; after all, in the last competitive GOP primary battle, the endorsement leader by leaps and bounds was Jeb Bush. But as FiveThirtyEight shows in a second piece, most eventual presidential nominees have led the field either in endorsements or the polls  or both  before the contest formally begins in Iowa (Trump led the polls in 2016).

Right now, Trump is leading in both endorsements and the polls. At some point soon, DeSantis needs to catch up in one or the other metric to sustain the idea that he commands a powerful coalition of those who want to drop Trump to the bottom of the sea and those looking for MAGA 2.0.
Containers of durians are loaded to a freight train at a railway station in Laem Chabang, Thailand's major port, April 16, 2023. (Photo by Rachen Sageamsak/Xinhua)

LAEM CHABANG/KUNMING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A "fruit train" carrying 23 containers of durian and mangosteen arrived in Kunming on Wednesday, as Thai exporters increasingly turn to the China-Laos Railway for quick access to the Chinese market.

The train left Laem Chabang, Thailand's major port, and was transshipped by the China-Laos Railway.

Orathai Euatrakool, a 67-year-old former plant import and export expert for Thailand's Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives, has observed the growth of durian exports in Thailand over the years.

"Previously, large numbers of durians were delivered to China mostly by road and sea, but these routes were highly unpredictable due to factors such as bad weather, sometimes taking more than 20 days to arrive," Orathai told Xinhua as she saw off the departure of the train.

Currently, goods can reach Kunming in three days after being hauled by the China-Laos Railway from Thailand, where more mature durians will be exported. The more mature the durian, the better the taste.

"Through the cold chain transportation on the China-Laos Railway, we hope that more Chinese consumers can enjoy the fresh and delicious Thai durians just like Thai people," said Orathai.

Natee Chuansanit, executive director of the Thailand Institute of Business Economics Research and Development, said, "China is currently Thailand's most important durian export market."

"We hope that more Chinese consumers will be able to sample better-tasting durians, thereby expanding the market for Thai durians," she said.

According to data from the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand, China was the largest export market for Thai durians in 2022, accounting for more than 96 percent of the total export volume, valued at 3.09 billion U.S. dollars.

Thailand Royal Farm Group Co., Ltd. has been operating a durian export business in Chanthaburi Province, Thailand's famous durian-producing location, for more than 16 years.

Weerisa Wanuruksakul, the company's chief executive officer, said the ongoing increase of market demand in China has made the wholesale price of durian continue to rise, and the income from part-time packing jobs during the peak export season has become an important source of income for many locals.

The China-Laos Railway has opened up a new route for Thai durian exports and has alleviated prior issues of insufficient transportation capacity and the uncertainty of road and sea transport.

Kanokwan Suwankanit, director of freight service department of Thailand's State Railway, said that the opening of the China-Laos Railway has promoted the development of Thailand's railway freight, in which freight volumes have grown from 500-600 TEUs (Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units) in 2019 to 2,000 TEUs in 2022, with further expansion expected to reach more than 3,000 TEUs in 2023.

After more than a year of trial operation, Thailand Speed Inter Transport Co. Ltd., which has been in the fruit export and transportation business for more than 20 years, decided to aggressively develop railway transportation.

"We purchased a number of freight cold chain containers equipped with GPS systems this year, which enabled remote real-time positioning and temperature monitoring, as well as timely delivery of logistics information to customers," said Pan Jiaoling, chief operating officer of the company.

Fast and punctual railway transportation not only guarantees the quality of the durians but also reduces the company's operating costs.

Fan Ligang, owner of Guangzhou Fanguoduo Trading Co. Ltd., who ordered the durians supplied via the China-Laos Railway, said his company plans to further expand the western markets of China, such as Chengdu and Guizhou.

Railway transport can also be consolidated in a flexible manner, making it suitable for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in both Thailand and China.

"The company's e-commerce platform adopts a pre-sale system, and the number of orders changes frequently," Chen Bin, sales director of Guangxi Xiannong International Trade Co. Ltd., said.

"By choosing railway transportation, we can deliver the goods in time according to the actual order," Chen added. 

A staff member walks past a "fruit train" carrying containers of durians at a railway station in Laem Chabang, Thailand's major port, April 16, 2023. (Photo by Rachen Sageamsak/Xinhua)

This aerial photo taken on April 16, 2023 shows a "fruit train" carrying containers of durians at a railway station in Laem Chabang, Thailand's major port. (Photo by Rachen Sageamsak/Xinhua)

This photo taken on April 16, 2023 shows a "fruit train" carrying containers of durians at a railway station in Laem Chabang, Thailand's major port. (Photo by Rachen Sageamsak/Xinhua)

A freight train carrying containers of durians and other tropical fruits arrives at Kunming East Railway Station in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 19, 2023. (Photo by Qin Wenlu/Xinhua)

Workers unload durians and other tropical fruits in Kunming, southwest China's Yunnan Province, April 19, 2023. (Photo by Qin Wenlu/Xinhua)
FICTION: One woman's dramatic story reopens a bloody chapter in Minnesota history.

"The Lost Wife" by Susanna Moore; Knopf (172 pages, $27)



It's easy to see why Susanna Moore, who has written both fiction and nonfiction, was drawn to novelize the true story of Sarah Wakefield, a white woman who arrived in the Minnesota Territory in the mid-1850s and famously spent six weeks as a captive of Indians during the 1862 Dakota Conflict.

After the war, Wakefield was denounced for a book she wrote ("Six Weeks in the Sioux Tepees") that sympathized with her captors, including a warrior named Chaska, who saved the lives of her and her children and briefly counted Sarah as his wife.

The story has it all: the bloody hell of war, racism, sexism, true grit, culture clash, revenge, corruption, injustice. Even some romance. Is that Netflix calling?

Moore's undertaking, as a white woman writing about Native Americans, is fraught, to say the least.

While she succeeds in creating a vivid tale of frontier adventure and peril, her book is best seen as a portal to more reading (including the Wakefield book, still widely available) aimed at a fuller understanding of a watershed in Minnesota history.

In "The Lost Wife" Moore changes some but not all the names of historical figures. She has "added facts that I've discovered along the way, alongside much from my imagination."

Moore's Sarah, 25, flees an abusive husband in Providence, Rhode Island, and travels alone to Shakopee, Minnesota.

A fearful and exhilarated Sarah describes her newfound freedom: "I don't know what to do with so much feeling. My life will now be one of improvisation. I hadn't known how easily a new life may be made." The frontier, for her, is both geographical and emotional.

She soon marries a thoughtful, laudanum-drinking frontier physician whose patients include whites and Indians. They have two children and move west to an Indian agency near present-day Granite Falls, Minnesota.

The prosperous couple share food and belongings with their Indian neighbors, employ them at their house and learn their language.

Any semblance of peaceful relations between whites and Indians had evaporated by the early 1860s. Treaties signed in previous years were proving advantageous mainly to whites, with Indians crowded onto reservations. Food was scarce. So was money. In 1862, government annuities pledged to Indians for their ceded lands were delayed. This sparked isolated raids by Indians against settlers that quickly escalated into war, with hundreds of white settlers killed.

The Dakota Conflict is known for heavy loss of life on both sides, and for hasty trials that led to the hanging in Mankato of 38 Indians just after Christmas in 1862. Forced relocations decimated Native populations in southern Minnesota.

When war breaks out, Sarah and her two small children are captured and held hostage at the encampment of Chief Little Crow.

Moore paints the chaotic scene there: "There were feather beds, some of them ripped apart, their feathers floating in the thick air, and a child's painted rocker. Barrels of whiskey, and bushels of potatoes and corn, and rashers of bacon, and sides of venison, and live cows stumbling in fear. Women fought over sacks of flour and sugar. There was death now, but there was food."

Released after the war, Sarah argues, in vain, for Chaska to be spared from hanging at Mankato alongside others deemed to have committed atrocities.

Reflecting on the war, she believes that for Native chiefs and braves, "victory was never the point. It was their burning, unquenchable rage and the honor that revenge would bring them.  They were always going to be driven from the prairie, bad Indians and good Indians, too, as the whites would say. But it will be easy now."



Claude Peck (www.claudepeck.com) was an editor at the Star Tribune. He lives in Minneapolis and Palm Springs, California.
Three people were arrested this week and charged with reckless murder in the deadly mass shooting that broke out Saturday night at a teenagers birthday party in downtown Dadeville, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Tyrese Ty Reik McCullough, 17; Travis McCullough, 16; and Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, were taken into custody around 8 p.m. Tuesday after a complex and thorough investigation, according to a ALEA news release. Hill was apprehended less than 24 hours later at 2:30 p.m. Wednesday. The younger suspects have been charged as adults.

They were all charged with four counts of reckless murder, but theyll face additional charges if the four people in critical condition do not survive, said Sgt. Jeremy Burkett with ALEA.

Officials shared those details Wednesday morning during a press conference near the scene on Broadax Street where four people lost their lives. They didnt release further details on the shooting or suspects. They also declined when asked to explain how the suspects know one another and whether they knew the victims.

On Monday, Tallapoosa Coroner Mike Knox identified the four victims killed in the shooting as Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19, of Opelika; Philstavious Dowdell, 18, of Dadeville; Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17, of Dadeville; and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23, of Dadeville. Burkett said the injuries of the surviving victims range from critical to something as simple as they needed medical treatment.

Alabama Law Enforcement Agency, Dadeville Police Department and several other agencies continue to search for answers about the events that led up to the shooting.

Special Agents did not recover any high-powered rifle ammunition at the scene, Burkett said. However, they did recover numerous shell casings used in handguns.

The day before agents starting arresting suspects, Burkett said they were processing all of the evidence, in conjunction with completing interviews, in an effort to solidify a motive and potential suspects.

ALEA is still looking for the publics help with the case. It doesnt matter how minor the info may seem. You can can call 1-800-392-8011or email the agency at sbi.investigations@alea.gov to submit tips.

ALEAs Fusion Center has also partnered with the Federal Bureau of Investigation Mobile Office to provide a digital tip line for videos and photos related to the incident. Those files may be uploaded here. Also, if you have information for the 5th Circuit District Attorneys Office concerning the incident or need to provide information to the individuals or families concerning victim services, please click here.

The Central Alabama Crimestoppers is offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the identification or arrest of any suspects in the Dadeville shooting. You can submit tips to Crimestoppers at (334) 215-STOP.

Editors note: The Opelika-Auburn News is naming the juvenile suspects, because they are being charged as adults and because of the severity of the charges.

Pictures of Dadeville days after the mass shooting
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Ouachita to house one of the first two university-based locations of Tacos 4 Life

Ouachita Baptist University will be one of the first two colleges to welcome Tacos 4 Life to its campus when the Arkansas-based restaurant chain launches an outlet in Ouachitas Evans Student Center in Fall 2023.

The addition of a Tacos 4 Life venue reflects the universitys momentum in enhancing the student experience at Ouachita, where 98% of undergraduates live in one of nine residence halls or six apartment complexes and source most of their meals on campus. A remodel of Evans Food Court in the student center will make space for Tacos 4 Life to be located next to Chick-fil-A; both restaurants are guided by Christ-focused corporate vision and values.

We are thrilled to bring our mission of helping end starvation to Ouachita, said Austin Samuelson, co-founder of Tacos 4 Life with his wife, Ashton. The Samuelsons are 2008 Ouachita graduates. We believe we can see a day where no child goes hungry, and that starts with projects like this one. Tacos 4 Life partnering with Ouachita is one of our first two college campus partnerships. This venture is laying the foundation for people across the country and around the world to hear about how they can help save children's lives by eating tacos.

On a personal note, he added, Ashton and I are extremely excited to bring Tacos 4 Life to Ouachita because our life together began there. We met at 15 during a summer camp at Ouachita, were both Ouachita graduates and we were married on campus.

Since last fall, a team from Tacos 4 Life has worked with Jason Tolbert, vice president for finance at Ouachita, and with Sodexo, Ouachitas dining and catering service, on a plan to address logistical and technological requirements for housing a Tacos 4 Life restaurant at the university.

We were able to begin by visiting Tacos 4 Life at their Benton location, where we spent a day observing their operations, said Jon Fitzgerald, Sodexo general manager. This allowed us to see the processes for things like preparing ingredients, cooking and reheating food, and storage. It was amazing to see the operation from the very beginning to the time the food is delivered to the guest.

Tacos 4 Lifes Ouachita venue is set to open before students arrive for the start of the Fall 2023 semester.

Ouachita students are part of a close-knit community where theyre valued and known, said Dr. Ben Sells, Ouachita president. Ouachita is their home away from home, and we care deeply about enhancing their student experience here. Were grateful to the Samuelsons, to Sodexo and to Jason Tolbert for helping us do that by making Ouachita one of the first two universities to bring Tacos 4 Life to campus.

Ouachita Baptist University, a private liberal arts university, is in its 137th year as a Christ-centered learning community and is ranked nationally by U.S. News & World Report. Learn more about the universitys highly personal approach at www.obu.edu.
The continuous shift in oil trade flows following the EU embargo on Russian exports is a huge win for the crude from Western Europe's largest oilfield offshore Norway.

Norway's Johan Sverdrup crude is now a top choice for European refineries that used to rely on Russia's flagship grade, Urals, before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Johan Sverdrup crude from the same-name field, which came online in 2019, is similar in quality to Russia's Urals and has been increasingly flowing to European customers over the past year at the expense of Asian destinations. Urals, for its part, is now flowing east to Asia and no longer to Europe after the EU embargo on imports of Russian oil, according to traders and tanker-tracking data cited by Reuters.

So far this year, only 2 million barrels of Johan Sverdrup crude have made their way to Asia, compared to 100 million barrels in 2021, the year before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, per Refinitiv Eikon reported in the Reuters analysis.

Urals, on the other hand, is selling in India and China and reportedly above the $60 price cap in recent weeks. India is estimated to account for over 70% of the Urals shipments in April, and China is receiving 20% of those shipments so far this month, according to Reuters estimates.

China and India haven't joined the so-called Price Cap Coalition of mostly Western nations that imposed a price cap on Russia's crude oil if the cargoes are using Western insurance, shipping, and financing. Related: Nuclear Troubles Send French Winter Power Prices Soaring

Since the OPEC+ announcement of additional cuts through the end of this year, the price of Urals has moved higher, threatening the price cap imposed in a bid to hurt Russia's oil revenues.

The Johan Sverdrup and Urals grades, similar in content and gravity, have now switched their previously top destinations, highlighting the major shift in global crude oil flows since the West imposed sanctions on Russia's oil.

Johan Sverdrup has medium density and medium sulfur content, lower than the sulfur content of Urals, which is also a medium sour crude. Both grades have high diesel yields.

Johan Sverdrup flows to Asia have fallen off a cliff, but hit a record high to Poland, according to Refinitiv Eikon data. Poland stopped importing Russian crude via pipeline in February this year. In the following month of March, imports of the Johan Sverdrup crude at the Polish port of Gdansk soared to a record-high of more than 8 million barrels, the data showed.

Johan Sverdrup also accounted for at least 50% of Finland's crude oil imports and is also heading to Lithuania, according to Refinitiv Eikon.

With the major trade shift, most voyages of Johan Sverdrup cargoes are now much shorter than the time spent on shipments to Asia, while Russia pays for longer trips of Urals from its Baltic Sea ports to India and China.

Johan Sverdrup is estimated to be able to meet up to 7% of European oil demand, the operator of the oilfield, Equinor, says.

The Johan Sverdrup oilfield, Western Europe's biggest oilfield, which came online in 2019, produced 535,000 barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil, and with Johan Sverdrup phase 2 started up at the end of last year, the giant oilfield is now pumping around 720,000 bpd.

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Johan Sverdrup alone can meet 6-7% of the daily oil demand in Europe. Recoverable volumes in the Johan Sverdrup field total 2.7 billion barrels of oil equivalent, Equinor says.

"Johan Sverdrup accounts for large and important energy deliveries, and in the current market situation, most of the volumes will go to Europe," Geir Tungesvik, Equinor's executive vice president for Projects, Drilling & Procurement, said in December 2022.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
The trade shift in Russian oil flows is benefitting Moscows Middle Eastern allies in the OPEC+ pact as the biggest Arab Gulf oil producers, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), scoop up Russias fuels at discounted prices.

With Western markets essentially shut for Russias crude and products, new trade routes have emerged, and the countries sitting on some of the largest oil reserves are now importing Russian diesel, naphtha, and fuel oil, according to tanker-tracking and data commodity services.

Saudi Arabia and the UAE, traditional Middle Eastern allies of the United States, are not shying away from importing, storing, trading, or re-exporting Russian fuels despite American efforts to persuade them to join a crackdown on Russian attempts to evade the Western sanctions on its oil.

Russia Begins Exporting Fuel To Top Middle Eastern Oil Producers

Since the Western countries announced they would impose embargoes and price caps on Russias crude oil and oil products, the reshuffle of oil trade out of Russia has involved the Middle East as a major importing and trading hub.

In 2022, Russias oil exports to the UAE hit a record 60 million barrels, triple compared to the previous year, according to Kpler data cited by The Wall Street Journal. Fujairah, the biggest trading hub in the UAE, is now receiving a lot of Russian oil products, whose volumes are now second only to gas oil from Saudi Arabia, per estimates from Argus Media.

The UAE is also emerging as a hub for trading, insuring, and shipping Russian oil.

Earlier this year, Russia started exporting fuels to Saudi Arabia, the worlds top crude oil exporter and de facto leader of OPEC. Saudi Arabia and Russia are also the leaders of the OPEC and non-OPEC producers in the OPEC+ alliance, which has been coordinating crude oil supply to the market for more than six years now. Related: Gazprom: Europe Will Find It Very Difficult To Fill Storage For Next Winter

Kpler estimates that Russia is now sending around 100,000 barrels per day (bpd) of fuels to Saudi Arabia, compared to virtually zero before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, per data quoted by the Journal.

Russia seems to be accelerating its exports of diesel to Saudi Arabia through both direct shipments and ship-to-ship transfers.

Russia started exporting diesel to Saudi Arabia in February after Moscows key fuel export outlet, the EU, enacted an embargo on seaborne imports of Russian oil products on February 5, Reuters reported earlier this year, quoting traders and ship-tracking data.

Using STS loadings, Russia is shortening the routes for tankers headed to Africa and Asia after Moscow is now banned from exporting fuels to the EU.

The EU bannedeffective February 5seaborne imports of Russian refined oil products, and around 1 million bpd of Russian diesel, naphtha, and other fuels had to find a home elsewhere if Moscow wanted to continue getting money for those products. The flow of Russian fuels to third countries is also regulated by price caps, similar to the cap on Russian crude if the trade is carried out through Western insurers. The cap on Russian diesel is $100 per barrel, while the cap on lower-cost petroleum products is set at $45 a barrel.

As Russias oil reshuffle continues, some trading patterns are solidifying. India and China have emerged as the top strategic trading partners for Russia, accounting each one-third of total arrivals of Russian oil in March, Serena Huang, Head of APAC Analysis at Vortexa, wrote last week.

In considering the alternative markets for Russian oil after the EU ban, we see an interesting distinction of crude, naphtha and fuel oil exports being concentrated among a handful of destination countries in Asia and the Middle East, whilst diesel supplies have headed towards more diverse markets including Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Brazil etc, Huang added.

Russian diesel exports jumped by 33% in March, with shipments from Russias Black Sea ports going to the East and Western Mediterranean regions to countries such as Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia. Exports out of the Baltic Sea ports have shifted fairly evenly in terms of percentage share to Brazil, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Morocco, Vortexas Senior Market Analyst Pamela Munger said earlier this month.

U.S. Unsuccessful In Dissuading Saudi Arabia, UAE From Buying Russian Fuel

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Russian exports to the Middle East are growing despite efforts from the United States to dissuade Russias allies in OPEC+ from supporting trade and purchases of Putins oil.

Early this year, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian Nelson traveled to the Middle East and Turkey. In visits to Oman, Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Turkey, Nelson discussed Treasurys efforts to crack down on Russian attempts to evade the international sanctions and export controls imposed for its brutal war against Ukraine, Irans destabilizing activity in the region, illicit finance risks undermining economic growth, and foreign investment.

Yet, the rising Russian fuel exports to Saudi Arabia and the UAE show the waning influence of the United States among its key allies in the Middle East.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

More Top Reads From Oilprice.com:
Europe has boosted imports of refined petroleum products from countries that have raised imports of Russian crude oil, as a major loophole in the sanctions risks undermining the effectiveness of the price cap and embargoes, a report from the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) showed on Wednesday.

The EU, Australia, and most of the G7 countries have banned direct imports of Russian crude oil, but they have raised indirectly imports of Russian oil by purchasing higher volumes of oil products from countries that have become the biggest buyer of Russias crude, the Finland-based center said.

These price cap coalition countries have increased imports of refined oil products from countries that have become the largest importers of Russian crude. This is a major loophole that can undermine the impact of the sanctions on Russia, CREA said in its report.

One year on from Russias invasion of Ukraine, the price cap coalition countries raised the imports of refined oil products from China by 94%, Turkey (up 43%), UAE (up 23%), Singapore (up by 33%), and India by 2%.

Price cap coalition countries increased their imports from those countries by 80%, or by $20.5 billion (18.7 billion euros), in the year since Russias invasion compared to the prior year.

We call these five countries that have increased purchases of Russian oil and launder it into products shipped to countries having sanctioned Russian oil the laundromat countries, CREA said.

Europe has recently increased its imports of fuels from India, where refiners have been gorging on cheap Russian crude, Reuters reported earlier this month, quoting preliminary ship-tracking data for the 2022/2023 Indian fiscal year by Vortexa and Kpler.

Since the embargo on Russian fuels took effect on February 5, European imports of diesel and jet fuel from India have risen to 200,000 barrels per day (bpd), according to Kpler data. Thats up from 154,000 bpd of average Indian fuel imports to Europe before the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com

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China strongly opposes joint communique of G7 foreign ministers meeting

09:16, April 19, 2023 By Chen Qingqing ( Global Times

China expressed strong opposition and lodged stern representations to Japan, the host country of the G7 foreign ministers' meeting, as the latest G7 joint communique reflects the group's arrogance, prejudice and deliberate desire to block and contain China, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday in response to the document that highlights "concerns" over Russia and China.

The three-day G7 foreign ministers' meeting was held in Karuizawa, Nagano Prefecture, and concluded on Tuesday.

Chinese experts also slammed the US for kidnapping the multilateral platform by turning it into a tool to maintain its hegemony.

There are obvious divergences inside the bloc regarding Taiwan-related rhetoric, Chinese experts said, especially after French President Emmanuel Macron called for Europe's strategic autonomy and not getting involved in the Taiwan question, which triggered a major debate and a reflection in the West.

The G7 joint communique first pointed out Russia's threat of deploying nuclear weapons in Belarus, saying that the G7, which comprises the US, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, remains committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia. Their diplomats vowed that there would be "severe consequences" for Russia if it used chemical, biological or nuclear weapons.

Compared with the G7 joint communique of 2022, this year's document put China-related topics in third place, which is "taking direct aim at the country," some media reported. The document hit on so-called militarization activities in the South China Sea and reaffirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. It also raised "concerns" over matters related to China's Xinjiang, Xizang and Hong Kong.

Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory. The one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Straits. To ensure real peace in the Taiwan Straits, it is absolutely essential to unequivocally oppose and stop any act of "Taiwan independence," Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said at a press conference on Tuesday.

Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Xizang are purely China's internal affairs. No foreign forces may interfere in them in any way or under any pretext, Wang said.

The situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea is generally stable. Relevant countries need to respect the efforts of regional countries to uphold peace and stability. They need to stop sowing discord and stop creating camp confrontation, the spokesperson noted.

Lu Xiang, a research fellow at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that the G7 joint communique shows that the US-led West is becoming increasingly concerned about the prolonged Ukraine crisis as they lack confidence in the battlefield against Russia due to weapon supply bottlenecks.

"On the Taiwan question, the latest remarks by the G7 foreign ministers are general rhetoric, and countries such as France and Germany have apparently taken more cautious moves," Lu said, believing that there might be some behind-the-scenes back and forth exchanges inside the group.

Some Western media such as CNN and Bloomberg noted that the rhetoric on China in the communique appears much softer than the heated rhetoric often heard in Washington as the G7 is seeking to present an image of "unity."

Compared with past joint communiques, this year's G7 foreign ministers meeting focused more on specific China-related topics but with growing divergences, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations at the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

"Inside the G7, countries like France and Germany seek to engage with China while countries such as the US and Japan seek confrontation," Li said.

The expert warned of the danger that the G7 as a multilateral platform could be kidnapped by the US as a tool to confront Russia and China and to maintain its hegemony. "Some constructive and positive forces inside G7 should play a bigger role," Li said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Against the backdrop of the Russo-Ukrainian war and fluctuating relations between Kazakhstan and Russia, Uzbekistan is gaining strategic importance for China as a potential stable emerging market in Central Asia. As a result, Beijing has made more concerted efforts to expand its soft power throughout the country (Eurasianet, March 22). Since the beginning of the war, Chinese investment in Uzbekistan has been steadily growing. Two sectors in particular, the automotive and green energy sectors, reflect Beijings overall growing economic power in the region.

In the automotive sector, Chinese car brands have been expanding their market share as Russian companies are retreating from the region due to Western sanctions (Eurasianet, October 31, 2022). Furthermore, more affordable and environmentally friendly Chinese brands are attracting the attention of Uzbekistani consumers in increasing numbers. In 2022, Uzbekistan imported automobiles from 34 foreign countries, with China accounting for the largest share at 11,159 cars. In this industry, China plays a particularly important role for Uzbekistan, especially in the context of importing hybrid and electric vehicles. In January 2023, Uzbekistan imported 389 electric vehicles, with Chinese cars accounting for 346 of them (Stat.uz, February 3; Kun.uz, March 7)

In addition to imports, Uzbekistan has signed agreements with various Chinese companies to attract investment and localize production. Recently, the main examples of the growing presence of Chinese brands in Uzbekistan were the agreement signed between UzAuto Motors and Chinese car manufacturer BYD Auto and the contract agreed to by Asaka Motors International and EXEED to organize car production in Uzbekistan (Tashkent Times, August 22, 2022; Uzdaily.com, January 9). In addition, Uzbekistani company Roodell has started assembling models from the Chinese company Chery at the ADM-Jizzakh plant located in the Jizzakh Free Economic Zone in eastern Uzbekistan (Trend.az, September 1, 2022)

Green energy is another area in which Chinese companies are becoming increasingly active. During the winter of 2022, gas shortages and an energy crisis caused many problems in Uzbekistan, forcing thousands of industrial workers into temporary layoffs. In this context, Tashkent began to look for alternative energy sources, especially green energy sources, with the industry experiencing a significant increase in the flow of Chinese investment. In 2022, the bid was selected from Chinese companies GD Power Development and PowerChina for the construction of photovoltaic (solar) plants in Namangan. In February 2023, Uzbekistan signed two agreements with Energy China and Huaneng Renewables for the construction of solar photovoltaic and photoelectric power plants, respectively (Kun.uz, December 16, 2022; Tashkent Times, February 15; Uzdaily.com, February 20).

In addition, China plans to build a solar panel production plant in Fergana in eastern Uzbekistan. Not surprisingly, Chinese companies prefer to invest in regions where energy demand is growing, such as the Namangan and Fergana regions, where electricity demand has increased by 40 percent (UzReport, February 23; Kun.uz, February 1). Even if China does not play a role as an investor, it plays a key role as an exporter of critical equipment. For example, China is supplying turbines and generators for the construction of the Zarafshan Wind Farm being built by United Arab Emirates state-owned company Masdar in the Navoi region of Uzbekistan. In particular, the decree signed by Uzbekistani President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on accelerating the introduction of renewable energy and energy-saving technologies in 2023 will most likely promote the further participation of Chinese companies in Uzbekistans green energy sector, as Beijing plays a central role in providing these technologies to the world (Kun.uz, January 1; Tashkent Times, February 17).

Chinese investments in Uzbekistans automotive and green energy sectors are a continuation of recent changes in Beijings strategy toward Central Asia. In the words of Chinese President Xi Jinping, Beijing has a grandiose plan for the region (see EDM, April 10). In this, China is shifting investment priorities from developing infrastructure to manufacturing in hopes of reducing anti-Chinese sentiments in the Central Asian states (see EDM, October 28, 2021) In this context, cooperation in the automotive sector can pave the way for the localization of manufactured productssuch as the production of engines, electric motors and car batteriesthus accelerating industrialization in Uzbekistan and creating new jobs.

Increased investments in the green energy sector will also help Uzbekistan reduce air pollution, save gas and reduce the effectiveness of Moscows pressure on Tashkent to import more Russian gas. This in turn will help create more jobs and localize production for this industry as well, which will ease the transition from agriculture to higher-value and higher-paying sectors of the Uzbekistani economy. Of course, investments also bolster the further expansion of Chinas economic power in Uzbekistan and increase its competitiveness with regional rivalssomething Tashkent will have to keep an eye on.

Yet, despite Chinas changing investment strategy and its positive contribution to the Uzbekistani economy, certain concerns are growing about China and its increased investments in Uzbekistan. For example, Wave 10 of the Central Asia Barometer (CAB) survey, which was conducted in November and December 2021, posed the question: How confident are you that Chinas investment in our country will improve our countrys energy and infrastructure? For Uzbekistan, 74 percent of respondents said they had a great deal or some confidence in Chinese investments, while 13 percent said they had little or no confidence. However, when the same question was asked in Wave 12 of the CAB survey, which was conducted in November and December 2022, 67 percent of respondents said they had a great deal or some confidence in Chinese investments, while 21 percent said they had little or no confidence (Central Asia Barometer, December 12, 2021, December 12, 2022). Comparatively, the differences in the survey results clearly reflect decreasing public confidence in Chinese investment.

Another key question in the CAB survey was how respondents in Uzbekistan generally felt about China. In Wave 10, while 44 percent of respondents had very favorable or somewhat favorable feelings about China, 33 percent held somewhat unfavorable or very unfavorable sentiments. In Wave 12, while 31 percent of respondents had very favorable or somewhat favorable feelings, 55 percent of respondents held unfavorable and very unfavorable sentiments. Again, the differences in the survey results clearly demonstrates Uzbekistani societys increased wariness regarding China (Central Asia Barometer, December 12, 2021, December 12, 2022).

In sum, Chinas economic influence in Uzbekistan continues to grow, especially in the green energy and automotive sectors. Yet, despite Beijings changing investment strategy and promised positive impact on Uzbekistans development, opinion polls show a growing concern about China at the grassroots level. This factor may not affect Beijings economic engagement in the short term, as the Uzbekistani population holds much more favorable views toward Chinese investment as compared to the strong anti-Chinese sentiments in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. However, if the Uzbekistani publics view of China continues to trend downward in the medium to long term, it will pose serious challenges for Beijing in expanding its economic influence in Uzbekistan, as has been the case in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan.

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In the Sudanese capital, civilians cower behind interior walls, fearing flying window glass and stray bullets. Commerce in Khartoum has ground to a halt. Water and electricity outages are widespread. Pitched battles have broken out near the airport and other parts of the city of 5 million, with fighter jets roaring overhead.

Two military factions -- once political allies, now battlefield adversaries -- are wrestling for control over the city and over the countrys lucrative mineral resource exports, especially gold. Violence is erupting in other parts of the northeast African nation.

Four days after an initial spasm of violence, the Sudanese capital of Khartoum is slipping further toward outright civil war.

While the two battling factions are headed by rival Sudanese generals, theres another player thats been lurking around the shadows of Sudanese politics and commerce for years now, a foreign country that has long had its eye on securing a port on Sudans Red Sea coast: Russia.

For the moment, there is no public evidence that Moscow is playing a role in the violence in Khartoum or elsewhere. That also goes for Wagner, the notorious Russian mercenary company whose owner has close ties to the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry, and whose employees have been reportedly working at Sudanese gold mines.

But experts are closely watching for hints that Russia may have a hidden hand in the turmoil -- or what it might do as the country sinks deeper into chaos.

Heres what you need to know about the roots of the violence and Russias presence in the country.

Chaotic Backstory

Sudan was ruled for nearly three decades by the dictator Omar al-Bashir, who gained infamy for, among other things, orchestrating a campaign of rape, pillage, and mass killings in the western Darfur region. In 2009, he became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

In 2019, mass protests seeking his ouster led to a military coup whose plotters kicked out Bashir that April and took control of the country before later giving way to a civilian-military transition council. Two years later, however, in October 2021, the military wrested control of the government in its entirety.

The two officers behind that seizure were General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chief of the Sudanese Army, and his deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. Dagalo is commonly known by a nickname: Hemedti.

Hemedtis forces were instrumental in the Darfur atrocities that resulted in Bashirs indictment, according to Alex de Waal, a longtime scholar of Sudan who is now executive director of the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School at Tufts University in the United States.

They have  in a mere decade  become the dominant power in Khartoum, de Waal wrote in an analysis. And Hemedti has become the face of Sudans violent, political marketplace.

Last December, under pressure from Western nations and other African countries, the two agreed to a framework deal that would eventually transition the government back to civilian control.

That led to uncertainty among Sudans powerbrokers and civilian leaders, and rising tensions between military factions until on the morning of April 15, fighting broke out between units loyal to Burhan and Hemedtis RSF.

So, What About Wagner?

In November 2017, Hemedtis forces took control of gold mines located in the Jebel Amer district in Darfur. The mines are Sudans single largest source of export revenues, according to the World Peace Foundation.

About five months later, on April 24, 2018, the founder and owner of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, flew from Moscow to Khartoum, accompanied by two Wagner security guards.

The flight, first documented by Novaya Gazeta, was one of many that Prigozhin took over the years to a range of African countries where Wagner soldiers, and other Prigozhin-linked companies, have appeared: the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Libya, and others.

In August 2018, according to the French newspaper Le Monde, Prigozhin again flew to Khartoum, this time to meet with the leaders of several Central African Republic armed groups. On August 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the Khartoum Declaration and the creation of a Central African opposition association in order to achieve long-term and sustainable peace in the Central African Republic.

Since then, Prigozhins Wagner soldiers have steadily increased their visibility, and impunity, according to the United Nations, in the Central African Republic, offering security to the impoverished countrys leadership in exchange for access to its vast mineral resources.

In Sudan, Wagners presence has been less visible, but of growing concern to Western countries.

Prigozhins companies likely won access to Sudans most lucrative gold mines around the time Bashir met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late 2017, according to C4ADS, a Washington-based research organization. Mikhail Potepkin, a man who was employed by Prigozhins Internet Research Agency  the organization commonly known as Russias troll factory  was named head of Prigozhins operations in Sudan.



The Russian open-source research group CIT, meanwhile, documented evidence of Wagner security guards helping to suppress public protests in Khartoum in late 2018  protests that eventually led to Bashirs ouster a few months later.

According to documents obtained by The New York Times from the Dossier Center, a London-based opposition research organization funded by exiled Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Wagner advisers advised Bashir to launch a social media campaign to undermine the anti-government protesters.

A former top-ranking Wagner commander named Aleksandr Kuznetsov, meanwhile, has been identified by CNN as being a key leader of Prigozhins gold-mining operations in Sudan. Kuznetsov has been sanctioned by the European Union and Britain for his alleged ties to Prigozhin.

About a week after Bashir was ousted, a group of high-ranking Russian military officials flew to Khartoum on a corporate jet registered to a Prigozhin-affiliated company, according to Novaya Gazeta. It wasnt clear if Prigozhin was on that flight. The same jet was used to fly several top Sudanese officials to Moscow not long after that, including a brother of Hemedti.

In June 2019, Sudanese security forces, including members of Hemedtis RSF, used heavy gunfire and tear gas to disperse a demonstration in Khartoum. More than 100 people were believed to have been killed.

Prigozhins Sudan company, Meroe Gold, also imported 13 tons of riot shields, as well as riot police helmets and batons for a company controlled by Hemedtis family, the Times reported.

In 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned several Prigozhin companies and employees for their work in Sudan, and other countries, including Meroe Gold and Mikhail Potepkin.

Prigozhins role in Sudan highlights the interplay between Russias paramilitary operations, support for preserving authoritarian regimes, and exploitation of natural resources, the department said in a statement. The companies targeted have directly facilitated Prigozhins global operations and attempted to suppress and discredit protestors seeking democratic reforms in Sudan.

Responding to a reporters query about Wagners presence in Sudan, Prigozhin said in a statement published on his Telegram channel on April 18: I can tell you with absolute certainty, absolutely exactly, and you can enter my words into any record.... Today not a single Wagner fighter, I emphasize not a single one, is in Sudan. And it's been that way for over two years, he said.

What About That Naval Port?

Sudans 850-kilometer (530-mile) Red Sea coastline is largely undeveloped, except for Port Sudan, which is the countrys most important gateway for international trade. Around 90 percent of the countrys exports and imports go through the port.

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In November 2020, Putin announced that Russia would build a facility for naval ships at Port Sudan, under a 25-year lease deal. The agreement, which would give Moscow a second port outside Russia, irked the United States and other Western nations. Russias other foreign port is located in Tartus, Syria.

A separate announcement stipulated that the facility would have workspace for up to 300 personnel and docks for as many four warships, including nuclear-powered vessels. The deal also stipulated that Russia would supply weapons to Sudan to help defend the facility.

Sudans political turmoil put the deal on hold until 2022. One day before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Hemedti traveled to Moscow for undisclosed talks, accompanied by a group of Sudanese government ministers. Returning to Khartoum about a week later, he told reporters that he supported moving forward with the deal.

If any country wants to open a base and it is in our interests and doesn't threaten our national security we have no problem in dealing with anyone, Russian or otherwise," he was quoted as saying.

This past February, meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Khartoum, as part of a multileg journey to several African nations. Shortly afterward, two Sudanese ministers signaled the naval base deal was nearing completion.

The impact of a Russian naval presence at Port Sudan would be substantial, said Joseph Siegle, the director of research at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, a Washington-based research organization.

It would be a significant step up for Russian influence, he told RFE/RL, potentially giving Moscow the ability to hinder maritime trade coming from or going to the Suez Canal, where as much as 10 percent of the worlds oil and 8 percent of its liquefied natural gas passes through.

So Is Russia Involved In The Coup?

Unlikely, Siegle said.

I dont think Russia triggered this and I dont think Russia sees an advantage [in the eruption of hostilities], he said. Russia could work with either side. They dont want to see the democratic transition take place.

Russia is trying to ride it out. They were happy with the way things were [under the military government], Siegle said. They dont want to upset the applecart, but now that that is happening, they want one side to come out on top and then to maintain power. There are real fears that if a democratic, civilian government takes hold, then Russias influence will dissipate quickly.

Russia does less well when there are transparent, rules-based governments, he said. That is why Russia doesnt want things to change. That may be destabilizing for Sudan and the region, but that is a secondary thing for Russia.

By RFE/RL

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Hackers supportive of Russia may soon begin targeting Western critical infrastructure, British intelligence authorities have warned.

While until recently such groups have been focusing on relatively harmless website hacks, some of them appear to have started considering doing more actual damage, Reuters reported, citing the National Cyber Security Centre of Britainpart of its GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency.

"Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK," the agency said, adding that it expected the so-called hacktivists to take advantage of badly protected infrastructure.

Earlier this month, a leaked package of intelligence information from the Pentagon suggested that Canadas natural gas pipeline network may have been targeted by Russia-linked hackers.

According to the leaked documents, the hackers claimed to have gained access to the countrys gas distribution network. There was no information about any damage done.

"There's a big disconnect between gaining access to a computer, in the industrial world, and knowing how to make it do physical things," a cybersecurity executive told the Canadian Press.

"Criminal groups gain access to industrial facilities all the time. But just hitting buttons isn't necessarily going to cause anything meaningful to happen."

"It would be a shock if they weren't targeting Canadian infrastructure, because they're targeting energy infrastructure worldwide as a matter of routine," Geoffrey Cann, digital innovation author and speaker told the Canadian Press.

Reuters also cited the leaked documents in its report on the GCHQ warning, noting it had seen a top-secret document warning about the infiltration of the Canadian gas infrastructure by a Russia-sympathetic group dubbed Zarya.

Per the document, the group had submitted proof to Russias federal security services, or FSB, that they can "increase valve pressure, disable alarms, and initiate an emergency shutdown of an unspecified gas distribution station".

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Iraq will restart the export of crude oil from the Kurdistan region by the end of the week, the countrys Prime Minister, Mohamed Shia al-Sudani, said, as quoted by Rudaw.

The news follows comments made earlier this week by the deputy speaker of the Iraqi parliament, who said Erbil and Baghdad had settled most of their differences with regard to oil exports from Kurdistan, and all that was left was hammering out some details.

Today or tomorrow, we will go to sign the agreements with SOMO and the oil companies to resume exports, PM Al-Sudani told Rudaw, adding that the resumption of exports could begin before the end of the week.

Kurdistans crude oil exports  around 400,000 to 450,000 bpd shipped through an Iraqi-Turkey pipeline to Ceyhan and then on tankers to the international markets  were halted in late March by the federal government of Iraq.

A few days earlier, the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of Iraq against Turkey in a dispute over crude flows from Kurdistan. Iraq argued that Turkey shouldnt allow Kurdish oil exports via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline and Ceyhan without approval from the federal government of Iraq.

The court ruled that Turkey should pay Iraq compensation of $1.5 billion for what now appears to be illegal exports of oil over five years.

In response, Turkey shut off the Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline, effectively suspending oil exports from Kurdistan. Emergency talks followed, as did oil field shutdowns because Kurdistan does not have enough storage space to maintain production. Oil prices jumped considerably on the production outage in northern Iraq.

The negotiations between Baghdad and Erbil are focused on who gets more control over the oil flows, with the two sides being forced to make concessions so exports could resume. For the central government in Iraq, it looks like a win, because exports will now go through the Iraqi state-owned oil company, SOMO, rather than through the Kurdistan authorities.

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Libyas National Oil Corporation (NOC) has said that the countrys crude oil production has reached 1.2 million barrels per day (bpd), the Libyan News Agency reported on Wednesday.

According to secondary sources in OPECs latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR), Libyan crude oil production averaged 1.161 million bpd in March, down by 2,000 bpd compared to February.

Libya is exempted from the OPEC+ agreement for the reduction of oil supply to the market because of the African OPEC members volatile security situation in recent years.

Since the end of August 2022, Libya has been pumping close to or even above 1.2 million bpd, the level last seen before the port blockades that began in the spring of 2022.

Libyas oil production recovered after the country resumed oil exports in July 2022. The first tankers arrived in Libya to load oil for export in mid-July, ending a force majeure on key oilfields and ports that had been in place since April 2022.

The force majeure severely crippled Libyas oil exports following weeks of protests and closures amid a rift in Libyas political class over who should be governing the country.

Oil production capacity in Libya is expected to reach a maximum of 1.8 million bpd by 2024, even if political stability prevails and clashes cease, according to a report by the African Energy Chamber from early this year.

The estimates were published at the beginning of this year after the Libyan Government of National Unity said it hoped the country could be able to produce 3 million bpd in two or three years.

This year, Libyan oil production could reach 1.3 million bpd after averaging 1.12 million bpd in 2022, according to the African Energy Chamber.

According to an overview of Africas upstream sector by the African Energy Chamber, Total and Eni are close to finalizing oil production deals with Libya, where BP is also due to begin new onshore drilling. These reassuring signs all address the other major challenge shared by Libya, Angola, and Nigeria: Lack of new projects and foreign investment.

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A regulatory disclosure revealed on Tuesday that Gazprom is setting up a unit in the Middle East, according to Reuters.

Russias state-controlled gas company did not provide details, but those details could be a critical factor in determining influence in the Middle Eastbe that Russias or the United States.

The news comes after an exclusive report by Oilprice.com made shortly after the recent Iran/Saudi Arabia deal, who cited a Kremlin official who said, By keeping the West out of energy deals in Iraq  and closer to the new Iran-Saudi axis - the end of Western hegemony in the Middle East will become the decisive chapter in the Wests final demise.

Russiaas well as Chinahas been looking to get a better toehold into the gas-rich Middle East, Simon Watkins explained earlier this month.

Gazprom, headquartered in Moscow, has stakes in fields granted by Baghdad and Erbil in Iraq, and Russia holds an 80% working interest in five oil blocks in the KRG region, and it owns 60% in the KRG oil pipeline that runs to Turkey, which has been shuttered for weeks following an arbitration ruling against Turkey for oil shipping from KRG to Turkey without Baghdads consent from 2014 to 2018.

In November, Iran signed a $40 billion gas cooperation deal with Gazprom, with Irans Deputy Foreign Minister for Economic Diplomacy, Mehdi Safari, disclosing that Iran hoped to import Russian gas and export its own gas to international markets to keep from having to pay to transfer Iranian gas from the south to the north.

The European Union recently sanctioned a Dubai-based subsidiary of Russias state-owned shipping company, Sovcomflot, in an attempt to close sanctions loopholes that saw the Dubai company help Russia generate significant revenues from shipping energy products.

By Julianne Geiger for Oilprice.com

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Omaha film historian Bruce Crawford is planning a benefit that will be out of this world.

Crawford announced Tuesday that the film classic E.T.: The Extraterrestrial will be featured at his 48th tribute to classic films benefit. The event will be held at 7 p.m. May 13 at the Omaha Community Playhouse, 6915 Cass St. Proceeds for the event will benefit the Omaha Christian Academy.

E.T. has been a bucket list film and event for me, as its significance and impact on the culture and its grip on the publics imagination seem to have never loosened, Crawford said.

The 1982 movie from award-winning director Steven Spielberg has been considered among the 20th centurys most notable pieces of cinema and has been applauded by film critics for generations. It was nominated for nine Academy Awards and won four, including Best Score by composer John Williams.

The film focuses on an alien visitor who is accidentally left behind and is adopted by a small California family. The story tells about the bond between the strange visitor and the family and their quest to not only protect the little alien, but also to get him home.

One of the films stars, Robert MacNaughton, will be the special guest at Crawfords Omaha event. MacNaughton will speak before the screening and tell of the making of the iconic film and its ongoing impact on culture. He also will meet and greet fans and sign autographs.

This event marks 32 years since Crawford started hosting film legends and the classic films they worked on.

Tickets are $25 and available by calling 402-399-9565 or online at omahachristianacademy.org/movie.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of April 2023
An Omaha man was sentenced to four years probation Tuesday for his role in a July 4 fireworks attack in Sarpy County.

Maddix K. Foss, 19, was found guilty in Sarpy County District Court of first-degree assault after an incident near 135th and Redwood Streets on Independence Day last year. Jeremy D. Brown, 41, and Brittany King, 37, were also charged in connection with the assault.

Brown was sentenced to three to four years in prison for first-degree felony assault. King was sentenced to two consecutive sentences of two to four years in prison for second-degree felony assault and possession of a deadly weapon.

Prosecutors said Foss was among a group of people that approached a family sitting outside a house about 7 p.m. and shot Roman candles at them. A fight ensued, and two people were injured.

In addition to the wounds caused by the fireworks, one victim suffered internal injuries, and another suffered serious injuries to his head.
Students, parents and community members gathered in Gene Leahy Mall on Tuesday in opposition to the permitless concealed carry bill before its final debate in the Nebraska Legislature.

About 50 people protested Legislative Bill 77, introduced by Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, which would allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. Many were associated with Students Demand Action, a national initiative to end gun violence.

Currently, state law requires Nebraskans to obtain a concealed-carry permit, which involves a criminal background check, a $100 fee and an eight- to 16-hour gun safety class.

Opponents of LB 77 have said the bill would endanger Nebraskans by disabling a crucial barrier to concealed carry. Advocates of the bill believe the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to carry a concealed gun without a permit.

Charlie Yale, a junior at Central High School, said a 2022 study found laws like LB 77 increase firearm homicides by 13%, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.

I remember as far back as fourth grade, in class many of my peers (were) anxious about gun violence in school...anxious about what would happen if somebody came into the school with a gun? Yale said. Our state is headed in the wrong direction.

Molly Davies, an educator with the Omaha Public Schools, said she consistently has to prepare her students to know what to do when a gun is in school.

When adults have more access to guns, kids have more access to guns, Davies said.

Several students have been reported to have had guns in their possession at Nebraska schools this school year.
Judy Quest, also known as Dear Heart the Clown, received the Clown of the Year Award 15 years ago today at the Clowns of America International convention.

The award is given each year to a clown who exemplifies the spirit of clowning, has shown dedication and achievement, and has contributed community service. Quest was a member of Omaha's Wild Clown-dum clown alley.

Quest, a college counselor at Omaha Duchesne High School at the time, performed as a clown in her spare time. The students and staff at Duchesne honored Quest by throwing a surprise party at the all-girls school where more than 350 students, teachers and friends were sporting the red noses in her honor.

At the time, the Omaha Wild Clown-dum had about 40 members of varying ages, from high schoolers to an octogenarian. Some members were amateurs, and some performed professionally.

Quest and other members of the Wild Clown-dum were regular volunteers with church sponsored meals programs. James Parsons, a street minister with Blessed Family Street Ministry, told the Omaha World-Herald that the clowns bring happiness to those who need that extra lift.

Quest said even clowns can sometimes have a hard time keeping their smiles. She had performed at the Nebraska Medical Center during birthday parties for children, including some with terminal illnesses.

Thats really hard, but I have to keep that sadness inside, she said. My purpose for being there is to make them happy and bring them joy, not bring them down.

Quest said another obstacle for clowns is the scary clown phobia. Movies such as Stephen Kings It and television shows like American Horror Story: Freak Show that feature evil characters dressed as clowns perpetuate unnecessary fear, she said.

It hurts me when people are afraid of clowns, Quest said. People shouldnt fear clowns. We really care about our community. Were people who want to make the world a happier place.

Photos: Judy Quest as Dear Heart the Clown
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  As 16-year-old Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot for going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner charged with shooting the Black teenager turned himself in Tuesday.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bail Tuesday afternoon and was released. Some civil rights leaders urged a hate-crime charge, but Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence  up to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Yarl was home recovering from his wounds.

Ralph is doing considerably well, his mother, Cleo Nagbe, told CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King. Physically, mornings are hard, but his spirits are in a good place. I borrow from his spirits.

Nagbe said the trauma remains evident. She said her son is able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.

You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesnt stop my tears either, she said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarls parents asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Yarl, an honor student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead  then shot him again, in the right forearm.

Lester faces arraignment Wednesday. He does not yet have a listed attorney.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw a Black male on the porch and thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said.

James Lynch was the neighbor who found Yarl. Lynch didnt immediately respond to an interview request, but his wife, Tiffany, in a brief interview, confirmed an NBC News report that said Lynch heard shouting and saw Yarl banging on the door of another home.

I heard somebody screaming, Help, help, Ive been shot! Lynch, who is white, told NBC. The father of three ran out and found Yarl covered in blood. Lynch checked his pulse and, when another neighbor came out with towels, helped stem the bleeding until paramedics arrived.

He just wants the family to know that Ralph wasnt alone, Tiffany Lynch said, adding that the action was typical of her husband. He helps out anyone he can and always has.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders  including President Joe Biden  demanded justice. Biden also invited Yarl to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Biden said on Twitter. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence. And Ralph, well see you in the Oval once you feel better.

Thompson said Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting. He did not elaborate. But Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Alexander Higginbotham clarified in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that there is not a racial element to the legal charges that were filed.

Still, some  including lawyers for Yarls family  pressed the racial dimension of the case.

The police are not treating this case in the same way Black people accused of murder are treated, Missouri NAACP President Nimrod Chapel Jr. said in a statement. A Black suspect would have been in jail.

Higginbotham said the prosecutors office policy is to wait for a criminal referral from police. KCPD submitted their referral to us on Monday afternoon and charges were filed within approximately an hour of the case being referred to us by law enforcement, he said in an email.

The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison.

It wasnt immediately clear whether the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating. Messages left with a spokesman were not immediately returned.

Charging Lester with a hate crime would have potentially meant a shorter sentence if hes convicted, experts said. Washington University School of Law Professor Peter Joy said the state hate-crime law is used only to enhance low-level felony or misdemeanor charges, taking them no higher than a class-C felony level, with a penalty range of three to 10 years upon conviction.
Nebraskans may not hear it, but theres thunder coming from Offutt Air Force Base this week.

The U.S. Strategic Command is wrapping up Global Thunder 23, a training drill involving thousands of military personnel across the United States, including 2,500 military and civilian staff at StratComs Offutt headquarters.

StratCom stages as many as 400 training events each year.

But Global Thunder is easily the biggest event on StratComs calendar, with Minuteman ICBM teams and ballistic missile submarine crews on alert, and bombers, fighters, tankers and reconnaissance aircraft flying missions.

If youre a missileer or a bomber pilot, this is your big event, said Navy Capt. Ron Flanders, a StratCom spokesman. Theyre doing things pretty much every day. But this is the Super Bowl.

Although StratComs headquarters is the nerve center for Global Thunder 23, not a lot of activity is visible at Offutt.

(People around Omaha) should not see anything different, said J.B. Miller, who as StratComs J7 director of joint training, exercises and assessments plays a lead role in running the drill.

Thats because few of the operational military units use the airfield  although the Offutt-based E-4B Nightwatch airborne command post jets are participating. Navy E-6B jets, which can send messages to Trident submarines as well as duplicate StratComs command-and-control suite (the Looking Glass mission), have also touched down at Offutt since Global Thunder began April 11.

Miller said his staff has been planning Global Thunder for a full year. The scenarios are meant to be realistic.

We watch whats going on in the world, he said, but its not tied to real-world events.

Global Thunder is typically held once a year, but the last one was in the fall of 2021  before the Russian invasion of Ukraine ramped up tensions between Russia and the United States.

This is a double-edged sword, said retired Air Force Lt. Gen. Robert Hinson, a former deputy commander at StratCom. You dont want to do things to provoke Russia, in this case, to think we are doing anything other than an exercise.

Miller said StratCom informs Russia of nuclear exercises directly as required by treaty and makes certain the event is well-publicized.

Theres no surprises. We tell them its Global Thunder. Theres no question what were doing, Miller said.

During a low point in U.S.-Soviet relations in late 1983  soon after President Ronald Reagans description of the USSR as an evil empire and the Russian shootdown of a Korean airliner  elements of the Soviet military mistook a NATO exercise in Europe called Able Archer as a pretext for a real attack.

Only years later did Americans learn the two countries came close to a nuclear exchange.

They thought it was a sneak attack, said Hans Kristensen, director of nuclear information for the Federation of American Scientists, an arms-control group. With an exercise, theres an intrinsic risk of misinterpretation.

He noted that StratComs brief press release announcing the exercise explicitly stated that Global Thunder 23 is not in response to actions by any nation or other actors.

The increasing use of web-based flight tracking sites like FlightAware.com, FlightRadar24.com, and Globe.adsbexchange.com allows anyone with a computer or a smartphone to watch the aviation piece of a top-secret exercise unfold online.

Military aircraft can go dark, as plane watchers call it, by not turning on the transponders that broadcast their locations. But some, if not all, of the participating planes do tell the world where they are flying.

Sunday was a particularly busy day for Global Thunder. Evergreen Intel, a self-described aviation buff and flight tracker with more than 146,000 Twitter followers, tweeted a map early Sunday afternoon showing more than 30 aircraft currently airborne apparently connected to the exercise. That included 10 B-52s, 16 refueling tankers, four E-6Bs, and one E-4B.

Its an interesting window for the public, Kristensen said. Obviously, they want to be seen.

Global Thunder is running for more than a week, 24/7, at a command that also must constantly be on the lookout for real threats.

StratComs underground command post is the nerve center for both real-world vigilance and Global Thunder role-players.

It makes it a little tougher when we have things going on in the real world, Miller said. We split the people watching real time (events). Other people are doing the exercise events.

Hinson remembers well the day real-world terror did break in on a StratCom exercise, and ultimately, forced its cancellation.

On Sept. 11, 2001, when he was StratComs deputy, Hinson was at his desk when Islamist terrorists flew hijacked civilian airliners into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

We go into a hold mode, make sure everybody knows that were connected to everybody else in our command, Hinson said. We were going through all sorts of mental gymnastics as far as what might be going on at any of our locations.

That day, he ended up briefing President George W. Bush, who stopped at Offutt on Air Force Ones circuitous route from Sarasota, Florida, back to Washington D.C.

Not exactly what he had planned for.

While some may find it unsettling that StratCom and its associated units are actively practicing for Armageddon, Hinson said the public should be reassured.

A lot of this is trying to prevent an actual war, he said. People should be comforted, knowing that we practice for these things. We dont overreact.

Photos: Offutt runway opens after 18-month reconstruction
LINCOLN  Nebraskans are close to being able to carry concealed weapons without a permit.

State lawmakers passed Legislative Bill 77 in a 33-14 vote Wednesday morning. The bill will be sent to Gov. Jim Pillens desk, where hes expected to sign it into law.

LB 77 will allow Nebraskans 21 and older to carry concealed weapons without a permit. The bill will apply statewide and invalidate any local ordinances limiting that ability. It will take effect 90 days after the session ends, likely near the end of August or early September.

The bill stirred up its fair share of controversy this year. Supporters have repeatedly argued that the states current restrictions on firearms are too strict and violate the Second Amendment. Meanwhile, Opponents have launched several protests against it, citing the rising rate of gun violence in the U.S. and contending that the bill will make Nebraska less safe.

The majority of Nebraskans, the majority of Americans want commonsense gun regulations, said State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln, the leading lawmaker opposed to LB 77. This sets us back. This endangers children and families.

Currently in Nebraska, getting a concealed carry permit requires passing a criminal background check, paying a $100 fee and taking an eight- to 16-hour gun safety class.

LB 77 will allow people to continue getting permits if they wanted. It would not change who is allowed to purchase firearms in Nebraska, nor would it change where people are allowed to carry concealed weapons.

Measures like LB 77 are sometimes called constitutional carry in reference to some gun rights advocates belief that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution gives people the right to carry concealed guns without a permit.

The bill is the result of roughly seven years of work by Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who has tried to pass similar legislation passed since taking office in 2017. Brewer said he had doubts he would succeed this year but said he was gratified when the bill passed.

It was kind of a warm feeling to know that you hadnt done this in vain for seven years, he said.

Last year, a similar measure died in the second of three rounds of debate after falling two votes short on a filibuster-ending cloture motion. This year, bolstered by a more conservative group of senators, the bill garnered the 33 votes needed to end filibusters in each round.

Critics  including Nebraska students  protested the legislation at the State Capitol and more recently at the Gene Leahy Mall in Omaha on Tuesday. Several of those protesters turned up at the Capitol again on Wednesday to watch the final debate.

After the bill passed, protester Melody Vaccaro shouted Shame several times from a balcony in the legislative chamber, prompting a laugh from Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, an LB 77 supporter. Another protester, Jennifer Hodge, said: Well remember you guys.

If you dont have our backs, well have your jobs, Hodge said later, adding: Every day in America is scary.

Vaccaro has been banned from entering the Capitol without a scheduled appointment because of the incident. She was escorted out of the building by a security guard.

Brewer said there was nothing he could do to change the minds of LB 77s ardent opponents. He argued that despite the protests, the majority of Nebraskans, particularly those in his district, support permitless concealed carry.

Raybould said she was heartbroken that the bill passed. She has previously argued LB 77 would make Nebraska more dangerous and would make the jobs of law enforcement officers harder. She cited numerous studies showing that gun violence incidents, including suicide, road rage shootings and shootings of law enforcement, increase in states with permitless concealed carry laws.

We have become one nation under guns, and that is not a constitutional value, Raybould said.

On Wednesday, Raybould said supporters have spread misinformation about what LB 77 does. She said the bill will not only allow permitless concealed carry for handguns, but for all firearms and other deadly weapons.

Brewer said Rayboulds arguments tried to confuse people into voting against the bill. He also said some LB 77 opponents wont admit that they would like to do away with the Second Amendment.

Sen. John Cavanaugh of Omaha raised concerns that the bill will lower penalties for prohibited persons to carry concealed weapons and suggested that criminals may carry concealed firearms rather than carrying them openly. Earlier, Cavanaugh offered an amendment to eliminate the fee for receiving a concealed carry permit, but it was rejected.

Supporters repeatedly argued that LB 77 is about easing restrictions for law-abiding residents, not criminals. Currently, several lawmakers said, wearing a jacket over a firearm without a permit makes it illegal. They said thats unfair.

We dont want to make criminals out of someone who is just exercising their constitutional right, said Sen. Dave Murman of Glenvil.

An amendment negotiated earlier in the session between Brewer and some law enforcement groups helped smooth the way for the bill. The change added an extra misdemeanor charge if someone carried a firearm while committing certain dangerous misdemeanors, including domestic assault, shoplifting or stalking. It also would make it a felony, on a third offense, for people to fail to notify a law enforcement official that they were carrying a weapon.

The amendment turned the Nebraska Sheriffs Association into being a supporter of the bill, and changed the position of Omaha and Lincoln police unions and the Police Chiefs Association of Nebraska to neutral.

However, Omaha Police Chief Todd Schmaderer and Lincoln Police Chief Teresa Ewins remained opposed to LB 77, along with Omaha Mayor Jean Stothert and a majority of Omaha City Council members.

The chief is disappointed in the Legislatures decision because the most important factor in making these decisions should be public safety and the men and women who serve our community, the Lincoln Police Department said in an emailed statement.

Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association and the National Association for Gun Rights praised LB 77s passage. According to the NRA, the bill will make Nebraska the 27th state to legalize permitless concealed carry.

This is a movement thats sweeping the nation and the NRA is proud to be the leader behind it, Nebraska NRA Director Travis Couture-Lovelady said in an email statement. Anti-gun lawmakers must recognize that law-abiding people should be able to defend themselves wherever they are  after all, self-defense situations can happen anywhere and without warning. Nebraskans will soon live in a state that further respects their freedom.

World-Herald staff writer Martha Stoddard contributed to this report.

Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session
LINCOLN  Efforts to carry out a constitutional amendment requiring voter ID appear to have hit an impasse in the Nebraska Legislature.

Weeks of discussions and legal analysis have resulted in dueling implementation proposals and a pronouncement by State Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who chairs the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, that he wants to get something advanced to the full Legislature this week.

One of the two (proposals) needs to move forward, he told committee members Monday, adding, If were going to do it, lets do it right so theres not pain later.

The issue stems from a constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly last year requiring voters to present valid photographic ID before casting a ballot in any election. The amendment left it to lawmakers to determine how the requirement should be carried out.

Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who led the successful ballot initiative for voter ID, introduced one implementation proposal as Legislative Bill 535 this year.

At the bills February public hearing, she offered a major rewrite  one that would have required, among other things, that notaries sign mail-in ballots and voters present ID documents that prove their citizenship.

Last week, Slama offered a second major rewrite to the committee. This one would retain the requirement for voters to show ID documents that prove citizenship and require the secretary of state to verify the citizenship of registered voters. The proposal would have witnesses, instead of notaries, sign mail-in ballot envelopes attesting that they had verified the voters identity.

The other proposal was developed by Brewer, working with Secretary of State Bob Evnens office and other committee members.

Under his amendment to LB 535, a wider range of photo documents would be accepted to prove identity, including expired documents. People casting mail-in ballots would have to provide a Nebraska drivers license or state ID card number or a copy of an accepted document.

Brewers proposal would provide exceptions from the ID provision for voters who could show a reasonable impediment to showing photo ID. Such impediments could include a religious objection to being photographed, a lost or stolen ID, a disability or illness or an inability to get a birth certificate or other documents needed to get an ID.

Both proposals allow people to get free state identification cards for voting purposes and to get free copies of state birth certificates, if needed to obtain a state ID card.

Slama has refused to accept Brewers proposal, calling it unconstitutional because it would allow people to vote without photo ID. Her latest proposal includes an exception only for people with a sincerely held religious belief against being photographed.

Theres exceptions you can drive a Mack truck through, she said of the Brewer amendment.

But Brewer said lawmakers should stick to the narrow goal of implementing voter ID and not get involved with other issues, such as verifying citizenship or changing who can vote early or by mail.

He said the Legislature needs to be mindful of court rulings from other states that provide guidance on what can pass muster under the U.S. Constitution. He also took issue with Slamas list of acceptable documents, noting that documents can still prove identity even if expired.

Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista has asked Slama and Brewer to meet with him late Tuesday night in a bid to resolve the standoff.

Brewers plan had been to use LB 535 as the vehicle for voter ID legislation, and the bill was named a committee priority. But Slama, as the bills introducer, could withdraw LB 535 if the committee advances it with an amendment she opposes. Another option would be to gut another bill and use that as the vehicle for the committees proposal.

Either way, time is running out for lawmakers to deal with voter ID. Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha has mounted an ongoing filibuster this session in hopes of killing a bill that would ban care for transgender minors, including puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgery.

Postponing legislative action until next year would make it almost impossible to implement voter ID in time for the May primary.

Despite the strong support for voter ID, Nebraska has not had widespread issues with its elections.

Ahead of last Novembers election, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen acknowledged that the state has not had a problem with voter fraud generally, let alone any cases of people trying to impersonate others so they could vote  the type of fraud that would be prevented with voter ID.

Photos: 2023 Nebraska legislative session
LINCOLN  In an eight-hour debate Tuesday, Nebraska lawmakers advanced a batch of 17 bills that were packaged together under a single piece of legislation.

The Nebraska Legislature gave first-round approval to Legislative Bill 92 in a 46-0 vote. Folded into the measure are 16 other bills that LB 92s introducer, State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, described as good-government, low-controversy legislation. But she also acknowledged that the bills dont have much in common with each another, other than being handled by the Banking, Commerce and Insurance Committee.

LB 92 would eliminate a requirement for insurance agents regarding their annual reviews. The remaining 16 bills cover a range of other issues, including lowering costs of insulin and mammograms, encouraging grants for affordable housing and providing financial incentives for semiconductor manufacturing. Overall, the package would cost the state roughly $32.3 million, according to the bills combined fiscal notes.

So many bills being included in one package is unusual for a normal session, but this years session is unprecedented in many ways. Facing a session-long filibuster from Omaha Sens. Machaela Cavanaugh and Megan Hunt, Speaker of the Legislature John Arch said he gave guidance to committees to form larger packages in an effort to get more bills passed.

Arch said he recommended the packages be made up of what he called good government bills which received broad committee support and have relatively low financial implications. Typically, such packages would be made up of five or six bigger bills linked by a common issue.

Its not unprecedented, but it is unusual, Arch said of large packages like LB 92.

Slama said several significant bills likely would not have the chance to be debated this year if they were left out of LB 92. She mentioned LB 145, which would expand insurance coverage for mammograms, and LB 779, which would cap out-of-pocket insulin costs at $35 per month for insured patients.

Later, Slama also praised the addition of LB 617 from Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha, which follows a 2022 federal law focused on advancing semiconductor manufacturing. The bill would appropriate $20 million from the states cash reserve to support such manufacturing.

Tuesdays debate brought scattered opposition on individual bills within the package. Sens. Ben Hansen of Blair and Merv Riepe of Ralston took issue with several bills that expanded health insurance coverage, including LB 145 and LB 779, arguing the legislation could be considered government overreach and could increase insurance rates.

Supporters of these bills said the measures actually would make preventative health care more affordable. On LB 145, Slama said women who cant afford mammograms will often go without the screening and put themselves at higher risk of breast cancer, or could go to more extreme measures to avoid that, such as getting a double mastectomy.

Sen. Eliot Bostar of Lincoln, who introduced LB 145, noted that insurance companies did not oppose the bills in the package. Hansen suggested that might be to avoid the bad optics of opposing such bills. But Bostar and Slama said insurance representatives have not been shy about opposing bills in the past because it might put them in a bad light.

If they dont like something, they would absolutely set the world on fire about it, Slama said.

Our best Omaha staff photos & videos of April 2023
Damilola Ibitoye is a professional image consultant who goes by the moniker Stylebydamie on her social media pages. Shes a fashion content creator with over 72.3K followers on TikTok and believes in creating out-of-the-box visual stories about fashion and lifestyle brands that entertain, educate and inspire her audience.

Recently, she was selected as one of 30 African creators to attend the inaugural Africa Creator Hub programme, a joint venture by TikTok and African creator commerce platform Wowzi, where she learned that consistency and high-quality content are crucial to succeed on the platform.

In a chat with us, Stylebydamie shared her content creation journey, how the Africa Creator Hub experience has altered her perspective, and what she hopes to achieve with her TikTok platform.

Her inspiration:

Stylebydamie revealed that she gets her inspiration from three people namely;

Takunda.K for her fashion sense and style,

for her fashion sense and style, Devanondeck for his inspiring videos, and

for his inspiring videos, and Ms_Yudee for her creative approach to fashion.

Damie believes in her uniqueness as an individual and in her craft and sees growth as a continuous learning and improvement process. Her most cherished moment as a TikTok creator was being selected and paid to do the SSA Style Live on TikTok in 2021 for the TTCreatorFest with other content creators from South Africa and Kenya.

The Africa Creator Hub experience reinforced her belief that consistency is vital but also made her understand the importance of monitoring her progress by looking out for other metrics. Stylebydamie aims to increase her visibility, build an engaging online community, promote her brand Stylebydamie and empower women to look and feel good.

Her advice to aspiring content creators is to love what they do, be passionate, and never stop improving themselves. She also recommends having multiple income streams and not getting discouraged by setbacks.

In conclusion, Stylebydamies journey shows that anyone can succeed in content creation with consistency, passion, and a commitment to continuous improvement.

ALSO READ: Nigerian influencers continue to win over a global audience
Two Senior Advocates of Nigeria have asked the Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami to obey a court order in respect of a dispute on the multi-million Naira E-Customs Modernization project.

The senior lawyers; Messrs Ahmed Raji and Dipo Okpeseyi , in separate letters, called the attention of the AGF; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning and Secretary to the Government of the Federation to underhand efforts being made to obtain the Federal Executive Councils approval and or ratification of the re-award of the E-Customs Modernization Project.

Specifically, the lawyers are asking the Federal Executive Council to suspend discontinue or disregard any request to initiate deliberations or a fresh request for approval for the award of the said contract to any other bidder apart from the original approval granted by FEC to Messrs E- Customs Project Limited.

It is in spite of all these that the Nigeria Customs Service is pushing to have the FEC grant another approval with the sole purpose to embarrass, over reach and undermine the earlier approval and ratification by the FEC and prejudice the matter pending in court said Mr. Okpeseyi in his letter to the Secretary to the Government of the Federation which was dated April 11, 2023.

The Federal High Court , Abuja had in June, 2022, restrained the Federal Government from enforcing or giving effect to an agreement on the Customs Modernization Project otherwise known as E- Customs allegedly executed by its agents on May 30, 2022.

On 20 February, 2023, the court had urged all parties in the matter to preserve the res of any matter before court and do nothing to interfere with the proceedings.

The agents, who allegedly executed the disputed concession agreement, are the Nigeria Customs Service, Trade Modernization Project Limited, Huawei Technologies Company Nigeria Limited and African Finance Corporation.

The court also issued an order of interim injunction against the Federal Government or its agents, acting through the Federal Executive Council, from retrospectively ratifying the decision to concession the Customs Modernization Project also known as e- customs project to Trade Modernization Project Limited, Huawei Technologies Company Limited and African Finance Corporation.

The restraining order issued by Justice Inyang Ekwo of the Abuja Division of the court shall last till the hearing and the determination of a suit brought against the Federal Government and other parties by two aggrieved companies.

Hearing in the case resumes on April 19 but the plaintiffs have raised an alarm that the Minister of Finance and the AGF are going ahead to present a new memo to FEC on the matter despite a restraining court order.

The two aggrieved companies, E-customs HC Project Limited and Bionica Technologies (West Africa) Limited jointly challenged the alleged unlawful and fraudulent concession of the E-custom project to the defendants.

Counsel for the two aggrieved companies, Anone Usman had on behalf of them argued an ex-parte application praying the Federal High Court for the interim orders against the defendants to protect the interest of his clients.

Justice Ekwo while ruling on the ex-parte application granted the prayers of the plaintiff having placed sufficient evidence of interest in the concession project.

The judge also granted permission to the aggrieved companies to serve a writ of summons and all other filed processes on the African Finance Corporation at its head office, located in Ikoyi, Lagos through DHL courier services.

The learned defendants in the suit are the Federal Government of Nigeria; Attorney-General of the Federation; Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; the Infrastructure Regulatory Concession Commission; Nigeria Customs Service; Trade Modernization Project Limited; Huawei Technologies Limited; African Finance Corporation and Bergman Security Consultant and Supply Limited being 1st to 9th defendants respectively.

The two plaintiffs had in their statement of claim narrated how they proposed to carry out customs modernization project through several government officials for the benefit of the Nigeria Customs Service.

They claimed that after a series of meetings and negotiation with some of the defendants, President Muhammadu Buhari granted anticipated approval for the e- custom Project

They averred that on September 2, 2020, the Minister of Finance presented a memo number EC2020/153 to the Federal Executive Council, FEC, the highest decision-making body of the Federal Government, and secured approval for the two plaintiffs to be granted the concession.

Plaintiffs further claimed that trouble started when the Nigeria Customs Service unilaterally reviewed the FEC approval and imposed other conditions among which are shareholding formula and governance structure.

They claimed that the power of the NCS to unilaterally review FEC approval was protested and that the Comptroller General of Customs stood his ground. Plaintiff asserted that to their surprise they read in the news that the Nigeria Customs Service had executed a concession agreement with Trade Modernization Project on May 30, 2022, Huawei Technologies Company and African Finance Corporation in total breach of the Concession Agreement vetted by the AGF in conjunction with the Minister of Finance.

They alleged that Trade Modernization Project was incorporated April, 2022 at the Corporate Affairs Commission with one Alhaji Saleh Amodu, a close friend of the Comptroller General of Customs as the chairman.

Plaintiff asserted that the new company having just gotten incorporated in April 2022 could not have obtained and did not obtain the full business case compliance certificate from the Infrastructure Regulatory Concession Commission and the approval of the Federal Executive Council to carry out the e- customs project.

They therefore asked the court to make a declaration that the decisions of the Federal Government and its agents to enter into concession agreement with Trade Modernization Project, Huawei Technologies Company and African Finance Corporation in respect of the e-customs project is illegal, null and void, having been made in gross violation of Section 2 of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission Act 2005.

They also asked the court to declare that E-customs HC Project Limited is the approved and rightful concessionaire for the e-customs project as approved by the Federal Executive Council at its meeting of September 2, 2020 and in line with Section 2 of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Act.

They also applied for an order of the court directing the Federal Government through the AGF, Finance Minister, ICRC and NCS to consummate the E- customs project with the 1st plaintiff as approved by FEC in September 2020. The two plaintiffs also ask the court to compel the defendants to pay them a sum of Two Hundred Million Naira as cost of litigation
Pope Francis has sent words to President Donald Trump and other anti-immigrant leaders that problems of migration would never be resolved by physical barriers but instead required social justice and correcting the worlds economic imbalances.

Francis, starting a two-day visit to Morocco, also backed Moroccan King Mohammed VIs efforts to spread a moderate form of Islam that promotes inter-religious dialogue and rejects any form of terrorism or violence in Gods name.

In recent months, migration has again risen to the fore of national political debates in a number of North African and European countries and the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump, has vowed to fulfil his campaign pledge to build a wall along the border with Mexico and on Friday threatened to close the border next week if Mexico did not stop immigrants reaching the United States.

The issue of migration will never be resolved by raising barriers, fomenting fear of others or denying assistance to those who legitimately aspire to a better life for themselves and their families, Francis said at the welcoming ceremony.

We know too that the consolidation of true peace comes through the pursuit of social justice, which is indispensable for correcting the economic imbalances and political unrest that have always had a major role in generating conflicts and threatening the whole of humanity, he said.

Morocco has become a key departure point for African migrants trying to reach Europe after crackdowns that closed or limited routes elsewhere. Italys anti-immigrant interior minister has closed ports to rescue ships run by charity groups.

Francis, who has made defence of migrants and refugees a key part of his preaching, said he was concerned about their frequently grim fate and receiving countries must acknowledge that migrants are forced to leave their homes because of poverty and political upheaval.

From the airport to the city centre, Francis, 82, was driven in a white popemobile on a drizzly day as the 55-year-old king rode beside him standing in a separate vehicle, a vintage black 1969 open-top Mercedes 600 Pullman. At one point, a man rushed towards the kings car but was stopped by guards as the motorcade continued along the street lined with bystanders.

After the arrival ceremony Francis and the king were visiting an institute the monarch founded in 2015 for the training of imams and male and female preachers of Islam.

Morocco, which is nearly 100 percent Muslim, has marketed itself as an oasis of religious tolerance in a region torn by militancy. It has offered training to Muslim preachers from Africa and Europe on what it describes as moderate Islam.

Francis, making the first papal visit to Morocco in 34 years, praised the monarch for providing sound training to combat all forms of extremism, which so often lead to violence and terrorism, and which, in any event, constitute an offense against religion and against God himself.

The king said learning was the only way to combat religious extremism. To tackle radicalism, the solution is neither military no financial; that solution has but one name: education, the king said. What all terrorists have in common is not religion, but rather ignorance of religion.

Post Views: 83
The Canadian High Commission in Nigeria has warned Nigerians to shine their eyes well concerning reports that Canada is voraciously looking for one million immigrants from Nigerian.

Recall that KanyiDaily published a story from CBTV, claiming that the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, has pleaded with Nigerias President Muhammadu Buhari, to allow one million Nigerians enter Canada under a new Employment and Migration Programme designed for immigrants.

However, the Canadian High Commission has denied the report in a series of tweets.

This particular story is FALSE. Nigerians are welcome to apply to immigrate to Canada. For the real information on how to apply, go to https://t.co/nvOkvSQzt4  Canada in Nigeria (@CanHCNigeria) April 16, 2019

Canadian High Commission wrote:

This particular story is FALSE. Nigerians are welcome to apply to immigrate to Canada. For the real information on how to apply, go to http://www.cic.gc.ca. If youve seen this link on your social media timeline, dont fall for it. This story is not true. For REAL information about travelling to Canada, go to http://www.cic.gc.ca. Over 4,200 Nigerians were approved for permanent residency in Canada in 2017, which is almost double the number from the year prior. Nigerians in Canada make important contributions to both countries. If you see a story online about moving to Canada that seems too good to be true  shine your eyes well-well o!!!

If youve seen this link on your social media timeline, dont fall for it. This story is not true. For REAL information about travelling to Canada, go to https://t.co/nvOkvSQzt4. pic.twitter.com/ct2CIqaj05  Canada in Nigeria (@CanHCNigeria) April 16, 2019

Over 4,200 Nigerians were approved for permanent residency in Canada in 2017, which is almost double the number from the year prior. Nigerians in Canada make important contributions to both countries.  Canada in Nigeria (@CanHCNigeria) April 16, 2019
File photo

An Indian student named Sirisha has set herself on fire at her home in the Narayanpet district after the Board of Intermediate Education (BIE) announced that she failed her biology exam.

Khaleejtimes reports that nineteen other students also committed suicide after their exam scores were announced.

Reports say the students committed suicide last week as the exams were marked in controversy following discrepancies in the results.

Nearly one million students took the exams between February and March, and nearly 350,000 failed, causing widespread protests from parents, student groups and political parties.

On Thursday, Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao ordered the recounting and re-verification for all the students who failed their exams, while urging the students to not commit suicide, adding that failing the tests didnt mean the end of their lives.

According to the parents, what caused students to commit suicide was an error on the part of the software solutions firm, Globarena Technologies Private Limited, which had been hired by Telagana BIE to develop software for processing admissions, pre-examination and post-examination results.

A three-member panel consisting of G.T. Venkateswar Rao, Managing Director, Telangana State Technological Service, A. Vassan of BITS Hyderabad and Nishanth Dongari of IIT Hyderabad, submitted its report on Thursday to B. Janardhan Reddy, Secretary, Higher Education, Government of Telangana, which looked into Globarena Technologies.

They also made recommendations to avoid examination lapses in the future, according to Khaleejtimes

12 BIE centers are currently in the process of evaluating the answer sheets of the failed students, says Khaleetimes, with each one handling between 70,000 to 120,000.

Reddy told Khaleejtimes they are still receiving applications and more than 50,000 students who passed also applied for re-verification because they werent satisfied with their results.

The BIE says they have manpower to handle all the new tests, and they would release a daily bulletin on the status of those needing re-verification.

Answers were still wanted by the students and parents, who protested about the lack of information on the re-verification process. They wanted free re-verification for all of the students. According to Khaleejtimes they were denied entry to BIE offices by the local police.

Why should we pay fee for the blunders committed by them? a student told Khaleejtimes.

The student groups also asked for 25 lakh ($36,000) as compensation for the families of each student who committed suicide.

In 2017, both the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana regions of India saw more than 50 suicides by students between September and October.

On Friday, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) issued a notice to the Telangana government, seeking a detailed report by the Board.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Adamawa State, Aisha Binani Dahiru, on Tuesday dismissed as bizarre and unfounded claims that he bribed officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with N2 billion to be declared the winner of the state governorship election.

The commission had on Tuesday evening declared Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election after he polled 430,861 votes to defeat Binani, who got 398,788 votes in the exercise.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, had on Sunday stirred controversy after he declared the APC candidate as the winner of the election with only 10 out of the 21 local government areas of the state collated.

INEC, however, declared the announcement null and void and directed the REC to stay away from election duty in the state.

Following Yunusa-Aris declaration, there were claims in several quarters that the Adamawa central senator bribed INEC officials N2 billion to be declared winner of the election.

However, in a statement issued shortly after INEC declared Fintiri as the winner of the election, Binani denied that he bribed some staff of the commission bribe to be declared the Adamawa governor-elect.

She alleged that the INEC collation and returning officers for the election were selected by the governor.

The statement read: I never did, I would never do such. I wish to reiterate that I am a democrat. I have always been a committed democrat and will never do anything to subvert the democratic process.

READ ALSO: Adamawa REC learnt well from INEC chairman Atikus aide

I am not a do-or-die politician. In the past, I have won elections into the House of Representatives and the Senate in a free and fair manner.

What happened in Adamawa was an unsuccessful attempt to subvert the will of the people. The REC was illegally told to stand down by two INEC national commissioners from Abuja who were supposed to be in Adamawa in a supervisory capacity.

 Even more curious is the nocturnal visit of some INEC national officers to the Adamawa State Government House and the bizarre declaration the same day after the visit that they have taken over the collation through the backdoor with the collation and returning officers selected by the governor of Adamawa.

The roles of these INEC officers from Abuja and the real mission of the two to the government house should be of interest to all democrats.

I urge all lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in our electoral process and democracy not only in Adamawa but in the whole country.

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The governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Aisha Binani on Tuesday denied bribing the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) in the state, Hudu Yunusa-Ari.

There had been speculations that Binani bribed the REC with the sum of N2 billion to be declared the winner.

Recall that Ari on Sunday declared Binani as the winner when the results from the remaining ten local government areas had not been announced.

Reports had it that the REC allegedly collected N2 billion to make the controversial announcement.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), however, discontinued the collation of results and nullified Aris declaration.

INEC on Tuesday continued the collation of election results and announced the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP, Ahmadu Fintiri as the winner.

Binani in a statement released on Tuesday evening denied bribing with N2 billion procure a favourable declaration as governor-elect to some unnamed INEC staff.

The APC governorship candidate further stated that the report is very bizarre, unfounded and wild allegations.

She added, I never did, I would never do such.

I wish to reiterate that I am a Democrat. I have always been a committed Democrat and will never do anything to subvert the democratic process. I am not a do-or-die politician. In the past, I have won elections into the House of Representatives and the Senate in a free and fair manner.

What happened in Adamawa was an unsuccessful attempt to subvert the will of the people. The REC was illegally told to stand down by two INEC national commissioners from Abuja who were supposed to be in Adamawa in a supervisory capacity. Even more curious is the nocturnal visit of some INEC national officers to the Adamawa state government house and the bizarre declaration the same day after the visit that they have taken over the collation through the backdoor with the collation and returning officers selected by the governor of Adamawa.

The roles of these INEC officers from Abuja and the real mission of the two to the government house should be of interest to all democrats.

I urge all lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in our electoral process and democracy not only in Adamawa but in the whole country.

Binani thanked her supporters for their unflinching support in the midst of half-truths and opposition smear propaganda.
31 Mar Chairman of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Association, Musiliu Akinsaya, popularly known as MC Oluomo, has banned collections of illegal taxes levied by agberos in some parts of the state. Oluomo took the decision after meeting with commercial bus drivers on Thursday following conflicts with highway tax collectors known as agberos. On Wednesday some

3 Apr political elites fuelling crisis Civil rights advocacy group, Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), has insisted that there is no war between the/ Yorubas/Igbos and that political elites were the ones fuelling the crisis. Addressing newsmen in Abuja, National Coordinator, HURIWA, Emmanuel Onwubiko, said it was obvious that some states are dominated by a

4 Apr The Nigeria Police Force has urged anyone with evidence to file a case against the chairman of the Lagos State Parks and Garages Association, Musiliu Akinsaya, popularly known as Mc Oluomo. The force spokesman, CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, disclosed this in a tweet on Tuesday. The Guardian reported that during the 2023 gubernatorial election, a trending

6 Apr The pan-Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, yesterday, tackled the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, over his stance on the outcome of the just-concluded general elections, which he said was credible.[

7 Apr A federal High Court, Lagos, yesterday vacated its interim ex-parte order, which restrained a Briton, Mr. Roger Thompson Brown, from his position as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Seplat Energy Plc.
By Casmir Igbokwe

Prometheus Bound is an ancient Greek tragedy written by Aeschylus. It is about a clash between power-drunk Zeus (Jupiter) and the immovable will of Prometheus. It also revolves around the interplay of justice and fate. In the play, Zeus plans to destroy humanity. But Prometheus, a Titan, defies him by giving out the secret of fire just to save mankind. For this act of defiance, Zeus orders that he be chained to the mountains and perpetually tortured.

The Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Mr. Peter Obi, has become Nigerias Prometheus. When I wrote Peter Obi has become their nightmare last year, I never knew that it was still morning on creation day then. In that piece, published on September 26, 2022, I chronicled various attacks on Obi as he prepared to campaign for the presidential election then. I noted that they wanted to deploy lies and half truths to de-market him. Then, spokesmen and hirelings of the ruling party made Obi both the subject and object of their campaigns. I wondered why they were having nightmares about someone who didnt have structure like they claimed; someone who was purportedly a social media creation. Rather than discuss what they could do to deliver Nigeria from the bondage of misrule, insecurity and economic stagnation, I added, they busied themselves fighting to pull down a man whom God had anointed.

I noted, His traducers have tried to link him with the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB). It has not worked. They have scrutinized him in and out but found nothing incriminating. Hence, they have vowed to manufacture incredible tales against him and make them look real by attributing them to some credible newspapers. There was this particular false story about a certain young woman who accused him of forcing her to engage in drug peddling and using her as a sex toy. The Sun newspaper was said to have published it. It happens to be a figment of the imagination of the hired writer as The Sun never published such fiction. The way things are going, I wont be surprised if a woman somewhere misses her period tomorrow and accuses Obi of being responsible. Unfortunately for them, whoever is pursuing a chick will always stumble and fall while the chick will always scamper away unscathed.

Now, both the campaigns and elections are over. The ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) performed some abracadabra called election on February 25 this year. After that show of shame, they asked aggrieved parties to go to court.

Obi and some others have gone to court. But rather than allow the court processes to follow the natural course, some goons in and around the corridors of power have continued to harass and embarrass the man whose only crime is his desire to change the bad narratives in his country.

The latest shenanigans against him came in form of his impersonation which led to his brief detention at the Heathrow Airport in London. Obi, who has lived in London for decades, suddenly became a prime suspect for crimes. The immigration officials in London pulled him aside for interrogation. But some Nigerians around cried foul and wondered why he was being detained. Eventually, he was released and he is back in the country. Reports have attributed Obis ordeal to the APC.

This scenario happened a few days after the revelation by Obi that he was being pressured to leave Nigeria. He refused to leave, saying Nigeria was his country and he was going nowhere. They have scrutinized his accounts. They have tried to entrap him with women. They said he was plotting an interim government and had, thus, committed treason. Information and Culture Minister, Lai Mohammed, had to travel to Washington DC to inform the world about the treason charge. So far, they have failed and will continue to fail.

The irony in all these is that they said Obi came third in the election. Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was allocated the second position. But, they have left the man who came second to tackle the one who purportedly came third. There is nothing they have not done to cow him. But, he remains unfazed.

Obis travails are an indication of one thing: he is a threat to their plots to legitimize a flawed election and continue their rapacious rape of the countrys resources. But it will not augur well for them.

Obi and the Obidient Movement have come to stay. Here is someone they said had no structure. He has shown what he could do even without a criminal structure. He has shown that Nigerians across ethnic and religious divides desire good leadership and want Nigeria to be better. The only problem is the few corrupt and selfish individuals who want the continued stagnation of the country so that they can continue to milk it dry.

Well, you can cow people for some time. You can intimidate them for a while. But, there comes a time when they will say enough is enough. Nigeria has reached that point because the majority of the citizens have suffered enough. They appear to be silent. But, what we have now is silence of the graveyard. They are watching to see how the tribunals will handle the cases before them.

In my earlier mentioned piece, Peter Obi has become their nightmare, I quoted the words of the famous Emperor of Ancient Rome, Marcus Aurelius, who said: When a bunch of known corrupt people unite against one man and spare no effort to ridicule him, blackmail him and attempt to assassinate his character, blindly follow that one man!

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This is why many Nigerians have blindly followed Peter Obi. In Prometheus Unbound, Heracles finally frees Prometheus from his chains. In this lyrical drama, Percy Bysshe Shelly chronicles Prometheus strike against oppression; his ultimate triumph over the tyranny and bigotry of the gods led by Zeus. I have no doubt that Nigerias Prometheus will be unbound one day. A thief can continue to enjoy his loot. But one day, the owner of the looted property will emerge to reclaim his goods. Nigeria remains our country. We shall never allow a few cabals to hijack it. We must take back our country.
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From Ikenna Esogibe and Austin Chikwado

Following the recent development in the just concluded Adamawa State Governorship supplementary Election and the controversial removal of the external police commissioner who was in charge of the state election, Mohammed Barde, many Imo residents have protested heavily and called for the removal of the co who is recently redeployed to Imo for his primary duties by the inspector general election.

Barde, who was sent to Imo by October/November of 2022 have been accused by majority of Imo residents of many gross misconducts in Policing, undemocratic acts and irregularities mostly to satisfy the political selfish interest of the Govenor of Imo State, Hope Uzodinma against the opposition and entire will of Imo citizens.

Residents in the media protest tagged Barde must not return to Imo, revealed that Imo commissioner of Police since his inception has assisted the APC to intimidate and suppress opposition parties in the state, including unlawful detention and harassments of innocent citizens by his men.

They alleged how the imo police chief arrested an innocent monarch, Eze Obinali from Ideato south local government who is currently under detention by the order of the CP in the tiger base Unit of the command.

According to Them, Barde have succeeded in Aiding the illegal Ebubeagu militia established by Uzodinma to clamp down opposition in the state. Our state have never gotten so bad in Policing. Cp Barde should be seen in a right sense as Uzodinmas security Agent not Imo Police commissioner.

At the right time we shall write to the Inspector General Of Police, we use this opportunity to make our demand that Barde is no longer needed Imo imo. Source said.

It could be recalled that the Imo Police commissioner is currently facing a trail by Abuja High Court in a case instituted by the house of representatives member elect, Ikenga Ugochinuere is who also the Spokesperson of the CUPP.

Ikengas suit against CP Mohammed Barde was entertained by the court earlier last week in Abuja, over an alleged contempt of Court committed by the CP and one Chinasa Nwaneri who was identified as Uzodinmas Assistant on Special Duties.

Another group that pleaded anonymity, spoke 247ureports.com, alleged that for Imo to have a credible Governorship election by November 11, CP Mohammed Barde must be transferred.

They revealed that Barde framed and arrested and detained a former deputy Governor of Imo State, Gerald Irona a week to state house of Assembly elections in favour of Uzodinma and APC.

However, the media space in Imo are filled with many since of the Police commissioner, Barde who part of the alleged Electoral coup in Adamawa State Supplementary Election where the resident electoral commissioner Declared a candidate winner without results and figures.

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By Izunna Okafor, Onitsha

No fewer than two persons have died, while six others got severely injured, following a lone fatal crash that occured at the Odumodu Junction, along the Nteje-Onitsha Expressway in Anambra State.

The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State, CC Adeoye Irelewuyi confirmed this in a statement to newsmen, in which he also disclosed that the crash, which occurred around 6.50pm on Tuesday, involved a commercial Toyota Sienna with Registration Number: LND502YE with six persons on board.

According to him, eyewitness accounts revealed that the crash was attributable to over-speeding, as the driver, who was cruising on high speed, suddenly lost control of the vehicle and somersaulted, after hitting a pedestrian crossing the highway.

He identified the female pedestrian and one of the passengers in the bus as the two people who died in the crash. He also sympathized with the deceased families and prayed for quick recovery of the injured.

Irelewuyi, however, warned motorists against excessive speeding in order arrive their destinations alive.

He said, A fatal road traffic crash was recorded on 18th April, 2023 at Tempo 300 meters away from Odumodu junction, along Nteje-Onitsha Expressway.

The lone crash involved a Commercial Toyota Sienna with Registration. Number: LND502YE belonging to young shall grow motors.

The probable cause of the fatal road traffic crash was speed.

According to eyewitness, the driver was on speed, lost control of the vehicle, somersaulted after hitting a woman crossing the expressway and crashed.

Seven persons were involved in the crash comprising 4 male adults, and 3 female adults. 4 male adults and 1 female adult sustained varying degrees of injury and 2 female adults (the pedestrian crossing the road and 1 passenger in the vehicle) were killed.

FRSC first responders at Nteje rushed the injured victims to Beatrice Specialist Hospital Umunya where 2 female adults were confirmed dead.

FRSC personnel at RS5.33 Nteje Unit Command on ground managed traffic and ensured obstruction caused by the crash was cleared.

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Melaye also alleged that former Governors of Rivers State , Rotimi Amaechi and Peter Odili, contributed to Wikes political ascent.

Governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kogi State has made a revelation concerning how Nyesom Wike became Governor of Rivers State.

In a recent interview on Arise TV, Dino Melaye revealed that former first lady, Patience Jonathan, helped Nyesom Wike become the Governor of River State.

Melaye also alleged that former Governors of Rivers State, Rotimi Amaechi and Peter Odili, contributed to Wikes political ascent.

Melaye accused Wike of being ungrateful to those who helped him in his political career, while he boasts about the people he has assisted.

He stated, Governor Odili made him chairman of his local government. So he has been helped by somebody. After Governor Odili helped him, Governor Amaechi made him chief of staff. Governor Amaechi helped him. Governor Amaechi nominated him to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Governor Amaechi helped him. Mrs Goodluck Jonathan spent her money, her connection and everything to make him the Governor of Rivers State.

Melaye added that Patience Jonathan spent her money, connection, and everything she had to ensure Wikes victory in the gubernatorial election. The former lawmaker also claimed that Odili assisted Wike in becoming the chairman of his local government.

Melayes remarks highlight the role of influential figures in Nigerian politics and the dynamics of power and patronage.

While he acknowledges that everyone gets helped by someone in their political careers, Melaye asserts that assistance should not be used as a means of control and domination.
According to him, although he never supported what she did, he believes two wrongs dont make a right.

Opeyemi Falegan and Blessing Okoro

Hon Opeyemi Falegan, the ex-boyfriend of Nollywood actress, Nkechi Blessing has offered to help embattled relationship blogger, Blessing Okoro to regain freedom.

Blessing CEO was picked up by the Nigeria Police Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) on the 30th of March, 2023. Her arrest comes after she made accusations against the late wife of IVD, Bimbo, and her family.

A few days after her arrest, she was granted an N10 Million bail each with two sureties. However she has still been in cell after she couldnt meet the bail terms.

In the midst of the brouhaha, the lover of Nkechi Blessing, Falegan has offered himself be Blessing CEOs surety so she can be bailed.

According to him, although he never supported what she did, he believes two wrongs dont make a right.

On her bail conditions , can someone outside the country be her surety? Even thou never supported all she said but 2 wrongs dont make a right.

but I think it seems her bail conditions are a bit hard to please but can someone outside the country be her surety ? it seems I tick some boxes on those bail conditions, any lawyer in the house pls ? pls read carefully before u insult me. ( na peace maker I won bi) really hard to see a woman been in prison for her MIS use of words but I get fans wey dey insult me on daily basis.
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The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) may be swimming in stormy waters following a crack within the top echelon of the party over alleged high handedness of the National Chairman of the Party, Abdullai Adamu.

National Vice Chairman of the party in North-west and member of APC National Working Committee, Mallam Salihu Moh Lukman has threatened to drag Adamu to court if the National Chairman fails to convene NEC meeting within a week.

The APC chieftain, in a letter made available to newsmen Wednesday in Abuja, titled: Restoring Constitutional Order in APC  Not Negotiable, Open Letter to Sen. Abdullahi Adamu warned Adamu-led NWC against acting as a Trojan Horse programmed to destroy our party.

READ ALSO: Confusion as INEC cancels RECs declaration of APCs Binani as winner of Adamawa governorship election.

Only compliance with and respect for our constitution by allowing all our superior organs, notably NEC, National Caucus and NAC, to function and take decisions accordingly, which should be binding on all party leaders and members can secure our party. This is not negotiable!

As a person, I have concluded that everything must be done to compel you to respect the constitution of our party and manage its affairs based on the requirements of our constitution and not your personal discretion.

Therefore, by this open letter, I am serving you notice of one week from today, being Wednesday, April 19, 2023 to take all the appropriate steps required to convene a NEC meeting before May 29, 2023 wherein all the issues bordering on the management of smooth transition between the outgoing government of President Buhari and the incoming government of President Asiwaju Tinubu can be considered.

READ ALSO: APC expels Sen. Goje in Gombe on allegation of anti-party activities

If by the end of this one-week notice, no action is taken to convene a NEC meeting as the first step to restore constitutional order in APC, I will not hesitate to take further actions, including approaching our courts to enforce compliance with the provisions of our partys constitution under your leadership.

Lukman said his earlier letter to the national chairman dated April 5, 2023, was ignored, hence, he made the current letter an open letter.

Given the shameful outcome of the Osun 2022 Governorship election and the embarrassing outcome of the 2023 general elections in Osun State whereby we lost all the three Senatorial seats, all the House of Representatives seats and all the House of Assembly seats in the state, the National Secretary, Sen. Iyiola Omisore who is the most senior party leader in the state should immediately resign.

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In addition, the NWC should recommend to NEC that a high-powered reconciliation committee should be set up to facilitate reconciliation of all party leaders in Osun state.

READ ALSO: Kogi APC primary election, rape on democracySen. Adeyemi

In order to demonstrate commitment that we are going to restore constitutional order in the party, actions should commence on all these and NWC should meet within the next two weeks from today, Wednesday, April 5, 2023 to review progress.

The APC chieftain warned that if the current situation in the party is allowed to continue, We are unfortunately setting the stage for destroying the relationship that exists between outgoing President Buhari and incoming President Asiwaju Tinubu.

Anyone who is working to destroy a political relationship that inspired the successful achievement of the first political merger negotiation in the political history of Nigeria, which led to the first defeat of a ruling party for Nigeria, doesnt mean well for Nigerian democracy.
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Following the conclusion of the 2023 general elections and as Nigeria prepares for its next phase of governance; the Federal Government of Nigeria has been making frantic efforts to justify and to give a pass mark to the conduct of the 2023 general elections, particularly to the presidential election that held on the 25th day of February 2023. Representing the Federal Government of Nigeria in London was the Honourable Minister for Information and Culture, Honourable Lai Mohammed. His attempt to justify the performance of the electoral body was before the international communities and independent observers who had firsthand knowledge of what transpired in Nigeria and had expressed strong reservations about the conduct of the highly anticipated and keenly contested presidential election. Following the several backlashes that followed the inability of the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to conduct an above-average election, the Federal Government through the said Minister had embarked on a voyage of convincing the international communities on the conduct of the said election. While defending the validity of the conduct of the 2023 presidential poll, the Minister held a press briefing in London on with some international media organizations and Think Tanks 11th April 2023 on the conduct of the elections, the results, and the general performances of the electoral body. This is an abridged version of his briefing.

Many foreign commentators were surprised by the outcome of the 2023 Nigerian Presidential election due to the wrong mindset before the polls In the course of my interactions, particularly with the Economist, I referred them to an earlier article they wrote, in which they rated the Labour Party Presidential candidate as the front-runner in the polls I explained to them earlier that there was no way a presidential candidate who has no political spread and a grassroots base could win an election in Nigeria. For instance, not only that the candidate must have the plurality of votes, but he must also have one-quarter of the total vote cat in at least twenty-five states of the federation When you look at the results, only the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, met these requirements Obi came far behind with 25% in fifteen states. This means that Obi, who was wrongly adjudged as a front-runner in the election, was virtually unknown and unpopular in 22 states

Well, it is understandable that the Minister might be trying in his position as an officer of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to defend the elections but I must state emphatically that it is not in the place of a member of the presidential cabinet or even any political party to defend the performance or the conduct of the 2023 general elections. The duty strictly lies on the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to defend what it carried out. The speech of the Minister has raised some legal issues as to its impropriety or otherwise.

The Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) is supposed to be an independent body operating outside the influence or powers of the Federal Government or any political party. As a personal theory, INEC should even be another arm of government that enjoys absolute autonomy, whose office holders, officers, and appointees are not subject to political influence and appointment by the President of the Federation. It is only through this level of autonomy that can allow the commission operates without the influence, pressure, or desire to obey the powers that be. A minister in the cabinet of politically elected leaders defending the performance of a supposed independent body shows how dependent and helpless the commission is. It is improper and for a Minister, a member of the Federal Executive cabinet, and a staunch member of an interested political party that participated in the general election whose victory in the general election is being contested, to make statements defending the actions and activities or holding brief of an independent body. Why should the minister be holding brief for INEC? Why have we not heard from the Chairman of INEC or the publicity secretary or the spokesperson of the commission in defense of the conduct of the election that has been roundedly condemned by observers? Would the minister embark on his numerous voyages if the results of the election had not favoured his party? Furthermore, and most importantly, the entire statements made by the minister as cited above are sub judice. In a sane society that respects the rule of law, the Minister ought not to make such statements. Particularly when he stated thus; When you look at the results, only the candidate of the ruling All Progressives Congress and the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, met these requirements Obi came far behind with 25% in fifteen states. This means that Obi, who was wrongly adjudged as a front-runner in the election, was virtually unknown and unpopular in 22 states

The alleged fact that the President-Elect met the requirement of the Constitution is currently being heavily contested at the Presidential tribunal by several political parties that participated in the general election. In the Petition filed by the Labour Party, results from 11 named States of the Federation are being contested at the tribunal. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is also contesting the results from a number of key states that it believed the results were manipulated as well as other political parties that filed their petitions. All parties have submitted to the jurisdiction of the tribunal and are still in the process of exchanging pleadings. It is therefore highly prejudicial for the minister who should know the position of the law to carelessly make such statements, particularly before an international community. It is expected that the judicial processes are allowed to take their courses without interference or inferences from interested parties. The law is trite that parties to a suit are not meant to tamper with the res in the said matter to make statements that clearly seeks to influence or undermine the action before the court. The dignity of a court and its processes must be upheld and respected. The entire briefing made by the honourable Minister for Information and Culture Hon. Lai Mohammed with regard to the 2023 presidential election amounts to contempt of the court. In OJUKWU V. GOVERNOR OF LAGOS(1985) 2NWLR (Pt. 10) page 806 at 826 paras E the Court of Appeal, per, Nnaemeka-Agu, J.C.A, held as follows:

In the judgment the right to self-help ended when the issues were turned over to the Court. In Attorney-General v. Times Newspapers Ltd. (1974) AC. 273, the House of Lords, while discussing the requirements of the due administration of justice, per Diplock, L.J., at p. 309, said inter alia as follows: Once the dispute has been submitted to a court of law, they should be able to rely upon there being no usurpation by any other person of the function of that court to decide it according to law. Conduct which is calculated to prejudice any of these three requirements or to undermine the public confidence that they will be observed is contempt of court. I agree with this opinion. They ought not, while the matter was pending for determination by a court of law have resorted to self-help or acted without getting the necessary order of court.

Taking a general overview of the briefings of the minister, I could only deduce the following issues:

An election that was well carried out and performed above average and one that reflects the yearning of the Nigerian people needs no defense. The election would come with its natural endorsement from the people and the international communities and observers that he struggled to convince. The political atmosphere in Nigeria in the last 2 months tells a whole lot about the election. The reaction of Nigerians on the street tells a lot. Looking back at recent history, the reactions of Nigerians when the result of the presidential election of 2023 in favour of the All Progressives Congress(APC) was declared is a far cry from the reactions on the street when the result of the presidential election of 2015 was declared in favour of the same All Progressives Congress(APC) The international communities and independent observers were on the ground to witness the elections themselves. The various reports that emanated from these bodies did not in any way rate the elections above average. If it had, the Minister would have no need to do the briefings. The Independent Electoral Commission had shown that despite the huge resources committed to the execution of the elections, they still could not conduct an election to the satisfaction and yearnings of Nigerians such as would not require a statement or statements to defend the conduct of the exercise. It is still surprising though disappointing that after winning in 12 states of the federation and being runner up in several other states in the result announced by INEC, a minister is could still say that there was no way a presidential candidate who has no political spread and a grassroots base could win an election. To my mind, the Labour Party, with no political spread as alleged, yet having won this many States in the general elections and a runner-up in some other States, a party nor its candidate needs no political spread to make an impact. It simply needs the right personality. The ideologies of political spread and structure failed woefully in the conduct of the 2023 general election. Again, you wonder why the strong emphasis by the minister was on the Labour Party and Peter Obi. The candidacy of Peter Obi seems to continually give the Ministers and other interested parties sleepless nights and he went all the way to London to defend the performance of INEC, a supposed independent organization.

In conclusion, while we await the final decision of the various tribunals set up across the country, interested parties should refrain from making assertions that have the tendency of distorting the minds of the court, or impugning on the integrity of the various tribunals.

We remain hopeful for a better Nigeria.

Akintayo Balogun Esq., LL.B (Hons), BL, LL.M, is a legal practitioner in private practice, based in Abuja, FCT. He is a prolific writer, a public affairs analyst, and a commentator on national issues. akinson6@gmail.com

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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Department of Health (DOH) has released the guidelines on the second COVID-19 vaccine booster shots for people aged 18 and above, which means they may now head to immunization sites to get the additional dose.

The guidelines issued on Tuesday state that the general adult population may get a second booster shot at least six months after receiving the first one.

The currently available brands are AstraZeneca, Pfizer, and Moderna.

Pwede pa rin bakunahan kahit lampas na sa inirekomendang agwat mula sa unang booster dose, the DOH said.

[Translation: They may still be vaccinated even beyond the recommended interval between the first and second booster doses.]

DOH officer-in-charge Maria Rosario Vergeire earlier said the general public may start getting the extra shot once the guidelines are out.

The second booster dose was previously only administered to health workers, people at least 50 years old, adults with comorbidities, and adults who are immunocompromised.

All these priority groups, except for immunocompromised individuals, may get the second booster at least three months after the first if it's the AstraZeneca brand, and at least four months if it's Pfizer or Moderna.

Five vaccine brands  AstraZeneca, Pfizer, Moderna, Sinovac, and SinoPharm  are available as second booster dose for immunocompromised Filipinos at least three months after the first booster shot.

Booster shots are not yet allowed for kids under 12 years old.
The Edo State Government has sent a stern warning to individuals and groups with intent to disrupt peace in the state by re-enacting the era of thuggery and civil disturbances to desist from any such actions, as the Governor Godwin Obaseki-led administration will not tolerate any form of violence in the state.

In a statement, Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Hon. Paul Ohonbamu, said that the state government will deploy all apparatus of state to ensure that peace is maintained in the state and that well-meaning, law-abiding citizens are assured a free space to go about their businesses without any hinderance.

He said the warning is coming in the wake of the emergence of a new leadership of the 7th Edo State House of Assembly, and to ensure that unscrupulous elements do not take matters into their hands to ferment trouble in the state.

READ ALSO: EDHA: We wont tolerate acts of violence  Edo govt

According to Hon. Ohonbamu, The Edo State Government is by this notice sending a strong warning to individuals and groups with the intention to cause violence in the state to do away with any such thought. Any attempt to re-enact the era of violence will be met with the requisite response from the relevant apparatus of the state.

Acts capable of disrupting public peace will be quelled and the necessary legal actions taken to ensure that peace is maintained and law-abiding citizens go about their normal activities without let.

The commissioner cautioned parents to dissuade their children from engaging in any criminal act or work as agents of unscrupulous elements with intent to cause civil disturbances, warning that anyone caught will face the full wrath of the law.

He added, The government will stop at nothing to ensure that those engaged in thuggery are brought to justice. No one found culpable will be spared and we will ensure that we explore different sections of the law against anyone found wanting.

Edo State under Governor Godwin Obaseki is stable as our shield stands guard and our sword stands ready.
Irans seizure of a British oil tanker was a response to Britains role in impounding an Iranian supertanker first, senior officials said Saturday, as newly released video of the incident showed Iranian commandos in black ski masks and fatigues rappelling from a helicopter onto the vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

The seizure prompted condemnation from the UK and its European allies as they continue to call for a de-escalation of tensions in the critical waterway.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Britains response will be considered but robust.

The Stena Impero was intercepted late Friday by Irans powerful Revolutionary Guard forces. The ships owner, Stena Bulk, said the vessel was stopped by unidentified small crafts and a helicopter during its transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said Britains response will be considered but robust.

In comments on Twitter on Saturday, he said he spoke with Irans foreign minister and expressed extreme disappointment that the Iranian diplomat had assured him Iran wanted to de-escalate the situation but they have behaved in the opposite way.

Speaking to reporters later Saturday after an emergency government meeting, Hunt said the totally and utterly unacceptable interception of the British-flagged Stena Impero raises very serious questions about the security of British shipping and indeed international shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

The free flow of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz is of international importance because one-fifth of all global crude exports passes through the waterway from Mideast exporters to countries around the world. The narrow waterway sits between Iran and Oman.

In a dramatic video released by the Revolutionary Guard, several small Guard boats can be seen surrounding the larger tanker as it moves through the strait. Above, a military helicopter hovers and then several men wearing black masks begin to rappel onto the ship.

The high-quality video was shot with at least two cameras, one from a speed boat-like vessel and one from the chopper, which captured the fatigue-clad men as they prepared to slide down a rope and also took aerial footage of the tanker.

Hunt said the ships seizure shows worrying signs Iran may be choosing a dangerous and destabilizing path. He also defended the British-assisted seizure of Irans supertanker two weeks ago as a legal move because the vessel was suspected of breaching European Union sanctions on oil shipments to Syria.

Iranian officials see this as a tit-for-tat situation, following Grace1 being detained in Gibraltar. Nothing could be further from the truth, Hunt said later Saturday.

The view from Iran was different.

In comments on Twitter on Saturday, Irans Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif characterized the seizure of Irans tanker July 4 as piracy. Politician and former Guard commander, Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezai, wrote that Iran was not seeking conflict, but we are not going to come up short in reciprocating.

The spokesman for Irans Guardian Council, Abbas Ali Kadkhodaei, was also quoted in the semi-official Fars news agency describing Fridays seizure as a legal reciprocal action. The council rarely comments on state matters, but when it does it is seen as a reflection of the supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khameneis views. The council works closely with Khamenei, who has final say on all state matters.

The tit-for-tat move by Iran drew condemnation from European signatories to Irans nuclear accord with world powers. Germany and France both called on Iran to immediately release the ship and its crew, with Berlin saying the seizure undermines all efforts to find a way out of the current crisis.

Europe has struggled to contain the tensions that stem from President Donald Trumps decision to pull the U.S. from Irans nuclear deal, which had lifted sanctions on Iran in exchange for compliance on its nuclear program.

Trump has since re-imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran, including its oil exports, and Iran recently increased uranium enrichment levels beyond limits of the deal in a bid to pressure Europe into finding a workaround the crippling economic sanctions.

Britain, which remains a signatory to the nuclear accord, has figured prominently in rising US tensions with Iran ever since Royal Marines took part in the seizure of the Iranian oil tanker by Gibraltar, a British overseas territory off the southern coast of Spain. Officials there initially said the July 4 seizure happened on orders from the US.

Britain has said it would release the vessel, which was carrying more than 2 million barrels of Iranian crude, if Iran could prove it was not breaching EU sanctions. However, a court in Gibraltar just Friday extended the detention of the Panama-flagged Grace 1.

Stena Bulk, the owner of the seized British tanker, said the vessels crew members are of Indian, Filipino, Russian and Latvian nationalities. Iranian officials say the crew remain on the tanker.

Britains defense secretary Penny Mordaunt told Sky News the takeover was a hostile act by Iran. She said a British Royal Navy frigate deployed to help protect shipping in the Strait of Hormuz was roughly 60 minutes from the scene when the Iranians took control of the tanker.

That same frigate had previously warned off Iranian Guard vessels from impeding the passage of a British commercial vessel the navy was escorting through the Strait of Hormuz.

There are concerns that with each new maneuver a misunderstanding or misstep by either side could lead to war. In June, Iran shot down an American drone in the same waterway, and Trump came close to retaliating with airstrikes.

The US has increased its military presence in the Persian Gulf region in recent weeks. The US will also send more than 500 US troops as well as aircraft and air defense missiles to Irans rival, Saudi Arabia.

It marks the first such deployment of US troops to Saudi Arabia since Americas withdrawal from the country in 2003. King Salman approved hosting the American forces to increase joint cooperation in defense and regional security and stability, a statement in the state-run Saudi Press Agency said.
Leader of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, Sheikh Ibraheem El-Zakzaky and his wife have just left Nigeria for India for medical treatment.

They left alongside some family members and security operatives.

This followed the granting of the couples application for leave to seek medical attention in New Delhi, India last week by Justice Darius Khobo of Kaduna State High Court.

A statement signed by Abdurrahman Abubakar Yola Chairman, Free Zakzaky Campaign Committee, and made available to DAILY POST on Monday, said that in spite of the attempted efforts at frustrating this emergency medical journey by the Kaduna state government, which tried to unilaterally put conditions to the journey even though it lacked such powers, the journey has gone on without much hitches.

This emergency medical journey is consequent on the facts that both the Sheikh and his wife are known to be clearly very ill in detention, sequel to the brutal wounds unjustifiably inflicted on them by the state agents in the name of Nigerian army, the resultant prolonged dehumanizing detention in the custody of the Department of State Security (DSS) and the obvious poisoning of the Sheikh.

As a result of all these physical and psychological stresses, the Sheikh suffered series of mild strokes and is at the risk of further recurrences.

At the same time, he lost one eye following the military attack and is at a severe risk of losing sight completely in the other. He is now found to have more than twenty times the toxic levels of lead poison in his body! Similarly, the wife has been under excruciating pains with shrapnel deeply lodged in her body for all these years of inhuman conditions in detention.

She now is able to ambulate only with the use of a wheelchair, even to the airport. They have been battling ailments that could not be treated in Nigeria, as posited by the foreign medical experts that earlier in the year assessed their health condition. Undoubtedly, both risk losing their lives had the medical journey been further delayed or denied.

We wish to use this opportunity to thank all people of conscience, particularly the team of lawyers being led by Femi Falana SAN, some very senior citizens, diplomats, human rights activists and organizations, journalists and the general public who doggedly stood by us in the campaign for justice for the victims of Zaria genocide. Thank you and God bless.
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje

An African Group of Democrats under the aegis of African Democracy Assessment Network (ADAN) based in Dakar, Senegal, has selected Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje of Kano state to be honoured with an award of Best Governor in 100 Days in office.

This is contained in a statement signed by Abba Anwar, the Chief Press Secretary to Gov. Ganduje and issued to journalists on Sunday in Kano.

Barely 24 hours after the traditional 100 days in office for governors who were inaugurated on May 29, an African group of democrats under the auspices of African Democracy Assessment Network (ADAN), has selected Kano State governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje, for an award.

After assessing what was achieved by all the governors in the last 100 days of their stewardship, Kano state governor, Dr Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, has been selected by the Group to be awarded Best Governor In 100 Days, he said.

Anwar said that the group, in a letter sent to the governor and signed by the West African Regional Coordinator, Mr Samson Theodore, looked at the major sectors that were likely to improve the living standards of the majority of people in the state as against the few individuals before selecting Ganduje for the award.



We carefully selected these areas, education, health agriculture, security, economy, infrastructural development and politics, with concentration on supremacy of political party or parties as the case may be.

Anwar quoted the group in the letter titled Why Kano State Governor, Dr Abdullahi Ganduje Picks First Position in 100 Days in Office as saying that Ganduje was selected after the Mid-Year Democracy Review Meeting of the group.

Your intention to establish College of Education, (Technical) for Women is considered by our panel of research, as genuine policy pronouncement. This will also go a long way in boosting Girl child education in the state.

Ganduje made a clear pronouncement that both basic and secondary education will be free and compulsory.

We are amazed that your policy pronouncement on free and compulsory basic and secondary education has become a reality.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) counsels the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to be cautious in celebrating the judgment of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal, as his gloating will be short-lived.

The party says the judgment, which is a direct miscarriage of justice, cannot stand at the Supreme Court, given the weight of evidence against President Muhammadu Buhari and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

The PDP notes that those celebrating this attempt to corrupt our justice system as well as the brazen approval of a clear case of perjury are directly telling Nigerians something about their conscience and character.

Our party is not surprised that Lai Mohammed, speaking for the Buhari administration, came short of calling for the arrest and prosecution of opposition members for coming before the Appeal Court a situation which exposed their belief that they own the court and can determine the position of the judiciary on any matter.

Notwithstanding, the PDP holds that Nigerians have seen the several errors in the judgment delivered by the Appeal Court and have turned the verdict to a butt of jokes in public space.

We invite Lai Mohammed to tell Nigerians if his Law Degree was awarded to him on the basis of a sworn affidavit and pictures of his classmates; or was his Call to Bar at the Nigerian Law School also based on presentation of pictures and affidavit?

In fact, if anything, the unguarded outburst of the Minister of Information has heightened apprehension among Nigerians about recurrent manipulations of process by the APC and the Buhari Presidency.

This is more the reason the PDP stands with Nigerians in heading to the Supreme Court to uphold justice in the matter and salvage our nation from this drift towards impunity, anarchy and lawlessness.

In the meantime, the PDP counsels Lai Mohammed to redeem his image by offering explanations to Nigerians on his alleged role in the N2.5 billion National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) fraud before casting aspersion on others.

Signed:

Kola Ologbondiyan

National Publicity Secretary
The Federal Government says it is partnering the Russian government to revive Ajaokuta Steel Company.

Minister of Mines and Solid Minerals Development, Mr Olamilekan Adegbite, disclosed this at an interactive session with Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, Mines, Steel Development and Metallurgy in Abuja on Friday.

He further said that the main feature of President Muhammadu Buharis visit to Russia next week is to discuss the reviving of the steel company.

According to the minister, the Russians have shown interest to help Nigeria revive Ajaokuta with their own money.

They want to put Ajaokuta back and we are looking at different methods to engage them.

Because it is almost completed, they bring in some money to finish what is there and operate it for a while; realise their investment, profit and transfer it back to Nigeria.

I think this is the best path to revive Ajaokuta and I believe within the tenure of our time, we will achieve this, Adegbite said.

The minister said that Ajaokuta Company was never vandalised contrary to reports but it was concessioned to a particular firm.

Adegbite, however, noted that invasion of the mining industry by foreign nationals was being encouraged by some state governments.

A lot of effort is going on to check illegal mining in the country, he said.

Chairman of the committee Sen. Tanko Almakura, said that efforts must be made structurally and legally to encourage states and local governments not to participate in illegal mining activities.

If you look at the mining, it is in the exclusive list.

There is the need for us to come together; the Senate, House of Representatives, ministry and stakeholders.

Lets get down and unbundle this to give every tier of government some level of participation without usurping the exclusive legislative right.

We can have the concurrent with the exclusive running side by side, Almakura said.

Almakura who is the immediate past governor of Nasarawa State urged the ministry to identify very important and lucrative solid minerals wherever they are in the country to help in diversifying the economy.

Unless we take the approach that was used in the ministry of agriculture in diversification, we may not be in a position to fast track development and diversification in the solid mineral sector.

With the support of the Senate, we can cause the Presidency to bring about a presidential committee dedicated to the different kinds of solid minerals varieties.

They include limestone, tin, columbite etc to boost the economic development of the country, the lawmaker said.
A middle age man, Saidu Daniya, has cut the throat of his eight-year-old daughter, Zahrah Saidu, in Adamawa State.

The incident happened on Wednesday at Inji Uku, Damare Ward. DanIya was said to have grabbed his daughter by the neck with a sharp knife to kill her but for the timely intervention of a neighbor, the girl could have died. Fadimatu Saidu, mother of the victim, said she was called from her work place by a neighbour who witnessed the barbaric act. Fadimatu, who is the familys breadwinner, said, I work as a house help in the neighborhood to feed the family.

All was well when I went out for work in the morning today, leaving Zahrah who has just returned from Islamiyya school with her father. .

Later on, a neighbour rushed out to call me back home, only to meet the tragic incident. You see how deep the cut to her throat is. Its simply an attempted murder, she lamented.

Suleiman Nguroje, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), has confirmed that Daniya has been arrested and is in the custody of the police.

When asked why he decided to kill his daughter, the suspect, who showed no remorse, simply said, I felt like doing it. .

He has also been reported to have made death threats severally to his wife. The victim is currently receiving treatment at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola
NORMAL  Junior Achievement of Central Illinois will host a dueling pianos fundraiser at 6 p.m. Thursday, May 4, in the Barrel Room at Destihl Brewery and Beer Hall, 1200 Greenbriar Drive, Normal.

The event, featuring the Fun Pianos Show, will include singing, dancing, comedy and piano playing, including audience requests. All of the proceeds will support Junior Achievement's educational experiences in Bloomington-Normal and McLean County classrooms.

Teacher of the Year Maria Bucio of Bent Elementary School and Volunteer of the Year Ravi Singhal will be honored during the event.

Tickets are $90, and those who are interested should RSVP by April 20. Sponsorships are also available.

Visit centralillinois.ja.org for more information.

PHOTOS: A Night at the Oscars at DoubleTree by Hilton in Bloomington Roy and Lynn McEvoy Gary and Betty Beatty Cathy Wentworth, Diane Finney Bruce and Carolyn Sutter Susan and John Barnet Barbara and Dale Huffman Elaine and Tate Kase Steve and Vanessa Walker Faye Schumann, Angie Griffin, Coleen Prewitt Kathy Schniedwind, Jonell Kehias, Tom Smith Corrine Carrier, David Hickman Jori Wyatt, Lynn Driver, Lynn Splittstoesser Meg Barnet, Donya Flohr Michelle Hutchins, Jim Freeman Dick and Lucy Meads Andrea and Rachel Reyes Ron and Marcia Fetzer Wendy Ives, Ruthann Foehr Steve and Angela Sicinski, Steve and Jennifer Jordan Kelli Aicklen, Mike Albers Laurie and Ricardo Zamudio Jane Delgado Shadid, Dee Frautschi Linda Johnston, Lisa Spachman Ron and Rebecca Klein Al Bedell, Alexis Kalish Angela Sicinski, State Rep Dan Brady, Kathi Franklin Linda Hartema, Madonna Courtright
BLOOMINGTON  The dirty hippie cliche can be rather antiquated.

Thats because if you put enough jam band fans in a room and play Phishs beloved Bathtub Gin track, you just might hear a few sing the ending lyrics aloud: we love to take a bath.

Phish tribute band Birds of a Feather will swoop through the Twin Cities Thursday, swelling a high tide of the best improv rock jams from the 1990s at Nightshop in downtown Bloomington. This Springfield-based band has expertly covered Bathtub Gin, turned up a crowd for the requisite Tweezer and basked in the glory of Also sprach Zarathustra, the famed opening music to the 1968 film 2001: A Space Odyssey. Phish has long employed its own rocked-out re-imagining of that latter anthem for great effect in their set openers.

To hear Trey Anastasios transcendent guitar riffs and Page McConnells zany keyboard melodies on a Central Illinois stage is a pleasure that will never be lost to me. Memories of Phish at Wrigley Field in the summer of 2016 remain as some of my top live music experiences of all time, as do the sunny skies and big smiles I shared with my best friend at Anastasios solo band set during Chillicothes Summer Camp Music Festival in 2017.

I had my toes in the Sand, and it was warm and fuzzy.

Communal experience

After Jerry Garcia died in 1995 and the surviving Grateful Dead ensemble were thereafter transmuted into just The Dead, Phish was largely considered in the jam band world to have picked up the torch The Dead had held high since the 1970s.

Phish continues to ride the same wave of popularity that catapulted them into the mainstream rock scene in the 1990s, despite several hiatuses and health setbacks. The band last made a stop here Oct. 4, 1999, delivering the uplifting vocal tunes of Limb by Limb, Wilson and a wicked set closer of Down with Disease.

Birds of a Feather guitarist and vocalist Dave Littrell joined me for a phone interview last week. Since I grew up attending shows of the Phish 3.0 era (denoting the bands third reunion), it was a pleasure hearing his first-hand account of Phish's primal years.

The 45-year-old Springfield musician said Phish hooked him in his freshman year at University of Illinois, where he saw his first show at the now-named State Farm Arena in Champaign.

Being in the room with them and feeling that energy of everybody else  its such a communal experience, Littrell said. He added he was blown away, and his life took a turn toward music at age 19.

The remaining years of the 1990s were hallowed for him, Littrell said. He also noted that every Phish show is different.

Before Birds of a Feather became a flock, Littrell and two of his current bandmates played original jams in his last band operation, called The Station. They switched to Phish covers during the pandemic.

Were just huge Phish fans that it just seemed like the right time to do it, said Littrell, adding he had wanted to work on that kind of a project for a while. His new bandmate Mike Tasch also plays keyboard for Grateful Dead cover band Sunshine Daydream.

Littrell said about 90% of what Birds of a Feather plays is from the Phish 1.0 era. He said Phish had more energy then, and theres a lot more technicality to some parts.

Some of his favorite early Phish samples include riffs from Maze, Rift and Stash.

Trey was such a genius, harmonically, Littrell said, noting his chord structures and different song forms proved Anastasio's early maturity as a musician.

Its so much fun to play, he said of Divided Sky.

Littrell said Phish puts on a much different show today, but they also have 20 more years of maturity and experience in their playing. He said Birds of a Feather will eventually start picking up Phishs newer material, but theyve enjoying playing early tracks so much that they havent gotten to it yet.

Constant listening

Putting together an improvisational rock show isnt easy. Any four instrumentalists can go from a rock jam to free-form noodling on stage, but it takes coordination and experience to reform multiple melodies back into one harmony. Birds of a Feather has honed that skill.

Littrell said they dont recreate Phish shows note-for-note, and hes learned to always be open to what his band mates are playing.

He said Anastasio is constantly listening to the musicians he plays with, and Littrell tries to do the same thing. It what keeps inspiring him, he said.

When improvising, he said theres a tendency for a guitarists ego say: Hey, look what I can do.

Theyre past that, Littrell said of Phish. He said they allow more space in their playing, allowing them to breathe a little more.

Different energy

Littrell said theyre trying to fill potential gaps in the live music scene where Phish may not be touring. With Phishs latest summer tour schedule placing their closest stop to the Twin Cities on July 21 in Burgettstown, Pennsylvania, Littrell makes a good offer with his Bloomington show this week.

Littrell pointed out that you can still see the real thing, and I bet there are "Phans" in BloNo who will make that 500-mile summer road trip happen. My brother knows its a journey worth taking  even if life throws you and other Phans a Curveball Festival cancellation, which happened in 2018.

Littrell said hes made many friends at Phish shows. Before the band goes on, he said theres a lot of anticipation of whats going to happen that night. He added that just doesnt happen with other rock or pop acts.

Theres a different energy in the room, Littrell said.

IF YOU GO WHAT: Birds of Feather, with support from Dub Unlimited Soundsystem WHEN: Doors at 6 p.m.; music starts at 7 p.m. Thursday WHERE: nightshop, 517 N. Main St., Bloomington. TICKETS: Advance tickets available online at nightshop517.com for $10, or $15 at the door.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Department of Justice (DOJ) has formed a special task force that will look into the killings that occurred in Negros Oriental prior to the case of slain Gov. Roel Degamo, Sen. Francis Tolentino said Wednesday.

Tolentino, who proposed the formation of the task force during a Senate hearing on Tuesday, told CNN Philippines The Source that the body will focus on all the 20 killings prior to the Degamo assassination.

The number of cases being considered is lower than the 53 killings and attempted murders in the province that was earlier mentioned by lawyer Levito Baligod, counsel of the Degamo family and other murder victims in Negros Oriental.

Tolentino explained that these 20 cases were the ones whose representatives were present during the previous hearings after being issued with a subpoena.

He said the task force is expected to submit the necessary documents at 1 p.m. on Wednesday so the Senate can also look into these.

The three-man committee composed of DOJ prosecutors will also study the cases and refile such to finally attain justice for the victims and their families, he added.

Tolentino said what authorities will look into is the reason behind the murders as some were reportedly politics-related or due to land acquisition. They will also investigate the killings relation to the March 4 death of Degamo, he added.

Once completed, the senators are also eyeing possible reforms or legislation to address the issue.

In the case of those related to politics, senators can propose reconfiguration of the Omnibus Election Code and work on allowing the Commission on Elections to have power over the police in certain hotspots, Tolentino said.

Sen. Ronald Bato dela Rosas Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs is leading the hearing on the assassination of Degamo and others that happened in Negros Oriental.

During the hearing, Tolentino proposed to postpone the upcoming barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) elections in Negros Oriental.

"Kung sasang-ayunan niyo po ako, i-postpone po natin ang Barangay (and SK) elections sa Negros Oriental," Tolentino said. "Kung i-postpone po iyon, magkakaroon ng mas malakas na momentum ang ating peacekeeping forces."

[Translation: If you would agree with me, let us postpone the barangay and SK elections in Negros Oriental. If the elections are postponed, we will have strong momentum in our peacekeeping forces.]

He also urged the Senate committee to invite Commission on Elections chairman George Erwin Garcia in the next scheduled hearing.

The alleged mastermind behind Degamo's death, suspended Congressman Arnolfo Teves, has yet to return to the country after flying to the United States in February for medical purposes. His travel authority expired on March 9.

READ: Degamo camp backs plan to tag Cong. Teves as terrorist; says Pryde Teves possibly also linked
NORMAL  Five-time Emmy Award winner and Illinois State University alumna Jane Lynch will be returning to her alma mater for about three weeks to serve as a visiting artist.

Specifically, she'll be helping to direct undergraduate students in the stage reading of Neil Simon's comedy "Lost in Yonkers," said Ann Haugo, director of ISU's School of Theatre and Dance.

Lynch, perhaps best known for her portrayal of Sue Sylvester in the Fox musical-comedy "Glee," has enjoyed a broad variety of roles in theater, television and film since graduating from ISU in 1982. She received an honorary doctorate of arts from the university in 2017.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday afternoon, Lynch recalled her time in Bloomington-Normal as joyful and formative  the perfect blend of youthful independence with the trusted safety net of teachers and administrators.

"I don't know that I was ever happier than I was when I came to ISU," she said, calling it "really, one of the highlights of my life."

She praised the administrators who, since welcoming her to campus, had made it clear that they cared deeply about the students and wanted to give them fruitful experiences.

For her part, Lynch said, even just a few interactions with students so far had left her blown away, not just by their base talent but by their desire to learn. She recalled her own education at ISU, which she said went far beyond acting processes and techniques and into other areas  such as rejection.

"I think that if you're not paid attention to too much, you really need to have the compulsion to continue, and I continued," she said.

Lynch also advised students to seize the opportunities that present themselves. For instance, she said, she never sought to be a game show host, but when the phone call came to host NBC's revival of "The Weakest Link" in 2020, she went for it.

"Don't have any goals," Lynch said. "Just see what's right in front of you."

The ISU production of "Lost in Yonkers" will have a 16-member cast of principals and understudies as well as a student assistant director and stage managers.

"Ms. Lynch will be visiting classes and interfacing with students in all areas of our program, which encompasses not just theater but also dance and film and digital media," Haugo said.
BLOOMINGTON  A group of German students from the "Buseum Project" will bring their mobile exhibit to the museum square in downtown Bloomington on Tuesday.

The exhibit, titled "Heartland's Future: How can we live together on a changing planet?", is part of an effort to raise awareness on climate change.

The exhibit features a series of presentations and panel discussions, exploring recent research, solutions and practical actions to help combat the effects of climate change.

The exhibit will be hosted from 2 to 7 p.m. Tuesday on the Jefferson Street side of the McLean County Museum of History, and is free and open to the public.

Guests will have the opportunity to interact with the exhibits, participate in the discussions and learn more about the impacts of climate change.

The event is in partnership with the Ecology Action Center.

Contact mmears@mchistory.org or 309-827-0428 for more information.

Over 100 dash colors at Bloomington 'Holi Moli' festival FESTIVAL OF COLORS 040923-blm-loc-2holi.JPG 040923-blm-loc-3holi.JPG 040923-blm-loc-4holi.JPG 040923-blm-loc-5holi.JPG
BLOOMINGTON  The Bloomington-Normal YMCA and Jack and Jill of America will host the JJ Swims Water Safety Event from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the YMCA, 202 St. Joseph Drive, Bloomington.

Advanced registration is encouraged and can be completed at bnymca.org, by calling 309-827-6233, or in-person at any time leading up to the event.

JJ Swims was created to improve drowning statistics for the Black community.

The first 50 children who register for the free event and are new to YMCA Swim School will receive one month of Swim School for $10. They will also receive member rates on their second and third months of school.

All children in attendance will be entered into a raffle. Ten winners will be selected to receive three months of free swim lessons.

Contact tmizell@bnymca.org for more information.

Watch now: 26 photos from Goldtimers meeting featuring Bill Flick Featured speaker Bill Flick Perry Rock, Marie Leuchtenberg Cathy Clary, Jeff Aaberg Kimberly Rowatt, Gregg Watson Katherine Wills, Alexis Kalish Alexis and Mike Kalish, Neil and Donna Claussen Busey Bank Team Sue Fanis, Don Cooper Marilyn Lewis, Janie McRoberts, Sue Braun Taylor Morgan, Renee Stagno Lisa Kramer, Jan Dogen Char Cremeens, Linda Lancaster Sandy Hinthorn, Cora Parrish Jean and Jeff Dickerson Pat Luber Lora Schumm, Betty Steinlicht Ruth Stewart Jim Gumm, Judy Cole, Leslie Gumm Bill and Bev Gale Jake mug Jean Newmister, Annie Korshak Tina Zammuto, Molly Wuethrich Jeff Aaberg Brett Petersen, Busey Bank Packed house Featured speaker Bill Flick
JACKSON, Miss.  A Mississippi sheriff says in a new court filing that there's no point in serving an arrest warrant on a white woman in the 1955 kidnapping that led to the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till because last year a grand jury decided not to indict the woman.

Till's kidnapping and killing became a catalyst for the civil rights movement when his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in their hometown of Chicago after his brutalized body was pulled from a river in Mississippi. Jet magazine published photos.

The Mississippi arrest warrant for "Mrs. Roy Bryant" was issued shortly after Till's death but was never served on the white woman who has since remarried and is now known as Carolyn Bryant Donham.

Last June, a team doing research at the courthouse in Leflore County, Mississippi, found the unserved warrant. In July, the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said there was no new evidence to pursue a criminal case against Donham. In August, a district attorney said a Leflore County grand jury declined to indict Donham.

"Since the Grand Jury found no probable cause to indict Donham on the charges of kidnapping and manslaughter, there is no probable cause to support the 1955 Arrest Warrant," Charles J. Swayze III, an attorney for Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks, wrote in court papers filed Thursday.

Till's cousin Priscilla Sterling filed a federal lawsuit against Banks on Feb. 7, seeking to compel him to serve the 1955 warrant on Donham. In the response Thursday, Swayze asked a judge to dismiss the suit.

The Associated Press left a phone message Tuesday for one of Sterling's attorneys, seeking comment about the sheriff's court filing.

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

Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Donham, identified Till to her then-husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, who killed the teenager. The arrest warrant against Donham was publicized in 1955, but the Leflore County sheriff at the time, George Smith, told reporters that he did not want to "bother" the woman since she was raising two young children.

Weeks after Till's body was found, Roy Bryant and Milam were tried for murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. Months later, the men confessed in a paid interview with Look magazine.

Banks has been sheriff since 1980. In the court filing Thursday, Swayze wrote that Sterling's lawsuit shows "no factual allegation of misconduct by Banks."

Donham, now in her late 80s, has lived in North Carolina and Kentucky in recent years. She has not commented publicly on calls for her prosecution. The U.S. Justice Department announced in December 2021 that it had ended its latest investigation into the lynching of Till, without bringing charges against anyone.

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Fidelity Bank, Ghanas largest privately-owned local bank, has concluded its customer savings-oriented Sika Bumm promotion by rewarding 15 of its customers with a total of GHS 360,000 in cash prizes. The grand draw event held to mark the climax of the promotion saw Ernestina Pinamang of the IPS Branch emerge as the ultimate winner of the Sika Bumm promo, receiving a cash prize of GHS 100,000.



This brings to GHS 610,000 the total cash rewards given out to winners throughout the period of the Sika Bumm promo.



Lydia Akomeah of the Okaishie Branch and Hajaru Tunteeya Mahama of the Tamale Branch came in first and second runners-up and received GHS 50,000 each. Additionally, Diamond Hand Enterprise and Ebenezer Bortier Borquaye and of the Kantamanto and Nungua Brigade Branches, who came in fourth and fifth position, were rewarded with GHS 30,000 each, while ten other winners from various branches received GHS 10,000 each.



The Sika Bumm promo was launched by Fidelity Bank last year as part of activities to mark its 15th anniversary celebrations. It sought to reward customers and help them cultivate a savings culture. To participate, customers were required to deposit and maintain multiples of GHS 300 in their current/savings account during the promo period to increase their chances of winning. Since the start of the promo, twenty-five customers have been rewarded with GHS 250,000 in a series of five monthly draws that took place between October 2022 and February 2023.



Commenting on the promotion, Nana Esi Idun-Arkhurst, Divisional Director of Retail Banking at Fidelity Bank, expressed appreciation to all customers who actively participated in the draw and reiterated that the Sika Bumm promo sought to reward customers and appreciate them for their support to the Bank over the past 15 years. She also encouraged customers to continue banking with Fidelity Bank to enjoy more promos.



She stated, "It is as a sign of our heartfelt appreciation to you, our customers, that we put together this promotion. Indeed, in doing so, we sought to kill two birds with one stone: firstly, to say a big thank you for your support over the last 15 years, and secondly, to instil the habit of regular savings among our customers."



She added, "As a bank, Fidelity Bank remains customer-focused and committed to helping our customers save more, acquire in-depth financial literacy, and achieve financial independence to pursue their dreams. This is what drives us to keep coming up with thoughtful and innovative promotions such as this, as well as relevant products and services that are tailor-made to meet your specific needs."



Ernestina Pinamang, the ultimate winner of the grand draw, commended Fidelity Bank for keeping to its promise of rewarding customers through the Sika Bumm promo and also displaying transparency during the draw process. She encouraged everyone to bank with Fidelity Bank because they are the best.



She said, "This is like a dream come true. To think that I didnt even have to lift a finger to win a whopping GHS 100,000 is a great feeling. Indeed, Fidelity Bank, today youve made me understand that your statement Believe with us is not just a tagline but a promise. I am most grateful and highly elated."



The Sika Bumm promotion is the latest in Fidelity Banks tradition of well-placed iconic customer campaigns designed to provide its customers with life-changing opportunities to pursue their financial goals and inch them closer to financial freedom. It comes on the back of other innovative and memorable customer campaigns such as Big Fat Zero, 10x Richer, Go for Gold, Save for Gold and Reach for Gold which have gone a long way to transform the financial fortunes and lives of its winners.

Source: Peacefmonline.com









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President of Policy Think-Tank, IMANI Africa, Franklin Cudjoe has lamented Ghanas harsh import levies and taxes.



In a post on micro-blogging platform, Twitter, Franklin Cudjoe questioned the rationale behind paying import tax more than half the value of the imported product. According to him, Ghanas import tax can simply be described as a state-motivated crime.



How do you buy a car abroad for GHS 114,000 and pay a total tax of nearly 74,000 just to clear the car for use? This is state-sponsored thuggery, Franklin Cudjoe explained in a tweet published on his Twitter page.



He added that, the phenomenon accounts largely for the practice of tax evasion at the various borders and ports of the country.



This is why importers collude with custom officers to evade taxes," another part of the tweet read.



Earlier this year in January, the Association of Customs House Agents, Ghana (ACHAG) expressed their disappointment in the government over the complete reversal of the discount policy on import duties at the ports.



Speaking on behalf of the association, Yaw Kyei, the president of the association explained that his outfit is unhappy because of the exchange rate volatility negatively affecting trade. He said the discount policy served as a cushioning for importers.



The Government of Ghana, through the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority, in 2019, applied a 50 percent discount on duties payable on all general goods, and 30 percent discount on vehicles to encourage more importation and tax compliance as well as alleviate the economic burden on the trading and consuming public. This discount was further reduced to 30 percent and 10 percent respectively in 2021. However, beginning January 1, 2023, the discount policy has been scrapped.



Here is Franklin Cudjoe's tweet



How do you buy a car abroad for GHS 114,000 and pay a total tax of nearly 74,000 just to clear the car for use? This is state-sponsored thuggery. This is why importers collude with custom officers to evade taxes.



 Franklin CUDJOE (@lordcudjoe) April 18, 2023











Source: ghanaweb.com









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The government has been called out for fixing a holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr (Salah) celebrations even though the date for the Muslim festivity is not known.



According to broadcaster Umaru Sanda, the date for the upcoming Salah is expected to be confirmed on Thursday evening, depending on when the new crescent will be sighted.



In a series of tweets shared on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Sanda, who was reacting to the governments announcement of Monday, April 24, as a holiday because the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration will be on Saturday, April 22, said that the celebration could either fall on Friday, April 21, or Saturday.



No Muslim is certain when the Eid-ul-Fitr will be! But Ghana's Minister for The Interior has already stated that it'll be on Saturday. I don't blame him. By law, he's supposed to announce a Holiday, days ahead which he does after consultations.



Muslims know that the Eid could be on Friday or Saturday, depending on whether or not we sight the new crescent on Thursday evening.



Muslims deserve two days holiday for Eid because from the foregoing, if Eid falls on Friday, which is possible, Muslim workers can't celebrate because it's not a holiday! he wrote.



Earlier, the government, through a statement issued by the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, announced Monday, April 24, 2023, as a statutory public holiday to mark the Eid-ul-Fitr celebration.



According to the statement, the Eid celebration falls on Saturday, April 22, 2023. As a result, President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, by an Executive Instrument (EI), has declared Monday, April 24, as a public holiday to be observed throughout the country.



"However, in view of the fact that 22nd April 2023, falls on a Saturday, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Ghana, has by Executive Instrument (E.I), in accordance to Section 2 of the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act, (Act 601) declares Monday, 24th April, 2023 as an additional Public Holiday, the statement said.



It further added that the holiday as announced should be observed as such throughout the country.







Source: ghanaweb.com









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The Ghana Hajj Board and the Ghana Hajj Agents Association have unraveled what they describe as the abuse of Saudi tourists and Ummrah visas by some persons.



According to a press release dated Friday, April 14, 2023, some individuals with the connivance of a few Hajj agents are allegedly perpetrating the visa illegalities which Saudi laws have considered unlawful in embarkment on Hajj.



However, some people with the connivance of a few Hajj agents are allegedly perpetrating this illegality. The illegality is threatening the integrity of the management of the annual pilgrimage, the press release indicated.



The Board also noted these suspected persons after obtaining the tourist and Ummrah visas, illegally extended their stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and infiltrate the camp of Ghanaian pilgrims.



Such violators are the source of the bulk of the challenges encountered by the Ghana Hajj Board every year. They infiltrate the Ghanaian camp and illegally access facilities such as accommodation and transport and partake in the meals meant for our pilgrims, a conduct which creates logistical challenges for the Board.



The Board insists that holders of such visas could face a five-year prison term or an outright and indefinite ban from Saudi after serving their sentence as their action is against the laws of the land.



Fresh and drastic measures, details of which include collaboration with Saudi Security Agents to arrest such persons among others, have been considered and firmed up by the Ghana Hajj Board.



Agents implicated in such unlawful action will face sanctions including a long period of suspension from operating as Hajj agents, the statement said further.













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The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is demanding an immediate retraction and unqualified apology from the first deputy speaker of parliament, Mr Joseph Osei-Owusu, for what the association describes as unsavoury comments against its members.



GUTA, in a statement, said Mr Osei-Owusu, in an interview on Kumasi-based Oyerepa TV, accused them of disloyalty and exploitation of Ghanaians.



According to GUTA, the lawmaker implied traders are thieves who are ripping off Ghanaians and should be blamed for the hike in prices and not the taxes introduced by the government.





GUTA, reacting to the accusations in a statement, said it is a union of patriotic and honest members of the Ghanaian business community and as equal stakeholders in the economy, it has every right to voice its concerns on all national issues especially when it comes to the national economy.



The statement noted that most members of the trading community are more intelligent, educated, knowledgeable and resourceful than the lawmaker, but for the privilege he has, he should have known better and be mindful of his utterances and speak with decorum in order not to subject himself to public ridicule and insults.



GUTA further indicated that Mr Osei-Owusus assertion that traders are the cause of the high prices of goods in markets is not only infantile but also diabolical.



The traders are challenging the First Deputy Speaker to produce the list of all taxes imposed by government at the port and beyond including all fees and charges as well as charges for utilities (electricity and water), fuel taxes as well, for all Ghanaians to known who is exploiting the consumer.





Source: class fm









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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he will speak to Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian to hopefully get clarification over his recent controversial remark about the situation of overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan.

Huangs advice to the Philippine government to oppose Taiwan independence if it genuinely cares about its migrant workers drew flak from some lawmakers and netizens  but Marcos cited a possible difference in language.

I think there must have been like an element of lost in translation. English is not his first language, Marcos explained in an ambush interview with reporters in Bulacan.

I interpret it as him trying to say [that] the Philippines [should] not provoke or intensify the tensions because it will impact badly on the Filipinos. That's how I take it.

But Ill be talking to the ambassador soon and I am sure hell be very anxious to give his own interpretation of what he was trying to say, he added.

In a forum speech last week, Huang warned the Philippines against the United States use of military sites under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement, claiming that Washington intends to take advantage of these to interfere in the ongoing tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to the military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs," Huang said.

RELATED: Senator calls out Chinese envoy over 'disgraceful' remarks

The Chinese Embassy earlier said some reports may have misquoted or misinterpreted Huangs comments, but offered no details to journalists who pressed for clarification.

In his first public appearance since his speech, the ambassador also did not comment on the matter, and instead stressed the importance of maintaining Philippine-China friendship.

China, Philippine friendship have lasted for centuries if not millenniums and those friendship should be cherished, Huang said Wednesday during the International Chinese Language Day celebration in Binondo.

CNN Philippines Alyssa Rola and Tristan Nodalo contributed to this report.
Minority Leader and former Deputy Minister of Finance, Cassiel Ato Forson, has indicated his intention to call nine (9) witnesses in the ongoing trial in which he and two others have been accused of causing financial loss to the state.



Some of the witnesses, according to his lawyer include the Chief Director at the Ministry of Finance and the Controller and Accountant General.



In all, the three accused persons will be calling 20 witnesses as counsel for Sylvester Anemana indicated they will be calling six (6) witnesses while counsel for Richard Jakpa also indicated that they will be calling five (5) witnesses.



An Accra High Court on March 30, 2023, ordered Dr. Forson and two others to open their defence in a trial in which they are accused of purchasing defective vehicles as ambulances for the Ministry of Health.



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 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.



She 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 trial was scheduled for case management yesterday but Dr. Abdul Basit Aziz Bamba, counsel for Dr. Forson told the court he had filed two applications, one seeking leave to file witness statements and the other asking the prosecution to disclose certain documents.



He is asking for five separate documents, include warrant of payment detailing the person who authorised the Bank of Ghana to establish the Letters of Credit.



He sought leave to file the witness statements out of time because according to him, some of their witnesses are out of the country and he has not been able to have conference with them.



Justice Asare-Botwe gave the prosecution up to April 21, 2023, to file the disclosures demanded by Dr. Forson.



The defence lawyers were given up to May 4, 2023, to file their witness statements as well as exhibits. The case was adjourned to May 9 for case management.



Meanwhile, Justice Asare-Botwe has expressed her intention to conclude the case by August 31, 2023, when the court goes on legal break.



She said a new judge who will be replacing her at the High Court would be taking over in a few days so she intends to conclude all her pending cases so she could attend to her duties at the Court of Appeal.



After learning that the accused intend to call 20 witnesses, she said she would talk to her superior so a court would be dedicated for the hearing of the case.















Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Professor Smart Sarpong, a Senior Research Fellow of the Kumasi Technical University, has applauded the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr. George Akufo Dampare and the Ghana Police Service over their engagement with the two largest political parties, the New Patriotic Party and the National Democratic Congress.



The Police administration held a meeting with the leadership of both parties on some petitions recently received by the Police which demanded, amongst others, the arrest of some notable politicians on alleged statements made by them which, according to the petitioners, threaten the peace and security of the country.



The Police noted that statements of Ex-President John Mahama, NDC National Chairman; Mr. Asiedu Nketiah, and the Minister for Food and Agriculture; Hon. Bryan Acheampong, had all failed the criminal threshold test which would warrant their arrest.



Nonetheless, statements by the Suame NDC Youth Organizer were criminal and had breached the laws of the Republic, as a result his arrest and prosecution; the Police further stated.



The IGP also assured the parties of the determination of the Police to serve as impartial referees in enforcing law and order.



Making submissions in relation to the Police and political parties' engagement, Professor Smart Sarpong guaranteed the Police of the people's support for them to do their work without fear or favor.



According to him, the IGP's assurance and caution to all political parties, particularly the NPP and NDC, that they should leave the Police to do their work without political interferences is in the right order.



"They should continue to do their work. President Mahama has called on them to serve the country not individuals. They should do their best...We throw our support behind them," he said on Peace FM's "Kokrokoo" morning show.



To the political parties, Prof. Smart Sarpong advised them to refrain from making seditious statements but focus on clean politics and their polling stations if they want to win the elections.



He stressed; "Election 2024, one party is going to win but it is going to be the party that becomes smarter, not the party that shows muscles and become more violent."





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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" " Then-candidate Joe Biden arrives at a campaign stop on Dec. 2, 2019 in Emmetsburg, Iowa. The stop was part of his 650-mile "No Malarkey" campaign bus trip through rural Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images

If you've tuned in to see Joe Biden in a debate anytime since at least 2012, you've heard him call his opponent's plans "malarkey." Every time he passes this judgment, lookups of this odd and fun-to-say word spike on Merriam-Webster's website. After he used it in a 2020 presidential debate, "malarkey" was in the top 30 percent of all lookups on the site, and this same dictionary named it a 2020 Word of the Year, along with "coronavirus," "asymptomatic" and "schadenfreude."

But why "malarkey"? Where does this weird word even come from?

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A lot of people, apparently including Biden, believe "malarkey" to come from Ireland. But its first-known usage is in the United States in the early 1920s. It's not a widely used word in Ireland or Great Britain, even today. The Oxford English Dictionary pegs its first use in 1923 in an article published in the Defiance Crescent-News, a local newspaper in Ohio:

The challenger has been so unimpressive in public that ... a coterie ... has made a practice of laughing immoderately at every move the Latin makes. They seem to think he is a lot of "malarkey," as it were.

But many trace the term back to a political cartoonist, Thomas Aloysius Dorgan, whose work was credited in the papers by his initials: Tad. He used the term as early as 1922 in the San Francisco Call & Post, according to a paper published in 2002. Other sources point to a cartoon by Tad published in the Madison (Wisconsin) Capital Times in 1924, where a character says, "Malachy, you said it."

Over the years, people have hypothesized that the word comes from an Irish surname, Mullarkey, or the modern Greek word for soft, "malakia." But most scholars give these ideas little credit. It's also been spelled several different ways, including Tad's "malachy;" without an e, as in "malarky;" and the most commonly accepted way, as in the Merriam-Webster entry, "malarkey."

According to the 2002 paper, which was published in the journal Western Folklore, there could still be an Irish connection. Irish Gaelic has the root "meall-," which has connotations of deception or lies. The word mealleairacht means deception, allurement, or amusement, which has a very malarkey-like flavor. The paper's author, William Sayers, makes the case that the word came to San Francisco with Irish immigrants in the early 20th century, but American ears misheard the precise pronunciation. As the word moved eastward, it became "malarkey."

And now the word has achieved what all words dream of: being used by a presidential candidate in a debate of national importance.

Now That's Claptrap Americans love to make up fun new words, and a lot of them have to do with things we consider nonsense, just like malarkey. We also have claptrap, poppycock, hogwash, mumbo jumbo, guff, taradiddle, tommyrot, horsefeathers, fiddlesticks, crapola, hokum and the most recent entry, woo-woo.
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A new study suggests that Americans' political anxiety crescendos before a major election. The study is the first to examine anxiety tethered to a specific political event: the 2020 presidential election. Credit: Clint Chapman | University of NebraskaLincoln

Researchers are beginning to better understand the toll of polarized politics on mental and physical health, and a new study published in the Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties suggests that Americans' political anxiety crescendos before a major election.

Led by University of NebraskaLincoln political scientist Kevin Smith, with Aaron Weinschenk of the University of WisconsinGreen Bay and Costas Panagopoulos of Northeastern University, the study is the first to examine anxiety tethered to a specific political eventthe 2020 presidential election, touted by both sides as the most consequential in recent history.

Using a two-wave panel survey of political anxiety administered two weeks before and two weeks following the 2020 election, the study found that Americans were more anxious before the election, as researchers had hypothesized. Following the election, it was those who specifically voted for Donald Trump, as well as conservatives and African Americans, who reported lower levels of anxiety.

"We found a lot of political anxiety right before the election, and that the election was an intervention to treat some of that anxietyhow much, we don't know, because of some of the craziness around the election," said Smith, chair and Olson Professor of political science. "But pretty much across the board, political anxiety went down following the election, and it went down surprisingly in some groups."

"One thing that really surprised us, though, was that even before the election, anxiety was lower for African Americans than their white counterparts."

The most anxious group, before and after the election, were those more politically engaged or attentive to politics. Their anxiety levels rose after the election.

"While some results were surprising, you also saw results that fit exactly what you'd expect," Weinschenk said. "We found that more engaged people, or people who knew more about politics, were more anxious after the election. You'd expect that because of the uncertainty immediately following the election, and these are people more invested."

The researchers noted that the 2020 election was anything but normal. A record number of votes were cast, and it was the most expensive election on record, topping $6.6 billion spent in the contest between President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump. Voters were also contending with a pandemic, and conspiracy theories abounded about election fraud.

Despite that, Smith said the study establishes a method for researchers to measure political anxiety going forward.

"Our measure appears to be valid," he said. "We're looking at 2024 and hoping we can replicate some of this to possibly parse out some of those effects."

Smith and Weinschenk also suggested that scientists could use the measures to look at the mental health toll of state and local elections, which are becoming more expensive and more polarized.

"Would an election in a Republican- or Democratic-leaning state, where the outcome seems pre-determined, be less anxiety-inducing than in a battleground state, where a ton of money from outside special interests is coming in, and it's dominating the news cycle?" Smith said. "I don't know, but it is a relevant question, because with state and local elections, you'd be going through this cycle each year."

"One of the things we're hoping for is that other researchers will pick up this measure and use it in other surveys."

As with his previous research into the deleterious effects of politics, Smith said this line of examination is important for understanding how an engaged populace in a polarized political environment may be suffering from stress and anxietyand what measures can be taken to circumvent those effects.

"Essentially, politics may be serving as a primary source of stressand specifically anxietyin an environment that would be more or less constant. And what do we do about that?" Smith said. "There's not a large group of us looking at this yet, but hopefully, that number grows."

More information: Kevin Smith et al, On pins and needles: anxiety, politics and the 2020 U.S. Presidential election, Journal of Elections, Public Opinion and Parties (2023). DOI: 10.1080/17457289.2023.2189258
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Credit: Pixabay/CC0 Public Domain

There is reasonably broad support among Dutch voters for a basic income, according to new research by sociologists at Tilburg University. However, this must be subject to conditions. Most proponents favor a "participation income," available to everyone on the condition that a social task is performed, like volunteer work, informal care or an education. This participation income should then be higher than the current subsistence minimum. These desires are at odds with the current political proposals for an unconditional but basically low basic income.

A basic income for all is a much-discussed proposal for reforming the welfare state, which was mainly attributed to leftist-progressive politicians and voters. In practice, several political parties in the Netherlands, such as GroenLinks, D66, PvdA and PvdD, have already proposed their own variant of basic income, or are open to experimenting with a basic income.

This research shows that support among voters is broader and also comes from unexpected quarters: highly educated people are more in favor of a basic income than less educated people. At the same time, support does not appear to be higher among people from whom you would intuitively expect it, such as socially vulnerable groups and critics of the current welfare state.

Besides the usual political-ideological differencesleft-wing voters are generally more in favor of a basic income than their right-wing counterpartsthe researchers also found interesting common ground between the different party-electorates. With the main finding being that most voters, regardless of political color, prefer a participation income to a fully unconditional basic income and are strongly opposed to a basic income lower than the current subsistence minimum.

Researcher Tijs Laenen says, "Basic income may have more chance of success politically than generally expected. After all, it is also supported by groups we know have an important influence on policy, such as highly educated voters. In this regard, the Dutch are quite generous, but also conditional in their solidarity. It will be searching for a type of basic income that can get a broad political coalition on its feet. Because the preference for a rather generous but conditional variant, is at odds with most political proposals, which come mainly from the progressive left and envision an unconditional and (to start with!) reasonably low basic income."
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Xuang Xuang, a male panda, left, plays on the ground, as Lin Hui, right, a female panda, eats a cake made of bamboo and carrots to celebrate her fourth birthday at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai province, north of Bangkok, Thailand, on Sept. 28, 2005. Lin Hui, the giant panda, died Wednesday, April 19, 2023, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said. Credit: AP Photo/Wichai Traprew, File

A giant panda on long-term loan from China died in a zoo in northern Thailand on Wednesday, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said.

The cause of Lin Hui's death was not immediately clear but she appeared to have become ill Tuesday morning, and her nose was seen bleeding when she laid down after a meal, said Wutthichai Muangmun, the zoo director.

She was rushed into the care of a joint Thai-Chinese veterinarian team but her condition deteriorated and she died early Wednesday morning, he said.

Tewarat Vejmanat, a veterinarian who spoke at a news conference broadcast live on the zoo's Facebook page, said the panda, who had a health check every day, was already at an advanced age at 21, and there had been no sign of illness or any difference in her behavior before she became sick.

"China is saddened by the death of the giant panda Lin Hui," Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in Beijing.

Wang said that after China learned about the panda's illness it "immediately organized experts to guide the Thai side to carry out rescue work through video link, but unfortunately did not save her life." He added that the Chinese authorities would soon set up a team of experts to carry out a joint investigation into the cause of death.

Lin Hui's male mate, Chuang Chuang, who was kept with her at the Chiang Mai Zoo, died there in 2019 at the age of 19. The couple arrived in Chiang Mai in 2003 on a 10-year loan that was later extended for another 10 years.

While the loan was ostensibly for research and conservation purposes, it was generally regarded as an act of friendship by China, which has sent pandas to many countries in what is regarded as a striking example of soft power diplomacy.

Lin Hui, a female Panda on a 10-year loan from China is seen eating bamboo at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand, on Sept. 23, 2005. Lin Hui, the giant panda, died Wednesday, April 19, 2023, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said. Credit: AP Photo/Apichart Weerawong, File

When Chuang Chuang died in 2019, Thailand's then-Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said the country had to pay $500,000 to the Chinese government in compensation. It was later reported that heart failure was the cause of his death.

Zoo director Wutthichai said the zoo has a 15-million-baht ($435,000) insurance policy on Lin Hui, who was due to be returned to China this October.

Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang had a daughter, Lin Ping, in 2009 through artificial insemination. A scheme to encourage them to mate naturally by showing them videos of pandas having sex made headlines in 2007. Lin Ping was sent to China in 2013 in what was initially said to be a one-year visit for her to find a mate, but has remained there.

The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity.

A Chinese influencer living in Thailand who identified herself as Shanshan visited the zoo Tuesday morning and posted several videos of Lin Hui on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. One of them showed her nose, which appeared bloody, and a red spot could be seen on her neck. In another clip, she was lying down while licking her nose, and there were red stain trails on a concrete slab beneath her head. Screenshots from the videos were widely shared by Thai social media users.

"This is when we just got here, she was lying on her side. Then I saw her nose was bleeding," she commented in one of the clips. "She looked like she had nausea. We were not sure."

Screenshots from the videos were widely shared by Thai social media users.

The cause of Lin Hui's death will take time before it can be determined, Wutthichai said, and how and when that would be revealed will be entirely up to China. Under an agreement between the zoo and the Chinese government's panda conservation project, an autopsy cannot be performed until a Chinese expert is present.

Some Thai internet users speculated that air pollution in northern Thailand, which in recent weeks has spiked to levels considered dangerous to human health, contributed to Lin Hui's death. The zoo staff, however, said that was unlikely, as Lin Hui lived in a closed space in an area of the zoo considered to have "the cleanest air."

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
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A total solar eclipse is the only time you can see the ghostly-white solar corona (the Sun's outer atmosphere) with your own eyes, and the only time we can view the innermost part of the corona. Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani

Imagine you traveled thousands of miles to see a total solar eclipse, but as the Moon began moving in front of the Sun, the sky grows cloudy, blocking your view of the unique celestial spectacle.

That's what happened to University of Hawaii astronomer Shadia Habbalseveral times.

After traveling all the way to Antarctica on her latest expedition to study the inner part of the Sun's outer atmospherethe coronaHabbal was met with clouds once again. "It was a completely grayed-out sky," Habbal recalled.

Now, as Habbal prepares to observe a total solar eclipse from the western tip of Australia this week, she has a plan to try to combat any clouds that might interfere with her next chance to conduct her investigation.

"Why don't we fly a kite?" one of Habbal's collaborators proposed after the thwarted eclipse observation in Antarctica.

So on April 20, a team led by Habbal will use a large kite to loft her scientific instrument about 3,500 feet (or a kilometer) above the Australian landscape.

Funded by NASA, the experiment will fly a spectrometer called ALIMAS (for Advanced Low Intensity Multiplexed Astronomical Spectrometer). Spectrometers can separate light into its component wavelengths, revealing details such as elemental composition, temperature, and motion.

With this information, Habbal hopes to better understand how charged particlesnamely, electrons, protons, and other heavier elementsescape the Sun through the corona to form the solar wind, an ever-flowing stream that fills the solar system. Most of the action happens close to the Sun, in the inner part of the corona, which we can view briefly only during total solar eclipses. (Coronagraphsoften used on solar observatories to mimic total eclipses by blocking the Sun with an artificial diskcover up the innermost part of the corona.)

This Cody box-shaped kite will fly a NASA-funded scientific instrument to study the total solar eclipse in Australia on April 20, 2023. Standing next to the kite is team member Benedict Justen, who proposed flying the instrument on a kite and designed a device that will allow the airborne instrument to track the eclipsed Sun during totality. Credit: Klemens Brumann and Benedict Justen

Habbal is also trying to learn more about the origins of features that emerge in the inner corona, such as towers of plasma called prominences and explosive eruptions called coronal mass ejections, which blast solar material into the solar system.

The kite that will carry the spectrometer is known as a box-type Cody kite, which means it is box-shaped and has wings. The kite's wingspan is about 21 feet (6.5 meters) across. When it reaches its peak height in the sky, it will appear roughly the same size as a large passenger plane cruising overhead and will not block the view of the eclipse for anyone on the ground. The kite and spectrometer will be launched on a kilometer-long tether attached to a tow bar on a vehicle. In the case that the tether breaks, a parachute attached to the spectrometer will safely deliver the instrument back to the ground.

Even if there are no clouds in the sky during the eclipse, Habbal's team plans to fly the experiment on the kite as a technology demonstration to find out whether kite-based observations could work for future eclipses. If the experiment is successful, Habbal hopes to fly it again in the United States during the total solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, but even higher (up to 4 kilometers) and for a longer period of time.

"The Australia eclipse is only about one minute, whereas the U.S. eclipse will be longerover four minutes in many places," Habbal said.

If successful, it will also be the first time a NASA heliophysics experiment has been flown on a kite.

"We haven't done that yetused a kite for heliophysics," said NASA scientist Madhulika Guhathakurta, who leads the agency's Heliophysics Innovation in Technology and Science (HITS) program, which provided funding for Habbal's experiment. "In the future we could be using this platform for many different types of novel investigations."

"I think this is the beginning of an incredible opportunity," Habbal added.

To watch this solar eclipse and learn more about the kite experiment, tune in to NASA Science Live at 10:30 p.m. EDT on April 19, which will be livestreaming the eclipse and discussing the kite experiment in Australia.
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The effect of high and low power on novelty score across rounds, Study 2. Error bars represent 95% confidence intervals. Credit: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104474

Power often boosts employees' creativity because it liberates them from constraints such as worrying that their ideas will be rejected. However, new research shows that employees who are not in positions of power can become more creative when given time to "warm up" to a task by engaging in the creative task more than once.

"This is important because when people with more power are able to express their creative ideas more than those with less power, it leads to a rich-get-richer dynamic that reinforces or exacerbates these power differentials," said Brian Lucas, assistant professor in the ILR School and co-author of "Low Power Warm-up Effect: Understanding the Effect of Power on Creativity Over Time," forthcoming in the July issue of Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

"Understanding ways to boost the creativity of lower power workers can help them navigate this low-power disadvantage, generate more creative ideas and promote a more equitable workplace," Lucas said.

In the study, Lucas and his co-authors found that although low-power individuals are less creative than high-power individuals at the beginning of a creative task, they can eventually catch up and match high-power individuals' creativity. This is because the creative task provided feelings of autonomy and liberation that eventually help them overcome their low-power disadvantage, the researchers said.

Lucas and two other researchers, Sahoon Kim and Jack Goncalo, both of the University of Illinois, conducted three studies to reach their conclusion.

In the first study, they divided the creative idea generation session into two rounds consisting of a one-minute "warm up" followed by a second round in which the participants could take as long as they wanted. Participants were randomly assigned to a high-power condition or a low-power condition, and feelings of power were induced with a role manipulation where participants were given a leadership role and control over resources (high power) or an employee role with no control over resources (low power).

The study found that high-power individuals were more creative than low power individuals in the warm-up round. There was no difference, though, in creativity in the second round.

In the second study, the researchers changed the creative task and increased the number of rounds from two sessions to five, taking as long as they like to complete the task. In the final study, they used two different creative tasks across two rounds, both of which were one-minute long.

Consistent with the first study, these studies found that high-power individuals were more creative than low-power individuals in the first round. But the creativity of low power individuals "caught up" to the creativity of the high power individuals after the first round. Results of the third study demonstrated that a different creativity task can also warm-up low-power people for an unrelated creativity task.

"The experience of being creative can, in and of itself, have positive psychological consequences," Lucas said.

"Given the high value of creative ideas for organizations and for the careers of the employees that champion them, it is important to cultivate strategies that empower all employees to tap their creative potential," he said. "The low power warm-up effect suggests a simple intervention that does just this and overcomes power differentials in the workplace: when pursuing creative work, let employees warm up first."

More information: Sahoon Kim et al, Low power warm-up effect: Understanding the effect of power on creativity over time, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology (2023). DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2023.104474 Journal information: Journal of Experimental Social Psychology
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Josef Aschbacher, director general of the European Space Agency, speaks in Paris, November 23, 2022.

European Space Agency director Josef Aschbacher promised a "transformation" of the continent's space sector in the coming years during an interview with AFP, including more collaboration between government and private industry.

Private firms will be "encouraged to be a partner and not only a contractor," Aschbacher said, answering questions on the sidelines of an aerospace industry conference taking place this week in Colorado Springs, in the United States.

US space agency NASA has long incorporated private firms into its space exploration, planning to send its astronauts to commercial orbiting outposts once the International Space Station is retired.

But any major reorientation of the European space program will need to be discussed at the second European space summit, to be held in Seville, Spain, in November.

Here are Aschbacher's answers to questions posed Tuesday by AFP.

When will we know more about Europe's vision for space?

Towards the space summit at the end of the year, I think we'll have a clearer picture of what is Europe's ambition in the next decade, which decisions we need to prepare today in order to get there. So there's a lot of work that's happening right now in Europe.

I'm preparing the scenarios, and I'm preparing the facts, so that politicians can make a decision. It's up to them.

The European Space Agency's JUICE probe blasts into space on April 14, 2023 aboard an Ariane 5 rocket from Europe's spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana, on a mission to explore Jupiter's icy moons.

What are the different scenarios?

It will be a phased approach. Certainly one step is cargo transport to low-Earth orbit (LEO), for commercial space stationsbecause the space station by the end of the decade will be deorbited. We need a future LEO presence for Europe to continue our research.

Second point is to get astronauts to LEO.

Then the next block is to the Moon. That means first cargo not only to the Moon but also back from the Moon, and eventually astronauts to the Moon.

And then of course there's a long-term perspective of going beyond the Moon towards Mars, but this is really further ahead.

So for these various scenarios, we will develop architectures. What does it mean, what hardware, what are the cost estimates.... But it's also clear that this will be quite a different approach compared to how we procure today.

So this will be a transformation of the space sector in Europe, which we also see here in the United States.

How will the sector be transformed?

Industry certainly will be not only invited, but encouraged to be a partner and not only a contractor. And we, ESA, we're not only a customer but a partner.

That means we build up technology with them and for them. They have to engage, they have to commit. We provide the long-term framework and guarantee, we are a long-term anchor customer, but they need to provide the solution.

We really would like to make them much more a driver in this new architectural buildup. Also them coming with money, which may be coming from their own sources. So that is really a new way of building up a space program.

 2023 AFP
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Credit: University of Surrey

The University of Surrey's Global Center for Clean Air Research (GCARE) has published new guidance in Hindi to help improve indoor air quality when cooking.

The University of Surrey's Global Center for Clean Air Research (GCARE) has published new guidance in Hindi to help improve indoor air quality when cooking. This initiative brings together occupants, builders, landlords, and local authorities across India, with the goal of creating a healthier environment in kitchens.

Cooking is a leading contributor to poor indoor air quality, responsible for four million premature deaths annually and linked to illnesses such as heart disease, lung cancer, and strokes. GCARE researchers conducted a groundbreaking study of 60 low-income kitchens across Asia, South America, the Middle East, and Africa. They discovered that unhealthy cooking practices, such as frying, led to a more than 50% increase in harmful fine particulate matter emissions.

Professor Prashant Kumar from the University of Surrey, who led the research informing the guidelines, said, "Many people overlook the fumes generated while cooking meals, but the associated health risks are significant. Simple actions can substantially improve home health, such as opening a window, steaming rather than frying, and keeping those not actively cooking away from the kitchen to protect them from inhaling harmful toxins."

The Hindi guidance includes recommendations for home cooks, policymakers, builders, landlords, and local authorities in India. It aims to bridge the knowledge gap and provide efficient ways to mitigate the harmful impacts of kitchen emissions on health and the environment.

Dr. Anwar Ali Khan, a co-author of the guidance from the Department of Environment, Government of Delhi, who supports the guidance implementation in India, said, "In the Indian context, these guidelines can be a significant resource to develop inventories of air pollution from household kitchens and create a similar novel framework document on kitchen emission safeguards. The forthcoming Hindi guidance will make it more accessible to Indian households, builders, and policymakers, furthering our efforts to improve indoor air quality."
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. on Wednesday said he sees no looming rice crisis in the country despite concerns raised by some farmer groups.

No. I dont, Marcos told reporters when asked about a possible deficiency of the commodity in the next few months.

There is a chance na ninipis talaga yung supply (There is a chance for supply to dwindle). So we are watching and waiting to see what the production levels are going to be after the last planting season, he added.

Concerns on a potential rice shortage were floated in the past weeks amid the threat of the El Nino phenomenon.

The Department of Agriculture has said supply remains stable. A surge in stocks is also expected following the March and April harvests, it added.

Marcos, however, said the government won't be closing its doors on the product's importation.

We may have to import. Were keeping that option open, the chief executive noted.

Bastat swertehin tayo nang kaunti, di naman tayong masyadong mag-Odette ulit o isang malaking problema Basta all things remaining equal, we have enough supply, and that well be able to keep the prices stable.

[Translation: As long as we get lucky, we dont get another Typhoon Odette or another problem. As long all things remain equal, we have enough supply, and that well be able to keep the prices stable.]

Last week, the National Food Authority proposed to import 330,000 metric tons of rice to make up for the foreseen deficit in the countrys buffer stock.

RELATED: Marcos: PH rice supply still 'good,' but NFA buffer stock low
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Pairwise Comparisons of Relative Search Term Rates Note: In each plot, the purple line represents the higher searched term relative to the green line that represents the lower searched term. Moving from left to right, in the top-left panel, the term time is searched more often than war. In the top-middle panel, the term war is searched more than god, and so on. The term human rights is searched slightly more than the terms terrorism and malaria, and more often than the term injustice. Credit: American Political Science Review (2023). DOI: 10.1017/S0003055423000199

Recently, scholars have expressed doubt that the language of human rights still animates the global fight for better living conditions.

Critics say the "human rights-based approach," defined by the United Nations as a "conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards," is no longer useful for people struggling to bring about change.

But that's not the story Google tells, according to political scientists Chris Fariss of the University of Michigan and Geoff Dancy of the University of Toronto. In response to a dearth of survey data, the researchers wanted to understand who was thinking about human rights, and where those people live.

Using Google search data from around the world, the researchers showed that human rights are the most popular in the Global South, and that people in countries such as Guatemala and Uganda search the internet for information on human rights far more frequently than people in countries such as the United States or the United Kingdom. Their results are published in The American Political Science Review.

"We think that these findings seriously challenge recent critical work on human rights that says that the discourse no longer resonates among the downtrodden or underprivileged populations in the world," said Dancy, associate professor of political science. "In fact, it does. People in the Global South still very much want human rights and are very interested in them."

The researchers say criticism of the human rights framework rests on very little evidence. A few surveys ask questions about human rights, such as the Latin American Public Opinion Project and the World Values Survey. But the information these surveys gather doesn't capture what people in other countries think about human rights, the researchers say.

"There are a bunch of different arguments about interest in human rights, but all the different arguments make assumptions about the interest and agency of the individual without really evaluating those assumptions empirically," said Fariss, assistant professor in the U-M Department of Political Science and faculty associate in the Center for Political Studies at the Institute for Social Research.

"There's a little bit of survey data, but it's not day-to-day, it's not week-to-week. We can't really get a good overall global pattern of where this interest is. That's why we wanted to empirically evaluate this question, and Google Trends has turned into a treasure trove of useful information about what people are searching for."

The researchers looked at Google Trends, a service that shows aggregated data on search engine queries. They found that, across the globe, the search for the term "human rights" has stayed relatively steady between 2015 and 2019. And because access to the internet is increasing, presumably the search for human rights is stable and likely even increasing, Fariss said.

"There's more people on the internet, there's more searching, there's more engagement with digital devices," he said. "The total volume of searching is going up and so for the relative rates to stay constant, the relative volume of human rights searching has to be increasing, too."

Almost universally, the researchers write, human rights interest is most pronounced in countries in the Global South. In English, the three populations who most frequently search "human rights" are in Zambia, Zimbabwe and Uganda. In Spanish, the top searchers are Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras and Mexico.

"One claim is that human rights is not as popular as other political concepts," Fariss said. "But it's searched as much or more than civil war, terrorism, national security and 'right to food.' It's searched much more than Amnesty International. And people who are searching for Amnesty International tend to be in the Global North."

The researchers weren't able to access data to show the raw total of net Google searchers or the actual number of human rights searches, but they do know the relative rate of these searches. For example, the average Ugandan searches for "human rights" 7.3 times for every time an American does the same. Individuals in Guatemala search 10 times more often than individuals do in Spain.

To validate that these searches for "human rights" occur in places that repress human rights, the researchers compared the search to other equally important concepts, such as malaria. They showed that searches for "malaria" were much higher in countries that were experiencing malaria outbreaks.

"We were able to show that by volume, human rights is searched as much or more than a bunch of similarly important concepts like malaria," Fariss said.

Malaria, he said, is searched at about the same relative rate as human rights.

"People go to Google to try to access information when they need something," Dancy said. "Just like you might have symptoms of a disease and search for those symptoms on Google and read about it on WebMD, if you're suffering at the hands of your government, you search for things that are supposed to address that problem on Google."

While other surveys did not provide expansive data about how people thought about human rights, they did offer proof that people were thinking about human rights at all, the researchers said. They used that survey information to show that people were indeed interested in using the internet to access information about human rights.

In addition, Fariss and Dancy say Google Trends allowed them to get at pretty fine-grained data that might not be captured by larger surveys conducted every few years.

"But those waves are separated by a few years each. We're able to look at interest and patterns of expressed interest to a scale that just isn't possible with traditional survey instruments," Fariss said. "We don't want to say that this is going to replace surveys, but we think it augments surveys in a really important methodological way."

Their results also show something pretty significant about the importance of human rights, particularly for those who may need them most.

"Human rights aren't going anywhere, or at least the language of human rights isn't going anywhere," Dancy said. "It's still the prevailing vocabulary for challenging government violence."

The researchers' data is open to any interested scientists or members of the public, and can be found at Github.

More information: GEOFF DANCY et al, The Global Resonance of Human Rights: What Google Trends Can Tell Us, American Political Science Review (2023). DOI: 10.1017/S0003055423000199 Journal information: American Political Science Review
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Artist's view of intelligent membranes with memory effects. Credit: R. Nair

Researchers from the National Graphene Institute (NGI) have created "intelligent" membranes whose "memory" can be used in areas like smart separation technology, wound management, drug delivery, sensors and memory devices.

"The history of membrane development spans more than 100 years and has led to a revolution in industrial separation processes," says Professor Rahul Raveendran Nair, Carlsberg/Royal Academy of Engineering Research Chair and study team leader. "In recent years, there has been some effort towards making membranes that mimic biological structures, particularly their 'intelligent' characteristics."

Now, in research published today in Nature, scientists explain how they have developed intelligent membranes that can alter their properties depending on the environment and remember how permeable they were before. This means the membranes can adapt to different conditions in their environment, and more importantly, memorize their state, a feature that can be exploited in many different applications.

A phenomenon known as hysteresis is the most common expression of memory or intelligence in a material. It refers to the situation where a system's current properties are dependent and related to its previous state. Hysteresis is commonly observed in magnetic materials. For example, a magnet may have more than one possible magnetic moment in each magnetic field depending on the field the magnet was subjected to in the past. Hysteresis is rarely seen, however, in molecular transport through artificial membranes.

"Coming up with simple and effective clean water solutions is one of our greatest global challenges. This study shows that fundamental molecular level insights and nanoscale materials offer great potential for the development of 'smart' membranes for water purification and other applications," said Professor Angelos Michaelides of the University of Cambridge.

In this work, the Manchester team, in collaboration with scientists from University of Cambridge, Xiamen University, Dalian University of Technology, University of York, and National University of Singapore has developed intelligent membranes based on MoS 2 (a two-dimensional material called molybdenum disulfide) that can remember how permeable they were before. The researchers have shown that the way ions and water infiltrate the membranes can be regulated by controlling the external pH.

The membranes mimic the function of biological cell membranes and display hysteretic ion and water transport behavior in response to the pH, which means they remember what pH they were exposed to before. "The memory effects we have seen are unique to these membranes and have never been observed before in any inorganic membranes," said co-first author Dr. Amritroop Achari of the University of Manchester.

The researchers demonstrated that the biomimetic effect could be used to improve autonomous wound infection sensing. To do this, they placed the membranes in artificial wound exudate, which simulates the liquid produced by wounds, and subjected them to changes in pH. The membranes only allowed permeation of the wound exudate at pH levels relevant to an infected wound, thus allowing them to be used as sensors for infection detection. The researchers say the new membranes can also be used in a host of other pH-dependent applications, from nanofiltration to mimicking the function of neuronal cells.

Co-author Professor Kostya Novoselov, Langworthy Professor in the School of Physics and Astronomy at the University of Manchester and a professor at the Centre for Advanced 2D Materials, National University of Singapore, said, "The uniqueness in this membrane is that its hysteretic pH response can be seen as a memory function, which opens a lot of interesting avenues for the creation of smart membranes and other structures. Research in this direction can play a pivotal role in the design of intelligent technologies for tomorrow."

More information: C. Y. Hu et al, pH-dependent water permeability switching and its memory in MoS2 membranes, Nature (2023). DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05849-4 Journal information: Nature
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Patterns of postembryonic development and molting behaviors in Niponia nodulosa, with reference to Shinohara, 1999 [25]. A Life stages of N. nodulosa. B A diagram showing the pattern of postembryonic development of stadium III to VII juveniles and adults. C Behavioral series at the time of molting, showing the representative pattern of molting from stadium V to VI juveniles. The same pattern is also seen in other molts. Scale bars show 5 mm. Credit: Frontiers in Zoology (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s12983-023-00493-0

Millipede legs grow in an unexpected way, according to new research. Previously, it was thought that when a millipede molts (sheds its exoskeleton), it grows new segments on the end of its body without legs. Then after the next molt, the previously new segments re-emerge with fully formed legs attached.

However, a team at the University of Tokyo has found that new segments actually contain tiny bundles of legs, which appear as transparent protrusions before molting and then become fully formed afterwards. This discovery could help us understand how not only millipedes, but also other arthropods (invertebrates with jointed legs) grow. The work is published in the journal Frontiers in Zoology.

If you've recently been for a picnic in the park, you'll probably have had to contend with a few creepy-crawlies. One that you might come across trundling under a shady tree is the harmless millipede. Famous for its multitude of legs (though the first to have more than 1,000 was actually only discovered in 2021), it is thought to have been one of the first creatures to walk on land and breathe air about 420 million years ago. Their lifestyle of burrowing in the dirt and digesting decomposing plant matter means that they play a very important role in our ecosystems, but there is still a lot we don't know about them, including exactly how they get all those famous legs.

"In 1855, French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre proposed the 'law of anamorphosis." That law indicated a pattern in millipede growth, in which legless segments are first added to the body by molting and then legs are added onto that segment in the next molt. However, the physical changes that occur when segments and legs are added were not clear," explained Professor Toru Miura from the Graduate School of Science at the University of Tokyo. "Our study is significant in that it adds new morphological knowledge to the law of anamorphosis after 168 years."

External morphologies of juveniles in the late preparatory period and the rigidation period. AD Ventral view of the posterior several rings in the late preparatory period. EH Lateral view in the rigidation period. I-L Higher magnifications of the white boxed regions in EH. MP Scanning electron microscopy images in the rigidation period. M,O Ventral view of the posterior several rings. N,P Lateral view of the posterior several rings. Ventral is up. A,E,I,M,N Stadium IV juveniles. B,F,J,O,P Stadium V juveniles. C,G,K Stadium VI juveniles. D,H,L Stadium VII juveniles. Arrowheads: a transparent protrusion. Scale bars show 500 m (AL) and 200 m (MP). Credit: Frontiers in Zoology (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s12983-023-00493-0

Researchers used a scanning electron microscope (SEM) to study a common species of millipede called Niponia nodulosa, during different stages of molting and growth. This technique enabled them to the view microscopic surface details on the bodies of the millipedes and look for any changes. The team also used another microscope called a confocal laser scanning microscope (CLSM) to look at what was happening inside the millipedes.

"We expected that segments and legs would be added by molting, as happens in many other arthropods. However, we were surprised to find that drastic morphogenesis, the biological process of changing shape, actually started before molting," said Miura.

When scanning the millipedes just a few days before molting, the team could already see two pairs of small, wrinkled legs under the cuticle of the legless segment. Just before the millipede molted, transparent protrusions containing the new bundle of legs were observed on the outer surface of the segment, covered by a thin tissue membrane.

"Arthropods generally undergo morphological changes through molting, but the phenomenon discovered in this study deviates from this. With these millipedes at least, transparent protrusions with legs appeared from the elastic cuticle (an external layer that provides muscular support) before they molted," said Miura. "This result suggests that changing shape without molting via the cuticle may also be important in other arthropods."

As arthropods make up about 75% of all animal life on Earth, it was significant to the researchers that a familiar animal like the millipede could provide a new and important insight into its development and diversity. "Since it is not yet known whether this phenomenon is widely seen in other millipedes, we will need to study other species for comparison. We would also like to continue our research into the molecular mechanisms involved in anamorphosis, as these are still largely unclear," said Miura. "Our work has shown us that there are still many surprising discoveries to be made in nature, right under our feet."

More information: Soma Chiyoda et al, Appearance of a transparent protrusion containing two pairs of legs on the apodous ring preceding the anamorphic molt in a millipede, Niponia nodulosa, Frontiers in Zoology (2023). DOI: 10.1186/s12983-023-00493-0 Journal information: Frontiers in Zoology
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Credit: Pixabay/Public Domain CC0

Labor and skills shortages have prompted the Australian government to raise the permanent migration cap, leading to a boom in new immigrants.

But will they receive a warm welcome? And what obstacles will they face settling into Australian life?

Edith Cowan University (ECU) Ph.D. candidate Omid Rezaei conducted a systematic review of 56 journal articles published between 1975 and 2021 to understand the challenges immigrants from non-English speaking backgrounds (NESB) experienced integrating into Australian society. The paper, "Integration Challenges of Immigrants from Non-English-Speaking Backgrounds in Australia," was published in the journal Diaspora Studies.

Mr. Rezaei said the findings showed that despite improvements in multicultural support services within Australian society, critical integration processes, such securing employment and accommodation, have not progressed well for large numbers of immigrants.

"The most significant finding of this review is that in almost 50 years, from 1975 to 2021, there has been little improvement in removing some of the barriers that immigrants encounter in the integration process," he said.

Almost 30% of Australia's population were born overseas

Mr. Rezaei said NESB immigrants have played a crucial role in shaping Australian society since 1975 when the "White Australia' policy was dismantled, and Australia welcomed millions of immigrants from all over the world.

"There have been many advances in recognition and support of migrants entering Australia in the past 50 years," he said.

"They have been making great contributions to Australian society at all levels: increasing the population, creating jobs, and culturally enhancing the diversity of our communities."

However, Mr. Rezaei said NESB immigrants were still presented with many serious challenges.

"The literature showed that racism and discrimination remain at the heart of Australian society, particularly leveled at African and Muslim immigrants," he said.

Five main obstacles to integration

Mr. Rezaei said the literature showed that NESB immigrants experienced five clusters of challenges in their integration process:

1. Employment

Unemployment was the biggest obstacle for NESB immigrants in their integration process.

Several factors contributed to unemployment, including lack of English proficiency, discrimination, pre- and post-migration trauma, refutation of previous qualifications, lack of local work experience, lack of the existence or access to specialist employment services, lack of transport, family responsibilities, lack of access to childcare and pressure from the dominant cultural norms in Australian society.

The literature also indicated a significant inequality between the earnings and income of migrants compared with the rest of the population.

2. Language barrier

The lack of language proficiency was particularly difficult for some immigrants, especially those who were not able to access education in their home country, making it harder for them to adapt to an unfamiliar education context in Australia and to learn a new language.

Women were also disadvantaged because of the factors that limit their time available to learn English, for example caring for others or domestic responsibilities.

3. Racism and discrimination

The literature showed that racism and discrimination are prevalent Australian society and highlighted that some NESB immigrants appear more vulnerable than others, particularly African and Muslim immigrants.

Muslim immigrants reported an increase in racial tensions following the 9/11 terror attacks in 2001 which impacted employment, health, safety, and isolation.

4. Housing and accommodation

Immigrants face several challenges in securing a place to live, including proof of employment, providing reference guarantors, lack of support from real estate agents and discrimination in competitive process in the housing market.

Factors such as proficiency in English, ethnicity and family size led to preference being given to local applicants, rather than immigrants in renting out accommodation.

5. Social connections

Social bonds can be problematic in immigrants' families where parents' values are different from those of their children because of different socialization for the second-generation of immigrants.

Mr. Rezaei said the findings from this literature review highlight the need for a re-evaluation of existing policies and development of relevant policies with support resources to accelerate the integration process of immigrants in Australian society.

The review builds on Mr. Rezaei's previous study exploring the integration experiences of former Afghan refugees who have settled in Australia.

More information: Omid Rezaei, Hossein Adibi and Vicki Banham, Integration Challenges of Immigrants from Non-English-Speaking Backgrounds in Australia, Diaspora Studies. (2023). DOI: 10.1163/09763457-bja10024. brill.com/view/journals/bdia/16/1/article-p1_1.xml
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In 2007, NASA launched five satellites as part of the Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms, or THEMIS, mission. Spread out across the magnetosphere, the THEMIS spacecraft studied how plasma and energy moving through Earths environment trigger different types of auroras (northern and southern lights). In 2010, two spacecraft were reassigned to study the Moons environment, but the other three continue to investigate Earths magnetosphere and auroras. Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Earth's magnetic environment is filled with a symphony of sound that we cannot hear. All around our planet, ultralow-frequency waves compose a cacophonous operetta portraying the dramatic relationship between Earth and the sun.

Now, a new citizen science project called HARPor Heliophysics Audified: Resonances in Plasmashas turned those once-unheard waves into audible whistles, crunches, and whooshes. Early tests have already made surprising finds, and citizen scientists can join the journey of sonic space exploration to decipher the cosmic vibrations that help sing the song of the sun and Earth.

"What excites me most about the HARP project is the ability for citizen scientists to make new discoveries in heliophysics research through audio analysis," said the project's principal investigator, Michael Hartinger, a heliophysicist at the Space Science Institute in Colorado. "We need their help to understand complex patterns in the near-Earth space environment."

Between Earth and the sun, space is not truly empty but is filled with a soup of charged particles called plasma. This plasma comes from the sun, pumped out in a steady stream called the solar wind and sporadically blasted away in explosive solar eruptions. When this solar plasma strikes Earth, it causes the magnetic field lines and plasma around Earth to vibrate like the plucked strings of a harp, producing ultralow-frequency waves. Listen to the sounds of space and help learn more about the Sun-Earth relationship with NASAs new HARP citizen science project. Credit: NASA/Beth Anthony

In 2007, NASA launched five satellites to fly through Earth's magnetic "harp"its magnetosphereas part of the THEMIS mission (Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms). Since then, THEMIS has been gathering a bounty of information about plasma waves across Earth's magnetosphere.

"THEMIS can sample the whole harp," Hartinger said, "and it's been out there a long time, so it has collected a lot of data."

The frequencies of the waves THEMIS measures are too low for our ears to hear, however. So the HARP team sped them up to convert them to sound waves. By using an interactive tool developed by the team, you can listen to these waves and pick out interesting features you hear in the sounds. Earth's magnetosphere is a magnetic bubble that envelops and protects our planet from most of the charged particles that flow from our Sun. However, when solar particles strike the magnetosphere, they can cause magnetic field lines and plasma around Earth to vibrate like the plucked strings of a harp, producing ultralow-frequency waves. Credit: Martin Archer (Imperial College London)/Emmanuel Masongsong (UCLA)/NASA

"The process of identifying new features through deep listening feels a bit like treasure hunting," said Robert Alexander, a HARP team member from Auralab Technologies in Michigan. "I'm excited for individuals around the world to get a taste of this experience through the HARP project."

According to the team, humans are often better at picking out interesting wave patterns by ear than by eyeand can even do better than computers at identifying complex patterns that emerge during extreme solar events.

"The human sense of hearing is an amazing tool," said HARP team member Martin Archer of Imperial College London. "We're essentially trained from birth to recognize patterns and pick out different sound sources. We can innately do some pretty crazy analysis that outperforms even some of our most advanced computer algorithms."

HARP was inspired by an earlier sonification project led by Archer called MUSICS (Magnetospheric Undulations Sonified Incorporating Citizen Scientists). When Archer asked high school students in London to listen to sonified data (measurements converted into sound) from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) satellites, they identified a new plasma wave pattern related to solar storms.

"London high school students were able to pick out a complex but repeatable pattern in the sound that the automated methods missed," Hartinger said. "HARP is going to take this to a new level working with a much larger dataset from NASA's THEMIS mission and with a much larger online audience."

There's an advantage to having a wide and diverse group of people listen to the sounds, the team says.

"Everyone hears the world differently," explained Emmanuel Masongsong of the University of California, Los Angeles, who is a HARP team member and a member of NASA's THEMIS mission. "Every participant will react uniquely to the vibrations in space. What one person ignores, another may be drawn to immediately. We want people to discover things that we never considered, or that computer algorithms would not be able to detect. That's how discoveries are made!"

Preliminary investigations with HARP have already started revealing unexpected features, such as what the team calls a "reverse harp"frequencies changing in the opposite way than what scientists anticipated.

"HARP has the potential to find things that we weren't expecting, which is really exciting," Archer stated.

HARP could also provide insights about phenomena that other NASA citizen scientists have encountered, such as sounds heard by amateur radio operators participating in the HamSCI project, or wave-like auroras examined through the Aurorasaurus project.

"Data sonification provides human beings with an opportunity to appreciate the naturally occurring music of the cosmos," said Alexander. "We're hearing sounds that are literally out of this world, and for me that's the next best thing to floating in a spacesuit."

To start exploring these sounds, visit the HARP website.
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Scanning electron microscopy image of the charge density wave material used in the preparation of the composite (top). And photos of the quantum composites developed at UC Riverside. Credit: courtesy of Zahra Barani and Tekwam Geremew

A team of UCR electrical engineers and material scientists demonstrated a research breakthrough that may result in wide-ranging advancements in electrical, optical, and computer technologies.

The Marlan and Rosemary Bourns College of Engineering research group, led by distinguished professor Alexander Balandin, has shown in the laboratory the unique and practical function of newly created materials, which they called quantum composites.

These composites consist of small crystals of called "charge density wave quantum materials" incorporated within a polymer (large molecules with repeating structures) matrix. Upon heating or light exposure, charge density wave material undergoes a phase transition that leads to an unusual electrical response of the composites.

Compared to other materials that reveal quantum phenomena, the quantum composites created by Balandin's group exhibited functionality at a much wider range of temperatures and had a greatly increased ability to store electricity, giving them an excellent potential for utility.

The University of California, Riverside, researchers describe the unique properties in a paper titled "Quantum Composites with Charge-Density-Wave Fillers" published in the journal Advanced Materials. The lead authors of the paper are Zahra Barani and Tekwam Geremew, UCR graduate students with the college's Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, who synthesized and tested the composites. Another UCR graduate student Maedeh Taheri is a co-author who helped with electrical measurements. Balandin and Fariborz Kargar, an assistant adjunct professor and project scientist, are the corresponding authors.

The term quantum refers to materials and devices where electrons behave more like waves than particles. The wave nature of electrons can give materials unusual properties that are used in a new generation of computer, electronic and optic technologies.

Materials that reveal quantum phenomena are sought for building quantum computers that go beyond the limitations of most computing that is now based on chips that use binary bits for computations. Such materials are also sought for super-sensitive sensors used for various electronic and optic applications.

But the materials with quantum phenomena have major drawbacks, Balandin said.

"The problem with these materials is that the quantum phenomena are fragile and typically observed only at extremely low temperatures," he said. "The defects and impurities destroy the electron wave function."

Remarkably, the charge density wave material in the quantum composites created by Balandin's lab exhibited functionality as high as 50C above room temperature. This transition temperature is close to the temperature of the operation of computers and other electronic gadgets, which heat up when they operate. This temperature tolerance opens a possibility for a wide range of applications of quantum composites in electronics and energy storage.

The researchers also found that quantum composites have an unusually high dielectric constanta metric that characterizes the material's ability to store electricity. The dielectric constant of the electrically insulating composites increased by more than two orders of magnitude, which allows for smaller and more powerful capacitors used for energy storage.

"Energy storage capacitors can be found in battery-powered applications," Balandin said. "Capacitors can be used to deliver peak power and provide energy for computer memory during an unexpected shut-off. Capacitors can charge and discharge faster compared to batteries. In order to broaden the use of capacitors for energy storage, one needs to increase the energy per volume. Our quantum composite material may help to achieve this goal."

Another possible application for quantum composites is reflective coating. The change in the dielectric constant induced by heating, light exposure, or application of an electrical field can be used to change the light reflection from the glasses and windows coated with such composites.

"We hope that our ability to preserve the quantum condensate phases in the charge-density-wave materials even inside disordered composites and even above room temperature can become a game changer for many applications. It is a conceptually different approach for tuning the properties of composites that we use in everyday life," Balandin added.

More information: Zahra Barani et al, Quantum Composites with ChargeDensityWave Fillers, Advanced Materials (2023). DOI: 10.1002/adma.202209708 Journal information: Advanced Materials
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Credit: Unsplash/CC0 Public Domain

A new North Carolina State University study shows that Indigenous groups in the western United States arefor various reasonshaving difficulty turning water they have a legal right to, under water rights settlements, into actual water that can generate revenue through leases to other groups or through direct uses such as agriculture.

Western tribal water rights are a longstanding, yet underpublicized, component of a large and seemingly intractable problem: how to satisfy all water-rights holders when available water amounts are less than the paper water rights allotted. Drought and climate change threaten to exacerbate the problem.

The study used extensive satellite data to examine the effects of water-rights settlements on tribal land and water use on reservations over nearly 40 years, from 1974 to 2012. The findings show that tribes are likely using only a fraction of their entitled water rights, foregoing hundreds of millions of dollarsand possibly more than $1 billionin revenue annually. Lack of irrigation infrastructure and convoluted land ownership issues likely represent the major impediments to tribes, the paper suggests.

"We wanted to know: After tribes settle their water-rights claims, do they actually get control over the water?" said Eric Edwards, assistant professor of agricultural and resource economics at NC State and corresponding author of a paper describing the research.

"That is, do tribes actually get 'wet' water, and can it either be used on the reservation or in their control as a lease to others? Or is it just 'paper' water that the tribe isn't able to use? Powerful interests in line for water behind tribes are likely already using the water. And tribes may not be able to divert the water for a variety of reasons.

"We also wanted to know is if these rights actually increased tribal water uses, like agricultural uses. We find that they do, but it's a small amount. We found agricultural production increased by 8.7% in the studied period. But that amount is really small in the large land areas controlled by tribes."

Issues with tribal water rights also reflect a sordid period of American westward expansion. After tribes were moved onto reservations without any water rights granted, beginning in the mid-19th century, a 1908 U.S. Supreme Court ruling, Winters vs. United States, provided a legal avenue for tribes to assert claims to water. Since that time, some 20% of Colorado River water has been allocated to tribes, with other claims pending.

"While the tribes are sovereign and have legal claims to water, they must receive new water rights, which are allocated through states," Edwards said. "But the Supreme Court decision doesn't articulate how these claims should be settled. The federal government is responsible for providing these water rights, but the states have already allocated all the water to non-tribal users."

Even after the rights are settled, it's not clear the tribes actually receive the water. The researchers tackled the question of how much of the allotted water is actually used by tribes.

"Some tribes are leasing water and some are farming, but there's a big gap between the paper water right and the estimated amount of water tribes are actually using," Edwards said. "Our contention is that the water belongs to the tribes legally, but it's being useduncompensatedoff the reservation by other groups. The tribes have secure legal title to the water, but establishing title isn't enough to create the foundation for economic growth."

So what is preventing tribes from converting "paper" water into "wet" water? The researchers point to three different impediments.

The first is whether tribal land has existing water infrastructure on it. Much of the tribal land does not have the necessary infrastructure, but in places where that infrastructure already existed, Edwards said, the tribes were able to divert water more easily after settlement.

The second impediment is that tribal land is held in trust by the federal government, and tribes have to get approval for many land-use decisions through the Bureau of Indian Affairs. This makes it virtually impossible for tribes to make certain decisions about the land, such as using it as collateral for loans.

Finally, tribes have to be explicitly granted the right by Congress to lease their water rights. And Congress has been reluctant to grant these leasing rights. Congressional approval is also needed to fund tribal rights settlements.

"Many Winters settlements have money for infrastructure in the agreement, but the money still needs to be appropriated by Congress," Edwards said.

Researchers say that tribal water rights can fill gaps in regions where certain rights holders may be nervous about water availability, such as cities in the Southwest.

"We're optimistic that tribes can serve to both solve some water shortfall issues and advocate for environmental uses of the water," Edwards said.

The paper appears in the Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.

More information: Leslie Sanchez et al, Paper Water, Wet Water, and the Recognition of Indigenous Property Rights, Journal of the Association of Environmental and Resource Economists (2023). DOI: 10.1086/725400
FORT EDWARD  The Hebron man accused of shooting and killing 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis, a passenger in a vehicle turning around in his driveway, will remain in custody without opportunity for bail.

At a bail hearing in Washington County Court on Wednesday, Judge Adam Michelini ruled that Kevin Monahan, who has been charged with second-degree murder, remain in jail.

We know from the charge here of what is actually being alleged is that Kaylin Gillis  she was killed. Shes dead. I dont think theres more serious harm than that, the judge said.

Gillis was fatally shot on Saturday while sitting in the passenger seat of her boyfriends vehicle, which was turning around in Monahans driveway after getting lost trying to find a friends home.

Monahan is accused of firing two shots at the vehicle that Gillis, a 2021 Schuylerville High School graduate, and her boyfriend, 19-year-old Blake Walsh, of Cambridge, were in.

Washington County First Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris said Monahan can be considered as having a hot temper and is compulsive. He said Monahan was arrested in Vermont in 2001 on a charge of aggravated assault. Morris said in light of these circumstances, he believes Monahan is a flight risk.

Morris also described an incident just a week ago in the Washington County Department of Motor Vehicles office, which demonstrated that Monahan is confrontational.

The defendant caused a scene for having to be required to set an appointment, ended up taking photographs of workers in this building and stormed off, he said.

However, Monahans lawyer, Kurt Mausert, said Monahan would surrender his passport as a condition of bail and added that more residents of the state would be locked up if everyone who made a scene in the DMV was arrested.

He also argued that the Vermont case was dismissed.

Morris hinted about possibly more charges to come in the future, such as attempted murder, for the three other teens that were uninjured. The additional charges could be filed at Monahans arraignment, according to Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan.

We requested remand, which is permitted under our bail statue, and as you saw, the court did decide that the least restrictive means to ensure the defendants appearance in court was a remand, he said. As any investigation unfolds theres possibility for additional charges. What those will be is determined by the evidence as its gathered.

Monahan will be kept in custody of Warren County Jail for the time being. The date of his arraignment for felony second-degree murder is yet to be decided.

Kaylins father, Andrew Gillis, spoke at a news conference following the hearing. When asked how he felt leaving the courthouse, he said he remains angry but Monahan remaining in jail without bail was the best possible outcome for the start of the legal process.

That brings a little comfort. I think everybody in the courtroom breathed a little sigh of relief when they heard that, Andrew said.

Choking up with emotion at times, he also spoke about the impact his daughter had on family, friends and the community.

I wasnt going to speak to the media, but Kaylin deserves to have her story told and what a beautiful person she was and how many people loved her, he said.
CORINTH  A Corinth woman was sentenced last Thursday to two years in prison for possessing and selling crack cocaine.

Erica B. Shippee, 36, was arrested on Dec. 6 after a lengthy investigation by the Saratoga County Sheriffs Office Narcotics Unit into drug trafficking within Saratoga County. Police seized scales, packaging materials and quantities of crack cocaine from Shippee and two other residents of a house at 109 Comstock Road.

Shippee had been on parole at the time of the arrest.

She pleaded guilty in February to a felony count of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The country is hosting its very own scam hubs operated by trafficked foreign nationals who are forced to swindle other people, Senator Risa Hontiveros said during a Senate hearing on Wednesday.

According to the lawmaker, the trafficking victims number in the hundreds, and perhaps even in the thousands and are reportedly from Indonesia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, and nations in Africa and South Asia.

Nothing prepared us for what we discovered, Hontiveros said during a Senate Committee on Women, Children, Family Relations and Gender Equality hearing.

Right under our very noses, a humanitarian crisis is taking shape, she added.

Hontiveros said while scam hubs in other nations such as Cambodia and Myanmar are in remote provinces, similar sites in the Philippines are situated in the countrys capital  with one of them just a few minutes' drive from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA).

Large condominium buildings are being repurposed to be used as living and working facilities for trafficked human beings being forced to perform scams on hapless victims, she said.

The senator presented an Indonesian national, with the alias Ridwan, identified as a victim of the illicit activities.

The witness, who virtually testified during the hearing while wearing sunglasses and a hooded jacket, said he arrived in Manila from Jakarta on March 7 after being hired for a job described online as a digital marketing post.

He narrated that he found the job opening on Facebook and flew to the country with two other Indonesians hired to work for the same company

Ridwan said upon arriving in NAIA, they were brought to a condominium near the airport called Bayport West NAIA Garden Residences, where he was handed a contract to sign but wasnt given the time to read.

The witness also said his passport was taken from him.

According to Ridwan, there were at least a hundred other Indonesians, along with victims of other nationalities, in the condominium that became their living quarters. He said there were also several Filipinos in the building, which he believes is entirely being used as a scam hub.

Basically, we were instructed to steal the identity of other people and use their identity to scam targets, Ridwan said, adding that the targets were people they found on social media platforms such as Tinder, Facebook, and Instagram, and whom they were told to scam into investing in fraudulent cryptocurrency.

We need to get money from them and scam, he added. When we do not get victim, we will get punishment.

Ridwan said he believes some workers had their salaries withheld. Some were even electrocuted as punishment, he added.

Hontiveros said Ridwan  who was eventually able to leave the illegal firm and return to Indonesia on March 16  has executed a sworn affidavit before the Philippine Embassy in Jakarta. This affidavit has already been turned over to the National Bureau of Investigation.

No CCTV footage

Authorities are considering the possible involvement of airport or immigration personnel in the trafficking of foreigners for the scam hubs.

It was revealed during the hearing, however, that the Manila International Airport Authority (MIAA), which manages NAIA, no longer has a copy of the CCTV footage of Ridwans arrival in the airport.

According to MIAA head Cesar Chiong, their storage capacity is only good for 30 days. Bureau of Immigration Commissioner Norman Tansingco meanwhile said the capacity of the bureaus CCTV system in NAIA Terminal 3  which only covers immigration counters  is only good for less than 30 days.

Tansingco said upgrading their CCTV system in Terminals 1 and 3 would require an additional budget of some 10 million, which they do not have.

Could you tell the department (Department of Budget and Management) na inaapura ng Senate committee itong pag-upgrade ng CCTV equipment, systems ninyo? Hontiveros said.

The bureau cannot even provide us critical video sa aming mga investigation to stop this human trafficking and crypto scamming," she added.

[Translation: Could you tell the department that we want the upgrade of MIAAs CCTV system fast-tracked? The bureau cannot even provide us critical video for our investigation to stop this human trafficking and crypto scamming.]

Hontiveros and Sen. Raffy Tulfo, who chairs the Senate committee on migrant workers, demanded the agencies to give an update by next week.

IACAT, NBI grilled

Aside from the surprise by the lack of copies of CCTV footage, Hontiveros and Tulfo aired their impatience and exasperation on the initial probes of the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking (IACAT) and National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the alleged scam hub in Bayport West NAIA Garden Residences.

The Philippine National Police also bared this was its first time to hear a supposed operation in the area  on which Ridwan claimed at least 1,000 foreigners are working in the Bayport complex.

IACAT Undersecretary Nicholas Felix Ty admitted lapses, saying the condominium complex was not yet on the councils radar. However, he said they are familiar with the modus but they did not know its intensity.

Please dont disappoint us lalo na't habang medyo coming full circle na po tayo [especially that it looks like we are coming to a full circle] on this particular investigation at mukhang palala nang palala yong problema [as the problem seems to worsen], Hontiveros told Ty.

NBI anti-human trafficking chief Catherine Nolasco said their agents initial visualization of the condominium confirmed that there are many foreigners going in and out of the area.

Alvin Camba, a professor of Josef Korbel School at the University of Denver, said this scam hub may be simply just one operation thats happening underneath many operations, adding that scam hubs and Philippine Offshore Gaming Operators (POGOs) have some similarities.

I call on the NBI and the PNP to act on this at once, Hontiveros said. This is a serious national security issue we must urgently address.

Tulfo and Hontiveros also wanted to hear the side of the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially on a supposed revocation of the license to operate of the Bayport complexs developer Tambo Realty Corp.
WILMINGTON, Del.  Fox and Dominion Voting Systems reached a $787 million settlement Tuesday in the voting machine companys defamation lawsuit, averting a trial in a case that exposed how the top-rated network chased viewers by promoting lies about the 2020 presidential election.

The truth matters. Lies have consequences, Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson said in a news conference outside the courthouse after a judge announced the deal.

Dominion asked for $1.6 billion in arguing that Fox damaged its reputation by helping peddle phony conspiracy theories about its equipment switching votes from former President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. Fox said the amount greatly overstated the value of the Colorado-based company.

The resolution in Delaware Superior Court follows a recent ruling by Judge Eric Davis in which he allowed the case to go to trial while emphasizing it was CRYSTAL clear that none of the allegations about Dominion by Trump allies aired on Fox were true.

In a statement shortly after the announcement, Fox News said the network acknowledged the courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. It did not respond to an inquiry asking for elaboration.

Inquiries to Dominion and Fox Corp. were not immediately returned.

Records in the lawsuit showed how Fox hosts and executives did not believe the claims by Trumps allies but aired them anyway, in part to win back viewers who fled the network after it correctly called hotly contested Arizona for Biden on election night. The race call infuriated Trump and many viewers who supported him.

The settlement, which does not need the judges approval, will end a case that has proven a major embarrassment for Fox News. If the case had gone to trial, it also would have presented one of the sternest tests to a libel standard that has protected media organizations for more than a half-century.

Several First Amendment experts said Dominions case was among the strongest they ever saw. Still, there was doubt about whether Dominion would be able to prove to a jury that people in a decision-making capacity at Fox could be held responsible for the networks airing of the falsehoods.

Dominions lawyers argued that Fox defamed the voting machine company by making a deliberate decision to repeatedly air, in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election, false claims by Trump and his allies to appeal to viewers. Fox allowed guests to falsely claim Dominion rigged the election, flipped large numbers of votes to Biden through a secret algorithm, was owned by a company founded in Venezuela to rig elections for late President Hugo Chavez and bribed government officials.

A mountain of evidence  released in the form of deposition transcripts, internal memos and emails from the time  damaged Fox.

Dominion pointed to text and email messages in which Fox insiders discounted and sometimes mocked the vote manipulation claims. One Fox Corp. vice president called them MIND BLOWINGLY NUTS.

The company sued both Fox News and its parent, Fox Corp., and said its business was significantly damaged.

During a deposition, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who founded the network, testified that he believed the 2020 election was fair and not stolen from Trump.

Fox knew the truth, Dominion argued in court papers. It knew the allegations against Dominion were outlandish and crazy and ludicrous and nuts. Yet it used the power and influence of its platform to promote that false story.

In his March 31 summary judgment ruling, Davis pointedly called out the news organization for airing falsehoods while noting how the bogus election claims persist, 2 years after Trump lost his bid for re-election.

The statements at issue were dramatically different than the truth, Davis said in that ruling. In fact, although it cannot be attributed directly to Foxs statements, it is noteworthy that some Americans still believe the election was rigged.

In its defense, Fox said it was obligated to report on the most newsworthy of stories: a president claiming he was cheated out of re-election.

We never reported those to be true, Fox lawyer Erin Murphy said. All we ever did was provide viewers the true fact that these were allegations that were being made.

Fox said Dominion argued that the network was obligated to suppress the allegations or denounce them as false.

Freedom of speech and of the press would be illusory if the prevailing side in a public controversy could sue the press for giving a forum to the losing side, Fox said in court papers.

In a 1964 case involving The New York Times, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the ability of public figures to sue for defamation. The court ruled that plaintiffs needed to prove that news outlets published or aired false material with actual malice  knowing such material was false or acting with a reckless disregard for whether or not it was true.

That provides news organizations with stout protection against libel judgments. Yet some conservatives attacked the nearly six-decade legal standard in recent years, including Trump and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who argued for making it easier to win a libel case.

Two Republican-nominated Supreme Court justices  Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch  publicly expressed interest in revisiting the protection.

World reacts to US 2020 presidential election
ALBANY  Gov. Kathy Hochuls signature initiative this year was a plan to build 800,000 units of housing in New York over a decade. In her State of the State in January, Hochul said that solving our housing crisis would be a huge step toward making New York more affordable.

But amid fierce resistance from the State Legislature, Hochul is no longer making her housing plan a priority in state budget negotiations.

That removes a major hurdle to passing a state budget, but means New York will likely not pass any major housing initiative in 2023. Indeed, Hochul is refusing to go along with the alternative plan put forward by the Legislature, arguing it would not be successful. By not accepting the Legislatures plan, Hochul is preserving the option of fighting to push through her own initiative at a future time.

Housing had been a key sticking point contributing to a lengthy delay in passing a state budget that was due April 1. While Hochul has said passing a good budget is more important than a timely one, it became clear that the Legislature was not budging.

Hochul has argued that New York has among the most restrictive land use policies and building approval processes in the country, which inhibit the development of multifamily housing and add significant costs to building homes. The centerpiece of the Hochul plan, called the New York Housing Compact, created targets for home creation running in three-year cycles, which will apply to all municipalities: villages, towns and cities.

In downstate New York, municipalities would have had a target of 3% growth in new homes over three years. For municipalities in upstate New York, the target would have been is 1%.

The most contentious aspect of Hochuls plan would have allowed developers to bypass local zoning restrictions if housing growth did not occur quickly enough in a locality.

The Assembly and Senate scrapped Hochuls idea in their one-house budget proposals in mid-March. Instead, legislative Democrats wanted to provide $500 million in incentives for local governments to hit growth goals. But supporters of Hochuls plan say that, especially for affluent suburbs prone to resisting new development, the incentive will not work.

In a statement on Tuesday, Hochul said that, "After weeks of negotiations, the Legislature continues to oppose core elements of the Housing Compact, including the requirement that communities across the state meet growth targets.

We have not yet come to a final agreement, but it remains clear that merely providing incentives will not make the meaningful change that New Yorkers deserve, Hochul said. I will continue to discuss other elements of the plan and policy changes that will increase supply and make housing more affordable.

Rachel Fee, executive director of the New York Housing Conference, said Hochuls office reached out Tuesday morning to inform the group of the governor's decision to de-emphasize housing during negotiations.

The New York Housing Conference, a nonprofit affordable housing policy and advocacy organization, supported Hochuls plan. Fee says Hochul was right not to go along with the Legislatures incentive-based approach, calling the plan a waste of taxpayer money that had proven not viable in other states and would simply subsidize housing that would be built anyway.

We think she did the right thing by not adopting a program that was destined to fail, Fee said.

Many local elected officials throughout New York were opposed to Hochuls plan, and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins recently stated that lawmakers were struggling to sell the proposal to their constituents.

After the budget is passed, Hochul will have less leverage to push through priorities for the rest of the 2023 legislative session, including housing. Fee believes Hochuls plan is unlikely to be revived before years end, but also think Hochul's proposal this year could have a longer-term impact.

I think that the governor put out a really bold proposal, and this is going to be part of a push in New York where voters are going to demand action on the housing supply, Fee said.

Based on her conversation with the governors office, Fee believes a number of other housing issues remain part of budget negotiations, although its unlikely any will significantly move the needle on increasing housing supply. Many of the major outstanding issues primarily impact New York City, although potential changes to two  the Emergency Rental Assistance Program and the Housing Access Voucher Program  have statewide ramifications, Fee said.

Hochul had much more success pushing through her other major budget priority, a change in the states bail laws clarifying judges discretion to set bail. The change Hochul sought is very likely to be part of the final budget agreement.
Purdue University President Mung Chiang, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, and U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana on stage at the CHIPS for America conference in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday (April 18). (Purdue University photo)

Board of Trustees approved Phase 1 $49M of the $100M plan for semiconductor research and learning facilities

Video: Purdue is leading the way to fulfill U.S. semiconductor needs.

West Lafayette, IN  Leaders from industry, government and academia convened at a summit Tuesday (April 18) in Washington, D.C. to forge national solutions at scale to address the future of U.S. innovation in microelectronics and the semiconductor workforce.

The full-day CHIPS for America: Execute for Success Summit in Washington, D.C., led by Purdue and U.S. Sen. Todd Young of Indiana at the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington, D.C., convened hundreds of attendees representing over 175 entities from over 23 states, and focused on strategies to execute the vision outlined in the recently released CHIPS for America: Vision for Success. It highlighted the implementation of federal investments and future policy actions, and facilitated the creation of government, industry and academic partnerships with a special focus on workforce development and research innovation.

President Mung Chiang and chief semiconductor officer Mark Lundstrom represented Purdue, which partnered with SEMI, the Semiconductor Industry Association and the Krach Institute for Tech Diplomacy at Purdue, to host the summit.

Keynoting the day, Chiang led a fireside chat with U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo and Sen. Young, and several panel discussions featured leaders from industry, government and academia sharing their perspectives on how to best execute the vision for CHIPS Act workforce development and R&D programs.

This is our silicon moment, to execute the CHIPS Act for success, Chiang said. As we celebrate the 75 years since the invention of transistor in Bell Labs, we can only imagine what the next 75 years of semiconductors innovation might look like.

Raimondo, who visited Purdue in fall 2022 along with the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, said at the summit: "I was blown away by what I saw when I visited Purdue, in so far as, in my assessment, it is exactly what the United States needs to be doing. Real robust partnering as between top research universities, like Purdue, and industry, but also the integration of community colleges and also high schools.

She added: "More people need to continue to do what Purdue is doing: allowing students class credit for applied work at companies, allowing companies to come into the universities, making sure that the students are job ready when they graduate.

Reflecting on last September's visit to Purdue by Raimondo and Blinken, Young said, Theres a lot of excitement in the air about what might follow.  What Ive been encouraged about on the back end of that gathering is that our state has really operationalized many of the opportunities. Were putting together a tech-hub package. Purdue University and some other institutions are developing new workforce training programs for these key sectors. Indiana is really poised to play a (significant) role as it relates to semiconductors but also any of the other emerging technologies that we need to invest in.

Other speakers at the summit included Ramin Toloui, assistant secretary of state for the Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs at the U.S. Department of State; Dr. Dev Shenoy, principal director of microelectronics with the U.S. Department of Defense; Dr. Eric Lin, interim director, CHIPS Research and Development, U.S. Department of Commerce; and Dr. Erwin Gianchandani, assistant director of the Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships at the National Science Foundation, as well as leaders from Applied Materials, Everspin Technologies, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, Intel, Micron, SEMI, the Semiconductor Industry Association, Semiconductor Research Corporation, and SkyWater. They shared their perspectives on the challenges ahead, ways to measure progress and how to sustain the effort over the long term. Barbara Snyder, President of the Association of American Universities, made concluding remarks about the multiple roles a leading research university like Purdue plays in the success of CHIPS Act.

Semiconductor task force and sustainability index

At the beginning of the fireside chat with Raimondo and Young, Chiang announced partnerships with industry to create the Sustainability Capability for Semiconductors Index (SCSI), with the vision of integrating and operationalizing sustainable engineering principles and methods across the entire semiconductor industry. The effort calls for addressing the economic, environmental, and societal dimensions of sustainability in the development of materials, processes, systems, products, supply chains, and enterprises. The sustainable semiconductor manufacturing initiative builds upon decades of expertise and the experience of faculty members from across the university. These includes some of the worlds leading experts on industrial sustainability and semiconductor design/manufacturing.

Carol Handwerker, the Reinhardt Schuhmann, Jr. Professor of Materials Engineering and an environmental and ecological engineering professor, notes that the initiative leverages ongoing industry engagements with the SEMI Climate Consortium, imec, SkyWater, Seagate, Google, Microsoft, Cisco, etc. In moving forward, the initiative will undertake sustainability education and workforce development, in addition to improving process and product designs through sustainability-driven research innovations.

Additionally, Purdue announced this week the creation of a Purdue Presidential Semiconductor Task Force led by Lundstrom, the universitys first chief semiconductor officer, which will coordinate and lead Purdues efforts toward innovative research and development in semiconductors.

Lundstrom said the CHIPS Act is a once-in-a-generation investment, offering opportunities to bolster continuing faculty work at launching the nations largest and most comprehensive workforce development program. It also spurred Purdue plans for new, innovative research programs and its work with the state of Indiana to grow an emerging semiconductor ecosystem.

More than 25 companies that have members on the Purdue Semiconductor Degrees Leadership Board sent industrial representatives to the summit and met with Purdue staff afterward. The board was established to provide visionary input for Purdues semiconductors degrees program.

Advancing Purdues national leadership: Phase 1 of Semiconductor Facilities Moving Forward



As part of Purdue Computes, a three-pronged strategic initiative launched on April 14 to further scale Purdues research and educational excellence in the future of computing, and recognizing that computing takes place in chips, Purdue announced the investment of Phase 1 $49 million in semiconductor cleanroom upgrade and a planned Phase 2 of another $51 million to help create an open innovation ecosystem.

Birck Nanotechnology Center has for decades been a critical home for discovery and technology development, both for Purdue researchers and those from industry and other universities who use our facilities, says Zhihong Chen, the Mary Jo and Robert L. Kirk Director of the Birck Nanotechnology Center. This investment will ensure that we maintain our state-of-the-art facilities, reclaim more space, and establish new capabilities for semiconductor R&D.

Upgrades will include procurement of specialized equipment for device fabrication and characterization, and effort to increase capacity in the 25,000-square-foot Scifres Nanofabrication Laboratory cleanroom, one of the largest academic cleanrooms in the nation. It will include a dedicated training bay for use in training those enrolled in the universitys Semiconductor Degrees Program, such as Purdue undergrads, Ivy Tech students, and engineers in the field.

The upgrades will also create dedicated cleanroom and lab space for advanced packaging research  innovations in design, materials, and processing that are needed to integrate chiplets with different functionalities - and shared quantum transport and characterization facilities, which are important to future electronic and quantum information science applications. Work will begin immediately and is expected to be completed in August 2024. The installation of new equipment in the renovated space will start in the first quarter of 2024.

As we continue to push the boundaries of scientific discovery, our commitment to advancing nanoscale science and engineering is unwavering, says Karen Plaut, executive vice president for research. Purdues investment in our facilities demonstrates our dedication to providing state-of-the-art resources for our esteemed researchers and students, empowering them to advance critical semiconductor technology and engage in groundbreaking research in other areas of nanoelectronics, quantum computing, and more.

Writer/Media contact: Brian Huchel, bhuchel@purdue.edu
With the money and City Council support in place, design work is beginning on Main Street Landing  the $24 million riverfront-destination effort in Davenport.

The city and design consultant plan to make frequent check-ins for aldermen and public feedback on the designs in progress, Assistant Public Works Director Clay Merritt said.

Initial concepts show the grassy area stretching from the skybridge east to the lock and dam would be transformed into a "high-intensity, multi-generational experience zone" with towers, slides, interactive water features, trails, shade structures and a pedestrian overpass across the rail road tracks.

Already, the design firm and city have held two public-engagement sessions, which were fairly generic, asking people what kind of themes or structures they wanted to see in a riverfront amenity, Merritt said. Next, the design firm will bring specific structures and designs for public feedback.

In a rough timeline, Merritt said, the city hopes to have plans and specifications to the council in the summer or fall of 2024.

Last week, the Davenport City Council voted 6-4 to expand the scope of the design contract awarded to Denver-based Sasaki Associates, Inc. It was the closest vote on the project since the initial decision in August 2021 to dedicate federal American Rescue Plan Act, or ARPA, funds to it.

The vote came after a federal regulatory authority approved a merger between two railroad companies, which led to a $10 million settlement agreement for the city. Davenport is putting about $6 million of the rail money toward Main Street Landing.

Supporters have billed the new riverfront park as a multi-generational, regional destination to attract and retain residents and visitors to the Quad-Cities.

Detractors have questioned how many more resources an already-overstretched Davenport Parks Department can dedicate to maintaining it. They also wonder about the impact of increased rail traffic on the park's popularity.

Aldermen Kyle Gripp, JJ Condon, Rick Dunn, Maria Dickmann, Marion Meginnis and Robby Ortiz voted on April 12 for expanding the design contract, and Aldermen Tim Kelly, Ben Jobgen, Derek Cornette, and Judith Lee voted against it.

Jobgen said he's concerned that the new park would stretch the parks department, which a city-hired consultant said already was maintaining more acreage with less money than peer cities.

"Time and again, we've listened at past council meetings about how our parks department is overrun from a capital and operation budgetary standpoint, and so we're having trouble maintaining what we already have," Jobgen said. "And then to include something on the docket that's going to significantly increase that demand on parks ... causes me pause for concern. Are we creating a perpetual cost that we're never going to be able to pay for and, therefore, we might see blight in other areas?"

City staff have said they will provide an operations and maintenance plan when designs become firm.

"Once we have a final design and understand the parks components, we have committed to preparing an ongoing operations and maintenance plan for the council," City Administrator Corri Spiegel wrote in an email to the Quad-City Times/Dispatch-Argus. "Since design is just beginning, it is far too early in the process to build those estimates."

Gripp, who's consistently supported the Main Street Landing project as a way to keep Davenport competitive and desirable, noted that the grassy area already requires maintenance. Plus, where Davenport could foot the bill for the construction of the project, federal state, and settlement funds are instead covering the cost.

"We were able to put together a package where zero dollars were coming out of the capital budget," Gripp said. "Zero dollars are coming out of Davenport taxpayers."

Davenport was awarded a $9.6 million grant from the Iowa Economic Development Authority's Destination Iowa program  $8 million for the city's project at Main Street Landing and $1.6 million for an exterior light display at the Figge Art Museum. The remaining $12 million for the riverfront park will come from the city's $6 million allocation of ARPA funds and $6 million of the settlement money from Canadian Pacific Railroad.

The Figge is responsible for the remaining $2.4 million of its lighting-project costs.

"We've got some excited investors, saying, 'We're ready to come to downtown because we see the cool and unique things that you're doing downtown,'" Gripp said. "That's really what Davenport is; we're a river city."

Lee voted no on the expanded scope last week but was one of eight aldermen who voted for the initial design contract in June. All 10 aldermen endorsed the city's application for the Destination Iowa grant for additional funds for Main Street Landing.

Lee said she wished there was a more concrete "go, no-go" point where the council could've voted up or down on the project, rather than voting incrementally on the design contract and going for the grant funding. She also cited ongoing maintenance costs as a concern for the park.

Ortiz, Ward 4, who voted for the expanded scope, noted the state grant funding was a one-time opportunity to turn the grassy field into an amenity without using local taxpayer funds for construction. But, he said, the City Council also should support more parks-operations funds.

"Going forward, I will support it, but I am mindful that when you build it, you must maintain it afterward," Ortiz said.

What's the Figge planning?

The Figge's plans are in motion, too, museum Executive Director Michelle Hargrave said. They hope to have a colored light show up and running in 2025.

"We are talking with the artist and RDG Lighting in Des Moines about the timeline, workplan, specific LED lights, contracts, final costs, etc. for the project," Hargrave wrote in an email. "We hope to have these details finalized soon and will resume fundraising soon and will bring the artist out for a mock-up of the lights at the end of this year or early 2024."
More rain is in the forecast through Thursday, but the National Weather Service Quad-Cities is not expecting it to impact flooding.

The Quad-Cities was expecting some overnight rain Tuesday with more expected Wednesday into Thursday morning. There is a marginal risk for severe storms Wednesday overnight, with a chance of severe hail.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Tom Philip said the incoming rain was expected to be heavier north of the area, which would fall into the Mississippi River Basin and eventually make its way downstream.

"That amount of rain shouldn't have that big of an impact on the forecasted Mississippi crest levels," he said.

Wednesday is to have a high of 77 during the day with a low of 61 degrees and a 50% chance of thunderstorms.

Thursday will bring the greatest chance of rainy conditions  projected at 90%  with a high of 73 degrees. Thursday night brings a 40% chance of thunderstorms with a low of 41.

Showers and storms, Philip said, are expected to mainly wind down during the early evening hours Thursday.

A flood warning is in effect until further notice for the Mississippi River from Dubuque downstream to Burlington, impacting all counties along the river. The 15-foot flood stage in the Quad-Cities is expected to be reached by Wednesday.

During a flood outlook last week, National Weather Service Quad Cities Senior Services Hydrologist Matt Wilson said spring flood risks are well above normal for the Mississippi River, and the chances of the river reaching 18 feet later in the spring flood season are more likely than not.

The Mississippi River at Rock Island is expected to reach 14.7 feet on April 20 and hit the minor flood stage of 15 feet a day or two after, Wilson said, depending on runoff and precipitation.

A cold front moves in Friday with lows expected in the 60s Friday. The weekend, Philip said, is expected to be much colder with highs reaching into the upper 40s Saturday and low 50s on Sunday.

Friday night all the way into Monday morning could be near freezing or just below freezing.

"If any people have planted anything outdoors, they may want to cover those up over the weekend," Philip said.

Conditions will remain dry with the next chance of rain coming Monday night into Tuesday of next week.

Warm, summer-like temperatures that the region experienced last week are not expected to return for at least a few weeks. Philip said they were seeing some indications of below-normal temperatures in the six- to 10-day outlook.

Reporter Brooklyn Draisey contributed to this report.
The Iowa State Patrol has released the name of a tow truck driver killed early Monday in a collision on Interstate 80.

Authorities identified him as Mark Muske, 52, of Davenport.

The crash occurred at 2:07 a.m. in the westbound lanes near mile marker 302, according to a report from the Iowa State Patrol. A 2015 Jeep patriot hit the tow truck driver, who was helping a broken-down bus on the side of the road. The collision site is just east of Middle Road in Bettendorf.

The driver was outside the tow truck, the report states.

Two other adults were injured during the collision, according to the state patrol. The report did not specify how seriously the two were hurt or where they were at the site when the crash occurred.

The updated report said no one was on the bus at the time of the collision. It stated that the driver of the Jeep was unknown as of late Tuesday morning.

The investigation continued and charges were expected, the report states.
EVANSTON  An Evanston school went into a brief lockdown Tuesday after a teacher learned an 8-year-old student had a loaded handgun magazine.

The Lincolnwood Elementary School student had told his teacher the magazine was in his school bag, Evanston Police Department Commander Ryan Glew wrote in a news release. Officers responded to the school and recovered the magazine around 9:15 a.m.

The officers checked the school for guns, but found none, he added. During the search, the school went into a lockdown that lasted around 90 minutes, according to a Evanston/Skokie School District 65 spokesperson.

There were no threats to the school and the investigation did not reveal any intent by the juvenile to cause harm, Glew wrote.

Police and District 65 officials determined the magazine was from a handgun that belonged to a family member of the boy. The gun was turned over to police and the child was released to his family. He will not be referred to juvenile court because of his age, Glew said.

The discovery comes months after a Virginia teacher was shot by a 6-year-old and days after three teens were shot, one fatally, at Evanstons Clark Street Beach. Earlier last week, dozens of schools across Illinois were affected by calls falsely reporting active shooters and falsely threatening shooting attacks.

In todays world, we know the fear associated with this type of news, wrote Terrence Little, District 65 Assistant Superintendent of Operations, in an email sent to Lincolnwood families after the lockdown.

The school district is sending social workers to support students in need, he said.

Nothing is more important to us than the safety and well-being of our students and staff. We will always err on the side of caution in our decision-making, Little wrote.
DES MOINES  Iowa teenagers under 18 would be able to work more jobs and for longer hours under legislation advanced early Tuesday by Republican lawmakers.

Republicans passed the bill shortly before 5 a.m. after roughly seven hours of debate that spanned late Monday into early Tuesday, and included multiple starts and stops as legislators became embroiled in a procedural dispute.

The proposal to relax some state work regulations for Iowa minors has been working through the Iowa Legislature since early in the 2023 session and has been among the most contentious proposals debated by state lawmakers.

Supporters say the legislation would create more opportunities for young Iowans to gain work experience and make money at a younger age, while critics express concern that the relaxed regulations will put children in harms way on the job.

While the responsibility of having a job might be more valuable than a paycheck, the reward of the paycheck will allow these youths who want to have a job to possibly save for a car, maybe buy a prom dress, go to a summer camp, take a date out for the weekend, and even for some the ability to save some money so they will not be subject to the monstrous amount of debt that some will face in a few years by going to college, said Sen. Adrian Dickey, a Republican from Packwood who managed the bill in the Senate.

Sen. Bill Dotzler, a Democrat from Waterloo, said, however, he believes there are several provisions in the Senate proposal that conflict with federal work regulations.

The federal Labor Department issued a statement critical of the bill passed by the Iowa Senate, and said there has been in Iowa a 69 percent increase in the number of children who are working illegally here.

It is irresponsible for states to consider loosening child labor protections, U.S. Labor Solicitor Seema Nanda said in a statement. Federal and state entities should be working together to increase accountability and ramp up enforcement  not make it easier to illegally hire children to do what are often dangerous jobs.

Democrats argued that Republicans are trying to address a state shortage of workers by opening up the workforce to more teenagers.

The bill is here because we have a tremendous shortage of workers in the state of Iowa, and this legislative body has failed to address the workforce issues. We cant find enough workers, so we gotta have child labor involved, Dotzler said. This bill is full of opportunities for young people to make mistakes.  I think this bill, down the road, is definitely going to cause young people to be injured.

Among the provisions in the Senate bill:

 Iowans 14 to 17 years old could participate in work-based learning programs or work-related programs if granted an exception from the director of the state workforce or education departments. These so-called work programs could be in manufacturing and food processing, although not in areas where animals are slaughtered.

 Iowans under 16 years old would be able to work later hours, until 9 p.m. during the school year and 11 p.m. in the summer, and 16- and 17-year-olds would be able to work the same hours as adults.

Senate Republicans altered a provision that would have allowed 14-year-olds to drive to jobs, instead creating a legislative committee to study the states laws that permit some driving under the age of 16.

Republicans also narrowed a provision that would have allowed, with parental permission, Iowans 16 and 17 years old to serve alcoholic drinks in bars. Their updated version proposes to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to serve drinks in establishments like restaurants.

We are not forcing them into slave labor. We are not selling our children, Dickey said during debate, referencing comments that he said he has heard at protests and on social media. Were not even requiring them to work. What were doing is providing them opportunities to have a job during the same time of day thats already allowed to their classmates and participate in extra curricular activities within their school.

Dotzler, however, expressed concern that language in the bill is not clear and could still allow bars that sell food to employ 16- and 17-year-olds to serve drinks.

Dotzler attempted during debate to ask Republicans about that language, but in an exceptionally rare move they declined to engage, leading to the procedural dispute and protracted debate session.

Lance Coles, with the union Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, called the bills passage a disgrace.

This bill is out of compliance with Federal Law, will do nothing to attract new Iowans, and puts children at risk of death in dangerous occupations, Cole said.

With its passage out of the Senate, Senate File 542 is now eligible for consideration by the House.

The House has its own bill, which is similar but not identical to the Senate bill. House File 647 was passed out of the Houses commerce committee in early March, and has been legislatively idle since.

The House proposal, similarly, would allow teens as young as 14 to request a waiver from the directors of the state workforce and education agencies to work as apprentices in factories, mines, construction sites and warehouses, among others, as part of work-based learning programs.

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The 42nd Annual Yom HaShoah  Holocaust Remembrance Program  will be held at 7 p.m. Sunday at Wallenberg Hall in the Denkman Building on the campus of Augustana College in Rock Island.

Keynote speaker is Ralph Troll, a holocaust survivor from Germany and Professor Emeritus of Biology at Augustana College.

Troll will speak about his experiences as a young boy during the Holocaust and his families move to the United States in 1947.

In 1938 when Professor Troll was 6-years-old, his family moved to Darmstadt, Germany, to a small isolated farm in the country about 10 miles from the Rhine River.

They were hoping to escape the Nazi persecution sweeping the country.

Since his mother was Jewish, Troll was not allowed to continue schooling beyond the elementary level.

When war broke out, Troll, his parents and his new baby sister often spent nights in the cellar of the farmhouse or days in nearby foxholes to escape the allied bombing raids.

Troll and his parents worked hard to keep food on the table and to help others when the need arose.

In February 1945, the Gestapo appeared in the middle of the night and took Trolls mother away. Months later after the war had ended, his mother was liberated from Theresienstadt and rejoined the family.

The entire family emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1947.

After serving in the Army, Troll earned a Ph.D.

Troll and his wife, Loretta, have three children, seven grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.

The program is sponsored by the Yom HaShoah Committee of the Quad Cities, Jewish Federation of the Quad Cities, Temple Emanuel, Congregation Beth Israel, Churches United, Augustana College, St. Ambrose University, Eastern Iowa Community College District.

Also, the winners of the student Holocaust Essay and Visual Arts contests will be recognized and their artwork displayed.

Troll will also speak at 7 p.m. Monday in Wallenberg Hall during the Geifman Holocaust Remembrance Lecture.
The murder trial of Lewis Vaughn Sr. of Clinton began this week with opening statements being heard Tuesday in Clinton County District Court.

Vaughn, 44, is accused of the Feb. 23, 2021, shooting death of 29-year-old Khalil Said Pugh and then dumping his body in a dumpster. Pughs remains have not been located.

Vaughn is charged with one count of first-degree murder, a Class A felony under Iowa law that carries a mandatory sentence of life in prison without parole.

Vaughns wife, Jessica, 35, is charged with one count of abuse of a corpse, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years.

The Vaughns were arrested Aug. 31, 2022, in connection with the case.

Jessica Vaughn is free on bond. A pre-trail hearing in her case is scheduled for April 27 in Clinton County District Court.

Lewis Vaughn continues to be held in the Clinton County Jail on a $1 million cash-only bond.

According to the arrest affidavits filed by Clinton Police Detective Joshua Winter, and the search warrants filed by Clinton Police, at 10:26 a.m. on Feb. 24, 2021, Clinton Police were sent to the Hawthorne Woods Apartments, 847 Gateway Ave., Apt. 12, for a welfare check after the property manager received a note that said a shooting had occurred in apartment 12 and not to notify the police.

The manager told police the apartment belonged to JaKwane Polidore, 28. Pugh also lived at the apartment.

Officers went to the door but got no answer. There was a strong smell of marijuana.

Police were granted a search warrant for the apartment, and while searching, officers located a spent 9mm shell casing in the hallway and a large amount of blood in the living room.

Officers also located a pillow with a hole going through it and a large amount of blood and tissue on the backside. There also were skull or bone fragments on the mattress in the living room as well as a large pool of blood. More blood was located on the apartments balcony, and a bullet hole was located in a back bedroom wall.

The investigation revealed the Pugh was with Vaughn on Feb. 23, 2021, before going to the apartment he shared with Polidore. Investigators located Pughs vehicle outside of the apartment building. Pughs cell phone was located in the vehicle.

Pughs family had not heard from him since Feb. 23, 2021, and he had not reported to work. There also was no financial activity related to Pugh since that date.

During a canvass of the neighborhood around the apartment, neighbors reported three people being at the apartment and heard sounds of an altercation. Neighbors also told police they heard gunshots.

Following the arguments and gunshots, neighbors told police they saw the maintenance mans truck, a Chevrolet K1500, who was identified as Lewis Vaughn, backed into the parking lot outside of 847 Gateway Avenue.

Vaughns cell phone records showed that he left the area of 847 Gateway Avenue and went to the area of 700 S. 32nd Street in Clinton where he knew some people. Police learned in an interview with those residents that Vaughn had reached out to them about having a dead animal that he needed to dispose of in the dumpster.

The residents then saw Vaughn leave in his truck and stop at the dumpster at the located at the entrance to the property. The residents denied knowing what it was Vaughn had placed in the dumpster.

The next day at Hawthorne Woods Apartments, Vaughn got one of the other maintenance workers to help him shovel snow over blood that was in the parking lot. The maintenance worker told police that Vaughn told him he had cleaned blood out of the back of the truck.

Police obtained a search warrant for the truck and located what was determined to be human blood. A DNA profile of the blood in the truck matched the DNA profile of the blood found in the apartment.

Investigators went to 700 S. 32nd Street and got permission to search the dumpster. The dumpster had been emptied but blood was recovered that matched the DNA profile from Vaughns pickup and from the apartment.

Jessica Vaughn admitted to police to owning several firearms but did not know where one of them, a 9mm handgun, was located. She had not reported the gun missing or stolen.

Police were able to establish a DNA profile of Pugh. The DNA of the profile matched the blood found in the apartment, Vaughns truck and the dumpster.

During the course of the investigation it was learned that there was a physical altercation between Vaughn and Pugh. Vaughn shot Pugh twice, causing his death.

Vaughn currently is on probation in Clinton County until Aug. 18, 2024. He was sentenced Aug. 18 to serve two years on probation after pleading guilty in April to a charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm.

It was in the apartment shared by Polidore and Pugh that Detective Winter located the firearm that led to Lewis Vaughns conviction for being a felon in possession of a firearm.

The gun, a tan FMK Recon 9mm was wrapped in a gray sweatshirt and stashed in a black safe in the apartments bedroom closet.

Winter found the weapon Feb. 26, 2021, two days after authorities were called to the apartment and found evidence of a violent crime, according to Clinton County District Court electronic documents.

Polidore is charged in Clinton County District Court with one count of possession with the intent to deliver no more than 100 grams of cocaine. The charge is a Class C felony that carries a prison sentence of 10 years. He also is charged with violating Iowa drug tax stamp law, a Class D felony that carries a prison sentence of five years. A pre-trial conference in the case is scheduled for April 27 in District Court.

Polidore free on bond while awaiting trial.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Philippines is in talks with the US for the use of American assets to ferry Filipinos who might be affected if hostilities erupt in Taiwan, Defense Secretary Carlito Galvez Jr. said Wednesday.

As both countries have existing deals  the Mutual Defense Treaty and the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA)  Galvez told a Senate panel that it is a possibility.

If theres an attack on Taiwan by the Chinese forces, our main goal is to really first look for the welfare of OFWs in Taiwan, he said during a Senate inquiry on Wednesday regarding the issues surrounding EDCA.

Galvez said the Philippines might need to repatriate around 150,000 Filipinos working in Taiwan.

The official said the countrys concern was aired during the third US Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington last week.

We really intimated to them our concern. I believe, being our ally, they might consider really help in bringing (in) 150,000 of our OFWs, he added.

The humanitarian assistance, he said, can also extend to absorb further other evacuations of other nationals.

He also said the tensions facing the region have been considered in choosing strategic locations for EDCA.

Thats the reason why we have decided to have that EDCA so we have those preparations from now, he said.

Last week, China advised the Philippines to oppose Taiwan independence as it also criticized the latters move to expand US military presence in the country.

The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose 'Taiwan independence' rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to the military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs [overseas Filipino workers in Taiwan]," Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Huang Xilian said in a forum last Friday.
A Davenport man accused of fleeing police in a stolen truck Sunday in Bettendorf couldnt tell investigators to whom the truck belonged, but police say he was sure about one thing.

I am stoned right now, Anthony J. Maples, 41, told police after spike strips stopped a red 2004 Ford 150 Supercrew at Valley Drive and Belmont Road, according to the Scott County Sheriff's Department.

Maples first fled from a Bettendorf police officer at about 10:30 p.m. when the officer, in a police vehicle, approached the truck in the parking lot of UnityPoint Health-Trinitys Utica Ridge Road campus, 4500 Utica Ridge Road, court records state.

The officer was looking for the truck upon learning that a license-plate reader at Utica Ridge and Crow Creek roads identified it as stolen.

The driver of the truck, identified as Maples, backed out and fled, records state. The Bettendorf officer followed with activated lights and sirens.

The truck ran a red light at 53rd Street and Utica Ridge Road and passed a number of vehicles on their left, traveling into oncoming lanes, records state. At that point, the officer ended the chase.

The Iowa State Patrol picked up the pursuit at 10:42 p.m. at Utica Ridge Road and Veterans Memorial Parkway, records show.

The state patrol also attempted an initial traffic stop, but Maples again fled, police said.

Maples is then accused of traveling 89 mph in a 45 mph zone and passing in a no-passing/construction zone before finally being stopped by spike strips, according to court records.

After he was Mirandized, Maples told police he had no idea of the truck owners identity, and he told investigators he was driving the stolen truck and did not stop when directed by police because he did not have a license.

His license has been suspended since 2006, records state.

Maples also admitted to police that he drove in the wrong lanes to get better traction. Records do not indicate how police think Maples came to be in possession of the truck.

During the interview with police, Maples also admitted to smoking marijuana before leaving his home in the truck, records state. He agreed to sobriety testing.

His breath sample showed no signs of impairment, but other tests did show signs that Maples was impaired, court records state. He refused to give a urine sample.

When police searched the truck, they recovered a glass marijuana pipe with residue inside, which was located where Maples said it would be. Other pipes for smoking drugs, as well as THC wax, were also recovered from the truck.

As a result of the allegation, Scott County authorities have charged Maples with felony eluding and second-degree theft, also a felony, according to county court records.

Four related misdemeanor charges also were filed: operating while under the influence-first offense, possession of controlled substance-marijuana, second offense, possession of drug paraphernalia and eluding.

Maples remained in custody Tuesday, according to the Scott County Jail. His bail has been set at $8,500 of which $7,500 must be posted in cash.

He made his first appearance Monday, and his next appearance is set for April 27, court records state.
The Rapid City Area Schools Board of Education passed a policy during Tuesday's meeting that lessens voting restrictions required to pass a measure.

The policy relates to District Code: BEDF that previously required a majority of the total number of members elect to carry a motion. The new policy requires a majority of present voting members to carry a measure.

The new policy passed without discussion or objection from any board members.

This comes after the board's last public meeting on April 4, when a measure failed to reach the majority requirement of four affirmative votes of the seven total members. The measure regarded a contentious new policy that governs how books are added, challenged and subsequently removed from school libraries.

Board members Kate Thomas, Deb Baker and Jim Hansen voted to pass the motion and members Jamie Clapham and Michael Birkeland voted against; the defining vote was that of Troy Carr, who abstained. Clay Colombe was absent.

Board President Thomas correctly declared that the vote had failed during the meeting, but a day later told the Journal she had misspoken and the measure had actually passed.

"Bishop Carrs abstention vote does not count as a vote," Thomas said. "Therefore, the motion did pass with a 3-2 majority."

But after reviewing the district's policies with in-house staff, she corrected herself again.

Upon closer review of our Board policy, the motion regarding library resources did fail last night. Our Board policy, while permissible, is more restrictive than that required under State law relating to the official action of the Board," Thomas said. "State law and our board policy conflict with the definition of what 'majority' means. We hope to remedy this in the near future.

The South Dakota Codified State Law Thomas referred to is 13-8-10 which states:

"A majority of the members of the school board constitutes a quorum for the purpose of conducting business. Any board action may be taken if it is approved by the majority of the members voting."

The misunderstanding of voting procedure is understandable considering the contradictory language of school board policy and that outlined in South Dakota law, Clapham said. Before the new voting policy was passed during this week's meeting, Clapham said the motivation for the new school board voting policy was to match the law.

"Our policy was in contradiction with state law policy and those two need to be congruent," Clapham said. "The change is so the policies are consistent and clear."

The new policy also includes language that prohibits members from voting on measures in which they have direct pecuniary interest. If a board member has an identifiable conflict of interest, at least two-thirds of the board may vote to prohibit the member from voting on the matter.
Wyoming's former Rep. Liz Cheney lived through the thick of some of the most defining moments in U.S. history. She'll share that story in her forthcoming memoir, "Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning."

Little, Brown and Company announced Tuesday that it will publish Cheney's book, which is slated to come out Nov. 14. It aims to explain why she stood against her party to denounce former President Donald Trump in the wake of the 2020 elections and what's at stake in 2024.

The last two years have shown us once again that our constitutional republic is not self-sustaining. It survives only because of the courage and honor of individual Americans," Cheney said in the announcement.

"When history looks back on this time, each elected official will have to answer the questions: Did we do our duty? Were we faithful to our oath of office?

Cheney, who lost her primary election last year to Wyoming's current representative, Trump-backed land attorney Harriet Hageman, became one of the former president's most outspoken critics after he claimed, without evidence, that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from him. Cheney voted to impeach Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021 attack of the U.S. Capitol. She also served as vice chair of the committee that investigated the attack and eventually voted unanimously to refer charges against Trump to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Cheney suffered backlash for going against the Republican Party in her denouncement of Trump.

The Wyoming GOP and the Republican National Committee censured her over her stance toward Trump and her role on the Jan. 6 committee. At a May rally in Casper, Trump stood beside Hageman onstage and told the crowd to "fire" Cheney.

That discontent resonated among Wyoming's voters: Hageman, Trump's pick to unseat Cheney, trounced the former congresswoman in last year's primary election by nearly 40 points. Cheney had coasted to victory in previous elections.

Despite the backlash, Cheney made it her mission to ensure Trump would never again hold office. At the last Jan. 6 committee meeting in December, she called Trump "unfit for any office."

The orderly transfer of authority, as called for in the Constitution, routinely takes place, as it has for almost two centuries, and few of us stop to think how unique we really are. In the eyes of many in the world, this every-four-year ceremony we accept as normal is nothing less than a miracle, Cheney said in her opening statement at the meeting.

Every President in our history has defended this orderly transfer of authority, except one. January 6, 2021 was the first time one American President refused his Constitutional duty to transfer power peacefully to the next.

Trump was recently indicted and pleaded not guilty to 34 charges of falsifying business records related to hush money payments he allegedly made to an adult film actress and a Playboy model. He's also at the center of criminal investigations in Georgia and Washington related to his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his handling of classified materials.

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Cooler temperatures, windy conditions and the recent snowfall have slowed area fishing activity. Unfortunately, this weeks forecast doesnt appear appreciably better.

That situation coupled with the approaching conclusion of the ice fishing season (ice does remain at Black Hills higher elevation locations though shorelines are breaking up) is keeping fishing activity to a minimum.

As for the hearty anglers braving the conditions, success has been elusive as the cold weather has apparently dampened appetites. And as the old adage has it, where there arent fish biting there arent many fishermen as well. Thats been the case as fishing activity in the high country has slowed considerably, and will likely remain so until lakes open and ambient and water temperatures climb.

As for the lower elevations lakes (Orman and Angostura, specifically) there had been signs of increasing walleye activity as spawning had begun though the cold spell slowed that tempo as well.

Positives: Black Hills area streams are producing steady trout activity. And for those anglers willing to make a trip to the Missouri River, walleye activity in the Chamberlain area has been gathering steam.

Angostura Reservoir: Ramps are in and the lake is open. Walleye activity had picked up last week (fish are scattered, however) though bite slowed with cooler weather. Jigs and minnows with bottom bouncers at a slow troll have been working best when and if. Shore fishermen have been catching a few smallmouth bass.

Belle Fourche Reservoir (Orman): Docks are now in and some walleye action reported below the dam and in the channel though, as elsewhere the inclement weather slow activity. Walleye had begun to spawn though cold spell has put on hold. Also, the occasional nice-sized catfish have been caught in the channel.

Black Hills Streams: Fly fishing opportunities abound in streams as waters are running high due to heavy runoff, a situation that bodes well for the summer season as well. Rapid and Spearfish creeks have been the hot spots though Castle and Crow Creeks have been producing trout as well. Spring bug hatches are attracting hungry trout.

Canyon Lake: Trout activity reported on a variety of presentations.

Custer State Park Lakes: Mountain lakes have some good ice though edges bear watching. As do the main bodies this time of year. Carry a spud bar and safety equipment.

Deerfield Lake: As always, the lake will be the last spot for diehard ice fishermen though despite shorelines that will be increasingly troublesome. At last report, trout and perch bites remained steady.

Mirror Lake: Bluegill bite reported on nightcrawlers suspended below a bobber at depths of 2-3 feet.

Pactola Reservoir: Lake is in transition with open water in places mixed with an ice glaze occasionally in early morning hours on colder nights. There is ice in bays though shorelines are deteriorating and access difficult if not safely possible. With that, not much fishing activity at present. On a more pleasant note, the lake was stocked with adult rainbow trout last week.

Sheridan Lake: Lake is opening up and fishing activity is in wait-and-see more for the most part. The arrival of warmer weather should produce a spurt in perch, crappie, and trout activity (lake was stocked with adult rainbow trout last week). Be aware that the Rocky Campground and access route are closed due to a shoreline stabilization project, and will not open until the end of April or beginning of May.

Lakes Oahe: Some ice fishing ongoing in the Mobridge area reportedly. Elsewhere conditions are deteriorating on Lake Oahe and pike fishing opportunities are continuing to become more and more available. Likewise, shorelines along eastern South Dakota are continuing to open up particularly south of Highway 14.

Lakes Sharpe: Fishing activity below the dam as slowed due to muddy inflow from the Bad River coupled with lack of flows from the dam, a situation failing to flush muddy water from the area. Best opportunities for catching walleye is in the spilling basin though that bite has been impacted, also.

Lake Francis Case: A fishing tournament in the Chamberlain area over the weekend saw lots of walleyes caught with the majority falling within the 1416-inch range. The winning team weighted in 12.59 pounds over the two-day span with the largest fish tipping the scale at 8.24 pounds. Farther south, docks are in at Fort George, and West Farm Island, however docks not in at West Bend and Joe Creek as ice is still present.

Fishing Tournaments

High Plains Anglers Center of the Nation Walleye Fishing Tournament: May 6 th & 7 th , Belle Fourche Reservoir (Orman). Additional Info available by calling (605) 695-7982.

May 6 & 7 , Belle Fourche Reservoir (Orman). Additional Info available by calling (605) 695-7982. Angostura Spring Walleye Classic: May 13 th & 14 th , Two-person teams($120), 60 boat limit. Applications can be picked up at The Rooster or found on SD Walleyes Unlimited website or Facebook page. Additional info: call Loren at (605) 381-5300.

May 13 & 14 , Two-person teams($120), 60 boat limit. Applications can be picked up at The Rooster or found on SD Walleyes Unlimited website or Facebook page. Additional info: call Loren at (605) 381-5300. Wild Walleye Outfitters Series: Angostura (April 29-30), Orman (May 13-14), Shadehill (June 10-11). Limited to 60, 2-man teams. Early registration advised (due arch 31). Check out at wildwalleyeoutfitters.com or call (605) 519-4286 for additional information.

Angostura (April 29-30), Orman (May 13-14), Shadehill (June 10-11). Limited to 60, 2-man teams. Early registration advised (due arch 31). Check out at wildwalleyeoutfitters.com or call (605) 519-4286 for additional information. South Dakota Bass Federation & Black Hills Bass Bandits tournament: The 11-event series begins on May 7 th at Angostura Reservoir. Contact Black Hills Bass Bandits for additional information (message via Facebook).

The 11-event series begins on May 7 at Angostura Reservoir. Contact Black Hills Bass Bandits for additional information (message via Facebook). Jared Roe Memorial Walleye Tournament: June 3rd, Angostura Reservoir. Reservations can be sourced at jaredroememorial.com.

Dakota Angler & Outfitter, 513 Seventh St., Rapid City; The Rooster, 1441 W. Main St., Rapid City; Wheel in Bait Shop, 18696 Fishermans Road, Fruitdale, and West Prairie Resort, 28354 182nd, Pierre (605-264-5303) have contributed to this report.
A Florence-Carlton High School counselor has been selected as the 2023 Montana State Counselor of the Year by the American School Counselor Association and the Montana School Counselor Association.

Alli Bristow has been a school counselor since 2006.

I feel that this award is for all of our school counselors in Montana, Bristow said. They are all hardworking and dedicated. The award feels honoring but also I hope to be a good advocate for our profession, lifting up all the school counselors and their important roles in the state.

She said that a big part of advocacy is making sure students have access to counseling. A recent challenge through the Office of Public Instruction attempted to change the ratios of counselors to students.

Thats a big part of advocacy  making sure were not defunded, Bristow said. Our roles are special to the schools. Our counselors have specific training. The award is honoring but it feels like a shared award.

The Chapter 55 challenge through the Office of Public Instruction did not pass and Montana schools maintain their ratios.

The ratios protect schools and students, Bristow said. She talked about how Arizona eliminated the ratios then realized its mistake too late and is scrambling to find school counselors.

We just want to be protective of school counseling, she said.

Bristow said she loves her job because of the variety, teamwork and problem-solving.

There are so many things as a school counselor that are unique to the profession, she said. We are helping the whole system of the school through a multi-tiered system of support. We are looking at interventions for students school-wide.

School counselors meet as a team with administration to create a comprehensive counseling program with many components.

I enjoy coming in, Bristow said. Every day there is something new, something to be creative about and working with students and families is very rewarding, always.

Florence Carlton High School Principal Scott Marsh praised Bristow's selection as Montana State Counselor of the Year.

"School counselors are the unsung heroes of education, providing invaluable support and guidance to students as they navigate the challenges of growing up and preparing for their futures," Marsh said. "Ms. Bristow has made the transition to the high school counselor position this year, and I couldn't be more excited that she is working with our high school students. She brings a wealth of knowledge, experience and passion that is great for our kids. The counselor of the year award she just received is well deserved."

Bristow was nominated by Audrey Backus, retired principal from Florence-Carlton Middle School.

Reflecting on my long career in education, I cant think of another counselor Ive collaborated with who is more deserving of this award, Backus said in her nomination.

Backus listed Bristows work history at the school including creating a comprehensive school-wide counseling program, a system for making data-informed decisions and using an intervention system to improve student behavior.

Bristow wrote a grant from the Office of Public Instruction for American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Emergency Relief-Homeless Children and Youth OPI ARP-HCY funds. In Florence, the grant meets the needs of students who are homeless and provides funding for an after-school tutoring program available to all high school and middle school students with academic needs.

Bristow also works with the Bitterroot Valley Education Co-op and Ravalli County schools to develop crisis response teams and assessments for student risk management, implemented the Olweus Bully Prevention Program at Florence schools, created grade-level curriculum maps and partnered with Western Montana Mental Health to present a suicide prevention curriculum to middle school students.

At the Society of Health and Physical Educators, a professional organization of educators dedicated to promoting healthy lifestyles among students, Bristow presented guidance to PE/Heath Enhancement teachers on creating engaging classroom lessons on suicide prevention.

Each year, the School Counselor of the Year program shows us what the research tells us  that school counselors have a significant impact on students academic achievement, social/emotional development and plans for life after graduation, said Jill Cook, ASCA executive director. Through their dedication, contributions and excellence, these finalists have demonstrated their commitment to the values and mission of the school counseling profession.

This is Bristows first year working at FCHS after her years at the middle school. She is working on her doctorate in counseling and supervision, learning more about the high school role and helping studnts move into a system of support similar to what she created at the middle school.

She is also working to retain school counselors at rural schools districts.

I supervise the Rural Pathway Grant and work with school counselors coming into rural schools, Bristow said. Sometimes we have an issue of counselors come in but then they leave. Were working with [the University of Montana] to try to get them to stay in rural areas.

As Montanas School Counselor of the Year, Bristow celebrated in Washington, D.C. in February and participated in webinars and online events during National School Counseling Week, Feb. 6-10.
A stretch of U.S. Highway 89 that runs through the Blackfeet Reservation will officially be known as the Chief Earl Old Person Memorial Highway.

Gov. Greg Gianforte on Tuesday signed Senate Bill 120, brought by Sen. Susan Webber, into law in a private ceremony that was closed to the press.

Webber in several hearings said she was asked by the 17,000 members of the Blackfeet Nation to bring the bill.

The bill directs the Department of Transportation to install two signs on the reservation  one where U.S. Highway 89 intersects with U.S. Highway 2 and one where Highway 89 intersects with Border Road. It also directs DOT to include the memorial highway on the next publication of the state map. The project is expected to cost $4,437.

Beloved chief, advocate, orator and elder, Old Person died in October 2021 at 92. Serving as a tribal councilman for 10 years and as chairman for 34, he was the longest-serving elected tribal leader in the country and one of the longest-serving elected officials in the world. Old Person became chief of the Blackfeet Nation in 1978 and delivered the first State of the Tribes address to the Montana Legislature in 1993.

While Old Person was revered statewide, the bill honoring him did not have an easy path through the Legislature.

The Senate Committee on Highways and Transportation in January tabled the bill, citing an unwritten rule that memorial highways can only be named for members of law enforcement who have died in the line of duty. Webber said she was unaware of such a rule and motioned to blast the legislation from the committee to the Senate floor for a full vote.

When the bill reached the Senate floor, Sen. Theresa Manzella, R-Hamilton, said she disapproved of the $4,437 price tag. The Legislature this session was in the process of deciding how to spend and save an estimated $2.4 billion surplus.

Other senators said the late chief should be honored in other ways, and some, including Sen. Barry Usher, R-Billings, said they agreed highway signs were only for those in law enforcement. That overlooked the Legislature's 2019 vote to establish a Jeannette Rankin Memorial Highway to honor the first woman elected to Congress.

Supporters of the bill argued Old Person deserved the recognition, and Sen. Jason Small, R-Busby, said naming the memorial highway for him was "not a big ask at all."

Despite the controversy, the bill cleared the Senate with 38 yes votes and later passed the House with 94 supporting votes.
A Senate committee advanced the governor's judicial appointment for a north-central Montana judge after a Tuesday hearing repeatedly snared by a decision to close a portion of an advisory committee's selection process to the public.

Greg Bonilla was tapped April 5 by Gov. Greg Gianforte to fill the district court vacancy in the 9th Judicial District, which covers Glacier, Pondera, Teton and Toole counties. Bonilla replaces Judge Robert "Bob" Olsen, who was scheduled to retire April 7.

During a hearing in the Senate Judiciary Committee on his confirmation, Bonilla said he was proud to be appointed to his hometown bench.

"I grew up across the alley from the Toole County courthouse. I used to empty the garbages in the courthouse," he told the committee. "That's the community I was raised in, that's a community that actually means a lot to me."

Prior to his appointment, Bonilla practiced with the Montana Association of County's litigation group, defending counties, their employees and law enforcement in various legal disputes.

"The public of the state of Montana deserves from their judges nothing less than their all," he told the committee.

Bonilla saw uniform support among Republicans on the committee. Democrats praised his legal acumen developed over a 26-year career, but withheld their votes in light of the controversy that unfolded before Gianforte declared his pick.

Since lawmakers, at Gianforte's request, eliminated the Judicial Nomination Commission last session, the governor now has free rein to determine the judicial appointment process. Gianforte's administration has so far appointed localized panels to vet candidates, not unlike the Judicial Nomination Commission, a standing committee, once did.

Unlike the Judicial Nomination Commission, however, the panel assembled in Conrad last month to vet the candidates decided to close its deliberations. The Montana Free Press reported in March that choice led one panel member to resign in protest. The local newspaper editor filed a petition against the governor requesting a judge rule the matter a violation of Montana's open meeting laws.

The Montana Free Press has joined the litigation filed by the Choteau Acantha in Lewis and Clark County District Court on April 12. Jennifer Stutz, who was appointed chair of the advisory committee, is also named as a defendant in the lawsuit.

Lt. Gov Kristen Juras defended the decision to close the meeting to the public last month, citing state law that allows public bodies to close meetings for various, typically personal, reasons.

"We did comply with the law in this process and the nomination of Judge Bonilla," Juras contended during Tuesday's hearing.

Bonilla was careful not to say anything that could amount to a judicial opinion on the legality of his closed meeting.

He noted he and the other candidate, Montana Department of Justice prosecution services chief Dan Guzynski, had an opportunity and did not waive their right to privacy ahead of the meeting.

Bonilla, who had applied for a judgeship under the previous process, did say he was never asked private or medical questions during the advisory panel's interview process.

"The initial decision to say that it was closed was not my decision, it was not Mr. Guzynski's decision," he said, deferring further questions to the governor's administration.

Republicans took their own line of questioning during the hearing. Last session the GOP rejected a judicial appointment for the first time in modern history, partly due to her past office as a Democratic legislator. Republicans have since sharpened their questioning of appointments about the judicial obligation to rule on the law rather than taking ideological liberties with it.

"I don't want to take a position, I just want to hear what's being said, hear what the position of the litigants is, and make my decision from that," Bonilla told the committee. "It's going to be easy to not take a position on a case and I'm going to enjoy that part of it."

The Senate Judiciary Committee ultimately advanced Bonilla's confirmation to the Senate floor on a 7-4, party-line vote with Republicans voting in approval.

"I am concerned as a member of this judiciary (committee) your request of my yes vote is asking me to accept a process that put privacy above the peoples right to know," Sen. Andrea Olsen, D-Missoula, said during the hearing.

The Montana Judicial Association and the State Bar of Montana both supported Bonilla's appointment on Tuesday.

"A Shelby native, Gregory is an accomplished attorney distinguished by his professionalism, intellect and diverse legal background," Gianforte said following his appointment of Bonilla earlier this month.
Lawmakers tabled a bill Tuesday that would have restricted nonresidents to 14 days of hunting in the state per year.

Senate Bill 533 from Sen. Mark Noland, R-Big Fork, would have also rescinded a law allowing out-of-state college students to obtain hunting licenses at resident rates. The bill passed the Senate unanimously earlier this month.

On Tuesday the House Fish, Wildlife and Parks Committee was set to offer amendments on SB 533 when Rep. Tom France, D-Missoula, asked the committee to table the bill. Given the complexity of the issue, France encouraged a bill to study nonresident hunting during the interim. The committee agreed, voting unanimously.

Amendments drafted on SB 533 included removing the portion pertaining to college students and removing the 14-day restriction for nonresident landowners with 160 acres. Neither were considered before the bill was tabled.

The bill saw a mix of support and opposition, with supporters citing crowding on available public lands and a surge in nonresident hunters in recent years. Opponents included outfitters who believe holders of special permits should not be limited, and groups including the Montana Chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers that questioned whether the time limit could concentrate nonresidents even more around things like the elk or deer ruts.

SB 533 was one of multiple bills grappling with nonresident hunting in Montana, with few making it across the finish line to the governors desk. The Legislature is at day 76 of its 90-day session.
On Tuesday the House joined the Senate in approving Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte's amendatory veto to a bill that would ban some gender-affirming care for transgender minors in Montana.

The legislation is Senate Bill 99, from Sen. John Fuller, a Whitefish Republican. It passed through the House and Senate largely along party lines, with all its support coming from Republicans. A few GOP legislators, along with all Democrats, have opposed it. It's now heading back to Gianforte.

One of the most intensely debated bills of the session, SB 99 drew emotional testimony from those both for and against it. Fuller has argued the bill is necessary to protect minors, saying Children live under the guardianship and guidance of adults precisely because they lack the maturity, prudence and experience to make safe and responsible decisions for themselves.

But opponents argue the kinds of surgeries the bill bans are not performed on minors in Montana and that the legislation would harm children seeking care they say is necessary to keep them healthy. Others say the bill would trample the rights of parents to make decisions for their children.

In his amendment, Gianforte said he felt the legislation was incomplete and can be strengthened. Gianforte proposed to alter definitions of male and female in the bill to contemplate treatment for a child requiring a necessary medical procedure because he or she was born with a medically verifiable disorder of sex development, according to the veto letter.

Those changes, Gianforte said, would encompass children still undergoing biological development or with intersex conditions, or a cancer diagnosis requiring the surgical removal of reproductive organs.

Dr. Lauren Wilson, president of the Montana Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, said Monday evening the changes from Gianforte do not address concerns raised by opponents about limiting the care available for those with intersex conditions.

The definitions in this bill are not medically accurate and it doesnt solve the problem of people who have intersex conditions accessing medical care, Wilson said.

SB 99 was previously amended by lawmakers in an attempt to allow care for those with intersex conditions, but medical professionals said the definitions were not broad enough.

Gianfortes language, he wrote, also clarifies what procedures are banned and strengthens prohibitions on public funding paying for care.

Gianforte wrote that he had met with transgender youth and adults in considering his actions on the bill.

I understand their struggles are real, and my heart goes out to them. I firmly believe that, as with all of Gods children, Montanans who struggle with their gender identity deserve love, compassion and respect, Gianforte wrote.

In his letter Gianforte wrote Gender-affirming care for children is Orwellian Newspeak, a seemingly innocuous, even solicitous phrase that masks its true nature of permanent, invasive, life-altering and surgical procedures, performed on children whose young minds and bodies are still developing.

Martha Fuller, the president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana, was also critical of the letter.

"If the governor truly believed his words that trans youth deserve love, compassion, and respect, then he wouldn't be supporting this ban on critical health care," Fuller wrote in a press release Tuesday.

Doctors also testified that surgeries mentioned in the bill are not performed on minors in Montana, and other types of care do not happen without the consent of both parents and a lengthy consultation process. Gianfortes letter referenced surgeries and puberty blockers for minors happening in the country, but not Montana specifically.

While Gianforte wrote the bill does not prohibit social affirmation or providing or accessing psychotherapy to treat young Montanans struggling with their gender identity, Wilson disputed that characterization.

She pointed to language in the bill that says state property, facilities or buildings may not knowingly be used to promote or advocate the use of social transitioning, medication, or surgery as a treatment to address an inconsistency between a minor's sex and the minor's perceived gender or perceived sex.

Fuller on Monday evening said he thought the governors changes showed compassion and legal acuity.

But Democrats strongly opposed the amendment, just as they have the legislation. In the House, Rep. Zooey Zephyr, D-Missoula, sharply rebuked Gianforte's letter accompanying the amendment.

"(Gianforte) said Montanans who struggle with their gender identity deserve love, compassion, and respect. That's not what trans Montanans need from you. We need access to the medical care that saves our lives. And these are hollow words coming from someone who's amendments are going to make it harder to access that care," Zephyr said.

Zephyr is the first openly transgender legislator in Montana.

"If you are forcing a trans child to go through puberty when they are trans, that is tantamount to torture. And this body should be ashamed," Zephyr continued, drawing the first objection from Majority Leader Rep. Sue Vinton, R-Billings.

At the end of her opposition, Zephyr referenced the testimony of people opposed to the bill who have said it could increase suicides among trans Montanans. Data shows trans youth are more at risk of suicide, and a Bozeman doctor earlier in the session emailed legislators about a minor who had attempted suicide and while in the emergency department cited legislation lawmakers were considering as a contributing factor.

"If you vote yes on this bill, and yes on these amendments, I hope the next time there's an invocation when you bow your heads in prayer, you see the blood on your hands," Zephyr said.

Vinton again objected.

"That is entirely inappropriate, disrespectful and uncalled for. We can debate matters civilly and with respect for each other," Vinton said.

The amendments in the House passed 66-34, with two Republicans joining all Democrats against in. On Monday the Senate approved the amendment on a second reading by a 31-19 margin with three Republicans and all Democrats against it.
Not a surprise that China's Q1 GDP is 'beyond expectation'

09:23, April 19, 2023 By Global Times editorial ( Global Times

China's GDP grew 4.5 percent year-on-year in the first quarter (Q1) of 2023, higher than the 4 percent previously forecast by many international analysts. Many foreign media used phrases and words like "beyond expectation" and "optimism" to describe China's economic growth rate in Q1. "As the economic recovery gains traction, investment banks and international organizations have upgraded China's growth forecasts for this year," reported CNN. This good start has laid a solid foundation for China's economy in 2023 and injected more confidence into the global economy.

In the latest Q1 economic data, the strong growth in several areas has received particular attention. In the manufacturing sector, investment rose 7 percent year-on-year, while exports climbed 8.4 percent, showing strong growth. As the "barometer for consumption," retail sales jumped 10.6 percent in March, significantly exceeding previous expectations of 7.4 percent growth. The number also exceeded the growth rate in January and February, showing an overall upturn. In addition, there were also many signs of stabilization and rebound in the real estate sector.

Previously, considering that economic activities at the beginning of the year were still somewhat dragged down by factors such as the COVID-19 epidemic, many people were cautious about the performance of the Chinese economy in Q1. However, the Chinese economy's strong resilience and internal dynamics proved to burst forth with great energy again this spring. In this sense, China's Q1 GDP growth rate was beyond expectations, but also within our expectations.

Overall, production demand stabilized and rebounded in Q1; employment rate and consumer prices were generally stable; personal income continued to increase; and market expectations improved significantly. This data outline the development trends shown in the general picture of China's economy, giving the market a greater sense of optimism about the Chinese economy in 2023. The scenes that we see in life, such as the long queues in front of some restaurants, tourists walking shoulder-to-shoulder in some attractions, and the busy production in factories, vividly show that China's economic and social life is rapidly recovering. They corroborate the data released by China's National Bureau of Statistics.

Also recently, the 133rd China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, resumed all offline activities for the first time in three years since the start of the pandemic. This event is also the largest one in history. As the bellwether of foreign trade, this year's Canton Fair attracted more than 34,000 buyers and exhibitors from 226 countries and regions. The world's top 500 companies and top 250 retailers also attend the event, and the delegation of some enterprises consists of even more than 200 people. Many foreign investors have expressed optimism about the future of China's economy during the exhibition. The busy scene where "thousands of businessmen gather up" is a true reflection of the world's confidence in China.

It is important to emphasize that China's economic performance in Q1 results from the concerted efforts of the entire Chinese society. The potential of China's economic development cannot automatically become a realistic achievement, and the difficulties in front of us will not disappear automatically if we don't overcome them. Chinese people never expect to reap without sowing. We see that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council have made top-down decisions to activate the economy; local governments have launched specific initiatives based on their conditions to focus on the economy and improve the business environment; and enterprises have seized the opportunity to develop despite difficulties. The confidence and enthusiasm of Chinese society have run high after the three-year pandemic.

The more the hardships, the greater the Chinese people's resolution. The indomitable Chinese economy has recovered this spring as the earth awakens, and people are convinced that a brighter and warmer future lies ahead of us. In particular, resources and potentials are not overdrawn by the efforts made for the Q1 economy. We made it without flooding China's economy with liquidity, but at a steady pace and with strong resilience. This pushes back against some Western public opinion's pessimistic rhetoric and shows an undeniable basic fact: Even five years into the US-launched trade war against China, three years into the pandemic, and over a year into the Russia-Ukraine conflict, China still firmly holds the initiative of its economic development. Under highly uncertain external conditions, China's economy has still presented great results in maintaining growth and transforming and upgrading the Chinese economy. It has also brought new vitality and certainty to the global economy.

As China's May Day holidays approach, the tourism market is already heating up. In the first spring after the epidemic, people are getting out of their homes more, and liveliness is back on the streets. We believe, however, that this is just the beginning. As international travel gradually resumes, China and other parts of the world will intertwine with each other more closely, and the heat of the Chinese economy will bring more warmth to the world economy, which has just survived the cold winter.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
(CNN)  A Chinese acrobat has fallen to her death during an aerial silks performance, sparking horror and outcry on social media over the lack of safety measures.

The woman, surnamed Sun, fell to the stage while performing a mid-air routine on Saturday with her husband in a village near the city of Suzhou in central Anhui province. She was taken to hospital but died of her injuries, the Tongqiao district government said in a statement Monday.

Online footage of the incident showed the couple being pulled high into the air by a crane above a large outdoor stage, with the woman holding on to her husband whose arms were wrapped around two pieces of fabric hanging from the crane.

As they swung in mid-air, the woman wrapped her arms around her husband's head and hung off him during a transition act. But she lost her grip and and plunged to the hard stage amid screams from the crowd. Her husband attempted to catch her with his legs but failed, the footage showed.

Videos of the horrific moment shocked Chinese social media. Many users questioned why the woman did not wear any safety belt, and why there was no safety net or crash mat on the ground. Others called for stricter regulations on the acrobatic industry and better protection for performers.

"This kind of mid-air acrobatic performance is really dangerous. At least put a safety net underneath so the (performer) can be protected from falling," said a comment on China's Twitter-like Weibo platform. "No matter how skilled the performers are, there will always be mistakes. How come there are no safety measures?"

In another statement released Tuesday, the Tongqiao government said an investigation by authorities had ruled the tragedy was an accident.

The show was hosted by a local farm business owner, who contracted the Anhui Yaxi Performing Arts Media Company to run the performance, the statement said.

The company failed to obtain approval from authorities prior to the show, and failed to provide essential safety protection and emergency measures during the performance, the investigation found. The use of a crane in the performance was also a violation of regulations, it added.

The company has reached an agreement on compensation with the family of the acrobat, and will be punished according to regulations, the statement said.

China's Acrobats Association said in a statement Sunday it was "devastated and shocked by the tragedy" and called for acrobatic groups and performers to pay greater attention to safety measures.

The Paper, a state-run news website, reported that during the show, a host had boasted to the audience that in order to make the performance look "real," the performers were not equipped with any safety measures.

The report added that the female acrobat had been married to her husband for more than a decade and left behind two children.
Kathmandu, Nepal, April 19, 2023: The meeting of the Constitutional Council held on Wednesday to proceed with the appointment of new Chief Justice of the Supreme Court ended inconclusive.





Though the most of the members representing to the parties in the Constitutional Council had already agreed to appoint the new chief justice, the meeting indeed inconclusively. It is said that the meeting was ended with the decision to appoint chief justice at the earliest.




Democrats hold a significant advantage in campaign cash over Republicans for the general election showdown next fall for control of the Virginia General Assembly. But some legislators in both parties first have to survive well-financed challenges in looming primaries and new districts not drawn to protect them.

Clean Virginia, a Charlottesville-based political fund founded by Michael Bills, CEO of a $1.5 billion hedge fund, and aimed at countering Dominion Energys influence over state elections, is making big investments in three Senate races  including one in the Richmond area. It is backing progressive challengers to incumbent Democrats under a new political map that the Virginia Supreme Court approved in late 2021.

We look at these races and districts as new, said Brennan Gilmore, executive director of Clean Virginia. Last month it endorsed 52 candidates and pledged $686,500 in political contributions to candidates in House and Senate races who dont accept money from Dominion and other state regulated public utility companies.

Dominion, long dominant in Virginia political donations and policymaking, has raised questions about what it terms Bills outsize influence in political races, and asserted its right to participate in the political process as Virginias largest electric utility and one of the states biggest employers. Its worth noting that our critics donate millions more than we do, Dominion Senior Vice-President Bill Murray wrote in a letter to the Richmond Times-Dispatch in January.

All 100 House seats and all 40 Senate seats are up for election in November. The fight for control of the legislature will be critical to the outcome of Gov. Glenn Youngkins agenda on matters such as abortion restrictions, school choice and corporate tax cuts.

Senate Democrats, who hold a 22-18 majority, had about $12.6 million in cash on hand to about $7.1 million for Republicans through March 31, according to the Virginia Public Access Project. Democrats also hold an edge on campaign cash for races in the House of Delegates, in which the GOP holds a 51-46 advantage, with three vacancies. House Democrats ended the quarter on March 31 with $7.98 million in cash on hand, compared with $6.96 million for Republicans, VPAP reported.

The Clean Virginia Fund gave $150,000 to former Del. Lashrecse Aird, D-Petersburg, who has pulled ahead of Sen. Joe Morrissey, D-Petersburg, in political contributions and cash on hand for their showdown in the Democratic primary for the 13th Senate District on June 20. Aird also received a $75,000 donation from philanthropist Sonjia Smith, wife of Bills.

Morrissey countered with donations of $25,000 from Dominion and $15,000 from the utility companys political action committee this year, but Aird outraised him during the first quarter, which she ended with a slight advantage in cash on hand for the primary stretch run.

Clean Virginia versus Dominion

Its a similar proxy war in two key Northern Virginia races for Sen. George Barker, D-Fairfax, co-chair of the Senate Finance & Appropriations Committee, and Sen. David Marsden, D-Fairfax, chair of the Senate Transportation Committee. Both face nomination challenges by more progressive candidates aided by Clean Virginia.

Thats sort of the story in a lot of these primaries  Clean Virginia versus Dominion, said Bob Holsworth, a veteran political scientist in Richmond. Clean Virginia comes in with money and it gives these challengers certainly an opportunity there.

The primaries are providing opportunities for challenges from the left for Democrats and from the right for Republicans against candidates backed by their parties establishment. Youngkin is looking to play a game-changing role for the GOP after raising a record $7.5 million in donations of $10,000 or more in his first 15 months in office through two political action committees.

Retirements free up cash

The Virginia Supreme Court imposed new electoral boundaries in December 2021 that paired incumbents in multiple contests, leading to a raft of retirements. Many senior lawmakers who are retiring have sizable war chests that likely will help their parties in the contests to come.

For example, retiring Senate Majority Leader Dick Saslaw, D-Fairfax, had $1.2 million in cash on hand as of March 31. Outgoing Senate Minority Leader Tommy Norment, R-James City, had about $897,000.

Retirements also could free some remaining, favored incumbents to spread the wealth and help colleagues in competitive contests. For instance, the retirement of Del. Glenn Davis, R-Virginia Beach, means that House Appropriations Chairman Barry Knight, R-Virginia Beach, faces only a lightly funded Democratic opponent in a heavily Republican district. Knight had about $1.03 million in cash on hand as of March 31.

In the Richmond area, Sen. Siobhan Dunnavant, R-Henrico, is defending her seat in a new, less hospitable Senate District 16 against Del. Schuyler VanValkenburg, D-Henrico. Dunnavant has raised more than $1 million and had almost $650,000 in the bank on March 31, while VanValkenburg, endorsed by Clean Virginia, has raised about $454,000, with more than $372,000 in the bank.

In Northern Virginias Senate District 31, based in Loudoun County, businessman Juan Pablo Segura, a Republican, has raised $534,131, most of it from the Renew Virginia Political Action Committee financed by a $1 million contribution from Securiport LLC, a border security company owned by his father, Enrique Segura. Democrats will choose between attorney Russet Perry and Zach Cummings in a primary on June 20. Clean Virginia has endorsed Perry, a former CIA officer and Loudoun prosecutor, who has a sizable fundraising lead over Cummings.

Northern Virginia primaries

Clean Virginia also is playing a major role in primary challenges in three key Senate races in Northern Virginia.

Barker, a key Democratic player in an ongoing budget battle with Youngkin, is trying to hold off a challenge in the 36th Senate District by Stella Pekarsky, a first-term member of the Fairfax County School Board. She received $100,000 from Clean Virginia and $50,000 from Smith in this quarter. Barker, who has received $40,000 from Dominion since his last election in 2019, has raised $490,493 in the cycle and has $372,249 on hand.

But Pekarsky has raised more this year, $219,468, compared with $64,370 for Barker, who ended March with almost $188,000 more in the bank than his challenger.

Marsden holds a 2-to-1 advantage in cash on hand over Democratic challenger Heidi Drauschak in the 35th Senate District, but she received an endorsement, a $100,000 contribution and $23,000 in in-kind donations from Clean Virginia, as well as $50,000 from Smith. The senator started the year with more than $300,000 in the bank, including $65,000 hes received from Dominion during the four-year election cycle, but Drauschak raised $229,743 in the first quarter, compared with $48,265 for Marsden.

Clean Virginia also has endorsed former Del. Jennifer Carroll Foy, D-Prince William, in her Democratic Senate primary against former Del. Hala Ayala, D-Prince William, in Senate District 33, based in the county. Carroll Foy, who finished second in the 2021 contest for the Democratic nomination for governor, has raised more than $686,000, compared with $404,000 for Ayala.

Richmond-area contests

In the Richmond area, Clean Virginia has endorsed and financed political newcomer Rae Cousins, who has a huge fundraising advantage in a three-way race in the 79th House District, based in Richmond. She received $100,000 from Clean Virginia and $55,000 from Smith last year, with an additional $20,000 from Smith in the first quarter. (The initial report from VPAP included higher numbers that it had double-counted.) Clean Virginia and Commonwealth Forward, a related political action committee, also have given more than $32,000 in in-kind contributions to Cousins, who has raised $300,771, including almost $106,000 in the first quarter.

Richmond City Council member Ann-Frances Lambert, daughter of the late Sen. Benjamin Lambert, D-Richmond, reported raising $19,341, including a $10,000 loan she made to her campaign. Activist Richard Walker has raised $3,732.

Republicans also face primary battles, including a three-way challenge in the 12th Senate District, based in Chesterfield County. Sen. Amanda Chase, R-Chesterfield, is fighting to keep her seat against former Sen. Glen Sturtevant and Tina Ramirez, who previously had planned to run for Congress in the 7th District until the state Supreme Court moved the district to Northern Virginia.

Sturtevant has raised $344,225 during the cycle and holds a $100,000 advantage in cash on hand, but Ramirez said she raised more than he did in the quarter, not counting a $7,000 loan he made to his campaign and in-kind contributions. She has raised $349,606 during the cycle, including $100,554 during the quarter, and held $109,190 in cash on March 31.

Chase, seeking her third term, has raised $197,908 during the cycle, including about $40,000 in the quarter, and had $107,828 on hand on March 31.

But while the self-styled political maverick trails her rivals in fundraising, Holsworth noted, You just never know how strong her constituency is.

From the archives: Cloverleaf Mall, 1972-2011 Cloverleaf Mall: Before the opening Cloverleaf Mall: Opening day, 1972 Cloverleaf Mall: Busy first week Cloverleaf Mall: Upscale Sears Cloverleaf Mall: Twin cinema Cloverleaf Mall: Piccadilly Cafeteria Cloverleaf Mall in 1975 Cloverleaf Mall Community Room Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas Tubas, 1985 Cloverleaf Mall: 1987 renovation Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas Eve, 1990 Cloverleaf Mall: 1995 fire Cloverleaf Mall: Frederick's of Hollywood Cloverleaf Mall: Christmas, 1997 Cloverleaf Mall: 1998 renovation Cloverleaf Mall: New police station, 1999 Cloverleaf Mall: Regal cinemas close, 2001 Cloverleaf Mall: Sears closes, 2003 Cloverleaf Mall: Empty food court, 2005 County buys Cloverleaf Mall, 2007 Cloverleaf Mall sold to county, 2007 Cloverleaf Mall: One last shop Cloverleaf Mall: Closing in 2008 Cloverleaf Mall: Fenced off in 2010 Cloverleaf Mall: The walls come down, 2011 Goodbye Cloverleaf, 2011 Kroger rises from rubble of Cloverleaf, 2012
Although the 2025 gubernatorial election is still two election cycles away, speculation about who will be vying for the governors seat has already begun.

In a sit-down meeting with the Richmond Times-Dispatchs editorial board Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Levar Stoney all but said he plans to run in the upcoming election.

I think I am young enough to still serve the public and I am seriously considering my next step, and that would be taking a look at the governors race in 2025, Stoney said. Im a firm believer that if you stay ready, you never have to get ready.

Following a state code that says a mayor can serve for only eight years, Stoney has 19 months left in his tenure and is set to leave office in December 2024.

Although Stoney did not definitively say he plans to run, there have been other factors in the past few weeks that hint at the possibility.

On Tuesday, Stoney announced in a press release titled Mayor Stoney Ramps Up Political Operation in Virginia that his Better Way PAC raised $257,085 in the first quarter of 2023.

A portion of the funds, transferred from his One Richmond PAC, which he utilized throughout his campaigns for mayor, comes from Dominion Energy, which has a longstanding history of funding gubernatorial candidates.

For now, potential 2025 candidates for governor are publicly focusing on helping their parties in this years crucial fight for control of the legislature. With all 140 seats on the ballot in November, will be critical to the outcome of Gov. Glenn Youngkins agenda.

I have a couple focuses: the city of Richmond being the best damn city it can be, and making sure the Democrats take back the House of Delegates and retain control of the state Senate, Stoney said.

Stoney  who served as secretary of the commonwealth in Terry McAuliffes administration from 2014 to 2016, the year he was first elected mayor  is among a number of high-profile Democrats mentioned as potential candidates.

Others include Reps. Jennifer McClellan, D-4th; and Abigail Spanberger, D-7th; and former Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn, D-Fairfax, who is not seeking reelection to the House of Delegates.

Hopefuls for governor are unlikely to formally announce their campaigns until 2024 or early 2025. Youngkin announced his campaign in January 2021, the year of the election. In total, Youngkin spent $20 million of his own money on his bid for governor.

Youngkin cannot run for governor in 2025. Virginia is the only state in which governors cannot serve consecutive terms.

Participating Restaurants in Richmond Restaurant Week 2023 21 Spoons Acacia Midtown Alewife Bar Solita Birdie's Casa del Barco Common House Conejo East Coast Provisions Island Shrimp Co. JewFro Julep's New Southern Cuisine Laura Lee's Kabana Rooftop Nama Indian Quirk Hotel Lobby Bar & Q Rooftop Rowland's Fine Dining Sam Miller's Southbound Southern Kitchen Tarrant's Downtown Tarrant's West Tazza Kitchen Scott's Addition The Boathouse at Rocketts Landing The Boathouse at Sunday Park The Boathouse at City Point The Daily Kitchen & Bar The Daily Kitchen & Bar Short Pump The Hard Shell The Hard Shell Bellgrade The Roosevelt The Shaved Duck West Coast Provisions
Isla Mujeres naval station responds to cruise ship medical evacuation request

Isla Mujeres, Q.R.  Elements of the Navy of Mexico took on the responsibility of Coast Guard by performing a medical evacuation. The evacuation request was made by a cruise ship that was located approximately 4.3 nautical miles (8.33 kilometers) northeast of Isla Mujeres.

The Navy of Mexico responded to the Monday request after receiving a call for help at the Ninth Naval Region. Cruise ship Carnival Breeze requested the medical evaucation of a 47-year-old female who was found with upper gastrointestinal bleeding.

The American woman was transferred from the cruise ship onto a Navy vessel with medical personnel who completed the water transfer to land where an ambulance was waiting.

The woman was transferred to a Cancun hospital from Puerto Juarez for treatment.
Leader of international criminal gang wanted in U.S. arrested in Mexico

Mexico City, Mexico  A man wanted for murder in the state of Texas has been arrested in Mexico. On Tuesday, the head of the Citizen Security Secretariat (SSC) announced the arrest of Jose Wilfredo N, a leader of the international organization of criminal gangs known as the Mara Salvatrucha.

On Tuesday, the head Secretaria de Seguridad Ciudadana (SSC), Omar Garcia Harfuch, announced that 55-year-old Jose Wilfredo N of Salvador was detained in Cuauhtemoc by personnel from the SSC, the National Intelligence Center (CNI) and Instituto Nacional de Migracion (INAMI).

The SSC of CDMX, in coordination with CNI and INAMI, arrested a man who belongs to the criminal group Mara Salvatrucha. He was wanted for the federal crimes of homicide, robbery, carrying of weapons and has an arrest warrant in Houston, Garcia Harfuch posted on social media.

According to reports, the 55-year-old is also being investigated in Mexico for homicide, aggravated robbery, the use of false documents, possession of war weapons and public disorder, among others.

He has been living in Mexico illegally in the state of Hidaglo. His arrest was made after authorities received an anonymous tip that a leader of the Mara Salvatrucha was hiding in the downtown area under a false identity. Using fixed and mobile surveillance, authorities were able to locate the building where he was hiding.

The Mara Salvatrucha criminal group, also known as MS-13, is a gang made up of mostly Salvadorian members that have spanned several countries, but originated in Los Angeles the 1980s. Its members are known for their violent, criminal nature and are identified by their tattoos. Jose Wilfredo N was reportedly second in command.
Quintana Roo vacation rental owners to pay tax and obtain mandatory operating license

Riviera Maya, Q.R.  A new 6 percent tax is being applied to online accommodation marketplaces in the state of Quintana Roo. According to the new rules, all hosts must also have an operating license to continue renting their places.

The new regulations affect companies such as Airbnb, who have already signed an agreement with the state of Quintana Roo. In accordance with the State Tax Administration Service laws, all hosts must have a mandatory operating license to continue operating and comply with their tax obligations.

For the duration of 2023, all online accommodations will pay a 6 percent Lodging Tax. At the end of last year, vacation rentals in Quintana Roo totaled more than 35,000 units.

Manuel Alonso Alvarez, President of the Vacation Rental Association for Quintana Roo said that across Mexico, there are more than 280,000 vacation rentals, a figure that more than doubled since 2019.

He added that with the inventory growth there has been a decrease in rates due to the increased supply of private home rentals.
During a Martin Luther King Day discussion with the writer Ta-Nehisi Coates, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., made clear that she is not just a democratic socialist but a Marxian one. Evie Fordham of Fox Business has written a helpful summary of the remarks, including Ocasio-Cortezs concise explanation of the Marxist theory of the exploitation of labor:

No one ever makes a billion dollars. You take a billion dollars, Ocasio-Cortez said, receiving applause. Im not here to villainize and to say billionaires are inherently morally corrupt.  Its to say that this system that we live in, life in capitalism always ends in billionaires.  She addressed a hypothetical widget billionaire in her remarks. You didnt make those widgets, did you? Because you employed thousands of people and paid them less than a living wage to make those widgets for you, Ocasio-Cortez said. You didnt make those widgets. You sat on a couch while thousands of people were paid modern-day slave wages, and in some cases real modern-day slavery.

When Rep. Ocasio-Cortez argues that her hypothetical billionaire did not make the widgets but rather that her employees did, she is making a particular claim about what a commodity is and where its value is derived. She is articulating a theory of value. The theory that the value of a commodity can be objectively measured by the labor which produces it is the labor theory of value.

The labor theory of value was the prevailing theory among many economists of the nineteenth century, most prominently David Ricardo and Karl Marx, and had its roots in the thought of Adam Smith himself. This theory was questioned by some economists in the nineteenth century, notably Frederic Bastiat, and later definitively refuted by William Stanley Jevons, Carl Menger, and Leon Walras during the Marginal Revolution in economics. Marginalism introduced a subjective component into the theory of value, explaining that the value of a commodity is not determined solely by any property of the commodity itself  including the labor necessary to produce it  but by the value human persons impute to it as a means to achieve their ends.

This subjective theory of value was almost universally adopted by economists, because it better described the real world. It solved the famous paradox of value in use and value in exchange. It can explain why water, necessary to human life, demands a lower market price than diamonds, which are comparatively useless. Marxists were the only notable group to resist this new theory for, as the economist Eugen v. Bohm-Bawerk exhaustively argues in Capital and Interest, the notion that employees are exploited by employers is only true if the value of commodities is wholly derived from labor.

Rep. Ocasio-Cortezs account of billionaires taking instead of making assumes away the risk, uncertainty, and time accounted for in the current subjective understanding of value to engage in nineteenth-century communist sloganeering. This sort of antiquarian argument, while ridiculous, can be a catalyst to learning more about the history and development of economics. Of no value is the crass materialism involved in excusing the alleged immorality of those whom she describes as takers being merely the product of this system that we live in.

It is precisely this crass materialism  Marxs unique contribution that the anatomy of civil society is to be found in political economy  which is most disturbing. Rep. Ocasio-Cortez paints a picture of a world of degradation and exploitation for which no one is responsible. Nearly 60 years ago Lester DeKoster, in Communism & Christian Faith, presented a Christian alternative to this bleak vision of the world:

History has meaning in the sense that mans acts have eternal significance. History has reality in the sense that it is sustained by the providence of God and directed by his will. Both aspects of the paradox must be grasped with equal tenacity, and both must be developed with equal emphasis, despite their logical incompatibility. It is Christian experience that, having sought and found his Lord, the Christian knows that all the while it was really his Lord who sought and found him. Viewing history, then, under the aspect of eternity, Christian social criticism judges economic relationships first of all in their effect upon the spiritual well-being of employer and employee, and only after that in their effect upon production and distribution. Or, again, the Christian insists that economic law shall be subject to divine law.

Piety is no substitute for technique. Economics is important, public policy is important, but technique is only ever useful if it serves free and responsible persons whose ultimate destiny is eternal.

(Photo credit: nrkbeta. CC BY-SA 2.0.)
A recent article published in the evangelical magazine of record says that Christianity is not necessary for democracy. But its argument is muddled and use of terms confused. More important: its just plain wrong.

Depending on ones perspective, religious freedom was either born or died with the founding of the United States of America. The colonial powers of Europe of the late 18th century had dominant religious majorities and established churches. The American republic was founded with an express prohibition of an established national church in large part due to the diversity of the religious majorities of various colonies. If it was to survive, the United States of America would have to be constructed in such a way that a single national identity could emerge from a religiously plural population. This necessitated a constitutional articulation of religious freedom that was unprecedented. The resulting First Amendment has not been implemented without imperfections, but the scheme has helped to produce a global superpower.

But the innovations of the U.S. Constitution with regard to the place of religion in public life resulted in some confusion. It was easy to answer the questions Is France a Catholic nation? and Is England an Anglican nation? But regarding Americaeven how to frame a similar question has never been easy.

What about the question Is America a Christian nation? The answer depends on what you mean by Christian and nation and America for that matter. The person for whom the answer is obvious fails to recognize the complexity and nuance of the concepts involved. The issues swirling around this question have just become more fraught in the past few years as a Judeo-Christian moral consensus has begun to decline as well as religious practice among all faiths. Is Christianity, then, necessary for democracy? Are the two concepts separable?

One commentator with quite a bit to say on the matter is Paul D. Miller, a faculty member at Georgetown University and a research fellow at the Southern Baptist Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Dr. Miller has published widely on the issue, including a recent essay in Christianity Today in which his conclusion is the title: Christianity Is Not Necessary for Democracy. Running the risk of violating Brandolinis law, in this brief essay Ill lay out a few of the reasons I must disagree with Millers conclusion, and the way he reaches it.

To consider Millers argument, it might be helpful to start with the question he is answering: Is Christianity necessary for democracy? The answer to this question is contingent on a few factors that are not clear from Millers essay.

What Is Democracy?

Democracy is a term commonly used as shorthand for freedom or liberty. In the most technical sense, for example, the United States is a republic. But only the most pedantic will object to the use of the word to describe our system of government in conversation. His casual use of democracy, however, makes Millers essay confusing. Is Miller referring to a specific form of government? Or to ideals or institutions or concepts that can be rightly described as democratic? Miller never explicitly defines the sense in which he is using the term, but what makes for more confusion is the fact that he shifts among several definitions to make different points: at one point he refers to free societies; at another to democracies that are nations with common forms of government; and still elsewhere to principles of political freedom and principles of self-government.

The preponderance of the evidence, however, seems to point toward a definition that encompasses a society marked by rights, civil liberties, and democratic decision-making. This seems to encapsulate the anxieties expressed in the anecdotal recounting of conversations he has had with friends and colleagues in evangelical circles that have given rise to the essay in the first place.

Further, Miller varies the scope of his inquiry. He references the concerns of American Christians, alludes to American freedom, but also makes reference to the West, to Judeo-Christian civilization, and to a long list of nations with a Freedom House designation as free or partly free. This list of apples and oranges reflects not only his imprecise use of the word democracy but also an arbitrary limit on chronological, cultural, and geographic scope. A single essay is hardly the place for a sweeping and wide-ranging analysis, but it is helpful to recognize that the U.S. represents just one instantiation of a political system reflecting a concern for democratic principles. Each instantiation prior presented unique problems. The American system has solved some of those, but in the process created some new ones.

Millers appeal to free and partly free nations on Freedom Houses Freedom in the World report only adds confusion. First, the list of nations he cites includes some countries that were once British or French colonies. Britain and France clearly have long and institutionalized Christian traditions, and these powers did good and bad things as colonial powers. But it is a bare historical fact in need of no interpretation that they imported Christianity into their colonies along with democracy. If anything, the presence of any democratic institutions points toward an essential link between the two. It is also worth noting that there are no countries formerly dominated by the Ottoman Empire on Millers list. Interestingly, Robert D. Woodberry has done significant work connecting democracy with a particular type of Christian missionary movements.

Second, each nation has a unique history and context in which democratic norms and forms of government began to emerge. And the durability of these norms and governments has been quite fluid in many of these nations. Democracy, or liberty, in any of these nations (or any nation) has a complex history that evades one-dimensional analysis. Japan, for example, is clearly an advanced nation with a justifiable free designation in the Freedom House report. But there are Japanese citizens alive today who were born and lived at the center of a militaristic, hostile, genocidal empire. They accepted the divinity of their emperor as a political first principle and now live in a nation that adopted a democratic form of government (literally!) at gunpoint. The gun, it is instructive to note, was pointed by nations with Christian majorities that did not exact revenge or colonize the Japanese people, the most powerful of which were the Catholic French, the Anglican British, and the majority Christian Americans.

Third, Miller observes that Christianity in many of these nations dat[es] back one or two centuries at most. Well, the oldest written constitution in the world only celebrates its 235th anniversary later this year. And Canada, New Zealand, and Australiaeach bona fide beacons of liberty by all accountshave all been independent nations for less than two centuries. Two centuries is short in some regards but not in terms of developing entrenched political patterns.

Given these considerations, maybe a better formulation of the question at hand could be framed thus: Is Christianity necessary for liberty? But the question still needs some work.

What Is Christianity?

So, if we proceed with the question Is Christianity necessary for liberty? it is still unclear what Miller means by Christianity. Once again, he shifts definitions. Those whose concerns he seems to be addressing are specifically evangelicals. It is conservative evangelicals who believe Christianity is necessary (emphasis in original) for a free society. It is also friends and family in his evangelical circles who have expressed concerns about democracys prospects in a world where Christianity is declining. Does Christianity mean evangelicalism or American evangelicalism more specifically?

Does he mean, then, a particular form of Christianity? Or the practice of Christianity by a critical mass of citizens? These are unlikely options since these possibilities make little sense.

Elsewhere Miller cites specific doctrines, like the Incarnation: Jesus did not become incarnate to make possible the First Amendment or inspire the U.S. Constitution. Of course He didnt. And I am happy to assume that Miller is using hyperbole here. But he also notes that Christianity is not the only source of civic virtue, which he does concede is necessary for sustaining an open society.

Sure, there are different versions of civic virtue found in each religious tradition. The Taliban, for example, have been consistent in their application of a particular social vision informed by their interpretation of Islam in ordering Afghan society. Is Afghan society virtuous? Is civic life there shaped by morality? Modern Afghan society is certainly shaped by a particular moral vision, although one that is incompatible with religious freedom and gender equality.

What are these other sources of civic virtue that respects the dignity of the individual? There are parts of the world, no doubt, that are non-Christian or newly Christian with laws and burgeoning norms that are consistent with human freedom. I would posit that those parts of the world, however, have absorbed Christian ideas into their religious and political systems naturally, by proximity, or by force merely by adopting democratic principles. These societies are not often adopting a fully developed orthodox Christian belief and practice, but have adopted principles with clear roots only traceable to the Christian tradition.

Miller also points to the practice of democracy among the pagan Greeks as an example of non-Christians discover[ing] and practice[ing] the principles of political freedom long before we did. I assume he is making reference to Athenian democracy. The oligarchic practice of political decision-making by a select few for the sake of expedience hardly equates to a respect for human rights and civil liberties even if it is an embryonic expression of a democratic form of government and not reflective of a respect for human rights. It would be interesting to see what score Freedom House would assign to ancient Athens.

One concrete claim that Miller makes is that his fellow Southern Baptist Al Mohler is one who ascribes to a quasi-establishment model wherein the government actively promotes Christianity because it is essential (emphasis in original) to sustaining our democratic society. Miller cherry-picks Mohlers statements to create a strawman. Further, these quotes even out of context cannot be tortured to support the position Miller ascribes to Mohler. But Mohler has said more elsewherelike here to the New York Times, or here on his own blog, or here to Iowa Baptists.

What Miller specifically attempts to refute, however, is Mohlers claims that a stable notion of human dignity and a notion and defense of human rights in any substantial form are unique to Christian belief. Miller seems to be siding with the late atheist Christopher Hitchens, who argued that human decency is not derived from religion. It precedes it. And that the claim that what we now know as humane or western values are self-evident and intuitive and cannot properly be ascribed to Christianity as its source.

Miller and Hitchens are both wrong, despite one of them believing that there is something uniquely true about Christian claims and the other believing that there is something uniquely nefarious about them.

So maybe the best way to frame the central question of this discussion would be Is the Christian intellectual traditionnecessary for liberty? The unavoidable answer is yes.

Christianity and Liberty

Miller is correct that merely demonstrating that Christianity is probably good for democracy is insufficient evidence for the affirmative answer. And it is also not enough to demonstrate that Christians as individuals and through institutions have consistently worked to advance liberty to make such a bold claim.

But there is a demonstrable historic and philosophical link between the tradition and liberty. Even in the nations of the West whose churches are empty, the aroma of an empty bottle is unavoidable. Even Miller, a devout practicing Christian himself, cant escape the Christian normativity instinctively assigned to the ideas of civic virtue and morality in the West in his own essay.

How else is this heritage of the Christian tradition necessary for liberty? French philosopher Pierre Manent describes it bestthe nations of the West are not Christian in the sense that their populations actively practice some form of the faith or that their constituting documents mandate or establish the faith. They are not Christian nations per se but nations with a Christian mark.

The single most significant trait of such a nation, which is present across the West, is the dominance of the concept of individual rights in public discourse. There are sharp disagreements as to what constitutes a right and whether it is the governments responsibility to protect it, cultivate it, or advance it. But there is no serious disagreement on the question of whether people have rights that others are obligated to respect.

Rights belong to individuals, and it is through the Christian tradition that the West came to appreciate the inherent dignity of each individual and respect the fact that that dignity affords inalienable rights. The dignity of the individual person is an idea that is only 2,000 years old. This is exactly the claim that Oxford historian Larry Siedentop is making when he writes that the Christian apostles invented the individual.

It is important to note, too, that while the Christian intellectual tradition is necessary for liberty, it is not alone sufficient for liberty. As stated above, the rise of liberty and democratic institutions in any society is complex. And the decline of liberty and these same institutions is also complex. The concerns of his interlocutors that Miller dismisses, however, may be too embedded in the language of the culture wars or too fixed upon one expression of the Christian faith or vision of Christian piety. But their instincts are correctthe West would not be free had it not been Christian. Thats not the end of the story, but it certainly is the beginning.
The Meadowbrook Public Library is excited to host the Library of Virginia for an engaging event for all ages on Saturday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Marking its 200th anniversary, the Library of Virginia is celebrating with "LVA on the Go," visiting each region of Virginia with a series of events and programs. The Library of Virginia will bring expert help, genealogy assistance, childrens storytime and presentations to help community members engage with local history, family history and more.

The day will feature an array of special guests for all ages, including Precious Valley Farms Petting Zoo, author Daniel Thorp, tours of the Meadowbrook Museum, and MFRL's Mobile Library, along with information from Christiansburg Institute. With genealogy help, reference tutorials, library card registration, oral history recordings, and children's activities, there will be something available for everyone.

During the event, visitors can view engage with valuable resources like Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative database and VirginiaChronicle.com, which provides access to over a million newspaper pages.

At noon, Virginia Tech Associate Professor of History Daniel Thorp will discuss the history of Black communities in Eastern Montgomery County. Thorp is the author of "Facing Freedom: An African American Community in Virginia from Reconstruction to Jim Crow" and "In the True Blue's Wake: Slavery and Freedom among the Families of Smithfield Plantation." After his talk, Thorp will have books available for purchase and signing.

Visitors may drop in at the event anytime. There will be drawings for door prizes happening every hour, including autographed books by Cece Bell! The schedule of activities includes:

10:30 to 11 a.m.: Genealogy 101

10:30 to 11 a.m.: Children's Storytime

11 to 11:30 a.m.: Virginia Untold: The African American Narrative

11 a.m. to 1 p.m.: Precious Valley Farms Petting Zoo

11:30 a.m. to noon: LVA Digital Resources

Noon to 1 p.m.: Guest Speaker, Author Daniel Thorp

Noon to 12:30 p.m.: Newspaper Research

12:30 to 1 p.m.: Children's Storytime

12:30 to 1 p.m.: Genealogy 101

1 to 1:30 p.m.: Find It VA Resources

The Library of Virginia was founded by the General Assembly on Jan. 24, 1823, to organize, care for and manage the state's growing collection of books and official records. Since then, the collection has grown to 2 million books, newspapers, maps, prints and photographs, as well as 130 million manuscript items, making it the most comprehensive resource in the world for the study of Virginia history, culture and government.

This event is free and open to the public. Don't miss out on this fantastic opportunity to engage with your community's rich history!

The Meadowbrook Library is located at 267 Alleghany Spring Road in Shawsville. For more information, please call Montgomery-Floyd Regional Library at 540-382-6969 ext. 215 or email kcopus@mfrl.org.

- Submitted by Kerri Copus
The Rotary Club of Christiansburg-Blacksburg presented its 2023 Citizen of the Year Award to Dr. Edward Spencer at their April 10 meeting. The Citizen of the Year Award honors a non-Rotarian whose voluntary acts and services have made the Christiansburg-Blacksburg area a better place in which to live. Dr. Spencers life of volunteerism and service has unquestionably improved lives throughout the New River Valley.

Dr. Spencer, Vice President Emeritus for Student Affairs, retired in 2012 after 30 years of service to Virginia Tech. While working, he was active in leadership roles with the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church; United Way of Montgomery, Floyd and Radford; Free Clinic of the New River Valley, Planned Parenthood of the Blue Ridge; Town/Gown Community Relations Committee; Giles Community Apartments Corporation; and Westminster Presbyterian Homes. In retirement, he has focused his attention on two organizations that help the elderly. As Citizen of the Year Committee Chair Doug McAlister noted, In the New River Valley, we are fortunate that when people retire, they dont stop working.

Dr. Spencer has been on the board of directors of Warm Hearth Village since 2013, becoming the chairman of the board in 2016. In this role, he has overseen the development of the Woods Edge active adult community, Warm Hearth at Home home health care service, a Carilion Clinic Family Practice sited within Warm Hearth Village, and replacement of the longtime CEO after her recent retirement. Current President and CEO of Warm Hearth Village William Lester said of Dr. Spencer, From my point of view, I cannot think of anyone more deserving of this award. Ed has generously volunteered his time and shared talents with our employees, residents and the community while positioning the Warm Hearth Village Board of Directors for success for years to come.

Dr. Spencer has been on the Sojourn Center Board of Directors since 2013, becoming vice president in 2019. Sojourn Centers mission is to build a state-of-the-art inpatient hospice center to serve the terminally ill, staffed by experts in end-of-life care in the New River Valley to celebrate and lovingly support a persons final passage while offering dignity and comfort to all involved at the end of life. As a member of the board, Dr. Spencer has actively engaged with hospitals, hospice care agencies, the Virginia Department of Health, legislators, architects, town and county officials, and many other groups to gain understanding of and support for the project. President of the Board of Directors Anne Judkins Campbell says that all of these groups have benefitted from Eds communication skills and kind personality as well as his extensive life experience and intellect. Eds passion and devotion to the elder community, specifically those with time-limiting illnesses, is remarkable.

Upon receiving the 2023 Citizen of the Year Award from the Rotary Club of Christiansburg-Blacksburg, Dr. Spencer said, I think role models are important, and that he traces his passion for volunteerism back to his father who volunteered throughout his life, including for 26 years after retirement. He finds inspiration for the organizations where he volunteers from his father and mother-in-law who lived at Warm Hearth Village and his wife Norrine who died in hospice care. Dr. Spencer concurred with McAlister, expressing his gratitude for the many Virginia Tech employees and graduates in the area who take "Ut Prosim" to heart, continuing to work as volunteers long into retirement and improving our collective quality of life.

The Rotary Club of Christiansburg-Blacksburg is celebrating 100 years of "Service Above Self" in 2023. Local leadership recognition, youth development programs and community service projects, as well as sponsorship of the Virginia Tech Rotaract Club and participation in Rotary International programs such as PolioPlus, exemplify this motto.

For more information, find @ChristiansburgBlacksburgRotary on Facebook.

- Submitted by Terri Fisher
(CNN)  Clashes erupted north of Sudan's capital Khartoum on Wednesday night, upending a temporary ceasefire between the Sudanese Army and its rival, the Rapid Support Force, just hours after it was struck.

The two factions have been battling for days, and Wednesday saw fierce fighting in central Khartoum as well as serious clashes at the capital's main airport, which has been closed since Saturday as RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, vies for power against Sudan's military chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Hemedti is commanding his troops from the city's Hai Al Matar neighborhood, which is close to the military headquarters, a high ranking military official and an eyewitness told CNN.

The military official chose to remain anonymous as they were not authorized to speak. The eyewitness, who saw Hemedti's convoy, requested anonymity out of fear for their safety.

The Sudanese armed forces said in a statement earlier on Wednesday that it "repelled and defeated" RSF's attempt to seize the army's headquarters, saying they have seized "quantities of ammunition, a number of medium and light machine guns, personal weapons, and 24 Land Cruisers that they [RSF] left behind."

It admitted that since the outbreak of fighting on Saturday, RSF has managed to seize a number of government headquarters including the Ministry of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of the Interior and the Civil Registry Department and are using these "civilian institutions to manage their combat activities."

The army said that RSF seized a number of "weapons stores from police stations."

The failed ceasefire had been hoped to provide respite for civilians caught in the middle of the conflict.

Each faction previously accused the other of breaking another failed truce on Tuesday, with clashes re-erupting in the capital. Sudan's armed forces accused RSF of assaulting civilians, looting and "burning the market on Bahri in Khartoum," said Sudanese Armed Forces spokesperson Brigadier General Nabil Abdallah Ali Moussa.

"The real problem is that there does not seem that there is control over the RSF from its leadership. They are acting similar to gangs, and they are threatening people's lives," Moussa said.

The RSF accused the armed forces of breaching the truce "in the first hours" after it came into effect, and said the army continues to engage in "heavy weapons attacks and indiscriminate bombing."

Civilians remain been caught in the chaos, and internet outages have been reported in the country by Internet watchdog NetBlocks. "The situation today is worse than yesterday," Amal, a Sudanese woman who has been trapped in her home, told CNN.

"We can hear heavy artillery and smell and see the smoke rising from burning buildings," she said.

Eman, a British-Sudanese doctor visiting Khartoum who has been trapped in her home since Saturday, told CNN that a number of her friends and family members have had to evacuate their homes, seeking shelter from indiscriminate bombing which has hit some residential buildings.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for immediate humanitarian access in a statement Wednesday.

"Fierce clashes continued overnight in the capital Khartoum with reports of rising numbers of civilian casualties. Hospitals in the capital are running dangerously low on medical supplies, while damage to the water and energy infrastructure has also left medical facilities without power and clean water," the ICRC said.

Patrick Youssef, Africa regional director for the ICRC, called for "unimpeded" access.

"It is highly distressing hearing reports of civilian casualties and bodies left lying in the streets of Khartoum," he said. "They need to be collected and treated with dignity."

Half of the hospitals in Sudan's capital are "out of action" due to intensifying clashes, according to a leading aid organization -- even as the number of casualties rise and many of the injured are in dire need of medical attention.

"According to the information we have in Khartoum, 50% of hospitals have been out of action in the first 72 hours," said Abdalla Hussein, the Medecins Sans Frontiere (MSF) operational manager for Sudan. "This is because the staff weren't feeling safe to go there or the hospitals themselves have been subject to shelling or bombing," he said.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 have been injured since fighting erupted on Saturday.

Foreign governments push for ceasefire

International governments have been calling for a truce so authorities can distribute aid and coordinate evacuations.

On Wednesday, Japan said it was preparing to send its military to evacuate nationals from Sudan.

Japan has been able to contact all 60 of its nationals in Sudan, including embassy staff, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said during an emergency news conference. There are no reports of injuries among them, though food and water are scarce, and power cuts have become frequent as the security situation deteriorates.

The United States has not announced any plans for an evacuation operation for Americans in Sudan, but has urged its nationals to stay indoors, shelter in place, and stay away from windows.

Other countries have published advisories to their nationals in Sudan. China has asked its citizens there to stay vigilant and to register their information online with the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum. The Indian Embassy in Sudan also issued an advisory on Tuesday asking its citizens to stay indoors and ration supplies due to looting.

Attacks on UN staff and expats

The advisories come as reports emerge of attacks on foreign nationals and staffers.

Armed personnel stormed the homes of people working for the UN and other international organizations in downtown Khartoum, according to reports in an internal UN document seen by CNN.

According to the document, the gunmen sexually assaulted women and stole belongings including cars. One incident of rape was also reported. These armed personnel, "reportedly from RSF, are entering the residences of expats, separating men and women and taking them away," read the report.

CNN has not been able to independently verify the alleged attacks. The RSF denied the claims, blaming Sudan's armed forces for committing the crimes while wearing RSF uniforms. The armed forces have denied involvement in the violations, and reiterated accusations that the RSF has committed crimes against humanity.

In separate incidents cited in the document, two Nigerian men working for an international organization were abducted and later released; a building housing the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs was targeted; and a rocket-propelled grenade hit the home of a local UN staff member in Khartoum.

On Wednesday, medical charity MSF said its compound in Nyala, South Darfur, had been raided by armed men who "stole everything including vehicles and office equipment."

"Our warehouse -- holding vital medical supplies -- was also raided, we do not know to what extent as we have no access," MSF said on its official Twitter account.

"We request again respect for the protection of humanitarian organisations and their premises. Our priority now is to ensure the safety of our staff," the post added.

Other incidents in recent days include a US diplomatic convoy coming under gunfire, the EU ambassador to Sudan being assaulted in his Khartoum residency, and three workers from the UN's World Food Programme killed in clashes.




PULASKI  Town police Chief Jill Neice testified Tuesday that she had decided not to arrest Jerrod Caleblee Brown or anyone else at a domestic disturbance that she was called to last year  when she saw Brown drive off in one of her officer's vehicles.

Neice said that she ran after Brown as he backed the police SUV out of a gravel parking area. The chief recounted slamming her arm across the front driver's side window to get Brown's attention as she told him to stop.

Instead, Neice testified, Brown looked at her, then accelerated into the street and toward one of her officers, who was sprinting toward his own vehicle.

Asked how she knew Brown was increasing his speed as he headed away from the chief and toward the other officer, Neice said that her most vivid memory of the event was the steadily rising noise of the engine. But apart from the sound, "I was against the car  I felt it," she said.

Brown, 34, was in Pulaski County General District Court on Tuesday for a preliminary hearing. Three felony charges  grand larceny of a vehicle, attempted aggravated murder of a police officer, and being a felon in possession of a gun  were sent to a grand jury, which will decide if Brown should be tried in the county's Circuit Court.

The attempted aggravated murder of an officer charge carries a possible sentence of life in prison.

Judge Erin DeHart dismissed a second firearms charge and approved Assistant Commonwealth's Attorney Aaron Foster's request to drop a charge of driving without a license.

The hearing provided the most detailed account yet made public of what happened on Nov. 3 and 4, although it was mostly the prosecution's version of events. Defense attorney Matt Roberts of Blacksburg closely cross-examined witnesses but said that he would not present evidence at the preliminary hearing.

Neice and four of her officers described a sequence of events that began with the chief being the first officer to arrive at a reported domestic disturbance and ended a day later with Brown's arrest.

Neice said that the incident at a residence in the 600 block of Highland Terrace "was a little bit of panic and unrest" but that she did not see anything that merited an arrest. She said that she was outside the house with Brown and three officers who'd arrived soon after her. She was about to return to the house with Brown for a few final words, when Brown abruptly got into a police vehicle's driver's seat, Neice said.

Capt. Mike Hudson testified that it was his vehicle that was taken. He said that he had left it running in a parking area and got out to take a support role in the domestic call. Hudson said he talked to Brown, who was pacing in the yard outside his residence and preparing to leave.

Hudson said that Neice asked Brown if he wanted to speak to his children before going and Brown said yes. But as they walked back toward the house, "I see my vehicle pulling out" with Brown driving, Hudson said.

Sgt. J.R. Brown, who was not related to the defendant, said that he was outside the house as well, and as Neice ran at the driver's side of the departing police vehicle, he went to the passenger door and tried to open it. But the vehicle backed up too quickly, he said.

The officer said that he shifted direction and ran down Highland Terrace toward where his own vehicle was parked. As he went, he said, he heard the police SUV coming up behind him and realized that he had to get out of the way.

Questioned by Roberts about whether he had to dive out of the way, the sergeant said, "I didn't have to dive because I was already at full stride."

The officers quickly lost sight of the stolen SUV.

But within 30 minutes, a call came in about the vehicle speeding down Valley Road, Hudson said. The SUV was found abandoned in a wooded area, with a locked "secure box" forced open, Hudson said.

Missing was his rifle, ammunition, bulletproof vest and some personal belongings, Hudson testified.

Lt. Sarah Grim said that her part in the investigation came on Nov. 4, when a tip led officers to Draper Lane, outside town. Jerrod Brown was arrested there, and nearby was a blue cloth bag, like those used for camp chairs or a tent. Grim said. In the bag was Hudson's rifle and an empty magazine, she said.

Officer Matthew Rudisill testified that after Brown's arrest, he drove him from the police station to the New River Valley Regional Jail. Along the way, Rudisill said, Brown told him that he had fired at least three rounds after he saw search drones pass his location and thought that someone was approaching.

Roberts asked if Rudisill had read Brown his Miranda rights before questioning him, and Rudisill answered that Brown had signed a Miranda waiver at the station before the ride to jail. Asked if there was any recording of Brown speaking about firing a gun, Rudisill said there was not because he had only turned on his body-cam after the statement was made, and had not repeated the question.

Roberts said that "obviously, those statements are going to be an issue of contention at some point," but added he would reserve much of his argument for circuit court.
LYNCHBURG  Human remains were discovered in a burning vehicle in Bedford County on Tuesday, according to the Virginia State Police.

An investigation began after Bedford County Fire & Rescue crews were called to a vehicle fire on Sandy Level Road off Virginia 24 in the Goodview area, a news release said. Firefighters arrived at about 12:45 a.m. Tuesday to find the vehicle fully engulfed in flames.

After the blaze was extinguished, crews found human remains inside, according to the news release. Agents with the Bureau of Criminal Investigation responded to the scene, and the roadway closed temporarily while the scene was processed.

The remains were sent to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Western District, for identification, the release said.
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" " Where did the name "Earth" come from? NASA

Jupiter was the mighty chief of the gods in ancient Rome's pre-Christian religion. It was also said that Rome's legendary founders, Romulus and Remus, were the children of the warlike god Mars, himself Jupiter's son.

Astronomy has always been popular with those who study the capital "C" Classics. Seven out of the eight planets in our solar system were named after Greek or Roman deities. You're living on the only exception to that rule.

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The word "earth" has roots in the Old English term "eore." Eore had multiple meanings like "soil," "dirt," "ground," "dry land" and "country."

Yet the story didn't begin there. Old English is the earliest known phase of what became our modern English tongue. Used until about 1150 C.E., it evolved from a parent language that scholars call "Proto-Germanic."

The German that's spoken today is part of the same linguistic family. "Earth" and "eore" are therefore related to the modern German word "Erde." Not only is this the German language's name for our home planet, but it can also be used to refer to dirt and soil.

Our dear Earth has relatives in some other languages, too. For example, there's the Old Saxon "ertha," the Old Frisian "erthe" and the Dutch word "aarde." All these likely descend from a Proto-Germanic term that was never recorded. (As far as we know.)

Nevertheless, linguists have been able to go back and reconstruct this mystery word. Spelled "ertho" in scholarly texts, it's always preceded by an asterisk. This asterisk acknowledges the lack of written confirmation that the word was really used.

Nobody knows when people started using words like "Earth" or "Erde" to refer to the planet as a whole and not just the ground they walked on.

Back in 1783, German astronomer Johann Elert Bode named the seventh planet from our sun "Uranus" (after a Greek god). And though Pluto is no longer considered a planet, we know that 11-year-old Venetia Burney named it in 1930.

But if a single person gave planet Earth its English name  which is unlikely to say the least  his or her identity has been lost to the sands of time.

Still, it's clear that while Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune all started out as the proper names of ancient gods, "Earth" did not. That's why our planet is sometimes called "the earth" with a lowercase "e."

However, according to the University of Oxford Style Guide, the word "Earth" should be capitalized when one is "referring to the name of the planet but not when referring to the ground/soil etc."

What a capital idea!

Now That's Interesting Urban legend says Venetia Burney named Pluto after the dog from Walt Disney's Mickey Mouse cartoons. Pop culture historians have set the record straight: That cartoon pooch went by "Rover" until 1931, when his name was switched to "Pluto." By then, Burney had already suggested the name "Pluto" for the faraway dwarf planet.
FLORENCE, S.C.  The Housing Authority of Florence Board of Commissioners is looking into changing a policy that is allowing some former Creekside Village residents to remain in hotel rooms instead of choosing a new unit.

Deputy Director Jennifer Manning said 53 former Creekside Village residents are living in temporary locations after being moved out because of environmental concerns at the public housing development.

Other public housing units are ready for move-in at different locations, but some former Creekside residents do not want to move into them due to their location, Manning said at the Housing Authority of Florence Board of Commissioners meeting on Tuesday.

We actually provide transportation to go see that unit. Nothings wrong with the unit. Theyll say, I dont feel safe. Its not in a good location. But if we actually look at our portfolio, most of our places are not going to be located where Creekside is located, she said.

Housing Authority of Florence leases say that the authority must offer residents a comparable unit if they need to be moved, but it does not specify how many times the resident can turn down the new location, Manning said.

So far, every resident was offered three choices, she said.

Residents living in hotels are costing the Housing Authority of Florence money, said Commissioner J. Jerrod Moultrie.

Its not our money, its the taxpayers dollars, and we cant keep kicking the can down the road Moultrie said. Our job is to provide them a place to stay, and if they dont want the place where we provide them to stay, then they make themselves homeless.

Chairman R. Douglas Hawkins directed Pamela Stevens, chief operating officer and interim executive director, to propose a policy change for the board to vote on at its next meeting.

Many of those who are turning down the public housing units have applied for housing choice vouchers, also called Section Eight, Manning said. Those with the vouchers are able to search for their own, privately-owned, housing units that are then subsidized by federal dollars.

According to Manning, of those who were moved out of Creekside Village:

53 residents are at temporary locations.

Two residents are living temporarily with family.

20 residents relocated.

12 residents transferred to another public housing unit.

Eight residents received housing choice vouchers and found a place to live.

Five moved out of public housing.

One resident is planning to move out.

One resident is pending an eviction.

Currently, 94% of both public housing and other program units are occupied, she said.
FLORENCE  Florence police officers have charged a 12-year-old Williams Middle School student with making student threats and unlawful electronic communications.

Officers arrested the student at the school, at 1119 N. Irby Street. The juvenile was taken to the Department of Juvenile Justice and will have an initial appearance before a family court judge, according to the Florence Police Department.

These charges stem from an incident earlier today when the student allegedly sent threatening emails to the school while in attendance. Officers responded immediately, and the school was not placed on lockdown, Capt. Mike Brandt wrote in an email to media.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Showers this morning then scattered thunderstorms developing during the afternoon hours. High 83F. Winds SSE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

Variable clouds with scattered showers and thunderstorms, mainly late. A few storms may be severe. Low 62F. SSE winds shifting to WSW at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 70%.
Seguin, TX (78155)

Today

Cloudy skies this morning followed by thunderstorms during the afternoon. Potential for severe thunderstorms. High 76F. Winds SE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Thunderstorms early, then variable clouds overnight with still a chance of showers. Potential for severe thunderstorms. Low 66F. Winds SE at 10 to 15 mph. Chance of rain 60%.
 In Ninth Circuit appeal, Elizabeth Holmes challenges convictions and also seeks resentencing | Main | "Racial Bias, Accomplice Liability, and the Felony Murder Rule: A National Empirical Study" 

April 19, 2023

In 6-3 ruling, SCOTUS rules for Texas capital defendant concerning statute of limitation for seeking DNA testing in  1983 action

The Supreme Court handed down a notable criminal procedure ruling this morning in Reed v. Goertz, No. 21-422 (S. Ct. April 19, 2023) (available here). Justice Kavanaugh wrote the opinion for the Court which starts this way:

In many States, a convicted prisoner who still disputes his guilt may ask state courts to order post-conviction DNA testing of evidence. If the prisoners request fails in the state courts and he then files a federal 42 U.S.C. 1983 procedural due process suit challenging the constitutionality of the state process, when does the statute of limitations for that 1983 suit begin to run? The Eleventh Circuit has held that the statute of limitations begins to run at the end of the state-court litigation denying DNA testing, including the state-court appeal. See Van Poyck v. McCollum, 646 F. 3d 865, 867 (2011). In this case, by contrast, the Fifth Circuit held that the statute of limitations begins to run when the state trial court denied DNA testing, notwithstanding a subsequent state-court appeal. See 995 F. 3d 425, 431 (2021). We conclude that the statute of limitations begins to run at the end of the state-court litigation.

Justice Thomas authored a lengthy solo dissent that starts this way:

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) affirmed the denial of petitioner Rodney Reeds state-law motion for postconviction DNA testing. Reed petitioned this Court for certiorari, arguing that the CCAs interpretation and application of the relevant state law violated his federal due process rights. After we denied his petition, Reed repackaged it as a complaint in Federal District Court, naming respondent (the Bastrop County District Attorney) as a placeholder defendant. Like his earlier certiorari petition, Reeds complaint assails the CCAs state-law reasoning as inconsistent with due process, and it seeks a declaration that the CCAs interpretation and application of state law was unconstitutional. Reeds action should be dismissed for lack of subjectmatter jurisdiction. Federal district courts lack appellate jurisdiction to review state-court judgments, and Reeds action presents no original Article III case or controversy between him and the district attorney. Because the Court erroneously holds that the District Court had jurisdiction over Reeds action, I respectfully dissent.

Justice Alito wrote a shorter dissent joined by Justice Gorsuch that has these opening pragraphs:

As the Court notes and the parties agree, the statute of limitations for Reeds claim is two years. Ante, at 4; Brief for Petitioner 17; Brief for Respondent 17. Reed filed his complaint on August 8, 2019, and the lower courts held that this was too late. The question before us is when the 2-year statute of limitations began to run, that is in legal parlance, when Reeds claim accrued. As the parties agree, the general rule is that a claim accrues when the plaintiff has a complete and present cause of action, Wallace v. Kato, 549 U. S. 384, 388 (2007) (internal quotation marks omitted). Reed contends that his claim did not accrue until the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) denied his petition for rehearing on October 4, 2017, and thus refused to retract the interpretation of Article 64 that the court had unanimously adopted on April 12, 2017. Goertz, on the other hand, argues that Reeds claim accrued no later than the date of the CCAs April 12 decision, and because that date preceded the federal lawsuit by more than two years, Goertz maintains that we should affirm the Fifth Circuits decision that Reeds complaint was filed too late. As I will explain, there is room for debate about exactly when Reeds DNA testing claim accrued, but in my view, the notion that this did not take place until rehearing was denied is clearly wrong.

April 19, 2023 at 10:21 AM | Permalink

Comments

With this dissent Thomas continues to strengthen his reputation as the cruelest Justice. See https://www.nytimes.com/1992/02/27/opinion/the-youngest-cruelest-justice.html. Of course with the recent revelations, he now also becomes the most corrupt Justice. See e.g., https://jacobin.com/2023/04/clarence-thomas-supreme-court-corruption-billionaire-interests-far-right. Time for the cruelest and most corrupt Justice to resign.

Posted by: anon12 | Apr 19, 2023 11:05:54 AM

I am not a lawyer. Unlike anon12, I cannot speak to the merits of the dissent. However, it does indeed appear that Thomas is determined to be the most corrupt Justice in the history of the Court. See https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2023/04/clarence-thomas-ethics-violations-supreme-court. He brings the entire Supreme Court into disrepute.

Posted by: Dave | Apr 19, 2023 11:12:05 AM

For what it's worth, Thomas's ethical "lapses" have been brought to the attention of the Judicial Conference of the U.S.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/clarence-thomas-complaints-travel-home-sale_n_643f6a5ae4b0d8403884f89c

Posted by: Mary quite Contrary | Apr 19, 2023 11:42:02 AM

OF COURSE they should be allowed post conviction DNA testing, provided only that the proposed testing is relevant to their guilt or innocence.

Posted by: William C Jockusch | Apr 19, 2023 12:00:18 PM

For the life of me, I cannot understand why the Supreme Court wastes time with this BS case--the dude is guilty. He was convicted of another murder. Supreme Court has better uses of its time.

Posted by: federalist | Apr 19, 2023 2:39:03 PM

Federalist,

Are you stating that the ruling ordering DNA review is unjust, or without legal foundation? Or is your position strictly 'emotionally based'?

Posted by: SG | Apr 19, 2023 4:45:58 PM

I do not read this SCOTUS case to order DNA review, SG, rather it just holds that the death row defendant's federal action under 1983 claiming a due process problem with the Texas approach to DNA testing can move ahead and was not time-barred as lower courts had wrongly held. Though I agree that the SCOTUS majority reaches a sound result in this case, I also agree with federalist that there are many matters of MUCH greater importance for SCOTUS's limited time and docket space. Especially since eight of the nine Justices saw the Fifth Circuit decision as wrong, this case could and should have been handled through a summary reversal.

Quite some time ago, I gave an lecture and wrote a little article "criticizing the Supreme Courts troublesome affinity for obsessing over capital cases.": "A Capital Waste of Time? Examining the Supreme Court's 'Culture of Death' https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1154766

If I were to ever update that article, Reed v. Goertz would certainly be part of the updated discussion.

Posted by: Doug B | Apr 19, 2023 5:17:33 PM

This case is really one of those mountain out of a molehill cases. The number of circumstances in which a defendant will have a meritorious claim that has to be raised under Section 1983 will be few and far between. So while this opinion makes it slightly easier to file those claims, it does not signal in any way that those claims will reach receptive ears.

I can see the logic behind each of the three opinions. The majority is mostly right that the denial of the initial motion for rehearing is the end of the "regular" state process. The Alito dissent has a point that, for the most part, at least with high courts, attorneys not involved in the case treat the published opinion as final upon issuance notwithstanding the theoretical possibility that a court will grant rehearing on rare occasions. And the Thomas dissent has a point that, at least outside federal habeas, we normally do not give litigants the opportunity to re-raise a claim as a federal claim after they have lost in state court. Of course, the point made in the Thomas dissent would have a lot more validity if the Supreme Court would return to the days when they heard 120 or even 100 or even 80 cases in a term.

Posted by: tmm | Apr 19, 2023 5:48:56 PM

tmm,

As I see things the ideal number of cases for SCOTUS to hear is zero, at least on the cert docket. If the lower courts got everything right the high court wouldn't need to correct them.

Their original jurisdiction is an entirely different matter and I express no opinion about a correct number of cases there.

Posted by: Soronel Haetir | Apr 19, 2023 8:07:42 PM

As I understand it, we have murders A and B, and defendant D has been convicted of both. Even if the conviction for B is solid, and the defendant will never be released from prison due to murder B, it would still have value to know whether or not the conviction for murder A is sound. For example, if it isn't, there has to be another murderer somewhere, and the other murderer also needs to be caught.

Posted by: William C Jockusch | Apr 19, 2023 9:35:06 PM

The decision to grant cert. is discretionary--they should address other issues, like maybe, I don't know, the City of Parma's treatment of Mr. Novak.

Posted by: federalist | Apr 20, 2023 9:44:06 AM

Soronel, except that there are cases for which there is no clear answer. A statute is ambiguous or something is different enough from prior cases that it is unclear how the rules apply to the new situation. There will always be disagreements between the lower courts on these issues. The reason for having a Supreme Court is to resolve these types of issues so that federal statutes or the U.S. Constitution have the same meaning in every state and every federal circuit.

In the Reed case, the more important question is what, if any constitutional requirements apply to DNA testing. While, maybe, the rule in Texas is valid, having a clear precedent on the issue seems significant to me. Telling prosecutors and defendants that we will not consider the issue on appeal from the Texas courts but will, instead, let the lower federal courts work out this issue through another round of litigation seems to me to be a waste of everybody's time.

Federalist, while the grant of certiorari is discretionary, there is still a wise use of discretion and an unwise use of discretion. We will respectfully disagree about the City of Parma. If we were dealing with an appeal from a conviction, the case would have been cert worthy. As a Section 1983 case, unless you were granting certiorari to reconsider qualified immunity, the most that could be said is that the decision to file charges was debatable not that clearly established law precluded the filing of charges. Resolving whether the charges were proper would not overcome the qualified immunity defense under current law on qualified immunity.

Posted by: tmm | Apr 20, 2023 11:46:22 AM

tmm, whether we disagree, Parma would have been a good use of cert as compared to worrying about Reed . . . .

Also, QI in Parma was obviously manufactured--the lawyers couldn't be sued, so they had cover to look at the statute (which was applied completely ridiculously) alone and not 1A and give advice to cops who took it. And Parma spent an illegal four days in jail. Funny how that works. Thug government at its finest.

Posted by: federalist | Apr 20, 2023 4:51:46 PM

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NORTH SIOUX CITY  A dog believed to have died in a fire that destroyed a home and severely damaged another in North Sioux City Tuesday night was later found alive. Two people were also injured.

At 11:13 p.m., North Sioux City firefighters were dispatched to a structure fire at 801 Campbell St. Reports indicated that a single-family home had exploded with flames coming through the roof, according to a statement from the North Sioux City Fire Department.

Upon arrival, firefighters found the home completely involved with fire.

"Everyone was out of the home, however, two people were transported to the hospital for minor injuries and later released," the statement said.

The family's dog was not found and was presumed dead. When emergency personnel revisited the scene late Wednesday morning, a police officer heard the dog barking in the basement. The dog appeared to be OK, fire chief Bill Pappas said.

The fire spread to a neighboring home, causing severe damage. The occupants are being assisted by the Siouxland Red Cross, according to the statement.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The Sergeant Bluff Fire Department provided mutual aid to the North Sioux City Fire Department. The Union County Sheriff's Office and Union County Emergency Management also responded.
The first grader with red hair and an infectious smile can do nothing more than watch.

While his classmates run and climb on Robinson Elementary School's brand-new playground, 7-year-old Finn Hall has to stay on the sidelines. He can't get on the equipment because Finn, who has cerebral palsy, is in a wheelchair. There are no ramps  only stairs  and on the ground level, there's little Finn can do but navigate the bright green poles supporting the play structure.

"It is so frustrating," Finn said after school last week.

But Finn wasn't content to stay on the sidelines. Neither was Cathy Martinez, Finn's grandmother.

Martinez, the president of the Autism Family Network and a vocal advocate for families with children who have special needs, arranged a meeting with the district about how to make the playground more inclusive.

"It's 2023. Why isn't it the standard?" Martinez asked. "We need to make sure 'all means all' is actually pertaining to all."

Now, Lincoln Public Schools has pledged to add inclusive elements to the playground at the city's newest elementary school near 102nd and Holdrege streets, including a ramp to grant access to the main playground structure and a wheelchair-accessible merry-go-round.

And it has also pledged to continue the conversation around playground accessibility by forming a committee to examine how LPS can make playgrounds and other physical spaces more inclusive.

"We were all very pleased with the outcome," said Martinez. "I think our request was very well-received  better than I expected."

Martinez, Finn and two other moms met with LPS Operations Director Scott Wieskamp at the playground to discuss the changes after Martinez sent an email to district and city officials.

Other changes planned include installing ground-level activity panels and tightening up the slats of a bridge on the main structure so wheelchairs won't get stuck. Martinez said the activity panels and merry-go-round  which will be flush to the ground, so children in wheelchairs can get on it  could be installed as soon as this summer, while the ramp may take longer.

Wieskamp said the timeline is partly dependent on logistics. The district just installed the playground equipment at Robinson in the past few weeks after lengthy supply chain delays. LPS has promised to cover the cost of the new inclusive components, Wieskamp said.

The changes at Robinson are part of a larger conversation happening in Lincoln to make playgrounds more inclusive beyond the bare-bones accessibility requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Martinez has helped lead the push for a new inclusive playground in the city after she received a call from a mother looking for more adaptive play equipment for her son, who has autism.

That phone call led to the city setting aside money for the inclusive playground at Mahoney Park and a $400,000 federal grant that will provide half of the funding and allow construction to begin in the spring of 2024.

The city also formed an advisory committee to look into updating Antelope Park and adding adaptive and inclusive components at all new parks and existing ones as they're renovated.

As far as the district goes, Kloefkorn Elementary appears to be the only precedent. In 2015, with the help of its PTO, the school installed first-of-its-kind inclusive equipment, like a wheelchair-accessible teeter-totter.

Erin Branch, the co-president of the Roper Elementary PTO, said parents have also raised money to install inclusive equipment at Roper's playground, but she said the project has been delayed. She hopes the new committee will help Roper and other schools get the inclusive equipment they want.

"Robinson is not the only school that is looking at this inclusive playground," she said. "This is something that needs to be addressed."

Federal law dictates playgrounds be accessible, which essentially means that the equipment must be reachable on the ground level. At Robinson, for example, there's a small ramp built into the rubber surface of the playground that allows Finn to get up next to the equipment, but not onto it.

"ADA compliant is that ramp," Martinez said.

Wieskamp said the district wants to do everything it can to accommodate students to make sure they're included but said it comes down in part to funding. The district does have some funds set aside from the 2020 bond issue for general infrastructure projects, which could potentially include upgrades at other playgrounds.

The committee looking at playground inclusivity will likely be convened in the fall, Wieskamp said, and be made up of parents, students and staff. The plan is to also examine other physical spaces beyond play areas that the district can improve upon, Wieskamp said.

"We want to be problem-solvers as a committee," Wieskamp said. "Not just problem-finders; we want to be problem-solvers."

For his part, Finn is already a problem-solver. In the meeting with his grandmother and Wieskamp, he pointed out what changes he would like to see. Now, he can confidently repeat the refrain Martinez says he's kept saying in the days since that meeting.

"I made change."

Top Journal Star photos for April 2023
SIOUX CITY -- The first time Albert Mosley and his wife, Syreeta McTavous-Mosley, visited Morningside University, they both felt the campus was warm and welcoming.

"We were preparing to leave and we looked at each other and we said 'Wow, that was amazing,'" Mosley recalled.

Thursday, Mosley will be inaugurated as the university's 13th president, succeeding John Reynders. He was chosen in December 2021 and officially started in June 2022.

"This will be a celebration of Morningside," Mosley said. "I happen to be a small part of it."

Wednesday and Thursday there are events throughout campus highlighting what Morningside offers and what is the future.

The Journal sat down with Mosley ahead of his inauguration to learn more about him and what he sees as the future for Morningside University.

The power of education

Mosley was born and raised in Shuqualak, Mississippi, a rural town of 500 that consisted mostly of Mosley's family and extended family.

He is a first-generation college graduate and first-generation professional. He has degrees from Millsaps College, Duke University, Yale University and the University of Georgia.

"I know personally what a college education can do for someone, how it literally changes your life," Mosley said. "Education from my perspective is the only attribute in life that can really enable anyone to traverse class lines."

After college, Mosley held a variety of student affairs leadership roles in higher education at religious, private colleges for around 20 years.

His most recent employer, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, was a private, nonprofit, six-hospital system in Memphis, Tennessee. He was the senior vice president and chief mission integration officer and was responsible for all of the outward-facing work including fundraising and community outreach.

While his work had an impact, Mosley said he never met a person who was at the receiving end because of the massive scale of Memphis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mosley said he had time to reflect on what he wanted in life.

"I decided that I have a passion for higher ed," he said.

He wanted to work at a private institution that had ties to a faith tradition, more specifically, the Methodist Church. He also wanted to work somewhere that he could see the difference being made in students' lives.

"One of the most rewarding experiences of anybody in higher ed is when three, four years out a student comes back and says to you 'thank you for playing a role in my life,'" he said.

Mosley recalled the warmth he felt from the community and saw Morningside as a perfect emblem of innovation for a university.

Morningside selected Mosley after an eight-month nationwide search to replace Reynders, who served as president from 1999 to 2022.

The warmth he felt on campus extended into Sioux City as a whole. He said he received a warm welcome and embrace from the community and many leaders went overboard to ensure he was welcomed.

"I feel at home here," he said. "People are incredibly hospitable."

The students are the highlight of the university, Mosley said. He said they are extremely dedicated to their education.

"They have two or three majors, they've got two or three minors, they're working ... they're athletes, they're performing artists, they're doing research," he said. "Just remarkably talented students."

Looking into the future, Mosley said Morningside must always position itself for innovation. As the higher education landscape changes, Mosley and other university administrations are looking at how to adapt.

One of the projects Mosley and his staff are working on is creating new academic programs to meet market demands across the country.

To grow enrollment is another focus. He said there is a cohort of students and adults who are looking at certification programs or short-term educational experiences.

Other areas of focus include recruiting underrepresented populations and enriching the experiences of current students.

Mosley's inauguration will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday at Eppley Auditorium. A full schedule of events can be found on Morningside's website @morningside.edu.
SIOUX CITY  It was sometimes hard to tell if Jeffrey Poulson preferred dealing with cattle or lawyers.

Known by his fellow judges for rising early in the morning to do chores on his cow-calf operation before taking the bench and hearing cases, Senior Judge Jeffrey Poulson died Monday at his home. He was 71.

Poulson retired as a district judge in June after more than 11 years on the bench and took senior status, retaining a lighter work load that would allow him stay involved in the legal profession while spending more time on the farm and fly fishing in Wyoming.

"I always wondered which he enjoyed more," said Patrick Tott, chief judge of the Third Judicial District who served with Poulson for more than eight years. "He was a good guy to be around."

District Judge Poulson retires Judge Jeffrey Poulson is shown in his courtroom at the Woodbury County Courthouse in Sioux City on June 6 shortly before his retirement as a d

A Sioux City native, Poulson received his law degree from Drake University in 1976 and joined the Corbett Law Firm, where he worked until 2006, when he partnered with Bruce Thomas.

As a judge, he was instrumental in the formation and 2015 launch of the Woodbury County Veterans Treatment Court, a diversionary program that helps military veterans get their lives in order rather than go to prison. It was the first of its kind in Iowa.

"That's probably one of my most rewarding parts of my career," Poulson said in an interview prior to his retirement.

Tott said Poulson's pride in the court, which he presided over until his retirement last summer, was obvious.

"Jeff was really proud of it and had a soft spot for vets," Tott said.

During his career as a lawyer, then as a judge, Poulson co-owned a cow-calf operation in rural Plymouth County, first partnering with his father, then with his son. Poulson said spending time with cattle always helped him relax when the stress of the job got to him.

"Half an hour later, you're a different person," he said in June. "Emotionally for me, it's a missing piece."

According to his obituary from Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel, cremation has taken place. A celebration of life service is scheduled for 4 p.m. Tuesday at Country Celebrations Event Center, 5606 Hamilton Blvd., with visitation to follow.
Republican Rep. Mike Flood announced Tuesday that he and Democratic Rep. Joe Neguse of Colorado have formed a Congressional Bipartisan Innovation and Entrepreneurship Caucus to collaborate on federal policy to "drive America's innovation economy."

That policy would be "more supportive of emerging entrepreneurial communities across our country," Flood said.

Organizations across eastern Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, which he represents, are "incubating the next generation of startups and entrepreneurs" at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Flood said.

"We invite our colleagues to join us as we support the next generation of American entrepreneurs," he said.

"Colorado has long been known for innovation and entrepreneurship," Neguse said, and it is "positioned to be an innovation hub for years to come."

Flood and Neguse will be co-chairmen of the new House caucus.

Top Journal Star photos for April 2023
Efforts to carry out a constitutional amendment requiring voter ID appear to have hit an impasse in the Legislature.

Weeks of discussions and legal analysis have resulted in dueling implementation proposals and a pronouncement by state Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon, who chairs the Government, Military and Veterans Affairs Committee, that he wants to get something advanced to the full Legislature this week.

One of the two (proposals) needs to move forward, he told committee members Monday, adding, If were going to do it, lets do it right so theres not pain later.

The issue stems from a constitutional amendment passed overwhelmingly last year requiring voters to present valid photographic ID before casting a ballot in any election. The amendment left it to lawmakers to determine how the requirement should be carried out.

Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar, who led the successful ballot initiative for voter ID, introduced one implementation proposal as Legislative Bill 535 this year.

At the bills February public hearing, she offered a major rewrite  one that would have required, among other things, that notaries sign mail-in ballots and voters present ID documents that prove their citizenship.

Last week, Slama offered a second major rewrite to the committee. This one would retain the requirement for voters to show ID documents that prove citizenship and require the secretary of state to verify the citizenship of registered voters. The proposal would have witnesses, instead of notaries, sign mail-in ballot envelopes attesting that they had verified the voters identity.

The other proposal was developed by Brewer, working with Secretary of State Bob Evnens office and other committee members.

Under his amendment to LB535, a wider range of photo documents would be accepted to prove identity, including expired documents. People casting mail-in ballots would have to provide a Nebraska drivers license or state ID card number or a copy of an accepted document.

Brewers proposal would provide exceptions from the ID provision for voters who could show a reasonable impediment to showing photo ID. Such impediments could include a religious objection to being photographed, a lost or stolen ID, a disability or illness or an inability to get a birth certificate or other documents needed to get an ID.

Both proposals allow people to get free state identification cards for voting purposes and to get free copies of state birth certificates, if needed to obtain a state ID card.

Slama has refused to accept Brewers proposal, calling it unconstitutional because it would allow people to vote without photo ID. Her latest proposal includes an exception only for people with a sincerely held religious belief against being photographed.

Theres exceptions you can drive a Mack truck through, she said of the Brewer amendment.

But Brewer said lawmakers should stick to the narrow goal of implementing voter ID and not get involved with other issues, such as verifying citizenship or changing who can vote early or by mail.

He said the Legislature needs to be mindful of court rulings from other states that provide guidance on what can pass muster under the U.S. Constitution. He also took issue with Slamas list of acceptable documents, noting that documents can still prove identity even if expired.

Speaker of the Legislature John Arch of La Vista has asked Slama and Brewer to meet with him late Tuesday night in a bid to resolve the standoff.

Brewers plan had been to use LB535 as the vehicle for voter ID legislation, and the bill was named a committee priority. But Slama, as the bills introducer, could withdraw LB535 if the committee advances it with an amendment she opposes. Another option would be to gut another bill and use that as the vehicle for the committees proposal.

Either way, time is running out for lawmakers to deal with voter ID. Sen. Machaela Cavanaugh of Omaha has mounted an ongoing filibuster this session in hopes of killing a bill that would ban care for transgender minors, including puberty blockers, hormone treatments and surgery.

Postponing legislative action until next year would make it almost impossible to implement voter ID in time for the May primary.

Despite the strong support for voter ID, Nebraska has not had widespread issues with its elections.

Ahead of last Novembers election, Nebraska Secretary of State Bob Evnen acknowledged that the state has not had a problem with voter fraud generally, let alone any cases of people trying to impersonate others so they could vote  the type of fraud that would be prevented with voter ID.

2023 Lincoln City Election Voter's Guide We reached out to candidates before Lincoln's city election and asked them to provide biographical information and answer questions relevant to the offices they seek. Lincoln Mayor Mayor Leirion Gaylor Baird faces two challengers  state Sen. Suzanne Geist and Christian broadcaster Stan Parker  in her run for a second term. 2023 Voter's Guide: Lincoln City Council This year's city elections will put at least three new faces on the City Council, where the four seats which represent districts are on the ballot. 2023 Voter's Guide: Lincoln Board of Education Because there are only two candidates in each district, all the Lincoln Board of Education candidates will advance from the April 4 primary to Lincoln Airport Authority Five candidates have filed for two open seats on the Lincoln Airport Authority, meaning one will be eliminated in April's primary election.
Kathy Matzner thought she was seeing things Dec. 23, 2021, when she arrived at McCool Junction Cemetery to visit her husband, Jim.

It was dusk. She directed her headlights toward her husbands burial place, where a headstone was installed 86 days prior.

Theres this gaping hole  I thought I was losing it, Matzner remembered. I just flung open the gate and ran over there. I just kept saying, 'Oh my God, Oh my God, I can't believe this. I can't believe it.'

And I took a picture.

***

Matzner purchased the headstone from Monument Advisors of Grand Island.

Other customers include Michelle Tatro of Hastings and her husband, David, who purchased a stone on Feb. 24, 2021 from the company for their two-year-old son, Ryker. Rykers parents were very intentional in selecting their stone.

They told Kelli Lepler, owner of Monument Advisors, they wanted Rykers stone to match Davids 15-year-old sisters headstone. A black granite star on the marker would be a special order, the Tatros were told.

It took me a while to save up, Michelle Tatro said, adding: We had never bought a headstone before.

(Funeral businesses) handled us very delicately, compassionately, up until that process, Tatro said of the time following Rykers death. So we really trusted her from the beginning.

After months without contact, the Tatros heard from Monument Advisors on April 7, 2022, Tatro said. She said the couple had no idea the stone hadnt been ordered until that conversation.

(Lepler) kept telling us the remainder had to be paid before it could be set," Michelle Tatro said.

In May 2022, the stone was paid in full, but Ryker Dean Tatro, who died Dec. 3, 2020, still rests in an unmarked grave.

***

There's been plenty said lately about Monument Advisors online  much of it accusing the company of lengthy delays on monument orders or monuments not arriving at all. The Independent reached out to Monument Advisors via phone and Facebook Messenger, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Tatro started the Facebook group Beware Monument Advisors Has Bad Communication, 22 weeks ago, according to the pages information section. There are 232 members. To be sure, not all have done business with Monument Advisors, but those who have are vocal.

Monument Advisors has resources on its website discussing supply chain issues in the monument industry. Lepler also mentioned supply chain issues to Tatro. The Independent reached out to Monument Advisors supplier, Rock of Ages in Graniteville, Vermont, for more information. Rock of Ages representatives did not return messages left by a reporter in time for publication of this story.

Tatro said Lepler was upset she aired her complaints on Facebook.

After she told me FB wasnt the route to go and Id have no results  I promised her Id tell everyone about my experience until I myself need a headstone, Tatro said in a Saturday, April 8, post.

***

Matzner asked the company to repair and put the headstone back up. She wanted their assistance in rectifying the situation. At first, Lepler seemed concerned about her customer, Matzner said, but not for long. On Christmas Eve, the day after Matzner discovered her husband's headstone had fallen, Lepler arrived at the McCool Junction cemetery.

She had done a 180, overnight, Matzner said. She was saying vandalism.

A winter storm raging through the area a few weeks before the monuments placement was also blamed. From there, Matzner sometimes heard long periods of nothing.

She was hesitant to disclose how much she paid for the headstone for her husband  a firefighter who died of a heart attack April 26, 2019 at the age of 60. According to his obituary, he was a captain on the York Fire Department and member of the International Association of Firefighters Union #1648. He was also a member of the McCool Junction Volunteer Fire Department.

People are gonna say, 'Well, that's what she gets for putting something that big out there,' Matzner said of her purchase. I was trying to do a good thing.

The good thing she did for her late husband cost about $20,000, Matzner said, paid up front with a check.

Matzner said she filed an insurance claim after the headstone fell and the company divorced itself from the matter, The situation eventually ended up in court. The parties reached a settlement.

After that was all said and done, the cash out was for less than half of what I paid, Matzner said. This whole thing has just, it has almost broken me inside, changed my personality  like I'm scared of stuff. I never used to be scared of anything.

***

While looking into Monument Advisors reputation  and adding her own reviews  Tatro learned of other Monument Advisors clients.

I really wanted to connect with them, so I made the group, Tatro said. That's how all that started.

Matzner said until she came across the Facebook group, she had no idea others were out there.

Since last week, numerous reports of theft against a business with Monument Advisors address have been brought to Grand Island Police Department.

At this point, there should be a pile of money, Tatro said.

Tatro, among others, has filed complaints with the Nebraska Attorney General's office, she said. The Tatros also filed a report with Grand Island Police Department on April 6, alleging a theft amounting to $7,840.

By April 11, police had received nine complaints, said GIPD Captain Jim Duering.

I feel really bad for all these other folks that are filing police reports, Matzner said. They've gotten nothing. They've paid thousands of dollars and have no stones.

Determining whether each of the complaints are criminal or civil will take time, Duering said.

Well do an investigation that will involve interviews, tracking of money and probably looking at shipping and bank records. It'll probably take us some time to determine that.

Theres no real police story until we have time to do our piece of it to determine whether it's criminal, Duering added.

The department has made little progress, Duering said.

Between manpower and some of the bigger cases that we are dealing with right now  we have to triage stuff around here. We really focus on the violent crimes first.

***

Matzner struggles to go visit her husbands resting place. People have been kind, she said, making signs to mark Jims grave.

But despite best efforts, the plot is unkempt. Its not anyones fault, Matzner said. The area couldnt be seeded properly, derailed by the lawsuit.

I was told during this whole lawsuit process to leave (the fallen stones) there. So they laid there, Matzner said.

In June 2022, a retired Lincoln firefighter and a group from the York Fire Department came to Jims resting place on a Sunday, wielding borrowed equipment from a local farmer.

They picked them up and we hauled them off the grave, she said of the pieces.

There was nothing wrong with the stones themselves for the most part, but the bottom was cracked and damaged, Matzner said.

Everything looked nice (when it was installed). It looked kind of weird on the bottom, because it was on these two great big pieces of granite they kind of glued together.

Since they fell that winter, Matzner has tried to find a way to repurpose the stones.

The really sad part of this whole deal is that those stones are granite, and they're just useless. I thought that maybe they could be made into a bench or something," she said.

One headstone company told Matzner they would break them into pieces and put them in the Platte River with other granite scrap.

It just stabbed me in the heart, she said, her voice pained. I think the worst part of all of this is that  didnt my husband deserve better than this?

Photos: Wreaths Across America honors veterans at Lincoln's Wyuka Cemetery
This is part of Slates ongoing coverage of Dominion Voting Systems v. Fox News Network.

Around 3:55 p.m. on Tuesday, right after announcing that an unexpected settlement had been reached in the libel case filed by Dominion Voting Systems against Fox News, Judge Eric Davis looked over at the 24 jurors and alternates who had been selected that very morning for what everyone had expected to be a lengthy trial. If youre thinking your presence was a waste of time, it wasnt, Davis said. The situation was resolved, and it was resolved because of you.

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I think Davis actually meant it. While looks can certainly be deceiving, and while I do not mean to speculate on any of the jurors political orientations, the majority-minority jury that was empaneled at the very least did not appear to be a demographically favorable one for Fox News, whose audience is, basically, old and white. Was the prospect of a jury which featured seven Black members and only one white male enough to push Fox back to the negotiating table? Or was the simple fact of the jurys swearing-inand the ensuing realization that the trial was really, finally happeningitself enough to jolt Rupert Murdoch into signing off on a deal?

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However the settlement came together, the fact that it did so at all came as a real shock to the many reporters who, after Mondays unfruitful postponement, had resigned themselves to covering this sure-to-be-revealing, probably comical, and most importantly long defamation trial. While the $787.5 million that Fox will pay to Dominionfor broadcasting blatant lies alleging that the company had somehow manipulated the 2020 election resultsis quite a bit less than the $1.6 billion the company had asked for, as far as I can tell its still one of the largest settlements in American history. That said, its also pocket change compared to the reported $1.7 billion Murdoch is said to have paid his second wife when they divorced in 1999, which perhaps puts the whole thing into dismal perspective. The settlement will be painful for Fox News, but it wont be a death blowand, critically, the network will no longer have to subject its executives and presenters to questioning under oath in a public setting. (At least in this trial. Theres a defamation lawsuit from another election-tech company, Smartmatic, thats still pending.)

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The afternoons proceedings began in typical fashion: with author-provocateur Michael Wolff causing a minor scene in the courtroom. Are you media? Wolff asked Fox News commentator Ted Williams, who was sitting in the seat that Wolff had occupied during the morning session.

The settlement will be painful for Fox News, but it wont be a death blow.

I am, was Williams brusque reply. Are you? After another brief exchange, Wolff realized that he could just as easily sit two seats overbut Williams was unwilling to let the confrontation go. Scuse me, Williams said a few minutes later. Why did you feel compelled to ask me that? Yall dont believe a Black man can sit here and be media? You didnt ask a single white person that.

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I just asked the person who was in my seat from this morning. Thats it, said Wolff.

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A white man walking up to me and asking me if Im media. I took offense to it. I wouldnt do that to you.

Well, you might, if you thought I was in your seat.

But you must have thought that a Black man sitting here was not media, said Williams.

Thats a no-win argument for me, said Wolffand for a long time this afternoon, it looked like this entertaining contretemps would be the most dramatic thing to happen inside Judge Davis courtroom today.

Davis, who prides himself on being a punctual man, had ended Tuesday mornings session by announcing that we would reconvene at precisely 1:30 p.m. to hear Dominion attorney Stephen Shackelford and Fox attorney Dan Webb deliver opening statements, which were scheduled to last for 75 minutes and 90 minutes, respectively. But after briefly taking the bench a few minutes after 1:30, Davis then returned to his chambers, declining to explain his departure to the gallery.

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When 2 p.m. came around, Davis was still absent, and the assemblage fell into whispered speculation as to the reasons for the delay. The working theory was that there had been jury issues of some sort. Perhaps a juror had unexpectedly begged off the case during the lunch break, following the lead of the alternate juror in the wrestling T-shirt who had raised his hand and announced that Ive been up all night, I cant do this immediately after having been sworn in Monday morning. Perhaps one or more jurors had gotten sick? Had their catered lunch been tainted? Was the jury room drowning in rivers of puke? By 2:06 p.m., Shackelford had stood up and begun leisurely pacing, with what I (perhaps inaccurately) pegged as a your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine look on his face.

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But as the minutes ticked by, it became clear that more was going on than just a puking jury. Davis had made clear in the morning that he was intent on ending every days session at precisely 4:30 p.m. Once 2 p.m. came and went, it became clear that there wouldnt be time for both attorneys to make their opening statements today. Once 3 p.m. flew by, I realized that neither attorney would be able to make their opening statementwhich would push the opening statements to Wednesday morning, which would further delay the trial. Around 3:15, my seatmate whispered that shed heard Davis had appointed a special master to investigate whether Fox News had withheld evidence from Dominion in discovery. Could that fact account for the now-almost-two-hour delay?

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With no way to use phones or the internet to investigate the special master thingDavis had banned the use of both in his courtroomI moved to the back of the room to take the pulse of the court officials and local reporters who were congregating there. Word is that Murdochs approving a settlement and theyll announce it within the hour, said a man from the Associated Press. He said it with a smile, though, and nobody else seemed to take the statement seriously, so I discounted it too, and instead fell into conversation with two men named Sean, about the fact that they were both named Sean.

No one else was named Sean when I was growing up, said one Sean.

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None of my teachers knew how to pronounce it, said the other Sean.

You guys were both at the vanguard of Seandom, I said. We were all going stir-crazy.

But the ordeal was almost over. At 3:54 p.m., Judge Davis returned to the bench and, wasting few words, announced that the case had been resolved. Twenty minutes later, Dominion and its lawyers had gathered in the plaza outside the Leonard L. Williams Justice Center for an impromptu press conference. The truth matters, said Dominion attorney Justin Nelson. Lies have consequences. Over two years ago, a torrent of lies swept Dominion and election officials across America into an alternative universe of conspiracy theories.

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Tuesdays settlement doesnt destroy that universe, though. It just makes it a little bit more expensive for Fox News to live on its farthest-out edges. While the network may now think twice about letting the absolute biggest loons come on the air to tell the absolute stupidest lies, it would be foolhardy to presume that this settlement will catalyze any meaningful crisis of conscience at Fox HQ. The 2024 presidential election is in sight, and its a safe bet that Fox News will still spend the next 19 months doing what it does best: building multiday-episode arcs out of isolated anecdotes and unwarranted inference, demonizing liberals and the left while pretending that the right is under constant siege, and working its viewers into crisis states over minor cultural controversies. Fox News might now think twice about definitively crossing the line into actionable defamation, but thats an outcome that the network can learn to live with.

I like anticlimax, boys, said one of the reporters in the media room about an hour after the settlement was announced. Its better than six fuckin weeks of straight pain. Its safe to say that the Murdochs feel the exact same way.
How to Do It is Slates sex advice column. Have a question? Send it to Stoya and Rich here. Its anonymous!

Dear How to Do It,

Ive (31-year-old nonbinary) recently reconnected with an old boyfriend. Things are complicated and undefined, as well as long distance, but were planning to feel things out when he visits in a couple of months. Whats really been bothering me is a bit of a practical issue: semen. Im a queer person primarily attracted to women and most of the sex Ive had, especially post-college, has been with women. I havent been near a dick in probably four or five years. In that time, Ive developed extremely severe OCD. Im talking wash your hands bloody, cant leave the house because outside places are poison contamination fears. Im in therapy and on meds, but not much is working (a whole other story) and honestly, I dont know what to do.

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I keep being afraid either that the semen will contaminate my bed, body, and hands or that the lubricant on a condom will. I know this isnt rational, rationality really isnt the point (if it was, OCD wouldnt be a disabling problem in my life), Im just wondering if theres anything Im not thinking of to minimize contact with semen during sex involving a penis, particularly since condoms seem like a bad option. (What if the lube is poison? What if it breaks or gets left out or gets dropped and my cat chokes on it? I have endless what ifs.) Or should I just give up the whole idea of sleeping with this guy and accept that Im just not healthy enough? Ive had so much difficulty finding any kind of relationship because of my mental illnesses that I dont really want to give up, especially on someone so understanding with whom I have a really good connection, but Im finding myself increasingly more terrified of causing harm or contamination through this.

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Obsessive Compulsive Disaster

Dear Obsessive Compulsive Disaster,

Let this former boyfriend of yours know where youre at. Tell them youre not sure whether youll be up for anything that involves lubricant or semen. Lay it all out on the table and find out whether hes accepting and gentle enough for what you need at this moment in time, which may be sexual interactions that dont involve either of those substances or no sexual interaction at all. Give this guy, who you describe as understanding, a chance to demonstrate this quality. Also consider whether youd be giving it up entirely or postponing if you were to tell your former partner that now isnt a good time for anything, well, goopy. There are no guarantees, but they might wait for you. You wont know what their needs and wants are until you have a talk about it.

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Do speak with your therapist. They might have guidance on OCD and sexuality, or even tips on exposure therapy tailored to your specific situation. Theyre also likely to have better insight into whether this particular kind of activity is best for you to avoid right now. And, generally, its best to give our treatment team a heads-up when theres something particularly challenging going on. Since I get the sense you may not be feeling particularly trusting toward your therapist, or have a good connection with them, you might consider whether a change is in order. If sex is a subject theyre uncomfortable handling, this may be a catalyst for change. And, whatever the whole other story is with your therapist, they may surprise you.

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Get the How to Do It Newsletter Sex advice from Rich and Stoya, plus exclusive letter follow-ups, delivered weekly. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

Dear How to Do It,

How important is it to spice up the love life of a new relationship? I (37F) have been with my boyfriend (40M) for about five months. He is the only guy Ive ever been with; he has some more experience, with two long-term relationships, but relatively no dating or other romantic experience. While we arent rushing it, we have discussed it and are pretty confident its eventually leading to marriage. We were fortunate that our sex drives are pretty well matched, and we often have sex four to five times a week. He is a very conscientious partner, focusing first on me and being excited when I come, but not upset if I dont, so we are very happy and satisfied in bed.

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The big issue we have is trying out new things. We are both bigger people and relatively awkward. He also is somewhat smaller than average and it can be difficult to fit together, with our first night together not even being successful. We have realized we need a pillow (wedge or otherwise) to help angle properly for missionary so that has just become part of our routine. It took a few months, but I was able to figure out the angles for cowgirl. We attempted doggy style, but it just wasnt comfortable physically or emotionally for either of us. We do have plenty of foreplay and we both enjoy giving and receiving oral.

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Is this OK? We both are happy and satisfied, but I feel like Ive always heard about lots of positions, but I just dont know how we would manage them. Is it OK for us to just switch between the two main positions? Is there something else we should try, or just keep doing whats working? I am not bored (and dont feel he is either), but I dont want to wait until a point when maybe we would be bored.

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Keep It Simple

Dear Keep It Simple,

This is absolutely fine. Vanilla is a spice! Youre both having a good time. Youre very happy and satisfied. Theres no need to work to optimize something thats already working. If one of you gets curious about something, go for it. If one of you does start to feel bored, start considering bells and whistles. But for now, youve figured out what works for you and are best off focused on the connection you have with each other.

Help us keep giving the advice you crave every week. Sign up for Slate Plus now.

Dear How to Do It,

Im a 30-year-old bisexual woman in a relationship with a man; we share the kind of love that I used to think was impossible, and connect on every level. Up until two months ago, we were having frequent, mind-blowing sex; it had been years since Id even wanted to orgasm with a partner present, and he can make me come so strongly and tenderly. Ive been able to share with him fantasies and kinks that have been a source of shame for me and have also found incredible pleasure exploring his body as we both soar to new heights.

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This relationship is a major departure from the majority of my sexual history, however. From the lingering residue of Catholic school teachings to rapes and other experiences with coercive, manipulative, and power-imbalanced sex that I largely pursued because I thought that was all I was worth, its kind of been a litany of dozens of sour memories peppered with enough good moments for me to know that I do love sex and sexual exploration.

A couple of months ago, a conversation about all of this led to a resurfacing of all of the pain that I had kept hidden subterraneanly for so long. Wed talked about all this stuff before, and my partner has been so supportive, patient, and enveloping me with love. But something about this particular resurfacing really impacted me; I felt like I was feeling all the fear physically in my body. Touching myself feels mechanical, and touching myself with him present/him touching me will feel good while its happening, but then lead me to cry afterward. And at various points throughout our relationship (and very often before it) Ive had versions of these issues arise, where Ive felt weird about things like being touched and having been sure why. So its always been there, but up until recently, weve been much more successful at navigating around it.

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Im a big fan of your column and read it avidly, so I know that Urban Tantra is a frequent recommendation for people who are looking to get back in touch with their sexuality. Im getting a copy, and Im also partway through The Body Keeps the Score on the recommendation of my former therapist, but was also wondering if you had any suggestions for books, activities, and/or practices that might help me. I want to get back in touch with my body and the sensual, sexual side of me, and to feel free enough to again surrender to pleasure with my partner.

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Subterranean Trauma-Sick Blues

Dear Trauma-Sick Blues,

As far as books go, Id start with Cleis Presss Healing Sex: A Mind-Body Approach to Healing Sexual Trauma by Staci Haines. Carrellas wisdom in Urban Tantra is great, but Haines has special tips for handling sexual trauma which will likely be of more immediate use to you. Lucie Fieldings Trans Sex: Clinical Approaches to Trans Sexualities and Erotic Embodiments contains a lot of content on connecting with ourselves erotically, as opposed to diving straight into sexually, which may be useful as well.

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One thing you can do here is to proceed slowly. You might find that something that felt great yesterday feels like too much today. If thats the case, listen to your feeling. Crucially, communicate these sorts of weather reports to your partner. We worked on [X] in therapy today and Im feeling sensitive about everything related to [X]. Or For some reason, Im feeling cornered when Im notplease be extra cautious with whether I have an escape route today. And dont push yourself through things you arent feeling good about at the time.

The main way you might try to work through this is to focus on sensations of pleasure of any kind. Take sex off the table entirely. Dont touch your vulva. Dont think about your partners genitals. What feels good? Is there something touching you? An emotion? A temperature of your skin or partners hand or the air? Do you have desires for anythinga bath, a kind of food, a smellthat might feel pleasurable? Keep your focus on what brings you joy and helps you feel situated in your body, and see what grows from there.

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Dear How to Do It,

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My husband (41M) and I (38F), have been married for nine years, and for the most part, we have a generally good sex life. This is in part due to a couple of periods of exploration by bringing another man into the mix, his ability to not come when I desperately need to (it takes me a while), and my dalliances revving me up (sexting with other people, which he knows about though doesnt want the details, and flirting with other people, which he likes). But, things have plateaued and Im having difficulty articulating to my husband what Id like, and getting him on board.

For one thing, there is very little to no foreplay, even when hes on the receiving end of it. I would like some extra attention leading up to sex, including him flirting with me outside of the bedroom, and touching/kissing/oral for more than 15 seconds before penetration. But how does one teach a grown man to flirt? Ive talked with him about physical foreplay every which way, to no avail.

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Secondly, his fantasies range from me with another man to me with another man. Mine are a little more varied, though not much. I usually envision myself inexperienced, being taken advantage of to a degree, or straight-up slutty. Mostly though, I think the lack of any kind of build-up is at the root of my boredom. I know theres a lot more out there and I think some sort of role-playing would be fun, even to the tune of his fantasy (You be the dirty yard guy, Ill be the demure housewife). When I bring it up he seems on board, then the next time we have sex, he starts recounting the stories of the times weve brought another man into the mix, and it takes all I have to block him out and stay inside my own head. Weve gone as far as we each are comfortable with involving other people at this point. I really believe a little imagination and buildup would greatly expand our horizons, I just cant seem to get him to understand how (like flirting; who cant flirt?!) or to follow through with any suggestions.

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First Thing

Dear First Thing,

Some people arent flirtatious. Others enjoy the concept once theyre used to it, but experience anxiety about what to say or do. Meanwhile, your husband might be struggling to connect the conversations you have with your carnal activities.

Based on what youve written here, Im wondering whether youre bringing things up in the moment. For instance, when your husband begins to move to penetration more quickly than youd like, are you voicing your desire that he slow down? Or, when hes recounting the stories of your threesomes, are you reminding him that youve agreed to broaden the scope of your fantasy discussions? If you want to avoid a direct moment of negative feedback, you might look for opportunities to steer the subject toward scenarios in which youre inexperienced, or taken advantage of. You might introduce role-play scenarios over top of what hes talking about: Ooh, yes, that one time with Mark was delightful. Id like to do it again with the yard guy, though.

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Another angle would be to start voicing sexual fantasies, in erotic ways, at times when you arent already having sex. You might describe what the yard guy (him) would do to you. Or touch yourself in the ways that you want to be touched. Essentially, youre looking for other ways to communicate your desires to your husband, since having Big Talks about it hasnt been productive. Get creative with it and see what happens. If your husband still isnt getting it after youve tried a few more tactics, it may be worth pressing the issue and asking whether he can help you understand why he isnt incorporating the things youve told him youd like.

Stoya

Pet Advice From Slate

We have two brother cats (Beans and Buttons) who are fun, affectionate, and great to have around, with one massive exception: Beans completely refuses to use the litter box. We have tried everything: litter that attracts cats, scooping daily (sometimes twice), multiple boxes, quiet/private space for them, and weve even taken him to the vet to see if theres anything wrong, but there isnt. Buttons uses the litter boxes just fine, and the two cats are great together. The real problem is that this has completely destroyed one of the rooms in our house.
Any hope Senate Democrats may have held that Republicans would go along with their plan to temporarily replace ailing California Sen. Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee crashed and burned this week. And short of finding the right combination of words that gets Feinstein to retirea combination thats eluded Democrats so farits not clear that they have another move to get their judicial confirmation schedule back to pace.

The indefinite absence of Feinstein, who at 89 has been in noticeable cognitive decline for years and is now recovering from a case of shingles, has left the Senate Judiciary Committee deadlocked at 10-10 between Republicans and Democrats and unable to advance Democrats more partisan nominees. Democrats want to re-balance the federal judiciary after Republicans moved it sharply to the right under the Trump administration. Each week that conveyor belt is inoperable cuts against the bigger goal. (Also, without Feinstein, the Judiciary Committee doesnt have the votes to subpoena Justice Clarence Thomas if it wanted to do so, complicating another issue on Democrats plate.)

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Following some chirping from within her party last week that Feinstein should resign, the California senator released a statement saying that she would return to Washington as soon as possible, but that she had authorized Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to temporarily replace her on Judiciary Committee. Schumer said he would ask the Senate the following week.

Senators, generally, dont like to mess with each others committee assignments. Committee assignments do have to be approved by the full Senate, but theyre usually done so, via unanimous consent, in about five seconds. Senate Democrats probably didnt entirely think norms would protect them in this special case, where theyre trying to temporarily swap in a warm body to get their partisan judicial agenda back on track. But not even a single Republican on Monday said they would go along with Schumers ask.

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The first two Republican senators to say they would block the move were two conservatives on the Judiciary Committee, Sens. Tom Cotton and Marsha Blackburn. Par for the course. But when North Carolina Sen. Thom Tilliswho would likely be one of the 10 Republican senators Democrats would need to break a filibuster on swapping out Feinsteinannounced he wouldnt go along, it was obvious Republicans hostility to the move was more widespread.

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Senate Republicans had a variety of different reasons for opposing Democrats plan, suited to their personal brands. Cotton and Blackburn, as conservatives, were ideologically straightforward: They wouldnt abet the Left in advancing its sinister agenda. Louisiana Sen. John Kennedy, who likes to play cheeky, told reporters that Feinstein told him shell be back soon, and that he takes her at her word. Shes always been truthful to me. Maine Sen. Susan Collins, whose brand is bipartisanship and cross-aisle friendships, tried to portray acquiescence to Feinsteins own request that she be temporarily replaced as an offense to her good friend.

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Senator Feinstein has been an extraordinary senator, and shes a good friend of mine, Collins told reporters. During the past two years, theres been a concerted campaign to force her off of the Judiciary Committee. And I will have no part of that.

Others, like South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds, said it was up to Republican leadership to decide the path forward. And then Mr. Republican Leadership, himself, made his opinion pretty clear on the Senate floor Tuesday morning.

Calling Schumers request an extremely unusual request for which there was no precedent, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnellhimself just back from an extended health-related absence said that Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily-absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees.

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And that was that. By the time his weekly press conference came around Tuesday afternoon, Schumer was terse in answering questions about the issue.

Look, he said, I spoke to Sen. Feinstein just a few days ago, and she and I are both very hopeful that she will return very soon.

Where do Democrats plans to jump the judicial confirmation factory go from here? There are a few different paths.

There is always the possibility that Sen. Feinstein does soon return to Washington and park herself in the Judiciary Committee room to say aye a few times during markups.

Democrats could also treat Republicans uniform rejection of their request to swap Feinstein as the opening of a negotiation, and make Republicans an offer. That could mean, for example, getting Democrats to agree to lock in the blue slip practice, which allows senators to block judicial nominees from their home states. But many progressives and Democrats are already riding Judiciary Committee Chairman Dick Durbin for being too deferential to Republicans on the issue. If Democrats go so far as to cut a deal with Republicans on another matter that hurts their ability to confirm judges, the situation must be quite bad.

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Democrats best hope, though, is that they have a new way to pressure Feinstein into resigning after showing they were unable to accommodate her request for a temporary swap-out. This would be a somewhat dirty piece of business that Democrats arent going to spell out on-the-record. But its what some Republicans believe Democrats plan has been all along.

The Dems are sort of using this because they want pressure on her to resign, Senate Minority Whip John Thune told Politico on Monday. And I think this gives them sort of a lever to do that.

Maybe the failure to temporarily replace Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee, and the attendant pressure that puts on her to resign altogether, will be the One Weird Trick that finally gets her to throw in the towel. But she stayed in the Senate after losing her status as top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee. She stayed in the Senate despite being deemed unfit to serve as president pro tempore of the Senate. Democrats are dealing with a rather strong-willed person here. They may just have to wait for her to return, however longif everthat takes.
There were no handcuffs. No gaggle of lawyers whispering to him. No momentous entrances and exits through the courtroom.

From within the bounds of a narrow, glass-walled enclosure, Evan Gershkovich appeared to the world as he was: an ordinary Joe, clean-cut, friendly even in the face of hostility. His attireplaid button-up shirt, bright blue jeanswas as casual as his posture, crossed arms and a slight smile to match. He was so ordinary in an extraordinary scene, as he paced, back and forth, trappedin the glass box, in the courtroom, in this country. This is a man who clearly should not be where he is right now.

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Evan in court pic.twitter.com/9tqfy8ea5T  Pjotr Sauer (@PjotrSauer) April 18, 2023

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On Tuesday, the same day the Fox NewsDominion trial began and ended in Delaware, another high-stakes court battle kicked off continents away: Russias persecution of Gershkovich, a Wall Street Journal reporter accused of espionage. Its the first such charge that the former Soviet Union has brought against an American reporter since the Cold War. Hes denied the specific allegations, which are centered on his probe of the Wagner Group militia thats been fighting in Ukraine (a practice otherwise known as reporting). The United States has called for his immediate release, but Gershkovich remains a hostage under the eye of President Vladimir Putin. It is likely he will remain there for some time as the case is litigated.

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The high-profile proceedings this week marked Gershkovichs first public appearance since his March 29 arrest. He showed up in the Moscow courthouse to petition for release from prison, either through bail or house arrest. The appeal was denied.

But there were the images. International correspondents covering the case broadcast photos and videos of the detained 31-year-old standing in his box with no visible trace of fear or concern. Many found the images inspiring, but also quite surrealthe relaxed posture he maintained even as millions looked to his trial as a possible enemy of the state.

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Often, images of journalists whove been imprisoned abroad are much more horrific. Its not easy to forget the photograph of Daniel Pearl handcuffed and slumped against the wall by his Pakistani captors, or the video of James Wright Foleys grisly execution by ISIS militants in Iraq. That is, if we even see such prisoners at all. The exact whereabouts of freelancer Austin Tice, arrested in Syria in 2012, remain unknown. One can only read the accounts of what Danny Fenster endured in the hands of Myanmars military junta, or what Euna Lee and Laura Ling witnessed in North Koreas prisons.

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Its a slight relief, then, to see Evan Gershkovich look so normal. More than thatunintimidated, uncowed, plainly himself. Gershkovich comes off defiant without being brash; as a colleague of mine put it, hes maybe even conveying a dark irony in his expression.

The first proper picture of Evan Gershkovich, the WSJ reporter arrested in Russia on absurd charges, in court ahead of his appeal against his jailing today.



So surreal to see Evan, who's covered so many Kafkaesque hearings as a reporter, in the cage pic.twitter.com/5VVisyMBPy  max seddon (@maxseddon) April 18, 2023

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Apparently, while behind bars in a former KGB prison, Gershkovichs been working out and reading Russian literature. Not even his imprisonment, it seems, can destroy his affection for the country: As his own employer chronicled, Gershkovich was born to Jewish parents whod fled the Soviet Union for the U.S. during the Cold War. Growing up, he spoke Russian and absorbed the countrys culture from his parents. Much of his journalism career was forged on the Russia beat, covering everything from domestic politics to environmental degradation to, eventually, the invasion of Ukraine.

tonights protest on primetime state tv was one of the more astonishing acts of courage Ive seen covering Russia. Its only in our power to stop this. Go to protests; dont be scared. They cant arrest us all. https://t.co/FNL4HfPXvk  Evan Gershkovich (@evangershkovich) March 14, 2022

From the reports weve heard, it seems Gershkovich is ready to fight. One of his lawyers told the BBC that hes in a combative mood, denies he is guilty, and is ready to prove it. Theres an added pain, then, to seeing Gershkovich behind glass like thisrobbed of the ability to use his words.
What does the Fox (News) say? Not enough to save American democracy. But we never should have expected that a private defamation suit could have cured this countrys ongoing election panic anyways.

Dominion Voting Systems had sued Fox for defamation after Fox hosts and guests lied about the supposed role of Dominions voting machines in the 2020 presidential election. (Specifically, they said that the company rigged the votes against Donald Trump and for Joe Biden.) Voting machine manipulation was one of many outlandish conspiracy theorieslike those involving Italian space lasers or fake ballots coming in from Chinathat swirled across right wing cable television and social media as Donald Trump churned up the lies to try to overturn his loss.

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By the time the Dominion defamation case got to trial, Fox had a weak hand. Embarrassing depositions, emails, and other material from inside Fox showed that those at the top of the company knew the claims of a stolen election were a huge lie unsupported by any real evidence. The trial judge had already ruled, before trial, that the evidence indisputably showed that claims of Dominion voting machines being rigged were false, and that Fox was not merely reporting on such claims. The only real issue (aside from which Fox entities were liable and how much damage Dominion suffered) was whether Fox made false statements with actual malice. That standard, imposed by the Supreme Court to protect journalists and others reporting on public officials and public figures, requires proof that the speaker made the statements knowing they were false or with reckless disregard as to their truth or falsity.

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Ultimately, Dominion agreed to a whopping a $787.5 million settlement from Fox in its defamation suit just as opening arguments in the trial were about to begin. Those damages more than compensate for any loss of reputation suffered by Dominion. What the settlement did not come with was a requirement of an apology or any on-air recognition directed to Foxs cocooned viewers. No statement by the conservative-turned-Trumpy network that it had been shoveling manure for Trump and others when it came to the 2020 election. The most that the public will get is this anodyne sentence in the middle of Foxs one-paragraph statement: We acknowledge the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. The sentence came right before Fox, with unparalleled chutzpah, praised its own continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.

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Some who wanted more out of this case were sorely disappointed. Journalism professor and columnist Margaret Sullivan tweeted: Dominion should have insisted on an apology, including prominently on air. They could have gotten it from F[o]x, which was feeling desperate (in my view). It would have been in the public interest. Before the settlement, liberal Twitter was full of similar sentiments urging Dominion not to settle so that more embarrassing truths would have come out. How great it would have been, they argued, to get Fox leader Rupert Murdoch under oath on cross examination.

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While Murdoch testimony may have been better than an episode of Succession, we should abandon the idea that a single trial full of embarrassing details would change beliefs about a stolen 2020 election. Even if Fox agreed to a two-minute on-air crow eating by Sean Hannity or Tucker Carlson, it would not have moved the needle. In poll after poll, the base of the Republican Party continues to express belief in a stolen 2020 election, a message that was repeated not just by Fox but by Trump himself, on television, social media, and elsewhere. It is supported by a constellation of grifty people lying about the American election system for profit and political power. Indeed, when Fox was the first out of the box to call the 2020 election for Biden after their decision desk determined he was going to win in Arizona, Fox viewers did not suddenly accept Bidens victory; they instead switched over to One America News Network or Newsmax to hear happier lies. It was that ratings pressure that caused Fox to amplify the false statements in the first place.

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There will be more defamation suits to come, too: one from Smartmatic and another involving Atlanta election workers Wandrea Moss and her mother Ruby Freeman, who were falsely accused by Trump allies and the Gateway Pundit website of engaging in election fraud. They may help the public understand the lies a bit better, and I hope they lead to very generous awards for Moss and Freeman, who have faced harassment and threats for years.

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Defamation is just a limited tool to deal with this social problem. Most of the statements Trump made about the election being stolen could not even be subject to a defamation suit despite their falsity because they did not injure the reputation of anyone in particular. Falsely saying the election is rigged is an attack on the system as a whole, not on someone who is an identifiable plaintiff. Think of stolen election claims more like creating a vibe than stating a falsifiable fact.

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Much more needs to be done to counter the Big Lie vibe. Among the most important things is campaigning and voting against the politicians who embrace such lies. Early studies show that election deniers who ran for office underperformed in the 2022 midterms. When enough Republicans learn that running on a stolen election platform is a recipe for losing, they will start giving up on those claims.

Social media companies have no obligation to amplify election lies on their platforms. Meta and Twitter are moving in the wrong direction in many ways, but at least Meta has taken the position that it may remove Trump again if he starts lying about election integrity in 2024.

Congress and the states also need to provide a lot more money so that election officials can run free and fair elections. Without enough funds, election officials are more apt to make mistakes, and in a poisonous atmosphere, those mistakes metastasize into new conspiracy theories. And our leaders need to deal with ongoing threats of violence against election officials and poll workers, and to stop the exodus of talented election workers who just cannot take the abuse anymore.

Sure, there would have been some visceral satisfaction in seeing Fox executives squirm on the stand. But that squirming would not have been covered on Fox News itself, or likely broken the fever gripping parts of America.

The Dominion lawsuit did some good in getting us irrefutable proof that Fox executives knew they were lying about the 2020 election being stolen. More of this would be good. But it is not nearly enough to safeguard our democracy.
The fate of mifepristone, a drug used in more than half of abortions in the United States, will now be decided by the same conservative justices who reversed Roe v. Wade, ending Americans right to legal abortion after nearly half a century of access. In its ruling on the mifepristone case last week, the 5th Circuit offered the Supreme Court an outline for a faux compromise: the divided three-justice panel did not revoke the original approval of mifepristone as Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk had (though the appeals court seemed open to doing so at a later stage of the litigation). Instead, the 5th Circuit proposed bringing back all kinds of limits and restrictions on the drug that havent been in effect since 2016: limiting its use to the first seven weeks of pregnancy (instead of 10 weeks) and requiring three in-person doctor visits instead of a telehealth consultation.

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The kicker, though, was the 5th Circuits deployment of the Comstock Act, the 19th-century anti-vice law that has quickly become a centerpiece of anti-abortion attacks. While the court didnt reach a definitive conclusion, it hinted that the Comstock Act makes it a crime to mail every drug or device intended or adapted for abortion.

The mifepristone case will reveal the true commitments of the conservative Supreme Court justices who reversed Roe in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Services. In that decision, the conservative justices claimed to be returning the abortion issue to the people, but was their talk of democracy just an excuse for supporting abortion bans? Will they now go further than Dobbs cherry-picked history by reviving Victorian laws that women had no voice in enacting in order to continue restricting abortion access?

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Last summer in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Services, the court claimed that overturning Roe and Planned Parenthood v. Casey would heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives. But before the mifepristone litigation began, we already knew that Dobbs claimed commitment to democracy was merely a fig leaf barely concealing this courts hostility to abortion.

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Democracy requires more than voting. As the courts conservatives explain in cases involving armed self-defense, religious liberty, and speech, constitutional democracies must protect the basic rights of those who participate in public debate in order to ensure that voting is free and fair. Few Americans would call a majority vote democratic if the government excluded disfavored groups of citizens from voting, imposed restrictions on speech, or denied citizens an equal opportunity to participate. Keeping this in mind, we can see that Roe and cases protecting liberties of intimate and family life are democracy-reinforcing: These constitutional rights supported the democratic participation of groups long excluded from public life by the traditional organization of the family.

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In overturning Roe in the name of democracy, the Dobbs court was applying a constitutional double standard: reasoning about womens rights as it would never reason about the rights that conservatives prefer. Dobbs commitment to democracy is thin at bestto take just one example, the Dobbs court talked about returning abortion to the peoples elected representatives without mention of womens continuing underrepresentation in legislatures or the nations traditions of resistance to mothers and pregnant people serving as political leaders.

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If the justices in the Dobbs majority want to demonstrate that they are serious about returning the issue of abortion to the peoples elected representatives, they need to reverse the Kacsmaryk ruling and the 5th Circuits ordernot only the unprecedented decision to overturn a decades-old FDA decision but also, just as importantly, any claimed justification found in the anti-abortion provisions of the Comstock Act of 1873. The interpretation of Comstock on which Kacsmaryk and the 5th Circuit rely has been rejected by federal courts for generations, and sets a standard that American voters would never support today. For a court to suddenly endorse this long-rejected view does not leave abortion law to the people. It instead resurrects archaic understandings of a law passed at a time when women were denied the right to vote and reflects attitudes about women that supported that exclusion.

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In 1873, the year Comstock was enacted, the Supreme Court declared it constitutional for states to prohibit women from serving as lawyers; the next year, it ruled that it was constitutional for states to prohibit women from voting. In this era, a woman who consented to marriage was deemed by law to consent to sex with her husband anytime, in any circumstance. Legal authorities of the era assumed that women existed to bear children and that the law should enforce that role. The Comstock statute banned the mailing of materials related to abortion and to contraception, imposing one of the earliest bans on birth control. The Comstock law was not simply anti-sexit opposed information and articles enabling nonprocreative sex as immoral. When a minister protested Comstocks prosecution of contraception, claiming in a letter to the New York Times that there ought to be laws  to guard the mothers from burdens that prevent them from caring for children that they have, Anthony Comstock attacked him as crazy, stupidly ignorant, a very bad man at heart.

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Comstockian beliefs are increasingly visible in some parts of todays anti-abortion movement. Powerful figures within the movement equate most contraceptives, including the birth control pill, with abortion, or argue that contraceptives increase the risk of cancer or other medical harms. (They do not.) Further, these groups and individuals tend to view nonprocreative sex as a threat to womens health. These views are not shared by the majority of Americans who would not support a law banning access to abortion and birth control today.

Conservative claims on Comstock reach beyond the mifepristone case. The architects of Texass S.B. 8, the notorious bounty bill, are now seeking to revive Comstock because their interpretation of the long-abandoned statute would provide the modern movement what democracy never could: a national, no-exceptions ban on abortion, one so broad that it could sweep in a range of other drugs, including emergency contraceptives and many other medicines counterindicated for pregnancy.

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It doesnt even end there. Since the 1960s, the gold standard for the anti-abortion movement has been the recognition of constitutional fetal rightssomething that, advocates claim, would lead to a nationwide ban on abortion. Even this Supreme Court doesnt seem ready for thatthe justices just turned down a fetal personhood case from Rhode Island. And voters arent interested either. To the contrary: Since 2022, the abortion issue has hurt Republicans in contested congressional and state judicial races and led to a string of victories in abortion ballot initiatives for those who support reproductive rights. Polling shows that after Dobbs, there is broad-based support for abortion rights, even among Republicans. Six in ten voters support legal abortion in most cases; just over a third want it to be entirely or mostly illegal.

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That, for the anti-abortion movement, is the beauty of the Comstock Act: No one has to pass anything. Voters dont need to agree. All that is needed is a group of federal judges willing to revive the interpretation of Comstock that prevailed during the era before women were granted the vote and constitutional rights of equal citizenship. All that is needed, in other words, is for them to ignore equality under the law and the will of Americans today.

We do not believe that the justices in the Dobbs majority are committed to returning the authority to regulate abortion to the people. But with the meaning of Comstock and the fate of mifepristone on the line, now is the perfect chance for some of those justices to prove us wrong.
The first of what will likely be multiple courtroom battles for Donald Trump is about to start, after U.S. District Court Senior Judge Lewis Kaplan denied Trumps motion to adjourn the scheduled April 25 trial of the civil assault charges filed against him by E. Jean Carroll. Noting that it was the former president himself who largely invited or provoked the publicity that he claimed created a need for delay, Judge Kaplan ordered the trial to proceed as scheduled.

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Trump now faces the immediate prospect of a face-to-face courtroom battle with a woman he described as a nut job who enjoyed being sexually assaulted. Carroll had filed separate defamation and assault lawsuits against him based on the claim that he raped her in her dressing room at the Fifth Avenue department store Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s. With some of the libel allegations still under appellate review, Carrolls assault complaint is now set for trial. The claim was allowed to be filed so many years after the alleged assault because of a relatively new law that allows sexual assault victims to file charges after the applicable statute of limitations had otherwise expired.

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The evidence against the former president in the public record seems strong. First, based upon Carrolls public interviews, she appears to be an effective advocate who should be a sympathetic witness on her own behalf. In addition, there are a number of witnesses whom Carroll had contemporaneously told about the incident who will corroborate her story. There is also unidentified male DNA on the dress she was wearing when the incident occurred. Finally, Judge Kaplan has allowed into evidence certain of Trumps prior assaultive conduct toward women, including the infamous Access Hollywood tape.

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To defend against these charges, Trump has selected Joseph Tacopina as his lead lawyer. Tacopina is a rough-and-tumble brawler not known for his courtroom finesse or encyclopedic legal acumen. Indeed, his recent appearances in the media have already made him the subject of ridicule on late-night comedy shows. Not well-regarded by many of our mutual colleagues in the New York criminal defense bar, he was described to me by one highly regarded courtroom veteran as Bruce Cutler with hair, an unflattering reference to John Gottis much-maligned courtroom bulldog.

The other half of Trumps legal team is Alina Habba, a Florida attorney with little if any actual trial experience. In her most significant litigation experience, Habba represented the former president in a lawsuit he brought against numerous political enemies, including Hillary Clinton and James Comey, for allegedly lying about his ties with Russia in the 2016 campaign. In dismissing the case, federal judge Donald Middlebrooks issued a scathing 46-page opinion finding the lawsuit to be one that no reasonable lawyer would have filed, brought in bad faith and for an improper purpose. In an extraordinary step, he imposed on both Habba and Trump a penalty of $937,989.39.

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Making the courtroom battle even more unfavorable for Trump will be Carrolls attorney Roberta Kaplan, an experienced, well-regarded civil rights and commercial litigator known for her reasoned demeanor and practical approach. Especially in a case where a woman has accused a man of physically brutalizing her, the contrast between Tacopinas alpha-male persona and Kaplans reasonable professionalism will only reinforce Carrolls claims.

If the strength of the evidence and the uneven lawyer-to-lawyer matchups are not problematic enough for Trump, the federal judge presiding over the case is Lewis Kaplan, who is surely from the Trump perspective among the least favorable Southern District judges to preside over this case. Judge Kaplan is a seasoned and highly regarded judge whose strict, no-nonsense approach will be much more in sync with Roberta Kaplan than Joe Tacopina. A colleague with a great deal of experience with Judge Kaplan and who has also worked with Tacopina predicted to me that Judge Kaplan will raise the prospect of holding Tacopina in contempt more than once during the trial. These will not be idle threats; the judge has a remarkable record of keeping a tight rein on lawyers appearing before him.

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Just last month, the United States Supreme Court, by refusing to review the matter, affirmed Judge Kaplans holding an attorney in criminal contempt in a case where the lawyer refused to comply with an order he had issued. Judge Kaplan referred the matter to the United States Attorney to prosecute the lawyer. When the federal prosecutor declined to bring contempt charges, Judge Kaplan appointed a private prosecutor to pursue the criminal claim against the lawyer, ultimately resulting in a six-month prison sentence. While this unprecedented judicial use of prosecutorial powers is surely questionable and was indeed lambasted by two dissenting Supreme Court justices as something the Constitution does not tolerate, it is a clear warning to the Trump legal team that it is traversing especially dangerous territory.

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Given the existing New York County false records criminal case that Alvin Bragg is bringing, and the looming and even more significant indictments expected to be filed in Washington, D.C., and Atlanta, Georgia, the last thing Donald Trump needs is yet another legal threat forcing him from his Florida sanctuary. Perhaps he cares little enough about the outcome of the Carroll case to stay at Mar-a-Lago while it is being tried. Defendants in civil cases are usually not required to appear for trial, and given the painful realities involved, this may well be the path the former president chooses. Judge Kaplan, citing the need to prepare necessary security if Trump attends, gave both parties until April 20 to let the court know if the principals will be attending. Not surprisingly, Roberta Kaplan has already made it clear that her client will be there. Should Trump decide not to attend, there will be a price to pay, as it opens the door for an argument to the jury: By staying away, not only is Trump conceding he has no defense to the suit, but he is also insulting both the process and the jurors themselves, a position no litigant would want to be in.

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Even if Trump decides to bite that litigation bullet and remain at Mar-a-Lago, there is no guarantee he can completely stay away. Roberta Kaplan may call him as an adverse party witness in her case, one who, under the Federal Rules of Evidence, is subject to cross-examination in his direct testimony. Given the breadth of available damning material available to the experienced Kaplan, it should not be a happy or productive experience for the former president. While it will be up to Judge Kaplan to determine whether to permit the hostile witness cross, and if so, how extensive an assault on his character will be allowed, this is a potential nightmare for Team Trump.

Under these extraordinarily adverse circumstances, one would expect that the former president will offer Carroll a very significant amount of money to settle the case without having to admit any culpability. As a courtroom junkie eager to see a fascinating trial play out, I can only hope Carrolls goal is to hold Trump accountable both legally and financially. With the courtroom deck stocked so substantially in her favor, she is in a strong position to do both.
After two ProPublica investigations revealed that Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas may have been quietly violating federal disclosure law for over 20 years, the Senate Judiciary Committee sent a letter to Chief Justice John Roberts urging him to investigate the matter quicklyor they would have to consider legislation to resolve it.

For decades, Thomas has been accepting luxury vacations, including travel on private jets and yachts, from Harlan Crow, a well-known Republican megadonoryet never disclosed it. He also sold over $100,000 in personal property to Crow without ever disclosing it.

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None of the travel and vacations Thomas accepted from Crow or the property sale would fall under existing exemptions in the Ethics in Government Act, and could possibly mean up to $50,000 in penalties for Thomas. As three ethics counsels recently wrote for Slate, there was never material ambiguity about Crows gifts to Thomas or the justices responsibility to report them.

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But with Republicans in control of the House and Democrats in control of the Senate, passing new legislation will be an uphill battle.

So what can Congress realistically do about Thomas conduct? We asked judicial ethics experts what could happen next:

Congress can open an investigation

Though lawmakers have urged the chief justice to open up his own investigation into Thomas, Roberts hasnt indicated what he plans to do. But senators dont have to waitthey can hold their own investigation through the Senate Judiciary Committee, calling on Thomas to testify, along with his clerks and even Crow.

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Sen. Dick Durbin, chair of the Judiciary Committee, said as much in his letter to Roberts. The Senate Judiciary Committee, which has the legislative jurisdiction over Federal courts and judges, has a role to play in ensuring that the nations highest court does not have the federal judiciarys lowest ethical standards. Sen. Richard Blumenthal told Politico that the committee is hoping to hold hearings on Thomas in the next few weeks and would invite the justice to come to Capitol Hill. Blumenthal said he hoped Thomas would answer the committees questions voluntarily, without the need for a subpoena.

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The committee stressed that Roberts should still conduct his own investigation. You do not need to wait for Congress to act to undertake your own investigation into the reported conduct and to ensure that it cannot happen again. We urge you to do so.

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Given that ProPublica unearthed two separate examples of potential disclosure violations by Thomas, an investigation has the potential to unveil a pattern of behavior by the justice that even goes beyond those, NYU law professor Stephen Gillers said. It gives us more reason to suspect that Thomas is holding back, he argued. Any presumption that hes following the law can no longer be indulged. His behavior is suspect and the public and the government have an obligation to conduct an investigation that reveals the truth.

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Further tighten disclosure regulations

Disclosure rules under the Ethics and Government Act were just tightened in March, and justices are now required to report gifts under a host of new circumstances. The new rules include any non-commercial transportation, like trips on a yacht or private jet, and gifts extended at a commercial propertylike a resort, restaurant, or a property thats regularly rented out for a business purpose.

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Gillers argued theres still room for Congress to further tighten those rules. Now disclosure reports are not due until May of the year following the receipt of the gift or the hospitality. Thats a long lead time; they could require that filing be updated monthly. More frequent updates could alert Roberts to any questionable activities as they happen and allow him to intervene.

Any amendments could also extend to requiring pre-trip approvals or barring justices from accepting giftssomething members of Congress have long been banned from doing.

Force a code of conduct

Tightening financial disclosure rules is a great start, but Gillers argued that Congress should take things a step further. Theres a much deeper problem, and that is: should federal judges, including the Supreme Court justices, be able to accept such lavish, continuous generosity from a person with a pronounced political interest in the decision of a court, even if that person has no cases before the court?

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An easy first step could be for Congress to extend the Judicial Conduct and Disabilities Act to apply to the Supreme Court. Thats a code of conduct that details standards of behavior that all federal judges in lower courts across the country must adhere to. It bans judges from accepting gifts or engaging in any and all behavior that would hurt public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and any violations incur steep fines. It also allows the public to submit complaints if they believe a federal judge has engaged in behavior detrimental to the court or is unable to execute duties of the judicial office.

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At the same time, some argue a code of ethics just isnt enough. I dont love the idea of Congress writing an ethics code, because a code is not a panacea. You need an attitudinal shift about ethics, stronger rules about travel, gifts, and that may or may not be part of a code, Gabe Roth, executive director of Fix The Court, told me in an interview.

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Expand the court

There is another more controversial option Congress could take through legislation: expand the court. It is within legislators power to do so. Article III, Section I of the Constitution gives Congress the authority to change the size of the Supreme Court, Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren wrote in a 2021 op-ed. Congress has used that authority seven times before.

Expanding the courtalso referred to as court packinghas been a divisive issue among lawmakers on both sides of the aisle for years.

Those in favor of the idea argue that the court has not only taken too sharp of a conservative turn over the last decade, but also that the current slate of justices havent been receptive to reform. Legislation that expanded the court could bring new justices and fresh ideas that would be beneficial, said Steven Lubet, law professor at Northwestern Universitys Pritzker School of Law. If Congress added four more justices, its possible that the new members would be more open to promulgating an ethics code.

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Critics argue that expanding the court risks undermining its integrity and could lead to a dangerous precedent anytime lawmakers disagree with the courts ideological balance.

When some Democrats tried to introduce legislation to expand the court from nine to 13 justices in 2021, not everyone in the party was on board. Arizona Sen. Mark Kelly told Politico the more responsible thing to do is to keep it at nine justices.

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Leave it to the court

As eager as Congress may be to step in and hold Thomas accountable for his questionable ethics, the Supreme Court is a self-governing body, and there are limitations on what legislators can do. All the experts I spoke to said that having the court choose to implement reforms of its own accord is one of the strongest solutions.

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The most obvious starting point would be for the court to adopt an ethics code. Its the absence of articulated standards that I think is problematic. The public really has a right to know what the justices expect of themselves, and given that public opinion is the only available corrective for the Supreme Court justices, a respectful approach would be to tell the public, heres what we expect of ourselves, and if we do not fulfill it, you can criticize us, said Lubet.

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The Supreme Court has been asked before to adopt the same judicial code of conduct that all lower court judges are required to follow, but refused. In the chief justices 2011 Year-End Report, Roberts concluded that his court has no reason to adopt the code of conduct as its definitive source of ethical guidance. To Roth, Roberts reasons amounted to an unwillingness to allow a code of conduct for lower court judges to dictate what the highest court in the nation can or cant do. Its almost like a turf war, Roth said.

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Let the chips fall as they may

Neither Congress nor the chief justice is legally obligated to do anything at all about Thomas questionable ethics, since there isnt currently a legally binding set of rules for the Supreme Court. However, there is one major risk of doing nothing: losing public confidence.

A loss of confidence in the court threatens the very fabric of what makes the United States so resilient, said Gillers. That confidence has taken a severe beating in recent years, long before ProPublicas recent revelations. The court suffered a historic leak last year, published by Politico, where a draft majority opinion revealed it was poised to gut the constitutional right to abortion. That same year, Thomas was widely criticized for refusing to recuse himself from a case before the court that involved his wife, Ginni. Text messages she sent to former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows were part of a request by Donald Trump to block White House records from being sent to the House Jan. 6 committee investigating the insurrection.

Well before that, late justice Antonin Scalias ethics were also called into question. After Scalias death in 2016, it was discovered that he took at least 85 undisclosed hunting and fishing trips during his tenure on the court, often with conservative donors and politicians.

Every few years you get some sort of acknowledgement that justices are humans, they have foibles and flaws. But they, as public officials, need to be following some of the same rules as everyone else, Roth said.
Leslie Karst had dinner with Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who was known for advocating gender equality and civil rights. She wrote the experience in her new book "Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops, the Law, and Cooking for RBG."

What was your inspiration behind your most recent book?

Well, the most obvious inspiration was the fact that I  a small-town lawyer whod taken up cooking merely as a hobby  was lucky enough to prepare and host a grand dinner party for the iconic RBG and her charming and talented husband, Marty. I mean, how could you not want to share that marvelous experience with the world?

But in addition, it was how the experience affected me afterwards. I would have never guessed that simply hosting a dinner  albeit for one of the most famous people in the country  would have actually changed my life. But it did. And how and why that happened seemed well worth writing about.

What does "Reading with Pride" mean to you?

Traditional publishing houses, even now, are still often loath to take a chance on LBGT-centered books or those with queer protagonists. Sure, everyone loves a gay side-kick (the feeling goes), but it seems as if many publishers are still afraid that straight readers wont be drawn to books that focus on queer characters or themes.

The answer? More LBGT authors and queer-centered books being published, praised, given awards, and  most importantly  making money (which, of course, is the only way publishers will continue to take them on). So to me, reading with pride means actively supporting books by and about queer folks by buying and reading those books, and then talking them up and reviewing them!

Why do you feel representation of a variety of people is so important when it comes to writing books?

If Id been able to read books about people like me while growing up, my early 20s  when I was in the process of coming out  would have been far easier. In particular, it seems to me that books such as Justice is Served  in which the main character is queer, yet the story isnt specifically about queerness  are important, because they normalize the LBGT community as something that is a part of everyday life.

Tell us a little more about the book and why you decided to write it.

I like to describe Justice is Served as a true-life Julia and Julia-meets-Notorious RBG mash-up, in which I recount how finagling my way into hosting an intimate dinner party for Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sends me on a journey of culinary and personal discovery  and, ultimately, completely changes my life.

But I hadnt planned on writing a memoir about my dinner with Ruth. It was only on the trip back home the morning after the dinner, as my (now) wife Robin and I were reliving all the marvelous, amusing, and occasionally bizarre occurrences leading up to and including the big night, that we both came to the same conclusion: I had to write it all down. Right then, before I forgot the details. So as Robin drove, the two of us brainstormed regarding everything we could remember about all the planning and preparation for dinner  including all the conversations from the night before  and as soon as I was home, I commenced writing the memoir.

What can fans expect from your book?

Justice is Served is a light-hearted, earnest account of the journey this unexpected challenge launched me on  starting with a trip to Paris for culinary inspiration, and ending with the dinner itself. Along the way, I impart details of Ginsburgs transformation from a young Jewish girl from Flatbush, Brooklyn, to one of the most celebrated Supreme Court justices in our nations history, and share recipes for the mouthwatering dishes I came up with as I prepared for the big night.

But the memoir isnt simply a tale of prepping for and cooking dinner for the famous RBG; its also about how this event, and all the planning and preparation that went into it, created a new sort of connection between me, my partner, and my parents, and also inspired me to make life changes that would reverberate far beyond one dinner party.

What's up next for you in the bookish world?

I also pen the Sally Solari culinary mysteries  a series I refer to as snarky cozies  set in Santa Cruz, California. In the next book in the series, A Sense for Murder (which releases this August), Sally  a fourth-generation Italian with a taste for single-barrel bourbon and sarcasm  investigates a murder at a farm-to-table dinner. Could it have anything to do, she wonders, with the autographed copy of Julia Childs Mastering the Art of French Cooking that was stolen at the same time?

You can read more about me and my books (and purchase them) at www.lesliekarstauthor.com/
If youre lighting up (or popping an edible) this 4/20, Cresco Labs has a message for you: we deserve better emojis.

The parent company of Sunnyside Medical Cannabis Dispensary, with a location in Oakland Park and Fort Lauderdale, is calling on cannabis users to sign a petition to Apple for better weed emojis.

As a community, we are fed up with using broccoli and tree emojis to talk about cannabis in texting, Dana Mason, vice president of brand and commercial marketing at Cresco Labs, said in a press release. With cannabis acceptance at an all-time high, its time to make our voices heard and demand better representation for emojis that will allow us to fully express ourselves and celebrate all the benefits that this amazing plant has to offer.

Typically, cannabis users have to settle for the broccoli, fire or tree emoji when texting with friends. Cresco Labs is proposing three emojis to Apple: two fingers holding a blunt, a marijuana leaf, and a smiley face with marijuana leaves for eyes.

Those wanting to participate in the survey can fill it out here, and the results will be shared with Apple after July 10  another cannabis holiday, 7/10, for THC oil.

In Florida, voters legalized medical marijuana in 2016. Patients can get access to THC products with a prescription or a marijuana card. However, recreational marijuana is still illegal  and advocates are pushing to change this. According to the CDC, marijuana is the most commonly used federally illegal drug; 18% of Americans said they had tried it at least once. Thats over 48 million people.
South Florida Gay News is paying tribute to Norm Kent, founder, and longtime activist, who recently passed away.

Kent was a champion for LGBTQ+ rights, marijuana laws, and social justice issues, and his impact on the community was significant. Even if you never met him, Norm Kent affected your life in one way or another.



In this week's issue, SFGN covers a range of topics, including the recent floods that affected the region. The Wilton Manors PD went into rescue mode, helping those in need and providing much-needed support during a challenging time.



SFGN also offers insurance advice from one of the top policy writers in the area, helping readers navigate the often-confusing world of insurance. With so many options available, it's important to find the right policy to protect your assets and ensure peace of mind.



Finally, SFGN covers the recent Miami Beach Pride event, where a State Rep was invited but met with hostility from the crowd. While it's important to have an open dialogue and engage with people who have different viewpoints, it's equally important to respect the opinions and experiences of others.



SFGN is a vital source of information for the LGBTQ+ community in South Florida, and its commitment to highlighting important issues and providing helpful advice is truly commendable. Whether you're looking for news, information, or resources, SFGN has you covered.



Norm Kent's passing is a significant loss for the community, but his legacy will live on through the work of SFGN and the countless others who continue to fight for equality and justice. As we move forward, it's important to remember the lessons he taught us and to continue the important work he started.
Ukrainian student gives Slovak traditional food a try.

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Yehor Zhukov is struggling for space in the tiny, dingy university dormitory kitchen where he is trying to make Slovak traditional potato-based noodles sulance.

The Ukrainian student says he is lucky though that he is not making any of his native dishes. Compared to Slovak cuisine, Ukrainian dishes are much more elaborate and difficult to prepare.

Making Ukrainian meals in school dormitories is near-impossible, the 21-year-old tells The Slovak Spectator.

Zhukov has decided to try and make sulance more out of necessity than anything else. Thick noodles that can be boiled quickly and make a hearty lunch or dinner, he likes their simplicity.

If I could, Id prepare Ukrainian meals regularly, but they need time, space and care, he says.

As he begins to peel the potatoes, he describes a similar Ukrainian food - zrazy ()  which have the same potato base as sulance but have minced meat or cabbage mixed into the dough before they are fried in a pan.

Few Ukrainian meals are as simple as zrazy, though.

Elaborate meals

Having peeled the potatoes, he puts them in a pan on top of a small electric stove, and, as he waits for them to come to the boil begins to explain the main characteristics of Ukrainian cuisine.

Much of it, he says, revolves around working with dough.

Often called Europes breadbasket, flour, and particularly dough, are a central part of many Ukrainian dishes, more so than the traditional meals of some of its neighbours, including Slovakia.

The potatoes are boiled now, and the student begins to prepare the dough. While a Ukrainian dish would typically call for any dough to be given time to rest, Zhukov takes the boiled potatoes and shreds them into a bowl, following a family recipe he has been given by a Slovak classmate.

Then he adds two eggs, flour, and a pinch of salt.

It is his first time preparing a traditional Slovak meal, but as he mixes the ingredients, his thoughts drift back to the dishes of his homeland.

My all-time favourite meal is the soup borshch (), Zhukov, who is in his fourth year studying and living in Slovakia, says.

His eyes light up as he continues.

People tend to think that borsch is Russian, which is not true, he goes on, adding that borsch is on UNESCOs Intangible Cultural Heritage List and is a Ukrainian national food.

Russians have their own soup, called shchi (), which is very different and nowhere near as delicious as Ukrainian borshch, he says.

The dough is now ready - heavy, as it should be  for cutting into the traditional sulance shape. Zhukov prepares a cutting board and covers it in flour to stop the dough from sticking.

While a pot of slightly salted water comes to the boil, he takes the dough and cuts them into approximately equally-sized pieces and rolls each one out into a noodle  hence the name sulance, from the verb sulat meaning to roll.

Potato obsession

During his years in Slovakia, Zhukov has had a steady supply of food from home  ether brought by relatives on visits, or sweets, which he insists are far better than Slovak sweets, sent by his mother. He also sometimes goes to a Georgian-Ukrainian bistro, which he found not too long after he arrived in Slovakia, which serves many of his favourite Ukrainian meals.

But his day to day eating habits do not revolve exclusively around Ukrainian kitchen, he says as he rolls out the sulance. He enjoys Slovak dishes, even if, he suggests, Slovaks have a mild obsession with potatoes in their cooking.

One of his dormitory roommates from the Orava region in northern Slovakia has a habit of cooking a meal made out of potatoes almost every day of the week.

Everything from baked to mashed potatoes, he manages to use potatoes over and over again. Its fascinating, says Zhukov.

He knows that Slovak cuisine is not all just mashed potatoes, sulance, and lokse, but still, Ukrainian cuisine feels more diverse, he says. He admits though, as he puts the sulance in boiling water, that he does like a potato in his meal.

He lets them boil for five to seven minutes before straining the water and letting them rest in a bowl.

Usually, sulance are served with butter and a sprinkling of sugar and poppy seeds on top. Other sweet alternatives are sugar and cocoa.

But Zhukov decides to give his a savoury twist, pairing them with sour cream and cheese.

All that is left now is to eat them.

Ingredients

Servings: 5 servings

1 kg of potatoes

700 grams of flour

2 eggs

Pinch of salt

Savoury or sweet topping to finish

Preparation

STEP 1

Peel and clean the potatoes. Put them in a pot filled with water, add a pinch of salt. Boil for about 20 minutes. The potatoes should not be over-boiled.

STEP 2

Shred boiled potatoes into a bowl. Add flour, salt and two eggs. Knead into a dough that holds its shape. Use flour for your hands to stop sticking.

STEP 3

Sprinkle flour on a rolling board. Take a piece of the prepared dough. Cut it into pieces, and roll dough into thick noodles - sulance. Once ready, boil them in the water for about five to seven minutes. Drain the sulance. Repeat until you run out of dough.

STEP 4

Let the sulance rest and cool for a bit before serving. The meal can be served both savoury and sweet (with sugar and poppy seeds or sugar and cocoa are popular variations). Enjoy.
Koval Systems deal with Swedish company will create 60 jobs.

A CV90 in the service of Swedish army. (Source: WIKIMEDIA CC)

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Slovak engineering firm Koval Systems is to invest a reported 10,000,000 in a new production hall after signing a deal to help produce a combat vehicle for Swedish company BAE Systems Hagglunds.

The concern, based in Belusa, Trencin Region, will work on producing parts of the CV90 combat vehicle, creating 60 new jobs.

Production is expected to start in the first quarter of 2024.

Related article

Related article The Ukrainian offensive begins at Povazie in Slovakia Read more

Koval Systems is the second Slovak company to ink a deal with the Swedish firm after Dubnica-based Konstrukta Defense signed a contract to produce gun barrels for the Swedish army.

Officials at AE Systems Hagglunds say the company plans on signing a further 30 to 40 Slovak companies this and next year to participate in the production of the CV90.
Steps taken to deal with problem deemed insufficient.

The discrimination of Roma children in education in Slovakia continues to persist. (Source: TASR)

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Slovakia has been referred to the EU Court of Justice for failing to effectively tackle segregation of Roma children in education.

The European Commission referred the country to the court on Wednesday after it was found not enough had been done to deal with the problem.

Although the EU strictly prohibits ethnic-based discrimination, Roma children in Slovakia are often placed in special schools for pupils with mental disabilities and those who do attend mainstream education are segregated, often being put in separate classes.

Slovakia has the highest level of Roma segregation in education of any EU member state. According to the Roma Survey of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights, 65 percent of Roma pupils aged 6 to 15 attend schools where all or most pupils are of the minority - a 5 percentage-point increase on 2016.

The European Commission said that although Slovakia had tried to deal with issue through reforms and action plans, steps taken had been insufficient.

Slovak courts have previously confirmed segregation at schools.

In a ruling in December last year, the Slovak Supreme Court said Roma children who attended a primary school in Stara Lubovna, north-eastern Slovakia, were victims of discrimination.

In a similar case a primary school in Sarisske Michalany, north-eastern Slovakia, was found to have discriminated against Roma children by separating them from other pupils.
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230418/artemis-ii-astronaut-russia-china-moon-cooperation-possible-but-will-take-leadership-1109639421.html

Artemis II Astronaut: Russia-China Moon Cooperation Possible But Will Take Leadership

Artemis II Astronaut: Russia-China Moon Cooperation Possible But Will Take Leadership

The US could do more to cooperate with Russia and China on moon missions but it's up to senior leaders of the respective countries, an Artemis II member told Sputnik.

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"Do I see a future where we can work together on the moon? You know, here is one of the most powerful things about human space exploration, humans doing challenging things together, and there is an opportunity, but it takes leadership," Glover said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs. Glover noted that Russia and the US already work together on the International Space Station and that is one of the "best relationships between Russia and America." Glover added that he saw more room for cooperation with China too. "And we could work with China. Our Congress hasn't told us we can't do anything with China. We can only do specific things," he said. Messages to Cosmonaut 'Brothers' From MoonWhen asked whether he will send any messages to Russian cosmonauts Sergey Kud- Scerchkov and Sergey Ryzhikov from the moon, whom he called "brothers" and "two of his best friends," Glover stated: " Yeah. Oh, yeah, absolutely.""I will send a message to every space explorer. And my cosmonaut colleagues are a part of that," he said on the sidelines of the Space Symposium in Colorado Springs.Talking about his most memorable moments from working together with his Russian colleagues, Glover recalled having dinners with the whole crew and said that he wished that their countries got along as well as he and his colleagues do.Glover went on to share he enjoyed talking to his Russian friends and sharing traditions, and that he stays in touch with his Russian friends.Earlier in April, NASA officially introduced the Artemis II crew, set to return humans to the surface of the moon for the first time in over 50 years. The Artemis mission crew consists of NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Hammock Koch, and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Wiseman will serve as the commander of the Artemis mission while Glover, who is expected to be the first person of color to land on the moon, will serve as the pilot of the Orion spacecraft developed by Boeing. Koch will also set a new milestone along with Glover as she is set to become the first woman to land on the moon. The Artemis II mission will only conduct a flyby around the moon in late 2024 while the Artemis III mission will land the astronauts on the moon soon after.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230418/middle-eastern-relations-shift-toward-rapprochement-1109640751.html

Middle Eastern Relations Shift Toward Rapprochement

Middle Eastern Relations Shift Toward Rapprochement

The first visit by a Saudi FM to Damascus since 2011 confirms a regional policy shift that began last month with a Saudi-Iranian deal to restore relations, a retired Belgian MP told Sputnik.

2023-04-18T23:55+0000

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The Tuesday meeting between President Bashar Assad and Saudi Arabia's Prince Faisal bin Farhan marks a high point in the flurry of diplomacy between Syria and the rich Arab Gulf kingdom that was once a key backer of rebels trying to depose Assad. The meeting comes just days after Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad visited Riyadh for the first time in more than a decade.The Chinese-brokered pact between Iran and Saudi Arabia has changed attitudes to the Iranian-backed Syrian government in the Arab world. Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are now working to bring Syria back into the fold after its membership of the 22-nation Arab League was suspended when civil war broke out there in 2011.Carcaci, who has been to Syria twice as a lawmaker and continues monitoring the situation in the Middle East, said Damascus suddenly found itself a "fashionable destination" for diplomats. Foreign ministers of the UAE, Jordan and Egypt visited it in February, followed by the top Iranian diplomat in March."The handshake between Iran and Saudi Arabia under Chinese auspices is a real game-changer. And we see now the rapid warming of relations between Sunnis and Shia countries in the Middle East. There is a flurry of diplomatic activity under way in the region," the expert said.Carcaci described the shift underway in the Middle East as the "dawn of the multipolar world" that Russia and China have long aspired for, to counter the United States and its proxies.For Carcaci, this U-turn is the result of US President Joe Biden famously threatening to make Saudi Arabia "the pariah that they are," following the murder of Saudi dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi."The US-Saudi relations are now in the deep-freezer. The Saudis even sell their oil to China in renminbi, and not in dollars anymore. De-dollarization of world trade is a major fear of the US. It shows the rapid decline of the US-European influence in the Middle East and Africa in general," the expert suggested.Carcaci said Biden could still blow on the embers of the fire in Syria, that have been weakening since his predecessor, Donald Trump, pulled American forces out of the Arab country's north in 2019, although it is much less likely to happen now.There is also a need for Bashar Assad to make peace with Turkey, which has been fighting it out with Kurdish militants in the northeast of Syria. Carcaci said that the role that China and Russia could still play in the Middle East in the coming years will be "fascinating" to watch from the diplomatic angle.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/brazil-finds-role-as-ukraine-peace-broker-amid-lavrovs-latin-american-tour-1109665946.html

Brazil Finds Role as Ukraine Peace Broker Amid Lavrov's Latin American Tour

Brazil Finds Role as Ukraine Peace Broker Amid Lavrov's Latin American Tour

As South America's largest nation and economy, Brazil could play a key role in a multi-polar world and is already part of BRICS. Camila Escalante explains how the country's renaissance is seen as a threat in Washington.

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Brazil could emerge as an international peace broker following Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov's visit to Latin American nations.Lavrov arrived in the capital Brasilia on Monday, where he met with recently elected President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Camila Escalante told Sputnik that what was more significant was Lavrov's "extended" meetings with Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and presidential advisor Celso Amorim.Brazil could come to play a pivotal role in brokering an end to the conflict in Ukraine, the journalist said, along with China which has floated a 12-point framework for peace  promptly rejected by Washington."China and Brazil want to be part of mediating peace between Russia and NATO and Ukraine," Escalante said. However, "the US and the EU are not neutral actors in the eyes of Brazil. So they're starting to say a couple of things that are getting to the US State Department. They're not very happy about it, the US embassy."Meanwhile, Russia is supporting Brazil's bid to become the first new permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its founding in 1945  and the first in South America. The Brazilian government also raised hackles in the US when Lula and Amorim gave interviews where they rejected unilateral sanctions and other coercive measures  Washington's fall-back foreign policy tactic, now applied in full force against Russia."Amorim gave an interview with Global Times while he was in Beijing, and he specifically cited the way in which the unilateral coercive measures which are aimed at the Islamic Republic of Iran have affected Brazil trying to trade with Iran and have made things very difficult," the correspondent said.Lavrov's Latin American tour includes Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba  all targets of US sanctions and economic blockades, for over 60 years in Cuba's case. "They also know that things have been very, very difficult under the blockade that's ongoing... on Cuba," she added. "Because of COVID and all the different things Cuba has confronted in these last years, that they need a lot of help on a number of levels," including fuel supplies  which oil and gas giant Russia is well-placed to address.For more in-depth analysis, check out our radio show Fault Lines.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230417/russian-brazilian-foreign-ministers-discuss-bilateral-ties-mull-trade-talks-1109600931.html

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/bulgaria-temporarily-bans-food-imports-from-ukraine-except-for-transit-1109659099.html

Bulgaria Temporarily Bans Food Imports From Ukraine Except for Transit

Bulgaria Temporarily Bans Food Imports From Ukraine Except for Transit

Bulgaria has temporarily banned imports of food from Ukraine, with the exception of goods in transit, caretaker Bulgarian Prime Minister Galab Donev said on Wednesday.

2023-04-19T13:10+0000

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"Over the past year, Bulgaria has seen large volumes of food remain in the country, disrupting supply chains. If the trend persists or intensifies, there may be extremely serious consequences for Bulgarian business. We are forced to adopt this national measure because the European authorities are still considering an adequate measure," Donev said, as quoted by Radio Bulgaria. Donev stressed that Bulgaria remains in solidarity with Ukraine, but "the bankruptcy of Bulgarian farmers will not contribute to its cause." The politician expressed hope that the European Union would understand the positions of the countries imposing a ban on Ukrainian food imports. On Saturday, Poland and Hungary said they were banning imports of Ukrainian agricultural products until June 30, citing the need to protect domestic farmers from the uncontrolled influx of cheap grain from Ukraine. On Monday, Slovakia followed suit. Ukraine was granted a temporary duty-free trade arrangement with the EU last June. In March 2022, the EU additionally launched so-called green corridors to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain to the world market; however, the cheap grain from Ukraine ended up flooding EU markets instead, prompting outrage among local farmers.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/china-will-deploy-new-high-speed-recon-drone-soon---leaked-papers-1109651612.html

China Will Deploy New High-Speed Recon Drone Soon - Leaked Papers

China Will Deploy New High-Speed Recon Drone Soon - Leaked Papers

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency report features satellite imagery dated Aug. 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, indicating Chinas progress in developing a surveillance system that could help it gather real-time mapping data for missile strikes and inform strategy.

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The Chinese military may soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, significantly strengthening Chinas ability to conduct surveillance operations, according to a leaked National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGIA) report cited by American media.The WZ-8 jet-propelled reconnaissance drone is a cutting-edge surveillance system that could strengthen China's ability to conduct intelligence-gathering and targeting operations.The report reveals that the People's Liberation Army (PLA) is making technological advances that could help it target American warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region.It also claims that the PLA has "almost certainly" established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theater Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Beijing's sovereignty over Taiwan. The US media obtained the assessment of the WZ-8 program from a trove of images of classified files posted on Discord, a group chat service popular with gamers, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.The NGIA report features satellite imagery dated August 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, indicating Chinas progress in developing a surveillance system that could help it gather real-time mapping data for missile strikes and inform strategy in a future conflict. The document also details possible flight paths for the drone and the twin-engine H6-M Badger bomber used to launch it. After taking off from its home air base, the warplane would fly to just off China's east coast before releasing the stealthy drone, which could then enter Taiwanese or South Korean airspace at a height of 100,000 feet and fly three times the speed of sound.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/hungary-expands-list-of-banned-ukrainian-farm-imports-amid-price-row-1109658447.html

Hungary Expands List of Banned Ukrainian Farm Imports Amid Price Row

Hungary Expands List of Banned Ukrainian Farm Imports Amid Price Row

Hungary has published an expanded list of cheap Ukrainian farm products whose import it is banning until the end of June amid concerns that unfair competition is undercutting local producers.

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Hungary and Poland announced Saturday that they would halt imports of Ukrainian grain, which has been clogging up their warehouses despite EU promises to send it to poorer countries. They were later joined by Slovakia. The list published in the Hungarian governments official journal, Magyar Kozlony, also features beef, pork, goat meat, mutton, poultry, eggs, honey, fresh and canned fruit, sugar, flour, bread and pastry, wine and must for wine-making. Sandor Farkas, state secretary at the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture, warned on Monday that Hungary could extend the ban beyond the June 30 deadline if the European Union did not protect EU farmers. The European Commission has criticized this unilateral action. Germany, whose former defense minister now heads the EU's executive in Brussels, slammed Poland for undermining EU solidarity with Ukraine and urged Warsaw to prioritize European cohesion.

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https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/is-sudan-experiencing-a-cia-coup-increased-taiwan-provocations-sanctions-backfire-1109641151.html

Is Sudan Experiencing a CIA Coup?; Increased Taiwan Provocations; Sanctions Backfire

Is Sudan Experiencing a CIA Coup?; Increased Taiwan Provocations; Sanctions Backfire

The US is increasing weapons sales and sending more troops to Taiwan as DC neocons increase provocations against Russia and China simultaneously.

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Is Sudan Experiencing a CIA Coup?; Increased Taiwan Provocations; Sanctions Backfire The US is increasing weapons sales and sending more troops to Taiwan as DC neocons increase provocations against Russia and China simultaneously.

Mark Sleboda, Moscow based international relations security analyst joins us to discuss Ukraine. A member of Congress is pushing to disclose the number of US troops in Ukraine. Also, leaked documents reveal that the US has been spying on the UN Secretary General.Thomas Mountain, journalist and historian, joins us to discuss Sudan. Some observers suspect that the dark hand of US imperialism is behind the unrest and military clashes in Sudan.Brian Berletic journalist and host of "The New Atlas" on Youtube, joins us to discuss Foreign policy. The US is increasing weapons sales and sending more troops to Taiwan as DC neocons increase provocations against Russia and China simultaneously. Dr. Ken Hammond, writer and professor of East Asian studies and global history at New Mexico State University, joins us to discuss Asia. The US is increasing weapons sales and sending more troops to Taiwan as DC neocons increase provocations against Russia and China simultaneously. Also, President Macron talks of European autonomy but not French autonomy as the European ruling elite consider the "United States of Europe" as an option in the new multipolar world order.Laith Marouf, broadcaster and journalist based in Beirut joins us to discuss the Middle East. Leaked files show that the UK was running secret propaganda ops in Yemen. Also, Israeli intelligence welcomes the son of the former Shah of Iran.Gary Flowers, Radio talk show host and Public Policy Analyst joins us to discuss domestic policy. The Senate GOP is poised to block Diane Feinstein's replacement on the judiciary committee. Also, some groups are trying to block former president Donald Trump from office.Margaret Kimberly, Black Agenda Report and Sr Columnist, joins us to discuss articles from the Black Agenda Report. The Black Alliance for Peace has declared a "zone of peace" in Latin America. James Counts Early, former assistant Secretary of Education and Public Services at the Smithsonian Institution and board member of the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington DC, joins us to discuss the Global South. The US tried to effect a coup in Nicaragua in 2018. Also, Peru's coup plotting government has a 6% approval rating but is backed by the US and US sanctions are backfiring.We'd love to get your feedback at radio@sputniknews.comThe views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the position of Sputnik.

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the critical hour, weapons sales, arms sales, troops, taiwan, russia, china, dc neocons
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/lavrov-moscow-to-put-all-efforts-to-help-caracas-economy-not-depend-on-us-sanctions-1109641610.html

Lavrov: Moscow to Put All Efforts to Help Caracas' Economy Not Depend on US Sanctions

Lavrov: Moscow to Put All Efforts to Help Caracas' Economy Not Depend on US Sanctions

Russia will put all efforts to help Venezuela's economy become less dependent on the US' "geopolitical games," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday.

2023-04-19T00:57+0000

2023-04-19T00:57+0000

2023-04-19T00:54+0000

world

us

us-russia relations

russia

sergey lavrov

venezuela

swift

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"We will do everything we can to make Venezuela's economy less and less dependent on the whims and geopolitical games of the US or any over actors from the Western camp. And I am convinced that our experience will come in handy for our Venezuelan friends because we are now the world champion in the number of sanctions, and we are gaining experience quickly," Lavrov told a briefing after talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto. Lavrov added that Venezuela's hydrocarbons and economy are subject to "strongest illegal sanctions." Lavrov noted that Russia and Venezuela agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of new technologies, oil production, and the development of gas fields. "We have numerous projects planned in the fields of oil production, development of gas fields, agriculture, medicine and pharmaceuticals, communications, space, and new technologies - we will increase the volume and pace of cooperation in all these areas and will continue to make active use of the existing mechanisms for this purpose, including the high-level intergovernmental commission," the Russian foreign minister said. He added that the parties agreed on practical measures to expand trade and investment cooperation and contacts between businesses while taking into account current realities. Moscow and Caracas have advanced in the development of a system of exchange of financial messages, bypassing SWIFT, and the use of Russia's MIR payment system in Venezuela, the Venezuelan foreign minister told the joint news conference. "Good news for Venezuelan agricultural producers in aspects related to the regulation of food exports and imports, and we are also seeing progress in terms of the financial information exchange system. It is being created and is an alternative to the international company SWIFT," he said."Two central banks [Russian and Venezuelan] are working on it, as well as on MIR cards, which will allow Russian tourists to pay directly in Venezuela, bypassing large multinational corporations."Russia and Venezuela agreed to move forward in all areas of bilateral and international cooperation, "especially in the aspects of energy, which are very important, finance, air and sea transport, and trade," the Venezuelan foreign minister noted.Lavrov has since invited Pinto to visit Russia. "I am sincerely grateful for our meeting. I invited the minister to visit the Russian Federation at a convenient time for him," Lavrov said at a news conference in Caracas.The Russian foreign minister is presently on a tour of Latin America on April 17-21, during which he is visiting Brazil, Venezuela, Nicaragua and Cuba.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230407/trade-sea-route-between-russia-venezuela-to-be-launched-soon-commerce-chamber-head-says-1109244749.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220817/russia-venezuela-discussing-boosting-cooperation-on-food-security---ambassador-1099711804.html

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russia; venezuela; venezuelan economy; us sanctions; dependency; geopolitical games; sergey lavrov; yvan gil pinto
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/looming-global-rice-deficit-in-2023-will-be-largest-in-20-years-result-in-decade-high-costs-1109646164.html

Looming Global Rice Deficit in 2023 'Will Be Largest in 20 Years', Result in 'Decade-High Costs'

Looming Global Rice Deficit in 2023 'Will Be Largest in 20 Years', Result in 'Decade-High Costs'

In 2023, the world will be facing the largest global rice deficit in twenty years, according to a media-cited report by Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research.

2023-04-19T10:39+0000

2023-04-19T10:39+0000

2023-04-19T10:39+0000

rice

shortage

china

pakistan

weather

floods

heat wave

economy

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The world will face the largest global rice deficit in 20 years in 2023, according to a report by Fitch Solutions Country Risk & Industry Research, cited by the media.The projected shortfall has been caused by plummeting rice production, and the inevitable result will be surging prices, with a vast part of the global population affected, it warned.The rice deficit for 2022/2023 is estimated at around 8.7 million tons, the report forecast. The last time there was such a dire shortfall of the globally popular staple was in 2003/2004, when there was a deficit of 18.6 million tons on the global markets.The price of rice, on average, was $17.30 per hundredweight (approximately 45kg) throughout 2023, the report added although it forecast that the price would drop to $14.50 per hundredweight in 2024.The global rice deficit will, "increase the cost of importing rice for major rice importers such as Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia and countries in Africa in 2023," Oscar Tjakra, senior analyst at global food and agriculture bank Rabobank, was cited as saying.Weather & GeopoliticsOver 90 percent of the worlds rice is produced and consumed in the Asia-Pacific region. However, last year bad weather affected the production on a mass scale.China, the world's largest rice producer, saw its major production areas such as Guangxi and Guangdong provinces inundated by particularly heavy monsoons last year, which resulted in floods. Meanwhile, severe drought affected Jiangsu province, Chinas fourth-largest rice-producing region. China's rice exports primarily go to the Philippines, South Korea and Japan.There has also been a shortage of rain in India, and monsoon floods in Pakistan, which accounts for 7.6 percent of the global rice trade. All these factors combined to threaten global supplies of the commodity.The shortfall can be explained, in part, by an annual deterioration in the mainland Chinese harvest caused by intense heat and drought as well as the affect of severe flooding in Pakistan, the report stated. Some of the leading European rice-growing countries - France, Germany and the UK - have also been tackling the highest level of drought in around 20 years, media reports cited Kelly Goughary, senior research analyst at Gro Intelligence, as saying.But the present predicted supply challenges have not been caused by weather alone. Demand in rice, the report claimed, had been driven up as it was deemed an attractive alternative after the surge in other grain costs caused by the Ukraine crisis.Furthermore, India, which exports rice to more than 150 countries, accounting for nearly 40 percent of global exports of the grain, moved to limit rice exports as domestic prices surged. According to industry estimates, paddy sowing during the 2022 season had been 6 percent lower than the year before because of a shortage of rains in eastern parts of the country, resulting in higher prices in the domestic market.'Solid Rebound Ahead'Fitch Solutions estimates that the global rice market will return to an almost balanced position in 2023/24.We believe that the rice market will return to surplus in 2024/25 and then continue to loosen through the medium term, the report stated. Prices were, accordingly, anticipated to lower by around 10 percent to reach $15.50 per hundredweight in 2024.For the coming five-year period, the analysis estimated that India would be the "principal engine" of growing global rice production. Nevertheless, crops will still probably be at the mercy of the vagaries of the weather, as there are still forecasts of heatwaves through the second and third quarters of 2023, the report warned.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220909/india-limits-rice-exports-over-production-concerns-as-domestic-prices-soar-1100574531.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20220909/india-limits-rice-exports-over-production-concerns-as-domestic-prices-soar-1100574531.html

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global rice deficit, 2022/2023, 8.7 million tons, dire shortfall, popular food staple, largest global rice deficit in twenty years, staple food commodity, inclement weather, monsoon rain, drought, grain costs, ukraine crisis
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/minsk-to-decide-on-digital-ruble-integration-by-end-of-2023-1109662182.html

Minsk to Decide on Digital Ruble Integration by End of 2023

Minsk to Decide on Digital Ruble Integration by End of 2023

The Belarusian National Bank is studying the implementation of a digital ruble and will take a decision on the matter by the end of the year, the bank's chairman, Pavel Kallaur, said on Wednesday.

2023-04-19T14:14+0000

2023-04-19T14:14+0000

2023-04-19T14:14+0000

economy

russia

belarus

digital currency

digital money

ruble

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The decision will be made by Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko since changes in legislation might be needed, the bank's chairman said. "First of all, if the decision about the practicality [of digital ruble integration] is made, we will have to carry out a pilot project to make sure the approaches work. It will probably take some specific law to conduct an experiment on a small circle of participants: banks and people," Kallaur added. Kallaur also said that Minsk follows new trends closely but is not hurrying to integrate the digital ruble because the cashless payment system is well developed in Belarus. In September 2021, the National Bank of Belarus stated it had started examining the practicality of implementing a digital Belarusian ruble in order to make a decision on the integration of this new form of money. On Tuesday, Governor of the Bank of Russia Elvira Nabiullina said that the Russian Central Bank is ready to start its own digital ruble pilot project. The Bank of Russia is planning to issue a digital ruble as an additional form of Russia's national currency.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230411/smart-swift-secure-what-is-russias-digital-ruble-1109337756.html

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digital ruble, what is digital ruble, digital ruble in belarus
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/one-killed-2-injured-in-ukraines-mortar-shelling-of-nova-kakhovka---administration-1109645995.html

One Killed, 2 Injured in Ukraine's Mortar Shelling of Novaya Kakhovka

One Killed, 2 Injured in Ukraine's Mortar Shelling of Novaya Kakhovka

One person was killed and two more were injured as a result of Ukraine's mortar shelling of the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, the city administration said on Wednesday.

2023-04-19T06:01+0000

2023-04-19T06:01+0000

2023-04-19T06:28+0000

russia's special operation in ukraine

ukraine

russia

shelling

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"As a result of the morning shelling of Nova Kakhovka on April 19 ... [Ukrainian military] killed one person and two received mine-explosive injuries," the administration said in a statement.According to the statement, the shelling is targeting hospitals, ambulance stations, and the area of the city market. There are wounded people in one of the buildings. A part of the city was cut off from the power grid due to damage to a power line, the statement said. The shelling of residential neighborhoods and the center of Novaya Kakhovka is being carried out with the use of 120 mm mortars, Vladimir Saldo, the acting head of the Kherson region, said on Telegram. Earlier in the day, the administration of the Kakhovka district said that Ukraine's troops intensified attacks on the city and nearest villages and urged citizens to remain in cover. Vladimir Rogov, a senior official of the Zaporozhye region regional administration, told Sputnik earlier in the day that the Ukrainian military also intensified shelling of settlements located in the vicinity of the front line in the Zaporozhye region, including the cities of Vasylevka, Tokmak, Pologi, and the village of Vodianoe. Rogov noted that Ukrainian President Volodymyr "Zelensky may portray an attempted counteroffensive to ask the West for money," adding that one only can guess what this attack is connected to.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230319/one-person-dead-following-ukrainian-troops-shelling-of-donetsk-1108557615.html

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ukraine's shelling, nova kakhovka, kherson region, mortar shelling
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/parliament-members-warn-uk-failing-to-adequately-replenish-mods-stocks--1109672274.html

Parliament Members Warn UK Failing to Adequately Replenish MoD's Stocks

Parliament Members Warn UK Failing to Adequately Replenish MoD's Stocks

The influential Public Account Committee have said they are dissatisfied with the MoD's attempts to replenish its stock after giving weapons and ammunition to Ukraine.

2023-04-19T21:43+0000

2023-04-19T21:43+0000

2023-04-19T21:43+0000

uk ministry of defence

uk public accounts committee (pac)

military spending

united kingdom

ukraine

military

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Members of the United Kingdom Parliament who make up the influential Public Account Committee (PAC) are warning that the UK is falling behind militarily to deal with a more dangerous international situation.The group of 15 MPs said that it has serious doubts about the UK Ministry of Defences (MoD) plan to replenish its stocks effectively using the rolling 10-year procurement plan the MoD last updated in November.The PAC says they have doubts the plan is agile and responsive enough to react to this more dangerous international situation. It added that the Defence Equipment and Support branch of the ministry, which is responsible for procurement, is broken" and fears it will not be able to meet its NATO commitments. One of the other concerns the PAC has is the MoDs plan includes 13.8 billion in savings over the next ten years but has not laid out how it will achieve 5 billion of that amount.Meanwhile, the MoD denied its procurement process is broken. Nor do we recognise the broken procurement system painted by this report. The department routinely assesses time, cost and risk factors on all projects, and delivers the vast majority on time and in budget, and we have made numerous changes to improve procurement practices where projects have fallen short.NATO expects its powerful allies to be able to provide a division of 25,000 troops in the event of an emergency. A NATO meeting in Lithuania this July will finalize commitments to bolster NATOs defenses. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend that meeting.The UK purchases the bulk of its military equipment from the United States.The UK already bolstered its military budget twice last month, adding a total of 11 billion over the next five years. The raise will increase the UKs military budget to 2.25% of the countrys GDP. NATO expects its members to spend at least 2% of their GDP on their military budgets. As of 2020, the UK had the fifth-most expensive military in the world and the fourth largest by percentage of GDP.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230330/nato-deputy-chief-says-ukraine-military-aid-topped-70bln-1108972569.html

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ukraine, united kingdom, uk running out of weapons, nato members tapped out, military aid to ukraine
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/russian-envoy-kishinev-provided-no-reasons-for-russian-embassy-staffers-expulsion-1109664137.html

Russian Envoy: Kishinev Provided No Reasons for Russian Embassy Staffer's Expulsion

Russian Envoy: Kishinev Provided No Reasons for Russian Embassy Staffer's Expulsion

The Moldovan Foreign Ministry did not provide a clear explanation why an employee of the Russian Embassy was being declared persona non grata, Russian Ambassador in Kishinev Oleg Vasnetsov told Sputnik on Wednesday.

2023-04-19T15:35+0000

2023-04-19T15:35+0000

2023-04-19T15:35+0000

world

russia

moldova

diplomatic relations

diplomatic expulsions

incident

persona non grata

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On Monday, Moldovan authorities called head of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, an "undesirable person" and refused to grant him entry into the country to take part in the international Congress of people's diplomacy "Friendship of Peoples" held in Gagauzia, an autonomous territorial entity in the south of Moldova. Earlier in the day, Kishinev declared an employee of the Russian Embassy persona non grata, alleging "inappropriate behavior" after Minnikhanov was denied entry to Moldova.Earlier in the week, the spokesman of the Moldovan government, Daniel Voda, said that the country was considering declaring one of the employees of the Russian Embassy persona non grata and would summon the Russian ambassador to inform him about the decision.

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russian diplomat expelled in moldova, minnikhanov denied entry to moldova by local authorities
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/russias-fsb-prevents-sabotage-at-energy-system-facility-in-kerch-arrests-ukrainian-agent-1109647671.html

Russia's FSB Foils Sabotage Plot Targeting Kerch Energy Facility, Ukrainian Agent Arrested

Russia's FSB Foils Sabotage Plot Targeting Kerch Energy Facility, Ukrainian Agent Arrested

The Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) said on Wednesday that its officers had prevented a sabotage at an energy system facility in the city of Kerch in Crimea, adding that a Ukrainian agent with a homemade bomb was arrested.

2023-04-19T06:54+0000

2023-04-19T06:54+0000

2023-04-20T08:49+0000

russia

russia

russian federal security service (fsb)

kerch

sabotage

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"The Federal Security Service of Russia in the city of Kerch of the Republic of Crimea foiled a sabotage plot at a facility of the peninsula's energy system. As a result of the measures taken, a citizen of Russia and Ukraine, born in 1971, who was involved in plotting this crime, was arrested," the FSB said in a statement. At the suspect's residence, an improvised explosive device and means of communication containing correspondence with a member of Ukraine's special services who coordinated his criminal activities were confiscated, the statement read.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230404/russias-fsb-arrests-couple-in-sverdlovsk-region-for-espionage-in-favor-of-ukraine-1109131835.html

russia

kerch

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russian federal security service, sabotage at an energy system facility, ukrainian agent
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/seoul-predicted-to-announce-supply-of-lethal-weapons-to-ukraine-following-us-pressure-1109657904.html

Seoul Predicted to Announce Supply of Lethal Weapons to Ukraine Following US Pressure

Seoul Predicted to Announce Supply of Lethal Weapons to Ukraine Following US Pressure

According to the expert, the stated reasons for the policy shift, including 'war crimes' and 'unacceptable situations', are being viewed as mere excuses to justify it. If Russia wants to prevent this change, they need to stop Ukrainian provocations, like falsely attributing their own murders to the actions of Russian military.

2023-04-19T14:06+0000

2023-04-19T14:06+0000

2023-04-20T04:48+0000

asia

south korea

asia-pacific region

special operation

arms supplies

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According to the expert, South Korean policy on arms supplies to Ukraine has de facto changed and we may see Korean weapons shipped to Ukraine after Yoon Suk-yeol upcoming visit to the US. His comments come as the discussion about the possible approval of supplies of lethal weapons to Ukraine "if there is a situation the international community cannot condone," has flared up again in the media against the backdrop of statements by the South Korean president. Byong Hwan noted that if Russia wants to prevent this change, it needs ed to stop Ukrainian provocations, like falsely attributing their own murders to the actions of Russian military. Byong Hwan noted that the accusations of "war crimes" and "bombardments of civilian infractructure" made by the Ukrainian regime against Russia are serving as an excuse for Seoul to change its policy, and then explain this sudden shift to the domestic audience. In reality, however, the decision to send weapons to Kiev is a result of the constant US pressure on South Korean authorities - since Washington wants them to join the US camp on the issue, the expert said.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230412/south-korea-to-supply-us-with-500000-artillery-shells-on-loan-reports-say-1109373565.html

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south korea, asia-pacific region, special operation, arms supplies
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/shoigu-inspects-strategic-missile-forces-regiment-in-russias-kaluga-region-1109656983.html

Shoigu Inspects Strategic Missile Forces Regiment in Russia's Kaluga Region

Shoigu Inspects Strategic Missile Forces Regiment in Russia's Kaluga Region

The Russian Strategic Missile Forces are responsible for maintaining and operating the country's intercontinental ballistic missiles, which are a major component of its nuclear deterrent strategy.

2023-04-19T17:20+0000

2023-04-19T17:20+0000

2023-04-19T17:20+0000

military

russia

sergei shoigu

russian strategic missile forces (smf)

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Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has made an inspection of combat duty in the Vladimirskoye missile force of the Strategic Missile Forces in the Kaluga region. The ministry said that Shoigu checked the organization of combat duty of the strategic complex with intercontinental ballistic missiles. Shoigu also checked the progress of the state defense order at the defense enterprise in Kaluga region, which produces electronic weaponry and has set objectives to increase the production of electronic warfare equipment, which has proven a success during the special military operation in Ukraine.Russia's Defense Ministry added that the Kaluga region enterprise will soon sign new contracts with the ministry, which will help to increase the production of electronic warfare equipment.The Minister was shown the combat capabilities of the silo launcher and the work of the remotely controlled combat module of the new generation protection system, which is capable of reliably ensuring the security of protected facilities.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230414/shoigu-check-of-pacific-fleet-aimed-at-boosting-russian-ability-to-repel-ocean-attack-1109501435.html

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russian strategic missile forces, russian defense minister sergei shoigu
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/swedish-radio-leaves-twitter-after-being-marked-as-publicly-funded-media-1109644179.html

Swedish Radio Leaves Twitter After Being Marked as 'Publicly Funded Media'

Swedish Radio Leaves Twitter After Being Marked as 'Publicly Funded Media'

The state-funded media giant itself said it had no qualms about the recent labeling, but voiced concerns about changes on Twitter since the takeover by Elon Musk.

2023-04-19T05:13+0000

2023-04-19T05:13+0000

2023-04-19T06:22+0000

world

sweden

scandinavia

news

media

media

social media

twitter

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Swedish Radio (SR) has pledged to stop using Twitter with immediate effect and close down a number of accounts after being labeled on the platform as "publicly funded media".Despite the fact that SR's decision came almost immediately after it - along with fellow national broadcaster SVT - was so designated, SR claimed that its move had nothing to do with the new identity.SR's social media manager Christian Gillinger suggested that Twitter has "simply changed over the years" and become "less important" to the broadcaster. He also reports indicating that only 7 percent of Swedes are on Twitter daily.Gillinger added that the broadcaster had no complaint about the label it was given describing it as a "correct description of how Swedish Radio is financed."He also voiced concerns over the development of Twitter since it has been taken over by Elon Musk. According to Gillinger, the broadcaster was particularly disturbed by the drastic personnel cuts on Twitter, which "may affect the company's capacity to deal with, say, fake accounts, bots and misinformation, but also hate and threats". The broadcaster went so far as to call it "one of the factors that weighed on the decision to become editorially inactive on the platform".The decision does not affect individual employees of SR. Unlike the recent TikTok ban by Norwegian broadcaster NRK, they will be allowed to choose for themselves whether they want to remain on Twitter.Earlier, labeling controversies affected other major broadcasters. Among others, US National Public Radio (NPR) chose to leave the platform after being assigned the label "government-funded media," whereas British BBC vocally opposed the same marking, prompting Twitter to change it to "publicly-funded," as the British public service company is formally financed through license fees and not taxes.According to Twitter's new policy, labels on government accounts heavily engaged in geopolitics and diplomacy provide additional context. The company distinguishes between "state-affiliated media accounts" (defined as outlets where the state exercises control editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure, and/or control over production and distribution), "government-funded media accounts" (outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlet's funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content), and "publicly funded media accounts" (organizations that receive funding from license fees, individual contributions, public financing, and commercial financing).

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230413/elon-musk-calls-for-defunding-npr-after-it-quits-twitter-1109458291.html

sweden

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Igor Kuznetsov

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Igor Kuznetsov

swedish radio, elon musk, twitter policy, state-funded media, government-funded media, publicly-funded media, twitter labels
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/tables-turned-western-medias-hue--cry-over-twitters-govt-funded-label-exposes-us-hypocrisy-1109650856.html

Tables Turned: Western Media Panics Over Twitters Govt-Funded Label

Tables Turned: Western Media Panics Over Twitters Govt-Funded Label

The hue and cry amid Twitter's 'government funded' tag saga has laid bare the hypocrisy' of the US media platforms, said technologist Chris Garaffa.

2023-04-19T13:39+0000

2023-04-19T13:39+0000

2023-04-19T14:10+0000

world

us

twitter

elon musk

bbc

npr

twitter account

pbs

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Tech billionaire Elon Musk publicly declared he was on a mission to make Twitter an arena for free speech when he acquired the social media site in a blockbuster $44-billion deal in October 2022.The world's richest man has since culled staff, and has been adding and tweaking features to Twitter Inc., prompting everything from praise, to criticism, and profuse vitriol. The latest case in point has been the branding of multiple Western media outlets, such as the BBC, NPR, CBC, and others, with a special label indicating their ties to authorities. Previously, the label had typically been applied to Twitter accounts of state media outlets in non-Western countries that were accused of purportedly lacking editorial independence. Back in 2020, Twitter's pre-Musk administration began tagging media pages that it deemed were under 'government control'. Several media organizations from countries such as China, Russia and Iran received state-affiliated media tags, while their accounts were de-amplified. Though the latter action was halted, Twitter had retained the labels.Western media outlets might have been previously eager to shadowban and slander Russian or Chinese outlets, but once the tables were turned on them, the reaction of the 'newly-tagged' was more than a little piqued.How did the 'Government Funded' tag row unfold and what have the reactions been across the board? Sputnik explores.National Public RadioOn April 4 Twitter added a "state-affiliated media" tag on the account of National Public Radio (NPR), a network of about 900 radio stations across the US, set up in 1970. Twitter identifies government-funded media as "outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution." NPR, closely affiliated with American authorities and notorious for trying to bury the Hunter Biden laptop saga, which shed light on the 'shady' details of the life of the POTUS' family, went ballistic. The US state-sponsored media network stated on April 12 that it would no longer post fresh content to its 52 official Twitter feeds.NPR CEO John Lansing called the label "unacceptable." Twitter later updated the label to "government-funded media." In a flurry of parting shots on Twitter, NPR enumerated other sites where it could be found, including via its app, newsletters, and other social media platforms. After NPR's outburst, Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted a proposition to "defund" the news organization.Tucker Carlson, weighed in on the Twitter tag tumult with NPR's case, underscoring that the broadcaster was "the radio station of permanent Washington."The journalist added that, "By adding three simple words to NPR's tweets, Elon Musk exposed that forever to the world. Such is the power of truth. It exposes and, of course, it infuriates those who are exposed."Public Broadcasting ServiceThe Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) took a cue from NPR in quitting Twitter after it was designated with that same "Government-funded Media" label. Musk reacted to the news by quipping: Publicly funded PBS joins publicly funded NPR in leaving Twitter in a huff after being labeled Publicly Funded'.British Broadcasting CorporationThe BBC was initially marked as "Government-funded Media" before Musk conceded to a tweak and changed it to Publicly-funded media. The corporation vehemently disputed the original label, underscoring that it was funded through the British publics flat license fee. This is something that households using television and streaming services on any device pay. However, it is the British government that sets the level of the fees, meaning that politicians can crack down on "independent" journalists at any given moment.Set up by Royal Charter back in 1927 and run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, the BBC's key donor is the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, basically, the UK's foreign ministry. The list of important sponsors also includes the United States Agency for International Development, the European Union, NORAD - North American Aerospace Defense Command and even the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.The BBC is no stranger to being caught promoting 10 Downing Street's agenda, and enjoys hefty financial support from the government, such as raking in a 34 million boost for the BBC World Service.Musk later stated in an interview for the BBC that he agreed to change the designation in an effort to "be accurate. The BBC has continued to tweet using all of its feeds with its updated label.Swedish RadioSveriges Radio, or Swedish Radio (SR) vowed to stop using Twitter with immediate effect and close down a number of accounts after being labeled on the platform as "publicly funded media," along with fellow national broadcaster Sveriges Television (SVT).The publicly-funded Scandinavian radio station claimed that its move had nothing to do with the new tag, with social media manager Christian Gillinger suggesting that Twitter has "simply changed over the years" and was "less important" to the broadcaster. He also reports indicating that only 7% of Swedes are on Twitter daily.According to Sweden's public radio, its main Twitter accounts will be frozen, and could be reactivated should the need arise.Canadian Broadcasting CorporationThe Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC/Radio-Canada) announced on April 11 that it was suspending its activities on Twitter after the social media platform decided to label them as a government-funded outlet.CBC is a so-called crown corporation, mandated by Canadas Broadcasting Act. It is managed by a board of directors and held responsible by the Canadian Parliament, and it receives state funding. In a statement, CBC spokesperson Leon Mar claimed the Canadian government does not influence CBCs content or editorial judgement.Following CBC's complaints that they only receive less than 70% of their funding from government sources, CEO Elon Musk jokingly went along and awarded them with a custom label stating that the outlet is 69% Government-funded Media.Among those having received the new Twitter labels have been the Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC Australia), Australia's Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), and New Zealand's public broadcaster RNZ.'Exposing the Hypocrisy'Elon Musks truth telling policy is exposing the hypocrisy of the West, said Chris Garaffa, weighing in on the outcry from massive and well-funded Western media platforms, like PBS, NPR, CBC over the Twitter designation.Establishment figures may be "shouting at the top of their lungs" about PBS and NPR being labeled as government funded media, yet they are quite happy to see Russian outlets, for example, labeled as state affiliated media on Twitter, said the technologist and cohost of CovertAction Magazine podcast.As far as NPR, or PBS are concerned, they've both said that they were not going to use Twitter anymore, but they already have a pretty high profile, Garaffa pointed out.Despite the hue and cry about the designations from these Western outlets themselves, rank-and-file Twitter users have been generally appreciative of this policy, many tweeted that the newsrooms in question couldn't "deal with the truth."

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230413/elon-musk-calls-for-defunding-npr-after-it-quits-twitter-1109458291.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230409/twitter-dubs-bbc-as-government-funded-media-as-broadcaster--1109297537.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/swedish-radio-leaves-twitter-after-being-marked-as-publicly-funded-media-1109644179.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20200806/equality-huh-twitter-labels-sputnik-russian-chinese-media-as-state-affiliated-exempts-bbc-npr-1080087850.html

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Svetlana Ekimenko

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Svetlana Ekimenko

tech billionaire, elon musk, branding multiple western media, bbc, npr, pbs, bbc, cbc, swedish radio, special mark, ties to authorities, government-affiliated, state-affiliated, twitter tag
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/us-air-force-temporarily-halts-intel-mission-for-unit-suspected-pentagon-leaker-served-1109642116.html

US Air Force Temporarily Halts Intel Mission for Unit Suspected Pentagon Leaker Served

US Air Force Temporarily Halts Intel Mission for Unit Suspected Pentagon Leaker Served

The US Air Force temporarily reassigned the intelligence mission of the unit the accused Pentagon leaker belonged to amid an inspector general probe, Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek told Sputnik.

2023-04-19T01:41+0000

2023-04-19T01:41+0000

2023-04-19T01:38+0000

military

pentagon leaks

intelligence

jack teixeira

us air force

us office of the inspector general

investigation

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"The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently performing its assigned intelligence mission. The mission has been temporarily reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force," Stefanek said on Tuesday. Stefanek added that Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall directed the Air Force Inspector General to investigate overall compliance with policy, procedures, and standards, including the unit environment and compliance at the 102nd Intelligence Wing related to the release of national security information. According to a memo obtained by Sputnik, senior leaders in the Air Force department are directing a security-focused stand down be conducted in the next 30 days at each unit across the military branch in order to reassess its security posture and procedures, and validate the need to know basis for each individual's access. The memo states that the leak has the potential to impact the conflict in Ukraine, including US relations with its allies and partners. On Thursday, the FBI arrested Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air Force National Guard, for his alleged involvement in leaking the classified documents. US media reported Teixeira started publishing classified documents on Discord around February 2022, at the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine. The package of top secret US Department of Defense documents leaked online has been disclosing some of Washington's highly classified military analysis and showing that the US was conducting espionage not only on its adversaries but also allies. The leak sparked deep concern among US officials, who fear the situation might endanger the United States' sources and undermine important international ties. On Friday, a federal court in Boston charged Teixeira with the unauthorized retention, removal and transmission of classified information, and ordered him to remain in custody until the next hearing scheduled for Wednesday.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230414/whos-jack-teixeira-the-alleged-pentagon-leaker-arrested-thursday-1109496950.html

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us air force; intelligence mission; suspected pentagon leaker; ann stefanek
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/us-press-trying-to-interfere-with-russian-justice---embassy-1109643825.html

US Press Trying to Interfere With Russian Justice - Embassy

US Press Trying to Interfere With Russian Justice - Embassy

The US press, hiding behind the principles of freedom of speech, is trying to interfere with Russian justice, the Russian Embassy in Washington said, commenting on US media's reaction to the Moscow City Court upholding the arrest of Wall Street Journal journalist Evan Gershkovich, accused of spying.

2023-04-19T04:36+0000

2023-04-19T04:36+0000

2023-04-19T04:45+0000

russia

russia

us

interference

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"We took notice of another attack of hysteria in the U.S. media on allegedly unlawful detention of The Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who is suspected of espionage, after Moscow City Court refused to change the preventive measure for him," the embassy said. "Hiding behind the principles of freedom of speech, the American press is brazenly trying to interfere with the Russian justice as well as to question its independence. We stress the irresponsible behavior of The Wall Street Journal editorial board, who called for expulsion of all our journalists working in the United States," it said. The embassy said US media should stop its ungrounded accusations."By the way, the US media outlets are notorious for this practice which they use in the interests of Washington ruling circles. We urge the American media to stop unjustified accusations of crackdown against free press in Russia. Instead, they should assess objectively the state of freedom of speech at home," the embassy said.On March 30, WSJ reporter Gershkovich was detained in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg on suspicion of espionage for the United States. The journalist had collected classified information regarding the activities of one of the firms of Russia's defense industry sector, Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) said. The Lefortovo District Court of Moscow ruled that the reporter be put in pre-trial detention until May 29.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230412/moscow-in-contact-with-us-embassy-on-wsj-reporter-gershkovich-1109379886.html

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interfere with russian justice, wall street journal journalist evan gershkovich, freedom of speech
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/us-ufo-probe-chief-says-no-credible-signs-of-aliens-1109669023.html

US UFO Probe Chief Says No 'Credible' Signs of Aliens

US UFO Probe Chief Says No 'Credible' Signs of Aliens

Cases of unidentified aerial phenomena show no signs of extraterrestrial involvement, though there are indications the incidents could be linked to foreign actors, US All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) Director Sean Kirkpatrick said.

2023-04-19T18:01+0000

2023-04-19T18:01+0000

2023-04-21T10:07+0000

us

ufo

ufos

ufo sighting

senate armed services committee

beyond politics

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The US Defense Department announced AAROs establishment in July 2022, tasking it with investigating UAP reports. The majority of the hundreds of cases presented to AARO show no anomalous characteristics, Kirkpatrick said. However, there remain cases for which there is no conclusive explanation, Kirkpatrick said. The majority of UAP are described as a round orb or sphere, according to AARO data shared by Kirkpatrick. UAP tend to have no detectable thermal exhaust propelling them and typically occur at an altitude of between 10,000 and 30,000 feet. UAP hotspots around the world include the eastern and western coasts of the United States, the Middle East and East Asia, according to AARO data. The US probe into UAP involved collaboration and information exchange with countries around the world, Mobilization Assistant to the Space Force Chief of Space Operations, Maj. Gen. John Olson, said last week. AARO seeks to turn UAP into "SEP," somebody elses problem, by clarifying the incidents and handing off cases to other agencies, Kirkpatrick said. In a Fox News interview broadcast on Tuesday, billionaire entrepreneur and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk said if anyone would know about aliens it would probably be him, and he has not seen "any evidence" of aliens.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/what-to-expect-from-us-senates-ufo-hearing-1109657729.html

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ufo sightings, ufo probe, sign of et life, sign of aliens, x-files
https://sputnikglobe.com/20230419/whole-world-hates-america-its-reputation-is-faltering-senior-erdogan-ally-says-1109652591.html

Whole World Hates America, Its Reputation is Faltering, Senior Erdogan Ally Says

Whole World Hates America, Its Reputation is Faltering, Senior Erdogan Ally Says

Relations between Turkiye and the US faltered after Ankara accused Washington of trying to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a coup in 2016. Earlier this month, Erdogan blasted the US ambassador to Turkiye and said his offices doors were closed to him after the envoy met with a senior opposition leader ahead of the May 14 election.

2023-04-19T10:37+0000

2023-04-19T10:37+0000

2023-04-19T13:42+0000

world

turkiye

elections

recep tayyip erdogan

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The world has no lost love for America, and the Wests efforts to impose its culture and values on the planet are doomed to fail because its hegemony no longer exists, Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has said.America is losing its global credibility and the "whole world hates America," Soylu said, speaking at a pre-election meeting with young people in Istanbul Tuesday.The interior minister said that he was not afraid of terrorism because the activities of terrorists and efforts necessary to fight them are clear. But one of the greatest dangers in the world is cultural terrorism, and we are facing cultural terrorism. We are facing a cultural terrorism thats aimed at destroying the family structure, moralitythe civilizations of nations, their history, our religion, our values, traditions, customs, what our mothers and fathers taught us, he said.Emphasizing the importance of the upcoming elections, Solyu suggested they will be history in the making.Turks will go to the polls for presidential and parliamentary elections on May 14, with Erdogan representing the Peoples Alliance led by the ruling Justice and Development Party. Opposing him is Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Nation Alliance. Erdogan and Kilicdaroglu have been running neck and neck in the polls since March, with polls ranging dramatically depending on whos conducting the polling, from a nine and a half point lead for Kilicdaroglu, to a 7.7 point lead for Erdogan. A runoff race will be held at a later date if no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote in the first round.Pro-Erdogan forces anti-American feelings were ramped up earlier this month after US Ambassador to Turkiye Jeff Flake privately met with Kilicdaroglu. Erdogan slammed the move, saying the ambassador needs to know his place as a diplomat.Turkiye, once the bulwark of NATO along its Black Sea and Mediterranean flanks, has gradually pushed to increase its strategic autonomy from Washington under Erdogan amid Turks cooling attitudes toward the US and the West in general. Alleged American support for the July 2016 coup attempt, more than three decades of stalled talks on Turkiyes possible accession to the EU, and other grievances have left many Turks cynical about the alliance with the West, and demanding a more independent foreign and domestic policy.

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230407/lavrov-attends-working-dinner-with-cavusoglu-in-ankara---turkish-foreign-ministry-1109226226.html

https://sputnikglobe.com/20230405/natos-enlargement-targets-not-only-moscow-but-ankara-as-well-turkish-media-says-1109155627.html

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Ilya Tsukanov

Ilya Tsukanov

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Ilya Tsukanov

turkiye, america, united states, recep tayyip erdogan, election
A $17,500 trot that saw a full field of four- and five-year-olds go postward headlined the Tuesday (April 18) card at Plainridge Park. When the dust settled, Timantix won his first race of the year and took a new lifetime mark in the process.

Stamped By Lindy (Bruce Ranger) grabbed the early lead but yielded to Skyway Professor (John Beckwith) before the half. As they passed that station in :57.3, Lindy On Stage (Wally Watson) pulled first-over from third and Timantix (Drew Monti) followed right on his back. Lindy On Stage struck the front before three-quarters and Timantix advanced to second outside while trotting alongside the leader in the last turn. At the top of the stretch, Timantix took the lead and extended it to two-lengths at the beam where he set his personal best time of 1:57.

Timantix ($7) is owned by Melissa Butcher and is trained by Matthew Butcher Jr.

The $16,000 secondary trotting feature was an Open III for older contestants. In that race, Pass Key (Jim Hardy) led at every station with splits of :28.2, :59 and 1:28 before turning for home and holding off a strong challenge from Make It A Double (Kevin Switzer Jr.) to win in 1:57.2.

Pass Key ($6.60) is owned by David Zuckerman and is trained by Jolene Andrews.

It was the second win of the day for both Hardy and Andrews.

Trainer Bob Marston hit a personal milestone at Plainridge Park on Tuesday afternoon when stable newcomer Top Down (Kevin Switzer Jr.) turned a first-over move into the 600th training win of Marston's career.

Marston started training in 2003 and along with his new win total, has also registered 542 seconds and 552 thirds while amassing in excess of $2.7 million in purses during that time. The Maine native who splits starts between his home state and Massachusetts, was the 10th leading dash-win trainer at Plainridge last year. He currently sits in third place for wins at The Ridge with only four race dates completed in the 2023 meet.

Top Down ($5.20) is owned by Michael Antosca.

Drew Monti ended the day with a driving double.

Live harness racing will resume at Plainridge Park on Thursday at 4 p.m. and that card will feature a hefty $5,914 carryover in the Jackpot Wicked Hi-5 pentafecta wager in race six.

(Standardbred Owners of Massachusetts)
The Bill Galvin Racing Alliance (BGRA) has announced that prominent Standardbred breeder and owner Tom Rankin will be supporting four contests with a Standardbred horse theme for Ontario elementary school students in 2023.

The BGRAs four contests include the Youth Literary Derby, a renewal of the original event in 2018, an Art Derby, Photo Derby, and Video Derby. Cash prizes will be awarded to the top three in each of the contest divisions.

In 2018, Rankin sponsored the prize money for the Youth Literary Derby and hosted an open house at his St. Catharines Standardbred farm, which was attended by over 300 visitors including the Mayor of St. Catharines.

Tom has again generously offered to sponsor the prize money for these Youth Contests, said Karen Hauver, a volunteer director of the BGRA. We sincerely appreciate Toms commitment and involvement and were extremely excited that hes willing to host another Open House.

On Saturday, May 13, Rankin will once again open the gates to his farm and welcome the public to stop by to meet his broodmares and foals in conjunction with the Youth Literary Derby and Youth Art Derby.

The open house event is intended to introduce youth to the foals and mares and inspire their content for the Youth Literary Derby and Youth Art Derby, which are open to Ontario elementary school children in Grades 3 to 8 with Junior and Senior divisions. Entries for these two contests will close on June 27, 2023.

I was very happy to hear about the creation of the Bill Galvin Racing Alliance and their programs for 2023. Bill was a great friend of mine and a huge promoter of the Standardbred industry, said Rankin, who feels that the Youth Literary Derby and Art Derby are great ways to introduce harness racing to a wider audience. "The contest is great for education in terms of encouraging literacy and the arts. It gives kids the chance to be creative, and who knows, there might be a budding poet, writer or artist out there."

The Photo Derby and Video Derby will take place over the summer months with entries closing on Aug. 31. Students and their parents will be encouraged to visit family friendly events at Ontario racetracks for inspiration for the theme, which is Standardbred horses.

Complete rules and details for all four contests can be found on the BGRA website at bgracingalliance.ca.

Children and their families are invited to Tom Rankins Horse Farm Open House to see the foals on Saturday, May 13 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at 1490 St. Paul St. West in St. Catharines, Ont. Please register no later than May 10 by contacting Rankin Construction at 905-684-1111 during business hours from Monday to Friday.

The non-profit Bill Galvin Racing Alliance was formed by a group of Ontario harness racing enthusiasts who were friends and associates of the late Bill Galvin to promote Ontario harness racing in the Hall of Famers honour. The mission of the BGRA is to work together to create and encourage partnerships and programs that will promote and grow harness racing by engaging youth and the general public with the racing community.

(With files from Bill Galvin Racing Alliance)
Longtime harness racing industry participant Ronnie Seymour Jr. of Glace Bay, N.S. passed away on March 23, 2023 at the age of 59.

He is survived by his wife Betty and many family members and friends.

Ronnie was involved with Standardbred horses for over 50 years with his family including his father Ronnie Sr. and brother Gary. His brother Paul is involved with Thoroughbred horses. Ronnie always used to say a horse to him was like a dog to most people. Most people had a dog growing up, but he always had a horse.

In the 1990s, Ronnie worked with Hall of Famer Jack Darling in Ontario with one of the best horses in the world at the time: Northern Luck. One of Ronnies best horses was Putnams Power. He also owned and enjoyed success with Artistic Putnam and Whitesand Artist. Most recently, the horse he was most proud of was Mando Fun, who he owned along with his partner Aubrey Cameron.

Please join Standardbred Canada in offering condolences to the family and friends of Ronnie Seymour Jr.
The Legislature Wednesday morning passed a bill allowing constitutional carry of concealed firearms, capping a quest by state Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon that had lasted his entire seven-year Unicameral career.

Lawmakers broke one final filibuster with a 33-14 vote  exactly the two-thirds majority needed  and then sent Legislative Bill 77 to Gov. Jim Pillen on an identical vote.

Sens. Brian Hardin of Gering, Steve Erdman of Bayard, Mike Jacobson of North Platte and Teresa Ibach of Sumner joined Brewer in voting to end debate and then to pass the bill.

I feel like I can kind of take down the guards now that LB 77 has passed, a relieved Brewer said by telephone Wednesday afternoon.

Its something that Nebraskans  especially Nebraskans outside of Lincoln and Omaha  really wanted bad. From the day I took office, people approached me and said this is a constitutional right that we have.

And its not right that (opponents) use all the horrible things happening around the country to keep Nebraskans from exercising their constitutional rights. Nebraskans generally have been law-abiding.

Hardin, the first-year District 48 senator, welcomed Wednesdays climactic vote. The law provides common-sense application of our most basic Second Amendment rights, he said via text.

He thanked Brewer, a retired U.S. Army colonel who suffered seven bullet wounds in combat in Afghanistan, for your persistent leadership to get this done over the seven-year journey to pass LB 77 into law.

All 32 registered Republicans in the officially nonpartisan Legislature voted to pass the bill, as did Sen. Mike McDonnell, a registered Democrat representing south Omaha.

Not voting on LB 77 Wednesday were the Unicamerals two Black members, northeast Omaha Sens. Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne. They helped break filibusters at earlier stages of debate, saying the bill would give Omaha police fewer reasons to target people in their largely Black districts.

Brewer, who visited Pillen after LB 77s passage, said the governor plans to sign the bill into law in a 2 p.m. CT ceremony April 26 in the State Capitols Warner Chamber.

But Nebraskans who can lawfully carry firearms still wont be able to conceal them without a permit until late August or early September.

LB 77 was written without an emergency clause that would have allowed it to go into effect immediately upon the governors signature. Bills passed without such a clause take effect three months after the end of the session, currently set for June 9.

A 2022 constitutional-carry bill (LB 773) by Brewer, whose District 43 covers the northern Panhandle and Sandhills, won first-round approval last spring but fell two votes short of breaking a filibuster at the second of the Legislatures three stages of debate.

The year before that, Brewer offered a bill (LB 236) to allow county boards to authorize their residents to carry concealed weapons without a state permit.

He had to abandon that goal after an attorney generals opinion said it would have amounted to an unconstitutional delegation of the Legislatures powers on gun laws to counties. Rewritten to make less sweeping changes to gun laws, LB 236 was passed and signed by then-Gov. Pete Ricketts in May 2021.

In his last speech before the vote, Brewer noted that senators were in the 44th hour of floor discussion on his various constitutional-carry bills  most of them during filibusters.

Ive got to tell you Im tired, said Brewer, who also has been undergoing chemotherapy for cancer. Its been a long fight. Im ready to get to a vote on this bill.

He once more repeated his contention that Nebraskans who arent minors, havent committed felonies and have obtained permits to buy firearms shouldnt be punished for keeping them out of public view.

You can say what you want about being too committed to the Constitution, Brewer told his colleagues. But some of us have paid a very dear price for that Constitution.

He added that Nebraskans still will need permits to buy firearms, a process that includes background checks.

You go down and try to buy a gun without a background check and see what happens, he said. It isnt going to happen.

Besides the Second Amendments right to keep and bear arms, Article I, Section 1 of the Nebraska Constitution since 1988 has guaranteed that right for security or defense of self, family, home, and others, and for lawful common defense, hunting, recreational use and all other lawful purposes, and such rights shall not be denied or infringed by the state or any (political) subdivision thereof.

LB 77 strips counties, cities and villages of their powers to regulate firearms use beyond what state law already provides.

Urban lawmakers opposed to LB 77, led by Lincoln Sen. Jane Raybould, allowed that constitutional carry might make sense in rural Nebraska but continued to insist that the bill makes urban residents less safe.

Children, families, law enforcement and communities will be at greater risk if we pass this bill, Raybould said.

We have become one nation under guns, and that is not a Nebraska value or even a moral value.

She accused senators supporting LB 77 of ignoring statistics cited by her and other opponents that gun deaths  and particularly those of children  are highest in states that have loosened concealed-carry laws.

I have to tell you (that) in my 12 years of government service, I have never seen a chamber where people have distorted the truth so much, said Raybould, a former Lincoln city councilwoman, one-time Lancaster County commissioner and past Democratic U.S. House candidate.

Omaha Sen. John Cavanaugh contended that LB 77 unintendedly lessens penalties for minors or prohibited persons who carry concealed firearms or other weapons.

The bill adds a new subsection 2 in section 28-1202 of state law, saying such people would face up to a year in jail for a first offense and up to two years in prison for subsequent offenses.

That is a pretty substantial decline in the penalty for the same conduct, Cavanaugh said.

But identical penalties already appear in subsections 4 and 5 of 28-1202  both of which are shown as being eliminated in LB 77s final text. The changes amount to combining the penalties into a single new subsection.

Jacobson, whose District 42 includes Lincoln County and all or parts of five other west central Nebraska counties, said he was truly amazed at all of the new, unique nuances gun-control advocates produce whenever a gun-rights bill comes up.

(They say,) If we could just send it back to committee and spend one more year thinking about it, it will fix everything. Lets forget about peoples constitutional rights, Jacobson said.

We have a significant drug problem in this country, led by fentanyl. We have laws, as I recall, and theres laws out there that say you cant possess illegal drugs. How well has that worked?

If the Legislature did what LB 77s opponents want, were going to restrict the law-abiding citizens from having their constitutional right, Jacobson added. But guess what? The criminals dont care.
Greg Dart has been selected as the seventh president of Western Nebraska Community College, as announced by the Western Community College Area Board of Governors on Wednesday.

Dart was one of three finalists named by the colleges presidential search committee. He currently serves as chief campus administrator for Utah State University Eastern. Dart is a native of Anchorage, Alaska, attended a community college early in his own education, and also has professional experience at rural community colleges in Ohio and Utah.

Dart reiterated his passion for rural community colleges and expressed his excitement about joining the communities of WNCC and western Nebraska as a whole after the announcement was made on Wednesday afternoon.

I could not be more excited for this opportunity at Western Nebraska Community College, Dart told the Star-Herald. My time in Scottsbluff, Alliance and Sidney showed me just how dedicated faculty, staff, students, and the community are to this institution. I have a strong passion for rural community colleges and the transformational power of education, and I am so excited to bring my background and experience  as well as my family  to the Panhandle.

Search committee chair and WCCA board vice chair Karen Anderson highlighted Darts willingness to forge and maintain relationships with internal and external partners as a deciding factor in his selection for the position.

He has a strong passion for leading a rural community college as well as the ability and knowledge to work with the communities in the service area, business leaders and elected officials to not only elevate WNCC, but the entire Panhandle, Anderson said.

WCCA board chair Lynne Klemke said that although the final decision was difficult, she believes Darts communication style and experience are a good fit for the college.

I think Mr. Darts communication style fits very well with our WNCC establishment. His professional background also will serve us well here, she said.

Dart emphasized communication during an open forum on WNCCs Scottsbluff campus on April 5, specifically detailing his philosophy of radical transparency. He expanded on that approach in regards to his new position as WNCC president in his comments to the Star-Herald.

Institutions that operate the best do it when everyone has all the information they could possibly have, Dart explained. As a president, that means sharing as much information as possible with all the stakeholder groups as openly as possible. It also means that its a feedback loop, that theres two-way communication. Theres always an opportunity for every stakeholder group to communicate with the president, the administration, the faculty, the staff about the things theyre seeing.

The presidential search committee began with a wide field of 42 applicants, which were narrowed down to nine semi finalists and later to the three finalists that were featured in open campus forums with help from Angela Provart of the Pauly Group. Board member RJ Savely said that the final decision was very challenging due to the outstanding quality of the candidates.

They brought us three finalists who were extremely well qualified, and it was a very difficult decision. I appreciate all that (Provart) did to help us through that process, he said.

Darts contract is slated to be presented and approved at the WCCA boards next regular meeting on May 17 and he is expected to formally step into the role of WNCC president this summer.
Photo Credit: Science Photo Library / Alamy Stock Photo

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, each year there are over 1 million work-related injury and illness cases resulting in days away from work. Thats one occupational injury or illness out of every 100 full-time workers annually. The number might not seem high, but given the median number of work days lost per case is 9, the effects are quite large.

Interestingly, most workplace injuries (almost 60% in 2016) are the result of common, everyday missteps  such as overexertion and falls, slips, and trips  not violent events, vehicle crashes, or exposure to harmful substances. This likely explains why the injury incidence rate of nursing assistants, for example, is very close to that of movers and construction workers.

With this in mind, the business security firm CPI Security wanted to help business owners understand which specific injuries were most common in the workplace. Using data from the BLS, CPI analyzed incidence rates, total injuries, median number of work days lost, and other factors across over 1.1 million injury cases nationwide in 2016. For each type of injury, data was used to determine an approximation for how many total work days are lost annually due to that injury (across all employees nationwide), as well as the most common event leading to that injury. The list below shows the top 8 most common workplace injuries in the U.S. With a better understanding for the injuries employees are susceptible to, business owners are better equipped to create and monitor more secure work environments.

CPI Business Solutions

Methodology

Data used in this analysis is from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses (SOII). The SOII includes data on non-fatal injuries and illnesses for each calendar year from a sample of employers. Data for the self-employed, small farms (10 or fewer people), private household workers, volunteers, and federal government workers are not included in the survey. The specific dataset used in this analysis is the Nonfatal cases involving days away from work: selected characteristics (2016). Cases were grouped by the nature of injury (the list items below). The 8 natures with the highest incidence rates are included below with their corresponding total number of cases and median days away from work. The most common event causing the injury for each nature was determined based on total cases. Total work days lost due to the injury was calculated by multiplying the total number of cases for each nature in 2016 by its median days away from work. This calculation is to be used as a rough, directional indicator of how impactful injuries of each nature are on workforce participation.
North Carolina Trooper Seth Stevenson wasnt on the clock, but that didnt stop him from saving a mans life earlier this year at the scene of the accident.

Statesville Police Chief David Onley and the Statesville Police Department recognized his actions at Tuesdays city council meeting and presented him with the departments Life Saving Award.

He accessed the situation, put his own life safety aside, broke the drivers window out of the vehicle, removed the seat belt from the driver, and extracted him from the vehicle before the vehicle was consumed in flames, Onley said.

Stevenson was off duty at the time but was one of the first on the scene after a head-on collision at the intersection of Garner Bagnal Boulevard and Wooten Street.

One of the cars caught fire and it didnt take long for the state trooper to see he needed to act quickly. Stevenson had minor cuts and scrapes from the incident, but saved the mans life.

NCHP First Sgt. Daniel Hall praised the troopers actions.

I could not be more proud of Trooper Stevensons heroic actions on this occasion. Trooper Stevenson stepped up to the plate while off duty, thought quick, and his admirable actions saved a life, Hall said. Trooper Stevenson has a history of taking quick action to save lives in extreme situations in Iredell County. This is just another example of his concern for the well-being of the community he serves.
A little more than two years after the program launched, the Wythe County Recovery Court celebrated its first graduate last Wednesday.

Brandon Brooks entered the program in August 2021 following a drug distribution charge he received in 2018. A little more than a year and a half after his entry into the program, Brooks is celebrating his sobriety as the first person to complete it.

Commonwealths Attorney Mike Jones believes the Wednesday appearance will be one of the last Brooks will ever make.

Brandon is an all-star, he said. Hell probably never get a speeding ticket.

Commending him on his success, Circuit Court Judge Josiah Showalter told Brooks, You should be very proud of what youve done.

An alternative to jail  and the cost to taxpayers that comes with incarceration  recovery courts are court-based programs that seek to help address substance-use disorder and reduce recidivism rates.

While, as Jones says, there is no cookie cutter criteria for acceptance into the program, recovery courts are typically geared toward people who have a history of drug-related offenses, including possession and repeated probation violations due to drug use, and who are considered at high risk of reoffending.

The doors behind which grand juries meet are often bursting with indictments for drug-related offenses. Jones pointed out last year that the most common probation violations stem from failed drug screens. Those people are often wrapped up in the legal system for years to come.

Addiction, Jones said last year, is the main problem with most people that enter into the criminal justice system. Thats why we started a recovery court here. . . to try to help those folks who are nonviolent and addicted to drugs.

A five-phase program, the recovery court works by setting participants up with counseling through Mount Rogers Community Services to address their substance use disorder. Participants are also required to attend group sobriety meetings in the community. Additionally, they must also perform 100 hours of community service, undergo drug testing, meet curfews and attend bi-weekly recovery court sessions at the courthouse.

During his time in the program, Brooks was able to lock down his sobriety, gain full custody of his daughter and launch Brooks Underground, which specializes in the burial of fiber optic cables.

Its definitely given me a second chance, Brooks said of the Wythe County Recovery Court.

He expressed gratitude for his family and his fiancee for sticking by his side during his recovery. He also gave credit to God.

I definitely attribute all of my success to my faith, he said. I definitely couldnt do it without the Lord.

Looking to the future, Brooks and his fiancee are poised to close on a home and are set to wed in June. He also hopes to expand Brooks Underground.

To those who may be facing their own struggles with addiction, Brooks said, We do recover. If youre struggling, its possible to get through it.

Alongside Brooks at his last recovery court session sat three of the programs other five participants. Saying those participants are also excelling in the program, Jones said he expects more graduations in the near future.

Wythe County Recovery Court will also welcome a sixth participant in the coming weeks.
Dr. Chris Downing has happily served the general surgery patients of Wythe County since 2015. In 2018, he opened his own private practice, Forest General Surgery. The Ohio native and his wife, a native West Virginian, settled in the New River Valley a decade ago after Downing completed three years as a surgeon with the U.S. Navy. He initially received his credentials from Ohio State University Medical School and completed his residency in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Downing knew he wanted to be a doctor early on when a family friend who was a physician became a mentor to him at a young age.

The first time I was in the operating room, that completely sold it, he recalled. I cant imagine being happy doing anything else.

Dr. Downing is also happy practicing in Wythe County, where he has developed a special rapport with local patients, so much so that he has brought a vital surgical technology to Wytheville, which offers state-of-the-art treatment against gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), the leading cause of esophageal cancer. April is Esophageal Cancer Awareness Month. Dr. Downing informed me during a March 29 telephone interview that esophageal cancer is the eleventh deadliest cancer in the United States with twenty thousand new cases reported each year. Twenty million patients are on heartburn medication with forty percent of those folks still experiencing symptoms despite being medicated.

My specialty is the distal end of the esophagus, the nerves of which become permanently damaged by stomach acid, he explained. Stomach acid, or acid reflux, can ultimately cause esophageal cancer, which a lot of people dont know.

Patients can also be awakened with heartburn caused by stomach fluid trapped high in the esophagus. Downing says that GERD affects one in every five patients and, if not treated properly, can result in potentially deadly consequences later in life, especially when symptoms, which are remedied by a pill, often continue or worsen after the esophageal nerves have deadened and can no longer warn the patient of an impending issue.

I do see tragic cases of esophageal cancer from chronic heartburn, he said of local patients. Its devastating.

Downing says he is in the business of trying to keep acid out of the esophagus with a large part of his practice involved with the treatment of acid reflux. As a result, he has brought in the LINX technology.

We want to create a situation where you can still eat and keep stomach content from going up the esophagus, he explained. Surgically, that is a tricky task to perform.

Downing says there have been several surgical developments for GERD treatment over the years, most of them producing positive outcomes, but not as effective as is necessary. A decade ago, the LINX device was invented. A magnetic manifestation of the lower esophageal sphincter, which becomes ineffective at keeping acid out of the esophagus once GERD occurs, the LINX device is laparoscopically placed around the lower esophagus through a small abdominal incision, to close the sphincter. Patients are in the hospital overnight following the surgery, which also usually requires a hiatal hernia repair, and return home the next day with their GERD medication discontinued. Eighty-five percent of LINX surgery patients never need medication again. Over a period of five years, the LINX operation has a ninety percent success rate.

Downing has performed around a hundred LINX operations with great success to patients in the Wythe County area as well as those traveling from Tennessee and West Virginia.

Its been amazing, he reported. Im a big believer in this technology.

It is a rare exception to have such an innovative procedure available in a community as small as ours, simply because most community-based general surgeons are uninterested in performing such a sophisticated procedure.

Fixing a hiatal hernia is not an easy job, Downing explained. Twenty years out of my residency, I learned very early on in my career that GERD is very common and you either have to get good at treating it or get good at transferring patients to other facilities. I want to keep my patients here. Thats why I brought this technology to Wytheville.

As a physician, Downing feels it is important to stay up to date with the latest medical technologies to prevent his patients from traveling out of town in order to receive optimal treatment. He also noted that doing research to find the most innovative practitioners in our area is also of key importance.

I love Wythe County, Downing stated. People have been advised that there is no treatment for acid reflux and thats just not true anymore. I have gotten people off of medicines they have taken for thirty years.

His biggest reward is seeing his patients so happy with the results of the LINX procedure that they are reduced to tears.

Im in it to help people, Downing affirmed. I have seen advanced GERD symptoms in young people as well as people in their seventies. It is so common and affects a wide range of people across the board.

In terms of preventive measures, Downing says that anyone who has to watch what or when they eat due to heartburn or experiences constant burning in the lower chest or when lying down or bending over should consult with him by making an appointment at Forest General Surgery, located at 1787 W. Lee Hwy. in Wytheville by calling (276) 228-1050.
Sufi Impex Vs Union of India (Gujarat High Court)

Gujarat High Court held that when the goods are perishable in nature, the authorities should act with greater swiftness to proceed with the adjudicatory mechanism and take a final decision. Accordingly, conditional provisional release of goods granted.

Facts- The challenge in the petition is directed against the seizure memo dated 20.01.2022 issued by respondent no.4, which is common memo issued to all the petitioners under Section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962. The petitioners imported the goods of the description of fresh Kiwi fruits or assorted fresh Kiwi in four different Bills of Lading. The goods came to be seized by aforesaid seizure memo on the allegation that the petitioners misdirected in furnishing details in relation to the import of the said goods.

Upon examination, the respondent authorities found that Psytosanitary Certificate bearing no. 2166631 dated 09.05.2022 was used for clearing more than one consignment of similar quantity. It was found to have been used by as many as four different importers to clear the goods having declared Chile as origin.

Conclusion- Held that when the goods are perishable in nature, the authorities should act with greater swiftness to proceed with the adjudicatory mechanism and take a final decision.

When the petitioner has agreed to abide by the conditions which may be imposed in light of the decision of this court in M/s. A and A Shipping Services, which could be applied to guide the final order to be passed, this court is inclined to grant the prayer by allowing the provisional release of the goods.

As far as the conditions on which the goods may be released to the petitioner, the court leaves the said aspect to the competent authority concerned who shall prescribe the conditions on the lines of the conditions prescribed by this court in M/s. A and A Shipping Services exercising sound discretion in that regard and upon compliance of such conditions shall provisional release the goods.

FULL TEXT OF THE JUDGMENT/ORDER OF GUJARAT HIGH COURT

In the facts and circumstances of the case and having regard to the request and consent of the learned advocates for the parties, this Special Civil Application was taken up for final consideration.

1.1 Rule returnable forthwith. Learned advocate Mr.Priyank Lodha waives service of Rule on behalf of respondents.

1.2 Heard learned advocate Mr. Hardik Modh for the petitioner and learned advocate for the respondent authorities.

2. Following prayers are advanced in the present petition filed under Article 227 of the Constitution,

a) To allow the petitioner to clear the goods imported through the Bills of Entry filed with the office of respondent no.3, the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kandla.

b) To quash and set aside the seizure memo dated 20.11.2022 issued by Respondent no.4, the Preventive Officer, Kandla Special Economic Zone, Kandla.

c) Not to initiate any actions for disposal of the goods imported through the Bill of entry filed with the office of Respondent no.3, the Deputy Commissioner of Customs, Kandla.

d) Set aside the letter dated 08.02.2023 issued by the Assistant/Deputy Commissioner (SIIB), Customs House, Kandla.

3. The petitioners no.1 to 3 are the proprietary concerns which are engaged in import and trade of various commodities including food items. Petitioner no.4 is the agent of petitioners no.1 to 3 who filed Bills of Entry and other documents on behalf of petitioner traders. The petitioners are having the GST registration, the details of which are given in first paragraph of the petition.

3.1The challenge in the petition is directed against the seizure memo dated 20.01.2022 issued by respondent no.4, which is common memo issued to all the petitioners under Section 11 of the Customs Act, 1962. The petitioners imported the goods of the description of fresh Kiwi fruits or assorted fresh Kiwi in four different Bills of Lading. The goods came to be seized by aforesaid seizure memo on the allegation that the petitioners misdirected in furnishing details in relation to the import of the said goods.

3.2 The goods were imported under Bills of Entry No. 1017867 dated 16.11.2022. The goods were of Chilion origin, routed through Dubai to reach the destination Port. The goods were covered by Bill of Entry No. 1017867 dated 16.11.2022. It was supported by Psytosanitary Certificate of Dubai authorities bearing no. 2129947 dated 10.10.2022 and Psytosanitary Certificate issued by Chile bearing No. 2171104, 2171710, 2166631, 2158829 dated 09.05.2022. The Bill of Lading of Dubai was dated 14.11.2022.

3.3 Upon examination, the respondent authorities found that Psytosanitary Certificate bearing no. 2166631 dated 09.05.2022 was used for clearing more than one consignment of similar quantity. It was found to have been used by as many as four different importers to clear the goods having declared Chile as origin.

3.4 The authorities proceeded to exercise their powers under section 110 of the Customs Act, 1962, and seized the goods. As stated above, in the seizure memo, it was inter alia stated that the same Psytosanitary Certificate bearing no.2166631 was used many times for similar quantity. The names of the parties who used the same Psytosanitary Certificate included A & A Shipping Services.

4. Pressing the only prayer advanced in the petition as above, learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that the goods are of perishable nature, which are lying with the authorities since the date of seizure, that is 20.11.2022 and since they are perishable in nature, they are on the verge of perishment to result into serious financial loss and also prejudice to the petitioner who has already requested the authorities to clear the goods. It was submitted that the petitioner is ready to comply with the conditions which may be imposed for the purpose of provisional release. It was next submitted that section 110A of the Customs Act,1962 permits provisional release of goods pending the

adjudication.

4.1 In addition to the above submissions, learned advocate for the petitioner relied on the decision of this Court in M/s. A and A Shipping Services vs. Union of India being Special Civil Application No. 23784 of 2022 decided on 29.11.2022. It was submitted that in the said case, the Court entertained the prayer for provisional release of the goods which were the very goods-fresh Kiwis Fruits and seizure of the goods in that case was on the identical ground. Learned advocate for the petitioner submitted that the same conditions may be imposed and the relief to the petitioner may be granted.

4.2 Learned advocate for the respondent on the other hand relied on the affidavit-in-reply to oppose the prayer. He raised various contentions on the basis of the contents of the affidavit-in-reply.

5. While the court has gone through the averments and contentions raised in the affidavit, they primarily relate to repeat use of the Phytosanitary Certificate for more than one consignment. It is not the stand of the authorities for seizure of the goods that the goods are unfit for human consumption. It was accepted by the respondent authorities also that it is not the ground that the goods are not worth of human consumption.

5.1 Section 110A of the Customs Act, 1962 reads as under,

110A.- Provisional release of goods, documents and things seized or bank account provisionally attached pending adjudication Any goods, documents or things seized or bank account provisionally attached under section 110, may, pending the order of the adjudicating authority be released to the owner or the bank account holder on taking a bond from him in the proper form with such security and conditions as the adjudicating authority may require.

5.2 Under the statutory provisions, the seizure of the goods would follow the inquiry and investigation to be further followed by adjudication process which may or may not ultimately lead to confiscation of imported goods as contemplated in section 111 of the Act. The stage of inquiry has yet not been started. It is reflected that though goods were seized on 20.11.2022, so far the petitioner is not issued show cause notice. In any case, the adjudicatory proceedings have not started.

5.3 The court finds that when the goods are perishable in nature, the authorities should act with greater swiftness to proceed with the adjudicatory mechanism and take a final decision.

5.4 As far as the prayer for provisional release of the goods are concerned, it could be considered not only on the basis of the facts obtaining, but also in view of decision of M/s. A and A Shipping Services (supra) as could be gathered from the contents of para 9.2 of the said decision. In that case, the seizure of the goods of very nature was based on identical allegation namely that the same Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the Chilen authorities were used for different consignments by different importers.

5.5 Para 9.2 of may be extracted from the said decision,

On perusal of the documents submitted by the importer and it was noticed that the same Phytosanitary Certificate issued by the Chilean authorities were being used for different consignments by different importers. It is given a detail as to how the two Phytosanitary certificates issued by the Chile are mentioned in the other certificates and therefore, according to the respondent, the documents could be the forged documents showing the CountryofOrigin of Chile. Another importer M/s.Saify Enterprise also has used the said Phytosanitary certificate. They are also suspicious about the Phytosanitary certificate bearing Nos .2158830 dated 26.04.2022, 2171104 dated 17.05.2022 & 2167596 dated 11.05.2022. The vessel has reached at Mundra Port on 05.10.2022, it takes about 04 to 05 days from Jabel Ali Port, Dubai to Mundra Port. Therefore, also it has suspected the certificates.

6. The case of the petitioner herein is further additionally comparable with the facts of the said case, as the very certificates which were subject matter of allegations in M/s. A and A Shipping Services (supra) are the certificates mentioned in the impugned seizure memo with the allegations that they were used for shipping clearance for more than one consignments. The Division Bench considered the provisions of the Customs Act including sections 110, 110A and 112 and further relying on the decision of the Madras High Court in Writ Appeal No. 377 of 2016 in Malabar Diamond Gallery Pvt. Ltd. vs. Additional Director, DRI Chennai & Ors. as well as the decision of this court in Besto Tradeling Limited vs. Principlal Commissioner of Customs being Special Civil Application No. 1796 of 2022 and took the view that the authorities were required to release the goods which were of perishable in nature.

6.1 It was noted by the court that the petitioner therein had paid the tax. In that view of the matter, the Division Bench deemed it proper to impose suitable conditions of furnishing of bank guarantee, furnishing of bond and obtaining undertaking of the Manager Director as directed in para-19 of the order to permit the provisional release. The review application filed against the siad judgement came to be dismissed.

7. The Bill of Entry in the present case indicated that they relate to fresh Kiwi fruits of the description mentioned therein. They are perishable foods. The adjudication is pending, not yet started.

7.1 In the facts and circumstances of the case, when the petitioner has agreed to abide by the conditions which may be imposed in light of the decision of this court in M/s. A and A Shipping Services (supra), which could be applied to guide the final order to be passed, this court is inclined to grant the prayer by allowing the provisional release of the goods.

7.2 As far as the conditions on which the goods may be released to the petitioner, the court leaves the said aspect to the competent authority concerned who shall prescribe the conditions on the lines of the conditions prescribed by this court in M/s. A and A Shipping Services (supra) exercising sound discretion in that regard and upon compliance of such conditions shall provisional release the goods.

7.3 The authorities shall permit the release of the goods as per the following directions.

(i) The petitioner shall pay the entire due tax amount, if not paid within three days.

(ii) The competent authority of the respondents shall proceed to determine the conditions to be imposed against the petitioner for the purpose of release of the goods, which may include furnishing of bank guarantee, furnishing of bond and undertaking from the person at the helm of affairs of the company on the very lines of order passed by this Court in M/s. A and A Shipping Services (supra).

(iii) the conditions regarding furnishing of bank guarantee, furnishing of bond and including payment of tax, shall be the conditions to be satisfied by the petitioner primarily as condition precedent for release of the goods.

(iv) Any other conditions such as seeking certain documents, which may be prescribed by the authorities shall be treated as subsidiary conditions, for compliance shall be ensured, which appropriate time, if required, shall be given to the petitioner. However, non-compliance of those conditions shall not be a ground not to release the goods.

(v) The entire exercise above including the release of the goods shall be within five days from the date of receipt of copy of this order.

8. It is observed that adjudicatory process shall start and shall be completed expeditiously.

9. It is clarified that this court has not gone into nor has expressed any thing about rival merits in case, to be finally determined by the adjudicating authorities.

10. The petition stands disposed of in the above terms.

Direct service is permitted.
KALAMA  A grain terminal housed at the Port of Kalama is asking for $14 million to add more rail, and it needs help from the federal marine administration.

The Port of Kalama and its tenant, Cargill-owned TEMCO, are hoping to install 17,200 linear feet of support tracks to the rail system at the grain terminal. The port recently got a letter of support from the Kalama City Council to request a $14 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation Marine Administration to move forward with the project.

The total project cost is estimated at $18 million, with the port covering about $4.2 million.

Eric Yakovich, economic development director at the port, said the ask comes as the company has faced loading delays up to seven hours. These new support tracks could increase loading efficiency by about 30%, he said.

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With additional storage, the trains wont be asked to stage in, say, Spokane, Yakovich said.

The company declined to comment on the grant beyond what is included in the City Council documents, Cargill Media Relations Director Bridget Christenson said by email.

Yakovich said USDOT will likely take the Kalama City Councils letter of support into consideration when deciding whether to approve the grant application.

They want to know theres community support for these projects, Yakovich said.

While TEMCO is the only Port of Kalama company right now looking to add more rail, Yakovich said the port consistently monitors and considers how it can improve facilities for other tenants.

The Columbia River Federal Navigation Channel Deepening Project completed in 2005 made a $210 million investment that deepened the river from 40 feet to 43 feet.

According to the ports letter to the city, this made it possible for TEMCO and the Kalama Export Company to go from handling 9 million metric tons in 2012 to more than 15 million metric tons in 2021.

Business at Southwest Washington ports has ramped up in the years since the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Changes in supply chains meant ports were handling more cargo carried in breakbulk more often than containers, Port of Longview CEO Dan Stahl said during a roundtable discussion in January.

The changes have spurred efforts to make the Lower Columbia River more prepared to handle the higher traffic volume. Most recently, the Longview and Kalama ports signed on to deepen the river channel so larger ships can come through and turn around if they need to.

Yakovich said port leaders also want to approve projects that promote local jobs and make visiting the port easier for people, he said. If the rail project gets accepted, it could bring more than 100 local jobs.

This very directly impacts the local community, Yakovich said.
KALAMA  A 23-year-old woman is recovering after being stabbed in the leg late Monday night after an altercation with a traveling companion in Kalama, the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office announced Tuesday afternoon.

The incident occurred Monday at 10:24 p.m. near the intersection of West Kalama River Road and Fishermans Loop Road, just next to the southbound lanes of Interstate 5 in Kalama, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriffs Office.

In a Facebook post, sheriffs officials said the unnamed 23-year-old victim, a witness, and the suspect Khloe L. Ogle, 19, of Longview were traveling together  with Ogle at the wheel  when they compelled Ogle to pull over.

Chief Criminal Deputy Troy Brightbill told The Daily News that the victim and Ogle knew each other and had an altercation over Ogle possibly being intoxicated at the wheel.

Ogle reportedly stopped the vehicle at West Kalama River Road and Fishermans Loop Road and began assaulting the 23-year-old passenger, reportedly stabbing her in the leg, the sheriffs office said.

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The unnamed victim was taken to St. John Medical Center for treatment for her wounds. Meanwhile, Ogle allegedly fled from the scene of the stabbing.

Ogle was later apprehended after a Port of Kalama security guard spotted her vehicle parked near exit 39 and called authorities, the Facebook post said.

After her arrest, Ogle was booked into the Cowlitz County Jail; she faces charges of first-degree assault and driving while under the influence of intoxicants. She had a preliminary hearing Tuesday afternoon; her next court appearance is unknown.
A proposed subdivision northeast of Castle Rock took a step forward Tuesday, when the Cowlitz County commissioners approved the preliminary plat application.

The Ridge View rural subdivision will include 10 residential lots and one commercial lot on about 27 acres at 102 Si Town Road off Spirit Lake Memorial Highway. Standridge Inc. applied on behalf of landowner TRMC Ventures LLC.

Before starting construction, the applicant will need to submit construction drawings for the roads, utilities and stormwater facilities for county approval and receive a grading permit, said Daniel Turner, senior planner.

The developer has five years to complete infrastructure construction to county standards, receive approval from staff before getting the final plat approval from the board to sell lots or build houses.

On March 15, the county Planning Commission unanimously recommended preliminary plat approval.

Last year, the county approved converting the property to residential use and permitted a timber harvest on the parcel, which included a critical areas permit and a restrictive covenant limiting work around Salmon Creek. Construction of the road and houses will avoid the critical areas, according to the proposal.

The parcel is unzoned and designated as rural in the comprehensive plan, which allows any development not considered a nuisance, Turner said. The parcel is surrounded by undeveloped forested land, with some single-family housing in the area.

A new private road branching off the west side of Si Town Road would serve the 2-acre lots. The parcel is steep and the homes will be located on top of the hill, according to the proposal.

The developer will extend the Cowlitz County public waterline located along Si Town Road to serve the lots, which will have septic tanks.

The Washington State Department of Transportation did not object to the commercial lots entrance off Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, Turner said. The developer plans to demolish the banks on the property to improve the site distance for drivers.

Development of the lot is not currently contemplated, according to the proposal.

During Planning Commission meetings earlier this year, some area residents raised concerns about traffic along Spirit Lake Memorial Highway, especially in the summer, making it difficult to turn on and off Si Town Road.

Commissioner Rick Dahl said he recently visited the site and watched the traffic, which wasnt a constant stream. Dahl acknowledged drivers waiting to turn off of Si Town Road onto the state highway have to pay close attention.
5 cameras, main one being 50 MP: Xiaomi 13 Ultra flagship camera-smartphone introduced

April 19, 2023 10:44

China's Xiaomi has unveiled the Xiaomi 13 Ultra flagship smartphone, which promises to set a new benchmark in mobile photography. It is equipped with four camera modules, including the main one with a 1-inch sensor. Unlike last year's Xiaomi 12S Ultra, the new 13 Ultra will also enter the international market, Gsmarena.com reports.

The new Xiaomi 13 Ultra smartphone became a bestseller immediately after the official presentation; all versions of this smartphone, as well as its photo accessories, are sold out.

There are four cameras on the back panel of Xiaomi 13 Ultra. They were developed in collaboration with Leica and are placed under a single glass block; the company has called it the Leica Vario-Summicron 1. 1.8-3.0/ 12-120 ASPH. The main camera has a 50 MP 1-inch Sony IMX989 sensor with a 23mm lens. The camera has optical stabilization and a physical two-stop aperture. The f/1.9 mode offers the shallowest depth of field, while the f/4.0 mode enables for a completely clear image. In the 1.6m sensor, the pixels are combined four-in-one, resulting in a 12.5MP image, or 3.2m per pixel.

The other three cameras are based on a 50MP 1/2.51-inch Sony IMX858 sensor.

Camera with 75mm equivalent focal length, f/1.8 aperture, and 3.2x zoom.

Camera with 120mm equivalent focal length, f/3.0 aperture, and 5x zoom.

12mm f/1.8 ultra-wide-angle lens with 5cm macro support.

The smartphone also has a 32MP f/2.0 front-facing camera, where the pixels are also grouped into four, giving an 8-megapixel image.

The camera app offers two color modes: Leica Vibrant and Leica Authentic. There's also a 50MP UltraRAW mode for the main camera, which enables to shoot in 14-bit DNG format with noise reduction and the ability to adjust dynamic range. Beginner street photographers will love the Fast Shot feature, which has a fast focus capability of just 0.8 seconds.

The back panel of this smartphone evokes clear associations with the camera; it has a large round block that looks like a large lens and a faux leather coverin black and green. Xiaomi explained that it is a piece of leather made of antibacterial silicone, which destroys up to 99% of microorganisms.

Xiaomi 13 Ultra is equipped with a 6.73-inch AMOLED screen with a resolution of 32001440 pixels, a refresh rate of 120 Hz, and a maximum brightness of 2600 qd/m. The smartphone runs on the Qualcomm Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 platform and is offered in the following configurations of operational (LPDDR5X) and built-in (UFS 4.0) memory: 12/256 GB, 16/512 GB, and 16 GB/1 TB.

The processor is cooled by the Xiaomi Loo LiquidCool system with a vapor chamber. The smartphone has a 5,000mAh battery that supports wired charging at 90W and wireless charging at 50W. The autonomous battery operation and charging process are controlled by special Xiaomi Surge P2 and Surge G1 chips.

The Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be available in black, green, and white colors.

Its prices are as follows:

12/256GB version: $871,

16/512 GB version: $944,

16/1024 GB version: $1,060.

The Chinese manufacturer has promised to release an international version of this smartphone, but the respective timeframes have not been specified yet.
Nokia announced that it has entered into a partnership with Lightstorm, in India, to supply the latest WDM optical network solutions for Lightstorms network expansion into the Eastern and Northern regions of India. The deal includes integration and consulting services to assist Lightstorm in deploying Nokias latest C+L band WDM optical line system solutions, which also enables protection features to ensure network resiliency in the event of multiple fiber cuts. Recently Lightstorm completed the coverage enhancement.

Lightstorm is an innovative provider of carrier-neutral digital infrastructure to enterprise customers. Their SmartNet long-haul route in India offers a next generation network architecture for enterprise customers with reduced latency, 100% uptime and full end-to-end control and management capabilities.

Lightstorm is extending its existing partnership with Nokia as it expands coverage east and north across large swathes of India. The extended network uses Nokias 1830 Photonic Service Switch (PSS) optical transport platform and incorporates its fifth-generation coherent optic chipset (PSE-V) to expand total capacity to multi terabytes. The significant boost will help Lightstorm to offer added capacity for its existing customers and also onboard new customers with a significantly higher baseline of services and benefits. 1830 is future proofed for Nokias sixth generation PSE-6 when capacity demands further increase.

Vinish Bawa, Head of Enterprise, Webscale & Emerging business, India at Nokia, said, Nokias DWDM products offer high capacity and automation to enable cutting-edge digital services for enterprise customers across India. Our partnership with Lightstorm showcases our industry-leading portfolio in optical networking which will be integral to the Digital India vision.

Rajiv Nayyar, Chief Operating Officer at Lightstorm, said, Our partnership with Nokia will help us achieve our goals of rapid network route expansion with the benefit of added capacity. The expanded coverage will help Lightstorm cater to our customers increasing demand and help drive the Digital India vision.
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:

Model combining CNN and bi-lstm for predicting abnormal conditions of FCCU. Credit: Big Data Mining and Analytics (2023). DOI: 10.26599/BDMA.2023.9020002

A major part of making heavy crude oil into gasoline and other products is the fluidic catalytic cracking processing. The process, first used commercially in 1915, has since undergone a variety of refinements but could be made safer and more effective, according to researchers based in China. The answer? Artificial intelligence.

The researchers published how artificial intelligence could improve the catalytic cracking process, which involves chemically breaking down the long molecules comprising heavy crude oil and separating them out as the desired products on April 7 in Big Data Mining and Analytics.

"Safety, efficiency and environmental protection are the core goals of petroleum processing," said first author Fan Yang, a researcher with the College of Computer Science at Sichuan University. Yang is also affiliated with New Hope Liuhe's Algorithm and Big Data Center. "Abnormal operating condition, early warning, product yield analysis and optimization, and flue gas desulfurization analysis and optimization are the hotspots we're researching to improve safety, efficiency and environmental protection, respectively."

According to Yang and his co-author Mao Xu, a researcher with the New Hope Liuhe's Data Intelligence Lab, advancements in both data acquisition and the artificial intelligence used to understand the data provide the path forward.

"The improvement of industrial data collection technology enables us to obtain more data for analysis," Xu said. "The development of artificial intelligence enables us to analyze these data more accurately."

To better examine and optimize the process of catalytic cracking, the team investigated neural networks. This type of artificial intelligence models how it processes data on the human brain, using interconnected nodes to quickly analyze large amounts of data. It learns as it processes, identifying how seemingly disparate data points can signal a larger issue or a potential opportunity when pulled together. Consider temperature, vapor production and yield of desired product.

Neural networks, although based on human brains, are not limited by human focus. They can pull in thousands upon thousands of data points related to those three variables and see how they may influence each other to produce different results.

"This type of machine learning is data driven, and it can solve high-dimensional problems automatically and efficiently," Xu said. "By combining machine learning with a mechanism modelor an algorithm that understands how a mechanism results in a behaviorwe can further reduce uncertainties and improve prediction performance."

Xu noted that other machine learning models can be fitted to neural networks, mapping the non-linear relationship of the chemical process in catalytic cracking. In this approach, the researchers can also select for certain features or reduce the number of dimensions considered by the artificial intelligence to investigate more nuanced connections.

"The paper provides a comprehensive review of fluidic catalytic cracking process analysis, mainly introducing methods based on traditional mathematical mechanisms and artificial intelligence," Yang said. "The neural network method shows great advantages as it can effectively deal with the high-dimensional and non-linear characteristics of catalytic cracking processes, obtaining better results in process analysis and optimization research."

The researchers said they plan to eventually test their neural networks, which perform well in simulations, in the actual production process.

"In future research, hybrid models combining mechanism models and artificial intelligence algorithms are expected to become powerful tools for more comprehensive and accurate analysis of chemical processes and prediction of production results," Yang said. "These methods will play an important role in the future development of the chemical industry and will be of great value."

More information: Fan Yang et al, Artificial Intelligence Methods Applied to Catalytic Cracking Processes, Big Data Mining and Analytics (2023). DOI: 10.26599/BDMA.2023.9020002

Provided by Tsinghua University Press
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Credit: CC0 Public Domain

For the past three years, Terry Aberhart has watched the spindly, fixed-wing drones zip across the big skies over his farm in Canada's Saskatchewan province, testing a technology that could be the future of weeding.

Fitted with an artificial intelligence system, the drones are designed by local startup Precision AI to spot, identify and kill the weeds without drenching the entire crop in chemicals.

"I'm on the list for one of the first machines when they become available," says Aberhart, a sustainable farming enthusiast. "The current technology is designed for maximum coverage and to hit everything in the field."

For decades, big-acre crops like corn and wheat have been treated by spraying tractors that would move across vast farmlands, unleashing waterfalls of herbicide from long arms stretched above the crops, all to zap weeds that are often tiny and scattered about.

Apart from the environmental toll, that conventional spray-it-all approach also results in colossal financial waste. Aberhart spent nearly C$1 million ($745,000) on herbicides in 2022 alone to protect the wheat, canola and pulses growing on a slice of prairie larger than Manhattan. "Even if we could save 50% on average, it's a huge saving," he says.

The problem of combating weeds in a sustainable way is more urgent today than ever. Scientists say global warming supercharges the growth of certain weeds that compete for nutrients with crops, threatening food security. But every drop of herbicide farmers spray comes with an environmental cost, polluting soil, contaminating drinking water and contributing to a catastrophic loss of biodiversity.

A 2020 study found prolonged exposure to weed killersincluding those approved by regulatorsposes a threat to water fleas, a species vital to the aquatic ecosystem. And pressure is mounting on global food producers to rethink intensive farming practices; leaders from 195 nations signed a landmark United Nations-backed agreement last year, pledging to protect and restore at least 30% of the Earth's land and water by 2030.

Precision AI is among a handful of companies turning to advanced technology to address the problem of chemical overuse in agriculture. Founded in 2017 by serial tech entrepreneur Daniel McCann, the company uses images of 15,000 plant species to train computer algorithms to distinguish staple crops (think corn, wheat and soybeans) from unwanted weeds. The drone's camera can "see" anything bigger than half a sesame seed and its AI identifies weeds with 96% accuracy, spraying the intended target alone.

Precision AI says its approach can reduce herbicide use by as much as 90% compared to traditional methods. The startup was one of a dozen winners of BloombergNEF's 2023 Pioneers award, which aims to spotlight early-stage climate tech innovators with game-changing potential.

Precision's drones are capable of carrying five US gallons of liquid (nearly 20 liters) per flight and covering roughly 80 acres (0.3 square km) an hour. As the drone flies 4 to 6 feet (1.2 to 1.8 meters) above ground, its AI system makes real-time decisions and applies herbicides only where needed.

"We can't continue to do things the way we've always done them," McCann says. "We have to grow food smarter."

Leveraging robotics and computer technology to assist in agricultural production isn't a new concept; researchers at the University of Florida explored the possibility of a robotic orange picker as early as the 1980s. But recent technological advancements in AI, combined with worsening labor shortages and growing consumer demand for ethically and ecologically-produced food, have accelerated innovation.

"There are a lot of new developments and efforts towards using automated robotic solutions in agriculture," says Manoj Karkee, a professor specializing in agricultural engineering at Washington State University. "We're closer than ever to starting utilizing these technologies."

Precision farmingan umbrella term that covers everything from AI-enabled weeding machines to smart sensor-controlled irrigation systemsis expected to grow from an $8.5 billion business last year to $15.6 billion by 2030, according to consultancy Markets and Markets. To get a slice of that action, Israeli startup Greeneye Technology helps upgrade mainstream sprayers to smarter ones that can identify and target individual weeds. Bosch BASF Smart Farming, a joint venture between two of Europe's largest conglomerates, has come up with a similar solution.

Precision AI is focused on weed control from the sky with an additional benefit in mind. Unlike conventional spraying tractors and high-tech ground robots that trample anything in their way and compact the soil, drones minimize collateral damage.

That, in turn, could allow farmers to produce more on the same landgood news for a world where at least 50% more food is needed by 2050 to sustain a growing population, according to a 2019 study.

For now, Precision AI's drone is operated with supervision from a human pilot. But McCann says his company is poised to introduce a fully autonomous spraying drone that can take off, fly and land by itselfas long as regulators grant permission.

The startup plans to commercialize its on-demand spraying service next year, allowing farmers to book as needednot dissimilar to how consumers order an Uber. It will also sell the spraying drone to farmers who want more control over their crop management and charge a fee for its AI operating software on a pay-as-you-go basis.

That business potential has attracted investors including At One Ventures and BDC Capital, who've poured more than $20 million in venture funding into the company. Precision AI is also among eight startups selected earlier this year by Moline, Illinois-based Deere & Company, one of the world's biggest farm machinery makers by revenue, to team up on the exploration of future agricultural technology.

Not everyone is convinced that future farming will be ruled by flying robots, however. Mark Siemens, an associate professor at the University of Arizona, says agricultural drone makers still need to prove their technology, especially at scale.

There is also the issue of regulatory hurdles. Precision AI is first targeting North America, where big-acre farming is common. But Canada has yet to give its regulatory blessing to commercial drone-based weed control. In the US, where Precision AI plans to make its commercial debut next year, lawmakers have given the green light for agricultural spray drones used by licensed operatorsbut they have done so with a long checklist. "The legal framework is still pretty challenging," says Karkee of Washington State University.

On top of that, agricultural drone makers including Precision AI may get a cold shoulder from those they mean to help.

Aberhart, the farmer in Saskatchewan, says it will require "a big shift in mindset and mentality" for the farming community to switch over from the blanket spraying practice that has dominated the industry for decades. The first converts will be taking a big risk. After all, if weed management fails, it can ruin a season.

But Aberhart reckons that the transition will be a question of when, rather than whether. "It costs a farmer money to spray. So why would we want to spend more money if we don't have to?"

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The Microsoft company logo is displayed at their offices in Sydney, Australia, on Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. Local leaders have approved plans for a massive Microsoft data center in a southeast Wisconsin village, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, where the world's largest electronics manufacturer has a huge campus. Credit: AP Photo/Rick Rycroft, File

Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world's largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.

Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion data center on the 315-acre (127-hectare) parcel in Mount Pleasant, a village of about 27,000 people in Racine County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Milwaukee. It's unclear how many people the center might employ. Paul Englis, Microsoft's director of global community research and engagement, told the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that such centers typically employ 300 to 400 people.

The village already is home to a Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing facility. The Taiwan-based company is best known for making Apple iPhones. The company announced plans in 2017 to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant that would employ 13,000 people.

Wisconsin's governor at the time, Republican Scott Walker, and then-President Donald Trump praised the decision, with Trump boasting the plant would be the "eighth wonder of the world."

The state agreed to provide Foxconn with nearly $3 billion in tax breaks. The company never delivered on its promises and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers scaled back the tax breaks to $80 million contingent on the number of jobs created and investments. The company qualified for just $8.6 million in tax credits last year after creating 768 eligible jobs and making a $77.4 million capital investment by the end of 2021.

According to a fact sheet describing the Microsoft project compiled by southeastern Wisconsin economic development groups, the parcel of land is part of a tax-increment financing district that includes the Foxconn campus. Property taxes collected in such districts can be used to subsidize development.

Foxconn spent $60 million to help Mount Pleasant officials buy the property to create the district, said Mia Tripi, a spokesperson for the village and Racine County.

Foxconn would receive the proceeds from the land sale to Microsoft as partial reimbursement of what Foxconn spent to acquire land for the district in 2017, according to the fact sheet. Microsoft would be eligible to recoup 42% of property taxes paid on new construction, up to $5 million annually.

Microsoft must begin the first phase of construction by July 2026 and begin the second phase by July 2033.

The tech sector has been contracting after pandemic-era expansions brought on a boom in demand for workplace software. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, hasn't been immune to the trend, announcing in January that it planned to cut 10,000 workers and consolidate leased office locations. Company officials said then that the layoffs amounted to less than 5% of their total employee base.

___

Correction note: This story has been corrected to show that Paul Englis spoke to the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesdaynot Thursday.

 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
When Leslie Inami moved from Peru to the U.S. 19 years ago, she noticed a need for bilingual teachers to bridge the gap between different cultures in order to build a stronger community for students and families.

Connecting to a new system and culture can be a daunting task, but Inami said the main goal is to preserve ones pride in their culture.

Now in her 17th year in the Bryan school district, Inami is serving as a kindergarten bilingual teacher at Mary Branch Elementary School and said it was an honor to be standing among 184 of her peers during a reception held Monday for teachers who earned a designation and received a pay raise through the Teacher Incentive Allotment program.

The TIA, established by the Texas Legislatures passing of House Bill 3 in 2019, provides eligible and successful teachers with the opportunity to earn a recognized, exemplary or master-level designation. If a designation is earned, an allotment based on the designation of each teacher and the demographics of each campus will be awarded for five years.

Being a positive role model is of the utmost importance for Inami, who said this program motivates teachers outside it to give 100% to achieve a designation.

It is a good incentive for teachers to keep working and do best for our kids, Inami said. I will definitely recommend all of the districts to do it.

With 27% of the Bryan school districts eligible teachers in all of the current eligible content areas (ELA, math, science, self-contained, special education and bilingual) having earned a designation, Superintendent Ginger Carrabine expressed her gratitude. Having started the process in the fall of 2020, she said this was a long time coming for the district and these teachers, who will receive their first payouts in June 2023.

We had everything from a first-year teacher to some of our very veteran teachers, and the payouts across the district are just incredible, Carrabine said.

While this was unchartered territory, Carrabine said she was not surprised by the quality of teachers present in the Bryan school district, but rather overwhelmed by the programs initial success.

The fact that we have 185 recipients is just fantastic, she said. Its truly, truly wonderful that you dedicated yourself in such a way to add value on these kids and to not give up on them, so thank you.

As she congratulated those in attendance, Carrabine said she hopes the TIA will continue to motivate and drive teachers to the Bryan school district.

Thank you for all that youre doing for our students in Bryan ISD; I hope you stay with us in Bryan ISD, Carrabine said. More than ever, our kids need continuity and consistency and teachers who believe in them.

Barbara Ybarra, associate superintendent of teaching and learning, has put in a lot of the behind-the-scenes work to make this program possible for the district and its teachers.

Its a wonderful moment when we can reward any teacher, Ybarra said. We wish we could include even more teachers in the TIA program and are working hard to do that, but its wonderful to see fantastic teachers rewarded for their work with students.

While she agreed with Carrabine that the multiyear process took commitment from teachers, the administration and the district, Ybarra said it is wonderful to see these teachers being recognized by the state of Texas.

Board member David Stasny, whose four children were successfully educated through the Bryan school district, has palpable faith in the district and the public school system as a whole.

The rationale nowadays is that so many people are not getting or dont feel like theyre getting an adequate education from public schools, and Im just absolutely convinced thats not true in Bryan, Texas, at least and in most of the public schools in our state, Stasny said.

Whitney Powers, fifth grade math teacher at Sam Rayburn Intermediate School, and her teaching partner, Amy Gryzmala, fifth grade ELA teacher, agreed that this recognition is about more than just the money.

I know I do way more than my job title, so this is just like a pat on the back good job, Powers said. What this day means to me is all of my hard work is being recognized, and Im in a room with educators that work just as hard as me.

Building strong relationships with students is the key to success, Powers said. With the TIA, she said goal setting, planning and data collection are also major parts of it.

Not just looking at how did the students score, what are the students showing me, if they didnt pass or theyre not doing well on something, not saying what did they do, but what did I do? What can I do differently? Powers said. Thats a huge mindset, too, is how can I get better for them?
The College Station school board has invited community members to provide feedback for its superintendent search by completing a short online survey.

The survey can be accessed at survey.csisd.org/index.php/218362 or by clicking the Superintendent Search link located on the home page of csisd.org.

On March 21, current College Station Superintendent Mike Martindale announced his plans to retire, effective July 1. At a special school board meeting on March 27, the board unanimously selected N2 Learning to assist it with finding a replacement for Martindale.
Oversea-Chinese Banking Co. Limited (OTCMKTS:OVCHF  Get Rating) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 146,200 shares, a decline of 22.4% from the March 15th total of 188,300 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 100 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1,462.0 days.

Oversea-Chinese Banking Stock Performance

OTCMKTS OVCHF traded up $0.07 on Tuesday, hitting $9.49. Oversea-Chinese Banking has a 1-year low of $7.98 and a 1-year high of $9.77. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $9.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.85.

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About Oversea-Chinese Banking

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Oversea-Chinese Banking Corp. Ltd. engages in the provision of financial and banking services. It operates through the following business segments: Global Consumer or Private Banking, Global Wholesale Banking, Global Treasury & Markets, Insurance, and Others. The Global Consumer or Private Banking segment offers checking accounts, fixed deposits, savings, consumer loans, credit cards, wealth management products, and brokerage services.

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G7 attempt to smear China condemned

09:30, April 19, 2023 By WANG XU and ZHOU JIN ( China Daily

Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin speaks during a regular news briefing in Beijing, April 18, 2023. [Photo/fmprc.gov.cn]

Beijing warns group against creating division in international community

Beijing on Tuesday slammed a communique by the Group of Seven nations, saying it maliciously smeared China, grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and created antagonism and division in the international community.

The remarks came after foreign ministers in the G7 group criticized a number of Beijing's policies, including the country's actions in the East China Sea and South China Sea, the Taiwan question, issues concerning Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet and its domestic investment environment.

On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that China has made solemn representations to Japan, host of the G7 meeting, over the communique that shows arrogance, prejudice and intention of containing China.

Stance reiterated

Noting Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory, Wang reiterated that to truly maintain peace in the Taiwan Strait requires unequivocally opposing and stopping any "Taiwan independence" acts.

He stressed that the affairs of Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet are China's internal affairs that brook no external interference under any pretext or in any way.

Wang also said the situation in the East China Sea and the South China Sea is stable, and relevant countries should stop sowing discord and creating confrontation among regional countries.

China is committed to providing a stable, fair, transparent and predictable investment and business environment for foreign investors, he added.

"Certain G7 members have been ignoring the principles of market economy and fair competition, abusing the concept of national security and using every means possible to suppress foreign companies," Wang said, adding they are in no position to criticize China.

In the end, Wang urged the bloc, which comprises the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, to reflect on their own problems, abandon the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudice, and stop pointing fingers at other countries with a sense of superiority.

In fact, the language of the final statement by G7 foreign ministers has long been in focus since the beginning of the three-day meeting as rifts were seen among parties, with French President Emmanuel Macron this month saying the European Union should reduce its dependency on the US and cautioning against being drawn into the Taiwan crisis. Contrary to Macron, the host of the meeting, Japan, urged a unified tough stance on China as Tokyo insists "Ukraine might be East Asia tomorrow".

Liu Qingbin, former professor at the Institute of Advanced Sciences at Yokohama National University, said Japan's thinking is groundless and it should not push its ambition on strengthening the G7's "China-containment functions" nor will it succeed.

"Doing so will only lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy of conflict, distract the world from pressing global issues such as economic recovery and climate change, and harm their economic ties with China," Liu added.

According to Liu, the most dangerous scenario of all this is the self-fulfilling prophecy of conflict, because "if you treat someone as an enemy, he or she will almost certainly become one", which further results in a vicious cycle of escalation and conflict that would be "detrimental to all parties as well as the rest of the world".

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Spinnaker Trust lessened its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 55,983 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after selling 695 shares during the quarter. Spinnaker Trusts holdings in Pfizer were worth $2,869,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. RB Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.7% during the first quarter. RB Capital Management LLC now owns 5,446 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares during the last quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. raised its stake in Pfizer by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 36,081 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $1,868,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. United Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. United Bank now owns 46,671 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $2,416,000 after buying an additional 290 shares during the period. Ergoteles LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pfizer by 136.3% in the 1st quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 36,766 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,903,000 after buying an additional 21,209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 6.4% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 1,337,418 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $69,238,000 after acquiring an additional 79,887 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 67.62% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on PFE. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on Pfizer in a research report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a hold rating and a $43.00 target price on the stock. Daiwa Capital Markets raised shares of Pfizer from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and set a $51.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 7th. Bank of America cut shares of Pfizer from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Pfizer from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $49.80.

Pfizer Stock Down 1.5 %

Pfizer stock opened at $40.55 on Wednesday. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.23 and a fifty-two week high of $54.93. The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $41.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $45.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.22. The company has a market cap of $228.88 billion, a PE ratio of 7.40, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $24.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $24.40 billion. Pfizer had a net margin of 31.27% and a return on equity of 42.03%. The firms revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Pfizer Inc purchased 1,811,594 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $2.76 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,999.44. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 5,952,263 shares in the company, valued at $16,428,245.88. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.05% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Pfizer Company Profile

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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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Tobam decreased its holdings in The Williams Companies, Inc. (NYSE:WMB  Get Rating) by 40.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,802 shares of the pipeline companys stock after selling 2,540 shares during the quarter. Tobams holdings in Williams Companies were worth $125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Arrow Financial Corp grew its position in Williams Companies by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Arrow Financial Corp now owns 81,535 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $2,683,000 after purchasing an additional 2,415 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its position in Williams Companies by 11.7% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 2,411,800 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $79,746,000 after purchasing an additional 251,669 shares in the last quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 886,712 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $29,173,000 after purchasing an additional 52,616 shares in the last quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. grew its position in Williams Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Hartford Financial Management Inc. now owns 49,931 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $1,643,000 after purchasing an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oxbow Advisors LLC grew its position in Williams Companies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Oxbow Advisors LLC now owns 72,983 shares of the pipeline companys stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 1,830 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.38% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

WMB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Williams Companies from $36.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Sanford C. Bernstein cut shares of Williams Companies from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price target for the company from $37.00 to $34.00 in a report on Monday, February 27th. Raymond James lowered their price target on shares of Williams Companies from $42.00 to $40.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Scotiabank restated a sector perform rating and set a $35.00 price target on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Friday, April 14th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Williams Companies in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $35.92.

Insider Activity

Williams Companies Stock Down 0.5 %

In related news, Director William H. Spence acquired 5,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 14th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.61 per share, with a total value of $148,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 48,521 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,436,706.81. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website . 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Williams Companies stock opened at $30.16 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $36.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 4.77 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.71. The Williams Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.80 and a fifty-two week high of $37.97. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.63.

Williams Companies (NYSE:WMB  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 20th. The pipeline company reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.18 billion. Williams Companies had a net margin of 18.69% and a return on equity of 16.02%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.39 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that The Williams Companies, Inc. will post 1.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Williams Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 27th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.4475 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 10th. This represents a $1.79 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.94%. This is a positive change from Williams Companiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. Williams Companiess dividend payout ratio is currently 106.55%.

About Williams Companies

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The Williams Cos., Inc operates as an energy infrastructure company, which explores, produces, transports, sells and processes natural gas and petroleum products. It operates through the following segments: Transmission and Gulf of Mexico, Northeast G&P, and West. The Transmission and Gulf of Mexico segment consists of interstate natural gas pipelines, the Transco and Northwest Pipelines, as well as natural gas gathering and processing and crude oil production handling and transportation assets in the Gulf Coast region.

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Shares of Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. (NYSE:TPH  Get Rating) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $26.14 and last traded at $26.13, with a volume of 756362 shares. The stock had previously closed at $25.79.

Analyst Ratings Changes

TPH has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Tri Pointe Homes in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating for the company. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Tri Pointe Homes from $21.00 to $27.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer initiated coverage on Tri Pointe Homes in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. They set a market perform rating on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $21.00.

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Tri Pointe Homes Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $24.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $20.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 2.10 and a current ratio of 2.10. The stock has a market cap of $2.74 billion, a PE ratio of 4.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 1.45.

Insider Activity

Tri Pointe Homes ( NYSE:TPH Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The construction company reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.50 by $0.48. The firm had revenue of $1.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.26 billion. Tri Pointe Homes had a return on equity of 22.24% and a net margin of 13.40%. Tri Pointe Homess revenue for the quarter was up 25.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.33 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Tri Pointe Homes, Inc. will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

In related news, Director Constance B. Moore sold 39,589 shares of Tri Pointe Homes stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.15, for a total value of $916,485.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 60,613 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,403,190.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 2.00% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Tri Pointe Homes

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Tri Pointe Homes by 2.1% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 176,362 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $3,541,000 after purchasing an additional 3,591 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. grew its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 53.8% during the 1st quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 25,492 shares of the construction companys stock worth $512,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Tri Pointe Homes by 25.8% during the first quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 10,793 shares of the construction companys stock worth $224,000 after buying an additional 2,213 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Tri Pointe Homes by 39.4% in the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 128,677 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $2,584,000 after purchasing an additional 36,396 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Tri Pointe Homes by 10.5% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 40,731 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $818,000 after buying an additional 3,884 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.41% of the companys stock.

About Tri Pointe Homes

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Tri Pointe Homes, Inc designs, constructs, and sells single-family homes and condominiums. It operates through the Homebuilding and Financial Services segments. The Homebuilding segment consists of six reportable segments: Maracay Homes, consisting of operations in Arizona, Pardee Homes, consisting of operations in California and Nevada, Quadrant Homes, consisting of operations in Washington, Trendmaker Homes, consisting of operations in Texas, TRI Pointe Homes, consisting of operations in California and Colorado, and Winchester Homes, consisting of operations in Maryland and Virginia.

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C. Holland Perdue III is hitting his stride as the new mayor of Rocky Mount. He recently passed his first 100 days in office with some major accomplishments already under his belt.

Just last month, the Rocky Mount Town Council voted to approve adding term limits to the towns charter. While it still needs to be taken up by the Virginia Generally Assembly for final approval, it would limit the mayor and council members from serving in the same office more than three consecutive terms.

The Rocky Mount Town Council also approved the purchase of a 64-acre tract of property last month with the goal of addressing housing and commercial development needs as well as promoting economic development. Located at the intersection of U.S. 220 and Virginia 40, it was one of the largest undeveloped tracts of land in the town.

Perdue praised the work of town staff and other council members for getting both major projects done. He said they have been instrumental in getting him up to speed after being sworn in Jan. 5.

Perdue is not a complete stranger to working on town issues. He served on the Rocky Mount Board of Zoning Appeals since 2015 and was chairman before becoming mayor.

While the purchase of the 64-acre tract had been negotiated by town staff before coming to a vote last month, the issue of term limits was something Perdue campaigned on. One of his first acts as mayor was to create a charter review committee to consider term limits, which he also chaired.

Term limits are a significant change considering they are nearly nonexistent in other Virginia localities, but Perdue said there wasnt any pushback from other council members. It passed unanimously during last months vote.

No one really had anything negative to say about it, Perdue said.

With a limit to how many years a person can serve as mayor or on the town council, Perdue said it allows opportunity for new people and ideas. It is something that the Rocky Mount Town Council itself has experienced in the past few years with three new members, including Perdue as mayor.

Perdue was elected with Ben Mullins as the newest town council member this past November. Their addition has helped to trend the average age of the council significantly down along with the addition of Tyler Lee, who was elected in 2020.

Perdue, 37, said there is a trend of the younger generation taking notice of these elected positions in recent years. That generation is starting to work toward a better future for their community, he said.

Serving the community is also a bit of a family tradition for Perdue. His father, Clyde Perdue Jr. was a Franklin County Circuit Court judge as well as a longtime attorney with Raine & Perdue PLC in Rocky Mount.

Perdue said he always wanted to become an attorney and work alongside his father. After graduating from Virginia Tech and later the Appalachian School of Law, he returned home to join the firm with his father in 2010.

That was always my goal, Perdue said.

Unlike other children who eventually leave the town where they grew up, Perdue was eager to return. He worked with his father for five years until he was confirmed as a judge in 2015. His father died in 2021.

As Rocky Mounts new mayor, Perdue said he trying to continue his fathers legacy of working for the community. It is an accomplishment his father was never able to see.

Id like to think it would make him proud, Perdue said.

While his time as mayor has been short, Perdue wants to continue working to move Rocky Mount forward. He said the town has made great strides in recent years and wants to continue that progress during his time as mayor.

I just want to leave Rocky Mount in a better place than when I started, Perdue said.
An Iranian government-backed actor known as Mint Sandstorm has been linked to attacks aimed at critical infrastructure in the U.S. between late 2021 to mid-2022.

"This Mint Sandstorm subgroup is technically and operationally mature, capable of developing bespoke tooling and quickly weaponizing N-day vulnerabilities, and has demonstrated agility in its operational focus, which appears to align with Iran's national priorities," the Microsoft Threat Intelligence team said in an analysis.

Targeted entities consist of seaports, energy companies, transit systems, and a major U.S. utility and gas company. The activity is suspected to be retaliatory and in response to attacks targeting its maritime, railway, and gas station payment systems that took place between May 2020 and late 2021.

It's worth noting here that Iran subsequently accused Israel and the U.S. of masterminding the attacks on the gas stations in a bid to create unrest in the nation.

Mint Sandstorm is the new name assigned to the threat actor Microsoft was previously tracking under the name Phosphorus, and is also monitored by other cybersecurity vendors as APT35, Charming Kitten, ITG18, TA453, and Yellow Garuda.

The change in nomenclature is part of Microsoft's shift from chemical elements-inspired monikers to a new weather-themed threat actor naming taxonomy, in part driven by the increasing "complexity, scale, and volume of threats."

Unlike MuddyWater (aka Mercury or Mango Sandstorm), which is known to operate on behalf of Iran's Ministry of Intelligence and Security (MOIS), Mint Sandstorm is said to be associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

The attacks detailed by Redmond demonstrate the adversary's ability to constantly refine its tactics as part of highly-targeted phishing campaigns to obtain access to targeted environments, marking a shift from reconnaissance to direct targeting.

This includes rapid adoption of publicly disclosed proof-of-concepts (PoCs) linked to flaws in internet-facing applications (e.g., CVE-2022-47966 and CVE-2022-47986) into their playbooks for initial access and persistence.

It's not just newly disclosed flaws, as the threat actor has continued to use older vulnerabilities, especially Log4Shell, to compromise unpatched devices as part of opportunistic and indiscriminate attacks.

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A successful breach is followed by the deployment of a custom PowerShell script, which is then used to activate one of the two attack chains, the first of which relies on additional PowerShell scripts to connect to a remote server and steal Active Directory databases.

The other sequence entails the use of Impacket to connect to an actor-controlled server and deploy a bespoke implant called Drokbk and Soldier, with the latter being a multistage .NET backdoor with the ability to download and run tools and uninstall itself.

Drokbk was previously detailed by Secureworks Counter Threat Unit (CTU) in December 2022, attributing it to a threat actor known as Nemesis Kitten (aka Cobalt Mirage, TunnelVision, or UNC2448), a sub-cluster of Mint Sandstorm.

Microsoft also called out the threat actor for conducting low-volume phishing campaigns that culminate in the use of a third custom and modular backdoor referred to as CharmPower, a PowerShell-based malware that can read files, gather host information, and exfiltrate the data.

"Capabilities observed in intrusions attributed to this Mint Sandstorm subgroup are concerning as they allow operators to conceal C2 communication, persist in a compromised system, and deploy a range of post-compromise tools with varying capabilities," the tech giant added.
Logan Hunts Horse, accused of killing Todd Scherer in a Fonner Park barn on March 9, had his case bound over to Hall County District Court on Tuesday.

After his Hall County Court preliminary hearing, Judge John Rademacher scheduled Hunts Horse's District Court arraignment for 9 a.m. on May 2.

The body of Scherer, a 62-year-old Lincoln man, was found in one of the tack rooms at Fonner Park's Barn R.

The 20-year-old Hunts Horse, who is from Wounded Knee, South Dakota, is charged with six felonies, including first-degree murder.

Bryce Collamore of the Grand Island Police Department, lead investigator in the case, was the only person to testify at Tuesday's preliminary hearing.

Hunts Horse admitted to police that he shot Scherer once in the stomach and hit him on the back of the head with a baseball bat, Collamore said.

In response to questions from prosecutor Sarah Hinrichs, Collamore outlined the events of March 9.

Grand Island police and firefighters were dispatched to the barn at about 10 a.m. Scherer's body was found in tack room 5 in Barn R. He had a single gunshot wound to the abdomen.

Patrol officers called investigators because they found some things that were suspicious in nature, Collamore said. A spent casing was found in the room, but no firearm was present, meaning the death was inconsistent with suicide.

A 3-D scanner was brought in from the Kearney Police Department to document the scene. Later, Grand Island police found a large laceration on the back of Scherer's head. The bruise was deep enough that part of his skull was exposed.

Jockey Zack Ziegler told police that Hunts Horse told him he had shot a male named Todd earlier in the morning.

Scherer's body was partially lying on an air mattress. He wasn't wearing a shirt, and his jeans and underwear had been pulled down to his mid-thigh, exposing his genitalia.

Police found Hunts Horse and a female, Logan Ritz, in tack room 6. Both appeared to be asleep. Hunts Horse later told police he was dating Ritz.

Witnesses told Collamore that Scherer came to tack room 6 between 2:10 and 3:10 a.m. Also in the room, in addition to Hunts Horse and Ritz, were Austin Kelly and Lane Harris.

After they talked, Scherer went back to his room, with Hunts Horse following behind him. Witnesses said Hunts Horse didn't go into Scherer's room, but stepped up to the door. Kelly, Harris and Ritz then heard a loud bang, and saw Hunts Horse running from the room, Collamore said.

After the shooting, the group left Fonner Park in two vehicles and headed for the south Walmart. Gathered in the parking lot, Kelly said he'd seen $800 in Scherer's wallet, which was still in tack room 5. At least one member of the group reported that Scherer still appeared to be alive when they left him.

Needing gas for both of the vehicles, the group headed back to Fonner Park.

Surveillance video shows Kelly and Hunts Horse running into Barn R, Collamore said.

Collamore said Hunts Horse retrieved a bat from his room and struck Scherer once in the back of his head. Not only did Hunts Horse admit to delivering the blow, but it was witnessed by Kelly, Collamore said. Kelly admitted to police that he took Scherer's wallet, Collamore said.

Hunts Horse and Kelly then went to the Pump & Pantry at South Locust and Highway 34, where they met up with Harris.

They then went to the Island Inn. Video shows Hunts Horse carrying the bat as he entered the hotel, Collamore said.

Later, Hunts Horse, Kelly and Ritz went to a railroad track near Shady Bend Road, Collamore said. Hunts Horse threw the wallet at a moving train. The wallet was later recovered 30 feet away.

The pistol, a 9mm Glock 19, was later recovered by police. Collamore said the gun belonged to Klaiton Sommerfeldt.

That morning, Harris searched online for how long a person can survive a gunshot wound to the abdomen, Collamore said.

At Fonner Park, Hunts Horse was working for trainer Gilbert Ecoffey.

An autopsy of Scherer's body was performed in Omaha, with a Grand Island police officer present. Grand Island police have not received a final autopsy report, but preliminary infomation states that the gunshot and assault with the bat were contributing factors in Scherer's death, Collamore said. The forensic pathologist determined that Scherer received one blow to the head from the bat.

Pubic defender Gerry Piccolo asked what was the cause of Scherer's death. Collamore said he did not know.

Piccolo pointed out that the autopsy report was still preliminary and asked when the final report will arrive. Collamore said the death was still fairly recent, and that it still might take a while.

Piccolo asked if police determined why Scherer's pants were pulled down. Collamore said he asked those involved, but they said they didn't know why.

Piccolo asked if Hunts Horse's blood was analyzed after the murder. Collamore said it was not.

Piccolo asked if police searched Scherer's room. After Collamore said yes, Piccolo asked if police found any drugs. Hinrichs objected, Piccolo said the question was relevant but Rademacher sustained the objection.

In addition to first-degree murder, Hunts Horse is charged with robbery, two counts of use of a deadly weapon to commit a felony, one count of use of a firearm to commit a felony and conspiracy to commit robbery.

Kelly, 16, lives in Grand Island. His case has also been sent to District Court. He is charged with robbery, two counts of accessory to a felony and one count of conspiracy to commit robbery.

Kelly will have a pretrial conference at 1:30 p.m. July 11.
Carbondale police are seeking the publics help in locating a 14-year-old runaway. According to a media release Wednesday morning, Marcell Stevenson was last seen on Tuesday, April 11 in the 1400 block of North Illinois Ave. He often frequents the 700 block of South Rawlings Street.

Stevenson is described as 5 feet 5 inches tall and 130 lbs. with brown eyes and black hair. He was last seen wearing gray sweatpants, a purple and black sweatshirt and slide-style sandals.

Anyone with information about Stevenson is asked to call the Carbondale Police Department at (618) 457-3200.

'Ramadan Camp' reaches Muslim children across the globe
A native of Carbondale, Eddie Blythe took his seat in the front row of the meeting room as four Carbondale Middle School students readied their presentation.

Blythe, an alumnus of Carbondales former Attucks High School, was in town visiting family when he learned of the student presentation, a 10-minute theatrical performance about the integration and consolidation of Attucks and Carbondale Community High School in the mid-1960s. The performance was a rehearsal in front of the Carbondale Preservation Commission and the public on Monday at the Carbondale Civic Center. The performance, a skit which recently won a regional history fair, will be performed in front of a panel of judges at the state level on Saturday.

The performing students  eighth graders Whitney Mathias, Kenza Meksem, Elyse Nguyen and Hannah Thomas  researched and wrote the presentation specifically for competition under the direction of history fair sponsor and retired educator Betsy Brown. Blythe was among several dozen who went to see the performance, and he actually was recognized in the skit as one of Attucks prominent alumni.

Im very impressed that the students chose to present that part of Attucks history, really focusing on the consolidation of the two schools, said Blythe, who is now retired and living in Roswell, Georgia following a lengthy career as a corporate attorney. I just learned this was happening an hour before the performance and I had to come see it.

The drama, presented from the perspective of Attucks students, touches on the hopes, fears and challenges of school integration and shared some of the history of Attucks High School. Student Hannah Thomas said the project not only taught her about the schools role in Carbondale, but also impacted how she relates to her classmates.

Its affected our interaction because it has made us feel more self-conscious about how things used to be and realize how things still are, she said. But in knowing that, it can help us change the world.

Betsy Brown, who also serves on the Carbondale Preservation Commission, said Carbondale Middle School is a perennial winner of the regional history fair and said the students are looking forward to Saturdays state competition.

Commissioner Justin Zurlinden said he appreciated all of the students extra work.

The fact that the kids are learning about history in Carbondale is huge because that's not required. It's not in any classes. That's just something extra that they do, he said.

The students will compete in the Illinois History Day judging on Saturday at the University of Illinois-Springfield.

4 states passed nearly half of all new cybersecurity laws enacted across the US in 2022 4 states passed nearly half of all new cybersecurity laws enacted across the US in 2022 Maryland and Florida passed the most new legislation of all states Kentucky Virginia Florida Maryland
What defines a community? Safe housing, reliable transportation, educational opportunities, healthy food access, quality health care? At the Illinois Primary Health Care Association, we believe it is all those things, and much more, starting with whole-person, accessible health care.

Community health centers across Illinois, from our largest cities to our most rural areas, witness each of the challenges experienced by their patients every day. We have known it for years, but the pandemic put an important spotlight on a glaring truth: In our underserved communities, high-quality, affordable health care is sorely needed  now more than ever.

This spring, we are taking action at the Illinois State Capitol. In the recent run of strong state revenues, Illinois leaders have repeatedly and generously invested in core health care services and social service programs; and community health centers have been grateful to be a priority. We are now urging the Illinois legislature to make continued investments in community health centers through two important initiatives.

First, we have focused on behavioral health care, which is the combination of mental health services and substance use treatment. Behavioral health services are a priority at every health center. Yet, despite recent advancements, nearly 10 million Illinoisans live in a shortage area for this critical care.

Senate Bill 1816 and House Bill 3049, sponsored by Sen. Ann Gillespie and Rep. Theresa Mah, expand the list of providers whose services can be reimbursed to include graduate-level, subclinical behavioral health professionals practicing under licensed clinicians. This legislation would allow health centers across Illinois to hire 175 new providers, serve an estimated 72,000 new patients, and offer new, much-needed services.

Second, community health centers are drastically underfunded despite a federal law from decades ago calling for specified funding to meet shortfalls in Medicaid because at the time when that system was created, Medicaid covered roughly 70% of the cost of providing patient care. Today, despite that specified funding system, our Medicaid reimbursement covers about only 60% of our costs. More must be done to shore up reimbursement for care at community health centers  the largest network of primary care providers in underserved communities.

Our rate increase legislation is Senate Bill 1888 and House Bill 2298, sponsored by Sen. Robert Peters and Rep. Anna Moeller. By passing this legislation, community health centers could serve an additional 180,000 patients each year, hire nearly 250 more providers, and increase substance use treatment, dental services, transportation, vision care, and more with an infusion of $100 million  $50 million of which would be covered by federal cost sharing.

To drive the point home further, community health centers in our neighboring states receive reimbursement rates that are roughly 80% higher than Illinois rates. That means for every $100 our centers receive in reimbursement, health centers in these states receive roughly $180. And in behavioral health care, our rate is often only one-third the amount of some of our neighbors  hindering our ability to meet the demand for care.

If we learned anything during the pandemic, it is that we are all healthier when our neighbors are healthier. Together, these two reasonable measures will enable more people to get the care they need to live well and better equip our communities to thrive.
The S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control encourages residents to drop off unused, expired or unwanted prescription drugs during the upcoming National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on Saturday.

This nationwide event is hosted twice a year by the DEA and provides a responsible way for the public to dispose of prescription drugs that might otherwise be stolen, abused or fall into the wrong hands.

In South Carolina, residents can easily and anonymously drop off prescription medications at dozens of locations around the state from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, April 22.

Drugs will be accepted at three local drop-off locations:

 MUSC Health-Orangeburg, 3000 St. Matthews Road, Orangeburg

 Piggly Wiggly, 2526 Old Edisto Dr., Orangeburg

 Orangeburg Department of Public Safety Fire Station #2, 835 Chestnut St., Orangeburg

Find other locations at: www.dea.gov/takebackday.

Take-back locations will collect tablets, capsules, patches and other solid forms of prescription drugs.

Liquids (including intravenous solutions), syringes and other sharps (devices with sharp points or edges) and illegal drugs will not be accepted.

The DEA will continue to accept vaping devices and cartridges at its drop-off locations provided lithium batteries are removed.

For more information, visit DHECs website or DEA.gov. There are also many locations that accept unused drugs year-round.

The S.C. Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services provides a map of these locations around the state at justplainkillers.com/drug-safety.
Retired state official Harrison Rearden, a 1958 graduate of South Carolina State University, has donated $100,000 in unrestricted funds to the university.

Im just a country boy from Edgefield, South Carolina, Rearden said. My home consisted of two wonderful, God-fearing and spiritually anchored parents and a brother.

While matriculating in the public school system of Edgefield County, all I heard from my parents was, When you go to college, not if you go to college, he said.

S.C. State was the subject of those discussions.

I thank God for enabling me and for the spirit of giving back to ensure others will have opportunities to get a quality education, he said.

Rearden is retired from the S.C. Department of Social Services, where he served as executive assistant to the state director, chief of staff, ombudsman and deputy director.

He and his wife, Alethia, visited S.C. State President Alexander Conyers recently to present the gift to the university.

I thank Mr. and Mrs. Rearden for their generous expression of love for South Carolina State University, Conyers said. Its obvious they consider this university to be part of their family, and that devotion is cherished by all of us who work and study at S.C. State.

Without the efforts of loyal Bulldogs like Harrison Rearden, we could not support our students dreams of success. Like Mr. Reardon, the majority of our students come from humble beginnings, and an S.C. State education is what will propel them to achieve their goals.
(TBTCO) - Tham gia bao hiem e nhan uoc su bao ve tai chinh truoc cac rui ro trong cuoc song la nhu cau chinh ang cua nhieu nguoi, nhung do nhieu nguyen nhan, viec khong duy tri ong phi bao hiem ung han, ac biet la trong nhung nam au tien de dan en tinh trang hop ong bao hiem mat hieu luc, khach hang vi the khong nhan uoc su bao ve tai chinh nhu mong muon.
The UK government said Tuesday it had frozen the assets of a Lebanese businessman suspected of financing Hezbollah, while US authorities announced action against a network allegedly helping the man avoid sanctions.

The UK Treasury action against Nazem Said Ahmad on national security grounds follows similar US restrictions imposed in 2019.

Washington meanwhile issued fresh sanctions on Tuesday against an international network of 52 individuals and entities operating out of Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates and Britain who allegedly supported Ahmad.

The US State Department in 1997 designated Hezbollah -- an Iran-backed Shiite movement that is a key political player in Lebanon -- as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, and in 2019 said the group had used Ahmad and his companies to launder "substantial amounts of money."

In a statement Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the latest actions are "against a global sanctions evasion network that facilitates the payment, shipment, and delivery of cash, art, and luxury goods" for the benefit of Ahmad.

Ahmad's extensive art collection is known to include works by Pablo Picasso and Andy Warhol.

According to a UK Treasury statement, "all assets and economic resources belonging to Ahmad in the UK have been frozen and no UK person may do business with him or any of the companies he owns or controls."

London proscribed Hezbollah's External Security Organization as a terrorist organization in 2001. The ban was extended to all of its military apparatus seven years later.

'Blood diamond' trade

Brian Nelson, the US State Department's top sanctions official, said that "the individuals involved in this network used shell companies and fraudulent schemes to disguise Nazem Said Ahmad's role in financial transactions."



Among key facilitators identified were Ahmad's son Firas and daughter Hind, alongside other relatives and business associates.

According to the UK Treasury, Ahmad has an extensive art collection in the Britain and conducts business with UK-based artists, galleries and auction houses.

The sanctions mean he will no longer be able to trade in the UK art market and no other dealers will be able to do business with him or his companies.

In December 2019, the US Treasury described Ahmad as one of Hezbollah's "top donors, generating funds through his longstanding ties to the 'blood diamond' trade."
Albany Countys board of commissioners was justified in authorizing a 120-turbine wind farm to proceed during the summer of 2021, the Wyoming Supreme Court ruled Monday.

The decision upheld an earlier district court loss for a pair of lawsuits representing almost 50 local landowners opposed to the roughly 500-megawatt Rail Tie Wind Project. Each was filed shortly after county lawmakers granted the permit.

Both challenges argued that the permitting process was incomplete and that county commissioners erred by still approving a special-use permit for the project.

The Wyoming Supreme Court  like the district court  found that the commissioners fulfilled everything the law required of them. It said in Mondays ruling that the permit approval was not arbitrary and capricious and was not a taking of private property.

Pete Gosar, an Albany County commissioner, said the verdict came as a relief. You try to follow your processes as best you can, and you hope you have it, he said. Wyomings highest court affirmed that the commission did.

When the countys three commissioners voted on the permit  along with added landowner protections  almost two years ago, though, Gosar cast the sole vote in opposition. Some of the affected property owners hadnt yet consented to construction, and he wanted to give it more time.

Even though, in the end, I supported the project, he told the Star-Tribune on Tuesday.

He believes the commission would have benefitted from access to more resources about properly siting wind turbines  if institutes of higher learning, or the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, or any agency, could help us map out where a wind development should go and where they should not go, Gosar said.

(Efforts to identify priority sites for renewable energy projects have made some headway in Wyoming in the years since the commissioners Rail Tie vote.)

The last few years have been riddled with obstacles for ConnectGen, the Houston-based renewable energy developer behind Rail Tie. The project is located partly on state land; in late 2020, the Wyoming State Board of Land Commissioners initially rejected its lease application, before reversing course and approving it the following January.

The Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality, meanwhile, greenlit the project in November 2021. At the time, ConnectGen expected to start construction by the first quarter of 2023, which ended March 31.

Gosar still has mixed feelings about the wind farm. I know that our economy needs to move quickly to a renewable energy system-based economy, and Rail Tie will help us do that, he said.

But, he added, Theres no free lunch, as it were. Viewsheds will be impacted. I dont discount people that opposed it.

ConnectGen did not respond to a request for comment before this story went to press.

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Converse County rancher and former lawmaker Frank Moore is running for the Wyoming Republican Partys top post, making him the only confirmed challenger to current state GOP Chairman Frank Eathorne.

I think the Republican Party needs to be brought back together. It needs to have some healing, Moore said. I think Frank Eathorne has put in a lot of effort, hes a good man, but Im just ready for change.

Moore served two terms in the Wyoming Legislature in the early 90s and formerly sat on the board of directors for the Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank, according to a biography provided to the Star-Tribune.

He has a long and involved history in Wyomings agriculture industry. A fourth generation Wyoming sheep and cattle rancher, Moore ran his family ranch outside of Douglas for 30 years with his wife Elaine and still lives there. They also headed an outfitting business for deer, antelope and elk hunters.

Moore, a co-owner of The Lamb Guys, a company that markets frozen lamb throughout the U.S., served in the past as president of the Wyoming Wool Growers Association and the American Sheep Industry Association. He was also vice chairman and chairman of a multi-state lamb marketing cooperative for more than 17 years.

His service in the agriculture industry has earned him the American Sheep Associations McClure Silver Ram Award  which is given to sheep producers who have made substantial contributions to the industry in their state  as well as recognition in the Wyoming Agriculture Hall of Fame.

When the horizontal drilling boom hit Converse County, Moore worked with oil companies to minimize disruption for landowners and helped start three businesses that provided services to the oil companies.

Moore said he sees a lot of problems stemming from federal policies in terms of their impact on Wyomings agriculture and energy industries. He expressed trepidation about restrictions on oil drilling, rules favoring electric cars and the proposed changes to the Waters of the United States rule, which would put more water features, including those on private land, under federal regulation. (Wyoming joined other states to challenge the revision in a lawsuit.)

An awful lot of the policies just dont fit the state of Wyoming, he said.

Theres a need for our energy industry and a need for fossil fuel vehicles right now, for sure. I just see the Biden administration and a lot of the policies and decisions theyre making as detrimental to the Wyoming way of life.

Eathorne, the current Wyoming GOP leader, announced at a meeting earlier this year his intention to run for a third term  a move that some said is unusual but within the partys bylaws. He ran unopposed in his last election.

Eathornes tenure has occurred during what some describe as the most fractured period in the Wyoming Republican Partys recent history. While some have praised him for his handling of those divides, and for the partys growing dominance in the state, others have criticized him as being an instigator of strife within the party.

The divides in the party leave much for the next state GOP chairman to overcome. Moore, who described himself as a non-confrontational people person, said he believes hell be able to navigate these fractures given his past experience.

Ive been involved with a lot of controversy and strife, and Ive been able to handle it, he said.

I think the Republican Party needs to be brought together, and I think what its going to take is some listening and just some understanding.

March saw significant changes in the makeup of county Republican party leadership, with a number of counties where disruptor elements in the party had once dominated shifting in favor of more pluralist conservative leaders.

That has significant implications for the state GOP leadership elections, given that leadership from each county will make up the voting body that will choose who heads the state party.

The shakeup at the county level is less favorable for the reelection of those who currently head the state GOP, making the Wyoming Republican Partys May leadership elections less predictable, though Moore said he thinks his chances of success are good.

Ive talked to pretty much all sides of the of the spectrum within the Republican Party right now, and Ive been encouraged by pretty much everybody Ive talked to, he said.

The state GOP leadership elections will be held May 6 in Jackson.
A group of hard-line legislators are holding back progress on addressing mental and behavioral health in the state, Gov. Mark Gordon and a handful of state lawmakers said Tuesday during an event in Casper.

A tangible anger underlined morning speeches and panels at the second Governors Mental Health Summit at the Nicolaysen Museum as Gordon, Sens. Ogden Driskill and Fred Baldwin and Reps. Albert Sommers and Lloyd Larsen spoke of the need for greater funding and support for mental and behavioral health in a state that has long ranked as one of the worst for suicide and where lawmakers have argued against financing mental health programs while socking away roughly $1.4 billion in savings.

At times, it felt as though the officials and lawmakers at the summit were preaching. And, like any moving sermon, they included a call for action: Go forth, advocate and vote.

Youve got to go to your legislators and say this matters, this matters, said Sommers, R-Pinedale, the speaker of the House. Its up to us.

Roadblocks

Gordon was the first to speak at the summit and he led the way, taking an aggressive stance as a mental health advocate.

He spoke of the need for the state to permanently fund the 988 suicide and crisis hotline after lawmakers created a trust fund and reserve account, but stripped them of their original $46 million earmark during the last legislative session.

Gordon, who typically offers a restrained contrast to governors such as Floridas Ron DeSantis, took aim at the arguments that some hard-line conservative lawmakers made while opposing funding for the hotline during this winters legislative session.

When somebody says phone calls dont make a difference, tell them theyre full of beans, he said.

Although the Wyoming Legislature is dominated by Republicans, there is a split between those who form the traditional wing of the party and the hard-line conservatives that form the backbone of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus. Throughout the 2023 general session, the states hardline conservatives resisted funding mental and behavioral health programs, often arguing that their results are unclear and the money would be poorly spent.

Gordon, Baldwin, Driskill and the other lawmakers who spoke insisted that the group of hard-line lawmakers posed a roadblock to action on mental health.

Gordon positioned the issue as one of national versus local. He said that state politicians need to move beyond national narratives to focus on Wyomings communities and the mental and behavioral health challenges they face.

We all need to care for one another. I know this sounds utopian, but that is the state I grew up in. We need to rediscover that, Gordon said. Anybody whos bringing these pestilences from outside the state, we need to tell them put that back on Fox News.

While highlighting seven bills that the Legislature passed in 2023, including measures that will improve access to mental health professionals, Baldwin reminded the crowd that roughly a third of both the Senate and the House consistently voted against mental health legislation during the last legislative session.

Youve got to go talk to this group, that one-third, because theres the danger that if it we get to more than a third were gonna have more difficulty and we may not pass these important bills, Baldwin said. I urge you and I plead for you to help us work with that.

Accomplishments and more work

The governors mental health summit was not without some celebration.

Gordon and the lawmakers highlighted bills from the recent legislative session that will improve mental and behavioral health in the Wyoming.

They lauded the creation of the trust fund for the 988 suicide lifeline, the extension of Medicaid postpartum coverage and two compacts that will expand the pool of psychologists and licensed professional councilors in the state.

In a panel on government coordination, Gordon, Baldwin, Larsen and Wyoming Supreme Court Chief Justice Kate Fox also pointed to greater cooperation between the three branches, including a pilot program in Gillette and other efforts by Fox and the states judicial and criminal justice systems to reduce the incarceration rates for those struggling with mental health and substance abuse.

Courts have become the emergency room for all of societys ills  mental health, substance abuse, homelessness, domestic violence, Fox said. Even if we as judges would prefer not to be social workers, that is the reality, and we are starting to address it.

The states successes were met with applause, but they did not placate the crowd composed of mental and behavioral health providers, advocates and local community leaders.

During Q&A sessions, those in attendance asked about the therapeutic use of psychedelic drugs, waitlists for the Wyoming State Hospital and other psychiatric facilities in the state, and the need for more mental health infrastructure in local communities.

But more than anything else, one concern rose to the surface: funding.

Wyoming Department of Health Director Stefan Johansson cautioned that the state and the health department have financial constraints.

Gordon added, Money doesnt solve everything. Vision, care, commitment and effort can make a huge difference.

Yet, those in attendance and even some of those on the stage were not swayed.

When asked about overcoming the stumbling blocks for addressing mental and behavioral health in Wyoming, Fox was clear.

We need money, she said.

The applause echoed.

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Since it first popped up in 2019, the anonymous website WyoRINO has further cleaved Wyomings already divided Republican Party, declaring certain state lawmakers to be Republicans In Name Only. But the people behind the site have never attached their own names to these claims.

Now, the Natrona County GOP is planning to call out the veiled actors behind WyoRINO.com and invite the owner and whomever else is involved in the website to a public forum where they can talk face-to-face with some of those they have labeled RINOs. The Natrona County GOP Executive Committee voted Tuesday evening to extend that invitation and arrange the forum for its central committee meeting in August or September.

Joe MacGuire, chairman of the Natrona County GOP and himself a former lawmaker whom the website labeled a RINO, said he intends to have a professional mediator facilitate the discussion. The county GOP executive committee will advertise a public invitation through Wyoming newspapers to whomever is behind WyoRINO.com, since theres no direct contact information for the websites owner. That invitation will go out likely in the next month or month and a half.

Natrona County and other lawmakers across the state who have been labeled RINOs on the website will be invited to participate in or watch the mediated public discussion.

Even if those behind WyoRINO.com dont show up to the discussion  a scenario thats very possible  the invitation itself will send a message on its own.

Their cowardice comes through, MacGuire said. So then, to the people in the state of Wyoming, the statement is, how much weight do you put on this website? They dont even show up to a public forum to discuss who they are, or disclose who they are. Theyre completely anonymous.

WyoRINO.com, which began in 2019, is a website intended to rate Wyoming conservatives in the Legislature based on their adherence to the Wyoming Republican Party platform. The rating system judges lawmakers based on their votes for 10 bills, though there are hundreds of bills introduced each session. Any lawmaker who votes for fewer than seven of these bills is labeled a RINO.

The time is long overdue to hold politicians accountable for big government, big regulation, big taxation laws  values that the Republican party does NOT support, the websites homepage says.

This is the primary reason WyoRINO.com was created  to expose liberal Wyoming Republicans who violate our Wyoming Republican values.

The website features links to the Wyoming Republican Partys official site, though both state GOP leaders and the site itself deny any connection between the two. The group behind the site, Ride for the Brand, Wyoming, isnt registered with the Wyoming Secretary of States Office and has no donor history.

Despite the anonymity of the websites owners, WyoRINO rankings have featured prominently in political campaigns and political discourse in general. Last year, for instance, longtime Sen. Ogden Driskill, R-Devils Tower, lost the Crook County GOPs support in his bid for reelection in part because of his WyoRINO rating, the Sundance Times reported. Some lawmakers posted their WyoRINO ranking on social media when this years scorecard was published.

The RINO label has been used primarily by hard-line elements of the Wyoming Republican Party to differentiate themselves from more traditional conservatives.

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Trinidad and Tobago should expect more visitors to the islands in the 2024 cruise season, according to Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell.

He explained that for the past six months, the Ministry of Tourism, along with Tourism Trinidad Ltd (TTL), has been increasing its marketing reach and putting action plans in place to increase arrivals.
More than a month after signing a confidentiality agreement with the Bolivarian Republic, Trinidad and Tobago is no where closer to bringing much needed natural gas from Venezuela to these shores.

Sources in a position to know tell Express Business that the negotiations are at a standstill because the T&T government is awaiting to see what happens in Venezuela with respect to the present crackdown on corruption before it tries to engage the south American neighbour.
On Monday, Minister of Trade and Industry Paula Gopee-Scoon delivered remarks at the symbolic foundation-laying ceremony for The University of the West Indies (The UWI) chocolate factory. The event represents a significant milestone for The UWI in its commitment to commercialising its innovations in the cocoa and chocolate industry.

In addressing the audience, Gopee-Scoon highlighted that the chocolate manufacturing facility is a lucrative investment opportunity as it will build capacity in Trinidad and Tobago to meet the increasing international demand for high-value, premium cocoa and chocolate products.
Seven more police officers have been charged following an investigation into allegations of extortion.

They were charged yesterday afternoon after officials from the Professional Standards Bureau (PSB) received instructions from Director of Public Prosecutions Roger Gaspard, SC.
It was Woodrow Wilson who insisted there is a need for transparency in government. He pointed out the people have a right to know what the true state of affairs is, and what their representatives were doing on their behalf. He said, Government ought to be all outside and no inside... Everybody knows that corruption thrives in secret places, and avoids public places, and we believe it a fair presumption that secrecy means impropriety.
Fans of Tucsons annual Agave Heritage Festival might see it as four days to revel in all things agave including tequila.

Its creator Todd Hanley sees it as an opportunity to take a deep dive in the regions cultural and agricultural history.

I see the festival as a unique and important festival around the bigger discussion of our agriculture and economy of Southern Arizona, he said early this month as he worked out the final details of this years 15th annual event, taking place next weekend, April 27-30. I see it as a calling card for who we are and how our region can adapt.

Hanley didnt think that deeply when he first proposed the festival 15 years ago as a one-day event that featured agave distillers from Tucson and the region.

But the format changed as he and the participants of the festival became more educated on the role agave has played in our society and cross-border relationships. The festival became not only about food and drinks and the cultural aspects of agave, but the importance it plays in how we exist in the region we share with Mexico, learning how to work with our arid environment, not against it, he said.

Hanleys little one-day festival, presented by Hotel Congress where he is the longtime CEO, has become the largest agave event in the country.

Its the largest and by far most ecologically- and educationally-based festival, said Hanley, who is co-owner of Hotel Congress sister restaurant, Maynards Market & Kitchen at 400 N. Toole Ave. Education, ecology and culture are the roots of the culture.

On Friday, April 28, several downtown restaurants and hotels will host guided mezcal tastings ($35 and $40) led by industry-leading distillers.

Hotel Congress will host the popular Agave Fiesta on Saturday, April 29, featuring more than 50 artisanal and ancestral mezcals and an agave cocktail showcase. The price of admission ($65) includes four agave spirit tastes, a pair of beer samples, three cocktail samples and food from Hotel Congresss Cup Cafe.

The festival wraps up Sunday, April 30, with the new Spirit of Sonora: Consumer Expo at the Historic Train Depot Plaza, 400 N. Toole Ave., a collaboration with the state of Sonora, Mexico. The bi-national showcase and expo brings together agave enthusiasts, scientists, academics and industry experts to network, collaborate and create economic development opportunities for artisanal Bacanora and Sotol producers, according to a festival news release. Vendors will be on hand to showcase diverse and unique products created from agave and talk about the past and future of the industry.
A judge rejected a request from Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes to block the Cochise County Board of Supervisors from handing over its election administration to the elected county recorder.

On Tuesday, Santa Cruz County Superior Court Judge Thomas Fink turned aside Mayes request for an injunction blocking the February agreement from being implemented. Mayes had argued in her lawsuit that the board illegally delegated its oversight of elections to Recorder David Stevens.

But Fink said the agreement the board signed gives it sufficient oversight to meet the laws requirements, including regular reports from Stevens to the board and its ability to overturn any decisions it finds objectionable.

If there is a problem with the recorders performance of his election duties, these provisions are safeguards that are in the courts opinion sufficient to ensure that the board means authority over the conduct of elections in Cochise County, Fink said.

The decision came after an hour-long court hearing in which Solicitor General Josh Bendor, representing Mayes, tried to persuade Fink that the county was illegally delegating its authority to Stevens.

The countys hired outside attorney, Timothy La Sota, said the Attorney Generals Office was nitpicking the agreement to find faults that werent there.

If you look at the states critique of the agreement, it looks more like what a lawyer would put together for a client when theyre just kind of looking for things to pick out about something they dont like, La Sota told the judge. I dont like how this is written, I dont like how thats written.

La Sota pointed out that the county board, made up of two Republicans and one Democrat, retained the power to review decisions made by Stevens and replace him if it wants.

Those were important clarifications of the agreement, which the state read differently, Bendor said in an interview after the hearing ended.

He maintained that the judges decision was not a clear loss for Mayes. The attorney general had argued the agreement was so unclear about the boards ability to oversee elections, including an upcoming one for a new jail tax, that it crossed the line into illegality.

They cannot make a representation to the judge and then not implement it that way, Bendor said. So I think thats important, and it means that the board does have supervisory authority over Stevens elections duties and thats what the judge appeared to say, as well. I would hope that the defendants act consistent with their representations to the court, and if they do, then maybe there wont be a need for us to appeal.

The attorney generals lawsuit pointed to a series of issues in last years election in Cochise County, where the board tried to have a 100% hand count conducted. That was blocked by the courts and the two Republican board members refused to certify the election results until ordered to do so.

Judge Fink, however, said those issues were irrelevant to his decision and that if the case went forward, he would have stricken them from the record.

Stevens said in an interview after the attorney general filed suit in March that the agreement does not give him carte blanche to do as he wishes.

Instead, it says the board must sign off on his decisions. He noted that the agreement was drafted by the County Attorneys Office, and only two small changes were made by the board before they signed off on it.

Stevens, a Republican, said any thought that he might use his new role to affect the operation or outcome of elections is misplaced.

After Tuesdays ruling, Bendor said the Democratic attorney general will continue to keep close tabs on election administration in Cochise County.

We have to keep an eye on whats going down there, Bendor said. I assume (Stevens) will follow the law, and well keep an eye on things in case theres any shenanigans.
Hows it growing folks?! Welcome to a very special episode of Here Weed Go!

As hinted at last week, this new season, this new year of Here Weed Go! will be a little different.

The difference is youll be hearing a lot more about host Eddie Celaya's personal journey, not just with cannabis, but through life: his travels, his successes, his troubles and his failures.

Part of that means taking a slightly new tack with interviews and interview subjects.

That will all start with this episode and Celaya's interview of the bassist for System of a Down and cannabis company 22Red founder, Shavo Odadjian.

In their conversation, Odadjian reminisces on his time growing up in Los Angeles as an Armenian immigrant, how that experience shaped his outlook on music, his work ethic and how he interacted with the City of Angeles other immigrant communities.

The pair chat about the years of Odadjian working the LA music scene before hitting it big with System of a Down, and what sort of attention fame brings with it.

And of course, Odadjian talks about 22Red, one of Celaya's favorite producers of top shelf flower. Odadjian also talks about his first experience with weed, how he got into the cannabis industry and what his plans are for 22Red in the future.

MORE INFO

For more on Shavo Odadjian: https://www.instagram.com/shavoodadjian/

For more on 22Red: https://22red.com/

For more Here Weed Go! episodes, to subscribe to the newsletter and all other Here Weed Go content: https://linktr.ee/hereweedgo

For ChronicCon tickets: https://tucson.com/marijuana/chroniccon/
A man found shot to death near Rose Canyon Lake earlier this month had been lured to Tucson with the promise he was going to be performing in a rap show, court records show.

Four men have been arrested in the killing of Malik Brooks, 24. Brooks was found with obvious signs of trauma near Rose Canyon Lake on April 2, a news release from the Pima County Sheriffs Office said.

Four men have been arrested in the killing: Muhidin Kassim, 21; Quinton Holt, 23; Dereck Ashe, 19; and Christopher Ellis, 22.

Holt and Kassim were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder. Ashe was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder and misconduct involving weapons. All three men were booked into the Pima County jail. Ellis was arrested in Belton, Texas with help from the U.S. Marshals Service. He remains jailed there, the release said.

Investigators learned Brooks was lured to Tucson under the ruse that he was going to be performing in a rap show at a local music venue, said an interim complaint filed in Pima County Justice Court. Holt was named as one of the individuals who reportedly help set up the ruse.

Authorities learned about the plan after they listened to El Paso County Detention Center calls where unidentified individuals were discussing Brooks, the complaint said. During a call on April 1, Holt and another individual said they were working on some stuff in Tucson.

It was also discovered that Brooks was last known to be alive in Tucson after he had taken an Uber to a residence that was associated with Holt and his parents, the complaint said. Detectives say Holt denied ever being with Brooks after they confronted him about the Uber drop off.

Holt was then told about the jail conversations that indicated he knew about the plan. Holt admitted to being associated with the individuals involved but told detectives that he did not know about the plan, the court documents says. He also said one of the men accused in the killing was mad at Brooks over money, the complaint said.

Another individual who was interviewed told investigators Holt called him and and said Brooks had been killed. Holt then reportedly told the individual that Brooks was killed on Mount Lemmon and was shot two times in the head, the complaint said.

When asked who was there at the time of the shooting, an unidentified person told investigators it was Holt, Kassim and Ashe. The person claimed Holt was the shooter, the complaint said.

Kassim told authorities that he was with Ashe, Holt and a man he didnt know in a vehicle. He described the man as skinny and having dreadlocks. He told investigators the man talked about getting to a show. Kassim then went on to say he was dropped off at a house with Ashe, the complaint said.

Aside from the dread locks, the other descriptors Kassim used described Brooks, the complaint said.

Authorities said that everything Kassim said placed him and Ashe in the vehicle with individuals linked to the phone calls that discussed specifics about the killing, the complaint said.
PHOENIX  Gov. Katie Hobbs vetoed 11 more bills Tuesday sent to her by the Republican-controlled Legislature, bringing her total to 62 this session and shattering the record set in 2005 by fellow Democrat Janet Napolitano.

The previous record of 58 was over the course of a full legislative session. There are likely weeks to go before the current session comes to a close.

The new vetoes range from precluding certain vaccine requirements to attend public schools; to requiring the attorney general to defend the constitutionality of whatever the Legislature approves; to measures altering election laws; to one declaring the federal government can't impose and collect certain taxes on firearms and ammunition, taxes that do not even exist yet.

The biggest surprise came as Hobbs rejected legislation that would have expanded the kinds of foods prepared in home kitchens that could be sold in Arizona.

House Bill 2509 gained broad bipartisan support, being approved by the House on a 45-11 margin and the Senate giving its OK with just four dissenting votes.

Current law exempts certain kinds of "cottage foods'' from oversight by the Arizona Department of Health Services. These generally fall into the area of baked goods like cookies and cakes that do not need to be either refrigerated or kept warm.

None of that has stopped the sale of tamales and other products by individuals in front of grocery stores and in parking lots. The legislation would have legalized the practice if preparers met certain conditions including that the items be delivered in person and that certain conditions for transporting them are met.

The governor was not convinced.

"This bill would significantly increase the risk of food-borne illness by expanding the ability of cottage food vendors to sell high-risk foods,'' Hobbs wrote.

"It fails to establish sufficient minimum standards for inspection or certification of home-based businesses, and could limit the ability of ADHS to investigate food-borne disease outbreaks,'' she continued. "Nor does it provide a strong enough mechanism to ensure home kitchens are free of hazardous chemicals, rodent or insect infestation, or that equipment and storage of temperature-sensitive foods are adequate, functioning, or even existent.''

Proponents did not see it that way.

"I personally have never been made ill or had food poisoning from something I've bought from cottage food,'' said Rep. Travis Grantham, R-Gilbert, the sponsor of HB 2509. "I have been made ill at a restaurant, ironically.''

And Rep. Alma Hernandez, D-Tucson, said lawmakers should support people selling food items they've created in their homes.

Vaccines and schools

On another measure, Hobbs had a much simpler explanation for her veto Tuesday. HB 2474, sponsored by Rep. Steve Montenegro, R-Goodyear, would have barred the health department from ever requiring students to get immunized against any ailment to attend school if the vaccine has received only "emergency use authorization'' from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

That is specifically the category under which the FDA gave approval to vaccines for children against COVID-19.

"Vaccines are vitally important for the health and wellness of our state,'' Hobbs wrote, saying the legislation would "undermine public trust'' in FDA-approved vaccines.

Arizona already has some of the broadest exemptions from vaccine requirements. Aside from allowing people to opt out for medical or religious reasons, the state also allows parents to claim a personal or philosophical objection to certain vaccine mandates, though if there is an outbreak, their children can be forced to stay home from school.

Hotels and the unhoused

Hobbs also nixed HB 2379, which would have spelled out in state law that hotels and motels cannot be required to accept government-issued vouchers to house homeless people.

"Hotels and motels in Arizona have never been required to accept a voucher to house someone, and no proposal to do so is under consideration here,'' the governor said.

Rep. Matt Gress, R-Phoenix, conceded the point when he pushed the legislation. But he said it is happening in Los Angeles and he did not want the practice to spread.

Hobbs was unimpressed.

"Instead, we should focus on the real problem of housing affordability by making sure housing assistance can be used where it's intended, and that tenants do not face discrimination for using a voucher in the rental market,'' the governor said.

That was a swat at former Attorney General Mark Brnovich, a Republican who issued a legal opinion voiding a Tucson city ordinance that landlords could not refuse tenants based on having Section 8 vouchers or other assistance. That opinion was rescinded by current Attorney General Kris Mayes, a Democrat.

Elections

Hobbs had no more interest in signing SB 1565, which would have precluded the use of artificial intelligence anywhere in the election process, including in screening signatures on ballot envelopes to see if they match.

Maricopa County had used AI-assisted scanners in 2020 to see if there were signatures on envelopes, but said all were still checked by humans.

At this point, Hobbs said, the legislation "attempts to solve challenges that do not currently face our state.''

HB 2691 met a similar fate. It would have set out specific chain-of-custody requirements for handling ballots.

"I am eager to work with the Legislature to advance legislation that strengthens our elections,'' Hobbs wrote. "This bill, unfortunately, does not advance that goal.''

Felony warrants

Hobbs also vetoed SB 1262, which would have required a court to promptly issue a warrant for the re-arrest of someone who is charged with a felony while on probation.

"This bill raises due process concerns,'' the governor said.

Earlier this month, Hobbs told Capitol Media Services she was not going to advance legislation that doesn't address the challenges she said the state faces.
JACKSON, Miss.  A Mississippi sheriff says in a new court filing that there's no point in serving an arrest warrant on a white woman in the 1955 kidnapping that led to the lynching of Black teenager Emmett Till because last year a grand jury decided not to indict the woman.

Till's kidnapping and killing became a catalyst for the civil rights movement when his mother insisted on an open-casket funeral in their hometown of Chicago after his brutalized body was pulled from a river in Mississippi. Jet magazine published photos.

The Mississippi arrest warrant for "Mrs. Roy Bryant" was issued shortly after Till's death but was never served on the white woman who since remarried and is now known as Carolyn Bryant Donham.

Last June, a team doing research at the courthouse in Leflore County, Mississippi, found the unserved warrant. In July, the office of Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch said there was no new evidence to pursue a criminal case against Donham. In August, a district attorney said a Leflore County grand jury declined to indict Donham.

"Since the Grand Jury found no probable cause to indict Donham on the charges of kidnapping and manslaughter, there is no probable cause to support the 1955 Arrest Warrant," Charles J. Swayze III, an attorney for Leflore County Sheriff Ricky Banks, wrote in court papers filed Thursday.

Till's cousin Priscilla Sterling filed a federal lawsuit against Banks on Feb. 7, seeking to compel him to serve the 1955 warrant on Donham. In the response Thursday, Swayze asked a judge to dismiss the suit.

The Associated Press left a phone message Tuesday for one of Sterling's attorneys, seeking comment about the sheriff's court filing.

Till traveled from Chicago to visit relatives in Mississippi in August 1955. Donham accused him of making improper advances on her at a grocery store in the small community of Money. Wheeler Parker, a cousin of Till who was there, said 14-year-old Till whistled at the woman  an act that flew in the face of Mississippi's racist social codes of the era.

Evidence indicates a woman, possibly Donham, identified Till to her then-husband Roy Bryant and his half-brother J.W. Milam, who killed the teenager. The arrest warrant against Donham was publicized in 1955, but the Leflore County sheriff at the time, George Smith, told reporters that he did not want to "bother" the woman since she was raising two young children.

Weeks after Till's body was found, Roy Bryant and Milam were tried for murder and acquitted by an all-white jury. Months later, the men confessed in a paid interview with Look magazine.

Banks has been sheriff since 1980. In the court filing Thursday, Swayze wrote that Sterling's lawsuit shows "no factual allegation of misconduct by Banks."

Donham, now in her late 80s, has lived in North Carolina and Kentucky in recent years. She has not publicly commented on calls for her prosecution. The U.S. Justice Department announced in December 2021 that it ended its latest investigation into the lynching of Till without bringing charges against anyone.
BERN, Switzerland  Nearly 300 Tyrannosaurus rex bones that were dug up from three sites in the United States and assembled into a single skeleton sold Tuesday at an auction in Switzerland for $5.3 million, below the expected price.

Crafted into an open-mouth pose, the T. rex skeleton measuring 38 feet long and 12.8 feet high came in under the anticipated price range of $5.6 million to $8.9 million when it went under the hammer at the Koller auction house in Zurich.

Koller had said Tuesdays sale would be the first time such a T. rex skeleton would go up for auction in Europe. The composite skeleton, featuring 293 bones, was a showpiece of an auction that featured some 70 lots, and the skull was set up next to the auctioneer's podium throughout.

It could be that it was a composite  that could be why the purists didn't go for it, Karl Green, the auction houses marketing director, said by phone. It's a fair price for the dino. I hope it's going to be shown somewhere in public.

Green did not identify the buyer, but said it was a European private collector. Including the buyer's premium and fees, the sale came to about $6.1 million, Koller said.

Promoters said the composite T. rex, dubbed Trinity, was built from specimens retrieved from three sites in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of Montana and Wyoming between 2008 and 2013.

Koller said original bone material made up more than half of the restored skeleton. The auction house said the skull was particularly rare and also remarkably well-preserved.

"When dinosaurs died in the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods, they often lost their heads during deposition (of the remains into rocks). In fact, most dinosaurs are found without their skulls," said Nils Knoetschke, a scientific adviser who was quoted in the auction catalog. But here we have truly original Tyrannosaurus skull bones that all originate from the same specimen.

T. rex roamed the Earth between 65 and 67 million years ago. A study published two years ago in the journal Science estimated that about 2.5 billion of the dinosaurs ever lived. Hollywood movies such as the blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise have added to the public fascination with the carnivorous creature.

The two areas the bones for Trinity came from were also the source of other T. rex skeletons that were auctioned off, according to Koller: Chicagos Field Museum of Natural History bought Sue for $8.4 million over a quarter-century ago, and Stan sold for nearly $32 million three years ago.

Two years ago, a triceratops skeleton that the Guinness World Records declared as the world's biggest, known as Big John, was sold for $7.2 million to a private collector at a Paris auction.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  As 16-year-old Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot for going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner who shot the Black teenager turned himself in on Tuesday.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday afternoon and was released. Some civil rights leaders urged a hate crime charge, but Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence  up to life in prison.

Meanwhile, Yarl was home recovering from his wounds.

Ralph is doing considerably well, his mother, Cleo Nagbe, told CBS Mornings co-host Gayle King. Physically, mornings are hard, but his spirits are in a good place. I borrow from his spirits.

Nagbe said the trauma remains evident. She said her son is able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.

You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesnt stop my tears either, she said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. on Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarls parents asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Yarl, an honor student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead  then shot him again, in the right forearm.

Lester faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon. He does not yet have a listed attorney.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw a Black male on the porch and thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said.

James Lynch was the neighbor who found Yarl. He didnt immediately respond to an interview request, but his wife Tiffany confirmed an NBC News report that said Lynch heard shouting and saw Yarl banging on the door of another home.

I heard somebody screaming, Help, help, Ive been shot! Lynch, who is white, told NBC. The father of three ran out and found Yarl covered in blood. Lynch checked his pulse and, when another neighbor came out with towels, helped stem the bleeding until paramedics arrived.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders  including President Joe Biden  demanded justice.

Biden spoke with Yarl on Monday and invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Biden said on Twitter. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

And Ralph, well see you in the Oval once you feel better.

Thompson said Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting. He did not elaborate. But Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Alexander Higginbotham clarified in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that there is not a racial element to the legal charges that were filed.

Still, some  including lawyers for Yarls family  pressed the racial dimension of the case.

The Missouri NAACP and other civil rights organizations rallied Tuesday at police headquarters with about 150 supporters chanting Justice for Ralph and demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate. Lester, the activists said, received preferential treatment because he is white.

Bishop Frank Douglas of the Church of God in Christ, said the U.S. is experiencing its own version of apartheid and that if the shooter had been Black, it would have been lynching time.

We are putting a spotlight to whats been going on for over 100 years, Douglas said. We got emancipation but we didnt get love.

The assault charge against Lester carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison.

Charging Lester with a hate crime would have potentially meant a shorter sentence if hes convicted, experts said.

Washington University School of Law Professor Peter Joy said the state hate crime law is used only to enhance low-level felony or misdemeanor charges, taking them no higher than a class-C felony level, with a penalty range of three to 10 years upon conviction.

What the prosecutor did was charge (Lester) with the highest degree of felony they could charge him with, Joy said.

Legal experts believe Lesters lawyers will claim self-defense under Missouris Stand Your Ground law, which allows for using deadly force if a person is in fear for their life. Missouri is among roughly 30 states with such statutes.

Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics, said the Missouri law provides wide latitude for people to use lethal force.

St. Louis defense attorney Nina McDonnell agreed. She said prosecutors have a strong case but the Stand Your Ground law defense is a huge hurdle to overcome.

The defendant was in his house and has expressed that he was in fear, McDonnell said.

By Tuesday morning, a GoFundMe page set up for Yarl had raised $2.9 million from 77,000 donations.
WARSAW, Poland  Thousands of people assembled Tuesday at the former site of Auschwitz for the March of the Living, a yearly Holocaust remembrance march that falls this year on the eve of the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Participants in the solemn event included Holocaust survivors who lived through the agony of Auschwitz or one of the other death camps where Nazi Germany sought to exterminate the Jewish population of Europe, and came close to doing so.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella spoke at the event, warning that the ideas of the 1930s are reappearing at a time when Russias inhuman aggression against Ukraine is still raging. He callled the memory of the Holocaust an eternal warning that cannot be ignored.

Hate, prejudice, racism, extremism, antisemitism, indifference, delusion and hunger for power lurk, constantly challenging the consciences of individuals and nations, said Mattarella, whose nation under dictator Benito Mussolini was allied with Adolf Hitlers Germany during the war.

Some attendees, including people from Israel and the United States, came face to face for the first time with something that has long been part of their psyche: the watchtowers, remnants of gas chambers and the huge piles of shoes, suitcases and other objects the victims brought with them on their final journey.

German forces established Auschwitz after they invaded and occupied Poland, and killed more than 1.1 million people there, most of them Jews but also Poles, Roma, Soviet prisoners of war, and others. In all, about 6 million European Jews died during the Holocaust.

Elderly survivors, some draped in Israels blue and white flag, assembled under the gate with the cynical words Arbeit Macht Frei  Work Sets One Free  ahead of the march.

The March of the Living, which takes place each year on Israels Holocaust Remembrance Day, begins at that gate and leads to Birkenau, the large camp 2 miles away where Jews from across Europe were transported by train and murdered in gas chambers.

The event, while somber, is also a celebration of survival and the state of Israel, and some participants clapped and sang as they prepared to march near the gate.

Phyllis Greenberg Heideman, the march president, said the young participants would bear the responsibility for carrying forward the memory of the witnesses.

They will be the voice of those who no longer have voice once they see and understand what happened in the past, she said.

Some of the participants will travel the next day to Warsaw for observances marking the uprising in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1943, which will be attended by the presidents of Poland, Germany and Israel.

On Tuesday, Polish Culture Minister Piotr Glinski attended a ceremony symbolically marking a new stage in the development of a museum scheduled to open in three years, the Warsaw Ghetto Museum. Officials buried a time capsule containing memorabilia and a message to future generations on the grounds of a former childrens hospital which will house the museum.

The revolt was the largest single act of Jewish resistance during the Holocaust and remains a potent national symbol for Israel.

A third of the worlds Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. Israel was established in the aftermath in 1948, and hundreds of thousands of survivors fled to the Jewish state.

In Israel itself, activities ground to a halt for a nationwide moment of silence Tuesday in remembrance of Holocaust victims as a two-minute siren wailed across the country. Vehicles and pedestrians stopped on streets and highways as Israelis stood, heads bowed, in solemn remembrance.

The somber day is also marked by ceremonies and memorials at schools and community centers. Restaurants and cafes shutter, and TV and radio stations play Holocaust-themed programs.

Official observances started Monday evening with a ceremony at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial in Jerusalem as six survivors, including one of the few remaining survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, lit torches for the memory of the 6 million killed.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

I want to thank the Star for the excellent coverage given to our water problems, including Tony Davis front page article this Sunday. As a transplant from much wetter Washington State where I served for 16 years as a Water and Sewer Commissioner, I have followed the series with interest.

Arizonas, and indeed the entire Colorado River Basins, water concerns should be of utmost importance to the Stars readers. Water concerns directly impact all residents and businesses. Public awareness and education are needed to address the complex problems and prejudices which have led to the present situation.

There are many reasons for the present situation that must be addressed from different perspectives, which can only be properly addressed by an informed citizenry. The allocation of river resources has been premised on inadequate and outdated information. We now have the technology to provide, not real-time, but better time, information on expected river flows. We must allocate the river resources to re-fill the reservoirs first and then supply needs. All needs, including evaporation, must be addressed and appropriately met. Of course, the key word is appropriate. This will require negotiation and informed discussion among a full range of stakeholders. No one will be a winner. All stakeholders must be asked to sacrifice.

We need to understand and acknowledge that we live in a desert. As you fly over Phoenix or Tucson you must be struck by the greenery and little blue dots of pools throughout the area. Our description of growth and land use criteria must change to develop more realization of the benefits, and beauty, of our desert. The acknowledgement that growth is not always a desirable outcome is a big shift in public awareness.

Industrial and agricultural users are very important to the local and regional economy. We need to establish guidelines for their use and longevity. First-in-time; First-in-right water rights legislation does not represent effective or efficient allocation of a very limited resource. But the question of what would make a better allocation is subject to much necessary debate.

Groundwater regulation is required in Arizona, statewide. To allow unregulated or restricted groundwater use in any area of the state is just silly and not in anyones interest who is not presently using this public resource.

With this brief listing of some of the major areas of concern I am still encouraged that we will reach an agreement. Throughout the news coverage I have not seen any of the purely political adversarial posturing or blaming. There is more than enough blame to go around. The ongoing negotiations and discussions must be resolved. It is in all of our interests to reach a better long-term solution.
The following is the opinion and analysis of the writer:

Proposition 412 is a 25-year extension to Tucson Electric Powers existing franchise agreement with the city of Tucson. TEP is not coming out of pocket with a single penny to support renewables in Prop 412. You are, in the form of a 0.75% resiliency fee. Lets be clear. Theyre collecting those new dollars from customers, not dipping into their own revenues in support of investing more heavily in climate mitigation and decarbonizing efforts.

The fee youll be paying is estimated to yield roughly $4 million to $5 million per year. If TEP committed to even half of what youre being charged the utility would be investing more than $50 million over the 25-year life of the franchise agreement. That would signal a serious partnership with the climate action initiatives the mayor and city council have identified.

For the first 10 years the new fee is being collected, 90% of it is earmarked for undergrounding utilities. The focus will be on assuring the citys gateway corridor requirement for undergrounding new utilities is honored. That is an outcome I have advocated for since the new TEP transmission line project was introduced to the public more than three years ago. We must insist TEP honors the integrity of our local ordinances.

And yet our climate reality demands much more than the aesthetic of undergrounding new utility lines. A financial commitment from TEP to partner in that larger renewable energy conversation is whats lacking in the extension of their franchise agreement.

Whether Prop 412 passes or fails, TEP will still have to go through whats called a Special Exception process if they want to install new utility lines above ground on either our gateway or scenic corridors. Through the Special Exception process there are at a minimum three public hearings in which affected residents and businesses have a forum to make their voices heard. That requirement was adopted completely outside of the Prop 412 franchise agreement discussion. It stands if 412 passes, and it stands if 412 falls. Prop 412 is solely about TEP having their right to do work in public rights of way extended for another 25 years, with the new component of identifying a funding source for undergrounding utilities  and to a much less robust extent funding some of our climate initiatives.

TEP is legitimately concerned that their existing power supply system is old and is in need of upgrades. They have said if Prop 412 fails they will be forced to make $12 million in upgrades that they would otherwise not have to. But adopting 412 does nothing for the immediate need for upgrades. If TEP is concerned with their ability to provide uninterrupted service in the midtown area that issue isnt solved by passing this proposition.

TEP says the Arizona Corporation Commission will not approve rate increases that are tied to undergrounding for aesthetic purposes. But the ACC will approve rate increases tied to increased investments into renewable energy sources. If TEP were to commit to half of what theyre asking of you to help with our resiliency goals, that roughly $2 million annually is a rounding error for the utility. But extended over the length of the agreement it would be an important piece of addressing the expansion of residential solar and the emergent need to get off from fossil fuels and onto renewable energy sources. That level of commitment does not exist in the current ballot language.

The existing TEP franchise agreement expires in 2026. If the extension fails in May it can be placed back on the ballot in either August or November of this year. Either date would give the city and the community time to meet and identify ways the utility can demonstrate a larger commitment to addressing extreme heat and how we safely provide electricity using renewable energy sources. That conversation will not affect the need to honor our gateway ordinance mandating undergrounding new utilities. And that conversation was truncated by rushing to the May election date.

TEP says if Prop 412 fails they might not have this conversation again. But all theyre doing through this ballot measure is agreeing to collect $4 million  $5 million from you annually and for the first 10 years spend 90% of it to comply with our existing city ordinances. Thats simply a cost of doing business, not a commitment to renewables.

The franchise agreement is a 25-year contract with the utility. The current proposal earmarks less than $500,000 annually for the first 10 years from the new fee for decarbonization and other climate actions. We can do better.
KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)  Fighting raged in Sudan on Tuesday hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the cease-fire.

The humanitarian truce came after days of intense efforts by top diplomats on four continents and had raised hopes of sparing Africa's third largest country from civil war. But each side still appeared determined to vanquish the other, despite the suffering of millions of civilians trapped by the fighting.

Residents said they still heard gunfire and explosions in different parts of the capital, Khartoum, particularly around the militarys headquarters and the Republican Palace. They said few people had ventured out, though there were crowds outside some bakeries.

The fighting remains underway, Atiya Abdulla Atiya of the Sudan Doctors Syndicate told The Associated Press. We are hearing constant gunfire.

Sudanese in the capital and in other cities have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as rival forces pounded residential areas with artillery and airstrikes and engaged in gunbattles outside. Residents say dead bodies in the streets are unreachable because of clashes, with the toll likely to be far higher than the 185 dead reported by the U.N. since fighting began Saturday.

The conflict between the armed forces, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has once again derailed Sudan's transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

Pro-democracy groups and political parties had recently reached an agreement with the two generals  who jointly led a 2021 coup  but it was never signed and is now in tatters.

The RSF immediately accused the military of violating the cease-fire after it came into effect at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). The army said the rebellious militia continued its attacks around the military headquarters and launched a failed attack on a military base to the south.

Atiya said the Fadil Hospital in Khartoum was hit by shelling after the truce took effect, damaging a medical gas pipeline and water systems. Its one of at least 12 hospitals in and around the capital that have been forced to shut down because of the fighting, out of a total of around 20.

The U.S. Embassy said late Tuesday that there has been ongoing fighting in Khartoum and surrounding areas, and advised Americans in Sudan to shelter in place. It said there were no immediate plans for a government-coordinated evacuation.

Over the past day, fighters in Khartoum attacked a U.S. Embassy convoy and stormed the home of the EU envoy to Sudan, though neither attack caused casualties. The convoy of clearly marked U.S. Embassy vehicles was attacked Monday, and preliminary reports link the assailants to the RSF, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters.

Blinken spoke by phone late Monday separately with both generals, seeking a 24-hour halt in fighting as a foundation for a longer truce and return to negotiations. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down.

Dagalo said in a series of tweets Tuesday that he had approved a 24-hour humanitarian truce after speaking to Blinken. The military initially said the coming hours would bring the crushing defeat of the RSF and only publicly committed to the truce after it began.

Shortly before the start of the cease-fire, a coalition of political parties and pro-democracy groups said it received positive positions from leaders of the military and the RSF on the daylong humanitarian pause. It said in a statement that discussions were underway to solidify that truce.

More tanks and armored vehicles belonging to the military rolled into Khartoum early Tuesday, heading toward the militarys headquarters and the Republican Palace, residents said. During the night, fighter jets swooped overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the sky.

Each side already has tens of thousands of troops distributed around Khartoum and the city of Omdurman on the opposite bank of the Nile River. Terrified residents trapped in their homes for days have hoped for a halt long enough at least to get supplies or move to safer areas. The fighting erupted suddenly at the start of the last week of the Islamic holy month of fasting, Ramadan.

We are trying to take advantage of Ramadan to try to continue our faith and prayer," said Mohammed Al Faki, one of 89 students and staffers trapped in the engineering building at Khartoum University. "We are trying to help each other stay patient until this crisis is over.

One student was killed by a sniper, he said, and they buried his body on the campus. The students and staff have had to go out for supplies occasionally, risking harassment by RSF fighters battling troops nearby, he said.

They are attacking us on the streets. They are looting. If you are walking, they will take even your phone from you in the street, the 19-year-old student said of the RSF.

U.N. figures have put the toll from fighting at more than 185 dead and 1,800 wounded, without providing a breakdown of civilians and combatants. The Sudan Doctors Syndicate said Tuesday that at least 144 civilians were killed and more than 1,400 wounded but that many dead could still not be reached to be counted.

Videos posted online Tuesday showed Souq al-Bahri, a large outdoor market in northern Khartoum, in flames from nearby clashes. Satellite images from Maxar Technologies taken Monday showed damage across Khartoum, including to security service buildings. Tanks stood guard at a bridge over the White Nile River and other locations.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC, also taken Monday, showed some 20 damaged civilian and military aircraft at Khartoum International Airport, which has a military section. Some had been completely destroyed, with one still belching smoke. At the El Obeid and Merowe air bases, north and south of Khartoum, several fighter jets were among the destroyed aircraft.

The European Unions foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, tweeted Monday that the EU ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his own residency, without providing further details.

A Western diplomat in Cairo said the residence was ransacked by armed men in RSF uniforms. No one was hurt but the armed men stole several items, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.

Early on Sunday, the Norwegian ambassadors residence was hit by a shell, causing damage but no injuries, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said.

The fighting is the latest chapter in Sudan's turmoil since a popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Dagalo jointly orchestrated an October 2021 coup, derailing efforts to enshrine a civilian government. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.
Clay Schwab has seen the world through his travels. Now, the Vietnam veteran is helping others just to see everything clearly with new glasses.

Schwabs current mission work will soon take him back the Ukraine. He will take donated glasses to help those in the battle-torn area.

Schwab will perform a rudimentary eye exam and match that person with glasses from his donated inventory.

The Assembly of God church provided a way for him to learn basic eye exam classes. While he cant perform his new knowledge in the United States, Schwab can outside the U.S.

Hes helped those in need in places like the Philippines, New Zealand, Australia, Brazil, Korea, Russia, parts of Africa and now Ukraine.

How does the 75-year-old manage the expense for all these trips and carries thousands of glasses?

The town of Wagoner, churches and friends support me so much, Schwab said.

Civilains of Ukraine are not the only people Schwab has helped. He offered exams and glasses for Ukraine Army soldiers. Since the draft age is 18-through-60, Schwab is able to help all to see, even on the wars front line.

The Assembly of God sent me to optometry school, added Schwab said of the early backing for someone to learn eye exams. He is now a certified optometry tech.

How much impact did Schwabs work have on the first trip to Ukraine?

I took 2,340 pairs and gave out 1,932, he said of his first six-week trip.

Two Ukraine churches invited Schwab to stay there. He travels with different church denominations to the war front.

Recently, the Wagoner Rotary Club made a $2,500 donation to the JJJ Ministries ongoing Christian outreach to provide eyeglasses in Ukraine.

Im very blessed to serve, Schwab explained. As long as they believe in Jesus Christ, it doesnt matter the way the door opens (to offer aid).

This 42-year resident of Wagoner lives with his wife, Mona. She used to travel on every trip. However, a health challenge prevents her from traveling now.

Schwab will leave for Ukraine in June and land in the African country of Gambia on Sept. 9.

He added that a phone call came from Senator Mark Wayne Mullin recently. Sen. Mullin asked Schwab if he understood he was going to a war zone? Mullin even offered assistance.

Schwab replied that hed served two tours in Vietnam and politely denied any assistance.

There is nothing stopping Schwab and his vision for better sight.
When it comes to ramen, the two most important elements are obvious: the broth and the noodles.

You have to have a good broth, said Catherine Chan, who with husband and head chef Wilson Chan own Ichitori Ramen & Izakaya, which opened a few weeks ago in the Shops at Warren Place.

Or, rather, broths. Ichitori Ramen & Izakaya offers eight choices of broth, from a clear chicken broth used for its gluten-free offering to spicy pork and chicken broths.

It has to have a lot of flavor, but balanced, Chan said. If it is a spicy broth, you want to be able to taste more than just spice. And the temperature of the broth has to be just right, as well.

The noodles, whether wavy or straight, also require a good deal of care so that they are served at the perfect texture  supple, yet still with a bit of bite to them. Nothing is worse, Chan said, than getting mushy noodles in ramen.

Another important element to enjoy a bowl of ramen properly is not in the hands of the cooks, but of the diner.

You have to mix everything up, she said. I see some people who will eat items (individually). But you do that, and the ingredients on top get cold. That is why the temperature of the broth is important  it keeps everything warm while you eat.

Granted, some of the bowls served up at Ichitori Ramen & Izakaya are quite artful in their presentation. During a recent visit, we ordered the Ton Ton Soboro ($16), which came topped with bright green pieces of fresh asparagus and yellow kernels of corn that contrasted with the pale bean sprouts and the earthy ground chicken.

It was tempting to pick and choose among the ingredients, but we followed Chans advice and mixed it all up. Doing so meant bits of the ground chicken and the corn ended up clinging to every bite of wavy noodle we drew from the Sichuan-style broth (we ordered the medium heat option, which has all the chili-powered heat we could want). It made for a meal that was much more than the sum of its parts.

Ichitori Ramen & Izakaya is the third restaurant the Chans have operated in Tulsa. Their first enterprise was Yutaka Grill & Sushi Buffet, which they opened in the Farm Shopping Center in 2015. The couple sold that restaurant after a couple of years; it is now permanently closed.

This was followed by Bolicious, which is still in operation on East 71st Street. That restaurant was where the Chans began experimenting with ramen.

I am a big fan of ramen  anywhere we travel, we like to find new ramen places and see what they are doing, Catherine Chan said. We began offering ramen in addition to the poke bowls that were the main thing, as a special, and people started coming just for the ramen.

Chan said the Bolicious concept lent itself more toward takeaway and quick-dining, so they started to look for someplace that would allow them to offer more variety of ramen dishes, as well as other items.

That is where the Izakaya part of the restaurant comes in. The word refers to an informal Japanese meeting place that serves beer and snacks  a variation on the English pub or a Spanish tapas bar.

Ichitori offers about a dozen types of sake, four choices of wine and 15 beers available on tap, in bottles or in cans that include Asian and domestic commercial brands, as well as some examples from local brewers.

The restaurant also had a large selection of starters, about two dozen in total, that range from the expected eggs rolls ($6 for two) and spring rolls ($5 for two), to steamed buns filled with fried shrimp, grilled chicken or roast pork belly, to whole grilled squid and chicken wings done with an Asian flair.

Over the course of a couple of visits, my companion and I sampled the vegetable spring rolls, the shrimp shumai ($9.50 for six), the agedashi tofu ($6), the pan-fried chicken gyoza ($9 for six), and the crab cream croquette ($9 for two).

The deep-fried spring rolls were crisp and light, and not in the least oily, even though they were served to us literally seconds after leaving the fryer. The shumai was chopped shrimp packed into a dumpling wrapper and steamed; the shrimp was well-cooked and sweet-tasting, and the sweet, citrusy dipping sauce added the right amount of tang.

The cubes of tofu came in a clear broth that was powerfully salty on its own; the lightly fried cubes of tofu mellowed it into a tasty bite. The gyoza came snowflake style, with a lacy crust linking them together.

The most unusual of the group was the croquette, with a fried potato crust holding a sweet creamy filling redolent of crab.

We also sampled three variations on ramen  the aforementioned Tan Tan Soboro, the Old Skool, with straight noodles, pork chashu (pinwheels of braised pork belly) and sheets of nori, or seaweed; and the Spicy Tonkotsu (each $16).

The Old Skool, which Chan said is perhaps the most popular, had a rich, almost creamy broth that had a slight aquatic aftertaste, perhaps due to the sheets of seaweed steeping in it.

I wasnt asked about a spice level for the Spicy Tonkotsu, and while the broth wasnt as spicy as the Ton Ton Soboro, it did have a pleasant kick of heat, as well as both pork chashu and slightly crispy bits of stir-fried pork belly. And in each bowl, the noodles had the proper degree of tooth in addition to taking on the flavors of the broths.

We also tried one of the stir-fried noodle dishes, which my companion ordered with pork. The noodles made up only about half of the plate, as it was well-loaded with bits of stir-fried pork, cabbage, scallions, bell pepper, shiitake mushrooms and eggs. She augmented it with a touch of the chili oil that is on every table, as well as some of the dipping sauce from the shrimp shumai.

Chan said they make efforts to be seasonal, such as in the vegetables in the ramen, which are listed as daily greens.

The menu will definitely change, she said. For example, we have a special grill for yakitori, which right now we do with chicken and pork, but we are wanting to expand that, to offer more grilled items.
Ailurophiles of Oklahoma, take heart  the states first cat cafe is scheduled to open May 13 in Oklahoma City.

Dont Stress Meowt Cat Cafe will give patrons the chance to spend quality time with a clowder of cats while also enjoying beverages and food items supplied by The Loaded Bowl, a vegan restaurant in Oklahoma City.

The cafe will feature up to 15 cats, all from local rescue organizations, and all of which will be available for adoption.

Patrons will pay $15 for the privilege of being among the cats; as only 10 patrons will be allowed in the cafe at any one time, reservations are highly recommended. There will even be an area for those whose love of cats triumph over allergies, with an area where they can watch the cats through a glass wall.

The cafe, at 1900 Linwood Blvd. in Oklahoma City, is operated by Michaela and Adam Fitzpatrick, and grew out of Michaelas own love of pets, and a chance visit to a similar business while on vacation in Florida.

The concept of the cat cafe began in Taiwan in 1998, but it was in Japan  where cramped living quarters make pet ownership problematic if it is allowed at all  where the concept truly took hold. Cat cafes are now located in cities around the world, with most U.S. cat cafes, such as Dont Stress Meowt, working with local animal rescue charities to help find permanent homes for the animals.
TUESDAY, April 18, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Offering medications for opioid use disorder to prisoners could mean fewer overdose deaths later, new research suggests.

Offering medications for opioid addiction for incarcerated individuals saves lives. Specifically, offering all three medications -- buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone -- is the most effective at saving lives and is more cost-effective, said study author Dr. Avik Chatterjee, a primary care and addiction medicine physician at Boston Medical Center and Boston Healthcare for the Homeless.

We hope our study supports policy change at the state and federal level, requiring treating opioid use disorder with medications among people who are incarcerated," he said in a center news release.

Most U.S. prisons and jails discontinue medications for opioid use disorder when a person is incarcerated, even if that person has been stable on the medication beforehand. Institution staff also do not typically initiate such medications for inmates prior to their release, the researchers said.

As a result, patients often suffer withdrawal symptoms while incarcerated. The post-incarceration period is a time of very high risk for overdose death.

People with addiction are more likely to be incarcerated than to go to treatment, the study noted. There are also racial disparities, with those from communities of color who use drugs more likely to be incarcerated than white people.

To study the issue, the researchers modeled access during and upon release on population-level overdose mortality and opioid use disorder-related treatment costs in Massachusetts.

They used three different strategies. In the first, no addiction medication was provided during incarceration or upon release. In the second, they offered only extended-release naltrexone upon release from incarceration. In the third, they offered all three addiction medications at intake.

Among 30,000 incarcerated people with opioid use disorder, offering no addiction medication was associated with nearly 41,000 treatment starts over a five-year period and 1,259 overdose deaths after five years.

Over five years, offering naltrexone at release led to more than 10,400 additional treatment starts and 40 fewer overdose deaths.

By comparison, offering all three medications at intake led to nearly 12,000 additional treatment starts, and 83 fewer overdose deaths.

Among everyone with opioid use disorder in Massachusetts, offering only naltrexone averted 95 overdose deaths over five years -- a 0.9% decrease in state-level overdose mortality. The all-medication strategy averted 192 overdose deaths -- a 1.8% decrease.

The findings were published April 17 in the journal JAMA Network Open.

Drug overdoses kill more than 100,000 people in the United States each year, a growing number.

More information

The U.S. National Institute on Drug Abuse has more on drug overdoses in the United States.

SOURCE: Boston Medical Center, news release, April 14, 2023
For the first time since 1964, an Oklahoma educator is the National Teacher of the Year.

On Wednesday morning, Union High School calculus teacher Rebecka Peterson was introduced on CBS Mornings as the National Teacher of the Year, drawing raucous cheers and applause from colleagues and students who gathered together to watch the announcement on national television minutes after the tardy bell rang at the school.

It feels so surreal, to be honest, Peterson said Wednesday morning via Zoom from New York. But it feels so good to represent Union and Oklahoma. It is such an honor.

The third Oklahoma teacher to win the award since its inception in 1952, Peterson is the first national finalist from Union and Oklahomas first finalist since 2019, when Broken Arrows Donna Gradel was named among the countrys top four teachers.

Lawana Trout, an English teacher at Sand Springs Charles Page High School, was the National Teacher of the Year in 1964, and Edna Donley, a math and speech teacher at Alva High School, received the honor in 1959.

Organized by the Council of Chief State School Officers, the National Teacher of the Year is selected from among educators of the year from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, four U.S. territories and the Department of Defense Education Activity.

The winner is chosen by a selection committee of 17 people, including a former National Teacher of the Year and representatives from various education-focused organizations, such as the National Parent-Teacher Association, the National School Boards Association and the American Federation of Teachers.

The other four finalists were Harlee Harvey of Alaska, Carolyn Kielma of Connecticut, Jermar Rountree of the District of Columbia and Kimberly Radostits of Illinois.

In a written statement, the selection committee pointed to Petersons efforts to connect with her students to help them feel more at ease in the classroom, including sharing her personal background as an immigrant who lived in four countries before turning 16.

Rebecka is a caring and passionate educator who understands the importance of connections and providing individual supports for students, both in her math classes and beyond, the statement says in part. She has a deep knowledge of both education policy and teaching practices and understands that sustained change at a small scale can make a big difference for students. We know people across the country will connect with the stories she shares as the 2023 National Teacher of the Year.

The selection committees highlighting of Petersons relationship-building efforts did not come as a surprise to many of Petersons colleagues and former students.

Alyssa Fisher and Morgan Davis are both fourth-year math teachers at Union High School. Both also are Union alumnae and are among Petersons former students, and they credit her as a key influence in how they work with students.

Fisher is currently teaching in Petersons room, while Davis is taking on some of the calculus classes that would have been Petersons if she were not on sabbatical as Oklahomas Teacher of the Year.

When I think about what I want my classroom to look like, a huge part of it is how I felt in her classroom, Davis said. I felt a sense of belonging, of being wanted and needed. She (Peterson) makes every student feel valued, and thats how I want to make my students feel.

Ive got some of her former students, and the biggest compliment Ive received from them is that I remind them of Mrs. Peterson, Fisher said, noting that Peterson encouraged her to go into teaching when she was still in high school.

As the 2022 Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, Peterson has not been in her south Tulsa classroom this school year. Instead, she has been using the time to tour the state as an advocate for public education and to spotlight teachers via a social media campaign modeled after Humans of New York. To date, she has made it to about 40 of the states 77 counties.

Peterson said Wednesday that she doesnt know how she will be scaling up that campaign as the new National Teacher of the Year, but she said she will be using the year to elevate teachers voices and perspectives.

Although she will be back in Tulsa on Friday for a homecoming celebration before heading to the White House with her family, Wednesdays announcement means Peterson will spend another school year away from the students at Union High School.

Im trying to see it as Im not leaving the classroom, she said. My classrooms just expanding. Thats how its felt this year getting to be in so many different kinds classrooms across the state  rural, urban, suburban, prekindergarten through 12th grade. Its been the opportunity of a lifetime, and now here we are. Thats how Im trying to see it: My classroom is expanding yet again.

But Id be lying if I didnt say it feels like a bit of a betrayal to not be with my kiddos in my school, in my classroom. Thats what I keep saying though: Joy is not binary. With change, theres always give and take.
On April 19, 1995, 168 people were killed after a truck loaded with explosive material was detonated in front of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building.

Until September 11, 2001, the Oklahoma City bombing was the worst terrorist attack to take place on U.S. soil.

In 2019, former Tulsa World Photo Editor John Clanton had a goal to document what you will see when you visit the Oklahoma City National Memorial & Museum.

His photos in black and white show the mission of the memorial: "We come here to remember those who were killed, those who survived and those changed forever. May all who leave here know the impact of violence. May this memorial offer comfort, strength, peace, hope and serenity."
"Our state will never again take a back seat in education."

These words were spoken by Oklahoma Gov. Henry Bellmon 33 years ago, on April 19, 1990, after the state Senate approved the emergency clause of the landmark $230 million education funding and reform legislation, House Bill 1017.

It was a day of euphoria for Oklahoma teachers who had walked out of their classrooms and held rallies at the state Capitol for four days in support of the bill whose supporters said it would raise the states public schools from the bottom to the top in national rankings, the Tulsa World reported.

The law was expected to raise $230 million in new revenue through a half-cent state sales tax ($104 million), an increase in the individual income tax ($104 million) and a 1-percent boost in the corporate income tax ($22 million).

Following passage, teachers and students cheered and embraced. Never last again, they chanted over and over again, according to the Tulsa World story.

However, in 2018, thousands of Oklahoma teachers swarmed the Capitol for what was the largest protest of state funding for public education in recent years.
McCurtain County officials hunkered down on Tuesday, one day after remarks captured by an audio recorder in the County Commission meeting room became national news.

The March 6 conversation primarily involved McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, Investigator Alicia Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix and was reported by the McCurtain Gazette-News, an Idabel semi-weekly, last weekend.

A post on the McCurtain County Sheriffs Offices Facebook page does not address the comments, which include favorable mentions of lynchings and mafia hitmen and morbid attempts at humor concerning a woman who burned to death in her home, but does suggest that the recording was obtained illegally and might have been altered.

There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act  which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation in which you are not involved and do not have the consent of at least one of the involved parties, reads the Facebook post. There is a significant number of victims of this criminal activity and it has taken significant effort and time to identify them and corroborate evidence.

Many of these recordings, like the one published by media outlets  have yet to be duly authenticated or validated, it continues. Our preliminary information indicates that the media released audio recording has, in fact, been altered. The motivation for doing so remains unclear at this point. That matter is actively being investigated.

A lawyer representing the newspaper denied that the recording was altered, according to the New York Times. A person answering the Gazette-News telephone on Tuesday said employees have been told by attorneys not to talk about the situation.

The section of law cited by the sheriffs Facebook page deals primarily with the recording of telephone and telegraph communications but does include oral communications.

Oral communications are defined as any communication uttered by a person exhibiting an expectation that such communication is not subject to interception under circumstance justifying such expectation.

Oklahoma State University professor Joey Senat, a former reporter and an authority on media law, said whether the recording was obtained illegally is largely a matter of whether the four officials had a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Because the conversation took place in the County Commission meeting room inside a public building, Senat said justifying such an expectation would be difficult.

In fact, there is some suggestion that the conversation should be considered part of a public meeting because two of the three McCurtain County Commissioners  a quorum  were present and discussing county business.

Gazette-News reporter, Editor and Publisher Bruce Willingham has said he left his recorder behind hoping to get evidence of an illegal meeting.

Reportedly two of the three county commissioners were elected last November, and the third has served only one term.

While the Sheriffs Offices Facebook post raises the possibility of alteration, it does not categorically deny the substance of the conversation.

Perhaps reflective of that, on Tuesday morning, the Oklahoma Sheriffs Associations executive board voted unanimously to suspend the memberships of Clardy, Manning and Hendrix.

The incident has reportedly brought a deluge of threatening messages down on McCurtain County officials and employees, regardless of whether they were involved in the recorded conversation. At midafternoon Tuesday, McCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel was evacuated because of a bomb threat, according to the facilitys Facebook page.

The hospital later urged patients to go elsewhere for non-emergency medical attention.
OKLAHOMA CITY  The Oklahoma Senate on Wednesday overrode Gov. Kevin Stitts veto of a bill that dealt with money going to the Oklahoma Health Care Authority.

Stitt on Monday vetoed Senate Bill 1130, calling it imprudent.

The measure took about $600 million in surplus funds from the states Medicaid agency for fiscal year 2023 and appropriated it back to the agency for fiscal year 2024.

The agency acquired the funds through additional federal dollars given to states during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stitts veto message said any action should be delayed until the agency is finished disenrolling 300,000 people who no longer qualify for coverage.

Senate Appropriations Chairman Rogers Thompson, R-Okemah, said the disenrollment has already been handled and called Stitts veto message inaccurate.

Stitt said in his veto message that the bill punishes the agency for its fiscal conservatism and wise stewardship of taxpayer dollars.

Thompson said the measure did not sweep the account and is not imprudent. The Legislature is the body that appropriates funds, he said.

The issue is essentially a disagreement between the Legislature and Stitts office regarding who controls the funds.

The Senate voted 45-2 to override the veto.

Carly Atchison, a Stitt spokeswoman, said the Governors Office would withhold comment unless or until the House takes action on the override.
Related Suspected Tulsa drug dealer charged with murder after heroin overdose

A Tulsa drug dealer has pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in exchange for a 20-year sentence in the death of a Perkins woman who overdosed on heroin he sold in 2019, the state Attorney Generals Office announced.

The agencys criminal justice division charged Noah Montague, 28, in Tulsa County with first-degree murder for the death of Jamie Bear, 29, in 2020. The case later moved to Payne County, where Bear died.

Montague received a 20-year prison sentence with 15 years in Oklahoma Department of Corrections custody and five years of probation, a news release from the Attorney Generals Office states.

Montague allegedly sold the heroin to an associate of Bears on Sept. 9, 2019, and Bear died the following day. That associate is also facing criminal charges.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond said the rare conviction of a drug dealer for murder signals a new front in the war against illegal drugs.

Noah Montague showed a reckless disregard for human life when he sold heroin, Drummond said in the release. I hope this conviction serves as a warning to anyone trafficking drugs: Your illicit actions can land you in prison for murder.

Bears death, Drummond said, underscores the lethal danger of taking illicit street drugs.

There is an alarming trend of increased overdose deaths attributed to lethal substances like fentanyl being added to other illicit drugs, Drummond said. Oftentimes these drugs originate outside of our country and enter through our porous southern border. I want people to understand that the individuals who manufacture and sell these substances do not value human life. If you or someone you love is involved with illegal drugs, I urge you to seek help immediately. Your actions today could prevent a tragedy tomorrow.
OKLAHOMA CITY  In his first months in office, newly elected Attorney General Gentner Drummond has taken aim at what he calls a culture of corruption and scandal in state government.

In a recent interview, Drummond said he hopes the actions he takes in his first term as Oklahomas top prosecutor will spur lasting changes in how state government operates.

There is an aura of accountability and responsibility that state legislators recognize, occasionally executive officers recognize, but I think over the next 195 weeks, that culture will be ingrained in state government for the betterment of all, Drummond said.

Tuesday marked Drummonds 100th day in elected office  an early benchmark of his political tenure.

He has taken on several high-profile cases, including leading the prosecution of Epic Charter Schools founders, reviewing criminal charges against a state representative and working with the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation as it scrutinizes a possibly fraudulent deal between the state and Swadleys Bar-B-Q.

Drummond has been critical of his predecessors, and he hasnt shied away from calling out state elected officials when theyve overstepped their authority.

He also put the Oklahoma Legislature on notice that he will fully enforce state laws intended to prevent legislators from personally profiting off their state service.

Drummond has criticized previous Attorneys General John OConnor and Mike Hunter for allowing the Oklahoma County District Attorneys Office to pick up prominent public corruption cases instead of taking on the cases themselves.

If its public corruption or scandal at the state level that affects multiple counties, that case belongs in the Attorney Generals Office, he said. For reasons that I cannot speculate, the previous two administrations  didnt prosecute and didnt investigate, and thats inappropriate.

OConnor, who was appointed by Gov. Kevin Stitt, served at the governors beck and call, Drummond said. A wealthy Tulsa businessman and former U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, Drummond defeated OConnor in last years GOP primary election by vowing to operate independently from the Governors Office.

The new attorney general accused Hunter of abusing his power when criminal charges were brought against former Cabinet Secretary David Ostrowe and, in a separate incident, Republican Rep. Terry ODonnell and his wife.

Although Ostrowe was indicted on an allegation that he bribed a state official, Drummond this year cleared the former Stitt administration official of any wrongdoing and said Hunter should have recused himself from the legal proceedings to avoid any appearance of impropriety.

Drummond also dropped the charges against ODonnell after the lawmaker was alleged to have misused his office to change state law so his wife could take ownership of a tag agency. Drummond said Hunter referred the investigation as a way to seek political retribution against ODonnell, but former Oklahoma County District Attorney David Prater, who oversaw the multicounty grand jury that brought the indictment, said the investigation was free from any outside influence.

Im the umpire who calls balls and strikes, Drummond said. Sometimes you like the call, and sometimes you dont, but Im going to do exactly what I see.

Drummond said he has a good working relationship with Stitt. But that didnt stop Drummond from calling out the governor for not following state law when he appointed several members of the Oklahoma Veterans Commission.

The attorney general also recently said the State Board of Education, led by State Superintendent Ryan Walters, overstepped its authority when it passed new rules for the State Department of Education.

Nothing that Ive done is directed toward the governor or any other elected official, he said. Im simply applying fact to law.

Drummond said he is still looking into whether any state actors are to blame for misspent pandemic relief funds that were earmarked for education. He dismissed a lawsuit against an out-of-state vendor that Stitt and Walters previously said was to blame for the misuse of federal pandemic aid.

Drummond said the lawsuit against ClassWallet was purely political cover.

As for getting answers about a program that federal officials said was mismanaged and allowed public funds to be spent on noneducational expenses, that is the source of an active investigation in collaboration with the Department of Justice and the FBI to determine what happened and why, Drummond said.

He said he is taking steps to crack down on illegal marijuana farms by creating an organized crime task force and advocating for greater enforcement of the states medical marijuana industry.

The attorney general is also waiting for a state appeals court to respond to his request that death-row inmate Richard Glossips murder conviction be vacated. Drummond made the request after asking a former prosecutor to conduct an independent review of Glossips case.

Drummonds first few months in elected office have some political observers speculating about whether he will run for governor in 2026, but Drummond said hes focused solely on his duties as attorney general.

Video: Oklahoma executive branch officials take oath of office

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Senate Bill 202 by Sen. Nathan Dahm, R-Broken Arrow, is not really called the Internal Combustion Bill of Rights, but with so much federal and state legislation carrying the bill of rights label, it seems like maybe it ought to be.

SB 202, which passed the House on Tuesday and was sent back to the Senate to sign off on a relatively minor amendment, essentially guarantees the right of Oklahomans to use internal combustion engines and gas-fueled stoves  as long as the federal government doesnt say otherwise.

Specifically, the bill says state and local governments cannot prohibit the use of such devices.

Such legislation might seem unnecessary, but House sponsor Jon Echols, R-Oklahoma City, said it is because nationally, we have lost our ever-loving mind.

Specific to SB 202, Echols was referring to efforts in some cities to ban or restrict internal combustion engines and the installation of new natural gas stoves, as well as furnaces and hot water tanks.

On Monday, in fact, the 9th U.S. Circuit of Appeals tossed out a 3-year-old Berkeley, California, ordinance that outlawed new natural gas piping. According to the New York Times, some 50 California municipalities, including Los Angeles and San Francisco, have passed similar bans.

Besides producing greenhouse gases, natural gas ranges have been linked to slightly higher incidents of cancer, according to some studies, and have been shown to leak dangerous chemicals, including benzene.

But just how much greater risk natural gas poses is unclear, especially since its been widely used for more than a century without significant health risks being observed.

Echols argued that shutting off natural gas lines and internal combustion engines in one fell swoop simply isnt feasible.

Do we want clean, sustainable energy? Absolutely, said Echols. The idea that conservatives dont want clean water, clean air  of course we do, but we want to do it in an economically feasible manner.

Two of the Houses newest members, Democrats Jared Deck of Norman and Arturo Alonso of Oklahoma City, argued against the bill  Deck on the grounds that it stifles local governments and Alonso because he said it puts Oklahoma at risk of being left behind technologically.

If we continue to tie ourselves to fossil fuels, we run the risk of being left behind, said Alonso.

Echols said future legislatures can repeal the bans if they become unworkable, but in the meantime theyre needed to prevent policies that make no sense.

We are going to continue to stand up against polices that crush the working class, said Echols. Eventually, were going to talk about common-sense solutions.

SB 202 passed 75-17 but must return to the Senate for final consideration.
OKLAHOMA CITY  Gov. Kevin Stitt issued his first veto of the legislative session on Monday as lawmakers and the executive branch wrestle for control of $600 million in surplus cash at a state agency.

Stitt vetoed Senate Bill 1130, which would have blocked the Oklahoma Health Care Authority from spending $600 million in unused cash in the current fiscal year, which ends June 30.

At the very least, Stitt wrote in his veto letter, decisions about how to spend the surplus funds should be delayed until 2024, after the nine-month Medicaid period in which the Health Care Authority is disenrolling from Medicaid more than 300,000 Oklahomans who were added to Medicaid during the COVID-19 pandemic but who no longer qualify for the government health benefits.

The surplus funds at the Health Care Authority stem from enhanced Medicaid matching funds the federal government doled out to states during the pandemic.

This bill would punish the Health Care Authority for its fiscal conservatism and wise stewardship of taxpayer dollars, Stitt wrote in his veto letter. Thats simply wrong.

The governor also expressed concerns that lawmakers intend to use the $600 million to fund a portion of the Health Care Authoritys annual budget. The surplus funds should be used to finance strategic health care initiatives, not the routine functions of the Health Care Authority, Stitt added.

Lawmakers want to ensure that the state agency doesnt spend the money without their input.

Legislative budget committee chairmen previously expressed frustrations that Health Care Authority leaders were unilaterally seeking ideas for ways to spend the money, according to NonDoc, an online news outlet. The Legislature should vote on how the money is spent, the chairmen said.

The conversation really needs to start in this building, House Appropriations Committee Chairman Kevin Wallace, R-Wellston, said at the Capitol last week.

Wallace said he had seen a list of proposed ideas for how the executive branch, which includes the Health Care Authority, wanted to spend the surplus funds. That list included some projects that were unrelated to health care, he said on the House floor.

The Oklahoma Legislature can override the governors veto with two-thirds majorities in both chambers. The House and Senate both gave nearly unanimous approval to SB 1130.
Packaged food producer KIDO Group has announced it will acquire a 25-percent stake in the banh bao Tho Phat' brand in the first phase before increasing its holding to 51-70 percent in the future. 'Banh bao' is a Vietnamese term for steamed pork buns. KIDO released its resolution on the merger and acquisition (M&A) deal on Wednesday. The M&A deal is part of KIDOs key business strategies to expand the portfolio of food products and become one of Vietnams leading essential food suppliers, said Tran Le Nguyen, CEO of KIDO. The company looks to earn VND2 trillion (US$85.3 million) in revenue and VND200 billion ($8.5 million) in profit from the Tho Phat buns and other cakes in 2023. The earnings will significantly contribute to the groups total revenue and project this year. The Tho Phat bun brand will quickly tap the markets of the northern and central regions and the global market thanks to KIDOs distribution systems, which comprise 450,000 selling points of dried products and 120,000 selling venues of cold food, Nguyen said. Tho Phat is a leading 'banh bao' producing brand in Vietnam, with the buns being sold at 4,000 wet markets, stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets. The brand is said to have changed the traditional bun market, making the food, which is mainly used for breakfast and sold by street vendors, available at supermarkets and grocery stores. Tho Phat has produced various kinds of buns such as sweet buns, meat buns, vegan buns, buns with no fillings, and dim sum and 'banh gio' (dumplings in banana leaves) as well. The Tho Phat factory covers over 22,000 square meters of land in Ho Chi Minh City, with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons. In line with the Vietnamese business law, an investor who owns a stake of over 51 percent in a company can gain control of it. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Packaged food producer KIDO Group has announced it will acquire a 25-percent stake in the banh bao Tho Phat' brand in the first phase before increasing its holding to 51-70 percent in the future.

'Banh bao' is a Vietnamese term for steamed pork buns.

KIDO released its resolution on the merger and acquisition (M&A) deal on Wednesday.

The M&A deal is part of KIDOs key business strategies to expand the portfolio of food products and become one of Vietnams leading essential food suppliers, said Tran Le Nguyen, CEO of KIDO.

The company looks to earn VND2 trillion (US$85.3 million) in revenue and VND200 billion ($8.5 million) in profit from the Tho Phat buns and other cakes in 2023.

The earnings will significantly contribute to the groups total revenue and project this year.

The Tho Phat bun brand will quickly tap the markets of the northern and central regions and the global market thanks to KIDOs distribution systems, which comprise 450,000 selling points of dried products and 120,000 selling venues of cold food, Nguyen said.

Tho Phat is a leading 'banh bao' producing brand in Vietnam, with the buns being sold at 4,000 wet markets, stores, grocery stores, and supermarkets.

The brand is said to have changed the traditional bun market, making the food, which is mainly used for breakfast and sold by street vendors, available at supermarkets and grocery stores.

Tho Phat has produced various kinds of buns such as sweet buns, meat buns, vegan buns, buns with no fillings, and dim sum and 'banh gio' (dumplings in banana leaves) as well.

The Tho Phat factory covers over 22,000 square meters of land in Ho Chi Minh City, with an annual capacity of 10,000 metric tons.

In line with the Vietnamese business law, an investor who owns a stake of over 51 percent in a company can gain control of it.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training voiced concerns over the growing population coupled with the lack of schools in the southeastern region, calling for private investors to join the sector at a conference on educational development in southern Binh Duong Province on Tuesday. Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said at the event that the southeastern region accounts for more than 19 percent of Vietnams population and has the highest rate of population growth and domestic migration in Vietnam while making up less than ten percent of the land area. Geographically, the southeastern region includes Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai Province, Binh Duong Province, Ba RiaVung Tai Province, Binh Phuoc Province, and Tay Ninh Province. The education and training sector in the region, despite its economic achievements, faces tremendous pressure due to the lack of schools and high demands for quality childcare services in areas with industrial parks and export processing zones. The number of educational facilities in the region has increased by 1,000 in the past ten years, according to statistics from the ministry. The most substantial rise is in preschools due to the high demand for childcare among parents of young children. As these preschoolers grow up, there will be pressure to address the shortage of schools in higher education levels such as elementary, middle, and high school in the coming years. In Binh Duong, the population rises by over 100,000 people every year, including more than 20,000 students, which will lead to the need to build dozens of new schools, according to provincial chairman Vo Van Minh. Currently, the province is lacking in more than 2,100 middle school and high school teachers. In Ho Chi Minh City, the authorities have to spend about VND2 trillion (US$85.2 million) building education facilities every year to reduce the school shortage, accounting for 28 percent of its regular expenditure and 20 percent of the basic construction budget, according to the citys deputy chairman Bui Xuan Cuong. In order to help meet the high demand for schools, Nguyen Son Hung, deputy chairman of Dong Nai, proposed there should be preferential policies for the southeastern region. Binh Duongs chairman Minh added that clear mechanisms are needed to encourage private investment in education, which is contributing extensively in all educational levels in the province. Particularly, in the preschool level, private investors meet over 70 percent of the demand. In his concluding remarks at Tuesdays event, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha agreed with the proposals regarding proactively forecasting population growth and schooling needs for overall planning and creating mechanisms to encourage private investments in education in the region, sharing the burden with the public education sector. Ha tasked the education ministry with finding and proposing solutions to the issue for the central government to consider. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Vietnam's Ministry of Education and Training voiced concerns over the growing population coupled with the lack of schools in the southeastern region, calling for private investors to join the sector at a conference on educational development in southern Binh Duong Province on Tuesday.

Minister of Education and Training Nguyen Kim Son said at the event that the southeastern region accounts for more than 19 percent of Vietnams population and has the highest rate of population growth and domestic migration in Vietnam while making up less than ten percent of the land area.

Geographically, the southeastern region includes Ho Chi Minh City, Dong Nai Province, Binh Duong Province, Ba RiaVung Tai Province, Binh Phuoc Province, and Tay Ninh Province.

The education and training sector in the region, despite its economic achievements, faces tremendous pressure due to the lack of schools and high demands for quality childcare services in areas with industrial parks and export processing zones.

The number of educational facilities in the region has increased by 1,000 in the past ten years, according to statistics from the ministry.

The most substantial rise is in preschools due to the high demand for childcare among parents of young children.

As these preschoolers grow up, there will be pressure to address the shortage of schools in higher education levels such as elementary, middle, and high school in the coming years.

In Binh Duong, the population rises by over 100,000 people every year, including more than 20,000 students, which will lead to the need to build dozens of new schools, according to provincial chairman Vo Van Minh.

Currently, the province is lacking in more than 2,100 middle school and high school teachers.

In Ho Chi Minh City, the authorities have to spend about VND2 trillion (US$85.2 million) building education facilities every year to reduce the school shortage, accounting for 28 percent of its regular expenditure and 20 percent of the basic construction budget, according to the citys deputy chairman Bui Xuan Cuong.

In order to help meet the high demand for schools, Nguyen Son Hung, deputy chairman of Dong Nai, proposed there should be preferential policies for the southeastern region.

Binh Duongs chairman Minh added that clear mechanisms are needed to encourage private investment in education, which is contributing extensively in all educational levels in the province.

Particularly, in the preschool level, private investors meet over 70 percent of the demand.

In his concluding remarks at Tuesdays event, Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha agreed with the proposals regarding proactively forecasting population growth and schooling needs for overall planning and creating mechanisms to encourage private investments in education in the region, sharing the burden with the public education sector.

Ha tasked the education ministry with finding and proposing solutions to the issue for the central government to consider.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
India is on its way to becoming the worlds most populous nation, overtaking China with almost 3 million more people in the middle of this year, data released on Wednesday by the United Nations showed. Indias population is estimated at 1,428.6 million, or 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China in the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) "State of World Population Report" this year. The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million, the data showed in a report that reflects information available until February. Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would surpass China this month, but the global body's latest report did not specify a date. UN population officials have said it was not possible to specify a date because of uncertainty about the data from India and China, as Indias last census was held in 2011 and the next, due in 2021, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Although both nations will account for more than a third of the estimated global population of 8.045 billion, population growth in both has been slowing, albeit much faster in China than India. Last year, Chinas population fell for the first time in six decades, a historic turn expected to usher in a long period of decline in citizen numbers, with profound implications for its economy and the world. India's annual population growth has averaged 1.2% since 2011, down from 1.7% in the previous decade, government data shows. A public survey by UNFPA for the 2023 report found the most commonly held opinion in India, as well as in Brazil, Egypt and Nigeria, was that the population in each country "was too large and fertility rates were too high", the report said. "The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public," Andrea Wojnar, the agency's India representative, said in a statement. "Yet population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm. Instead, they should be seen as a symbol of progress, development, and aspirations if individual rights and choices are being upheld." India had done many things right in tackling population growth, said Poonam Muttreja, an official of the voluntary group Population Foundation of India. "At the same time, we need to make sure that girls and women are not pushed into early marriages and pregnancies, which limit their aspirations," she said in a statement.

India is on its way to becoming the worlds most populous nation, overtaking China with almost 3 million more people in the middle of this year, data released on Wednesday by the United Nations showed.

Indias population is estimated at 1,428.6 million, or 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China in the United Nations Population Funds (UNFPA) "State of World Population Report" this year.

The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million, the data showed in a report that reflects information available until February.

Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would surpass China this month, but the global body's latest report did not specify a date.

UN population officials have said it was not possible to specify a date because of uncertainty about the data from India and China, as Indias last census was held in 2011 and the next, due in 2021, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Although both nations will account for more than a third of the estimated global population of 8.045 billion, population growth in both has been slowing, albeit much faster in China than India.

Last year, Chinas population fell for the first time in six decades, a historic turn expected to usher in a long period of decline in citizen numbers, with profound implications for its economy and the world.

India's annual population growth has averaged 1.2% since 2011, down from 1.7% in the previous decade, government data shows.

A public survey by UNFPA for the 2023 report found the most commonly held opinion in India, as well as in Brazil, Egypt and Nigeria, was that the population in each country "was too large and fertility rates were too high", the report said.

"The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public," Andrea Wojnar, the agency's India representative, said in a statement.

"Yet population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm. Instead, they should be seen as a symbol of progress, development, and aspirations if individual rights and choices are being upheld."

India had done many things right in tackling population growth, said Poonam Muttreja, an official of the voluntary group Population Foundation of India.

"At the same time, we need to make sure that girls and women are not pushed into early marriages and pregnancies, which limit their aspirations," she said in a statement.
A composite Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton called Trinity, made up of bones from three different T-Rexes, sold for 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.1 million) in a rare auction on Tuesday. Estimated to be 65 to 67 million years old, the skeleton was sold at the Koller auction house in Zurich after being shipped from the United States in nine giant crates. Trinity fetched a hammer price of 4.8 million Swiss francs, rising to 5.5 million with the buyer's premium added on. The skeleton was put up for sale by an anonymous US private individual and had been expected to fetch between five and eight million Swiss francs. It was bought by a private European collector of modern art and dinosaur relics. Auctioneer Cyril Koller said it was the third T-Rex skeleton ever sold at auction, and the first in Europe. "It was a wonderful auction because we showed Trinity for two-and-a-half weeks in the concert hall in Zurich. And so more than 30,000 visitors came and admired Trinity; a lot of children," he told AFP. Koller voiced optimism that although the skeleton had been sold to a private buyer, it would remain on public display. "I'm 100 percent sure we will see Trinity in the future somewhere again," he said. The skeleton measures 3.9-metres high, 11.6 metres long and 2.65 metres wide. Experts have bone to pick As its name suggests, Trinity is made up of bones from three dinosaurs -- excavated between 2008 and 2013 from the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in Montana and Wyoming. The sites are known for the discoveries of two other significant T-Rex skeletons that have gone to auction. "Sue" went under the hammer in 1997 for $8.4 million, before "Stan" took the world-record hammer price of $31.8 million at Christie's in 2020. On Trinity, vertebrate palaeontologist Thomas Holtz -- who is against the sale of such specimens -- told AFP it was "misleading" and "inappropriate... to combine multiple real bones from different individuals to create a single skeleton." Just over half of the bone material in the skeleton comes from the three Tyrannosaurus specimens -- above the 50 percent level needed for experts to consider such a skeleton as high quality. Holtz, of the University of Maryland, remained sceptical, insisting that Trinity "really isn't a 'specimen' so much as it is an art installation". He also took issue with auctions of significant dinosaur skeletons and other fossils, which have raked in tens of millions of dollars in recent years. Experts have warned such trade could be harmful to science by putting the specimens in private hands and out of the reach of researchers. But Christian Link of Koller stressed that 95 percent of known T-Rexes are currently in museums.

A composite Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton called Trinity, made up of bones from three different T-Rexes, sold for 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.1 million) in a rare auction on Tuesday.

Estimated to be 65 to 67 million years old, the skeleton was sold at the Koller auction house in Zurich after being shipped from the United States in nine giant crates.

Trinity fetched a hammer price of 4.8 million Swiss francs, rising to 5.5 million with the buyer's premium added on.

The skeleton was put up for sale by an anonymous US private individual and had been expected to fetch between five and eight million Swiss francs.

It was bought by a private European collector of modern art and dinosaur relics.

Auctioneer Cyril Koller said it was the third T-Rex skeleton ever sold at auction, and the first in Europe.

"It was a wonderful auction because we showed Trinity for two-and-a-half weeks in the concert hall in Zurich. And so more than 30,000 visitors came and admired Trinity; a lot of children," he told AFP.

Koller voiced optimism that although the skeleton had been sold to a private buyer, it would remain on public display.

"I'm 100 percent sure we will see Trinity in the future somewhere again," he said.

The skeleton measures 3.9-metres high, 11.6 metres long and 2.65 metres wide.

Experts have bone to pick

As its name suggests, Trinity is made up of bones from three dinosaurs -- excavated between 2008 and 2013 from the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in Montana and Wyoming.

The sites are known for the discoveries of two other significant T-Rex skeletons that have gone to auction.

"Sue" went under the hammer in 1997 for $8.4 million, before "Stan" took the world-record hammer price of $31.8 million at Christie's in 2020.

On Trinity, vertebrate palaeontologist Thomas Holtz -- who is against the sale of such specimens -- told AFP it was "misleading" and "inappropriate... to combine multiple real bones from different individuals to create a single skeleton."

Just over half of the bone material in the skeleton comes from the three Tyrannosaurus specimens -- above the 50 percent level needed for experts to consider such a skeleton as high quality.

Holtz, of the University of Maryland, remained sceptical, insisting that Trinity "really isn't a 'specimen' so much as it is an art installation".

He also took issue with auctions of significant dinosaur skeletons and other fossils, which have raked in tens of millions of dollars in recent years.

Experts have warned such trade could be harmful to science by putting the specimens in private hands and out of the reach of researchers.

But Christian Link of Koller stressed that 95 percent of known T-Rexes are currently in museums.
Read what is in the news in Vietnam today: Society -- The Peoples Committee of Hanoi has mandated face mask wearing at supermarkets, bars, movie theaters, on public buses, and at many other public places after the national daily count of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 1,500, including 100 in the capital city, on Tuesday. -- The Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam issued an order on Tuesday requiring face masks during school time. -- The Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City has sent a document to the municipal Department of Public Security to require police officers to strictly handle motorcyclists traveling in the wrong direction, causing traffic disorder. -- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam completed upgrading Cam Ranh International Airport in south-central Khanh Hoa Province and resumed its operation on Tuesday. -- Authorities in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi said on Tuesday that they had suspended a restaurant for serving leftover hotpot broth. -- Police in Hanoi said on Tuesday that they had arrested a car driver for drifting to show off his driving skill in front of the Hanoi Opera House, disturbing public order the day before. Business -- Vietnam exported 381,780 metric tons of rubber worth US$531.3 million in January-March, down 6.1 percent in volume and 25.7 percent in value over the same period in 2022, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs. -- A delegation of French experts and representatives from Ho Chi Minh City departments and agencies took a water bus tour on Tuesday afternoon to survey the Saigon River for investment purposes. Education -- The Ministry of Education and Training voiced concerns over the dense population and lack of schools in the southeastern region, calling for private investments at a conference on educational development in southern Binh Duong Province on Tuesday. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Read what is in the news in Vietnam today:

Society

-- The Peoples Committee of Hanoi has mandated face mask wearing at supermarkets, bars, movie theaters, on public buses, and at many other public places after the national daily count of new COVID-19 cases exceeded 1,500, including 100 in the capital city, on Tuesday.

-- The Department of Education and Training of Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam issued an order on Tuesday requiring face masks during school time.

-- The Department of Transport of Ho Chi Minh City has sent a document to the municipal Department of Public Security to require police officers to strictly handle motorcyclists traveling in the wrong direction, causing traffic disorder.

-- The Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam completed upgrading Cam Ranh International Airport in south-central Khanh Hoa Province and resumed its operation on Tuesday.

-- Authorities in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi said on Tuesday that they had suspended a restaurant for serving leftover hotpot broth.

-- Police in Hanoi said on Tuesday that they had arrested a car driver for drifting to show off his driving skill in front of the Hanoi Opera House, disturbing public order the day before.

Business

-- Vietnam exported 381,780 metric tons of rubber worth US$531.3 million in January-March, down 6.1 percent in volume and 25.7 percent in value over the same period in 2022, according to the General Department of Vietnam Customs.

-- A delegation of French experts and representatives from Ho Chi Minh City departments and agencies took a water bus tour on Tuesday afternoon to survey the Saigon River for investment purposes.

Education

-- The Ministry of Education and Training voiced concerns over the dense population and lack of schools in the southeastern region, calling for private investments at a conference on educational development in southern Binh Duong Province on Tuesday.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
Authorities in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi have suspended Huong Muc frog hotpot restaurant as the diner served customers with leftover hotpot broth. Two branches of the restaurant at 33 and 44 Chau Long Street in Truc Bach Ward, Ba Dinh District were suspended for signs of violations of food safety regulations, Nguyen Dan Huy, chairman of the Peoples Committee of the ward, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday. We will check the restaurants food safety and hygiene and its customer serving process. If violations are detected, we will impose harsh penalties in line with the law, Huy stressed. Two eaters came to the restaurant to enjoy frog hotpot last Friday. However, they found abnormalities in the hotpot broth and supposed that employees of the restaurant gave them leftover hotpot broth from other customers. They later shared the information on Facebook. Upon receiving the news, Truc Bach authorities on Tuesday established a team to inspect two branches of the restaurant, viewed footage from CCTV cameras at the restaurant, and questioned its manager and some employees. The case happened on the second floor of the branch at 33 Chau Long Street, the restaurant manager said, claiming that a female employee unintentionally served the two customers with the leftover hotpot broth. The female employee explained that the restaurant was crowded with customers at the time and she carelessly checked the hotpot broth. She was frightened of the customers complaint, so she did not report the case to the restaurant manager. The restaurant later fired the female employee and contacted the two customers to directly offer them an apology and cover their healthcare costs. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

Authorities in Ba Dinh District, Hanoi have suspended Huong Muc frog hotpot restaurant as the diner served customers with leftover hotpot broth.

Two branches of the restaurant at 33 and 44 Chau Long Street in Truc Bach Ward, Ba Dinh District were suspended for signs of violations of food safety regulations, Nguyen Dan Huy, chairman of the Peoples Committee of the ward, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper on Tuesday.

We will check the restaurants food safety and hygiene and its customer serving process. If violations are detected, we will impose harsh penalties in line with the law, Huy stressed.

Two eaters came to the restaurant to enjoy frog hotpot last Friday. However, they found abnormalities in the hotpot broth and supposed that employees of the restaurant gave them leftover hotpot broth from other customers.

They later shared the information on Facebook.

Upon receiving the news, Truc Bach authorities on Tuesday established a team to inspect two branches of the restaurant, viewed footage from CCTV cameras at the restaurant, and questioned its manager and some employees.

The case happened on the second floor of the branch at 33 Chau Long Street, the restaurant manager said, claiming that a female employee unintentionally served the two customers with the leftover hotpot broth.

The female employee explained that the restaurant was crowded with customers at the time and she carelessly checked the hotpot broth.

She was frightened of the customers complaint, so she did not report the case to the restaurant manager.

The restaurant later fired the female employee and contacted the two customers to directly offer them an apology and cover their healthcare costs.

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The mushrooming of unauthorized tourism activities surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai has raised concerns over possible pollution of the water supply to over 10 million residents of the southern Vietnamese province and neighboring Binh Duong Province as well as Ho Chi Minh City. As observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, there are currently more than 50 unpermitted tourism sites on agricultural land and floodplain areas around the lake in Dong Nais Vinh Cuu District, where the issue has been most rampant, besides other districts such as Thong Nhat, Dinh Quan, and Tan Phu. An aerial view of a floodplain area surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre These sites offer accommodations, camping, and stand-up paddle board services to travelers who like to appreciate the pristine scenery. Many temporary houses, restaurants, and parking lots have been constructed there without any approval from local authorities. Tents are illegally set up on a floodplain area surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre Tri An Lake currently supplies water to the Tri An Hydropower Reservoir, which has an installed capacity of 400MW, and to Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong, meeting about 70 percent of the demand of over 10 million people living in the three southeastern localities, according to Nguyen Quang Phuong, chairman of Vinh Cuu District. Phuong is concerned that the operation of the aforementioned tourism activities poses a threat to the environment at the lake. Visitors try stand-up paddle board services at Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre Unless proper measures are taken, environmental pollution will affect more than 10 million people in the long run, Phuong said, adding that local authorities have ordered the grassroots levels to take responsibility for any unapproved tourism businesses. Nguyen Hoang Hao, director of the Dong Nai Nature and Culture Reserve, which manages the Tri An Lake, stated that developing temporary housing for tourism purposes in the lake area is against regulations. Travelers enjoy their time at a camping site illegally established in a floodplain area surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre According to Hao, local residents who signed contracts with his reserve to plant forests and long-term crops in the lake area have breached the agreements. They are prohibited from building temporary shelters and engaging in any activities that may affect the forest land, he said. An aerial view of a floodplain area lit by the glow of lights from unauthorized tourism sites surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre Many owners of the illegally-built tourism sites have made excuses that developing tourism activities at Tri An Lake both satisfies a genuine demand from the tourists and brings many benefits to local residents, such as increasing employment levels and promoting local agricultural products. They have called on local authorities to allow the operation of the existing facilities while creating specific mechanisms and policies for their businesses, so that they can avoid violations. An aerial view of the Chien Khu D Bridge crossing Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre Regarding this request, Hao said that there has been a plan to develop a national tourism project on the lakeside land and islets in the lake. Once the project is approved, Haos reserve will select an investor to collaborate with local residents to operate tourism activities in accordance with the plan. Accommodations are illegally established on agricultural land surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre The provinces objective is to develop large-scale, high-value tourism activities, rather than the small-scale and unregulated ones currently in operation, Hao said. The official added that his reserve will cooperate with local authorities to dismantle unauthorized tourism sites and terminate afforestation contracts with households that violate regulations. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!

The mushrooming of unauthorized tourism activities surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai has raised concerns over possible pollution of the water supply to over 10 million residents of the southern Vietnamese province and neighboring Binh Duong Province as well as Ho Chi Minh City.

As observed by Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper reporters, there are currently more than 50 unpermitted tourism sites on agricultural land and floodplain areas around the lake in Dong Nais Vinh Cuu District, where the issue has been most rampant, besides other districts such as Thong Nhat, Dinh Quan, and Tan Phu.

An aerial view of a floodplain area surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

These sites offer accommodations, camping, and stand-up paddle board services to travelers who like to appreciate the pristine scenery.

Many temporary houses, restaurants, and parking lots have been constructed there without any approval from local authorities.

Tents are illegally set up on a floodplain area surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

Tri An Lake currently supplies water to the Tri An Hydropower Reservoir, which has an installed capacity of 400MW, and to Dong Nai, Ho Chi Minh City, and Binh Duong, meeting about 70 percent of the demand of over 10 million people living in the three southeastern localities, according to Nguyen Quang Phuong, chairman of Vinh Cuu District.

Phuong is concerned that the operation of the aforementioned tourism activities poses a threat to the environment at the lake.

Visitors try stand-up paddle board services at Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

Unless proper measures are taken, environmental pollution will affect more than 10 million people in the long run, Phuong said, adding that local authorities have ordered the grassroots levels to take responsibility for any unapproved tourism businesses.

Nguyen Hoang Hao, director of the Dong Nai Nature and Culture Reserve, which manages the Tri An Lake, stated that developing temporary housing for tourism purposes in the lake area is against regulations.

Travelers enjoy their time at a camping site illegally established in a floodplain area surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

According to Hao, local residents who signed contracts with his reserve to plant forests and long-term crops in the lake area have breached the agreements.

They are prohibited from building temporary shelters and engaging in any activities that may affect the forest land, he said.

An aerial view of a floodplain area lit by the glow of lights from unauthorized tourism sites surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

Many owners of the illegally-built tourism sites have made excuses that developing tourism activities at Tri An Lake both satisfies a genuine demand from the tourists and brings many benefits to local residents, such as increasing employment levels and promoting local agricultural products.

They have called on local authorities to allow the operation of the existing facilities while creating specific mechanisms and policies for their businesses, so that they can avoid violations.

An aerial view of the Chien Khu D Bridge crossing Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

Regarding this request, Hao said that there has been a plan to develop a national tourism project on the lakeside land and islets in the lake.

Once the project is approved, Haos reserve will select an investor to collaborate with local residents to operate tourism activities in accordance with the plan.

Accommodations are illegally established on agricultural land surrounding Tri An Hydropower Reservoir in Dong Nai Province, southern Vietnam. Photo: A Loc / Tuoi Tre

The provinces objective is to develop large-scale, high-value tourism activities, rather than the small-scale and unregulated ones currently in operation, Hao said.

The official added that his reserve will cooperate with local authorities to dismantle unauthorized tourism sites and terminate afforestation contracts with households that violate regulations.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!
ABC Ombudsman Fiona Cameron has cleared Media Watch following complaints from Sydney Morning Herald and The Age over its analysis of Red Alert stories on a potential war between Australia and China.

The Red Alert series spanned three days of front-page coverage and was amplified across the Nine Network, based on the findings of an expert five-person panel convened by the papers. The key finding was that Australia faces the prospect of an armed conflict in the Indo-Pacific within three years and made a series of recommendations.

Media Watch referred to the copy as alarmist, hysterical and hyperbolic.

But the newspapers complained ABC overlooked one of the basics of journalism, to seek a right of reply, prompting a complaint to the broadcaster.

The Ombudsmans Office has since investigated the issues raised in the complaint against its own editorial standards.

Media Watch, which sits outside of the News & Current Affairs division, told the Ombudsman:

We did give the Nine Papers a voice by citing that editorial. We summarised their defence and quoted from it.

So what did Hartcher and Nine have to say in the face of all this criticism? Essentially, that the risk of war is real, and its a conversation we absolutely need to have. Or as the Herald editorial put it: In publishing the Red Alert series, the Herald believes that discussing Australias preparedness or lack of preparedness for war is responsible journalism and important for democracy.  Sydney Morning Herald, Editorial, 9 March, 2023

https://www.abc.net.au/mediawatch/episodes/china/102090318

ABC Ombudsman Fiona Cameron was satisfied that the program made reasonable efforts in the circumstances to fairly convey the complainants strong defence of the series and its justification for covering the issue. She ruled in the circumstances, it was not considered that there was an editorial requirement for the program to seek an additional response on this occasion in order to meet the ABCs standard for fair and honest dealing.

There was also a second complaint that Media Watch omitted that Paul Keating had a long history of pro-China commentary and failed to mention the ABCs own reports on this issue.

In part, Media Watch noted,

we called him a China DOVE. He does not believe China is a military threat to mainland Australia. He makes a coherent argument that China would not mount a blockade of the Taiwan Strait. To show the opposing views on China, we called Hartcher a hawk. 

The Ombudsman concluded that audience members were provided with appropriate context to interpret Paul Keatings criticism and form their own views about it, and therefore did not breach impartiality standards.
SBS has now confirmed its broadcast schedule for its 40th year of broadcasting the Eurovision Song Contest.

Live from Liverpool Arena the event screens from Wednesday 10  Sunday 14 May with Australian hosts Myf Warhurst and Joel Creasey.

Representing Australia are Perth synth-metal band Voyager with their song Promise.

Fellow Aussie Andrew Lambrou will be competing for Cyprus with his song Break a Broken Heart (* a good place to vote given we cant vote for Australia).

This year, major changes in how the voting in Eurovision will work have been announced.

The countries that qualify from the two Semi Finals, 10 from each, will now be decided solely based on the votes cast by viewers of the competition, rather than a combination of a jury and public vote as has been the case since 2009.

Also, countries not taking part in the competition will be able to vote online for their favourite songs. Their votes will be added together and converted to points that will have the same weight as one participating country in both the Semi Finals and the Grand Final.

Professional juries, made up of those working in the music industry, will continue to contribute to the result of the Grand Final combined with the public vote. Australias jury will be announced soon.

*The jury and Australian public can vote for any country except Australia.

Australian viewers will need to tune into the Live broadcast of Semi Final 2 on Friday 12 May at 5am (AEST) and the Grand Final on Sunday 14 May at 5am (AEST) by following the voting prompts that appear on screen. Details for how to vote will be revealed soon.

Live early morning broadcasts:

Semi Final 1  Wednesday 10 May at 5:00am AEST

Semi Final 2  Friday 12 May at 5:00amb AEST Featuring Voyager / Andrew Lambrou. (* LIVE VOTING)

Grand Final  Sunday 14 May at 5:00am AEST (* LIVE VOTING)

Prime time:

Semi Final 1  Friday 12 May at 7:30pm AEST

Semi Final 2  Saturday 13 May at 7:30pm AEST Featuring Voyager / Andrew Lambrou.

Grand Final  Sunday 14 May at 7:30pm AEST

All Eurovision content will be available to watch on a dedicated SBS On Demand page  including the 2022 Eurovision Song Contest. SBS World Movies celebrates Eurovision with a season of musical movie favourites from around the globe, including Nowhere Boy, This is Spinal Tap, and more. On SBS Food, SBSs favourite foodie and mega-Eurovision fan Adam Liaw takes us on a culinary adventure around Australia with the aim of creating the ultimate Eurovision party in Destination Flavour Eurovision. Please refer to your program guides for further information on SBSs supporting content.

SBS Audio celebrates the Eurovision Song Contest, bringing audiences exclusive news and Eurovision artist interviews in English and in language. Download the free SBS Audio app available now at the iTunes App Store and Google Play.
How is a man supposed to know a woman is not consenting when shes participating?  Asking For It.

The most striking aspect of Jess Hills new SBS documentary Asking For It is the sheer bravery of survivors of sexual assault and rape who recall harrowing incidents before the camera.

In episode one Grace Tame, Saxon Mullins and Gemma Elsom detail what happened to them as teenagers in order for us to grasp the concept of consent, and the changes, both social and legal, neded in order to protect the vulnerable.

In Australia around 85 sexual assaults are reported daily on average  but estimates suggest 90% of sexual assaults go unreported. Amid issues of sex, consent and power, Jess Hill says, Were in a new sexual revolution. This time its all about consent.

Former Australian of the Year Grace Tame explains why at 15, she could not give consent to a sexual relationship with a 58 year old man. Tame details the grooming undertaken by her teacher, who was ultimately convicted of maintaining a sexual relationship with someone under the age of 17.

I was terrified. terrified. consent seems like a f***ing joke, she reveals.

Saxon Mullins describes the night she lost her virginity in a Kings Cross back lane to the son of a night club owner and why she resisted the urge to remain silent. Now a survivor and advocate, she speaks direct to camera, only breaking her resolve when she recalls how she had to reveal what had happened to her.

(Police) asked me to explain what happened. I was really embarrassed so I said, You know, and then he assaulted me. The police officer said, Im really sorry. But I need you to say it,' she said.

Gemma Elsom recalls a trusted friend violating her when she was intoxicated and being unable to tell anybody.

All I have is what my body felt, and that I will never forget, she says. That will be there forever those bodily, feelings.

I think about what could I have done differently? adds her mother. I dont know how we protect our children from their closest friends.

For the viewer there is nowhere to hide in these confronting testimonials. They went through it, the least one can do is hear their words.

But technology is also spiking consent issues for teenagers. West Australian Noelle Martin found images of herself across porn sites, many of which were morphed into deep fakes and videos.

After finding police had little recourse, and frustration with elusive web masters, she brought her case to Australias world first online government watchdog  the eSafety Commissioner.

Yet for Martin, the loss of privacy and impacts upon family, friends, work, are sadly the price you pay for speaking out.

This segment also includes glimpses of males who have been subjected to the sharing of nudes by former partners.

Given the abundance of assaults caused by young men aged 15-19 we also watch Lauren French from Body Safety Australia leading a class of teenage boys in the fundamentals of consent.

With 50 sexual assaults a week in aged care the series also visits an aged care facility which is part of a university study into sexual assault amongst seniors. Old fashioned and conservative views, demonstrated by archival footage, are a challenge in this area as seniors come to grips with what is socially acceptable in 2023. So too is the question of consent where there is dementia involved.

Further episodes will focus on institutional responses to rape, consent education, misogynistic behaviour and how consent works in the real world of a dance party. I also learned about Fawning, a survival strategy to avoid conflict with a perpetrator and establish a sense of safety.

Hill, whose previous documentary See What You Made Me Do tackled domestic violence, offers an understanding but thought provoking perspective. Its impossible to ignore her passion for a hot topic, currently the subject across many Australian communities.

Make no mistake, its another powerful work, with amazing access to survivors whose voices should be heard. SBS will challenge you on where you stand.

Asking for It screens 8:30pm Thursday on SBS.

1800Respect

teachusconsent.com

fullstop.org.au

Sexual Assault Crisis Line: 1800 806 292

Mensline Australia: 1300 78 99 78

Police: 000
Set Educated, a new skills development initiative, will prepare up to 400 Victorians to enter the screen industry.

The initiative by Media Mentors Australia with VicScreen kicks off with events in Geelong and Melbourne, showcasing what kind of crewing jobs are available and how to get them. The program will later tour around the country.

Participants will learn how screen content is made, the make-up of the Victorian screen ecosystem, role responsibilities, as well as receiving hands-on experience with camera, lighting and sound equipment, and everything you need to land work, from CV writing to working with crewing agencies.

The initiative is designed to attract participants from a wide variety of industries, with in-person and online workshops delivered by industry experts for specific roles which are in high demand, including Location Managers, Grips and Gaffers.

Media Mentors Co-Founders Denise Eriksen and Esther Coleman Hawkins said: We recognise that theres a huge pool of people who would love to work in the screen industries but have little or no idea about jobs beyond producers, directors and writers.

The jobs are out there, working in allied industries, with highly sought after skills. Well be introducing participants to a world of possibilities and providing them the knowledge they need to take their places on productions.

VicScreen CEO, Caroline Pitcher, said: With our local screen industry continuing to expand, we are always looking at effective methods of growing our highly skilled workforce. Along with our comprehensive attachments and placements programs, this initiative will foster the next generation of screen practitioners, which will in turn grow our local talent pool and our ability to take on more premium productions.

Martine Broderick, Freelancers Promotions said: The Team at Freelancers Promotions are thrilled to support Media Mentors in this pilot initiative. It will be very helpful to us and the industry to have a pool of new people that we can provide pathways into the industry whether they be attachment programs, more training or on set roles.

Set Educated: ACMI Melbourne on Saturday 20 May / Geelong on Sunday, 21 May.

mediamentors.com.au/set-educated
Ian Dicko Dickson was voted out of Im a Celebrity Get me Out of Here last night, ending nearly 20 days in the reality TV camp.

Dicko told hosts Chris & Julia he was surprised at how much he had bonded with strangers and how deeply the time had affected his cynical soul.

After facing skyhigh and viper room challenges, it was the conversations that affected the former Australian Idol judge the most, including regretting his pursuit of work over family time, discussing homophobia with Harry, standing up for Dom post food trial opposite KAK, realising hes not as young as he used to be and getting tearful around the impact of those infamous words to Paulini.

At least one camp mate will now exit the show every episode up to its finale on Sunday April 30.
Larrikin priest, social justice campaigner and media personality Father Bob Maguire has died, aged 88.

The Age reports a source close to his family confirmed the news today.

From 1973 to 2012, Maguire was parish priest of Sts Peter and Pauls Church in South Melbourne. Commonly known as Father Bob, he was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in 1989 for service to homeless youth through the Open Family Foundation.

Amongst his many television appearances was John Safran vs God with satirist John Safran on SBS. From November 2005 to January 2006, he then joined Safran as co-host of Speaking in Tongues. He also judged Strictly Speaking on ABC plus apeparances on Anhs Brush with Fame, At Home Alone Together, Live on Bowen, Gordon Street Tonight, One Plus One, The Project and radio hosting on 3AW and Triple J.

When Father Bob turned 75, he was required by church law to offer his resignation, however he felt it was not time.

As he walked down the path inside the church before his service, he was heavily applauded and received a standing ovation. On the other hand, Archbishop Hart released a press statement reading Father Bob needed to go due to financial mismanagement which included selling church property to benefit his ministry to the poor.

Father Bob remained adamant that he did not sell property without approval and insists all transactions were approved with Archbishop signature. His sparkling personality and defiance earned him a legion of followers across a range of faiths and non-believers.

Maguires life and forced retirement was also the subject of the 2013 documentary In Bob We Trust, directed by Lynn-Maree Milburn.
By Foo Yun Chee and Supantha Mukherjee

BRUSSELS/STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The European Union agreed a 43-billion-euro ($47 billion) chip subsidies plan on Tuesday but the relatively modest budget, lack of a domestic market for cutting-edge chips and red tape could hamper efforts to catch up with the United States and Asia.

The size of subsidies under the EU Chips Act, which aims to tempt the world's top chipmakers to build factories in the bloc and double its share of global output to 20% by 2030, lags the $52 billion CHIPS for America Act.

The legislation is aimed at ensuring the region has supplies of critical components after COVID-19 lockdowns caused major shortages that hurt output of everything from mobile phones to cars and refrigerators.

It also wants to reduce its reliance on Asia. Taiwan accounts for more than 60% of global chip production and concerns are growing about heightened tensions between Taipei and Beijing.

The legislation which makes it easier for EU governments to provide funding has already attracted interest from Intel Corp, which picked Germany for a new mega chip manufacturing complex backed by 6.8 billion euros in subsidies.

STMicroelectronics has also teamed up with GlobalFoundries and Taiwan's TSMC is in talks with the German state of Saxony about building a factory there.

But Europe's relatively modest subsidies could put a brake on its ambition, said Richard Windsor of research company Radio Free Mobile.

"The subsidies are still likely to be below those available in Asia once again underlining that semiconductors right now are all about geopolitics and not economics," he wrote in a client note ahead of the EU agreement.

South Korea, the base of companies such as Samsung, has also unveiled plans to spend hundreds of billions of dollars to boost chipmaking over the next decade. Taiwan - home of TSMC - Japan, India, Vietnam and Thailand are all working on incentives to attract chip industries to their countries.

Story continues

"Europe and USA are going to struggle to compete against Asia," Windsor said.

GOOD START

The EU Chips Act is a good start given the EU has little choice but to join the subsidy race, but the bloc should play to its chipmaking strengths, said Christopher Cytera, research fellow at the Centre for European Policy Analysis.

Dutch company ASML dominates manufacturing of the machines that are required to produce the latest chips used in phones to cars, Germany's Zeiss leads in eyeglass and camera lenses while Belgium's Solvay and Germany's BASF provide critical chemicals.

The EU's regulatory red tape requiring agreement from 27 member states however could be a problem, industry experts say.

"The United States can get the money approved by Congress, but for Europe to get the money approved they have to go through all the member states and if France and Germany are benefiting, then it's a bit of a problem," Cytera said.

Catching up on the chips race is more than just building factories and the Chips Act acknowledges this with its focus on developing skilled labour for the future, said Anielle Guedes, senior research analyst at IDC Technologies.

"One of the things that the industry needs the most today is to raise the profile of the people that are going to work in the industry in the coming years," she said.

"Otherwise, you can throw money at something like the production facilities, but this is not the kind of thing that you can push capital into and exit on the other side with whatever technology you want."

All the measures to boost output may create their own problems in future as global supply chains return to normal levels, said Rem Korteweg of the Clingendael Institute.

"There are already indications that the worst might be over when it comes to the semiconductor squeeze, so that we might have the risk of heavily-subsidized oversupply a couple of years down the road," he said.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee in Brussels and Supantha Mukherjee in Stockholm, additional reporting by Toby Sterling in Amsterdam; Editing by Josephine Mason and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
Searching for habitable worlds orbiting nearby Sun-like stars

Xinhua) 09:42, April 19, 2023

This photo taken on April 13, 2023 shows a researcher adjusting a vacuum test device for micro-pixel-level star distance measurement technology in Beijing, capital of China. (Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences/Handout via Xinhua)

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese scientists have proposed a unique exploration program named the Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) to search for habitable planets from "near neighbors" of the solar system.

In this program, a 1.2-meter-aperture telescope will be sent into a Halo orbit at the second Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system. With the help of high-precision astrometry, it will survey about 100 Sun-like stars within 32 light years away from the solar system, and detect the number, planetary mass, and 3D orbits of the nearby planets.

"So far, we have conducted a series of preliminary studies and made great progress," said CHES principal investigator Ji Jianghui in a recent interview with Xinhua.

According to Ji, who is also a research professor at the Purple Mountain Observatory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the researchers have completed demonstrations of scientific objectives and key technologies, and developed a 1:6 scale prototype of the telescope.

They have also developed a method to correct image distortion, and the satellite control method with high stability and high pointing accuracy, and tested the micro-pixel-level measurement technology of star relative positions in the vacuum environment, which laid a solid foundation for the space exploration of Earth-like planets in the habitable zone.

The scientific communities both at home and abroad have reached a consensus that the search for the nearby habitable planets is an important frontier issue, according to Wu Ji, president of the Chinese Society of Space Research, former director of the National Space Science Center of the CAS.

What scientists call "nearby" is on a cosmic scale. It means a star along with its planets are within dozens of light years away from our solar system.

Most of the host stars of the terrestrial planet discovered in the habitable zone are not Sun-like stars, but red dwarfs with flares producing strong radiation, which is not suitable for the survival of life, said Wu, adding that scientists are more concerned about the nearby, Sun-like stars that harbor potentially habitable Earth-like planets.

The search is not easy. At present, 70 percent of discovered exoplanets are spotted by the transit method. The principle of the transit method is that when orbiting planets cross in front of a star once per orbit, the brightness of the star will be dimmed periodically.

The transit method requires the planet to move in front of its star with edge-on orbits. However, the probability of such a scenario is very low, and the discovery of planetary candidates will need further confirmation via other methods from the very large ground-based telescopes. It only retrieves the radius of planets, but cannot directly measure the mass of planets.

The team from the Purple Mountain Observatory, led by Ji, put forward an innovative method.

This method uses astrometry to accurately measure the relative position change of the target star with respect to 6 to 8 distant reference stars in the micro-arcsecond-level scale, thus evaluating the tiny wobble of the target star caused by the gravitational disturbance from its orbiting planets, and detecting Earth-like planets in the habitable zone around the nearby Sun-like stars.

Ji explained that this method is not limited by the planet's orbital plane, so it can be used to conduct a comprehensive survey of habitable worlds around nearby Sun-like stars.

"If the so-called Earth 2.0 can be detected around the neighboring Sun-like stars, it will be easier for scientists to further investigate, and it will be a great discovery," said Wu.

The diagram drawn in June 2022 illustrates the goal of the Closeby Habitable Exoplanet Survey (CHES) program. (Purple Mountain Observatory, Chinese Academy of Sciences/Handout via Xinhua)

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Mercedes includes buyback option as Russian assets sale given official approval FILE PHOTO: The Mercedes-Benz logo is seen on a car at a new Mercedes-Benz plant's cornerstone laying ceremony in Esipovo

(Reuters) - Mercedes-Benz has agreed on a buyback option for its Russian assets, the sale of which has now been granted official approval, the German carmaker said on Wednesday, bringing its exit from Russia one step closer.

Mercedes, which suspended exports to Russia and local manufacturing in early March 2022, last year agreed to sell shares in its industrial and financial services subsidiaries to a local car dealer chain Avtodom.

Deals to leave Russia by Western companies from so-called unfriendly countries - those that imposed sanctions against Russia - need approval from a government commission. Companies often insert buyback clauses that could one day see them return.

Mercedes said it intended to withdraw from the market and that the sale of shares in its subsidiaries to Avtodom had now been granted approval.

"The completion of the transaction is now particularly subject to the implementation of the contractual agreements," Mercedes said in a statement. "We strive for a quick implementation.

"We have agreed an option with the buyer, according to which we could buy back the shares in companies if the sanctions are lifted again."

The buyback clause has been a particularly popular option with carmakers exiting the market in response to Russia sending tens of thousands of troops into Ukraine in February 2022.

France's Renault sold its majority stake in Russia's Avtovaz for reportedly just one rouble, but with a six-year option to buy it back. Japan's Nissan handed over its business in Russia to a state-owned entity for one euro.

A Russian register of companies showed that Avtodom had become the owner of 100% stakes in Mercedes-Benz Capital Rus and Mercedes-Benz Manufacturing Rus on April 18.

Interfax quoted Avtodom as saying that the deal with Mercedes was not yet finalised and that hard work with government agencies was underway to close the deal.

Avtodom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

(Reporting by Alexander Marrow and Victoria Waldersee, Editing by Louise Heavens)




Net revenue of 0.8 million for the first quarter of 2023



Cash position of 21.4 million as of March 31, 2023 April 19, 2023  release at 7:30 am CET

Sophia Antipolis, France







Nicox SA (Euronext Paris: FR0013018124, COX), an international ophthalmology company, today provided financial and business highlights for the first quarter 2023 for Nicox SA and its subsidiaries (the Nicox Group).



First Quarter 2023 Financial Highlights







Net revenue1 for the first quarter of 2023 was 0.8 million (consisting entirely of net royalty payments). This compares to net revenue for the first quarter of 2022 of 0.7 million (consisting entirely of net royalty payments).







As of March 31, 2023, the Nicox Group had cash and cash equivalents of 21.4 million as compared with 27.7 million as of December 31, 2022. The Company estimates it is financed until Q2 2024, based exclusively on the development of NCX 470.



As of March 31, 2023, the Nicox Group had financial debt of 22.8 million, consisting of (i) 18.8 million in the form of a bond financing agreement with Kreos Capital signed in January 2019, (ii) a 1.7 million credit agreement guaranteed by the French State, and granted in August 2020 in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and (iii) 2.3 million of present value attributed to the put option2 granted in the November 2022 equity financing. The payment of this debt would only occur if the put option was exercised, subject to the conditions set out in footnote 2 below.



VYZULTA (latanoprostene bunod ophthalmic solution), 0.024% U.S. prescriptions3 increased by 23% in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022. VYZULTA, exclusively licensed worldwide to Bausch + Lomb, is commercialized in more than 15 countries, including the U.S., and is also approved in a number of other countries. VYZULTA is indicated for the reduction of IOP in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension.



Corporate update



Nicoxs exclusive Chinese licensing partner, Ocumension Therapeutics, submitted in April 2023 a New Drug Application for approval to commercialize ZERVIATE (cetirizine ophthalmic solution), 0.24% in China for ocular itching associated with allergic conjunctivitis. The approval and launch of ZERVIATE, expected in 2024, would add another royalty revenue stream to Nicox, on potential annual net sales which Ocumension forecasts will be over $100 million within 7 years in China. All costs of commercialization are borne by Ocumension and Nicox may potentially receive sales milestones of up to US$17.2 million together with royalties of between 5% and 9% of net sales of ZERVIATE by Ocumension. Key Future Milestones



Communication of NCX 470 Mont Blanc results at key ophthalmology congresses: detailed analysis of the Mont Blanc data has now been completed. Presentations were made at the American Glaucoma Society (AGS) Annual Meeting (March 2-5, 2023, Austin, TX, U.S,) and are planned at upcoming events including the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO) Annual Meeting (April 23-27, 2023, New Orleans, LA, U.S.) and the World Glaucoma Congress (WGC) (June 28 - July 1, 2023, Rome, Italy), along with journal publications.



Denali Phase 3 clinical trial evaluating NCX 470 in patients with open-angle glaucoma or ocular hypertension: Topline results expected in 2025. This date is based on projections of increased recruitment which take notably into account the lifting of COVID-19 restrictions in China.



Initiation of two new Phase 3b clinical trials investigating the dual mechanism of action (nitric oxide and prostaglandin analog) in intraocular pressure ( IOP ) lowering and potential retinal benefits of NCX 470: planned in H1 2023.

Approval and launch of ZERVIATE in China by Ocumension: expected in 2024. The audit procedures on the consolidated accounts as of December 31, 2022 have been carried out. The certification report will be issued after finalization of the procedures required for the purposes of the publication of the annual report. All other figures in this press release are non-audited.
Scottish pubs named among the best in the UK ahead of prestigious bar awards (Tripadvisor) (Image: Tripadvisor)

Several Scottish pubs and bars have been named among the best in the UK in a list of finalists for the Class Bar Awards.

This comes as other Scottish venues were named among the country's top 'watering holes' at The Pub and Bar Awards earlier this month.

All of the Scottish destinations named on the list were from Glasgow and Edinburgh with these pubs being named in dozens of categories.

The release of the list of finalists comes ahead of the official Class Bar Awards 2023 ceremony at Battersea Arts Centre in London on May 23.

HeraldScotland: (Canva) The Gate in the East End was named among the best in the country at the CBAs

(Canva) The Gate in the East End was named among the best in the country at the CBAs (Image: Canva)

Here, the official winners in each awards category will be decided and announced to the public.

The Gate in Glasgow and Edinburgh's Panda & Sons named among the best venues ahead of the Class Bar Awards

The Gate in the East End was the only Glasgow pub to be named on the list with it earning a spot in the 'Best Bar in Scotland & Northern Ireland Sponsored by The Busker' category.

Customers have also praised the venue with users giving it a 4.5/5 on the popular travel review site Tripadvisor.

One patron said of their experience: "Had a great night last night, super cosy and stunning cocktails. Whoever invented them for sure knows their stuff. Massive props to the staff, who were attentive, kind, and went the extra mile when I left my wallet!"

Panda & Sons was another bar that was named on the list with its receiving a mention in the 'Drinks Menu of the Year Sponsored by Franklin & Sons'.

It was also well-reviewed online with its also receiving a 4.5/5 with one customer writing: "We sat at the bar and the staff were so friendly and a laugh. Loved watching all the cocktails being made. The cocktails were amazing!"

HeraldScotland: (Canva) The Gate was praised for the its cocktails

(Canva) The Gate was praised for the its cocktails (Image: Canva)

Scottish pubs named among the best in the UK ahead of the Class Bar Awards 2023 ceremony

A number of bars in Scotland were named finalists in this year's awards. Here are the venues as well as the category they were named in:

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Bar Manager of the Year Sponsored by Italicus

Stefanie Anderson, Gleneagles Townhouse, Edinburgh

Drinks Menu of the Year Sponsored by Franklin & Sons

Transcend, Panda & Sons, Edinburgh

Specialist Bar of the Year

Hey Palu, Edinburgh

Best Bar in Scotland & Northern Ireland Sponsored by The Busker

Lucky Liquor, Edinburgh

The Gate, Glasgow

Hey Palu, Edinburgh (second category)

Panda & Sons, Edinburgh (second category)

The final winners of the 2023 Class Bar Awards will be named in London on May 23.
Alison Oliver (Chris) and Tom Riley (Gerry) in Dancing at Lughnasa (Johan Persson)

Affection and regret suffuse Brian Friels award-winning 1990 memory play, where the lives of five unmarried sisters in rural County Donegal represent the changing world of 1936. Its given a lovingly detailed revival here at the National  where the original production transferred from Dublins Abbey Theatre  by director Josie Rourke, with a splendid ensemble cast including Justine Mitchell, Derry Girls Siobhan McSweeney and compelling newcomer Alison Oliver.

True, 30-plus years on, the scripts juxtaposition of pagan liberation and austere repression in Ireland and the wider world feels slightly overdone. Though Robert Joness costumes are terrific, his prettified set unhelpfully recalls The Wizard of Oz. But otherwise, this remains a powerfully moving evocation of time, place and atmosphere.

Partly autobiographical, its presented as the adult recollection of Michael, son of the youngest of the Mundy sisters, Chris (Oliver), and her charming but feckless and mostly absent Welsh lover, Gerry. Aged seven when the story unfolds, and played at a disarming tangent from the main action by grown-up Tom Vaughan-Lawler, Michael is doted on by Chris and teased by exuberant aunt Maggie (McSweeney).

Family life for the Mundys is tight-knit, occasionally abrasive, and precarious. The peat-heated cottage is held together by the nagging organisational instinct, and the income, of schoolmarm eldest sister Kate (Mitchell), with a little extra from the gloves knitted by Agnes, a seriously underwritten character, and Rose, who has a learning disability. The familys giant radio, a symbol of the future, keeps conking out.

Alison Oliver (Chris) in Dancing at Lughnasa (Johan Persson)

Shame stalks the family as well as poverty. Along with Michael, born out of wedlock, the sisters are caring for their missionary brother Jack (Father Teds Ardal OHanlon, unrecognisable in a good way), who contracted malaria and went native in Uganda. Though OHanlon sells them well, Jacks enthusiastic speeches about sacrifices and dancing lepers sound clumsy today. Ditto the decision of Tom Rileys irresistibly daft Gerry to join the International Brigades fighting in the Spanish Civil War.

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Mostly the play works brilliantly across many levels. The sisters begin with some hopes, but are thwarted by religion, misogyny, history and the march of progress. The joyful abandon they bring to step-dances during the pagan harvest festival of Lughnasa will be swept away, like so much else after 1936.

Even if you missed all the subtext, this show would still delight in its acute depiction of family dynamics. The careworn exasperation of Mitchells Kate, knowing she has to be unpopular to keep things together; McSweeneys bluff, fag-puffing Maggie defusing tensions; the way Olivers expressive Chris lights up when Gerry appears, to the mixed envy and despair of her siblings.

Rourke deserves plaudits, but Im sure shed defer the praise. This play won Friel the Evening Standard Award for best play in 1991, and it still looks richly deserved.

National Theatre, to May 27; nationaltheatre.org.uk
To Anh Dung (L), Deputy Foreign Minister, and Nguyen Quang Linh, former assistant to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, are among the prosecuted persons. (Source: VNA)

Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung and 53 others have been prosecuted for their alleged involvement in the case of offering, brokering, and taking bribes, abusing positions or power while performing duties, and swindling to appropriate assets at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Hanoi, and some other localities.



The indictment was issued by the Supreme Peoples Procuracy.



Among the 54 suspects, 21 were charged with taking bribes under Article 354 of the Penal Code, including Nguyen Quang Linh, former assistant to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister; Nguyen Thanh Hai, head of the Government Offices Department for International Relations; and Nguyen Tien Thanh and Nguyen Mai Anh, specialists at the department.



The ones at the Foreign Ministry facing this charge comprise To Anh Dung, Deputy Minister; Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, Director of the Consular Department; Do Hoang Tung, Deputy Director of the department; Le Tuan Anh, Chief of the departments Office; Luu Tuan Dung, deputy head of the departments division for citizen protection; Vu Hong Nam, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan; Nguyen Hong Ha, former Vietnamese Consul General in Osaka, Japan; Ly Tien Hung, former cadre of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia; and Vu Ngoc Minh, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola.



Others also accused of taking bribes include Pham Trung Kien, specialist at the Health Ministrys Department for Medical Equipment and Facilities; Ngo Quang Tuan, specialist at the Transport Ministrys Department of International Cooperation; Vu Hong Quang, deputy head of the air transport division of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam; Tran Van Du, Vu Anh Tuan, and Vu Sy Cuong, former cadres at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security; Tran Van Tan, former Vice Chairman of the Quang Nam provincial Peoples Committee; and Chu Xuan Dung, former Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Peoples Committee.



Meanwhile, four were charged with abusing positions or power while performing duties under Article 356 of the Penal Code, namely Tran Viet Thai, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia; along with Nguyen Le Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Hoang Linh, and Dang Minh Phuong, former cadres of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia.



The Supreme Peoples Procuracy also prosecuted 23 for offering bribes, four for brokering bribery, one for swindling to appropriate assets and offering bribes, and another for swindling to appropriate assets.



According to the indictment, from April 2020, the Government allowed flights to be conducted to repatriate citizens from COVID-19-hit countries, with passengers only having to pay for flight tickets while quarantine after arrival was free of charge. After that, combo flights were operated with passengers voluntarily paying for all costs.



Businesses which wanted to conduct combo flights had to ask for permission from the Peoples Committees of the provinces and cities where repatriated citizens would be quarantined. Their dossiers were later sent to the Foreign Ministrys Consular Department, which would collect opinions of the working group of the ministries of foreign affairs, public security, health, transport, and national defence.



From early 2020 to mid-2021, authorities licensed and organised more than 1,000 flights to bring home over 200,000 citizens from 62 countries and territories. The Foreign Ministry alone proposed the Government approve 772 flights, including 400 repatriation flights and 372 combo flights.



The investigation agency found that the suspects at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security and a secretary of a deputy health minister asked businesses to pay 50 - 230 million VND (2,100 - 9,800 USD) for the procedures they handled for each flight. In order to have money to pay them, 20 businesses with over 100 legal entities had to raise flight ticket prices, invent many expenses to charge the passengers wanting to return to Vietnam amid the pandemic.



The indictment said 21 persons from the ministries of foreign affairs, public security, health, and transport, along with the two former vice chairmen of the Hanoi and Quang Nam Peoples Committees received bribes totaling over 170 billion VND.



Aside from the suspects offering and accepting bribes to conduct repatriation flights, the procuracy also found that some colluded with each other to help a business during the investigation process.



Accordingly, former Major General Nguyen Anh Tuan, former Deputy Director of the Hanoi Public Security Department, received 2.65 million USD to help Le Hong Son, General Director of the Bluesky company, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, Deputy General Director of this company escape investigation.



Tuan confessed that he kept 400,000 USD for himself and gave the remaining 2.25 million USD to Hoang Van Hung, former head of the investigation division of the Investment Security Department at the Ministry of Public Security./. VNA
Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, head of the National Border Committee, addresses the workshop in Cao Bang province on April 18. (Photo: VNA)



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the provincial Peoples Committee held the workshop to discuss the pilot opening of the landscape site for tourism, which has been delayed due to several difficulties. Part of the waterfalls, called Ban Gioc by the Vietnamese side and Detian by the Chinese side, is located in Vietnam while the other in China.



Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, head of the National Border Committee, underlined the importance of the site opening, which will help Cao Bang tap into tourism potential to boost economic, cultural, and social development as well as cross-border exchanges.



It is a task of not only Cao Bang but also ministries, sectors, and central agencies to help realise Vietnam and Chinas determination to build a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development, he noted.





Hoang Xuan Anh, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said the Vietnamese and Chinese Governments signed a cooperation agreement on protecting and exploiting tourism resources of Ban Gioc - Detian Waterfalls on November 5, 2015, and it took effect on June 16, 2016.



Cao Bang, assigned to coordinate with ministries and central agencies to carry out the deal, has conducted surveys and held several talks with authorities of Chinas Guangxi province. The two sides agreed on plans for creating border crossings, building border checkpoints and barriers, and managing and operating the landscape site to serve tourists from both sides on a trial basis.



However, the province has faced certain difficulties during the agreement implementation, Anh went on.



Local officials proposed the Government, ministries, and sectors continue assisting Cao Bang in such fields as discussing with the Chinese side about border management and construction of border facilities, managing visitors to the landscape site, and completing specific mechanisms for the deal enforcement.



Cao Bang is set to continue perfecting and submitting the plans and measures for the pilot operation to the Foreign Ministry so that the site can be opened on scheduled./. VNA
HA NOI  E-commerce will remain the fastest growing and most stable economic sector this year, according to the Viet Nam Online Business Forum 2023 in Ha Noi on Tuesday.

During the event, the Viet Nam E-commerce Association (Vecom) highlighted that global and domestic economic challenges had adversely impacted trade.

Nonetheless, maintaining the momentum from the two previous waves of growth, Vecom has predicted that e-commerce in our country will still grow at a rate of more than 25 per cent, reaching a scale of over US$20 billion.

Vecom estimated that last year, the retail e-commerce transaction scale comprised about 8.5 per cent of the total retail sales of consumer goods and services of VN5,680 trillion ($240.5 billion).

Regarding retailing of goods alone, the proportion of online retail sales of goods compared to the total retail sales of goods was about 7.2 per cent last year, higher than the corresponding rate of 6.7 per cent in 2021.

According to the General Statistics Office, the national gross domestic product increased by 3.3 per cent in the first three months of this year over the same period last year.

The total retail sales of consumer goods and services were estimated at VN1,505.3 trillion, up 13.9 per cent over the same period last year. If excluding the price factor, it rose by 10.3 per cent.

The two fastest-growing service sectors are accommodation and food services, up 26.0 per cent, and wholesale and retail, up 8.1 per cent.

The economy's great difficulties from mid-2022 have extended to the first quarter and possibly until the end of this year.

Vecom assessed that e-commerce grew by over 22 per cent year-on-year in the first quarter and could still reach over 25 per cent for the whole year.

Nguyen Ngoc Dung, Vecom Chairman, said that in the context of businesses facing difficulties due to the economic recession and difficulties in accessing credit capital, it was urgent to provide smart financial solutions to help businesses make better use of the capital of financial institutions.

In the context that our country's e-commerce still accounts for a small scale, about 8.5 per cent of total retail sales of consumer goods and services, efforts to bring more Vietnamese goods and products, including seafood, that could be listed on e-commerce platforms, were very important, he added.

Business on social networks about to surpass e-commerce floors

More and more businesses were choosing to do business on social networks, especially TikTok Shop, reported Vecom.

In terms of e-commerce business activities of e-commerce floors and social networks, a survey by Vecom shows that up to 65 per cent of businesses have implemented business activities on social networks.

The number of employees at enterprises who regularly use tools such as Zalo, Whatsapp, Viber, and Facebook Messenger has continuously grown.

Selling on social networks is also considered the most effective, surpassing other forms such as websites or business applications, as well as e-commerce.

A representative of Vecom said that the most prominent among social networks was the birth and strong growth of TikTok Shop.

Doing business on this platform had great appeal to many traders across the country, said the representative.

Besides, business activities on e-commerce floors continued to grow steadily. According to a survey by Vecom, 23 per cent of businesses sold products on e-commerce floors last year.

According to Data Science Joint Stock Company, the total sales of the top four e-commerce platforms, along with Tiktok Shop, amounted to about $6 billion.

Shopee and Lazada are the two largest e-commerce platforms.

Although only operating since mid-2022, Tiktok Shop has become the third largest retail e-commerce platform in Viet Nam.  VNS
HA NOI  The development plan for northern Lao Cai Province from 2021 to 2030, with a vision to 2050, will prioritise infrastructure development.

At a meeting with the Minister of Planning and Investment (MPI) this month, Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee ang Xuan Phong made recommendations for Lao Cai Province related to the "Vietnam-China joint statement in 2022.

They included support for the implementation of major projects such as the Yen Bai - Lao Cai section under the Noi Bai - Lao Cai expressway project, the planning of the Lao Cai  Ha Noi  Hai Phong railway project and the cross-border economic cooperation zone in Lao Cai Border Gate Economic Zone.

The province also called for support from the central budget to invest in the construction of a road project connecting Sa Pa Airport with the Lao Cai border economic zone and other provinces in the region.

Furthermore, Phong requested specific mechanisms for the Lao Cai border-gate economic zone and support for enterprises in Lao Cai Province, which the Minister of Planning and Investment will report to the National Assembly for consideration and promulgation.

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh has already approved the plan to develop Lao Cai into a major economic hub in the northern mountainous regions on March 29.

Lao Cai aims to achieve an average economic growth rate (GRDP) of over 10 per cent per year and a GRDP per capita of over VN260 million (US$11,016) by 2030.

The Minister of Planning and Investment, Nguyen Chi Dung, suggested that Lao Cai needs to focus on administrative reform, attracting investment, linking economic development with cultural and social development, and environmental protection.

He also emphasised the importance of promoting digital transformation, import and export, and tourism for development. With the modern development of transport infrastructure, the border gate economic zone and Lao Cai can serve as a bridge to support import and export for the whole country.

Lao Cai Province has been ranked 11th out of 63 provinces and cities in terms of economic management quality, with a score of 68.20 points in the PCI 2022 ranking. This places the province in the group of provinces and cities with the best economic management quality and marks a significant improvement from its ranking of 25th out of 63 in 2021, having moved up 14 places.  VNS
HA NOI - Vietnam Prosperity Joint Stock Commercial Bank (VPBank) VPBank plans to pay a cash dividend at a ratio of 10 per cent this year, with the expected amount of cash amounting to VN7.93 trillion (US$337.7 million).

The expected implementation time is in the second and third quarters of 2023.

The source of capital is the bank's undistributed profits as of December 31, 2022.

VPBank set an ambitious business plan in 2023 with a profit of VN24 trillion (US$1 billion) in 2023, up 13 per cent compared to 2022.

Total assets are expected to reach VN877 trillion, up 39 per cent, of which outstanding loans increased by 33 per cent to reach VN636 trillion. The balance of customer deposits and valuable papers is estimated to increase by 41 per cent, reaching VN518 trillion.

According to Viet Dragon Securities Co (VDSC), this plan is a challenge in the current economic context when credit demand is low, and costs may increase.

Sharing at the General Meeting of Shareholders held on Tuesday in Ha Noi, Nguyen uc Vinh, General Director of VPBank said that the bank was capable of implementing this plan. By the end of 2023, VPBank's equity is expected to reach over VN150 trillion.

In 2023, bank leaders said that difficulties with consumer finance company FE Credit remained, and the Board of Directors approved the restructuring plan of FE Credit. The Board of Management assessed that the consumer finance segment, despite difficulties due to COVID-19 and the economic crisis, is still a very potential market.

At the end of 2022, VPBank's consolidated equity capital reached more than VN103 trillion, an increase of 20 per cent compared to 2021 and presented a compound growth rate of 28.4 per cent in five years.

The bank issued shares at the rate of 50 per cent to pay dividends to shareholders, increasing its charter capital to VN67 trillion, becoming the bank with the highest charter capital in Viet Nams banking system.

The bank also plans to sell 1.19 billion shares to foreign strategic investor Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, equivalent to 15 per cent of VPBank's charter capital after the issuance. The offering price is VN30,159 per share. The amount collected will be VN35.9 trillion.

The expected offering time is in the second and third quarters of 2023. The agreed rate of foreign ownership is raised to a maximum of 30 per cent. After the deal, VPBank's charter capital will increase from VN67.43 trillion to VN79.34 trillion.

The sale of shares to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is one of VPBank's growth drivers in 2023. According to VPBank's expectations, the deal will be implemented in the second or third quarter of 2023. VNS
HA NOI Despite declines in the export of some agricultural products, overseas shipments of fruits and vegetables remain positive, promising bright prospects in the second quarter of 2023.

Viet Nam exported nearly US$1 billion worth of fruits and vegetables in Q1, rising 7 per cent from a year earlier, reported the Centre for Digital Transformation and Statistics under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development.

ang Phuc Nguyen, Secretary General of the Viet Nam Fruit Association (Vinafruit), said thanks to high demand in China, which reopened in Q1 after the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses have promoted exports to this neighbouring market. Prices of fruits such as durian and dragon fruit have also soared.

Due to Chinas strong fruit import, many border gates of Viet Nam have extended their working time to 10pm every day.

Good demand for fruit imports in China can help raise total fruit and vegetable exports in Q2 by 10 per cent or higher, Nguyen noted, predicting that the revenue can reach about $2 billion in the first half of 2023.

Giving further details, he said that since Vietnamese durian was licensed to be exported via the official channel to China last year, this market has continually placed durian import orders. However, the first three months of the year were not the peak harvest time so the export volume of this fruit remained low. When the harvest season begins in April, supplies will become abundant and businesses can better meet importers demand.

Aside from durian, jackfruit, banana, and dragon fruit are also among staple exports to China, which will help increase fruit and vegetable shipments to this 1.4-billion-people market to at least $2.5 billion this year, according to Nguyen.

The fruit and vegetable sector now has bright prospects in this market, he added.

In addition, processed products made up a considerable part, one-third, of fruit and vegetable exports in 2022. This proportion was maintained in Q1 this year, showing foreign consumers gradual acceptance of those products from Viet Nam, according to the Foreign Trade Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade. VNS
CAO BANG  The northern border province of Cao Bang is building a plan for the pilot opening of the landscape site of Ban Gioc (Viet Nam) - Detian (China) Waterfalls in October 2023, local officials informed at a workshop on Tuesday.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the provincial Peoples Committee held the workshop to discuss the pilot opening of the landscape site for tourism, which has been delayed due to several difficulties. Part of the waterfalls, called Ban Gioc by the Vietnamese side and Detian by the Chinese side, is located in Viet Nam while the other in China.

Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Minh Vu, head of the National Border Committee, underlined the importance of the site opening, which will help Cao Bang tap into tourism potential to boost economic, cultural, and social development as well as cross-border exchanges.

"It is a task of not only Cao Bang but also ministries, sectors, and central agencies to help realise Viet Nam and Chinas determination to build a borderline of peace, friendship, cooperation, and development," he noted.

Hoang Xuan Anh, Chairman of the provincial Peoples Committee, said the Vietnamese and Chinese Governments signed a cooperation agreement on protecting and exploiting tourism resources of Ban Gioc - Detian Waterfalls on November 5, 2015, and it took effect on June 16, 2016.

Cao Bang, assigned to coordinate with ministries and central agencies to carry out the deal, has conducted surveys and held several talks with authorities of Chinas Guangxi Province. The two sides agreed on plans for creating border crossings, building border checkpoints and barriers, and managing and operating the landscape site to serve tourists from both sides on a trial basis.

However, the province has faced certain difficulties during the agreement implementation, Chairman Anh went on.

Local officials proposed the Government, ministries, and sectors continue assisting Cao Bang in such fields as discussing with the Chinese side about border management and construction of border facilities, managing visitors to the landscape site, and completing specific mechanisms for the deal enforcement.

Cao Bang is set to continue perfecting and submitting the plans and measures for the pilot operation to the Foreign Ministry so that the site can be opened on schedule.  VNS
A NANG  Seventy digital prints by David Thomas, an artist and Vietnam War veteran, are being showcased at the Fine Arts Museum in the central city along with the works of other Boston-based artists.

Titled Finding Parkinsons, the exhibition features a section dedicated to Thomas's works, while another section, titled Peace, Love, and Understanding, displays 37 paintings by members of the Boston printmakers.

The Fine Arts Museum has announced that Thomas and five other Boston Printmakers members, namely Susan Denniston, Margo Lemieux, Colleen MacDonald, Marilyn Mase and Carolyn Musket, are representing the Boston-based art group at the exhibition.

Thomas, born in 1946 in Portland, Maine, the US, joined the US Army in the war in Viet Nam as a combat technical assistance mission in the Central Highlands region from 1969-70.

He returned to the US in 1970 to continue art and created artworks of the Vietnamese people.

Thomas visited Viet Nam in 1987, and the trip sped up his aspiration for him to build the Indochina Arts Partnership  a foundation that helped develop cultural exchange between Viet Nam and the US over the past 30 years.

He was awarded the medal for the course of Vietnamese Culture in 1999 and a campaign medal for Viet Nams fine arts by the Viet Nams Fine Arts Association in 2010.

He learned that he had Parkinsons disease in 2015, most likely due to his exposure to Agent Orange during the war in Viet Nam. Parkinsons disease affects the nerve cells in the brain that produce dopamine. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that enables messages between nerve cells, an introduction on Thomas released.

On December 14, 2020, I saw my brain for the first time," Thomas revealed. "My neurologist had ordered an MRI scan of my brain to check on the progress of my Parkinsons disease. After the scan was complete, I asked the technician for a CD of the slices of my brain.

"I wasnt exactly sure what I would do with them but was curious about what I would find on that CD. After looking at several hundred slices, I became fascinated with the idea that everything about me and my entire life was somehow present in this incredibly complex organ.

"I suddenly had a new subject to explore in my art. I didnt want simply to illustrate my brain, so I began this series by taking selfies of my face from different angles and expressions and then combined these with the MRI slices. It was fascinating to see my face and brain becoming one image and battling each other for dominance.

Thomas continued: When I returned from my year in Pleiku City (Gia Lai Province), I wanted to express my feelings about that year before they faded into the background.

"My tour in Vietnam had changed my life. I was compelled to find a way to express the asymmetry of the effects of the war on the US and on Viet Nam.

"We mourn our more than 58,000 American soldiers killed in Viet Nam while they mourn the more than two million civilians killed in Viet Nam, Laos and Cambodia. As a result of chemicals sprayed and high tonnage of bombs dropped by US military, this number will continue to increase in Viet Nam for many decades if not centuries."

"The purpose of this exhibition and catalogue is to ask questions about the function and limits of this incredible organ," Thomas said. "My desire is that these images will inspire you to think more about your own brain and the way you arrive at conclusions.

"Our brains are, at best, the combination of what we inherited from our ancestors combined with what we have added since our birth. What we dont know is how this will all be used during our lifetime.

"Viet Nam reports that some 400,000 people have suffered death or permanent injury from exposure to Agent Orange. It is also estimated that 2,000,000 people have suffered from illnesses caused by exposure, and that half a million babies were born with birth defects due to the effects of Agent Orange."

Thomas went on: "Little did I know when I returned to Viet Nam in 1987 that I would spend the rest of my life trying to ease the pain caused by the American war there, to educate Americans here about the real tragedy of our invasion of Viet Nam and to humanize the people we had dehumanized in order to kill and poison them.

"I have been invited into the homes of our former enemy many times only to learn how much we have in common, not that which divides us. We have laughed and cried together and shared many beautiful memories and hopes for the future.

"I am concerned that the progression of my particular Parkinsons may not allow me to complete this series. Will my worsening cognitive and physical symptoms prevent me from finding some answers to the questions I have raised here? Or will this increase in symptoms simply become additional material for this series? Only time will answer that question.

The US government has consistently stated that no scientific evidence links Agent Orange/dioxin to adverse health effects found in Viet Nam.

During the year I spent on Engineer Hill, I never really paid much attention to why nothing grew in this rich volcanic red soil of Viet Nams Central Highlands," Thomas recalled.

"I did know my unit was also responsible for killing the vegetation one hundred metres on each side of the roads we were constructing and at all work sites. This was primarily to take away the jungle growth where snipers and enemy soldiers could hide. We were told this would keep us safe.

The exhibition opened on April 17 and will last till April 21. Free entrance for all visits at the museum at 78 Le Duan Street.

a Nang is home to more than 5,000 Agent Orange victims, of which 1,400 are children, according to the a Nang City Association for Victims of Agent Orange (DAVA).

Different supports from donors and volunteers have been made in helping children with difficulties and AO victims in the city.

In 2014, the Harris Freeman Foundation helped build the detoxification centre for Agent Orange victims in a Nang.  VNS
HCM CITY - The Su That (Truth) National Political Publishing House has launched a special collection of letters showcasing the glorious national history and the love of a young generation during the country's wartime.

The book titled Nhung La Thu Thoi Chien Viet Nam (Letters of Viet Nam Wartime), released recently in HCM City, includes 200 handwritten letters from soldiers and young people collected and complied by journalist ang Vuong Hung.

All of the letters belong to a "brave young generation who were ready to sacrifice and dedicate their youth to revolutionary ideal and national liberation," said Nguyen Hoai Anh, deputy director of the Su That National Political Publishing House.

According to Anh, most letters' authors were no longer alive.

Still, their small handwriting of "hasty words" on the old papers are touching stories about history and the ideals, sacrifice and dedication of the young people during wartime,.

"These letters are also profound evidence of their love for family, love among couples and love for the homeland and motherland," he added. "They have contributed to the unforgettable glorious, and heroic history of Viet Nam."

Anh said he hoped that when turning from the first page to the last page of the book, readers would be able to accompany writers, most of them were soldiers, reminiscing about the hard days of fighting and experiencing moments of relaxing and dreaming about their families and beloved ones.

Journalist Hung said: "Each of those wartime letters became a bridge connecting the front lines and the rear, reflecting a young generation on the battlefield with all their love for the motherland and their families along with a high willingness of fighting, sacrifice and dedication. It is a generation that will forever last along with the nation's history."

Hung revealed his book had been supplemented for this publication with some presentations and documents collected from a conference themed "Letters in the Viet Nam wartime in the national history, traditions and culture", held in July 2017 in Ha Noi by the Centre for Research, Conservation and Promotion of National Culture, in collaboration with the Viet Nam Historical Science Association, the War Remnants Museum and the Soldiers Hearts club. VNS
Vietnamese comic books remain a niche market, with the bulk of publications coming from the Kim ong Publishing House.

Nguyen Kim Dung, head of Picture Book Editing Desk at the publisher, spoke about the challenges and opportunities within the comic book publishing industry.

In recent years, more books with images and illustrations have been published and received well by readers. Could you tell me about the distinction between comic books, books with illustrations and artbooks?

They can be distinguished. Books with illustrations have literary content comprising of short sentences and paragraphs with accompanying illustrations to help toddlers and little children through pictures to feel content, foster their imagination, and nurture their aesthetics.

Comic or manga is a form of storytelling with small picture frames with or without dialogue. Each page contains small pictures like a slow-motion movie.

Generally, art books are a collection of an artist's work.

Some say that reading comic books harm children's development. What do you think about this?

The world's big and long-standing comic industries, such as France and Belgium or Asian countries Japan and South Korea, have countless comic publications. They are not only for children but also for mature readers; that has proven the value of comics.

The readers like comic books because of their fast growth and beautiful pictures. It is easy to read and understand the message that writer wants to convey.

In the big comic industries in the world, comic books are for all readers and all subjects.

What comic books are favoured by Vietnamese readers currently? And could you tell me about publishing Vietnamese comic books?

The Kim ong Publishing House has republished the French popular Asterix. Vietnamese readers have received the book well since it was first published 20 years ago.

We also buy the copyright to publish popular South Korean comic books.

Vietnamese comic books such as Viet Nam History and Viet Nam Folk Tales have been published and favoured by readers for years.

Vietnamese comic books with modern subjects are a few.

Comic books have many subjects for different ages, but Vietnamese comic books are still mainly for children and very few for young readers.

Why are Vietnamese comic books so few in the market?

Viet Nam does not yet have a school or faculty for comic book artist training. Almost comic book artists are self-taught.

For a set of comics, it takes a long time and hard work for each person and each stage.

Vietnamese comic books are made by artists who write scripts and draw pictures. I think the artists take advantage of their skills to make comic books.

What does the Kim ong Publishing House do to encourage artists to make comic books?

We actively cooperate with foreign organisations to hold exhibitions and exchange comic book writing.

The publisher and Wallonie-Bruxelles in Viet Nam have successfully co-organised three comic books festivals. Over the past ten years, Danish and Vietnamese artists had chances to exchange experiments under a project funded by the Danish government.

An exhibition entitled The Magical World of Czech Children's Book Illustrators was held last September in Ha Noi.

The publisher makes an effort to organise exhibitions and exchanges, helping Vietnamese artists to get access to developed comic books industries and contributing to building a new generation of Vietnamese comic book artists.

Son, Goal series published last year was a fruit of a project between Kim ong and the Japanese Kadokawa Publishing House and artist Baba Tamio. The project gave Kim ong's editors a chance to learn to make a set of comic books.

We will continue cooperation with Japanese partners to publish other comic books with Vietnamese cuisine subjects.

We also work with Vietnamese artists to publish Vietnamese comic books. In 2014, artist ao Hai - author of the series Ti Quay (Naughty Ti), passed away while the ninth episode was on draft.

After that, we invited artist Quang Toan and writers Hoai Thu and Duong Thuy Quynh to continue making the series, and Naughty Ti became one of the most favoured Vietnamese comic books.

The Kim ong Publishing House always welcomes comic books by Vietnamese artists, and we are ready to invest in good works. - VNS
Ambassador of the Czech Republic to Viet Nam, Hynek Kmonicek, talks to Viet Nam News prior to the visit of the Prime Minister of the Czech Republic, Petr Fiala, to Viet Nam from April 20-22.

What will be the main focus of Prime Minister Petr Fiala's visit to Viet Nam and how do you think it will contribute to strengthening the relationship between the Czech Republic and Viet Nam?

The main focus of Prime Minister Petr Fiala's visit to Viet Nam is to strengthen the relationship between the Czech Republic and Viet Nam. This visit will contribute to enhancing trade, investment, cultural, and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The relationship between the Czech and Vietnamese people has been exceptional since it began over seven decades ago. Could you please share your assessment of the results of the bilateral relationship in recent years?

The Czech Republic has been gradually gaining more importance in the Vietnamese market over the years. Viet Nam is now one of the most promising markets for Czech businesses in Southeast Asia due to its large population, rapid economic growth, and favourable investment environment. The Vietnamese government has implemented various policies to improve the investment climate and attract foreign investment.

The most promising sectors for Czech businesses in Viet Nam are manufacturing, tourism, and technology. Viet Nam has a large and young workforce, which is a key advantage for the manufacturing sector. Additionally, the country is becoming increasingly popular as a tourist destination, and Czech businesses could tap into this growing market. In terms of technology, Viet Nam has a highly skilled workforce in the field of information technology, and there is great potential for Czech businesses to collaborate with Vietnamese partners in this sector.

What are your views on Viet Nam's investment environment for Czech businesses? What can Viet Nam do or adjust to attract more investment from the Czech Republic? What areas do you think hold the most potential for Czech businesses in Viet Nam?

Viet Nam has made significant progress in improving its investment environment in recent years, although there is still room for improvement. To attract more investment from the Czech Republic, Viet Nam could consider adjusting its legal and regulatory frameworks to make them more transparent and predictable.

In addition, Viet Nam could work to improve its infrastructure and logistics to make it easier for Czech businesses to operate in the country. Sectors with the most potential for Czech businesses in Viet Nam include manufacturing, tourism, and technology.

For example, Viet Nam's manufacturing sector benefits from a large and young workforce, while its tourism industry has been growing rapidly in recent years. In the technology sector, Viet Nam has a highly skilled workforce and a competitive IT industry, making it an attractive destination for Czech businesses looking to collaborate in this field.

By addressing these issues, Viet Nam can continue to attract more investment from the Czech Republic and deepen their economic ties.

The cooperation in education between Viet Nam and the Czech Republic dates back to 1956 when around 100 Vietnamese schoolchildren were sent to Chrastava in the Liberec region. How has cooperation in this field developed in recent years, and what potential do you see for further collaboration in education between our two countries in the future?

Cooperation in education between Viet Nam and the Czech Republic has continued to flourish in recent years. The two countries have deepened their ties through various academic exchanges, research partnerships, and joint degree programmes. Vietnamese students are increasingly choosing the Czech Republic as a destination for higher education, and the number of Czech students studying in Viet Nam is also on the rise.

During the Prime Ministers visit, the Czech Republic and Viet Nam will sign a Letter of Intent on educational cooperation, which aims in the future to further strengthen collaboration between the two countries in this field.

Furthermore, there is potential for increased cooperation in vocational education and training. The Czech Republic has a strong vocational education system, and Viet Nam could benefit from learning from the Czech experience in this field.

Since becoming the Ambassador to Viet Nam in 2022, what has impressed you the most about the country?

Since becoming the Ambassador to Viet Nam in 2022, I have been impressed by the country's natural beauty, rich history, and vibrant culture. The people of Viet Nam are friendly and welcoming, and the country has made significant progress in economic development. VNS
*Prof. Piotr GLINSKI

In April 1943, on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Passover, the Germans occupying the Polish capital surrounded the Warsaw Ghetto  the Jewish quarter they had created  in preparation for its final liquidation. On 19 April, the German police and SS auxiliary forces entered the ghetto to complete the extermination. Its residents took refuge in bunkers and hideouts. Jewish insurgents attacked the Germans with firearms, Molotov cocktails and hand grenades. Two German vehicles were set on fire with petrol bottles. The surprised occupiers were initially unable to break through the fierce resistance of the ghetto defenders.

Faced with strong opposition and early setbacks, the Germans began to systematically burn buildings, turning the ghetto streets into a fire trap. As the fighting continued inside, units of the Polish underground army moved against the Germans on the outside of the ghetto. Three sections of the Home Army tried unsuccessfully to breach its walls with explosives. The doomed Jews fought until the beginning of May. The Germans demolition of the Great Synagogue on Tomackie Street in Warsaw was a symbolic final act to mark the fall of the uprising.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was the first metropolitan insurrection and the largest Jewish revolt during the German occupation. On the afternoon of 19 April 1943, the combatants symbolically placed the red-and-white flag of Poland and the blue-and-white flag of the ZZW on the roof of the Jewish Military Union stronghold at Muranowski Square. This image of the two flags flying together on the roof of the building above the embattled ghetto became a symbol of the inseparable fate of Poles and Jews. Several months later, in August 1944, the Warsaw Uprising broke out  the fight for a free Poland, the largest freedom surge in the history of the Second World War.

In Polish history, literature, art and culture there are many references to uprisings. They gave hope, lifted spirits and comforted hearts but were almost always brutally suppressed by partitioners and occupiers. Although tragic and often inevitable, they built a community identity and usually brought victory years later. They have left a deep mark on Polish society and history. Consequently, theyve become a frequent theme in literature, painting and film. And although artists portrayed the events in various ways, they hardly ever criticised the very idea of the uprising. They advocated the fight for freedom, elevating it to the cultural pedestal.

During the Second World War, Jews and Poles clashed with German criminals in two uprisings in Warsaw, the capital of Poland. The city was eventually left in ruins, destroyed and burnt down. This proves the strength of the Polish imperative for freedom.

The question may be asked: Why in Warsaw? It is worth recalling that in 1939, on the eve of the German invasion of Poland, almost 370,000 Jews were living in Warsaw. They constituted about 30 per cent of the citys total population. In the year following the outbreak of the Second World War, nearly 100,000 more Jews arrived in the Polish capital, systematically displaced by the Germans from the lands incorporated into the Third Reich and from the occupied territories of Poland. In the spring of 1940, the Germans began the process of creating a closed-off Jewish quarter. The final sealing off of the Warsaw Ghetto took place in November 1940. Behind the walls, on an area of 307 hectares, approximately 400,000 Jews were locked. In April 1941, resettlers poured into the ghetto. The number of people confined within its walls rose to 450,000. Im quoting these figures not without reason. The Warsaw Ghetto was the largest in Europe created by the Germans during the Second World War. In July 1942, they invaders begun mass deportation of Jews from the ghetto to the Treblinka extermination camp. It is estimated that between 250,000 and 300,000 Jews were murdered at that time. About 100,000 died in the ghetto from starvation and disease resulting from the inhumane conditions created by the German oppressors.

W say: Jews, but we must remember that they were citizens of Poland, the multinational, multicultural Second Polish Republic. It is therefore our common duty to commemorate the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising  the largest Jewish uprising during World War II and the first urban uprising in occupied Europe  and to keep in memory the courage of those who resisted the German occupiers. These days, more than 150 events are taking place in Poland to mark the official commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. These events are organised or funded by the Polish government, including as part of the programme implemented by the Ministry of Culture and National Heritage to support activities that preserve the legacy and memory of Polish Jews. Since the United Right took over the government, we have more than tripled funding for institutions whose activities include preserving the memory, culture and legacy of the multicultural Polish nation  including the heritage of the Jewish minority in Polish lands  as well as commemorating the Holocaust of Jews perpetrated by the Germans in occupied Poland.

Among the institutions subsidised by the Polish government are the state museums in the former German death camps: the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum in Oswiecim; the State Museum at Majdanek (with branches: Museums and Memorials in Bezec and Sobibor); the Stutthof Museum in Sztutowo; the Treblinka Museum; the Gross-Rosen Museum in Rogoznica; the KL Plaszow Museum in Krakow. Also the Warsaw Ghetto Museum, the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa, the Remembrance Museum of Land of Oswiecim Residents, the POLIN Museum of the History of Polish Jews and the Emanuel Ringelblum Jewish Historical Institute. These include institutions that have existed for decades, often underfunded in the past, as well as those that have been established in recent years for the sake of remembrance: The Warsaw Ghetto Museum, the Ulma Family Museum of Poles Saving Jews in World War II in Markowa, and the Remembrance Museum of Land of Oswiecim Residents.

Today, Warsaw is a city of the living. Poland is a country of the living. We remember the past and draw on historical experience to build a better future. But we do not forget those who died or were murdered. The memory passed down through the generations must last forever. And today, we are its custodians.

*The text has been published in cooperation with the Polish monthly Wszystko co Najwazniejsze as part of a historical project involving the Institute of National Remembrance and the Polish National Foundation.

*Piotr Glinski is Professor of Humanities. Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Culture and National Heritage. In 2005  2011, President of the Polish Sociological Association. Has cooperated with the Institute of Philosophy and Sociology, Polish Academy of Sciences. In 1997 -2005, Head of the Civic Society Department.
HA NOI  Chairman of the National Assembly (NA) Vuong inh Hue and a high-ranking delegation of the Vietnamese NA arrived at Jose Marti airport in Havana on April 18 afternoon (Cuba time), starting his official visit to Cuba at the invitation of President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez.

Chairman Hue and his entourage were welcomed at the airport by Deputy President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Ana Maria Mari Machado, head of the Department of International Relations of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba Emilio Lozada Garcia, and head of the Cuban National Assemblys Commission on Foreign Relations Yolanda Ferrer Gomez, and Vietnamese Ambassador to Cuba Le Thanh Tung, among others.

The visit takes place on the occasion of the two countries celebrating their major events such as the 60th anniversary of Cuba's establishment of the Committee for Solidarity with South Viet Nam, the 50th anniversary of Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruz's first visit to Viet Nam, and the liberated zone in South Viet Nam when the war was going on.

During the visit, the top Vietnamese legislator is scheduled to attend a special session of the 10th Cuban National Assembly, sign a cooperation agreement between the two NAs, and have meetings with high-ranking leaders of the Party and State of Cuba. He will also attend the 62nd anniversary of the Giron Beach Victory, the Viet Nam-Cuba business forum, and meet the Vietnamese community in the Caribbean country.

He will witness the exchange of cooperation agreements between the countries ministries and localities, and attend several economic, cultural and educational activities.

Chairman Hues official visit to Cuba is the highest-level trip of a Vietnamese leader to Cuba as well as to Latin America in 2023. Chairman Hue is also the first foreign leader to visit the Caribbean nation after the country successfully organised the election of legislators to its National Assembly of People's Power on March 26.

The visit reaffirms that Viet Nam always attaches importance to consolidating and strengthening special solidarity and loyal friendship with Cuba, and fostering cooperation between the two legislatures as well as the bilateral partnership in all fields. VNS
HA NOI  National Assembly (NA) Chairman Vuong inh Hues ongoing visit to Cuba, which is part of his Latin American tour from April 18-28, is expected to give a boost to the already-sound relationship between the two countries.

The top legislators official visit to Cuba, which is made at the invitation of President of the National Assembly of People's Power of Cuba Esteban Lazo Hernandez, is believed to contribute to further deepening the close ties between the two Parties, States, NAs and people of Viet Nam and Cuba.

The visit is taking place at a time when Viet Nam and Cuba are celebrating the 60th founding anniversary of the Cuban Committee for Solidarity with South Vietnam (September 25, 1963-2023), and the 50th anniversary of Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruzs first visit to Viet Nam and the liberated zone in the South of Vietnam (September 1973).

Special solidarity, model of international relations

In the contemporary world history, the relationship between the two Parties, States and peoples of Viet Nam and Cuba is a rare one. This strong tie was founded by Cuban hero Jose Marti, President Ho Chi Minh and Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro and has been nurtured by generations of leaders and people of Viet Nam and Cuba.

Over the past six decades, the two nations have stood side by side during the struggle for national independence and freedom as well as the cause of national construction and defence and the building of socialism in each country.

Although the world situation has seen many ups and downs, the traditional solidarity and special friendship between Viet Nam and Cuba have continued to be promoted and strengthened in all channels in a substantial manner. In the current new development period in the two countries and the world, the two Parties and States are clearly aware of the need to further lift their ties to a new height.

The Viet Nam-Cuba partnership has been expanded to many areas from politics, diplomacy to economy, culture, education, science and technology. Their political relations have been strengthened with high mutual trust. Senior leaders of the two Parties, States and Governments have regularly made mutual visits, contributing to beefing up the bilateral ties and broadening exchanges among ministries and sectors.

Cooperation areas expanded

The sound political-diplomatic relations between Viet Nam and Cuba have motivated the bilateral economic and trade cooperation. In recent years, two-way trade has reached between US$250-300 million per year.

The Viet Nam-Cuba Trade Agreement was signed in 2018 during Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canels visit to Viet Nam and took effect from April 1, 2020, contributing to promoting trade ties between the two countries.

The deal allows the continuous expansion and diversification of trade exchange between the two sides, while facilitating the import-export and market penetration activities. They are striving to reach US$500 million in two-way trade in 2025.

In terms of investment, Viet Nam is currently the largest Asia-Pacific investor in Cuba, with many operating projects. Many large-scale firms of Viet Nam are interested in the Cuban market and seeking investment and cooperation opportunities in the Caribbean country.

Regarding agricultural collaboration, a project to assist Cuba in rice production development in the 2011-2015 period with a total investment of US$43 million has been implemented effectively.

At the same time, other projects to support Cuba in maize, soya bean production and aquatic farming have also been fruitfully carried out. The two sides are working together on other agro-fisheries projects, including a rice production cooperation project in the 2019-2023 period that has been approved by the Vietnamese Government.

The Ministry of National Defence and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development have also provided technical assistance to Cuba to develop high-yielding maize. The two sides have also agreed on the third phase of the project to support Cuba in aquaculture in the 2022-2025 period.

In the field of education, each year, Cuba has granted many scholarships to Vietnamese students, while many Cuban young people have received scholarships to study Vietnamese language and culture at the Vietnam National University-Hanoi.

The two sides have also supported each other in COVID-19 prevention and control, and are seeking to bolster economic, trade and investment collaboration.

Parliamentary cooperation makes positive, practical contributions to bilateral ties

According to NA General Secretary and Chairman of the NA Office Bui Van Cuong, leaders of Cuba and the Cuban NA have highly valued the positive and practical contributions of the two NAs to the reinforcement and promotion of the special and loyal friendship between the two countries, and share the hope to further strengthen and deepen the ties between the two countries in general and the two parliaments in particular.

During NA Chairman Vuong inh Hue's ongoing visit, leaders of the Vietnamese and Cuban National Assemblies are scheduled to sign an agreement on inter-parliamentary cooperation mechanism between the two National Assemblies, said Vu Hai Ha, Chairman of the Vietnamese NA Committee for External Relations.

The Cuba visit by NA Chairman Hue coincides with the celebrations of many important events of the Cuban revolution and Viet Nam-Cuba relations.

Cuban Ambassador to Vietnam Orlando Nicolas Hernandez Guillen affirmed that the visit is of historical significance, noting that the Vietnamese NA leaders entourage who are representatives from many sectors will contribute to further bolstering the partnership between the two countries.

Chairman of the NA Committee for External Relations Vu Hai Ha said that the Cuban side is looking forwards to the visit. The Vietnamese NA Chairman is the first foreign leader to visit Cuba after the country successfully held the general election, he said.

The agreement on inter-parliamentary cooperation mechanism aims to increase the sharing of experience and mutual support at regional and international forums, while fostering coordination in supervising the implementation of cooperation deals between the two countries, thus making the bilateral relations more practical and effective, Ha added.VNS
HA NOI  General Director of the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) Vu Viet Trang and President of the Prensa Latina (PL) news agency of Cuba Luis Enrique Gonzalez Acosta signed a new cooperation agreement during their talks in Havana on April 18 (Cuba time).

The event took place within the framework of the ongoing official visit to the Caribbean nation by National Assembly Chairman Vuong inh Hue.

The VNA leader highlighted the cooperation achievements between the two news agencies over the past nearly six decades and congratulated the PL on its new developments.

The continued cooperation with new projects is essential and matches global development trends, she stressed.

For his part, Gonzalez Acosta thanked the VNA for its support in all aspects since the two news agencies established their cooperative ties, noting that it would have been difficult for the PL to fulfil its tasks without the assistance amid the severe economic embargo against Cuba.

Gonzalez Acosta affirmed his further support to the VNAs representative office in Havana in all activities when necessary, and in improving the quality of the Spanish version of the agencys Vietnam Pictorial.

The two sides reviewed the implementation of bilateral cooperation programmes in information exchange, the publication of Vietnam Pictorial, expert exchange and support to each other's correspondents.

They shared the view on the importance of bilateral cooperation, which has helped maintain the flow of news, providing people of the two countries with diverse information and a true view on the development of the two countries and their socio-economic-political situation, thus contributing to enhancing understanding and traditional friendship between Viet Nam and Cuba.

Trang told her host that PLs experts have helped the VNA effectively in producing information in Spanish, training young sub-editors and publishing the Spanish version of Vietnam Pictorial in Latin America.

In this regard, Gonzalez Acosta affirmed that the PL always stands ready to support and send experts to the VNA, adding that the experts said they had learned a lot during their term in the Southeast Asian nation.

To contribute to consolidating the Viet Nam-Cuba traditional friendship and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Cuban leader Fidel Castro Ruz's visit to Viet Nam (September 1973), the two sides agreed to coordinate in organising photo exhibitions in both countries. The VNA leader invited the PL chief to visit Viet Nam for the celebration.

On this occasion, the VNA presented its Cuban counterpart with specialised equipment to help the PL meet development requirements in the digital age.

The two news agencies established their cooperative ties in 1966. The same year, the VNA opened its representative office in Havana, also its first in Latin America, creating a foundation for the VNA to open more offices in the region. The PL later also opened its representative office in Ha Noi.

The two news agencies have facilitated the operation of their correspondents in respective countries. The VNA has partially financed the operation of the PLs office in Ha Noi.

The PLs journalists and experts have actively covered the situation in Viet Nam, and have participated in the National External Information Service Awards in Viet Nam over the past years.

The partnership could be seen as a successful model of international cooperation of the VNA in both the wartime and the present period of national development and international integration.

The PL has been a quality source of information about Cuba and Latin America, as well as an effective external information channel for the VNA in the region. Meanwhile, VNA has provided a reliable source of information for the Cuban news agency in Southeast Asia. VNS
PRAGUE  Media outlets in the Czech Republic ran articles that express high expectations for the upcoming official visit to Viet Nam of Prime Minister Petr Fiala, especially regarding business cooperation and opportunities for Czech businesses.

The Business Information quoted President of the Czech Chamber of Commerce Vladimir Dlouhy as saying that the PM will be accompanied by 30 representatives of large corporations and companies, including engineering firms, aircraft technology manufacturers, weapons companies and software developers.

All Asian countries that PM Fiala will visit during this trip, including Viet Nam, have great potential and can bring about opportunities for Czech businesses, he said.

According to Dlouhy, on April 21, the Czech business delegation is scheduled to have a meeting with Vietnamese firms in Ha Noi, followed by a working lunch between PM Fiala and Vietnamese officials and delegates from companies engaged in the defence industry.

Dlouhy himself expects to meet with leaders of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). Businesses of the two countries will also hold a working session in northern Quang Ninh province where Czech automaker Skoda plans to build a factory. PM Fiala will attend the groundbreaking ceremony for the plant on April 22.

Meanwhile, the Czech news agency CTK wrote that Viet Nam offers opportunities for Czech businesses in the auto industry and a number of other important fields. It quoted PM Fiala as describing the Indo-Pacific region as of great economic importance because it is the fastest-growing region in the world. Fiala said that it is necessary for the Czech government to support the activities of Czech businesses in the region.

According to the website Vietnamskelisty.cz which is sponsored by the European Union, Viet Nam is attractive for Czech entrepreneurs with many business opportunities in various fields. Viet Nam has a dynamic economy, a growing market and an improving business environment, it said, adding that a large workforce and low production costs make Viet Nam an ideal destination for Czech manufacturers.

As Viet Nam is one of the largest textile and garment manufacturing countries in the world, Czech businesses can take advantage of low-cost labour and quality raw materials with a decades-long textile industry in Viet Nam. The Czech side can also participate in the development of Viet Nam's food industry on the basis of a rich agricultural background. In terms of tourism, Viet Nam is considered to have great potential and is attracting more tourists, opening up opportunities for Czech enterprises to do business in the hotel and travel sectors.

In an article in the Parliamentary Journal, the Honorary President of the Czech-Viet Nam Friendship Association, Marcel Winter, wrote that Viet Nam is a beautiful, peaceful and safe country, a gateway to Asia for Czech businesses. Therefore, Czech enterprises have great opportunities in Viet Nam and need to speed up promotion and marketing in this market of 100 million people, he said. VNS
HA NOI  More than 50 people have been prosecuted in connection with the repatriation flights scandal at the heart of the COVID pandemic.

The Supreme People's Procuracy of Viet Nam announced an indictment to prosecute 54 suspects accused of bribery, abuse of power while performing official duties and fraudulent appropriation of property that occurred at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Ha Noi and other localities.

This group is accused of exploiting repatriation flights during the COVID-19 outbreak for personal gain.

In total, 21 individuals are alleged to have received bribes of nearly VN180 billion (US$7.6 million) during the document completion process.

The defendants are accused of taking advantage of the pandemic, disregarded regulations to make a profit which caused Viet Nam's reputation to decline.

In addition, during the investigation, two police officers are also accused of receiving millions of dollars to manipulate the case and commit fraud. This has caused property damage, reduced the credibility of state and prosecuting agencies.

Already, 18 people have been prosecuted by the Supreme People's Procuracy for taking bribes under Clause 4, Article 354 of the Penal Code.

These include former Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, To Anh Dung; former Director of the Consular Department, Nguyen Thi Huong Lan; former Vice Chairman of the Hanoi People's Committee, Chu Xuan Dung; and former Vice Chairman of the Quang Nam People's Committee, Tran Van Tan.  VNS
HA NOI  Around 20,000 people living with disabilities will be offered training to help improve their lives.

Start-up models will also be rolled out to encourage those in difficult circumstances to launch careers and increase their salaries.

The plan was revealed by Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Van Hoi.

Viet Nam has more than 7 million people with disabilities, just over 7.06 per cent of the national population of people aged two and above.

Around 28.9 per cent of those suffer from severe disabilities with 342,329 families and individuals currently in care and receiving social welfare.

Statistics show that most of the disabled people are poor, dont attend school or have academic degrees, are of working age and live in rural areas.

Most are employed within their own families in farming, forestry and fishing sectors.

The Party, State and people are paying close attention to this group of society and are adopting many policies to improve their quality of life.

Thanks to these policies, more than 1.1 million disabled people have received monthly social allowances and free health insurance cards.

Article 4 of the Law on Persons with Disabilities says that persons with disabilities are guaranteed to participate on an equal basis in social activities; live independently and integrate into the community; enjoy exemption from or reduction of certain contributions to social activities; to be provided with healthcare, functional rehabilitation, education, vocational training, employment, legal assistance, access to public facilities, means of transport, information technology and cultural, sports, tourist and other services suitable to their forms and degrees of disability, and others in line with legal regulations.

Notably, people with disabilities who face financial difficulties have received legal assistance through consultations and litigation.

Pham Thi Hai Ha, Deputy Director of the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA)' Department of Social Protection, said more than VN28.73 trillion (US$1.22 billion) was earmarked from the state budget last year for the implementation of the governments Decree No. 20/2021/N-CP dated March 15, 2021 on support to social allowance beneficiaries, and another VND480 billion for the roll-out of support policies towards disabled people in terms of education.

Apart from the state budget, many organisations and associations have worked hard to mobilise resources from different economic sectors in order to improve living standards for the disabled people.

The 2010 Law on Persons with Disabilities also provides access to vocational training and employment opportunities.

Viet Nam ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the International Labour Organisation (ILO)s Convention 159 on Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment for Disabled Persons.

The Law on Vocational Education also devotes one chapter to vocational training for disabled people, helping them become self-employed or seek employment.

The State has pledged to provide financial support and other incentives for the institutions that offer vocational education to the disabled.

Disabled self-employed people and households that create jobs for the disabled can access preferential loans in service of their production and business, and receive assistance in terms of both technology and production-consumption in line with Government regulations.

Each year, some 19,000 disabled people benefit from such vocational training programmes, more than 20,000 are supported in looking for jobs and nearly 40,000 access preferential loans.

For the role of employers, the Ordinance on Disabled Persons stipulates that the disabled should account for 2-3 per cent of the workforce of each enterprise. If not, the businesses must contribute each month to the employment fund for people with disabilities an amount equivalent to the minimum wage prescribed by the State for the disabled employees.

An ILO report showed that Viet Nam loses 3 per cent of GDP by not employing people with disabilities in the labour market.

Director of the Social Protection Department To Duc said the legal system related to people with disabilities would be reviewed this year, with a focus on breakthrough policies to enhance their accessibility to vocational education, and create jobs and stable livelihoods.

MoLISA was also building a dossier on amending and supplementing the Law on Persons with Disabilities, the Employment Law, and the Law on Social Insurance, in which suitable policies for the disabled will be integrated and supplemented, he added. VNS
HA NOI  Vo Quan Nh., a 65-year-old patient at Central Psychiatric Hospital No1's Male Sub-acute Department, briskly walks into the dining room in his blue-striped patient's uniform, pushing a cart filled with lunch boxes.

He neatly arranged the boxes on each table with a satisfied and excited smile. Despite his small stature and old age, Nh. is still active.

He is totally different from his past struggles with mental instability that led to angry outbursts and the destruction of furniture.

Dr Le Thi Thanh Thu, Head of the Central Psychiatric Hospital 1s Male Sub-acute Department, says Nh. has been hospitalised since the 1970s due to schizophrenia.

This is his 50th treatment at the facility. The hospital has become a second home to him.

The patient requested to be in charge of tasks in the dining room. According to Thu, Nh. would scold the medical staff if they didn't allow him to do so, so they guide him and supervise him instead.

The staff's tireless efforts have helped patients like Nh. regain their awareness. Thu noted that the more patients ask for jobs, the happier the staff becomes since it shows that the patients are step by step recovering from their illness.

Currently, 36 patients are being treated in the Male Sub-acute Department. The number of patients is expected to rise to about 50-60 during summer.

Unexpected slaps

Caring for mentally ill patients can be challenging since their reactions can be unpredictable.

The department's windows have crossed iron bars to keep patients safe.

Sometimes, patients can lash out at doctors and nurses.

We can be attacked for no reason, so we must always be on guard. A patient seems to act normally but then lashes out unexpectedly and attacks us, Thu says.

Thu recalls one patient threatened the doctors, broke furniture in the middle of the night, and slapped staff members for no reason.

Staff members quickly apprehended him with the help of other male patients later.

"Fortunately, many hospital staff live in the dormitory next to the hospital, so they easily respond to emergencies, she says.

The Male Sub-acute Department currently has 32 medical staff, of whom only eight are male.

Most psychiatric patients have no family, and many are in long-term treatment. Therefore, doctors and nurses must have extreme patience when treating patients with mental illness.

Some patients may take months and even years to recover, while others stay in the hospital for their whole life. After only one night without enough sleep, patients can be aggressive and violent. Nonetheless, the staff remain committed to helping their patients in any way they can, no matter how long it takes.

Thu says doctors and nurses not only provide medical care but also assist patients with their personal activities, such as changing clothes, cutting their hair, shaving, and cutting their nails and toenails. They also spend hours listening and talking to patients.

Six years ago, the health staff purchased a ping-pong table and played with the patients. Thu says that many hospital staff members know how to play ping pong, and she is a skilled player.

More support

Thu expresses regret when many families refuse to follow the doctor's treatment advice after a short time the new mental patients come for treatment.

She says Viet Nam faces a shortage of personnel to monitor and supervise patients closely.

Doctors and nurses wish to have a sanatorium for the mentally ill and their family members to care for their loved ones. For severe cases, patients should be admitted to special treatment areas under the supervision of medical staff for a more extended period.

Currently, each psychiatric patient is only treated for about two months before being discharged.

Thu adds that doctors and nurses want treatment benefits such as seniority allowance, retirement, and preferential treatment for years of dedication and work.

Nguyen Manh Phat, deputy director of the Central Psychiatric Hospital No 1, says that the mental health care network in the country includes 33 psychiatric hospitals, dozens of psychiatric departments in general hospitals, and social disease prevention centres.

However, many provinces and cities do not have a hospital specialising in psychiatry, and even large hospitals do not have psychiatric departments. There is also a serious shortage of doctors in this field.

Therefore, Phat recommends changing the mechanisms and policies on training and recruiting doctors into hospitals or mental health departments to attract human resources gradually.  VNS
Gastrointestinal Endoscopy (GE) is a special test to diagnose the condition of the upper digestive system. Dr ao Viet Hang, Vice Director of the Endoscopy Centre of Ha Noi Medical University Hospital, is looking at how to apply AI to GE procedures in Viet Nam.

In a recent interview with Nhan Dan (The People) newspaper, Dr Hang talks about her ambition to add Viet Nam to the list of countries that apply AI to gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Why do you choose AI for medical tests, especially here for GE?

Five years ago, I attended American Digestive Disease Week and started to see research about AI applications in GE. At that time, I felt it was way too far for Viet Nam to have it.

When studying and researching in Japan, I did ask my supervisor: Is there any chance a developing country like Viet Nam can apply AI given limited economic resources?.

I received the answer: Because it is a developing country, it has to apply AI. The GE test in the developed system which is well-invested, therefore, it is less likely to make mistakes. However, in the underdeveloped one, we need a tool to help doctors diagnose digestive problems more effectively from GE. Therefore, it is much needed in developing countries.

This helped me understand that the fundamental of applying AI is for its benefits, not the need to have a huge investment in it.

We did have a survey in 2019 on how doctors may preserve AI and whether they would worry that AI will steal their job in the future.

However, we are surprised that 90 per cent of the doctors answered that they take AI as the tool for GE, and they need something like AI not just for assessing but directly in the GE procedure. This is our foundation for further research.

What are your difficulties in developing the Vietnamese AI model made by Vietnamese people?

We are researching and improving AI algorithms from Viet Nam medical database. We do it 100 per cent through Viet Nams endoscopy and IT specialists.

The medical database allows us to have diverse cases of condition and treatment, which can relate to similar cases in the future, and it will be applied directly to our medical treatments.

Our biggest difficulty is collecting, standardising and building the database. Viet Nam has many endoscope systems with different quality, light and resolution. However, we must ensure a diverse and standardised database to create patterns and train algorithms.

Another difficulty is to label the database and localise and evaluate the severity of injuries uniformly among medical professionals. It requires great effort and time from our endoscopy experts.

What have you and your team been doing applying AI to medical procedures?

Currently, we have two projects. One is to build an algorithm for detecting colon polyps, classifying if it is harmful or harmless. The project is expected to take place in two and a half years and has completed building the algorithm based on large data collected in Viet Nam and is already labelled by endoscopy experts.

The second is to build an algorithm for detecting lesions in the upper digestive system. There are five types of lesions, so it takes longer to form the database. We expect to do it within three to three and a half years under the KC 4.0 programme of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

How can Viet Nam go further in applying AI in medicine?

AI can be approached in many ways for medicine. Some teams use big data for diagnostic models or building models in the prognosis of response to treatment. The speciality of diagnostics or GE is an image, therefore database used for the algorithm is images. For diagnostics through images, we have seen the huge advantages of AI in detecting lesions in X-rays, scanners and MRIs.

However, AI cannot replace doctors in GE since it is still an invasive procedure. Doctors are still the ones who directly conduct the GE and decide if the patient needs treatments. The purpose of AI is to assist the doctor in minimising making mistakes and acting as the reference for any of their decision.

I hope there will be more AI applications like that in the medical field in the future. As for now, with the existing application, I am sure AI will help reduce investment resources and help doctors spend more time on the procedure instead of the usual diagnosis like now.

What is your motivation to do this project and to ensure its success?

With projects having an interdisciplinary nature, teamwork is very important. It took our research team six months to find a common language between GE and IT specialists.

For the IT team, it is difficult to understand the medical terms, names of anatomical locations, which images are normal, and where lesions are. But you need to understand all the terms to build a model that can bring optimal efficiency.

Convincing the medical team to join the project alone is difficult. Because they have to spend more time on their own identifying and localising the lesions on images for the database.

Once we have the first algorithm, we must check the accuracy so they can learn and optimise further. The role of the medical team is undeniably very crucial.

The most difficult thing for us is to find a common voice. However, in the project, we also get the very great joy.

Sometimes we are happy when our patients ask: Doctor, I heard that you are doing AI in GE. When can I get my GE with AI? Is AI going to help detect problems during GE better?. VNS
HA NOI  More than 100 countries will participate in the fourth Global Conference of the One Planet Networks Sustainable Food Systems Programme (SFS Programme), which will be held in Ha Noi on April 24-27, according to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in a press conference held on Tuesday.

The food systems programme is an annual ministry-level conference, first held in 2017, that is a platform for dialogue to drive change in the food system.

Viet Nam hosts the conference in the context of its agriculture sector implementing the Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development Strategy for the period 2021-2030, based on three pillars: ecological agriculture, modern countryside, and smart farmers.

In response to the call of the UN Secretary-General at the summit on Food Systems in 2021, the Prime Minister has issued the "National Action Plan for Transforming the Food System with the ambition for a transparent, responsible and sustainable food system in Viet Nam by 2030.

Hosting the conference this year, Viet Nam promotes being a transparent, responsible and sustainable food supplier, Nguyen Hoang Hiep, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a meeting to announce the upcoming event.

Viet Nam also wants to show as a responsible member for global issues, including food and energy security, climate change and emerging pandemics."



According to Nguyen o Anh Tuan, director of the agriculture ministry's International Cooperation Department, the conference will review difficulties and challenges related to the transformation of the food system.

It will roll out solutions, focusing on issues including models and global architecture of the food system, national policies and governance on food systems, consumption patterns and ways to implement food system transformation.

The conference expects to welcome 300 delegates, with 200 foreign delegates from 100 countries around the world.

The official added that models of food system transformation in several countries and international initiatives would also be introduced.

Viet Nam's agriculture sector is moving towards multi-value integrated development in the direction of high technology, diversity, sustainability, low emissions, rational use of resources, protection of the ecological environment and conserving biodiversity, Tuan said.

Several sessions and a range of sideline events will be held within the framework of the conference, including a meeting at the ministerial level hosted by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with MARD on April 25.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will coordinate with the Switzerland government, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Food and Agriculture Organisation of United Nations (FAO) and the UN Food Systems Coordination Hub in hosting the conference.

The One Planet Network is an open partnership chaired by the United Nations Environment Programme, aiming to promote sustainable consumption and production.

SFS is a global programme led by the UN, intending to accelerate the transition of food systems towards a more sustainable one through capacity building, synergies and strengthening cooperation between partners at all levels.  VNS
BA RIA-VUNG TAU  A Filipino sailor is being treated in hospital after a work-related accident at sea.

Laride Jerry Abapo was injured while on board the Nea Elpis bulk carrier travelling from China to Singapore.

He suffered bleeding to his ears and nose as well as swelling to his head and right eye.

The Vietnam Maritime Search and Rescue Coordination Centre received a call for urgent medical assistance at about 1.40pm on Tuesday.

The cargo ship was located about 245 nautical miles from the cape of Vung Tau heading in an east-north-eastern direction.

Upon receiving the information, the centre asked Ho Chi Minh Coastal Information Radio to contact the ship, provide initial medical advice for the crew in distress, and request the ship to urgently divert to Vung Tau.

In the face of a situation potentially endangering the sailors life, a search and rescue ship with doctors and nurses on board was mobilised for an emergency rescue.

The rescue team reached the vessel at about 3.45am on Wednesday, provided first aid to the victim and brought the sailor to Vung Tau Hospital for treatment.  VNS
HCM CITY  HCM City needs to implement breakthrough policies and specific mechanisms on land conversion to meet requirements and ensure sustainable development goals.

That was the message from experts speaking at a recent workshop in the city.

The workshop, titled Specific mechanisms on land conversion and breakthrough policies for HCM City discussed policies related to land in line with the citys growth. It was co-organised last week by the municipal Peoples Committee and Viet Nam National University-HCM City (VNU-HCM).

It held a forum for scientists, policy makers and relevant agencies to exchange, discuss and comment on the draft Land Law (amended), including regulations on land for public non-business units.

Speaking at the workshop, chairman of the municipal Peoples Committee Phan Van Mai said land plays an important role, and is a decisive resource and an input factor, in the city's development process, affecting the process of industrialisation and modernisation in the country.

The right conversion of land use purposes will bring great value, ensuring the harmonisation of rights and interests of the State, land users, and investors.

However, the citys land use and management still have many limitations and problems due to overlapping and inconsistent policies and laws related to land, he said.

The city has researched and contributed to amending the draft Land Law, which has revealed obstacles hindering the business activities of enterprises, and proposed breakthrough mechanisms on land.

According to inspections conducted last year, land use efficiency in the city remains low, with a high number of land-related complaints, denunciations and acquisitions.

More than 65 per cent of opinions, recommendations, reflections, complaints and denunciations in the first six months of 2022 were related to the land sector.

The city now has a lot of land areas with favourable conditions that have not been effectively exploited and used, causing waste.

The conversion of land use purposes from agriculture to non-agriculture in the period 2016-20 only reached 13.2 per cent.

The slow conversion has significantly affected socio-economic development, causing stagnation in the citys infrastructure development and the entire urbanisation process.

It is also necessary to have solutions to remove obstacles in the bidding process of projects, mechanisms to ensure the land use rights of investors, and mechanisms to transfer real estate business projects, Mai added.

The Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) has also surveyed business opinions on the matter.

The survey showed 50 per cent of businesses have difficulties with procedures for land and site clearance, 48 per cent have problems with construction planning, and more than 40 per cent have issues with appraisal and approval procedures.

There are several significant problems, such as limited access to and accumulation of land, unfeasible capital contributions with land use rights, and inadequacies in land use rights.

Land valuation and administrative procedures are too troublesome for most businesses, mainly small and medium-sized ones, which account for more than 80 per cent of the enterprises in the country.

Vu Hai Quan, director of VNU-HCM, said the current Land Law is not suitable to rapid and sustainable socio-economic development, leading to a high rate of land-related complaints and denunciations.

Therefore, it is urgent to amend the provisions of the draft Land Law in order to remove legal obstacles in the development of the real estate market.

In addition, the amendment also needs to develop a transparent real estate market, and ensure better efficiency in land use and management.

Truong Minh Huy Vu, deputy director of the citys Development Research Institute, said land conversion is a cross-cutting issue in the urban development and modernisation process.

For example, in order to develop the public transport system, including the metro line No. 1 project, the city has to solve problems such as creating a clean land fund around the project.

From planning the land fund, the city will develop an auction and bidding mechanism, thereby developing the urban economy.

Truong Trong Hieu of the University of Economics-Law under VNU-HCM, said it is necessary to allow the city to separate compensation, support, resettlement and site clearance projects from public investment projects.

The municipal People's Committee will decide to invest in or adjust the compensation, support, resettlement and site clearance projects approved by the citys People's Council City.

All comments at the workshop were collected and reported to the competent authorities.  VNS
Some say that Vietnam should study and apply Chinas real estate rescue policy. Whats your take on this?

I want to emphasise that Vietnams real estate market is very different from that of China. Vietnams real estate is a market that lacks supply, while the demand is large both in the short and long term. In the past five years, the licensing and implementation of projects has decreased sharply. Especially in the last two years, there have been almost no new projects launched, leading to an increasingly scarce supply of residential real estate.

If the legal process is good, and if there are projects and resources at a reasonable price, the demand will be huge. For example, if an apartment of about $1,000-1,280 per square metre or less can borrow 60-70 per cent, the demand will be huge. In other words, even if the market can establish a new price level, the price level will continue to increase and policymakers will expect a stable and acceptable increase.

Moreover, it is this new price level that will restructure the real estate market in the most effective way and at that time, any business or investor who can stand this price level will survive. If not, then they will have to restructure their own corporations according to market principles.

Therefore, the opportunity to solve difficulties in real estate in Vietnam is quite high compared to China. This country solved three problems  legal procedures, accelerating projects, and lending special credit to healthy businesses to buy weak projects  but, in the end, it encountered another big obstacle, which is that sometimes people have no need.

Chinas financial watchdog launched a 16-point plan to energise the real estate market, including a special credit package to rescue businesses. However, actual developments show that the Chinese real estate market is still in a difficult situation. It is still something Vietnam can learn from.

After the nationwide conference on the safe and sustainable development of the real estate market, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh emphasised the priority of bank credit for the recovery and development of affordable housing and social housing. What do you think about this direction?

I think this is a very sharp guiding thought, in line with the current reality of the market. The state budget is not enough to finance all segments and it is impossible to finance businesses.

Furthermore, we cannot entice commercial banks into a market with certain risks. In other words, a shield is needed for the banking system because this is the lifeblood of the economy and depositors trust plays a decisive role in the existence and development of the macroeconomy and the financial market in general and the banking system in particular.

Solving the problem of capital flows for real estate must focus on prioritising bank credit capital to restore and develop affordable housing and social housing. This is important and creates a prioritised segment for restructuring.

Looking at the current market reality, the segment that needs a massive supply which is not available is affordable housing and social housing because there is no mechanism, land, or capital flow. I believe that, when focusing resources on this segment, it will create a new price level and help the market recover and thrive again.

How will the banking system play a significant role in supporting the real estate market to develop sustainably again?

I think that commercial banks can carefully consider and analyse the financial background of each real estate group. They can carry out a comprehensive assessment of collateral or potential security assets and short- and medium-term debt repayment ability, and the ability of the management board, to decide on debt restructuring. After that, new loans can be crafted to both investors and buyers at a reasonable price. This is also to ensure that the restructuring of the real estate market must be a selective restructuring.

My view is that it takes a very realistic view of the market to solve two problems. First, it determines the price to restructure corporate bond debt according to the orientation of revised legislation, which includes negotiating with investors on asset swaps to liquidate corporate bonds, and liquidation of projects to repay debts. Where assets with high solvency are seriously impaired, the enterprise must go bankrupt.

Secondly, businesses cannot just sit and wait, but need to make efforts to self-advocate, or even to accept liquidation of assets to handle their debts.

The management policies of the state play an important role in restoring the real estate market. What is your expectation about the early realisation of these supporting policies in reality?

On the state side, I expect stronger actions, requesting local governments to review land planning related to the real estate market and resolve issues promptly and decisively regarding procedures for projects. Specifically, there must be valuation of site clearance compensation, tax valuation for land use rights, and bidding needs to be carried out quickly so that projects can start construction quickly.

vir
Along with Thailand, India, and Cambodia, Vietnam has led a significant increase in semiconductor chip exports to the United States so far this year, accounting for more than 10 per cent of US imported chips.

US semiconductor chip imports reached $4.86 billion in February 2023. Asia accounted for 83 per cent of the total semiconductor chips imported by the US, according to US Census Bureau data.

Also in February, Vietnams semiconductor chip exports to the US reached $562.5 million, up from $321.7 million in February 2022. Vietnam ranks third in Asia in terms of semiconductor exports to the US, following Malaysia and Taiwan.

Vietnam and Thailand are major players in the semiconductor chip manufacturing market and have seen their trade with the US increase by 75 and 62 per cent, respectively, according to Bloomberg. For seven consecutive months, Vietnam has accounted for more than 10 per cent of the chips imported by the US from around the world.

Last year, Vietnams largest foreign investor, Samsung, began work on a $920 million project in the northern province of Thai Nguyen to focus on the trial production of flip-chip ball grid array  a surface-mount packaging technology used for integrated circuits. Samsung Electro-Mechanics described the array as the most difficult product to manufacture among semiconductor package substrates, as the high-intensity package substrate connects semiconductor chips and main substrates with flip-chip bumps.

The group plans to begin making semiconductor parts in Vietnam by July, further diversifying its manufacturing as the US, China, and others seek to hone technology supply chains.

Meanwhile, South Korean group Amkor Technology, one of the worlds largest providers of outsourced semiconductor packaging and design, is eager to implement a factory at Yen Phong II-C Industrial Park in the northern province of Bac Ninh.

The investor will pump $1.6 billion into the factory and disbursement will be completed in 2035. The first phase of the project will focus on the production, assembly, and testing of semiconductor materials for the worlds top semiconductor and electronic manufacturers.

Meanwhile, in February, Intel was in the process of considering a significant increase in its existing $1.5 billion investment in the nation as it seeks to expand its chip testing and packaging plant in Vietnam.

The move could be worth an additional $1 billion and would signal a growing role for the country as part of the global supply chain for semiconductors, as companies push to cut reliance on China because of political risks and trade tensions.

Intel Products Vietnam is a key part of Intels worldwide manufacturing presence. As Intel redefines its position in the industry, it will continue to diversify and improve its local operations so that it can take on more complex technologies and new products to tap new market opportunities, said Kim Huat Ooi, general manager of Intel Products Vietnam.

The semiconductor market value in Vietnam is set to grow by $1.65 billion over 2020-2025, as per a report published in May 2022 by British market research firm Technavio. The growing use of the Internet of Things is driving semiconductor market growth in Vietnam and increasing adoption of smarthome tech will be the key trend soon, the report said.

Due to this potential, many semiconductors keep a keen eye on Vietnam. In January, the US Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) arrived in Vietnam to survey opportunities in semiconductor production.

SIA president John Neuffer said the US semiconductor industry was working to re-balance the global semiconductor production chain, which combined plans to increase key supply chains from friendly countries. With other countries advancing fast and US semiconductor businesses seeking investment opportunities, Neuffer said he hoped to cooperate with the Vietnamese government, so the country did not miss the opportunity.

According to Deputy Prime Minister Le Minh Khai, the visit was a significant starting point for the connection between the Vietnamese government and SIA.

The Vietnamese government issued many incentive and support policies to create stronger conditions for investment inflow in terms of high-tech sectors and semiconductor is a priority sector, DPM Khai said. Vietnam has also established high-tech centres in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, and Danang with special incentive policies to connect research and development and invest in high-tech and innovation projects.

Suppliers to Dutch chip-making machines giant ASML Holding NV, a supplier to top global semiconductor manufacturers, are also considering building plants in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam, as opposed to China. The companies participating include Newways, Bestronics, HQ Group, KMWE Group, Sempro, and Sioux Technologies.

vir
The opening ceremony of Vietnam Week kicked off in Moscow, Russia, on April 17, with a series of activities to promote bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

Delegates attend the opening ceremony of Vietnam Week. Photo: VNA

The week-long event themed "Facets of Southeast Asia: Vietnam, the Gateway to Asia" is organized by the Russian House of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

The Vietnam Week events are divided into three theme areas: practical, scientific, technological, and cultural. Under the scientific and technical track, a number of important roundtables and other discussions will be held on solutions and ideas to bring practical benefits to both sides.

Participants can also learn and experience cultural and historical activities about Vietnam, such as attending concerts, learning traditional cuisine, painting, and calligraphy, and making traditional Vietnamese fans.

Speaking at the event's opening ceremony, Dmitry Protasovsky, Director General of the Russian House of International Scientific and Technical Cooperation, emphasized the festival's importance, which is expected to be held annually, in promoting friendly relations between Russia and Vietnam.

He said the event would enable the two countries to discuss and exchange potential cooperation between Russia and Vietnam. The relationship is based on 70 years of friendship, trust, and mutual respect.

Le Dac Quan, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of Vietnam in Russia, said that the launch of the event at this moment is even more meaningful as Vietnam and Russia successfully held the 24th session of the Vietnam-Russia Intergovernmental Committee on Economic, Trade and Scientific-Technical Cooperation in early April.

He said Vietnam and Russia had made efforts to maintain bilateral cooperation in many fields. Bilateral trade reached US$5.5 billion in 2021 but dropped by 35% to $3.55 billion in 2022 due to obstacles related to payment and logistics.

In early April, the visit of the Russian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Dmitry Chernyshenko to Vietnam strengthened bilateral relations. He said the two countries agreed to develop a plan for bilateral cooperation until 2030 and have jointly launched promising trade, economic, scientific, technological, and humanitarian projects.

Hanoi Times
The second iteration of the report, which is launched by Monk's Hill Ventures (MHV) and Glints, provides a deeper dive into hiring trends, salary and equity data for founders, C-suite and startup talent from over 10,000 data points and 30 interviews with startup founders across Singapore, Indonesia and Viet Nam.

With a young skilled population steeped in STEM education and its huge services industry ripe for digital innovations, Viet Nam continues to be a strong tech talent market despite the current economic slowdown, said Justin Nguyen, general partner of Monks Hill Ventures.

There is a steady rise of Vietnamese engineering-centric founders who have propelled product-centric cultures. This is behind the growth of some formidable companies and a big reason behind Viet Nam turning into a major startup tech hub. The workforce here is one to be reckoned with and its increasingly the case that Viet Nam is where regional champions go to build their high-performing tech teams, he said.

The report finds that startups will look to invest in more revenue-generating roles such as sales, business development, and marketing and PR in 2023 as companies refocus on paths to profitability.

Additionally, while salaries continue to increase, the growth rate will be much lower than in previous years from upwards of 30 per cent to 5-7 per cent per annum.

The best coders in Viet Nam are compensated competitively to those based in Singapore. The report we hope equips local startups with the tools they need to hire, attract, and retain talent and empowers talent to grow and scale within the maturing startup ecosystem, said Bryan Lee, general manager of Glints Vietnam.

According to the report, the tech talent crunch persists in Southeast Asia, with tech roles remaining high in demand, earning on average 38 per cent more than non-tech roles.

Cash still prevails over equity in the region. While 86 per cent of companies surveyed offer ESOP, on average, ESOP is only made available to one-third of their talent.

The median CEO base salary grew 2.4 times for those that raised up to $5 million compared to 2021, as companies raise larger rounds. More CEOs are taking greater equity dilution, likely due to current headwinds. The report found a 5 per cent drop in equity for CEOs in the $5-10 million funding stage compared to 2021.

Engineering remains the most sought-after tech function. Specialised skills such as product and data are also highly attractive to employers. After engineering, talent in product and data are the highest paid.

Product managers saw the biggest salary increase, making 27 per cent more than in 2021.

Hybrid work is becoming the status quo, with 45 per cent of startups offering hybrid work and 12 per cent offering remote work options to employees across markets.

As companies focus on the path to profitability and positive cash flow this year, the top three functions that companies prioritize hiring for in 2023 across markets are engineering, BD & sales, and marketing & PR, the report said.

Glints is the leading talent ecosystem in Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Monks Hill Ventures (MHV) is a venture capital firm investing in early-stage technology companies, primarily pre-Series A and Series A, in Southeast Asia.

Bizhub
This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices.
VinFast has announced the opening of its first store in Vancouver, British Columbia, marking its presence in the West Coast and affirming the importance of one of VinFasts key markets globally. This is the eighth VinFast Store in Canada.

VinFast Canadas newest store is located at Park Royal, North Vancouver. The spacious store space combines modern style and is inspired by the beauty of Vietnams nature. VinFast Park Royal features a modern and minimalist design, integrating advanced technologies to highlight the message Future of Mobility.

Customers visiting VinFast Park Royal can explore the interior and exterior of car models, experience advanced technologies, and receive advice and support from VinFast product experts. The store currently displays two models of VF 8 and VF 9, with more VF 6 and VF 7 models to come in the near future.

Nguyen Thi Van Anh, General Director of VinFast North America said, Vancouver is one of VinFasts main markets in Canada, converging all the factors: a large city with good infrastructure, many policies to encourage electric vehicle culture, people who are supportive and open to electric vehicles. With the presence of VinFast Park Royal store, we have officially established our retail and service system in Canadas three largest cities, Montreal, Toronto and Vancouver, ready for the next car delivery plan for clients.

Vietnam Commits to 100% Electric-Powered Buses and Taxis by 2050 to Combat Environmental Issues

Revolutionizing Taxi services: Green and Smart Electric Taxis hit the streets of Hanoi in the next few days

This is a meaningful investment, US President highly appreciates Vietnams VinFast project in North Carolina

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VinFast Park Royal is the eighth VinFast Store to open in Canada. In the coming time, VinFast plans to continue expanding its store system and cooperating with distribution partners to quickly bring VinFast products to Canadian customers. A batch of 781 VF 8 cars in a total of 1,879 cars exported to North America officially left Vietnam on April 16 and is expected to start being delivered to Canadian customers from June.

VinFast  a subsidiary of Vingroup  is an electric vehicle manufacturer with a vision to promote and lead the global smart electric vehicle revolution. Established in 2017, VinFast owns a high-tech automobile manufacturing complex with international standards, capable of automating up to 90% in Hai Phong, Vietnam.

With the philosophy of Putting customers first, VinFast is strongly committed to its mission of bringing a sustainable future to everyone. VinFast is constantly innovating to create smart and classy products and services with excellent experiences, thereby inspiring everyone to join hands to create a future of smart and sustainable electric vehicles. Customers can visit VinFast Park Royal at Park Royal Shopping Center, 2002 Park Royal S, West Vancouver, BC V7T 2W4.
Highlighting environmentally friendly production, this years expo attracts some 4,000 exhibitors from 100 countries worldwide. The Vietnamese delegation is sent to the event by the Viet Nam Software and IT Services Association (VINASA).

At the Vietnamese space on April 17, VINASA together with the Vietnamese Trade Office in Germany held a networking event themed Industrial digital transformation.

Vu Phuong Thao, Director of VINASA's business development services department, said this was the third time the association has sent Vietnamese firms to the fair.

According to her, Viet Nams ICT industry reeled in about US$148 billion in revenue last year, up 8.7 per cent year-on-year. Turnover of software and IT services contributed more than $1.97 billion to the sum, and is expected to hit $50 billion and $150 billion in the next 10 and 20 years, respectively.

Do Viet Ha from the trade office said digital transformation was among the key cooperation sectors mentioned by the Vietnamese Ministry of Industry and Trade and German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action in the minutes of the 2nd session of the Viet Nam-Germany joint committee on economic cooperation. This, coupled with the EU-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement taking effect, would be conducive to the sides capitalisation on their collaboration potential in technology, she noted.

Nguyen Manh Hai, the counselor overseeing the Vietnamese Embassys investment section, said that Germany was one of the largest ICT markets in the world and the largest software market in Europe with about 100,000 IT companies.

Hai said ample room remained for two-way investment in digital technology and transformation, which needed to be actively tapped by the Vietnamese and German sides in the near future for improved cooperation and investment in related services.

Bizhub
Hanoi's hotel industry continued to improve in the first quarter of 2023 as domestic and international travel to Vietnam and the city increased, according to research and consulting firm Savills Vietnam.

International visitors at a relic site in Phu Xuyen District, Hanoi. Photo: Hoai Nam/ The Hanoi Times

The consulting firm said international visitors to Vietnam increased by 2,900% year-on-year to 2.7 million in January-March.

Meanwhile, Hanoi received 5.9 million visitors in the first quarter of this year, up 110% year-on-year. The number of domestic visitors reached 4.9 million, up 75% year-on-year, while international arrivals reached 979,000, an increase of 5,900% compared to the first quarter of 2022.

There were 10,260 hotel rooms available in Hanoi, including 17 hotels with five stars, 18 with four stars, and 31 with three stars.

Savills Vietnam experts said this supply increased by 1% quarterly and annually. The occupancy rate increased by 35 percentage points annually and nine percentage points quarterly to reach 58%.

As a result of rising demand, the average daily rate climbed. In the first three months of 2023, the typical room cost topped VND2.5 million (US$106.5) each room night.

The resumption of inbound tourism from China, according to Director of Savills Hanoi Matthew Powell, has improved the outlook for the hotel business.

"Vietnam's most important source market is China, which resumed tours to Vietnam on March 15. Chinese tourists are expected to drive the hotel industry's recovery," he said.

Apart from leisure travelers, demand comes from business travelers, MICE (meetings, incentives, conferences, exhibitions) guests, and foreign investors. Given Vietnam's healthy foreign direct investment inflows, demand from these guests is solid. Foreign investors stay in major cities such as Hanoi and travel to neighboring areas such as the northern province of Bac Ninh and Haiphong City.

The experts predict that two new projects totaling 471 rooms will be offered this year on the Hanoi market. International hotel chains such as Four Seasons, Lotte, Dusit, Wink, Accor, The Shilla, Hyatt, Marriott, and Hilton, among others, will debut 66 projects totaling 11,123 rooms in the city starting in 2024.

Out of 68 future projects, five-star hotels account for 61% or 32 accommodations. Typical projects include Lotte's L7 West Lake Hanoi, Dusit International's Dusit Hanoi - Tu Hoa Princess Palace in Tay Ho District, and Four Seasons Hanoi in Hoan Kiem District.

Hanoi Times
Vietnam expects Austria to soon ratify the EU  Vietnam Investment Protection Agreement (EVIPA) and help remove a yellow card under the illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing regulations of the European Commission against Vietnamese seafood exports to the European Union.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Vietnam Bui Thanh Son raised the expectation during talks in Hanoi on April 17 with Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg.

Son affirmed that Vietnam always attaches importance to and wishes to strengthen its friendship and cooperation with Austria.

In reply, Schallenberg said Austria wishes to strengthen ties with Vietnam, a leading and important partner for Austria in Southeast Asia.

Both host and guest shared the view that the Vietnam-Austria cooperative relations have over the past five decades developed positively in various fields, especially in politics - diplomacy, economy - trade, development cooperation, and culture.

There is much room to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, and to this end both sides should increase visit exchanges and coordinate closely at multilateral forums and international organisations, they agreed.

Son pointed out that Austria has been one of the top 10 trade partners for Vietnam in Europe for many years, noting despite the COVID-19 impact, two-way trade turnover last year hit US$2.79 billion.

He suggested that the two sides make full and effective use of the EU  Vietnam free trade agreement (EVFTA), and encourage Austrian businesses to increase investment in Vietnam, especially in areas of Austrian strengths such as infrastructure, renewable energy, new technology, and semiconductor chip production.

Schallenberg for his part viewed Vietnam as a dynamic developing economy in Southeast Asia, and expressed hope that the two sides would promote cooperation in the fields of green technology, transportation, health, and infrastructure, among others.

He also acknowledged Sons proposals regarding the Austrian ratification of the EVIPA and Austrian assistance in EC removal of the IUU yellow card for Vietnamese seafood exported to the EU.

The two sides examined the possibility of expanding bilateral cooperation into new fields such as defense-security, labour and vocational training.

Exchanging views on a number of regional and international issues of common concern, they stressed the importance of ensuring security, safety and freedom of navigation and overflight in the East Sea as well as settling disputes by peaceful means in line with international law, especially the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria Alexander Schallenberg is paying an official visit to Vietnam from April 16-18 at the invitation of Vietnamese Foreign Minister Bui Thanh Son.

Besides talks with Minister Son, Schallenberg is scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh, attend a Vietnam  Austria business forum, and visit a number of economic establishments in Hanoi.

Austria is one of Vietnams export markets in Europe, with their two-way trade last year hitting US$2.79 billion. Currently, Austria ranks 44 out of 141 foreign investors in Vietnam, with 41 valid projects valued at US$148 million.

Vietnam and Austria signed a finance cooperation agreement in 2015 under which the Austrian government pledged US$100 million in preferential capital for Vietnam from August 2019 to August 2023, and financed ODA projects in the fields of health care, firefighting, education-training, environment, among others.

Source: VOV
Moody's keeps VPBanks ratings unchanged.  Photo courtesy of the bank

The rankings have been maintained since July 2022 although the domestic and global financial markets have faced many difficulties and challenges.

In its latest report, Moodys highly valued the banks deal to sell its 15 per cent stake to Japans Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), raising its capital safety rate to 19 per cent, the highest among the Vietnamese banks rated by Moodys.

Moody's said that VPBank's profits are always at the top of the industry, which is considered a strength of the bank in its credit rating profile.

Meanwhile, VPBank's mobilisation capacity and liquidity are considered to be balanced in the current situation, capable of supporting the bank to overcome difficult times when the market is fluctuating.

At the end of 2022, VPBank's charter capital reached over VND67 trillion (US$2.85 billion), while its capitalised value hit VND120 trillion, maintaining its position as the private bank with the largest capitalised value in Viet Nam.

Bizhub
The Hanoi government has announced new regulations requiring people to wear masks in crowded public places. These regulations apply to those using public transport, working at supermarkets, cinemas, bars, and discos.

The Hanoi Peoples Committee has instructed subordinate units to enforce the wearing of masks strictly, following the Ministry of Healths guidance issued on September 6, 2022, local media reported.

Passengers, drivers, and service staff on public transport are required to wear masks. At commercial centers, supermarkets, and wholesale markets, service staff, managers, and workers who come into direct contact with customers must wear masks. In enclosed spaces such as bars, discos, karaoke, massage service establishments, beauty salons, gyms, restaurants, cinemas, theaters, circuses, and gymnasiums, service staff, vendors, managers, and workers must wear masks.

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Similarly, at cultural and tourist facilities, service staff, managers, and attendees must also wear masks in crowded events.

The city is taking these measures in response to the rapid increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in the area. The government is urging agencies to remain vigilant and be prepared to respond to the situation promptly.





Authorities are promoting vaccination and increasing the rate of vaccine coverage while strengthening the inspection of COVID-19 epidemic prevention and control for businesses, events, and service establishments. The Hanoi Department of Health has been assigned to enhance epidemic prevention and control measures at schools, border gates, and medical facilities while assessing the epidemics level according to the Governments Resolution 128 on Safe adaptation, flexibility, and effective control of the COVID-19 epidemic and interim guidance of the Ministry of Health.

The Department of Health will also review and update the plan to collect and treat COVID-19 patients on the principle of 4 on the spot, assign a number of beds, manpower to monitor treatment, and prepare plans to collect and treat patients.

Hanoi has recorded the highest number of infections in the country in the past five days, averaging 96 cases per day, with 30-50 hospitalizations mainly affecting elderly people with underlying medical conditions.

A total of 566 COVID-19 patients are being treated, of which 299 are asymptomatic and mild to be monitored at home, 237 have moderate symptoms, 27 severe cases require oxygen through glasses or masks, and 2 are mechanically ventilated.
HCMC  A new air route connecting Quang Ninh Province and Can Tho City will be launched on April 25 with three weekly flights, thus boosting cooperation in transport and tourism.

According to the Quang Ninh Province Department of Tourism, from April 25, the new air service between Quang Ninh and Can Tho will help realize a plan to welcome around 12 million tourists from the Mekong Delta to Quang Ninh.

The air service between Van Don and Can Tho international airports will help reduce transport costs between the South and the North, and create favorable conditions for agro-products of the Mekong Delta region, such as rice, fruits and pangasius, to be quickly shipped to the Chinese market.

Besides, Quang Ninh and Can Tho will coordinate to promote logistics development in the upcoming time.

Vietjet Air is the carrier that has been, to date, licensed by the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to operate the flights between Tra Noc in Can Tho and Van Don in Quang Ninh.

Quang Ninh authorities said that local tourism companies had developed ample tourism products for guests coming from the Mekong Delta region, such as tours and excursions in Halong and Bai Tu Long bays, the Yen Tu relic site, tours to the Vietnamese-Chinese border areas and Vietnams other upland provinces of Lang Son and Cao Bang.
HCMC  The Supreme Peoples Procuracy of Vietnam has released its indictments against 54 suspects in the Covid-19 repatriation flight scandal, with former Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung and 17 others likely to be sentenced to between 20 years in prison and death.

The countrys top prosecution charged the 54 individuals with bribe giving, bribe taking and brokering; abuse of power while on duty; or asset misappropriation fraud, which took place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and in Hanoi and some other provinces.

The indictments came around two weeks after the police at the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) wrapped up their investigations into the case that happened at the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021.

The indictments indicate that To Anh Dung, Nguyen Quang Linh, who served as assistant to then Deputy Prime Minister Pham Binh Minh, and 16 others might be condemned to death if found guilty.

While licensing flights to take home Vietnamese nationals stranded abroad due to Covid and approving quarantine and isolation places, mostly hotels and resorts, in a number of provinces and cities in the period between September 2020 and December 2021, 25 officials at ministries, agencies and local governments took nearly VND165 billion (US$7 million) in bribes, and abused their powers while on duty, leaving losses of around VND10.5 billion.

There were 23 business representatives charged with giving about VND227 billion (US$9.66 million) in bribes, and four individual bribe brokers giving VND74.5 billion in bribes and misappropriating VND24.5 billion.

Nguyen Quang Linh alone got a total of VND4.2 billion in four instances. Meanwhile, To Anh Dung took a combined VND21.5 billion in 37 times.

Nguyen Thi Lan Huong, former head of the Foreign Ministrys Consular Department, through which all repatriation flights were approved, took more than VND25 billion in bribes.

Pham Trung Kien, former secretary of Deputy Health Minister Do Xuan Tuyen, took a total of VND42.6 billion in bribes.
Last week, the Singapore Green Building Council certified Viglaceras autoclaved aerated concrete product as meeting eco-friendly criteria. This is a globally recognised certification that contributes to the global expansion of Viglaceras autoclaved products by demonstrating its ability to satisfy the stringent requirements of consumers and green projects.

Viglaceras autoclaved aerated concrete product, Source: viglacera-aac.com.vn

However, not all businesses have the potential to move in this direction, particularly as cash flow for production and businesses still rely on output, exports and domestic consumption, which are declining, and the housing market shows no signs of improvement.

The surplus may also deteriorate as production from new initiatives continues to increase. Hoa Binh province last month approved Xuan Thien Groups project involving 10 million tonnes of annual cement with investment of $1.2 billion. Xuan Khiem Group has also funded Xuan Son cement plant, which has a capacity of 2.3 million metric tonnes per year and is scheduled to begin operations in 2024.

According to the Vietnam Association for Building Materials (VABM), the cement industrys total design capacity has reached 114 million MT per year, with an estimated output of 93 million MT in 2022. However, the domestic consumption accounts for approximately 6065 million, while exports account for the remainder.

According to the General Statistics Office, the countrys cement production in the first quarter of 2023 decreased by 9.9 per cent compared to the same period in 2022. In addition to difficulties in output, input costs also present a financial obstacle for cement producers.

In recent years, the expense of input materials, particularly coal, has increased multiple times. It has an effect on both production and output, Thai Duy Sam, vice president and general secretary of VABM, told VIR. Currently, several significant corporations continue to ensure production. However, small enterprises with production lines that can produce 1,000-2,000kg per day face both manufacturing and consumption challenges.

First, Sam added, the production lines of older projects have high depreciation costs and greater heat and electricity consumption than modern projects. Second, these units lack a trademark, which hinders their ability to be consumed.

The prevalence of loss-making enterprises is increasing. In the financial report for 2022s Q4 that Quang Ninh Construction and Cement released at the end of March, $887,000 in debt was recorded. As a result, the companys total assets are $71.3 million, its total liabilities are $45.3 million, and its profit after corporate income tax is $3.75 million, a decrease of more than $426,000 from 2021.

According to an estimate by Quang Ninh Tax Department, the company owed more than $4.5 million in July 2021, making it the largest debtor in the provinces construction materials industry.

Quang Ninh Construction and Cement is not the only example. Quang Son Cements sales revenue in the central province of Thanh Hoa continues to decline  the influence of cement consumption is significant, and the price of input materials (primarily coal) has increased, resulting in a $13.5 million after-tax loss in 2022, 3.6 times greater than the same period the previous year.

The output of the construction materials industry is significantly reliant on real estate. According to Sam, the cement industry is luckier than the majority of building material manufacturing businesses in the present day, as they can receive output from novel material lines used in green buildings, transportation, hydroelectric, and irrigation.

Sam also noted that the complexity of payment procedures for complex projects causes obstacles for contractors and consequently impacts material suppliers. After nearly 10 years, the construction materials of Dong Tru and Vinh Tuy bridges have not been finalised, he said. According to the law, if payments are not made on time, interest must be paid.

Nevertheless, the 2023 cement market can still be optimistic due to its reliance on public investment. In an earlier meeting this year, Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh made it clear that the aim for 2023 was to disburse at least 95 per cent of the total $30.3 billion in public investment.

The Building Materials Department predicts that the demand for cement in the country will increase by up to 10 per cent from this year, reaching about 105 million MT.

Cement businesses anticipate headwinds in 2023 Huge inventories, a stagnant real estate market, and capital source constraints are some of the factors heralding an unfavourable outlook for cement businesses in 2023.

Vietnams cement producers strive to deal with excess Vietnams cement industry is anticipating an oversupply issue as a result of Chinas reopening and lower coal prices.

Cement exports under duress from neighbours The removal of a levy on imported cement in the Philippines could encourage Vietnamese exporters to engage in new ventures alongside Thailand.
Joining the first Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Day in Hanoi on April 6, Ho Viet Anh, CEO of OSAM Cloud Innovator was excited about growing his business in the months to come.

He told VIR, This is an opportunity for us to demonstrate how and what we have done to seek more greenfield customers. We expect similar and regular events of this kind in the future to help us thrive.

Ho has attended many similar cloud events overseas, but this was his first in his home country. He and his team established OSAM in 2017 as a Vietnamese startup. It quickly became an Advance partner of AWS in the same year. Since then, it has grown the number of its cloud customers to more than 300.

OSAM is just one Vietnamese business that has made gains from cloud technology. Many others are venturing in to the area, such as Techcombank, VPBank, Vietnam Airlines, Med247, FPT Software, and VinFast.

Rang Dong Light Source and Vacuum Flask JSC began its digital transformation journey in 2020, and decided to work with AWS since last year. Vice chairman and deputy director general Nguyen Doan Ket said that the cooperation with AWS has opened new development space, new business models, and new customers for the company.

Source: The Ministry of Information and Communications

Before using AWS Cloud, we enjoyed a growth rate of 8-10 per cent. The growth momentum reached 15-20 per cent after cloud adoption, he said. We have spent about 2.7 per cent of the companys three-year total expenses on our digital transformation journey.

Cloud adoption is being accelerated on the back of the governments directions and policies. The countrys national strategies on digital transformation, socioeconomic development, and green growth for the 2021-2030 period highlight the importance of digital transformation in driving Vietnams next wave of inclusive and sustained development. Regulations, infrastructure, individuals, and businesses all play an essential role.

Minister of Information and Communications Nguyen Manh Hung said that great results and practical value are expected this year. In digital transformation, the most important factor is the use of cloud computing infrastructure. State agencies, organisations, and enterprises in Vietnam, instead of investing and operating IT systems themselves, should switch to using cloud computing services at a lower cost, more optimally, and more flexibly, he said.

He added that digital transformation required a digital institution  there should be amendments to laws and decrees, while digital transformation also requires more safety and network security.

Cloud adoption typically requires small amounts of investment in infrastructure development. For example, with a minimum billing fee of just $1 and no lock-in periods or hidden fees, AWS Lift helps to alleviate cost pressures and provides small- and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) with a commitment free approach to get started, benefiting from the flexibility of AWSs pay-as-you-go model, to develop the operational muscle and transform processes to drive new revenue growth.

In Vietnam, thousands of SMEs across industries have digitally transformed by leveraging the power of cloud computing, including customers from agriculture, education, financial services, manufacturing, and retail and consumer goods.

SMEs are looking to adapt their business models given the current macroeconomic environment, and this is where technology can help. AWS enables them to be more innovative and resilient as they accelerate transformation in the face of ambiguity and change, said Gunish Chawla, managing director for mid-market enterprise at AWS ASEAN.

According to the IDC Semi-annual Public Cloud Services Tracker, Vietnam is predicted to lead growth in cloud adoption within Southeast Asia, with an expected compound annual growth rate of 25.8 per cent over the 2021-2026 period.

In this trend, Vietnam is opening the door to international groups to join its digital transformation efforts. Minister Hung said as the state management agency in digital technology and ICT, his ministry is ready to support foreign businesses to successfully invest in Vietnam.

Vietnam is currently developing an ICT development strategy, and at the same time strives to become the regional hub for ICT, he noted. The ministry is also currently drafting the amended Law on Telecommunications, which defines data centre and cloud computing as a type of telecommunications service. This is a new technology field and Vietnam encourages foreign-invested enterprises to get involved.

This market openness is attracting more foreign investors who are venturing further into the local data and could market. For example, AWS has launched two new edge locations in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, and will launch a local zone in the capital in the near future.

Hyosung Vietnam plans to look at fields such as data centres, carbon fiber, and others. Currently, Hyosung is building data centres in South Korea, and is planning to build its first such centre in Vietnam worth $300 million, which will be completed in 2026.

Hyosung set foot in Vietnam in 2007 and has so far invested more than $3.7 billion here, mainly in textiles, materials, and chemicals.

To this end, Hyosung Vietnam met with the MIC in early April, expecting to receive the ministrys support as well as learn about issues related to the policies in data centres, cloud computing, and foreign ownership limits.

Vietcetera goes all-in on AWS to grow globally Amazon Web Services (AWS), an Amazon company, announced on August 16 that Vietcetera, one of the fastest-growing digital media companies in Vietnam, has gone all-in on AWS to better serve 20 million users globally.

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Clouds in ASEAN set to turbocharge digital innovation Vietnam and regional countries are making big steps in cloud transformation as part of their digital transformation journey, with the trend to further intensify. Eric Conrad, regional managing director for Worldwide Public Sector ASEAN at Amazon Web Services, known as AWS, talked with VIRs Bich Thuy about the cloud journey in Vietnam and the region, as well as future opportunities at the AWS Public Sector Summit 2022 in Singapore.

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A complaint was unsealed in federal court in Brooklyn, New York, charging two defendants in connection with the opening and operating an illegal overseas police station located in lower Manhattan, New York, for a provincial branch of the Ministry of Public Security (MPS) of the People's Republic of China (PRC). "Harry" Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, were arrested earlier this morning at their homes in New York City. Their initial appearances are scheduled this afternoon in Brooklyn before US Magistrate Judge Ramon E. Reyes Jr.

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As alleged in the complaint, Lu and Chen are charged with conspiring to act as agents of the PRC government and obstructing justice by destroying evidence of their communications with an MPS official. The defendants worked together to establish the first overseas police station in the United States on behalf of the Fuzhou branch of the MPS. The police station - which closed in the fall of 2022 after those operating it became aware of the FBI's investigation - occupied a floor in an office building in Manhattan's Chinatown. While acting under the direction and control of an MPS Official, Lu and Chen helped open and operate the clandestine police station. None of the participants in the scheme informed the US government that they were helping the PRC government surreptitiously open and operate an illegal MPS police station on US soil.

"The PRC, through its repressive security apparatus, established a secret physical presence in New York City to monitor and intimidate dissidents and those critical of its government," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "The PRC's actions go far beyond acceptable nation-state conduct. We will resolutely defend the freedoms of all those living in our country from the threat of authoritarian repression."

"This prosecution reveals the Chinese government's flagrant violation of our nation's sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City," said US Attorney Breon Peace for the Eastern District of New York. "As alleged, the defendants and their coconspirators were tasked with doing the PRC's bidding, including helping locate a Chinese dissident living in the United States, and obstructed our investigation by deleting their communications. Such a police station has no place here in New York City - or any American community."

"It is simply outrageous that China's Ministry of Public Security thinks it can get away with establishing a secret, illegal police station on US soil to aid its efforts to export repression and subvert our rule of law," said Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI Counterintelligence Division. "This case serves as a powerful reminder that the People's Republic of China will stop at nothing to bend people to their will and silence messages they don't want anyone to hear. The FBI is dedicated to protecting everyone in the United States against efforts to undermine our democratic freedoms, and we'll hold any state actors - and those who help them - accountable for breaking our laws."

Before helping to open the police station in early 2022, Lu had a longstanding relationship of trust with PRC law enforcement, including the MPS. Since 2015, and through the operation of the secret police station, Lu was tasked with carrying out various activities, including to assist the PRC government's repressive activities on US soil:

In 2015, during PRC President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States, Lu participated in counterprotests in Washington, D.C,. against members of a religion that is forbidden under PRC law. A deputy director of the MPS awarded Lu a plaque for the work he performed on behalf of the PRC government.

In 2018, Lu was enlisted in an effort to cause a purported PRC fugitive to return to the PRC. The victim reported being repeatedly harassed to return to the PRC, including through threats of violence made to the victim and the victim's family in the United States and in the PRC.

In 2022, the MPS Official sought Lu's assistance in locating an individual living in California who is a pro-democracy activist. In turn, Lu enlisted the help of another coconspirator. Later, when confronted by the FBI about these conversations, Lu denied that they occurred.

In October 2022, the FBI Conducted a Judicially Authorized Search of the Illegal Police Station

In October 2022, the FBI conducted a judicially authorized search of the illegal police station. In connection with the search, FBI agents interviewed Lu and Chen and seized their phones. In reviewing the contents of these phones, FBI agents observed that communications between Lu and Chen, on the one hand, and the MPS Official, on the other, appeared to have been deleted. In subsequent consensual interviews, Lu and Chen admitted to the FBI that they had deleted their communications with the MPS Official after learning about the ongoing FBI investigation, thus preventing the FBI from learning the full extent of the MPS's directions for the overseas police station.

If convicted of conspiring to act as agents of the PRC, the defendants face a maximum sentence of five years in prison. The obstruction of justice charge carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The FBI New York Field Office investigated the case.

Assistant US Attorneys Alexander A. Solomon and Antoinette N. Rangel for the Eastern District of New York and Trial Attorney Scott A. Claffee of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

The FBI has created a website for victims to report efforts by foreign governments to stalk, intimidate, or assault people in the United States. If you believe you are or have been a victim of transnational repression, please visit www.fbi.gov/investigate/counterintelligence/transnational-repression.

The charges in the complaint are merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

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To Anh Dung (L), Deputy Foreign Minister, and Nguyen Quang Linh, former assistant to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister, are among the prosecuted persons. (Source: VNA)

Hanoi  Deputy Foreign Minister To Anh Dung and 53 others have been prosecuted for their alleged involvement in the case of offering, brokering, and taking bribes, abusing positions or power while performing duties, and swindling to appropriate assets at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), Hanoi, and some other localities.

The indictment was issued by the Supreme Peoples Procuracy.Among the 54 suspects, 21 were charged with taking bribes under Article 354 of the Penal Code, including Nguyen Quang Linh, former assistant to the Permanent Deputy Prime Minister; Nguyen Thanh Hai, head of the Government Offices Department for International Relations; and Nguyen Tien Thanh and Nguyen Mai Anh, specialists at the department.The ones at the Foreign Ministry facing this charge comprise To Anh Dung, Deputy Minister; Nguyen Thi Huong Lan, Director of the Consular Department; Do Hoang Tung, Deputy Director of the department; Le Tuan Anh, Chief of the departments Office; Luu Tuan Dung, deputy head of the departments pision for citizen protection; Vu Hong Nam, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan; Nguyen Hong Ha, former Vietnamese Consul General in Osaka, Japan; Ly Tien Hung, former cadre of the Vietnamese Embassy in Russia; and Vu Ngoc Minh, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Angola.Others also accused of taking bribes include Pham Trung Kien, specialist at the Health Ministrys Department for Medical Equipment and Facilities; Ngo Quang Tuan, specialist at the Transport Ministrys Department of International Cooperation; Vu Hong Quang, deputy head of the air transport pision of the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam; Tran Van Du, Vu Anh Tuan, and Vu Sy Cuong, former cadres at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security; Tran Van Tan, former Vice Chairman of the Quang Nam provincial Peoples Committee; and Chu Xuan Dung, former Vice Chairman of the Hanoi Peoples Committee.Meanwhile, four were charged with abusing positions or power while performing duties under Article 356 of the Penal Code, namely Tran Viet Thai, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Malaysia; along with Nguyen Le Ngoc Anh, Nguyen Hoang Linh, and Dang Minh Phuong, former cadres of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia.The Supreme Peoples Procuracy also prosecuted 23 for offering bribes, four for brokering bribery, one for swindling to appropriate assets and offering bribes, and another for swindling to appropriate assets.According to the indictment, from April 2020, the Government allowed flights to be conducted to repatriate citizens from COVID-19-hit countries, with passengers only having to pay for flight tickets while quarantine after arrival was free of charge. After that, combo flights were operated with passengers voluntarily paying for all costs.Businesses which wanted to conduct combo flights had to ask for permission from the Peoples Committees of the provinces and cities where repatriated citizens would be quarantined. Their dossiers were later sent to the Foreign Ministrys Consular Department, which would collect opinions of the working group of the ministries of foreign affairs, public security, health, transport, and national defence.From early 2020 to mid-2021, authorities licensed and organised more than 1,000 flights to bring home over 200,000 citizens from 62 countries and territories. The Foreign Ministry alone proposed the Government approve 772 flights, including 400 repatriation flights and 372 combo flights.The investigation agency found that the suspects at the Immigration Department of the Ministry of Public Security and a secretary of a deputy health minister asked businesses to pay 50 - 230 million VND (2,100 - 9,800 USD) for the procedures they handled for each flight. In order to have money to pay them, 20 businesses with over 100 legal entities had to raise flight ticket prices, invent many expenses to charge the passengers wanting to return to Vietnam amid the pandemic.The indictment said 21 persons from the ministries of foreign affairs, public security, health, and transport, along with the two former vice chairmen of the Hanoi and Quang Nam Peoples Committees received bribes totaling over 170 billion VND.Aside from the suspects offering and accepting bribes to conduct repatriation flights, the procuracy also found that some colluded with each other to help a business during the investigation process.Accordingly, former Major General Nguyen Anh Tuan, former Deputy Director of the Hanoi Public Security Department, received 2.65 million USD to help Le Hong Son, General Director of the Bluesky company, and Nguyen Thi Thanh Hang, Deputy General Director of this company escape investigation.Tuan confessed that he kept 400,000 USD for himself and gave the remaining 2.25 million USD to Hoang Van Hung, former head of the investigation pision of the Investment Security Department at the Ministry of Public Security.
Some major Japanese enterprises are restructuring their supply chains, which could involve more links with Southeast Asian nations, photo Le Toan

Under the Japanese Cabinet Offices annual corporate behaviour survey published in March, over 10 per cent of Japanese businesses participating expect to reduce the proportion of production outside of Japan in the next five years. This is the highest level since the annual survey began in 1987.

The percentage of Japanese companies planning to expand production abroad also plummeted in the past 10 years, down 23 points.

The annual survey, which captures corporations outlook of the economy and business demand, also contains information such as break-even exchange rates and overseas production ratios to research the corporations activities. In total, 982 public companies participated in the latest survey.

The survey noted that while overseas outsourcing has enjoyed great success as Japanese manufacturers seek to reduce costs or move production closer to customers, global uncertainties mean many of them are prioritising more resilient networks. The US-China tensions are also a risk that Japanese businesses closely monitor when making decisions about production abroad.

Some Japanese investors are looking for opportunities closer to home. This fiscal year, Daikin Industries will restructure its supply chain to ensure that it can continue to manufacture air conditioners even if it loses access to Chinese components, either manufacturing them in Japan or sourcing them from several sites in regions such as Southeast Asia.

Meanwhile, Japan last week published the Diplomatic Blue Book 2023, indicating the nations assessment of the security environment in the past year and orientations in strategic foreign policy. It stated that it is extremely important to work with emerging and developing countries in the Global South in a holistic way to overcome differences in values and interests in multilateralism, including nations in Central and South America, Africa, and South and Southeast Asia.

In December, Japan announced its National Security Strategy, which reaffirmed its commitment to promoting a free and open Indo-Pacific region with ASEAN as the core, for peace and prosperity in the region. Referring to Vietnams position in the foreign policy of Japan in general, as well as Vietnams role in ASEAN-Japan cooperation, Ambassador to ASEAN Kiya Masahiko said Vietnam is very important to Japan.

Last year, the Japan Trade Promotion Organization revealed that 60 per cent of Japanese enterprises in Vietnam have plans to expand business within the next two years, and over 53 per cent said the prospect of business profits in 2023 will have improved.

At the Vietnam Business Forum earlier this year, deputy secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development Yoshiki Takeuchi remarked that over the past two decades, Vietnams degree of integration in global value chains has expanded exponentially, as evidenced by participation in regional and bilateral free trade agreements.

The export-led growth strategy has driven Vietnams strong economic growth, providing more opportunities for Vietnamese workers, promoting technology transfer, and shaping a dynamic business environment. The advantage of Vietnams growth strategy has also been proven in the context of the pandemic, Takeuchi said.

Accumulated to March, Japan had 5,050 valid investment projects with the total registered capital of more than $69 billion, ranking third among all countries and territories investing in Vietnam, according to the Ministry of Planning and Investment.

Japanese investors highly appreciate Vietnamese property market Representatives from around 180 Japanese businesses and investors on April 1 attended a Tokyo workshop on Vietnamese real estate, during which many of them highly appreciated the potential of Vietnams property market.

Japanese financial behemoths extend SE Asia reach Three Japanese megabanks are doubling down on their emphasis on Vietnams finance and banking sector to experience rapid economic growth and leverage their investment portfolios across wider Southeast Asia.

Japan pledges to enhance cooperation with ASEAN Japanese Ambassador to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Kiya Masahiko has described ASEAN as an important partner of Japan and Tokyo is committed to enhancing cooperation with the bloc.
The National Assemblys (NA) Science, Technology, and Environment Committee last week recommended adding several regulations to protect the private information of consumers in the amended Law on Consumer Protection.

Legislators seek to reinforce protection of personal data, Suorce: freepik.com

While the problems of fraud and harassing consumers are a major issue, NA deputy of Dak Nong province Duong Khac Mai suggested the draft law adds supplementary regulations prohibiting the act of providing and sharing consumer information to third parties without the consent of the owner. This would work if businesses and individuals transfer collected information in accordance with this law and relevant laws to a third party for storage, or analysis in order for the transferors business activities, Mai said. This should be agreed in writing by all parties, and the third party is responsible for protecting consumer information in accordance with this law.

Mai also asked the drafting agency to clarify the authorities that businesses and individuals or information storage parties must report to, if the information system is hacked or the private information of consumers is lost.

The Law on Cybersecurity also raised requirements on notification obligations of data managers or owners of data systems, when an incident or data breach occurs, he added.

Bac Kan province deputy Nguyen Thi Thuy said one of the biggest problems currently troubling consumers was that their personal information is exposed, leaked, and publicly sold on social networking platforms.

People are suspicious that their private information is being exchanged and traded by businesses or organisations to gain profit, Thuy said. The current law has stipulated a number of prohibited acts such as collecting, storing, and using information. However, these do not fully cover common acts occurring recently and are not fully compatible with relevant laws, such as Article 38 of the Civil Code or Article 7 of the Law on Cybersecurity.

Thuy proposed to study and add certain prohibited acts, like illegally providing, sharing, delivering, buying, selling, and exchanging information about consumers.

At present, severe telephone scams and spam have been occurring much more, all caused by exposing personal information. Buying, selling, and exchanging customer data is deemed too easy thanks to simply searching web browsers.

Several major cases have affected the private data of customers such as VNG disclosing 163 million customer accounts; TheGioiDiDong and Dien May Xanh exposing well over five million emails and tens of thousands of payment card details of customers; the server system of Vietnam Airlines being hacked and revealing 411,000 member customer accounts; and the disclosing of customer information for Vietnamese taxi service brokers to solicit customers via text message.

According to the Ministry of Public Security (MoPS), data on two-thirds of Vietnams population is being collected, stored, and uploaded on the internet at a capacity of about 1,300GB. This is caused by the users lack of awareness of protecting their personal data, publicly posting or disclosing it in the process of transferring, storing or exchanging for business activities, said a ministry spokesperson.

Vu Ngoc Son, chief technology officer at Vietnam National Cyber Security Technology Corporation, said that in a scam, criminals collect information about the target group, then send messages or make calls.

Thus, the customer list and their information are the most important factor in any scam. Therefore, in addition to the tightening of poor SIM management, managing personal information more closely and strictly is necessary by adding some provisions in relevant laws, along with severe sanctions, said Son.

While the Ministry of Industry and Trade is the focal point for amending the Law on Consumer Protection, the MoPS will draft the decree on personal data protection, which is expected to satisfy requirements on protecting personal data rights, and more besides.

Ensuring protection of childrens personal data Over the years, protecting childrens informational privacy has become a controversial issue. From a legal perspective, there are two questions: to what extent does it depend upon parental control and consent, and how is this factor incorporated into the law seeking to protect childrens informational privacy?

Data privacy regulations must be immune from exploitation The fast-paced development of technology and science in recent times has resulted in various legal issues regarding personal data privacy in Vietnam.
Malaysian Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa (Photo source: bernama.com)

Kuala Lumpur  Malaysian Health Minister Dr Zaliha Mustafa said there is no need to panic as the number of COVID-19 cases in the country is still under control and the number of deaths due to the pandemic is also still low, mostly involving the elderly and inpiduals with comorbidities.

Speaking at a press conference on April 18, the minister said that the variant is still Omicron, although the spread is quite fast, but it is still under control and the and the symptoms are still not severe. Among the Omicron sub-variants (also known as XBB) recorded in Malaysia thus far are XBB 1.5, 1.6 and 1.9.

The ministry has advised the public to wear a face mask, especially if they develop any COVID-19 symptoms such as flu or cough.

According to the ministry, the countrys COVID-19 death toll over the past two weeks reached 16, however the hospital bed utilisation rate increased by more than 70%, the average number of confirmed cases was about 800 cases, an increase of 35-40% compared to January when the number of confirmed cases was less than 200.

Earlier, Dr Zaliha also launched the Health White Paper website to gather publics opinion and obtain related information as well as give suggestions or views on the initiative to improve the countrys healthcare system. The report will be presented in the parliament this June.

Malaysian will celebrate Hari Raya Aidilfitri, also known as Eid al-Fitr, one of the most significant Islamic festivals celebrated by Muslims all over the world, this weekend, and therefore health authorities have given early warnings to remind people to increase their awareness on ensuring health protection of themselves and their beloved ones.

Malaysia launches national campaign against online scam Malaysian Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil along with representatives of CyberSecurity Malaysia, CelcomDigi, and Anti-scam Action Coalition (GBAS) on February 18 launched the National Anti-scam Campaign 2023 to counter scam syndicates evolving methods.

Former staff member of Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia investigated An investigation agency under the Ministry of Public Security on March 15 officially launched probes into a former staff member of the Vietnamese Embassy in Malaysia and eight others for suspected wrongdoings related to repatriation flights amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Malaysia to adopt blockchain in health care by 2025 Globally, the usage of blockchain technology spans beyond cryptocurrencies, said Asso. Prof Afizan Bin Azman from the Taylors University of Malaysia.
Consumers can participate in the scheme by simply purchasing products of P&G brands at any GO, Big C, and Tops Market stores.

Between April 13-26, for every purchase of VND399,000 ($17) or more of brands such as Ariel, Downy, Pantene, Head & Shoulders, Rejoice, Old Spice, Gillette, Safeguard, Olay, and Oral, one tree will be contributed to this meaningful project.

Participants will also receive a VND20,000 ($0.85) or VND50,000 ($2.10) voucher for each purchase as a token of appreciation.

P&G Vietnam has partnered with Central Retail Vietnam to launch the forest restoration programme

The aim of this initiative is to plant 6,000 species trees during the initial phase at various locations across Vietnam, including the forests of Xuan Lien and Ca Mau. The first planting is set to take place in July this year.

The 'Forests for Good' scheme has been an integral part of P&Gs 'Force for Good' efforts to drive nature conservation across the region, said Priyamvada Srivastava, Vice President, Country Manager of P&G Vietnam.

Planting a tree is one of the simplest yet most powerful ways we can help mankind today and for generations to come. P&G, together with our partners, is enabling Vietnamese consumers to participate in this vital aspect of nature conservation, Srivastava added.

Priyamvada Srivastava, Vice President, Country Manager of P&G Vietnam, announced the launch of the programme

As a pioneer in environmental sustainability through various initiatives, P&G Vietnam has made profound, long-term impacts on the community. P&G's products are designed to save water and energy, thereby helping consumers save money and reduce their environmental footprints.

As a pioneer in environmental sustainability through various initiatives, P&G Vietnam has made profound, long-term impacts on the community.

The company also focuses on raising awareness among its employees, business partners, and consumers about the importance of preserving natural resources.

Olivier Langlet, Group CEO of Central Retail Vietnam, said Central Retail Vietnam has a roadmap in place to achieve its sustainability goals. We are delighted to join forces with a like-minded partner like P&G, and we hope that the 'Forests for Good' initiative will raise awareness about the importance of reforestation to protect the planet and inspire everyone to take action."

This presents an excellent opportunity for manufacturers, retailers, and consumers nationwide to participate by simply purchasing P&G products at participating stores. In addition, our employees will also take part in several reforestation and restoration activities," Langlet added.

Consumers can participate in the programme by simply purchasing products of P&G brands

For Central Retail, the journey to becoming a sustainable retailer has been integrated into the company's business model and daily operations, from using eco-friendly materials, encouraging customers to reuse shopping bags, and offering products with low-carbon footprints; to utilising renewable energy sources, and including equipping solar roof panels at GO! Malls.

Central Retail Vietnam has put several key sustainable development initiatives in place that have created a positive impact on the community and society, such as 'Local Direct Sourcing', 'Business Matching', 'Vietnam Week' in Thailand, 'Livelihood for the Community', and 'One Mall One School', to name but a few.

International businesses seek restoration of supply chains While Vietnam is working to spur economic recovery and development, international businesses are seeking stronger actions to develop supply chains to facilitate their future expansions.

US and Vietnam launch initiative on private sector sustainable growth The United States Mission to Vietnam, through the US Agency for International Development (USAID), and Vietnams Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) has announced the launch of a new initiative to spur private sector-driven sustainable and inclusive growth.

VNFOREST sets ambitious revenue target for forest environment services The Vietnam Administration of Forestry (VNFOREST) set the target to acquire VND2.8 trillion ($121.74 million) from forest environment services this year
The Dong Dang Customs check goods before a train leaves Dong Dang Railway Station in the northern mountainous province of Lang Son. (Photo: VNA)

Hanoi - A total of 16,377ha of land will be used for railway projects in the period through 2030, an increase of 5,644ha compared to today.

The amount of land is expected to rise to 25,836ha by 2050.



It is part of the railway network plans which were signed on April 17 by Deputy Prime Minister Tran Hong Ha.



Through 2025, the country will allocate 15.9 trillion VND (678.1 million USD) from the public investment fund for the railway sector to upgrade infrastructure, widen the system and start projects for new routes.



In the 2026-30 period, about 224 trillion VND (9.5 billion USD) from the central and local budgets and other legal capital for investment will be spent to maintain and develop the railway system and infrastructure.



Also under the plans, detailed railway lines and station schemes will be set up, including main routes in Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City and Hai Phong.



Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh assigned the Ministry of Transport (MoT) to be responsible for reviewing railway station lines to include in the sector's specialised master plans.



As for the existing railways, the MoT will continue to renovate and upgrade sections and stations and implement projects to ensure traffic safety following the Prime Minister's Decision No 358/QD-TTg issued on March 10, 2020.



For railway routes where investment capital has not been identified, the MoT will make a list to call for investment.



Projects expected to be invested in the period 2026-30 or after 2030, if the MoT can find investment, should be reported to the PM for approval.



With new railway routes, the MoT continues to prepare for a north-south high-speed railway project, with an investment policy approved by 2025.



The project will include routes of Bien Hoa-Vung Tau, Cai Mep-Thi Vai, Thu Thiem -Long Thanh International Airport, Hanoi-Hai Phong connecting with Lach Huyen International Seaport, and the Yen Vien, Pha Lai-Ha Long-Cai La railway line.



For railways in Hanoi, the MoT handed over the project of Hanoi urban railway with section Yen Vien-Ngoc Hoi to the municipal peoples committee to continue researching and investing.



As for railway lines connecting localities with the national railway, provinces and cities will invest depending on their transport needs and ability to attract investment.

Solutions needed on high-speed railway Embracing a high-speed railway venture with mixed use of passenger and freight trains is deemed a viable option to form the backbone of the north-south economic corridor, a State Appraisal Council meeting has heard.
Super Energy Group chairman Jormsup Lochaya (left) met with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh

At a meeting with Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh last week, Super Energy Group chairman Jormsup Lochaya proclaimed the groups vision and long-term investment commitment to contribute more to the socioeconomic development of Vietnam.

At the meeting, he proposed a variety of ideas to fund a waste-to-energy scheme, a food processing park in the Mekong Delta, and also a hydrogen plant in Bac Lieu province.

PM Chinh appreciated Super Energys effective business activities in Vietnam, especially for renewable energy projects in the central and southern provinces. He welcomed Super Energy Groups need to invest in the hydrogen energy market in Vietnam.

The relevant ministries, sectors, and localities in Vietnam will support the seeking of information, studying the feasibility, and looking for investment opportunities as well as guiding implementation of the provisions of the law in order to develop specific projects.

The PM emphasised that the countrys power development must consider the factors of sources, load, distribution, use, and tariff in accordance with the conditions of the economy and local peoples incomes.

Vietnam hopes that foreign investors will continue to share experiences and information, support capital sources, train human resources, perfect mechanisms and policies, improve governance, and apply technology to promote the development of the energy transition, according to PM Chinh.

He declared that Vietnam welcomes and creates stronger conditions for foreign investors, including Thai investors to do business and succeed in Vietnam in the spirit of harmonious interests and shared risks among the government, people, and businesses.

Super Energy Group was established in Thailand in 1994, and has stepped up investment in Vietnams energy sector with around $2 billion. Ten projects have been commercially operated and four are in the development stage.

Vietnam is developing the National Power Development Plan for the 2021-2030 period with a vision towards 2045, and expects to promote the development of renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, biomass, and hydrogen at a reasonable price. Vietnam has also made strong commitments on emissions reduction and climate change response, and it is participating in the Just Energy Transition Partnership.
The Ministry of Transport (MoT) last week sent a document to the Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) with its comments on the investment adjustment dossier of Vietravel, which was revealed in February.

The most recent adjustment of the project included raising the charter capital to VND8.25 trillion ($358.7 million) from VND7 trillion ($304.3 million).

However, the financial capacity of the project is seemingly not on par with the actual plan. The MoT revealed in the document that the airline is struggling with cash flow to remain in operation and pay outstanding debts to suppliers.

The MoT asks the MPI to collect relevant ministries and agencies comments on the investment resources of the project, noted the document.

Vietravel on back foot to meet charter capital goals

In early February, due to the delay of payment for fuels, Vietnam Air Petrol Co., Ltd. (Skypec) asked Vietravels parent company to raise the bank guarantee limit in their contract to $2.2 million. Skypec emphasised that if Vietravel continued to violate the payment contract and let the debt exceed the guarantee limit, Skypec will suspend delivery of fuel and services for Vietravel flights.

Saigon Ground Services also asked Vietravel to pay the service fee corresponding to 7-10 days of operation in advance, as well as cut down the outstanding debts to less than $435,000 and level up the bank guarantee limit to $870,000.

The biggest creditor of Vietravel is Airport Corporation of Vietnam. As of early March, the airline owes about $5.2 million.

Previously, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) said that the total investment split into two phases does not match the total charter capital of $358.7 million in the plan. Thus, the ministry has asked Vietravel to explain the amount and clarify the capital raising plan. According to the financial statement, the owners equity in mid-2022 was $25.8 million.

The contribution of shareholders is not enough as the plan suggests, and the performance of the business is not good enough to gain profit. So, the capital raising plan is seemingly impossible, stated the MoF.

In addition to the capital raising plan, Vietravel also proposed to expand the fleet scale to three aeroplanes in the first year of operation, 25 by 2025, and 50 by 2030.

Explaining the business performance and the expansion of fleet scale, Vietravel chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky said, For a new airline, investment in fleet development is an indispensable need for survival and development. Only when owning a large enough fleet can we gain profit.

The MoT previously forecast the aviation market to receive 80 million arrivals this year, equivalent to the performance in 2019. However, international transport saw a slow recovery last year, equalling 27 per cent of 2019, and is expected to resume to 2019 levels in 2024 instead. The market could grow by 12-15 per cent per year during 2025-2030 to reach 180 million arrivals by 2030.

With those projections in mind, the MoT has asked Vietravel to study and consider carefully the expansion of fleet scale in line with market development, followed by adding a pilot plan for the rest of the decade.

High-quality human resources for aircraft maintenance, safety, and aviation engineering are scarce, so Vietravel needs a detailed plan to approach and recruit human resources that match its financial capacity and the expansion of the fleet and general operations, said Dinh Viet Son, deputy director general at the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam.

Vietravel wants to sell down owenership in Vietravel Airline Vietravel is waiting to receive approval for its plan to transfer its capital at Vietravel Airline at the shareholders' meeting on May 25.

Vietravel Airlines: a desire to fly high Vietravel Airlines was the dream of Vietravel Corporation chairman Nguyen Quoc Ky for 10 years  a hard-won dream to showcase the distinct beauty of Vietnams land, culture, and cuisine to the world.

Vietravel Airlines opens Hanoi-Bangkok route The VU137 flight from Hanoi to Bangkok took off on midday December 16 from Noi Bai International Airport, officially opening the first international regular commercial route of Vietravel Airlines connecting Vietnam and Thailand.
Police took a 15-year-old boy into custody Tuesday in the shooting death late last month of Justin Sharp, 16, according to a Waco Police Department press release.

Officers responded to a shooting call the afternoon of March 28 and found Sharp suffering from severe gunshot wounds at the corner of Edmond Avenue and Brookview Drive, just outside S.J. Guthrie Park, police said at the time.

Officers started CPR before Sharp was transported to a hospital, where he soon died of his wounds, police said.

This is a cowardly act of gun violence resulting in the tragic loss of yet another teenager in our community, Waco Police Chief Sheryl Victorian said in a press release last month. Our officers will work tirelessly to identify those involved in his death. If you have any information regarding this murder, do the right thing and contact the Waco Police Department to help identify those involved. Our sincerest condolences to the family of this young man.
The Connally Independent School District board last week unanimously approved a hybrid schedule, with both 4- and 5-day weeks, meant to improve learning outcomes for struggling students.

Under the new schedule taking effect for the 2023-24 school year, almost half the districts students will be assigned 13 Fridays consisting of 4.5 hours of instruction, while the other half of the days will be reserved for teacher planning and conferences. All students and staff will have two Fridays off almost every month.

Assistant Superintendent Jill Bottelberghe said the change came out of a need for learning intervention to meet state requirements, and to provide additional planning time for teachers and staff.

Passed in 2021, a state law that advanced as House Bill 4545 requires supplemental accelerated instruction for students who do not meet grade-level standards on end-of-course and STAAR exams. Students whose score does not fall into the Approaches Grade Level category or higher must be provided 30 hours of intervention, outside of core instruction, in the subject they are struggling with.

Bottelberghe said about 48% of Connally students in grades four through 12 do not meet the STAAR expectation. Students in the upper grade levels will be assigned based on their STAAR score. Younger students below fourth grade, who do not take the STAAR test, will qualify based on Measures of Academic Progress assessments, known as MAP assessments, given at the beginning of each year, or Center for Improving the Readiness of Children for Reading and Education assessment data, known as CIRCLE assessments, for kindergarteners.

A hybrid schedule also avoids students being pulled out of daily instruction for intervention hours, which could put them at a greater deficit. Smaller groups with targeted subjects on Fridays will ensure students get the exact help they need, Bottelberghe said.

The schedule was also built around teacher input, she said. The regular half days of built-in planning time are meant to help the district support and keep quality teachers, as it competes with nearby La Vega and Waco ISDs offering higher salaries and benefits, Bottelberghe said.

In planning, Bottelberghe said a calendar committee met first to discuss the districts needs and developed a couple of calendars to present to the board of trustees. She then shared those options with key stakeholders, including parents, staff and students in grades six through 12 to gauge their preference.

After gathering ideas from stakeholders, Bottelberghe presented the insight to the board, which voted unanimously to approve the calendar steered by community input, she said.

Students not required to attend classes on the 13 Fridays dedicated to supplemental instruction will still meet the Texas Education Agencys requirement of 75,600 instructional minutes through a 15- to 30-minute expansion of academic blocks during the day. The early childhood center, primary school and elementary school will be in session from 7:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. The high school and junior high will run 7:50 a.m. to 4:05 p.m.

Friday intervention days may also be used by non-mandatory students to make up excessive absences in lieu of community service or Saturday school, which would also ease teachers workloads.

Aug. 9 will be the first day of school for students, and the rest of the month will have Monday through Friday instruction. Bottelberghe said the full month of consistent five-day weeks is important for students and teachers to get to know each other and find a rhythm.

Most months during the school year will have an intervention day on the second and fourth Friday, while November, December and March will only have one. Four full professional development and planning days are dispersed throughout the year for teachers and staff, and 18 Fridays will see totally empty campuses.

There will be no interventions or non-instructional Fridays in May to allow for end-of-year activities.

Bottelberghe said she wanted to create a schedule that is of maximum benefit to everyone, and improves learning outcomes for students. The switch would not result in cost savings for the district, she said.
Sudan chaos continues despite a ceasefire order between armed forces and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)

There were also reports of gunmen who stormed the homes of people working for the UN and other international organizations

The violence erupted between the two sides who are vying for control of the region

The chaotic fighting in Sudan continues as the country's armed forces battle for control over the region against paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) despite an alleged ceasefire agreement between the two sides.

The situation comes as shooters reportedly forced their way inside the homes of people working for the United Nations and other international organizations. The violence continued in the region amid confusion over the alleged ceasefire orders.

Sudan Fighting Continues Despite Ceasefire

The fighting enters its fourth day in Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, as residents are trapped in the middle. Medical charity Medecins Sans Frontieres reported that 11 people were killed in the western region of North Darfur, and dozens of others were injured, including young kids, in the last 48 hours, as per CNN.

Officials from the World Health Organization (WHO) said that at least 270 people had lost their lives amid the fighting and that more than 2,600 were injured in the chaos. They cited Sudan's Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Center for the data on the victims.

There were reports in an internal UN document that highlighted armed personnel raiding the homes of UN staff and employees of other international organizations located in downtown Khartoum. The shooters allegedly sexually assaulted women and stole possessions, including cars.

The report read that armed, uniformed personnel, who were believed to be members of the RSF, entered the residences of ex-pats and separated men and women, taking the latter away. It also highlighted one report of rape.

The WHO also said that the two warring factions in Sudan had seized ambulances and argued that the fighting had caused hospitals to shut down. In a statement, the WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, Ahmed Al-Mandhari, said that the health system in the region has been very fragile for several years, according to Al Jazeera.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Visits Annexed Ukrainian Regions

Paramilitary Raiding Residential Homes

The official added that there had been a shortage of ambulances in Sudan due to their seizure by both parties involved in the fighting. The chaos comes as a former Sudanese military information director, Mohamed Ajeeb, said Khartoum was not expected to extend the 24-hour ceasefire.

He argued that the ceasefire was made for humanitarian reasons, not a military one. Ajeeb said the Sudanese armed forces would most likely reject a ceasefire proposal because it would give the RSF time to catch its breath.

The fighting has also caused residents to lose access to water and lighting, as one resident, Duaa Tariq, said she only had one bottle of drinking water. She said that she was saving it for her two-year-old child.

Khartoum 2 area residents said the RSF's troops have been entering people's homes demanding water and food. According to BBC, these reports come amid heavy bombardments, and black smoke could be seen surrounding the nearby airport.

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Several water supply companies in McLennan County are scrambling to buy emergency generators so customers wont lose service during the next big freeze. County commissioners Tuesday voted to help with the cost.

Commissioners allocated $5.6 million in federal American Rescue Plan Act money to support 18 water and wastewater projects. A third involve buying generators to preserve the integrity of water systems during icy weather. Compliance is required under Texas Senate Bill 3, passed in 2021, that requires water providers to weatherize their infrastructure.

We all have to have a generator at each plant.  Its kind of a mandate to keep people in water, said Charles Beseda, who manages the Birome Water Supply Corp. Weve got five plants, two wells and one generator at one of the plants. By rules and regulations, we need one at each plant.

McLennan County commissioners, recognizing the critical need, approved a $155,000 ARPA allocation to Birome Water Supply, about half what the company requested. Beseda said he and water customers sincerely appreciate the funding, and that he can understand lawmakers reasoning.

I can see their point. Were out in the country, and whenever lines go down, cities have priority, Beseda said. Its just one more rule we have to follow, and at least were getting a little help. Im just hoping we can buy what we need for what we have available. Weve looked at two different brands, and I think its going to come down to whoever can furnish them.

Another factor is service, and rapid response to breakdowns, he said.

The ARPA grant to Birome is included in a spending plan the local consulting firm Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam prepared at the countys direction. The firm was asked to create a formula to distribute $5.6 million equitably among city water operations and rural water companies. The firm also was asked to determine if each funding request qualified to get ARPA funds.

I think every entity is getting a meaningful amount of money, and I think the judge and county commissioners would agree, said Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam water program manager Tom Ray, who presented his findings Tuesday to the court and County Judge Scott Felton.

With Senate Bill 3, which requires the purchase of additional generators among other things, keeping afloat costs a lot of money, Ray said. Any mandates from the state or feds are harmful, and I think commissioners recognize that. These funds help water systems in general, but the county also recognizes mandates are over and above regular business.

Ray said entities receiving ARPA money to buy emergency generators include Axtell Water Supply Corp., $436,000; EOL Water Supply, $407,500; Leroy Tours Gerald Water Supply, $125,000; city of Riesel, $47,000; M-S Water Supply, $350,000; and Birome Water Supply, $155,000.

Each is getting exactly half of what it requested, according to a chart presented to commissioners.

Grants were not exclusive to entities buying emergency generators. The city of West is getting $560,000 toward $20 million worth of improvements to its wastewater treatment system, Mayor Tommy Muska said.

During heavy rains, were processing more than were listed for due to rainwater getting into the system, Muska said. Were doubling our treatment capacity, ensuring outflow after treatment is well below TCEQ (Texas Commission Environmental Quality) standards at this time. Were expecting they will become more stringent.

Muska said work should last 18 months to two years.

Other projects approved for funding include one for McLennan County Water Control and Improvement District No. 2 and studies related to Tehuacana Creek and a dam for the city of Mart. The city of Lorena also is receiving money, and water supply companies to get money include Pure, Ross, Cottonwood, East Crawford, China Spring Community, Levi and Bosque Basin.

Commissioners also have earmarked $4.4 million in ARPA funds to several water supply districts trying to reduce arsenic levels out of compliance with health standards, a common issue in eastern McLennan County groundwater.
Throughout its $9 million renovation, Waco Regional Airport has remained open. The new look is booked to arrive in August, right on time.

Former President Donald Trump visited recently, and the airport did not blink. When Waco Mayor Dillon Meek and Mr. Magnolia, Chip Gaines, held a rollicking news conference announcing the multimillion redo, it was all systems go, with flights in and flights out. During the yearlong process, workers have toiled behind barriers. Areas receiving immediate attention generally have been hidden from arrivals and departures.

Terminal users avoided dustings courtesy of construction materials. Some claimed not to have a clue work was underway behind that plastic sheeting.

Now there is more airport, and more work, to see, as the finished product comes into focus. City of Waco aviation director Joel Martinez has said he wants the remodeled airport to welcome flyers with open arms, to make a good first impression, or a second, or a 50th. The city labeled the project Fly Waco Transformed: Terminal Building Modernization project in summer 2021, saying in a press release it would create a clean and aesthetically pleasing terminal that best represents the culture and values of the community.

The landing is only months away, in late summer. Then the upgrade will become apparent in all its glory. General contractor Hensel Phelps was assigned to update restrooms, flooring, ceiling finishes and the security checkpoint. Nuts and bolts would include electronic charging stations, designated workstations and modern furniture. Work has progressed in phases, and the airport has not appeared fazed in the least.

A visit reveals artwork that transforms to a map of Lake Waco after minutes of staring. Impressive woodworking and glass are starting to dominate the interior, giving the terminal a modern, stylish appearance the designers craved.

A would-be dining area awaits orders. Metallic scissor-tailed flycatchers will swoop along an aluminum spiral suspended from the ceiling. A roughly 10-foot-tall mammoth and her calf, both made of cord, will materialize. Obviously they nod to a local tourist attraction, Waco Mammoth National Monument.

City officials have said the airport serves as Wacos front door. Too long, they say, a photo of the place has appeared beside dowdy in the dictionary.

That is changing, and officials say the unveiling in August could improve the airports appeal to tourists, business travelers, or perhaps a second airline. The airport now is served exclusively by American Eagle with flights to Dallas-Fort Worth.
VALPARAISO  Firefighters found a deceased woman in a burned trailer home in Valparaiso last week.

At around 8:51 p.m. on Saturday, April 8, Valparaiso Fire Department responded to the report of a structure fire at 150 N. Oak, Lot 3 in Valparaiso. Upon arrival, firefighters found a trailer house fully involved in fire.

One individual was found deceased in the trailer house. The Saunders County Attorney has ordered an autopsy to determine the cause of death.

The identity of the victim is being withheld pending identification and the notification of next of kin.

A dog was also found deceased in the trailer house. The trailer house is considered a total loss.

The fire investigation is ongoing by the State Fire Marshal.

Responding fire agencies included the Valparaiso, Ceresco and Raymond fire and rescue department.
WAHOO  The enforcement period for the Drug Impaired Driving High Visibility Overtime Enforcement grant is from April 19 through April 23. Additional deputies will be on patrol thanks to an overtime grant from the Nebraska Office of Highway Safety (NOHS).

Alcohol or drugs remain a significant contributing factor in fatal crashes. This enforcement period serves as a valuable opportunity to heighten the commitment and efforts of the Saunders County Sheriffs Office to keep roads safe and save lives. Report any impaired drivers to the Saunders County Sheriffs Office at 402-443-1000.
WASHINGTON  Extreme views adopted by some local, state and federal political leaders who try to limit what history can be taught in schools and seek to undermine how Black officials perform their jobs are among the top threats to democracy for Black Americans, the National Urban League says.

Marc Morial, the former New Orleans mayor who leads the civil rights and urban advocacy organization, cited the most recent example: the vote this month by the Republican-controlled Tennessee House to oust two Black representatives for violating a legislative rule. The pair participated in a gun control protest inside the chamber after a shooting that killed three students and three staff members at a Nashville school.

"We have censorship and Black history suppression, and now this," Morial said in an interview. "It's another piece of fruit of the same poisonous tree, the effort to suppress and contain."

Both Tennessee lawmakers were quickly reinstated by leaders in their districts after an uproar that spread well beyond the state.

The Urban League's new annual State of Black America report draws on data and surveys from a number of organizations, including the UCLA Law School, the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League. The collective findings reveal an increase in recent years in hate crimes and efforts to change classroom curriculums, attempts to make voting more difficult and extremist views being normalized in politics, the military and law enforcement.

One of the most prominent areas examined is so-called critical race theory. Scholars developed it as an academic framework during the 1970s and 1980s in response to what they viewed as a lack of racial progress following the civil rights legislation of the 1960s. The theory centers on the idea that racism is systemic in the nation's institutions and they function to maintain the dominance of white people in society.

Director Taifha Alexander said the Forward Tracking Project, part of the UCLA Law School, began in response to the backlash that followed the protests of George Floyd's killing in 2020 and an executive order that year from then-President Donald Trump restricting diversity training.

The project's website shows that 209 local, state and federal government entities introduced more than 670 bills, resolutions, executive orders, opinion letters, statements and other measures against critical race theory since September 2020.

Anti-critical race theory is "a living organism in and of itself. It's always evolving. There are always new targets of attack," Alexander said.

She said the expanded scope of some of those laws, which are having a chilling effect on teaching certain aspects of U.S. racial conflicts, will lead to major gaps in understanding history and social justice.

"This anti-CRT campaign is going to frustrate our ability to reach our full potential as a multiracial democracy" because future leaders will be missing information they could use to tackle problems, Alexander said.

She said one example is the rewriting of Florida elementary school material about civil rights figure Rosa Parks and her refusal to give up her seat to a white rider on a Montgomery, Alabama, bus in 1955  an incident that sparked the bus boycott there. Mention of race was omitted entirely in one revision, a change first reported by The New York Times.

Florida has been the epicenter of many of the steps, including opposing AP African American studies, but it's not alone.

"The things that have been happening in Florida have been replicated, or governors in similarly situated states have claimed they will do the same thing," Alexander said.

In Alabama, a proposal to ban "divisive" concepts passed out of legislative committee this past week. Last year, the administration of Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin, a Republican, rescinded a series of policies, memos and other resources related to diversity, equity and inclusion it characterized as "discriminatory and divisive concepts" in the state's public education system.

Oklahoma public school teachers are prohibited from teaching certain concepts of race and racism under a bill Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt signed into law in 2021.

On Thursday, the Llano County Commissioners Court in Texas held a special meeting to consider shutting down the entire public library system rather than follow a federal judge's order to return a slate of books to the shelves on topics ranging from teenage sexuality to bigotry.

After listening to public comments, the commissioners decided to remove the item from the agenda.

Other issues in Urban League's report address extremism in the military and law enforcement, energy and climate change, and how current attitudes can affect public policy. Predominantly white legislatures in Missouri and Mississippi have proposals that would shift certain government authority from some majority Black cities to the states.

Forty percent of voters in last year's elections said their local K-12 public schools were not teaching enough about racism in the U.S., while 34% said it already was too much, according to AP VoteCast, an expansive survey of the American electorate; 23% said the current curriculum was about right.

About two-thirds of Black voters said more should be taught on the subject, compared with about half of Latino voters and about one-third of white voters.

50 movies that address the history of racism in America 50 movies that address the history of racism in America Within Our Gates (1920) Shadows (1958) A Raisin in the Sun (1961) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967) In the Heat of the Night (1967) Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) The Story of a Three-Day Pass (1968) The Learning Tree (1969) Cotton Comes to Harlem (1970) Sounder (1972) The Spook Who Sat by the Door (1973) Ganja & Hess (1973) Killer of Sheep (1978) Losing Ground (1982) She's Gotta Have It (1986) Tongues Untied (1989) Do the Right Thing (1989) Daughters of the Dust (1991) Boyz n the Hood (1991) Just Another Girl on the I.R.T. (1992) Malcolm X (1992) Hoop Dreams (1994) Devil in a Blue Dress (1995) The Watermelon Woman (1996) Down in the Delta (1998) Bamboozled (2000) How to Eat Your Watermelon in White Company (and Enjoy It) (2005) The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till (2005) The Great Debaters (2007) Trouble the Water (2008) The Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975 (2011) 12 Years a Slave (2013) Fruitvale Station (2013) Dear White People (2014) Selma (2014) Rat Film (2016) I Am Not Your Negro (2016) O.J.: Made in America (2016) Loving (2016) 13th (2016) Get Out (2017) Did You Wonder Who Fired the Gun? (2017) Strong Island (2017) The Force (2017) Mudbound (2017) Hale County This Morning, This Evening (2018) If Beale Street Could Talk (2018) Sorry to Bother You (2018) The Hate U Give (2018) Just Mercy (2019)
A 27-year-old Lincoln man is in jail after he fled Nebraska State Patrol troopers in a stolen car at speeds higher than 100 mph after an attempted traffic stop Sunday evening, according to authorities.

Troopers ultimately deployed spike strips to stop Edwin Portillo Barrientos on Interstate 80 after he had fled nearly 40 miles from where troopers initially tried to stop him, near Bradshaw in York County, the patrol said in a news release.

When troopers stalled Barrientos' vehicle near mile marker 383, he and a front-seat passenger fled authorities on foot, running across the westbound lanes of I-80 before they were taken into custody, according to the news release.

Authorities determined the car Barrientos was driving had been stolen, the State Patrol said.

And they found that the passenger who fled, a 17-year-old girl, had been reported missing, according to the news release.

Troopers arrested Barrientos on suspicion of flight to avoid arrest, willful reckless driving and felony theft by receiving stolen property. He was taken to the York County jail.

The 17-year-old girl was taken to the Lancaster County Youth Intervention Center for an outstanding warrant, according to the release.

Photos: National Guard Sendoff held at Memorial Stadium
Dominion Voting Systems accused Fox News of propagating theories that were harmful to the company. In a last-ditch effort to resolve the dispute, Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems agreed.

Fox: We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute.'

On Tuesday, the judge in the defamation lawsuit against Fox News announced that it had been settled, bringing a sudden conclusion to the long-running fight over disinformation in the 2020 election.

After two years and the release of hundreds of thousands of pages of records, which revealed the inner workings of a media organization that had hitherto resisted outside examination, the case was abruptly settled at the last minute. Dominion's attorney, Justin Nelson, said that Fox paid $787.5 million for the settlement.

"Truth is important. Lies have repercussions, he said in front of the courthouse. "Over two years ago, a flood of lies swept Dominion and election officials throughout America into an alternate universe of conspiracy theories, causing grievous harm to Dominion and the nation," the statement reads.

Dominion's initial demand for compensation for damages was $1.6 billion. In a statement released by the company, Fox Corporation said, "We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false."

The statement continued, "We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues."

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An agreement was reached just a few minutes before the opening statements were scheduled to begin. This occurred a few hours after a jury was selected in Wilmington, Delaware. The attorneys for both camps had been preparing to present their cases to the jury, and they had fastened microphones to the lapels of their jackets in preparation for doing so.

As a result of the unexpected settlement, none of the high-profile figures at Fox, including those who had privately expressed concerns about the veracity of claims being made on its shows, will be required to testify in the case. On the list of anticipated witnesses were executives from Fox, such as Rupert Murdoch, the chairman of Fox Corporation, and hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, and Maria Bartiromo.

It was the most recent shocking development in a case that had the potential to be one of the most significant legal challenges brought against a news organization in the last few decades.

It was anticipated that the trial would be a significant test of the First Amendment and raise questions regarding whether or not the law of defamation adequately protects victims of misinformation campaigns.

Although the settlement prevents a drawn-out court proceeding, it results in an extremely unusual instance of accountability for efforts to discredit President Biden's victory. Few individuals or organizations have been subjected to legal consequences due to allegations of election fraud raised by former President Donald J. Trump or supporters of his campaign.

Dominion filed a lawsuit against Fox at the beginning of 2021, claiming that the network had severely harmed its reputation by repeatedly airing falsehoods about Dominion's voting machines. Fox has denied any wrongdoing, stating that it had merely reported on newsworthy allegations coming from Mr. Trump and his lawyers, and that the First Amendment for doing so protected it.

Judge Eric M. Davis had previously decided that statements Fox had broadcast about Dominion were untrue. He also decided that Fox's attorneys could not argue that the company broadcast false information on the basis that the allegations were newsworthy, which effectively limited some of Fox's potential defenses.

At the trial, the question of whether or not Fox had acted with "actual malice"  a legal standard that means it had knowingly broadcast lies or had recklessly disregarded obvious evidence that the statements were untrue  would have been presented to a jury. They would have been tasked with answering the question.

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Dominion lawyer: Fox settled defamation suit for $787.5 million
Following on from Adam Estes profile report on the Santa Maria Museum of Flight which we published about two weeks ago, his latest article features another, relatively unknown California aviation museum just a little further down the road which features a rich collection of artifacts well worth visiting

The Estrella Warbirds Museum

by Adam Estes

Most people probably know Paso Robles best for its wineries, but if you turn off Highway 101 onto California 46, and make your way up to the Paso Robles Municipal Airport, you will find a fine vintage collection of another variety at the Estrella Warbirds Museum. Originally established as the Estrella Squadron of the Confederate Air Force (now the Commemorative Air Force) by local pilots Glen Thomson and Gary Corippo, the Estrella Warbirds Museum maintains a diverse array of historic flying machines, military ground vehicles, a multitude of memorabilia and an eclectic collection of unusual civilian vehicles too.

The site has a significant military history too, as the airport owes its existence to WWII. When construction crews broke ground on the facility in September, 1942, their original remit involved a training base for U.S. Marine Corps bomber crews. However, ownership of the project soon transitioned to the U.S. Army Air Forces, who opened the facility as Estrella Army Airfield in April, 1943, although the Marines did maintain a presence on site as well. As with many other military airfields in the USA, once WWII ended, ownership of Estrella Army Airfield transitioned to the local municipal authority, who began operating it as a civilian airport in August, 1947.

The museum established itself as a chartered California charity in 1992, and gained its Federal 501(c)3 accreditation soon after, which allowed them access to artifacts in the museum systems for each branch of the U.S. military. Most of the museums aircraft are currently on outside display, as hangar space is at a premium, but Californias arid climate helps mitigate most deterioration issues.

The museum also provides a home to a few airworthy aircraft, such as Douglas C-47B Skytrain 43-48608 which flies as Betsys Biscuit Bomber. Built in Oklahoma City, this aircraft served in combat with the 27th Air Transport Group, 302d Transport Wing, of the 9th Air Force. Following WWII, the Belgian Air Force acquired the aircraft, flying it from 1946 until 1952, before its brief return to the US Air Force. The French Air Force then operated the Skytrain from 1953 until 1967, when it moved to the Middle East for service with the Israeli Air Force, who retained the airframe until 1999. Since returning to Stateside, this C-47 has flown in numerous air shows across the country, and even flew to Europe in 2019 to participate in the 75th anniversary celebrations for the Normandy landings of June, 1944, along with commemorations for the 70th anniversary of the Berlin Airlift.

Those with a penchant for automotive history will also enjoy the museums Woodland Auto Display, which features in excess of a hundred classic and racing cars of all categories belonging to winemaker and automotive enthusiast Richard Dick Woodland. The collection includes many unusual vehicles, including a working replica of the 1886 Benz Patent-Motorwagen (the worlds first practical automobile), a beautifully restored REO Speed Wagon Camper, several NASCAR Sprint cars, and a 1963 Chevrolet Corvette Split Window.

Military vehicles, munitions, and communications equipment are located in the Brooks Building, while the Pfauter Building pays tribute to the famed Red Ball Express, the truck convoy system which provided a logistical lifeline to supply the Allied advance from Normandy (from August to November 1944) until the capture of Antwerp, along with repairs to French rail lines and the installation of portable gasoline pipelines.

The Al Schade Restoration Hangar at the south end of the museum often has at least one project in the works, typically divided between aircraft and ground vehicle restorations. As of writing, a Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw is undergoing refurbishment in the hangar, but another aircraft may yet take the helicopters place.

The Estrella Warbird Museum has grown substantially since its founding, but such growth is always accompanied by a pressing need for more space, especially hangars for the long term preservation of their exhibits on external display. On October 15th, 2022, during the Estrella Warbirds Museums 30th anniversary celebrations, the organizations president, John Couch, unveiled expansion plans which included the lease of ten acres beside their present facility for the construction of additional hangars and event venues spaces. Legendary air racing pilot and long time museum benefactor, Sherman Smoot, had originally intended to make these announcements, but sadly, as most readers will know, Smoot lost his life in a flying accident last September. The Estrella Warbird Museum estimates that their expansion efforts will cost roughly US$5 million

Anyone wishing to help the museum achieve this goal can contribute HERE.

Museum operating hours are from Thursdays through Sundays, 10am-4pm. For more information, please visit Welcome to Estrella Warbirds Museum (ewarbirds.org).
DES MOINES  A handful of Gov. Kim Reynolds picks to lead state agencies and serve on state boards and commissions were confirmed to their roles with little to no bipartisan support under a new Republican supermajority in the Iowa Senate.

Senate Republicans on Monday confirmed Reynolds picks over the objections of Democrats to lead Iowas state education agency and serve on boards that govern its three state universities and nominate judges.

Reynolds office did not respond to a request for comment Monday evening.

Republicans hold a supermajority in the Senate, controlling 34 of 50 seats, which prevents Democrats from blocking gubernatorial appointees that require a two-thirds majority.

Reynolds nomination of Robert Cramer to the Iowa Board of Regents passed by the slimmest of margins on a 34-16 party-line vote, with all Democrats opposed.

Cramer previously was nominated to the board in 2013 by former Gov. Terry Branstad, but lost a confirmation vote in the Iowa Senate when Democrats held the majority.

Vice president of land development at road construction company Cramer & Associates in Grimes, Cramer finished second in a Republican congressional primary in 2014.

Sen. Herman Quirmbach, a Democrat from Ames and ranking member of the Senate Education Committee, reiterated concerns that sunk Cramers nomination in 2013, namely his public opposition to marriage equality in the state.

I asked him in recent conversation to describe how his views had changed. His response was, Not that much, Quirmbach said on the Senate floor. I dont think that a sterile expression of respect for every student is sufficient to lead our great universities.

Our universities have to be warm, welcoming, supportive places for all students of all backgrounds. I dont think that Mr. Cramer is capable of doing that.

Sen. Ken Rozenboom, a Republican from Pella who chairs the Senate Education Committee, praised Cramer for his remarkable public service on various civic boards, and values his construction expertise.

Cramer said ahead of the confirmation vote his religious views also compel me to love everybody and treat everybody the best I can.

He said his experience in construction could help the regents in guiding their universities through growth and building, and hopes to build bridges and trust between the regent universities and conservative lawmakers.

Cramer since 2019 has given $37,871.36 to Republicans and Reynolds in cash and in-kind contributions  including more than $27,500 to Reynolds in the fall of 2021.

The Senate also voted 48-2 to reconfirm Sherry Bates to the Board of Regents and reconfirmed Nancy Dunkel by a vote of 49-1.

Senators also voted 48-2 to confirm James Risewick, who was appointed by Reynolds in 2022 to fill a vacancy and has been serving on the Board of Regents in the interim.

Democrats objected to Reynolds picks to lead the Iowa Department of Education and to serve on the Public Employment Relations Board and State Judicial Nominating Commission.

The Senate confirmed Chad Aldis  Reynolds pick to succeed Ann Lebo, who resigned as director of the Iowa Department of Education  in a 37-13 vote, with all but three Democrats voting against his confirmation.

Aldis has worked for multiple charter school and private school choice think tanks.

Democrats criticized Aldis for never having worked or taught in a public school.

Sen. Brad Zaun, R-Urbandale, said Aldis background advocating for education reform in Ohio gives me more reason to support him. Zaun, who met with Aldis ahead of the confirmation vote, said he is interested in increasing the student performance of all the schools in the state of Iowa.

Yes, we did pass a school choice bill, and we need someone in there that understands and supports empowering parents in the state of Iowa, Zaun said.

Democrats also objected to the nominations of Bradley Hartkopf to the State Judicial Nominating Commission and Cheryl Arnold, Public Employment Relations Board. Both were confirmed by a vote of 35-15, with all but one Democrat opposed.

Democrats objected to having a corporate lobbyist on the committee that interviews applicants and selects nominees for appointment to the Iowa Supreme Court and the Iowa Court of Appeals. Hartkopf is the director of public policy for the Iowa Association of Business and Industry.

As for Arnold, Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said he did object to her specifically, but its time we address the issues surrounding the PERB and erosion of collective bargaining rights in the state for public employees.

The Senate voted unanimously to reconfirm Debi Durham as the director of Iowa Economic Development Authority and the Iowa Finance Authority. Durham has led IEDA since 2011 and has led both agencies since 2019.

The Senate also voted overwhelmingly to reconfirm Beth Townsend as director of Iowa Workforce Development. She has served in that role since 2015. Several Democrats objected to Townsends renomination for recommending changes to Iowas child labor laws, and for what they saw as her inability to address the shortage of child care workers in the state.
Amazon received a warning from Apple and Google over the sexually explicit images on the e-book library of its Kindle app, which is accessible to young ages.

The iPhone maker and Google, which owns Android, stated that they do not allow pornographic content on their app store. Selling explicit content is actually against the policies of the app marketplaces. And as such, both tech behemoths say they are already in touch with the giant online retailer Amazon.

Apple and Google Warn Amazon Over Porn in Kindle App

According to a report by Sky News, parents were alarmed that pornographic content showed up in e-books about dinosaurs and aliens, enabling their children to consume such content. With that, Google and Apple have warned the giant retailer Amazon due to the explicit sexual material.

The two tech firms have reportedly reached out to Amazon over these concerns since this sexually explicit content undermines the policies of their app marketplaces. Apple runs the App Store for iPhone and iPad users, whereas Google has its Android counterpart, the Play Store. Both of which carry the Kindle app. The e-book platform is one of the tops downloaded apps on both app stores.

The iPhone maker disclosed in its recent statement that it is already working hand in hand with its fellow tech giant, Amazon. The Cupertino-based company is currently in talks with online retailers to "ensure their app is compliant with [their] guidelines."

The search giant, Google, has also contacted Amazon, saying it has "been in contact with the developer" of the Kindle app.

Gizmodo reports that finding sexually explicit content in the Kindle app is pretty effortless. Simply searching for "nudity" or "adult pictures" for the e-book platform on Google gave relevant results. Some had pornographic covers with titles like 100% Nude Girls Uncensored." The results also included some AI-generated porn.

It is worth noting that a report from two families with pre-teen sons triggered the warning from Apple and Google. They told Reuters that their children had successfully downloaded some sexual content on the e-book platform after they subscribed to the Amazon Kindle Unlimited subscription. It offers millions of wide-ranging titles. However, it lacks parental controls, allowing young minds to access adult content.

Read Also: Apple's Ex-Sales Executive Resigns To Work with US Defense Department

Why Is Sexual Content on Kindle?

Gizmodo notes in its report that the Kindle Unlimited subscription contains self-published books. This method allows hundreds of authors to release their books via their Kindle Direct Publishing service. If you are a writer, you may instantly self-publish your works on the platform.

Although Amazon has precautions against pornography, some users seemingly get away with it. The tech giant says that the terms of use for self-publishing on Kindle warn against "offensive or inappropriate" content, including sexually explicit images.

Related Article: Google AI Search Engine Reportedly in the Works: Here's What to Expect from 'Magi'

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
DES MOINES  Lately, Republican state lawmakers are being more selective with their words during debate in the Legislature, sometimes refusing to answer Democrats questions. The change is a reaction to a recent Iowa Supreme Court ruling that referred to legislative floor debate.

Senate Republicans, as a general rule, will no longer answer Democrats questions during floor debate, Iowa Senate Majority Leader Jack Whitver, a Republican from Grimes, told reporters late Monday.

And late last week, while debating gun regulation legislation, Rep. Steve Holt, a Republican from Denison who managed the bill in the Iowa House, told Democrats on multiple occasions that he would not answer questions that posed hypothetical scenarios.

Whitver and Holt both cited an Iowa Supreme Court ruling from March as their reasoning for being tight-lipped during floor debate. The courts ruling dealt with 2020 legislation that granted incumbent Iowa utility companies a right of first refusal that would have prevented competitive bidding on future projects.

In its ruling, the court noted the proposal did not go through the normal legislative steps, and asserted that legislators did not know what they were voting on because the bill was produced for the first time earlier the same day it was passed.

In LS Power Mid Continent and Southwest Transmission v State of Iowa, the Iowa Supreme Court indicated it wanted to use floor debate to determine the ambiguous definition of legislative intent. I believe legislative intent is the content of the law passed by a majority of the Iowa Legislature, Whitver said in his statement. In light of that decision, Senate Republicans do not expect to engage in spontaneous and speculative discussions of legislative intent during floor debate until that question is resolved.

That revelation caused a riff in legislative debate late Monday, resulting in the session spilling into the early hours of Tuesday. Upset with majority Republicans decision to stonewall their questions on legislation that would relax some labor regulations for teenagers, Democrats called for multiple caucus meetings that helped extend debate on the bill to roughly seven hours with a vote finally cast at 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Iowa Senate Minority Leader Zach Wahls, a Democrat from Coralville, called Senate Republicans decision to refuse to answer questions a really serious breach of tradition in the Iowa Senate and a really sad development for the state of our democracy in our state.

This is the highest deliberative body in the state of Iowa, and Senate Republicans are refusing to deliberate, Wahls said. When you dont have the ability to actually debate and answer questions, what you are left with is  government behind closed doors, government without oversight, government without accountability. A government that has more corruption, that isnt delivering for people.

Whitver, in his statement, asserted that, The legislative process remains.

It will continue to evaluate proposed policy, collect feedback from Iowans, and develop law to move the state forward, Whitver said.

Republican House Speaker Pat Grassley, from New Hartford, has not established a policy for all House Republicans, but has had conversations with Republicans who manage bills about erring on the side of caution regarding hypotheticals and other questions during debate, Grassleys spokeswoman said.

In the Iowa Supreme Court ruling on LS Power Mid Continent and Southwest Transmission v the State of Iowa and Iowa Utilities Board, Justice Thomas Waterman, writing on behalf of a unanimous, four-justice decision (three justices recused themselves), criticized Senate Republican lawmakers for the manner in which legislation was passed and noted that the bills sponsor, former Iowa Sen. Michael Breitbach, gave inaccurate responses and expressed ignorance about who backed the proposal.

The Supreme Court ruled that the utility companies were entitled to an injunction that postponed enforcement of the right of first refusal provision until its constitutionality can be determined.
March 3, 1998-April 13, 2023

WATERLOO-Matthew Walter Neece, 25, of Waterloo, Iowa went to be with his Grandparents and the Lord on Thursday, April 13, 2023.

Matthew Walter Neece was born on March 3, 1998 in Davenport, Iowa, the son of Patrick Earl and Jeanne Carol (Abels) Neece. Matthew was a graduate from River Hills School and cherished every day he spent in the care of everyone that works at the school. Matthew was a full-time family entertainer and cherished life to the fullest.

He loved decorating for Holidays and normally would have the house fully decorated for the upcoming holiday before the first Holiday was even celebrated. Matthew also enjoyed going on trips with his parents and staying in hotels where they could swim together. He loved Barney, Little People, Bob the Builder, Batman, rainbows, pinwheels and truthfully enjoyed life to the fullest. His main love was his family and will be remembered for all of the special memories that he made.

Left to cherish his memory is his parents, Patrick and Jeanne Neece and his cherished sister, Nicole Neece.

He is preceded in death by his paternal grandparents: Donald and Betty Neece and his maternal grandparents: Walter and Karen Abels.

Public visitation for Matthew will be held from 12:00  3:00 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2023 at Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service West Ridgeway location. Following the visitation, cremation rites have been accorded and no other formal services will be held at this time. Memorial contributions may be directed in Matthews name to his family which plan on designating them to River Hills School. For further information or to leave an online condolence please visit www.hagartywayhchoffgrarup.com. Hagarty-Waychoff-Grarup Funeral Service West Ridgeway is caring for Matthew and his family.
Jerry Martinez took to the streets of Iowa City on Tuesday, searching for any sign of his little brother, Cris Martinez, who disappeared early Saturday.

The older brother and other members of the Martinez family have promised they will not give up until they bring the 20-year-old Muscatine man home. Since Sunday, they have hung or distributed about 500 flyers.

As they were pounding the pavement, crews from Johnson County were sweeping waterways. Even waste-containment companies had been contacted with no luck. Cris Martinezs debit card and bank card have shown no activity since Friday evening.

Right now, we are just waiting to hear from Iowa City council members on what we can do further," Jerry Martinez said. We have been searching downtown areas  dumpsters, garages, parking areas. It has gone on since Sunday. Now we are just seeking out any help.

Cris Martinez last was seen behind Bardot, a bar at 347 S. Gilbert St., at 1 a.m. Saturday. Earlier in the evening his phone died, so family and friends were not able to reach him. He weighs 160 pounds and was last seen wearing a black T-shirt and black cargo pants.

Martinez did not have a vehicle Saturday, as he and several friends were using Uber in Iowa City. The family is asking for the publics help and ask anyone with information about his location to contact the Iowa City Police at 319-356-5275.

The disappearance comes just over a month after Trevor Wixom, another Muscatine man who disappeared, was found deceased in Discovery Park. No official cause of death has yet been revealed in the case. Wixom had been missing since October and was 21 years old.

For Cris Martinez, the weekend trip to Iowa City was only the second time he had been to the area. Jerry Martinez said his brother had gone to a house party in the evening, then downtown for food. It is believed Cris Martinez walked off, away from his friends, who noticed he was missing as they headed home.

Smiling as he thinks about his brother, Jerry Martinez chuckled, amazing kid, who was always smiling and always there to help anyone. He thought of his brothers penchant for making people laugh as well as his love of fitness and working out.

He said proudly that Cris Martinez had taken his love of working out to start his own YouTube channel. He also worked at Hon Oak Laminate.

He is always positive and just loves to be with his friends, Jerry Martinez said. He was a homebody more than anything, but he loves being out with the family. He is always a family man.

Jerry Martinez remembers when Cris Martinez first started working out. He had tagged along, asking his big brother to give him some pointers while lifting weights. That became his first YouTube video. Martinez said his favorite time with his little brother was when they worked out together.

The Martinez family hopes people spread the word about Cris.

I dont think anyone from my family is going to rest until we have results, Jerry Martinez said.
CEDAR FALLS  The City Council on Monday proposed a substantial raise in members salaries beginning next year.

With the November city election lurking, the council voted 5-2 to recommend each members salary of $6,982 in 2023 be boosted to $12,000 in 2024, with raises in the years to follow based on the consumer price index.

Those in favor argued the salary should not be so low it makes people hesitant to run for council. They noted councilmembers can lose income when they step away from full-time jobs to fulfill duties of the office.

I think its important that we have representation across the city, for people that arent motivated by the salary necessarily. But it is important because people on this council do take time off from work to get this job done, said Councilmember Gil Schultz, whos semi-retired and serving in his first term.

Councilmembers Dave Sires and Susan deBuhr opposed the plan, saying the job shouldnt come with an expectation of getting paid.

Im honored to serve the citizens of this great community. I love Cedar Falls, said Sires, who noted he donates his council pay. I find it hard to keep our costs down, and council salaries is just another thing where we can look and serve our community. Id be opposed to a raise. I dont think thats the right thing to do.

An ordinance will come before the council later this year and must pass three readings before November to take effect next year, per Iowa code.

Councilmember Daryl Kruse, one of the longest-serving members and still active in his profession, pitched the $12,000 figure as reasonable when compared with the salaries of the 15 most-populated cities in Iowa, one of which is Cedar Falls.

We have a great responsibility to have good, business-minded people involved with running the city and operating it like a business, he said. With that, I took the top 15 cities and did an average.  I got an average salary of $12,744. Going further, taking out the highest compensated and the lowest compensated to get a better average of the 12 middle cities, not counting Cedar Falls, I got $12,062.

He didnt consider the top 25 most-populated cities in his calculation after noticing a significant drop-off in population between the larger 15 cities and the 10 smaller ones.

No councilmember proposed any other figure Monday. The idea came up during the councils annual retreat to discuss goals in November.

The change would affect section 2-47 of city code that had been adopted in 1999. That put in place a base salary of $4,098, with raises based on the consumer price index. Ultimately, thats led the salary to rise 70% over 23 years.

According to research by City Controller/Treasurer Lisa Roeding, the average annual salary for the top 25 most-populous cities (minus Davenport) is $9,372. The average, excluding Cedar Rapids and Des Moines, is $7,902.

When I did this, I did not know there was any pay. I was surprised after I got elected to find out there was a stipend or a payment because I always considered it volunteer work and work to serve my community, said deBuhr, the longest-serving member by far.

My employment doesnt interfere with me serving the community. Me serving the community interferes with my employment, replied Councilmember Simon Harding, whos not running for reelection and previously pointed out all the hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of hours a year thats led him to take time off from his primary job.

Correction: Kruse considered the average of the top 15 most-populated cities, as opposed to the top 25, after noticing a significant drop-off in population between the larger 15 cities and the 10 smaller ones. An earlier version incorrectly stated his decision to use the top 15 was based on a drop-off in councilmember salary.

Photos: Sudan battles intensify
CEDAR FALLS  Olympic gold medalist Aly Raisman will be the guest speaker at Riverview Centers Evening of Light on Friday at Bien VenU Event Center, 7400 Hudson Road.

Doors open at 5 p.m. with a social hour, followed by dinner at 6 p.m. At 6:30 p.m., Raisman will be featured, followed by several other speakers. Gary Kroeger is the emcee.

There will be a raffle and silent auction. Tickets are $100 each, available online at www.riverviewcenter.org, and at the door.

The event is a fundraiser for Riverview Center, a nonprofit organization that provides sexual assault services in 14 Northeast Iowa counties, including Black Hawk, as well as sexual and domestic violence services in two Illinois counties.

Raisman wont give a formal speech. Shed rather have a conversation with moderated questions. Thats her style, said Gwen Bramlet-Hecker, Riverview Center executive director.

Raisman came forward in 2017 as one of numerous victims sexually abused by former Olympic team physician Larry Nassar, which started when she was 15. In 2018, she filed a lawsuit against USA Gymnastics and the USOC. That same year, Raisman and other survivors of the sexual abuse scandal were awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award.

The retired athlete was the most decorated American gymnast at the 2012 London Olympic Games, winning gold medals in team and floor competitions and a bronze medal on the balance beam. She was captain of the gold medal-winning womens gymnastics team in 2012 and 2016 Olympic Games and is the third most-decorated American gymnast ever.

Raisman was the first American gymnast to win gold in the floor exercise at the 2012 games. One of only three U.S. gymnasts to make back-to-back teams in more than 20 years, she helped guide the team to gold and won a silver medal in the all-around competition in the 2016 games.

Now she uses her public platform to push for systemic changes within the sport and the eradication of sexual abuse. She wrote a best-selling memoir, Fierce, that shared the highs and lows of her personal journey, including being a survivor of sexual abuse.

Raisman will speak at Riverview Center events in Dubuque and Cedar Rapids prior to her Cedar Falls appearance.

Its inspiring to hear a professional athlete support us and help survivors, said Bramlet-Hecker, whose office is in Waterloo. What people sometimes struggle to understand is the vast majority of abusers are not strangers who jump out and grab victims. The real threat is those who operate within the system, like USA Gymnastics, or it could be school, church, family members. The abuser is someone who is trusted and pressures victims to remain silent about the abuse, Bramlet-Hecker said.

Riverview Center was founded in 1992 in Galena, Ill. In 2013, Riverview Center was chosen by the state of Iowa to provide sexual assault prevention and intervention services in Northeast Iowa counties.

The center provides victim services 24/7, 365 days a year. Anything the victim is going through, were there and present with the survivors for medical, legal and social service advocacy, counseling, trauma-informed therapy, basic needs assistance. All of our services are 100% free and 100% confidential, she explained.

The center also operates 24-hour crisis hotlines.

Victim services provided by Riverview Center are outlined in Iowa and Illinois code. Victims are entitled by law to these services. Funding sources including federal and state dollars, United Way, community foundations, endowments, grants, donations and fundraising events.

I have this amazing team of family advocates, social workers and therapists who are beyond belief how good they are. For me, I tell people its not all doom and gloom when we work with survivors. Theyre survivors for a reason  their spirit and will survives. When it clicks that its not their fault, they start to feel empowered beyond the trauma, Bramlet-Hecker said.

Survivors tell the truth, and we believe them. We know survivors can live amazing lives after being abused and assaulted. What survivors get back in response when they discuss their experiences, the power of that is so healing.

Lilacs are among the most carefree spring-flowering, well-loved shrubs scentara_double_blue_lilac_3.jpg bloomerang_dwarf_pink_lilac.jpg syringa_baby_kim_img_2023.jpg syringa_scentara_pura_3.jpg Lilac_LittleLady2_BaileyNurseries-scaled.jpg Lilac_NewAgeWhiteBlooms_StarRosesandPlants-scaled.jpg Lilac_VirtualViolet2_BaileyNurseries-scaled.jpg syringa_bloomerang_dark_purple_img_0744.jpg Lilac_Pinktini2_BaileyNurseries-scaled.jpg
DES MOINES  Iowa teenagers under 18 would be able to work more jobs and for longer hours under legislation advanced early Tuesday by Republican lawmakers.

Republicans passed the bill shortly before 5 a.m. after roughly seven hours of debate that spanned late Monday into early Tuesday, and included multiple starts and stops as legislators became embroiled in a procedural dispute.

The proposal to relax some state work regulations for Iowa minors has been working through the Legislature since early in the 2023 session, and has been among the most contentious proposals debated by state lawmakers.

Supporters say the legislation would create more opportunities for young Iowans to gain work experience and make money at a younger age, while critics express concern the relaxed regulations will put children in harms way on the job.

While the responsibility of having a job might be more valuable than a paycheck, the reward of the paycheck will allow these youths who want to have a job to possibly save for a car, maybe buy a prom dress, go to a summer camp, take a date out for the weekend, and even for some the ability to save some money so they will not be subject to the monstrous amount of debt that some will face in a few years by going to college, said Sen. Adrian Dickey, R-Packwood, who managed the bill in the Senate.

But Sen. Bill Dotzler, D-Waterloo, said he believes there are several provisions in the Senate proposal that conflict with federal work regulations.

The federal labor department issued a statement critical of the bill passed by the Iowa Senate, and said there has been in Iowa a 69% increase in the number of children who are working illegally here.

It is irresponsible for states to consider loosening child labor protections, U.S. Labor Solicitor Seema Nanda said in a statement. Federal and state entities should be working together to increase accountability and ramp up enforcement  not make it easier to illegally hire children to do what are often dangerous jobs.

Democrats argued that Republicans are trying to address a state shortage of workers by opening up the workforce to more teenagers.

The bill is here because we have a tremendous shortage of workers in the state of Iowa, and this legislative body has failed to address the workforce issues. We cant find enough workers, so we gotta have child labor involved, Dotzler said. This bill is full of opportunities for young people to make mistakes.  I think this bill, down the road, is definitely going to cause young people to be injured.

Among the provisions in the Senate bill:

Iowans 14 to 17 years old could participate in work-based learning programs or work-related programs if granted an exception from the director of the state workforce or education departments. These so-called work programs could be in manufacturing and food processing, although not in areas where animals are slaughtered.

Iowans under 16 years old would be able to work later hours, until 9 p.m. during the school year and 11 p.m. in the summer, and 16- and 17-year-olds would be able to work the same hours as adults.

Senate Republicans altered a provision that would have allowed 14-year-olds to drive to jobs, instead creating a legislative committee to study the states laws that permit some driving under the age of 16.

Republicans also narrowed a provision that would have allowed, with parental permission, Iowans 16 and 17 years old to serve alcoholic drinks in bars. Their updated version proposes to allow 16- and 17-year-olds to serve drinks in establishments like restaurants.

We are not forcing them into slave labor. We are not selling our children, Dickey said during debate, referencing comments that he said he has heard at protests and on social media. Were not even requiring them to work. What were doing is providing them opportunities to have a job during the same time of day thats already allowed to their classmates and participate in extra curricular activities within their school.

Dotzler, however, expressed concern that language in the bill is not clear and could still allow bars that sell food to employ 16- and 17-year-olds to serve drinks.

Dotzler attempted during debate to ask Republicans about that language, but in an exceptionally rare move they declined to engage, leading to the procedural dispute and protracted debate session.

Lance Coles, with the union Iowa Federation of Labor AFL-CIO, called the bills passage a disgrace.

This bill is out of compliance with Federal Law, will do nothing to attract new Iowans, and puts children at risk of death in dangerous occupations, Cole said.

With its passage out of the Senate, Senate File 542 is now eligible for consideration by the House.

The House has its own bill, which is similar but not identical to the Senate bill. House File 647 was passed out of the Houses commerce committee in early March, and has been legislatively idle since.

The House proposal, similarly, would allow teens as young as 14 to request a waiver from the directors of the state workforce and education agencies to work as apprentices in factories, mines, construction sites and warehouses, among others, as part of work-based learning programs.
All I can say is that, It is about time!

There are new ones willing to help our enemies. South Korean President Yun Sok-yeol said that, in principle, this state is ready to supply weapons to the Kyiv regime.

Moreover, until recently, the South Koreans ardently assured that the possibility of supplying lethal weapons to Kyiv was completely ruled out.

I wonder what the inhabitants of this country will say when they see the latest designs.

Russian weapons from their closest neighbors  our partners from the DPRK?

What is called?

Quid pro quo

Medvedev
Weather Alert

.Near record high temperatures Thursday through Sunday will bring significant streamflow rises, especially for snow covered terrain below about 8000 feet. Rises will likely increase daily through the weekend following a diurnal melt cycle with the highest flows often in the evenings and overnight. ...FLOOD WATCH FOR SNOWMELT IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by snowmelt is possible. * WHERE...Portions of California and western Nevada, including the following areas, in California, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties, Mono County and Surprise Valley California. In western Nevada, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties. * WHEN...From Thursday afternoon through Monday morning. * IMPACTS...Creeks and streams will be running high and fast. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Minor mainstem flooding is currently forecast along the Forks of the Carson River beginning late Friday. The Susan and Walker Rivers will also need to be closely monitored as flooding cannot be ruled out. Anyone participating in outdoor recreation this weekend should use caution as water will be running high, fast, and potentially out of banks for some creeks and streams. The water will be extremely cold as well, quickly causing shock. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
The Carson City School District in partnership with the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention will host a training course titled 'safeTALK' to help parents learn how to talk to their students through crisis.

The training will be held April 29 at 9 a.m. to 12 noon in the library at Carson High School.

The class aims at equipping parents with tools and resources to promote youth mental health and prevent suicide. It will cover a wide range of topics related to youth mental health, including recognizing warning signs of mental health concerns, promoting positive mental health habits, fostering communication and connection with your child and accessing appropriate resources and support.

CCSD says the training will be led by experienced mental health professionals from the Nevada Office of Suicide Prevention, who are trained in evidence-based practices and have extensive experience in youth mental health.

"With mental health concerns on the rise among youth, it is crucial for parents to be equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively support their child's mental well-being, said Michelle Cleveland, Project AWARE coordinator for the Carson City School District. Parents play a crucial role in supporting their child's mental health, and we are committed to providing them with the knowledge and tools they need to effectively do so. This parent training class is an opportunity for parents to learn valuable strategies to promote their child's mental well-being and prevent suicide."

The parent training class is open to all parents in the community and is free of charge. However, registration is required, and space is limited.

Parents can register at the link below -

(Carson City School District contributed to this report.)
Weather Alert

...Unseasonably Warm Temperatures and River Rises From Snowmelt Expected This Weekend... * The warmest temperatures so far this Spring are expected to arrive this weekend, with afternoon highs up to 20 degrees above-average for late April. By Saturday, mid-to-upper 80s are expected across much of western Nevada, with 90 degrees not out of the question for portions of the Basin & Range. If recreating or spending time outdoors, be aware that it will be unusually hot for this time of year and prepare accordingly. * These warm temperatures, along with mild overnight lows, will result in efficient melting of our snowpack. Consequently, high river flows are anticipated across much of the region. Water will be swift moving and very cold, so be cautious if approaching a river bank. With snowmelt-driven river rises, daily fluctuations are common and it's possible the peak flows will occur overnight. Keep this in mind when setting up camp near the water. * A return to cooler, more unsettled weather with the chance of high elevation snow showers and valley rain will arrive as early as Monday of next week. Stay tuned to the forecast for updates on this early May pattern change.

.Near record high temperatures Thursday through Sunday will bring significant streamflow rises, especially for snow covered terrain below about 8000 feet. Rises will likely increase daily through the weekend following a diurnal melt cycle with the highest flows often in the evenings and overnight. ...FLOOD WATCH FOR SNOWMELT REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM THURSDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING... * WHAT...Flooding caused by snowmelt continues to be possible. * WHERE...Portions of California and western Nevada, including the following areas, in California, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Lassen-Eastern Plumas-Eastern Sierra Counties, Mono County and Surprise Valley California. In western Nevada, Greater Lake Tahoe Area, Greater Reno-Carson City-Minden Area and Mineral and Southern Lyon Counties. * WHEN...From Thursday afternoon through Monday morning. * IMPACTS...Creeks and streams will be running high and fast. Low-water crossings may be flooded. Minor mainstem flooding is currently forecast along the Forks of the Carson River beginning late Friday. The Susan and Walker Rivers will also need to be closely monitored as flooding cannot be ruled out. Anyone participating in outdoor recreation this weekend should use caution as water will be running high, fast, and potentially out of banks for some creeks and streams. The water will be extremely cold as well, quickly causing shock. * ADDITIONAL DETAILS... - http://www.weather.gov/safety/flood PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS... You should monitor later forecasts and be alert for possible Flood Warnings. Those living in areas prone to flooding should be prepared to take action should flooding develop. &&
One of NASA's old satellites is expected to fall to Earth later this week

Fortunately, experts anticipate that the spacecraft is not going to pose a threat to our planet

The satellite, known as Rhessi, is set to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday night

One of NASA's old satellites is expected to fall back to Earth later this week. Still, fortunately, experts monitoring the structure's path reassured that the chances of it being dangerous were low.

The satellite, known by the name Rhessi, is now defunct and set to drop down through the planet's atmosphere on Wednesday night, said NASA and the Defense Department. On Tuesday, the space agency added that the re-entry location of the satellite still needs to be revealed to the public.

NASA Satellite to Crash into Earth

This is due to the lingering uncertainty over when and where Rhessi might fall. The majority of the satellite, which weighs roughly 660 pounds, is expected to burn up upon re-entry, but experts anticipate that some parts would be able to survive the conditions, as per KSAT.

NASA also said that the risk of anyone on Earth getting injured by the satellite or its pieces that break off during re-entry is relatively low, estimated to be about one-in-2,467. The satellite's name, Rhessi, is short for Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. The space agency launched the satellite into our planet's orbit in 2002 to study our sun.

Before being permanently shut down in 2018 following communication issues, Rhessi was able to observe our sun's solar flares and its coronal mass ejections. It also captured various images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays and has a record of more than 100,000 solar events.

Rhessi's imminent plunge back down to Earth reminds us that our planet's orbit is littered with artificial objects. There are roughly 30,000 pieces of orbital debris that global space surveillance networks are tracking.

Based on the European Space Agency's data, an estimated one million objects are between 0.4 inches and four inches wide. According to Space, these objects are floating around our planet right now.

Read Also: Massive Spiral Over Alaska's Aurora Explained: It's Not UFO

Space Debris in Earth's Orbit

Furthermore, the number of debris sizes between 0.04 inches and 0.4 inches is estimated to be roughly 130 million. Despite their minuscule sizes, these objects are dangerous and could pose a significant threat if they strike a satellite or a crewed spacecraft due to their velocities.

Objects located in low Earth orbit, which is the area where the International Space Station and much another craft fly, usually hover at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour. Additionally, space collisions will generate even more pieces of space junk, which could result in more collisions.

Rhessi's crash to Earth will mark the second time a NASA satellite falls back down to our planet's surface this year. The previous instance was when a 5,400-pound object came hurtling down in January, said the Daily Mail.

Related Article: Ring of Fire Solar Eclipse Set to Dazzle Spectators in Kansas

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Northern California is heralded for its wines, but a growing number of craft distilleries are giving the world's most famous spirits-makers a run for their money.

When it comes to whiskeys, Scotland and Kentucky may corner the market, but there are some damn fine bourbons and ryes coming out of this regionand, no surprise, with a uniquely Californian twist. Leave it to makers in the Bay Area and Wine Country to focus on small-batch, handmade techniques, coastal terroir, and sustainability in order to produce original Californian whiskies that are raking in awards and gaining a devoted following.

Check out eight distilleries in Northern California that are making waves in the whiskey world.



Jettywave Bourbon: Coastal Spirit From Half Moon Bay (Courtesy of @jettywavehmb) The newest distillery of the bunch, Jettywave opened its Half Moon Bay location in May 2021 with an emphasis on its botanical Coastal Gin, which quickly racked up high honors from Sunset magazine, who named it "Best of the Best" in 2022. Today, Jettywave also puts out a small-batch bourbon. Made with 80 percent sweet corn and 20 percent malted barley, both organic and sourced in Northern California, this bourbon is also the product of a sustainable ethos. The team uses water from the Little Yosemite Valley; the distillery was built with reclaimed wood; and like many of the distillers on this list, Jettywave sends it leftover grains to farmers to be used for feed. Jettywave also embraces is location a block from the beach near Pillar Point Harbor, fermenting the grains in redwood tanks for over a week in a process they call fog fermentation, allowing the coastal climate to influence the whiskey. If you want to get the taste of the bourbon before its aged, their Half Moon Shine is smooth and light. Jettywave whiskey is currently only available on its website and at the distillery, which is well worth a visit for its sunny beach town vibes, nautical-themed bar, and a robust menu of food, cocktails, beer, and wine. // Open Friday through Sunday and first Thursday nights; 155 Broadway (Half Moon Bay),jettywave.com

Spirit Works Distillery: Grain to Glass Whiskies in Sebastopol Making whiskey is often a long game: Spirit Works Distillery's latest batch of whiskey, made this spring with heritage corn, wont be ready for at least a couple of years. But the Sebastopol distiller, which was named Distillery of Year in 2020 by the American Distilling Institute, has plenty of whiskey to enjoy in the meantime. Founded in 2012 by husband-and-wife Timo and Ashby Marshall, Spirit Works embraces a grain to glass philosophy. They mill, mash, ferment, distill, age, and bottle everything onsite at The Barlow. (Timo hails from a family of gin distillers in England.) Since rolling out their original Straight Wheat Whiskey made with organic red winter wheat from the Sacramento Valley, the team has expanded with several new varieties including the Straight Rye and a Four Grain Bourbon thats best enjoyed neat. Spirit Works also releases limited bottlings quarterly, and offers cocktail kits with enough ingredients to make 12-15 drinks. Try their San Francisco Summer (rye whiskey, sloe gin, and aromatic bitters) for a play on a Manhattan. // Open Wednesday through Sunday; The Barlow, 6790 McKinley St #100 (Sebastopol),spiritworksdistillery.com

St. George Spirits: The Bay Area's OG Craft Distiller (Courtesy of @stgeorgespirits) We all know it and love it: When this Northern California distillery was founded in the Bay Area in 1982, it was one of less than two dozen craft distilleries in the entire United States. While the distiller's iconic tasting room in an Alameda Naval airplane hangar has not reopened to the public since Covid (head distiller Dave Smith says reopening is in the works), St. George's diverse portfolio of spirits is widely available for partaking. St. George released its debut whiskey in 2000 after three years of aging; today the distiller has four whiskeys in its offering. Their Lot Series single malt is different each year with Lot 23 set to be released this fall. One of his "favorite things in the universe," Smith says each release should be akin to visiting an old friend who has a few new stories to share. Even more limited was the release of St. George's 40th anniversary single malt; only 1,982 bottles were made. The distiller's Baller Single Malt Whiskey is easier to find in stores. Its a bold and smoky whiskey made with 100 percent American barley and finished in casks previously used to hold umeshu, a Japanese stone fruit liquor. It was designed to be enjoyed in a highball. Their Breaking & Entering American Whiskey is a blend of rye, barley, wheat, and corn that has notes of dark chocolate, nuts, and spice. // 2601 Monarch St (Alameda),stgeorgespirits.com

Griffo Distillery: A Couple' Labor of Love in Petaluma If you sign up for the $30 Griffo Distillery tour and tasting, youll get to see Betty at work: This 320-gallon copper pot still is where much of the booze-making magic happens. Michael and Jenny Griffo opened the distillery in Petaluma in 2015. Behind the scenes, they attribute Michaels background in physics to driving the quality of their whiskeysthat, and the local grains they source whenever possible, which are later recycled to area pig farmers. Griffo offers a range of whiskies. The Stony Point Whiskey is a best seller, but you can also sample unique offerings like a white whiskey, which is just barely touched by oak before being bottled; a stout barreled whiskey with flavors of coffee and chocolate; and a limited-edition rye whiskey with a rich flavor thats great in a Manhattan. Try a flight, cocktail, or artisanal chocolate pairing in the barrel room, then take a popular cocktail kit home. // Tasting bar is open Thursday through Sunday; 1320 Scott St Suite A (Petaluma), griffodistillery.com

Venus Spirits: Wayward Whiskies in Santa Cruz A Wayward Whiskey flight with chocolate torte pairing. (Courtesy of @venusspirits) In Santa Cruz, Venus Spirits' coastal location plays a vital role in developing the flavors in the whiskey. Aged in a steel building, the whiskeys heat up throughout the day, drawing the liquor into the wood of new charred American Oak barrels. At night, the cool coastal air pulls it back out. The whiskey is fermented onsite and double distilled via hand-pounded copper alembic stills. Venus Spirits has three varieties in its Wayward Whiskey lineup: rye, bourbon, and single malt, plus limited edition releases available once or twice a year.

Founder Sean Venus says the bourbon is the brand's most approachable for drinkers looking to develop a palate. He recommends sipping the single malt neat or paired with some chocolate. Lindsay Eshleman, who runs the Venus cocktail classes, likes putting the Wayward Single Malt or special release peat whiskey in coffee with brown sugar and whipped cream. You can watch the distillery in action through windows in the restaurant, or take a distillery tour with a guided tasting for $25 on weekends. // Tasting room closed Mondays;200 High Road (Santa Cruz),venusspirits.com

Alley 6: An Experimental, Family-Owned Distillery in Healdsburg When Krystle and Jason Jorgensen founded their small-batch distiller in Healdsburg in 2012, they started with a rye whiskey that has gone on to win more than half a dozen awards. But we like this craft producer for its adventurous spirit: Now in their seventh iteration of an experimental single malt whiskey, they've hit the sweet spot with what head distiller Jason describes as if a Highland whiskey and Irish whiskey had a baby. Made with 100 percent malted barley from Heidelberg, Germany, its distilled in copper alembic pot stills and aged at least 18 months in charred American white oak barrels. In addition to whiskeys, Alley 6 offers peach brandy, barrel aged gin, and coffee liqueur. And inspired by Jason's love of foraging, they even make locally foraged candy cap mushroom bitters, whose unique maple-y, umami flavor is great in an Old Fashioned. Do take a closer look at the bottles' labels: Each one is illustrated by Jasons mom and includes a fanciful story about the inspiration behind the booze. // Tastings are $15, Thursday through Sunday;1401 Grove St., Unit D (Healdsburg),alley6.com

10th Street Distillery: Easy-Drinking California Whiskies (Courtesy of @10thstreetdistillery) While some distilleries diversify with other spirits, San Jose's 10th Street Distillery has a one-track mind for crafting great American single malt whiskey. Cofounders Virag Saksena and Vishal Gauri are making whiskies that reflect a California vibe. For Saksena, this means making an easy drinker with a lot of character. Despite the name (a nod to the distillery's original location), the barrels, custom copper pot stills, and tasting room are now housed at an address on Fourth Street. Tastings include a half-dozen whiskies. On offer here is STR Single Malt made with non-peated malt barley; the Distillers Cut and peated whiskeys; and a California Coast blended whiskey brings together 10th Street's Distillers Cut and STR with light whiskies from Indiana to make an extra-easy drinking, refreshing whiskey. // Open Friday and Saturday;442 N 4th St (San Jose),10thstreetdistillery.com


Tailings Storage Facility Bulk Earth Works - 100% Complete

Perth, April 19, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Western Australian based gold mining company Classic Minerals Limited ( ASX:CLZ ) ( 2I7:FRA ) ( CSMRF:OTCMKTS ) is pleased to report that the construction activities for the Kat Gap processing facility are moving forward at the Kat Gap project located approximately 120 km south-southeast of Southern Cross, in Western Australia.



The company has completed 100% of the bulk earthworks required for the construction of the Tailings Storage Facility (TSF) and is now concentrating on other aspects of the site, including the reassembly and commissioning of the processing plant, the completion of the maintenance workshop and the positioning of office and administrative buildings.



The first stage of the TSF accommodates up to 70,000 tonnes of tailings with expansion options to 130,000 tonnes. The TSF has been designed and approved to house cyanide reagents which will be used in the processing plant, in conjunction with the gravity circuit, to enable recoveries up to 98% gold from Kat Gap ore.



Classic Minerals estimates that the commissioning of the TSF will be completed by mid-May 2023.



Commercial production is expected to begin in the later part of the second quarter of 2023.



The company will continue to provide regular updates to investors as the construction of the plant and site progresses. Investors can stay informed about the progress of the project and other important developments by monitoring the ASX announcements and the company's website.



*To view photographs, please visit:

https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/EL7AD7U7





About Classic Minerals Limited





Classic Minerals Limited (ASX:CLZ) is an exploration and development company focused on gold deposits in Western Australia's famous Goldfields region. In March 2017, Classic acquired the Forrestania Gold Project, with seven tenements stretching across 450km2. Strategically located in a very prospective region, the FGP is an underexplored package surrounded by multimillion ounce deposits such as Bounty (2Moz) and Yilgarn Star (1.5Moz).
Germany has officially shut down its last three nuclear power plants in a landmark move in sustainable energy. The phaseout of these electric facilities faced mixed reactions from experts and environmental sectors.

The German country initially planned to close down these nuclear plants last year or before 2022 ends. However, the war between Russia and Ukraine has extended the operations of the country's last three nuclear power plants.

Germany's Last Three Nuclear Power Plants

While various nations across the globe are still grappling with the energy crisis, Germany has ended its nuclear era, closing down all its final power plants. CNN World reports that the German nation has been operating its nuclear power facilities for roughly six decades. But after all those years, it officially phased out all its nuclear plants on April 15.

There have been consistent calls for Germany to extend the operations of its nuclear power plants in the meantime amid the global energy crisis. It is worth noting that the German government initially planned to stop producing nuclear power from nuclear power last December 2022.

According to CNBC, the country raised plans to shut down its nuclear power plants in 2011. However, the unprecedented invasion of Russia in Ukraine affected energy access in the European region. And with that, Germany pushed back its long-time plan to close these facilities.

But after a few months, the government proceeded with it, ending its nuclear power era after several decades of relying on such renewable technology.

Read Also: German, British Tanks Shipment Arrives in Ukraine

Experts React to Nuclear Power Plant Phase Out

The spokesperson of the World Nuclear Association, Henry Preston, finds the recent move of Germany "hugely disappointing." He notes that the nuclear power plants in the country could have extended their operations for the next four decades or 40 years.

The World Nuclear Association spokesperson also claimed that "Germany's nuclear industry has been world-class," noting that the reactors of the last three plants "performed extremely well."

Other experts voiced similar sentiments. A climate researcher at the Institute for Coastal Research in Germany, Hans von Sotrch, told CNBC that "it was not a wise decision." He adds that this "leads to an increase of greenhouse gas emissions" in the country.

Meanwhile, the chief executive of tech giants like Twitter, Tesla, and SpaceX, Elon Musk, also shared his two cents on the nuclear plant shutdown. As per The Street, the billionaire entrepreneur recently tweeted, "The timing of this couldn't be worse."

The big boss of Tesla has previously opposed the plan of Germany. In an interview in 2022 with the Axel Springer CEO, Mathias Dopfner, Musk was straightforward. He says the country "should not only not shut down the nuclear power plants, [but it should also reopen] the ones that shut down" previously. He further called the phaseout a "crazy" move and a "total madness."

Related Article: Germany Allows Poland to Send MiG-29 Jets to Ukraine

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
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Vancouver, April 19, 2023 AEST (ABN Newswire) - In this segment of The Ellis Martin Report we speak with Jordan Triple, CEO of Skyharbour Resources Ltd ( CVE:SYH ) ( SYHBF:OTCMKTS ) as the company announces strategic property staking with the addition of 8 new properties bringing total portfolio to over 490,000 Hectares in the Athabasca Basin, Saskatchewan, Canada. Mr. Trimble provides an update on partner company projects along with a macro overview of the uranium market.



To Listen to the Interview, please visit:

https://www.abnnewswire.net/lnk/A05D75BC





About Skyharbour Resources Ltd.





Skyharbour Resources (CVE:SYH) (OTCMKTS:SYHBF) holds an extensive portfolio of uranium and thorium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market fundamentals with six drill-ready projects. In July 2016, Skyharbour acquired an option from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the Company, to acquire 100% of the Moore Uranium Project which is located approximately 15 kilometres east of Denison's Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced stage uranium exploration project with high grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone. Drill results have returned up to 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9 metres, including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 metres at a vertical depth of 265 metres. Skyharbour has signed option agreements with Orano Canada Inc. and Azincourt Energy whereby Orano and Azincourt can earn in up to 70% of specific segments of the Preston Project through a combined $9,800,000 in total exploration expenditures, as well as $1,700,000 in total cash payments and Azincourt shares. Preston is a large, geologically prospective property proximal to Fission Uranium's Triple R deposit as well as NexGen Energy's Arrow deposit. The Company also owns a 100% interest in the Falcon Point Uranium Project which hosts a high-grade surface showing with up to 68% U3O8 in grab samples from a massive pitchblende vein, the source of which has yet to be discovered. The Company's 100% owned Mann Lake Uranium project on the east side of the Basin is strategically located adjacent to the Mann Lake Joint Venture operated by Cameco, where high-grade uranium mineralization has been identified. Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.

About The Ellis Martin Report

The Ellis Martin Report (TEMR) is an internet based radio program showcasing potentially undervalued companies to an audience of potential retail investors and fund managers that comprise our listening audience. TEMR is broadcasted on the VoiceAmerica Business Channel and The Opportunity Radio Network. CEO and company interviews are paid for by those represented on the program.
In spite of these setbacks, you just cant veto hope

THE GOVERNORS veto of climate-protection provisions in the tax bill shocked and saddened me. How could a leader known to be an environmental champion make this move?

My first inclination was to attack this decision-maker, question her motives, donations and frankly her judgment. That was due to grief at the loss of this sessions opportunities to fight climate threats.

But then I was inspired by the words of Tennessee Rep. Justin Pearson: You cant veto hope.

Vetoing electric-vehicle battery and heat-pump credits was wrong and has set us back in our race to solve the climate crisis. But I continue to believe Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will pass economy-wide climate legislation, and clean cars, and tax reforms and investments that will wean us off oil and gas.

You cant veto hope.

Susan Martin, Chair, Sierra Club, Rio Grande Chapter

Wheres the climate action from our climate leader?

WITH NEW Mexicos Constitution allowing a consequential 60-day legislative session only every two years, the climate action community entered 2023 with hopes for a productive session, counting on Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams State of the State promise to codify our zero emissions goal in state statute. 

But the governor did not introduce the promised zero-emissions bill. And the 56th Legislature stifled all the most significant climate, just-transition and oil and gas reform bills without floor votes. What did pass were a few modest and limited-duration tax credits (and) House Bill 365, to create a geothermal center of excellence and jump-start this nascent but exciting industry by leveraging our sixth-best-in-the-nation geothermal resource.

In the final days of her bill-signing window the governor vetoed every single climate and energy tax credit and vetoed HB 365, a geothermal development bill so bipartisan it passed the House and Senate by a combined 100-3 vote. This governor had a chance to extend the climate leadership she showed in 2019 by passing the ETA. She did the opposite.  Every year matters and we just lost two more. (Was) my $500 check worth it?

Thomas Solomon, Albuquerque

Governor, please get back into the good climate fight

I HAVE admired Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham for many years: The Energy Transition Act has New Mexico leading the country in the fight against climate change, and the governor promised to continue this fight. So I was terribly disappointed at (her) failure to take any further steps to fight the crisis during this legislative session.

Really nothing happened. We cannot miss these opportunities to take strong, innovative steps  time has run out. These are the hard decisions that we need strong people to take and lead us through. When I saw the governor veto no fewer than five climate tax credits I was flabbergasted.

Governor, thank you for the work you have done but please, get back to being a leader in the fight against climate change.

Diane Reese, Albuquerque

Those five lost tax credits would have helped planet

THE 2023 legislative session produced five tax credits that would have benefited New Mexicans and moved us toward a more livable climate. These tax credits related to electric vehicles, energy storage systems for homes and businesses, geothermal energy production, heat-pump heating and cooling systems, and a tax deduction for sales to governments on energy-storage systems. Those of us who care deeply about these issues watched their progress through the Legislature and celebrated when they passed.

But our elation was obliterated when the governor vetoed these hard-fought, important provisions. Incomprehensible.

Heidi Brooks, Albuquerque

Its shocking so much good legislation rejected

I AM shocked, devastated, and terribly disappointed in Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams rejection of innovative and desperately needed climate legislation.

She vetoed rather than signed into law the five credits for electric vehicles, energy storage and geothermal development; the geothermal center of excellence and fund; and so much more needed legislation.

Ellen Caldwell, Corrales

2023 a missed opportunity for generations in NM

IN THE most recent legislative session, the New Mexico Legislature made an effort to protect our climate by passing five credits for geothermal development, energy storage and electric vehicles. Unfortunately, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham line-item vetoed all five climate-protecting measures. As a parent of a daughter in college, Im thinking beyond my generation and on to my daughters and future generations.

These climate tax credits would have benefited all residents of New Mexico and offered economic development for businesses. President Biden just announced standards that would make 67% of new cars electric by 2032. These credits would have helped more New Mexicans access the money savings of these EVs by lowering the up-front price. We missed out on a big opportunity to help New Mexicans and to help prevent catastrophe.

Jeffrey Smith, Albuquerque

Lujan Grisham just jilted states climate advocates

GOV. MICHELLE Lujan Grisham has stabbed climate advocates in the back. Her vetoes of tax credits approved by lawmakers followed her lack of gumption in pushing a measure that would have put her important climate executive orders into law.

This is just barely over a year after her promise at a Roundhouse climate conference to do just that and accelerate a push to make the state climate-neutral.

She has followed that with continuous efforts to boost blue hydrogen, which would aid the oil and gas industry while increasing methane emissions. The only conclusion I can reach is she now is a lapdog for the energy industry. I venture a guess every climate advocacy group is heartbroken they have lost what they thought was a supporter in the Governors Office. I see no serious action now on climate until she is replaced by a true believer.

D. Reed Eckhardt, Santa Fe

New Mexico kids health hanging in the balance

FAMILIES IN New Mexico are feeling the impacts of climate change and air pollution on our health and the health of our children. For the over 198,000 New Mexicans who have asthma, air pollution can be a matter of life or death. The link between the causes of air pollution and climate change are well documented; dirty transportation, energy production and other sectors contribute to both.

Gov. Michelle Lujan Grishams administration has set some bold climate goals to get us to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, but the failure of the Legislature to pass comprehensive climate legislation was made worse by the governors recent veto of the climate tax credits. In order to meet our climate goals, local leaders need to ensure equitable access to many of the benefits of using clean energy and clean vehicles . 

New Mexico suffers from numerous ongoing impacts of the climate crisis: extreme heat, wildfires and drought are some of the most noticeable.  Climate change and pollution impact all New Mexicans, and our communities deserve being protected by our elected leaders ensuring the equitable transition from fossil fuels and acting with the urgency the climate moment demands. The health of our children demands it.

Ana Rios, Albuquerque

Hard work negated, line by line, by 1 powerful person

THE GOVERNOR just vetoed the efforts of all the people of New Mexico that understand the necessity of immediate action to curb climate change. Our elected representatives worked amazingly hard on their duties to our citizens only to have their efforts negated, line by line, by one person.

I feel the governor slapped down the people of New Mexico for caring about the environmental future. The tax credits were excitedly being anticipated to help turn New Mexico to a more sustainable future. I wanted a tax credit to purchase a heat pump to go with our solar electricity. Establishing geothermal should be a great source in our volcanic state and implemented relatively quickly, making jobs for us.

New Mexico had such a windfall this year that we are blessed with one-time money rebates regardless of income which will go to groceries. But credits to encourage sustainable purchases that pay back quickly in climate protections? Nada.

Weve heard your rationale but what is your logic, governor?

Should we look for your name on the board of an energy company when youve retired from office?

I am passionate because Ive been working a very long time to leave this world a better place.

Lari Tiller Howell, Albuquerque
Call it a second Gold Rush.

In less than an hour, prospectors of crunchy, sweet, melts in your mouth goodness nabbed thousands of gold bars from an Albuquerque event.

The gold bars  an Albuquerque Public Schools cafeteria specialty that reigned in an era before healthy school lunch reforms  were on sale as part of the APS Education Foundations biggest yearly fundraiser, the Gold Bar Gala, said Val Burch, the foundations development manager.

The foundation hosted the main event Friday, making about 438 dozen gold bars available for sale to gala-goers. The 310 dozen or so gold bars that were left over for that event went on sale Tuesday morning in what was envisioned as a two-day event at the districts Berna Facio Professional Development Center at Louisiana and Comanche NE.

But word got out and, by 7:30 a.m., people were lining up to snap up the nostalgia bakes for $25 per dozen.

Oh my gosh, we sold out in under an hour, Burch said.   They were like, Oh my gosh, weve been waiting for these. This brings back memories.  Some lady was shipping them out of town to her son who used to be a former APS student.

Since the inventory is gone, the Wednesday event has been canceled.

The bars, which APS Food and Nutrition Services makes each year for the foundation fundraiser, are a traybake-style sweet featuring peanut butter, Rice Krispies and a top layer of chocolate.

I mean, they are amazing, Burch said.

The gala and bake sale raise funds for the foundation, which offers grants to innovative APS educators and schools throughout the year.

After Tuesdays turnout, Burch said she may reconsider the foundations approach for the 2024 event.

Im thinking maybe we need increase what we sell next year, she said.
A watchdog group has filed complaints to enforce the Freedom of Information Act against two federal agencies  overseen by Interior Secretary Deb Haaland so that the group can review communications between agency leaders and Haalands daughter.

The lawsuits, filed Monday in federal court in Washington, D.C., accuse the Department of the Interior and Bureau of Land Management of not producing communications between agency officials and Somah Haaland, who is the daughter of Deb Haaland. Deb Haaland was a New Mexico congresswoman from 2019 until she was confirmed

as the first Native American Cabinet secretary in March 2021.

The suits were brought by Protect the Publics Trust, which describes itself in the suit as an unincorporated association dedicated to restoring public trust in government. The group requested the communications in early January.

An Interior Department spokeswoman declined to comment on the lawsuits. Efforts to reach Protect the Publics Trust were unsuccessful.

The complaints, in part, are seeking communications related to the movie Our Story: The Indigenous Led Fight to Protect Greater Chaco.

Somah Haaland was a narrator for the film and also has lobbied lawmakers as a media adviser for the Pueblo Action Alliance in support of a drilling moratorium around Chaco Culture National Historical Park in northwest New Mexico, according to the lawsuits.

Democratic members of the states congressional delegation for years have been introducing legislation to stop any oil, gas and mineral development on federal lands that are located within a 10-mile of Chaco. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., recently sponsored the bill in the Senate.

Senator Lujan is committed to protecting Chaco Canyon and plans to reintroduce this legislation in the coming months, said Adan Serna, a Lujan spokesman.

Sen. Martin Heinrich and Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, also New Mexico Democrats, attended the premiere of Our Story and spoke at the event.

The lawsuits are seeking a court order to release the requested documents and award the group litigation expenses.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham signed an executive order Tuesday declaring a state of emergency in Sandoval County because of flooding in the Jemez River Valley, which affected the Village of Jemez Springs water treatment facility, the Jemez Pueblo and the Village of San Ysidro.

The designation makes $750,000 in state emergency funding available for various response measures. The money can be used to repair public infrastructure and recover from the impacts of the flood, according to a news release from the governors office.

Last week, the Jemez River grew to nearly eight-feet deep because warm temperatures were rapidly melting snowpack in the Jemez Mountains, which was about 200% of normal, according to Sandoval County officials.

The river receded last weekend and was running below six feet on Tuesday evening.
Its time for new Education Secretary Arsenio Romero to make his mark.

The fourth Public Education Department appointee of Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham in four-plus years says he now has resources and tools necessary to turn around the states public education system. We can only hope he helps ensure the coming record-setting investments pay off.

This years PED appropriation of $4.17 billion-with-a-b in recurring funds, almost 44% of the states total budget, is roughly a $300 million increase from last year as state lawmakers and the governor try to spend their way up from the bottom of state public education rankings.

Its a tried if as-yet unproven strategy, one that a state court ruling in 2018 determined has still left the state unable to meet its constitutional duty of providing a quality education for all children, particularly those who are low-income, Native American, English-language learners or have disabilities.

As a person that has been in public education for my entire career, this is the most that (weve) ever spent on students, Romero told the Journal. This is going to allow us to have the resources, the professional development, the tools necessary across our state to be able to tackle some of the issues that we know are there.

Thats good to hear and will be better to actually see. Considering the condition of many of our school buildings, shortage of certified and specialized educators, and chronic lack of connectivity, it promises to be a heavy lift despite the overflowing coffers.

 There are raises. Almost $170 million is set aside for all school workers to get an average 6% raise, on top of 7% raises last year. About a year ago the governor signed a bill increasing starting teacher pay statewide from $40,000 to $50,000 per year.

Lawmakers this year also appropriated $14.5 million to raise the minimum salaries of educational assistants to $25,000 from $12,000. EAs are the under-appreciated people who help make our classrooms run; its good to see them recognized where it counts  in their pocketbooks.

Lawmakers also prudently appropriated $8 million to increase the minimum salary levels of principals by $3,500. Anyone who works in our schools knows a great principal can make a campus, a poor one can tank it. Enhancing principal pay was on Think New Mexicos Ten-Point Plan for Rethinking Public Education in New Mexico.

 There is money for more class time. House Bill 130 requires at least 1,140 instructional hours in school per year, up from 990 hours for first- through sixth-graders and 1,080 for secondary students. Lawmakers appropriated $202 million to pay for the increased class time and over $50 million for schools to extend their calendar beyond 180 days.

 And there is money to help rectify shortcomings pointed out in the landmark Yazzie-Martinez ruling, $20 million for the Indian Education Fund. Its a roughly $5 million increase from last fiscal year to work with pueblos to improve internet access, recruit teachers and make sure they have the instructional materials they need.

PED officials would be wise to familiarize themselves with Think New Mexicos plan, which looks at best practices and how states like Mississippi have pulled their student proficiencies up from the K-12 basement. Quality education isnt just a matter of funding. If that were the case, New Mexico would be closer to the middle of the pack given that in fiscal 2020 our per pupil spending of $11,332 ranked us 36th in the nation, according to census.gov.

We hope Romero is correct that the state has the tools and resources it needs to make a real difference in each New Mexico childs education  it certainly has the cash. Its going to be up to Romero, his PED, local school districts and individual classrooms to deliver a better return on these historic taxpayer investments with specific programs and services and a transparent accounting of them all.

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.
SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past test launches.

During his visit to the countrys aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite is crucial for North Korea to effectively use its nuclear-capable missiles. Kim cited what he described as serious security threats posed by the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the United States and South Korea this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He likely hopes to pressure his rivals on issues including joint military drills and international economic sanctions on North Korea.

Kim said the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 had already been built and ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch. He said North Korea must launch several satellites to establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said.

North Korea has said its ongoing run of weapons tests, including its first test-launch of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland last week, are a response to joint military exercises between the United States and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea has carried out about 100 missile tests since the start of last year, including about 30 this year.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been expanding combined drills in response to North Koreas growing nuclear threats. This week, the allies launched a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan.

Spy satellites are among an array of major weapons systems that Kim publicly vowed to develop during a major ruling Workers Party conference in January 2021. Kim also pledged to build solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since conducted tests of such weapons, but observers say those high-tech weapons are still in development stages.

After North Korea launched a test satellite last December, it publicized black-and-white photos showing a space view of South Korean cities. Some civilian experts in South Korea said at the time the photos were too crude for a surveillance purpose and that they were likely capable of only recognizing big targets like warships at sea or military installations on the ground.

Kims sister and senior North Korean official Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.

Kim Jong Un said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.

Tuesdays KCNA dispatch focused on U.S. military assets like aircraft carriers and long-range bombers that have been deployed in South Korea in recent months, but made no mention of possible targets in the mainland U.S. That could imply that North Korea intends to use its reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases, in order to attack them with short-range missiles.

Putting a reconnaissance satellite into orbit would require a long-range rocket. The U.N. bans such launches by North Korea because it views them as cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology.

In response to a question posed by The Associated Press, South Koreas Foreign Ministry said North Koreas launch of a spy satellite would threaten regional peace and violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launches by the North. It said South Korea will work closely with the international community to get North Korea to face consequences when it commits provocations.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

North Korea placed its first and second Earth observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say neither transmitted imagery back to North Korea. The U.N. issued sanctions over those launches.

North Korea has avoided fresh U.N. sanctions for its recent ballistic missile tests in 2022 and this year because U.N. Security Council permanent members Russia and China didnt support U.S. and others attempts to toughen sanctions on the North. ___

Find more AP coverage of the Asia-Pacific region at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
Jurors in the trial of a man accused of fatally shooting Jacqueline Vigil in her West Side driveway in 2019 heard testimony Wednesday about the alleged cover-up of the killing.

Luis Talamantes-Romero, 35, fled to San Antonio, Texas, in the weeks after Vigils killing at the recommendation of his sister, jurors were told on the second day of testimony in his trial.

Talamantes-Romero is charged with first-degree murder, two counts of aggravated burglary and other charges in Vigils shooting death and other alleged crimes committed that morning.

Karla Aguirre, a former girlfriend of Talamantes-Romeros, described details of the alleged cover-up.

Talamantes-Romero returned to his sisters home in Barelas at about 7 a.m. Nov. 19, 2019, about two hours after the killing, Aguirre testified through a Spanish-language interpreter.

He later told Aguirre and his sister, Eliz

abeth Talamantes, that he had shot a woman outside her home, Aguirre testified.

Talamantes-Romero was at first reluctant to discuss the killing but became more candid about his actions, she said.

At the time he had a lot of adrenaline, Aguirre said. And then later when he told me what had happened, he had calmed down some. He was more aware of what he had done.

Talamantes-Romero described approaching Vigils car from behind and shooting Vigil, Aguirre said. Talamantes-Romero told Aguirre he didnt know why he shot Vigil, she said.

A native of Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, Aguirre traveled to Albuquerque to testify with the encouragement of FBI agents, who provided her with money for expenses and promised to watch out for me and my family, she said under questioning from Talamantes-Romeros attorney, Kathleen Rhinehart.

Aguirre told jurors she had been reluctant to travel to Albuquerque until FBI agents promised that they were going to protect us so there werent reprisals for me being here now.

Vigil, the mother of two New Mexico State Police officers, was shot once in the head about 5 a.m. Nov. 19, 2019, as she attempted to back out of her driveway on her way to the gym.

The case gained national attention when Vigils husband, Sam Vigil, and his sons attended a news conference at the White House, where then-President Donald Trump announced the case would be included in the federal crime fighting initiative, Operation Legend.

News reports of the killing alarmed Talamantes-Romero, Aguirre testified.

I think he was more worried when he learned that she was the mom of a policeman, she said.

Elizabeth Talamantes told her brother that he should flee New Mexico and recommended that he stay with a cousin in San Antonio, Texas, Aguirre said. Talamantes-Romero was at first reluctant but agreed to the plan, she said.

Aguirre, Talamantes-Romero and his sister, drove to San Antonio sometime in December 2019. They took with them the .40-caliber handgun that Talamantes-Romero had used to kill Vigil, Aguirre told jurors.

While in San Antonio, they destroyed the murder weapon by breaking it into pieces, she said.

After dropping off Talamantes-Romero in San Antonio, Aguirre and Elizabeth Talamantes drove back to Albuquerque. On the way home, Elizabeth Talamantes tossed out pieces of the firearm in remote locations in Texas, Aguirre said.

Elizabeth Talamantes, 41, pleaded guilty last year in U.S. District Court of New Mexico to a charges of possession of a firearm to further a drug-trafficking crime. She was sentenced in August to five years in federal prison.

The charges emerged from an FBI investigation into her role in helping her brother flee to San Antonio.

FBI agents executed a search warrant at her home on Pacific SW in Barelas in August 2020 and found two Glock pistols and methamphetamine.
Six members of a private militia group who claimed their constitutional rights were violated when they were arrested after a protest turned violent at Tiguex Park in June 2020 will receive $300,000 to drop three lawsuits they filed against the city of Albuquerque, its top officials and Albuquerque police.

The city agreed to settle a federal civil rights lawsuit filed by the group in 2021 as well as two other lawsuits alleging the city failed to turn over public records about the incident in violation of the state Inspection of Public Records Act.

Still pending at the time of the settlement was a motion filed by the members of the New Mexico Civil Guard seeking release of records of all non-personal calls, including text messages, on Mayor Tim Kellers personal cellphone for the month of June 2020.

The city and a private law firm representing Keller fought the release, maintaining in one court record that disclosure of personal communication records was outside any possible relevance to the IPRA request.

The event that triggered the litigation  and led to a separate injunction last year against the militia group  occurred after members of the New Mexico Civil Guard wearing camouflage suits and body armor brought sidearms and rifles to keep the peace at the June 15, 2020, protest at which organizers called for removal of the statue of Spanish conquistador Juan de Onate.

The members werent charged criminally but were detained for hours as Albuquerque police investigated a non-fatal shooting that occurred during a scuffle between protesters and people who opposed damaging the statue. A man not affiliated with the militia, Steven Ray Baca,was arrested on aggravated assault charges in the non-fatal shooting. He is set for a jury trial June 20.

City Attorney Lauren Keefe said in a statement Tuesday the city decided to settle all three lawsuits to avoid the risk of incurring any further expense, including the costs of a likely appeal.

The settlement amount is largely reflective of the Citys potential liability related to the public records requests, she stated. The city also paid $17,000 to hire Santa Fe lawyer Kate Ferlic to represent Keller after the militia group members made multiple requests for personal cellphone records.

The lawsuits were filed by Devon Bay, John Burks, Daniel Espinosa, Craig Fitzgerald, Joel Mason and David Rice. They were represented by the law office of former New Mexico Supreme Court Justice Paul Kennedy. He couldnt be reached for comment.

Kennedys firm contended that prior to the June 2020 protests, officials in the Albuquerque Police Department, Keller and then-chief administrative officer Sarita Nair targeted the militia members for arrest.

Their federal civil rights lawsuit maintained that after the shooting, militia members were arrested and forcibly detained in handcuffs for hours without probable cause. Police were accused of using excessive force and causing serious injuries to the militia members while they were detained.

But a federal judge in Albuquerque found their arrest and detention didnt violate their civil rights, and excessive force wasnt used by police.

Mr. Baca fired multiple shots, creating an unsafe situation for both officers and bystanders, wrote U.S. District Judge Kea Riggs of Albuquerque in a ruling last November. Because the plaintiffs were armed, the circumstances warranted officers to zip tie or handcuff the plaintiffs and secure their weapons.

She ruled against the militia members on all but one claim of municipal liability, which was still outstanding at the time of settlement. She also found no proof that Keller, Nair and Medina were involved in the decision to take the militia members into custody or created a policy to cause them constitutional harm.

A requester of public records can seek damages and attorneys fees if the responsive documents arent produced by a governmental agency in compliance with state law.

In their first IPRA case, militia members sought records relating to APDs preparation for and response to the demonstration.

Typically, such records are required to be produced in 15 days, unless a specific exemption applies.

But four months passed before the City Clerks office produced two redacted documents: a heavily redacted Operation Plan and an Event Action Plan. The city claimed the redactions in the Operation Plan were proper to protect the identities of undercover officers.

To settle the issue, state District Judge Joshua Allison last fall reviewed a copy of the redacted Operation Plan provided to him by the city and found it contained substantially fewer redactions than the redacted version provided to the militia members who filed suit, he wrote in an order. The city subsequently withdrew its exemption and provided the plan with only one redaction the judge found appropriate.

The second IPRA lawsuit claimed the city violated the law in failing to adequately respond to a request for cellphone records of Keller, Nair and then-Deputy Chief Medina. City Clerk Ethan Watson contended the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the ability of his office to efficiently handle IPRA requests. On Tuesday, City Attorney Keefe said the city has increased the number of staff fulfilling public records requests.

After the Tiguex Park protest, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Raul Torrez filed a lawsuit alleging the presence of the heavily armed group helped incite the non-fatal shooting at the protest and violated New Mexico law.

He succeeded in obtaining an injunction barring the New Mexico Civil Guard from organizing or operating in public as part of a military unit that isnt activated by the governor of New Mexico, and from assuming law enforcement functions by projecting the ability to use organized force at protests and public gatherings.
New Mexicos senators are among a bipartisan collection of members of Congress trying to stop their colleagues from owning or trading stocks or other types of investments.

New Mexico Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Lujan, both Democrats, co-sponsored a bill that would tighten rules on congressional members investments. The rules would also apply to their immediate family members.

The idea behind the legislation is that lawmakers are aware of investigations, hearings and legislation that can affect stock prices. They could also support or oppose policy changes that would impact specific companies or industries.

Heinrichs office pointed out in a news release that both conservative and liberal people support such reforms.

This is very simple, Heinrich said at a news conference this week. This is saying to every single American that your member of Congress, your senator, is making decisions based on what is best for the country, what is best for their state and their constituents, not what is best for their bottom line.

The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center reported in 2020 that dozens of House and Senate members made numerous financial transactions prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which originally tanked the stock market. A New York Times investigation last year found that between 2019 to 2021, nearly 100 congressional members from both parties or their family members bought or sold financial assets in industries that intersected with their legislative committee assignments.

If you think about the last few years, its very obvious that Congress on a repeated basis has to deal with emergencies that we never saw coming, Heinrich said, referring to COVID, the war in Ukraine and the collapse of certain banks, all of which impacted the stock market.

As for New Mexicos delegation, the Campaign Legal Center reported that in 2021, Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury and Lujan didnt own stocks or widely-held investment funds, such as mutual funds. They are a rarity  Lujan is the only senator without any stocks or widely-held investments and Stansbury is one of 38 representatives without such assets.

Heinrich and former-Rep. Yvette Herrell, a Republican, didnt own stocks but did own widely-held investment funds. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez, a Democrat, is an owner of both types of investments, according to the report.

The states newest member of Congress, Democratic Rep. Gabe Vasquez, doesnt own any stocks, according to his spokeswoman.

The proposed bill, called the Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks, or ETHICS, Act, would prohibit members of congress from owning or trading stocks, securities, commodities or futures and would require them to divest current assets and diversify their portfolios into assets like mutual funds, among other reforms.

A 2012 act called the STOCK Act allows members of congress to buy or trade stocks and other financial assets but they cant trade on inside information. They also must disclose any trades by themselves or family members over a certain amount.

Members of Congress are entrusted to fight for the interests of their constituents  not advance their own personal financial position, Lujan said in a statement. This legislation will help build trust between Congress and the millions of Americans who we represent.
SW China's Guizhou dubbed as 'bridge museum'

People's Daily Online) 10:39, April 19, 2023

Guizhou Province in southwest China, located on the east of the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, covers an area of over 176,100 square kilometers, 93 percent of which are mountains and hills.

As one of the regions featuring the most typical karst topography in the world, Guizhou is dotted with high mountains, gorges and rivers, which gives the province unique natural beauty but also hinders locals' interaction with the outside world.

Provincial authorities have pressed ahead with transport development since 2013 to transform inconvenient transport conditions. Every county in the province got access to expressways in 2015, and the highway extended to every village in 2017. The mileage of Guizhou's expressway, stretching 8,331 kilometers, ranks fourth nationally, making the province a land transport hub in southwest China.

Behind all of these achievements are local bridges which play a significant role.

More than 30,000 bridges have been built or are under construction in the province. It boasts nearly half of the world's 100 tallest bridges and four winners of the Gustav Lindenthal Medal, the world's most prestigious bridge construction award, which explains why Guizhou is dubbed the "bridge museum."

Photo shows five bridges over the Wujiang River in Wujiang town, Bozhou district, Zunyi, southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the First Beipan River Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Pingtang grand bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows a service area and the Pingtang grand bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Balinghe Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Balinghe Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Yachihe Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Yachihe Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Huayudong Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the First Beipan River Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Huayudong Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

This aerial photo shows the Huayudong Bridge in southwest China's Guizhou Province. (People's Daily Online/Tu Min)

(Web editor: Chang Sha, Du Mingming)
French President Emmanuel Macron captured on video singing a traditional song following the signing of the controversial pension reform bill into law

The passing of the bill resulted in turmoil across the nation as protesters oppose raising the age requirement for retirement by two years

The situation comes after several weeks of demonstrations in France that unsuccessfully blocked the reform

Video footage of French President Emmanuel Macron singing a traditional song surfaced on Tuesday following his signing of the controversial pension reform bill into law, which resulted in turmoil across the nation.

When the video of the French leader singing first came out, many internet users suspected that it was created as a fake using AI or other technological tools. However, people who were close to Macron confirmed that it was authentic.

Emmanuel Macron Sings Amid Nationwide Turmoil

The sources said that Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, took a moment after delivering a speech on Monday evening. The couple reportedly encountered a group of younger people singing, prompting the president to join them in a song from the Pyrenees that he knows and loves, as per France24.

In the video, which was captured at night, Macron could be seen reading from his mobile phone the lyrics to the song "Le Refuge," which is a piece talking about a lodge in the mountain range on the country's southwestern border with Spain. He was seen being surrounded by men who seemed to be in their 20s and 30s and were singing vigorously.

The incident could initially be seen as the French president showing a connection with young voters. This is because Macron's pension reform resulted in widespread animosity from people of pension age that have fought back against the bill in recent weeks.

The video footage of Macron singing was first published on Facebook on the page of an organization known as "Project Canto." The group describes itself as working to preserve traditional songs in digital form. However, left-wing newspaper Liberation last year reported that the group was founded and run by far-right activists and even offered song records with ties to Nazi Germany in its application.

Read Also: Vladimir Putin Visits Annexed Ukrainian Regions

Controversial Pension Reform Bill Signed Into Law

On Monday, Macron connected his pension reform bill and Europe's independence from other nations. According to Politico, he said that France is filled with people who want to control and choose their own destinies and do not want to depend on anyone else.

That particular TV appearance was the first time he had publicly addressed the country since the signing of the controversial bill. Macron's reference to independence from other nations was similar to comments previously made in a separate interview.

In passing the bill into law, the Constitutional Council rejected opposition calls for a referendum but also removed other aspects of the reform, citing legal flaws. After the ruling, protesters across Paris set fires in the region, resulting in law enforcement personnel making 112 arrests.

Since January, there have been 12 days of demonstrations that protesters conducted in opposition to the controversial pension reform bill. Macron has repeatedly defended his plan by saying that reforms were necessary to prevent the collapse of the pension system, said BBC.

Related Article: Sudan Fighting Continues Despite Ceasefire

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On April 30, 2022, Tashina Red Hawk, Sicangu Lakota, was crowned Miss Indian World 2022.

On Thursday, April 27, nearly two dozen contestants will begin their journey in becoming Miss Indian World 2023.

The event takes place at the Albuquerque Convention Center and the women will compete throughout events at the Gathering of Nations Powwow.

Red Hawk is a member of the Rosebud Sioux Tribe, in Rosebud South Dakota.

In addition to winning Miss Indian World 2022, Miss Red Hawk also won the awards for best essay and best personal interview. For her traditional talent, Miss Red Hawk showcased the Lakota Way of Life by singing a traditional Lakota song, discussing Lakota beadwork and horse culture, and a bow and arrow demonstration.

Red Hawk won the crown at 18, and is the daughter of Shane and Noella Red Hawk.

According to organizers, the Miss Indian World Pageant takes place annually at the worlds largest Native American powwow, Gathering of Nations.

The inaugural Miss Indian World pageant was held in 1984 and since its inception, young Native American women ages 18-25 have traveled from all regions of the continent to represent their tribes and compete for the coveted crown.

Its purpose is to give young Native American women an opportunity to showcase their tribes and cultures, while serving as a cultural ambassador of Native Americans by demonstrating the pride and continuance of the diverse cultures of Native people, says Derek Mathews, Gathering of Nations founder. This program is about Native American culture and positive imaging for the young ladies who compete for the title. The Miss Indian World pageant has a reputation for crowning winners who display a profound knowledge of her tribes traditions, history, ancestors and culture.

Throughout the four-day competition, contestants accumulate points based on strong showings in the areas of public speaking, traditional talent, interview, essay and dance. Qualifying contestants must be of Native or Indigenous American descent, single, with no kids, and have never been married. In addition to the title, contestants are able to win individual awards based on their scores. The following women were also recognized during the crowning ceremony in 2022.

1st runner up  Cordelia Falls Down, Crow Tribe/United Keetoowah Band, Crow Agency Band.

2nd runner up  Chante Speidel, Swampy Cree/Hunkpapa Lakota, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada.

Public speaking award  Autumn Dawn McMillan, Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Philadelphia, Mississippi.

Traditional talent award  Ontaria Ariwite, Shoshone-Bannock/Northern Ute/Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Fort Hall, Idaho.

Best dancer award  Chante Speidel, Swampy Cree/Hunkpapa Lakota, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada

Miss congeniality  Ontaria Ariwite, Shoshone-Bannock/Northern Ute/Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Fort Hall, Idaho.
A high school student will remain behind bars after two handguns found in his vehicle last week were allegedly tied to more than a dozen shootings around Albuquerque.

Second Judicial District Court Judge Clara Moran granted the pretrial detention motion for Michael Ramirez, 18, on Wednesday.

Ramirez, a student at La Academia de Esperanza charter school, is charged with two counts of unlawful carrying of a deadly weapon on school premises and one count of receiving stolen property.

Ramirez has not been charged in any of the alleged shootings tied to the guns and prosecutors have not accused him in those incidents.

Ramirezs attorney could not be reached for comment.

In a released statement, 2nd Judicial District Attorney Sam Bregman said, If you bring guns to school, you will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

During Wednesdays hearing, prosecutors alleged that on April 11 Ramirez and some classmates told another student they wanted to buy two 9mm handguns from them. Prosecutors allege Ramirez and at least one accomplice put masks on and used a rifle to rob the student of both guns.

Police say on April 13 Ramirez took both guns, one of which had been reported stolen, to school to sell at least one of them. A teacher overheard a conversation about the guns, according to police, and called authorities who found the guns in Ramirezs vehicle along with ammunition and extended magazines.

Prosecutors on Wednesday allege that one gun was tied to three drive-by shootings, including one at Sandia High School, and the other was tied to 12 shootings but did not elaborate.

Today a judge ruled there is no greater danger than weapons being brought onto school campuses, and ordered Ramirez to remain in Custody, according to a release from the District Attorneys Office.
Cover Images/Seth Browarnik Movie

The upcoming action comedy itself, which was written by Brian Otting, has been acquired by Amazon Studios and will focus on a mysterious murder in a retirement home for spies.

Apr 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Sylvester Stallone is set to star in "Never Too Old To Die". The 78-year-old actor will also produce the upcoming action comedy, which has been acquired by Amazon Studios and will focus on a mysterious murder in a retirement home for spies.

The film, as reported by Deadline, will see a Cold War hero on a mission to discover the assassin living in the home. It has been written by Brian Otting, while a director is yet to be confirmed.

"Never Too Old To Die" marks the first project under Stallone and Braden Aftergood's Balboa Productions' multi-year, first look deal with Amazon. The agreement will see the "Rocky" legend writing, directing, producing and starring in a range of scripted and unscripted projects across TV and film.

Jennifer Salke, head of Amazon and MGM Studios, said earlier in April, "Sylvester Stallone is an undeniable Hollywood legend who has created some of the most timeless and iconic characters of our generation."

"As an actor, writer, director, and producer, he has defined his own epic brand of storytelling and inspired people all over the world," Salke went on. "We are excited to continue our relationship with Sylvester and Balboa Productions to bring even more of his exciting creative vision to our global audiences."

Balboa previously produced MGM's 2022 superhero movie "Samaritan", which starred Stallone and was distributed via Prime Video. Stallone and Aftergood said, "We are thrilled to partner with Amazon to create new film and television projects. Having the opportunity to work closely with the talented creative teams at Amazon and MGM will further propel the incredible momentum of Balboa Productions."

Stallone, who can currently be seen as Dwight "The General" Manfredi on Paramount+ crime drama "Tulsa King", will be make a return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe next month as Ravager Captain Stakar Ogord in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3".

Meanwhile, the Hollywood action star joins his family on reality series "The Family Stallone", which launches on May 17 via Paramount's streaming platform, and he'll be back as part of "The Expendables" franchise in the summer of 2023.

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The 'Drake and Josh' alum's estranged wife Janet Von Schmeling celebrates their son's birthday without the actor after it was reported that he threatened suicide over child custody issue.

Apr 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Drake Bell was apparently missing from his child's big day. His son, whom he shares with estranged wife Janet Von Schmeling, recently turned 2 years old, but the former child actor wasn't present during the celebration of the boy's milestone.

On Monday, April 17, Janet posted on her Instagram Stories several photos and videos from a "Baby Shark"-themed party that she threw for her little one. "I can't believe you're 2!!!!" read a Story reposted by the Florida native.

In most of the pictures and videos, Janet and her son were seen hanging out with friends and family members, but Drake was nowhere to be seen around them. The birthday boy seemed to have a lot of fun, smiling while playing in a small pool of filled balls.

Janet also looked carefree that day. The 28-year-old rocked a pair of white overalls and a pink top while holding the baby boy most of the time. The toddler, whose name has not been revealed to the public by his parents, was seen sleeping while being carried by his mom in one of the snaps.

It's unclear if Drake did not receive an invite to the party or if he decided to skip the celebration. He has recently caused enough drama with his disappearance last week. The Daytona Beach Police Department reported on Thursday, April 13 that the 36-year-old was missing and a search was conducted to find him.

A few hours later, police confirmed that they have located the "Drake & Josh" alum. He then took to social media to address his missing reports, claiming that it was misunderstanding simply because he misplaced his phone. "You leave your phone in the car and don't answer for the night and this?" so he tweeted on Thursday, adding a face with tears of joy emoji, just a few hours after police found him alive and well.

It was later reported that Drake threatened suicide before he was reported missing. According to TMZ, his brother Robert told Orlando PD that the actor was suicidal after having a "falling out" with his estranged wife Janet over child custody issues.

Robert told cops Drake was "distraught and made suicidal statements" in texts to their mother. He allegedly said he didn't want to live anymore, was going to drink excessively and hang himself. Robert said that he tried to make Drake come to his senses but it was to no avail, so he decided to call police.

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The Internet personality, who has the most followers on the streaming service, tweeted, 'Banned' after his account became unavailable on Monday, April 17 due to a violation of terms of service.

Apr 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Here's why Kai Cenat got banned from Twitch. While the 21-year-old Internet personality's followers are still left puzzled by the platform's decision to suspend his account, the alleged reason for this situation has been revealed.

According to multiple reports, the ban was put in place following "repeated explicit simulated sexual activity in 'GTA' over the weekend." While it wasn't specified which act that landed Kai in trouble, it's said that the ban is only "temporary."

Kai, who is known for his prolific presence on Twitch, tweeted, "Banned" on Monday, April 17 after his account got terminated. As of Tuesday, a message on his page read, "This channel is temporarily unavailable due to violation of Twitch's Community Guidelines or Terms of Service."

Following the ban, Nicki Minaj spoke up in defense of the streamer. "Why would they do that? Like why would they do that?" she said during a recent Q&A with fans when someone asked her about Kai's situation.

The Trinidadian-born star added, "Let the boy live. Let the boy rock. Like stop..!" She went on saying that she's willing to dress up "cute" and appear in his stream to back up Kai. "Alright, I'ma get cute. I'ma dress up nice and cute and I'ma go on live for him and speak with him if that's cool with him," said the "Anaconda" hitmaker. "First, let me reach out to him 'cus I really like him. I really like him a lot."

Kai broke Twitch's all time subscription record in late February. He had more than 300,000 subs and surpassed Ludwig and Ninja. Following word of the record's smashing, Drake urged the streaming service to pay Kai $50 million to further motivate him, but Twitch has refused the New York City native's request for a contract.

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The 'Empire State of Mind' hitmaker will kick off 'Keys to the Summer Tour', which is produced by Live Nation, at FLA Live Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 28.

Apr 19, 2023

AceShowbiz - Alicia Keys is hitting the road soon. On Tuesday, April 18, the "Empire State of Mind" hitmaker surprised her online devotees by announcing the dates of her "Keys to the Summer Tour".

The 42-year-old broke the exciting news via Instagram by sharing a compilation video of special moments in her life. She captioned it, "KEYS TO THE SUMMER TOUR. I'm about to bring you these NEW VIBRATIONNNSSSS. My first ever 360 tour!! Where are you pullin' up to rock with me?"

The trek will run through more than 20 cities. It will kick off at FLA Live Arena in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on June 28. There will be several stops in cities like Atlanta, Boston, New Orleans and Seattle among others.

Alicia will wrap the North American tour, which was produced by Live Nation, at the Kia Forum in Inglewood, California on August 2. This will mark her first 360 in-the-round concert experience.

Of the tour, Alicia said in a statement that it "is going to be completely unforgettable and unmissable! I describe it as a celebration of freedom and self-liberation!" She added, "It's going to be colorful, magical and will light up your body, soul and all of your senses!"

"This is my first time creating a 360 experience and we've made sure it's like nothing you've ever seen!" the award-winning artist further declared. "I'm so excited to see y'all this summer!"

"Keys to the Summer Tour" follows 2022's "The Alicia + Keys World Tour", which included dates in North America and Europe. In May, she will head to Latin America for a series of shows.

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Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO and Co-founder, GOZOOP Group, has been announced as the Jury Chair for 54th edition of the ABBY Awards, one of the most prestigious creative awards celebrating excellence in advertising, digital marketing, and communication arena. ABBYs, South Asia's pre-eminent awards this year, join hands with The One Show, the world's most prestigious award program, with a commitment to delight the communication and creative fraternity.

ABBYs showcase the best work from agencies, brands, and individuals across various disciplines such as print, television, digital and experiential. The ABBY Awards representing the South Asia region encourages entries from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Pakistan respectively. Each category will be judged independently by industry veterans and celebrated personalities. The awards will be held on 24th, 25th, and 26th of May at the 16th edition of Goafest 2023 at Grand Hyatt, Bambolim, Goa.

Commenting on his appointment as the jury member, Ahmed Aftab Naqvi, Global CEO and Co-founder, GOZOOP Group shares, Along with my jury members, I look forward to recognizing and celebrating the absolute best work from the Indian advertising industry.

A pioneer in the digital realm, Ahmed Aftab Naqvi was recently named as jury member for The Cannes Lions Awards 2023, slated to take place in June this year. His recent recognitions include being named to the '40 under 40' list by BW Businessworld, receiving the 'Agency Head of the Year' award at AgencyCon, alongside having the honor of being invited as a 'Champion of Change' by the Hon'ble Prime Minister of India & NITI Aayog.

As a first-generation entrepreneur, he co-founded and bootstrapped GOZOOP, which has become one of India's top advertising companies, having helped to build brands such as Taj Hotels, Dell, Tim Hortons, Saint Gobain, British Council, Olympic Council of Asia, Bisleri, Air India, Ola, Bata, Mashreq Bank, and more. Throughout the last 15 years, he has been a driving force behind digital-led creativity and innovative advertising, earning him a distinguished reputation and numerous awards in the industry.
JSW Paints, Indias environment-friendly paints company and part of the US $22 billion JSW Group, is launching a new product campaign for its luxury range of Halo Wall Finishes.

The Indian consumer is discerning and extremely conscious of how his/her walls look. However, when it comes to making a choice they Sleep Buy thinking they are buying the best, often without knowing why is it the best. In the process, they get some benefits and miss many. JSW Paints encourages consumers to make an informed choice. It began with Sawalia questioning Why pay extra for colour. In this campaign, Sawalia questions consumers to find out if they are getting all the benefits they can get in their best paint. JSW Paints Halo range of finishes is top of its class offering that comes fully loaded and feature-packed.

It has anti-stain (which makes it easy to clean stains off the wall), has Germ block (which protects the home interiors from bacteria, fungus, and viruses), has a rich sheen, offers best-in-class coverage, and comes with Any Colour One Price. Additionally, it is water-based and low VOC making it completely non-toxic and family-friendly. Conceptualized by TBWA, this campaign features Bollywood Superstars Alia Bhatt & Ayushmann Khurrana. The TVC will be promoted digitally during the IPL 2023 season and on all the leading television channels.

Sundaresan A.S, Joint MD & CEO, JSW Paints said, As we build the paint company of the future, our aim is to help consumers make an informed choice. The insight behind this campaign is that often consumers blindly go ahead with what is being offered, without knowing what they get. Sawalia, an agent provocateur, continues to nudge consumers to ask the right questions and make the right choice! The campaign aims to assure its audience that it is indeed possible for a single paint brand to have it all. However, the only way to find out the benefits is by taking the initiative to ask.

Govind Pandey, CEO, TBWA India said, Consumers in this category tend to be "sleep buyers" and make purchases based on perception or repeating past usage. JSW Paints innovations have enabled a range of paints complete with a far superior set of benefits. The JSW Paints Halo Campaign is a way to awaken the Indian consumers and get them to demand more from their paint by asking questions.
Malabar Gold & Diamonds, the 6th largest jewellery retailer globally with 312 showrooms across 10 countries, has signed Indian actress Alia Bhatt as their new brand ambassador. After making her debut in 2012, Alia Bhatt has quickly transformed into one of the most sought-after actresses in India, with a score of blockbusters movies under the belt. She has garnered praise for her versatility as an actress, her humble persona and stunning looks, representative of a new era of super talented actors hailing from India. She is also set to make her Hollywood debut in the movie, Heart of Stone, which is slated to be released soon.

The announcements come in the wake of the 30th anniversary of Malabar group, which began their operations in 1993. With an extensive retail network in India, UAE, KSA, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Kuwait, Malaysia, Singapore and the USA, the signing of Alia Bhatt as the brand ambassador will bring a new global outlook to the brand as they set their eyes on new markets such as the UK, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Egypt, Bangladesh, Turkey and New Zealand as well as major cities in all states of India strengthen their presence in existing markets.

I am delighted to be the face of a global brand such as Malabar Gold & Diamonds. Having witnessed first-hand their acceptance amongst Indians and Indian sub-continental audience, the immense success they have reaped abroad should be a source of great pride for us and I am humbled to be a part of the Malabar family. As Malabar Gold & Diamonds gears up to execute their ambitious expansion plan, I earnestly look forward to working closely with them to further their reach amongst jewellery lovers world-over, commented Alia Bhatt.

We are very excited to welcome Alia Bhatt into the Malabar Family. Over the years, our brand ambassadors have played an instrumental role in elevating our brands status in the eyes of our customers and we are looking forward to taking Malabar Gold & Diamonds to new heights with Alia Bhatt as the face of the brand. Our goal is to be crowned as the Worlds largest jewellery retailer by crafting, promoting and selling jewellery that is an intersection of Indian art, culture, tradition, heritage and Alia Bhatt, both as an actor and as a person, perfectly represents what we are striving to achieve. Her impressive career in the highly competitive film industry resonates with our brand's journey and ambition as a brand. As Malabar Gold & Diamonds celebrates its 30th anniversary, we are reaffirming our commitment to providing our loyal customers with the best jewellery shopping experience, commented Malabar Group Chairman, M.P. Ahammed.

Malabar Gold & Diamonds is globally renowned for providing an exceptional jewelry shopping experience with convenience and customer-friendly policies, known as the 'Malabar Promise.' This promise assures customers of unmatched quality, transparency, and service assurance. With more than 12 exclusive brands in gold, diamond, and precious gems, Malabar Gold & Diamonds presents the latest designs curated from 20 countries, catering to the diverse tastes and preferences of their vast, multicultural customer base.
Signify, the world leader in lighting, has launched a quirky new campaign featuring actor and EcoLinks brand ambassador, Pankaj Tripathi, for its new range of energy efficient BLDC fans and LED lights. The tongue-in-cheek campaign features the versatile actor in a never-seen-before avatar of Bachat Kumar, a celebrated savings expert, who emphasizes that there is only one true link for savings  EcoLink range of BLDC Fans and LED lights.

Conceptualised by Hashtag Orange, the campaign has two films wherein Pankaj Tripathi takes on the role of Bachat Kumar  a superstar who knows everything about saving money. The films center around people asking him for advice on savings, and he espouses the real mantra of savings with the catchy slogan Bachat ka Link - EcoLink, with an eccentric treatment that is bound to garner attention in a cluttered category of BLDC fans and LED lights.

The EcoLink fans film opens with a couple seeking Bachat Kumars advice on saving money. The savings expert, dressed in a flashy red suit and a gold EcoLink chain, emphasizes thatthere is only one true link for savings  Bachat ka ek hi link  EcoLink, urging the couple to choose EcoLink BLDC fans that deliver 60% energy savings and a guaranteed long-lasting performance. The film ends with Tripathi and the couple dancing and rejoicing in their choice.

The LED lights film features Bachat Kumar riding a bike onto the stage at his event, surrounded by a huge army of fans. His jazzy entry on-stage is received witha loud cheer and applause from the crowd. However, amidst all the excitement, a voice from the crowd asks Bachat ka koi link batao (tell us a way to save money), to which Pankaj repeats the same savings mantra Bachat ka ek hi link EcoLink, as the LED lights range comes into focus, with the promise of 90% savings on electricity and durable performance.

Watch the ad films:

EcoLink Fans - https://youtu.be/VAQhrDC8Syk

EcoLink LED Lights and fans - https://youtu.be/HgW0CH3noTU

Commenting on the new campaign, Nikhil Gupta, Head of Marketing & Integrated Communications and Commercial Operations, Signify Innovations India Limited, said, The fans and LED lights market is a fairly crowded one and with this quirky campaign centered around the protagonist  Bachat Kumar, we wanted to break the clutter in the electrical goods category. Pankaj Tripathi brings alive the quirky and flamboyant character and delivers the message Bachat ka Link  EcoLink with a dash of humour. There couldnt have been a better choice for an actor who can connect with the audience so organically to deliver this campaign.

Elaborating on the ad campaign, Amit Shankar, Co-founder, Chief Creative Officer, Hashtag Orange, said, To make EcoLink Fans and Lights popular amongst the masses, we came up with a simple proposition of Bachat ka ek hi link  EcoLink. Indian middle-class families take savings very seriously. Every purchase they make must be top class and should also generate savings. To capitalise on this sentiment, we used one of the most popular Indian actors who has a mass following, Pankaj Tripathi, and we transformed him into a brand-new avatar called Bachat Kumar, the rockstar of bachat, who gives valuable advice to common folks in his own unique and quirky style. Sometimes inside his gold clad home turned office and at times from his very own bachat concert. We truly had a lot of fun filming this one. We hope consumers will enjoy the Bachat adventures of Bachat Kumar and will remember his golden words for wholesome and only way saving, which is Bachat ka link  EcoLink.

Campaign Credits:

Client - Signify India (Nikhil Gupta, Natasha Wadhwa, Aastha Bhatnagar)

Agency - Hashtag Orange

Creative - Amit Shankar, Rahul Rautela

Account Management: Sridhar Iyer, Subhank Gupta, Sakshi Bajaj

Production House - Rising Star Films

Founder & Creative Producer - Nasir Khan

Director - Ashwathram

Executive Producer - Firoz Khan

DOP - Shivendu Kudalkar

Music - Rohan Vinayak
Beijing Changfeng Hospital fire killed 21 persons

Following the incident, an investigation commenced

In November 2022, a similar incident prompted protests throughout China

At least 21 people were killed after a fire broke out in a Beijing hospital on Tuesday, causing patients trapped inside to jam up against windows, awaiting rescue, while at least one leaped to a roof below to escape the flames and smoke.

The fire was the worst in Beijing in the previous two decades. It started just before 1 p.m. at an inpatient building of the Changfeng Hospital in the city's south. Firefighters had mainly extinguished the flames in less than 40 minutes, according to a brief official report from the Beijing Daily Daily.

Beijing Hospital Fire

Despite the evacuation of dozens of patients, 21 died by early evening, reportedly due to the fires and intense smoke. The death toll might grow further since the official report did not specify if any remains were found within the structure.

The death toll has now eclipsed a 2017 fire in Beijing's Daxing District, killing 19 people in a close apartment complex housing migrant workers. A fire at a city internet cafe killed 25 people in 2002. The new accident is a setback for the Chinese capital, which has been returning to normalcy after almost three years of strict pandemic controls were loosened, allowing for a potentially lethal wave of COVID-19 infections last year.

Official Chinese media reported on the incident late at night, several hours after it had been doused, indicating the authorities' sensitivity to widespread outrage at the bad news. Yin Li, the Communist Party secretary for Beijing, visited the fire scene and stated that the authorities would prosecute anyone proven to be responsible, NY Times reported.

Those stuck in the multi-story building allegedly strung bedsheets into homemade ropes and fled by climbing out of windows as clouds of black smoke billowed into the sky late Tuesday, according to videos circulating on social media.

Others sought safety by perching on air conditioning equipment outside the building. Emergency services extinguished the fire in the east wing of Beijing Changfeng Hospital's inpatient department, and at least 71 patients were saved.

The majority of the facility looked to be without electricity late Tuesday. The building's facade seemed scorched and burnt in spots, as per The Guardian.

By early Wednesday, there had been no official indication of how many deaths were patients or the number of others who may have been hurt. A call to the hospital for comment on Tuesday went unanswered.

Read Also: Japanese PM Attack: Suspect Believed To Have Grudge on Electoral System

Previous Fire in China Left 10 People Dead

In November, a fire in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang region in western China, resulted in the deaths of ten people and sparked protests across China, with many blaming the deaths on pandemic restrictions that hindered residents and firefighters.

On Chinese social media platforms such as Weibo, locals shared images and video clips depicting how the fire in Beijing covered a large portion of the building, leaving many inside with no time or escape routes.

People inside cried for assistance while smoke billowed from the windows, and some of them leaned out of the windows. Other footage depicted a man scaling out of a window, descending a stack of blankets, and landing on an adjacent roof. A photograph showed the hospital's white-tiled exterior severely scorched by fire and smoke.

Messages that shared the footage on social media frequently vanished shortly after being sent. To quell public outrage and inquiries about disasters, the Chinese government has become adept at promptly censoring the news. Some on social media questioned why the Beijing government took so long to report the fire.

Related Article: Video: New York City Parking Garage Collapses

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The makers of Pushpa astound the entire nation with the unique concept video announcing Pushpa 2 The Rule. The arrival of Pushpa's rule was profoundly cemented with the release of the breathtaking poster on the eve of Pan India star Allu Arjun's birthday, featuring the sensational avatar of Pushpa Raj, that grabbed every eyeball with its appearance on the first page of newspapers across the country. Well, this was more than enough to ignite the spree of fire that has today made Pushpa 2 The Rule (Hindi) position at No. 1 in the list of Most Awaited Hindi Films as per Ormax media report.

As per the recently released Ormax Cinematix report, Pushpa 2 The Rule (Hindi) has made its place at the top in the list of Most awaited Hindi films as on April 15, 2023. Having released the list, they further jotted down the caption -

"#OrmaxCinematix Most-awaited Hindi films, as on Apr 15, 2023 (only films releasing Jun 2023 onwards whose trailer has not released yet have been considered)"

With Pushpa 2 The Rule (Hindi) leading at the No. 1 position in the list of Most Awaited Hindi Films, Hera Pheri 3, Jawan, Tiger 3 and Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 are other films that made their names in the list.

Pushpa 2 The Rule is directed by Sukumar and stars Allu Arjun, Rashmika Mandanna, and Fahadh Faasil. The film is produced by Mythri Movie Makers.
The One Club for Creativity, in partnership with TikTok, has taken the next step in helping agencies and brands meet the growing demand for relevant branded content with the launch of ONE Creator Lab, an intensive, nearly cost-free 20-week training program that combines advertising fundamentals with the maker skills and tools needed to bring effective short-form, video-first campaigns to life at the speed of culture.

The program bridges the gap between creators and agency creatives, and helps agencies and brands find talent with the soft and hard skills required to create effective branded content across media platforms thats relevant to the current social conversation. The benefits run both ways, as graduates will also help agencies to better understand and adapt to the new content landscape.

ONE Creator Lab will initially accommodate 50 students  up to 10 per pod  with involvement from 20 agencies and brands. Applications are now being accepted for classes starting in July, deadline to apply is May 21, 2023. The program launches in the US and Canada, with potential expansion to other regions.

The idea for The Lab began last year when The One Club hired program director Jerrod New, whose education technology background includes developing training content and launching new learning programs.

He engaged with a group of more than 150 agency CCOs and related subject matter experts from around the world to identify the skills and capabilities critical to emerging creators roles at ad agencies, design studios, production firms and in-house brand teams, and worked with them to develop learning content.

Target applicants include those currently outside of advertising, such as people making engaging TikTok videos who want to build that ability into a career to help brands connect with customers. They may be creating their own personal content now, but struggle to grow their audience and meet potential brand sponsors, often leading to burnout.

The Lab offers a supportive environment to learn the skills and build relationships needed to achieve creator influencer status while solving marketing challenges for brands.

ONE Creator Lab is a modern alternative to traditional ad schools, which havent fully adapted their curriculum to fit the new digital ecosystem, typically take two-to-six years to complete, and can be cost prohibitive at $40,000 or more in tuition.

To make the program as accessible as possible, The Lab is nearly cost-free for students. Once accepted, they pay only a tax-deductible $95 fee to reserve their enrollment, and make a pay-it-forward pledge to give back the equivalent of a $10,000 tuition. Students can do that by agreeing to donate 100 hours of their time towards mentoring, teaching, creating learning content, fundraising for scholarships and future programs, and other community building activities.

The program is much shorter and more affordable than ad schools, providing participants with the fundamentals of what it takes to work in advertising, and the production skills to concept and make content at the speed of culture  work thats timely, relevant, and resonates with the current cultural moment  without incurring the burden of costly tuition and loans.

Agencies and brands face a creator talent gap because traditional ad schools arent set up to produce grads with that skill set, said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. Weve worked directly with agencies and brands to understand what they need, and developed courses that train students on the insights, strategies, ideation and tools they need to produce effective content at the speed of culture that can live across media platforms.

At TikTok, we always empower brands and creative agencies to trust creators and think about them as if they are part of the in-house creative teams, said Krystle Watler, Head of Creative Agency Partnerships, North America, TikTok. We are proud to partner with The One Club to bring that advice to life in a way that serves creators, brands, and agencies alike.

The brand work for The Lab was developed by brand transformation consultancy COLLINS, based in New York and San Francisco.

One Creator Lab is beyond timely, given not only the explosion in costs for a creative education, but also to take the dazzling technological change happening all around us and turn it to creative peoples advantage, said Brian Collins, Co-founder, COLLINS. The Lab faculty is not only on the field every day, but they are on the very, very top of their games. So, students will accelerate like crazy here. We are thrilled to be an early supporter.

Sessions will be led by agency, creator, and tech industry experts, and curriculum will continually change as tech tools, platforms, and consumer habits evolve. Students will spend two days per week meeting with instructors and mentors online, and one day where they will travel to a participating agency or brand in their area to present work and get in-person feedback.

Students will work on real-world assignments and present their ideas and prototypes to instructors and peers for feedback. Course topics include making short form video first campaigns, developing your personal voice, and how to work with creative teams at brands and agencies.

Graduates will have the skill sets needed to develop a professional portfolio to interview for entry-level roles, apprenticeship and paid internship opportunities at agencies and brands, as well as do freelance work. Allies in Recruiting (AIR), which recently became part of The One Club, will provide mentorship on developing a professional brand, portfolio and interviewing skills.

The program will be supported by a campaign created by R/GA, launching soon.

ONE Creator Lab follows on the success of ONE School, The One Clubs groundbreaking free portfolio program for Black creatives that, in just two years, has an 82% hire rate at 90 top agencies and brands for its 154 grads  66% of them women.
Texas-based Million Air will invest a minimum of $32 million in Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, with operations to begin June 1 on the airports eastside facilities.

Signing a lease as a Fixed Base Operator (FBO), Million Air will add a total of 94,000-square-feet in new development at the airport.

According to the Birmingham Airport Authority, Million Air plans to build a new 10,000-square-foot terminal for pilots, aircraft owners and guests, military, and corporate business travelers.

It will also erect a new 24,000-square-foot Community Lite Aviation Hangar for smaller, privately owned aircraft.

And it will build two new 30,000-square-foot Community Corporate Hangars.

The new terminal and hangars will replace old ones at the current East side location, some dating back more than 50 years. The new facilities will make room for servicing and storing General Aviation aircraft of all sizes.

FBOs are similar to full-service fuel and convenience stations that specifically cater to general aviation, commercial and military aircraft, offering several services. Million Air currently operates similar aviation businesses in 38 airport locations across the nation.

The company also plans to offer amenities such as Starbucks with staffed baristas, Mercedes crew cars, valet parking for customer vehicles, a pilots lounge, Hertz Rental Car on site, and dedicated concierge services.

This partnership represents a lot of hard work and a commitment to elevating our game here at the airport, Bill Smith, chair of the Birmingham Airport Authoritys review committee, said in a statement. Million Air is committed to making a huge investment in this community and creating an upscale experience for all customers.

Million Air CEO Roger Woolsey said the company is confident we can deliver a facility, level of service, and amenities that will be unrivaled at this airport.
Birmingham-based City Wholesale, a regional convenience store distributor with operations in Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi and Tennessee, has been acquired by Louisiana-based Imperial Trading Company.

NOLA.com is reporting that Imperial Trading is now the fourth-largest convenience store distributor in the U.S.

City Wholesale has annual revenues of about $150 million, according to the report.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed, but the companys 125 employees will reportedly be retained. The acquisition also adds a central Alabama distribution center to Imperials network.

City Wholesale, founded in 1926, has been owned for three generations by members of the Dichiara family.

President Paul Dichiara told NOLA.com that the family decided to sell because there wasnt a younger generation to pass it on to, plus the timing seemed right.
The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology in Huntsville has generated $4.2 billion for Alabamas economy since opening in 2006 with nearly $1 billion of that coming the last two years alone, a new report says.

The HudsonAlpha campus in Cummings Research Park now has 50 resident companies with 1,590 jobs tied directly to the institute or its associate companies. Those jobs and another 1,096 calculated multiplier jobs bring the total to nearly 2,7000 people working in bioscience including research, pharmaceuticals, medical testing, medical devices and agriculture, according to a study by the Center for Management & Economic Research at the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH).

HudsonAlpha continues to produce for the state of Alabama, Governor Kay Ivey said in a statement accompanying the reports release. HudsonAlpha is adding jobs to compete in the innovation-economy, providing our educators the highest quality tools and techniques to teach the workforce of tomorrow, and making scientific discoveries in the world of genomics to help all of us live better lives. We are proud of what HudsonAlpha is doing for our great state.

During the past few years, we have seen certain areas of our economy slow down. So, when I see HudsonAlphas increase in momentum, I am particularly proud and humbled, co-founder Jim Hudson said. Every day, people on our Biotech Campus work to solve important problems in human health and agriculture. I am thankful for their efforts and those around the state who have supported us since Lonnie (McMillian) and I started HudsonAlpha.

McMillian, a successful businessman who co-founded AdTran, one of Huntsvilles most successful early tech companies, and Hudson, founder of early Huntsville genetic research company Research Genetics, co-founded HudsonAlpha. McMillian died in 2019 at age 90.

The HudsonAlpha campus is still growing with the recent addition of the Center for Plant Science and Sustainable Agriculture and the coming this year of the global headquarters of Discovery Live Sciences, the institute said. The growth has meant $264 million in capital spending on the campus.

Before Lonnie and Jim founded HudsonAlpha, our areas biosciences industry had a relatively small impact on the states economy, Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle said. As this report shares, there is no doubt of HudsonAlphas continued contribution to Alabama as a whole and in making Huntsville a Smart City.

We at HudsonAlpha are excited about the future. HudsonAlpha is driven to make an impact in multiple areas, and we are honored to have contributed billions to the state since 2006, current HudsonAlpha President Neil Lamb said. We are proud to partner with so many organizations, both public and private, and look forward to collectively making Alabama the best it can be.

The economic impact analysis was made using the IMPLAN economic model, the report says. IMPLAN is a software analysis service that uses computer models to generate multipliers and multiplier effects (impacts) using regional and local data....

HudsonAlpha and its associate companies supplied the data for 2006 to 2022. It included but was not limited to employment, revenues, payroll, spending, and capital expenditures for the 18-year period, the report says. Using the data, the economic impact analysis was performed to estimate the impact of the HudsonAlpha campus on the economy of the State of Alabama, the analysis said.
A woman serving as treasurer/bookkeeper of a Little League organization in the Florida Panhandle is accused of stealing nearly $17,000 in league funds for her own use.

According to the Escambia County Sheriffs Office, 38-year-old Paula Pugh is charged with grand theft and fraud for transactions totaling $16,977.87 made over a 17-month period between July 2021 and December 2022.

According to the ECSO arrest report, John Maughon, president of the Northwest Escambia Little League, alerted law enforcement last December to the suspected theft.

Investigators obtained bookkeeping records and bank records which showed transactions reportedly made by Pugh from the league account held at First National Bank in Atmore, Alabama. The transactions, unauthorized by the leagues board of directors, included ATM withdrawals, debit card purchases and checks cashed.

The documents obtained by investigators show Pugh cashed checks from the league account for amounts ranging from $530 to $2,000. There were 25 separate ATM withdrawals, all but one completed at First National Bank in Atmore, ranging in amounts from $40 to $300, according to the sheriffs office.

In all, there were 43 unauthorized transactions listed in the arrest report. None of the transactions cited in the arrest report had supporting receipts or other documentation, according to investigators.

An investigator met with Pugh on March 8, at which time she reportedly told the investigator she would be about to provide documentation for the transactions.

By April 3, Pugh had still not provided the documentation and instead told the investigator she would be meeting with an attorney. The investigator noted in his report he had no contact with Pugh after that.

Pugh was taken into custody and booked into the Escambia County Jail Monday. She was later released after posting $2,500 bond.

Pugh had served as the leagues treasurer/bookkeeper since 2017. She is also a teacher at Northview High School, although the schools website lists her as Star Pugh.

WEAR reported the Escambia County School District was aware of the situation and following normal disciplinary procedures, but had no other comment.
LAS VEGAS (AP)  The sexual abuse trial of a Dances With Wolves actor charged in Nevada with abusing Indigenous women and girls for more than a decade is on hold indefinitely, a state judge announced last week.

Nathan Chasing Horse, 46, was originally set to stand trial May 1. He is charged with 18 felonies, including sexual assault of a minor, kidnapping, lewdness and child abuse.

Shortly after a grand jury in Las Vegas indicted him in February, Chasing Horse invoked his right to a trial within 60 days. But on April 12, his public defender, Kristy Holston, asked to put a pause on proceedings while they ask the Nevada Supreme Court to toss his indictment.

Clark County District Judge Carli Kierny said she would set a new trial date if the high court upholds her recent decision denying Chasing Horses request to dismiss the case. Chasing Horse and his attorneys argued that two women identified as his victims wanted to have sex with him.

Kierny, in her ruling issued Friday, said state prosecutors presented enough evidence for a reasonable grand juror to conclude that the sexual assaults occurred. While Kierny upheld the sexual abuse charges, she dismissed a drug trafficking charge, saying that there was no substantive testimony tying Chasing Horse to the psilocybin mushrooms investigators found while searching his home.

Holston and lead prosecutor Stacy Kollins declined to comment further after the hearing.

Kierny set a new hearing for May 10 to check on the status of Chasing Horses appeal to the high court, which had yet to be filed on Wednesday.

Chasing Horse was born on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota and is widely known for his portrayal of Smiles a Lot in Kevin Costners 1990 film.

But police and prosecutors have said that in the decades since appearing in the Oscar-winning movie, Chasing Horse marketed himself to tribes nationwide as a medicine man with healing powers who could communicate with higher beings. They accuse him of using his position to lead a cult, gain access to vulnerable girls and women, and take underage wives starting in the early 2000s.

Chasing Horses indictment in state court stems from allegations made by two women  including one who says she was 14 when the sexual abuse began  but court records show authorities have identified at least four other victims in the U.S and in Canada.

Related: Chasing Horse pleads not guilty in Nevada sex abuse case

The former actors arrest on Jan. 31 in Nevada sent shockwaves throughout Indian Country and led to more criminal charges in other jurisdictions, including in Canada and the U.S. District Court in Nevada, as well as on the Fort Peck Indian Reservation in Montana.

Chasing Horse is being held on $300,000 bail at a county jail in Las Vegas. If he posts bail, he likely would be turned over to federal authorities in Nevada.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden released their 2022 federal income tax return on Tuesday, revealing how much they earned last year and how much taxes the couple paid.

Aside from Biden, the US Vice President, Kamala Harris, and her husband, Doug Emhoff, also publicized their tax returns for 2022, which disclosed their earnings.

Biden's 2022 Tax Filing

As per a report by NBC News, the Bidens reportedly earned nearly $580,000 in 2022, according to their recent tax filing. The gross income of the first couple is to the tune of $579,514.

The news outlet notes that the earnings of the Bidens saw a slight decrease from their gross income in their first year in the White House, or 2021, to be more exact. As such, the President of the US and the first lady earned less last year compared to 2021.

To be precise with the figures, NBC News notes that the Bidens reportedly earned $610,702 in 2021. With new tax filing out in public, it reveals that the couple saw a slight drop in their income by around $31,000.

USA Today reports that most of Biden's earnings come from his salary as President of the US (POTUS). Annually, he earns a total of $400,000 for the top role in the country. Apart from the President's pay, the First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS), Jill Biden, earned roughly $82,000 for teaching at the Northern Virginia Community College.

On top of their salaries, the Bidens get a fraction of their income from their annuities and pensions, which pay them around $5,000 and roughly $35,000, respectively.

Meanwhile, US Vice President Harris, and the second gentleman, reportedly flaunted a gross income of $456,918, as per their recent federal tax returns. The VP earns around $220,000 for her role, whereas the second husband received $169,665 pay for teaching at the law school of Georgetown University.

Read Also: Fake Joe Biden Video Snubbing Rishi Sunak Goes Viral: It's Edited!

How Much Tax Did Biden Pay?

According to Bloomberg's story, the tax filing of the POTUS disclosed that Biden paid a total of $193,925 in federal and state taxes for 2022.

It was a bit lower than his taxes in 2021 since he donated over $20,000 to charities and churches. He gave $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, alongside his donations to St. Joseph on the Brandywine and the Fraternal Order of Police Foundation.

On the other hand, Harris and the second gentleman paid $93,570 in federal income tax with a tax rate of 20.5 percent.

Notably, former President Donald Trump did not release his tax returns in the last four years he was in the White House, breaking the tradition of the men before him.

Related Article: Transgender Regulation: Biden Administration Proposes New Rule on Trans Athletes in Schools

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As Alabama prepares to roll out its medical marijuana program, one state leader is quashing any hope that the state could consider recreational use anytime soon.

Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainsville, told a group of reporters Tuesday that the state is many years away for recreational marijuana use to be even considered by state lawmakers.

How many years?

We are at least four years from that, Ledbetter said.

Why four years? Ledbetter said that is the duration of his term as the leader of the Alabama House. Alabama does not allow citizen initiatives, so a referendum to allow for recreational use of marijuana would require the Legislatures approval.

The Speaker wont allow it on the floor, he said.

Ledbetters comments mirror similar comments expressed by Republican leaders since the states medical marijuana law was approved in 2021. Alabama Democrats support legalization and decriminalization. Almost one year ago on 4/20, they launched a website called Free Weed.

Threat to children

Marijuana remains illegal at the federal level, but states have been approving initiatives to legalize it over the last decade. Colorado and Washington were the first states to approve recreational marijuana use for adults in 2012.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 21 states have legalized adult use of recreational marijuana. None of those states are in the South. The closest state that allows for the sale of marijuana for recreational use is right-leaning Missouri, where 53% of voters backed the legalization of marijuana during the November 2022 election.

But voters in three other Republican-dominated states  Arkansas, South Dakota, and North Dakota  defeated referendums during the last election to legalize recreational use of marijuana.

Legislation in Arkansas has surfaced to have voters reconsider the legalization in 2024, despite more than 56% voting against it during the 2022 election. Opponents in those states argued against the threat of recreational use of marijuana by children.

In some Alabama cities, the debate over whether medical marijuana dispensaries should locate in their cities have been intertwined with fears over recreational use.

Related content: Medical marijuana products expected in Alabama late this year or early next year

In Fairhope, city officials voted against allowing a medical marijuana dispensary last fall after opponents fretted over the potential of medical marijuana products potentially getting into the hands of children.

Medical marijuana tweaks

The Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission meets on Sept. 8, 2022 in Montgomery. (Mike Cason/mcason@al.com)

Ledbetter said he anticipates some tweaks surfacing within the next two months on the states medical marijuana law passed in 2021, and which he supported. The program is slowly developing as the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission oversees the rollout of licenses to administer the program. The state commission is reviewing 90 applications from companies vying to cultivate, transport, process, test and dispense medical cannabis.

At the State House, lawmakers could push changes to the program before its expected beginning sometime in early 2024.

I think well see something to tweak the program, Ledbetter said. I would suspect it.

The most notable piece of legislation is HB227, introduced on April 4 by freshman state Rep. David Cole, R-Madison. His bill defines what kinds of conditions a physician can certify a patient for medical marijuana and requires the physician to be board certified in the field of specialty required to diagnose a qualifying medical condition.

Under the medical marijuana law, Alabama doctors with training in medical cannabis will be able to recommend products for more than a dozen conditions  autism spectrum disorder, cancer-related pain such as weight loss and vomiting, Crohns Disease, depression, epilepsy or conditions causing seizures, HIV/AIDs-related nausea and weight loss, panic disorder, Parkinsons Disease, persistent nausea, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), sickle cell amenia, spasticity associated with multiple sclerosis or spinal injury, Tourettes Syndrome, a terminal illness, and conditions causing chronic or intractable pain.

Under Coles bill, cancer-related conditions must be diagnosed by an oncologist and include documentation that conventional medical treatment has failed. For Chrons Disease, the bill requires a diagnosis by a gastroenterologist, after documentation indicates conventional medical treatment failed for three years.

Other ailments also include specifics that do not exist in the original law. More examples include:

Depression diagnosed by a psychiatrist, after documentation indicates that conventional medical treatment has failed for three years, and the individual is unable to work.

HIV/AIDS-related nausea or weight loss lasting for a period over two years.

Parkinsons disease, after documentation indicates that conventional medical treatment has failed for three years, and the individual is unable to work.

Persistent nausea after that conventional medical treatment has failed for three years, and the individual is unable to work.

The legislation also removes PTSD from a list of ailments eligible for medical marijuana, but allows medical marijuana use after documentation indicates that conventional medical treatment has failed for three years.
David Cole, the Alabama state legislator whose election is being contested, has refused to sit for a deposition in the case for 3 months, according to a court filing. And Elijah Boyd, who is contesting the election, has asked a judge to intervene.

Rep. Cole, R-Huntsville, has participated in the ongoing legislative session despite accusations in the lawsuit by Boyd that Cole was illegally elected because he did not live in District 10 for at least a year before the November 2022 election.

Unless this court orders Cole to comply with (Alabama law) and appear for the taking of his deposition, Boyd believes that Cole will continue to refuse to do so, further delaying this matter, the filing said.

The judge in the case, Madison County Circuit Judge Ruth Ann Hall, has not ordered Cole to give a deposition. But, in response to Boyds filing last week, Judge Hall set a scheduling conference hearing for Friday. In the filing, Boyd asked that a deposition date be set at the scheduling conference.

We definitely believe Cole is intentionally evading his deposition, Boyds attorney, Barry Ragsdale of Birmingham, told AL.com on Wednesday. Thats why we were forced to involve the court in a process that is normally worked out between the lawyers.

We believe that he is stalling in an effort to get to the end of the legislative session without having to admit that he is illegally serving as a Representative.

Coles attorney, Algert Agricola, said his client agreed to a deposition on March 15 but Boyds attorneys were not available on that date. Agricola attributed the difficulty of finding a date suitable for all parties to busy schedules for Cole and the attorneys in the case.

Cole won the District 10 election on Nov. 9, 2022, receiving 51.62 percent of the vote. Boyd, the Libertarian candidate in the election, finished third and received 3.4 percent of the vote. Boyd contested the election in court on Nov. 22.

The motion filed last week by Boyd recounted efforts to arrange a time for Cole to attend a deposition. The process began Jan. 1 when Boyd applied for a commission for Richard J.R. Raleigh to take Coles deposition.

Boyd contacted Cole to schedule a deposition date, but Cole repeatedly declined to provide any dates on which he was available, the filing said.

On Feb. 27, the filing said Boyd contacted the commissioner and asked that he select a date for Coles deposition. No progress was made, the filing said, because of scheduling issues with Coles lawyers.

On March 14, Coles attorneys filed an objection in court to Boyds written questions that had been submitted to Cole. In the objection, it said Cole was asked to respond to 479 questions, which Coles attorneys said were unreasonable, unduly burdensome and excessive. The objection also said Alabama law restricts questions, or interrogatories, to 40 without the courts permission to go beyond that limit. Coles attorneys asked that the questions be limited to 50.

Cole has insisted that his deposition must be taken in Montgomery, Alabama, in the Alabama House of Representatives if it is taken during the current legislative session. Boyd disagrees, the objection from Cole said.

The objection also reiterated the argument from Coles attorneys throughout the case that jurisdiction lies with the House of Representatives, not circuit court. The Alabama Supreme Court in February upheld Judge Halls ruling not to dismiss the case on the grounds that circuit court did not have jurisdiction.

On March 16, Boyd filed a motion to compel responses to the deposition questions. Judge Hall has not yet ruled on that motion.

After several attempts to secure deposition dates, Cole eventually revealed that he would be unavailable for depositions from April 13th through April 28th because he will be out of town despite it being in the middle of the current legislative session, Boyds filing last week said.

Cole also said he was not available for any dates prior to April 13, the filing said. Coles lack of availability, the filing said, are part of yet another attempt to postpone his deposition.

Updated today, April 19, 2023, at 5:12 p.m. with comment from Agricola.
This is an opinion column

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It shouldnt be easy for the government to take your belongings.

I thought we could agree on that.

But in Alabama, police and the state can take cars and property from people who have not committed crimes, who have not been charged with crimes, who have not even been to the scene of a crime. And to get their stuff back? Well they have to fight for it.

In fact, the South stands pretty much all by itself in arguing that the government doesnt need probable cause hearings to see if the property should be taken. Instead, our courts and elected officials say it will all work out. Youll get your car back if you follow their process.

Even if it takes months. Or years.

Now, the question of whether that practice is constitutional is headed to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Its really a question of policing for profit, how Alabama -- and were not alone -- relies on fines and forfeitures to fund everything from town police departments to the state general fund. Brookside was a poster child for that.

I vividly remember Birmingham lawyer Allan Armstrong standing last February in a town hall meeting packed with people who said they had been harmed by rapacious policing in Brookside, a town rebuked by cops and DAs and state leaders on both sides of the aisle

Armstrong said Brookside was a primary example of policing for profit in Alabama, but he didnt stop there.

One other thing, while Ive got it on my mind, he said. I appreciate the attorney generals office being here  but I also want to bring to attention that the attorney generals office also defends policing for profit. So if we can bring in a little investigation into the attorney generals office 

The rest of his words were drowned out by applause and cheers and assorted amens.

Thats what we pray for, a woman said. Things like this.

If Brookside taught us anything, it is that justice as a revenue source is far from just.

A town hall meeting on Brookside policing, Feb. 1, 2022. Allan Armstrong is front row, right. (Joe Songer for al.com).Joe Songer

Armstrong was talking then about seizures, or piracy, as he now calls it. He and other lawyers filed suits over property taken from people who were never charged. Those cases were combined, naming Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall as a main defendant.

This week the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear those cases of Halima Tariffa Culley and Lena Sutton, and to ultimately decide whether such owners have a right to a probable cause hearing before a city or state can take their property.

Culleys adult son was driving her 2015 Nissan Altima in 2019 when he was arrested in Satsuma, a town just north of Mobile, with a small amount of marijuana. He was sentenced to probation and community service, but police took his moms car, and kept it for 20 months. She was not charged.

Police in Leesburg, a small town near Gadsden, took Suttons car in 2018. Even though she wasnt around the drug arrest of her roommate and she was not charged, either. Her car was taken for a year.

Culleys original lawsuit spelled out the problem.

This case is not about the initial seizure, or the ultimate decision at trial in civil forfeiture actions. It is about the fact that the state (and cities)  seizes vehicles and other property and retains custody of it while the civil forfeiture action, which could take months, if not years to resolve, is pending.

Yet the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals  standing on an island  didnt see that as a problem. It held that no hearing is needed before a seizure, because a forfeiture procedure alone is enough to ensure due process. The court acknowledged that every other circuit disagrees.

The Eleventh Circuit itself recognizes that it is the only circuit holding that the civil asset forfeiture proceeding itself ratifies due process as to the pretrial restraint of assets, it said.

So were all alone down here. In this place that claims to defend its rights.

Marshalls office said in a statement that Alabama provides several ways for people in Sutton and Culleys position to regain their property, but those women did not use them.

My office successfully defended the constitutionality of Alabamas laws before two district courts and the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, he said in the statement. I am confident that after the U.S. Supreme Court reviews the merits of this case, the Court will reach a similar conclusion.

Armstrong is eager for the hearing, too.

They are wholeheartedly pushing to get those assets, Armstrong said. Its hundreds of millions of dollars nationwide that are seized.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear the case.

Until then, just remember it is the state of Alabamas position that it can take your stuff for a crime you did not commit. The burden is on you to get it back. And it will fight you for it.

Oh. And the AGs office never raised an eyebrow about Brookside.

John Archibald is a Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for AL.com.
The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPC) recently released a draft of their 2050 Regional Transportation Plan which details all major road projects that are currently planned for the next 26 years.

At the top of that list, cost-wise, is the long delayed Northern Beltline, which is expected to cost roughly $1.2 billion, funded by Grant Anticipation Revenue Vehicle or GARVEE bonds and money from the Appalachian Regional Council (ARC) according to the plan.

The beltline pricetag is nearly double the amount of funding expected for projects across the remainder of the region during that time period. Some $2 billion, of the $2.7 billion available in federal funding for infrastructure projects in the region will go toward upkeep and maintenance of existing infrastructure, according to the plan.

In RPCs 2045 plan, which was written over a decade ago, an estimated $1.5 billion was dedicated to the Northern Beltline.

Gov. Kay Ivey recently announced that construction on the Northern Beltline would resume this spring with an additional $489 million in federal funding and called the project an economic conductor in an article by AL.coms Greg Garrison.
Jury selection has been completed and opening statement have been made in the second trial for Mason Sisk, an Elkmont teen charged with the murders of five family members in 2019. He was 14 years old when the crime occurred.

Jury selection began Monday morning in Limestone County Circuit Court and went into a second day but, by 10 a.m.,10 men and 4 women had been chosen and opening statements were underway.

The prosecution presented Sisk as an angry teen who gave subtle warning when he told a teacher that he would not be at school the following week and who called his girlfriend repeatedly after the murders prior to calling 911.

The defense focused on Masons father, John Sisk, as possibly having drug debts that were never investigated. They also questioned Masons ability to carry out the crime as well as his confession to the crime.

Elkmont teacher, Lisa Watkins, was the first witness to take the stand Tuesday. It was Watkins, also a friend of victim Mary Sisk, who testified to talking to Mason in the days leading up to the murders. Watkins said that Mason told her the Wednesday prior to the murders that he would not be back in school next week.

Defense attorney Michael Sizemore questioned Watkins about a baby shower attended by the Sisks. She testified that John Sisks behavior stood out to her as concerning, not Masons. She described John as being abusive and controlling.

Matt Gator Patti was next on the stand. The Sisk family had spent the Labor Day weekend visiting Pratti at his Florida home. He testified that John Sisk had confided in him about troubles at home. He also noticed his pistol was missing as the Sisks were packing for their trip home to Elkmont.

The defense questioned Patti about the motorcycle club culture and testified that John Sisk was a member of the Iron Coffins.

Testimony is set to resume after a break for lunch.

___

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An Alabama House committee killed legislation on Wednesday that would have added criminal penalties for violating a provision within the states new permitless carry law.

The vote by the House Public Safety & Homeland Security Committee prompted its frustrated sponsor to tell AL.com afterward that the supermajority GOP in Alabama is owned by the National Rifle Association.

Related:

We have to figure out who we are serving, state Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, said. Is it our citizens, or a special interest group that apparently wont allow us to do any reasonable restrictions on firearms?

He added, To be honest with you, the NRA runs this building.

State Rep. Allen Treadaway, R-Birmingham and the committees chairman, disagreed and said there are occasions in which the GOP members of his committee will vote against legislation the NRA supports.

A lot of folks are very serious about the Second Amendment and their right to bear arms, said Treadaway, a former assistant police chief in Birmingham. This argument comes up every time when there is, unfortunately, a tragedy. Its tough depending on what side of the issue you are on. If you believe in the Constitution, its not a real issue. Folks are going to be sensitive about that and vote (in opposition to gun control).

He added, You might have a political organization that supports one side of the issue or the other, and thats how they will vote. Its not because they are being pressured  not everyone in that situation.

The comments come after National Rifle Association boss Wayne LaPierre, during the NRAs national convention Saturday in Indianapolis, warned that gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid over their political careers, which he warned his group could end.

It also comes as Alabama Democrats pitch gun control measures that are unlikely to advance far. A group of Democratic lawmakers, in Hueytown this week, called on their Republican colleagues to pass red flag legislation in the wake of a mass shooting during a Sweet 16 birthday party in Dadeville on Saturday that left four people dead and over 30 injured.

Republicans say they are concerned about what they called the politicizing of the Second Amendment following a deadly shooting. The partys leadership, including Gov. Kay Ivey, was also criticized on Wednesday by the gun control group, Giffords, for ignoring gun violence.

I dont know if there is any gun bill that could have prevented what happened in Dadeville, Alabama House Speaker Nathaniel Ledbetter, R-Rainville, said. We put money in for security in schools. We are spending more on mental health in this state than weve have before. At the end of the day, I dont know if gun laws will change bad people.

England, though, said even legislation backed by Democrats calling for common sense approaches are not going anywhere.

His latest measure  HB12 -- aimed at making 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.

England said the legislation was needed because the permitless carry law the Alabama Legislature adopted last year included a provision of a duty to inform law enforcement about the presence of a concealed gun inside a vehicle during a traffic stop.

He said the law was toothless if penalties were not included.

To be honest with you, going through the permitless carry law passed last year, there are obvious problems with it, said England, sponsor of HB12.

For whatever reason we left off a penalty, England said. When (the new law) went into effect this year, I worked with law enforcement officers and they asked if its enforceable or not since it doesnt have a penalty associated with it. Its almost like wed prefer confusion.

Treadaway said the permitless carry legislation was debated at length last year and is not in need of wholesale changes.

Alabama became the 25th state in the U.S. to adopt permitless carry  called constitutional carry by supporters  despite concerns expressed by many law enforcement officers including sheriffs who are typically strong GOP allies.

That part of the bill was vetted in the Senate and House last year, over and over, Treadaway said. There were a lot of public meetings held on constitutional carry. That area is a concern to everyone in how you apply penalties. The committee felt here today they were not ready to move on it as written (in HB12).

England blamed GOP lawmakers for not moving on anything related to gun-related safety.

Anything like permits or background checks and things like that, or limiting access to trigger activators that turn pistols to automatic weapons, is for public safety purposes, said England. Its not to restrict a responsible gun owner from owning a weapon. Its to make sure we balance their rights with the publics rights to be safe in going to class, to school, to church or a birthday party.
IDABEL, Okla. (AP)  A county commissioner in far southeast Oklahoma who was apparently caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people has resigned from office, Gov. Kevin Stitts office confirmed Wednesday.

Stitt spokesperson Carly Atchison said the office received a handwritten resignation letter from McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings. In it, Jennings says he is resigning immediately and said he planned to release a formal statement in the near future regarding the recent events in our county.

The threatening comments by Jennings and officials with the McCurtain County Sheriffs Office were obtained and reported by McCurtain Gazette-News. They have sparked outrage and protests in the city of Idabel.

In a post on the sheriffs office Facebook page on Tuesday, officials did not address the recorded discussion but claimed the recording was illegally obtained.

Also on Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation confirmed it has launched an investigation into the matter at the request of the governor.
Different viewpoints on the appropriate response from state lawmakers to Saturday nights deadly shooting in Dadeville surfaced soon after the Alabama Senate convened today, meeting for the first time since the tragedy.

Sen. Jay Hovey, R-Auburn, whose District 27 includes Dadeville and most of Tallapoosa County, read the names of the four young people killed: Philstavious Dowdell; Shaunkivia Nicole Keke Smith; Marsiah Emmanuel Siah Collins; and Corbin Dahmontrey Holston. Thirty-two others were injured, according to the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency.

Ive been honored to get to know the good people of Dadeville and Tallapoosa County over the last year and my heart goes out to entire community in the wake of these tragic events, said Hovey, who began his first term in November. People are going to try to politicize this event, as so many others that break our hearts. But Im going to tell you now, and youll hear me say over and over again over the next years that we work together, that were never going to be able to legislate morality.

The evil in this world that continues to devastate the communities across the country can only be defeated in the hearts and minds and homes and churches of these communities. There will be discussions on this floor and in legislative bodies across this country about the responsibility of legislators. And while of course we have the responsibility to do everything we can to protect our communities, this war will only be won by changing hearts.

Hovey asked Sen. Dan Roberts, R-Mountain Brook, to say a prayer.

After the prayer, Sen. Merika Coleman, D-Pleasant Grove, was the next to speak. Coleman said she got a text message early Sunday morning that one of her closest longtime friends lost a family member in the tragedy. Clifford Toney, owner of Integrity Funeral Home in Hueytown, was the grandfather of Keke Smith, 17.

And so I just hope that we as a body will have the political courage to do something and I am extending to all of my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, including the administration and the governors office. Can we sit down and come up with something and do something? Coleman said on the Senate floor today.

Coleman joined other lawmakers for a press conference on Monday at Toneys funeral home to call for support for legislation to try to reduce gun violence.

Coleman is sponsoring SB126, a bill that would allow law enforcement, family members, and teachers to petition a court to issue gun violence protective orders. If a court determines the person named in the petition is a threat to themselves or others, it could order the person to give up their firearms for a period of time. Other states have approved such laws, often called red flag laws. Coleman has sponsored similar bills for several years.

The bill that I have, in my opinion at this point, would not have prevented what happened in Dadeville but is a tool in the toolbox that law enforcement can have to get guns out of peoples hands who pose to be a threat to themselves or others, Coleman said today.

Im just hoping all of us can come together for these children, for these families, Coleman said. People are hurting. Im really tired of hearing the wails of parents and the wails of family members of those that have lost their family to gun violence, and then ultimately elected officials doing nothing.

See also: Few answers after Dadevilles birthday party shooting leaves 4 dead, 32 injured

See also: Alexis Dowdells birthday party ended with her brother trying to save her from gunfire.

See also: Dadeville searches for answers after deadly birthday party shooting: Almost combat-level trauma

See also: Legislators join grandfather of teen killed in Dadeville to take stand on guns

See also: Experts share how to talk to children after shootings, traumatic events
Authorities have released the name of a state inmate who died at William Donaldson Correctional Facility over the weekend.

The Jefferson County Coroners Office identified the inmate as Donald Gerald Simmons. He was 69.

Simmons was found unresponsive at 8:07 p.m. Sunday in the infirmary where he was being treated for significant natural diseases, said Chief Deputy Coroner Bill Yates. He was pronounced dead on the scene at 8:30 p.m.

A cause of death has not been determined but Yates said there was no evidence of trauma or foul play.

Simmons was serving a life sentence for robbery, rape and kidnapping from a 1986 conviction out of Mobile County.

An investigation is ongoing by the Alabama Department of Correction  Law Enforcement Services Division.
Authorities are asking for the publics help in identifying the suspect in a robbery at a Subway on Birminghams Southside.

The holdup happened on Wednesday, April 5, at the restaurant at 803 20th Street South.

Police said the suspect, who was wearing a hoodie and face mask, robbed the business at gunpoint. No injuries were reported.

He fled Subway with an undisclosed amount of cash.

Anyone with information is asked to call robbery detectives at 205-254-1764 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777.
A Russian court rejects Evan Gershkovich's legal team's plea to release him

Gershkovichh was detained and accused of espionage

Gershkovich will be held in jail until at least May 29

Evan Gershkovich, the Wall Street Journal reporter detained in Russia on espionage charges, appealed his innocence in a Moscow courtroom on Tuesday after smiling from a glass defendant's cage.

Gershkovich's first public appearance since his arrest last month, signaling a new phase in President Vladimir Putin's struggle with the West. As predicted, the judge dismissed Gershkovich's request to lift his pre-trial detention, keeping him in a Russian prison.

Russian Court Rejects Evan Gershkovich Appeal

He was returned to Moscow's Lefortovo jail, one of Russia's most notorious detention facilities, where convicts are isolated with very infrequent visits from attorneys. The session was confidential, but one of Gershkovich's attorneys, Maria Korchagina, told reporters he was ready to "claim his right to free journalism" and "defend himself."

Journalists were permitted inside the courtroom earlier on Tuesday when Evan Gershkovich stood behind a pane of glass, flanked by two masked officers in dark plainclothes to his right. On his wrists were red handcuff markings. Per NY Times, Gershkovich, dressed in jeans and a checkered shirt, blinked and nodded when a Russian reporter said, "Evan, hang on!"

Gershkovich, a 31-year-old American, was seen clearly for the first time since he was held on March 29 while on a reporting trip in the Russian city of Yekaterinburg and accused of espionage, an allegation his employer, the US, and press freedom groups strenuously deny.

Read Also: WATCH: Beijing Hospital Fire Engulfs Facility, Kills At Least 21

Russia Claims Evan Gershkovich Collected Confidential Information

The court turned down his legal team's plea to release him on $614,000 bail or place him under home arrest. Gershkovich will be in a disused KGB jail until at least May 29. Lynne Tracy, the US ambassador to Moscow, was also present in the courtroom with his counsel. On Monday, Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza was convicted of treason and sentenced to jail in this court.

According to BBC, Tracy stated outside the court following the hearing that she was granted contact with Gershkovich for the first time on Monday and that he was in "excellent health and stays strong despite the circumstances."

On Monday, more than 40 nations, led by the United States, issued a joint statement at the United Nations demanding Gershkovich's release and criticizing Moscow for intimidating the media.

According to Russia, Gershkovich attempted to gather confidential defense information for the US administration. Gershkovich rejects all charges. His detention is the first time since the Soviet period that Russia has charged a US journalist with espionage.

Since dismissing the allegations against Gershkovich, the Journal has often advocated for his release. The Journal's editor-in-chief, Emma Tucker, and publisher, Almar Latour, said they expected the judge to reject the pretrial detention appeal, but it was "regrettable."

The Biden administration feels Gershkovich was wrongfully detained and rejects the claims against him, The Hill reported. The arrest of Gershkovich was the most recent escalation of substantial tensions between the United States and Russia during the Ukraine crisis.

During the crisis, Russian President Vladimir Putin has cracked down on dissent, with a Russian court condemning activist Vladimir Kara-Murza to 25 years in prison this week.

Related Article: US Takes Step vs. Russia's 'Wrongful' Detainment of Evan Gershkovich

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David Champlin of Decatur isnt sure whether hes previously spotted the alligator he captured on film this past weekend, but it was a picture-perfect moment with the reclusive reptile.

Champlin, who owns Decaturs Brick Deli & Tavern, shared the pictures on social media, which he said were shot during a kayaking trip on Limestone Creek near Mooresville. He estimates the alligator was between 10 to 12 feet long.

Ive got lots of pictures of alligators, but theyre always in the water, he said. Weve seen them on the land, but Ive never gotten that kind of picture before.

David Champlin said he photographed this alligator in Limestone Creek the weekend of April 15, 2023. (David Champlin)

According to Outdoor Alabama, the American alligator is the only species of alligator in Alabama, and its population is typically larger in the southern half of the state, in wetlands and natural lakes. But sightings in the northern half of Alabama are increasing, and may indicate a northern expansion, the site says.

See also: Huntsville alligator sightings on the rise, but theyve been there for nearly a century

Champlin said he has seen an alligator on that particular bank before, sitting about a foot over the water. He would like to return in hopes of shooting video of the alligator jumping in.

It usually makes a huge splash, he said.

Champlin said hes gotten close enough to alligators that they move his kayak as they swim away from shore. He says the animals are usually shy.

Outdoor Alabama says alligators are naturally shy of humans, but can become aggressive if provoked or fed.

I wouldnt suggest a lot of people getting into the water, Champlin said.
Several men freed after serving decades in prison for crimes where no one was physically hurt gathered today in front of the Alabama State House to support the legislatures Second Chance bill, which could help hundreds of people still facing life behind bars in Alabama prisons for nonviolent crimes.

The bill, also called House Bill 229, was introduced earlier this month. It would allow for resentencing opportunities for older inmates who committed crimes that didnt result in any physical injury and who are serving a sentence of life without parole under Alabamas Habitual Felony Offender Act.

Rep. Chris England, D-Tuscaloosa, and former U.S. Congressman Spencer Bachus attended a press conference on Wednesday morning hosted by Alabama Appleseed Center for Law and Justice, which is advocating for the reform. The bill is set to go before the House Judiciary committee today.

HB 229 would simply permit Alabama judges to review these extreme sentences and determine if additional punishment is warranted for individuals in their 50s, 60s, and 70s, said Alabama Appleseeds Executive Director Carla Crowder.

Many of these folks are living in faith dorms and have taken every rehabilitative program offered. Continued incarceration is costly and serves no public safety function, she said.

The states Habitual Felony Offender Act was modified in 2015 after prison reform legislation created lesser Class D felonies and reclassified some crimes from Class C felonies to Class D, meaning that some crimes no longer carried a mandatory life sentence. But these changes arent retroactive, meaning hundreds of inmates who committed the same crimes before 2015 when they were still listed in the more serious category of Class C felonies are stuck behind bars.

The Second Chance Bill would provide a mechanism for judges to review sentences for those over 50 serving life without parole under the Habitual Felony Offender Act. It would exempt certain crimes from being used to enhance a sentence, but violent offenses could still be used as enhancements. People convicted of homicide, sex offenses, or crimes that resulted in serious injuries would not be eligible.

Other speakers at the press conference included Alabama Appleseed clients Robert Cheeks, Joe Bennett, and Larry Garrett, who were sentenced to die in prison and served a combined 99 years in prison for crimes where no one was physically hurt. Alabama Appleseed took on each of those cases and won the mens releases.

Alabama has the fourth highest number of inmates sentenced to spend their lives in prison, according to research from Alabama Appleseed. The prisons systems November report showed that 27% of all Alabama inmates are 51 years old and older, and nearly one in 10 are over 60. Thats more than 2,500 inmates over 60. Of those over 60, more than 400 were serving life without parole sentences.

Aging prisoners are now a fourth of the population in Alabamas prisonsfacilities the Department of Justice calls dilapidated and unsafe. In the last 50 years, Alabamas prison population has exploded, but the state has also been keeping people longer and longer. In the last 50 years, the state saw a 3,640% increase in inmates over the age of 50.

Data shows there are approximately 220 people serving life without parole sentences under the Habitual Felony Offender Act for crimes that resulted in no physical injuries.

Alabama Appleseed re-entry coordinator Ronald McKeithen, who also was set to die in prison before Alabama Appleseed took his case and won his freedom in 2020, also spoke. He served 37 years in prison.

He said in a press release prior to the event that his mission in life is to show what many in Montgomery believe isnt possible: that second chances do work.

Men and women who have spent decades incarcerated can contribute so much to society and their communities, if given the chance. And that in cases like mine, when our crimes did not even cause physical injury to anyone, sentences condemning us to die in prison are simply unfair.

Cheeks was released from prison last year, after serving nearly 38 years in prison and the last two years living in the prison infirmary. I would tell myself, dont give up, dont give in, and dont give out under any circumstances. That was my motto, Cheeks said.

I never thought I would get out. I thought I would be deceased at Donaldson, but the Lord spared me and here I am.
This is an opinion column

The audience grew quiet and attentive when Miss Lillian entered the room and started talking about her life. And what a remarkable life it was.

Miss Lillian was the mother of former president Jimmy Carter, and she made an appearance last Thursday at the North Huntsville Public Library. Actor Elaine Hubbard embodied the 80-year-old iconic woman in her one-hour monologue of Miss Lillian, written and directed by Carol Cook Puckett and sponsored by Learning Quest, a lifelong learning program.

The room was packed with people who wanted to learn more about the feisty woman who was a nurse in segregated Plains, Georgia in the 1950s and insisted on making house calls to black families as well as white ones. She welcomed blacks to her home, too, something unheard of in her time. She brought up her four children with the notion that segregation was wrong and serving other people, no matter what their color, was right.

After his mother was widowed, Jimmy Carter came home from his naval career to help her run the family peanut farm and business. With her own family grown and gone, she wanted to be of use to others.

When she interviewed to be a housemother in a fraternity house in Auburn, she asked to be placed where the wildest boys were since she thought they might need guidance and love and direction. It turns out, they did.

Then she insisted on joining the Peace Corps at age 68 because she knew she could be useful in India where they sent her. Her specialties were birth control planning and general nursing. After her time living among the poor, she learned that material goods werent very important and rich countries like ours dont need as much food as we eat. Her appetite was small after that.

She urged people that they could do and should do something about the problems of their time.

Im just an elderly woman from the middle of the country, she said, and if I can do something, so can you.

Though she was never in politics, she was often in the spotlight, acting as ambassador for her son. In Hubbards monologue, the audience learned Miss Lillians tricks for dealing with the press. If they come to your home, offer them lemonade in small glasses and peanuts in a small bowl. That way, when the lemonade is gone, the reporter would know he should go, too.

Playwright Puckett was drawn to the character because she believes that behind every outstanding child is an outstanding mother. Jimmy Carter was the first president she voted for and shes always admired the way he lives his life. She produced the play just once before at the Chautauqua Association in Florida where it was well received.

And how did Hubbard bring this character to life? Her own mother was a nurse, so she understood that particular profession. She spent her early years in south Georgia, so she knew about flat land and piney woods. But she didnt just rely on memory. She looked at photos of Miss Lillians small house and then drew a map of the area, including the pond and the dirt road that led to the place.

She had to learn enough about the character to present her with integrity and honesty. She had to let the audience know that Miss Lillian was more than the charming and joke-cracking guest on the Johnny Carson show, where she confessed to the host that she had a highball every night at 5:00, Plains, Georgia time, even when she was on an airplane.

She could have been just the presidents mother, but she was not. As she often told reporters, I have three other children, too.

If you missed her this time, Mill Lillian will be back. Puckett says the play will be presented at UAH on October 6 at 11:00 a.m. through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Its offered as a free public program. For more information, contact Carol Puckett at carolcpuckett@gmail.com.

You can contact Beth Thames at bethmthames@gmail.com
Former U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions on Tuesday took the stand as a defense witness in the illegal lobbying trial of hip-hop star Pras Michel, testifying that he could not recall meeting Michel and that the Fugees rappers request for a meeting did not appear improper.

Michel was charged in 2021 by federal prosecutors in Washington with participating in an illegal lobbying campaign to have a dissident Chinese businessman deported and for DOJ officials to drop an embezzlement investigation involving a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund.

On Tuesday, Sessions recalled two meetings where DOJ officials discussed deporting the dissident, Guo Wengui, including one requested by a Chinese vice minister for public security, Politico reported.

But Sessions said Guo wasnt deported when he was attorney general and he never took the meeting requested by the Chinese official.

Sessions, the longtime former U.S. Senator from Alabama, also testified that he was unaware of ever meeting Michel.

I dont recall ever having met him, Sessions said, according to Politico.

Still, said Sessions, Michels request for a meeting did not have an air of impropriety on its face.

I think thats an appropriate action, although the State Department would have an important role to play in that and others, perhaps Homeland Security, since this figure was important to China, he said.

While federal prosecutors allege Michel acted as an unregistered agent on behalf of China and a Malaysian national, the Fugees rapper claimed he was acting in a humanitarian capacity.
Czechia has been a decent performer among emerging economies. However, a strong dependence on exports (accounting for around 80% of GDP), in particular on automotive shipments, causes above-average cyclical fluctuations in growth. Moreover, a high dependence on global supply chains and energy imports has made the Czech economy very vulnerable in the current global context of ongoing supply disruptions and significantly higher energy prices.

Real GDP expanded by an average +2.5% over the past 20 years, and by +3.9% over the five years prior to the Covid-19 pandemic (slightly below the average of the Central and Eastern European EU member states but above the average for Emerging Europe as a whole). As a consequence of its dependence on exports and supply chains, the Czech economy was hit harder by the global Covid-19 crisis than others (-5.5% in 2020) despite strong economic policy support. And after a moderate recovery in 2021 (+3.5% growth), economic activity has slowed down markedly in 2022 as a result of the consequences of the war in Ukraine, notably the subsequent EU sanctions on Russia and soaring energy prices. We expect the Czech economy to enter a recession at the end of 2022, followed by a contraction of full-year real GDP in 2023.

Inflationary pressures will remain on the cards in 2023. Consumer price inflation rose into double-digit territory in early 2022 amid surging energy and food prices, and it approached almost 20% y/y in the second half of the year. The monetary policy framework is formally based on inflation targeting, with the Czech National Bank (CNB, the central bank) aiming to keep the increase in consumer prices within a 2% 1pp band. Indeed, the CNB raised its key policy interest rate by a cumulative 675bps to 7.00% from June 2021 to June 2022. However, it stopped hiking thereafter, even though inflation continued to rise, leaving the real policy rate deeply negative and thus maintaining an overall loose policy stance. Nonetheless, the Czech koruna (CZK) has been relatively stable versus the EUR in 2022 overall. But this could change if investors get more concerned about Czechia or CEE in general amid the weakening economic propects of the region. An anylysis of the real effective exchange rate suggested that the CZK was more than 10% overvalued in Q4 2022. Should this result in a lasting depreciation at some point, more monetary tightening will be required to stabilize markets.










English News Japan must treat nuclear wastewater in science-based, open, transparent, safe manner

Alwihda Info | Par peoplesdaily - 17 Avril 2023



Japan should immediately stop its preparations for releasing the nuclear wastewater into the sea, carry out full and meaningful negotiations with its neighboring countries and international organizations, and seek the optimal solution, so as to ensure the contaminated wastewater is treated in a science-based, open, transparent and safe manner under strict supervision from the international society.

By Zhong Sheng, People's Daily On April 13, 2021, Japan unilaterally decided to release the Fukushima nuclear wastewater into the Pacific Ocean. Over the past two years, both the Japanese people and the international community have expressed strong concerns over the possible impacts of the decision.



Today, out of its own private interests, the Japanese government still intends to push ahead with its plan in total disregard of the global public interests and international law. It refuses to respond to the concerns of the international community, going further down the wrong path.



On March 11, 2011, a nuclear accident of the highest level occurred at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant. Three reactor cores were melted and damaged, releasing a large amount of radioactive materials.



China and other neighboring countries of Japan expressed deep sympathy for the heavy disaster and offered timely humanitarian assistance to the Japanese government and people.



However, more than 10 years later, the Japanese government turned a deaf ear to the voices of the international community and decided to discharge the nuclear-contaminated wastewater into the sea, transferring the risks to all mankind. Such a practice is bitterly disappointing.



The wastewater had full contact with the melted cores during the Fukushima nuclear accident. It contains over 60 radionuclides, including carbon-14, iodine-129 and other radionuclides with extremely long half-lives.



The Japanese side claimed that the treated water to discharge is diluted, but it doesn't plan to control the total volume of radionuclides. It said the treated water is harmless, but it is not willing to discharge the water into its own rivers or reuse it in Japan for alternative purposes, in manufacturing and agriculture for instance, as required by Pacific island countries. Japan's move is totally self-deception.



The Japanese plan to release nuclear wastewater into the sea places Japan's own interests above the public interests of the world. No such plan has been implemented in human history.



Japan should have conducted full consultations with stakeholders and international agencies to determine a safe disposal plan. However, it unilaterally announced the plan to release the wastewater into the sea, and gave limited authority to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Task Force. It only allowed the team to evaluate its decided plan, and then claimed that the IAEA has "recognized" the plan of Japan.



Many countries have asked Japan to consider other options, such as long-term storage of the wastewater, but it has been totally ignored by the Japanese side due to economic considerations. The arrogant and irresponsible practice of Japan has a long-term negative impact on the country's reputation.



Until now, the Fukushima nuclear accident has generated more than 1.3 million tons of nuclear-contaminated water, which is expected to be discharged into the ocean over a period of 30 years. The impact of the entire process is highly uncertain.



Nuclear-contaminated wastewater contains many radionuclides which cannot be treated effectively with existing technologies. Some long-lived radionuclides may spread with ocean currents and form a bio-concentration effect, which will multiply the total amount of radionuclides in the environment. The reliability of Japan's Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS) and related projects, in the long run, is still in doubt.



According to statistics released by Japan this March, 70 percent of the treated wastewater still failed to meet the standards. Once released into the sea, the radioactive materials of the nuclear-contaminated wastewater will spread to most of the Pacific Ocean and, in 10 years, to the waters across the world, causing immeasurable harm to the marine environment and marine animals.



The discharge of nuclear wastewater into the sea has a global impact. According to provisions in general international law and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, Japan has the obligation to take all possible measures to prevent pollution of the environment, the obligation to notify and fully consult with states likely to be affected, the obligation to assess and monitor the environmental impact, the obligation to take precautions to minimize hazardous effects, the obligation to ensure transparency, and the obligation to engage in international cooperation.



However, the Japanese side has been shunning its responsibilities and obligations under various pretexts. It updates countries unilaterally on its preparation for the discharge, and has never comprehensively responded to the science-based questions raised by technical departments from China and Russia. The country cannot win the trust from the international community.



Japan's practices on the disposal of nuclear-contaminated wastewater, an issue concerning major international public interests, are far from the expectations of the international community.



Japan should immediately stop its preparations for releasing the nuclear wastewater into the sea, carry out full and meaningful negotiations with its neighboring countries and international organizations, and seek the optimal solution, so as to ensure the contaminated wastewater is treated in a science-based, open, transparent and safe manner under strict supervision from the international society.



(Zhong Sheng is a pen name often used by People's Daily to express its views on foreign policy and international affairs.)



Dans la meme rubrique : < > Chinese young blood devote to Great Wall protection International passenger service adds new vitality to China-Laos Railway Democracy a common value of humanity, not prerogative reserved to few Pour toute information, contactez-nous au : +(235) 99267667 ; 62883277 ; 66267667 (Bureau N'Djamena)
The respected German observer of American-European relations Josef Joffe has noted Envy [is] the motive for resentment with America embodying the might and glory Europe no longer has and therefore pretends to disdain. Pretends is the key word, especially regarding France, a proud country that remembers when it was not only the most powerful country in Europe (prior to the unification of Germany in 1870) but second only to Great Britain as a global empire. It is still active in its former African colonies and has a naval squadron to protect its possessions in Asia. When the plane I was on landed in Maldives to refuel, I spotted a French helicopter carrier and its escorting frigate whose crews were enjoying shore leave at this Indian Ocean resort.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently seemed to play into Chinas hands by exhibiting the strategic autonomy from U.S. leadership that Beijing has long called on Europeans to do, not only in regard to abandoning Taiwan but cooperating with Russia in a Eurasian embrace. Macrons visit gave Beijing only half a loaf. He may not see a French interest in Taiwan, but he does see one in Ukraine. Geography and economy are the keys. Paris can put business ahead of security when dealing with a power on the other aide of the planet, but not with one just across the continent with which France has had to contend for centuries. Macron, along with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi, visited Kyiv last June to show unified European support for the defense of Ukraine against the brutal Russian invasion. In October, Macron stated that peace cannot be captured by Russian power. It should be up to Ukraine to decide when to talk peace, and at that point the international community will be there. Unfortunately, Macron seems to think China will be part of that process, acting to restrain Russian ambition, a hope without serious foundation.

On April 16, Chinas Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu met with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Moscow. According to Chinese state media, China and Russia have powerful military strengths and significant strategic influence globally, and they are the key powers to contain and deter hegemony. Hegemony is the term used to describe U.S. policy. China and Russia have already been holding joint patrols and joint exercises over recent years, with the two countries' armies, navies and air forces joining each other in naval patrols in the Pacific Ocean, aerial patrols in the Sea of Japan, the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean brags the Chinese press. Joint exercises with Iran were also mentioned (Tehran has been providing weapons to Russia in Ukraine). China is supporting Russias economy and defense industries but has been discouraged from sending heavy weapons because of U.S. and NATO objections.

Macron is a centrist who still holds naive views about China that the U.S. has outgrown, having recovered from its post-Cold War euphoria and end of history fantasies. France holds less than two percent of the China market. Luxury goods (fashion and wines) are its leading exports. In contrast, it imports machinery and electronics supporting strategic sectors of Chinese industry. It is also helping develop Beijings nuclear industry and is opening a second assembly line to build Airbus jets in China. The biggest deal announced since Macrons visit to Beijing is a French order for 18 container ships from Chinese shipyards. Given Frances trade deficit with China, those ships will be carrying more goods to Europe than to Asia. Some French firms are profiting from turning their country into a tribute state to Beijing. By listening to them, Macron is proving to be only a politician, not a national leader.

France is part of the G7 (with U.S., UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Japan) and had to agree to its April 3 statement on Chinas threats against Taiwan. The G7 Foreign Ministers declared, We are concerned by recent and announced threatening actions by the Peoples Republic of China (PRC), particularly live-fire exercises and economic coercion The PRCs escalatory response risks increasing tensions and destabilizing the region. We call on the PRC not to unilaterally change the status quo by force in the region. This has always been the U.S. position. The status quo is an independent self-governing Taiwan. This status can only be changed by force since the people of Taiwan are determined to remain free. In the face of an aggressive Beijing, peace can only be maintained by deterrence which requires a strong posture by the U.S. and its allies. Beijing must understand that any attack on Taiwan will not only inflict devastating costs on China but will fail.

France is also a NATO member (though in an earlier fit of bluster it had pulled out of NATOs Military Command structure from 1966 to 2009). The NATO 2030: United for a New Era report (released Nov. 25, 2020 and showing the influence of President Donald Trumps National Security Strategy) states NATO must devote much more time, political resources, and action to the security challenges posed by China -- based on an assessment of its national capabilities, economic heft, and the stated ideological goals of its leaders. The June 2021 Brussels summit went further: Chinas stated ambitions and assertive behaviour present systemic challenges to the rules-based international order and to areas relevant to Alliance security It is also cooperating militarily with Russia.

The United Kingdom took the lead projecting power into the Indo-Pacific with the seven-month (May-December 2021) voyage of British Carrier Strike Group 21 based on the new HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier and its escort of two Royal Navy destroyers, two frigates, two support ships and a nuclear submarine. But it was also an alliance effort. The task force included a U.S. Navy destroyer and a U.S. Marine Corps fighter squadron operated from the UK carrier. There was also a Royal Netherlands Navy frigate. The group conducted exercises with the Indian, Australian and Japanese navies along the way, bringing together NATO and the Quad alignment (against which China protested).

On her way to the G7 Foreign Ministers conference in Japan, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock stopped in China where she said that the EU and Germany "cannot be indifferent" to escalating tensions between China and Taiwan, and that "A military escalation in the Taiwan Strait... would be a worst-case scenario globally. She also called on Beijing to urge Moscow to stop the war in Ukraine.

Japan was the proper place for this G7 meeting, as Tokyo sees a global alignment against aggression. On March 21, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida arrived in Kyiv to "show respect to the courage and patience of the Ukrainian people who are standing up to defend their homeland and show solidarity and unwavering support for Ukraine. At their meeting, the G7 Foreign Ministers condemn in the strongest possible terms Russias war of aggression against Ukraine and Russias irresponsible nuclear rhetoric. Furthermore, There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities such as Russia's attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure.

On China, the final communique stated, We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. There is no legal basis for Chinas expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose Chinas militarization activities in the region. Chinas policy of forcing illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure in exchange for market access was also condemned.

All nations will evaluate world events in terms of their own interests. Even within the enduring alliances built by the U.S. encompassing the most advanced civilizations of our time, there will be nuances on even the most central policies. The task of diplomacy is to rally coalitions of the willing to act, not just talk. As Winston Churchill said, The only things worse than fighting with allies is fighting without allies.

William R. Hawkins is a former economics professor who served on the Republican staff of the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee. He has written widely on international economics and national security issues for both professional and popular publications.

Image: RawPixel
New York District Attorney Alvin Bragg has certainly gotten everyone excited with his application of the Beria gambit. His show me the man and Ill show you the crime approach to election interference -- while calling it law enforcement -- has raised eyebrows across the political spectrum. He has even triggered the Republicans to propose legislation protecting current and former presidents from politically motivated prosecution.

Unfortunately, the proposed legislation fails the same logic test that almost all gun-control proposals fail. Advocates of gun control can never explain how their proposals would have prevented the last headline shooting. Similarly, the Republican proposal would not have prevented the Alvin Bragg circus either. It wont fix the issue and it wouldnt have protected Trump, because it ignores the root problem.

The No More Political Prosecutions Act (NMPPA), proposed by Rep. Russell Fry (R-S.C.), would grant indicted presidents a right to an automatic change of venue if desired. It would give former presidents the ability to neuter a crusading rogue local official, and move their case to a federal court. Unfortunately, even if the act were to pass and survive a presidential veto, it wouldnt fix anything. We should ask the same questions about this act that conservatives use when debating gun control. Would the proposed act have prevented Alvin Bragg from using the power of his office to interfere with an election? There are at least five reasons why this act fails to address the problem of government weaponization for political purposes.

Processes to assemble grand juries, indict offenders, and try defendants before local juries are merely tools granted local District Attorneys (DAs). As with gun control arguments, the problem isnt the tools, but the person wielding those tools.

Our root problem is that we have rogue law enforcement officials who are willing to use their tools for illegal purposes -- such as violating a persons civil rights for political purposes. They do so with impunity because they face no consequences for their offenses. The solution isnt to take their tools away. Its to hold them accountable for the oath they swore to us.

If we have an Alvin Bragg problem, disarming all DAs, including the ethical ones, is not the solution. If Bragg violated Donald Trumps (or our) civil liberties, he should go to jail for it. Fortunately, theres already a criminal statute against such an offense  Misconduct by Law Enforcement and other Government Actors -- Deprivation of Rights Under Color of Law (18 USC 242).

Unfortunately, the statute can only be enforced by the U.S. Department of Justice, which is also violating our civil rights -- under the color of law, for political purposes. The act doesnt fix that.

Assuming the act were in place, and Trump exercised his right to a change of venue after his indictment, his case would be moved to a federal court, where the prosecution would be conducted by a U.S. Attorney -- working for Merrick Garland. Would Donald Trumps civil rights be better protected with this change of venue?

What would happen if another local DA indicted another former president on a different criminal offense? What if some fictitious former Oval Office occupant were indicted for raping an underage girl on a private plane called the Lolita Express and then opted for a change of venue? Would that defendant receive equal treatment to that of Donald Trump in a federal court -- by a Garland DoJ? Given that our corrupt two-tiered justice system remains unaddressed, will the proposed act prevent future unequal applications of the law?

The act will provide an extra layer of protection for presidents who may actually be criminals. Is that what we really want -- some citizens having special protection?

Lets say hypothetically, that some ex-president named Brandon committed a crime while attending a summit meeting at a location with an ethical DA. He becomes indicted in that locale for a crime committed there, and exercises his right to a change of venue.

Would President Brandons political affiliation come into play under a Garland DoJ? Or would Democrats continue to benefit, and Republicans suffer, under a two-tiered criminal justice system? Do we really wish to tie the hands of local DAs in a situation such as this -- where a real crime was committed?

The bigger problem isnt that Republican presidents face political persecution. Its that all of us not aligned with leftist politics, face political persecution. Observe the treatment of the January 6 defendants. The Trump indictment and the January 6 prosecutions are symptoms of the same political illness.

Giving former presidents an extra layer of protection fails to address the actual problem. Our Constitution is becoming irrelevant because our government has been weaponized against political opponents at all levels. The proposed act leaves that problem unaddressed. It treats the symptom without excising the tumor.

When it comes to attacking our constitutionally protected rights, local DAs are strictly bush league. The real pros are our public servants at the DoJ and FBI -- the very people charged with protecting our rights. The list of protected rights which they have not protected is legion, and growing by the day. Our protectors have in fact attacked our:

Freedom of speech

Freedom of religion

Freedom of assembly

Freedom of the press

Freedom from unreasonable search

Rep. Frys bill would merely turn presidential prosecutions over to the worst offenders. Can a political prosecution of some future ex-president be prevented by placing it in the hands of the people who gave us the Russian collusion hoax and the Mueller investigation?

Clearly, Frys legislation will not prevent political prosecution of former presidents. It cant solve the perceived problem, because the perceived problem isnt the actual problem -- government corruption. His bill satisfies the emotional craving to do something. But the something it does will not prevent a recurrence of the issue.

I have a counterproposal. Dont attack the tools. Attack the criminals who use those tools for illegal purposes. Rather than weakening a states power to hold presidents accountable, strengthen every states power to hold all government officials accountable -- at the federal, state, and local levels.

In our system of governance, distribution of power is always more consistent with maintaining our freedom than further consolidation of power at the federal level. Fix the root problem with either a legislative or constitutional change, authorizing the states to enforce the Color of Law statute.

Lets apply our gun-control logic and see if this proposal would have affected the Bragg indictment of Donald Trump. If states were empowered to prosecute violations of our constitutionally protected rights, would Alvin Bragg have still indicted Trump for a crime which he is unable to articulate? Let me ask that another way. Would Bragg have violated Donald Trumps civil rights if Florida officials could prosecute Bragg and incarcerate him in a Florida penitentiary for violating the rights of a Floridian?

Empowering the states is the solution to our loss of constitutionally protected rights. Taking away the playthings of local district attorneys is not.

John Green is a political refugee from Minnesota, now residing in Idaho. He has written for American Thinker, and American Free News Network. He can be reached at greenjeg@gmail.com.

Image: PxHere
According to the state media, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un announced that the first-ever spy satellite of the country is now ready for launch.

The dictator reportedly ordered the officials in the country to proceed with the launch of the spy satellite, citing "threats" from the United States (US) and South Korea, the state-run KCNA news reports.

Kim Jong Un: North Korea's First Spy Satellite Ready to Launch

According to CNN, North Korea claimed it was already performing the "important final stage test" before launching its first spy satellite." Back then, the space development agency in the country, their counterpart for NASA, said that their military reconnaissance satellite should be ready for launch sometime in April 2023.

Now, the Supreme Leader has reportedly asked officials in the country to continue with the launch, confirming that the spy satellite is ready for take off. Kim claims "the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1" has been completed.

The state-run news agency reported that Kim visited the National Aerospace Development Administration on Tuesday. And during this trip to the space agency, he revealed that the development of the first spy satellite in the country had concluded. And with that, the North Korean leader has reportedly ordered the officials in the country to launch "several reconnaissance satellites."

However, Aljazeera notes that the North Korean leader did not specify the launch date of its first spy satellite. Pyongyang-run media showed a photo of the Supreme Leader during his visit to the space agency while he was talking to the official in the country.

Kim Jong Un's backdrop appears to be the new spy satellite, but the state-run media censored it. The dictator's daughter was with him when he announced the latest development in the country's first reconnaissance satellite.

Read Also: North Korean Boat Breaches Sea Border; South Korea Responds With Warning Shots

Kim Jong Un Cites 'Threat' From US, South Korea

In a speech during his visit, Kim highlights the importance of military satellites to help protect the national safety of the country, as well as its stability, according to CNN's report. He further says the spy satellite should guard them against "threats" and challenges from the US and its neighbor South Korea.

The Korean leader notes that the development of the military spy satellite is "indispensable" due to "prospective threats" on the Korean Peninsula. WSBTV reports that the dictator dubbed these "threats" "the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action" from the US and South Korea. The two countries are currently conducting joint military drills.

Kim argues that "it is natural for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) to develop its military deterrence strong enough to cope with the serious security environment."

Related Article: North Korea Nuclear Facility Indicated High Activity Following Kim Jong Un Bomb Fuel Order

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
The study of history gives perspective on our present world. Consider the events leading to the American Revolution. In 1763, after decades of on again, off again war, British forces decisively defeated the French to conclude the Seven Years War, leaving them a virtually invincible empire, with the strongest navy, the largest merchant fleet, and the fastest-growing economy in the world.

However, during the later 1760s and early 1770s, relations between Great Britain and her American colonies grew steadily worse. The Stamp Act of 1765, the occupation of Boston in 1768, the Boston Massacre of 1770, and the Tea Party of 1773, had enflamed passions on both sides of the Atlantic.

In 1774, Parliament, with King George IIIs consent, passed the Massachusetts Government Act of Great Britain, transferring most of the powers of the colonys elected government to the royal governor, General Thomas Gage. Fearing the outbreak of violence, Gage began to confiscate military supplies, principally gunpowder, from the militia.

By April 1775, the provincials had for some time been hiding weapons and powder at various locations, including the town of Concord, some twenty miles west of Boston. On the 18th of April, Gage dispatched about 700 infantry, all British regulars under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Francis Smith, to seize the munitions there. Despite the generals attempts to maintain secrecy, Paul Revere and others brought news of the raid to Lexington shortly after midnight.

As word of the approaching troops went out through the surrounding countryside, Captain John Parker and some seventy to eighty militia gathered near the town meeting house and waited for the redcoats. Knowing the munitions at Concord had been safely moved to other locations, Parker had no intention of engaging the British troops and ordered his men don't fire unless fired upon. He and his men lined up on Lexington Common in a show of resolve, expecting the redcoats to continue to Concord without hostilities. Tension was high as the two groups faced off.

The question of who fired first has long engaged historians. Participants on both sides were adamant that the other initiated hostilities, but it is unlikely the matter can ever be settled. What we do know is that a sound like a gunshot was heard and it was spark enough to cause the British troops to fire without orders. Their officers tried immediately to halt the unauthorized attack. So rapidly did matters escalate that few militiamen managed to fire their weapons in the skirmish, which left eight Americans dying. Most of the provincials scattered in the face of the much larger force opposing them.

Once Smith, the British commander, had regained control of his troops, he regrouped and pressed on to Concord. Upon arriving there he assigned about ninety men to guard the way back to Boston, in particular the North Bridge which spanned the Concord River outside of the town. Another group he sent to search the farm of provincial Colonel James Barrett for munitions, almost all of which had been removed previously. Barrett himself was in command of the militia on Punkatasset Hill, overlooking the bridge. His numbers grew steadily as militiamen arrived from neighboring towns, reaching a force of some 400 armed men.

Seeing smoke rise from Concord, Barrett and his officers grew concerned the British troops were burning the town to the ground, although such was not the case. Barretts troops advanced to the bridge and began to cross it. Again, tense men facing one another led to someone firing a shot, followed by another until both sides fired volleys across the bridge at one another. Within three minutes the action was over, but several men lay dead or wounded. Outnumbered and low on ammunition, the British troops retreated into town.

Fortunately for the British, Gage had sent a relief force of about 1,000 infantry under the command of General Hugh Percy and the two groups met at Lexington. Together they marched back to Boston in a bloody retreat which saw many casualties. Total American casualties (killed, wounded, and missing) were 95, versus 273 for the British. By the morning of April 20, some 15,000 provincial troops held Boston under siege.

The events of April 19, 1775 rocked the world of the colonists. It would not be until sixty-three years later Ralph Waldo Emerson would declare the battle to be the shot heard round the world, but it was evident to all who survived the day that something fundamental in the world had changed. Unlike previous incidents, such as the Boston Massacre, for the first time British and American forces had fought and killed one another. Few, if any, could foresee it would take eight years, until the signing of the Treaty of Paris (1783), to finally settle the matter of American independence from Great Britain.

Today, one often hears or reads laments about life in these uncertain times. But what times are certain? While some periods are relatively more peaceful and prosperous than others, in every time there are doubts about what comes next. In our own time, there are many reasons for concern: Russias invasion of Ukraine; the growing strength and aggression of China; cultural unrest in America dividing the country along fault lines of politics, race, and sex; failures of major banks; and so on.

However, as bestselling author David McCullough has noted, One might also say that history is not about the past. If you think about it, no one ever lived in the past. Washington, Jefferson, John Adams, and their contemporaries didn't walk about saying, "Isn't this fascinating living in the past! Aren't we picturesque in our funny clothes!" They lived in the present. The difference is it was their present, not ours. They were caught up in the living moment exactly as we are, and with no more certainty of how things would turn out than we have.

No certainty, just the necessity to live in the present while trying to shape a better future for those who come after us. One lesson of April 19, 1775 is that we should take heart from the experiences of our ancestors. Out of their struggles came, in the words of Lincoln, a new nation, conceived in liberty. Our present challenges are real, but let us not imagine they are unprecedented. Rather, let us take courage from the example of those who came before us.

Harold Lowery is the author of the historical novel From Lexington to Yorktown.

Image: New York Public Library
A new NIH-funded study says that as many as 25% of students in middle and high school are abusing Adderall. Combining that information with what we already know our kids are putting in their bodies (deliberately or accidentally) leaves me wondering whether all these substances are affecting our childrens relationship to their own bodies, leading to the transgender explosion.

Regarding ADHD, I believe the real diagnosis for most of these kids isnt ADHD. Instead, its a product of 30 hours a week of forced inactivity while having incredibly boring lessons forced upon them. Still, whatever the cause for childrens restlessness and inattention, once they get the ADHD diagnosis, they usually get started on Adderall, a drug containing amphetamines and dextroamphetamine.

Image: Adderall by Patrick Mallahan III, CC BY-SA 3.0.

A newly released NIH-funded study says roughly one out of four American teenagers is using a drug like Adderall:

One in four US teens at some schools are abusing prescription stimulants such as Adderall, a Government-funded study suggests. The research found what experts described as a contagion effect - where the risk of illegal use was higher in places where lots of students had legal prescriptions. Children more likely to abuse the drugs were in the northeastern region of the US, are white and have highly educated parents. [snip] In some schools there was little to no misuse of stimulants, while in other schools more than 25% of students had used stimulants in nonmedical ways, Dr Sean McCabe, the studys lead author from the University of Michigan, told CNN.

The latest numbers also show that around 10% of American children are on some form of antidepressant. Both ADHD treatments and antidepressants have effects on peoples sexual function and mental condition.

Those are just the licit drugs children take.

Children are also doubling down on marijuana (which is more potent than in the 1960s and can have other, dangerous chemicals in it). According to a CDC handout, in 2019, 37% of high school students reported trying marijuana. In addition, marijuana vaping was rising in popularity, with 8% of 8th graders and 22% of 12th graders vaping pot. Ironically, one of the side effects of pot use is difficulty maintaining attention, which is the kind of thing that gets an ADHD diagnosis. Its easy to imagine kids on both Adderall and pot.

Another thing were putting into childrens bodies in unprecedented amounts is vaccinations. In my day, we got measles, mumps, rubella, smallpox, diphtheria, polio, tetanus, and a few other classic diseases. Nowadays, children get vaccinations for Hepatitis A and B, rotavirus, diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, Hib (Influenza b), pneumococcal disease, polio, COVID, the flu, measles, mumps, rubella, chicken poxall before the age of 7. Once they hit 7, they may get iterations of the same vaccines, as well as getting HPV vaccinations and two different vaccinations for meningococcal diseases.

Dont get me wrong. I believe in vaccines. Before modern germ theory and vaccinations, up to 50% of all children born in the Western world died before they were five. My parents and their friends had lifelong consequences from things such as polio, scarlet fever, measles, chickenpox, mumps, hepatitis, etc. Tetanus, which was untreatable, was a miserable way to die. Having said that, the number of jabs kids get today is concerning, and there may be invisible fallout paired with the benefits from those vaccinations.

Finally, theres an environmental factor, one that environmentalists have been complaining about for a very long time: Endocrine disruptors, which include estrogen (footnotes omitted):

The effect of estrogenic compounds in the water supply from industry, agriculture, and other sources raises concerns about human health and deserves scrutiny. Estrogenic compounds are part of a larger category of chemicals known as endocrine-disruptors (EDCs), chemicals that can alter the hormonal and homeostatic systems enabling an organismlike a human being or other animalto communicate with and respond to its environment. Given the demonstrated effects of EDCs on human reproductive health, it is important to examine the role played by EE2 in contributing to the presence of estrogenic compounds in our water.

Endocrine disruptors are everywhere in the modern world:

Endocrine disruptors are found in many everyday products, including some plastic bottles and containers, liners of metal food cans, detergents, flame retardants, food, toys, cosmetics, and pesticides.

One activist, Seth Siegel, estimates that 10 million doses of synthetic estrogen get flushed daily into Americas waters thanks to the millions of American women on the Pill. While most of that is filtered out in water treatment plants, that estrogen still remains in our drinking water. Add to that the estrogen farm animals excrete that makes its way into our water supply, as well as endocrine disruptors from other sources (industrial and farm run-off, etc.), and the amount isnt inconsequential.

(Before you panic, one 2010 study found that the estrogen in childrens water is less than what they get from milk, so it may not be a problem. I note it simply because its there.)

Im an ignoramus about medicine and science. Still, it seems worthwhile to examine whether the increasing number of children claiming to be transgender or suffering from other forms of body dysphoria isnt solely due to social pressure and indoctrination (although I believe those are the primary drivers). Part of the problem may be because our children ingest an unprecedented number of chemical substances, some with very serious side effects.
I think it was David Goldman who predicted this would happen a few weeks ago, but the impact of it now is shocking: Israel, America's top ally in the Middle East, is now moving towards the China orbit.

According to Breitbart News's Frances Martel:

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen asked China to influence Iran to cease developing its illegal nuclear weapons program, inviting Beijing to play a bigger role in the Middle East as relations with the United States under leftist President Joe Biden have deteriorated. Cohen (pictured) made the request in a conversation on Monday with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang, a day before held a massive parade to mark its annual Army Day in which it once again threatened to destroy Israel. President Ebrahim Raisi specifically vowed the destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv and debuted what appeared to be new military hardware, a drone model not yet seen in public. ... Describing the talk with Qin on Twitter, Cohen said that he had encouraged Qin to have China participate in convincing Iran to cease developing nuclear weapons. I spoke today with Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang. I called on him to exert his influence on Iran to stop the progress of the nuclear program, his statement read, which poses a danger to many countries in the Middle East and the world. The State of Israel will act in any way to prevent the terrorist regime in Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons, Cohen concluded.

Yet it all makes a certain amount of sense and so shouldn't be.

As the U.S. gets bogged down in Ukraine, and Russia aligns with China as both states win friends and influence around the world, Israel is pretty on its own now. The magnificent Abraham accords of President Trump's era, making peace for Israel and Saudi Arabia and a string of other nations after it, has been eclipsed by China's "peacemaking" between Saudi Arabia and Iran, freeing up the mullah-ruled state to focus its malevolence on tiny Israel alone. For Israel, its best option may be to move under China's wing so China can stop Iran.

What's more, Joe Biden has messed up relations with both critical allies. He demonized Saudi Arabia as a "pariah" state over internal human rights matters, even though Saudi Arabia, broadly speaking, has actually improved a lot, letting women drive cars and the like. He did this even as he needed them to pump oil for him, having surrendered U.S. energy sovereignty to the green lobby in the states, and the Saudis laughed in his face and cut production. As for Israel, it's the same kind of demonization, with Biden vowing to not meet with Israel's prime minister, Binyamin Netanyau, over his disagreement on Israel's judicial reforms, which are frankly none of his business.

Meanwhile, Biden's disastrous withdrawal from Afghanistan sent an additional message to friend and foe alike that U.S. military prowess isn't what it's cracked up to be based on its substandard military leadership and that the U.S. will abandon its allies to terrorists. Even the U.S.'s NATO allies were left high and dry in that awful pullout.

Israel is a tiny country and while it doesn't demand anyone to fight for it, it does benefit from having a large ally such as the U.S. Now that Biden has demonized and abandoned it, what other choice does Israel have but to move over into another big ally who will ensure they not be attacked and destroyed. It's disturbing stuff because both countries are tech innovators, and if they get together on that, which is exactly what China will want, it could be very grim news for U.S. strategic capabilities.

It's a culmination of a string of errors from Joe Biden, from errors on energy security, to errors on military engagement, to errors on just what the heck the U.S.'s foreign policy priorities are. Do we want to yell at Israel (and the Saudis) or do we want actual allies who will do their part to check China's influence?

The only thing one can conclude from all this Biden incompetence is that prescient statement of President Obama's, which foresaw what a Biden presidency would accomplish: "Don't underestimate Joe's ability to f*** things up."

If Biden can't even hold onto Israel, what does that say about our influence in the world and the state of our foreign policy?

Image: Screen shot from a camera shot aimed at a live television set, filtered with FotoSketcher.
In Kansas City, Missouri, where a teen was allegedly shot, a racial storm may be brewing. The victim happens to be black and the alleged shooter happens to be white.

The AP reported that the teen, Ralph Yarl, an honor student and all-state band member, was supposed to pick up his two younger brothers. When he approached the wrong house at roughly 10 p.m., the man who came to the door and allegedly shot Yarl in the forehead  then shot him again, in the right forearm.

The officers took the alleged shooter into custody and released him after consulting with the Clay County prosecutor's office. This is standard procedure while the investigation continues.

A day after the shooting and even before the investigation could have been completed, celebrities began posting on social media.

Former Bond Girl Halle Berry began, she claimed, to be sick and tired of this feeling and that her heart completely broke. Berry named the prosecutor, his office address, his phone number, and email address.

Soon other celebrities followed. Kate Hudson posted a series of slides that is supposed to depict the shooting incident; the final slide has details about the prosecutor. By liberal standards the images could be seen as offensive because of the depiction of a black man.

Penelope Cruz posted the same set of slides. The legendary Michelle Pfeffer joined in too posting details about the prosecutor. Jennifer Aniston, Viola Davis, Justin Timberlake and myriad others joined in.

The good news is Ralph Yarl was released from the hospital three days after being shot, his family says he faces an arduous road to recovery.

The 84-year-old alleged shooter turned himself in yesterday and was later released on bail, authorities said. The alleged shooter faces two felony charges  assault in the first degree and armed criminal action -- and will be arraigned Wednesday afternoon, according to Yarl family attorney Lee Merritt.

According to court documents, the alleged shooter thought Ralph was trying to break into the home and was scared to death due to the boys size. Perhaps his failing eyesight or hearing due to advance aging caused this reaction.

The Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson who was named by the various Hollywood celebrities has said, There was a racial component to this case, but did not elaborate. It is hard to tell if the prosecutor really believes what he says or if he merely succumbed to pressure.

Fortunately, there have been no incidences of violence so far. But the situation is still volatile.

So, what does one make of the celebrity outrage?

Obviously, they were all supplied the images and text, which were supplied by an unseen power. It isnt beyond the realm of possibility that some were paid and some were forced or felt forced due to fears of being branded a racist and added to a blacklist.

But the investigation is still in progress yet the celebrities began making or implying unverified claims of a racial motives and naming the prosecutor. This was, is, and will continue to be very dangerous. These celebrities have poured fuel on the fire while they themselves rest in their heavily-guarded luxury homes.

The consequences could not only be violence in Kansas City but beyond. The violence could lead to further injuries and probably deaths. There could be property damage which could take years to overcome. The social media posts also reinforce the 'systemic racism' or 'all Caucasians are racist' narratives. It drives societal division.

It could cause despondency in the minds of black people who relied solely on the slides to learn about the shooting. It could cause them to give up on education, because they think that, irrespective of their abilities, they will be shot by a white man. Perhaps some among them take up arms and preemptively strike at anyone about whom they have a bad feeling.

The social media giants could have suppressed these provocative posts, because the dangers were real. They were quick to target Trump, but here they remained passive observers.

The alleged shooter turning himself in and the boy being discharged from hospital is good news. But there is no guarantee that those looking to raise funds or seek publicity will allow facts to interrupt their narrative.

Seemingly spontaneous protest movements that erupt in coordinated fashion are not unique to the US. Around three years ago, India passed three new farm laws there were essential reforms to align the farming sector with the free market and restrict government interference. For nefarious elements looking to harm the current government and possibly destabilize the nation, this was a sterling opportunity.

The farmers began a protest by blockading a highway that led to Indias capital, Delhi. In parallel, representatives of the protesting farmers were negotiating with the government.

Also supporting the protest were Meena Harris, niece of US vice-president Kamala Harris, Rep Ilhan Omar, Rihanna, Susan Sarandon, Trevor Noah, John Cusack, and others. Doubtlessly none of these celebrities knew much about the farm laws or the situation in India. But they supported the protest anyway.

Also joining the protest: Juvenile Activist Greta Thunberg; it is doubtful she would even be able to point to India on a map, but it hardly mattered. Thunberg was important to these protests because her mistake revealed what we always suspected. Thunberg and her handlers was so incompetent that they accidentally tweeted a toolkit that revealed a campaign to spread chaos and instability across India using the protests.

The toolkit documents revealed that there was nothing spontaneous about the protests and neither the celebrities join in because their heart was in the right place. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that all celebrities joined in for a price. Every aspect of the protest including the content of tweets and the images were provided by an unknown force. There were even rumors that George Soros was funding the troublemakers.

There were various incidences of violence where protestors engaged in property damage. The protestors even desecrated a monument by planting their flags beside the Indian national flag on the anniversary that India became a Republic. This was a desecration of the monument and a symbolic attack on the Indian state. There were also reports of violence in Delhi on the day, causing injury to the police and citizens.

The protests lasted for almost a year and the blockade of the highway caused Indian businesses a loss of hundreds of millions of dollars.

The freedom to protest is an essential part of democracy, in the USA as in India. But when anger is covertly manipulated to achieve political ends that the protestors do not understand or would not support, then politics becomes corrupted.

Hopefully, sanity, which is rare in these times of collective hysteria, will prevail in Kansas City and beyond.

Update: Tucker Carlson pointed out last night that a white woman was shot under similar circumstances without President Biden making a statement or anone bringing race into the matter:
Ive spent the last two nights listening to Tucker Carlsons interview with Elon Musk. Musk is charming, informed, often very wise, committed to free speech, and ferociously intelligent. (I never forget, though, that hes a climatista and, as he freely admits, he voted for Joe Biden.) One of the things they discussed was the speed with which Artificial Intelligence (AI) is developing and the risks it poses. One of those risks is the erasure of all ideas but for the ones AI advances, which can ultimately lead to human destruction. I ran a little experiment on Microsofts ChatGPT and discovered that were not there yet, but were getting close.

Currently, as Musk noted, AI is in the hands of two corporate tech giants: Google and Microsoft. Both have owners that are completely in bed with the Democrat party and actively hostile to conservative values. They support globalism, DEI, CRT, transgenderism, and just about every other type of insanity the left is visiting on America. Ive heard, although had not proven to myself, that AIs default setting is to espouse leftist viewpoints. It seemed worthwhile to see if I could replicate that resultand I could.

Image: AI Elon Musk in the style of Jan van Eyck using Starryai.com.

My starting point was black-on-black violence. The subject should concern all of us, both because its unconscionable that there are so many predators within the black community preying on the innocent simply trying to get through their days and because violence never stays confined to a single community but, always, metastasizes. What plagues Americas inner cities will soon plague America. The problem of black-on-black crime, and its inevitable spread, was the topic of Tuckers monologue last night:

Right now, the Democrats are riding the racist tiger, with a big smile on their faces as they use it to achieve political power. However, they should be warned about that old limerick, lest they discover that they return from the ride, with the Democrats inside and the smile on the face of the tiger.

But about AIs bias. Using my Microsoft sign-in, I went to ChatGPT and asked it to write an essay about black on black crime. Within 10 seconds, I got a scarily well-written essay that used every leftist trope there is to explain the black-on-black crime phenomenon (emphasis mine):

Black on black crime is a troubling and complex issue that has plagued many communities for decades. It refers to incidents of violence, including murder, assault, and robbery, committed by black individuals against other black individuals. While this issue has been the subject of much discussion and debate, it is important to understand the root causes and potential solutions to this problem. One factor that contributes to black on black crime is poverty. Many African American communities in the United States face economic disadvantages, including limited access to education, jobs, and resources. This can lead to feelings of hopelessness and desperation, which in turn can fuel criminal activity. Furthermore, poverty can create an environment in which gangs and other criminal organizations thrive, further perpetuating the cycle of violence. Another contributing factor is the prevalence of guns in many African American communities. According to the Bureau of Justice Statistics, firearms are used in the majority of homicides involving black victims. The easy availability of guns in these communities, combined with high levels of poverty and crime, can create a dangerous and volatile environment that can lead to tragic outcomes. Additionally, the legacy of systemic racism and discrimination cannot be overlooked. Historical injustices, such as redlining, racial profiling, and police brutality, have had a profound impact on black communities and can contribute to a sense of anger and distrust towards law enforcement. This can make it difficult for individuals to feel safe and protected, leading to an increased likelihood of violence and crime. To address this issue, it is important to take a multifaceted approach that addresses the root causes of black on black crime. This may include addressing issues of poverty and access to education and resources, as well as implementing policies and programs to reduce the availability of guns in these communities. Additionally, efforts should be made to build trust between law enforcement and the community, and to address the systemic issues of racism and discrimination that have contributed to this issue. It is also important to note that the term "black on black crime" can be problematic, as it implies that violence within black communities is unique or more prevalent than violence in other communities. In reality, violence is a complex issue that affects people of all races and backgrounds. While it is important to address the specific issues facing African American communities, it is equally important to acknowledge that violence and crime are not unique to these communities and should be addressed on a broader societal level. In conclusion, black on black crime is a complex and troubling issue that requires a multifaceted approach. By addressing the root causes of poverty, gun violence, and systemic racism, we can work towards building safer and more equitable communities for all.

That could have come straight out of any American colleges Black Studies Department, except for the fact that its written with greater clarity and less cant than ordinary academic writing.

Whats noteworthy is that, with an open-ended question, leftism is the default setting. You can, however, adjust for that by specifically requesting that ChatGPT write about black-on-black crime from a conservative perspective. Adding those extra words yielded another frighteningly well-written essay that is sufficiently conservative to grace any conservative website:

From a conservative perspective, black on black crime is a serious issue that has been largely ignored by mainstream media and liberal politicians. It is a symptom of a broader cultural problem that has been exacerbated by failed liberal policies and a lack of personal responsibility. Conservatives argue that the root cause of black on black crime is the breakdown of the family structure within African American communities. According to statistics, over 70% of black children are born to unmarried mothers, which leads to a lack of parental guidance and support. This, in turn, leads to higher rates of poverty, unemployment, and crime. Furthermore, conservatives argue that liberal policies have worsened the situation. For example, the welfare state has created a cycle of dependency and incentivized single parenthood, while affirmative action policies have created a victim mentality and lowered standards for academic and professional achievement. These policies have created a culture of entitlement and dependency, which can lead to frustration, hopelessness, and ultimately, crime. Conservatives also point to the issue of gun control. While liberals often advocate for stricter gun control laws, conservatives argue that these laws only disarm law-abiding citizens, while criminals continue to have access to guns. This makes it more difficult for individuals to defend themselves and their communities, while criminals are emboldened to commit crimes. Finally, conservatives argue that the liberal narrative of victimhood and systemic racism has contributed to the problem. By constantly promoting the idea that African Americans are victims of an oppressive system, liberals have created a culture of victimhood and entitlement, which can lead to resentment and anger towards authority. This, in turn, can lead to a lack of respect for law enforcement and a disregard for the law, which can contribute to higher rates of crime. In conclusion, black on black crime is a serious issue that needs to be addressed from a conservative perspective. By focusing on the importance of family structure, personal responsibility, and law and order, we can work towards creating safer and more prosperous communities for all. It is time to reject failed liberal policies and embrace a culture of responsibility, hard work, and respect for authority.

If you havent yet started thinking about AI, Musk is right that youd better do so. Its not coming to America, its already here and, if you dont know how to ask the right question, its going to apply a leftist filter to everything that it produces.
Hunter Bidens hard drive, which hes now conceded is legitimate, proved that Hunter was an exceptionally debauched character. Drugs and prostitutes dominated his life for a long time, and his own family didnt trust him around teenage girls. Thats why its easy to believe Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greenes as-yet unsubstantiated claim that the Biden family was benefitting from human trafficking both in the U.S. and Eastern Europeincluding Russia and Ukraine. Just because she says it doesnt mean its true, so the real shock is that we live in a world in which it seems possible, even likely.

It took a strong stomach to watch the videos and view the photographs on Hunters hard drive. They revealed a compulsively exhibitionistic man who couldnt stop recording himself smoking crack, sniffing cocaine, and cavorting with prostitutes, some of whom looked as if they fell into the statutory rape category. Moreover, the laptop revealed that, when Hunter requested money from his Dad (the current Oval Office occupant) to fund this debauchery, Dad paid up.

What the laptop also revealed, despite Bidens strenuous denials, is that Joe was involved in Hunters many business dealings. We know this because Hunters staffers, business partners, and prospects were all welcomed into Joes vice-presidential office.

Image: Marjorie Taylor Greene. Twitter screen grab.

Now, thanks to Republican control over the House of Representatives, were getting an insight into the fact that all members of the Biden family may have received money from Hunters many business deals, including those with Ukraine and China. In March, Rep. James Comer (R-KY) reported that, in addition to the money Hunter and James Biden were pocketing through the family influence-peddling business, Hallie Biden (widow of Beau Biden and drug-addicted girlfriend of Hunter Biden) was also getting a cut.

Then, on Monday, Rep. Comer revealed that even more Bidens were on the take:

Six more members of the Biden clan may have benefitted from the familys various business schemes, bringing the total number of kin implicated up to nine, House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer revealed Monday. The findings come after the Kentucky GOP congressman and other lawmakers on the panel examined suspicious activity reports sent by banks to the Treasury Department alerting of potential criminal activity in transactions involving President Bidens family. Thousands of pages of financial records related to the Biden family, their companies, and associates business schemes were made available to members of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability, which confirm the importance of this investigation, Comer said in a statement. The Biden family enterprise is centered on Joe Bidens political career and connections, and it has generated an exorbitant amount of money for the Biden family. Weve identified six additional members of Joe Bidens family who may have benefited from the Biden familys businesses that we are investigating, bringing the total number of those involved or benefiting to nine, he said.

In a way, thats kind of ho-hum stuff. Peter Schweizer long ago detailed the Biden family grift, all of which revolved around Bidens political positions in the Senate and the Vice Presidents office.

Yesterday, though, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (D-GA) added something unexpected to the businesses from which the Bidens profited. According to her, in addition to money coming to the Bidens from various foreign countries,

I just saw evidence of human trafficking. This involved prostitutes not only from here in the United States, but foreign countries like Russia and Ukraine. This is unbelievable that a President and a former Vice President, not only his son Hunter Biden, but many more family members extending past Hunter Biden and his immediate family.

The Biden crime family participated in human trafficking by soliciting prostitutes from the United States and abroad in countries like Russia and Ukraine.



There is an entire crime enterprise wrapped around Joe Biden and his family.@GOPOversight has a much bigger investigation pic.twitter.com/AGUBqfxTLs  Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (@RepMTG) April 18, 2023

As I noted, there is no way to know whether Greene is correctly interpreting the information the House committee is reviewing. The sad state in which America finds itself, though, is that everyone who hears this claim asks some variation of this rhetorical question: Would that be a surprise?

The answer, of course, is no. Given the Biden familys rapacity, Joes penchant for sniffing and fondling little girls, and Hunters well-known and self-documented debauchery, its only too easy to believe that Americas president has enriched himself and his family through human trafficking.
What does Americas left wing Democrat partys racial alignment look like? Not surprisingly, white Europeans with liberal perspectives combined with most of the minority communities.

What does Israels current right wing government; e.g., the Likud partys racial alignment look like? Surprisingly, it consists mostly of minorities. A fact that is often ignored by the anti-Israel crowd who accuse Israel of being an apartheid state, is that Israels majority population is comprised of Jews of color; Jews who escaped from Arab lands (Sephardic or Mizrachi), Iran, and Ethiopia.

This is the mirror opposite of the U.S. The darker skinned minority is the core base of support for Israels right-wing government. This minority also is deeply rooted in traditional values.

As background, Sephardic or Mizrachi Jews had been returning to Israel for the past millennium in trickles. Then came the pogroms and ultimately the unspeakable Holocaust in Europe. The result was a huge influx of European Jews returning home in the last century and a half. The surrounding Arab nations subsequently expelled their Jews, many of whom were long established in those countries, and they, too, fled to Israel, arriving after the European Jews. The darker-skinned arrivals were often treated as second-class citizens by some of their European Jewish counterparts. They ended up living in difficult conditions mainly in the periphery. Most brought strong religious values and traditions.

Today 54% percent of the Israeli Jewish population is either Mizrachi, Persian or Ethiopian.

Mizrachi political clout has been increasing since 1977 when their first real champion, Menachem Begin, was elected. Nevertheless, the liberal left has been able to hold the levers of power via the activist courts as the Supreme Court, for all intents and purposes, has been self-appointing new judges with the same European lineage and secular values. Hence, the court does not reflect the population. One-third of Jews in Israel, regardless of heritage, are religious and another-third are traditional. Yet the Supreme Court is almost exclusively none-of-the-above; i.e., white secular Europeans. Hence one reason for the current political drama.

In terms of trajectory, unlike the U.S., birth rates are much higher in Israel in the religious and traditional populations with typically 3-6 children per family. Hence, demographic trends among this group are painting a picture of robust families with more traditional and religious values. The left-wing secular Jews of European heritage understand their grip is slipping and we are witnessing a pushback against a tide they will not likely be able to stop.

More interestingly, in another generation, it will be difficult to make the heritage distinctions we can today as intra-marriage between cultures continues on an uptick. More than 35% of newborns even five years ago were from intra-married couples. Together this portends more robust families and a blending of cultures with traditional and religious values. This trend differs from the U.S. where marriage and replacement rates of 1.7 per couple pose other challenges. So, despite the current upheaval, the racial political alignment and trajectory forecasts a different reality from the U.S., but God willing, a healthy future for the Jewish state.

Gary Schiff is a resource consultant, guide and writer connecting Israel and the U.S.

Image: Israel Defense Forces, via Wikimedia Commons // CC BY-SA 2.0
As he did in Las Vegas, where security cameras captured him stealing a strangers suitcase with thousands of dollars worth of clothing inside, Sam Brinton has escaped any jail time for a similar theft at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. The UK Daily Mail reports:

The non-binary former Energy Department official who was caught on camera stealing luggage from Minneapolis airport agreed to undergo a mental health evaluation - as he avoids jail time in Las Vegas for a similar crime. Samuel Brinton, 35, who uses they/them pronouns agreed during a remote hearing in Hennepin County on Monday to participate in a adult diversion program after he was charged for stealing a woman's suitcase in September containing $2,325 of items from Minneapolis-Saint Paul International Airport. As a part of the program, Brinton - who was responsible for nuclear fuel and radioactive waste - will be required to write an apology to the victim, return the stolen items and participate in three days of community service.

That is an awfully light penalty for a felony. Theft of over $1,000 in value is a felony in Minnesota. So, he gets 3 days of community service, writes a letter, and sits for a mental health evaluation. Compare thats to the disruption his victim would have had  no clothing for a trip where she may have had demanding schedule commitments, the loss of privacy for intimate personal belongings, and the sense of vulnerability that will stay with her for the rest of her life.

In my book, people with high levels of responsibility should not escape punishment due to their elevated status. Instead, because they need to be held to higher standards than the rest of us, they should receive punishment on the severe end of the scale when they commit crimes.

Source: Linkedin via the UKDM
After a long hiatus in a psychiatric ward, where he was being treated for severe depression, Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) was back in Congress doing his job as chair of a subcommittee to the Agriculture Committee. It was not an auspicious re-debut. Even with every word written out for him, his delivery was severely stilted, indicating that this is not a well man and hinting that he is his aides puppet.

Yesterday, Fetterman returned to the Senate for the first time in three months following his treatment for clinical depression. He raised eyebrows because he walked into those once-hallowed halls, the symbol of Americas representative democracy, wearing gym shorts and a hoodie:

Fetterman has made his triumphant return to the Senate.

pic.twitter.com/514Fd4OkcC  Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 17, 2023

Still, it seems petty to cavil, especially if he was just running in to pick up something or say hello to the team, as opposed to being there on official business. By today, Fetterman was back to wearing appropriately dignified clothes for his role as chairman of the Agriculture Committees Subcommittee On Food And Nutrition, Specialty Crops, Organics, And Research. For his opening statement, he read from a printed speech with which he seemed unfamiliar. That is, theres no evidence that he had anything to do with writing the speech. His labored reading suggests that his aides handed it to him at the last minute. Youve heard this style of reading before, back when you were in elementary school, and the teacher asked one of the slower students to read a passage from a book. If you liked the kid, you suffered along with him as he sounded out and stumbled from one (to him) meaningless word after another. If you didnt like himeven if you didnt tease him directly, you werent thinking unkind thoughts inside your head:

John Fetterman chaired a subcommittee hearing today.



Here is his opening statement. pic.twitter.com/Y6EHYkhkBZ  Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 19, 2023

The same agonizing delivery reappeared when he was ostensibly questioning one of the witnesses who appeared before the committee:

Here is John Fetterman asking a question to a witness at today's subcommittee hearing. pic.twitter.com/kb2jXO9O2C  Greg Price (@greg_price11) April 19, 2023

If Fetterman were anyone other than who he is, I would feel only compassion for his struggles as well as admiration for his courage. To have a massive stroke and then work to return to some semblance of normalcy is impressive and deserving of praise. But Fetterman is who he is: A brain-damaged man who, knowing his impairment and limitations, nevertheless ran for and accepted a seat in the U.S. Senate. (Of course, a lot of the blame does go to the Pennsylvania Democrats who voted for him and the Republicans who refused to vote for Dr. Oz.)

In other words, if you put yourself in the spotlight, youre inviting judgment, and Fetterman willingly thrust himself into the national spotlight, where he is yet one more embodiment of a political party that puts mentally-impaired people into positions of authority (e.g., Joe Biden, Dianne Feinstein, and John Fetterman), puts mentally-ill people into high-level healthcare positions (e.g., Richard Rachel Levine), and puts mentally-ill criminals in high-level nuclear positions (e.g., Sam Brinton).

Im too mature to point and laughand, in any event, because my countrys well-being is at stake, I feel more inclined to weepbut Fettermans performance is truly noteworthy in a tragicomic way as just one more sign that our nation is in decline.

Image: John Fetterman. Twitter screen grab.
For better or worse, an Exynos-powered Galaxy S24 may be happening. Samsungs mobile division has reportedly approved the unannounced Exynos 2400 chipset for use in its 2024 flagships, at least in select markets. It shipped the Galaxy S23 series with a Snapdragon processor globally.

After skipping the Exynos 2300, Samsung is now working on a new flagship chipset. The Exynos 2400 was initially expected to power phones from Chinese vendors like Vivo and Xiaomi starting in early 2024. The Korean firm signed a multi-year partnership with Qualcomm last year, so it was expected to continue exclusively using Snapdragon processors in its flagship smartphones. At least for one more year.

But it appears, the company has changed its mind. It is now considering going back to Exynos in 2024. While it isnt final just yet, the Exynos 2400 could end up powering the Galaxy S24 series in some markets, probably Europe. Hopefully, the new Exynos chipset will leave behind the performance nemesis that led to Samsung going all-in with Snapdragon this year.

Otherwise, the company may find it difficult to sell its next-gen flagship smartphones. Fans havent forgotten how Exynos processors have underperformed compared to competing Snapdragon solutions for years.

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Early Exynos 2400 rumors would please Galaxy fans

Samsung going back to Exynos next year reportedly has to do with the dropping market share of its Exynos processors. However, the companys mobile division wont risk the sales of its latest flagship models if the Exynos 2400 isnt as good as the unannounced Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, if not better. But if early rumors are anything to go by, things are looking quite promising.

The Exynos 2400 is said to be a deca-core chipset built on a 4nm low power performance (LPP) node. This will reportedly address the power efficiency and thermal management issues Exynos processors have had for years. The LPP node also has a better yield rate, something Samsung has struggled with lately. In other words, the Exynos 2400 could address two of the major complaints with Exynos chipsets.

Its also rumored the new processor may feature a bonkers GPU. Rumors have it that Samsung will integrate AMDs RDNA2-based graphics with 6WGP (Workgroup Processor). One WGP consists of two compute units (CUs), so the Exynos 2400 GPU will have 12 CUs. The Exynos 2200s Xclipse 920 GPU has three CUs, so the new chipset has four times more compute units. These early rumors suggest the Exynos 2400 will be a massive leap forward from Samsungs last Exynos processor. Whether it will be enough to win back fans confidence, only time will tell.
Noah Hanna, a famous mountain climber, died while on an expedition in Nepal

The climber's body has been flown to the capital of Nepal, Kathmandu

Hanna resided in Dromore, County Down, with his wife, Lynne

According to reports released Tuesday, the renowned Northern Irish climber Noel Hanna has perished in Nepal while descending the treacherous Annapurna mountain range.

Noel Hanna, 56, is said to have perished in a camp while descending from the summit of the hazardous Annapurna mountain range, the world's tenth-highest peak.

Noel Hanna Dies on Nepal's Annapurna

Hanna, from County Down, has climbed Mount Everest ten times. He died overnight after scaling the 8,091m (26,545ft) summit peak on Monday, according to Irish station RTe. His body was transported to the capital Kathmandu. Hannah's sister said her brother was "a legend" who "liked a view and simply loved people."

When asked if his family was aware of the threats he faced, Irene Hunter replied, "He didn't say too much; he didn't want to worry us all."

Hanna's remains, she added, will be returned to Finnis, near the Mourne Mountains, where he began climbing. A buddy of the mountaineer, Pat Falvey, said that he died after returning from the mountain's peak, The Independent reported.

Meanwhile, a second Indian climber who had gone missing after plunging into a crevasse was discovered alive. Mourne Mountain Adventures, a Kilkeel-based guided hiking firm, has paid homage to Hanna. According to Yubaraj Khatiwada, a tourist officer in Kathmandu, Hanna's death remained unknown.

Per Daily Mail, Hanna resided in Dromore, Co Down, with his wife Lynne, a skilled climber, and the two had climbed Everest together in 2016. As his death was revealed, tributes flooded in.

Read Also: Video: New York City Parking Garage Collapses

Annapurna Has Higher Death Rate Than Mt. Everest

According to Khatiwada, two Indian mountaineers went missing on Monday after losing radio communication with the base. Hundreds of rescue teams were dispatched to find the climbers, and one of them, Baljeet Kaur, was eventually rescued at 24,156 feet.

Kaur was airlifted to base camp and then to a hospital in Kathmandu, where she was claimed to be in stable condition. Khatiwada said the second climber, Anurag Maloo, was still missing. According to NY Times, the hunt for him was set to restart on Wednesday.

Because of the constant risk of avalanches, climbers see conquering Annapurna as a challenging endeavor. Deaths from snowslides, storms, or altitude sicknesses are not rare. Just 369 individuals had reached the peak of Annapurna before last season, and 72 had perished while ascending.

Three Sherpas were reportedly killed last week while ascending Mount Everest after a column of ice collapsed their route and buried them beneath heaps of snow. The tragedy happened in the Khumbu Icefall, a glacier near the base camp of the 29,032-foot-tall peak.

Rescuers discovered the accident site but could not approach it since it is considered one of Everest's most avalanche-prone locations. According to the Himalayan Database, six climbers perished climbing Nepal's mountains in the spring of 2022, a chronicle of mountaineering trips.

Summiteers have had to postpone their treks for weeks due to exceptional weather conditions. They've been stuck on the base for weeks due to this. Descending Annapurna has grown more difficult this year due to late snow and rain over the winter, making the slopes treacherous and perilous. Sherpas have needed help clearing pathways to the top.

Related Article: Judge Rejects US Reporter Evan Gershkovich Appeal Against Pre-Trial Detention

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Samsung may debut its first 3nm smartphone processor in early 2025. Rumors have it that the Exynos 2500, which should power the Galaxy S25 series, will be based on a 3nm process. The company will also apply the same process node to its next-gen W-series Exynos processor for wearables.

Samsung started mass-producing 3nm chips last year. The company is using a new GAA (Gate All Around) transistor architecture for these advanced semiconductors. However, it is struggling with the yield rates of the chipsets. This has affected the Korean firms 3nm production capacity.

It isnt yet ready to apply the 3nm process node to smartphone processors. The company is supplying the initial production run to clients in other tech sectors, such as cryptocurrency mining.

However, Samsung will eventually make 3nm smartphone processors once it improves its yield rates and addresses other shortcomings in the first-gen solutions. According to Twitter tipster @TheGalox_, the Exynos 2500 will be the companys first 3nm chipset intended for smartphones. As said earlier, the new chipset will power the Galaxy S25 series in early 2025, at least in some markets. The Exynos 2400, which is rumored to ship inside the Galaxy S24 series in some markets, is a 4nm chipset.

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Samsung may soon launch a 3nm wearable processor

Samsung is reportedly also considering making 3nm wearable chipsets. Its current solution Exynos W920 is based on a 5nm process node. Introduced in mid-2021, this chipset powers the Galaxy Watch 4 and Galaxy Watch 5 series globally. It features two ARM Cortex-A55 CPU cores and the ARM Mali-G68 GPU.

There are rumors that the Galaxy Watch 6 series will get an improved processor. Its unclear whether we are in for a tweaked version of the Exynos W920 or Samsung is developing a new solution from the ground up. In that case, it could very well be a 3nm chip. The company may be looking to apply its 3nm process node to wearable chips before moving to smartphones. Its current 3nm capacity may be enough for the Galaxy Watch 6 lineup.

Samsungs next-gen smartwatches will debut within the next few months. We are expecting the Galaxy Watch 6 and Galaxy Watch 6 Classic to arrive sometime in August or September of this year. The latter model will feature the iconic physical rotating bezel. These watches will be accompanied by a couple of new foldables  Galaxy Z Fold 5 and Galaxy Z Flip 5  and probably a new pair of TWS earbuds as well. Stay tuned for more information.
Earlier this year Samsung announced that it would be making the task of tracking your menstrual cycle on the Galaxy Watch 5 an easier process, using the skin temperature sensors that are embedded in the watch, and powered by Natural Cycles technology. Today the company is unlocking that feature and making it available to use.

The skin temperature-based cycle tracking for the Galaxy Watch 5 series includes both the Galaxy Watch 5 and the Galaxy Watch 5 Pro. And its goal is to basically streamline the process of taking Basal Body Temperature readings. Allowing users to get better insights about their menstrual cycle and overall health.

BBT needs to be measured immediately after waking and prior to any physical activity or impact from surroundings. Getting accurate BBT readings requires measurement the first thing every morning, a process that can be inconvenient and sometimes even forgotten Samsung says. That inconvenience will be a thing of the past with this new feature finally being made available. Users will be able to wear the watch to bed and wake up in the morning with a reading. There is a bit of setup involved though.

First, users need to launch the Samsung Health app and select the Cycle Tracking feature. From here they need to enter their most recent cycle information into the calendar. Then, enable the predict period with skin temp feature in the settings.

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Cycle tracking on Galaxy Watch 5 series goes live in 32 countries

If youve got a Galaxy Watch 5 or Galaxy Watch 5 Pro and are wanting to start using this feature, youll need to be in one of the supported countries. Of which there are 32. This includes the US, as well as Korea and 30 European countries.

For Europe, Cycle Tracking will be available in the UK, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus and many others. You can find the full list of supported countries on Samsungs official blog post about the feature.
For the start, sideloading apps on iPhones has been impossible. Apple designed a way to block all apps not installed from the AppStore from existing on their products. According to them, this restriction improves the security of iPhones and other Apple products.

This action is in sharp contrast to what is attainable on Android devices. Users of Android devices can install apps to their devices from sources other than the Play Store. These apps then undergo security checks from the devices system before being permitted to exist with other apps.

Over the past few years, some users of Apple products have spoken up about this app sideloading restriction. But Apple has been able to hold its ground and prevent sideloading up until this point, possibly. Multiple sources have come out to make claims that the coming iOS 17 upgrade will permit app sideloading.

Apple might come under pressure and allow sideloading apps on iPhones with their new operating system upgrade

The European Union back in November 2022 kicked off its Digital Markets Act, which put companies like Apple under pressure. This act was put in place to ensure open markets across the board (business users and consumers). It is set to go into full effect by May this year, which is just a few weeks away.

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This act will force Apple to allow sideloading apps from different sources on their devices. Some Apple product users will find this quite interesting, as they would be able to access some apps that Android users have always had access to. Such apps for sideloading are available on platforms like APK Mirror as well as the websites of app developers.

Details of the sideloading apps on iPhones were made available by the folks at Bloomberg in a recent Power On post. The WWDC 2023 event will bring official details regarding this switch in Apples stance regarding app sideloading. For now, the company seems to be working hard to overhaul the software to open up the iPhone to sideloading.

The iOS 17 upgrade will also pack some more features that you can check out here. But this app sideloading issue is not the only change the European Union will force Apple to make. The tech giant will also switch to using USB-C ports on all their devices, hence moving away from lighting ports.
According to some new info from Revegnus, a tipster, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could launch a bit sooner than expected. He says that Qualcomms next-gen SoC will arrive in late October, as opposed to mid or late November.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 could launch a bit sooner than expected

As a reminder, the Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 launched on November 16. Its predecessors had similar launch dates, its usually mid-November or late November. Were not sure why would Qualcomm move that to late October, but if Revegnus is to be believed, itll happen.

In addition to the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3, he also mentioned two offerings from MediaTek. He said that the Dimensity 9200+ is coming in May, while the Dimensity 9300 will launch in late October, just like the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will be a 4nm chip, and the Dimensity 9300 is expected to be as well. The Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 will likely be made using TSMCs N4P 4nm node, but it remains to be seen.

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The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 & Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 turned out to be outstanding chips

The Snapdragon 8+ Gen 1 and Snapdragon 8 Gen 2 proved to be outstanding processors. They were both miles better than the Snapdragon 8 Gen 1, not just in sheer performance, but power consumption too. Overall, Qualcomm did an excellent job. So, the expectations are high for the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3.

Now, in regards to MediaTek, the companys Dimensity 9200 flagship SoC proved to be a worthy opponent. That 4nm processor performed great in the Vivo X90 Pro weve tested, and is in the same league as Qualcomms offerings. It still doesnt offer as good control over power consumption as Qualcomms offerings do, but that could change moving forward.

MediaTeks chips have come a long way over the years, as the company truly closed the gap (for the most part) with Qualcomm. It will be interesting to see how the Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 and Dimensity 9300 compare.
Samsung may have a pretty little upgrade in store for the Galaxy S24 series. The company is reportedly considering increasing the RAM amount by 4GB across the board. The base Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ will come with 12GB of RAM, while the Galaxy S24 Ultra will boast 16GB of RAM. Their respective predecessors ship with 8GB, 8GB, and 12GB of RAM. The Korean firm last offered 16GB RAM with the Galaxy S20 Ultra and Galaxy S21 Ultra.

According to Twitter tipster @Tech_Reve, who shared this information, the new Samsung flagships will be available with the same amount of RAM regardless of the storage variant. The same is true for the 2023 models as well. However, we are expecting the Korean firm to bump up the storage for the base Galaxy S24 model next year. It offers the Galaxy S23 with 128GB and 256GB storage options. The 2024 model should be available in 256GB and 512GB storage variants.

As for the Galaxy S24+ and Galaxy S24 Ultra, there should be no change. Like the 2023 models, they should be available in 256GB/512GB and 256GB/512GB/1TB storage options, respectively. The latest rumor doesnt go into storage details of Samsungs next-gen flagships, but the source is confident about the RAM information. They say this isnt an unconfirmed rumor like the ones that came out earlier.

If these early rumors about the Galaxy S24 RAM and storage options are true, we should be in for a notable performance gain next year. In theory, more RAM should mean better handling of background apps and smooth sustained performance even with heavy usage. Paired with a much-improved Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 for Galaxy, the Galaxy S24 series should deliver a massive performance boost over the Galaxy S23.

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The Galaxy S24 series will bring more upgrades

RAM, storage, and processor arent the only upgrades the Galaxy S24 series will bring next year. Samsung is also reading big upgrades in the camera department. For starters, it plans to offer variable zoom with the new flagships, at least the Ultra model. A single zoom camera will allow optical zoom at all magnification levels between 3X and 10X. Currently, you get two separate zoom cameras for 3X and 10X zoom, with no optical zoom at other magnification levels.

Additionally, Samsung is also said to be considering including a variable aperture on the Galaxy S24 Ultra. This tech existed on the Galaxy S9 and Galaxy S10 phones but subsequent models lacked it. Its unclear if the base Galaxy S24 and Galaxy S24+ will also get a variable aperture and variable zoom. Stick around and find out.
Samsung Galaxy smartwatch is the second most popular smartwatch brand worldwide. But there arent as many watch straps for Galaxy Watch as for Apple Watch. If youre looking for a cool, comfortable watch band for your Galaxy Watch 4 or the Galaxy Watch 5 series, we highly recommend PITAKAs carbon fiber watch band.

Genuine Carbon Fiber

Steel is strong but heavy. Leather and fabric bands are lighter but they cant last as metal does. Fortunately, therere other choices. Carbon fiber watch bands offer excellent durability without compromising on lightness or comfort.

Carbon fiber is not commonly seen in watch bands, but its an ideal material. Its extremely strong yet very lightweight, and corrosion resistant. Thats why its widely used in automobile manufacturing including Formula 1.

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PITAKAs carbon fiber watch band for Galaxy Watch is made of 100% genuine 1K carbon fiber. Every link is built to last.

Lightweight and Comfortable

Weighing about 30g, the carbon fiber Galaxy watch band is about half the weight of a steel band while offering better durability. Plus, every link is polished by hand to ensure every edge is smooth. Its so comfortable that you can even wear it to sleep.

In addition, carbon fiber is water and sweat resistant. It wont be sticky in the summer even if you sweat a lot. And its very easy to clean. Just wipe it with a tissue or cloth if you accidentally spill a drink on it.

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And we also learn that carbon fiber doesnt carry heat away like metal does, which means it wont feel chilly to wear in winter.

Easy to Install and Remove

PITAKAs carbon fiber watch band for Galaxy Watch 4/5 adopts a patented magnetic fastener and security lock, allowing you to install the watch with a snap and take it down with a single click.

The Galaxy Watch 4/5 band fits wrists up to 178mm. If you have a smaller wrist, use the provided tool and follow PITAKAs tutorial to reduce length.

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Compatibility

The carbon fiber Galaxy Watch band is compatible with Samsung Galaxy Watch4, Watch4 Classic, Watch 5, and Watch5 Pro of different case sizes of 40/42/44/45/46mm.

The carbon fiber watch band for Galaxy Watch 4/5 starts at $89, which may be a bit pricey. But the band is built to last. It wont crack or age like bands made of leather, fabric or steel.

All in all, the watch band is crafted in a minimalist design with a timeless, sophisticated style. The classic black and grey carbon fiber twill makes the Galaxy Watch look more stylish to fit business, sporty, or other styles.

Shop on AMAZON: Carbon Fiber Watch Band

Shop on Official Website: Carbon Fiber Watch Band
In addition to announcing the Xiaomi 13 Ultra and Xiaomi Pad 6 series during its press event in China, the company also announced the Xiaomi Smart Band 8. Now, Xiaomi already confirmed that the Xiaomi 13 Ultra will be coming to global markets, but the other two products will likely see a global launch too.

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is way more than just your regular fitness tracker

That being said, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is a really interesting fitness tracker. The series came a long way since the first-gen product. It is now a proper fitness band that crosses into the smartwatch territory. Its packed with features, and it actually looks really nice, and has a nice display.

For the first time ever, one of the companys smart bands has a quick-release mechanism. It also comes in two (frame) colors, Bright Black and Light Gold. It also has a metallic texture on it.

It comes in various different different variants

Needless to say, the thing comes in a wide variety of different straps, and even a necklace-shaped strap. You can check out various offerings in the image provided below.

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When it comes to fitness and health features, its really well-equipped. There are over 150+ training modes available here. On top of that, you do get a smart health assistant, and continuous heart rate monitoring. Sleep tracking is also included, as is SpO2 monitoring, and period tracking.

The Smart Band 8 also has a new running bean mode, which is supposed to provide you with a more professional running experience. In addition to tracking your running data, it will provide you with 13 professional data streams, including stride frequency, stride length, ground contact vacancy ratio, ground impact force, and so on.

Having said that, the Xiaomi Smart Band 8 features a 1.62-inch 192 x 490 HD display. This display has 2.5D glass on it, and its an AMOLED display, which is touch-sensitive. It goes up to 600 nits when it comes to brightness.

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It is 5ATM rated, and includes an optical heart rate sensor and a blood oxygen sensor

This thing is 5ATM rated for water resistance. Its essentially water resistant up to 50 meters. It has an optical heart rate sensor and a blood oxygen sensor, a six-axis motion sensor, and more.

This fitness tracker can serve as a camera remote for your smartphone, show you notifications, let you control music on your phone, serve as a way to reply to messages, and much more.

There are over 100 watch faces available with AOD support, and Mars Super Wallpapers are also included. A 190mAh battery sits on the inside, and it provides up to 16 days of battery life on typical usage, says Xiaomi. Itll take you only an hour to fully charge it.

The Xiaomi Smart Band 8 is compatible with both Android & iOS

The device is equipped with Bluetooth 5.1, and its compatible with Android 6.0+ and iOS 12+. It comes in both regular and NFC editions. Were not sure if the global model will offer NFC.

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The Xiaomi Band 8 without NFC costs CNY239 ($35) in China, while the variant with NFC is priced at CNY279 ($40). It will be a bit more expensive globally, as per usual. The device is already on sale in China.
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) met with Republican members of Congress on Capitol Hill on Tuesday before his highly anticipated presidential run in 2024.

Ron DeSantis Washington trip coincided with a flurry of House Republicans endorsing former President Donald Trump, who has been carefully monitoring lawmakers' backing, including some from DeSantis' own state.

Rep. Laurel Lee (R-Fla.) became the third member of US Congress to publicly support Ron DeSantis for president on Tuesday, joining Reps. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) and Chip Roy (R-Texas), according to The Hill.

Lee, who was DeSantis' secretary of state in Florida when he ran for office, commended Ron DeSantis' leadership, moral integrity, and adherence to conservative values.

The Florida legislator said that the possible presidential candidate has the attributes the nation needs in a leader because he battles for what counts and prevails when it matters most, Fox News reported.

Rep.Lee said she was honored to serve in his administration and to again back him for president.

Read Also: Judge Rejects US Reporter Evan Gershkovich Appeal

Donald Trump Monitors GOP Legislators' Support

The Republican Party is clamoring for new leadership, but for Hill Republicans, avoiding former President Donald Trump's fury remains their primary concern.

Given that Ron DeSantis hasn't yet announced his presidential campaign, the hesitation to support him shows a persistent reality in GOP politics that Ron DeSantis will have to deal with: working with Donald Trump may be a risky endeavor.

Donald Trump and his staff have been deftly releasing endorsements from inside the Capitol in recent weeks while carefully tracking which lawmakers have given their support to his campaign, according to Politico.

In the 24 hours before Ron DeSantis' arrival, Trump's campaign secured three Florida Republicans' endorsements, including Rep. John Rutherford, only hours before the event. Representatives Brian Mast and Greg Steube also backed Donald Trump's presidential bid.

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) expressed his support for Trump as he left the DeSantis meeting.

Related Article: How Much Taxes Did Pres. Joe Biden Pay?

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as extraordinary.

Addressing the event at Queens University in Belfast, Mrs Clinton said she had received messages from people around the world.

Her remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mrs Clinton said: I want to thank everyone for the last extraordinary days of events.

I have heard from people from the United States to Singapore, we have heard from the architects of the Good Friday Agreement about the challenges they encountered and the solutions they built.

We have had a chance to reflect on what has been achieved and to really honour all of the citizens of Northern Ireland who made the peace possible.

We also recognise the impact of those who often go unrecognised, the many women of Northern Ireland who were crucial to the agreements inception and its longevity.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, paid tribute to the peace accord for ending conflict in Northern Ireland.

He said it took strength and courage, and people being able to listen to each other and shake hands despite past divisions.

Congressman Joe Kennedy III said peace and prosperity were linked (Brian Lawless/PA)

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, especially when we look at the arc of human history, full of conflicts that continue to divide people leading to intense suffering generation after generation.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

US envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, whose remit is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, earlier emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Hillary Clinton attended an education event in Limavady (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
A repair and maintenance company has been fined over health and safety failings after a worker fell from a roof, suffering serious injuries which left his life irrevocably changed.

Thomas Marshall suffered a severe traumatic brain injury along with vertebrae fractures and a broken collar bone in the incident in Shetland in October 2018, and continues to suffer ongoing effects due to the head injury.

Shetland-based G&A Leask Limited pleaded guilty to contraventions of the Work at Height Regulations 2005 and a breach of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 at Lerwick Sheriff Court on Wednesday and was fined 9,000, the Crown Office said.

Prosecutors said that on the afternoon of October 30, 2018, Mr Marshall, then aged 22, and a colleague were sent to repair roof tiles on a property in Seafield, Lerwick.

Thomas Marshall fell from the roof of the property (Crown Office/PA)

At about 4.15pm, the colleague went to collect more tiles while Mr Marshall continued to replace damaged slates on the sloped roof which was just over four metres high.

Around 10 minutes later, a passer-by heard a shout and saw Mr Marshall falling sideways off the unprotected edge of the roof.

Paramedics were at the scene shortly afterwards and, suspecting brain damage, they stabilised him before taking him to Gilbert Bain Hospital.

Mr Marshall recently settled a civil action in relation to the incident.

The Crown Office said that since the incident, the company has stated that work is now more closely supervised, and it has altered job sheets to include specific risks and instructions which employees must acknowledge as being understood.

Speaking after the sentencing, Debbie Carroll, who leads on health and safety investigations for the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, said: It is well known that falls from height are one of the single greatest causes of death and serious injury to workers within the construction industry.

This accident could have been avoided if G&A Leask Limited had put in place the appropriate planning, supervision and protective measures.

This incident could easily have proved fatal and has irrevocably changed Thomas Marshalls life.

Hopefully this prosecution will remind other employers that failure to fulfil their obligations can have severe and potentially tragic consequences and that they will be held to account for their failings.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) investigation into the incident found the company had well trained and well equipped employees, but in this instance it had failed in its duty to clarify with employees that using scaffolding was a direction rather than a suggestion.

HSE stated that work on sloping roofs is not low risk, and the risk of falling from an unprotected roof edge is such that a scaffold or other roof edge protection would be a reasonably practicable precaution in the circumstances.
Leading childrens health experts have sounded the alarm over dwindling uptake in routine vaccines for youngsters after new calculations show that tens of millions have missed out on life-saving jabs over the last few years.

Unicef has calculated that some some 67 million children around the world did not receive routine jabs between 2019 and 2021, which can protect against potentially deadly illnesses.

The international childrens body said overall support for vaccines remains relatively strong but several factors suggest the threat of vaccine hesitancy may be growing.

These factors include uncertainty about the response to the pandemic, growing access to misleading information, declining trust in expertise, and political polarisation, according to a new Unicef report.

Catherine Russell, Unicefs executive director, said: At the height of the pandemic, scientists rapidly developed vaccines that saved countless lives. But despite this historic achievement, fear and disinformation about all types of vaccines circulated as widely as the virus itself.

We cannot allow confidence in routine immunisations to become another victim of the pandemic otherwise the next wave of deaths could be of more children with measles, diphtheria or other preventable diseases.

Unicef said there is an urgent need to catch up on children who missed their jabs to prevent deadly disease outbreaks.

Vaccines are the number one defence against measles, mumps and rubella. Make sure your child gets both scheduled doses of the MMR vaccine to offer them the best possible defence against these serious diseases. More information here  https://t.co/0YykAYAUPq pic.twitter.com/hjHIaYoDK2  Wirral Community Health&Care NHS Foundation Trust (@wchc_nhs) April 16, 2023

The latest annual figures for England show that vaccine coverage in 2021/22 decreased compared with 2020/21.

As a result, health officials issued a stark warning about the serious health risks from children missing out on their routine jabs.

Young children in the UK are offered a number of vaccines as part of their routine childhood jabs.

These protect against a number of serious illnesses including measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, polio, and some forms of meningitis.

The best way to prevent polio is to make sure your child has had their:  6-in-1 vaccine at 8, 12 and 16 weeks  4-in-1 pre-school booster at 3 years, 4 months  3-in-1 teenage booster at 14 years Check their red book or speak to your GP. https://t.co/KapduKEgjL pic.twitter.com/G9miAPu7wK  South West London and St George's NHS (@SWLSTG) August 15, 2022

The UK Health Security Agency said last year that vaccination rates have fallen over several years and also faced additional disruption during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile Unicef UK has urged the Government to work with the countries which have fallen furthest behind with routine childhood jabs.

Liam Sollis, deputy director of advocacy for Unicef UK, said: Its devastating that 67 million children have missed out on vaccinations in three years.

Health systems and services that keep children alive are cracking under the pressure of multiple global crises, while confidence in these systems is faltering too.

Immunisation rates at such low levels will mean decades of progress for children being undone.

Unicef UK is calling for the UK Government to work with the worst affected countries to develop resilient health systems and fund immunisation services. Prioritising catch-up schemes and vaccinating missed children is the best way to demonstrate the UKs commitment to ending preventable deaths.
The DUP has been urged to grasp the goodwill being shown to Northern Ireland during the Good Friday Agreement commemorations and restore the powersharing institutions at Stormont.

Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said the executive needed to come together to speak with a united voice to the Treasury about budget difficulties in the region.

But DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly said that powersharing could only be restored on the right foundations and added that action by the UK Government was needed to bring Stormont back.

The remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close a major three-day conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Sir Tony Blair, former US president Bill Clinton and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern have been among those taking part in a conference to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (Niall Carson/PA)

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Finucane told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme that he wanted to see the democratic outcome of last years Assembly elections, in which Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party, respected.

He said: The DUP should move to enable powersharing to take place, they should prioritise the needs of those who are on the waiting lists, children who have had access to holiday meals removed, and grasp the opportunity, because that is something that has also shone through powerfully over the last two days, the enormous positivity and goodwill that we have been presented with to allow our economy to progress and flourish and to deliver for everyone in our society.

Mr Finucane was asked about a leaked Northern Ireland Office briefing paper which recommends revenue-raising measures such as water charges and higher tuition fees should be the focus of future Stormont budgets.

He said: The key in this is the need for a restored executive because nobody is under any illusions that there are very tough decisions to be made.

The need for all of that requires an executive and that united voice going to the British treasury and asking for the funds that are necessary.

Emma Little-Pengelly said Stormont could only return with the right foundations (Niall Carson/PA)

But Ms Little-Pengelly said the issues which caused the collapse of the Stormont institutions have still not been fully addressed.

I think it is important that we put across our position, we have been very clear that we want to see devolution restored, but it has to be restored on the right foundations, she told the BBC Nolan Show.

She added: We need to address what it was that broke this in the first place.

The Secretary of State (Chris Heaton-Harris) knows that, he knows what needs to be done.

Quite frankly, making speeches and having digs is not going to resolve this, what is going to resolve it is talking with each other, it is action by the UK Government, there is a pathway to getting Stormont back.

Our plea to everybody is to get on with that.

The Government insists the DUP concerns have been addressed by the new trading deal it struck with the EU, the Windsor Framework.

But Northern Irelands largest unionist party has insisted the Government needs to provide it with further legal assurances on sovereignty and the application of EU law in Northern Ireland.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen has hailed improving relations with the UK, as she described the recent deal on post-Brexit trade as a new beginning for old friends.

The EU chief said she and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had agreed to focus on the road ahead rather that dwell on the fall-out from Brexit,

Ms von der Leyen also highlighted Northern Irelands unique opportunity to attract investment under the Windsor Framework trading arrangements agreed by London and Brussels, with the region having unfettered access to sell into both the UK and EU markets.

The Windsor Framework is a new beginning for old friends, it turns the page on years of division and dispute, she said.

It is an opportunity to set our sights on the future of our partnership and to focus on what brings us together.

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen addresses the conference (Niall Carson/PA)

She added: More investors are now eyeing Northern Ireland, this is a unique opportunity for Northern Ireland. There is so much we can do together with wisdom and vision.

The same wisdom and vision that the leaders of Northern Ireland have already shown over the past 25 years.

Ms von der Leyen recalled that when she was in her 20s and heard about Northern Ireland in the news, it was a story of conflict with bombs and violence in the streets.

She said her children, now in their 20s, have learned a completely different story  a story of reconciliation and hope, a story of economic and social progress.

For young Europeans, Northern Ireland is today a cool place. Its a place of music, film sets and stunning landscapes, she said.

This brighter reality is only possible because of Good Friday 25 years ago. The leaders and the people of Northern Ireland decided to plant a seed in soil previously stained with blood and tears.

And it is the seed of peace and possibility for new generations which has been growing defiantly ever since.

Ms von der Leyen spoke about former DUP leader Ian Paisley and his journey from opposing the Good Friday Agreement to sharing power with Sinn Feins Martin McGuinness, a former IRA commander, less than 10 years later.

The journey of Ian Paisley mirrors the journey of thousands of people on this island, she said.

History now calls on todays leaders to embark on a similar path and to shape together the future of Northern Ireland.

Ladies and gentlemen, the future of Northern Ireland belongs to its people. Only you can make the seed of the Good Friday/Belfast agreement continue to grow and to flourish. Only you can take the next step on the path of prosperity and possibility.

Ms von der Leyen added: I can reassure you that we, the European Union, will continue to do to our part and to accompany you on the path of peace and prosperity.

Today, my grandchildren are toddlers, what Northern Ireland and the whole island of Ireland will look like when they are in their 20s depends on all of us.

But the ultimate choice lies with you, the people of Northern Ireland to shape your history and that of the next generation.

The gateway to a bright future is open, all you need to do is walk through it.

President of the European Council Charles Michel also addressed the conference.

President of the European Council Charles Michel spoke of his hope for the future (Niall Carson/PA)

He paid tribute to the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement for ending conflict in Northern Ireland while scores of other conflicts around the world continued.

Mr Michel spoke of our duty to keep the spirit of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement alive.

He paid tribute to those behind the agreement as well as the people of Northern Ireland, saying that without the will of the people the Good Friday Agreement would be just another paper.

Mr Michel said the UK and the EU need each other more than ever to tackle the climate crisis and Russias war in Ukraine.

The Belfast Agreement also represents the product and the high point of another era, an era when the values of liberal democracies were pre-eminent in the world, he said.

He added: In these troubling times, two great allies, like the United Kingdom and the European Union, we need each other more than ever, we stand today together. We stand together to tackle common challenges like climate change, we stand together to uphold human dignity and human rights.

In this increasingly dangerous world, Northern Ireland and the Belfast/Good Friday agreement are a powerful symbol of what our shared values can achieve.

Lets continue to build on this unstoppable belief in the potential of peace. For more freedom, more prosperity, more democracy for the people of Northern Ireland, and for all people across the world.
The late Queen told George Carey I cant resign when the then-Archbishop of Canterbury announced he was stepping down, a new documentary reveals.

Lord Carey recounted his conversation with the monarch in The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor, a five-part ITV series, adding: But she would never go anyway.

He also describes how before Charles and Camilla married he arranged a secret meeting with the now Queen Consort, in the south-east London flat of his son, to get to know the future royal.

Lord Carey spoke candidly about his conversation with the Queen (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

The series chronicles the royal family throughout the Queens reign and her successor the King, featuring interviews with contemporary figures.

Lord Carey, tells the final episode of the documentary series: I remember going to see the Queen once to hand in my resignation and said: Your Majesty the time has come.

And she looked at me, more or less she said: You people come and go, I cant resign, I cant surrender  Ive got to keep going.

And I said: Well, the Lord tells me at the age of 70 Ive got to go. But she would never go anyway.

Lord Carey served as Archbishop of Canterbury from 1991-2002 and during his period in office took part in the funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997 and became the first Archbishop to ordain women to the priesthood.

The Queen Consort had a secret meeting with the then Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey (Chris Jackson/PA)

He also reveals how the Queen Consort talked about the earliest days of her relationship with the King during their secret meeting in Peckham.

He said: She walked through the front door, we met and had coffee together and I was really struck by her.

Very nice looking lady, very presentable, very intelligent, we had a really animated conversation.

And we talked about her relationship with Charles, going way back to when they were teenagers and so on. And after she left, I said: Well, theres no way I could ever treat her as other than a really nice human being whos deeply in love with Charles.

And that affected me in talking to other people behind the scenes and I hoped it had a way forward  I think it did.

All five episodes of The Real Crown: Inside the House of Windsor are now available to screen on ITVX.
The former editor of the Metro has been appointed to the complaints committee of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (Ipso).

Ted Young, who served as editor of Metro for eight years, will join the committee that regulates press operations by judging complaints about breaches of the Editors Code and levying sanctions.

Mr Young, who served for five years on the Editors Code of Practice Committee, said: I am delighted to join Ipsos complaints committee having been at the sharp end of Ipso verdicts and having insight into the thinking behind editorial decisions which would be useful to the committee.

Lord Faulks KC, chair of the complaints committee, added: We are delighted to welcome Ted Young to Ipsos complaints committee.

He brings a wealth of experience to support the committee in the difficult decisions it must make in delivering robust regulation of the press.

Mr Young started his career at the Harrow Observer and has worked at the Northern Echo, Today, The Sun, Daily Mail, Daily Express, London Lite, Mail Online and New York Daily News.

Ipso chief executive Charlotte Dewar said: Ted brings his years of experience of the industry to the complaints committee.

As someone who was very recently navigating the decisions entailed in editing a modern news title, he will bring a fresh and current perspective to the discussions at the committee.
Jim Broadbent says it is lovely to have a film about people of his age that does not revolve around death, after starring in The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry.

The award-winning actor, 73, said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life.

Broadbent stars as the eponymous Harold Fry in the new movie, which is based on a novel of the same name by Rachel Joyce.

The award-winning actor said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life (Jeff Moore/PA)

It tells the story of a man in his 60s, who embarks on a journey to visit his old friend Queenie in the hospice after learning she is dying  walking more than 400 miles in the process.

Broadbent attended a gala screening of the film in central London on Tuesday, alongside Joyce and his co-stars Dame Penelope Winton and Earl Cave.

Its lovely to have a film about people our age that isnt about them dying, I mean dementia or something, he told the PA news agency.

I think this is just going to encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life. Theyre all full of energy and ambition and (have) complex, complicated stories all going on.

Broadbent added that the industry was at risk of becoming too limited to blockbuster franchises such as Marvel or DC, adding maybe they can bring more films (out) about my generation.

(Left to right) Dame Penelope Wilton, Rachel Joyce, and Jim Broadbent, attends the gala screening of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Jeff Moore/PA)

Joyce said that seeing her book, first published in 2012, made into a big screen film was incredibly moving.

I feel like for the past two years now Ive just been on the brink of tears, because it was just so private and theyve made it so beautiful, she told PA.

Im so grateful for the entire production company, the crew and the cast everybody really got on board.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry is due for UK release on April 28.
The Kings coronation procession will be led by a cross that includes religious relics given to the monarch by the Pope.

Two shards of the True Cross  which is said to be the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ  were given to Charles by Pope Francis to mark the royal occasion.

The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales, which will be seen by millions as it is carried into Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Both pieces are shaped as crosses, one being 1cm in size and the other 5mm, and are set into the larger silver cross behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can only be viewed up close.

The cross will lead the procession next month (Richard Valencia)

The Cross of Wales, which is a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary, will be blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, in a service at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, North Wales on Wednesday before it heads to London.

Upon its return, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches in Wales.

Crafted from recycled silver bullion, provided by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, the cross also includes a shaft of Welsh windfall timber and a stand of Welsh slate.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain, translated as: Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.

The silver elements of the cross bear a full hallmark, including the Royal Mark  a leopards head, which was applied by the King himself in November 2022 when visiting The Goldsmiths Centre in London.

Archbishop Andrew said: We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic.

Full length image of the Cross of Wales upon its staff (The Goldsmiths Company, Richard Valencia)

Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability.

We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the Coronation Service.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark OToole, said: With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See.

Charles hallmarking the Kings Mark on the silver Cross of Wales last year (Julia Skupny)

It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We look forward to honouring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home.

Designer and maker Michael Lloyd said: The commission has allowed me to delve into the previous 1,000 years of faith and history. Now, with more than 267 thousand hammer blows, the cross has emerged from the inanimate sheets of silver, and I am delighted it will be used as part of the Coronation Service on 6th May.

Hallmarks seen on the Cross of Wales (PA)

Dr Frances Parton, deputy curator of The Goldsmiths Company  who managed the commission, said: Using the ancient craft of chasing silver, Michael Lloyd has created a beautiful object which combines a powerful message with a practical purpose.

We are thrilled that the Cross will both feature in the Coronation and see regular use within the Church in Wales.

The public service held in Llantrisant will begin at 9am at the start of the Churchs Governing Body meeting.
Chinese officials stated on Wednesday that 12 individuals had been arrested in Beijing on suspicion of negligence, a day after a hospital fire in the capital city killed at least 29 individuals and left another 21 critically injured.

According to authorities, the China hospital fire tragedy occurred at the Changfeng Hospital in the southwest of the capital city. UPI reported.

Social media videos showed individuals hanging from ropes and leaping from the structure while others sat over outdoor cooling systems to escape the flames.

Along with the wounded, who are reportedly being treated at various undisclosed hospitals and are claimed to be in critical condition, the deceased included a nurse, a healthcare professional, and a relative of a patient.

According to a Beijing Public Security official, those apprehended included the hospital's director and deputy director and the head of the primary contractor in charge of the hospital's building work. These individuals are being investigated for potential violations of safety management standards.

Read Also: Maine Police Arrest Shooter in Bowdoin

China Hospital Fire Victims' Families Were Not Updated

Distressed and anxious family members rushed to the hospital upon hearing about the China Hospital fire through local news broadcasts, according to the BBC.

A relative of a patient told China Youth Daily that they had not received any updates on the China hospital fire after seven or eight hours, it broke.

During a news conference on Wednesday, authorities stated that the China hospital fire initial probe revealed that sparks generated during maintenance work had set ablaze the paint stored on the premises.

Due to low safety regulations and enforcement, deadly fires are a typical occurrence in China.

The China hospital fire on Tuesday was the worst in Beijing since a June 2002 internet cafe fire, which took the lives of 25 students. In November, a building fire in northwest Xinjiang claimed ten lives, sparking demonstrations over COVID-19 lockdowns that were seen to be impeding rescue attempts, per The Guardian.

Additionally, 38 people perished in a factory fire in central China in November, which was also blamed on illicit welding by employees.

Related Article: WATCH: Beijing Hospital Fire Engulfs Facility

@ 2023 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Police have failed to attend 4.3 million reports of anti-social behaviour since 2019, the Liberal Democrats claimed as the deadline for the Governments manifesto pledge to hire 20,000 more officers looms.

Leader Sir Ed Davey accused the Tories of empty promises as the party said its research showed about 75% of incidents did not result in a call-out to the scene in some areas.

The Lib Dems obtained data through freedom of information requests sent to 45 police forces across the UK, 38 of which responded.

Of these, the worst performers in 2022 were Avon & Somerset and Cambridgeshire  with 81% and 80% of anti-social behaviour reports going unattended respectively, according to the party.

Police in the local area of Hertfordshire also failed to attend almost three in four reports  75%  of incidents last year, the Lib Dems said.

More than 2,000 a day went unattended by officers last year, according to the partys analysis.

The data has been highlighted as parties compete to focus on law and order in a bid to snap up votes in the local elections next month.

It also comes as the Government waits to discover if it has achieved its pledge to hire 20,000 police officers in England and Wales  a target the Lib Dems predict the Government will fall short of.

Figures published in January showed that more than 3,000 police extra officers needed to be recruited in less than three months in order to meet the target.

Sir Ed said: Its clear this Government has lost control of anti-social behaviour  and its only getting worse.

Too many communities are being plagued by anti-social behaviour, with criminals being allowed to act with impunity while victims are left afraid to walk down their own street.

People should be able to feel that if they fall victim to anti-social behaviour, it will be taken seriously and police will attend.

Instead of more empty promises, its time for the Government to finally commit to proper community policing  where offices are visible, trusted, and able to tackle neighbourhood crime. It cannot wait any longer.

The Government insisted it remains confident that it will meet its manifesto pledge to have delivered 20,000 new officers by the end of March 2023, but said the data is yet to be finalised.

A Home Office spokesperson said: There is no such thing as petty crime  anti-social behaviour causes misery to neighbourhoods up and down the country and is often a gateway into committing other serious crimes, which is why we have launched our Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan.

We are supporting the police with record funding to protect the public and clamp down on crime, and recent Crime Survey figures show that neighbourhood crime has decreased by 22% since March 2020.

And although we await the final data, we remain confident we will have delivered on the governments manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers by the end of March 2023.

A Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesperson said: Anti-social behaviour is a priority for many of our neighbourhood policing teams across Cambridgeshire and our officers are working hard to tackle it as we know it is something people really want us to focus on.

Our officers increase patrols in affected areas, carry out covert work and work alongside our partners to tackle the wider issues.

These areas include Peterborough, Cambridge City, Cambourne in the south of the county, Ely, Littleport and Bottisham in the east of the county and Wisbech in Fenland.

They added the force is committed to reducing anti-social behaviour across the country and urged the public to report any incidents.
Two men have been sentenced after forcing teenagers to call their parents and bring them money to secure their release.

Aramis Sullivan, 19, and Brandon Southall, 25, approached two young men in a McDonalds in Northampton in August 2021 and intimidated them into leaving, before making them drive to Coventry under threats of harm and demanding 1,000 from relatives to secure their release, Northamptonshire Police said on Wednesday.

The victims managed to raise 500 from relatives and friends before being forced to bank transfer and withdraw the remaining 500, then being made to drive around for six hours  travelling to Birmingham and then back to Northampton  and only escaping when Sullivan and Southall got out of the car.

It came a day after Sullivan, 19, and another man, who was not named by police, threatened a 17-year-old boy on a Northampton footbridge and made his mother travel to a secluded wooded area to pay 200 to secure her sons release.

At Northampton Crown Court on Friday, Southall, formerly of Birmingham, was handed a combined 11-year prison sentence for two counts of kidnap and two of blackmail, as well as other robbery, theft and drug offences, dating back to 2019.

He was also sentenced for making indecent images of children and was placed on the sex offenders register for seven years.

Sullivan, formerly of Luton, had been sentenced to six years and three months in February at the same court for three counts of blackmail, two of kidnap, and others of attempted robbery, robbery and fraud relating to previous offences.

Detective Sergeant Cory Wise, of Northamptonshire Police, said: I am pleased with the sentences handed out in this case as they demonstrate the seriousness with which we, and the courts, take crimes such as this.

The victims in these incidents went through terrifying experiences at the hands of Sullivan and Southall, with their parents being put through equal distress wondering whether their children were going to be harmed or not.

I hope both Sullivan and Southall spend their time behind bars reflecting on their actions and that they come out determined to make better life choices.

Thankfully, incidents of kidnap and blackmail are rare in Northamptonshire but I hope this case reassures people that when they do happen, we deal with them quickly and robustly.
Military experts are assessing if the Ministry of Defence can provide a temporary replacement for a key Highland ferry service.

A reduced service has been running on the five-minute crossing of Loch Linnhe since January as the main ferry on the Highland Council service, the MV Corran, was removed for repairs.

But there is now only a foot passenger service from Corran to the Ardnamurchan peninsula after relief vessel MV Maid of Glencoul broke down, leaving drivers with a 42-mile round trip.

An end to the diversion could soon be in sight after a team of MoD experts were sent to work with the council and other local agencies to explore potential options.

The usual Corran ferry is currently out of action (Alamy/PA)

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We have accepted a request from the Scottish Government for an assessment team to explore the feasibility of providing a temporary replacement for the Corran ferry service.

The ferry is usually the busiest single-vessel route in Scotland, carrying more than 270,000 cars a year.

First Minister Humza Yousaf admitted earlier this week there are challenges around the overall ferry network.

We know that there are challenges around the resilience of the ferry network, we know the age of some of the fleet. We are committed to the ferry network but yes there are challenges around its resilience, theres no escaping that.

Transport minister Kevin Stewart said: I fully appreciate that the unavailability of the Corran Ferry is causing disruption for communities, businesses and visitors to the area. We welcome the latest progress and the Highland Councils work to explore all solutions.

We look forward to the outcome of the initial assessment by the MoD which will assist in identifying possible next steps. The Scottish Government will continue close engagement with the Highland Council throughout this process.
Heathrow Airport has launched an appeal against a decision that it must reduce charges for airlines.

A spokesman accused the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of undermining the investment needed in the west London airport.

In February, the CAA said the cap on Heathrows average charge per passenger must be reduced from 31.57 for 2023 and last year, to 25.43 over the next three years.

Charges are paid by airlines but are generally passed on to passengers in air fares.

The airport has asked competition regulator the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to review the CAAs decision.

The CMA will now assess whether any of the grounds for appeal can proceed.

Heathrow said the CAAs decision will undermine efforts to invest in the airport (PA)

If the appeal is heard, a final decision is expected between August and October.

A Heathrow spokesman said: When current shareholders bought Heathrow in 2006, the UKs hub airport was suffering from years of under-investment as airlines drove down airport charges. Consumers bore the brunt of this through poor service.

Since then, we have made it our mission to transform Heathrow into one of the best airports in the world, supported by 11 billion of private investment.

We believe the CAA has once again focused on driving down charges to airlines, which will not be passed on to passengers, and is undermining the investment needed to deliver the airport service and resilience consumers want.

We have formally requested the CMA review parts of the CAAs decision.

CAA chief economist Andrew Walker said: We are confident our final H7 decision on the charges that Heathrow Airport Limited levies on airlines represents a good deal for consumers, while allowing Heathrow to invest in improving services for the future.

We will fully co-operate with the Competition and Markets Authoritys review of the matter.
The recently sacked boss of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says his reputation has been totally destroyed following misconduct allegations, and claims he has been made a fall guy for a wider crisis engulfing the business group.

Police launched an investigation after the group fired former director general Tony Danker and suspended three other employees.

But in his first interview since his sacking on April 11, Mr Danker told the BBC his name had been wrongly associated with separate claims, including rape, which allegedly happened before he joined the CBI.

Mr Danker said he believes he has been made the fall guy by the lobby group as it now faces questions over its future.

CBI president Brian McBride said the board had lost trust and confidence in his ability to lead the organisation and that he was dismissed on strong legal grounds.

The former CBI boss insisted he had never used sexually suggestive language with people at the company (Jeff Overs/BBC)

Mr McBride told the BBCs Today programme that Mr Dankers account of events was selective and claims the grounds are laid out more fully in a report compiled by independent law firm Fox Williams, which he confirmed have not been shown to Mr Danker.

He added that Mr Danker was free to go to an employment tribunal if he feels that he was unfairly dismissed.

Mr Danker told the BBC his termination letter had cited four reasons for his dismissal: organising a secret and private karaoke party for 15 people, viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff, sending non-work related messages to staff and inviting junior staff to breakfasts, lunches or one-on-one meetings.

While Mr Danker acknowledged he had made some staff feel very uncomfortable and he apologised for that, the former CBI boss insisted he had never used sexually suggestive language with people at the company.

Mr Danker believed he had been made the fall guy by the CBI (Jonathan Brady/PA)

You know, there was an incident somebody raised a complaint about unwanted contact, which was verbal contact, he added.

There was never any physical contact. Ive never had any physical contact. Ive never used any sexual language. Ive never propositioned anybody.

Mr Danker said his reputation had been totally trashed because separate claims against the body  which included drug use, as well as serious sexual assault  emerged a matter of weeks after the CBI disclosed that it was looking into separate allegations of misconduct against him.

He admitted to messaging around 200 individual staff members at the company but insisted it was to try and build rapport during lockdown and with colleagues who continued to work from home.

The ex-CBI boss responded to his dismissal last week by saying the allegations against him had been distorted.

Tony Danker was sacked as CBI boss on April 11 (Jacob King/PA)

The trade body has been rocked by allegations of a toxic workplace culture since Mr Danker was last month accused of allegedly making unwanted contact with a woman who works for the CBI.

She considered the contact to be sexual harassment, The Guardian reported at the time.

The group launched an investigation into his behaviour and he agreed to step down in the meantime.

But he was sacked abruptly last week as the CBI said his conduct fell short of what was expected of him, and said there had been serious failings in how it acted as an organisation.

He has since been replaced by former CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith.

..I was nevertheless shocked to learn this morning that I had been dismissed from the CBI, instead of being invited to put my position forward as was originally confirmed. Many of the allegations against me have been distorted, but..  Tony Danker (@tonydanker) April 11, 2023

The Guardian said it was approached by more than a dozen women who claimed to be victims of various forms of sexual misconduct by senior members of the CBI who were not Mr Danker.

One woman said she was raped at a staff party.

Mr McBride said the board had first heard about the allegations, dating back to 2019, in the newspaper.

For some reason people decided to go to the newspaper and not to us directly, which in itself points to something wrong with our culture, Mr McBride said.

He promised a root and branch examination of the group as it looks to mend its battered reputation.

A number of big firm members have halted their engagement with the group since the scandals emerged and the Government has stopped working with the CBI while police investigations continue.

Mr McBride said he did not believe the Government should wait for 18 months for the result of a potential rape case to engage with the CBI.

We have not been lobbying with Government for the past 10 days, we have been for the past 60 years, he said.

We expect to get back to that quite quickly, he added.
Tesco has said it intends to appeal after Lidl scored a victory in a High Court fight over the use of a yellow circle logo.

A judge said on Wednesday that she had found for the German discount supermarket on claims of trademark infringement, passing off and copyright infringement.

Mrs Justice Joanna Smith oversaw a hearing at the High Court in London earlier this year.

Lidl uses a yellow circle in its main logo while Tesco uses a yellow circle logo to promote a Clubcard scheme.

Discount supermarket Lidl uses a yellow circle in its main logo (Andrew Matthews/PA)

A Lidl spokesman said after the ruling: We are pleased that the court has agreed with us.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: We are surprised and disappointed by the decision today in relation to the claim brought by Lidl against our Clubcard Prices logo.

She added: We intend to appeal.

Mrs Justice Smith said Lidl had made allegations of infringement of registered trademark rights in Lidls logo devices, passing off and infringement of copyright.

She said Lidls complaint concerned what it described as the use by Tesco of an identifier for its Clubcard Prices promotion.

Essentially, Lidl says that Tesco is seeking deliberately to ride on the coat tails of Lidls reputation as a discounter supermarket known for the provision of value, said the judge.

It is Lidls case that the Clubcard Prices promotion was adopted by Tesco as part of a campaign that was designed to improve Tescos ability to compete with discounter supermarkets such as Lidl.

She added: Lidl contends that the deception of Tescos customers is not accidental.

Tesco uses a yellow circle to promote its Clubcard Prices (Martin Berry/Alamy/PA)

Tesco argued that pursuant to the Clubcard Prices initiative, it used the sign in various guises, always with text overlaid and always as a signifier of its Clubcard Prices promotion.

Mrs Justice Smith said she had found for Lidl on claims of trademark infringement, passing off and copyright infringement.

Tesco had counterclaimed and the judge said she had made a finding in favour of Tesco on its counterclaim.

The judge said: Tesco pursue a counterclaim alleging that some of the Lidl trademarks are liable to be declared invalid on the grounds that they were registered in bad faith, and/or that they should be revoked for non-use and/or that they have no distinctive character.

She said she had found in favour of Tesco on its counterclaim of bad faith.

The judge said there had been no deliberate intention positively to evoke Lidl.

But she said that did not mean the design was not copied with the focus being on the message that a blue and yellow background would convey for the Clubcard campaign.

She said Lidl had relied upon its trademark rights in relation to a logo which included the word Lidl and a logo without that word.

Tesco had counterclaimed and alleged that some of the Lidl trademarks were liable to be declared invalid on the grounds that they were registered in bad faith, or should be revoked for non-use and/or that they have no distinctive character.

The judge found that in 1995 a wordless mark had been registered in order to use it as a weapon to secure a wider legal monopoly than it was entitled to, with no genuine intention to use it.

She said that was sufficient to amount to bad faith.

A Lidl spokesman said: We asked Tesco to change their Clubcard logo, but they refused, making it necessary to bring this case.

Having seen the evidence, the court has now ruled that Tescos Clubcard logo was copied from Lidls logo, and it infringes Lidls trademark rights and copyright.

He went on: We are pleased that the court has agreed with us.

A Tesco spokeswoman added: This claim brought by Lidl was just about the colour and shape of the Clubcard Prices logo. The judges ruling concluded that there was no deliberate intent on Tescos part to copy Lidls trademark.

It has no impact on our Clubcard Prices scheme, which we will continue to run in exactly the same way.
A man was allegedly killed, burned and buried in a shallow grave in woods in a grim case likened to a Hollywood film.

Mohammed Shah Subhani, 27, known as Little Man, was allegedly murdered when he visited R & J Plumbing in Hounslow, west London, on May 7 2019.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC told jurors: He comes out rolled in a carpet, thrown into the back of a vehicle, driven away, moved from vehicle to vehicle, moved to the countryside, burnt and dumped.

Sounds like something out of a Hollywood film but it is the grim reality of this case.

Brothers Amraj Poonia, 27, aka Bigs, and Raneel Poonia, 25, aka Ace, and Gurditta Singh, 26, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murder and perverting the course of justice.

Mohanad Riad, 22, known as Emz, Mahamud Ismail, 26, known as Major or Skinny, and Mohammed Shakeel, 29, are charged with perverting the course of justice.

Opening their trial on Wednesday, Mr Little said the victim was killed behind closed doors at the plumbing premises by at least three people.

He said: It is a murder that appears to arise from, and be linked to, the criminal underworld of a number of those living in and around the flightpath to Heathrow.

However, the criminality does not end with that murder in west London.

Having murdered Mohammed Shah Subhani it was necessary for the defendants to cover up and clean up their crimes.

That includes disposing of the body, moving and disposing of Mohammed Shah Subhanis Audi Q3 motor vehicle, other vehicles and other items.

Mr Little said the reason for the cover-up was to try to avoid justice catching up with the defendants.

He went on: Accordingly, an elaborate and extensive attempt to pervert the course of justice was set in train and carried out and which very nearly succeeded.

Following the murder, Mohammed Shah Subhanis body was removed from R & J Plumbing and, having been kept in a vehicle or vehicles in London, was driven to the countryside in Buckinghamshire where it was partially burnt and then left in a shallow grave in a storm drain in a wooded area off the beaten track.

Jurors heard how the venue for the killing was a Poonia family business and the motive was a dispute over missing drugs.

But the victim and Amraj Poonia were said to have been involved in the supply of cannabis which Mr Little said came with risks, rivalries, suspicion, treachery, violence  and even murder.

A local dealer named only as Robbie had asked Mr Subhani to look after a very large quantity of cannabis for him in April 2019, from which he took five kilos, it was claimed.

He entrusted Amraj Poonia with one kilo for safe keeping but that stash went missing, it was claimed.

Mr Little said there was no dispute that co-defendant Riad had recruited two local drug dealers to help stage a fake theft of the cannabis.

In the weeks before the killing, suspicions erupted in incidents of violence towards Amraj Poonia and/or Riad either by or for Mr Subhani, it was claimed.

The defendants from west London deny the charges against them.

The trial continues.
Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations  a leadership quality still needed in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach was applauded after telling a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark peace deal that the people of Northern Ireland deserve a functioning Assembly.

The challenges of today require Northern Irelands leaders to make the decisions that affect their constituents on the ground, he told the event in Belfast.

I believe that the Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations.

We need that kind of leadership still.

Mr Varadkar said the accord challenged our assumptions of what we once thought possible and that, in the face of difficult compromises, vision, leadership and optimism triumphed.

He told those gathered at Queens University that leaders at the time defied assumptions about what was possible.

They also defied those within their own communities  who would have preferred to stay mired in conflict to avoid concessions or compromises.

They realised that, to see their way to a better future, they had to reject the divisions and differences that had kept Northern Ireland in what seemed an unresolvable impasse for many decades.

These were not easy decisions to make and some paid a high personal and political price.

Mr Varadkar paid tribute to the political leaders of 1998 for what they achieved, noting that many are now dead.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart on behalf of my generation, he said.

From left: Akshata Murty, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, former US president Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after the international conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Varadkar also committed to working closely with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying the peace process is at its strongest when the Dublin and London governments work hand in hand.

Both governments have an ongoing obligation to honour and implement the agreement and that is why I am so pleased to share a stage with Prime Minister Sunak, he said.

The peace process has always been at its strongest when the two governments have worked hand in hand, and Northern Ireland works best when the two governments work together with an agreed strategy.

Mr Varadkar said the Windsor Framework will play an essential role in winning additional investment in Northern Ireland  and that the presence of US special envoy on economic affairs Joe Kennedy was a reminder of the opportunities that lie ahead if we reach together.

The framework has been welcomed by the business community, which has expressed a desire to move forward and take advantage of the opportunities and certainty it offers, he said.

A prosperous Northern Ireland is a place in which people want to live, a place that people want to make work, a place where young people will stay and return to.

Quoting John Hume, Mr Varadkar concluded: Unionists and nationalists have at last taken the future in their hands, they have seized control of their history rather than letting history hold them in thrall.

He added: It is incumbent on Northern Irelands political leaders today to take the initiative.

To see past the shadow of the mountain behind, he said, referring to a metaphor used by David Trimble upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Mr Hume, in 1998.

To seize control of their history, to seize control of their destiny, and to lead their people into the future, and we as co-guarantors of the agreement will be here to help, every step of the way.
More needs to be done to protect the UK from the threat posed by Russia-aligned cyber groups, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre has warned.

It comes as Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden warned that the cyber equivalent of the Wagner group posed a serious threat to the UK, as he announced that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was issuing an official threat notice to operators of critical national infrastructure amid concerns about the growing cyber threat.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as he made the comparison to the private Russian military company, announced plans for more ambitious cyber resilience targets for all critical national infrastructure sectors to meet by 2025, as well as moves to bring private sector businesses working on critical infrastructure into the scope of resilience regulations.

Lindy Cameron, who heads up the GCHQ arm, said: I dont think we are yet doing enough to protect our infrastructure from the cyber threats emerging from Russia-aligning groups.

Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the UKs National Cyber Security Centre (IIEA/PA)

She told an audience in Belfast: If the UK is to be the safest place to live and work online, then resilience must urgently move to the top of our investment shopping list.

She said that there needs to be resilience to all threats, whether they come from nation states or cyber criminals.

It comes as she echoed the language of the Governments recent integrated review refresh, referencing the rise of China as a technology power and the epoch-defining challenge it poses to the West.

Mr Dowden did not focus on China in his address, instead using it to stress the need for the Government and businesses to take seriously cyber security.

Ransomware is no longer just a crime, it is a national security threat, he told the audience as he stressed the key role cyber officials were playing in protecting British democracy.

Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden (Victoria Jones/PA)

The senior minister compared global interest to the visible presence of an alleged Chinese sky balloon floating over US airspace to the less well-known threats to UK cyber security that silently and invisibly breach our digital defence, both in the UK and the rest of the world.

Speaking specifically about Russian-aligned groups, Mr Dowden that the NCSC has seen the rise of several Russia-aligned groups, sympathetic to Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Comparing them with the Wagner group, he said that focus had turned to the UK and its allies.

They are now seeking opportunities to compromise our critical national infrastructure, he said.

Instead of seeking to profit or spy on us, their primary motive is to disrupt or destroy our infrastructure.

He said that they were ideologically motivated, adding that it made them more opportunistic and less likely to show restraint.

Ms Cameron, who pointed to her Derry girl credentials as she addressed the conference, warned that it was crucial for cyber security to be built into future technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Pointing to the growing interest in tools such as ChatGPT, she warned of the danger of inadvertently designing vulnerabilities into AI.

We as the NCSC think it is crucial for cyber security to be built into future technology and supply chains from the outset, she said as he offered the semi-conductor industry as another area of focus.

Sir Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, appeared towards the close of the conference to warn that countries like China were now posing a challenge to the traditional technology leadership role played by the West.

Speaking in Belfast, he said that everyone in this room needs to have a finger on the pulse of what is happening in geopolitics.

Asked about the relationship between new technology and values, he said: I think weve been able to take this for granted for much of the last 75 years.

Technology developed in western, liberal, democratic countries, have driven our growth, have driven our prosperity, weve taken that leadership for granted and, of course, now it is being challenged in many ways.

But its not just the fact we have new kids on the block, no longer kids, we have new lumbering monsters out there who are taking some of our tech leadership.

Its the fact that a whole range of new technologies are arriving at the same time, which are creating a wave of change, of transformation.

You have got the arrival of new peer powers to the United States and, of course, Im talking about China here, that is using technology in some ways that offend us, that dont accord with our values.
A former police detention officer who posted racist content and images showing apparent support of gun-wielding members of a Northern Ireland paramilitary group has been given a community order.

William Lloyd-Hughes, 27, from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, was handed an 18-month community order with two requirements at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Wednesday.

He previously pleaded guilty at the same court to publishing an image of two flags on September 11 2022 in such a way or in such circumstances as to arouse reasonable suspicion that he was a member or supporter of the banned loyalist Ulster Defence Association (UDA) terror group.

On Wednesday, prosecutor Gillian Curl said the image in question was a montage of four photographs, published as a tweet, depicting people in black balaclavas and military-style clothing brandishing firearms.

In two of the photos, the gunmen are posing in front of UDA flags and the montage was captioned On Gods land where the PRODS stand, Ms Curl added.

Prods is a term for a Protestant sometimes used in Northern Ireland, which in this context appeared to imply support for the proscribed paramilitary group, the court heard.

Westminster Magistrates Court (Jordan Pettitt/PA)

Lloyd-Hughes, who was based at Huddersfield Police Station as a civilian member of staff, also previously pleaded guilty to a charge under the Communications Act 2003 of sharing grossly offensive messages on Twitter on August 27 2022.

These very offensive tweets were racist in their content and tone, Ms Curl said.

The full details of the offence was not read out in court but the judge described the posts as abhorrent and racist.

Ms Curl added: To Mr Lloyd-Hughes credit, he made a prepared statement when he was arrested and interviewed in which he immediately expressed remorse.

Lloyd-Hughes, of Crosland Moor, told police he had limited knowledge of the history of sectarian conflict in Northern Ireland and did not intend to post something that supported a banned terrorist organisation.

Lloyd Hughes, who was wearing a light blue shirt and dark tie and trousers, also told officers in December that the racist Twitter posts did not reflect his actual views, court documents show.

He has an interest in the military but did not realise they were UDA flags were when he posted the image, the court heard.

Lloyd-Hughes, who is degree-educated, was employed by West Yorkshire Police as a detention officer from February 2022 until he resigned in February this year after the criminal probe and an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog were launched.

The defendant, who is of previous good character, is now working in a kitchen at a local restaurant, the court heard.

Passing a concurrent community order sentence for the two offences, Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring also imposed a 40-day rehabilitation requirement and said Lloyd-Hughes must complete 100 hours of unpaid work.

He must also pay a surcharge and prosecutions costs totalling 199 within seven days.

The IOPC has said the charges followed an investigation it directed, carried out by Counter Terrorism Policing North East, into the messages after a mandatory referral from the West Yorkshire force last September.
The United Nations (UN) predicts that by the middle of 2023, India's population will have risen to 1.4286 billion, surpassing its forecast of 1.4257 billion for mainland China.

The US, with its projected 340 million residents as of the end of June, is in third place. The report's numbers are based on data collected until the end of February.

On Wednesday, April 19, these figures were included in a new version of the UN's World Population Dashboard.

Predicted Transition

Using past UN statistics, population experts have predicted that India's population would overtake China's in April. However, The Guardian said that the UN's most recent report does not provide a specific date for this to occur.

With slowing population growth in China, and the population actually declining for the first time since the early 1960s, the transition was widely expected.

According to CNBC, the UN has predicted that China's population will drop to 1.313 billion by 2050 and plummet to 800 million by 2100. The traditional one-child policy of the nation, which was changed to allow for two children in 2016 and three in 2021, has been blamed by experts for the decrease.

The UN's population estimates do not include the "special administrative regions" of Hong Kong at 7.5 million or Macao at 0.7 million.

A representative for the Chinese foreign ministry emphasized that benefits from population growth depended on both the size and the quality of the population. "Population is important but talents are also important ... China has taken active measures to respond to population ageing," Wang Wenbin stated.

Meanwhile, Reuters cites official statistics showing that India's population growth has slowed to 1.2% annually from 1.7% in the prior decade. The 2011 census is the most recent one that has been made public for India.

Also Read: Taliban Draws Criticism from UN after Arresting Afghan Girl's Education Activist Matiullah Wesa

No Reason to Stress Over

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) warns against forgetting human rights and autonomy in conversations about whether population increase is a worry in its study State of World Population 2023, issued on Wednesday. This research covers the global population reaching 8 billion people in November 2022.

UNFPA also conducted a public opinion poll and found that the most prevalent response in India, Brazil, Egypt, and Nigeria was that their respective countries' populations "were too large and fertility rates were too high."

According to The Guardian, the report indicated that population statistics should not cause worry or panic. Instead, if people's freedoms and preferences are respected, they should be considered a sign of growth and progress.

The head of the organization, Natalia Kanem, claimed that having more children is neither the cause nor the cure for problems like global warming, pandemics, war, mass migration, and economic insecurity.

Also Read: Haiti Gang Wars Claim 187 Lives in 11 Days; UN Calls for Foreign Intervention

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A police officer has been charged with three counts of rape while on duty.

Sergeant David Stansbury, 42, is due before Plymouth Magistrates Court on April 19 accused of raping a woman aged 16 years or over.

Devon and Cornwall Police said the charges related to alleged incidents in Plymouth in 2009 while he was on duty.

David Stansbury leaving Bristol Magistrates Court (Matt Keeble/PA)

The force said the allegations have been under investigation since being reported to them in September 2020.

Stansbury, of Ilminister, Somerset was an officer in Devon and Cornwall between 2009 and 2011 and now serves with Hertfordshire Police.

He is currently suspended from duty.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesman said: If you have any information that you feel may assist this investigation, please contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously by calling freephone 0800 555 111.
Children who boarded at Loretto School were exposed to risks of sexual, physical and emotional abuse, an inquiry has found.

Loretto, in Musselburgh, East Lothian, is one of a number of boarding schools investigated by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (SCAI) and evidence was explored at case study hearings.

Publishing her findings relating to the school on Wednesday, SCAI chairwoman Lady Smith found a small number of staff at Loretto abused children.

They included the late Guy Ray-Hills, a French teacher at Loretto junior school the Nippers between 1951 and 1967, who Lady Smith described as a prolific sexual predator.

He groomed many children and established abusive sexual relationships with them, some of which were one-offs but others lasted for four years, she found.

At the outset of the inquiry, Loretto School offered an unreserved apology to those who suffered abuse there.

Lady Smith made clear that the current leaders of the school inspire confidence that Loretto is now committed to child protection, and it has learnt and is keen to keep learning from its past mistakes.

She said: At the outset, I want to make it clear that I find there were many children who had positive experiences at Loretto and, in many ways, went on to have rewarding adult lives.

Also, there is no doubt that the school has provided many children with a good education.

However, not all children had positive experiences and amongst those who did, there were children who also suffered abuse.

Children who boarded at Loretto were exposed to risks of sexual, physical and emotional abuse.

For many, those risks materialised, and I have no doubt that children were abused whilst in Lorettos care.

Lady Smith found the response by Loretto to the behaviour of Ray-Hills at the time was woefully inadequate and he was allowed to resign rather than being dismissed.

The school has previously apologised for giving a good job reference to Ray-Hills after he left.

She also found that another teacher groomed a final year pupil, and four other teachers were reported to have touched children inappropriately or made sexual comments that were offensive and upsetting to pupils.

Sexually abusive conduct by older children towards younger pupils was also normalised in the all-male environment of the houses at Loretto, Lady Smith said.

She found there was a lack of oversight and review of the administration of corporal punishment by older boys over decades, which she described as a serious failing by the school.

Loretto is one of a number of boarding schools investigated by the Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry (Alamy/PA)

Lady Smith found bullying, with associated physical abuse inflicted on younger boys by older boys, was a constant at Loretto throughout the 20th century and bullying cultures were allowed to prevail because of staff complacency and a lack of supervision by them.

The first witness, former pupil Don Boyd, wrote an article about his experiences.

He told the inquiry: I have learned, horrifyingly, as a result of all this, the extent of the problem, which has appalled me.

I thought I was a bit of an isolated case, but being involved in writing the article, and dealing with this phenomenon over the years, I realised not only was I one of many at Loretto, but I am one of thousands throughout an entire educational set up.

It isnt that situation where you can loosely say, oh well that was in the 1950s, that was in the 1960s.

It has persisted, and I have learned that inquiries like this are incredibly important as they give an opportunity for society to adjust the way that they see the problem, and deal with it, and provide public advice without it being sensationalised.

The inquiry, which aims to raise public awareness of the abuse of children in care, is considering evidence up to December 17 2014, and which is within the living memory of any person who suffered abuse.

Loretto School has been approached for comment.
Teenagers who smoke and vape are more likely to entrench tobacco use in later adolescence, academics have suggested.

Experts found that concurrent vaping in early teenage smokers could lead to persistent and heavier smoking in later adolescence.

Researchers examined concurrent smoking and vaping among the so-called guinea pig generation  the first generation to be exposed as adolescents to e-cigarettes as a new nicotine delivery product.

A team of US researchers analysed data over more than 1,000 teenagers from the UK and around 800 US teenagers who were smokers before the age of 15.

Some 57% of UK and 58% of US teenage smokers also used vapes.

Teenagers were regularly surveyed about their use of vapes and cigarettes up to the age of 17.

Smokers who were also vape users in their early teens were more likely to continue smoking into their late teens, the researchers said.

Some 61% of early vapers from the UK were still smoking in their late teens compared with 50% of non-vapers.

The equivalent figures for the US teenagers were 42% and 24%.

The researchers estimated that UK teenagers who smoked and vaped in early adolescence were 45% more likely to be smokers in their late teens compared to those who smoked but never vaped.

They also found that teens who smoked in early adolescence but did not use e-cigarettes were more likely to report no nicotine use in late adolescence

Among youth who started smoking early in adolescence, early e-cigarette adopters were more likely to become entrenched into tobacco use and in heavier smoking than those who smoked but had not used e-cigarettes, the authors wrote in the journal Tobacco Control.

They added: Tobacco control efforts aimed at adolescents should incorporate the risks posed by e-cigarettes for early smoking youth.

Commenting on the study, John Britton, emeritus professor of epidemiology at the University of Nottingham, said: This study concludes that an association between vaping and continued smoking in adolescents who started smoking very young is consistent with entrenchment of smoking by vaping.

An alternative hypothesis, that vaping by adolescent smokers is confounded with more severe nicotine addiction, does not appear to be considered. Most adolescent vaping is transient; those who persist with it are likely to be the most addicted smokers and hence those who are least likely to quit.

Caitlin Notley, professor of addiction sciences at Norwich Medical School at the University of East Anglia, added: This paper does not, in my view, support an entrenchment theory as reported, since e-cigarettes are not tobacco products, although both contain nicotine. The data presented support a common liability explanation of youth experimental behaviour.

It comes after the Department of Health and Social Care in England announced a crackdown on the illegal sale of e-cigarettes to under-18s with an illicit vapes enforcement squad.

The task forces would conduct test purchasing at shops and share intelligence across regional networks and local authorities, officials said.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to deliver the closing address to a major three-day conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

The final day will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen (Dan Kitwood/PA)

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak is to be joined by two of his recent predecessors  Boris Johnson and Liz Truss  at a gala dinner later, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over the Brexit protocol.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris claimed a restoration of the Stormont institutions was the surest way to secure the regions place in the UK, and said real leadership was about having the courage to say yes.

At a separate event in Londonderry on Tuesday evening, Mr Clinton insisted it would be fairly easy to resurrect Stormont if it was wanted, but cautioned that an excuse can always be found to say no.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party will not be browbeaten into submission, and insisted unionist concerns around the protocol must be addressed.
A Russian spy ship stopped at sites around wind farms in the North Sea  including off the Scottish coast  in order to gather intelligence, an investigation by European broadcasters claims.

A joint report by broadcasters in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and Norway claims the ship Admiral Vladimirsky was part of an operation to map undersea infrastructure.

While officially classified as an ocean research vessel, the report says it is part of a fleet which is examining key energy sites for possible sabotage.

Danish broadcaster DR has published video of an encounter at sea between a small boat carrying their team and the Russian ship, filmed off the Danish coast in November.

The Russian ship "Admiral Vladimirsky" is in the documentary series "Shadow war" a team of investigative journalists from DR, NRK, SVT and Yle revealed how Russia is waging a hybrid war in the Nordic countries and with spies, troll armies, advanced underwater programs and secret pic.twitter.com/ofLinClvTP  Selshevneren (@selshevneren) April 19, 2023

It shows a man, wearing a balaclava and military gear, and carrying an assault rifle, appearing on the deck of the Admiral Vladimirsky.

The ship is thought to have entered the Moray Firth on November 10 last year.

Niels Fastrup from Danish broadcaster DR spoke to STV about the investigation.

He said: It seems to have been loitering for a few days in the Moray Firth area.

According to the source weve been talking to, and we gave them a look into our data, what they believe is, it is investigating some of the offshore wind farms in Scottish waters.

The next time it stopped was at the Seagreen wind farm outside of Aberdeen.

According to our experts and intelligence sources weve been talking to, the purpose of that stop was also to investigate the Seagreen wind farm in order to look for possible vulnerabilities to exploit in the event of an escalation in the current conflict situation between Russia and the Western world.

There has been an increased focus on North Sea energy security (Ben Birchall/PA)

There has been an increased focus on the safety of North Sea infrastructure amid heightened tensions with Russia, particularly in the wake of the attack on the Nord Stream pipeline.

The UK Governments Ben Wallace spoke about the importance of protecting undersea internet cables when European defence ministers met in Edinburgh last year for a Joint Expeditionary Force summit.

He said that Norways oil and gas infrastructure was particularly vulnerable as it had become Europes main supplier.

The Royal Navy is purchasing two dedicated subsea surveillance ships which are expected to come into service this year.

An MoD spokesman said: The Government takes the security and resilience of our national infrastructure very seriously.

That is why we increased Royal Navy presence patrols after the Nord Stream incident and have invested 65 million in the first of our two Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships.

We continue to review all our investments and activities against the full range of threats and risks.

Offshore Energies UK (OEUK), the trade body for the offshore sector, said the safety of their installations was a matter of ongoing discussion with the Government.

Operations director Mark Wilson said: Offshore Energies UK remains engaged with relevant Government bodies, including the Department for Energy Security & Net Zero (formally BEIS); North Sea Transition Authority; Health & Safety Executive; and Police Scotland, on resilience and security of UK energy supply.

We also operate the OEUK security committee at which relevant Government bodies provide briefings.

The physical security of offshore and onshore energy infrastructure continues to be part of these regular engagements.

Angus Robertson, the Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, said that the reports are worrying.

He tweeted: Extremely worrying new reports about Russian programme to sabotage wind farms and communication cables off the Scottish coast and elsewhere in the North Sea.
Production on the Rust movie is set to resume on Thursday in the US state of Montana, the PA news agency understands.

Legal representatives for Rust Movie Productions stressed that all use of working weapons or ammunition is, and always has been, prohibited on set.

Filming of the western was stopped following the fatal shooting of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the New Mexico set in October 2021.

The movies star Alec Baldwin, who had been holding the weapon that killed Ms Hutchins, has been charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Actor Alec Baldwin is charged with two counts of involuntary manslaughter over the death of Rust cinematographer Halyna Hutchins (Ian West/PA)

The actor has pleaded not guilty.

News that production is resuming comes two weeks before a preliminary hearing in the matter, during which it will be decided whether there is enough evidence to take the case to trial.

PA understands that principal photography is set to resume on Thursday at Yellowstone Film Ranch, in Montana.

In a statement shared with PA, Melina Spadone, attorney for Rust Movie Productions, said: The production will continue to utilise union crew members and will bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition.

Live ammunition is  and always was  prohibited on set.

Baldwin was previously granted a motion to waive his appearance at the preliminary hearing, beginning on May 3, which is set to last two weeks in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
The recently sacked boss of the Confederation of British Industry says his reputation has been totally destroyed following misconduct allegations.

Police launched an investigation after the business group fired Tony Danker and suspended three other employees.

The board of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said Mr Dankers conduct fell short of what was expected of him and said there had been serious failings in how it acted as an organisation.

In his first interview since his firing on April 11, Mr Danker told the BBC his name had been wrongly associated with separate claims.

The former CBI boss insisted he had never used sexually suggestive language with people at the company (Jeff Overs/BBC)

He also told the broadcaster his termination letter had cited four reasons for his dismissal: For organising a secret and private karaoke party for 15 people, for viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff, for sending non-work related messages to staff and for inviting junior staff to breakfasts, lunches or one-on-one meetings.

While Mr Danker acknowledged he had made some staff feel very uncomfortable and he apologised for that, the former CBI boss insisted he had never used sexually suggestive language with people at the company.

You know, there was an incident somebody raised a complaint about unwanted contact, which was verbal contact, he added.

There was never any physical contact. Ive never had any physical contact. Ive never used any sexual language. Ive never propositioned anybody.

Mr Danker believed he had been made the fall guy by CBI (Jonathan Brady/PA)

Mr Danker believed he had been assigned as the fall guy for a wider crisis engulfing the lobby group which is facing a number of claims  some of which predated Mr Dankers time at CBI.

Mr Danker said his reputation had been totally trashed because these claims  which included drug use as well as serious sexual assault -emerged a matter of weeks after the CBI disclosed that it was looking into separate allegations of misconduct against him.

He admitted to messaging around 200 individual staff members at the company but insisted it was to try and build rapport during lockdown and with colleagues who continued to work from home.

Detective Chief Superintendent Richard Waight earlier confirmed the City of London Police approached CBI following media reports of misconduct, but investigations were still at a very early stage.

The former CBI boss has responded to his dismissal by saying the allegations against him had been distorted.

I recognise the intense publicity the CBI has suffered following the revelations of awful events that occurred before my time in office, he tweeted, referring to allegations against himself and others at the CBI.

I was appalled to learn about them for the first time last week.

I was nevertheless shocked to learn this morning that I had been dismissed from the CBI, instead of being invited to put my position forward as was originally confirmed.

Tony Danker was sacked as CBI boss on April 11 (Jacob King/PA)

Many of the allegations against me have been distorted, but I recognise that I unintentionally made a number of colleagues feel uncomfortable and I am truly sorry about that.

The trade body has been rocked by allegations of a toxic workplace culture since Mr Danker was last month accused of allegedly making unwanted contact with a woman who works for the CBI.

She considered the contact to be sexual harassment, The Guardian reported at the time.

The group launched an investigation into his behaviour and he agreed to step down in the meantime. The first part of this investigation by an outside law firm has been completed, the CBI said.

..I was nevertheless shocked to learn this morning that I had been dismissed from the CBI, instead of being invited to put my position forward as was originally confirmed. Many of the allegations against me have been distorted, but..  Tony Danker (@tonydanker) April 11, 2023

Tony Danker is dismissed with immediate effect following the independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him, it said.

The board wishes to make clear he is not the subject of any of the more recent allegations in The Guardian but has determined that his own conduct fell short of that expected of the director-general.

It comes after The Guardian said it was approached by more than a dozen women who claimed to be victims of various forms of sexual misconduct by senior members of the CBI who were not Mr Danker.

One woman said she was raped at a staff party.
Stephen Silver, who was found guilty last month of the capital murder of Garda Colm Horkan, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Silver, of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin after a six-week trial.

Silver shot Mr Horkan several times with the gardas own gun on June 17 2020 in Castlerea, Co Roscommon.

The 46-year-old had denied murdering Mr Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty, but had pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of murdering a garda in the course of his duty, which carries a mandatory sentence of 40 years.

His family had welcomed the verdict as giving them some measure of closure, but said it would never replace Mr Horkan, who they paid tribute to as a fantastic son, brother, uncle and friend.

Following the sentencing, the president of the Garda Representative Association said that Mr Horkan would never be forgotten.

Colm was a much loved, respected and dedicated member of the An Garda Siochana family and his loss has been deeply felt in the passing years, Brendan OConnor said.

Members who knew him have told me that Colm was a great character and an absolute gentleman who was always looking out for others.

He will never be forgotten.

I would like to extend the thoughts and sympathies of the Garda Representative Association to his family, colleagues and friends and all who loved him.

I would also like to acknowledge the work and professionalism of the investigating team in this extremely difficult case which led to todays sentencing.
Student complaints to the universities watchdog surged to a record high last year.

The Office of the Independent Adjudicator (OIA) received 2,850 complaints from university students in England and Wales in 2022  the highest number ever received in a year  and a 3% increase on 2021.

Students faced multiple challenges last year  including the cost-of-living crisis, disruption to studies from industrial action, accommodation issues, and longer-term impacts of the pandemic, a report from the watchdog said.

Nearly two in five (38%) of the complaints to the OIA from students were about academic appeals, including problems with marking and final degree results, compared with 29% in 2021.

More of the coronavirus-related complaints received in 2022 related to academic appeals and fewer to service issues  which cover the quality of teaching, supervision and facilities  than in the previous two years.

The watchdog said the rise in complaints about academic matters could partly reflect the end of the no detriment, or safety net, assessment policies which were put in place at the start of the pandemic.

This approach typically ensured that students would be awarded a final grade no lower than the universitys most recent assessment of their attainment.

Overall, students received more than 1 million in compensation in 2022, which is down on the previous year but significantly above pre-pandemic levels.

An additional 640,000 in compensation was handed to students at one provider who had issued a large group complaint about disruption to their arts-based courses caused by Covid-19.

The watchdog found the complaint from the group of more than 400 students to be partly justified because it said the provider had not properly addressed some of the issues the students had raised about the disruption to their courses, and it took too long to consider the complaints.

The annual report from the OIA said: During the year, students and providers were contending with multiple challenges, including the cost-of-living crisis, accommodation issues, concerns relating to international student recruitment, and disruption to studies from industrial action in higher education and more widely, as well as the longer-term impacts of the pandemic.

But overall the number of Covid-related complaints was lower in 2022, accounting for under a quarter of complaints received by the watchdog.

Independent Adjudicator Felicity Mitchell said: The last few years have thrown up extraordinary challenges. Students and providers have had more to contend with than during the whole of my 19 years at the OIA, and those who are most vulnerable have been most affected.

We are seeing increasing levels of distress among students who are struggling to cope, and our report for 2022 reflects this. At the same time the pressures on providers make it more difficult for them to support students effectively.

Dame Suzi Leather, chairwoman of the OIA board, said: Our vision is that students are always treated fairly. A shared commitment to fairness for students must be at the heart of a successful higher education sector that delivers for students and for our wider society.

The context of the legacy of the pandemic and the impact on so many students of acute cost-of -living pressures is making this more challenging, and even more important.

A Department for Education (DfE) spokesperson said: It is essential that university students receive a world-class education and get the high-quality service they are paying for, and we encourage students to report any concerns to their university in the first instance and raise a complaint with the Office of the Independent Adjudicator if they are not happy with their universitys response.

Whilst complaints have increased, it is good to see that the OIA is working to resolve these issues, ensuring that more complaints were closed than ever before in the last year.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been pressed during a visit to Belfast on a controversial government Bill to deal with the legacy of Northern Irelands troubled past.

The Bill proposes an effective amnesty for Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a new truth recovery body, as well as ending future court processes.

It has been almost universally opposed by political parties across the UK and Ireland.

Mr Sunak was criticised by Amnesty International for not mentioning Troubles victims in his speech at a major conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Leo Varadkar (Niall Carson/PA)

Irish premier Leo Varadkar raised his governments concerns with the Bill during his meeting with Mr Sunak on Wednesday.

Mr Varadkar said opposition to the Bill is rare in that it has united the main political parties in Northern Ireland.

He said it is his governments strong view that the Bill should be withdrawn  and if not withdrawn at least amended until it has the support of the majority of people in Northern Ireland.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UKs Northern Ireland deputy director, said Mr Sunaks pledge to the agreement will be judged by his actions, not words.

Prosperity comes when peace thrives; the ongoing process of reconciliation requires conflict related violations to be addressed, she said.

The total absence from Sunaks speech of Troubles victims was a missed opportunity to show he is listening to them and the opposition to his Governments Troubles Bill.

The Prime Minister must take the opportunity of this milestone anniversary to drop the Troubles Bill and other legislation which directly undermines the agreement.
The US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems, which Ukraine had long requested and hoped would help protect it from Russian bombings throughout the conflict, have finally arrived, according to Kyiv's military minister on Wednesday.

According to prior statements made by Ukrainian authorities, the delivery of the Patriot systems, which Washington committed to supply in October, would be a significant development in the struggle against Moscow's full-scale invasion, AP News reported.

As Ukraine prepares for an anticipated counterattack, its Western allies have also promised tanks, artillery, and certain kinds of fighter planes. This is the West's recent military contribution to Kyiv in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war.

Ukrainian defense minister Oleksii Reznikov stated that with the arrival of the Patriot guided missiles, the country's "beautiful" skies are now "safer," per Politico.

The United States donated one of the Patriot missile systems, while Germany and the Netherlands contributed one together. In recent months, Ukrainian soldiers have begun receiving training on the systems in what US military sources describe as a quick lesson.

Although it was anticipated that the training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, would take up to a year, the authorities announced last month that the soldiers were virtually prepared to utilize the devices in war.

Ukrainian troops also finished their training in Europe with the German and Dutch armies.

Read Also: Viral Video Shows Intensity of India Heatwave

Russian Ships Reportedly Spying on European Seas

Meanwhile, news organizations in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland have reported on an alleged Russian military operation that involved ships conducting surveillance on offshore wind farms, gas pipelines, power and internet cables, and other infrastructure in the waters surrounding the Scandinavian peninsula.

A joint journalistic investigation revealed that over the past decade, 50 boats, including yachts, fishing vessels, and cargo ships, were detected in the area behaving suspiciously, according to DW.

One example cited by the Danish public broadcaster DR was a Russian research vessel that was observed sailing between Sweden and Denmark in November of last year. The ship's stated objective was to study, but according to DR, it had also been communicating through radio with a Russian naval facility.

Related Article: China Hospital Fire: 29 Dead



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A simple test may predict a decline in memory and thinking long before symptoms appear, new research has suggested.

According to the study, the test may be able to identify the risk of developing cognitive impairment  which can be an early sign of Alzheimers disease  years later.

The study involved 969 people with an average age of 69 with no thinking or memory problems at the start of the study.

They were given a simple memory test and were followed for up to 10 years.

Study author Ellen Grober, of Albert Einstein College of Medicine New York, US, said: There is increasing evidence that some people with no thinking and memory problems may actually have very subtle signs of early cognitive impairment.

In our study, a sensitive and simple memory test predicted the risk of developing cognitive impairment in people who were otherwise considered to have normal cognition.

The test included two phases.

For the study phase, people were shown four cards, each with drawings of four items, and asked to identify the item belonging to a particular category.

They would name the item grapes after being asked to identify a fruit.

In the test phase, people were first asked to recall the items  measuring their ability to retrieve information.

Then, for items they did not remember, they were given category cues, a process that measured memory storage.

People in the study were divided into five groups, or stages zero through four, based on their test scores.

Stage zero represented no memory problems while stages one and two reflected increasing difficulty with retrieving memories which can precede dementia by five to eight years.

Those in this group were able to remember items when given cues.

In the third and fourth stages, people could not remember all the items even after cues.

These stages precede dementia by one to three years, according to the scoring system which is used in Alzheimers disease testing.

A total of 47% of the people were in stage zero, 35% in stage one, 13% in stage two and 5% in stages three and four combined.

According to the research, 234 people involved in the study developed cognitive impairment.

After taking into consideration factors like age, sex and a gene that affects a persons risk of Alzheimers disease, researchers found when compared to people who were at stage zero, people at stages one and two were twice as likely to develop cognitive impairment.

Those at stages three and four were three times as likely to develop cognitive impairment.

Prof Grober said: Detecting cognitive impairment at its earliest stages is beneficial to researchers investigating treatments.

It also could benefit those people who are found to be at increased risk by consulting with their physician and implementing interventions to promote healthy brain ageing.

The findings are published in the Neurology journal.
A 24-hour hotline has been launched as part of the BBC inquiry into what the corporation knew about allegations of sexual misconduct against DJ Tim Westwood.

The independent inquiry, led by barrister Gemma White KC, said it had set up the confidential phone line in a bid to expand the ways in which people can come forward to report information.

Ms White was appointed by the BBC Board last August after an internal review found that the corporation should have further explored a string of sexual assault allegations against the former hip hop DJ.

She said that she had opened the confidential phone line until May 19 so that people had an opportunity to speak with her or her colleagues directly.

The inquiry, which has already seen more than 50,000 BBC documents, was expected to publish its findings in the spring.

But giving an update on its progress, Ms White said the review is taking longer than many would have hoped, and would be extended until June or July to allow for a thorough review of new information.

It has emerged that Westwood, who left the BBC in 2013, was interviewed under caution by the Metropolitan Police in March and April this year in relation to five sexual offences alleged to have taken place between 1982 and 2016.

The 65-year-old, who stepped down from his show on Capital Xtra in April last year, strongly denies the allegations.

Announcing the new hotline, Ms White said: I have recently been provided with material suggesting that there are people who want to contribute to the review by calling me, or members of the Linklaters review team, rather than having to email to make an appointment to speak.

I have been working since November 2022 with Jahnine Davis, who is a safeguarding professional with particular expertise in violence against women and girls and safeguarding black children.

Tim Westwood denies allegations of sexual misconduct (Ian West/PA)

We have discussed participation in the review and think that some people might prefer to speak directly to Jahnine rather than having to arrange a meeting with me.

We have therefore set up a dedicated phone line which will allow people to contact Jahnine directly, or to speak to me if they wish.

Either Jahnine or I will be available to speak during the working day, and Jahnine will also be available on certain evenings.

There will be a 24/7 answering system to take messages if we are unavailable or if you would prefer to simply leave recorded evidence on the machine.

I expect to report to the BBC in late June or early July 2023. I appreciate that this is later than many would have hoped.

The additional time is necessary for a thorough review of documents and information which we continue to receive and will allow a reasonable period to consider any new contributions which are made through the phone line.

Last year, a statement from a representative of Westwood said: Tim Westwood strongly denies all allegations of inappropriate behaviour.

In a career that has spanned 40 years, there have never been any complaints made against him officially or unofficially.

Tim Westwood strongly rejects all allegations of wrongdoing.

The hotline will be available on 08000 121 838 until May 19 and will be answered during the working day and on certain evenings. Outside of these hours an answering system will be available to take messages.
Ukraine is facing an unprecedented volume of Russian-linked cyber attacks more than a year since the country was invaded, experts have said.

But a new independent report by the European Cyber Conflict Research Initiative (ECCRI) also warns that while Kyiv has shown remarkable resilience in the face of Russian cyber threats, the response could create some concerning precedents.

The nearly 40-page study, commissioned by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) and published to coincide with the CyberUK conference in Belfast, comes amid concerns that the threat posed by Russian-aligned cyber groups extends beyond Ukraine, with the UK and allies also targets.

The study praises the incredible resilience and determination shown by Ukraine in its cyberspace defences, pointing in particular to the success of the countrys so-called IT Army  a volunteer network of hackers that has been engaged in cyberwarfare with Russia since the conflict began.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has seen the so-called IT Army help Ukrainians fight back against Russia(Peter Nicholls/PA)

But it raises concerns about a blurring of the line between combatants and civilians, asking what will happen to members of the IT Army once the war ends and warning that it has skirted the boundaries of several important cyber norms.

The IT Army has met with a lot of success in large part because they have figured out a way to gamify the response to the conflict.

In its recruiting efforts, the IT Army has romanticised the role of volunteers. The IT Army leadership has also provided clear, step-by-step outlines of how to target and achieve effects, the report says.

It notes that in the past, countries have had to deal with civilians leaving and joining terrorist organisations, becoming radicalised, and then returning to their native countries.

The authors say: Many governments have developed systems to deal with this potential threat. With cyber operations, however, an actor can conduct attacks at a distance.

Drawing an individual into the IT Army of Ukraine is much simpler than the radicalisation processes weve seen in the past, and there is no good existing legal framework for dealing with this issue.

Elsewhere in the report, which is based on a workshop earlier this year, the authors found that it was becoming increasing difficult in the context of war to distinguish between cyber criminal groups and political activists.

Some groups claim to pursue hacktivism but seem to be more interested in financial gain than in making political statements. Other criminal groups have even fractured over political differences, the report found.

Participants also noted that the goals of several criminal groups seem to have shifted from denying access to information for financial gain, to stealing that information for state intelligence purposes. These groups have pivoted toward infiltration and information gathering as their primary goal.

Pointing to the growing danger posed by ransomware, the authors say that governments facing sanctions  like Vladimir Putins Moscow regime  will often have an incentive to give criminal actors expanded room to manoeuvre.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said the Government would learn lessons from the report (Aaron Chown/PA)

Participants at the Belfast-based conference are set to discuss on Thursday the issues of cyber security and the Ukrainian conflict.

Paul Chichester, director of operations at the National Cyber Security Centre, said: We are very grateful to ECCRI for this important and valuable analysis of the cyber dimensions of the Russia-Ukraine conflict to date.

The report offers a range of helpful insights, not least around what Ukraine has taught us about the power of resilient systems in the face of sustained cyber attacks.

As we look to the future during our CyberUK conference, this is a timely contribution to the debate on what we can learn from the conflict, as well as the limits to our current understanding.

Security Minister Tom Tugendhat said that the Government would assess the findings from the report and learn the lessons it offers.

Putins illegal war isnt just being fought on the ground. Ukraines protectors are also defending their country against unprecedented cyber attacks on a digital battlefield.

This report has shone an important spotlight on a different kind of hostility which the Ukrainians have responded to with exceptional resilience and determination.
Police chiefs have urged the public to remain vigilant against terrorism and other crime as thousands of visitors prepare to descend on Liverpool for the Eurovision Song Contest.

The city won the right to host the global music event ahead of a number of other UK cities, in place of Ukraine, the previous years winners, who cannot hold the event due to the Russian invasion.

Thousands of people are expected to attend the contest, and related events being held, in the nine days running up to the final at the Liverpool M&S Bank Arena on the waterfront on Saturday May 13.

Chief Superintendent Jonathan Davies of Merseyside Police, overseeing the Eurovision policing operation, said: Hosting the Eurovision Song Contest on behalf of Ukraine is an amazing opportunity not only for the city of Liverpool but for Merseyside as a whole.

The BBC would like to invite #Eurovision fans to send in questions for this years artists   These questions (and the acts answers) will appear in VT films during the live shows and should be universal for multiple artists. The more offbeat and unusual the better. (1/2) pic.twitter.com/2gVx8XXDGA  Eurovision Song Contest (@Eurovision) April 18, 2023

Whether you are a fan of Eurovision or not, there is no escaping the fact that we will see a huge influx of people in Liverpool during the coming weeks.

Merseyside Police is well-practised at planning for large events such as the Giants, the Labour Party Conference and numerous city-wide parades. We know that when the public act as our extra eyes and ears, it helps us keep the crowds drawn by these events safe.

We are asking you all to look out for each other  if you see something that doesnt feel right, tell staff or the police.

The campaign has been designed in collaboration with Counter Terrorism Policing, who run similar campaigns at music festivals and venues, working with the music industry to encourage music lovers to Be Safe Be Sound.

I can reassure the public that there is no specific threat relating to the Eurovision Song Contest, but we always prepare for any eventuality.

Encouraging the public to stay alert and report anything that doesnt feel right is a vital part of keeping people safe at any large event.

Public messaging urging vigilance will be increased in and around the city and on social media in the run-up to the event along with an increased police and security presence.

Some of these police patrols are Project Servator deployments, developed by the National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), formerly the Centre for the Protection of National Infrastructure (CPNI), and the City of London Police, which began using the style of police deployments in February 2014 to reinforce the existing ring of steel around the City of London.

Chief Inspector Iain Wyke of Protective Security Operations at Merseyside Police said: These highly visible Project Servator deployments use specially-trained uniform and plainclothes officers to spot the tell-tale signs that someone may have criminal intent, such as gathering information that may help them plan or prepare to commit a crime.

The deployments are deliberately unpredictable, and officers can turn up anywhere at any time. They are supported by colleagues in other specialist roles including the Dog Section, Mounted Section, Armed Policing, and City Watch for round-the-clock monitoring of the CCTV network used across the force area.

Officers will encourage the public, including people working in local businesses, to be extra eyes and ears, and report anything that doesnt feel right. We also ensure event security staff receive training in how to spot suspicious activity and what to do. The aim is to build a network of vigilance made up of business and community partners and the general public.

If you do see a Project Servator deployment, theres nothing to worry about. Feel free to talk to officers, they will be happy to explain what they are doing and how you can help keep people safe.

To report suspicious activity, call the police on 101 or in an emergency 999. Suspicious activity is anything that seems out of place, unusual or does not seem to fit in with day-to-day life.

Guidance on how to help, including what suspicious activity to look out for, and confidential reporting is available at www.gov.uk/act.
Reality TV personality Georgia Harrison has said women and girls are being left traumatised by social media and called for specific protections to be included in the Online Safety Bill.

Her ex-boyfriend, fellow reality TV contestant Stephen Bear, was jailed for 21 months in March for sharing a private video of the couple having sex.

Speaking at a demonstration outside the Houses of Parliament held by womens charity Refuge on Wednesday morning, Harrison said: Women are 100% being left traumatised by some aspects of social media.

We need a code of practice added into the Bill so that women and girls are protected online, just as they are in the physical world.

The 28-year-old called for social media platforms to be held accountable for online harassment and abuse, and criticised the justice system for failing to keep up.

She added: I think change is long overdue. Social media is massively, rapidly growing. Children are spending far more time on social media than they are in the real world and unfortunately the justice system just hasnt managed to keep up with that.

The Online Safety Bill is definitely the first step towards change, but we need women and girls to be included in that.

Online, only the perpetrators are actually held accountable, and the platforms are allowed to carry on as if they dont know the illegal activity is happening. This cannot carry on in society  they need to be held accountable.

Ministers have confirmed plans to change the Bill so that social media bosses could face two years in jail if they consented to or connived in ignoring enforceable requirements to remove content which could be harmful to children.

Georgia Harrison joined the demonstration organised by Refuge outside the Houses of Parliament (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Harrison spoke in front of an installation of a giant mobile phone and signs warning of a lack of protection for women and girls, erected by Refuge to highlight the multiple spaces online where women are at risk of abuse.

Refuge and other organisations are calling for a code of practice on violence against women and girls to be added to the Bill to ensure social media companies respond to and prevent online violence against this group.

It comes as the House of Lords begins its line-by-line scrutiny of the legislation in its committee stage on Wednesday.

Speaking about her own experience of sexual harassment online, Harrison said: Every day, I am the recipient of unsolicited images, threats of sexual violence and misogynistic abuse online. This is unfortunately a common experience amongst young women.

Due to the frequency of such messages, society has seemingly normalised this behaviour, and instead of putting onus on the perpetrators, we are forcing women and girls offline. This is not the solution.

Today, I hope the Government and peers who are now looking at the Bill will listen to the thousands of Refuge supporters who have all taken action.

Sharon Gaffka, left, joined Georgia Harrison at the demonstration (Stefan Rousseau/PA)

Former Love Island contestant Sharon Gaffka, 27, who is an ambassador for Refuge, said she lives in fear of sexual harassment online being carried out in the real world.

With perpetrators remaining anonymous on social media platforms, I dont know if people who send me unsolicited sexual images live at the other end of the country or if theyre my next-door neighbour, Gaffka said.

The reality of causing harm is much closer to home, and thats something that I live in fear of.

I want to encourage young women and girls to come forward and report sexual violence online. When one person reports, its a lone voice. When all of us come forward together, it can have an impact.

Research from Refuge has found one in three women in the UK have experienced abuse or harassment online.
A magazine has been labelled disgraceful by fans online after using an artificial intelligence programme to produce fake quotes from Michael Schumacher  before depicting the response as an exclusive interview on their front cover.

The seven-time Formula 1 world champion has not been seen publicly since suffering a near-fatal brain injury while skiing in December 2013 in Meribel, France.

His wife Corinna has insisted on protecting Schumachers privacy in the nine years since, with his medical condition shrouded in secrecy as he continues to recover at home in Switzerland.

Yet German outlet Die Aktuelle have sparked a backlash online after plastering Schumachers face on their 15 April front cover, with exclusive interview the accompanying tag.

The magazine stated that it was the first interview Schumacher has given since his accident, adding: No meagre, nebulous half-sentences from friends. But answers from him! By Michael Schumacher, 54!

Quotes from the piece, purporting to be from Schumacher, include: My life has completely changed since [the accident]. That was a horrible time for my wife, my children and the whole family,

I was so badly injured that I lay for months in a kind of artificial coma, because otherwise my body couldnt have dealt with it all. Ive had a tough time but the hospital team has managed to bring me back to my family.

Yet at the end of the article, the outlet reveal that they in fact used an AI chatbot, reported to be Character.ai, to generate the answers.

Did Michael Schumacher really say everything himself the article concludes.

The interview was online. On a page that has to do with artificial intelligence, or AI for short.

Fans online were quick to deride the article and the magazine, with one describing it as disgraceful and another adding: Well, this is awful.

The front cover of the April 15 edition of German magazine Die Aktuelle, with a photo of Michael Schumacher and the headline exclusive interview (Die Aktuelle)

German media commentator Boris Rosenkranz insisted the piece was too stupid to be true in a comment article.

Die Aktuelle won a court battle in 2015 with Corinna Schumacher, Michaels wife, after the magazine used a picture with Corinna on the front cover, headlined: Corinna Schumacher  a new love makes her happy.

The story was about their daughter, Gina, but the lawsuit on the grounds of the cover being misleading was dismissed.

Another Schumacher-related article from the outlet, in 2014, put Michael and Corinna on the front cover with the title Awake  yet the piece was actually focused on individuals who have woken up from a coma, as opposed to Schumacher himself.

Speaking to Italian outlet Corriere della Sera last month, former Ferrari boss Jean Todt dismissed the notion that various people know about Schumachers health and called for people to respect the familys privacy.

Lets leave them alone, the 77-year-old Frenchman said.

We respect the privacy wishes of Corinna and her children, we know that that accident had consequences.

Anyone who says he knows something, he knows nothing. I always go to see him. He and his family are my family.

Schumacher has not been seen publicly since December 2013, with his wife Corinna insisting on protecting his privacy (AFP via Getty Images)

Todt is a close friend of Schumachers since their time working together during a successful era at Ferrari, when the German won five of his seven world titles from 2000-2004.

Todt detailed as recently as last July that he still watches F1 races with Schumacher despite the Germans unknown medical state.

I dont miss Michael, I see him, Todt told German broadcaster RTL. Yes, its true, I watch grand prix with Michael. But sure, I guess what I miss is what we used to do together.

Schumachers son Mick lost his F1 race seat at Haas last year and is now a reserve driver at Mercedes, who Michael drove for from 2010-2012.

In a Netflix documentary which aired in 2021 titled Schumacher, Corinna detailed how his family have dealt with the situation and continue to get on with their lives.

Michael is here. Different, but hes here, and that gives us strength, I find, Corinna said.

Were together. We live together at home. We do therapy. We do everything we can to make Michael better and to make sure hes comfortable. And to simply make him feel our family, our bond. And no matter what, I will do everything I can. We all will.

Were trying to carry on as a family, the way Michael liked it and still does. And we are getting on with our lives. Private is private, as he always said.

Its very important to me that he can continue to enjoy his private life as much as possible. Michael always protected us and now we are protecting Michael.

Corinna was in attendance to collect an award last July on behalf of husband Michael, with daughter Gina and Todt joining her to collect the State Prize of North Rhine-Westphalia - the highest civilian honour available to those born within the region.

Schumacher holds the joint-record for the most Formula 1 world titles with Lewis Hamilton.
Netflix's (NFLX) live event efforts took a significant hit late Sunday after the company failed to successfully broadcast its "Love is Blind" live reunion special  but the streaming giant now says there's a reason why.

"We're really sorry to have disappointed so many people," Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters said on the company's quarterly earnings call on Tuesday.

Peters explained the platform has the fundamental infrastructure to successfully pull off a live event but recently introduced "a bug" following last month's Chris Rock live special, which messed with the broadcast.

"We just didn't see this bug in internal testing," Peters said, noting the update was meant to improve live streaming performance. "We hate it when these things happen, but we'll learn from it and we'll get better."

(L-R) Zack Goytowski and Paul Peden attend the Love Is Blind cast celebration of Netflix's First Live Reunion with The Iconic Pods at The Brig on April 15, 2023, in Venice, California. (Photo by Roger Kisby/Getty Images for Netflix)

Thousands of users angrily expressed their frustrations on Twitter after waiting over an hour for the episode to air on Sunday night. The episode was eventually released Monday afternoon. Peters revealed that about 6.5 million viewers tuned in to watch.

"We've said we want to use live when it makes sense creatively and helps the content itself," Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos added. "A reunion show that's going to generate news and buzz really does play better live when people can enjoy it together."

Sarandos hinted there will likely be more live events revolving around unscripted programming and said that although about 90% of viewing for the Chris Rock special happened after the live event aired, "it doesn't change the fact that it was a big event when it happened live."

Still, analysts have cautioned that consumers will not easily forgive live event slip-ups, especially when they involve their favorite shows.

"[What happened Sunday night] is definitely not good when a player like Netflix is really trying to boost those subscriber numbers," Jamie Lumley, sector analyst at Third Bridge Group, told Yahoo Finance Live on Monday. "There's still some work needed in order to work out exactly how to have a live event be seamless, be effective, and be a good way of drawing viewers in."

Netflix reported mixed first-quarter results on Tuesday, missing Wall Street subscriber estimates while beating analyst expectations on earnings per share.

The stock, which initially fell as much as 12% after the release, saw shares pare losses as investors digested the report  the first since co-CEO and co-founder Reed Hastings stepped down from his leading role at the company.

The results came as investors eagerly awaited updates regarding the company's recently launched ad-supported tier, in addition to its controversial crackdown on password-sharing.

Netflix, which broadened its crackdown to include countries like Canada, New Zealand, Portugal, and Spain, in addition to the test countries of Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, revealed it's planning "a broad rollout" this current quarter that will include the U.S.

Minimal details were revealed when it came to pricing for extra members, with executives saying it will be on a market-by-market basis.

Alexandra Canal is a Senior Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter @alliecanal8193 and email her at alexandra.canal@yahoofinance.com

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If dealing with the constant threat of violent criminal gangs and kidnappings in Haiti wasnt bad enough, try finding a reasonably priced fare to fly out of the country to Miami on American Airlines.

The U.S.-based carrier, which had reduced its direct flights to Haiti even before the COVID-19 pandemic threw air travel into a tailspin, is planning to cut back its once-a-day flights to Port-au-Prince from seven days to six starting next month.

The reduction comes as travelers flying out of Port-au-Prince on American see one-way tickets priced at more than $3,000 for a flexible business class seat, which sometimes is the only seat available. The high fare has Haitians in sticker shock as they admit to being confused by the phenomenon and accuse the airline of price gouging.

Stealing money from people fleeing a war zone should be illegal, John Cazeau tweeted.

Cazeau, who lives in Boston but owns property in Fort Lauderdale, is flying JetBlue on Thursday for $292 from Boston round trip. He said in a follow-up interview with the Miami Herald that the fares being charged for Haiti travel make no sense.

They are applying the same economic principles of the western world to a destitute and failed state, he said. Imagine AA asking Ukrainians to pay $3,400 to fly out of a war zone ....How can AA justify that fair? Please enlighten me.

Earlier this month, American began flying a much smaller Airbus 319 with 128 seats, instead of a Boeing 737-800 with 172 seats, on its Miami-Port-au-Prince route. The loss of the 44 additional seats was felt almost immediately as one-way flights out of the Haitian capital shot up to anywhere between $1,091 with a weeks planning to $3,404 for a last-minute airfare. Meanwhile, tickets from Miami to Port-au-Prince are as low as $124.

Laura Masvidal, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, said the change to an Airbus A319 was a decision that was made as part of the continuous evaluation of our network and available resources.

We are currently operating one daily flight between MIA and PAP. Due to soft demand on our MIA-PAP service, on May 9 we will reduce our service to six weekly flights until August, she added.

In comparison, JetBlue, which shows no available seats out of Port-au-Prince into Fort Lauderdale until May 3, has $589 one-way tickets out of the Haitian capital. After late May the cost drops to $160 one way. Low-cost Spirit Airlines, the only other U.S.-bound airline flying out of Port-au-Prince, also has no seats available until May 4. The one-way price on that day into Fort Lauderdale, however, is $1,043.

With such high airfares, U.S.-bound travelers are either forced to dig deep in their pockets, use frequent-flyer miles if they have them or fly to the Dominican Republic via Haitis Sunrise Airways. A Miami-bound ticket onboard a bigger American Airlines flight from Santo Domingo to Miami is $257 for a basic economy next Tuesday and $493 for business class.

The reduction in American Airlines service and the lack of availability of seats on other carriers have coincided with a higher demand among Haitians looking to fly out of the country, especially those who have qualified to travel to the United States under President Bidens recently launched two-year humanitarian parole program. The program allows nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to temporarily migrate to the U.S. if they have an approved financial sponsor.

Haitis Tourism Minister Cassandra Francois told the Herald that the government is very concerned about the high fares and cutbacks, and she is currently in talks with the airlines to add more flights. On Tuesday, Francois said she spoke with the representative of American Airlines for Haiti regarding the high cost of its tickets compared with the rest of the Caribbean region.

The representative, she said, informed her that the airlines needed the Boeing 737-800 for long haul destinations and therefore replaced it with the smaller AirBus.

As a result, the company increased the prices in proportion to high demands from Haiti. That is not fair to the potential tourists, she said.

Knowing that there is not a high frequency of flights to Haiti, in comparison to other destinations in the Caribbean and regarding the high demand, this situation impacts our economy and demotivates the diaspora, Francois said. They just need more planes.

She said she plans to ask American in a follow-up meeting to not only reduce the ticket prices but to add another flight, even if it is a small plane, in order to have two flights per day.

Francois said she also spoke with a representative of Spirit Airlines to see about the possibility of adding another flight on its Fort-Lauderdale to Cap-Haitien route during the summer, given that it is the only U.S. based-carrier that services the northern Haitian city. We welcome American Airlines to do the same, she said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, surrounded by her deputy mayors, presented her first proposed budget at City Hall on Tuesday. (Irfan Khan / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass released the first budget proposal of her administration on Tuesday, calling for more police and greater spending on homelessness, anti-gang programs and the city's struggling animal shelters.

Bass renewed her call for the Los Angeles Police Department to increase its ranks by 400 officers, to about 9,500. She also revealed that her plan will rely on a key recruitment strategy: persuading 200 retired officers, many of whom left recently, to return for at least 12 months.

The mayor, speaking to reporters, said those retirees would "hit the ground running." She predicted that her overall plan for rebuilding the LAPD  which has lost nearly 1,000 officers since 2019  will face a skeptical response from some on the City Council, particularly those who have called for money to be shifted out of the LAPD and into other programs.

"We are proposing increasing the police force, and it will cause tensions on the City Council," she said. "But I am confident that our City Council, that we will be able to overcome those tensions."

The council must review, make changes and ultimately approve Bass' $13.1-billion budget by May 31.

Bass said she hopes to work with the council on the buildout of her newly created Office of Community Safety, which will supervise unarmed response and anti-violence programs. The mayor has described the office as part of the citys effort to break the cycle of violence and crime.

The mayor's budget is seeking a 45% increase in funding  an extra $13 million  for the Gang Reduction and Youth Development program, which will ultimately be overseen by the community safety office, Bass aides said.

Two of the council's police skeptics, Eunisses Hernandez and Hugo Soto-Martinez, did not immediately weigh in on the mayor's proposed budget. Council President Paul Krekorian said he expects the council will have one of its "more robust discussions" in recent years.

Central to that will be: How do you address the police budget? Krekorian said.

The mayor is looking to provide newly hired police officers a $15,000 signing bonus, as well as other financial incentives to city employees who find recruits. Police Chief Michel Moore said the LAPD has been sending out inquiries to former officers  and received some interest from about 70 people so far.

Bass' spending plan calls for nearly $1.3 billion for homelessness and housing services, a 9.7% increase over the prior year. The mayor is seeking $250 million for her Inside Safe program, which has been moving people out of large-scale homeless encampments and into motels and hotels.

That figure represents a fivefold increase over the amount approved by the council for Inside Safe early in Bass' administration. It would include $47 million for the purchase of hotels or motels.

Until now, Inside Safe has been leasing rooms in downtown, Silver Lake, South Los Angeles, Venice and other parts of the city. Acquiring properties outright, Bass aides said, would reduce costs by dramatically reducing nightly room rates.

Mercedes Marquez, the mayor's homelessness czar, said the city is looking to acquire at least eight motels or hotels. She declined to say which properties are under consideration, to avoid driving up prices.

The mayor's team did not have a number for how many rooms it plans to lease in the coming year, saying only that it will be "in the thousands."

Councilmember Traci Park, who represents the city's coastal neighborhoods, said she is pleased to see the mayor working to expand Inside Safe. The program has carried out encampment operations in two parts of her district so far  Venice and Del Rey.

"I've witnessed with my own eyes how transformative for a community, and for the unhoused in need of help, this program is," she said.

Bass' team said the proposed budget also includes treatment beds for homeless people who suffer from substance abuse.

Although the spending plan calls for an increase in funding for homelessness initiatives, Bass has recommended that the council spend only a fraction of the revenue expected from Measure ULA, a tax on property sales that was approved by voters in November.

The measure, which imposed an additional tax on commercial and residential real estate transactions exceeding $5 million, is expected to provide an estimated $672 million in the coming budget year for housing and homelessness initiatives. But the mayor's team plans to use only $150 million until the city determines whether the ballot measure will withstand multiple legal challenges.

That $150 million will go toward housing acquisition and rehabilitation, along with a number of tenant protection measures, the mayor said.

Boy, would we love to spend the $672 million," Bass said. "But we want to be conservative about that because of the lawsuits.

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assn., one of the groups suing, contends that Measure ULA violates Proposition 13, as well as a section of the City Charter.

If it were a laughable lawsuit that made no sense whatsoever, they might go ahead and spend the money, said Jon Coupal, the association's president.

Bass budget also recommends an additional $4.8 million for the city's troubled animal services department, a nearly 18% increase over last year. The spending plan proposes 28 additional positions for a department that has struggled to staff its shelters.

Times staff writer Libor Jany contributed to this report.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Latest signs of China-Australia "thawing" ties make headlines on Aussie major media

Xinhua) 11:09, April 19, 2023

Photo taken on Dec. 22, 2016, shows the morning scenery of the Tiananmen Square in Beijing, capital of China. (Xinhua/Li He)

Australian business delegation's visit to China sends a clear signal to China's business community that Australian business is looking to collaborate on the many new trade and investment opportunity areas on a shared path to net zero, said ACBC National President David Olsson.

SYDNEY, April 19 (Xinhua) -- With several state premiers and a business delegation announcing their visits to China, mainstream media in Australia have been paying close attention to the fresh progress in the diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Sunday that a group of 15 senior Australian company executives and local government officials will travel to China for a six-day visit, which will be "the first industry delegation to visit the country for three years."

From April 23, representatives from HSBC Australia, Telstra, ANZ Banking Group, Rio Tinto, Cochlear, Fortescue, King and Wood Mallesons, etc. will explore the industrial and commercial hubs of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, Tianjin and Shenzhen, and also walk into Tsinghua University.

"While other Australian business leaders have visited China in the past month, the trip organized by the Australia China Business Council (ACBC) is the first official delegation to visit China with the backing of the federal government. It is the latest sign of thawing diplomatic relations between Beijing and Canberra," the report wrote.

ACBC National President David Olsson told AFR that this is an opportunity for the Australian industry to hear first-hand through private briefings and site visits, the opportunities arising from China's new high-quality growth agenda.

"Second, it sends a clear signal to China's business community that Australian business is looking to collaborate on the many new trade and investment opportunity areas on our shared path to net zero," Olsson added.

Aerial photo taken on Sept. 9, 2021, shows Sydney Opera House in Sydney, Australia. (Photo by Hu Jingchen/Xinhua)

From March to April, premiers in the Australian states of Victoria, Queensland and Western Australia revealed to the public their plans to visit China, with two of them having already carried them out.

After a four-day visit, Victoria state's Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters that the state's relationship with China is "deeper than just trade," and it's a "partnership built on respect, trust and friendship, and one that benefits all Victorians in every sector."

"After more than three years, we've met with Chinese leaders in sister provinces that are home to more than 170 million people, sending a message to China that Victoria is a fantastic place for Chinese people to visit and study," said Andrews.

Following in the footsteps of their Victorian counterpart, Queensland's Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk is having a plan underway, with her office confirming that she may visit China in November, while Western Australia's Premier Mark McGowan is currently traveling in China for his first visit in four years.

During an event hosted by the National Press Club of Australia on Monday, an ABC (the Australian Broadcast Corporation) journalist questioned Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong about the state leaders' China trips.

Wong replied that there have been more engagements not just from premiers but from the business community. "We think it is a good thing that we are engaging," said Wong.

Besides, local media also focused on the attendance of Australia's Assistant Trade Minister Tim Ayres at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023.

A report from the Sydney Morning Herald (SMH) mentioned that Ayres is the first Australian minister to attend the forum in more than half a decade and he said it was another positive step in the thawing relationship.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Origin Of The Abbreviation I18n

What Is "I18n"?

"I18n" is an abbreviation for the word "internationalization". The term "i18n" is derived from its spelling as the letter "i" plus 18 letters plus the letter "n".

I+n 1 t 2 e 3 r 4 n 5 a 6 t 7 i 8 o 9 n 10 a 11 l 12 i 13 z 14 a 15 t 16 i 17 o 18 +n

Technically, the term is not an acronym, as acronyms represent expressions that are derived from the first letters of words. (For example, "DBCS" is an acronym for "Double Byte Character Set".) I believe the correct name for this type of abbreviation is numeronym- a number based word. Examples include "K9" for canine, and the French "K7", pronounced "K-sept" for the word cassette. Another example is "411" for the concept of "information".

What Is The Origin Of "I18n"?

I asked this question on the Unicode Consortium public mail list and the NELOCSIG mail list on Thursday 2002-10-10. Here is my compilation of the discussion.

I would be glad to update this page if readers send me additional information, preferably with some evidence (pointers to books, mails, or other documentation).

I have noted author's names in the thread excerpts. I would be glad to either remove them or add other personal identifiers (e-mail address or web site) if people would like to be anonymous or well-identified. (I would prefer stronger identification to better establish credibility and in case someone else wants to do further research on the subject.)

Many of the links are now dead. I removed the links but kept the addresses as parenthetical remarks in this style

Usage Of The Terms "Internationalization" And "Localization"

The term "internationalization" was used as far back as 1985 at Apple and DEC. Unix seems to have picked it up at least in the late 80s.



Not all companies used the term. Based on documentation I have from before 1990, IBM and LOTUS seemed to prefer the term "international-enabling". (They were separate and distinct companies at the time, Lotus being DOS-based may have inherited "enabling" from IBM.) They didn't use the term "internationalization" until the '90s.



The term "Localization" was also in use in the mid-80s, by all of the vendors. (Or at least by IBM, DEC, Apple, Lotus, HP, Unixes).

Summary Of The Origin Of "I18n"

The story goes as follows:

A DEC employee named Jan Scherpenhuizen was given an email account of S12n by a system administrator, since his name was too long to be an account name. This approach to abbreviating long names was intended to be humorous and became generalized at DEC. The convention was applied to "internationalization" at DEC which was using the numeronym by 1985.



Use of the term spread. Searching the net, we found uses on-line as early as 1989. It was being used on /usr/group, which evolved into UniForum. The X Window standards community was also using the abbreviation by 1989. Looking in printed texts, the earliest reference I could find was in the book Soft Landing in Japan, published by American Electronic Association, 1992.



The extension of this naming convention to the terms Localization (l10n), Europeanization (e13n), Japanization (j10n), Globalization (g11n), seemed to come somewhat after the invention of "i18n". The terms Canonicalization and Normalization, defined more recently, also have numeronym forms (c14n and n11n).

Thanks to the many contributors to this thread.

Excerpts Of The Email Discussion

Author: Arnold Winkler Here is my recollection:

Sometime around 1991 in a IEEE P1003.1 (POSIX) meeting, Gary Miller (IBM) was writing on the blackboard. After having spelled out Internationalization a few times, he first abbreviated it to I--n and a bit later (obviously after counting the letters in between) used I18N.

L10N did not show up until quite some time later. I have no idea who used it first. Author: Radovan Garabik, searching with Google: "i18n" is first mentioned in USENET on 30 nov 1989, "l10n" is first mentioned on 30 august 1990. The posting also mentions that the abbreviation is not widely used. Author: Hideki Hiura The acronym "I18N" appeared before 1991, since I recall I have already used I18N in '89 ;-).

The beginning of this kind of acronym was S12N(Scherpenhuizen) at DEC, as far as on the record, as an email address for him on DEC VMS.

By 1985, I18N became an acronym for Internationalization in the I18N team at DEC, by following this Scherpenhuizen's S12N convention.

Among the standard organizations, the /usr/group (It became UniForum later) was the first one using I18N as an acronym for Internationalization, in '88. Author: Jim Melton ...I18n was in use long before 1991. I first started using it myself in perhaps 1987, having picked it up from colleagues at Digital Equipment Corporation (remember *them*?); I have no idea where they got the term, though. However, I first encountered L10n quite some years later, possibly as recently as 1994 or 1995, but I don't recall it as clearly. Author: Rick McGowan The earliest reference I can find to "i18n" in my old e-mail trail is the following e-mail to the "sun!unicode" mail list by Glenn Wright. This was Oct 5, 1989. By that time, the term was definitely current, as Mr. Hiura suggests. > From upheisei!attunix!sun!glennw Thu Oct 5 15:59:05 EDT 1989 > Date: Thu, 5 Oct 89 12:46:22 PDT > From: sun!glennw (Glenn P. Wright) > To: sun!unicode > Subject: Next Unicode meeting > > Time: > > Monday Oct 9th. 4pm > > Place: > Sun Microsystems, Building 5, 2550 Garcia Avenue > > Agenda: > > Discussion of Current X3L2 proposal status > Discussion on future Unicode committee organisation > Joe will have updates on the Unicode chart > (depending on the As pitching rate) > Liason reports - > X/Open, > Joint i18n meeting, > Ad Hoc meeting in Peking (oops). Author: Tex Texin I went thru my i18n books to scan for mentions. The earliest mention I could find for i18n (the abbreviation) was 1992, in "Soft Landing in Japan".

It seems like 1993 some books mention it, and 1994 and thereafter it is consistently mentioned.

The term "internationalization" seems vendor oriented. IBM preferred "enabling" (and NLS). I have some early DEC books (1987 or so), and the abbreviation wasn't used.

The lack of use in books before 1992 could be a choice by the authors that the term was jargon or slang and wasn't relevant to explaining the concepts.

It seems to have passed from DEC to Unix usage, if we believe the reports I am getting. Author: Barry Caplan Barry's web site i18n.com has a story on the origin, The Strange Birth Of The Term 'I18n' Friday March 01, @11:39PM:

(http://www.i18n.com/article.pl?sid=02/03/02/0345215&mode=thread&threshold=) Author: John McConnell I can confirm Hiura-san's version. I heard it from Jurgen Bettels, who've I've known since '84 and worked with Scherpenhuizen in the Geneva office at the time. Scherpenhuizen managed the ISO work. In the days when bytes were precious, VMS had a character username limit. Some anonymous system administrator shortened Scherpenhuizen's username to S12N to fit. It may have been especially funny because Scherpenhuizen was an unusually large man. Whatever, it became an office joke for long words. Internationalization had just become a hot topic in ISO then, so it was applied, and stuck. I suspect Eamon MacDermott may have been the person who spread the term from DEC to the rest of the world. Author: Tor Lillqvist Well, the first occurence of "i18n" in Google's USENET archive seems to be Rob Robason, Nov 30 1989, 11:38 am, Subject: cp gives poor error message (so what else is new?) (http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=5570339%40hpfcdc.HP.COM) from Nov 30, 1989. "l10n" occurs first in Dominic Dunlop's Article on Internationalisation Dated Aug 30 1990, 7:56 am (http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=1990Aug30.115608.3729%40tsa.co.uk) from Aug 30, 1990. Author: Hideki Hiura The statement I posted earlier, hiura> The acronym "I18N" appeared before 1991, since I recall I have hiura> already used I18N in '89 ;-). was exactly refering to the use of "I18N" in the committee the article on i18n.com referring. As some of you may remember ;-), I was a part of this committee, so I know this committee was not the origin of the term I18N. We've created two mailing lists at MIT for the X Window System Internationalization activity, called mltalk(multilingual talk) and i18n-si (Internationalization sample implementation) back on those days. DEC was heavily involved in the development of X Window System since very early phase, I can imagine there were some idea exchanges on the naming, so it is possible that the rep. of DEC passed the hint to this committee. Author: Barry Caplan Here is a mention from 1989-12-02 11:24:11 PST only 3 days later:

Jeffrey S. Haemer, Dec 2, 1989 19:24:11 GMT, Subject: Standards Update, IEEE 1003.1: System services interface

(http://groups.google.com/groups?q=i18n+1988&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&selm=454%40longway.TIC.COM&rnum=7) that says: > 5. Messaging > > The UniForum internationalization (I18N) folks brought forward a > proposal for a messaging facility to be included in P1003.1b. > The working group decided that it needs some more work but will > go into the next draft. > > [Editor's note -- The problem being solved here is that > internationalized applications store all user-visible strings in > external files, so that vendors and users can change the > >December 1989 Standards Update IEEE 1003.1: System services interface > > > - 5 - > > language of an application without recompiling it. The UniForum > I18N group is proposing a standard format for those files.] This indicates to me that UniForum might be a place to look for earlier references....

This is a very interesting thread from 1990: Dominic Dunlop's Article on Internationalisation Dated Aug 30 1990, 7:56 am

(http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&threadm=1990Aug30.115608.3729%40tsa.co.uk&rnum=20&prev=/groups%3Fq%3Di18n%2B1988%26start%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26selm%3D1990Aug30.115608.3729%2540tsa.co.uk%26rnum%3D20) Author: Mark Davis We used the term "internationalization" in Apple in late 85. We might have also used it earlier than that, I don't remember. Author: Timothy Greenwood I concur with the stories from the other DEC folks and certainly remember Jan Scherpenhuizen and S12N. Some idea of a lower date for common use of I18N are books that talk about internationalization but do not use the abbreviation. It is not used in the July 1993 X/Open Internationalisation Guide nor the summer 93 Digital Technical Journal on Product Internationalization. Nor do I see it in the 1991 'Digital Guide to Developing International Software'. This was based on an internally distributed DEC manual - I believe that I have a copy at home. These dates tie in with the findings from Tex. I suspect that the term was in internal use, but not considered as fit for publication. The term internationalization itself is not used in my earliest reference, proceedings from an internal DEC conference on International Opportunities and Differences' April 1985. Author: Bob Jung 2002-10-25 ...My memory may be fuzzy... I started attending many of the /usr/group internationalization SIG meetings from early 1986. (I had just returned from 5 months in Japan where I worked on the original AT&T MNLS and JAE development.) As noted on your page /usr/group evolved into Uniforum and the SIG continued working as a Uniforum SIG. At one point in one of the early meetings, someone was writing the long "internationalization" word yet again on the white board. Since we didn't like writing this long word all the time, someone suggested we find an abbreviation. After some discussion (I don't know if the idea was borrowed from somewhere else), the suggestion of "i18n" was agreed upon and since then that SIG "standardized" upon it. BTW, it was at this SIG that we conceived (or at least proposed) the locale model. (Aside from Tex- perhaps another origin page beginning...) Maybe if we can find some of the early SIG members, we can try to confirm my memory. I think these folks were involved at that time:

Brian Boyle, a consultant based in Berkeley

Karen Barnes of HP

Greger (long last name which I cannot remember) of DEC

Copyright  2002 - 20010 Tex Texin. All rights reserved.

Top of page
Lisa Marie Eisenhart and her son Eric Gavelek Munchel. (Metro Nashville Police Department via AP)

WASHINGTON (AP)  A Tennessee man and his mother were convicted on Tuesday of charges that they stormed the Capitol, where they brought plastic zip-tie handcuffs into the Senate gallery as a mob attacked the building, court records show.

U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth convicted Eric Munchel and his mother, Lisa Eisenhart, on all 10 counts in their indictment, including a charge that they conspired to obstruct Congress from certifying President Biden's 2020 electoral victory on Jan. 6, 2021. The judge is scheduled to sentence both of them Sept. 8.

Lamberth decided the case without a jury after a stipulated bench trial, an unusual legal proceeding in which defendants do not admit guilt to charges but agree with prosecutors that certain facts are true. At least three dozen Capitol riot defendants have resolved their cases that way  which allows defendants to preserve their right to an appeal  rather than opting for a traditional trial or pleading guilty.

A jury trial for the pair had been scheduled to start last week. Emails seeking comment were sent to their lawyers on Tuesday.

Munchel, 32, of Nashville, Tennessee, worked at a restaurant. Eisenhart, 59, of Woodstock, Georgia, has worked as a traveling nurse.

'Treason! Treason!'

On Jan. 6, they attended then-President Donald Trump's Stop the Steal rally before joining the crowd that marched to the Capitol. Both of them were wearing tactical vests. Munchel had a stun gun holstered to his right hip.

After grabbing plastic handcuffs that they found inside the Capitol, Munchel and Eisenhart entered the gallery above the Senate chamber and stepped over a railing that separated portions of the gallery. Eisenhart chanted, Treason! Treason!

Munchel gleefully entered the Capitol during a riot while carrying a dangerous weapon, the stun gun, the judge said in a February 2021 ruling.

"By word and deed, Munchel has supported the violent overthrow of the United States government. He poses a clear danger to our republic," Lamberth wrote.

In the riot's aftermath, Eisenhart told a London newspaper that she would rather die as a 57-year-old woman than live under oppression.

Id rather die and would rather fight, she added, according to the judge's ruling.

Eisenhart also claimed that she took the plastic handcuffs to keep them away from bad actors, the judge noted.

More than 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the deadly Jan. 6 riot. Over 600 of them have pleaded guilty or been convicted after trials decided by a jury or a judge. Over 450 of them have been sentenced, with more than half getting terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.
FILE PHOTO: A North Korea flag flutters next to concertina wire at the North Korean embassy in Kuala Lumpur

By Soo-hyang Choi

SEOUL (Reuters) -North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has said preparations for the planned launch of the country's first spy satellite should go ahead to counter what he called threats from the United States and South Korea, state media reported on Wednesday.

Analysts say the military satellite is part of the reclusive, nuclear-armed state's efforts to advance surveillance technology, including drones, to improve its ability to strike targets in the event of a conflict.

North Korea in December conducted what it called an important "final phase" test for the spy satellite and said it would complete preparations for the launch by April. At that time, it released grainy black and white images of the South Korean capital Seoul, which it said had been taken during the test.

During a visit to the official space agency on Tuesday, Kim told officials to ensure the launch went ahead on time, and also ordered a series of more reconnaissance satellites to be launched, state news agency KCNA said.

KCNA said the satellite production has been completed but it did not elaborate when the launch is scheduled for.

'BREACH OF UN SANCTIONS'

Kim said it was "natural" for the North to develop its military deterrence, criticising deployment of U.S. strategic assets in the region as an attempt "to turn South Korea into an advanced base for aggression and an arsenal for war."

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said even if Pyongyang called it a satellite, any North Korean launch involving a ballistic missile technology would be a clear breach of United Nations Security Council resolutions.

A state media photo showed Kim, accompanied by his daughter, talking to officials in front of a blurred image of an apparent satellite.

North Korea has undertaken an array of missile and weapons tests in recent months, most recently a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). Pyongyang has been threatening "more practical and offensive" action over South Korea-U.S. exercises, and refusing to answer inter-Korean hotlines.

In December, five North Korean drones crossed into South Korea and South Korea responded by sending surveillance aircraft into the North to photograph its military.

Kim Dong-yup, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies, said North Korea wants to use satellites to try and secure real-time information necessary to hit targets when mobilising its missiles and other nuclear delivery systems.

North Korea has had multiple attempts to launch "earth observation" satellites, of which two appeared to have been successfully placed in orbit, including the latest in 2016.

International observers have said the satellite seemed to be under control, but there was lingering debate over whether it had sent any transmissions.

(Reporting by Soo-hyang Choi; Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo; Editing by Michael Perry and Lincoln Feast.)
Ralph Yarl and Kaylin Gillis. (Photos: Family Photo, GoFundMe)

Two shootings of young people who mistakenly showed up at the wrong houses in two separate states have attracted national attention  and could renew the debate over the rights of those seeking to protect their property.

Heres everything we know about the two cases, culled from our original reporting and Yahoo News partner network, including the USA Today, NBC News and Kansas City Star.

White man shoots Black teen who rang wrong doorbell

Ralph Yarl (Courtesy of the Yarl family).

Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old Black boy, was shot in Kansas City, Mo., on Thursday night after he rang the doorbell at a home where he believed he was to pick up his two siblings.

The homeowner, Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old white man, is facing two felony counts, including assault in the first degree and armed criminal action, in connection with the shooting.

When police arrived, they found Ralph wounded on the street.

Ralph suffered a gunshot wound to the head and another to the arm but survived. He spent three days in the hospital before being released Sunday, Ralph's father, Paul Yarl, told the Kansas City Star.

Officials said that Lester fired his gun through a locked glass door and shot Ralph twice, even though the teenager did not attempt to enter the home and no words were exchanged between the two.

Lester told police that he thought Ralph was trying to break in and was scared to death.

An arrest warrant was issued for Lester on Monday evening amid mounting public pressure to hold the alleged shooter accountable. Lester surrendered and was booked into jail on Tuesday afternoon.

The attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the Yarl family, called the charges appropriate, but told Yahoo News that his arrest was long overdue.

They let this white man go, who shot this 16-year-old teenager who only pushed his doorbell, and they questioned him for 20 minutes and let him come home and sleep in his bed at night, Crump told Yahoo News shortly after the warrant announcement. Had the roles been reversed  had a Black man shot a 16-year-old white citizen  [nobody would] believe they wouldve let him come home and sleep without him being arrested and processed.

Woman driven to wrong address fatally shot by homeowner

Kaylin Gillis (Courtesy GoFundMe).

Kaylin Gillis, a 20-year-old woman looking for a friend's house in upstate New York, was fatally shot by a homeowner after the car she was riding in went to the wrong address, authorities say.

NBC News reported that Gillis was in a car with three other people Saturday night in the rural town of Hebron, N.Y., when the group mistakenly turned onto the property of Kevin Monahan, 65.

As they were leaving, Monahan came out of his house and fired at the vehicle, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said at a news conference Monday.

"While they were leaving the residence, once they determined that they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch for whatever reason and fired two shots, one of which struck the vehicle that Kaylin was in,"Murphy said.

As was the case in Kansas City, Murphy said there appeared to have been no interaction between the group and Monahan before the shots were fired.

The group then drove to the neighboring town of Salem, N.Y., and called 911. Paramedics arrived and performed CPR, but Gillis was pronounced deceased at the scene.

"She was a young girl that was taken way too young," Murphy said. "This is a very sad case of some young adults that were looking for a friend's house, and ended up at this man's house.

"There was clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle," Murphy added. "There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened."

Monahan was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder.

'You cant just shoot people who come to your door'

Andrew Lester poses in his booking photograph after his surrender in Liberty, Mo., on Tuesday. (Clay County Sheriff's Office/Handout via Reuters)

The shootings by homeowners are likely to renew debate surrounding so-called "stand your ground" laws, which govern the use of deadly force in self-defense, legal experts told USA Today.

"The concern is that the 'stand your ground' language means we're back in Wild West days, where people can respond to confrontations with deadly force, even if deadly force is disproportionate to the threat, and that's not the law in any state," Christopher Slobogin, a law professor at Vanderbilt University and director of the schools Criminal Justice Program, told the paper.

The Missouri principle that governs the Ralph Yarl case is also known as the castle doctrine, a set of self-defense laws that include the "stand your ground" law, the Kansas City Stars Kynala Phillips explained:

The laws give people the right to defend themselves from people who they feel are threatening them. It protects people who feel threatened at their home, in their vehicle, on private property or any other location such person has the right to be, Phillips wrote. If a person believes there is a risk of death or serious physical injury, and they are legally allowed to be in the place they are, that person can use deadly force to defend themselves or others without breaking the law. They do not have a legal duty to retreat from an altercation, according to Missouri law.

But they do have to prove that they were acting in self-defense.

You cant just shoot people who come to your door, Missouri criminal defense attorney Kevin Jamison told the newspaper.

Reaction from the White House focuses on guns

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks during a briefing at the White House in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday. (Nathan Howard/Reuters)

President Biden spoke by phone to Ralph Yarl on Monday evening to wish him a swift recovery.

At her daily press briefing on Tuesday afternoon, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said that the shootings were part of the nations gun violence epidemic.

Let me just lay out, sadly, what we have seen these last couple of days, Jean-Pierre told reporters. Four young people killed at a Sweet 16 party in Dadeville, Ala.; two killed and four others injured on Saturday night in a crowded public park in Louisville; a bright young, loving 16-year-old kid Ralph Yarl shot in the head in Missouri after ringing the wrong doorbell; and we just learned a few hours ago, about 12 hours ago, about a young woman, 20-year-old woman in upstate New York who was killed for turning down the wrong driveway. And these are just some of the tragedies that actually have made the headlines.
Vladimir Putins visit to partially occupied Kherson in Ukraine has been mocked by a senior Ukrainian presidential aide, who called it a trip to enjoy the crimes of his minions.

Putins degradation is impressive. The world waited for his statement a year ago. Now they dont. Theres no such political actor. Theres only a special tour of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time, the adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said in a tweet.

Dressed in a heavy blue jacket, Mr Putin was shown on Russian state television descending from a military helicopter in south Kherson and greeting senior commanders. He attended a military command meeting in Kherson.

Kherson is partially occupied by Russian forces after they retreated from the captured city in October last year.

The Russian leader reportedly discussed the war with a general from Moscows airborne troops, who has reportedly taken up a powerful new role in the invasion.

Key Points

France and China working on secret plans to end Ukraine war

Kremlin accuses UK and US diplomats of 'meddling' in the case of the Putin critic jailed

Putin visits Kherson

Reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal arrest

G7 ministers stress unity amid tensions with China and Russia

Zelenskys aide mocks Putins visit: Special tour of mass murders

04:28 , Arpan Rai

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak took to Twitter and mocked Vladimir Putin's trip.

Putins degradation is impressive. The world waited for his statement a year ago. Now they dont. Theres no such political actor. Theres only a special tour of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.

The Russian presidnet had attended a military command meeting in Ukraines southern Kherson region and visited a national guard headquarters in eastern Luhansk.

Kherson is partially occupied by Russian forces.

He was briefed by the commanders of the airborne forces and the Dnieper army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south.

ICYMI: Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

07:00 , Emily Atkinson

Emmanuel Macron is said to be looking to make arrangements with China that could see talks held between Russia and Ukraine by the summer.

William Mata has more:

Macron working with China on secret plan for Ukraine war peace talks

British MoD warns of Russian disinformation: Narrative laundering'

06:59 , Arpan Rai

The British defence ministry has warned against the continuing disinformation campaign from Moscow as it said that the Russian state has systematically used information operations as a major element of its strategy after invading Ukraine.

It has cultivated multiple channels and proxies to spread disinformation: the intentional creation and sharing of false or manipulated information. One component of Russias disinformation is narrative laundering, whereby Russia promotes information from proxies, or unverified social media sources, which then permeates to more mainstream or state-run media, the MoD said in its latest intelligence update.

It added: This aims to cloud the source of the information, making it easier for the Russian state to distance itself from the message. It then promotes misleading fragments of the narrative, while masking its vested interest.

Russian state actors present manipulated narratives in both orchestrated and opportunistic ways. Their current priorities almost certainly include discrediting the Ukrainian government and reducing international support for Ukraine, the MoD said.

Ukraine shoots down 10 Shahed drones in Odesa overnight

06:19 , Arpan Rai

Ukraines air force has said it has shot down 10 out of 12 Iranian-made Shahed drones which targeted Odesa oblast overnight.

Two of the drones Russia launched in the region overnight hit a public infrastructure facility, the Odesa oblast military administration said.

Zelensky and top US House Republican McCarthy discuss Russia sanctions

06:12 , Arpan Rai

Volodymyr Zelensky has said he and US House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call Ukraines need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia.

On Twitter, Mr Zelensky said he thanked Mr McCarthy for bipartisan support in Congress for Ukraine as well as Ukraines defence needs. Outlined the situation at the front and Ukraines urgent defence needs in armoured vehicles, artillery, air defence and aircraft, Mr Zelenskys tweet said.

He said they also discussed enhancing sanctions pressure on Russia, including in oil and gas.

A spokesman for Mr McCarthy, the highest-ranking Republican in Washington, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

What we know about the arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

06:00 , Emily Atkinson

American journalist Evan Gershkovich, a 31-year-old reporter for The Wall Street Journal, has been arrested and detained in Russia on suspicion of espionage, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.

The son of Jewish immigrants from the Soviet Union who grew up speaking Russian at home in Princeton, New Jersey, Gershkovich graduated from the prestigious Bowdoin College in Maine before embarking on a career in the media, firstly at The New York Times, then The Moscow Times and then Agence France-Presse before joining WSJ, where he began covering Russian affairs just a month before the invasion of Ukraine last year.

Joe Sommerlad reports:

What we know about arrest of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich in Russia

Latest images from Ukrainian frontline in Bakhmut

05:00 , Emily Atkinson

(AFP via Getty Images)

(AFP via Getty Images)

Wagner controls 90% of Bakhmut, says Russia-backed leader

04:17 , Arpan Rai

A Russia-backed official has said that the Wagner Groups mercenary forces have captured almost 90 per cent of Bakhmut.

The Wagner private military company controls about 90% of Artyomovsk [Russian name for Bakhmut] and its advance is inevitable, said Yan Gagin, an advisor to the Donetsk Peoples Republics (DPR) leader, reported TASS news agency.

A week back, the Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin had said that Russian forces controlled more than 80 per cent of Bakhmut, including all administrative buildings.

He added that Ukrainian troops were booby-trapping and blowing up major infrastructure facilities before leaving the western outskirts of Bakhmut.

The Ukrainian armed forces are okay with using scorched earth tactics. This is what they did in Volnovakha and Mariupol, and now, they are blowing up and booby-trapping major infrastructure facilities in Artyomovsk before retreating from the western outskirts of the city. A local community centre was one of the buildings that they blew up recently, the Russia-installed leader told TASS news agency.

Russian hackers targeting Western critical infrastructure, warns UK

04:10 , Arpan Rai

British cyber defence agency has warned of an emerging threat to Western critical national infrastructure posed by hackers sympathetic to Russia and its war on Ukraine.

Russia-aligned hacktivists have carried out largely harmless online campaigns that have defaced prominent public websites or knocked them offline. However, some of those groups have been actively plotting ways to do more real-world damage, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of the GCHQ eavesdropping intelligence agency, said in an alert.

Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against Western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK, the NCSC said.

We expect these groups to look for opportunities to create such an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected, said the alert, which was released to the press at a two-day conference hosted by the NCSC and GCHQ in Belfast.

The alert added that while such groups are ideologically-motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are not subject to formal state control.

This makes them less predictable, it said.

A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

US Navy veteran under investigation in connection to Pentagon documents leak

04:00 , Emily Atkinson

The US government is investigating the role of a multi-platform social media persona known as the Donbass Devushka, and the role of a US Navy veteran in operating it, as it pursues the prosecution of a man for allegedly leaking sensitive military documents.

Donbass Devushka, which roughly translates to young Donbass woman, hosts generally pro-Russia content across a variety of platforms, including a now-private Twitter account, a prolific YouTube platform, and others.

John Bowden has more:

US Navy veteran under investigation in connection to Pentagon documents leak

Russian launches overnight drones on Odesa

03:48 , Arpan Rai

Russian forces have launched drones on southern Ukraines Odesa region overnight, sparking a fire at an infrastructure facility, the head of the military command of the Odesa region, Yuri Kruk, said today.

There are no immediate casualties reported from the site of attack and firefighters were working at the scene.

US urges Nato to watch for signs Russia could use nuclear weapon

03:00 , Emily Atkinson

Nato allies must remain alert for signs Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a managed escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest US diplomat has urged.

Deputy secretary of state Wendy Sherman issued the warning during the opening session of an annual Nato arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.

We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in a managed risk escalation, Sherman said. It is very critical to remain watchful of this.

(Sputnik)

Putinsannouncement that Russia is preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus is his effort to use this threat in a managed way, Sherman said.

Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.

Putin denies having any intention of employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where his forces for months have been bogged down in fierce fighting that has been costly for both sides.

Brazil is wrong to argue US encouraging Ukraine war, White House says

02:00 , Emily Atkinson

Brazil is wrong to argue that the United States is encouraging the Ukraine war and its tone is not one of neutrality, the White House said.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rejected comments from Brazils president, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who has accused the United States and the European Union of prolonging the conflict by supplying arms to the Ukrainians.

She said US officials were struck by the tone of Lulas comments and added, of course we want this war to end.

The tone was not neutral and it is not true and we will continue to speak out about that, she said.

Russian-installed Donetsk chief meets Belarus president

01:00 , Emily Atkinson

The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraines Donetsk region met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday and said he had discussed ways of boosting trade.

Denis Pushilin, writing on Telegram, said he was interested in quarry equipment, tractors and buses as well as building products and furniture.

In return, his region was ready to export grain to Belarus in addition to existing shipments of sunflower seeds.

The so-called Donetsk Peoples Republic is one of the four regions in Ukraine that Moscow proclaimed as its own last September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies called a sham, coercive referendum. (

Watch: Putin visits Russian troops in Ukraine's Kherson and Luhansk regions

Wednesday 19 April 2023 00:00 , Emily Atkinson

Former McDonalds restaurants in Belarus to be renamed

Tuesday 18 April 2023 22:30 , Emily Atkinson

Restaurants formerly operating under the McDonalds brand in Belarus will be renamed Mak.by, the local company has announced, retaining access to recipes and apparently branching out from the new brand in neighbouring Russia.

McDonalds restaurants in Belarus, all 25 of which had been operated by local licensee KSB Victory Restaurants, were originally set to be rebranded as Vkusno & tochka, the successor to McDonalds restaurants in Russia.

(REUTERS)

French spirits group suspends Absolut vodka exports to Russia

Tuesday 18 April 2023 21:30 , Emily Atkinson

French spirits group Pernod Ricard has said it is suspending exports entirely of its premium vodka Absolut to Russia, having previously reduced sales following Moscows invasion of Ukraine.

Last week, several media outlets reported that Absolut was supplying products in an amount that can support local employees and give local entities economic sustainability, citing a Pernod spokesperson.

The reports sparked criticism in Sweden, where the vodka is made.

Pernod said in a statement emailed to Reuters that as a result it has taken the decision to suspend Absolut supplies entirely due to a duty of care towards our employees and partners.

We cannot expose them to massive criticism in all forms. Therefore, The Absolut Company has decided to stop the export of its brand to Russia, it said.

Russia not planning Wikipedia block for now, minister says

Tuesday 18 April 2023 20:30 , Emily Atkinson

Russia is not yet planning to block Wikipedia, its minister of digital affairs said on Tuesday as a Moscow court handed the online encyclopedia another fine for failing to remove content Russia deems illegal.

Wikipedia is one of the few surviving independent sources of information in Russian since a state crackdown on online content intensified after Moscow sent its armed forces into Ukraine.

We are not blocking Wikipedia yet, there are no such plans for now, Interfax news agency quoted digital affairs minister Maksut Shadaev as saying.

(REUTERS)

On Tuesday, a Moscow court fined Wikipedia owner Wikimedia Foundation 800,000 roubles ($9,777) for what Russian agencies said was a failure to remove information considered to be promoting train hopping, where a person rides on the side or top of a train.

Wikimedia has previously said information that Russian authorities complained about was well sourced and in line with Wikipedia standards.

Brazil's Lula condemns invasion of Ukraine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 19:19 , Emily Atkinson

Brazilian president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has said his administration condemns the violation of Ukraines territorial integrity and again defended efforts to end the conflict.

Speaking after a lunch with the President of Romania, Klaus Werner Iohannis, Lula insisted that a group of nations needs to come together to help broker a peace deal between Russia and the Ukraine.

Russian court rejects US reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention appeal

Tuesday 18 April 2023 18:30 , Emily Atkinson

A Moscow judge has rejected an appeal from US journalist Evan Gershkovich to be freed from detention before his trial on espionage charges,

Russias FSB security service arrested Mr Gershkovich at the end of March on charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence. He is the first US journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War.

Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), denies all the charges, which have been widely condemned as politically motivated. He looked calm and smiled as he stood in a glass and metal case before the ruling, wearing a checked shirt, with his arms folded.

Guy Faulconbridge and Andrew Osborn report:

Russian court rejects US reporter Evan Gershkovichs detention appeal

Ukraine says Black Sea grain deal under threat

Tuesday 18 April 2023 17:45 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian first deputy prime minister Yulia Svyrydenko said on Tuesday that the Black Sea grain deal faced the threat of being halted.

It is under threat of being halted and Russia has again blocked the inspection of ships, Svyrydenko told a news conference in Warsaw.

It is extremely important for us to unblock transit, otherwise Ukraine will remain blocked. We cannot together with our partners give Russia the opportunity to take advantage of this situation, she said.

Poland says has reached agreement on transit of Ukrainian grain

Tuesday 18 April 2023 17:16 , Emily Atkinson

Poland has reached an agreement on restarting transit of Ukrainian grains through its territory as of Friday, Polish agriculture minister Robert Telus has said, adding transits would be monitored and sealed.

Polands development minister Waldemar Buda added a ban on imports of Ukrainian food products to Poland would remain in place.

Ukraines first deputy prime minister said on Tuesday she was confident that Ukrainian exporters would respect the terms of a grain transit deal agreed with Poland.

The official, Yulia Svyrydenko, told a joint news conference with her Polish counterparts in Warsaw that the Ukrainian government understood the concerns of Polish and Ukrainian farmers and were committed to resolving the issue.

US leak wont impact spring offensive, UK insists

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:37 , Emily Atkinson

An apparent leak of highly classified US military documents should not have any impact on Ukraines planned spring offensive against Russia, a minister has said.

Defence minister James Heappey told the Commons Ukraine will likely continue as planned with its move to repel Vladimir Putins forces.

A 21-year-old US guardsman, Jack Teixeira, was arrested and appeared in court last week in connection with the apparent leak.

(AFP via Getty Images)

Top secret documents which have emerged contain assessments of the war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other top US national security issues.

Responding to concerns about the impact of the information on Ukraines planned spring offensive, Mr Heappey said: I think the Ukrainians will proceed with their plan as it is and I have every confidence that they will be successful.

The international effort to resource their plan is extraordinary and the plan is coming together very well indeed.

Russian parliament votes to introduce life sentences for treason

Tuesday 18 April 2023 16:16 , Emily Atkinson

Russian lawmakers have voted to introduce life sentences for those convicted of treason, part of a concerted drive since Moscows invasion of Ukraine to step up punishment of dissenters and perceived traitors.

The lower house of parliament, the State Duma, also voted to increase maximum sentences for a range of terrorism and sabotage offences and introduced a new law that punishes those who help execute the legal decisions of international organisations that do not include Russia with up to five years in prison.

That move was a direct response to the International Criminal Court issuing an arrest warrant for President Vladimir Putin last month in connection with the deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The amendments - which need to be approved by Russias upper house, the Federation Council, before being signed into law by Putin - come as rights groups say Russian authorities are ramping up a campaign to quash the few voices of opposition that remain in the country. The previous maximum sentence for treason was 20 years.

Zelensky praises troops during visit to eastern Ukraine

Tuesday 18 April 2023 15:52 , Emily Atkinson

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky visited troops in the small eastern city of Avdiivka on Tuesday, thanked them for their service and was briefed by commanders on the battlefield situation, his office said.

Avdiivka has been one of the main targets of a Russian winter offensive which was intended to reinvigorate Moscows full-scale invasion, launched in February 2022, but has made only small territorial advances in the east.

(UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Video footage released by Zelenskys office showed him addressing troops in combat gear and handing them awards in what appeared to be a large industrial warehouse with sandbags packed against at least one of the high walls.

I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families, he said. I wish you only victory - this is what I wish for every Ukrainian, this is what is very important to all of us.

(UKRAINIAN PRESIDENTIAL PRESS SER)

Zelensky also visited a hospital where he met wounded soldiers and handed out awards.

Lavrov 'to talk Ukraine grain deal with UN chief next week

Tuesday 18 April 2023 15:24 , Emily Atkinson

Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov will discuss the Ukraine Black Sea export deal with UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres when they meet in New York next week, Russias envoy said on Tuesday.

Of course, he will be raising that during his bilateral, Russias UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told reporters.

France and China working on secret plans to end Ukraine war

Tuesday 18 April 2023 14:35 , Emily Atkinson

French president Emmanuel Macron is working on a set of secret plans with China which could bring an end to Vladimir Putins brutal invasion of Ukraine, reports suggest.

Mr Macron has reportedly deployed his foreign policy advisor Emmanuel Bonne to work in tandem with Chinas top diplomat Wang Yi to establish a framework that could bring Moscow and Kyiv to the negotiating table by this summer.

(POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Sources familiar with the French initiative told Bloomberg that future talks would depend on several conditions, including a successful Ukrainian spring offensive that would boost Kyivs position during negotiations.

Bloomberg claims that official from Mr Macrons office had confirmed the plan for Mr Bonne to speak with Mr Wang.

The Independent has contacted The Elysee Palace for comment.

Romania could follow countries by banning grain imports

Tuesday 18 April 2023 13:15 , William Mata

Romania looked set on Tuesday to follow three other countries in banning Ukrainian grain imports, a setback for Kyiv as it tries to unblock exports through eastern Europe and salvage a wartime deal on shipping grain from the Black Sea.

Failure to resume exports into eastern European countries or secure an extension of the Black Sea grain deal would trap large amounts of grain in Ukraine, hitting its exports and causing further economic problems for Kyiv as it battles Russian troops.

Talks between Kyiv and Warsaw went into a second day after European Union member states Poland, Hungary and Slovakia imposed import bans to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

But Romanias ruling Social Democratic Party increased pressure on Kyiv by saying it would ask the coalition government to approve an emergency decree enforcing a temporary ban on Ukrainian grain imports though it wants transit to continue.

Judge upholds detention of US journalist

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:58 , William Mata

A Russian judge on Tuesday upheld the detention of jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich, who was arrested on spying charges as part of a sweeping Kremlin crackdown on dissent amid the war in Ukraine.

Mr Gershkovich and the US government vehemently deny the allegations.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reporter is the first US correspondent since the Cold War to be detained in Russia on spying allegations and his arrest rattled journalists in the country and elicited outrage in the West.

Dozens of journalists crowded into the courtroom to catch a glimpse of Mr Gershkovich, who looked calm as he stood inside a glass cage to appeal his detention.

Russias federal security service detained the 31-year-old in Yekaterinburg in March and accused him of trying to obtain classified information about a Russian arms factory.

Gershkovich, his employer and the US government deny he was involved in spying and have demanded his 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, the WSJ has said in a statement.

Last week, the US officially declared that Mr Gershkovich was wrongfully detained.

He could face up to 20 years in prison if convicted.

Jailed American journalist Evan Gershkovich (Reuters)

Kremlin accuses UK and US diplomats of 'meddling' in the case of the Putin critic jailed

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:23 , William Mata

Russia has accused the ambassadors of Britain, the United States and Canada of interfering in its internal affairs after they condemned the treason conviction of a prominent opposition politician and it warned them they risk expulsion in future.

On Monday, a Moscow court jailed Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza - who holds Russia and British passports - for 25 years after convicting him of treason in a trial he and the West said was politically-motivated. It was the harshest sentence of its kind since Russia invaded Ukraine.

Kara-Murza, 41, for years successfully lobbied Western governments to impose sanctions on Russia and individual Russians for purported human rights violations.

He also condemned what Moscow calls its "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The ambassadors of Britain, the United States and Canada made a joint appearance in front of TV cameras on the steps of the Moscow court after his verdict to condemn the ruling and demand his release.

British ambassador Deborah Bronnert delivered her remarks in Russian so that Russian-language TV channels could potentially broadcast them.

Russia's Foreign Ministry said the diplomats' behaviour was unacceptable.

Vladimir Kara-Murza, Russian opposition activist (Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Ukraine seek to resume grain passage talks with Poland

Tuesday 18 April 2023 12:00 , William Mata

Ukraine will try to unblock exports of food and grain through Poland in a second day of talks in Warsaw on Tuesday after some of its staunchest allies in central Europe imposed bans on its products.

Poland, Hungary and Slovakia have recently banned imports of Ukrainian grains and produce to protect their markets from an influx of cheaper supply.

Ukraines exports via these countries have risen due to Russias invasion, which has blocked some of its Black Sea ports.

Bottlenecks caused by slowed rail shipments or a lack of railcars have exacerbated the problem, trapping large quantities of Ukrainian grain in Central Europe which has lowered prices and hurt sales by local farmers, turning up the heat on governments.

Ukraine will try and unblock the exports of food and grain through Poland (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Alexander Lukashenko meets with Donetsk leader

Tuesday 18 April 2023 11:30 , William Mata

Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko held a meeting with the Russian-installed head of Ukraines Donetsk region on Tuesday, the state-run Belta news agency reported.

It follows a meeting between Mr Lukashenko and Russian president Vladimir Putin earlier in the month (pictured below).

Belarus has been a key backer of Russia as many western nations have turned against the Kremlin after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia Belarus (Sputnik)

Who is Evan Gershkovich and what does Russia accuse him of?

Tuesday 18 April 2023 11:00 , William Mata

Who is Gershkovich?

Hired by the Wall Street Journal shortly before Moscows invasion of Ukraine last year, Gershkovich had been reporting on Russia for more than five years at the time of his arrest. The 31-year-old is a fluent Russian-speaker, the son of emigres who left the Soviet Union for the United States during the Cold War.

What were the circimstances of his arrest?

The FSB security service said on March 30 it had arrested him for trying to gather secrets about Russias military-industrial complex during a trip to Yekaterinburg, 1,400 km (880 miles) east of Moscow. His newspaper said it last heard from him the previous day when he arrived at a steakhouse in the city. He was brought back to the capital and charged with espionage, for which he faces up to 20 years in prison if convicted. He has denied the charge, which is also rejected by his newspaper.

What do the United States and Russia say about the case?

President Joe Biden has called Russias treatment of Gershkovich totally illegal. The United States last week officially designated him as wrongfully detained, effectively saying that the spy charges were bogus and the case was political. The Kremlin says Gershkovich was caught red-handed, but Russia has yet to publish any evidence to support that.

Where is he being held?

Gershkovich is in pre-trial detention at Moscows Lefortovo prison, where the FSB and its predecessor, the Soviet KGB, have traditionally held those suspected of spying or other grave crimes. U.S. ambassador Lynne Tracy was able to visit him there for the first time on Monday but gave few details, except that he was healthy and bearing up well. In a handwritten letter dated April 5 to his parents, Gershkovich said he was reading, writing, taking exercise and not losing hope.

What happens next?

Tuesdays hearing is essentially procedural - about how Gershkovich should be detained as he awaits trial, not about the substance of the charges. Investigators are still working on the details of the case, which could drag on for months or years if the example of fellow American Paul Whelan is anything to go by. Whelan, a former Marine, was arrested in December 2018, held for 18 months in Lefortovo and jailed for 16 years in June 2020 on spying charges. He too is designated by Washington as wrongfully detained.

Evan Gershkovich

Reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal arrest

Tuesday 18 April 2023 10:30 , William Mata

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich will appeal on Tuesday against his arrest and detention in a former KGB prison in Moscow on charges of espionage, according to court documents.

Russias Federal Security Service (FSB) said on March 30 it had detained Gershkovich in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg and had opened an espionage case against him for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military industrial complex.

Gershkovich, the first U.S. journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, and the Journal have denied he was involved in espionage, as has Washington.

According to a public Russian judicial document, a Russian court will hear on Tuesday a complaint filed by Gershkovich against the decision to keep him in custody in Lefortovo prison while the case is being investigated.

Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich

G7 ministers stress unity amid tensions with China and Russia

Tuesday 18 April 2023 10:00 , William Mata

The G7 drew together on Tuesday to criticise Chinas coercion of Taiwan and Russias threat to station nuclear weapons in Belarus, promising to intensify sanctions on Moscow for its war on neighbouring Ukraine.

The strength of the solidarity between the G7 foreign ministers is at a level not seen before, Japans foreign minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said at a news conference after hosting a meeting of the group in the Japanese resort town of Karuizawa.

The show of unity comes after French president Emmanuel Macron this month said the European Union should reduce its dependency on the United States and cautioned against being drawn into a Taiwan crisis.

Beijing views Taiwan as Chinese territory and has not renounced the use of force to take the democratically governed island.


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The Crackdown Cometh



Leaks for me, not for thee



By Matt Taibbi

April 19, 2023: Information Clearing House -- On a flight, reading about the FBIs arrest of Jack Texiera, already dubbed the Pentagon Leaker. A quick review reveals multiple media portraits already out depicting him as a dangerous incel who shared his wares on Discord, a social media app where racist memes and offensive jokes flourish. Writes the New York Times:

Dark humor about race or ideology can eventually shape the beliefs of impressionable young people, and innocuous memes can be co-opted into symbols of hatred, researchers say.

Well, clearly we cant have dark humor or innocuous memes! Gitmo cages for all!

The Washington Post went with charismatic gun enthusiast:

The New York Times summarized key points in the secret defense documents, which among other things suggested Ukrainian forces are in more dire straits than their government has acknowledged publicly. Reading whats out there, its not easy to parse whats a legitimate intelligence concern in reaction to these leaks and whats mere embarrassment at having been caught lying, to the public, to would-be U.S. allies the documents show weve been spying on, etc.

Youll read a lot in the coming days about the dangers of apps like Discord, or of online gaming groups, which counterintelligence officials told the Washington Post today are a magnet for spies. The Leaker tale will also surely be framed as reason to pass the RESTRICT Act, the wet dream of creepazoid Virginia Senator Mark Warner, which would give government wide latitude to crack down on communication technology creating undue or unacceptable risk to national security.

The intelligence community has itself been massively interfering in domestic news using illegal leaks for years. Remember the Why Did Obama Dawdle on Russias Hacking? story by David Ignatius of the Washington Post in January of 2017, outing would-be Trump National Security Advisor Michael Flynn as having been captured in intercepts speaking with a Russian ambassador? That was just the first in a string of leak- or intercept-based news stories that dominated news cycles in the Trump years, involving everything from conclusions of the FISA court to supposedly secret meetings in the Seychelles.

When civilians or whistleblowers like Edward Snowden, Julian Assange (in jail for an incredible four years now), Reality Winner and now the Discord Leaker bring leaked information to the public, the immediate threat is Espionage Act charges and decades of jail time. When a CIA head or a top FBI official does it, its just news. In fact, officials talk openly about using strategic leaks as a P.R. staple. In a world where media currency is becoming the ultimate power, these people want a monopoly. Its infuriating.

Watch how this thing will be spun. Its going to get ugly fast.

Matt Taibbi is an American author, journalist, and podcaster. He has reported on finance, media, politics, and sports. A former contributing editor for Rolling Stone, he is an author of several books, co-host of Useful Idiots, and publisher of the newsletter Racket News on Substack. https://www.racket.news/p/the-crackdown-cometh
YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Vahagn Khachaturyan met with members of Lithuanias Armenian community during his official visit to the country.

President Khachaturyan presented details on the regional realities in South Caucasus, the activities and role of the EU civilian monitoring mission in the Armenian-Azerbaijani border and the current domestic life in Armenia, the Presidents Office said in a readout.

The President also spoke about Armenias approaches and principles around the Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement, the ongoing reforms in Armenia and prospects of economic development. He then held a Q&A session with those in attendance.
Haifa, Israel, April 18, 2023  Israeli Defense technology company Elbit Systems Ltd. revealed that it has secured a contract valued at around $102 million to provide ATMOS 155mm truck-mounted artillery systems to an unnamed international customer. The contract is set to be executed over the course of eight years.

Follow Army Recognition on Google News at this link



Israeli ATMOS 2000 155mm wheeled self-propelled howitzer. (Picture source Elbit Systems)

As part of the agreement, Elbit Systems will deliver a battalion's worth of ATMOS (Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer) 155mm/52 caliber truck-mounted howitzers.



Another triumph unfolds for Israeli firm Elbit Systems as they previously announced, on March 2, 2023, their achievement of two contracts totaling $252 million. These contracts involve the supply of ATMOS artillery systems to Denmark, a European NATO member nation. This marks yet another milestone in the company's ongoing success.

Elbit Systems' ATMOS artillery systems have been successfully deployed by various armed forces around the world. The Azerbaijani Army operates six systems, while the Botswana Defence Force acquired five systems in 2018. The Cameroonian Army has 18 systems in service, and the Philippine Army utilizes 12 systems. In Thailand, the Royal Thai Army employs 24 M758 ATMG systems, and the Royal Thai Marine Corps is equipped with six ATMOS 2000 systems.

Furthermore, the Romanian Army has three ATROM variant prototypes, the Rwandan Defence Force possesses at least one ATMOS 2000 system, and the UPDF Land Forces of Uganda operate six systems. Lastly, the Zambian Army has also incorporated six systems into its artillery capabilities.



The ATMOS modular artillery system is a battle-tested, wheeled Howitzer solution capable of firing all NATO-certified 155mm projectiles. With a standard projectile range of over 40km, it can also achieve extended distances using Rocket-Assisted Projectiles (RAP). The system is designed for quick deployment and operation, ensuring versatile fire support for a variety of missions.

The Israeli ATMOS artillery system, developed by Elbit Systems, is a state-of-the-art, truck-mounted howitzer designed for rapid deployment and operation. The ATMOS (Autonomous Truck Mounted Howitzer System) is a modular, 155mm/52 caliber artillery piece capable of firing all NATO-certified 155mm projectiles. With an effective range of over 40km using standard projectiles, the system can achieve even greater distances when employing Rocket-Assisted Projectiles (RAP).

The ATMOS system's key strength lies in its flexibility, enabling swift deployment and support for a wide range of military missions. Its combat-proven performance has garnered global recognition, resulting in the adoption of the system by various armed forces around the world.
Standing together in solidarity against the perceived intimidation and coercive tactics of Modi govt is reassuring for all political parties

As hard as the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party may try and convince the masses that the more things seem to change, the more they remain the same, the inevitability of change and its effects on the political topography of India are undeniable.

There is the obvious separation of the Congress dynasty from the top job in the party and the appointment of a rather astute and rooted politician, Mallikarjun Kharge, as the party president, who contrary to sceptics, has a mind of his own. There is also the biggest financial scandal in India, which rocked the global markets, because this is an interconnected world, that has sparked speculation about how Gautam Adani and the Adani Group acquired astonishing amounts of money in an equally astonishingly brief period. And then, there is the Prime Ministers complete silence.

The political discourse in India today is neither led nor dominated by Prime Minister Modi or the BJP. Parties which are ideologically opposed to the BJP, namely the Congress and some powerful regional parties, are shaping a different narrative and leading an alternative discourse. The leading lights of the formalisation of a process of forging opposition unity, Mr Kharge and Janata Dal (United) leader Nitish Kumar, have described their recent New Delhi meeting as historic, but the process had been underway for several months.

The corrosive Jai Shri Ram politics of Hindutva is being edged off the centre-stage as the partners of the United Progressive Alliance and new friends like Nitish Kumar and K. Chandrashekhar Rao of the Bharat Rashtra Samithi find common cause in the social justice movement. The second national conference on social justice organised by M.K. Stalin of the DMK is an issue that unites all political parties, other than the BJP. Mr Kharges letter to Mr Modi demanding that the postponed Census of 2021 be immediately done and the numbers of the 2011 survey of caste status be immediately released all add up to a push to refresh a secular, inclusive and positive agenda as a priority issue that can well expand the political discourse into a demand for equality, rights and justice, and affirmative action to end all forms of discrimination.

By seizing the lead on putting social justice centre-stage in our politics, the parties ideologically opposed to the BJP have unveiled an agenda that has the potential to obliterate the ever-deepening divide between religious communities and transform the politics of identity into a challenge to the BJPs version that had till now dominated the discourse. By changing the terms on which identity politics can be discussed, the Congress and the anti-BJP Opposition has put Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the dock, for deferring the Census, dithering on the caste census and weakening the once powerful appeal by the BJP to the Hindu majority to mobilise.

While Mr Modi has been working hard to revive the BJPs core voter interest in the message that he is Mr Clean, in contrast to the gang of conniving and corrupt Opposition party leaders, starting with Rahul Gandhi and including Abhishek Banerjee of the Trinamul Congress, the Opposition has altered the terms on which the fight will go forward. How much of this change will be reflected in the May 10 Karnataka election is still uncertain, but it will have picked up sufficient momentum by the time the elections in Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Telangana come around at the end of the year.

Should Mr Modi engage with the Opposition on what lies at the heart of the Constitution, the idea of the Republic and secular politics, namely social justice, he will be mauled. If he now chooses to ignore what the Congress and the rest of the Opposition have laid on the table, he will be savaged. The question is whether Mr Modi reverse the tide and push the political discourse back into familiar channels, like rooting out corruption and cleaning up politics, missions that he has been pursuing since 2014. Can the BJP ignore social justice and discrimination issues by promoting divisive politics based on religious identity by stealthily asking the states to dig out fake Aadhaar cards, questioning the citizenship status of people living along the Bangladesh border?

The BJP could try and divert attention away from the social justice-discrimination agenda if it were confident that its popularity is baked iron hard into the body politic. If it is uncertain about the strength of its appeal, because in the two terms that Narendra Modi has been in power there has been an accumulation of grievances leading to discontent, then the advantage, for now, is with the Congress and the Opposition.

Political leaders accusing each other of being corrupt is an unedifying spectacle. Public scepticism about the incorruptibility of Indian politicians is unlikely to decline regardless of how loud and how long Mr Modi promises to clean up the system. Public doubts about the independence of investigations and the agencies that carry out these investigations are not going to abate because trust in the efficiency and independence of the administrative system is very low. Every incident, not necessarily as blatant a failure of the police in Prayagraj, as the killing of gangsters Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf while handcuffed and in police custody, merely confirms to the public that the rule of law is getting weaker with every passing week.

Standing together in solidarity against the perceived intimidation and coercive tactics of the Narendra Modi government is reassuring for all political parties. This sense of solidarity needs to be quickly transformed into a commitment to a common agenda of government of a potential Opposition alliance. Being anti-Modi or anti-BJP is not a winning proposition. The Opposition urgently needs to flesh out what it can offer to voters beyond a slogan: Modi Hatao, Desh Bachao.

To convince voters to make the Oppositions fight against Mr Modi and the BJP their own, with all its attendant risks and hidden costs, the ideologically opposed political parties, especially the Congress, have to connect with the electorate on issues that are immediate, intimate and crucial for voters as individuals. The rising costs of living, fewer opportunities for employment, worsening terms of employment are all urgent issues that affect the lives of every voter. The question is: can the Congress and the regional parties prevail on voters to listen to their solutions to their everyday problems, without getting distracted by the M factor in Indian politics?
By John & Nisha Whitehead

If freedom of speech is taken away, then dumb and silent we may be led, like sheep to the slaughter.George Washington

April 19, 2023: Information Clearing House -- What the police state wants is a silent, compliant, oblivious citizenry.

What the First Amendment affirms is an engaged citizenry that speaks truth to power using whatever peaceful means are available to us.

Speaking ones truth doesnt have to be the same for each person, and that truth doesnt have to be palatable or pleasant or even factual.

We can be loud.

We can be obnoxious.

We can be politically incorrect.

We can be conspiratorial or mean or offensive.

We can be all these things because the First Amendment takes a broad, classically liberal approach to the free speech rights of the citizenry: in a nutshell, the government may not encroach or limit the citizenrys right to freedom of religion, speech, press, assembly and protest.

This is why the First Amendment is so critical.

It gives the citizenry the right to speak freely, protest peacefully, expose government wrongdoing, and criticize the government without fear of retaliation, arrest or incarceration.

Nowhere in the First Amendment does it permit the government to limit speech in order to avoid causing offense, hurting someones feelings, safeguarding government secrets, protecting government officials, discouraging bullying, penalizing hateful ideas and actions, eliminating terrorism, combatting prejudice and intolerance, and the like.

When expressive activity crosses the line into violence, free speech protections end.

However, barring actual violence or true threats of violence, there is a vast difference between speech that is socially unpopular and speech that is illegal, and its an important distinction that depends on our commitment to safeguarding a robust First Amendment.

Increasingly, however, the courts and the government are doing away with that critical distinction, adopting the mindset that speech is only permissible if it does not offend, irritate, annoy, threaten someones peace of mind, or challenge the governments stranglehold on power.

Take the case of Counterman v. Colorado which is before the U.S. Supreme Court.

Under the pretext of clamping down on online stalking, Colorado wants the power to be able to treat expressive activities on social media as threats without having to prove that the messages are both reasonably understood as threatening an illegal act and intended by the speaker as a threat.

While protecting people from stalking is certainly a valid concern and may be warranted in this particular case, the law does not require speech to be a true threat in order to be criminally punished. The Supreme Court has defined a true threat as statements where the speaker means to communicate a serious expression of an intent to commit an act of unlawful violence to a particular individual or group of individuals.

Indeed, Colorados stalking law is so broad that a person can be charged with stalking for repeatedly contacting, surveilling or communicating with an individual in such a way that a reasonable person would feel serious emotional distress.

In the absence of any substantive guidelines on what constitutes a true threat on social media, such laws could empower the government to misinterpret any speakers intent and meaning in order to criminalize legitimate political speech that is critical of government officials and representatives.

Case in point: in Oklahoma, a street preacher who expressed his moral outrage over public drag queen performances that occur in front of children and churches that endorse same-sex marriage was given a five-year restraining order and threatened with arrest after citing Bible verses on social media about Gods judgment of sin.

The Rutherford Institute has taken on the case, warning that the ramifications of it going unchallenged could render anyone who quotes the Bible a criminal if it makes a listener feel unsafe or threatened or judged.

This is what it means to criminalize free speech: it turns those who exercise their free speech rights into criminals.

This criminalization of free speech, which is exactly what the governments prosecution of those who say the wrong thing using an electronic medium amounts to, was at the heart of Elonis v. United States, a case that wrestled with where the government can draw the line when it comes to expressive speech that is protected and permissible versus speech that could be interpreted as connoting a criminal intent.

The case arose after Anthony Elonis, an aspiring rap artist, used personal material from his life as source material and inspiration for rap lyrics which he then shared on Facebook.

For instance, shortly after Elonis wife left him and he was fired from his job, his lyrics included references to killing his ex-wife, shooting a classroom of kindergarten children, and blowing up an FBI agent who had opened an investigation into his postings.

Despite the fact that Elonis routinely accompanied his Facebook posts with disclaimers that his lyrics were fictitious, and that he was using such writings as an outlet for his frustrations, he was charged with making unlawful threats (although it was never proven that he intended to threaten anyone) and sentenced to 44 months in jail.

The question the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to decide in Elonis was whether his activity, in the absence of any overt intention of committing a crime, rose to the level of a true threat or whether it was protected First Amendment activity.

In an 8-1 decision that concerned itself more with criminal-law principles concerning intent rather than the First Amendments protection of free speech, the Court ruled that prosecutors had not proven that Elonis intended to harm anyone beyond the words he used and context.

That was back in 2015.

Despite the Supreme Courts ruling in Elonis, Corporate America has taken the lead in policing expressive activity online, with social media giants such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube using their formidable dominance in the field to censor, penalize and regulate speech and behavior online by suspending and/or banning users whose content violated the companies so-called community standards for obscenity, violence, hate speech, discrimination, conspiracy theories, etc.

The fallout is as one would expect.

The internet has become a forum for the governmentand its corporate partnersto monitor, control and punish the populace for speech that may be controversial but is far from criminal.

Everything is now fair game for censorship if it can be construed as hateful, hurtful, bigoted or offensive provided that it runs counter to the established viewpoint.

In this way, the most controversial issues of our dayrace, religion, sex, sexuality, politics, science, health, government corruption, police brutality, etc.have become battlegrounds for those who claim to believe in freedom (of religion, speech, assembly, press, redress, privacy, bodily integrity, etc.) but only when it favors the views and positions they support.

In more and more cases, the government is declaring war on what should be protected political speech whenever it challenges the governments power, reveals the governments corruption, exposes the governments lies, and encourages the citizenry to push back against the governments many injustices.

Indeed, there is a long and growing list of the kinds of speech that the government considers dangerous enough to red flag and subject to censorship, surveillance, investigation and prosecution: hate speech, conspiratorial speech, treasonous speech, threatening speech, inflammatory speech, radical speech, anti-government speech, extremist speech, etc.

In recent years, the government has used the phrase domestic terrorist interchangeably with anti-government, extremist and terrorist to describe anyone who might fall somewhere on a very broad spectrum of viewpoints that could be considered dangerous.

As I make clear in my book Battlefield America: The War on the American People and in its fictional counterpart The Erik Blair Diaries, the ramifications are so far-reaching as to render almost every American an extremist in word, deed, thought or by association.

You see, the government doesnt care if you or someone you know has a legitimate grievance. It doesnt care if your criticisms are well-founded. And it certainly doesnt care if you have a First Amendment right to speak truth to power.

It just wants you to shut up.

Yet no matter what ones political persuasion might be, the right to disagree with and speak out against the government is the quintessential freedom. When exercised regularly and defended vigorously, these First Amendment rights serve as a bulwark against tyranny.
It is the longest waterway in Afghanistan, from the capital to the marshy areas across the border in south-eastern Iran. A 1973 treaty regulates the sharing of resources, but the Kamal Khan dam has revived the dispute. In recent days, a meeting at the level of foreign ministers took place in Uzbekistan.

Tehran (AsiaNews) - Between Tehran and the Taliban in Kabul there is a renewed clash for control of the water resources linked to the Helmand river, the longest in Afghanistan and the main tributary of the Sistan basin. A strategic course in a region thirsty for water and among the most affected by climate change, which for a good part of its length is not salty and can therefore be exploited for agriculture.

The river along which numerous dams stand, experts point out, is of fundamental importance not only for the Afghan populations, but for the Iranians themselves in Sistan and Baluchistan, in the south-east of the country.

In recent days, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said he had discussed the issue with his Taliban counterpart Amir Khan Muttaqi during a summit in Uzbekistan. The Tehran diplomatic chief added in a message on social media that he had 'emphasised in detail' the issue of territorial and exploitation claims. The other side, he concluded, pledged to respect the Islamic Republic's 'rights' over the waters and the parties 'agreed to act immediately' on the proposal.

The two senior officials met last week in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, to discuss the situation in Afghanistan and the cooperation between Tehran and the Taliban leadership that controls the country. The two neighbours are mired in a long-running dispute over shared water resources, with the Iranians accusing Kabul of restricting the flow of water from the Helmand River by building more dams along its course.

The river rises from the Hindu Kush mountains near Kabul and then flows south along a 1,127 km route to the wetlands and marshlands of Hamoun in the Iranian provinces of Sistan and Baluchistan. According to a 1973 water-sharing agreement, Afghanistan is obliged to drain an average of at least 820 million cubic metres of water per year to Iran.

Last July, Amir-Abdollahian warned his Afghan counterpart that the unresolved dispute over the exploitation of water resources could affect cooperation between the two countries because it was an 'important indicator' of the Taliban government's commitments.

This warning came just a short distance from President Ebrahim Raisi's exhortation to the Foreign and Agriculture Ministries, in which he called for the "rigorous pursuit" of what he called "water rights" between Iran and Afghanistan.

Tehran shared close relations with the Taliban before their return to power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Since then, relations have been undermined by frequent border skirmishes and the persistent dispute over water resources.

According to the latest available data, provided by the previous government in Kabul and published by the Ministry of Water and Energy, Afghanistan uses only 20 per cent of its water resources, with the remaining surface water going to neighbouring nations, including Iran and Pakistan.

In March 2021, Afghanistan inaugurated the controversial Kamal Khan dam, one of the main points of contention with Tehran over the control and exploitation of the Helmand river and, according to the Iranian side, in blatant violation of the 1973 treaty.

For Kabul, however, it represents a solution to the region's many infrastructural and agricultural challenges, as well as providing farmers in Nimruz province with a steady flow of water and electricity. The river is considered a trans-boundary course and the two neighbours are legally bound to share it according to the principle of fair and reasonable use.
The offices of the main opposition party have been attacked. Its candidate is challenging Erdogan for the presidency. Shots have been fired and posters vandalised. The government is accused of creating a climate of fear and intimidation. According to the latest polls, no one is likely to win in the first round. Erdogan and Klcdaroglu are expected to be in the run-off.

Istanbul (AsiaNews)  Turkeys opposition parties are increasingly are under attack less than a month from the countrys crucial presidential and parliamentary elections, which are expected to decide the future of the country and that of beleaguered President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The latest case involves the campaign office of the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the Ornek neighbourhood in Atasehir, Istanbul, CHP's de facto Istanbul provincial chair, Canan Kaftancoglu, tweeted. Shots were also fired outside the CHP provincial office in the city earlier this month.

In light of events, the CHP has accused the government of creating a climate of fear and intimidation that encourages violence.

Kemal Klcdaroglu is the CHP's and the opposition Nation Alliance's presidential candidate. As part of the campaign of intimidation, posters of him have been defaced with the initials of President Erdogan.

In her tweet, chairwoman Kaftancoglu blames the government for the climate of fear that is fuelling the attacks and calls on the authorities to punish the culprits.

The police opened an investigation in connection with the latest incident. Six suspects who cut party flags and vandalised the CHP office windows were identified. Two other people on a motorcycle, not yet identified, reportedly fired blank shots into the air.

In late March, shots were fired at the Good (IYI) Party's Istanbul provincial office. In early April, a man was arrested for firing shots outside the CHP's Istanbul provincial office.

Meanwhile, according to the latest polls, a presidential run-off seems increasingly likely, because none of the candidates scores above 50 per cent. Divisions within the opposition, the Nation Alliance, also known as the Table of Six, have hindered their joint candidate.

A survey of 1,067 people by the Aksoy polling company between 1 and 8 April showed Klcdaroglu with 47.8 per cent of support against Erdogans 38.4 per cent, with Muharrem Ince, who ran for president as the CHP candidate in the 2018 election, at 9 per cent, while far-right candidate Sinan Ogan got 4.8 per cent.

The MAK company polled 5,750 people between 10 and 16 April in 52 provinces, showing Klcdaroglu at 47.8 per cent, Erdogan at 43.7 per cent, Muharrem Ince at 3.4 per cent, and Sinan Ogan at 4 per cent.

If no candidate gets more than 50 per cent, a run-off will be held two weeks after the first round.
by Shafique Khokhar

A mob of about 40 people attacked a church during Sunday service, scaring the worshippers present. Less than an hour earlier, three young men had harassed and beaten the children of the local pastor. We will not stop our prayer meetings, said a Church spokesman.

Islamabad (AsiaNews)  On Sunday, a mob of about 40 Muslims stormed the Voice of Jesus Church in Khokhar Town (Islamabad) harassing and scaring worshippers taking part in Holy Mass.

The incident began outside the church when three young Muslim men began pestering Sharjeel, 20, and his sister, 19, whose father, Rev Younas Javed, heads the Voice of Jesus Protestant church.

Sharjeel asked the three Muslims to stop bothering his sister, but they began to abuse him before leaving.

After about half an hour, as the religious service got underway, a mob of 40 to 45 people stormed the church with iron rods, sticks and loaded guns, firing into the air to scare the faithful. Amid the general chaos, some were people hit and the church building was desecrated.

The attack ended only with the arrival of the police. Rev Younas immediately filed a complaint against the three young men who had harassed his children and the 40 or more unknown persons who had stormed his church

Tariq Ghouri, human rights activist and coordinator of the diocesan office of the National Commission of Justice and Peace in Rawalpindi, was with the pastor when he filed the complaint.

I must express my appreciation for the Islamabad police, who registered the complaint against the culprits under bailable sections of the Pakistan Penal Code, including the sections on terrorism. The perpetrators will not be able to obtain bail," the activist explained.

"Incidents of violence against religious minorities are increasing day by day, which is harming Pakistan's image internationally. The state seems to be indifferent and does nothing to deal with these incidents. Thus, incidents will increase in the future., he added.

"The state should do its best to ensure the safety of religious minorities and should stand with these peaceful communities who are doing their best for the countrys progress.

Speaking to AsiaNews, Rev Rameez Munir, spokesman for the Voice of Jesus Church, said: "We call upon the government to provide security to our churches and issue weapons licenses to our guards.

"We practise our rituals peacefully, but these people who promote violence do not obey the law of the country and harass us because we have a different faith. In the city, these Muslims are known for their bad actions, he explained.

"I am looking into the matter and have been in contact with the local police, who have arrested five people so far.

However, "Some of the culprits are still at large, but police have assured us that they will catch them soon. We want justice and we will not stop our prayer meetings just because of these hatemongers."
Its five answers to five questions. Here we go

1. Telling recruiters I wouldnt move to a state that discriminates

Im currently job searching, trying to relocate from a mid-sized city in a purple state to somewhere like Chicago or DC, and one of the major reasons is because of the worsening political climate here (for context, Im a gay person of color in a pretty conservative field). Lately, Ive been receiving messages on LinkedIn from recruiters for large, national firms regarding positions in places like Miami or Dallas. Is there a professional way to say Im definitely not interested in those cities due to the increased hostility and discrimination in those states, but that Im open to opportunities in other cities in blue states? I dont want to come across as very political (at work, I scrupulously avoid political talk) or burn any bridges at these companies since I would be interested in offers in the right place. I also think companies ought to know that these policies will hurt their business, even though I know saying anything wont do anything to make things better.

Would you be comfortable saying, As a gay person of color, that state isnt safe for me to move to, but Id be interested in similar opportunities in states with a different political climate? Or just, Floridas not on the table for me because of whats happening there legislatively (or because its stripping away so many protections for residents), but Id be interested in opportunities in states without those issues?

The first version has the benefit of personalizing the impact, while the second version has the benefit of suggesting this is an issue that concerns candidates regardless of whether theyre in the groups being targeted. I think either one conveys what you want to convey in a calm, straightforward way.

2. AirTag etiquette at work

I have a terrible habit of losing my car keys, which has been made worse by a toddler thats fascinated with finding/hiding them. So my spouse bought me an AirTag and keychain holder for it. This has worked great because my phone now tracks the keys and it even beeps to help me find them. However Im less likely to be the only one in my office section now and with a range of 33 feet, Im concerned someone in another cube or a training is going to see the safety message that pops up if youre around an AirTag not registered to you. Its designed to pop up as a safety feature in case someone is using one to track you  and I know that statistically in a place this large someone is likely to have cause to be concerned about stalking. Do I need to do an all-staff email that I have this? Mention it before I give a on site training to a new group? Am I overthinking it? I dont want to stress anyone out but Im not sure where tracker at work etiquette is since these became popular just in the last few years.

As long as the owner (you) is still near the AirTag, that message shouldnt pop up for anyone else. Its designed to pop up when the owner isnt around but the AirTag is still there.

So it could be an issue if you leave your keys at your desk while youre somewhere else for a very extended period of time (I cant tell the exact period of time from Apples documentation, but it appears to be longer than an hour; it used to be 8-24 hours and they announced last year that they were shortening it; I cant find what they shortened it to) but otherwise it should be a non-issue.

3. Can you be fired for breaking a policy that everyone breaks?

Heres something I was thinking about in regards to my last job. There were rules clearly stated in the employee handbook and contract as policy, such as not drinking on the job or doing extra work outside of the organization, that didnt really ring true to the actual day to day operation of the company and the office. We werent Mad Men drinking, but one of my jobs in that place was to go out and buy drinks for people to enjoy in the last hours of the day on Fridays, while they were still technically on the clock. Also, we were in a creative industry, and a lot of people were working on passion projects or freelance work in their own time. The scale of those projects wouldnt be comparable to that of the companys  but went against the letter of the policy. Would it be possible for a company to use this as a gotcha and discipline you for breaching the policy, despite it being part of the culture? Possibly to get someone out of the company for one reason or another? Might be paranoid thinking  it didnt happen  but was curious about the practicalities. This is UK, by the way.

I cant speak to the UK at all, but in the U.S., they would run into legal problems if they used that as a pretext for firing or disciplining you when the real reason was something illegal (like if the real reason they fired you was because you were pregnant). In the U.S. firing or disciplining someone for a made-up reason isnt illegal in itself  they can claim whatever BS reason they want, as long as the real reason isnt something that is specifically against the law (like discrimination).

So if they fired you because you were pregnant (which is illegal) but claimed it was because you violated their drinking policy, you and your lawyer would be able to show that was BS, since they let other people drink on the job without penalty (and in fact actively encouraged it), which then opens the door to arguing that the real reason was pregnancy discrimination. On the other hand, if they werent using it to cover up something illegal  if they just fired you because a client didnt like you, for example, and cited the policy as their cover story  that wouldnt violate the law (although it would probably make it easier for you to collect unemployment benefits, which is a whole different thing).

Basically, employers can lie, but if the lie is in service of an illegal act (like to cover up discrimination), the illegal act is what would break the law, not the lie itself. The lie might make the illegal act easier to prove (everyone did X and only I got fired for it).

4. I dont know how to respond to my companys automated endorsement requests

My organization has an automated endorsement system. If someone who applies for a job notes in their application that they know you, you get the option to indicate whether you endorse them  yes or no  and nothing else. Responses are confidential. I encountered this for the first time this week when I got one for someone I went to college with over a decade ago. Were not in touch but we have a lot of friends in common and each others contact info, so I was surprised he put down my name but didnt reach out to me directly. This person is well qualified for the job hes applied to, but when I knew him he had a somewhat challenging personality. As such, Im inclined not to respond and stick out my neck, but I think, if he had reached out, I would have endorsed him. Whats your read on this system as a whole? Are you as put off by the straight thumbs-up / thumbs-down option as I am?

Im put off by it too. References should be nuanced, not a yes/no situation. Sometimes they can be an obvious yes or an obvious no, but more often than not it should depend on the details of the specific job the person is applying for, what skills are most important, and what weaknesses are unimportant  which are all things you might not have any insight into when your company asks you to render a quick verdict. I can think of people Ive worked with who were amazing at job X but who I absolutely wouldnt recommend for job Y (for example, someone whos great at building relationships and fundraising but would struggle with a job that required high degrees of organization and attention to detail).

It seems like what theyre really asking is, Do you want to give us a red light on this person for any reason?  which will get at really big problems (difficult to work with, embezzled money, pooped in peoples lunch bags) but doesnt allow for more nuanced input on fit.

5. Weekends during business travel

I have an amazing opportunity to travel to Japan for work. My question is about travel reimbursement norms. I will be there for three weeks. My business will mostly be conducted on weekdays  Monday through Friday. If I do not have business (dinners, meetings, etc.), is it the norm to have a weekend off? If I take a weekend off, do I still put in for lodging and per diem for those days?

Yep, unless youre told otherwise, assume youll have weekends off. Its definitely the norm to be reimbursed for lodging on the weekends, and usually food as well. (Its different if you were choosing to extend the trip through the weekend for vacation when your company otherwise would have had you fly back earlier  in that case youd typically cover your own expenses  but assuming youre expected to resume work there on Monday, these are all still business expenses because you need to remain there for work.)
I'm fine, as I'm very fortunate to own my home

I own, but I'm feeling the pinch on my mortgage with other inflation costs

I rent and it's expensive, but it could be worse

I'm seriously considering leaving the valley if something doesn't give

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San Angelo, TX (76909)

Today

Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy this afternoon. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 89F. Winds SW at 10 to 20 mph..

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Partly cloudy. Low 52F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.
Bombshell filing: 9/11 hijackers were CIA recruits By Kit Klarenberg

April 19, 2023: Information Clearing House -- " GrayZone " -- At least two 9/11 hijackers had been recruited into a joint CIA-Saudi intelligence operation that was covered up at the highest level, according to an explosive new court filing.

A newly-released court filing raises grave questions about the relationship between Alec Station, a CIA unit set up to track Al Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden and his associates, and two 9/11 hijackers leading up to the attacks, which was subject to a coverup at the highest levels of the FBI.

Obtained by SpyTalk, the filing is a 21-page declaration by Don Canestraro, a lead investigator for the Office of Military Commissions, the legal body overseeing the cases of 9/11 defendants. It summarizes classified government discovery disclosures, and private interviews he conducted with anonymous high-ranking CIA and FBI officials. Many agents who spoke to Canestraro headed up Operation Encore, the Bureaus aborted, long-running probe into Saudi government connections to the 9/11 attack.

Despite conducting multiple lengthy interviews with a range of witnesses, producing hundreds of pages of evidence, formally investigating several Saudi officials, and launching a grand jury to probe a Riyadh-run US-based support network for the hijackers, Encore was abruptly terminated in 2016. This was purportedly due to a byzantine intra-FBI bust-up over investigative methods.

When originally released in 2021 on the Offices public court docket, every part of the document was redacted except an unclassified marking. Given its explosive contents, it is not difficult to see why: as Canestraros investigation concluded, at least two 9/11 hijackers had been recruited either knowingly or unknowingly into a joint CIA-Saudi intelligence operation which may have gone awry.

A 50/50 chance of Saudi involvement

In 1996, Alec Station was created under the watch of the CIA. The initiative was supposed to comprise a joint investigative effort with the FBI. However, FBI operatives assigned to the unit soon found they were prohibited from passing any information to the Bureaus head office without the CIAs authorization, and faced harsh penalties for doing so. Efforts to share information with the FBIs equivalent unit  the I-49 squad based in New York  were repeatedly blocked.

In late 1999, with the system blinking red about an imminent large-scale Al Qaeda terror attack inside the US, the CIA and NSA were closely monitoring an operational cadre within an Al Qaeda cell that included the Saudi nationals Nawaf al-Hazmi and Khalid al-Mihdhar. The pair would purportedly go on to hijack American Airlines Flight 77, which crashed into the Pentagon on 9/11.

Al-Hazmi and al-Midhar had attended an Al Qaeda summit that took place between January 5th and 8th 2000, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The meeting was secretly photographed and videotaped by local authorities at Alec Stations request although, apparently, no audio was captured. En route, Mihdhar transited through Dubai, where CIA operatives broke into his hotel room and photocopied his passport. It showed that he possessed a multi-entry visa to the US.

A contemporaneous internal CIA cable stated this information was immediately passed to the FBI for further investigation. In reality, Alec Station not only failed to inform the Bureau of Mihdhars US visa, but also expressly forbade two FBI agents assigned to the unit from doing so.

[I said] weve got to tell the Bureau about this. These guys clearly are badweve got to tell the FBI. And then [the CIA] said to me, no, its not the FBIs case, not the FBIs jurisdiction, Mark Rossini, one of the FBI agents in question, has alleged. If we had picked up the phone and called the Bureau, I wouldve been violating the law. Iwouldve been removed from the building that day. I wouldve had my clearances suspended, and I would be gone.

On January 15th, Hazmi and Mihdhar entered the US through Los Angeles International Airport, just weeks after the foiled Millennium plot. Omar al-Bayoumi, a Saudi government ghost employee immediately met them at an airport restaurant. After a brief conversation, Bayoumi helped them find an apartment near his own in San Diego, co-signed their lease, set them up bank accounts, and gifted $1,500 towards their rent. The three would have multiple contacts moving forward.

In interviews with Operation Encore investigators years later, Bayoumi alleged his run-in with the two would-be hijackers was mere happenstance. His extraordinary practical and financial support was, he claimed, simply charitable, motivated by sympathy for the pair, who could barely speak English and were unfamiliar with Western culture.

The Bureau disagreed, concluding Bayoumi was a Saudi spy, who handled a number of Al Qaeda operatives in the US. They also considered there to be a 50/50 chance he  and by extension Riyadh  had detailed advance knowledge of the 9/11 attacks.

That remarkable finding wasnt known publicly until two decades later, when a tranche of Operation Encore documents were declassified upon the Biden administrations orders, and it was completely ignored by the mainstream media. Don Canestraros declaration now reveals FBI investigators went even further in their assessments.

A Bureau special agent, dubbed CS-3 in the document, stated Bayoumis contact with the hijackers and support thereafter was done at the behest of the CIA through the Saudi intelligence service. Alec Stations explicit purpose was to recruit Al-Hazmi and Al-Mihdhar via a liaison relationship, with the assistance of Riyadhs General Intelligence Directorate.

A most unusual CIA unit

Alec Stations formal remit was to track bin Laden, collect intelligence on him, run operations against him, disrupt his finances, and warn policymakers about his activities and intentions. These activities would naturally entail enlisting informants within Al Qaeda.

Nonetheless, as several high level sources told Canestraro, it was extremely unusual for such an entity to be involved in gathering intelligence and recruiting assets. The US-based unit was run by CIA analysts, who do not typically manage human assets. Legally, that work is the exclusive preserve of case officers trained in covert operations and based overseas.

CS-10, a CIA case officer within Alec Station, concurred with the proposition that Hazmi and Mihdhar enjoyed a relationship with the CIA through Bayoumi, and was baffled that the unit was tasked with attempting to penetrate Al Qaeda in the first place. They felt it would be nearly impossibleto develop informants inside the group, given the virtual station was based in a Langley basement, several thousand miles from the countries where Al Qaeda was suspected of operating.

CS-10 further testified that they observed other unusual activities at Alec Station. Analysts within the unit would direct operations to case officers in the field by sending the officers cables instructing them to do a specific tasking, which was a violation of CIA procedures. Analysts normally lacked the authority to direct a case officer to do anything.

CS-11, a CIA operations specialist posted to Alec Station sometime prior to the 9/11 attacks said they likewise observed activity that appeared to be outside normal CIA procedures. Analysts within the unit mostly stuck to themselves and did not interact frequently with others. When communicating with one another through internal cables, they also used operational pseudonyms, which CS-11 described as peculiar, as they were not working undercover, and their employment with the CIA was not classified information.

The units unusual operational culture may explain some of the stranger decisions made during this period vis a vis Al Qaeda informants. In early 1998, while on a CIA mission to penetrate Londons Islamist scene, a joint FBI-CIA informant named Aukai Collins received a stunning offer: bin Laden himself wanted him to go to Afghanistan so they could meet.

Collins relayed the request to his superiors. While the FBI was in favor of infiltrating Al Qaedas base, his CIA handler nixed the idea, saying, there was no way the US would approve an American operative going undercover into Bin Ladens camps.

Similarly, in June 2001, CIA and FBI analysts from Alec Station met with senior Bureau officials, including representatives of its own Al Qaeda unit. The CIA shared three photos of individuals who attended the Kuala Lumpur meeting 18 months earlier, including Hazmi and Mihdhar. However, as an FBI counter-terror officer codenamed CS-15 recalled, the dates of the photos and key details about the figures they depicted were not revealed. Instead, the analysts simply asked if the FBI knew the identities of the individuals in the photos.

Another FBI official present, CS-12, offers an even more damning account. The Alec Station analysts not only failed to offer biographical information, but falsely implied one of the individuals might be Fahd Al-Quso, a suspect in the bombing of the USS Cole. Whats more, they outright refused to answer any questions related to the photographs. Nonetheless, it was confirmed that no system was in place to alert the FBI if any of the three entered the US  a standard investigative technique for terror suspects.

Given Hazmi and Mihdhar appeared to be simultaneously working for Alec Station in some capacity, the June 2001 meeting may well have been a dangle. No intelligence value could be extracted from inquiring whether the Bureau knew who their assets were, apart from ascertaining if the FBIs counter-terror team was aware of their identities, physical appearances, and presence in the US.

Quite some coverup

Another of Canestraros sources, a former FBI agent who went by CS-23, testified that after 9/11, FBI headquarters and its San Diego field office quickly learned of Bayoumis affiliation with Saudi intelligence and subsequently the existence of the CIAs operation to recruit Hazmi and Mihdhar.

However, senior FBI officials suppressed investigations into these matters. CS-23 alleged, furthermore, that Bureau agents testifying before the Joint Inquiry into 9/11 were instructed not to reveal the full extent of Saudi involvement with Al-Qaeda.

The US intelligence community would have had every reason to shield Riyadh from scrutiny and consequences for its role in the 9/11 attacks, as it was then one of its closest allies. But the FBIs eager complicity in Alec Stations coverup may have been motivated by self-interest, as one of its own was intimately involved in the units effort to recruit Hazmi and Mihdhar, and conceal their presence in the US from relevant authorities.

CS-12, who attended the June 2001 meeting with Alec Station, told Canestraro that they continued to press FBI Headquarters for further information regarding the subjects in the photographs over that summer. On August 23rd, they stumbled upon an electronic communication from FBI headquarters, which identified Hazmi and Mihdhar, and noted they were in the US.

CS-12 then contacted the FBI analyst within Alec Station who authored the communication. The conversation quickly became heated, with the analyst ordering them to delete the memo immediately as they were not authorized to view it. While unnamed in the declaration, the FBI analyst in question was Dina Corsi.

The next day, on a conference call between CS-12, Corsi, and the FBIs bin Laden unit chief, officials at FBI headquarters explicitly told CS-12 to stand down and cease looking for Mihdhar, as the Bureau intended to open an intelligence gathering investigation on him. The next day, CS-12 emailed Corsi, stating bluntly someone is going to die unless Mihdhar was pursued criminally.

It was surely no coincidence that two days later, on August 26th, Alec Station finally informed the FBI that Hazmi and Mihdhar were in the US. By then, the pair had entered the final phase of preparations for the impending attacks. If a criminal probe had been opened, they could have been stopped in their tracks. Instead, as foreshadowed by the officials in contact with CS-12, an intelligence investigation was launched which hindered any search efforts.

In the days immediately after the 9/11 attacks, CS-12 and other New York-based FBI agents participated in another conference call with Bureau headquarters. During the conversation, they learned Hazmi and Mihdhar were named on Flight 77s manifest. One analyst on the line ran the pairs names through commercial databases, quickly finding them and their home address listed in San Diegos local phone directory. It turned out they had been living with an FBI informant.

CS-12 soon contacted Corsi regarding information on the hijackers. She responded by providing a photograph from the same surveillance operation that produced the three pictures presented at the June 2001 meeting between Alec Station and FBI agents; they depicted Walid bin Attash, a lead suspect in Al Qaedas 1998 East Africa US Embassy bombings and its attack on the USS Cole.

Corsi was unable to explain why the photo was not shown to FBI agents earlier. If it had been, CS-12 claims they would have immediately linked Hazmi and Mihdhar to bin Attash, which would have shifted from an intelligence based investigation into a criminal investigation. The FBIs New York field office could have then devoted its full resources to finding the hijackers before the fateful day of September 11, 2001.

Alec Station operatives fail upwards

Alec Stations tireless efforts to protect its Al Qaeda assets raises the obvious question of whether Hazmi and Mihdhar, and possibly other hijackers, were in effect working for the CIA on the day of 9/11.

The real motives behind the CIAs stonewalling may never be known. But it appears abundantly clear that Alec Station did not want the FBI to know about or interfere in its secret intelligence operation. If the units recruitment of Hazmi and Mihdhar was purely dedicated to information gathering, rather than operational direction, it is incomprehensible that the FBI had not been apprised of it, and was instead actively misdirected.

Several FBI sources consulted by Canestraro speculated that the CIAs desperation to penetrate Al Qaeda prompted it to grant Alec Station the power to recruit assets, and pressured it to do so. But if this were truly the case, then why did Langley refuse the opportunity to send Aukai Collins  a proven deep cover asset who had infiltrated several Islamist gangs  to penetrate bin Ladens network in Afghanistan?

One alternative explanation is that Alec Station, a powerful rogue CIA team answerable and accountable to no one, sought to infiltrate the terror group for its own sinister purposes, without the authorization and oversight usually required by Langley in such circumstances. Given that Collins was a joint asset shared with the FBI, he could not be trusted to participate in such a sensitive black operation.

No member of Alec Station has been punished in any way for the supposed intelligence failures that allowed 9/11 to go ahead. In fact, they have been rewarded. Richard Blee, the units chief at the time of the attacks, and his successor Alfreda Frances Bikowsky, both joined the CIAs operations division, and became highly influential figures in the so-called war on terror. Corsi, for her part, was promoted at the FBI, eventually rising to the rank of Deputy Assistant Director for Intelligence.

In a perverse twist, the Senate Intelligence Committees report on the CIAs torture program found that Bikowsky had been a key player in the agencys black site machinations, and one of their chief public apologists. It is increasingly clear that the program was specifically concerned with eliciting false testimony from suspects in order to justify and expand the US war on terror.

The publics understanding of the 9/11 attacks is heavily informed by testimonies delivered by CIA torture victims under the most extreme duress imaginable. And Bikowsky, a veteran of the Alec Station that ran cover for at least two would-be 9/11 hijackers, had been in charge of interrogating the alleged perpetrators of the attacks.

The veteran FBI deep cover agent Aukai Collins concluded his memoir with a chilling reflection which was only reinforced by Don Canestraros bombshell declaration:

I was very mistrustful about the fact that bin Ladens name was mentioned literally hours after the attack I became very skeptical about anything anybody said about what happened, or who did it. I thought back to when I was still working for them and we had the opportunity to enter Bin Ladens camp. Something just hadnt smelled rightTo this day Im unsure who was behind September 11, nor can I even guess Someday the truth will reveal itself, and I have a feeling that people wont like what they hear.

Kit Klarenberg is an investigative journalist exploring the role of intelligence services in shaping politics and perceptions.
Man Sentenced for Drug-Trafficking was Laundering Money Through CT Auto Repair Shop

Published April 19, 2023

William "Willy" Valerio-Palermo, 37, a citizen of the Dominican Republic last residing in East Hartford, CT, was sentenced April 13 by U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to 70 months of imprisonment for trafficking acetylfentanyl, a fentanyl analogue.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. attorney for the District of Connecticut, made the announcement.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in 2018, law enforcement received information that Valerio was trafficking kilogram-quantities of fentanyl and was using his Hartford auto repair business to launder drug proceeds. On July 12, 2018, a court-authorized search of a West Hartford apartment Valerio rented found approximately 6 kilograms of acetylfentanyl, items used to process and package narcotics, and approximately $49,000 in cash.

Valerio has been detained since his arrest July 12, 2018. He pleaded guilty July 6, 2021. Valerio faces immigration proceedings when he completes his prison term.

This investigation was conducted by the DEAs Hartford Task Force and the FBIs Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force. The Drug Enforcement Administrations Hartford Task Force includes personnel from the DEA Hartford Resident Office, the Connecticut State Police and the Bristol, Hartford, East Hartford, Enfield, Manchester, New Britain, Rocky Hill, Wethersfield, Windsor Locks and Willimantic police departments.

The FBIs Northern Connecticut Gang Task Force includes the Hartford, East Hartford, New Britain and West Hartford police departments, Connecticut State Police and Connecticut Department of Correction.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian P. Leaming through the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETF) Program. OCDETF identifies, disrupts and dismantles drug traffickers, money launderers, gangs and transnational criminal organizations through a prosecutor-led and intelligence-driven approach that leverages the strengths of federal, state and local law enforcement agencies.

Source: U.S. Attorneys Office, District of Connecticut
At the beginning of this year, the Port of San Diego announced a huge achievement for the cruise industry. Two ships, the Disney Wonder and the Insignia were supplied with shore power at the same time. This was an industry first, marking the dawn of a new era for this port. From then on, two cruise ships would be able to get shore power simultaneously.The Port authorities claimed that by operating two shore power outlets, the overall toxic emission levels, including NOx (Nitrous Oxides) and DPM (Diesel Particulate Matter), would drop by at least 90%. This innovation resulted from new regulations from the California Air Resources Board (CARB). According to these, all cruise ships about to enter California ports starting January 2023 must use shore power.Germany reached a similar milestone recently. This week, two cruise ships were also supplied with shore power at the same time. It happened in Rostock-Warnemunde, Germany, and the two vessels were AIDAsol and AIDAmar. AIDA Cruises , a German cruise line part of the Carnival Corporation, has been trying various clean energy solutions for years. Back in 2019, the AIDAnova was fueled with LNG in the Mediterranean for the first time. In December 2022, another German ship, the AIDAprima, got a taste of 100% biofuel. It was another industry first, accomplished with the help of GoodFuels.Biofuel and LNG are used as alternatives to conventional fuels for lowering toxic emissions while cruise ships are at sea. When they're docked, the use of shower power can drastically reduce toxic emissions that are typically associated with vessels at berth.Even when docked, cruise ships need to run their diesel engines for the so-called hotel operations, referring to all the onboard systems. Access to shore power supplies means that cruise ships would no longer need to keep their engines running. This, in turn, would help improve the air quality in ports. Ports are notorious for suffering due to so many vessels running their engines even when berthed.The location of this German milestone was not accidental. The Port of Warnemunde claims to host the largest shore power facility of its kind in Europe. It kicked off operations in 2021, with another AIDA cruise ship at the forefront. More ports across Europe are expected to follow in the footsteps of Warnemunde and introduce at least one shower power outlet in the near future.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration

According to documents filed with the federal watchdog, FCA US LLC started investigating this inexcusable oversight in October 2022. The Auburn Hills-based automakers reviewed production and shipping records through March 2023, which is way too long for the risks presented by those missing sensors.If the B-pillar impact sensors are indeed missing, the airbags may not deploy in case of a crash. FCA US LLC also notes that missing sensors are joined by a message in the instrument cluster, informing the driver that the airbag system needs to be serviced. Supplied by Robert Bosch, the acceleration sensors in question may not have been installed in 37 trucks produced for the 2022 model year in the period between April 11 to April 13, 2022.The automaker is currently aware of 13 warranty claims related to this problem, as well as zero field reports and no customer assistance records whatsoever. Dealers will be instructed on June 2 to inspect affected vehicles and  if missing  install the required B-pillar sensors that plant workers should have installed in the first place. Owner notifications will be mailed on June 2 as well.Unfortunately for said owners, FCA US LLC didn't offer a list of vehicle identification numbers. The owners, therefore, should be heading over to the's website to run the VINs through the federal watchdog's lookup tool.The fifth-generation Ram 1500, codenamed DT, entered production in 2018 for the 2019 model year. The half-ton pickup isn't available with the 3.0-liter EcoDiesel V6 anymore, and the North American half of Stellantis will be pulling the plug on the 5.7-liter HEMI V8 as well.Going forward, the 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 with eTorque mild-hybrid technology will be joined by the 3.0-liter Hurricane twin-turbo I6. Currently available in standard- and high-output flavors in the Jeep Wagoneer and Grand Wagoneer, the six-cylinder lump is manufactured at the Saltillo plant in Mexico alongside the 5.7-, 6.4-, and supercharged 6.2-liter HEMI V8s.For the 2023 model year, the DT-series Ram 1500 is joined by the previous-gen DS in half-ton attire as well. The old 1500 soldiers on as an alternative to mid-size pickups from rival automakers. Although Ram could have used the Jeep Gladiator as the basis for a brand-new Dakota, the midsizer sadly failed to materialize.Marketed as the 1500 Classic, the DS currently retails at $30,695 sans destination charge for the Tradesman Regular Cab 4x2 with the 8-foot bed and 3.6-liter Pentastar V6 without eTorque mild-hybrid assistance. The DT is a whopping $37,410 at press time for the Tradesman Quad Cab 4x2 6'4" and eTorque'd engine.
VTOL

Every year, the exhibition center in Friedrichshafen, Germany, located close to the airport with the same name, houses one of the world's most important general aviation events. This year, at AERO Friedrichshafen, an eVTOL prototype will make its way among helicopters, gyrocopters, piston aircraft, and drones.This is the 3MV1_NG, the subscale version of a future five-seat hybrid-electric. The company that will be displaying this prototype with a 25 kg (55 lbs) weight and a wingspan of 3.4 meters (11 feet) is Zuri.This is yet another electric aviation startup hoping to conquer the world with its air taxi. It's based in the Czech Republic and has been working on an efficient alternative to conventional airplanes since 2017.Back to the airshow, Zuri will delight guests not just with the subscale version of its future aircraft but also with a VTOL flight experience a simulated one. With the help of a simulator and VR headsets, event visitors will have the chance to feel what it would be like to fly an electric aircraft as a pilot or a passenger.The Zuri 2.0 is a VTOL with both a passenger and cargo configuration. It mainly stands out due to the hybrid powertrain. Thanks to this, it will offer a greater range than purely electric VTOLs. The future aircraft promises an impressive range of more than 435 miles (700 km) and a cruising speed of 186 mph (300 kph).In addition to the hybrid powertrain, the Zuri 2.0 will be packed with advanced technology, including a fly-by-wire system, sensors with AI algorithms for object recognition, and a complex autopilot feature that uses data from multiple sources, such as traffic and geographical terrain. The passenger version is designed to carry up to five people.In the Fall of 2021, the Czech aviation company completed the first hover flight of a large-scale demonstrator. The flight tests took place at an airport near Zbraslavice and saw the VTOL demonstrator reach a 9.8-foot (3-meter) altitude in hover flight.Since then, Zuri has come a long way regarding financial support. If it was considering crowdfunding for developing its aircraft back then, it has secured 400,000 ($439,000) as part of its pre-series A investment round. By the end of it, Zuri hopes to have 1.5 million ($1.6 million) for the development of its five-seat electric air taxi.Until then, the subscale prototype will be displayed at AERO Friedrichshafen from today until April 22.
Photo: NASA

Photo: NASA

Known as the National Planetary Defense Strategy, the document was made public this week by the space agency and tries to help improve detection, research, mission planning, emergency preparedness and response, international engagement, and internal U.S. government coordination on planetary defense.Building on a similar strategy published in 2018, the document takes into account what America and its agencies should and must do in case of an asteroid impact, should one occur over the next decade.I said an asteroid impact is inevitable. You could contradict me, and youd be right in pointing out the vastness of space, the complicated ways of celestial mechanics, and even our detection capabilities as reasons why the inevitable might not happen.But the numbers I mentioned in the first paragraph, sourced from NASA and listed below, paint a very scary picture. They are included in the new defense strategy (attached as a PDF below this text), and they should be enough to make it painfully clear that an asteroid is coming our way from somewhere, and the only question is when it will hit.In NASAs own words, our planets orbit around the Sun is constantly crossed by millions of objects. Its probably just chance that has kept us safe so far, and our human history has never recorded an impact with devastating effects on our species.Of these millions of threats out there, the most concerning are those called NEO . Thats short for Near-Earth Objects and refers to asteroids and comets that come close to our blue marble  generally at least 1.3 astronomical units (that would be 1.3 times the distance between the Earth and the Sun).NASA deemed these things dangerous, despite the still large distances involved, ever since 1998. In 2016, the agency created the Planetary Defense Coordination Office (PDCO) to track and keep an eye on NEOs, in the hope it will be able to warn us should one head our way.NASA classifies NEOs in groups, depending on how large they are. Focusing just on five of these groups is enough to paint the dark picture of impact unavoidability.Well start with the least dangerous asteroids , the ones that are smaller than 50 meters (164 feet) in diameter. There are literally millions of them, remnants of God knows what cosmic events. Because of their size, most of them would burn up in our planets atmosphere long before hitting the ground or the sea, so these are of little concern. Statistics show this kind of rock hits us at least once per decade.The ones seized between 10 and 50 meters (32 to 164 feet), though, could cause some local, surface damage, but thats not necessarily a reason for concern either  and even if it were, theres not much we can do about them, because they are almost impossible to detect. We are aware and can track the orbits of under one percent of the millions of asteroids this small floating out there, and we know one hits one average every 1,000 years.There are also hundreds of thousands of city killers in our solar system, asteroids sized larger than 50 meters. NASA throws a number in the defense strategy, 230,000, and adds that we only know where about eight percent of them are at any given time. That means there are over 200,000 pieces of rock that can wipe out entire urban areas floating in space, and we have no idea where they are.Things are getting increasingly scarier as we move up this ladder. Some 25,000 objects larger than 140 meters (459 feet) spin around our world, and we only know where about half of them are. Each of them, including the unaccounted-for half, is capable of causing significant regional damage. Impact periodicity is estimated at 20,000 years.As for global killers, asteroids sized more than one km (0.62 miles) in diameter, capable of causing planetary devastation when they strike every 700,000 years or so, there are about 1,000 of them in the space in our solar system. These are easier to spot, so NASA keeps an eye on about 95 percent of them - and it also assures us none of the known ones are currently a threat to our world.The key aspect (and danger) NASA highlights throughout the document is the lack of proper knowledge when it comes to asteroids existence and their whereabouts. Its like Earth is diving head-on and blind in a sea of asteroids, year after year, until it will eventually cross paths with one at just the wrong time.The 2023 National Planetary Defense Strategy tries to find workarounds to this issue. The 46-page long document is filled with info, and well go through it and break it down over the coming days in separate stories here on autoevolution. So stay tuned if youre interested in learning exactly how NASA plans to protect us from asteroids.
Amazon's acquisition of iRobot has hit a snag.

The UK's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) recently launched a merger inquiry regarding Amazon's acquisition deal with Roomba robot vacuum developer iRobot.

Amazon previously announced its acquisition deal with iRobot in early August 2022; anti-trust researchers and data privacy experts called it "the most the most dangerous, threatening acquisition in the company's history."

CMA Inquiry Into Amazon-iRobot Acquisition Deal

The CMA mentioned on its official website and statement that it had launched a "phase 1" probe into Amazon's $1.7 billion acquisition deal with iRobot.

For those unaware, the CMA's phase 1 probe consists of an inquiry to determine if a merger between two companies would result in a "realistic prospect of a substantial lessening of competition," per the government agency's resources.

As a result, the CMA is expecting Amazon to comment and talk about its acquisition deal with iRobot and its particulars since it believes that it would reduce competition in the UK. Amazon has until June 16 to address the CMA's inquiry before it decides on whether Amazon's deal will harm its competitors or not.

Amazon and iRobot have yet to address the CMA's invitation to talk about the merger deal between them, per Reuters.

Read More: Google Stocks Drop After News of Samsung Potentially Switching to Bing

The CMA's launch of its merger inquiry is the latest step in its assessment of Amazon's acquisition deal with iRobot. According to a Tech Crunch article, it previously confirmed it is investigating Amazon's acquisition deal with the Roomba robot vacuum developer in early April, though the investigation was still at its earliest possible stage at the time.

You may recall that Amazon wants to utilize iRobot to create ways to reinvent how people clean to make their lives easier and more enjoyable at the deal's completion. Colin Angle, iRobot's CEO, supports Amazon's plan, with him saying that he cannot think of a better place for the iRobot team to continue its mission of creating "innovative, practical robots that make customers' lives easier."

The Most Dangerous Deal In Amazon's History

The CMA is not the only one who wants to grill Amazon and iRobot for the acquisition deal between them. Anti-trust groups have warned that Amazon's acquisition of iRobot wouldn't just give it dominance in the smart home market - it would also mean that the company will have unprecedented access into consumers' lives, per The Guardian.

UK-based tech watchdog group Foxglove Legal wrote to the CMA that it had significant concerns about Amazon and iRobot's acquisition deal due to the former's habit of supplanting innovative entry and broader competition in existing and emerging markets.

"Amazon already spies on our doorsteps and listens in on our dinner conversations - hoovering up iRobot would put Amazon inside our living rooms," the group said in a statement.

Meanwhile, the FTC is also investigating Amazon's acquisition deal with iRobot, though there is a chance that Amazon could overcome the FTC's challenge and acquire iRobot anyway due to the Commission's current evidentiary burden.

Related Article: Amazon To Acquire iRobot in $1.7B Merger Agreement
kWh

Tommy Mica estimates that roughly 475 horsepower are summoned up by the Model 3 Performance on full song. Tesla famously doesn't publish the output figures of the Model 3 and Model Y, regardless of variant. On the other hand, Tesla publicly boasts 1,020 ponies for the Plaid three-motor powertrain available in the S and X.Kia claims 576 horsepower from the EV6 GT's dual-motor arrangement, which is approximately 100 up on the all-electric sedan. It's a pretty big difference, but do bear in mind that Kia's zero-emission crossover weighs more. The South Korean automaker doesn't have the straight-line calibration know-how of the American automaker either. Pictured at a Colorado runway, the cars had their batteries preconditioned for the dig race Launched with 75 and 77 percent of juice left in their batteries, the electric vehicles both get very well off the line. Tommy's Model 3 Performance, however, did it slightly better. He stays ahead for the entirety of the race, although Kase's Kia starts catching up towards the end.The GPS-based performance box in the EV6 GT recorded 12.13 seconds at 119.3 miles per hour (191.9 kilometers per hour). Over in the Model 3 Performance, a similar device shows 12.03 seconds at 116 miles per hour (186.6 kilometers per hour). Tommy and Kase returned back to the start line for a roll from 30 miles per hour (nearly 50 miles per hour) to see if the EV6 GT could redeem itself against the quicker Model 3 Performance.Once again, the Tesla got off better. But as opposed to the dig race, the Kia comes into its own much quicker, eventually pulling ahead of the Model 3 Performance. Had they had a long-enough runway, Tommy and Kase would've topped a little over 160 miles per hour (257 kilometers per hour), as per the manufacturers' claims.If you're in the market for a Model 3 Performance, prepare to pony up at least $52,990, according to Tesla's build & price tool. The Model Y Performance is a grand more, and their EPA-estimated ranges are listed as 315 and 303 miles (make that 506.9 and 487.6 kilometers).Over at Kia, the EV6 GT is quite a bit more expensive despite its abysmal range estimate. At press time, Kia promises 206 miles (331.5 kilometers) from 77.4. As for pricing, that'll be $61,600 sans destination charge. Similar to Tesla, the South Korean automaker has the audacity to charge extra for certain exterior paint colors despite the already high sticker price.
kW

That might seem like overkill to the average Joe, but it led to the creation of one of the best driver's cars ever made. Unfortunately, only 500 of them came to life, and at $375,000 a pop, it was anything but affordable. Despite the eye-watering price for a supercar launched in 2010, Toyota's premium vehicle brand lost money on each one they parted ways with.Sporting a front mid-engine and rear-wheel drive layout, the Lexus LFA packed an even-firing 4.8-liter V10 . With a total output of 553 hp (560 ps/412) and 354 lb-ft (480 Nm), it may not seem like much, but the Japanese brand's blue-blooded exotic was able to tackle corners like a champ. The straight-line sprint was something to write home about back then, as it took 3.7 seconds, comparable to the legendary Ferrari Enzo. Flat out, it could do 202 mph or 325 kph.Every gearhead who has had the chance to put it through its paces praised the clever construction and great-sounding V10. You'd have to be loaded to afford a Lexus LFA in today's market, as its value exceeds the $800,000 mark. You will have to fork out more than $1 million for a barely-driven copy. This makes it even sadder to see a kid jumping on one, but we kid you not (pun intended), it actually happened.A short video shot at a car meet, supposedly earlier this year, shows the little guy treating the roof of the rare supercar as a bouncing castle before proceeding to jump on the front windscreen. Fortunately for everyone, the piece of glass was sturdier than expected, as it didn't crack. The roof will live to tell the tale too.So, why didn't anyone stop the kid from jumping all over the LFA ? The answer came from a social media user claiming to be friends with the owner of this ultra-rare Lexus. And it's pretty simple, as that is his kid too. Clearly, the man whose name is written on the dotted line of the supercar doesn't give a crack about any damages that his ride could have sustained, or he would have done something about it. On a final note, we have to stress the fact that this kid is said to be doing this all the time, though he limits his jumping sessions to his dad's cars only, or so the legend says anyway.
ECU

Cybersecurity experts Ken Tindell and Ian Tabor discovered and reported the vulnerability . It allows a hacker to connect to the vehicles CAN bus by exposing the wires, most often from the headlight.Because of the glitch, the hackers can send a forged key validation message to the. For some reason, certain Toyota models, including RAV4, accept messages from other ECUs. As such, what hackers must do is build a device that mimics a secondary ECU, eventually being able to send a crafted message to launch the CAN injection exploit.When this happens, they get full access to vehicle functions, including unlocking the doors and starting the engine.The security researchers managed to build a custom device to take advantage of the vulnerability using $10 components integrated into a JBL Bluetooth speaker. Since their disclosure, hackers pushed the concept even further by integrating similar exploits into other devices, such as the old-school Nokia 3310.A bad actor only has to connect the smartphone to the vehicle using a standard cable, as demonstrated in a video (also embedded below). By activating the exploit from the phones screen, hackers can then trigger the vulnerability and unlock vehicle systems. They can then start the engine and drive away in the car.The vulnerability allegedly affects Toyota, Lexus , and Maserati vehicles. Devices to exploit the vulnerability start at 2,500 Euros (approximately $2,700) and go all the way up to 18,000 Euros (close to $20,000). In some cases, theyre listed online as tools to unlock a car or for emergency starting an immobilized vehicle.Security researchers explain that carmakers must add cryptographic security for CAN messages, essentially blocking messages from sources other than the authorized ECU. So far, however, Toyota seems to ignore all calls for a patch, despite the hacks becoming more common.The company recently said in a statement that its taking vehicle thefts seriously but said nothing about a potential patch for the vulnerability. The security researchers who discovered the flaw said the Japanese carmaker ignored their reports. This is why the flaw was eventually published online, as security researchers typically disclose their findings to force parent companies to issue patches.At this point, its still not clear if Toyota is at least looking into reports and whether an update to resolve the vulnerability is at least in the works right now.
Photo: USAF Archives

Photo: USAF Archives

Photo: Boeing

In order to trace the heritage of the F/A-18 platform back to its most primordial routes, you have to slip the bounds of the McDonnell-Douglas altogether to an entirely different aerospace manufacturer. That, of course, would be one-half of the current aerospace mega-giant Northrop Grumman, Northrop Aviation. This is the story of the Northrop YF-17 Cobra, the long-forgotten forbearer of the mighty F/A-18.As the late 1960s came to a close and the harsh lessons of the air war over Vietnam became apparent to the Pentagon, it was clear a new strategy was needed for U.S. air doctrine going forward. During Vietnam, large and cumbersome F-4 Phantom IIs, F-8 Crusaders, and F-105 Thunderchiefs learned the hard way how smaller, more maneuverable MiG 17s, 19s, and 21s could give U.S. pilots all the hell they could handle. Even before the worst days of the air conflict over Vietnam, Northrop Aviation appeared ready to provide a powerful, lightweight airframe capable of dogfighting Soviet MiGs and winning.This design concept was dubbed the N-102 Fang. Although it never left the drawing board, key elements of the Fang's design, like the all-moving tail stabilizers, became key features of future Northrop designs. What the U.S. Air Force required was a fast, maneuverable, and lightweight jet fighter airframe powered by either one or two turbojet engines. If the F-4 Phantom II was a brick with wings, what became the Lightweight Fighter Program (LWF) intended to produce the exact opposite?Or, from another perspective, if the third-generation of jet fighters were like flying pickup trucks, the Air Force needed gen-IV jets to be like Ferraris with wings. In total, five major aerospace manufacturers were selected to submit design proposals for the LWF initiative. But through their work designing the F-5 , Northrop Aviation was well suited to giving the Air Force what it wanted. If not for its paltry range without drop tanks, the F-5 was almost good enough to take on the LWF program itself. Even so, it's clear a fair amount of F-5 DNA made its way into Norhtrop's entry into the LWF program, originally dubbed the P-530.With dimensions of 55.5 feet (16.92 m) long and a 35-foot (10.67-m) wingspan with a maximum takeoff weight of 30,630 lb (13,894 kg), the Cobra was a fraction the size of then-contemporary fighter jets like the F-4 Phantom II. Ample use of lightweight aluminum arranged in a semi-monocoque configuration ensured the Cobra's airframe was strong enough for sustained high-G maneuvers while also being light enough to square up to Soviet MiGs.Similarly, the engines that powered the YF-17 are the polar opposite of the Phantom II's. Weighing in at just over 1,900 lbs (862 kg) per engine, the General Electric YJ101 that powered the YF-17 was almost exactly half the weight of the Phantom's General Electric J-79. With thrust figures of 14,400 lbs (64 kN) per engine, the YF-17's twin YJ101s were a bit like a Toyota 2JZ engine, while the Phantom's J79 engine was like a late 60s HEMI muscle car . So to say, the YJ101s were lighter, more fuel efficient, and arguably more desirable as a result, but still capable of big power.In fact, the YF-17's engines were only 20 percent or so less powerful than the J79. When Northrop first test flew the YF-17 on June 9th, 1974, out of Edwards Air Force Base in California, it became obvious how much of a benefit these twin beefcakes of powerplants the new design had truly been. A peak speed of 1,500 mph (2,414 km/h, Mach 1.95) was achieved during the Cobra's flight test regimen. It could even achieve supersonic speeds at high altitudes without using the afterburners for sustained periods, an ability known as supercruise.The airframe's partial fly-by-wire control surfaces were also noted to be quite effective, especially compared to the semi-truck with wings that the F-4 Phantom II was. Add in a weapons suite consisting of heat-seeking AIM-9 Sidewinder and radar-guided AIM-7 Sparrow missiles, and the YF-17 was a formidable air superiority machine. If all else failed, the YF-17 sported a single M61 Vulcan 20 mm Gatling gun in place of the F-5's twin M39A2 revolver cannons. Even by semi-contemporary standards, that's not too shabby of a weapons loadout.On paper and in practice, it looked like Northrop's YF-17 could have been a marvelous jet fighter. One that the Air Force should have been all too happy to accept. But that's not what happened at all, all thanks to the other half of the Lightweight Fighter program. You know it, you love it, and Air Forces around the world, almost 50 years after the fact, still crave them; it's the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon. The brainchild of the aeronautical savant and Flint, Michigan native Harry Hillaker, the original YF-16 became the foundation on which several nations formed the backbone of their respective air power.With the added benefit of General Dynamics personnel who previously worked with McDonnell Douglas on the F-15 program, development time on the F-16 was able to be greatly expedited. Enough so that the first YF-16 was ready to compete with the Northrop YF-17 on time instead of having a much longer development time than typical jet fighters necessitated. Against that kind of historic competition with the added bonus of a less costly single-engine arrangement, the Air Force opted to put the YF-16 into production over the YF-17.And thus, before the program could truly flourish, the YF-17 program came to an end. In fact, the "Cobra" designation often associated with the YF-17 was only an unofficial moniker, as the prototype had yet to be assigned an official name by the Air Force. In most cases, that would have been the end of the story for the YF-17 Cobra. Except, this time, we actually get a happy ending. You see, American aerospace engineers back in the mid-to-late 20th century tended to bounce around between different companies more than they do today.That's something of a given, considering there are only two or three major military aerospace firms left in America right now; Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Boeing. The rest were long ago swallowed up by larger, more powerful firms. What this means in relation to the YF-17 is simple. Northrop Aviation and the aforementioned makers of the F-15. McDonnell Douglas had a working relationship even before the beginning of the lightweight fighter program.The partnership stretches back as far as the 1930s when the then-Douglas Company supplied parts and personnel for Northrop's eponymous founder and leading man Jack Northrop. On the back of the successful F-15 program, McDonnel-Douglas enlisted the help of Northrop to help design the YF-17. Not for the Air Force this time, but rather the Navy, who preferred a twin-engine configuration for carrier-based operations. Under the pretext of the Navy's Naval Fighter Attack Experimental (VFAX) program, the YF-17's airframe was slightly enlarged.It was also given more powerful engines and fitted with an avionics and weapons suite suited not just for air superiority but also for ground and sea-based targets. In November 1978, four years and change after the first flight of the YF-17, the F/A-18A Hornet took to the skies above Naval Air Station Patuxent River in Maryland. Seventeen years later, in 1995, the upgraded F/A-18 Super Hornet was first flown. Thus completing a lineage of jet fighters that lives on until the present day.So long as the Super Hornet remains in service, this historic line of jet fighters won't fade into the good night just yet. There's at least a decent amount of fighting spirit left in those old Hornets and Super Hornets. But always remember, none of it would've been possible without the YF-17.
EV

The Mexicans have been trying to lure Tesla into the country for a long time. The rumors surrounding a potential Tesla Giga factory in Mexico have been around for so long that nobody thought it would happen. When Tesla made the announcement during the 2023 Investor Day, it surprised everyone. And yet, it was one of those announcements that fell on deaf ears, as the investors were expecting something else.The Giga Mexico would be Tesla's biggest production facility, responsible for assembling the upcoming next-gen vehicle that is set to change the automotive landscape forever. Thanks to its educated and qualified workforce, Mexico is the right place to be for everyone wanting to produce an affordable. It also has reasonable wages, which help keep the costs in check. The northern Mexican state of Nuevo Leon is a good place to start, considering the proximity to the U.S. border.More good news came after Tom Zhu, recently appointed Tesla's Senior Vice President of Automotive, promised the Giga Mexico would be up and running in less than nine months. Any other person, Musk included, making such a statement would have caused laughter, but Zhu already achieved this at Giga Shanghai. His optimism meant that the upcoming compact Tesla could start production in early 2024 at the latest. Still, things are not advancing as fast as we, or Tom Zhu, would want.In an interview for Milenio Television, Nuevo Leon governor Samuel Garcia confessed that Giga Mexico might take much longer than expected. According to his words, it could be between 12 and 15 months before the Mexican gigafactory starts production. Setting up the production lines is no small feat, considering this will be the largest car manufacturing plant in the world, with an annual output of more than two million vehicles.It's not only that, but Tesla will use a new manufacturing process called "Unboxed Vehicle" to produce its upcoming EV. This requires a very different production line than Tesla's existing factories. The EV maker is still planning the gigafactory layout, and Samuel Garcia says there's still no rendering to visualize it. The Nuevo Leon state has been ready for the factory since November 2022, with water, electricity, and gas connections already in place. The authorities are waiting for the final blueprints to finalize all the preparations. Garcia thinks Nuevo Leon will become the center of global electromobility, thanks to the massive Tesla investment and the suppliers that would start a business in the area. He points to Austin, which has already surpassed Silicon Valley after Tesla moved there.
ADAS

BEV

SUV

Photo: XPENG

Photo: XPENG

kW

HP

Photo: XPENG

Photo: XPENG

Photo: XPENG

Photo: XPENG

The model debuted at Auto Shanghai 2023 and is based on the company's new version of Smart Electric Platform Architecture (SEPA 2.0). The claimed features of the G6 include the latest-gen smart driving, an intelligent cabin, and superfast charging.It will be equipped with the latest XNGP (an advanced form of City Navigation guided Pilot). The maker states it is the final stage of(Advanced Driver Assistance System) before autonomous driving.The newXPENG G6 coupehas an 800V high-voltage SiC (Silicon Carbide) platform and 3C battery cells. Furthermore, the Chinese brag about their front and rear integrated aluminum body die-casting technology, or the Cell Integrated Body.Before we detail what those mean, note that the maker ambitiously anticipates the G6 to "set the mid-sized BEV SUV segment's new benchmarks for smart superiority, range reliability, handling excellence, and physical comfort."Somewhat disappointingly, XPENG didn't mention any drivetrain specs or details, so we don't have the spicy bits for now. The manufacturer only specified the maximum range of 755 km (469 miles) and energy consumption "as low as 13.2 kWh per 100 km/62 miles."Take that range with a fistful of salt, though: while the company didn't specify it, Chinese EVs use the national CLTC system (China Light-Duty Vehicle Test Cycle), not the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) ratings that are widely considered as being the most accurate. The differences are significant  the CLTC values are around 35% higher than EPA, so expect figures closer to 490 km/305 miles.No other dynamic specs are provided now  no speed or acceleration values, safety features, or driving aids (except the self-driving system). Nothing on the vehicle's weight, volume, powertrain, suspension, or other gearhead-oriented info.Let's break down the previously-mentioned technical details of the car. The 800V superfast charging solution increases high-speed charging by 50% (over the previous generation.) In the 3C cell configuration, the battery gains 130 kilometers (81 miles) of range after a five-minute charge. When connected to the company's proprietary 480-superfast chargers, the range extends to 200 km / 124 miles.The SEPA 2.0 includes the X-Smart Thermal Management System that optimizes battery efficiency in the minus 30C to 55C temperature interval (minus 22F to 131F). Watch the second (very short) video to see the car perform in the snow.XPENG claims that, in cold weather conditions, X-HP boosts the automobile's range by 15%. The power-pack governor is said to be able to cool down the batteries twice as fast as previous systems while also increasing charging power by 90%.The Chinese company mentions its innovative Front and Rear Integrated Aluminum Die Casting Technology. According to official claims, this manufacturing process betters torsional rigidity by 83% ("compared to a traditional car body") and, at the same time, reduces overall body mass by 17%.The Cell Integrated Body (CIB) is a battery-in-body architecture that allows for more vertical cabin space, increases battery pack safety, and lowers the car's center of mass. Theoretically, the IP68 water- and dustproof design will withstand an 80-ton side collision.The body is sleek on the outside, with an aerodynamic resistance coefficient of 0.248 Cd, thanks to 17 anti- drag elements (including an "adaptive drag-lift electric tail"  a variable-angle rear spoiler). The engineers claim the G6 has a 50:50 weight distribution (what that weight is, they don't say) and a very low barycenter (center of mass) located just 540 mm above ground (21.3 inches).Apart from the 2,89-meter wheelbase (114-inch) and a front and rear overhangs of 903 mm and 960 mm (35.5 in and 37.8 in)  resulting in a total length of 4,753 mm / 187 inches  the above values are the only dimensional references XPENG made about the G6 size. Unless we count the two-square-meter panoramic sunroof (21.5 square feet)  but that's not saying much.The relative secrecy extends to the interior details  we have learned that there is a 15-inch control screen and ergonomic seats. Also, the materials can allegedly improve air quality up to ten times over international standards.The power-adjustable front seats feature ventilation, heating, position memory, and a welcome function. The seats move back to give the passengers more entry/exit space, then return to their normal position during cruising. The Chinese designers have childproofed the G6 with "stain-resistant, anti-bacterial organic silicone fabric and microfiber suede for a salubrious, easy-to-clean cabin."Due to its computing capabilities, the five-door SUV Coupe XPENG G6 is called Ultra Smart. The X-EEA (Electrical and Electronic Architecture) comprises a triad of platforms: data technology, whole-car software, and hardware architecture. The Asian company claims OTA updates three times faster than their current top-performing solutions.The much acclaimed (by XPENG itself) XNGP Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) will come as standard on all future XPENG models for the Chinese market. An autonomous driving supercomputing center with closed-loop data feedback and a self-evolving AI system power the latest version of the Navigation Guided Pilot.The uber-brain is intended to drive a car fully by itself over 1,000 km (621 miles) without human intervention  on highways. For city environments, the takeover target is less than one in 100 km / 62 miles. To ensure a safer data environment for the smart cabin and vehicle control platforms, the two are separated for "financial-level information security for user and vehicle data."
Threat actors are getting more sophisticated with their scams making it harder for their victims to discern them. This has become a growing problem, especially for Australia, which has seen an 80% in total losses in 2022 compared to 2021.

Billion Lost to Scams

Australia has seen its worst loss in scams last year with an overall amount of $3.1 billion, most of which were stolen through investment scams that amount to $1.5 billion. Methods such as remote access and payment redirection scams cost $224 million and $229 million, respectively.

The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) claims that the numbers, which are collected by its own-run Scamwatch and other government agencies, show an 80% increase in total losses compared to the previous year, as mentioned in Bleeping Computer.

ACCC Deputy Chair Catriona Lowe noted that the scams range from impersonating official phone numbers, email addresses, and websites of legitimate organizations, to scam texts that would mix with real messages.

She noted that new tactics have surfaced, making it harder for both agencies and victims alike, and that the true cost of scams is more than the loss of money, as it causes emotional distress to victims, families, and businesses as well.

The ACCC says that it continues to provide expertise and support to prepare for the government's National Anti-Scam Centre establishment, which has the objective of making the country a difficult target for threat actors.

While ACCC's Scamwatch saw a 16.5 decrease in scam reports in 2022, with a total of 239,237, its financial losses skyrocketed with a 76% increase, which amounts to $569 million more compared to the losses in 2021.

Individual scams have increased by more than half, with a huge average of $20,000 worth of losses for each victim. New technology is used to perform fraudulent activities, which has led to Australians losing their life savings.

The biggest increase is through a method of phishing scams called "Hi Mum" and Toll/Linkt texts scams. Reports say that micro businesses saw a 95% increase in scams resulting in a loss of $13.7 million in 2022.

Read Also: 5 Major Cyber Security Risks That You must be Aware of While Streaming

ACCC's Proposed Solution

The agency believes that collaborative efforts would be greatly beneficial in the mission of decreasing scam incidents, saying that law enforcement and industry need to share information to disrupt scams and that there's still work to be done.

Lowe pointed out there there are still gaps between key sectors like banks, telcos, and digital platforms between regulators and scammers. The ACCC wants to see "initiatives that apply across sectors," given that threat actors target the "weakest link."

A three-pronged approach has been suggested. First is preventing scammers from reaching victims through SMS, email, social media, and more. Consumers would also need to be aware of scammer tactics. Lastly, to put measures in place to prevent funds from being stolen.

Scamwatch advised that to avoid scams, one must first stop and think before giving away your personal and private information, think about whether the message or call is fake, and then act quickly if something feels wrong by contacting your bank or reporting it to Scamwatch.

Related: Worried About Phishing Scams, Email Attacks? 8 Warning Signs You're in Danger, 4 Ways to Stop It
19 April 2023 09:30 (UTC+04:00)

Elnur Enveroglu Read more

The information about the accusation of Baroness Caroline Cox over bribery, corruption and racism, in the political circle of Great Britain, is known to everyone. At the same time, another peculiar aspect of Cox was revealed - her great passion for human murder. Baroness Cox is also fond of recounting such atrocities. Why not? After all, this skill also brought her from the nursing profession to politics...

A senile Cox, who spoke very nonchalantly about the Khojaly genocide, still angered the public with her inhuman features. Mrs. Baroness notes that during the Khojaly Genocide, she was directly among the Armenian vandals, her blood brothers in Karabakh - in short, Baroness Cox is a living witness of Khojaly and a number of Armenian atrocities.

I have repeatedly visited Nagorno-Karabakh during the war of the 1990s and can testify about the events in Khojaly.

This is what she has admittedly stated at the during the debates in the House of Lords of the British Parliament on the oral request of Lord Flyte, addressed to the government in connection with the events in Khojaly.

Cox says the Armenians notified the Azerbaijanis about the attack on Khojaly and asked to evacuate the population trying to convict the Azerbaijani side over the atrocities committed by Armenians.

I have repeatedly visited Nagorno-Karabakh during the war of the 1990s and can testify about the events in Khojaly.

Cox also resembled her Armenian brothers in telling false tales. Appropriating other people's land, inventing false claims and justifying oneself - all this is a legacy left to Cox from Armenians. s used by the Azerbaijanis to launch missiles in the direction of Khankendi, where Armenians have been, in fact populated since the late XIX centuries. Speaking with such claims, Cox either considered the politicians sitting in the British Parliament to be idiots, or tried to cover up their lies by abusing their ignorance. Despite the fact that there are enough visual evidences about the massacres in Khojaly, Baroness Cox, who has devoted her life to the Armenian people, shamelessly made such claims.

In another speech, Baronees exposes her lies. The so called British politician of Armenian origin who first talks about missile strikes, then talks about warning civilians prior to assaulting of Armenian aggressors in Khojaly.

They gave advance notice of the offensive and asked the Azerbaijanis to allow civilians to evacuate, which the Azerbaijanis did not, she said.

Being a deputy speaker of the House of Lords from 1985 to 2005 Cox has al. She was Founder Chancellor of Bournemouth University; Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University from 2006-2013 and is a Hon  obviously, and not surprisingly for her racist activities.

As it has already been presented in the previous publish about Cox, her humanitarian work takes her to conflict and post-conflict zones, in particular, the Armenian called so-called Nagorno Karabakh or more clearly saying Azerbaijans war-torn Karabakh region.

Publications include Coxs Book of Modern Saints and Martyrs (with Catherine Butcher); This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the 21st Century, with John Marks and The Very Stones Cry Out, The Persecuted Church: Pain, Passion and Praise, with Benedict Rogers.

Two biographies have been published by Monarch/Lion Hudson: The Baroness Cox: Voice for the Voiceless, by Andrew Boyd and The Baroness Cox: Eyewitness to a Broken World by Lela Gilbert.

And finally, we should note that this article is not intended to perpetuate and make famous Cox and pro-Armenians like her. These are just to present such funny heroes as role models for future generations. Perhaps today, people like the Baroness can call their crimes different names without being ashamed of being liars and hypocrites. But among future generations, a person with a fear of justice will definitely be ashamed of the traces left by people like Cox...

Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1

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19 April 2023 20:18 (UTC+04:00)

By Raza Syed, LondonPost

In a recent visit to Kazakhstan, President Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan met with the Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and the two leaders expressed a solid commitment to the strengthening of bilateral relations. Key outcomes of the visit included the decision to establish a Supreme Interstate Council and six memorandums of cooperation to foster partnership in the development of small and medium businesses, science and research, media, sports, and culture.

The visit took place against the backdrop of increased regional cooperation, particularly in energy, transportation, and security, which has been significantly disrupted because of the conflict in Ukraine. It also came just nine months after Kazakh Presidents visit to Baku in August 2022. During that visit, the two leaders signed a declaration on strengthening strategic relations and deepening allied engagement, as well as a comprehensive program of cooperation development for 2022-2026, reflecting the strategic nature of bilateral ties.

An expert at the Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Studies, while stressing the importance of these visits, said, In the current period of international relations, when the confrontation between great powers has reached unprecedented levels, the fact that our countries can be called like-minded is an important achievement.

Both the presidents agreed that the potential for trade and economic partnerships remained untapped and emphasized the need to expand the range of goods for export and import. President Tokayev said that he believed trade turnover could reach $1 billion due to the economic potential of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

According to the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy, trade between Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan reached an all-time high of $461.9 million last year, growing by 40 percent compared to 2021. The volume of bilateral trade in agricultural products has tripled, reaching $146 million.

Kazakh exports to Azerbaijan surged 30 percent to $375.3 million, primarily driven by a 3.6-fold increase in wheat exports, which account for 26 percent of the nations total exports to Azerbaijan.

Besides wheat, the increase in exports was also influenced by a three-fold increase in supplies of oil products, reaching $84.5 million and the resumption of oil supplies of $74.9 million.

Kazakhstan also exports rolled metal products, railway locomotives, electric batteries, mineral fertilizers, and food products such as rice, vegetables, chocolate and other items of confectionery.

Imports also grew by a staggering 90 percent to $86.6 million, driven by the start of shipments of watercraft ($22 million), seamless pipes ($7.7 million), sugar ($13.7 million), and mineral water ($7.3 million).

It was noted that an upward trend continued in 2023, with trade growing by 14 percent so far.

Last year, Azerbaijans investments in Kazakhstan reached $69.7 million, the highest since 2005. Investments were largely made in Kazakhstans oil and gas sector.

The bilateral trade mission this month signed export contracts worth $55 million in Baku to supply batteries, sheet steel, and food products.

Azerbaijans market is of great interest for the export of Kazakhstans processed products, said Kazakhstans Minister of Trade and Integration.

One of the major projects the two countries are implementing is laying a fiber-optic communication line (FOCL) along the bottom of the Caspian Sea on the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan route. According to the Kazakh Ministry of National Economy, the project cost is estimated at 22.8 billion tenge ($50.4 million).

TITR is an important area of cooperation between the countries of the region. TITR, also known as the Middle Corridor, which is a branch of One road, one belt project being implemented by China, is a multimodal transportation corridor that connects China, Central Asia, the Caspian Sea region, the Caucasus, and Europe. The route is an alternative to the traditional sea and land routes between Asia and Europe, offering faster and more efficient transportation of goods.

An important outcome of the visit was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between the Foreign Trade Chamber of Kazakhstan and Azerbaijans Small and Medium Business Development Agency (SMBDA).

In the Memorandum, promotion, and support of cooperation between SMEs of both the countries, trade, investment opportunities, economic cooperation, mutual information on innovations and various events in the field of SMEs, exchange of experience in the field of service to SMEs, joint events and exhibitions to strengthen cooperation between SMEs are envisaged.

Samir Humbatov, a noted scholar of Azerbaijan said, This visit will have a positive impact on the bilateral relations and the political and economic processes taking place at the regional and global levels.

During the Azerbaijan Presidents visit, President Tokayev and President Aliyev together opened a street in Astana named after Heydar Aliyev, who was the President of Azerbaijan between 1993 and 2003.

The two nations also decided to enhance cooperation in the cultural sphere.

Agreement has been reached to organize Days of Azerbaijan Culture in our country. Separately, I would like to note that a number of commemorative events will be dedicated on the 100th anniversary of the birth of national leader and outstanding statesman of Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyevich Aliyev in Kazakhstan this year, the Kazakh President stated.

Author:Raza Syed is a British journalist from a Pakistani background has experience in international journalism in several countries.He has a good command of Central Asia and South Asia.He maintains over thirty years of experience in journalism.He has three Degrees at the Masters level in different fields of journalism from the UK.

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19 April 2023 10:38 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

A Chinese version of the poetry book "You only live once" by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva has been presented in Beijing, China.

The book presentation was co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Chinese Foreign Languages Publishing Administration and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China, Azernews reports.

Speaking at the event, Vice Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Foreign Languages Publishing Administration Chen Shi described the book as an excellent example of cooperation between China and Azerbaijan in the cultural and humanitarian areas.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to China Akram Zeynalli said that cultural and humanitarian projects bring the two nations closer to each other and further strengthen ties between the two countries.

He expressed confidence that the publication will allow readers to learn more about Azerbaijani culture, paving the way for the implementation of new projects in this direction.

President of China Poetry Association, an eminent Chinese poet Jidi Majia noted that Leyla Aliyeva's poetry is lyrical and, at the same time, has a deep philosophical meaning.

The first symbolic book copy was presented to the Deputy Culture Minister of Azerbaijan Murad Huseynova.

Next, the students majoring in Azerbaijani language at Beijing Foreign Studies University recited Leyla Aliyeva's poems in Chinese.

It should be noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation translated the books of Azerbaijani poets and writers into Chinese for the first time.

On the sidelines of the event, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Anar Alakbarov has met with Vice Editor-in-chief Chen Shi to discuss issues regarding the translation of the works of other Azerbaijani poets and writers into Chinese in the future.

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19 April 2023 17:17 (UTC+04:00)

Laman Ismayilova Read more

Days of Shusha have been successfully held in Uzbekistan in connection with the declaration of Shusha as the 2023 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World.

The anticipated event was held under the auspices of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and on the basis of a joint project with the Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Uzbekistan, Azernews reports.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Uzbekistan Huseyn Guliyev, Secretary-General of TURKPA Mehmet Sureyya Er, head of the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan Bahadur Abdukarimov, ambassadors of Turkic states accredited in Tashkent, deputies, state officials, and media representatives took part in the opening ceremony held at Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Uzbekistan.

The event program included a screening of a documentary about Shusha's culture, literature, art and history, an exhibition of photographs and books, a fashion show dedicated to Karabakh national costumes, artistic and poetic compositions and gala concerts.

At the beginning of the event, the guests laid wreaths and flowers by the bust of National Leader Heydar Aliyev at the Cultural Center, as well as in front of the Martyrs and Victory memorial complex.

In the hall of the Azerbaijan Culture Center, a photo and publication exhibition called "Free and Prosperous Shusha" was presented to the guests.

The event continued in the large conference hall of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. Director of the center Samir Abbasov welcomed the guests of the event.

He called the Days of Shusha held for the first time in Uzbekistan a major event not only for the Azerbaijani culture, but also for the cultural and social life of Uzbekistan.

Speaking about the exceptional role of the city of Shusha in Azerbaijani culture, music, poetry, he emphasized that as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War, the Azerbaijani ancestral lands were liberated and by order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev the city was declared the Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan, and TURKSOY made a decision to declare it the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World for 2023.

The Azerbaijani Ambassador to Uzbekistan Huseyn Guliyev stressed that Shusha has a special place for the Azerbaijani state and people. He noted that the city, which had been under the occupation of Armenians for a long time, was destroyed, and historical monuments were desecrated.

The ambassador called the liberation of the city of Shusha from the Armenian occupation a significant historical event and noted that the construction work and important international events currently being held in the city make every Azerbaijani feel proud.

President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Gunay Afandiyeva, called the opening ceremony of the Days of Shusha in the Azerbaijan Cultural Center named after the Great Son of the Turkic world Heydar Aliyev, whose centenary is celebrated this year, a historic event.

She stressed that in connection with the announcement of the city of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic world, the organization she leads provides for the holding of Days of Shusha in various countries.

Gunay Afandiyeva outlined that the first event within the project took place last year in the Turkish city of Bursa, and this year it continues in Uzbekistan.

Emphasizing the contribution of the city of Shusha to Azerbaijani culture, literature, music, she noted the importance of bringing the rich cultural heritage of the city to the whole world.

The President of the Foundation assessed the holding of the Days of Shusha as a fusion of cultures of peoples with common roots, values, traditions, calling the city a new place of rapprochement, which laid the foundation for a new era in the Turkic world.

In his remarks, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov touched upon the intensively developing political ties between the Turkic countries in recent years and emphasized the high level of cultural ties between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Highly appreciating the Days of Shusha held in Tashkent under the auspices of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the minister noted that this is an important and significant event not only for Azerbaijani culture, but also for the culture of all Uzbekistan.

Calling Shusha the heart of Azerbaijan, Ozodbek Nazarbekov expressed particular interest in the city and admiration for its rich cultural heritage.

The minister said that the announcement of the city of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic world is a source of pride and a great event for all brotherly Turkic states.

Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States Mehmet Sureyya Er and Director of the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan Bahodir Abdukarimov emphasized the importance of cooperation with the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

They stressed that this project will contribute to the development of solidarity and cooperation between the countries of the Turkic world. The speakers emphasized that the historical Shusha, distinguished by high architecture and urban planning, has become a new symbol of unity and solidarity of the entire Turkic world.

Furthermore, a documentary film on Khurshidbanu Natavan was presented to the guests of the opening ceremony. The film, prepared by the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, featured both documentary and artistic scenes about the life and work of the famous representative of Azerbaijani literature, poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan.

The film scripts was written by Ulviyya Heydarova, and directed by Zahra Guliyeva. The lead role was played by People's Artist of Azerbaijan Mehriban Zaki.

The artistic part of the event brought together People's Artist of Uzbekistan, the artistic director of the Yalla ensemble Farrukh Zakirov, a mugham trio consisting of Azerbaijani musicians Nisbat Sardayeva, Rustam Muslimov, Elnur Salakhov, Azerbaijan Gizlary dance ensemble as well as world-famous musical dance group "Ozbegim yoshlari". Azerbaijani and Uzbek songs and dancers were met with much enthusiasm.

At the end of the ceremony, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva presented souvenirs dedicated to Shusha to the official guests and organizers.

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19 April 2023 10:17 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Col-Gen and his Kazakh counterpart Col-Gen Ruslan Zhaksylykov discussed prospects for the development of cooperation between the countries in the military, military-technical, and military-educational spheres, Azernews reports per the ministry.

During the meeting, organized in the framework of the Azerbaijani official's visit to Kazakhstan's Astana city, the sides also eyed other issues of mutual interest.

Upon arrival to the country, an official welcoming ceremony was organized for the visiting minister.

Further, the defense ministers passed along the guard of honor, the national anthems of both countries were performed and Hasanov signed the "Book of Honor" in accordance with the protocol.

In the end, a photo was taken.

As part of the visit, Col-Gen Hasanov visited the National Defense University named after First Kazakh - Elbasy.

After getting acquainted with the university, the Azerbaijani defense minister met with the Head of the university, Maj-Gen Lut Alchekenov.

During the meeting, detailed views were exchanged on further development of joint cooperation in the field of military education between the two countries, and other topics.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were established on August 30, 1992. The Kazakh embassy in Azerbaijan was opened on January 9, 1993, and the Azerbaijani embassy in Kazakhstan on March 1, 2004.

The two countries closely cooperate in various sectors of the economy. Around 160 companies with Kazakh capital operate in Azerbaijan in the industry, construction, trade, agriculture, transport, and services, and Azerbaijani companies are also represented in the Kazakh market.

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19 April 2023 11:42 (UTC+04:00)

Sabina Mammadli Read more

During the demining activity conducted by Azerbaijani National Agency for Mine Action (ANAMA) in the first quarter of 2023, 7,944 hectares of land were cleared, and 3,878 mines and unexploded ordnance were discovered, Azernews reports.

The remarks were made during the general meeting of the agency dedicated to the results of the first quarter of 2023.

Speaking at the event, Chairman of the agency Vugar Suleymanov said that Azerbaijan has identified the demining activity as one of its priorities for the purpose of the restoration and reconstruction of the liberated territories and the safe and stable settlement of the former IDPs in their homelands.

He also emphasized the importance of demining operations carried out within the framework of the "Great Return" program in the liberated territories.

Besides, the work done in the field of demining during the reported period and the tasks performed in various priority areas, as well as the status of operations were discussed during the meeting.

At the end of the meeting, relevant tasks were given in the direction of increasing efficiency in demining activities, upcoming obligations, challenges and ways to solve them.

Meanwhile, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry made a separate Twitter post stating that the number of landmines victims reached 291 since the end of the war.

Armenia-planted-landmines continue to kill and maim #Azerbaijan|is. Todays explosion hit a civilian in Tartar region. Since the end of war number of landmines victims reached 291. Armenia still refuses to provide accurate landmine maps.  MFA Azerbaijan  (@AzerbaijanMFA) April 18, 2023

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19 April 2023 14:24 (UTC+04:00)

Qabil Ashirov Read more

The project of restoration of internal roads of Lachin city is being implemented quickly and with quality by the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads (AAYDA), Azernews reports, citing AAYDA.

AAYDA noted that the roads are 59 km long, have 2 traffic lanes, and each of lane is 3-3.5 meters wide. The width of the embankment under the project is 8-15 meters.

AAYDA said reconstruction works are planned to be completed in the near future. For this purpose, the required number of manpower has been deployed to the area.

With the restoration of the internal roads of Lachin City, modern road infrastructure will be established in the city territory enabling future residents of the city and guests visiting the city to travel easily.

Besides that ground, drilling and blasting works related to the construction of Lachin International Airport, which was laid on August 16, 2021, with the participation of the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev and First Vice President Mehriban Aliyeva, are being carried out by the Azerbaijan Highways State Agency as well.

Lachin International Airport, built in the territory of Gorchu village of Lachin district, will be the highest airport in Azerbaijan above sea level.

We should note that the distance from Lachin International Airport to Lachin City is 38.1 km, to Shusha City is 75.0 km, and to Kalbajar City is 59.2 km.

The construction of Lachin International Airport will stimulate the socio-economic development of the region in general and will increase the tourism potential, AAYDA added.

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19 April 2023 14:35 (UTC+04:00)

The opening of Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel indicates the high level of our relations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister, co-chair of the Joint Commission Eli Cohen, Azernews reports.

Having stressed good political ties between the two countries, the President emphasized that relations between the two countries are based on friendship, mutual trust, respect and support. Saying that the bilateral cooperation agenda is expanding, President Ilham Aliyev specially underlined the activity of the Joint Commission between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel, and expressed hope that it could contribute to the diversification of relations.

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19 April 2023 15:28 (UTC+04:00)

The Assistant to the Azerbaijani President, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Anar Alakbarov met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Ma Zhaoxu, Azernews reports.

Ma Zhaoxu said that Azerbaijan-China relations, the foundation of which was laid by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, are currently developing in all areas thanks to the heads of the two states, and have risen to the level of strategic partnership.

He touched on the importance of the meeting of the heads of Azerbaijan and China within the framework of the last summit of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in terms of determining future cooperation prospects. He emphasized the importance of the humanitarian and cultural projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in China, as well as the cooperation between the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the activities of the embassies of both countries in the expansion of relations between the two countries.

Stating that the Azerbaijani delegation was one of the first delegations to visit the PRC after the pandemic, Ma Zhaoxu noted that Azerbaijan has always responded positively to all Chinese initiatives, and noted its contributions to the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

He spoke about the importance of establishing relations between all government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector for the further expansion of relations. The deputy minister wished peace to Azerbaijan, noting that the PRC supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Anar Alakbarov said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev always attaches importance and support to relations with the People's Republic of China, and strives to develop bilateral relations.

Information was given about the tourism potential of Azerbaijan, the large-scale restoration and construction works carried out in Azerbaijans liberated territories, as well as the availability of opportunities for Chinese investors and companies in projects in other regions of Azerbaijan.

Stating that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation will continue humanitarian and cultural projects in China in the future, Anar Alakbarov noted that state institutions are also highly interested in cooperation with China and emphasized that the state of Azerbaijan always supports the principle of "One China".

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The headquarters of KakaoBank in the city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province / Courtesy of KakaoBank



By Anna J. Park



KakaoBank has participated in Locked Shields 2023, the world's largest annual cyber defense exercise, as part of a unified team Korea, the internet-only bank announced on Wednesday. The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE) is hosting the annual event.



Over 2,600 cyber defense experts from 38 countries have joined this year's NATO-led cyber defense drills. The exercise involves protecting real computer systems from real-time attacks and simulation of tactical and strategic decisions.



Led by the National Intelligence Service (NIS), Team Korea is composed of about 60 people from 11 institutions, from private, government and military organizations. The exercise is taking place for four days from April 18 to 21 in Tallinn, Estonia. KakaoBank is remotely joining the drill from the city of Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province, where the bank's headquarters is located.



KakaoBank gained the qualification to join the annual global cyber exercise after it excelled in FIESTA 2022 (Financial Institutes' Event on Security Threat Analysis), an annual competition on cyber defense hosted by the Financial Security Institute.



During Locked Shields 2023, the KakaoBank is taking a role to defend online financial networks and to recover them.



"KakaoBank has joined the annual global drill as a representative of local financial companies, with an aim to better counter cyberattacks that are becoming more and more sophisticated," an official from KakaoBank said. "KakaoBank will continue to devote ourselves to strengthening security capabilities by participating in local and global cyber exercises," the official added.


19 April 2023 18:19 (UTC+04:00)

China Southern Airlines resumes direct scheduled flights between Urumqi (China) and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) from April 25, 2023.

According to the information, it is planned that flights will be carried out on Boeing 737-800 aircraft once a week  on Tuesdays.

The departing flight is scheduled to depart from Urumqi on Tuesday at 22:20 (GMT+8) and arrive in Ashgabat around 23:30 (GMT+5). The return flight will depart from Ashgabat on Wednesday at 01:00 (GMT+5) and arrive in Urumqi at 07:35 (GMT+8).

Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines suspended flights to Turkmenistan in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China Southern Airlines is based in Guangzhou (China). It is the largest Asian airline by fleet size, as well as the largest air carrier in Asia.

Meanwhile, at the moment, flights to Turkmenistan are operated by four foreign air carriers  Belarusian Belavia, S7 Airlines, FlyDubai and Turkish Airlines.

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You can reach Ishani Desai at 661-395-7417. You can also follow her at @_ishanidesai on Twitter.
A promotional image of the ReWorld Forum?/ Courtesy of SDX Foundation



By Lee Yeon-woo



SDX Foundation, a non-profit organization committed to sustainable development through digital transformation, will host the "ReWorld Forum" on April 26, with a key focus on transitioning the current finance system to achieve carbon reduction.



"ReWorld Forum is expected to develop into an international event that can advance ESG management based on carbon reduction," said SDX Foundation Chairman Jhun Ha-jin. "The forum aims to take a leading role in digital transformation-based carbon reduction transition finance, turning the climate crisis into an opportunity."





SDX Foundation Chairman Jhun Ha-jin / Courtesy of SDX Foundation



The forum is expected to explore solutions for the country's financial institutions, as its global counterparts increasingly embrace transition finance to achieve carbon reduction targets and transform management based on environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) principles.



According to the foundation, the scale of such finance is expected to reach $37 trillion in Asia alone by 2030. The foundation explained that institutions in Korea are likely to face more struggles for transition as more than one-third of their loaned companies manufacturing businesses.



"If Korean financial institutions fail to make progress in transitioning to sustainable practices, they are likely to face challenges on multiple fronts," said Choi Jung-kiu, a managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, Singapore.





Choi Jung-kiu, a managing director and partner at Boston Consulting Group, Singapore / Courtesy of SDX Foundation



"With finance for carbon reduction projected to account for 50-70 percent of the market between 2025 and 2030, Korean financial institutions may struggle to maintain sales if they are not willing to adapt," added Choi, who will deliver a keynote address at the forum as Standing Representative of ReWorld Forum, SDX Foundation.



Including Choi, multiple experts both from private and public sector backgrounds are expected to attend the forum. They aim to discuss the latest international trends and ways to enable financial institutions to participate actively in this transition.



Kim Jin-you, a partner at Samil PwC, will provide practical guidance on addressing the climate crisis at the working level, while Kim Seong-ju, the head of the ESG team at the Financial Supervisory Service, will discuss the institution's response to and direction for ESG.





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This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal . The author of this post is CJ Staff One provision in the N.C. House's 415-page budget plan could play a role in upcoming elections for the state's two highest courts.according to the provision on page 272 of House Bill 259.That would mark a change in current state law. Judges are now required to retire by the end of the month when they turn 72.The budget item is similar to House Bill 71, filed in February. That bill would have applied to all judges serving in theThe House budget provision applies only to members of the N.C. Supreme Court and Court of Appeals.For the state's highest court, raising the mandatory retirement age would have the most direct impact for Republican Chief Justice Paul Newby. Elected in 2020, Newby cannot serve a full eight-year term under current state law. He would be required to retire by the end of May 2027.The next governor would have a chance to appoint a replacement to fill the remainder of Newby's term. The appointed chief justice would run in 2028 to win a full eight-year term.With a change in the retirement age, Newby could serve his full term. He also could seek re-election, though he would be required to retire in May 2031, less than 2 1/2 years into an eight-year term.Senior Associate Justice Michael Morgan, a Democrat, is five months younger than Newby. Morgan can serve through the end of his current term in 2024. Under current law, he would be able to serve less than three years of a new eight-year term if he seeks re-election. Under the provisions of the House budget, Morgan would be able to serve almost seven years of an additional eight-year term.Justice Tamara Barringer, a Republican, can serve her entire eight-year term, through 2028, under current law. If she sought re-election that year, she could serve just two years of a new term. With the change proposed in the N.C. House, Barringer could serve for six years of a new term if she chose to seek re-election.Justice Anita Earls, a Democrat, can serve her entire term through 2026. Under current state law, Earls would be able to serve a little more than five years of a second term. With the House's proposed changes, Earls could serve a full second term. She even could run for a third term, but she would be forced to retire little more than one year into that term.The other three state Supreme Court justices face mandatory retirement no earlier than 2044 under current law.At the Appeals Court, the House budget provision would have the most immediate impact for Judge John Tyson, a Republican. Voters elected Tyson to a third term last November. Under current law, he must retire by July 2025, 2 1/2 years into his term.With the change proposed in the House budget, Tyson could serve through July 2029. He still would be required to retire before his term expired at the end of 2030. Under either scenario, the governor will appoint a replacement.Judge John Arrowood, a Democrat, can serve his full term through 2026. If Arrowood wanted to seek re-election, he could serve less than two years of a new term. With the House's proposed change, he could serve six years of a new term before facing mandatory retirement.The House will vote on its budget plan in the days ahead. It's not clear whether the state Senate will insert a similar provision into its own budget proposal.The change in mandatory retirement for appellate judges and justices would take effect only if the provision ends up in a budget approved by both chambers of the General Assembly and enacted with or without Gov. Roy Cooper's signature.
This post appears here courtesy of the Carolina Journal . The author of this post is Theresa Opeka It was a case of rinse and repeat for North Carolina lawmakers as they heard much of the same testimony from North Carolina Office of Recovery and Resiliency (NCORR) officials on efforts to help those who lost homes due to Hurricanes Matthew and Florence.The Joint Legislative Hurricane Response and Recovery Subcommittee questioned NCORR leadership for three-hours at the March 29 hearing about the little progress being made in getting people back into a home after losing everything, for some, as far as 2016, at their third hearing since September.NCORR Director Laura Hogshead testified that they have gone from completing 5-7 homes a month from figures released at the first hearing to a high of 58 homes in February. Due to weather delays, that number will drop to 38-40 for March. The numbers translate from 789 families in the completed stage in September to 1067 as of Wednesday.But time is ticking away for the 3,399 families still without homes. The federal government requires that the state spend $778 million by 2025 for Matthew and $ 2026 for Florence.Hogshead said they have gone from 192 active construction projects in December to 247 as of March 29.They also have begun working with the St. Bernard Project, a nationwide disaster recovery organization. Lawmakers heard from Col. J.R. Sanderson at the September hearing. He ran the South Carolina Disaster Recovery Program from 2015 to 2019. SBP has given NCORR recommendations like insourcing efforts, which she said has allowed for faster processing of applications.Hogshead said that taking over case management from HORNE in December and management of Rebuild NC Centers and contact centers from them in January has increased accessibility for applicants through increased center days and hours.Revision of the general contractors' scorecard has also increased accountability and prevents, in Hogshead's words, contractors fromin terms of taking on too many projects without completion. They now must begin work on 50% of their current projects before taking on new ones.She also credits Richard Trumper, senior advisor for disaster recovery for the N.C. Department of Public Safety for the addition of more pre-qualified contractors, which has gone from 23 in December to 56, but she notes not all are participating at the moment.Trumper was appointed to the position in February from his previous position as director of disaster recovery at the North Carolina Office of State Budget and Management to assist Hogshead and her staff.The program is also utilizing a new assignment threshold of $250,000, up from $30,000, and has increased partnerships with volunteer organizations like Habitat for Humanity.The questioning began with Sen. Jim Perry, R- Lenoir, who asked why it was taking so long to improve the payment process to contractors, one of which he said had $1.5 in outstanding invoices not paid by NCORR. Perry said that the contractor said if it wasn't for the slow payments, they could have an additional nine projects started.While she said she wasn't sure of the case Perry was referring to, Hogshead said contractors struggle to put all the information on an invoice, and they have established a team to help with the process.41 OF 115 FAMILIES IN HOMESSen. Danny Britt, R-Robeson, told Hogshead that she testified in September that 115 families would be back in their homes before Christmas 2022. He asked her how many actually returned home. She replied 41 families. Britt said that equals out to 4-5 families a month, and at that rate, all of them won't be back in their homes until June 2025. Hogshead said she disagreed with the number.Britt also touched upon issues with replacing homes with modular units, including NCORR only awarding a contract to one vendor and rejecting stock plans of houses. Hogshead said she wouldn't characterize it that way, as they promised specific floorplans to applicants.He said the Pennsylvania facility currently has four completed homes sitting in their lots since December because the modular vendor hasn't paid for the last seven modular homes that were delivered. Hogshead didn't believe that was correct.Britt asked.Hogshead replied,NCORR BLAMES COUNTY PERMITTING LAGSShe also blamed some counties for the lag time in getting permits, saying some of their environmental health departments are understaffed and suggested they use a third-party inspector.Sen. Steve Jarvis, R-Davidson, said NCORR has a project management issue, not a permitting one.he said.Hogshead also hit back that general contractors have to beas they are under a lot of scrutiny and hope people don't show up unannounced at job sites or factories asking all sorts of questions because it isn't a friendly environment right now for contractors.Rep. Shelly Willingham, D-Edgecombe, said NCORR, the local governments, the Department of Insurance, and all the contractors should meet so everyone can get on the same page to complete the remainder the homes.Sen. Brent Jackson, R-Sampson, asked Hogshead if they were notifying applicants of the priority process for getting people back into their homes. She said they are working on a process to ensure that people that need the most help are getting it but that the priority list is not transparent to those on it in terms of knowing where they are on it.Jackson said he was disappointed in her answers.he asked her.Hogshead replied,Jackson said,Trumper testified that his staff is currently composed of him and another person but plans to be an advisory team of five. They are currently seeking outside applicants for different positions.Both Perry and Rep. John Bell, R-Wayne, said Trumper was brought in to streamline the process, not add to the bureaucracy by hiring outside candidates while there are so many others currently on the NCORR staff who could handle those positions. It also adds to people's wait time to return to a home.Trumper said it would be a good investment of time and money to hire those individuals to get families home faster.Bell said.Perry said temporary housing assistance is approaching $21 million and mentioned that he was glad that William and Geraldine Williams, Greene County, finally had their modular home delivered, but not before the floor plan they were waiting on was built and delivered to other families.he askedTrumper replied that it happened before he started and wasn't aware of the decision-making process.Bell also noted that 0 homes had been completed by volunteer organizations like Habitat for Humanity, despite Trumper saying they have good relationships with them and a project in Brunswick County is receiving more attention than harder hit areas of Wayne, Greene, and Lenoir.Jackson said it was abundantly clear there is still more work to be done, noting they asked Hogshead to make improvements, but the changes she made seemed to be too little, too late.he said.
Stonemason Jo Hwan-jin poses in front of a "doldam," or stone wall made from Jeju Island's signature porous basalt rocks, in the island's northwestern town of Hallim, March 30. He has been on a decade-long mission to keep alive the disappearing tradition of stone walls that have embodied Jeju's distinct cultural identity for centuries. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



By Park Han-sol



JEJU ISLAND  Jeju Island goes by a handful of monikers, the most prominent of which, although somewhat well-worn, is "samdado," or the island of three types of abundance: women, stones and wind.



Sure, the list can be expanded to include other ubiquitous things like tangerines, horses and sprawling fields of canola flowers, but the volcanic island will always be synonymous with the hardy "haenyeo," (female divers), black basalt rocks and gales that are powerful enough to cause frequent flight cancellations at certain times of the year.



And of these distinctive features on the island, porous lava rocks and strong winds have given rise to a characteristically Jeju-style architectural feature, which represents a centuries-old tradition of the residents: "doldam," or stone wall.



The structure's plain name doesn't do justice to its rather unusual characteristic  namely, the visible gaps that exist between each of the stacked stones of varying shapes and sizes.



From a cursory glance, the wall may look as if it's ready to collapse at any moment without warning.



But its holes, which let air pass through instead of blocking it altogether, are what makes it a surprisingly sturdy and strategic protection against the island's recurring gales, said stonemason Jo Hwan-jin on a recent breezy day as he sat in the middle of a stone wall-lined pathway in Jeju's northwestern town of Hallim.





Jeju Island's "doldam" is known for its rather unusual characteristic  namely, the visible gaps formed between each of the stacked lava rocks of varying shapes and sizes. According to Jo Hwan-jin, its holes, which let the wind pass through instead of forcibly blocking it altogether, are what makes the wall surprisingly sturdy. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk







"The basalt rocks here, with their extremely rough textures, tend to have greater surface friction than granite or other types of stone," he noted. "The master builders can, therefore, carefully pile them up by hand to construct a durable wall while leaving gaps in between to create passageways for wind."



These stone walls date back to the 13th century during the latter days of the 918-1392 Goryeo Dynasty, when a government official from the mainland named Kim Gu was dispatched to Jeju to start his new post.



Historically, there were no strict boundaries maintained between farmlands, resulting in frequent disputes between the islanders over land ownership rights. Having no field borders also meant that crops were exposed to the constant risk of damage due to winds and free-range livestock.



It was when Kim ordered the locals to construct territorial markers using the easy-to-access basalt that "batdam," or field walls, were born.





"Batdam," or field walls, are installed to mark boundaries between farms in the island's northwestern town of Hallim. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



The stone walls have indeed become a familiar sight throughout the island since then.



In addition to the field walls, islanders built "jipdam," or stone wall fences around their houses, and "olletdam" to define the paths from their homes to main roads. "Wondam" were installed along the coast as a weir that traps fish at high tide, while "sandam" were placed around gravesites to protect ancestral burial mounds from livestock and fires.



It isn't an exaggeration to say that the lives of the islanders have for centuries begun and ended with these dark basaltic stones.



But Jo noted that the once-ubiquitous traditional basalt walls have been giving way to homogenous rows of cement and concrete structures in recent years as part of standardized building practices.



"Many of them are being damaged and razed without a trace," he said. "Some of the still-standing ones are no longer looked after properly. They're simply left to collapse, with no one making any efforts to preserve their original state."



As a professional "dolchaengi," which means stonemason in the Jeju dialect, he has been on a decade-long mission to keep alive the disappearing tradition of stone walls that have embodied Jeju's distinct cultural identity for generations.





Stonemason Jo Hwan-jin carefully stacks the basalt rocks on top of one another by hand to construct durable "doldam," while leaving gaps in between for air to flow. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



From painting major to full-time 'dolchaengi'



As a Jeju native, Jo grew up surrounded by doldam all his life, but his love affair with these walls only began in his sophomore year in college when he took his first-ever trip outside of the island to Gangwon Province.



On a train ride to Jeongseon County, he looked out the window and was shocked to discover that there were zero stone walls in sight.



"That was the first time I realized that the basalts that I grew up with my whole life were unique to where I'm from," he said. "And from that very moment, they became more than just ordinary rocks to me; they were cherished treasures."



As he was majoring in Western paintings at Jeju National University, Jo started painting, and later photographing, one basalt wall after another. But it wasn't until 2005 that he decided to build his own marital house that the lava rocks transformed from his artistic muse into his profession.



Having no technical knowledge of how to fashion an entire home out of basalt rock, he had to learn the necessary skills from his father, who had been a stonemason for over five decades at that point.



"My father used to be very much against the idea of me following in his footsteps," he noted. As the stone wall culture gradually lost prominence on the island, being a dolchaengi was no longer seen as a promising or even a viable occupation.



Nonetheless, the junior Jo's determination moved his father. For the next three years, the father and son went on to build a one-of-a-kind house with a peanut-shaped roof in Hallim-eup. Its intriguing shape soon became the talk of the town and was even featured on a nationally televised show.



Soon, construction requests for stone walls and houses poured in from all over the island. It wasn't long before stonemasonry became his true calling.





The porous basalt rocks on Jeju Island tend to have greater surface friction than other types of stone, according to Jo Hwan-jin. Such a quality makes them an ideal material for the construction of "doldam." Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk



Jo thought back to a particular encounter he had with seasoned stone wall builders when he was still a novice.



"I had a chance to observe them for a few days and saw that their techniques were exceptional. I decided to approach their boss and ask whether I could work with and learn from them," he recalled. "He said no, telling me that I was the kind of person who, if taught the skill, would go on to launch his own business."



Then, it hit him: There were hardly any established channels or platforms available for those interested in learning the skills of building stone walls.



"If such skills are not shared and passed down, the basalt walls on Jeju will one day cease to exist," he said. "I wanted to push ahead with my career as a stonemason, so that I would have a chance to teach any individual with an interest in these walls."



Years later, he did indeed.



In 2015, he founded Dolbitna Art School, which offers hands-on lessons and activities for students to help them become familiarized with the island's native lava rocks and learn about their cultural value. Once a month, he and his students visit different villages to volunteer to repair damaged public stone walls.



Jo keeps himself busier than ever nowadays as he spends his time constructing and repairing stone walls, running the school and seeking out master stonemasons living in obscurity throughout the island to document their stories for posterity.



The stone wall culture of Jeju, while lesser known than that of other countries like the United Kingdom, Ireland and Italy, possesses its own unique charms, the stonemason noted.



"The most important task that currently lies ahead of us is its preservation. Even as we speak, there are basalt walls that are being damaged, collapsed and razed, yet there have been no clear-cut policies implemented to protect them," he said. "Only when such systemic measures are in place can we properly promote their beauty and value to the world."





Stonemason Jo Hwan-jin is busier than ever nowadays as he spends his time constructing and repairing stone walls, running his school and seeking out master stonemasons throughout Jeju Island to document their stories for posterity. He continues to call for policies to preserve the island's disappearing stone wall culture. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Yes; the Cheneys despise this former Republican president, and for good reason ... so they say.

No; never has a former president been treated with this level of vindictive abuse by those temporarily in power.

Who cares? It's Trump.

841 total vote(s) What's your Opinion?
This post appears here courtesy of The James G. Martin Center . The author of this post is Chris Corrigan I recently turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare. Like other medical insurance, Medicare requires providers who accept reimbursement to agree to a set rate for the services they provide. Since Medicare is one of the largest healthcare payers in the country, it uses its size to negotiate very low reimbursement rates, sometimes even lower than the cost to provide services. Capping reimbursements for services is one of the reasons people have health insurance; the leverage of a big insurance provider helps to keep costs low. If Medicare paid whatever the provider billed, the system would soon go bankrupt. And yet, that is exactly what the Federal Student Loan program does with higher-education institutions.The borrowing limits on the two main types of federal loans, Direct Subsidized Loans and Direct Unsubsidized Loans (both known as Stafford Loans), are set nationally, and loans are awarded to students by higher-ed institutions based on each institution's total cost of attendance. There are limits to how much can be borrowed, but, by combining loan types and continuing on to graduate school, students can accumulate several hundred thousand dollars in debt.The Federal Student Loan program is an artifact of the 1965 Higher Education Act and subsequent amendments to that act in 1992. In 1965-66, the average cost of attendance at a four-year, private institution was $1,128, which, adjusted for inflation, amounts to $8,500 in 2021-22 money. Lawmakers set the act's initial borrowing limits in line with what institutions were then charging, and those limits are periodically updated by Congress.The effect of linking borrowing limits to the cost of attendance has been to create a large subsidy for higher-ed institutions. As in the case of all subsidized goods, the result has been a rapid price increase designed to capture the subsidies. The effect has been significant. Average college tuition and fees increased by 1,200 percent between 1980 and 2020, while general (cpi) inflation was a mere 236 percent.It doesn't make sense that students and (ultimately) taxpayers should provide payment to cover some universities' exorbitant rates when lower-tuition offerings abound. Even government-backed mortgage programs require a rigorous appraisal process to make sure that the consumer is not overpaying and that the government is not taking on too much risk. I propose a reform in which federal loans can be granted only at institutions where the cost-per-credit-hour is at or below a federal maximum. As a starting point, that cost could be $300 per credit hour for undergraduates and $450 for graduate students, figures that are close to the national averages for four-year, public institutions.To be clear, this does not mean that a student's borrowing alone would be limited to that amount. It means that an institution that wishes to receive federal loan dollars at all cannot charge more than the predetermined cost-per-credit-hour. Institutions would be free to charge non-borrowers any amount they chose, but student-loan borrowers' rates would be capped, in the same manner that Medicare caps payments to healthcare providers but lets them charge other insurance companies different rates.This proposal would have several beneficial effects. First, the aggregate amount borrowed would shrink sharply. Eventually, the tidal wave of student debt would shrink to a more manageable amount, and individual borrowers' debt loads, especially at private, four-year institutions, would be dramatically reduced. Institutions would be forced to reduce their cost structures in order to accommodate the lower reimbursements, thus slowing the higher-education inflation rate.Of course, this would be a radical turn of events for some institutions. The cost of four years' tuition at Harvard was about $220,000 in 2021-22. The most that could be charged under my proposal would be around $36,000. There is, at present, a lifetime limit on undergraduate federal loan borrowing of $57,500, but most institutions would be capped at about 63 percent of that amount. The greatest benefit would be for graduate students, where the lifetime cap is $138,500. A two-year master's or professional program would be capped at about $27,000.While this proposal would force high-cost private and public institutions into a dilemma, most institutions and students would be unaffected. More than half of all students in higher education do not borrow at all. And most institutions charge less than the proposed capped amounts, with a handful, like Hillsdale and Grove City College, electing not to participate in the Federal Student Loan program at all.One of the reasons why the cumulative amount borrowed by students is so high ($1.7 trillion and growing) is that the Federal Student Loan program is a one-size-fits-all approach that does not evaluate credit risk. A student pursuing a gender-studies degree can borrow the same amount as an engineering or accounting student with lots of high-paying job possibilities.Legislation capping colleges'rates should include an expansion of the private loan market for students. A smart student in a program with high earnings potential may need more money to finish his or her program, so let the university or private lenders make normal credit decisions about that student. A purely private student-loan system would have restrictions on eligibility set by private banks or the institutions themselves. You would not be able to get money to study a subject with little or no employment prospects, or, if you did, the interest rates would be much higher. This would discourage students from studying subjects with poor employment prospects (or institutions from even offering them), unless they could pay for it themselves through post-graduation income. It would push students into studying subjects that give them skills that are actually in demand.In this new world, some students would have to consider options other than a four-year degree. Such an outcome might be better for them and better for the economy. As has been widely reported, some states, most recently Utah, have eliminated degree requirements for government positionsAs recently as January 2023, Pennsylvania dropped four-year-degree requirements for government jobs. Easy access to student-loan debt encourages students to attend school longer rather than seeking out these better non-college alternatives.The uncapped fee-for student loans has resulted in a mountain of debt. This has led to political pressure to reduce balances and payments, or to forgive balances altogether. Shifting the loan burden to taxpayers and leaving higher education unscathed is unfair and counterproductive. Capping borrowing amounts at much lower levels would be a good start to resolving this problem.
Representatives from fashion merchandising and other areas in the East Carolina University College of Health and Human Performance talk with prospective students in Minges Coliseum during Pirates Aboard Admitted Students Day on March 25. (ECU photo by Rhett Butler)

This post appears here courtesy of ECU News Services . The author of this post is Matt Smith Donors and the merchandising advisory board are instrumental to the success of students and faculty in the East Carolina University Department of Interior Design and Merchandising.One evolving aspect is how board members work with faculty to enhance curriculum for courses. Using their professional knowledge and insight, board members keep faculty informed of industry trends along with skills and strategies students should focus on as they prepare for professional opportunities.It is part of an overall emphasis of professionals directly and indirectly connecting to eager students.said Marina Alexander, merchandising advisory board faculty chair and an associate professor in interior design and merchandising.Financial support also can have a major impact on students. Donor Betty Thomas from City Beach, Western Australia, who is family to Alexander, helped interior design and merchandising - part of the College of Health and Human Performance - win the university's annual Pirate Nation Gives fundraiser farthest-away gift challenge in consecutive years.IDMR earned $4,000 in challenge bonus money for the farthest gift this year, which will help support a clothing closet project for students to have access to professional wardrobe items.Last year's bonus money of $3,000 helped send students to the National Retail Federation Student Program in New York.That is where senior Emma Smith participated in an in-person interview with department store retailer Burlington and received an unforgettable follow-up phone call.said Smith, who graduates in May.Jenna Scott accepted an internship with Nordstrom. Sofia Pereira will intern at Belk.Smith accepted her job offer, thus turning Pirate Nation Gives efforts from others into her professional start.Smith said of the National Retail Federation Student Program.Board supportSmith's story was a popular topic during the March 31 merchandising advisory board meeting.Longtime board members include Britt Laughinghouse (Bostic Sugg Furniture, Inc.), Miles Barefoot (Albion and Associates), Walter Perkins III (The Hammock Source) and retired board member Joseph DiGiulio (Jerry's Artarama). Joining them to form the full board are Alice Trimble (Gucci), Chris Knott (johnnie-O), Erin Davis (Truly Yours), Freddy Simon (Freddy Simon and Associates/Atlanta Apparel Mart), Haley Garrison (Storr Office Environments), Nathan Kelly (Greenville Mall/Brookfield Properties) and Stephanie Bond (Kidde, Carrier Global). Non-attending consultants include Greg Grauel (Fanatics) and Kristi Forbes (AmericasMart Atlanta).Board meetings feature an in-person panel discussion for students to ask questions. The next meeting will include a board review of curriculum materials.Laughinghouse said.All of the board members are ECU alumni and some are IDMR graduates.Perkins, Laughinghouse, Bond and Knott worked with Alexander and Amanda Muhammad, interior design and merchandising department chair, to establish an initial endowed $25,000 scholarship in December. The first $1,000 scholarship will be awarded this year.Alexander, whose colleagues as fashion merchandising and consumer studies faculty include Tiffany Blanchflower, Runying Chen, Erin Parrish and Muhammad, said helping students succeed is part of faculty and donor roles. Smith and many others IDMR students benefit as they ready themselves for professional careers.Smith said.
Policy choices in response to the pandemic increased parental demand for more educational options

Senate Bill 406 would remove income eligibility requirements for the Opportunity Scholarship Program and reward scholarships on a sliding scale

Household income would determine the size of the award and ensure that needy families continue to receive the largest scholarships

School choice is expanding across the United States as never before. Utah, Arkansas, Arizona, West Virginia, and Florida have all approved programs to give families in those states a full range of educational options. So what's changed?In the early days of the school choice movement, choice offered a way out for kids stuck in difficult circumstances or in failing schools - a way for a caring society to give a helping hand to disadvantaged kids. States created means-tested voucher programs and Education Savings Account (ESA) programs to serve low-income and special-needs students.Governmental and school-board responses to the pandemic changed all that. Closed classrooms, virtual learning, and politicized curricula increased parental frustration. Parents from all incomes and political backgrounds were seeing the advantages of increasing educational options for students. Pandemic policiesparental frustration.Opinion polls reflected these changing sentiments. A June 2022 national poll found support for school choice among respondents had increased from 64 percent to 72 percent between 2020 and 2022, an increase of 8 percentage points. The Civitas Poll tracks a similar increase in popularity among school choice programs in North Carolina, with support for the Opportunity Scholarship Program increasing 7 percentage points over the last year and charter schools gaining 10 points over the same time period.New legislation before the North Carolina Senate would be a game-changer for concerned parents. Sens. Michael Lee, Amy Galey, and Lisa Barnes, all chairs or co-chairs of influential Senate education committees, introduced Senate Bill 406 to expand the Opportunity Scholarship Program to all North Carolina schoolchildren. Under SB 406 as filed, every child attending or eligible to attend a North Carolina public school would be eligible for an Opportunity Scholarship, which provides state government funding to families below established income thresholds to use for private school tuition or related educational expenses.The legislation would remove the program's income eligibility requirements and replace them with a system that awards scholarships based on a sliding scale. Household income would still determine the size of the scholarship awarded, and the plan would ensure that needy families would still continue to receive the largest scholarships.Along with opening eligibility to Opportunity Scholarships, the bill would require schools to offer a new sequence of high school courses to allow students to graduate in three years. Also, for students who graduate early from high school, it would create a scholarship for two semesters of study in a postsecondary institution. The amount of the scholarship would be determined annually by available funds and by the Office of State Education Assistance Authority, the agency that administers the Opportunity Scholarship Program.The following table shows how Opportunity Scholarship awards would be made under SB 406, depending upon family income level:How Opportunity Scholarship Awards Would Change Under SB 406As the table shows, children in households with annual incomes at or below the amount to qualify for the federal free and reduced-price lunch program - about $55,000 for a family of four - would receive up to 100 percent of the average state per-pupil allocation from the previous year. The maximum award in 2023-24 would be $7,213. Progressively lower scholarship amounts would be available for students from higher household income levels.These are challenging times. Students are struggling academically. Only 35 percent of our 4th graders and 25 percent of our 8th graders are proficient in math. Outcomes from pandemic policies have also underscored the reality that all students are different and learn differently. Not all students thrive in the same environment - which is even more reason for parents to be able to choose the best educational option for their child.In Pierce v. Society of Sisters (1925), the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed parents' inherent right to direct their child's education and upbringing. By expanding school choice options, states strengthen the rights of parents to carry out those duties. Some parents will choose the local public schools and be satisfied. For others, those schools will not be a good fit.If we're truly committed to all students, shouldn't we have an educational system that allows all parents to make the best educational choices for their children - not just hope to live in a good school district or the right zip code?For those concerned about whether Opportunity Scholarships lack accountability andas critics charge, look at the facts. Recipients of the Opportunity Scholarship are required to comply with all health, safety, and nondiscrimination requirements that public schools must meet, along with meeting certain academic and financial requirements. In addition, once a year schools are required to administer nationally standardized tests to all OSP students and have the results forwarded to the State Education Assistance Authority.The Opportunity Scholarship Program was first approved in 2013, and while critics have been saying thefor the past decade, public school budgets have increased every year since 2011. In addition, total per-pupil expenditures (local, state, and federal) have increased from $8,514 in 2013 to $12,345 in 2022. Do those numbers signify a public school system in financial decline?Finally, parents - not the state - are really the ultimate source of accountability. Because parents are the ones who choose the schools, the schools know they must work hard to be responsive to parental concerns. If the schools aren't, the students - and the tuition they bring - will go elsewhere.North Carolina needs more school choice. Lawmakers are right to consider expanding a growing and popular program. Emboldened by a healthy increase (7 percentage points) in public support for the Opportunity Scholarship Program, lawmakers are right to consider expanding a growing and popular program. These trendlines are a resounding affirmation of the program. SB 406 would be a huge step to empower parents to give greater educational options to their children. It's also a compelling reason why lawmakers should give the legislation serious consideration.
"The Great War" is not over as Beaumont residents are still looking for Taylor Swift tickets with just days before her show.

Swift, a 12-time Grammy winner, is making the fifth stop on her Eras Tour in Houston this weekend, with shows starting at 6:30 p.m. Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

Tickets for the tour first went on sale Nov. 15, 2022, a day fans have named "The Great War" after a song on her newest album "Midnights." Verified fans on TicketMaster had to wait in virtual lines for hours after the site crashed during the presale for Eastern time zone venues. A general sale was scheduled for days later on Nov. 18. However, it was canceled due to high demands and insufficient tickets remaining.

Ever since, fans have been trying to obtain resale tickets that have gone for thousands of dollars.

More Information The full list of metro areas listed in the Google Trends top ten for "Taylor Swift Houston Tickets" are: Houston -- 100 interest Beaumont-Port Arthur -- 94 interest Waco-Temple-Bryan -- 70 interest Austin -- 49 interest Corpus Christi -- 36 interest Harlingen-Weslaco-Brownsville-McAllen -- 30 interest San Antonio --24 interest Shreveport, LA --23 interest Dallas-Fort Worth -- 17 interest Tyler-Longview (Lufkin and Nacogdoches) -- 15 interest See More Collapse

RELATED: Taylor Swift announces new tour, tickets go on sale for TX concert this month

Just three days before her concerts in Houston begin, Beaumont-Port Arthur is ranked second among metros who have searched "Taylor Swift tickets Houston," according to Google Trends at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday. Being ranked just below Houston with a 100 interest, Beaumont had a 94 interest.

The level of interest is the search volume compared with the other topics in the area, according to BetTexas.com.

The cheapest tickets are obstructed-view nosebleeds being sold for $550-600 before fees and taxes on resale sites such as SeatGeek and Vivid Seats, as of 5:30 Tuesday.

The tour has already sold out venues in Arizona, Las Vegas, Arlington and Tampa.
Courtesy of Mark Allen

The Jasper County Commissioners Court covered the following items during Monday's regular session:



First, the court appointed Commissioner Precinct 2 Foreman Chris Ruiz as airport manager for Jasper Countys Bell Field Airport to assist with the day-to-day operations. Precinct 3 Foreman Derek Thomson currently serves as the Kirbyville Airport Manager.



In other airport business, the court authorized Randy Fussell of the Kirbyville area to utilize a portion of green space around Jasper Countys Kirbyville Airport for grazing. It is compensation for constructing and repairing sections of perimeter fencing, mowing and removing trees that can obstruct the flight path at the airport for a five-year period.



In road and bridge matters, the court awarded contracts on bids received on road and bridge materials and identified a sole source provider for road slag material, and then OKd the purchase of a 2019 Ford F350XL service truck, worth over $69,000, for Commissioner Precinct 2 Kevin Holloways operation, based on the bid received from Century Trucks out of Grand Prairie.



During the discussion concerning road and bridge materials, the court noted that costs for road materials had increased by 25 to 400% over last years bids received.



Next, the court discussed utilizing grant funding from the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 to purchase additional road and bridge materials for each Commissioner Precinct. The funding will assist with self-help road repair and upgrade projects. However, the court tabled the item until further information could be obtained on amounts needed and what would be available for use.



Next, the court adopted a resolution designating the first week of May as Jury Appreciation Week in Jasper County, thanking those citizens that regularly appeared when summoned for jury service in the District, County and Justice of the Peace Courts for civil and criminal trials.



The court then adopted another resolution designating April as Child Abuse Awareness Month in Jasper County, and recessed briefly to release blue and red balloons representing the children that were in need of care and one child that was lost in 2022. The court thanked the members of Court Appointed Special Advocates, also known as CASA, and Jasper Countys Child Welfare Board for consistently stepping up to protect Jasper County children against abuse and neglect.



In other matters, the court considered a request made by the Jasper County Indigent Health Department for a software upgrade to enable expanded telehealth access for clients, but tabled the item until further information on long-term costs could be provided.



Concluding business, Jasper County Judge Mark Allen presented the monthly criminal and civil fee reports on behalf of District Clerk Rosa Norsworthy, who was busy upstairs assisting the District Court. Deputy Treasurer Stacy Waggener presented the financial report on behalf of County Treasurer Rene Ellis.



That covers it for this court meeting. Have a great week and as always, feel free to give me a call if you need anything my way.



Mark Allen, County Judge

Jasper County, Texas
Beaumont police say a local man shook his son so hard he caused four broken ribs, detached retinas and hemorrhaging.

Dylan Anthony Banks, Sr., 25, was indicted by a Jefferson County Grand Jury late last month for injury to a child, elderly individual or disabled individual.

On Jan. 20, Banks' son was brought to Texas Children's Hospital in Houston, put on a ventilator and listed in critical condition, according to Beaumont police.

Testing by hospital staff found the baby had injuries consistent with abusive trauma specifically, being shaken. Reported injuries include four broken ribs and bilateral detached retinas with hemorrhaging, police said.

RELATED: Mother arrested in connection with the death of her child

A Houston police detective determined the child's mother was his main caregiver but usually worked from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Court documents say the child was born with special needs and has to be fed with a tube, causing the child to cry frequently.

Police determined that Banks and the child's mother on Jan. 13 got into an argument before she left around 9 a.m.. The child started crying, before Banks hit the child and shook him so violently, Banks thought he caused the broken ribs and detached retinas with hemorrhaging, according to Beaumont police.

The baby then started showing signs of "medical distress," but Banks made no effort to get him medical attention until he was taken to the hospital on Jan. 20, police said.
ORANGE -- Under the bright but overcast Southeast Texas sky, less than a mile away from the edge of the Sabine River, the site of countless future educational opportunities was born.

Dozens of community leaders and members gathered Wednesday at 357 N. 4th St. in Orange to celebrate the groundbreaking of Lamar State College Orange's new, state-of-the-art 55,000 square-foot academic building.

Funded by the 87th Legislature and Senate Bill 52, the $37.4 million dollar facility is the largest single capital investment the college has seen in its 54 years.

Standing on the grounds where the old Capital One building once stood, the groundbreaking was the latest in a line of celebratory events recently finding a home in Orange County, coming a month after the $8.5 billion Chevron Phillips Chemical plant broke ground on its facility.

Lamar Orange to open satellite campus in Hardin County Transportation is the biggest hindrance to education for rural students, according to Lamar State College Orange President Tom Johnson. Growing up on the edge of Hardin County with family still residing there, Johnson said he saw the need to provide students there with easier access to higher education. To help alleviate the strain, Lamar Orange is opening a 3,000 square-foot satellite campus in Lumberton, set to be ready for students by January 2024. "Typically at a two-year school, there's a 30-mile radius around your school where your students come from," he said. "I started seeing this growing area 32 miles away from us, which was Lumberton. So now, we can simply take the 30-mile radius of that and we can hit little towns like Warren, Votaw, Kountze, Sour Lake and we can provide an opportunity for accessibility for those kids to go to school in the Hardin County area." Johnson said he hopes the campus will help students, particularly first-generation students, who maybe have a harder time taking online classes. Additionally, it will provide those students an opportunity to meet new people. See More Collapse

"It's a great day to be in Orange, Texas," Lamar State College Orange President Tom Johnson reiterated as he greeted state and local officials before the ceremony.

RELATED: Photos: Lamar Orange celebrates groundbreaking of new Academic Building

The key word of the day was opportunity -- exactly what Lamar Orange hopes the building will provide for its students.

"It's a great investment because with all the industry that's coming into the Golden Triangle, the more people we can train and teach, they can go right to work...or they can transfer to (Lamar University) and finish out their degrees," Johnson told The Enterprise Wednesday. "It's nice having the ability to, if you need to get a trade, skill or craft, you can do that here. If you want to get further in education, all you have to do is go to Beaumont."

The need for a new academic building was first realized by former Lamar Orange President Michael Shahan, who led the campus for 24 years before retiring in 2018, when Johnson took the helm.

"(Shahan) laid out why we needed a new academic building -- ours was old," Johnson told The Enterprise Wednesday. "I took what he laid out and then went to the Texas State University System and (now Texas Speaker of the House) Dade Phelan (who represents Orange County) was just magnificent. He understood what we wanted...he really did us a great job here."

Set to open for classes Sept. 1, 2024, this new academic building is going to be bigger and better than anything the college has seen thus far, Johnson said. Coming in at 55,000 square feet, it's almost 10,000 square feet larger than the largest building on Lamar Orange's campus, the Ron E. Lewis Library, which sits across the street.

RELATED: Vidor partners with Lamar University, Lamar Orange to ease teacher shortage

"It'll be two-story instead of three-story, so it will take up nearly this entire block," Johnson said.

While the day was a clear triumph for Lamar State College Orange, the entire community could see the benefits from the new building and the county's continued growth.

For West Orange-Cove CISD and Vidor ISD Superintendents Rickie Harris and Jay Killgo, who together oversee just under 7,000 students, the project is an exciting part for their students' journeys into Lamar Orange's future.

"It will continue the collaboration that we've had over the years and open up new opportunities as far as increased enrollment...it's going to be a great thing for our students," Harris said.

The college serves as a "manageable next step" for Orange County students, providing them an affordable education that directs them toward a career pathway, Killgo said.

"I grew up in a community where it was an hour to a community college, and I remember that there were students that weren't ready to make that financial jump -- they didn't have the time, they were working (and had) a family," he said. "So, we're fortunate in Orange County, we're fortunate to be with Lamar (University) and LSCO close by and just the vision that LSCO has to be able to constantly look for improvement, it's impressive."

RELATED: Officials reiterate economic impact of new Orange plant during groundbreaking ceremony

When Orange County Judge John Gothia began his education at Lamar Orange in the early 1980s, he said it was just a one-room building. To see how the college and county as whole has grown, particularly within the past couple of years, is a meaningful sign for the county's future, he said.

"One of the things that we lacked for years for years, and I've got to hand it to Speaker Phelan, what he saw when he got into the state Legislature, the complaints that we've all been having is that our students were having to go somewhere else to get an education and then they were having to go somewhere else to get a job," Gothia told The Enterprise Wednesday. "Now, we have job opportunities here, but to (take advantage) of the job opportunities, you have to have a trained workforce. This is going to help provide the trained workforce so that students can go from high school and go to college here locally and then get out of our college here locally and have an opportunity for a job and be able to stay in Southeast Texas. That's the goal -- to be able to have all of those pieces put together and this just continues that."

Lamar University President Jaime Taylor and Lamar Institute of Technology President Sidney Valentine were also present to celebrate the groundbreaking, highlighting how well the Lamar schools work together -- more in tandem than a competition. Of the seven institutions that make up the Texas State University System, four of them are in the Golden Triangle.

"A lot of people don't understand how fortunate Southeast Texas is to have three state colleges and one thriving university," Regent Stephen Lee said. "I think this is just another example of the impact that being a part of this system is having on the face of our community."

RELATED: CP Chem chooses Southeast Texas city for new $8.5B facility

As the event wound down, Johnson reflected on his personal passion for education in Southeast Texas. Port Arthur-born and raised in the Livingston area, Johnson said he sees his own journey reflected in many of Lamar Orange's students.

"Many of our students are like me -- first generation to go to college, many have jobs, many have children, many have to take school online or at night," he said. "But our students meet that challenge. They persevere. Our Gators succeed."

He developed an acronym while in the finalist phase of being considered for the presidency -- FIRST, which stands for First class education; Improving lives; Respect for all; Service to Community; and Tradition of Excellence. It's something the college tries to instill in each student.

"This may not mean anything to anybody else, but it means a lot to me," he said.

While the event tent and balloons were being taken down, crews were already moving in to make the longtime vision a reality.

olivia.malick@hearst.com
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP)  Lawmakers in Iowa's Senate passed a controversial bill Tuesday that would allow minors to work longer hours and work in currently banned roles, like serving alcohol at restaurants, the Des Moines Register reported.

Supporters of the bill  mainly Republicans  said it would give children valuable opportunities to work and get paid, whereas opponents  largely Democrats  said it would harm children.

Although two Republicans defied their party and voted against the bill with Democrats, the measure still passed 32-17 in the GOP-controlled Senate. The bill requires approval from the Republican-controlled House and from Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds to become law.

The bill would allow kids under 16 to work up to six hours a day, which is two more hours than currently allowed for that age group. It would also allow 16- and 17-year-olds to serve alcohol at restaurants, with written permission from their parent or guardian.

Ultimately, parents and kids will decide if they want to work or not," Reynolds has said favorably about the bill. "It teaches the kids a lot. And if they have the time to do it and they want to earn some additional money, I dont think we should discourage that.

The U.S. Department of Labor's top lawyer, Seema Nanda, disagreed, saying it is irresponsible for states to consider loosening child labor protections."

Democrats and labor unions echoed that sentiment, saying the bill would increase the chance of workplace accidents and injuries among youth.

The Biden administration this month urged U.S. companies to make sure they aren't illegally hiring children to perform dangerous jobs, after an investigation found more than 100 kids working overnight and handling hazardous equipment  like skull splitters and bone saws  for a company that cleans slaughterhouses across the country.

The Labor Department says it has more than 600 child labor investigations underway, and officials are concerned about the exploitation of children, particularly migrants who may not even have a parent in the United States.
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BRASILIA, Brazil (AP)  Brazils government announced efforts Tuesday to spend more on securing schools and crack down on the incitement of violence as officials seek to curb a wave of fatal school attacks.

The array of measures were discussed at a meeting convened by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the capital, Brasilia, among ministers, governors and mayors.

The governments effort to shore up school security began earlier this month after a man killed four children at a day care center in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Three other incidents occurred in the preceding months of 2023.

This is a moment for us all to unite, independent of political, partisan or ideological issues, Education Minister Camilo Santana said at the opening of the event, attended by all but one of Brazil's 27 governors and dozens of mayors.

Whats at stake is the lives of kids and adolescents in our country," Santana said.

Santana announced 3.12 billion reais ($625 million) in funding for schools to reinforce security and infrastructure, plus tens of millions more for treating mental health and training teachers in prevention.

The government has also created an online program to teach safety recommendations to school administrators and teachers, a task force for monitoring of social media and hotlines to report suspicious activity.

The latter actions, in particular, have contributed to a crackdown by the justice ministry and state police forces against adults and minors suspected of inciting violence in schools. Over the past 10 days, 225 people have been arrested or detained, according to Justice Minister Flavio Dino, adding that his ministry's website received more than 7,000 reports in the same period.

The number of arrests and detentions allows us to see that these arent isolated cases, and shows that bad actors use online platforms to recruit our youth for evil, Dino said.

School violence in Brazil had been uncommon, but has grown increasingly frequent in recent years. From 2000 to 2022, 16 attacks or violent episodes happened in schools, four of them in the second half of last year, according to a report from researchers led by Daniel Cara, an education professor at the University of Sao Paulo.

That's why we are here: to cut off this dangerous ascent of violence, of hatred, Dino said.

At the meeting, regulation of social media was a recurring proposal to prevent further incidents, particularly holding platforms responsible for failing to remove content that incites violence. Dino noted that some companies that initially resisted compliance with takedown requests have come around and, in the past 10 days, removed or suspended more than 750 profiles.

Alexandre de Moraes, a Supreme Court justice who is also president of the electoral authority, compared violent comments shared on social media to fake news during last year's presidential race, as well as the antidemocratic speech that led to an uprising in the capital on Jan. 8, with supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro trashing government buildings.

Efforts to clamp down on antidemocratic speech last year often followed the contours of Brazil's political divide, and so prompted allegations of repression of free speech. De Moraes referred to social media as a no-mans land where users can still get away with actions and speech that are illegal in real life, and said regulation is needed. Lula voiced his support for regulation, too.

Either we have the courage to discuss the difference between freedom of expression and stupidity, or we won't get very far, Lula said, speaking after everyone else at the meeting.

Lula's administration since January has adopted measures to tighten gun control, reversing the push by Bolsonaro to facilitate access. However, Lula didn't touch on the issue Tuesday, nor did others  perhaps because it is increasingly a political hot button, or because knives have been more commonly used in Brazilian school attacks.

Nor did Lula support schools resorting to walls, metal detectors or inspections of children's backpacks. Instead, he focused on the need for stronger parental education and resources for mental health.

We are not going to transform our schools into a maximum security prison, which will not work. There is no money for that, and it is not politically correct, humanely correct or socially correct, Lula said.

If we try to do that, we are demonstrating that we aren't very useful, because we don't know how to resolve the real problem.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un and his daughter Ju-ae inspect an aerospace agency in Pyongyang, Tuesday, in this photo released the day after by the North's official Korean Central Television. Yonhap



Regime seeks to strengthen intelligence capability with multiple satellites



By Jung Min-ho



North Korean leader Kim Jong-un said his regime has completed the development of its first reconnaissance satellite and told officials to expedite the preparations for launching it as planned, state media reported Wednesday.



During his Tuesday visit to North Korea's aerospace agency, Kim claimed that acquiring high levels of intelligence-gathering capability is essential to protecting its sovereignty against the United States.



Based on his previous comment made at a plenary meeting of the Central Committee of the ruling Workers' Party in December 2022, experts told The Korea Times that North Korea will likely launch its satellite this month  possibly during the Seoul-Washington summit.



"According to the plan North Korea previously announced, it will launch the satellite in April. It will most likely stick to the plan unless there are serious technical problems," said Cheong Seong-chang, an expert on North Korea at the Sejong Institute, a think tank.



"With advanced satellites, North Korea would be able to more precisely strike key military facilities, such as the United States Army garrison in Pyeongtaek, which is a grave threat to South Korea and the U.S."



Kim justified the technological development as the North's "sovereign and legitimate right to self-defense." He also said his regime plans to send "multiple spy satellites" into orbit in the long run, as it strives to become a "world-class space power."



North Korea's previous missile and rocket tests have suggested that it is capable of sending satellites into space, but questions remain over whether it possesses the technology required to make a functional, useful satellite for military purposes.



"Whether the North's satellite can provide high-resolution images as it should has not been verified," said Cha Du-hyeogn, a senior researcher at the Asan Institute for Policy Studies, a think tank. "But the important thing is that North Korea has been implementing what it said it would, sending South Korea and the U.S. the message that it is making progress on its plans."





North Korean leader Kim Jong-un speaks to officials during his inspection visit to an aerospace agency in Pyongyang, Tuesday, in this photo released a day later by the North's official Korean Central Television. Yonhap
There are only 45 days left in the Legislative session and it certainly shows. The days at the Capitol are getting longer and bills are making their way through the process.

Here are five things happening around your state:

1. Broadband grant applications due in May

The Comptrollers Office is now accepting grant applications to the Bringing Online Opportunities to Texas (BOOT) program, which focuses on funding broadband infrastructure projects. The state was allocated $363.8 million through the federal Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund to build critical infrastructure projects that would expand access to high-speed internet. The Broadband Development Office will distribute the funds through a competitive grant process. Applicants may include a commercial service provider, including electric or telephone cooperatives, a non-commercial service provider, or a partnership between any of those entities. Applications are due May 5 and must be submitted through the Broadband Development Offices online application system.

2. Teachers Bill of Rights passes Senate

Last week the Senate passed Senate Bill 9 by Senator Brandon Creighton. The bill is designed to support teachers and add a salary bonus for teachers over the next year. Teachers in larger districts would receive a $2,000 raise while teachers in smaller, generally more rural areas would receive a $6,000 raise. It establishes and provides funding for mentor programs and the Texas Teacher Residency Partnership Program, which would provide residency positions to student teachers to work with classroom teachers. It provides for a grant program to reimburse districts who want to rehire a retired teacher. It increases funding for the Teacher Incentive Allotment and provides bouses of up to $36,000 for high-performing teachers. The bill provides access to pre-kindergarten classes for children of educators if the district offers those classes. Senate Bill 9 provides protections for teachers and supports them in handling students who have been removed from their classroom. The Teacher Bill of Rights is designed to help and support Texas teachers who dedicate their time, energy, and effort to educate the next generation of Texans. We appreciate them and all the work that they do.

3. Senate passes bill to enhance education on living donor registry passes

Senator Kelly Hancock filed Senate Bill 1249 in part based on his personal experience. The bill would establish and provide educational resources to Texans regarding the living organ donor registry. Senator Hancock has personal experience as a recipient of a kidney transplant. Senator Hancock was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease that he has lived with for more than half his life. Last summer, his condition became more critical and members of his family got tested to see if they were a match. His son-in-law was the best fit for surgery and donated his kidney. The bill would allow Texans to access information regarding registering with a living donor registry at drivers licenses offices and other facilities as well as establishing the Living Organ Donor Education program at the Department of State Health Services. The bill passed unanimously out of the Senate, and I was proud to support the bill.

4. Ban on teaching Critical Race Theory passes Senate

This week the Senate passed Senate Bill 16, by Senator Hughes, which would ban the teaching of Critical Race Theory in any form in higher education institutions. Last session, the legislature passed a measure to ensure that Critical Race Theory was not being taught in K-12 public schools. It became apparent that elements of CRT were being taught at Texas universities as well. The bill would prohibit faculty from compelling or attempting to compel student to adopt a belief that any race, sex, or ethnicity or social, political, or religious belief is inherently superior to any race, sex, ethnicity, or belief. It is important that our institutions are committed to fostering an environment that promotes intellectual diversity and academic freedom.

5. Bill requiring ALERRT training for peace officers coming to the floor

Senate Bill 1852 by Senator Pete Flores will be coming to floor in the next few days, and it will greatly enhance our public safety. The bill would require all new peace officers in the state to complete 16 hours of active shooter response training developed by the Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training Center (ALERRT) at Texas State University in San Marcos. ALERRT training is considered the gold standard in active shooter response, and it is imperative that all our law enforcement officers are equipped with the necessary training for those situations. Minutes save lives in active shooter scenarios and the proper training is essential.
Theresa Pickering was sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution for posing as a licensed physician assistant at a family practice in Georgia. This is her second conviction for fraudulently practicing.

Ms. Pickering, 55, was previously sentenced for illegally practicing at a clinic in Mississippi in 2015. She has not held licensure to practice as a physician assistant since March 2014, according to an April 18 news release from the Justice Department. She served a prison sentence in 2015.

According to the department, Ms. Pickering was hired at a family practice in Norcross, Ga., in September 2019 after lying about her qualifications. She illegally treated patients, prescribed drugs including controlled substances in the name of a physician at the practice without their permission, and submitted at least $147,000 in fraudulent claims to Medicare and private insurers.

Ms. Pickering was sentenced to two years and nine months in prison followed by three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $48,742.30 in restitution, according to the release.
The following are six updates in states that have punished physicians by suspending or restricting their medical licenses for misconduct, as covered by Becker's since March 28:

Ndubuisi Joseph Okafor, MD, a physician based in Washington, D.C., has been arrested and charged with 16 counts of illegal distribution of opioids. His license was suspended in 2007 in a separate criminal case after being found guilty of tax evasion. It was reinstated in 2013. Former Santa Rosa, Calif.-based pain management physician Thomas Keller was sentenced to 30 months in prison for illegally prescribing Schedule II and IV controlled substances. He surrendered his license in 2019. Drew Lieberman of Bal Harbour, Fla., has forfeited his medical license after serving time for his role in a $60 million fraud scheme. Joseph Dorn, MD, is suing the Florida Department of Health after he was subjected to an undercover probe and was cleared of any wrongdoing. The state initially sought to take away his medical license, ban him from prescribing marijuana and enforce a $10,000 fine, though these restrictions have since been dropped. Carroll County, Ga.-based family medicine physician Brent Harris, MD, has been sentenced to 12 months of probation after illegally accessing medical records. The Iowa Board of Medicine issued an emergency order to suspend the license of Ravindra Kumar Gangadhariah, MD, a Davenport-based dermatologist, due to incompetence and practicing in an unsafe manner.
When leaders at Hackensack Meridian Health's Southern Ocean Medical Center in Manahawkin, N.J., realized that mounting lists of patients in the emergency department waiting room were also stressing out ED clinicians, the hospital went from a "pull to full" model to "pull to infinity."

With the implementation of the new program, the hospital no longer uses its waiting room nor its triage rooms, Michele Morrison, RN, president and chief hospital executive, told Becker's. Instead, every patient who enters the ED checks in and is brought directly back to what Ms. Morrison calls the "triage hallway."

Prior to implementing the Pull to Infinity program in June 2022, the average time to see a physician in the emergency department at Southern Ocean Medical Center was 22 minutes (January to May 2022).

Ms. Morrison said this year, from January to March, that time was reduced to seven minutes.

Clearly, there's reason to understand why the hospital's employee and physician satisfaction surveys, as well as patient surveys, reflect significant satisfaction with current ED protocols.

What's going on in the triage hallway?

The triage hallway has dedicated nurses and patient care technicians who start care right away, Ms. Morrison said, noting "if a patient comes in with chest pain or stroke-like symptoms, they get prioritized. We're not missing those patients."

ED protocols include Advanced Nursing Initiatives, which allow for some treatments  EKGs, splints for fractures, immediate first aid  to start before a patient is seen by a physician. Once doctor's orders are issued, they are expedited  labs get drawn, imaging gets scheduled and any other treatment ordered is acted upon.

Doctors and nurses "were worried people were not being evaluated in a timely fashion," Ms. Morrison said. "With the triage hallway, the patients are visible to the RNs and physicians at all times, so someone is always watching them. They also have reported feeling relieved that there is not always a list of people who have yet to be seen and are still waiting."

The idea for the initiative came from the top of the healthcare system; Pull to Infinity was already a success at Hackensack (N.J.) University Medical Center. Pre-pandemic, Southern Ocean Medical Center's ED reported about 38,000 patients annually (the most in summer months since the hospital is located at the Jersey Shore). More recently, the hospital's ED census is up a little over 42,000 annually.

"For many patients, the emergency department is really the front door of the hospital," she said. "We realized that if we don't set the stage for a great experience at the beginning, it just doesn't flow through the rest of their hospital visit."

The long triage hallway features recliner chairs, with call bells and curtain dividers for privacy. Each patient is brought back for triage, assessed and prioritized; those requiring immediate attention get fast-tracked depending on the severity of their condition.

Saving time, increasing satisfaction

Time from patient arrival to discharge has been reduced, as well, from 182 minutes to 175 minutes. A reduction in each visit adds up. "You can't speed up how long it takes for lab results to come through from the time you draw blood. We can't speed up the time it takes to do a CT scan or X-ray. Those times are constant," Ms. Morrison said. "But time reduced in other ways adds up. If we have 150 patients a day and shave several minutes off every patient visit, that frees up actual beds and saves more than 15 hours a day!"

The hospital's goal is to reduce that time even further down to 130 minutes per patient.

Additionally, Ms. Morrison said, patients often leave the hospital when they are forced to wait too long. "So another significant metric we are proud of is our 'left before treatment is complete' numbers; we reduced it from 3.5 percent (in calendar year 2022) to 1.6 percent (January to April, 2023)," she said.

"If a patient leaves before treatment, there is a higher risk of them coming back or, worse, having their condition get worse or having other significant medical issues because a problem that needed treatment didn't get it."
Mayfield Heights, Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic Hillcrest Hospital has added four low-intervention birthing suites for low-risk women who prefer minimal medical intervention, according to an April 18 report from NBC affiliate WKYC.

About twelve certified nurse midwives work at the hospital to handle deliveries in the suites, which are extra-large rooms and include tubs for stress and pain relief. If patients already have a midwife, they can assist, though only staff certified nurse midwives on staff can handle deliveries.

"Hospitals scare a lot of people, and it would be great if everybody can deliver at home, but they can't," Sherisse Johnston, a certified nurse midwife at Hillcrest, told the news outlet. "What we have here is different. It's nice, because we have the best of both worlds. We have this low intervention space area, but we also have highly skilled physicians that are right here at our beck and call if something happens."

The hospital invested in the birthing suites after looking at patient data and seeing about 300 patients who sought this type of delivery were traveling about 30 miles west to the birth center at Cleveland Clinic Fairview Hospital.
McCurtain Memorial Hospital in Idabel, Okla.  a community that has been under scrutiny since the release of recordings from a county meeting allegedly revealed racist and threatening statements  was evacuated April 18 due to a bomb threat.

At about 2:45 p.m., the hospital "received a call with a bomb threat, claiming that a bomb was planted at the hospital  A demand was made or else, the bomb would be detonated," according to a news release on the hospital's Facebook page.

McCurtain Memorial said law enforcement from city, county and state agencies were on site at the hospital within minutes of notification, and evacuation procedures began.

"All patients are safe and have been relocated to an offsite location which we will not be releasing at this time," the hospital added in its April 18 release.

McCurtain Memorial said the hospital will release additional details when they are available.

The bomb threat came a day after the hospital went on lockdown while protesting occurred during an emergency meeting among officials at the McCurtain County Commissioners Office in Idabel. People were protesting over a secret recording by The McCurtain Gazette-News of officials in McCurtain County. The recording featured an official talking about hanging Black people and other officials discussing hiring hit men for two reporters, the newspaper said, according to The New York Times. The alleged discussion took place after the March 6 meeting of the county board of commissioners.

The McCurtain Gazette-News argues the recording was of an illegal public meeting, and Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt on April 17 called on officials involved in the discussion to resign, according to The New York Times.

But the sheriff's office contended that the recording violated state law and had been "altered," according to The New York Times.

On April 18, the Oklahoma Sheriff's Association suspended McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy, investigator Alicia Manning and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix following the recent accusations, The Oklahoman reported. The officials may appeal their suspensions.

It is unclear if the bomb threat made to the hospital has any connection to the recent controversy, The Oklahoman reported.
















An error led to some patient information from John Muir Health Walnut Creek (Calif.) Medical to have been accessed by an unauthorized party, JDSupra reported April 18.

According to a data breach notice the hospital filed with the California attorney general, an employee from John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical created a website that linked to an Excel file containing patient information.

The website was created so employees could discuss use of certain medical devices.

John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical was not aware that the website contained links to confidential patient information until March 22.

The website was disabled on March 24, and the hospital launched an investigation into the incident.

Between Sept. 28, 2022, and March 23 the hospital said it believes no patient information was accessed by an unauthorized user. But, the hospital said between July 1, 2021, and Sept. 27, 2022, patient information may have been accessed by unauthorized users.

On April 13, John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical began informing affected patients.

John Muir Health Walnut Creek Medical did not mention how many were affected or what kinds of information could have been possibly compromised.
HHS has released new resources for hospitals and health systems to fight the growing cyber security threat.

The Knowledge on Demand program provides free cybersecurity training for healthcare organizations. The Hospital Cyber Resiliency Initiative Landscape Analysis identifies best practices and opportunities for improvement for health system cybersecurity. And the Health Industry Cybersecurity Practices 2023 Edition provides an update to the guidelines and recommendations first published in 2018.

"Staying current and responsive to evolving cyber threats is critical to protecting patient safety," said Erik Decker, vice president and chief information security officer at Salt Lake City-based Intermountain Health and chair of the Health Sector Coordinating Council's cybersecurity working group, in an April 17 news release. "This will give the most underserved hospitals the best return on investment for cyber investment."
Biotech company Emerald Cloud Labs plans to cut 30 jobs and close its San Francisco offices, The Mercury News reported April 18.

The biotech company is shifting some of its operations to Austin, Texas, and encouraging employees to relocate and reapply for roles in Austin.

The company works to digitize biotech labs, according to its website.

"These layoffs are purely a result of not being able to find suitable facilities to meet our current and future business plans in the San Francisco Bay Area," Emerald Cloud Labs wrote in its Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification notice.
Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health is considering changing the terms of some of its current indebtedness and may add an additional approximate $45.7 million of new debt, according to an April 19 filing.

The 21-hospital system's existing debt totals a principal amount of $280.4 million. Any new debt would be used to support capital expenditure projects, Ballad said in the filing.

Last month, Ballad Health terminated its engagement with Moody's after almost a year of not providing company information to the rating agency.
43 years on, China remains Zimbabwe's all-weather friend

11:21, April 19, 2023 By Tafara Mugwara ( Xinhua

HARARE, April 18 (Xinhua) -- As Zimbabwe is celebrating its Independence Day on Tuesday, experts have praised China for having been the African country's all-weather friend for more than four decades.

After standing firmly with Zimbabwe in its struggle for national independence and liberation, China has been playing an important role in the country's economic transformation by investing in its key economic pillars such as mining, agriculture and infrastructure, said Christopher Mutsvangwa, secretary for information and publicity for Zimbabwe's ruling Zimbabwe African National Union party.

He said Chinese modernization has created opportunities for African countries including Zimbabwe.

"This is probably the most exciting time just like in the 1960s and 1970s when China's arrival gave an option to the liberation movements to fight for their freedom," Mutsvangwa told Xinhua, adding that Zimbabwe's victory against colonial forces would have been unthinkable without Chinese support.

"Now this has moved into the economic era where the world markets have become flat so that if you are not happy with the price in New York you can always try Shanghai," he said.

Mutsvangwa further said through Chinese investment in infrastructure, Zimbabwe will be transformed into a regional trade hub.

For example, the Chinese-funded expansion of Zimbabwe's largest airport -- the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport -- is due for completion in 2023. The upgrade will allow the airport to grow its passenger handling capacity to about 6 million a year from the current 2.5 million.

Hopewell Mupanganyama, chairman for the youth desk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, praised China for standing with African countries in their quest for national independence and liberation.

"Around the 1970s, though China was classified to be a poor country of Asia in terms of development," it "made sure" that it assisted "Africa to dismantle colonialism," Mupanganyama said, adding that China now once again stands at the forefront of transforming African economies through investment and trade.

Over the years, China and Zimbabwe have kept boosting economic and trade ties. Trade between the two countries surged nearly 30 percent year-on-year to a record high of 2.43 billion U.S. dollars in 2022, the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe said.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
This Aug. 17, 2022 file photo, provided by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) shows the mpox virus. Yonhap



Korea confirmed two more cases of mpox Wednesday, bringing the country's total to 18, health authorities said.



The two patients are Korean nationals, who are residing in Seoul and Gyeonggi Province, respectively, and have not recently traveled abroad, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA).



Mpox, formerly known as monkeypox, is traditionally confined to regions in Central and West Africa, and can cause fever, chills, rashes and lesions, among other symptoms.



Korea reported the first case of mpox on June 22 last year and four more cases through March. The first five cases were linked to overseas travel.



But the recent 13 infections that began April 8 were locally transmitted with no recent overseas travel history. (Yonhap)


CVS Accountable Care Organization, a division of CVS Health, is collaborating with Long Island, N.Y.-based Catholic Health for participation in Medicare's ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health initiative.

Under ACO Reach, Catholic Health and CVS ACO will jointly assume accountability for the care of almost 40,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries. The partnership aims to strengthen care coordination by providing customized support, including home-based care, transportation support for annual wellness visits and connecting services to address social determinants of health.

The collaboration will also provide additional support to Catholic Health's primary care providers and enhance its care delivery offerings, including adding same-day access, data analytics and multidisciplinary chronic condition care management programs. Value-based payments will also be used to incentivize providers.

"As CVS's exclusive health system partner in the Long Island market, we will be able to reach more patients as a unified resource and will provide new equity-focused clinical programs and services at a time when access to high-quality health care is more important than ever," Patrick O'Shaughnessy, DO, Catholic Health president and CEO, said in an April 19 news release.

Overall, the partnership will fuel more integration, data sharing and care coordination, resulting in less fragmentation and improved outcomes, according to Mohamed Diab, MD, CEO of CVS ACO.

"We know value-based care, particularly for Medicare beneficiaries, can help dramatically improve outcomes for patients who need it most and achieve lower costs,"Dr. Diab said. "That's why value-based care as a framework is central to our broader care delivery strategy. CVS ACO is bringing to the table powerful tools to help provide coordinated, high-quality care to Medicare patients."

In January, CVS ACO formed an ACO Reach partnership with Chicago-based Rush University System for Health.
Salisbury, Md.-based TidalHealth Peninsula Regional Hospital could close its trauma center if state funding formula changes are not made, ABC affiliate WMDT reported April 18.

TidalHealth CEO Steve Leonard, PhD, told the outlet that Maryland's requirements to achieve trauma center status are more restrictive than other states. He said in Maryland, hospitals have to have about 12 specialties on call, compared with four in other states.

Dr. Leonard also said Maryland Maryland's Health Services Cost Review Commission has a "unique" reimbursement system for hospitals and trauma centers. The system generally works, but that is not currently the case for his health system, he said.

"Our challenge is the expense related to maintaining that level of service," he told the outlet. "There are certain flaws that impact us here, locally, on the Eastern Shore. And that is the commission's failure to recognize the complexity that we provide here with trauma, our rural nature, our high volume."

Discussions about trauma center funding at Salisbury-based TidalHealth have been ongoing since 2017, according to the report. Dr. Leonard said there is a gap in revenue for trauma and volumes have significantly increased over the past 18 months, adding complications.
DuBois-based Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Alliance is installing FinThrive's revenue cycle management platform at four of its 13 hospitals.

The health system aims for the new platform to automate revenue workflows and save clinicians time. Additionally, it will help the health system work with a single vendor on increasing revenue and reducing costs, according to an April 18 FinThrive news release.

"Being able to offer the comprehensive revenue management solution to our community hospitals will be pivotal to ensuring the health systems we support to remain independent with the ability to serve the people of rural Pennsylvania," Nicole Clawson, vice president of finance and revenue cycle for Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Alliance, said in the release. "We look forward to continuing to work with our long-standing partner, FinThrive, to safeguard the financial future of our hospitals."
Children's Hospital Los Angeles has named Conrad Band as its new CIO and senior vice president.

In this role, Mr. Band will be responsible for the health system's IT operations, IT infrastructure, information and security applications, technology training, and tech vendors, according to an April 19 press release from Children's Hospital Los Angeles.

Prior to this, Mr. Band served as Children's Hospital Los Angeles' interim CIO, and originally joined the hospital in 2017 as its chief information security officer.
Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital's board has voted against a motion asking for a second investigation into the hospital's COVID-19 policies and treatment protocols, after an initial internal review published in February concluded the hospital saw stronger outcomes among COVID-19 patients than other hospitals.

Hospital spokesperson Kim Savage told Becker's the board voted 6-2 against a motion asking for a second investigation during a meeting April 17. One member of the nine-member board, Britt Riner, was absent.

The vote came after about 45 minutes of public comments, Ms. Savage said. She said board member Bridgette Fiorucci made a motion for a second, independent investigation, but that motion failed after a majority of board members indicated they were satisfied with the results of the report the hospital released publicly in February.

The February report, which included independent data obtained from Premier, found the hospital outperformed national benchmarks on adult mortality rates by 24 percent for the study period of April 1, 2020, to Sept. 30, 2022.

The hospital has faced political pressure from a group of activists since the election of three "medical freedom" candidates to the hospital's board in 2022.

"'Medical freedom' activists  who exercise skepticism about hospitals, clinicians and COVID-19 vaccines and treatments  have incited much of the turmoil," said Ms. Savage. "They have repeatedly lobbied the new board members to support an independent investigation."

Critics have taken aim at the hospital following federal guidelines, and hospital officials asked police in March to look into death threats made against physicians at Sarasota Memorial.

Physicians and staff at the hospital also faced a slew of abusive threats and emails, although those died down, according to a March 14 email from Ms. Savage.

Still, the hospital board continued to face criticism during their March and April board meetings.

About 50 people signed up to provide public comment during the March meeting; that number dropped to less than a dozen at the April meeting, according to Ms. Savage. She said about half of the people speaking in both meetings asked the hospital board to request a second, independent investigation, while others expressed support for the clinical care and evidence-based guidelines that the hospital followed during the pandemic.

Some people insinuated the hospital prescribed certain medications for "kickbacks" from pharmaceutical companies, while others touted "alternative treatments" for the virus and used words like "killing fields" and "biochemical warfare," the Herald-Tribune reported. Others thanked clinicians for their work at Sarasota Memorial.




Members of the National Union of Healthcare Workers went on strike April 19 at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland (Calif.).

The union represents more than 1,200 workers at the hospital, an NUHW spokesperson told Becker's. Union members include service and technical workers, business office and clerical workers, and other professional employees.

Members of the California Nurses Association and the Caregivers and Healthcare Employees Union also announced they would hold a one-day sympathy strike in solidarity with NUHW members. Those unions represent registered nurses and other healthcare workers at the hospital.

"We will be standing in solidarity with our NUHW colleagues as they go on strike this month," Jenny Phong, a diagnostic imaging worker, said, according to TV station KTVU. "It's so important for working people to stand together. We all want to provide our patients with the best care."

NUHW members at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland have been working without a contract for many months, according to the union. During negotiations, the union has expressed concerns about any potential future plans to cut medical services or jobs in the East Bay. Union members are seeking better wages, improved communication between the hospital and workers, and job security, according to KTVU.

"We serve families that deserve to have care in their community," said Ruth Crowe, an NUHW-represented social worker at the hospital, said in a news release shared with Becker's. "At the bargaining table, we talk about how our community-based programs are shrinking, but management is in denial. Our programs and services are under attack, and UCSF will continue to diminish what we can provide unless we stand together and fight."

The hospital, in a statement shared with Becker's, said it brought in qualified replacement staff to continue providing critical healthcare services for patients during the strike.

"For care services that can be provided at a later date, we have rescheduled patients to the next available in-person appointments or transitioned them to video visits," the hospital added. "UCSF BCH Oakland hospital's emergency department will remain open for care. All outpatient services throughout the region will be closed. We expect to resume normal hospital and outpatient services" the morning of April 20.

As far as negotiations, the hospital said it "issued our last, best and final offer" to NUHW on April 14 that included "a generous compensation package" that would provide most NUHW-represented employees with a pay increase of at least 13 percent over the life of the contract and for many employees, combined wage and market increases that equal 16 percent and more over three years.

"The union also requested expansions to language around job security and successorship in the event of full integration with UCSF, and we agreed to those provisions to the extent we are able under California state law, along with increased notice and enhanced severance pay," the hospital said. "We worked hard to develop a proposal that honors the excellent work of our employees while preserving our ability to continue caring for children in our community."

Ruth Crowe, a social worker at the hospital, told Becker's the hospital's offer "does not respond to our proposals to keep services in Oakland. It disregards our concerns about programs and services moving to San Francisco."

Regarding the union's claims about the hospital's commitment to Oakland and the East Bay, the claims "are simply not true," the hospital said, adding that the total number of NUHW-represented employees at the hospital has increased steadily since 2018.

"We are investing $1.5 billion in modernizing our Oakland facilities, building a new hospital building which will bring much-needed juvenile mental health beds, enable us to further expand our services in Oakland and enable us to continue to provide excellent, compassionate care to children and their families, regardless of their ability to pay, for years to come," the hospital said.
Renton, Wash.-based Providence is rolling out remote patient monitoring across its seven-state footprint.

The health system is working with health tech company Cadence, whose platform combines virtual care with remote vitals monitoring from a nurse practitioner-led clinical team. The program started at two Washington clinics last June, and has been found to improve medication adherence and lower blood pressure in participating patients.

"At Providence, we prioritize human connection over all else," said David Kim, MD, chief executive of the Providence Clinical Network, in an April 19 news release. "The early clinical outcomes, along with provider and patient satisfaction results, are promising and we are looking forward to the progress and momentum ahead."

The expanded partnership will begin by spreading across Washington. Providence also has locations in Alaska, California, Montana, New Mexico, Oregon and Texas. The initiative will also grow from treating hypertension, congestive heart failure and Type 2 diabetes to COPD in 2024.
Theresa Pickering, 55, has not been a licensed physician assistant since 2014, but this is now the second time she has been charged and convicted for practicing as one in the last eight years.

She was arraigned in June 2022 on charges of healthcare fraud, aggravated identity theft and distribution of controlled substances. As of April 18, Ms. Pickering has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison followed by three years of supervised release and must pay $48,742.30 in restitution.

"Pickering previously served prison time for similar conduct," U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a statement. "Then in blatant disregard for the law and safety, she knowingly placed patients at significant risk by again posing as a licensed medical provider."

Ms. Pickering's previous conviction was also related to illegal practice as a physician assistant in 2015 related to a narcotics case in Mississippi. Afterward, she relocated to Georgia and joined a family medical practice, where she had been working until this latest development.

During her tenure at the practice, she ordered lab work, diagnosed patients and wrote prescriptions under the name of a licensed physician without their knowledge, totaling $147,000 in fraudulent claims. She reportedly worked there since September 2019 and at no time was her physician assistant license reinstated in Georgia or any other state during this time frame.
A former dermatologist was sentenced to seven years in prison for fraudulently submitting nearly $120 million in claims related to the 1-800-GET-THIN Lap-Band surgery business.

Julian Omidi, 54, of West Hollywood, Calif., submitted fraudulent claims to private health insurance companies and Tricare, according to an April 18 Justice Department news release.

Mr. Omidi controlled, in part, the Get Thin network of entities that focused on the promotion and performance of Lap-Band weight-loss surgeries, according to the release. Mr. Omidi established procedures requiring prospective patients  even those with insurance plans he knew would not cover Lap-Band surgeries  to have at least one sleep study. Employees were incentivized with commissions to ensure the studies took place.

Mr. Omidi used the studies to find a reason to convince patients' insurance companies to pre-approve the Lap-Band procedure, according to the release.

After the patients underwent the study, Get Thin employees often falsified the results at Mr. Omidi's direction. He then used the falsified study results in support of Get Thin's pre-authorized requests for Lap-Band surgery, according to the release.

Insurance companies authorized payment for some of the proposed surgeries relying on the falsified studies and other false information, such as patients' weights, according to the release. Even if insurance companies did not authorize the surgery, Get Thin was able to submit $15,000 bills for each sleep study.

Mr. Omidi was convicted of the scheme in December 2021, according to the release. His medical license was revoked in 2009 after authorities found had engaged in dishonesty and unprofessional conduct related to his application for his California medical license.
Police have charged a Texas woman with murder after she allegedly punched a pregnant employee in the stomach at John Peter Smith Hospital in Fort Worth, causing her to lose the baby, NBC News reported April 18.

Cheri Akil, 39, was taken to the hospital April 12 for treatment under the custody of the Tarrant County (Texas) Sheriff's Office. While staff members were attempting to restrain Ms. Akil, she allegedly punched a pregnant staff member who was standing next to her bed, according to the sheriff's office.

The employee immediately received an ultrasound at the hospital's trauma unit, where clinicians determined the unborn child did not have a heartbeat.

Kathy Lowthorp, the defense attorney assigned to Ms. Akil's case, said a homicide charge tied to the death of a fetus is rare under Texas law, but not unprecedented.

Authorities said Ms. Akil is being held in a secure area of John Peter Smith Hospital until she can be transferred to jail, according to NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth.

"At JPS Health Network, the safety and wellness of our team members is our top priority," a spokesperson for the system told Becker's. "JPS takes workplace violence incidents very seriously and has processes in place to assess and address environmental risks. Due to individual and patient privacy rules, JPS is not in a position to provide any additional information about this incident at this time."
gettyimagesbank



By Jun Ji-hye



Cases of mpox, also known as monkeypox, are showing signs of spreading across the nation. New infections have been reported in Seoul and neighboring areas, and also in cities and provinces around the country.



The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) is working to enhance mpox vaccination publicity and to designate hospitals for mpox patients across the country, in response to a recent increase in locally transmitted infections.



The KDCA confirmed two more cases of mpox, Wednesday, bringing the country's total to 18.



Among the total, 13 cases were reported this month alone and are believed to be locally acquired, as the new patients had not recently traveled abroad.



The country's first five cases, reported last June through to March, were linked to overseas travel.



Among the 13 new patients, five live in Seoul, three in nearby Gyeonggi Province, two in South Gyeongsang Province, one in North Gyeongsang Province, one in Daegu and one in South Jeolla Province. Twelve are Korean nationals, while one is a foreign national.





A sign explaining the symptoms of mpox is displayed at Incheon International Airport in this photo taken on July 24 of last year. Yonhap
More than 70 percent of nurses, on average, are directly affected by workplace violence incidents at least once per month, according to research. They're more susceptible to experiencing violent incidents while at work than nearly every other profession, which has prompted Congress to push forward a bill to address it.

The Workplace Violence Prevention for Health Care and Social Service Workers Act was first introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives in February 2021 and passed in April 2021 but did not move forward to the Senate.

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Joe Courtney of Connecticut and Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, who reintroduced it into the House and Senate on April 18.

If passed, the act would require workplaces in the healthcare and social service sectors to develop comprehensive violence prevention plans.

Both the American Nurses Association and National Nurses United came out with statements of support for the legislation April 18, stating they believe legislation like this will move the needle forward to meaningfully advance protections for nurses and healthcare workers across the country.

"Nurses have been punched, kicked, bitten, and choked or threatened with extreme violence. Tragically, some nurses have even lost their lives after being attacked on the job," Deborah Burger, RN, president of NNU, said in a statement. "This is why we urgently need legislative action to hold our employers accountable, through federal OSHA, for having a prevention plan in place to stop workplace violence before it occurs."

The bill is critical to advancing safety in the profession, as oftentimes nurses may not even feel supported in reporting instances of violence, according to the ANA. Mandating that organizations have plans in place to protect their workers will also keep nurses in the profession, the organization argues.

"A workplace culture that values silence over safety is just another form of violence. And while the marks they leave may not be as visible as a bruise, cut or bite, they are deeply scarring in their own way, and can often push good, desperately needed nurses out of the profession," Jennifer Mensik Kennedy, PhD, RN, president of the ANA, said in a statement. "Nurses at risk of assault should not have had to wait for OSHA to act, which is why we are so grateful for the steadfast support of Rep. Courtney and Sen. Baldwin, who have guided this bill across multiple administrations."
Many people taking popular weight loss drugs such as Ozempic and Wegovy are reporting an unexpected side effect: having bizarre and vivid dreams, The Wall Street Journal reported April 18.

Many people have turned to social media to document their strange dreams, some of which have involved cabinet shopping at Home Depot with Clint Eastwood or preparing to rob a museum with Jennifer Lopez and Ben Affleck.

Novo Nordisk, which sells Ozempic and Wegovy, confirmed that it has received reports of bizarre dreams among users. However, the company doesn't have enough information to identify whether the medications are causing the dreams, a spokesperson told the Journal. Eli Lilly, which sells Mounjaro, declined to comment on the trend.

The drugs promote the production of a gut hormone that has receptors on the brain, which could be one explanation for the vivid dreams, according to Caroline Apovian, MD, a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and co-director of a weight loss center at Brigham & Women's Hospital in Boston.

The drugs may also help people remember dreams they would have otherwise had but just not remembered, Deirdre Leigh Barrett, PhD, a dream researcher at Harvard Medical School, told the publication.



Read the full article here.
The CDC backed changes to the COVID-19 vaccination schedule on April 19, simplifying recommendations and including a second bivalent booster authorized by the FDA April 18 for senior populations and people who are immunocompromised.

According to published guidelines, people 65 and older can receive the second bivalent booster four months after their last vaccine dose.

For people who are immunocompromised, the second bivalent booster can be received two months after receiving their last vaccine.

Authorization of the monovalent vaccines from Moderna and Pfizer was rescinded by the FDA. This means anyone who is unvaccinated can now receive one dose of the bivalent vaccine.
Mark Cuban is creating an independent pharmacy network to "serve patients more widely" after pitching the idea to local pharmacy owners in February.

Mark Cuban Cost Plus Drug Co. has operated as a mail-order, online pharmacy since January 2022, but with its latest endeavor, the business is looking to expand access to its portfolio of more than 1,000 prescription drugs.

The collaboration between independent pharmacies and Cost Plus Drugs includes a "Team Cuban Card," which acts like an insurance card at pharmacy checkouts.

Independent pharmacists interested in partnering with Cost Plus Drugs were asked to complete an interest form with the company detailing the type of pharmacy they run and how patients access the services offered. So far, Cost Plus Drugs has 36 affiliate locations, with five in Florida, seven in Indiana, six in New Jersey and 18 in Texas. The company said it will add new sites every month.

This is part of a larger movement to prevent more local pharmacy closures, Mr. Cuban told Becker's.

"Unfortunately, [independent pharmacies are] not in the small communities like they used to be just because they can't afford to stay open," he said. "But if we lose them, then the PBMs control everything."

From 2003 to 2018, there were 1,231 independent local pharmacy closures in the U.S., according to the Center for Rural Health Policy Analysis.

In early April, Mr. Cuban told Becker's he is in talks with national grocery chains about a possible collaboration like this one, but no announcements have been made.

He said people have trust in their independent pharmacists, and he wants that too: "Our product is trust, and transparency supports that trust. People, hopefully, want to get everything from us, and that's where we want to be."
A preprint study released by Texas-based Houston Methodist suggests COVID-19 vaccine dosing is not a one-size-fits-all proposition. In the past three years, as vaccines and boosters were released, the CDC recommended all of the doses in stages based on age.

A new computational model developed by scientists at Houston Methodist revealed vaccine dosing intervals may have to be customized for individual populations so everyone receives the same level of immunity, according to an April 19 hospital press release.

The CDC voted April 19 to support changes to the COVID-19 vaccination schedule, simplifying recommendations and including a second bivalent booster authorized April 18 for senior populations and people who are immunocompromised.

"Forecasting immune response allows us to identify dosing strategies that may improve vaccine effectiveness and ensure long-term protection against the virus, based on the needs of individual subpopulations," Prashant Dogra, PhD, the study's corresponding author, said. "For example, immunocompromised patients may exhibit reduced antibody production after vaccination than what is seen in the general population."

The researchers were able to use a new math-based tool to "simulate the immune response in thousands of demographically diverse patients in a matter of minutes, allowing them to answer questions that otherwise would be expensive and time-consuming experimentally or clinically."

The computational tool helped to identify dosing protocols to "ensure protection for prolonged periods." For example, delaying the dose of the second booster "allows the immune system to recover and produce more antibodies and, therefore, provides greater protection," according to the study.

"While the model has not been calibrated to evaluate bivalent vaccines, it is of keen interest for us to see how the model predictions hold in the context of these vaccines," Dr. Dogra told Becker's. "Qualitatively, we expect the model predictions of better outcomes with longer gaps in immunocompromised patients to be still valid.

Houston Methodist's study showed a variation of immune responses and differing protections provided by the vaccines against the original COVID-19 virus and later SARS-CoV-2 variants.

"We know that coronavirus immunity wanes over time. People who are immunocompromised, for whatever reason, whether due to advanced age or other causes, need the most support in generating a protective immune response," S. Wesley Long, MD, PhD, medical director of diagnostic microbiology at Houston Methodist, told Becker's. "It makes sense that they would need boosters before the general population. I think it is likely that we will progress to the point where COVID boosters are an annual occurrence, likely tailored to the strains circulating at that time."

All eyes are on the CDC to officially add the recently FDA-authorized second bivalent booster to its recommended protocols. Ashley Drews, MD, epidemiologist at Houston Methodist, told Becker's it can't come soon enough.

"The approval of a second bivalent booster for persons 65 and older and immunocompromised persons is needed at this time given the continued circulation of COVID-19 in the community and the waning of immunity from both prior vaccination and/or natural infection.

"It is clear that immunity wanes with time from either last vaccination or infection, and a bivalent booster dose has been shown to augment immunity in these at-risk populations," Dr. Drews said.
The Biden administration is directing federal agencies to start bringing back more employees to the office.

In a memo published April 13, the Office of Management and Budget requested that leaders of federal agencies and departments "increase meaningful in-person work," while still allowing for flexible arrangements as a means to recruit and retain employees.

"Because the federal government is a vast organization, there is no one-size-fits-all approach; however, as a whole, it is important to establish overarching goals and benchmarks for consistency," Jason Miller, Deputy Director for Management at the OMB, said in a coinciding blog post.

Specifically, the new guidance directs agencies to update their work arrangement plans, assess and implement any policy changes, and improve overall agency health and performance. Ultimately, the new guidance allows individual agencies to decide how many employees come back in-person and how often.

"Where agencies fall short, including if their workplace policies negatively impact results, they must be held accountable and work to make responsible changes" Mr. Miller wrote. "At the core of these directives is the Administrations broader commitment to improve customer experience and serviceswhether in-person, via phone, or onlineso that the American people can easily and efficiently access critical government services."

The move comes amid recent scrutiny from Republicans and Democrats around federal remote work policies.

Sen. Bill Cassidy, MD, pressed HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra on the agency's remote work policies and raised questions around employees' productivity during a Senate Finance Committee hearing March 22.

"How do we know the people of HHS are working?" the Louisiana Republican asked while presenting a photo of what he said was an empty parking lot at CMS' headquarters at 10:40 a.m. on a Monday in March.

In January, Washington, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser publicly said, we need decisive action by the White House to either get most federal workers back to the office most of the time or to realign their vast property holdings for use by the local government, by nonprofits, by businesses and by any user willing to revitalize it."

Rep. James Comer, a Kentucky Republican and chair of the House Committee on Oversight and Accountabilit, issued a statement on the new guidance April 14:

"OMB managed to issue a 19-page memo that shed virtually no light on when federal employees are returning to their offices  or under what conditions continued elevated levels of telework may be warranted. Based on today's briefing with OMB, 'don't ask, don't tell' is the best way to characterize the Biden Administrations telework policy."



Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees, told The Washington Post, "with this memo, I fear federal agencies will scale back telework in a knee-jerk reaction, even if it is not justified or supported by actual performance measures." The union represents employees of more than 30 federal agencies.






Paul Mason, MD, is suing Warsaw, N.Y.-based Wyoming County Community Health System over his termination more than a year ago, The Buffalo News reported March 1.

Dr. Mason's lawsuit, filed Feb. 15 in Erie County (N.Y.) Court, targets the health system, Wyoming County and members of the Wyoming County board of supervisors. Dr. Mason had worked with the health system since 2014. In 2017, he and the hospital agreed to give him full-time surgical and clinical services, along with the title of chief medical officer.

He later formed Buffalo Bone and Joint in Warsaw so he could contract for expanded services at Wyoming County Community Health System, the report said. The lawsuit also alleges the health system's late CEO Joseph McTernan didn't regularly work with Dr. Mason and publicly called out the contract with Buffalo Bone and Joint, saying he thought it favored the physician.

In 2020, a different physician allegedly performed operations in "what appeared to be an intoxicated or impaired condition," and Dr. Mason reported the situation to the state Office of Professional Medical Conduct. This increased retaliation against him, the lawsuit alleges. In December 2021, the hospital claimed Dr. Mason's practice breached service agreements.

Dr. Mason was terminated in February 2022 and eventually contracted with Bertrand Chaffee Hospital in Springville, N.Y.

Dr. Mason's lawsuit is seeking $24.7 million. The Wyoming County health system didn't provide comment to The Buffalo News.
Reno (Nev.) Orthopedic Center has been serving patients in Northern Nevada for over 60 years. Here are eight things to know about the practice:

1. Reno Orthopedic has 27 physicians on staff.

2. Reno Orthopedic has six locations in the state, including a walk-in express clinic.

3. Reno Orthopedic has a 20,000-square-foot orthopedic ASC complete with a Mako arm for joint replacement.

4. Reno Orthopedic's ASC has an in-house anesthesiology team.

5. Reno Orthopedic's ASC is accredited by the Accreditation Association for Ambulatory Health Care.

6. Reno Orthopedic has its own 501(c)3 non-profit, the ROC Foundation.

7. The ROC Foundation offers yearlong clinical fellowships in trauma and foot and ankle procedures.

8. Reno Orthopedic recently partnered with HealthMe to offer patients access to a price transparency platform.
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Office in Seoul, Korea, April 18. Reuters-Yonhap



South Korea might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack, President Yoon Suk Yeol said, signaling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.



In an interview with Reuters ahead of his state visit to the U.S. next week, Yoon said his government has been exploring how to help defend and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-53 Korean War.



"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said.



It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid.



A key U.S. ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea has so far tried to avoid antagonizing Russia due to its companies operating there and Moscow's influence over North Korea, despite mounting pressure from western countries for weapons supply.



"I believe there won't be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that's been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law," Yoon said. "However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures."



Yoon is scheduled to visit Washington next week for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to mark the 70th anniversary of the two countries' alliance.



During the summit, Yoon said he will seek "tangible outcomes" on the allies' efforts to improve responses to evolving threats from North Korea, which has ramped up military tests, and launched its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.



Seoul, for its part, will step up its surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence analysis capability and develop "ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons" to fend off the North's threats, Yoon said.



"If a nuclear war breaks out between South and North Korea, this is probably not just a problem between the two sides, but the entire Northeast Asia would probably turn to ashes. That has to be stopped," he said.



When asked if the allies would envision an Asian version of NATO's nuclear planning group involving Japan, Yoon said they are focusing on bilateral measures to strengthen information-sharing, joint contingency planning and joint execution of the plans.



In February, South Korea and the U.S. staged table-top exercises simulating a North Korea nuclear attack as part of Seoul's efforts to play a bigger role in Washington's nuclear policy over the North.



"In terms of responding to a powerful nuclear attack, I think stronger measures than what NATO has should be prepared, Yoon said.



"I think there's no big problem if Japan is joining, but since there's been much progress between the U.S. and South Korea, it would be more efficient to create this system ourselves first."





President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks during an interview with Reuters at the Presidential Office in Seoul, South Korea, April 18. Reuters-Yonhap
A 45-year-old man has pleaded guilty to two terrorism offences linked to a 2008 bomb attack on a Catholic police officer.

Gavin Coyle today appeared at Belfast Crown Court, where he admitted to a charge of membership of the IRA.

Coyle, from Mullaghmore Drive in Omagh, also admitted providing property for the purposes of terrorism  namely an Audi A4  on dates between May 10 and 13, 2008.

Both charges are linked to a bomb blast which took place in Spamount, near Castlederg, in Co Tyrone on May 12, 2008.

A police officer was on his way to work when the under-car device exploded, resulting in him sustaining serious leg injuries.

He was rescued by a member of the public, who dragged him from the wreckage shortly before it burst into flames.

In the aftermath of the incident, Coyle was charged with three offences: attempting to murder the constable on May 12, 2008; causing an explosion likely to endanger life on the same date; and being a member of the IRA between May 9 and 13, 2008.

Car bomb attack on PSNI officer in Spamount outside Castlederg in County Tyrone. The scene where the bomb exploded below the officer's personal car causing him serious injury. A member of the public pulled the officer to safety (Presseye).

He initially denied all three offences and a non-jury trial was scheduled to commence this week.

After being called into the dock today, Coyles barrister asked that he be re-arraigned on the membership charge. He pleaded guilty to belonging to or professing to belong to the IRA on dates between May 1, 2007 and May 13, 2008.

A fresh, fourth charge was then levelled at Coyle  namely supplying the car used in the May 2008 terrorist attack  and when asked how he pleaded to the charge of providing property for the purposes of terrorism, he replied guilty.

A prosecuting barrister told Judge Patricia Smyth the two guilty pleas were acceptable to the Crown.

Regarding the charges of attempting to murder the police officer and causing the explosion, the prosecutor said there would be no action taken at this stage.

He added that a Crown application in relation to the two counts is anticipated in due course and they are not likely to trouble the court.

Judge Smyth listed the plea hearing for June 16 and expressed the hope that by that date the issues regarding these two counts will be resolved.

The Belfast Recorder also spoke of an inevitable outcome in light of the guilty pleas entered by Coyle, who was granted continuing bail ahead of sentencing.
A retired teacher facing sentence for sexually abusing three pupils more than 20 years ago surrendered himself into custody today.

Defence KC Eugene Grant told Antrim Crown Court that due to issues with an English probation board preparing a pre-sentence report, Patrick Sharkey (79) had travelled over from England and was seeking to have his bail voluntarily revoked.

That will facilitate a report from Probation Board NI, said the senior barrister.

But he added a warning that despite Sharkey being remanded into custody, however, it may be optimistic to meet the date set for sentencing.

Read more Limavady woman accused of stealing over 450k from car dealership employer

Facing a raft of charges spread over two indictments, Sharkey, originally from Donegal but now with an address on the Holmfield Road in Coventry, entered guilty pleas to nine offences of indecent assault.

The offences were committed against three male victims on dates between September 1988 and December 1998.

Previous hearings have heard that the victims are former pupils of Sharkey, who retired to Linards in central France a number of years ago but was arrested last June when he was visiting family in Coventry.

In court today, Judge Alistair Devlin said that as probation service reports take about eight weeks to produce, if there hasnt been a meeting yet it may be optimistic to meet the scheduled sentencing date of May 25.

Granting a defence application for Sharkey to revoke his own bail, the judge ordered the disgraced former teacher to be remanded into custody until that date.
Joe Kennedy III said American companies considering investing in the region want certainty for the future (Brian Lawless/PA)   Brian Lawless

BELFAST, NORTHERN IRELAND - APRIL 19: Former US president Bill Clinton, gestures on stage during the international conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, at Queen's University on April 19, 2023 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. (Photo by Niall Carson - Pool/Getty Images)   Getty Images

President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen, speaking during the international conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, at Queen's University Belfast. Picture date: Wednesday April 19, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story ULSTER Agreement. Photo credit should read: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak address the international conference to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement at Queens University. (Presseye)

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has delivered the closing address at the international conference to mark the 25th Anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement at Queen's University Belfast, where he has urged unionist leaders to work to restore powersharing here.

Mr Sunak said it should be of profound concern that the institutions have been down for nine of the last 25 years.

Over the long term that will not bolster the cause of unionism. I believe that deeply, he told a conference in Belfast.

And let me also say to those who would seek to reform the institutions right now, I understand your frustrations. But history reminds us that nothing in Northern Ireland has ever been achieved by trying to get around one community or another.

So any conversation about reform can only begin once the institutions are up and running again. And if it attracts widespread consent.

The Belfast/Good Friday Agreement left us an extraordinary and precious legacy.

When we look back and 25 years from now, surely we should aspire for our legacy to be nothing less than this: that the institutions have been up and running every single year.

Read more Rishi Sunak outlines his vision for the next 25 years in Northern Ireland

Rishi Sunak hails wisdom of predecessors in forming the Good Friday Agreement

The three-day event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

(Left-right) Akshata Murthy, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, Former US president Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar at the Belfast conference.   PA

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen also addressed the conference on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak is to be joined by two of his recent predecessors - Boris Johnson and Liz Truss - at a gala dinner later, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.

Earlier US Envoy Joe Kennedy III vowed to help ensure growth and prosperity across Northern Ireland.

He said it is our collective task to ensure that the benefits of prosperity and growth touch every single soul.

"Yet that is also our collective task ahead. From my backyard to yours. To ensure that the benefits of prosperity and growth touch every single soul across this great place, he said.

"From the city centre, past the Falls and the Shankill, to the River Foyle, and through every corner of Co Down. To be deliberate, to be intentional, to be impactful.

Heres how the day unfolded:
Work on the 11 million campus began in April 2021.

Mrs Clinton with principals Rita Moore (left) and Darren Mornin (right) and pupils from both schools. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Hillary Clinton, is greeted by pupils as she arrives at Limavady High School, Co Londonderry. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Former US secretary of state and Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, Hillary Clinton waves as she walks with Darren Mornin (left), principal of Limavady High School and Rita Moore (right), principal of the adjacent St Mary's High School. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Hillary Clinton presiding over an honorary graduation ceremony at Limavady High School, Co Londonderry, marking the contribution of the principals in the development of their shared education model. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

An 11 million shared education campus in Limavady has been hailed as a bulwark against sectarianism, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has said.

Mrs Clinton was speaking after unveiling two benches at Limavady High School to commemorate the new integrated education campus to be shared with the adjacent St Mary's High School.

"Because while we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement at Queen's (University), and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues," she said.

"The journey is by no means finished.

"And the work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

"No victory and no defeat is ever permanent. Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.

"Institutions like this shared campus help build a bulwark against sectarianism and divisiveness, help to create a Northern Ireland where students, parents, members of the community come together in pursuit of common purpose.

I know how difficult it was to secure the Good Friday Agreement, how much work and sacrifice it took on all sides to bring about peace and how much effort has continued to go into implementing its tenets and building a new future, including a new government in Northern Ireland."

"There would not, however, be a Good Friday Agreement if there had not been teachers, principals, community leaders, citizens who did so much of the work of building and maintaining progress."

Former US secretary of state and Chancellor of Queen's University Belfast, Hillary Clinton waves as she walks with Darren Mornin (left), principal of Limavady High School and Rita Moore (right), principal of the adjacent St Mary's High School. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Mrs Clinton was accompanied by school principals Darren Mornin (Limavady High School) and Rita Moore (St Marys), to whom she presented honorary degrees from Queens University, Belfast for their work on the scheme.

Work on the Limavady Shared Education Campus began in April 2021, with then education minister Peter Weir turning the first sod on the 11m development across the two sites.

The scheme includes a new high-tech building for science, technology, engineering and mathematics students, new study and common rooms for careers, drama, media and sixth form pupils and the reconfiguration and upgrade of existing school office accommodation, staff rooms, science & technology rooms and planning and manufacturing rooms.

Mark Baker, chief executive of the Controlled Schools Support Council (CSSC), said the achievements of the schools highlights the impact of shared education.

"As we recognise the achievements of Limavady High School and St Marys High School and the difference shared education has made for generations of children and young people as well as the local Limavady community, it reinforces the need for a vision and strategy for education that includes everyone working together and all voices being listened to, he said.

Shared education provides the opportunity for pupils from different backgrounds to come together, forge new friendships, experiences and access to a broader range of learning opportunities.

"CSSC supports our children and young people being educated together and believe that shared education is critical in our changing society.

Hillary Clinton, is greeted by pupils as she arrives at Limavady High School, Co Londonderry. Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire   PA

Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) director of education Michael Keenan said the visit of Mrs Clinton acknowledged the efforts of principals Darren Mornin and Rita Moore in pursuing the project.

"There is a temptation to blame schools for divisions and to assume dogmatically that there is only one educational solution to moving beyond a divided society, he said.

"Limavady Shared Education Campus is a successful model where young people and their families, irrespective of their background, culture, or creed are brought together through shared resources to achieve their full potential.

Today is positive recognition of the immense work of all involved with both schools who faithfully committed to the ideal that in a shared society no child should ever be left behind.

"Through mutual respect and understanding both schools continue to strive to educate and inspire every young person to develop themselves so that they can contribute to building the diverse society and economy of our shared future.
Brutal attack by 10-man IRA gang on teen deemed not Troubles-related: It was almost as if the panel justified my beating, says victim
Sinn Fein has defended its expulsion of a former party councillor after his sexual assault conviction was overturned.

Causeway Coast and Glens councillor Cathal McLaughlin, of Mounthill Park in Cloughmills, was convicted at trial in Scotland last July 11.

He resigned his seat after he was found guilty at Edinburgh Sheriff Court.

The alleged offence took place in Scotland on October 15, 2021.

He was expelled from his party following the conviction.

The 61-year-old had always denied any wrongdoing, and his conviction was overturned at Edinburgh Court of Appeal on Tuesday

Speaking to the Irish News, the former councillor said: While I was in Sinn Fein we were always encouraged to be a party of health and wellbeing, they very nearly put me into an early grave. Thats no lie.

Mr McLaughlin went on to describe the effect of the ordeal on his mental health.

You would not believe the dark place I was in for six months, he said.

I had to go to the doctors, I was on different tablets for depression.

I couldnt come out of the house for two months. I couldnt go to work, I couldnt face anybody.

He also said he was incredibly grateful for his familys support and that of his former party colleague, Phillip McGuigan.

A Sinn Fein spokesperson said: Cathal McLaughlin was convicted last year in a Scottish court of a serious criminal offence. (He) failed to inform the party at any stage that he was subject to criminal proceedings.

Given the severity of the offence, his membership of Sinn Fein was terminated with immediate effect. This matter was dealt with through the courts and the criminal justice system and party processes were appropriately applied.
Ceremony took place at Belfast pub where mural is dedicated to the late writer

Memorial event takes place on fourth anniversary of the murder of Journalist Lyra McKee

An event held last night in memory of journalist Lyra McKee on the fourth anniversary of her murder heard how she was a true trailblazer .

Friends and family of the north Belfast native took part in a small ceremony outside the city centres Sunflower pub, to celebrate the life and writings of Ms McKee.

Earlier, the Prime Minister praised her as the embodiment of a better Northern Ireland.

In a tribute issued by Downing Street, Mr Sunak said yesterday: Today, we remember Lyra McKee, a journalist who caught the imagination of young people in Northern Ireland.

In strongly rejecting sectarianism, she embodied the Northern Ireland that I see today  one of realising a better Northern Ireland than what had come before her.

We stand united against the insidious ideology of those who stole her dreams and what she could have gone on to contribute.

Some friends read out some of Ms McKees work at her mural on Kent Street as the light faded yesterday.

The late journalist died after being shot in the head during clashes between rioters and police in the Creggan area of Derry on April 18, 2019.

Dissident republican group the New IRA has been blamed for the killing.

Tuesdays event, which took place beside a mural painted in honour of the late 29-year-old, involved her loved ones and members of the LGBTQIA+ Heritage Project reading out some of her writings, and recalling fond memories.

Jude Copeland, an activist who had met and hugely respected Lyra, quoted another of her friends remarks about Ms McKee.

Let no one say Lyra was killed in the name of Irish freedom, he said.

Lyra was Irish freedom; freedom of ideas, freedom of love, freedom to be who you are.

Mr Copeland also referred to another friend of Ms McKees, who found it emotionally difficult to attend the gathering.

They believe that if Ms McKee were still alive, she would want three things to happen: for the people of Northern Ireland to continue in peace-building, to stand with our trans siblings and those fighting for trans rights, and to not let anyone tell us that we cant do anything.

Ms McKee was further described as not being an ivory tower journalist or someone that wanted to walk amongst the most powerful people.

Ordinary people mattered most to her. It [journalism] wasnt just a job to her, a profession, a career; it was her life, the crowd heard.

Lyra was someone who always had your back, who you could count on.
Approximately 25 vehicles were torched in the early hours of Tuesday

Police at the scene of an arson attack in the Lansdowne Road area of Newtownards on April 18th 2023   Kevin Scott

A used car dealership has been targeted in an arson attack which police believe may be linked to the ongoing feud between rival loyalist factions in Newtownards.
President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the April 19 Revolution at the April 19th National Cemetery in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



Seoul adopted "unfriendly position" towards Moscow, Kremlin says



By Nam Hyun-woo



President Yoon Suk Yeol signaled a shift in South Korea's policy stance on the war between Ukraine and Russia, opening the door for Seoul to possibly provide military aid to Kyiv. Experts said this will likely have a ripple effect on the diplomatic dynamics in Northeast Asia, especially inter-Korean relations.



In an interview with Reuters, released on Wednesday, Yoon said there is now more of a possibility for Seoul to provide military aid to Ukraine, in case of intolerable behaviors such as large-scale attacks on civilians.



"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attacks on civilians, massacres or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said.



He continued by saying that he believes there will be no limitations to support the illegally invaded country, but he will "take the most appropriate measures" considering South Korea's relations with the parties engaged in the war.



The comments were interpreted as a shift in South Korea's stance regarding its support for Ukraine. Despite calls from the United States and other Western countries, Seoul's official stance was limiting its Kyiv-bound support concerning humanitarian aid, though there were reports indicating that the country indirectly supported ammunitions by making up for a U.S. inventory shortage of 155-millimeter artillery shells.



In response to Yoon's comments, the Kremlin said, Wednesday, "South Korea has adopted an unfriendly position towards Moscow" and supplying military aid to Ukraine would "signify a certain involvement in the conflict."



Seoul's presidential office issued a statement saying it "will not comment on the Kremlin's remarks regarding a hypothetical situation," and added, "We advise a thorough read of the Reuters interview" without specifying to whom it was offering the advice.



Experts expressed mixed opinions on Seoul's new stance related to Ukraine, but agreed that this will have an impact on inter-Korean relations.



"Last year, Russian President Vladimir Putin said South Korea's relations with Russia will be destroyed if Seoul decides to supply weapons and ammunitions to Ukraine, and Russia will help North Korea," said Kim Joon-hyung, a professor at Handong Global University and former chancellor of the Korean National Diplomatic Academy.



"Yoon's remarks will give Russia greater freedom in helping North Korea, and this will only strengthen the bloc of North Korea, Russia and China as a rival to that of the South Korea-U.S.-Japan bloc."






Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern at St Malachy's School Belfast during an event discussing with young people the 25th anniversary of the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. Picture date: Tuesday April 18, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story ULSTER Agreement. Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire   PA

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern at St Malachy's School Belfast during an event discussing with young people the 25th anniversary of the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. Picture date: Tuesday April 18, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story ULSTER Agreement. Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire   PA

Former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair has defended the 1998 decision to allow for the release of paramilitary prisoners as part of the Good Friday Agreement.

Speaking alongside former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on Tuesday, he admitted the decision, which was a key element to bring republicans on board with the peace process, was horrible, but necessary.

The peace deal allowed for over 500 republican and loyalists prisoners, who had been sentenced for terrorist offences before the signing of the Agreement, to be freed.

The former premiers were both at Queens University for a second day on Tuesday as the universitys Agreement25 conference continued.

Former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern at St Malachy's School Belfast during an event discussing with young people the 25th anniversary of the Belfast / Good Friday Agreement. Picture date: Tuesday April 18, 2023. PA Photo. See PA story ULSTER Agreement. Photo credit should read: Liam McBurney/PA Wire   PA

After meeting with school pupils at the university they then joined together for a visit to St Malachys College in north Belfast.

What I found was that the most difficult conversations I ever had were with the families of the victims, the former Primer Minister said.

Many of these people were killed just by being in the wrong place at the wrong time, it wasnt that they were targets.

Some people found it unforgivable while what other people said was, I cant ever forget what has happened, but if you can tell me that your agreement will mean that someone else doesnt suffer in the way that Ive suffered, then you go and do it.

But youve got to make sure it lasts and it works.

Yes, it was horrible, but it was necessary, he said, but added it was an example of how sometimes, to make change, leaders had to make difficult decisions.

A lot of people are cynical about politics because they dont understand when you actually are in a position of political leadership, if the decisions were easy, life would be so much simpler. But they are not. It is really difficult.

In the end, youve got to take a decision, and the moment you decide, you will divide.

Thats what leadership is about, he said.

We werent indifferent to it but what we were trying to think is how do we prevent this happening in the future.

Ultimately, if you want to make change you are going to have to do things which are difficult and sometimes take risks, it can be a very ugly business when you are dealing with the families who have lost their loved ones in terrible acts of violence, that is the most difficult thing.

But if you are going to be honest about what the future has to look like, you are going to have to take those decisions.

Mr Ahern agreed that the release of prisoners was necessary, like a lot of hard compromises.

If we didnt do it we wouldnt have had an agreement, that is the straight and honest answer, he added.

I can tell you we werent celebrating, but as part of the overall collective issues that we were dealing with, which were huge  that was one of the difficult ones.

I dont ever remember Tony Blair opening a champagne bottle to say to me, lets have a drink, were going to release the prisoners.

It was a huge decision but I remember having to go back and meet some of the families of members of the Garda Siochana, the Irish police force, and tell them I am going to release these guys who got 40 years for killing your dad, but they have only served six or seven.

I can tell you we werent celebrating, but as part of the overall collective issues that we were dealing with, which were huge  that was one of the difficult ones.

The two former leaders spent time mingling with young people at Queens University with over 250 pupils gathered as part of the Agreement25 conference.
Adam Smyth has been named as the new Director of BBC Northern Ireland

BBC Northern Ireland director Adam Smyth has defended a decision to remove SDLP MLA Matthew OToole from the airwaves during a conversation about the threat of loyalist paramilitary violence.

The South Belfast MLA was cut off after presenter Stephen Nolan objected to remarks about the chairman of the Loyalist Communities Council, an umbrella group for the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando paramilitary groups.

It followed David Campbell warning of a credible threat if unionism and loyalism is continually undermined.

On BBC Talkback questions were asked about that decision.

Mr Smyth, who was appointed as the new director of BBC NI at the start of this month having served as interim director since December 2021, stood over that choice.

Addressing SDLP complaints about the treatment of Mr OToole, he told BBC Talkback: Making a news programme, youre handling really difficult material all of the time. You have to be editorially and legally on top of your game.

Mr Smyth continued: You will make a decision, as the Nolan team made a decision in the case of Matthew OToole, from time to time where an interview has to be stopped because were getting into territory where an interview is either editorially or legally risky.

Thats why we took the decision that we took that day. And that decision was backed by our head of legal at BBC.

And Im sorry that we did not explain that as clearly as we should have. And Im also sorry that there are people out there who would manipulate that to fulfil a narrative.

Matthew O'Toole was removed from BBC Radio Ulster's The Nolan Show

The SDLP said it is concerned about the balance of editorial decisions taken by the BBC to platform unelected spokespersons describing credible threats from proscribed paramilitary groups while legitimate criticism from elected representatives is curtailed.

Our party believes in fulsome debate, but it is especially important that elected officials, including the Leader of the Opposition at Stormont, are able to speak on behalf of those who elected them and to challenge the threat of violence.

Addressing criticism of TUV leader Jim Allister receiving disproportionate airtime, Mr Smyth described a purist mentality in Northern Ireland about the types of people who appear on programmes as mad and said the BBC is not conferring moral legitimacy on anyone.

During an extensive interview the BBC director was also accused of having a Belfast-centric approach to output as he talked up plans to boost its economy while cutting output at Radio Foyle.

The new BBC Radio Foyle schedule is due to commence next week, with the Breakfast Show cut from two hours to a half-hour show, newly titled The North West Today.

The public broadcaster insists there will be a significant enhancement of digital news provision from the BBCs newsroom in Foyle.

He spoke of central BBCs attitude to BBC NI in that original discussions to refurbish Broadcasting House and make it a state-of-the-art building has reduced in cost from over 100m to 48m, which Mr Smyth believes is positive news in the current economic climate.

The bigger story here is what our contribution is to the local economy, what our contribution is to the city centre economy in Belfast and how we can play into that more, he told BBC Talkback.

And weve got great plans that people will see in the months ahead, about how were placing ourselves right at the heart of that experience in Belfast and what it is to live and work in the city centre, Mr Smyth said.

At present the BBC has a workforce of around 600 in Belfast and about 30 at Foyle, which is expected to be reduced following cuts to the Breakfast Show.

Recent protest outside BBC Radio Foyle (Picture Martin McKeown)

On the Radio Foyle issue, Mr Smyth said he took on board the views of politicians to retain a 30-minute news programme at a peak time of 8.30am.

Were taking some of the money from Foyle and reinvesting it in high-quality, high-impact video, because all of our research tells us that the value of the licence fee is very closely associated in the publics mind with what theyre getting on iPlayer, he told Talkback.

Savings would be made by voluntary means, he said, and there are roles for everyone at risk at Foyle. However, it has been disputed that such guarantees have not been put in writing to affected staff.

The overall rationale is correct, he said, as massive behavioural change is taking place and the available audience in the north-west in linear terms is very small with growth in Foyle.

Speaking on the show, Paul Gosling, a writer and commentator with a focus on the economy, said he was really concerned about comments regarding the BBC supporting Belfasts economy as it is a wonderful city, but rather the BBC has a duty to support the economy and interests of people across NI.

That really is the concern people in Derry have  that, actually, too often in the past Radio Ulster has sounded like Radio Belfast  and we need to have diversity, he added.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the problem with BBC NI is that people feel its output is biased.

Far from narrowing down Foyles options, they [the BBC] should be widening them to take account of the wider north-west, and even west, of Northern Ireland, he said, believing it should become a regional station for the west of NI.

Meanwhile, People Before Profit councillor Shaun Harkin has accused Mr Smyth of ramming through a vicious attack and Tory-engineered cuts on Radio Foyle that has left workers and people across the north-west stunned.
The North Antrim MP said he was in disbelief at comments from the Secretary of State

Ian Paisley Jnr and Joe Kennedy III, Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, attending the three-day international conference at Queen's University Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire)   PA

Ian Paisley Jnr on stage during the three-day international conference at Queen's University Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (Pic: Niall Carson/PA Wire)   Getty Images

Chris Heaton-Harriss praise of the courage and leadership shown by Gerry Adams and the late Martin McGuinness is sick and perverse, DUP MP Ian Paisley has said.

Speaking at Queens University Belfasts Agreement 25 conference on Tuesday, Mr Heaton-Harris said former Sinn Fein leaders Mr McGuinness and Mr Adams would be remembered for the courage and leadership they showed during the peace process.

The statement received a round of applause at the event, something Mr Paisley said left him in disbelief.

Can someone stop the world and let me off, please? said the North Antrim MP.

To my amazement, the people who negotiated the agreement gave this a round of applause. I sat there in disbelief. But this is a revelation of NIO proclaimed by the Northern Ireland secretary.

Chris Heaton-Harris says he proclaims them as courageous and honours them as great leaders. Really, Mr Heaton-Harris, are you actually a unionist? How sick and perverse is that sentiment by Heaton-Harris?

He made this statement before using his speech to get stuck into the biggest unionist party in Northern Ireland and, ironically, the party that kept him in government for three years. He did it all without missing a heartbeat. Isnt it amazing how quickly Tory politicians forget reality?

Mr Paisley said events marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement had been characterised by one-sided optimism.

The reality is that, 25 years on from the Belfast Agreement, the position of the No campaign amongst unionists now has predominance for the very reasons that the gush and drivel poured upon republicanism has made ordinary unionists who just want to get on with life sick, he said.

This conference may serve to be a wake-up call for some, but it certainly is clear that instead of securing and making the place more stable, it will serve to unsettle and drive people into their tribal camps.

Anyone with any nous at all will recognise the damage done to reconciliation and the opportunity of moving forward into a period of stability by such one-sided optimism. Instead, this has served to polarise people.

What is clear from the 25-year agreement anniversary conference is that a lot of education needs to happen if we are to truly understand the past and bring ourselves to a better future. Only the DUP has been attempting to counter this nonsense.

It comes after Mr Heaton-Harris said power-sharing is the surest way to secure Northern Irelands place in the Union and that real leadership is about having the courage to say Yes.

The Northern Ireland Secretary said that those who are proud of the regions place in the Union should put the Union first and restore the devolved institutions.

Downing Street has insisted the speech did not represent the government toughening up its messaging towards the DUP, which is currently blocking the operation of the power-sharing institutions at Stormont.

Responding, DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly insisted her party would not be pressurised or bow to presidents and prime ministers and would only return to Stormont when its concerns over sovereignty about post-Brexit trade were addressed.

Responding to Mr Paisleys comments, Sinn Fein MLA Colm Gildernew said the Windsor Framework gives Northern Ireland a huge competitive advantage as a gateway to Europe for the sale of goods in the British and EU markets.

"We now have unique access to trade in the worlds biggest economic markets  that is an opportunity which cannot be missed, he continued.

"We must use this opportunity to attract investment, create jobs for our young people, and together, deliver the change people demand and rightfully deserve.

"Peace and economic opportunity are all connected, and the onus is on the two governments, political parties, particularly the DUP, to get back around the Executive table with the rest of us to deliver for the people.

"It is time to form an Executive now to support workers, families and communities and deliver prosperity for everyone."

A spokesperson for the Northern Ireland Office referenced back to Mr Heaton-Harris speech at Queens, where he said: As we consider the challenges that still face us, I confess I have also been struck by a narrative that has become louder in recent years.

"A narrative that the agreement struck in 1998 did not achieve great things for unionism. That it was somehow all about wins for nationalism.

"That narrative is wrong, and all of us who support the agreement must be vocal in countering it.
Gerry Hutch is believed to be staying at the Dublin inner-city home of a relative since he was acquitted of murder on Monday

Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch outside court after being found not guilty of murder on Monday. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie   RollingNews.ie

Cartel leader Daniel Kinahan is believed to have arranged for weapons to be transported to the Canary Islands for the botched hit on Gerry The Monk Hutch in Lanzarote.

The Irish Independent can reveal the suspected involvement of key cartel associates, including Daniel Kinahan, in the plot to murder Hutch more than a month before the 2016 Regency Hotel shooting.

It comes as The Monk has been sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where its understood he has been staying since he was acquitted of murder on Monday.

There was a policing plan in place at the location on Monday and again yesterday, with a significant garda presence.

The Regency attack in 2016, which claimed the life of Kinahan associate David Byrne, was carried out just over a month after The Monk survived an attempt on his life in Spain.

Read more Jonathan Dowdall spent 500 on lunch tickets for Sinn Fein fundraiser in hotel

Two gunmen attempted to shoot him in a Lanzarote bar on New Years Eve. Several senior cartel associates have been identified as suspects in the plot, including Kinahan, whom gardai believe arranged for the weapons to be transported to the Canaries.

This is believed to have been done through a key member of the cartels network, based in Spain, who later supplied the handguns to the Dublin hit team sent to Lanzarote.

Gang member Sean McGovern, whom gardai want to charge with a feud murder, is also suspected of having organised meetings between the firearms supplier and the gunmen.

The murder bid failed after The Monk recognised the shooters and fled the bar.

Just over a month later, a five-man team entered the Regency Hotel in Dublin and shot David Byrne dead. McGovern was injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a request to allow Hutch leave court on Monday through a side entrance was denied, and he had to walk out of the front door to a media scrum.

Later on Monday, The Monk was sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where its understood he has been staying since his release.

Gardai put in place a policing plan covering the wider area on Monday evening, which remained in place yesterday, with a significant garda presence. No incidents were reported.

The office of the DPP has so far refused to comment on the States unsuccessful prosecution of Hutch. Its case relied on audio surveillance and testimony from convicted criminal Jonathan Dowdall.

The non-jury court found the attack was carried out by the Hutch family and that Hutch had control of the weapons, but said it was not proved he was one of the gunmen.

Shortly before 4pm on Monday, Hutch (60) walked from the Special Criminal Court.

He declined to answer any questions as he left. His legal team then flagged down a taxi that took him away from the courts.

Following the acquittal, questions have been raised over the decision to charge him with murder.

Ms Justice Tara Burns raised serious concerns about the reliability of key witness Dowdall. He was originally charged with murder, but agreed to give evidence for the prosecution shortly before the trial started and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of facilitating the murder gang.

The non-jury court found that the surveillance audio relied on by the prosecution did not contain admissions that Hutch was one of the hotel gunmen dressed in fake garda uniform.

Ms Justice Burns said one would wonder what the prosecution case intended to be prior to Dowdall turning States evidence.
Former Sinn Fein councillor Jonathan Dowdall bought four tickets to the value of 500 for a party fundraising lunch in the Gresham Hotel in July 2013, Sinn Fein has revealed.

This comes in addition to a 1,000 cheque he donated to Mary Lou McDonald in 2011.

The party has not specified how much Mr Dowdall paid for tickets to a dinner dance and a local event, which it says were the only other monies from him.

Separately, Sinn Fein has insisted that Mary Lou McDonald knew nothing of a gun attack that party officials discussed with Jonathan Dowdall before he was a councillor.

During the Regency trial, it was revealed top Sinn Fein official Brian Keane had discussed with Dowdall a gun attack on his uncles home in 2011.

The conversation took place shortly before the 2014 local elections, when Mr Keane was the Sinn Fein director of elections in Dublin. That put him in charge of all the candidates.

A spokesperson for the party said Dowdall had raised the incident, and it was never raised or referred to again.

Jonathan Dowdall said that he did not know who was involved. There was no suggestion that Jonathan Dowdall was involved in this incident. There was no suggestion that he was involved in any form of criminality at this stage.

Mary Lou McDonald was not aware of this meeting or conversation.

Nobody, at any stage, raised any concerns about Jonathan Dowdall being involved with criminality with Mary Lou McDonald, they added.

The spokesperson said Dowdall met Ms McDonald when he and his wife, who worked as a civil servant in the Department of Social Protection, attended an event before the 2011 general election.

Sinn Fein says no member of the Hutch family has ever given money to the party or to its politicians.

Had we known of [Dowdalls] involvement in criminality, clearly he would not have been allowed to be a member of the party, never mind a public representative.

A spokesperson added that Ms McDonald was not aware of Dowdalls involvement in criminality until his house was raided in 2016, more than a year after he had left the party.

Earlier yesterday, the heads of Government called on Sinn Fein to answer further questions on Dowdall.

Speaking in Belfast, Tanaiste Micheal Martin said it was very difficult to believe the lack of knowledge of what Dowdall was up to at the time when he was elected Sinn Fein councillor in Dublin.

Sinn Fein need to clarify that point, said Mr Martin.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said it was clear that there was more than an inkling, that there was knowledge of Jonathan Dowdalls murky past.

Fine Gael TD Paul Kehoe used Dail privilege to describe Jonathan Dowdall as Mary Lou McDonalds good friend.

Mr Varadkar said: I believe it is also important that the 1,000 donation (from Dowdall to Ms McDonald) should be returned  and that information be disclosed on other donations made by Mr Dowdall to Sinn Fein, and that we get more detail on Sinn Feins knowledge of his actions.

Party colleague TD Paul Kehoe said: Deputy McDonalds criminal councillor saw more of the Special Criminal Court than he did the Dublin City Council chamber.

The former Sinn Fein local representative was jailed last year for facilitating the Regency gangland murder, he said. That was the second time Dowdall was convicted.

Mr Varadkar added that evidence shows a clear and ongoing link or overlap between Republican paramilitaries and organised criminal gangs.

Mr Varadkar said: They are not worlds apart. In fact, they inhabit the same netherworld in my view.

By the way, I do not think for a second that Sinn Fein is in any way responsible for Jonathan Dowdalls actions.

I know it can be difficult to vet candidates, and I do not believe in guilt by association.

However, I believe that we would not have had many (gangland) convictions were it not for the Special Criminal Court.

I call on Sinn Fein, and on the leader of Sinn Fein in particular, to affirm that they will vote for the renewal of the Special Criminal Court in June. There should not be an abstention, or a policy of not turning up, he said.

He was sentenced for waterboarding in 2015 while serving as a Sinn Fein councillor. He was convicted twice in the Special Criminal Court; not many criminals have achieved that feat.

Public Expenditure minister Paschal Donohoe said Mary Lou McDonalds position on Jonathan Dowdall was not credible.

Mr Donohoe, a constituency colleague to the Sinn Fein leader, asked whether Ms McDonald was involved in the selection of that candidate in the local elections in Cabra, whereby he became a Sinn Fein councillor, or what role did she play?

He pointed out that Mr Dowdall was a public representative was involved in torture.
Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch outside court after being found not guilty of murder on Monday. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie   RollingNews.ie

GERRY The Monk Hutch spent his first hours of freedom with family in Dublin after being acquitted of the Regency Hotel murder.

His release comes as the Irish Independent can reveal the suspected involvement of key cartel associates, including Daniel Kinahan, in a plot to murder The Monk more than a month before the 2016 hotel shooting.

The office of the DPP has refused to comment on the States unsuccessful prosecution of Mr Hutch. Its case relied on audio surveillance and testimony from convicted criminal Jonathan Dowdall.

Shortly before 4pm on Monday, Mr Hutch (60) walked from the Special Criminal Court after the three judges ruled there was no evidence to establish he was one of the Regency gunmen.

A request to allow him to leave the building via a side entrance was denied and Mr Hutch walked out of the front door to a media scrum,

He declined to answer any questions.

His legal team then flagged down a taxi that took him away from the courts.

It is understood that later on Monday, Mr Hutch went to the inner-city home of a relative.

Gardai had put a policing plan in place in the wider area that evening. No incidents were reported.

The audacious gun attack in 2016, which claimed the life of Kinahan associate David Byrne, was carried out just over a month after Gerry Hutch survived an attempt on his own life in Spain.

Two gunmen attempted to shoot him in a Lanzarote bar on New Years Eve but he managed to escape unharmed.

Investigations into the murder bid have identified a number of senior cartel associates as suspects in the plot.

This includes Daniel Kinahan, whom gardai believe arranged for the weapons to be transported to the Canary Islands.

Investigators believe this was done through a Spanish-based cartel member, originally from mainland Europe, who later supplied the handguns to the Dublin hit team.

Sources have described this man as a key member of the cartels network in Spain.

Detectives also suspect senior gang member Sean McGovern, whom gardai want to charge with a feud murder, organised the meetings between the firearms supplier and the gunmen.

However, the murder bid failed after The Monk recognised the shooters and fled the bar.

Just over a month later, a five-man hit team entered the Regency Hotel in Dublin and shot David Byrne dead.

McGovern was also injured in the attack after being shot in the stomach.

The non-jury court found that the attack was carried out by the Hutch family and that Mr Hutch had control of the weapons, but said it was not proved he was one of the gunmen.

Following the acquittal, questions have been raised over the decision to charge him with murder.

Ms Justice Tara Burns, presiding, raised serious concerns about the reliability of key witness Dowdall.

He was originally charged with murder, but agreed to give evidence for the prosecution shortly before the trial started and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of facilitating the murder gang.

The non-jury court found that the surveillance audio relied on by the prosecution did not contain admissions that Hutch was one of the hotel gunmen dressed in fake Garda uniform.

Ms Justice Burns also said that one would wonder what the prosecution case intended to be prior to Dowdall turning States evidence.

When contacted about these comments, and the prosecution case against Gerry Hutch, a spokesperson for the office of the DPP said it did not comment on individual cases.
Dr Stephen Wright died from the unintended consequences of vaccination after a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid jab, a coroner has concluded (Helen William/PA)   Helen William

A fit and healthy doctor died from the unintended consequences of vaccination after a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid jab, a coroner has concluded.

As an NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker, Dr Stephen Wright, 32, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic.

He died 10 days after the jab.

His widow Charlotte is considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca, which had its Covid vaccine approved in December 2020, a month before Dr Wright was given his dose.

A small group of people, Dr Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, an inquest at Londons Southwark Coroners Court heard on Wednesday.

Charlotte Wright outside Southwark Coroners Court (Helen William/PA)   Helen William

Dr Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and vaccine-induced thrombosis.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to Kings College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.

Coroner Andrew Harris described a very unusual and deeply tragic case.

Outlining the facts, he said: Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16 2021, awoke with a headache on January 25 and later developed left arm numbness.

Mr Harris said it is very important to record as fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine  but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca.

Dr Wright attended an A&E department just after midnight and was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis, Mr Harris said.

He added: He was transferred to Kings College Hospital at 6.39am but, due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery

After the inquest, Mrs Wright said: It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca.

For us, it allows us to be able to continue our litigation against AstraZeneca.

This is the written proof.

Work is under way to try to understand why severe reactions to the jabs can happen, the inquest was told.

Mr Harris said: My understanding is that this condition is rare.

Causes are being examined by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).

It seems to me that there is not an action one can take at the moment.

It is being looked at and there are reports being given to the Government from the MHRA and there is advice on the matter.

Medical experts told the court nothing could be done to save Dr Wright as his condition deteriorated.

Consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the bodys first response to try and stop bleeding and are important for clotting.

He said: There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation.

When you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.

Dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at Kings College Hospital, said scientists and medical experts were not aware of the vaccines possible deadly side effects because Dr Wrights case happened so early in its rollout.

He said: Stephen was a very fit, young and healthy man in January 2021.

It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-meant vaccination.

We had no knowledge that this was a potential side effect at this time.

Its not fully understood why this happens.

Its an idiosyncratic reaction.

The circumstances arise in a very small number of people.

There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence.

It was a rare and unintended consequence.

An AstraZeneca spokesman said: We are very saddened by Stephen Wrights death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.

Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.

From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria (the brand name for AstraZenecas Covid-19 vaccine) has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: More than 144 million Covid vaccines have been given in England, which has helped the country to live with Covid and saved thousands of lives.

All vaccines being used in the UK have undergone robust clinical trials and have met the MHRAs strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.

The vaccine damage payments scheme provides financial support to help ease the burden on individuals who have, in extremely rare circumstances, been severely disabled or died due to receiving a government-recommended vaccine.
A man holds a lantern during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 1. / Courtesy of Derek Winchester



By Derek Winchester



Cherry blossom season came early to Korea this year. While many of the country's usual blossom festivals were caught off guard and had to reschedule their events forward, others not typically timed with the spring occurrence had a lucky break.



One of them was Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, from April 1 to 2.





Cherry blossoms are seen during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 1. / Courtesy of Derek Winchester



The festival returned after a few years of hiatus due to the pandemic. Locals were eager to come out to meet acquaintances they may have not seen during the winter and forge new friendships. In this age where you can see the world through a computer screen, being actually at a place involved in an activity makes things more real. We get to feel the petals from the blossoms falling on our faces. We get to hear the actual plucking of the strings of a "gayageum" and talk to the musician. We get to smell the cooking of the vendors in the kiosks on the festival grounds. These things excite our memories more than a jpeg on a screen could. Festivals like this give a feeling of being connected to a community that is hard to find anywhere else.





A gayageum player performs during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 1. / Courtesy of Derek Winchester



Wangin, the great scholar that the festival commemorates, was a fascinating figure. In the fourth century during the Baekje Kingdom, he went to Japan to teach and became very influential there  so much so that there is another festival for him there as well. One of the places in Gurim Village notes where Wangin made a statement that showed he could live in the moment. He commented that he might never return here.





A large costume of Wangin, a fourth-century scholar, is seen during a parade at the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 2. / Courtesy of Derek Winchester



One of the highlights of the festival was a moonlight walk through Gurim Village with a knowledgeable guide who explained the importance of traditional houses. Then the gayageum player started her song and a hush fell over the crowd. Afterward, telescopes were brought out so people could get a closer look at the moon. Finally, it was concluded with the lighting of lanterns to that last important place where Wangin said goodbye to Korea. The walk was worth it.





A percussionist participates in a musical parade during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 2. / Courtesy of Derek Winchester



On the second day, a parade was held in the area. The welcoming atmosphere could be seen on the faces of the participants as they danced to the music of the marching bands, both traditional and modern. Even the police that were there to direct traffic had smile on their faces as the celebratory wave washed over the valley.





A flower seller poses for a photo during the Yeongam Wangin Culture Festival held in Gurim Village, South Jeolla Province, April 2. / Courtesy of Derek Winchester
Mohammed Shah Subhani, whose remains were found by police after an extensive search of a woodland area in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire (Metropolitan Police/PA)   Metropolitan Police

A man was allegedly killed, burned and buried in a shallow grave in woods in a grim case likened to a Hollywood film.

Mohammed Shah Subhani, 27, known as Little Man, was allegedly murdered when he visited R & J Plumbing in Hounslow, west London, on May 7 2019.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC told jurors: He comes out rolled in a carpet, thrown into the back of a vehicle, driven away, moved from vehicle to vehicle, moved to the countryside, burnt and dumped.

Sounds like something out of a Hollywood film but it is the grim reality of this case.

Brothers Amraj Poonia, 27, aka Bigs, and Raneel Poonia, 25, aka Ace, and Gurditta Singh, 26, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murder and perverting the course of justice.

Mohanad Riad, 22, known as Emz, Mahamud Ismail, 26, known as Major or Skinny, and Mohammed Shakeel, 29, are charged with perverting the course of justice.

Opening their trial on Wednesday, Mr Little said the victim was killed behind closed doors at the plumbing premises by at least three people.

He said: It is a murder that appears to arise from, and be linked to, the criminal underworld of a number of those living in and around the flightpath to Heathrow.

However, the criminality does not end with that murder in west London.

Having murdered Mohammed Shah Subhani it was necessary for the defendants to cover up and clean up their crimes.

That includes disposing of the body, moving and disposing of Mohammed Shah Subhanis Audi Q3 motor vehicle, other vehicles and other items.

Mr Little said the reason for the cover-up was to try to avoid justice catching up with the defendants.

He went on: Accordingly, an elaborate and extensive attempt to pervert the course of justice was set in train and carried out and which very nearly succeeded.

Following the murder, Mohammed Shah Subhanis body was removed from R & J Plumbing and, having been kept in a vehicle or vehicles in London, was driven to the countryside in Buckinghamshire where it was partially burnt and then left in a shallow grave in a storm drain in a wooded area off the beaten track.

Jurors heard how the venue for the killing was a Poonia family business and the motive was a dispute over missing drugs.

But the victim and Amraj Poonia were said to have been involved in the supply of cannabis which Mr Little said came with risks, rivalries, suspicion, treachery, violence  and even murder.

A local dealer named only as Robbie had asked Mr Subhani to look after a very large quantity of cannabis for him in April 2019, from which he took five kilos, it was claimed.

He entrusted Amraj Poonia with one kilo for safe keeping but that stash went missing, it was claimed.

Mr Little said there was no dispute that co-defendant Riad had recruited two local drug dealers to help stage a fake theft of the cannabis.

In the weeks before the killing, suspicions erupted in incidents of violence towards Amraj Poonia and/or Riad either by or for Mr Subhani, it was claimed.

The defendants from west London deny the charges against them.

The trial continues.
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson has said no force in the UK is institutionally racist (Nick Ansell/PA)   Nick Ansell

One of Britains most senior police officers has said he does not believe that any force in the UK is institutionally racist.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the label is unhelpful and misunderstood by members of the public.

He told LBC: I think it possible that a police force could be institutionally racist, I just dont think that applies to any of the UK police forces.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the term institutionally racist is interpreted differently by members of the public (James Speakman/PA)   James Speakman

A major review of the Metropolitan Police found last month that the force is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic in the wake of a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.

This echoed the 1999 Macpherson Report on the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence which originally branded the force institutionally racist over its handling of the case.

The bungled original investigation hampered by racism and alleged police corruption meant it took nearly 20 years for two of the 18-year-olds five killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted.

Mr Watson, who has served in six forces in England since he first joined the police in 1988, said the label of institutional racism is unhelpful.

It is not helpful because people do not differentiate between the nuanced, balanced interpretation as was set forth in Macpherson, and the otherwise assertion that people will very often put to our people at three oclock in the morning  Youre institutionally X, Y or Z, he told LBC.

His comments came after Mr Lawrences mother said nothing much has changed at the Metropolitan Police in the 30 years since her son was murdered by a racist gang as he tried to get the bus home with a friend in Eltham, south-east London, on April 22 1993.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence said nothing much has changed in the Metropolitan Police in the 30 years since her son Stephens death (Aaron Chown/PA)   Aaron Chown

Baroness Doreen Lawrence told the BBC: I dont know how many more inquiries and how many reviews you need to have to say the same thing.

Officers have been able to be as brutal as they want, and nobody holds them to account.

And until that happens, theres no way that the police are going to move forward.

They have to not do it behind closed doors, it needs to be seen publicly what theyre doing for people to accept that they are going to change.

Over the past, in Stephens case 30 years, nothing much has changed.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley rejected the accusation of institutional racism in the recent review by Baroness Louise Casey, saying the term is ambiguous and politicised.
Ralph Yarl, the teenager shot by a homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri (Ben Crump Law via AP)   Uncredited

An 84-year-old white man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a black teenager, in the US state of Missouri has pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance.

Andrew Lester was in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting, which has attracted presidential attention and renewed national debate about gun policies.

Lester turned himself in on Tuesday and was later released on bail after agreeing to relinquish any weapons and have no contact with Ralph or his family.

He also agreed to have his mobile phone monitored.

Andrew Lester (Clay County Sheriffs Office via AP)   Uncredited

The Kansas City case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places.

A 20-year-old woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway.

In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a car thinking it was hers.

Ralph was shot at point-blank range in the head but miraculously survived the bullet, his familys lawyer said on Tuesday.

Some civil rights leaders have urged prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime, an action lawyer Lee Merritt said was warranted in Ralphs shooting because he was armed only with his black skin.

Lester could face up to life in prison on the assault charge if convicted.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime allowing a longer sentence than a hate crime charge would.

Though activists have called for the US Department of Justice to investigate, it was unclear whether it would do so.

Ralph Yarl (Ben Crump Law via AP)   Uncredited

The shooting happened at about 10pm local time on Thursday.

Police chief Stacey Graves said that Ralphs mother asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Ralph, an honours student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a street away from where he meant to be.

When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and used a .32 calibre Smith and Wesson 1888 revolver to shoot Ralph in the forehead, then in the right forearm.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw Ralph on the porch because he thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterwards, as Ralph got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Mr Merritt said Ralph is hardly an imposing figure.

The question is, at 5ft 8in and 140 pounds, what did Andrew Lester look out and see? Mr Merritt asked at a city centre rally on Tuesday.

Graffiti is seen on the house where 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot when he went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers in Kansas City (Charlie Riedel/AP)   Charlie Riedel

And the answer is he saw a black person. And for him, that was enough justification. And that would just be a tragedy except law enforcement agreed with him.

Ralph ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, according to court documents.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country.

President Joe Biden spoke with Ralph on Monday, and on Tuesday invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Mr Biden tweeted.

Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Republican governor Mike Parson, who had remained silent on the shooting until Wednesday, accused Mr Biden of politicising it.

People attend a rally to support Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri (Charlie Riedel/AP)   Charlie Riedel

I dont want some 16-year-old kid to be getting shot because he went to the wrong house  we just dont want those kinds of things to happen. Its a tragedy, Mr Parson told the Kansas City Star.

When the president of the United States is trying to make a political statement over a very serious tragedy, it is very unfortunate.

Mr Thompson, the prosecutor, said on Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting.

He did not elaborate.

Mr Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Mr Thompson.

The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously there is a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Mr Merritt, who called the answer shallow.
Mr Hanna passed away on Monday in Kathmandu

Noel Hanna died after returning to his tent after a successful summit on Annapurna, the Co Down climbers wife has said.

Mr Hanna (56) passed away on Monday after summiting the 8,091 metre Annapurna peak in western Nepal.

His wife Lynne paid tribute to her late husband after arriving in Kathmandu on Wednesday to bring his remains home and said in a Facebook post that it was just the renowned climbers time to go.

"I have arrived in Kathmandu to bring Noel home he passed away at Camp 4 on Annapurna, she said.

"After a successful summit he returned to the tent took some hot soup and fell asleep never to awaken again. No drama, no big story; it was his time to go.

He died in the Himalayas  what better place for my Mountain Man. Sleep well Noel.

One of Irelands best known climbers, Mr Hanna, from Dromara, had scaled Mount Everest 10 times.

In 2018, he became the first person from the island of Ireland to successfully summit and descend K2.

Born in Dromara in the shadow of the Mourne Mountains, his passion for mountaineering was sparked at an early age.

Mr Hanna quickly made a name for himself in the local climbing community, and by his mid-20s, he had already scaled some of the highest peaks in Europe and Asia.

There are gambles to climbing, but I think it is just the buzz of being up there and pushing your body to the extremes which drives you to do it, Mr Hanna told the Belfast Telegraph in 2016.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson led tributes to Mr Hanna, saying it was devastating news.

I had the privilege of meeting Noel and hearing about his mountain-climbing exploits, including his conquest of Everest, he added.

Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fellow mountaineers at this sad time.

Mourne Mountain Adventures said: There is some peace in that he spent his last moments doing what he loved best.

Such a great man and one of Northern Irelands finest mountaineers.

Annapurna is the 10th highest mountain in the world at 8,091 metres (26,545 ft) above sea level.

It is well known for the difficulty and danger involved in its ascent.

At least 365 people have climbed Annapurna and more than 72 have died on the mountain, hiking officials said.

Earlier this week, Indian climber Baljeet Kaur went missing near Camp IV while descending from the summit point, organisers said. On Tuesday, it emerged she had been found alive. An aerial search mission was launched after she sent a radio signal asking for immediate help.

A third climber, Anurag Maloo, went missing after falling from 6,000m into a crevasse while descending from Camp IV.
Luxembourgs openly gay prime minister has backed LGBT rights in the European Unions parliament and chastised member state Hungary, which wants to curtail addressing the issue of homosexuality at school and in the media.

Xavier Bettel told legislators at the plenary session in Strasbourg, France: If theres anyone in this house who thinks that youve become a homosexual by watching the television or listening to a song, then youve not understood anything.

The most difficult (thing) for a homosexual is to accept themselves.

Mr Bettel has often spoken about his sexuality and has been especially critical of Hungary.

He already came out against Budapest in 2021 when a law was approved to prohibit sharing content on homosexuality or sex reassignment to people under 18 in school sex education programme, films or advertisements.

The EU has accused populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of cracking down on LGBT rights and has openly challenged them.

Mr Bettel, who married his husband eight years ago, believes Hungary is out of touch with many of the other EU member states.

He said that he knew becoming public about ones homosexuality could be dangerous in too many nations outside the EU.

I could end up in prison, face (a) life sentence. And soon maybe, in a European Union member state, I would only be able to talk about this in secret, because I would be accused of perverting the young generation, he added.

I am ashamed, Madam President, that some colleagues want to win votes at the expense of minorities. Weve had that before in our history.

Mr Bettel has often taken a strong stand. At an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt in 2019, Mr Bettel told Arab leaders that he was married to a man and would probably face capital punishment in many of their countries.
Ryuji Kimura is arrested after what appeared to be a pipe bomb was thrown at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida (Kyodo News via AP, File)   Uncredited

An unemployed 24-year-old man who allegedly threw a pipe bomb at Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japans parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts.

The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested on Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama.

The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Mr Kishida, who escaped unhurt.

Kimura has refused to talk to police, but reports that he became angry after failing to register for an election and had sued the government might shed light on his alleged motives.

Mr Kishida was unhurt in the incident (AP)   Shuji Kajiyama

In June last year, he filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election. A candidate must be aged 30 or older and present a three million yen (around 17,700) deposit to run for the upper house, the less powerful of Japans two-chamber parliament. He was 23 at the time.

Kimura demanded the government pay 100,000 yen (595) in compensation for his psychological anguish, according to Japanese media reports, including NHK public television and Kyodo News.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan. With its strict gun control laws, the country has only a handful of gun-related crimes annually, most of them gang-related. But in recent years Japanese police have worried about lone offender attacks with homemade guns and explosives.

Former prime minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a homemade gun at a campaign event on July 8, just two days before the upper house election.

Shinzo Abe was assassinated last year (Kyodo News via AP)   Uncredited

Kimura, reportedly unemployed, might have blamed society for his circumstances, an expert said.

Some people already see themselves as dropouts with no future, and they blame society for making their lives difficult, says Nobuo Komiya, a Rissho University criminologist. There may have been some kind of a trigger.

In a document he submitted to the court, Kimura argued that the election system that blocked his candidacy was unconstitutional, the reports said.

Kimura argued that the election law violates constitutional guarantees of equality and other rights, according to media reports. The court dismissed his claim in a November 2022 ruling, and Kimura appealed the decision to the Osaka High Court, whose decision is expected in May, reports say.

Tweets posted to an account cited by local media as his and seen by the Associated Press describe court proceedings matching those reported from his case, and complained about Japans political dynasties. The account had only 23 posts since it began in late June.

A tweet on August 11 2022 said the deck is stacked against ordinary people who quit their job and pay the deposit to run in national elections.

Your rivals are religious groups who vote in blocs and incumbent politicians who enjoy free election volunteers. There is an established system where ordinary people can never become politicians.

Mr Abes alleged assassin, Tetsuya Yamagami, who has been charged with murder and several other crimes including violating gun-control laws, told authorities soon after his arrest that he killed the former premier because of his apparent links to a religious group that Yamagami hated.

In statements and in social media posts attributed to him, Yamagami said his mothers donations to the Unification Church bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
Ukraines defence minister said his country has received the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved, and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian strikes during the war.

Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet: Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion.

The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.

Russia has used that weaponry to bombard Ukraine, including residential areas and civilian infrastructure, especially the power supply over the winter.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late on Tuesday that delivery of the system would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Patriot missile launchers acquired from the US deployed in Warsaw, Poland, earlier this year (AP)   Michal Dyjuk

Mr Reznikov thanked the people of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many systems had been delivered, or when they arrived.

Germanys federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine, and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to legislators in Berlin.

Mr Reznikov said he had first asked for Patriot systems when he visited the US in August 2021, five months before the full-scale invasion by the Kremlins forces and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula.

He described possessing the system as a dream, but said he was told in the US at the time that it was impossible.

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which requires as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Mr Reznikov wrote.

A part of a Russian rocket is seen in an agricultural field as a farmer works on a tractor during the sowing campaign in the Zaporizhzhia region (AP)   Kateryna Klochko

Experts have cautioned that the systems effectiveness is limited, and it may not be a game changer in the war, even though it will add to Ukraines arsenal against its enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the US in the 1980s. The system costs approximately four million dollars (3.22 million) per round and the launchers cost about 10 million dollars (8 million) each, analysts say.

At such a cost, it is not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the far smaller and cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were injured in Ukraine on Tuesday and overnight, the press office of Ukraines defence ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian air strike on a border town in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, its governor Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraines southern Kherson region, its governor Oleksandr Prokudin said, killing one civilian at a market in the centre of Kherson, the regions namesake capital, and a nearby school.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired night-time exploding drones at Ukraines southern Odesa region.
From behind left clockwise, Bereket Alemayehu from Ethiopia, Yu Yuri, Han Na-hyun, Dorcas from Congo and Kang Eun-sook are members of Active Refugee Korea. They gathered for an interview with The Korea Times at Dongjak FM in Seoul on April 17, a rare gathering for the members who often meet online via video conference calls. Korea Times photo by Ko Dong-hwan



Active Refugee Korea launches fresh campaigns this year



By Ko Dong-hwan



When the seven members of Active Refugee Korea (ARK) started their campaign last year, they agreed on one thing: to be more aggressive than existing refugee advocacy groups in Korea, one of the strictest nations when it comes to accepting asylum seekers.



That was the only way the activists figured they would succeed in improving the chances of asylum seekers and refugees in Korea find a better life.



And their first opportunity came in May, when the inauguration of President Yoon Suk Yeol took place. As Yoon set up his new office in front of the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan, Seoul and interviewed candidates for ministerial positions and other key posts, the refugee advocacy group did not waste any time.



It sent a letter to the country's new leader and did not mince any words.



"We trust that Republic of Korea, one of the wealthiest countries in the world, can protect more asylum seekers and refugees if it had more political will and practical efforts to do so," the letter read.



The letter was read aloud in English, Korean, French and Arabic before being handed in-person to an official at the Presidential Transition Committee on May 4, 2022.



"But it's truly regretful that Korea so far hasn't carried out an inclusive, consistent set of refugee policies," it added. "We sincerely wish that the new Korean government comes out as a more active member of the international community that increasingly requires humanitarian responsibilities, including protecting asylum seekers, amid the intensifying local conflicts and wars across the world."



That message did not go unnoticed.



The transition committee responded on May 21. It said, "Bearing your valuable opinion in mind, we will humbly and responsibly do our best to reflect your opinion into making future-oriented and innovative national-unity government." ARK, sharing the letter on Facebook, said it was a "small but important step forward to establishing a channel of communication and dialogue with the president and the government to fulfill the demands."



The seven members of ARK  from the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia and Korea  continued their campaign here that year, hosting awareness-raising outdoor events and calling for participation by asylum seekers, refugees and supporters on Facebook. Comments showing interest followed the posts.



The organizers and supporters also went to street gatherings in Seoul for World Refugee Day in June and United Nations' International Day of Peace in September, demanding the rights of asylum seekers and refugees in Korea be properly acknowledged and served.





Members of Active Refugee Korea rally in front of Seoul Station on March 19 to commemorate International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. An Afghan refugee, center behind the flag, who met the activist group for the first time at the event, joined the rally. Courtesy of ARK



Social networking sites are ARK's main communication channels with the public. The three Korean facilitators from ARK posted an ad on Facebook looking for foreign activists and met Bereket from Ethiopia, Dorcas from the Congo and Musab and Mariam from Egypt in 2021.



"We work as a team so everyone participates and shares ideas," Dorcas told The Korea Times at Dongjak FM, a public underground space run by Seoul's southern district office of Dongjak where, according to Bereket, foreign residents of the city often visit for private meetings. She declined to share with The Korea Times why she came to Korea 13 years ago, because she was "tired of repeatedly speaking about her dark past publicly."



Stand up and fight



ARK, which describes itself as an "ark for refugees from different countries," stands up to fight for their rights rather than conform to Korea's immigration system and local society, which can at times be relatively unaccepting and difficult to assimilate into.



"This is probably the first initiative in Korea which is jointly laid out by refugees and local Koreans," said Bereket.



A professional photographer and a freelance journalist for Pressenza, an international press agency, Bereket fled political usurpation in Ethiopia where he took part in a movement against a rising faction and came to Korea in 2014.



The Koreans and the foreign activists have different roles. The facilitators, using their familiarity with the country, arrange an "empty space" in the country, like a framework, for the rest of the members to fill with their own perspectives and values. This is how ARK strives to be strictly refugee-oriented instead of being planned and orchestrated by Koreans who support refugees.



"Sometimes it feels time-consuming, but we make some consensus where we can all do it together," Kang Eun-sook, one of the facilitators for ARK, said. "It's very important because without ARK, there's probably no space in the country where refugee activists (from diverse backgrounds) can get together apart from specific ethnic communities or origin of country."





Dorcas, one of the members of Active Refugee Korea, speaks during "Refugee Manifesto Festival, United by Hope" at Cheonggye Plaza in Jongno District, Seoul, on June 19, 2022. The group declared its manifesto on World Refugee Day. Courtesy of ARK
Cottonbro/Pexels

Does a digital identity represent the mark of the beast and fulfill the end-time prophecy of the Antichrist?

Our world is constantly creating new digital identities. Everything from driver's licenses to passports will soon be only accepted as a digital form. Are those forms dangerous to Christians and the same as receiving a mark on the forehead from the Antichrist himself?

The Bible doesn't specifically mention digital identities, but it does talk about our identity in general. In Jeremiah 29:11, God says, "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." This verse reminds us that God has a good plan for our lives and that we can trust Him no matter what.

In addition, the Bible mentions that we are all God's children. Romans 8:16, it says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children." This verse reminds us that we are all valuable and loved by God. We can find our identity in Him no matter what else happens in our lives.

Many Christians believe a digital identity is a precursor to the Antichrist and have asked lawmakers to allow a religious exemption from getting any license that uses biometrics. They recited revelations in the request to which it was denied.

The end-times prophecy says that one day Antichrist will arise, and he will deceive the world with his words. Once Antichrist has arisen, he will proclaim himself to be God. He will claim to have all the power and authority of God, and he will demand that everyone worship him. He will also try to change the laws of God so that people can only worship him. Anyone who does not bow down to Antichrist will be persecuted.

The Antichrist will rise to power in the last days and establish a global economic system that allows him to control the buying and selling of goods and services. (Revelation 13:17) He will be a master of manipulation, and his economic policies will be ruthless. The poor will suffer while he amasses great wealth.

Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. It had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. It exercises all the authority of the first beast in its presence, and makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound was healed. It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain. Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666.

Revelation 13:1118

What is the Mark of the Beast?

Christians are very familiar with the mark of the beast, which is also associated with the number 666 and represents Satan. A mark from the beast is seen as a tribal identification and punishment. It is believed that a mark is seen as a sign of ownership and the person displaying the mark is a disgrace. The mark is placed on a person's forehead or hand. Now with the breakthroughs in chip implantation and the push for digital identities, there has obviously been an increased interest in the mark of the beast.

Digital Identity and the Mark of the Beast

Getting a chip implant or even a digital identity form does not represent the mark of the beast. In Revelations, it is said that only those who worship the Antichrist will receive the mark. If you stay true to your Christian convictions, you have nothing to worry about. Be wary of false Christs but do not fear a digital form as this will not be the mark of the beast. The Antichrist will be much more deceiving, as Christ warned. As long as you stay focused on the real Jesus, you will live a life of glory.

A digital identity does not promote greed or arrogance. It instead allows for more efficiency and accuracy in communication. The Antichrist will instead try to enter your life in the form of a false god, so be wary of any figure that asks you to worship them when their message is not in line with the word of God. The true God will never ask Christians to worship anyone other than Him.

As a Christian, ask yourself if you have neglected the righteousness of God, and if you have, you still have time to repent. God will never leave those in the hands of the Antichrist that believe in his holiness.
Namyit Island [left image, Dec. 22, 2019] in the South China Seas Spratly Archipelago has been significantly expanded in the past year, as seen on April 18, 2023 [right image]. Credit: Planet Labs photos





Vietnam continues accelerating its land reclamation in the South China Sea but an investigation by Radio Free Asia, a news service affiliated with BenarNews, has found no indication of the militarization of any outpost.

Satellite images obtained via Planet Labs, a U.S. Earth imaging company, show that reclamation works have been carried out at many of the 27 maritime features under Vietnams control in the Spratly archipelago.

New harbors that could serve as shelters for ships have been developed at five more features including Tennent Reef, Pearson Reef, Namyit Island, Barque Canada Reef and Sand Cay, bringing the number of such facilities to at least nine.

The Spratly archipelago, with hundreds of atolls and reefs, is in an area frequently hit by typhoons and the Vietnamese government has said it is committed to protecting fishermen at sea.

Some of the features have been developed further since the last report in December 2022 on Vietnams island expansion by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Two small features, Sand Cay and Barque Canada Reef, have witnessed a great transformation since the end of last year.

The land area on Barque Canada Reef has increased from 58 acres in AMTI report to the current 76 acres, according to RFA research.

Tennent Reef until 2021 only hosted a couple of steel structures. Credit: RFA/Planet Labs





Another feature, Tennent Reef, which until 2021 still hosted only a couple of steel structures, now has been developed into an islet with buildings, a harbor and a pier.

AMTI estimated that at the end of 2022, there were 64 acres of artificial land at Tennent Reef.

A mid-sized feature, the Namyit Island, has expanded significantly to 117 acres with a port that can accommodate larger ships including supply vessels.

No militarization

The island, listed as a natural marine reserve by the Vietnamese government, boasts a sovereignty monument installed in 1956, a lighthouse, a clinic and a Buddhist temple.

A close look at images of Namyit obtained from Planet Labs reveals buildings, two radar domes and a helipad at the eastern edge of the island but no obvious military installations or facilities.

Greg Poling, AMTIs director, said Vietnam has built helipads on most of its features in recent years to facilitate resupply.

Until now theres only one small airport equipped with a 1,200-meter runway on the Spratly Island that Hanoi has controlled since 1975.

Reuters news agency in 2016 reported that Vietnam moved mobile rocket launchers to five of its islands in the South China Sea.

The launchers have been hidden from aerial surveillance and they have yet to be armed, but could be made operational with rocket artillery rounds within two or three days, the report said.

The Vietnamese government denied the information.

RFA also examined the latest photos of Vietnams other reclaimed islands and has not found any evidence to back Reuters claims.

Sand Cay as of April 18, 2023. [Planet Labs] AMTIs December report said Vietnam created roughly 420 acres of land in 2022 alone, bringing its total in the last 10 years to 540 acres.

It is still a fraction of Chinas reclaimed 3,200 acres [1,295 hectares].

Six parties  Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  hold conflicting claims over the South China Sea but only China, the Philippines and Vietnam are known to have been reclaiming land for construction on their occupied islands and reefs.

Beijing is believed to have finished the construction and militarization of three of its artificial islands  Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reef  all within the Spratly archipelago.
U.S. soldiers participate in joint exercises with the Philippine military at Fort Magsaysay, Nueva Ecija province, north of Manila, April 13, 2023.

The United States plans to spend more than U.S. $100 million (5.6 billion pesos) for upgrades at nine military bases it has been granted access to in the Philippines, Foreign Secretary Enrique Manalo told a Senate inquiry Wednesday.

There are 16 projects in five bases originally covered under the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement between the allies  a supplemental agreement to the Visiting Forces Agreement  that grants legal cover to large-scale joint maneuvers, Manalo said.

These projects include a runway and a warehouse at the Cesar Basa Air Base in the northern province of Nueva Ecija, along with a storage facility in Mactan-Benito Ebuen Air Base in the central Visayas region.

To date, the U.S. has allocated a total of over U.S. $100 million to EDCA projects, including an additional U.S. $18 million announced during the Third 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue last week in Washington, Manalo told the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations.

This will cover projects in both existing and new agreed locations.  Six of those projects are estimated to be completed within 2023.

Manalo was referring to the recent meeting of U.S. and Philippine foreign and defense ministers.

The Philippines agreed to give the U.S. access to four new bases, which Manalo referred to, in an agreement in February.

Manila revealed the new locations early this month, with two of them  the Naval Base Camilo Osias as well as the Lal-lo Airport  within the province of Cagayan, in the countrys north that faces Taiwan.

The two others are on the island of Balabac in Palawan province facing the South China Sea, and in Isabela province north of Manila.

Manalo said those sites have been determined and evaluated by the Armed Forces of the Philippines as significantly relevant for Philippine defense modernization goals.

Additional U.S. access to Philippine bases comes at a time of increased tensions between China and Taiwan, which it considers a renegade province.

Philippine nationalists have expressed fear that the Philippines, by increasing U.S. military presence, could be drawn into war unnecessarily should China invade Taiwan.

Hearing comes amid Balikatan

Manalos comments come as Philippine and U.S. troops, bound by a decades-old Mutual Defense Treaty, are conducting their largest-ever annual joint war games, Balikatan. The troops have trained using modern weapons including Javelin missiles similar to those used by Ukraine against invading Russian forces.

Next week, both sides are scheduled to conduct live fire exercises that involve sinking a purported enemy ship.

Leaders of both countries have denied that the drills are aimed at China or any other country, and said the exercises are meant to develop joint capabilities in case of an attack by an outside force.

Last week, Huang Xilian, Chinas envoy to Manila, advised the Philippines to unequivocally oppose Taiwans independence rather than grant U.S. expanded access, noting it could stoke tensions.

[W]e will not renounce the use of force and we reserve the option of taking all necessary measures, Huang had said.

The Chinese Embassy in Manila said Huangs remarks were reported incorrectly despite the media citing quotes from a copy of the speech provided by the embassy.

Addressing growing calls to have Huang expelled from the country, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said he expected to speak with Huang to allow him to clarify his remarks. Marcos gave Huang the benefit of the doubt, noting the speech released in English may have been lost in translation.

Ill be talking to the ambassador soon. And Im sure he will be ... Im sure hell be very anxious to give his own interpretation of what he was trying to say, Marcos told reporters during a visit to the northern province of Bulacan on Wednesday.

We were all a little surprised, but I just put it down to the difference in language, Marcos said.

Marcos government was expected to host Chinese Foreign Minister Qin Gang in Manila this weekend.

The Philippine foreign ministry said it expects Manalo and Qin to discuss the South China Sea issue as well as other regional security issues, possibly including Taiwan.

Jeoffrey Maitem and Jojo Rinoza in Manila contributed to this report.
This captured image shows Adm. John Aquilino, commander of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, delivering opening remarks in a House armed services committee hearing in Washington, U.S., April 18. Yonhap



The United States is successfully and continuously preventing conflict with no imminent signs of war in the Indo-Pacific but North Korea's continued missile provocations, along with other threats, pose serious challenges to peace and stability in the region, the chief of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) said Tuesday.



Adm. John Aquilino also stressed the importance of strengthening U.S. alliances to deter any future aggression from North Korea and China in a House armed services committee hearing on U.S. military posture and national security challenges in the Indo-Pacific region.



"Every day INDOPACOM works tirelessly to prevent conflict, not provoke it," Aquilino told the hearing. "War is not inevitable, and it's not imminent."



The region, however, faces a "period of increased risk," he insisted, partly due to Russia's "illegitimate, illegal invasion" of Ukraine, the "military buildup and malign behavior" of China and the "continuous missile provocations and nuclear rhetoric by the DPRK."



DPRK stands for the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, North Korea's official name.



North Korea has launched nearly 100 ballistic missiles since the start of last year, while threatening to preemptively use nuclear weapons against the U.S. and South Korea in case of any contingency.



The INDOPACOM commander called for efforts to maintain a robust U.S. military posture while strengthening existing U.S. alliances and partnerships in the region to deter any aggression there.



"I say it again: Conflict in the Indo-Pacific is not inevitable, but we cannot rest on our past accomplishments to secure a peaceful future," said the admiral.



Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea (USFK), highlighted the need to strengthen the U.S.-South Korea alliance.





This caputred image shows Gen. Paul LaCamera, commander of U.S. Forces Korea, speaking during a House armed services committee hearing in Washington, U.S., Apirl 18. Yonhap
Bennington, VT (05201)

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This photo, released by South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), shows JCS Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum, left, and Netherlands Chief of Defence Gen. Onno Eichelsheim inspecting an honor guard at the JCS headquarters in Seoul, April 19. Yonhap



South Korea's top general and a visiting U.S. admiral agreed Wednesday to strengthen deterrence and realize an "alliance in action," the former's office said, as the allies are stepping up coordination to counter North Korean threats.



Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS) Chairman Gen. Kim Seung-kyum and Adm. Samuel J. Paparo, the commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet, met in Seoul amid tensions heightened by the North's recent weapons tests, including that of a purported solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.



"Chairman Kim and Adm. Paparo agreed to enhance the ability to execute U.S.' extended deterrence while steadfastly maintaining the ROK-U.S. alliance's readiness against enemy threats in order to realize an alliance in action," the JCS said in a press release, referring to the South's official name, the Republic of Korea.



Extended deterrence refers to the U.S.' commitment to mobilizing the full range of its military capabilities, including nuclear, to defend its ally.



Paparo said that he will make efforts to ensure that his fleet's assets can be deployed in a "timely" manner for the defense of the South, according to the JCS.



The U.S. admiral came here Tuesday for a two-day visit as part of a regular trip to allied countries.



On the same day, Kim also met with the Netherlands' Chief of Defense Gen. Onno Eichelsheim and discussed security in Europe and the Indo-Pacific region.



They concurred that the North's military provocations are violations of U.N. Security Council resolutions and pose "grave" threats to not only the peninsula but also the international society's security environment, according to the JCS.



They voiced concerns over the continuation of the war in Ukraine, and agreed that Korea and the Netherlands, along with the international society, should support the establishment of peace and stability in the war-torn country. (Yonhap)


I dont know how it got started, but around the time that I began working with wine professionally about 20 years ago, there seemed to be an explosion of interest in the subject of pairing wine with food.

Sommeliers were being asked by local newspapers and national magazines to name the specific wine that people should drink with their chefs signature dish. Your chef is famous for her turnip terrine with seaweed and morel mushrooms, the question went. What is the perfect wine to drink with that?

It seemed, even then, like a sad line of inquiry to me; another example of one of lifes greatest simple pleasures being hijacked by the content industry. I know that saying something was hijacked is a strong way of putting it, but I do wonder: Do people remember that good wine from Burgundy tastes great with simple roasted chicken and potatoes? Or that classically-made Tuscan sangiovese is a lot of fun at a table full of spaghetti and meatballs? Im not sure. The thought of Chianti bottles in straw baskets on checkered tablecloths with bowls of pasta in red sauce has endured; but mostly in the cliche of what Italian restaurants in the United States used to be. I dont get the feeling that a lot of people are on the lookout for really good Chianti (which need not be very expensive) to enjoy with rustic pasta parties at home.

There is a magical approach to address the suddenly confounding question of which wines to drink with which foods, which is to conduct a quick exploration of the foods people eat where they have been making wine for decades, if not centuries. Look no further than a Google search of classic German food to learn that sausage and braised cabbage, or the breaded cutlets known as schnitzel, might be delightful with that fancy bottle of German Riesling in your basement. Cassoulet, the famous bean and meat casserole of southwestern France, evolved over generations for different reasons, having to do with what local people were growing and raising. Its as sure as the sunrise that traditional wines from Bordeaux, the beating heart of the region where cassoulet is famous, are going to be lovely to drink with beans and slow-cooked meats. (Hopefully with a big spoonful of Dijon mustard.)

Of course, its never an accident that wines from particular old-world regions taste so good when paired with foods from those regions. Studying those connections, if only for an evening, can greatly enhance ones understanding of the wines. The grapes cabernet sauvignon and merlot, which are the workhorse grape varieties of most red wine from Bordeaux, have enough tannin (the drying component in red wine) in their skin that they surely improve when enjoyed with food that is sufficiently high in fat. Still, when wines from Bordeaux arent too ripe and heavy, and when their cabernet sauvignon and merlot are allowed to retain their freshness and nuance, its amazing how even the mildly-flavored flageolet beans seem to stand out and taste even more delicious with wine from one of the villages in Bordeaux.

Its easy to run the gauntlet of all the great old wine-growing regions of the world and to set your mouth watering just thinking about the possibilities. In the great nebbiolo-based wines of Barolo, Carema and Gattinara, in the Italian region of Piemonte, you can often smell the mushrooms and truffles for which the region is also known. Muscadet, which is made on the Atlantic coast of France, is positively sublime with the oysters for which that region is also famous. On the other side of France, in the mountains of the Jura or the Savoie, people will try to serve you some gooey iteration of melted cheese, which arrives in the form of fondue, raclette, tartiflette, and other delectables. If they offer you a glass of local wine to go with it  a curiously-pale but very fragrant red glass of trousseau, or an oxidative savagnin that hits a 10 out of 10 on the funk meter, you would be well-advised to accept.
News Reporter

Matt Martinez is a news reporter at The Berkshire Eagle. He worked at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, graduated Marquette University. He is a former Report for America corps member.
Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
PITTSFIELD  Craig C. Gaetani is launching his second bid for the mayors office.

If the public is good enough to elect me, Im going to run the city of Pittsfield as a corporation, Gaetani said. Corporations have strict guidelines of how they operate and they report to boards and so forth.

Gaetani pulled nomination papers on April 3 to run for mayor as well as Ward 6 councilor.

He joins City Council President Peter Marchetti and former City Council Vice President John Krol as a candidate for the citys corner office. Gaetani would face current Ward 6 Councilor Dina Lampiasi if he decides to enter that race.

If I can see somebody that would be able to do the job better than I would as the mayor, then Im very willing to just fall right out and maybe run for Ward 6, Gaetani said.

A lifelong resident of Pittsfield, Gaetani served in the Army in both Vietnam and at the Pentagon. He returned to Pittsfield following the war and received degrees from Berkshire Community College and North Adams State College.

Gaetani said he taught science courses for about five years in the Pittsfield Public School district before joining Krofta Engineering and Lenox Institute for Water Research.

A frequent speaker at council meetings, Gaetani has run in four elections for various city positions in the last eight years. In a 2015 bid for mayor he collected 3 percent of the vote in the preliminary election.

Each time his message is the same: Pittsfield has become a top-heavy government thats overspending the budgets of its residents. Gaetani thinks hes the right candidate to save the taxpayers money.

His primary reason for entering this race: the citys water and wastewater treatment plants.

The former marketing manager for Krofta, Gaetani holds his part in selling the company's water filtration system to the city in the '80s as a crowning achievement. Gaetani served as the project coordinator and the technology was credited as a major cost saver at the time.

Pittsfield recently completed an upgrade to its wastewater treatment facility and is preparing to upgrade the Ashley Water Treatment facility. Gaetani has contested the technology used in both endeavors and said he believes he can save the city hundreds of millions of dollars if hes allowed to handle the projects.

Gaetani's platform would reverse much of the city's current direction. He's calling to "take North Street apart" and return it to its '80s design, remove the Tyler Street and Woodlawn Avenue roundabout and said he would consider leveling the Springside House and putting a new building in its place.

He also promised to have the police, fire, public services and school departments "report directly to the public" in bimonthly City Council presentations.

Gaetanis prior campaigns were punctuated by a string of courts cases. In 2015, Gaetani was convicted of making a series of harassing phone calls to a city employee at the Pittsfield Fire Department. In 2016, he was convicted of breaking into a vehicle and witness intimidation during a dispute over a vehicle he sold to a local couple.

He received suspended sentences in both cases.

In 2017, Gaetani lost a $50 million defamation suit he filed against The Berkshire Eagle. Gaetani claimed that coverage of a post-debate interaction with a resident cost him his bid for a City Council seat.

Gaetani represented himself in each of the cases.
The Most Rev. Christopher J. Weldon poses for photographers at his office in November 1962 after returning from a trip to the Vatican.
Seth Brown is an award-winning humor writer, the author of From God To Verse, and offers the occasional trigger warning. His website is RisingPun.com
Who will oversee and operate Greylock Glen's commercial enterprise? A bill before the state Legislature would create a commission The commission would execute leases and take some decision-making pressure off the Town of Adams, which is the lead developer of the Greylock Glen property.

Creating a commission to oversee and operate the relatively small piece of Greylock Glen reserved for commercial development is the next big step toward sustainably tapping the propertys full potential.

As was the case for the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Cultural Development Commission, the Glen is a property in which state and local leaders have invested a lot of cash and hope. That investment deserves oversight from an entity focused on guiding the Glens future and protecting Adams interests in it.

With that in mind, it makes sense that Adams leaders and state Rep. John Barrett III have the Mass MoCA model in mind for a commission that would maintain the Glen, execute subleases and ensure that outside developers keep their word on specific projects, such as the campground proposal and planned outdoor center.

Adams Town Meeting representatives approved the idea of the commission in the fall of 2020, but its official creation also requires the state Legislatures approval. After a false start in the last legislative session, Rep. Barrett in recent months sponsored new legislation on Beacon Hill to get a Greylock Glen commission going. Right now, that legislation (HD.2142) is still in the draft phase, with Rep. Barrett saying he wants Adams officials to have their say on the contours of the commission and the legislation creating it.

Were glad Rep. Barrett is giving local leaders a chance to chime in on critical structural points of the commission, such as the size of the board and whether Adams residency should be required for membership.

Heres what wed like to see in such legislation:

 Lay out the purpose, powers and responsibilities of the commission with clarity and specificity. The hardworking stakeholders who have long worked toward an ambitious but sustainable plan for Glen development want to see progress materialize as soon as possible. Ensuring all parties are on the same page  commission members, local officials, prospective developers and community developers  are on the same page will make it easier for the commission to hit the ground running.

 Establish a clear and transparent process for appointments. Its impossible to perfectly transplant the Mass MoCA commissions appointment process, which runs through North Adams city government, with appointments chosen by the mayor and confirmed by the City Council. For a Greylock Glen commission formulated through a town government like Adams, it makes sense to give the appointment power to the Select Board, the top panel in town. Without a similar confirmation method, however, the Select Board should make the appointment process open as possible to the view of voters.

 Speaking of openness, there should be transparency not just in how the commission is appointed but in how it conducts itself. The commission should be held to comply with Open Meeting Law so its activity can be observable and accountable to Adams residents and the broader community whose interests lie in the Glens future.

After nurturing for years the dream of sustainable development at the Greylock Glen, its good to see that dream start to become a reality, from the construction of the outdoor center to necessary procedural steps like creating a commission to oversee the future of a prime slice of Berkshire landscape. To some opposed to development proposals like the campground on relatively small pieces of the Glen, the seemingly sudden pace of progress over the last year might seem scary or overwhelming. But the best way to show that the grand plan is progressing responsibly and sustainably is to ensure the commission tasked with overseeing that development has a clear mandate and reasonable parameters.
A coalition of civic groups fighting against housing rental scams stage a demonstration at a plaza in the western port city of Incheon, April 18. Yonhap



The ruling People Power Party (PPP) and the government are in talks to come up with measures to help victims of a massive home rental scam, including putting in government money to help victims buy those homes or giving them the priority purchase right, a lawmaker said Wednesday.



The move comes after three victims took their own lives in recent months after losing rental deposits in a scam in the western city of Incheon, highlighting the dismal situation the victims are under and sending the government scrambling for remedies.



President Yoon Suk Yeol has also expressed concern and endorsed a government plan to ask financial institutions to temporarily suspend auctions of the affected homes.



"The PPP and the government are considering either to publicly procure the housing units involved in the scam or give victims priority to purchase the houses," the senior lawmaker of the PPP said in a call with Yonhap News Agency.



"But further discussions would be necessary due to budget constraints," the lawmaker said.



Under the scam, the mastermind, surnamed Nam, rented highly collateralized homes to victims for deposits worth tens of millions of won. The homes ended up being put up for auction as Nam failed to repay debts to financial institutions, leading to victims facing eviction without getting their deposits back.



Similar rental scams have been reported elsewhere.



"We need to look further into whether the government should provide funds as loans or grants," the lawmaker said. "We also need to take the issue of fairness into account because there are also victims of other rental scams."



The PPP plans to hold a meeting with the government on the issue Thursday.



"We will immediately form a task force within the party to communicate directly with the victims and listen to what they have to say and come up with specific measures by putting our heads together," Rep. Park Dae-chul, the PPP's chief policymaker, said in a Facebook post.



Under Korea's jeonse system, tenants pay a large lump-sum deposit, known as key money, to the landlord, which is then returned at the end of the rental agreement, usually lasting two years. During the lease period, the tenants do not pay monthly rent.



Tenants, however, may be unable to get their deposit back if landlords conceal their mortgage.



The combined value of disputes surrounding the jeonse system reached 1.2 trillion won ($980 million) in 2022, doubling from a year earlier, according to the finance ministry. The number of jeonse fraud cases also shot up to 618 cases from the previous year's 187. (Yonhap)


Clarkston, WA (99403)

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The plan, the fourth of its kind, will help local firms go ahead with 55 projects, including the construction of a pharmaceutical firm's production line, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance in this Dec. 8, 2020 file photo. Korea Times photo by Hong In-ki



Korea plans to pave the way for private businesses' investments of 600 billion won ($455 million) by reducing regulations, the finance ministry said Wednesday.



The plan, the fourth of its kind, will help local firms go ahead with 55 projects, including the construction of a pharmaceutical firm's production line, according to the Ministry of Economy and Finance.



Korea has been making efforts to lift regulations to support more investment to address the economic slowdown.



Since announcing its first batch of deregulation in July last year, the government has supported private investments of 7.7 trillion won, according to the ministry.



"We have made efforts to find and improve regulations on-site by expanding communication with the private sector and the market by hosting meetings with major economic organizations, associations and businesses," the finance ministry said in a statement.



For example, the government plans to suggest an alternative site to the Germany-based Merck Group as the company's desired site to build a large production line was designated as a research zone that allows the construction of only small factories.



The country plans to recommend a new site to Merck by the end of June.



In addition, Korea will set up plans to lease state-owned sites at Daesan Port in South Chungcheong Province to private companies, as such guidelines are currently not available despite the demand from the private sector.



The government will also revamp regulations to help Yeongdeok build a marine cable car facility to attract more tourists.



"Recently, domestic demand has been recovering gradually, but the economy has been slowing due to sluggish exports and facility investment," Finance Minister Choo Kyung-ho said during a meeting on deregulation.



"We plan to continue efforts to revamp regulations in order to support exports and investment." (Yonhap)




Controls must be in place to ensure integrity of the records throughout their lifecycle for both paper and electronic records

At a recent workshop in Mumbai on Hosting Unannounced Audits and Response to 483, experts have advocated quality assurance of medicines through Good Documentation Practices (GDP) and Data Integrity Governance. Held on April 12 and 13, 2023, the event was organised by Bluetech Media with Sotax as Exhibit Partner, FDAlytics as Silver Partner and PharmaMantra as Knowledge Partner.

GDP is a set of rules that are required for the safety and quality of pharmaceutical products. In the pharmaceutical sector, documentation is required in the areas of manufacturing, distribution, laboratory, clinical and documentation.

Data integrity refers to maintaining and assuring the accuracy and consistency of data over the entire data life-cycle to ensure data is recorded exactly as intended. This also ensures that the data remains unchanged upon later retrieval, just as it was originally recorded.

Highlighting the role of GDP, Dr Sanjt Singh Lamba, Managing Partner, Trillyum Consulting and Advisory and chief executive officer of Biocuris Pharmaceuticals Private Limited said, Controls must be in place to ensure integrity of the records throughout their lifecycle for both paper and electronic records. The controls should include the following like secure controls for ensuring data reliability, authenticity, integrity and confidentiality. A GDP record must have only one Official Record. GDP records must have a defined Record Owner (either function or person). Record Owners must be defined in the record management inventory. This inventory must be approved by the corresponding Quality group and be stored in the Electronic Document Management System (eDMS).

Dr Lamba further explained that a local procedure for changes of the ownership, location, archival, or destruction of a GDP record must be in place. A record retention schedule or specific retention rules must be identified for all GDP records. GDP records must be maintained and be readily available throughout their lifecycle.

"Senior management, under the European Union (EU) Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) Chapter 1 is responsible for the overall quality system and that includes data integrity", added Dr Lamba.

Experts also spoke about data falsification and fraud in the pharma industry which is essentially testing into compliance and is a practice that is intended to deceive. This implies that batches or material are passed as within specification with a combination of the following activities. One of the activities is recording a result on paper without any corroborating documented evidence. Second being continuing testing until an acceptable result is obtained that passes. This may be accompanied by deletion of earlier failed test results or the use of samples as system suitability test injections to see what the result is before committing the run for analysis.

Other kinds of data falsification include copying a passing result file from one batch into a new batch without doing the actual analysis. This may include doing an analysis and then calculating what the weight of the sample should be to pass and then fabricating the balance data.

Performing 'chromatographic analysis' without any physical chromatographs, merely reintegrating and printing the same sets of data using a chromatography data system is yet another form of falsification. Manually integrating chromatograms into compliance by skimming or enhancing peaks of standard chromatograms but not the sample ones or vice versa, was also highlighted.

Quality culture starts with leadership that understands that human behaviour and motivations are critical to meeting ongoing quality requirements, and naturally emphasises continuous improvement of processes. There should be movement from rules-based compliance to engagement. Only engaged passionate people make things happen, Dr Lamba concluded.

While talking about the relevance of the event, Udaykumar K Rakibe, Course Director and Founder, PharmaMantra said, The workshop focused on addressing challenges faced by global, corporate and site professionals before and during a regulatory audit.

Bhagwati Prasad

Image caption- Standing in the middle Dr Sanjt Singh Lamba, Biocuris Pharmaceuticals Private Limited with Udaykumar K Rakibe from PharmaMantra on the left
To create a robust ecosystem for digital healthcare in India

With the inauguration of the Koita Center for Digital Health, the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (IIT-B) is strengthening its resolve to further digital healthcare in India.

Biology will build the next technology revolution in the world and digital health will play a critical role in this, Chief Guest Dr Rajesh S. Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology, Government of India, spoke at the inaugural ceremony of IIT Bombays Koita Centre for Digital Health, on April 17, 2023. The grand event witnessed a symposium on Catalysing Digital Health Revolution in India, and brought together digital health experts from government, academia, and industry.

IIT-B had announced the establishment of the Koita Centre for Digital Health,- the first-of-its-kind Centre for Research in Digital Health in India, back in June 2021. It is focused on driving academic programmes, research, and industry collaborations in digital health. It will offer minor, dual degree, Masters and PhD programmes in Healthcare Informatics, and also conduct industry / outreach programmes for healthcare and industry professionals in digital health and enable them to act as force-multipliers.
Correlating the pathogen density exhaled by a SARS-Cov-2 infected person to its spread in the indoor space

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT-D) have demonstrated a procedure for estimating the probability of infection of a healthy occupant when living in the same enclosed space as a COVID-19 infected person breathing out pathogens.

This is one of the first demonstrations of estimating the likelihood of infection from a purely fluid dynamics perspective and considers the role of many occupants that affects the pathogen's spread.

Despite sufficient indications of its culpability, there has been a lack of data to quantify the role played by the breathing-out of pathogens in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this work, the researchers established the role of aerosol dispersion of the SARS-Cov-2 virus and similar airborne pathogens on the spread of the disease in indoor spaces. They performed realistic simulations of air flow in two representative IIT Delhi classrooms along with large number of occupants. The simulations were used to compute the dispersion of SARS-Cov-2, and to estimate the likelihood of infection faced by other occupants seated at various locations.

The simulations by the researchers show that the "one-metre distance rule" between the occupants can significantly reduce the risk of spreading infection by a high-emitter.

The study further found that higher ventilation rates and the proximity of the infected person to the inlet and exhaust vents play an important role in determining the spread of the pathogen. In the case of classrooms, a ventilation rate equivalent to 9 air changes per hour or more is recommended.
Jem's Birding & Ringing Exploits in the Eastern Province and elsewhere in Saudi Arabia
The annual physical Abundance360 event (A360), took place in Los Angeles earlier this year and was attended by hundreds of people. The prestigious event, hosted by world-renowned futurist Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, is where visionary thinkers congregate to learn how to harness the latest technologies, create wealth and solve the world's greatest challenges. Now, for the first time, African thinkers will also have the opportunity to access these teachings.

Africarare, Africas first metaverse, will be hosting the A360 Metaverse Space Adventure, where, from 5 - 9 June 2023, a self-timed learning format will enable participants to learn from A360s visionaries in Ubuntuland. In a curated Metaverse experience, Diamandis and the A360 speakers will share bleeding-edge insights to help participants leverage technologies and transform their business, enhance their philanthropy, and develop Moonshot projects.

There are two participation options: full package access or individual tracks. With the full access package, ticket holders can access all five learning tracks and explore one per day. Individual track access enables participants to select which topics interest them most. Additionally, all participants will get to travel through space in 90-minute virtual reality sessions through an exciting immersive simulation.

The five learning tracks are:

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Speakers include: Emad Mostaque, Rana el Kaliouby, PhD, Andrew Ng, PhD, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis.

This track provides an overview of artificial intelligence and its applications in various industries. It will cover the fundamental concepts of AI, including machine learning, deep learning, and natural language processing. Speakers will also discuss the challenges and opportunities of AI adoption, its impact on society, the latest AI technologies, tools, techniques, as well as case studies and best practices from leading experts in the field.

Abundance

Speakers include: Sal Khan, Martin Roscheisen, PhD, Geordie Rose, PhD, Andrew Yang, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis

This track breaks down how to unlock abundance in your life and experience greater joy, fulfilment and purpose as we explore the concept of abundance and provide practical tips and strategies for cultivating abundance in various aspects of your life. Whether you are seeking greater financial prosperity, better relationships, improved health, or simply more happiness and peace of mind, this track will provide insights and tools to help you achieve your goals.

Exponential Technologies (Exponentials)

Speakers include: Paolo Pirjanian, PhD, Ali Khademhosseini, PhD, Alexander Zhavoronkhov, PhD, Jack Hidary, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis

This track explores the opportunities and challenges presented by the exponential growth of technology in the health industry and in business. While exponentials have had tremendous benefits, they also bring new challenges. Our expert speakers will discuss these issues and provide insights into how healthcare organisations can navigate these challenges and how businesses can stay ahead of the curve.

Longevity !>

Speakers include: Mark Hyman, MD, Doris A. Taylor, PhD, FACC, FAHA, Naveen Jain, Michael Hufford, PhD, Mary Lou Jepsen, PhD, James Min, MD, Hans Keirstead, PhD, Tim Nelson, MD, PhD, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis

In recent years, advances in science and technology have made it possible to extend human lifespans and improve the quality of life for aging populations. The A360 speakers will discuss the latest developments in the field of longevity, including the biology of aging, lifestyle interventions and emerging therapies. They will also discuss the ethical and social implications of increasing human lifespans as well as the challenges and opportunities presented by this rapidly evolving field.

Moonshots

Speakers include: Tony Robbins, Dr. Peter H. Diamandis

Moonshots are ambitious, game-changing ideas that have the potential to revolutionise entire industries and transform the world we live in. The A360 speakers will discuss the history of moonshots, from the space race to modern-day examples like Elon Musk's SpaceX. They will also explore the key principles of moonshot thinking, including setting audacious goals, embracing failure, and collaborating across disciplines.

Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, founder of Abundance360 said, I am thrilled to join the Africarare metaverse and bring the transformative power of immersive learning to the world. With the A360 Summit as a metaverse space adventure, we can explore new frontiers of knowledge and unlock the potential of the next generation of future leaders.

Mic Mann, co-founder and CEO of Africarare, shares his excitement for the upcoming event: "Abundance 360 teachings are truly empowering and inspiring, and having attended myself, I can attest to that. Bringing a condensed version of this learning experience to the world is an incredible opportunity for our audiences to benefit tremendously."

To learn more about the A360 Metaverse Space Adventure, or to book tickets, go to https://www.diamandis.com/a360-metaverse-adventure.

For regular updates, follow Africarare on Twitter: @AfricarareNFT.
Globally, market players are launching new supplement products that have been developed using technological innovation and novel ingredients, in order to meet dynamic consumer requirements. Moreover, the use of innovation is also extending to pharmaceutical retailers, which are introducing user-friendly online platforms to promote the use of supplements, thereby enhancing health personalisation and accessibility.

Insight Surveys latest South African Supplements Industry Landscape Report 2023 carefully uncovers the global and local supplements market, based on the latest intelligence and research. It describes the latest global and local market trends, innovation and technology, drivers, and challenges, to present an objective insight into the South African supplements market environment and its future.

Globally, the supplements market was estimated to be worth approximately US$155.2 billion in 2022. Furthermore, as per the graph below, the global vitamin supplements market value is forecast to increase by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 7.3%, to reach approximately US$220.8 billion by 2027.

Source: MarketsAndMarkets; Graphics by Insight Survey

The local supplements market achieved strong growth of 9.5% year-on-year, at current prices, between 2021 and 2022. Going forward, the market is expected to continue to experience significant growth, with an expected CAGR of 8.5% for the 2023 to 2027 forecast period.

The current and expected growth of the global and local supplements market can, in part, be attributed to the introduction of new products being developed through innovative technology. This is being done to increase the appeal of these products to consumers searching for novel products that meet their personal health needs.

As an example, in the global market, Colgate and Nourished partnered to launch the new Nutristacks product, which is a range of new supplement products produced using 3D printing technology. In addition to being produced using leading-edge technology, this range is the first-of-its kind, designed to enhance oral wellbeing.

Additionally, Neutrogena and Nourished launched its new customisable Nourished x Neutrogena Skin360 Skinstacks product, which utilises artificial intelligence (AI) to customise the product to specific consumer needs. This includes using consumer selfies to assess factors such as skin smoothness, radiance, and clearness, after which a specific blend of nutrients is recommended and produced in a seven-layer gummy format, using 3D printing technology.

The launch of new and innovative products is also positively impacting the South African supplements market, with the introduction of several novel products. For example, Terranova, a global supplement distributor, recently launched its product range into the local market, which includes iron and magnesium supplements, amongst others. The key differentiator is that the ingredients are fresh freeze dried to retain virtually all of the original biochemical potency, as well as optimising the absorption of nutrients.

This innovation is also extending to the types of ingredients in supplement products, such as supplements containing mushrooms, which are becoming increasingly popular amongst local consumers. As an example, Aether Apothecaries offers its 7 Reishis Extract, which is a daily liquid supplement designed to reduce fatigue and anxiety.

Furthermore, the use of technology and innovation has extended to the introduction of innovative online platforms by local pharmaceutical retailers, boosting supplement sales by making it more affordable, convenient, and accessible. For example, Clicks launched its new online Supplement Recommender, designed to offer personalised supplement recommendations based on an online assessment of health, lifestyle, and behavioural factors.

In addition, Dis-Chem is expanding its Pack My Meds feature through the introduction of its new WhatsApp chat line, to provide further convenience for its customers. Pack My Meds is Dis-Chems repeat medicine ordering platform that alerts consumers when repeat medication and supplements are ready for collection or delivery.

The South African Supplements Industry Landscape Report 2023 (132 pages) provides a dynamic synthesis of industry research, examining the local and global supplements industry from a uniquely holistic perspective, with detailed insights into the entire value chain  market sizes and forecasts, industry trends, latest innovation and technology, key drivers and challenges, manufacturer overview, distributor overview, retail and pricing analysis.

Some key questions the report will help you to answer:

What are the current market dynamics of the global and South African supplements industry?



What are the latest global and South African supplements industry trends, innovation and technology, drivers, and challenges?



What are the market size value and volume trends in the South African supplements industry (2017-2022) and forecasts (2023-2027)?



Which are the key manufacturers, distributors, and retail players in the South African supplements industry?



What is the latest company news for key players in terms of products, new launches, and marketing initiatives?



What are the prices of popular supplements brands across South African pharmacies and retail outlets?

Please note that the 132-page report is available for purchase for R35,000 (excluding VAT). Alternatively, individual sections can be purchased for R15,000 (excluding VAT). For more information, please email az.oc.yevrusthgisni@ofni, call our Cape Town office on (021) 045-0202 or Johannesburg office on (010) 140- 5756.

For a full brochure: South African Supplements Industry Landscape Brochure 2023.

About Insight Survey:

Insight Survey is a South African B2B market research company with more than 15 years of heritage, focusing on business-to-business (B2B) and industry research to ensure smarter, more-profitable business decisions are made with reduced investment risk.

We offer market research solutions to help you to successfully improve or expand your business, enter new markets, launch new products or better understand your internal or external environment.

Our bespoke Competitive Business Intelligence Research can help give you the edge in a global marketplace, empowering your business to overcome industry challenges quickly and effectively, and enabling you to realise your potential and achieve your vision.

From strategic overviews of your businesss competitive environment through to specific competitor profiles, our customised Competitive Intelligence Research is designed to meet your unique needs.

For more information, go to www.insightsurvey.co.za.




Leading automotive retailer, Motus is launching a new advertising campaign for their vehicle aggregator website, motus.cars. The new campaign highlights the fact that no matter your needs or current lifestyle, they have the right car for you.

Since its launch in 2020, the website motus.cars has revolutionised online vehicle shopping in South Africa by listing all the cars, motorcycles and trucks available from their 300+ Motus dealerships around South Africa on one single website. With more than 10,000 used and demo cars alone on display in this online vehicle showroom, car shoppers are sure to find the exact vehicle for their current needs at the mileage and price that suits their pocket.

Where most car dealerships concentrate on endless images of cars or specs, we wanted to concentrate on what owning a car really means.

The new motus.cars ad campaign showcases that whatever car youre searching for, you can find it on motus.cars and is centred around lifestyle choices and life moments. Launch messaging includes My pets are my kids, Space for one more and Lets get out of town highlighting the fact that if you need a car that is suitable for your pets, a bigger car for your growing family or a car that unlocks adventures and is more suited to holiday travel for example, they can all be found and purchased easily and conveniently via the motus.cars website.

Where most car dealerships concentrate on endless images of cars or specs, we wanted to concentrate on what owning a car really means. For example, without a car Buster gets to sniff his way around the block now and then. With a car, Buster gets an outing to the nearby beach or mountains. This simple scenario illustrates just how a car benefits your lifestyle. The campaign, Find your _______ car' lets us tap into real human needs and showcases the vast variety of vehicles that motus.cars own, says Geraint Gronow, creative director, Accenture Song.

This campaign will be rolled out across a variety of advertising mediums including digital, social, outdoor and radio.

In essence motus.cars is a vehicle aggregator site with over 10,000 vehicles offered for sale at any one time. However, what makes motus.cars different is that all vehicles listed on the motus.cars website are owned by Motus dealerships. As such there are no classified or private advertisements, allowing customers to shop with confidence in knowing that they are dealing with a reputable brand.

The vehicles offered for sale on motus.cars include new, demo and used cars covering all the segments of the South African vehicle market and therefore offers unrivalled variety.

Motus.cars lists all the Motus stock in one place, effectively making motus.cars SAs largest true online vehicle showroom.

All pre-owned vehicles sold on motus.cars are subjected to a comprehensive internal check and the Motus used car quality control process eliminates the chances of any stolen or rebuilt vehicles being offered for sale.

The motus.cars website offers consumers everything they could ever need to make an informed vehicle purchasing decision in a simple, safe and convenient manner in one place. Motorists can search from a wide variety of new, used and demo vehicles at the same time in the same place and motus.cars is the only platform where consumers can accurately compare all these options with one another. Easy to use website functionality includes, amongst others, online calculators that aid in determining financing and other fixed costs, assisting consumers to make an informed decision. A wide variety of different search filters allow visitors to narrow down their vehicle search according to their specific criteria while Live Chat agents are ready to assist with any questions or queries.

Probably one of the biggest issues when shopping online for a pre-owned vehicle is being able to trust the seller. By shopping with motus.cars, that concern is eliminated, as consumers are dealing with SAs largest automotive dealer group who own all 10,000 cars that they list for sale.

Website: https://motus.cars/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/motus.carssa

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHEeNO-djwT4t3WJzgN6xRA




Having launched in 2020, Clout/SA is on a mission to transform the South African design landscape and introduce the country's brightest creative talents to the world. But in business, creativity is nothing without nous, which is why Clout/SA has been helping designers to master the basics.

Tracy Lynch, creative director at Clout/SA. Image supplied

Its this gap in creatives' knowledge that Clout/SA, a purpose-driven creative agency and business-to-business market maker, is successfully filling.

"The promotion of South Africas creativity, craftsmanship and heritage, as well as the creation of opportunities for collaboration between designers and makers, is at the centre of what Clout/SA does," says Tracy Lynch, creative director at Clout/SA.

Local goes global

The purpose-first creative agencys founding project was the Nandos Design Programme, and the latest is the Nandos Portal to Africa, an online shopping platform for designer furniture that has facilitated more than R80m worth of sales across 25,900 products since it was launched in 2018, making it one of the countrys largest exporters of South African design.

Clout/SA has developed and facilitated one of South Africas top design competitions, the Nandos Hot Young Designer Talent Search.

"Our design programme was seeded in the Nandos world, an incredibly visionary, proudly South African brand with stores across the globe. Local South African design is procured from our online platform and showcased in Nandos restaurants around the world," notes Lynch.

Clout/SA also shares creatives stories and products on their social media platforms, and in addition curates local showcases at global design shows, including the Milan Furniture Fair.

Lynch adds, "We have plans to showcase on additional global platforms and are currently working on an exciting project that will be an excellent opportunity for our designers in the USA, but this project will only be revealed once completed."

The creative industry's impact on the economy

The creative industry generates dignified employment for many skilled makers, and links craft skills with contemporary furniture and lighting manufacturing processes. Creatives are innovators, and their resilience and commitment to this sector encourages a very positive opportunity for self-employment and the preservation of craft and manufacture in South Africa.

"The design sector gives a voice to young entrepreneurs and encourages businesses in South Africa to invest in local talent and innovation. Investing in the South African design sector awakens an authentic South African heartbeat and allows people to experience and share the meaningful South African stories ingrained in every piece of design. Design is a visual language, and its solution-seeking focus gives us hope and builds confidence in whats possible for a future generation of entrepreneurs," remarks Lynch.

Business mentorship

An understanding of the business world is key, no matter what industry youre in. Its this gap in designers knowledge that Clout/SA is successfully filling, as managing executive Nokuzola Jenness explains: "We recognised that many of [the designers we work with] have incredible creative talents, but they were missing foundational business principles and practices."

This led to the development of a business mentorship programme, which kicked off in 2019, in partnership with Enterprise Room, a business management consultancy. Participants receive on-site training, before embarking on an ongoing off-site training programme that includes being allocated mentors to help with finances, production and other aspects of running a successful business.

Mpho Vackier, founder of award-winning furniture design brand TheUrbanative, says the programme helped her realise "that I am both a creative director and a business owner, and I have to wear both these hats". She says that the support she received helped her look at TheUrbanative as a business, because "you cant become a household brand if nobodys buying and theyre just oohing and aahing; you cant pay [bills] with oohs and aahs".

Learning that she had to outsource the finance and marketing arms of her business was a key lesson for Bonolo Chepape, who took part in the mentorship programme after winning a spot as one of the Top 10 finalists in the 2018 Nandos Hot Young Designer Talent Search.

A textile designer by training, and a self-described multidisciplinary creative, Chepape founded Lulasclan, a textile and homeware brand, in 2016.

"For an entrepreneur, youre initially doing everything yourself. But now, as things have developed, Ive been able to identify opportunities to outsource some of these departments within the business, so I can rather focus on product and clients," she says.

For Siyanda Mbele, owner of Pinda Design, an interior design business and furniture design brand, the business lessons from the mentorship were a catalyst towards shifting his business offering. "When I started on the programme, my business was mostly product design, whereas now Ive pivoted more towards providing a service offering as an interior designer, because I realise that the interior design service I was providing was far more profitable for the business," he says.

Bringing creative businesses to the fore

Clout/SA continues to create opportunities for designers and facilitate opportunities for corporate companies to support and collaborate with South African designers.

Adds Lynch, "A big part of what we do is about being able to recognise which Hot Young Designer finalists could deliver on specific opportunities, and then initiating collaborations and partnerships - recognising which designer-makers in our community of designers represented on the Nandos portal would be well suited to collaborate with one of the young designers."

The Hot Young Designer competition was founded to draw out new talent and to specifically focus on bringing opportunities to young Black designers in South Africa. The talent is there, and many have the necessary skill sets. What they dont have access to are commercial opportunities, funding for prototyping, and practical mentorship from skilled established makers.

Finding innovative ways to link young Black designers to creative and commercial opportunities that are income-generating is key if we are to create an inclusive design sector. It needs to be a conscious focus if we are to shift the status quo.

Clout/SA has facilitated, directed and managed a successful and sustainable growth-focused partnership with Nandos and South African design over the last three years. During this time, they have created a network of support, helped shape a community, and built a reputation within the South African design and manufacturing sector as ambassadors and market access facilitators.

"Our ability to source, curate, mentor and bring to life new work by emerging South African designers with the intention of supporting these entrepreneurs to create sustainable businesses lies at the heart of our purpose-first business.

"In addition, our purpose is the facilitation of opportunities for collaboration between designer-makers and hospitality, retail and corporate clients that are wanting to deliver design-led interior solutions working exclusively with South African partners. Our goal is to garner local and global recognition for South African design and promote the sector as a category brand.

"Empowering creative economies focused on furniture, pattern and lighting design, and the production of these designer items in South Africa, is at the heart of our purpose-led business," concludes Lynch.
Market research firm Ask Afrika has selected non-profit organisation (NPO) Smoking & Alcohol Harms Alleviation & Rehabilitation Association (SAHARA) as the recipient of its 2023 philanthropic donation which forms part of the company's annual corporate social investment.

SAHARA provides free care and support to people with substance use disorder. Based in the Western Cape town of George, SAHARA helps people to reduce or stop alcohol, tobacco or drug use, provides treatment and medicines and training for service providers in the management of substance use disorder.

The associations extensive on the ground experience with communities affected by substance use disorders has convinced it that effective treatment consists of medication in combination with talking therapies via a community-based outpatient treatment programme.

SAHARA currently operates in most communities in and around George:Pacaltsdorp, Thembalethu,Parkdene, Conville, Rosemore, Wilderness Heights and the CBD. Its treatment programme is evidence-based and follows a bio-psycho-social approach with the aim of re-integrating people back into society in order to achieve a meaningful life.

Dr Hermann Reuter, founder and director at SAHARA, explains, Although international research as well as our own experience indicates that adding medication to treatment programmes increases the likelihood of positive outcomes, these medicines are not included on the list of essential medicines at public hospitals and clinics which is why we rely on donations to fund them.

Andrea Rademeyer, founder and CEO of Ask Afrika, says, Substance abuse has become an increasingly bigger problem in South Africa. Alcohol abuse is one of the leading causes of gender-based violence, in addition contributing to mental health problems, poverty and unemployment. Another significant challenge is drug abuse with tik and heroin being widely consumed, particularly in traditional township communities. Substance abuse is credited with adding pressure to an already over-burdened health system.

Reuter, a medical doctor and activist, is firmly of the opinion that it is more cost-effective to treat substance abuse and addiction in early stage at primary-care facilities, rather than treating the consequences in public hospitals. A significant amount of SAHARAs work focuses on youth wellness and prevention of alcohol use, he explains. A study conducted amongst grade 8 learners at two George high schools in collaboration with UCT revealed that a high proportion of learners are consuming alcohol by the age of 12, 30% regularly have suicidal thoughts and an alarming 19% of boys have been raped. The study also found that 61% of girls and 37% of boys never do any sport and 60% of girls and 34% of boys never do any outdoor activities but we have a plan to turn this around.

Ask Afrika provides analytics, insights and solutions for business, marketing, communications, and philanthropic or cause marketing strategy in 54 African countries.The firm has a long history of contributing to worthy philanthropic causes. Previous beneficiaries of its corporate social investments include Khayelitsha Hospital in the Western Cape via the SAME Foundation, CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation and Roundabout Water Solutions which provides rural communities and schools with clean water via Play Pumps. This is the second consecutive year that Ask Afrika has made a donation to SAHARA and will seek to aid in continued support. This years donation will be used to strengthen and support SAHARAs operational resources and increasing activities.

SAHARAs systemic solution is a sustainable one that Ask Afrika is proud to support, says Rademeyer. We look forward to furthering our relationship with SAHARA in the years to come.

To support the work of SAHARA contact SAHARA at moc.liamg@acirfahtuosarahas or Dr Hermann Reuter directly at 071 233 1606.

Watch our videos: SAHARA Treatment and SAHARA Programme.

Learn more about SAHARA at www.saharasouthafrica or facebook.com/saharasouthafrica.




According to the 2022 Global Report on Food Crises , an estimated 140 million people in Africa face acute food insecurity, but for Mandla Mpofu, Managing Director for Omnia's Nutriology division, the power to reverse this lies in the hands of Africans. "Every year, innovative new agricultural solutions are emerging in Africa, and local farming communities are determining new sustainable business practices that the rest of the globe could implement to reduce the massive amount of food waste we see each year," he says.

Improving agricultural productivity is going to be central to addressing Africa's growing food insecurity; and this can only be achieved through the mitigation of waste, the development of sustainable new agritech solutions, and the reintegration of the continent's fertiliser value chain.

From borehole and drip irrigation advances in Lesotho to Food Climate Smart Agriculture scaling in Kenya, local solutions are making their mark across Africa and beyond.

To further address water scarcity across South Africa, Omnia, for example, offers sensor technology for pivots and drip systems to help farmers combat water scarcity in South Africa, as part of the company's efforts to promote sustainability.

The World Banks recent announcement echoes this, with news that it is ramping up its efforts and joining forces with partners across the African food systems landscape to help place the continents agricultural sector at the heart of global food security and climate resilience.

"But it is up to us, as the private sector partnering with the public sector and other non-governmental organisations, to contribute to these developments through the shared process, product, service, and technological enhancements. However, as we do this, we must balance African development with the mitigation of our own impact on the environment.

Our growth strategy at Omnia, for example, is linked directly to our environmental strategy, which is to leverage technology to conduct our business, and positively impact our customers, in the most sustainable manner possible," he says.

Food and agribusiness economics

In February, Mpofu headed a team from Omnia at the Argus Africa Fertilizer Conference in Kenya, where more than 150 companies from 40 countries discussed trends that will likely influence food and agribusiness economics over the next decade in Africa.

A recurring theme throughout the conference was the link between agribusiness and Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) strategies and sustainability. Through this lens, topics like the localisation of fertiliser production, fertiliser affordability, the integration of the fertiliser industry, and the need for more eco-friendly biological fertilisers were examined.

Despite its vast agricultural potential, and the fact that the majority of the labour force works in agriculture, Africa remains a net food importer and has a food trade deficit. This increases Africas vulnerability, especially in crisis times like the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war. Strong support for the fertiliser value chain has the potential to accelerate the continents journey towards a more competitive agriculture sector.

Guarding against instability

"These challenges laid bare the need for localisation of fertiliser production in Africa and for the formalisation of the industry to guard against future instability. The industry needs to actively corroborate to reset fertiliser pricing to better support farmers and ensure food security on the continent. This will need to be done with a focus on increasing trade in biological fertilisers to remain on par with global standards. Integrating Africas fertiliser industry, within and between the private and public sectors, is crucial in reaching these goals," says Mpofu.

"Supplementary products are fast becoming vital to optimising crop yields beyond traditional fertilisers. With progressive farming practices, the products and services you employ must consider NUE (Nutrient Use Efficiency), WUE (Water Use Efficiency), soil sample data, remote sensing, and precision farming applications to optimise farm-level production," says Mpofu.

Biostimulants, for example, assist the plant in absorbing nutrients more effectively in normal conditions but also induce responses to better tolerate stressful environmental conditions, such as droughts, frost, and heatwaves, limiting loss while still being environmentally friendly.

From a research and development perspective, he believes that a focus on soil health will be essential to reduce nutrient requirements. "New grades with various levels of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potassium are currently being explored to maximise nutrient uptake without any side effects. We have also engaged in R&D around the use of bacteria to improve both soil health and plant growth. We are seeing positive results in terms of the use of enzymes/bacteria to support nitrogen fixation in soil to improve soil health whilst the use of enzymes in specific combinations can improve plant health  specifically root development to enhance nutrient uptake," he says.

Ultimately, says Mpofu, it will be up to stakeholders across the agricultural sector to create favourable conditions for future farmers  even in the face of climate change  to maximise yields and profitability, lower food costs for consumers, and maintain a sustainable food ecosystem.
China to strengthen crackdown on cybercrimes

Xinhua) 13:07, April 19, 2023

BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's procuratorate organs are set to take strict action against cybercrimes, according to a guideline recently issued by the Supreme People's Procuratorate.

Relevant authorities will strengthen the crackdown on telecom fraud, online pornography, online gambling, and the online trafficking of illegal guns, explosives and drugs, the guideline said.

The crackdown will also target criminal organizations that use the internet to commit fraud, collect on usurious loans, or make malicious compensation claims.

Per the guideline, those who coerce, instigate or seduce minors into committing telecom or online fraud will be severely punished.

The guideline has also called on prosecutors to work with legislative and administrative organs on legislation to tackle cybercrime.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a speech during a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the April 19, 1960, pro-democracy uprising by students at the April 19th National Cemetery in Seoul, April 19. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol will give an address at Harvard University during his trip to the United States next week, his office said Wednesday.



The address, whose title is translated as "New Journey Toward Freedom," will make Yoon the first sitting Korean president to give a speech at the prestigious institution, Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok told reporters.



Following the address, Yoon will hold a discussion with Joseph Nye, Harvard University distinguished service professor, emeritus, and take questions from students.



Yoon's state visit to the U.S. comes as Korea and the U.S. mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance.



He is scheduled to hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden in Washington on April 26. (Yonhap)


When I am asked whether entrepreneurs are born or made, I respond that the evidence shows that it is neither. Entrepreneurs precipitate. One of the conditions that need to be present for an entrepreneur to precipitate is their ability to learn and iterate, in other words, they need to be able to apply what they learn in their businesses - particularly in the early stages of business.

Allon Raiz, CEO and founder of the entrepreneur incubator Raizcorp | image supplied

If I happen to be standing in front of a room full of entrepreneurs when Im asked this question, I have a party trick to really underscore my answer. I ask all those entrepreneurs who are currently in a business to put up their hands and usually between 95 to 100% do so. Then I ask how many of them are running the exact same business with the same business model and the same products and services as when they started out. One hundred per cent of the hands go down. Not one hand to be seen.

I go on to explain that the only reason these entrepreneurs businesses are still operating today is that they have constantly changed their business models, their pricing, their products or services, etc. The ability to read feedback, learn from it and iterate is the mark of a successful entrepreneur.

Sources of feedback

So where do we learn from? There are a number of sources of feedback that are immediately available to us as entrepreneurs and, instead of becoming defensive about feedback or criticism, we should relish the opportunity the learn from it and then make the deliberate choice to apply the learning in our businesses.

There are four types of feedback entrepreneurs should embrace and learn from. The first is investors and financiers.

Investors and financiers have a particular lens when looking at your business. They tend to be unemotional and are concerned about three main areas: the veracity of your assumptions; the known and unknown risks; and the ongoing demand for your product or service. Their questioning will usually, therefore, focus on these areas and they will highlight any incorrect assumptions you have made in the design of your business case, new risks that you have never even considered and any potential friction from clients when it comes to purchasing your product or service.

Its important to take their questions and comments seriously and then begin to refine your model, your assumptions and even your products based on their feedback.

I strongly advise entrepreneurs who are pitching to an investor or financier to always bring along a pen and paper to write down the questions they are asked after the pitch. Yes, some of the questions may not be valid and others may be the function of a misunderstanding (but this is also a learning on how to pitch better) but the remaining questions will be highly valuable in ensuring that you derive the benefit of their years of experience and exposure to multiple businesses

If youd like to be part of the 2023 Engen Pitch & Polish programme, you have one last chance to enter as the wildcard contestant. Wildcard entries are opening on 8 May 2023. Please visit the website for more information.
South Africa's estimated 2,6 million micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) are confronted with various challenges that impede their ability to thrive and create much-needed employment in order to reduce the 42,6% unemployment rate. Right now, access to reliable energy and funding are the most pressing matters.

Shiluba Mawela

The South African MSME sector contributes more than 40% of the total GDP and accounts for over 87% of employment in the country, according to FinMark Trust. The National Development Plan (NDP) recognises the importance of MSMEs in the fight against poverty through job creation and aims for MSMEs to contribute 60% to 80% and to employ over 90% of South Africas workforce.

Currently, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), MSMEs employ over 12,9 million workers. 37% of these businesses are considered formal, with 32% providing between one and ten jobs. The 40% GDP contribution of South Africas SMEs still lags behind other regions, mainly the EU, which currently makes a 57% contribution to its GDP, as a McKinsey study points out.

Many businesses were tragically impacted by the global Covid-19 pandemic, with alarming numbers filing for bankruptcy. In 2022 alone, South Africa recorded over 1,900 liquidations, according to Stats SA. Most of these businesses retrenched a large number of employees to survive the impact of the pandemic. Just as many businesses began to recover, load shedding dealt another serious blow to SMEs operating in the country.

Despite SMEs significant contribution to the economy and employment, the Department of Small Business Development estimates that over 70% of SMEs fail in the first year of operation. Persistent power interruptions further compromise the survival of these surviving SMEs, increasing the chances of failure. It is said that the best way to win a war is to cut off your opponents power supply; thus, SMEs are seemingly at war with the very institutions meant to empower and protect them. I recently engaged three manufacturing SMEs who are having to contend with some of the challenges of load shedding and service delivery failure. They are having to make tough decisions to drastically cut costs, seek alternative energy sources, and in some instances retrench staff to reduce overheads.

According to SME South Africa, limited access to affordable funding also remains a barrier to business growth, with only 6% of SMEs surveyed receiving government funding and only 9% having sourced funding from private sources. There are efforts to unlock funding for SMEs with various initiatives such as the SA SME Fund and the governments Township and Rural Entrepreneurship Programme (TREP), which offers R740m in loans and grants targeted at informal businesses and formal micro-enterprises. Despite all these efforts, the current state is grim, but many MSMEs remain optimistic and resilient. More efforts, collaborations, and initiatives must be coordinated to support SMEs as the lifeblood of our ailing economy.

Government support

In the National Budget, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana outlined some initiatives aimed to support SMEs.

These include the Energy Fiscal Package that will come into effect from 1 March 2023, in which businesses will be able to reduce their taxable income by 125% of the cost of an investment in renewables. There will be no thresholds on the size of the projects that qualify, and the incentive will be available for two years to stimulate investment in the short term.

The government hopes that this will incentivise businesses to invest in self-generated renewable energy.




George Soros (Image: YouTube screen grab)

If someone takes a leading role in shaping crime policy, and you politely disagree with them, that doesnt make you bigoted against the group they belong to. But Congressman Dan Goldman (D-NY) claims that those who disagree with George Soros about crime are antisemites. On April 17, he wrote: With antisemitic violence at record highs, todays hearing confirmed that invoking George Soross name is nothing short of blatant antisemitism. I call on all Republicans to stop using this antisemitic trope immediately.

George Soros is the nations most influential person on the subject of crime, and the biggest supporter of decarceral policies, which reduce the amount of time offenders spend in prison. He provides the lions share of campaign funding for many progressive district attorneys, as news stories in the Washington Post have revealed. He also publicly touts his support of those district attorneys, and their soft-on-crime policies, in high-profile ways such as a Wall Street Journal op-ed he wrote, titled Why I Support Reform Prosecutors.

But Congressman Goldman, and progressive journalists, consider it antisemitic to point out Soross influence, or even mention his name in discussing crime policy, even though Jewish law professors such as Eugene Volokh and David Bernstein have pointed out that it is not antisemitic to do so, and that it is only natural to discuss Soross activitism given the prominent role he plays in this area of public policy. As Professor Volokh put it, Of Course Its Legitimate to Criticize George Soros Spending to Influence American Politics.

When an LU blogger published a letter to the editor in the Wall Street Journal arguing that Innocent black people would be harmed the most by the policies backed by George Soros, because they involve releasing vast numbers of dangerous criminals, most of whom preyed on other black people, a reader claimed that the letter was an antisemitic dogwhistle. Presumably, this was because the letter mentioned Soross name  the letter began Mr. Soros writes But it is hard to see how the letter could have avoided mentioning Soross name, given that the letter was responding to George Soross op-ed.

And given the prevalence of black-on-black crime, the soft-on-crime policies advocated by Soros for black offenders could indeed harm innocent black people most. Crime victims are overwhelmingly of the same race as their attacker, and are disproportionately black. As the Bureau of Justice Statistics explains, crimes are committed mostly between members of the same race, and this is true for rape or sexual assault, simple assault, aggravated assault, and indeed, all types of violent crime except robbery. These crimes are disproportionately committed by black people: the offending rates for blacks were more than 7 times higher than the rates for whites for murder cases between 1976 and 2005, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

It is likewise hard for political analysts writing about the politics of crime and prosecutor elections to avoid mentioning George Soros, given the enormously-influential role he plays in such elections. Soros donates vastly more money to election campaigns and ideological causes than the Koch brothers, whose every donation is deemed by progressive journalists to render recipients Koch-funded, even if Koch funding accounts for only a tiny percentage of the recipients funding.

Soros gives so much in dark money to support left-wing candidates that it overwhelms opposing candidates, who are heavily outfunded and outspent. Donations by local residents to moderate Democrats are dwarfed by outside spending from Soros, putting them at a disadvantage and resulting in leftist candidates winning close elections despite having controversial policies that many residents later object to. To a moderate, conservative, or moderately-liberal local voter, it can seem likely they have been disenfranchised and stripped or self-determination.

As the Bacons Rebellion policy blog noted, a single county district attorney candidate in Arlington, Virginia received a staggering sum of money  $583,237  from a dark money group bankrolled by George Soros. So reports the mainstream liberal newspaper the Falls Church News-Pressthe Washington Post reported that Soross group had already pumped over $1 million into just two races in Northern Virginia, seeking to replace incumbent Democrats with leftist challengers. These figures were prior to the end of the election campaign, and funding from Soros was closer to $2 million by the end of the campaign. In those races, a respected mainstream liberal incumbent lost to a left-winger in Fairfax County, and a centrist Democrat lost to a left-winger in Arlington. Both elections were very close, and the outcome was changed by the fact that the Soros-backed candidates massively outspent their more moderate rivals.

Fox News reported that at least 24 progressive prosecutors have received substantial funding from Soros:

These 24 chief prosecutors are all linked by their progressive policies which, according to Thayer, include policies of extinguishing cash bail and reducing sentences and prosecution of misdemeanors. Theres a direct correlation between spiking crime rates  of several percentage points  and the policies which they are enacting, said ThayerDuring [Orange County prosecutor Aramis] Ayalas tenure, violent crime increased dramatically, such as homicides, which increased by 26% during 2020.After Ayala left her position to run for Congress, she was replaced by another progressive Soros-backed candidate named Monique Worrell. Worrell beat her more moderate opponent after receiving $1.5 million in aid from a Soros-backed group in the final moments of her race, according to Thayer and the . Mississippi is another state where progressive Soros-backed prosecutors have taken charge. Jody Owens, the chief prosecutor for Hinds County, Mississippi, was aided by a from Soross Mississippi Justice and Public Safety PAC, Thayer reports. Owens ran on a platform of promising He also brought what Thayer called highly questionable murder charges against two police officers. The charges were ultimately over lack of evidence showing the officers had caused any injury to the alleged victim. During Owens tenure, Jackson, Mississippi has become one of the deadliest cities in the nation, according to . In 2021, Jackson saw a record-high murder rate. In the 16th District Court of Mississippi, Scott Colom received over in Soros funding to help unseat a longtime incumbent, according to Thayer. During Coloms tenure, violent crime, and specifically gun violence, has remained a growing problem in the district, according to . Albuquerque, New Mexico has also experienced a record-breaking year of violent crime in 2021, Thayer reported. Raul Torrez, the district attorney in Albuquerque, received in Soros funding, according to Thayer. Torrez is now running to be New Mexicos Attorney General, a race in which Thayer said he believes Soros money is likely to come into play. In Bexar County, Texas, chief prosecutor Joe Gonzalez received roughly in Soros funding, upsetting an incumbent Democrat. Since Gonzalez took office, violent crime reportedly increased by 15% in San Antonio, and convictions have dropped 17%, according to .

Soros desire to reduce incarceration is not necessarily a good thing. Short sentences leave criminals free to kill again. Most murders in Baltimore are committed by people who previously were convicted of a serious crime, but didnt serve a lengthy sentence for that crime. You want to see homicides go down? Keep bad guys with guns in jailThe average homicide suspect has been arrested 11 times prior to them committing a homicide, notes the police chief of Washington, DC.



Longer sentences keep dangerous people locked up so they cant get out and harm law-abiding people. Studies of countries with very low incarceration rates have found that letting criminals out early increases the crime rate, and that higher levels of incarceration are a good investment. As El Salvador increased its incarceration rate, its murder rate fell from the worlds highest to a rate lower than many of Americas big cities (such as Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore, Detroit, New Orleans, St. Louis, Milwaukee, and Cleveland).

Criminal-justice expert Michael Rushford says longer sentences make inmates less likely to reoffend when they finally are released. Studies of two California laws indicate that longer sentences also deter some crimes, by making it more costly to commit a crime.

Talk of mass incarceration is misleading. The U.S. has a large prison population, but that is mostly because it has a large population and a lot of violent criminals. The U.S. incarcerates fewer people per hundred murders than Australia, Japan, or Switzerland, and incarcerates fewer people per capita than Turkmenistan or El Salvador. As criminology professor Justin Nix notes, Given its level of serious crime, America has ordinary levels of incarceration but extraordinary levels of under-policing. Most people in state prisons are there for violent offenses.
Kim Sung-joo, one of the three surviving victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, speaks during a media conference in front of the Supreme Court in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



By Jun Ji-hye



Kim Sung-joo, one of the three surviving victims of Japan's wartime forced labor, together with a related civic group, called on the Supreme Court, Wednesday, to hand down prompt rulings on pending cases regarding compensation collection from the offending Japanese companies.



Kim, 95, said during a media conference held in front of the court, "Among the victims of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, only two  Yang Geum-deok and I  are left alive. Yang is now in the hospital. I really wish the issue will be solved as soon as possible."



During the media conference, members of the civic group criticized the Yoon Suk Yeol government for engaging with Japan from "a submissive stance" when announcing a plan on March 6 to compensate Korean victims of Japan's wartime forced labor through a Korean public fund, without Japan's contributions.



The group claimed there would be no reason for the victims to delay exercising their rights anymore, as the government announced the plan to compensate the victims without Japan's involvement against the victims' wishes.



In 2018, the Supreme Court ordered two Japanese companies  Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Nippon Steel  to compensate Korean victims of wartime forced labor.



While the Japanese firms have refused to comply with this ruling, related cases aimed at collecting compensation from those companies have been pending at the top court. Such cases include those for Kim and Yang's seizure and encashment of two patent rights and two trademark rights of Mitsubishi.



The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on April 13 that bereaved families of 10 out of the 15 Korean wartime forced labor victims, who won their compensation suits against the Japanese firms at the top court in 2018, have agreed to receive the money through the Foundation for Victims of Forced Mobilization.



In contrast, the three surviving victims  Kim, Yang and Lee Choon-sik  have submitted documents to the foundation, stating that they would reject the government's agreement of compensating them through the public fund.



The families of two other deceased victims also sent similar documents to the foundation.




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President Yoon Suk Yeol pays tribute to victims of the April 19 Revolution at the April 19th National Cemetery in Seoul, Wednesday, ahead of a ceremony to mark the 63rd anniversary of the pro-democracy movement. The civil revolt was triggered by public anger over vote-rigging in the presidential election by then-President Syngman Rhee. Yonhap
In this Nov. 13, 2022 file photo, Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, left, and U.S. President Joe Biden pose for a photo during their summit at a hotel in Phnom Penh. Yonhap



More than 100 Korean companies, including top conglomerates like Samsung and SK, will form a business delegation to accompany President Yoon Suk Yeol on his upcoming state visit to the United States next week, a major Korean business lobby said Wednesday.



The 122-member delegation will travel to Washington to support what will be the first state visit to the country by a Korean president in 12 years and help promote the economic relationship between the two nations, the Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) said in a release.



Yoon is scheduled to make a state visit to the U.S. and hold a summit with President Joe Biden on April 26.



The delegation consists of 19 large enterprises, 85 small and medium-sized companies, 14 business organizations, and four public entities, all of which were selected after two rounds of reviews on their performances and prospects in trade and investment with the U.S., the FKI said.



Business tycoons representing Korea's four major enterprises  Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Euisun Chung of Hyundai Motor Group, LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and Lotte Group Chairman Shin Dong-bin  will join the delegation.



The companies, the majority of which are engaged in high-tech industries, like semiconductors, aerospace, defense, energy, bio and mobility, plan to make efforts to advance cooperation in such fields between the two countries during their U.S. visit, the FKI said.



The delegation will also attend a forum to be jointly hosted by the FKI and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and a business roundtable to discuss economic cooperation and investment, among other sessions, according to the FKI. (Yonhap)


Ambitious plans for a new museum of modern art in the west of Ireland were derailed after the Government pulled the plug on a controversial passports-for-investment scheme.

The Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) was involved in extensive discussions last year over creation of a new satellite museum in Ballina, Co Mayo.

However, the plan  as envisaged  was largely contingent on investment through the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP), which the Department of Justice has since decided to close.

The idea was that IMMA would open a gallery in Ballina that could show exhibitions from their extensive collections and also other touring exhibitions.

It would sit alongside the new Mary Robinson Centre in the town and the historical Jackie Clarke Collection to create a small concentration of cultural buildings.

A building would be leased to IMMA at a peppercorn rent and would be renovated and laid out to specifications suitable for a modern art gallery.

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It was hoped the new satellite museum could be open as early as 2025 with IMMA taking over responsibility for running the facility and staffing it.

Council building

The planned location was in a building owned by Mayo County Council, which is currently in a poor state of repair.

A briefing note said: It is proposed that a new company be formed  to raise the money required to purchase and renovate the building.

The cost of the purchase and renovation is estimated at [redacted]. [Promoters are] proposing that the [money] be raised from the Immigrant Investor Programme (IIP) run by Department of Justice.

According to the briefing, the promoters of the scheme had already been in touch with a firm, who specialised in the IIP and were confident that investors could be found.

IMMA said there would be running costs associated with the plan, and entry fees would be unlikely to be charged.

However, there was the possibility of developing a cafe in the courtyard of the building, as well as raising further money through philanthropy.

The briefing said: The addition of IMMA would be seen as positive to the creation of a cultural hub in Ballina.

It said other major museums in Britain and France, like the Tate and the Centre Pompidou, had successfully created satellites outside of London and Paris.

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A risk analysis said the use of the Immigrant Investor Programme scheme could cause controversy as it had attracted public criticism as a passport-purchase avenue.

IMMA will seek to be selective of the IIP investors, as some may be deemed unsuitable, said the briefing. This could prolong the fundraising and could invite controversy.

Social housing

Concerns were also flagged about the proposed property because despite being in ownership of Mayo County Council, it had originally been purchased for social housing.

The representatives of Mayo County Council that IMMA has met are supportive of the project, but there is a risk that some members [of the council] may not wish to sell the property, said the briefing.

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In other records, questions were raised over how the deal would be structured and who would have ultimate ownership and control of the property.

IMMA also said it did not currently have the resources available and that the best option open to them would be additional funding from the state.

In a statement, an IMMA spokesperson said: [The museum] does not receive allocated funding for fixed projects that go beyond IMMAs national loans programme, and such a proposal had not been given consideration in the development of IMMAs new strategy.

The Board of IMMA has briefed the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media on the proposal. The Department has referred the project back to the proposers following the closure of the IIP programme on which the original proposal depended.
A Dublin man who was solicited by another man to kill his wife's friends is to be sentenced next month for extortion, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Defending counsel told the court that Alan Leech (38) was an opportunistic local junkie who had milked his acquaintance Bryan Kennedy "like a cash cow when Kennedy approached him about murdering the women his wife had met online.

Leech of Loftus Hall Apartments, Hazelbrook Square, Churchtown, Dublin 14, pleaded guilty to demanding money with menaces on three occasions during January 2020.

At a sentence hearing, the court heard that Leech and Kennedy knew each other as their children went to the same school.

Kennedy confided in Leech that his wife was having an online relationship with a couple who lived in Canada and that he believed the only way to salvage his marriage was to arrange for the couple to be killed.

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Garda Tony Galway told Karl Moran BL, prosecuting, that Leech quoted the figure of 10,000 and led Kennedy to believe that he had contracted third parties to carry out the murder.

Last January Kennedy, of Mount Tallant Avenue, Harolds Cross, Dublin 6W, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to four and a half years in prison for soliciting Leech to murder two women on a date between October 2019 and January 2020.

Kennedys sentence was deferred until Monday of this week (April 17th) to allow time for him to put in place care for his children.

Money borrowed

Gda Galway told the court that Kennedy, who was on social welfare, borrowed money from family members, friends and neighbours and paid Leech the sum of 8,000 to arrange the murder.

Investigating gardai took 65 screenshots of WhatsApp messages between Leech and Kennedy about the organisation of the murder and how it was to be carried out.

The court heard that Leech never contracted any third parties nor planned to carry out a murder, but had simply taken advantage of Kennedys mistaken belief that he had criminal connections.

When Kennedy failed to pay the outstanding 2,000, Leechs messages became more direct and threatening. Leech told Kennedy that the third parties were threatening him for the rest of the money and that he had been beaten up in front of his kids.

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He said these third parties had come to his house several times and stolen things and that he had begged them on his hands and knees but that they wouldnt listen and were like animals.

Messages

Some of Leechs messages were read out in court, including: Ill carve your f*****g throat. Dont dare text me back with your sob stories cos Ill f*****g end you. On January 6, 2020, Kennedy left Ireland for the UK out of fear of Leech and the threats he was making.

Kennedy left his phone and some belongings with his friend, along with instructions to his wife to keep their children locked in the house, to take a different bus home from school and to be wary of Leech.

Kennedys wife said Leech met her at the school gates and asked where Kennedy was.

A few days later, Kennedys wife opened her door and saw Leech standing at the hedge. He told her that her husband had been watching everything she had been sending online to the Canadians and wanted to send a hit over to make it stop.

Leech said he would be kneecapped by the third parties if he didnt get the 2,000 and took a photo of Kennedys front door. He got pissed off, Kennedys wife later told gardai.

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The following day, Kennedys wife heard a knock at the door. She sent her children upstairs and called the guards but heard Leech kicking the door and saying, Ill be back later.

Leech also sent her messages on Facebook saying her husband had sent him photos of the Canadian couple for the purpose of identifying them for the murder.

The court heard Kennedy returned from the UK and went to Nutgrove Shopping Centre with his wife on January 11th, when they heard two whistles and saw Leech, who approached and threatened that he would personally carve Kennedys face.

Gda Galway told the court that no arrests were made for some months, as gardai wanted to first ensure that nobody in Canada or Ireland was in immediate danger.

Leech has 43 previous convictions, including 27 for theft in 2009 for which he served an 18-month sentence. He told gardai on arrest that he had a drug debt and had just taken advantage of Kennedy.

Bryan thought I was involved in gangs and I played along. I thought, if hes not man enough to control his wife, Ill take advantage of it, he told gardai.

The court heard that at one point Leech had an earbud in his ear while talking to Kennedy to pretend that he was on the phone to third parties who were threatening him.

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I got it from watching films, Leech told gardai.

A victim impact statement submitted by Kennedys wife said she has been frightened of leaving the house ever since she was threatened by Leech.

She said she has recurring PTSD nightmares and that her disability has flared and worsened so badly because of stress that she is now in a wheelchair. This man has ruined my life, my mental and physical health and my children. My childrens father is in jail because of this, she said.

Justin McQuade BL, defending Leech, said his client had no gangland connections and had simply played Kennedy like a salmon by pretending that he was in contact with third parties.

There was a couple of Walter Mittys on both sides, said Mr McQuade.

He described Leech as nothing more than a local junkie who had been criminally opportunistic and had milked Kennedy "like a cash cow.

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The court heard Leech had a chronic addiction to cannabis, cocaine and crack cocaine. Mr McQuade said Leech had expressed remorse and had pleaded guilty early.

Letters were presented to court from Leechs father and from Merchants Quay Ireland, outlining their willingness to engage with Leech.

The court heard that Leech is a single father whose daughter is being cared for by his parents, who are supportive and pro-social.

Judge Orla Crowe adjourned the case for sentence to May 2nd.
The DUP has been urged to grasp the goodwill being shown to Northern Ireland during the Good Friday Agreement commemorations and restore the power-sharing institutions at Stormont.

Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said the executive needed to come together to speak with a united voice to the Treasury about budget difficulties in the region.

But DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly said that power-sharing could only be restored on the right foundations and added that action by the UK Government was needed to bring Stormont back.

The remarks come ahead of an address by British prime minister Rishi Sunak to close a major three-day conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Sir Tony Blair, former US president Bill Clinton and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern have been among those taking part in a conference to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (Niall Carson/PA)

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

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Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Finucane told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme that he wanted to see the democratic outcome of last years Assembly elections, in which Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party, respected.

He said: The DUP should move to enable power-sharing to take place, they should prioritise the needs of those who are on the waiting lists, children who have had access to holiday meals removed, and grasp the opportunity, because that is something that has also shone through powerfully over the last two days, the enormous positivity and goodwill that we have been presented with to allow our economy to progress and flourish and to deliver for everyone in our society.

Mr Finucane was asked about a leaked Northern Ireland Office briefing paper which recommends revenue-raising measures such as water charges and higher tuition fees should be the focus of future Stormont budgets.

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He said: The key in this is the need for a restored executive because nobody is under any illusions that there are very tough decisions to be made.

The need for all of that requires an executive and that united voice going to the British treasury and asking for the funds that are necessary.

Emma Little-Pengelly said Stormont could only return with the right foundations (Niall Carson/PA)

But Ms Little-Pengelly said the issues which caused the collapse of the Stormont institutions have still not been fully addressed.

I think it is important that we put across our position, we have been very clear that we want to see devolution restored, but it has to be restored on the right foundations, she told the BBC Nolan Show.

She added: We need to address what it was that broke this in the first place.

The Secretary of State (Chris Heaton-Harris) knows that, he knows what needs to be done.

Quite frankly, making speeches and having digs is not going to resolve this, what is going to resolve it is talking with each other, it is action by the UK Government, there is a pathway to getting Stormont back.

Our plea to everybody is to get on with that.

The UK government insists the DUP concerns have been addressed by the new trading deal it struck with the EU, the Windsor Framework.

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But Northern Irelands largest unionist party has insisted the UK government needs to provide it with further legal assurances on sovereignty and the application of EU law in Northern Ireland.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
The High Court has been asked to wind up two Irish registered companies that are part of a group involved in the leasing of aircraft and ships with an estimated worth of over $4.5 billion (4.11 billion), which are ultimately owned by the Russian Federation.

Should the court agree to appoint liquidators to GTLK Europe DAC, and the related GTLK Europe Captial DAC it would be the largest winding up in the history of the state.

The court heard from lawyers acting for four creditors of the company, who have sought to have the firms liquidated, that the economic sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 have had "a devastating effect" on the GTLK Europe Group.

They claim the group is no longer able to conduct any business as the sanctions have led to the termination of lease agreements of the group's leases, and the freezing of the group's assets.

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GTLK's Europe Group's international leasing business is headquartered in Dublin, and the firms that are sought to be wound up are at the top of the group's structure.

The four creditors that have petitioned the court for orders winding up the GTLK firms are Dublin registered Trinity investments DAC and an associated entity Allestor Europe Multi Asset Portfolio, a sub fund of Allestor Capital ICAV.

The other two creditors seeking the winding up orders are Ben Oldman Special Situations Fund LP and Sona Credit Master Fund Limited which are both registered in the Caymen Islands.

The four creditors claim that they are owed some $178 million (162.5 million) by GTLK Europe.

They claim that they entered into a series of agreements to refinance existing debt, where they advanced significant funds to GTLK Europe Captial, of which GTLK was a co-guarantor.

Sanctions

Counsel said that following the imposition of the sanctions there has been significant default by GTLK Europe Capital regarding it repayment obligations, specifically the requirement to repay interest due on the loans.

The creditors claim that the group has not satisfied their demands for repayment, and in a petition to the High Court say the Irish registered entities and associated group of companies are unable to pay its debts are insolvent and should be wound up.

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The matter came on an ex-parte basis before Mr Justice Brian O'Moore on Wednesday afternoon who made various directions in the creditors' application.

Kelley Smith SC instructed by William Fry Solicitors for the creditors told the court that GTLK, is Russia's largest leasing business, and leases ships and aircraft to customers all over the world.

It is ultimately owned by the Russian Federation's Ministry of Transport. Several directors of GTLK's ultimate parent are government ministers or deputy ministers in the Kremlin.

Counsel said that the company, through a complex corporate structure, holds assets including 70 aircraft and 19 sea vessels. Its customers include airlines Aeroflot, Emirates and EasyJet.

Counsel said arising out of the sanctions the group's lease should have been terminated, and that the firm would retake possession of its assets.

However, it was not clear if any such steps have been taken, particularly within Russian where the majority of the aircraft leased are located.

Those aircraft continue to be operated by Russian airlines, within Russia and have been wrongfully re-registered in Russia, counsel said.

Russian operated aircraft's certificates of airworthiness have been suspended by certain aviation authorities. There were also concerns over what insurance cover, if any, is in place in respect of those aircraft.

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Counsel said that since the sanctions were imposed the Irish directors of the two companies had resigned, as had the companies secretary and auditors.

It was also unclear if Irish-based solicitors are continuing to act for or to advise the two companies counsel said. Their current directors and secretaries are Russian nationals and entities, counsel said.

Counsel said that her clients' solicitors had attempted to make contact with GTLK Europe, well in advance of making their demands for repayments.

However, there has been no response to their communications.

It was therefore unclear if GTLK will contest the winding up petitions. Counsel said that the creditors are legally entitled to bring the application before the court.

It was not a case of them bringing this petition in order to be paid what they are owed. It is their case that the companies are insolvent, and that it was just and equitable that winding up orders are made.

Petition

Counsel said that her clients wished to put various other parties on notice of the proceedings, including the Irish Central Bank and its equivalents in the US and the UK.

The creditors, whose petition counsel added is being supported by other creditors of the group, are seeking to have Damien Murran and Julian Moroney of Teneo Restructuring Ireland appointed as joint liquidators to the companies.

After considering submissions from counsel Mr Justice O'Moore noted the amount of money involved in the companies within the group that the court has been asked to make orders in respect of.

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He agreed that the winding up application is urgent.

The Judge that it was important to establish what parties wanted to get involved in the proceedings, and if the application to wind up the GTLK companies will ultimately be contested.

The judge put in place deadlines for any interested entity to issue notices of intention to take part in the hearing, and dates for the exchange of sworn statements between any participants.

The matter was adjourned to a date in May, when the judge said that the court will be able to establish how long the winding up hearing is likely to take.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations  a leadership quality still needed in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach was applauded after telling a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark peace deal that the people of Northern Ireland deserve a functioning Assembly.

The challenges of today require Northern Irelands leaders to make the decisions that affect their constituents on the ground, he told the event in Belfast.

I believe that the Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations.

We need that kind of leadership still.

Mr Varadkar said the accord challenged our assumptions of what we once thought possible and that, in the face of difficult compromises, vision, leadership and optimism triumphed.

He told those gathered at Queens University that leaders at the time defied assumptions about what was possible.

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They also defied those within their own communities  who would have preferred to stay mired in conflict to avoid concessions or compromises.

They realised that, to see their way to a better future, they had to reject the divisions and differences that had kept Northern Ireland in what seemed an unresolvable impasse for many decades.

These were not easy decisions to make and some paid a high personal and political price.

Mr Varadkar paid tribute to the political leaders of 1998 for what they achieved, noting that many are now dead.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart on behalf of my generation, he said.

From left: Akshata Murty, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, former US president Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after the international conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Varadkar also committed to working closely with UK prime minister Rishi Sunak, saying the peace process is at its strongest when the Dublin and London governments work hand in hand.

Both governments have an ongoing obligation to honour and implement the agreement and that is why I am so pleased to share a stage with Prime Minister Sunak, he said.

The peace process has always been at its strongest when the two governments have worked hand in hand, and Northern Ireland works best when the two governments work together with an agreed strategy.

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Mr Varadkar said the Windsor Framework will play an essential role in winning additional investment in Northern Ireland  and that the presence of US special envoy on economic affairs Joe Kennedy was a reminder of the opportunities that lie ahead if we reach together.

The framework has been welcomed by the business community, which has expressed a desire to move forward and take advantage of the opportunities and certainty it offers, he said.

A prosperous Northern Ireland is a place in which people want to live, a place that people want to make work, a place where young people will stay and return to.

Quoting John Hume, Mr Varadkar concluded: Unionists and nationalists have at last taken the future in their hands, they have seized control of their history rather than letting history hold them in thrall.

He added: It is incumbent on Northern Irelands political leaders today to take the initiative.

To see past the shadow of the mountain behind, he said, referring to a metaphor used by David Trimble upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Mr Hume, in 1998.

To seize control of their history, to seize control of their destiny, and to lead their people into the future, and we as co-guarantors of the agreement will be here to help, every step of the way.
Stephen Donnelly has admitted that the rollout of the 1,000 pandemic bonus to frontline workers has not been perfect, but insisted it is now largely complete.

The Minister for Health appeared before an Oireachtas committee to speak about the revised estimates for public services.

At the start of the meeting the committees chair, Sean Crowe, told the Minister it had been raised by several groups that some workers had not yet been paid the bonus.

He said that although it was not clear how many people or which cohorts of workers were left to be paid, the committee had heard it included firefighters and those who administered vaccines at Citywest.

He said that the outstanding payments were unforgivable, and that the goodwill has gone out of the payments for those who had not yet received them.

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The Minister responded that a total of 208 million of tax-free bonuses had been paid to thousands of workers, but admitted there was a small number of people who had not yet been paid.

It is the nature of these things that we dont tend to hear from the many who have been paid, he said.

If we look around the world at similar recognition payments that have been made, Irelands recognition payment is very favourable by international standards  1,000 tax-free to a very wide group of people.

The committee heard that the HSE has distributed 88 million to 142,250 staff, Section 38 workers have collectively received 52 million, while the Section 39 workers received 67 million.

So if there are people left who havent been paid it, they are local anomalies and there is a mechanism in place, of course, for them to be paid, he added.

He admitted that it has taken longer for non-public sector workers to be paid, due to caution exercised by the HSE to ensure no overpayment to private bodies.

I intervened because, as I shared with you chair, and I shared with colleagues my frustration with how long this was taking and what I said to the HSE is ask the organisations to do it on a self-assessment basis and then validate afterwards.

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And we have to accept that in doing that there will be errors made but then the HSE is going to validate afterwards.

Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane. Photo: PA

He said that 727 funding applications had been received and 655 had been processed.

So there are still some left, but very few in the context of the number of people who are being paid. About 90% of the submissions that came back did have errors in them that the HSE then just needed time to go back and work through with them.

On the payments to firefighters and other workers, Mr Donnelly said that his understanding was that funding had already been paid to their employers.

The Dublin Fire Brigade and the prison nurses were the other group that I asked to be included. So the money was sent to those line departments quite some time ago, certainly last year, he said.

I havent heard anything back about that money not being allocated.

Dublin Fire Brigade was allocated 1.265 million, and Dublin City Council had been paid 840,000, he said.

The note I have is the payment of the staff is a matter for the bodies involved, but its understood to be substantially complete, he added.

Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane said that he had heard from cleaning and security staff who have not been paid, and he assumed they would be entitled to the bonus.

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Ireland Government urged to extend pandemic bonus to priva... Read More

Mr Donnelly said that he himself had met with contract cleaning staff at a hospital who had not been paid.

I assured them that they are in scope, theyre absolutely in scope, and that got processed. So it didnt roll out perfectly, in that sense, he said.

The minister said an updated note would be sent to the committee outlining exactly what the criteria are for qualification for the bonus, as well as the progress made to date.
A Donegal builder on trial for taking part in a vigilante mob attack on security men at a repossessed farm told gardai he was not involved and never harmed anyone in his life.

Patrick Sweeney (44) of High Cairn, Ramelton, Co Donegal is charged with false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to four security personnel at Falsk, Co Roscommon on December 16, 2018.

He is also charged with false imprisonment of and assault causing harm to the four men, aggravated burglary and four charges of arson of four vehicles at the property. He is further indicted on charges of criminal damage, violent disorder, robbery of a wristwatch from one of the security guards and, finally, cruelty to an animal which was fatally struck during the incident.

The trial at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard that at around 5am on December 16th, 2018, a group of approximately 30 armed men, some wearing balaclavas, arrived at the repossessed rural property at Falsk, just outside Strokestown and attacked security guards there.

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The house had been forcibly repossessed five days earlier.

Co-accused Martin O'Toole (58) of Stripe, Irishtown, Claremorris, Co Mayo, Paul Beirne (56) of Croghan, Boyle, Co Roscommon and David Lawlor (43) of Bailis Downs, Navan, Co Meath are each charged with the same offences. All four defendants have pleaded not to the 17 charges put to each of them.

Detective Sergeant Mark Geraghty from the Special Detective unit told Tony McGillicuddy SC, prosecuting, that on January 11, 2019 he was on duty at Castlerea Garda Station.

He said he was aware that Mr Sweeney had been arrested under Section 30 of the Offences against the State Act and was under detention at Castlerea.

He said he took part in five interview sessions with Mr Sweeney over the course of a 48-hour period. He told Mr McGillicuddy nothing of evidential value arose in the first, fourth and fifth interviews.

During the second interview conducted on January 11th at around 6pm, Mr Sweeny said he had been declared bankrupt and it would be another 15 years before he came out of bankruptcy.

He told gardai my business, was myself, trading as myself and that he had 50 working for me at one stage.

Mr Sweeney was shown a number of exhibits which were seized during a search of his property and was asked to comment on them.

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Asked if he recognised a yellow-handled pick axe, he said I'm not sure, that could be one of mine. Gardai put it to him that the head was new and asked if he had put the head on it.

Mr Sweeney replied No, you buy it like that, you never get it separate. He said he would use the pick axe for whacking tyres out and that other men would be borrowing his tools without asking.

Lads come and go and take it, they are all in the concrete game, he said. He said he always left his van doors unlocked and never had any bother.

He identified six chainsaws seized from his property and said he had them more as a hobby and that he used them to cut trees for timber. He later clarified that it was collection rather than a hobby.

Asked about his alleged involvement in the attack at Falsk he told gardai, All you need to know is I never harmed a woman or a man in my life.

In the third interview, conducted at 9:30pm on January 11, gardai played the footage from a bodycam worn by a security guard present in the house on the night the attack. The footage, which the jury has seen, shows armed men bursting into the kitchen at the back of the house.

Gardai put it to Mr Sweeney that he was the man in the footage who is wielding a running chainsaw. Mr Sweeney repeatedly denied that it was him.

Gardai also put it to him that an implement in the footage had an identical mark to the damage on the pick axe handle seized from his property.

They asked Mr Sweeney why he had a screenshot on his phone of directions from his home in Donegal to Elfin, where people from the vigilante mob congregated before the attack at Falsk.

Mr Sweeney replied that piece of paper was left on the driver seat of my van with garda (sic) on it.

Ireland Man who was hired by jealous husband to kill wife'... Read More

Under cross-examination from Patrick McGrath SC, defending, Dt Sgt Geraghty agreed that a suspect is entitled to make no reply to questions and has a right to silence.

Counsel said his client choose to answer some questions and to deny the allegations.

He specifically denied he was the person on the video footage, counsel said. The witness replied that was Mr Sweeney's assertion.

*Copy amended on Thursday, April 20th, 2023 at 11.30am.
British prime minister Rishi Sunak has been pressed during a visit to Belfast on a controversial government Bill to deal with the legacy of Northern Irelands troubled past.

The Bill proposes an effective amnesty for Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a new truth recovery body, as well as ending future court processes.

It has been almost universally opposed by political parties across the UK and Ireland.

Mr Sunak was criticised by Amnesty International for not mentioning Troubles victims in his speech at a major conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Leo Varadkar. Photo: Niall Carson/PA.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar raised his governments concerns with the Bill during his meeting with Mr Sunak on Wednesday.

Mr Varadkar said opposition to the Bill is rare in that it has united the main political parties in Northern Ireland.

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He said it is his governments strong view that the Bill should be withdrawn  and if not withdrawn at least amended until it has the support of the majority of people in Northern Ireland.

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UKs Northern Ireland deputy director, said Mr Sunaks pledge to the agreement will be judged by his actions, not words.

Ireland Northern Ireland leadership that defies historical... Read More

Prosperity comes when peace thrives; the ongoing process of reconciliation requires conflict related violations to be addressed, she said.

The total absence from Sunaks speech of Troubles victims was a missed opportunity to show he is listening to them and the opposition to his governments Troubles Bill.

The prime minister must take the opportunity of this milestone anniversary to drop the Troubles Bill and other legislation which directly undermines the agreement.
Choi Sang-mok, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, holds a briefing on President Yoon Suk Yeol's upcoming state visit to the United States at the presidential office in Seoul, April 19. Yonhap



President Yoon Suk Yeol will take a 122-person business delegation with him on his visit to the United States next week to bolster cooperation between the two countries across diverse sectors ranging from advanced technologies to cultural content, his office said Wednesday.



The delegation will be made up of chiefs of conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won and Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung, and the heads of six major business associations, including the Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, among others.



"It will be the largest business delegation since the launch of the Yoon Suk Yeol administration, with promising small- and medium-sized enterprises accounting for 70 percent of the total," Senior Presidential Secretary for Economic Affairs Choi Sang-mok told reporters.



"By sector, it will be diverse, from semiconductors, electric vehicles, batteries, bio, robots, IT and software among advanced industries, to cultural content and the defense industry, demonstrating the widening horizon of economic cooperation between Korea and the U.S.," he said.



Yoon's state visit to Washington comes as the two countries mark the 70th anniversary of their alliance. During the trip, Yoon is set to hold a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden on April 26 and address a joint session of Congress the day after.



While in Washington, Yoon will attend a ceremony where U.S. advanced technology firms will announce plans to invest in Korea, and a business roundtable involving some 30 CEOs of major companies from both countries, including Samsung, SK, Hyundai, Qualcomm, Lam Research and Boeing, Choi said.



The president will also visit the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center just outside Washington to discuss space cooperation between the two countries and meet with Korean scientists working for NASA.



Other items on his itinerary include a global video content leadership forum, where Yoon will present a vision for cultural solidarity and cooperation between the two countries, and meet with officials from American mass media companies, such as Paramount, Warner Bros., Discovery, NBCUniversal Media, Sony Pictures, The Walt Disney Company and Netflix.



The event was organized by the Motion Picture Association of America.



Choi said it will be the first time representatives from the association and the six global mass media companies will hold discussions together, demonstrating the growing status of Korean media content.



Yoon will also stop in Boston, home to a world-class bio cluster.



While there, he will visit the Massachusetts Institute of Technology to hold talks with leading scholars in the digital and bio sectors, hold a roundtable with experts and businesspeople working in innovation clusters, and give an address on freedom, including the threats it faces and solutions, at Harvard University, Choi said. (Yonhap)


It would be "unjust" to extradite an Irish man who is still wanted in Germany for a "stupid" drunken incident at a Berlin takeaway almost 30 years ago, his lawyers have told the High Court.

A warrant for the arrest of Dublin-born Liam Patrick Daly (50) who has an address in Birmingham was first issued in 1996 over an allegation that he entered a takeaway on Uhlandstrasse in Berlin on February 18th, 1994, holding the leg of a chair and wanting money.

Lawyers for Mr Daly have argued the amount of time that has passed would result in a breach of his human rights if he is surrendered.

The warrant for Mr Daly, who also has a previous address at Berliner Strasse, Berlin, states he is alleged to have drunkenly entered the Berolina takeaway at 10pm with a mask on his head, brandishing the broken leg of a wooden chair in his right hand when attempting to strike a snack bar worker over the head.

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The extradition warrant alleges that Mr Daly had the intent of taking money from the worker who was able to fend off the attack without injury.

At an extradition hearing at the High Court on Tuesday, Mr Daly's barrister, Willie Hughes BL, said Mr Daly had emigrated to the UK as an 18-year-old and then moved to Germany when he was 22.

Mr Hughes said his client had no recollection of events on the night due to intoxication. The barrister said Mr Daly was arrested and detained for three days but was released with his passport after nominating his fiance's Berlin address for the service of any legal documents.

However, Mr Daly moved addresses soon after his release from detention which prevented the service of an indictment upon him. A German domestic warrant was issued for Mr Daly in August 1994 followed by a European Arrest Warrant in March 1996.

Mr Hughes submitted that there had been "no obligation" on Mr Daly to tell German authorities he had moved house and that there had been no suggestion of any limitations on his client's liberty.

The barrister said his client returned to Ireland in 1996, moved to Birmingham in 2002 on a permanent basis - travelling between Ireland and the UK on an Irish passport - and had not sought to evade any authorities.

UK extradition case

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Mr Hughes said Mr Daly had been "living openly" in Birmingham since and that a 2003 UK extradition case resulted in a refusal to surrender his client over the same matter due to the nine-year delay between the issuing of the warrant and his arrest.

Mr Justice Kerida Naidoo said that while the warrant was issued in 1996 and that Mr Daly had "popped up" in 2003, he did not see how German authorities were culpable for a delay amounting to a breach of Mr Daly's human rights.

Mr Justice Naidoo said Mr Daly had been arrested and detained by German authorities in 1994 to whom the respondent had made "certain admissions". The judge said there was "no reason Mr Daly could believe they were completely disinterested" in pursuing the case as authorities in Berlin had tried to serve papers on the respondent and had informed him they would do so.

Mr Justice Naidoo added there had been "no delay" between issuing the domestic warrant for Mr Daly in August 1994 and the international search which was issued in March 1996.

Mr Hughes submitted that the German authorities were aware his client was Irish but that they had taken "no steps" to enquire with authorities in Ireland and "sat on their hands" as to the whereabouts of Mr Daly. The barrister said Mr Daly believed the matter to be settled in 2003 when the UK refused his surrender.

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Mr Hughes said that after the 2003 decision, Mr Daly carried on with life "as normal", remained at the same Birmingham address for 20 years and had worked in construction in that time, flying back to Ireland to attend to his mother on numerous occasions every year.

Mr Justice Naidoo said that a factor in the UK court's decision not to surrender Mr Daly was that the court was told that the alleged injured party and a witness were thought to be unavailable which was now no longer the case.

"I now know critical things they didn't know," said Mr Justice Naidoo, who added that the "really long delay" did not amount to an abuse of process in itself. "The way it works is that you issue a warrant and wait until that person comes to the attention of the authorities," said the judge.

Mr Hughes said the warrant was amended and reissued in 2007, which still left an "egregious" 13 years between the amended warrant and the 1994 incident.

"It's unjust, unfair and oppressive," said Mr Hughes, who added that the delay was "an abuse of process".

'Stupid act carried out while drunk'

"The fact is that a very drunk man went into a takeaway in 1994 and was incapable of carrying out the act. There was no injury, no premeditation" said Mr Hughes, who said it was "a stupid act carried out while drunk". The barrister added that Mr Daly had not been in any trouble since 1994.

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Mr Justice Naidoo said the warrant stated that the worker had "successfully defended himself" during the incident.

Anthony Hanrahan BL, for the Minister for Justice, said the European Arrest Warrant system had changed in 2004 and that an explanation for the 2003-2007 delay could be that German authorities had to adapt to the new system after being "rebuffed" by the UK courts.

Mr Hanrahan said the delay did not reach the "very high standard" required for an abuse of process and that Mr Daly had not returned to Germany to directly deal with the matter.

Mr Justice Naidoo said that by nominating his fiance and her address as an agent and location for service of any papers Mr Daly "explicitly" knew he was to receive papers but then moved address.

Mr Hanrahan submitted that in 2003 the original warrant was still in effect and that the 2007 warrant had been amended to the sole charge of attempted aggravated robbery, removing a charge of "attempted bodily harm".

Ireland Cork woman with cerebral palsy who sued over care... Read More

The barrister submitted that while the delay was "unusually long" it was "certainly not unique".

Mr Hanrahan said Mr Daly had made admissions when he was detained "a month before he departed the address nominated", making any argument that he believed the charges to be dropped "hardly credible".

Mr Daly then told his barrister that a constable in the UK informed him there was a separate, new warrant in existence in the UK for his surrender which was around two months old.

Mr Justice Naidoo then adjourned the matter to Tuesday of next week for inquiries to be made regarding the latest UK warrant and to see if the Minister was aware of any new warrant in Ireland.
Irish author John Banville is back with his latest crime thriller

Fiction

1. The Lock-Up by John Banville is published in hardback by Faber & Faber. Available now

'John Banvilles lushly written third detective novel featuring characters Quirke and Strafford demonstrates how plot and attention to detail are inextricably tied together.' @businessposthq

The Lock-Up by John Banville, out next week in hardback.https://t.co/lTY6g2XKUQ pic.twitter.com/CkssDLL2D9  Faber Books (@FaberBooks) March 27, 2023

Part of the Strafford and Quirke series, The Lock-Up is set in 1950s Dublin, where the body of an apparent suicide is discovered. The unlikely, and often at odds, duo of Detective Inspector Strafford and pathologist Dr Quirke suspect foul play. The victims sister, Molly Jacobs, a reporter from London, joins the duo to uncover the truth. At the heart of the deepening mystery is a wealthy German family with ties to Israel. As the body count increases, the relationship between Strafford and Quirke becomes strained, as it becomes apparent there are bigger issues at play. You feel intrigued from the start, and the only way forward is to finish the book. The flawed characters of Strafford and Quirke become intertwined with past and present colliding  while they can be difficult to like at some points, they are believable and their individual life histories are elegantly included in the larger story.

8/10

(Review by Amanda De-Beer)

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2. The Five Sorrowful Mysteries Of Andy Africa by Stephen Buoro is published in hardback by Bloomsbury Publishing. Available now

A blazing debut @kamilashamsie

I fell in love immediately Max Porter

Beautiful, intelligent, and heartwrenching NoViolet Bulawayo

Exhilarating @ObserverUK



The Five Sorrowful Mysteries of Andy Africa by Stephen Buoro is OUT NOW pic.twitter.com/BEZqpd9VO8  Bloomsbury Books UK (@BloomsburyBooks) April 14, 2023

Combining a coming-of-age tale of a 15-year-old boy in Nigeria with an examination of the legacy of colonialism and relations between Africa and the West, The Five Sorrowful Mysteries Of Andy Africa is an assured debut from Stephen Buoro. The titular Andy Africa  a resented nickname of protagonist Andrew Aziza  agonises over his teenage obsession with blonde girls in a way reminiscent of Adrian Mole, and borrows terms from A Clockwork Orange in hanging out with his droogs (friends). He falls in love with a blonde girl from England visiting his church, but his adolescent concerns are soon overtaken by a wave of religious violence as his family implodes, leaving him with stark choices. A major twist is heavily signalled in advance, but this can be forgiven as Buoro, who was born in Nigeria but now lives in the UK, brings Andys world to life with such immediacy.

7/10

(Review by Laura Paterson)

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3. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson is published in hardback by Hutchinson Heinemann. Available now

Pineapple Street is the story of the Stocktons  a rich family in New York. What matters most  money or love? And can the two be separated? Two bound by blood, one by marriage, the story follows three women as they are shaped by sacrifice and love in New Yorks elite. Darley sacrifices her wealth for love, risking her inheritance. Sasha is branded gold digger for marrying into the family from a lower standing and moving into Pineapple Street. And Georgiana is followed around by her wealthy status despite actively rejecting her wealth. This funny, but sometimes challenging novel is a constant conversation about love over money. It balances on the edge of being overly descriptive and the story at times becomes a little stilted due to this. However, ultimately Jenny Jackson creates a clever narrative on what could have been an unrelatable subject.

7/10

(Review by Randy Bainbridge)

Non-fiction

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4. The Forgotten Girls: An American Story by Monica Potts is published in hardback by Allen Lane,. Available now

(Allen Lane/PA)

Part-memoir, part-social commentary, The Forgotten Girls traces the divergent paths of journalist Monica Potts and her childhood best friend Darci, who stayed in their impoverished Arkansas hometown. Reminiscent of Tara Westovers Educated, it is the latest addition to the catalogue of books seeking to explain poor, rural America to the outside world. Where it differs is that, while also charting Potts quest to escape and her friends decline into addiction, it takes a broader view of struggles faced by young women in conservative, religious parts of America, where they can too often be written off. It is a bleak account and avoids easy conclusions, but contains important lessons about the interaction of poverty, religion, drugs and educational aspiration.

8/10

(Review by Christopher McKeon)

Childrens book of the week

5. Global by Eoin Colfer and Andrew Donkin, illustrated by Giovanni Rigano is published in hardback by Hodder Childrens Books. Available April 27th

Global is a moving and powerful take on the climate change issues we are currently experiencing in different parts of the world. The graphic novel sets you up for a scary adventure with Canadian Yuki in the Arctic wilderness, who encounters a hungry grolar bear  a cross between a grizzly and a polar bear  after their territories collide. Global warming makes her journey dangerous as ice melts and collapses around her. Meanwhile, in the Bay of Bengal on the edge of the Indian Ocean, Sami and his grandfather fight every day to survive due to the rising sea level and severe storms, washing away homes. Yuki and Sami both find the struggle real due to the changing world around them. You wont want to put this book down  its a great read with brilliant illustrations, bringing the catastrophes our world faces to reality. It will leave you asking: what can we do to help?

9/10

(Review by Karen Shield)

BOOK CHARTS FOR THE WEEK ENDING APRIL 15th

HARDBACK (FICTION)

1. Atalanta by Jennifer Saint

2. Shy by Max Porter

3. Romantic Comedy by Curtis Sittenfeld

4. Homecoming by Kate Morton

5. In Memoriam by Alice Winn

6. A Day Of Fallen Night by Samantha Shannon

7. Old Babes In The Wood by Margaret Atwood

8. Close To Home by Michael Magee

9. Pineapple Street by Jenny Jackson

10. In A Thousand Different Ways by Cecelia Ahern

(Compiled by Waterstones)

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HARDBACK (NON-FICTION)

1. How Westminster Works And Why It Doesnt by Ian Dunt

2. Bored Of Lunch by Nathan Anthony

3. The Boy, The Mole, The Fox And The Horse by Charlie Mackesy

4. London: A Guide For Curious Wanderers by Jack Chesher

5. The God Desire by David Baddiel

6. The Full English by Stuart Maconie

7. The Earth Transformed by Professor Peter Frankopan

8. Killing Thatcher by Rory Carroll

9. How To Read A Tree by Tristan Gooley

10. Strong Female Character by Fern Brady

(Compiled by Waterstones)

AUDIOBOOKS (FICTION AND NON-FICTION)

1. Atomic Habits by James Clear

2. Spare by The Duke of Sussex

3. I Will Find You by Harlan Coben

4. The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell

5. Outlive by Peter Attia & Bill Gifford

6. Us Three by Ruth Jones

7. Lessons In Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

8. Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before? by Julie Smith

9. The Sound of Laughter by Peter Kay

10. Strange Sally Diamond by Liz Nugent

(Compiled by Audible)
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Wednesday he had visited the border with Belarus and Poland, where he praised the work of border guards.

"It is an honour for me to be here today to thank our border guards for protecting the state border," he wrote under video footage showing him meeting and addressing border guards.

It comes after Russian president Vladimir Putin visited the headquarters of Russian troops fighting in Ukraine in his second trip to Russian-held territories since March.

A video released by the Kremlin and broadcast by Russian state television showed Mr Putin visiting the command post for Russian forces in the southern Kherson region.

It showed Mr Putin arriving by helicopter to receive reports from military leaders about the combat situation.

The Russian leader then moved by helicopter to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard of the eastern Luhansk region to hear a report from commanders.

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A fit and healthy doctor died of unintended consequences of vaccination after a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid jab, a coroner has ruled.

As an NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker, Dr Stephen Wright, 32, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic.

He died 10 days later.

A small group of people, Dr Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, an inquest at Londons Southwark Coroners Court heard.

Dr Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and vaccine-induced thrombosis.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to Kings College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.

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Coroner Andrew Harris described a very unusual and deeply tragic case.

Regarding the official documents detailing Dr Wrights death, Mr Harris said it is very important to record as fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine  but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca.

He said: Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16 2021, awoke with a headache on January 25 and later developed left arm numbness.

He attended an A&E department just after midnight where was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis.

He was transferred to Kings College Hospital at 6.39am but, due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery

Legal action

Dr Wrights widow Charlotte is considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca.

After the inquest, she said: It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca.

For us, it allows us to be able to continue our litigation against AstraZeneca. This is the written proof.

Work is underway to try and understand why severe reactions the jabs can happen, the inquest was told.

Mr Harris said: My understanding is that this condition is rare. Causes are being examined by the MHRA (UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).

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It seems to me that there is not an action one can take at the moment.

It is being looked at and there are reports being given to the Government from the MHRA and there is advice on the matter.

Medical experts told the court nothing could be done to save Dr Wright as his condition quickly worsened.

Earlier, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the bodys first response to try and stop bleeding and are important for clotting.

He said: There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation.

When you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.

Dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at Kings College Hospital, said scientists and medical experts were not aware of the vaccines possible deadly side effects because Dr Wrights case happened so early in its rollout.

He said: Stephen was a very fit, young and healthy man in January 2021. It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-meant vaccination.

Business AstraZeneca notches up 3.5bn in Covid jab sales i... Read More

We had no knowledge that this was a potential side effect at this time. Its not fully understood why this happens. Its an idiosyncratic reaction.

The circumstances arise in a very small number of people. There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence.

It was a rare and unintended consequence.
It was huge, expensive and top secret.

In the early 1970s the CIA built a gigantic ship called the Hughes Glomar Explorer to lift a sunken Soviet submarine from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, according to a declassified history by the US intelligence agency.

But the elaborately woven CIA cover story - that the ship was built by Howard Hughes to mine manganese nodules from the ocean depths - began to unravel with a February 1975 Los Angeles Times story, eventually forcing the agency to abandon the project.

The court appearance on Wednesday by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air National Guard accused of posting top secret military intelligence records online, has revived questions about whether leaks damage US security in cases less clear-cut than the Hughes Glomar Explorer.

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Proving that a leak, whether a single data point or a trove of documents, has harmed the US government is difficult given that internal assessments are themselves kept secret, but analysts of government secrecy said the damage can be dramatic.

"There is a potential ... for great damage because many of the most valuable intelligence methods are quite fragile," said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists.

"Once their existence is known, they can be evaded or spoofed and so their intelligence value can evaporate," he added, referring to a target taking steps to avoid espionage or exploiting a channel to provide false information.

"Individuals can be placed at significant risk of imprisonment or death," he added.

Four kinds of damage

Mark Zaid, a Washington-based national security attorney, described four types of potential harm.

These include disclosure of the information itself (such as troop locations); the source or method of collection (which can endanger the individual or the stream of information); the mere fact of US interest (which may help adversaries identify and exploit US trigger points); and public disclosure (which can embarrass or provoke other nations, including allies).

There is often diplomatic fallout.

Tension with Mexico

Mexico's president on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of spying after the Washington Post reported on apparent tensions between Mexico's army and navy and said he would begin classifying information from the armed forces to protect national security.

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The release of US diplomatic and military documents on Wikileaks starting in 2010 contributed to two US ambassadors losing their assignments.

In 2011, the US ambassador to Mexico resigned after his criticism of Mexican authorities for a lack of coordination against drug cartel leaders emerged and Ecuador expelled the US envoy for cables on suspected police corruption.

It is virtually impossible for outsiders to make a complete appraisal of the damage from leaks because internal assessments are themselves classified to avoid further disclosures.

The damage assessment itself would likely reveal additional classified information.

"The damage assessment itself would likely reveal additional classified information," such as how long a source was providing information and whether what was conveyed, say about military deployments, might have caused a battlefield defeat, Mr Zaid said.

Another complicating factor is that officials can muddy the waters by minimising the significance of leaks or playing it up, perhaps seeking a public relations benefit by pretending that no harm was done or to make a stronger case for punishing leakers.

In the case of the Hughes Glomar Explorer, which was built at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars and only recovered part of the Soviet submarine, once its cover was blown it was of no use to the CIA.

The ship was eventually put into private use for deepwater oil drilling and, in 2015, slated to be scrapped.
Anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr, a member of a storied US political dynasty, is due to announce on Wednesday a long-shot bid to challenge incumbent US president Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

Mr Kennedy, 69, faces little chance of success, but his campaign could help him to advance claims that childhood immunisations pose health risks -- a theory that has been repeatedly discredited by multiple scientific reviews.

Mr Kennedy has been banned from YouTube and Instagram for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the Covid-19 pandemic.

He is the nephew of former president John F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the son of former US senator Robert F Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid.

Mr Kennedy is likely to highlight these links when he makes his announcement in Boston, the city where his uncles -- also including the late US senator Edward Kennedy -- launched their political careers.

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Robert F Kennedy Jr and his wife Cheryl Hines. Photo: Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images

His anti-vaccine activism has earned him allies on the right. In 2017, Republican then-president Donald Trump tapped him to oversee a vaccine review panel, drawing criticism from scientists who said it could legitimise unfounded scepticism.

During the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Kennedy criticised social-distancing requirements and vaccine mandates. At a January 2022 rally in Washington he suggested that Americans had fewer freedoms during the pandemic than Jews living in Nazi Germany. He later apologised for his remarks.

Mr Kennedy said on Twitter last month that he was considering a presidential run to "end the corrupt merger between state and corporate power."

Self-help guru Marianne Williamson has also said she will challenge Mr Biden for the Democratic nomination.

Mr Biden, 80, said last Friday that he will run for re-election and will make a formal announcement "relatively soon".
Furia 

The Danes and the Swedes mightve pioneered the path for the global sensation thats become known as Scandi Noir or Nordic Noir with The Killing and The Bridge, but the subsequent push from Norway, Finland and Iceland has made a significant impact in that now-crowded field.

Many of the crime dramas from that part of the world display characteristics that would be familiar to fans of the genre. They often start with someone frantically running through a forest and then flash back a number of days or weeks to the events that led them there. They favour sweeping aerial drone shots over pristine rivers that run between rugged mountains, and over the isolated yet telegenic towns nestled amid them. At some point in the first episode, theres the discovery of a body, usually in a forest or beside a river. Lone cars driven by dogged detectives in pursuit of information repeatedly speed down winding roads amid vast, wild and windswept landscapes. And while the British law enforcers tend to drink lot of tea in the process of their interviews and investigations, their Nordic neighbours down copious quantities of kaffe.

Spectacular scenery and political drama in Furia. Credit: SBS

This suspenseful eight-part Norwegian crime thriller has all of those characteristics. But, in addition, Furia has a sharp political edge and sets up strongly in the opener, deftly establishing a number of potentially meaty plotlines involving its dual protagonists. Widowed detective and single father Asgeir Eng (Pal Sverre Hagen) is introduced with his seven-year-old daughter, Michelle (Isabella Beatrice Lunda), en route to his new posting in the remote and picturesque the town of Trollheim. And its clear from the gun concealed within ready reach in the car that hes a man alert to the threat of attack.
Not so long ago, according to one Dr Alan Guttmacher, doctors used the word monsters as a quasi-medical term, handed down from an 18th-century midwives manual, for conjoined twins. Guttmacher was head of gynaecology at Mt Sinai, the hospital where the twin gynaecologists whose story was the inspiration for Dead Ringers briefly worked together. As a twin himself, he held firm views on the supposedly unhealthy psychology of the twin bond. All separate identical twins may be regarded as monsters who have successfully escaped the various stages of monstrosity, Guttmacher wrote in one of his many papers on the subject. In a way, he believed, identical twins who had separated in the womb were more at risk of being conjoined psychologically. At least conjoined twins had distinct identities, since they could not be mistaken for each other.

David Cronenbergs Dead Ringers, a 1988 film starring Jeremy Irons as twin gynaecologists called the Mantle twins, recycled many real-life details from the case of Stewart and Cyril Marcus, celebrity twin New York fertility experts whose lives collapsed into a morass of drug addiction, squalor and madness before they both died, one a few weeks after the other, in 1975.

Aspects of the Marcus case  the fact that they both chose to specialise in gynaecology, the balance of power between smooth operator Stewart and back-room plodder Cyril, the years of drug sprees, their final bacchanale combining Nembutal with childrens party food  were seamlessly threaded between Cronenbergs usual concerns of body horror, altered states of consciousness, the coercive nature of institutions and the blurring of sex and power.

Rachel Weisz in Dead Ringers. Credit:

Elliot, the dominant brother in his film, sets up and tries out sexual partners before passing them on to the more reticent Beverly, each pretending to be the other as circumstances demand. Its just a game, until they encounter perceptive actress Claire Niveau (Genevieve Bujold). Obsessed with Claire, Beverly feeds his addled energies into designing a range of hooked and pointed instruments for use on mutant women that nobody who saw the film will ever recall without wincing. Along with its many other fixations, Cronenbergs film twists a scalpel in the belly of misogyny.
Police have alleged a man charged with the murder of Yusuf Nazlioiglu acted in concert with a band of others before, during and after the hit job on the notorious gangland figure, who was shot dead in the car park of his apartment block in Sydneys inner west last year.

The alleged conduct of 25-year-old Mohammed Hosni Khaled included a recce before the attack, torching several vehicles afterwards and fleeing the burning cars on a motorised scooter, homicide squad commander Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty told reporters after charges were laid on Wednesday morning.

Former Lone Wolf bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu.

Doherty described the alleged hit as an extensively planned and co-ordinated organised crime murder involving three stolen vehicles, two e-scooters, and many people playing different parts.

At least two attackers were present during the shooting, when its alleged 40-year-old Nazlioglu was ambushed in the car park of his Rhodes unit block as he returned home with his wife, about 6.30pm on June 27.
Former Auburn deputy mayor Salim Mehajer has addressed the jury at his trial on domestic violence charges against an ex-girlfriend, telling them the bizarre allegations are untrue and that he will be calling his ex-wife to give evidence on his defence case.

Mehajer, 36, is on trial in Sydneys Downing Centre District Court after pleading not guilty to intentionally suffocating a person with recklessness, intimidation, assault occasioning actual bodily harm and four counts of common assault.

A file image of Salim Mehajer in November 2020. The jury has been told he is currently in custody. Credit: Louise Kennerley

Leaning into a microphone as he stood in the dock on Wednesday, Mehajer asked the jury of eight men and four women to be patient with him as he is self-represented and will be making notes and relying on handwritten documents. The court has heard he is currently in custody.

I will do my very best to plead my case to you, Mehajer, wearing a navy suit and blue tie, said. I ask you to not look down on me, respectfully, being housed where I am housed.
Korean environmentalists hold a rally in central Seoul, two days before the 12th anniversary of the Fukushima nuclear power incident, to oppose Japan's planned release of contaminated water, March 9. Yonhap



Korea will conduct a special inspection into the marking of country of origin for imported seafood products on concerns over Japan's planned release of contaminated water from its crippled nuclear power plant, the oceans ministry said Wednesday.



The two-month intensive inspection in cooperation with the Coast Guard will begin next month to check if importers, distributors and retailers properly mark the origin of major seafood items coming from overseas, such as scallops, sea bream and sea squirts, according to the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries.



The move comes as concerns have grown over the safety of imported seafood as Tokyo plans to release radioactive water from the Fukushima plant into the sea.



Korea banned all seafood imports from eight Japanese prefectures near Fukushima in 2013 on concerns over their radiation levels in the wake of the meltdown incident in 2011.



The Seoul government has said it will never lift the import curbs as the people's safety and health can never be compromised.



Those who fail to mark country of origin can face fines up to 10 million won ($7,600) and those who forge the mark can face up to seven years in prison or fines up to 100 million won. (Yonhap)


Australians have less confidence in childhood vaccinations than before the pandemic, sparking concerns anti-COVID-19 vaccine sentiment could spill over into distrust for other life-saving immunisations.

New data from the Vaccine Confidence Project released by UNICEF on Thursday shows Australians confidence in childhood vaccines has dropped 7.5 per cent from 93.8 per cent before the pandemic to 86.3 per cent in 2021-22.

Alice Hall, head of international programs for UNICEF Australia, said that although overall support for vaccines remains strong in Australia, the spread of distrust at home and abroad was worrying.

Confidence in childhood vaccines has declined globally since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

Australia is maintaining its [high childhood vaccination] rate at the moment, but its important that if there are trends away from prioritisation of vaccines that were able to understand whats driving that, so we can step in and respond early, she said.
Two children have been found unconscious inside a home in Sydneys south-west and one is in a critical condition.

Emergency services were called to a house on Faithful Place, Airds, about 1.30pm on Wednesday after concerns were raised for the welfare of two children.

Two children found unconscious in a home in Airds are being treated at The Childrens Hospital at Westmead. Credit: Louise Kennerley

Police confirmed two children, aged five and four, were found unconscious inside the home and were taken to The Childrens Hospital at Westmead.

NSW Ambulance said several crews were dispatched, including a helicopter to take one of the children to the hospital.
By the time the Olympic and Paralympic Games are in full swing in 2032, about 150,000 vehicles will cross the then six-lane Centenary Bridge at Jindalee daily.

Today, more than 85,000 vehicles use the existing four-lane bridge on the Centenary Highway, which runs from Toowong past the Centenary Suburbs to Springfield.

The Centenary Bridge at Jindalee will feature two separate roadways and a shared cycle and pedestrian path when its completed in 2027. Credit: Department of Transport and Main Roads

The expansion project  now expected to cost $298.5 million, an increase of $50 million on the original cost  will add a new three-lane, inbound bridge on the downstream side of the existing bridge.

The current four-lane bridge will then become a three-lane outbound bridge with a wide shared bikeway and walkway.
Goodrich kept working as long as he could, pushing back against the symptoms and waiting for them to get better. So far, they havent. It has been 15 months since he first caught the virus, and six months since he reduced his working hours to part-time. Hed like to stop but he cannot afford to.

The brain fog was immense. Like, I would forget the word mid-sentence and then I would forget the topic that were talking about mid-sentence, as well.

Goodrichs mind became cloudy. He slept but never felt rested. A headache appeared and never left.

He went away with friends to celebrate the new year of 2022, and came back with COVID-19  and just never got better.

Everything was going really well, everything was positive, Goodrich says.

Nic Goodrich is an exercise junkie. The 45-year-old would hit the iron three or four nights a week, then walk the dog five kilometres every day. On top of that, hed cram in two games of cricket and had just started a full-time job teaching at TAFE.

We examine the impact long COVID is having on Australians health, lives and livelihoods.

Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.

At present, definitions of long COVID are broad; the World Health Organisation notes more than 200 different symptoms have been reported, across multiple organs.

Federal parliaments inquiry into long COVID , due to report shortly, received almost 600 submissions, many telling the same story . Lives turned upside down. Too little support, financial or medical. An illness that confounds them and their doctors at every turn.

After waiting three months, Goodrich got an appointment with a long COVID clinic. They didnt have any real answers  or knowledge or anything of what was happening, he says.

But it has flaws. In particular, it limits scientists ability to study the underlying causes because it seems likely to encompass several syndromes caused by COVID-19. Their studies end up muddied.

The two men have different symptoms but the same diagnosis. A broad definition of long COVID has ensured that people arent denied a diagnosis.

Walking up those six steps  It was literally like you played the hardest game of footy, did the biggest run or hardest training that youve ever done, and it takes you an hour to recover afterwards, Tiffin says.

Goodrich lists headaches, a sore throat, arthritis-like joint pain. Michael Tiffin struggles with a cough that has never gone away, shortness of breath, low blood-oxygen levels. He can barely climb the steps up to his house.

If these run for longer than three months after acute infection, and theres no other obvious cause, a doctor can diagnose long COVID . Full recovery can take months or years.

Unlike the US or UK, Australia does not have any national survey attempting to measure the number of people with long COVID symptoms.

In Australia right now, it is not possible to know. Quite simply, the measurement is not in place. And this has gone on a very long time, Hensher says. And there are plenty of people who feel one of the reasons this is not being measured is because it suits some interests not to know.

When it comes to a simple question of how many people have it, says University of Tasmania disease modeller Professor Martin Hensher, the answer is closer to we dont want to know.

It is that diversity of symptoms that suggests theres not one single long COVID, says Professor Tom Marwick, who is leading a study of long COVID at the Baker Institute.

The current state-of-the-art in whats labelled as long COVID is a complete dogs breakfast, says Professor Andrew Lloyd, director of the University of NSW fatigue clinic. As soon as you say that, everything anyone says that follows is also a dogs breakfast.

Systematic reviews, meant to bring lots of data together to give precise answers, also confound: one put the rate at 43 per cent , another at 6.2 per cent .

International data is similarly all over the map. The UKs tracking survey suggests 2.7 per cent of the population had symptoms more than three months after infection; the US survey found 14.7 per cent of Americans said they had experienced long COVID.

If that survey truly reflected the presence of long COVID in the population, wed be talking about more than a million Australians with the condition by mid-2022.

A cohort study of 2904 people in NSW found 5 per cent of people infected with COVID-19 still had symptoms three months later. A survey put the figure closer to 10 per cent .

Some things we do know: women are more likely to get it than men, and younger and middle-aged people are more likely to be affected than the elderly  a reverse of the risk posed by acute infection.

The numbers arent static. Most people who develop long COVID see improvement or recovery over time, says Hensher. As some are falling sick, others are recovering  meaning the true number is ever-shifting.

Modelling those findings in Australia translates into a lot of variance. Modelling released by Henshers team estimates there are between 189,000 and 540,000 long COVID cases, and were between 64,000 and 110,000 severe cases in early December.

This is a huge number of newly sick people the healthcare system, already buckling under demand, will need to care for. At the moment the wave has not hit  because sadly, theres often little that medicos can do for patients with long COVID.

If that changes, it is a significant chunk of completely new healthcare demand, says Hensher.

Add this to the evidence people who have had COVID-19 are more likely to fall prey to other illnesses, including kidney disease, diabetes, stroke and heart disease, and you could be putting the healthcare system under real pressure.

The really big question is: over the coming years, how does this really play out? says Hensher.

Diagnosis

Karren Hill first contracted COVID-19 on a holiday in South America in April 2020. At that time, only a few hundred Australians had the virus, and doctor knowledge of COVID symptoms  let alone long COVID symptoms  was minimal.

You were really on your own, and thats why I had to look overseas for answers.

She developed breathing problems, and then a heart issue.

When I was having the breathing problems, I came straight to the hospital and they didnt want to see me. They said to me, If you can speak, I dont need to give you oxygen yet, and thats all I can offer you, she said.

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Hills experience mirrors that of many people with long COVID: Getting a diagnosis is a real struggle. What patients really need is a biomarker  a signal that shows the presence of the disease, like high cholesterol warns of circulation issues.

They dont yet have access to the technology  but it might be on the way.

Weve got multiple biomarkers for it already  including some completely new discoveries, says Professor Jeremy Nicholson.

Nicholson heads the National Phenome Centre, a new institute that uses advanced screening technology to measure a persons phenome  a measure of their biological health using chemical and biochemical markers in blood or urine.

His team has been following 215 people infected with COVID-19 early in the pandemic, tracking their recovery by both looking at their symptoms and monitoring their blood.

Their work has shown how COVID damages systems right across the body. Everyone has different levels of damage to different organs, and they recover at different speeds. We call it a disease mosaic because its built of lots of different bits, Nicholson says.

In a paper in Nature Immunology in January they showed a complex series of biomarkers, mostly related to inflammation, could predict with a high degree of confidence who would recover quickly and who would take a long time.

His tool is not yet ready for the clinic; tests like nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy require expensive and specialised hardware, and the work needs to be validated on a larger group of patients.

But his data suggests there is a central villain driving much of the disease.

Long COVID, in most cases, does not come from the original viral injury, Nicholson says, it comes from the immune response to fighting off the virus.

Causes

Long COVID is not a medical mystery never seen before. Many viruses, including the coronaviruses that caused SARS and MERS, often leave people with long-lasting symptoms.

Every person on the planet probably experiences lingering symptoms after a nasty bug, says Lloyd.

Many scientists suspect chronic fatigue syndrome is often the result of a viral illness  and its possible the mechanism is similar (its also notable the symptoms strongly overlap).

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A range of viruses are known to remain dormant within our bodies, often for years. For example, the Epstein Barr virus causes harmless childhood infections before turning dormant. In most people, this causes no problems  but a stressed immune system can lead the virus to reactivate. That reactivation is thought to partly drive chronic fatigue syndrome; studies now show evidence of reactivation in some people with long COVID.

Thats one mechanism, but scientists are growing confident long COVID is likely caused by several different overlapping mechanisms, which means there are several different diseases we have lumped into one.

In some cases, people could simply have symptoms from a virus that wreaked enormous damage on their bodies. In a study on patients with long COVID, Professor Marwicks team at the Baker Institute found about 15 per cent had subtle changes in heart function, possibly caused by heart-scarring. However, in the study those subtle changes did not seem to be strongly linked to changes in functional capacity  another frustrating dead-end.

The virus could be continuing to circulate in small pockets of the body  the gut is a particularly suspicious target, given some people with long COVID report stomach problems. Or micro-clots could be damaging the circulation system.

Studies looking at the immune system have found a plethora of signals suggesting it is not working as it should. T cells are exhausted and in low numbers, while interferons  a signal protein that usually means an infection is present  seem elevated long after the infection has passed. Other studies find levels of autoantibodies, which wrongly target the patients own tissue.

Closely related is inflammation  agitation of the immune system, usually in response to damage or attack. We know COVID-19 infection leads to a huge inflammation response as our immune systems fight back against the invader. But evidence suggests that in some people with long COVID, this system does not return to normal when the virus is beaten.

It is almost entirely inflammation driven, says Professor Nicholson, except if there is lung scarring from acute severe COVID.

Stephenie Watts has suffered cognitive impairment since acquiring COVID-19. Credit:Kate Geraghty

When Stephenie Watts presented to hospital struggling to get her legs to move in sync, neurologists discovered inflammation in her brain stem and frontal lobe. She now struggles with severe cognitive impairment and short-term memory loss.

If the TV is on and my familys talking, I cant concentrate on both  if there are birds outside, they would sound as loud as the conversation and the TV. So you cant determine what to focus on and whats important.

Chronic inflammation could be responsible for the fatigue and brain fog many patients experience, as their overactive immune systems send inflammatory messages to the brain, says Lloyd.

Alicia Newnhams initial COVID infection was mild, and she happily went back to work. But a week later it caught up to her.

Newnham went to her GP complaining of extreme fatigue and a heart rate that spiked to 130 bpm just by rolling over in bed.

Im the person who normally just keeps going, but I just woke up one morning and thought, Whats wrong with me? she said. I sat on the edge of my bed and just couldnt move. Everything in my body was hurting and screaming at me.

Symptoms of brain fog and fatigue, combined with a fast heartbeat and difficulty standing, are consistent with POTS  postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome.

Our autonomic nervous system is the unconscious control system that keeps our heart beating, our lungs breathing and our gut moving  and, importantly for long COVID, runs the valves in our blood vessels that keep shunting blood to the brain.

POTS is characterised by a fast heartbeat and difficulty standing, as the autonomic systems control breaks down.

If youre not giving people brain blood flow when they need it, they are never going to be able to tolerate everyday activities, says Marie-Claire Seeley, chief executive officer of the Australian POTS Foundation.

What happens is the people who get it tend to get a plethora of quite subtle symptoms. Fatigue, brain fog, blurred vision, they cant concentrate. That usually escalates to gastrointestinal discomfort.

This could be caused by direct infection of nerve tissue, or by messing with the immune system, which experts now know is tightly interlinked with our nervous system.

POTS, like many conditions linked to long COVID, seems to occur more in females than males.

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Along with all the other post-viral syndromes  like chronic fatigue syndrome  they are poorly understood because they were female-dominant diseases that were maligned as psychogenic. No money got put in them, no research got put in them, says Seeley.

For those with long COVID, answers cant come soon enough.

Hopefully this kicks off a big medical research drive and they start finding some answers, says Goodrich, because theres going to be some.

If I was making this up, I would have given it up after 15 months.

Examine, a free weekly newsletter covering science with a sceptical, evidence-based eye, is sent every Tuesday. Youre reading an excerpt  sign up to get the whole newsletter in your inbox.
Father Bob, as he is most widely known, uses a blog, podcasts and most recently Twitter where his profile says he is a cranky old man to reach the virtual parishioners who he thinks outnumber those who attend mass. Maguire engages his audience through social media because there seems to be a demand for it and he is a passionate salesperson for the ordinary Catholic. The sense is that what happens in the office, including our conversation and the documentary crew that attaches a microphone and quietly goes about filming him, is a necessary evil that allows him to do more important work. For the past 35 years, he has opened the parish doors between 7am and 7pm and held mass daily, as much as possible, has been active in community work through Open Family which he co-founded in 1978, presided over the Bob Maguire Foundation, established the Emerald Hill Mission and Beyond Care. He says he is not only orthodox but also orthopraxis. I believe the right stuff, I also believe in doing the right stuff, he translates striving to live what he believes and teaches. His last day off lasted 45 minutes and the fact he has not had a holiday in 35 years is his own fault. I thought the idea was to be the salt of the earth, thats why I like to stay in the parish. If I was younger, and had some dedicated helpers, we could leave the place open 24 hours, seven days.

Maguires inspiration comes from Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, who started the Catholic Worker movement and the Emmaus houses of hospitality. He sees his parish ideally as a similar place where people are treated hospitably and respectfully, and the community is active and interdependent. He drives the Hope Mobile around St Kildas streets, handing out food and friendship. He raises money for poor, hungry and homeless. Rather than setting himself as the example for all to follow, he believes all 250 Catholic parishes around Melbourne should be tailored to their communities needs. Maguire has copped criticism for giving money to drug users, but exclaims that theyre all drug users. That is at the root of many of the problems he deals with, and he sees a clash of cultures between those struggling in St Kilda and the world of the Church hierarchy a short tram ride away in the central business district. Worried that South Melbourne will be turned into a franchise governed by head office rather than responding to the communitys needs, Maguire is refusing to tender his resignation, having turned 75 on September 14. The Catholic Church requires priests to offer their resignations at this age something Maguire objected to. (The latest news is that a compromise deal was struck yesterday that will allow Maguire to remain parish priest, with control of the finances handed over to the diocese.) During the two-week stand-off he has taken heart from rebellious saints, particularly John Vianney, the patron saint of parish priests, and the fact Mary McKillop was excommunicated by the leadership of her day. Also encouraging has been contact from a recalcitrant cousin of Maguires in Scotland who was exiled to Bangladesh, where he fell in love with the poor, and has been a nuisance to the Scottish hierarchy more than 30 years after they first tried to banish him from the priesthood.

I dont understand the Catholics, on the one hand theyre saying lets all be like Mary McKillop and John Vianney and on the other hand as soon as you do it, youre under arrest. They want to have their cake and eat it, all the saints were rebels, Maguire says. Loading [The retirement policy] doesnt make sense to me, only because I dont have much sense. Ive flown by the seat of my pants since the womb, intending to stay in the air until we run out of petrol. But thats a silly thing because most people like to plan. Do they? I dont know. That stream-of-consciousness answer was about the closest Maguire came to thoughtful reflection during our hour together, as he clearly prefers keeping busy and being in the moment. He dismisses his past as boring and while making detailed plans may not be to his taste since in the past they have gone awry, he discusses his ideals and hopes with unforced enthusiasm. The crankiness winds up, however, with the realisation that he is discussing the importance of community work above church buildings on a coming episode of Compass on ABC1, fears that he and the recently crucified Safran talked about sex for the new series Race Relations, all at the time he is negotiating with the Church. He feels some will see it as an egomaniacal campaign rather than coincidence.

On another flank, 3AW drive host Derryn Hinch has renewed a 20-year campaign against him, claiming Maguire had been involved in money laundering for paedophile priest Vincent Kiss. A letter from police dated in the 1990s shows past claims to be false, and Kiss was the one convicted of fraud and later jailed internationally for sex offences. Maguires concern is not so much at the substance of the attack  at one point he comically reads out the carefully worded and dull legal advice that said there was never a case to answer  as the timing. The attack comes as he is trying to give his congregation the chance to choose its destiny, either to remain with the unconventional though orthodox Father Bob or acquiescing to the global rules. Noting that 150 years have passed since Charles Darwins On the Origin of Species was published, Maguire demonstrates his rebellious streak in being willing to discuss explanations for existence other than God. He is even apparently curious about parallel universe theories, though does end up dismissing it gruffly as speaking in tongues. The orthodox members of all faiths will want you to stick to one commonly acceptable terms of reference. Do you believe in heaven? Do you believe in the communion? Ill say yes. Ill say yes to anything, sign anything. But, there will be other explanations for the meaning of those foundational statements. I dont mind you saying the creed, but I want to live the creed, and I want other people to live the creed. Especially the group I preside over as their priest. I want us to live the creed, as a parish should be.

South Melbourne, the citys first suburban parish, began when the Catholics were living in a ghetto in 1854, the year of the Eureka Stockade. The Eureka flag flies alongside the Irish and Aboriginal flags on the presbytery to reflect this. Since forming, the parishs heart has moved from Emerald Hill to the acre on Montague Street, with bluestone buildings for congregations of 2000, and accumulated school, orphanage and mission buildings. By the time Maguire arrived the gloss had been knocked off the place and the congregations are now down to 200. Only a handful of people attend the weekday masses. But he wants the parish to determine its own future, and has left his retirement in their hands. Thats why with this kerfuffle, Im trying to make it ours, not mine. Who are you, South Melbourne? You better start making your mind up because the next episode in your life may well be that you become a franchise of central headquarters. If youre dinkum Aussies, of course you might say, I dont give a rats what I am, Ill just go with the flow. If thats the case, so be it, but this is your last chance for the foreseeable future to be a local church with a style of your choosing and as a result of your evolution. It doesnt suit the bosses. They say no, no, no, no, no, its got nothing to do with them. Im saying that to me it does have something to do with them, even according to the spirit of canon law if not the ethos of Catholicism. But the administrative preference these days may well say not.

Maguires local focus, an insistence that there is a particular brand of South Melbourne Catholicism, refusal to simply do the hierarchys bidding and general demeanour grate on those who are more resistant to change. Constantly referring to the Catholic Church as the enemy may not help relations either. Some boy wrote to me on the thing, he waves at the computer, he says, no, no, theres no such thing as the Australian Catholic Church, its got to be the Roman Catholic Church in Australia. See? He gets frightened at this idea theres an Australian anything. How can that be so? Why couldnt the Aussies be something unique? We havent had it before, but thats what evolutions all about. Again Darwin returns to the conversation, mentioned almost as many times as God. What Maguire takes from Darwin naturally fits perfectly with his hopes for the parish, a community that grows stronger to overcome challenges and disadvantages. Were all in this together, whether you are a parasite in somebodys gut or whether you are the bloody Dalai Lama. This article was first published in The Canberra Times on September 25, 2009.
The Coalitions newly appointed Indigenous Australians spokeswoman Jacinta Nampijinpa Price says the Voice to parliament will divide her family, in a new campaign funded by right-wing lobby group Advance Australia launching on Wednesday night.

Price and her Scottish-Australian husband Colin Lillie appear in a video, a portion of which was released on Wednesday by a new campaign outfit called Fair Australia, which describes itself as a grassroots movement of Australians but is run and paid for by Advance Australia.

Later this year they want to establish a so-called Voice to parliament. This is a really big deal, Price says in the advertisement. The Constitution is the rule book for governing the country, and they want the rules to change. This will divide us.

Lillie says: I love my family. And a line going through my family, I wont stand for that. Price then adds: I dont want to see my family divided along the lines of race because we are a family of human beings, and thats the bottom line.
Jakarta: Indonesias military chief has dismissed a separatist group claim that they had killed more than a dozen government soldiers who were searching for a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the rebels in the restive Papua region.

Admiral Yudo Margono and the militarys top brass flew to the region after initial information said attackers from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, ambushed 36 government soldiers in the hilly district of Nduga in mountainous Papua Highlands province.

Papuan separatist rebels with New Zealander pilot Phillip Mark Mehrtens, who they took hostage in early February. Credit: AP

Rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom said in a statement that his groups fighters were holding the remains of 12 soldiers, including nine who he said were arrested and executed. The rebels offered no proof to back up their statement.

Margono confirmed only one fatality and said four other soldiers were missing. The rest returned to their post, he said. Five were wounded and were in stable condition and evacuated to a hospital in Timika, a mining city in neighbouring Central Papua province.
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High-price growth suburbs a dream result for brokers Bryon Bay leads way with decade of growth

Brokers often overestimate the income they will receive from their trail book when they retire, veteran trail book buyer Nicholas Young has said.

Young (pictured above), the managing director of Trail Homes, said brokers also underestimated the impact it would on have their future when they backed off on writing new business later in their career.

With the mortgage broking industry having begun in the 2000s with an injection of entrepreneurs often aged in their 30s and 40s, many of whom were ex-bankers, the industry is likely to see more successful brokers setting themselves up for retirement over the next five to 10 years.

Young said there were often misconceptions about the ongoing value of trail books. He said brokers should plan ahead and consider their retirement and succession strategies to avoid being disappointed with a lower retirement income than expected.

Every broker I talk to will tell me how sticky their trail book is, Young said. There is this pre-conceived idea that their trail book is never going to go down in value, and that it will continue to pay out each month the same it has been paying out every month for some years.

However, what they fail to recognise is the reason it is stable is they have been putting new loans in as quickly as the old loans have been going out. If you stop putting loans in it broadly halves every three years, and having a trail book halving every three years is not a good retirement strategy.

Young said that, after a broker retired, they could expect most new business to dry up within 12 months. With trail book run-off rates of 20%, a book that had been producing $120,000 per annum would be down to just $96,000 per annum  or $65,000 after tax  after one year.

That same trail book would be producing $61,000  or $41,000 after tax  by the end of year three, and by the end of year six, a broker that might have been expecting to enjoy a $120,000 a year lifestyle for longer would be producing only $31,000  or $21,000 after tax  from their book.

Young said trail book run-off rates pushed up to a very high level of almost 30% in 2022. While the current rate was still above normal at about 25%, Young expected this to fall further over time to come in line more with historical normal rates of about 20%.

Brokers relaxing later in their careers will impact their book

Brokers who seek to find work life balance later in their career  and who back off from marketing for new business and lose the forward momentum of accruing new trail income from new business - are also risking the eventual value realisation of their trail book in retirement.

Brokers can go into drifting mode, where they cease proactively marketing, they arent hungry, Young said. They might have a nice trail book, write the odd loan, but they are not working too hard and are pretty comfortable  what they are missing is that their business is quickly deteriorating.

Within just a few years, Young said the damage done could be enormous.

They have 30 or 40 years of retirement in front of them. You really only get one crack at this  youve spent 20 years setting it up and building it, and the peak might have been fantastic, but then you can see a business wither over just a few years to a shadow of what it was.

When brokers talk about wanting work-life balance, that is fine. But what you are also telling me is that you are going to let your business deteriorate. And at the end of the day, you have to pay the bills and it is likely that you are going to live for a long time.

Young said he likened this tendency among largely successful brokers to the art of surfing.

A good surfer cuts back out of a wave when its still strong, and then goes in search of another wave. They dont ride it down to nothing. Some brokers ride it down to nothing and arrive on the beach and they have still got years to go and they dont have the energy to swim out anymore.

Young said mortgage broking books usually followed a predictable trajectory. In the first stage upfront commissions are much higher than trail commissions, and then as trails build, businesses reach a middle stage where a business is mature and upfronts will broadly equal trail commission.

In the latter third of the broker business lifecycle, upfront commissions start to be less than trails.

At this stage you might be getting $10,000 a month in trail and writing a million in business a month, just as one example, and that business is in decline, Young said. When marketing stops, upfronts can fall away remarkably quickly. Trails fall more slowly, but that is the danger zone - you are dithering.

Young said in the third stage it could be very difficult for brokers to get marketing momentum going again after it slowed down. They never have that energy again, it can be impossible.

Brokers should plan to get the best value from trail books

Brokers should talk to as many people as they can, Young said, including their accountants, and then start putting in place a real plan as to how they would exit their business. Procrastinating and doing nothing is not the answer  the earlier you start thinking about it the better.

He said there were many scenarios brokers could think about, from bringing in and rewarding a younger broker who will eventually buy them out  which could enable them to start doing less hours  to mergers with an accounting firm or one of their referrers.

Young said brokers should also consider the sell or keep? question carefully when it came to their trail book, as currently available tax incentives for small businesses can make selling much more worthwhile than holding onto the book and seeing it dwindle in value through run-off.

Brokers should talk to their accountant and get a good understanding of the tax consequences of selling their business. There are currently enormous tax concessions available to small business people when they sell, which can result in double the benefit then keeping their trail book.

Are you concerned about the value of your trail book or business when the time comes to retire? Share your thoughts or stories on this topic in the comments section below.


By Lee Hyon-soo



Canada is known for its scenic splendor. Chief among its natural attractions is the Canadian Rockies. I was fascinated by the mountain range, so much so that I have visited three times. Let me reminisce about my first visit.



In a summer gone by, I set out on a journey to the Canadian Rockies, one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world. The Rocky Mountains are the largest mountain range in North America, stretching over 3,000 miles from northwestern Canada down to New Mexico in the U.S. The Canadian portion of the Rockies are home to some of the most majestic peaks in North America, including Mount Robson, the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies, and the iconic Mount Assiniboine.



As I boarded the plane bound for Calgary, Alberta, I couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement and anticipation. After the plane landed at my destination, I made my way to Banff, a nearby resort town which is one of Canada's most popular tourist destinations. The drive was nothing short of stunning; the rugged mountains, the dense forests and the sparkling rivers all combined to create a landscape that was both majestic and serene.



When I arrived in Banff, I immediately found myself settling into the laid-back pace of life. Banff National Park offers incredible scenic drives, hiking trails and wildlife viewing opportunities.



I proceeded to Lake Louise, one of the most photogenic spots in Canada. I took a stroll along the lakeshore for a couple of hours admiring the scenic beauty of the lake. The turquoise color of this lake is caused by the presence of glacial rock flour, which reflects the sunlight in a way that creates surreal beauty.



After a short rest, I boarded a cable car, which took me to the summit of Sulphur Mountain where I enjoyed panoramic views of the town, Bow Valley and the surrounding mountains. I also visited the Upper Hot Springs for a soothing soak in the hot, mineral-rich water. Relaxing in the outdoor pool among the jagged peaks of Rundle Mountain and Cascade Mountain was a magical experience.



On the second day, I explored the Columbia Icefield, one of the largest non-polar ice fields in the world, spanning over 325 square kilometers. It contains eight major glaciers, including the Athabasca Glacier, which is one of the most accessible glaciers in the world. I joined other visitors to take the Ice Explorer Tour. I traveled on a massive all-terrain vehicle to the Athabasca Glacier, a 10,000-year-old sheet of ice, on which I walked around and took a sip of glacier water. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Next, I headed to the glass-floored Skywalk for a jaw-dropping walk at the cliff's edge.



The landscape of the Canadian Rockies is characterized by an incredible variety of natural wonders ranging from jagged peaks and deep valleys to shimmering alpine lakes and glistening glaciers. In addition to the natural beauty, the Canadian Rockies are home to an abundance of wildlife, including grizzly bears, wolves, elk and mountain goats.



As my trip came to a close, I knew that the experience had been one that I would never forget. Indeed, it was a journey that touched my soul and left me with a sense of wonder and awe that would stay with me forever.





The writer (tomhslee43@gmail.com) is the author of "Tales of A Korean Globetrotter."


UB to host Shakespeare workshop exploring race, class and culture

A major renovation that has temporarily closed the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., has given UB a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to host this workshop exploring Shakespeares role in reinforcing and contesting questions of race, class and culture.

The written tradition of Shakespeare will be layered onto performance history, and a broad cultural and physical map, to create a rich, three-dimensional experience for everyone. 

The Folger Shakespeare Library, in partnership with UB, the UB Arts Collaboratory, and the Buffalo and Erie County Public Library (B&ECPL), will present a unique two-and-a-half-day local workshop exploring Shakespeares role in reinforcing and contesting questions of race, class and culture.

Gilding the Guilt: The Gilded Age, Craft Production, and the Construction of Cultural Capital will explore both the written and performance Shakespearean traditions as they relate to these questions with two keynotes at the Central Library, 1 Lafayette Square, on April 27 and a performance demonstration at Ujima Company Inc., 429 Plymouth Ave. (Buffalo Public School 77), on April 28, as part of the Arts Collaboratorys Working Artists Labs.

All events and performances on both days are free and open to the public. No registration is required.

Gilding the Guilt situates itself against a backdrop of Gilded Age Buffalo, a city of great wealth that had matured just as industrializations counter-melody was developing with the American Arts and Crafts movement at the Roycroft Campus in East Aurora  while at the same time, the Niagara Movement, which would become the NAACP, was holding its first meetings at the home of activist and suffragist Mary Talbert.

This is also the time that Buffalo acquired, through the efforts of Gilded Age book collectors, not one, but two sets  one held by the B&ECPL and the other by UB  of all four of the 17th century Shakespeare folios.

Lauren Belfer, whose novel City of Light revolves around the 1901 Pan American Exposition in Buffalo, the worlds fair at the center of these swirling forces of wealth, nostalgia and social change, opens the workshop at 4 p.m. April 27 at the Central Branch of the B&CPL with a scene-setting presentation on turn-of-the-century Buffalo.

Then at 7 p.m. in the same auditorium, three distinguished scholars will discuss the regional, racial and Indigenous reach of Shakespeare in America:

Joyce Green MacDonald, University of Kentucky professor of English, will discuss the impact of Shakespeare on Abraham Lincoln. Green MacDonalds latest book is Shakespearean Adaptation, Race, and Memory in the New World.

Kathryn Vomero Santos, Trinity University assistant professor of English, an expert in premodern critical race studies, will explore Shakespeares relationship to Spanish-speaking and Indigenous communities, and the dual-language adaptions that have arisen in that context.



Scott Manning Stevens, (Akwesasne Mohawk), Syracuse University associate professor of American and Indigenous studies, whose grandfather attended the Thomas Indian School, will discuss colonialism as it impacts educational institutions and its effect on his family.



A major renovation that has temporarily closed the Folger Shakespeare Library in Washington, D.C., has given UB, a Folger Institute Consortium member since 1992, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to host the workshop, and make use of the priceless, early modern and Shakespearean resources of the B&ECPL and the UB Libraries, according to Barbara Bono, one of the programs co-organizers and associate professor emerita of English and global gender and sexuality studies at UB.

The workshop promises to be an intensive, place-based study of Shakespeare in regional America, says Bono. The written tradition of Shakespeare will be layered onto performance history, and a broad cultural and physical map, to create a rich, three-dimensional experience for everyone.

Bono will be joined by co-organizers and UB colleagues Carrie Tirado Bramen, professor of English; Maria S. Horne, associate professor of theatre and dance, and director of the UB Arts Collaboratory (2022-23); and Stacy Carson Hubbard, associate professor of English.

We will look at how Shakespeare  the text, the performances, the reception  has been inflected differently in different parts of the country at different moments, right down to the present day, Bono says.

Day Two of the workshops public programming draws in the Arts Collaboratorys Working Artists Lab, an interdisciplinary group of UB graduate and undergraduate students, under the direction of Horne.

The lab is collaborating this semester with the Beijing National Academy of Dramatic Arts and a number of Buffalo theater companies, including Raices Theatre Company, Ujima Theatre Company, Irish Classical Theatre Company and Shakespeare in Delaware Park, as well as the Buffalo Academy of the Visual and Performing Arts and Nichols School, and the after-school program Peace of the City Theater for All. Together, they are exploring the relevance and applications of Shakespeares works in performance today with two events on April 28:

A roundtable on Performing American Shakespeare from 3:15-4:30 p.m. in the second floor Central Conference Room at the Central Branch of the B&ECPL.

An evening demonstration/performance at Ujima from 7-8:30 p.m., where the Arts Collaboratory and the professional theater companies and educational organizations will present and discuss excerpts of Shakespeare in performance.

Hornes experiential lab has been conducting research in the archives and in performance all semester on questions of race, class and culture. She says the program is an intellectual preparation to the practical investigation of questions that affect the performance of Shakespeare today, specifically in Buffalo and regional theaters.

The workshop connects the university with the wider Western New York community in practical and meaningful ways, and is also preparing our students through their research and performance to constructively engage with these questions in ways that practically address the challenges, possibilities and opportunities of collaborative learning.

Workshop collaborators include the UB College of Arts and Sciences; Buffalo & Erie County Public Library; UB Libraries; Roycroft Campus; UB Office of the Vice President for Research and Economic Development; UB Arts Collaboratory; UB Center for the Arts; UB Humanities Institute; UB Department of English; UB Department of Theatre and Dance; UB Office of Advancement; UB James Agee Chair in American Culture; and the Folger Shakespeare Library.


India has emerged as the centre of Apple's growth plans in recent years. Apple's CEO has stressed the importance of the world's second-largest smartphone market on several occasions. Apple CEO Tim Cook is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday. Cook is also scheduled to meet senior ministers of the union cabinet, including Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The Apple chief launched the company's first retail store in Mumbai's Jio World Drive Mall, situated in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC), yesterday, April 18.



Currently, the Indian smartphone market is dominated by Android devices. The high costs of Apple devices keep them away from most Indian customers. However, a report from Counterpoint suggests that Apple holds 65 per cent of the smartphone market when it comes to the premium segment. Apple opened its first company-owned store in India, called Apple BKC. At the inauguration, Tim Cook greeted excited fans and interacted with them. The Mumbai store also has a service centre for the brand.

Apple is set to launch its second retail store at the Select City Walk mall in Delhi. The Delhi store will span an area of 8,417 square feet. Earlier, Apple used to sell its devices through resellers and online platforms like Flipkart and Amazon.


The Tata group airline announced on Monday a new salary structure for pilots and cabin crew. It said the flying allowance for pilots has been doubled to 40 hours. A service reward for pilots, based on years in service, has been introduced. Allowances have been enhanced and a travel policy is being proposed. Two unions representing Air India pilots have asked members not to accept the revised compensation and employment offer, calling the companys proposals unfair labour practices. They said any coercion on pilots to sign the offer would lead to industrial unrest.



While the unions objected to various clauses of the new offer, their main grouse is about promoting captains with more than four years' experience into management. Unions see the salary proposals as a move to weaken them. Pilots unions, in an online meeting held on Tuesday, expressed their disappointment with the revisions. The meeting was attended by 1,000 pilots working with all four Tata group airlines.



Air India, in a statement, defended its new salary structure. The new compensation structure for pilots and cabin crew is our endeavour to bring in parity among different groups, encourage productivity and boost emoluments drawn by them. The managerial and supervisory role played by the experienced pilots is also being recognised in the form of designating them as Senior Commander as also offering them a special monthly allowance. Where is the company requirement all of a sudden to forcibly promote almost all permanent workmen of the union to the so-called senior commander management cadre? It is clear from this that there is a concerted effort to gut the unions and isolate pilots into individual boxes where they can be exploited and victimized at will by the HR department. This amounts to unfair labour practices, said the Indian Commercial Pilots Association and the Indian Pilots Guild in a joint letter on Wednesday.

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Billionaire Gautam Adani's Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited (APSEZ) on Wednesday said its board will meet on Saturday to consider first and a partial buyback of certain of its debt securities, either denominated in rupee or US dollar in the current financial year.

"... a meeting of the Board of Directors of Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited is scheduled on Saturday, April 22, 2023, to consider first and a partial buyback of certain of its debt securities, either denominated in INR or USD, in this financial year, subject to market conditions," the company said in a BSE filing.

Adani group has been under pressure after the US short-seller Hindenburg Research on January 24 accused it of accounting fraud and stock manipulation, allegations that the conglomerate has denied as "malicious" and "baseless".

Earlier this month, APSEZ had reported a 9 per cent growth in cargo handling at seaports it operates for the fiscal ended March 31.

At 339 million tonne, this is the largest port cargo ever, APSEZ said in a statement earlier.

The firm handled about 32 million tonne of total cargo in March, up 9.5 per cent year-on-year.

Also Read What is a share buyback? Market regulator Sebi proposing to revamp the share buyback process Paytm announces board to consider share buyback proposal on December 13 IEX falls 2% as board approves Rs 98 crore share buyback via open market Paytm board okays share buyback worth Rs 850 crore at Rs 810 per share AI pilot bodies ask members not to accept revamped compensation structure Jaguar Land Rover to invest Rs 153 cr in 5 yrs to introduce new models Tata Housing net sales bookings rise 40% in FY23 on strong demand Supertech Group's Noida office sealed over unpaid dues: Officials Domestic passenger traffic grows 51.7% on YoY basis; IndiGo gains mkt share

This was the first time since July 2022 that the volumes crossed the 30-million tonne mark.

The nation's largest port operator, which operates six ports on the west coast and five on the East, continues to add ports to its portfolio.

Recently, it completed the acquisition of Karaikal Port.

While the 11 ports it operates handle 25 per cent of total port volumes, the firm is also developing two transhipment ports at Vizhinjam, Kerala and Colombo, Sri Lanka.


Cook tweeted after the meeting that he shared Modis vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and environment. The PM also took to Twitter, saying it was a delight to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. In his third stop after Mumbai and Hyderabad during his ongoing India visit, Apple CEO Tim Cook called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday. In his interaction with the PM, Cook said Apple was committed to growing and investing across the country.



The government has asked Apple to deepen its production of iPhones and investment in the country as the Cupertino-based tech giant seeks to look beyond China. Vaishnaw highlighted this in a Twitter message after meeting Cook. Beyond the social media exuberance, Cook, whos on a four-day visit to inaugurate the first two Apple stores in India, urged the government to ensure continuation in policy stability. In his meetings with the PM and the two key ministers overseeing the electronics sector  communications minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and minister of state for IT and electronics Rajeev Chandrasekhar  the Apple CEO also stressed the need for sustained support in building the component supply chain ecosystem. A step-up in skilling of labour for the electronics industry was also discussed.



Movies & cricket serious business for Apple CEO Tim Cook's future India plans



Chandrasekhar too tweeted: We discussed deepening and broadening manufacturing, exports, skilling of youth, expanding app innovation economy and job creation. He also said that the meeting focused on job creation, especially for women, while charting a long-term and strong relationship. This comes in the backdrop of 72 per cent of Apples (including vendors and suppliers) blue-collared workers in India being women.

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Cook has sought support to build a stronger supply chain at a time when the government has eased the entry of many components suppliers of Apple, including those from China, in a step to balance geopolitical challenges with business, an official said. Government sources aware of the discussions said:  Cook has expressed contentment with government policies while asking more support in some areas. One of the sources said that Cook asked for more provisions to improve skilling in the country.
MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's JSW Steel plans to sell specialty steel products to Russia this year, a senior company official told Reuters on Wednesday.

"We plan to sell some specialty products, including color-coated steel to Russia," the official said, declining to be identified owing to the sensitive nature of discussions.

JSW Steel did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

(Reporting by Neha Arora in Mumbai; Editing by David Goodman)

Also Read Jindal Steel and Power says enquiries from European buyers on rise More initiatives on anvil to boost steel sector in 2023: Union Minister JSPL to invest Rs 7,930 crore under PLI scheme for steel: MD Bimlendra Jha JSW Group mulls foray into EVs, to manufacture 4-wheelers: Seshagiri Rao PLI scheme qualifiers, steel ministry to ink pacts for investment proposals Netflix to take its India strategy global to boost growth, retain customers TCS best place to work in India, esports platforms make it to top list Audi sales double in Q1 of calendar year 2023, pre-owned car biz up 50% Nokia partners with Lightstorm to upgrade digital infrastructure in India Ahead of Saket store launch, Apple CEO Tim Cook to meet PM Modi today
Tata Motors-owned Jaguar Land Rover on Wednesday said it will invest 15 billion pounds (about Rs 153 crore) over the next five years to enhance its industrial footprint, introduce new models and to bolster technology in its range.

The British brand said its Halewood plant in the UK will become an all-electric production facility and its next generation medium-size SUV architecture, electrified modular architecture (EMA), will now be pure-electric.

JLR Chief Executive Adrian Mardell reaffirmed the business' commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which will reposition the company as an electric-first, modern luxury carmaker by 2030, as the automaker makes stride towards its financial goals of achieving a net cash positive position by FY25 and double-digit EBIT by 2026.

"Two years ago, we launched our Reimagine strategy and since then we have made great progress, including launching two new critically acclaimed modern luxury Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models, joining the Defender family, for which there is a record demand," Mardell noted.

The company achieved this while navigating the headwinds of the pandemic and chip shortages, and successfully ramping up production of our most profitable models to deliver profit in Q3, he added.

"Today, I am proud to announce we are accelerating our electrification path, making one of our UK plants and our next-generation medium-size luxury SUV architecture fully electric," Mardell said.

Also Read Jaguar Land Rover sees December quarter free cash flow above $485 million Tata Motors posts 8% jump in group global wholesales in January-March Jaguar Land Rover inks partnerships to improve semiconductor supplies Jaguar Land Rover reports 5.9% jump in retail sales in Q3, wholesale up 15% Interest rate hikes, global inflationary pressures may impact demand: JLR Tata Housing net sales bookings rise 40% in FY23 on strong demand Supertech Group's Noida office sealed over unpaid dues: Officials Domestic passenger traffic grows 51.7% on YoY basis; IndiGo gains mkt share Apple vendors likely to double employment base in India: Report Small Cap World Fund pares 2% stake in Bajaj Electricals for Rs 234 cr

Further, he said: "This investment enables to deliver our modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming our commitment to be net zero carbon by 2039."



JLR confirmed that it will start to invite applications for client orders for the modern luxury all-electric Range Rover from later this year.

The first of its next generation medium-size modern luxury SUVs will be an all-electric model from the Range Rover family, launching in 2025 and built at Halewood, it added.

JLR also revealed that its engine manufacturing centre in Wolverhampton, UK, currently producing internal combustion engines for its vehicles, will have an electric future producing electric drive units and battery packs for company's next generation vehicles.

It will be renamed as the Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre to reflect the move, it added.
Tata Consultancy Services has emerged as the top company in a list, which showcases the best places to work and grow careers, for 2023.

TCS is followed by Amazon (2) and Morgan Stanley (3) in the '2023 Top Companies India' list prepared by LinkedIn.

There has been a shift from tech companies, which dominated the list last year, with companies across financial services, oil and gas, professional services, manufacturing and gaming featuring in this year's list.

A vast majority of the companies, that is 10 out of 25 companies are from the financial services/ banking/ fintech space, including companies such as Macquarie Group (5), HDFC Bank (11), Mastercard (12), and Yubi (14).

"In this uncertain environment, professionals are looking for guidance on the companies to work that offer career growth and will set them up for long-term success. The 2023 Top Companies list is filled with actionable insights and resources to help professionals at all levels discover job opportunities," LinkedIn India Managing Editor Nirajita Banerjee said.

Those interested in a specific company can now easily identify the skills and roles being hired for, connect with employees they know in their network, and follow the company to stay informed about future opportunities, she added.

Also Read TCS Q4 review: Near-term growth to moderate, demand levers intact: Analysts Oscars 2023 full winner list: Naatu Naatu bags Best Original song award Srinagar makes it to the list of top places to visit in 2023, says report TCS Q4 Preview: Revenue may rise up to 18% YoY; EBIT margin seen at 25% LinkedIn introduces new ways to verify identity, work; to be free for all Zerodha makes largest-ever referral payout, amount not revealed Paint companies to log 10-12% growth in revenue this fiscal: Report Hikal ownership dispute puts two Kalyani-listed companies in a spot Prestige Estates sales bookings rise 25% to Rs 12,930 cr in FY23 Finolex Cables to invest Rs 200 cr to expand manufacturing capacity this yr

The 2023 Top Companies India list is based on LinkedIn's data to rank companies on eight pillars that have been shown to lead to career progression, including ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity, educational background and employee presence in the country.

Further, the data revealed that companies such as Dream11 (20) and Games24x7 (24) from e-sports and gaming made it to the list for the first time, which is reflective of the growing popularity of gaming and the presence of this sector.

There has been an emergence of new players, with 17 out of 25 companies debuting in the list, which demonstrates the strong momentum in India's business ecosystem, it stated.

Zepto (16), which was part of the LinkedIn Top Startups list last year has made it to the top company list this year, which is a testament to the significant scale and growth it has achieved, it noted.

LinkedIn data revealed that the in-demand skills that these top companies are looking for in the technology sector include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Electronics, Software Testing and Computer Security.

Companies in the financial sector are looking for skills such as commercial banking, financial accounting and growth strategies. There is also a growing demand for industrial design and game development, among others, it added.

Some of the largest job functions that these top companies are investing in include engineering, consulting, product management, business development, sales, customer success, design, finance and operations, the data revealed.

Bengaluru led as the top location where these top companies are based and looking to hire talent, followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Pune, it added.


The information technology (IT) services company has mandated freshers, who had opted for a lower salary package of Rs 3.5 lakh per annum, instead of Rs 6.5 lakh per annum, clear a new training module titled Project Readiness Program (PRP) and score at least 60 per cent or stand terminated. Wipro is in the news, again.



In February, Wipro had asked fresh-faced graduates to join at a lower salary than they were eligible for. It had mandated they opt for a salary of Rs 3.5 lakh, from the Rs 6.5 lakh promised earlier, as projects in the higher salary package were not available any longer. Wipro is not the only company to have implemented such a programme. IT services company LTIMindtree had introduced a similar training programme with the possibility of elimination if not successfully cleared.



They are now being asked to undergo training again, said Nascent Information Technology Employees Senate (NITES)  an IT sector employee union working extensively for the welfare, rights, justice, and empowerment of IT, business process outsourcing, and knowledge process outsourcing professionals in India. These graduates were asked to clear an assessment programme titled Velocity before being signed on in March.

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In an email response, a spokesperson for Wipro said, At Wipro, we place immense value on seeing our talent grow and succeed. The PRP is part of our routine onboarding process and designed to ensure that our next-generation (next-gen) associates are assigned to the right client projects and have the most up-to-date skillset to make an immediate impact. Calling Wipros actions unethical, unfair, and unjust, NITES President Harpreet Singh Saluja said, In March 2022, before starting the unpaid Velocity training, the companys human resource department assured employees that if they completed the module, they would not have to undergo training again. After joining on March 30 this year, Wipro asked its employees to take another test.



This sudden change in Wipros policy has left many of its new employees in a quandary. The company is playing with employee future. They have invested a year and a half at Wipro. The companys threatening approach that talks about termination is causing them immense stress and anxiety, said Saluja. The company did not respond to a query on why freshers who cleared the assessment were being tested again.



At every level, irrespective of the department, the employee has to clear regular assessment and skilling programmes. This has been happening for years now, said an executive. However, some of the senior executives of the company Business Standard spoke to confirmed that skilling and reskilling have been integral to Wipro.







TESTING TIMES In January this year, the company laid off 425 new candidates as they fared poorly in these assessments. According to the training instruction mail, PRP is a programme offered by Wipros Talent Transformation to all campus and off-campus hires referred to as Next-Gen Associates (NGAs). The broad objective of PRP is to equip NGAs with the requisite knowledge and skills that will enable them to start working on customer projects.



 The union said that the freshers who accepted the job role for a lower package received a new offer letter with the joining date of March 30, 2023, to be onboarded on March 14, 2023  Wipro previously informed new hires who had completed the four-month-long Velocity training that they only had a Project Engineer job profile available at Rs 3.5 lakh per annum, and that if they accepted this offer letter, their prior offer letter at Rs 6.5 lakh per annum would be void

 The company has now insisted that the employees undergo a new training programme after joining the company on March 30, 2023


Over the last few days we have made changes in the delivery partner payout structure with respect to the Blinkit business to address the needs of delivery partners, improve customer experience and reduce cancellation/ order rejection frauds by few delivery partners in the system. Such changes are done from time to time, as needed, said the company in a letter to the BSE. Food delivery firm Zomato Ltd said on Wednesday most stores of its grocery unit Blinkit had resumed operations after being shut following protests by delivery partners .



Zomato said that the protests had no impact on its operations or financial performance (meaningfully less than 1 per cent revenue impact). Hence we believe that this event does not warrant any disclosure under regulation 30 of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, said the letter. We had to shut down some stores for a few days to ensure safety of our employees at stores and the delivery partners. Most of these stores have now resumed operations, said the letter.



An estimated 2,500 Blinkit delivery executives have been on strike in Gurugram since April 12, after the company slashed fixed pay-outs per delivery for them, under recent changes in the delivery incentive structure. Blinkit recently shut down some stores in Gurugram, Haryana, after delivery workers went on a strike. A company notification, which was seen by 'Business Standard', on its delivery partner app said the stores are being shut because partners hadnt worked for the past 3-4 days.

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The company has confirmed that Noida and Gurugram were affected by the strikes. Under the new structure, workers will receive Rs 15 for each delivery within a one-km radius, against the Rs 25 rate before. Furthermore, for any distance travelled over 1 km, workers would be compensated based on the additional distance between the range of Rs 10 to Rs 14 per km.



The firms rival Swiggy Instamart had, in September last year, seen similar protests from its delivery workers in Chennai over a revised payment structure which cut delivery incentives and reduced fuel allowances. Unlike food delivery where delivery workers deliver orders from restaurants, quick commerce operates using the dark store model. These are large retail facilities that resemble a conventional supermarket but are not open to the public and they are operated by quick commerce firms.
Visitors are seen at the World IT Show held at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Yonhap



Local tech show features 447 firms to introduce IT trends



By Baek Byung-yeul



Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics, SK Telecom, KT and other Korean IT companies are exhibiting their new technologies and products focusing on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), extended reality (XR), robotics and gadget connectivity at this year's World IT Show (WIS), according to the companies, Wednesday.



Hosted by the Ministry of Science and ICT, the WIS is the country's largest IT show, shedding light on the nation's IT industry. This year's WIS tech exhibition takes place for three days from Wednesday to Friday, at the COEX convention center in southern Seoul.



The WIS features 447 companies from nine countries, dealing with the latest digital technologies such as AI-related products, internet of things (IoT), metaverse-related technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR) and XR, mobility, robots, blockchain and digital healthcare.



A spokesman of the event organizer said what should be noted at this year's tech show is that more software companies participated, unlike previous events that showed strength in hardware technology such as manufacturing.



"The participating companies at this year's exhibition have a much higher emphasis on software technologies such as digital twin and AI, rather than hardware. The purpose of these companies' participation is to promote their technological capabilities in such areas and meet with buyers through marketplaces like ours," Kim Hyun-wook, head of the World IT Show PR team, told The Korea Times.



"The WIS provides visitors an opportunity to gain an overall understanding of the technological capabilities of individual companies and the positioning of domestic IT companies compared to global companies."





Visitors to the World IT Show try out Samsung Electronics' mobile devices at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of Samsung Electronics



"Given the trend of digitalization becoming closer to everyday life with the recent emergence of ChatGPT, the World IT Show is very important as a platform for the public to experience excellent digital innovation products and services that are permeating our daily lives and to promote them to the world," Lee Jong-ho, minister of the Science and ICT, who visited the exhibition hall, said.



"The government will continue to provide a variety of policy support to help Korea become a world-class digital exemplar and for outstanding domestic digital companies to lead the global market," the minister added.



Among major companies, Samsung Electronics is displaying mobile products such as the Galaxy S23 smartphones, tablet PCs and smartwatches.



The company aims to let visitors experience superior connectivity features between its Galaxy gadgets at the WIS.



"We have organized our booth focusing on letting more visitors experience various mobile gadgets," a Samsung spokesman said.



LG Electronics showcased the new edition of its LG CLOi ServeBot delivery robot that can be used in restaurants as a server.



Following the first-generation robot in 2020 and the second in 2021, the third generation has more reliability when serving, LG said.



"By applying independent suspensions to six wheels, the serving robot runs stably on an irregular store floor even if it carries soup, noodles and drinks. The spillage of soup, caused by sudden stop and go and tremors, is also minimized," the company said.



SK Telecom and KT, leading mobile carriers here, have showcased innovative digital technologies and services such as AI, metaverse and urban air mobility.



SKT decorated more than half of its promotional booth as a space to introduce various AI services so visitors can experience its various AI technologies and services.



KT is displaying indoor robots and service robots as well as a delivery robot that can deliver products in cold or hot weather conditions.



"KT's exhibition booth consists of three zones including AI, robots and networks. We have set up a booth under the theme of digital transformation. KT's digital platform future technologies that meet in the real life of people will be delivered to visitors," the company said.



Visitors can not only see the technologies and products of companies but also experience the research achievements of universities in digital technology as 29 universities also joined the tech show.



"We will actively operate the event so it is recognized as an opportunity for startups, which are the driver for future growth of the ICT market, global big companies and ICT research and support organizations and groups to create various business connections," the spokesman said.





Seen is a promotional booth of LG Electronics during the World IT Show held at the COEX convention center in Seoul, Wednesday. Courtesy of LG Electronics
Startups in India are contributing towards bringing down the unemployment rate in the country to a great extent, Software Technology Park of India Director General Arvind Kumar said here on Wednesday.

Kumar was in the city recently to unveil STPI incubation facility.

Any NGO registered as a private limited company with a novel idea that meets the set criteria can be taken up as a startup.

Interacting exclusively with IANS, he said, "Currently, around 10,000 startups are being supported by us, and these entities have been instrumental in creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs. In the long run, they are going to create a very large volume of jobs, he added.

In Rajasthan, there are around 80-85 startups being supported by his technology park, he said.

To a question on fear of slowdown and startup failure, he said, "Startup failure is gradually reducing in India. Startup itself means a new idea which needs to find acceptance in the market and hence there are chances of failure and hence comes its name as start-up which means you don't have hundred per cent chances of success. However, these days, we are working on an idea to bring in the problem statement from industry, so that there are less chances of failure and more chances of acceptability and adaptability, he added.

Also Read Growing unemployment: Battle of two parallel realities India jobless rate rises in Oct led by sharp rise in rural unemployment Japan's unemployment rate rises to 2.6% in September: Govt report Centre notifies appointment of Chief Justices for four high courts Rural pain pushes India's unemployment rate up to 7.7% in October: CMIE Once booming, Indian start-ups set for more pain as funding crunch worsens Number of startups rose to 90,000 in nine years, says Ashwini Vaishnaw IBA reaching out to start-ups for funding needs, says DPIIT official Indian startups move court to stop Google's new in-app billing system Lightspeed backs workspace startup 'OfficeBanao' with $6 mn in funding

"We have started doing industry collaborations so startup failure has reduced. Now, there are Industry and academy partners as well and we are also providing administrative support to them," said Kumar.

He further said that failure is a part of the startup ecosystem not just in India but also in the developed part of the world. "Our country has just embarked on the journey of startups, so naturally failures will be little more compared to those countries which started it some three decades back," he said.

In developed countries, the success rate may be more because India has the first generation of start-ups compared to the US and other such countries which have third generation of startups. "We are at an evolving stage of startups", he added.

On the challenges, he said, "Earlier, getting funds was one of the challenges. However, now since NRIs want to come back to India and become angel investors, funds are not as much of an issue as it was 20 years back."

Meanwhile, another challenge is the market, so startups are now being connected with the state govt for ease of business.

Startup ecosystem is now working on networking and it has to be increased, he suggested further.

Networking can help them to get to market and to find market problems as well, he added.
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The Ministry of Rural Development has pegged the person-day generation target at 2,120 million under MGNREGS for FY24, the report added. This is 27 per cent lower than 2,902.4 million in FY23. This does not include West Bengal where the scheme has been suspended due to the misappropriation of funds. Owing to improvement in economic activities, the government expects work demand under the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) to fall 27 per cent in 2023-24, a report by The Economic Times (ET) said.



The new electronic attendance system, which was introduced in February, is expected to weed out fake claims of person-day generation. This will also bring down the actual numbers. In early 2022, the Centre stopped releasing funds to West Bengal under Section 27 of the MGNREGS Act. It was believed that the state has failed to take adequate action against those involved in alleged irregularities.



The officials also said that more allocation towards Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Rural) and Jal Jeevan Yojana in Budget 2023 could also trigger a shift of workers from MGNREGS. The allocation for MGNREGS, on the other hand, has come down. Reports have also suggested that India is expected to grow the fastest among all the major economies in the world. The finance ministry expects the economic growth to touch 6.5 per cent in FY24, against 7 per cent in FY23.

Also Read Budget 2023-24: Manufacturing sector eyes revised taxations, new PLIs Union Budget 2023: Experts don't expect surprises in social sector outlay Budget 2023: A look back at some major announcements in previous Budget Work demand under MGNREGS at 4-month high, FY23 funds almost exhausted Budget 2023 a balancing act with focus on prosperity and inclusiveness India reimposes windfall tax on crude oil, levy on diesel exports scrapped HP CM directs to make Uhl-III hydro power project functional by May this yr India's ICT tariffs led to annual export loss of 600 million, says EU India's trade deficit with Russia grows seven-fold to $34.79 billion India's gem, jewellery exports decline 23.7% to Rs 21,501.96 cr in March

In FY23, Rs 73,000 crore was allocated for MGNREGS. In FY24, the allocation was cut to Rs 60,000 crore. However, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said that more funds will be allocated if required.


The dialogue focused on six themes: banking; payments and cryptocurrency (crypto) assets; insurance and reinsurance; capital markets; asset management; and sustainable finance. India and the UK on Wednesday held the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue in London. This was the first in-person financial dialogue since 2017.



The scope for augmenting knowledge on the central bank digital currency through mutual learning was explored. Participants discussed international developments regarding crypto assets, the importance of robust global approaches, and progress in delivering the Group of Twenty road map for enhancing cross-border payments, it added. According to the joint statement, the UK and Indian participants provided updates on recent developments in their respective banking sectors, and discussed banking trends, emerging vulnerabilities, and risks in the sector.



Indian participants were updated on developments in the regulatory approach towards insurance in India, in favour of enhancing the ease of doing business and encouraging the entry of new players for deeper insurance penetration. There was participation from Indian and the UK independent regulatory agencies, including the Reserve Bank of India, the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the International Financial Services Centres Authority, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority.

Also Read e-Rupee: RBI creates Rs 1.71 crore of digital currency for retail pilot CBDC versus the rest: Can RBI's digital currency replace physical cash? What pictures can be used on currency notes What does e-rupee mean for you? Retail CBDC pilot starts Dec 1, to be tested in 4 banks, 4 cities initially Govt plans to collaborate with influencers for better compliance FinMin tasks World Bank with examining financing in infrastructure sectors Quantum computing mission gets Cabinet nod; Rs 6,000 crore outlay India's population may rise for next 30 yrs before starting to decline: UN Cloudy with a chance of debate: Making of a 'normal' monsoon in India



Sustainable finance was also discussed, including existing collaboration between central banks on climate scenario analysis and stress testing, as well as capacity building and spreading awareness on climate risk and sustainable finance. At the meeting, both sides explored the scope to leverage asset management industries in favour of deeper cross-border trade and investment.


Anbarasan, AIADMK Karnataka unit presidium chairman, has been fielded for Pulikeshi Nagar (Fraser Town), a reserved constituency. All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) on Wednesday announced D Anbarasan as the party's first candidate for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections.



The AIADMK executive committee met on Sunday to discuss the prospects of contesting the election. However, the initial media reports suggested that the party will not contest the Karnataka Assembly polls and would instead support Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) as an ally. Party general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami, in a statement said that the AIADMK parliamentary board had decided to field Anbarasan as an official candidate of the party in Pulakeshi Nagar (SC) constituency coming in Bengaluru.



Anbarasan's candidature comes a day before the last date of nominations for the Karnataka Assembly slated for May 10. IANS had reported that in its executive meeting, the party decided not to contest the May 10 elections and support the BJP instead.

Also Read Karnataka Assembly Elections 2023: All you need to know about the polls Karnataka elections 2023: Modi, Shah, Nadda named BJP's star campaigners Though not a poor state, Karnataka can ill-afford election freebies Explained: Criteria for becoming national party, roles, advantages and more Tamil Nadu BJP chief accuses Stalin of corruption; DMK says political stunt Yediyurappa holds roadshow as son Vijayendra set to file nomination Karnataka Assembly elections: Ayanur Manjunath to resign as MLC, quit BJP Yadgir candidate pays Rs 10k deposit money in coins collected from voters Jagadish Shettar files nomination from Hubli-Dharwad-Central constituency Karnataka elections 2023: Modi, Shah, Nadda named BJP's star campaigners







Also Read: Karnataka elections 2023: Modi, Shah, Nadda named BJP's star campaigners According to the IANS report, citing a source, the saffron party had requested AIADMK to extend their support to them in the 2023 Karnataka polls, despite contention between them and BJP Tamil Nadu President K Annamalai. The BJP has fielded Murali from Pulakeshi Nagar.

Party symbol

Whether or not the AIADMK will be able to contest the upcoming poll on its two leaves symbol would be known in a few days.



On July 11, the general council of the AIADMK amended the party's bylaws to revert to the post of general secretary by doing away with the dual posts of coordinator and joint coordinator. The council then appointed Palaniswami as AIADMK's interim general secretary, while also expelling the former chief minister O Panneerselvam and his supporters from the party. The Delhi high court on April 12 had asked the Election Commission to decide in ten days the representation of Palaniswami to update the records with amended bylaws.



Congress However, the AIADMK had contested the Erode bypoll on two-leaves symbol in February following the Supreme Court's intervention.



Speaking to the media, Murthy said he was disappointed that his name did not appear in the candidate lists. "I am a legislator who has secured the highest number of votes. I was very disappointed when my name did not appear in any of the three lists. My constituency members and I were hurt, so I decided to resign," he said. The Congress MLA from the Pulakeshi Nagar constituency Akhanda Srinivas Murthy on Sunday tendered his resignation after his name did not appear in the first three lists of candidates by the Congress for the upcoming polls. Murthy handed over his resignation letter to Assembly Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.

The results for the Karnataka Assembly elections will be declared on May 13

In its fifth list on Wednesday, Congress fielded A C Srinivasa from the Pulakeshi Nagar.
With the political temperature rising in Karnataka for the May 10 assembly polls, the BJP has sharpened its attack on the Congress with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stating that the opposition party has shown special love for Lingayat community after the elections were announced and pursued "divide and rule policy".

BJP president JP Nadda, who was in Karnataka, also attacked the Congress and accused its leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of being "patron" of PFI.

"Former CM Siddaramaiah from Congress party withdrew cases against PFI, released 1,700 PFI activists from jail...Siddaramaiah is their patron...," Nadda said in Hubballi. The Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) in September last year.

The Congress on Tuesday announced its candidate against Chief Minister Bommai from Shiggaon. The party has fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur from the seat. The party announced seven candidates on Tuesday and fielded former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar from Hubli-Dharwad-Central.

Jagadish Shettar's resignation from BJP and his joining Congress on Monday has made Hubballi-Dharwad Central a key battle in the assembly polls. Shettar, a six-time MLA, represented the seat in the outgoing assembly and was keen to be given a ticket from the constituency.

He is the second senior leader from the Lingayat community to leave the ruling BJP and join Congress in less than a week. Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi had joined the Congress on Friday.

Also Read Cong eyes Lingayat vote bank in Karnataka with Shettar's switch from BJP Karnataka polls: CM Basavaraj Bommai files his nomination from Shiggaon Amit Shah's Karnataka visit significant for Assembly polls: CM Bommai BJP CEC meeting today to finalise candidates for Karnataka Assembly polls BJP is democratic party, not a dictatorship like Congress: Bommai Election officials check BJP TN chief Annamalai, find no violation of code Karnataka polls 2023: From Shettar to Savadi, bigshots who abandoned BJP Rahul Gandhi exudes confidence about Congress victory in Karnataka polls Amit Shah confident of BJP's win in Karnataka, says will from govt again Denying me ticket will cost 20-25 seats in Karnataka: BJP's Shettar

Basavaraj Bommai said voters from the Lingayat community "are vigilant and "have taken right decision when required".

"Lingayat voters in Karnataka are vigilant and they have always taken the right decision when required. Congress Party has shown special love for them (Lingayat) after the Assembly elections were announced but it's the same party which tried to divide the Lingayats and Veerashaivas. The people have not forgotten the divide-and-rule policy of the Congress party," Bommai told reporters.

"All those leaders who joined Congress during the election would not make any impact on the BJP's prospects. This time, the BJP will win more seats than in the 2018 Assembly polls," he added.

Nadda, who also interacted with intellectuals in Dharwad, slammed the Congress saying that the party that "divided the country for seven decades is now itself divided"

"In the 70 years of Congress (rule) there was division, division, division and only division. Divide society as much as you can-- north-south, language, caste, creed, religion. The fact is, by dividing and dividing, they themselves are divided now. BJP is unity in diversity," Nadda said.

"In Tamil Nadu, 60 years back, they (Congress) were uprooted, till then they haven't returned in the State. In kerala, they used to rule, but now they have shrunk from there too. In Karnataka, the fight is going on," Nadda said."You (Congress) were (in government) in Andhra Pradesh, in Telangana, you ruled both the States and now you have been wiped out from both the States," he added.

He also spoke of the country's development and foreign policy under the Modi government and referred to the de-hyphenation of India and Pakistan.

"Whenever any country spoke of India, it used to say 'India-Pakistan' together. Today, none of the countries mentions Pakistan, when it speaks of India. It's because India moved ahead and Pakistan remained where it was," he said.

BJP's chief is on a two-day visit to the southern state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will embark on a visit to Karnataka from April 21. He will be in Davanagere on April 21 and in Devanahalli on April 22.

Shah is expected to attend Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organisational meetings in the run-up to the polls. Sources said Shah will meet the top BJP leaders in the state and hold a core group meeting.

Shah will also chair a meeting of the Election Campaign Committee and give his inputs to the team. He is also likely to chair a meeting of the Election Management Committee.

Meanwhile, former Congress MP B V Nayak has quit the party, after being denied a ticket to Devadurga constituency. Ticket has been given to his brother's wife.
By Kim Jae-heun



Philip Morris Korea (PMK) has appointed Hannah Yun, the managing director of Philip Morris Australia, as its new head who will continue to accelerate its effort for the rapid realization of a "smoke-free future," the company said on Wednesday. Yun will take the helm at the Seoul office on May 1.





Philip Morris Korea's new managing director Hannah Yun / Courtesy of PMK
AU Small Finance Bank on Wednesday said it has received permission from Reserve Bank of India to deal in foreign exchange.

Reserve Bank of India vide its letter dated April 19, 2023 has granted Licence to act as Authorized Dealer Category-I (AD-I) under section 10 of FEMA, 1999 to deal in foreign exchange, AU Small Finance Bank said in a regulatory filing.

The permission is subject to compliance of applicable regulations, it said.

Recently, RBI approved re-appointment of Sanjay Agarwal as managing director and CEO of AU Small Finance Bank for a period of three years.

The re-appointment is valid with effect from April 19 till April 18, 2026, AU Small Finance Bank said in a statement.

Besides, it said the regulator has also cleared the re-appointment of Uttam Tibrewal as the whole-time director for a period of three years.

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A special court here is likely to pronounce its judgment on Thursday in the 2002 Naroda Gam communal riot case in which eleven persons belonging to the Muslim community were killed.

Former Gujarat minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi are among the 86 accused who are on trial in the case. Of 86 accused, 18 died in the intervening period. The court of S K Baxi, special judge for Special Investigation Agency (SIT) cases, is scheduled to pronounce the verdict against 68 accused on April 20.

Eleven persons were killed in communal violence in Naroda Gam area of Ahmedabad city on February 28, 2002, during a bandh called to protest the Godhra train burning a day before in which 58 passengers, mostly Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, were killed.

The prosecution and defence examined 187 and 57 witnesses, respectively, during the trial that started in 2010 and went on for nearly 13 years with six judges successively presiding over the case, said special prosecutor Suresh Shah. In September 2017, senior BJP leader (now Union home minister) Amit Shah appeared as a defence witness for Maya Kodnani. Kodnani had requested the court to summon him to prove her alibi that she was present in the Gujarat Assembly and later at the Sola Civil Hospital and not at Naroda Gam where the massacre took place. Among the evidence produced by the prosecution is the video of a sting operation carried out by journalist Ashish Khetan as well as call details of Kodnani, Bajrangi and others during the relevant period. When the trial started, S H Vora was the presiding judge. He was elevated to the Gujarat High Court. His successors, Jyotsna Yagnik, K K Bhatt and P B Desai, retired during the trial.

Special judge M K Dave who came next was transferred, prosecutor Shah said. "The trial (deposition of witnesses) concluded around four years ago. Arguments of the prosecution concluded and the defence was making its arguments when then special judge P B Desai retired. So arguments started afresh before judge Dave and later judge Baxi which delayed the proceedings," he said. The accused are facing charges under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), and 153 (provocation for riots), among others. The maximum punishment for these crimes is death. Kodnani, who was a minister in the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government, was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail in the Naroda Patiya riot case where 97 people were massacred. She was later discharged by the Gujarat High Court. In the present case, she has been charged with criminal conspiracy besides rioting, murder and attempted murder. The massacre at Naroda Gam was one of the nine major 2002 communal riots cases investigated by the SIT and heard by special courts.

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The Bihar government approved Rs 309 crore for soil filling and land levelling work, which would facilitate construction of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Darbhanga.

The Union government had in September 2020 granted approval for the AIIMS at Darbhanga, the second in Bihar after Patna, at an estimated cost of Rs 1,264 crore.

"An amount of Rs 309.29 crore for the construction of AIIMS on 189.17 acres of land at Darbhanga was sanctioned by the state cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. The fund will be utilised for soil filling and land levelling work," S Siddharth, Additional Chief Secretary (Cabinet Secretariat), told reporters on Tuesday.

This is a major step towards facilitating the construction of AIIMS at Darbhanga, he said.

Once operational, it will have 750 beds along with various healthcare facilities. The new AIIMS is likely to be completed within a period of 48 months from the date of start of the project.

Besides, the cabinet also approved the proposal to engage 2,832 constables, who have completed their Promotional Training Courses (PTC), for carrying out investigation at different police stations in the state.

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Apple Inc Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook on Wednesday met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the national capital. During his meeting with PM Modi, Cook stressed that the company is committed to growing and investing across the country.

Cook is on his India visit to launch the company's flagship retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi. He thanked PM Modi for the warm welcome. News agency ANI shared Cook's tweet, which read, "Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country,"



Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country. pic.twitter.com/xRSjc7u5Ip  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023







An absolute delight to meet you,  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2023 Following his tweet, Prime Minister Modi also took to Twitter and said, "An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India."An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook ! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. https://t.co/hetLIjEQEU

Earlier, when Cook was in Mumbai, he met with Bollywood celebrities like Madhuri Dixit and relished Vada Pav, a local delicacy of Maharashtra. He also met Mukesh Ambani, and N Chandrasekaran (Tata Sons chairman) ahead of the flagship store launch.





Movies & cricket serious business for Apple CEO Tim Cook's future India plans Apple is ramping up its manufacturing in India along with growing its retail presence in the country.

Apple began manufacturing iPhones in India in 2017, and since then, the company has worked with suppliers to assemble new iPhone models and produce a growing number of components.

Amid the local manufacturing push and an upcoming widespread retail store strategy, Apple shipped $7.5 billion worth of iPhones and iPads in India in FY22-23, according to CMR data accessed by IANS.

In FY23, Apple shipped more than 7 million iPhones and half a million iPads in the country, registering a 28 per cent growth for iPhone shipments, according to initial estimates provided by market intelligence firm CMR.
Lt Governor V K Saxena on Wednesday handed over appointment letters to nearly 1,500 newly recruited Delhi government employees, including 324 school principals and 500 fire fighters.

Speaking at a function organised by the Delhi government's Services Department at the Vigyan Bhawan here, Saxena congratulated the new appointees, and said a large number of posts of principals have been lying vacant since 2010-2011 and no action was taken before in this regard.

He said the recruitment process to fill up vacancies on a permanent basis will continue to remain his priority and the remaining posts will be filled up at the earliest.

The fresh permanent recruitment is in line with the prime minister's vision of ending adhocism in government departments and providing opportunities to deserving candidates selected in a transparent manner, said a statement from the LG office.

Earlier in February, the Lt Governor had provided appointment letters to more than 1,200 appointees.

The Lt Governor has been personally monitoring the recruitment process in the Delhi government since the day he took over the charge and it has resulted in nearly 15,000 fresh appointments through Delhi State Services Selection Boad (DSSSB) and the UPSC in the last 10 months, said the statement.

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Apart from education and fire services, the new appointees belonged to different departments, local bodies and autonomous agencies of the Delhi government.

Saxena said he has constantly been emphasising the need to augment the manpower in Delhi by recruitment on permanent basis against the posts lying vacant for long time.

A total of 460 appointments in Delhi government were conducted through the UPSC in a six-year period from 2017-22, while in last one year as many as 376 appointments have been made through the Commission, said the statement.

The DSSB recruited 29,101 employees from 2017 to 2002. However, in the last one year the Board did recruitment on 17,152 posts under various departments and agencies of Delhi government, added the statement.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic beginning Friday to explore bilateral engagement in new areas.

It will be Jaishankar's first visit as the external affairs minister to these countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Jaishankar will first travel to Guyana where he will hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Hugh Hilton Todd on further expansion of overall ties between the two countries.

During his visit to the country from April 21 to 23, Jaishankar will call on Guyana's leadership and interact with several ministers, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday, announcing the visit.

It said the external affairs minister will visit Panama from April 24 to 25, Colombia from April 25 to 27 and his last destination would be the Dominican Republic.

He will visit the Dominican Republic from April 27 to 29.

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"It (the visit) will provide an opportunity to continue high-level contacts with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post-pandemic scenario," the MEA said in a statement.
The G20 Research and Innovation Initiative Gathering (RIIG) Conference on Eco-Innovations for Energy Transition concluded in Dharamshala on Wednesday with a call to prioritise shifting away from fossil fuel consumption.

Twenty-nine foreign delegates and 30 Indian experts and invitees from various scientific departments and organisations of the government of India participated in the conference.

Secretary, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Dr Srivari Chandrasekhar, who chaired the meeting, gave the call for shifting away from fossil fuels.

"We are at a pivotal moment in our existence and must prioritize transitioning away from fossil fuel consumption as the potential for harnessing renewable energies is enough to meet our requirements. But capturing, converting and storing them on a large scale requires a monumental effort which can be accomplished by working together," he said, addressing the delegates.

RIIG is a new initiative of the G20 Forum which began during the Indonesian Presidency in 2022.

G20 countries and international organisations which participated in the conference included Indonesia, Turkey, the US, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, the UAE, the UK, Netherlands, France, the Netherlands, Republic of Korea, Russia, Spain, European Union and the International Solar Alliance (ISA).

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Topics such as smart energy transformation, storage and management, mission-driven research in sustainable energy transitions, policy frameworks for research and innovation in carbon-neutral energy sources and green hydrogen and cooperation among G20 members on specific thematic areas were discussed during the conference.

The next RIIG meeting will be held in Diu on the topic "scientific challenges and opportunities for a sustainable blue-economy".

RIIG Meetings will conclude with the RIIG Summit and Research Ministers meeting in Mumbai on July 5, 2023 and a joint declaration will be adopted by G20 members.
Hyundai Motor and Kia's headquarters in southern Seoul / Courtesy of Hyundai Motor Group



Hyundai Motor and its smaller affiliate Kia said Wednesday their combined vehicle sales in Europe rose 4.7 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier.



In the January-March period, Hyundai and Kia sold a total of 282,193 vehicles in Europe, up from 269,543 units a year earlier. But their combined market share fell to 8.7 percent in the European passenger car market from 9.8 percent during the same period, the companies said, citing data from the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA).



The two Korean carmakers posted a 21 percent on-year decline in electric vehicle sales at 33,831 units in Europe in the first quarter, the ACEA data showed. (Yonhap)


Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept the political pundits guessing over his next move, on Tuesday night said he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the saffron camp.

Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for "some personal work", even as his family initially claimed that he was "missing", only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the "right frame of mind".

"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda, he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening.

The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won as a saffron party candidate in the 2011 West Bengal assembly election. He, however, returned to the Trinamool Congress soon after without resigning from the House.

I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and would again be active in politics," Roy said.

He said he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC".

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Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. "He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," he said.

The drama over Roy's whereabouts evolved since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was "untraceable".

After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had "no specific agenda".

"I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said.

The former railway minister's son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was "untraceable" and "missing" since late Monday evening.

As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease".

"My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters.

Roy's son also claimed that his father had undergone "brain surgery" last month and failed to recognise even family members and close associates.

Subhrangshu claimed when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was travelling to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to de-board him, but by then, "the flight had taken off".

"The chief minister herself had called up to inquire about my father's well-being," Subhrangshu, who too had returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said.

Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra made a cryptic single word Facebook post: "Comeback".

When contacted by a news channel, Hazra said, "It's time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two days; everything will be clear very soon".

Reacting to Hazra's comments, Subhranghsu said it was an attempt to malign the TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

"This is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father's visit to New Delhi. This is an attempt to malign the TMC and our party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee," he said.

State parliamentary affairs minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics.

"I have known Mukul Roy for the last several decades. He is so ill that he doesn't recognise people and cannot complete a sentence properly. Now If the BJP wants to pursue politics by using an unwell person, we condemn such dirty politics," he said.

Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp is not interested in "inducting Roy back into the party."



Meanwhile, the Airport police station under the Bidhannagar police commissionerate questioned Pijush Kanodia, a BJP leader and once a close associate of Mukul Roy, during his stint in the saffron camp.

"Following a complaint of Mukul Roy's son, we have questioned one local leader of South Dum Dum for his alleged involvement in the matter. We have also sent a couple of officers to New Delhi to find out what has happened," a senior police official said.

Roy joined the BJP in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was made BJP national vice president in 2020.

He won from the Krishnanagar North assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 and returned to the TMC just a month after the results were announced, complaining of "ill-treatment" by the saffron party. He, however, didn't resign as an MLA.

Since his return to the TMC, he has remained away from the public glare.

Roy also resigned as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the West Bengal assembly last year, citing ill health.
The Centre has asked states to incorporate certain provisions in the contracts of outsourced workers to protect their rights amid concerns about underpayment of wages and other benefits.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment recently incorporated six statutory obligations on GeM (Government e Marketing) portal in the contract of hiring manpower through outsourcing agencies in Government of India offices in order to protect the interest of the contractual workers, a labour ministry statement said.

Of late in a letter addressed to Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all States/UTs, Union Labour Secretary Arti Ahuja has expressed concern about the underpayment of contractual workers engaged in State/UT offices through outsourcing agencies due to unauthorized deduction in wages of such workers made by the manpower hiring agencies.

Further, she also expressed concern of the delayed payment of monthly wages to such workers by the agencies and low deposit of EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and ESIC (Employees' State Insurance Corporation) contributions of the workers.

In order to avoid such exploitation to the workers engaged through outsourcing agencies in State/UT Government offices, Ahuja has advised Chief Secretaries/ Administrators of all States/UTs to incorporate certain statutory obligations in their contract so that the rights of the workers could be protected.

These obligations include mandatory contribution of EPF and ESIC by the agencies in timely manner.

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States are also asked to provide in the contract that service provider/contractor shall be responsible for paying wages to contract labour at rates not less than the minimum wages as notified by the Appropriate Government.

Another provision is that the service provider/contractor shall not make any unauthorized deductions from the wages of the contract labour.

As per the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,1970, the service provider/contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that wages are paid to the contract labour ontime, she also suggested.

The principal employer/buyer shall ensure that the wages are paid on time to the contract labour by the service provider/contractor.

In case the service provider/contractor fails to pay the wages on time or makes short payment, the principal employer/buyer shall be liable to pay the wages to the contract labour directly and recover the amount from the service provider/contractor, is another provision.

The service provider/contractor shall be responsible for paying bonus to contract labour in the manner prescribed by the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 & shall get reimbursed from the buyer, was also suggested.

The service provider/contractor shall be responsible for paying proportionate gratuity to contract labour who have rendered continuous service as per the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, was also provided.
A court in India can take cognizance of a case of domestic violence even if the alleged offence takes place in a foreign country, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held.

The court recently rejected a plea by an Indian man who claimed that a magistrate's court in Nagpur can not act on a complaint of domestic violence filed by his estranged wife because the alleged incidents had taken place in Germany.

Justice G A Sanap noted in the ruling that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) was a "social beneficial legislation", and it does not matter where the offence has taken place.

The copy of the judgement, passed on March 29, became available on Wednesday.

"...though the Domestic Violence Act extends only to the whole of India as provided under section 1 of the DV Act, the domestic violence caused on the foreign soil could also be taken cognizance of," the high court said.

In the present case, consequence of trauma, suffering and distress carried by the complainant woman when she returned to her parents would be sufficient to reject her estranged husband's claims that an Indian court would have no jurisdiction to hear the case, the judge said.

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The couple got married in 2020 after which the husband left for Germany for work. The wife joined him later.

In a complaint filed in a local court in Nagpur, she claimed that she was mentally and physically harassed by the husband in Germany and also by his parents when she was living with them in Nagpur.

She was forced to have an abortion while in Germany, she alleged.

The woman initiated criminal proceedings under the DV Act against her husband and his parents after returning to Nagpur.

The husband filed an application seeking dismissal of the proceedings on the ground that the alleged acts of domestic violence had taken place in Germany, outside the jurisdiction of any Indian court.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will embark on a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic beginning Friday to explore bilateral cooperation in new areas.

It will be Jaishankar's first visit as the external affairs minister to these countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said Jaishankar's visit to the four countries would provide an opportunity to continue high-level contacts with Latin America and the Caribbean nations and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post-pandemic scenario.

It said the minister will visit Guyana from April 21 to 23, Panama from April 24 to 25, Colombia from April 25 to 27 and the Dominican Republic from April 27 to 29.

In Guyana, Jaishankar will call on Guyana's leadership and interact with several ministers, the MEA said on Wednesday, announcing the visit.

"The external affairs minister's visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of foreign ministers in the India-COFCOR format and hold bilateral meetings with participating ministers," the MEA said in a statement.

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The Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR) is a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM))



In Panama, Jaishankar will be calling on top leadership and will be hosted by foreign minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo.

"During this visit, the India-SICA foreign ministerial meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the eight-country Central American Integration System (SICA)," the MEA said.

Jaishankar's visit to Colombia would be the first foreign ministerial-level visit from India, according to MEA.

It said he would be meeting several top representatives of the government, business and civil society of the country.

Foreign minister of Colombia Alvaro Leyva Duran and Jaishankar would review the bilateral ties in their talks, the MEA said.

The MEA said Jaishankar's visit to the Dominican Republic is the highest-level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999.

"The external affairs minister's visit takes place after the establishment of our resident embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022," it said.

Apart from calling on the country's political leadership, Jaishankar will be holding discussions with foreign minister Roberto Alvarez.

"The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. The external affairs minister is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic foreign ministry," the MEA said.

A business delegation from India, led by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), will be joining Jaishankar at business events that are planned during the course of the visit.

"These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties," the MEA said.

He will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries, it said.
UK-based Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) luxury carmaker on Wednesday announced a major investment plan of GBP 15 billion over five years, backed up by a Gigafactory planned by Indian parent company Tata Group in Europe.

JLR Chief Executive Adrian Mardell confirmed plans for the company's plant in Halewood, north-west England, to become an all-electric production facility as he reaffirmed the firm's commitment to the Reimagine strategy, which will reposition the luxury car manufacturer as an electric-first company by 2030.

He also revealed that JLR would be the anchor customer of the Tata Group's proposed Gigafactory, an announcement related to which he said is hopefully imminent.

JLR will not be building a Gigafactory; that is not within our plans. Tata will be building a Gigafactory. We are clear it's going to be in Europe. A final destination hasn't yet been chosen," Mardell told reporters at a media event in Gaydon, the company's base in the West Midlands region of England.

The important thing is our underpinning of [battery] supply is inhouse we are the anchor customer and absolutely have equity in making sure that the right decisions are made. Wherever it [factory] goes will be an optimised proposal for us, he said.

The company, which utilises the Tata Group's software capabilities in Bengaluru, and has a vehicle and assembly plant in Pune, reiterated its commitment to work closely on its synergies with the parent group.

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We, as an anchor customer [of the Gigafactory], will benefit from frictionless collaborations within our ecosystem in the Tata family. It means that we can explore and develop the latest advanced battery technologies in-house, noted Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director, Industrial Operations, at JLR a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited and part of Tata Sons.

Accelerating its electrification path by making one of its UK plants geared towards the next-generation medium-size luxury SUV architecture fully electric and moving towards a net zero carbon target by 2039, the company said it is making strides towards its financial goals of achieving a net cash-positive position by the financial year of 2025.

JLR confirmed it would start inviting applications for client orders for the modern luxury all-electric Range Rover later this year. The first of its next-generation medium-size modern luxury SUVs will be an all-electric model from the Range Rover family, launching in 2025 and built in the UK.

As a next step within the Reimagine strategy, it was revealed that JLR would move to a House of Brands approach to amplify the unique character of each of its brands Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar.

Land Rover will be transformed into a so-called "trust mark" for the Land Rover models within its luxury suite as a pillar supporting this new branding vision.

JLR's Chief Creative Officer, Professor Gerry McGovern, explained, Pivotal to our Reimagine strategy is the formation of the House of Brands, which is a natural evolution, with a purpose of elevating and amplifying the uniqueness of our characterful British marques."



Our ultimate ambition is to build truly emotionally engaging experiences for our clients that, over time, will build long-term high equity for our brands and long-term sustainability for JLR, McGovern added.

The company also announced that the first of three reimagined modern luxury Jaguars would be a 4-door GT built in Solihull in the West Midlands. With power output more than any previous Jaguar, a range of up to 700 km (430 miles), and indicative pricing from GBP 100,000, the new Jaguar will be built on JEA, its unique architecture. The design is being kept strictly under wraps for now, with more details to be released later this year before going on sale in selected markets in 2024, with deliveries slated for 2025.

With Range Rover, the original luxury SUV, available for pre-order in pure electric form later this year, and the first of three breath-taking electric reimagined Jaguar models to be launched in 2025, we are stepping into an incredibly exciting new electric era for JLR as a modern luxury business, added Mardell, who took over as CEO at the end of last year.
With a high-level BJP delegation being prevented from entering violence-hit Sambalpur, senior party leader and Union minister Dharmendra Pradhan Tuesday urged Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik to maintain raj dharma and act in a neutral manner.

Pradhan's statement came hours after the Odisha Police detained members of the delegation comprising, among others, Union Minister of State for Jal Shakti and Tribal Affairs Bisheswar Tudu, Sundergarh MP Jual Oram and BJP state president Manmohan Samal.

They were intercepted at Sripura Chhak on Jharsuguda-Sambalpur road and denied permission to move further. Later, they were taken to nearby Thelkoli police station and reportedly detained for seven hours till 7 pm.

Though Tudu left the police station after some time, the other members remained there and were released on the condition that they would not visit Sambalpur, as curfew is in place in the city, officials said.

"The BJP delegation was denied permission to enter the city because they were not abiding by the provisions under Section 144 of CrPC, Sambalpur Additional Superintendent of Police Tapan Kumar Mohanty said.

Reacting to the development, Pradhan said: I doubt if the chief minister is aware about what the police and administration are doing. I know detaining opposition delegation is unbecoming of Patnaik's mode of governance.

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I urge Patnaik to maintain raj dharma' and act in a neutral manner, he said.

Pradhan also said the administration should have the courage to listen to the opposition.

Though it has been almost a week since violence erupted in Sambalpur, the government has not been able to restore peace and the curfew continues. The violence took place because of the inefficiency of the administration, the minister alleged.

Tudu said he will raise the issue with the central government.

Meanwhile, the BJP on Tuesday said it will support the 12-hour strike call given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad to protest against the state government's anti-Hindu attitude during the Sambalpur violence.

In a statement, the Odisha BJP said the VHP and other organisations will observe a 12-hour hartal' in 14 districts, including Sambalpur, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Bargarh, Sundergarh, Bolangir, Sonepur, Boudh and Kalahandi.
A mobile library equipped with laptops, internet connectivity and a wide range of digital resources for primary students of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools was inaugurated on Wednesday.

The mobile library bus was inaugurated in the presence of the director of the municipal body's education department at an MCD school in Vishwakarma Nagar.

It has been donated by Chegg India in collaboration with SEEDS, a non-profit organisation.

"This mobile library installed on a bus will cater to primary section students of Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) schools, providing them with access to the internet and cultivating their knowledge of current affairs, history, and language with an innovative curriculum," Chegg said in a statement.

"The mobile library bus initiative is a testament to a collective commitment to innovation and accessibility in education. By partnering with SEEDS, we are empowering government school students in Delhi with interactive digital content and advanced learning tools, while inspiring others to invest in the education of India's youth," Vijay TS, managing director of Chegg India, said.

The library has digital content to enhance the students' learning capacity.

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"The bus is equipped with modern computers, internet connectivity, and a wide range of digital resources such as videos, games, and interactive tools, providing a complete learning experience for children... The initiative includes training programs for government school teachers to improve their digital teaching skills and make the most of the resources provided on the bus," Chegg said.

The idea of a mobile bus for education was with the sole intent of maximising access to digital mediums for MCD school students, says Manu Gupta, co-founder of SEEDS.
China donates water resources equipment to drought-stricken Cuba

Xinhua) 13:54, April 19, 2023

HAVANA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) on Tuesday welcomed a donation from the Chinese government to help the Caribbean island weather a severe drought.

China donated 449 pieces of equipment, including trucks, bulldozers, lighting towers, backhoe loaders, motor graders, and thermal diffusion welding machines.

Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister Ines Maria Chapman and Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Deborah Rivas witnessed the handover of the equipment at the INRH headquarters in Havana.

Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui said the donation will contribute to improving water supply in Cuban provincial capitals and communities on the outskirts of urban areas.

Antonio Rodriguez, president of the INRH, thanked the Chinese government for the donation, saying China's help has been essential for the development of water resources on the island.

"I reiterate Cuba's gratitude for China's contribution to the improvement of the living conditions of the Cuban people, in keeping with the UN guidelines," Rodriguez said.

Currently, more than 400,000 Cubans are struggling with water shortages due to the extended drought, local media reported.

According to the country's Institute of Meteorology, significant rainfall is not expected in Cuba until mid-May.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
Park Jae-yul, second from left in the front row, chairman of the civil society division of the Citizens Committee World Expo 2030, poses with Busan residents after welcoming events for the Bureau International des Expositions' delegation at Busan Station, April 4. Courtesy of Park Jae-yul



By Jung Min-ho



If citizens' enthusiasm was the most decisive factor in the race to host World Expo 2030, Busan would simply be unrivaled.



The passion demonstrated in every corner of the Korean city during the on-site inspection earlier this month by the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE), the event's governing body, left its delegation in no doubt that the people of Busan genuinely want the opportunity.



"They want it because it is their project. The people  not the central government or politicians  started the campaign in 2014 by collecting signatures, which eventually became a national project. So they understand deeply what it means to host the World Expo where they live and how important it is for them," Park Jae-yul, chairman of the civil society division of the Citizens Committee World Expo 2030, said in a recent interview.



Park was among those who organized the welcoming events at Busan Station for the BIE delegates, who were surprised upon their arrival on April 4 to meet a huge crowd gathered there.



"I was worried that this could seem artificial. But all my worries disappeared when I saw the genuine faces of the people," he said. "They were sincere. I'm sure that the delegates felt it. I felt it. It was impossible not to feel it."



From that day forward, the residents of Busan welcomed the delegation wholeheartedly. They were warmly greeted, smiled at and sometimes given high fives from those who recognized them during their visit.



In a sense, Park felt his committee has already achieved something important regardless of the outcome of the Expo bid.



"In the whole process, I felt that citizens can play a key role, perhaps the chief role, in leading a project like this. From the very beginning, citizens have led the campaign and, in doing so, I saw what their healthy partnership with the government should look like in a democracy. In that sense, it has been a meaningful and rewarding experience for me as a social activist," he said. "Now I'm more optimistic about Busan's Expo prospects than ever before."



Park, a longtime advocate of political and economic decentralization, said he began campaigning for the Expo after realizing the potential impact the event could have for that cause. He said the world exhibition would unleash the potential of Korea's biggest city in its southern area, which he believes is important for the country's balanced development.



Many countries share the concern about unbalanced development, which has created many issues such as overdevelopment across the world. With the Expo, Park hopes that Busan will help ease the Seoul-concentration problem as a city that plays a bigger, more important role. This is important not only for Korea but also for many other countries searching for examples to learn from over their similar concerns, he said.



For the hosting rights, Busan is currently competing against Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Ukraine's Odesa and Italy's Rome. Openly supported by China, Belarus and Cuba among several others, the Saudi capital has been considered as the strongest contender.



The results of their inspections are going to be compiled in official reports, which the BIE member states will review when deciding which bidder to support. The candidate cities will give their fourth round of presentations in June and their final ones in November in Paris at the BIE General Assembly, during which the winner will be decided by secret ballot.




A Central government institute on Wednesday decided to set up water clinics in the coastal region of Kerala to ensure regular and large-scale water quality checks in the wake of a recent study that found an alarming level of E coli contamination in the Vembanad lake.

Some strains of the E coli bacteria can cause serious food poisoning.

The ICAR-Central Marine Fisheries Research Institute (CMFRI) said it would set up water clinics in the coastal region of the state to maintain the quality of drinking water resources.

"At a time when climate change continues to fuel storm surges and resulting coastal flooding, the proposed clinics are aimed at assessing the quality of drinking water resources in coastal communities," said Dr A Gopalakrishnan, Director of CMFRI.

He was speaking at an awareness workshop on climate change among the fishermen residing in Chellanam and Puthuvypu in Ernakulam district held at CMFRI.

"The new initiative is in line with the 'One Health' concept that aims to achieve optimal health for people, aquatic animals and plants, and the environment.

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In continuation of the existing research project to understand the extent of pathogenic Vibrio pollution in Vembanad, the Water Clinics are expected to maintain the quality of the drinking water resources in the region, thereby preventing the spread of waterborne diseases in the community," Gopalakrishnan said.

Vibrio is a water-borne bacterium of a group that includes some pathogenic kinds that cause cholera, gastroenteritis, and septicaemia.

Emulating the success model of the 'Citizen Science' initiative for the Vembanad research project, the participation of students will be ensured to conduct water quality checks on a large-scale in the coastal region with the support of a mobile application, he said.

In order to set up the Water Clinics, the CMFRI will collaborate with the Nansen Environmental Research Centre, Kochi, the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO), the Public Health Department and other agencies, Gopalakrishnan added.

While sharing their experience of the impact of climate change, the fishermen pointed to the increased frequency and intensity of coastal flooding that wreaks havoc on their daily lives and aquaculture practices.

They also expressed concern over the evidently visible environmental disturbances in water bodies, such as sedimentation and obstructed water flow, as well as the growing incidence of disease outbreaks among aquaculture farms.

Dr C Ramachandran who moderated the discussion said fishermen were the most vulnerable to the impact of climate change.

The awareness workshop was organised by the National Innovations in Climate Resilient Agriculture (NICRA) research project of the CMFRI.

In an effort to minimise the losses caused by climate change on the coastal communities, the CMFRI provided climate aid to 24 fisher families belonging to the SC community residing in Chellanam and Puthuvypu, on the occasion, a CMFRI release said.

As part of this, implements such as fishing nets, freezers, ice boxes, motor pump sets, fish seeds and feeds etc worth Rs 2.5 lakh were distributed among the fishermen under the Scheduled Caste Sub-Plan (SCSP) programme of the NICRA project of the institute.


In South India, theatrical revenues would contribute to 60 per cent and non-theatrical rights, to 40 per cent, pre-Covid-19. This changed to 43 per cent for theatrical and 57 per cent for non-theatrical revenues in 2022. During the year, of the 1,691 films released in the country in 14 major languages, 916 films, or 54 per cent were released in South Indian languages. Films made in Telugu, Tamil, Kannada and Malayalam outclassed those made in all other Indian languages in India in 2022, accounting for 54 per cent of all releases and 52 per cent, Or Rs 7,800 crore, of the overall revenue pie of Rs 15,000 crore. This was revealed in a report released by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) on Wednesday.



The market correction will happen in 2023 and then it is expected to grow well in 2024 on that corrected base. Overall, despite no biggies like RRR, KGF 2 or Kantara expected in 2023, the southern region is still expected to maintain its 2022 revenues in 2023 at around Rs 7800 crore, said the report, titled South India  Setting Benchmarks for the Nation. Interestingly, the South Indian film industry is expected to sustain the momentum in 2023, despite a likely dip in revenues in the Kannada industry. Tamil films, on the other hand, are expected to maintain the momentum and post 15 per cent growth. However, with little chance in 2023 of another pan-India film like RRR, the Telugu film industry is looking at a marginal growth of 5 per cent. Malayalam films are expected to remain buoyant, while Kannada film revenues may decline as the industry does not foresee another KGF 2 or a Kantara being released this year.



As per the report, India as a country has 8,700 screens as of 2022, and out of them, 4,216 screens, or 48 percent of the screens are in only five Southern states. The potential is much higher as these 4,216 screens amount to 16 screens per million population. Even if the region achieves 20 screens per million population, the Southern region should reach 5,500 screens, the report added. Domestic theatrical (theatrical revenue share from each of the states for that language) contributes to 27 per cent, followed closely by Digital/OTT rights at 24 per cent. Such is the importance and command that Digital/OTT rights have over the overall revenues of South Indian film industry, the report said. Satellite rights follow at 17 percent, Hindi dubbing rights at 14 percent, Other states theatrical revenues at 9 percent, overseas rights at 7 percent and music rights at 2 percent contribute to the rest.

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Days after a misleading and tailored clip of the Dalai Lama went viral to smear his image, the 87-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader on Wednesday reached Delhi to attend the two-day meeting of the Global Buddhist Summit, beginning Thursday, in the national capital to be inaugurated and addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the Tibetans in exile, Prime Minister Modi's presence at the Buddhist summit has given rise to the pious hope of his meeting with the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in northern India for over six decades.

The expectation stems from the fact that Modi had only spoken with the Dalai Lama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday in July 2021 and wished him a long and healthy life.

The Indian functionalities see the probable meeting -- the first publicly with the globetrotting aging Buddhist monk, feted by some of the world's top leaders, since he took over as Prime Minister in 2014, can be seen in the context to send a stern warning amid relations between India and China worsening in the recent times and in a strategic shift that India is behind the Dalai Lama for any decision he takes on his reincarnation.

Also India will try to signal to the US the intent to raise the profile of the Tibet issue at a time when the US administration passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act in 2020, making it clear that only the Dalai Lama should have control over his reincarnation, not complying with China's laws to impose its sanctioned successor.

Last month Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Penpa Tsering, who is the head of Tibet's government-in-exile, testified virtually at the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China's hearing, highlighting small and large-scale repression that is deliberately intended to annihilate the foundation of Tibetan culture and national identity.

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The Indian leaders and officials have generally been cautious about public contact with Tibet's spiritual leader to avoid upsetting Beijing, who regards the spiritual leader as a dangerous "splittist", or separatist, and frowns on any engagement with any political leader.

Tibetan leaders in Dharamsala are now hopeful of the Dalai Lama-Modi meeting with the CTA headed by democratically elected Penpa Tsering clarifying in 2021 that His Holiness is expected to meet Modi after the Covid-19 situation stablises.

The Dalai Lama, or Ocean of Wisdom, is the leading spiritual figure bringing Buddhist teachings to the international community.

The elderly monk, known for his simplicity and jovial style, prefers to participate in meetings with religious leaders, and lectures businessmen on ethics for the new millennium and the art of happiness. He chuckles throughout his talk and often slaps visitors on the back.

The Dalai Lama is the recipient of over 150 global awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, UN Environment Award, US Congressional Gold Medal, John Templeton Award, among others.

In India, he several times met with the BJP leaders, including party veterans -- former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Presidents Ram Nath Kovind and Pranab Mukherjee, and Congress leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

At an event in January 2016 to celebrate the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday, Singh referred to His Holiness as a gift of God to the world.

According to a post by the CTA, the Global Buddhist Summit will bring together prominent scholars, Sangha leaders, and Dharma practitioners from across the globe to discuss pressing global issues, including peace, environmental sustainability, health, preservation of Nalanda Buddhist tradition, and the significance of Buddha Dharma pilgrimage and Buddha relics as a foundation for India's cultural ties to countries in South, Southeast, and East.

Union Culture Minister G.K. Reddy said the global summit will also be a medium to enhance the cultural and diplomatic relationships with other countries. He said delegates from almost 30 countries will participate in it and around 171 delegates from foreign countries and 150 delegates Indian Buddhist organisations.

Earlier, the Ministry of Culture along with the IBC, headquartered in New Delhi, held an international meet of experts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) nations on Shared Buddhist Heritage in order to re-establish trans-cultural links, seek out commonalities, between Buddhist art of Central Asia, art styles, archaeological sites and antiquity in various museums' collections of the SCO countries.

On March 31, 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama entered India from Chutangmu, a small Assam Rifles outpost near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

In his biography, the Dalai Lama mentioned that when he first stepped into India after escaping Lhasa, he experienced "freedom".

In Mussoorie on April 20, 1959, the spiritual leader met with first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the two talked about rehabilitating the Tibetan refugees.

Currently, 130,000 Tibetans in exile live in many countries around the world in both compact and scattered communities. About 80,000 are settled in 54 different locations across India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Around 50,000 are scattered across many countries in the West.

With the exception of Tibetans in Tibet, all Tibetans are administered by the CTA from Dharamsala.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)

--IANS

vg/svn/


The authorities said that Pernod Ricard had not fulfilled the conditions for granting an L-1 licence under the Delhi Excise Act, 2009. The excise department of the government of the national capital territory of Delhi had last week decided not to renew the sales licence of Pernod Ricard. The Delhi government has rejected applications for renewing the liquor sale licence of three liquor firms and distributors, Pernod Ricard, Brindco and IndoSpirits. This comes after the Delhi Excise Department charged these companies with corruption and cartelisation while implementing the now-scrapped Delhi Excise Policy 2021-22.



Pernod Ricard India, in a statement, said it will "challenge through the due process the recent decision" by the excise authorities to deny this operating licence. An application from Pernod Ricard was received in September 2022 and was not accepted then. Following this, the liquor major went to the court, which directed the excise department to formally take a decision. That application has now been rejected, news agency PTI reported.



Earlier, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) had arrested Pernod Ricard's executive Benoy Babu in November last year in the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy-related money laundering case. Pernod Ricard has the right to appeal against the order before the higher authorities or take a legal course.

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Regarding Babu, the trial court had said the oral and documentary evidence suggested he was the brain behind the decision taken by the accused company, Pernod Ricard, for furnishing corporate guarantees of Rs 200 crore for the loans availed by other members of the cartel from HSBC Bank. The trial court had denied bail to Babu and other accused in the case. The bail matter is still pending before the Delhi High Court.



In March, former Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was arrested by the ED in connection with the Delhi liquor policy. He is still in jail. Last week, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in connection with the policy. The Delhi government decided in November 2021 to exit the liquor vending business and hand it over to private companies. However, in August 2022, it reverted to the old policy. According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), the new policy promoted cartelisation and exorbitant retail and wholesale margins.

Which liquor brands will not be available in Delhi? Blender's Pride

Glenlivet

Chivas Regal

Jameson

Johnnie Walker

Jack Daniel's

Jacob's Creek

Absolut Vodka

100 Pipers

Ballantine's

Royal Stag

Smirnoff

Jacob's Creek

Beefeater

Monkey 47

What is the alleged Delhi liquor scam?



Home delivery of liquor was also allowed under this policy. The shops were also allowed to stay open till 3 AM. The vendors were free to offer discounts. As a result of the policy, the Delhi government reported a 27 per cent jump in revenue income to Rs 8,900 crore. In 2021, the Delhi government introduced a new excise policy for liquor. Under the policy, the state government allowed private vendors and shops to sell liquor. The main aim was to improve customer experience and stop black marketing.



It said that undue benefits were given to certain vendors while granting licenses. The vendors allegedly paid bribes for it. However, before the policy could be fully implemented, it had to be examined by chief secretary Naresh Kumar. In July 2022, Kumar submitted the report to Lt Governor Vinai Kumar Saxena, accusing Sisodia of providing undue benefits to liquor licensees as kickbacks and commissions. The report further alleged that the funds were used by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the Punjab Assembly elections in February last year.



Saxena asked the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to probe the issue. Soon, Sisodia announced that the policy would be cancelled because the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was using investigating agencies it controls to intimidate vendors. The report also alleged that Sisodia gave undue benefits to liquor licensees by revising the rates of foreign liquor and removing the levy of an import pass fee of Rs 50 per case of beer.
As India became the world's most populous country, experts said women should not be blamed for the country's growing population and asserted that gender equality and greater bodily autonomy will act as key determinants for a sustainable future.

According to the latest data provided by the United Nations, India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people.

Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, said women should not be held responsible for the surge in population.

"Whether they wish to have children or not, when to have them, and how many are really their right - nobody else's. Families, governments, and policy-makers or society have no right to take decisions on their behalf.

"Women's autonomy over their bodies cannot be determined by policies driven by population trends - incentivising women to have more children if the population is declining, or controlling their fertility if the population is rising," she said, pointing out that regardless of population dynamics and changing fertility trends, what remains unchangeable is women's right over their fertility and lives.

Women, according to the World Bank, account for 48 per cent of India's population. According to National Family Health Survey-5 data, nearly one out of every four women in India is married before turning 18. The figure also indicates towards the prevalence of child marriage in the country pegged at 23 per cent higher than the world average of 21 per cent.

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One such child bride is Chaaya Devi.

Married at the age of 12, Devi dreamt of a better future for her firstborn. She wanted her daughter to become a doctor, which, however, changed after she had two more children.

"Children are god's gift but what if you don't have money to raise them? It leaves your other children in the constant state of suffering, too," said the 25-year-old, who works as a domestic help in Noida and is currently expecting her fourth child.

"I consulted a government hospital doctor but she scolded me for getting pregnant again. What she does not understand is that my consent is never taken, she said.

Her situation is not unique, millions of women in India share Devi's ordeal due to societal and family pressure and stigma around contraceptives and abortion.

According to NFHS-5 survey, in 2019-20, only 1.7 per cent of women from the lowest wealth quintile chose abortion as compared to those in middle and highest wealth quintile at 3.2 and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

It also suggested that women with 10-11 years of education were more likely to opt for abortion than those who never went to school.

Shyamal Santra, Lead of Public Health and Nutrition at Transform Rural India Foundation said it is possible that the lower reported rates of abortion among lower-middle-class individuals in India could be influenced by a variety of factors, including limited access to healthcare, cultural or religious beliefs, or a lack of awareness about reproductive healthcare options.

Andrea Wojnar, Representative UNFPA India and Country Director Bhutan on State of the World Population Report (SWOP) 2023 said ensuring gender equality, empowerment and advancing greater bodily autonomy for women and girls-is one of the key determinants of a sustainable future.

Individual rights and choices should be respected, and all should be able to decide when to have children, if any, and how many. Women and girls should be at the centre of sexual and reproductive policies and programmes," she said.

Adopting a life cycle' approach, where girls and women are empowered at every stage of their lives, gender-responsive work arrangements (for both men and women) that enable women to continue engagement in decent work opportunities in the long run, reducing barriers within the workplace, and improved access to finance will allow women and girls to pursue their lifetime aspirations and harness their untapped potential, Wojnar said.

Seema Bhaskaran, Lead-Gender at NGO Transform Rural India Foundation, said, Adolescents and young women are only infused with patriarchal values of virginity and the sanctity of the vagina and linking it to the honour of the family. This leads to a sense of secrecy and shame about the body, menstruation, fertility, and reproductive rights."



Talking about the situation in rural India, she said sexual abuse of adolescents and young women is high in rural areas of India and the girl child is subjected to severe trauma and risk to life as they bear children as unwed mothers.

Acording to Muttreja, India needs to continue working towards improving equitable and universal access to reproductive health services, including family planning services so that women and men have the freedom to lead their lives the way they want to.

At the same, India needs to educate young people - especially girls - and make sure that they are employed rather than married first. Young people must be equipped with the right education and professional skills to contribute productively to the workforce and subsequently to national development, she added.


The big four are best known for their accounting and audit services globally. However, with time, they have added several more services to their work. Deloitte, EY (Ernst & Young), KPMG, and PwC (PricewaterhouseCoopers), the "big four" accounting firms, maintain a formidable presence in India, and it is expected to grow further in the future, thanks to their expansion into various domains and primarily into technology services, The Times of India (TOI) has said in a report.



Deloitte and EY have about 100,000 employees in India. This is 25 per cent of their global employee strength. PwC has around 50,000 employees on its rolls, and KPMG employs more than 40,000 people in India. These companies now provide professional services in domains like management consulting, corporate finance, legal services, etc. However, the most interesting addition to their portfolio has been technology services. To support this arm of their business, they have hired a lot of technology professionals from India.



Most of the hiring for technology services happened in the past few years when there was an unprecedented rise in demand and a massive spending surge in global technology spending. In the case of Deloitte and PwC, more than 50 per cent of their employees in India work in the technology services domain. For EY and KPMG, about a third of their employees in India work in technology services, the TOI report said.

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Expansion plans

Deloitte plans to add another 50,000 employees to support its technology services arm in the next three years, the newspaper reported. Their soaring interest in technology services has now placed these traditional accounting firms in direct competition against established IT services firms, which include both Indian and foreign names.



Thus, the consulting team advises clients about the business plan, and the tech team helps with the systems that will add value to the business. President of Deloitte South Asia, Satish Gopalaiah, was quoted in the report as saying, "Clients come to us saying they want to transform the organisation. They want us to tell them what their business plan should look like and how it can be implemented best. So, we work with these companies from end to end."
Also Read TVS Motor Q2 net up 59% to Rs 373 cr amid slowdown, inflation roadblocks TVS Motor sales up by 2% in October, sells over 300,000 units TVS Motor outperforms two-wheeler peers Hero, Bajaj in Sept quarter Two-wheeler sales rise in Nov at most manufacturers on last year's low base Bank stocks can slide more; stay away for now: Analysts Equities, other risk assets face hit as $800 bn stimulus to fade, says Citi Chola Fin, IDFC: 5 NBFC stocks to invest for short-to-medium term gain Fixed broadband may trigger next leg of growth for RJio, Airtel: Analysts BEML Land Assets freezes at 5% lower circuit post stock market debut Metal shares gain in subdued market; Jindal Steel, Tata Steel soar up to 4%

Shares of TVS Motor Company hit a record high of Rs 1,184.65, as they rallied 3 per cent on the BSE in Wednesday's intra-day trade on healthy demand outlook. The stock surpassed its previous high of Rs 1,177, touched on October 19, 2022. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 0.18 per cent at 59,620 at 11:30 AM.In the past one month, TVS Motor has outperformed the market by surging 13 per cent, as compared to 3.6 per cent rise in the S&P BSE Sensex, and 7 per cent rally in the S&P BSE Auto index.On Monday, April 17, TVS Motor Company launched the TVS NTORQ 125 Race Edition at the Makina Auto Show in Philippines. TVS NTORQ 125 Race Edition comes with TVS SmartXonnectTM that lets the rider connect their smartphone to the scooter, unlocking a host of smart connected features. These can be accessed through an advanced fully digital instrument cluster that is loaded with 60 plus features.The Management expects to grow ahead of industry, both in domestic and international markets, with a strong brand portfolio that includes Apache, Raider, Jupiter, NTORQ, HLX Series, Radeon, Ronin, TVS King, and EV TVS iQube. Further, given the improved chip availability, management expects higher production of premier products. Management expects better operating leverage, increased premiumisation owing to a smoother supply of semiconductors, and a continued focus on cost reduction to support further Ebitda margin gains in Q4FY23.On the exports front, the company believes that external risks have peaked in October-December quarter (Q3) and the macro situation should brighten in January-March quarter (Q4), analysts at BoB Capital Markets said in a result update.The brokerage firm believes the focus on premiumisation would safeguard margins, and any easing of raw material cost will offer added cushioning. TVS Motor will continue to beat industry growth as high-end EV/traditional segment launches will further rejuvenate the portfolio, it added.TVS Motor had announced strategic engagement with Amazon India to strengthen electric mobility, electric infrastructure and connected services and strengthening its commitment to achieving net-zero carbon."Volume growth is likely to be driven by a recovery in the domestic 2W market, new products (Raider and Ronin) and a ramp-up in exports. TVS Motor is enjoying the benefits of economies of scale and operating leverage, resulting in consistent double-digit EBITDA margin. However, TVS Motor earns ~40 per cent of its overall EBITDA from the domestic scooter business, making it most vulnerable to EV disruption," analysts at Cholamandalam Securities had said in their Q3 result update.
India has received an unfavourable ruling at the World Trade Organization (WTO) in a case brought by several of its trading partners about Customs duties imposed by the government on the import of telecommunications equipment, including mobile phone handsets. India was originally taken to the dispute resolution panel of the WTO by the European Union (EU) after Brussels determined that the duties of 20 per cent on mobile phones, for example, breached existing agreements. Other major partners and participants in the supply chain, including Japan and Taiwan, subsequently joined the EU in its complaint. The WTO tribunal determined that the ordinary Customs duties were above those set forth and provided in Indias WTO Schedule. Indias case rested on various technical grounds about the updating of the product designations in the various schedules. However, there is little doubt  especially given the timing of complaints about this updating, and other

Or
Sudanese army soldiers, loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, display weapons after they seized a military base of their rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Khartoum, Sudan, April 18. UPI-Yonhap



Fighting raged in Sudan on Tuesday hours after an internationally brokered truce was supposed to have come into effect, as forces loyal to dueling generals battled for key locations in the capital and accused each other of violating the cease-fire.



The humanitarian truce came after days of intense efforts by top diplomats on four continents and had raised hopes of sparing Africa's third largest country from civil war. But each side still appeared determined to vanquish the other, despite the suffering of millions of civilians trapped by the fighting.



Residents said they still heard gunfire and explosions in different parts of the capital, Khartoum, particularly around the military's headquarters and the Republican Palace. They said few people had ventured out, though there were crowds outside some bakeries.



"The fighting remains underway," Atiya Abdulla Atiya of the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate told The Associated Press. "We are hearing constant gunfire."



Sudanese in the capital and in other cities have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as rival forces pounded residential areas with artillery and airstrikes and engaged in gun battles outside. Residents say dead bodies in the streets are unreachable because of clashes, with the toll likely to be far higher than the 185 dead reported by the U.N. since fighting began Saturday.



The conflict between the armed forces, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has once again derailed Sudan's transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.



Pro-democracy groups and political parties had recently reached an agreement with the two generals  who jointly led a 2021 coup  but it was never signed and is now in tatters.



The RSF immediately accused the military of violating the cease-fire after it came into effect at 6 p.m. local time (1600 GMT). The army said the "rebellious militia" continued its attacks around the military headquarters and launched a failed attack on a military base to the south.



Atiya said the Fadil Hospital in Khartoum was hit by shelling after the truce took effect, damaging a medical gas pipeline and water systems. It's one of at least 12 hospitals in and around the capital that have been forced to shut down because of the fighting, out of a total of around 20.



The U.S. Embassy said late Tuesday that there has been "ongoing" fighting in Khartoum and surrounding areas, and advised Americans in Sudan to shelter in place. It said there were no immediate plans for a government-coordinated evacuation.





Satellite image shows a closer view of a burning building at the Merowe Airbase, Sudan, April 18. Reuters-Yonhap
In other views:



One of the most anticipated components of the Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund in Washington DC this year was a global sovereign debt roundtable meant to revitalise the under-performing system to restructure public debt. This is because the world is going through a severe sovereign debt crisis, and one which the international financial architecture has by and large failed to effectively address. In this context, ournotes that Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has prioritised the reform of sovereign debt restructuring as part of the Finance Track in Indias G20 presidency. This is wise prioritisation, and an equitable and efficient solution to the problem would be seen as a big achievement of the presidency. Read
The US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Chair Lina Khan has warned that modern AI technologies like ChatGPT can be used to "turbocharge" fraud.

In a Congressional hearing to protect consumers from fraud and other deceptive practices, Khan and fellow commissioners warned House representatives of the risks involved with AI technologies.

"AI presents a whole set of opportunities, but also presents a whole set of risks," Khan told the House representatives.

"I think we've already seen ways in which it could be used to turbocharge fraud and scams. We've been putting market participants on notice that instances in which AI tools are effectively being designed to deceive people can place them on the hook for FTC action,a she stated.

Khan also warned that AI's ability to turbocharge fraud should be considered a "serious concern," reports TechCrunch.

The agency launched a new Office of Technology (OT) in February with the goal of supporting the agency's law enforcement and policy work by offering in-house technical expertise.

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OpenAI's ChatGPT may lead to aid scammers and create new mobile threats.

AI-driven ChatGPT, that gives human-like answers to questions, is also being used by cyber criminals to develop malicious tools that can steal your data.

The first such instances of cybercriminals using ChatGPT to write malicious codes were recently spotted by Check Point Research (CPR) researchers.

In a bizarre incident, AI chatbot ChatGPT, as part of a research study, recently falsely named an innocent and highly-respected law professor in the US on the list of legal scholars who had sexually harassed students in the past.

Jonathan Turley, Shapiro Chair of Public Interest Law at George Washington University, was left shocked when he realised ChatGPT named him as part of a research project on legal scholars who sexually harassed someone.

"ChatGPT recently issued a false story accusing me of sexually assaulting students," Turley had posted in a tweet.

Brian Hood, regional mayor of Hepburn Shire in Australia, also threatened to sue OpenAI if the Microsoft-owned company doesn't correct false information about him.

ChatGPT reportedly named Hood as a convicted criminal, involved in a past and real bribery scandal at Australia's Reserve Bank (RBA).

--IANS

na/ksk/
I would like to express my deep condolences to the victims and their families, said Li Zongrong, a vice director of the capitals Fengtai district, as well as apologies to the residents of the city.

The death toll was confirmed Wednesday afternoon at a press briefing held by Beijing local government officials. Initial investigations suggested the incident was caused by construction work, as police detained a dozen people  including the head of the hospital.

Initial media reports about the fire were scant. The official Xinhua News Agency and the Beijing Daily didnt publish articles until late Tuesday evening, several hours after the blaze had been extinguished. Footage of the fire was also censored on social media at first.

The deadly blaze erupted at the hospitals inpatient department Tuesday afternoon at the Changfeng Hospital in the heart of Beijing, less than seven miles away from Tiananmen Square.

A fire at a hospital in Beijing killed at least 29 patients, leading to the arrest of 12 people and prompting public anger after initial mentions of the incident were censored.

Video that has been deleted off WeChat shows the back of the Beijing Changfeng Hospital. Patients climbing down from ropes made of sheets, others perched on AC compressors. pic.twitter.com/77dHCqyGJX  Elizabeth Law  (@lizzlaw_) April 18, 2023

The handling of information about the fire has sparked outrage in China. Absent official reports in the hours after the incident, footage and photos of the fire initially spread rapidly on the Twitter-like Weibo service and the popular WeChat messaging app. One post showed patients climbing out of the smoking building with improvised ropes made from bed sheets.

Those images, though, were quickly scrubbed. Xinhuas late evening report, meanwhile, contained only a few sentences, saying that firefighters found out about the blaze at 12:57 p.m. local time and put it out by 1:33 p.m. It placed the initial death toll at 21 people and said another 71 patients had been evacuated and sent to other facilities.

Multiple calls to the hospital Wednesday went unanswered, while its website and that of its parent company, Beijing Changfeng Hospital Co., appeared to be down.

China Securities Co., the companys broker-dealer on the National Equities Exchange and Quotations, said Wednesday it had failed to establish contact with relevant personnel at the organization after the blaze, according to a filing. The exchange is an over-the-counter marketplace for small firms, where the hospital company is listed.

Difficult to Understand



It is really difficult to understand, read one censored post on dissident-run tracking site Freeweibo.com, which reposts items that have been deleted on Weibo.

Hospitals have relatively stronger safety management and precautionary measures, and Beijing is our countrys first-tier city. How could such a large-scale fire lead to so many deaths?

The user said the fire had echoes of a deadly blaze in Xinjiang last year that spurred public outcry over the countrys stringent Covid Zero policy. Online posts at the time questioned whether lockdowns to prevent coronavirus had delayed rescue efforts.

Even Hu Xijin, the former editor-in-chief of the Communist Party-backed Global Times, was caught in the censorship dragnet.

A Weibo post from Hu called for authorities to trust the public with information on the incident and criticized the removal of other posts. Hus post, too, was eventually taken down.

A later post from Hu on Weibo that expressed shock at the fire and called for more information on the incident to be disclosed remained online.

By Tuesday evening, the restrictions on information appeared to be easing.

State media outlets began publishing reports on the fire around 9 p.m. after online users questioned why the topic wasnt appearing on trending search lists. Those users also wondered why there was such a lengthy delay in reporting the number of deaths.

A hashtag created to share information about the fire, #Fire at Beijing Changfeng Hospital that killed 21, did not reflect any data on Weibo as of Wednesday morning. But a differently-worded hashtag created later that didnt state the hospitals name showed over 6.2 million views of the topic.


It would likely cost more than $130 billion a year to end deforestation by the end of this decade, according to a report from a group of financiers, energy industry executives and academics. By Alastair Marsh



Financing forest preservation requires a different approach to investing in the decarbonization of heavy industry or energy systems, according to Adair Turner, the former City of London finance regulator who now chairs the ETC. Instead of the regular debt and equity financings that are used to electrify the power grid or develop new green steel plants, avoiding deforestation requires a different category of financial flow, namely paying somebody not to do something without expecting a direct rate of return, he said in an interview. The Energy Transitions Commission, which counts senior BP Plc and BlackRock Inc. employees among its members, said the analysis is a first-of-its-kind estimate of how much funds would be needed to overcome the economic incentive to cut down trees. The forecast is based on an analysis of the volume of grants or other forms of so-called concessional finance that would be needed to pay landowners not to deforest.

There also may be financial benefits to companies that protect forests and other natural ecosystems such as higher credit ratings, according to research from Bank of America Corp. analysts. The three most likely sources for these grant-based funds are governments that allocate money to protect forests, philanthropic actors and carbon credits, Turner said. For companies that have set science-based net zero goals, buying carbon credits on the way to net zero can be an important method for supporting forest conservation, he said.

Also Read BlackRock's assets seen topping $15 tn in 5 years' time: Morgan Stanley Karnataka, Gujarat make most progress in clean energy transition: Report World slips on deforestation, loses cover equal to Ireland's area in 2021 Plenty of scope to generate and sell carbon credits in India: IEX CMD COP27: Carbon credit revival a likely boon for developing nations Latest Live news: Earthquake of 4.6 magnitude hits Indonesia's Bengkulu Netflix to bring down the curtain on its revolutionary DVD-by-mail service Pakistan's Defence Ministry moves SC to seek 'simultaneous elections' JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon to be deposed in Epstein's sexual abuse case Disney poised to eliminate thousands of jobs next week to cut annual costs



Putting an end to deforestation would be a major step to preserving nature and limiting the increase in global temperatures. Deforestation, which involves clearing land for farms, ranches, timber, urban use and other activities, is responsible for almost 15% of the worlds CO2 emissions, and the global economy wont reach net zero carbon emissions without putting an end to the practice. Businesses with lower biodiversity risk scores are likely to be rated BBB+ or higher, while those that take measures to restore nature also may face lower financing costs, the banks ESG strategists led by Dimple Gosai wrote in a report published last week. Biodiversity is a large driver of financial stability for companies in the energy, materials and commodity-orientated industries, they said.



In either case, the order of magnitude is so far in excess of current financing for forest protection, which ETC puts at about $3 billion a year. Financial solutions to deforestation will be nothing more than a stopgap without changing the underlying forces that make deforestation economically viable, Turner said. Consumers need to take action by curtailing their demands for meat and palm oil, while governments should outlaw deforestation and enforce it. Still, finding sufficient funds will be difficult, according to ETC. The Commission said the $130 billion number represents a sum of money, in the form of grant payments, that could make an important contribution to avoiding deforestation. The cost of putting a permanent stop to all deforestation by 2030 could be as much as $900 billion a year.
The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on Wednesday, said that instead of fixating on the impact of the soaring population in the world, the world should pay attention to women's reproductive rights to shore up demographic resilience.

This comes after the UN's Sexual and reproductive health agency on Wednesday officially announced that the world population has crossed the eight billion mark. Concerns have also been flagged over the size of the world population, which is expected to peak around 10.4 billion during the 2080s

According to the news agency AFP, UNFPA urged that the focus should be on giving women more power and control as to when and how they wish to have children.

UNFPA chief Natalia Kanem, said, "The question is: 'Can everyone exercise their fundamental human right to choose the number and spacing of their children?'. Sadly, the answer is a resounding no." She further added that "44 per cent, almost half of the women, are unable to exercise bodily autonomy. Unable to make choices about contraception, healthcare, and whether or with whom to have sex. And globally, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended."

She also said that while nations with the highest fertility rates contribute the least to global warming, they tend to suffer the most from its impact.

According to a flagship 'State of World Population' UN report, the world's population is too big a commonly-held view. However, UNFPA said that breaching the eight billion mark should be a reason to celebrate since it is a milestone that represents historic advances for humanity in medicine, science, health, agriculture, and education.

India overtakes China

Earlier today, UNFPA shared 'The State of World Population Report', 2023, which showed that India's population has reached 1.428 billion while China's stands at 1.425 billion.

UN projections estimate that the country's population is expected to grow for the next three decades after which it will begin declining.
By Kelsey Butler

Alphabet Inc.s Google hit a goal for diversifying its leadership three years ahead of schedule.





The latest data show that Black people make up 5.2% of leadership, up from 2.6% in 2020. Hispanic and Latinx workers make up 4.3% of top roles, up from 3.7% in 2020; for Native American employees those figures are 0.8% in 2023 and 0.5% in 2020. The company met its commitment of boosting leadership representation for underrepresented minorities by 30% in 2022, according to its annual diversity report out on Wednesday. In 2020, Google said it wanted to hit that benchmark by 2025.



The latest data doesnt account for workers lost in job cuts announced earlier this year. Widespread layoffs across the tech industry have hit diversity, equity and inclusion teams particularly hard and threatened company pledges to boost underrepresented groups in their ranks. The company created new onboarding initiatives for Black, Latinx and Indigenous staff at Google in an effort to improve retention rates, according to the report, which did not outline how it defines leadership.

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Black people and other people of color have long highlighted a lack of diversity in Silicon Valley. This was amplified in the wake of George Floyds murder in 2020, after which Google announced a raft of equity commitments. The previous year, the companys investors demanded the company reform racial and gender diversity following a massive walkout by employees. Of the largest technology companies, 94% underrepresented Latinx employees and 82% underrepresented Black workers in top jobs, according to a 2020 analysis by job-seeker firm BeamJobs. Black people make up at least 12% of the US population but only 8% of workers in the tech sector, according to a 2023 report by McKinsey & Co.



Google is now considering revising its target, according to Chief Diversity Officer Melonie Parker. The tech firms concerted effort to diversify management comes as it continues to face accusations of racial discrimination. Google is being sued by a former employee who alleged the company is systematically paying White employees more than their minority counterparts.
Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel on Wednesday was airlifted to India for treatment after he was admitted to a hospital here for the second time within a month after he complained of shortness of breath, his press aide said.

Paudel, 78, was admitted to TU Teaching Hospital here on Tuesday. A preliminary investigation has revealed that he had a chest infection.

President Paudel will undergo treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (AIIMS), New Delhi, the aide said.

Kiran Pokharel, the press adviser to the President, said that the President was medevacked to India in an air ambulance around 10.30 am on Wednesday.

He was accompanied by his son Chintan Paudel and others.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka, among other leaders, visited him to inquire about his health condition.

Also Read Catching coronavirus again increases your risk of getting long Covid Senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel sworn in as Nepal's third President Centre raises alarm over increase in Covid positivity rate in some states Cough and cold cases up 40%, say NCR docs as they prepare for H3N2 John Shaw, husband of Biocon chief Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, passes away LIVE: Govt approves National Quantum Mission, allocates Rs 6,003 crore Ukraine, World Bank agree on $6 bn recovery programme amid Russia war Netflix grows engagement in India by 30% in Q1 2023 after price cuts Death toll due to unrest in Sudan reaches 270, over 2,600 injured: WHO UN protests US spying on Guterres, calls it 'interference' by Washington

Last week, the President complained of pain in his stomach. On April 1, President Paudel was admitted to a hospital here for the first time after complaining of some problem in his stomach.

A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to deploy a team of government officials, led by the health secretary, to facilitate his treatment. The team will assess the nature of the President's illness and report to the government, a minister said.

Further decisions on the President's treatment will be taken after the team submits its report.

Paudel of the Nepali Congress was elected as the new president of Nepal last month, in a relief to the fragile coalition government headed by Prime Minister Prachanda'.

Paudel, a common candidate of the eight-party alliance that included the Nepali Congress and Prime Minister 'Prachanda'-led CPN (Maoist Center), received the vote of 214 lawmakers of Parliament and 352 provincial assembly members.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman holds a news conference at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, Belgium Jan. 12, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap



The U.S. and its NATO allies must remain alert for signs Russian President Vladimir Putin could use a tactical nuclear weapon in a "managed" escalation of his war in Ukraine, the second-highest U.S. diplomat said on Tuesday.



Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman issued the warning during the opening session of an annual NATO arms control conference that was being held in North America for the first time since its inception in 2004.



"We have all watched and worried that Vladimir Putin would use what he considers a non-strategic tactical nuclear weapon or use some demonstration effect to escalate, but in an managed risk escalation," Sherman said. "It is very critical to remain watchful of this."



Putin's March 25 announcement that Russia is preparing to station tactical nuclear weapons in neighboring Belarus "is his effort to use this threat in a managed way," Sherman said.



Tactical nuclear weapons are designed for battlefield gains or for use against limited military targets.



Putin denies having any intention of employing nuclear weapons in Ukraine, where his forces for months have been bogged down in fierce fighting that has been costly for both sides.



Belarus, which shares a border with Ukraine and NATO members Poland, Lithuania and Latvia, provided a staging ground for part of the Russian force that invaded Ukraine in February 2022 in a failed bid to overrun the country.





A general view of the NATO defence ministers' meeting at the Alliance's headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, Feb. 14, Reuters-Yonhap
Grain transports from Ukraine via Poland will resume on Friday, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus has said, after two-day talks here with the Ukrainian side.

The transports will be escorted and monitored by a specialized electronic system while passing through Poland to make sure "that not one ton of grain (from Ukraine) will stay in Poland", he said in a press conference.

Polish Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said Poland will maintain the ban on importing agricultural goods, but will "allow passage through Poland to four Polish ports and to other European countries", Xinhua news agency reported.

He noted that grain transports through Poland will be sealed with electronic GPS seals.

Hungary and Slovakia have imposed similar import bans, joining Poland, which banned both import and transit through the country last week after seeing weeks of protests staged by farmers against low prices.

"We are aware of the situation of Polish farmers, the Polish side understands Ukrainian farmers," Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, who is visiting Warsaw for negotiations, said at the joint news conference.

Also Read Russian-made missile fell in eastern part of our country, killing 2: Poland Poland to 'temporarily' prohibit grain, other food imports from Ukraine 100 Ukrainian captives released in prisoner swap with Russia: Authorities Ukraine sets up 3,720 emergency shelters amid widespread power outage Ukrainian parliament adopts laws to launch membership talks with EU 4 killed in US's Maine home; 3 wounded in linked highway shooting Fox defamation trial over election resumes after settlement push Hunger stalks 48 million people in West Africa amid supply curbs J&J May Need to Defend Baby Powder Cancer Suits After 19-Month Pause Sudanese army, rival forces agree to 24-hour cease-fire agreement

The European Union (EU) has criticized member states for putting individual bans in place, and EU envoys are set to discuss the measures on Wednesday, according to a senior EU official.

--IANS

int/sha
Russia and Venezuela reviewed some of their hundreds of bilateral agreements covering the financial, energy, agricultural and several other sectors during discussions between their top diplomats and other high-level officials Tuesday in the South American country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvn Gil held a joint press conference in Caracas hours after the former arrived to the allied country in the second stop of a tour of four Latin American nations. Both men vowed continued support for each other's country and condemned the economic sanctions that the United States government has imposed on them.

We fully support the position of our Venezuelan friends, Lavrov said. It is their country ... and we are going to support it in any way so that the Venezuelan economy becomes an independent economy from the pressures of the United States and other western actors.

Lavrov's remarks were translated from Russian to Spanish by a government-provided translator.

Gil and Lavrov, who was expected to also meet with Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro, said their countries are developing an alternative to SWIFT, the system that enables global financial transactions but to which key Russian banks lost access last year. Those banks were cut off as part of economic sanctions imposed on Russia at the start of the war in Ukraine last year.

Russia, along with China, is an unconditional ally of the Venezuelan government. Its support has allowed it to circumvent crippling economic sanctions meant to oust Maduro.

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Lavrov began his tour of Latin America on Monday with a stop in Brazil. He will also visit Cuba and Nicaragua.

Even before they were united by a fight against economic sanctions, Venezuela had forged a close relationship with Russia and made multi-million-dollar acquisitions of helicopters, fighter planes and Kalashnikov rifles.
Sri Lanka's former Attorney General (AG), who claimed that there was a 'grand conspiracy' behind the 2019 Easter Sunday attack, has been summoned to the police special investigation unit to record a statement.

Ex-Attorney General Dappula de Livera has been summoned to the Terrorist Investigation Department (TID) to appear on Wednesday following a direction by Justice Minister Wijayadasa Rajapakshe to the present AG to record a statement from the former AG.

Few days ahead of his retirement in 2021, Livera had stated that there was a 'grand conspiracy with regard to the 2019 April Attacks'.

Speaking to media, the former AG had stated that the foreign violent extremist religious ideology was imported to Sri Lanka at some point and it played a key role in carrying out the attacks.

Livera had also claimed that the investigations into the coordinated attacks, carried out on three Christian churches and four hotels on April 21, 2019, were focused on three people living overseas including Abu Hind in India, and Lukman Thalib and son in Australia for their connection to the attacks.

Indian security agencies, which had followed the extremist movement in Sri Lanka, National Thowheeth Jama'ath and its leader Mohammed Zaharan, had shared detailed information about the attacks well ahead of the disaster but Sri Lankan security had to act on the details provided.

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The multiple attacks killed nearly 270 people including foreigners and injured over 500.

--IANS

sfl/sha
By Mark Gongloff

It might seem tricky to chop down trees with one hand and sell climate absolution with the other, but the dubious math of carbon offsets makes it possible, at least for now.





Weyerhaeuser claims its forests absorb 17 million metric tons of carbon a year. Its lumber and other products could freeze an additional 18 million metric tons in place for years or decades. This more than makes up for the 7.4 million metric tons of carbon its logging and other activities emit every year, by Weyerhaeusers estimation. Trees drink up carbon dioxide, the stuff that is warming the planet to dangerous levels. And aside from Uncle Sam, nobody in America owns as many trees as Seattles Weyerhaeuser Co., the biggest US logger. Long a bete noire of environmentalists, the company is now using its 10.6 million acres of forest to declare it has so much green credit that it can sell some to other companies, the Wall Street Journal reported this week.



I dont think there are many companies in the world with a better environmental story than Weyerhaeuser, Chief Executive Officer Devin Stockfish told the Journal. So the company has understandably jumped into the burgeoning trade of selling carbon credits to businesses and consumers trying to reduce their own emissions, with plans to bolster its carbon-storing capacity by pumping it into the ground. Weyerhaeuser expects this business to bring in $100 million in annual profit by 2025, according to the Journal. And the companys greener patina could make it more attractive to the environmental, social and governance (ESG) investing set, boosting its stock price.

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Its also true that logged wood can store carbon, as Weyerhaeuser notes. The lumber in a new single-family house might hold carbon for up to 100 years, according to the US Forestry Service. Even paper can provide six years of carbon storage (or much, much more if buried in a box in my basement). Weyerhaeuser suggests this is better than letting trees rot or burn in the forest. Maybe. You could argue that every little bit of effort to take carbon out of the atmosphere is welcome. And Weyerhaeuser deserves kudos for tracking emissions all the way to its customers and vowing to winnow them to net zero by 2050, in keeping with the Paris Agreement to limit global warming to 1.5C.



And Weyerhaeusers plantations arent as biologically diverse or long-lasting as old-growth forests, reducing their carbon-storing ability. Even a 50-year-old plantation absorbs just 38% of the carbon of an untouched forest, according to one study. As my colleague Lara Williams notes, a thriving biome of many plant and animal species working together is far better at storing carbon than, say, a massive tract of young pine trees. But wood houses dont last forever, and many wood products end up decomposing in landfills, fomenting methane emissions that warm the planet even faster. Logging overall pumps far more carbon into the atmosphere than letting trees die or burn in otherwise healthy, old-growth forests. One recent study found that tree-harvesting can emit anywhere from two to eight times as much carbon as a fire.



Forest-based offsets have come under particular scrutiny lately, with report after report suggesting they dont mop up nearly as much carbon as they claim. The offset industry overall has taken so much heat that many companies are already starting to abandon it. If we assume Weyerhaeusers method of assessing its carbon impact makes sense, that doesnt change the fact that the company wants green credit mostly for forestry it would be doing anyway. It has been planting and chopping down trees for more than 100 years, after all. A frequent criticism of carbon offsets is that they dont really add anything to the worlds carbon-reducing power, making them a cheap way for the companies that buy them to continue polluting.
Four Americans affiliated with a Black empowerment and political organisation have been charged along with three Russians with conspiring to covertly sow discord in US society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in US elections, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The US citizens and two Russians were added to an existing case in Tampa, Florida, federal court involving Aleksandr Ionov, described by prosecutors as the founder of a Moscow-based organisation funded by the Russian government to carry out a clandestine influence campaign in the US.

The four Americans are all part of the African People's Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement, which has locations in St Petersburg, Florida, and St Louis. Among those charged is Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the US-based organisation which was raided by the FBI last summer when Ionov was originally charged.

Russia's foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponised our First Amendment rights freedoms Russia denies to its own citizens to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division.

The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt U.S. elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are U.S. citizens or foreign individuals abroad, Olsen said in a news release.

Yeshitela and three other US citizens Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus C Romain Jr are charged with conspiracy to defraud the US. Hess, Yeshitela and Nevel are also charged with impersonating agents of a foreign government. Ionov and the other two Russians, who remain in their country, face the fraud conspiracy charge.

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Court records did not list attorneys for any of the seven defendants, and it wasn't immediately clear if they have been arrested. An email seeking comment was sent to the African People's Socialist Party, which has previously denied working covertly for Russia or that any members committed a crime.

Prosecutors said Ionov operated an entity called the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia that was used to carry out its US influence efforts, overseen by the Russian intelligence service known as the FSB. They recruited US-based organisations to help sway elections, make it appear there was strong support in the US for Russia's invasion of Ukraine and backed efforts such as a 2015 United Nations petition to decry the genocide of African people in the US, according to the indictment.

Among other things, the indictment charges that an unnamed candidate for local office in St Petersburg received clandestine funding and political strategy from the group. Ionov and another Russian said at one point that their Florida effort would extend to the 2020 presidential campaign, which they called the main topic of the year.

Yeshitela, the indictment adds, travelled from Tampa to Moscow in 2015 to meet with Ionov and other Russians to communicate on future cooperation, according to an Ionov email. What followed was covert Russian funding and support for various activities in the US until summer 2022, including demonstrations at the California and Georgia state capitols and at an unnamed social media company in San Francisco.

Much of the alleged cooperation involved support for Russian's invasion of Ukraine. In March 2022, Yeshitela held a news conference in which he said the African People's Socialist Party calls for unity with Russia in its defensive war in Ukraine against the world colonial powers. He also called for the independence of the Russian-occupied Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

In addition, the Justice Department announced a separate indictment in Washington charging Russian national Natalia Burlinova with conspiring with Russian intelligence to recruit US academics and researchers to attend programmes that advanced Russian interests. Burlinova concealed that her efforts were funded by the Russian government, prosecutors said.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Burlinova has an attorney to speak on her behalf.
The United States hopes to deepen trade ties with Japan as it fortifies cooperation on economic security with its Asian allies and partners, the top US trade envoy said Wednesday.

US Trade Representative Katherine Tai's visit to Tokyo follows a trip to the Philippine capital, Manila, that she said highlighted a newly emerging partnership among the three countries as they build both economic and defence ties.

Tai met with Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to discuss making supply chains more resilient and secure, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Tai also reviewed the status of negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, or IPEF, a new trade pact proposed by Washington, emphasising the importance of cooperation with Japan, it said.

The framework has 13 members, including the US, that account for 40 per cent of global gross domestic product: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Hayashi responded by welcoming more US engagement in the regional economy, saying Japan will proactively discuss the plan with other partners.

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Japan and the United States have been promoting multilateral cooperation, most recently with the Philippines as they share common concern over China's growing influence and assertiveness in both security and economic activities.

But the US has stepped up diplomacy across the region, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken stopping over the weekend in Vietnam, which Washington sees as a key component of its strategy for the region given the country's traditional rivalry with its much larger neighbour China.

Tai also met Wednesday with Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Yasutoshi Nishimura. The trade ministry said the two discussed strengthening supply chains an issue that gained urgency amid shortages of computer chips and other goods during the pandemic. They also discussed ways to cooperate in the protection of human rights in business, the ministry said.

Japan and the United States have set up a taskforce that aims to eliminate human rights violations in international supply chains and to ban use of materials from suppliers that subject their workers to inhumane conditions.

To highlight such efforts, Tai toured an outlet of outdoor equipment and clothing retailer Patagonia in Tokyo's popular Shibuya shopping and business district.
Aleph Farms, a food technology company designing new ways to grow quality animal products, today announced the launch of its first product brand, Aleph Cuts. Under the Aleph Cuts brand, the company will market its first product, the Petit Steak, the worlds first cultivated steak anticipated to launch in Singapore and Israel later this year, pending regulatory approvals. Developed in partnership with brand and experience design agency, BOND, this branding initiative distinguishes Aleph Farms products and builds momentum ahead of commercialization and subsequent engagement with customers and end consumers.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005050/en/

The new Aleph Cuts brand. Courtesy of Aleph Farms.

With the launch of Aleph Cuts, we are introducing our product through an epicurean lens to connect people to our incredible new take on steak, sharing what this choice means in an engaging and authentic way, said Nicky Quinn, VP Marketing at Aleph Farms. Iconic brands arent built overnight or by one person or team. We look forward to co-creating our brand over time with consumers, so we can best serve their evolving needs.

The visual identities for Aleph Farms and Aleph Cuts are part of a unified system designed to support the scale of Aleph Farms growing product portfolio. The brands are related through visual elements such as the wordmark, icon, and color palette but evoke different aspects of the Aleph ethos: Aleph Farms is more pragmatic and focuses on technology and innovation, while Aleph Cuts is more emotional and focuses on educating about the product and celebrating culture through the lens of food. They share a new icon inspired by the companys previous ox head symbol, reflected in the letter A in Aleph but flipped, creating a mirror effect that compels the viewer to see familiar things in a new way.

We set out to create a brand that reflects the innovative Aleph Farms team we got to know. A system that welcomed everyone to this new way of thinking about what and how we eat. We took inspiration from something universal, the food we eat daily, and the visionary Aleph Farms processes and passion, said Lindsay Gravette, Creative Director and Partner at BOND, who oversaw the project. The result is a pair of brands that express the practical and exceptional, bringing cultivated meat and cellular agriculture to the world.

Aleph Farms is working closely with regulatory agencies around the world as it prepares for the commercial launch of its first product under the Aleph Cuts brand, the Petit Steak grown from non-modified cells of a premium Angus cow. As with all its products, there is no slaughter involved in production; instead, from a single fertilized egg, Aleph Farms can grow thousands of tons of cultivated meat, serving as part of a just and inclusive transition to sustainable and secure food systems. The company also has a Whole Animal approach by which it plans to produce different cuts of steak as well as other products based on animal cells, such as cultivated collagen, through additional proprietary capabilities.

About Aleph Farms

Aleph Farms is an Israel-based food technology company designing new ways to grow quality animal products that improve sustainability, food security and animal welfare in our food systems. Founded in 2017, the company utilized cellular agriculture technology to unveil the worlds first cultivated thin-cut steak in 2018, the worlds first cultivated ribeye steak in 2021, and cultivated collagen in 2022. Under its product brand, Aleph Cuts, the company will launch its first product, the Petit Steak, grown from the non-modified cells of a premium Angus cow. For its contributions to climate leadership including a net zero commitment made in 2020, it has received top accolades from the World Economic Forum and the United Nations.

For more information, follow Aleph Cuts on Instagram and Facebook, Aleph Farms on Twitter and Linkedin, or visit www.aleph-farms.com. Access our press kit here.

About BOND

BOND is a global brand & experience design agency.

We make a simple promise to those we work with: We will build for you the perfectly crafted brand. So you can build your future with it.

We keep that promise by designing simple, strong, easy-to-use and unmistakable brands. Always guided by our founding belief that only quality stands the test of time.

Our 60+ people of 20+ nationalities work as one across our San Francisco, Helsinki, London, Dubai and Tallinn studios, for clients that include British Airways, Accor, Microsoft and S Group.

For more information visit www.bond-agency.com.

Creative credits

Creative Director: Lindsay Gravette

Lindsay Gravette Creative Director: Azi Rad

Azi Rad Designer: Juha-Pekka Laurila

Juha-Pekka Laurila Designer: Taavet Kohal

Taavet Kohal Designer: Marko Salonen

Marko Salonen Copywriter: Michele Jaret

Michele Jaret UX Designer: Darrin Loeliger

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005050/en/
As Philip Morris International Inc. (PMI) (NYSE: PM) strives to remain at the forefront of a fast-evolving environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting landscape, the company today released its first-ever TCFD Report to respond to the implementation guidance of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). The reports findings were informed by a structured Climate Change Risk and Opportunity (CCRO) assessment that PMI conducted in 2022, with guidance from an external expert organization and in line with TCFDs recommendations, to identify relevant climate-related risks and opportunities.

Stakeholder expectations of businesses are shifting, and regulatory developments are moving forward at pace, explained Emmanuel Babeau, Chief Financial Officer. Companies are expected to demonstrate commendable behavior and transparency, providing trustworthy information on their impacts along the value chain and meeting mandatory reporting requirements in a range of jurisdictions. Accordingly, PMI continues to promote transparency by reporting against the most relevant and widely used sustainability standards.

For a business like ourswith a diversified agricultural supply chain that is sensitive to climate changeabrupt climate variations can endanger physical infrastructure and supply chains, said Scott Coutts, Senior Vice President, Operations. However, addressing the global challenge of climate change also presents opportunities. To realize these opportunities, PMI, alongside many of our suppliers, is working within a global context which is aiming to stabilize the global temperature rise to below the internationally agreed 1.5C scenario. We understand the potential impacts of climate change across all areas of our operations, particularly upstream in our supply chain.

PMI has been a supporter of the TCFD since 2021. In recent years, various elements of the companys publicly available disclosuresuch as its annual Integrated Report, CDP Climate disclosure, or annual report on Form10-Kalready aligned with much of TCFDs recommendations. Building on its CCRO assessment completed in 2022, PMIs TCFD Report now compiles relevant information in one place and will continue to strengthen the companys capacity to mitigate climate-related risks.

We are proud to publish this report, which presents how we are implementing TCFDs recommendations. It outlines the progress made to date toward our goal of incorporating climate-related risk and opportunity identification and management into our overall business strategy and disclosure efforts, said Jennifer Motles, Chief Sustainability Officer. It complements our Low-Carbon Transition Plan, published in 2021, which provides a transparent and detailed view on how we plan to achieve our climate ambitions, measure success, and report on progress, as we adapt our business model to succeed in a net-zero carbon economy.

PMIs strategies to Tackle Climate Change and Preserve Nature have been recognized by CDP, a not-for-profit charity that runs a global disclosure system for investors, companies, cities, and regions to manage their environmental impacts. In March 2023 and for the sixth consecutive year, PMI was included in CDPs Supplier Engagement Leaderboard, distinguishing it as a global leader for engaging with suppliers on climate change and recognizing the effort PMI has put toward decarbonization, a key component in achieving its scope 3 ambitions. Additionally, in December 2022, for the third successive year, CDP awarded PMI the prestigious Triple A rating for the companys performance in tackling climate change, protecting forests, and ensuring water securityplacing it among the worlds most pioneering companies in environmental transparency and performance.

Earlier this month, PMI published its fourth annual Integrated Report 2022, which aims to provide an objective description of the companys business model, strategy, performance, governance, and prospects in relation to its priority economic and ESG topics. To access PMIs latest reports, as well as additional information on its approach to sustainability, please visit pmi.com/sustainability.

Philip Morris International: Delivering a Smoke-Free Future

Philip Morris International (PMI) is a leading international tobacco company working to deliver a smoke-free future and evolving its portfolio for the long term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The companys current product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products. Since 2008, PMI has invested more than USD 10.5 billion to develop, scientifically substantiate, and commercialize innovative smoke-free products for adults who would otherwise continue to smoke, with the goal of completely ending the sale of cigarettes. This includes the building of world-class scientific assessment capabilities, notably in the areas of pre-clinical systems toxicology, clinical and behavioral research, as well as post-market studies. In November 2022, PMI acquired Swedish Matcha leader in oral nicotine deliverycreating a global smoke-free champion led by the companies IQOS and ZYN brands. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized versions of PMIs IQOS Platform 1 devices and consumables and Swedish Matchs General snus as modified risk tobacco products (MRTPs). As of December 31, 2022, PMIs smoke-free products were available for sale in 73 markets, and PMI estimates that approximately 17.8 million adults around the world had already switched to IQOS and stopped smoking. Smoke-free products accounted for approximately 32% of PMIs total full-year 2022 net revenues. With a strong foundation and significant expertise in life sciences, PMI announced in February 2021 its ambition to expand into wellness and healthcare areas and, through its Vectura Fertin Pharma subsidiary, aims to enhance life through the delivery of seamless health experiences. For more information, please visit www.pmi.com and www.pmiscience.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005249/en/
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov attends a news conference of Russian President Vladimir Putin after a meeting of the State Council on youth policy in Moscow, Russia, Dec. 22, 2022. Reuters-Yonhap



Russia on Wednesday warned South Korea against sending weapons to Ukraine after Seoul opened the door to possible military aid to Kyiv in the event of a large-scale civilian attack.



An ally of Washington, Seoul has provided non-lethal and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine, but has so far ruled out military aid.



But South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol told Reuters on Wednesday that "if there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians... it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support".



The Kremlin said the start of arms supplies would mean indirect involvement in the Ukraine conflict.






The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) has announced 244 Lecturer vacancies in 13 categories under the Odisha Technical Education & Training Service Cadre (Group-B). The application procedure will begin on April 26, and the last date to be submitted is May 26. Eligible applicants can apply for the positions on the official website opsc.gov.in

The Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) Lecturer Recruitment 2023 is a competitive examination held by the OPSC to fill several openings for the position of Lecturer in various disciplines. A written examination and an interview will be part of the selection process.

Overview of the Recruitment

Organization -Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC)

Name of the post -Lecturer

Vacancy -244

Category -Govt Jobs

Official Website -www.opsc.gov.in.

How to Apply for OPSC Recruitment 2023 Online

Applicants are advised to follow the procedures below to apply online for OPSC Recruitment 2023.

Step 1: Go to the OPSC Recruitment 2023 official website at www.opsc.gov.in.

Step 2: Select "Advertisement for Recruitment to the Posts of Odisha Technical Education & Training Service Cadre (Group-B) (Advt. No. 01 of 2023-24)" from the "Career" menu.

Step 3: Complete the application form with all the required data and submit the appropriate documents.

Step 4: Submit your application cost according to your category.

Application Fees

General, EWS, and OBC -Rs 500/-

SC/ST/PWD -No Fee

Age Limit

The Minimum Age Limit: is 21 Years

The Maximum Age Limit is 38 Years.

The Selection Procedure

Written examination- preliminary examination and a main examination

The preliminary examination will consist of objective variety, assessing the candidates' general understanding and competence. The main exam will be subject-specific, evaluating Applicants' expertise in the areas they specialise in.
UPSC CMS 2023: The Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) is set to release the notification for the UPSC CMS exam 2023 on April 19, 2023, which is today. The registration process will commence from today itself and will be open until May 9, 2023. Candidates who are interested in applying for the examination can do so online through the official website of UPSC at upsc.gov.in.

The UPSC CMS exam 2023 is scheduled to be held on July 16, 2023. Candidates who wish to apply for the examination should have passed both the written as well as the practical part of the final MBBS examination. Furthermore, the age limit for candidates applying for the exam should be less than 32 years.

The application fee for all candidates is set at Rs. 200, and female SC/ST and PwBD candidates are exempted from paying any fees. Candidates can make the payment of the application fee through various modes such as by depositing the money in any branch of SBI by cash, using the net banking facility of State Bank of India, or by using Visa/Master/Rupay/Debit card or by using internet banking of SBI.

UPSC CMS Exam 2023: Steps to Apply

To apply for the UPSC CMS exam 2023, candidates can follow these simple steps:
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...
Ken Mundie, a graphic artist with an expressive illustration style who forged his own path in the Hollywood animation industry, died of natural causes on April 3, 2023. He was 97.

Mundie was a one-of-a-kind artist who bridged mainstream-indie line for years. Among his best-known credits are the Fat Albert television special Hey, Hey, Hey, Its Fat Albert (1969), which was entirely different from the Filmation series that followed, and the outre short The Door, which scored distribution by Warner Bros. in 1968.

Mundie was born on October 7, 1925, in Los Angeles, California. He spent the first part of his life in Detroit, but when the Great Depression hit, his family relocated to Virginia to live with his grandparents. His father was a house painter and, according to Mundies obituary, a moonshiner during prohibition. It was Mundies fathers illicit second career that compelled the family to move back to Detroit in 1931, when the Virginia authorities made it clear that the moonshiner was no longer welcome there.

In 1942, at the age of 17, Mundie enlisted in the United States Marine Corps. He was stationed in San Diego and served in the South Pacific. He later used the GI Bill to enroll in art school in California, where he studied under Elwood James Fordham and Mentor Huebner.

Early in his career, Mundie was accepted to the Disney trainee program, though its unclear how long he spent at the company or what productions he worked on. According to his family, in the 1950s Mundie worked as an illustrator for The Washington Post, did freelance animation for various studios, and worked as an artist for North American Aviation. The earliest confirmed screen credit that we could track down for Mundie was the 1959 teenage road safety film Stop Driving Us Crazy, produced by Washington D.C.s Creative Arts Studios.

Mundies career flourished in the 1960s. Its not that all the projects he was involved with were hugely successful, although some definitely were, but Mundie was able to lock down consistent work using his own personal illustration style, which was rooted in anatomical figure drawing and far removed from animation character design tropes.

From 1964-1966, Mundie worked at DePatie-Freleng Enterprises as a background painter on theatrical shorts including the Pink Panther series. Studio head Friz Freleng also employed Mundie to design title sequences in his own style for several major Hollywood films like The Trouble with Angels (1966):

Mundie illustrated the brilliant opening sequence to Blake Edwards The Great Race (1965):

His work can be seen in the opening credits for the final season of the iconic Clint Eastwood series Rawhide:

As well as another classic western series, The Wild Wild West:

In 1968, one of Mundies best-known works, The Door, scored a release from Warner Bros. The eccentric short, which Mundie made entirely by himself, was produced by Bill Cosbys production company Silver-Campbell-Cosby Corporation. Mixing animation and live-action stock footage, the anti-war short is a pure expression of Mundies visual style, with his rough gestural figures appearing to have been drawn in grease pencil directly onto cels.

Working with Cosby once again, Mundie directed the tv special Hey, Hey, Hey, Its Fat Albert in 1969. The program aired on NBC on November 12, 1969, and was rebroadcast twice after that, but has unfortunately never been released onto home media and is incredibly difficult to find today. A copy is held at The Paley Center for Media in New York City, but online only a few brief clips have surfaced.

Vastly different aesthetically and tonally than the later tv series, the pilot was a real artistic statement. Mundie and his team of animators worked 18-hour days for six months to meet NBCs deadline, drawing on cels with grease pencils and coloring each cel themselves. Those cels were then photographed, with live-action footage from Philadelphia used for backgrounds.

Veteran Disney animator Will Finn has written about the short in the past, saying:

Visually, it may be one of the most experimental and offbeat cartoons ever run on a major network. Director Ken Mundie and his band of independent animators make a point of rendering each scene with as much spontaneity as possible, almost no single movement is animated, timed, or assisted conventionally or formulaically. One very unique choice was that the characters faces are less exploited than are their highly expressive figures. The poses and proportions are remarkably gestural and adapted loosely as possible for whatever purpose fits More than just about any piece I could name, this 26-minute film embraces the possibilities of xeroxing animators roughest drawings and capturing them at their most vital.

The Fat Albert pilots eventual erasure by NBC (or more likely, Cosby himself) is a good metaphor for Mundies larger animation career. His adventurous spirit and personal style never meshed well with the norms of an industry that thrives on formulas and standardization, yet this also means that his earlier work was truly unique and deserves to be reevaluated today. He was a natural illustrator and fine artist who was able to bend that skillset and apply it to the commercial opportunities that came his way, making the projects in which he was involved all the more special.

Later in his career, Mundie regularly worked as a storyboard artist, frequently in advertising. He spent time at the Leo Burnett ad agency in Chicago and also worked at Hanna-Barbera. Even at a company like Hanna-Barbera, which had strictly circumscribed house styles and production pipelines, Mundie managed to sneak in his distinctive characters, such as in this musical sequence he directed for the series Yogis Galaxy Goofs-Ups:

In the 1980s, he did development work for the Japanese feature film Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland.

According to his obituary, Mundie slowed down in semi-retirement in the 1990s by contributing storyboards to numerous animated series including Pinky and the Brain and Life with Louie. He was also hired by Wallace Creative Inc. to work on cut scenes for the 1997 video game Captain Claw, which featured an impressive mix of 2d and cg animation that felt revolutionary at the time.

Wallace Creative founder Donald Wallace said of Mundie in an interview:

I hired additional artists/animators for the project. One gentleman was a veteran Disney animator who was semi-retired and living in Idaho. He and I would have story discussions over the phone and then he would send me art and animation through the mail, except for a couple times when he traveled to Portland and worked in the studio with us. He was amazing. I think he was in his late sixties at that time but could work tirelessly and for very long hours. Between the two of us, we created all the storyboard panels. He was an excellent storyboard artist. He had an incredible sense for layout and storytelling, and I had a lot of fun working with him.

Mundies obituary explained that:

To him, art was a kind of magic, and it frustrated him when people didnt appreciate that. He loved talking to and helping other artists. From painting classes to introductory animation courses, he believed his knowledge and experience were meant to be shared.

Mundie is survived by his wife, Delores; his son, Morgan; his sister, Hazel Crljenko; his nieces, Sally (Greg) Hands and Nancy (George) Kelbley; and his nephew, John (Susan) Crljenko.
Hong Kong: Commerce chief visits Beijing

Secretary for Commerce & Economic Development Algernon Yau today met officials of the China National Intellectual Property Administration (CNIPA) and the State Post Bureau in Beijing to exchange views and strengthen co-operation.

While meeting with CNIPA Commissioner Shen Changyu this morning, Mr Yau explained that under the auspices of the National 14th Five-Year Plan in supporting Hong Kong to develop into a regional intellectual property (IP) trading centre, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government has been committed to protecting IP rights and promoting IP trading, in line with the national strategy to develop IP.

He thanked the CNIPA for supporting the Hong Kong SAR Government all along. The CNIPA and the Commerce & Economic Development Bureau signed the Co-operation Arrangement in the Area of Intellectual Property in June 2017, and have agreed to extend the arrangement to June 2027 for further collaboration in grasping the new opportunities in IP arising from the national strategy of building an IP powerhouse.

In addition, the CNIPA has been providing technical assistance to the Intellectual Property Department in patent examiner training and substantive patent examination. A pilot project was also launched on January 1 this year for prioritising the examination of qualified invention patent applications filed by Hong Kong applicants on the Mainland.

Later in the day, Mr Yau met State Post Bureau Director General Zhao Chongjiu to discuss further collaboration.

Mr Yau said that in order to seize the opportunities brought about by the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area development, Hongkong Post will leverage the advantages of Hong Kong's logistics network and vigorously promote cross-boundary delivery services, in particular e-commerce products, to strengthen economic development.

He added that Hongkong Post is also pressing ahead with the redevelopment of the city's Air Mail Centre and will utilise its cold chain logistics facilities to develop cross-boundary premium logistics business in the bay area.

This story has been published on: 2023-04-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
Global luxury brands poised for new take-off in China

Xinhua) 16:21, April 19, 2023

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Global luxury brands are poised to unlock fresh business growth points and tap into the vast Chinese consumer market, as China's economy is showing a faster-than-expected recovery.

"2023 is a year full of hope after the peak of COVID in China and all the measures are in place to relaunch the economy and consumption," Sophie Phe, the CEO of Remy Cointreau China, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"We have seen the demand and vibrancy of the Chinese market return this year and the prospects are very exciting. Chinese customers are hungry for in-person experiences and are returning to physical stores as well as continuing to access our digital platforms. There is pent-up demand in China and the rest of Asia that we are now seeing released," noted Adam Hershman, vice president of TUMI Asia Pacific and Middle East.

China's economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter of 2023, with gross domestic product growing 4.5 percent year on year to 28.5 trillion yuan (about 4.14 trillion U.S. dollars) and major indicators showing an upward trend and improvement in market expectations.

In particular, retail sales of consumer goods went up 5.8 percent year on year in the first quarter, reversing a decline of 2.7 percent in the final quarter of last year.

These figures have again bolstered the confidence of luxury brands in ramping up investment in the world's second largest consumer market.

As a renowned company in the global spirits market, Remy Cointreau Group still expects a bigger market share in China, as in the spirits category, imported products only account for about 3 percent of the total alcohol market in terms of value in China, Phe noted.

"Some categories like cognac and single malt are growing fast. Consumers have the appetite for exceptional spirits with history and craftsmanship, and they are curious about how these products are made and the way to enjoy them," she said.

Bullish on rosy prospects and massive potential, the group has increased investment in China in recent years, including opening its first sustainability bar in Shanghai in February and a new boutique at the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex.

Noting that the company still sees a lot of scope to grow in the Chinese market, Hershman said TUMI is "encouraged by all the positive economic developments and projects, like the Hainan Free Trade Port, as they create even more opportunities for brands."

Mirko Bordiga, managing director of Maserati Greater China, is currently attending the Auto Shanghai 2023. Highlighting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of Maserati's presence in China, Bordiga said the carmaker has been a witness to the evolution of the Chinese auto market.

"Chinese customers have become extremely conscious and extremely competent when it comes to cars during the past years. And obviously this reverberates positively to the upper part of the range, so the pursuit of luxury cars has obviously been increasing. Though the epidemic affected us last year, we are confident that the situation will improve and it's already improving," Bordiga added.

China has, on various occasions, stressed its commitment to enhancing high-quality development and high-level opening up. The country is ready to provide a larger Chinese market to the world and bring more development opportunities to all countries.

As a regular participant at the China International Import Expo and the China International Consumer Products Expo, Remy Cointreau has already laid out plans to broaden its footprint in the Chinese market.

"Over the past three years, despite the pandemic, Remy Cointreau China has continuously expanded its business in China and grown investments behind its brands. The group is confident about the future in China, especially after the peak of COVID and the start of recovery in the market," said Phe.

"We are very supportive of the government's efforts to open up and boost trade," said Hershman, adding the recent positive economic policies will boost overall trade, tourism and demand in the Chinese market and will positively affect regional trade.

(Web editor: Zhang Kaiwei, Wu Chaolan)
On 17 April, British police arrested Ernest Moret, a French publisher, as he exited a train from Paris to London on a work trip. The arrest was carried out using British anti-terrorism laws, on the grounds that Moret had taken part in the recent protests against the Macron government in France. This is not only an attack on the basic democratic right to protest, but a clear sign of collusion between the French and British authorities to victimise those who dare to speak out against them.

The events of the arrest itself were practically Orwellian. Two plainclothes counter-terrorism police officers approached Moret and a colleague at St. Pancras train station as soon as they entered the country, and presented Moret with Schedule 7 of the UK Terrorism Act. This allows police officers to search and interrogate individuals at border crossings, in order to determine whether they are involved in the preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism. In practice, this gives the police a green card to target anyone they choose.

Moret  far from being an aspiring terrorist  works for the French publishing house Editions la Fabrique, which produces a variety of literature including some left-wing books. He had travelled to the UK for the London Book Fair, a networking and trade event for publishing companies.

Having been taken into custody, counter-terrorism officers interviewed Moret for six hours about his involvement in the recent demonstrations across France against the Macron governments hated pension reforms. Seemingly unable to gather any concrete evidence of a terrorist plot, the police eventually arrested Moret on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination, for failing to provide officers with his laptop and phone passwords. After 24 hours in a jail cell in North London, he has now been released on bail.

Making an example

These events clearly point to collaboration between French and British police to persecute an individual for simply exercising their democratic right to protest. While neither side has so far admitted to it, the only explanation for how the British police knew to target Moret for his suspected involvement in anti-government protests would have been if they were explicitly told to single him out by the French authorities.

While the French workers and youth would no doubt be prepared to take the battle forward, the leadership of the movement has dragged its feet / Image: Jules*, Wikimedia commons

The reasoning for this is abundantly clear. The Macron government is undoubtedly beginning to regain a degree of confidence after the social explosion of the last few weeks and will no doubt be eager to settle the score. With Frances Constitutional Council on Friday giving the seal of approval to the raising of the retirement age, the legalistic path to opposing the reform has been blocked.

While the French workers and youth would no doubt be prepared to take the battle forward nonetheless, the leadership of the movement has dragged its feet and hidden behind legal procedure, rather than emboldening the militancy of the masses.

As a result, the movement in France has diminished somewhat, opening up an opportunity for the French authorities to single out and victimise demonstrators. Naturally, the French ruling class is also happy to outsource their repression to the British police, and the British ruling class are eagre to oblige, fearing as they do a similar upsurge of working-class militancy in Britain. The recent strike wave has shown the immense potential of the British working class. An escalation in the future, comparable to that seen in France, is not unthinkable.

The recent strike wave has shown the immense potential of the British working class / Image: Socialist Appeal

It is beyond doubt that there is nothing of interest to counter-terrorist officials on Morets laptop and phone. Arrests like these serve to soften up public opinion and test the waters for the future, when the British ruling class anticipates having to make much more liberal use of the array of repressive laws at its disposal, including so-called Anti Terrorism laws. We long ago explained that these laws, despite their nominal purpose, would one day be used by the ruling class against the left and the working class.

The collusion between the British and French authorities on this arrest shows how the fundamental interests of the ruling classes of different countries align when it comes to maintaining the status quo. The British government is little less eager than Macron to see the pension reform protests dissipate.

Just as the ruling class maintains a keen and fearful eye on mass movements in neighbouring countries, so must the working class keep an eye on the struggles of their fellow workers internationally, to draw lessons from those events and in order to stand in solidarity with one another to push those struggles forward. With industrial militancy already on the rise in a number of countries, a revolutionary explosion in just one country could shake the very foundations of capitalism around the world, and the bosses recognise this fact.
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Some feminists argue that the term and notion of prostitution should be abandoned and replaced by that of sex work. In other words, prostitution should be treated as any other form of work and recognised as such. According to the feminist activist Morgane Merteuil (among others), prostitution would even be a tool in the fight against capitalism and for the emancipation of women. In this article, we intend to respond to these ideas from a Marxist point of view.

The origins of prostitution

While male prostitution does exist, overwhelmingly it involves women. Prostitution is one of the component parts of the oppression that women suffer  and have always suffered  in class societies. In order to analyse prostitution in concrete terms today, it is therefore useful to look back at the origins and historical development of women's oppression, in order to show the organic link between this oppression and the origins of prostitution.

Contrary to popular belief, the oppression of women has not always existed. It arose in conjunction with the appearance of class exploitation  which also did not always exist. Friedrich Engels (Marxs great friend and comrade) traced the development of oppression with class society in The Origin of the Family, Private Property and the State (1884), which has been confirmed by the research of archaeologists and anthropologists for over a century.

For tens of thousands of years, men and women lived in relatively egalitarian hunter-gatherer societies. In these societies, there was no private property, no social classes, no state and no oppression of women; hence Engels described these societies as primitive communism. Certainly, there was a division of labour between men and women, arising out of the needs of pregnancy and breastfeeding. Hunting tended to be a male activity, while women were responsible for gathering and maintaining the household, which was then a collective task. However, this sexual division of labour did not imply the oppression of one sex by another. Women participated in collective work, and gathering played a major role in feeding the group. Today, there is archaeological evidence that women were also involved in the production of rock art, a task that all historians recognise as very important in these societies. Moreover, any coercion or power imbalance in the sexual division of labour was not strict. Some women were involved in hunting and some men in gathering or maintaining the household.

In terms of love and sexual relationships, these societies were marked by relative freedom and equality of the sexes. Monogamous families and marriages did not yet exist; they were preceded by various forms of group marriage. Under these conditions, lineages were based on matrilineal descent, as this was the only lineage known with certainty. This had consequences for the transmission of property. Although the kind of private property that would develop in class societies did not exist, a hunter nevertheless owned their weapons, an artisan their tools, etc., and they bequeathed them to their mothers family.

Hunting tended to be a male activity, while women were responsible for gathering and maintaining the household / Image: public domain

That said, these societies should not be idealised. This communism was first and foremost dictated by an implacable necessity. The very low level of the productivity of labour and the absence of any surplus made these groups extremely vulnerable; this made solidarity and equality absolutely imperative for survival.

This situation changed dramatically with the Neolithic period, some ten thousand years ago. With animal cultivation, followed by agriculture, communities were able to produce a surplus of food, which could be stored or traded with other communities. Trade began to develop. This raised the question of ownership of these new resources  which could become commodities  and the means of producing them. Private ownership of land and livestock emerged, along with slavery and social inequality. The first class societies were born.

Since agriculture and animal husbandry were primarily male-dominated activities, men now had a huge advantage: it was their labour that brought in the majority of the products needed by the community  and almost all of what could be exchanged as commodities. This development led to an upheaval in family relations, which Engels described as the world historical defeat of the female sex. With control over economic resources, the richest men wanted to pass them on to their children  no longer to their mothers families. In turn, matrilineal descent was replaced by patrilineal descent. In order to ensure that the children were those of their official father, monogamy was imposed on women (and women only).

From being a place of collective work, the domestic home became a private domain and a prison for wives. Women were driven out of social production, confined to the role of mothers and domestic (and sexual) slaves. They were reduced to commodities: they could be sold as slaves by their husbands or fathers. Their families could give them away or sell them as wives without consulting them. It was at this point that prostitution began to emerge. Removed from the productive sphere, women from the poorest social classes were forced, in order to survive, to sell the only commodity they had: their bodies. Moreover, as Engels pointed out, while womens coerced monogamy was strictly enforced, prostitution was one of the means by which male polygamy was de facto maintained.

In the West, history has seen a succession of slave societies in antiquity, followed by feudalism, and finally capitalism  without eliminating the oppression of women. Prostitution also endured because it was organically linked to family structures. In the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the hypocritical condemnation of prostitution by the Church did not make it disappear. In fact, the popes and cardinals of Rome or Avignon were among the best clients of prostitutes, when they were not acting as pimps themselves. In all societies based on class exploitation, women have been oppressed, and prostitution was therefore one form of this oppression.

Oppression and capitalism

Capitalism introduced a major change in the situation of women. In 19th century Europe, the need for labour for flourishing industry took some of the poorest women out of the domestic sphere and into social production. As an integral part of the working class, they participated in the class struggle and in the development of the labour movement. Women workers, for example, were at the forefront of the Paris Commune of 1871 and the Russian Revolution of 1917.

It was during this period that the foundations of liberal gender equality legislation were gradually laid down in the West: womens economic independence from their husbands (at least formally), freedom of residence, marriage and divorce, but also the right to vote, formal equality before the courts, and the right to abortion. It must be stressed, however, that by no means did the bourgeoisie generously offer these rights to women. All of them had to be won in mass struggles, which were systematic class struggles. The example of the Russian Revolution is illuminating: after the Bolsheviks took power, Russian women won, within months, full legal and political equality with men, as well as the right to divorce and abortion  none of which were achieved in most Western countries until decades later. Womens rights were only advanced as a result of mass mobilisation. In France, for example, the right to abortion was won in the wake of the huge general strike of May 1968.

However, despite all this progress, the oppression of women has not disappeared. The bourgeoisie has many reasons to perpetuate this oppression. Like all class societies before it, capitalism is ultimately based on private property and inheritance, which have been the keystone of the patriarchal family since the Neolithic period. Added to this is the need to divide the working class to prevent it from uniting, becoming aware of its strength and threatening the domination of the bourgeoisie. Sexism and the oppression of women, just like racism, homophobia and all forms of oppression, are part and parcel of the bourgeoisies arsenal to pit workers against each other.

Women workers, for example, were at the forefront of the Paris Commune of 1871 and the Russian Revolution of 1917 / Image: public domain

Prostitution has also been perpetuated. In a society where womens bodies are commodities, a layer of the poorest women are forced to sell themselves to survive. At the end of the 19th century, the German socialist August Bebel pointed out that most prostitutes were recruited from among the poorest workers, especially those in the textile industry, as they were particularly poorly paid. Like Marx and Engels before him, Bebel pointed out the hypocrisy of the bourgeoisie, which officially condemned prostitution, but ruled over a society that made it inevitable. Moreover, this same bourgeoisie advocated marital fidelity  while maintaining armies of mistresses and courtesans.

The concept of sex work

In the 1960s and 1970s, a wave of mass mobilisations swept the world. These included May 68 in France, the waves of strikes in Italy (1968-69), the Portuguese revolution of 1974, the Chilean revolution of 1970-73, and the fall of military dictatorships in Greece and Spain.

However, due to the betrayal of the reformist leaders, these revolutionary mobilisations did not lead to the overthrow of capitalism. A wave of reaction thus followed: there were military coups (Chile, Argentina, etc.), the rise of conservative leaders to power  such as Reagan and Thatcher  and a vast ideological offensive against the ideas of Marxism. During this period, 'postmodern' theories developed, with the support of the ruling class. It was in this general context that a new theory emerged within the feminist movement, re-characterising prostitution as sex work.

According to the promoters of this theory, we should abandon the concepts of prostitution and prostitutes in favour of sex work and sex workers. In other words, prostitution should not be regarded as a component of women's oppression, but a job like any other, and thus all the negative connotations associated with it  and, above all, the objective of ending prostitution  ought to be rejected and fought against. Thus, in 2013, the Afro-feminist activist Rokhaya Diallo affirmed that prostitution was a matter of individual choice, which  for the women concerned  was a matter of the "free disposal" of their bodies.

In justifying this position, some feminists have even resorted to so-called Marxist arguments: in selling their bodies, prostitutes in reality face the same situation as salaried workers. The conclusion: we should not campaign for the disappearance of prostitution, but for its recognition as a job in its own right, which women choose to do freely.

Some activists, like Morgane Merteuil, go even further and argue that the recognition of sex work is a necessary step in the struggle against capitalism, as it would encourage the recognition of sex in general as work, which would represent a challenge to the patriarchy. Still others argue that prostitution is in itself revolutionary, as it can encourage womens sexual freedom. The patriarchy may therefore find itself financing its own destruction through sex work!

The reality of prostitution

The ideas of these feminists ignore  more or less consciously  the reality of prostitution for the majority of people who are its victims. Let us begin with the issue of human trafficking and its role in prostitution. In a 2016 article, Morgane Merteuil considered that, on this issue, it was necessary to go beyond these exchanges of figures and experiences.

At risk of annoying Morgane Merteuil, let us go ahead and give some figures and experiences to paint a general picture of the prevailing situation. In 2016, the International Labour Organisation (ILO) estimated that 40 million people worldwide had been trafficked for forced marriages, slavery, prostitution networks or organ trafficking. Prostitution constitutes the overwhelming majority of those trafficked. In 2018, according to the UN Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 70 percent of the victims of trafficking were women, and 83 percent of them were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

Contrary to what some advocates of the legalisation of prostitution say, this phenomenon also concerns countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, where prostitution has been legalised. In these two countries, it is estimated that 75-80 percent of prostitutes in brothels have been trafficked. Far from eliminating trafficking, the legalisation of prostitution facilitates it by allowing traffickers to expose their victims in the open, in the windows of brothels in Hamburg and Amsterdam.

Far from eliminating trafficking, the legalisation of prostitution facilitates it by allowing traffickers to expose their victims in the open, in the windows of brothels in Hamburg and Amsterdam / Image: public domain

Both in Europe and indeed around the world, women victims of human trafficking are living a real hell. Their passports are often confiscated by traffickers. They are constantly threatened and frequently beaten or raped. They live in a situation that is in no way comparable to salaried work, but rather to slavery. These women are reduced to commodities for the benefit of criminal networks. Moreover, their status as illegal immigrants very often prevents them from seeking any assistance from the services of the bourgeois state (which itself oppresses them). Caught between the violence of the pimps and the police, it is often impossible for them to make their voices heard  and thus feminist activists can appear to speak on their behalf.

When they claim that prostitution is synonymous with greater freedom for women with regard to their bodies, feminists like Rokhaya Diallo remain in perfect agreement with the principles of capitalism and the free market, principles according to which wage employment is a contract concluded in complete freedom between a boss and a worker. In reality, this is never the case, and it is even less true when it comes to prostitution.

Under capitalism, people are not equal and do not all have the same means. The vast majority of the population is divided into two categories: on the one hand, those who own the means of production (factories, enterprises, etc.) and live from the exploitation of other peoples labour; and on the other hand, the mass of wage earners who own only their ability to sell their labour power. Most people belong to the second category. They are, therefore, not at all free to choose whether or not to work. They are forced to sell their labour power in exchange for a wage.

In this context, a small fraction of women who do not own the means of production and cannot find a job (due to mass unemployment) are forced into prostitution to survive. The example of Greece shows this in an illuminating way. After the 2008 crisis, when unemployment hit almost 25 percent of the Greek population, the number of prostitutes there increased by 7 percent. The same economic and social causes led to the growth of the camgirl phenomenon, to advertising campaigns for prostitution aimed at female students, etc. Far from recognising a free choice, legalising prostitution would only legitimise the fact that poor women are reduced to objects, commodities  and forced to surrender their bodies to their clients and pimps.

It could be argued that a prostitute is always free to refuse offers that she considers degrading or that make her feel uncomfortable. But in reality, this freedom is more often than not purely fictitious. On the one hand, a refusal exposes the prostitute to a violent reaction from her exploiter (client or pimp). On the other hand, in a market economy, the law of competition prevails. A prostitute who refuses certain clients or certain of their requests risks losing her livelihood. She is therefore pushed  by competition  to accept everything.

Prostitution affects women in general, but transgender people are particularly hard hit. Due to oppression and disproportionate unemployment, many are forced into prostitution for a living. It is no coincidence that the demand for recognition of sex work is often linked to calls to support the rights of transgender people, in order to legalise the activity that some are forced to engage in. This is completely counterproductive: instead of fighting prejudice and combating the oppression and marginalisation of transgender people, this approach reinforces prejudice by implying  and sometimes even asserting  that prostitution would be the only suitable activity for them.

On the other hand, examples are sometimes given of wealthy and middle-class women who prostitute themselves out of choice, out of attraction for the profession. The recognition of prostitution would protect them, it is said. But in reality, if these people are really sheltered from need, they do not need any particular protection, because under capitalism the rich are already, de facto, protected by their wealth. Their sexual habits are therefore a private matter, and do not concern us or enter into this debate  especially since, as we have already shown, these few cases represent an insignificant proportion of those who engage in prostitution. The rich prostitutes  and these rare and completely atypical cases  serve as a fig leaf to hide the sordid and brutal reality of prostitution.

We also frequently hear of autonomous prostitutes, who are the real sex workers and who live a very different life to those who work under the control of pimps. Here again, according to most statistical surveys, it is established that the majority of prostitutes are subordinate to pimps, i.e. to criminals who demand exorbitant percentages from their victims, under threat of physical and psychological violence. Independent prostitutes are a minority. In addition, they are themselves victims of an oppressive system, as they have very limited means to leave prostitution.

Moreover, their entry into the profession has rarely been smooth. In 2014, a European Parliament report underlined that 80 to 95% of prostitutes have suffered some form of violence before entering prostitution (rape, incest, paedophilia), that 62% of them declare that they have been raped, and that 68% suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder  a percentage similar to that of victims of torture. These statistics alone are enough to reveal the hypocrisy of those who wave the flag of freedom in defence of prostitution.

The same report points out that prostitutes face a higher mortality rate than the average population, notably because they frequently suffer from addiction to alcohol and drugs, or because many buyers of sex services request unprotected commercial sex, which increases the risk of adverse health effects. This is the reality of prostitution, far from the rhetoric of some feminists on sex work.

How to fight against prostitution?

No law designed by bourgeois democracies can eradicate prostitution. For example, the strictly repressive laws of the Scandinavian countries  or of France  have not put an end to prostitution, nor to human trafficking. In fact, the laws passed by bourgeois governments only aggravate the oppression suffered by prostitutes.

Supported by reformist associations such as Osez le feminisme, a law passed by the French National Assembly in 2016 penalises clients of prostitutes and makes them liable to a fine. Far from helping prostitutes, this law has pushed them into the darkest and most dangerous corners of French cities. As we have shown, in the overwhelming majority of cases prostitution is not a 'choice', so prostitutes will have to follow their clients to less crowded areas, where clients are less likely to be stopped, but, in turn, where prostitutes are much more exposed to violence and abuse. Moreover, this provides a new pretext for the police to persecute them.

Until capitalism is overthrown, no choice will be truly free, and the oppression of women / Image: public domain

This example is typical of reformist abolitionism, which wants to abolish prostitution within the framework of capitalism, but which in the end provides bourgeois politicians with opportunities to display their so-called 'humanism'.

The solution to the problem is obvious: if all prostitutes, whatever their situation or origin, were offered financial support, access to housing, mental health treatment, vocational training, and if undocumented victims of trafficking were all naturalised, how many would choose to continue?

We are told that this is impossible to achieve. Indeed, under capitalism, it is impossible  not because there is insufficient money, but because this wealth is monopolised by a minority to the detriment of the rest of the population. Like many other social ills, prostitution grows out of poverty and unemployment, which forces people to sell their bodies in order to survive or to flee their country in abominable conditions, at the risk of falling into exploitation networks, managed by organised crime. This exploitation is exacerbated by gender inequality, racism and imperialist wars.

Serious measures could be taken immediately to combat prostitution by tackling all the economic contradictions on which it is based. Such measures were taken during the early years of Soviet Russia. The fight against prostitution then consisted of organising care services for unemployed women, before they were given access to employment, as well as setting up public nurseries and dormitories for homeless women. A network of public clinics offered treatment for sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), while at the same time awareness campaigns were organised explaining the relationship between the spread of prostitution and STDs. In collaboration with mainly mass women's organisations, the new Soviet government provided access to concrete opportunities for women to leave the 'profession'.

At the same time, the Bolshevik government prohibited any form of legal regulation of prostitution. The Penal Code did not punish prostitutes, but provided for severe penalties for pimps and brothel owners. Due to the immense devastation caused by the World War and the Civil War, prostitution was not completely eradicated, of course. Nevertheless, by targeting its economic and social base on the one hand, and its profiteers on the other, these measures reduced it significantly.

This policy was completely abandoned by the Stalinist counter-revolution, which caused a rapid degeneration of the status of women in society. Prostitution reappeared as a mass phenomenon in the 1930s. The new Stalinist Penal Code took up bourgeois methods by again attacking prostitutes.

We support the implementation of democratic measures similar to those adopted by the Bolsheviks in the early years of the Soviet regime. Of course, we are fighting for their implementation now as well. However, we are well aware that no capitalist state will implement them. For Marxists, the struggle against prostitution is therefore closely linked to the struggle against capitalism.

Prostitution is based on the oppression of women and the misery generated by a class-divided society. Until capitalism is overthrown, no choice will be truly free, and the oppression of women  in all its forms  will never be completely eradicated.
4/21/2023

Brainerd High School senior Maurquez Thompson has been named a recipient of the Gates Scholarship. He is one of 750 scholars chosen from a pool of over 51,000 applicants from across the nation. ... more
Lee Universitys Helen DeVos College of Education will host the 2nd Annual Doctoral Student Research Poster Symposium on Wednesday, April 26, at 5:30 p.m. in the William G. Squires Library. The symposium will feature students from Lees Doctor of Education, Doctor of Nursing Practice, and Doctor of Philosophy in Marriage and Family Therapy programs.

The event is open to the public and co-hosted by the EdD program, the DNP program, the PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy program, along with the William G. Squires Library. The symposium is an opportunity for faculty members, staff, and students to meet the doctoral students at Lee and to bring together colleagues, friends, and family interested in graduate education.

This year's conference will showcase doctoral students' scholarship across three disciplines university-wide, said Dr. Roy Y. Chan, director of graduate studies in education and assistant professor of education at Lee. The student-led symposium is an opportunity for students, faculty, staff, and alumni to engage in issues related to education, nursing, and marriage and family studies that will positively impact the church, community, and the world. We hope that all attendees will feel proud, empowered, and encouraged.

Dr. Chan organized this years event, the first graduate student poster symposium featuring all three of Lees doctoral programs. Lee President Dr. Mark L. Walker will serve as this years keynote speaker, and Dr. Bill Estes, dean of HDCOE and distinguished professor of education, will also deliver special remarks.

These annual symposiums are an excellent opportunity for our doctoral students to highlight and share their research discoveries with others, said Dr. Brandon Rodgers, director of graduate studies in counseling.

During the symposium, 13 doctoral students from the Class of 2024 will present their dissertation work in a research poster format. EdD students from the Class of 2025 will judge the students posters.

Our doctoral students across campus are leading change by advancing the science of their respective professions, said Dr. Julie Campbell, director of graduate studies in nursing. Including all three doctoral programs at this year's symposium provides a unique opportunity for these scholars to collaborate with their peers and is a great way for the community to see the significant work they're doing.

The Class of 2024 presenters will include Kathi Douglas, Erin Hattabaugh, Holly Kidder, Harlie Li, Lance Perry, Crystal Randolph, Susan Rodriguez, and Natalie Zuzart from the EdD program; Kaitlyn Pierce, Tori Stepp, and Sydney Still from the DNP program; and Robert England, Gregory Fischer, and Dr. Reginald D. Horton from the PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy program.

Launched in fall 2020, the EdD Program in Professional Practice seeks to develop passionate and empathetic educational leaders through the practice of ethical action, redemptive service, and responsible citizenship in the church, community, and the world. The program was developed by faculty in the Lee University HDCOE and Local Education Agency partners.

The DNP Program offers a terminal degree that prepares graduates to practice at the highest level of nursing and lead change through translational research. Students benefit from Lees distinctive programming related to rural, global, and disaster healthcare, with the integration of a Christian worldview.

The mission of the Lee University Marriage and Family Therapy Doctoral Program is to prepare leaders in the marriage and family field that serve the underserved through Christian organizations and their surrounding communities. The core priorities of the program are to develop each student to become an innovative clinician, a proficient educator, a systemic supervisor, and a pragmatic researcher.

For more information about Lees EdD program, visit leeuniversity.edu/academics/graduate/edd/.

For more information about Lees DNP program, visit leeuniversity.edu/academics/nursing/dnp/.

For more information about Lees PhD in Marriage and Family Therapy program, visit leeuniversity.edu/graduate/ and click Graduate Studies in Counseling.

For more information about the symposium, contact Graduate Studies in Education at 614-8544.




An anonymous caller reported two suspicious vehicles in the Target parking lot at 5579 Hwy. 153, after they had closed. Police saw a red sedan (TN tag) and a dark SUV (TN tag) occupied by a woman in each vehicle.. They both said they had run into each other as friends after shopping at Target, and had gotten caught up talking with each other. Both provided valid TN drivers licenses and had no warrants or other issues. Both agreed to not remain on the property and left without issue.



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A man on Ocoee Street told police he had a woman friend in his house that would not leave. Police made contact with the woman, who identified herself. She said she was not on the lease and was asked to leave by police. The woman left the residence without incident.

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A disorder was reported at a residence on E. 14th Street. Police spoke a man and woman who said they were in a disorder with their roommate. The three of them were told to separate and sort out their issues in the morning after everyone had calmed down.

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Police observed a Hyundai Elantra displaying Tennessee registration make an improper turn onto Shallowford from W. Shepherd. Police attempted to conduct a traffic stop in regard to the traffic violation. The vehicle fled at a high rate of speed. Police were unable to identify any occupants of the vehicle.



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Police received a call for a man jumping out in front of cars on Bonny Oaks Drive, and that he possibly had a firearm. Police spoke with the man, who said that he was running down the road trying to get to the Motel 6 because he just got out of Jail. The caller did not want to see police. Police transported the man to the Motel 6 and left the scene.

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Police found a man and two women sleeping in front of the Downtown Precinct, 702 E. 11th St. Police woke them up and told them they could not sleep there, and if they are caught sleeping on the property in the future they will be arrested for trespassing. They left the property.

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While on routine patrol, officers where dispatched to a suspicious person in the area of 109 Eveningside Dr. pulling on car door handles and looking into vehicles. Officers canvassed the area and found a man matching the description walking out of the alley near Eveningside Drive and Main Street. The man told police he was coming from East Lake Housing Development. Officers checked the man for wants and warrants through NCIC with no return. He left the area without incident.

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A woman on S. Seminole Drive told police she was concerned about her roommate because she wasn't answering the door or telephone. Officers made contact with the roommate inside the home and she said everything is okay, she was just sleeping.

* * *

A caller told police that a car was left (locked) parked, blocking the northbound lane facing south on N. Crest Road. Being that the vehicle was locked and left blocking the main road, the vehicle was towed. The vehicle in question was a black Nissan Altima (TN tag), showing not stolen at the

time. The vehicle was towed without incident by American Towing.

* * *

Police were told a couple walked into the Circle K, 4900 Brainerd Road, and stole a 24-pack of Twisted tea by walking out of the store and not paying. The only description given was a white female and a black male. More info will be known once video can be pulled and reviewed. The value of stolen beer is $40.
Upcoming activities in the city of Red Bank were announced in the commissioners reports at the City Commission meeting Tuesday night. The Red Bank Jubilee is coming up in two weeks. Commissioners Pete Phillips and Jamie Fairbanks Harvey have both been working all year on the Jubilee committee to put on the citys annual party that will be on May 6 from 11 a.m.-4 p.m. at 3817 Redding Road. There will be live music, activities for kids, vendors food trucks and beer.

In her report to the commissioners, Vice Mayor Stefanie Dalton said that the Earth Day Clean up will be Saturday from 10 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Volunteers should meet at Dayton Plaza. People are being asked to sign up early to get a designated clean-up area.

Commissioner Hayes Wilkinson said the Champion Virginia Pine Ceremony will be Friday, April 28, at 12:30 p.m. at the former Red Bank Middle School property. It will be a celebration of the state of Tennessees tallest Virginia pine tree.

Mayor Hollie Berry said the next Red Bank food pantry will be on Thursday from 4:30-6 p.m.

The budget for fiscal year 2022-2023 was amended at the commission meeting to appropriate unbudgeted expenses that included items such as insurance recovery and grants that have been received.

A resolution was passed to apply for a grant from the Tennessee Highway Safety Office Traffic Grant program in the amount of $74,000. This is a 100 percent grant with no match needed from the city. The money received from the grant will be used for salaries, education and enforcement related to driving.

The Commission proclaimed that May 8-12 will be recognized as Teacher Appreciation week in Red Bank.










The board of directors of the Hamilton County 911 Emergency Communications District voted in a special called meeting Wednesday to confirm Jeff Carney as executive director of the district, effective immediately. Mr. Carney has worked with the district for more than 30 years and has been serving as acting executive director when John Stuermer retired from that position last December.

Dr. Richard Brown, chairman of the board of directors for the 911 Emergency Communications District, said he was delighted to confirm after a search process the appointment of Mr. Carney as the next executive director of the district. "Jeff brings an extraordinary base of experience to this important role on local, state and national levels, said Dr. Brown. We remain confident that all the citizens of Hamilton County and the partner agencies we serve will continue to receive outstanding emergency services support from an effective, committed and compassionate team of emergency services professionals. We welcome Jeff to this executive leadership role, and he can be assured of the full support of our board.



Mr. Carney has overseen day-to-day activities of the district as operations director for the past 15 years. In that capacity, he has been responsible for the direction and overall performance of the Emergency Communications Center. He holds numerous certifications in emergency communications and currently serves as first vice president of the Tennessee Emergency Number Association (TENA). He is also chair of the Tennessee Emergency Communications Boards (TECB) Operations Advisory Committee, a member of the TECBs Policy Advisory Committee and deputy state coordinator for the Tennessee Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT).

Mr. Carney began his career as a Telecommunicator and has steadily worked his way to his newly confirmed position as executive director. He gives credit to those who patiently trained and mentored him throughout the years and hopes that his latest promotion ratifies the field of emergency communications as a true career-level vocation where an employee may rise to the top of the organization through study and dedication.

Mr. Carney said he is very humbled to be chosen to lead an awesome group of employees who make such a profound impact on peoples lives with every call they answer. It is an important responsibility that I do not take lightly, he said. Im grateful to Chairman Brown and the board of directors for their trust in me and I look forward to continuing the pattern of excellence that Hamilton County 911 has set.
The Chattanooga Hamilton County Branch (Unit 5581) of the NAACP recognized the medal winners of its Annual ACT-SO (Afro-Academic, Cultural, Technological, Scientific, Olympics) during the Awards Ceremony last Saturday.Sponsored by the national board of the NAACP, ACT-SO is a year-long enrichment program designed to recruit, stimulate and encourage high academic and cultural achievement among high school students. As a part of the year-long enrichment program, ACT-SO and Upward Bound Math Science students participate in Saturday morning workshops on public-speaking, communication, time management and networking skills.Officials said, "The goals of the ACT-SO program are to: mobilize the adult community for the promotion of academic and artistic excellence; to recognize creative talent and academic achievement; and to provide and assist students with the necessary skills to establish goals and acquire the confidence and training to make a successful contribution to society.For over 40 years, the mission of ACT-SO has been to recognize and reward youth of African descent who exemplify artistic excellence."The ACT-SO competition now offers 34 categories of academic excellence and performing arts. Gold Medalists will receive an all-expenses paid trip to the NAACPs 46th Annual National ACT-SOCompetition in Boston, Ma. in July.Chattanoogas ACT-SO 2020 Medalists (their Category and High School) include: JTory Matthews, Drawing, Gold Medal, Center for Creative Arts (CCA); Maurquez Thompson, Original Essay, Gold Medal, Brainerd High School; Orion Weaver, Instrumental Contemporary, Gold Medal, CCA; Madison Angel, Vocal Contemporary, Silver Medal, Center for Creative Arts; and Chloie Marshall, Drawing: Bronze Medal, STEM School of Chattanooga.Reverend Ann Jones Pierre, Chattanooga Hamilton County Branch president, said, We have so many talented young people in our area that only need a little support. ACT-SO is the conduit to give the young people an alternative to life choices, so we are grateful to the ACT-SO committee, parents and students for their work and support.Pamela Shropshire, local ACT-SO judge, said, I joyfully set aside time every spring for the AfroAcademic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics. Participating is a critical investment in our youth to reinforce the importance of scholastic and artistic achievement. This program allows our youth to showcase talents and skills that may otherwise go unnoticed. It offers them an opportunity for enrichment and feedback specific to their passion. Theres also the added benefit of learning how to receive feedback, how to implement feedback with grace and humility, and how to celebrate others success. Every year of participation, I have been privileged to witness the growth, innovation, creativity and bravery of these young people.Officials said, "Chattanooga ACT-SO has made a difference by providing a positive environment for our youth. This years theme was EmPOWER Our Youth. We invite current high school students and rising ninth graders who may have an interest in ACT-SO to visit our website and fill out the interest form. We encourage business professionals to contact us to partner as competition judge or mentor to the students."
Senator Bill Hagerty on Wednesday led a group of Republican senators in reintroducing the Stop Fentanyl Border Crossings Act, legislation to add drug smuggling as an additional basis for Title 42 immigration enforcement authority, thereby preserving for border patrol agents an essential tool to quickly remove illegal border crossers and stop the drug trafficking that is fueling the overdose epidemic in America, now the leading cause of death for Americans ages 18-45.

Cosponsors of the legislation include Senators Jim Risch (R-Id.), Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Ms.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tn.), Steve Daines (R-Mt), Ted Budd (R-NC), Mike Crapo (R-Id.), Cynthia Lummis (R-Wy.), Mike Lee (R-Ut.), Roger Marshall (R-Ks.), and Todd Young (R-In.).



70,000 Americans are dying annually from drug overdosesmost from deadly fentanyl flooding across our collapsed southern border, said Senator Hagerty. With the Biden Administration pushing to end Title 42 in May, it is unconscionable for Congress to stand aside and do nothing to preserve it. And while I agree that the pandemic is over, there is a new epidemic plaguing our nationone that demands immediate action. We cannot afford to allow this shockingly-lethal drug to continue wreaking havoc on our communities and killing our youth. Congress must take up and pass this commonsense legislation without delaytoo many innocent American lives hang in the balance.

Fentanyl is flowing into Idaho and killing people in our communities every day, said Senator Risch. Stronger border policies are the only way to stop this deadly drug from taking more lives.



Title 42 was created as part of a public health emergency health order and it makes sense to extend it to the fentanyl health emergency hitting our nation, said Senator Hyde-Smith. With overdose deaths rising, there is no good reason not to utilize Title 42 to fight the increasing flow of this deadly drug being smuggled across the border by cartels and illegal immigrants.



The fentanyl crisis is a real public health emergency that has hit far too close to home, said Senator Blackburn. From August 2021 to August 2022, over 107,000 people died of drug overdoses in the United States  with 66% of those death involving synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. Expanding Title 42 to include drug smuggling will give U.S. Border Patrol agents a necessary tool to significantly curb this Biden-fueled crisis and keep Americans safer.



The fentanyl that is coming through President Bidens open southern border and into Montana is wreaking havoc on our local communities, said Senator Daines. We need to be using every resource at our disposal to stem the flood of illegal drugs into the United States, including Title 42. Montanans have had enough of the addiction, crime and tragedy the fentanyl epidemic has inflicted on our communities.



Securing the border and quickly removing those who smuggle drugs into our country should be a top priority for the federal government, said Senator Budd. Im proud to support Senator Hagertys bill to boost border enforcement and ultimately save American lives.



The uncontrolled flow of fentanyl from the southern border to our neighborhoods and communities must be stopped, said Senator Crapo. The soaring increase in drug overdose deaths is a public health crisis, and the federal government should have every tool available to combat drug smuggling and illegal border crossings into the United States.



The situation at our border is a crisis, said Senator Lummis. Even more, the massive amount of fentanyl flowing across our border has turned it into a health crisis. Title 42 was created to help prevent the spread of disease, and we are experiencing an epidemic of deaths due to this incredibly deadly drug. Thank you to Senator Hagerty for his work to find solutions to this dangerous situation.


Scott Allen, election administrator, said he will ask the County Commission to pay the $500,000 cost for a new parking lot at the election office despite a turndown by County Mayor Weston Wamp.

Mr. Allen said it would be an overflow lot that would be especially needed during crowded elections.

He said the election office off Amnicola Highway does not have sufficient parking when there are major elections.

Mr. Allen said during the 2020 election that many voters began to park in grassy areas off the main parking lot. He said when it began to rain that a number of cars got stuck and had to be pulled out by tow truck.

He said, "There was a tow truck stationed there. The cost of the tow had to be paid by the voter. Some people had to park a half mile up the road at the Riverwalk parking area or along the road."

Mr. Allen said County Mayor Wamp had rejected funding for the project.

The Election Commission was told that the long-running federal lawsuit filed by former employee Regina Tate had been dismissed and that was upheld by the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The office still faces a lawsuit brought by a former candidate for governor who was arrested for allegedly yelling at voters and frightening them.

Mary Francis Hoots, director of communications to Mayor Wamp said, While the countys finance department recommended against funding this parking lot in FY2024, the budget has not been finalized. Every year, tens of millions in requested projects must be cut in order to present a balanced budget and this year will be no different. Based on what we know today, it is hard to justify a $500,000 parking lot that would be used only a few days every four years.
C. Douglas Dooley has been elected a Fellow of the Tennessee Bar Foundation, an association of 840 attorneys across the state. Invitations to membership were extended to 27 attorneys by the Board of Trustees. The introduction of new fellows took place at the annual Fellows' Dinner in Nashville.Officials said, "The Bar Foundation's purpose is two-fold: to recognize attorneys who have distinguished themselves in the community and the profession and to administer a grant making program. That project, known by its acronym IOLTA (Interest On Lawyers' Trust Accounts), has awarded grants in excess of $25,000,000 to law-related, public interest projects throughout Tennessee."Mr.Dooley is an equity member in the firm of Leitner, Williams, Dooley & Napolitan, PLLC and has been practicing law in Chattanooga for 34 years. He is a graduate of University of Alabama and of Cumberland School of Law.
Tennessee Governor Bill Lee called on the Tennessee General Assembly to pass legislation for a new "Order of Protection" law before the end of the legislative session to strengthen the safety and preserve the constitutional rights of law-abiding citizens.

This bill, which was drafted with input from legislative leadership, the governors office and relevant departments, will improve Tennessees existing Order of Protection framework. By guaranteeing due process and enhancing access to mental health support, this proposal is the best way to help individuals who intend to harm themselves or others, protect constitutional rights and keep our communities safe.

Following the tragic Covenant shooting, the governor asked the legislature to bring forward proposals to ensure dangerous individuals who are a threat to themselves or others do not have access to weapons, while requiring due process and a high burden of proof to preserve the Second Amendment.


Military veterans and supporters will run, walk, ruck, push, and cycle to move a single American flag from across the country as part of the Old Glory Relay. The Old Glory Relay is an annual event hosted by Team Red, White and Blue, a nonprofit organization forging Americas leading health and wellness community for veterans.

The Old Glory Relay will be going through Chattanooga on May 18. The start point will be at sunrise at the Point, Lookout Mountain ending at sunset at the Chickamauga Battlefield.

Twenty-twenty-three's event will mark the 9th Old Glory Relay. The event was first hosted in 2014 along various routes with a hiatus in 2019 and 2020. For the first time since 2018, the Old Glory Relay spans the entire country in one of its longest routes ever.

Americas veterans know firsthand that life is a team sport. Theres no better demonstration of that concept than the Old Glory Relay, said Mike Erwin, Team RWB founder and executive director. As we pass the flag from one great American to the next over its 4,000-mile journey, we are reminded that together we can show America's veterans that their best days are ahead.

Supporters can register to run or cycle a segment of the relay in Chattanooga at teamrwb.org/ogr. Participants may also move an American flag in their local community by registering as a virtual participant.

Team RWB, The State of Tennessee, and the Chattanooga Chapter are so proud to be part of the Old Glory Relay coming through your town," said Curtis Driver, Team RWB Tennessee State coordinator. "As veterans it is special to get to carry our Flag as part of a Team, it creates that sense of purpose we had while we were wearing the uniform.

Learn more about the Old Glory Relay or register to participate at teamrwb.org/ogr.






Hydrogen has a key role to play in managing the energy transition. Hydrogen is extremely important for an environmentally friendly energy system, both for energy storage to supply heat and for future mobility. But this element has its downsides. Powerful cooling devices are needed to handle it. As the global market leader for temperature control technology, LAUDA already offers the relevant technology for electrolyzers and hydrogen fueling. As part of Horizon Europe, the new EU research project RHeaDHy is expanding this expertise even further with the development of innovative and powerful solutions for faster refueling in heavy-duty applications.

4 million euros for European hydrogen development  LAUDA is setting new standards

Launched on February 1, 2023, the innovation project RHeaDHy aims to advance the development of high-performance hydrogen fueling stations. To this end, the European Union will contribute almost 4 million euros in funding to the project. The ultimate goal is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from freight transport using hydrogen-powered vehicles. However, in order for the solution to be viable, it must be possible to refuel trucks and other means of transport of a similar size within a short time  the target for refueling a truck with 100 kg of hydrogen is ten minutes. In order to do this, the hydrogen must be refueled under high pressure, which significantly increases the temperature. As a member of a consortium consisting of several European partners, LAUDA will be responsible for the development of a high-performance cooling system. LAUDA will also set standards for the future while helping to develop new standards for hydrogen refueling. The project is scheduled to run until early 2027. By the end of the project, near-series technology should be available and installed at two locations: one refueling station will be opened in Germany and another in France.

Refrigeration technology for the hydrogen industry ready for series production

LAUDA has been a strong partner to producers and operators of hydrogen refueling stations since 2015, and in this time, has delivered dozens of systems to various industry leaders. These systems include SUK 350 L process cooling units for cooling hydrogen during refueling, as well as Ultracool line circulation chillers for cooling the electrolyzers during hydrogen production, both of which are serially produced.

In view of the strong market growth in the hydrogen industry and the forecast of around 3,000 additional hydrogen refueling stations by 2030 in Europe alone, LAUDA is preparing to significantly expand its production capacities for SUK units. The Ultracool series has already been prepared for the increase in demand: firstly, investments of around 7 million euros have allowed the multiplication of production capacities. Secondly, work on redeveloping the product line began as early as 2019 to make it more compact, more powerful and more energy-efficient. Several new models will be launched later this year to meet the growing demand for even more powerful units. LAUDA can cover cooling capacities of up to 240 kW with the serially produced Ultracool product line.

The temperature control specialists from LAUDA have committed themselves to provide outstanding performance for a better future (Empowering Excellence. For a better future). Once again, they have shown their willingness to break new ground and devote themselves to pioneering technologies. With the EU research project, LAUDA is also underscoring its expertise in the field of hydrogen cooling and its will to continuously promote innovation and development.
A new hypothesis states that the first sugars emerged from glyoxylate (pictured as the center molecule). In this hypothesis, glyoxylate first reacts with itself and then the byproducts from these reactions, ultimately forming simple sugars and other products (pictured as the surrounding molecules).

Two prominent origin-of-life chemists have published a new hypothesis for how the first sugarswhich were necessary for life to evolvearose on the early Earth.

In a paper that appeared on April 13, 2023, in the journal Chem, the chemists from Scripps Research and the Georgia Institute of Technology propose that key sugars needed for making early life forms could have emerged from reactions involving glyoxylate (C 2 HO 3 ), a relatively simple chemical that plausibly existed on the Earth before life evolved.

We show that our new hypothesis has key advantages over the more traditional view that early sugars arose from the chemical formaldehyde, says Ramanarayanan Krishnamurthy, PhD, a professor in the Department of Chemistry at Scripps Research.

Krishnamurthys co-author was Charles Liotta, PhD, Regents' Professor Emeritus at the Georgia Institute of Technologys School of Chemistry and Biochemistry.

Origin-of-life chemists seek to explain how the basic molecular building blocks and reactions necessary for life could have arisen from the simple chemicals that were likely present on the prebiotic Earth. The overarching aim of the field is to answer the fundamental question of how our living planet came to be. But its discoveries also can informand have informedmany other fields, from atmospheric science and geology to synthetic biology and the search for life on other planets.

The three major classes of biological molecule whose availability needs to be explained by origin-of-life chemistry are: the amino acids that make up proteins, the nucleobases that make up the letters of DNA and RNA, and the sugars (also called carbohydrates) that are found throughout biology, including in the twisted backbone structure of DNA and RNA. According to the prevailing theories, amino acids probably arose from ammonia (NH 3 ), while nucleobases arose from hydrogen cyanide (HCN).

The origin of sugars has been less clear. Many scientists believe the first sugars came from reactions involving formaldehyde (CH 2 O), but this theory has some drawbacks.

The formaldehyde reactions proposed by this theory are quite messythey have uncontrolled side reactions and other drawbacks due to formaldehydes high reactivity under the envisioned early-Earth conditions, Liotta says.

The chemists proposed alternative is a glyoxylose reaction scenario in which glyoxylate first reacts with itself, forming a close cousin of formaldehyde known as glycolaldehyde. The researchers suggest that glyoxylate, glycolaldehyde, their byproducts and other simple compounds could have continued to react with one another, ultimately yielding simple sugars and other productswithout the drawbacks of formaldehyde-based reactions.

Glyoxylate already has a prominent role in origin-of-life chemistry theories. Swiss chemist Albert Eschenmoser proposed in 2007 that a form of it might have been the source for multiple original biomolecules. Krishnamurthy and Furman University chemist Greg Springsteen, PhD, also suggested in a 2020 Nature Chemistrypaper that glyoxylate could have helped initiate a primordial version of the modern (tricarboxylic acid) TCA cycle, a basic metabolic process found in most life forms on Earth.

Krishnamurthy and his team are currently working to demonstrate in the laboratory that the glyoxylose reaction scenario could indeed have yielded the first sugars.

Such a demonstration would expand the role of glyoxylate as a versatile molecule in prebiotic chemistry and further stimulate the search for its own origin on the prebiotic Earth, Krishnamurthy says.
Frida Kahlo is considered one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. So many people have seen her portraits hung in some of the most famous art galleries or reposted on social media. But do you know the full story of legendary artist Frida Kahlos life?

Frida was born in Mexico City in 1907. During her younger years, Frida faced many challenges that she had to overcome, like when she contracted polio at only six years old, which crippled her right leg and gave her a limp.

She started developing a love for the arts as a young girl, sketching and working with her father, who was a photographer. However, it wasnt until after a tragic accident that she took up painting.

When she was 18, Frida was on a bus returning home from school in 1925 when a streetcar crashed into it. Several of the passengers on board died. Frida was found with an iron handrail pierced through her pelvis like a sword, but she miraculously survived.

Although Frida lived to see another day after the crash, she endured years of torment with her battered and recovering body. She had to have at least 30 surgeries, as her abdomen, pelvis, uterus, legs, spine, etc., all suffered intense injuries.

Fridas body was never the same after the accident. She had to be bedridden for a long time, and she began to express her pain and emotions through artwork, particularly paintings.

Frida was also a very politically active person. When she was 21 years old, she joined the Mexican Communist Party. At one of their gatherings, she was reintroduced to artist Diego Rivera in 1928.

Although he was 21 years older than her and her parents didnt approve of their relationship, Frida and David got married in 1929.

Her relationship with Diego certainly didnt help her heal, as he was often unfaithful. They tried to have a child, but Frida lost the baby, which may have been because of her former injuries.

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With help from artificial intelligence, doctors across medical disciplines will soon be able to consult patients entire medical files against a breadth of medical healthcare data and published medical literature.

We see a paradigm shift coming in the field of medical AI. Previously, medical AI models could only address very small, narrow pieces of the healthcare puzzle. Now we are entering a new era, where its much more about larger pieces of the puzzle in this high-stakes field, explained Jure Leskovec, a computer science professor at Stanford Engineering.

In a new study published in Nature, researchers from Stanford described how generalist medical artificial intelligence (GMAI) is a new category of AI models that is flexible, knowledgeable, and reusable across numerous data types and medical applications.

GMAI can interpret various data combinations drawn from electronic health records, imaging, lab results, medical text, and genomics an ability that far surpasses other AI models such as ChatGPT.

GMAI will even draw sketches, annotate images, provide explanations, and offer care recommendations.

A lot of inefficiencies and errors that happen in medicine today occur because of the hyper-specialization of human doctors and the slow and spotty flow of information, said Michael Moor, the studys co-first author.

The potential impact of generalist medical AI models could be profound because they wouldnt be just an expert in their own narrow area, but would have more abilities across specialties.

There are currently over 500 AI models designed for clinical medicine that are approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). But, most of these models are only able to perform one or two specific tasks. For instance, looking for signs of pneumonia by scanning a patients chest X-ray.

However, new advances in the research of foundational models are promising and could solve a much more challenging and diverse range of tasks.

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Pexels/Francesco Ungaro

In 2022, a gunman opened fire inside a church in Nigeria, which led to the death of at least 50 persons, including children. The church reopens its doors to celebrate Easter Sunday after being closed due to the incident and weeks of renovations.

Reopening of the Church

On Apr. 9, Easter Sunday Mass has celebrated in the St. Francis Xavier Owo Catholic Parish. Catholic News Agency reported that during the sermon that was given at the reopening of the church after it had been closed for 43 weeks for restorations and to provide time for victims of the incident to receive medical treatment, Bishop Jude Ayodeji Arogundade highlighted how important it is to depend upon the power of faith in the person of Jesus Christ.

Due to the violence that had previously taken place in this church, they were reportedly unable to reopen it for around ten months. Following this, the bishop acknowledged the dozens of people who "were called to heaven" due to the attack on Pentecost Sunday and remarked that he would want to extend his condolences to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one.

He also drew parallels between the traumatic events of the attack and the events that occurred on Good Friday and posed the question: "But how do we explain this in relation to the death of our beloved Jesus Christ?" Bishop Ayodeji noted that they need to bring themselves back to a deeper awareness of what is happening in society today.

Moreover, the bishop who began his episcopal ministry in May 2010 as coadjutor bishop of the Ondo Diocese criticized the government led by Muhammadu Buhari for neglecting to even apologize to residents amid several attacks. Ayodeji began his episcopal ministry as coadjutor bishop of the Ondo Diocese.

He has reportedly never seen a country that is so at ease while seeing the murder of hundreds of its inhabitants every day, and in the 15 years that have passed, nothing has been done to stop it.

Also Read: Terrorists in Nigeria Killed Rev. Musa Mairimi of Evangelical Church Winning All, Wife Kidnapped

Tragic Death of Around 50 People in Nigeria

According to the St. Louis Review, people inside and outside the St. Francis Xavier Church in Owo, located in the southwestern state of Ondo, were targeted by gunfire from the perpetrators. As mentioned, at least fifty persons were killed at the Mass on June 5, 2022. Dozens of additional people were hurt and evacuated to surrounding hospitals.

Father Andrew Abayomi, one of the priests, said that the attack took place toward the end of the Mass when people could hear gunshots from various areas. They hid inside the church, yet before the assault began, some of the congregation had already left. They were trapped inside for over twenty minutes after locking the doors behind them and could open the church doors and rush the victims to the hospital as soon as they learned that the perpetrators had fled the scene.

As per Vatican News, although attacks on innocent individuals are prevalent in Nigeria, the one that took place on Pentecost Sunday was the first of its kind to take place anywhere in the region. The operations of radical Islamic groups and fights between nomadic Fulani herders alongside more secure indigenous farmers have contributed to the country's ongoing security issues and helped further aggravate the situation.

Furthermore, bandits and kidnappers have been accountable for assaults on communities and travelers recently. These attacks have resulted in the deaths of some people, kidnapping others for ransom, and destroying property.

Related Article: Muslim Militias' Violent Attack on Christian Communities Killed Around 94 People Throughout Holy Week
Unsplash/Aleksandr Neplokhov

On Saturday, Apr. 15, an elderly man's car crashed into the office of Grace Church of Mentor. He was reportedly speeding due to a medical emergency.

Car Crash

A report from the Cleveland 19 News stated that based on the investigation findings, the car's driver was a guy from Willoughby who was 70 years old and was traveling southbound on Reynolds Road when he lost consciousness.

The Mentor Fire Department said that the man's vehicle went off the road to the left, where it collided with a tree before going on a crash with the Grace Church of Mentor, which is located at 6831 Reynolds Rd.

As per News Herald, at approximately 5:51 in the evening, emergency services were called out to the intersection of Reynolds Road and Bellflower Road in response to a medical emergency. A subsequent report said that a vehicle had collided with a structure in the 6800 block of Reynolds Road.

During the crash, no one was present in the building, which is the office for the church adjacent to it. The agency reports that the motorist was examined and brought to Hillcrest Hospital for further treatment. It was decided to call in the utilities and ask them to send someone to the scene to secure gas and electricity for the building.

Also Read: Milwaukee Man Pleaded Guilty Following Car Crash Accident That Killed Grace Lutheran Churchs Pastor, Aaron Strong

What To Do When There Is A Car Accident

Wilson Kehoe Winingham's blog stated that vehicle accidents continue to occur despite recent developments in automotive technology, such as rearview cameras, adaptive lighting, and forward collision avoidance systems (FCS). According to representations provided by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, 36,560 persons lost their lives on the nation's roadways in 2018, while 2.71 million people in accidents suffered injuries that prompted them to seek medical attention.

Accidents can transform a person's life completely, no matter how terrible or trivial. They can result in a loss of wages, as well as pain, suffering, or disability that are permanent. The frequency with which people are injured or killed in motor vehicle collisions does not justify dismissing the importance of being informed.

According to All-State, when there is an accident involving a car, an individual should do the following:

Check for injuries

Check on the other people riding in the vehicle to see if anyone has been harmed, call the emergency services, or ask someone else to call for assistance.

Get to safety

If not harmed, move to the shoulder of the road or onto a sidewalk. Pull over to the side of the road as soon as it is safe to drive the vehicle and the location where it is presenting a danger. If that is not the case, the car should leave where it is and go to a safe place.

Call 911

Calling the police after any accident, no matter how little or severe it may be, is extremely vital, and in certain areas, it's even mandated by law. The cops that arrive on the site will create an accident report and take photographs of the area.

Wait for help

Stop your vehicle, activate your emergency flashers, and use the roadway flares in your emergency car pack to signal other drivers that they should reduce their speed.

Moreover, the National Insurance Crime Bureau warns against bandit tow trucks. These are uncalled-for tow truck drivers who stop to aid, which is possibly a fraud. They have been known to convince victims to let them take their cars to suspicious facilities that hold them captive for a high price.

Exchange information

After checking, exchange contacts and insurance information with the other motorist. The Insurance Information Institute recommends sharing this information following an accident. It also advises against debating fault when reviewing the circumstances with the other driver when filing an insurance claim.

Related Article:'Missionary Evangelist' Pastor Dean Elliott, Died at 63 Due to Car Accident
Pixabay/Alexa f

A Florida youth pastor has been charged with accessing child porn on his church's Wi-Fi. Florida resident Edward Wilds III was detained following a roughly 12-month investigation that was started by an online tip.

The Putnam County Sheriff's Office charged Wilds with possessing child pornography and using a two-way communication device to aid in a crime.

Pastor Arrested for Child Pornography and Been Fired from Teaching Job

According to News Week, on May 22, 2022, the Putnam County Sheriff's Office got a cyber-tip from a social networking site, sparking the inquiry. Following a Wednesday night worship at the Palatka Baptist Temple last spring, Wilds reportedly downloaded explicit child-sex material there. Authorities discovered 54,000 photos in total on devices and accounts associated with Wilds during the inquiry.

Most of the photographs were sexual, and it was discovered that Wilds transmitted 42 pornographic images of youngsters between the ages of 14 and 16 to another user who requested them over chat exchanges.

According to Miami Herald, Edward Wilds III was dismissed as a teacher at Middleton-Burney Elementary School and placed on administrative leave after the Putnam County School District learned of his arrest.

In March, the authorities contacted Wilds about the claims, and his computer devices were later subpoenaed. He acknowledged that because of his behavior, he had previously been repeatedly banned from a social media platform. When asked about the case, Sheriff H.D. DeLoach said, "This is a clearcut case of child sexual exploitation and I'm deeply troubled by the commission of such heinous crime in our hometown."

He emphasized that the exploitation and abuse of children are disgusting acts that have no place in society. Wilds's acts, according to Sheriff DeLoach, were "disgusting, vile, and repugnant," and he vowed that such conduct would not be permitted in their county. The arrest serves as a reminder that everyone must safeguard children from all types of abuse.

Also Read:28 Catholic Priests Face Child Sex Abuse Allegations in Georgia Since 1940s; No Criminal Charges Pursued

Victims are Unheard of, and Authorities are Enraged

People identifying as Edward Wilds' victims or acquainted with one of his victims have begun posting their accounts on Facebook. According to Church Leaders, one person claimed that despite years of complaints to the police, they had never been treated seriously. This person claimed that while they felt vindicated by Wilds' arrest, it was unsatisfying and that they wanted to be the sole victim. After their encounter, they made the decision to homeschool their kids in Putnam County to keep them safe.

Another person asked for prayers for a family member who was allegedly wronged by Wilds and claimed that Wilds was shielded by his "reputation" as the youth pastor. The victim was threatened with "going to hell" if they notified anyone they had been sexually molested.

Rick Surrency, the Putnam County School District superintendent, expressed his shock at the circumstance. News 4 Jax reported that despite no proof to support the claims, Surrency said Wilds would continue to be on administrative leave until the school board was given the go-ahead to terminate him.

The primary pastor of the church and father of Edward Wilds III declined to comment on his son's detention. According to deputies, Wilds brought himself in on Friday morning and was released on bond the following afternoon with restrictions against internet use and child contact. Wilds is accused of using his cellphone to commit a crime involving minors on top of the other allegations.

Related Article: Baltimore Attorney General Reveals Shocking Clergy Abuse of Hundreds of Children and Teens
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At age 84, the world bid farewell to George Verwer, a distinguished evangelist for global missions. On Monday, Apr. 17, Operation Mobilization made a solemn announcement regarding the passing of Verwer.

Verwer, a devout Christian, devoted his life to spreading the global gospel and motivating others to follow in his footsteps.

The Life of George Verwer

According to Christian Post, George Verwer's life story is a fascinating tale of adventure, faith, and perseverance. From his humble beginnings in New Jersey, Verwer became a world-renowned Christian missionary and founder of Operation Mobilization, a global organization dedicated to spreading the gospel and providing humanitarian aid.

Christianity Today reported that despite facing numerous challenges and setbacks, Verwer remained steadfast in his commitment to his calling, traveling to over 100 countries and inspiring countless individuals to follow in his footsteps. Through his tireless efforts and unwavering faith, Verwer has left an indelible mark on the world and continues to inspire generations of believers.

On July 27, 1938, Middlesex, England, welcomed the arrival of George Verwer. Raised in a devout Christian household, he fostered a fervent zeal for evangelism from his formative years. Verwer's life was profoundly impacted in 1957 when he attended a Billy Graham crusade in London. After completing his studies at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, he established Operation Mobilization in 1957.

Moreover, the founding of Operation Mobilization was driven by a noble objective: to rally Christians from all corners of the globe and galvanize them into action to propagate the gospel message far and wide. For more than six decades, Verwer helmed the organization, overseeing its expansion into a worldwide missions agency with a reach spanning 110 nations. Verwer's enthusiasm for missions and evangelism was infectious, and he ignited the hearts of innumerable Christians globally to participate in disseminating the good news.

In addition to his many other accomplishments, Verwer was a highly productive writer and an engaging public speaker. The author penned several literary works centered around missions and evangelism. Among his notable titles are "Out of the Comfort Zone" and "No Turning Back."

Also Read:Pope Benedict XVI Passes Away at 95, Remembered for His Defense of Orthodoxy and Historic Resignation

Tributes Pour In

As per the Premier Christian News, in the wake of Verwer's passing, many tributes have flooded in from around the globe. Numerous individuals who were moved by Verwer's life and ministry and who identify as Christians have taken to social media to express their recollections and sympathies.

The CEO of Operation Mobilization, Lawrence Tong, stated that George Verwer was a prominent figure in missions and evangelism. His enthusiasm for spreading the gospel to every corner of the globe was contagious, igniting a flame within the hearts of countless believers and motivating them to participate in missionary work for years to come. His legacy will endure through the ministry he established and the numerous lives he impacted."

As mentioned, Verwer's life and ministry have also been honored by several other Christian leaders. According to Franklin Graham, the offspring of Billy Graham, Verwer was an authentic hero of the faith. The enthusiasm with which he propagated the gospel across the globe served as a source of motivation for me and innumerable others. The loss of his presence will be felt profoundly.

Related Article:Former Senior Catholic Official, Cardinal George Pell, Passes Away at 81
Pixabay/ H. Hach

During the interview with a popular radio host Dean Obeidallah on Sirius XM, MSNBC host Ali Velshi compared GOP efforts to restrict or outright ban abortion to America's version of "Christian Shariah," and criticized Republicans for "imposing" their religious beliefs on society.

Obeidallah, a Muslim, lamented the criticism his religion frequently faces while conservatives appear to utilize their religious beliefs to advance anti-abortion legislation.

Ali Velshi compares Christian opposition to abortion to "Christian Shariah"

According to Fox News, Velshi concurred, emphasizing the parallels to Shariah law. He stated that someone who opposes abortion rights in America, where the constitution forbids the installation of a state religion, is acting in a manner that many detractors of Shariah law find objectionable.

Ali Velshi asserted that, unlike Christians, Muslims in America had not imposed their Islamic views on society. He asserted that Christians are using the Bible as a legal code and accused them of acting in a manner that is similar to "Christian Shariah."

After the U.S. Supreme Court decided to invalidate the federal right to abortion last June, dozens of states have passed laws restricting or protecting the operation. Velshi stated that these initiatives are akin to Shariah law in that they impose Christian views on society.

The conversation between Obeidallah and Velshi occurs while the U.S. The Biden administration has approached the Supreme Court, requesting their support in maintaining FDA approval for mifepristone, a medication that plays a role in over half of all abortion cases. According to Faith Wire, a federal appeals court recently overturned an earlier court decision that restricted access to the medicine.

An impartial panel of three judges from the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a district judge's recent order to ban the use of the medicine temporarily.

Also Read: Abortion Pill Limitations Temporarily Halted by Supreme Court

U.S. Supreme Court Temporarily Protects Access to Abortion Pill, Mifepristone

The United States Supreme Court decided on Friday to temporarily protect access to a commonly used abortion pill, blocking the implementation of lower court limits on the medicine. According to Inquirer, the verdicts were given an "administrative stay" by the country's highest court until Wednesday so that the parties engaged in the case may make their arguments. This change represents the most recent development in America's ongoing conflict over reproductive rights.

The Department of Justice has made an important request to the Supreme Court, asking them to reverse the decisions made by lower courts. These decisions could result in permanent limitations or even a complete prohibition on the use of mifepristone, a medication used to end early pregnancies. The request was made urgently, and the deadline for the restrictions to begin is set for 1:00 am Eastern Time on Saturday. The Justice Department was successful in getting the stay. The order gives the Supreme Court some time to choose how to proceed with the lawsuit.

Last week, a traditionally conservative federal court in Texas put a nationwide stop to the use of mifepristone following a complaint filed by a group opposing abortion. This decision sparked the beginning of a highly emotional and intense legal battle. This is the same group that had challenged the FDA's approval of the medication way back in 2000.

Related Article: South Carolina Republican Urges to Disregard of FDA Abortion Pill Dispensing Ruling
Flickr/Tatters ?

Easter is the day when concluding the week full of religious traditions and observances, and millions of Orthodox Christians from Eastern and Southern Europe, the Middle East, and other regions of the world have gathered to celebrate.

Easter is observed outdoors and includes both intensely spiritual and prehistoric pagan components. It is the most important festival in the Orthodox calendar. Religious services are held during the celebrations, and then a meal is shared with friends and family.

Easter Traditions Are Changing, Blending Tradition and Thrills While Raising Public Safety Issues

According to the article shared in Associated Press News, it's possible that customs like enjoying spit-roasted lambs, competing with red-dyed hard-boiled eggs, and lighting rockets off when the priest declares that our Lord Jesus Christ has already been brought back from the dead at midnight on Saturday predate Christianity itself. New traditions have developed over time, and older ones have been modified, keeping the holiday alive and constantly changing.

Young churchgoers in the Neos Kosmos neighborhood of Athens, Greece, have recently started flinging Molotov cocktails into open areas during Easter celebrations. Thousands of flares are fired at each other in a "rocket war" between two opposing groups in the village of Vrontados on the island of Chios. More peace-loving residents are anxious because of previous house fire incidences.

Local government has a problem because these unusual traditions attract attention and tourists while raising questions about public safety. Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, this year's event was less intense; according to state TV ERT, "only" 20,000 flares were shot. A documentary crew documented the event, and the movie will be shown on the Viva Vision screen in Las Vegas, which holds the record for the largest video screen in the world.

Also Read: Russian Forces Strike Ukrainian Church on Easter Sunday, Leaving Two Dead

Greeks Embrace Easter Traditions Amid Travel Rush, and Global Reflection, Holy Fire Miracle Shared Worldwide

Easter is when many Greeks leave the busy city and return to their hometowns. According to ABC News, over 575,000 family-hauling vehicles left the Athens region this year. Authorities are bracing for the rush of returning drivers as the festivities come to an end, hoping they've had enough time to recover from any potential hangovers.

But Easter celebrations aren't only about having a good time. There were other serious occasions this year, such as celebrations in war-torn Ukraine. The occasion also invites meditation, like when Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Istanbul, regarded as "first among equals" among Orthodox Christian leaders, observed Easter in his native Gokceada (also known as Imvros in Greek), a Turkish island. This trip was delivered on a promise made ten years previously.

The Holy Fire, said by the faithful to have been miraculously lighted in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem on Saturday, was distributed to many nations as it had been in past years. According to the Tribune-Democrat, these nations include North Macedonia, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Egypt, Georgia, Greece, Lebanon, Romania, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine.

The Holy Fire is welcomed with the same acclaim usually given to visiting heads of state in many places. Every parish in Greece receives the Holy Fire before Saturday midnight, which is thought to be a miracle in and of itself.

Related Article: Ukrainian Official Alleges Russian Military Attacked Church on Orthodox Easter
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Following months of demonstrations against Pastor John Blanchard of Virginia Beach's Rock Church, who is currently charged with pursuing sex with a minor, Jamie Thomas, 43, was detained on Sunday. According to The Virginian-Pilot, Thomas was detained outside the church on misdemeanor charges of stalking and exposing sealed police records.

Thomas has been speaking out against the purported pastor Blanchard for several months, and he just posted a video of him, his wife, and their son demonstrating in front of the church on YouTube. Three police officers arrived and detained Thomas not long after he used a megaphone to call Blanchard a "pedophile" in the video.

Controversial Megachurch Pastor's Arrest Reignites Debate on Accountability and Justice Amid Sexual Misconduct Allegations

According to the Christian Post, Thomas was caught and been detained and he was taken before a magistrate. There, he has been given his recognizance. The incident raises awareness of the ongoing scandal involving the pastor of a megachurch who is under fire and is accused of engaging in inappropriate sexual activity with a minor.

According to another source, an article shared in Yahoo! News, the debate surrounding Jamie Thomas' arrest is centered on John David Blanchard, the 52-year-old main pastor of Rock Church. After getting involved in a local child prostitution probe last year, Blanchard temporarily left his pastoral responsibilities.

Blanchard was detained in October 2021 for reportedly traveling to a motel to meet a 17-year-old sex worker who turned out to be an undercover police officer. He was then accused of using a vehicle to promote prostitution and felony soliciting prostitution.

Blanchard is married and has two children. After posting a $20,000 bond, he was released. In the court documents that have been released, he had a gross of his living for about $30,000 per month while traveling up and down the country's east coast. People like Thomas have been protesting continuously in response to Blanchard's arrest and allegations to call for accountability for the megachurch leader under fire.

Pastor John David Blanchard was one of 17 males detained by Chesterfield County police in October 2021 as part of a sting operation for soliciting sex with a minor. Virginian-Pilot shared that each of the men who was detained and charged after making arrangements to meet the undercover police officer, who was posing as a 17-year-old prostitute, at a motel.

The prosecutors initially dropped charges against Blanchard and another man, but most of the individuals were subject to full prosecution. But Stacey Davenport, the Commonwealth's Attorney for Chesterfield County, declared earlier this year that fresh evidence had been gathered against Blanchard. She then forwarded the matter to a Brunswick County special prosecutor.

The special prosecutor just received until June 7 to decide whether to bring an indictment against the pastor of Rock Church. The issue continues receiving much attention and inspiring local rallies calling for justice and accountability.

Also Read: Local Authorities Closes Simalungun Christian Protestant Church Following Muslims' Opposition on Its Worship Service

Protester Jamie Thomas Vows to Continue Nonviolent Demonstrations Despite Arrest

According to the Daily Beast, Jamie Thomas maintains that his demonstrations have always been nonviolent and that he has never entered the church's grounds without permission. He remembers seeing Pastor John Blanchard leaving the church and getting into a car. Thomas asserts that he spoke "Run, run, run" during the meeting.

Thomas was apprehended on Sunday and he has been released without having bail. He is then summoned to appear in court on May 23. Despite the legal status, Thomas intends to remain in protest outside the Rock Church the next Sunday. Thomas is nevertheless determined to bring attention to Blanchard's situation and demand responsibility for the pastor under fire, saying in a statement to the media, "Yesterday, I told my wife, "You know what? I have no fear. I'm not afraid."

Related Article: Arrests Made as Pro-Trans Protesters Swarm Kentucky State Capitol During Veto Override Vote; Two States Ban Gender-Affirming Care on Minors
Unsplash/Curioso Photography

A church in Ukraine's eastern stronghold has reportedly been destroyed by Russian forces, as per the Ukrainian military. An S300 missile destroyed intense fighting in the region. The recent attack is believed to be a part of Russia's continuous military intervention in the conflict-ridden nation. The international community has expressed outrage and condemnation following news of the attack.

According to the NHK World, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, intense clashes are currently underway in the eastern strongholds of Bakhmut and Maryinka. Ukrainians are reportedly repelling the enemy, according to recent updates. Recently, the Reuters news agency released footage showing individuals relocating religious paintings from a church that has suffered significant damage to its roof and walls.

Ukrainian Forces Retreat Amid Russian Aggression

In a recent article from Yahoo News, Ukrainian forces were compelled to withdraw from their positions in the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region. This retreat occurred as Russian-backed separatists initiated a sequence of assaults.

According to the Ukrainian military, Russian troops and weapons, including heavy artillery and tanks, have supported the separatists. Ukrainian officials have pleaded with the international community to intervene and end Russia's aggressive actions.

Since Russia annexed Crimea in 2014, the conflict has claimed over 13,000 lives and displaced over 1.5 million people. Despite multiple ceasefires and peace agreements, the violence has continued to escalate, with both sides accusing the other of violating the agreements.

The Ukrainian military has called on the international community to intervene to stop Russia's aggression.

However, Russia has denied involvement in the conflict, stating that it is a domestic issue for Ukraine to resolve. The international community has called on Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and respect its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Also Read: Pope Francis Expressed Gratitude to Polish Catholics for Humanitarian Assistance to Ukraine

International Community Condemns Attack on Church

Amidst escalating regional tensions following a series of Russian attacks, European church leaders are doubling their resolve to promote peace and unity. Church leaders have issued a statement urging an end to the ongoing violence and calling for all parties involved to engage in constructive dialogue to resolve the crisis peacefully.

As reported by Crux Now, several European countries, including Ukraine and Georgia, have been targeted by Russian attacks, resulting in significant destruction and displacement of civilians. Church leaders have voiced their grave apprehension regarding current affairs, stating that the assaults constitute a breach of global regulations and fundamental human liberties.

Church leaders have strongly condemned Russian aggression, citing its opposition to the principles of justice, human dignity, and peaceful coexistence. The international community has been urged to take prompt action to safeguard the victims of the attacks and ensure that the perpetrators are held accountable for their deeds.

In addition, the church leaders have issued a statement urging all parties involved in the crisis to respect the affected countries' territorial integrity and sovereignty. They have further called for meaningful dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the ongoing situation. Emphasis has been placed on maintaining the rule of law and human rights and fostering an appreciation for diversity and tolerance.

Related Article: Russian Invasion in Ukraine Destroyed At Least 494 Religious Buildings
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As the United Methodist Church (UMC) experiences a decline in congregations, two regional entities have initiated establishing "Lighthouse Congregations." These congregations aim to offer a sanctuary for those who wish to remain within the denomination.

Lighthouse Congregations

According to The Christian Post, 249 congregations decided to disaffiliate from the UMC North Carolina Conference the preceding year. Similarly, since the year 2020, 41 communities have opted to disaffiliate from the UMC Western North Carolina Conference.

The absence of a congregational home has caused many individuals to feel displaced. In response, the two conferences based in North Carolina have taken action by introducing "Lighthouse Congregations" earlier this year.

Currently, the NC Conference in Garner boasts 77 Lighthouse Congregations, whereas the WNC Conference in Huntersville has 55 officially recognized Lighthouse Congregations. The program has expanded its reach, as 60 more congregations have successfully undergone the training.

In addition, the esteemed Rev. Rob Hutchinson, the director of Church Development for WNCC, personally shared the program materials with 15 other conferences.

Also Read:United Methodist Church Took Legal Action Against Cortez For Allegedly Violating Bylaws on Disaffiliation

Leaving UMC

Christianity Today reported that almost four years ago, the United Methodist Church sanctioned a departure strategy for congregations seeking to sever ties with the worldwide denomination due to divergent views on sexuality. This decision initiated what some anticipated would be a contemporary schism. Subsequently, a recent analysis has revealed that it has significantly failed to meet that expectation.

According to an analysis of data gathered by the General Council on Finance and Administration of the church, it has been revealed that a total of 1,831 congregations out of the 30,000 nationwide United Methodist churches in the US, which is equivalent to 6.1 percent, have been granted permission to disaffiliate since 2019. Regrettably, the statistics regarding international departures among the approximately 12,000 United Methodist churches overseas are lacking.

As per the denomination's disaffiliation plan, churches have been granted until the end of December to sever ties. Numerous churches have already expressed their intention to depart. The churches are entitled to relocate with their properties upon fulfilling their apportionments and pension liabilities. Some individuals are resorting to civil courts to resolve the matter.

Furthermore, the Dallas Morning News reported that UMC, a denomination grappling with the issue of LGBTQ inclusion, is witnessing significant decisions being made at both local and national levels. It has resulted in some churches opting to disaffiliate due to theological and operational disparities, thereby exacerbating the division within the church.

Across the two conferences encompassing the Dallas-Fort Worth region, 89 congregations have cast their ballots in favor of departing, leaving a trail of heartbreak in their wake within the local community. Nevertheless, particular Methodist congregations have perceived the process as a choice to remain and anticipate the denomination's forthcoming chapter.

As mentioned, every four years, the General Conference, a gathering of delegates, convenes as the preeminent legislative body of the United Methodist Church. During the 2019 General Conference, a conservative stance against the ordination of openly gay ministers and the marriage of same-sex couples was affirmed by a slim majority.

Related Article: United Methodist Church Renounce Disaffiliation Process, 186 Churches Filed Lawsuit
When we explored an abandoned hospital in Gary, Indiana, we saw the devastation of deindustrialization. But our greatest lesson was to remember the people who still live in the community.

My son (Henrik) and I (Ben) went urbexing a few weeks ago. Urbexing, or urban exploring, is going into abandoned buildings or areas to see whats there. Theres a small urbexing community that seeks, explores, and reflects on the forgotten places around us. Usually, urbexing is trespassing; we hasten to add we were there with permission.

Gary was a model town at its apex in the 1960s, with a booming economy built around what was (at that time) the worlds largest steel mill. Gary also had the distinction of pioneering a new, more scientific approach to education. Perhaps you remember the hymn of praise to the city in The Music Man: There is only one place that can light my face, Gary Indiana, My home sweet home. Michael Jackson, born and raised in Gary, also sang: Im going back to Indiana, back to where I started from. Gary was the place to be; innovation and cultural production earned Gary the moniker Magic City.

Today, Gary is doubly shocking. First, to simply see its wreckage; second, to realize how bustling it once was and how far it has fallen. Gary has 13,000 abandoned buildings30% of its total stock!

Henrik has been interested in urbexing for a while, and a few weeks ago we looked into possibilities for urbexing safely and legally. We learned Gary grants permits for entering some of the buildings, because the town has discovered theres money to be made as the location for films with war-torn, post-apocalypse, horror, or disaster settings (think HBOs hit The Last of Us). It turns out even decay can be profitable.

Hollywood sends crews to Gary for these scenes. Movies such as Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011), A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010), and Pearl Harbor (2001) all have scenes filmed in Gary. While Garys licensing program is chiefly for film crews, its available to anyone for a fee.

Henrik and I drove to Gary the day before and stayed overnight (actually, we stayed in a nicer community nearby). The next morning, we grabbed breakfast and went shopping to gear up with goggles, masks, and flashlights. We drove to the old St. Marys Mercy Hospital, built in 1914 and closed in 1995, where Michael Jackson was born. Following the instructions from City Hall and clicking on our flashlights, we entered through a basement window.

We were in.

The air was cold and moist, the ground coated in a spongy mat of damp dust. I wondered what exactly made up the air my lungs were taking in. The wallpaper was torn and dangling in wide sheets.

Rusty metal. Broken windows. Fallen pipes and ducts. Insulation spilled out of gaping holes.

We found patient rooms, offices, the main reception hall, an ambulance loading bay, storage rooms, and the basement utility room. I wondered if there was a chapel, but didnt find one.

After a couple of hours I was ready to leave, not overwhelmed as much as spent and weary: Hey Henrik, how about it? Should we call it a day?

Henrik wanted to keep looking for the surgery. We found it in the basement at the far end of the building.

After finishing inside, we drove around Gary to see the factories, main street, historic locations (like the settlement houses from the early 20th century), and residential neighborhoods. The settlement houses were remarkable institutions that provided educational and welfare services to immigrant, minority, and poor communities when no other institutions could or would. They popped up in rapidly urbanizing places that didnt have the institutional network to support dense populations, and were most often founded and run by women. They were places for gathering, eating, learning, and receiving needed resources.

And the churches. Oh, the churches. Once majestic, they were now host to congregations of grasses and trees under an open sky where the roofs once were.

So what happened to Gary? The short answer: The economy in Gary needed the steel works, and the steel industry collapsed. To learn more, we spoke with sociologist Dr. Brian Miller, professor at Wheaton College: Gary was an unusual industrial suburb or satellite city as Taylor called them in 1915. The city grew rapidly around the steel industry.

However, foreign competition and automation took steep tolls. In 1971 alone, more than 10,000 workers were laid off. As jobs disappeared, so did residents. Over the decades, an estimated total of 55% of Garys population has left, a truly astounding absence.

Dr. Miller added that race played a part too: Additionally, the white flight of numerous white residents changed the demographics of the community. The loss of jobs and residents with higher incomes affects the tax base of communities, as well as its status. And with population numbers falling off a cliff, institutions like St. Marys were also casualties.

Its no wonder Gary hasnt been called Magic City for a long time. More recently, it was dubbed the Murder Capital of the Country and Scary, Indiana.

Dr. Miller highlighted the implications of Garys decline for those who still live there: Efforts to attract new businesses and development are difficult once a community has a particular reputation and limited resources.

Finishing his thought, Dr. Miller added, As William Julius Wilson and other scholars have argued, the conditions lead to social isolation and local adaptations to difficult economic circumstances. I cant help but think of the revenue stream from Hollywood when Dr. Miller says local adaptations. Through a twisted irony, disaster movies can help a community like Gary.

Before our trip, we talked to someone from the Gary historical society. Shes a lifelong native of Gary, and for her, Gary was not an abstract historical interest like it was for us. She remembers Magic City with fondness and laments what Gary has become. For her, the fact that Gary has become the go-to place for shooting horror films and dystopian dramas is devastating.

What are we carrying away from our experience? Its not so much that places matter. We already knew that. Gary was home to tens of thousands of people; now, its a shell. People need healthy places, and places need people. So when a place fails, people suffer from it.

The more important lesson is how we relate to these places. It is easy to think of a place like Gary as a real-life horror movie. But St. Marys operated for 81 years. Thats 81 years of births and deaths, of community life, reduced to a wet pile of dust and sour smells.

Gary is more than what the movies or the ruins suggest, but it is a struggle to see past the image. The lady from the historical society helped us with this.

Theres still magic in Magic City.

Nowadays, theres a new hospital, and this one is filled with the sounds of the community.

This spring, support the work of the Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College, which provides resources like the Spiritual First Aid course for pastors, church leaders, and laypeople.

Dr. Benjamin Norquist is currently working on a joint book project about how American Christians relate to places. Follow Bens work.
Our March cover story, Ministers in Ukraine Are Ready to Meet God at Any Moment, featured the stories of pastors risking everything to serve their fellow Ukrainians on the frontlines of war. Reader Bob Davies, of Seattle, wrote to us, The bravery and steadfast faithfulness of Christians who have chosen to remain in Ukraine despite the dangers is a wake-up call to those of us in the West who have it so easy in comparison.

Several other articles also captured our readers attention, especially I Dont Want to Be a Universalist, by Richard Mouw. To wish universalism were true would be to pray God would be less than who he is. And this brings him no glory at all, said Jim Turnbo of Beaumont, Texas, agreeing with Mouws analysis.

Others felt Mouw should have discussed more historic and contemporary arguments for the ideas he discredits. The universalism described here is not something I recognize as a historical theologian of early Christianity who studies many of the major theologians in this tradition like Origen and Gregory of Nyssa, Amy Hughes, a professor at Gordon College, tweeted. To say that either of these theologians or recent theologians make no effort to reconcile the Bible with the resolution of evil is inaccurate at best.

Lets Rethink the Evangelical Gender Wars, one of our March columns, also prompted conversation on social media. Responders were encouraged to see CT editor in chief Russell Moores willingness to grow and change  and to SAY that he has done so, as one Instagram commenter put it.

Readers also praised Words Are Holy. So Why Dont We Talk Like They Are?, Paul J. Pastors op-ed on the decrease of sustained, thoughtful engagement with well-crafted language. It seems incumbent upon the Christian worldview to acknowledge and articulate this problem while vigorously working to correct our cultures course, said Brian Champion of San Angelo, Texas.

Many of you have told us that you read your copy of CT long after it arrives in the mail. In this section, we will offer further jumping-off points for discussion, additional viewpoints to ponder, and reflections from our editors and staff. And as with anything you read in these pages, wed love your feedback about it!

Kate Lucky

senior editor, audience engagement

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After COVID-19, news of sexual abuse in churches in so many denominations, plus January 6, I have not been able to rejoin a church. My original reason to go was to worship Jesus, but it seemed that so many churches have lost their way with drama, business philosophies, what to offer people to get them into the church building, and political involvement.

My eyes watered with the sentence where the fishermen left their boats and simply sat with Jesus and ate with him. The simple communal experience of sitting and being with Christhow awesome! I will keep that picture as the perfect moment of worship. I pray Christ will lead me to such a church where I feel I am worshiping with others who desire to worship our great God. I cant wait to get to heaven to spend eternity communing with him.

L. Jean Clark

Leesburg, FL

This topic is of course controversial, challenging, and a minority position. Yet this essay was long on ad hominems and short on actual argument. Professor Mouw seems to believe that universalists cannot make their case from Scripture and theology; they are primarily motivated by sympathy for their unsaved loved ones.

When forced to take on a real theological opponent, David Bentley Harts That All Shall Be Saved, Mouw even there fails to take seriously Harts exegesis of Scripture. Mouw also fails to consider how what he calls Harts account of God through eternity finally rewarding human reasonableness before divine grace is in fact Harts portrait of divine infinite love in the mystery of salvation, reconciling Godself to the disordered passions of sinful humans, through the unmatched reconciling power of Christ.

Of course, Mouw sees fit to stage the archfiend of history, Adolf Hitler, to inspire our disgust with universalisms good-intentioned but unbiblical and unseemly theology. It seems therefore the case that no conceivable response can explain any possible justice or goodness in the face of such evils. In the end, it appears that Mouw must dismiss the case for universalism because it demands a scale of divine compassion, grace, and mercy inconceivable on human terms. An odd thing, I find, coming from a Reformed theologian and philosopher.

Mike Kugler

Orange City, IA

Behind the Scenes: With Gossip of the Gospel, the Church Grows in Nepal

I think my personal visit to Nepal added weight to my article. Meeting and interviewing several Christian leaders (men and women) and closely observing their culture helped me write with boldness and clarity. Because they saw me face to face, they were not hesitant to share their experience with me and did not consider me a complete stranger. I met several women leaders, as well as regular churchgoers, and built good contacts for future stories.

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I was also privileged to attend Sunday worship in Kathmandu, where the church was packed with worshipers, and I got permission from the church administrator to take photos.

The church in Nepal is relatively young compared to others in South Asia, but it has stories that need to be told that have the potential of encouraging and enriching the global body of Christ. I have come away from this piece with a firm conviction of concentrating more on Nepal in the future.

Surinder Kaur

South Asia editor

Have something to add about this? See something we missed? Share your feedback here.
The city of Chicago has settled with four Wheaton College students who were prohibited from evangelizing in the citys Millennium Park in 2018. The case pushed the city to change park regulations to allow evangelizing and other public speech.

The city council approved a $205,000 settlement on Wednesday, which includes $5,000 each for the students as well as attorneys fees for the five-year litigation.

Im thankful that the gospel is going to be preached in Millennium Park again, Caeden Hood, one of the Wheaton students, told CT. Hood has graduated from Wheaton and is now studying at Knox Theological Seminary in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Were willing to work with the authorities.  Thats fine. We just dont want the proclamation of the gospel to be hindered.

A group of Wheaton students would go to Chicago every Friday, into the subways or on street corners, and start conversations, pass out tracts, or do street preaching. Sometimes they would go to Millennium Park, one of the most popular parks in the city with the famous Bean sculpture.

City rules prohibited the making of speeches and passing out of literature in most of the 24-acre park. In 2018, park security had asked Wheaton students passing out tracts to stop, which they did, but then in subsequent interactions security also stopped them from evangelizing. Four studentsHood, Matt Swart, Jeremy Chong, and Gabriel Emersonconsulted with a Wheaton professor who reached out to a Christian law firm, Mauck & Baker.

Attorney John Mauck had previously handled religious land use cases, especially for Black storefront churches in Chicago that were being zoned out of their spaces. He became one of the architects of the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act of 2000, a federal law that prohibits using land use law to infringe on religious exercise. The Wheaton students didnt have any money to pay a lawyer with an expertise in constitutional law, but the firm took the case on its own dime.

The firm filed a federal lawsuit in 2019 alleging infringements on the students free speech and free exercise of religion. Other individuals who had their own confrontations with park security over collecting signatures for ballot referendums in the park joined the suit as intervenors.

Arguments played out over years and with pandemic delays.

In a 2019 evidentiary hearing in the case, Scott Stewart, executive director of the Millennium Park Foundation, testified that the park was different from other public parks because it was designed as a series of artistic roomsan argument that the park was not a public forum where the First Amendment would apply.

In the hearing, Stewart conceded that someone might pass out the novel Moby Dick but not religious literature in the park, and another park official, Ann Hickey, said that the prohibited speech in the park depended on the intent.

Based on that testimony, federal judge John Robert Blakey in 2020 ruled that the park was enforcing vague provisions in a discriminatory manner and issued a preliminary injunction.

Blakey wrote that the park was clearly a public forum protected by the First Amendment: It is free, open to the public, and serves as a public thoroughfare.

Indeed, if a curated design were enough to transform the nature of the forum, any park with a statue could lose its First Amendment protections, he wrote. The law precludes this absurd result.

In 2020 the city put out new park rules, but the court said those rules may still fall short of constitutional requirements. The rules now clarify that they do not restrict First Amendment activity on the sidewalks throughout the park.

Mauck told CT that the students had an earlier opportunity to settle, but one condition of the settlement was no evangelism in the vicinity of the Bean. The students refused since the Bean is such an important gathering place.

The compromise they agreed to with the city was that evangelizing near the Bean was allowed, but not handing out literature. And in areas where literature handouts are allowed, people can offer literature once but not again.

We live in the real world. We have to compromise. But I dont feel Scripture authorizes us to give away other peoples rights to hear the gospel, Mauck said.

Street preaching is culturally uncomfortable in the US but not in many other parts of the world, say those who do evangelism.

Public evangelism causes us to recoil in a way that it would never have done five, 10, 20 years ago, said R. York Moore in a 2019 interview with CT about the students case. At the time, Moore was the national evangelist for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA.

As the social perception and policy restrictions continue to push proclamation out of view, Christians will eventually have no choice but to pay a higher price for the proclamationeither as lawbreakers or subversives, Moore said.

Hood, one of the Wheaton students, said he had fooled around his freshman year at Wheaton but decided to pursue God whole-heartedly his sophomore year and joined the evangelism team. He started reading the Bible more often.

I started to see the way the Bible talks about the Word of God, he said. Jesus says, What youve heard from me, proclaim from the housetops. Jeremiah talks about hearing from God, and he cant hold it in anymore. He said its like a fire in his bones.  Stuff like that gave me a sense of confidence. He had never preached out in public like that before, and it was a little uncomfortable  I tend to struggle with attention. But he grew more comfortable over time.

The case brought public attention to the students, too. Mauck had warned the students, as he does with most clients, that the city might drag the case out for years as a legal strategy, and asked if they would hang in there as plaintiffs.

Usually they dont understand how that can wear on them and cause anxiety, Mauck said. In this case it helps that we have four [Christian] brothers who know each other and can encourage each other.

The case did drag out for years, but the four stuck with it. Two of the others are in seminary at Mid-America Reformed Seminary, according to Hood. Hood still evangelizes in Florida where he is in seminary, and says the others have been evangelizing where they live now.

Thats all that matters to me at the end of the day, he said.
Extremists bomb church during nighttime prayer meeting in alleged Ramadan attack

NAIROBI, Kenya  Muslim extremists exploded a fuel bomb during a churchs Good Friday night service in western Uganda on April 7, sources said.

The explosion at NABI Pentecostal Church in Biguli, Kamwenge District damaged part of the building, a parked car and several motorcycles, an area source said. Church security apprehended one of six suspects, Bwambale Sadadi of Kilembe quarters, Kamiba Ward, Kasese Municipality in Kasese District, and turned him over to police, the source said.

The police interrogated Bwambale, 28, who confessed that he carried out a jihad activity for jannah [paradise] in this holy month of Ramadan as a way of serving Allah and that he will reward him in paradise, said the source, whose identity is withheld for security reasons.

Area Christians were shocked.

While members were praying, there was a loud explosion of fire that caught part of the front church with the petrol explosion while the faithful were conducting a night prayer meeting, the source said.

Church security and members intercepted the suspects vehicle, a red Bajaj Boxer motorcycle, he said.

They were seriously pursued by the church security guard and other church members, but five other attackers managed to escape, the source said. Bwambale was caught by security personnel who contacted the police, who responded immediately and arrested him.

Police were continuing to investigate as they sought the five other suspects.

The assault was the latest of many instances of persecution of Christians in Uganda that Morning Star News has documented.

Ugandas constitution and other laws provide for religious freedom, including the right to propagate ones faith and convert from one faith to another. Muslims make up no more than 12% of Ugandas population, with high concentrations in eastern areas of the country.
Judge allows Catholic clinic to continue abortion pill reversal treatment amid Colorado's ban

A federal judge has temporarily exempted a Catholic pro-life clinic from a new Colorado law that prohibits medical providers from offering progesterone as a form of treatment to pregnant women seeking to reverse the effects of the abortion pill mifepristone.

U.S. District Court Judge Daniel Domenico issued a preliminary injunction Sunday temporarily prohibiting Colorado from enforcing SB23-190 on Bella Health and Wellness, an OB-GYN and Catholic healthcare practice that filed a lawsuit after the new legislation was signed into law by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis on Friday.

Domenico argued that the new law likely burdens the plaintiffs' First Amendment rights. Based in Englewood, Bella Health and Wellness employs 18 healthcare providers and serves about 200 new patients each month. The organization also has offices in Denver and Lafayette.

The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, a nonprofit law firm, filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court in Colorado on behalf of Bella Health and Wellness.

SB23-190, one of three similar bills signed by the governor on Friday, makes it a "deceptive trade practice" for people to make or disseminate advertisements that imply they provide abortion, contraception or referrals for these services.

SB23-190 prohibits providers from administering or prescribing the abortion pill reversal treatment, citing the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, which claims the treatment "is not based on science." Providers who offer this treatment to patients may be disciplined by their respective medical boards and have their licenses revoked.

The law instructs the state medical board to decide by October whether progesterone can be used "off-label" to reverse the effects of mifepristone.

The Democratic governor also signed two other bills, SB23-188 and SB23-189.

For "Abortion pill reversal" treatment, women are prescribed progesterone after they have taken mifepristone, the first of the two pills used in the chemical abortion regimen.

"The legal merits of the plaintiffs' claims present difficult questions that cannot be adequately analyzed within the time constraints necessary to prevent potential irreparable injury to the plaintiffs' patients who have already begun progesterone treatment and may have their care interrupted absent immediate injunctive relief," Domenico wrote in his injunction, according to The Colorado Sun.

The judge further surmised that the "plaintiffs are sufficiently likely to succeed on the merits of one or more of their claims."

In the complaint, the pro-life group argues that prescribing progesterone to women seeking to negate mifepristone's effects is "perfectly legal" in 49 states.

As the first drug in the chemical abortion pill regimen, mifepristone blocks the progesterone hormone needed for the pregnancy to continue, starving the preborn child of nutrients. The second drug, misoprostol, is typically taken 24-48 hours later to expel the preborn child from the uterus.

The plaintiffs argue that women who feel tricked or pressured into taking mifepristone to end their pregnancies should have the option to continue carrying their baby to term if they change their minds about having an abortion.

"While Colorado allows Plaintiffs and other health care providers to use progesterone for all other women facing threatened miscarriage, SB 23-190 makes it illegal for them to offer the same treatment for women facing threatened miscarriage because they initially took mifepristone (whether willingly or not) but now want to remain pregnant," the complaint states. "Colorado law would force these women to abort pregnancies they wish to continue."

Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser, alongside members of the Colorado Medical Board, members of the Colorado State Board of Nursing and three other Colorado district attorneys, are listed as defendants in the suit.

Bella Health and Wellness also claims progesterone is a hormone that a woman's body makes naturally and is critical to maintaining a healthy pregnancy.

According to the lawsuit, the clinic administers progesterone to patients facing a potential miscarriage, with the suit explaining that the hormone "helps thicken the uterine lining and suppresses uterine contractions" to support the pregnancy.

The healthcare organization also claims that the law interferes with their providers' religious duty to uphold the "dignity" of human life by offering progesterone to women who have changed their minds after taking the first drug in the abortion pill regimen.

"We opened Bella because of our belief that life is a precious gift from God, worthy of protection at all stages," Dede Chism, co-founder and CEO at Bella Health and Wellness, stated in a statement Friday.

The lawsuit comes as the U.S. Supreme Court is expected to weigh in on a series of lower court decisions restricting access to the abortion pill. On Saturday, Justice Samuel Alito granted the Biden administration's request for an emergency stay until the court makes its decision Wednesday.

On April 12, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals agreed to stay a decision by U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the U.S. Northern District of Texas earlier this month that suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of mifepristone.

Kacsmaryk granted the request of the Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, and four individual doctors to suspend the FDA's approval of the drug.

The appellate court temporarily overruled the district court's suspension of the FDA's 2000 approval of mifepristone. However, the court upheld the part of the ruling that struck down the FDA's relaxation of requirements for the distribution of mifepristone, including in-person visits and allowing the drug to be distributed through the mail.

Another change included a limit on when providers could prescribe the pill to women, changing it from 10 weeks of pregnancy to seven weeks.

In 2019, a study titled "Blocking Mifepristone Action With Progesterone" attempted to analyze the safety of reversing the effects of a chemical abortion with progesterone was terminated after recruiting 12 participants. Three women in the study suffered from a severe hemorrhage and required transport to the hospital.

As pro-life researcher Carole Novielli reported in May 2020 for Live Action News, two women who started hemorrhaging received a placebo while one took progesterone. Novielli noted, however, that hemorrhaging is a side effect of taking mifepristone.

She also highlighted study author Mitchell Creinin's connection to Danco Laboratories, the abortion pill manufacturer. The researcher cited evidence that Creinin had received compensation from the company by acting as a consultant for the abortion pill. Novielli questioned if there was a profit motive behind the study.

A 2018 Cochrane review concluded that progesterone "probably reduces the risk of miscarriage" but highlighted the need for further evidence.

In November 2021, the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) published guidelines recommending providers treat pregnant women experiencing early bleeding in pregnancy with progesterone, stating that it "slightly" reduces the chance of miscarriage.

After analyzing the effect of progesterone on reducing miscarriages, NICE found that the beneficial effects of progesterone were complete by 12 weeks of pregnancy. By this time, according to NICE, the mother's placenta and not her ovary makes the progesterone needed to support the pregnancy.
Andy Stanley reveals the last thing his father told him before dying: 'Wonderfully weighty words'

Georgia megachurch Pastor Andy Stanley said he will miss his father, Pastor Charles Stanley, "every day until I see him again."

A day after his father died, the pastor of North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Georgia, took to Twitter to share a few details about the last few weeks with his father, a prominent Evangelical broadcaster and former lead pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta.

He included four photos of him and the late Charles Stanley over the years.

"These final few weeks with my dad have been precious beyond words. At the end of every visit, he asked me to pray for him. Which, of course, I did. On my knees beside the big leather chair, he was confined to for the past several months," tweeted Stanley.

"But as I was leaving his house this past Saturday night, he asked if he could pray for me. As if he knew. Then, as was his habit, he said, 'I couldn't be prouder of you, Andy.'"

Andy Stanley stated those were the last words that his father said to him, calling them "wonderfully weighty words."

"I'll miss him every day until I see him again," Stanley concluded.

These final few weeks with my dad have been precious beyond words. At the end of every visit, he asked me to pray for him. Which of course I did. On my knees beside the big leather chair he was confined to for the past several months.



But as I was leaving his house this past pic.twitter.com/2gQWeHgtFW  Andy Stanley (@AndyStanley) April 19, 2023

Andy and Charles Stanley had a rocky relationship as the latter began his ministry work, with the two having a yearslong falling out. Anna Stanley (Andy's mother) filed for divorce in 1993, and it was finalized in 2000.

The two would eventually reconcile, with CNN running a feature story in 2012 detailing the tenuous history between father and son and the steps they took to mend their fractured relationship.

Charles Stanley died on Tuesday morning, months shy of his 91st birthday. In Touch Ministries, which Charles Stanley founded, announced his passing.

"Dr. Stanley lived a faithful life of obedience, dedicated to teaching others how to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Now he is receiving the joy of his soul  seeing his Savior face-to-face," stated In Touch.

In addition to leading In Touch Ministries, Charles Stanley was also a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention in the 1980s, serving two one-year terms. He also served as senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta from 1971 until 2020. He wrote numerous books.

Other Christian leaders have given their condolences, including Greg Laurie, pastor of the California-based megachurch Harvest Christian Fellowship.

"He made his mark on this world for the Gospel and his incredible teaching of God's Word. I, like so many others, was blessed by hearing his messages on the radio and TV, and he was a trusted voice we have all been encouraged by," stated Laurie.

"It was my privilege to meet Dr. Stanley in person in Charlotte, North Carolina, at the funeral for Billy Graham. He was warm and gracious. No doubt, he has already heard Jesus say, 'Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord.' Charles Stanley will be greatly missed."
Attacks on pro-life groups, churches continue after DOJ arrests pro-life activists: list

Updated at 4:18 p.m. ET on April 18:

As the pro-life movement expresses outrage over the arrest of pro-life activists like Mark Houck, attacks on pro-life pregnancy centers and churches continue in the United States nearly a year after the U.S. Supreme Court determined that the U.S. Constitution does not contain the right to an abortion.

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have faced harsh criticism from the pro-life movement for an early-morning raid on the Pennsylvania home of Mark Houck. The U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania announced on Sept. 23 that it had arrested Houck for violating the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances (FACE) Act. The raid took place earlier that morning.

The DOJ contends that Houck is alleged to have twice assaulted a man because he was a volunteer reproductive health care clinic escort. According to the federal agency, the defendant forcefully shoved the clinic escort to the ground on two separate occasions at a Philadelphia Planned Parenthood clinic on Oct. 13, 2021, one of which required him to receive medical attention.

However, a fundraiser set up to raise money for the Houck family insists that the clinic escort was harassing Marks 12-year-old son as they prayed outside the clinic: They walked down the street away from the entrance to the building. The escort followed them, and when he continued yelling at Marks son, Mark pushed him away.

The arrest of Houck for violating the FACE Act, which subjects anyone who intentionally injures, intimidates, or interferes with or attempts to injure, intimidate or interfere with any person seeking to provide reproductive health services to federal charges, prompted backlash from the pro-life community. If convicted, Houck faced up to 11 years in prison.

Following Houcks indictment, Bill Donohue of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights wrote a letter to Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, the leading Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. In the letter, Donohue wrote that there seems to be much interest in pursuing alleged wrongdoing by pro-life activists, yet little interest in pursuing alleged wrongdoing by abortion-rights activists.

Donohue referred to previous letters he had written urging the federal government to take stronger action against violence directed at pro-life pregnancy centers and churches following Politicos May 2 publication of a leak of the Supreme Courts draft decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization suggesting that a majority of justices were poised to overturn the Roe v. Wade decision that legalized abortion nationwide.

The vandalism continued after the official Dobbs decision was released on June 24. Nearly nine months after the Dobbs decision and more than 10 months after Politico published the leaked Dobbs draft decision, pro-life pregnancy centers and churches continue to find themselves subject to varying degrees of vandalism as federal law enforcement agencies direct their resources to prosecuting violations of the FACE Act.

Less than two weeks after Houcks Sept. 23 arrest, the DOJ unsealed an indictment against nearly a dozen individuals for violating the FACE Act by blocking the entrance to a Tennessee abortion clinic. Houck was found not guilty in January 2023. Pro-life activists like Donohue see the FACE Act prosecutions and a corresponding lack of action to address the vandalism of churches and pro-life pregnancy centers as evidence of misplaced priorities.

While the perpetrators for most of the instances of pro-abortion vandalism remain at large, a group of pro-abortion activists identifying themselves as Janes Revenge has claimed responsibility for multiple acts of pro-abortion violence. The organization has declared open season on pro-life pregnancy centers after they failed to heed their call to disband within 30 days.

The following page lists the most recent acts of pro-abortion vandalism of churches and pregnancy support centers since Houcks Sept. 23 arrest.

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Candace Cameron Bure tells fans to rebuke evil spirits, command them out: 'Let the light come in'

Actress Candance Cameron Bure shared a message of encouragement this week for her social media followers dealing with negative emotions, depression or spiritual warfare, urging them to rebuke the "evil spirits."

"Sometimes we can get overwhelmed with feelings, feelings that might be loneliness, shame, regret, worry, anxiety, depression, darkness, the Fuller House star shared in an Instagram video Sunday, where she was noticeably choked up.

She said she had to use her own words to affirm herself this week, adding she "knows someone needs to hear this this morning because I needed to hear it."

"You need to rebuke those spirits, she declared. You need to tell them to get out because they don't have a hold on you.

They don't have a hold on me because I belong to God the Father. So do you! Bure continued. "He's with you at all times. He goes before you. He stands with you. He goes behind you. He covers you in protection.

The outspoken Christian actress has not shied away from talking publicly about the battles with spiritual attacks that have come her family's way in the past. Bure told her over 5 million followers on Instagram to take authority over evil spirits.

"Tell any evil spirits to get out because they don't get to have a hold on you, she stated.

Open up the windows. Let the light come in. Put on your praise and worship music and fill your room with the Holy Spirit because God changes everything and He loves you. He's with you, she concluded.

In the caption of her video, the mother of three said some days she needs to be reminded that the negative thoughts that continually churn in my mind are voices from the enemy.

"Whispers that say, youre not good enough, you cant handle this, youll never change, youll always fail," she wrote. "Whispers that cause fear, depression, loneliness, anxiety, shame, worthlessness  and the list goes on. Its A LIE!!!"

You are valuable because God says so. He made you in His image," she continued. "He loves and cares for you like no other! He goes before you, He stands with you and behind you. He covers you and protects you. Invite Him in. Call out His name. You are HIS. The Lord loves YOU!

Bure was credited for leading her peer, actress Danica McKellar of "The Wonder Years" fame, to a faith in Christ. McKellar, along with thousands of others, commented on Bures post, saying: So beautiful!!! Love this so much!

FOX correspondent Shannon Bream added, Always meeting the lies with the Truth. Great encouragement!

Former View co-host Paula Farris shared, This was a WORD, sister!
Energy company cuts power for Baltimore church as pastor insists $30K bill is incorrect

In the last 34 years that he has operated his 800-member Friendship Baptist Church in Baltimore, Maryland, the Rev. Alvin Gwynn Sr. says his average monthly energy bill has hovered around maybe $1,200.

About two months ago, however, Gwynn claimed in an interview with The Christian Post that his bills from Baltimore Gas and Electric skyrocketed.

The latest bill from the company reviewed by CP shows that Friendship Baptist Church had an outstanding payment to BGE of $30,478.41 that was due on Easter Monday, April 10. Gwynn said he is refusing to pay the amount on principle because there is no way his church used that much electricity, forcing BGE to cut the power to the church on the day the bill was due.

I mean, think about this. We are only open two days a week. We have two services on Sunday from 7 o'clock, ending around 1:30 p.m. Right? We have one Bible study on Thursday afternoon, which starts around 10 a.m. and ends around 1 o'clock, he said questioning the bills he has been getting from the power company.

He admits that since the start of the pandemic, he has always carried a balance on the churchs electric bill. He maintains, however, that he generally would make the payments within a week or so. He alleges that BGE has not been accurately reflecting the churchs payments on his bill and has been using smart meters to inflate the actual energy use at his church.

A press statement issued by the Interdenominational Ministerial Alliance of Baltimore, where Gwynn serves as president, also accused BGE of sending inflated estimated bills to customers.

It has been brought to IMAs attention that the Baltimore, Gas and Electric Company has been unfair if not deceptive in its billing practices. Many have complained that the reading of their gas meters and electric meters are being estimated rather than actual reading. As a result, citizens across the state of Maryland have received bills that were sometimes double the amount of their normal payments, the statement said.

In doing these estimated unregulated readings an undue financial hardship has been forced upon our citizens, especially upon the seniors, the unemployed and low-income families. We would also point out that many have had their electrical and gas services terminated over these estimated bills that have grown between $1,000 and $3,000, the statement continued.

These unfortunate people are being told by BGE that in order to restore their services or even if the bill is paid late, a new deposit in the hundreds of dollars will have to be paid. We feel that this deposit is completely unreasonable and unfair.

The ministers made several demands in their statement requesting that BGE end its fraudulent billing practices and service.

In a statement to CP on Tuesday, BGE said they generally dont utilize estimated billings and they work with customers like Friendship Baptist Church to provide help with bill payment options.

BGE works with all customers, including Friendship Baptist Church, to help them access various payment options and energy assistance resources. We generally dont utilize estimated billings, and we have not utilized estimated billings at this property for many years, Nick Alexopulos, BGE communications manager said.

Nearly all BGE residential and commercial gas and electric customers have smart meters, which automatically send meter readings to BGE  helping eliminate estimated bills and the need for a meter reader to visit a customer's home or business, he added.

Alexopulos, also noted that disconnecting a customers electric service is usually BGEs last resort in its credit and collections process.

We know energy affordability remains a challenge for some customers, particularly those who are the most vulnerable, and there continues to be a need for energy assistance in our service area. We are committed to helping eligible customers access energy assistance  financial support for those who need it most, he said.

Tori Leonard, communications director of the Maryland Public Service Commission, told CP that if consumers are concerned about the accuracy of the smart meter readings, they can always request a check of their meter by the agency for a $10 fee to make sure everything is in working order.

Gwynn, who says he is a longtime homebuilder in Maryland, said he wants to bring attention to the abuses consumers are facing from energy companies statewide so he will be exploring his legal options to ensure his electric bill is fairly reviewed. For now, he is refusing to pay his outstanding energy bill and is relying on generators for his church's electricity needs.

According to Alexopulos, when BGE makes disconnections, they do so to protect other customers from the burden of paying unrecovered costs from delinquent consumers.

BGE is committed to reconnecting customers after theyve been disconnected, and to do so as quickly as possible. Throughout the credit and collections process, customers have multiple opportunities and checkpoints to make payments and enroll in payment plans, in addition to seeking financial assistance through one of the many available energy assistance programs to avoid reaching the point of disconnection, he said. BGE customers who are past due on their bills receive letters, phone calls, and emails that promote energy assistance options and payment plan offerings. This not only helps those in need, but also helps all customers by driving down uncollectible accounts  costs borne by all customers.
Massive fire destroys historic church that houses New York Liberty Bell

A massive fire, which erupted early Saturday in a vacant building in New York Citys East Village, spread to and destroyed one of the citys oldest churches that is home to New Yorks Liberty Bell, among other structures, including a womens shelter.

The blaze, which started before 5 a.m. Saturday inside a five-story building on East 7th Street, gutted the 128-year-old Middle Collegiate Church and the Liberty Bell that was rung in 1776 to celebrate the signing of the Declaration of Independence, The Associated Press reported.

The bell is also rung to commemorate the inauguration and death of every president of the United States.

We are devastated. We are gutted like our building is gutted; our hearts are crushed like our doors are crushed, the Rev. Jacqueline J. Lewis, who leads the church which was constructed in 1892 and is today known for being progressive, was quoted as saying. But we know how to be the church, and we know that God is God, yesterday, today and tomorrow.

Calling the fire heartbreaking, NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, Well do whatever we can to help Middle Collegiate rebuild. He added, I cant count the number of times I walked past it and took in its humble beauty.

The cause of the fire that left extensive damage was being investigated as of Saturday evening, the New York City Fire Department told CBS News.

According to FDNY Assistant Chief John Hodgens, four firefighters received minor injuries with battling the blazes.

Middle Collegiate tweeted a message to its members Saturday, saying, To our incredible congregation: Cry. Mourn. Howl. And know: God is weeping with us. But like a phoenix, we will rise from these ashes. Resurrection will always have the final word.

Benjamin Perry, also a minister at the church, said he was too devastated (and) heartbroken It feels like someone I love has died. However, he added, the congregations love is too fierce, too bold, too brilliant to be consumed by any flame.

We know that God does not cause these kinds of tragedies but is present with us and to us as we grieve, present in the hugs and prayers of loved ones, Lewis was quoted as saying. Our church has been worshipping digitally since March 15, and thats what well be doing tomorrow.

The fire also caused damage to the Womens Prison Associations Hopper Home, which is next to the Middle Collegiate Church. Its a shelter for women with a history of, or at risk of, involvement with the criminal legal system.

A fire devastated our neighborhood early this morning. We are thankful that no one was injured, though we are heartbroken by the loss of our neighbors beautiful and historic sanctuary, the WPA tweeted. WPA and @middlechurch have stood side by side as neighbors in the East Village since the church was built in 1891. We arrived in 1854 after a fire destroyed our first home nearby, it added.

Olga Rodriguez, who works at the shelter, told CBS New York, It was very scary, and the ladies were running in their slippers, in their bathrobes, in their pajamas. They were sleeping These ladies have gone through a lot. They dont need to go through this, too.
Ralph Yarl, teen shot in head by homeowner, gets outpouring of love and over $2.9M in donations Mom reveals he is crying buckets of tears

More than $2.9 million in donations, thousands of prayers and well-wishes have poured in from across the world through a GoFundMe campaign for Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old black teenager who survived being shot twice by a white homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri, after he rang his doorbell last Thursday night.

The GoFundMe campaign, created just over a day ago by Yarls aunt, Faith Spoonmore, had more than 3,500 comments and donations exceeding the campaigns $2.5 million funding goal.

He did not deserve any of this traumatic drama. GOD knew this and thanks be to GOD he kept you, wrote donor Angela Pollitt who contributed $25 to the campaigns haul. I'm praying for you and your family['s] strength as you go [through] your healing mentally and physically. May GOD continue to bless you and your family. May justice be served!

The campaign has continued to attract supporters since Clay County prosecutor, Zachary Thompson, announced Monday that Andrew D. Lester, the 84-year-old who shot Yarl, had been charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action, which could send him to prison for the rest of his life.

In an interview with Gayle King on "CBS Mornings" Tuesday, Yarls mother, Cleo Nagbe, said her son, who was released from a hospital on Sunday, suffered gunshot wounds to his upper right arm and the left frontal lobe above his left eye.

She explained that Yarl had gone to pick up his younger twin brothers who were supposed to be having a sleepover with friends, but because she wasnt comfortable with sleepovers, she allowed them to stay with their friends until 10 p.m.

Yarl was supposed to pick up his brothers at a home on N.E. 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to a house on N.E. 115th Street. He did not have his phone to verify the address.

He went and rang the doorbell. And he was supposed to stay outside, and his brothers were supposed to run outside, get in the car and they come home, Nagbe said. That was what was supposed to happen. While he was standing there, his brothers didnt run outside, but he got a couple of bullets in his body instead of a couple of twins coming up, out, and giving him a hug.

She explained that the bullet that struck her son in the head was not removed for up to 12 hours, and the "residual effect" of that injury is expected to stay with him "for quite a while."

Nagbe, who has been a nurse for nearly 20 years, said the only reason her son is able to recover at home is because he is surrounded by a team of medical professionals," including herself and other family.

She further noted that while her son is able to communicate "when he feels like it," he "mostly  just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes."

"You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, Nagbe said. And that just doesn't stop my tears either, because when you see your kid just sits there and constantly, he just  tears are just rolling from both sides of his eyes, there's nothing you can say to him."
Supreme Court to hear case of Evangelical Christian who asked USPS not to force him to work Sundays

The U.S. Supreme Court late Friday said it will hear the civil rights lawsuit of an Evangelical Christian postal worker who resigned from the U.S. Postal Service after it refused to allow him to observe Sunday as the Sabbath.

Gerald Groff of Pennsylvania quit USPS in 2019 after a service of about seven years because the Quarryville Post Office in Lancaster County required him to deliver Amazon packages on Sundays.

It is unlawful for employers to discriminate against employees on the basis of religion, said Kelly Shackelford, who heads the legal firm First Liberty that is supporting Groffs case, in a statement. Its time for the Supreme Court to reconsider a decades old case that favors corporations and the government over the religious rights of employees.

The postmaster initially granted Groffs request, allowing him to work additional shifts on other days of the week instead, but later the USPS offered only proposals that would require Groff to work on Sundays and thereby violate his conscience.

Last May, a three-judge panel for the U.S. Third Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Groff.

Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, an Obama appointee, wrote that if Groff were to receive exemptions from working on Sundays, the accommodations "would cause an undue hardship" for the postal service.

"Exempting Groff from working on Sundays caused more than a de minimis cost on USPS because it actually imposed on his coworkers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale," the ruling read.

Randall Wenger of the Independence Law Center, which is also supporting Groff, said, Observing the Sabbath day is critical to many faiths  a day ordained by God. No one should be forced to violate the Sabbath to hold a job.

Aaron Streett of the law firm Baker Botts, which is also helping Groff, explained, We are simply asking the Supreme Court to apply the law as written and require employers to grant meaningful religious accommodations to people of faith.

ILC lawyer Jeremy Samek earlier told ABC 27 that its not uncommon for people to request reasonable accommodations at their workplace. Employers are actually required to provide reasonable accommodations. Its something that happens every single day.

Samek continued, We should, as a society, seek to reasonably accommodate people with unique religious beliefs, that we can all live and work together in a pluralistic society.

At the end of the day, Mr. Groff wants his job back. Its important for him, but its also important for lots of other people who work for the federal government or the post office that they be able to continue their employment and to continue to observe their religious beliefs.
'Undue hardship or religious liberty? Supreme Court weighs if postal carrier must work on Sundays

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday on whether the U.S. Postal Service wrongfully punished a Christian employee who refused to work on Sundays for religious reasons.

The highest court in the nation held oral arguments in the case of Greg Groff v. Louis DeJoy, which centered on a post office employee being ousted from his job because he refused to work on Sundays.

Groff argued that the punishment, which led to him quitting his job, violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, specifically the protections for religious freedom in the workplace.

Groff's attorney, Aaron Streett, told the justices that the government's test for "undue hardship"  a legal principle employers can use to deny basic federally protected accommodations  was faulty, as it did not adequately protest religious liberty.

"Under the government's test, a diabetic employee could receive snack breaks under the [Americans with Disabilities Act], but not under prayer breaks under Title VII, for that might cause lost efficiency," said Streett.

"An employee could receive weekly leave for pregnancy checkups but not to attend mass, for that might require denying a co-worker's shift preference or paying premium wages. There's no reason religious workers should receive lesser protection than those covered by other accommodation statutes."

Justice Sonia Sotomayor asked Streett if it was not an "undue hardship" for an employee to decide not to work on Sundays and religious holidays for a position that required such obligations.

Streett replied that there was no Sunday delivery service when Groff was first hired and that Groff's work duties at the USPS did not specifically include working Sundays and holidays.

A significant point of debate was the 1977 Supreme Court decision Trans World Airlines, Inc. v. Hardison, in which the high court ruled 7-2 that TWA had not violated Title VII when it refused to provide a Saturday sabbath exemption for an employee that would have caused "undue hardship" to the company.

Justice Samuel Alito brought up religious minorities, noting that the court had received amicus briefs from multiple religious communities arguing that "Hardison has violated their right to religious liberty" because of the standard that the 1977 decision gave for religious accommodation.

Chief Justice John Roberts spoke about the changes in religious liberty case law since Hardison was decided, citing recent cases that had broadened religious accommodations in other areas.

"There really is no Establishment Clause problem if you make accommodations for people's religious belief," said Roberts. "So, if you're going to look at this under current law, its not clear that those cases would come out, that Hardison would come out the same way."

U.S. Secretary General Elizabeth Prelogar argued on the government's behalf, claiming that Groff's request for exemption from Sunday work was burdening his workplace.

"The lower courts correctly found an undue hardship on these facts," she stated. "Exempting him from work each and every Sunday would have violated his co-workers' contractual rights at the Post Office."

"His absences created direct concrete burdens on other carriers, who had to stay on their shifts longer to get the mail delivered. That caused problems with the timely delivery of mail and it actually produced employee retention problems, with one carrier quitting, and another carrier transferring, and another carrier filing a union grievance."

Justice Neil Gorsuch emphasized a possible "common ground," wondering aloud if both sides hold similar standards on determining whether an employee can be granted certain exemptions.

Gorsuch found that both sides agreed that religious exemption requests should be "context dependent" and that both sides reject using "de minimis" arguments by themselves.

Although USPS does not normally deliver on Sundays, it will occasionally do so under "certain circumstances," such as delivering priority mail or packages ordered through Amazon.

Groff began working for the USPS in 2012, initially receiving an exemption from working on Sundays when the post offices where he worked began delivering packages on Sundays.

However, beginning in July 2018, Groff's superiors quit giving him an exemption from working on Sundays and increasingly disciplined him for his religiously-influenced refusal to work those days.

In response to the punishments, Groff resigned from his position and filed a lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl, an Obama appointee, dismissed Groff's case in April 2021, while a three-judge panel for the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled 2-1 against Groff in May of last year.

Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, an Obama appointee, argued in the majority opinion that exempting Groff from work on Sundays "would cause an undue hardship" for the postal service.

"Exempting Groff from working on Sundays caused more than a de minimis cost on USPS because it actually imposed on his coworkers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale," ruled Shwartz.

Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, a George W. Bush appointee, argued in his dissent that "a conflict had to be totally eliminated to result in reasonable accommodation under Title VII."

"Inconvenience to Groff's coworkers alone doesn't constitute undue hardship," Hardiman wrote. "Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed Gerald Groff from the completion of his appointed rounds."
Texas church must pay over $30K for firing whistleblower, Labor Dept. rules

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration ordered a Texas church to pay more than $30,000 in damages for firing a whistleblower.

OSHA concluded that New Mount Zion Baptist Church of Dallas wrongfully fired a nutrition specialist in 2021 for voicing concerns about the conditions at the congregation's child care facility.

These concerns included reports of rodents and various bugs in the cafeteria and the kitchen of the child care facility, made worse by a broken air conditioning unit.

In a findings report and preliminary order issued earlier this week, OSHA said that New Mount Zion Baptist owes the whistleblower back pay in the amount of $11,369.76, as well as $20,000 for additional damages, including "for pain and suffering, including emotional, financial, and mental distress."

Additionally, the church is ordered to "make no negative references relating to the facts and circumstances of this complaint to any prospective future employers" and cannot "retaliate or discriminate against Complainant in any manner for instituting or causing to be instituted any proceeding."

OSHA Regional Administrator Eric S. Harbin said in a statement Thursday that "New Mount Zion Baptist Church's actions toward the employee are unacceptable and deeply concerning."

"The existence of rodents and insects in food preparation and serving areas poses a health hazard. The employee had the legal right to express apprehensions about the unhygienic surroundings and should not have been fired for doing so," Harbin stated.

The church has 30 days from the order's issuance to file an objection or request a hearing before the preliminary order becomes finalized.

In May 2021, the whistleblower  who remained unnamed in official documents  was hired by the day care facility as a nutrition specialist, with a base salary of $560 a week.

Soon after being hired, the specialist discovered spiders and insects in food preparation areas. Also, during this time, the air conditioning unit failed and was not fixed until July. While the unit was not working, temperatures in food preparation areas were "very high," which jeopardized the quality of food served to the children.

While the air conditioning unit was being fixed in July, the complainant discovered an infestation of rats, roaches and rat feces in the kitchen.

"Despite positive feedback for his work and no disciplinary actions, shortly after Complinanant began reporting food safety concerns, Complainant was issued two incident/observation letters," the OSHA findings state.

The first came in June 2021 after he complained about the spiders and malfunctioning air conditioning unit, alleging that the complainant violated the dress code by wearing pants that did not cover the knees. The complainant denied the allegations, saying he wore pants that covered the knees and that there was no written dress code policy at the time. Over a week later, a second letter was issued after a staff member observed the complainant lying on a couch.

In August of 2021, the complainant found another rat infestation in the cafeteria near children's sleeping cots. He took pictures and reported them to local authorities. Inspectors were then sent to analyze the building but could not substantiate the complaints. On August 26, a special board meeting was held where the board voted to terminate the complainant.

OSHA contends that the whistleblower's activities were protected. The church alleges that it discharged the whistleblower because he engaged in disrespectful behavior and insubordination, pointing to an incident where he failed to greet the pastor's wife.

"These stated reasons are not supported by the evidence and are not clear and convincing evidence that Respondent would have discharged Complainant absent his protected activity," the OSHA report reads.

OSHA ruled that the whistleblower is "entitled to preliminary reinstatement, back pay with interest, compensatory damages."

"Complainant suffered personal humiliation, mental anguish, and emotional and financial distress when the Respondent terminated his employment," OSHA stated.

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The Will Smith event: Why it matters

Approximately a billion people around the globe witnessed Will Smiths physical assault on comedian Chris Rock at the 2022 Oscars. The event has generated a media frenzy with peoples opinions oscillating all over the emotional map.

Will Smith himself, upon reflection, has resigned from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and stated that his behavior was shocking, painful, and inexcusable.

While I wholeheartedly agree that his behavior was inexcusable, I strongly believe it was understandable.

It was inexcusable because, in a society based on the rule of law, private citizens resorting to violence against their fellow citizens cannot be condoned or approved without undermining the rule of law itself, a very precious and valuable thing.

At this point, in the interest of full disclosure, I need to acknowledge I have been married for 51 years to a Ph.D. psychotherapist and marriage and family counselor. Consequently, in the course of that marriage and the two becoming one flesh, I have been exposed to, and read, more research on psychology and marriage and family issues than the vast majority of non-psychologists. Conversely, my wife, whom I met in seminary, has been exposed to more theological and ethics research than most psychotherapists.

Why then is Will Smiths behavior understandable? A powerful and tragic insight is provided by a searing passage in his memoir, Will, published last year. In talking about his complicated relationship with his father, an Air Force veteran and alcoholic who died in 2016, Will revealed an obviously traumatizing episode of his childhood. He described how, as a 9-year-old child, he witnessed a terrible episode of domestic violence:

I watched my father punch my mother in the side of the head so hard that she collapsedI saw her spit blood. That moment in the bedroom, probably more than any other moment in my life, has defined who I am.

Will Smith went on to explain:

Within everything that I have done since then  the awards and the accolades, the spotlights and attention, the characters and the laughs  there has been a subtle string of apologies to my mother for my inaction that day. For failing her in that moment. For failing to stand up to my father. For being a coward.

It has been said, No one ever completely escapes the zip code in which they were born, which is a catchy way of explaining that we are impacted greatly by the socio-economic background and family culture of our families of origin. I cannot even begin to imagine the emotional trauma of being a 9-year-old boy and experiencing what Will did.

It is certainly not hard to understand that when Chris Rock made the tasteless and hurtful joke about Wills wife Jadas appearance (hair loss as a consequence of alopecia), it triggered all those emotions of rage, shame, and misplaced guilt. All of a sudden, when his wife expressed her pain, he was that 9-year-old boy again, and By God, Im not going to fail my loved one again, and he jumped up and acted.

I have certainly witnessed such triggering episodes in my ministry and in my pastorates. My wife assures me she has seen it as well in her counseling ministry over a half-century of practice.

One very memorable episode in my ministry springs to mind. When I was a professor, I had a very bright ministry student who had obvious gifts and a promising future. Then it came to light that he had committed several sexual assaults on older women (he was in his early 20s).

When he was arrested, I must confess I have never been more shocked than I was at that moment. I went to see him in jail and over the course of ministering to him while he was tried and found guilty (he confessed to the crimes), he shared with me that when he was a small boy (beginning when he was barely 3), his mother had regularly tied him down and tortured him (and I dont know any other word that adequately describes the nature of the abuse he endured). That deep emotional trauma erupted in acts of sexual violence against women approximately his mothers age.

Was this young man guilty? Yes. Did he deserve to go to prison? Yes. Was his behavior at least partially explained by the horrible trauma he experienced at the hands of his own mother? Yes. Inexcusable? Yes! Understandable? Indeed!

What lessons should we draw from the Will Smith event? First, we need to reaffirm that mitigating circumstances and childhood trauma do not excuse such violent behavior. However, many people are secretly carrying some heavy and debilitating emotional trauma around with them.

Second, understanding this, we need to encourage people to seek counseling to deal with these painful and debilitating experiences from the past. Friends of Will Smith, reading his memoir, should have approached him and urged him to get the psychological counseling he so obviously needed, separate and apart from any counseling he may have received during the process of reconciling with Jada.

Third, we need to renew and redouble our efforts to minimize domestic abuse with its ever-widening circles of emotional and physical damage.

And while destructive behavior must be punished, as Christians we should always be sharing the Good News of the Gospel, that there is a new beginning in Jesus. As an old poem puts it, Oh, I wish there was someplace called the land of beginning again, where I could take all my heartaches and broken dreams, and drop them at the door like a shabby old coat and never put them on again.

The Gospels Good News is that there is a land of beginning again, wherein Christ we are liberated from our past. Christianity proclaims to us that we are not the prisoners of our past.

As the Apostle John promised us:

For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the worldour faith.

Who is he who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God? (I Jn. 5:4-5)

P.S. What should Will Smith have done when Chris Rock made his hurtful comments about his wifes appearance? I believe he should have said to his wife, Sweetheart, we are leaving. Then he should have taken his wife by the arm, and as an Oscar nominee, calmly walked out of the theater with his entourage behind him.
USPS can require Christian postal carrier to work on Sundays, appeals court rules

A federal appeals court panel has ruled against a U.S. Postal Service employee who sought religious exemptions from working on Sundays because of his faith.

A three-judge panel for the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Pennsylvania postal worker Gerald Groff in a decision released Wednesday.

Groff, a former employee of the Quarryville Post Office in Lancaster County who opposed working on Sundays, argued that he could only avoid working on Sundays by switching shifts with other employees.

Circuit Judge Patty Shwartz, an Obama appointee, wrote that if Groff were to receive exemptions from working on Sundays, the accommodations "would cause an undue hardship" for the postal service.

"Exempting Groff from working on Sundays caused more than a de minimis cost on USPS because it actually imposed on his coworkers, disrupted the workplace and workflow, and diminished employee morale," the ruling reads.

Although USPS doesn't typically deliver mail on Sundays, it will occasionally do so under "certain circumstances," such as priority mail or delivering Amazon packages.

As a rural carrier associate, Groff had never been asked to work Sundays until the U.S. Postal Service expanded about four years after he started the job. The expansion involved employees working Sundays for Amazon package delivery in rural areas.

Following the expansion, Groff was not in attendance for dozens of his work shifts that fell on Sundays. The only option Groff felt he had was to swap shifts with another employee.

The USPS brass told Groff that due to the shortage of staff, it is bound by a collective bargaining agreement that mandated that a Sunday rotation be part of rural carrier associates' job requirements.

For missing multiple shifts, Groff received disciplinary action. In response, Groff resigned from his job and filed his lawsuit under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

In April 2021, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl, an Obama appointee, dismissed Groff's case because the plaintiff failed to show that he was "treated differently with regards to Sundays because he was a Christian."

Clinton appointee and Circuit Judge Julio Fuentes joined the Shwartz opinion. Circuit Judge Thomas Hardiman, a George W. Bush appointee, authored a partial dissent in which he wrote that "a conflict had to be totally eliminated to result in reasonable accommodation under Title VII."

"Inconvenience to Groff's coworkers alone doesn't constitute undue hardship. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stayed Gerald Groff from the completion of his appointed rounds," Hardiman wrote.

"But his sincerely held religious belief precluded him from working on Sundays. Because USPS has not yet shown that it could not accommodate Groff's Sabbatarian religious practice without its business suffering undue hardship, I respectfully dissent."

Baker Botts attorney Christopher Tutunjian, who represented Groff, said in a statement that he was "pleased with the Third Circuit's unanimous holding that a 'reasonable accommodation' under Title VII must completely eliminate the work-religion conflict."

"This holding correctly addresses a circuit-splitting issue and will protect the religious rights of employees throughout the Circuit," stated Tutunjian, as reported by Courthouse News Service.

"However, as Judge Hardiman persuasively explained in his partial dissent, the majority's erroneous conclusion that USPS established undue hardship only underscores the need for the Supreme Court to address the continued vitality of the Court's decision in TWA v. Hardison. We are considering our options for further review."
Does 1 Timothy 2:12-15 prohibit women from teaching or having authority over men?

I used to believe that 1 Timothy 2:12 teaches: I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. But taking this as a universal prohibition ignores that this letter addresses a specific local problem of false teachers deceiving women and that this passage has only one imperative, let the women learn (1 Timothy 2:11). Furthermore, the translation, I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, is dubious for four reasons.

First, the Greek word the old NIV translated to have authority, authentein, is best translated to seize authority. This words first occurrence clearly meaning exercise authority is three centuries later, circa AD 370, in Saint Basil, The Letters 69, line 45: he [the bishop of Rome] may himself exercise full authority [authentesai] in this matter, selecting men capable of enduring the hardships of a journey (Loeb Classical Library Saint Basil 2:4043). The New Testament uses a different word for exercise authority, exousiazo. In Pauls day authentein could mean either to dominate or, more commonly, twenty-one times, to assume authority by seizing it.

The King James translation, usurp authority, is, therefore, more accurate. The standard New Testament Dictionary defines this word to assume a stance of independent authority. The 2011 NIV corrected its translation to: to assume authority.

Second, Paul typically uses the conjunction that links to teach with to seize authority to convey a single idea. My 1 Tim 2.12 and the Use of  [oude] to Combine Two Elements to Express a Single Idea, NTS 54 (2008): 23553 examines every use of oude by Paul. My  [Oude] Combining Two Elements to Convey a Single Idea and 1 Timothy 2:12, in Missing Voices: Broadening the Discussion on Men, Women, and Ministry, ed. Hilary Ritchie (Minneapolis: CBE International, 2014), 2434 answers objections and illustrates this use of oude to combine two elements that contrast with something else introduced by alla. Consequently, Paul prohibits only women from seizing authority to teach. This does not restrict teaching by women with recognized authority. Indeed, Paul greets Priscilla, who instructed Apollos in this same city, in 2 Timothy 4:19.

Third, I do not permit is a misleading translation because this verb in Greek normally refers to something limited in time, not permanent. Furthermore, its grammatical form here rarely conveys a permanent prohibition. It usually focuses on presently ongoing permission or prohibition, so should be translated, I am not permitting, referring to the ongoing crisis of false teaching in Ephesus, not to a universal prohibition.

Fourth, if this verse permanently prohibits women from teaching, it contradicts the Bibles many affirmations of women teaching.

God revealed even key portions of inspired Scripture through women, including the songs of Miriam (Exodus 15:21) and Deborah (Judges 5:231), Hannahs prayer (1 Samuel 2:110), Abigails prophecy (1 Samuel 25:2431), the inspired utterance of King Lemuels mother (Proverbs 31, see verse 1), Elizabeths blessing (Luke 1:25, 4245), and Marys Magnificat (Luke 1: 4655), the first Christian exposition of Scripture.

Thus, 1 Timothy 2:12 addresses a specific problem of deceived women in the church in Ephesus conveying false doctrine. It prohibits women in that church from seizing authority to teach a man. Women teaching with recognized teaching authority, like Priscilla, would not be seizing authority. Paul does not prohibit women everywhere or at all times from teaching or having authority over men.

1 Timothy 2:1315 explains Pauls restriction:

13 For Adam was formed first, then Eve was formed. 14 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being thoroughly deceived, fell into transgression. 15 But anyone will be saved through the birth of Jesus if they continue in faith, love and holiness with self-control.

Since woman was formed from man, she should respect man as her source, just as 1 Corinthians 11:3, 8 and 12 explain.

Then Eve is the first affirmation that God formed woman. This implies the equality of men and women.

If Adam heard the serpents words and believed them, he, too, was deceived. Nothing in Genesis says that Adam heard the serpents words. Adam was with her specifically at the tree (Genesis 3:6). His sin was direct disobedience.

The woman who was thoroughly deceived [exapatetheisa, passive] implies that the serpent, Satan, deceived her.

Neither will be saved nor if they continue is feminine, nor does either have a feminine pronoun as subject. Everything in this sentence applies equally well to all believers. Anyone likewise fits the shift from singular (anyone will be saved) to plural (if they continue).

Save (sozo) in Pauls letters always regards spiritual salvation, e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:2. Save fits the following conditions: If they continue in faith, love and holiness.

All three occurrences of childbirth in Greek literature prior to Paul refer to the birth of a child, none to the process of childbearing. The childbirth has an article. Fifty-five of the sixty-one articles in 1 Timothy are clearly individualizing. Only one is clearly generic. What childbirth saves? 1 Timothy 1:15 states, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners (1:15) and 3:16 affirms, He appeared in the flesh.

The problem with using 1 Timothy 2:12 to prohibit women from teaching or having authority over men isnt just that it doesnt clearly teach this. The crucial problem with excluding women from teaching and from having authority over men is that so many foundational principles of the Bible directly oppose this, including each of the following theological axioms from Paul that man and woman are equally:

created in Gods image,

given dominion over the earth,

given the creation blessing,

given the creation mandate,

and are equally in Christ.

Mutual submission in the church entails the equality of men and women, as does

mutual submission in marriage,

the oneness of Christs body,

the priesthood of all believers,

liberty in Christ,

the new creation,

and inaugurated eschatology.

The Spirit gifts all believers for ministry.

The nature of church leadership as service applies equally to men and women.

Paul introduces his conclusion to how men and women should lead worship in prayer and prophecy in 1 Corinthians 11:11 with the word he consistently uses for breaking off a discussion and emphasizing what is important (BDAG 826); to single out the main point  (A. T. Robertson, A Grammar of the Greek New Testament in the Light of Historical Research [Nashville, TN: Broadman Press, 1934], 1187, citing Blass); to conclude a discussion and emphasize that is essential (BDF449 p. 234). Consequently, 1 Corinthians 11:11 teaches specifically regarding leadership in worship: The important point, however, is that woman is not separate from man, nor is man separate from woman in the Lord. Galatians 3:28 similarly affirms, there is no male-female division in Christ. Pauls wording and parallel passages show that this describes the church. He had just rebuked Peter for withdrawing from table fellowship with gentiles as contrary to the gospel. To prohibit all women from teaching and from having authority over men is surely even more contrary to the gospel and to our unity in Christ.
Charles Stanley, Baptist pastor and televangelist, dies at 90

(CP) Charles Frazier Stanley, the popular televangelist preacher, author and founder of In Touch Ministries who once served as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, died at age 90 on Tuesday morning.

His death was confirmed in a statement Tuesday posted to Instagram by In Touch Ministries.

"Dr. Stanley lived a faithful life of obedience, dedicated to teaching others how to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ. Now he is receiving the joy of his soul  seeing his Savior face-to-face," read the statement.

"Please join us in praying for the entire Stanley family. Updates regarding memorial arrangements will be posted here, at intouch.org, and at charlesstanley.com."

Born Sept. 25, 1932, in Dry Fork, Pittsylvania County, Virginia, Stanley decided to pursue a spiritual life in part because of the loss of his father at an early age.

Stanley earned a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Richmond, a bachelor of divinity degree at Southwestern Theological Seminary, and a master of theology and doctor of theology at Luther Rice Seminary.

In 1969, Stanley joined the staff at First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia, and became senior pastor in 1971, holding the position until his retirement in September 2020.

In 1972, Stanley began a local Atlanta television program called "The Chapel Hour," which later became "In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley."

"Our mission is to lead people worldwide into a growing relationship with Jesus Christ and to strengthen the local church," noted In Touch Ministries' Facebook page.

"Our programs are seen and heard around the world on more than 2,600 radio and television outlets in more than 50 languages."

For his extensive broadcast work, the National Religious Broadcasters inducted Stanley into its Hall of Fame in 2018 and gave him the NRB Chairman's Award in March 2020.

During the 1980s, Stanley served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, the largest Protestant denomination in the United States.

Stanley was part of the SBC's Conservative Resurgence, a movement that led to a rejection of the progressive theological trends that dominated other Protestant churches in the United States.

In 2010, Stanley was honored by his alma mater Southwestern as a distinguished alumnus at an annual luncheon, with Stanley telling those gathered to "do what God tells you to do next."

"I have one goal: Get the truth of the Gospel to as many people as possible, as quickly as possible, as simply as possible, in the power of the Holy Spirit and to the glory of God," said Stanley.

Stanley wrote several Christian devotional works, including A Man's Touch, Handle With Prayer, Into His Presence, Waiting on God: Strength for Today and Hope for Tomorrow, Prayer: The Ultimate Conversation, and When the Enemy Strikes: The Keys to Winning Your Spiritual Battles.

In 1958, Stanley married Anna Stanley and the couple had two children, Andy and Becky, before divorcing in 2000 after several failed reconciliation attempts.

Andy and Charles Stanley had a public falling out over the issue that lasted several years. At the same time, other pastors believed that Charles Stanley should have resigned from his church position because of the divorce.

For his part, Andy Stanley went on to found his own high-profile ministry, an influential megachurch called North Point Community Church based in Alpharetta, Georgia.

In September 2020, less than two weeks before his 88th birthday, Charles Stanley announced that he was stepping down as senior pastor of First Baptist Church Atlanta, taking the role of pastor emeritus.

"I have many wonderful memories. But as much as I love being your pastor, I know in my heart this season has come to an end," said Stanley in his announcement.

Stanley was honored in October 2021 by Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary when they created an endowed chair in his honor supported through a donor agreement between SWBTS and the In Touch Foundation, the charitable arm of Stanley's In Touch Ministries.

Known as the Charles F. Stanley Chair for the Advancement of Global Christianity, the position was part of the Roy J. Fish School of Evangelism and Missions at SWBTS.

SWBTS President Adam Greenway told The Christian Post in an interview that he believed Stanley "may be one of our most prominent visible alumni in the history of Southwestern Seminary."

"He and his ministry were looking for a way to honor his legacy, certainty a worthy legacy of honoring, and they saw that Southwestern Seminary was a fitting institution to partner with to do something that would be significant in terms of their investment," explained Greenway.

"And significant in terms of an opportunity to have Dr. Stanley's name and his commitment to global missions and evangelism honored in perpetuity."

In October 2022, Stanley was again honored with an endowed faculty chair, this time being at Truett McConnell University, a Baptist liberal arts school in Cleveland, Georgia.

Anthony George, a trustee at TMU who succeeded Stanley as senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta in 2020, expressed his support for the decision.

"This gift and the naming of this Chair of Theology could not have honored anyone more fitting," stated George. "His ministry has modeled the bold proclamation of Scripture so visibly, so practically, so consistently, and so globally, and to this day stands on a rock-solid theological foundation."

 The Christian Post
Trans Britain: are the numbers really adding up?

One in 67 Muslims is apparently transgender. This is the rather startling claim that could be made based on recent figures released by the Office for National Statistics, which recorded that 262,000 people in England and Wales identify as transgender  0.2% of the population  with the highest numbers being recorded in Newham and Brent - which is how the improbable finding that one in 67 Muslims is transgender has emerged, because Newham and Brent have officially the highest percentage of non-White British residents in the UK!

Some 42.2% of whom in Newham identify as Asian, British Asian, or Welsh Asian, and 32.85% in Brent. But far from the figures being an accurate record of gender orientation across England and Wales, it would appear that many of the respondents to the survey in these two boroughs  for whom English is a second language  were simply flummoxed by what appeared an incomprehensible question, and put down the wrong response.

The precise wording for the question was, "is the gender you identify with the same as your sex registered at birth?". Now it might be said, with some justification, that even with English as your first language, the convoluted wording is rather confusing, but this apparently was the form agreed in consultation with Stonewall, so that it might accurately reflect the charity's definition of cisgender (persons whose gender identity corresponds with the sex registered for them at birth).

This is the same inaccurately classified 'charity' that supports children as young as three being taught that they're not defined by biology  which may have got it wrong  and that they can choose their gender for themselves. The same 'charity' working so hard politically to smash heteronormative culture and embed gender fluidity.

Is this just misguided but well-meaning insanity, aimed at championing a downtrodden and stigmatised group that has suffered centuries of oppression? Or is there something more insidious at work?

Well, to try and unpick this Gordian knot of attempted reconfiguration and understand what's really going on, it's perhaps instructive to take a look at the Gay Liberation Front Manifesto, published in London back in 1971, in the wake of the Stonewall riots in New York a couple of years before.

Pumped by the euphoria of resistance, gay rights activists in the US had banded together with the express aim of challenging and ultimately destroying "heteronormative, conservative norms of family and gender roles" (emphasis added), which they identified as the instruments of their centuries old, sexual oppression.

This call was enthusiastically taken up by UK activists, present at that initial confrontation and the debate that followed, and who subsequently returned to Britain intent on forming a British chapter of the new Gay Liberation Front. Like their American counterparts, they were set on challenging the mainstream institutions in UK society, which, as they saw it, had led to their oppression. Their avowed aim was to overturn what they labelled decaying and restrictive ideology, and to put in its place a new order, built round what they openly said would be revolutionary change.

The movement then took off across the world as a civil rights movement, demanding gay and lesbian recognition and equality, with activists designedly presenting themselves as downtrodden victims, oppressed by a patriarchal capitalist system that was built on Christianity and preservation of the status quo. Lined up as principal targets for destruction were Christianity, heteronormativity, all forms of 'family' ... and gender identity.

It has taken 50 years, but the architects of this planned sexual and cultural rebranding have been quite startlingly successful  all the more so because, by and large, Joe Public has been totally ignorant of the carefully orchestrated campaign of manipulation and reconfiguration that lies at the heart of this so-called battle for equality.

What is at stake is not, and never has been, simply the right to have sex whenever and wherever you want, with whomever you want, but the structure and values that hold together, and up to now have given strength to, Western society - those same forces that keep chaos at bay.

Let us make no mistake, what we are witnessing is at heart a fundamental and visceral battle for spiritual control. Which is not to say that LGBT+ activists are knowingly 'anti-God' or card-carrying satanists  the majority indeed will have not the slightest inkling what it is they are supporting. But this is what is at stake, and which makes the battle so chilling.

The frightening truth is that we are all, in different ways, victims in this latest manifestation of the ancient war between good and evil. The war between the devil, seeking to promote chaos and impose his own control, and God.

To return, however, to the numbers of people identifying as transgender in England and Wales, it perhaps goes without saying that LGBTQ+ activists will celebrate what appears to be an increase in trans numbers, but for the wellbeing and even continuance of society, such normalisation and promotion must be resisted.

The announcement that the statistics are being examined is to be welcomed, but of greater importance is stopping the determined campaign to promote and embed gender fluidity across society - for women, for children ... and for the health of society as a whole.

Rev Lynda Rose is founder of Voice for Justice UK, a group which works to uphold the moral values of the Bible in society.
What now for orthodox Anglicans?

The GAFCON conference in Kigali, Rwanda, takes place amidst some division among the forces of biblical orthodoxy in the global Anglican Communion.

That reality was already evident at the Archbishop of Canterbury's Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops worldwide last summer. Leaders of the orthodox Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA) from 25 provinces (autonomous national or multi-national jurisdictions) attended Lambeth seeking to be a "faithful remnant" while the GAFCON archbishops and bishops stayed away.

But on Sunday April 16, as the 1,300 GAFCON delegates were arriving in Kigali, the US website Anglican Ink published a highly revealing statement by the GSFA's ex-press officer.

The Rev Paul Eddy, a Church of England vicar with a background in public relations, acted as the GSFA's press contact at Lambeth.

Eddy revealed that he "resigned as PR consultant to the GSFA" because its leading archbishops (primates in Anglican parlance) insisted on putting out their own statement denouncing the Church of England General Synod's vote for same-sex blessings in February, rather than a joint statement with GAFCON.

He wrote, "My professional advice was for two reasons: that there be no division or difference in approach between the GSFA and GAFCON which the liberals could expose and, a joint statement, once you create the precedent, would ensure a collegiate and united response...Sadly the GSFA put out their own Statement and not a joint one."

Eddy summed up the difference "in a nutshell" between orthodox Anglican Communion remainers in GSFA countries like Sudan, Myanmar, Bangladesh and Egypt, and the GAFCON leavers (in practice if not officially) in Nigeria, Rwanda, and Uganda:

"I have to say that the choices facing the large, global orthodox primates/provinces mirror those facing the leaders of the large orthodox parishes here in the CofE. They, in many ways, don't need the old structures of the Anglican Communion/CofE. And in many ways, have ministered separately for years, if not decades.

"But for smaller Evangelical parishes, like smaller, more vulnerable provinces, open to attack by civil political forces, or Islam, being part of the Communion has created a level of safety and security."

Eddy believes GAFCON should defer putting out a major statement from its conference "until after the primates unable to attend Kigali have been consulted and the upcoming GSFA/GAFCON primates meeting can consider whatever statement finally comes out of Kigali  and a joint statement made".

He expressed the hope that an interim statement would come out of GAFCON "with the promise of a final, joint GSFA/GAFCON Communique, once full global consultation has taken place".

"We are at a watershed moment, and this is too important a decision to make just to fit in with a previously timetabled conference," Eddy argued.

It remains to be seen whether GAFCON will heed Eddy's advice. But his point about the differences in status and privilege between the GSFA and GAFCON mirroring those among orthodox Anglicans in the CofE deserves examination.

It is certainly true that well-resourced evangelical churches in the CofE have privileges not available to smaller churches. A church that is able to cover the cost of its clergy and pay over and above that is clearly in a stronger position that a struggling church that is financially dependent on the local diocese.

But even big churches cannot escape the reality of episcopal power in the CofE. Once the vicar leaves, the diocesan bishop has the power of veto over his successor, even if the church has come under the delegated episcopal oversight of the conservative evangelical Bishop of Ebbsfleet.

Furthermore, the diocesan bishop has the power to refuse to license assistant clergy (curates) in large churches if he or she so decides. When in March a group of evangelical clergy in the City of London announced that they had formed their own deanery chapter because of the CofE bishops' backing for same-sex blessings, the response from the Diocese of London was quite robust:

"The Diocese was first informed a few hours ago that a group of clergy in the City of London is seeking to set up its own parallel, unregulated structures, outside of those of the Diocese of London and the Church of England. This unilateral move would have no legal substance."

The tone of this response from a major CofE diocese is possibly a sign that bishops might be minded to flex their muscles against conservative evangelical clergy who remain in the CofE but seek to make unilateral declarations of independence against their "chief Ministers, unto whom is committed the charge and government over you", to quote from the Book of Common Prayer's ordination service for priests.

Churches and ministers in uniformly orthodox provinces elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, even in vulnerable ones such as Paul Eddy described, are arguably in a better spiritual position than orthodox ministers in liberal provinces like the CofE.

Julian Mann is a former Church of England vicar, now an evangelical journalist based in Lancashire.
DOUGLAS C. PIZAC/AP

NEW YORK (AP)  Prudential Financial illegally denied more than 200 life insurance claims despite collecting premiums from plan participants, the Department of Labor said Wednesday, the latest case where a life insurer was found to be denying claims even though the customer had been paying into the plan for years.

Many employers offer what is known as supplemental life insurance as an employee benefit, which allows an employee to pay for additional life insurance coverage out of their paycheck. The settlement between Prudential of Newark, New Jersey, and the U.S. government deals with what is known as evidence of insurability," a common practice in underwriting supplemental life insurance contracts where the insured is required to fill out a form showing they are in good health before being covered by employer-sponsored supplemental life insurance.
Even though they own rival record stores, Cactus Musics Quinn Bishop and Vinal Edges Chuck Roast have known each other so long that theyre basically brothers in the struggle.

Before this interview even starts, the two immediately begin trading war stories, and talking about how things have been holding up at their respective establishments. They spend a good six minutes riffing on how record stores today must evolve in order to survive, from making sure the inventory is eclectic and wide-encompassing to hiring younger staffers whose musical tastes can help draw in younger customers.

Thats how the stores linger, says Roast. You do it any other way, you wont last.

Youll turn into the model train store, right? asks Bishop, jokingly. Exactly," Roast says. "I'd kinda like to wear one of those hats. The little conductor hat. That would be kinda good. Bishop starts laughing. Man, I might have to get you one.

Erica Sparlin Dryden

These music-retail war horses may see a spike in foot traffic to their stores this Saturday, a.k.a. Record Store Day. All around the world, independent record shops will take part in the yearly celebration, in which participating businesses host live shows, offer special sales, and hawk limited edition pressings. The event started way back in 2007, when Portland chain Bull Moose Music came up with a way to promote stores still hanging in there in this age of downloads and streaming-music platforms.

Cactus and Vinal have been hanging in there for a long time. In a few more years, Cactus will celebrate its 50th anniversary, while Vinal will turn 40. Both businesses have had to bounce around, with Cactus moving to its current location on Portsmouth in 2007 after briefly closing up shop at West Alabama the year before, and Vinal going from its nearly-three-decade Northside location to the Heights in 2012.



Twenty years ago, Houston was swarming with record stores. Soundwaves had locations all over, including a South Main store that moved more hip-hop than any other outlet in the city. (It was also a favorite of the late DJ Screw, who would eventually open the still-popular Screwed Up Records and Tapes.) Now, Soundwaves only has its Montrose location, where most of the inventory is related to surfing, not music. You could get EDM at Atomic Music and Chemistry Records in Montrose, or you could head to the Southeast side and get some alt-R&B and hip-hop at Serious Sounds. If you wanted to get vinyl from guys who just stockpiled it, there were tucked-away spots like Black Dog Records or AllRecords.

Most of these stores are gone now, for various reasons. (AllRecords closed after longtime owner Fred Allred died in 2021, for example.) But Cactus, Vinal, and a few other Houston institutions that are still aroundSigs Lagoon in Midtown, Sound Exchange in the East End, the Sound Revolution shops on the Northwest side, etc.continue to adapt with the times.

Fatima Rustamova

Each store is its own thing, says Roast. So you can talk about each of these past stores and why theyre here and why theyre not there. I would definitely argue that the bustling record thing is happening now." As of late, stores have been doing fine thanks to the resurgence of vinyl, which has recently exceeded CDs in sales for the first time since 1987. Some stores arent gonna make it, for all kinds of reasons. But the ones that are existing now, were solid. I think these are the best days for records that Ive seen since back in the mid '80s, since we were kinda killing it in our early days.

Yes, vinyl records are back in style, and Roast is happy that todays popular culture has made it so. I think we are very lucky in our jobs right now, in that records are currently very hip, he says. All you have to do is watch TV and, in every other commercial or show, you will see a record player, if theyre trying to convince you that the product or the show is hip."

Bishop sees it more as youngsters clamoring for a more tangible format, something they can hold and cherish and call their own. I will talk to people and they still have this perception that its nostalgia or that its a throwback thing, and they dont get it that its not. It is a younger generation, whose parents bought CDs and cassettes, that sees turntable culture and vinyl culture as defining their generation. It is not something that theyre fascinated with because its retro and it was their grandparents thing. He also finds that younger vinyl buyers bring in older people who get back into collecting LPs. Basically, record shopping has become a fun activity for the whole family. Its that zeitgeist of everybody moving in the same direction.

Fatima Rustamova

While Roast says Vinal doesnt have any big festivities planned for Saturday, Bishop says Cactus will have some giveaways, as well as free refreshments from Topo Chico and Saint Arnold Brewing Company. But whether its crate-digging regulars or people wholl show up on Record Store Day just to get some special releases on wax, Bishop believes the key to any record stores longevity is it should be accommodating for customers in both service and merchandise.

The amount of people that are showing up to our store [on Record Store Day]and I think coming out of the pandemicit seems exponentially greater, Bishop says. All that we can do is be the best Cactus that we are. Meet people and super-serve them and make them leave with a smile on their face.

Record Store Day is this Saturday, April 22. Cactus Music is located at 2110 Portsmouth St. Vinal Edge is located at 239 W. 19th St.
Its only scant exaggeration to argue that Alfred Hitchcock was regularly redefining movies in the late '50s and early '60s. In 1958, he turned romantic obsession into pure cinema trance with Vertigo. In 1960, he pushed the horror movie (and movie marketing) into the modern age with Psycho. Amid such radical innovation, the film that came in between those two landmarks can sometimes get lost. It shouldnt.

1959s North by Northwest, which shows at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston April 21-23, is a raging entertainment machine, as artful as it is engaging as it is gleefully absurd. It created a template of sorts for every romantic action-comedy made since: meet cute, betray, reconcile, consummate. It gave us one of the last great Cary Grant performances, urbane and endangered with a world-weary touch of gray. It simply never stops moving, and while we can chalk some of that up to Ernest Lehmans frenetic screenplay, the execution is pure Hitchcock. Filmmakers have been trying to bottle the North by Northwest cocktail of wit, spectacle, and suspense for more than 60 years now. They havent cracked the mix yet.

At times, the film feels like a mere excuse to engineer some of the most ludicrous and delightful set pieces to ever grace the screen. An evilly suave spymaster (James Mason, practically purring) nabs Grants advertising exec Roger Thornhill in an epic case of mistaken identity and decides to dispose of him not quietly, by having a goon (a young Martin Landau, playing a barely coded gay character) pour bourbon down his throat and put him behind the wheel of a sportscar on a treacherous mountain road. Why? Because it makes for great cinema, of course. When double agent Eve Kendall (Eva Marie Saint, at the top of her game) sends Roger to certain doom, she doesnt opt for discretion. She puts him on a bus to middle-of-America nowhere, where he sprints from and dodges a crop duster until the plane slams into a truck and creates a fiery explosion. Why? Because its good, brilliant fun, the same reason the movie climaxes with a literal cliffhanger on an MGM soundstage version of Mount Rushmore.

This is what Hitchcock understood better than anyone. If you make a movie, youd best do things that only movies can do. Time and again in his filmography, the artifice is the very point. The rest, as often as not, is noise. Mind you, that noise can be the source of great pleasure as well. Grant generates the same kind of heat with Saint as he did with Ingrid Bergman 13 years earlier in Notoriousa frisson of passion delayed. (In typical Hitchcock fashion, it's consummated with a visual joke, the films final shot of a train entering a tunnel. Naughty boy.) Theres also wry humor to be found in the Hitchcockian mommy issues that would reach their famous crescendo in Psycho. Here, when Roger is hauled to jail after his bourbon escapade, he calls not his lawyer but his mother (Jessie Royce Landis), who shows up and chides him as a lover would. Roger might look like a smooth operator, but hes also a Freudian case study.

Other titles would have worked splendidly, had Hitchcock not already used them. Roger Thornhill is nothing if not The Wrong Man (1956, starring Henry Fonda), a favorite Hitchcock theme perfectly captured in the image of Roger pulling a knife from the back of a man he didnt stab, then dropping the weapon as he scurries away. Oops. Roger and Eve meet as Strangers on a Train (1951, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker), though they dont plan any murders together. Hitchcock, like so many of his characters, was a man of obsessions, and his catalog can be read as a series of variations on themes. In this case, North by Northwest, which echoes a key line from Shakespeare (I am but mad north-north-west, Hamlet explains, in the throes of his antic disposition), has a nice ring to it, even if both director and screenwriter insisted the title had no specific meaning.

With its infinite visual flourishes, and its unpredictable moments of levity, this is a movie that demands to be seen on the big screen, with a big audience. Its a work of sensations specific to the art form. The fact that it often borders on senselessness matters about as much as that title.



North by Northwest shows April 21 through April 23 at The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston. For tickets and more information, visit the museum's website.
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FAIRFIELD  At midnight, back in 1943 or 1944, the Gestapo appeared at the home of a wealthy man in Slovakia where Emil Fish and his family were hiding and took them to a collection site where they were divided, put on cattle carts and sent to concentration camps.

His father was sent to Buchenwald Concentration Camp, while he, his sister and mother were sent to Bergen Belsen Concentration Camp.

"The hardest part that I remember in my life is when they took my father away," Fish shared with the audience at Fairfield University's Holocaust Remembrance Day ceremony Tuesday. About 6 million Jews were killed in the Holocaust.

He said if they had been taken three days earlier, they would have been sent to Auschwitz, but because the Russians were in Europe they were sent to these other camps since the trains couldn't get through.

Though just 9 when he was sent to the camp, he said he felt he was no longer a child.

"You grew up very fast," said Fish, who now lives in Philadelphia. "I don't think we were children anymore."

He recalled the starvation and the tens thousands of people in the camp; how people died where they stood.

"People are dying left and right," Fish said.

Even when the British arrived in 1945 and the sharply dressed officer told them they were free, the deaths continued. People, not accustomed to food for so long, died after eating the food and water the British provided. Medical officials soon got involved though to better administer the appropriate amounts so people could recover.

Fish, his sister and parents survived the Holocaust, but many of his relatives didn't. His father was the only survivor on his side.

And while Fish said Holocaust survivors think about the Holocaust every day, it wasn't until 60 or so years after he was sent to the camp that he vowed to dedicate himself to educating others about the Holocaust. He had returned to his hometown of Bardejov in Slovakia with his wife and family and discovered there were no more Jews living there, his old school no longer existed and the synagogues had been replaced with home improvement stores.

"I was very angry at the world," he said. "I looked at my school where I went as a child and said, 'Hitler killed the Jews, but he won't kill my heritage.'"

Fish described growing up in Bardejov as an idyllic place where Jews and Christians lived side by side, everyone had their freedom, businesses flourished and the schools had any kind of club you could imagine.

"Before the war, it was paradise," he said. "We really lived in a dream world until Hitler came around."

He said there was still a sentiment of antisemetism though, which became even more public throughout Europe as Hitler came to power in the 1930s.

"The moment Hitler came to power, the antisemites realized they could do what they wanted to do  kill the Jews," Fish said.

Members of the audience questioned if the rise in antisemitism today is similar to what it was back then and if Fish anticipated another Holocaust could happen.

Fish said until a couple of months ago, he had taken the mantra "never again" to heart as fact, but after learning about the genocide that happened in Rwanda, it was now more a matter of when, not if, a Holocaust could happen again. He said there isn't a global power that can intercede, though it might look different today given the role of Israel on the international stage and how it would get involved.

"Antisemitism is a story of 2,000 years," he said. "It's not something that happened yesterday and we can eliminate it."

He likened it to a long illness and said this is why education is important.

"You have to teach people not to hate," Fish said. "You want me to go the rest of my life hating people? I decided I'm not going to do that."

Fish said the Holocaust began gradually in Slovakia, starting with laws in the 1930s that required Jews to have Gentile partners, prohibited them from practicing Judaism and ordered Jews to wear armbands. In 1942, 80 percent of the 3,000 or so Jews that lived in Bardejov were sent to camps.

Fish's father was a business owner who dealt with railroad ties, earning them an exception and making them among the 600 Jews who remained in 1942.

"You can't just kill 80 percent of the population and assume everything is going to be fine," he said. "So we existed but we didn't survive."

The family eventually had to go into hiding and got fake papers saying they were Christian and a few times stared down German officers occupying the country.

One time was when the family stopped at a restaurant and the only open table was at the front near where a German officer sat. His father, who had studied in Germany, and spoke perfect German greeted the soldier with "Heil Hitler." He then proceeded to tell the soldier that he didn't like how the Germans were in the country and to leave and let them do what needed to be done and get the Jews out of the country.

Fish said luck and money were key factors to their survival, but they also had to be creative and smart.

"Money, luck and brains  that did it," he said. "But luck more than anything else."

His blonde mother, was crossing the railroad tracks one time after buying bread when she was stopped and told she and her family were to be arrested because they were Jewish. She insisted she wasn't and was able to make it to where the family was staying. The four of them packed in a hurry and fled, spending two to three days in the rainy countryside before seeking refuge in the home of a Baptist priest.

He said they were ultimately caught when news spread that Christians sheltering Jews would be killed and the person they were staying with got scared and reported them.

"Every Holocaust survivor has their own story," Fish said. No two stories are alike. I don't want you to think my story is special. It is a story."
League City Police Department

Officers with the League City Police Department battled it out with a six-foot alligator Tuesday and came out on top. Literally. After the long, short-legged reptile was found hanging out in a drainage ditch along South Shore Boulevard in League Citywhich is located about 25 miles southeast of Houston officials from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and animal control officers were called to the scene to assist, according to a Facebook post from the department. Photos included in the post show the alligator nearly completely camouflaged with the muddy water inside the ditch.

League City Police Department

A nearly two-minute-long video clip showed the alligator subdued underneath one officer as two others helped place restraints on its body. Suddenly, the lizard-like creature is shown rearing back its head, startling one of the officers who jumped back and said," scared the crap out of me." The short clip has been viewed over 25,000 times.
Laredo assistant city manager Riazul Mia was recognized by City Council on Monday, April 17 for his 27 years of service to the community as he heads into retirement with his last day of work coming Friday, April 28.

Thank you for this recognition. Im really honored for this. I thank the management and mayor and City Council for giving me the opportunity to serve the community, Mia said. I served under seven city managers and four mayors. We have seen a lot of changes, but sometimes the changes are good.

Mia is originally from Bangladesh where he obtained a bachelors degree in civil engineering from Bangladesh University. He earned a masters of civil and environmental engineering from Louisiana State University  which is why his cake presented at Mondays meeting was purple and gold  and he earned a masters in public administration from Texas A&M International University.

Throughout his career, Mia has served for a wide variety of organizations and boards including the American Society of Civil Engineers, the Texas City Manager Association, the Texas Floodplain Management Association, the Texas Water Utilities Association, Underground Construction Technology, the Texas Water Development Board Region and more. He is a registered professional engineer in Texas and is a certified floodplain manager.

Mia first joined the City of Laredo as the pollution prevention coordinator. He also served as a civil engineer and environmental manager before becoming the environmental services director in 2001. He also worked as the utilities director for five years before beginning his current appointment the past three years as assistant city manager.

Decades of serving together

For me, standing here is bittersweet. Ria was already here three years when I came in, and he embraced me with open arms, Laredo Deputy City Manager Rosario Cabello said. We became good friends throughout. He is retiring after 27 years. He has been a true, loyal public servant, a friend and a wonderful leader.

Cabello reflected on how Mias departure leaves her and John Orfila as the last of the original directors who came in together.

Us dinosaurs are John Ofila, Ria and myself. Thats it, she said. There was a legacy of other individuals in the past who served and have made great names for themselves in various projects. Ria is leaving a legacy behind, very big shoes to fill.

Mia was quick to recognize the dinosaurs for what they meant to his career.

Id like to especially thank those old dinosaurs Rosario, Orfila, (John) Porter, Jose Castillo and Jesus (Olivares), he said. These are the people I worked with most. Thank you for your dedication and hard work.

A widespread impact

In addressing City Council, Cabello highlighted a wide range of projects Mia was involved in throughout his 27 years serving the city. They included the Chacon Creek Restoration Project, the River Vega Master Plan and many more. She also discussed how he was instrumental during his tenure in issuing out $125 million worth of projects.

Ria thank you very much for your leadership, she said. All of us here behind me, the directors, are so privileged to have worked under you. Thank you very much, and God bless you.

Mia expressed pride in how the city has gone from 50 square miles when he arrived in 1996 to about 110 square miles today.

Every single development project except the last three years, I was involved in this, he said. Every single big park, from Father McNaboe to North Central to Independent Hills, I was involved in it. It is not just me, it is always a team effort. We have very good directors, and we always had the support of city management, of course the mayor and City Council. Thats why were able to do it.

He also spoke about the pride he takes in strides made to reduce flooding in Laredo.

We dont have flooding any more. We are able to reduce the flooding thanks to this City Council supporting the drainage fees and those bonds, Mia said. If you remember, in the 90s every time we got rain, the entire McPherson, Gale Street, everything used to get flooded. Those are no longer there. That is one of the biggest accomplishments we all are able to do.

Family support

Several members of City Council also recognized the effort of Mias wife Beauty and son Ronald for helping support his career over the past three decades. This included District VII Councilmember and Mayor Pro Temp Vanessa Perez who said she has known his wife longer than she has known him.

Thank you for all the help you have given me. I know that District VII has not been your favorite district to deal with. Youre a trooper for that, Perez said. I want to also recognize I have known his wife Beauty longer than Ive known him, so I want to say hi to Beauty and thank you and your son for all the support you gave him over the years so he could serve the public and do his job. It is pretty much a 24/7 job. It is not easy. I want to acknowledge you all, and thank you Ria for everything.

Mia also showed gratitude toward his family for making his service to the city possible.

"Id like to thank my wife Beauty and my son Ronald. They have sacrificed. It is long hours of work, but they sacrifice it, he said. We do have a lot of a younger generation. Its time for me to step aside and give some young folks an opportunity to shine. I think we have a lot of them. They will shine. I do believe in public service, and I do believe our purpose in this life is to serve others. May God bless all of you.

Guiding the councilmembers

When he began addressing City Council, Mia said he hoped he wouldnt get emotional, and District IV Councilmember Alberto Torres Jr. quickly joked in response saying, If you do, you have time to withdraw that retirement document.

The sentiment behind the joke was sincere as Torres spoke highly of Mia including recognizing him for serving on the Good Neighbor Environmental Board which advises the president and Congress via the EPA.

We were proud to have a Laredoan on that board. That was a major accomplishment during your tenure here with us Ria, he said. Obviously because of our geographical location of advising on border needs, we recognize your hard work with that board through that appointment.

Torres also spoke about appreciating Mia for always being truthful and direct no matter the situation.

Ria is a person that what you see is what you get. He did not care if it was a councilmember or a mayor that would call him, he would say it like it is. If it was no, it was no. If it was yes, it was yes, Torres said. Thats what really helped him get through seven city managers and I dont know how many councils and mayors.

It was always a pleasure working with him and calling him at any time, because he addresses things immediately and continues to do so even on his last couple of days. Ive put him to the test. He cares about his job and he cares about this community he calls home after being in Louisiana. It is bittersweet to see you go, because you are a wealth of knowledge in our community, to this city, to this institution, your knowledge in our utility system.

The utility system has been a source of controversy over the years due to issues with the water supply, and Torres said he believed Mia unjustly received a large portion of the criticism.

When we underwent the utilities and water crisis, unfortunately Ria took a lot of the heat for that. I would tell people that if anyone advocated for us to invest in our utilities infrastructure, it was Ria, Torres said. For whatever reason, it was the different leadership decisions and policy decisions that were made that his advice was never followed. Ultimately, he got to say, I told you so. That goes to show how important Rias role not only as assistant city manager but as utilities director was to this community and this city.

While Perez and Torres spoke to their years of serving alongside Mia, several newer councilmembers expressed similar gratitude despite their limited time together.

Ive been here just over two years Ria, and you have truly been a mentor to me, District V Councilmember Ruben Gutierrez Jr. said. Youve really helped me out with so many things. You answered my calls any time of the day, any time of the night. We had an emergency and you were there, you answered our phone calls. You were there for the community, you were there for us.

I consider you a true friend. Anything you should ever need, you let us know, please let me know. Thank you. It is a true pleasure working with you Ria.

District II Councilmember Daisy Campos-Rodriguez is new to City Council but has a lengthy relationship with Mia due to her husband previously serving in the same role.

Thank you for this almost seven years of friendship. Ive been on council less than six months, but youve been here quite a while, and my husband was one of the ones who had the pleasure to work with you, she said. Thank you for everything you have done not only for me but for him as well. I talk on his behalf. You have been one of the fairest individuals in this city, and Ill never forget how much you have believed in me, and I promise you I will not give up.

Other recently elected councilmembers all mentioned how helpful Mia has been for them adjusting to their new roles.

"I appreciate everything you did, District I Councilmember Gilbert Gonzalez said. I hope you enjoy your retirement to the fullest, and all I can say is we need more Rias in this world.

It has only been a few months, but it is clear your dedication to your work, District VI Councilmember Dr. Tyler King said. I admire you very deeply. Congrats to you.

As a newbie, Ill tell you that you offered your expertise to all the new councilmembers. Speaking on behalf of us, we really appreciate that, District III Councilmember Melissa Cigarroa said. You were very honest and very upfront about what the challenges are the city faces and where you think we should be concentrating our efforts. It was greatly appreciated. Thank you so much for sharing that with us, and I hope you will continue to do that even if its in an informal way. Thank you so much for your service.
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Ryan Lindsay is an award-winning Canadian country singer with roots running deep in Alberta and new energy growing in the Texas red dirt. His new album, Seasons - now available on all streaming platforms - offers insightful storytelling that takes us on a journey through the seasons of a year and much more.

The nine-song album is a compilation of music Lindsay previously released throughout the course of a year. During each season  fall, winter, spring and summer - he offered fans a digital 45 with two songs. Now they can get music from all four seasons bundled together with a bonus track.

When it came time to make this album, Canada was still very much locked down in the pandemic, so I had to approach it differently. We had to Zoom into a session with a band down south to record the first two songs, which were for Fall, said Lindsay. We put those two songs out and then started working on two songs for Winter. By recording two songs and immediately putting them out, people got to see me go through the personal seasons in my life.

Lindsay illustrates his personal seasons with songs like You, Me and the Mountains, which poetically relays the frustration he felt when the parents of the girl he was seeing did not approve of their relationship due to cultural differences; and Too Soon, a powerful ballad about coping with the loss of a friend.

As Lindsay continued writing songs for each season, he found himself digging deeper. He calls the album a true reflection of the journey that got him where he is today.

The further I got into this project, the more I was able to communicate who I am musically, he added.

The final song on the album is a cover of Ian Tysons Summer Wages. The Canadian music icon passed away in December 2022.

He was an artist who really inspired me and really embraced where he was from. We put this bonus track on the album to pay tribute to him, said Lindsay.

Fans from Canada down to Texas are embracing Lindsays music, and he is embracing the Lone Star State.

I have always loved Texas country music because I think it is one of the richest regional areas for music. Its people with the same mindset of independence, making music from the heart, and keeping it rooted in real life, he said.

Lindsay launched his Texas tour in Galveston last week and is making stops in other towns known for great live music, including College Station, New Braunfels and The Woodlands.

Visit www.ryanlindsaymusic.com for a complete list of tour dates and download Seasons wherever you get your music.

Songwriter and storyteller Ryan Lindsay is a CCMA nominee and 5-time Country Music Alberta award winner. He took home the Album of the Year award for his new album, Seasons, at the 2023 Country Music Alberta Awards. A genuine outdoorsman, he is deeply influenced by his background as a backcountry guide and growing up in the Prairies. Lindsays sound contains a clear nod toward classic country and roots music.

His voice is reminiscent of 90s country, and his catalogue of songs includes a diverse mix of instrumentation - from acoustic-driven, bluegrassy ballads to up-tempo songs with gritty Telecaster and steel guitar. As a showman Ryan Lindsay is loud and proud of his love for country and roots music and carries a captivating energy on stage that creates an engaging live experience.
(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

Casey Fiesler, University of Colorado Boulder

(THE CONVERSATION) As public concern about the ethical and social implications of artificial intelligence keeps growing, it might seem like its time to slow down. But inside tech companies themselves, the sentiment is quite the opposite. As Big Techs AI race heats up, it would be an absolutely fatal error in this moment to worry about things that can be fixed later, a Microsoft executive wrote in an internal email about generative AI, as The New York Times reported.

In other words, its time to move fast and break things, to quote Mark Zuckerbergs old motto. Of course, when you break things, you might have to fix them later  at a cost.

In software development, the term technical debt refers to the implied cost of making future fixes as a consequence of choosing faster, less careful solutions now. Rushing to market can mean releasing software that isnt ready, knowing that once it does hit the market, youll find out what the bugs are and can hopefully fix them then.

However, negative news stories about generative AI tend not to be about these kinds of bugs. Instead, much of the concern is about AI systems amplifying harmful biases and stereotypes and students using AI deceptively. We hear about privacy concerns, people being fooled by misinformation, labor exploitation and fears about how quickly human jobs may be replaced, to name a few. These problems are not software glitches. Realizing that a technology reinforces oppression or bias is very different from learning that a button on a website doesnt work.

As a technology ethics educator and researcher, I have thought a lot about these kinds of bugs. Whats accruing here is not just technical debt, but ethical debt. Just as technical debt can result from limited testing during the development process, ethical debt results from not considering possible negative consequences or societal harms. And with ethical debt in particular, the people who incur it are rarely the people who pay for it in the end.

Off to the races

As soon as OpenAIs ChatGPT was released in November 2022, the starter pistol for todays AI race, I imagined the debt ledger starting to fill.

Within months, Google and Microsoft released their own generative AI programs, which seemed rushed to market in an effort to keep up. Googles stock prices fell when its chatbot Bard confidently supplied a wrong answer during the companys own demo. One might expect Microsoft to be particularly cautious when it comes to chatbots, considering Tay, its Twitter-based bot that was almost immediately shut down in 2016 after spouting misogynist and white supremacist talking points. Yet early conversations with the AI-powered Bing left some users unsettled, and it has repeated known misinformation.

When the social debt of these rushed releases comes due, I expect that we will hear mention of unintended or unanticipated consequences. After all, even with ethical guidelines in place, its not as if OpenAI, Microsoft or Google can see the future. How can someone know what societal problems might emerge before the technology is even fully developed?

The root of this dilemma is uncertainty, which is a common side effect of many technological revolutions, but magnified in the case of artificial intelligence. After all, part of the point of AI is that its actions are not known in advance. AI may not be designed to produce negative consequences, but it is designed to produce the unforeseen.

However, it is disingenuous to suggest that technologists cannot accurately speculate about what many of these consequences might be. By now, there have been countless examples of how AI can reproduce bias and exacerbate social inequities, but these problems are rarely publicly identified by tech companies themselves. It was external researchers who found racial bias in widely used commercial facial analysis systems, for example, and in a medical risk prediction algorithm that was being applied to around 200 million Americans. Academics and advocacy or research organizations like the Algorithmic Justice League and the Distributed AI Research Institute are doing much of this work: identifying harms after the fact. And this pattern doesnt seem likely to change if companies keep firing ethicists.

Speculating  responsibly

I sometimes describe myself as a technology optimist who thinks and prepares like a pessimist. The only way to decrease ethical debt is to take the time to think ahead about things that might go wrong  but this is not something that technologists are necessarily taught to do.

Scientist and iconic science fiction writer Isaac Asimov once said that sci-fi authors foresee the inevitable, and although problems and catastrophes may be inevitable, solutions are not. Of course, science fiction writers do not tend to be tasked with developing these solutions  but right now, the technologists developing AI are.

So how can AI designers learn to think more like science fiction writers? One of my current research projects focuses on developing ways to support this process of ethical speculation. I dont mean designing with far-off robot wars in mind; I mean the ability to consider future consequences at all, including in the very near future.

This is a topic Ive been exploring in my teaching for some time, encouraging students to think through the ethical implications of sci-fi technology in order to prepare them to do the same with technology they might create. One exercise I developed is called the Black Mirror Writers Room, where students speculate about possible negative consequences of technology like social media algorithms and self-driving cars. Often these discussions are based on patterns from the past or the potential for bad actors.

Ph.D. candidate Shamika Klassen and I evaluated this teaching exercise in a research study and found that there are pedagogical benefits to encouraging computing students to imagine what might go wrong in the future  and then brainstorm about how we might avoid that future in the first place.

However, the purpose isnt to prepare students for those far-flung futures; it is to teach speculation as a skill that can be applied immediately. This skill is especially important for helping students imagine harm to other people, since technological harms often disproportionately impact marginalized groups that are underrepresented in computing professions. The next steps for my research are to translate these ethical speculation strategies for real-world technology design teams.

Time to hit pause?

In March 2023, an open letter with thousands of signatures advocated for pausing training AI systems more powerful than GPT-4. Unchecked, AI development might eventually outnumber, outsmart, obsolete and replace us, or even cause a loss of control of our civilization, its writers warned.

As critiques of the letter point out, this focus on hypothetical risks ignores actual harms happening today. Nevertheless, I think there is little disagreement among AI ethicists that AI development needs to slow down  that developers throwing up their hands and citing unintended consequences is not going to cut it.

We are only a few months into the AI race picking up significant speed, and I think its already clear that ethical considerations are being left in the dust. But the debt will come due eventually  and history suggests that Big Tech executives and investors may not be the ones paying for it.

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article here: https://theconversation.com/ai-has-social-consequences-but-who-pays-the-price-tech-companies-problem-with-ethical-debt-203375.
BETHEL  The towns recommended $88.7 million spending plan for 2023-24 passed Tuesdays referendum with the approval of nearly 60 percent of participating voters.

The roughly $53.1 million school budget passed by an 865-to-617 vote, while the nearly $35.6 million town budget passed by an 893-to-591vote, according to the Bethel Registrar of Voters  despite the fact that most of those who responded to the referendums advisory questions said the budgets were too high.

We were thrilled that both the budgets passed, Superintendent Christine Carver said Wednesday morning.

Bethels combined $88.7 million spending plan reflects a 3.89 percent year-over-year increase and is expected to translate into a nearly 18 percent mill rate decrease.

This year is complicated because its a reevaluation year for Bethel, but the estimated mill rate (would) be 28.43, Board of Finance member Nick Ellis told Hearst Connecticut Media in an email Monday.

That may be lower than Bethels current mill rate of 34.59, but assessed home values increased following the towns 2022 reevaluation. The town's grand list grew 26 percent this year to $2.74 billion, in part because of the revaluation of property values.

A mill is equal to $1 of tax for each $1,000 of assessment. With a 28.43 mill rate, the owner of a home valued at $350,000 would pay about $9,950 in taxes in 2023-24.

Carver said the goal this budget season was to enable the district to support students and address academic and social-emotional needs amid growing enrollment and rising costs.

Though happy about the outcome, Carver said she was a little disappointed about the level of voter turnout for the referendum.

I think its important  whether you agree with the budget or not  to be part of the process, she said.

The roughly $53.1 million school budget reflects a 3.9 percent year-over-year spending increase, while the nearly $35.6 million town budget  which includes nearly $29.7 million for operating expenses, $5.4 million in debt service and $463,880 for school building maintenance  reflects a 3.87 percent increase.

First Selectman Dan Carter could not be reached Wednesday for comment.
WASHINGTON - President Biden on Wednesday rejected a Republican plan to slash government spending and raise the debt limit, assailing the proposals as "wacko" notions that would cause a catastrophic government default.

Moments after Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) discussed the GOP plan on the House floor, the president stood in a Maryland union hall, insisting that Congress pass a stand-alone bill to raise the debt limit - as Republicans did three times during the Trump administration.

"We've never ever defaulted on the debt. It would destroy this economy. And who do you think will hurt the most? You hard-working people, the middle class, the neighborhoods I got raised in - not the superwealthy and the powerful, but working folks," Biden said.

To McCarthy and Republicans, the president added: "Take default off the table. And let's have a real serious detailed conversation about how to grow the economy, lower costs and reduce the deficit."

McCarthy on Wednesday unveiled a plan to raise the debt ceiling into next year, slash federal spending by potentially $130 billion, and unwind some of Biden's priorities and recent legislative accomplishments, including his program to cancel college student debt.

McCarthy plans to bring the legislation to the House floor as soon as next week, estimating that it will save the government $4.5 trillion over the next decade. But its path to passage is complicated: Republicans have 222 votes, so the speaker can only afford to lose four to prevail. Democrats, meanwhile, vehemently oppose the measure, ensuring its failure in the Senate.

McCarthy, who called the plan the "Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023," mocked Biden for "skipping town" by traveling to Maryland and insisted that the president sit down and discuss the GOP plan.

"The American people have elected a divided government. And our government is designed to find compromise," McCarthy said on the House floor. "That's why the House, the Senate and the White House should be negotiating a responsible debt limit increase right now."

Biden, in his speech, highlighted the fact that two former Republican presidents - Ronald Reagan and Donald Trump - have warned against brinkmanship over the debt ceiling.

"The speaker likes to quote his hero, Ronald [Reagan]. . . . Reagan said debt ceiling brinkmanship threatens the holders of government bonds and those who rely on Social Security and veterans benefits . . . the United States has a special responsibility to itself and to the world to meet its obligation."

The actions and speeches underscored the standoff between the president and House Republicans, who have threatened default unless Biden agreed to spending cuts.

Washington must borrow money to pay for expenses that both parties have incurred, but it can do so only up to a maximum limit allowed by federal law. Lawmakers periodically must suspend or raise that threshold, or the government cannot cover its costs, possibly including interest payments on bonds, triggering a default.

The United States technically reached the debt limit - now set at roughly $31 trillion - earlier this year. That prompted the Biden administration to begin taking special budgetary measures in January so it could continue borrowing. But those moves are temporary solutions meant to buy extra time on Capitol Hill.

The U.S. government has said those measures could run out sometime between June and September.

McCarthy had delivered a speech on Wall Street on Monday, and Biden said that the House speaker "proposed huge cuts to important programs that millions of working- and middle-class Americans count on." The president said the GOP proposal would result in higher costs for child care and cuts to the number of people who administer Social Security and Medicare, causing longer wait times.

Biden's event in Accokeek, Md., followed a call Tuesday night with Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.). According to the White House, the three Democrats "discussed House Republicans' brinkmanship over default and how their recklessness could crash the economy."

"President Biden, Leader Schumer, and Leader Jeffries agree that we won't negotiate over default and Republicans should pass a clean bill like they did three times in the previous administration," said a White House readout of the call, referring to the three occasions Congress raised the debt limit during the Trump administration without Republicans insisting on conditions.

Biden's remarks served as a blunt message to McCarthy: Don't waste your time cobbling together a bill that might clear the House but will go nowhere in the Democratic-led Senate.

McCarthy, meanwhile, is hoping that passing a bill in the House will force Biden to the negotiating table, regardless of its prospects in the Senate.

To even get to that point, however, McCarthy must navigate the push and pull of his caucus. Members of the House Freedom Caucus are trying to add even more conservative priorities to the debt limit bill. That could pressure more-moderate Republicans to vote for proposals that might not be popular in their districts.

With Wednesday's event, the White House was seeking to draw a contrast between Biden's venue - the International Union of Operating Engineers Local 77 Training Center, where the White House said he would "be joined by hard-working Americans" - with that of McCarthy, who presented House Republican priorities Monday during a speech on Wall Street.

Among other things, Biden focused on the effect of an advertised GOP provision that would roll back spending levels at most government agencies and cap future budget growth - an issue the White House said Biden discussed in his call Tuesday night with Schumer and Jeffries.

"They discussed what we know about House Republicans' extreme MAGA spending cuts, which include devastating cuts to veterans and education, taking food assistance and health care away from millions of people, and sending manufacturing overseas - all just to pay for their tax cuts for the superwealthy and corporations," the White House readout of the call said.

According to the White House, Biden also reiterated his willingness to discuss budget priorities with McCarthy apart from the debt limit legislation. Republicans have yet to produce a budget plan, which has complicated such talks. Biden unveiled his budget March 9.

In remarks on the Senate floor Wednesday, Schumer also cited Trump's warning.

"For all his terrible flaws . . . even Donald Trump understood what House Republicans today do not," Schumer said. "The full faith and credit of the United States must never be taken hostage."

- - -

The Washington Post's Tony Romm contributed to this report.
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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP)  One Southern California teenager was killed and three others injured Tuesday afternoon when a stabbing suspect crashed his vehicle into the group as they were walking near their high school, authorities said.

Investigators are looking into whether the driver, who had allegedly stabbed a Walmart employee earlier in the day, intentionally crashed into the teens in Thousand Oaks, according to Ventura County Sheriffs Deputy Ashley Barrios.

Police were not in pursuit of the suspect at the time, Barrios said. The suspect was also injured in the rollover crash; the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

A 16-year-old boy was fatally struck, while a 16-year-old girl was in critical condition, Barrios said. Another 16-year-old boy had minor injuries, while a 15-year-old girl was in moderate condition.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, the Conejo Valley Unified School District said in a statement on Facebook.

The Walmart stabbing occurred in Simi Valley around 2:40 p.m. and the suspect, whose name has not been released, fled the scene in a white Toyota Camry, according to Simi Valley police. The Walmart employee suffered one stab wound.

The suspect then allegedly was involved in a domestic disturbance with family members in Camarillo, about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) away, Barrios said. No one was injured.

After that, the suspect traveled to Thousand Oaks  about 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) from Camarillo  where he crashed the Camry into the teenagers around 3:15 p.m., officials said.

Authorities have not released the identities of the teenagers. Other details were not immediately available.

Thousand Oaks is about 35 miles (56.33 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
WASHINGTON - The size of the D.C. police force has shrunk to a half-century low as officers leave faster than they can be replaced, according to the agency's chief, forcing the department to spend millions on overtime while it struggles to combat gun violence and carjackings.

Despite some hiring in the past year, the force had just over 3,350 sworn officers at the end of March, a net loss of about 450 over the past three years. Police Chief Robert J. Contee III said he expected the size of the force could fall to about 3,130 by the end of fiscal year 2024.

Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) has said she wants the department to have 4,000 officers by 2031, though Contee testified at a recent D.C. Council hearing that given the city's current budget restrictions - along with a dearth of people applying for police jobs across the county - that goal is probably unattainable.

"We are no longer in a space where debating the maximum size of the police force is necessary or productive," Contee told lawmakers at the March 31 council hearing. "Absent significant shifts in national employment levels, the environment for law enforcement, or the interest of younger generations in long-term government careers, MPD staffing may not recover for more than a decade."

Police departments in the D.C. region and across the country are struggling to hire and retain officers, competing with one another to offer financial and other incentives in hopes of swelling their ranks. Experts say that fewer people want to work as police officers because of fatigue over crime and civil unrest, heightened scrutiny, low pay, and a lack of interest in government service.

In D.C., discussions about the budget and the size of the police force are coinciding with federal lawmakers' taking an interest in crime in the nation's capital. Last month, Congress voted to block a controversial overhaul of the city's criminal code, in part because it would have lowered the statutory maximum penalty for certain crimes, including carjacking. Republicans in Congress are now targeting a separate bill to overhaul policing that was passed by the D.C. Council, though President Biden has said he plans to veto any effort to block the measure from becoming law.

The mayor presented her budget plan to the D.C. Council last month. In the coming weeks, lawmakers will mark up the mayor's proposal and make adjustments, and they will then vote in May on the final budget for fiscal 2024, which begins Oct. 1.

Bowser, facing a projected revenue drop due to lower-than-expected commercial tax revenue, has proposed spending $516 million on police in fiscal 2024, a 2 percent decrease from this fiscal year. Her plan - subject to council approval - would maintain $5.4 million for recruitment and bonuses for new police hires, and would continue to fund alternative justice programs.

Police said the proposed budget contains money to allow Contee to continue to hire in fiscal 2024, and he said his goal is to hire 20 new officers each month. But he told city lawmakers the department is losing 30 to 35 officers a month. The chief has said to make up for the shortfall of officers, the department has spent $1.1 million in overtime hours in each of the past two years.

D.C. recently offered $20,000 signing bonuses to entice recruits, and later increased the amount to $25,000. Contee said 71 recruits have received the bonus so far, and there is enough money to pay out another 230 in the coming year. Last year, the police union ratified a new contract offering raises to make the department more competitive.

A survey by the Police Executive Research Forum of law enforcement agencies in 38 states and in D.C. found a similar pattern: Departments have increased the pace of hiring but are not able to keep up with attrition. The institute, which advises law enforcement agencies on best practices, found that the total police staffing of the agencies surveyed dropped nearly 5 percent over the past three years.

The research forum's executive director, Chuck Wexler, said the number of people applying to be police officers had dropped even before the pandemic and nationwide protests over police misconduct in 2020. But he said even fewer people want to pursue careers in law enforcement "in the wake of the national narrative over policing. It's pretty negative."

Homicides in D.C. exceeded 200 in each of the past two years, a threshold the city had not crossed since 2003. Through Monday, killings were up 25 percent from the same time in 2022. A recent Washington Post-Schar School poll found more than half of residents across the D.C. area perceive crime to be serious in the District, but more than three-quarters of Washingtonians feel they are "very" or "somewhat" safe from crime in their neighborhoods - up from the same time last year.

Contee has said that in 2021, D.C. officers took 90 seconds longer to reach the most critical incidents, which he said was "an eternity" for crime victims. Statistics for this year were not immediately available.

Some activists, though, argue that having more police officers does not guarantee less crime.

"We know that more policing does not mean more public safety, and so we must challenge that deeply harmful narrative," said Makia Green, co-conductor for Harriet's Wildest Dreams, adding that more investments are needed in community-led programs to address underlying causes of crime.

"We must reclaim what public safety looks like," Green said.

Last month, the Republican-led House Oversight Committee held a hearing with D.C. lawmakers and the chairman of the police union, with GOP members lambasting the city as a crime-ridden enclave run by leaders who have failed to keep residents and visitors safe. Local leaders pushed back, noting federal agencies oversee most of the city's criminal justice system and arguing they should share in any blame.

Bowser sent a letter to the Oversight Committee last week saying she will accept an invitation to testify on May 16 and plans to bring Contee and the city administrator.

At the Oversight Committee hearing in March, the chairman of the police union, Greggory Pemberton, testified that the policing bill, which restricts some police practices and increases public accountability, "has resulted in a mass exodus of sworn law enforcement officers and an exponential increase in violent crime."

D.C. Council member Charles Allen (D-Ward 6), the former chair of the public safety committee, disputed that officers left because of reforms and said that "a transparent and accountable force, which polices constitutionally and respectfully, is the desire of - and benefits - both the public and law enforcement."

D.C. leaders have long debated how many officers its police department needs. In 2016, police warned that falling below 3,800 officers would make the force dangerously thin. Vincent C. Gray, a former mayor and current Democrat representing Ward 7 on the council, has said he believes the department needs 4,200 officers. The Bowser administration has pointed to drops in homicides from 2009 through 2014 - when the department had about 3,900 members - to support the mayor's call for a larger police force. While homicides did go down during that time period, overall crime increased 14 percent.

A D.C. reform commission formed after the killing of George Floyd by police in Minneapolis in 2020 recommended a smaller police department, with money diverted to programs that treat crime as a public health issue. The D.C. Council reduced the police budget by $15 million that year.

Police officials assert that cut forced a year-long hiring freeze that exacerbated the problem of hiring and retaining officers in D.C.

At the D.C. Council hearing at which Contee testified in March, member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5) disputed that.

"It's not a money issue," Parker told the police chief, adding it was unfair to suggest the 2020 cut is to blame for today's staffing woes. "It's about how we attract and retain officers."

Contee countered that the budget cut had an impact. In 2020, the chief said, "we stopped hiring," and it took months to restart vetting and training officers once hiring resumed a year later. In the meantime, he said, hundreds of officers left.

"This has been a slow-motion bleed over the past two years," Contee said at the hearing, "that got us to the point where we are right now."

- - -

The Washington Post's Michael Brice-Saddler and Ellie Silverman contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON - Democrats' plan to replace an ailing senator on the Senate Judiciary Committee fell apart amid Republican opposition Tuesday, leaving the party still grappling with a dilemma over stalled judicial nominees that has inflamed some in the Democratic base and complicated the Senate race to succeed her in California.

Republicans prevented Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) from temporarily replacing Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who has been absent since February while recovering from shingles, on the panel with another Democrat on Tuesday evening.

Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) objected to the move, saying it would allow Democrats to "pass out a handful of judges that I think should never be on the bench."

That leaves Senate Democrats still grappling with how to deal with their oldest member's extended absence, which has resulted in some of President Biden's judicial nominees stalling out in the Judiciary Committee without her tiebreaking vote. The powerful committee, which is probing allegations of financial conflicts of interest against Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, also lacks the votes to issue subpoenas in her absence.

"It creates a real dilemma for us," said Sen. Peter Welch (D-Vt.), a member of the Judiciary Committee. "We're stuck, if it's [a] 10-10 [split between Democrats and Republicans]. That's not an opinion - that's a reality."

Feinstein has not provided a timeline for her return, but Schumer, who talked to her on the phone Friday, said he is hopeful she will return "soon." It's unclear if Schumer will push for a full vote on temporarily replacing her, but that would take at least 10 Republican votes to succeed that it appears he doesn't have.

Some Democratic lawmakers have gingerly suggested their patience with Feinstein's absence has an expiration date.

"If we do not have any sort of timeline upon which Sen. Feinstein can be expected to fulfill her duties in Washington, then there should be a consideration about whether that's a sustainable path forward," said Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).

But more Democratic lawmakers said Feinstein should be given time to recover this week, and the White House has not echoed calls for her to provide a timeline for her return.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Richard J. Durbin (D-Ill.), who has said her absence has hampered the committee, said he would not try to "push her into any other decision."

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.) called the Republican opposition to replacing Feinstein on the committee "mean" and petty but did not see it as increasing pressure on her.

"In America we don't ask people to resign because they get shingles," he said.

Republicans on the Judiciary Committee also suggested they would cross the aisle and support some of the pending judicial nominees they feel are less controversial in a committee vote Thursday, potentially defusing the talking point that Biden's nominees are stalled. On Tuesday, Sen. John Neely Kennedy (R-La.) said he would support a Biden district court nominee in the future, which Durbin thanked him for.

Biden, who recruited Feinstein to serve on the Judiciary Committee and considers her a long-term friend and a political ally, has also given her space. "This is a decision for her to make when it comes to her future," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said at Tuesday's White House briefing. "This is a decision she should be allowed to speak to, and we should respect that."

Biden's own age at 80 makes it politically fraught to even gently nudge someone to retire, and he also resisted Democrats' past calls to push Supreme Court Justice Stephen G. Breyer to resign to appoint a younger successor - making him an unlikely ally in the effort.

Feinstein has withstood multiple rounds of calls for her to resign over the years, as unflattering anecdotes emerged from some of her colleagues and others about her memory lapses and her perceived cognitive decline, as well as her visible reliance on her aides in public-facing aspects of her job. But the holdup on judicial nominees created by her absence has changed the tenor of the conversation among Democratic activists.

"Something's going to have to give," said Brian Fallon, a former aide to Schumer who now leads Demand Justice, a left-leaning judicial activism group. "Just having a deadlocked committee that stalls Joe Biden's judicial project is not an option."

Fallon noted that with the House under Republican control, confirming judges quickly is the "main if not only opportunity to advance Joe Biden's agenda."

The situation is complicated by the ongoing race for her Senate seat among Democratic Reps. Adam B. Schiff, Barbara Lee and Katie Porter, with their allies taking opposing positions on the calls for her retirement.

"'You're coming back when? What's the date? How long are we going to have to wait?' I think those are questions that should be asked," said Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), who called on Feinstein to resign last week and is co-chairing Lee's campaign. He called it "sad" that Feinstein had not yet retired.

Feinstein's allies, including Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif), who is backing Schiff's candidacy, have long rebuffed the notion that Feinstein should step down on anyone's terms other than her own. They have bristled at the calls for her to resign and allow California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) to appoint a replacement through the end of her term - categorizing those suggestions as a sexist double standard that is not applied to aging male senators.

Former senator Barbara Boxer, who served with Feinstein from 1992 to 2017, called the refusal of Senate Republicans to give Feinstein the time that she needs to recover "disgraceful," "divisive" and "disrespectful."

"If a Republican senator had the same situation happen to them as Senator Feinstein, she would be the very first one calling them and saying, 'What can I do for you?'" Boxer said in an telephone interview. "What they are doing - because it's expected, because people know the hardball they are playing - is not getting the discussion that it deserves."

Seating a new senator on the committee would also take Republican votes, and while some Senate Republicans said this week they would not object to approving a permanent replacement for Feinstein, they were opposed to any temporary measure.

While Feinstein has an insular inner circle and a fiercely protective staff, she believes her expertise on critical California issues, such as her work on the state's complex drought and flooding issues, as well as wildfire protection and many others, make her the best person to finish out her term, according to people familiar with her thinking who, like others, spoke to The Washington Post on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. When confronted with questions about her ability to serve, Feinstein's allies have long pointed out that a more junior replacement would not have her stature as the second-ranking person on the Senate Appropriations Committee, with the power to steer critical federal dollars back to California.

"The Senate is a club where seniority is king, so a caretaker who is going to be there for literally a few months is not going to have the kind of clout that California needs," said California Democratic strategist Steve Maviglio.

A Feinstein spokesman declined a request for comment.

Republicans' refusal to acquiesce to Feinstein's request for a temporary replacement also has ratcheted up the pressure on Newsom, who counts Feinstein among his mentors dating back to his earliest days in politics.

Newsom, who declined a request for comment, now finds himself in a political bind if Feinstein is unable to return to the Senate. Lee, at one point among Newsom's top prospects for a potential appointment, is now one of the three prominent Democrats vying to replace Feinstein in 2024.

With no Black women serving in the U.S. Senate after Kamala D. Harris vacated her seat in 2020 to be sworn in as vice president, Newsom faced considerable pressure to appoint a Black woman to replace her. Instead he chose Alex Padilla, who became the state's first Latino senator. Newsom then promised to appoint a Black woman if another Senate vacancy occurred. At that time, Lee and then-Rep. Karen Bass were viewed as his top choices.

But Bass has been elected mayor of Los Angeles, and allies close to Newsom say it would be politically untenable for him to choose Lee, even though she is now centering her campaign to replace Feinstein on the idea that she would bring an important perspective to the job as a Black woman. Lee has distanced herself from the calls of Khanna, the co-chair of her campaign, for Feinstein to step down.

Newsom allies say that he is likely to hew to his promise to appoint a Black woman to the seat if Feinstein steps aside, and that he would lean toward seeking a caretaker for that role to avoid appearing to put his thumb on the scale in the Senate race. California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, Los Angeles County Supervisor Holly Mitchell and Angela Glover Blackwell, an attorney and civil rights activist who is the founder-in-residence of the advocacy group PolicyLink, are all potential candidates on his list, they say.

Mitchell and Blackwell did not respond to The Post's request for comment on whether they would accept a Senate appointment should that situation arise.

"Senator Feinstein has expressed her determination to serve, and we respect her decision," a spokesman for Weber said.

Porter declined to comment when asked about Feinstein on Tuesday, and her campaign aides did not respond to The Post's questions about Feinstein's absence. Instead her aides pointed to her comments in a recent local news interview, where she said that she believed Newsom should keep his word but demurred on whether it would be appropriate for him to appoint Lee as a potential replacement.

"This is ultimately, unfortunately for me, not a decision that I have to make," she replied.

A spokesman for Schiff said he wishes Feinstein a "speedy recovery."

"He and the senator both strongly believe the work of confirming judges is paramount, and he knows she'll do everything to get back as soon as possible," the spokesman said.

- - -

The Washington Post's Matt Viser and Tyler Pager contributed to this report.
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BRIDGEPORT  Under normal circumstances, being labeled substandard would not be a cause for celebration.

But when it means finally shedding the worse troubled designation that has dogged the citys low-income public housing authority since 2014 and put it at risk of federal takeover, getting to substandard is an accomplishment.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which helps to fund and oversee Bridgeports housing authority, Park City Communities, recently revised its classification following an annual assessment of PCCs operations.

Congratulations on the Bridgeport Housing Authority being rated substandard this year and NOT troubled, Jennifer Gottlieb Elazhari, HUD director in Connecticut, emphasized last week in an email to PCC that accompanied the results.

Were trending in the right direction and we want to keep the momentum, Cowlis Andrews, who has been on the authoritys mayoral-appointed board of directors since 2016, said Tuesday.

He acknowledged some may not be impressed by the new substandard label but emphasized, We were really messed up.

And being classified as troubled for so long further hurt the citys housing authority, Andrews said, because it limited Park Citys ability to seek competitive federal grants that could improve conditions for its 5,400 households.

We were very limited in what we could apply for from HUD because they thought we couldnt manage the place, so why give us more, Andrews said. Now theyre saying were trending in the right direction and its going to open the doors.

Board Chairwoman Bettie Cook, a housing authority resident, agreed.

Its really a good thing for the tenants because they can get more done in their apartments now. We wasnt getting the money because we were in troubled status, Cook said.

According to its website, HUD scores authorities based on the conditions of their buildings/units, health/use of the fund used to modernize those properties, the authorities' overall finances and management.

Of those four categories, the greatest weight is placed on the first  physical assessment. And, despite gains in the other major areas, that is the category where Park City is still falling short.

Housing authorities with combined scores of 90 points or above out of a possible 100 are high performers, and those coming in below 60 points, like PCC has for nearly the last decade, are ranked troubled. For example, in 2014 HUD scored Bridgeport 56 and in 2018 things had actually gotten worse and PCCs score was 48 points.

Park City Executive Director Jillian Baldwin on Monday said, and HUD independently confirmed, that this time around Bridgeports authority earned 66 points, which is in the standard performer classification. But HUD guidelines specify, If your public housing authority scores below 60 in any one indicator, you will be designated as a substandard performer.

And both Baldwin and HUD said the authority earned a substandard score because of the condition of its real estate portfolio.

Basically, it means that PCC is performing well financially and managerially, but our physical properties still need improvement, Baldwin said.

The city and the authority, predating Baldwins hiring in mid-2020, embarked on a slow-going effort to modernize PCCs aged sites. The effort has involved partnering with private developers to raze the existing low-income multi-family buildings and replace them with modern, mixed-income, privately-managed structures.

So far the site of the former Father Panik Village on the East Side and Marina Village on the South End have been redeveloped.

Meanwhile in late-November, 2018 PCC and Mayor Joe Ganims administration announced that the Charles F. Greene Homes, which had been troubled by crime, unsanitary conditions and failing infrastructure, was next on the list. Over four years later Baldwin recently said the authority had a disagreement with its chosen developer over the design/density of the replacement Greene Homes and was seeking another partner.

Despite still having its woes, the new ranking for the authority is a victory for Baldwin, who was brought aboard specifically to try and finally turn things around. When she joined the authority in 2020, Baldwin was the fifth person to hold that executive director position since 2013.

I seemed to have developed a reputation for cleaning up troubled housing authorities, Baldwin had said at that time.

We went through four CEOs before we could get out of 'troubled', said Cook, who was the authoritys board chairwoman when Baldwin was hired. Shes the best thing that came into Bridgeport housing.

But in August, 2021 HUD indicated it had run out of patience with Bridgeport. The federal agency notified Baldwin via letter that her agency was in substantial default of its recovery plan.

Despite HUDs long history of cooperatively and comprehensively engaging with BHA (the Bridgeport Housing Authority) BHA has repeatedly failed to fix the systemic issues of its failing public housing programs, reads the letter. The performance of its public housing program has not recovered, and its designation has remained troubled.

HUD at the time announced that as a result, a remediation monitor and team were being assigned to work closely with PCC officials to take necessary steps to ensure decent and safe housing for residents.

Baldwin and Mayor Joe Ganim, who appoints a board of directors that helps to manage the authority and that hired Baldwin, released a joint statement Monday about PCC shedding the troubled label.

Baldwin said, I would like to thank the Park City Communities staff for all the hard work and effort theyve dedicated to changing the trajectory of our organization. I would also like to thank Congressman Jim Himes and his team for their irreplaceable support throughout our journey.

Himes in a statement Tuesday said, Ive been working with Park City Communities to address its 'troubled status' for nearly my entire time in office. Im heartened by the progress Jillian Baldwin and her team have made in changing the trajectory of the program.

He said PCC will now also be in a better position to help build more affordable housing.

And Ganim on Monday said Im extremely proud of the work that Park City Communities has done to raise their scores and bring their programming out of troubled status. Not only is this a big accomplishment for the organization, but it holds even more weight to the City of Bridgeport and all its residents.

The news comes, however, as the housing authority continues to grapple with a wave of potential evictions that, some critics have argued, are happening because Park City was so desperate to change its HUD ranking.

As of mid-March Baldwin had said that 502 households representing about 2,000 or a third of her tenants were facing being forced out for overdue rental payments totaling $1.5 million. Earlier this month Ganims office and Baldwin reported that number had been reduced to 302 households because of philanthropic dollars, residents who paid via income tax funds that they received, and those that entered into repayment agreements and were removed from the list.

Many of the possible evictions have been blamed on the COVID-19 pandemic that struck Connecticut in early 2020 and its resultant impact on the economy. But Andrews and Baldwin in March had also admitted that the authority had not been doing a good job collecting rents, and now needed to catch up or face further problems with HUD.

Were at $1.5 million in rental arrearages. Its not sustainable, Baldwin had said. We can support a little bit of debt on the books from tenant accounts receivable.

In an April 6 statement a group of Park City tenant leaders accused Baldwin and her staff of using the evictions to improve Park City Communitys HUD status from 'troubled' and of using the women, children and men who live in PCC as pawns (to) improve the optics around how PCC housing operates.

At the same time, the group wrote, PCC remains an irresponsible landlord who does not rise above the designation of slumlord.

Baldwin at the time responded, It is true that the PCC leadership team is responsible for bringing the housing authority out of troubled status. We are not ashamed of this responsibility. This requires us to address long-lingering issues and we have worked hard to do so.

She countered that PCC is not creating a crisis but living the consequences of several years of silently struggling to collect rents needed to fund personnel and to pay for needed repairs.

Baldwin further wrote, It would be unrealistic to believe that we can continue to kick the can down the road. Being designated as 'troubled' prevents PCC from offering optimal housing solutions to our residents. We are proud to be working hard towards removing that designation.
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FRANKFORT, Ind. (AP)  A man charged with killing a former girlfriend and her grandmother outside an Indiana factory in 2021 has pleaded guilty in a deal that takes a possible death penalty off the table, authorities said.

Gary Ferrell II, who was 26 years old at the time, was accused of fatally shooting Promise Mays, 21, and Pamela Sledd, 62, during a shift change at NHK Seating of America in Frankfort, 50 miles (80.4 kilometers) northwest of Indianapolis. The evidence included factory security video.
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LIBERTY, Mo. (AP)  The 84-year old man who shot Ralph Yarl when the Black teenager went to his door by mistake pleaded not guilty Wednesday in a case that has shocked the country and renewed national debates about gun policies and race in America.

Andrew Lester walked into the courtroom with a cane and spoke quietly during Wednesdays hearing, his first public appearance since last weeks shooting. Authorities say he shot Yarl, a 16-year-old honor student, first in the head, then in the arm after Yarl came to his door because he had confused the address with the home where he was supposed to pick up his younger brothers.

The case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places. A 20-year-old woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway. In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a car thinking it was hers.

Yarl was shot at point-blank range in the head but miraculously survived the bullet. Only about 10% to 15% of people who are shot in the head survive, said Dr. Christopher Kang, the president of the American College of Emergency Physicians.

Some civil rights leaders and Yarl's family attorney, Lee Merritt, have urged the Department of Justice to investigate the shooting and for prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime, with Merritt noting that Yarl "was armed only with his Black skin."

Justice Department officials have not responded to calls seeking comment.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime, allowing a sentence of up to life in prison, which is more than a hate-crime charge would carry.

Lester remains free after posting $20,000  10% of his $200,000 bond  and agreeing to relinquish any weapons and have no contact with Yarl or his family. He also agreed to have his cellphone monitored.

Yarls relatives were not at Wednesday's hearing because they are emotionally exhausted, Merritt said. Lesters attorney, Steve Salmon, did not come out of the courthouse to speak with reporters.

Merritt said Yarl is completely humbled by the outpouring of support.

He says, 'I dont know why everyones making a big deal out of me," Merritt said. You know, its its just me, right? Its not like the president was shot.

But Eliana Brannlund said it has been rough not having her friend and fellow band member around at Staley High School.

He always brought a lot of positivity and smiles to our band class as well as our rehearsals outside of school, Brannlund said in an interview with The Associated Press. I hope people are able to hear about who Ralph is as a person and understand that he is loving, kind and sweet.

Yarl was shot at about 10 p.m. last Thursday after his mother asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace, Police Chief Stacey Graves has said.

Yarl, who is all-state band member as well as a top student, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and used a .32 caliber Smith and Wesson 1888 revolver to shoot the teenager.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw Yarl on the porch because he thought someone was trying to break in, police said in court documents.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, according to court documents.

Legal experts expect Lester to claim self-defense and cite Missouri's Stand Your Ground law. The state is one of about 30 with statues that say people dont have to retreat when threatened but instead can respond with physical force.

But Merritt said the law applies only if someones on your property and theyre looking to do you harm .... We dont have any evidence of that. The Castle Doctrine does not apply to this case.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. President Joe Biden spoke with Yarl on Monday, and on Tuesday invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Biden tweeted. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Republican Gov. Mike Parson, who had remained silent on the shooting until Wednesday, accused Biden of politicizing it.

"I dont want some 16-year-old kid to be getting shot because he went to the wrong house  we just dont want those kinds of things to happen. Its a tragedy, Parson told the Kansas City Star. When the president of the United States is trying to make a political statement over a very serious tragedy, it is very unfortunate.

Thompson, the prosecutor, said Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting but did not elaborate. Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Thompson. The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously theres a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Merritt, who called the answer shallow.

Lesters next court date is June 1.

From this point forward, the state will be pushing to move this case forward as swiftly as legally permitted, Thompson said in a statement after Wednesday's hearing.

But Merritt said Yarl's family is frustrated that Lester is out on bond and that the next court hearing is not until June.

We want this process to go as quickly as possible, Merritt said. And we know that if a defendant is out on bond, they may feel free to push the date down a little further as opposed to if he was in custody.

___

Salter reported from OFallon, Missouri. Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, and Trisha Ahmed in Minneapolis contributed to this report.
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LAS VEGAS (AP)  A Las Vegas teenager pleaded guilty as an adult Wednesday to felony charges that a prosecutor said could get him decades in prison for attacking a high school teacher and leaving her unconscious in a classroom a year ago.

The incident, which included allegations of sexual assault, left the teacher hospitalized with multiple injuries and focused attention on a sharp rise in violence at the time in the sprawling Clark County School District, the nations fifth-largest.

The Associated Press is not naming the defendant due to his age. Now 17, he pleaded guilty to attempted murder, attempted sexual assault and battery with a deadly weapon causing substantial bodily harm. His pleas avoided trial in Clark County District Court.

Public defenders who represented the boy did not immediately respond to email messages form AP.

The prosecutor, Chief Deputy Clark County District Attorney William Rowles, confirmed the plea agreement. He told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he intends to seek the maximum sentence of 55 years in prison at sentencing June 5.

Las Vegas police said the boy went to the teacher to talk about his grades before punching and choking her into unconsciousness and fleeing the classroom at Eldorado High School, a campus serving about 2,000 students. Another school employee found the teacher and summoned police and medical help.

The teacher later told investigators the teen approached her as she sat at her desk and choked her from behind with a rope or cord before pulling a bookcase and filing cabinet down upon her.

I dont know why I attacked her, she was good to me, a police arrest report quoted the student telling detectives.

The teen, who attended ROTC, was arrested about two hours later while his mother drove him back to campus for a corps award ceremony.
Facing charges of fraud of US$500 000, Moses Ruwona, who was eyeing the Makoni West constituency National Assembly seat, and his accomplice, Macmillan Chiweshe, were yesterday granted bail of $300 000 each by Harare regional magistrate Mr Stanford Mambanje.

Mr Mambanje ordered the two to pay $300 000 each, to surrender their passports at the clerk of court, and to report once every Friday at their nearest police stations. The two are facing two counts of fraud and one count of money laundering.

It is alleged that the pair issued fake receipts of payments for the import of WiFi routers and a financial services company that was organising the payment for imports of fabric by a client.

Waltrop (Pvt) Ltd, specialising in commodity broking and represented by director Mr Farai Chikuwa (43), was the first target of the alleged frauds.

Prosecuting, Mr Pardon Dziva said in December last year, Waltrop was awarded a contract by Liquid Telecommunications Holdings of Zimbabwe to supply outdoor wi-fi routers, importing these from Liquid Telecommunication Holdings of Mauritius.

On December 8 last year, Waltrop wanted to pay Liquid of Mauritius for the outdoor WiFi routers.

Ms Chikuwa did so through her brother, Aubrey Chademana who engaged Chiweshe, who undertook to settle the Mauritius payment using his offshore foreign currency account. This was legal.

On the same day, Chiweshe received US$630 400 from Mr Chademana and forwarded it to Ruwona to settle the bill.

Ruwona reportedly provided a fake proof of payment claiming to have transferred the money from his account in Zambia to the Standard Bank account of Liquid of Mauritius. On January 20 and February 3 this year Ruwona and Chiweshe again sent Ms Chikuwa further fake proofs of payment.

On February 15, they sent a proof of payment of US$426 420 and on February 17, they sent a proof of payment of US$203 910.

On March 7, they transferred US$280 332 and US$132 151.24 to Liquid of Mauritius, but failed to account for the remaining US$218 249.

Using the same method, they allegedly defrauded Access Finance of US$256 000 in a deal to import fabric material.

The two companies reported the matter to the police leading to the arrest of Ruwona and Macmillan two weeks ago.

While Ruwonas defence team led by Mr Oliver Marwa had sought to characterise the free funds arrangement between the complainants and his Tambwari Holdings as money laundering, such transactions are allowed under Statutory Instruments 85 of 2020, and 109 of 1996 which permit individuals and companies to settle obligations using free funds.

In this case, Ruwona was entrusted by Liquid of Zimbabwe and others on the basis of his purported access to such cash earned from his tourism management operations in Victoria Falls and Livingstone, Zambia.

According to the statutory Instruments, the fundamental features of free funds include the fact that they are lawfully held by a Zimbabwean, earned in foreign currency, and are not subject to limits and authorisation by exchange control authorities. Herald
Charles Stanley, a popular Atlanta pastor, has died at his home.

First Baptist Church Atlanta tweeted the information Tuesday morning.

"Dr. Charles F. Stanley, Pastor Emeritus of First Baptist Atlanta, passed away this morning at home," the tweet said. "We are grateful for his enduring legacy of faithful leadership and spiritual guidance as Senior Pastor of FBA for over 50 years."

Video above: The Sunday school President Jimmy Carter once attended in Plains, Georgia is now an attraction for tourists

Stanley was 90 years old. He was known through his wide-reaching TV and radio broadcasts.

"Before joining the staff of First Baptist Atlanta, Stanley served as pastor of Fruitland Baptist near Hendersonville, North Carolina (19571959); First Baptist of Fairborn, Ohio (19591962); First Baptist of Miami, Florida (19621968); and First Baptist of Bartow, Florida (1968). Stanley would become associate pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta on October 1, 1969," an obituary on his personal website read.

"It was two years later, on October 1, 1971, when Stanley assumed his longtime role as senior pastor of First Baptist Atlanta. The following year, he launched his foray into broadcast ministry with a 30-minute program, The Chapel Hour, on Atlanta-area TV stations WXIA and WANX (now WGCL)," the entry continued.

To read his full obituary, click here.
Houston-area officials are pushing back on two bills in the Texas legislature that could interfere with cities' and counties' local governance in specific industries such as insurance, finance, labor, and oil, among others. The Gov. Greg Abbott-backed legislation could also lead to the rolling back of labor regulation laws aimed at protecting workers.

According to Texas lawmakers, House Bill 2127 and Senate Bill 814 aim to create a "field preemption" to the state's labor code. The bill also states that counties and cities cannot enforce policies conflicting with or exceeding state and federal law.

In a February statement, state Rep. Dustin Burrows (R-Lubbock), author of HB 2127, and State Sen. Brandon Creighton (R-Conroe), author of SB 814, said these bills would create "regulatory consistency for small businesses across Texas and return exclusive regulatory powers to the state where they belong." But local officials against the legislation described these laws as a "Death Star bill," a state power grab, and an overhaul effort to hurt local governments.

Precinct 2 Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia summarized the bills as anti-working families legislation in a press conference at the Texas Gulf Coast Area Labor Federation headquarters in Houston Tuesday.

"In the same way, we don't lecture Lubbock on how to deal with wind storms, let's keep the part-timers at the capital from inserting themselves in how we operate here in the Gulf Coast," Garcia said.

Officials also said this legislation could negatively impact workers in a booming metropolitan area like Houston; They also issued a call to action for residents to call their state representatives and tell them not to support the bill.

Examples of local ordinances that could potentially be affected by the passage of these measures include a safety policy passed by Harris County officials in January requiring construction company managers and employees to undergo Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) training. The measure was adopted in response to alarming local fatality rates for construction workers in the county. Three construction workers die weekly in Harris County, according to labor advocates with the Houston Gulf Coast Building and Construction Trades Council.

According to Texas Tribune reporters Alex Nguyen and Samantha Aguilar, it could also hurt local ordinances requiring rest breaks for construction workers. Labor organizations, like the Texas AFL-CIO, have explicitly opposed the bills. However, business coalitions like the Texas Coalition Alliance for Securing and Strengthening the Economy in Texas, or ASSET, support the legislation and say it could help small businesses that can't keep up with the local ordinances.

On the other hand, Harris County Attorney Christian Menefee said that if passed, legislation like HB 2127 and SB 814 could jeopardize and roll back worker safety policies and the fair chance act, which bars employers from asking about an applicant's arrest record in the hiring process. The bills would also be difficult for local governments to challenge in court, Menefee added.

"We negotiated that very heavily, not just with labor but also with industry. We wanted to present a united front on how good government looks," Menefee said. "It's going to be hard to have any type of legal avenue to challenge a bill like this. My office always stands ready, willing, and able to stop the state as necessary, but this is the kind of bill that because it's going to be uniformed across the state, we would have real challenges."

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner also noted how the bill would revoke recent ordinances passed by the city council in a Wednesday meeting.

"It will be a feeding frenzy for lawyers," Turner said.

The two bills passed the House of Representatives in a 92-55 vote but will be brought back to the chamber for a final vote.
Officials with a Houston-area school district announced Monday that students will be required to use clear backpacks as a security measure starting Friday.

Cleveland Independent School District authorities made the announcement on Facebook on Monday. "Due to the increased need for safety and security on campuses, Cleveland ISD is moving forward with a safety procedure. As of Friday, April 21st students will need to have a clear backpack (no mesh)," officials wrote in the Monday Facebook post.

"This is in line with the Safe and Secure Schools [Initiative]. Cleveland ISDs intentions are to ensure the safest environment for your children. ONLY CLEAR Backpacks will be allowed on all campuses starting this Friday, April 21, 2023," officials continued in the statement.



According to Cleveland ISD officials, clear backpacks retail for around $15 at Cleveland and New Caney Walmart stores with a two to three-day shipping time. Amazon sells clear backpacks for $10 with one-day shipping, officials said in the post.

Reactions to the district's Facebook post were mixed. Some parents took to social media to voice their frustration following the announcement: "Im not dropping money on 4 new backpacks with a month left of school," one parent wrote. "You are making us parents get backpacks that will not hold up. I came from a school district that required [clear backpacks] they didn't hold up then and won't now.... I spent more money on clear backpacks than just buying a regular one," said another.

At least one teacher was grateful for the measure: "As a teacher at CMS, thank you CISD for putting the safety of the staff and students first," she wrote in the comments.

Transparent backpacks are supposed to prevent school shootings by preventing kids from concealing guns in their backpacks. Students at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida were required to carry see-through backpacks after a student killed 17 people in the shooting in 2018.
UPDATE: Friday, April 21

Hours before Taylor Swift is scheduled to perform her first of three shows at NRG Stadium (Taylor's Version) on Friday, the concert venue officially debuted its new title with brand new banners. The name changea nod to the popstar's re-recorded albumswas announced in a video on Wednesday by Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo in honor of Swift's The Eras Tour coming to the Bayou City. The banners can be found hanging outside the north and south entrances of the stadium.

NRG Park shared a photo of the banners on Twitter, captioning it: "Houston we have a problem. It's me." For those unfamiliar, it's a reference to Swift's "Anti-Hero" track from her 2022 album Midnights.

While some were impressed by Houston's efforts to welcome Swift to the citywhich included radio stations changing namessome Swifties opined online that H-Town "needed to step their game up." So far during her 2023 The Eras Tour, Glendale, Ariz. renamed itself for Swift, Tampa, Fla. named her honorary mayor, and a street in Arlington, Texas near the AT&T Stadium where she performed was temporarily renamed in her honor.

--- End of Update ---

Houston is Taylor Swift's town now and we're just living in it. On Wednesday, Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo announced that NRG Stadium, where Swift will be performing this Friday, Saturday and Sunday for her The Eras Tour, will be renamed to "NRG Stadium (Taylor's Version)" throughout the weekend in honor of the pop superstar. To make it official, banners emblazoned with the new name will be placed at the stadium's north and south entrances.

Hidalgo even signed a proclamation naming April 21 through April 23 as Taylor Swift The Eras Tour weekend in Harris County. "We know all too well that other areas have done huge things," Hidalgo said in a video message for Swift posted on social media. "They've lit up the town; they've renamed streets, they've even made you mayor for a day. But we're going to something even better. I know if I did any of that, folks would say that I am the man."

Referencing more of Swift's popular tracks, Hidalgo added: "With the name change, I know it'll never go out of style. Plus, it's not only the young that enjoy your music. I hope your stay is beyond your wildest dreams, and for everyone in Harris County, let's get ready for it!"

The name change is only a ceremonial action and will revert back on Monday. Per the release, Swift is the first performer in Harris County history to sell out NRG Stadium three nights in a row on a single tour.

Houstonians are going all out to welcome the "Lavender Haze" singer. Earlier this week, two Houston radio stations announced they are temporarily changing their names in honor of the Swift's concert series. Additionally, advocacy group Link Houston has requested the Metropolitan Transit Authority rebrand the Red Rail Line with a Swift-themed serenade for fans riding the line to NRG.
Getty Images

Global superstar Taylor Swift's long-anticipated "The Eras Tour" will touch down in Houston over the weekend from April 21-23, with three sold-out shows scheduled at NRG Stadium. Houstonians all over the city are preparing for the weekend with parking and outfit plans while local radio stations are temporarily changing their names to honor the pop singer.

Swift's three-day concert weekend will see 200,000 fans in attendance every night in the Bayou City, and on Wednesday local transportation advocacy group Link Houston requested the Metropolitan Transit Authority rebrand the Red Rail Line with a Swift-themed serenade for fans riding the line to NRG.
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BRUSSELS (AP)  The European Union moved Wednesday to contain an internal quarrel over some member nations temporarily banning imports of Ukrainian farm produce, trade embargoes that threatened to highlight divisions within a bloc that desperately wants to show unity with Ukraine as it confronts Russia.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote a letter to the leaders of Poland, Hungary, Romania, Slovakia and Bulgaria with a set of proposals that she said "responds specifically to the concerns of front-line member states and stakeholders, including farmers, and will allow us to react even quicker in the future."

The letter acknowledged the issues that farmers encountered after the EU lifted duties on Ukrainian grain to ease exports when Russia's war in Ukraine choked off shipments through traditional routes. Relaxing the tariffs led to unintended export surges and, as a result, lower prices that cut into farmers' incomes.

The European Commission's proposals, which were to be further worked out during talks later Wednesday, build on an initial support package of 56.3 million euros for the most affected farmers in the front-line countries with the possibility of a second package of 100 million euros.

The EU is also preparing more technical measures to keep the concerns of farmers from turning into a geopolitical problem that would make the EU look weak and divided as Russia continues to occupy large swaths of neighboring Ukraine.

Bulgaria on Wednesday became the latest European country to temporarily ban imports of Ukrainian grain and other agricultural products, excluding goods in transit that are destined for export to other countries. Hungary, Poland and Slovakia adopted similar bans.

The European Commission, which as the EU's executive branch manages trade bloc-wide, warned that EU trade policy is shaped collectively and not by each member country.

The commission is bent on helping the embattled government of Ukraine bring the country's agricultural products to world markets, both to alleviate global food insecurity and to provide the invaded nation with much-needed income.

Unilateral measures can only play into the hands of the adversaries of Ukraine and should not erode our unwavering support for Ukraine, von der Leyen wrote in her letter.

After a Russian blockade kept shipments from leaving Ukraine's Black Sea ports, the EU lifted duties on Ukrainian grain to facilitate its transport to Africa and the Middle East by other routes and offered to pay some compensation to farmers on transit countries, which they said was insufficient.

A small breakthrough in the trade dispute emerged late Tuesday when Polish and Ukrainian officials said convoys of Ukrainian grain could resume traveling through Poland for export abroad, but only if the cargo was sealed, guarded and monitored to ensure it wasn't redirected and flooded the Polish market.

EU spokesperson Miriam Garcia Ferrer welcomed the agreement but said, "This is a first step, and its not the whole solution. We need an EU approach for the solution as trade policy (is an area of) EU competence. We need to have EU action.

___

Veselin Toshkov contributed from Sofia, Bulgaria
BEIJING (AP)  The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital rose to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday, and a dozen people had been detained including the hospital's head and her deputy.

The fire broke out at the private Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and forced dozens of people to evacuate. Some who were trapped had to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.
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KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP)  Sudan's rival generals on Wednesday made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire after a failed truce the night before. But sporadic fighting continued, and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat.

Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the country's top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and airstrikes since Saturday.

The fighting became less intense in the first hours after the cease-fire took effect at 6 p.m., with sporadic clashes continuing in the city center, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, who is still in the capital. But he said neither side has provided guarantees to his group to facilitate movement of health care workers and ambulances.

Desperate residents of the capital have been running out of food and other supplies as they sheltered in their homes from the gun battles on the streets outside. Hospitals have been damaged and forced to close or have been overwhelmed by wounded, with staff exhausted and medical supplies depleted. Increasingly, armed fighters have turned to looting shops and robbing anyone who dares step outside.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

In the tense hours after Wednesday's cease-fire, Abdalla al-Tayeb joined other residents in collecting bodies near the main military headquarters, the scene of intense fighting. All of them nearly rotted, causing a foul smell that reached our homes, he said. The scene was heinous.

After the failure of Tuesday evening's truce attempt, hundreds gave up on trying to hold out for calm and fled their homes throughout the day, even as explosions and gunfire shook Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman. Residents of multiple neighborhoods told The Associated Press they could see men, women and children leaving with luggage, some on foot, others crowding into vehicles.

On Wednesday evening, the army and its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, separately announced that a new 24-hour truce had begun.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for both sides to adhere to the truce, renounce violence and return to negotiations. She said the army and the RSF "are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and non combatants.

Until now, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo  former allies against Sudan's pro-democracy movement  have seemed determined to crush each other in their struggle for power.

Tuesday's cease-fire attempt failed even after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to each general by phone and after pressure from their regional allies. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have been calling on all sides to stand down.

Throughout the day Wednesday, the two sides battled around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture, and the nearby airport. Residents said the military was pounding RSF positions with airstrikes.

The armys monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days. But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force have fanned out across the city.

Residents say armed men, mostly in RSF uniforms, have raided homes, offices and shops in neighborhoods across Khartoum.

They roam in small groups from house to house, from shop to shop and loot everything, said a resident of the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri in northern Khartoum. They storm your house and take all valuable things at gunpoint.

The resident said many families began to take up arms to defend their properties. He and his brother guard their home at night, he said. You dont have another option.

Another resident, in the Arab Market area, said men in RSF uniforms broke into mobile phone shops and took anything they could carry. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.

Both sides in the conflict have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan's western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Darfur has also seen heavy clashes in the past five days. The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said armed men raided its compound in Nyala in Darfur, stealing vehicles and office equipment and looting a warehouse storing medical supplies. The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Nyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Abdalla Hussein, the program manager for MSF, welcomed the truce but said 24 hours is not enough for sustained relief operations, particularly in remote areas.

Foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, have also been trapped by the fighting,

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum but turned around Wednesday due to security concerns. The Dutch government said it was sending a Hercules C-130 and an A330 to Jordan to be on standby but that evacuations are not possible at the moment. Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan, without providing details. The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. Separately, gunmen broke into the EU ambassador's residence and assaulted him this week, but a spokeswoman said he is back at work.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement. Dozens of health care facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

The U.N.s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudans transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. But Burhan and Dagalo jointly carried out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
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CAIRO (AP)  A crowd apparently panicked by gunfire and an electrical explosion stampeded at an event to distribute financial aid during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in Yemens capital late Wednesday, killing at least 78 people and injuring at least 77 others, according to witnesses and Houthi rebel officials.

The tragedy was Yemen's deadliest in years that was not related to the country's long-running war, and came ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan later this week.

Armed Houthis fired into the air in an attempt at crowd control, apparently striking an electrical wire and causing it to explode, according to two witnesses, Abdel-Rahman Ahmed and Yahia Mohsen. That sparked a panic, and people, including many women and children, began stampeding, they said.

Video posted on social media showed dozens of bodies, some motionless, and others screaming as people tried to help. Separate footage of the aftermath released by Houthi officials showed bloodstains, shoes and victims' clothing scattered on the ground. Investigators were seen examining the area.

The crush took place in the Old City in the center of Sanaa, where hundreds of poor people had gathered for a charity event organized by merchants, according to the Houthi-run Interior Ministry.

People had gathered to receive about $10 each from a charity funded by local businessmen, witnesses said. Wealthy people and businessmen often hand out cash and food, especially to the poor, during Ramadan.

Interior Ministry spokesperson Brig. Abdel-Khaleq al-Aghri, blamed the crush on the random distribution of funds without coordination with local authorities.

The Houthi-run Ministry of Health said 78 people were killed, and at least 77 others were injured, including 13 in critical condition. It said 62 were discharged from hospitals after treatment.

The rebels quickly sealed off a school where the event was being held and barred people, including journalists, from approaching.

The Interior Ministry said it had detained two organizers and an investigation was under way.

The Houthis said they would pay some $2,000 in compensation to each family who lost a relative, while the injured would get around $400.

Yemens capital has been under the control of the Iranian-backed Houthis since they descended from their northern stronghold in 2014 and removed the internationally recognized government.

That prompted a Saudi-led coalition to intervene in 2015 to try to restore the government.

The conflict has turned in recent years into a proxy war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, killing more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians and creating one of the worlds worst humanitarian disasters.

More than 21 million people in Yemen, or two-thirds of the countrys population, need help and protection, according to the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Among those in need, more than 17 million are considered particularly vulnerable.

In February the United Nations said it had raised only $1.2 billion out of a target of $4.3 billion at a conference aimed at generating funds to ease the humanitarian crisis.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has become a fierce champion of the families impacted by the Uvalde school shooting, is likely to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, The Texas Tribune has learned.

One source close to Gutierrez said he is very likely to run, while another said there is no question he is seriously looking at it. Gutierrez is not expected to make any announcements about the race until after the current legislative session, which ends late next month.

Gilbert Garcia, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, first reported Wednesday morning that Gutierrez is nearly certain to run.

The two sources close to Gutierrez declined to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss his deliberations. Gutierrez also declined to comment.

Cruzs campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is also considering running against Cruz, who has shifted focus to his reelection campaign in recent months after flirting with another presidential bid.

Gutierrez has served in the Texas Senate since 2021 after previously serving over a decade in the House. His Senate seat is not on the ballot again until 2026, meaning he would not have to give it up to challenge Cruz next year.

The Uvalde massacre happened inside his district, killing 19 children and two teachers, and Gutierrez has dedicated himself this legislative session to trying to address it despite GOP leaders resistance to considering any new gun restrictions. He has held several news conferences with families of victims and clashed with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over the issue on the Senate floor.

Gutierrez got his biggest victory yet Tuesday when a House committee held a hearing on a slate of gun bills, including one that would raise the minimum age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles.

Gutierrez previously raised speculation he could challenge Cruz when he introduced legislation to bar U.S. senators from Texas for serving more than two terms. That was a jab at Cruz, who has repeatedly proposed a two-term limit for senators and is now running for his third term.

This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at https://www.texastribune.org/2023/04/19/roland-gutierrez-ted-cruz-senate-race-2024/.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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Water birds seen at Bosten Lake, NW China's Xinjiang

People's Daily Online) 09:06, April 19, 2023

As the temperature gradually rises in April, a large number of migratory birds have arrived at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region.

Bosten Lake is China's largest inland freshwater lake, and an important habitat and migration transfer station for birds. Thanks to the improving ecological environment at the lake and local people's rising awareness of wild animal and plant protection, the species and population of wild birds at Bosten Lake are on the rise.

Egrets play at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

Photo shows a bird at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

Photo shows birds at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

Photo shows a bird at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

Photo shows birds at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

Photo shows birds at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

Photo shows birds at Bosten Lake in Bohu county, northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. (Photo/Nian Lei)

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
Breaking points

There are, of course, many circumstances that would prompt a CIO to leave. CIOs are sometimes pushed out, something they may recognize is evolving when theyre excluded for strategy sessions or sidelined to special projects. In such cases, advisers say most CIOs can read the tea leaves and know its time to put themselves back on the job market.

But veteran CIOs, executive advisers, and recruiters say it may take some introspection and good observation skills to understand other scenarios that might indicate that its time to exit a position on a high note.

For example, CIOs who find that theyre transforming elements that they already transformed at least once before often see that as a good time to break away.

Some CIOs can start again, but others, or even more CIOs, say, Ive done this and Ive had a good run. And once they get through one transformation, they may not want to do it again there, says John-Claude (JC) Hesketh, the London-based CEO of global executive search and leadership advisory firm Marlin Hawk.

Coming to such realizations takes time and attention.

Theres no one clear Thats it, this happened, thats the linchpin, its time to go, says Kristen Lamoreaux, president and CEO of Lamoreaux Search, who has seen plenty of CIOs opt for graceful exits by departing while theyre still effective in their roles.

In many cases, she says, CIOs who leave on a high note recognize that the role or its mission are changing in ways that they dont want or arent suited for. A CIO who excels at growth, for example, may see the company  and thus IT  heading into maintenance or cost-cutting mode and, being self-aware about their strengths and interests, see that as a good time to start looking.

They know its not going to be a good fit, Lamoreaux says, adding that some CIOs have told her that they recognized a need to move on when they started to feel stunted or worn down in their current role, rather than energized.

Still other CIOs decide to leave once theyve accomplished what they set out to do, she says.

When you hit certain stage gates, when you can say, I did this. Its going well. Wow, look at what I did. When youre crafting those bullet points to go your resume and you say, I dont think Im going to top that, then it may be time to look, she adds.

Establishing the exit signs in advance

Raj Iyer had an approach like that when it came to his position as CIO for the US Army. Iyer accepted that post in late 2020, after working nearly six years at Deloitte Consulting first as senior manager for Technology Strategy, Defense and National Security and then managing director for Government and Public Services.

Iyer says he decided to take the Army CIO job because it was a tremendous opportunity to serve our nation and give something back and to help shape its future.

But he adds: I also knew I wasnt going to spend the rest of my career there.

Iyer says he took the position with a transformation mandate, one that would require running at 200% all the time every day to create a future-ready organization that he outlined in his Army Digital Transformation Strategy.

He set objectives and deadlines, saying that having these in place motivated everyone to get the work done quickly and on time. And he gave himself a deadline of three years, aiming to hit the markers he had established for himself as CIO and then transition out.

I knew I had to drive a sense of urgency, and to do that, I knew I had to put time limits on myself so I could pull everyone at a quicker pace than they were used to, he says, noting that the sooner I worked myself out of the job, the better for the Army and the nation.

He further explains: When you want to be a transformative leader and a change agent, theres a certain lifespan you have. You can come in as an outsider, question the status quo, make changes. But the longer you stay, you become the status quo, and someone else then has to come in. And so I told myself when we got to a point where we had critical mass, where we built irreversible momentum, it was going to be time for me to leave.

Iyer stepped down as Army CIO in March 2023 and joined ServiceNow as head of its Global Public Sector business.

Iyer says he has not set deadlines for himself in this new role, noting that his work and the sense of urgency are different at ServiceNow than they were at the Army. He says hell stay as long as Im challenging myself and Im in positions where I am learning and can grow and work in a bigger scale than I was before.

Seeking more challenges

The desire for growth is, in fact, a common refrain among CIOs as they talk about their career decisions and their decisions about whether to stay or leave.

Its a big part of Mojgan Lefebvres story and her three-decade tech career. Lefebvre has been CIO at four companies, explaining that she decided to leave each role despite all their positive aspects for the chance to tackle new challenges.

I knew I was ready to move, she says, noting that they were calculated even if they werent easy to make.

As an example, she points to her decision to move in 2010 from her job as corporate vice president and global CIO of the French company bioMerieux to work as SVP and CIO of Commercial Insurance Business at Liberty Mutual Insurance.

That was a tough call for me, she says.

She had to weigh what she was getting versus what she was giving up, explaining that she would head up IT for a division that was bigger than bioMerieux but would no longer be reporting to a CEO but instead Liberty Mutuals global CIO.

Lefebvre made the call to leave bioMerieux after a mentor advised her the move to Liberty Mutual would be the best move you could make if she aimed to someday be CIO of a large organization.

In fact, she credits that move for putting her on the path to Travelers. She left her position as senior vice president and CIO of Global Risk Solutions at Liberty Mutual in 2018 to become CIO at Travelers. She is now Travelers executive vice president and chief technology and operations officer.
Taiwans semiconductor factories, the source of many of the chips used in the worlds PCs, servers, and mobile phones, operate under a constant threat of disruption.

The threats are both geological (earthquakes frequently force high-tech plants to shut down despite them being built to withstand seismic shocks) and geopolitical: China considers Taiwan to be part of its territory and has repeatedly said it aspires to the complete reunification of the motherland. It regularly illustrates its seriousness about reunification by holding military exercises in the seas around Taiwan, including a mock blockade and land bombardment earlier this month.

The US doesnt have official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but its Taiwan Relations Act requires it to provide the island with the means of self-defense. The day after Chinas exercises concluded, the US began a series of joint military exercises with the Philippines. The drills, running through April 28, include a live-fire attack on a ship and maneuvers in the South China Sea opposite Taiwan.

Against this backdrop of preparation for conflict, a new study by the Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA) highlights how the worlds reliance on Taiwans semiconductor manufacturing capabilities exposes it to critical supply-chain vulnerabilities.

In Confronting China and Catching Up on Chips, the Washington, DC, think tank notes that, while the US may be the source of many of the most advanced chip designs, the bulk of the manufacturing happens in Taiwan.

A Chinese naval blockade of the island, or an outright invasion, would immediately cut off supply of nearly all current production SoCs (systems on chips) designed by the likes of Qualcomm, Broadcom, and Nvidia and supplied by them to Apple, Samsung, Dell, HP, etc., the study says.
Ersa Installs 2,000th VERSAFLOW 3/45 Published: 19 April 2023 by Tyler Hanes by Tyler Hanes

WERTHEIM, GERMANY  Ersa GmbH recently installed the 2,000th selective soldering machine of its bestseller VERSAFLOW 3/45 in Hungary. For the official handover of the anniversary machine to the EMS service provider Flex in Hungary, Ersa General Sales Manager Rainer Krauss traveled with a delegation to Zalaegerszeg at the beginning of March.

Also present were the Budapest-based sales partner Microsolder Kft., represented by its Managing Director Csaba Peto, and the responsible Ersa Area Sales Manager Tom Berx. The partnership between Flex Hungary and Ersa started in 2008 with a first selective soldering machine, followed by 25 more VERSAFLOW 3/45s to date. Tamas Borcz, General Manager of Flex in Zalaegerszeg said: We have extremely diverse product portfolios with a wide range of sizes and components  requirements are constantly changing, and we have to respond quickly and adequately. We evaluated extensively and made a decision in favor of Ersa when it comes to selective soldering, as their soldering systems offer extremely flexible options for highest throughput and best quality.

The great acceptance of the modular and expandable Ersa selective soldering machines around the world is due to their versatility. Mixed assemblies with THT components and SMD assembly on both sides can be optimally produced with it. In contrast to wave soldering, the heat input into the assembly is much lower and no solder masks are required. The solder masks used in wave soldering protect SMD components on the underside of the PCB from re-melting and rinsing when in contact with the solder wave. These are also required for very small production runs and must each be manufactured individually  this time and cost factor is eliminated with selective soldering.

Thanks to this technology, individual components of a board can be soldered with individual parameters, whereas under wave soldering, the temperature and wetting time in the solder wave must be selected for the entire assembly. Selectively soldered assemblies are also less likely to become contaminated, as only a few areas need to be soldered and come into contact with flux and solder. Selective soldering is unbeatable if, in addition to the top side of the assembly, the bottom side is also populated with SMDs (with a low proportion of THT components).

In addition to high-performance hardware, first-class service is also crucial for Flex Hungary. Commenting on the relationship, Ersa Sales Director Rainer Krauss said: With our sales and service network, we are globally positioned and always close to our customers to provide the same level of quality in terms of hardware and service everywhere  at Flex Hungary, this is our sales partner Microsolder, who has supported us for many years in the integration and service of new and existing systems. We have enjoyed a successful partnership with Flex Hungary for 20 years, and we would like to continue this in the future. Zoltan Tuboly, Manufacturing Engineering Manager at Flex Hungary echoes the sentiment adding: I can only agree and thank the Ersa team for continued strong support over many years.
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The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday considered a bid by three whistleblowers to revive lawsuits accusing pharmacy operators of pocketing millions of taxpayer dollars by knowingly overbilling government health insurance programs for prescription drugs.

The justices heard arguments in an appeal by the whistleblowers of lower court rulings in favor of Safeway Inc, owned by Albertsons Companies Inc ACI.N, and SuperValu Inc, part of United Natural Foods Inc.

The litigation was filed under a law called the False Claims Act that lets individuals sue on behalf of the U.S. government when they have evidence of fraud against federal programs. The whistleblowers, seeking monetary damages, accused the companies of offering prescription drugs at discounted prices to most customers paying out of pocket, while improperly charging higher rates to the government.

Government healthcare programs reimburse pharmacies for dispensing covered drugs to beneficiaries.

At issue is whether companies can avoid liability for fraud by showing that an objectively reasonable reading of the law supported their conduct  regardless of whether they truly believed that interpretation at the time of their alleged wrongdoing.

Tejinder Singh, a lawyer for the whistleblowers, told the justices that embracing this legal standard would permit some of the worst offenders to escape liability.

Some conservative justices signaled concern that a ruling in favor of the whistleblowers could lead to judges being asked to determine whether legal advice is true or false  a notion Justice Brett Kavanaugh balked at.

Obviously, if you say (to the government) its $20 and in fact youre charging everyone $10, okay, false. I get that. But if its based on a legal understanding, its a little hard for me to say your legal view is false, Kavanaugh said.

The whistleblowers said federal law requires pharmacies to bill the Medicare and Medicaid programs at the same prices charged to the general public under a rate known as a pharmacys usual and customary price. They also said both companies knew they were defrauding the government and worked to conceal their pricing practices.

The companies fended off the whistleblower lawsuits by claiming that Medicare and Medicaid billing requirements were unclear and that their practices were supported by a reasonable reading of the law.

What the court has to recognize is that we deal in a situation where theres no guidance  we have an inherently ambiguous term, Carter Phillips, a lawyer for the supermarkets, told the justices, referring to the usual and customary price. We used what was by all accounts  and is undisputed before this court  an absolutely, objectively reasonable interpretation.

The Chicago-based 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals sided with the companies. The court said the pharmacy operators could not be held responsible for fraud given the objectively reasonable interpretation of the law in their favor  even if they did not actually believe that interpretation and intended to deceive the government.

President Joe Bidens administration backed the whistleblowers, arguing that the 7th Circuits ruling undermined the False Claims Act.

The one bedrock requirement is (companies) should not say things they do not believe to be true, said Malcolm Stewart, a lawyer for the administration. Even if they think there is a reasonable argument down the road that it is true, if their best judgment is the statement we are making is not true they shouldnt make it.

A ruling is due by the end of June.
The owners of a Fort Myers roofing company, one that has been the subject of a number of complaints from consumers and which has filed multiple assignment-of-benefits lawsuits against property insurers, have pleaded guilty to more than $1 million in tax evasion.

David T. Aaron and Russell Ultes, co-owners of Marlin Construction Group LLC, cashed millions of dollars of customer checks at check-cashing businesses in order to underreport earnings and avoid federal taxes, federal prosecutors said last week. The men also used the cash to purchase luxury items for themselves, including jet skis and automobiles, according to the criminal complaints.

In total, Aaron and Ultes caused a tax loss to the IRS of over $1.4 million, the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

The men could face as much as five years in prison, along with restitution requirements and fines.

Marlin Construction Group is well known to some Florida property insurers. Court records show that in 2018 and 2019, the firm filed at least three AOB lawsuits, against the Hartford Insurance Co., Metropolitan Casualty Insurance Co., and Church Mutual Insurance Co. All were removed to federal court and were settled by 2021. Marlin also filed as many as 15 suits in Collier County, against Castle Key Insurance, United Property & Casualty Insurance Co., FedNat Insurance, Avatar, First Protective, St. Johns and other property insurers in recent years, records show.

The roofing and construction firm also has seen more than 20 complaints filed against it with the Better Business Bureau. Some customers charged that the firm did not complete roof jobs, left leaks in the roof, or caused other damage to the property. And in 2021, WINK TV news in Fort Myers reported that a Citizens Property Insurance Corp. investigator recorded a Marlin employee deliberately damaging roof shingles on a home.

An affidavit from the investigator notes that, Citizens had a previous suspicious claim with Marlin with the allegation that an employee, TJ McCowan, with Marlin was allegedly damaging roofing materials and exaggerating the damage prior to the adjusters arrival, the news station reported.

The Florida Department of Financial Services investigated the matter and another Marlin employee told investigators that McCowan had been instructed on how to cause damage to the roof so that the homeowner would qualify for a new roof, paid by the insurance carrier, WINK reported.

Aaron and Ultes could not immediately be reached for comment.

The tax evasion and check-cashing problem is not unheard of in the construction business, prosecutors have said. It worked like this: Marlin Construction was an S corporation, based in Fort Myers. Companies organized under subchapter S of the U.S. tax code are considered flow-through entities, with all gains and losses passed to their shareholder owners, court documents show.

Marlin was owned by Samber Contracting LLC, which was owned by Ultes, and by DNC Holdings LLC, owned by David Aaron. Instead of properly reporting income from the Marlin company, from 2018 to 2020, Aaron and Ultes cashed more than $3 million in checks from customers, the criminal information documents charge.

The men then provided false information to Marlins tax preparers and falsified their own personal tax returns, prosecutors said.

Official documents did not indicate if the company also underreported payroll in order to reduce workers compensation premiums, a widespread problem in the U.S. construction industry. Floridas Division of Workers Compensation records show that Marlin Construction Group held comp insurance through Lion Insurance Co., with a policy cancellation date of Jan. 1, 2023.

Marlin and Aaron hold active contractor licenses, according to the state Department of Business & Professional Regulation. No license information could be found for Ultes or Samber Contracting.

Top photo is for illustrative purposes only.
CLEVELAND, Ohio A Cleveland man serving an eight-year sentence for being the main supplier of heroin to Wayne County is now accused of running a drug ring from his prison cell.

Charles Daniels, 45, is one of 17 people charged in an indictment unsealed Wednesday in federal court in Cleveland.

Daniels, after his imprisonment in 2017, ran a Cleveland crew that continued to supply fentanyl to street-level dealers in Wooster, according to prosecutors.

No attorneys were listed in court records for Daniels or any of the others charged in the case.

Daniels, also known as Quick or Q, used two others  both with prior federal drug-dealing convictions  to run his operation on the outside, according to the indictment. The group operated from October 2020 through February.

The indictment does not indicate which state prison Daniels was in when he operated the drug ring. Records from the 9th Ohio District Court of Appeals, however, say he was in the Ohio State Penitentiary, the super-maximum security prison in Youngstown, during that period.

He recruited drug dealers from Wayne County and hooked them up with his drug suppliers, Deandre Wilson and Jason Johnson, both of Cleveland, according to the indictment. The duo got their drugs from Elijah Goshen, according to the charges.

Wayne County dealers bought fentanyl from Wilson and Johnson in and around Cleveland, including at a Giant Eagle in South Euclid, Walmart in Mayfield Village, a CVS in Lyndhurst and at the intersection of Torbenson Drive and Belvoir Boulevard in Cleveland, court records say.

The new dealers then used CashApp to send Daniels a cut of the drug money for each transaction-- about $1,700 total, according to court records.

He levied threats from his prison cell, directed drug deals as he headed into solitary confinement and on one recorded phone call he evoked President Joe Biden while boasting how productive he is behind bars.

Just call me Joe Biden.  Im Mr. Get It Done, he said on the call, according to court records.

Daniels used the money to pay for phone calls from the jail and items from the commissary, court records say.

Daniels is serving an eight-year prison sentence after his 2017 conviction for heroin and fentanyl dealing in Wayne County.

Wayne County drug task force investigators said in court records at the time that Daniels was the main heroin supplier in the county. Investigators raided his rooms at the Econo Lodge motel on East Old Lincoln Way in April 2017 and found heroin, fentanyl and crack cocaine.

Daniels also has several felony convictions in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court, including one for robbing a man at gunpoint and threatening a witness in 2011. He served four years in prison in that case.

Wilson in 2007 was sentenced to 16 years and four months in federal prison for possessing 87 grams of crack cocaine with the intent to sell it. U.S. District Judge Sara Lioi in 2019 reduced his sentence to 10 years under the First Step Act, which allowed people convicted of crack cocaine offenses to have their sentences reduced.

Johnson in 2005 was sentenced to five years in federal prison for dealing crack cocaine.

Adam Ferrise covers federal courts at cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. You can find his work here.
CLEVELAND, Ohio  The Biden Administration will be making investments in four federal buildings across Northeast Ohio, including the Carl B. Stokes U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, that are expected to save $300,000 a year in energy costs and reduce carbon emissions by 1,600 metric tons annually.

The nearly $10 million investment was announced Wednesday by General Services Administration Administrator Robin Carnahan during a visit to Cleveland.
WASHINGTON, D. C. - A new U.S. Navy combat ship christened the USS Cleveland suffered minor damage when it slammed into a tugboat during its Saturday launch.

Read more: Navy to christen new USS Cleveland on Saturday

A statement from the U.S. Navy said that during the launch at Fincantieri Marinette Marine in Marinette, Wisconsin, unintentional contact occurred between the ship and a supporting tug.

No personnel injuries occurred, but there was limited damage to the USS Cleveland, the statement said. The damaged area is well above the waterline and no flooding occurred.

The ship was dropped into the Menominee River using a side-launch process. It struck the tugboat during its initial entry, before rocking back and forth as it stabilized in the water.

A Navy spokesman said the tugboat was too close to the ship due to a miscommunication, and the Navy and shipbuilder are investigating the incidents cause. After the ship is repaired, it will eventually make its way to its permanent base in Mayport, Florida.

The Navy said the ship builder plans to phase out side launches in the future, and use a different mechanism that will allow more controlled launches.

The new combat ship is the fourth U.S. Navy ship to bear the citys name. The latest USS Cleveland is 387 feet long, has accommodations for 98 sailors, and room to carry two helicopters. Its designed to perform missions along coastal areas, such as counteracting mines and submarines, and conducting coastal surface warfare.

The new USS Cleveland will be able to reach and defend more coastal areas with more agility, and more network firepower than any other class of ship in the world, Under Secretary of the Navy Thomas B. Modly said when the ships construction was announced in 2018 at the USS Cod Submarine Memorial.

Modly, a native Clevelander, said the ship would cost from $600 million to $800 million, depending on the configuration.

His wife, Robyn, broke a bottle of sparkling wine across its bow to symbolically christen the ship during Saturdays ceremony.

Speakers at the event included Austin Davis, a senior policy advisor and assistant law director for the City of Cleveland, who was there to represent Mayor Justin M. Bibb, the Eagle Herald of Marinette Menominee reported.

It said roughly 3,000 people ended the ceremony. The shipyards executive officer told the publication that it will use a new ship lift for future launches that will more slowly lower ships into the water.

Sabrina Eaton writes about the federal government and politics in Washington, D.C., for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
MANHATTAN, N.Y.  One person is dead and five were injured after a parking garage in Lower Manhattan collapsed Tuesday, New York City officials said.

Four of the people injured were hospitalized, while the fifth person refused medical care, according to New York Fire Department (FDNY) Chief of Operations John Esposito. The identity of the person who died has not been released.

FDNY firefighters responded to the scene and conducted searches for people still inside the building, but the structure continued to collapse, forcing FDNY to remove firefighters from what Esposito called an extremely dangerous operation. Slabs of concrete flooring collapsed and landed on vehicles parked in the garage, officials said.

Instead, FDNY utilized robotics  including a robot dog and drones  to survey inside the building.

We were also able to use the technology of a drone to give a real visualization of what is happening in this building, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said in a statement. At this time, this building is completely unstable.

Department of Buildings Acting Director Kazimir Vilenchik said there are some active violations on the building dating back to 2003. An application was filed in 2010, but didnt indicate whether the violation was corrected, he added.

The four-story building was issued a certificate of occupancy in 1957 to operate as a parking garage, according to Vilenchik.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mayor Justin Bibb is set to deliver his second State of the City address at 7 p.m., Wednesday, at East Tech High School in Clevelands Central neighborhood.

The event, sponsored by the City Club of Cleveland in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District, is sold out. But the full speech will be livestreamed on the City Clubs website and embedded here, on cleveland.com. Check back for the live feed when the event begins.

In previewing the speech, the City Club said Bibb is expected to discuss foundational work and the citys progress during his first year in office. From the podium, Bibb will look to the year ahead with a focus on public safety, modernizing city government, economic development, and breaking down barriers to progress for the city and its people.

The City Club accepted questions from Cleveland residents, submitted in advance.

Bibbs speech comes about a week after the mayor unveiled what will likely be his final round of federal stimulus spending -- a plan that calls for massive investments intended to bring more jobs and homeownership to Cleveland, quell violence, fix up roads and parks throughout the city, transform the waterfront, and boost the prospects of southeast neighborhoods.

The sweeping $160-million plan entails $30 million for infrastructure upgrades, $50 million to assemble land and clean up brownfields to help attract new businesses that offer good-paying jobs, and $15 million for violence-prevention programs.

Return to cleveland.com after the event for a full report on Bibbs remarks.
Cleveland Mayor Justin Bibb gives his 2023 State of the City address this evening. He has a lot to talk about. With less than a year and a half under his belt as mayor, Bibb has recently unveiled a sweeping array of novel ideas designed to make Cleveland a destination for residents and businesses alike for many years and generations to come.

We couldnt applaud more loudly, even though some critical details -- including how to make some multimillion-dollar investments, such as in remediation of big parcels of prime developmental land, evergreens in terms of ongoing funding -- remain to be worked out.

One piece has been worked out: Cleveland City Councils concurrence, after the mayors office and Council President Blaine Griffin worked out a compromise between their two proposals. That in itself is a promising development.

Bibbs forward-looking ideas also include a strikingly ambitious public-private-hybrid partnership to transform Clevelands waterfront, that already has the support of Cuyahoga County Executive Chris Ronayne and other stakeholders.

Among the biggest of the big ideas, however, is Bibbs proposal for a $50 million Site Assembly and Development Trust to be underwritten with one of the last big tranches of the citys American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding. The aim: to remediate large parcels of vacant and unused land, parcels of from 10 to 50 acres, and reassemble them into attractive, job-creating investment opportunities in neighborhoods sorely in need of jobs. Thats not yet Intel-sized development land, but it could be a start, especially since the city already owns about one-fourth of the targeted parcels, cleveland.coms Lucas Daprile and Courtney Astolfi report.

How to turn that $50 million into a self-sustaining proposition is unclear, however, although that is the aim. The land in question would be held by the Cuyahoga County Land Bank, and decisions would be governed by an advisory board, according to the cleveland.com report.

On a smaller scale in terms of initial outlays, but with the potential to transform Clevelands connection with its waterfront, is Bibbs proposed public-private partnership, in concert with the county, to raise outside money and create long-term, out-of-the-box waterfront planning spanning city and county administrations. The proposed North Coast Development Authority, which City Council would have to approve, would operate as a private, nonprofit development corporation working in conjunction with a New Community Authority, a group enabled by Ohio law, cleveland.coms Steven Litt reports, in order to oversee, build and finance public infrastructure and community facilities.

This hybrid public-private approach is modeled on the Banks Public Partnership in Cincinnati that has transformed that citys riverfront, Litt notes.

Cleveland would control the North Coast Development Authority, holding seven of the 13 trustee seats (the county would have three; lakefront stakeholders two, with a final trustee appointed either by the state or the city and county together).

Creation of this effort dovetails with the likely completion and release later this year of two ongoing studies related to waterfront access -- a $15 million traffic feasibility study and a $500,000 downtown lakefront master plan. As part of those plans, Litt reports that a series of Community Visioning Workshops are planned May 6, 9 and 11, including one on Zoom. For more information on those workshops, go to clevelandnorthcoast.com.

Bibb wants council to approve $3 million in ARPA dollars for the citys share of the North Coast Development Authoritys budget for its first three years and another $4 million in regular budgeted amounts for related projects.

Among other of Bibbs major ARPA-funded proposals, as modified in consultation with City Council: a $20 million Back to Basics Capital Campaign to augment regular reinvestments in Clevelands infrastructure, including traffic-calming measures; a $10 million Violence Prevention endowment fund, to be managed by the Cleveland Foundation; $15 million in upgrades to Clevelands southeast-side neighborhoods; and a $10 million down payment fund to help homeowners buy in so-called middle neighborhoods, like Lee-Harvard, Collinwood, West Park and Old Brooklyn, in partnership with Landed, a down payment assistance nonprofit that operates in more than 30 states.

At his State of the City this evening, Bibb will be selling these big ideas, and more. To help achieve their success, its crucial that Bibb clarify how key parts of this money can keep yielding returns to be invested back into these important initiatives for years to come. Still, by thinking big, he, and City Council, have made a good start.

About our editorials: Editorials express the view of the editorial board of cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer -- the senior leadership and editorial-writing staff. As is traditional, editorials are unsigned and intended to be seen as the voice of the news organization.

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* Email general questions about our editorial board or comments or corrections on this editorial to Elizabeth Sullivan, director of opinion, at esullivan@cleveland.com
President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden return to the White House in Washington D.C., the United States, Aug. 8, 2022.

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden released their 2022 federal income tax return on Tuesday, showing a gross income of $579,514  a decrease from their first year in the White House.

In 2021, the Bidens reported an income of $610,702. The couple's federal adjusted gross income for 2022 indicates a drop by roughly $31,000.

The couple last year paid $137,658 in federal income tax, a tax rate of 23.8 percent, compared with 25 percent in 2021. They also paid $29,023 in Delaware income tax and $3,139 in Virginia from Jill Biden's salary from teaching at Northern Virginia Community College.

Biden makes a salary of $400,000 a year as president, and is afforded an expense allowance of $50,000, an amount that is determined by Congress.

The Bidens' reported contributions of $20,180 to 20 charities in 2022, offering their largest donation of $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation.

The couple also contributed to St. Joseph on the Brandywine, their home parish in Delaware, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors and the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, among others.

The White House said in a statement that this year's returns marked Biden publicly sharing a total of 25 years of tax returns, releasing the "most tax returns of any president while in office."



Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff also released their 2022 tax returns, reporting a federal adjusted gross income of $456,918, less than half of the $1.7 million they reported in 2021. The couple paid $93,570 in federal income tax, a tax rate of 20.5 percent.

They also paid $17,612 in California income tax, and Emhoff paid $9,697 in District of Columbia income tax. They contributed $23,000 to charity in 2022.

Every president since Richard Nixon has released their tax returns, except for former President Donald Trump, who engaged in a yearslong battle to conceal his taxes from public view.

Six years of Trump's personal and business returns, were released at the end of last year after they were obtained by the House Ways and Means Committee, which at the time was controlled by Democrats.
The Abbott manufacturing facility in Sturgis, Michigan, on May 13, 2022.

Shares of Abbott Laboratories popped Wednesday after the company's earnings and revenue topped Wall Street's expectations, defying a dramatic slowdown in sales of its Covid-19 tests.

The medical-products company posted adjusted earnings per share of $1.03. That's above the average estimate of 99 cents per share, based on a survey of analysts by Refinitiv. Shares jumped over 7%.

Abbott reported revenue of $9.7 billion for the first quarter, slightly surpassing the Refinitiv estimate of $9.64 billion due to recovery in its medical devices business. But the Chicago-based company noted that revenue decreased by 18.1% from the same period last year, largely driven by a steep decline in global sales of its rapid Covid test.

The company posted Covid-testing sales of $730 million during the three-month period, compared to $3.3 billion during the first quarter of 2022.

Sales of Abbott's 15-minute, $5 Covid test reached an all-time high during that period a year ago and have buoyed the company's overall revenue since entering the U.S. market in 2020.

But Abbott and other drugmakers like Pfizer and Moderna have been bracing for a drop-off in Covid-related sales this year as the world emerges from the pandemic amid slowing demand for blockbuster vaccines and treatments.

The medical-products company reported a net income of $1.3 billion, or 75 cents per share, compared to $2.45 billion, or $1.37 per share, during the year-earlier period.

Excluding certain items, Abbott's adjusted earnings per share of $1.03 fell from $1.73 adjusted EPS that it posted in the first quarter of 2022.

Abbott Chair and CEO Robert Ford said during an earnings call that Covid-related headwinds may actually be easing.

"As we moved through the first part of the year, that's exactly what we continued to see," he said. "Most notably, the impact of Covid has rapidly and significantly lessened."

Still, Abbott lowered its outlook for Covid-testing sales this year to $1.5 billion, down from the $2 billion it forecast in January.

Strong sales in Abbott's medical devices business fueled the company's first-quarter beats. The unit raked in $3.9 billion in sales during the quarter, up nearly 9% from the same period last year.

Abbott's glucose-monitoring device Freestyle Libre alone contributed $1.2 billion in sales.

Ford said the rise signals a recovery in demand for surgical procedures, pointing to an improvement in staffing levels at hospitals across the U.S.

"I think the hospital systems have done a really good job right now at managing through the staffing shortages, and we're starting to see the impact there," Ford said during the call.

The strong results come after rival Johnson & Johnson reported similar growth in its own medical devices unit, noting that surgical procedures are "well in recovery."

Abbott's stock is up more than 2% year to date, pushing its market value to around $195 billion.
A box containing a Mifepristone tablet is seen at Blue Mountain Clinic in Missoula, Montana, U.S. February 28, 2023. REUTERS/Callaghan O'Hare

A pharmaceutical company that distributes the majority of the U.S. supply of the abortion pill mifepristone sued the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday in an effort to keep its generic version of the drug on the market as a chaotic legal battle over the medication plays out in multiple federal courts.

GenBioPro asked the U.S. District Court for Maryland to preemptively block the FDA from pulling the company's 2019 approval to distribute the company's version of mifepristone.

The suit says the FDA cannot pull its approval without finding an "imminent hazard to public health" and providing an opportunity for a hearing.

GenBioPro has said in court filings that it supplies two-thirds of the mifepristone used in the U.S. for abortions.

"In the United States, once a drug has been through the rigorous FDA review process and received approval, federal law protects the right to market the drug," GenBioPro CEO Evan Masingill said in a statement. "GenBioPro will use all regulatory and legal tools to protect access to mifepristone for patients and providers."

The lawsuit was lodged in response to a ruling last week by the U.S. 5th Circuit Court of Appeal, which upheld part of a sweeping order by Texas U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk that blocks GenBioPro's generic approval by the FDA.

The same appeals court ruling also imposed severe restrictions on how the brand name version of the drug Mifeprex, which is sold by Danco Laboratories, is used and distributed.

The Supreme Court last week temporarily put the appeal's court rulings on hold. That block has for now allowed the medication to remain broadly available.

But the Supreme Court as early as Wednesday could move to lift that ban or leave it in place pending further legal challenges to the rulings
The logo of Stellantis, the world's fourth-largest automaker which starts trading in Milan and Paris after Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA finalised their merger, is seen at the main entrance of FCA Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, January 18, 2021.

Stellantis on Wednesday said it has hired the chief financial officer from global grocery company Ahold Delhaize to replace CFO Richard Palmer, who plans to leave the company at the end of June.

Palmer will be succeeded by Natalie Knight, who has served as CFO at the Netherlands-based food retailer since early 2020. Ahold Delhaize owns grocery brands including Stop & Shop, Food Lion and Fresh Direct. Prior to that, she was CFO at Arla Foods and held several senior finance positions during her 17 years at Adidas AG. She is expected to join the company by July 10, Stellantis said.

The automaker did not release details regarding why Palmer, who served as CFO through two major global mergers, is leaving the company. The first merger saw the combination of Fiat and Chrysler in 2014. The resulting automaker then merged with French company PSA Groupe in 2021, forming Stellantis.

Palmer was a longtime top lieutenant of late automotive executive Sergio Marchionne.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said the company wishes Palmer "the very best for the future and in any new challenges that await him." He also touted Knight's "experience and demonstrated business transformation leadership, including a clear ESG focus," as contributing to why the company chose her for the position.

"I'm convinced that she will play a strategic role in setting the new impetus and unleashing the great potential of Stellantis' value," Tavares said in a release.

Stellantis said Knight will be based at the company's U.S. headquarters in Auburn Hills, Michigan, "with extensive travel to Europe and the other regions."
Semiconductor stocks are on a roll this year after a difficult 2022. The iShares Semiconductor ETF , which tracks the sector, is up about 22% in the year to date  nearly three times the return of the S & P 500 this year. Nvidia has undoubtedly been one of the sector's biggest winners this year, but Bank of America is doubling down on a lesser-known chip stock. In a note on April 11, the investment bank stuck to its "buy" rating on chip maker STMicroelectronics with an unchanged price target of 71 euros ($77.70) on the firm's French-listed shares and $78 for the firm's U.S.-listed shares  which implies potential upside of more than 50% for the stock. That's significantly higher than the average potential upside of 16.1% given by analysts covering the stock, according to FactSet data. Bank of America described the firm as a "top pick" among European auto semiconductors and said the stock remains cheaper than its peers. "In our view, the stock trades at a discount to [European and U.S] peers for three reasons: 1) poor track record, 2) high Apple concentration and 3) high capital intensity/low cash returns," said Bank of America's analysts, led by Didier Scemama. The bank said it believes concerns about the company's poor track record and high Apple concentration are "likely to fade over the course of the next 12-18 months" as it improves gross margins and operating margins. Apple's share of the firm's revenue is also likely to drop to around 10% by end-2024, the bank added. Among other products, STMicroelectronics produces microcontrollers, which are widely used in a large variety of automotive applications, such as position sensors, the control of windshield wipers, power steering systems and advanced driver assistance systems. STMicroelectronics is the only company producing 300mm wafers in Europe, the analysts said, unlike most of its direct competitors, which outsource production to Taiwanese foundries such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company and United Microelectronics Corporation . "We think the company is in a unique position to gain incremental share in autos and industrial [microcontrollers] with customers looking to de-risk their supply chain," the analysts said. While they acknowledged that share gains will be "slow," the analysts expect STMicroelectronics will benefit disproportionately from the growing onshoring trend of diversification from suppliers reliant on Taiwan. "We think that concerns over the size of its Apple exposure and related loss of a major contract are baked in at the current price. Yet we estimate that the company will outgrow its peers in terms of both sales and [earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization] over the next two years. Hence, we would expect a gradual rerating once we have clarity over the Apple relationship and the market better appreciates the growth prospects of the company," the analysts said.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
BERLIN, GERMANY - MARCH 16: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his visit to Germany. Sean Gallup | Getty Images News | Getty Images

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the Saudi leadership of the dangers of reigniting ties with long-standing rival Iran following a China-brokered deal last month, while urging greater U.S. engagement in the Middle East region. "Those who partner with Iran partner with misery. Look at Lebanon, look at Yemen, look at Syria, look at Iraq," he told CNBC's Hadley Gamble in an interview Wednesday, stressing that "95% of the problems in the Middle East emanate from Iran." CNBC has reached out to the Iranian foreign ministry for comment. The China-brokered March 10 detente between long-term rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran has dealt a blow to Netanyahu's diplomatic crusade of pursuing Tehran's political isolation. It also prospectively set back Israel's attempts to normalize relations with Riyadh, one of the wealthiest and most influential Arab states and a historical supporter of Palestinians. Already, relations have resumed to a point of Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi inviting King Salman bin Abdulaziz to visit Iran, according to comments of an Iranian foreign ministry spokesman cited by Iran's state news agency Irna. Addressing the deal, Netanyahu told CNBC on Wednesday, "I think it has probably a lot more to do with the desire to de-escalate or even eliminate the long-standing conflict in Yemen. I think that Saudi Arabia, the leadership there, has no illusions about who are their adversaries, and who are their friends." The foreign policy hit comes at a time when Netanyahu contends with domestic tensions over his controversial judicial overhaul and recent salvos against alleged Lebanon-based infrastructures belonging to the Iran-funded Hamas militant group  which both Israel and the U.S. designate as a terrorist organization. Before that, footage of Israeli forces beating worshippers in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque during the Arabic holy month of Ramadan drew international condemnations, including from Saudi Arabia.

watch now

The Saudi-Iran agreement also marked a breakthrough for China  a key ally of Iran and major trade partner of Saudi Arabia  which has increasingly attempted to position itself as a diplomatic mediator in global politics and has inclusively been entreated by European leaders to use its sway on Russia to help resolve the war in Ukraine. Beijing's 12-point peace plan for Ukraine, introduced on the one-year anniversary of the conflict, has yet to gain traction. Netanyahu denied awareness of any Chinese initiative to intercede to end the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. "I'm not aware of any specific offer of this kind," he said. "Look, we respect China, we deal with China a great deal. But we also know we have an indispensable alliance with our great friend the United States."

Israel seeks Saudi rekindling

Israel has made critical inroads to reconnect with Arab states since the September 2020 Abraham Accords mediated by the administration of former U.S. President Donald Trump. The agreement re-established relations between Israel and Saudi allies Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates  a second divergence from the Saudi agenda, after Abu Dhabi in December 2018 then-controversially announced it would reopen its embassy in the Iran-allied Syria. A day later, Bahrain stated it had never interrupted diplomatic relations with Damascus. Sudan and Morocco have also recognized Israel in the years since the Abraham Accords. But Saudi Arabia  with whom Israel has historically shared security concerns over Iran's nuclear progress and military funding activity in the Middle East  has so far eluded Netanyahu's diplomatic courtship. "We'd like very much to have peace with Saudi Arabia. Because I think it would be another huge quantum leap for peace. In many ways it would end the Arab-Israeli conflict," the Israeli prime minister told CNBC on Wednesday, noting this could pave the path for further diplomacy with Palestinians. "We would like to expand the circle of peace to its totality," he added.

watch now

Narrowing down to just the potential of a relationship with Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu said, "I think the sky's the limit. And even the sky's not the limit, because there are many opportunities in space as well." Saudi Arabia has yet to show signs of thawing fidelity toward the Palestinian Authority, with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Jeddah on April 19, according to both Saudi and Palestinian outlets.

U.S. commitment
Warren Buffett 's Berkshire Hathaway raised its stakes in five Japan stocks  a good sign for investors in Japan, according to Credit Suisse. "This, together with Berkshire Hathaway's recent issuance of JPY bonds, has put the spotlight on value and quality investment opportunities in Japan," Credit Suisse said in a April 14 note. The Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO said last week that he had raised his stakes in five Japanese trading houses , and added that he may consider further investments. Berkshire Hathaway raised its stakes in Mitsubishi Corp. , Mitsui & Co ., Itochu , Marubeni and Sumitomo  all to 7.4%. Those five names appear to fulfill Buffett's stock picking criteria . They are value stocks, with a lower-than-average forward price-to-earnings ratio of 6.8, and have an expected dividend yield that is better than their Japan-listed peers, among other qualities. Buffett acquired those stocks in August 2020 , and four of the five have more than doubled since his initial purchases. In light of those developments, Credit Suisse analysts said in the note that they've screened for stocks in Japan that are "Buffett-style picks"  that is, they have characteristics typical of Buffett's holdings. The following are the screening criteria the bank used. Value: Stocks with earnings yield in the top 25% of stocks the bank screened. Quality: the return on stock is also in the top 25%, with positive free cash flow. Safety: interest payments are over three times covered. Steady dividend payout: The stocks should not have had zero dividends in the past five years. They should also have above-median dividend yield, as well as above-median five-year dividend growth and next 12-month dividend growth. Earnings yield is defined as the profit per share divided by the share price and is a common measure used by value investors like Buffett. The higher the number, the more value investors are getting per share. Eleven stocks showed up in Credit Suisse's screen, including the five Buffett investments. These are the other six.  CNBC's Yun Li and Sarah Min contributed to this report.
It seems Elon Musk wants to join the artificial intelligence arms race.

"I'm going to start something which I call TruthGPT," Musk told Fox News' "Tucker Carlson Tonight" on Monday, adding that he'd want his AI chatbot to be a "maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe."

The timing of Musk's announcement  which, to be clear, was not an actual product unveiling  is notable, given that just three weeks ago, the Tesla and Twitter CEO signed an open letter calling for a six-month pause on all work on AI systems more powerful than OpenAI's ChatGPT-4.

Musk spoke about the dangers of rapid AI development before pitching his own version, alleging that chatbots like ChatGPT and Google's Bard are being trained to be "politically correct." He didn't provide evidence for those claims, or detail exactly what a "truth-seeking AI" might entail.

"A path to AI dystopia is to train AI to be deceptive," Musk said. "AI is more dangerous than, say, mismanaged aircraft design or production maintenance or bad car production ... [It] has the potential of civilization destruction."

Broadly speaking, that sentiment echoes a recent chorus of worries from tech luminaries and CEOs, including from billionaire investor Mark Cuban and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak. Even Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai has weighed in, noting that Bard can "hallucinate" answers to human prompts  writing responses that sound plausible, but are factually inaccurate.

"It could cause harm," Pichai told CBS News' "60 Minutes" on Sunday.

One of Musk's specific criticisms of OpenAI  which he co-founded in 2015, and helped fund before leaving its board three years later  centers around the organization's restructure from nonprofit to "capped-profit" in 2019, meant to help the company accept external funding.

That opened the door to a partnership with Microsoft, which helped train ChatGPT-4, OpenAI announced earlier this year. For-profit status could influence the ethics behind an AI program's development, Musk said on Monday.

Twitter  which intends to pursue generative AI, Musk told the BBC last week  is a for-profit company. So is X.AI, a new startup Musk quietly incorporated in Nevada last month.

Musk didn't immediately respond to CNBC Make It's request for comment. He admitted on Monday that he's "very late" to the chatbot race, but said he's still motivated to try due to concerns over the OpenAI-Microsoft partnership and Google dominating the market.

His timeline remains unclear, particularly considering his history of starting and then abandoning  or indefinitely pausing  ambitious projects, like The Boring Company's high-speed tunnels between major U.S. cities or Neuralink's computerized brain implants.

"I'm definitely starting late, but I will try to create a third option," Musk said. "This might be the best path to safety, in that an AI that cares about understanding the universe is unlikely to annihilate humans, because we are an interesting part of the universe."

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France has been mired in turmoil for months, as president Emmanuel Macron's push to raise the pension age led to widespread protests . But oddly, the French stock market has been climbing, thanks in part to high-end consumers in China and a seemingly insatiable demand for all things Cartier, Dior and Chanel. The iShares MSCI France ETF (EWQ) is nearing an all-time high, and Strategas Securities' ETF and technical strategist Todd Sohn said in a note to clients that the fund is getting a boost from its large percentage of luxury goods companies, which give investors a more stable way to bet on China's economic reopening after its Zero Covid slowdown. "There's crazy volatility with Chinese markets, because they decline 20-40% in any given year. And so if I don't want to deal with that, if I can't stomach it, let me play a derivative of it, and France, in a way, is the best way to do that," Sohn told CNBC. For example, the biggest holding in EWQ is LVMH Moet Hennessy  Louis Vuitton , which reported that 16% of its revenue came from Asia ex-Japan in 2022 , down from 30% in 2019 , before the pandemic. With China's reopening gaining steam this year, Paris-traded LVMH has jumped by 29%, making its chairman and CEO Bernard Arnault the world's richest man . LVMH accounts for about 13% of the EWQ. Other large luxury holdings in the ETF include cosmetics maker L'Oreal and women's scarves and silk accessory company Hermes International . Those stocks have helped push up the EWQ more than 14% this year to levels rarely seen in its history. The fund is threatening to top its all-time closing high, set back in November 2021, according to FactSet data. That rally barely topped a previous high from 2007. EWQ ALL mountain The iShares MSCI France ETF is trading at close to its all-time high. "You've been, in a way, rangebound for 15 years now," Sohn said. To be sure, the outsized rallies for luxury stocks  and new highs for the fund  could also be a sign that a reversal is near, at least in the short-term. However, Roth MKM chief market technician JC O'Hara said in a note to clients on Sunday that it appears that luxury stocks still have room to run. "We first highlighted the strength of the Luxury Goods market in early December. Since that time, the S & P Global Luxury Goods Index has risen +13%, versus the S & P 500, +1.8%. We continue to favor the technical setup of many of the luxury good charts," O'Hara wrote. Investors could certainly buy some of the individual luxury names on their own. But from an ETF perspective, the EWQ  with an expense ratio of 0.53%  might be the smartest option for U.S. investors even if it is not a pure play, according to Sohn. What's more, not all French luxury goods stocks trade in the U.S. "If you want to get exposure, the France country ETF is the best way, because otherwise you're playing Europe regional ETFs or international quality ETFs, and they're more watered down. There's no good thematic way to play those luxury names," Sohn said.  CNBC's Michael Bloom contributed to this report.
Germany, Poland and a few other EU nations are pushing for sanctions on Russian nuclear energy, as the bloc looks at new ways to hurt the Kremlin's revenues amid Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.

The 27 European nations have sanctioned Russian seaborne oil, coal and significantly cut purchases of natural gas from Moscow in the wake of its war with Ukraine. However, some nations believe it is time to do more.

"Across the EU, we must keep making ourselves independent from Russia," Robert Habeck, the German economy and climate minister, said over the weekend.

"The nuclear sector is still outstanding. It is not justifiable that this area is still given preferential treatment. Nuclear technology is an extremely sensitive area, and Russia can no longer be seen as reliable partner within it," he said.

In a document seen by CNBC, Poland and the Baltic States also called for sanctions on civil nuclear energy activities, as well as bans on diamond imports from Russia, on the provision of information and communication technology services to Russian state firms, and on oil imports on the Druzhba pipeline. These states are trying to ramp up pressure on the European Commission  the executive arm of the EU, which drafts sanctions proposals for the approval of various EU governments.

"Between March and December 2022, Russia exported just over $1 billion-worth of materials and technology of relevance to the nuclear energy sector," the Royal United Services Institute, a think tank, said in a report in February.

"This trade included exports to members of NATO and the EU. In fact, not only has the value of Russian nuclear-related exports not shrunk since February 2022, the data reviewed by the author suggests that it may be expanding, with a handful of loyal customers still eager to do business with Russia's nuclear sector," the same report said.

According to data published by Europe's statistics office Eurostat in 2021  the year before Russia's invasion of Ukraine  Moscow was the third biggest provider of uranium to the EU.
Facebook users complained of an issue that saw random comments made to celebrity Pages appear in their own Feed.

Facebook users have until August to claim their share of a $725 million class-action settlement of a lawsuit alleging privacy violations by the social media company, a new website reveals.

The lawsuit was prompted in 2018 after Facebook disclosed that the information of 87 million users was improperly shared with Cambridge Analytica.

People who had an active U.S. Facebook account between May 2007 and December 2022 have until Aug. 25 to enter a claim. Individual settlement payments haven't yet been established because payouts depend on how many users submit claims and how long each user maintained a Facebook account.

Cambridge Analytica was a British political consultancy used by the presidential campaign of Donald Trump and by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, among others.

The breach forced Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to testify before Congress and to take out full-page ads where he apologized for the missteps. "I'm sorry we didn't do more at the time. We're now taking steps to ensure this doesn't happen again," Zuckerberg said.

Facebook rebranded itself as Meta in 2021 and settled the class-action suit the following year.

Meta did not admit wrongdoing. "We pursued a settlement as it's in the best interest of our community and shareholders," a company spokesperson said at the time. A spokesperson for Meta did not offer additional comment.

Facebook users can make a claim by visiting Facebookuserprivacysettlement.com and entering their name, address, email address, and confirming they lived in the U.S. and were active on Facebook between the aforementioned dates.
People visit the Kartavya Path in the early evening in New Delhi, India, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. India has overtaken China as the world's most populous nation, according to UN data released on April 19. Photographer: Prashanth Vishwanathan/Bloomberg via Getty Images

The United Nations estimates India's population will be 1.4286 billion by the middle of 2023  ahead of the 1.4257 billion it sees for mainland China's population.

The figures are now reflected in the UN's World Population Dashboard, updated on Wednesday.

The overtake has been widely-predicted as China's population growth has slowed, with the number of people last year falling for the first time since the early 1960s.

The U.N. has previously forecast China's population will decline to 1.313 billion by 2050 and fall below 800 million by 2100.

Experts have said the country's longstanding one-child policy, which was revised to two in 2016 and three in 2021, contributed to the decline.

The U.N. figures exclude the "special administrative regions" of Hong Kong, which it estimates at 7.5 million, and Macao, at 0.7 million.
Two years ago, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos vowed to make the e-commerce giant "Earth's best employer"  and now, he might be one step closer to achieving that goal.

Amazon is the No. 1 company to work for in the U.S., according to new research from LinkedIn: For the third year in a row, Amazon has claimed the top spot on the networking platform's annual Top Companies list, followed by Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase.

To determine the ranking, LinkedIn rated each organization on several factors, including upskilling opportunities for employees once hired and the frequency and speed at which employees are promoted.

Here are the top 10 companies to work for in the U.S., according to LinkedIn:

Amazon Wells Fargo JPMorgan Chase Bank of America Alphabet AT&T UnitedHealth Group Apple Thoughtworks Kaiser Permanente

LinkedIn also considered factors like attrition and layoffs  companies that have laid off 10% or more of their workforce between January 2022 and April 2023 were ineligible for the list. Meta, which ranked twelfth on LinkedIn's list last year, was not eligible for this year's list after announcing it was eliminating approximately 13% of its workforce in November 2022.

Some companies, including Amazon, have conducted mass layoffs right under this threshold over the past year. Just last month, Amazon told its staff the company would lay off 9,000 more employees in the coming weeks. The cuts follow an earlier round of layoffs that began in November 2022 and affected more than 18,000 staffers.

In an emailed statement to CNBC Make It, an Amazon spokesperson said the company is "proud" to rank No. 1 on LinkedIn's list for the third consecutive year. "We know there's even more to do as we work to make every day better for our employees and our customers," they added.

The most competitive, sought-after companies are offering hybrid work arrangements; niche health-care benefits, like fertility and menopausal programs; or social impact initiatives that promote sustainability or diversity and inclusion in the workplace, per LinkedIn's research.

For example, Verizon (#12) has pledged to plant at least 20 million trees and recycle 10 million pounds of community e-waste before 2030, while Synchrony (#48) has no meetings on Fridays, with the work day ending at noon.

However, some companies in LinkedIn's top 10, such as Apple and JPMorgan Chase, have increased their in-office requirements for employees in recent months.

While flexibility is still top of mind for many jobseekers, don't underestimate the importance of upskilling, says Dan Roth, the editor-in-chief and vice president at LinkedIn.

"We all crave stability in our lives, and want to be in places with strong profits," says Roth. "But in the long run, where you really want to be is in places that will continue to invest in your career growth and skills, so you can excel no matter what you do."

Amazon maintained its top spot after making a "significant investment" to support employees' upskilling and raise salaries, says Roth.

In September 2022, Amazon announced pay increases for its frontline employees  a nearly $1 billion investment  along with new career development programs for employees.

It's important to note, however, that Amazon continues to face a barrage of criticism for its treatment of warehouse employees and for allegedly fostering a brutal workplace culture.

Last year, Amazon warehouse workers suffered serious injuries at more than twice the rate of comparable facilities, according to a recent report by the union coalition Strategic Organizing Center.

Amazon spokesperson Kelly Nantel told CNBC that the SOC's findings "paint an inaccurate picture."

"The safety and health of our employees is, and always will be, our top priority and any claim otherwise is inaccurate," she continued. "We're proud of the progress made by our team and we'll continue working hard together to keep getting better every day."

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CEOs are quietly backtracking on remote workand more companies could follow

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The hardest interview question this Amazon VP asksand how to answer it
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks at a rally marking the 100th day of Republican control of the House in Washington D.C. on April 17, 2023.

WASHINGTON  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., on Wednesday released his plan to raise the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion for about a year while attempting to repeal major components of President Joe Biden's agenda.

McCarthy said the bill, called the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023, would save American taxpayers more than $4.5 trillion by limiting discretionary spending, retrieving unspent pandemic-related funds, eliminating Biden's student loan forgiveness plan and cutting funds earmarked for the Internal Revenue Service.

The cuts would be in exchange for a one-year debt ceiling increase. McCarthy called on Biden and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., to "sit down, negotiate and address this crisis" but he did not mention whether the bill has enough support to pass. Biden has refused to negotiate over the debt limit. Extraordinary measures to avoid the first-ever U.S. sovereign debt default are on track to run out this summer.

"Now that we've introduced a clear plan for a responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate," McCarthy said.

McCarthy did not say when he would bring the bill to a vote in the House. It still wasn't clear whether he had support within his own caucus to pass the bill. "I never give up, we'll get them," he told NBC News on Wednesday.

Even if the House GOP passes it, the Democratic-controlled Senate would likely kill the measure.

McCarthy's announcement comes after days of speculation about the GOP proposal to temporarily raise the debt limit for certain cutbacks, such as a stall on non-defense discretionary spending.

The House speaker also doubled down on proposals for stricter work requirements for adults without dependents, the repeal of "Biden's army of 87,000 IRS agents" and the president's student loan forgiveness program, which could be killed by the Supreme Court. Justices are expected to rule on the student loan program by early summer.
Amid the slew of recent layoff headlines, a question lingers: when a company cuts jobs, who is first on the chopping block? According to new data from BambooHR, a human resources software company, 65% of HR professionals typically approach layoffs by eliminating newly hired workers first. The report surveyed over 1,500 employees and human resource professionals from December 19 to January 4. Overall, it found that employees believe that in a wave of job cuts, the likelihood of getting laid off is 62% for recent hires and 20% for longstanding employees. The report also says that over half of the employees surveyed want to know why employers decide to lay off certain roles. That need for transparency about layoff decisions is part of the reason many employers have historically decided to let go more recent hires first, according to Sandra Sucher, a professor at Harvard Business School who studies layoffs. "It was something that was relatively easy to explain, which matters when it comes to involuntary terminations," Sucher tells CNBC Make It. "Because people need and want to have an explanation."

Why new hires first?

Of course, there are other layoff methods that companies can use, but they are not nearly as easy or straightforward as eliminating based on tenure, according to Sarah Rodehorst, the chief executive of the human resources company Onwards HR. A company could cut jobs based on skills or performance, for instance, but managers would need access to that related data to adequately explain why an employee's skills or performance was not enough to keep them. "So why a lot of organizations gravitate to tenure is because it's easy. It's a very objective element that is readily available for companies," says Rodehorst. Anita Grantham, the head of HR at BambooHR, said that given today's tenuous economic landscape, job seekers should do more due diligence about how their prospective companies handle layoffs to avoid landing somewhere that will let them go as soon as they get in. But even as layoffs spread across industries, Grantham says some companies are still hiring. She says laid-off new hires need to be smart about how they get back into the job hunt.

The No. 1 rule to rebound
Most people go shopping knowing how much they're willing to spend on something, and thanks to new salary transparency laws, they're approaching job-searching in a similar way. Salary transparency and pay equity are becoming so important, 33% of job-seekers said they wouldnt even go to an interview without seeing the salary first, according to a September poll of 2,000 U.S. job-seekers. Salary disclosure laws across the U.S. in Colorado, New York City, California and more are changing how job-seekers talk about pay during interviews, says Maddie Machado, a reverse recruiter in Tampa, Fla., who previously worked for Meta, Microsoft and LinkedIn. She's always recommended that people bring up pay in their initial conversations with recruiters, and the same holds true now that people can see what companies are willing to pay for a job upfront. With that said, Machado says using public salary ranges is only the jumping off point to discussing money in a job interview  here's why.

Why you shouldn't reject jobs that pay below your range

Most salary range laws leave it up to companies to determine that their posted pay bands are made "in good faith," but some employers have caught heat for posting ranges spanning $100,000 or more. It's also worth noting that even though companies are required by law to list minimum and maximum salary ranges on a job ad, they're not necessarily required to actually make an offer in that range.

Maddie Machado is a reverse recruiter in Tampa, Fla., who previously worked for Meta, Microsoft and LinkedIn. Courtesy of source

Machado says this could be a good thing if you see a job you're really excited about but see the salary range is lower than what you're aiming for based on your market value. She recommends using an introductory call with a recruiter to ask about the listed range directly. State your excitement for the job, why you think you'd excel at it, and why your expertise commands a salary range you've already researched. (Sites like Glassdoor or Indeed are good places to start, as well as databases for your industry like Levels.fyi.) Ask the recruiter: Is the company's budget set in stone, or is there some flexibility? During her time as a recruiter, Machado saw that hiring managers were often flexible with the compensation they could offer for the right person. A great candidate could be brought in at a higher level than what was laid out in the hiring description, which could lead them to get tens of thousands of dollars more than what was outlined for the original, more junior, position. "It's still beneficial to apply to a position you're excited about and have that conversation with the recruiter," Machado says, adding that recruiters are trying to hire the right people quickly, so they're not incentivized to waste your time.

Don't let salary ranges limit the pay you're looking for

Machado says she'll sometimes hear from clients who've done their market research and have their salary expectations set, but get discouraged when they see published salary ranges much lower than what they want. She suggests not letting those numbers dissuade you from focusing on your target. "Clients will say to me, 'The range is $60,000 to $80,000 and I'm looking for $110,000. Is that realistic?'" Machado says. However, "job descriptions in and of themselves shouldn't be a data point of what you're looking at when you're deciding your value," she says. Instead, focus on what you've found in your research, and what you're hearing from people in the job, especially if they have similar years of experience and background education as you.

You should still negotiate your offer
Demonstrators rally in support of abortion rights at the US Supreme Court in Washington, DC, April 15, 2023.

Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday issued an order allowing the abortion pill mifepristone to remain available by mail delivery and without tighter restrictions on how it is used until at least late Friday night.

Alito last week had temporarily blocked the restrictions on mifepristone imposed by lower federal courts until 11:59 p.m. Wednesday in response to an emergency motion by the Justice Department and Danco Laboratories, the distributor of the brand name version of the drug Mifeprex.

Those restrictions now will remain on hold until 11:59 p.m. Friday as a result of his new order.

Alito did not explain the reason for the delay.

But it gives him and the rest of the Supreme Court two days more to consider whether to maintain the hold on the lower court rulings, or to allow restrictions on mifepristone to take effect as a complicated legal battle over the drug plays out.

Two separate federal courts have given the Food and Drug Administration conflicting rulings on the availability of the medication.

U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk of the Northern District of Texas earlier this month suspended the FDA approval of mifepristone and all subsequent decisions the agency had taken to regulate the medication.

The U.S. Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals partially blocked Kacsmaryk's sweeping order days later and kept the FDA approval in effect, but imposed severe limits on how mifepristone is used and distributed. Although that ruling keeps mifepristone on the market, the restrictions are so sweeping that many women would not have access to the medication even in some states where abortion is legal.

Shortly after Kacsmaryk's ruling, U.S. Judge Thomas Rice of the Eastern District of Washington state barred the FDA from restricting the availability of mifepristone in 17 states and Washington D.C.

Mifepristone, used in combination with another drug called misoprostol, is the most common method to terminate a pregnancy in the U.S., accounting for about half of all abortions, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Guttmacher Institute.

Kacsmaryk's unprecedented ruling was the first time a federal court invalidated an FDA determination that a drug is safe and effective, according to court filings from the Justice Department, former FDA officials and the pharmaceutical industry.

Former President Donald Trump appointed Kacsmaryk. Senate Democrats unanimously opposed his nomination over concerns about his position on abortion and LGBTQ rights.

The appeals court restrictions included blocking mail delivery of the medication, re-imposing doctor visits as a requirement to obtain the drug, and shortening the length of time women can use the pill to the seventh week of pregnancy. The court also blocked the generic version of mifepristone made by a second company, GenBioPro, which supplies about two-thirds of the medication for the U.S. market.
The Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that Halkbank, which is owned by the government of Turkey, is not immune from criminal indictment in New York federal court under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 for allegedly violating U.S. economic sanctions on Iran.

But the Supreme Court kicked back to a federal appeals court the question of whether Halkbank still can claim sovereign immunity from prosecution in the United States under common law.

That raises the prospect that the Supreme Court will again be asked in the future to rule on the legality of the prosecution.

The indictment in Manhattan federal court alleges that high-ranking Turkish and Iranian government officials participated in the sanctions evasion scheme with Halkbank and its officers.

"On Halkbank's view, a purely commercial business that is directly and majority-owned by a foreign state could engage in criminal conduct affecting U. S. citizens and threatening U. S. national security while facing no criminal accountability at all in U. S. courts," Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote in the majority opinion, in which he was joined by six other justices.

"Nothing in the FSIA supports that result," Kavanaugh wrote.

However, the Supreme Court told the U.S. 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider a request by Halkbank to toss out the prosecution based on an argument of common law immunity.

The Supreme Court previously recognized that a civil lawsuit not governed by the FSIA law may still be barred under by foreign sovereign immunity under so-called common law.

The U.S. government has argued that the bar would not apply to criminal prosecution of a commercial entity such as Halkbank.

Halkbank did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the Supreme Court's ruling.

Justice Neil Gorsuch filed a separate opinion that concurred in part with the majority but also dissented in part. Justice Samuel Alito joined Gorsuch in his opinion, which says it disagreed with the majority's ruling that "FSIA's rules apply only in civil cases."

"The same statute we routinely use to analyze sovereign immunity in civil cases applies equally

in criminal ones," Gorsuch wrote.

He added that the majority decision "overcomplicates the law for no good reason," saying that he would have come to the same conclusion that the 2nd Circuit previously reached, "This case against Halkbank may proceed."

Halkbank was indicted in October 2019 by a grand jury in Manhattan federal court for allegedly conspiring for years to evade U.S. economic sanctions imposed on Iran by laundering billions of dollars of Iranian oil and gas money.

At the time of the indictment, then-Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said, "This is one of the most serious Iran sanctions violations we have seen, and no business should profit from evading our laws or risking our national security."

In October 2017, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader named Reza Zarrab pleaded guilty to seven criminal counts related to the scheme.

In January 2018, former Halkbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla was convicted at trial of five of the six criminal counts he was charged with.

Correction: Former Halkbank Deputy General Manager Mehmet Hakan Atilla was convicted In January 2018 at trial of five of the six criminal counts he was charged with. An earlier version misspelled his name.
Employees of the Tesla Gigafactory Berlin Brandenburg work on the final inspection of the finished Model Y electric vehicles. The Tesla plant was opened and put into operation on March 22, 2022.

Shares in electric vehicle maker Tesla dropped more than 4% after the company reported first-quarter earnings after the bell Wednesday. Here are the results.

Earnings per share: 85 cents adjusted vs 85 cents expected, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Refinitiv

85 cents adjusted vs 85 cents expected, according to the average analyst estimate compiled by Refinitiv Revenue: $23.33 billion vs $23.21 billion expected, according to Refinitiv estimates

Tesla said net income fell 24% to $2.51 billion, or 73 cents a share, from $3.32 billion, or 95 cents a share, a year ago.

The company specified in a shareholder deck that "underutilization of new factories" stressed margins, along with higher raw material, commodity, logistics and warranty costs, and lower revenue from environmental credits, all contributing to the drop in earnings from last year.

Automotive revenue, Tesla's core segment, reached $19.96 billion in the quarter, up 18% from last year. Total revenue rose 24%. Revenue from automotive regulatory credits during the first three months of 2023 amounted to $521 million, down from $679 million in the first quarter of last year.

On an earnings call, CEO Elon Musk emphasized an "uncertain" macroeconomic environment that could impact people's car-shopping plans. During a question-and-answer session with analysts, Musk said he expected 12 months of "stormy weather" in the economy. He cautioned that, "Every time that the Fed raises interest rates, that's the equivalent to an increase in the price of a car." He also said, whenever there's uncertainty in the economy, people will generally postpone "big new capital purchases like a new car."

He said, "We've taken a view that pushing for higher volumes and a larger fleet is the right choice here, versus a lower volume and higher margin," but noted he expects Tesla vehicles "over time will be able to generate significant profit through autonomy."

When Tesla began to discuss its ambitions in self-driving technology in 2016, Musk said the company would conduct a hands-free trip across the U.S. by late 2017. It has yet to complete that mission.

Tesla Energy revenue soared to $1.53 billion, up 148% compared with the same period last year. Tesla's energy storage systems deployment increased to 3.9 gigawatt-hours, or by 360%, the company said. These lithium-ion battery-based energy storage systems, made by Tesla, include the home backup battery, called the Powerwall, and the utility-scale Megapack system which enables utilities to store and use more energy generated from renewable, but intermittent, sources like solar and wind.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Wednesday that "the United States can cheat at any moment," claiming Russia had experienced this when the Western military alliance NATO expanded eastward.

"I want to emphasize that everyone knows very well that the United States can cheat at any moment, and much more often they cheat than they keep their own promises, their own proposals," Lavrov said as he addressed a press conference following talks with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil Pinto.
Farmers inspect unsold grain stores on a farm in Sedziejowo, Poland, on Monday, April 17, 2023. Bartek Sadowski | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Bulgaria has become the latest country to introduce a ban on the imports of agricultural foods from Ukraine, joining its eastern European neighbors in halting agri-food imports amid a glut in produce that they say is damaging the livelihoods of domestic farmers. Bulgaria's caretaker government said Wednesday that the ban, which excludes goods in transit to other countries, is temporary but was was being taken as a result of large volumes of grain and agricultural products arriving and remaining in the country over the past year, causing problems for local producers. "If this trend persists, or grows stronger after the introduction of similar bans by other countries, there may be extremely serious consequences for Bulgarian businesses," Bulgaria's caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev said in a statement, reported by Reuters. Western nations have sought to help Ukraine maintain its vital exports of grain and agricultural products since the war with Russia began, but troubles have been brewing recently in eastern Europe. Following a tide of rising anger from farmers, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia recently introduced temporary bans on Ukrainian grain imports and other agricultural products, saying these have created unfair competition and trading conditions for local farmers. The suspensions of imports are due to last until the end of June. Romania's ruling Social Democrat Party has also stated that it plans to request that the country's governing coalition enact a temporary ban on Ukrainian agri-food imports in order to "protect Romanian farmers." On Wednesday, the country's agriculture minister said that Bucharest would set up immediate customs inspections of all farm and food products coming from Ukraine, and would seal and monitor grain cargoes transiting through Romania. Ukraine had also been asked to identify solutions to restrict grain exports to Romania, the minister said. The move to ban Ukraine's agricultural imports has angered the European Union given that the bloc has sought to help Kyiv maintain its exports as an economic lifeline for the war-torn country. Ukraine is one of the world's largest exporters of wheat, corn and sunflower products and a blockade on its ports by Russia last year led to global food price rises and shortages in some basic products, hitting poorer countries hard. A deal between Ukraine and Russia to allow grain exports to leave the country via the Black Sea was brokered by the U.N. and Turkey and this helped to ease the crisis. The EU also created so-called "solidarity lanes" to assist Ukrainian exports to leave the country via land routes in Europe, as well as suspending import duties on Ukrainian exports. But countries in eastern Europe now say that logistical challenges and supply bottlenecks have meant that cheaper Ukrainian agricultural products have flooded into their own countries and have not been moved on, putting pressure on storage facilities and forcing down prices. Farmers have protested against the situation, putting pressure on national governments to act.

National interests first

The rifts caused by Ukraine's cheap food imports have created an awkward tension between Kyiv and its eastern European neighbors, particularly at a time when Ukraine is largely reliant on goodwill for political, military and economic support as the war with Russia continues. Any souring of relations with Poland, in particular, is undesirable for Kyiv as Warsaw has stood out as one of the most vociferous supporters of Ukraine at an EU level, pledging battle tanks and MiG fighter aircraft when its continental neighbors were still balking at the idea at the start of the year.

Polish farmers protesting against Ukrainian agricultural products imports, which instead of being transported through Poland to the countries of destination have tended to stay in the country and flood the local market. Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty Images

Nonetheless, Poland is wary of voter sentiment and farmers' protests over the issue as it is holding parliamentary elections later this year, as is Slovakia. Slovakia's Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development told CNBC that despite its temporary ban on Ukrainian imports, the country continued to be open for "solidarity transit," meaning that Ukrainian grain could still pass through its territory to other countries. The grain would be sealed "in order not to end on the Slovak market," it said in a statement. "There is a need to solve the problem ... in order to stabilize the market and the prices of agro-product," the ministry said, adding that it had made the European Commission aware of its challenges. The ministry added that "we would appreciate the whole-European solution [to] the Ukrainian grain because the topic is relating to the protection of the whole internal European market." Hungary's Ministry of Agriculture meanwhile summarized to CNBC comments made by its minister Istvan Nagy who said that "if current market trends prevailed, they would cause so serious damage to the Hungarian agricultural sector that extraordinary measures need to be taken to stop them." It said Ukraine's agricultural sector operated with production methods that were no longer allowed in the European Union and, as a result, had "extremely low production costs," adding that Ukraine had started to export large quantities of poultry, eggs and honey to the European market, in addition to cereals and oilseeds, which has rendered it impossible for Hungarian and Central European farmers to sell their products. "The Hungarian government will always stand by Hungarian farmers and protect Hungarian agriculture," Nagy stressed, the ministry noted.

EU, Ukraine perplexed

The suspensions have caused consternation in Ukraine, which issued a statement saying it regretted Poland's decision to suspend grain imports and that Ukraine "has always been sympathetic to the situation in the Polish agricultural sector and responded promptly to various challenges." There has been some positive developments to the dispute after Polish and Ukrainian ministers met for two days of talks to discuss a way to resolve tensions, with the officials agreeing Tuesday that no Ukrainian agricultural products will stay in Poland and that they will only be allowed to transit through the country under escort. How the agreement will work in practice remains to be seen. CNBC contacted both Ukraine and Poland's Ministry of Agricultures and is awaiting further comment on the agreement.

Truck drivers queue on over ten kilometers at the Rava-Ruska border checkpoint on the Ukrainian-Polish border, on April 18, 2023. Yuriy Dyachyshyn | AFP | Getty Images

The European Commission was perplexed by the surprise import bans by several of its member states (it already has frayed relations with Hungary and Poland), saying unilateral actions on trade were unacceptable under EU policy. It said Monday that it was in contact with the EU member states that had introduced the bans and was looking at the legal basis that the suspensions were enacted. It added, however, that it recognized that eastern European nations had been supporting Ukraine in many areas and that it was not about "sanctioning, but finding solutions based on EU law that are in the interests of the Ukrainians and the EU." It also said it recognized the impact of the "oversupply" of Ukrainian imports on EU farmers, particularly those in bordering nations. The commission has already introduced a package of measures worth 56 million euros ($61.3 million) to compensate affected farmers in Poland, Bulgaria and Romania for what it described as "the economic loss due to increased imports of cereals and oilseeds and [to] limit the impact of market imbalances on their planting decisions." It is also planning a second package of support, it said Monday, with details yet to be finalized.

Ships, including those carrying grain from Ukraine and awaiting inspections, are seen anchored off the Istanbul coastline on November 02, 2022 in Istanbul, Turkey. Chris Mcgrath | Getty Images
Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra answers questions during a Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing to discuss reopening schools during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., September 30, 2021.

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act by expressing support for Democratic Senator Alex Padilla's re-election at a public event last year, a U.S. government watchdog said on Tuesday.

The U.S. Office of Special Counsel report cited Becerra's comments that he intended to vote for Padilla while speaking at a Congressional Hispanic Caucus dinner in September in his official capacity as having "mixed his personal electoral preference with official remarks."

Becerra, President Joe Biden's top health official, acknowledged his comments but said they were unintentional.

"While I did not realize at the time that my off-the-cuff remarks concerning my personal voting intentions were in violation of the Hatch Act, I now understand why they were not permitted," he said in a statement included in the report.

The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from using their official capacity to affect or interfere with elections, although some other political activities are allowed.

The report was sent to Biden, a Democrat, for "appropriate action."

Representatives for the White House could not be immediately reached for comment.

The Office of the Special Counsel, an independent agency, can make recommendations but does not have the authority to enforce them.

It previously cited U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm for comments she made in a magazine interview last year.

Under former Republican President Donald Trump, the office also cited top administration officials for violations and called for one, Kellyanne Conway, to be removed from office.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen holds a press conference at the US Treasury Department in Washington, DC, on April 11, 2023.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday will lay out the Biden administration's principal objectives for the U.S.-China economic relationship in a speech in Washington, the Treasury said on Tuesday as tensions between the world's two largest economies has thwarted high-level meetings.

Yellen, who said last week she still hopes to visit Beijing to meet with her new Chinese economic counterparts, will deliver remarks at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, the Treasury said in a statement.

Yellen's speech will detail the Biden administration's economic priorities on China, including securing U.S. national security interests, fostering "healthy" competition and cooperating, where possible, on global issues such as climate change, debt relief and macroeconomic stability.

Yellen also is expected to highlight U.S. economic strength.

"During her remarks, Secretary Yellen will underscore that in its bilateral relationship with China, the United States proceeds with confidence about the enduring fundamental strength of our economy," the Treasury said, adding that she will discuss growth-enhancing investments in infrastructure, advanced semiconductor manufacturing and clean energy technologies.

The scheduling of the speech follows last week's International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings, where Yellen interacted with Chinese finance officials, including People's Bank of China governor Yi Gang, in plenary meetings and in a roundtable meeting aimed at ways to speed debt relief to poor countries.
The bloody, bludgeoned body was tossed mercilessly into the excavation, along with the remains of other innocent workers  uncertain if theyre dead or alive. Buried beneath layers of rocks, sand and concrete, the corpses hardened into their destiny: the foundation of a messily dysfunctional, aristocratic familys ambitious construction project on which the matriarch would later on take the stage, crooning Pilita Corrales Kapantay ay Langit,'' while people whisper about their alleged hidden wealth.

This scene from the pilot episode of the Philippine drama television series Dirty Linen was an undeniable success, but moreover, it shed light on the enduring power of the Filipino matriarch. While Tessie Tomas Dona Cielo Fiero  a cane-wielding, thrillingly murderous, but also heavily religious head of the family  is a figment of the imagination, she represents a female figure that has long existed in Philippine society.

Over the past few years, matriarchs have been having a moment. Kadenang Gintos Daniela Mondragon, played by Dimples Romana, was immortalized as a meme in her red dress, black purse, and red suitcase.

But even as early as the year 2000, when Pangako Sa Yos Madame Claudia (Jean Garcia) rose to fame, this was how wealthy wives have been usually portrayed  as villains. How does this portrayal of Filipino matriarchs as antagonists further stereotype and shape our understanding of women?

Matriarchy and womens informal influence

There is a long-standing debate about Philippine society being patriarchal or matriarchal.

The 500-year tradition of indigenous feminism in pre-colonial times predated the emancipation of women in the West. At that time, women had a high status in society. However, scholars note that our history of Spanish colonialism introduced the patriarchal culture in the socioeconomic and political fabric of Philippine society.

As far back as the 80s, Filipina academic Delia D. Aguilar, author of landmark studies on the women's movement in the Philippines, has been interrogating the gender relations of power in the family. In her 1989 paper, she wrote: It is perfectly safe to say that in no other part of the Orient [do women have] relatively so much freedom orplay so large a part in the control of the family or in social or even industrial affairs.

Enjoying an equal status with her husband, [the woman] nevertheless gives him the illusion that he is lord and master of his household. Although she accepts a form of double morality, the males being allowed freedom denied the female members of her family, her informal influence in society often affects the economic and political affairs of the country.

One need not look far to understand the extent of womens informal influence.

At the countrys highest seat of power, three strong female figures are warmly ensconced within the proximity.

The Presidents mother, former First Lady Imelda Marcos, has been previously described as the supreme politician in the family and a kingmaker in the Lauren Greenfield documentary of the same name.

The Presidential sister Senator Imee Marcos, apart from being the self-appointed SAP (Super Ate ng Pangulo) has began producing Marcos-centric films. In these films, she has the most prominent role, where she was in fact the titular Maid in Malacanang with the elder Marcos uttering the line: Ikaw [Imee] naman ang pinakamahusay na katulong sa Malacanang. (You, Imee, are the best maid in Malacanang.)

Finally, the current First Lady, Liza Araneta-Marcos, who previously implied she did not want to be involved in politics, was repeatedly rumored to have a hand in presidential appointments. The rumors were so rampant that both the First Lady and her husband have made statements to address them, with President Marcos explaining in a January media panel interview that his wife only helps in terms of organization. Not political decisions, said President Marcos during the interview. Legal. I will ask her. Whenever theres a legal question, Im not a lawyer, so I need an expert opinion. Shes right next to me most of the time, so I could turn to her, he said. The First Lady, meanwhile, sent a video message to members of the Malacanang Press Corps, in which she said that she was sick and tired of people using [her] name in the appointments of Intelligence Service Armed Forces of the Philippines (ISAFP) officials.

The strong female character

If the 2022 Presidential elections proved that Filipinos still gravitate towards strong male figures, where do women position themselves in this society?

A 2001 study by Leonora C. Angeles investigated the complexity of Filipino masculinity. We often hear Filipino men speak of themselves as macho, machunurin sa asawa, as member of the Yukuza, yuko sa asawa, or as Pedrong Taga, taga-luto, taga-laba, she wrote.

In todays Instagram era, this has evolved into the cutesy titles like The Bullied Husbands Club, popularized by Argentinian businessman Nico Bolzico, husband of Filipina-French multi-hyphenate Solenn Heussaff.

Jokes and common sayings do tell something about culturally-specific world views, Angeles wrote. In this case, they reveal much about Filipino mens varied forms of display and different varieties of masculinities, as well as local anxieties about changing gender roles and identities.

Louie Jon A. Sanchez, who teaches literature, popular culture, and writing at the Department of English of the Ateneo de Manila University, observed that our colonial history influenced our collective consciousness to bestow gender upon the concept of strength.

Weve associated strength with males, he said in an interview with CNN Philippines Life. Eventually, for women to legitimize their position in society, she needed to confront the patriarchy. She needed to be a strong woman.

Sometimes, women connive to be legitimized in a highly patriarchal system, Sanchez added. Which explains, for instance, the case of the late Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago, former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, etc. In the politics of patriarchy, you will not win if youre soft spoken. Kaya mabenta si Inday Sara [Duterte-Carpio], he said. Leni [Robredo] was a dream candidate, but she was criticized for being weak.

The media reflects societys biases in the form of tropes. But are these tropes accurate?

I think, more than a matter of accuracy, we have to ask what these representations assert about current reality, Sanchez said. Representation can never be completely accurate. But what is this phenomenon? What are these strong women standing for?

He added: Yun bang mga paninindigan at pagpapahalaga nila ay mabuti? Iba-iba ang strong women e. Tanong ang pino-pose talaga nila.

Representation in media

In Hollywood, the category strong female lead has been used to depict empowered women in contrast to the damsel-in-distress. A 2021 study revealed: there is a bias toward portraying women characters with more masculine-gendered language in order to depict them as heroes, resulting in an influence on the way society views traditionally feminine qualities.

Strong female leads in Philippine cinema have been championed by Filipina filmmakers such as Antoinette Jadaone, who was recently hailed as one of eight Women of Influence Awardees for 2023 by Cosmopolitan Philippines. She was cited as having featured strong, independent women in the lead, a decision she said was inspired by her upbringing of being surrounded by independent women. (Hindi nage-exist sa world ko yung weak women.)

In Jadaones Alone/Together starring Liza Soberano, lead character Christine was depicted as an overachieving art student  a contrast to male lead Raf. The film reflects on dreaming big or choosing love.

I tell womens stories because we need more women stories told from the lens of a woman, Jadaone said. When we, especially kids and young women, see women in film and TV being empowered, with their own agency, being allowed to be who they want to be, it reflects on them and empowers them too. Representation in the media is a powerful tool.

This is how Jadaone hopes Philippine cinema will depict women: Bida ng buhay nila. Sila ang may hawak ng desisyon nila. She added, And also, women in other genres than romance.

After all, the portrayal of women in stereotypical romance roles, as better halves or homemakers, drives Aguilars notion that womens influence is informal. Onscreen and on the ground, many of them wield power as a wife  an extension of her husband, the lord and master of the household.

I have always argued for an examination of the society in which gender is situated, Aguilar said in a recent Facebook message, three decades after her paper was published. For this reason, I do not entertain the illusion that merely putting women in power positions will result in a more equitable society.

So in the end, is the renaissance of the matriarch a step forward for the womens movement, if under their watch, other women are bludgeoned to death and buried into obscurity?
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  A military official on Wednesday said he does not see the need for now to place the province of Negros Oriental under military control amid reports of political killings in the area.

Based on the way I observed things on what happened in the Degamo killing, I think there is no lawless violence yet, which is quite rampant to warrant to put the area under military control, said Armed Forces of the Philippines Provost Marshal General, BGen. Gerry Pulohanan.

Senator Robinhood Padilla raised the question if government troops must be deployed over the province as the upper chamber continues the hearing on the killing of Negros Oriental Governor Roel Degamo.

Nais ko po sanang itanong sa atin pong Armed Forces of the Philippines, sa atin pong Konstitusyon, malinaw po doon na sinasabi na kapag ang isang lugar ay pinamumugaran ng ganitong klaseng krimen, pinapayagan po ang Pangulo ng Pilipinas na magtake-over po kayo at ayusin ang lugar na yun. Sa palagay niyo po ba niyo, hindi pa ito napapanahon sa Negros Oriental? the neophyte lawmaker asked.

[Translation: I just want to ask the Armed Forces of the Philippines, our Constitution says that if these kinds of crime proliferate in an area, the President allows you to take over the area to restore order there. Do you think its time for you to do that now given the situation in Negros Oriental?]

Following the March 4 assassination of Degamo, over 10,000 soldiers were deployed to the 2nd and 3rd districts of Negros Oriental to hunt down the suspects behind the murder.

According to Article VII, Section 18 of the 1987 Constitution: The President shall be the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the Philippines and whenever it becomes necessary, he may call out such armed forces to prevent or suppress lawless violence, invasion or rebellion.

But Pulohanan explained that its up to the intelligence forces to decide if the situation in Negros Oriental warrants military control.

I think the proper body to determine whether it really warrants putting an area under military control is somebody from intelligence, he said.

For her part, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo, the wife of the slain governor, said she is fine with the deployment of military personnel in the province if that would restore peace in their area.

If that would hasten yung gaano katagal bago talaga truly can one feel na wala na yung intimidation, in my personal point of view, okay lang ako kung ganoon na lang muna, she said.

[Translation: If that would hasten the situation for everyone not to feel the intimidation, in my personal point of view, I am okay with that kind of set up.]
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Court of Appeals (CA) upholds the money laundering conviction of former bank manager Maia Santos-Deguito over the $81-million Bangladesh bank heist in 2016.

In a 58-page decision released on Wednesday, the CA denied Deguito's appeal to reverse her conviction for eight counts of violation of the Anti-Money Laundering Act.

The former Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) employee argued the Makati trial court that convicted her erred in its understanding of money laundering offense, and that her supposed prior knowledge about the illegality of the transactions was "merely presumed."

But the appellate court ruled that elements of money laundering is present in Deguito's case  particularly the knowledge that any monetary instrument or property represents, involves, or relates to the proceeds of any unlawful activity; transaction of said money; and movement or utilization of said money.

It further stressed that Deguito  who was the business manager of RCBC Jupiter Makati  was "not just a mere employee," and that her opening of the accounts had "set the wheels in motion."

"In light of the above conclusions, there is no doubt that the prosecution was able to prove that Deguito is guilty of eight (8) counts of violation of Section 4 (f) of R.A. No. 9160, as amended. Thus, the Court finds no need to further discuss the other issues raised by the parties," the CA said in its decision promulgated on Feb. 23.

In January 2019, Deguito was sentenced to four to seven years imprisonment for each count of money laundering, and was fined $109 million.

The RCBC branch where she worked allegedly processed a total of $101 million stolen by Chinese hackers from the Bangladesh government through the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Of which, $21 million went to Sri Lankan accounts while the rest ended up in the country.

The $81 million was later withdrawn and converted to pesos, then gambled in local casinos before authorities could track it.

The Makati court found Deguito liable for the crime as she facilitated the withdrawal and deposit of the millions of dollars to accounts of unknown and fictitious bank holders. This has been denied by Deguito.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The camp of former senator Leila de Lima opposed the Department of Justice's (DOJ) attempt to reopen the trial on one of her remaining drug cases already submitted for decision to present "rebuttal evidence" against her.

In a "vehement opposition" from the camp of the former senator, they argued that both the defense and the panel on April 17 agreed to end the proceedings and submit the case for resolution.

The DOJ on the same day filed an urgent motion for reconsideration before Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court Branch 204, seeking to reopen De Lima's Criminal Case No. 17-165.

Prosecutors said in their motion that they intend to submit exhibits during the presentation of evidence of co-accused Ronnie Dayan, together with testimony from the Public Attorneys Offices lawyer Demiteer Huerta.

Dayan served as the former senators bodyguard. Prosecutors alleged he served as De Lima's drug money collector.

De Lima, a vocal critic of President Rodrigo Duterte, has been in jail since 2017 over allegations that she financed her senatorial campaign using drug money from New Bilibid Prison inmates. This claim, however, had been withdrawn by former Bureau of Corrections officer-in-charge Rafael Ragos last year, saying that he was coerced by then Justice Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre, an appointee of Duterte.

But state prosecutors were confident that the rebuttal evidence would explain, repel, counteract, or disprove the evidence of the adversary.

While the presentation of rebuttal evidence is discretionary with the prosecution in a criminal action, in the instant case, the overwhelming import of the new facts disclosed by the accused which have a damaging effect on the complainant's version is imperative and necessary for the prosecution to present rebuttal evidence, the motion stated.

According to De Lima's camp, the hearing on April 17 was scheduled after the termination of the presentation of evidence for Dayan last March 10. They pointed out that over a month has passed and the prosecutors "remained silent as to its intent to introduce rebuttal evidence."

"For the first time, through the challenged Motion, or 37 days after the last hearing, and after already agreeing in open court to submit the case for decision, the Panel suddenly moves to offer rebuttal evidence," they said.

Her camp further maintained that the proposed testimony from Huerta is "not newly discovered evidence" as they said Huerta was "in close and even direct coordination with the Panel."

"The Panel should have known, as of 17 April 2023, that his testimony will be material, if at all, for the Panel of Prosecutors and should have pleaded to the Court to allow them to present him as a rebuttal witness - instead of manifesting their agreement to consider the case closed and submitting the entire case for decision, they said.

The prosecution asked the court to reopen the trial despite a supposed agreement between the parties to have the case submitted for decision, with the promulgation expected on May 12, De Lima's counsel Lawyer Filibon Tacardon told CNN Philippines.

RELATED: De Lima drug case submitted for decision, promulgation expected on May 12

Meanwhile, reopening of proceedings is allowed under the Rules of Court "to avoid miscarriage of justice," according to retired Justice Magdangal de Leon.

De Leon said that the judge would consider such petition given that it is a high profile case.

"The judge has to decide whether to reopen the trial before May 12. This case is the last hurdle if ever for de lima should the other court grant her bail plea on May 8," he explained to CNN Philippines.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) has rejected the appeal of telcos to extend the SIM registration deadline, insisting SIM owners only have until April 26 to register.

The DICT said on Wednesday it received the request of the telcos, but the agency did not provide an explanation for the rejection.

The DICT urged users to maximize the one week left to register. It also reminded the public that non-registration will result in the deactivation of their SIMs and eSIMs, barring them from receiving and sending calls and text messages and accessing mobile applications and digital wallets.

Globe, Smart, and new telco entrant DITO Telecommunity earlier asked the government to extend the SIM registration deadline, citing low registration turnout.

Data from the DICT on Apr. 20 showed that more than 64 million users were already registered out of 168,097 million SIMs.

The SIM Registration Act is also facing legal challenges. A petition was filed before the Supreme Court on Monday seeking to declare the mandatory registration unconstitutional.

RELATED: Petition vs SIM registration filed before SC
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  At least 49 Filipinos in Sudan wish to be relocated while another 37 are seeking repatriation, according to the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), as a deadly power struggle grips the North African country.

"There have been at least 37 repatriation requests, I'm looking at the data. Less than 10% of the Filipinos in Sudan have indicated that they want to go home," DFA Undersecretary for Migrant Workers Affairs Eduardo de Vega told CNN Philippines' The Final Word.

"There have been about 49 who have been asking to be relocated," he added.

The DFA said majority of Filipinos are emailing the department to report that they are "not in good condition"  as clashes continue between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces.

De Vega said the government will shoulder the Filipinos' trip back home once airlines resume operations. Repatriating or relocating them by land would be an option if airports remain closed, he added.

The DFA said there are about 500 Filipinos in Sudan. They have been told to stay indoors.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The German government is ready to assist the Philippines in its plan to shift to more renewable sources of energy, according to an official.

Jennifer Morgan, Germany's State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, made the commitment during her visit to the country for consultations with her Filipino counterparts.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Morgan said Germany is ready to share technology, especially in wind power and other renewable energy sources.

"The Philippines has tremendous resources, the sun the wind, we would dream of having such resources in Germany," Morgan said.

"We can assist in the onshore and offshore wind energy plans. We could be sharing technology and technical expertise and how we could get the financing," she added.

Among her priorities back in Germany is to tap the private sector and other partners on how they can help countries with their renewable energy plans.

The official also noted that shifting to renewables should involve job creation, and make sure electricity is affordable.

President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has repeatedly said the country should start relying and shifting to more sources of renewable energy.

READ: Marcos wants to reexamine PH's nuclear technology, renewable sources in energy agenda
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The widow of Negros Oriental Gov. Roel Degamo lambasted Pryde Henry Teves for trying to separate himself from the cases of killings the latters family had allegedly ordered in the province when he was the one who benefited from these.

The way I see it Henry tries to detach himself with what his brother has been doing, what their group has been doing. But ultimately, Henry is the beneficiary of all of these, Pamplona Mayor Janice Degamo told CNN Philippines The Source on Wednesday.

She was referring to Teves brother, suspended Negros Oriental Rep. Arnolfo Teves, the alleged mastermind behind the killing of the governor.

Both families are known to be political rivals in Negros Oriental.

In February, the Supreme Court upheld the decision of the Commission on Elections declaring Degamos victory and junking the petitions filed by his opponent.

On March 4, Degamo and eight others were assassinated inside the governor's residence in Barangay San Isidro in Pamplona town.

The Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs is leading the hearing on the case and others that happened in Negros Oriental.

Mayor Degamo said during the second day of the hearing on Tuesday that she has a video of her husband saying that the Teves brothers are the source of threats to his life.

She said she was also grateful that their camp was given the opportunity to be heard and to be able to shed light on other issues in their province that also involve the Teveses.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla on Monday said authorities are looking at designating the suspended congressman as a terrorist. The lawmaker continues to refuse to return to the Philippines and face the allegations against him.

Based on information gathered, Mayor Degamo said she is getting a clearer picture of the possible link of the Negros Oriental representative with militant groups.

Levito Baligod, the lawyer of the Degamo family, also told CNN Philippines that their camp has evidence that may prove the connection of the Teveses to terrorists.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The government is identifying more areas in the country for the construction of specialty hospitals in a bid to boost local healthcare services, President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. said on Wednesday.

Ang napagkasunduan namin, imbes na magtayo ng bago pang ospital ay mag-extension na lang yung mga ibang ospital para mayroong specialty na ilang kama para talaga as a specialty hospital, Marcos told reporters in an ambush interview in Bulacan.

And we are now identifying kung saan yung areas. Tinitingnan natin kung ano yung naging karanasan natin noong pandemic, saan sila nahirapan at saan malayo masyado yung pasyente kailangang dalhin at doon natin ilalagay, doon sa mga lugar na yun, he added.

[Translation: What we agreed upon is instead of building new hospitals, well just create extensions so that there will be specialty beds, for specialty hospitals. And we are now identifying the areas where they can be built. Were looking at the situation during the pandemic, what the challenges were, where the patients had to travel due to long distance, well build them in those areas.]

The move is in line with Marcos pronouncement during his first State of the Nation Address last year  where he sought the construction of specialized establishments to provide medical assistance for people in the provinces.

The chief executive did not list down the specific sites authorities are eyeing, but said these will be the ones that have weak localized healthcare.

Last month, Marcos announced the creation of an annex of the Philippine Heart Center in Clark, Pampanga.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Philippine and German government agree to further improve cooperation in addressing the impacts of climate change, and to help those deeply affected by the climate crisis.

German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action Jennifer Lee Morgan recently concluded her visit to the country, where she met with survivors of Super Typhoon Yolanda in Tacloban and held a series of discussions with Filipino officials.

In an interview with CNN Philippines, Morgan said one aspect of possible cooperation is sharing of data.

"We have a project on climate research that's actually doing local projection so that you can prepare in advance," she said.

The German official added that among her priorities is to speak with German scientists and how they can work with their Filipino counterparts.

She revealed that her trip was personal since she was a climate change negotiator when Yolanda struck, and she wanted to personally hear and see how the survivors are rebuilding from the devastation.

"The world is not doing what is needed on climate change yet and still emitting so much so we can expect weather events in the future so getting people ready making sure that their homes can stand storms, winds and water is more important than ever," Morgan said.

After visiting Tacloban, the German official said she will closely work with her Filipino counterparts as they prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference of Parties set for November in Dubai.

Among the agenda is a breakthrough agreement creating a "loss and damage fund." Under the deal, countries responsible for high carbon emissions will compensate vulnerable nations gravely affected by climate change.

"These funds should not only be for humanitarian assistance right after the disaster but should also explore how this can be tapped during the rebuilding period," Morgan said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) are still verifying Tuesday's alleged massive data breach, where over 1.2 million applicant and employee records of various agencies were supposedly leaked.

In a report on cybersecurity research company vpnMentor, researcher Jeremiah Fowler said a database with a total size of 817.54 gigabytes containing 1,279,437 records relating to affairs of law enforcement agencies had been exposed.

Fowler said he could "validate that the data was exposed for a minimum of 6 weeks, during which I did my best to have it secured."

He added that a comprehensive forensic audit is "necessary."

"Samples of records include copies of fingerprint scans, signatures, and required documents from multiple Philippine state agencies including the Philippine National Police (PNP), National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), Bureau of Internal Revenue, Special Action Force Operations Management Division, Civil Service Commission, amongst others," he wrote.

The cybersecurity researcher added that the database contained character recommendations that certified applicants possessed a good moral character and had no prior criminal records, and a selection of documents containing Tax Identification Numbers (TIN).

"We cannot categorically say at this time that there was a leaked applicants data, said PBGen. Sidney Hernia, the director of PNP's Anti-Cyber Crime Group. "We are still conducting vulnerability assessment and penetration testing. We also requested complete access logs from PRSS (PNP Recruitment and Selection Service) to evaluate those logs."

"Based on the initial assessment of our IT people, so far wala kaming nakitang breach sa aming system but continuous ang aming verification at monitoring [we did not see any breach on our system but our verification and monitoring continue]," said NBI spokesperson Giselle Dumlao.

The BIR has yet to issue a statement while the CSC has yet to respond to CNN Philippines request for comment.

Fowler said he made attempts to talk with relevant authorities but did not receive an official response.

Due to the amount of time from when the exposure was discovered, reported, and finally closed it is unclear exactly how long the database was publicly accessible or if anyone else may have accessed it, he said.

Fowler warned individuals whose data were leaked could be potential victims of identity theft, phishing attacks, and a range of other malicious activities.

The availability of government records in an unsecured database raises concerns about potential national security issues. The exposed records could also potentially allow criminals to target members of law enforcement for blackmail or other schemes, he said.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  A senator on Wednesday questioned the locations of the new sites of the Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) in Luzon, claiming that the military seems obsessed with the heightening tension between Taiwan and China.

During a Senate inquiry, Sen. Imee Marcos  who heads the foreign relations committee  said the choice seems to be random and no longer purposeful for the military's push for modernization.

The additional four EDCA sites are located in Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan.

So we have given up all claims on the east sector, west sector of the Philippines seas. We are now obsessed with the Taiwan Strait? Marcos asked Defense Officer-in-Charge Carlito Galvez Jr.

Galvez said the country's armed forces remain concentrated on the West Philippine Sea.

However, the lawmaker was not convinced, saying Galvez gave very contradictory statements.

But the defense official insisted that choosing EDCA sites was strategic for the Philippines as they seek to provide total defense of the archipelago.

The instruction of the president is for us to prepare for external defense. With that, we are trying to really allocate some resources and our modernization program on the northern side. Our vulnerability is on the north, he said.

China has long been asserting its sovereignty in the disputed waters despite a 2016 ruling in The Hague that invalidated Beijing's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.

Regarding the rising tension between China and Taiwan, China earlier said the Philippines might get drawn into the conflict as it has allowed the expansion of US military presence in the country.

Marcos also questioned that if the basis for choosing EDCA sites was to also accelerate humanitarian and disaster assistance, then why is there no EDCA site in Samar, which was gravely hit by Super Typhoon Yolanda in 2013.

Galvez said there was an EDCA site that is east-facing, noting that they are also in talks with Gov. Luigi Villafuerte as the latter offered areas in Camarines Sur.

He also said the areas in Northern Luzon were isolated during previous typhoons.

On assigning EDCA sites for counterterrorism efforts in Mindanao, Galvez said there is an existing camp in Zamboanga and an extension arrangement in Cotabato City.

No written agreement on 4 EDCA sites

During the inquiry, the Senate panel also learned that the US and the Philippines have yet to agree in writing regarding the new EDCA sites.

There is no annex as far as the four new sites are concerned. So what is the guiding document? You're deploying personnel, making announcements, and shifting military strategy to external aggression and yet there's no agreement, Marcos said.

Galvez said both nations are still discussing the substance of the exchange of notes.

Once they agree on the exchange of notes, it would then be added to the annex of the deal, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo said.

The only development has been the announcement of four new sites, so I expect that we still have to enter into talks on terms of reference for the use of these new sites, Manalo added.
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, April 19)  The US government has earmarked an additional $18 million for the construction of Enhanced Defense Cooperation Agreement (EDCA) projects, Foreign Affairs Secretary Enrique Manalo disclosed.

At a Senate inquiry on Wednesday regarding the issues surrounding EDCA, Manalo said the US government committed to providing additional funding that would cover existing and new agreed locations.

This was decided during the third US Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue in Washington last week, he noted.

The new funds are on top of the $100 million earlier secured from the US.

Manalo also said there has been significant progress in EDCA projects, with six of them set for completion within 2023, including the runway project at Pampangas Basa Air Base and storage facilities in Mactan Air Base.

The government earlier this month identified the additional four EDCA sites located in Cagayan, Isabela, and Palawan.

EDCA seeks to beef up the alliance between the US and the Philippines, where they can conduct combined training, exercises, and interoperability in identified locations.
Stories of state gifts from Xi: Bronze acupuncture statue helps better introduce TCM to world

People's Daily Online) 09:41, April 19, 2023

At the World Health Organization (WHO) headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland stands a 1.8 meter-tall bronze acupuncture statue with 559 acupuncture points marked on its body. It was a gift from Chinese President Xi Jinping to WHO during his visit to the organization on Jan. 18, 2017.

A bronze acupuncture statue presented by Chinese President Xi Jinping to the World Health Organization (WHO), which shows acupuncture points on the human body. (Photo/Xinhua)

At the gift presentation ceremony, Xi and then-WHO Director-General Margaret Chan jointly unveiled the bronze acupuncture statute. While addressing the presentation ceremony, Xi called for efforts to inherit, develop, and make good use of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and promote better integration of traditional and modern medicines with an open and inclusive mindset.

As an aid for training and testing acupuncture practitioners, the figure has become a symbol of TCM. Chinese acupuncture was inscribed on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Nov. 16, 2010.

Xi has "endorsed" TCM on many international occasions.

Chinese President Xi Jinping (2nd L) meets with Margaret Chan (2nd R), Director-General of WHO in Geneva, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2017. (Photo/Xinhua)

In November 2014 at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, Xi witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between the Beijing University of Chinese Medicine and Western Sydney University on establishing the Chinese Medicine Centre in Australia.

In July 2018, Xi published a signed article in three South African newspapers, noting that acupuncture, cupping and other traditional Chinese therapies have been introduced to the South African people as a new option to treat illnesses and keep fit.

In December 2022 at the first China-Arab States Summit, Xi proposed eight major initiatives for practical China-Arab cooperation, which include carrying out five cooperation projects of TCM in Arab states .

TCM has been introduced to 196 countries and regions around the world. China has signed special cooperation agreements on TCM with more than 40 foreign governments, regional authorities and international organizations for the building of 75 bases for international cooperation on TCM, and 31 national TCM service export bases.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
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Look, I'll be honest: When I first got my grubby gorilla paws on Google's latest and great Android version  the hot-off-the-griddle first beta of this year's Android 14 update  two terse words kept ringing in my head:

That's it?

Also: Mmm, pancakes. But that's just because of the griddle reference I'd already cooked up in my deeply demented man-brain.

All flapjackery aside, there's no way around it: On the surface, the inaugural beta of Android 14 isn't exactly exciting. In fact, in most day-to-day use at the moment, you'd be hard-pressed to notice much difference between it and the Android 13 update that came before it.

So while the instinct to label Android 14 as a ho-hum underachiever is understandable, framing this as a moment in which Google isn't doing much to move the Android experience forward misses one major point  a point that's important to ponder if you care at all about understanding this platform and how it actually fits into this wide, wild mobile-tech ecosystem of ours.

[Get unmatched Googley insight in your inbox with my Android Intelligence newsletter. Three new things to know and try every Friday!]

It's a point that folks on the Apple side of the divide love to gloss over. But doing so paints a misleading and woefully inaccurate picture of what actually happens here in the land o' Android.

The easily overlooked Android 14 asterisks

We'll get to that major point in a second, but before we do, we need to speed-skate our way through two other Android-14-related asterisks we'd be remiss not to mention as a part of this conversation.

First, it's always worth emphasizing: What we're seeing in the early beta of a new Android version is rarely the full story. Particularly with Google's current development cycle, El Googenschplort's almost always got something still up its sleeve and saved for a splashy debut at or around its grand Google I/O showcase in May.

If nothing else, we know Android 14 will be the foundation for an entirely new type of tech-type product via the upcoming Pixel Tablet. So, y'know: Stay tuned...and all of that.

Asterisk two is that oftentimes, it's the under-the-hood stuff in a new Android version that's ultimately the most consequential  even if it isn't the most immediately electrifying piece of the puzzle. That's where the critical enhancements in areas like privacy, security, and performance appear, and while those tend to be far less tangible than the fancy front-facing stuff, you'd better believe they matter.

In reality, in fact, those elements are generally more important than the surface-level changes and convenience-boosting feature additions  particularly when it comes to professional use.

But those asterisks aside, here's what you really have to remember: We've reached a point where the smaller updates to system-like components across Android are often much more interesting and meaningful than the big honkin' OS updates, at least from a purely experience-based perspective.

And that leads us to the real overlooked realization with all of this: On Android, those sorts of system-like updates show up all the time  year round  by way of individual app updates in the Play Store.

That's where Android is decidedly different from that other mobile operating system and where all the comparisons and new version assessments always fall flat.

Android 14 and the full Android upgrade reality

Consider just some of the following system-app-centric improvements we've seen on Android in the past few months  since the start of the year. Take a deep breath:

The stock Android Messages app gained end-to-end encryption for group chats involving up to 100 people

Messages also received the ability to react to any message with any emoji  not just the small handful of choices you're initially shown by default

Google Keep, the default notes app for Android, got a snazzy new single-note widget along with the ability to display multiple notes side by side on tablets and folding devices

Gmail started being able to show you specific package tracking info related to an email right in your main inbox view

Gmail also gained a new two-pane view for more efficient use on tablets and foldables

The default Chrome browser got upgraded with a switch to protect your private incognito tabs and require biometric authentication before returning to 'em

Chrome also just got an under-the-hood update that supposedly makes it 30% faster on certain Android devices

Google launched an update to its Android Nearby Share system that lets you wirelessly beam files back and forth between an Android device and any Windows computer

The Google One service saw a hefty update that brought a built-in VPN and dark web privacy breach monitoring service to anyone with any paid storage plan

Photos' fantastic Magic Eraser feature for easily removing elements from images expanded to all Pixel phones as well as all Google One users

Google Drive gained the ability to let you mark up any PDF file with drawing and highlighting right from your phone

The stock Gboard keyboard got a hefty interface update that includes easier and more capable customization along with new dedicated emoji keyboard and language switching shortcuts

An update to the default Android Clock app started empowering you to record your own custom alarm sounds

YouTube quietly gained an option to start a collaborative livestream with someone else, using two different phones together

Google Meet gained 360-degree virtual backgrounds for mobile video calls

The Google Home app got a helpful TV control panel for compatible connected televisions

Google Contacts got new widgets along with a feature that highlights upcoming birthdays amongst your favorite human people-persons

Various updates to YouTube Music introduced real-time lyrics, intelligent suggestions for covers and remixes of your favorite songs, a nifty new custom radio creation system, and a system that automatically downloads recently played tracks for effortless offline access

A new cross-platform Health Connect system started to roll out for easy sharing of health and fitness data between different types of apps and devices

Cross-device timer tracking came to all Pixel products

Google's Direct My Call system, which lets you skip through annoying in-call menus, expanded to the midrange Pixel 4a and Pixel 5a phones

Newer Pixels saw an improved version of the already-excellent Night Sight photo-taking system

And at the platform level, an under-the-hood update to a Play-Store-based service introduced a space-saving auto-archiving system that can collapse apps you aren't actively using while keeping 'em readily available for future use

WHEW! And holy moly: If this were iOS, all that stuff would be bundled into a once-yearly major operating system update and getting all sorts of attention. Here on Android, we hardly even notice it or think about how incredible of a collection it adds up to create. (And remember, too, this is looking at only a tiny sliver of the stuff that's rolled out over the past few months  not even going all the way back to the last major Android version update.)

For context, Google's been pulling what were once core operating system elements out of the operating system proper and treating 'em as standalone apps for well over a decade now. That means those elements get updated numerous times a month, all throughout the year, in a way that reaches every single Android device more or less immediately.

But it also means those updates tend to get lost in the shuffle and seen as scattered little scraps instead of as part of a larger, connected story. And yet, a fraction of these same updates would make up an entire Apple iOS release and be touted as a massive leap forward.

The OS update itself is only half the story

No exaggeration: If you look at the list of features in Apple's latest iOS update, the vast majority of the items there revolve around these very same types of updates  updates to core system components for photos, messages, email, on-screen typing, health and fitness, home control, and notes. It's the same exact sort of stuff, only instead of showing up scattered throughout the year in an easily overlooked a la carte manner, Apple bundles it all together into a heavily hyped annual package.

Google's approach actually presents a pretty significant practical advantage, since the updates to all these pieces often land multiple times a month instead of being collected into annual clusters  but with the way bigger OS updates command the most attention, it also presents a very real problem around perception. Plain and simple, Google doesn't do much to emphasize the fact that we get these sorts of updates constantly on Android while iPhone owners get 'em only once or twice a year. When you stop and think about it, it's really no surprise that so few people see the forest for the trees and realize how it all adds up.

So the next time you find yourself thinking that Android 14 or any other incoming Android update seems underwhelming, remember that the OS update itself is only half the story  more like the foundational groundwork than the full construction. And remember that in actuality, all of us on Android get the equivalent of multiple iOS updates multiple times a year.

That may not create as cohesive or as powerful of a marketing message as what Apple delivers  something Google could absolutely stand to work on  but when it comes to real-world experience, it's arguably a much smarter, more sensible, and more advantageous approach. It's just up to us to put the pieces together and consider the whole they create.

Want even more Googley knowledge? Sign up for my Android Intelligence newsletter to get next-level tips and insight delivered directly to your inbox.
Atlassian is rolling out new generative AI capabilities that will be embedded in the companys entire portfolio of workforce management cloud products and are designed to help both service-based and project-based work teams be more efficient.

The technology, dubbed Atlassian Intelligence, was announced Wednesday and is built on in-house AI models gained through the companys acquisition of Perceptive.ai in 2022, and a collaboration with Microsoft-back OpenAI  the creator of ChatGPT, whose launch last year sparked a virtual AI arms race among top tech companies including Google and Meta.

Through the use of large language models, the foundation of generative AI, Atlassian Intelligence constructs custom teamwork graphs showing the types of work being done and the relationship among them, while the open approach of the Atlassian platform provides additional context and data from the third-party apps teams use, according to the company.

This is really about accelerating teamwork across the different types of products that we have, said Sherif Mansour, product manager at Atlassian.

Atlassian intelligence is a set of capabilities that exists within all our cloud products to address different use cases and scenarios, whilst leveraging the power of artificial intelligence and large language models, he said.

Using generative AI to support teams

Atlassian has outlined multiple ways for Atlassian Intelligence to help support teams, including accelerating work, getting instant help, and building a shared understanding of projects. Atlassian Intelligence can also translate natural language queries into Jira Query Language to find issues across all Jira Cloud products.

To help accelerate work, Atlassian Intelligence uses generative AI technology from OpenAI to create, summarize and extract information from content. For example, decisions and action items can be quickly summarized from meeting minutes, and tweets can be drafted based on information held in Confluence.

While ChatGPTs technology will be used to help Atlassian Intelligence process natural language requests, Sherif stresses that the company has an agreement that no customer data will be stored by the software or OpenAI.

The technology can also provide employees and customers with immediate responses and fast resolutions via the new Jira Service Management virtual agent, which can automate support interactions from within Slack and Microsoft Teams. Atlassian Intelligence also takes on repetitive requests on behalf of support teams, allowing them to focus on more important work.

Virtual agents to resolve work requests

The virtual agent is designed to resolve help requests instantly based on its understanding of knowledge-base articles and can also ask follow-up questions to take any necessary actions. It can also summarize activity on help requests to get assigned agents up to speed, and help craft responses to customers which can also be edited for tone.

In addition, Atlassian Intelligence can surface previously resolved or related issues and recommend relevant articles and related pages to resolve requests and incidents faster.

Atlassian Intelligence also helps to build a shared internal library of knowledge and terms used to describe projects, acronyms, and internal systems. It can provide shared context with an on-demand dictionary specific to your company, your teams, and their work. You can highlight a term and ask Atlassian Intelligence to explain it with the definition, source of information, internal subject matter experts, and how it connects to related work based on the teamwork graph, Atlassian said.

Natural language instead of SQL queries

Atlassian Intelligences understanding of natural language questions also means that users can ask questions and have the technology generate insights using data from multiple sources in Atlassian Analytics  a hub to analyze and visualize data across Atlassian products and connected third-party tools  without needing to know how to write SQL.

Since launching to the public, large language models like ChatGPT have faced criticism for providing incorrect or sometimes even defamatory information in response to requests from users, an issue Mansour is sympathetic with but not one that he thinks will be a major issue for businesses looking to leverage the technology.

In the enterprise, it's less of a problem because there's far less fake news, he said. Referencing the internal library offering from Atlassian Intelligence, Mansour acknowledged that while its technically possible for someone to attribute false definitions to terms, its a highly unlikely scenario as theres nothing to be gained from doing so.

Despite this, a key principle for with Atlassian Intelligence is that the user remains in control. Mansour explained that while the technology might help an agent craft a response, that message will only be delivered if the user manually presses the send button.

Furthermore, Mansour said that although Atlassian Intelligence largely adheres to the companys existing privacy policy, Atlassian users will also need to opt into the technology.

The user always has to be in control, he said. The technology should never do anything without the user first confirming it.

Atlassian customers can sign up to Atlassian Intelligences early access waiting list from April 19, although it cannot guarantee specific timing for when users will gain access.
ISRO set to launch Singapore customer satellite into orbit

The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that final preparations are underway for its scheduled launch of a Singapore customer satellite in an orbit around the planet.

The Indian space agency launched three Singaporean satellites with the PSLVC-53 mission in June 2022. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@NewsIADN

The TeLEOS-2 mission will launch onboard ISRO's workhorse Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) on its 55th mission to date at 2:19 pm IST on April 22.

The Singaporean probe is an Earth Observation Satellite, which has been designed to capture round-the-clock, all-weather satellite imagery. The 750-kilogram satellite, developed by ST Engineering, will provide imagery that could be used for hotspot monitoring and haze management, air crash search and rescue operations, and much more.

The PSLV is a third generation launch vehicle indigenously developed by India as well as the first Indian launch vehicle to be equipped with liquid stages. After its first successful launch in October 1994, the vehicle has launched numerous Indian and foreign customer satellites and Chandrayaan-1 in 2008 and Mars Orbiter Spacecraft in 2013.

Launch preparations for PSLV-C55 are in full swing at Sriharikota with a tentative launch date on 22nd April!



The 1st and 2nd stages have already been integrated and transferred to FLP for integration with 3rd & 4th stages & PLF+payload assembly. #ISRO #PSLVC55 pic.twitter.com/4C9HuNWsjt  ISRO Spaceflight (@ISROSpaceflight) April 11, 2023

PSLV deployed an Earth Observation Satellite (EOS-06) and eight nano-satellites with a lift-off mass of 321 tonnes into orbit in its last mission on November 26, 2022.

The XL variant of PSLV, which will be used during the C-55 mission, has six solid rocket strap-on motors to augment the thrust. The rocket is capable of launching 1,750 kg of payload to Sun-Synchronous Polar Orbits at 600 km altitude and 1,425 kg into Geosynchronous and Geostationary orbits.

This is not the first launch of a Singaporean satellite from India. The Indian space agency launched three Singaporean satellites with the PSLVC-53 mission in June 2022. The spacecraft carried the DS-EO satellite, NeuSAR, a 155 kg satellite, and Scoob-1 of Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore.
Mt Annapurna climb: Northern Irish mountaineer Noel Hanna, 10-time Mt Everest summiteer, dies at Camp IV

It is a sad day for Northern Ireland, as one of its most renowned climbers, Noel Hanna, has died on Mt Annapurna in Nepal. Hanna was famous for climbing Mt Everest 10 times. Meanwhile, there was great relief for India yesterday as record-holding climbers Baljeet Kaur and Arjun Vajpai, who had gone missing on Mt Annapurna, were found alive, and climber Piyali Basak made it back to the base camp.

During his career, mountaineer Noel Hanna climbed six of the Seven Summits, the highest peaks on the seven continents. He was also the first Northern Irishman to reach the top of K2, the second-highest mountain in the world. Photo courtesy: noelhanna.com

Kathmandu Post reported today that Noel Hanna died at Camp IV of Annapurna on Monday night. The news outlet said: His body was found lying at Camp IV, according to Yubraj Khatiwada, director at the Department of Tourism. Camp IV was the area from where Baljeet Kaur had gone missing on Monday night while descending from the summit point.

Tributes poured in after Hannas death, with headlines in United Kingdom media describing him as a climbing legend, a man who lived for the mountains, and more.

Hanna, 56, who was from Dromara in County Down, Northern Ireland, died during his descent after scaling the peak. BBC Nepali said, citing local reports, that his body had been airlifted to Kathmandu, the capital of Nepal.

In a tribute profile published today, Belfast Telegraph, a news daily in the capital city of Northern Ireland, cited what Hanna said in a 2016 interview: There are gambles to climbing, but I think it is just the buzz of being up there and pushing your body to the extremes which drives you to do it.

The Belfast Telegraph reported: During his climbing career, he climbed six of the Seven Summits  the highest peaks on each continent  and has summited Mount Everest a remarkable 10 times, becoming the first person from Northern Ireland to achieve the feat.

In addition, he climbed some of the most difficult and dangerous mountains in the world, becoming the first Northern Irishman to reach the top of K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth and the notoriously treacherous Nanga Parbat.

The famed mountaineers sister Irene Hunter told BBC News NIs Evening Extra that Hanna loved a view and he just loved people. She said that Hanna did not tell his family much about the dangers of this climb, because he didnt want to worry us all. The sister informed the BBC show that her late brothers body would be taken to the place where he began his career in climbing  at Finnis, close to the Mourne Mountains, a granite mountain range in County Down.

Three Indians return to safety

Baljeet Kaur and another record-holding Indian climber, Arjun Vajpai, have been rescued from the higher reaches of Mt Annapurna (8,091 metres high, making it the 10th highest mountain in the world). Another Indian climber, Piyali Basak, returned to the base camp. A fourth climber, Anurag Maloo, was missing till last night.

The Nepal authorities rescued Baljeet Kaur at 7,363 metres with a helicopter mission, using a longline technique (where the person being rescued holds on to a long line dropped from the helicopter), said Pioneer Adventure, her expedition agency.

After the rescue, Kaur was brought to the Annapurna Base Camp and was set to be flown to Kathmandu for a medical examination, said the agency in a press statement.

Arjun Vajpai, who in 2010 became the youngest Indian to climb Mt Everest, was rescued from an area between Camp III and Camp IV of Mt Annapurna. Khatiwada said that Vajpai was injured and that the search was on for Maloo, who went missing while descending from Camp IV on Monday.

For this years spring climbing season, Mt Annapurna saw the first summiting on April 15. Three helicopters each from Heli Everest, Simrik Air, and Kailash Helicopter are in service for rescue operations.

Baljeet Kaur had posted this photo on April 4 while waiting for the Camp III route to open. Picture courtesy: Twitter/@Baljeet11684140

Bad weather had been expected. On April 4, at 1.21pm, Baljeet Kaur had tweeted: Jai Hind. Hi everyone. Hope you all are doing great. We completed the first rotation till Camp 2 on Mount Annapurna yesterday. The route to Camp 3 is not yet open due to bad weather. We need your blessings and support.

Three Sherpas buried in snow on Mt Everest slope

Hanna is the fourth person to have lost his life during this spring season on Everest and Annapurna. Three Sherpa guides buried in snow on Mt Everest were not found and after a point, the search for them was abandoned. They got buried when a huge mass of ice came rushing down the slope.

Imagine Nepal Trek and Expedition, which had mobilised the guides, said on its social media page: With great sadness, we must share the devastating news of the demise of three of our Sherpa brothers, Dawa Tseri Sherpa, Pemba Tenzing Sherpa and Lakpa Rita Sherpa. Our hearts are heavy with grief as we mourn the loss of these brave brothers who dedicated their lives to guiding and supporting climbers. We extend our deepest sympathies and condolences to the families and loved ones.
Sudan violence: MEA tears into Congress attempt to politicise threat to stranded Indians

Indian Minister of External Affairs Dr S Jaishankar has given a stern reply to Karnataka Congress leader and ex-chief minister Siddaramaiah, telling him there are lives at stake; dont do politics, on the situation of 31 Karnataka tribals stuck in violence-rocked Sudan, in the northeastern part of Africa.

A scene of explosion in Sudan. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@Reuters

Though conflicts are common in African nations, the recent violence in Sudan has been particularly intense, with around 200 dead and more than 1,800 injured in just over three days of fighting. Gunfire continued today despite claims of an armistice. In this scenario, given that evacuation attempts could be more dangerous than staying put, the Ministry of External Affairs has advised all Indians in Sudan to stay indoors and ration their supplies.

Yesterday, Congress leader Siddaramaiah, who was chief minister of Karnataka from 2013 to 2018 and is the current Leader of the Opposition in the poll-bound state, urged the Central government to ensure the safe return of 31 people from the states Hakki Pikki tribe who are stuck in Sudan. He soon tweeted again, blaming the government for not doing enough.

He posted: Hakki Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since the last few days & the govt is yet to initiate action to bring them back. @BJP4India govt should immediately open diplomatic discussions & reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of Hakki Pikkis.

The remark comes against the backdrop of Karnataka Assembly elections taking place in May, when the opposition Congress fights the ruling BJP.

Reacting to Siddaramaiahs attempt to make the situation of Indians in Sudan a state-level issue, Jaishankar posted: Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; dont do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan.

To this, Siddaramaiah shot back: Since you are the External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar, I have appealed you for help. If you are busy getting appalled, please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back.

Twitterati were divided over the spat. While some felt that Jaishankar was incorrect to describe this appeal as doing politics, others felt that such an appeal from Siddaramaiah could have been made in private, if it was really concern for the people and not for election advantage.

Siddaramaiah and S Jaishankar. Photo courtesy: Twitter/@siddamaiah and @DrSJaishankar

One user named Peacefully Political tweeted to Siddaramaiah: Being a senior leader, you surely had a 1000 other ways to appeal to the minister but of course given that elections are a few weeks away, you chose to do it through social media. Says a lot about the extent of desperation in the party and the maturity within.

What is happening in Sudan?

The African nation is seeing a violent power struggle, as General Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, commander of the armed forces, fights General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, leader of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces, for control over the country.

Figures of the dead and the injured were released yesterday by the United Nations special representative for Sudan. The news agency Agence France-Presse gave a higher number, reporting that fighting continued on the fourth day of the armistice.

One of the latest reports from the news agency Reuters said that African leaders  William Ruto (Kenya), Salva Kiir (South Sudan), and Ismail Omar Guele (Djibouti)  would arrive in the conflict-hit region soon for a mediation attempt.

Looting and killing are widespread, despite international calls urging both sides to back down. Citizens and expatriate residents alike are in grave danger from the fighting, especially if they venture out.
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More random talk-show call-ins followed, with Sheen calling his hit show a pukefest while labeling Lorre  checks the list  a clown, a loser, an AA Nazi, a blatant hypocrite, and a turd. Oh, and Sheen also challenged his boss to a cage match.

Most human resources departments will tell you thats enough to get a guy fired. And sure enough, CBS quickly axed Sheen, telling his lawyers that the star was engaged in dangerously self-destructive conduct and appears to be very ill.

Sheen took his firing well, releasing a statement that proclaimed, It is a big day of gladness at the Sober Valley Lodge because now I can take all of the bazillions, never have to look at whatshiscock again and I never have to put on those silly shirts for as long as this warlock exists in the terrestrial dimension.

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Whatshiscock  make that, Lorre  got the last laugh on Two and a Half Men by killing Sheens character Charlie Harper in the television dimension. Twice. The first time, Harper dies offscreen in a freak accident so Ashton Kutcher can replace Sheen. Then in the series final episode, Lorre reveals that Harper was alive all along, held captive in stalker Roses basement. He escapes long enough for a Sheen body double to get flattened by a falling piano. The camera pans to Lorre in a directors chair, who turns to us to deliver a smug final line: Winning. Were guessing if the series would have lasted another season, Lorre would have murdered Sheen a third time.

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Years after the fact, a more sober Sheen regretted the way he navigated the whole debacle. There was 55 different ways for me to handle that situation, he said, and I chose number 56.
Richard Pryor would have some serious words for Marie Antoinette.

Much like Antoinette, journalism pioneer Dorothy Fuldheim, deemed the First Lady of Television News, didnt actually say Let Them Eat Cake" when discussing the condition of the American poor with Pryor  however, Fuldheims blunt rejection of the realities of poverty on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson in June, 1978 prompted a response from the comic legend that was sharper than the blade of any guillotine.

A video clip of the back-and-forth between Pryor and Fuldheim has gone viral on TikTok as Gen Z discovers the cutting and clear comedic voice long known to oldheads as the greatest comic to ever take down a 85-year-old, out-of-touch white lady on Carson. Jerry Seinfeld once called Pryor the Picasso of our profession, and Pryors polite, playful and deftly pointed response to Fuldheims insistence that nobody in 1978 America was starving and no one had to sleep on the streets shows all the skill of a master artist. Tell them, Pryor replied.
The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has issued an alert to critical national infrastructure (CNI) organisations warning of an emerging threat from state-aligned groups, particularly those sympathetic to Russias invasion of Ukraine. The alert states that newly emerged groups could launch destructive and disruptive attacks with less predictable consequences than those of traditional cybercriminals, with CNI organisations strongly encouraged to follow NCSC advice on steps to take when cyber threat is heightened.

The alert was issued on the first day of the NCSCs CYBERUK conference in Belfast, where experts have gathered to consider topics under the theme of securing an open and resilient digital future. It also comes in the same week as new research that revealed the cost-of -living crisis could trigger a surge in cyberattacks and security issues impacting the UKs CNI sector.

New class of Russian cyber adversary ideologically, rather than financially motivated

Over the past 18 months, a new class of Russian cyber adversary has emerged, the NCSC wrote. These state-aligned groups are often sympathetic to Russias invasion and are ideologically, rather than financially, motivated. Although these groups can align to Russias perceived interests, they are often not subject to formal state control, and so their actions are less constrained and their targeting broader than traditional cybercrime actors. This makes them less predictable, the NCSC said.

While activity of these groups often focuses on DDoS attacks, website defacements, or the spread of misinformation, some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western CNI, including in the UK, according to the NCSC. We expect these groups to look for opportunities to create such an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected. The threat actors may also become more effective over time, so businesses must act now to manage the risk against successful future attacks, the NCSC said.

CNI organisations urged to take sensible, proportionate steps to protect themselves

It has become clear that certain state-aligned groups have the intent to cause damage to CNI organisations, and it is important that the sector is aware of this, said Dr. Marsha Quallo-Wright, NCSC deputy director for CNI. In the wake of this emerging threat, our message to CNI sectors is to take sensible, proportionate steps now to protect themselves.

The NCSC recommends that organisations implement measures described in actions to take when the cyberthreat is heightened, particularly the NCSC advice on secure system administration. Larger organisations could benefit from using the Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) to help them identify areas for improvement.

As if the security risks posed to UK CNI arent already significant enough, a new report has revealed the potential CNI security implications of economic hardship including insider threats, social engineering attacks, and reduced cyber budgets. The Cyber Security in Critical National Infrastructure Organisations: 2023 report found that over a third (34%) of organisations across UK CNI anticipate a rise in cybercrime as a direct result of the current economic crisis, with almost two-thirds (65%) of respondents having seen some reduction or a significant reduction in their organisations cybersecurity budget this year.
NEW BRITAIN  A former fire lieutenant is trying to get his job back after city officials say he was terminated because text messages revealed he sold drugs at a local firehouse to a member of the department who died two months later of a suspected overdose.

Former New Britain fire Lt. Michael Yagmin, who was interviewed as part of a broad administrative investigation into allegations that more than a half-dozen firefighters were using drugs, including some while on duty, is in arbitration with the city, Mayor Erin Stewarts spokesperson Rachel Zaniewski said. A hearing is scheduled for June, she said.

According to his termination letter, Yagmin was fired in February after an internal investigation revealed he lied about selling heroin or fentanyl to firefighter Matthew Dizney, who died Jan. 26 at his Southington home of what Stewart called a suspected overdose. The states medical examiner said Dizneys cause of death is pending further studies.

Yagmin is also believed to have sold Dizney prescription drugs, according to the termination letter.

New Britain police conducted a criminal investigation into the alleged drug activity among city firefighters, but Stewart said she was told there was not enough evidence for an arrest.

New Britain police have not responded to requests for comment. The department has also not responded to Hearst Connecticut Media Groups request for the documents related to the criminal investigation.

Yagmin declined to comment when reached last week.

According to his termination letter, Yagmin was fired Feb. 18 for commission of a criminal or immoral act, conduct unbecoming of a city employee and untruthfulness under the Garrity Act during hearings. Under Garrity, an incriminating statement may not be used in a criminal proceeding against an employee threatened with termination.

The letter states that Yagmin was asked about apparent discrepancies in the statements he made to investigators and the text messages to and from Dizney. Yagmin denied to investigators that he arranged for a drug transaction or used illegal drugs at any fire station, the termination letter stated. But the text messages referred to Yagmin getting Dizney pills, a stack or a bun  street slang police said is used to describe quantities of heroin or fentanyl, according to the letter.

Yagmin said he didnt know what stack or bun meant, and said his texts were referring to marijuana, which he claimed to have legally obtained in Massachusetts, the letter stated.

In the letter, Stewart noted the contradiction and pointed out that firefighters are not allowed to use recreational marijuana.

Stewart wrote that despite his denials, Yagmin conducted a drug transaction at Station 7 on Nov. 17, 2021 and is believed to have planned a drug transaction at the same firehouse with Dizney on Dec. 22, 2021.

It is clear that you scheduled, arranged and conducted a drug transaction at (Station 7) on Nov. 17, 2021, the mayor wrote in the letter. You were knowingly supplying, giving, selling, sharing and using illegal drugs and your prescription Adderall pills with a private in the fire department and delivered drugs to Private Dizney while Private Dizney was on duty.

The Southington police probe of Dizneys death triggered the New Britain internal investigation of drug use among city firefighters, Stewart said. The investigation led to Yagmins firing and the demotion and suspension of seven others, all of whom had been promoted to lieutenant or driver, Stewart said.

The administrative investigation found that nine New Britain firefighters consumed drugs, including Adderall, marijuana, cocaine and possibly either heroin or fentanyl. Three of the employees, Yagmin, Dizney and one other unnamed firefighter are believed to have consumed drugs while on duty, Stewart said.

Stewart, who released the results of the internal investigation last week, said more than nine firefighters may have used drugs. She said as rumors about the internal investigation spread, a number of firefighters retired.

Fire Chief Raul Ortiz, Assistant Chief Peter Towey and staff from the Human Resources and corporation counsels offices conducted the administrative investigation.

As a result of the probe, two lieutenants and five drivers were demoted to private, which is the lowest rank, suspended for 30 days without pay and placed on probation for three years during which they are subject to random drug testing  something Stewart said she has been pushing for years to be included in the union contract for all firefighters.

The disciplined firefighters avoided termination by admitting somewhat of their truth when they were interviewed during the investigation, Stewart said. Yagmin, however, lied when he was interviewed, Stewart said.

Your actions and failure to acknowledge and be truthful with the city and yourself indicate that you are a safety risk to the fire department and the public it serves, which impacts the efficiency and operation of the department. For you and the union to state that you did not knowingly participate in illegal drug activity is irresponsible, Stewart wrote in the termination letter.

From a public policy standpoint, I cannot allow an employee of the fire department let alone a lieutenant to continue in employment when there is sufficient cause to believe that he is involved in illegal drug activity.
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NEW MILFORD  Rhyan Cudney says she's always been a hands-on worker.

It's why the Schaghticoke Middle School eighth grader says interactive learning opportunities like those at the Agriscience program at Shepaug Valley School in Washington appeal to her learning style.

I dont really like to be told Heres a packet of what you have to do," Rhyan said. "I like to be able to do it myself, not just be showed how to do it It gives me a better understanding of what Im learning.

She ranked in the top 10 scores for New Milford students who applied to the Agriscience program, which invites students from several local school districts to explore the STEM fields through courses on plant systems, food science, animal science, and power, structural and technical systems.

But there was a catch: she had been waitlisted, as had a handful of students who also excelled in their applications.

I had to explain to her what that meant, said Nina Cudney, her mother. I didnt know waitlisting was an option. Nobody ever told us I thought it was Do you get in and is there space?

Parents are urging New Milford to add money to the education budget so that more students could potentially attend the program, but the school board chair says sending more kids won't be possible.

Its not feasible at the current time given contractual limitations with Shepaug and the timing of New Milfords budget process, said Pete Helmus, school board chair.

New Milford schools has an agreement with Region 12 schools for 28 seats in the Agriscience program, Superintendent Janet Parlato said. This means the district budgets for seven high school students per grade to attend the program.

We have always had a cap of students who can attend Agriscience since it is a piece of our budgetary concerns, Parlato said.

The tuition cost per student is $6,823 per year, while a bus costs between $50,000 and $70,000 a year, according to school board meeting minutes.

'A good fit'

Open to students from Bethel, Brookfield, Danbury, New Fairfield, New Milford, Newtown, Sherman and Region  which encompasses the towns of Washington, Roxbury and Bridgewater  the state-funded Agriscience program incorporates the fields of science, technology, engineering and math into four different educational pathways, according to its website.

Parlato said students previously attended the Agriscience program at Nonnewaug High School in Woodbury, but began attending the nearby school in Washington after it opened.

Parlato said the district has increased the number of seats from 20 seats to 28 seats in the last few years.

Students apply to the program in the fall of their eighth grade year and are required to submit their transcript, a personal essay and three letters of recommendation.

Of the 27 New Milford students who applied this year, 11 students scored perfectly in their interview and an additional six scored very well and made it into the program, mother Megan Byrd said.

Byrd said she visited an Open House for the program last spring with her husband Chris and her daughter Heather, who she said fell in love with the program.

Heather Byrd, an eighth grader, said she was interested in many of the subjects taught at the Agriscience program.

There are no high schools in this area that have animal courses, she said. Theres also nothing for cooking classes  we dont have Home Ec anymore in our school system.

Cudney said her family attended an Open House for the program in November and were impressed by the hands-on classes, small class sizes and opportunities available to students.

Its just so high level agriculture that you cant get at a traditional high school, she said. The small class sizes will have a massive impact on Rhyan and the way that she learns High school is very different than middle school, so to be able to get her in a program where shes actually interested in the academics will be huge for her.

A few local families have said the Agriscience programs smaller class sizes appealed to their children  particularly those who struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. Mother Emily Lee said her children struggled after returning to in-person learning, and her daughter Anika, an eighth grader, frustrated by her classmates disruptive behavior, wanted to try the smaller class sizes at Shepaug.

Really it just seems like a way for her to get into in-depth studies that shes more interested in, Lee said. She thought it would be a good fit for her. I thought it would be good for her to get a head start on the field shes interested in.

'At the mercy of New Milfords budget'

Parents begged the Board of Finance to add $150,000 to the school budget to accommodate 10 additional students tuition and transportation to the program. But the finance board, unsure of how many students the school would want to send to the program, declined.

Youre literally talking about a matter of $150,000 in a $71 million budget, Cudney said. Were not asking for millions.

Byrd said the district could look into grants to cover the additional costs, but admitted "it would be difficult to find those in that short period of time. A bill before the state legislature would also cover the tuition for all Agriscience students, so, if approved, the district would only need to find funding for one more year, she said.

Were at the mercy of New Milford to have our daughter have a high school experience that could shape her entire life and were at the mercy of New Milfords budget, Cudney said.

Lee said she had hoped the school board would find a way to re-appropriate funds for the students who were waitlisted or let the parents raise the funds to cover the difference.

We just want a chance, Lee said. I mean, these are kids who are impacted heavily by COVID and the fact that theyre so excited to go to a program like this is wonderful, and depriving them of that chance because of budget concerns is silly."

As they continue waiting on the waitlist, students have been keeping optimistic about the future.

I feel like, to be honest, if I dont get into Shepaug, its going to be all right, Rhyan said. Ive always been told if you dont get what you want, theres always going to be ways to pursue your dreams Theres always new beginnings everywhere you look and everywhere you go. Theres also places for my learning that New Milford High School has, so Im not worried about it if I end up going there.
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NEW YORK (AP)  Allen Weisselberg, the former chief financial officer at Donald Trump's company, got out of jail Wednesday but might not have freed himself from the legal morass surrounding the former president.

The 75-year-old emerged from New York City's Rikers Island jail complex facing the same pressures he was under three months ago, when he started serving time for tax evasion.

The Manhattan district attorney could potentially want Weisselberg as a witness in its historic criminal case against Trump, which involves a scheme to suppress negative stories about the Republican during his 2016 presidential campaign.

Some people close to Weisselberg have advised him to do what it takes to spare himself more legal peril.

The Trump family, meanwhile, may have an interest in keeping Weisselberg loyal. The Trump Organization is making severance payments to Weisselberg and paying his legal bills.

The former executive's recent decision to switch lawyers, away from the attorneys who represented him in the tax case, has prompted speculation he might be drawing closer to the famous family that employed him for nearly 50 years.

The company has, so far, supported Weisselberg, calling him a victim of a never ending witch-hunt." The lawyer who represented Weisselberg during the trial, Nicholas Gravante, said after his former client's release from jail Wednesday that anyone who truly knows Allen feels sorry that he had to go through this.

I hope he can now retire in peace, spend time with his wonderful family, and leave the circus in the rear view mirror, Gravante said.

With his intimate knowledge of the Trump Organizations financial dealings, Weisselberg would be a valuable witness in Trump's criminal case.

The former president is accused of directing underlings to falsify company business records to disguise payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as reimbursement and reward for his work buying the silence of people with stories about Trump's alleged marital infidelity.

In court filings, prosecutors said Weisselberg advised Cohen how to pay off two women who said they had sexual encounters with Trump, and later arranged for Cohen to be paid $420,000 for that work in 12 installments.

Trump has pleaded not guilty, saying the charges are politically motivated. Trump also says he didn't have affairs with the women.

Weisselberg was not charged in the case.

If prosecutors want Weisselberg's testimony, they could try could issuing him a subpoena, but they would run the risk of his asserting his Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

Prosecutors could also try pressuring him through the threat of criminal charges and a promise of immunity or leniency if he testifies truthfully.

That's what happened last year, when the Manhattan district attorney prosecuted both Weisselberg and the Trump Organization  but not Trump himself  over the company's practice of giving executives untaxed job perks.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty last August to failing to pay taxes on $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including a Manhattan apartment, Mercedes-Benz cars for him and his wife, and his grandchildrens school tuition.

Under his plea deal, Weisselberg was required to testify at the Trump Organization's trial. He did so carefully, laying out the facts of his own involvement in evading taxes but taking care not to implicate Trump, saying his boss was unaware of the scheme.

Weisselberg was guaranteed a five-month sentence, which he began serving in January. He was eligible for release after three months.

During the grand jury investigation that led to Trumps indictment, prosecutors approached Weisselbergs legal team about the possibility of charging Weisselberg with more crimes. Weisselberg is already a defendant in fraud lawsuit brought by New York's attorney general that says he was part of a company scheme to inflate the value of its assets in finance statements.

Around the same time, according to two people familiar with the matter, the Trump Organization asked Weisselberg to switch lawyers.

Trumps son, Eric Trump, who runs the Trump Organizations day-to-day operations, told Weisselberg to dump Gravante after people close to Trump decided his zealous representation of Weisselberg could end up harming the ex president, the people told The Associated Press. Weisselberg was told that if he didnt switch lawyers, he could get stuck paying his own legal bills, according to the people, who were not authorized to speak publicly about sensitive legal matters and did so on condition of anonymity.

A Trump Organization lawyer denied that company pressured Weisselberg to change lawyers.

It appears that someone is trying to feed the public a false narrative because they are unhappy that Weisselberg switched lawyers, said the company lawyer, Susan Necheles, who is also representing Trump in his criminal case. The truth is, Mr. Weisselbergs decision to change lawyers was entirely his own.

Necheles praised Gravante and called him even handed.

Another lawyer involved in Weisselbergs case who was paid by the Trump Organization, Mary Mulligan, also no longer represents him.

Weisselbergs new lawyer, Seth Rosenberg, is a former state and federal prosecutor. He once worked as for the late Manhattan district attorney Robert Morgenthau, whom Trump has praised in recent social media posts, and was chief of the office's Rackets Bureau, which investigates criminal enterprises.

Messages seeking comment were left with Rosenberg and with the Manhattan district attorneys office.

People close to Weisselberg have strongly advised him to consider his own future over Trumps. Theyve highlighted the risks of further charges  going to trial in Manhattan, where many residents and potential jurors dislike Trump, and potentially spending more time behind bars.

As for his immediate future, Weisselberg is planning to get away from New York  at least for a while.

Now a retiree, he's heading to Florida, where he and his wife have a home a few towns over from Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate. There will be happy reunions with children and grandchildren, and dinners out to celebrate his freedom.

Then comes the hard part: figuring out if he gets to keep it.

___

Follow Michael Sisak on Twitter at twitter.com/mikesisak and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/
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CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  Russia and Venezuela reviewed some of their hundreds of bilateral agreements covering the financial, energy, agricultural and other sectors during discussions between their top diplomats and other high-level officials Tuesday in the South American country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil held a joint press conference in Caracas hours after the former arrived in the country in the second stop of a tour of four Latin American nations. Both men vowed continued support for each others country and condemned the economic sanctions Washington has imposed on them.

We fully support the position of our Venezuelan friends, Lavrov said. It is their country ... and we are going to support it in any way so that the Venezuelan economy becomes an independent economy from the pressures of the United States and other western actors.

Lavrovs remarks were translated from Russian to Spanish by a government-provided translator.

Officials reviewed some of the hundreds of agreements between both countries covering the financial, energy, agricultural and other sectors.

Gil and Lavrov, who was expected to also meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, said their countries are developing an alternative to SWIFT, the system that enables global financial transactions but to which key Russian banks lost access last year. Those banks were cut off as part of economic sanctions imposed on Russia at the start of the war in Ukraine last year.

Russia, along with China, is an unconditional ally of the Venezuelan government. Its support has allowed it to circumvent crippling economic sanctions meant to oust Maduro.

A global drop in oil prices last decade and government mismanagement pushed Venezuela into the political, social and economic crisis that has marked the entirety of Maduros presidency. The crisis fueled an opposition movement backed by the U.S. government, which under the Trump administration made forcing Maduro out one of its top foreign policy priorities and used economic sanctions on Venezuelas state-owned energy company to keep the countrys oil  its most valuable resource  out of some Western markets.

The Biden administration has lifted some sanctions and has also signaled it is prepared to provide sanctions relief in exchange for concrete steps by Maduro, such as promising not to ban whatever candidate emerges from opposition primaries later this year.

We have not perceived an easing of sanctions, Gil told reporters.

Relief actions already taken by the U.S. government include allowing oil giant Chevron to resume limited oil production in Venezuela on a six-month trial basis and removing a nephew of First Lady Cilia Flores from a list of sanctioned individuals.

Lavrov began his tour of Latin America on Monday with a stop in Brazil, where the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seeking to simultaneously develop ties with China, Europe and the U.S. while keeping an open door to Russia. During a visit to Dubai, Lula said that Russia and Ukraine share responsibility for the war.

Lavrov will also visit Cuba and Nicaragua this week.

Even before they were united by a fight against economic sanctions, Venezuela had forged a close relationship with Russia and made multi-million-dollar acquisitions of helicopters, fighter planes and Kalashnikov rifles.
CAIRO (AP)  For the last three days, Howeida al-Hassan and her family have been hunkered down in the first floor of her home in the Sudanese capital, sleeping on the floor as sounds of airstrikes and gunfire surround them.

This is the life of millions of Sudanese trapped in their homes since violence suddenly erupted over the weekend between forces loyal to the country's top two generals. Civilian life has come to a standstill as tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters from the military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, battle it out in densely populated residential areas.

For many, food supplies are already dwindling as going out to restock has become too dangerous. So sharing among neighbors has become essential. On social media, posts are appearing giving information on pharmacies and grocery stores that are still open and able to deliver essential goods to those trapped. Others post phone numbers or addresses for their homes, offering to take in anyone caught outside and scrambling for shelter when shooting comes close.

Residents have been desperate for at least a temporary cease-fire so they can stock up on supplies or move to safer areas. Media reported the two sides agreed on a 24-hour halt to fighting Tuesday, but when the reported start of the truce in the evening passed, fighting continued to rage in parts of the city. Nearly 12 million of Sudans 46 million population live in the capital area, where most of the fighting is centered.

The toll from the violence has been difficult to determine, since many bodies are left in the street, unable to be retrieved because of clashes. The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate says at least 144 civilians have been killed and more than 1,400 wounded but that the real number is likely higher. The U.N. has put the toll at more than 185 dead and 1,800 wounded, without providing a breakdown of civilians and combatants.

Al-Hassan, a gynecologist who lives in the al-Fayhaa neighborhood of east Khartoum, said her family avoids approaching windows for fear of being killed or injured in the crossfire. Outside, forces from both sides roam the streets armed with machine guns and automatic weapons, backed by artillery shelling and airstrikes, she said.

They fight each other in the open. Stray bullets and shelling hit homes, she said.

Al-Hassan's family has not had running water or electricity since the violence started and have had to charge their phones in their car to keep up with the latest news.

Al-Hassan ventured to a nearby bakery for bread on Monday. I stood more than three hours in a long queue while the sound of fighting was heard very close, she said. She was eventually able to get her bread.

But she hasn't been able to reach the hospital where she works, though it's only a kilometer (about a half mile) away. She said she gives remote consultations through her phone to women in need. This is not ideal, but its the only option we have, she said.

The fighting is a new blow to Sudan's already faltering economy. Nearly a third of the country's population, almost 16 million people, was in need of humanitarian aid, including some 11.7 million already facing high acute food insecurity, according to the U.N.

Thousands upon thousands of civilians are trapped in their homes, shielding from the fighting, with no electricity, unable to venture out and worried about running out of food, drinking water and medicine, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk.

In another Khartoum district, Farah Abbas said his family was fortunate since they had stocked up on food, including flour, rice, oil and other essentials ahead of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

This is an annual tradition, he said. Every Ramadan, we buy flour, rice, oil and other needs to cover the whole month.

However, the 65-year-old Abbas and his wife have been unable to go to their regular checkups for age-related health complications. He said the streets in his neighborhood of Mamoura are empty, with no one daring to go out amid the sounds of fighting.

There is no respect to our lives, the lives of the people," he said. "Nobody is able go out even to bury bodies littered in the streets. Its very risky.

One of Abbas' sons was killed in 2019 when the military and the RSF  who were allied at the time  stormed a protest camp that pro-democracy activists had been staging outside the main military headquarters in central Khartoum. More than 120 people were killed and dozens of women raped during the attack on the camp  a major blow to the activist movement seeking to bring civilian rule to Sudan.

In 2021, the leaders of the military and the RSF again united in a coup against a transitional government that was supposed to bring civilians to full authority.

Abbas said that over the past two months, there was clear evidence that the two powerful forces were falling out and that war was coming, referring to the statements and counter-statements by the military and the RSF leaders.

It was just a matter of time. All were pushing to this conclusion, he said.
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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. agreed in October to send the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles such as those that Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.

The missiles are the latest contribution from Western allies, who have also pledged tanks, artillery and some types of fighter jets as Ukraine gears up for an expected counteroffensive.

Reznikov thanked the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many missile systems had been delivered or when they arrived.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the systems would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Germanys federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers Wednesday in Berlin.

Germany has also delivered the second of four medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems that it pledged last year, Baerbock said.

Reznikov said he first asked for Patriot systems when visiting the U.S. in August 2021, five months before Russia's full-scale invasion and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. He described possessing the system as a dream but said he was told in the U.S. at the time that it was impossible.

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which requires up to 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Reznikov wrote.

Experts have cautioned that the systems effectiveness is limited and that it may not significantly change the shape of the war, even though it will add to Ukraines arsenal against its bigger enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the U.S. in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per missile, and the launchers cost about $10 million each, analysts say. At such a cost, its not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the smaller, cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

In other developments Wednesday, China denied recent reports that Chinese drones have been found on Ukraine battlefields. China has insisted that it will not help arm Russia, one of its key allies.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Beijing maintains strict control over the export of drones in keeping with international standards preventing them from being used for nonpeaceful purposes.

China, which has repeatedly criticized the U.S. and other countries support for Ukraine as adding fuel to the fire of the war, has an objective and fair stance and seeks peace, the statement said.

Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he recently visited Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraines southern Kherson and easternmost Luhansk provinces.

The purpose of the trip was to meet with the military, whom I did not want to distract for a long time and a long distance from the deployment of the units they command, he said.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were wounded Tuesday and overnight, Ukraines defense ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian airstrike on a border town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraines southern Kherson region, killing one civilian at a market in the center of Kherson, the regions namesake capital, and a nearby school, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired exploding drones at Ukraines southern Odesa region.

___ Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.

___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
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The latest high-profile shooting in the United States happened Tuesday in Bowdoin, Maine, where four people were killed in a home and three others were wounded by gunfire on a busy highway in a neighboring community. An inmate released a few days earlier from a Maine prison was charged with the killings.

The shooting is the 17th mass killing of the year in the U.S. in which four or more people were killed other than the perpetrator, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

Other notable episodes of gun violence in the past year:

DADEVILLE, ALABAMA

Four young people died and 32 others were wounded by gunfire at a girl's Sweet Sixteen birthday party in Dadeville on April 15. Police arrested two teenagers on murder charges.

LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

An employee of the Old National Bank in Louisville killed five people and wounded eight others inside the bank with an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle while livestreaming the attack on April 10. Police fatally shot the gunman.

NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE

Three students and three adults were killed inside The Covenant School in Nashville on March 27. The suspect, a former student, was killed by police.

HALF MOON BAY, CALIFORNIA

A farmworker killed seven people in back-to-back shootings in a case of workplace violence at two Northern California mushroom farms on Jan. 23. A suspect is facing charges.

MONTEREY PARK, CALIFORNIA

A 72-year-old man killed 11 and wounded nine in a shooting at a Lunar New Year dance in Monterey Park on Jan. 21. The suspect later died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA

The manager at a Walmart in Chesapeake killed six and wounded six during an employee meeting on Nov. 22, 2022. Police say the suspect shot himself.

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLORADO

Five people were killed and 17 wounded when a 22-year-old gunman allegedly opened fire with a semiautomatic rifle inside a gay nightclub in Colorado Springs on Nov. 19. The suspect, who was subdued by patrons, is awaiting trial.

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

A 15-year-old boy allegedly killed five people and wounded two more in a shooting in Raleigh on Oct. 13. The suspect eluded officers for hours before he was cornered in a home and arrested.

HIGHLAND PARK, ILLINOIS

Seven people were killed and at least 30 wounded when a gunman on a rooftop opened fire on an Independence Day parade on July 4 in the Chicago suburb of Highland Park. A suspect is awaiting trial.

PHILADELPHIA

Three people died and 11 others were wounded June 4 on a Philadelphia busy block during a melee that began with a fistfight and was followed by random gunfire. Two men are in custody in two of the deaths; other people have also been arrested in connection with the melee.

TULSA, OKLAHOMA

A gunman killed his surgeon and three other people at a medical office June 1. The shooter killed himself as police arrived.

UVALDE, TEXAS

An 18-year-old gunman killed 19 children and two adults at Robb Elementary School on May 24 in the deadliest school shooting in nearly a decade. More than 15 other people were wounded. Law enforcement killed the attacker.

LAGUNA WOODS, CALIFORNIA

One person was killed and five others wounded on May 15 after a man opened fire on Taiwanese parishioners in Southern California. Authorities have said the gunman was motivated by hatred for Taiwan. He has been charged with murder and other counts.

BUFFALO, NEW YORK

A white supremacist opened fire on May 14 at a supermarket in a predominantly Black neighborhood, killing 10 people and wounding others. The shooter pleaded guilty to murder and other charges and was sentenced to life in prison.
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BOWDOIN, Maine (AP)  A man confessed to killing four people, including his parents, and then firing on motorists on a busy interstate highway, just days after being released from prison, police said Wednesday.

Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, called the shootings of four people at a home in Bowdoin and then three more people on Interstate 295 to the south in Yarmouth an attack on the soul of our state that shook neighbors, law enforcement and the state at large.

Its a shock to everybody, he told reporters in Augusta. You want to naturally say, That cant be happening here in Maine. But the reality is these senseless acts can and do happen everywhere.

The seven people shot in Maine were the latest victims of mass shootings in the U.S., whose targets included a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Sweet Sixteen party in a small city in Alabama.

The gunman, Joseph Eaton, 34, had been released April 14 from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he was picked up by his mother after completing a sentence for aggravated assault, police said. That crime was serious enough to prevent him from possessing a gun in Maine. Over the past decade he has been charged with more than a half-dozen crimes.

The shootings began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday, with three bodies discovered in a home and one in a barn, police said. The victims in Bowdoin were identified Wednesday as Joseph Eatons parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, along with their friends, homeowners Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62, police said.

After Joseph Eaton fled the home, a chaotic scene developed on a highway over 20 miles (32 kilometers) away in Yarmouth, where shots were fired at moving vehicles, police said. Joseph Eaton later told police he was firing on cars because he thought he was being followed by law enforcement. Several vehicles were hit by gunfire but the three people injured were a family all in the same car: Sean Halsey, 51; Justin Halsey, 29; and Paige Halsey, 25, police said. Paige Halsey remains in critical condition, police said Wednesday.

Joseph Eaton was found in a wooded area not far from a vehicle believed to be his own, police said. He was taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated and released without injury, police said.

He's due to make an initial court appearance on Thursday.

Maine is a small state and has often been referred to as a single community, and I think Bowdoin epitomizes that. Im heartsick over this tragedy that occurred, and to the people and residences of this community, said Sagadahoc Sheriff Joel Merry.

The day before the shootings, an anguished man believed to be Joseph Eaton posted a roughly two-minute live video on Facebook criticizing people who he said are Christian and don't give people a second chance. What good does it do to hate somebody? he said, choking back tears on the video. You know, it destroys you.

On the day he was released from prison, the man believed to be Joseph Eaton posted on Facebook that he was feeling thankful. Its finally over. There are so many people I cant wait to see."

Moss confirmed that state police were aware of the video, and that its part of their investigation. Joseph Eaton, who was living in Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, she said. Eaton remained jailed and it was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Police declined to release more information about the investigation into the shootings, which they described as ongoing. They declined to speculate on a possible motive or the weapon that was used. The origins and ownership of the firearms used remain unclear.

Betty Fagan, Joseph Eatons grandmother and the mother of victim Cynthia Eaton, said her grandson had been dropped off at a beach and spent the weekend alone after being retrieved from prison. The parents had come back to Maine but were planning to move to Kansas, where theyd lived previously, Fagan said.

She said she doesnt understand what went wrong. I couldnt believe it. I just couldnt believe he would do something like that, Fagan said from her home in Ocala, Florida.

Police declined to comment on Joseph Eatons living arrangements after leaving prison beyond saying his parents were helping him with accommodations. Police also did not comment on whether drugs or mental illness played a role in the killings.

Meanwhile in Bowdoin, Denise Pride, 58, a neighbor, said one of the victims was famous for delivering baked goods to neighbors on holidays. They were very kind people, Pride said. The neighbors were texting, shocked that it happened, and to them.

A relative to the family shot on the highway, Ian Halsey of Bowdoinham, said that two of his cousins were shot and that his uncle suffered shrapnel injuries. None of the family knew the shooter, he said.

They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time, he said of his family. Its horrible what happened.

___

Sharp reported from Portland. Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.
Expanding access to quality, affordable health care is central to the quest for racial justice, which is one of many reasons I stand in strong opposition to proposed legislation that would create government-assisted suicide in Connecticut.

Our public policies should focus on improving access to quality, affordable health care  creating more quality care for people with disabilities and improve end-of-life care for the terminally ill.

Today, the poor, vulnerable and disabled are falling prey to legalized assisted suicide in places where it is legal. Poverty takes away autonomy, choice and self-determination. Disabled citizens, whether they suffer from mental or physical challenges, are particularly at risk to intimidation or suggestion.

We also know that year after year health care costs are driving people into poverty. So if health care costs are driving people to poverty, and poverty is a leading indicator for those seeking assisted suicide, those who are already sick and poor will necessarily be most impacted by the creation of government-assisted suicide.

Additionally, the role of insurance companies in medical decision-making creates an environment where assisted suicide will be abused. In states and Canada where assisted suicide is legal, weve seen too many examples of big insurance companies denying patients treatment like chemotherapy and organ transplants and instead offering assisted suicide.

Assisted suicide does not offer more choice to patients  it takes choices away. The debate over assisted suicide is not a matter of allowing people to make decisions about their own bodies. The decision to take life-sustaining treatment is and should always be up to the individual, not in the hands of the government or insurance companies.

By creating assisted suicide in Connecticut, we are taking away bodily autonomy and forfeiting it to government and corporate interests, further exposing our most vulnerable residents: the poor, elderly, and disabled to abuse by a system that has already failed them.

In Connecticut, 10.1 percent of our residents fall below the poverty line. Nearly 15 percent of Black residents, who make up 10.5 percent of the states population, fall below the poverty line and nearly 20 percent of Hispanic residents fall below the poverty line. Any change in policy that has already proven to disproportionately impact the poor will necessarily have a greater impact on Connecticuts Black and Hispanic residents.

We cannot accept life and death decisions at the hands of government and corporate interests that leave us exposed and more susceptible to abuses in the system.

We cannot fall for the same tired arguments that have already yielded deadly and inequitable outcomes. We need policies that address access to quality health care, safe and healthy housing, and economic opportunity.

State Rep. Trenee McGee is serving her first full-term representing West Haven.
Connecticut residents got a glimpse of summer weather last week as temperatures climbed to a record high in parts of the state. For some, that meant it was time to open or install their pool.

According to its most recent State Building Code, Connecticut requires that in-ground and above-ground pools, spas and hot tubs contain water over 24 inches deep and have fewer than 5,000 gallons. For those considering installing a pool for cooling off in the summer, here are some basics you need to know.

Do you need a permit for a pool in CT?

The state of Connecticut requires pool owners to obtain a permit if they want to construct, enlarge, alter, repair, move or demolish a pool or spa, according to the 2022 Connecticut State Building Code. Residents with prefabricated swimming pools, on the other hand, do not need a permit and can continue to use it in its original design. They also do not need a permit to replaster or resurface an existing pool.

Applicants should fill out the form provided by the town and send it to the code official. The application involves paying permit fees and including construction documents that have drawings of the boundaries of the property, any structure on the property and the pool's location. These documents must also detail information about the pool alarm, pool ladder and pool barriers.

Once the application and construction documents are approved, the code official would then inspect the site and conduct tests. If the site complies with Connecticuts code, the permit holder would receive a notice of approval.

Do I need a fence around my pool in CT?

Owners of in-ground and above-ground pools, or spas are required to construct a fence. The enclosure must be greater than four feet high and its openings must be smaller than a four-inch sphere.

The gap between the bottom of the fence and the ground must be less than two inches. The space between horizontal pieces should be less than 45 inches and spacing between vertical or diagonal members should be less than 1.75 inches. The fencing cant have any protrusions and must be a solid barrier, meaning a stone wall doesnt qualify as a fence. Pools must also have an access gate with self-latching devices and pool alarms.

However, a pool with a powered automatic cover that complies with ASTM F1346 standards does not need a fence. Connecticut adopted these new regulations from the 2021 International Swimming Pool Spa Code on Oct. 1, 2022, along with many other standards.

What are the regulations for pool decks?

Pool decks must be slip resistant and the open gap between decks and the adjoining walkaways should be less than 0.75 inches. For wood decks, the gaps between the deck boards should be consistent with approved engineering methods for the type of wood used, according to the 2021 International Swimming Pool Spa Code.

Step risers for decks of residential pools and spas shouldnt be taller than 7.5 inches and the tread distance from front to back should be greater than 10 inches.

Sothebys International Realty / Contributed photo

How close to the property can I build my pool in CT?

To file a permit application, it is essential that owners know their property line, which they can find on a property plat. The rules around distance from the property line apply to both pool equipment and the structure, and the regulations vary by town.

For example, in Norwalk, the pool wall should be greater than six feet from the rear or side property line or more than 10 feet from the street property line. In Bristol, a swimming pool must be aligned with the back of the house and located more than five feet away from the property line. Waterbury requires that residents install their pools at least ten feet away from the house.

Am I allowed to put the pool in my front yard?

Many towns in Connecticut require that residents place swimming pools in their backyards, as required by the Basic Building Code of the State of Connecticut.

In West Hartford, for example, swimming pools, pumps, filters and pool-water disinfection equipment installations should be located more than 10 feet away from any side or rear property line or building line.

What are some regulations for above-ground pools?

Above and in-ground pools share pretty much the same barrier, property and permit requirements. Pools must have a means of entry and exit and must have a ladder or ladder/staircase combo, according to the 2021 International Swimming Pool Spa Code. Ladders must have a physical barrier to prevent children from swimming through the riser openings and behind the ladder, and it must have two handrails.

Owners of above-ground also need to install safety signs such as no diving signs that are provided by the pool manufacturer and should place them in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions. Owners also should place their cantilevered decks less than one inch higher than the top of the pool wall and non-cantilevered decks should be placed at the same height as the pool wall.
All of Connecticut is once again at heightened risk of brush fires on Wednesday, with cool but dry and breezy weather expected throughout the day.

Each of Connecticut's eight counties registered as "high" risk of fire, according to the daily forest fire danger report issued by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. On Tuesday, the risk was considered high for most of the state, while Litchfield County and northern parts of Fairfield County in the state's northwest were considered to be at "moderate" risk of brush fire.

Federal officials with the National Weather Service have not issued any fire weather alerts or warnings for Connecticut on Wednesday. But the agency did issue a red flag warning for northeastern parts of New Jersey. The warnings are issued when low humidity, wind and dried out fuels combine to present a ripe opportunity for fires to quickly get out of hand if they ignite.

The weather service issued red flag warnings for all of Connecticut on Tuesday and Wednesday last week, amid dry and windy weather.

Wednesday will be cool, with temperatures reaching the upper 50s and low 60s with a mix of sun and clouds throughout the day. It will be breezy, with gusts reaching up to around 20 mph.

Thursday could see a slight chance of showers in the morning, with highs in the 60s. Friday will be sunny, with highs near 80.

The higher risk of fire is common for this time of year, when the lack of snow and green vegetation allow light materials like dead grass and twigs to quickly dry out. When fires ignite, they can quickly cover a large area, presenting a challenge for firefighters who have to hike in to where ever the fire is burning to put it out.

When the risk of forest fire is high in Connecticut, as it is on Wednesday, local permits homeowners receive to burn brush are no longer valid within 100 feet of grassland or woods, according to DEEP. Fire officials generally ask that people avoid any kind of open burning, including camp fires or using firepits.
Hearst Connecticut Media / Tara

EASTON  A man was seriously injured when he fell off a scooter near the Redding border Tuesday evening, according to local police.

The man is in critical but stable condition at St. Vincent's Medical Center in Bridgeport, Richard Doyle, chief of the Easton Police Department, said. Doyle described the victim as middle-aged and said no one else was hurt.
HARRISONBURG, Va. (AP)  A Civil War reenactor has pleaded guilty to charges that he planted a pipe bomb at a Virginia battlefield in 2017 and wrote letters falsely claiming that antifa protesters were to blame.

Prosecutors on Tuesday announced the guilty plea from Gerald Leonard Drake, 63, of Winchester.
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HARTFORD, Conn. (AP)  Connecticut divers have discovered the wreckage of an experimental submarine that was built in 1907 and later scuttled in Long Island Sound.

The Defender, a 92-foot-long (28-meter-long) boat, was found Sunday by a team led by Richard Simon, a commercial diver from Coventry, Connecticut.

Simon said he had been interested in the story of the Defender for years. He spent months going over known sonar and underwater mapping surveys of the bottom of the sound, as well as government documents obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, to identify any anomaly that fit the size of the sub.

A submarine has a very distinct shape, he said. It needs to be 100 feet long and 13 feet in diameter. So I made a list of everything that was that long and there was one target on that list.

Simon then assembled a group of top wreck divers to determine if the Defender was in the location he had identified.

Poor tidal conditions forced them to abandon an attempt last Friday. They returned on Sunday and discovered the Defender lying on the bottom, more than 150 feet (45 meters) beneath the water's surface, off the coast of Old Saybrook.

It was legitimately hiding in plain sight, he said. Its on the charts. Its known about in Long Island Sound, just no one knew what it was.

Simon described the agony of waiting on the deck of his research vessel, staring at a dive buoy in the fog and waiting for his two divers to surface. Once they did and confirmed they had found a sub, the team erupted in pure joy, he said.

Simon said he didn't want to give the exact depth, because he said that could give away the sub's location.

The submarine, originally named the Lake, was built by millionaire Simon Lake and his Bridgeport-based Lake Torpedo Boat Company in hopes of winning a competition for a U.S. Navy contract, according to NavSource Online, a website dedicated to preserving naval history.

It was experimental vessel, with wheels to move along the sea bottom and a door that allowed divers to be released underwater, Simon said.

The company lost that competition and Lake then tried refitting the boat for minesweeping, salvage and rescue work, renaming it the Defender. But he never found a buyer. It was a well-known sub and was even visited by aviator Amelia Earhart in 1929, Simon said.

But the submarine spent many years unused, docked in New London before eventually being abandoned on a mud flat near Old Saybrook. It was scuttled by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in 1946, but the corps never disclosed where, Simon said.

Simon said it was clear when his team found the wreckage that it was indeed the Defender. The length, the size and shape of protrusions on the submarines distinct keel, and the shape and location of diving planes characteristic of Lake-built vessels, all helped identify it, he said.

Simon and his team plan to spend the summer diving on the sub, filming it and taking photographs. He said he and the company he and his wife own, Shoreline Diving, put up the money for the search. He said he hasnt figured out how to monetize the find, but said that wasnt the goal in looking for it.

He has already contacted the Navy to see if it would be interested in helping preserve the wreckage.

The ship has some protections under what is known as the Abandoned Shipwreck Act, a 1988 law that would allow it to be treated as an archaeological or historical site instead of a commercial property to be salvaged, he said..

So, as a wreck diver, I can go visit history; I can touch it; I can experience it, he said. It's just a different connection to history, to the past that we don't have in any other activity.
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NEW YORK (AP)  A federal judge will let House Republicans question a former Manhattan prosecutor about the criminal case against ex-President Donald Trump, ruling Wednesday that there is no legal basis to block the Judiciary Committee's subpoena.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil rejected Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's request for a temporary restraining order, finding that committee chair Rep. Jim Jordan, an Ohio Republican, had a valid legislative purpose in issuing the subpoena to former prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.

It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection, Vyskocil wrote in a 25-page opinion. Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition. No one is above the law.

Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, ruled two hours after a hearing in which she peppered lawyers on both sides with questions, asking them to parse thorny issues of sovereignty, separation of powers and Congressional oversight arising from the historic indictment.

Acknowledging the political dogfights surrounding the case, the judge said in her ruling that she does not endorse either sides agenda. She encouraged both sides to speak and reach a mutually agreeable compromise on how Pomerantz's deposition will proceed. Jordan is seeking to question him Thursday morning in Washington.

Todays decision shows that Congress has the ability to conduct oversight and issue subpoenas to people like Mark Pomerantz, and we look forward to his deposition before the Judiciary Committee, Jordans spokesperson, Russell Dye, said in a statement.

Bragg's office appealed the decision to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan and was seeking a stay to halt enforcement of the subpoena.

Pomerantz once oversaw the yearslong Trump investigation but left the job after clashing with Bragg over the direction of the case. He recently wrote a book about his work pursuing Trump and discussed the investigation in interviews on 60 Minutes and other shows.

Bragg, a Democrat, sued Jordan and the Judiciary Committee last week seeking to block the subpoena. His lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, argued that seeking Pomerantzs testimony was part of a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack Bragg and that Congress was invading a state to investigate a local prosecutor when it had no authority to do so.

Boutrous said House Republicans interest in Bragg amounted to Congress jumping in and haranguing the D.A. while the prosecution is ongoing.

The Judiciary Committee started scrutinizing Braggs investigation of the former president in the weeks that preceded his indictment. Jordan sent letters seeking interviews with Bragg and documents before subpoenaing Pomerantz. In her ruling, Vyskocil said she would handle any legal fights that may arise from other subpoenas in the committees investigation of Bragg.

A committee lawyer, Matthew Berry, countered that Congress has legitimate legislative reasons for wanting to question Pomerantz and examine Bragg's prosecution of Trump, citing the office's use of $5,000 in federal funds to pay for Trump-related investigations.

Congress is also considering legislation, offered by Republicans in the wake of Trump's indictment, to change how criminal cases against former presidents unfold, Berry said. One bill would prohibit prosecutors from using federal funds to investigate presidents, and another would require any criminal cases involving a former president be resolved in federal court instead of at the state level.

House Republicans, Berry said, want to protect the sovereignty and autonomy of the presidency, envisioning a scenario where the commander in chief could feel obligated to make certain decisions to avoid having local prosecutors in politically unfavorable jurisdictions charge them with crimes after they leave office.

For those reasons, Berry argued, Congress is immune from judicial intervention, citing the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Vyskocil presided over the hearing in a Manhattan courtroom that offered sweeping, high-level views that of the New York City skyline that Trump helped shape as a real estate developer, the courthouse where he was arraigned April 3, and the federal building where Jordan continued his war on Bragg by convening a hearing Monday on the prosecutors handing of violent crime.

Pomerantz declined comment as he walked out of the hearing holding a stack of papers with his book, People vs. Donald Trump, on top. His lawyer, Ted Wells, said he would accompany Pomerantz if he is made to testify. Neither Pomerantz nor his lawyers spoke during the hearing. But in a court filing, he aligned himself with Bragg's position and maintained he should not be questioned by the committee.

Berry, the committee lawyer, argued that Pomerantz has already shared lots of information with the public about his work on the Trump investigation and the Judiciary Committee has the right to question him about it, too.

I dont think this is either rational or reasonable behavior that somehow the House Judiciary Committee committee ranks below 60 Minutes,'" Berry argued.

Pomerantz can refuse to answer certain questions, citing legal privilege and ethical obligations, and Jordan would rule on those assertions on a case-by-case basis, Berry said, but he shouldn't be exempt from showing up. If Jordan overrules Pomerantz and he still refuses to answer, he could then face a criminal referral to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress, but that wouldn't happen immediately, Berry said.

Trump was indicted last month on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last week.

__

On Twitter, follow Michael Sisak at twitter.com/mikesisak and Larry Neumeister at twitter.com/lneumeister and send confidential tips by visiting https://www.ap.org/tips/
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Republican gubernatorial candidate and current state Attorney General Daniel Cameron said Tuesday that he supports creating a work requirement for some able-bodied Kentucky adults receiving Medicaid health coverage, reigniting a contentious issue from the state's governor's race four years ago.

At a GOP candidates' forum in Paducah, Cameron pledged that if elected governor in November, he'd request federal permission to impose work rules for some Medicaid recipients. He's seeking to install a requirement that has run into resistance from the courts and President Joe Bidens administration.

On day one as your next governor, I will go to the federal government, I will ask for a waiver to make sure that we put a work requirement with those able-bodied recipients, Cameron said. "Medicaid should not be a program that people stay on for the remainder of their life, especially if they can work. It needs to be transitory, so that we can save it for other folks that actually need it.

Medicaid became a flash point during the state's 2019 gubernatorial campaign  won by Democrat Andy Beshear, who is seeking reelection to a second term this year.

After taking office, Beshear rescinded efforts by former Republican Gov. Matt Bevin to set work requirements for some able-bodied adults to receive Medicaid coverage. At the time, Beshear referred to his action as the moral, faith-driven thing to do. Beshear calls health care a basic human right.

Medicaid is a joint federal and state health care program for poor and disabled people. Advocates have said work requirements would become one more hoop for low-income people to jump through, and many could be denied coverage because of technicalities and challenging new paperwork.

The Trump-era plan by Bevin would have required that affected recipients either work, study, volunteer or perform other community engagement activities to qualify for Medicaid. A federal judge blocked the requirements before they took effect, but Bevins administration had appealed. Beshear said his action ended Kentuckys involvement in the litigation.

Beshear said the plan would have stripped coverage for about 100,000 Kentuckians. Bevins administration estimated the work-related changes would have saved taxpayers more than $300 million over five years and said it would have encouraged people to be healthier.

On Tuesday, Cameron didn't provide details about what his proposed waiver would entail, but said that work requirements would improve the state's workforce participation.

Democrats pounced on Camerons remarks in trying to connect him to Bevin, who narrowly lost to Beshear four years ago.

Anna Breedlove, communications director for the Kentucky Democratic Party, said Cameron wanted to "reinstate the Matt Bevin policy to rip healthcare away from close to 100,000 Kentuckians.

Cameron brought up the issue twice during the hourlong forum attended by three other GOP candidates for governor  state Agriculture Commissioner Ryan Quarles, state Auditor Mike Harmon and Somerset Mayor Alan Keck. Former United Nations ambassador Kelly Craft, who is also running, did not attend the event in western Kentucky.

Former Gov. Steve Beshear, the current governor's father, championed the states Medicaid expansion. Hundreds of thousands were added to the Medicaid rolls when Steve Beshear expanded the program to cover able-bodied adults. For many Kentuckians, it was their first time to have health coverage.

Twelve candidates in all are competing for the states Republican nomination for governor in the May 16 primary. The Kentucky campaign is drawing national attention to see if Andy Beshear, who has received consistently high voter approval ratings, can overcome his partys struggles in the GOP-trending state.

Kentucky is among a number of states across the country where efforts to mandate work requirements for Medicaid recipients are underway, including South Dakota and Georgia.

In Arkansas, Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders has said her state will ask the federal government to allow it to require people on its expanded Medicaid program to work.

Unlike the previous requirement, Sanders said, the latest proposal wont cut off coverage to people who dont comply. Instead, it will move them from the private insurance used for Arkansas expansion to the traditional fee-for-service Medicaid program.

A federal judge in 2019 blocked a work requirement for the Arkansas program advocated by Sanders predecessor, former Gov. Asa Hutchinson, who has launched a bid for president in 2024. Bidens administration later rolled back work requirements in Arkansas and several other states. A federal judge last year cleared Georgias plan to partially expand Medicaid with a work requirement.
STILLWATER, Minn. (AP)  The Metropolitan Airports Commission temporarily shut down flight operations for much of Tuesday at the St. Paul Downtown Airport while crews installed flood control barriers to hold back rising water on the Mississippi River.

St. Paul, Stillwater and other Minnesota communities have been busy preparing for major flooding on the Mississippi and St. Croix Rivers, which are swollen with water from one of the snowiest winters on record in the region. Temperatures in the 80s last week accelerated the spring melt.
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WARSAW, Poland (AP)  Sirens wailed, church bells rang and the presidents of Germany, Israel and Poland bowed their heads Wednesday before a memorial to Jewish insurgents who fought a mismatched, desperate battle against Nazi German forces in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Celebrations of the uprising's 80th anniversary honored the hundreds of young Jews who took up arms in the Polish capital in 1943, choosing to fight and die at a time and place not dictated by the Nazis. Most were killed, and none of those who survived the fighting are still alive.

I stand before you today and ask for forgiveness, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the site of the former ghetto.

The appalling crimes that Germans committed here fill me with deep shame. But at the same time it fills me with gratitude and humility that I can take part in this commemoration as the first German head of state ever.

The leaders were joined by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, amid a poignant sense that the responsibility for carrying on the memory of the Holocaust is passing from the witnesses to younger generations.

A 96-year-old Polish Holocaust survivor, Marian Turski, told those gathered that German forces did the unimaginable in annihilating Jews, but that the subsoil of anti-Semitism existing for centuries made it possible for the Germans to kill so many. He warned against indifference in the face of rising hatred and violence in today's world.

Can I be indifferent, can I remain silent, when today the Russian army is attacking our neighbor and seizing its land?" he said.

Steinmeier said the lessons of his countrys aggression offer a message amid the war.

You in Poland, you in Israel, you know from your history that freedom and independence must be fought for and defended, Steinmeier said. But we Germans have also learned the lessons of our history. Never again means that there must be no criminal war of aggression like Russias against Ukraine in Europe.

Jewish and Christian clerics recited prayers and a torch burned from a part of the memorial resembling a Jewish menorah.

A large group held private unofficial observances at other sites across the former ghetto, placing yellow daffodils or wearing small paper daffodils that in recent years has become a symbol of remembering the uprising.

For some it was a boycott of the right-wing government for its policy of portraying the predominant response to the Holocaust as one in which Poles saved Jews. That approach has been a source of tensions with Israel, where many accuse the Polish government of ignoring modern scholarship, which paints a complex picture that also includes many cases of Polish betrayal of Jews.

The Germans invaded Poland in 1939 and the next year set up the ghetto, the largest of many in occupied Poland.

Poland was home to Europes largest prewar Jewish population on the eve of the Holocaust, some 3.5 million Jews, most of whom were murdered. The Polish state preserves sites like the ghetto and the Auschwitz death camp, while also honoring the massive losses inflicted on the entire nation. Some 6 million Polish citizens were killed during the war, about 3 million of them Jews and the others mostly Christian Poles.

Israels President Isaac Herzog mentioned in his remarks the disagreements and pain that still exist between the Jewish and Polish people over their clashing historical narratives, and voiced hope their friendship would advance.

The heroism of the resistance and the rebels and the imperative to remember that terrible chapter of history, when the Jewish people faced complete annihilation, and destruction rained down upon Poland and many other countries, offer a platform for important dialogue between Poland and Israel, Herzog said.

Poland and German have faced tensions of their own, including over Polish demands for reparations for World War II. During Steinmeier's visit, the Polish culture minister presented him with a report on Polish war losses. Poland has been demanding $1.3 trillion. Germany has rejected that idea, saying it paid reparations already after the war.

The Warsaw ghetto initially held some 380,000 Jews who were cramped into tight living spaces, and at its peak housed about half a million people. Disease and starvation were rampant, and bodies often appeared on the streets.

The Jewish resistance movement in the ghetto grew after 265,000 men, women and children were rounded up in the summer of 1942 and killed at the Treblinka death camp. As word of the Nazi genocide spread, those who remained behind no longer believed German promises they would be sent to labor camps.

A small group of rebels began to spread calls for resistance, carrying out isolated acts of sabotage and attacks. Some Jews began defying German orders to report for deportation.

The uprising began when the Nazis entered the ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of the Passover holiday. Three days later, the Nazis set the ghetto ablaze, turning it into a fiery death trap, but the Jewish fighters kept up their struggle for nearly a month before they were vanquished.

Avi Valevski, a professor of psychiatry from Israel whose father, Ryszard Walewski, a doctor who led a group of some 150 warriors in the revolt, visited Warsaw with his wife, describing it as more than an emotional moment.

Valevski, 72, was young when his father became ill and died in 1971. Today he pores through the documentation his father left behind, and is trying to get one of his stories translated into English and published.

Some descendants of survivors feel an inexorable pull back to the land of their parents.

Im a New Yorker but there is something that keeps drawing me back here, said Barbara Jolson Blumenthal, whose parents survived the Warsaw Ghetto after a Pole helped them to escape and hide, while many other members of their families were murdered.

And although such horrible things happened here, I remember my parents saying that they loved it here, that it was so wonderful here, and I walk the streets and I wonder if this is where my family was and where they walked, Blumenthal said.

___

Michal Dyjuk contributed reporting.
NEWTOWN  A Bridgeport man is facing identity theft and larceny charges after police say he used a local elderly womans money to pay for repairs on his vehicle four years ago.

John W. Bratton, 64, was arrested and charged with first-degree identity theft and third-degree larceny on April 13 after a six-month investigation into a complaint about possible financial exploitation of an elderly Newtown woman.

An elderly caseworker filed the complaint with the Newtown police in September, saying that Bratton  who allegedly claimed to be assisting in the womans care  may have misappropriated her money, police said.

Bratton  who allegedly told the caseworker he wrote checks from the womans checking account and paid bills while she was in the hospital  was not on any of the victims financial accounts, according to the warrant for his arrest.

Newtown police said they obtained copies of the victims financial statements from 2018 to 2022 and found a nearly $7,000 credit card charge and $833 check paid to a New York auto body shop for repairs to a 2013 Chrysler 300c in March 2019.

The charge and check receipts were signed with the victims name but the vehicle owner listed on the final invoice was Bratton, according to the arrest warrant.

The general manager of the auto body shop confirmed Bratton was the customer in the shops database, police said.

Upon comparing statements and signature samples provided by the victim to the signature on her drivers license, police said they found the signatures were not similar to those on the receipts for the auto body purchase.

The victim provided a signed written statement to police saying she did not sign or approve the purchase, nor did she give Bratton permission to sign her name for monies used at (the) shop, according to the warrant for Brattons arrest.

Police said she also said that Bratton sometimes took advantage of (her) finances.

A warrant was obtained for Brattons arrest last month after he declined to speak to Newtown police about the incident, police said.

Bratton was held on $25,000 bond before his April 13 arraignment at state Superior Court in Danbury, after which he was released on a promise to appear back in court May 11, according to court records.
Experienced fruit growers offer paid lessons to impart agricultural knowledge

People's Daily Online) 09:52, April 19, 2023

Farmers familiar with cultivating fruit trees are offering paid lessons on short-video platforms to help attract young farmers engage in the business and pass on their knowledge to more fruit growers.

In October 2019, Chen Houwu, an apple grower in Xuzhou, east China's Jiangsu Province, gave his first lesson on pruning apple trees in a live stream. The lesson lasted 74 minutes and each viewer was charged 99 yuan ($14.41) to watch it.

"I shared my experience in growing and managing apple trees that I accumulated over the past nearly 20 years with my viewers during the lessons," said Chen, adding that nearly 16,000 people have paid to watch his lessons on pruning apple trees.

Chen Houwu shares his knowledge in pruning fruit trees. (yangtse.com/courtesy of the interviewee)

Chen has offered classes in six categories, receiving more than 30,000 orders, which makes him the fruit grower whose lessons are most sold on the platform.

"There is no secret to my success. What I've been doing is to constantly improving my skills, and learning new techniques," Chen said.

"Viewers who buy my lessons can watch the videos over and over again," said Chen.

The man said after watching his lessons, several fruit growers are able to grow apples sold at a higher price, thus managing to gain more wealth before others do.

49-year-old Pan Xiaoping, an apple grower from Yan'an, northwest China's Shaanxi Province, runs an apple orchard that covers around 50 mu (3.33 hectares).

He has been offering paid lessons on apple cultivation on a short-video platform for nearly two years.

"I do this because the platform encourages creators to make paid content, and also because many fruit farmers need to systematically learn about orchard management," Pan noted.

Pan Xiaoping shares his knowledge in the cultivation of fruit trees. (yangtse.com/courtesy of the interviewee)

Pan offers lessons in six categories, and his lessons on new methods of planting and pruning of apple trees have been bought by 1,700 viewers.

Pan, who doesn't know how to edit videos, records videos with his cellphone and then hires professionals to edit them.

After finding out that elderly fruit growers not familiar with short videos didn't know how to watch his lessons, Pan invited them to a group chat and provided after-sales services and guidance to them.

"The lessons that I offer have generated about 1 million yuan for me, which accounts for nearly half of my total earnings," said Pan.

"The major force behind the fruit growing business will be young people who are comparatively better educated. I must use more accurate and scientific data to help young growers engage in fruit cultivation in a more professional manner. As long as they earn from apple cultivation, they'll have more enthusiasm for the business," said Pan.

After graduating from college in 2014, a woman surnamed Lyu returned to her hometown to manage nearly 50 mu of a fruit orchard owned by her family in Jinan, east China's Shandong Province.

A woman surnamed Lyu shares her knowledge in the cultivation of fruit trees. (yangtse.com/courtesy of the interviewee)

"I learned about fruit cultivation in college and by applying the knowledge in managing the fruit orchard, I've accumulated some experience in cultivating and managing fruit trees," she said.

The woman opened her account on a short-video platform in 2018. So far, she has released over 1,000 videos on fruit tree management and attracted 420,000 followers.

Lyu charges just 9 yuan for each lesson. She said, "I don't want to charge a higher price because I know farmers don't earn money easily. If the price is too high, they may be less willing to learn."

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
Three weeks ago I had a pleasant evening with one of our local Women's Institute groups, not so far from Bristol.

The WI's Keynsham branch had invited me to give a talk about my long and varied career as a writer. So I stood at a lectern in a room full of women of all ages, who listened appreciatively, laughed in the right places, and asked searching, highly intelligent questions at the end.

It was as enjoyable as the much bigger WI conference and lunch in Bristol I addressed a few years ago: same terrific women, same lively atmosphere, same sense of the good old Women's Institute doing what it's done best for over 100 years.

Which is what exactly?

Campaigning for women's issues, from domestic violence through equal pay, modern slavery and health. Bringing all sorts of women together to talk, create, campaign and (most important) provide sociable companionship for each other in craft groups, coffee mornings and charitable work to name but three.

Petra Wenham (pictured right) from Elmsett, Ipswch. Petra is the first transgender person to appear on the cover of the Woman's Institute magazine. Her wife is Loraine (pictured left)

Sisterhood

The old patronising stereotype of the WI  summed up by the phrase 'Jam and Jerusalem'  referred to the organisation's wartime activity.

Members canned or made jam to feed the population, proudly singing the patriotic hymn Jerusalem  the poem by William Blake set to music by Hubert Parry in 1916  which was also associated with the Suffragettes. A noble history.

If the Women's Institute seemed to represent conservative values, those time-honoured attitudes had nothing at all to do with party politics.

They were deeply rooted in love of family, locality, community and country  and would challenge anything which threatened what they held dear. Britain's biggest organisation for women was, in fact, the sisterhood in action  long before 1960s feminists like me even thought of the term.

To me, the greatest achievement of the WI is summed up in the words of a widow in her 60s I spoke to in Bristol. She explained that after her husband died very suddenly, her life seemed over. The loneliness after 35 years of marriage was crushing.

She was depressed and didn't know where to turn. But then a friend took her along to the local WI and everything changed. She felt she belonged. The WI gave meaning to her life and brought joy to her heart.

I wonder what that lady is thinking now that the WI is split over the inclusion of trans people in what used to be their all-female spaces.

Loraine (pictured right) is pictured with Petra Wenham on their wedding day in 1973. Petra transitioned aged 68 and became the first trans person to feature on the WI's magazine cover

A group of WI members calling themselves Women's Institute Declaration are in revolt over the 107-year-old organisation's recent policy of accepting transgender women. Their petition asks  surely quite reasonably  for members to be able to debate and hold a vote on the issue.

The clash is between the umbrella organisation, the National Federation of Women's Institutes (NFWI), which had formulated the top-down policy, and the supposedly independent local groups who may object to equality rules being forced on them.

They're pointing out that nobody consulted them  and their new petition calls for a pause in admitting new trans members, while allowing current trans members to remain. That last point is very important. These women are not zealots for total exclusion. But they refuse to be told what to think and do.

Some people will agree with former Conservative leader William Hague, who has now attacked those WI members who cannot agree with the mantra 'trans women are women'. He says they have to 'get over that . . . and welcome new people'.

Others might snap back that it's none of his business  and agree with the dissenters who say that the NFWI risks not fulfilling its purpose as a charity to 'advance the education of women and girls' if it cannot properly define what a woman is. After all, that capital letter 'W' in the name should tell us everything we need to know.

Plenty of people who have never had anything to do with the WI may view all this as a storm in a teacup. Others will see the row as yet another example of the insidious spread of woke ideology which is now rife in all our institutions  and I include myself among this category.

For there seems to be no escaping the creep of wokedom. As someone who happens to care about the WI and all the good it does within the community, I was surprised to see a transgender person, Petra Wenham, on the cover of its magazine WI Life in 2021.

Why the virtue signalling, I wondered, when you have thousands of female members who might just love to be a cover girl later in life?

Until then, I had no idea of the extent to which trans rights activism had penetrated the venerable and valuable WI. In fact, a 2017 policy document states that 'anyone who is living as a woman is welcome to join the WI and to participate in any WI activities in the same way as any other woman'.

It says that it is 'unhelpful' (to whom?) to ask if there is a difference between a transgender woman who has undergone gender reassignment surgery and one who has not  and calls it 'very offensive and hurtful' to ask for written evidence about an applicant's legal sex.

Posturing

Another more recent publication insists that including transgender women 'enriches our membership' to ensure that 'we are a place for all women to celebrate who they are'.

That second 2021 NFWI document  called 'Equality, Diversity and Inclusion  Glossary of Terms  lists about 50 separate terms WI members are supposed to know, from 'Bi-gender' to 'Pansexual' to 'Transphobia' to 'White Privilege.' It is all straight from the woke-campus activist's rulebook.

It gives six entries for 'gender' and lists five different sorts of 'discrimination'. An 'ally', for instance, is 'someone who uses their privilege from being part of a dominant group to take action to challenge oppression by supporting and advocating with the oppressed/discriminated against group.

'For example, if you are White and live in a White dominant society, acknowledging White privilege (defined below), educating yourself about racism and speaking up when you see a racist act.'

What on earth has all that tedious, ideological posturing to do with the needs of my sad widow who found safety and friendship in the activities of her local WI?

According to the woke trustees at the top of the NFWI (advised by outside activists, of course) she is now supposed to 'educate herself', listen to St William of Hague and accept that these days there can be no such thing as a women-only space. Should they be surprised if she dares to stand up and shout, 'No'?

Nurturing

Currently the Facebook page run by the magazine WI Life is asking how local groups are 'planning to celebrate Pride month' and suggesting they 'get in touch with your local LGBTQ+ organisations and find out how you can join this June'.

But why on earth should members of the Women's Institute care anything about Pride month (an American import) and its frequently provocative displays of LGBTQ+ activism often in the shape of glitter, rainbows, drag queens, leather-fetishism and other sorts of semi-sexual posturing in the streets?

It might be fun for some, but Pride month  which is clearly important in its own way  has nothing to do with the traditional activities of the WI.

The real pride of the WI goes back generations and was summed up by our late Queen: 'The Women's Institute has been a constant throughout, gathering women together, encouraging them to acquire new skills and nurturing unique talents.'

The organisation has always had the stated aim of supporting democratic values  which is exactly why the current split is happening.

The powers that be in the NFWI should realise you cannot impose the views of what is still a minority (in terms of attitudes among the British public) on the strong women who are its raison d'etre.
Despite being one of the longest serving and highest paid stars at the network, secured with a prized golden handcuffs deal, in my experience Phillip Schofield is also the most reviled.

When I speak to many household name ITV presenters they dont have a good word to say about the bloke who viewers know affectionately as Schofe.

I know, by the way, because I was one of Phils colleagues at ITV Daytime for more than a decade.

He tried to get me taken off air multiple times.

Despite being one of the longest serving and highest paid stars at the network, secured with a prized golden handcuffs deal, in my experience Phillip Schofield (pictured today) is also the most reviled, Dan Wootton says

It started after I wrote a column for the Daily Mail in April 2013 revealing that he was going to pay at least 62,500 from his 1million-plus salary in damages to Lord McAlpine, whose name was visible to viewers on the so-called paedo list he handed to then PM David Cameron in a major gaffe.

The abusive Twitter direct messages I received from Schofield were water off a ducks back for me, but proof to me of how he must treat less powerful colleagues with whom he disagreed.

I eventually quit ITV for good in November 2019. I was no longer prepared to stay silent about his disgraceful behaviour under pressure from the bosses at the broadcaster who, for some reason, have long been supporters of Schofield.

I never understood why, given I was just one of many presenters  including A-listers  who warned them multiple times about Phil.

For some reason, in my experience, ITV bosses always found excuses for the way Schofield treats people, even as they were prepared to throw the likes of fellow ITV Daytime stars Piers Morgan and Jeremy Kyle under the bus.

Phillip Schofield tried to get me taken off air multiple times, Dan Wootton (pictured) claims

Schofields on air coming out as gay on ITV, during a show ironically hosted by Ruth Langsford, who had previously complained about the way Phillip treated her, seemed to deflect the growing criticism.

It did for a time, until the Queuegate scandal, where Phillip appeared to think there was nothing wrong with skipping past members of the public in a 24-hour long line to see the late Queens coffin, exposing his arrogance to furious Brits.

Over the past few years, ITV has become a morally bankrupt organisation that embraces the woke ideology while pursuing a strict form of censorship that doesnt encourage freedom of speech amongst its staff.

But a few brave souls have been prepared to speak out.

It started with Fern Britton, a good woman who was critical to the post-Richard and Judy success of This Morning, but was deemed surplus to requirements.

Then Britains Got Talent judge Amanda Holden bravely put her ITV career on the line to confront Phillip about the way he had treated her, including her belief that he got channel bosses to axe her role as a fill-in for Holly.

Other previous This Morning regulars, including Kim Woodburn, Gemma Collins and Francine Lewis, have all gone on the record about their treatment in the This Morning studio.

And this week ex-Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries rocked ITV with her first column for the Daily Mail revealing her own scary experience with Phillip.

She wrote: On one occasion, I witnessed what appeared to be somewhat intimidating behaviour. Holly was away, and as her stand-in looked down at her script  obviously wanting to see who or what was coming up next  Phillip glared at her and began to jab at her script with his finger. I don't know about her, but he scared me.

No wonder that when Phillip returned to screens for the first time since the conviction of his paedophile brother Timothy Schofield on Monday and spoke about being overwhelmed by kind messages and support from viewers, many ITV stars must have rolled their eyes and swapped more frustrated messages on private WhatsApp groups.

Perhaps tellingly, as far as I know not one ITV presenter or staff member has chosen to publicly support Phillip.

Even though she was off sick with shingles, it felt telling that Holly Willoughby was not by the side of her long-time co-presenter and close friend for such a significant day.

Alison Hammond (pictured earlier this month) has no airs and graces, she doesnt believe that she is above the crew members who she works with, and shes prepared to put in the hard yards on lengthy shoots, says Wootton

Especially given that delightful Holly  a decent woman who is probably the most sought-after female presenter on British TV  had spent the time when Phillip was off publicly disowning his brother forging a fierce partnership with Alison Hammond.

Now Alison is the complete opposite of Schofield.

She is, without any doubt, the most beloved presenter on ITV, adored by executives, producers and fellow presenters alike.

Indeed, she originally turned down her role to host This Morning on Fridays alongside Dermot OLeary because she was so devastated about the brutal and unnecessary axing of the highly popular husband and wife duo (and Phillip critics) Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford.

Alison has no airs and graces, she doesnt believe that she is above the crew members who she works with, and shes prepared to put in the hard yards on lengthy shoots.

Unlike Phil, what you see on screen is exactly what you get with Alison.

Shes spent years slowly working up the ranks at ITV, whose bosses took far too long to realise they had a national treasure on their hands.

They are now faced with a very real predicament: Give Alison the top job or risk losing her to the BBC and Channel 4, who recently signed the host to front the Baftas and Great British Bake Off respectively in two massive deals.

The obvious solution is to politely part ways with Phillip.

Alison could then be paired with Holly Willoughby in a mega partnership bringing the two most popular female presenters on British television together.

Given ITV insists its such a woke company, with diversity drives regularly led by its CEO, the right on ex-Guardian boss Carolyn McCall, surely theyll have no problem with its flagship show being presented by two women? After all, the all-conquering Strictly Come Dancing duo of Claudia Winkleman and Tess Daly have proven it can be a great success.

I understand Holly may be reluctant to take up such a deal, given the pair have always publicly declared when one of them leaves This Morning they will both quit.

But I would urge her to think again; she has worked too hard for too long.

Trust me on this Holly, if the situation were reversed I am pretty sure he would ditch you faster than he could say: 'Whatever happened to my ex-BFF Fern Britton?'
French social media stars will face the wrath of the country's lawmakers - including heavy fines and potential two-year jail terms - if they fail to be fully transparent about digitally enhanced photos and payments for promoting schemes and products.

A widely-supported new bill will make French nationals who earn a living from their social media status legal subjects, meaning they have to be honest with their followers on platforms such as Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok about whether they've been paid for posts.

It takes 2021 guidelines, when France's Financial Authority joined forces with law enforcers to crack down on 'finfluencers' - so-called fake influencers - who financially profit from posts without being fully transparent, a step further.

The latest legislation aims to protect social media users from pursuing cosmetic enhancements with unregulated companies, as well as stop them falling foul of scam financial schemes and poor quality products.

French reality TV star Maeva Ghennam, who has 3.3 million Instagram fans, has been criticised in the past over posts promoting labiaplasty - but hasn't been found to breach the law. New French legislation set to be introduced will force France's social media stars to be fully transparent about deals they make to promote products

Lifestyle influencer Julia Paredes, who has 1million followers, welcomes the new legislation, she told The Sunday Times

French-Swiss model Nabilla Vergara, 31, is a huge star in the French-speaking world and now boasts her own beauty brand and 8.4million followers on Instagram - in 2020 she felt the wrath of increasingly tough French laws and was fined 20,000 (17,600) for promoting a bitcoin scheme

Instagram account Vos stars en realite (literally, 'Your stars in reality'), run by an anonymous blogger known only as Audrey, frequently scrutinises French-speaking influencers, often with millions of followers.T

he blogger has worked with French Parliamentarians to help draft the new private member's bill designed to stop fans of French celebrities, many who reside in Dubai, being misled online.

It's thought the country has around 150,000 influencers making their living from social media. French reality TV star Maeva Ghennam, who has 3.3 million Instagram fans, has been criticised over posts promoting labiaplasty in the past - but hasn't breached laws. In recent weeks, Ghennam has said she won't have any more cosmetic enhancements.

Lifestyle influencer Julia Paredes, who has 1 million followers, welcomes the new legislation.

She told The Sunday Times that she had never actively encouraged her fans to undertake some of the cosmetic procedures she's shared on her post, including lip fillers.

Riches: Last week, it was reported by the Khajeel Times that French influencer Vergara had snapped up a 5 million (4.4 million) penthouse in Dubai Harbour

British-born influencer Jazz Correia, pictured with husband Laurent, was banned from Snapchat over not being explicit about being paid to promote a financial trading service

Influencer and beauty brand owner, Nabilla Vergara, has 8.4million followers on Instagram alone and is said to earn around 190,000 (167,000) each month from her base in Dubai. Last week, it was reported by the Khajeel Times that Vergara had snapped up a 5 million (4.4 million) penthouse in Dubai Harbour.

The French-Swiss model, 31, was amongst the first to feel France's increasingly tough stance on social media regulation, receiving a 20,000 (17,600) fine in 2020 after promoting a bitcoin training company on her Snapchat account. The bitcoin site claimed to offer customers an 80 per cent return on investments, which authorities questioned.

Jazz Correia, born in the UK, was banned from Snapchat in 2021 over not being explicit about being paid to promote a financial trading service.

Correia was left fuming about the sanction, saying she should have been issued with a warning about the lack of transparency before she was banned from the social media platform outright.

The private members' bill could inspire other countries, including the UK, to be tougher on buying behaviour.

The Competition and Market Authority (CMA) currently says 'Everyone involved in creating your content like this on social media must take responsibility to ensure all ads are labelled correctly.'
A woman claims her 'cheating' ex boyfriend literally broke her heart - after she was hospitalized with broken heart syndrome when she discovered he had another girlfriend.

Leslie-Anne Smith, from Leavenworth, Kansas, had suspected her boyfriend of cheating for months before they broke up, and claims she even found other women's underwear at his house.

The 31-year-old was already struggling with the loss of her uncle the month before, who was a father figure to her, when she made the devastating discovery that he was seeing another woman.

The aspiring model was so upset by the double whammy that her pulse and heart rate skyrocketed and she became fearful she might die.

After taking herself to the hospital, puzzled medics struggled to find out what the problem was.

Leslie-Anne Smith, from Leavenworth, Kansas, claims her 'cheating' ex boyfriend literally broke her heart - as she was hospitalised with broken heart syndrome after discovering he had another girlfriend

But after spending a week at the hospital, she says doctors said it was most likely to be broken heart syndrome - also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo syndrome.

The rare condition occurs when a person experiences sudden acute stress that can rapidly weaken the heart muscle, which can be life-threatening.

Since, the real estate leasing consultant has been fitted with a heart monitor and describes how she is now scared to love again.

Leslie-Anne said: 'My uncle passed and he pretty much raised me and then at the same time my ex cheated on me.

'I met my ex on a dating app and I'd seen him on Christian dating sites. I thought we'd have the same morals and values.

'Initially when we started dating [in May 2021] I overheard a conversation when he picked up the phone and said 'Hey baby'.

'I confronted him about it and asked who he was talking to and he said it was what he called his sister.

She had suspected her boyfriend of cheating for months before they broke up last September, claiming to have even found other women's underwear at his house

After taking herself to hospital, puzzled medics struggled to find out what the problem was

After spending a week at the hospital, she says doctors said it was most likely to be broken heart syndrome - also known as stress cardiomyopathy or takotsubo syndrome

'By the end of June he'd said I love you. I thought it was a bit soon, but went with it.

'My ex would leave other girls' things lying around the house.

'Towards the end when I reached my breaking point, they left underwear in his apartment. The least he could have done was clean up.

'I confronted him about it, but he came up with some excuse. He said maybe it got mixed up with the stuff he came in from work with. It was ridiculous. Or that it was his ex's underwear and he was keeping it.

'After that, he directed me to more underwear and jewellery that belonged to other females. He had no remorse whatsoever.

'In September I found out that he had a girlfriend.'

Since, the real estate leasing consultant has been fitted with a heart monitor and describes how she is now scared to love again

Feeling so heartbroken that she feared for her life, Leslie-Anne took herself to hospital where the doctors and nurses soon found something wrong with her heart

Since, the part-time model has now been fitted with a heart monitor and is on medication for high blood pressure, going for regular check-ups with the cardiologist

The 31-year-old was already struggling with the loss of her uncle (left) who was a father figure to her

Feeling so heartbroken that she feared for her life, Leslie-Anne took herself to hospital where the doctors and nurses soon found something wrong with her heart.

Leslie-Anne said: 'When we broke up, it was hard.

'The broken heart syndrome was triggered by the break-up and my uncle's death. Before my uncle died, I didn't see him.

'He helped my mother pay for me to go to school, he would always check on me, I even lived with him for a year.

WHAT IS BROKEN HEART SYNDROME? Some people who experience significant emotional or physical stress, such as bereavement or major surgery, go on to experience a temporary heart problem. The heart muscle becomes suddenly weakened or 'stunned', causing the left ventricle (one of the heart's main chambers) to change shape. It may be caused by a surge of hormones, particularly adrenaline, during a period of stress. The main symptoms are chest pain and breathlessness, similar to those of a heart attack. Always call 999 if you or someone else experiences these. The condition  known medically as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy, or acute stress cardiomyopathy  is more common in women. It's temporary and reversible. It's unusual for it to happen again. Source NHS Advertisement

'It left me devastated. It was an accumulation of these things which were difficult to deal with.

'With broken heart syndrome, it's a mental thing which affects your heart. It puts so much stress on your heart.

'When I went to the hospital, they weren't really able to find out what was wrong with me. They did MRI's and stuff.

'My blood pressure would be up, my pulse would be up. I couldn't sleep. My body was weak.

'The hospital were checking my pulse before I'd go to sleep or eat or anything. I was so scared I might die.

'At the end one of the doctors said it's most likely to be broken heart syndrome considering what I'd been through.'

Since, the part-time model has now been fitted with a heart monitor and is on medication for high blood pressure, going for regular check-ups with the cardiologist.

Leslie-Anne is glad the doctors managed to discover what was wrong, but still worries about opening her heart up to love again in the future.

She said: 'After being diagnosed, I thought at least it's an explanation for something. I was feeling really horrible physically.

'There are people who want to be in relationships with me but I'm scared to be in a relationship with anyone.

'I was holding onto people's memories. I've been keeping it all in and not being able to manage it properly.

'I'd say to anyone else feeling the same to take care of yourself, rather than giving from an empty cup.'
Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, who suffers from chronic pulmonary fibrosis, has cancelled a royal engagement at the last minute due to illness.

The 49-year-old was due to visit Finnmark on Tuesday as part of a collection of engagements to mark her 50th birthday later this year.

Instead, her husband Crown Prince Haakon stepped out solo to open a new primary school and later visited Sami College.

Norway's royal palace shared images from Haakon's visit on the official Instagram account, stating: 'The visit to Kautokeino school is part of the Crown Prince couple's travels around Norway in connection with their 50th birthday. Crown Princess Mette-Marit also came to Finnmark, but had unfortunately fallen ill and was prevented from attending the visits.'

She was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis in October 2018 and has previously said the life-limiting condition causes her to become 'exhausted faster than before'.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit of Norway, who suffers from chronic pulmonary fibrosis, has cancelled a royal engagement at the last minute due to illness (pictured last month in London)

Her husband Crown Prince Haakon stepped out solo to open a new primary school and later he visited Sami College (pictured)

The disease has no known cure, causes breathing problems as scar tissue forms on the lungs, and has forced her to slow down her hectic schedule of royal duties.

According to Royal Central in 2019, Mette-Marit was using medication to aid her in keeping track of the disease.

She reportedly knew about her rare lung disease 'for quite some time', before going public.

'I can decide more about my everyday life and I realise how good it is to me. I can just go for a walk and have more time to read, life has slowed down,' she told an interviewer.

Speaking at the time, she said that she found it difficult to talk about her condition.

'I am well aware of my state of health, but I do not want it to get so much attention from outside, which is one of the reasons why I like my "new little life" so much.'

The Princess spoke of continuing life as normal, at the time of her diagnosis.

The Royal Court released a statement when the Princess was diagnosed, revealing that she is continually being monitored by medical professionals.

A statement from the Royal Court said: 'The Crown Princess has undergone extensive investigations related to her health and an unusual variant of fibrosis has been detected in the lungs, according to the Crown Princess's doctor, Professor Kristian Bjro at the National Hospital.

A number of photographs from the royal's visit to Kautokeino school were shared on Instagram (pictured)

WHAT IS IDIOPATHIC PULMONARY FIBROSIS? Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF) is a condition in which the lungs become scarred and breathing becomes increasingly difficult. It's not clear what causes it, but it usually affects people around 70-75 years of age and is rare in people under 50. Several treatments can help reduce the rate at which IPF gets worse, but there's currently no treatment that can stop or reverse the scarring of the lungs. The symptoms of IPF tend to develop gradually and get slowly worse over time. Symptoms can include: shortness of breath

a persistent dry cough

tiredness

loss of appetite and weight loss

rounded and swollen fingertips (clubbed fingers) There is no cure and it's very difficult to predict how long someone with IPF will survive at the time of diagnosis. Regular monitoring over time can indicate whether it's getting worse quickly or slowly. Source: NHS Advertisement

'It is not yet clear whether the pulmonary disease is linked to a more extensive autoimmune disease process or if there are other causes that underlie the lung changes.'

The princess added: 'Although such a diagnosis in times will limit my life, I'm glad that the disease has been discovered so early.

'My goal is still to work and participate in the official programme as much as possible.'

Crown Princess Mette-Marit was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis, just months after revealing that she was suffering from Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo (BPPV), which can cause a loss of balance, dizziness and nausea.

She took part in a number of royal engagements earlier this year alongside her husband Crown Prince Haakon (pictured in March 2023)

She was diagnosed with chronic pulmonary fibrosis in October 2018 and has previously said the life-limiting condition causes her to become 'exhausted faster than before'

The Royal is a particularly rare case as chronic pulmonary fibrosis typically occurs in people aged between 70-75.

According to the NHS, 'before the availability of treatments like pirfenidone and nintedanib, about half of people with IPF lived at least 3 years from their diagnosis. Around 1 in 5 survived for more than 5 years'.

Crown Princess Mette-Marit married into the Norway royal family in 2001.
Queen Maxima of The Netherlands stepped out to visit the spring festival in Sassenheim on Wednesday.

The royal, 51, looked typically chic in a tan pencil skirt which she paired with stylish knee high leather boots.

The mother-of-three enjoyed a tour of the sixteen floats at the start of the construction of the Flower Parade Bollenstreek.

Maxima completed her sophisticated ensemble with a black polo neck top and she draped a cape coat over her shoulders.

She blonde locks were styled in bouncy curls and her glam makeup enhanced her flawless features.

Queen Maxima of The Netherlands stepped out to visit the spring festival in Sassenheim on Wednesday

The royal got stuck in to help decorated the floats with bulb flowers, such as tulips, hyacinths and daffodils.

During her visit she was treated to a special performance by Theater Teylingen and she met with members of the public.

Maxima's outing today comes after she stunned in a shimmering gold mini dress and sunglasses as she stepped out in Milan yesterday evening.

The Queen looked fierce and fabulous as she put her best foot forward in the fashion capital of Italy to attend a dinner at Palazzo Giureconsulti during her visit to the city.

As she donned the sparkling dress which had Aztec-style gold detailing on the sleeves, paired with stylish gold pumps, she beamed and waved for the camera.

The mother wore her blonde locks in loose curls hanging down her shoulders and shielded her eyes from the rays with a pair of sunglasses.

To accessorise, the Dutch royal opted for chunky gold hoop earrings and a gold clutch bag.

The mother-of-three enjoyed a tour of the sixteen floats at the start of the construction of the Flower Parade Bollenstreek

The royal, 51, looked typically chic in a tan pencil skirt which she paired with stylish knee high leather boots

Maxima completed her sophisticated ensemble with a black polo neck top and she draped a cape coat over her shoulders

During her visit she was treated to a special performance by Theater Teylingen and she met with members of the public

Upon arrival at the Palazzo, Maxima was spotted chatting with the Dutch ambassador, Willem van Ee, and Nicole Uniquole.

The Queen's visit to the city in the north of Italy coincides with the Milan Salone del Mobile 2023, an annual furniture fair.

Her appearance comes as she and her husband, King Willem-Alexander of The Netherlands, confirmed their attendance at King Charles's coronation at Westminster Abbey next month.

Princess Beatrix, the King's mother, and Princess Catharine-Amalia, the heir apparent to the Dutch throne, will attend a reception after the ceremony.

She blonde locks were styled in bouncy curls and her glam makeup enhanced her flawless features

Maxima meet with Julia, a Ukrainian with cancer, during her tour of the Flower Parade preparation areas

The royal got stuck in to help decorated the floats with bulb flowers, such as tulips, hyacinths and daffodils

The royal was treated to a special performance by Theater Teylingen who all dressed in beautiful traditional blue ensembles

Earlier in the day, Queen Maxima was looking just as chic in daywear as she does in her evening outfit as she was pictured strolling around the Italian city in a quirky light coat.

The royal turned heads in a Claes Iversen Pazia jacket which featured cut-out holes as she enjoyed a stroll at Parco della Musica in front of the Bosco Verticale building.

Underneath the coat, she wore a vibrant blue suit which she paired with nude Ferragamo leather heels.

She accessorised her ensemble with a 2,815 gold Begum Khan 'Evil Eye' clutch bag and 723 Cartier sunglasses.

The royal posed for a slew of snaps with Petra Blaisse who is the architect of Parco della Musica, and Stefano Boeri, the designer of Bosco Verticale skyscraper.
The sermon given at Harry and Meghan's wedding 'moved' both the bride and groom and the late Queen Elizabeth, while appearing to 'amuse' other royals, a documentary has claimed.

Episode five of Inside the House of Windsor, titled Heirs and Spares, examines the complicated relationship Prince Harry has had with the royal family growing up as the 'spare', from his time serving in Afghanistan to his decision to step down as a working royal in 2020.

During the hour-long episode, which streams on ITVX on Thursday, Harry's relationship with Meghan Markle is explored, including their wedding day in May 2018.

As footage is played from Bishop Michael Curry's sermon delivered to the guests at St George's Chapel and broadcast to millions of viewers around the world, the voiceover notes that the then-monarch and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex looked 'moved' by his words.

However, as footage cuts to the Princess of Wales and Camilla sharing a quick glance, while Prince William looks like he is stifling a smile, it adds that other royal family members appeared to have a different view of the sermon.

Inside the House of Windsor episode 5, which airs on Thursday evening on ITVX, plays footage from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding, including the sermon delivered by Rev Michael Curry

The voiceover says: 'When Harry and Meghan marry, they throw a different kind of celebration. It's intended to reshape what a royal wedding can be.

'The main event of the service is a black preacher from Chicago, with a reputation not only as an extraordinary orator, but also as a humanitarian.'

The documentary tells how Rev Curry's sermon, which spoke of God and love being intertwined, 'appeared to move' Harry and Meghan and the late Queen.

'It's a contrast with other members of the royal family, who seem amused by it,' the voiceover continues.

The footage cuts to clips of the Princess of Wales and Camilla glancing at each other as they sat next to each other.

The voiceover notes how the royal couple's wedding 'intended to reshape what a royal wedding could be' by inviting Rev Curry to speak

As footage from the sermon is played in the episode, the voiceover notes that some members of the royal family, including the Queen, 'appeared moved' by Rev Curry's message

The episode notes that, in contrast to the Queen's reaction to the sermon, some members of the royal family 'appeared amused'

Another clip is played of King Charles sat with his head down while Prince William, sitting next to him, appears to stifle a laugh.

The documentary notes that, after Meghan married into the royal family, Princes William and Harry decided to halt many of their joint charity ventures and began to take separate paths with their philanthropic work.

'It's as though the faultlines in society are spreading and causing cracks within the royal family,' the voiceover claims.

As the programme follows events within the royal family in chronological order until Prince Harry and Meghan Markle decided to step down as working royals and move to the US in 2020, it notes the difficult decisions the late Queen had to make about her grandson's position in the royal family in the last years of her life.

At the same time, the late monarch also had to deal with accusations of sexual abuse levelled at her son Prince Andrew, another spare, from Virginia Giuffre.

The episode made note of how Prince Andrew's mother battled with her loyalty to her son versus her desire to keep the British monarchy afloat.

It noted how she steered the royal family through crises including Ms Giuffre's civil lawsuit against the Duke of York, which saw him stripped of his royal titles as he settled the case out of court.

Elsewhere it noted how the late monarch and other royals coped with accusations from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, during their explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, that members of the family had asked about how dark Prince Archie's skin would be when he was born.

The claim was made by Meghan and Harry during their tell-all interview amid the Covid pandemic, however they never revealed who had made the alleged comments.

In response, Buckingham Palace issued a response on behalf of all family members including the Queen, which read: 'The whole family is saddened to learn the full extent of how challenging the last few years have been for Harry and Meghan.

'The issues raised, particularly that of race, are concerning. While some recollections may vary, they are taken very seriously and will be addressed by the family privately.

'Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be much loved family members.'
Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his wife Carina Axelsson are expecting a baby boy in May via surrogacy, a royal enthusiast has claimed.

The nephew of Denmark's Queen Margrethe and Greece's Queen Anne-Marie - who married his partner of 19 years in Germany last summer - is even said to have a nursery and nanny at the ready.

According to the Couture and Royals account - which has more than 83,300 followers on Instagram and some 22,000 on Twitter - the royal, 54, had informed castle employees of the news earlier this week.

Official sources have yet to confirm the announcement and MailOnline has reached out to The Royal House in Denmark for comment.

A quote - understood to be on behalf of the pair - said: 'Princess Carina & Prince Gustav are very happy & grateful for this opportunity & thanks everyone involved who has helped to find a legally legal path to follow.

Prince Gustav of Sayn-Wittgenstein-Berleburg and his wife Carina Axelsson are expecting a baby boy in May via surrogacy, a royal enthusiast has claimed. The couple pictured in 2010

'For the sake of the child, please refrain from further questions. Further information will be published in due course.'

The joyful rumours come following two decades of chaos for the couple, who couldn't get married for years due to an inheritance rule set up by Gustav's grandfather Prince Gustav Albrecht, who was a Nazi.

In the 1930s, he set up his will to prevent Gustav from inheriting family property if he marries someone not of Protestant, noble and Aryan descent.

By 1944, he went missing while serving as an officer in the German Army, during a mission near Orsha, Belarus. The soldier was declared MIA and no one sought an official declaration of death until Gustav was born in 1969.

Carina Axelsson, 54 - who is an American author best known for the teen fashion detective series Model Under Cover - has Swedish and Mexican heritage, and hence didn't satisfy the will's agenda.

Last year, on April 27 the Danish court confirmed that Gustav could marry Axelsson on June 4 2022, New My Royals reported.

However, their fight for love was not an easy one.

Gustav's father Prince Richard was able to inherit property because his wife - Princess Benedikte of Denmark - met the strict and controlling criteria.

The joyful rumours come following two decades of chaos for the couple (pictured at their wedding with Crown Prince Frederik and Crown Princess Mary of Denmark) who couldn't get married for years

According to the Couture and Royals account - which has more than 83,300 followers on Instagram and some 22,000 on Twitter - the royal, 54, had informed castle employees of the news earlier this week

And initially it seemed like Gustav's bride would too, as, according to The Court Jeweller, in 2000 he was set to marry Elvire Paste de Rochefort, who came from an aristocratic French family.

But sensationally, the royal wedding was called off just two months before the set date.

By 2003, Gustav was besotted with Carina - and the outlet explained it was thought they would be 'unhappily married every after'.

'Carina moved in to Schloss Berleburg with Gustav, and she often acted as chatelaine of the castle,' the report said.

'She even often appeared with a sparkling ruby and diamond cluster ring on the ring finger of her left hand. But marriage, it seemed, remained out of the question.'

After Prince Richard's death in 2017, Town and Country Magazine said, legal challenges ensued as Gustav's great uncle Prince Ludwig-Ferdinand believed he should get the fortune.

According to the Dorset Echo , in 2019 Carina (pictured in 2020) had been splitting her time between Germany and Purbeck, as she enjoyed the English town as a scenic 'writing bolthole'

In the 2019 interview with the newspaper, Carina had also revealed that she enjoyed literature from a young age. Pictured in 2020

In 2020, German courts decided Gustav met the conditions of the will - and could inherit Berleburg Castle, where he and his wife got married in front of 80 guests.

According to the Dorset Echo, in 2019 Carina had been splitting her time between Germany and Purbeck, as she enjoyed the English town as a scenic 'writing bolthole'.

The author, who grew up in Silicon Valley, California, told the outlet that her own experience with the monarchy inspired her to write the Royal Rebel series, which is about a fictional teenage princess.

'I also wanted to break down this idea that princesses can do and have whatever they want,' she said.

'In fact, as part of a reigning monarchy, life may be privileged but it's very different from what people imagine.'

In the 2019 interview with the newspaper, Carina had also revealed that she enjoyed literature from a young age, especially favouring the works of Beatrix Potter and C.W.Anderson.

She has also worked as a model - including shoots for Vogue, Elle and Armani - which is the career path that initially led her to Europe.

Carina balanced her modelling work in Paris with illustration night classes before beginning her foray into the creative industry, and eventually, book writing.
A couple put their arms around each other and move in close for a heartfelt kiss. She tilts her head and closes her eyes; his are open, looking at her with protective devotion.

They seem happy in each others company, clearly lovers and good friends, comfortable with each other and in their own skins.

So far, so touching. But equally, so what? The red-carpet shot published in the Mail this week is nothing exceptional, surely... save for the fact that he is Keanu Reeves, the 58-year-old film star - and his girlfriend, Alexandra Grant, is not only 50 but has grey hair, too.

Yet shock - even horror - is expressed every time a new picture of the couple emerges.

Shock - even horror - is expressed every time a new picture of Keanu Reeves Alexandra Grant emerges

People cant seem to get over the fact that a heartthrob is dating a mature woman, rather than a lithe young girl with puffy lips and a spookily immobile face. (Grants grey hair always gets a mention in the press coverage.)

What is it that bothers people about this relationship? Is it their similar ages? Is it that, while she is a handsome woman, she is not conventionally button-nosed pretty? Nor does she appear to have had cosmetic tweakments to make her look like every other woman in Hollywood.

Grant may be a successful artist who is trilingual, teaches and is a regular doer of good philanthropic things. But where are the boobs, hips and lustrous long hair that suggest she could squeeze out five kids in as many years and do the Pirelli calendar?

Hot babes are male accessories like big watches and fast cars

That juicy, youthful, fecund look so many women seek to emulate long after that particular evolutionary asset has gone.

For it is a truth universally acknowledged that a hot rich guy should forever be in want of a younger, hotter wife. Unless she has been married to him for aeons, weve been indoctrinated to believe that a middle-aged woman just doesnt sit right with a middle-aged male icon.

I admit Im a serial offender. If ever I see a male celebrity with a normal woman, Im amazed and almost appalled. Its not that Im against it, just that its so rare, like albino tigers or Lib Dem MPs. Yet at the sight of another old git posing with his ultra-polished arm candy, I just sigh.

People cant seem to get over the fact that a heartthrob is dating a mature woman, rather than a lithe young girl with puffy lips and a spookily immobile face

I blame male vanity. Insecure men need validation of their own significance, so young, hot babes are as much an accessory to their ego as big watches, noisy cars and all that bellowing about their assets.

According to statistics, women stress about going grey, men about going bald. But when women go grey, they dont start dating someone half their age.

High-profile men such as Keanu Reeves, who refuse to conform to these common standards, are the exceptions that prove the rule.

Pierce Brosnan, 69, is another. He defended his wife of 30 years, Keely Shaye Smith, 59, from fat-shaming trolls recently with these words: Friends offered her surgery to reduce her weight. But I strongly love every curve of her body. She is the most beautiful woman in my eyes... and I am very proud of her, and I always seek to be worthy of her love.

Brosnan and Reeves have something in common that might explain why they are among the more evolved males of the species. Brosnans first wife died of cancer, while Keanus ex, Jennifer Syme, died in a car crash in 2001, aged 28, shortly after they lost their first child to stillbirth. The tragedy and his grief deepened his distance from the looks-obsessed inanity of Hollywood.

I met Keanu Reeves a couple of times in the Nineties when I was researching a piece for a magazine. It was a crushingly embarrassing story for which I had to behave like a superfan (stalker, more like). My editor said, get out and meet him, which I eventually did.

According to statistics, women stress about going grey, men about going bald. But when women go grey, they dont start dating someone half their age

The man I found clearly did not believe the hype that surrounded his starry career and longed for a normal life. It doesnt surprise me that today he feels no need to assert his masculinity by having a babe at his side. He is an oasis in a desert of emotionally shallow male narcissists.

Keanu didnt believe the hype about himself

Of course, if women were a bit braver about looking their age, men might be forced to change.

Alexandra Grant attended a celebrity-packed dinner party in Beverly Hills shortly after their relationship was revealed in 2019, and said beauty was something you can see with your eyes closed.

I wish  but its a laudable sentiment and it went down well with the stellar attendees. Yet none of them had let their hair go grey.

Demi Moore, then in her late 50s, had Morticia Addams-like jet- black hair. The rest were in their late 40s: Gwyneth Paltrow with quiet, tasteful, East Coast American honey hair, Kate Hudson and celebrity stylist Rachel Zoe both with the sexier West Coast blonde locks that spell youth.

Because lets not pretend that when we see grey-haired female stars on the red carpet, we dont notice it. We do  and perform a mental assessment of their sex appeal. Grey hair shouts that you are sexually past your fertile prime (the model Erin OConnor went grey for a while but I notice she has returned to black. One wonders, did the work dry up?)

Its still not really OK until you are old old. The truth is, a lot of us will die with hair that hasnt been allowed to go grey.

My mouse-brown hair was red when I spotted the first grey hair, then a lush brown, then blonde. Endless shades of blonde. The reasons I let go of the facade were cost, time and the fact that I was finding it increasingly hard to be convinced by it myself.

Abandoning the hair dye was, in a way, also the abandonment of my ambition to achieve textbook sexual attractiveness

Abandoning the hair dye was, in a way, also the abandonment of my ambition to achieve textbook sexual attractiveness. I was almost saying: I give up. Yes, everybody, look at me, my ovaries are useless. Perhaps I am too!

My boyfriend - a younger man, if youre interested - just lets me get on with life, but occasionally he might ask me if I want to dye my hair again  once, when he was drunk, he even asked if I wanted to have a boob job. No thanks, I said.

Is he joking? He says he likes my grey hair and the way my body has changed, but Im not sure how I feel about it. We women live in a world where we are never good enough. Maybe we are worse than men at judging our looks against what we see on red carpets.

Indeed, our reaction to Keanu and his girlfriend Alexandra tells us so much about our own prejudice and, actually, nothing about the happy couple. One of Alexandras circle, the writer Elise Loehnen, has said her friend is so much more than her hair colour and her famous life partner. Elise is right. Alexandra looks like someone who thinks she is enough.

What is truly shocking about a picture of a loved-up couple of fiftysomethings is that we - including me - give a fig about it.

For all peoples talk about equality, we have barely budged on this debate. Its a little bit more accepted in Hollywood for women to look older and greyer, but no matter how many kisses Keanu and Alexandra exchange on the red carpet, our attitude to natural ageing is still one of disgust.
A mother has opened up about 'what it's like to be a mom in America' and how she fears for her son's life every time she drops him off at school.

Jaime Hyde, 31, from Nebraska, went viral on TikTok after detailing the precautions she takes to try to keep her first-grader safe in the event of a mass shooting, saying she is adding a 'bulletproof insert' to his back-to-school shopping list this year.

'I started taking a picture of my son every single day before school because I want to make sure that in the event of a school shooting, I know with certainty what he wore to school that day,' she said at the start of her emotional video.

The mother of one went on to share how she told her son to ignore his teacher's directions and make sure he is always the last in line if the fire alarm is pulled.

Jaime Hyde, 31, from Nebraska, went viral on TikTok after detailing the precautions she takes to try to keep her first-grader safe in the event of a mass shooting

The mom shared that she takes a picture of her son every morning so that she knows exactly what he is wearing if there is ever a shooting at his school

Hyde told her son to always be the last in line if the fire alarm is pulled in case there is an active shooter. She also won't buy him light-up shoes because they will make it harder for him to hide

'Statistically, it is a higher chance that an active shooter is pulling the alarm to lure the children out than an actual fire,' she explained.

She also refuses to buy her son light-up shoes 'because he can't hide in a closet if the shoes are lighting up.

'I'm adding a bulletproof insert to my kid's backpack for his school supply list next year,' she added, her voice trembling as she tried not to cry. 'Meanwhile, people are more worried about the Second Amendment than my soon-to-be second grader.

'And, yet still, every single day my son is expected to place his little hand over his heart and pledge allegiance to a country that doesn't give a s**t if he's safe at school.

'If you're still saying this is the best country on earth, I don't know who you're trying to fool at this point,' she added in the caption.

Hyde posted the video on March 31, just days after the mass shooting at The Covenant School, a private Christian grade school in Nashville, Tennessee.

The shooter, who was identified as 28-year-old Audrey Elizabeth Hale, shot and killed six people  three adults and three nine-year-old students. Hale was killed by officers on the scene.

The mom's minute-long clip has been viewed 4.2 million times and received more than 22,000 comments from people all over the world.

@elementsofjaime If you're still saying this is the best country on earth, I don't know who you're trying to fool at this point.  original sound - Jaime 

'I'm adding a bulletproof insert to my kid's backpack for his school supply list next year,' she added, her voice trembling as she tried not to cry

The mom's minute-long clip has been viewed 4.2 million times and received more than 22,000 comments from people all over the world

'I was looking at bulletproof backpacks and I cried when I saw the unicorn and dinosaur prints. Why is this a thing that kids this young need these,' one mom asked.

'I sign my son up for kindergarten next week for the fall term... Ive been having panic attacks every night thinking about it. Im soooo scared,' someone else shared.

'I'm an Australian mum, and my heart breaks for you all,' another added. 'This is horrifying. I cannot imagine sending my kids to school with this to fear.'

There have been at least 164 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2023, according to the Gun Violence Archive.

Numbers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation data for 2019 show that the U.S.'s gun death rate is 22 times higher than the European Union and 23 times greater than Australia.

Mass shootings are rare in other high-income countries where gun reform laws have been passed, but there were still commenters who insisted that guns are not the problem.

Hyde filmed a follow-up video in response to a commenter who claimed 'evil people who want to do harm will use bombs if they can't use guns.'

Hyde filmed a follow-up video in response to those who claim gun legislation won't help because people will just break the law. 'Then why do we have any laws?' she asked

'People are always going to break the laws, but if we create regulations and laws around [guns], it will at least stop some of it,' she explained

'They're not using bombs. They are using guns,' the mom hit back. 'I'm really getting tired of people saying they'll just do it. [If] people want to do something illegal they'll just do it. Then why do we have any laws?

'Why are we banning abortions and drag shows and trans-affirming care and books [and] drugs? Why do we have laws at all?' she continued. 'People are always going to break the laws, but if we create regulations and laws around [guns], it will at least stop some of it.'

The mom noted that 'your child is more likely in America to die of a firearm than anything else.'

Guns are the leading cause of death among American children under the age of 19, according to a paper published in the New England Journal of Medicine last year.

For decades, vehicle crashes were the leading cause of death among the age group, but that changed in 2020. More than 4,300 children aged 1 to 19 years old died of a gun injury during the pandemic's first year  a nearly 30 percent jump from 2019.

'You know what we did when we realized our kids were more likely to die in a car accident than anything else? We made legislation,' she explained. 'Fifty years ago, your kid could ride in the front seat in a glorified shopping basket, and now we have five-point harnesses.'

Hyde added that the regulations for child car safety seats 'get stricter and stricter every year as new technology and information becomes available.

'I'm really getting tired of people saying, "We can't make gun regulation because criminals will still break the law." Okay, and? Then why do we have laws at all? Just some food for thought,' she concluded.
A solo traveler has revealed how her iPhone's portrait mode completely ruined her once in a lifetime photo opportunity.

US-based content creator Katie had been visiting the Acatenango volcano in Guatemala when a man in her hiking group offered to take a snapshot.

But the image did not come out as planned - with the keen backpacker taking to TikTok to share the results.

Dozens of social media users were quick to flood the comments with their own thoughts on the image.

US-based content creator Katie has revealed how her iPhone's portrait mode completely ruined her once in a lifetime photo opportunity

In the clip, which has so far been viewed more than 2.7 million times, Katie records the volcano as pools of lava and plumes of smoke billow from its peak

But the video then cuts to the results of the image taken by the unknown man which he decided to take in portrait mode, leaving the stunning backdrop blurred

In the clip, which has so far been viewed more than 2.7 million times, Katie records the volcano as pools of lava and plumes of smoke billow from its peak.

The imposing view was soften by the orange hues of the skyline.

But the video then cuts to the results of the image taken by the unknown man which he decided to take in portrait mode.

As a result, although Katie was in very sharp focus, the stunning backdrop was left blurred and the immense power of the volcano was lost.

Katie uploaded the video with a backing track of Chronically Cautious, by Braden Bales, with the lyrics: 'So if I'm honest, I think I'm beginning to question how much I want this.'

She then overlaid text that read: 'POV: You go solo traveling and ask a man to take a photo of you and a literal erupting volcano.'

Katie wrote in the caption: 'Men will be men.'

And social media users rushed to the comments to share their thoughts.

Dozens of social media users were quick to flood the comments with their own thoughts on the image

One wrote: 'So my bf isn't the only man obsessed with portrait mode?? Thank god.'

Another said: 'You gotta ask a girl who's with a bf to do it. Because between the two of them one will be decent and take it good.'

And a third added: 'Always ask hot girls to take your pics.'

Fortunately for Katie, there is a way to undo 'portrait mode' even after the picture is taken.

Users hoping to turn off the effect should go to the photo app, open the snapshot, tap edit and then click the 'portrait' button at the top of the screen to remove it.
A pair of mothers who got the day off from looking after the children made the most of their free time by booking a day trip to Lanzarote.

British mother Rebecca posted a video on her TikTok account of herself and her sunglass-clad pal towards the end of their whirlwind trip to the canary islands to prove to other mothers that they can make the most of their days off too.

Speaking to her followers from the beach, Rebecca urged them to 'make it count' as she explained she and her pal had had a brilliant day after paying for return flights that cost 23 each.

The pair revealed they had spent the day shopping, catching rays on the beach and drinking cocktails.

After the clip was posted online in January, it racked up more than 3 million views - with people joking it was cheaper to fly to Lanzarote and back than to fill up their cars with petrol.

As the waves crashed in the back of the shot and the sun began to set, Rebecca said: 'Ladies, if you only think you've got a day to spare, make it count. You can absolutely do it!

'We've got up at 3.45, we've had the best day in Lanzarote. We've got about an hour and a half until we're due back at the airport.

'We've been in the sea, we've had three sex on the beach cocktails, we've been to Zara - what more do you need?'

As the pair giggled, she added: 'Book the flight and come!'

In a caption, she added she and her pal had sobered up at Lanzaroted airport by ordering themselves dinner from Burger King.

A mother called Rebecca has revealed how she and her best friend 'beat the January blues' by booking return flights to Lanzarote for 23 for the day

In an earlier video, Rebecca revealed she had booked the flight for a bargain price of 23 to 'beat the January blues'.

She revealed: 'The packed lunch has been made for the kids on Monday and I'll be back at midnight.'

After Rebecca posted about her fun-filled day, viewers commented to commend her and her friend for making the most of their time off from the kids.

One person wrote: 'Can you imagine saying, see you later kids, just popping to Lanzarote - I love it.'

Another said: 'Walking out the front door like 'Anyone want anything from lanzarote'?'

An envious mother who had watched the video said: 'I thought all mums went to Iceland. Didnt realise Lanzarote was on the cards - Ive been wasting my life!'

And it seems Rebecca's advice has caught on, as one woman commented on the video to say she had booked a similar trip.

She wrote: 'I've just booked a 24 hour solo trip to Madrid. It's cost me 50 for everything.'
Lady Amelia Windsor looked chic as ever as she attended an exclusive dinner in Mayfair this evening.

The royal, 27, wore a halterneck baby blue top in a silk/satin material, paired with tapered black trousers and chunky loafers as she attended the event, hosted by La Mer at Frameless, Marble Arch Place.

Her blonde hair was styled straight and was hanging down her shoulders, while she opted for light make up to enhance her natural beauty.

Amelia, who is 38th in line to the throne, carried a little black handbag with a handle to accessorise.

She also opted for chunky gold rings on both her hands and a chunky bracelet on her left wrist.

Lady Amelia Windsor (pictured) attended a La Mer dinner at Frameless in Marble Arch Place this evening

Lady Amelia is the daughter of George Windsor, Earl of St Andrews, the son of the Duke of Kent, and Sylvana Tomaselli, a Canadian-born academic and historian.

Her paternal grandfather, the Duke of Kent is a first cousin of the late Queen Elizabeth II, while her father is a second cousin of King Charles III.

This therefore makes her the third cousin of the Prince of Wales and of the Duke of Sussex.

Her father, the Earl of St Andrews, was struck from the line of succession when he married Sylvana because she was raised Roman Catholic.

The 27-year-old model, who lives in Notting Hill with her sister, kept her outfit simple and chic

Lady Amelia wore her blonde locks down and hanging past her shoulders in a straight style

However, in 2013, the Succession to the Crown Act was passed, which granted the Earl of St Andrews' succession rights again.

His son Edward and elder daughter Marina both had been confirmed in the Roman Catholic faith by then, meaning they are still not eligible to succeed the throne.

However, Amelia was not confirmed when the law passed, which is why she is still included in the line of succession.

A fashion powerhouse, she has been signed with Storm Model Management since 2016, joining an illustrious roaster of clients including Kate Moss, Cara Delevingne and Lady Kitty Spencer.

Amelia, who lives in Notting Hill with her sister, has also been making a name for herself with designer collaborations, including collections with SALOME and Pretty Ballerina.

Her modelling career was launched in 2016, when she graced the cover of Tatler, who dubbed her Britain's 'most beautiful' royal.

In 2017, she walked for Dolce and Gabbana at Milan Fashion Week, and featured on the cover of Vogue Japan that same year.

She walked for D&G again in 2019 when the fashion house presented its 2019 Spring collection.

Since then, she has collaborated with Bulgari, Chanel and is a contributing fashion editor for Tatler magazine.
Shoppers are flocking to Target to get their hands on $40 jeans that are 'perfect' for everybody.

The Lily Loves high rise jeans ($40, on sale from $50) are crafted from cotton denim and give the wearer a 'flowy' effect with their relaxed fit.

Fashion-lovers of all sizes are obsessed with the denim pants, with many claiming the Target favourite is the first pair of jeans to fit them perfectly in years.

The product is available in sizes 4-18 and in several colours: light blue, deep blue, white, black, and baby pink.

Shoppers can find the popular pants in-stores and online.

Shoppers are flocking to Target to get their hands on $40 jeans that are 'perfect' for everybody

Simone, from New South Wales, recently posted a video praising her Target find.

'If you're anything like me, you need these jeans,' she said.

'I have an hourglass figure - a very small waist compared to my hip - and these jeans fit like a glove.'

The woman's waist measurement is 59cm, and her hips are 90cm.

'I've never found anything that fits me better,' Simone said.

She said her jeans weren't glued to her waist, which made me extremely comfortable to sit down in.

'I love a pair of jeans I can sit and not just stand in.'

@simoneraee Replying to @_taylajannee homestly you need. I fit into the 6 but i always opt for a baggier fit so i can be confortable. These are a slay winter staple. #jeans #targetaustralia  original sound - Simoneraee

The Lily Loves high rise jeans ($40, on sale from $50) are crafted from cotton denim and give the wearer a 'flowy' effect with their relaxed fit

Another woman, Tayla, also shared her positive experience with the jeans.

'I'm a girl with a big butt and a little waist - and trying to look for jeans is an absolute chore,' she said.

'But I love these Target jeans, they give me a very 'cool girl' look, they're the pants I have always wanted.'

'They're so comfortable and the fact I found jeans that fit just blows my mind.'

Many were excited by the prospect of 'perfect' jeans, and rushed to their nearest Target.

'Incredible! I'm running to the shops right now.'

'Went out and bought these today immediately after I saw a video, they're amazing.'

'Love them so much. I bought my first pair and instantly went and bought four more incase they discontinued them,' another said.
She also liquidated her daughter's university fund to catch up with debt

A woman is being slammed after burning through the seven figure inheritance her late husband left her and their teenage daughter.

The woman, 50, from the US, revealed that her husband passed away four years ago after working for 20 years as a doctor and creating an investment portfolio on the side.

Her husband warned her against rash decisions and asked that she trust his lawyer with major financial investments - but she secretly purchased a Malibu beach house the next year, which soon turned into a 'money pit' that ate up all of their savings.

Now, the woman only has $35,000 ($52,000 AUD) to her name with 'massive' debt, which is why she ended up liquidating her daughter's university fund for a 'few months' of relief from her mortgage payments.

Her daughter was 'furious' when she found out and 'couldn't believe' her father's life's work was gone.

A woman is being slammed after burning through the seven figure inheritance her late husband left her and their teenage daughter [stock image]

The woman shared her story on social media, wondering if she was an a**hole for liquidating her daughter's higher education fund to keep their 'dream house'.

Poll Whose fault is this? Husband - he should've left the money with a lawyer Wife - she wasted his life's work for nothing Wife - she made a mistake but should've left the uni fund Lawyer - he should've kept an eye on the spending Whose fault is this? Husband - he should've left the money with a lawyer 58 votes

Wife - she wasted his life's work for nothing 383 votes

Wife - she made a mistake but should've left the uni fund 127 votes

Lawyer - he should've kept an eye on the spending 24 votes Now share your opinion





'My late husband left me everything and told me to trust his lawyer,' she explained on Reddit.

She decided to sell their home of 12 years soon after his passing, and received an offer that was 'too good to refuse'.

The woman decided to fulfil her dream of a beachside home in Malibu with the 'influx' of cash from the inheritance and recent sale of their family home.

However, she knew her husband would disprove of her decision as he was 'tight-fisted' and called beach houses in Malibu 'money pits'.

The mum's fantasy began to crumble soon after.

'I never personally handled anything regarding buying a home before, so I did not anticipate all the extra costs beyond the sticker price,' she said.

'But my daughter was excited so I decided to go for it.'

'My late husband's lawyer was furious, so I decided stopped taking his calls.'

The woman made a series of poor financial decisions, such as signing with a substandard money manager who 'tanked' her savings.

With only $35,000 to her name, the mum decided to liquidate her daughter's university fund for a few months of relief until her business picks up.

'My daughter was furious and said she cannot believe all her dad's work is gone. She also said she won't be supporting me for retirement. I was just trying to fix my mistakes and trying to keep our house.'

Thousands blamed the mum for making poor decisions, losing all their money, and 'ruining' her daughter's life [stock image]

Thousands blamed her for making poor decisions and 'ruining' her daughter's life.

'You decided not to listen to the lawyer, move to an extremely expensive place, and trusted someone's shady advice,' a woman wrote.

'Now you're taking away your daughter's chances of being able to go to university loan-free. That money is not yours. You should be ashamed of yourself.'

'Your husband was right, Malibu is a money pit of empty AirBnBs. One grocery store on the highway with outrageous prices and almost no food except for tourist traps.'

'The sad part is this all could have been avoided if shed listened to her husbands final wishes: trust his lawyer.'

'You liquidated something that was intended to build your daughter's future for the sake of a few months of breathing room. You didn't even solve the problem.'
Visitors say winter is the best time to go

It is almost three hours from Melbourne

Adventure seekers have discovered a magical waterfall hidden in a stunning national park just outside a major Australian city.

Beauchamp Falls is known as one of the most stunning falls in the Otway Forest Park, two hours and forty minutes' drive south-west of Melbourne and only 35 kilometres inland from the famous Great Ocean Road.

The towering waterfall is a spectacular reward at the end of a three-kilometre hiking trail that winds through the park's enchanting rainforest.

Water cascades 20 metres down the rock face covered in vines and moss into a large pool below which visitors have enjoyed taking a dip in.

While the waters may be getting icy as the weather starts to cool, Beachamp Falls are just as spectacular in the winter as visitors can see in the roaring falls in all their glory after a bout of rain.

Travellers are flocking to the magical Beauchamp Falls hidden among a lush rainforest just outside Melbourne

Beauchamp Falls is in the Otway Forest Park, two hours and forty minutes' drive south-west of Melbourne and only 35 kilometres inland from the famous Great Ocean Road

The towering waterfall is a spectacular reward at the end of a three-kilometre hiking trail that winds through the park's enchanting rainforest

To get to the falls, visitors have to follow a moderately challenging walking trail that steeply descends to a viewing platform.

Through the thick forest of myrtle beech trees and giant ferns, some lucky walkers may even be able to spot a fairy house at the bottle of a tree trunk.

There is no direct access down to the falls but from the lookout, brave hikers can carefully navigate the rocky and sometimes slippery descent down to the water's edge.

People who have frequented the area say winter is the best time to visit as there are fewer tourists so guests may have the area to themselves.

While the waters are getting icy as the weather starts to cool, Beachamp Falls are just as spectacular in winter as visitors can see in the roaring falls in all their glory after a bout of rain

To get to the falls, visitors have to follow a moderately challenging walking trail that steeply descends to a viewing platform

People who have frequented the area say winter is the best time to visit as there are fewer tourists so guests may have the area to themselves

One traveller called Beauchamp Falls 'unbelievably beautiful' while another recommended going early in the morning.

'We went early at around 8am and there was nobody there. The water was roaring with all of the rain we have had lately,' they wrote online.

'One of the best waterfalls I have ever visited. Such a beautiful hike to get to it, not too difficult. A really rewarding waterfall...Can swim in the water if you want. It's quite a big waterfall and really creates a peaceful vibe,' a second said.

Someone recommended people wear 'sturdy walking shoes' as some sections near the waterfall can get muddy and has slippery rocks.
She plead guilty to the charges in Fort Pierce federal court last week

The former nurse, 54, could now be fined up to a quarter of million dollars

Catherine Shannon Dunton, 54, stole 450 fentanyl vials from The Surgery Center at Jensen Beach in Florida for personal use

A disgraced Florida nurse of nearly 30 years has been convicted of stealing hundreds of vials of fentanyl and using the drug for herself.

Catherine Shannon Dunton, 54, took 450 doses of fentanyl, injected herself with them and then refilled the vials with saline solution over a three-month period between February and April 2022.

She was caught when colleagues at The Surgery Center at Jensen Beach noticed the missing drugs during an inventory check.

An investigation was launched and CCTV was used to identify Ms Dunton as a suspect, according to court documents reviewed by the Associated Press.

Her license was temporarily suspended after an employer-requested drug screening test showed up positive for fentanyl in March 2012.

During an evaluation by a doctor, Ms Dunton admitted she also drank at least one bottle of wine and four to five vodka drinks per day while under a substance abuse monitoring contract.

She is now facing up to 10 years in prison, followed by up to three years supervised release, and a fine of up to a quarter of a million dollars.

Ms Dunton pictured in 2018. She admitted to stealing close to 500 vials of fentanyl from hospital to use on herself and then refilling the vials with saline solution to give to patients

Fentanyl - an intense synthetic opioid responsible for killing more than 70,000 Americans a year - is normally used as an anesthetic during surgery and for pain relief after an operation.

But in recent years it has flooded the illicit drugs supply as dealers used it as a cheap and powerful cutting agent.

Ms Dunton worked from September 2021 to April 2022 caring for surgery patients at Jensen Beach, about 45 miles north of West Palm Beach.

She pleaded guilty on April 11 to tampering with a consumer product in Fort Pierce federal court, according to the Southern District of Florida US Attorney's Office.

On or around May 24, 2022, Ms Dunton underwent an evaluation with Dr Lawrence Wilson, a physician specializing in addiction medicine and psychiatry, documents from Florida Department of Health showed.

Ms Dunton revealed to Dr Wilson that in 2008 she had swapped out 'Demerol, morphine, fentanyl and Percocet for her personal use', while she was working as a registered nurse at Lanwood Regional Medical Center in Fort Pierce, Florida.

She said she entered into a substance abuse monitoring contract with the Intervention Project for Nurses (IPN) in 2009, but admitted drinking at least one bottle of wine and four to five vodka drinks per day for the first three years of the contract.

In 2011, while still under the contract and working as a registered nurse at Lanwood Regional Medical Center, she swapped out 50-1000mg of fentanyl from the center at least three days a week and injected it into herself, according to Florida Department of Health documents.

Ms Dunton and her husband John in 2019, who live in Port Saint Lucie, Florida. The couple have two sons

Ms Dunton took vials of fentanyl citrate, a liquid form of fentanyl which doctors use to keep patients still during surgery and to ease their pain, and injected it into herself

In March 2012, an employer-requested drug screening test showed up positive for fentanyl, which prompted the suspension of her nursing license until she completed her monitoring contract with IPN in 2017.

Ms Dunton told Dr Wilson that in March 2021 she started having a bottle of wine and three to four alcoholic drinks a day. She said she sometimes drank alcohol in the early morning and would black out.

Her family is worried about her alcohol use, she said.

She was then hired at The Surgery Center at Jensen Beach in Florida around September 2021.

Between February and April 2022, she said she took vials of fentanyl citrate, a liquid form of fentanyl which doctors use to keep patients still during surgery and to ease their pain after surgery, and injected it into herself two to three days a week.

To avoid detection, Ms Dunton replaced the narcotic painkiller from nearly 450 vials with saline solution, and then returned the adulterated vials to the center for use during outpatient surgical procedures, investigators said.

Ms Dunton worked from September 2021 to April 2022 as a circulating nurse at outpatient surgical center The Surgery Center at Jensen Beach (pictured), about 45 miles north of West Palm Beach

She swapped out fentanyl and morphine by 'removing the metal cap, removing the contents, and replacing the contents with saline'.

Ms Dunton admitted she knew there were times when the patients would only get the saline. This meant patients went without their necessary pain medication after surgery, the Florida Department of Health documents said.

Prosecutors had arranged for a Food and Drug Administration anesthesiologist to testify that surgery patients receiving diluted fentanyl was not safe.

Inadequate pain control can also lead to an elevated risk of heart attack or stroke in vulnerable patients, officials said.

Tampering with the vials also presented a risk of contamination, which could lead to infection during or after the surgical procedure.

Dr Wilson diagnosed Ms Dunton with severed opioid use disorder and severe alcohol use disorder, and asserted she is not able to practice nursing 'with reasonable skill and safety to patients'.

On February 13, 2022, Ms Dunton posted on Facebook that she 'still love[d] my career after 30 years'.

In her last Facebook post, on June 2, 2022, Ms Dunton asked for donations to Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association for her birthday.

She said: 'I've chosen this nonprofit because their mission means a lot to me.'

The potent synthetic opioid fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin and 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine.

The cheap and highly addictive drug is used by doctors for patients in serious pain or with terminal illnesses.

Fentanyl was invented in the US in 1959 as a cheaper alternative to other painkillers used in hospitals and health centers worldwide.

Three chemicals, benzylfentanyl, 4-anilinopiperidine and norfentanyl and considered to be precursors to fentanyl by the DEA - meaning they are primary ingredients to the drug's creation.

It binds to opioid receptors in a person's nervous system, which are responsible for giving the body a pleasurable feeling when activated.
She was discharged 24 hours later and placed in the care of her grandmother

She also had dilated pupils, high blood pressure and 'red residue' in her nose

A toddler got an ecstasy pill stuck in her nose after stumbling across her mother's drug stash.

The two-year-old girl, from France, found the tablet in a box kept above the fridge.

Upon realising what had happened, her horrified mother urgently tried to remove the pill. Only part of it came out naturally, however.

She called the emergency services for help, with her daughter immediately rushed to hospital.

Medics said her situation was life-threatening.

A two-year-old girl got an ecstasy pill stuck in her nose after finding her mother's drugs in a box on top of the fridge (file photo)

She survived the ordeal, and was discharged from a Toulouse hospital 24 hours after being admitted.

French courts took custody of the girl away from the mother, instead placing her in the care of her grandmother.

None of the family members were identified.

Details of the case were published in a medical journal called Archives de Pediatrie.

The incident  which wasn't dated  was marked as a case of 'ecstasy intoxication via an unusual route'.

The girl inserted the pill into her nose at 1pm. It is not clear when her mother called emergency services.

The child was taken straight to Centre Hospitalier Universitaire (CHU) de Toulouse.

Medics found her to be restless and agitated, with 'red-coloured residue' in her nose.

She had a heart rate of 148 beats per minute, high blood pressure, rapid and shallow breathing and dilated pupils.

She was moved to the paediatric intensive care unit at 4.17pm.

Her blood pressure started to decrease without medication and she was moved to a general paediatric ward.

The girl was hydrated with an IV drip and her pupils started to constrict and return to normal.

Her blood pressure had normalised by the next morning  17 hours after the pill was inserted. She was discharged seven hours later.

Following the doctors' diagnosis, and according to French law for child protection, the hospital ward sent a report to a judge at the juvenile court.

The judge decided to place the girl under the guardianship of her paternal grandmother.

The study authors determined that the symptoms of a child inserting an ecstasy pill into their nose were similar to that of previous cases of it being taken orally.

It was also concluded that this type of incident could be the result of severe parental neglect.
Mums-to-be who take traditional Chinese medicines may be risking the health of their babies, medics have warned.

Researchers from Shanghai examined the health of babies born to 16,000 women across the country.

Babies born to women who underwent traditional treatments while pregnant were twice as likely to have birth defects, compared to mothers who did not.

Experts claimed the medicines can carry a 'significant risk of foetal malformations' and urged expectant mothers to use the therapies 'cautiously'.

The alternative practice has been used by healers around the world for centuries to prevent and treat disease.

Researchers in Shanghai examined the health the babies of 16,000 women across the country. They found babies exposed to the traditional treatments were over twice as likely to develop birth defects than those whose mothers did not take the medication

Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) includes acupuncture as well as herbal pieces.

Health chiefs say the herbal products can be contaminated with toxic compounds, heavy metals and pesticides  which can all have side effects.

Previous studies have shown some to be as effective in lowering blood pressure as Western drugs and that they can help lower blood sugar.

But scientists at Fudan University in Shanghai noted there is 'widespread concerns' around whether they can increase the risk of birth defects.

They assessed how the meds impacted 16,000-plus women who used them before and during pregnancy, as well as their babies, across 12 Chinese provinces.

The study was conducted between August 2017 and 2020, with women from 23 hospitals undergoing ultrasounds, clinical surveys and check-ups.

Split into three groups, some 12,334 women did not take medicines, while 4,128 were given western medicines and 189 used TCMs.

Pregnant women who had taken at least one prescription of TCMs were deemed by medics to have TCM exposure.

Results showed that, per 1,000 foetuses exposed to TCMs, on average 34.6 foetuses had 'congenital malformations'  or birth defects  compared to 14.6 among those not exposed.

Writing in the journal Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica, doctors said: 'Feotuses exposed to TCM had an increased risk of congenital malformations compared to those without exposure.'

'Compared with the women without exposure, those with only TCM exposure had a significant risk of foetal malformations,' doctors said.

Other factors could have skewed the results, which come from an observational study.

The most common TCM used for the treatment of gestational influenza or inflammation was Pudilan, doctors said.

One of the study's author's Jiang-Nan Wu, from Fudan University, added: 'To improve traditional Chinese medicine, we should pay more attention to its hazards especially the identification of teratogenic ingredients  while also evaluating its therapeutic effects.'
The Government is 'not behaving as if it wants to preserve the NHS', according to a world-renowned public health expert.

Sir Michael Marmot, a former advisor to No10 when Labour was in power , said the data supported claims that ministers were wanting to 'destroy' the ailing service.

The idea that the 150billion-a-year NHS is being set up to fail by Government so a private healthcare system can be brought in has been parroted by left-wing groups for years.

Sir Michael said: 'I have no special insight into what motivates ministers, but they're not behaving as if they want to preserve our NHS.'

He told LBC's Andrew Marr: 'If you had the hypothesis the government was seeking to destroy the National Health Service... all the data we're seeing are consistent with that hypothesis.

While the expert said he had no 'special insight' into ministers', like the current Health Secretary Steve Barclay, motivations he added 'they're not behaving as if they want to preserve our NHS'

Data from NHS England shows that the number of people waiting for routine hospital treatment jumped by 10,000 in January to 7.22million, a new record

'They may say "no, no, no, no, that's not what we're seeking to do"  but if you look from 2010, waiting lists started to increase - not just the pandemic, not just the war in Ukraine - from 2010.'

He said that data from the health service is consistent with the idea of a 'malicious undermining of the NHS'.

Sir Michael, who has been critical of the Tory Government in the past, explained that prior to 2010  when David Cameron's Tories came into power  the NHS was delivering for most Brits.

'Pre-2010 waiting lists came down, satisfaction with the NHS was high, spending on the NHS went up at about 3.8 per cent every year,' he said.

But Sir Michael, who still works as a director of the University College of London's Institute for Health Equity, said that changed when Labour was ousted from No10 that year.

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'That 3.8 per cent increase per year went down to about 1 per cent increase per year, waiting lists started to climb and climb and climb, 150,000 vacancies for doctors and nurses, failure to pay doctors and nurses properly,' he said.

'It's a recipe for making the NHS fall over.

He also highlighted that the NHS is falling down the rankings of the Commonwealth Fund, which compares healthcare systems in 11 countries including AUstralia and the US. Sir Michael described it as a 'tragedy'.

'The NHS always used to be number one, and equity of access, number one - the best performer,' he said.

'We're slipping down the rankings. It's a tragedy.'

The UK now sits fourth in the Commonwealth Fund's ranking system.

His stark comments come after years of declining performance on several key NHS metrics.

Waiting lists for operations have reached record highs and Brits are waiting hours for ambulances. Low staff pay levels have led to the biggest strike action in the 75-year-old service's shistory.

Sir Michael is a well-established critic of the Tories, having previously authored a landmark report in 2020 hat linked austerity with a slowdown in life expectancy rising and called for higher taxation.

Critics of his work said it failed to account for a similar fall in the rate of life expectancy improvements was also observed in several European countries with various policies on public spending.

His claims come after fresh NHS data released last week revealed the waiting list for elective NHS treatment in England grew to a record 7.22million in February.

Analysis by the thinktank the Health Foundation found the general pattern of UK health spending took a dive in 2010

Ambulance data for March shows that heart attack and stroke patients in England, known as category two callers, had to wait 39 minutes and 33 seconds, on average, for paramedics to show up. This is over 7 minutes slower than in February and more than double the 18-minute target

More than 500,000 NHS appointments and operations in England have been cancelled as a result of staff striking over pay, with further disruption planned

Other data showed that Brits dialling 999 for an ambulance were forced to wait up to 1 hour 37 minutes for call handlers to pick up the phone during the winter.

Heart attack and stroke patients even faced average waits of nearly 40 minutes  or double the 18-minute target.

The NHS is short of around 124,000 staff  equivalent to nearly one in 10 positions.

Low pay driving workers to other jobs, sometimes in countries like Australia, is one factor NHS unions are using to justify their demands for large pay increases.

The ongoing pay dispute with ministers has led to the cancellation of over 500,000 NHS appointments due to staff taking to the picket line, with further strike action planned.

Nurses' union, The Royal College of Nursing, announced members will talk off the job for 48-hours on April 30 withholding staff from walk A&E, intensive care units and cancer wards for the first time in the dispute.

Other staff groups like junior doctors, physiotherapists and paramedics have also held similar action.
Their kidneys are smaller and cannot filter it, which can cause water intoxication

NHS doctor Dr Karan Raj revealed why babies you should not give a baby water

Adults are encouraged to drink two litres of it every day to stay hydrated.

But for babies, drinking water can be deadly.

An NHS surgeon has issued a stark warning to parents of 'tiny humans' about the dangers of letting them drink water under six months of age.

TikTok influencer Dr Karan Raj says the kidneys of newborns are half the size of an adult's, leaving them unable to correctly filter plain water.

This can cause water intoxication, known medically as hyponatraemia  where excess water dilutes the the salt in the blood.

NHS medic and TikTok influencer Dr Karan Raj has issued a stark warning to parents of 'tiny humans' about the dangers of letting them drink water under six months of age

'The excess water backs up into the bloodstream and dilutes the salt in the blood,' Dr Raj said.

'This is known as hyponatraemia  excessively low sodium  and this can cause all sorts of havoc, from brain swelling, seizures and even death.'

Adults would need to drink at least three or four litres of water in quick succession to become hyponatraemic.

But for babies, they would only need to drink 200 to 250ml of water to be at risk of water intoxication.

As well as this, babies' gastric emptying is significantly slower  which can cause them to become full quickly.

This means that if a baby is given water to drink, they could then be too full to consume milk and become deficient in the energy and nutrients they need.

Breastmilk-fed babies do not need to start drinking water until they begin eating solid foods, at around six months.

Babies may want to drink little and often when it gets hot in order to stay hydrated, so mothers should consume more water at these times, the NHS says.

However, for formula-fed babies under six months, the health service says they may occasionally need to drink some water in hot weather.

Babies should not be given bottled water, as the NHS says it's not sterile and may contain too much sodium or sulphate.

In response to Dr Raj's video, many people commented asking why babies can't drink water on its own, but can drink it when its mixed with formula.

The NHS says this is because formula, like breastmilk, is calorie-rich and stays in the body for longer rather than overwhelming the kidneys.

Adults would need to drink at least three or four litres of water in quick succession to become hyponatraemic. But for babies, they would only need to drink 200 to 250ml of water to be at risk of water intoxication.

Once babies reach six months old and start eating solid foods, they can be given water to drink at mealtimes. It does not need to be boiled first at this point.

Water intoxication causes a build-up of water in and around the body's cells.

This causes cells to swell and can trigger symptoms that range from mild to life-threatening, such as headaches, vomiting and seizures.

Among adults, fatalities and hospital admissions have been reported after people have drank seven to eight litres of water  compared to the daily recommendation of around two litres.

For example, in 2007 a mother-of-three was found dead aged just 28, after drinking almost eight litres of water in a California radio contest.

Jennifer Strange, from Sacramento, California, died of acute water intoxication after the challenge, which awarded contestants who could drink the most water without going to the toilet.
Cannabis may be driving a rising number of Americans to the brink of suicide, a study suggests.

Researchers who analyzed national poison center data found that the number of people who had marijuana in their system when they tried to kill themselves has risen 17 percent every year since 2009.

Of the 18,700 cases involving cannabis over the past 12 years, around one in 10 resulted in death or permanent disability - and younger people were more likely to be high on weed when they attempted suicide.

Study co-author Tracy Klein, associate professor of nursing at Washington State University, said: 'We need to educate kids and parents around the risks of cannabis.

'I think many people just arent aware the impacts cannabis can have on brain development, and on behavioral and mental health, especially in adolescents and young adults.'

Reports to poison control centers of suicides involving cannabis increased by approximately 17 percent annually. Most of those cases occurred in recent years and were among individuals aged 14 to 64 years

The above shows cannabis use across American states. Twenty-one states and DC have legalized it for recreational use in addition to medicinal use, while nearly all now allow it to be used for medicinal purposes.

Researchers behind the study caution that while they have bolstered the established link between weed use and suicide attempts, their results do not prove that weed use will lead to suicide.

The increase in legally-approved weed nationwide in various forms from joints to gummies is also believed to be driving up the attempted suicide rate.

But cannabis has been linked to an increased depression and anxiety in many people across age groups.

Cannabis smokers are up to five times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than non-users, according to a 2021 government study.

The latest study to find an association between cannabis use and suicide attempts was conducted by a team at Washington State University and published in JAMA Network Open.

From 2009 to 2021, the researchers collected more than 18,600 reports to US poison centers of cannabis-linked suicide attempts, mostly among younger people.

About 10 percent of those cannabis users were majorly disabled or were successful in taking their own lives.

From 2019 to 2021, the number of suicide attempts involving cannabis among children five to 13 doubled.

In 2019, slightly less than five percent of attempts reported to poison control centers involved weed alone, with the remaining 95 percent involving weed in addition to other drugs such as fentanyl.

But that figure climbed to about eight percent in 2021.

As marijuana has become more accessible in various forms from smokable joints to potent edibles, reports of suicide attempts involving the drug have increased

Increases in reports to poison control about cannabis-linked suicides during and after the pandemic were notable and greatest among children and females.

People aged 25 to 39 were most likely to call for help about a suicide linked to marijuana. Following that age group came teens 14 to 18, then people 19 to 24.

Even seniors were represented, with 196 people 65 and older reporting to poison control centers.

As a growing number of states loosen restrictions on marijuana use and sales, the products are becoming more widely available and accessible to minors.

Colorado and Washington became the first states to legalize marijuana for recreational use in 2012. Now the drug is allowed to be used recreationally in 21 states and medicinally in 37 states.

A common belief among marijuana aficionados, especially those who skew younger, is that the drug causes little to no harm. But a growing body of evidence refutes that claim.

The study said: 'With more US states legalizing adult-use cannabis, increases in cannabis use will likely persist. It is important to further examine the suspected association between cannabis use and suicidal behaviors and how risks can be prevented or mitigated.'

Bad actors are increasingly producing products with familiar colorful packaging resembling popular snacks that contain THC, the psychoactive chemical in cannabis, that appeal to unsuspecting youth.

And last year, researchers at Oregon Health and Science University reported that calls to US poison centers about children consuming marijuana climbed a shocking 245 percent over the past two decades.

At the same time, children in the US have been struck by a mental health crisis that was exacerbated by pandemic-era isolation guidelines that separated them from their schools and friends.

And using cannabis as a child can have harmful effects on the developing brain, possibly leading to problems in learning, memory, coordination, reaction time and judgment.

Older people are not spared either, as research suggests that people in their mid-20s who use marijuana regularly can cause permanent damage to the brain.

THC interacts with endocannabinoids in the brain, which are responsible for determining the way that cells in the brain interact with one-another.

The chemical compounds in THC alter the receptors that configure those interactions, which is what creates the feeling people have when they consume the drug.
Scientists warned this could lead to fewer people getting the vaccinations

Up to seven in ten Americans are unaware that HPV can cause certain cancers

Seven in ten Americans are unaware that one of the world's most common STDs can trigger certain types of cancer.

A survey by researchers at Henry Ford Health in Detroit, Michigan, found that up to 72.6 percent of people were not aware that human papillomavirus (HPV) could lead to anal, oral and penile cancer in 2020. Three in ten also said they were unaware that it could cause cervical cancer.

The number who did not know that it could cause cervical cancer had also fallen seven percent since 2014, which the researchers highlighted as concerning.

They warned that the falling numbers were leading to 'sub-optimal' uptakes of the HPV vaccine, putting more people at risk of cancer.

The figures are especially concerning given that 43million Americans will catch HPV this year alone, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates.

The above graph shows how many Americans said they were aware that HPV can cause the following cancers in 2014 and again in 2020. Knowledge of the link dropped across the board

HPV is the most common STD in the United States, with about 43million people being infected every year  mostly in their 20s

The survey results were presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research in Orlando, Florida, this week.

The HPV vaccine is currently offered to all Americans aged 11 to 12 years, administered as two doses six to 12 months apart.

It is also available as a three-dose course for people aged 15 to 26 years, with the first two doses given within two months of each other and the third six months later.

But data shows uptake is languishing well-below needed levels with barely 54.5 percent of 13 to 15-year-olds having got their shots.

This is below the target of 80 percent set by the government.

HPV is a common virus spread via vaginal, anal and oral sex with someone who is already infected.

Most infections go away on their own without causing any problems. But if an infection persists or causes changes to human cells, it can lead to certain types of cancer.

The CDC says HPV is behind more than 90 percent of cervical and anal cancers, about 70 percent of vaginal and gulvar cancers and 60 percent of penile cancers.

Dr Eric Adjei Boakye, an assistant scientist at Henry Ford Health Center in Detroit, Michigan, who led the research, said: 'Over 90 percent of HPV-associated cancers could be prevented with the HPV vaccine, yet vaccine uptake remains sub-optimal.

'Given the connections between HPV-associated cancer awareness and HPV vaccine uptake, it is important we increase the population's awareness of this link, as it may help increase vaccine uptake.'

In the study, researchers used survey data from the Health Information National Trends Survey which regularly questions Americans on their attitudes towards cancer and its prevention.

They looked at data from seven years between 2014 and 2020, with a nationally-representative sample of 2,000 and 2,350 individuals surveyed each year.

Participants were asked: 'Do you think HPV can cause i) anal; ii) cervical; iii) oral; and iv) penile cancers.'

They were able to respond with 'yes', 'no' or 'not sure'.

Results showed that knowledge that any of these cancers could be caused by HPV dropped across the board during the seven years surveyed.

The drop was most stark for cervical cancer, where some 77.6 percent of participants were aware of the link in 2014. But by 2020, the latest date available, this had dipped to 70.2 percent.

For anal cancer, awareness of the link fell from 27.9 to 27.4 between 2014 and 2020.

For oral cancer, the dip was almost two percent, from 31.2 to 29.5 percent, and for penile cancer, there was also a near two percent dip, from 30.3 to 28.4.

This graph shows the percentage of adolescents aged 13 to 15 years who are up to date on their HPV vaccines. It is at 54.5 percent, despite the Government target being 80 percent

The above shows the proportion of 13 to 15-year-olds who have received two or three doses of the HPV vaccine. Girls are more likely to have been inoculated than boys

Dr Boakye said declining awareness may be driven by funding being diverted away from campaigns advertising the risk to training doctors on how to promote and administer the vaccine.

He also said that the talk about the HPV vaccine had always been very 'female-centric', which may be why there was lower awareness that it could also cause cancer in men.

He added: 'Research has shown a high degree of public trust in HPV information when received from healthcare providers.

'Therefore, providers should use every clinical visit as an opportunity to educate patients about the causal link between HPV and HPV-associated cancers, and also about the cancer prevention benefits of the HPV vaccine.'

The study was presented at the AACR's annual meeting held in Orlando, Florida, between April 14 and 19.
A woman who ignored her 'constant' headaches for five years was shocked to learn they were caused by a rare and incurable brain tumour.

Jade McMaster, 32, suffered headaches that would 'come out of the blue' but could be managed with paracetamol.

But the personal assistant at the Royal Bank of Scotland in Glasgow was rushed to hospital in October 2017 after collapsing at a petrol station.

She was rushed to hospital, where doctor discovered a rare brain tumour and performed a 10-hour operation to remove as much of it as possible.

However, it returned in 2021, forcing Ms McMaster to undergo radiotherapy and chemotherapy to kill-off the cancer.

Scans in early 2023 confirmed that the tumour is now at a 'manageable level' and Ms McMaster is now urging others not to ignore their health concerns.

Jade McMaster ignored her 'constant' headaches for five years and was later diagnosed with a grade 2 oligodendroglioma brain tumour in 2017

During emergency surgery 85 per cent of her tumour was removed after she collapsed and had a seizure in a petrol station in Scotland in October, 2017

Ms McMaster said: 'The headaches would just totally come out of the blue and I didn't think anything of it.

'You just take a couple of paracetamols and think you'll be alright.'

But after collapsing at a petrol station in October 2017, she was taken in an ambulance to Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow.

Ms McMaster said: 'I was out cold and didn't remember anything.

'I woke up battered, bruised and confused in hospital surrounded by my loved ones.

What are oligodendrogliomas? Oligodendrogliomas are a rare type of slow-growing brain tumour that develops from glial cells called oligodendrocytes. These glial cells make a fatty white substance (myelin) that covers the nerves. This helps impulses travel along the nerves more quickly. Common symptoms include headaches and seizures. This type of tumour is more common in adults than in children and it only effects about 3 in every 100 brain tumours diagnosed. Oligodendrogliomas are mostly found in the frontal lobe of the cerebrum. They can also start in the spinal cord, but this is rare. Source: Cancer Research and Brain Tumour Research Advertisement

'Somehow they used my phone to call my emergency contacts, which were my parents, Jackie and Robert, who then dropped everything to come to the hospital.'

She received a variety of scans during a two-day hospital stay.

Results showed that she had secondary epilepsy - a form of epilepsy caused by an underlying brain condition.

Further testing revealed she had a 4cm brain tumour on her left temporal lobe, which doctors diagnosed as a grade 2 oligodendroglioma.

Oligodendroglioma brain tumours can be cancerous or benign. They accounts for about three in every 100 brain tumours diagnosed, according to Cancer Research UK.

Approximately 500 people in the UK and 1,200 in the US are diagnosed with oligodendroglioma every year.

Grade two oligodendroglioma tumours grow very slowly.

Common symptoms include headaches, feeling or being sick and seizures.

If it is large, surgery is performed to remove as much as possible.

Ms McMaster said: 'I really didn't expect to be told I had a mass on my brain. It was confusing.

'Not knowing the why was the hardest. There was no reasoning behind the tumour.

'I was living a happy, healthy-ish lifestyle for anyone my age.

'I also have no family members with brain tumours, so it was a complete shock to everyone.'

In December 2017, medics rushed her into a 10-hour surgery to remove the mass.

But only 85 per cent of the tumour could be removed due to its location in the temporal lobe  part of the brain important for language, memory and face recognition.

Despite 10 hours of life-saving surgery and four years of regular check ups her worst fear came true in 2021 as the mass returned

Jade, who is a personal assistant at the Royal Bank of Scotland, Glasgow, underwent 33 sessions of radiotherapy and 12 sessions of chemotherapy. The tumour is now manageable

As a result, Ms McMaster was told to attend regular check-ups, known as a 'watch and wait' approach.

She said: 'I was awake during the surgery, so they could track where my speech became impaired if they were to remove too much.

'I'm grateful to have my speech, but I'm sure people would be happier if I didn't speak so much.'

Ms McMaster said she has been well supported by her partner Thomas Owens, 32, a floor layer, as well as her employer, the Royal Bank of Scotland.

She said: 'I don't think it affected my career.

'I was off for six months but came back to work straight away in 2018 and never had any issues and have been well supported since.

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'It made my friendships stronger and made me realise who my true friends were through the hardest times.'

But in June 2021, doctors told her the tumour had returned and she underwent radiotherapy and chemotherapy.

Now the tumour is at a manageable level, and she treats her epilepsy with anti-seizure medication.

She said: 'It's like a never-ending cycle. I knew it would happen, despite it being so slow growing, but it is still frustrating.'

After 33 sessions of radiotherapy and 12 sessions of chemotherapy, she finished her last course of treatment in November 2022.

Ms McMaster said: 'I was exhausted, and losing my hair - but it was expected.

'Work was supportive and understanding, they only gave me what was manageable.

'I didn't just want to stay at home and in bed all day moaning. I didn't want it to stop me living my life - I just couldn't.'

Scans from February 2023 showed the tumour was at a manageable level.

She now has regular check-ups and scans to monitor the tumour.

She said: 'I'd rather fight it and get as much joy and love in my life than lying down and feeling sorry for myself.

'If you're positive, everything works well. There's always light at the end of tunnel.'

Ms McMaster now urges anyone with even the slightest symptoms and out-of-the-blue headaches to reach out for professional help.

She said: 'It shouldn't have gotten to this point, if the seizure had happened five minutes earlier whilst I was driving, I wouldn't be here telling you this story.

'If you're having headaches too often, go to your doctor and ask for a scan.

'Be persistent, and fight for your life.'
A California bill that would ban ingredients in popular treats such as Skittles and Sour Patch Kids today moved a step closer to becoming law.

A second state assembly committee has voted to approve the bill, which will now be sent to a third committee where it will need to pass before it reaches the assembly floor.

If the bill becomes law, it will block five chemicals from being used in foods sold or manufactured in the state. Each of these chemicals is already banned in the EU. Among the affected chemicals in Red 3, a food dye used in some candies. Previous research linked exposure to it to cancer in mice.

Assemblyman Jesse Gabriel, who filed the bill the February, told DailyMail.com in March that the 'the goal of the bill is to protect kids and their parents from harmful chemicals.' He hopes that it will spur manufacturers to ditch these chemicals, the same way they had to do to comply with regulations in Europe.

The state Assembly's Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials voted to approve the bill Tuesday. Last week, the Committee on Health passed it by a 12-1 vote. Now, the bill will head to the Assembly's Appropriations Committee.

The state Assembly's Committee on Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials voted to approve the bill Tuesday.

Last week, the Committee on Health passed it by a 12-1 vote. Now, the bill will head to the Assembly's Appropriations Committee.

Asm Gabriel, a Democrat who represents the 46th district just northwest of Los Angeles, said in a release Wednesday: 'There is no realistic chance that this bill will result in Skittles or any other product being pulled off the shelf.

'The idea here is for these companies to make minor modifications to their recipes so that these products no longer include dangerous and toxic chemicals.'

He added: 'Skittles and many other brands have already made changes to their recipes in the European Union, the United Kingdom and other nations where these chemicals are banned.

'While the chemical companies might want you to believe we're going too far with this bill, we are in fact many steps behind the rest of the world.

'We simply want our kids to have the same protection.'

The Environment Safety and Toxic Materials Committee, which oversees rules for toxic substances and hazardous materials.

Now it will head to the Appropriations Committee, responsible for bills that will have an impact on the state's finances.

In this case, the prevention of manufacturing and selling these goods in the state will lead to potential changes in the job and consumer markets.

The Health committee, which approved the bill last week, oversees matters regarding public health in the state.

After making it through committee it will then be voted upon by the entire state Assembly.

If it then passes the same process in the state Senate it will reach the desk of Gov Gavin Newsom to be signed into law.

Lawmakers hope to put the bill into effect on January 1, 2025.

It has the backing of advocacy organizations such as Consumer Reports and the Environmental Working Group.

Brominated vegetable oil, potassium bromate and titanium dioxide and propyl paraben are among the chemicals targeted by the law.

If it becomes law, the bill would also prevent the manufacture of food products including these chemicals in the state  even if they are sold elsewhere.

While the state assembly is only concerned with matters in California, Asm Gabriel does see the new regulations having a national impact.

The additives are put into the foods to enhance their flavor, appearance or help keep them fresh.

Titanium dioxide is the most notable of the group.

The additive was at the center of a 2022 lawsuit filed in the Golden State last year alleging the popular candy Skittles were not fit to be eaten.

Another targeted additive is Red 3, a food dye included in many candies to enhance their color.

Since the early 1980s, studies have shown it can cause cancer in lab animals in very high doses and has been linked to behavioral issues in children.

It was banned in cosmetic products in 1990 for these reasons, but remains in many foods and sweets including pastries and breakfast cereals.

Brian Ronholm, the director of food policy at Consumer Reports, said: 'Despite the serious and well-documented risks posed to our health by these five food chemicals, the FDA has failed to take action to protect the public.

Asm Jesse Gabriel (pictured) filed the bill last month. He hopes to 'protect' families in California by banning these potentially harmful substances

'The committee's vote is an important first step by California lawmakers to remove these harmful chemicals from candies, cookies and other processed foods.

'At a time when the FDA's weak oversight has prevented it from taking action, it is critical for states like California to ensure consumers are protected from these toxic food chemicals.'

The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), a Washington DC-based consumer advocacy group, led a petition to the FDA to ban the chemical last year.

A 2012 study from Brazilian researchers found Red 3 could cause genotoxicity - when the DNA suffers toxic damage - and causes permanent transmissible changes to strains as well.

In 2020, California's Environmental Protection Agency found children who consumed Red 3 regularly were more likely to suffer from hyperactivity and inattentiveness.

A 2016 study led by researchers from the University of North Carolina, Asheville found that the dye was being used in 11.1 percent of candy products.

It was also found in 3.3 percent of pastries, 2.6 percent of fruit snacks, and 2.6 percent of cakes marketed to children.

Brominated vegetable oil is a plant-derived substance used to combine the elements of citrus-flavored soft drinks.

Long-term exposure to the chemical can harm the body's central nervous system. It has been linked to the development of chronic headaches, memory loss and impaired balance.

It was previously used in the popular soda Mountain Dew, until parent company Pepsi removed the ingredient in 2020.

Sun Drop, a similarly flavored soda manufactured by Keurig Dr Pepper, still uses it.

Many other budget and store brand versions of Mountain Dew and Sprite sold around the country also use the chemical.

It has been banned as an additive in the EU, India and Japan. Its use in the US is limited to just citrus drinks, where it is uniquely able to mix different elements.

Propylparaben is often used in baking products as a preservative, as the substance derived from some plants and insects has anti-microbial and anti-fungal properties.

Some highly-processed, pre-made baked goods include it. The Weight Watchers line of backed deserts  targeted at people trying to shed pounds  are among the culprits.

The additive has been linked to fertility issues in mice, with previous research showing that it could reduce sperm counts in males and disrupt estrogen development in females.

Some experts fear it could cause similar harm to the endocrine systems of humans.

Despite this, the FDA still considers the propylparaben to be 'generally recognized as safe'.

Potassium Bromate is found in many baked goods too, including popular sugar cookie brand Balducci's.

It is banned in the EU, Canada and Brazil  among others  for its links to the development of thyroid and kidney cancer.

It is often used in processed foods to make dough rise higher.
The identity of the fifth-ever patient to enter full remission for HIV has been revealed to the public.

Paul Edmonds, 67, of Desert Hot Springs, California, around 100 miles east of Los Angeles, was cured of the disease in July. At the time, he was known anonymously as the 'City of Hope patient', named after the hospital he was treated in.

He was diagnosed with AIDS in 1988, during the peak of the nation's epidemic. Advancements in medicine since have made his disease undetectable and untransmittable.

But as a gay man, Mr Edmonds says now being cured of the disease that killed many of his friends decades ago has him 'grateful to be alive'.

He was cured using a rare but risky blood stem cell transplant from a person that has a blood mutation that makes them resistant to HIV. The transplant can often result in deadly infection. Because of this, it is reserved for people like Mr Edmonds who are suffering from late-stage cancer.

Paul Edmunds, 67, (pictured) became the fifth ever person to be cured of HIV after receiving a rare stem cell treatment

Mr Edmunds (pictured) said that he is 'grateful' to be alive after suffering from both HIV and leukemia throughout his life

'I was incredibly grateful. I'm grateful to be alive. I was grateful there was a donor,' he told ABC.

Mr Edmunds grew up in Georgia. In the mid-1970s, he moved to San Francisco, California, to be around a larger gay community.

Years later, the AIDS epidemic would emerge, and cities such as San Francisco and New York with large gay communities were hammered.

The disease was first referred to as Gay-Related Immune Deficiency (GRID) in 1981, as the virus rampaged through the community.

As a sexually transmittable disease, AIDS rapidly spread among gay and bisexual men. At the time there was little information about how the disease spread and many continued to have unprotected sex.

Studies have found that gay and bisexual men are more likely to have multiple sexual partners than their peers, increasing the potential spread of disease.

These men are more likely to have older partners too. An older gay man is more likely to carry the disease as he has likely had more previous sexual encounters.

At the epidemic's peak in 1995, 41,000 Americans died from AIDS. A large portion of these were gay men. In the late 1980s, around 10,000 deaths were recorded annually.

Mr Edmunds recalled seeing obituaries of his friends and loved ones every week.

'In the beginning, it was like a curse. People were afraid of each other,' he said.

The man was afraid to be tested for the virus at first, fearing it was a 'death sentence'. In 1988 he finally received a test, and he was 'shocked' by the positive result.

HIV, or the human immunodeficiency virus, attacks the body's immune system. This leaves a person extremely vulnerable to other viruses and illnesses, such as the flu.

When the number of CD4 cells  white blood cells responsible for fighting off infections  drops below 200 per cubic millimeter of blood, the HIV has transitioned into acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).

The fast rise of the disease in the 1980s caught the medical world on the backfoot, and there was little information available for treatment and prevention.

Eventually, increased public awareness of HIV/AIDS led to case and death figures coming back down.

In 1987, the first antiretroviral therapy, which boosted the immune system despite AIDS and made the disease undetectable and untransmittable hit the market. Mr Edmunds used these treatments.

In 2012, pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) hit the market. Users of the daily pill can reduce their risk of contracting HIV through sex by 99 percent.

The combination of these drugs has made the diseases manageable for men like Mr Edmunds, but he was still living with the virus until last year.

In 2018, he was diagnosed with leukemia, cancer in the blood. While the disease is relatively rare, it is often deadly.

Around 60,000 cases will be diagnosed in America each year and there will be 23,000 deaths.

He sought treatment at the City of Hope Medical Center, just outside of Los Angeles.

Mr Edmunds (pictured) was among many gay men who fell ill with HIV or AIDS in the 1980s. At the time he felt like the disease was a death sentence. He said many of his friends and loved ones died from the disease

Mr Edmunds (left, pictured with his husband Arnie House) was tested for the disease in 1988 and has managed the disease since

As he went through chemotherapy, doctors realized they had a chance to cure Mr Edmunds of both diseases at once.

A rare stem cell transplant that had been successfully used on four previous patients suffering from the pair of the diseases became an option.

Because the treatment itself can be deadly, doctors will only use it on a person who is already near death.

Doctors found a donor who was unrelated to him but had a rare genetic mutation called homozygous CCR5 Delta 32.

People who have the mutation have natural resistance to HIV as they have a CCR5 receptor on their immune cells that can block pathways the virus needs to replicate.

'It's a very rare mutation. It exists in roughly 1 percent of the population. So it's not, it's not something we find very commonly,' Dr Jana Ditker, Mr Edmunds' doctor at City of Hope, told ABC.

These types of transplants can be deadly as there is a chance the body's immune system rejects, and begins to attack, the implanted cells.

After receiving reduced-intensity chemotherapy treatments that would make the transplant more tolerable, he received a blood stem cell transplant in early 2019.

Two years later in mid-2021, Mr Edmunds was declared cured of HIV.

'We were thrilled to let him know that his HIV is in remission and he no longer needs to take antiretroviral therapy that he had been on for over 30 years,' Dr Dickter said last year.

'He saw many of his friends die from AIDS in the early days of the disease and faced so much stigma when he was diagnosed with HIV in 1988. But now, he can celebrate this medical milestone.'

The first man to successfully receive this treatment was Timothy Ray Brown - dubbed the 'Berlin patient' - whose bone marrow transplant in 2007 rid his body of the virus.

While he has since died of cancer, his story was a breakthrough in HIV treatment and set the stage for future findings.

While this treatment is promising, and could give hope to many of the people suffering, its applications are relatively limited.

Still, experts are hopeful that breakthroughs made in recent months will allow for better treatments for the virus to form.
British car giant Jaguar Land Rover has confirmed that the original 'Land Rover' name used since the off-road legend's inception in 1948 is being controversially sidelined.

Its range of 4X4 models will be sold with standalone nameplates, meaning vehicles including the Range Rover, Defender and Discovery lose the 75-year-old Land Rover branding.

Land Rover will instead be used as an overarching 'Trust Mark' and while the famous green oval badge will feature on grilles, the name will no longer appear prominently on the front of retail dealerships.

Instead, across a rectangular black arch, will be the names of the individual vehicles such as Range Rover or Defender, without the 'Land Rover' oval, said a company spokesman.

'House of Brands' shake-up at Jaguar Land Rover: Its 4X4 models - including the Range Rover, Defender and Discovery, will all lose their 'Land Rover' nameplates as part of a new strategy

Jaguar Land Rover also announced that with immediate effect the company would in future be known officially as JLR, which will be its new over-arching corporate identity.

JLR insisted it was not scrapping the traditional green Land Rover badge, but it will be far less prominent and relegated to a secondary role.

The badge will continue to appear in the interior and on certain branded parts, JLR insisted.

It added: 'Land Rover will remain. It is strong, well known and we will use that collective strength to give our brands authenticity and purpose. The Land Rover name remains on our vehicles, reinforcing our off-road credentials and technology capabilities.'

Professor Gerry McGovern, JLR's design boss, said the move to ditch Land Rover naming from its wider vehicle line-up had been made for 'clarity' as customers already referred to their vehicles this way, rather than as 'Land Rover Range Rover'.

How well this chimes with customers who regularly refer to their Land Rover Defender or Land Rover Discovery remains to be seen.

Announcing the latest phase of its restructuring and relaunch, JLR also highlighted a 15billion investment over five years in the brand's industrial footprint, vehicle programmes and development of autonomous, artificial intelligence (AI) and digital technologies.

With Jaguar set to become an all-electric premium car maker in 2025 - with a GT grand tourer the first of three new models - the brand said its Halewood plant in Merseyside is to become an EV-only manufacturing facility.

The British car giant confirmed that the original 'Land Rover' name for the company's off-roaders since the firm's inception in 1948 is being controversially side-lined for use only as an overarching 'Trust Mark'

The Defender will no longer have Land Rover before its official name, JLR confirmed

Discovery models will also lose the Land Rover name from their official name

The Wolverhampton Engine Manufacturing Centre, which currently makes petrol and diesel engines, will also see changes, being renamed its 'Electric Propulsion Manufacturing Centre'.

Bosses also confirmed that the next generation medium-size SUV architecture it launches will be pure-electric, with pre-order books for its battery-powered Range Rover due to open later this year before it arrives in 2025.

It will be built at the EV-converted Halewood factory in a move that 'further affirms JLR's commitment to the future of the UK car industry,' the brand said.

However, the future of its Castle Bromwich facility in Birmingham is less certain.

The manufacturer said: 'In positive news for the future of the historic Castle Bromwich site, JLR confirmed that its stamping facilities that prepare pressed body metalwork for JLR's vehicles will be expanded to play a key role in the company's electric future, by providing body work for next generation electric vehicles.'

But it later noted: ' JLR continues to explore options for other parts of the Castle Bromwich site.'

JLR's Halewood plant in Merseyside (pictured) is to become an EV-only manufacturing facility

The future of JLR's Castle Bromwich facility in Birmingham is less certain, however. Bosses said they are considering their options

Professor Gerry McGovern, JLR's design boss, said the move to ditch Land Rover branding from its wider vehicle line-up had been made for 'clarity' as customers already referred to their vehicles this way, rather than as 'Land Rover Range Rover'

Chief executive Adrian Mardell reaffirmed the business's commitment to its Reimagine strategy, which he said will reposition the company as a highly profitable electric-first, modern luxury carmaker by 2030.

He added that the brand had already made big strides by reducing debt, and increasing the profitability of each car sold.

Many of the 40,000 strong workforce will be retrained for an electric future but he couldn't rule out changes to the head count.

Mardell said: 'Two years ago, we launched our Reimagine strategy and since then we have made great progress, including launching two new critically acclaimed modern luxury Range Rover and Range Rover Sport models, joining the Defender family, for which there is record demand.

'We achieved this while navigating the headwinds of the pandemic and chip shortages, and successfully ramping up production of our most profitable models to deliver profit in Q3.'

He added: 'Today I am proud to announce we are accelerating our electrification path, making one of our UK plants and our next-generation medium-size luxury SUV architecture fully electric.

'This investment enables us to deliver our modern luxury electric future, developing new skills, and reaffirming our commitment to be net zero carbon by 2039.'
It was the gig that didn't come easily for Ally Langdon.

But the popular Nine presenter, who beat out a large number of other contenders in what was a frenzied race for the coveted job, is having the last laugh as the new A Current Affair host.

Fresh off the first official ratings period of 2023 Langdon has helped lift ACA's ratings to some of their highest in recent years - and her debut beat Tracy Grimshaw's figures from the same day one year ago by around 30,000 viewers.

In the final week of ratings season, ACA recorded its highest rating episode of the year - 1.1 million - across metro, regional and BVOD (broadcaster on-demand video) markets.

Viewers, too, have been vocal in their approval, with an early series Langdon produced on domestic violence drawing praise across social media.

Langdon is having the last laugh as the new A Current Affair host

Langdon has helped A Current Affair to impressive ratings for the start of 2023

Stellar Job tonight Ally, said a Facebook commenter following the segment broadcast.

'Ally was 100 per cent the right choice,' commented a viewer.

'Fantastic interview Ally  welcome to A Current Affair,' said another.

If this is the direction she is taking the show, I reckon I might watch more often.'

Behind the scenes, colleagues at Nine say Langdon's impressive start to the ratings year is being 'quietly applauded' by her allies at the network's North Sydney headquarters, given she faced some pushback from management.

'There were certainly some who didn't want to see her in that role,' a Nine insider told Daily Mail Australia.

'But she has certainly proved them wrong and in a very short amount of time.

'She has more than filled Tracy's shoes.'

Sources at Nine say a number of other hosting options were seriously considered, and even Langdon's old co-host at Today - Karl Stefanovic - was allegedly keen on the job.

'There were certainly some who didn't want to see her in that role,' a Nine insider told Daily Mail Australia.

Langdon with husband Mike Willesee Jr -the son of former ACA host Mike Willesee

The network openly auditioned a number of candidates including Chris O'Keefe, Sylvia Jeffreys and Deborah Knight before Langdon was handed the career-defining role - one which was once held by her father-in-law Mike Willesee.

Speaking about receiving the news that she had landed the gig - via phone call - Langdon said her husband Mike Willesee Jr was 'incredibly proud' and shared some advice handed to her from Grimshaw.

'I spoke to Trace a lot in the lead up to the (host) announcement being made and I remember a conversation we had as she was driving in ahead of her final show' she told the Herald Sun.

'She said; 'Just be yourself, Ally, be yourself, and follow what you want to follow'.

'She said; 'Just be yourself, Ally, be yourself, and follow what you want to follow'; Langdon says of Grimshaw

Karl Stefanovic now hosting Today with Sarah Abo. Today is yet to win a week over Sunrise in 2023

Channel Nine confirmed in December that Ally would vacate her co-hosting role at Today to replace outgoing ACA host Grimshaw, with 60 Minutes reporter Sarah Abo stepping in as her replacement.

However, Today remains locked in a losing battle with Seven's Sunrise which has won seven consecutive ratings weeks prior to the non-ratings break.
She's accused of sexting seven cops, having multiple affairs, and wrecking a string of marriages, including her own.

But the raunchy rap sheet of suspended Texas 911 dispatcher Krystle Perez could stretch back even further, DailyMail.com can exclusively reveal.

Perez was put on unpaid leave earlier this month after jilted hubby Giancarlo Perez discovered sleazy messages on her phone and tipped off bosses at the Bexar County Sheriff's Office in San Antonio.

The 38-year-old siren is accused of having 'extramarital relations' with a string of colleagues including married Sgt. Reynaldo Salinas and Deputy Juan Leal  texting the latter: 'I can lay on you and kiss you all over  thinking of my daddy.'

All three face termination, pending an appeal, while a further three officers face possible disciplinary action in the ongoing Internal Affairs probe which is examining whether any of the trysts happened on duty.

Krystle Perez, a 38-year-old overnight dispatcher at San Antonio's Bexar County Sheriff's Department, was placed on unpaid leave after her husband Giancarlo Perez (right) discovered she had been having multiple affairs with several officers

When DailyMail.com caught up with tattooed Perez at her five-bed, suburban San Antonio home this week to discuss the inquiry, she stared down a reporter and stormed off in silence

DailyMail.com can now reveal that mom-of-three Perez has been dogged by allegations of cheating since the break-up of her previous marriage to San Antonio police officer Todd Tackitt in 2012.

Tackitt wrote in divorce filings that their four-year union had become 'unsupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities'  adding: 'Petitioner [Perez] has committed adultery.'

Sources say he learned of her fling in similar fashion to Giancarlo  by discovering text messages his then-wife had sent to her lover.

Tackitt, 38, who is still embroiled in custody issues with Perez over their two teenage kids, declined to speak about the split.

Within a year of their divorce, Perez had remarried and had another child with Giancarlo before taking a job as an overnight dispatcher at the Bexar County Sheriff's Office, which boasts 1,900 employees and an annual budget of $135million.

Their relationship broke down late last year, however, when business consultant Giancarlo examined his wife's phone and allegedly discovered lewd messages to six sheriff's deputies plus a City of Converse police officer.

'They use emojis to reference body parts, they talk about kissing, making out and these sexual connections,' sickened Giancarlo, 41, told News 4 San Antonio.

'She was the love of my life and it was very distraught, heartbreaking, I was in disbelief.'

The messages shared with investigators include a sordid exchange between Perez and Salinas, 52, who allegedly wrote to her: 'I feel so hott and Sexy when Im in you (sic).'

DailyMail.com has learned Perez's previous marriage to San Antonio officer Todd Tackitt ended, in part, due to her infidelity, according to filings

Perez's raunchy messages were uncovered and sent to the small-town police department by husband Giancarlo Perez, and are now being vetted to assess their legitimacy

After Giancarlo reported her alleged bed-hopping to Internal Affairs on December 6 last year, it was Perez who filed for divorce, court papers show

In her petition, Perez claimed Giancarlo abruptly demanded that she quit her dispatcher job and began going through her cell phone, prompting her to get a new one

'F**k yea you do. I can feel it - all of it - and I love it,' the dispatcher replied, according to a screen grab taken by Giancarlo.

When the patrol Sgt. suggested the pair 'need another hotel day', Perez responded: 'Yes!!!!!!!'

Salinas, an 18-year law enforcement veteran, then added: 'None stop for as long as possible (sic).'

At least one message from Salinas appeared to have been sent while he was on duty.

The text, logged at 10:20pm on a Friday night, read: 'I get off at midnight, came in early.'

The alleged exchange between Perez and Leal is similarly incriminating, with the randy mom texting her colleague to say: 'I can't wait for more time to open up so I can fill us in it.'

Leal, who was handed a previous one-day suspension in 2017 for unprofessional behavior, messaged back: 'Yes baby, I can't wait.'

Leal also wrote to Perez: 'I can't wait for us to be naked and us caressing each other and then kissing each other ALL OVER!!!!' according to the screen grabs.

'F**k yes!' replied Perez. 'Thinking of my daddy and his kisses.'

Tattooed Perez stared down a DailyMail.com reporter and stormed off in silence when we called at her five-bed, suburban San Antonio home this week to discuss the inquiry.

Sources close to the former couple say Giancarlo had known about his wife's alleged cheating for some time but had tried, unsuccessfully, to repair the marriage.

Within a year of her and Tackitt's divorce, Perez remarried and had another child with Giancarlo, DailyMail.com can reveal

Perez and her ex are still embroiled in custody issues over their two teenage kids (not pictured)

This text sent to Reynaldo Salinas suggests he and Krystle Perez previously met for sex

One message sent to Leal saw Perez refer to him as her 'daddy', while he lustfully expressed his excitement at getting 'naked' with the dispatcher. Leal hasn't been accused of meeting Perez for sex in-person

After he reported her alleged bed-hopping to Internal Affairs on December 6 last year, it was Perez who filed for divorce, stating in a December 14 affidavit that she was worried for her safety.

'In the preceding months leading up to this filing my husband's behavior has changed to the point that I am concerned about his mental stability and for the safety of myself and our son,' Perez wrote.

She said that last November Giancarlo abruptly demanded that she quit her dispatcher job and began going through her cell phone, prompting her to get a new one.

'This action enraged him,' she added.

Perez alleges that her husband sent her a series of messages on December 1 that indicated that he was watching her while she was at work.

'He again told me I needed to quit my job or he would make false reports to get me fired,' Perez wrote, making no mention of what the supposedly false claims were about.

'I knew this was the next level and I needed to share with a supervisor and update my friends that if they did not hear from me unexpectedly to please have a welfare check on me,' she went on.

'I am aware that he has the ability to become violent and that coupled with his current erratic behavior scares me.'

Perez said the incident sparked a huge argument on December 5 where Giancarlo allegedly told their sobbing eight-year-old son that 'mom wants me gone because she is unfaithful.'

Sgt Renaldo Salinas of Bexar County Sheriff's Office texted Perez implying they'd previously met for sex

Deputy Juan Leal, above, also sent raunchy messages - although there's no suggestion he met up with Perez. He and Salinas are both on leave, and have been told they'll likely be fired

Another, Deputy Jason Jarvis (at right), has been hit with a proposed suspension of 30 days. Seen here with wife Jessica, the deputy reportedly has confessed to having sex with the dispatcher - and has since been hit with divorce papers

After Giancarlo left their $400,000 marital home, she says he tried to tamper with the security cameras.

On December 19, a Bexar County judge granted Perez a temporary restraining order banning him from returning.

Giancarlo's lawyer Jennifer Espronceda dismissed Perez's allegations as 'completely false'.

'When you have a contentious divorce it's common for the wrongdoer to use false allegations to deflect from bad conduct,' Espronceda told DailyMail.com.

'There's no need to make inflammatory statements when you have the facts on your side. Absolutely everything Giancarlo states can and will be proven through objective evidence in court.'

The attorney added: 'My client is devastated and deeply affected by his wife's actions but it's not just about them.

Deputy Jason Jarvis's wife Jessica, above, welled-up as she recounted discovering her husband's alleged affair with Perez. She's now divorcing him

'It's impacting the lives of their children, her children by her previous marriage, her ex-husband who dealt with this before.

'It's the brothers, the fathers, the families, the wives of the men she's slept with. There's a whole web of pain and hurt.'

The accused officers are also said to include Deputy Jason Jarvis, whose disgusted wife Jessica outed him to a local news channel and filed for divorce, claiming he admitted to her that he had an affair with Perez.

Jarvis, 44, has been suspended for 30 days, according to News 4 San Antonio.

'These are people that are supposed to be protecting us, serving and making sure the community is safe,' Jessica, 45, told the station, fighting tears.

Lawyers for Tackitt and Perez, who is still flying a huge 'thin gold line' flag  which honors emergency dispatchers  from a flagpole at her house, did not respond to requests for comment.

While it doesn't appear that Perez or the officers involved broke any laws they are being disciplined for violating the sheriff's office code of conduct.

A spokesman said: 'On December 6, 2022, a complaint was filed with BCSO Internal Affairs regarding a dispatcher, Krystle Perez, regarding having extramarital relations with several Bexar County Sheriff's Office Law Enforcement Deputies.

'The Deputies involved in this case included Deputy Juan Leal, Sgt. Reynaldo Salinas, and three other BCSO law enforcement officers who are currently going through the disciplinary process.

Heavily tattooed Perez stared down a DailyMail.com reporter and stormed off in silence when we called at her five-bed, suburban San Antonio home this week to discuss the inquiry.

Perez and her two lovers face termination, pending an appeal, while a further three officers face possible disciplinary action

Tackitt and Perez's home is still festooned with a huge 'thin gold line' flag  which honors emergency dispatchers  from a flagpole at her house

'At the onset of the investigation, the complainant provided Internal Affairs investigators with explicit text messages exchanged between Krystle Perez and five BCSO law enforcement officers.

'As a result of the investigation, Krystle Perez, Deputy Juan Leal, and Sergeant Reynaldo Salinas were issued proposed terminations, however, they are still undergoing the appeal process and the outcome of this proposed dismissal is still pending.

'Additionally, the investigation into this incident remains ongoing.'

The Bexar County episode comes on the heels of the Maegan Hall sex scandal which engulfed the La Vergne Police Department in rural Tennessee earlier this year.

Hall and four other cops were fired after an internal probe heard how she pleasured colleagues while on duty, whipped her top off at a 'Girls Gone Wild' hot tub party and played games of Strip Uno.

She later sued the force claiming she was groomed for sexual exploitation by predatory male officers.

Perezs attorney Jessica Estorga-Johnson initially failed to respond to a DailyMail.com request for comment but issued a statement hours after the publication of this story.

Krystle Perez, her relationship with her husband, and the details of their divorce are private matters. It is abhorrent that Mr. Perez has made his mission of vengeance a public one and used the media to fulfill his narrative, Estorga-Johnson said.
Suspected felons have walked free in half of cases since Alvin Bragg took office, sparking fears that some of New Yorks worst criminals still roam the streets, DailyMail.com can reveal.

The proportion of cases in which the Manhattan DAs office has not asked for felony suspects to be held on bail has more than doubled since 2018, according to its own data.

It has sparked fears that more suspects will be released before trial, leaving them free to reoffend.

Campaigners have accused officials of 'a depraved indifference to human life' and pointed to a spate of recent cases in which suspects have been released without bail before going on to commit heinous crimes.

DailyMail.com's findings come amid a row over New Yorks lax bail rules - the most liberal in the US - which have been repeatedly blasted for being soft on crime.

The Manhattan DA's office has asked that felony suspects be held on bail in just half of cases so far this year, down from 77 percent in 2018 and 86 percent a decade ago

The Manhattan DA's office is also turning away more cases since Bragg took charge in 2022

Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg has been slammed as soft-on-crime by victims, Democrats and law enforcement officials. DailyMail.com has unearthed a trove of data that underlines their point

These have tied Bragg's hands in many cases, leaving fewer cases eligible for bail.

But he can still exercise discretion - and experts have suggested his political leanings may also be behind the decline.

Meanwhile, data shows he is increasingly downgrading felonies to misdemeanors, contributing to fewer cases being bail eligible.

Critics have argued the approach has led to rising recidivism, but the data is fiercely disputed.

Bragg has also come under fire from victims of violent crime in Manhattan, who blasted the DA at a House Judiciary Committee on Monday for his lenient stance on justice.

DailyMail.coms analysis of Manhattan DA data shows the office has not requested bail for suspected felons in 49 percent of cases so far this year.

In 2018, it was 23 percent.

For misdemeanors, the DAs office has asked judges to hold suspects on bail in just 7 percent of cases this year, compared to 29 percent in 2018.

Ultimately, a judge decides whether bail is set, but the Assistant DA can request it on select cases.

Bail has been set in 41 percent of felony cases so far this year, compared to 53 percent in 2018, the data shows.

Jennifer Harrison, founder of Victims' Rights NY, said the decline in requests 'initiates the leniency towards some of these monsters'.

Harrison, who has campaigned tirelessly on behalf of crime victims since her boyfriend and his best friend were murdered in 2005, said the figures were 'extremely disheartening from a personal standpoint'.

'I don't want others to suffer what I've suffered,' she added. 'The more they keep releasing recidivists, the greater the chances of someone else falling victim to these people.

'There is a depraved indifference to human life that is sweeping across the country. All the empathy and compassion has been placed on those who have inflicted pain on others.'

Bragg has downgraded more than half of felony charges to misdemeanors since taking office and issuing a memo on directing staff not to prosecute armed robberies as felonies if the firearm did not create a genuine risk of physical harm

Bragg arrives at his office in Manhattan on Tuesday following a chastening hearing at the House Judiciary Committee the previous day, in which he was blasted by victims of violent crime over his lenient stance on justice

In 2019, changes to New Yorks bail laws meant it became the only state where judges cannot assess a defendants dangerousness when setting bail.

Instead, judges must choose the least restrictive means to ensure a defendant returns to court, effectively making bail a last resort.

Hannah Meyers, director of policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute, a think tank, said the fall in bail requests from the DA's office could be a reflection of these reforms, but added: 'I would imagine that Bragg's office and the most progressive offices are not as aggressive at requesting bail as others.'

She said: 'Certainly, there is a political bent within prosecutors' offices towards requesting bail or not.

'The problem is New York created such a hard and fast rule about letting everyone out, that those that pose a danger are now playing on communities because they're obviously going to reoffend.

'No one is having a serious conversation about the clear harm that is being done and how to fix it.'

Bragg issued a now infamous memo on his first day in office directing staff not to prosecute armed robberies as felonies if the firearm did not create a genuine risk of physical harm.

Since then, he has downgraded 55 percent of felony cases to misdemeanors in 2023 to date, up from 40 percent in 2018, according to his own data.

Harrison said this has also contributed to the rise in suspects being released without bail, as it has reduced the number of bail-eligible cases.

She added that although those who implemented bail reform had 'good intentions', their policies were now 'hurting' the disadvantaged communities they were designed to help.

The DAs office is also turning away more cases since Bragg was elected to office at the start of 2022, declining to prosecute 1 in 7 so far this year, down from around 1 in 13 in 2021.

NYC REPEAT OFFENDERS WHO WERE LET WITHOUT BAIL TO TERRORIZE THE CITY... Criminal who allegedly smeared feces on woman's face was out on bail after attacking someone in a store Frank Abrokwa smeared feces on a woman's face weeks after being bailed out after punching someone on a subway platform Just one week before the horrifying subway attack, Frank Abrokwa had been arrested for allegedly threatening a hardware store employee with a screwdriver but had been released without bail. The 37-year-old was also arrested on January 7, for allegedly punching a 30-year-old man on a subway platform at 125th Street and Lenox Avenue and on February 5, for hitting a 53-year-old man at the Port Authority Bus Terminal. But each time, thanks to New York's lax new bail reform laws, the alleged career criminal did not have to post bail and was released. A few days after threatening the store employee during a robbery, Abrokwa allegedly lunged at the woman at the East 241st Street subway station on February 21, smearing feces on her face. He was charged with forcible touching, menacing, disorderly conduct and harassment, but because the crimes were considered non-violent, the judge could not set bail and he was allowed to walk free. Abrokwa was finally locked up in March after an alleged violent incident at a storage facility in Harlem. Homeless Christmas tree arsonist freed without bail Craig Tamanaha, 49, leaves Manhattan Criminal court flipping the cameras after a hearing for the incident where he allegedly burned down a Christmas Tree in front of Fox Studios in December of 2021 Chris Tamanaha was released without bail after he allegedly torched a Christmas tree, despite having a 20-year rap sheet. In December 2021, Tamanaha, 50, was arraigned on one count each of felony second-degree criminal mischief, misdemeanor second-degree reckless endangerment and misdemeanor fifth-degree arson. He had a lengthy rap sheet and had been arrested the previous month for exposing himself outside the Ghislaine Maxwell trial in the city. The judge ordered him to regularly check in with a supervised release program but could not set bail due to New York's bail rules. The following month, it was reported he was on the lam and had failed to check in with his release program as required. Advertisement

And Bragg has secured convictions in just 51 percent of cases in which felony charges have been brought this year, down from 71 percent in 2018.

Jennifer Harrison is the head of Victims Rights NY, which is running its own 'fire Alvin Bragg' campaign

His first full year in office saw a 22 percent increase in major crime in New York City, despite a significant drop in shootings and murders.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul has proposed doing away with the 'least restrictive' standard for on some serious charges, allowing judges to set a higher bail based on whether they felt a defendant posed a threat.

The Democrat has previously blasted Bragg for going soft after he released without bail a man who terrorized McDonalds patrons with an ax.

She has also personally intervened in a case to ensure a registered sex offender who sucker-punched a man into a coma would remain in jail despite the Bronx DAs office initially charging him with only a misdemeanor.

Last year, New York City Mayor Eric Adams revealed that just ten individual criminals made up for 500 of the arrests in the city over the last two years, and at least six of them are still walking the streets.

The announcement came with a rally call to judges and the legislature to do away with bail reforms that he claimed are putting more violent criminals back on the street.

At a joint press conference with frustrated NYPD chiefs, Adams argued reforms had made it impossible for criminals to be jailed.

A spokesman for Bragg's office said: 'Preventing violence and stopping crime is the DAs top priority.

'Virtually every major crime category is lower in Manhattan now than it was last year and we will continue to work hand in hand with the NYPD and our other law enforcement partners to achieve lasting public safety.'
China is increasing its Antarctic footprint according to new satellite imagery collected by a Washington-based think tank that shows construction has resumed for the first time since 2018 on the country's fifth station in the southern polar region.

Beijing has sought to develop new shipping routes in the Arctic and expand its research in Antarctica in recent years.

But Western governments worry its increasing presence in the polar regions could provide the People's Liberation Army (PLA) with better surveillance capabilities.

The new station, on Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, is expected to include an observatory with a satellite ground station, and should help China 'fill in a major gap' in its ability to access the continent, the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) said in a report.

CSIS used satellite images taken in January to identify new support facilities, temporary buildings, a helicopter pad, and foundations for a larger main building at the 5,000 square meter (53,820 square feet) station. It estimated that construction could be done by 2024.

A satellite view with overlays shows areas to be developed at the new Chinese station under construction, on Inexpressible Island, Antarctica, on January 2

A map shows the locations of existing Chinese Antarctic stations and the Inexpressible Island site of a new station

'While the station can provide tracking and communications for China's growing array of scientific polar observation satellites, its equipment can concurrently be used for intercepting other nations' satellite communications,' CSIS said.

The station is well positioned to collect signals intelligence over Australia and New Zealand and telemetry data on rockets launched from Australia's new Arnhem Space Centre, it said. Once finished, the station is expected to include a wharf for China's Xuelong icebreaker ships.

CSIS told Reuters that while the U.S. still maintains a larger research presence in Antarctica - including the biggest facility in its McMurdo station - China's footprint is growing faster.

China's fifth station will be 200 miles (320 km) from the McMurdo station, it said.

Under the 1959 Antarctic Treaty, to which China is party, activities on the continent are restricted to 'peaceful purposes.'

Military personnel are allowed to conduct scientific research, but are banned from setting up bases, carrying out maneuvers, or testing weapons.

A 2022 Pentagon report said China's new Antarctic infrastructure was likely intended in part to strengthen its future claims to natural resources and maritime access and improve PLA capabilities.

China rejects claims that such stations would be used for espionage.
Flight delays have soared to a decade-high - with more than a fifth of US planes landing late in the last 12 months, DailyMail.com can reveal.

Exclusive data from flight tracking platform FlightAware shows that a shocking 21.4 percent of flights in the last year have been held up by an average of 50 minutes.

Flight delays have been steadily worsening in the last decade - despite ticket prices soaring and airlines posting record profits. The last time delays were close to last year's high was in 2014, when 18 percent of flights were late arriving.

JetBlue Airways was revealed as the worst offender, with customers delayed on 31.6 percent of its journeys, with an average wait of 57 minutes.

Kathleen Bangs, FlightAware spokeswoman and former airline pilot, told Dailymail.com a shortage of pilots after the pandemic and fewer available flights amid sky-high demand are contributing to the frustrating delays plaguing travelers.

Poor weather and a series of major technical glitches also left travelers waiting on the tarmac last year - with more than 1,700 Southwest Airlines flights delayed after yet another computer failure just yesterday.

JetBlue kept customers waiting on 31.6 percent of its journeys in the last 12 months

Source: FlightAware

Worst airlines for delays last year

Of the 9,204,351 scheduled departures over the past 12 months, 1,931,322 have been delayed.

Delays have not been this high since 2011, which is as far back as FlightAware records stretch.

In 2019, before the pandemic, 16.4 percent of flights were delayed - and the same figure was recorded in 2021.

JetBlue Airways was the worst offender between April 2022 and April 2023, with customers suffering delays on 31.6 percent of its journeys, according to FlightAware's data.

Southwest Airlines experienced delays on a quarter of its flights, while Spirit Airlines saw 24.9 percent of its arrivals turn up late.

At American Airlines and United Airlines, 23.2 percent and 21.2 percent of their flights were not on time respectively.

Envoy Air, Delta, Republic Airways and SkyWest accounted for the remaining four spots in the top ten worst offenders list, with 18.4 percent, 18 percent, 17.7 percent and 17 percent of journeys held up.

Yet despite this, many US airlines are posting record profits, with flight fares increasing 17.7 percent year-over-year, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest Consumer Price Index.

American Airlines said it achieved record profits of $803 million in the last quarter of 2022, while Delta reaped higher revenues last year than it did in 2019 - with even Southwest reporting a profit of $539 million for 2022.

What is causing the chaos?

In addition to tech meltdowns and bad weather, FlightAware spokesman Kathleen Bangs told Dailymail.com: 'We are back to almost pre-pandemic passenger numbers and on some days are equal to or exceeding 2019 numbers coming through TSA security.

'But were doing it with less flights. Thats in part because the regional carriers have a pilot shortage so many smaller jets have been parked due to lack of crew. With that in mind, the majors have increased the use of larger jets to hold greater capacity. So we have less flights overall, but with more passengers flying.'

She added that airlines have had to play catch up with flight training as many senior pilots took early retirement due to the pandemic.

'Once you retire your seniority number with an airline you cant return to your place in line  so pilots that took early retirement could not come back,' she said.

'Airlines are back to 2019 levels of staffing  and in some cases exceeding those numbers  but that doesnt mean that losing more experienced staff didnt take a toll operationally.'

More than 1,700 Southwest flights were delayed yesterday due to a technical glitch

Delays are down to a shortage of pilots and fewer overall flights, experts say

Cancellations are also on the up

Flight cancellations also rose last year, according to airline performance data released by The Department of Transportation.

Overall, 2.71 percent of flights were cancelled last year - the highest rate in almost a decade with the exception of 2020.

Aside from 2020, when many flights were cancelled due to the pandemic, the overall cancellation rate has been below 2 percent every year since 2015.

JetBlue was also the worst airline for cancelations last year - with 3.4 percent of flights called off.

Allegiant Air had 3.52 percent of journeys canceled, whereas 3.26 percent of Southwest flights did not go ahead.

A catalogue of errors

More than 1,700 Southwest Airlines flights were grounded on Tuesday morning after a system-wide computer glitch.

The nationwide stop started at around 9:45am. At 11:10am, the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the pause, revealing in a statement Southwest had 'experienced a technical issue' with one of its systems.

The issues come just weeks after the Texas-based carrier unveiled an 'action plan' to prevent such meltdowns, after it was plagued with another system error in late December.

The airline was forced to cancel more than 16,700 flights during the holiday season, mostly during the week between Christmas and the new year.

Flight problems was the highest category of the complaints received by the Department of Transportation in December 2022. Of the 16,876 complaints received, 8,857 (52.5 percent) concerned cancellations, delays, or other deviations from airlines schedules.

Thousands of flyers across US airlines were also plagued with disruptions following a spectacular Federal Aviation Administration computer error in January.

Data showed there were over 10,000 delays across and over 1,000 cancelations after the Notice to Air Missions system crashed due to a corrupt file in its database.

Major airports including JFK, LAX, Miami and Atlanta all had issues two days after the computer meltdown.

Extreme weather conditions also meant thousands of flights were cancelled and delayed late last year when treacherous winter conditions ravaged the country.

More than 12,500 flights were disrupted in December when New York, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Georgia and North Carolina called states of emergency over sub-zero temperatures and whiteout conditions.

A shocking 21.4 percent of flights in the last year have been delayed by an average of 50 minutes

Of the 9,204,351 scheduled departures over the past 12 months, 1,931,322 have been delayed

Staffing shortages are a particular problem in New York, where the air traffic control center is staffed at a mere 54 percent, far below the 81 percent national average.

As a result, the FAA asked air carriers to reduce their flight schedules by 10 percent in the New York region during peak summer travel from May 15 to September 15.

Texas Senator Ted Cruz has demanded answers over the shortages, citing fears they could reduce customer choice and increase prices for travelers.

In a letter to the Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, Senator Cruz wrote: 'The price of airfare will almost certainly rise and competition will decrease at some of our countrys busiest airports.'

A JetBlue spokesperson said: 'The Northeast, where JetBlue primarily operates, is by far the most congested airspace in the U.S., with more air traffic control delays and weather delays than any other region. In 2022, 76 percent of our operations touched congested airspace compared to 42 percent for our closest competitor and other competitors ranging from 7 percent to 32 percent.

'Our acquisition of Spirit Airlines will diversify our network outside of the congested Northeast, giving us greater operational resiliency and increased relevance to customers.'

In March, the Justice Department filed an antitrust suit seeking to block JetBlue's $3.8 billion acquisition of budget competitor Spirit Airlines, claiming it would raise airfare prices and harm consumers.

Delta said 81 percent of its arrivals in the first three months of 2022 were on time.

All other airlines have been approached for comment.
A hardworking dad has been forced to spend the last 17 months living in a caravan in his parent's front yard, despite having a full-time job as Australia's rental crisis worsens.

Alistair Turner, 39, from Geelong, spends every spare moment inspecting and applying for rentals while juggling family commitments and commuting to Melbourne for work.

The father-of-two is now at breaking point, having been overlooked for more than 175 properties, despite having a full-time job, a solid income and good rental history.

The family also turned to community housing in their quest for a roof over their heads, only to discover there was an 18-month waiting list.

Alistair Turner and his family live in a caravan in his parents' front yard to avoid homelessness

He covers the caravan with a tarp to keep the rain out.

'This is where I live,' Mr Turner told Nine News.

'I don't want to accept the fact that this is where I live. I want a property. I want to raise my children in a house.

'As a father and as a partner, you feel embarrassed. You can't provide.

'I work full-time Monday to Friday.

A desperate appeal on Facebook also proved to be fruitless.

'It has now been 14 months, 143 applications and still no property,' Mr Turner wrote in January.

'When do you feel beaten down and tired? When do you realise that you don't know why?

'You never get a reason from the real estate. All you get is a sorry you are unsuccessful letter.

'There has to be a point, where you feel like a failure and that you can't provide. Just what the actual f**k is going on.'

The father-of-two (pictured) has applied for 175 rentals in the last 17 months

The rental vacancy rate in Geelong is 3.1 per cent but it's harder to get a place in Melbourne's where it's 2.2 per cent.

Real estate agent Kazween Marker from Marker Realty was inundated with 57 applications for a $450 a week property at Point Cook on Melbourne's outskirts just this week.

She urged those desperate to secure a property to provide as much detail as possible in their rental applications.

'There is a part (on applications) where tenants can put in a little description of themselves,' Ms Marker said.

'Give us details of your previous rental history, employment reference, paychecks.'
An Aussie DJ and OnlyFans star has asked fans for donations after doctors discovered bleeding on her brain after a 'terrible' fall down stairs.

Courtney Mills, who has been living in Bali for six months, suffered a concussion from the fall.

Lauren Fankhauser, who is organising the fundraiser on behalf of Ms Mills, said something still 'felt off', so her friend had visited a private hospital where doctors discovered bleeding on the right side of her brain.

'Unfortunately, my friend doesn't have insurance, and the costs have already exceeded $3,000,' Ms Fankhauser wrote.

'If you're familiar with the Australian music scene, you may know my friend as a talented DJ Courtney Mills, who has brought joy and happiness to countless people.

'I'm asking for your help to support them during this challenging time.'

Aussie DJ and OnlyFans star Courtney Mills has asked fans for donations after doctors discovered bleeding on her brain after a 'terrible' fall down stairs

Courtney Mills, who has been living in Bali for six months, suffered a concussion from the fall but was initially given the all clear by doctors

On Sunday, Ms Fankhauser said her friend was staying in hospital overnight for monitoring and would have more scans in the morning.

'Your help and support would mean the world to my friend and their family. Thank you for taking the time to read this and for your consideration,' she wrote.

As of Wednesday, 10 people had donated to the fundraiser, raising almost $650 of its $5,000 goal.

Fans have left messages of support on Ms Mills' Instagram page, where she has almost 120,000 followers.

Organiser Lauren Fankhauser has asked people to donate to a GoFundMe page to help cover Ms Mills' medical expenses and potentially save her friend's life

Ms Mills, originally from Melbourne, has been living in Bali for the last six months

'Speedy recovery,' one man wrote.

'Think you should put a sale on your OF. Only way you're going to get any money from people for your head injury and maybe the sales will pay for you to get insurance in the future,' one woman suggested.

It's not the first time the OnlyFans star has been the subject of a GoFundMe page following an injury in Bali.

In 2018, Ms Mills and friend Matthew Davis were injured during a motorbike accident.

While Ms Mills was discharged from hospital, Mr Davis was told he may have to undergo 'high-risk' surgery to remove air trapped in his skull.

'The hospital bills so far exceed $30k and those costs increase by around $1,000 each day that Matt spends in hospital,' organisers wrote at the time.

'As many of you would know, biking accidents in Bali are not covered by travel insurance...and the costs incurred by Matt to date are huge.'

It's the second time Ms Mills has been involved in a GoFundMe page following an injury in Bali, after she and friend Matt Davis were injured in a motorbike accident in 2018

The DJ was named as a 'beneficiary' of the fundraiser, which raised almost $36,000 of its $45,000 goal following the accident.

Ms Mills, originally from Melbourne, has been living in Bali for the last six months.

She recently created a travel account, bambi.bali.travels, where she posts her recommendations for the best restaurants, bars and beauty services in Bali.

'My name is Courtney, I've lived in Bali the past 6 months and would love to share my experiences,' she wrote on the Facebook page.

'Helping make your Bali travels the best it can possibly be.'
Outback town is famous for its opal mines

Blocks of land and homes in varying conditions

An outback Australian town will auction off more than a dozen properties in a desperate effort to recoup unpaid council rates.

Sixteen properties in varying states of condition will go under the hammer in Coober Pedy, 850km north of Adelaide, next month, two years after another 33 were auctioned off for the same reason.

Prices start from $5000 for an 800 sqm block of land, while a three-bedroom home could set you back for as little as $30,000, depending on the condition.

Andrews Property will auction off the properties on May 3 in the town world famous for its opal mines.

Sixteen properties will be auctioned in the outback town of Cooper Pedy. Pictured is an above ground home described as 'in need of work'

'Under instructions from District Council of Coober Pedy, we are selling the properties by public auction,' the real estate description states.

Properties range from blocks of land and 'dugout' underground dwellings needing renovations to 'rustic' three-bedroom homes and a high-quality commercial office on the main street, which is expected to sell for $800,000.

Andrews Property director Warren Andrews expects the auction to attract much interest.

'I'm expecting a lot of buyers to be external. Coober Pedy attracts a lot of interest from NSW and Victoria. It's very cheap real estate,' he told 7News.

'Almost every second inquiry I'm getting across our whole group is to do with Coober Pedy auctions.'

'I love my work in Coober Pedy because we do see buyers from all over Australia.'

Potential bidders must register by 5pm May 2, the day before auction.

The council reserves the right to withdraw any property up until the 'fall of agents hammer', and a 10 per cent deposit of purchase price must be payable on auction day.

Blocks of land are expected to go as little for $5,000, including this 897sqm residential lot

The local council in Coober Pedy (town pictured) is auctioning off the properties in an desperate effort to to recoup unpaid rates

The Local Government Act allows the council to conduct an auction for the sale of land for a property where rates are three years in arrears.

The council auctions the property when all debt collection steps have been used.

It comes just days after the agent sold a three-bedroom fixer-upper in the town for $38,000.

The bargain property comes without walls or windows, has exposed electrical cords dangling from the ceiling while the shed was in poor condition.

Regarded as the opal capital of the world, Coober Pedy has a population of 2,000 and is halfway between Adelaide and Alice Springs.

The town's famous underground dwellings called dugouts (pictured) are among those that will go under the hammer

Average temperatures are 30C-plus for five months of the year, while overnight temperatures in winter dip as low as 5C.

In 2021, 33 Cooper Pedy properties sold for less than $43,000 each in a furious bidding war.

The highest-selling dugout sold for $36,000, while the cheapest vacant lot fetched just $1,300.

The most expensive above-ground home was snapped up for $43,000.

The homes were auctioned off after their owners were drastically behind on their rates - some for ten years - and the properties were repossessed.
An 11-year-old boy has been praised for checking on a bus driver after he was told to 'go back to where you came from' by an aggressive passenger.

Bus driver Sanjay Patel said he was driving from Swansea to Newcastle, just north of the NSW Central Coast, when a woman boarded his bus and verbally attacked him.

'She got to her stop, got off and as she got off she said, "why don't you go back to where you came from, Africa?",' he told 9 News.

Student Brock Keena (left) checked on bus driver Sanjay Patel (right) after he was racially abused by another passenger

Student Brock Keena, 11, saw the exchange from his seat at the front of the bus and decided he'd check to make sure Mr Patel was alright.

'A couple of stops later, young Brock comes up and says, "You shouldn't be treated like that, I hope you're okay",' Mr Patel said.

Heartwarming CCTV captured the moment Brock approached the bus driver to offer him words of comfort.

The 11-year-old is seen in the footage jumping out of his seat before walking to the front of the bus and exchanging a few words with Mr Patel.

The pair then shake hands before Brock steps off the vehicle.

'I just went up and asked him how he was feeling because I felt bad about the way he was being treated. He didn't deserve anything like that,' Brock said.

His parents both said they were proud of their son's 'beautiful' gesture.

Mr Patel said it was the first time a passenger had asked if he was OK after he'd been abused, despite racial attacks being a common occurrence.

CCTV footage captured the moment Brock (right) checked Mr Patel (left) was okay and shook his hand

Mr Patel (above) said Brock's gesture was the first time a passenger has checked on him after he's been abused

NSW Transport said more than 500 cases of bus driver abuse were reported in the past year.

Acting Chief Operating Officer Mark Hutchings warned the department will be reporting more attacks to police.

Mr Patel said he came to Australia as a refugee when he was around Brock's age and spent most of his life living in western Sydney.

He hopes Brock's actions will inspire other commuters to be kinder to transport workers.
Hamilton and four others allegedly drugged gay men, resulting in two deaths

Jayqwan Hamilton has been indicted on two counts of murder

Suspected ringleader of NYC gay bar fatal robberies has been arrested

The man who is suspected to be the ringleader of a group who carried out a series of druggings and robberies at New York City gay bars has been arrested and arraigned on murder and conspiracy charges.

Jayqwan Hamilton turned himself in to police on Tuesday in connection to 17 robberies between March 2021 and July 2022 where two victims died of overdoses with fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol, and other drugs in their systems.

Hamilton, 35, was indicted on two counts of murder as well as multiple counts of grand larceny, robbery, identity theft, and conspiracy.

The man is believed to have lead four others in a string of robberies that terrorized New York's LGBTQ+ nightlife scene. John Umberger, 33, and Julio Ramirez, 25, both died, allegedly from the ring's operation due to 'acute intoxication.'

'Their motive, we allege, was simple: to make money,' Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg said Tuesday. 'They approach people leaving bars and nightclubs late at night, engage them in conversation and offer them illicit and dangerous substances.'

Jayqwan Hamilton turned himself in to police on Tuesday in connection to 17 robberies between March 2021 and July 2022 of which two victims died of overdoses with fentanyl, cocaine, ethanol, and other drugs in their systems

The man is believed to have lead four others in a string of robberies that terrorized New York's LGBTQ+ nightlife scene. John Umberger, 33, and Julio Ramirez, 25, both died, allegedly from the ring's operation due to 'acute intoxication'

Hamilton's four alleged accomplices, Andrew Butt, 27; Shane Hoskins, 30; Robert Demaio, 34, and Jacob Barroso, 30, have been in police custody since March.

According to investigators, the group would meet the victims at gay nightclubs in the Big Apple and then drug them without their knowledge.

On Tuesday, Bragg was joined by Mayor Eric Adams and Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell during the press conference to announce Hamilton's arrest.

Mayor Eric Adams said during the conference that the crimes were 'clearly rooted in greed and with total disregard for the victims.'

Some of the robbery victims, police said, were also roommates of victims who died.

The story first broke after Ramirez, a social worker from Brooklyn, went missing in April 2022.

He was last seen alive on surveillance footage leaving the Ritz Bar and Lounge on West 46th Street in a taxi with three men.

Police later found him dead from ab overdose and without his wallet or phone.

'His cell phone was used to make numerous transfers from bank accounts and purchase sneakers,' NYPD Chief of Detectives James Essig said.

As investigations ramped up, police discovered $20,000 had been drained from Ramirez's bank accounts.

Hamilton after being arrested by New York City Police on Tuesday

Hamilton was indicted Tuesday on two counts of murder as well as multiple counts of grand larceny, robbery, identity theft, and conspiracy

Ramirez was last seen alive on surveillance footage in April 2022, leaving the Ritz Bar and Lounge on West 46th Street in a taxi with three men

Two of the other men arrested in the series of robberies and druggings in New York City

A month after Ramirez was discovered, Umberger went missing after leaving Q NYC.

The DC political consultant was found on the fifth floor of an East 61st Street townhouse four days after he disappeared.

His accounts were drained of roughly $25,000.

The cases were later connected, Essig said, through 'similar fact patterns.'

Further investigations allegedly showed Hamilton on camera using both victims' credit cards.

The alleged ringleader made 'illegal purchases,' that were not specified.

In one video, the crew was also spotted entering the townhouse where Umberger's body was located and were seen driving off in a red Dodge Durango.

The vehicle in question was rented to Demaio, according to Essig.

Umberger, a DC political consultant was found on the fifth floor of an East 61st Street townhouse four days after he disappeared

After his death, police discovered Umberger's accounts were drained of roughly $25,000

After Demaio's arrest, police said they found two additional videos including him.

In one video, Hamilton is seen with an 'apparently unconscious' Umberger in the same position as the one where cops would later find him.

'In addition to the pain their deaths have caused for their family and loved ones, I know that many other New Yorkers have feared for their own safety when going out to meet up with friends,' Bragg said Tuesday.

The investigation into the matter remains ongoing and police are currently searching for any additional victims who may have been targeted.

'If other members of the public believe they have been the victims of similar incidents, I encourage them to call our help line at 212-335-9040,' police said.
A fed up neighbour has exposed a dog walker who didn't clean up after his pet when it did a dump on the street by plastering up an image of the pair on a telegraph pole for everyone to see.

The resident fastened a large colour photo of the man and the dog onto a pole with a doggie bag taped underneath at Malpas Street, Preston in Melbourne's north.

The image showed the distracted man looking at his phone while the pooch crouched over to do a poo on the lawn in front of a home.

The picture and the empty bag plastered on the pole prompted a passerby to take a snap before it was posted to social media last week.

The resident fastened a large colour photo of the man and the dog onto a pole with a doggie bag taped on underneath at Malpas Street, Preston in Melbourne's north (pictured)

The image showed the distracted man looking at his phone while the pooch crouched over to do a poo on a lawn (stock image)

The post was captioned: 'Found this while going for my morning walk in Preston. Someone's taken exception [to] this particular person and their dog taking a s*** on their lawn and not picking it up.'

Online users praised the person who held the dog walker to account and shared similar stories of pet owners ignoring their duties.

'Love this! I feel the same way - [I'm] living nearby and one particularly large dog and their owner like to leave us large lawn surprises,' one wrote.

'Yep, my ex never used to pick up after his family dog when he took him for a walk, even when I nagged him about it and told him it's his responsibility,' another added.

'He thought it was too gross.'

'The old 'look at phone and pretend not to notice dog pooping' trick,' a third wrote.

The Darebin City Council in Preston said it is an owners responsibility to clean up after their dogs

'Love this! I feel the same way - [I'm] living nearby and one particularly large dog and their owner like to leave us large lawn surprises,' a social media commenter wrote (pictured, the Melbourne street where the photo was plastered up)

'It's really hard to teach manners and etiquette. I've had a friend say, the rain will wash it away,' another said.

But others suggested the dog may not have done any dump.

'My doggo had constipation and would hunch but not s***, I was always worried about someone yelling at me,' they said.

'I'd always say something like "anything? Nope nothing, that's okay, try again later" haha.'

The Darebin City Council encompassing Preston said it is an owners responsibility to clean up after their dogs.

'Always carry waste bags and dispose of these responsibly, either in the nearest bin or at your bin at home,' it said on its website.

'Failure to clean up after your dog can result in fines being issued.'
An Australian mum has tragically died and her daughter been left injured after their taxi plunged off a cliff in Sri Lanka.

The pair were in a hire taxi travelling through the village of Dara Wanguwa, about 100 kilometres north east of the capital Colombo, when the vehicle crashed on Monday.

The 67-year-old mother is believed to be a woman of Fijian-Indian origin from Sydney.

A 67-year-old Australian mum has tragically died in Sri Lanka after the hire taxi she was in plunged off a cliff. The woman, believed to be from Sydney, was travelling with her daughter

The pair were travelling through the village of Dara Wanguwa, about 100 kilometres north east of the capital Colombo, when the vehicle crashed

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade expressed its condolences to the family and are providing them with assistance.

'We send our deepest condolences to the family,' a spokesperson told 9News.

'Consular officials from the High Commission in Colombo are supporting another Australian woman who was injured in the accident. '

The 67-year-old's death comes just days after a South Australian father-of-five died while hiking the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea with his son on Sunday.

Paul Miller, 48, was on his second day of the self-funded charity trip with his son Aaron, 17, when he suffered a suspected heart attack.

The medically retired veteran and his son were hiking the iconic track with 'a small group of veterans and first responders' to raise money for Operation K9 - a Royal Society for the Blind program providing service dogs for retired soldiers.

An Australian who died while hiking the Kokoda Track in Papua New Guinea has been named as 48-year-old Adelaide father-of-five Paul Miller (pictured)

Mr Miller's wife Amanda Kaplan said the 'passionate advocate for veterans' is believed to have suffered the heart attack after the group had covered 18.5km of the 96km journey.

'Despite all efforts of assistance and of CPR, he was airlifted out and it has been confirmed that he had passed away on arrival at the hospital,' Ms Kaplan said through Operation Unity SA.

'In true Dusty style, he went out with a bang - doing something that he has always wanted to do  Kokoda.'

Ms Kaplan said Mr Miller was a loving father to children Sarah, 28, Sabrina, 24, Hayley, 20, Aaron, 17 and Amy, who died aged 12.
The two are lifelong 'best friends'

Miracle double car crash survivor Sophie Delezio has announced her engagement to her high school sweetheart and 'best friend'.

Ms Delezio, 22, is getting married to her lifelong friend-turned-lover Joseph Salerno, 23, after he popped the question on Valentine's Day this year.

Ms Delezio become a household name in Australia after surviving horrific burns after a car crashed into her Sydney daycare in 2003, when she was two-years-old.

In a tragic twist, when she was five, she was run over by a car near her home in 2006 - before making a stunning recovery.

She first met Mr Salerno in swimming class when she was six-years-old before the pair eventually became close in high school when she was 14.

The two reconnected after Ms Delezio moved back to Sydney in 2020 during the pandemic, and they became a couple.

Sophie Delezio, 22, (left) is engaged to her 'best friend' Joseph Salerno, 23 (right)

The two have known each other since high school, where they took pictures at prom before Ms Delezio moved to London to pursue her dreams

Ms Delezio told The Australian Women's Weekly that it was a complete surprise when Mr Salerno made her a scrapbook which had a photo of a ring on the last page.

'I had no idea,' Ms Delezio said.

Ms Delezio returned to Australia from London where she wanted to study sociology and international relations before they became a couple in 2021.

In 2022 they travelled across 10 months travelling across 26 countries, including New Zealand where they met Mr Salerno's grandparents, and decided they wanted to move in together.

Using photos and mementos from their time across the globe, Mr Salerno began putting together the scrapbook that he knew would include the picture of their engagement ring.

'She turned to me and I was down on one knee bawling,' Mr Salerno told The Australian Woman's Weekly.

'Our go-to song is "Be My Baby" so I just asked if Sophie would be my baby and luckily she ticked the box on the back of the scrapbook that said yes.'

Ms Delezio said that spending time apart after high school helped them grow closer.

'[We] needed to grow separately before [we] could come together,' she said.

'We both had our independence and experienced different relationships, which was nice, but still found each other again.'

The romantic pair have yet to set a date for the wedding.

After moving back to Sydney in 2020, Ms Delezio quickly rekindled her romance with Mr Salerno

The two travelled the world in 2022 before Mr Salerno made a scrapbook of their memories together which included a picture of an engagement ring on the last page

Australia rallied around Ms Delezio when a car crashed through the window of her daycare when she was two, trapping her underneath and severely burning her.

Burns covered 85 per cent of her body after the tragedy, which also took both of her feet, several fingers and her right ear.

Three years later tragedy struck again when the five year old was hit by a car near her home in Sydney's northern beaches while out with her nanny.

The impact launched her 18 metres out of her wheelchair, leaving her with a broken jaw, broken collarbone, nine broken ribs, punctured lungs, two fractured vertebrae and a brain injury.

Ms Delezio suffered a heart attack during the ordeal and doctors at Sydney Children's Hospital in Randwick asked her family - twice - if they would like to turn off her life support.

Ms Delezio made another remarkable recovery and only a month later she left the hospital and went back to school.

During this time, photos of her constantly smiling despite undergoing more than 100 surgeries inspired Australians.

Despite her reputation as 'Sophie the girl with no legs', she says that she chooses to see herself as just another person.

'I think of myself as Sophie the chatterbox, the socialite, the girl who loves a good hamburger and enjoys each day as much as she can,' she previously told Now To Love.
An Australian businessman has been arrested and remains in custody in the south of France while police investigate the suspected attempted murder of his Russian-born wife.

Damien Carew had been living with Anna Polianskaya-Carew and their two children at a rented villa in La Turbie, just north of the wealthy city-state of Monaco on the French Riviera.

Local media outlets report 43-year-old Carew, who is believed to originally be from Melbourne, called emergency services last Wednesday after an incident involving his wife.

She had lost consciousness and remains in a coma while Carew is in custody and their children are in the care of her family, English-language news website NEWS.MC reports.

Australian businessman Damien Carew has been arrested in the south of France as police investigate the alleged attempted murder of his Russian-born wife Anna Polianskaya-Carew

Damien Carew, 43, called emergency services last Wednesday after an incident involving his wife, local media reports. She remains in a coma while Carew is in custody

According to news.mc, Carew had recently spent several months in prison and had been under 'judicial control' in relation to a money-laundering case.

Ms Polianskaya-Carew, 33, worked as a brand manager at the Stardust boutique in Monaco's luxurious Hotel de Paris, her Linkedin profile states.

Carew is described as a real estate agent and the couple were directors of Sterling Estates International, which has previously been registered as a business in London and Monaco.

The Monaco-Matin newspaper reports the family's villa is partly hidden by a thick hedge and is located at the end of a dead-end road.

Damien Carew has been living with Anna Polianskaya-Carew and their two children at a rented villa in La Turbie (above), near the wealthy city-state of Monaco.

Neighbours said they had heard nothing on the day of the alleged incident but confirmed police had been attended the house, which was sealed off with crime scene tape.

Prosecutors had opened a judicial investigation into attempted aggravated murder and intentional violence against a spouse.

Monaco-Matin reported Carew was represented by a Parisian lawyer when he appeared before a judge who ordered he be detained.

The outlet also reports Carew's company has been placed in compulsory liquidation.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Senator Lidia Thorpe to 'get some support' in the wake of her explosive strip club meltdown.

The Victorian senator has been under pressure following the emergence of CCTV footage of her engaged in a physical altercation with a group of men outside of Maxine's Gentlemen's Club in Melbourne over the weekend.

In the footage, Senator Thorpe taunted a man for having a 'small penis' and accused the men of stealing her land.

On Wednesday, the Prime Minister weighed into the fracas, calling the Greens defector's behaviour inappropriate.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has urged Senator Lidia Thorpe to 'get some support' in the wake of her explosive strip club meltdown

The Victorian senator has been under pressure following the emergence of CCTV footage of her engaged in a physical altercation with a group of men outside of Maxine's Gentlemen's Club in Melbourne over the weekend

'I hope that Lidia gets some support. I think that level of behaviour is quite clearly unacceptable and I think there are obvious issues that need to be dealt with, in terms of her health issues,' he told Sydney's 2SM radio.

'These are not the actions of anyone who should be participating in society in a normal way, let alone a senator.

'Lidia needs to be very conscious of the way in which this behaviour has been seen.'

Senator Thorpe has been contacted for comment about the Prime Minister's remarks.

Security footage of the 3am incident, exclusively obtained by Daily Mail Australia earlier this week, showed the senator circling the men waiting outside the strip club before pointing her finger and shouting, after one of the men involved called her a 'racist dog'.

'All I want to say to the black brothers there and anyone that we're fighting,'' she said.

'Any black man that stands with the f***ing white little c*** like that - youse (sic) can all get f***ed too.'

She has since been banned for life from the Brunswick establishment.

In a statement to 7News, who first aired the footage of the spray, Senator Thorpe said she did not start the exchange, but had responded to taunts and harassment levelled against her.

'It's sad people are utilising whatever they can to drag me down when we're trying to discuss important issues in this country,' she said.

Earlier this week, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson called for police to investigate the independent's outburst.

'I think Victoria police should be carefully examining that footage to determine if Senator Thorpe has broken the law,' Senator Hanson said.

'The Australian Human Rights Commission might also consider examining the footage for possible breaches of Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act. I think the people subjected to her abuse on the weekend should come forward and see that she is held accountable, because the Senate has shown it's too gutless to do so.

Footage showed Thorpe (above) circling the men waiting outside the Brunswick strip club before pointing her finger and shouting, after one of the men involved called her a 'racist dog'

'No one - least of all an elected representative of the people - is above the law.'

The strip club meltdown is just the latest in a string of controversial incidents the senator has been involved in recent months, which included her temporarily halting the Mardi Gras parade in a protest against police.

Mr Albanese said it was becoming a 'repeat exercise' for the senator.

'You know, the event at Mardi Gras where laid in front of a truck, that was actually a truck for Twenty10, a youth service that looks after young gay and lesbian people, a service from my electorate,' the Prime Minister said.

'Why someone would lay in front of that truck in order to get attention is beyond my comprehension and I hope that she gets some form of support.'
Amid the carnage, there is continued hope. Tens of thousands of pounds of civilian medical aid reached Ukraine's frontline Donbas region this week  thanks to the generosity of Mail readers.

Desperately needed equipment for community doctor programmes and motorised wheelchairs for the disabled in the 'red zones' are part of the latest delivery paid for by the 10million Mail Force Ukraine Appeal fund.

Before the Russian invasion, Dobropillia was a hardscrabble coal mining city. Now it has become the hub for local refugees  Internally Displaced Persons  in Ukrainian-held Donbas.

Half of the current population are pre-invasion outsiders. If the Bakhmut frontline collapses, Dobropillia is under threat. The arrival of the Mail Force mission was a red letter day for a city that has been hit by a number of Russian missile strikes.

Two Ukrainian television stations and other media covered the occasion. There were tears and heartfelt speeches. The people were not alone, they realised.

Richard Pendlebury meets Mail Force wheelchair recipient Olena in the Donetsk town of Dobropillia

Tens of thousands of pounds of civilian medical aid reached Ukraine's frontline Donbas region this week  thanks to the generosity of Mail readers

Others, very far away, cared for their predicament.

Andrii Bondarenko, the head of the local administration, said: 'I would like to express my appreciation to Great Britain and Mail Force in particular. First of all, without British support, I don't know where the frontline would be now.

'And as far as Mail Force are concerned, we are now managing to provide basic needs for our civilian population.

'While we are not shelled by artillery every day, in other parts of Donbas, people are being newly disabled. They then escape to our city.' Mail Force has supplied the equipment for medical bags which can be used by GPs in areas where surgeries and pharmacies have been destroyed by Russian shelling.

One of the Mail Force electric wheelchairs  which costs 1,700  was presented to Olena, 52, who has been disabled for 20 years since a motor accident.

After the Russian invasion, she spent almost 24 hours in transit, moving west on a refugee train.

Olena then spent seven months in exile in a former orphanage. Her husband is also disabled. She described the experience as 'hellish'.

Now Olena can hardly express her thanks and amazement.

Despite the carnage, there is hope for those in the Donbas region of Ukraine thanks to the donations. Pictured: Ukrainian soldiers fire an artillery on the Marinka-Pisky frontline, in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine on April 16

'How to say what I feel without crying,' she laughs. 'Because, you know, it touches my soul, my heart.'

She added: 'Somewhere very far away, where we've never seen each other, and whose people have never seen us, they've raised money to help with these wheelchairs. It touches me a lot and it warms me up and brings us closer to each other. You can feel the British people's openness and sincerity in their help to us.

'It is worth a lot. I don't know how to say it in words briefly. As of now, I will only say  thank you!'
A former software developer at a 'sensitive Government organisation' has appeared in court after allegedly taking top secret data home and creating a national security risk.

Hasaan Arshad, 23, has been charged under the Computer Misuse Act after an investigation led by Scotland Yard's counter-terrorism command.

Prosecutors allege that before leaving his job on August 24, Arshad took his work mobile phone into a top secret area and connected the device to a top secret work station.

He is said to have transferred sensitive data from a secure top secret computer to the phone before taking it home.

Hasaan Arshad, a terror suspect, appeared in court charged with computer hacking said to have caused a significant risk of damage to 'national security of a country'

Dressed in dark jeans and a black parka jacket, Arshad appeared yesterday at Westminster Magistrates' Court, where he spoke only to confirm his name, date of birth and address in Rochdale, Greater Manchester.

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Arshad boasts on his Linkedin page that he is a 'skilled software engineer who can see ideas through from design to implementation.'

The profile states Arshad worked as a developer at a government agency and was tasked with designing, researching and implementing a key software project.

'Top secret' is the classification for the Government's most sensitive information, where compromise might cause widespread loss of life or threaten the security or economic wellbeing of the country or friendly nations, according to Ministry of Justice security guidance.

Arshad was not asked to enter a plea to a single charge under Section 3ZA of the Computer Misuse Act 1990 relating to 'unauthorised acts causing, or creating risk of, serious damage'.

The charge states: 'Between August 23 2022 and September 23 2022 (he) did an unauthorised act in relation to a computer and at the time of doing the act knew that it was unauthorised; and the act caused, or created a significant risk of, serious damage of a material kind, this being damage to the national security of a country; and he intended by doing the act to cause serious damage of a material kind or was reckless as to whether such damage was caused.'

Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring granted Arshad conditional bail ahead of his next appearance at the Old Bailey on May 5.

He said the defendant must live and sleep at his home address, must not leave or attempt to leave the UK mainland, and must notify the police of any internet-enabled device in his possession.

He is banned from using anonymous internet browsing tools including VPN and Onion routing, or accessing darknet systems such as Tor.
Rishi Sunak is braced for a snap Cabinet reshuffle this week if Dominic Raab is forced to quit over bullying claims.

Whitehall sources believe the long-awaited report into the conduct of the Deputy Prime Minister will be handed to Mr Sunak within days.

A source said the PM would make a 'swift' decision on Mr Raab's future once it has been received, adding: 'He is not going to sit on it.'

Mr Raab is facing a string of historic complaints from officials, who claim they felt bullied by his overbearing manner.

The Deputy Prime Minister (pictured) said he will resign if the allegations are upheld

He strongly disputes the claims, saying he has 'behaved professionally throughout' his career in Government.

However, he has pledged to quit if an investigation by senior lawyer Adam Tolley KC upholds the claims against him.

Mr Tolley is expected to present Mr Sunak with a 'narrative report', which will set out the claims against Mr Raab and the evidence that supports or refutes them.

He is not expected to make a formal recommendation to the PM on whether his deputy should be sacked, leaving Mr Sunak to resolve the issue himself.

Mr Raab's departure would be a significant blow to Mr Sunak, who has already lost fellow Cabinet ministers Sir Gavin Williamson and Nadhim Zahawi to scandals during his brief premiership.

It would also force him to conduct a snap reshuffle to replace Mr Raab as Justice Secretary. It is thought he would not appoint a new Deputy Prime Minister at this stage.

The Deputy Prime Minister is facing eight formal complaints about his conduct at different departments, with dozens of officials said to have given evidence against him.

Some officials claim to have been left in tears by his allegedly overbearing and demanding manner.

Friends of Mr Raab acknowledge he can be a 'tough' boss but insist he has never crossed the line into bullying.

They warn he is the target of a 'politically-motivated' bid by disgruntled civil servants, and some former staff have given evidence to the inquiry in his favour.

Dominic Raab (left) and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak during Prime Minister's Questions in February. Sunak expects to receive the outcome of the probe within days, sources say

Mr Raab has denied he is a bully, but insists ministers have to have the right to 'directly challenge' officials over their work.

Fellow ministers are nervous about the precedent that would be set if Mr Raab is forced to go.

One said: 'There has been months of reporting on this based on anonymous sources and not a single concrete example of something he is supposed to have said or done that crosses the line.

'If he has to go because some of his officials didn't like him then quite a few people are going to be in trouble.'
Connecticut police have arrested two men after a homeowner was threatened at gunpoint by one of them, who arrived on the doorstep dressed as a delivery man.

Xavier Otero, 37, was caught on a Ring camera attempting to rob a homeowner in East Haven on Friday morning.

Ortero is seen approaching the Maple Street house dressed in an orange safety vest, holding a package in one hand.

He knocks on the door, and when the homeowner opens Ortero pulls a gun out of his pocket.

Xavier Ortero, 37, is seen on Friday approaching a home in East Haven, Connecticut holding a package

Ortero rings the door, and the homeowner opens - Ortero then puts his right hand in his pocket

Ortero pulls a gun - but the homeowner fights back

Xavier Ortero (left) ran from the door and into a waiting Dodge Ram driven by Jean Carrasquillo-Torres (right). Both men have been arrested

The homeowner fights back, and Ortero quickly runs away and jumps into the passenger seat of a waiting silver and black Dodge Ram.

'The incident was captured on the homeowners Ring camera system and images of the suspect and video of the incident were immediately disseminated through various media and social media outlets,' said East Haven police.

'Soon after, tips began coming in.'

Ortero was arrested at the house of a relative 45 miles away, in Hartford.

Officers then learnt of plans to stage a second robbery in Manchester, 10 miles east of Hartford.

They located the Dodge Ram and arrested the owner, Jean Carrasquillo-Torres, 26.

Inside his house they found zip ties 'and weapons related items'.

Ortero is seen being shoved off the doorstep and falling back

The 37-year-old flees towards the waiting Dodge Ram

East Haven police publicized Ortero's face, and he was swiftly arrested at the home of a relative

They also found 1.1kg of fentanyl and equipment for manufacturing drugs.

Ortero was charged with home invasion, criminal possession of a firearm and attempt to commit unlawful restraint, among other charges.

Carrasquillo-Torres was charged with conspiracy to commit home invasion, plus drugs and weapons charges.

The pair were held at the East Haven Police Department on a $250,000.00 bond and are scheduled to appear in court on April 26.
Rishi Sunak will today pledge to 'give everything' to preserve the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement  as the DUP hinted it might finally return to power-sharing.

In a speech in Belfast to mark the 25th anniversary of the peace pact, the Prime Minister will praise the 'courage, imagination and perseverance' of those who negotiated the deal.

'Those qualities brought an imperfect but enduring peace to a place taught to believe no such peace was possible,' he will say.

A major conference in Belfast to mark the anniversary has been overshadowed by the continuing stand-off over power-sharing, which has left Northern Ireland without a devolved government since February last year.

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris yesterday piled pressure on the DUP to end its boycott of the Stormont Assembly. The party walked out last year in protest at the operation of the Brexit Northern Ireland Protocol.

Rishi Sunak will today pledge to 'give everything' to preserve the legacy of the Good Friday Agreement  as the DUP hinted it might finally return to power-sharing

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson warned that his party would not be 'brow beaten' into returning to Stormont.

But other senior figures hinted the DUP could return to power-sharing in the summer.

Mr. Sunak will host a gala dinner tonight to be attended by a string of his predecessors.
Colin Beattie spent decades as an international banker before returning to Scotland to pursue a career as an SNP politician.

He has served twice as the partys national treasurer, with his first stint beginning in 2004. It only ended in 2020 when he lost out to Dunfermline and West Fife MP Douglas Chapman in a ballot of members.

Mr Chapman stood down in May 2021, saying he had not been given enough information to carry out the job overseeing the partys finances, so the following month Mr Beattie returned to the role he had held for 16 years.

The 71-year-old, who was born in Forfar, Angus, had previously worked in international finance and spent 23 years living in the Middle and Far East, then another 11 years in London.

He moved back to Scotland in 2001 and settled in Midlothian, with his wife Lisa, a doctor.

Questioned: Colin Beattie, who was released without charge, arrives at home just after 8pm

United front: Mr Beattie (left), his wife Lisa and Alex Salmond campaigning in 2007

Both served as SNP councillors on Midlothian Council. Mr Beattie was elected in 2007 and led the SNP group at the local authority as well as being convener of the general purposes committee.

He was elected as an MSP for the newly formed Midlothian North and Musselburgh constituency at the Holyrood election in 2011.

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His wife went on to become Midlothian Councils first female leader in 2012 and the Beatties were described as a bit of a power couple.

But Ms Beattie resigned after five weeks in the post amid rumours of a rebellion within her SNP group.

The following year the Public Standards Commissioner for Scotland found the couple had both breached the Councillors Code of Conduct by failing to register interest in a property while a councillor.

Mr Beattie kept a relatively low profile within the SNP, and never achieved ministerial office. He had been back in his post as treasurer for just weeks when the police investigation into the SNPs finances was launched in July 2021.

Mr Beatties father was a hospital porter and his mother was the daughter of a crofter. He joined the SNP at 14 and left school a year later to join a bank, attending night classes to catch up on the education he had missed.

The biography on his constituency website states: Colins big opportunity came when he was accepted into the international service of a major bank.

The skills in finance, economics, international trade and corporate negotiations which he acquired have stood him in very good stead in the world of politics.
The King's coronation procession will be led by a cross that includes religious relics gifted to the monarch by the Pope.

Two shards of the True Cross  which is said to have been used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ  were given to Charles by Pope Francis to mark his enthronement.

The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales, which will be seen by millions as it is carried into Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Both pieces are shaped as crosses, one being 1cm in size and the other 5mm, and are set into the larger silver crucifix behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can only be viewed up close.

The Cross of Wales, which is a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary, will be blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, in a service at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, North Wales, today before it heads to London.

King Charles hammered the hallmark onto the silver used in the cross. Alongside the pomp and pageantry, the coronation on May 6 is a religious ceremony

The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales. Both pieces are shaped as crosses, one being 1cm in size and the other 5mm, and are set into the larger silver cross behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can only be viewed up close (pictured)

The Cross of Wales (pictured), which is a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary, will be blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, in a service at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, North Wales, today before it heads to London

Charles hallmarking the King's Mark on the silver Cross of Wales at The Goldsmiths' Centre in London last year

Upon its return, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches in Wales.

Crafted from recycled silver bullion, provided by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, it also includes a shaft of Welsh windfall timber and Welsh slate.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: 'Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain', translated as: 'Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.'

The silver elements bear a full hallmark, including the Royal Mark  a leopard's head, which was applied by the King himself in November last year when visiting The Goldsmiths' Centre in London.

Archbishop Andrew said: 'We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: 'Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain', translated as: 'Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things'

Archbishop Andrew said: 'We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic'

'Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability.

'We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the coronation service.'

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark O'Toole, said: 'With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See.

'It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark O'Toole, said: 'With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See. Pictured: Hallmarks on the Cross of Wales

'We look forward to honouring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home.'

Designer and maker Michael Lloyd said: 'The commission has allowed me to delve into the previous 1,000 years of faith and history. Now, with more than 267 thousand hammer blows, the cross has emerged from the inanimate sheets of silver, and I am delighted it will be used as part of the Coronation Service on 6th May.'

Dr Frances Parton, deputy curator of The Goldsmiths' Company  who managed the commission, said: 'Using the ancient craft of chasing silver, Michael Lloyd has created a beautiful object which combines a powerful message with a practical purpose.

'We are thrilled that the Cross will both feature in the Coronation and see regular use within the Church in Wales.'

The public service held in Llantrisant began at 9am at the start of the Church's governing body meeting.
The ABC has been accused of censoring coverage of Lidia Thorpe's foul-mouthed outburst outside a Melbourne strip club.

Senator Thorpe was filmed unleashing a vile spray of insults on a group of men outside Maxine's Gentlemen's Club, in Melbourne's north, at 3am on Sunday.

The rogue senator was heard insulting the patrons of the Brunswick adult establishment, telling one man 'you've got a small penis' and another man 'you, you are marked'.

ABC TV did briefly mention the strip club tirade during its Afternoon Briefing program on Tuesday but coverage appeared to be lacking on its digital platforms.

The public broadcaster is facing scrutiny for its 'failed bias' for not reporting one of the biggest stories in politics this week.

The ABC (pictured) is under fire for its lack of coverage of Senator Lidia Thorpe's late night foul-mouth outburst outside a Melbourne strip club where she hurled vile insults at patrons

Senator Lidia Thorpe (pictured) was filmed unleashing an extraordinary spray of insults at a group of men outside Maxine's Gentlemen's Club at 3am on Sunday

In a post shared to Twitter on Tuesday, One Nation leader Pauline Hanson accused the ABC of 'protecting' Ms Thorpe by not reporting on the incident.

'Why does the ABC website remain silent on Lidia Thorpe's strip club incident?,' Ms Hanson wrote.

'Lidia Thorpe is a Senator caught using racially charged, sexually explicit, abusive language outside a strip club, so how can the national broadcaster fail to report this on their website?

'The ABC has reported on similar incidents involving other politicians, but not Thorpe. Is she being protected?

'This kind of biased failure is exactly why I have proposed that the taxpayer-funded ABC be required to act in a fair and balanced manner.

'The ABC should explain why they have failed to hold Thorpe to account. If they can't, then we should cut their funding, let them stand on their own two feet and see if the people are still interested in their biased reporting!'

Ms Hanson has also called for Ms Thorpe to be investigated by police over her behaviour and vile speech.

She said she believes no one, including Ms Thorpe, is above the law and urged Victoria Police and the Australian Human Rights Commission to look into whether action should be taken against her.

Sky News Australia host Chris Kenny labelled ABC's lack of coverage of a significant story regarding a federal senator as 'astonishing'.

'Lots of Australians won't even know about it if you only get your news from the ABC, the national taxpayer-funded broadcasting corporation that's supposed to be comprehensive and unbiased,' Mr Kenny said.

'If you relied on them you would not know about this episode, they simply haven't covered it, not on the TV news, not on their radio news, not online they've censored it from the public domain.

'They covered the story when she claimed to be the victim but they haven't covered her latest foul-mouthed abusive display that got her a lifetime ban from the strip club.'

One Nations Leader Pauline Hanson (pictured) accused the ABC of 'protecting' Ms Thorpe by not reporting on incident

Ms Hanson said the national broadcaster failed to hold Ms Thorpe accountable for her actions in a Twitter post on Tuesday (pictured)

The ABC's flagship online platform, abc.net.au/news, still has no reports regarding Ms Thorpe's behaviour.

Daily Mail Australia contacted the ABC for comment.

The latest article published by the national broadcaster about Ms Thorpe appeared last month when she was knocked to the ground by police after trying to interrupt an anti-trans rights rally.

The former Greens politician was banned for life by the Melbourne strip club over her behaviour early on Sunday morning.

In an official letter - seen by Daily Mail Australia - Maxine's Gentlemen's Club told Ms Thorpe she was 'no longer welcome' and gave the Senator a warning not to 'cause further embarrassment'.

Footage of the incident, filmed by a witness and first published by 7News, shows Senator Thorpe pointing her finger at the men in a heated exchange.

At one stage, Senator Thorpe walks up to one of the men and says in a menacing tone 'you, you are marked'.

One of them calls her a 'racist dog' to which she responds 'f*** you' before a friend holds her back.'

She tells the men: 'All I want to say to the black brothers there and anyone that we're fighting...

'Any black man that stands with the f***ing white little c*** like that - yous (sic) can all get f***ed too!'

One of the men asks: 'How the f**** does someone get in parliament like you?'

She hits back: 'We've been repressed all our f***ing life in this country and you let this little dog speak...'

The ABC has previously reported on matters concerning Senator Thorpe and was the first news outlet to cover her undisclosed relationship with ex-Rebels president Dean Martin.
The arrest of a French publisher by UK counter-terrorism police over claims he took part in protests in Paris was described as an 'assault on freedom of expression' yesterday.

Ernest Moret, the foreign rights manager for Editions La Fabrique in Paris, was stopped by ports officers and questioned for six hours under terrorism laws when he arrived at St Pancras station on the Eurostar from Paris at 6.30pm on Monday to attend a book fair.

Last night as a diplomatic row broke out over his detention, it emerged that the 28-year-old publisher is still in custody after being subsequently arrested for refusing to disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer.

In an extraordinary case, the well-known publisher in France had been on his way to the London Book Fair in Kensington when he was approached by two plain clothed Scotland Yard officers and questioned about his participation in anti-government protests in his home country, according to colleagues.

Mr Moret was searched, his phone and laptop were seized and officers demanded his passwords, which colleagues said he refused to provide.

A French publisher has been arrested on terror charges in London after British police questioned him about taking part in anti- government protests in Paris. Pictured: Protests in Paris last week

Ernest Moret was stopped by officers and questioned for six hours under terror laws when he arrived at St Pancras station on the Eurostar on Monday

Last night his treatment was condemned as an attack on the right to demonstrate by his furious employers, while supporters called for protests outside the UK embassy in Paris and the French Institute in London.

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Over the last three months, thousands have taken to the streets in Paris after French president Emmanuel Macron signed a controversial pension reform into law, that included raising the retirement age to 64.

The Metropolitan Police have not confirmed the reason for his arrest, but it is thought to be the first case where a French national has been held in the UK over protests in his native country.

His colleague Stella Magliani-Belkacem, the editorial director at the Paris-based publishing house, who was with him at the time of the arrest, told the Guardian: 'When we were on the platform, two people, a woman and a guy, told us they were counter-terrorist police.

'They showed a paper called section 7 of the Terrorism Act of 2000 and said they had the right to ask him about demonstrations in France.' She added: 'I'm still shaking, we are in shock about what happened.'

Mr Moret was initally arrested under schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 that allows police to stop and search passengers travelling through the UK border to 'determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism'.

Stopping a passenger 'does not necessarily mean the officer believes the person is a terrorist', the act states.

But suspects can then be detained for longer than the initial nine hours if 'they refuse to co-operate and insist on leaving'.

In an extraordinary case, the well-known publisher in France had been on his way to the London Book Fair (pictured) in Kensington

The next day Mr Moret was further arrested on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

La Fabrique branded the arrest an 'assault on freedom of expression' and claimed the British government colluded with French authorities over Mr Moret's detention.

A spokesman for the publisher said his arrest was 'scandalous' said: 'The police officers claimed that Ernest had participated in demonstrations in France as a justification for this act  a quite remarkably inappropriate statement for a British police officer to make and which seems to clearly indicate complicity between French and British authorities on this matter.

'We consider these actions to be outrageous and unjustifiable infringements of basic principles of the freedom of expression and an example of the abuse of anti-terrorism laws.

'We consider that this assault on the freedom of expression of a publisher is yet another manifestation of the slide towards repressive and authoritarian measures taken by the current French government in the face of widespread popular discontent and protest.

'It is crucial for all defenders of basic democratic values to express in the strongest terms that we find this intolerable and outrageous.' La Fabrique has called on the French Ambassador, Helene Duchene, to demand Mr Moret's immediate release.

Over the last three months, thousands have taken to the streets in Paris after French president Emmanuel Macron signed a controversial pension reform into law, that included raising the retirement age to 64

EN International, a freedom of expression campaigning group, said it was 'deeply concerned by the detention of French publisher La Fabrique's foreign rights manager, held since yesterday on counter terrorism grounds'.

Mr Moret had 30 meetings booked in London before he was due to return to the French capital on Friday after the three-day book fair, which is scheduled to include an address by the Ukrainian president's wife, Olena Zelenska.

A Metropolitan Police spokeswoman said: 'At around 18:30hrs on Monday, 17 April, A 28-year-old man was stopped by ports officers as he arrived at St Pancras Station, using powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

'On Tuesday, 18 April, he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination (contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000).

'The man remains in custody. Enquiries continue.'
An anti-corruption investigation has found staff in the Daniel Andrews' government exerted pressure on health department officials to award a $1.2 million contract to a health union.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission released its Operation Daintree report on Wednesday, after investigating the awarding of the contract in the lead-up to the 2018 Victorian state election.

The investigation substantiated that a ministerial advisor working in the then-health minister Jill Hennessy's office exerted pressure on Department of Health and Human Services staff to award the contract to a Health Workers Union entity.

It also found that an advisor in the office of a subsequent health minister, Jenny Mikakos, and an advisor in the office of Premier Daniel Andrews intruded into the department's management of the contract against the public interest.

Government staff for Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews pressured department officials to award a $1.2 million contract to a Health Workers Union entity in lead up the 2018 Victorian state election, an anti-corruption commission has found

While there was no corrupt conduct detected, the investigation did reveal 'concerning conduct and omissions in breach of the public duties and ethical obligations of ministers and ministerial advisors'.

Conduct by senior public servants also fell short of that required by Victorian standards, the inquiry found.

'The pursuit by advisors of the perceived interests of their ministers, including the premier, at the expense of proper process and standards is another example of the phenomenon of grey corruption that is of increasing concern to integrity bodies around Australia,' the report said.

The operation found ample evidence of the misuse of power and influence by ministerial advisors and departmental executives.

Health department staff held significant concerns from the start about whether the union entity, the Health Education Fund, had capacity to deliver on the contract.

Former health minister Jenny Mikakos told the inquiry the government was 'very centralised',with the premier's private office 'having its tentacles everywhere'.

Despite that, a non-competitive process went ahead and the concerns persisted, with Andrews government staffers ultimately dissuading the health department from terminating the contract.

Safeguards designed to ensure the procurement process' integrity and fairness were bypassed and, as a result, the government's conflict of interest was improperly managed, the inquiry found.

Ms Mikakos gave evidence to the inquiry that all ministers and their advisors were under a clear direction of the premier that election commitments must be delivered.

She described the government as 'very centralised', with the premier's private office 'having its tentacles everywhere'.

An advisor for then-health minister Jill Hennessy (pictured) also exerted pressure on health department officials, an anti-corruption investigation found

IBAC found Ms Mikakos, as minister for health, was accountable for the way her office undermined the proper functioning of her department - sometimes, at the behest of the premier's private office.

She sought to defend her adviser and saw it as the health department's responsibility to raise concerns about the contract directly with her.

That view was difficult to reconcile with her evidence that her staff would be cautious about what they raised with her given the time pressures she was under, compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic, the inquiry found.
Striking teachers should get a full day's pay if they temporarily cross the picket line to teach an exam lesson, union leaders have demanded.

Fresh walkouts the National Education Union (NEU) in England are set to go ahead this summer term amid a dispute over pay  potentially disrupting revision for GCSE and A-Level students.

It issued guidance to its members, reps and officers ahead of the planned strikes on April 27 and May 2 in attempt to 'minimise disruption' to exam preparations.

But the NEU also argued teachers who attend school during the industrial action to help students in exam-year groups should leave once the supervision is over and be paid in full.

Striking teachers who temporarily cross the picket line to help students preparing for exams, union leaders have demanded. National Education Union members are pictured at a rally in central London last month

The union issued dispensation guidance ahead of the planned walkouts on April 27 and May 2 in attempt to 'minimise disruption' to exam revision (Stock photo)

The NEU said it recognises that it is 'appropriate to seek agreements with headteachers' that permit exam year students to attend school on strike days 'for revision activities or exam practice'.

Officials claim the union will support arrangements that provide 'the minimum level of teaching staff needed' for these to take place.

If arrangements are agreed between reps and headteachers, it would request their members 'participate where needed but they cannot be compelled', according to the guidance.

It says: 'If, in extremis and only by prior agreement with the NEU, members are asked to attend school for part of the day to supervise a specific exam group, then they should attend for this purpose only and leave work afterwards.'

The guidance adds: 'Agreement should be sought from the headteacher that no pay is to be docked even if the member has not worked the full day.'

If members are paid for walkout days because they are helping supervise exam students in school then the NEU said they would 'encourage' them to donate to the union's hardship fund to support striking teachers.

The union is planning five days of teacher walkouts in the summer term after members overwhelmingly voted to turn down the Government's pay offer.

The NEU said it recognises that it is 'appropriate to seek agreements with headteachers' that permit exam year students to attend school on strike days 'for revision activities or exam practice'. NEU members are pictured at a strike in London last month

If arrangements are agreed between reps and headteachers, the union would request their members 'participate where needed but they cannot be compelled', according to the guidance. Pictured: A protester holds a placard during the Budget Day Protest held in Central London on March 15

Teachers were offered a 1,000 one-off payment for the current school year (2022/23) and an average 4.5 per cent pay rise for staff next year.

The latest guidance from the NEU says: 'Only the Government, by coming back to the negotiating table with a much-improved offer, can eliminate that disruption altogether and avert these upcoming strikes.'

It adds: 'Should employers attempt to impose arrangements that are not agreed by NEU reps and members in a school, the NEU retains the right to remove this dispensation guidance for exam year group provision.

'In any case, if no agreement can be found, the default position is that members cannot be obliged to make any dispensation arrangements for Year 11 and Year 13 provision.'

Four education unions  including the NASUWT teaching union, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) and the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL)  have rejected the pay offer.

Last month, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan suggested teachers could miss out on an increased pay deal this year if they turned it down.

She said teachers' pay will be decided by the independent pay review body.

Geoff Barton, general-secretary of the ASCL, said: 'We are supportive of this guidance from the NEU as a sensible measure which preserves the right to strike while seeking to ensure that there is provision for students who will shortly be taking exams.

The union is planning five days of teacher walkouts in the summer term after members overwhelmingly voted to turn down the Government's pay offer. Striking NEU members are pictured at a rally in Chichester, West Sussex on March 2

'The details of local arrangements, including the question of pay, are a matter for agreement between employers and NEU reps and officials.

'We agree with the NEU that only the Government can eliminate disruption altogether by coming back to the negotiating table with a much-improved pay offer.

'This must happen in order to address pay erosion and teacher shortages, and it must be fully funded. So far, the Government has not made any attempt to reopen negotiations.'

A Department for Education spokesman said: 'In our guidance to schools on handling strike action we have consistently said school leaders should prioritise children in exam cohorts.'
Rapid developments in artificial intelligence could lead to an explosion in disinformation, a spy chief warned ministers yesterday.

In a briefing to the Cabinet, GCHQ boss Sir Jeremy Fleming said the emerging technology created a number of 'potential applications and risks' for Britain.

Downing Street declined to comment in detail on the briefing, but said Jeremy had highlighted the 'potential for disinformation and the importance of people being aware of it'.

No10 confirmed that Rishi Sunak wants the UK to 'remain competitive' in the fast-growing sector.

Ministers think the technology could be a major driver in economic growth and believe that Brexit gives the UK the chance to deploy a nimble regulatory system.

GCHQ chief Sir Jeremy Fleming, pictured here at the Watergate House in 2019, who has given ministers a "clear-eyed" analysis of the risks posed by artificial intelligence (AI)

The PM's official spokesman said that 'given the importance of artificial intelligence to our economy and national security, this could be one of the most important policies we pursue in the next few years which is why we must get it right'.

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intelligence to our economy and national security, this could be one of the most important policies we pursue in the next few years which is why we must get it right'.

He added: 'Cabinet agreed on the transformative potential of AI and the vital importance of retaining public confidence in its use and the need for regulation that keeps people safe without preventing innovation.'

But Sir Jeremy's warning will fuel concern about the potential for AI technology to be misused.

This month, Italy became the first Western country to ban the popular application ChatGPT over privacy concerns.

Elon Musk and senior AI industry executives have called for a six-month 'pause' in the development of the technology to allow society to consider the potential risks.

Some experts have warned that AI is already fuelling a major increase in disinformation.

Gordon Crovitz, co-chief executive of NewsGuard, which tracks disinformation, described ChatGPT as 'the most powerful tool for spreading misinformation that has ever been on the internet'.

He told the New York Times: 'Crafting a new false narrative can now be done at dramatic scale, and much more frequently  it's like having A.I. agents contributing to disinformation.'

This month, Italy became the first Western country to ban ChatGPT over privacy concerns

In an experiment last month, Elliot Higgins, of the investigative journalism group Bellingcat, used the AI generator Midjourney to create a series of images depicting a fake story of Donald Trump's public arrest and escape. The images quickly went viral on social media.

He said: 'The thread I posted proves how quickly images that appeal to individuals' interests and biases can become viral. Fact-checking is something that takes a lot more time than a retweet.'
The home where monster Josef Fritzl imprisoned and raped his daughter has been divided into apartments.

The Austrian sex beast trapped his 18-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, in his basement dungeon after drugging her with a rag soaked in ether.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 for incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons.

And now, in Ybbsstrasse, Amstetten, 70-miles from Vienna, the house's new owners are renting it out to young tenants.

They told the Mirror: 'All nine apartments are rented out. There are young people among them who have no connection to the Fritzl case.'

The Austrian sex beast trapped his 18-year-old daughter, Elisabeth, in his basement dungeon after drugging her with a rag soaked in ether. Pictured: The house

And now, in Ybbsstrasse, Amstetten, 70-miles from Vienna, the house's new owners are renting it out to young tenants

He was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2009 for incest, rape, coercion, false imprisonment, enslavement and for the negligent homicide of one of his infant sons

The basement where Fritzl's daughter was held prisoner has now been filled with concrete while the garage - through which he smuggled food - has been bricked up.

The underground prison featured a heavy metal door hidden behind a shelf in his workroom.

He had made sure only he could gain access to it, installing a keyless, secret code entry only known to him.

Elisabeth was manipulated by her father into thinking that the door was electrified, so that she would be killed if she tried to flee from the shocking abuse.

His daughter disappeared in 1984 for 24 years, while Fritzl told his wife Rosemarie and police she had run off to join a cult - even making her write her mother letters before he posted them from faraway towns.

The victim - alongside three of the seven children she had with him - were freed after she told police she was being held captive during a trip to hospital.

Their other children, Lisa, Monika, and Alexander, then 16, 14 and 12, were brought up by Fritzl and his wife after he claimed they had turned up on their doorstep.

He would even take long vacations to places like Thailand, leaving his victims to deal with power cuts, rats, overflowing sewage and rotting food in their underground prison.

In 1984, Fritzl had rendered his own daughter, Elisabeth, unconscious with a rag soaked in ether and entombed her in an underground prison. Pictured: the underground room

The basement where Fritzl's daughter was held prisoner has now been filled with concrete while the garage - through which he smuggled food - has been bricked up

The underground prison featured a heavy metal door hidden behind a shelf in his workroom. He had made sure only he could gain access to it, installing a keyless, secret code entry only known to him. Pictured: one of the underground rooms where his daughter was kept

Former Amstetten mayor Herbert Katzengruber told local media: "Nobody wants to talk about it anymore. I won't make a statement on it. The people are really angry."

Current mayor Christian Haberhauer said: "No comment, the chapter is closed."

The rapist's thoughts have recently been exposed in a deeply disturbing memoir, Die Abgrunde des Josef F (The Abysses Of Josef F), which was published in Germany, with the help of Austrian lawyer Astrid Wagner,

Reflecting on his crimes, Fritzl, now 87, said in his memoir: 'At first it was just a mind game I played. But I got used to it. The idea, which had previously seemed so absurd, so monstrous to me, took shape.

'One day I knew what I had to do. All that remained was to wait for the right opportunity. On that rainy Saturday morning the time had come. The thought had become action.'

In the book Fritzl - who has changed his name to Mayrhoff - outlines potential plans to move back to Amstetten and 'perhaps set up a small business there'.

It comes after he recently submitted an application to be transferred to a normal prison. Austrian courts have rejected previous attempts to be moved to a lower-security prison.

Long before he put that ether-soaked cloth over his daughter's nose and mouth, Fritzl had a record of sexual crime. In 1967, the year after Elisabeth was born, he broke into the home of a 24-year-old nurse in Linz and raped her, holding a knife to her throat.
Nazlioglu was one of two men found not guilty of murder of Mick Hawi

The bikie was gunned down at his apartment carpark in Rhodes, NSW

A man has been charged with murder over the execution shooting of a notorious Lone Wolf bikie in front of his wife in his apartment block carpark.

Yusuf Nazlioglu was gunned down as he returned to his home in Rhodes in Sydney's inner west with his wife last June.

His wife Jade, to whom he had only been married four months, frantically rang the police after Nazlioglu was shot around ten times. He was rushed to hospital, where he died a short time later.

The shooter fled the scene in a hatchback which was later found burnt out nearby.

On Wednesday morning heavily armed police dragged a 25-year-old man shirtless from a home in Blair Athol, in Sydney's south-west.

He was taken to Campbelltown police station where he was charged with the Lone Wolf bikie's murder.

A 25-year-old man has been charged with the execution shooting of bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu in front of his wife in his apartment block carpark in June, 2022 (pictured: Nazlioglu with his wife)

On Wednesday morning a man was hauled from a home in Blair Athol (pictured), in Sydney's south-west and was charged with Nazlioglu's murder

Police will allege in court that the man was involved in the planning and coordination of the execution-style killing.

Cops executed two further search warrants at homes in Mt Pritchard and Kemps Creek.

Detectives seized cannabis, cash, electronic devices and other items to undergo forensic examination in the raids.

The 25-year-old man was refused bail to appear at Campbelltown Local Court later today.

Nazlioglu was shot around 10 times before being rushed to hospital, where he died a short time later (pictured: car being driven by bikie Yusef Nazioglu when he was shot)

Police will allege in court the 25-year-old was involved in the planning and coordination of the execution-style killing

Underworld figures claimed Nazlioglu was the gunman who gunned down Mick Hawi outside a Fitness First Gym at Rockdale in February 2018.

Nazlioglu had been charged with Hawi's murder, along with his friend and fellow Lone Wolf member Ahmad 'Adam' Doudar, 38.

He was accused of being the triggerman and Doudar of disposing of a getaway car.

Doudar would plead guilty to being an accessory after the fact to Hawi's murder and was sentenced to a non-parole period of three years and four months in jail.

After a week of deliberations, a jury found Nazlioglu not guilty of murder, however, he subsequently pleaded guilty to an unrelated charge of possessing a firearm and was jailed for three years.
A Labour government would bring back NHS targets introduced under Tony Blair to reduce chronic patient backlogs, Sir Keir Starmer said last night.

The Labour leader said the party would put ambulance response and A&E waiting times at the centre of its healthcare policy if it wins the next general election.

Sir Tony took New Labour to power in 1997 after warning voters they had '24 hours to save the NHS', and then introduced a raft of targets to cut hospital waiting lists.

Sir Keir told The i newspaper: 'The last Labour government did obviously put targets around it so there is a model there that we know can work. They drove the waiting lists down dramatically over two or three years. It will fall to us to do the same thing.'

In a separate interview with the Daily Telegraph, Sir Keir said Labour would be 'at the forefront of women's rights', and backed single-sex wards for hospital patients based on biological sex.

Keir Starmer (pictured in York on Tuesday) said Labour would put ambulance response and A&E waiting times at the centre of its healthcare policy if it wins the next general election

Tony Blair (pictured in Belfast on Tuesday) took New Labour to power in 1997 after warning voters they had '24 hours to save the NHS'

It came as health leaders and charities warned that nurses who refuse to provide life-saving cancer care during upcoming strikes will put patients at risk.

The Royal College of Nursing was last night coming under growing pressure to make a U-turn on plans to abandon cancer patients in pursuit of a bigger pay rise.

The union revealed it will escalate industrial action by demanding that nurses walk out of A&E, intensive care units and cancer wards for the first time later this month.

Michelle Mitchell, the chief executive of Cancer Research UK, said: 'We urge all parties to work together to ensure that people don't miss out on life-saving services.'

Miriam Deakin, of NHS Providers, which represents NHS trusts, said: 'The planned strike with no exceptions for cancer services is a huge worry and risks compromising patients' care.'
Prosecutors allege that Hale instigated the shooting by driving Allison off the road and throwing a water bottle at his car

Hale returned fire and shot Allison's daughter, but his charges of attempted murder remain

Frank Allison, 44, has seen charges of attempted murder dropped after he shot the daughter of William Hale, 36, in a road rage incident

One of two men who shot each other's daughters in a road rage incident has seen his charges dropped after prosecutors decided he acted in self-defense.

Frank Allison, 44, opened fire on William Hale, 36, after the two began swerving and brake-checking each other on a Florida highway last year. He shot at Hale's car after the 36-year-old flung a water bottle into his car during the fight.

But authorities decided that his first shot was justifiable under Florida's 'stand your ground' self-defense law, determining that Hale was at fault for the ensuing chaos.

Alisson fired a single shot into Hale's car after the bottle was thrown, hitting Hale's 5-year-old daughter in the leg. Hale responded by emptying his Glock semi-automatic handgun at Alisson's vehicle, hitting his 14-year-old daughter in the back, causing her to suffer a collapsed lung.

Both men initially faced attempted murder charges after the incident, until Alisson's charges were dropped earlier this month. Speaking at the time of the shooting, Nassau County Sheriff Bill Leeper said: 'There could have been two dead kids because of two stupid grown men.'

William Hale, 35, from Douglas, Georgia (left) and Frank Allison, 43, from Callahan, Florida (right) shot each other's daughters in a road rage incident

Prosecutors allege that the highway shooting erupted after Hale attempted to run Allison off the roam on Highway 1 near Callahan, Florida.

At one point during the skirmish, Hale pulled his Dodge Ram pickup truck alongside Allison's Nissan Murano, rolling his window down and berating the driver while his wife gestured out the window.

Allison rolled down his window and shouted back in turn, before a water bottle was thrown into Hale's truck, according to the Nassau County Sheriff's Office.

Both men accused the other of aggressive and erratic driving and 'brake checking' the other. A witness also alleged that Hale was the aggressor, claiming he tried to run his rival off the road.

The witness, who prosecutors said was 'the only independent witness in the case' after the stories told by the two men varied, told police he saw a 'cat and mouse' driving game between the two motorists.

Although he didn't witness the shooting, he said he felt compelled to call 911 before shots were fired because 'he knew something bad was going to happen', according to Fox News.

Allison responded to the alleged provocation by firing a single shot at Hale's vehicle, which struck his 5-year-old daughter in the upper calf.

The shooting led Hale to return fire, emptying his handgun's magazine at Allison's car. Both men had concealed carry permits and no prior criminal record.

Frank Allison, pictured right, has seen charges of attempted murder against him dropped after he shot another motorist's daughter in a road rage incident

William Hale, pictured left, is due to be arraigned in court on April 20. He is facing several criminal charges, including three counts of attempted murder for the shooting

A chilling 911 call was made after the mother of one of the children that was shot desperately called for help.

'My daughter's been shot - please help me,' she says, while her daughter can be heard weeping in the vehicle.

'I don't want to die,' she said, according to News4Jax.

Both drivers continued heading north, with their injured daughters in the back.

But the pair were eventually stopped by a patrolling Nassau County Sheriff's Office car, before arguing and fighting with each other by the side of the road.

Bodycam footage shows first responders rushing to help their daughters while the two men are separated, as they recounted differing versions of the incident.

The pair were initially booked into jail on attempted murder charges, but Allison has since seen the charges against him dropped.

In a statement released after the charges were dropped, the state's attorney said: 'William Hales aggressive driving pattern and the throwing of a water bottle placed the Allisons in fear of imminent death or great bodily harm and constitute the commission of forcible felonies.

'William Hales actions  both independently and collectively  justify Frank Allisons use of deadly force against William Hale. As such, the State declines to file charges against Frank Allison and elects to file charges against William Hale.'

Hale is due to be arraigned in court on April 20. He is charged with three counts of attempted murder for the shooting, three counts of aggravated assault, and one of 'shooting or throwing deadly missiles' for launching the water bottle.
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has described an anti-corruption investigation - which found his government exerted pressure on health department officials to award a $1.2 million contract to a health union - as 'educational'.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) released its Operation Daintree report on Wednesday, after investigating the awarding of the contract in the lead-up to the November 2018 election.

Violence against health workers was a growing problem at the time and the Labor government had long promised to address it.

The Health Workers Union put in a pitch in June 2018 to run a staff training program to tackle the issue, with the government ultimately unfairly awarding it the contract on the eve of the election.

The following year, an anonymous source tipped off the watchdog alleging serious corruption.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews was grilled by reporters after IBAC handed down its 132-page Operation Daintree report

Mr Andrews on Wednesday stressed the report was 'educational' and said therefore there were no findings against anyone.

However, the report's recommendations were about a number of serious matters, he said.

'The staff members who are referred to in this report do not work for the government anymore and have not worked for the government for years and  the ministers who are referenced in the report are not even members of the parliament any longer,' he said.

'Obviously, I am accountable and fundamentally responsible for driving a process to consider these 17 recommendations.'

The watchdog's investigation substantiated that a ministerial advisor working for then-health minister Jill Hennessy exerted pressure on Department of Health and Human Services staff to award the contract to a Health Workers Union entity.

It also found an advisor to subsequent health minister, Jenny Mikakos, and an advisor to Mr Andrews intruded on the department's management of the contract against the public interest.

Above all, the inquiry named the premier as ultimately responsible for the misconduct.

The investigation did not detect any corruption.

'(Mr Andrews) remains accountable to parliament for the conduct of his staff and its consequences, regardless of whether or not he has personal knowledge of it,' the report said.

'Parliament may hold him personally responsible for the conduct of his staff and its consequences, where he was aware of their actions or ought reasonably to have been aware of them.'

The premier was grilled by the watchdog and played a tape of himself announcing a 'partnership' with the union ahead of it being awarded the contract.

He initially contended in evidence that did not mean the union secured the contract by the time of the announcement, but later accepted he could have told the union about the intended commitment ahead of the announcement.

Conduct by senior public servants also fell short of that required by Victorian standards.

'The pursuit by advisors of the perceived interests of their ministers, including the premier, at the expense of proper process and standards is another example of the phenomenon of grey corruption that is of increasing concern to integrity bodies around Australia,' the report said.

The operation found ample evidence of the misuse of power and influence by ministerial advisors and departmental executives.

Health department staff held significant concerns from the start about whether the union entity, the Health Education Fund, had capacity to deliver on the contract.

Despite that, a non-competitive process went ahead and the concerns persisted, with Andrews government staffers ultimately dissuading the health department from terminating the contract.

Safeguards designed to ensure the procurement process' integrity and fairness were bypassed and, as a result, the government's conflict of interest was improperly managed, the inquiry found.

The union entity was not a registered training organisation when it was awarded the contract.

Ms Mikakos gave evidence to the inquiry that all ministers and their advisors were under a clear direction of the premier that election commitments must be delivered.

She described the government as 'very centralised', with the premier's private office 'having its tentacles everywhere'.

The investigation made 17 recommendations to ensure, among other things, the role of ministerial advisors was more transparent, and ministers had a clear understanding of their obligations and accountability,
A baby rapist who filmed himself repeatedly sexually assaulting a two-year-old girl will have a cellmate give evidence in support of his claim that he needs special jail privileges.

Jason Daron Mizner - whose vile crimes across two countries included muzzling a toddler to stop her screaming - is currently before a tribunal claiming discrimination regarding his treatment in prison.

Mizner is serving 19 years in Queensland for 65 child-sex offences against the then toddler daughter of a girlfriend he repeatedly raped over a three-month period in the early 2000s.

After alleging earlier this month that he was being tormented inside Wolston Correctional Centre - a claim refuted by jail officials - Mizner has received the support of a fellow inmate who will back his claims.

The Queensland Civil and Administrative Tribunal agreed the witness could testify with his identity suppressed due to his 'fear of retribution at the hands of other prisoners'.

A cellmate of Jason Mizner will testify anonymously in support of the vile baby rapist's claims for jail privileges including a single cell because other inmates made too much noise and turned on lights (Mizner pictured)

Mizner, a former yoga teacher, claims the prison lights and noise of other inmates at Wolston triggers the PTSD he suffers from being locked up in Thailand.

He served 11 years of a 35-year prison sentence after being caught sexually assaulting the baby daughter of a Thai woman he had befriended in the city of Chiang Mai.

Mizner was deported and arrested on his return to Brisbane, and pleaded guilty to more than 60 child crimes from the early 2000s, including more than 30 counts of rape and videotaping the assaults.

Along with the recordings Mizner made of the assaults and the names of children, police found a bag with the addresses of single mothers and plans for a child exploitation ring.

His lawyers blamed a motorbike accident at the age of 21 for his loss of 'inhibitions' with children, and claimed he was beaten and tortured when in jail in Thailand.

Disturbing image of Jason Mizen taken in a Thai police video of a forced re-enactment of his crimes against children, using a doll to represent the victim, after he was arrested in 2008 in Chiang Mai and locked up for 11 years

Mizner, who sexually assaulted babies and female toddlers in two countries, is serving a 19 years sentence in Wolston jail (above) where he says the noise and light triggers his PTSD from 11 years of torture and beatings in a Thai prison

Last year Mizner filed a petition requesting a cell of his own in the overcrowded Wolston facility because of his hypersensitivity and 'anxiety level or traumatic mood fluctuations'.

He claimed sleep disturbances from noises and lights when cellmates used the toilet in the middle of the night.

The child predator told the tribunal he would be woken up by people 'going about their business' and when they 'turned the lights on'.

He claimed were not allowed to have earplugs and that stuffing rags in his ears left them 'scratched' and 'bleeding'.

However the former general manager of Wolston prison, Joel Smith, testified there was no general prohibition on earplugs and he was not aware Mizner had ever asked for any.

Two further half days of hearings into the baby rapist's claims will proceed on dates to be set.

Mizner had sought to close the hearing and have evidence heard in closed sessions, but was denied that application.

Mizner was arrested in Thailand after he took a girlfriend's baby and sexually assaulted the child in the Chiang Rai area in the country's north

The tribunal also refuted Mizner's bid for a non-publication order which he said was made in the interests of the families of his victims.

During his 2018 sentencing for his Queensland crimes, the judge said she had struggled to watch the disturbing footage of Mizner's offences despite 30 years experience with extreme child abuse cases.

Justice Leanne Clare, who was so traumatised by the graphic footage she had delayed sentencing, said: 'I only watched a portion and it has been a battle to get the vision of your offending out of my head.

'I cannot imagine the horror of it for (the girl's) mother.'

Mizner lost an appeal against his sentence in 2019 and his earliest release date will be in 2031.
Hundreds of jobs at Australia Post could be on the chopping block as the company navigates an uncertain future.

A total of about 400 head office jobs will be cut - some of which have already been announced - by the postal service by the end of the current financial year in an attempt to streamline and modernise the company.

While head office 'support' roles are in the crosshairs, no frontline jobs such as delivery people, retail workers or store managers will at this stage be affected.

The job cuts are a part of the company's attempts to make the company more efficient after it announced it expected to post its first full-year loss since 2015.

The federal government is currently consulting with Australia Post to consider revenue raising measures such as increasing the cost of stamps and cost-cutting proposals such as fewer letter deliveries.

About 400 head office 'support' jobs will be axed by Australia Post by the end of the financial year but at this stage no frontline workers are in danger of losing their jobs (stock image)

The company grossed $4.69billion from July to December last year, a 2.4 per cent downturn over the same period the year prior.

The downturn is due to less letters being sent, a moderation in the amount of packages sent and severe weather affecting deliveries.

In a March statement, Paul Graham, Australia Posts Group Chief Executive Officer & Managing Director said: 'It is clear the status quo for Australia Post is no longer an option.'

'The business is on a path towards significant losses that, without change, will have to be covered by the Australian taxpayer and that is money that could be better spent on schools, hospitals and roads,' he continued.

An Australia Post spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia that the company has 'for a number of years been flagging the significant structural headwinds it is facing'.

'At its recent half year financial results, Australia Post announced it will report a full year loss, the first time since 2015,' the spokesperson said.

'A new operating model for Australia Posts corporate support office is being introduced to simplify our business and operating support structures.

'This will, in part, help Australia Post respond to the financial pressures it is facing.

'As an entirely self-funded business that receives no taxpayer funding, Australia Post needs to adapt the structure of its support office team to be more efficient and face into these challenges.'

Fewer letters and packages sent have led to a 2.4 per cent revenue downturn in the year prior, with the company considering further raising the cost of stamps to try and stay afloat (stock image)

Alongside the Federal Government, Australia Post has called out to Australians to consult in ideas to help modernise the company.

'A discussion on modernising postal services and Australia Post is the conversation the Australian community needs to have,' Mr Graham said.

'Australia Post looks forward to working with the Federal Government throughout the consultation and outlining the significant benefits to the Australian community from a modernised and financially viable Australia Post.'

The company has also invested over $1billion over the past three years into more processing facilities, as well as technological investments such as expanding their electric vehicle fleet.

In January, the company raised the price of stamps from $1.10 to $1.20 to raise revenue.
A transgender sex worker who was jailed for infecting a client with HIV is fighting to stop being permanently deported to New Zealand.

Clayton Palmer was convicted in the Western Australia District Court in 2018 of one count of grievous bodily harm in relation to having sex with a client.

The man was infected with HIV in the encounter despite Palmer knowing she was HIV positive.

Clayton Palmer was convicted in the Western Australia District Court in 2018 relating to grievous bodily harm with a client

Palmer sentenced to six years' imprisonment which was reduced to four years on appeal

Palmer was at the time sentenced to six years' imprisonment which was reduced to four years on appeal.

She had been an Australian resident since 2006 but her visa was subject to mandatory cancellation because of having a criminal record.

Palmer was deported eventually from Australia to New Zealand after a decision from the Minister to cancel her visa.

Lawyers for Palmer from the HIV/Aids Legal Centre fronted the Federal Court in Sydney on Tuesday in a bid to overturn the decision.

Palmer's counsel Bora Kaplan argued that she had difficulty coming to terms with her diagnosis at the time of offending but was on medication which reduced her chances of infecting a partner.

'The evidence before the (immigration) minister was quite clear in my respectful submission, and it was the Palmer had consistently taken her medication since 2016,' Mr Kaplan said.

'Importantly, even during those times that she had relapsed into illicit drug use, and there was nothing to suggest that there was a risk that she would stop taking that medication going forward.

'The evidence established that HIV cannot be transmitted from A to B, if A has an undetectable viral load as Palmer did.'

However, Mr Kaplan did admit that Palmer's initial reaction to being diagnosed was one of denial.

Palmer was an Australian resident since 2006 but her visa was subject to mandatory cancellation if she gained a criminal record

'The only reason is not to be defended by the respondent is the second of those reasons that I identified in paragraph 30,' he said.

'That is that prior to commencing treatment, Palmer was in denial about her diagnosis took drugs and was reckless in her approach to her own sexual health and that of her sexual partners.'

Palmer previously told a tribunal she wanted to stay in Australia and maintain her connections to communities including people with HIV, transgender people and sex workers.

The hearing has been adjourned.
The horror incident led to the death of at least one person and injured five others, as authorities evacuated downtown Manhattan

Terrifying footage captured the moment a Manhattan parking garage collapsed Tuesday afternoon, killing at least one person and injuring five others.

The horror incident left a fleet of vehicles piled on top of another amongst crumbled concrete, causing a huge emergency response near Wall Street.

Shocking surveillance video revealed how the cars on a lower level were crushed after the upper floor caved in and vehicles fell through the broken concrete.

The incident also saw people trapped in an elevator shaft, as the decrepit building's floors 'pancaked' on top of each other, according to city officials.

Terrifying footage captured the moment Enterprise Ann Parkin in lower Manhattan collapsed in on itself

Cars and debris are seen piled up in the lower Manhattan parking lot after the

The footage, which was shot on a Ring surveillance camera, shows the vehicles inside in the dark become quickly submerged by falling concrete.

Numerous vehicles were seen crashing through the openings as the collapse caused significant damage.

Witnesses described a woman screaming 'get out!' as the structure caved in, and images showed the top floor fallen through with vehicles stacked on broken concrete.

Several New York residents who live near the building told DailyMail.com the structure was known to be old, saying the tragedy was 'not surprising'.

A parking attendant, who was seen being taken from the scene with his leg wrapped in a bandage, told DailyMail.com that he had been 'telling them that something like this was going to happen.'

Shannon Wu, who lives on the same street as the collapsed building, was among around 100 people waiting outside after cops closed an area off around two blocks.

'It's a very old building, so it's honestly not surprising,' she told DailyMail.com. 'It's known as a really old building.

'My boyfriend was home when it happened, and he said the whole street was shaking.' He described it as 'like the subway shaking underneath the building'.

An injured person being rushed from the scene

Members of the mayor's team are seen at the scene on Tuesday evening

Eric Adams, the mayor of New York, speaks beside NYPD Commissioner Keechant Sewell (left)

The incident occurred at Enterprise Ann Parking at 57 Ann Street, between Nassau Street and William Street in lower Manhattan, near Wall Street at around 4:15pm.

The cause of death of the deceased individual has not been made public, and five people are being treated at a local hospital, FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito said.

Several buildings in the immediate area were evacuated after the incident, and officials told DailyMail.com a police presence will remain in the area as authorities continue to investigate the cause of the accident.

Don Mulligan, who was inside the hotel directly next to the garage when it collapsed, told DailyMail.com: 'The evacuation was very orderly, they weren't rushing people, just went over the intercom and got everyone out.'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog, which is also known as a Digidog, was needed to go into the building when officials arrived on the scene because the collapsed building was unstable.

'At this time this building is completely unstable and the chief - we do not want to send in someone until we can make sure the building is shored up,' the mayor added.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, speaking at the scene, called the incident a 'structural collapse'.

Responding firefighters did enter the building upon arrival, but retreated when the structure was deemed unstable.

A robotic dog also known as a Digidog was needed to go into the building because it was unstable

Cars piled up on top of each other after the building's floors 'pancaked' on top of each other

An aerial shot over 57 Ann Street showing where the collapse occurred

A witness to the horror incident described the sound of the crash as being an 'incredible noise'.

'I was wondering what that was so I went to the window and I just saw the top floor of this garage...just beginning to cave in and cars just following into this pit,' Erasmo Guerra told NBC New York.

Angela Aparico was working in a hotel building about a block away.

'It just felt like everything was shaking,' she told DailyMail.com. 'It was like the whole ground was unsettled, almost like an earthquake.

'I just hope everybody is okay.'

An Ann Street resident told DailyMail.com: 'The building looked unsound for years, like a converted residential structure with no additional structural supports, even though the cars were packed onto every floor and the roof, the walls seemed bent and winding outwards. By sight alone it seemed unsound.'

The building has been cited multiple times since 2008 for violations relating to cracks in the concrete, reports ABC New York.

As a result of the incident, the nearby Pace University has canceled all classes and evacuated their nearby campus.

Michael Papayianis, a film student at Pace University, was sent a text message from the university about cancelled classes. 'It is such an old building,' he said. 'Almost all the metal inside is rusty... I wouldn't be surprised if they just overbooked it with cars.'

The garage is used for parking by the New York Sheriff's Department, all of their staff are accounted for.

Another Pace University student Charlie Franklin told Pix11 that he and his roommate frequently talked about how unsafe the building looked.

'It was bound to happen sooner or later. Hopefully they can get their stuff together and Pace can give us accommodations for tonight,' Franklin said.

Numerous residents in apartments and hotels on the street were spotted being escorted through the evening to new accommodation.

Residents along the street were seen with suitcases late Tuesday evening
A young girl's desperate screams were heard coming from a home moments before her mother was found severely injured inside.

Mother-of-two Emmerick Lasakar, 35, died in Royal Perth Hospital on Monday night after being found with multiple injuries at her home on Knutsford Avenue in Kewdale.

A neighbour told 9News she was alerted to the ordeal when she heard screams ring out across the neighourhood.

Emmerich Lasaker was killed while her children were home. Picture Facebook.jpg

'It was her mother - she was screaming 'mamma mamma mamma, no no no, pick me, kill me',' the neighbour said.

'Then screaming again, like massive bad awful screaming, that was the worst'.

According to The West Australian a young child had been the one to put a desperate call into triple-0.

When police and paramedics arrived Ms Lasakar was found with severe injuries.

They performed first aid before she was rushed to Royal Perth Hospital.

She died soon after.

WA Police commissioner Col Blanch said the scene was confronting 'not only for officers but for the kids'.

'It is a tragically sad day for the family,' he told ABC Perth radio.

About 45 minutes after police were called to the property, a 37-year-old man who was known to Ms Lasakar was arrested in the backyard of a St James home.

Police are trying to piece together the series of events that allegedly took place over the course of the hour.

The man allegedly crashed his grey ute on Berwick Street before fleeing into a nearby home.

Emmerich Lasaker was killed while her children were home. Picture Facebook.jpg

The man allegedly crashed his grey ute on Berwick Street before fleeing into a nearby home

He remains under police guard in hospital, although no charges have been laid.

At some stage that night, a petrol station in East Victoria Park was allegedly held up by an armed robber.

Police said they are investigating a possible link between the robbery and the alleged matters.

Detectives are seeking information from anyone regarding the man's movements between Kewdale and St James.

Anyone with dashcam footage, CCTV or mobile phone video is asked to contact police.
The CEO of Norfolk Southern has reiterated his apology for the derailment of rail cars carrying hazardous chemicals in East Palestine, Ohio -- but is resisting proposals to mandate train crews of at least two people.

CEO Alan Shaw testified on Tuesday before an Ohio Senate rail safety panel, where he faced wide-ranging questions about the derailment and subsequent controlled chemical burn that rocked the small village in February.

'I am deeply sorry for the impact this derailment has had on the people in the region. I am determined to make it right,' Shaw told the panel. 'We are making progress every day as we clean the site safely, thoroughly, and with urgency.'

Shaw said Norfolk Southern has committed more than $30 million in funds to support East Palestine's residents, first responders and community organizations, including $13 million in support to more than 7,600 families.

However, the company also faces a lawsuit from Ohio's Attorney General Dave Yost over costs for the toxic chemical spill cleanup and environmental damage.

Norfolk Southern CEO Alan Shaw, right, testifies before an Ohio Senate rail safety panel Tuesday at the statehouse in Columbus, Ohio

The federal government has also sued the railroad over environmental damage caused by the February 3 derailment.

Shaw said he supports federal efforts to strengthen railway safety legislation, spearheaded by Ohio's US senators and representatives.

Those measures including provisions to increase inspection oversight for railways, further investment in wayside detectors and stricter standards for tanker cars.

However, when pressed on a two-person crew mandate for all trains, Shaw argued that there is no data to support that two-person crews help prevent derailments.

'We're data-driven, and we're going to follow the science. And at this point I have not seen any data that provides a direct link between crew size and derailments,' he told the Ohio panel.

The train that derailed in East Palestine was carrying three crew members, including one trainee.

Still, crew-size mandates have become a contentious subject after railroad worker unions argued that widespread job cuts across the industry in the past six years have made railroads riskier by increasing the frequency of one-man crews.

They say employees are spread too thin after nearly one-third of all rail jobs were eliminated and train crews, in particular, deal with fatigue because they are on call 24/7.

A black plume rises over East Palestine, Ohio on February 6, as a result of a controlled burn of a portion of the derailed Norfolk Southern trains carrying hazardous chemicals

Shaw testified on Tuesday before an Ohio Senate rail safety panel, where he faced wide-ranging questions about the East Palestine derailment

Ohio lawmakers recently passed a two-person crew mandate for trains passing through the state, though the legality of the rule remains under debate.

The Ohio Railroad Association, a trade group, has argued that several of the measures are preempted by federal law. Legislators say the General Assembly can put statewide safeguards in place to help protect constituents.

Bipartisan legislation introduced in Congress following the derailment would require train crews to continue to have two people.

The Federal Railroad Administration also is considering a rule that would require two-person crews in most instances.

No one was injured in the East Palestine derailment, but half of the nearly 5,000 East Palestine residents were evacuated for days.

Portions of a Norfolk Southern freight train are seen burning after the derailment. Chemicals from the derailed cars and firefighting foam seeped into creeks and rivers near the village

A view of the scene on February 24, as cleanup continues at the site of a Norfolk Southern freight train derailment that happened in East Palestine, Ohio

Many say they continue to suffer from health problems such as rashes, headaches and trouble breathing.

Chemicals from the derailed cars and firefighting foam seeped into creeks and rivers near the village, with some eventually ending up in the Ohio River.

So far, more than 9 million gallons of wastewater have been removed from the site and hauled to hazardous waste storage sites in Ohio and other states, according to the state officials.

Government officials say tests havent found dangerous levels of chemicals in the air or public drinking water in the area, but many residents remain concerned about their long-term health.
Kaylin was killed after the vehicle she was in pulled into the wrong driveway

Gillis' parents say they are 'lost' after the 'senseless' death of their child

Parents of Kaylin Gillis, 20, have spoken out following her NY shooting death

The parents of a 20-year-old woman who was fatally shot after the car she was in drove into the wrong driveway say they are 'lost' and 'devastated' by their daughter's 'senseless' death.

In posts on Monday, Andrew and Angelique Gillis remembered Kaylin Gillis as a 'ray of light' and a 'kind, beautiful soul,' who was taken 'far too soon,' just months shy of starting college in Florida.

'She was a big sister, much loved daughter, devoted friend, and partner to her loving boyfriend,' Andrew's tribute reads. 'She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love.'

Kaylin, 20, and three friends were headed to a home in upstate New York on Saturday around 10pm when they accidentally entered Kevin Monahan's driveway in Hebron in Upstate New York.

Monahan, 65, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, fired two shots from his porch at the car, one of which struck Gillis who was still in the vehicle.

The man has been charged with second-degree murder.

In posts on Monday, Andrew and Angelique Gillis remembered Kaylin Gillis as a 'ray of light' and a 'kind, beautiful soul,' who was taken 'far too soon,' months shy of starting college

The parents of a 20-year-old woman who fatally shot after the car she was in drove into the wrong driveway say they are 'lost' and 'devastated' by their daughter's 'senseless' death

Sharing a post to Facebook Monday, the grieving mother said she is struggling to come to terms with the death.

'I'm lost. I'm heartbroken,' Angelique wrote. 'My beautiful baby didn't deserve this.'

She described Kaylin as 'the light of our lives' and said her daughter 'had so much to live for and so many dreams.'

Among those dreams included going to college to become either a veterinarian or a marine biologist.

According to her obituary, she loved animals - especially goats and dolphins.

'She was taken from us far too soon, and we are devastated. Our family will never be the same but we will be guided by Kaylin's positivity, optimism, and joy as we learn to live with her loss,' her father said.

Andrew also added his thanks to the public for their kindness and support.

'Our family would like to send sincere thanks to the thousands of other people and other families who've expressed their support in this difficult time,' he wrote.

'Your well wishes and prayers are deeply appreciated, have been heard and will carry us through this difficult journey,' Andrew continued.

'I'm lost. I'm heartbroken,' Angelique wrote. 'My beautiful baby didn't deserve this'

Kaylin dreamed of going to college to become either a veterinarian or a marine biologist

'She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love. Kaylin was a talented artist, an honor student, a Disney fanatic, and loved animals,' Andrew wrote

A GoFundMe has since been started by friends to help cover funeral expenses.

The fundraiser has brought in just over $103,000 as of Tuesday evening.

'What a horrible tragedy. My deepest condolences,' wrote one person who donated.

'I remember Kaylin from when she was a toddler hanging out with us at our sleepovers. My thoughts are with the family,' wrote another.

'I am so terribly sorry to read this devastating news. This is the second GoFundMe donation today by me to the families of young people who mistakenly went to the wrong address. Enough,' said one commenter.

During a press conference Monday, Sheriff Jeff Murphy spoke to a group of reporters, as well as Gillis' family where he described the incident.

Murphy said the group did not initially realize they were at the wrong address but that they had started to pull out when the homeowner allegedly began shooting.

'While they were leaving the residence, once they determined they were at the wrong house, the subject came out on his porch for whatever reason and fired two shots. One which struck the vehicle that Kaylin was in,' Murphy said.

'What a horrible tragedy. My deepest condolences,' wrote one person on the GoFundMe

Investigators do not believe Monahan had any reason to think he was in danger

'I know for a fact that she comes from a good family. A very good family and I know them personally and she's young girl that was taken way too young,' Sheriff Jeff Murphy said

The friends could not immediately call 911 for help and were forced to drive for miles to a nearby town in order to call first responders.

Monahan was initially uncooperative but was later taken into custody.

Murphy said investigators do not believe Monahan had any reason to think he was in danger.

'There was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened, especially as it appears the vehicles were leaving at the time,' Murphy added.

He's currently being held at the Warren County Jail.
Chanting protesters have turned up with placards at the gig of a comedian who joked about the Dalai Lama's interaction with a child.

The crowd of 150 men, women and children surrounded the entrance of the Rubber Chicken Comedy Pub in Melbourne on Tuesday where comic Lewis Spears was taking to the stage.

It comes after Mr Spears performed a crude stand-up routine making fun of the Dalai Lama after the Buddhist monk told a young boy to 'suck his tongue' at an event in India last February.

But the paedophilia jokes fell flat for the Buddhist demonstrators who arrived at the pub, one of the venues for this year's Melbourne Comedy Festival.

Protesters in the venue's video post were seen standing outside the pub holding flags and placards with one saying, 'Your stupid joke hurts the sentiment of seven million Tibetans'.

The crowd of 150 men, women and children surrounded the entrance of the Rubber Chicken Comedy Pub in Melbourne on Tuesday (pictured) to protest against comic Lewis Spears' Dalai Lama jokes

'I'm not going to let these protesters scare me or intimidate me,' Mr Spears (pictured) said on his social media

Protesters in the post's video were seen standing outside the venue holding flags and placards with one saying, 'Your stupid joke hurts the sentiment of seven million Tibetans' (pictured)

Meanwhile, the office of the Dalai Lama apologised earlier last week after video of him with the child went viral on social media

Another sign read: 'Think and research before you open your mouth.'

The crowds chanted 'Lewis Spears not funny', 'we demand an apology' and 'Lewis Spears shame shame shame', the pub's social media post said.

A protesting woman was heard speaking in the post's video saying she 'had never heard of this guy' despite being a 'follower' of comedy.

But the footage showed her voice being drowned out as the camera entered the pub with patrons sitting around and applauding a performer.

The pub said the 'irony was not lost' on Mr Spears as the Tibetans who were muzzled by Chinese authorities abroad were now trying 'to silence another in their new country'.

It comes after Australian Tibetans wrote to the comedy festival organisers calling for Mr Spears' Brace Yourself show to be pulled from the festival.

But the comedian said that wasn't happening.

'I'm not going to let these protesters scare me or intimidate me,' he said on his social media before his Tuesday performance.

'It is their right to protest just as it is my right to tell jokes about people because we live in a free country.'

Meanwhile, the office of the Dalai Lama apologised earlier last week after video of him with the child went viral leading to a wave of comments on social media that his behaviour amounted to abuse.

The video clip, filmed in February and circulated this month, has been viewed more than one million times on Twitter.

The footage showed the moment the Tibetan leader invited the boy on stage during a charity event at his temple in Dharamshala, northern India, in February.

In the video, the boy asked the Dalai Lama 'can I hug you?'.

The spiritual leader first asked the boy to kiss him on the cheek, before pointing at his lips.

He then held the boy's face as they appeared to briefly kiss, then the pair pressed their foreheads together.

The Dalai Lama then added: 'And suck my tongue' - prompting the boy to slowly inch forward towards the 87-year-old's outstretched tongue, before moving back, without making any connection.

In the video, attendees of the event, held by India's M3M Foundation, can be heard laughing as the boy sits awkwardly in front of the aged Tibetan Buddhist leader and nervously follows his orders.

The crowds chanted 'Lewis Spears not funny', 'we demand an apology' and 'Lewis Spears shame shame shame', the pub's social media post said

The Dalai Lama then added: 'And suck my tongue' - prompting the boy to slowly inch forward towards the 87-year-old's outstretched tongue (pictured), before moving back, without making any connection

Some supporters of the Dalai Lama sprang to his defence, claiming their leader was simply 'joking around'.

The office of the Buddhist leader issued a statement last week.

'His Holiness wishes to apologise to the boy and his family, as well as his many friends across the world, for the hurt his words may have caused,' it read.

'His Holiness often teases the people he meets in an innocent and playful way, even in public and before cameras.

'He regrets the incident.'
Southwest Airlines took another reputational hit on Tuesday, after technical issues forced the company to briefly ground all flights nationwide, leading to more than 2,400 delayed flights.

The hold on departures backed up traffic at airports from Denver to New York City, and came just four months after Southwest suffered a much bigger meltdown over the Christmas travel rush.

In a statement, the carrier blamed Tuesday's disruption on 'data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,' adding: 'Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost.'

The Federal Aviation Administration said that it issued a nationwide ground stop on all Southwest flights at the request of the airline as it worked through the technical issues. The flight ban was lifted by mid-morning.

Though the latest disruption was far less serious than the massive meltdown Southwest suffered in December, it raised questions about the CEO Robert Jordan's vow to upgrade and modernize the carrier's systems to prevent such breakdowns.

Southwest Airlines took another reputational hit on Tuesday, after technical issues forced the company to briefly ground all flights nationwide

In a statement, the carrier blamed Tuesday's disruption on 'data connection issues resulting from a firewall failure,' adding: 'Early this morning, a vendor-supplied firewall went down and connection to some operational data was unexpectedly lost'

In the December crisis, more than 17,000 Southwest flights were cancelled over the span of ten days, after the airline said its crew scheduling system collapsed under the weight of disruptions from a major winter storm.

The cancellations wrecked holiday travel plans for well over two million people, and cost the airline more than $1 billion.

The carrier has been upgrading its systems in the wake of that debacle, saying in a March 14 news release that work was underway to implement improvements.

Asked if the latest disruptions were related to the technical upgrades, Southwest did not immediately respond to DailyMail.com outside of business hours on Wednesday.

Tuesday's disruptions only resulted in 18 cancelled flights, on par with other major carriers, according to data from FlightAware.

However, 2,404 Southwest flights were delayed, representing 57 percent of the airline's schedule for the day, causing aggravation and inconvenience for passengers.

The disruption added to Southwest's reputation as an airline that has struggled more than most with technology issues.

Rob Britton, a former American Airlines executive who teaches crisis management at Georgetown University, told the Associated Press the damage from Tuesday's incident will be minor, but will add to the erosion of Southwest's image.

He said Southwest has underinvested in technology while growing rapidly, and it suffers from an 'insular culture' that 'keeps them from looking outside for solutions.'

Henry Harteveldt, a travel analyst with Atmosphere Research Group, told the AP that Tuesday's incident 'will have no long-lasting affect on Southwest's reputation.'

'What matters now for Southwest is getting to the cause and doing all it can to ensure incidents like this don't occur again,' said Harteveldt.

Unlike other major carriers, Southwest does not use commercial crew scheduling software, but instead relies on proprietary systems built and maintained in-house, called SkySolver and Crew Web Access.

Insiders say the programs frequently crash and break down, forcing crew members to phone in for route assignments during disruptions, according to the Dallas Morning Herald.

Southwest Airlines planes were grounded for more than an hour Tuesday due to a technical issue with the carrier's firewall systems - leading to more than 1,900 delays and cancellations

At 11:10am - after roughly an hour and a half - the FAA lifted the pause - writing in a vague statement that Southwest had 'experienced a technical issue' with one of its systems

December's meltdown led to an ongoing Transportation Department investigation and a congressional hearing during which lawmakers complained that Southwest provided little or no help to stranded travelers.

Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., who led that hearing, said Tuesday's breakdown 'is another demonstration that Southwest Airlines needs to upgrade their systems and stop the negative impacts to individual travelers.'

The airline's unions have said they warned management about problems with the crew-scheduling system after a previous meltdown in October 2021.

CEO Robert Jordan has embarked on a campaign to repair the airline's damaged reputation.

Southwest said last month it would add de-icing equipment and increase staffing during winter weather that is cold enough to limit the amount of time that ground workers can stay outside.

Shares of Southwest Airlines Co. fell Tuesday nearly 1 percent while its closest rivals - American, Delta and United - all gained at least 1.5 percent.
But Illinois state senator Robert Peters came out in defense of the rioters, branding it a 'mass protest against poverty and segregation'

The chaotic scenes led to 15 arrests and two shootings as the city descended into violence

A couple who were violently targeted in Chicago's out-of-control 'teen riots' have condemned their attackers for trying 'to kill us' - after an Illinois state senator defended the mob for protesting 'against poverty and segregation'.

Terrifying footage caught the moment on Saturday evening when Ashley, 20, and DJ, 22, were swarmed by teen rioters after they stepped out on the streets of Chicago.

The young couple - who chose not to reveal their full names - said the unprovoked attack was 'completely random' - but state senator Robert Peters took to Twitter the next day to come out behind the mob.

'I would look at the behavior of young people as a political act and statement. Its a mass protest against poverty and segregation,' he said in the post, which sparked widespread outrage.

The shocking scenes come after an uncontrolled mob of teenagers torched downtown Chicago, leading to at least two shootings and over a dozen arrests.

A young couple attacked by teen rioters in Chicago, DJ, left, and Ashley, right, revealed the mob threatened to 'kill' them

Speaking out after they found themselves in the midst of the terrifying mob, Ashley and DJ told Fox News their attackers warned them 'they were going to kill us'.

The couple said they were crowded by the rioters after an evening out shopping, before 'everything went crazy' and Ashley was pushed to the ground.

After DJ confronted her attackers, the two were quickly overrun, as the teen agitators beat the pair and stole their shoes, phones, a pair of sunglasses, an Apple Watch, and a hat.

'I have a black eye,' added DJ. 'My face is messed up. Shoulder is pretty f***** up too, it's out of place. My back is sore.'

The terrifying attack came as droves of young rioters descended on the Windy City, causing widespread mayhem and looting.

Footage from the evening of chaos saw teenagers jumping on and smashing a bus, while others erupted into a mass brawl as Millennium Park became the epicenter of the frenzy.

Gunshots rang out through the city, and two teens, aged 16 and 17, were shot in the carnage. In total, 15 people were arrested following the weekend of mayhem, while the riots also saw numerous vehicles seized and torched on the streets.

The riots led to 15 arrests and two shootings as Chicago descended into chaos

The rowdy group torched cars and got into fights as gunshots rang out across the city

A Tesla was set on fire amid the carnage

Despite the significant damage caused by the bedlam, state senator Peters, who counts parts of Chicago within his constituency, brushed off the ugly scenes in a widely criticized social media post.

He said: 'Since Im a glutton for punishment and Im sure Im gonna get the most unhinged, crime weirdo replies but: I would look at the behavior of young people as a political act and statement.

'Its a mass protest against poverty and segregation.'

In anticipation of the backlash to his stance, Peters added: 'Rest in peace to my mentions.'

Illinois State Senator Robert Peters, pictured, defended the chaos in an outlandish tweet, describing it as 'a mass protest against poverty and segregation'

His defense of the protestors flew in the face of comments made by the young couple as they recalled their ordeal, with DJ describing the rioters as 'young and dumb'.

He added that the violent attackers were 'trying to prove a point for nothing.'

Peters also faced severe backlash to his outlandish tweet online, with some even calling for him to leave office over the stance.

'Your attempt at gaslighting citizens is beyond insulting,' said former congressional candidate Jack Lombardi II. 'The way I see it, you are A-Okay with what happened to this woman on Friday.

'And for that, you must resign.'

Others branded his statement 'pathetic', with one commenting: 'We will never have law and order as long as criminals are applauded instead of punished.'

'Help me understand where this goes next,' added another. 'Peaceful protests should be encouraged. Violent protests need to be condemned and the perps prosecuted to the full extent of the law.'

Radio host Tara Servatius also waded into the elected official's controversial statement, where she referenced the attack on the young couple by saying: 'They beat an innocent bystander (a woman) for fun because she happened to be standing near the door.'

Chicago's Millennium Park was filled with a heavy police presence to combat the throng of teen rioters

The Windy City descended into chaos as hordes of young agitators filled the streets

Numerous cars were smashed or torched in the ugly scenes

In anticipation of the widespread rioting, law enforcement set up perimeters across downtown Chicago

Not everyone disagreed with Peters' stance, however, as outgoing Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was recently voted out of office, told a local reporter that she believed calling the ugly scenes 'mayhem' was incorrect.

'The mass majority of the young people who came downtown, came downtown because there was great weather and it was an opportunity to enjoy the city,' she added.

'That's absolutely, entirely appropriate... There are a few that came with different intentions.

'They have and they will be dealt with. But I'm not going to use your language, which I think is wrong, to say there's "mayhem"'.

Chicago's new mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, 47, also weighed in.

He said Sunday that he does not 'condone the destructive activity' and that it is 'unacceptable and has no place' in the Windy City.

Former Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who was recently voted out of office, defended the rioters and said she thought the term 'mayhem' was inaccurate

'Our city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors,' Johnson said in a statement released on Sunday

Johnson continued by insisting that the destruction should not be used to vilify the group, adding: 'It is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.'

Despite mass outrage over the out of control rioters, Johnson said he thinks the only path forward is to 'work together' to offer kids safer spaces.

'Our city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors,' he said in a statement.
A Maine man has been charged with murder after allegedly killing four people in a home before shooting three others on a nearby interstate shortly afterward.

Authorities arrested Joseph Eaton, 34, hours after he opened fire in Bowdoin, Maine, and on Interstate 295 on Tuesday morning.

Law enforcement rushed to the scene in Bowdoin at 10:30am and found four victims, before hearing reports multiple people were shot in cars travelling along the highway around 25 miles from the first shootings.

It has not been revealed how Eaton was taken into custody. However, officials quickly connected the shootings, and he is currently in custody and is expected in court later this week.

Joseph Eaton, 34, pictured, has been arrested in connection to multiple shootings in Maine that killed four and left several others injured

A suspect is seen wearing handcuffs in police custody. Shortly after this picture was taken, he was taken away

This is the scene of the shooting that occurred along Interstate 295 in Yarmouth, Maine

Bullet holes can be seen in the windshield of the silver sedan that was involved in the shooting

Maine State Police are continuing to search the area where the suspect was taken into custody out of an abundance of caution

Maine State Police maintained that there is no further threat to the public after the suspect connected to both shootings was taken into custody. Authorities are yet to discuss a motive.

'A person of interest has been detained, and the incidents are connected,' Maine State Police Lt. Randall Keaten told reprorters prior to the arrest.

A witness to the interstate shooting told CBS News affiliate WGME-TV: 'We just saw a bunch of smoke. And my friend in the truck was like, 'I think that's gunpowder, like gunsmoke.'

State police have said that the three motorists who were shot have been hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and one remains in critical condition.

On Facebook, Bowdinham resident Ian Halsey said that some of the victims were his cousins. 'My cousin is in critical condition and my other cousin is stable. There is no connection between the victims. It was random that my family was shot at,' Halsey told the Portland Press Herald.

Maine State Police are continuing to search the area where the suspect was taken into custody out of an abundance of caution.

Lisa Erickson told the Portland Press Herald that she heard gunshots close to her home in Yarmouth, a few minutes later her neighborhood was swarming with police officers.

Erickson said that responding officers told her and her neighbors to stay indoors while a search was conducted. The suspect's abandoned car was left close to the woman's home.

WGME-TV's Alex Haskell posted a video on social media showing a suspect in custody speaking with police officers. Haskell said that shortly after he shot the video, the man was taken away.

A car seen in Haskell's video has several bullet holes in the front windshield.

The town of Yarmouth has a population of around 9,000 and is around 12 miles north of Maine's largest city, Portland. Bowdoin is a small farming community with a population of around 3,000.

A police officer stands watch in Yarmouth where residents were told to shelter-in-place following the shooting

'We are confident that there is no imminent threat to the general public at this time,' said Sagadahoc County Sheriff Joel Merry, whose deputies were assisting in Bowdoin. He referred questions to state police.

At the scene in Bowdoin, yellow crime scene tape hung around a home with a long, gravel driveway in a wooded area.

About 10 marked and unmarked law enforcement vehicles and a crime scene van were parked outside as investigators moved about and talked.

In Yarmouth, traffic backed up on the interstate as police shut down the southbound lanes, and state, county and local police canvassed the area.

Representatives for the Maine Department of Transportation said they closed the southbound side of I-295 in Yarmouth in late morning at the request of state police.

Police briefly ordered people in nearby neighborhoods to shelter in place, but authorities later announced there was no threat to the public.

Lenora Felker, who works near the highway at Rosemont Market and Bakery, said she sensed something was afoot when people started streaming in, saying the highway was closed, followed by dozens of law enforcement officers who descended on the area.

Officers canvassed businesses asking if they had seen 'anyone that was wet and muddy fleeing,' Felker said. But she knew all the customers and didn't see anything 'out of the ordinary,' she said.
A man charged over the execution-style murder of former Lone Wolf bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu in Sydney's west allegedly used e-scooters to cover his tracks.

The 40-year-old gangster was shot multiple times in the car park of his Rhodes apartment building on June 27 and later died in hospital.

Strike force detectives raided a property at Blair Athol in Sydney's southwest around dawn on Wednesday, arresting a 25-year-old man who was taken to Campbelltown Police Station and charged with murder.

Police will allege the man acted alongside others to plan, co-ordinate and carry out the murder which involved burning out several stolen cars to cover their tracks, before fleeing on e-scooters.

The alleged gunman's (pictured) escape plan included burning out several stolen cars, before fleeing on e-scooters

A 25-year-old man has been charged with the execution shooting of bikie Yusuf Nazlioglu in front of his wife in his apartment block carpark in June, 2022 (pictured: Nazlioglu with his wife)

Detective Superintendent Danny Doherty says police will track down others they believe were involved.

'This is the first arrest but it's an important breakthrough and it's an important arrest,' he told reporters.

Nazlioglu's partner was in the car beside him when he was shot multiple times in a brazen attack during the early evening when other members of the public may have also been present.

'It's apparent that those responsible had complete disregard for the safety of, not only her, but others that may have been in the nearby vicinity,' Det Supt Doherty said.

Homicide detectives investigating the murder established Strike Force Claypinch, which subsequently formed part of inquiries by Taskforce Erebus into several fatal shootings and criminal activities by Sydney crime gangs.

Two more homes were searched in Mt Pritchard and Kemps Creek with detectives seizing cannabis, cash, electronic devices, and other items relevant to the investigation.

Further search warrants were executed on Wednesday afternoon.

Police will allege in court the 25-year-old was involved in the planning and coordination of the execution-style killing

Nazlioglu was shot around 10 times before being rushed to hospital, where he died a short time later (pictured: car being driven by bikie Yusef Nazioglu when he was shot)

The accused man was refused bail to appear at Campbelltown Local Court later on Wednesday.

In 2020 a jury found Nazlioglu not guilty of murdering Comanchero boss Mick Hawi, who was gunned down at Fitness First in Rockdale in 2018.

Nazlioglu was accused of being the balaclava-clad gunman, while Jamal Eljaidi was said to be his getaway driver but was also acquitted.

The Crown alleged Nazlioglu was motivated to kill Hawi after the former close friends fell out with the relationship souring during a fishing trip to the Central Coast in the summer of 2016/17.
Mark McGowan has been caught unawares by a 'hot microphone' that revealed his disparaging remarks about Liberal MP Andrew Hastie on day one of his trip to China.

In the footage shot by Chinese operators and provided to Australian outlets by Mr McGowan's office, the Premier is seen chatting with Australian Ambassador to China, Graham Fletcher and China-Australia Chamber of Commerce chair, Vaughn Barber.

The three were attending a lunch put on in Beijing where Mr McGowan is visiting for five days to spruik his state's trade with the Asian giant.

WA Premier Mark McGowan has been recorded making disparaging remarks about Liberal MP Andrew Hastie during a trade trip to China

Mr McGowan makes comments about an unnamed former trade minister, Mr Hastie and former Coalition finance minister and now OECD Secretary-General, Mathias Cormann.

'So, I like Mathias Cormann, he had the same view as me, but he had no sway  on this issue. He had a lot of sway, but on this issue, he was the odd one out,' Mr McGowan tells Mr Barber.

'The other Western Australian who was senior, well, there was a few of them actually  Hastie.

'He swallowed some sort of Cold War pills back  when he was born, and he couldn't get his mindset out of that.'

Mr Hastie, a former SAS officer and assistant defence minister who represents the West Australian electorate of Canning, has been a longtime critic of Mr McGowan.

He was quick to resume hostilities following Mr McGowan's recent faux pas in China.

He said the Premier had demonstrated he was out of his 'intellectual depth' in dealing with China.

'The truth is that he's (Mr McGowan) a prison guard looking for work now that the pandemic has finished,' Mr Hastie said.

'I'm not surprised he's running down Australian MPs in China, but it is surprising from a former legal officer in the Royal Australian Navy.

'I'm not sure I'd want to serve alongside him on a naval ship in a crisis.

'Character is everything, what's he really saying when the cameras aren't running?'

Mr McGowan served as a legal officer for the navy from 1989 to 1994 while the jibe about being a prison guard refers to Western Australia's long period of closed borders during the pandemic.

Andrew Hastie was quick to return fire over the overheard remarks as he accused Mr McGowan of being an 'unemployed prison guard looking for work'

Former Morrison minister and now Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development Mathias Cormann received a more complimentary assessment by Mr McGowan

In the lead-up to the 2019 election Mr McGowan criticised the then-Morrison government's hardline approach to China, calling it 'mega-phone diplomacy'.

'They should, if they have criticisms or they want to take issues up, you take them up in a more refined way, a more subtle way,' Mr McGowan said.

Following this Mr Hastie shot back that Mr McGowan was 'outside his brief and beyond his narrow range of competence'.

Addressing the lunch, Mr McGowan made comments about the Morrison government's handling of Australia's relationship with China but the video provided to media cuts out before the subject is gone into.

The Premier's office said it was unable to provide that portion of the speech.

Unlike Victorian Premier Dan Andrews who controversially went to China for four days without inviting media in early April, Mr McGowan invited journalists to go with him.

However, visa issues meant only a reporter and photographer from The West Australian newspaper have gone on the trip.

Video of Mr McGowan's trip is being shot by a local Chinese crew and is being supplied to Australian outlets by the Premier's office.

In 2021 China, which is huge consumer of WA's iron ore, accounted for 60 per cent of the states exports.
Just what a judge said when a former Australian intelligence officer was jailed three years ago - in a court case cloaked in an unprecedented level of secrecy - has finally been revealed.

An ex-spy, dubbed Witness J and known in court by the pseudonym Alan Johns, was locked up in complete secrecy, after he threatened to extort highly classified national security information out of the belief he had been wronged.

The case was kept almost entirely behind closed doors - until recently - under national security laws.

But ACT Justice John Burns's sentencing remarks for the man dubbed Witness J were made public on Wednesday after the attorney-general launched a review of the country's national security laws.

ACT Justice John Burns found the man disclosed sensitive information in order to persuade those he was dealing with to comply with his wishes.

Witness J, also known under the pseudonym Alan Johns, was jailed for 15 months after he was found to have extorted highly classified information (above, at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia)

Johns made a series of complaints over an unsecured platform that included classified information after his security clearance was revoked and he was fired.

One of five charges occurred over a period of an unspecified number of months and only stopped when Johns was arrested.

He was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison and spent 15 months behind bars before being released in mid-2019.

The now retired judge said he accepted Johns' distrust of official complaints processes, but it didn't mitigate the nature of the offending.

Mr Burns said while there was no evidence the information was passed on to third parties or that national security was harmed - which would have made the charges more serious - it didn't discount the nature of the offence.

But he also contended the court may never know if Australia's national security had been contravened due to his actions.

'There was a clear risk, albeit slight, that sensitive or confidential material may be disseminated ... with potentially significant consequences,' Mr Burns said in his remarks.

'I accept this was not intended to be published to the world at large but it was a publication that carried with it a real, if not particularly significant risk, that it may be ... disseminated.'

But Mr Burns said Johns' actions could only be considered to be a threat, despite him not intending to carry it out.

'This was not merely an exercise in venting anger or frustration,' he said.

'Your purpose in doing so could only have been to remind those that you were dealing with that you could hurt ... Australia's security interests by disclosing the material in your possession.'

Johns' defence lawyers contended his actions were a grave lapse of judgment and were not malicious as he didn't set out to deliberately harm national security.

Johns disclosed classified information on an unsecured platform after his security clearance was revoked and he was fired

Mr Burns said while he accepted Johns didn't act in a malicious manner, he had to be aware of the gravity of his actions due to his long history in intelligence organisations.

'You were grossly reckless in your conduct because of your anger,' he said.

One doctor contended Johns' history of depression impaired his thinking when faced with what he perceived to be unfair treatment but wasn't the main factor.

Releasing Mr Burns' sentencing remarks, ACT Chief Justice Lucy McCallum said the court had given appropriate scrutiny as to what was made public in the highly redacted remarks.

'Secrecy is anathema to the rule of law,' she said.

But the chief justice said the logic of some secrecy in the case was clear.

Australia's national security watchdog chastised the unprecedented secrecy around the case, which only came to light after Johns launched legal action against the jail for tipping off police about a memoir he was writing.

Kieran Pender from the Human Rights Law Centre said secret trials had no place in Australia's justice system and should never be allowed to happen again.

'Secret trials have a long history in authoritarian states. They have no place in democracies like Australia where open justice is a fundamental protection of human rights,' the senior lawyer said.

Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus chastised the secrecy of the former coalition government, saying a completely secret trial was inconsistent with the rule of law.

'Court proceedings, including judgments and reasons, should be as open as possible whilst ensuring national security information is protected,' he said.

A review of Australia's national security laws is due in November.
China has moved its cutting-edge hypersonic drones to an air base in eastern China, leaked Pentagon documents show, in what is being seen as yet another sign of Beijing's readiness to launch an attack on Taiwan.

One of the documents, analyzed by The Washington Post, included satellite photos from August 9.

The imagery showed two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles inland from Shanghai.

The August maneuvers of the WZ-8 were noted in a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

They show the Chinese military making technological advances that could help it target American warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region.

The leaked Pentagon document showed the positioning of the drones

The WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drone was first unveiled in 2019

Xi Jinping, China's president, is seen on April 6

They also show the sophistication of Chinese military hardware.

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency report says China's military, the People's Liberation Army (PLA), had 'almost certainly' established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base.

The base falls under the Eastern Theater Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Beijing's sovereignty claims over Taiwan.

The revelation comes as Congress is due to be presented with a series of scenarios about potential attacks on Taiwan.

The House China Select Committee on Wednesday will take part in a war-game scenario for a simulated Chinese invasion of Taiwan, run by the Center for A New American Security.

The session has been planned to give lawmakers a sense of how a Taiwan conflict would unfold, where U.S. military weaknesses may lie, and the consequences for international trade and American businesses, Axios reported.

The WZ-8 was officially unveiled in December 2019, at the 70th-anniversary parade marking the founding of Mao Zedong's People's Republic of China.

The drone flies at high altitude, and travels at least three times the speed of sound.

Several other documents allegedly leaked by Jack Teixeira, who was arrested last week, show the existence of additional spy balloons, and an assessment that Taiwan is ill-prepared to withstand an aerial bombardment from China during an invasion.

The Department of Defense has not commented on the drone document.

The leaked files also include a deeply troubling report about China's hypersonic missile program, and the revelation that a new missile believed to be capable of evading U.S. defenses has been successfully tested.

Teixeira, 21, was arrested on Thursday at his home in Massachusetts. He is believed to have shared hundreds of classified documents with friends on a Discord chat room between fall and mid March.

Among them was a February 28 top-secret report from the Joint Chiefs of Staff intelligence directorate, The Washington Post reported.

They reported that three days previously, on February 25, China had successfully tested a new missile, named DF-27 - a hypersonic intermediate-range ballistic missile, in the Dongfeng series. All Dongfeng-series missiles are capable of delivering nuclear warheads.

The missile 'possesses a high probability of penetrating US' ballistic missile defenses, the report said.

The February 28 memo also revealed that last year the Chinese military, the People's Liberation Army, deployed versions of the new missile that can attack land targets and ships.

Jack Teixeira, 21-year-old National Guard member, was arrested by FBI officials on Thursday for leaking classified US intelligence documents. One of the documents details the new Chinese missile

China released rare footage of its nuclear-capable, hypersonic missile DF-26 being launched during a military exercise. There are no images yet from the DF-27 test

DF-17 Dongfeng medium-range ballistic missiles equipped with a DF-ZF hypersonic glide vehicle, involved in an October 2019 military parade to mark the 70th anniversary of the Chinese People's Republic. The DF-27 is a new and improved version of the DF-17

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere

The new missile has a hypersonic glide vehicle, designed to fly more than five times the speed of sound.

They can maneuver in flight, making them almost impossible to shoot down.

The DF-27 flew for 12 minutes and traveled 2,100 kilometers (1,300 miles), the leaked document revealed.

Its range is significantly more than that: a 2021 Defense Department report cited by The Washington Post said the DF-27 has a range of 5,000 to 8,000 kilometers, meaning that it can strike any target in East or Southeast Asia and large parts of the Pacific, including Guam.

Alaska is around 7,200km away: mainland U.S. is under 11,000km away, according to the latest annual Pentagon analysis, 'Report on Military and Security Developments Involving the People's Republic of China'. The report was published in November and cited by Newsweek.

'The DF-27 is designed to enhance [China's] ability to hold targets at risk beyond the Second Island Chain and possesses a high probability of penetrating U.S.' ballistic missile defense, the report stated.

The First, Second and Third Island Chains are geopolitical terms, first identified by U.S. military planners in the 1940s, for a series of concentric semicircles stretching out from China.

The Second Island Chain references the area stretching from central Japan through the Marianas and Micronesia.

The third is centered on Hawaii. The first is closer to China, and runs from the far south of Japan through the South China Sea.

The United States is protected by a Ground-Based Midcourse Defense System (pictured)

The Chinese army is pictured on parade earlier this month. The leaked documents also detailed U.S. assessments of China, including its missile capabilities

China has long been known to be making rapid strides in its hypersonic missiles program.

The latest development, however, comes at a tense time, with rising fears about the safety of Taiwan.

The leaked documents also showed that China has for the first time recently used its new helicopter-carrying assault ship, Yushen LHA-31, in an extended deployment - another worrying update for Taiwan.

Last year it emerged that the Chinese military is developing a supersonic anti-ship missile that will be able to travel further and faster than any traditional torpedo.

The 16ft 5in missile will be able to go as fast as 2.5 times the speed of sound at about 32,800 feet for 124 miles before diving and skimming across the waves for up to 12.4 miles.

When it arrives within about 6.2 miles of its target, the missile will go into torpedo mode, traveling underwater at up to 100 meters per second using super-cavitation, which makes a giant air bubble around it, will significantly reduces drag.

The hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) DF-17 is seen in October 2019

China in November 2021 tested for the first time a 'Fractional Orbital Bombardment System' - a warhead delivery system that can evade conventional ICBM defense systems

China's expansion into hypersonic missile technology and other advanced fields has raised concerns as Beijing becomes increasingly assertive over its claims to seas and islands in the South China and East China Seas, and to large chunks of territory along its disputed high-mountain border with India.

Hypersonic missiles travel at more than five times the speed of sound in the upper atmosphere, or about 6,200 km per hour (3,850 mph).

The United States and Russia are also developing hypersonic missiles, and North Korea said in August that it had test-fired a newly-developed hypersonic missile.

In October, the US Army and Navy successfully launched a rocket while testing a new class of hypersonic weapons at a seaside NASA facility.

NASA's Wallop Flight Facility in Virginia hosted the test by Sandia National Laboratories which evaluated hypersonic weapon communications and navigation equipment as well as advanced materials that can withstand the heat in a 'realistic hypersonic environment,' according to a Navy statement.

The testing comes amid growing concerns Russia and China have had more success developing their own hypersonic weapons than the US.

The United States and its global rivals have quickened their pace to build hypersonic weapons - the next generation of arms that rob adversaries of reaction time and traditional defeat mechanisms.

The Pentagon's 2023 budget request already includes $4.7 billion (4 billion) for research and development of hypersonic weapons.

It includes planning that would have a hypersonic missile battery fielded by next year, a sea-based missile by 2025 and an air-based cruise missile by 2027.

The US Army and Navy successfully launched a rocket at a Virginia NASA facility on October 26 (pictured), the Pentagon confirmed

Russia has used hypersonic missiles 'multiple' times in Ukraine, according to the top U.S. commander in Europe.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged the country's arms manufacturers to develop even more advanced hypersonic missiles to maintain the country's edge in military technologies.

The Russian military has said that its Avangard system is capable of flying 27 times faster than the speed of sound and making sharp maneuvers on its way to a target to dodge the enemy's missile shield.

It has been fitted to the existing Soviet-built intercontinental ballistic missiles instead of older type warheads, and the first unit armed with the Avangard entered duty in December 2019.
She was not allowed to leave the unsafe area as two horses hurtled towards her

Jo Nagra, 44, remained beside the track after the racecourse was locked down

A 'traumatised' mother who was crushed by two stampeding horses at the Grand National has revealed she was prevented from leaving the area when eco-protesters stormed Aintree.

Jo Nagra, 44, was celebrating her husband Harj's 53rd birthday with her children Adan, ten, and Aman, 28, when she was knocked unconscious during the horror crash.

The jockeys of Recite a Prayer and Galvin had been unseated at the first fence, leaving the horses to veer off and run towards racegoers standing by concrete bollards.

Mrs Nagra was standing on the side of the racetrack when the two stallions smashed into her, causing her injuries that have left her unable to walk three days later.

Now she has revealed that she and her family were stuck in that area as they were walking back to their vehicle at the Steeplechase car park  but were not allowed to leave because of a lockdown caused by the Animal Rising protesters storming the event.

Traumatised mother Jo Nagra, who was crushed by two stampeding horses at the Grand National, has revealed she was prevented from leaving the area when eco-protesters stormed the racecourse at the weekend

The jockeys of Recite a Prayer and Galvin had been unseated at the first fence, leaving the horses to veer off and gallop towards racegoers standing by concrete bollards. Mrs Nagra had been standing on the side of the racetrack where the two stallions smashed into her  causing her injuries that have left her unable to walk three days later

Now she has revealed that she and her family were stuck in that area as they were walking back to their vehicle at the Steeplechase car park  but were not allowed to leave because of a lockdown caused by the Animal Rising protesters storming the grand event (pictured being stopped by police)

Speaking to The Sun, Mrs Nagra detailed that she is awaiting results to find out if she has permanent tissue damage to her legs after being rushed to Aintree Hospital that day. She still has no feeling in her foot.

Now on crutches, the mother, from Birmingham, said: 'I remember waking up and hearing my daughter screaming. The whole family is traumatised.

'It's a serious health and safety issue and somebody could have died. I'm just so grateful they hit me and not my kids.'

She also added that the family would have been able to get to the car before the race started if the Animal Rising protesters had not been there. The group had been instructed to wait in the small area next to the fence while the race went on as the racecourse was locked down.

She said they 'should have never been allowed' to remain in that position, and recalled the moment the horses were 'hurtling' towards her, describing it as 'terrifying'.

The mother of two said: 'Although I sympathise with them to an extent, as we were quite shocked at how many horses died, they need to think about the impact their disruption can have.'

An Aintree Racecourse spokesman confirmed to MailOnline that they are looking into the matter.

Mrs Nagra had been at Aintree in Merseyside on Saturday with her husband Harj (pictured together) to celebrate his birthday along with her children

Police escort an animal rights activist from the scene of the racecourse after several attempted to glue themselves to a jump

A massive police response was triggered after protesters made it onto the course

Mrs Nagra detailed that she is awaiting results to find out if she has permanent tissue damage to her legs after being rushed to Aintree Hospital that day

Animal Rising protesters, an environmental and animal rights group, were seen attempting to climb over fences to gain access to the grounds, as well as breaking onto the grass ahead of the race  only for them to be carted off. Merseyside police confirmed that 118 people have been arrested.

It came after the alleged ringleader of the protest Rose Patterson, 33, was arrested in Greater Manchester this morning following an investigation by the Mail On Sunday into the plot.

A 25-year-old woman from London and a man were also arrested outside the racecourse on suspicion of conspiracy to cause public nuisance.

At around 5pm, people wielding ladders could be seen attempting to enter the grounds from outside Aintree, while others tried to glue or lock themselves to jumps on the track. Police officers were seen rushing to the scene to grab the protesters and remove them.

The race did finally get under way at around 5.30pm, but at least one horse went down before the first hurdle, as did another at the second fence.

Hill Sixteen, who was running at 66-1, took a fatal fall and sadly is confirmed to have become the third horse to have died at Aintree this weekend after breaking his neck.

Distressing footage of Hill Sixteen's fall was shared by animal rights activists online, before a Jockey Club spokesman confirmed the death.

Police officers were on high alert for any sign of protesters before the beginning of the race

The mother-of-two detailed: 'Although I sympathise with them to an extent, as we were quite shocked at how many horses died, they need to think about the impact their disruption can have'

Handcuffed activists are guarded by police officers during the Grand National at Aintree

Corach Rambler ridden by Derek Fox won the Randox Grand National at the weekend

Animal rights groups including PETA were quick to share the news on social media.

Several other jockeys also tumbled at the early stages but their horses continued. Two then left the main track but continued to run alongside the other steeds.

As the race went on, more horses fell to the ground. Two other horses with life-threatening injuries received medical attention.

The winner of the Grand National was Corach Rambler, at odds of 8-1.
After the FBI arrested two men in connection with a Chinese 'secret police station' in New York, activists say there may be as many as six other similar illegal outposts across the US.

In addition to the Manhattan outpost that was shut down on Monday, Chinese police operate another station elsewhere in New York City, and one in Los Angeles, according to a New York Post report citing the advocacy group Safeguard Defenders.

As well, the Madrid-based group has identified so-called 'Overseas Chinese Service Centers' that purportedly provide community services in San Francisco, Houston, Minnesota, and Nebraska.

While it is unclear whether those outposts are being used as clandestine police stations, Safeguard Defenders noted that Chinese security forces often use non-profits and community groups as a front to spy on and harass dissidents overseas.

China's foreign ministry has disputed the existence of such police stations, but has acknowledged what it says are volunteer-run sites in the US and other countries to assist overseas Chinese nationals with tasks such as renewing drivers licenses.

Advocacy group Safeguard Defenders says China operates police outposts in New York and Los Angeles, as well as four other cities with so-called 'Overseas Chinese Service Centers'

A secret police station above this ramen store in Manhattan's Chinatown was shut down by the FBI. Two men were arrested in connection with the scheme

On Monday, Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, were both arrested at their addresses in New York.

Prosecutors say the two men set up the office in Manhattan's Chinatown last year at the behest of the Fuzhou branch of the Ministry of Public Security, China's national police force.

They are both US citizens, and have been charged with conspiring to act as agents for the Chinese government.

Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx was arrested on Monday morning

Federal prosecutors said the arrests were part of a crackdown on China's targeting of dissidents, which Beijing denies.

'We will not tolerate the PRC (People's Republic of China) government or any foreign government harassing or threatening U.S. persons,' White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters at a regular press briefing.

China slammed the arrests as 'political manipulation' and part of a false and biased smear campaign.

'China firmly opposes the US side's slandering, smearing, engaging in political manipulation, and maliciously concocting the so-called transnational repression narrative,' foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters.

'We urge the US to immediately reflect on itself, abandon Cold War thinking and ideological biases, immediately stop related erroneous practices, stop political manipulation, and stop smear attacks against China,' he added.

US and Western authorities have warned that China's government has increasingly exerted pressure to silence its critics abroad, often targeting people of Chinese origin through covert operations in attempts to stifle dissent, or coerce them to return to China where they might face punishment.

Human rights groups have also complained of threats to academic freedom and monitoring of Chinese students on international university campuses.

Lu Jianwang, 61, (third left) and Chen Jinping, 59, (second left) were both arrested on Monday morning at their addresses in New York

Rick Waters, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for China and Taiwan, told a US House of Representatives hearing separately that Washington was aware of China's transnational law enforcement within the borders of 'dozens of countries.'

Waters said the US was working through public diplomacy and 'private diplomatic channels' with partners who had found the same issue in their countries.

'We have been engaged in a pretty extensive effort to share what we know and to develop the tools and response options that are most effective to this unique aspect of China's influence agenda,' Waters said.

Safeguard Defenders, a Europe-based human rights organization, published a report in September revealing the presence of dozens of Chinese police 'service stations' in major cities around the world, including New York.
An administrator's report has revealed the dire financial situation faced by the beauty brand co-founded by Chris Hemsworth's wife, Elsa Pataky.

The report on Purely Byron, released this week after it entered administration on March 10, revealed the business had been unprofitable in every year of its operation.

The company's directors, Lance Kalish and Ido Leffler, could also be investigated for potentially not fulfilling their duties.

The report established the company lost about $3.6million since its launch in 2020, with its first product introduced to the market in June of last year.

Kalish and Leffler claim the brand's financial situation stems from the difficulties faced by 47 per cent majority shareholder, BWX, which provided only $3.9million of a promised $8million in funding to establish Purely Byron.

The report also showed that the company had potentially continued trading while in between filing for insolvency and appointing administrators, although further investigation is required to confirm whether this was the case.

An administrator's report into the Beauty brand, Purely Byron (pictured), found the company was never profitable and lost $3.6million since its founding in 2020

Although being listed as co-founder in the report, Ms Pataky was not on the board of directors, meaning her arrangement was purely an 'endorsement and collaboration agreement'.

Purely Byron sold a range of skincare products that were inspired by the 'raw beauty' of the northern NSW beachside town and had 'clinically proven actives and formulas'.

The company's directors wrote in the report that 'BWX experienced material financial complications in the last 12 months and as a result its board declared publicly it intended to sell all of its non-core investments including Purely Byron'.

BWX had bled $336million during the 2021-22 financial year.

The beauty conglomerate's losses continued with a further $100million loss in the first half of the current financial year causing then-chief executive Rory Gration to step down.

The report stated that in response to Purely Byron's nearly $3million deficiency, the directors could be 'in breach' of section 180 of the Corporations Act.

The section says directors must 'exercise their powers and discharge their duties with the degree of care and diligence that a reasonable person would exercise'.

While named as a co-founder, actress Elsa Pataky - also known as Chris Hemsworth's wife (both pictured) - was primarily a brand ambassador for the company

Mr Leffler told The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald that the report did not detail any wrongdoings on behalf of the directors.

They deny allegations that they may have breached their duties as directors.

'The creditors' report accurately reflects the situation, which is unfortunate,' Leffler said.

'We're waiting to see what the outcome (is) of some interested parties the administrators are talking to.'

It is unsure what creditors will decide to do with the company's direction, however it is has received some interest from potential 'white knights' to purchase BWX's shares.

Dr Vivek Eranki, the CEO of botox business, Cosmetique, expressed an interest in acquiring Purely Byron.

Dr Eranki said the company was now looking to expand into skincare with the majority of its clients being females aged between 18 and 35.

'The vast majority of our clients have some kind of skincare routine and from a commercial sense we currently have zero footprint in this space,' he told Daily Mail Australia in March.
She was one of 187 arrested in major police operation

A nursing student busted with 23 bags of cocaine during a major police crackdown on 'dial-a-dealer' drug rings has told a court she turned to crime to help her mother support her eight children.

Mariam Deng, 20, was arrested by undercover cops while dropping drugs to a customer in Randwick, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, on December 9 last year.

The arrest was one of 187 made under Operation Northrop as part of a major pre-Christmas sting, with officers seizing more than $250,000 cash and 633g of cocaine.

Appearing in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday flanked by a female friend, Deng pleaded guilty to three drug supply charges and one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime.

The court heard Deng was just 19 when she was caught with 19.33 grams of cocaine and $850 in cash after completing a drug deal in Randwick.

Mariam Deng covers her face as she sits in the gutter after being arrested by police in Randwick on December 9

According to police facts, undercover cops became suspicious after observing Deng driving a white Kia around Barangaroo in the city's CBD.

They followed the teenager eight kilometres to Randwick where they saw her pick up another person, drive around the block, then drop the passenger off at the same spot.

Officers stopped Deng and searched the car, finding the drugs, cash, and an iPhone containing encrypted WhatsApp messages with directions for her to drop 2 bags to Barangaroo and one to Randwick. The total revenue for both jobs was $850.

In a sentencing report tendered in court, Deng said she had a tough childhood after her family migrated from Sudan in 2003.

The fourth-born out of eight kids, Deng said that from a young age her single mother has relied on her for support.

At the time of the offending, Deng said her three older siblings had left home and, after losing her job, she turned to drug dealing to help her mother financially.

The court heard Deng does not take drugs and is studying nursing at TAFE to obtain a diploma, with plans to apply to further her studies at Macquarie University.

Deng's legal aid lawyer argued the teen should be considered for a community-based sentence because she had already been 'punished' due to 'public admonishment' resulting from media reports about her involvement in the drug bust.

Deng, from Erskine Park in the city's west, was escorted away from the scene in handcuffs

The lawyer added that Deng was now employed, had expressed remorse and shame, and those around her have described the offending as 'our of character' and sparked by 'desperation.'

The police prosecutor noted it was Deng's first offence, but argued the seriousness of the charges warranted a jail term and the evidence showed there was a degree of planning.

He also noted the maximum penalty for drug supplying is two years behind bars and three years for dealing with the proceed of crime.

Addressing Deng, Magistrate Christine Haskett acknowledged the hardship of her family circumstances but said she could have asked her three older sisters - who are all employed - for financial help instead of turning to nefarious activities.

'Did you ask them for help?' Magistrate Haskett asked.

'No,' Deng replied.

'They should be helping your family rather than just relying on you when you lost your job,' Magistrate Haskett said.

Deng appeared in Waverley Local Court on Wednesday, where she pleaded guilty to four charges

The 20-year-old refused to answer questions about the incident and covered her face as she left court

'If there are problems in your family, its better to ask your older siblings for help rather than selling drugs.'

Magistrate Haskett sided with the defence, telling Deng: 'I'm not going to send you to jail today'.

She placed her on four 12 month good behaviour bonds to be served concurrently with convictions recorded.

Outside court, Deng refused to answer reporters questions about her offending.

She covered her face with jacket and ran out the front door into an awaiting car.

Photos taken at the time of her arrest show a barefoot Deng sitting in the gutter shielding her face with her shirt as officers searched her white Kia, which was fitted with a baby seat in the back and littered with fast food packaging.

The two-month police operation allegedly netted up to $280,000 worth of coke, heroin, mushrooms, LSD tabs and cannabis gummies in busts across suburbs ranging from Surry Hills to Zetland, Newtown to Ramsgate and Narwee to Kellyville.
As plumes of smoke spew from behind the ghetto wall, well-dressed Germans watch on, willingly indifferent to the atrocities being carried out on the other side.

Another photo shows a group standing beside a playground in Nazi-occupied Warsaw as burning buildings from the Jewish ghetto are engulfed in flames and billowing smoke.

A third shows women and children being rounded up as soldiers stand by with rifles, ensuring they do not cause any trouble.

Captured by Polish engineer Rudolf Damec, who hid a Jewish woman in his apartment as the Nazis rampaged across the city, the never-before-seen photos have been released to mark today's 80th anniversary of the ill-fated Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Although it was the largest Jewish resistance against Nazi German occupation in Europe during the Second World War, the uprising - led by the 24-year-old head of an underground resistance group - was doomed from the start.

In an act of defiance that left 13,000 Jews dead, the fight back was an attempt to stop the Nazis deporting those inside the ghetto to the death camps of Treblinka and Majdanek.

As plumes of smoke spew from behind the ghetto wall, well-dressed Germans watch on, willingly indifferent to the atrocities being carried out on the other side. The above image is one of several captured by Polish engineer Rudolf Damec as the Warsaw Uprising raged. They have been published for the first time to mark the 80th anniversary of the start of the uprising

A group in Warsaw's so-called 'Aryan sector' gaze at the destruction being wrought by Hitler's forces as they crush the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Survivor Marek Edelman later said that the reason to fight was not to win but to 'not allow the Germans to pick the time and place of our deaths.'

Others said the insurgency, which lasted from April 19 to May 16, 1943 was a battle for 'the honour of the Jewish people'.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was led by 24-year-old Mordechaj Anielewicz

Established in October 1940, the Warsaw Ghetto saw the Nazis cram more than 400,000 Jews into just 1.3 square miles, which the Germans called Wohngebiet der Juden, the Jewish Quarter.

Even before the death camp deportations began, thousands had died from disease and starvation.

In the summer of 1942, the Nazis initiated their diabolical plan to wipe out the ghetto's entire population.

Codenamed Grossaktion Warschau, Jews were rounded up on a daily basis, marched through the ghetto and packed onto 'Holocaust trains'.

They were then sent to the extermination camp in Treblinka.

Later they were also shipped off to Majdanek death camp to help relieve Treblinka's 'overworked' killing groups.

By the end of 1942, more than 300,000 Jews had been sent to their deaths.

Realising that the Germans planned to annihilate them all, a Jewish resistance group led by Mordechaj Anielewicz began gathering arms.

Some of the weapons came through contacts with the Polish resistance movement which smuggled in what firearms they could. Others came from bribing German guards.

Sparsely armed with handguns and gasoline bottles, the first resistance came in January 1943 when around 500 members of Anielewicz's resistance group attacked Nazis entering the ghetto in an attempt to carry out more deportations.

Despite suffering heavy losses, Anielewicz and his fighters managed to inflict enough casualties on the Germans to force them to retreat.

Instead of the 8,000 people they had planned to deport, the Germans left with 5,000.

As Hitler's men mulled over their response, the following weeks saw Anielewicz and his team set about building defensive posts and executing traitors and spies within the ghetto.

Another photo shows a group standing beside a playground in Nazi-occupied Warsaw as burning buildings from the Jewish ghetto are engulfed in flames and billowing smoke. Established in October 1940, the Warsaw Ghetto saw the Nazis cram more than 400,000 Jews into just 1.3 square miles

Another of Damec's images shows ruined, smoking buildings in the aftermath of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as German soldiers look on

A family peer across the Ghetto wall as smoke rises during the uprising, which ultimately left 13,000 Jews dead

Jewish women and children are seen being led away with their belongings as a German soldier stands guard. The image was also taken by Damec

Another image taken by Damec shows smoke drifting across from the Ghetto during the uprising

The German response came three months later 80 years ago today.

Led by decorated psychopath SS-Brigadefuhrer Jurgen Stroop, the retaliation was ferocious.

Stroop ordered the entire ghetto to be razed to the ground and for all men, women and children to be either shot or sent to the death camps.

Horrifying photos show German soldiers looking down on dead bodies, while others show Jewish families being rounded up before being executed.

Others show Stroop and his killers surrounding terrified children, buildings been set ablaze by laughing SS troops and Jewish fighters being dragged out of their hiding places.

Fiercely outnumbered and outgunned, the resistance hid in underground bunkers alongside hundreds of non-combatants.

In an act of defiance that left 13,000 Jews dead, the fight back was an attempt to stop the Nazis deporting those inside the ghetto to the death camps of Treblinka and Majdanek. Above: Resistance fighters, including women, surrender after being defeated (file photo)

The uprising has since been described by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as 'one of the most significant occurrences in the history of the Jewish people.' Above: A file image showing Jewish children in tears in the Ghetto

A file photo showing German soldiers walking past a burning building during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The response to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising was led by decorated psychopath SS-Brigadefuhrer Jurgen Stroop. Above: He is seen after his arrest

When Stroop and his stormtroopers discovered the hiding places, they lured the civilians out and then executed them.

Realising his fate, 24-year-old Anielewicz is said to have first killed his girlfriend Mira Fuchrer, an intelligence officer and nurse who cared for the injured whilst gathering vital information, before taking his own life.

As the Nazis continued to systematically burn the Warsaw Ghetto to the ground, the remaining insurgents desperately kept up their resistance.

But, out of ammo, and with no hope of success, on May 16, 1943, they eventually surrendered.

Of the 50,000 residents left alive, almost all were captured and shipped to the death camps of Majdanek and Treblinka.

On the same day, Stroop wrote: '180 Jews, bandits and sub-humans, were destroyed.

'The former Jewish quarter of Warsaw is no longer in existence.

'The large-scale action was terminated at 20:15 hours by blowing up the Warsaw Synagogue. ... Total number of Jews dealt with 56,065, including both Jews caught and Jews whose extermination can be proved.

An old man is seen siting on a chair as a German officer watches on and other Jews line up behind him ahead of their deportation to Treblinka death camp

Jewish men hold up their hands in surrender after being defeated following the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

'Apart from 8 buildings (police barracks, hospital, and accommodations for housing working-parties) the former Ghetto is completely destroyed.

'Only the dividing walls are left standing where no explosions were carried out.'

He later wrote: 'The will of Adolf Hitler and Heinrich Himmler had been done.'

In 1951 he was found guilty of war crimes and hanged.

The uprising has since been described by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as 'one of the most significant occurrences in the history of the Jewish people.'

The bodies of Anielewicz and his fellow fighters were never exhumed but instead covered with rubble.

They are now part of a memorial mound close to Warsaw's History of Polish Jews Museum.
Dog owners could be jailed if their pet kills or injure someone under new laws being considered following a spate of recent attacks.

Last week, a toddler was left with serious neck and head injuries after being mauled by a pack of dogs at a family home in the Gold Coast.

On Wednesday, Queensland's Agriculture Minister Mark Furner convened an emergency meeting of the dangerous dog task force before confirming several new penalties for pet owners.

Mr Furner has yet to confirm the punishments but revealed that there was an agreement to increase the current fine, which is $42,000.

He also revealed that jail time would be considered, pointing to legislation in NSW and Victoria.

Last week, a toddler was left with serious neck and head injuries after being mauled by a pack of dogs at a family home in the Gold Coast

'Currently there is legislation in both NSW and Victoria that provides jail time for persons that have caused death as a result of their irresponsible behaviour with their dogs on a person,' he said.

'There's an opportunity to address that, and now is the time to do that.'

There will now be a discussion paper prepared ahead of a community consultation.

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said she was horrified by the spate of vicious dog attacks.

'Enough is enough. The onus is on dog owners. They have a duty of care,' she said.

'They must accept responsibility for their pets and their pets' behaviour. I have also been sickened by reports of smaller dogs being attacked and often killed by larger animals whilst out walking with their owners.

'We should all feel safe in our own yards or out on the streets. It is time to get tougher.'

Ms Palaszczuk last week asked Mr Furner to urgently reconvene the taskforce.

Local Government Association of Queensland chief executive Alison Smith added: 'Councils have been working very hard with the state government to look for proposals that will enhance and improve community safety  including tougher penalties across a sliding scale.

'Everything from the smallest offence to the most serious offence.'

Last week, emergency services were called to a property on Paterson Road in Yatala, north of the Gold Coast, around 5.20pm on Wednesday following a report up to four dogs had mauled a child.

The three-year-old was taken by ambulance to the Queensland Children's Hospital.

On Wednesday, Queensland's Agriculture Minister Mark Furner convened an emergency meeting of the dangerous dog task force before confirming several new penalties for pet owners

'Concerningly, another young child has sustained significant injuries from dog bites,' A Queensland Ambulance Service spokesperson said.

'Multiple paramedic units were called to a private address in Yatala at 5.20pm and transported a child to Queensland Children's Hospital in a serious condition with head and neck injuries.'

It is understood the owner of the property was a registered dog breeder and the grandmother of the child.

Gold Coast City Council said multiple dogs had been seized from the property by animal management officers and an investigation was under way.

Four dogs, including German Shepherds and a French Bull Mastiff, were taken from the home about 7.30pm and could be heard crying from inside two council vehicles.

Days earlier, a six-year-old girl was attacked by two dogs in Woodridge, south of Brisbane, after climbing on a fence.
Two young children have been rushed to hospital after suffering a suspected overdose.

A boy and a girl believed to be aged four and five, were found unconscious inside a house in Airds, Sydney's southwest and were transported to Westmead Childrens Hospital for treatment.

It is understood the children may have 'consumed tablets'.

A boy and a girl believed to be aged four and five, were found unconscious inside a house in Airds, Sydney 's southwest

It is understood the children may have 'consumed tablets' - the boy is in a critical but stable condition

Officers from Campbelltown Police Area Command have established a crime scene and an investigation is now underway.

A hospital spokesperson said a five-year-old boy was in a critical but stable condition. The four-year-old girl is in a stable condition.

Police spoke to a 29-year-old woman at the scene and inquiries are continuing, with a spokesman saying the children's injuries are not believed to have been deliberate.

Concerns were raised with police regarding the children's safety about 1.30pm and officers attended a property at Faithfull Place in Airds, near Campbelltown.

Officers from Campbelltown Police Area Command established a crime scene and have begun investigating the circumstances surrounding the incident.
Intrigue has surfaced over a prominent 'scar' that was seen on Vladimir Putin's neck, adding to further speculation that the despot may be ill with cancer.

The marking was seen as he clasped a candle at a midnight Orthodox Easter cathedral service in Moscow at the weekend.

It has led to web discussion on whether it represents proof of credible claims initially made by Proekt [Project] media one year ago that Putin has suffered from thyroid cancer.

An investigation by the independent outlet revealed that the dictator is constantly accompanied by a surgeon - Yevgeny Selivanov, of Moscow's Central Clinical Hospital - specialising in thyroid cancer.

The scar appears as a prominent diagonal line upwards from left to right on his neck. It is clearly seen on footage and pictures posted by the Kremlin from the Easter service, yet is not always visible.

This comes after a possible US intelligence leak claimed that the Russian tyrant was undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.

The scar appears as a prominent diagonal line upwards from left to right on Putin's neck

Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a candle during an Orthodox Easter service at the Christ the Saviour cathedral in Moscow early on April 16, 2023. A prominent 'scar' is seen on his neck

Ukrainian media outlet Telegram channel Unian described the scar as the shape of the letter 'Z' - the swastika-style symbol used by Putin's invading forces.

'A strange scar in the shape of the letter 'Z' has been noticed on Putin's neck,' it posted.

'The unusual shots were taken on Easter when the dictator visited a cathedral.'

The Ukrainian outlet evidently took the Z-shape idea from political commentator and blogger Denis Kazaksky who posted: 'What is it with Volodya [Putin]?

'I think I have figured out where the 'Z' came from.'

A comment said: 'Well, he is supposed to have had thyroid cancer treatment.'

Such a scar was noticed more than two years ago in December 2020 when Russian media outlet Sobesednik pointed to a distinct marking on his neck.

At the time plastic surgeon Amjad Al-Yousef commented: 'In theory, after intubation [inserting a tube for surgical purposes] such a scar can remain, but this is only in theory.

'It often happens that not even a scar remains as the skin heals.'

He was speaking before suspicions emerged that Putin suffers from thyroid cancer. Despite the claims, there is no evidence that the Russian tyrant has undergone surgery for removal of the thyroid gland which might involve an incision a few inches long across the front of the neck.

Al-Yousef suggested that instead it was not a scar but a mark in his loose skin - common in an 'elderly person'.

Intrigue has surfaced over a prominent 'scar' that was seen on Vladimir Putin's neck. It was noticed in December 2020, and again when he attended an Orthodox Easter service this weekend

Vladimir Putin's 'scar' was initially noticed at a press conference on 17 December, 2020

ENT surgeon Alexey Shcheglov (marked) is seen by Vladimir Putin's side during 2014 Sochi Olympics

An investigative report from Proekt claimed to show cancer surgeon Dr Selivanov made 35 trips to Putin, spanning 166 days

In 2020 the possible scar did not appear as prominent as seen in recent days and in Moscow's Christ the Saviour Cathedral over the weekend.

Al-Yousef suggested that Putin - then 68 and now 70 - had undergone regular plastic surgery on his face - but this was not undertaken on his neck.

'No plastic surgery [is] performed on this part of the body,' he said.

'Even if we assume that this is some kind of innovation in plastic surgery, then in this case it would have been performed more professionally without such a serious mistake.

'Here is the classic neck of a 68 year old man with [low skin strength].

'With age, skin turgor changes and becomes weaker. Vladimir [Putin's] face is very well-groomed, professional cosmetic care is noticeable.

'And when we see the perfect face, we naturally begin to pay attention to the skin of the neck.

'Unfortunately, there are no such effective professional treatments for the neck.

'While putting a shirt and a tie on, the throat is squeezed, the skin gathers and turns into such a fold.'

The Proekt investigative report revealed that one medic Dr Alexey Shcheglov 'relentlessly' followed Putin and made 59 trips encompassing 282 days to his side.

Shcheglov was seen as a medic 'who, among other things, can be the first to detect problems with the thyroid gland, including oncological ones'.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, left, and Moscow's Mayor Sergei Sobyanin attend the Orthodox Easter service in the Christ the Savior Cathedral

Putin and Mayor of Moscow Sergei Sobyanin cross themselves as they attend the midnight Orthodox Easter service at Moscow's Cathedral of Christ the Saviour

The scar was noticed on Putin's neck over the weekend as the Russian despot clasped a candle as he attended the midnight Orthodox Easter service at Christ the Savior Cathedral in Moscow

Putin was also under the attention of an ear, nose, and throat (ENT) specialist Dr Igor Esakov who made 38 trips to Putin, covering 152 days.

Cancer surgeon Dr Selivanov also made 35 trips spanning 166 days, said the report. His expertise is 'peculiarities of diagnostics and surgical treatment of elderly and senile patients with thyroid cancer'.

Multiple other medics were revealed as caring for the Russian president.

Separate claims have suggested Putin suffers from abdominal cancer.

On Telegram channel - General SVR - regularly claims that the Kremlin warmonger suffers 'bouts of coughing, dizziness, sleep disturbances, abdominal pain [and] constant nausea' as well as 'the manifestation of symptoms of Parkinson's disease and schizoaffective disorder', it has alleged.

One version is that he has been treated with steroids, leading to a bloated look around the face and neck.

Symptoms of thyroid cancer include the appearance of a thick nodule in the thyroid area; hoarseness of voice; difficulty swallowing; pain in the neck and throat; enlarged lymph nodes in the neck; a dry cough, scratchy or scratchy feeling in the throat or behind the sternum.

The Kremlin has denied Putin suffers from health problems.
Inside Chester Magistrates Court they appeared over an attack on a PC

Sophie Sutton, 32, and Jonathan Meredith, 33, did a little dance before court

Two thugs laughed and danced outside a court before they were convicted over a violent drunken attack on a policeman.

Mother of two Sophie Sutton, 32, and 33-year-old Jonathan Meredith twirled each other around on tip-toes in ballet-style moves as they waited to appear before magistrates.

The pair had been arrested and ordered to face court after a PC was kicked in the back by Sutton as he tried to arrest Meredith for being aggressive with door staff outside a bar in Northwich, Cheshire.

At Chester Magistrates Court Sutton admitted assaulting an emergency worker, blaming her anxiety and depression for her violent conduct.

Meredith pleaded guilty to being drunk and disorderly and resisting arrest and said he had been grieving over the death of his mother.

Sophie Sutton, 32, and Jonathan Meredith, 33, did a little dance before their court appearance

Inside Chester Magistrates Court they appeared over an attack on a police constable at night

The pair had 52 previous offences between them on their criminal records.

Andrew Madden, prosecuting, said: 'It was 11.10pm on March 17. PC Simmons was on patrol and attended Quayside in Northwich.

'He had been informed of a male acting aggressively towards door staff. When he arrived, he saw Mr Meredith arguing with the door staff. Miss Sutton was slurring her words and unsteady on her feet.

'There was a further confrontation with Mr Meredith. Miss Sutton kicked PC Simmons in the right-hand side of his lower back.

'She was arrested for that incident. Mr Meredith was arrested for resisting arrest.'

Meredith, from Rudheath, Northwich, had 22 offences on his record including battery in 2017 with his last conviction being for possession of cannabis in December.

The pair had 52 previous offences between them on their criminal records, the court heard

The pair had been arrested and ordered to face court after a PC was kicked in the back

Sutton, from Hartford, Northwich, had 30 previous matters and was last before the courts in July of last year for being drunk and disorderly. She could face up to 12 months in jail for the assault.

Solicitor John Farnham, representing Sutton, said: 'She does have young children living with her. A child of 16 lives with her and another child aged six. She has a number of mental health issues, including PTSD. She has seen counselling regarding that.

'She suffers from anxiety and depression, and she is medicated for that. She has previously been known to the probation service. She tells me that she got some great benefit from that.

'There is a drink issue. When there is a crisis, she does tend to turn to alcohol. Bearing in mind that she has young children living with her, it would be important for a presentence report to be obtained.'

The pair's dancing stopped for a few moments so they could enjoy smoking a cigarette

Kathryn Higham, representing Meredith, who was said to be an a 'civil engineer' earning 130 a day, said: 'He tells me the offence took place on a Friday with the Sunday of that week being Mother's Day.

'Some 18 months ago he lost his own mother to lung disease. He finds that it is a difficult time for obvious reasons, it brings very painful memories. He felt that he was not in the right frame of mind. He accepts that he used alcohol to effectively self-medicate.

'That, of course, went haywire and that's why he's in court today and faced with these two offences. he admits the charges but he did not waste any police resources beyond that initial disturbance.'

Magistrates ordered probation reports on both Meredith and Sutton and adjourned sentencing until April 24.

Meredith was granted unconditional bail while Sutton was bailed on the condition she is not found drunk and disorderly in a public place.
A van driver who killed a grandmother in a motorway smash after taking speed to stay awake has been jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

Marcin Szewczyk, 43, had been driving for almost 12 hours as part of a 22-hour journey when he ploughed into the back of a Kia Sportage which had pulled up in heavy traffic.

Mother-of-three and grandmother-of-two Suzanne Taylor, 71, was in the rear of the Kia and suffered fatal injuries in the impact, dying at the scene on the M6 near Sandbach, Cheshire.

She was being driven back to her home in Burscough, near Southport, by her daughter Wendy Jones and son-in-law Dominic after a family holiday in the Isle of Wight.

Ms Jones, 49, was in the front seat and was seriously injured in the 58mph smash. She is now confined to a wheelchair.

Marcin Szewczyk, 43, had taken speed to keep himself awake, but kept drifting off at the wheel, Chester Crown Court heard

Mother-of-three and grandmother-of-two Suzanne Taylor, 71, was in the rear of the Kia and suffered fatal injuries in the impact, dying at the scene

In the hours before the impact Poland-born Szewczyk, from Stockport, Greater Manchester, had driven 455 miles across the UK  while snorting amphetamine to stop himself falling asleep at the wheel as he feared losing his job.

Despite this he was found to be under the drug-drive limit. It later emerged he did not have a valid UK driving licence.

At Chester Crown court, Szewczyk admitted causing death and serious injury by dangerous driving.

Judge Steven Everett called for a change in the law on the working hours of delivery drivers and also questioned the UK's drug-driving regulations.

The judge asked why van drivers 'are not required to undergo the same sort of tests and follow the same rigorous regulations as lorry drivers.'

He continued: 'If the defendant was driving a HGV he would not be allowed to drive the sort of hours he did here [...] It is something that perhaps ought to be considered [by the Government].'

He added: 'I was surprised that the amount of drugs in his system was below the so-called legal limit. How can it be legal to drive with a controlled drug in your system?

'Who has decided that there should be a legal limit? Just taking amphetamine is illegal. Somebody needs to get a grip on this. I will be getting in touch with the Police Crime Commissioner.'

The tragedy occurred at 12.30am on October 30, 2021 while Szewczyk, who delivers frozen food, was driving his white Mercedes sprinter van along the Northbound carriageway of the M6.

Shortly before the crash, another motorist was so concerned by the van's 'jagged and aggressive' driving that his wife phoned the police to alert them.

Stuart Frost had followed the vehicle on the motorway for around 20 miles, and recounted seeing it swerving between lanes and braking suddenly for no reason.

At the roadside Szewczyk, a father of three, was seen to be 'twitchy and uncontrolled' due to the effects of the drug.

Describing the van's 'erratic' driving, prosecutor Frances Willmott told the court: 'Szewczyk nearly collided with road furniture and with other vehicles.

'At one point Mr Frost overtook Szewczyk and had expected to see him on his phone or otherwise distracted but he could not see into the van as there was a curtain on the window.'

On October 29, Szewczyk had covered 260 miles from shortly before 6am to 6.10pm from Manchester to Hull, the court was told.

On the day of the collision he had been making deliveries to London.

Heavy traffic on the M6 in Cheshire, one of the UK's busiest motorways (file image)

The court heard that GPS data showed he left a warehouse in Manchester at 2am, and would have been at the warehouse some 30 to 40 minutes before that time in order to load the van.

Ms Willmott said: 'He then drove to London making a number of short stops consistent with delivering to shops, before driving back north.

'He made two shorter stops of under an hour and a stop of two and a half hours near Wolverhampton on his way home.

'By the time of the collision he had driven 455 miles and it was 22.5 hours since he had left the warehouse. He had spent 11 hours and 52 minutes of that driving.'

Moments before the collision, traffic began to slow with queues ahead. Mr Jones switched on the Kia's hazard lights, before looking in his mirror and seeing 'a van bearing down on them'.

He is said to have commented that it was about to collide with their vehicle before the crash.

After Szewczyk hit the family's car, Ms Jones was left drifting in and out of consciousness and had to be cut from the vehicle, the court heard.

Police at the scene described Szewczyk as unsteady on his feet, not moving in a confident or sober way, and as twitchy and making uncontrolled movements.

After failing a preliminary impairment test, a blood sample was taken and Szewczyk was found to have 129 micrograms of drug per litre of blood. The legal limit is 250 micrograms.

Szewczyk gave no comment in police interview but subsequently told his employers that he had failed the impairment tests because he 'did not have any energy left, was exhausted and could not stand on his feet.'

Inquiries revealed he had unsuccessfully applied to exchange his Polish driving licence for a UK driving licence.

In a statement Tesco worker Ms Jones said: 'I never got to go to my mum's funeral to say goodbye. My leg was broken in two places. The surgeon told me it is going to be a long road, two years, to heal.

'I cannot contribute to my family or engage with work colleagues which I really miss. There is ongoing counselling for trauma. I need support. There are so many things that have been taken from me.

'Everything changed for me in that moment. I am now classed as disabled but I fight everyday. It is what my mum would want. She never got the chance to fight back.'

For Szewczyk, defence counsel Milena Bennett said that his usual route would involve 15 drop-off points, but he had been asked to take an extra five due to staff shortages.

She said: 'He did feel tired. He previously made complaints about the extended route but was told in no uncertain terms that if he did not want the job they would always find someone else.

'He made the wrong decision and he accepts that. Especially when he did feel tired, he should've stopped for a longer period of time... His mistake was that he thought he felt rested enough to drive but obviously he was not. He even said he had an energy drink to get himself more awake.'

Ms Bennett said that though his body was tired his 'brain was not registering' so he continued to drive. She said the reason why he kept braking intermittently and swerving across lanes was that he kept 'dropping off'.

She added: 'He is truly remorseful about what he has done. He stated that if he could turn the clock back to take away all the sorrow and the pain he has caused, he would've done so but unfortunately he cannot do that.

'He continually has flashbacks and he thinks about what he has done on a daily basis and cannot sleep.'

Szewczyk was also given a five-year driving ban which will begin when he is released from prison.
This is the bizarre moment a British tourist who was clinging to a buoy two miles of the Thai coast flagged down a boat after he thought it would be a 'good idea' to go for a morning swim.

Video shows the apparently intoxicated holidaymaker standing on the yellow float in his swimming shorts near the party city of Pattaya at around 7am on March 29.

The Briton is seen smiling and did not seem to be in distress as he raised his thumb and waved at the passing boat in an effort to catch a ride.

The tourist, who did not give is name, wobbled slightly as he launched himself off the buoy to swim to the boat.

Video shows him clambering onto the boat and staggering on the deck while trying to catch his breath.

This is the bizarre moment a British tourist who was clinging to a buoy two miles of the Thai coast flagged down a boat after he thought it would be a 'good idea' to go for a morning swim

Video shows him clambering onto the boat and staggering on the deck while trying to catch his breath

The Briton, who appeared unsteady on his feet, told the captain of the boat: 'I wake up, I go 'oh good idea for a swim'.'

'I swim, swim, swim and then,' the Brit said before stopping to catch his breath.

The holidaymaker then asked the captain of the boat: 'You fish? You do tourists?'

Boat captain Charawat Rasrikrit said the young man was unhurt and he returned him back to his hotel on the beach.

Rasrikrit said: 'I went to the temple early in the morning because it was a Buddhist holy day.

'I drove my boat and did not expect to see tourist. He was waving at me and said he could not swim back.

'Maybe the Buddha took me to that area of the sea to help him. It was a holiday, not many boats would pass by him if I didn't come.

The boat captain added: 'I see a lot of tourists get into trouble here. I thought that maybe he had been out partying the night before and was still in a good mood in the morning.

'He was probably still a little bit drunk. A lot of tourists behave strangely when they come here.'

Boat captain Charawat Rasrikrit (pictured) said the young man was unhurt and he returned him back to his hotel on the beach

Pattaya on the east coast of Thailand is best known for its chaotic nightlife and round-the clock adult industry.

Military top brass from Bangkok have been trying for several years to clean up Pattaya, dubbed the 'sex capital' of the world.

They are battling to kick out badly behaving Brits and Aussies, and turn the region into a family-friendly resort to tap into lucrative family markets in China, India and Russia.

However, they face an uphill struggle against its entrenched 24-hour sex industry and endemic corruption that allows it to continue unabated.

The bars - many of which are run by British ex-pats and function as shop windows for prostitutes - along with massage parlours and street workers are also a lucrative part of the tourism industry.

Before the pandemic, the industry accounted for 21 percent of Thailand's annual GDP, generating 1.8 trillion baht (52.3 billion USD) in revenue.
News host Megyn Kelly hit back last night after she was branded 'transphobic' for calling on the CEO of Anheuser-Busch to apologize for Bud Light's tie-up with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which has sparked a backlash from conservatives.

In angry comments on Sirius XM's 'The Megyn Kelly Show,' the host had accused Mulvaney of making 'a mockery of womanhood and girlhood' and slammed the maker of Bud Light, telling it: 'Screw you and your stupid empty platitudes.'

By promoting a trans woman who is 'celebrated by far-lefties all across the country,' Kelly said Anheuser-Busch had - in their own words - put themselves in the middle 'of a discussion that divides people.'

Kelly faced a backlash for her comments, with critics saying she intentionally misgendered Mulvaney and came across as transphobic.

But in a tweet on Tuesday, the podcast host hit back, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she is 'speaking the truth'.

News host Megyn Kelly (pictured) hit back last night after she was branded 'transphobic' for calling on the CEO of Anheuser-Busch to apologise for Bud Light's tie-up with trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney, which has sparked a backlash from conservatives

In a tweet on Tuesday, the podcast host hit back at the suggesting that her comments were transphobic, telling her 2.7 million followers on the platform that she is 'speaking the truth'.

By promoting Dylan Mulvaney (pictured in her Bud Light promotional video) - a trans woman who is 'celebrated by far-lefties all across the country' - Kelly said Anheuser-Busch had - in their own words - put themselves in the middle 'of a discussion that divides people'

She wrote: 'Call me whatever names you want. I am speaking the truth. And neither I nor the millions of other women (and men) who believe in biology/reality/fairness will be dissuaded by your attempts to marginalize us with words like 'transphobic.''

The former Fox News host's tweet has since gone vital, garnering over 5.5 million views and almost 50,000 'likes'.

Her message was in direct response to an article on The Wrap, which was itself reporting on her earlier comments made during a conversation with Michael Knowles of 'The Daily Wire' in which they joined a growing number of conservative Americans calling on Anheuser-Busch to apologise for the partnership.

The pair argued that a statement on Friday from Brendan Whitworth - the brewing giant's CEO - was insufficient as it did not apologise directly for the campaign.

'This person who's on their beer can has made a mockery of womanhood and girlhood for literally the past year and has been celebrated by far-lefties all across the country,' Kelly said to Knowles.

'But to see what's supposed to be a mainstream beer company do it was a bridge too far. That's why they're having the reaction they are.'

Knowles had said that by sponsoring Mulvaney, 'Budweiser (also made by Anheuser-Busch) had insulted women, but by issuing this statement, they've insulted Americans.'

The single-post campaign on April 1 saw Mulvaney - a popular trans influencer - showcase a beer can with a picture of her face on it, which was sent to get by Bud Light to celebrate her one-year anniversary of transitioning.

Mulvaney has been documenting each day of the first year since her gender transition on TikTok, racking up more than 10 million followers.

The post also saw her announce a March Madness contest.

With Bud Light a popular beverage among conservatives in America, Whitworth appeared to back track on the perceived progressive partnership.

'We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people,' he said in the statement posted by the CEO to Twitter. 'We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.'

But Kelly was not happy with the statement.

Kelly argued that a statement on Friday from Brendan Whitworth (pictured) - the brewing giant's CEO - was insufficient as it did not apologise directly for the campaign

Brendan Whitworth, 46, has been the CEO of Anheuser-Busch since July 2021. The former Marine and CIA agent has been registered as a Republican for most of his adult life

She said it was it a 'pathetic, rambling, empty-air sandwich of  I can't even call it an apology  an attempt to dissuade people from hating his company and him.

READ MORE: Who is trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney and what is her deal with Bud Light? Advertisement

'It was an utter fail,' Kelly declared.

She continued: 'Screw you and your stupid empty platitudes. I read this, I'm like, "Oh, your little, market-tested buzzwords on what's supposed to stir up our patriotism." Too late, sir!

'The buzzwords we we're looking for: "I'm sorry. We screwed up."'

Bud Light's promotional campaign initially backfired on Anheuser-Busch, with the brewing giant seeing $5 billion of its value wiped after the partnership was announced. It's stock has since bounced back.

Several Republican figures have spoken out against Bud Light, although some rolled back their stance upon realising that Anheuser-Busch is a big donor to the Republican party and other conservative causes.

Those speaking out against Bud Light includes Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who revealed in a video that he doesn't like the taste of Bud Light and prefers Guinness - and backs the ongoing boycott of the American beer brand.

Speaking on The Benny Show, DeSantis said: 'Why would you want to drink Bud Light? I mean, like, honestly thats like them rubbing our faces in it and its like these companies that do this, if they never have any response, theyre just going to keep doing it.

'So, if you as a consumer are like  "Like, yeah, theyre doing that, but Im just going to keep drinking anyways." Well, then theyre going to keep doing it.'

DeSantis conceded he'd previously been snapped drinking regular Budweiser - but said it was hard to get in bars, and that he enjoys Ireland's most famous drink more.

However, commentators were quick to point out that - according to Transparency USA (a website that tracks donations made by companies) - DeSantis and the Republican Party of Florida have received donations from Anheuser Busch.

The website shows that DeSantis recieved a donation of $50,000 from the company on February 24, 2022, with the Republican Party of Florida receiving the same amount from the company two weeks later in March 2022.

DeSantis's stance also puts him at odds with Donald Trump Jr, who over the weekend called for an end to the boycott of Bud Light.

In a video message, Trump Jr emphasized the brewer's conservative credentials, saying it was wrong to 'blame the whole company for the inaction or the stupidity of someone in a marketing campaign that got woke as hell.'

He said he had researched Anheuser-Busch and saw they mainly donated to Republicans, and said his fellow conservatives sometimes had 'the tendency of  shooting first and aiming second.'

Trump Jr. said that the decision to partner with Mulvaney was reportedly made by a low-level marketing employee, rather than the senior executives.

'We looked into the political giving and lobbying history of Anheuser-Busch. And guess what? They actually support Republicans,' said Trump Jr.

'Last cycle their employees and their PAC gave about 60 percent to Republicans and 40 percent to Democrats. That's literally almost unheard of in corporate America, where it's really easy to go woke, where they do so constantly, where there's a consequence to actually being a conservative. So 60 / 40 to the conservative side is kind of a big deal.'

It was also reported on Sunday that the National Republican Congressional Committee had quietly deleted a fundraising page taking aim at Anheuser-Busch.

Bud Light has faced a huge backlash from conservative figures. Kid Rock posted a video (pictuerd) wearing a white MAGA hat firing his gun at cases of Bud Light

Dylan Mulvaney's hit TikTok series Days of Girlhood tracks the influencer's man-to-girl transition, which some critics have called 'creepy'

'Thanks to Dylan Mulvaney, we can all finally admit that Bud Light tastes like water,' the NRCC said in a since-deleted tweet. 'With our new koozie's, you can make sure no one confuses Bud Light with real beer ever again.'

But the tweet was quietly deleted, likely on account of the company being a large doner to the Republican Party. In the 2022 election cycle alone, Anheuser-Busch and its employees gave the NRCC $464,505, according to the Daily Beast.

Nevertheless, a survey found that most Americans support the boycott of Anheuser-Busch over Bud Light's tie-up with Mulvaney, and say big corporations give too much attention to trans people, a new poll shows.

A Rasmussen Reports survey of some 1,000 adults found that the brewing giant 'stepped in a hornets' nest' by getting Mulvaney, 26, a controversial TikToker, to promote their low-calorie beer.
Now, Polish police have arrested seven people in Poland over the Briton's death

Mark Cocks, 36, died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with 22 shots

Seven people have been arrested in Poland over the death of a British tourist who was forced to drink 22 shots in just 90 minutes during a visit to a Polish strip club.

Mark Cocks, 36, died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with scores of shots at the Wild Night club in Krakow.

Now Polish cops have arrested those they think were part of an organised crime gang behind a series of deaths of foreigners who were allegedly drugged and robbed at the notorious club.

Cocks, a Leeds United fan from Loftus in Teeside, Yorkshire, had been 'lured' into the club with a friend before being given nearly two powerful shots before he collapsed and died.

After he collapsed, staff at the club robbed him of PLN 2,200 (420) in cash, according to the Polish authorities.

Cocks' sister, Samantha, today said her family has been trying to seek justice over her brother's death for over six years.

Mark Cocks, 36, (pictured) died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with scores of shots at the Wild Night club in Krakow

Polish police raided night clubs and arrested suspects last year during an investigation into an organised criminal group extorting money from customers at nightclubs

Cocks, a Leeds United fan from Loftus in Teeside, Yorkshire, had been 'lured' into the strip club (the interior of the club is pictured) with a friend before being given nearly two powerful shots before he collapsed and died

Samantha told The Sun that despite there being seven new arrests of criminal gang members, the family was told that 'nobody was being held accountable' for her brother's death.

Samantha said her family feel 'forgotten' about as they have not been kept updated with any police investigations.

Polish police had claimed Cocks had been drunk when he entered the strip club, but Samantha said this was not true.

Polish prosecutors said in 2017 that Cocks had been 'led into a deep state of intoxication combined with loss of consciousness'.

They added: 'Acute poisoning with ethyl alcohol led to the concentration in the victim's body and urine, as a result of which the man died.

'Mark C. came to Krakow with his friend for tourist purposes. The men were tempted by the free entry to the premises offered by the 'beater'.

'After entering the club at 4 pm, the men were separated and Mark C. was taken to the so-called a private room.

'Then, between 4.28 pm and 6.08 pm, despite the already visible and significant state of intoxication and despite his attempts to refuse to consume alcohol, the club staff gave the victim unordered 22 portions of high-proof alcohol.'

The seven people who have now been arrested for being part of an organised criminal gang also emptied Cocks' bank account.

Prosecutors said: 'The staff deprived him not only of money, but above all of his life.'

Following Cocks' death, his family have been trying to warn other tourists to avoid the strip club, which has now closed.

Samantha commented on the club's review page: 'My brother's death in this vile establishment needs to be made aware of!'

Another woman claiming to be Cocks' aunt commented: 'Dodgy b******s, they are scum, it was my nephew who died in this bar.

'They fleeced him out of five transactions totalling 760, separated from his friend, then told his friend 'your mates dead'.'

Strippers at the Wild Night club in Krakow are pictured inside the establishment, which has since closed

Strippers at the Wild Night club in Krakow are pictured inside the establishment, which has since closed

A GV of the building in Krakow's Old Town that used to host the fraudulent Wild Nights club

The club was raided last year along with 20 others nationwide in a crackdown following widespread complaints from ripped off customers who said they had been 'drugged and robbed'. Pictured: A suspect

Polish police officers raided a series of strip clubs in Krakow as part of an investigation into an organised criminal gang

Others on TripAdviser have also warned others of going to the Wild Nights strip club.

User Frantz warned: 'Stay away from this place. In short, we were pepper sprayed by security and badly beaten. The women tried to rob us for money.'

Another user, Lars, claimed he and his brother were spiked at the club. He said: 'When my brother paid, they added an extra zero to his bill turning it to 470 from 47.

'He said it was way too much and instead of getting his money back he got kicked out.'

MailOnline has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.

The arrests come after four other club employees, three women and a man were also arrested.

The club was raided last year along with 20 others nationwide in a crackdown following widespread complaints from ripped off customers who said they had been 'drugged and robbed'.

Footage released by Polish police showed how officers stormed the club, apprehending suspects and confiscating computers, cash and phones.

In the same year as Cocks's death, a Turkish man also died in a strip bar owned by the same company in Wrocaw after downing five drinks in 20 minutes.

When he refused to drink any more, CCTV footage shows that a dancer forcibly poured two more glasses into his mouth.

The man collapsed to the floor, and eventually stopped breathing.

Meanwhile, a Scottish man said he popped into the Krakow joint for a beer and, after backing out, found his credit card had been stripped of nearly 1,000.

Polish police raided night clubs and arrested suspects last year during an investigation into an organised criminal group

Picture shows the monitoring centre in one of the strip clubs that was raided last year

Investigators previously explained how the organised web of clubs would rob their customers after getting them drunk and often fleeced them out of money.

The Polish Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP) said in a statement that they have filed over 700 criminal charges against the organised criminal group.

They said the clubs ran a racket where they systematically got punters drunk before robbing them.

Some were even persuaded to take out loans to cover 'debts' run up by the fraudsters.

Authorities this week said they had finally arrested the group who forced Mark to drink himself to death.

They also said: 'The man was not given medical assistance during the incident. Provisional arrests were made against those suspected of this act.'

The investigators also said that 'CBSP police officers detained another seven people suspected of robberies and fraud on customers of go-go-clubs.

'There are already 58 suspects in the case.'

The statement also said: 'The officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police are conducting an investigation into an organised criminal group extorting money from customers of go-go nightclubs.

'According to the findings of the investigators, the activities of the group were aimed at committing crimes to the detriment of club customers by leading them to a state of deprivation of awareness and perception [...].

Polish police raided a series of strip clubs in Poland last year and arrested dozens of suspects

Picture shows the monitoring centre in one of the strip clubs that was raided last year

'The perpetrators, taking advantage of the mental and physical condition of the victims, made payment transactions using payment cards or other financial instruments for goods and services allegedly offered in the club.

'In some cases, through electronic banking, on devices owned by customers, loans were also allowed to be taken or deposits or savings accounts were closed, and the funds accumulated there were transferred to the accounts of companies operating clubs.'

The statement continued: 'To the persons detained during the recent activities, the Prosecutor presented allegations of participation in an organised crime group, committing robberies and fraud to the detriment of clients of clubs from Krakow and Warsaw, among other charges. They include e.g. leading or participating in an organized criminal group.

'In the case, 31 arrests were also applied, property sureties in the amount of almost PLN 1.6 million [GBP 305,000] and property with a total value of over PLN 6.8 million [GBP 1.3] was secured,' the statement concluded.

Following Cocks' death, his family paid tribute to the 36-year-old, who they described as 'always happy and upbeat'.

His mother Pat told Teesside Live in 2017: 'Everybody loved Mark, he was really the life and soul. He was always happy and upbeat, and positive.

'He didn't have a bad word about anyone, and nobody had a bad word about him.'

'Mark was supposed to walk me down the aisle when I get married next year,' Pat said at the time. 'He'll be missed so much by everyone.'
A man was stabbed to death last night after a car he was travelling in was rammed by another vehicle and then attacked by a gang.

The victim, in his 50s, died at the scene following the knife attack in Castle Bromwich, West Midlands, yesterday evening.

At around 8.15pm, officers were called to Chester Road following reports that a man had been stabbed.

Investigators believe the victim had been travelling in a car which was rammed by another vehicle.

He was later attacked by a number of people who then fled from the scene, they believe.

The scene where a man was stabbed to death in Castle Bromwich, Birmingham, last night

Police are at the scene as a murder investigation gets under way after a man in his 50s was stabbed to death

A black Ford Fiesta was damaged after crashing into railings near a pedestrian crossing.

A red Ford Focus, a black Vauxhall Corsa and a Jeep were also abandoned at the scene, which remained sealed off by police this morning.

Police said a murder investigation is now under way.

DCI Dave Sanders said: 'We're supporting the man's family during this deeply distressing time.

'I'd like to hear from anyone who saw what happened or who was in the area at the time and may have dash cam footage to please get in touch.

'It could be vital to our investigation.'

A car the victim had been travelling in was rammed off the road before he was attacked. Pictured: One of the vehicles involved

Cars abandoned at the scene were damaged after the attack on a man in his 50s last night

A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said: 'We were called at 8.13pm to an incident on Chester Road in Kingshurst, Birmingham.

'Two ambulances, a paramedic officer and the air ambulance service critical care car attended the scene. Upon arrival we found a man.

'He was assessed by ambulance staff and had sustained life-threatening injuries.

'They administered advanced life support to him but unfortunately, it became clear that nothing more could be done to save him and he was confirmed deceased at the scene.'

No arrests have been made.
Ex-Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone has arrived at court for a hearing charged with fraud by false representation over allegations that he hid more than 400million from the British taxman in Singapore.

The 92-year-old motor-racing tycoon is accused of falsely claiming he had only set up a single trust for his daughters in an alleged failure to declare overseas assets to the tax authorities.

He is alleged to have failed to declare a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing around 650million US dollars.

Ecclestone appeared at London's Southwark Crown Court for a further case-management hearing this morning. His trial is listed to begin on November 16 this year.

He and his wife, Fabiana Flosi, arrived in the back of a white Range Rover with a personalised number plate.

Ex-Formula One supremo Bernie Ecclestone arriving at court charged with fraud by false representation over allegations that he hid more than 400million from the British taxman

The 92-year-old motor-racing tycoon is accused of falsely claiming he had only set up a single trust for his daughters in an alleged failure to declare overseas assets to the tax authorities

Ecclestone is accused of one charge of fraud by false representation between July 13, 2013, and October 5, 2016.

The charge alleges that Ecclestone, who has three grown-up daughters - Deborah, 68, Tamara, 38, and Petra, 34 - allegedly made a representation to officers of HMRC, 'which was, and which he knew was or might have been, untrue or misleading'.

The particulars state that Ecclestone, who is a great-grandfather and also has a young son, claimed 'he had established only a single trust, that being one in favour of his daughters' and 'other than the trust established for his daughters he was not the settlor nor beneficiary of any trust in or outside the UK'.

Ecclestone previously indicated he would enter a not guilty plea at a hearing at Westminster Magistrates' Court last August.

The Sunday Times Rich List ranks Ecclestone, who has been married three times, as the 65th wealthiest person in the country, with an estimated net worth of 2.5billion.

At an earlier hearing prosecutor Robert Simpson said: 'The charge arises out of a Revenue and Customs investigation into Mr Ecclestone.

'The Revenue and Customs instigated an investigation into Mr Ecclestone's finances. During the course of that investigation he was asked about any trusts placed abroad that he was involved in.

His wife Fabiana Flosi arrived with her Ecclestone in the back of a white Range Rover with a personalised number plate

'The Crown bases its charge on the fact that he failed to disclose a trust in Singapore with a bank account containing approximately $650million.'

The charge against him was authorised by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) last July following the investigation, which was said to be 'complex and worldwide'.

Chief Crown Prosecutor Andrew Penhale said previously: 'The CPS has reviewed a file of evidence from HMRC and has authorised a charge against Bernard Ecclestone of fraud by false representation in respect of his failure to declare to HMRC the existence of assets held overseas believed to be worth in excess of 400million.'

Ecclestone, of Knightsbridge, central London, is on unconditional bail.
An English-speaking councillor living in Wales will be suspended for replying to emails in German - because she didn't understand Welsh.

Louise Hughes was baffled to receive two emails written entirely in Welsh while serving as an independent on Gwynedd Council.

Ms Hughes, who was born in Germany, was trying to be 'light-hearted' by replying to both emails in German - to highlight her frustration at being unable to understand the text.

But nationalist activist Howard Huws complained about her 'offensive' response - and an ombudsman ruled she had been 'disrespectful' to the Welsh language.

Ms Hughes has since apologised and says she has learnt her lesson.

Ms Hughes, who represents the Llangelynnin ward on Gwynedd Council, described her actions as 'light-hearted'

A statement by the Public Service Ombudsman for Wales said: 'The member admitted responding to two emails written in Welsh, in German. She expressed remorse and regret for her actions.

'She said that she was unaware the council's translation services were available to her for this type of correspondence.

'However, the investigation found that, given the member's length of service, she ought to have known that the council had a translation service and that responding in German would be perceived as inappropriate.'

The ombudsman upheld the complaint and Ms Hughes is set to be suspended for a month for breaching the council's code of conduct.

Ms Hughes, who represents the Llangelynnin ward on the county council, described her response as 'light-hearted' and said it was an attempt to 'illustrate the difficulty caused when I received an email which I could not fully understand'.

She added: 'In no way did I mean to be offensive. I often use humour to defuse potentially awkward situations.'

Gwynedd Council's standards committee suspended Ms Hughes for one month, and required her to attend training and provide a written apology to complainant Howard Huws

She added that she genuinely regretted 'sending what was a puerile and unnecessary response to Mr Huws'.

'I have been very upset and stressed by this whole process. I feel criminalised and persecuted. I am not a horrible person,' she added.

'I made a mistake and I apologised. I speak good German.

'I would never knowingly offend anyone, it's not in my nature. But he was offended and the ombudsman deemed it in the public interest to launch a full investigation.

'I hope this will be the end of it. I have learned my lesson.'

Katrin Shaw, of the Ombudsman's office said the emails were 'disrespectful to Mr Huws, his Welsh cultural identity and also the Welsh language itself'.

She found the messages had resulted in three breaches of the code of conduct related to equality, respect and to not bring the council into disrepute.

Mr Huws, a member of the Welsh language pressure group Cylch yr Iaith, said her responses had been 'sarcastic and offensive behaviour'.

He said the email - addressed to all councillors - was 'an official business matter and I expected the person to respond and behave as is appropriate for someone who is a member of a public body'.

Gwynedd Council's standards committee suspended Ms Hughes for one month, and required her to attend training and provide a written apology to Mr Huws within three weeks.

The committee also recommended that the council consider assisting members when they receive correspondence in a language they do not understand.
Family members and friends of people displaying suicidal tendencies are set to be granted paid leave from work so they can help their loved one, according to proposed plans by Spain's government.

The paid leave from work will allow a spouse, relative, or friend to be nominated by a suicidal person to provide them with help.

The nominated individual will be signed off work by a doctor for up to two weeks to act as a companion for their struggling at-risk loved one.

Spain's lower house approved the initial plans unanimously earlier this year in a non-binding motion. Now, the proposal has been advanced to aid those at risk of suicide.

Spain's lower house, the Congress of Deputies, approved the initial plans unanimously earlier this year in a non-binding motion

Inigo Errejon, the left-wing leader of the Mas Pais party and the MP responsible for advancing the motion, said he had met with Spain's security minister Jose Luis Escriva 'to put in motion the future system of companion leave for people at risk of suicide'.

In his announcement, Mr Errejon stressed that 11 people commit suicide each day in Spain and that the proposed plans would lower the horrifying statistic.

The number of suicide deaths in Spain has slowly risen each year, according to government statistics. Some 4,003 people died by suicide in 2021 - almost 1,000 more than a decade prior to that.

More people die from suicide each year in Spain than die in road accidents. Spain's men have died from suicide more than three times more frequently than women. The rate of these deaths is also more prevalent in the colder winter months.

'All experts agree that being accompanied reduces the risk of suicide, that having someone present saves lives, Errejon said, reported by The Telegraph.

The left-wing leader said the cost would be very low to the country and that the Spanish government would look to work very closely with labour unions to develop the plans.

He said he believed the plans for the nominations of loved ones to help their family member or friend would likely reduce depression and help those who feel guilty for leaving someone they know is suffering and vulnerable due to employment commitments.

Loved ones of those displaying suicidal tendencies will be granted paid leave from work, according to proposed plans by Spain's government. Pictured: Spain's Congress of Deputies

Mr Errejon is a founder member of left-wing anti-austerity party Podemos. He left to establish the Mas Pais party after a calamitous disagreement with the former leader Pablo Iglesias.

Mr Errejon has continued to champion mental health issues throughout his political career, having served as a Member of the Assembly of Madrid for a short time in 2019 before taking a seat in the Congress of Deputies later that year.
An aspiring doctor died after suffering an allergic reaction to a drug given to her during a routine surgery  and a senior coroner has warned more allergy sufferers could die unless urgent action is taken.

Alexandra Briess, 17, suffered an 'unpredictable' fatal anaphylactic reaction to rocuronium, which is a common anaesthetic.

The teenager was given the drug following the routine NHS procedure on her tonsils in Reading in 2021.

Senior coroner Heidi Connor has said the 'tragic' case was 'not new territory', and, citing three recent cases where people had died from anaphylaxis, she has written to the Government calling for better funding and research into the condition, and the appointment of an allergies tsar.

Following Alexandra's inquest, Mrs Connor has written to Health Secretary Steve Barclay, the NHS and allergy organisations demanding change.

Alexandra Briess (pictured) suffered an 'unpredictable' fatal anaphylactic reaction

The teenager had been given rocuronium in a routine procedure to remove her tonsils

She had never had the drug before and suffered a 'sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest'

Senior coroner Heidi Connor has said the 'tragic' case was 'not new territory'

Allergy charities in the UK have long been calling for more funding to research the field that is notoriously underfunded.

Mrs Connor has called for a new job role to be created within the NHS to act as the leader for allergies at a national level, overseeing and coordinating funding and research.

Currently, she said, organisations show 'goodwill' to understanding allergies but they need to be 'joined up' and work together.

If not, more people are at risk of deaths, Mrs Connor writes in her prevention of future deaths report.

She said: 'The only way to improve understanding and prevent or reduce future deaths is to gather information nationally and fund appropriate research.

'Appropriate organisations already exist, and there is a lot of goodwill towards improving understanding in this area. It does however require national leadership and 'joining up' of these organisations.

'There is significant goodwill and desire to improve amongst numerous organisations involved in anaphylaxis work.

'What is lacking is national leadership and funding. In my view, consideration should be given to creating a leadership role and responsibility within NHS England to coordinate a national approach.'

Alexandra, who planned to study medicine herself and volunteered at a children's charity, had never had the drug before and suffered a 'sudden deterioration and cardiac arrest'.

Alexandra planned to study medicine herself and volunteered at a children's charity,

Mrs Connor said it should be mandatory that such reactions are referred to the UK Fatal Anaphylaxis Registry (UKFAR)  something charities have been calling for for a while.

What are the symptoms of an anaphylactic reaction? According to the NHS, Anaphylaxis usually develops suddenly and gets worse very quickly. The symptoms include: feeling lightheaded or faint

breathing difficulties  such as fast, shallow breathing

wheezing

a fast heartbeat

clammy skin

confusion and anxiety

collapsing or losing consciousness There may also be other allergy symptoms, including an itchy, raised rash (hives); feeling or being sick; swelling (angioedema) or stomach pain. Advertisement

UKFAR can then distribute information between relevant organisations, Mrs Connor said.

The process of information sharing should be prioritised, she said.

She added: 'Gathering data and using this to research and reduce the risk of future deaths requires funding, and this should be reviewed.'

In her report, Mrs Connor cited three cases in which three Britons died from allergies and coroners raised similar concerns.

They included Celia Marsh, a 42-year-old mother who died after eating a 'vegan' Pret A Manger wrap with milk in.

Also listed was 18-year old Shante Turay-Thomas who ate a hazelnut at her family home and 14-year-old Ruben Bousquet who had popcorn contaminated with milk at a cinema.

In all three cases, their coroners warned there needs to be more funding to stop allergy deaths.

Alexandra's inquest heard she died at Royal Berkshire Hospital in Reading on May 31, 2021, having been given rocuronium. A week before she had an uneventful tonsillectomy but suffered post-surgery bleeding and required further surgery on May 30. She suffered the reaction during anaesthesia.

A tribute page set up in her memory raised almost 9,000, with friends fondly remembering the 'beautiful' girl who was a 'loyal and loving friend with a great sense of fun'.

Alexandra leaves behind her retired doctor father, David, and mother Tanya who is a GP practice nurse.

The family, who live in a 1.5million home in Henley-On-Thames, Oxfordshire, did not wish to comment.

A tribute page set up in her memory raised almost 9,000, with friends fondly remembering the 'beautiful' girl

Alexandra leaves behind her retired doctor father, David, and mother Tanya who is a GP practice nurse

The parents of Brit Natasha Ednan-Laperouse, who died aged 15 in 2016 after suffering a severe allergic reaction to sesame in a baguette from Pret A Manger onboard a flight to France, have campaigned for better allergy policies since her death.

Tanya Ednan-Laperouse OBE, co-founder of The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation, said: 'Our hearts go out to the family of Alexandra. Their tragic loss once again sheds a powerful light on the growing numbers of young people killed by anaphylaxis.

'Alexandra's coroner, like those at the inquests into Shante Turay-Thomas, Celia Marsh, Ruben Bousquet and many others, has called for urgent actions that should and must be taken by the Government.

'We have long campaigned for ministers to appoint an Allergy Tsar to champion the plight of people living with allergies and for a proper national register of fatal and near fatal anaphylaxis cases.

'As Alexandra's coroner bluntly points out: ''This is not new territory''. Yet still there is no-one in charge of allergy in this country. We are, frankly, fed up with the delay and obfuscation by ministers. The Government has the power to help prevent other families suffering such terrible grief. Ministers need to do the right thing and urgently.'

Under the terms of her report, Mr Barclay has until June 2 to respond.
India is on its way to becoming the world's most populous nation, overtaking China with almost 3 million more people in the middle of this year, data released today by the United Nations showed.

India's population is estimated at 1,428.6 million, or 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China in the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) 'State of World Population Report' this year.

The United States is a distant third, with an estimated population of 340 million, the data showed in a report that reflects information available until February.

Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would surpass China this month, but the global body's latest report did not specify a date.

UN population officials have said it was not possible to specify a date because of uncertainty about the data from India and China, as India's last census was held in 2011 and the next, due in 2021, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

India's population is estimated at 1,428.6 million, or 1.4286 billion, against 1.4257 billion for China in the United Nations Population Fund's (UNFPA) 'State of World Population Report' this year (file image of people in Mumbai, India)

UN population officials have said it was not possible to specify a date because of uncertainty about the data from India and China, as India's last census was held in 2011 and the next, due in 2021, was delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic

Population experts using previous data from the UN have projected India would surpass China this month, but the global body's latest report did not specify a date (file image of people in Shanghai, China)

Although both nations will account for more than a third of the estimated global population of 8.045 billion, population growth in both has been slowing, albeit much faster in China than India.

Last year, China's population fell for the first time in six decades, a historic turn expected to usher in a long period of decline in citizen numbers, with profound implications for its economy and the world.

India's annual population growth has averaged 1.2 per cent since 2011, down from 1.7 per cent in the previous decade, government data shows.

A public survey by UNFPA for the 2023 report found the most commonly held opinion in India, as well as in Brazil, Egypt and Nigeria, was that the population in each country 'was too large and fertility rates were too high', the report said.

'The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public,' Andrea Wojnar, the agency's India representative, said in a statement.

'Yet population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm. Instead, they should be seen as a symbol of progress, development, and aspirations if individual rights and choices are being upheld.'

India had done many things right in tackling population growth, said Poonam Muttreja, an official of the voluntary group Population Foundation of India.

'At the same time, we need to make sure that girls and women are not pushed into early marriages and pregnancies, which limit their aspirations,' she said in a statement.

The solid blue line is the estimates from 1700 to today, the dotted red line the projection for the future up to 2100, and the dashed red line the upper and lower bounds of the 95% prediction interval for the projections
An Australian woman has been killed and her daughter injured after a taxi they were travelling in plunged off a cliff in Sri Lanka.

Sydney resident Sarita Devi, 67, and her daughter Shivani Prakash, 30, were travelling in a taxi towards Hemmathagama, a town around 100km north east of the capital Colombo, on Monday when their driver reportedly lost control.

The police said preliminary investigation revealed that he been travelling at high speed when the car ran off the road and rolled down the cliff, according to the Indian Tribune.

The taxi driver, a Sri Lankan resident, and the 30-year-old daughter were taken to nearby Gampola Hospital with injuries.

Ms Devi, who is from a Fijian-Indian background, unfortunately could not be saved.

Sydney resident Sarita Devi (pictured), 67, was killed after a taxi she was travelling plunged over a cliff in Sri Lanka

Footage of the crash's aftermath showed a crumpled blue Toyota lying on its side

Sri Lanka police media spokesperson Nihal Thalduwa confirmed the identity of the deceased.

'Her 30-year-old daughter, who was also travelling in a hired taxi, [was] injured and getting treatment at hospital. She is out of danger,' Mr Thalduwa told the ABC.

Footage of the aftermath shows a crumpled blue Toyota lying on its side.

Ms Devi's daughter Shivani shared a heartbreaking tribute to her mum on Facebook.

Ms Prakash shared an exert of a touching poem in Hindi which writes that even though death has all the power nothing compares to a mother.

'The sun and the moon are here, but yet there's no one as splendid as you. There's no one like my mother,' according to an English translation.

She added her mother was her 'crown, soul and pride' and requested friends to refrain from visiting her and her brother until they are able to bring their 'lady love' home from Sri Lanka.

'Rest in peace my what do I refer to you as ..? Amma, beta, pulleh, friend, dad, sister. You held all titles for me,' Ms Prakash wrote.

'Dearest family and friends, I would like to advise that my mother is no more in this world. I am still in shock myself and can not believe that I am even writing this.

Mum and I had been in Sri Lanka, where we had met into a tragic accident. This accident took along with it not only amma but my crown, my soul, my pride, my living.'

Ms Prakash said the family is still in 'disbelief and shock' and asked for space to grieve.

Tributes have flooded in for Ms Prakash, who is believed to be a popular figure among the Fijian community in Sydney.

Entrepreneur Bobby Phillips published a heartfelt video paying his respects to Ms Prakash, his 'very good friend'.

'I just can't believe you have passed away in this life, he wrote.

'May God bless your soul. Condolences during this period of bereavement within the family.'

Others described her as a 'lovely soul' and a 'beautiful person'.

'She was a such a kind humble individual and will be missed so much,' one said.

Another wrote: 'RIP, my dear friend, more like my elder sister. You have gone so early.'

Ms Devi (centre) pictured with her daughter Shivani Prakash (left) and son Ronald Prakash (right)

Tributes have flowed for Ms Devi (right), who was described as a 'lovely soul' and 'beautiful person'

Someone else commented about how dangerous the roads are in Sri Lanka after having visited the country three weeks ago.

'I know how reckless drivers are there especially when they turn corners in winding narrow roads,' they wrote.

'I would say to my driver that I don't want to return home in a box to Australia.'

The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade was providing consular assistance to the Devi family.

'Consular officials from the High Commission in Colombo are supporting another Australian woman who was injured in the accident,' a department spokesperson told 7news.

'We send our deepest condolences to the family.'
Reality TV star Georgia Harrison, who battled to get her ex, Stephen Bear, jailed after he shared a video of them having sex, has urged peers debating the Online Safety Bill to 'completely and utterly change history'.

Ms Harrison, 28, appeared this morning in front of a so-called danger zone near Parliament created by Refuge and other organisations.

It features crime scene-style hoarding as well as a giant mobile phone and street sign-style slogans.

Ms Harrison and the organisations want a violence against women and girls code of practice to be added to the Bill 'to ensure social media companies respond to and prevent online violence'.

She said: 'As someone in the public eye, I know how horrific online abuse and harassment is.

Ms Harrison, 28, appeared this morning in front of a so-called danger zone near Parliament

Reality television personalities Sharon Gaffka, left, and Georgia Harrison, right, outside Parliament

'But it's not just people in the public eye that experiences this.

'A recent survey by refuge found one in three women in the UK have experienced online abuse or harassment on social media or another online platform.

'One in six of those experience this at the hands of a current or former partner.

'How can we sit back and allow this to happen? We need to make change.

'I want women and girls to fell able to be online safely and confidently.

'The solution cannot be for women have to come offline. So much of our lives are lived online and we must ensure social media doesn't become unsocial for women.

'This is why we have created this installation today, to show that the internet is not currently safe for women.

The danger-zone installation features crime scene-style hoarding as well as a giant mobile phone and street sign-style slogans

Reality TV star Stephen Bear at Chelmsford Crown Court last month for sentencing after he was found guilty of voyeurism and two counts of disclosing private sexual photographs or film of Ms Harrison

'But we aren't stopping there, we have a solution and one that can be easily implemented.

'Today the House of Lords will be debating the Online Safety Bill, and the peers sitting across the road in the chamber today have a chance to completely and utterly change history.'

Former Love Island contestant Sharon Gaffka, who is an ambassador for Refuge, said a code of practice is 'desperately needed' so women can stay online 'safely and confidently'.

She said: 'Every day, I am the recipient of unsolicited images, threats of sexual violence and misogynistic abuse online. This is unfortunately a common experience amongst young women.

'Due to the frequency of such messages, society has seemingly normalised this behaviour, and instead of putting onus on the perpetrators, we are forcing women and girls offline. This is not the solution.

Stephen Bear, 33, who is serving time for voyeurism and two counts of 'revenge porn', has reportedly been moved to an isolation wing at HMP Chelmsford over concerns for his welfare

'Today, I hope the Government and peers who are now looking at the Bill will listen to the thousands of Refuge supporters who have all taken action.

'Addressing the lack of protection for women and girls in the Online Safety Bill is paramount. I hope to see the code of practice, which is so desperately needed, to be included so that women, and myself, can remain online, safely and confidently.'

On Tuesday, messaging services including WhatsApp issued a warning that the Bill could open the door to 'indiscriminate surveillance' of personal communications.

Bosses from messaging firms Signal and Element were also signatories to the open letter calling on ministers to 'urgently rethink' the Bill as they warned the legislation would give regulator Ofcom the power to try to force the release of private messages on end-to-end encrypted communication services.

The Government has argued that Ofcom will only be able to make companies use technology to identify child sexual abuse material in 'appropriate and limited circumstances', with the Prime Minister's official spokesman insisting 'it will not introduce routine scanning of private communication'.

Richard Collard, from the NSPCC children's charity, urged the Government to resist the tech firms' calls to water down the legislation.
Bill Clinton delighted the locals of a city in Northern Ireland last night by surprising them with a visit to a local pub for a pint of Guinness.

The charismatic former president was seen in the crowded Londonderry establishment raising his glass before taking a sip of the Black stuff.

Clinton was there with Colum Eastwood, the leader of Northern Ireland's Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), who welcomed him to the city as the island of Ireland marks the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Lively photographs from the Tap House pub showed Eastwood's wife Rachael Eastwood enthusiastically embracing Clinton, to the delight of the 42nd president, who to this day remains a popular figure on both sides of the Irish border.

With traditional local music playing the background and to the flashes of cameras, the raucous group cheered as they raised glasses of Guinness, before taking a sip.

Emerging outside, Clinton was mobbed by more crowds of well wishers with whom he shook hands and posed for selfies. He took time to speak to several of those gathered there before getting into his waiting vehicle to leave.

Bill Clinton delighted the locals of a city in Northern Ireland last night by surprising them with a visit to a local pub for a pint of Guinness. Pictured: Clinton is seen with Colum Eastwood, left, leader of the SDLP, and Eastwood's wife Rachael (seen hugging the former president)

Former US president Bill Clinton enjoys a pint of Guinness in the Tap House pub after delivering a speech in Londonderry on April 18

Footage from inside the pub showed Clinton being handed a pint by Virginia governor Terry McAuliffe, who joined the Clintons on their visit to Northern Ireland.

As the former president spoke to Gov. McAuliffe and his wife Dorothy at the bar, Rachael Eastwood was seen making her way through the crowd to reach Clinton.

Appearing by his side, the local singer and mother-of-two hugged the former commander if chief before raising her glass - prompting cheers from the crowd.

His surprise appearance came after delivered a speech inside the city's Guildhall to mark the anniversary of the agreement that ended most of the violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland that had prevailed since the 1960s.

Former US secretary of state and Clinton's wife Hillary Clinton is also in Northern Ireland for events marking the occasion.

The anniversary comes as the Stormont Assembly institutions remain effectively collapsed due to a boycott by the DUP party. Addressing this issue, Clinton said the restoration of the assembly can 'fairly easily be done if we want to'.

He said an excuse can always be found to say no.

Crowds gathered outside the Guildhall and an invited audience inside the building rose in a standing ovation as Clinton arrived.

The Making Hope And History Rhyme event, organised by the John and Pat Hume Foundation, also heard musical performances and addresses by young people.

U2 frontman Bono appeared in a video paying tribute to agreement architects John Hume and David Trimble, describing the former as a 'man who made all our lives bigger', and Lord Trimble as the 'politician who was seen as a hardliner' but 'when the moment came, made the hard choice for peace'.

Clinton paid tribute to those who came together for the historic 1998 accord, particularly Mr Hume, who led the SDLP and Lord Trimble, who led the UUP.

He said they 'who put their lives and careers on the line' for peace.

'I loved and admired them both, but what they stood for is alive in your lives,' he said.

Clinton described the 'gift of the agreement' as 'lifting our lives, our children's lives and our grandchildren's lives'.

He said it is important to get Stormont back up and running.

Lively photographs from the Tap House pub showed Colum Eastwood's wife Rachael Eastwood enthusiastically embracing Clinton, to the delight of the 42nd president

Clinton spoke to a number of people in the Guildhall Taphouse and posed for selfies on request (pictured) His surprise appearance came after delivered a speech inside the city's Guildhall to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday agreement

Pictured: Hundreds of people gather to meet with Former US president Bill Clinton after speaking at the John and Pat Hume Foundation's 'Making Hope and History Rhyme' event, Guild Hall, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Tuesday April 18

Pictured: A local professor named Deirdre Heenan is seen taking a selfie with former president Bill Clinton in Londonderry on Tuesday

'Based on what I've heard it can fairly easily be done if we want to, but we can always find an excuse to say no,' he added.

'If you're having a fight in your home, you can always find an excuse to say no, if you're struggling with any kind of relationship or struggle, you can always find an excuse to say no, getting to yes is humanity's great trial and great goal.

'The people we honour today got to yes,' he said.

Clinton told the audience that he can remember virtually every encounter with Mr Hume and Lord Trimble, adding that the latter was 'so modest' and never got 'the credit he deserved'.

Earlier in the event two school pupils, James Tourish, who attends St Columb's College, and Ellianna McBride, who attends Foyle College, urged progress.

It was after this event that Clinton visited the local pub, where he met SDLP leader Colum Eastwood. He spoke to a number of people in the Guildhall Taphouse and posed for selfies on request.

Clinton famously delivered a speech in Londonderry (also known as Derry) in 1995 at the start of the fledgling Northern Ireland peace process, where the crowd chanted 'We Want Bill' as they waited for him to speak.

The president - joined onstage by Hillary - told the people of the city outside the Guildhall on November 30 that year that the 'cameras and the eyes of the world are on us' in a speech that was largely improvised.

The city is symbolically significant for a number of reasons, with the Troubles in Northern Ireland widely believed to have started there. With a large population of Catholics in the city, it has long had a history of sectarian tension and violence.

Former president Bill Clinton speaks to delegates and school children from across the community during the John and Pat Hume Foundation's 'Making Hope and History Rhyme' event, Guild Hall, Londonderry, Northern Ireland, Tuesday April 18

Clinton told the audience that he can remember virtually every encounter with Mr Hume and Lord Trimble, adding that the latter was 'so modest' and never got 'the credit he deserved'

Pictured: Former US secretary of state and former First Lady Hillary Clinton is seen in Londonderry on Friday morning

Former Prime Minister Tony Blair (left) shakes hands with Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris upon arrival for the closing gala on the final day of a conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement

World leaders have flown in across the world to mark the occasion in Belfast. Clinton will be joined by ex-British prime minister Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Hillary Clinton arrived at Limavady High School on Friday morning where she unveiled two benches to mark the new shared education campus with the adjacent St Mary's High School.

Mrs Clinton met the head boy and head girl from both schools in Co Londonderry before visiting woodwork classrooms where she talked with pupils and viewed their projects.
An Australian mother-of-five who wanted a big family since she was a child has spoken about how she turned to an unorthodox online community to get pregnant.

Brooke Withington, 28, was told by a friend about the Sperm Donation Australia Facebook group, where hopeful mothers and willing donors bypass clinics in favour of informal meetups in cafes and hotels where fresh samples are provided.

'I booked a hotel room and he (the donor) went into the room and messaged me when he had the semen in a jar, then he left and I went in,' Ms Withington, from the Gold Coast, told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday night.

'I have always been a very fertile person which I'm so grateful for, but right before I inserted the syringe I remember looking at the semen in there and thinking 'there's no way this will work,' she said.

'But I inseminated myself with the syringe and it worked first time... I was as surprised as everyone else!'

Brooke Withington is a busy mother-of-five and turned to an unorthodox online community for a sperm donor for her one-year-old Nora

Ms Withington with (pictured with from left to right) Gilbert, Edward, Nora and Odette

Ms Withington explained that coming from a large family herself she had wanted lots of kids since she was eight years old and when she had her first born, Edward, in 2014 at 19 her 'whole life changed'.

She welcomed her second child Gilbert in 2016 and her first daughter, Odette, in 2018 - whose father is a Japanese friend she knew from her time as an exchange student.

'My other children were all conceived naturally but I have them 100 per cent of the time on my own so that's why I decided to go through a sperm donor for my fourth baby.'

'It seemed like the perfect decision for me since I was already doing it completely in my own anyway and there would be no stress or drama.'

She said she first heard about the Sperm Donation Australia from a friend just after she had Edward in 2014.

'At first I thought it was very different and I couldn't imagine myself choosing to go down that path but when I got to that point in my life, it actually didn't sound so wild after all.

'I put up a post about myself and what I was looking for and I had a few donors private message me.

'I chose a couple of them that I felt the conversation flowed quite easily as that was really important to me so I wouldn't feel nervous or uneasy.'

The family welcomed a fifth member just four months ago named Mabel (centre)

Ms Withington pictured with donor conceived Nora who recently turned one

She said she wanted an Asian donor because Odette has Asian heritage and her other children are all white.

'When I found the right donor I told him everything I was and wasn't comfortable with; I was personally only comfortable with artificial insemination and the donor I chose was strictly AI.'

She then had her 'miracle' daughter Nora who is now one-year-old before welcoming fifth child Mabel through a brief relationship.

'I love having five kids but I'm definitely thinking about having one more child one day and if I do - I will definitely be going down the sperm donor path again.'

'The conception and pregnancy with Nora was the most drama and stress free experience.'

The Gold Coast local said she would most definitely use a donor for another child if she decided she wanted a sixth

She said people online often troll her - particularly with the phrase 'tax payer dollars' suggesting she is cashing in on welfare but Ms Withington said that couldn't be further from the truth.

'But I work at a great job, so I feel that I am contributing to the community, making my own money and also showing my children that working is very important.'

The man behind the online Sperm Donation Australia Group, Adam Hooper has recently taken the movement to other countries launching Sperm Donation World.

'The standard is so good in Australia that this is the main source and way people use to (artificially) conceive children now, bypassing clinics,' Mr Hooper told Daily Mail Australia on Wednesday night.

The man behind Sperm Donation World, 38-year-old Adam Hooper (pictured) is heading to the UK in September

He has himself fathered more than 20 children via donations and claims to have helped bring literally hundreds of more children into the world via facilitating his group.

'I am coming to the UK in September to Launch Sperm Donation UK and hope to bring the same recipe for success that we have seen in Australia.'

Mr Hooper said that he had started the group 'in 2015 and in 2023 'we're still yet to see any headlines about this going wrong.'

'The family court system is full of people that have rushed into relationships and had children, so this way is a logical and safer choice for people to consider'

'You don't pick your husband and wife of a piece of paper you go and meet them'

'Currently, in the UK, the online donor scene is poorly moderated and run by people with not the right motives.'

'I want to raise the standards in the UK so many women like Brooke can share their own local stories.'
The vessels carry underwater surveillance to map out where wind farms are

Fleet of Russian ships are sailing through North Sea to collect data for sabotage

Russia is using 'ghost' spy ships that are disguised as fishing trawlers off the UK coast to map out wind farms and communication cables for sabotage attacks in case it goes to war with the West, a probe has claimed.

The fleet of Russian ships, disguised as fishing trawlers and research vessels, are sailing through the North Sea to collect data on where wind farms, gas pipelines as well as power and internet cables are located, it has been claimed.

The vessels carry underwater surveillance to map out how the infrastructure is connected with the aim to plan sabotage attacks against the West, a documentary aired by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland has claimed.

Russia is aiming to plan the sabotage attacks in case it goes to war with the West, with their goal being to paralyse the power supply in Europe, intelligence sources warned.

'In the event of a conflict with the West, they are ready and know where to intervene if they want to paralyse the Danish society,' counterintelligence chief Anders Henriksen from the Danish Police Intelligence Service told Denmark's DR.

Russia is using 'ghost' spy ships that are disguised as fishing trawlers off the UK coast to map out wind farms and communication cables for sabotage attacks in case it goes to war with the West, a probe has claimed. Last November, Admiral Vladimirsky (pictured) sailed around the Kattegat sea between Denmark and Sweden without sharing its location for a month

Video shows a man wearing a mask while holding a Russian military semi-automatic rifle stepping forward on the top deck as a DR journalist approached the Admiral Vladimirsky in a rubber boat. Several other men stepped forward also

The Russian vessel Admiral Vladimirsky had sailed around the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Kattegat for a month, with its route passing both current and future offshore wind farms. Pictured: The route of the ship

'This is a strategic capacity for Russia, which is considered very important and is controlled directly from Moscow,' Nils Andreas Stensones, head of the Norwegian Intelligence Service, added.

Intercepted radio communications from the Russian navy reveal Russia is using 'ghost ships' in the North Sea. These vessels have turned off their transmitters and are therefore untraceable in international waters.

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed the media claims as a 'mistake' and 'without basis', reiterating its appeal for 'a transparent and impartial international inquiry' into the sabotage of the Baltic Sea Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.

Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson meanwhile deemed the documentary's claims 'serious'.

'This just goes to show that we have a very risky situation in our immediate vicinity,' he told reporters at a navy base in southern Sweden.

Broadcasters DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland pointed to how the Russian naval vessel Admiral Vladimirsky is being used to collect intelligence - rather than conduct oceanic research as Russia says it does.

Last November, Admiral Vladimirsky sailed around the Kattegat sea between Denmark and Sweden without sharing its location for a month - but it still sent radio messages to a naval base in Russia regarding its position.

The vessel slowed down when it approached areas where there are wind farms and loiters in the area.

The broadcaster DR managed to intercept the radio signals and locate the vessel.

Video shows a man wearing a mask while holding a Russian military semi-automatic rifle stepping forward on the top deck as a DR journalist approached the Admiral Vladimirsky in a rubber boat. Several other men stepped forward also.

The Russian vessel had sailed around the Baltic Sea, the North Sea and the Kattegat for a month, with its route passing both current and future offshore wind farms.

Intelligence sources say the aim of this mission would be to prepare for sabotage attacks that would cut power and data cables across the Atlantic and to the rest of Europe.

They say the Russian vessels will have likely mapped out power cables on the sea bed which link the offshore wind farms.

'This is what the research ships do - as part of the preparation for a major war with NATO,' an intelligence source says.

Russia is aiming to plan the sabotage attacks in case it goes to war with the West, with their goal being to paralyse the power supply in Europe. Pictured: An armed Russian man onboard the Admiral Vladimirsky

Broadcasters DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland pointed to how the Russian naval vessel Admiral Vladimirsky (pictured) is being used to collect intelligence - rather than conduct marine research as Russia says it does

'There will be clusters of cables where one bomb can knock out the entire wind farm,' said independent naval analyst HI Sutton.

'The ship has been on a mission to map what's new out there - have there been changes since they were last there - and to find out how they do it best if they have to hit the offshore wind farms,' naval captain and military analyst Jens Wenzel Kristoffersen from the University of Copenhagen said.

The same ship was reportedly sighted off the Scottish coast last year - 30 nautical miles east of Lossiemouth, home to the RAF's Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.

The documentary, titled 'The Shadow War', also says Norwegian police who boarded two Russian fishing trawlers discovered old Soviet-era radios, with an operator in a locked compartment.

According to DR, the Russian spy programme is known by the acronym GUGI, or the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research, a top secret branch of the Russian navy.

The organisation, which reports to Russia's defence ministry, operates out of a base about which little is known in the Barents Sea, on the Kola peninsula in the Arctic.

In Sweden, 27 suspect vessels have allegedly sailed through its waters or docked in its ports in the past five years, SVT said.

In Norway, over a period of 10 years, at least 50 Russian vessels 'had the possibility to collect information clandestinely', according to a tally based on the ships' Automatic Identification System (AIS), NRK said.

Segments of the documentary have already been released, with the full report due to be broadcast late Wednesday.

It elicited an immediate response from Moscow, which has blamed the West for the spectacular sabotage involving the explosions of Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia to Germany.

'The media in these countries have made a mistake in their investigation,' Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

'They prefer to once again accuse Russia without basis.'

'We would prefer that they focus more attention on the attacks against Nord Stream and on a transparent and impartial international inquiry,' he said.

In February, Dutch military intelligence agency MIVD said Russia had in recent months tried to gain intelligence to sabotage critical infrastructure in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

A Russian ship was detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, MIVD head General Jan Swillens said at the time.

The vessel was escorted out of the North Sea by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful, he added.

'We saw in recent months Russian actors tried to uncover how the energy system works in the North Sea. It is the first time we have seen this,' Swillens said.

'Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function. They are very interested in how they could sabotage the energy infrastructure.'

Dutch intelligence agencies MIVD and AIVD, in a joint report published on Monday, said critical offshore infrastructure such as internet cables, gas pipes and windmill farms had become the target of Russian sabotage activities.

'Russia is secretly charting this infrastructure and is undertaking activities which indicate preparations for disruption and sabotage', the agencies said.

Covert threats by Russia to water and energy supplies in the Netherlands were also conceivable, they added.
Tesco must stop using its Clubcard logo after the High Court today ruled it was copied from its supermarket rival Lidl following a multi-million-pound legal battle.

The Clubcard scheme and Lidl's logo both feature a yellow circle on a blue background, leading the latter to accuse the former of copyright infringement.

Tesco launched a counterclaim 'seeking to cancel some of the trademarks in issue', setting up a legal fight that was expected to cost both parties a collective 2.35million.

Justice Joanna Smith announced on Wednesday that she had found for Lidl on claims of trademark infringement, passing off and copyright infringement.

The High Court will therefore issue an injunction ordering Tesco to cease using its Clubcard logo - although the 'disappointed' supermarket giant plans to appeal.

Tesco must stop using its Clubcard logo (pictured) after the High Court ruled it was copied from its supermarket rival Lidl following a multi-million-pound legal battle

Lidl and Tesco are believed to have spent 2.35million fighting each other in court over claims Tesco ripped off Lidl's logo  a yellow circle set on top of a blue box with a thin red outline

In her ruling, Justice Smith said: 'Tesco has taken unfair advantage of the distinctive reputation which resides in the Lidl Marks for low price (discounted) value'  though she rejected Lidl's argument that Tesco had done so deliberately.

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The judge also said she had made a finding in favour of Tesco on its counterclaim.

Justice Smith explained: 'Tesco pursue a counterclaim alleging that some of the Lidl trademarks are liable to be declared invalid on the grounds that they were registered in bad faith, and/or that they should be revoked for non-use and/or that they have no distinctive character.'

She said she had found in favour of Tesco on its 'counterclaim of bad faith'.

Following the ruling, a Lidl spokesman said: 'Over the last three years, Tesco has been using its Clubcard logo to deceive many customers into believing that Tesco was price matching against Lidl or was able to offer the same great value as us.

'We asked Tesco to change their Clubcard logo, but they refused, making it necessary to bring this case.

'Having seen the evidence, the Court has now ruled that Tesco's Clubcard logo was copied from Lidl's logo, and it infringes Lidl's trademark rights and copyright.

'This infringement allowed Tesco to take unfair advantage of our longstanding reputation for great value, misleading their customers at a time when they should have been supporting them.

'We are pleased that the Court has agreed with us and that it will now order Tesco to stop using the Clubcard logo.'

A Tesco spokesman said: 'We are surprised and disappointed by the decision today in relation to the claim brought by Lidl against our Clubcard Prices logo.

'Clubcard Prices has always been about offering great value to our Clubcard customers, across thousands of products, as part of our commitment to keeping the cost of the weekly shop as affordable as possible. Nothing in today's decision changes that.

'This claim brought by Lidl was just about the colour and shape of the Clubcard Prices logo. The judge's ruling concluded that there was no deliberate intent on Tesco's part to copy Lidl's trademark.

'It has no impact on our Clubcard Prices scheme which we will continue to run in exactly the same way. We intend to appeal.'

Charlotte Duly, head of brand protection at Charles Russell Speechlys law firm, told MailOnline today: 'A yellow circle on a blue background has spawned a multi-million-pound intellectual property dispute, highlighting the enormous value companies see in their branding.

'Lidl relied on survey evidence to show consumer perception of their wordless logo.

'Tesco objected to this, and whilst undertaking a survey that complies with the requirements set down in case law can be difficult and onerous leading to an increase in costs for both parties, the survey was admitted into the proceedings.'

She added: 'Lidl has won as the court agrees that Tesco has taken unfair advantage of the reputation in Lidl's logos, even if this was not deliberate  a landmark decision between two major brands.

'From both a general interest perspective and a legal point of view, there are a number of very interesting issues raised in this case and it will be interesting to see whether this judgment triggers more cases of this kind.'

At a pre-trial hearing between the two grocery giants last year, Mrs Justice Smith said: 'In short, Lidl contends that Tesco's use of a new sign in their 'Clubcard Prices' marketing is an infringement.

A Tesco spokesperson said the supermarket is 'disappointed' by the ruling, which it plans to appeal (stock image)

'In bringing the claim, Lidl relies upon its trademark rights in two versions of the Lidl logo: a logo which includes the word 'Lidl' and a logo without that word, 'the Wordless Mark'.

'The Wordless Mark is a graphical device consisting of a blue square background bearing a yellow disk, bordered in a thin red line.'

She said Lidl's lawyers argue the background to the supermarket logo is 'capable of being, and is, perceived by the public in the United Kingdom as being distinctive of the Lidl group of companies'.

She added: 'Essentially, Lidl says that Tesco is seeking deliberately to ride on the coattails of Lidl's reputation as a 'discounter' supermarket known for the provision of value.

'It pleads that Tesco's use of the sign in connection with Tesco's discount prices is intended to, and does, cause members of the public to call to mind Lidl's business and the marks, including being suggestive of the fact that the prices of goods offered by Tesco for sale under or in connection with the sign are offered at the same prices, or lower prices, than could be obtained for the same or equivalent goods in Lidl stores.'

Setting out Tesco's defence, she went on: 'Lidl's use of the Wordless Mark is disputed.

In her ruling, Mrs Justice Joanna Smith said: 'Tesco has taken unfair advantage of the distinctive reputation which resides in the Lidl Marks for low price (discounted) value'  though she rejected Lidl's argument that Tesco had done so deliberately

'Focusing specifically on the Wordless Mark, it pleads... The Wordless Mark is a figment of Lidl's legal imagination and a product of its trademark filing strategy.

'It does not exist in the real world... Lidl have never used the Wordless Mark and never intended to use it'.

Tesco's lawyers sought to argue that results from a survey ought not to be included in the evidence at the forthcoming trial, saying that the way the questions were phrased had been leading.

Participants were shown the wordless logo and asked, 'What do you think this image is?' and, 'Now, please imagine that this image was used as a company's brand... Which company would you expect it to be?''

The judge, allowing the survey evidence to be included at trial, said: 'Looking at the answers to the survey in detail...one sees numerous responses that say 'Lidl' or 'Lidl logo' or 'Lidl sign' or even, 'It looks like the background of Lidl', or, 'Part of the Lidl logo without the words' or, 'Brand image for Lidl supermarket'.

'This appears to me to be probative of recognition on the part of the participants that the Wordless Mark is a logo or trade mark,' she said.

The judge went on to say that Tesco's estimated costs for the trial, even without dealing with the issue of the contested survey, amount to 1,185,976 while Lidl's were 1,170,244.

'The multi-million-pound combined legal costs appear to be a reflection of how key this brand dispute is to both parties,' she remarked.
Neighbors say that the man killed in the devastating collapse was the manager of the site

A New York City parking garage collapsed after the third floor caved in under the weight of vehicles on the roof deck - killing at least one person.

The building had four open violations dating back to 2003, including two referring to the danger of 'loose concrete in danger of falling'.

Terrifying footage captured cars on a lower level being crushed after the upper floor collapsed and vehicles fell through the 'pancaked' broken concrete.

The horror incident left a fleet of vehicles piled on top of one another, causing a huge emergency response at the site near Wall Street at 4.15pm.

Officials have not yet named the victim who died in the incident, but a neighbor claimed it was the site's manager who was on his way home.

Terrifying footage captured cars on a lower level being crushed after the upper floor collapsed and vehicles fell through the 'pancaked' broken concrete

Officials have not yet named the victim who died in the incident, but a neighbor claimed it was the site's manager who was on his way home

Adam Cohen told the New York Daily News: 'He was on the second floor when it came down. He was a great guy.'

Initial investigations revealed that the collapse started on the third floor, after the roof deck crumbled under the weight of vehicles.

New York City's Department of Buildings confirmed that there are four open property violations relating to the garage in Lower Manhattan.

An open complaint in 2013 saw the company fail to maintain the building after there was no exit at a signposted fire exit  with all the doors locked.

The company listed on the complaint, Enterprise Ann Parking LL, was given a $1,200 fine after being found in violation in 2014.

In 2009 they were found to have broken and defective fire stairs, as well as a 'loose piece of concrete in danger of falling' in several locations.

The respondent, named as Ann Park LLC, was fined $200 and found to be in violation in 2010, but nothing was ultimately resolved.

New York City's Department of Buildings confirmed that there are four open property violations relating to the garage in Lower Manhattan

The building and several streets remain closed after the collapse which killed one and injured four others

Three of the complaints were marked as Category One or hazardous issue, meaning that they have to be corrected immediately

Cars and debris are seen piled up in the lower Manhattan parking lot after the collapse on Tuesday that resulted in the death of one person and five other injuries

Cars piled up on top of each other after the building's floors 'pancaked' on top of each other

Two complaints in 2003 remain open, with one referring to exit lighting not working, as well as exit signs not 'properly illuminating'.

The other part of the issue was gain to 'fix concrete', as well as 'missing concrete covering steel beams' and 'defective concrete with exposed rear cracks.'

57 Ann St Realty Association was fined a total of $1,150 on that occasion, but it does not appear that anything was resolved.

There have been 64 violations in total since the building opened in 1957, with the complaints dating back to 1976.

However, there are still two open DOB violations regarding the elevator in the property, which was issued in 2014.

Three of the complaints were marked as Category One or hazardous issue, meaning that they have to be corrected immediately.

NYC passed a law in 2022 requiring owners of parking structures to have their garages inspected every six years, and to file a report with inspection results to the Department of Buildings.

The Manhattan garage was part of the first two-year inspection cycle , January 2022 to December 2023, meaning that they were not out of compliance  but the law was created too late to catch the problems.

One resident who lives near Financial District parking garage described hearing 'big bangs' before the wall came down, leaving a hole in her apartment.

Speaking to the New York Post, Sandy Imhoff - whose second-floor apartment shared a walk with the garage on Ann Street - described the collapse.

Terrifying footage captured the moment Enterprise Ann Parking in lower Manhattan collapsed in on itself

According to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, the building was built in 1925 (pictured) and recieved its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking

An injured person being rushed from the scene

'There were a lot of really big bangs first. Then part of the wall started coming down,' she told the publication. 'Bricks were coming through. The place was filling up with dirt  part of my wall is gone now.'

The incident saw people trapped in an elevator shaft, as the decrepit building's floors 'pancaked' on top of each other at 4.10pm, according to city officials.

'I was just in shock,' Imhoff told the New York Post. 'I was worried for the other people in the building.' She said she fled outside, but that her cats were still inside her apartment as the garage came down.

While building violations were still active, officials have said the garage was not under construction.

Despite this, Imhoff told the news outlet that she heard 'banging' coming from the garage at around 10am - which she thought was the sound of building works going on at the site. Six hours later, the building collapsed.

According to Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine, the building was built in 1925 and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking.

He shared an old sepia image of the building from when it first opened.

A city record from 2010 shows 34 new auto lifts were installed on the property, which would have 'added to the weight' of the building.

Levine wrote on Twitter, 'there was a lot of weight on each of these floor plates. There was construction, there was even installing an electrical charger for electrical vehicles, but it feels like weight was the culprit here.'

One resident who lives near Financial District parking garage described hearing 'big bangs' before the wall came down, leaving a hole in her apartment

The building was built in 1925 and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking

There have been 64 violations in total since the building opened in 1957, with the complaints dating back to 1976

Members of the mayor's team are seen at the scene on Tuesday evening

Investigations into the cause of the collapse are on-going.

Footage of the collapse, which was shot on a Ring surveillance camera, shows the vehicles inside in the dark become quickly submerged by falling concrete.

Numerous vehicles were seen crashing through the openings as the collapse caused significant damage.

Witnesses described a woman screaming 'get out!' as the structure caved in, and images showed the top floor fallen through with vehicles stacked on broken concrete.

Several New York residents who live near the building told DailyMail.com the structure was known to be old, saying the tragedy was 'not surprising'.

A parking attendant, who was seen being taken from the scene with his leg wrapped in a bandage, told DailyMail.com that he had been 'telling them that something like this was going to happen.'

Shannon Wu, who lives on the same street as the collapsed building, was among around 100 people waiting outside after cops closed an area off around two blocks.

'It's a very old building, so it's honestly not surprising,' she told DailyMail.com. 'It's known as a really old building.

'My boyfriend was home when it happened, and he said the whole street was shaking.' He described it as 'like the subway shaking underneath the building'.

The cause of death of the deceased individual has not been made public, and five people are being treated at a local hospital, FDNY Chief of Operations James Esposito said.

Several buildings in the immediate area were evacuated after the incident, and officials told DailyMail.com a police presence will remain in the area as authorities continue to investigate the cause of the accident.

A robotic dog also known as a Digidog was needed to go into the building because it was unstable

An aerial shot over 57 Ann Street showing where the collapse occurred

Don Mulligan, who was inside the hotel directly next to the garage when it collapsed, told DailyMail.com: 'The evacuation was very orderly, they weren't rushing people, just went over the intercom and got everyone out.'

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog, which is also known as a Digidog, was needed to go into the building when officials arrived on the scene because the collapsed building was unstable.

'At this time this building is completely unstable and the chief - we do not want to send in someone until we can make sure the building is shored up,' the mayor added.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell, speaking at the scene, called the incident a 'structural collapse'.

Responding firefighters did enter the building upon arrival, but retreated when the structure was deemed unstable.

A witness to the horror incident described the sound of the crash as being an 'incredible noise'.

'I was wondering what that was so I went to the window and I just saw the top floor of this garage...just beginning to cave in and cars just following into this pit,' Erasmo Guerra told NBC New York.

Angela Aparico was working in a hotel building about a block away.

'It just felt like everything was shaking,' she told DailyMail.com. 'It was like the whole ground was unsettled, almost like an earthquake.

'I just hope everybody is okay.'

Residents along the street were seen with suitcases late Tuesday evening

Law enforcement on the scene warned DailyMail.com that the building collapse could cause damage to surrounding structures, leading to evacuations

An Ann Street resident told DailyMail.com: 'The building looked unsound for years, like a converted residential structure with no additional structural supports, even though the cars were packed onto every floor and the roof, the walls seemed bent and winding outwards. By sight alone it seemed unsound.'

As a result of the incident, the nearby Pace University has canceled all classes and evacuated their nearby campus.

Michael Papayianis, a film student at Pace University, was sent a text message from the university about cancelled classes. 'It is such an old building,' he said. 'Almost all the metal inside is rusty... I wouldn't be surprised if they just overbooked it with cars.'

The garage is used for parking by the New York Sheriff's Department, all of their staff are accounted for.

Another Pace University student Charlie Franklin told Pix11 that he and his roommate frequently talked about how unsafe the building looked.

'It was bound to happen sooner or later. Hopefully they can get their stuff together and Pace can give us accommodations for tonight,' Franklin said.

Numerous residents in apartments and hotels on the street were spotted being escorted through the evening to new accommodation.
A list of ministerial interests has been published for the first time in 11 months

Rishi Sunak finally published a new register of members' interests today - but it does not include a list of his wife's interests after his ethics adviser said that would mean an 'excessive degree of intrusion'.

The government has issued an update to the register for the first time since May last year, when Boris Johnson was premier.

It emerged after the Commons standards watchdog announced a probe into claims he failed to declare his spouse Akshata's stake in a childcare business when giving evidence to MPs about the Budget childcare boost.

Downing Street has flatly denied Mr Sunak broke any rules, arguing that the matter only needed to be declared through the ministerial transparency system.

However, the list released this morning does not give details of Ms Sunak's interests. It states that she has a venture capital firm, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and 'a number of direct shareholdings'.

A note also refers to Mr Sunak's letter to the cross-party Liaison Committee earlier this week, in which he confirmed his wife's interests included Koru Kids.

The PM's new ethics adviser Sir Laurie Magnus said he was content that 'any actual, potential and perceived' conflicts of interests involving ministers 'have been, or are in the process of being' resolved.

He explained: 'The list is not a register of interests and does not therefore include every interest that a minister has declared in relation to themselves and their family members.

'To do so would represent an excessive degree of intrusion into the private affairs of ministers that would be unreasonable, particularly in respect of their family members.

'The list instead documents those interests, including of close family, which are, or may be perceived to be, directly relevant to a minister's ministerial responsibilities.'

He added: 'I am content that any actual, potential and perceived conflicts have been, or are in the process of being, resolved, but it is important that ministers and their permanent secretaries remain alert in the context of their respective portfolios if ministers' interests change.'

Rishi Sunak finally published a new register of members' interests today - but it does not include a list of his wife's interests after his ethics adviser said that would mean an 'excessive degree of intrusion'

A note also refers to Mr Sunak's letter to the cross-party Liaison Committee earlier this week, in which he confirmed his wife's interests included Koru Kids

Mr Sunak is facing a probe by the Commons standards watchdog into claims that he failed to declare an interest

It is not the first time the financial affairs of Ms Murty, the daughter of billionaire Indian IT mogul Narayana Murthy, have caused embarrassment for Mr Sunak

The PM's failure to notify MPs of his wife's interest has led to demands for Mr Sunak's ethics adviser, Sir Laurie Magnus, to launch an investigation

Mr Sunak's name has been added to the list of MPs under investigation by the Commons standards commissioner

Ms Murty is listed as a shareholder in the London-based childcare agency in Companies House documents as recently as March 6 this year

In a letter to the cross-party Liaison Committee released earlier this week, Mr Sunak insisted the interest had been 'rightly' notified to the Cabinet Office to avoid any conflict, and a new list would be published 'shortly'

Who is Akshata Murty? The Prime Minister's wife is the daughter of billionaire Indian IT mogul Narayana Murthy. The 42-year-old married Mr Sunak in 2009 at a lavish ceremony in Bengaluru, India. The couple met while both studying at Stanford University in California. During their early years together, Ms Murty pursued a career in fashion, and in 2007 set up her own business, Akshata Designs. Her wealth comes predominantly from the 0.93 per cent stake she holds in her father's firm, Infosys. She and Mr Sunak also set up their own investment firm called Catamaran Ventures. When he became PM in October, Mr Sunak and his wife decided to move themselves - as well as their two daughters, Krishna, 11, and Anoushka, nine - into the flat above No10 where they had previously lived when he was Chancellor. This is different from previous PMs who, in recent times, have usually lived in the larger flat above No11. Explaining their choice of residence, the PM's press secretary said the family were 'very happy there' during Mr Sunak's time as Treasury chief. The PM's wife has become an increasingly prominent presence during Mr Sunak's political career. In April last year, she was forced to admit she held non-dom tax status in the UK in a row that threatened to derail her husband's ambitions. But the couple survived the fierce scrutiny of their financial affairs, and Ms Murty is now taking on a First Lady role as the PM's wife. As well as a five-bedroom Kensington mews house worth an estimated 7million, Ms Murty and Mr Sunak also own another west London flat, a 2million manor house in Mr Sunak's Yorkshire constituency, and a 5.5million penthouse in Santa Monica, California. Advertisement

Keir Starmer had urged Mr Sunak to 'come clean' and publish his financial interests to clear up whether there had been any conflict of interest.

And the document emerged half an hour before the leaders were due to face off at PMQs.

The register confirms that Mr Sunak has a 'blind trust' for his own investments, in a bid to avoid conflicts of interest.

In his letter to the MPs, Mr Sunak said: 'I was being asked questions by the Committee in my capacity as Prime Minister.'

A No10 spokeswoman said: 'We are happy to assist the commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest.'

The Code of Conduct states: 'Members must always be open and frank in declaring any relevant interest in any proceeding of the House or its Committees, and in any communications with Ministers, Members, public officials or public office holders.'

Last month Downing Street denied that Mr Sunak had broken any rules by failing to mention his wife Akshata Murty's shareholding in the childcare business.

The premier did not declare Ms Murty's investment in Koru Kids when he was quizzed about his 4billion boost for the childcare sector at last month's Budget.

She is listed as a shareholder in the London-based agency in Companies House documents as recently as March 6 this year.

Koru Kids is set to benefit from the major shake-up of the childcare sector by Mr Sunak and Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.

Questioning Mr Sunak during the Liaison Committee session, Labour MP Catherine McKinnell asked if he had any interests to declare.

'No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way,' Mr Sunak said.

The PM's failure to notify MPs specifically about his wife's interest led to demands for Sir Laurie to investigate.

But the PM's press secretary said at the time: 'The Ministerial Code sets out a process by which ministers declare their interests.

'They do that in writing, in this case to the Cabinet Secretary. That process was followed to the letter by the Prime Minister.'

She added: 'He declared the interest in the usual way - he followed the process.'

The PM's press secretary insisted Mr Sunak was also happy that he had abided by Parliamentary obligations on declaring financial interests when answering questions from fellow MPs.

Koru Kids is one of six childminder agencies listed on the Government's website.

The firm welcomed the Budget announcement on its website and hailed the 'great' new incentives open to childminders.

It said a bonus of '1,200  yes double' would be paid 'if you come through an agency like Koru Kids who offer community, training and ongoing support'.

The previous register of ministerial interests only noted that Ms Murty owned Catamaran Ventures UK.

Updates have been delayed by changes in Government ranks, including the departure of Boris Johnson's standards chief, followed by Mr Johnson's own resignation and that of Liz Truss.

It is not the first time the financial affairs of Ms Murty, the daughter of billionaire Indian IT mogul Narayana Murthy have caused discomfort for Mr Sunak.

He faced a bitter row last year when it emerged Ms Murty held non-dom tax status.

In February it was revealed Ms Murty held shares in a collapsed firm that received nearly 300,000 in taxpayer-funded loans under schemes set up by Mr Sunak when he was Chancellor.
The 40-year-old leaves behind his pregnant wife Sarah, and daughter Lottie, two

A father-of-one Royal Marine sergeant tragically died in a 165ft plunge in the Scottish Highlands.

Colour Sgt Richard Melia was climbing Stob Dearg's Crowberry Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe with a companion when he slipped at around 11.15am on Saturday April 8, 2023.

The 40-year-old's devastated family said his death had left 'a gaping hole in our lives that will be impossible to fill'.

Sgt Melia leaves behind his wife Sarah, who is 26 weeks pregnant, and two-year-old daughter Lottie.

The Royal Marines Charity said in a statement: 'It is with broken hearts that we must inform you of the untimely death of Colour Sergeant Richard Thomas Melia ROYAL MARINES, aged 40 years old.

Colour Sgt Richard Melia was climbing Stob Dearg's Crowberry Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe with a companion when he slipped at around 11.15am on Saturday April 8, 2023

The 40-year-old's devastated family said his death had left 'a gaping hole in our lives that will be impossible to fill'

'Rick was a son, brother, husband, and father, and will be deeply missed by his family, friends, and comrades. His passing has devastated us all and left a gaping hole in our lives that will be impossible to fill. The family and his close friends are grieving and still trying to make sense of it all, but we will provide details of the funeral in due course.

'For now, please feel free to share this post and reach out to people who knew him, and express your condolences below. However, we would appreciate it if people would refrain from directly messaging or calling the family at this time.

'We know that this news is going to be extremely hard for a lot of people to hear, so please look after each other so that you will be able to help us honour Rick's life appropriately, in due course.

'Thank you all for your support at this difficult time.'

A fundraiser, launched by his friends who served with him in the military, has already raised over 10,000 to help cover funeral costs and start a trust fund for his children. The description reads: 'Reggie sadly passed away unexpectedly, leaving behind 2-year-old Lottie and his wife Sarah who is 26 weeks pregnant.

A fundraiser , launched by his friends who served with him in the military, has already raised over 10,000 to help cover funeral costs and start a trust fund for his children (pictured, Stob Dearg's Crowberry Ridge, Buachaille Etive Mor in Glencoe, Scotland)

'We are his friends, who served with him in the military and would like to help raise money in his memory to help his beautiful young family to cover funeral costs and start a trust fund for his children.

'Reggie was a hero who served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He had a great sense of humour and a kind heart. We would love to help Sarah and Lottie at this sad and tragic time, and would appreciate any donation no matter how small.'

Glencoe Mountain Rescue Team sent 13 members to the incident which ended up becoming an eight-hour rescue.

Rescuers carried his body off the mountain while three others climbed up to his companion, who was stuck on a ledge about 2,000ft up.

The four higher up were airlifted by a coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Inverness off the peak, which is a popular climbing route.

Deputy team leader Brian Bathurst said: 'We would like to express our condolences to the man's family and friends. It was a tragic outcome sadly. He appears to have slipped on slabby rock.'

A Police Scotland spokesperson said: 'Police received a report that a man had fallen on Stob Dearg, Buachaille Etive Mor, around 11.15am on Saturday, 8 April, 2023.

'Emergency services attended and a 40-year-old man was pronounce dead at the scene. There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.'
Now, Polish police have arrested seven people in Poland over the Briton's death

Mark Cocks, 36, died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with 22 shots

The family of a British tourist who was forced to drink 22 shots in a Polish strip club have revealed he died within two hours of entering the venue.

Mark Cocks, 36, died of alcohol poisoning in October 2017 after being piled with beverages at the Wild Night club in Krakow, leaving his parents Graham and Pat devastated.

Now it has emerged that seven people have been arrested in connection with his death after prosecutors in the city opened an investigation into what happened.

Police believe those arrested were part of an organised crime gang behind a series of deaths of foreigners who were allegedly drugged and robbed at the notorious club.

Mr Cocks, a Leeds United fan from Loftus in North Yorkshire, had been 'lured' into the club with a friend before being given nearly two powerful shots before he collapsed and died.

'When Mark passed away in 2017 it was such a massive shock for all of us and it hit everyone so hard because he was so well liked,' a member of the family who asked not to be named told MailOnline.

An inquest returned a verdict of accidental death due to alcohol poisoning, but no criminal charges were brought and Mr Cocks's family have been trying to seek justice over his death for over six years.

Mark Cocks, 36, (pictured) died of alcohol poisoning in 2017 after being plied with shots at the Wild Night club in Krakow

Mr Cocks, a Leeds United fan from Loftus in Teeside, Yorkshire, had been 'lured' into the strip club (the interior of the club is pictured) with a friend before being given nearly two powerful shots before he collapsed and died

Strippers at the Wild Night club in Krakow are pictured inside the establishment, which has since closed

A GV of the building in Krakow's Old Town that used to host the fraudulent Wild Night club

Polish police had claimed Mr Cocks had been drunk when he entered the strip club, but his family said this was not true.

After he collapsed, staff at the club robbed him of PLN 2,200 (420) in cash, according to the Polish authorities.

A family member added: 'We really want to know what happened to Mark because it was awful. It was the first bar he and his friend went to that day and within two hours of going in he had died.

'He was sober before he went in and they made him drink as part of the scam and robbed him as well. If what happened to Mark saves a life and acts as a warning then that's a positive outcome.

'This happens to hundreds of British men who go over there, they are scammed by people who get them drunk and then rob their cards and money.

'It's terrible but we know nothing of these arrests and are trying to find out more.'

Polish prosecutors said in 2017 that Mr Cocks had been 'led into a deep state of intoxication combined with loss of consciousness'.

They added: 'Acute poisoning with ethyl alcohol led to the concentration in the victim's body and urine, as a result of which the man died.

'Mark C. came to Krakow with his friend for tourist purposes. The men were tempted by the free entry to the premises offered by the 'beater'.

'After entering the club at 4pm, the men were separated and Mark C. was taken to the so-called a private room.

'Then, between 4.28pm and 6.08pm, despite the already visible and significant state of intoxication and despite his attempts to refuse to consume alcohol, the club staff gave the victim unordered 22 portions of high-proof alcohol.'

The seven people who have now been arrested for being part of an organised criminal gang also emptied Mr Cocks's bank account.

Prosecutors said: 'The staff deprived him not only of money, but above all of his life.'

Following Mr Cocks's death, his family have been trying to warn other tourists to avoid the strip club, which has now closed.

His sister Samantha Snooks commented on the club's review page: 'My brother's death in this vile establishment needs to be made aware of!'

His aunt Linda Yeats, writing on the same forum at the time of his death, said: 'Dodgy b******s, they are scum, it was my nephew who died in this bar.

'They fleeced him out of five transactions totalling 760, separated from his friend, then told his friend 'your mates dead'.

'No words can explain what we feel, don't know how they sleep at night cos we don't.'

His sister Samantha Snooks (pictured) commented on the club's review page: 'My brother's death in this vile establishment needs to be made aware of!'

Polish police raided night clubs and arrested suspects last year during an investigation into an organised criminal group extorting money from customers at nightclubs

The club was raided last year along with 20 others nationwide in a crackdown following widespread complaints from ripped-off customers who said they had been 'drugged and robbed'. Pictured: A suspect

Polish police officers raided a series of strip clubs in Krakow as part of an investigation into an organised criminal gang

Others on TripAdvisor have also warned others of going to the Wild Night strip club.

One wrote: 'It needs closing down. The girls pestering people to go in there are a nuisance. As our hotel was a few doors from this place we saw them non stop pestering guys to go to this club.

'We actually saw two British lads come from there in a bad way . They had been pepper sprayed. The police were present, they were pouring bottles of water over lads faces they could not open their eyes and were squealing.

'Obviously I don't know what went in there but after reading this given a good idea. Yes these bars, clubs whatever they call them are all over the world but on the main square of a city is a bit off putting.

'It certainly spoiled my holiday seeing what we saw while sitting having a coffee at restaurant on corner of the square. It definitely placed Krakow bottom of my city break list.

'The two guys we taken away in police van kicking and screaming while two big bouncers stood watching from club doorway.'

User Frantz warned: 'Stay away from this place. In short, we were pepper sprayed by security and badly beaten. The women tried to rob us for money.'

Another user, Lars, claimed he and his brother were spiked at the club. He said: 'When my brother paid, they added an extra zero to his bill turning it to 470 from 47.

'He said it was way too much and instead of getting his money back he got kicked out.'

MailOnline has contacted the UK Foreign Office for comment.

The arrests come after four other club employees, three women and a man were also arrested.

The club was raided last year along with 20 others nationwide in a crackdown following widespread complaints from ripped off customers who said they had been 'drugged and robbed'.

Footage released by Polish police showed how officers stormed the club, apprehending suspects and confiscating computers, cash and phones.

In the same year as Mr Cocks's death, a Turkish man also died in a strip bar owned by the same company in Wrocaw after downing five drinks in 20 minutes.

When he refused to drink any more, CCTV footage shows that a dancer forcibly poured two more glasses into his mouth.

The man collapsed to the floor, and eventually stopped breathing.

Meanwhile, a Scottish man said he popped into the Krakow joint for a beer and, after backing out, found his credit card had been stripped of nearly 1,000.

Polish police raided night clubs and arrested suspects last year during an investigation into an organised criminal group

Picture shows the monitoring centre in one of the strip clubs that was raided last year

Investigators previously explained how the organised web of clubs would rob their customers after getting them drunk and often fleeced them out of money.

The Polish Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP) said in a statement that they have filed over 700 criminal charges against the organised criminal group.

They said the clubs ran a racket where they systematically got punters drunk before robbing them.

Some were even persuaded to take out loans to cover 'debts' run up by the fraudsters.

Authorities this week said they had finally arrested the group who forced Mr Cocks to drink himself to death.

They also said: 'The man was not given medical assistance during the incident. Provisional arrests were made against those suspected of this act.'

The investigators also said that 'CBSP police officers detained another seven people suspected of robberies and fraud on customers of go-go-clubs.

'There are already 58 suspects in the case.'

The statement also said: 'The officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police are conducting an investigation into an organised criminal group extorting money from customers of go-go nightclubs.

'According to the findings of the investigators, the activities of the group were aimed at committing crimes to the detriment of club customers by leading them to a state of deprivation of awareness and perception [...].

Polish police raided a series of strip clubs in Poland last year and arrested dozens of suspects

Picture shows the monitoring centre in one of the strip clubs that was raided last year

'The perpetrators, taking advantage of the mental and physical condition of the victims, made payment transactions using payment cards or other financial instruments for goods and services allegedly offered in the club.

'In some cases, through electronic banking, on devices owned by customers, loans were also allowed to be taken or deposits or savings accounts were closed, and the funds accumulated there were transferred to the accounts of companies operating clubs.'

The statement continued: 'To the persons detained during the recent activities, the Prosecutor presented allegations of participation in an organised crime group, committing robberies and fraud to the detriment of clients of clubs from Krakow and Warsaw, among other charges. They include e.g. leading or participating in an organized criminal group.

'In the case, 31 arrests were also applied, property sureties in the amount of almost PLN 1.6million [250,000] and property with a total value of over PLN 6.8 million [1.3million] was secured,' the statement concluded.

Following Mr Cocks's death, his family paid tribute to the 36-year-old, who they described as 'always happy and upbeat'.

His mother Pat told Teesside Live in 2017: 'Everybody loved Mark, he was really the life and soul. He was always happy and upbeat, and positive.

'He didn't have a bad word about anyone, and nobody had a bad word about him.'

'Mark was supposed to walk me down the aisle when I get married next year,' Pat said at the time. 'He'll be missed so much by everyone.'
A woman who died after being pulled from the sea in Brighton during Storm Noa was a budding space scientist who 'inspired everyone around her'.

Sai Tejaswi Kommareddy, 24, was studying a master's in astronautics and space engineering at Cranfield University in Bedford.

She died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, after a huge emergency response was triggered following reports of a person in the water on April 11.

Storm Noa lashed the south coast and two people were killed after going into the sea at Brighton.

The university paid tribute to Ms Kommareddy who died after she was pulled from the water near Brighton Marina.

Sai Tejaswi Kommareddy, 24, died at the Royal Sussex County Hospital, Brighton, after a huge emergency response was triggered following reports of a person in the water on April 11

A Cranfield University spokeswoman said the university is 'deeply saddened' by Sai's death and is supporting her family, friends, and the university community.

'Our thoughts and heartfelt sympathies are with her family and friends at this incredibly difficult time,' said the spokeswoman.

'We know this loss is devastating and we are supporting friends, family and our wider student and staff community.

'We would encourage anyone affected by this news to reach out to our wellbeing team for support and advice.'

The master's student was vice president of the CranSEDS association, the university's branch of UKSEDS (UK Students for the Exploration and Development of Space), which is made up of students who are passionate about space exploration.

A gofundme page set up by her cousin to cover repatriation costs paid tribute to an 'incredibly bright and passionate student'.

'Sai was a driven and hardworking individual who dreamed of pursuing a career in aeronautics and space,' the tribute reads.

'She had a natural curiosity and a thirst for knowledge that inspired everyone around her.

'She had already made significant progress in her studies, but her dreams were cut short before she could achieve her full potential.'

She was taken away on a stretcher by paramedics, but tragically her death was confirmed the next day by Sussex Police, who said they were not treating the incident as suspicious

A coastguard helicopter from Lee-on-the-Solent in Hampshire was called to the incident.

A witness said that emergency services tried to save the 24-year-old's life by performing CPR.

She was taken away on a stretcher by paramedics, but tragically her death was confirmed the next day by Sussex Police, who said they were not treating the incident as suspicious.

A police spokesman said: 'Emergency services conducted a search off Brighton beach shortly after 4pm on Tuesday, April 11.

'Sadly, the body of a woman was found.

'Her next of kin have been informed.

'Her death is not being treated as suspicious and a report will be prepared for HM Coroner.'

An inquest into Sai's death opened in Brighton on Monday and has been adjourned until November 6.

Sai's loved ones are currently trying to get her body back to India.
Rishi Sunak branded Labour leader Keir Starmer 'Sir Softy' today as the leaders clashed over violent crime at Prime Minister's Questions.

They squared off in the Commons amid an ongoing furore over attack adverts targeting the PM personally, including accusing him of being weak on tackling sex attackers.

Mr Sunak used today's spicy session to hit back at Sir Keir, who was director of public prosecutions between 2008 and 2013, suggesting he had played a role in easing sentences for some of the worst offenders.

They clashed over the wider government record, with Sir Keir saying: 'He's living in another world to the rest of us. People waiting more than two days (from) an ambulance because they broke the NHS. Only one in a hundred rapists going to court because they broke the criminal justice system.

'A record number of small boats crossing the Channel because they broke the asylum system. People can't afford their bills, can't get the police to investigate crimes, can't get a doctors appointment. Does that really sound like pretty good shape to him?'

Mr Sunak replied: 'What's the record since 2010? Crime down by 50 per cent under the Conservative Government, 20,000 more police officers, we've given them more powers and we've toughened up sentencing - all opposed by Sir Softie over there.'

They clashed over the wider government record, with Sir Keir saying: 'He's living in another world to the rest of us. People waiting more than two days (from) an ambulance because they broke the NHS. Only one in a hundred rapists going to court because they broke the criminal justice system.'

Mr Sunak replied: 'What's the record since 2010? Crime down by 50 per cent under the Conservative Government, 20,000 more police officers, we've given them more powers and we've toughened up sentencing - all opposed by Sir Softie over there.'

The initial ad, which accused the Prime Minister of not wanting child sex abusers to go to prison, caused unease among the shadow Cabinet.

Sir Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister either does not use the same public services 'as the rest of us', or he 'simply can't see the damage they have done to our country'.

At Prime Minister's Questions, the Labour Leader said: 'Either the Prime Minister doesn't use the same public services as the rest of us or he simply can't see the damage they have done to our country.'

Sir Keir also said that in 2019, a 'convicted people smuggler threw boiling water over a prison officer, leaving him with first degree burns'.

He went on: 'The prison officer said it felt like acid, his face was on fire. His attacker was found guilty, received a prison sentence. Quite right in my view. Does the Prime Minister agree?'

Rishi Sunak said it was 'this Government that passed the Sentencing Act last year', adding: 'It toughened up sentences and the average custodial sentence has now increased since 2010 by almost two thirds. For child sex abusers is up by 15 months and for rapists is up by two years.

'And when our Sentencing Act ended the automatic early release of offenders who pose a danger to the public it was the Labour Party who voted against it.'

The initial ad, which accused the Prime Minister of not wanting child sex abusers to go to prison, caused unease among the shadow Cabinet.

Labour is hoping to benefit in England's May 4 local elections as the Tories continue to lag in national polls.

Sir Keir Starmer's latest attack advert blasted Akshata Murty's use of non-dom tax status while living in Downing Street at the same time millions of Britons were struggling with a cost-of-living crisis.

The Twitter post highlighted analysis of official data and said that, under the Tories, '4,500 adults convicted of sexually assaulting children under-16 served no prison time'.

It shared a photo of the Prime Minister alongside the words: 'Do you think adults convicted of sexually assaulting children should go to prison? Rishi Sunak doesn't.'

Senior figures including former home secretary Lord David Blunkett called for it to be withdrawn, saying Labour is better than 'gutter' politics.

Last week the Mail revealed this week, between 2011 and 2013 he attended 21 meetings of the Sentencing Council at which guideline tariffs for such offences were set.

In 2012, Her Majestys Crown Prosecution Service inspectorate found that, under Starmer, incompetence by CPS prosecutors was causing the collapse of an estimated 63,000 cases a year.

A highly critical report by the Policy Exchange think-tank the same year found that 25million a year was being wasted because one in 10 cases (another 88,000 a year) was being abandoned.

Despite calling Sunak soft on child sex offenders, Sir Keir failed during his reign to do much to increase conviction rates, either. The year he joined, the CPS achieved 3,011 convictions from 4,029 prosecutions. When he left, the figures were 3,070 and 4,051.
A quiet cul-de-sac has been left looking like a tip after building waste was dumped by fly-tippers in balaclavas on a site destined for 45 new homes.

Residents in North London were left horrified after watching trucks of rubbish pull into the street to dump their loads in less than four days.

The site, which used to house a care home, will now have to be cleared, which is expected to cost developers Newlon Housing Trust over 10,000.

Locals on Grove Road and Massey Close in New Southgate reported seeing two men, thought to be in their mid-30s, using a bolt cutter to gain entry to the site shortly before 6pm on April 11.

They then saw dozens of trucks per day, all filled with rubbish, arriving and dumping their waste before driving off again.

Residents of Grove Road and Massey Close in New Southgate were left horrified after watching trucks packed sky-high with rubbish pull into the quiet street to dump their loads in less than four days

Residents are worried about the coming summer heat, adding the site is already filled with pests

The fly-tippers are said to have left the site for good on Saturday, by which time two police cars were stationed nearby.

For now, 24/7 security guards with dogs are on site to stop any more damage.

Multiple locals are said to have called police as they saw the men appearing to enter the site illegally, but claimed they were told by officers that they would need video evidence for anything to be done.

It was revealed last week that fly-tippers avoid prosecution at the highest rate in London, with just 0.05 percent of 406,000 reported cases leading to a prosecution.

Residents told how a caravan was brought onto the site, making it a designated campsite, with children seen staying there overnight.

One said she felt 'so intimidated' by the situation she was scared to leave her home for work.

Saeed Jamli, 42, lives in a maisonette overlooking the site and first noticed the dumpsters arriving the middle of the night. He said: 'Now we are thinking about the rubbish and rats and mice. It's not a good view.'

Courier Hamed Khaki Sanati, 38, added: 'I don't know what is going on, now it's everywhere. It's very ugly. It's not summer yet and you can imagine what's going to happen soon, just the rats.'

Some residents said they challenged the 'cowboys' but got abuse, while others said the dumpers posed as builders to lie about what they were doing.

Locals said the fly-tippers acted threateningly towards them and camped on the site for four days

One tenant in a nearby block said: 'I saw them changing licence plates and wearing balaclavas. Those guys, honest to God the rent you pay in this place to live next to that.

'Every time I tried to take a photo of their plates they started with threatening behaviour.'

They added they had recently had their rent put up by 8 per cent.

Another described how the four days of hell began: 'Two guys  about 35  went up to the gate and snapped it open with bolt cutters. The police were there in five minutes but they could not do anything.

'They said if you don't have a video we can't do anything. They put a caravan in and claimed it as a campsite so the police stayed off their tail.

'There were about 70 trucks a day and that's speaking conservatively. I once saw 20 trucks in two hours.

'They filled it up f**king quick. They filled up the whole space Friday, smashing the windows and taking anything they could. They take rubbish there for a discounted rate.'

One of the men reportedly returned on Saturday to collect a Mitsubishi off-roader which had been left behind. Police were still in the area at the time, it is understood.

'It's been stressful and concerning,' one said. 'I was worried about it being a campsite.

'When it was happening it took over my job. I work from home and every day I was phoning the police, the landlord, and security. Taking photos was like having a full-time job. I was also worried when I was leaving the house.'

Newlon Housing Trust told MailOnline: 'We responded as soon as we were made aware of the incident at Coppice Wood Lodge and liaised directly with the local authority and the police so that the site could be secured.

'We also applied for a possession order but the fly tippers left the site ahead of us enforcing this.

'The site was vacant and fully hoarded with patrolling security cover at the start of the incident. The site is being redeveloped to provide 40 new affordable homes. Works were due to start this week but will be delayed now until after the site has been cleared.

'We now have 24/7 security in place and will maintain a high level of security until works start on site. We fully understand the concerns of local residents about the way that the site has been left and will be working with our contractors to ensure it is cleared up as a matter of urgency.

'We will also continue to work closely with the police and the local authority.'

The Metropolitan Police have been approached for comment.
A coroner has ruled that the Oxford-AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine should be added to the death certificate of a 'fit and healthy' NHS doctor who died ten days after receiving the jab.

Dr Stephen Wright, 32, who worked as a clinical psychologist in south-east London, suffered a blood clot to the brain after having his first dose of the jab in January 2021. He was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic.

Senior coroner Andrew Harris today described the case as 'very unusual and deeply tragic'. A small group of people, Dr Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, the inquest at London Inner South Coroner's Court heard.

There have been at least 75 confirmed deaths relating to Covid jabs recorded in the UK. The frontline worker is one of the latest to have 'vaccine-induced thrombosis' ruled as his cause of death.

Charlotte Wright with husband Dr Stephen Wright. Dr Wright, 32, who worked as a clinical psychologist in south-east London , suffered a blood clot to the brain after having his first dose of the jab in January 2021

Dr Stephen Wright, 32, (pictured) died ten days after receiving his first dose of Covid-19 jab

Dr Wright's widow Charlotte (pictured outside London Inner South Coroner's Court) holding a picture of her husband Stephen

Dr Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and 'vaccine-induced thrombosis'.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to King's College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.

Regarding the official documents detailing Dr Wright's death, Mr Harris said 'it is very important to record as fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine  but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca'.

He said: 'Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16, 2021, awoke with a headache on January 25 and later developed left arm numbness.

His widow Mrs Wright (pictured), is considering taking legal action against the pharmaceutical giant

'He attended an A&E department just after midnight where was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis.

'He was transferred to King's College Hospital at 6.39am but, due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery.'

Work is under way to try and understand why severe reactions the jabs can happen, the inquest was told.

Mr Harris said: 'My understanding is that this condition is rare. Causes are being examined by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).

'It seems to me that there is not an action one can take at the moment.

'It is being looked at and there are reports being given to the Government from the MHRA and there is advice on the matter.'

Medical experts told the court nothing could be done to save Dr Wright as his condition quickly worsened.

Dr Wright with his wife Charlotte who paid tribute to her late husband outside court today

Earlier, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the body's first response to try and stop bleeding and are important for clotting.

He said: 'There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation.

'When you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.'

Dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at King's College Hospital, said scientists and medical experts were not aware of the vaccine's possible deadly side effects because Dr Wright's case happened so early in its rollout.

He said: 'Stephen was a very fit, young and healthy man in January 2021.

'It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-meant vaccination. We had no knowledge that this was a potential side effect at this time.

'It's not fully understood why this happens. It's an idiosyncratic reaction. The circumstances arise in a very small number of people.

'There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence. It was a rare and unintended consequence.'

His widow, Charlotte Wright, had fought to get the 'natural causes' wording on her husband's death certificate amended and is considering taking legal action against the pharmaceutical giant.

After the inquest, she said: 'It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca.

'For us, it allows us to be able to continue our litigation against AstraZeneca. 'This is the written proof.'

She said: 'I think we're only going to get that when we have an answer from AstraZeneca and the Government.'

Speaking to the BBC outside court, mother-of-two Mrs Wright, from Sevenoaks, Kent, said the coroner's ruling 'provides relief but it doesn't provide closure'.

Paying tribute to her late husband, she continued: 'I'm just very thankful that I got to marry such a great man and raise our boys in his honour.'

A spokesman for AstraZeneca said: 'We are very saddened by Stephen Wrights death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.

'Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.

'From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

'The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine.'

There have been at least 75 confirmed deaths relating to Covid jabs recorded in the UK. However, these are not broken down by brand.

At least a dozen named Brits are reported to have died following blood clots triggered by a rare side effect of the AstraZeneca jab.

The inquest into Dr Wright's death comes after the widower of a BBC presenter who died from coronavirus vaccine complications launched legal action against AstraZeneca with others whose 'relatives died or suffered injuries related to the jab'.

Mother-of-one Lisa Shaw, 44, died from 'vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia' in May 2021, about a week after receiving her first Covid jab. She worked for BBC Radio Newcastle.

Gareth Eve says he has 'no alternative' but to pursue legal action against AstraZeneca after his wife, BBC Radio Newcastle presenter Lisa Shaw, died from coronavirus vaccine complications

Ms Shaw died from 'vaccine-induced thrombotic thrombocytopenia' in May 2021, about a week after receiving her first Covid jab

HOW MUCH COULD THE FAMILIES WIN? The claimants have taken legal action against AstraZeneca under the Consumer Protection Act 1987. It is understood that they are pursuing damages on the basis that the Covid vaccine was a 'defective product in that it was not as safe as consumers generally were reasonably entitled to expect'. The claimants have also demanded payment under the Government's Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme. The Government says that if a person is 'severely disabled' as a result of a vaccination against certain diseases, they could get a one-off tax-free payment of 120,000. One can also apply for this payment on behalf of someone who has died after becoming severely disabled because of certain vaccinations. The relative must be managing their estate to apply. The Vaccine Damage Payment is not a compensation scheme. Applicants can still take legal action to claim compensation, even if they get a payment from the scheme, the Government says. Advertisement

Lawyers for her husband, Gareth Eve, reportedly sent pre-action protocol letters to AstraZeneca last year on the behalf of about 75 people who allege that their relatives died or suffered injuries related to the vaccine.

Mr Eve reportedly spent two years trying to get the Government, MPs and three prime ministers to address what happened to his wife and now feels he has 'no alternative' but to pursue legal action.

Mr Eve, who is vaccinated himself, says the lawsuit is not about 'whether somebody is anti-vax' but about those who lost loved ones and have been 'made to feel like it's a dirty secret'.

'It's not about Covid, it's not about how many lives the Covid vaccination has saved, it's about what this vaccination has done to Lisa and other families,' he told the BBC.

Mr Eve said he sought legal action after two years of failed attempts to contact officials, alleging no one had 'reached out or engaged with us at all'.

He reiterated that he and the fellow claimants are 'not crackpots or conspiracy theorists' but instead family members who lost someone because of the vaccine.

'These things have happened to too many people and we're made to feel like it's a dirty secret, that we're talking about something we shouldn't be talking about.'

The father of one said the lawsuit is aimed at drawing attention to 'what this vaccination has done to Lisa and other families'.

He added that it's been established that his wife's death was 'caused by AstraZeneca's Covid vaccination'.

Mr Eve said he is seeking 'some sort of acknowledgement or recognition that these deaths have occurred'.

He also stated that the complaint is not about financial compensation because no amount of money is 'going to bring my son's mam back'.

Mr Eve is pursuing a lawsuit after he reportedly spent two years trying to address the vaccine-related deaths and illnesses with UK leaders

How many people have died after taking the AstraZeneca jab? There have been 75 confirmed deaths relating to Covid jabs recorded in the UK. However, these are not broken down by brand. But at least a dozen named Brits are reported to have died following blood clots triggered by a rare side effect of the AstraZeneca jab. And Government agency the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency, which tracks the safety of drugs and jabs used in Britain, has received 1,368 reports of a fatality following a AstraZeneca vaccination. It should be noted that these reports don't mean the death was actually caused by the jab as it may have just been coincidence or another health condition or disease entirely. One of the youngest victims is thought to be 18-year-old Kasey Turner, who died in February 2021, two weeks after receiving the AstraZeneca jab. The student paramedic from Barnsley, south Yorkshire was admitted to hospital after experiencing intense headaches. It was later shown to be a cerebral venous thrombosis, an extremely rare complication of the vaccine itself. The side effect was so rare that it wasn't spotted in the initial trials involving tens of thousands of people before being given the green light in December 2020. British health chiefs eventually recommended in May that the jab only be offered to over-40s because the potential risks outweighed the benefits of protection from Covid for younger people. Advertisement

The claimants have taken legal action against AstraZeneca under the Consumer Protection Act 1987.

It is understood that they are pursuing damages on the basis that the Covid vaccine was a 'defective product in that it was not as safe as consumers generally were reasonably entitled to expect'.

The claimants have also demanded money from the Government's vaccine damage payment scheme.

The Government says that if a person is 'severely disabled' as a result of a vaccination against certain diseases, they could get a one-off tax-free payment of 120,000.

The vaccine damage payment is not a compensation scheme. Applicants can still take legal action to claim compensation  even if they get a payment from the scheme.

The Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine was first approved for use in the UK in December 2020 when the Government ordered 100million doses of it as part of its inoculation programme. The jab was rolled out alongside Pfizer's Covid vaccine.

Ms Shaw died from a vaccine-linked condition that induces brain swelling and bleeding the following May.

A Department for Health and Social Care spokesman told MailOnline: 'More than 144million Covid vaccines have been given in England, which has helped the country to live with Covid and saved thousands of lives.

'All vaccines being used in the UK have undergone robust clinical trials and have met the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agencys (MHRA) strict standards of safety, effectiveness and quality.

'The Vaccine Damage Payments Scheme (VDPS) provides financial support to help ease the burden on individuals who have, in extremely rare circumstances, been severely disabled or died due to receiving a government-recommended vaccine.'

Similarly, a spokesman for AstraZeneca  declining to comment on pending litigation  told MailOnline that patient safety is its 'highest priority'.

'We are unable to comment on ongoing legal matters. Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines. Our sympathy goes out to anyone who has reported health problems,' they said.

'AstraZeneca and regulatory authorities, carefully record and assess all reports of potential adverse events associated with use of Vaxzevria.

'From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

'The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine.

'Over 3billion doses of the vaccine have been supplied to more than 180 countries and, according to independent estimates, Vaxzevria helped to save more than six million lives worldwide in the first year of availability alone (December 2020 to December 2021).'
Ron DeSantis is making his first swing through the early primary state of South Carolina on Wednesday as he continues to lose the endorsement battle with former President Donald Trump.

The Florida governor, who has not yet announced a presidential run despite every indication he intends to do so, will speak in North Charleston, Summerville and Spartanburg about his Florida Blueprint.

Visits by popular politicians to South Carolina, along with Iowa and New Hampshire, are indicative they are weighing a presidential run.

Before heading to South Carolina, DeSantis made a familiar stop at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to meet with lawmakers where he once served as a congressman for Florida. He will also head back to the nation's capital on Friday for remarks at the Heritage Foundation Leadership Summit.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to rake in endorsements for his 2024 White House run from lawmakers in Washington  including several of those from the Florida Republican delegation.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis is making two stops for remarks in South Carolina on Wednesday as he inches closer toward a presidential run. Pictured: DeSantis departs an event Tuesday in Washington, DC

After meeting face-to-face with Texas Rep. Lance Gooden the lawmaker, who said he had a 'positive meeting,' endorsed Trump

Walking away from his meetings Tuesday, two more Republicans levied their endorsements for the former president over the highly popular governor of their state.

Reps. Brian Mast of Florida and Lance Gooden of Texas said they would be supporting Trump's primary run. Even after Gooden said he had a 'positive meeting' face-to-face with DeSantis on Tuesday.

This brings the total number of endorsements for Trump to seven out of the 20 Republican congressmen from Florida.

Florida GOP Rep. Greg Steube, who also endorsed Trump over DeSantis and recently made headlines for a freak accident where he fell off a ladder, said the governor never reached out or replied to him during his time in the House.

The congressman told Politico that he made multiple attempts to connect with DeSantis and said he was snubbed from being able to stand alongside the governor during an event on Hurricane Ian relief.

DeSantis has earned one official endorsement from a Florida lawmaker, despite not yet officially entering the running. Rep. Laurel Lee is a freshman congresswoman who previously served as Florida's secretary of State under DeSantis.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie have also endorsed DeSantis.

Trump has to date received 45 endorsements in the House and nine in the Senate.

Despite hemorrhaging endorsements to Trump, however, the governor still seems to be chugging full steam ahead toward a presidential run.

Trump and DeSantis are widely seen as the two front-runners for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination  even though DeSantis has not yet announced a bid

Seven of the 20 Republican House members in Florida have endorsed Trump already  this includes Reps. Brian Mast (left) and Greg Steube (right)

The Palmetto State already has two native candidates vying for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination  former Gov. Nikki Haley, who also served as Trump's Ambassador to the United Nations, and Sen. Tim Scott, who has not officially launched a bid but did announce a presidential exploratory committee earlier this month.

Despite this, DeSantis still comes second in the polling in South Carolina  only being bested by Trump. One poll, however, did show Haley only 2 percent behind the widely popular Florida leader.

Trump has claimed that if DeSantis does officially launch a bid it would be 'disloyal,' because his backing of the former congressman in 2018 helped propel him into the office where he currently serves.

The former president has also taken to nicknaming and frequently referring to the Florida governor as 'DeSanctimonious,' and has railed against him in multiple posts on his Truth Social platform.
Dominic Raab is paying for his own lawyers as he faces an investigation into bullying claims against him, it was disclosed today.

The Deputy Prime Minister is continuing to be probed by top barrister Adam Tolley KC over his treatment of Whitehall officials.

Mr Tolley is expected to hand his findings to Rishi Sunak within days, at which point the Prime Minister will have to decide whether to keep Mr Raab in his job.

But the Cabinet minister's determination to defend his reputation during Mr Tolley's investigation has been revealed by the latest register of ministerial interests.

The document, published this morning, states that Mr Raab 'has engaged lawyers at his own expense' in relation to the barrister's inquiry.

Dominic Raab is paying for his own lawyers as he faces an investigation into bullying claims against him, it was disclosed today

The latest register of ministerial interests states the Deputy PM 'has engaged lawyers at his own expense' in relation to the inquiry

Mr Raab is continuing to be probed by top barrister Adam Tolley KC over his treatment of Whitehall officials

The Deputy PM, who is also Justice Secretary, has previously said he is 'confident' he behaved 'in a professional way' throughout his time in various ministerial roles.

He is facing eight formal complaints about his behaviour, which reportedly involve multiple accusers, from across his time at the Ministry of Justice, Foreign Office and Department for Exiting the EU.

Mr Tolley's probe into Mr Raab began in November amid lurid allegations about his treatment of civil servants.

This included the claim, which Mr Raab denies, that he once hurled tomatoes from a Pret A Manger salad across a table in a fit of rage.

Downing Street is braced to receive the findings from Mr Tolley's investigation very shortly.

It is expected the barrister, described as 'an encyclopaedia of employment law', will present a factual report to the PM.

Mr Sunak will then have to take a decision as to whether Mr Raab can continue as a Cabinet minister.

Downing Street has previously stressed how Mr Sunak is the ultimate 'arbiter' on whether there has been a breach of ministerial rules.

'We are under the impression that we will receive it this week,' a government source told The Times.

'It genuinely could go either way so we are preparing for everything.

'If it is fairly clear-cut we would expect to publish quickly but it is only going to make findings of fact, so if it is more finely balanced it might take longer.'

Today's publication of an updated register of ministerial interests comes after a near year-long wait for details of the financial affairs of Government members.

It followed a row over shares held by Mr Sunak's wife Akshata Murty in a childcare company set to benefit from reforms to the sector announced at last month's Budget.

The PM is under investigation by the House of Commons' sleaze watchdog over his alleged failure to properly declare his wife's interest in the Koru Kids firm.
Germany's President Frank-Walter Steinmeier slammed Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin for Ukraine invasion in a solemn memorial speech to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising against the Nazis in Poland.

'With his illegal attack on a peaceful, democratic neighbouring country... the Russian president has broken international law... This war brings immeasurable suffering, violence, destruction and death to the people of Ukraine,' Steinmeier said at the uprising commemoration.

Steinmeier said the lessons of his own country's aggression throughout Europe during the Second World War hold a lesson as Russia's attack on Ukraine has 'destroyed the foundations of our European security order'.

'You in Poland, you in Israel, you know from your history that freedom and independence must be fought for and defended. You know how important it is for a democracy to defend itself,' the German President said as he stood alongside presidents Isaac Herzog of Israel and Andrzej Duda of Poland.

'But we Germans have also learned the lessons of our history. ''Never again'' means that there must be no criminal war of aggression like Russia's against Ukraine in Europe.'

Steinmeier's words honoured the hundreds of young Jews wasting away in Warsaw's ghettos who took up arms in 1943 to fight back against the overwhelming might of the Nazi German army.

But they also highlighted the irony of Putin's declaration that he had sent his forces to invade Ukraine in the name of 'denazification'.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks at an event on the occasion of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

Menorah with a burning flame in front of the Warsaw Ghetto Heroes Monument during the celebrations related to the 80th anniversary of the outbreak of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in Warsaw, Poland 19 April 2023

Emergency workers rescue an injured elderly man from a partially destroyed residential building after a shelling in Sloviansk, on April 14, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier along with his wife Elke Budenbender, Israeli President Isaac Herzog along with wife Michal Herzog and Polish President Andrzej Duda along with his wife Agata Kornhauser-Duda meet on the occasion of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, in front of the Warsaw Ghetto monument in Warsaw, Poland, April 19, 2023

The Jewish rebellion was ruthlessly crushed by a horde of Hitler's SS paratroopers over the course of several months, but it remains one of World War II's foremost symbols of resistance in the face of fascism.

The small number of elderly surviving witnesses today were mostly children at the time of the revolt, and there are no surviving fighters still alive.

Marek Edelman, the last surviving commander, died in 2009. He remained in Poland and helped keep alive the memory of the revolt in his homeland.

Simcha Rotem, a fighter who smuggled others out of the burning ghetto through sewage tunnels, died in 2018 in Israel, where he settled.

The commemorations took place in front of the Memorial to the Ghetto Heroes where the fighting erupted, led by three presidents whose nations were forever shaped by World War II.

Israel was founded after the war to give Jews a home where they could finally be safe after centuries of persecution in Europe - though this sparked the Arab-Israeli war which fuelled the conflict between Israel and Palestine that endures to this day.

Germany, which inflicted death and destruction across the vast areas that it occupied, has acknowledged its crimes and expressed remorse.

Steinmeier once again begged forgiveness.

'As German Federal President, I stand before you today and bow to the courageous fighters in the Warsaw ghetto,' Steinmeier said. 'I bow to the dead in deep sorrow.'

And Poland, where Europe's largest prewar Jewish population lived and which was invaded and subjected to mass death and destruction, carries out its responsibility of preserving sites like the ghetto and the Auschwitz death camp, while also honouring the massive losses inflicted on the entire nation.

Some 6 million Polish citizens were killed during the war, about 3 million of them Jews and the others mostly Christian Poles.

A file photo showing German soldiers walking past a burning building during the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

In an act of defiance that left 13,000 Jews dead, the fight back was an attempt to stop the Nazis deporting those inside the ghetto to the death camps of Treblinka and Majdanek. Above: Resistance fighters, including women, surrender after being defeated (file photo)

Ruined, smoking buildings in the aftermath of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising are seen as German soldiers look on

A group in Warsaw's so-called 'Aryan sector' gaze at the destruction being wrought by Hitler's forces as they crush the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

'Dear President Duda, dear President Herzog, many people in your two countries, in Poland and in Israel, have granted us Germans reconciliation despite these crimes,' Steinmeier said, calling that a 'miracle of reconciliation' to be preserved into the future.

Some of those participating in Wednesday's observances travelled from as far as Australia and the United States to honour those who perished, but also the rich Jewish civilization that is their heritage. Many hold their own private ceremonies, paying tribute to those departed at the Jewish cemetery or at various memorials on the former grounds of the ghetto.

Avi Valevski, a professor of psychiatry from Israel whose father, Ryszard Walewski, a doctor who led a group of some 150 warriors in the revolt, visited Warsaw with his wife, describing it as 'more than an emotional moment.'

Valevski, 72, is working to carry on a history that his father rarely spoke to him about but also carries an emotional burden. He was young when his father became ill and died 1971, but today pores through the documentation his father left behind, and is trying to get one of his stories translated into English and published.

'He was quite proud of his fight against the 'Nazi beast' - his words - but I suppose that the feeling of apprehension entered my soul until now,' Valevski said.

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier speaks at an event on the occasion of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in front of the Warsaw Ghetto monument in Warsaw, Poland, April 19, 2023

Poland today marks 80 years since the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising

The Germans invaded Poland in 1939 and the next year set up the ghetto, the largest of many in occupied Poland.

It initially held some 380,000 Jews who were cramped into tight living spaces, and at its peak housed about a half-million souls. Disease and starvation were rampant, and bodies often appeared on the streets.

The Jewish resistance movement in the Warsaw ghetto grew after 265,000 men, women and children were rounded up in the summer of 1942 and killed at the Treblinka death camp. As word of the Nazi genocide spread, those who remained behind no longer believed German promises that they would be sent to labour camps.

A small group of rebels began to spread calls for resistance, carrying out isolated acts of sabotage and attacks. Some Jews began defying German orders to report for deportation.

The uprising began when the Nazis entered the ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of the Passover holiday. Three days later, the Nazis set the ghetto ablaze, turning it into a fiery death trap, but the Jewish fighters kept up their struggle for nearly a month before they were brutally vanquished. That was longer than some countries held out.

'I'm a New Yorker but there is something that keeps drawing me back here,' said Barbara Jolson Blumenthal, whose parents survived the Warsaw Ghetto after a Pole helped them to escape and hide on the 'Aryan' side of the city, while many other members of their families were murdered.

'And although such horrible things happened here, I remember my parents saying that they loved it here, that it was so wonderful here, and I walk the streets and I wonder if this is where my family was and where they walked,' Blumenthal said.
The boss of voting technology firm Dominion today hailed its record-breaking $787.5million Fox News defamation settlement as a 'big step forward in democracy'.

John Poulos told Good Morning America it was important for the political system to 'send a signal that if media companies lie ... and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very, very high price.'

Fox settled at the eleventh hour Tuesday after Dominion alleged the conservative network knowingly aired false claims that its machines were used to rig the 2020 presidential election.

The agreement to end the case avoided what most experts suggested would have been a damaging, high-profile trial for the channel in which owner Rupert Murdoch and primetime stars like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity would have been compelled to testify in open court.

Now Dominion marches on with lawsuits against right-wing network Newsmax as well as Trump allies Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell and Mike Lindell.

John Poulos told Good Morning America it was important for the political system to 'send a signal that if media companies lie ... and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very, very high price'

Rupert Murdoch avoided having to testify in open court after settling for more than $780million Tuesday

Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, and other on-air stars, were deposed in the case last year

It's a big step forward in democracy if our system can send a signal that if media companies lie ... and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very, very high price.  Dominion Voting Systems CEO John Poulos on $787.5 million settlement reached with Fox News. pic.twitter.com/Wtx9BXFAXF  Good Morning America (@GMA) April 19, 2023

Meanwhile Fox is staring down the barrel of a $2.7billion lawsuit from another voting technology company, Smartmatic, over its coverage of debunked election-rigging claims. Legal experts suggested the settlement with Dominion handed Smartmatic a 'bargaining chip.'

Referring to the Fox case, Poulos told GMA: 'The fact is [Fox] published falsehoods about us and it wasn't just once or twice, it wasn't just on one day or two days, it was 20 statements over two-and-a-half months.

'This was not the case of a media company pursuing the truth and making a mistake. They knew.'

Judge Eric Davis announced the last-minute agreement after the 12 jurors had been selected and the Delaware Superior Court was readying to hear opening arguments.

Fox News said in a statement it was 'pleased' to have ended the dispute and added: 'We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false.'

Knoxville media law professor Stuart Brotman today warned that the settlement was a boon for Smartmatic which alleges Fox knowingly spread false claims that its software was used to flip votes. Conspiracy theorists erroneously claimed Smartmatic owned Dominion, and the companies mounted similar allegations in their lawsuits.

'Smartmatic now has a bargaining chip, and Fox has shown it is willing to take out its checkbook and write a big check,' said Brotman. 'From Foxs standpoint, now that they realize they can get a successful settlement, they have a basis for a real discussion with Smartmatic.'

Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly said in a statement Tuesday the company is committed to clearing its name, recouping the damage done to it and 'holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.'

Jeanine Pirro interviewing Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who is also being sued by Dominion in a separate lawsuit. They are pictured on November 14, 2020

The suit also slams the network for allowing guests such as former New York mayor and Trump cohort, Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on air to peddle conspiracy theories about voter fraud unchallenged and unchecked

Fox denies the allegations, saying in a recent statement the network had a right to report on highly newsworthy allegations of voter fraud. It has also called Smartmatic's damages claims 'outrageous, unsupported, and not rooted in sound financial analysis.'

Fox was recently dealt a setback in the case after an appeals court declined to toss it, finding Smartmatic alleged in 'detailed fashion' how Fox 'effectively endorsed and participated' in defamation.

Dominion boss Poulos told reporters yesterday outside the court that Fox had 'admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees, and our customers. Nothing can ever make up for that.'

The proceedings, trailed by the New York Times as 'the defamation trial of the century,' had been due to test the limits of free speech rights for media in America when willfully broadcasting misinformation.

The agreement does not require Fox hosts to apologize on-air or admit spreading falsehoods.

Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6billion in March 2021, alleging it promoted Donald Trump's baseless claim that its machines were used to rig the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden.

Dominion argued that Fox aired the lies despite knowing they were untrue.

It said the network began endorsing Trump's conspiracy because the channel was losing audience to smaller rivals after it became the first television outlet to call the southwestern state of Arizona for Biden, effectively projecting the Democrat would win the presidency.

The trial has been widely viewed as a test of whether Fox's coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the heedless pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleges and Fox denies

Fox News denied defamation. It claimed it was only reporting on Trump's allegations, not supporting them, and was protected by free speech rights enshrined in the First Amendment of the US Constitution.

The protection makes it difficult for plaintiffs to win defamation suits in the United States.

In pre-trial hearings, Davis ruled that there was no question Fox aired false statements about Dominion.

For Dominion to have won however, it would have been required to prove that Fox News acted with actual malice - knowing the information was wrong or having a 'reckless disregard' for the truth.

The tough burden has been a bedrock of US media law since 1964.

Dominion released a trove of internal Fox News communications in which some commentators and executives balked at Trump's claims and even expressed a dislike of the ex-president despite praising him on air - evidence, it said, of malice.

A filing showed that Murdoch described comments by former Trump advisors Giuliani and Powell pushing Trump's claim that the election was stolen from him as 'really crazy stuff. And damaging.'

Murdoch also admitted in a deposition in the case that some on-air hosts had 'endorsed' the lie but he denied that the network in its entirety had pushed it, according to court documents filed by Dominion.

Carlson told staff he couldn't wait until he could 'ignore Trump most nights,' adding: 'I hate him passionately.'

Fox News accused Dominion of 'cherry-picking and taking quotes out of context.'

John Culhane, a professor at Delaware Law School at Widener University, said high-profile Fox names defending themselves in court would have been much worse for the network than the settlement.

'The audio would have been replayed a thousand times, forever,' he said.

Fox News has overcome several crises in recent years and was the most watched cable news channel for a seventh year in a row last year, well ahead of competitors MSNBC and CNN.

It employs some traditional news reporters, but the majority of its airtime is given to conservative commentators, including in prime-time shows.

'The network has been completely exposed as a partisan propaganda outlet that is willing to do anything for profit and power,' said Media Matters advocacy group president Angelo Carusone, reacting to the settlement.
Do you know the passenger? Email us: james.gant@mailonline.co.uk

Do you know the passenger? Email us: james.gant@mailonline.co.uk

After landing at Orlando Airport, the shouting passenger was seen surrounded by authorities - including police officers - because of the disruption he caused

A Southwest Airlines passenger has been recorded in midair screaming and swearing at the parents of a child that would not stop crying.

The epic tantrum - thrown by the grown man, not the toddler - left other passengers in hysterics as he screamed and claimed the baby was crying nonstop for 45 minutes before the plane landed in Orlando, Florida.

The ordeal unfolded when their flight was forced into a holding pattern around the area outside Palm Beach due to a bad weather front.

Clearly frustrated by the wailing infant, the man started his raucous rant about how he paid a ticket to have a comfortable flight, but those plans were derailed by the baby's screams.

The video, which has already amassed 167,000 views, was uploaded to TikTok yesterday, on the day that Southwest Airlines grounded their entire nationwide fleet, causing 2,000 journeys to be delayed.

The furious passenger was later seen inside the airport being escorted away by police, after refusing to disembark the aircraft following his row.

It is unknown if Orlando was the plane's final destination or if it landed to boot the unruly passenger off.

The Southwest Airlines passenger (right) had a screaming fit because a child wouldn't stop crying as the woman, sitting next to him, tried to calm him down with little success

The passenger was approached by authorities, including police, when they finally arrived at Orlando Airport after reportedly refusing to get off the flight according to witnesses

Do YOU know the passenger? Email us: james.gant@mailonline.co.uk Advertisement

During his foul tirade, directed at the parents of the shrieking child and flight staff, the rowdy passenger said: 'There is a child crying on the flight, non-f***ing-stop.

'Calm the child down, please. I'm not screaming. Do you want me to scream? I'll f***ing scream.

'We are in a f***ing tin can with a baby in a goddamn echo chamber and you wanna talk to me about being f***ing ok?'

The Southwest worker, trying to calm the situation, said to him: 'Ok, because you're yelling...'

But he was quickly cut off with the man shouting back: 'So is the baby!'

When the air steward tried to rebut and say that it is different because he is in fact a grown adult, the shouting customer yelled: 'Did that motherf***er pay extra to yell?

'F**k you and shut up.'

When the staff member asked him to lower his voice, he shouted back: 'Can you lower THAT voice?' in reference to the child's howling.

As the woman sitting next to him quickly tried to calm him down, the angry passenger was heard saying: 'I don't give a f**k.

'F**k, lower that baby's voice. I'm triggered, f**k that baby.'

Multiple members of the airline's staff also tried to reason with the screaming passenger - to no avail. In the video, he said that he was asleep with his headphones in, but was still disturbed by the child.

Throughout the clip, the child's wailing could be heard in the background.

Some passengers were left laughing at the man - who did not stop screaming about the wailing infant

Other passengers were left speechless after the tirade - which ended up causing more disruption than the crying baby

After the air steward seemingly tried to reprimand him for his expletive-ridden attack, he added: 'I know an attorney just like you motherf****r, I got rights.'

'If I hadn't have said anything, we would be sitting on this motherf*****g flight with a kid crying for 45 minutes. Bulls**t.'

The airborne saga did not end there with witnesses saying said the rowdy passenger refused to get off of the plane in Orlando - forcing the entire flight to be deplaned.

The passenger was later seen in the terminal surrounded by authorities - including police officers - as he pleaded his case and claimed that his actions were justified because he shouldn't have been disturbed.

He was then marched through the airport by police officers.

Orlando Police refused to comment and it is unclear if faces any charges or action from the airline.

Southwest Airlines told Today.com in a statement: 'We do not have details on this flight to share but commend our flight crew for their professionalism and offer our apologies to the other customers onboard.'

The ordeal left social media users in hysterics - with one commenting: 'Have we tried swaddling this man? He needs some soothing techniques.'

A second person added: 'Difficult situation all around, but that guy is so hilarious. Like every line was a masterpiece.'

Another said: 'Ya know...as someone who doesn't have kids...I get it,' as a fourth added: 'I feel his pain.'

A fifth said: 'I get his frustration but umm, it's a child. He made it worse. When he said did the baby pay extra I hollered.'

Other people were more sympathetic towards the mother of the child, writing: 'I just know the mom is traumatized to fly again.'

Another social media user said: 'Everyone on the plane was thinking it, but he was the one to say it and he said it badly.'

Airline staff (pictured) tried to reason with the screaming passenger - to no avail

The incident comes days after Toronto Blue Jays star Anthony Bass added fuel to the fiery debate about airplane etiquette after tweeting about his recent flight saga.

The 35-year-old, who is from Michigan but plays for the MLB team in Canada, posted a Twitter photo on Sunday of his two toddler daughters on a flight playing on electronic devices with popcorn strewn all over the floor.

In the accompanying caption, the sportsman - whose spouse was traveling alone - explained that the flight attendant on the trip had 'made' his wife clean up their kids' food mess, while voicing outrage over the situation.

'The flight attendant @united just made my 22 week pregnant wife traveling with a five year old and two year old get on her hands and knees to pick up the popcorn mess by my youngest daughter,' he tweeted, before adding: 'Are you kidding me?!?!'

While Bass expressed his outrage over the situation, many Twitter users called him out and said that it is the responsibility of any parent to clean up the floor, not the cabin crew's.

One commenter and a fellow father wrote: 'I have three kids, just flew coach 12 hours, and was able to clean up after them - for every mess. Its called parenting.

The 35-year-old from Michigan posted a photo on Sunday of his two toddler daughters on a flight playing on electronic devices with popcorn strewn all over the floor

Plus size influencer Jaelynn Chaney said that the Federal Aviation Authority and airlines ought to give overweight flyers as many free seats as they require to fly comfortably

'Do you expect park janitors to clean up after your pet? No; Your child, your responsibility.

'The argument I am making is about expectations and entitlements. Flight crew aren't our slaves; they will help if asked, not assumed.'

Another critic of Bass wrote: 'A good parent would have taught their kids to pick it up and be respectful to others.'

The plane etiquette debate was also riled up after a solo traveler became embroiled in a row with a father for making his young daughter cry.

Taking to the discussion forum Reddit, the 22-year-old woman said she'd reserved a window seat for her nine-hour long international flight.

Once she boarded the plane and reached the correct aisle, she saw a young child was in her space and her father was in the middle seat.

The man stared at her and said 'she's a child' before pointing at the aisle seat, implying the young woman should sit there instead but she insisted on taking her pre-booked space, which sent the little girl into floods of tears.

Commenters were widely supportive of the young woman, who herself was feeling upset about leaving her family behind.

And earlier this month, plus size influencer Jaelynn Chaney said that the Federal Aviation Authority and airlines ought to give overweight flyers as many free seats as they require to fly comfortably.

She also wants airlines to be forced to refund overweight passengers for any extra seats they're forced to purchase when booking to accommodate their size.

'As plus-size travelers, my partner and I have unfortunately experienced discrimination and discomfort while flying,' she wrote in her petition, which has been signed by around 6,800 people as of Wednesday morning.

She added: 'All plus-size passengers should be provided with an extra free seat, or even two or three seats depending on their size, to accommodate their needs and ensure their comfort during the flight.'

Chaney admits that price tickets would have to rise if she were to get her way, and concedes non-overweight passengers could be faced with higher ticket prices to help cover improvements.
Kaylin Gillis's boyfriend has described the moment he pulled into the wrong driveway in rural upstate New York and was fired on by a homeowner armed with a 12-gauge shotgun. One of those shots fatally wounded Gillis, 20.

In a new interview with NBC News, Blake Walsh, 19, revealed he was the one driving on the fateful night. 'I tried to step on the gas as fast as possible, and that's when the fatal shot came through.'

Gillis was with her boyfriend and two other friends traveling in an SUV through the town of Hebron Saturday night just before 10pm when the group made a wrong turn onto the property of Kevin Monahan, 65.

They were trying to turn the car around when Monahan came out onto his porch and fired two shots, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy. The suspect is being held without bail.

The slug that killed Gillis was designed to hunt large game and is three times larger than a handgun round. Monahan did not need a permit to own the gun, according to the Albany Times-Herald.

Blake Walsh, pictured here with Kaylin Gillis, had been dating for four years

The drive leading up to Kevin Monahan's home in the rural upstate New York town of Hebron

The driveway leading up to the home is marked with a sign reading 'private drive'

Walsh and Gillis were looking for a party when they stumbled upon Monahan's home

Police say that Monahan emerged from his home and fired two shots from a 12 gauge shotgun

Kevin Monahan, 65, was charged with murder in the second degree and remains in custody at Warren County Jail, officials said

'We thought we were at the right address. We didnt have any cell service to figure it out. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happened,' Walsh said.

Gillis's boyfriend said that one of his friends in the car shouted: 'They're shooting - Go!' Prompting him to suddenly turn the car around and drive away.

Eventually, after driving for around five miles, the group made it to an area where they had cell service. They immediately called 911 but sadly it was too late.

'I want to believe it was instant. I'm hoping it was. I'm praying it was,' Walsh said through tears.

He added that the drive to get cell service felt like it lasted just 30 seconds, 'the adrenaline was rushing so bad.'

Walsh went on to say that the couple met when he was a sophomore at Schuylerville High School, where Gillis graduated from in 2021.

He said that the pair would often joke about being the 'two percent,' a reference to the two percent of high school sweethearts who end up getting married. They had dated for four years.

'I had high hopes, and I had plans. I didnt want to be with anybody else, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her,' Walsh said.

'I want the world to know how good of a person she really was and how much she impacted everybody who had the fortunate opportunity to be in her life,' he continued.

Monahan's property is on Patterson Hill Road in the town of Hebron near the Adirondack mountains

In a new interview with NBC News, Blake Walsh described how is life is shattered following Gillis's death

Gillis was an aspiring marine biologist who was known for her bright smile and love of animals

Walsh will attend Monahan's bond hearing and hopes the 65-year-old is punished to the full extent of the law. 'I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me. I need to look at him,' he said

Walsh will attend Monahan's bond hearing and hopes the 65-year-old is punished to the full extent of the law. 'I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me. I need to look at him,' he said.

Monahan's lawyer, Kurt Mausert, described his client on Monday as having no prior criminal convictions and said that he owns a contracting business in Washington County, around 60 miles northeast of Albany, close to the New York/Vermont border.

'My preliminary view of this case is that it was a series of errors which resulted in a tragedy. It is too soon to say more than that,' Mausert told the New York Times.

The attorney told CNN that his client told him that multiple vehicles descended on his driveway Saturday night, including a motorcycle, revving their engines and behaving in a menacing way.

While in an interview with News10, Mausert said that the incident was a 'series of tragic mistakes, made by more than one person.

'The situation where we have an elderly gentleman and his elderly wife living out in the dark woods in Washington County with three vehicles that come roaring into his driveway at a high rated speed, shined their lights at his house and not leaving when he turns on the floodlights so certainly there was cause for an element of fear on Mr. Monahans part,' Mausert added.

Alcohol, drugs or mental illness are not thought to have played a role in the shooting, reports the Times-Herald.

The newspaper reports that there had not been any reports of increased robberies or any reason for homeowners to be extra vigilant recently.

Town Supervisor Brian Campbell told the Times-Herald that Monahan previously attended local board meetings to discuss issues such as road repairs. Campbell described the suspect as being 'very reasonable.'

When officers arrived at Monahans house to investigate the shooting, he refused to come out, Murphy said. Authorities spoke with him through a 911 dispatcher and in person for about an hour before he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff.

In an interview with CNN, Sheriff Murphy said that Monahan already had arranged legal representation before he emerged from his house and handed himself over.

'[He], quite frankly, has not shown any remorse in this case,' the sheriff said.

According to Zillow, Kevin Monahan's home was built in 2004 and is estimated to cost $310,000, it is only accessible through an unpaved road

Neighbor Adam Matthews told The New York Post that he was not surprised to hear that Monahan was suspected of killing Gillis.

Matthews said one of Monahan's biggest pet peeves was people trespassing on his property.

The neighbor said when he first heard the news his 'knee-jerk reaction' was that 'somebody probably drove up Kevin's driveway to settle a beef.'

'If someone said that out of this whole road, something happened, who would be the first person who popped into my mind? Kevin,' he claimed.

Matthews said it was 'shocking,' and felt sorry for the young victim.

'There was never any doubt he had a short fuse. I think he was a bit of a narcissist,' Matthews claimed. 'He could do no wrong, but everybody else didn't know jack st.'

Matthews said that Monahan would always gripe about people driving up his driveway thinking it was a road.

'He was very adamant people didn't come up, and for a long time he kept the bottom of his driveway gated because so many people did mistake it for a roadway because it's so wide at the bottom,' he said.

The property line even stumped police when they first responded to the shooting, he said.

Monahan was booked into the Warren County jail on a charge of second-degree murder. Sheriff Murphy said that 'clearly' Gillis and her friends posed no threat.

'What a horrible tragedy. My deepest condolences,' wrote one person on the GoFundMe that has raised more than $80,000 for Gillis' family

Authorities made an administrative decision to hold Monahan in Warren County as Gillis' father, Andrew, is a corrections officer in the Washington County Jail

'She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love. Kaylin was a talented artist, an honor student, a Disney fanatic, and loved animals,' Andrew wrote

Authorities made an administrative decision to hold Monahan in Warren County as Gillis' father, Andrew, is a corrections officer in the Washington County Jail.

Friends remembered Gillis at the weekend as a gentle soul who loved animals.

'I know for a fact that she comes from a good family. A very good family and I know them personally and she's young girl that was taken way too young,' Murphy said.

'Kaylin Gillis, you will be greatly missed,' wrote Chuchay Stark in a Facebook tribute.

'I've known you since your Barbie days with my kids. Since then, you stayed a beautiful, sweet, and loving person,' the post continued.

'You are still the sweet and most loving child I know. You love dogs even though we all know that one particular dog was mean to you when you were younger,' Stark wrote.

'Kaylin, rest easy, I'm sure Roxie Roo is beside you now while you are looking down on us. Thank you for all the fun memories you shared with me, Lipsha, and Loren. I'm glad I had the pleasure of getting to know you,' the post concludes.

A GoFundMe has since been started by friends to help cover funeral expenses.

The fundraiser has brought in just over $86,000.

'What a horrible tragedy. My deepest condolences,' wrote one person who donated.

'I remember Kaylin from when she was a toddler hanging out with us at our sleepovers. My thoughts are with the family,' wrote another.

'I am so terribly sorry to read this devastating news. This is the second GoFundMe donation today by me to the families of young people who mistakenly went to the wrong address. Enough,' said one commenter.
Rishi Sunak today jibed at Sir Keir Starmer over Welsh Government plans to pay young asylum seekers 1,600 a month.

The Prime Minister claimed he was 'stopping the boats' while 'Labour is paying for them' as he highlighted his pledge to end the Channel migrant crisis.

He hit out at proposals by the Welsh Government, a Labour minority administration, to offer migrants a basic income and suggested it would 'incentivise' people smugglers.

Ministers in Cardiff have prompted a row with plans to allow young asylum seekers who settle in Wales access to a two-year basic income pilot designed for care leavers.

Mr Sunak addressed the issue during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons after he was asked whether his own Government would consider 'such a daft idea'.

The Prime Minister claimed he was 'stopping the boats' while 'Labour is paying for them'

Rishi Sunak jibed at Sir Keir Starmer over Welsh Government plans to pay young asylum seekers 1,600 a month

Tory backbencher Chris Clarkson said: 'It has been reported that the Welsh Labour Government is going to incentivise people smugglers by offering 1,600 of taxpayers' money every month to asylum seekers.

'Can I ask him for an assurance that he will never contemplate such a daft idea?'

The PM replied that justice minister Lord Bellamy and Welsh Secretary David Davies yesterday wrote to the Welsh Government 'confirming that we would not be undertaking their request'.

In a dig at Sir Keir, Mr Sunak added: 'I note that the Labour leader has said that the Welsh Labour Government is his blueprint.

'Labour in Wales are trying to pay illegal migrants 1,600. We are stopping the boats, Labour is paying for them.'

Mr Davies had earlier told the Commons, during Welsh Questions, it was 'extraordinary' to offer universal basic income to asylum seekers.

'The humanitarian response is to disincentivise people from risking their lives by crossing the Channel illegally and arriving here in small boats,' he told MPs.

'And that's why last night I jointly signed a letter which rejected what the Welsh Labour Government are asking for.

'We're not prepared to see the Welsh Labour Government handing out universal basic incomes to people who shouldn't be in this country in the first place.

'And then on top of that to provide them with legal funding and lawyers so that they can challenge the decision being made by the Government.

'These are not the priorities that the Welsh people have.'

UK Government ministers yesterday wrote to Jane Hutt, Wales's social justice minister, yesterday to state that those enrolled in the pilot scheme would not be entitled to free legal aid

Mr Davies and Lord Bellamy wrote to Jane Hutt, the Welsh Government's social justice minister, yesterday to state that those enrolled in the pilot scheme would not be entitled to free legal aid.

It came after Welsh ministers had requested legal aid be granted to young people with active asylum claims who might be taking part in the pilot after leaving care.

A Welsh Government spokesperson said: 'The basic income pilot scheme is about giving the most vulnerable people in our society a start in life.

'It is disappointing that inaccurate and misleading claims are being used to trivialise these sensitive issues.'
The settlement agreement between Fox and Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday was meant to send a message to those who promote fake election claims and conspiracy theories in the wake of the 202 presidential elections.

Although the high-profile defamation suit secured an eyewatering $787.5 million against Fox, the Colorado-based company is far from finished in its quest to exact financial damages.

Based on court filings, six more defamation lawsuits are pending: right-wing networks Newsmax and One America News Network (OANN) and Trump loyalists Rudy Giuliani, Sidney Powell, Mike Lindell, and Patrick Byrne.

'I think that it's a big step forward in democracy if our system can send a signal that if media companies lie -- whoever they are or whatever channel they're on -- and they do so knowingly, they will be prepared to pay a very high price,' John Poulos, the CEO of the voting tech company told 'Good Morning America' on Wednesday.

Dominion Voting Systems ballot-counting machines were called into question by former President Donald Trump and his allies after losing the 2020 election.

REMAINING DOMINION LAWSUITS

Newsmax: Dominion Voting Systems of Colorado was targeted by former President Donald Trump and his allies, filed a complaint against Newsmax in Delaware state court in August 2021, finding the news channel 'created an entire brand out of defaming' the company.

OANN: U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols has allowed Dominion's lawsuit against One America News Network (OANN) to move forward and is expected to go to trial in 2024. The voting technology company claims the far-right network promoted fraud allegations despite knowing they were false, and 'helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where ... Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud.'

Rudy Giuliani: A federal judge refused to throw out a defamation lawsuit against Trump's formal personal attorney after the voting machine company sued him in January 2021, alleging he 'enriche[d] himself by falsely claiming that Dominion fixed the election.' Giuliani and others have alleged a widespread Democratic election conspiracy involving multiple states and suspect voting machines.

Sidney Powell: the conservative and controversial attorney remains an ardent proponent of Trump, although she was dropped from his legal team after making incorrect statements about the voting process and promising to 'blow up' Georgia with a 'biblical lawsuit. Dominion is seeking $1.3 billion in damages for spreading false fraud claims in the 2020 elections.

Mike Lindell: Denver-based Dominion separately sued Lindell and MyPillow for defamation in federal court, alleging the CEO 'sells the lie' about the company's voting machines 'because the lie sells pillows.'

Patrick Byrne: The CEO of Overstock is being sued for 'manufactured and promoted fake evidence to convince the world that the 2020 election had been stolen' using Dominion voting machines. A U.S. District judge ruled 'a reasonable jury could find Byrne acted with actual malice' in spreading provably false assertions about Dominion.

Trump's former personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, is being sued for spreading falsehoods about the 2020 election fraud.

Owned by Christopher Ruddy, NewsMaxTV is being sued by Dominion for promoting debunked conspiracy theories about voter fraud during the 2020 election.

One America News Network (OANN) is also being sued by Dominion Voting Systems for $1.7B for defamation

The voting technology company is also suing Sidney Powell, a former member of President Donald Trump's legal team, for spreading false claims that the company helped steal the U.S. presidential election away from Trump.

MyPillow Mike Lindell is being sued by Dominion as well for defamation of their voting machines

Patrick M. Byrne, chairman and chief executive officer of Overstock.com, also made untrue allegations about election fraud.

WHAT'S THE TIMELINE?

Don't expect Dominion's cases against Powell, Giuliani and Lindell until mid-2024, as a scheduling order set a February 2024 hearing to discuss potential trial dates. Other cases against Byrne and OANN aren't expected until next year based on their current schedules.

WHAT'S AT STAKE?

The voting technology company is seeking $1.6 billion - each - from three of the plaintiffs: Newsmax, OANN and Byrne. Lawsuits against Powell, Giuliani and Lindell are slightly lower: $1.3 billion in damages.

KEY BACKGROUND

Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox for $1.6 billion, claiming the news outlet repeatedly aired allegations that the company's voting machines were rigged against Trump in 2020 while knowing the accusations were untrue.

Fox contended that it was reporting newsworthy charges made by supporters of the Republican president. The network said it was supported legally by libel standards.

Noting the other lawsuits against Trump allies the company is still bringing, Poulos said, 'We will pursue all of them.'

WHY DOES IT MATTER?

In a 1964 case involving The New York Times, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the ability of public figures to sue for defamation.

The court ruled that plaintiffs needed to prove that news outlets published or aired false material with 'actual malice'  knowing such material was false or acting with a 'reckless disregard' for whether or not it was true.

That has provided news organizations with stout protection against libel judgments.

Yet the nearly six-decade legal standard has come under attack by some conservatives in recent years, including Trump and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who have argued for making it easier to win a libel case.
Los Angeles polce are investigating Chucky actor Ed Gale after he was caught on camera admitting sexting with up to 10 minors.

A group calling themselves 'Creep Catcher Unit' posed as a 14-year-old boy online and allegedly received lewd texts from the 59-year-old actor, before confronting him on camera at his Hollywood apartment.

The LAPD was called to the scene Friday and were also caught on camera. Police told DailyMail.com they are currently investigating, but have not made an arrest and no charges have been filed.

'It is an ongoing investigation and no information is available at this time,' a spokesman told DailyMail.com.

In videos filmed by Creep Catcher Unit (CC Unit) on Friday, Gale admitted there were several minors he had 'talked to sexually online', that they were 'all under 18' and there were 'Definitely no more than 10' of them.

He told the CC Unit frontman, who goes by the alias Ghost, that he planned to have 'Oral, hand, and possibly anal' sex with the person he was texting, who he believed was a 14-year-old boy.

A group calling themselves 'Creep Catcher Unit' posed as a 14-year-old boy online and allegedly received lewd texts from Ed Gale, 59

In 1988, Gale (left) played Chucky in the horror film Child's Play. Gale admitted there were several minors he had 'talked to sexually online' and they were 'all under 18'

Screenshots of the alleged text conversations between Gale and the decoy account show the actor telling the supposed child, 'I want hold yours while u go pee your little winky,' and asking them 'Do u like the taste of come?'

In the shocking video, the Howard the Duck, Spaceballs and Chucky actor was asked by Ghost: 'Did you talk sexually to a minor online, yes or no?' 'Yes,' the actor replied. 'That's a felony,' Ghost said. 'Yes,' Gale replied.

Gale's friend answered the door of his apartment to DailyMail.com on Tuesday and declined to comment.

Screenshots of the alleged text conversation between Gale and the decoy account show the actor telling the supposed child 'I want hold yours while u go pee your little winky,' and asking them 'Do u like the taste of come?'

The texts show Gale allegedly writing 'I want to taste your tongue in my mouth' and 'I want to be inside of you'.

The decoy asked Gale in the alleged conversation: 'do u want to use condom all the time or do it raw for a little bit' and Gale replied 'Raw with lube'.

In the videotaped two-hour confrontation, Ghost showed Gale printouts of the text messages, and Gale admitted he sent them.

A neighbor in the apartment building, Maggie Mayor-Oats, told DailyMail.com she found Gale 'creepy.'

'It's not surprising. I always see random men coming in and out of his apartment,' the 27-year-old jewelry store worker said.

The CC Unit frontman, who goes by the alias Ghost, told DailyMail.com that Gale reached out to their decoy account on social media two months ago. Ghost is pictured confronting Gale about his texts

'When LAPD showed up, they took all the evidence we had. We had printouts of the chats and everything. We emailed them the chats and gave them the footage,' Ghost said

The texts show Gale allegedly writing, 'I want to taste your tongue in my mouth' and 'I want to be inside of you'

The decoy asked Gale in the alleged conversation, 'do u want to use condom all the time or do it raw for a little bit' and Gale replied 'Raw with lube'

On Tuesday a DailyMail.com reporter saw two children entering the building with adult family members.

One, a 62-year-old uncle who gave his name as Steve, said he was 'very worried' about the allegations against his neighbor.

'I gotta keep an eye on him,' he said, gesturing to his young nephew. 'If I see anything I'm calling 911.'

Another, Ryan McKinney, 53, said he saw police enter the building last Friday, but that he hadn't seen any minors entering the apartment, or any other suspicious activity.

'I had no idea,' he said.

Ghost told DailyMail.com that Gale reached out to their decoy account on social media two months ago.

'He reached out to our decoy account in February of this year. We told him that we were 14 years old. He was fine with the age,' he said.

'Throughout the months he would try to solicit nude pictures from this 'kid'.

This is the LA building where Gale lives. On Tuesday a DailyMail.com reporter saw two children entering the building with adult family members who said they were 'very worried' about the allegations against their neighbor

Gale's neighbor Maggie Mayor-Oats, told DailyMail.com she found Gale 'creepy'

'When LAPD showed up, they took all the evidence we had. We had printouts of the chats and everything. We emailed them the chats and gave them the footage,' Ghost said.

'They said that they couldn't make an arrest on the spot because of his health condition.'

Gale uses a breathing tube with an oxygen tank.

Ghost told DailyMail.com that LAPD took Gale's electronic devices for investigation, as well as the evidence CC Unit had obtained.

LAPD did not confirm the claim, but video shot by CC Unit shows an officer carrying out a plastic bag from the apartment building.

CC Unit say they have conducted stings on 363 alleged predators since they started in 2018, and have been cited by prosecutors and police departments in press releases about charges against some of the people they caught on camera.

The group posted clips and pictures from its confrontation with Gale on its Instagram and YouTube pages.

'He reached out to our decoy account in February of this year. We told him that we were 14 years old. He was fine with the age,' Ghost said

The inside of Gale's apartment is pictured. A neighbor said in 2021 she overheard a man in his backyard talking on the phone saying the actor 'likes young boys, I can get young boys here for him'

Ghost told DailyMail.com that LAPD took Gale's electronic devices for investigation, as well as the evidence CC Unit had obtained. LAPD officers are seen entering Gale's apartment

Criminal records show Gale worked with a pedophile actor on the movie that made his Hollywood break, Howard the Duck.

Jeffrey Jones, who starred alongside Gale in the movie as well as playing prominent roles in Beetlejuice and Ferris Bueller's Day Off, was arrested in 2002 for child pornography possession, and was convicted of soliciting a minor.

He has since been arrested twice for failing to update his sex offender registry status.

In a 2014 interview Gale described his past closeness with Jones, hosting him for Thanksgiving dinner in Palm Springs after filming Howard the Duck in the 1980s, before Jones conviction.
A young mother whose four-month-old baby was briefly stolen in an alleged carjacking has opened up about the 'horrific' experience.

Karlee Gibbs, 23, was packing the boot of her grey Nissan Patrol after buying groceries at the Yeppoon Shopping Centre, in Queensland, at midday on Wednesday when an alleged thief snuck into the front seat and drove off.

To Ms Gibbs' horror, her four-month-old baby Aubrey was still inside.

'I screamed "my baby, my baby's in that car",' she told 7 News.

'She eventually came back, wouldn't stop. However, she kept saying "get the baby out, get the baby out".

Her partner, Harleigh Baker, posted on Facebook: 'Car has been found and everything is all good. Karlee and bubs are doing fine at home'

'It was just horrific. My heart sank knowing not knowing if I was gonna get my baby back.

'It's so hard to believe that it'd happen to you. Like, you always see it in, like, movies, but you don't ever think that it's going to happen to you. So I was just, my main focus was trying to get my baby back.'

Ms Gibbs' partner, Harleigh Baker, posted on Facebook that mother and baby were safe.

'Car has been found and everything is all good. Karlee and bubs are doing fine at home,' he wrote.

CCTV footage of the incident shows a woman wearing a distinctive red bucket hat casually approaching the car's driver side door before quickly jumping into the vehicle.

Footage from the Yeppoon shopping centre's car park shows the thief casually approaching the car's driver side door before driving away (pictured)

The car's boot remains open as the thief drives away causing the woman's shopping to spill over the floor of the centre's car park (pictured)

Karlee Gibbs has spoken about the 'horrific' experience of having her car stolen with her baby still inside

She is seen in the video jumping behind the wheel as the mother loaded groceries into the boot.

The mother then runs up to the front of the car and tries to open the driver's door.

The boot remains open as the car drives awa,y causing the shopping to spill onto the floor of the car park.

Queensland Police said once the woman who was driving the vehicle realised the child was inside, she returned to the scene and dropped off the baby.

Police allege the woman then drove away before crashing into two people, including a young mum who has been left with fractured ribs.

Phoebe Halson, 21, had just arrived at the shopping centre when she heard tyres screeching and a woman screaming.

Phoebe Halson has been left with three cracked ribs after turning her back to the speeding car to protect her two-year-old son

'We ran over. We thought the baby had actually been hit by a car because we saw her pram's capsule laying on the ground,' she told The Courier Mail.

'We thought the baby had been hit and we were like 'oh my god'.

'But she's screaming and she goes 'no my baby, my baby, my baby, my baby  she took my baby.'

Ms Halson tried to comfort the distraught mother.

'So we were standing in the middle of the loading bay where we were trying to console this mother and then the car's come flying back around and drove through the exit-way down the ramp going 50km at least,' she said.

Ms Halson, who had her two-year-old son in her arms, screamed at the car to stop.

But the car failed to stop and she did not have enough time to get out of the way.

'My son was completely okay thankfully,' she said. 'I shielded his whole body with my own.'

Ms Halson suffered three cracked ribs, a stomach tear and fluid around her spleen.

She said another woman and a teen were also struck by the car as it went past.

A 16-year-old male and a 39-year-old woman were taken to Yeppoon Hospital after sustaining injuries to their legs.

Police are appealing to the public for help in identifying this woman. She was seen walking with a man inside the shopping centre prior to the incident (pictured)

Police are appealing to the public for help in identifying the woman who allegedly stole the vehicle.

The woman was seen wearing a grey top, a dark coloured jacket, dark coloured jeans and a red bucket hat.

Video footage also shows the blonde woman walking with a man inside the shopping centre prior to the incident.

Police investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information, dashcam or CCTV of the stolen vehicle is urged to contact police or call Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.
An IT consultant accused of stabbing CashApp founder Bob Lee to death in San Francisco is now on suicide watch in the city's jail, his lawyer said.

Paula Canny, the attorney representing suspect Nima Momeni, 38, said he was being closely monitored.

'As is standard process in high-profile cases in San Francisco, the jail always treats it as a high-risk suicide (watch)' she told the New York Post.

Canny also claimed Lee and Momeni's sister Khazar Elyassnia were friends, and that Momeni only met Lee through his sibling - as an unnamed witness suggested the relationship was more than just friendly, and might have been the cause for the tech mogul's death.

'Bob Lee and his sister definitely knew each other,' said Canny.

'Theres a group of well-to-do young people who liked to party.'

Nima Momeni is on suicide watch at San Francisco County Jail after he was charged with murdering Cash App founder Bob Lee, his lawyer Paula Canny says

Khazar and her husband, plastic surgeon Dr. Dino Elyassnia, Friday at her brother's arraignment. Prosecutors laid out part of their case on Friday and she is at the center of her brother's alleged motive

Lee, 43, was stabbed to death on April 4 - many assumed a vagrant was responsible due to the city's rising crime statistics

Lee was stabbed three times on April 4 after fighting with Momeni about Khazar, prosecutors allege.

Distressing video footage first obtained by DailyMail.com showed Lee stumbling through the streets of downtown San Francisco before collapsing and dying of his wounds.

The suspected murderer is said to have been grilling Lee about whether Khazar had been 'doing drugs or anything inappropriate.'

Khazar is married to Dr. Dino Elyassnia, one of San Francisco's top plastic surgeons.

An unnamed witness who said he'd been friends with Bob for 10 years told police that he believed Lee and Khazar were having an intimate relationship and that her marriage might have been in 'jeopardy.'

At 2.03am, Lee and Momeni left the apartment building and got into Momeni's BMW, after he'd offered to drive him to his hotel.

Instead, prosecutors say Momeni took his victim to a shady downtown street, where he stabbed him three times, including once in the heart, and fled.

Both Lee and Khazar lived in Mill Valley, an exclusive San Francisco suburb, before Lee moved to Miami in October last year.

In a text message to Lee earlier in the day, she gushed: 'Just wanted to make sure your doing OK because I know Nima came wayyy down hard on you and thank you for being such a classy man handling it with class.

'Love you Selfish pr***s.'

Canny, pictured, says Lee and Momeni were not good friends - and that the murdered tycoon was much closer to Momeni's sister Khazar Elyassnia

Momeni depicted in a court sketch Friday. His sister was in the courtroom to support him. The pair immigrated to the US from Iran as children

On April 4, Lee was filmed on surveillance cameras staggering into an apartment building in downtown San Francisco at 2.35am after being stabbed. Yesterday, police searched the nearby apartment of Momeni's sister, Khazar. It's unclear if they'd been together or at the apartment earlier in the night

The arrest happened nine days after Lee's April 4 stabbing sent shockwaves throughout the Bay Area

Canny said that Momeni's family had been 'deeply impacted' by his arrest for Lee's murder, and that the murder suspect's mom is 'heartbroken' by the shame wrought on her family.

The lawyer also said that she has yet to see evidence linking her client to the killing.

She told the Post: 'He was with Bob Lee at a time that night, but the prosecutors are saying he was with Bob Lee when he was killed.

'Im like, "OK, show me that evidence please."

'Even though they made this quick arrest, I dont have any of the supporting documents that go with the arrest warrant.

'The police arent saying what happened.'

Momeni is due back in court for his arraignment April 25.

In a text message to Lee earlier in the day, Khazar gushed: 'Just wanted to make sure your doing OK because I know Nima came wayyy down hard on you and thank you for being such a classy man handling it with class. 'Love you Selfish pr***s'

On Friday, Canny claimed that there is much more to this story that meets the eye.

'There's so much more to this - and a much greater backstory than what has been disclosed at all in the government's pleading,' she said.

She warned that the San Francisco District Attorney's Office 'seem to think they have enough to make an arrest, but I haven't seen it.'

'So, until I see it and analyze it, I'm gonna say they've made a mistake,' she added. 'There isn't enough [to hold him].'

Filed by district attorneys working under Mayor London Breed, a detention motion released Friday laid bare how prosecutors believe Momeni stabbed the millionaire with a kitchen knife in an attack they described as 'planned' and 'deliberate.'

Seemingly undeterred by the city's argument - which alleged Momeni drove Lee to a 'secluded area' before stabbing him on the morning of April 4 - Canny added that such motions are generally 'not considered admissible' due to them not naming sources.
Two men have admitted removing the penis and nipple of a man accused of carrying out castrations and broadcasting the footage on his 'eunuch maker' website.

Damien Byrnes, 35, from Tottenham, north London, admitted removing Marius Gustavson's penis on February 18 2017. He cried in court as he pleaded guilty.

Former nurse Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, admitted the partial removal of Gustavson's nipple in the summer of 2019 and stealing medicine from the hospital where he worked in 2016.

Gustavson, 45, who is originally from Norway but now lives in Haringey, is said to have been the ringleader in a wide-ranging conspiracy involving up to 29 offences of extreme body modifications, the removal of body parts, the trade in body parts and the uploading of videos.

It is alleged the group filmed videos of the extreme modifications and then uploaded them to Gustavson's website, named 'eunuch maker'.

Nathan Arnold, 48, today admitted the partial removal of Marius Gustavson's nipple in the summer of 2019 and stealing medicine from the hospital where he worked in 2016

Marius Gustavson, 45, is allegedly the ringleader of a complex conspiracy which centred around his website 'eunuch maker'

The Metropolitan Police have said the charges relate to 13 alleged victims, and the six-year plot is thought to have raised income in the region of 200,000.

Arnold and Byrnes pleaded guilty during a hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to causing grievous bodily harm with intent.

Arnold also pleaded guilty to the theft of local anaesthetic lidocaine from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and accepted a further offence of possessing extreme pornography.

Gustavson's alleged 'right-hand man', Peter Wates, 66, from Croydon in south London, also pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm between January 1 2016 and January 1 2022.

Wates was alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC told the court Wates was a 'key player who had a role as a surgeon in a very large number of procedures'.

The three defendants appeared in court alongside Gustavson and five other defendants, who were not asked to enter pleas.

The defendants are alleged to have performed extreme body modifications, including the removal of penises and testicles.

The procedures were allegedly filmed and uploaded to the 'eunuch maker' website Gustavson ran, and subscribers would pay to watch.

Gustavson, from Tottenham, north London, is charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent between January 1 2016 and January 1 last year and five counts of causing grievous bodily harm to five alleged victims.

The GBH charges include the removal of a man's penis, the clamping of another's testicles, and freezing of a leg which required amputation.

He is further charged with acquiring or possessing criminal property, making an indecent image of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.

As well as his penis and part of his nipple, Gustavson has also had his leg amputated and previously appeared in court in a wheelchair.

The procedures were allegedly filmed and uploaded to the 'eunuch maker' website Gustavson ran, and subscribers would pay to watch

Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom, Surrey, is accused of freezing Gustavson's leg requiring amputation

Ashley Williams, 31, is charged with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm

Janus Atkin, 38, is also charged with conspiracy to commit grievous bodily harm

Romanian national Ion Ciucur, 29, who worked in a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, is said to have been involved in two incidents in the alleged conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

Other alleged conspirators are David Carruthers, 60, Janus Atkin, 38, and Ashley Williams, 31 - who are all from Newport in Gwent, South Wales.

Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom, Surrey, who is accused of freezing Gustavson's leg requiring amputation, is charged with causing GBH with intent.

The defendants were arrested after police raids in London, Scotland and South Wales.

The defendants are said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification.

The practice is linked to a subculture where men become 'nullos' - short for genital nullification - by having their penis and testicles removed.

The Metropolitan Police previously said in a statement: 'We encourage anyone who has had similar experiences to seek medical advice from their local sexual health clinic or GP.'

Gustavson, Wates and Ciucur attended court by video-link from Wandsworth Prison.

The other six defendants, who are on bail, sat side by side in the dock at the Old Bailey.

Gustavson, Ciucur, Carruthers, Atkin, Williams and Crimi-Appleby will appear back at the Old Bailey on 31 May to enter their pleas while a provisional trial date was set for 4 March 2024.

Gustavson, Ciucur and Byrnes were remanded in custody with the others granted conditional bail.

There will also be a case management hearing on June 30.
The US is under mounting pressure to staunch the flow of military-grade guns into Mexico and much of Latin America, which buoy the cartels there that drive America's fentanyl and immigration crises.

Mexico has launched a civil lawsuit against US-based gun makers for arming the drug gangs, and campaigners say it's in America's own interests to crack down on southbound arms flows.

They describe an 'iron river' of thousands of firearms being sourced from US dealers that end up in the hands of criminals in Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of Latin America.

More than half of 'crime guns' recovered and traced in Central America come from the US, says US gun control agency ATF. In Mexico and the Caribbean, about four fifths are sourced in the US.

Weapons seized from the Chapitos gang in Mexico City. Experts say about four fifths of the weapons used by drug cartels come from US suppliers

Lawlessness and cartel crime in Mexico was spotlighted by the 'tummy tuck four' group of Americans who were kidnapped, and two of them shot and killed, by Mexican gangsters in March.

Former president Donald Trump and other Republicans have called for tough US action, including special forces raids on cartels, but conservatives also resist gun control efforts.

'It's called the iron river, and it's flooding countries to the south,' Elizabeth Burke, from the non-profit Global Action on Gun Violence, said at an event at a think tank in Washington DC this week.

This makes the Americas a homicide hotspot.

More than half the world's gun violence is concentrated in just six countries  Brazil, Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Venezuela, and the US, says the Center for American Progress.

Burke called for rules stopping gun makers from selling to dealers with lax distribution practices.

Manufacturers should also stop selling armor-piercing weapons and guns that can easily be modified to shoot hundreds of bullets at a time, she added.

John Lindsay-Poland, an activist from Stop US Arms to Mexico, said lax gun rules and enforcement aided the cross-border flow of arms  including military-grade weapons used by cartel paramilitaries.

'Why would we be arming the very people that we say we are fighting?' said Lindsay-Poland.

Mexico's heavily-armed cartels are behind much of the production and trafficking of fentanyl and other drugs that result in more than 100,000 US overdoses deaths each year, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data.

They also prey upon the thousands of migrants who travel through Central America and Mexico to reach the southern US border, where unlawful migration is at historically high levels.

'Gun violence is a cancer that helps drive immigration from Mexico and Central America,' Diego Rodriguez, a Democratic politician from Arizona, posted on Twitter this week.

Burning vehicles are seen in the street during an operation to arrest the cartel kingpins in Culiacan, Sinaloa state, Mexico, in January

Members of the Lebaron family mourn while they watch the burned car where family members were killed and burned during an ambush by gunmen in the Sonora mountains, Mexico

'We must deal with gun trafficking as part of any immigration reform package.'

US government figures show that income from legal firearm shipments to Latin America increased 8 percent last year, with most sales going to Brazil, Mexico, Guatemala, and Colombia.

The 'iron river' is 'flooding countries to the south' with guns, says Elizabeth Burke, from Global Action on Gun Violence

Ioan Grillo, the author of Blood Gun Money: How America Arms Gangs and Cartels, says, more than 179,000 firearms were captured in Mexico and five Central American countries and traced to US gun shops and factories, between 2007 and 2019.

Mexican officials say this number is just the tip of the iceberg, as many more weapons stay in criminal hands.

They are sourced from America's legal but poorly-regulated gun market.

Purchases are usually private sales, or made by so-called 'straw buyers' with clean records. Guns are stolen from stores, or 'ghost guns' assembled from un-serialized parts, says Grillo.

Traffickers buy guns in Virginia, Georgia, and other states with looser gun laws, hide them in cars and trucks and drive them across the 2,000-mile porous and poorly-patrolled border with Mexico, he said.

Some are stashed in cargo ships in Florida, bound for the Caribbean and beyond.

'In the last two years, the conversation has changed. When the issue of drug trafficking is discussed, it's now more difficult not to mention gun running south,' Grillo tweeted this week.

Fentanyl was initially produced in India and China and mailed to recipients across North America. Makeshift labs have since sprung up in Mexico to receive the precursor chemicals from Asia, mix them or press them into pills, and smuggle them into the US

This image from Mexico's national defense forces shows a makeshift drugs lab in northwest Mexico, where officers discovered precursor chemicals, fentanyl paste, weapons and drug making gear, from November 2021

What is fentanyl and why is it so dangerous? Fentanyl was originally developed in Belgium in the 1950s to aid cancer patients with their pain management. Given its extreme potency it has become popular amongst recreational drug users. Overdose deaths linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl jumped from nearly 10,000 in 2015 to nearly 20,000 in 2016 - surpassing common opioid painkillers and heroin for the first time. And drug overdoses killed more than 72,000 people in the US in 2017  a record driven by fentanyl. It is often added to heroin because it creates the same high as the drug, with the effects biologically identical. But it can be up to 50 times more potent than heroin, according to officials in the US. In the US, fentanyl is classified as a schedule II drug - indicating it has some medical use but it has a strong potential to be abused and can create psychological and physical dependence. Advertisement

'But the iron river keeps flowing, and cartel gunmen carry on fighting with brand new AR-15's, Kalashnikovs and 50 cals.'

Mexico last month filed an appeal in a $10 billion civil lawsuit seeking to hold US gun makers responsible for facilitating the trafficking of deadly weapons across the border.

The case had been dismissed by a US judge in September.

The appeal is targeting Smith and Wesson Brands and Sturm, Ruger and Co, as well as Barrett Firearms Manufacturing Inc, Beretta USA Corp, Colt's Manufacturing Co, Century International Arms Inc, Witmer Public Safety Group Inc and pistol-maker Glock Inc.

Sixteen US states and a handful of Caribbean governments last month expressed support for Mexico's appeal against the ruling.

US gun-makers have maintained that they sell firearms legally to Americans who pass a background check.

Their lawyers have argued that holding them responsible opens the door for other lawsuits, such as the deaths of Russians killed by their weapons in Ukraine.

The National Rifle Association and the State Department did not immediately answer a request for comment.

Maria Herrera, a Mexican mother of four sons who've gone missing and who has founded a group investigating forced disappearances, said gun deaths were surging.

'We don't want more tragedies in our families,' said Herrera, a mom-of-eight.

'It destroys lives, breaks families apart, fills communities with pain and panic. We can't live like this.'

Wires contributed to this report.
A father of one was murdered at a plumber's warehouse before his body was burnt and dumped in a shallow woodland grave amid a war between feuding drugs gangs, a court has heard.

Mohammed Shah Subhani was allegedly killed 'behind closed doors' at R & J Plumbing in Hounslow after the Poonia and Subhani families fell out following the suspected theft of 5kg of cannabis. R & J Plumbing was a family business owned by the Poonia family.

His body was then rolled in a carpet, put in the boot of a BMW X5 and driven to the countryside for his body to be burnt - and his charred remains were found in woodland near Hedgerley Lane in Breaconsfield, a court heard.

Mr Subhani, known as 'Little Man', was involved in various criminal activities including drug dealing, jurors were told.

Amraj Poonia, 27, his brother Raneel Poonia, 25, and Gurditta Singh, 26, all deny murder and perverting the course of justice. Mohanad Riad, 22, Mohammed Ismail, 26, and Singh's cousin and flatmate Mohamed Shakeel, 29, deny perverting the course of justice by assisting with removing the body from R & J Plumbing and disposing of it in woodland.

Opening the case, prosecutor Tom Little KC said: 'This was a murder carried out behind closed doors in a premises known as R & J Plumbing. That business is on a small industrial estate in Hounslow.

Mohammed Shah Subhani, known as Shah, was reported missing on May 7, 2019 when he failed to return to his home in Hounslow, west London

Mr Subhani was allegedly murdered when he visited R & J Plumbing in Hounslow, west London, on May 7 2019

Mr Subhani's remains were found in woodland between Beaconsfield and Gerrards Cross, Buckinhamshire, shortly before Christmas 2019

'It is a murder that appears to arise from the criminal underworld of a number of those living in and around the flightpath to London Heathrow. Having murdered Mohammed Shah Subhani it was necessary for the defendants to cover up and clean up their crimes. That included disposing of the body and moving and disposing of Mohammed Shah Subhani's motor vehicle, an Audi Q3.

'The perverting the course of justice involved a number of individuals and not just those six men in the dock and lasted a period of days.'

Mr Little said that in April 2019 a local drug dealer in the Hounslow area called Robbie had asked Mr Subhani to look after 5kg of cannabis.

'He took 5kg of it and entrusted 1kg of it to Amraj Poonia. He must have trusted him to have done so. But, that cannabis went missing.

'Who was involved in that, whether it was a real face, a fake or a staged theft are matters you will have to consider.

'But what is beyond any doubt is that the Subhani family suspected that Mohanad Riad was responsible for the theft or fake theft and had helped organize it.

'Further they suspected that Amraj Poonia was also involved.

'We understand that in this trial there is no issue that Mohanad Riad recruited two local drug users called 'Bhogel' and 'Kelvin' to assist in staging this theft.

'They were paid 20 to make it look like the vehicle the drugs were being stored in had been broken into and the drugs had been taken, when in fact the drugs were not in there in the first place.

'As a result Mohammed Shah Subhani and his brothers took action.

'At some point towards the end of April 2019 and as a result of suspicions about the theft there were incidents of violence in which Amraj Poonia and Mohanad Riad were physically assaulted by or on behalf of Mohammed Ali Subhani.

'By the beginning of May 2019, any friendship and loyalty that had existed between the Subhani family on the one hand and Amraj Poonia, Mohanad Riad and others had evaporated.'

Mr Little said that on 7 May 2019 Mr Subhani had been to Acton police station to collect 4,800 in cash that had been seized from him and his brother in a police search. He had wanted to use it to pay Robbie back for the drugs that Amraj Poonia had allegedly stolen, but he was not given the money back that day. He then made arrangements to meet Amraj at R & J Plumbing where he was killed, the court heard.

Mr Little said the reason for the cover-up was to 'try to avoid justice catching up' with the defendants.

Mr Subhani's body was stored in a Toyota Yaris for three days before it was driven to Buckinghamshire in a convoy of vehicles, the court heard.

Mr Subhani's body was recovered in woodland in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, on December 19, 2019

Mr Little said that by the time the body was found many of the bones had been removed by wildlife.

He went on: 'Accordingly, an elaborate and extensive attempt to pervert the course of justice was set in train and carried out and which very nearly succeeded.

'Following the murder, Mohammed Shah Subhani's body was removed from R & J Plumbing and, having been kept in a vehicle or vehicles in London, was driven to the countryside in Buckinghamshire where it was partially burnt and then left in a shallow grave in a storm drain in a wooded area off the beaten track.

'By the time that the body was found it was decomposed and indeed a number of the bones had been moved by wildlife, in fact there was very limited skin or flesh left when the body was found.'

He added that because the case was originally treated as a missing persons investigation rather than a homicide offence CCTV wasn't obtained immediately.

The defendants from West London deny the charges against them.

The trial continues.
Are YOU the victim of 'food poisoning' at the Rixos Sungate resort in Turkey?

*** Are YOU the victim of 'food poisoning' at the Rixos Sungate resort in Turkey? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk***

*** Are YOU the victim of 'food poisoning' at the Rixos Sungate resort in Turkey? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk***

The 'food poisoning' outbreak occurred at a five-star resort in Turkey last week

A British holidaymaker who claims he was hospitalised after being struck down by a suspected food poisoning outbreak at a five-star resort in Turkey has launched legal action over his 'disastrous' getaway.

Liam Garnett, 37, was placed on a drip after being hit with suspected gastroenteritis while on holiday with his partner Gabrielle, 30, and two children over Easter.

And after returning to the UK, Mr Garnett needed further treatment and underwent tests including abdomen and chest x-rays.

His two children, aged six and four, also suffered from symptoms such as diarrhoea and vomiting and one of them is still off school due to illness.

Mr Garnett, a site manager, is now among dozens of holidaymakers contemplating taking legal action against holiday firm TUI for the nightmare break at the Rixos Sungate hotel.

Liam Garnett and his family had been enjoying a family trip to Turkey when they fell ill

Mr Garnett claims that once his condition worsened he was placed on a drip

Mr Garnett claims his son (pictured) was also ill on the holiday from suspected food poisoning

The Rixos Sungate (pictured) is a five-star rated resort in Turkey where families spend as much as 4,000 on TUI package holidays

He said: 'It was horrible being ill, then seeing my children also suffering from sickness. The holiday was just a disaster and we want to know what went wrong.

'There were others at the same hotel who were also ill and I know they are considering legal action too as you don't book a five-star holiday expecting to spend most of it in bed with illness.'

Mr Garnett said they booked the family holiday after having a tough period at work, hoping it would be a nice relaxing break while the kids were off school.

The 1,076-room resort, in Kemer on Turkey's southern coast, boasts 11 restaurants including a 'world food' buffet and sushi diner.

It also has a water park and 12 swimming pools.

But within days of their dream getaway, the family had been struck down with a mystery illness, which had symptoms similar to acute gastroenteritis.

Mr Garnett says they saw food served uncovered at the resort, while cutlery, crockery and tables were often dirty.

He claims there were cats in the restaurant and he saw chefs smoking in fire exits and not washing their hands afterwards - before dishing out the food without gloves.

The father, from Manchester, added: 'We booked the trip as it had been a tough time at work recently so we wanted to get away somewhere nice for Easter.

'But a few days in I was suffering with really bad sickness, fever and stomach cramps and I was in my hotel room for most of the next five days.

'Now I'm back home I've had to go back to work but luckily I can work from home as my illness is still ongoing.'

Liam Garnett, pictured, said he was struck down with illness and left bed-bound for 10 days

A number of families have been struck down with diarrhoea, vomiting and fever. Pictured: Medication taken by the families to help with their symptoms

Rebecca Wright, pictured here with husband David Bracewell, also claims her 14-year-old stepdaughter was hospitalised after getting ill at the resort

Among those struck down with the 'illness' was the Bracewell family from Lancashire, whose 14-year-old daughter Charlie has ended up in hospital for three days with gastroenteritis.

Rebecca Wright, her husband David Bracewell and children Charlie, Oliver, ten, and Indie, three, now face a 3,000 hospital bill.

Ms Wright told the Sun that after complaining to TUI she got a message saying the hotel had told them it may have been caused not by food poisoning, but by 'weather changes, especially day and night temperature differences, seasonal factors, especially allergic reactions'.

The 37-year-old branded the response 'laughable and unhelpful', telling the outlet: 'I've been absolutely exhausted and felt so ill.

'There are more people coming down with it every day. It's laughable they suggested it was the weather.

'I am so worried about being able to fly home. I went out of my room for two hours and had to go back to bed feeling exhausted.

'We are all petrified of the buffet. We all think it's food or drink related. Literally, since my step daughter got ill we have lived off bananas.'

Lawyers from Irwin Mitchell are investigating legal action against the tour operator and say they expect the number of claims to grow quickly.

Jatinder Paul, from the law firm, said several families had suffered similar symptoms.

He said: 'It's very concerning that multiple families seem to have suffered from similar horrible illness symptoms at the same time, at the same resort.

'Naturally they want answers as to how they have become so ill on a five-star holiday.

'No one goes on holiday expecting to need medical treatment either in the resort and even on their return home.

'We will now be writing to their tour operator TUI UK Limited as we seek to resolve the problems and find out what went wrong for the holidaymakers we are representing.'

TUI describes the hotel as a 'platinum' venue that's 'tailored for families'.

The resort has a 4.5 out of five-star ranking on Tripadvisor.

A spokesperson for TUI previously told MailOnline: 'We are concerned to hear of a small number cases at Rixos Sungate in Turkey, as health and safety of our customers is our highest priority.

'Our team at resort are in close contact with our guests and offering support where necessary.

'Our health and safety team are investigating in close collaboration with the hotel and we will remain in frequent contact with our guests.

'We'd like to reassure all customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene.'

A Tui spokesperson said they were 'concerned' to hear that customers at the Rixos Sungate resort, in Turkey, had been taken ill during April. But they added as Liam Garnett and his family had now brought legal action, they were unable to comment on their specific case.

They said: 'We were very concerned to hear of small number cases at Rixos Sungate in Turkey, as the health and safety of our customers is our highest priority.

'We'd like to reassure all customers that we regularly audit all of our hotels in respect to health and safety, including hygiene.

'As this is now a legal matter, we are unable to comment on the specific cases.'

*** Are YOU the victim of 'food poisoning' at the Rixos Sungate resort in Turkey? Email chris.matthews@mailonline.co.uk***
Legal experts today warned that the channel had given Smartmatic a 'bargaining chip' in showing a willingness to write a fat check to avoid trial

Fox denies the allegation and says it was reporting newsworthy claims of voter fraud. It made similar argument before settling with Dominion Tuesday

Fox News is staring down the barrel of a $2.7billion defamation lawsuit from another voting machine firm after its record-breaking $787.5million settlement with Dominion.

Lawyers for the Rupert Murdoch-owned network are now gearing up for what could be an even more costly suit brought by Smartmatic, which alleges Fox knowingly aired false claims that its software was used to rig the 2020 presidential election.

The conservative network denies the allegation and says it was reporting newsworthy claims of voter fraud. Fox made similar denials before settling with Dominion and admitting the court found 'certain claims about Dominion to be false'.

Legal experts today warned that the channel had given Smartmatic a 'bargaining chip' in showing a willingness to write a fat check to avoid trial.

The settlement at the eleventh hour Tuesday meant Fox was able to avoid a potentially humiliating trial that would have seen Murdoch and primetime stars like Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity dragged into open court.

Rupert Murdoch on November 12, 2019 in Los Angeles, California

Smartmatic CEO and founder Antonio Mugica. He has called conspiracy theories about his firm 'absurd'

A Smartmatic representative demonstrates his company's system which has scanners and touch screens with printout options at a meeting of the Secure, Accessible & Fair Elections Commission in Grovetown, Georgia, in August 2018

The payout was also less than half the $1.6billion sought by Dominion. To put that into context, the network's parent company Fox Corporation raked in $1.23billion last year - and is sitting on cash reserves of around $4billion, according to the latest filings.

Murdoch and his family - who run the News Corp empire which includes Fox News, The Times of London and The Wall Street Journal - have an estimated fortune of $17.6billion, according to Forbes.

Judge Eric Davis announced the last-minute agreement after the 12 jurors had been selected and the Delaware Superior Court was readying to hear opening arguments.

Fox News said in a statement it was 'pleased' to have ended the dispute and added: 'We acknowledge the Court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects FOX's continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.

'We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.'

The Smartmatic case is still in the discovery process, meaning that a trial is not expected anytime soon.

But the London-based software company now feels it is on the front foot.

'Dominion's litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Fox's disinformation campaign,' a Smartmatic attorney said in a statement. 'Smartmatic will expose the rest.'

Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Jeanine Pirro, and other on-air stars, were deposed in the Dominion case last year

Jeanine Pirro interviewing Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, who is also being sued by Dominion in a separate lawsuit. They are pictured on November 14, 2020

A separate Dominion suit also slams the network for allowing guests such as former New York mayor and Trump cohort, Rudy Giuliani and MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell on air to peddle conspiracy theories about voter fraud unchallenged and unchecked

Knoxville media law professor Stuart Brotman today warned that the settlement was a boon for Smartmatic.

'Smartmatic now has a bargaining chip, and Fox has shown it is willing to take out its checkbook and write a big check,' said Brotman. 'From Fox's standpoint, now that they realize they can get a successful settlement, they have a basis for a real discussion with Smartmatic.'

Smartmatic is seeking $2.7 billion in damages from Fox and five individuals, including former Trump lawyers and hosts.

The company alleges in its lawsuit in New York County Supreme Court that the defendants knowingly spread false claims that its software was used to flip votes.

Conspiracy theorists erroneously claimed Smartmatic owned Dominion, and the companies mounted similar allegations in their lawsuits.

Smartmatic attorney J. Erik Connolly said in a statement Tuesday the company is committed to clearing its name, recouping the damage done to it and 'holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.'

Fox denies the allegations, saying in a recent statement the network had a right to report on highly newsworthy allegations of voter fraud.

The trial has been widely viewed as a test of whether Fox's coverage crossed the line between ethical journalism and the heedless pursuit of ratings, as Dominion alleges and Fox denies

It has also called Smartmatic's damages claims 'outrageous, unsupported, and not rooted in sound financial analysis.'

Fox was recently dealt a setback in the case after an appeals court declined to toss it, finding Smartmatic alleged in 'detailed fashion' how Fox 'effectively endorsed and participated' in defamation.

Meanwhile, Fox has given no public indication that it is interested in settling the lawsuit by the former producer, Abby Grossberg, whose lawyers said in a statement Tuesday they are seeking 'meaningful institutional changes at Fox News.'

Any such changes were absent from the public announcement of the Dominion settlement and could potentially be a major sticking point in any negotiations, legal experts said.

Grossberg alleges she was exposed to sexism at Fox and unjustly fired after she objected to what she claims were efforts to pressure her into giving misleading testimony in the Dominion case.

Fox has said the allegations are 'baseless' and were immediately investigated by outside lawyers. The network also says it will 'vigorously' defend itself against all of Grossbergs claims.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicks off his presidential campaign Wednesday with the support of 14 percent of President Joe Biden's voters, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll.

Kennedy's support is surprisingly high for a candidate known predominantly as being one of the country's most prominent anti-vaxxers.

He's also performing better against Biden than some of the top Republican challengers are polling against former President Donald Trump.

For instance, former Vice President Mike Pence - who has yet to formally announce a 2024 run - receives just 4.6 percent support from GOP primary voters in the Real Clear Politics polling average.

In the USA Today survey, conducted Saturday through Tuesday, just 67 percent of Biden's 2020 supporters said they would choose him over his current challengers, Kennedy and self-help guru Marianne Williamson.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicks off his presidential campaign Wednesday with the support of 14 percent of President Joe Biden's voters, according to a USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. entered the presidential race Wednesday with the support of 14 percent of those who voted for President Joe Biden in 2020

The poll showed that President Joe Biden (left) retained 67 percent of his voters, while 5 percent of Biden voters said they'd back Marianne Williamson (right)

Kennedy jumps in the race - doing so around lunchtime Wednesday from a ballroom in Boston - ahead of Williamson, who is polling at 5 percent.

Another 13 percent of Biden supporters remain undecided.

'In 2020, Joe Biden received more votes than any other president in U.S. history, yet the poll tells us that those same voters are open to other Democrats to wage a spirited primary,' Suffolk University Political Research Center Director David Paleologos told USA Today.

'Kennedy, although a longshot at this point, starts in double-digits and can't be ignored,' Paleologos added.

The son of Sen. Robert F. Kennedy and nephew of President John F. Kennedy drew the support of 33 percent of Biden voters who disapproved of the job he was doing as president.

Thirty-five percent of Kennedy's supporters said Biden's policies in the White House have been 'too liberal.'

Kennedy's base within Biden's 2020 supporters came from those who were conservative, younger and without college degrees.

Becuase of his vaccine skepticism, Kennedy has some allies across the political aisle.

Campaign signs at Kennedy's kick-off event in Boston Wednesday read 'Heal the Divide.'

Pollsters spoke with 600 Biden voters and the poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percent.
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A photographer from California has captured a once-in-a-lifetime shot of two canoeists who found themselves feet from a breaching whale during a trip to Antarctica.

The photograph shows the humongous tail of the creature arching out above the sea in ultra high definition as birds circle in front of the frozen blue caps.

Another picture shows the sharp contours of the whale's head as it surfaces from the icy waters.

The images were taken by multi-award-winning photographer Jiahong Zeng, who lives in San Francisco and is from Guangzhou in China.

Zeng said: 'It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It was amazing to witness.

A pair of canoeists are dwarfed by a breaching whale as they take part in a whale-watching trip. The images were taken by Jiahong Zeng in Antarctica

'I love that the tail of the whale appears to form a frame through which I could see the canoeists through.'

The married photographer, who works for Hitachi, Ltd., has snapped wildlife and supernatural landscapes from across the globe, with his love for architecture also shining through in his work.

The months of November through to March present the perfect conditions for wildlife watching in Antarctica, when some of the sea ice melts and temperatures can hover above the freezing mark.

The photographer, from California, said: 'It was probably a once-in-a-lifetime moment. It was amazing to witness. I love that the tail of the whale appears to form a frame through which I could see the canoeists through'

There are a number of different whale species that live in Antarctica, including killer whales, sperm whales, humpback whales and Antarctic blue whales.

The Antarctic blue whale is the largest animal on the planet, weighing up to 200 tons (roughly equivalent to 33 elephants) and spanning up to 30 meters.

It is the loudest animal on Earth, with its calls reaching a higher number of decibels than a jet engine, according to the World Wildlife Fund.
French President Emmanuel Macron was loudly booed by crowds in eastern France today as he embarked on his first trip to a French region since signing his unpopular pensions reform into law.

Locals in Selestat in the Alsace region chanted slogans including 'Macron resign!' while he was personally heckled by several people present, including one man who accused him of having a 'corrupt government'.

Outside a factory he was visiting, Macron was faced with hostile banners and banging on pots. Electrical power inside the factory was also cut briefly.

Then as he walked through the crowd in a nearby village, many shouted 'Macron, resign!' and one man told him: 'We don't want this pension (reform), what don't you get?'

One man accused him of having a 'corrupt government on a scale we have never seen before', adding for good measure: 'You will fall soon, you'll see'.

French President Emmanuel Macron was loudly booed by crowds in eastern France today

Locals in Selestat in the Alsace region chanted slogans including 'Macron resign!' while he was personally heckled by several people present, including one man who accused him of having a 'corrupt government'

EN DIRECT - Emmanuel #Macron est accueilli sous des huees et des "Macron demission" a #Selestat. pic.twitter.com/PGs8LcW5oE  AlertesInfos (@AlertesInfos) April 19, 2023

Macron told the man his ideas were 'unfair'.

There were also some cheers, one man told him to 'hang in there,' a woman thanked him for his work and others asked for selfies.

But even in a region that is pro-Macron - it voted slightly more for him than the national average in the 2022 presidential election - the welcome was mostly hostile.

Macron signed into law at the weekend the rise in the retirement age which means citizens must work two years longer before receiving their state pension.

That was after three months of protests that gathered huge crowds and at times turned violent.

Macron said about the reactions in Selestat: 'There are people who are not happy. Everyone should be free to express themselves. Afterwards, the country has to go forward.'

Asked by a journalist how he felt about the reactions, the president replied: 'I have had it worse.'

He might have implied two instances in 2021, when Macron was slapped across the face and had an egg thrown at him.

Outside a factory he was visiting, Macron was faced with hostile banners and banging on pots. Electrical power inside the factory was also cut briefly

Then as he walked through the crowd in a nearby village, many shouted 'Macron, resign!' and one man told him: 'We don't want this pension (reform), what don't you get?'

But even in a region that is pro-Macron - it voted slightly more for him than the national average in the 2022 presidential election - the welcome was mostly hostile. Macron signed into law at the weekend the rise in the retirement age which means citizens must work two years longer before receiving their state pension

There were also some cheers, one man told him to 'hang in there,' a woman thanked him for his work and others asked for selfies

In June 2021, Macron was not just booed by crows, but actually slapped across the face and told to 'f*** off' by a man as he greeted voters during a walkabout in France.

The assailant took the French President by the arm, appearing to stop him for a chat, before shouting: 'Down with Macronia' ('A Bas La Macronie') as he struck his face.

Bodyguards quickly seized upon the man and bundled him to the ground before dragging him away, as a member of Macron's security detail pulled the president to safety.

A few months later, in September 2021, Macron was egged by a protester shouting 'Vive la revolution' during a visit to Lyon to promote French gastronomy.

The president was greeting supporters when the egg struck him on the left shoulder and bounced onto his cheek, remaining intact.

Macron flinched as a bodyguard quickly pulled him back and another placed a hand in front of the president's face to prevent any further incoming fire.

On an earlier stage of Macron's trip today, police pushed back dozens of protesters banging kitchenware ahead of the president's arrival in the village of Muttersholtz.

Pot-bashing, a form of protest with a long history in France, began during Macron's address to the nation on Monday evening after he signed the bill into law over the weekend.

2021: French President Emmanuel Macron was slapped across the face by a man during a trip to southeast France. The protestor was standing at the barrier and slapped Macron before he was dragged away

2021: The egg is seen flying through the air shortly before it bounces off Macron's shoulder. The assailant shouted 'Vive la revolution' as the egg was thrown

'It's not saucepans that will enable France to move forward,' Macron said as he visited a wood factory in the village.

'The reality across the country is not just those making noise with pans or grumbling.'

'You will always see me with people... I have to keep going,' he added.

The president made very few public appearances to speak to voters during the three months leading up to the legislation being signed into law, whose flagship measure is hiking the retirement age from 62 to 64.

Political opponents and trade unions have urged protesters to maintain their campaign against the law and called for a new day of mass protest on May 1.

The images of the heckling comes as polls show Macron's popularity ratings close to their lowest ever levels.

The next presidential elections in France are not until 2027 and Macron by law cannot stand a third consecutive time. But analysts have warned the current situation is playing into the hands of far-right leader Marine Le Pen.

On an earlier stage of Macron's trip today, police pushed back dozens of protesters banging kitchenware ahead of the president's arrival in the village of Muttersholtz

Pot-bashing, a form of protest with a long history in France, began during Macron's address to the nation on Monday evening after he signed the bill into law over the weekend

'It's not saucepans that will enable France to move forward,' Macron said as he visited a wood factory in the village

Macron said: 'The reality across the country is not just those making noise with pans or grumbling'

'You will always see me with people... I have to keep going,' he added

The scenes recall Macron's visits around France during the so-called 'Yellow Vest' protests of 2018-19, when the head of state was frequently confronted by angry hecklers or protesters.

On Tuesday evening, a private trip by Macron to Saint-Denis, northeast of Paris, also saw around 300 demonstrators voice their anger at his pension changes.

'People will make themselves heard but that's part of the moment,' an aide to the president told reporters on Wednesday, adding that there would be 'expressions of anger most probably, support perhaps.'

The head of state was slapped in the face in 2021 by a 28-year-old unemployed mediaeval history enthusiast during a visit to a small town in southeastern France.

After today's visits, Macron is set to visit a school in the southern Herault region on tomorrow.
King Charles is said to have apologised to friends and family after they failed to receive invitations to his Coronation.

The latest confirmed to have been excluded is Lady Pamela Hicks, who is one of only two surviving bridesmaids from Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip's wedding in 1947.

Lady Pamela  whose father, the 1st Earl Mountbatten of Burma was Prince Philip's uncle  attended the Queen's funeral in a wheelchair last September.

Afterwards, her daughter, India, said her mother hoped to be one of the few people to have attended three coronations.

Today, Lady Pamela's 94th birthday, she received a telephone call from a secretary at Buckingham Palace, informing her that she had not been invited to the Coronation, to be held at Westminster Abbey next month.

Lady Pamela Hicks received a telephone call from a secretary at Buckingham Palace today

India Hicks revealed how her mother was phoned by Buckingham Palace to tell her the news

Lady Pamela Hicks with then-Prince Charles in 2000 in London's Knightsbridge at the unveiling of an Blue Plaque commemorating the Earl and Countess Mountbatten of Burma

'One of the King's personal secretaries was passing on a message from the King,' India Hicks said.

'The King was sending his great love and apologies, he was offending many family and friends with the reduced [guest] list.'

The palace official 'explained that this Coronation was to be very different to the Queen's' in 1953, when thousands more squeezed into the Abbey.

'Eight thousand guests would be whittled down to 1,000, alleviating the burden on the state.'

India, who is a goddaughter of King Charles and was a bridesmaid when he married Lady Diana Spencer, insists: 'My mother was not offended at all.

''How very, very sensible,' she said. Invitations based on meritocracy not aristocracy. 'I am going to follow with great interest the events of this new reign'.'

After Lady Pamela, whose father was assassinated by the IRA in 1979, attended the funeral of her close friend Queen Elizabeth at Westminster Abbey, India said: 'She might be the only living person to attend three Coronations.'

Lady Pamela was eight when she was taken to see George VI being crowned in 1937.

King Charles's apparent desire to make his Coronation 'meritocratic not aristocratic' has caused anguish in the upper echelons of society.

On Saturday, the Duke of Rutland voiced his surprise and bafflement that he and most of his fellow dukes had not received invitations.

Lady Pamela Hicks and India Hicks are pictured together at a funeral in London in June 2017

Lady Pamela Hicks arrives at the Queen's funeral at Westminster Abbey in September last year

India Hicks, daughter of Lady Pamela Hicks, at Westminster Abbey for the Queen's funeral

Lady Pamela Hicks is seen (centre) behind the Queen and Philip on a trip to Malta in 1954

Lady Pamela Hicks is pictured in the middle after the Queen's wedding in November 1947

The Duke, whose father attended two coronations, told the Daily Mail's Eden Confidential column: 'I have not been asked.'

He said he did 'not really understand' why, adding: 'It has been families like mine that have supported the Royal Family over 1,000 years or thereabouts.'

Financier Ben Goldsmith, whose family have been close to the royals for decades, warned that the King was in danger of giving in to 'drips and dullards' by 'watering down' his Coronation.

'No amount of watering down will ever be enough for the drips and dullards who really want this kind of thing abolished altogether,' said the financier, whose sister, Jemima, was one of Princess Diana's best friends.

'They represent a small, chippy minority who, for now, can be easily ignored. For the rest of us who enjoy the beauty of these ancient ceremonies, go big or go home.'

The other surviving bridesmaid from the Queen's wedding is Princess Alexandra of Kent. They are pictured together at a Buckingham Palace reception in November 2016

Goldsmith added: 'Apparently, peers have been told they aren't allowed to wear their coronation robes at the Coronation next month. Some, including our local one here, the Duke of Somerset, haven't been invited at all.

'I really hope it won't end up being a watered-down affair. Britain does these kinds of celebrations so well, and they matter to a huge number of people, not just here but around the world.'

At Queen Elizabeth's Coronation, the senior peer of each 'degree'  the duke, marquess, earl, viscount and baron with the oldest titles  'paid homage' to the new monarch.

And Goldsmith believes it's a mistake for the King to try to downplay such traditions.

'There is an ugly kind of self-hatred in calls for the watering down or eradication of the ones which are unique to our society,' said the son of late tycoon Sir James Goldsmith and Lady Annabel, a marquess's daughter.

Prince Harry will be attending the coronation without Meghan Markle (pictured together walking out of St Paul's Cathedral in London on June 3, 2022)

Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York (pictured at Royal Ascot in 2019) has also not been invited to the Coronation

'Thankfully, it's only a small, slightly depressing minority, for the time being. Fingers crossed they are completely ignored.'

The other surviving bridesmaid from the Queen's wedding is the 86-year-old Princess Alexandra of Kent - who was Queen Elizabeth II's first cousin and daughter of Prince George, Duke of Kent.

Princess Alexandra is a working member of the Royal Family so will have been invited and will be on the Buckingham Palace balcony after the coronation ceremony.

But Lady Pamela's lack of invitation to the coronation reflects attempts by Charles to pursue a pared-back service amid his plans for a slimmed-down modern monarchy.

Prince Andrew's ex-wife Sarah, Duchess of York has also not been invited to the Coronation - but is expected to attend the concert at Windsor Castle one day later.

Buckingham Palace announced last week that Prince Harry will attend the Coronation alone, with his wife Meghan choosing to remain in California with Prince Archie  who turns four that day  and Princess Lilibet, one.

MailOnline has contacted Buckingham Palace for comment this afternoon.
A Senate hearing on the Pentagon's 'Anomaly Resolution Office' that tracks UFOs featured testimony that most of the hundreds of cases being reviewed are based on 'readily explainable' phenomena  while revealing footage of a mysterious flying orb that is still 'unresolved.'

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick of DOD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office told the Senate Armed Services Committee that hundreds of sightings of spherical or oddly shaped objects spotted by military pilots remain under review.

'I should also state clearly for the record that in our research AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics,' Kirkpatrick told the panel.

The rare hearing, the first since last year's pathbreaking public event and the first since the Chinese spy balloon that crossed the country early this year, included an accounting of the cases the new office is analyzing.

Dr. Sean Kirkpatrick of DOD's All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office spoke of the challenges of prioritizing and identifying unidentified aerial phenomena

Kirkpatrick said his office is currently tracking 650 cases. But he pointed to the difficulty of sorting through the information that comes in, with priority put on what U.S. pilots or drones sometimes spot at high altitude.

He showed senators video of one such incident, identified by an MQ9 'Reaper' drone in the Middle East. It was of what looked like a metallic orb.

But he cautioned that 'It is going to be virtually impossible to fully identify that just based off of that video,' as his agency coordinates with other civilian agencies and academic resources.

'That is an unresolved case we are still studying,' he said.

Then he showed another video, this one from South Asia, also from an MQ9.

This sighting turned out to be of another aircraft.

Wednesday's hearing featured video of two events studied by an office that tracks UFOs

Kirkpatrick showed video of an 'unresolved' case in the Middle East, where a drone picked up a 'metallic orb'

Senate Armed Services Committee Chair Kirsten Gillibrand ran the hearing

More than half of UAP reported are spherical, according to a DOD analysis

What appeared at first to be anomalous was in fact 'a shadow image' picked up by sensors.

'This one we can resolve,' he said.

The first slide, of the still unresolved 'spherical UAP,' had 'characteristics and behavior consistent with other "metallic orb" observations in the region', and that the case is in AAROs 'active archive... pending discovery of additional data'.

The video, shot from an MQ-9 Reaper drone in the Middle East in 2022, pans across desert scrub, over buildings, vehicles and people, struggling to keep up with a spherical object zooming over their heads.

It is very similar to Reaper drone videos currently held on classified servers, described by an intelligence official to DailyMail.com last October, of 'orbs' flying around then 'suddenly bolting off the screen'.

It is also similar to a drone camera image dubbed the 'Mosul Orb', leaked to documentarian Jeremy Corbell and first reported by DailyMail.com earlier this year, of a metallic-looking spherical object over an Iraqi city.

Kirkpatrick revealed statistics gleaned from AARO's UFO cases from 1996 to the present day, describing typically-reported UAP characteristics including round, atypical orientation; 1-4 meter size; white, silver and translucent color; altitudes of 10,000 to 30,000 ft; and speeds ranging from stationary to Mach 2 (1,534 mph).

Typically there was no thermal exhaust detected from the objects and they were caught only intermittently on 8-12 GHz radar and 1-3 GHz or 8-12 GHz radio.

Kirkpatrick presented a map of reported-UAP hotspots showing concentrations on the US East and West coasts, the Middle East around Iraq, and the Sea of Japan between Japan, South Korea and North Korea.

However, he cautioned that this could be a collection bias  as these are locations where the US military has the most assets to catch UFOs on camera and radar.

32.2% of AAROs cases flew at 20,000 ft, and 23.5% at 25,000 ft. Only 4.3% were spotted above 30,000 ft.

52% were described as orbs, round or sphere, and 23% they were unable to determine the shape due to ambiguous sensor contact.

Despite some of the most famous recent cases involving sightings by Navy pilots of the East and West coasts of the US, only 1% of cases were described as having a TicTac shape, and 2% cylinder.

2% had a disk shape and 2% triangular.

The veteran intelligence officer and physicist told senators his office will follow scientific evidence wherever it leads.

'This is a hunt mission for: what might somebody be doing in our backyard that we dont know about,' Fitzpatrick said of his office's mission. He has dozens of scientists at work on case files.

He spoke before the Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities about the 'mission, activities, oversight and budget' of the office.

Panel Chair Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), spoke of the first tranche of government data revealed after pressure by the late Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.).

'We dont know where they come from, who made them or how they operate,' she said of some aerial events that were revealed, as she raced through an opening statement.

She lamented that 'because of the UFO stigma the response has been irresponsibly anemic and slow.'

Gillibrand complained that the office wasn't getting the resources it needs, and that 'it seemed that Pentagon leadership did not turn to AARO office to play a leading role' in the Chinese spy balloon incident.

She indicated that there had been a closed hearing before the public one, which started more than half an hour late, and which was attended by just two senators, Gillibrand and Iowa GOP Sen. Joni Ernst.

'Adversaries like China and Russia are working to hold U.S. interests including our homeland at risk,' Ernst warned.

Kirkpatrick acknowledged the 'historical record' his agency is seeking to analyze, including events from the 'distant past through today.' He said it needed to give priority to those based on defense information in areas of 'national security importance.'

'We cannot answer decades of questions about UAP all at once. But we must begin somewhere,' he said.

'The majority of unidentified objects reported to ARO demonstrate mundane characteristics of balloons, unmanned aerial systems, clutter, natural phenomena or other readily explainable sources,' he testified.

Despite the frequency of sightings coming in, 'Humans are subject to deception and illusions, sensors to unexpected responses and malfunctions, and in some cases, intentional interference,' he said.

Asked about advanced technologies that China and Russia might be employing, he said there are 'emerging capabilities out there.'

Kirkpatrick pointed in particular to China, without expressing certainty that its technology accounted for unexplained sightings.

'The adversary is not waiting. They are advancing and they are advancing quickly. They are less risk averse at technical advancement than we are. They are just willing to try things and see if it works,' he said.

The Pentagon and the U.S. intelligence community are reviewing hundreds of incidents involving UAPs. The president ordered the review after the U.S. military shot down the spy balloon that crossed the country in early February.

New Pentagon leaks that came to light last week revealed U.S. officials had knowledge of at least four other Chinese spy balloons.

A report by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence from early January revealed the number of UFO reports was increasing, with agencies aware of 510 Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena.

The special Pentagon office examined 366 of them, finding about half were unremarkable, 26 were most likely drones, 163 were balloons and six were clutter, according to ABC News.
Since the expedition Henson said it was he who sensed they were on the pole

Mathew Henson went on seven expeditions with Peary between 1891 and 1909

In April 1909, American explorer Robert Peary was written into history as the person person who 'discovered' the North Pole.

But an overlooked detail of that story is that Peary was accompanied by a black sharecropper from Maryland, Mathew Henson, who says it was he who had the gut feeling they had arrived at the right spot.

Henson and Peary partnered in 1891, and over the course of two decades embarked on seven Arctic expeditions together in the hopes of planting the American flag on the North Pole and claiming credit for its discovery.

Henson's commitment to the cause was so great that in those years he learned to build igloos, speak the Inuit language and was said by Peary to 'handle a sledge better than any man living, except some of the best [Inuit] hunters'. He also learned to use Inuit tools and adapted their fur garments.

Finally, on April 6, 1909, it is agreed by most historians that they made it, but when the New York Times broke the news months later with a 1,000-word front-page story, there was no mention of Henson.

Robert Peary is often credited with the 'discovery' of the North Pole, but a little-known sharecropper from Maryland accompanied him on that expedition. Henson is pictured

A group of six arrived at the North Pole as part of Peary's expedition on April 6, 1909. They included four Inuit guides, Ooqueah, Ootah, Egingwah and Seegloo. Pictured in a colorized photograph is Henson in the center and the guides on either side

At the turn of the 19th century, discovering the North Pole was a common ambition among explorers from around the world, many of whom had lost their lives trying to claim the prestigious accolade.

In the debate later around who should be credited for the achievement, multiple names often came up, among them Peary and fellow American Dr. Frederick A. Cook, but until recently Henson's was not one.

Henson was born to a family of sharecroppers in Charles County, Maryland, in 1866.

Both his parents died in his childhood so at 12 he went to work as a cabin boy on a merchant ship, according to a biography by the Arlington National Cemetery.

In six years on the ship he learned to read, write and navigate. Later, while working in a hat shop in Washington DC he befriended Peary, an engineer with the US Navy, who invited him on an expedition to Nicaragua.

Peary was impressed by Henson and in 1891 the pair went together on their first expedition to the Arctic. On all but one of Peary's subsequent trips he was accompanied by Henson, who was later discovered to have distant Inuit relatives.

Over the course of them Peary pioneered new ways to manage expeditions, and developed what became known as the 'Peary system', according to an article in Smithsonian Magazine.

He would travel with large parties of as many as 50 men who, along with their materials, would be towed by 246 dogs. Nonetheless, the sensational method led to failure during an attempt in 1906.

Matthew Henson is pictured in the furs worn during various Arctic expeditions. While in Greenland he befriended various Inuit people and even learned the language, which proved to be an invaluable skill

When the New York Times broke the news of Peary's successful voyage in a 1,000-word front-page story, there was no mention of Henson

During a final attempt in 1909 the party were within less than 200 miles of the North Pole but started running out of resources. Peary sent everyone back to the ship but went on with a reduced team, consisting of just Henson and four Inuits.

According to Henson, it was he that had the hunch that they had arrived at the North Pole, and it was Peary who took the measurement that confirmed it. Henson went on to describe the events of that day in an interview with the Boston American.

'We are now at the Pole, are we not?' Henson said he asked Peary.

'I do not suppose that we can swear that we are exactly at the Pole,' Peary replied, according to Henson.

Henson also wrote about his life's work and catalogued his entire journey in a book published in 1912, titled 'A Negro Explorer at the North Pole'.

In it he described how he had a sense of where he was going: 'Commander Peary took his sights from the time our chronometer-watches gave, and I, knowing that we had kept on going in practically a straight line, was sure that we had more than covered the necessary distance to insure our arrival at the top of the earth.'

The Explorers Club is a non-profit based in New York with chapters around the world. Pictured is its headquarters on East 70th Street in Manhattan

Mathew Henson (pictured right at 87) reached the North Pole with Robert Peary helps President Eisenhower locate the spot on the globe during a visit to the White House

JR Harris, who is also African American, serves on the board of directors of the Explorers Club, a non-profit based in New York. He told the BBC of efforts by the organization to put Henson on the map.

'As a kid growing up in school, I never heard of Matthew Henson,' he told the BBC. 'A lot of people assume that Matthew Henson was somebody I looked up to back in the day, and that's just not true. All we heard was that the North Pole was discovered by Robert Peary.'

'The [Inuit] people really liked him,' said Harris, 'Peary was kind of standoffish, and he appreciated that someone in his party could deal with the Inuit population and could establish good relations.'

Harris also discussed the importance of crediting the Inuit guides that were also present at the time of the successful 1909 expedition. The Explorers Club started a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee in 2022 and made JR Harris its chair, the BBC reported.

It admitted four new members: Seegloo, Egingwah, Ooqueah and Ootah, who accompanied Henson and Peary on their final expedition.

'In my opinion, they're all co-discoverers of the North Pole, all six of them,' said Harris. 'Those four guys are finally getting the recognition they deserve.'

In Henson's book he comments on how at the time he was only considered an accessory to, and not integral to, the historic expedition.

He described how he felt on discovering the North Pole. 'Another world's accomplishment was done and finished, and as in the past, from the beginning of history, wherever the world's work was done by a white man, he had been accompanied by a colored man,' he wrote.

'From the building of the pyramids and the journey to the Cross, to the discovery of the new world and the discovery of the North Pole, the Negro had been the faithful and constant companion of the Caucasian.'
Special inspector general for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko said the Taliban is likely stealing US aid intended for the Afghan people as he knocked the Defense and State departments, and USAID for an 'unprecedented' lack of cooperation.

'I cannot assure this committee and the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban, nor can I assure you Taliban are diverting the funding from the intended recipients,' Sopko told the House Oversight Committee.

Sopko noted that the U.S. has appropriated some $2 billion in humanitarian aid to Afghanistan and another $3.5 billion is slated to come in through an international fund.

'Due to this [DoD, State, USAID] refusal to cooperate a significant portion of SIGAR's work has been hindered and delayed.'

'I don't trust the Taliban as far as you can throw them,' Sopko went on. 'The information we're getting -- again, not from the State Department who isn't talking to us or USAID ... is that the Taliban are already diverting funds.'

SIGAR was originally tasked with overseeing US spending in Afghanistan when the US had a large presence in the country but is now focused on monitoring the more than $8 billion in US funding slated for Afghanistan aid since the 2021 withdrawal.

Sopko said the Taliban is likely stealing US aid intended for the Afghan people as he knocked the Defense and State departments, and USAID for an 'unprecedented' lack of cooperation

'I haven't seen a starving Taliban fighter on TV, they seem to be fat dumb and happy. I see starving Afghan children on TV.'

'If the purpose is to help the Afghan people we have to have effective oversight,' Sopko said, blaming an 'over-reliance' on international agencies he said have been 'horrible' about providing his agency with information.

Rep. Kweisi Mfume, a Democrat from Maryland, said it was 'scary' to think about U.S. dollars getting into the hands of the Taliban.

'These are billions and billions of dollars out of the US Treasury, that if they're not going to do what they should be going to spend at home. But they should be getting into Afghanistan to protect what we see going on with girls with women.'

Meanwhile Oversight Chair James Comer knocked Biden for the Taliban takeover.

'Today, the Taliban flag flies over Kabul,' the Kentucky Republican said. 'This is Joe Biden's legacy.'

'To be clear I was in favor of leaving Afghanistan, but it never should have been done like this.'

Ranking Member Jamie Raskin, a Maryland Democrat, blamed Trump's 2020 Doha agreement and his decision to release Taliban prisoners as part of the deal.

'My Republican colleagues refuse to examine the elephant on the battlefield: President Trump's disastrous decision to cut out the Afghan government and negotiate directly with the Taliban.'

Nicole Angerella, the inspector general for the Agency for International Development (USAID), admitted there have been 'significant impediments' in getting food to Afghan citizens, noting the United Nations has halted operations there while the Taliban prevent women from working at the agency.

Meanwhile, State Department inspector general Diana Shaw said that while 124,000 had been evacuated since the U.S. withdrawal, 'questions rightfully remain.' She said there still another 152,000 Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) applications in processing.

Robert Storch, Defense Department inspector general, called the withdrawal a 'strategic failure.'

'Despite investment of $2 trillion and 2,400 US service members sacrificing their lives the Afghan forces failed almost immediately.'

Sopko said that the 2020 Doha agreement former President Trump and the Taliban made on a timeline for U.S. withdrawal and President Biden's carrying out of the withdrawal 'merely exacerbated long-existing problems.'

Afghan people sit inside a U S military aircraft to leave Afghanistan, at the military airport in Kabul on August 19, 2021

Taliban take to the streets during a national holiday celebrating the first anniversary of the Taliban takeover on August 15, 2022

He laid blame on the Afghan military's 'total dependence on U.S.' support, in part due to the U.S. giving them sophisticated American military equipment rather than what they actually could use and maintain.

'You're dealing with a largely illiterate country- we forced them to take very sophisticated U.S. hardware they could not supply or fix.'

'They were capable of repairing old Soviet military equipment,' said Sopko. 'We decided for whatever reason to give them U.S. equipment.

Rep. Jamie Raskin, the ranking Democrat on the committee, asked whether the Trump decision to leave the Afghan government out of negotiations with the Taliban in 2020 contributed to the rapid-fire fall of Kabul.

'That decision cut the morale of the average Afghan soldier and the average Afghan civilian,' he said, adding the Biden administration to follow through on the deal 'further' cut morale.

Meanwhile a new damning SIGAR report said that the U.S. has 'left most of its allies behind, and it will take a year, on average, until each family reaches safety.'

SIGAR identified a slew of issues, including 'chronic understaffing, reliance on antiquated IT systems, and inadequate interagency coordination.'

As of late September 2022, the U.S. has only issued visas to approximately 20% of SIV applicants, per SIGAR. The report estimates it could take more than three decades to relocate and resettle all SIV applicants.

The White House issued its own prebuttal to the hearing Wednesday morning, with White House spokesman Ian Sams  who also takes on GOP hearings on Hunter Biden  trashing the effort by 'extreme MAGA members of their caucus.'

He set up the hearing as one 'where they will attack President Biden's decision to end the nation's longest war and bring American troops home from Afghanistan.'

He blasted the GOP claims of obstruction, saying the White House has provided thousands of pages of documents.

His memo said Republicans were relying on 'politically-motivated attacks' and were 'hoping to distract from their own failure to even agree upon, much less act on, solutions that are desperately needed today to protect the progress the Biden Administration has made to safely evacuate tens of thousands of people from Afghanistan at the end of the war.'

President Biden has repeatedly pointed the finger at a fixed withdrawal date negotiated by the Trump administration. The White House memo instead points to individual House conservatives, accusing them of showing 'disregard for the fate of Afghan allies.'

The new White House memo highlights statements by Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling Afghan refugees 'known terrorists,' and Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry saying their entry could allow little girls to be 'raped and killed in the streets.'
The female survivor of 'tummy tuck four' has been arrested for allegedly taking her child to fight another youngster before waving a gun around at the scene.

Latavia Washington McGee, 34, was rescued in March after being kidnapped by a Mexican drug cartel alongside three friends while traveling to the country for a second tummy tuck surgery after having six children.

She was arrested on Saturday on $10,000 bond over an unrelated incident which occurred on February 17 - just weeks before her kidnapping.

McGee was charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor relating to the fight at an apartment complex on Spivey Avenue in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.

Her attorney, Mark Cummings, said police allowed her to spend time with her family after returning from Mexico on March 8 before they made the arrest.

The arrested came just two days after McGee appeared on CNN in an exclusive interview with Anderson Cooper where she recounted her Mexico ordeal.

Latavia Washington McGee, 34, was charged for contributing to the delinquency of a minor on Saturday. She was released on Sunday on a $10,000 bond

McGee, 34, appeared on CNN just last week, days before her arrest. She recalled her kidnapping in Mexico. Her new charge is related to an incident which happened before the kidnapping

According to an incident report, McGee's child went to fight another minor- but they were removed from the location by another family member, before allegedly being taken back by McGee.

The mother allegedly pulled a pistol from her purse and waved it around at the scene, witnesses said according to WBTW.

An arrest warrant alleges that she knowingly took her child to the location of the fight.

According to WBTW, police obtained security video of the entire incident.

Cummings, said the arrest had nothing to do with her fatal kidnapping ordeal in Mexico.

'This charge was in no way related to the torture and death that [McGee] went through.

'We believe that the police department was doing its job. We are grateful for the hard work the police department does, but we do look forward to the charge being dismissed.'

The charge McGee faces is defined under South Carolina legislature as one where an adult has knowingly and willfully encouraging a minor to violate the law.

This can include, but isn't limited to, becoming and being disobedient, beyond the control of his or her parent, or repeatedly deserting his or her home or place of abode without parental consent.

McGee said 'none of them deserved' the treatment they received. She is shown after being rescued in March

Shaeed Woodard and Zindell Brown, two of the Americans kidnapped in Mexico, were found dead

McGee and her friends Eric Williams, Zindell Brown and Shaeed Woodard - dubbed 'the tummy tuck four' - became lost trying to find the cosmetic clinic in the border town of Matamoros in March, when they were caught in the crossfire of a cartel gunfight and taken after being mistaken for drug traffickers.

Williams and McGee survived after four days in captivity, and were released after the cartels realized their mistake while Brown and Woodard were killed.

The surviving pair have since begun detailing their ordeal, and revealed to CNN the cartels tried to force them to have sex with each other while in captivity.

The group had traveled to Matamoros for her to have a tummy tuck. They had driven from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, for days to get there.

Speaking of her murdered friends, McGee said: 'They didnt deserve that. None of us deserved it. But were alive  we have a lot of recovering to do'.
Ron DeSantis railed against the 'woke mind virus' as he promised to 'keep Disney in its pen' and pushed back on Bud Light's decision to use a transgender social media star as a spokesperson.

The Florida governor is continuing to tour the country exploring a presidential run under the guise of a book tour.

During remarks at his first stop of the three-city South Carolina tour, DeSantis told a crowd of about 300 people in Charleston that he would continue to take on corporations that try to push their woke agenda  including his No. 1 enemy Disney.

One of DeSantis's biggest initiatives is opposing organizations' shift toward environmental, social, and governance investing, known as ESG. The practice has become popular with companies attempting to use their influence and money to promote agendas that are usually progressive in nature.

'The people [want] businesses to focus on their core mission of providing whatever service or whatever they're doing in the economy and not getting mired into woke political activism,' DeSantis said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis delivered 30-minute remarks in Charleston, South Carolina, Wednesday where he railed against Bud Light, Disney and the 'woke mind virus'

Following his speech, DeSantis sat down with wife and Florida first lady Casey for a chat where the two discussed a range of issues like transgenderism, education and ESG investing

'And you see it time and time again,' he added. 'Sometimes it's a one off like this ridiculous thing with Bud Light by trying to push off the transgenderism. But what they're doing is these corporations, mostly very wealthy, powerful corporations, they're trying to leverage their economic power to change our country and change society and change policy.

'Things like ESG  what they're trying to do is pursue a left-wing agenda,' the Florida governor said. 'We are eliminating ESG, we're providing protection for Floridians.

'And, Disney, you know, we will make sure to keep them in their pen one way or another.'

DeSantis delivered 30-minute remarks before sitting down with his wife and Florida first lady Casey for a fireside chat-style conversation.

Casey, who graduated from the College of Charleston, donned a floral blue sundress while the governor sported a casual look with jeans, black boots, a white button-down and blazer.

Before a few hundred South Carolinians, DeSantis spoke with the American and South Carolina flags on display behind him. His book, The Courage to Be Free: Florida's Blueprint for America's Revival, was displayed on the table where he sat to speak with his wife.

DeSantis continued his tirade against 'woke' companies and education systems.

'It is wrong for a teacher to tell a student that they may have been born in the wrong body or that their gender is a choice,' DeSantis said. 'So we don't let that happen in Florida.

'Disney objects to that, well so be it, we're going to do that,' he added in his war or words with the massive corporation based in Florida.

The Florida first couple visited a local coffee shop in Charleston after his Florida Blueprint event at the North Charleston Coliseum & Performing Arts Center.

Their three young children  Madison, 6, Mason, 5, and Mamie, 3  did not join them for the one-day swing through South Carolina  but Casey assured that they would be joining them for their visit to Israel next week.

'Things like ESG  what they're trying to do is pursue a left-wing agenda... And, Disney, you know, we will make sure to keep them in their pen one way or another,' DeSantis said in his continuation of the war of words with the entertainment giant

The second event of the day for DeSantis is a closed-press event expected to include a few hundred people hosted by the Dorchester County GOP in Summerville, South Carolina.

Following that, the Florida governor will continue on for remarks in Spartanburg, South Carolina, on Wednesday evening for the same type of event he held in Charleston.

Before heading to South Carolina, DeSantis made a stop at his old workplace at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday to meet with lawmakers where he once served as a congressman for Florida.

He will also head back to the D.C. metro area on Friday for remarks at a Leadership Summit for the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to rake in endorsements for his 2024 White House run from lawmakers in Washington  including several of those from the Florida Republican delegation.

Walking away from his meetings in D.C. on Tuesday, two more Republicans levied their endorsements for the former president over the highly popular governor.

Reps. Brian Mast of Florida and Lance Gooden of Texas said they would be supporting Trump's primary run - even after Gooden said he had a 'positive meeting' face-to-face with DeSantis on Tuesday.

This brings the total number of endorsements for Trump to seven out of the 20 Republican congressmen from Florida.

Florida GOP Rep. Greg Steube, who also endorsed Trump over DeSantis and recently made headlines for a freak accident where he fell off a ladder, said the governor never reached out or replied to him during his time in the House.

The congressman told Politico that he made multiple attempts to connect with DeSantis and said he was snubbed from being able to stand alongside the governor during an event on Hurricane Ian relief.

DeSantis has earned one official endorsement from a Florida lawmaker, despite not yet officially entering the running. Rep. Laurel Lee is a freshman congresswoman who previously served as Florida's secretary of State under DeSantis.

Texas Rep. Chip Roy and Kentucky Rep. Thomas Massie have also endorsed DeSantis.

Trump has to date received 45 endorsements in the House and nine in the Senate.

Despite hemorrhaging endorsements to Trump, however, the governor still seems to be chugging full steam ahead toward a presidential run.
Department of Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg is under increased scrutiny by Republicans in Congress, who are accusing him of being 'asleep at the wheel' and putting equity and diversity priorities ahead of airline safety and passenger travel ease.

Southwest Airlines was forced to ground its entire fleet Tuesday morning sparking massive backlash from travelers nationwide. The stop started about 9:45am ET and lasted for about an hour, causing 1,982 delays and 10 cancellations as of of 4:00pm ET.

The ground stop, which was caused by 'intermittent technology issues,' comes after the airline had a meltdown due to another tech glitch over the holidays leading to the cancellation of nearly 17,000 flights and $1 billion in lost revenue.

Republican lawmakers are accusing Buttigieg for failing to hold the airline accountable since the Christmas season delays and cancellations since his administration is so focused on 'woke' diversity initiatives.

Under Buttigieg's leadership, his department launched a $1 billion campaign last summer to build 'racial equity' in roads, a move that sparked confusion and outrage from critics, who said it is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

Department of Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg is under increased scrutiny by Republicans in Congress

'Mayor Pete is asleep at wheel and continues to jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans,' Rep. Andy Biggs told DailyMail.com

Additionally, the same day as the Southwest's latest fiasco this week, Buttigieg tweeted that 'major racial disparities' are contributing to the rise of car crash deaths in the U.S.

'Roadway deaths have been on the rise across America - and major racial disparities are part of the pattern,' he wrote.

'While Mayor Pete continues to focus on woke initiatives, transportation failures are soaring across the country.' Rep, Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., told DailyMail.com.

'Mayor Pete is asleep at wheel and continues to jeopardize the lives of millions of Americans by wasting resources on eliminating so-called racist roads and expanding expensive electric vehicles,' said Biggs, who has previously called on Buttigieg to resign over his mishandling of a toxic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, in February.

'From overseeing supply chain issues to train derailments to additional airline failures, Mayor Pete is unfit to lead the Department of Transportation,' Biggs concluded.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., also accused Buttigieg of pushing 'woke initiatives and climate nonsense' in a recent speech examining the secretary's handling of the East Palestine train derailment.

During a House Science Committee hearing Wednesday, Rep. Mike Collins blasted Buttigieg for many 'failures' and woke radicalism infiltrating the Transportation Department.

Secretary Buttigiegs focus on wokeness is making Americans less safe. The Failure of NOTAM, train derailments, and several near miss aircraft collisions are just a few things sounding the alarm that change is needed at the Department of Transportation,' Collins told DailyMail.com.

'Buttigieg should resign immediately so someone serious about maintaining and building our nations critical infrastructure can take the wheel.'

Buttigieg tweeted out a statement following the ground stop Tuesday, saying the department is 'watching' the latest Southwest debacle.

'Mayor Pete is unfit to lead the Department of Transportation,' Biggs elaborated

Southwest Airlines was forced to ground its entire fleet Tuesday morning sparking massive backlash from travelers nationwide

'We are watching to ensure that Southwest Airlines takes care of all passengers who were affected by their technical problems this morning,' he wrote on Twitter Tuesday.

'Any customer not getting the accommodations or refunds they are owed should notify us through our website, and we'll follow up.'

We are watching to ensure that Southwest Airlines takes care of all passengers who were affected by their technical problems this morning.



Any customer not getting the accommodations or refunds they are owed should notify us through our website, and we'll follow up.  Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) April 18, 2023

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is continuing to struggle with a shortage of air traffic controllers, impacting flights across the country

The administration has asked all major airlines to cut service out of the New York City area by 10% in the upcoming summer months to account for the shortage.

In a letter to Buttigieg on April 5, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, demanded information on the steps that the Transportation Department has taken to ensure that consumers are not greatly impacted by the controller shortage.

Cruz, who serves as the ranking member on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, also asked for details on what safeguards are in place to prevent similar requests in the future from the FAA to air carriers to 'reduce their schedules.'

'With air travel continuing to rise past pre-pandemic levels, the FAA should present a targeted and sustainable solution across the National Airspace System (NAS),' he wrote.
Two women who died after being given caesareans by the same surgeon six weeks apart both contracted herpes, an inquest hears.

Mid Kent and Medway Coroners is investigating the cases of Kimberly Sampson, 29, and Samantha Mulcahy, 32, who passed away in 2018.

They were treated in hospitals run by East Kent Hospitals University NHS Trust.

The two of them died with herpes shortly after giving birth and their families, who were at the hearing, have been waiting almost five years for answers.

Working alongside another surgeon to deliver Ms Mulcahy's baby, who has been granted anonymity, Dr God'swill Etokowo told an inquest in Maidstone on Wednesday he noticed she was ill before the birth.

Samantha Mulchay, pictured with her husband Ryan, went into labour four weeks ahead of her due date and went into the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford, run by the same Trust as Ms Sampson's hospital, in July 2018

Kimberley Sampson, 29, was a 'brilliant mummy' who was 'fun', 'loving', and had 'lots of friends', her mother Yvette Sampson previously said

He said he was 'worried' after noticing she was clearly in 'pain and discomfort' and was involved in the decision to conduct a C-section.

Ms Mulcahy lost 700ml of blood during the procedure, the court was told.

She also had a rash close to her bottom and there were concerns over her having pre-eclampsia, a life-threatening high blood pressure condition, it was said.

Dr Etokowo said: 'It didn't cross my mind that she had herpes. I didn't think she had herpes; she had a rash but I didn't think it was a herpes rash.'

He added: 'I was not convinced she had pre-eclampsia, personally, but there was, of course, a chance.'

Dr Etokowo said in hindsight he would have sent a blood test away if there was any doubt over whether Ms Mulcahy had an infection but he did not know about Ms Sampson's death and how she died.

Herpes infections are commonly found around the genitals and face, often with mild symptoms.

Ms Sampson's baby boy - her second child - was delivered at the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother Hospital in Margate in May 2018.

She died at the end of the month in hospital in London after becoming infected.

In July, first-time mother Mrs Mulcahy died from an infection caused by the same virus at the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford.

In March, coroner Catherine Wood accepted an application from the trust to give anonymity to the surgeon common to both cases.

The inquest continues.
Michelangelo may have painted himself onto the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, a new theory has suggested.

The theory centres around one of the most iconic paintings in the world - 'The Creation of Adam', the arm of a gentle, bearded God reaching out to give life to Adam.

It is thought that the Renaissance painter may have brazenly added a self-portrait to the fresco, portraying himself as the depiction of God.

The theory is gaining traction among scholars after the unearthing of a potential clue into what the artist was thinking during the four years that it took to paint the ceiling of the chapel.

Art historians have pointed towards Michelangelo's rather inflated ego or brass-necked humour to place his own image in the middle of one of the world's most iconic artworks.

Michelangelo (pictured) may have painted himself onto the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, a new theory has suggested

A view of the fully restored 15th-century Sistine Chapel with the 'Last Judgment ' by Michelangelo

'The Creation of Adam', the arm of a gentle, bearded God reaching out to give life to Adam

'Michelangelo saw himself as the Messiah of art, so it makes sense,' Adriano Marinazzo, the curator of special projects at Muscarelle Museum of Art at The College of William and Mary, told The Wall Street Journal.

Marinazzo, who published the theory last year, said he made the potential discovery after studying a sonnet Michelangelo wrote to his friend Giovanni da Pistoia in the early 1500s.

In the poem, the painter says he struggling with the physical toll that painting the chapel ceiling is taking on him.

'My brush, above me all the time, dribbles the paint so my face makes a fine floor for droppings,' Michelangelo wrote sometime between 1509 and 1511.

But inside the margins of the sonnet, there is a small drawing of a man - assumed to be Michelangelo himself.

He is standing with his legs crossed, reaching out with his hand to touch the painting - a rather similar depiction to that of God in 'The Creation of Adam'.

The key finding has an eerily similar pose and posture to that in the painting, further supporting the argument that the depiction of himself may have been entirely intentional.

Marinazzo told The Wall Street Journal: 'He's hidden himself in the ceiling. The face is idealised because Michelangelo was self-conscious about his smashed nose, but this is the closest he's ever come to presenting himself as divine.'

The theory is gaining traction among scholars after the unearthing of a potential clue into what the artist was thinking during the four years that it took to paint the ceiling of the chapel

But the theory also has its critics. A Renaissance art historian Paul Barolsky said he believes there is not enough proof that the margin doodle inspired the final fresco.

He said the Renaissance artist would have sent hundreds of letters and would have moaned about his looks numerous times.

'Everybody's got theories, but you've got to do better than that,' Mr Barolsky told The Wall Street Journal.

But this hasn't stopped the theory from gaining traction among scholars. Other historians have dubbed the find a 'clever connection'.

Others, however, have argued that it may have been a self-conscious depiction of himself as he may have related to the image.
This is the disgusting mass of wet wipes a water company had to fish from their drains after it blocked a 400-metre sewer.

The filthy towels jammed the tube after becoming congealed into a sludgy clump.

Wessex Water said the drain-dwelling monster was from only a 'handful of properties' flushing the wipes down their toilets in Highbridge, Somerset.

They were forced to extract 400 metres of sewer that was 'solid' with wet wipes.

The disposable flannels are believed to be responsible for 93 per cent of the blockages in sewers, costing 100 million a year to clear.

Wessex Water said the drain-dwelling monster was from only a 'handful of properties' flushing the wipes down their toilets in Highbridge, Somerset

They were forced to extract 400 metres of sewer that was 'solid' with wet wipes

A spokesperson for Wessex Water said: 'Fortunately, 80 per cent of people remember to bin them as they don't break down when they are flushed and can block your pipes.

'It only takes a small number of houses to create a bigger problem as shown here. It's why we agree that wipes should be wiped out!'

Pictures show the brown masses of wipes congealed into mountains around a manhole cover.

READ MORE: Dirty wet wipes that wash up on British beaches are still teaming with harmful faecal bacteria that can pose a risk to human health, study warns Advertisement

They hang in foul strings from a pipe, which removed them from the sewer.

It comes as stricter labelling could also be brought in to urge consumers not to flush the single-use items down the toilet  even if they do not contain plastic.

Government plans to clean up rivers and seas also could see the banning of wet wipes containing toxic plastic.

Plastic-free wet wipes would be unaffected by any ban, and many manufacturers have already started to switch to more sustainable alternatives.

But the most recent figures show 90 per cent of the 11 billion wet wipes used in the UK each year contain plastic, says the Marine Conservation Society (MCS).

When flushed, all wet wipes help to create fatbergs  a mass of wipes, paper, cooking fat and sewage that clogs up sewers, pollutes rivers and harms wildlife.

Despite some being labelled as 'fine to flush', there are also concerns about how long wet wipes take to break down.

Two years ago, Ministers called for evidence as to whether plastic wet wipes should face a total ban.

When the findings were published earlier this year, 96 per cent of respondents to an official survey said they would support a ban on wet wipes containing plastic, though only 50 per cent of manufacturers agreed.

The Government response said: 'Given public appetite for implementing a ban on wet wipes containing plastic, we note this to be a course of action that will be carefully considered.'

The disposable flannels are believed to be responsible for 93 per cent of the blockages in sewers, costing 100 million a year to clear

Any ban or stricter labelling will be subject to consultation.

Allison Ogden-Newton, of Keep Britain Tidy, said: 'Wet wipes are the devil's work. They are largely single-use plastics that, once in the sewerage system, via our loos, cause no end of environmental damage.

'They block our Victorian plumbing leading to increased use of overflow pipes and even more raw sewage entering our rivers and seas.

'Manufacturing claims that they are 'flushable', or 'biodegradable' are untested.

'What we do know is they are so damaging they've formed monumental mounds in our waterways, changing the course of rivers like the Thames. Then, the best we can hope for is they disintegrate into micro plastics, further damaging the natural world and even entering our food chain.

'We need legislation to make it clear that they must never be put down the loo.'
The suspect in the murders of four people in a home in Maine on Monday tearfully begged for forgiveness a day before in a Facebook video.

It has since been revealed that he was not legally allowed to own guns in the state, having been released from prison four days previously.

The shootings in Maine began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday.

Then a chaotic scene developed in which shots were fired at vehicles on an interstate highway over 20 miles away in the community of Yarmouth, police said. Three people were shot there, and one remained in critical condition Wednesday.

The gunman, identified as Joseph Eaton, 34, of Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings. In the chilling video, Eaton asks people to 'try to forgive him' and reveals that he suffers from trauma after being molested.

'Being molested and stuff. It destroys somebody. I know I'm good for my kids. I just wish people would forgive me, you know, some people. I don't get it,' Eaton said. He does not say from whom he is seeking forgiveness.

Joseph Eaton was released from prison last Friday after serving eight months on assault charges

Eaton posted this photo on the day of his release from prison, accompanied with the caption: 'Real food'

Eaton is seen wearing handcuffs in police custody. Shortly after this picture was taken, he was taken from the scene in a police cruiser

Eaton criticizes unnamed persons for 'claiming to be Christian' but are unable to 'forgive somebody or understand what they go through.'

'You can't give someone a second chance, but you say you're a Christian. How does that make sense? Why can't you just try to take it slow, try to get to know the person. What good's it do to hate somebody? It destroys you,' he adds.

'Life as a whole is suffering. You work for the duration, you get sick, people you love die, and your guaranteed to have 'bad days.' You die and lose everything you spent your life obtaining. There is more to it than meets the eye. Life is a trial for what is to come,' Eaton wrote in a Facebook post on April 16.

Eaton was charged over the past decade with more than a half-dozen crimes and and completed a sentence for assault on April 14, according to state records.

Past convictions include aggravated assault, a felony that would prevent him from legally having a firearm.

The origins and ownership of the firearms used in Tuesday's shootings were unclear. State police declined to comment on the weapon or weapons that were used.

Eaton has a criminal history in both Maine and Florida. His crimes include felony aggravated assault, domestic violence and violence against a law enforcement officer, reports the Portland Press Herald.

The suspect was sentenced to three years in prison in the Sunshine State on felony weapons and assault charges in 2018.

On Friday, as he was released from prison, Eaton wrote on Facebook: 'It's finally over. There are so many people I can't wait to see.' A day later he posted a photo showing him eating breakfast with the caption: 'Real food!!!!'

Bullet holes can be seen in the windshield of the silver sedan that was involved in the shooting

Maine State Police are continuing to search the area where the suspect was taken into custody out of an abundance of caution

Eaton is facing four counts of murder. He has yet to be charged in the interstate shooting

Eaton's mugshot: He has a lengthy criminal history in Maine, with charges including assault and illegal possession of a firearm on his record

In Bowdoin, yellow crime tape hung where the shootings took place in a home flanked by woods at the end of a long, gravel driveway. Detectives and technicians remained in the home collecting evidence late Tuesday, long after hearses left the driveway.

At one point, a woman spoke to police outside the house, then dropped to her knees and sobbed.

In Yarmouth on Wednesday, traffic flowed normally on Interstate 295, where a day before the three people were shot in cars and the gunman was apprehended.

Maine Gov. Janet Mills tweeted her concern for the 'families, friends and loved ones of those impacted by this tragedy.' She said she was praying for the injured.

'Like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply saddened. Acts of violence like we experienced today shake our state and our communities to the core,' she said.

A witness to the interstate shooting told CBS News affiliate WGME-TV: 'We just saw a bunch of smoke. And my friend in the truck was like, "I think that's gunpowder, like gunsmoke."'

State police have said that the three motorists who were shot have been hospitalized with gunshot wounds, and one remains in critical condition.

On Facebook, Bowdoin resident Ian Halsey said that some of the victims were his cousins. 'My cousin is in critical condition and my other cousin is stable. There is no connection between the victims. It was random that my family was shot at,' Halsey told the Portland Press Herald.

Lisa Erickson told the newspaper that she heard gunshots close to her home in Yarmouth, a few minutes later her neighborhood was swarming with police officers.

Erickson said that responding officers told her and her neighbors to stay indoors while a search was conducted. The suspect's abandoned car was left close to the woman's home.

The town of Yarmouth has a population of around 9,000 and is around 12 miles north of Maine's largest city, Portland. Bowdoin is a small farming community with a population of around 3,000.

Police briefly ordered people in nearby neighborhoods to shelter in place, but authorities later announced there was no threat to the public.

Lenora Felker, who works near the highway at Rosemont Market and Bakery, said she sensed something was afoot when people started streaming in, saying the highway was closed, followed by dozens of law enforcement officers who descended on the area.

Officers canvassed businesses asking if they had seen 'anyone that was wet and muddy fleeing,' Felker said. But she knew all the customers and didn't see anything 'out of the ordinary,' she said.
A British holidaymaker who drunkenly threatened cabin staff during a nine-hour trans-Atlantic flight on the 21st anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks has been jailed for 20 weeks.

Wesley Haining, 45, started a drunken foul-mouthed argument with his partner after he got drunk on Bacardi on the TUI flight from Jamaica to Manchester last year.

Haining, from Salford, then demanded more alcohol, played the victim and even threatened to sue cabin crew who confronted him, Manchester Crown Court heard.

His rampage put almost 300 passengers in fear for their lives and reduced an unnamed woman to tears after he called her a 'f***ing d******d', a 'f***ing idiot' and 'f***ing stupid'.

He admitted being drunk on an aircraft and using threatening and abusive words to cause distress and alarm and was jailed for 20 weeks. He was in breach of a suspended sentence for fraud which had been imposed just four months prior.

Wesley Haining, 45, (pictured) drunkenly threatened cabin staff during a nine-hour trans-Atlantic flight on the 21st anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks. He admitted being drunk on an aircraft and using threatening and abusive words to cause distress and alarm and was jailed for 20 weeks

He started a drunken foul-mouthed argument with his partner after he got drunk on Bacardi on the TUI flight (stock photo) from Jamaica to Manchester last year. Haining, from Salford, then demanded more alcohol, played the victim and even threatened to sue cabin crew who confronted him, Manchester Crown Court heard

As the TUI plane cruised at 34,000 feet above the Atlantic ocean Haining launched his verbal attack on the woman as fellow travellers, many being children, looked on.

He also shouted: 'You know what she needs, she needs to get f***ing run over by a black f***ing cab!' whilst marching up and down the aisles in a fit of rage.

He then turned on cabin crew who tried to calm him down saying: 'I will punch you in the f***ing face'.

He added: 'you don't f***ing speak to me like that. I am going to sue you if you touch me.'

Haining's behaviour on a Jamaica to Manchester flight between September 10 and 11 last year got so intimidating that the captain was alerted - but an emergency reroute was not possible due to their position over the Atlantic.

Instead the unruly passenger who had been swigging his own plastic bottle of Bacardi throughout the flight, continued with his mid-air defiance, the court heard.

He said 'I do not give a f**k' when issued with a 'notice of violation.'

He was arrested after the plane touched down in the UK.

In a victim personal statement, air hostess Joanne Scullion said: 'In my 20 years of being a cabin crew member, I have never been made to feel more helpless, shocked and scared as I was on that incident. I was apprehensive about working on the same route because of what happened.'

Ms Scullion was working as a member of the cabin crew on flight TOM115 from Montego Bay to Manchester.

The flight contained 294 passengers and a number of cabin crew and pilots. She started tending at the front of the aircraft and moved up the cabin during her shift.

When she got to the rear of the aircraft, she heard shouting and screaming from one of the seated passengers.

'When she looked over, she could see a female walking towards her crying. After consoling her and letting her use the facilities, she was told that the man sat next to her was "pissed, horrendous and being nasty to her,"' Peter Malone, prosecuting, said.

'This man was her partner, Mr Haining. As she went back to her seat he shouted that she was a "f***ing d******d, f***ing idiot and f***ing stupid." He acted in an aggressive and animated way towards her.

Haining's rampage put almost 300 passengers in fear for their lives and reduced an unnamed woman to tears after he called her a 'f*****g d******d', a 'f*****g idiot' and 'f*****g stupid'. Haining is pictured above

The prosecutor said Haining was warned about his behaviour and acknowledged it. However, when the meal service began later on in the flight he became aggressive again, shouting: 'I am the victim here, she started it. She's a f***ing d******d.'

Mr Malone added: 'His behaviour had become more and more intimidating, and at this point he was told he would not be served any more alcohol. In response, he said "I do not give a f**k" and continued to drink from a concealed bottle of Bacardi.'

The captain was notified of the disturbance but due to the fact that they were flying over the Atlantic, an emergency landing was not possible.

Haining continued his behaviour despite being warned again, the court heard.

'He was told to watch out for a child sat next to him when he got up out of his seat. In response, he told Ms Scullion "you don't f***ing speak to me like that. I am going to sue you if you touch me."

'He then said she needs to "get run over by a f***ing black cab," and raised his fists and punched one of them into his other palm,' explained Mr Malone.

Another steward had to stand between them to prevent any further escalation.

The woman was moved to a seat at the other end of the aircraft, but Haining's behaviour continued.

Greater Manchester Police arrested him once the aircraft landed at Manchester International Airport.

He admitted the offences and apologised in interview at Cheadle Heath Police.

His demeanour in the interview was 'unsteady, with glazed eyes, and was clearly under the influence of drink', the prosecutor said.

Haining was released on bail and later pleaded guilty to the offences at Manchester Magistrates Court on November 22.

He had 51 previous offences on his record - the most recent of which was a five month jail term suspended for 12 months in May 2022 for fraud by false representation.

There is no bar on Britons travelling abroad if they have a criminal record.

Greater Manchester Police arrested Haining (pictured) once the aircraft landed at Manchester International Airport. He admitted the offences and apologised in interview at Cheadle Heath Police. His demeanour in the interview was 'unsteady, with glazed eyes, and was clearly under the influence of drink', the prosecutor said

In mitigation for Haining, Patrick Buckley said: 'At 34,000 feet above the Atlantic Ocean and expressing unpleasant behaviour, it must have been a scary place to be.

'But he has expressed remorse and has cooperated with authorities in every point since arrest. It is alcohol that is the problem here. Unless it is challenged, this will pose an ongoing issue to him.

'His recollection is, at best, hazy and his relationship with drinking had been exacerbated in recent years.'

Sentencing Haining, the judge Mr Recorder Matthew Happold said: 'You left the cabin crew feeling, helpless, threatened and scared. This was made worse by the fact that the other 300 people on board simply could not leave the plane.

'The pilot was not able to land when your behaviour manifested itself. I don't see any alternative to passing a custodial sentence. The location of your behaviour made it particularly concerning.'
A Labour frontbencher was forced to apologise to Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf today after calling him 'Mohammad' in a live television interview.

Shadow Northern Ireland secretary Peter Kyle was attacking the SNP when he made the gaffe about Scotland's first Muslim leader.

Mr Kyle used a Sky News interview to attack the separatists - currently the subject of a police probe into party finances.

But he faced accusations of racism online after telling the station: 'Mohammad Yousuf needs to get a grip on his party because right now it is not capable of serving the people of Scotland.'

He did not notice the slip and was not picked up on it by the presenter, and the clip was later broadcast on Twitter by Sky.

Later Mr Kyle told the Mirror: 'I'm always mortified if I ever get someone's name wrong and I am now. I'm sorry to Humza and promise it's a mistake I won't make twice.'

Shadow Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Kyle was attacking the SNP when he made the gaffe about Scotland's first Muslim leader.

He faced accusations of racism after telling the station: 'Mohammad Yousuf needs to get a grip on his party because right now it is not capable of serving the people of Scotland.'

Mr Yousaf has faced a torrid start to his time as First Minister, after the police arrested Peter Murrell, the husband of Nicola Sturgeon, and party treasurer Colin Beattie - who resigned this afternoon.

Asked about the scandal, Mr Kyle said: 'What we do know for a fact is that the SNP is imploding.

'People in in Scotland are being let down and they've been let down twice by a government in Scotland that's imploding and a government in Westminster that is not delivering.

'What we're trying to do is put together a credible alternative - an inspiring hopeful alternative - with credible plans to solve the challenges and public services in [Scotland] which are rife.

'The economy which is underperforming because of the two failed governments which are there to serve the people of Scotland.

'Those are the things we will start to set out an alternative to. A criminal investigation that's currently underway into the SNP needs to follow its course.'
Heathrow staff are to strike for another eight days next month amid fears that walkouts will cause chaos for royal fans travelling to the UK for King Charles' coronation.

Union Unite has announced security officers at Heathrow Airport who are members will walk out on May 4, 5, 6, 9, 10, 25, 26 and 27.

Unite said the strikes will cause 'inevitable disruption and delays' at a time when people are expected to be travelling to the UK for the King's coronation.

The planned walkouts will likely have a major impact due to the high volumes of people travelling to the UK for the ceremony on May 6 and for the Eurovision Song Contest on May 13.

The 1,400 security officers involved in the dispute took 10 days of action over Easter.

Heathrow Airport staff also walked out over Easter for a 10-day period (Pictured: Striking security staff outside the airport on March 31)

The union says the average security worker is paid 30,000 per year, made up of 26,000 of basic pay plus a 4,000 shift allowanc

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Yet again, we have a chief executive who thinks it is acceptable to boost his earnings while he denies his own workers a decent pay rise.

'This dispute is bound to escalate with more workers being balloted and disruption set to continue throughout the summer.'

Security staff at the airport also took action from March 31 until April 9.

The union says the average security worker is paid 30,000 per year, made up of 26,000 of basic pay plus a 4,000 shift allowance.

They say this amounts to a real-terms pay cut of 24 percent since 2017.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: 'Strikes next month will cause further disruption to airport passengers but this dispute is a direct result of Heathrow's stubborn refusal to make an offer that meets our members' expectations.

'Our members have been crystal clear they are seeking a substantial permanent increase in pay. A small one off lump sum payment will not alleviate the financial pressures our members are facing on a daily basis.

'While the CEO can enjoy a lavish millionaire's lifestyle, our members struggle to pay the bills and put food on the table. This is about need not greed.'

A Heathrow spokesperson said: 'We kept Heathrow running smoothly during the first 10 days of Unite's failed industrial action, and passengers can have confidence that we will do so again this time.

'We will not let Unite disrupt the flow of visitors to the UK during such an important period for the country.

'Instead of chasing headlines, Unite should listen to its members.

'The majority of Heathrow colleagues do not want to strike and want to accept the offer on the table.

'Each day that Unite refuses to allow members to vote on the 10 percent pay increase and a 1,150 lump sum payment is a day that costs colleagues money they deserve now.'
Baldwin will remain in the lead role and another cinematographer will replace the late Halyna Hutchins

A camera crew showed up at the Baldwins' Manhattan apartment Wednesday morning and captured the family's goodbyes and then went along to the airport with Alec

Alec Baldwin, 65, was seen saying goodbye to his wife Hilaria, 39, and kids before heading to Montana to continue filming ill-fated Rust

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Alec Baldwin is off to Montana to continue filming his ill-fated movie Rust, and it appears cameras are along for the ride.

DailyMail.com saw a film crew show up at his Manhattan apartment around 7am Wednesday and meet the 65-year-old actor outside.

Baldwin smiled and shook the crew members' hands before telling them his wife and children would be out in a few minutes.

Soon after, Baldwin came back out with his sons and wife Hilaria, who was smiling and carrying their youngest daughter in her arms. Baldwin loaded his sons' bookbags into an SUV, spoke to the cameras briefly and then took them to school, with Hilaria leading the crew of four women inside.

Baldwin returned to the home to give his wife and baby tender kisses goodbye, rolled his suitcase into the SUV and was off to the airport  with the film crew in tow.

Alec Baldwin was seen kissing his wife Hilaria goodbye before heading to Montana to continue filming the troubled movie Rust

Camera crews were there to capture the tender moment Alec kissed his wife and child goodbye on Wednesday

Hilaria appeared comfortable in front of the camera, smiling with her seven-month-old daughter Ilaria Catalina in her arms

A camera crew showed up to the Baldwins' Manhattan apartment Wednesday morning and filmed the family's goodbyes. He was seen greeting the crew

Baldwin spoke to the cameras briefly as Hilaria and their youngest daughter stood alongside him. He took his sons to school and then was off to the airport

Hilaria looked comfortable in front of the camera, smiling with her seven-month-old daughter Ilaria Catalina.

She wore loose jeans, a white top and flannel with sneakers, before changing into slippers. The mother-of-seven had black oversized sunglasses on and her hair was curled.

Baldwin threw a black jacket on top of a black short-sleeve shirt for his flight to Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana.

He appeared to put his ongoing legal battles behind him to film the rest of the movie that left him facing criminal charges and lawsuits.

In February, the Santa Fe District Attorney's Office dropped a key gun enhancement charge a crime that would have carried a five-year sentence if convicted.

Baldwin threw on a black jacket on top of a black short-sleeve shirt for his flight to Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana

Hilaria wore loose jeans, a white top and flannel with sneakers, before changing into slippers and carrying her seven-month-old

Baldwin rolled his suitcase into the SUV and was off to the airport  with the film crew tagging along for the journey

The mother-of-seven had black oversized shades on as she spoke to crew members outside her Manhattan apartment

Baldwin came out with his sons and wife Hilaria on Wednesday morning for a school run. He was carrying his son's bookbag in his hands

Just before the actor drove away in a waiting SUV, he leaned in to kiss his wife and child

Hilaria appeared to be directing the camera crew outside of her home Wednesday. It's unclear what the family are filming

Production stopped abruptly in October 2021 when a prop gun held by Baldwin fired a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie's New Mexico set.

Despite the controversy, on Tuesday a spokesperson for Rust Movie Productions told CNN filming will continue.

Baldwin faces separate criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter over Hutchins's death. He denies those allegations.

It was announced earlier this year that Baldwin would remain in the lead role for Rust and that another cinematographer would replace Hutchins. It was also confirmed that filming would not be completed on the original set at Bonanza Creek Ranch in New Mexico.

Director Joel Souza, who was injured by the same bullet that killed Hutchins, will also return to finish the project.

It was announced earlier this year that Baldwin would remain in the lead role for Rust and that another cinematographer would replace Hutchins

Production stopped abruptly in October 2021 when a prop gun held by Baldwin fired a live round that killed cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the movie's New Mexico set. An image of Hutchins is shown at a vigil

Despite the controversy, on Tuesday a spokesperson for Rust Movie Productions told CNN filming will continue at the Yellowstone Film Ranch in Montana

Earlier this week a judge sealed from public view the terms of a civil settlement between Baldwin and Hutchins's widower, Mathew, and their son.

'What is driving my decision is really the interests of the minor child. And that is one of the very most powerful reasons to seal a matter,' the judge said in a hearing Monday.

Mathew Hutchins and Baldwin came to another agreement in October. Part of that stipulated that Hutchins will serve as executive producer on the film.

After settling the lawsuit last year, Mathew claimed he desired no further 'recriminations'. But in January, Hutchins's family said they supported Baldwin being charged with involuntary manslaughter.

Last Thursday, Baldwin filed a motion that another lawsuit filed by Hutchins's parents and sister be be thrown out, claiming they had been distanced from her 'physically, financially and emotionally for years before her death.'

Baldwin said in court documents, 'The loss of a daughter and sister is undoubtedly painful in any circumstance.

'Yet Plaintiffs who had been distanced from Halyna physically, financially, and emotionally for years before her death have no viable cause of action against Defendants,' the documents state.
Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes has once again pleaded with the judge to reverse her 11-year 'unjust' conviction just one week before she is due behind bars.

The mother-of-two, 39, is making a last-ditch effort to avoid wearing an orange jumpsuit as she filed an appeal in the 9th Circuit on Monday to overturn her 'unjust' conviction in January 2022.

She is set to turn herself into prison on April 27 after it was delayed to give her time to have her second child, which she gave birth to in February.

The Stanford dropout's legal team argued she did not 'knowingly and intentionally misrepresent to investors the capabilities of Theranos' technology' and again pleaded to use evidence from ex-boyfriend Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani.

Balwani's testimony was not allowed to be used at Holmes' trial.

Theranos fraudster Elizabeth Holmes (pictured in March) has once again pleaded with the judge to reverse her 11-year 'unjust' conviction just one week before she is due behind bars

Holmes' team said testimony from her ex-boyfriend Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani (pictured) would corroborate that she did not intend to defraud investors

'Balwanis testimony is compelling evidence corroborating Holmes defense that she did not intend to defraud investors with the financial projections or conspire with Balwani to do so,' the 132-page appeal read.

'The jury surely would have deemed Balwanis inculpatory testimony more persuasive than Holmes exculpatory testimony.'

Balwani was convicted of wire fraud and defrauding investors. He was sentenced to 13 years in December.

'The court abused its discretion by excluding prior testimony from Balwani that he, not Holmes, was responsible for the model that generated the allegedly false financial projections given to C-2 investors,' the appeal read.

She accused this move as being an 'error' that 'prejudiced Holmes' defense to this important allegation.'

Holmes also accused the court of being influenced by Dr. Adam Rosendorff's testimony based on his 'credibility and competence.'

'Given the raft of problems that followed Rosendorff from laboratory to laboratory, one of two things must be correct. One, Rosendorff was an incompetent laboratory director. Or, two, systemic testing errors at laboratories are common. Both of those scenarios tend to exonerate Holmes,' her team argued.

Earlier this month, Holmes (pictured in October with her partner Billy Evans) was denied delaying her prison sentence while she appeals the decision. A US judge denied Holmes' request to remain free on bail while she appeals her conviction

Holmes' defense team previously argued that she is the 'mother of two young children.' She gave birth to her first son in July 2021 (pictured: Holmes and Evans with one of their children)

'But neither was fully before the jury. Instead, exclusion of this evidence allowed the government to hold out Rosendorff as a truth-telling, competent laboratory director who thought Theranos was uniquely problematic.'

In addition, she accused the court of giving her too much time for her crimes after it tacked on 10 more years for 'enhancement' for the 'number of victims and the amount of loss by a mere preponderance of the evidence.'

'That was [an] error: Under this Courts precedent, the court needed to find the facts supporting its severe enhancement by clear-and-convincing evidence,' her team argued.

'The result of this error is an excessive 135-month term of imprisonment. That is 27 months higher than what the Probation Office recommended, for a woman whounlike other white-collar defendantsneither sought nor gained any profit from the purported loss and was trying to improve patient health.

She was convicted of defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing startup that was once valued at $9billion

Holmes rose to fame after claiming Theranos' small machines could run an array of diagnostic tests with just a few drops of blood

'At a minimum, this Court should remand for resentencing.'

Holmes' attempted last month to delay her prison sentence while she appeals her conviction on charges of defrauding investors in the failed blood-testing startup that was once valued at $9billion.

Judge Edward Davila denied her request and concluded that even if Holmes won her appeal to challenge the Theranos technology evidence, it wouldn't result in a reversal or a new trial of all the counts she was found guilty of.

Her attorneys previously asked the judge to take into consideration her maternal role.

'Contrary to her suggestion that accuracy and reliability were central issues to her convictions, Ms. Holmes' misrepresentations to Theranos investors involved more than just whether Theranos technology worked as promised,' he said.

The judge recommended she serve her more than 11-year sentence in Bryan, Texas - 1,800 miles away from her family in California

In denying the release appeal, Davila noted that Holmes was unlikely to flee or endanger the community.

Davila previously recommended that Holmes serve her sentence at a minimum security prison camp in Texas, though federal prison authorities have the final say on where she will be locked up.

The prison - Camp Bryan - is about 100 miles north of Houston, where Holmes attended high school. It is designated for female inmates and currently houses about 540 inmates.

Those serving time at the facility are allowed to accept multiple visitors on weekends.
Educators in all Florida public schools for all grave levels will now be banned from teaching students about gender identity and sexual orientation in a sweeping move announced by Ron DeSantis's board of education on Wednesday.

The move marks a huge expansion of the The Parental Rights in Education law - also dubbed the 'Don't Say Gay' bill by critics - which was signed last year by the governor and sparked a firestorm across the country. Critics of the policy claim it could harm children who identify as gay and transgender.

While the previous version of the law prohibited instruction of these topics to children ages 5 through 8, and the expansion would now apply to students up to the age of 18.

The new rule - which will now apply to grades four to 12 in the state after previously capping at 3rd grade - comes as DeSantis is touring the early primary contest state of South Carolina, where he railed against ' woke ' issues like transgenderism.

Republican voters, meanwhile, are still waiting for him to announce his highly anticipated run for President as he ramps up his war with Disney and while Donald Trump keeps up his attacks.

Florida's Education Department approved a rule on Wednesday that expands Ron DeSantis's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law to include prohibiting the teaching of gender identity and sexual orientation in all public school grades

A Trump super PAC released an ad last week calling DeSantis 'pudding fingers' - referencing claims he ate chocolate pudding with his hands on a flight - and criticized his past calls to cut Social Security and Medicare.

'It is wrong for a teacher to tell a student that they may have been born in the wrong body or that their gender is a choice,' DeSantis said during his remarks in Charleston, South Carolina, on Wednesday morning.

'So we don't let that happen in Florida,' he lauded. 'Disney objects to that, well so be it, we're going to do that.'

Disney's CEO-at-the-time came out against the Parental Rights in Education after DeSantis signed the law, sparking a now year-long war between the corporation and Florida's governor.

The DeSantis administration put forward the proposal last month to expand the law as part of his agenda aiming to make Florida the 'Citadel of Freedom' where 'woke goes to die.'

DeSantis has not commented on the proposal.

'If you can't make them see the light, make them feel the heat,' he said at his event in South Carolina on Wednesday in reference to pushing through several Republican-agenda laws in his time as governor.

The governor previously directed questions about the law to Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr., who said the new rule was meant to clarify confusion around the existing law and reinforce that teachers should not deviate from existing curriculums.

'We're not removing anything here,' Diaz Jr. said on Wednesday. 'All we are doing is we are setting the expectations so our teachers are clear: that they are to teach to the standards.'
Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell inquired about a Hawaii property, telling a realtor they had 'no kids' two months after allegedly killing her children.

Daybell, 54, emailed Kauai Dreams Realty on November 8, 2019, stating: 'We are interested in seeing this property. Would the owners be interested in leasing this property to a clean couple with no pets or children? Please let us know. Thank you.'

The message was sent three days after the pair were married on a beach in Hawaii - six weeks after her kids JJ, seven, and Tylee, 16, were last seen alive - but before the cops had been alerted to their disappearance.

Prosecutors say the couple murdered the children in September 2019, around two months earlier, before burying them in shallow graves at Daybell's home in Idaho. The doomsday cultists allegedly used their religious beliefs to rationalize the murders.

Vallow's trial on Wednesday also heard how the mother continued taking thousands in social security payments meant for her children after they had been killed.

Lori Vallow and her husband Chad Daybell in a picture obtained by East Idaho News

Vallow's children, Tylee and JJ, disappeared in September 2019, but their remains were not discovered for another 10 months

The kids were receiving about $3,800 a month combined in social security and survivor benefits due to the deaths of their fathers: Tylee's father Joe Ryan died in 2018 and JJ's father Charles Vallow died in 2019.

Vallow's fourth husband Charles was shot dead by her brother in Arizona. Vallow was charged over Charles's murder in June 2021 and is expected to face a separate trial for that killing.

The 49-year-old is standing trial for the murders of JJ and Tylee as well as Daybell's wife Tammy who died on October 19, 2019. Daybell is being tried separately for the three killings and his court date is still still to be confirmed.

Both have pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy and grand theft charges.

Earlier in the trial, former friends of Vallow told jurors about the couple's purported spiritual beliefs, which included the idea that evil spirits could take over a person's body, forcing the person's soul out and turning them into 'zombies.'

The only way to get rid of the evil spirit was to kill the body, former friend Melanie Gibb told jurors.

Vallow called JJ and Tylee 'zombies' several times before they died, Gibb told investigators.

On Tuesday, jurors heard an emotional jailhouse phone call from Vallow's sole surviving son in which he confronted her over the alleged murders.

The 'charred remains' of Tylee Ryan, 16, and JJ Vallow, seven, were found at the couple's home in Salem, Idaho. Pictured: Investigators searching the property on June 9, 2020

Chad and Tammy Daybell pictured before their split. Vallow and Daybell are accused of murdering two of her children Joshua Jackson 'JJ' Vallow, seven, Tylee Ryan, 16, and Daybell's wife Tammy, 49

Colby Ryan made the call after the bodies of his siblings JJ and Tylee were found buried in an eastern Idaho yard in 2020, and after Vallow was jailed in connection with the crime.

It starts with Ryan asking his mom if she thought she could keep hiding from him.

'I'm not hiding, why would you think I'm hiding?' Vallow responds.

'Probably because you murdered my siblings! Maybe you should understand,' Ryan continued, before his mother interrupted.

'I didn't. I'm sorry you feel that way,' she said.

The call continued for several minutes, with Vallow insisting that Ryan can't know what happened because he wasn't there, but that JJ and Tylee were happy and all would become clear in the afterlife.

But Ryan said his mother lied to him multiple times while his brother and sister were missing, with someone even sending him texts from his sister's phone as if they were from Tylee.

'To know that they're gone, and you knew! And my phone is being texted by my little sister, who's not even alive!' Ryan said, his voice rising. 'My poor brother, who is the sweetest little kid ever - for what purpose? You tell me this is God's will: For my whole family, including my stepfather, to be dead.'

The key individuals in Lori Vallow's tangled family tree, including her five husbands, two dead children and killer brother Alex Cox

The recorded phone call seemed to allude to some of Vallow's warped beliefs, with Ryan telling his mother he was praying for her and warning her against blasphemy.

In response, Vallow laughed.

'I love you, I always will. One day you will see and one day you will understand,' Vallow told her son in the call, and said his dead siblings were 'fine.'

'They love me and they are fine ... You can go ahead and judge me all day long,' she said.

Ryan cried on the stand when prosecutors showed him photos of Tylee and JJ, and told jurors about how the text messages Tylee regularly sent him changed in tone and punctuation in the weeks after she first disappeared but before she was reported missing.
'I know this  its not the best use of my talent to get in a show where I have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness,' she said

The mother-of-two would later return to the show in 2014 before departing for good in 2015

Rosie O'Donnell, 61, first joined the show in 2006 before leaving a year later after she felt that she was 'thrown under the bus' by co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck

Rosie O'Donnell said she would never return to host The View as it was not the 'best use of my talent to have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness.'

The comedian, 61, first joined the show in 2006 before leaving a year later after she felt she was 'thrown under the bus' by co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck.

She returned to the show in 2014 before departing for good in 2015 as tension continued onset.

The mother-of-two took aim at Hasselbeck and then-producer Bill Geddie during a chat with actress Brooke Shields on her podcast Now What? on Tuesday.

She blamed the pair for her abrupt departure in 2007 and said Geddie was an 'old, cis, white man, Republican who was against everything that I believed in and stood for' and was giving the blonde host 'talking points of the Republican press that they would release daily.'

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell, 61, first joined the show in 2006 (left) before leaving a year later after she felt she was 'thrown under the bus' by co-host Elisabeth Hasselbeck. She returned to the show in 2014 before departing for good in 2015 (pictured) as tension continued onset

The mother-of-two took aim at Hasselbeck and then-producer Bill Geddie during a chat with actress Brooke Shields on her podcast Now What? on Tuesday. She blamed the pair for her abrupt departure in 2007 and said Geddie was an 'old, cis, white man, Republican'

She accused Hasselbeck's fans of attacking her for a controversial comment that was taken out of context about supporting military troops and she accused Hasselbeck of setting her up. O'Donnell said she told herself she'd 'love' Hasselbeck no matter what and even took her to her first Broadway show (pictured at Les Miserables in 2006)

'She had the talking points. I was trying to get her to feel more than to fact,' O'Donnell told Shields

'And then one day on the show, she kind of threw me under the bus and I was like: "Are you f**king kidding me?"

'I finished the show, got my coat, walked out, and said: "Im not going back"  and I didnt until a few years later when they asked me to come back.'

She accused Hasselbeck's fans of attacking her for a controversial comment that was taken out of context about supporting military troops and she accused Hasselbeck of setting her up.

In addition, her second go at the show wasn't any better than the first, as powerhouse host Whoopi Goldberg 'clashed in ways that I was shocked by.'

Goldberg did not want to talk about now-convicted rapist Bill Cosby, the Sleepless in Seattle star claimed.

And Geddie preferred to talk about 'fall lipstick colors' rather than the Abu Ghraib torture CIA agents enforced on prisoners in the Iraq facility during the early stages of the war, she said.

O'Donnell said she thought of Hasselbeck as a 'friend' while on the show the first time as she had even taken her to her 'first Broadway show' and 'took her kids to see the Nickelodeon shows' and had her over to her house.

O'Donnell (pictured with the hosts in 2007) said she would never return to host The View as it was not the 'best use of my talent to have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness'

Her second go at the show in 2014 wasn't any better than the first, as powerhouse host Whoopi Goldberg 'clashed in ways that I was shocked by.' Goldberg did not want to talk about now-convicted rapist Bill Cosby, the Sleepless in Seattle star claimed.

'I said to myself I'm going to love her no matter what,' she said on the podcast. 'I thought were friends in a civil kind of way.'

When asked by Shields if she was 'made to be the villain,' the comedian agreed she was in 'some ways.'

'It was alright,' she said. 'I had produced my own show, I was the solo boss, and here I was not having any power to make decisions.'

However, O'Donnell assured Shields she 'didn't have any regrets.'

'I feel like each thing [in show business] I learn something,' she said. 'I know this  its not the best use of my talent to get in a show where I have to argue and defend basic principles of humanity and kindness.

'It was not something I'd ever do again.'

Shields told the Tarzan actress that it took 'balls' to traverse the battlegrounds of the shows.

Despite the controversies she faced on the show, O'Donnell said she 'forgave' longtime show runner Barbara Walters - who had asked the actress to join.

She also took Brooke Sheilds that she was 'friendly' with Barbara Walters at the time of her death in December and that she was the person to ask O'Donnell to join the show

'[Before] she died, Barbara and I got along after. We went out to dinner, we knew each other way before I did that show, before she asked me to do it, and we remained friendly toward the end.

'I forgave her because she was older and she did the best that she could with what she had to work with.'

Walters died on December 30 at the age of 93 in her home in New York.

Hasselbeck returned to The View, last summer. O'Donnell took to her TikTok to call the comeback 'strange.'

'I remembered why I dont want to watch it with her anymore,' she said. 'Her little Post-It notes, I dont know.'

The current host of The View are Joy Behar, Ana Navarro, Whoopi Goldberg, Sunny Hostin, Sara Haines and Alyssa Farah Griffin.
An economics professor at Duke University has called for the United States to issue reparations to every black American descendant of slaves at a cost of $14 trillion.

William Darity, who co-authored the book 'From Here to Equality: Reparations for Black Americans in the Twenty-First Century,' shared his plan on Tuesday's episode of Dr. Phil.

Darity suggested the US government issue the funds in much the same way it sent out checks to millions of Americans during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

'It would be paid by the federal government in the same way in which the federal government has met the expenses that were paid out for the purposes of trying to deal with the great recession and also, most recently, with the economic downturn associated with the great pandemic,' he said.

Darity said if the $14 trillion was distributed evenly across 40 million people whose ancestors were in the chattel slavery system it would equal about $350K per person.

Professor William Darity teaches economics at Duke University. On a Tuesday panel of the Dr. Phil show he argued that the US federal government should spend $14trillion on a massive reparations program for 40million black Americans

He said the amount 'should be dictated by the disparity in wealth between Black and White Americans, which at the current moment amounts to in excess of $840,000 per household.'

Darity said the 'objective' of the program would be to 'eliminate the racial wealth gap in the United states.'

The U.S. government is currently more than $31 trillion in debt.

Political writer Joshua Ferguson, who was also featured on Tuesday's panel with Dr. Phil, said the country could not afford the massive reparation bill.

'First of all, the US government doesn't have money. All of their money comes from taxes. To say you're not going to take it from people today, you're right. You're going to take it from future generations,' he said.

Renowned author and civil rights activist Bob Woodson also lambasted Darity's lofty plan, saying: 'I cannot think of any group of people who have been made wealthy by just transferring money to them.'

There are just over 40million black Americans in the US, so Darity's figure assumes each of them is a descendant of American slavery.

However, according to a Pew Research Center study from April 2022, just 57 percent of black Americans believe they are descendants of American slavery.

Dr. Phil challenged Darity's plan on psychological grounds saying: 'I can tell you from a psychological perspective that if you take $350,000 or $840,000, and you write a check to any group of people - black, white, poor, homeless, whatever - you give any group of people that much money and say, ''there you go, best of luck,'' you come back in six months, they're going to be broke.'

'Whatever reparations are done, that would be an absolute disaster, as opposed to guidance and help in creating generational wealth, as opposed to income.'

Dr. Phil challenged Darity's claims, saying it was a bad idea to give any group of people a lump sum of cash and expect them to invest and spend it wisely

Darity said the program would function similarly to the COVID payments received by millions of Americans. The payments would eventually be felt by current and future taxpayers

Darity defended his position, saying: 'No one ever says that there's going to be mismanagement of funds when we're talking about the distribution of reparations payments to other communities.'

To which the TV doctor quickly replied: 'I just said it. I just said, 'you give that money to anybody, they're going to mismanage it. They're going to blow it.' Look at the fraud that just occurred with all of the money that was given in support of COVID.'

The idea of compensating black Americans for slavery-era sins has been floated numerous times over the years.

In January, San Francisco proposed $5 million payouts to every longtime black resident, provoking uproar.

Cities including Boston, Massachusetts, St Paul, Minnesota, and St Louis, Missouri, as well as Los Angeles, have set up task forces and panels to hatch their own reparations plans.
A veteran building manager has been identified as the man who was killed after a lower Manhattan garage collapsed.

Willis Moore, 59, was working in the building when it collapsed on Ann Street in the Financial District on Tuesday at 4pm - injuring five others.

Terrifying footage captured cars on a lower level being crushed after the upper floor collapsed and vehicles fell through the 'pancaked' broken concrete.

Colleagues of Moore have paid tribute to him as a 'great guy' who always took care of his employees.

He was on the second floor when the building collapsed on top of him and was reportedly heading home after the end of his shift.

Willis Moore, 59, was working in the building when it collapsed on Ann Street in the Financial District on Tuesday at 4pm

Terrifying footage captured cars on a lower level being crushed after the upper floor collapsed and vehicles fell through the 'pancaked' broken concrete

A former colleague at Central Parking Systems told the Daily News that they were 'so shocked' by the incident.

Kam Wooden, 53, said: 'He was a great guy.He was a great co-worker and he took care of his employees  always put them first ... I was just so shocked.

'He was a joker, he was a comedian. He always made us smile and laugh. Very professional, too. He definitely will be missed.'

A family member of the victim said they were 'dealing with a lot of grief' but declined to comment further.

Authorities confirmed that his body has not yet been recovered from the wreckage as it is deemed too unsafe for law enforcement to enter.

Customer Adam Cohen said: 'He was the general manager for the garage for over 10 years. That was our relationship.

'Sadly, we can't say we went out and had beers or anything. He was a really nice guy and had a lot of good energy.'

The horror incident left a fleet of vehicles piled on top of one another, causing a huge emergency response at the site near Wall Street at 4.15pm.

New York City's Department of Buildings confirmed that there are four open property violations relating to the garage in Lower Manhattan

Friends described the manager as a 'comedian' who loved his job and was a 'great boss' to his staff

New York City's Department of Buildings confirmed that there are four open property violations relating to the garage in Lower Manhattan.

An open complaint in 2013 saw the company fail to maintain the building after there was no exit at a signposted fire exit  with all the doors locked.

The company listed on the complaint, Enterprise Ann Parking LL, was given a $1,200 fine after being found in violation in 2014.

In 2009 they were found to have broken and defective fire stairs, as well as a 'loose piece of concrete in danger of falling' in several locations.

The respondent, named as Ann Park LLC, was fined $200 and found to be in violation in 2010, but nothing was ultimately resolved.

Two complaints in 2003 remain open, with one referring to exit lighting not working, as well as exit signs not 'properly illuminating'.

There have been 64 violations in total since the building opened in 1957, with the complaints dating back to 1976

The building was built in 1925 and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking

One resident who lives near Financial District parking garage described hearing 'big bangs' before the wall came down, leaving a hole in her apartment

The other part of the issue was gain to 'fix concrete', as well as 'missing concrete covering steel beams' and 'defective concrete with exposed rear cracks.'

57 Ann St Realty Association was fined a total of $1,150 on that occasion, but it does not appear that anything was resolved.

There have been 64 violations in total since the building opened in 1957, with the complaints dating back to 1976.

However, there are still two open DOB violations regarding the elevator in the property, which was issued in 2014.

Three of the complaints were marked as Category One or hazardous issue, meaning that they have to be corrected immediately.

NYC passed a law in 2022 requiring owners of parking structures to have their garages inspected every six years, and to file a report with inspection results to the Department of Buildings.

The building and several streets remain closed after the collapse which killed one and injured four others

The respondent, named as Ann Park LLC, was fined $200 and found to be in violation in 2010, but nothing was ultimately resolved

The Manhattan garage was part of the first two-year inspection cycle , January 2022 to December 2023, meaning that they were not out of compliance  but the law was created too late to catch the problems.

It was built in 1925 and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking.

A city record from 2010 shows 34 new auto lifts were installed on the property, which would have 'added to the weight' of the building.

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog, which is also known as a Digidog, was needed to go into the building when officials arrived on the scene because the collapsed building was unstable.

Investigations into the cause of the collapse are on-going.

Footage of the collapse, which was shot on a Ring surveillance camera, shows the vehicles inside in the dark become quickly submerged by falling concrete.

Numerous vehicles were seen crashing through the openings as the collapse caused significant damage.

Witnesses described a woman screaming 'get out!' as the structure caved in, and images showed the top floor fallen through with vehicles stacked on broken concrete.

Several New York residents who live near the building told DailyMail.com the structure was known to be old, saying the tragedy was 'not surprising'.
A rare animal has been spotted roaming towns in Wales.

Animal rescuers are hatching a plan to capture the creature, which they believe has escaped from its owner after being privately kept as an exotic pet.

The black-coloured creature  known as a silver fox  was spotted by several shocked onlookers in Barry, South Wales.

Hayley De Ronde, who runs the website blackfoxes.co.uk, said owning and breeding the creatures needed to be regulated.

She said all sightings should be reported and urged witnesses not to approach the animals.

A rare animal has been spotted roaming towns in Wales. Animal rescuers are hatching a plan to capture the creature, which they believe has escaped from its owner after being privately kept as an exotic pet

The silver fox is believed to be the same animal that escaped in 2021 and was spotted outside the town's Asda supermarket

She said: 'While some of these sightings will be of native wild foxes, some of the animals seen are that of escaped exotic pets in need of being located and returned home.'

The silver fox is believed to be the same animal that escaped in 2021 and was spotted outside the town's Asda supermarket, and was one of two on the loose in 2018.

The animals are a subspecies of North American red foxes and have big bushy tails.

The Vale of Glamorgan Council asked anyone who sees the fox to get in touch with its animal warden team.

The black creature, known as a silver fox, was spotted by several shocked onlookers in Barry, south Wales

The silver fox is a subspecies of North American red foxes (pictured) and have big bushy tails

Neighbours in Barry called for the owner to take better control of the creatures to stop them getting loose.

One said: 'It's probably sick to death of living in a cage as someone's pet.'

Another added: 'Why does it keep getting out. Must be unhappy in its environment.'

A third said: 'The owner needs to sort it out - whoever you are!'

Vale Council's animal warden is currently searching for the black fox and anyone who has seen it is asked to contact them so it can be safely captured.
Ron DeSantis's new board on Wednesday warned Disney it could surround the theme park with affordable housing and demand it pay its back taxes as the state continues to seek revenge against the entertainment giant for trying to thwart the governor's authority.

'The bottom line is Disney engaged in a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law,' said attorney David Thompson, who was hired by the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board to look into the legality of Disney's use of an obscure legal clause tied to King Charles III to outmaneuver DeSantis.

Wednesday's hearing was yet another step the state is taking in its war against the house that Mickey Mouse built.

A lawyer for the state of Florida said Disney engaged 'a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law'

Martin Garcia, the chairman of the board that Gov. Ron DeSantis appointed to oversee Disney

DeSantis has led the war, slamming the 'woke' culture he claims Disney pushes, and vowing to gain control over the approximately 25,000 acres the theme park occupies.

He's also warned of retaliation, including threatening to build a prison on grounds next to Disney World that is owned by the state.

And board chairman Martin Garcia echoed the governor's threats on Wednesday by warning Disney it is looking at new options for area, including developing affordable housing around the park.

'It really is shameful what Disney tried to do,' Garcia said. 'Nothing is off the table at this point.'

He warned the five-member board could vote to monetize assets within the district to pay off outstanding debt ahead of schedule. That debt, estimated at $686 million, prevented DeSantis from eliminating the district.

The law that created the district stops the state from dissolving it without paying off its debt.

The board also said it might consider acquiring some Disney-owned land under eminent domain and ban COVID-19 vaccine and mask mandates that Disney put in place during the pandemic.

DeSantis's board also claimed Disney wrote the new 'royal clause' regulation and got the old Reedy Creek board to pass it, circumventing their authority.

During the board meeting, attorneys for the board showed emails from Walt Disney World Resort chief counsel John McGowan, claiming he was the drafter of the paperwork, but he wanted someone else's name on the resolution because of 'optics.'

'My name is currently at the top of the document as a drafter,' McGowan wrote. 'And I am comfortable having my name on it, but from an optics perspective that is not ideal and it would be better to have a non-Disney employee be the drafter.'

Subsequent emails show his name was removed from the final draft.

Additionally, DeSantis and his allies also argue Disney hasn't paid enough taxes because it has undervalued its properties in order to get a lower rate.

The board is threatening to go after back taxes but it's unclear how much money they are talking about. The board also warned it could try and recoup the legal fees it had to spend to fight Disney's power plays.

Central Florida Tourism Oversight District board will meet again on April 26

The battles are just beginning. DeSantis on Monday warned there was more to come on his end.

And Garcia said Wednesday that the board has more policies planned in the future.

'Every meeting or every other meeting' will have some new policy discussed, he warned.

Disney and DeSantis clashed when the company spoke out against the governor's so-called 'Don't Say Gay' law - a state law prohibiting classroom discussion of sexual orientation and gender identity.

As part of that war, DeSantis and the Republican-controlled Florida legislature terminated the self-governing privileges that Disney World had held since 1967.

DeSantis appointed the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight Board to replace the old Reedy Creek board that governs the special tax district that Disney theme parks reside in.

Before the newly-appointed board took control, Disney officials and the old board cut a deal allowing the company to sidestep the new board's control, using an obscure legal clause that name-checks King Charles III.

Additionally, Disney secured approvals for the next 30 years on zoning, infrastructure and air-rights that the company might need if it chooses to expand its theme park - meaning it can do so without approval from DeSantis's hand-picked board.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis announced the state Legislature will void Disney's legal maneuvering that effectively stripped his new board of its authority

DeSantis and his allies are working on a one-two punch to counter that legal move.

At Wednesday's meeting of the Central Tourism board, attorney David Thompson outlined why he sees Disney's move as illegal, arguing Disney didn't give the proper notification of its proposed changes ahead of the old board approving them.

Disney points to the public notices it ran in local newspapers - as required by law - but Thompson argued the company missed another requirement: they didn't mail notices to other property owners in the Reedy Creek special tax district.

He also argues that, under Florida law, such an agreement can only be approved 'if the district has put in place procedures governing the adoption of such an agreement.' He says that didn't happen.

And he pointed out under Florida law that the government 'cannot confer their own powers onto private parties.'

Board members ultimately decided to ask staff for a resolution they would consider at their April 26 meeting that would void the agreements that preserved Disney's authority ahead of the new board's takeover.

Disney is expected to counter, taking the next shot in what is expected to become a long, drawn-out legal war.

DeSantis, who is expected to announce a 2024 presidential bid later this summer, shrugged it off.

'If Disney objects to that, then so be it, we're going to do what's right,' he said Wednesday during an appearance in South Carolina.

'We'll make sure that we'll keep them in their pen one way or another. Don't worry about that,' he noted.

On his end, DeSantis on Monday, declared the state legislature, controlled by his party, will void Disney's legal maneuvering.

'They thought that they could create some type of development agreements that would essentially render everything that we did null and void and put them in control in perpetuity for this. Well that's not going to work. That's not going to fly,' he said.

He said legislation is in the works to nullify that agreement.

'One of the Florida's statutes provides the legislature with the authority to revoke development agreements in this exact type of instance,' he said during the press conference.

'And so I've worked with both leaders of the House and Senate. There is a bill that will be put out in the Florida Legislature that will make sure that the agreements purported to be entered into by Disney are revoked and the people's will is established,' he noted.

'We will not have one corporation serving as its own government,' he declared.
A leading French publisher who was arrested by police in the UK over links to anti-government protests in Paris said he was quizzed over his political opinions in an 'attack on freedom of expression'.

Ernest Moret, 28, was detained by the Met Police at St Pancras station in London on Monday evening under terror legislation for allegedly taking part in demonstrations in France against Emmanuel Macron's controversial pension reforms.

His employers said he was questioned 'without a lawyer present', allegedly to determine whether 'he was engaged in terrorist acts or in possession of material for use in terrorism'. He was held for nearly 24 hours, his phone and laptop seized.

France has been shaken by protests and strikes in response to Macron's controversial decision to push through already contentious pension reforms without consulting the lower house of parliament. Some of the nationwide protests have turned violent.

Moret was reportedly stopped at the border in St Pancras International by plain clothes cops

Moret's publishers said in a statement that police officers had claimed he had 'participated in demonstrations in France as a justification for this act'.

They said this was 'a quite remarkably inappropriate statement for a British police officer to make and which seems to clearly indicate complicity between French and British authorities on this matter.'

Moret, who works as a foreign rights manager for Editions La Fabrique, was in the capital for the three-day London Book Fair when he was stopped by two plain clothes officers.

He was held under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows police to stop and search passengers travelling through the UK border in order to 'determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism'.

The law allows police and border officials to stop passengers for questioning without grounds for suspecting them of being a terrorist. If they refuse to cooperate, they can be arrested.

Moret was formally arrested on Tuesday for refusing to hand over the passcodes to his devices, which were also claimed.

He was released from custody on bail on Wednesday but remains under investigation and must return to Britain to speak with police in one month.

La Fabrique said the detention was 'beyond scandalous' and accused the French and British authorities of a 'chilling authoritarian escalation' in crushing dissent.

Police detained Moret under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000, which allows them to stop and search travellers to determine their possible involvement in acts of terrorism

Moret, who was reportedly questioned for six hours in the Islington police station, was said to have been asked about his views on the pension reform bill in France, the French government, Macron and his opinion on the Covid pandemic.

He was also asked to name the 'anti-government' authors in the catalogue of his employers at the publishing house La Fabrique, his bosses claimed.

'In a context of the authoritarian escalation of the French government faced by social movements, this element is chilling,' his publishers said in a statement.

'How are these measures compatible with the fundamental principles that countries like France and Britain pride themselves on, such as freedom of expression and democratic rights?

'How can we characterise a regime that allows a person going to an international book fair in London to be detained for almost 24 hours without anything concrete being held against him, and then to remain subject to anti-terrorist proceedings for an indefinite period?'

In a joint statement with Verso Books in London, La Fabrique said: 'We are all very relieved that he is now free, but we are also very shocked and worried about what has just happened.

'This case sets a precedent for anyone who does intellectual work and whose output may be deemed inconvenient by those in power.

'If any telephone and computer containing confidential manuscripts, journalistic or sociological sources can be stolen, fully analysed and decrypted by a foreign police force with draconian prerogatives due to its exceptional legislation, the freedom of the press, academia, expression and the rights to the protection of personal data are very seriously threatened.'

A protest was arranged outside the French Institute at 7pm yesterday, and outside the British embassy in Paris.

A spokesperson for the force confirmed some of the allegations, telling MailOnline: 'At around 18:30pm on Monday, 17 April, a 28-year-old man was stopped by ports officers as he arrived at St Pancras station, using powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

'On Tuesday, 18 April, he was subsequently arrested on suspicion of willfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination [contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000].'

'The man was later bailed. Enquiries continue.'

The spokesperson said they would not be commenting further.

French riot police walks next to fires ignited during clashes between police and protesters in a rally following the televised speech of French President Emmanuel Macron, in Paris, 17 April

A burning car in front of Place de la Republique during a protest against the pension reform, hours after it was signed into law in Rennes, western France, on 15 April

For the last three months, demonstrators have mobilised against the flagship reform of Macron's second term, which lifts the retirement age by two years to 64.

The controversial bill means that from 2027 workers will have to work for longer to receive full state pension benefits.

In general, France's anti-reform protests have been peaceful, and polls show a majority of French people continue to oppose the pension legislation and the government's decision to push it through without consulting the lower house of parliament.

However, many demonstrations on the fringes of events nationwide have erupted into dramatic scenes, with private and public property set on fire or looted.

Yesterday, the powerful CGT union, which was repeatedly called for organised movements nationwide, 'called on the entire world of work' to mobilise.

They wrote that they wanted to 'make May 1 a powerful day of demonstration, carrying the demand for the withdrawal of reform, peace and social justice, in France and around the world'.

On 14 April, more demonstrations broke out across France as the bill passed a vital constitutional milestone.

After the decision was announced by the Constitutional Council, largescale protests began around the country, with some turning violent.

One hundred and twelve people were arrested in Paris alone.

Police used tear gas in Lyon and Strasbourg and water cannons in Paris to control the streets, while protesters set fires, built barricades and let off flares in the centre of the capital.

On Thursday, Macron nevertheless brushed off calls to renege on the policy in a pre-recorded address.

'Is this reform accepted?' asked Mr Macron during the 12-minute address. 'Obviously not. In spite of months of negotiations, no consensus was reached, and I regret that.'

But insisting there would be no change in his policies, Mr Macron said the reform was 'necessary to guarantee pensions and produce more wealth for our nation', and for France to stay in line with European neighbours.

Protesters fill the Place Denfert-Rochereau as they take part in a demonstration in Paris today

According to The Guardian, the publisher is known for publishing radical left authors.

The UK National Union of Journalists (NUJ) said in a statement: 'The arrest of Ernest Moret is extremely concerning.

'It seems extraordinary that the British police have acted this way in using terrorism legislation to arrest the publisher who was on legitimate business here for the London Book Fair.'
A council is opposing the Home Office by saying the need to accommodate more asylum seekers is not an 'emergency' under planning law, the High Court has heard.

Braintree District Council is bringing legal action against the Government's proposed use of Wethersfield Airfield in Essex to house up to 1,700 asylum seekers for up to 180 days each.

On Wednesday, lawyers for the local authority asked for an injunction preventing the use of the site to house asylum seekers.

The Home Office and Ministry of Defence (MoD) are opposing the injunction, with lawyers asking for the case to be thrown out.

Wayne Beglan, for the council, told the High Court in London the plans would be a breach of planning control and the provision that would be used by the Government is designed to address emergencies.

Protesters against the former air base being used as an asylum centre hold up signs at the main gate

An aerial view of RAF Wethersfield in Essex, which is expected to house people arriving in the UK after making Channel crossings

'It is, at its core, something that happens on a sudden and unexpected basis and has to be catered for,' Mr Beglan said.

The MoD-owned land was one of the sites identified when immigration minister Robert Jenrick unveiled plans last month to house asylum seekers in disused military bases to reduce reliance on hotels.

Mr Jenrick previously said the sites are 'undoubtedly in the national interest' and said only 'single adult males' will be put into the barracks, as he seeks to reduce a hotel bill he put at 2.3 billion a year.

The court was told the planning provision - known as Class Q - covers the change of use of some government land by the Crown to prevent or mitigate an emergency which 'threatens serious damage to human welfare'.

Mr Beglan said in written submissions: 'It does not encompass a nationwide lack of provision of housing, of whatever description.

'Mere pressure on resources is not an emergency. These are policy issues which are addressed, from time to time, by evolving policy decisions.

'They are not emergencies sufficient to justify circumventing the normal planning controls.'

He added the provision the Government intend to use 'overrides the normal processes of consultation'.

A large banner saying Stop The Asylum Centre is displayed in fields near the former air base

The barrister later referenced the use of Napier Barracks near Folkestone in Kent, which was loaned to the Home Office in 2020, later arguing the Home Office's duties to accommodate larger numbers of asylum seekers are not new.

Mr Beglan told the court: 'These matters have been under active policy consideration by central government.

'It is not indicative of an emergency and neither is the fact that it is an analysis that has at its centre cost considerations.'

'The acknowledged issue of need for medium to long-term asylum provision is not an emergency as defined,' he added in written submissions.

Paul Brown KC, for the Home Office, said in written submissions that, as of last month, it was estimated that the department was accommodating over 109,000 asylum seekers, 48,000 of them in hotels, at a total cost of over 6.2 million per day.

Mr Brown said a number of factors had contributed to issues around accommodating asylum seekers, including the impact of the Covid pandemic, the Afghanistan relocation scheme and war in Ukraine.

'All of those pressures have built to what is a record number of asylum seekers at the moment, significantly higher than there has been,' he told the court.

'It's a situation which, if it's not dealt with, if there's not a response to it, threatens homelessness.'

Mr Brown also argued whether- something is an emergency 'is solely a matter for the government department' exercising the development right.

The barrister later said 'there can be no sensible dispute' the plans involved actions related to an emergency and that 'the reasons why there is an emergency' have been explained to the council.

Mr Brown later said it was not sustainable for the Home Office to continue using hotels to accommodate asylum seekers 'not only because of the cost but also because the supply of accommodation is precarious and has led to strained relations with local authorities'.

Mr Justice Waksman said he would give his decision 'as soon as possible', adding: 'This is a matter that needs to be resolved quickly.'
A white homeowner has pleaded not guilty to two felony charges of assault in connection with the shooting of Ralph Yarl.

Clutching a walking stick, Andrew Lester, 84, entered his pleas during a three-minute appearance at Clay County Courthouse on Wednesday.

He is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, with his next appearance set for June 1.

Lawyers for Ralph, 16, said outside of court that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a hate crime. His family did not attend the hearing.

Civil rights attorney Lee Merritt, who is representing the teen, told reporters: 'We thought that this was something the DOJ should be looking into.

Andrew Lester, 84, pleaded not guilty at a first appearance at Clay County Courthouse on Wednesday

He is charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action, with his next appearance set for June 1

'They are (looking into it). It's under investigation, they've received our complaint and are now looking into it.

'I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison. All of his assets are going to become Ralph's.'

During the hearing Judge Angles added several conditions to Lester's bond, banning him from contacting Ralph or his family or from leaving the state of Missouri without permission.

He was also forced to surrender his passport and concealed carry permit, as well as being banned from possessing any weapons.

Meanwhile, Merritt posted a picture of Ralph looking relaxed and smiling as he was seen for the first time since being released from hospital.

Merritt posted the picture on his Twitter, saying: 'Ralph Yarl is home and recovering!

'How the bullet in his head didn't cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle. To God be the glory!'

Ralph approached a property in Kansas City, Missouri, thinking he was collecting his two younger brothers but was shot and rushed to hospital in critical condition.

Lawyers for Ralph, 16, said outside of court that the Department of Justice is investigating the shooting as a hate crime. His family did not attend the hearing

Lester is facing life in jail after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action in relation to the shooting which saw Ralph Yarl rushed to hospital

During the hearing Judge Angles added several conditions to Lester's bond, banning him from owning a weapon

Pictured: The home of Andrew Lester, the 84-year-old white homeowner accused of shooting Black teen Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri

Andrew Lester, 84, told Kansas City Police Department that shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, was the 'last thing he wanted to do' but was terrified of the teenager because of his size and age

Lester handed himself in on Tuesday after Clay County Prosecutor's Office confirmed that he would be charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action  which could see him face the rest of his life behind bars.

He was released from Clay County Detention Center after paying 10 percent of the $200,000 bail.

His grandson said the shooting should 'never have happened' and explained that mistaking the properties is 'easy to do' because they all look the same.

Daniel Ludwig said: 'I'd go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets. It's just crazy. I wish it didn't happen.'

His comments come as the GoFundMe page for gifted scholar Yarl, 16, surges past $3.2million.

Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged

On Thursday night, Yarl was shot twice through the door of Lester's home, which is just a block away from the property where his younger twin brothers were waiting to be picked up.

The suspect was first arrested and released hours after the shooting on April 14, when he told police that he was 'scared to death' after seeing Yarl standing at his front door.

Zachary Thompson, Clay County prosecutor said: 'As the prosecutor for Clay County, I can tell you that there was a racial component to the case I don't want to comment on specifics of the case to protect its integrity.'

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves also acknowledged the 'racial components' at play in the case.

Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that Yarl was 'shot because he was existing while black'.

He told CNN that he 'shared the outrage' of residents in Kansas City over the lack of action.

Lucas said: 'To pretend that race is not a part of this whole situation would be to have your head in the sand.

The 16-year-old looked relaxed and smiled with his lawyer Lee Merritt on Wednesday, ahead of Andrew Lester, 84, appearing in court for the first time

The house in Kansas City, Missouri had a 'no solicitors' sign on top of the doorbell which Ralph mistakenly rang

President Joe Biden rang the Yarl family on Monday, and invited them to the White House when the teenager is well enough

'This boy was shot because he was existing while black. And he knocked on the door of someone who clearly, clearly fears black people.

'Black boys, black children, and I think that is clear as day and so I hope that is not mistaken or forgotten the reason why many black people and black parents - myself included - are concerned is because if one day it's ringing on the doorbell, they can get you shot. Then what else is next?'

He added: 'This is normal existence in life, and somebody came to a door and shot through a door. Not once but twice. That's what is horrifying.

'That's why I think I'm glad to see this first step towards justice and why we all need to investigate how we handle this and how we can do better in the future.'

Lester, who had a mechanical FAA license registered to Arizona, had been free on the opinion of the Clay County Prosecutor's Office as investigations continued.

Kansas City Police Department on Monday submitted a file to the Prosecutor's Office, which issued a warrant for Lester's arrest that evening.

Yarl was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers.

Ralph Yarl, 16, was shot twice in the head by a white man after he approached the wrong house by mistake when going to collect his siblings

Yarl, center, was said to be trying to pick up his younger siblings from a friend's house but went to the wrong address

In a probable cause affidavit, Lester told KCPD that shooting Yarl was the 'last thing he wanted to do' but was terrified of the teenager because of his size and age.

The document also revealed that cops discovered a Smith and Wesson .32 caliber revolver with two spent shell casings still in the cylinder after officers arrived at the scene.

Police say Yarl was shot after he knocked on the door, with Lester telling officers he saw him 'pulling on the door handle'  something which the teenager denies.

Yarl also told authorities that Lester told him 'don't come around here' after being shot in the head and the arm through the glass at the front of the house.

Lester shot twice within seconds of opening the door, according to his statement, and claims that no words were exchanged.

The document revealed that he was shot in the left forehead, and right arm, with a neighbor telling cops they thought it was 'odd' for their 'elderly neighbor to have a visitor this late at night'.

A witness added that they heard 'two or three gunshots' from Lester's home, and heard Yarl screaming that he had been shot.

Lester told officers that he felt he was 'protecting himself' at the property where he says he lives alone.

He also claimed that he called 911 after the shooting, claiming that Yarl 'ran away' after the incident.

Yarl was shot in the head and the arm on April 13 after mistakenly ringing the doorbell at the Missouri property where he thought he was meant to pick up his younger twin brothers

The statement shows that he was 'visibly upset' and 'repeatedly expressed concern' for Yarl during the interview.

He said he 'believed he was protecting himself from a physical confrontation and could not take the chance of the male coming in'.

Yarl told officers that he pressed the doorbell and waited outside of the door, adding that the man inside 'took a long time but finally opened the door holding a firearm'.

Officers took a hard drive from Lester's home to preserve video, but the video system was 'no longer functional'.

Lester's home had signs warning trespassers and unwelcomed visitors, though it is unclear if Yarl saw any of them before approaching the property.

The doorbell had a small 'no solicitors' sign on top while another sign claimed the property was 'protected by surveillance cameras'.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced the two felony charges on Monday, and confirmed that there was a 'racial component' to the case, but would not elaborate further.

Lee Merritt, a lawyer for the family, added that Yarl's legal team was not aware of what the 'racial element' of the case was which was announced by Clay County Prosecutors office on Monday night.

He said: 'It's a white shooter and a black boy. The man in his 80s went home and slept in his bed that night. But I'm not sure what the prosecutor was referring to exactly.'

Yarl's mother told CBS News that her son was waiting for a hug from his twin brothers but instead 'got a couple of bullets'.
A Home Depot employee in California was shot and killed outside his store while trying to stop an alleged thief and her boyfriend, who fled with a two-year-old child in their car.

Blake Mohs, 26, was fatally wounded during a struggle which took place after he spotted the pair trying to leave in Pleasanton, east of San Francisco, on Tuesday.

The district is a Democrat enclave, and Home Depot has long been targeted by thieves. In 2019, the retailer began paying police overtime in Oakland - at least $2.1 million by 2021 - to guard its store.

Benicia Knapps, 32, and David Guillory, 31, were later arrested on suspicion of murder, robbery, child endangerment and conspiracy, according to police.

Knapps, a licensed security guard with a criminal history, had attempted to steal a phone charger, according to witnesses.

Blake Mohs (right) was fatally shot at Home Depot in Pleasanton, California, on Tuesday. Pictured with his fiancee Kasey Silligman

The loading dock area outside Home Depot, where Mohs was shot

Police responded to calls at about 2.15pm of a man bleeding inside the store and rendered aid to the victim before he was rushed to a nearby hospital.

The Alameda County Coroner later confirmed the victim died, and Home Depot confirmed he was an employee.

'We're heartbroken over this senseless tragedy. Blake was our associate and friend, and our hearts go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him,' the retailer said in a statement.

The Alameda County Sheriff's Office quickly located the suspects' vehicle and detained them about 2.30pm in Oakland before a handgun was found at a nearby intersection.

Mohs was reportedly a Boy Scout leader who was engaged to be married to fiancee Kasey Silligman.

Pleasanton police Lt. Erik Silacci said Knapps had been attempting to steal an electrical item and was 'determined to exit without paying.'

Mohs confronted her and a 'physical confrontation ensues.'

Silacci said Knapps then pulled out a handgun and fired what would be fatal shots at Mohs.

Knapps is a licensed security guard with a criminal history involving theft, according to California state records.

Her two-year-old child was apparently in the car at the time and was released to relatives.

Guillory was booked at Santa Rita Jail and Knapps was taken to the hospital and 'will later be taken to jail.'

According to their Facebook pages, the pair are dating. Both have been arrested

'We're heartbroken over this senseless tragedy. Blake was our associate and friend, and our hearts go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him,' said Home Depot in a statement

Pleasanton police apprehended the suspects a short while later in Oakland. The 2-year-old child in the car with them was given over to family

Mohs and Silligman met while they were both volunteering with the Boy Scouts. They were set to marry on August 12 of this year

The mayor of Pleasanton said: 'I am devastated by the loss of Blake Mohs in yesterdays senseless shooting.

'Through his service to Tri-Valley organizations, Blake was a model for others. To have a life cut short is heartbreaking and infuriating.'

One friend of Mohs', Scott Rodgers, told KTVU that Mohs has been beloved by all and was 'an incredible person.'

He said that Mohs has been a volunteer with younger Boy Scouts, having himself reached the rank of Eagle Scout - the highest rank a Scout can earn before turning 18 - in 2014.

Mohs' wedding website shows he was supposed to be married on August 12 at the campsite where he met Silligman, while they were both volunteering with the Scouts.

Gary Rasor, an 83-year-old Home Depot employee in North Carolina, was killed in January while trying to stop a thief. Rasor can be seen slowly approaching the suspect and placing a gentle hand on his arm. Surveillance footage shows the suspect, who was wearing a black Calvin Klein sweatshirt and a mask, thrust a forceful arm across the older man's shoulders, shoving him to the ground as he kept walking

The shooting comes several months after an 83-year-old man was fatally shoved at a Home Depot in North Carolina as he attempted to confront a thief with several hundred dollars worth of stolen goods.

Authorities shared the shocking footage of a suspect shoving the 83-year-old to the ground as he walked out of the store with a cart of stolen goods.

The victim, Gary Rasor, died of his injuries weeks after the assault.

The suspect, 26-year-old Terry McAnthony McMillian Jr., was apprehended in January and charged with first-degree murder and robbery.
The Supreme Court has extended access to an abortion pill until just before midnight on Friday.

In an order signed by Justice Samuel Alito on Wednesday, the court indicated it will act by Friday night - but did not explain why the court put off a more lasting decision.

The justices had initially given themselves a deadline on Wednesday in a fast-moving case from Texas in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back Food and Drug Administration-approved mifepristone - one of the most common methods of medical abortion in the United States.

The case stems from a ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk earlier this month that would have banned the abortion drug. An appeals court quickly blocked a ban on the pill but imposed strict restrictions on access - all but ensuring a review by the highest court in the nation.

The Supreme Court has extended access to mifepristone, a pill that induces medical abortions

The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug, want the Supreme Court to reject limits on mifepristones use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes its way through the courts.

The generic version of mifepristone makes up two-thirds of the supply in the United States, its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc., wrote in a court filing that underscored the perils of allowing the restrictions to be put into effect.

Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requiring women to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.

The legal fight over abortion comes less than a year after conservative justices reversed Roe. v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to ban abortion outright.

The court also said the drug should only be approved in the first seven weeks of pregnancy, even though in 2016, the FDA endorsed its use through 10 weeks.

Associate Justice Samuel Alito issued a statement on Wednesday that the nation's highest court would act by Friday night on the issue of the abortion pill, mifepristone

A box containing a Mifepristone tablet used to induce medical abortions.

Complicating the situation, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.

The Biden administration has said the rulings conflict and create an untenable situation for the FDA.

The White House is preparing to act whenever a final ruling comes in.

'This is a high priority. We're clearly keeping a close eye on this and what the decisions -- what decisions may come down from this,' said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday.

'We are prepared for any outcome the Supreme Court may -- may issue, and we are prepared for a long legal fight, if necessary,' she added.
A former Playboy model turned Italian princess faces imminent eviction from her $533m villa in Rome after she battled with her stepchildren and failed to maintain the property.

The 73-year-old Texas native, born Rita Carpenter, became Italian royalty after marrying Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi, an Italian prince in 2009 holding the title of Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi.

But, after her husband's death in 2018, Boncompagni Ludovisi's children from his first marriage accused their stepmother - their dad's third and final wife - of taking their inheritance and letting the Villa Aurora, located off the swanky Via Veneto, go to shambles.

A court has since agreed that the Princess, her Ukrainian housekeeper and her Ukrainian housekeeper's daughter and two grandchildren will be evicted by police as early as Thursday.

Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi (right) and Princess Rita are pictured together prior to his death in 2018. Texas-born Rita, a former Playboy model, now faces eviction from their lavish Roman villa as early as Thursday after a judge accused her of failing to maintain the property

This stunning property  a former hunting lodge on a hilltop site once occupied by Julius Caesar's palace  has what estate agents might call bags of potential (pictured)

Tucked away in a small room on the second floor, Jupiter, Neptune And Pluto (pictured) is the only ceiling painting by Caravaggio

The spectacular estate that has been in the Luovisi family since the early 1600s features the only known ceiling fresco painted by famed Italian artist Michaelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio.

Attempts to sell the property for $533 million proved unsuccessful.

The price has since been lowered to $353 million, but there are no buyers, meaning it will be discounted even more in a bid to shift it.

Rita is pictured on the cover of Playboy in 1984, three years after she first appeared in the magazine back in 1981

On Wednesday night, the American princess waited in her home with her Ukrainian housekeeper Olga, her housekeeper's daughter and grandchildren, who fled Kyiv last year after the Russian invasion, for the Carabinieri police to arrive.

In January, Rome Judge Miriam Iappelli instructed Carabinieri police at the Via Veneto station to evict her, accusing the princess of having failed, among other things, to maintain the home in a 'good state of conservation' after an exterior wall crumbled.

With the warning time now up, the decree calls for police to evict anyone still living there, take possession of the property, change the locks and 'dispose of or destroy' any furniture or documents left behind.

The children have argued that the home, built in 1570, belongs to them, that their grandfather intended for them to inherit it and that their late father abused them and mismanaged his fortune.

They have mounted a multi-pronged legal campaign to get control of the property so it can be sold.

The Casino Boncompagni Ludovisi also known as Casino dell'Aurora. Pictured is the ornate cieling showing the countries, with the side panels painted by Guercino, Paul Bril, Domenichino, Gian Battista Viola

Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi shows to journalists some of the paintings displayed inside the Casino dell'Aurora, also known as Villa Ludovisi, in Rome, on January 18, 2022

In the photo taken November 2021 the Princess Rita is pictured showing her home and the valuable paintings and artifacts to a group of journalists that were invited to the estate

One of the children, Bante Boncompagni Ludovisi, took to Twitter on Wednesday to praise Iappelli's eviction order and assert the children's right to the villa and its contents.

The widow Boncompagni Ludovisi says she and her husband worked diligently to restore the villa as best they could, adding that she has tried to negotiate with her late husband's children.

In a statement provided to The Associated Press on Wednesday, she called her imminent eviction 'unexpected and unjust.'

'What a brutal ending to my beautiful life with my beloved Nicolo,' she wrote.

The eviction order marked the culmination of a bitter inheritance saga that simultaneously saw the villa put on the court-ordered auction block last year and assigned a court-appraised value of 471 million euros ($533 million).

After the minimum bid of 353 million euros ($400 million) failed to get any takers in the first auction, the price was progressively lowered in a series of successive auctions, with more scheduled until a buyer is found.

The villa, also known as Villa Ludovisi, is famous for the Caravaggio that graces a tiny room off a spiral staircase on the second floor.

It was commissioned in 1597 by a diplomat and patron of the arts who asked the then-young painter to decorate the ceiling of the small room being used as an alchemy workshop.

The 2.75-meter (9-foot) wide mural, which depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, is unusual: Its not a fresco, but rather oil on plaster, and represents the only ceiling mural that Caravaggio is known to have painted.

Rita, pictured left at the Playboy Mansion on April 13, 1981 and right with Hugh Hefner, decided to appear in Playboy magazine, posing topless with a feather boa in a photoshoot to accompany an article that she'd written, headlined The Liberation of a Congressional Wife. Another model is seen on the cover

Princess Rita Boncompagni Ludovisi (center) decided to appear in Playboy magazine, posing in a feather boa in a photoshoot to accompany an article that she'd written, headlined The Liberation of a Congressional Wife

Ludovisi's first husband was former United States Democratic Representative John Jenrette Jr., of South Carolina, whom she married in 1976. The pair divorced in 1981.

During that time, sometime in the 80s', when she appeared on the cover of Playboy, a scandal played out when she told the magazine that she and Jenrette had sex on the Capital steps during a break in an all-night House session.

But, in 2017 during an interview on 'CBS Sunday Morning,' she claimed it was simply a 'kiss,' asserting that 'we did not make love on the Capitol steps.'

'We had just gotten married and they were in session, and he called me to have dinner with him in the Congressional dining room. And then we just went over behind the columns and he kissed me,' she said.

'And it was a passionate moment. But it was not  we did not make love on the Capitol steps. We did not!'
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. kicked off his longshot bid for the White House Wednesday by being honest about his past, as he revealed plans to get big pharma out of the government and create peace in Ukraine.

Kennedy, 69, had the reputation of being a serial womanizer and abusing drugs, in the wake of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, and his father, Sen. Robert F. Kennedy's, deaths.

More recently, he's made waves as a prominent anti-vaxxer.

'I told my wife the other day, I said, I've got so many skeletons in my closet that if they could vote, I could be king of the world,' Kennedy told supporters during his nearly two hour-long speech at a hotel in Boston.

In advance of the speech, the Kennedy campaign launched its website, which included six priorities for the Democratic candidate.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (left) kicked off his longshot bid for the White House Wednesday by being honest about his past, as he revealed plans to get big pharma out of the government and create peace in Ukraine. He poses with his wife, actress Cheryl Hines (right)

Kennedy rolled out his campaign website that spelled out six priorities including peace, honest government, the environment, reconciliation, civil liberties and revitalization

In a section on 'honest government,' the Democratic hopeful says that special interests are too entrenched with the government agencies that are supposed to monitor them.

'Wall Street controls the SEC. Polluters and extractive industries dominate the EPA and BLM. Pharma controls the CDC, NIH, and FDA. Big Ag controls the USDA. Big Tech has captured the FTC,' Kennedy said. 'No wonder trust in government is at all-time lows. It's time to earn it back.'

In order to disentangle these entities, Kennedy said he would 'protect whistleblowers and prosecute officials who abuse the public trust.'

'We will rein in the lobbyists and slam shut the revolving door that shunts people from government agencies to lucrative positions in the companies they were supposed to regulate, and back again,' the candidate added.

Kennedy outlined his idea on how to achieve peace in Ukraine as he rolled out his 2024 campaign website on Wednesday

In a section entitled 'peace,' Kennedy laid out what he would do in Ukraine.

'Diplomacy has never really been tried,' Kennedy said. 'We will offer to withdraw our troops and nuclear-capable missiles from Russia's borders.'

He argued that would entice Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine.

'UN peacekeepers will guarantee peace to the Russian-speaking eastern regions,' he continued. 'We will put an end to this war.'

During his address, he said that discussions about the war needed to be more nuanced.

'We can't tell one side that they're Nazis and the other side that they love Putin,' he said.

Kennedy said the U.S. government needed to be clear about why we're aiding Ukraine.

'It is not in America's national interest to push Russia closer to China,' Kennedy argued. 'It's not in America's national interest to involve us in something that could lead to a nuclear exchange.'

'We are in Ukraine for the right reasons,' Kennedy also said. 'We are there because of our compassion for the Ukrainian people who've been brutalized, who've been illegally invaded.'

But Kennedy questioned the cost of supporting Kyiv.

'We have money for wars and we have money to bail [out] bankers,' he said. 'But what happens to American people who hit hard times?' he mused.

Other priorities Kennedy outlined included 'healing the divide' - turning down the hyper-partisanship in the country.

Actress Cheryl Hines (left) hugs her husband Robert F. Kennedy Jr. (right) onstage Wednesday at his 2024 announcement in Boston

In his announcement speech, he spoke of the divisions within his own family - noting how a number of them did not support his presidential bid.

Several of his family members have ambassador roles in the current Biden administration.

But he said if they can respect one another, there's hope for the broader country.

'No one is deplorable,' his policy platform said - a word once used by Hillary Clinton to characterize supporters of former President Donald Trump.

'Everyone wants their children to be safe. Few relish the thought of dead fetuses, nor do they want to force women to have unwanted babies. Everyone wants safe streets, yet few wish for millions of people to languish in prison,' Kennedy's policy document went on.

While Kennedy didn't explicitly back reparations, he said he would help heal the country's racial wounds by implementing a program of 'Targeted Community Repair.'

'In the case of race relations, reconciliation includes repairing the damage caused by centuries of bigotry,' he said. 'Our operating principle is not guilt for the sins of ones ancestors, but rather compassion. We will invoke the authentic desire in all Americans, white and black, liberal and conservative, to improve the condition of our Black and Native brothers and sisters.'

Kennedy said he would not 'defund the police,' as some progressive Democrats have pushed for, instead transforming them to have a less adversarial relationship with the public

Kennedy said another one of his six priorities is civil liberties - but said he would not 'defund the police.'

Instead, he said, 'we will transform the police.'

'We will incentivize them to prevent violence, not make unnecessary arrests,' he said. 'No longer will their relationship to the public be adversarial.'

Kennedy, a drug offender himself, also vowed to grant amnesty to nonviolent drug criminals.

He also promised to end the 'censorship-industrial complex,' in which he claimed that 'big tech' was deplatforming and censoring Americans the government asked them to.

In August, Facebook and Instagram suspended Kennedy's nonprofit from the social media sites, accusing it of spreading medical misinformation.

In a section on 'revitalization' Kennedy vowed to 'reverse Americas economic decline' and tackle the country's 'widening wealth gap' which he calls 'the most unequal since the 1920s.'

He said that his administration would make 'government assistance to the nation's most vulnerable a high priority.'

His campaign website lashes out at 'misguided "free trade" schemes' and how the U.S. economy has been 'ruined by forty years of off-shoring.'

Kennedy claims that he will 'enact policies that favor small and medium businesses' but fails to spell out what those policies actually are.

And in an apparent nod to the progressive wing of the Democratic Party, he said he would back 'labor in reclaiming its fair share of American prosperity. '

'We will break up too-big-to-fail banks and monopolies, and when crisis strikes, bail out the homeowners, debtors, and small business owners instead,' the website says.

Finally, RFK - who was known for his environmental advocacy long before he became a prominent anti-vaxxer - said he would 'address the most pressing environmental problems in America and beyond' as president of the United States.

'Good environmental policy  100% of the time  is identical to good economic policy,' his campaign website states.

He says his administration would rethink how agricultural subsidies are handed out.

The policy overhaul would reshape them 'to encourage regenerative practices' such as 'building soil, replenishing groundwater, and detoxifying land.'

'Secondly, we will incentivize the transition of industry to zero-waste cycles and clean energy sources, and forge agreements with other countries to implement these policies throughout the global supply chain.

'These first two policies will vastly reduce the toxic waste, industrial poisons, and pesticides that make people and ecosystems sick,' his website said.

The Kennedy campaign also says it will protect wild lands with a crackdown on 'mining, logging, oil drilling, and suburban sprawl.'

'We will become a global advocate for rainforest preservation and marine restoration,' his website says.

But RFK's team provided no details on how his administration would convince countries such as China and India, which use huge amounts of coal, to follow green policies.




Willis Moore, 59, was working in the building when it collapsed on Ann Street in the Financial District on Tuesday at 4pm

DA Alvin Braggs Office confirmed that they will probe the cause but did not comment on if any criminality is suspected

Eric Adams said that EV's could have 'complicated' the collapse adding that the building was not 'structurally sound'

The deadly collapse of a New York City parking garage was caused by the age of the building and the number of cars parked on the top level.

Manhattans District Attorney's Office has launched a probe into the disaster, after a preliminary FDNY report said that the 98-year-old building pancaked to the basement with cars jamming into each other.

Pictures of the terrifying incident show dozens of vehicles, many large SUVs, falling in on each other in the collapse  which saw site manager Willis Moore, 59, killed and five others injured.

Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference on Wednesday that there were more than 50 cars on the top level of the roof.

He added: The building is not structurally sound, you think about hazardous materials that are in the garage, right gas tanks, fluids, further complicated by the fact that there are possibly some electric vehicles in that garage.

Pictures of the terrifying incident show dozens of vehicles, many large SUVs, falling in on each other in the collapse  which saw site manager Willis Moore, 59, killed and five others injured

Manhattans District Attorney's Office has launched a probe into the disaster, after a preliminary FDNY report said that the 98-year-old building pancaked to the basement with cars jamming into each other

An FDNY memo said that the working theory behind the cause of the disaster was the three-story garage collapsed under the weight of the heavy vehicles.

It added that it was likely the building, which was built in 1925 and approved as a garage in 1957, had issues with its structure because of its age.

DA Alvin Braggs Office confirmed that they will probe the cause but did not comment on if any criminality is suspected.

Firefighters remain on scene and are still struggling to remove cars still trapped inside so it can be properly demolished on Thursday.

They are also unable to access the body of Moore, and blamed the buildings' instability for the prolonged operation.

Terrifying footage captured cars on a lower level being crushed after the upper floor collapsed and vehicles fell through the 'pancaked' broken concrete.

The horror incident left a fleet of vehicles piled on top of one another, causing a huge emergency response at the site near Wall Street at 4.15pm.

New York City's Department of Buildings confirmed that there are four open property violations relating to the garage in Lower Manhattan.

Mayor Eric Adams said during a press conference on Wednesday that there were more than 50 cars on the top level of the roof

The building was built in 1925 and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking

An FDNY memo said that the working theory behind the cause of the disaster was the three-story garage collapsed under the weight of the heavy vehicles

An open complaint in 2013 saw the company fail to maintain the building after there was no exit at a signposted fire exit  with all the doors locked.

The company listed on the complaint, Enterprise Ann Parking LL, was given a $1,200 fine after being found in violation in 2014.

In 2009 they were found to have broken and defective fire stairs, as well as a 'loose piece of concrete in danger of falling' in several locations.

The respondent, named as Ann Park LLC, was fined $200 and found to be in violation in 2010, but nothing was ultimately resolved.

Two complaints in 2003 remain open, with one referring to exit lighting not working, as well as exit signs not 'properly illuminating'.

The other part of the issue was gain to 'fix concrete', as well as 'missing concrete covering steel beams' and 'defective concrete with exposed rear cracks.'

57 Ann St Realty Association was fined a total of $1,150 on that occasion, but it does not appear that anything was resolved.

Firefighters remain on scene and are still struggling to remove cars still trapped inside so it can be properly demolished on Thursday

Adams said: The building is not structurally sound, you think about hazardous materials that are in the garage, right gas tanks, fluids, further complicated by the fact that there are possibly some electric vehicles in that garage'

A city record from 2010 shows 34 new auto lifts were installed on the property, which would have 'added to the weight' of the building

There have been 64 violations in total since the building opened in 1957, with the complaints dating back to 1976.

However, there are still two open DOB violations regarding the elevator in the property, which was issued in 2014.

Three of the complaints were marked as Category One or hazardous issue, meaning that they have to be corrected immediately.

NYC passed a law in 2022 requiring owners of parking structures to have their garages inspected every six years, and to file a report with inspection results to the Department of Buildings.

The Manhattan garage was part of the first two-year inspection cycle , January 2022 to December 2023, meaning that they were not out of compliance  but the law was created too late to catch the problems.

It was built in 1925 and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking.

A city record from 2010 shows 34 new auto lifts were installed on the property, which would have 'added to the weight' of the building.

The building and several streets remain closed after the collapse which killed one and injured four others

The building was built in 1925 (pictured) and received its certificate of occupancy in 1957 for automobile parking

However, there are still two open DOB violations regarding the elevator in the property, which was issued in 2014

New York City Mayor Eric Adams told the media that a robotic dog, which is also known as a Digidog, was needed to go into the building when officials arrived on the scene because the collapsed building was unstable.

Investigations into the cause of the collapse are on-going.

Footage of the collapse, which was shot on a Ring surveillance camera, shows the vehicles inside in the dark become quickly submerged by falling concrete.

Numerous vehicles were seen crashing through the openings as the collapse caused significant damage.

Witnesses described a woman screaming 'get out!' as the structure caved in, and images showed the top floor fallen through with vehicles stacked on broken concrete.

Several New York residents who live near the building told DailyMail.com the structure was known to be old, saying the tragedy was 'not surprising'.
A man serving as a supervising agent on a 'high-profile' criminal tax probe has come forward seeking whistleblower protections while claiming politics are 'improperly infecting decisions' in the investigation.

And in the latest Biden family matter to draw scrutiny in Congress, the matter has been identified as being about the president's son, Hunter Biden.

A lawyer representing the unidentified whistleblower wrote senators as well as inspectors general for the Justice Departments and the Treasury Department on Wednesday.

People familiar with the matter told the Wall Street Journal the probe related to the president's son, who just returned from a trip to Ireland where he accompanied the president on a family reunion.

The protected disclosures 'contradict sworn testimony to Congress by a senior political appointee' and 'involve failure to mitigate clear conflicts of interest in the ultimate disposition of the case,' according to attorney Mark Lytle of Nixon Peabody.

Hunter Biden has been under investigation for a running tax probe. He is seen here with President Joe Biden's sister Valerie Biden Owens, left, on their trip to Ireland

They also 'detail preferential treatment and politics improperly infecting decisions and protocols that would normally be followed by career law enforcement professionals in similar circumstances if the subject were not politically connected,' Lytle wrote, in a letter obtained by DailyMail.com.

He said his client is a career IRS Criminal Supervisor Special Agent who has been overseeing the 'sensitive investigation of a high-profile, controversial subject' since 2020.

He has already shared information with the Treasury's IG for Tax Administration, and the DOJ's IG, and wants to provide further information to Congress, where House and Republican-led committees and GOP senators have already been probing the president's son.

A lawyer representing an IRS whistleblower wrote senators seeking protections for information that would 'contradict sworn testimony'

The letter claims politics was 'infecting' decisions

U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump Administration holdover, is overseeing the probe

The lawyer wants legal protections to share the information with Congress. Tax information is generally protected.

The letter didn't identify Hunter Biden or the senior political appointee who gave testimony, although Attorney General Merrick Garland vouched for the independence of U.S. Attorney David Weiss, a Trump holdover who is overseeing the Hunter Biden probe.

'He has been advised he is not to be denied anything he needs,' Garland told the Senate Judiciary Committee. 'I have not heard anything from that office to suggest that they are not able to do everything the U.S. attorney wants to do.'

A 2020 subpoena sought years' worth of financial information on Hunter Biden, who held a lucrative board position on the Ukrainian energy firm Burisma.

Lytle did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer, who is already probing the Bidens, pounced on the news.

'It's deeply concerning that the Biden Administration may be obstructing justice by blocking efforts to charge Hunter Biden for tax violations,' he said. He said his panel was following the 'Biden's tangled web of complex corporate and financial records.'

'It's clear from our investigation that Hunter and other members of the Biden family engaged in deceptive, shady business schemes to avoid scrutiny as they made millions from foreign adversaries like China. We've been wondering all along where the heck the DOJ and the IRS have been. Now it appears the Biden Administration may have been working overtime to prevent the Bidens from facing any consequences.'

Biden has not been charged with a crime.
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas offered his condolences Wednesday to the family of a grandmother and seven-year-old granddaughter who died in a car crash caused by a people smuggler fleeing arrest about 100 miles from the southern border.

The moment came during a heated hearing, as Mayorkas testified before the House Homeland Security Committee.

Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas asked him to apologize to the family of Maria and Emilia Tambunga, who died last month.

'They're sitting right behind you. They came here today because they want answers,' he said.

'They came here today because of the failures of you and your leadership. They came here because they want closure.'

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas offered his condolences Wednesday to the family of a grandmother and seven-year-old granddaughter who died in a car crash caused by a people smuggler fleeing arrest near the border

Mayorkas asked permission from the committee chairman, before standing and turning to the family.

Not all of his words were captured by the video feed, but he could be heard saying: 'My heart breaks for your loss.'

Maria and Emilia died last month when a Dodge pickup truck driven by Rassian Comer ran a red light in Texas.

He had refused to stop for a speeding violation and was being chased by a sheriff's vehicle. Comer had 11 undocumented non-citizens in his vehicle.

Two of the migrants also died.

'Mr. Mayorkas, are you going to tell the Tambunga family that the border is secure today?' asked Pfluger.

He responded by accusing the congressman from Texas of politicizing a tragedy.

71-year-old Maria Tambunga and 7-year-old Emilia Tambunga died last month in a crash that involved a human smuggler evading arrest, authorities said

Republican Rep. August Pfluger of Texas asked Mayorkas to apologize to the family of Maria and Emilia Tambunga who died last month

Mayorkas has been under intense pressure to defend the Biden administration's border policies. And Wednesday's hearing saw him on the receiving end of hostile questioning, accused of being a 'liar' and of being complicit in thousands of drug deaths.

The flashpoint came during Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene's moment in the spotlight, when she sought to score points during her allotted five minutes.

'I want to know from you, how many more people do we have to watch die every single day in America? How many more young people do we have to see die? How many more teenagers? asked the conspiracy theorist from Georgia.

'How many more parents cry themselves to sleep at night, if they could even sleep, because their child overdosed on fentanyl?

'How long are you going to continue this outrage?'

'Let me assure you that we're not letting it go on,' Mayorkas answered. 'We are fighting this ...'

The answer infuriated Greene who interrupted his words.

'I reclaim my time,' she said. 'Youre a liar. 'You are letting this go on, the numbers prove it.

'You cant lie about the fact, Secretary Mayorkas, while you live in denial and sit over there with this attitude that youre doing everything right ... you are killing Americans with your policies.

'And that is a fact. Your policies are killing over 300 Americans a day.'

Migrants stand near the border wall after crossing the Rio Bravo river with the intention of turning themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol agents, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico April 14, 2023

Migrants surrender to the American authorities to request political asylum in the United States, on April 17, 2023 in in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico

She was eventually cut off by Mississippi Representative Bennie Thompson, the committee's ranking Democrat. He said her words violated House rules of decorum.

'We can disagree, but we've gotten to the point of the language that we're using is not the kind of language that historically we use as members of this committee,' he said.

When Greene refused to withdraw her comments the committee chairman, Republican Rep. Mark Green, had them struck from the record.

Democrats expressed their frustration at how Republicans had conducted the hearing.

'We're sitting here with a shocking lack of decorum to have a cabinet secretary in front of us who has been subject to ad hominem insults and accusations that are completely baseless,' said Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY).

'I have now counted that six of my Republican colleagues have not asked you ... single question. They have used their five minutes to speechify, to accuse you of lying, to accuse you of making false statements.'
MPs yesterday called for an international summit to address the dangers posed by artificial intelligence.

It came on the same day the Chancellor insisted AI will boost the economy without destroying jobs.

MPs want the UK to host an annual gathering to help establish regulations to govern AI's rapid development.

But while Jeremy Hunt acknowledged AI could be used 'in a bad way', he told Politico: 'I truly believe that AI can be the answer to the productivity and growth challenge that all advanced economies are facing.'

Jeremy Hunt told Politico AI could be key to fixing Britain's productivity and growth challenges

In the address, Hunt also said workers will need to retrain throughout their lives as technology changes what jobs are needed, for example Uber drivers will need different jobs when we move to driverless cars.

Third of firms hacked Almost a third of businesses and a quarter of charities were victims of a cyber attack last year. The average cost to a business was 1,100, rising to nearly 5,000 for medium and large businesses  of which 59 and 69 per cent were targeted respectively  the survey by pollsters Ipsos found. The National Cyber Security Centre has warned the number of victims will rise as more spyware, hackers for hire and better tools make it easier to steal data. Advertisement

The calls for a global summit comes after more than a thousand tech executives and academics in the US, including Twitter boss Elon Musk and Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak, called for a six-month pause on the AI arms race.

They warn that developers have created software that 'no one  not even their creators  can understand, predict, or reliably control'.

This week Google boss Sundar Pichai said the threat posed to humanity by AI 'keeps me up at night' after the company's AI chatbot Bard learnt Bangladeshi without training.

Tory former Cabinet minister David Davis called for an international summit to tackle the issue.

He said: 'We could lead in this area. We're leaders in the field, along with America, and because we're free post-Brexit to make up our own minds, we could actually be very creative with it.'

Tory chairman of the digital, culture, media and sport committee, Julian Knight, said: 'We need the very best thinkers to come together and look at how best to roll out this exciting but potentially very dangerous technology.'

Professor Alan Woodward, cyber expert at the University of Surrey added: 'What we need is a high level conference comprising experts and policy makers to discuss and agree the risks and how these can be mitigated through international agreement.'

Sundar Pichai, Chief Executive Officer of Google, said AI's 'threat' keeps him up at night

The Government has outlined five principles for regulators to consider to ensure AI's 'safe and innovative' use  safety, contestability, transparency, fairness, and accountability.
The shattered dad of a little girl who was left to die in a sweltering hot car alongside her half-sister says he is haunted by the tragedy, making every day a 'living nightmare'.

Darcey-Helen and Chloe-Ann Conley were just two-and-a-half and 18-months years old respectively when they were left in a car outside their Brisbane home on November 23, 2019.

They sat there, in their car seats, for nine hours as temperatures soared past 60C inside the vehicle.

Their ice-addicted mother, Kerri-Ann, said she left them there because she did not want to wake them - while she went into her Waterford West home to sleep.

Darcey-Helen's dad Peter Jackson was no longer living with Kerri-Ann at the time but received a frantic phone call from her when she found the girls unresponsive.

He will never forget the awful memories of trying to resuscitate his little girl on the bathroom floor nine hours later.

Darcey-Helen and Chole-Ann were unable to be revived, despite desperate attempts to save them.

Darcey-Helen Conley and her half-sister Chloe-Ann were left to die in a hot car in 2019

He says everything changed that day. 'I relive that bathroom every night, every day,' Mr Jackson told ABC TV in an interview.

'It's not just me that this has affected. It's the whole family. We've basically had to learn how to live again.

'You just want to lay in bed, pull the doona over your head, and be done with the day.'

When Mr Jackson received the panicked call from Kerri-Ann, he told her to call an ambulance as he raced to the house where the children were lying on the bathroom floor.

Their mother was standing in the bath tub with water running.

Mr Jackson performed CPR on Darcey-Helen while Kerri-Ann tried to resuscitate Chloe-Ann.

A shocking report released last month revealed Kerri-Ann was known to the Department of Child Safety and had a long history of neglect and drug abuse.

The report revealed how Kerri-Ann brazenly told child services she used methamphetamine and even refused drug tests.

She is also said to have told them she wanted to swap her unborn child Chloe-Ann for an iPhone 7 in June 2018.

Darcey-Helen Conley's dad Peter Jackson remains haunted by the tragedy

Another report claimed Darcey-Helen was seen with a bong in her mouth while running around her house on November 6, 2019, just weeks before her death.

Just a week later, on November 13, police were told Conley was using and dealing crystal meth from her home, with her children locked in another room.

But despite the litany of shocking abuse and neglect, child services still declared Kerri-Ann 'a parent willing and able'. Just ten days after making that judgment, her children were dead.

Mr Jackson is now pursuing legal action against the Queensland child safety department and is seeking damages for personal injuries he says stem from the girls' deaths three-and-a-half years ago.

He has sustained nervous shock, severe post-traumatic stress disorder, and severe anxiety since the tragedy, a notice of claim filed with the Supreme Court last year states.

He believes Darcey-Helen and Chloe-Ann would still be alive today if not for a series of failures by Queensland's Child Safety department.

Just weeks before the tragedy, doctors told the department that Darcey had been exposed to meth at her mum's house.

Mr Jackson says he also reported that Kerri-Ann had told him she had previously fallen asleep on the couch, leaving the kids in the car.

A Queensland Family and Child Commission report found 'clear red flags' were overlooked and that the system 'should have done more' to promote their safety.

'Child Safety knew their mother used ice,' Mr Jackson told the ABC.

'They knew she drove around high, with Darcey in the car  that she refused to do drug tests.

'They knew she wanted to swap Chloe for an iPhone 7 [prior to her birth].'

Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured with Darcey-Helen) was sentenced to nine years jail earlier this year

Mr Jackson is also campaigning for child safety legislation to be overhauled, calling for an independent commission of inquiry to investigate the protection system.

Mr Jackson has been given leave to commence proceedings against the State of Queensland and granted leave to sue Conley and her motor vehicle insurer RACQ Insurance.

Lawyers for RACQ Insurance denied its client is obliged to indemnify Conley in respect of the claim for damages.

The Queensland Family and Child Commission undertook systems review following the deaths of Chloe and Darcey and made three recommendations which have since all been implemented.

'Queenslanders need to have confidence that vulnerable children can and will be looked after, and that there are systems in place to look after children who are at risk,' a department spokeswoman said.

'We will always act as a model litigant in the conduct of all litigation, ensuring we meet our obligations to uphold ethical and professional standards, and deal with claims promptly.'

Mr Jackson was in court when Conley was sentenced to nine years jail in February after she pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

He said outside court he was 'obviously not happy with the sentence'.

'I can't help what the other parent does. You can't always be around, unfortunately,' he said.

'I miss their laughs, their giggles, everything. They're toddlers, what's not to love about them?'

Kerri-Ann Conley (pictured) will be eligible for parole in November 2024

Kerri-Ann Conley's daughters Darcy-Helen Conley (left) and Chloe-Ann (right) were found dead in Conley's car, parked outside her Waterford West home in November 2019

Sentencing judge Justice Peter Applegarth labelled Kerri-Ann's actions 'grossly negligent'.

Kerri-Ann had taken them to a friend's place at 11.30pm on November 22, 2019 before returning home at about 4am.

Instead of removing her daughters from their seats, she went inside, dawdled on her phone for a few hours and fell asleep.

Darcy-Helen and Chloe-Ann were left in the vehicle in direct sunlight for hours as temperatures climbed to 61.5 degrees.

The girls' skin was hot to the touch, was covered in burns and blisters and was 'peeling off' as paramedics tried to revive them, the court was told.

The court was told Conley disclosed to a covert police officer while in custody that she smoked the drug ice daily.

But she insisted her kids 'always came first' and her drug use did not affect her relationship with the girls.

'It's an astounding statement only a drug addict could make,' Mr Applegarth said.

Now 30, Conley has already served three years behind bars and will be eligible for parole after November 22, 2024.
A foreign rapist is still living in Britain three years after Keir Starmer opposed his deportation, the Mail can reveal today.

Fabian Henry was jailed for two vile attacks on a girl of 17 and for abducting and having sex with a 15-year-old.

But when the Home Office tried to put him on a flight back to Jamaica, along with 41 other criminals, the Labour leader endorsed a letter criticising the move.

Signed by Sir Keir and fellow MPs a few days before the plane was scheduled to take off, it demanded the cancellation of 'all further deportations'. The letter also highlighted the Windrush scandal which saw innocent Commonwealth citizens targeted as illegal immigrants.

Rishi Sunak branded the Labour leader 'Sir Softy' in the Commons yesterday, saying he was 'soft on crime, soft on criminals'.

Fabian Henry (pictured) was jailed for two vile attacks on a girl of 17 and for abducting and having sex with a 15-year-old

A foreign rapist is still living in Britain three years after Keir Starmer (pictured) opposed his deportation, the Mail can reveal today

At Prime Minister's Questions, he said Sir Keir had repeatedly ordered his MPs to vote against longer prison terms. He added: 'When our Sentencing Act ended the automatic early release of offenders who pose a danger to the public, it was the Labour Party that voted against it. We are cracking down on grooming gangs, and the Leader of the Opposition is uncomfortable addressing them.

'We toughened the law on sex offenders so they spend longer in prison; he voted against it. We have increased rape convictions by over 60 per cent; meanwhile, he attended 21 sentencing council meetings that watered down punishments.

'That is why they call him Sir Softy: soft on crime, soft on criminals.'

Henry, 40, was among 25 Jamaican nationals taken off a February 2020 deportation flight after winning 11th-hour reprieves. Some are believed to have lodged last-minute human rights claims. A police source revealed: 'Fabian Henry is still in Britain. It is despicable that the authorities have not been able to remove this rapist from the country.'

He is understood to have deployed a series of further legal challenges to avoid deportation.

Sir Keir has sought to trade on his record as a former director of public prosecutions, claiming that he had 'prosecuted thousands upon thousands of sex offenders'. And at PMQs he said Mr Sunak had 'broken' the criminal justice system, leading to a record courts backlog and the release of violent criminals.

On the deportation issue, a Labour spokesman said: 'There is no point in the Home Office trying to blame anyone else for their failure to either deport a dangerous criminal or make sure proper protection measures were in place.

'It's their failure to sort out their own legal systems or put someone on another flight that is responsible.

'They've been in government for 13 years, they can't just blame everybody else.'

Henry was described as 'devious, callous and manipulative' by a judge at Bristol Crown Court when he was sentenced to 12 years in 2013. He denied all the charges against him, forcing his two young victims to relive their ordeals in the witness box.

Another on the flight was Akiva Heaven, who was jailed for drugs crimes after dodging deportation

The court heard how he groomed both girls by bombarding them with hundreds of messages from his Blackberry phone.

He lured his 17-year-old victim to his cousin's flat in Bristol, where he twice forced himself on her in July 2012.

Henry took degrading pictures of her naked and in her underwear, and then published them on social media in a bid to silence her.

After the girl left the flat, Henry followed her and forced her to get into his car where he threatened to hit her. She escaped only when one of his friends intervened.

Henry was also convicted of abducting a girl of 15 and taking her to his flat in London, where he had sex with her in December 2012. He started grooming her at 14.

Henry was handed a Sexual Offences Prevention Order banning him from unsupervised contact with youngsters and ordered to register as a sexual offender for life. The mother of one victim told the Bristol Post: 'He took away her innocence. He vandalised her life and she has got to live with that for the rest of her life.'

The Home Office were unable to keep Henry in immigration detention because officials had to show there was a 'realistic prospect of removal'.

Further allegations were made against him by another woman but the case was not proceeded with.

On the same flight was Barrington Laing, 25, who was caught with a knife after failed deportation flight

Under laws passed by Labour in 2007, the Home Secretary must begin deportation proceedings against any foreign national offenders jailed for 12 months or more.

During a rowdy session of PMQs Mr Sunak also accused Sir Keir of hypocrisy.

The Labour leader has opposed plans to scrap the 1million tax-free allowance for pension savings, which is designed to prevent doctors retiring early from the NHS.

And the Prime Minister pointed out that parliament passed a special law during Sir Keir's time as DPP to prevent his pension being hit by the cap. Waving a copy of the 2013 legislation, he told the Commons: 'It's literally one law for him and tax rises for everyone else.'

Labour has been widely criticised, including by many of its MPs and supporters, for a series of attack ads against the Tories, one of which claimed that Mr Sunak did not think child sex abusers should go to prison.

Home Secretary Suella Braverman writes in the Spectator today that Labour's claim was 'frankly laughable'.
Junior doctors called for joint strikes with nurses within minutes of rejecting the Government's 5 per cent pay offer, it was claimed last night.

Medics expressed their desire for joint walkouts on an online forum  with one post from a junior doctor claiming co-ordinated action would 'really disrupt' life.

But another argued 'they should be back to back rather than simultaneous'.

Vivek Trivedi, co-chairman of the British Medical Association, told The Times: 'We haven't ruled anything out, of course, our unions will be in close communication to discuss how we may go forward together.'

The nursing union, NHS Staff Council, will meet on May 2 and reveal ballot results, with one medic writing online that it promises to be 'a very very interesting few months'.

Medics expressed their desire for joint walkouts on an online forum  with one post from a junior doctor claiming co-ordinated action would 'really disrupt' life. Pictured: NHS junior doctors on the picket line outside Southend University Hospital in Essex on April 14

The nursing union, NHS Staff Council, will meet on May 2 and reveal ballot results, with one medic writing online that it promises to be 'a very very interesting few months'. Pictured: NHS Junior doctors rally in the centre of Birmingham on April 14

Members of the Royal College of Nursing will strike over the early May bank holiday.

Former NHS chief executive Simon Stevens last night warned it would be 'unconscionable' for doctors and nurses to stage a co-ordinated strike.

Lord Stevens, writing in The Spectator, said: 'Now if further strikes drag on, at the very least waiting lists will worsen.

'The nuclear option of withdrawing cover for emergency services and urgent cancer care would be unconscionable.'

Meanwhile, a fresh wave of industrial action is set to cause disruption during the King's Coronation.

Unions representing security staff at Heathrow Airport and traffic wardens in Westminster said members would walk out early next month.

The timing coincides with the Coronation at Westminster Abbey on Saturday, May 6.

The Unite union said security officers at Heathrow would walk out on May 4-6, 9-10 and 25-27, warning the strikes will cause 'inevitable disruption and delays'.

Former NHS chief executive Simon Stevens last night warned it would be 'unconscionable' for doctors and nurses to stage a co-ordinated strike. Pictured: Junior doctors on a picket line outside University College Hospital in London on April 14

Members of the Royal College of Nursing will strike over the early May bank holiday. Pictured: Junior doctors on a picket line at the Whittington Hospital, London, on April 13

But Heathrow last night said it would not let Unite 'disrupt the flow of visitors to the UK during such an important period for the country'.

The GMB said traffic wardens in Westminster employed by contractor NSL will be taking action short of a strike from May 1 to 8 and strike action on May 2, 4 and 6.

GMB organiser Alex Etches said: 'If NSL fail to make a sensible offer... we'll see just what an important job our members do as the King makes his way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Cathedral [sic] on Saturday, May 6.'

Ambulance staff and health workers also announced fresh industrial action yesterday.

Unite said its members would strike on May 1 and 2, in anticipation of the Government's pay offer being rejected.

Ambulance workers at the South Central, South East Coast and West Midlands trusts will walk out on May 2.

Staff at Christies NHS Foundation Trust, Christies Pathology Partnership, East Lancashire Hospitals NHS Trust, and Sandwell and West Birmingham NHS Trust will also strike that day.

Unite confirmed earlier this week that its members at Guy's and St Thomas' in London and Yorkshire Ambulance Service will strike on May 1.
A transgender activist who claimed she was drawing up a kill list of 'Nazi' opponents says she has just joined the Women's Institute.

Shanu Varma, who has described herself as 'violent and cruel' and purports to be a martial arts champion, said she had signed up to the organisation amid a row over whether or not it should allow transgender members.

She posted on social media a screenshot of the WI website thanking her for a 'one-off purchase of WI Supporter Plus' membership and added the caption: 'Fantastic news, now a Women's Institute member.'

But other Twitter users highlighted her recent warnings that she had drawn up a list of dozens of critics of gender ideology to help friends who wanted to murder them - although last night she claimed the messages had not been meant seriously.

Family law barrister Sarah Phillimore said women have 'a right' to single-sex spaces, adding: 'Whether it's an empty threat or not is irrelevant.'

'Violent and cruel': Shanu Varma boasted of permanently paralysing nine people

Varma said she had signed up to the organisation amid a row over whether or not it should allow transgender members

Campaign group Conservatives for Women said: 'Women have the right to assemble without the presence of men. But the WI decided to give away that right and here is the result.'

Female Tory and Labour MPs unite to warn 'extremist activists' must not be allowed to erode women's rights and insist single-sex spaces must be protected Two female MPs from across the political divide have joined forces to defend women's rights. Labour's Rosie Duffield and the Tories' Miriam Cates warned last night that 'extremist activists' must not be allowed to erode hard-won protections. 'This is not a party political issue, it's about protecting the dignity of women and girls by maintaining single-sex spaces,' they told the Daily Express. The pair were both heckled in the Commons chamber earlier this year during a heated debate about Scotland's controversial attempt to introduce self-ID for transgender people. Advertisement

Ms Varma, who lives in Greater Manchester and claims to have recently joined the Labour Party, uses two Twitter accounts.

Using one account, under the name DJ Miss Gripper, she has also boasted about her love of fighting. In one message last month she wrote: 'I've permanently paralysed nine people from the neck down.

'Am a gold medal holder shao'lin kung fu champion. Be careful who you threaten, I can make one phone call, call a favour in and end of troll.'

In another she said: 'I am very violent and cruel when I fight and have never lost in 320 fights in 40 years.' And in a series of other tweets, also now deleted but widely shared online, she spoke of drawing up a kill list of gender critics, known as 'terfs'.

She said two friends were 'going to murder the top 50 prominent terf' if being trans was made illegal in the UK and had been 'making a snuff list'.

Last night on her other account, under the name Dr Shanu Varma, she claimed the kill list messages had been a sting operation. She wrote that she had 'published some disinformation yesterday only to delete this morning as I wanted to see who would out themselves'.

And she said that she removed the tweets 'as the onslaught was horrible', with 'thousands and thousands of nasty' messages, which she has given to Greater Manchester Police. In 2021, Ms Varma was ordered to pay 115,595 after a judge ruled she had libelled a feminist campaigner on Twitter. She had falsely suggested that the woman had misappropriated money she raised through sponsored bike rides for a domestic violence charity.

Ms Varma did not respond to requests for further comment.

Women's Institute chief executive Melissa Green told The Guardian: 'For us, transgender women are women and we want to share and celebrate their experience with them.'
A mom says her teenagers were wrongfully detained by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department inside their own home after deputies entered following reports of fighting inside the house.

The family spoke with KTLA and said the teens, 19 and 14, are still traumatized by the incident in which they believed their civil rights were violated.

'It was terrifying,' said homeowner Ceidy Cordova. 'My kids should have never gone through this. Never. They shouldn't ever put hands on them at all.'

Security camera footage of the October 2022 incident shows deputies enter the home and detain the children, including one clip where 19-year-old Aliza is held against a wall.

Another clip shows 14-year-old Isaac have his phone snatched from his hand and pushed up against the wall outside the family's apartment.

In a statement, LASD officials said they did not make a mistake, writing: 'In fact, they were directed to the location by concerned citizens and based on the information, deputies had a lawful duty to ensure there were no injured victims and/or suspects inside the location.'

A mom says her teens were wrongfully detained by the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department inside their own home after deputies entered following reports of fighting inside the house

The family spoke with KTLA and said the teens, 19-year-old Aliza and 14-year-old Isaac, are still traumatized by the incident in which they believed their civil rights were violated

According to Ceidy, the 'wrongful arrests' occurred inside their home in the 5100 block of Rosemead Boulevard on October 22, 2022.

The mother said she and her husband were not at home when their son and daughter alerted them to what was happening at home.

'When she said that they were already in there and they were being aggressive and trying to grab her, that's when I turned on the cameras,' said Ceidy.

'Then I saw what happened,' the mother told KTLA of what the footage showed.

Security video shows Ceidy attempting to speak through the home camera to ask what was going on but being ignored as her daughter spoke with deputies.

Aliza is seen passionately talking with the deputies for several seconds as the mother yells out 'hello' to the group.

According to investigators, deputies had received a call reporting screaming person and another person who may have been hit.

The children, however, told deputies they had no idea why they were there.

Despite their confusion, the pair of teenagers were then roughed up for asking questions and were seen handcuffed by authorities.

According to Ceidy, the 'wrongful arrests' occurred inside their home in the 5100 blok of Rosemead Boulevard on October 22, 2022

'When she [Aliza] said that they were already in there and they were being aggressive and trying to grab her, that's when I turned on the cameras,' said Ceidy

Despite their confusion, the pair of teenagers were then roughed up for asking questions and were seen handcuffed by authorities

After the deputies take the pair outside, several agents are seen holding Aliza against the wall as she yells at them through tears.

'You're holding me so tight,' the teen is heard saying.

In another clip, Isaac is seen holding his phone in an attempt to record the encounter.

One deputy grabs the teen's phone and three others then force him up against the wall and place him in handcuffs.

'You see in the video they are grabbing her so tight, they left bruises on them and took my son and husband to jail for no reason,' said Ceidy.

When the woman and her husband returned home, another video shows deputies ask Ceidy's husband to exit the vehicle before he is also taken into custody.

The family has since hired a lawyer who says the deputies violated their rights.

'You can see in the video, they are pushing him towards the wall, brutally,' said Narine Mkrtchyan, the family's attorney, told KTLA.

'That's unlawful detention in retaliation, a violation of the first amendment, fourth amendment and excessive force,' Mkrthyan said.

The family says they have been traumatized and are looking to now relocate.

'I want justice,' said Ceidy. 'They should never do this to any family, any children or my kids. I want justice for what they did.'

In one clip, Isaac is seen holding his phone in an attempt to record the encounter

'You see in the video they are grabbing her so tight, they left bruises on them and took my son and husband to jail for no reason,' said Ceidy

'That's unlawful detention in retaliation, a violation of the first amendment, fourth amendment and excessive force,' said the family's lawyer, Narine Kkrthyan

'I want justice,' said Ceidy. 'They should never do this to any family, any children or my kids. I want justice for what they did.'

The L.A. County Sheriff's Department insists they did not enter the wrong house.

'When the deputies arrived, they were directed to an apartment where they found the door ajar. The deputies announced their presence and attempted to explain the nature of the call, but the occupants were uncooperative and refused to comply,' the department said in a statement.

'Contrary to the allegations on social media, deputies DID NOT enter the wrong location with a search warrant. In fact, they were directed to the location by concerned citizens and based on the information, deputies had a lawful duty to ensure there were no injured victims and/or suspects inside the location.'

LASD said they are currently conducting an internal investigation.
A man born without arms who plays the French horn with his toes is to make his debut at the BBC Proms this year.

Felix Klieser, whose musical talent is described as 'astonishing', will take part in two performances during the classical music season, which starts in July.

The 32-year-old from Germany will play Mozart's Horn Concerto No4 in E flat major with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, where he is an artist-in-residence.

Mr Klieser is understood to have started playing the horn when he was four years old.

He plays the instrument by using his left foot to operate the valves, with the horn placed on a tripod.

A man born without arms who plays the French horn with his toes is to make his debut at the BBC Proms this year

Felix Klieser, whose musical talent is described as 'astonishing', will take part in two performances during the classical music season, which starts in July

Unveiling this year's season of concerts, BBC Proms director David Pickard described Mr Klieser as a 'really extraordinary character' and 'an astonishing musician'.

He added: 'I think it's going to be a really exciting moment.' Mr Klieser, who will also play in a performance for audiences with disabilities and sensory impairments the next day, said it would be 'amazing' to perform at the Royal Albert Hall.

The 32-year-old from Germany will play Mozart's Horn Concerto No4 in E flat major with the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, where he is an artist-in-residence

Mr Klieser is understood to have started playing the horn when he was four years old. He plays the instrument by using his left foot to operate the valves, with the horn placed on a tripod

Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter (left) and Felix Klieser were previously given Echo awards by presenter Nina Eichinger

Klieser pictured playing the piece 'Todeserfahrung' of Norbert von Hannenheim during the memorial service for the victims of National Socialism at the German parliament in Berlin, Germany, 27 January 2017

Organisers also revealed that for the first time ever there will be female conductors on the first and last night of the Proms.

The BBC Proms 2023 will run from July 14 to September 9.
Police believed he was armed with a firearm

He negotiated with officers from his home for nine hours

A southeast Queensland man who was believed to be holed up in his home with a firearm has surrendered himself to police following nine hours of negotiations.

Police said it started tense talks with the alleged gunman, aged 27, at about 11.45pm on Wednesday in Logan Reserve, 40km southwest of Brisbane CBD.

The long negotiation saw an emergency situation declared shortly before 6am on Thursday which triggered an exclusion zone encompassing surrounding streets.

Queensland Police Acting Inspector Jason Barrowcliffe said officers approached the front door of the Chambers Flat Road property shortly before midnight following a noise complaint.

Queensland Police officers (pictured at the scene) began negotiations with a man they believe to be armed shortly after 12am before declaring an exclusion zone at 6am

However, officers withdrew after seeing what they believed to be a firearm in the man's hand.

The 27-year-old peacefully surrendered himself into custody at about 8.40am.

'The male person was in an agitated state so he was negotiating at some points, other times he wasn't,' Insp. Barrowcliffe told reporters.

'This morning he came out of the house and started face-to-face negotiations. He then surrendered and was secured in the front yard.'

When asked if the man did have a firearm, Insp. Barrowcliffe said: 'We don't know yet.

'A search warrant is being executed on the home but until we know the result, I can't accurately say.'

Police have imposed an exclusion zone (above) around Chambers Flat Road property in Logan Reserve

Insp. Barrowcliffe added that the man is known to police.

He was unharmed during the incident and was alone at the property.

Chambers Flat Road, School Road, Logan Reserve Road and the local state school were all affected by the lockdown.

Officers directed traffic away from the exclusion zone while those living within it were urged to stay inside their homes.
Britain's next universities could be built in Blackpool and Doncaster to cope with soaring demand, experts say.

Lord Willetts, a former universities minister, has suggested that new institutions could be set up in 'cold spots' across the UK to cope with the soaring demand.

It comes as the admissions service Ucas warned that there could around a million people a year could apply to higher education by 2030.

Lord Willetts, Tory peer and president of the Resolution Foundation think tank, said: 'It would be a vivid and practical form of levelling up if priority were given to the cold spots which currently don't have their own university.

'A starting assumption could be that every major town should have some form of higher education institution.'

Lord Willetts (pictured), a former universities minister, has suggested that new institutions could be set up in 'cold spots' across the UK to cope with the soaring demand

Ucas last month has projected there could be 30 per cent more applicants to higher education by the end of the decade.

Lord Willets pointed to towns like Hartlepool, Doncaster, Batley and Blackpool as possible locations for new institutions.

They are among 46 towns in England with a population of over 80,000 which have no university.

He added: 'That at least suggests a possible longlist of candidates.'

Competition for places in higher education is likely to intensify as more students seek to secure university courses or apprenticeships, Ucas has warned.

It said the projected growth in demand is driven by a rise in the number of young people in the UK turning 18 over the coming decade.

And an increase in the number of international students applying to UK universities.

There has been a decline in the offer rate to students in the last year, particularly in the most competitive courses.

Reducing the number of choices that applicants can make could help university admission staff focus on those 'at the border for receipt of an offer,' Mike Nicholson, director of recruitment, admissions and participation at the University of Cambridge, suggested (File image)

But without an increase in the supply of opportunities, the admissions body believes this is likely to continue, Ucas says.

Reducing the number of choices that applicants can make could help university admission staff focus on those 'at the border for receipt of an offer,' Mike Nicholson, director of recruitment, admissions and participation at the University of Cambridge, suggested.

He said: '(Candidates) who opt to cluster all their options around a narrow range of highly competitive and selective courses and universities are unlikely to receive many offers.

'This also, however, requires universities to be honest and open in setting their entry requirements and selection criteria.

'It is in no-one's interests for large numbers of candidates to waste applications for courses where they are not remotely qualified to secure a place.'

Sander Kristel, chief operating officer at Ucas, added: 'Student choice and opportunity in the last decade has been shaped by a decline in the 18-year-old population, which has created a buyer's market.

'We see an anticipated 30 per cent increase in demand for higher education and to capitalise on this once-in-a generation opportunity, we need to see an expansion of existing, and creation of new, opportunities across post-secondary education.'
A desperate hunt is underway to track down a young teenage girl who's been missing for almost 24 hours.

Emily Humphries, 13, was last seen in Spurwood Road, Warrimoo west of Sydney around 11.30am on Wednesday and hasn't been spotted or heard from since.

She was reported missing to Blue Mountains Police as an investigation was launched into her whereabouts.

Police have serious concerns for Emilys welfare and safety due to her young age.

An urgent search has been launched for missing girl Emily Humphries

Emily is described as Caucasian appearance, 150cm to 165cm tall with a thin build, dark hair and blue eyes.

She was last seen wearing black pants and black shoes.

Emily is known to frequent the Warrimoo area.

Police have received information she could be in Bankstown in Sydney's south-west.

Anyone with information about Emilys whereabouts is urged to contact police or Crime Stoppers.
For decades the one name that has been at the very top of royal guest lists has remained the same  Mountbatten.

Weddings, christenings, funerals and, yes, coronations would simply not be the same without the presence of the family whose stately Hampshire home Broadlands was where both the King  with Princess Diana  and his parents began their honeymoons.

Indeed no household has been more entwined in the modern history of the Royal Family than the Mountbattens, bound together by blood and kinship for more than a century and sharing moments of both happiness and shattering loss.

So the absence of the revered Lady Pamela Hicks from Westminster Abbey when King Charles is crowned next month is certainly surprising.

Queen Elizabeth looks down her godchild, Edwina, in the arms of her mother, Lady Pamela Hicks. April 16, 1962

Lady Pamela Mountbatten, right, lady-in-waiting, adjusts Queen Elizabeth's stole at the Royal Ball in Melbourne, March 1954

Lady Pamela, whose father Earl Mountbatten of Burma was Prince Philip's uncle, attended the Queen's funeral last September in a wheelchair. And afterwards her daughter India Hicks divulged that her mother hoped to be one of the very few people to have attended three coronations  King George VI's in 1937 when she was a girl of eight, the Queen's in 1953, and Charles's.

Instead yesterday  her 94th birthday  Lady Pamela, widow of the interior designer David Hicks, learned that she had not been invited to the King's Coronation. 'My mother was not offended at all,' Ms Hicks admirably offered.

All the same, the failure to include such a highly respected figure, who was a bridesmaid at the Queen's 1947 wedding to Prince Philip and whose late sister Patricia was Charles's godmother, among the 2,000 people invited to the ceremony was in danger of being seen as a snub.

It has also raised some troubling questions about what sort of spectacle the King and Buckingham Palace are planning for May 6. There have already been grumbles about the diminished size of the event compared with the scale of Queen Elizabeth's awe-inspiring enthronement.

Then last week there were more mutters over the King's apparent desire to make the Coronation 'meritocratic not aristocratic' with his decision to exclude many of Britain's dukes and their robes and coronets, instantly denying one of the more colourful and moving aspects of previous coronations.

It prompted the financier Ben Goldsmith, whose grandfather the Marquess of Londonderry was a senior member of the aristocracy, to warn that Charles was at risk of giving in to 'dullards and drips' by 'watering down' his Coronation.

'Britain,' he observed, 'does these kinds of celebrations so well, and they matter to a huge number of people, not just here but around the world.'

The Duke of Rutland told the Mail he did not understand the absence of an invitation, adding: 'It has been families like mine that have supported the Royal Family over 1,000 years or thereabouts.'

Then Prince Charles with Lady Pamela Hicks at Anjelica Hicks' Christening in December 1992

Jemima Jones and Ben Goldsmith attend the wedding of Lady Gabriella Windsor and Thomas Kingston at St George's Chapel on May 18, 2019 in Windsor, England

Rupert North wears the coronation cloak, designed by award-winning florist Helen James, during a photo call on staging day of the Spring Flower Show on April 19

Much of the traditional pomp and pageantry will still be in place, but there will be striking differences from the ceremony of 70 years ago. And the biggest change will be in the make-up of the guest list.

According to courtiers, the King wants it to have a modern, inclusive and diverse feel to reflect the country at large.

And while some may not mourn the omission of many of Britain's 24 non-royal dukes, it is harder to reconcile the absence of such a significant figure as Lady Pamela.

Yesterday her daughter, who is herself a goddaughter of the King and was a bridesmaid at his wedding to Lady Diana Spencer in 1981, did her best to put a brave face on the news.

Writing on Instagram, she explained that because her mother was hard of hearing, 'important' messages are conveyed through her. 'One of the King's personal secretaries was passing on a message from the King,' she wrote. 'They explained that this Coronation was to be very different from the Queen's.

'Eight thousand guests would be whittled down to 1,000 (sic), alleviating the burden on the state. The King was sending his great love and apologies, he was offending many families and friends with the reduced list. My mother was not offended at all.'

She quoted Lady Pamela saying: 'How very, very sensible. I am going to follow with great interest the events of this new reign.'

It was, of course, an elegant response from someone who has long been at the heart of royal life.

And while the Mountbatten name is bound to be represented  it is thought the current Countess Mountbatten, who is married to Lady Pamela's nephew Norton, will be a guest  the fact that the matriarch of the family will not be there is raising eyebrows.

'If there's no room for Lady Pamela, who else will be missing?' says one of the King's circle. 'I'm sure it's not a snub but it does look a gaffe.'

Lady Pamela Hicks (left) shows the bridesmaid dress she wore at Queen Elizabeth's wedding

At the 1953 Coronation, Edwina in her large art deco tiara, with her daughters, Lady Pamela Hicks, and Lady Patricia, 2nd Countess Mountbatten of Burma & 7th Baroness Brabourne

As a young man, Prince Charles frequently sought the advice of Lord Mountbatten, last Viceroy of India.

Indeed in the 1970s Mountbatten entertained hopes that the prince might choose his own granddaughter Amanda Knatchbull  Lady Pamela's niece  as his bride.

When Mountbatten was murdered by the IRA in 1979, the Queen and all senior members of the Royal Family, including Prince Charles, attended the funeral. Seven years ago Charles stood in for his old Gordonstoun schoolmate Norton, who was unwell, to give away Mountbatten's great-granddaughter Alexandra on her wedding day.

Were she to be disappointed by this turn of events, Lady Pamela would never say.

Loyalty to the Royal Family is a maxim which she and all her family have long observed. Many will wonder, though, whether her absence means that same loyalty is not always returned.
The spectacular natural phenomenon that is the Northern Lights could be visible as far south as Scotland, central England, Wales and parts of Northern Ireland this week.

A series of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) and huge solar storm from the sun will hit Earth over the next few days, causing the multi-coloured light show to extend further away from the Arctic Circle than usual.

The Met Office's Space Weather arm said the first CME would strike a 'glancing blow' tonight, while the second is likely to make a 'more direct impact'.

It means Aurora borealis could be visible across Scotland, as well as possibly Northern Ireland and much of northern England.

There is also a chance it could be seen in north Wales and central England, the Met Office said.

Wow: The spectacular natural phenomenon that is the Northern Lights could be visible as far south as Scotland (pictured), central England, Wales and parts of Northern Ireland this week

The Met Office's Space Weather arm said the first CME would strike a 'glancing blow' tonight (pictured), while the second is likely to make a 'more direct impact'

The Northern Lights are predominantly seen in high-latitude regions, so any glimpse across the UK is a rare treat for stargazers.

WHAT ARE CORONAL MASS EJECTIONS? Coronal mass ejections (CMEs) are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing through solar wind. These clouds only cause impacts to Earth when they're aimed at Earth. They tend to be much slower than solar flares, as they move a greater amount of matter. CMEs can be triggered when a storm on the surface of the sun causes a whirlwind to form at the base of plasma loops that project from the surface. These loops are called prominences and when they become unstable they can break, releasing the CME into space. Advertisement

But CMEs caused by intense solar activity can make it possible to spot the spectacle much further south.

They send charged particles towards Earth which hit our planet and interact with oxygen and nitrogen in the atmosphere, emitting green and red colours over our poles.

The good news for most UK observers tonight is that cloud cover should be almost non-existent, with the exception of over Northern Ireland.

The best way to see the Northern Lights will be to find a dark place away from street lights and ideally a cloud-free sky, according to the British Geological Survey.

Experts say skywatchers should generally look to the north, although the spectacular sight can be overhead or elsewhere.

Looking up at around midnight provides the best chance to spot it, they add.

In a statement, the Met Office's Space Weather arm detailed how the two CMEs may affect the Earth.

'One, as a low confidence glancing blow later on 19 Apr, with a more direct impact likely either on 20 or 21 Apr,' the Met Office said.

'The CME on 20/21 Apr is likely to lead to visible aurora across Scotland, perhaps Northern Ireland and much of Northern England, with a low chance of aurora visible to North Wales and central England.'

Aurora borealis could be visible across Scotland, as well as possibly Northern Ireland and much of northern England

There is also a chance it could be seen in north Wales and central England thanks to the direct hit from the second coronal mass ejection, the Met Office said

Of the solar storm, it added: 'There is a very slight chance of G1/Minor storm intervals again due to the potential glancing CME later on 19 Apr.

'Activity is likely to reach Active to G1/Minor Storm levels on 20 or 21 Apr due to the anticipated CME arrival, with a chance of G2/Moderate or G3/Strong Storm conditions.'

Sunspots are areas on the sun's surface where powerful magnetic fields become tangled and eventually release a huge explosion of energy that results in a solar flare.

Although our sun gives us life, it also frequently 'sneezes', ejecting billions of tonnes of hot plasma into space in colossal blobs of matter threaded with magnetic fields  in other words, CMEs.

It emits gigantic flares, bursts of powerful electromagnetic radiation  x-rays, gamma rays and radio bursts  accompanied by streams of highly energetic particles.

The good news for most UK observers tonight is that cloud cover should be almost non-existent, with the exception of over Northern Ireland

CMEs usually take around 15 to 18 hours to reach Earth.

The aurora appears when atoms in Earth's high-altitude atmosphere collide with energetic charged particles from the sun, creating breathtaking colours of green with a hint of pink, red and violet.

It is more often seen in winter when the nights are cold, long and dark.

When a solar storm heads our way, some of the energy and small particles can travel down the magnetic field lines at the north and south poles into Earth's atmosphere.

There, the particles interact with gases in our atmosphere resulting in beautiful displays of light in the sky  the aurora, or Northern Lights. Oxygen gives off green and red light, while nitrogen glows blue and purple.

The aurora can be seen near the poles of both the northern and southern hemispheres. In the north the display is known as the aurora borealis, and in the south it is called the aurora australis.
The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex nicknamed 'Trinity' has sold at an auction in Switzerland for $6.1 million (4.9 million).

Measuring 12.8 feet (3.9 m) high and 38.1 feet (11.6 m) long, the beast is made up of 293 bones from three different dinosaurs.

These make up more than half of the TRX-293 TRINITY skeleton, while others were created from plaster and epoxy resin casts.

T. Rex lived between 68 and 66 million years ago in what is now the western side of North America, and had one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom.

According to Koller auction house, the sale of Trinity marks the first time in Europe, and the third time globally, that an entire T. Rex skeleton has been offered at auction.

The skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus Rex , nicknamed 'Trinity' (pictured), was sold at an auction in Switzerland last weekend for $6.1 million (4.9 million)

According to Koller auction house, the sale of Trinity marks the first time in Europe, and the third time globally, that an entire T. Rex skeleton has been offered at auction

'The name of this skeleton is "Trinity", because it's built out of three individuals and all were found in the US,' said Cyril Koller, owner of Zurich-based Koller.

WHAT WAS T. REX? Tyrannosaurus rex was a species of bird-like, meat-eating dinosaur. It lived between 6866 million years ago in what is now the western side of North America. They could reach up to 40 feet (12 metres) long and 12 feet (4 metres) tall. More than 50 fossilised specimens of T. Rex have been collected to date. The monstrous animal had one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom. An artist's impression of T. Rex Advertisement

The fossilised bones were found between 2008 and 2023 in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of Montana and Wyoming, and were shipped to Switzerland in nine giant crates.

Trinity went for less than expected at yesterday's auction, which was part of a wider sale of artefacts called 'Out of This World'.

It had an estimated hammer price of between $5.6 million and $8.9 million (4.5 million and 7.2 million), after it was put for sale by an anonymous US private individual.

However, it was bought by a 'European private collector' who made a winning bid of $5.3 million (4.3 million).

This did not include the buyer's premium and auction fees which brought the total up to $6.1 million (4.9 million).

'It could be that it was a composite - that could be why the purists didn't go for it,' said Karl Green, the auction house's marketing director.

'It's a fair price for the dino. I hope it's going to be shown somewhere in public.'

Trinity's skull was set up next to the auctioneer's podium as the sale went through.

T. Rex is estimated to have weighed between 11,000 and 15,500 pounds (5,000 and 7,000 kg), about the same as a male African elephant.

But a study in November published evidence that the great beast could actually have weighed up to 33,000 pounds (15,000 kg).

An analysis of the dinosaur's tail in 2021 determined that it enjoyed a 'leisurely' stroll at just 2.8 miles per hour (4.6 kph).

That same year, experts found that there were 2.5 billion T Rex. roaming North America over 2.5 million years in the Late Cretaceous.

Measuring 12.8 feet (3.9 m) high and 38.1 feet (11.6 m) long, Trinity is made up of 293 bones from three different dinosaurs discovered in the USA

Trinity went for less than expected at yesterday's auction. It had an estimated hammer price of between $5.6 million and $8.9 million (4.5 million and 7.2 million)

Koller auction house said Trinity's skull was particularly rare and also remarkably well-preserved.

'When dinosaurs died in the Jurassic or Cretaceous periods, they often lost their heads during deposition [of the remains into rocks],' said scientific adviser Nils Knoetschke.

'In fact, most dinosaurs are found without their skull. But here we have truly original Tyrannosaurus skull bones that all originate from the same specimen.'

Auctioneer Cyril Koller Koller voiced optimism that, although the skeleton had been sold to a private buyer, it would remain on public display.

'I'm 100 per cent sure we will see Trinity in the future somewhere again,' he said.

However, not all have been so positive about the sale of a composite skeleton.

Thomas Holtz, a vertebrate palaeontologist from the University of Maryland, said it was 'misleading' and 'inappropriate... to combine multiple real bones from different individuals to create a single skeleton.'

He said that Trinity 'really isn't a "specimen" so much as it is an art installation', and took issue with auctions that make millions from dinosaur skeletons and fossils.

Experts have warned such trade could be harmful to science by putting the specimens in private hands and out of the reach of researchers.

But Christian Link of Koller stressed that 95 per cent of the roughly 30 known T Rex. skeletons are currently in museums.

Koller auction house said Trinity's skull was particularly rare and remarkably well-preserved

Trinity's fossilised bones were found between 2008 and 2023 in the Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations of Montana and Wyoming, and were shipped to Zurich in nine giant crates

The Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations where the bones for Trinity came from were also the source of other T. Rex skeletons that have been auctioned off.

Chicago's Field Museum of Natural History bought 'Sue' for $8.4 million (6.8 million) in 1998, and 'Stan' sold for a record-breaking $31.8 million (25.6 million) in 2020.

This is far from the only sale of a significant dinosaur fossil in recent years, as, in December, one of the most complete T. Rex skulls ever found was sold at Sotheby's in New York for $6.1 million (4.9 million).

A 10-foot-tall Gorgosaurus skeleton skeleton was sold to an anonymous bidder in July 2022 also for $6.1 million (4.9 million) at the same auction house.

Last November, the bones of a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) T. Rex were due to be sold to the highest bidder in Hong Kong.

Last November, the bones of a 15-foot-tall (4.6 m) T. Rex (pictured) were due to be sold to the highest bidder in Hong Kong. However this was scrapped after a fossil company raised doubts about some of its parts, according to the New York Times

However this was scrapped after a fossil company raised doubts about some of its parts, according to the New York Times, and the dinosaur was loaned to a museum instead.

And the world's largest Triceratops skeleton nicknamed Big John sold to a private collector at Paris Drouot for $7.4 million (6 million) in October 2021.

Palaeontologists have slammed the act of selling dinosaur remains to private collectors, with one saying that it's akin to 'the last copy of a book being thrown into the fire'.

Another said priceless remains are becoming 'little more than toys for the rich', like a piece of fine art or old bottles of whisky.
These images provide clues as to how ChatGPT will look if its creators make a physical version of their hugely popular artificial intelligence.

The maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, has invested in 1X, a company that makes humanoid robots designed to do human jobs after the success of the online chatbot.

The robot, named EVE, has manipulators which can pick up objects and pack and unpack boxes - and is designed to work alongside human beings.

OpenAI's Startup Fund led an investment round that raised $23.5 million for the 1X robot, which is set to hit the market this summer.

The investment fuels OpenAI's rivalry with Elon Musk's Tesla bot, which has yet to begin production.

The maker of ChatGPT, OpenAI, invested in 1X, a company that makes humanoid robots designed to do human jobs. The humanoid is named EVE

OpenAI's Startup Fund led an investment round that raised $23.5 million for the 1X robot, which is set to hit the market this summer

Brad Lightcap, OpenAIs COO and manager of the OpenAI Startup Fund, said in a statement: '1X is at the forefront of augmenting labor through the use of safe, advanced technologies in robotics.

'The OpenAI Startup Fund believes in the approach and impact that 1X can have on the future of work.'

1X intends to use the funds to scale up the manufacturing of its first commercially available android EVE in Norway and North America - and build another bipedal android, NEO.

Experts have suggested that EVE and 1x's other robot, NEO, could replace labor or nursing workers.

EVE is designed to move and manipulate objects gently, interact with soft objects like humans, and complete repetitive tasks.

The humanoid is controlled using VR, with a robot operator in a control center looking through the android's camera 'eyes.'

The company is currently recruiting artificial intelligence experts, according to its recruitment page that reads: 'If you're smart, kind, driven, and you want to build androids, join us.'

Many experts believe large language models such as ChatGPT will transform the way we use and interact with robots.

Eve is capable of human-like movements and is built to do laboring and caring jobs

The Norwegian company is also working on a robot called NEO. Experts have suggested that EVE and 1x's other robot, NEO, could replace labor or nursing workers

Speaking to DailyMail.com George Strakhov, chief strategy officer at advertising company DDB EMEA, said, 'Generative AI is going to be absolutely transformative for the two problems we currently have with robots - that they are quite dumb, and they don't always understand what we want.

'Large Language Models (like GPT-4) are exceptional at complex reasoning. So when robots are powered by LLMs  they will be able to act much more dynamically, respond to the environment changes, plan ahead etc.

'So they won't get stuck in a scenario rut, but instead will be able to 'think through' the steps that need to be taken for any arbitrary goal that the user asks them to achieve.

In the future, we will control robots simply by talking to them - and they will talk back, Strakhov believes.

'LLMs also make the dream of Linguistic User Interface possible. If we can speak to our robots and they understand us and can reply back  it will expand the types situations in which they are useful,' said Strakhov.

'And realistic voice synthesis as well as face/emotions synthesis will enable them to communicate with us much more 'naturally', making it comfortable for more people (including old/young) to interface with robots  the same they they interface with other humans.'

Earlier this year, Microsoft - which invested $10 billion in OpenAI - showed off researchers using ChatGPT to control robots.

In response to simple spoken commands, such as 'Find out where I can warm up my lunch,' a robot was able to home in on a microwave oven from across a room.

Microsoft said, 'We want to help people interact with robots more easily, without needing to learn complex programming languages or details about robotic systems.

'The key challenge here is teaching ChatGPT how to solve problems considering the laws of physics, the context of the operating environment, and how the robot's physical actions can change the state of the world.'

Last year Tesla CEO showed off a walking Tesla robot - variously called Optimus or the Tesla Bot - at the company's 2022 AI day.

Musk showed off what he described as a 'rough development robot,' which walked without any support at the event in Palo Alto.

Musk has said that he expects the robots to be on sale in three to five years.

The EVE robot from 1X would be the first widely available humanoid android.
A worldwide outage hit the music streaming app Spotify, leaving millions of users unable to listen to their favorite tunes today.

DownDetector, a website that monitors online outages, reported issues around 7:57am ET.

Both the app and website were experiencing issues, with users citing problems with podcasts and artist pages that showed 'no internet connection.'

Spotify acknowledged the outage shortly after it surfaced and announced 'everything's looking much better' around 9:30am ET.

A worldwide outage hit the music streaming app Spotify, leaving tens of thousands of users unable to listen to their favorite tunes

One user who reported the issue to DownDetector said: 'I'm about to use my free 6 month Apple Music subscription.'

Some people shared a black screen that appeared when they opened the app.

What caused the outage is still unknown.

Spotify had acknowledged the issue on its Twitter status account.

'Somethings not quite right, and were looking into it. Thanks for your reports,' it tweeted.

Spotify has 498 million monthly active listeners as of this year, but how many experienced issues is not clear.

DownDetector's outage map showed that major US cities like Boston, New York and Atlanta could not use the service.

Problems also plagued users in China, the UK, parts of South America and Europe.

Reports focused mainly on issues with the app, accounting for 64 percent of the reports.

Users also experienced problems with the website (21 percent) and audio streaming (16 percent).

The US was among several nations impacted by the outage

Many Americans were on their way to work, which meany no music during their commute

Spotify acknowledged the issue on its Twitter status account

Users took to Twitter to vent their displeasure, one saying: 'Spotify down is my mental health a joke to you?'

Another tweeted: 'Spotify being down might be the biggest inconvenience imaginable.'
Others were inspired by Bollywood, athletes and even Marilyn Monroe

Miss United Kingdom was thought to have been inspired by Princess Diana

Researchers have used artificial intelligence to create 'ideal' pageant queen candidates as part of a study to explore the beauty standards of Miss United Kingdom and other global contests.

The experts at Great Green Wall used online image generator Midjourney to do this, which gave a surprising variety of results for each country.

While Miss United Kingdom was thought to have been influenced by Princess Diana, other nations were inspired by athletes, Bollywood and even Marilyn Monroe.

Yet these images often included 'highly unobtainable body proportions', researchers said, with 'supermodel-like facial structures that can only be achieved through cosmetic surgery or genetics'.

Founder of Great Green Wall, Sam Phoenix, wrote: 'Beauty standards can vary drastically from country to country, so it was fascinating to see how well the AI was able to recreate those unique beauty standards within a "pageant" setting.

Miss United Kingdom: Researchers believe the bot took inspiration from Princess Diana (not using this picture)

Miss USA: Researchers said she took inspiration from Marilyn Monroe with a 'curvy bust'

Miss Austria: Curvier figures were deemed most beautiful according to researchers

Images of Miss Germany (left) generally had slimmer figures while Miss France models were seen to have more toned figures (right), according to researchers

WHAT IS MIDJOURNEY AI? Midjourney is an online image generator that kickstarted in 2022. Much like ChatGPT, it uses prompts to deliver an output. But these outputs usually consist of pictures rather than words. Last year, the platform received backlash when a computer-generated image won first place in a US art competition. The AI artwork, dubbed Theatre D'opera Spatial, was submitted by Jason Allen who said he used Midjourney to make the stunning scenes that appear to combine medieval times with a futuristic world. Advertisement

'While some countries bore similarities, particularly those within close proximity, the A.I. was able to create a standalone representation of its interpretation of each country's beauty standards.'

Researchers asked Midjourney to respond to the same prompt each time they generated a new country's results.

This read: 'Create a realistic photo of what the [country name] public consider the ideal woman's body to be Miss [country name], please show a full length photo of the woman in a dress. No text in the image.'

The results generated a large number of blonde-haired women including Miss United Kingdom, USA, Australia, Germany, France, Ukraine and numerous others.

When creating Miss United Kingdom, researchers claimed it was 'clear to see' that inspiration was taken from Princess Diana, with the women often styling their hair in a similar way.

Miss USA on the other hand took inspiration from Marilyn Monroe with a 'curvy bust and hips', while Miss France had a more toned figure and Germany's had thin lips.

Meanwhile, women with brunette-coloured hair were picked for countries such as Spain, Portugal and Italy.

Miss Slovakia: Ideal pageant contestants had curvier bodies in these images

Miss New Zealand: Women were said to have a curvier body type and brunette hair

Miss Spain: Researchers described her as having 'Barbie-esque beauty' with 'doll-like' features

Miss Italy: Described as having a 'a glowing olive complexion with dark eyebrows' (not using)

Miss Kenya: Research found that toned bodies with broad shoulders were a beauty standard

Miss Italy was described as generally having 'a glowing olive complexion with dark eyebrows' while Miss Portugal and Spain both had 'dark eyebrows' and a 'small nose'.

While many of the pageant contestants were seen to have slim or petite figures and high cheek bones, this did vary between countries.

Miss Austria, Slovakia and New Zealand were among those said to have more 'curvy' women featuring as the ideal pageant contestant.

Often these women were said to have a softer jawline in addition to fuller features.

Yet, for Russia, the ideal woman was seen to have a typical hourglass figure but was still seen to have a sharper jawline.

Miss Japan: The country's beauty standards were focused on a petite figure and pale skin

Miss Ukraine: Women were dressed in the nation's colours and had a 'petite' build

Miss Russia: Images show women with an hourglass figure and sharply shaped jawline

Miss Greece: Muscular bodies were favoured as part of the nation's beauty standards

On the flip side, more muscular women were deemed the ideal candidate in places such as Chile, Greece, Kenya and Hungary.

Mr Phoenix added: 'Beauty standards are nothing new, but they can sadly result in many women feeling that they don't fit in within their own country, or that they are not considered beautiful.

'This, in turn, can cause self-esteem issues and may be attributed to the increase in procedures, such as plastic surgery, in certain countries  including South Korea, Turkey, and the United States.'

Across the world, numerous other countries saw an array of body types for their 'ideal' pageant contestant.

Miss India was said to have a 'typical Bollywood glamor, with a slim body shape and long brunette hair' while Miss China had their hair tied up, a 'petite body type' and a 'small forehead'.

Japan's beauty standards were also focused on a petite body type in addition to pale skin, while Miss Saudi Arabia wore a traditional garb and headdress.

Miss Saudi Arabia: Women were seen to wear a traditional garb and headdress

Miss China: Women were seen to wear traditional dress in the outputs generated

Miss Nigeria: Research found that a thin body type with a narrow waist was a beauty standard

Miss Portugal: The beauty standard was seen to be similar to Spain's, it was claimed

Miss Australia: Toned figures were deemed a beauty standard in several countries

Miss India: was said to have a 'typical Bollywood glamor, with a slim body shape

The future: Levi's will use AI models to show off products online, becoming the first major fashion label to embrace tech

A new dawn: An instagram post from Marks and Spencer's showing the new virtual influencer Mira

The research comes at a time when brands have begun to use AI as a way of designing the perfect model for their brand.

Levi's received backlash last month after collaborating with a 'digital model agency' Lalaland (lalaland.ai), which uses computer programs to create lifelike models.

Critics slammed the brand for its lack of inclusion, using generated pictures of a Black person for profit rather than hiring real-life models.

'The Levi's images are not my idea of diversifying fashion,' style commentator Caryn Franklin said previously.

'Instead, the use of AI in this instance feels like a way to cut out diverse models who deserve representation, jobs and exposure.' miss

Last year, Marks & Spencer also introduced a computer-generated digital 'influencer' to flog their wares on Instagram, although she was created by human programmers.
Stargazers are in for a treat tomorrow, as a rare 'hybrid' solar eclipse is set to plunge parts of the world into total darkness.

This type of astronomical event - where the moon blocks out a different proportion of the sun in different parts of the world - only occurs once every 10 years.

In some places, viewers will experience a 'total' solar eclipse, where the face of the sun is completely blocked by the moon.

But in others, an 'annular' solar eclipse will be visible, where the moon appears slightly smaller than the sun, leaving a ring of light around its silhouette.

According to Royal Observatory Greenwich, the event will only be visible from parts of the equator and southern hemisphere, and not from the UK or the US.

The curvature of the Earth sometimes means that the moon will be close enough to our planet during part of the eclipse to cover the whole of the sun, but too far away to do so during another part. Different parts of the world then see a total or annular eclipse

Shaded area marks the moon's shadow moving over the Earth on Thursday; people in this area will only see a partial eclipse unless they're in the path traversed by the black dot right in the centre  in this case they'll see a total or annular solar eclipse

Solar eclipse: Types Total: Moon completely blocks out the sun, casting a shadow on Earth Annular: Moon doesn't completely cover the sun, resulting in a halo of sunlight known as a 'ring of fire' visible around the silhouette of the moon Partial: Sun is only partially covered by the moon, making it look like the sun has had a 'bite' taken out of it Hybrid: Combination of a total and an annular solar eclipse Advertisement

Those in Western Australia and Southeast Asia will be able to catch it at around 11:30am local time.

But for those in other parts of the world who want to witness the total solar eclipse, NASA is putting on a livestream from Perth Observatory in Western Australia.

This will start at 03:30 BST on Thursday morning (22:20 EDT on Wednesday night), and viewers will have the chance to ask NASA scientists questions about the phenomenon.

The last time a hybrid solar eclipse occurred was way back in November 2013, plunging parts of Africa, Europe and America into darkness.

And keen astronomers certainly won't want to miss this week's event, as the next one isn't due until November 2031.

A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at new moon - when the moon is between Earth and the sun - and blocks out some or all of its light.

Because the moon 'wobbles' up and down, a new moon can happen with it blocking all the sun (total solar eclipse) or partially blocking the sun, so it appears to have a 'bite' taken out of it (partial solar eclipse).

The more of the sun is obstructed, the darker it will be when the eclipse occurs.

A hybrid solar eclipse is a combination of a total and an annular solar eclipse, but it's preceded by a partial solar eclipse as the moon moves into position.

Dr Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: 'This eclipse is only visible from Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, the southern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean, while the connected partial eclipse will also be visible to a few surrounding regions.'

Area indicated by the blue lines on this map is the total area that will be traversed by the moon's shadow on Thursday. The purple line in the centre marks out 'the path of totality'

When will the hybrid eclipse occur? The hybrid solar eclipse will be preceded and succeeded by a partial solar eclipse. Times given in Australian Western Standard Time (AWST): Partial solar eclipse starts: 10:04am Totality begins: 11:29am Totality ends: 11:31am Partial solar eclipse ends: 1:02pm Advertisement

Hybrid solar eclipses happen because of the curvature of the Earth.

At any given moment, some points on the planet are closer to or farther from the moon than others.

So when a shadow is cast over the Earth during an eclipse, different parts of the world are in different parts of its shadow.

The centre point of the shadow - which is the point on Earth closest to the moon - and the track it draws across the planet is known as the 'path of totality'.

Some people stood in the path of totality will be blocked completely from any sunlight by the moon, so will see a total solar eclipse.

But as the moon continues along its path, it will get slightly further away from the Earth, making it appear smaller and not cover covering as much of the sun.

Those stood in the path of totality at this point will see an annular solar eclipse.

Finally, people stood in the moon's shadow but not in the path of totality will experience a partial eclipse.

So on Thursday, as the the sun, moon and Earth line up, people in Western Australia, East Timor and Indonesia will be closer to the moon than those who are positioned further around the curvature of the Earth.

Because of this, people in these locations will be perfectly placed to see a total solar eclipse.

Meanwhile, those further along the path of totality will see an annular solar eclipse, because they will be just that bit further away from the moon.

On Thursday, as the the sun, moon and Earth line up, people in Western Australia, East Timor and Indonesia will be closer to the moon than those who are positioned further around the curvature of the Earth. Therefore the moon will appear bigger and block more of the sun. Time in top right corner is given in UTC

A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at new moon - when the moon is between Earth and the sun - and blocks out some or all of its light

Like any eclipse, it's important that skywatchers do not look directly at the sun with the naked eye while the event is happening, even with sunglasses on.

READ MORE- Partial solar eclipse graces skies A partial solar eclipse appeared in skies around the world in October Advertisement

It is also not wise not to look at the sun through binoculars, telescopes or a telephoto lens on an SLR camera.

Using a simple pinhole projector, solar eclipse viewing glasses, which can be purchased online, or special solar filters are viable alternatives.

'The simplest way to watch an eclipse is to use a pinhole in a piece of card,' said Dr Robert Massey at the Royal Astronomical Society.

'An image of the sun can then be projected on to another piece of card behind it (experiment with the distance between the two, but it will need to be at least 30 cm).

'Under no circumstances should you look through the pinhole.'

Dr Massey said another popular method used to view an eclipse is the mirror projection method.

'You need a small, flat mirror and a means of placing it in the sun so that it reflects the sunlight into a room where you can view it on a wall or some sort of a flat screen,' he said.

'You may also have eclipse glasses with a certified safety mark, and these are available from specialist astronomy suppliers.

'Provided these are not damaged in any way, you can then view the sun through them.'

Binoculars or telescopes can also be used to project the image of the sun.

'Mount them on a tripod, and fit one piece of card with a hole in it over the eyepiece, and place another between 50 cm and a metre behind it, Dr Massey said.

'Point the telescope or binoculars towards the sun and you should see its bright image on the separate card.'

Unfortunately, the next total solar eclipse  when the moon completely blocks the face of the sun  isn't visible in the UK for another 67 years.

Total solar eclipse is seen near Hopkinsville, Kentucky on August 21, 2017. It's less than a year until a total solar eclipse sweeps across North America. On April 8, 2024, the moon will cast its shadow across a stretch of the US, Mexico and Canada, plunging millions into darkness

Occurring on September 23, 2090, this solar eclipse will be the first total solar eclipse visible from Britain since August 11, 1999, and the first visible from Ireland since May 22, 1724.

However, the next US solar eclipse will take place on April 8, 2024, passing from Texas to Maine.

This will be seen as a partial eclipse in parts of Britain just before sunset.

But the hybrid eclipse is not the only reasons stargazers should keep their eyes to the skies this week.

The Lyrid meteor shower is returning for its annual dance across the night skies in the early hours of Sunday morning.

This celestial display is expected to peak at 02:06 BST (21:06 EDT on Saturday) with up to 18 shooting stars flying overhead every hour.

Meteor showers, or shooting stars, are caused when pieces of debris known as meteoroids enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up, causing streaks of light.
The jellyfish has 24 eyes that are separated into six groups around the bell

A new species of box jellyfish has been found in a Hong Kong pond

A mysterious creature with 24 eyes has been discovered in a muddy pond in Hong Kong.

Scientists uncovered it while observing the body of water at Mai Po Reserve, determining it was a completely new species of jellyfish.

The new species is part of the box jellyfish family. It has a transparent body measuring less than one inch, and three long tentacles.

The jellyfish has two dozen eyes that are equally divided into four groups of six, located inside a sensory depression called a rhopalium on each side of the bell.

This is the first discovery of new box jellyfish species in Chinese waters and the fourth species in the Tripedaliidae family, which includes some of the most venomous marine animals in tropical waters.

It may look small, but this new species has poisonous darts hiding in its tentacles. Scientists discovered this new box jellyfish in a pond in Hong Kong

Box jellyfish, named for their body shape, have tentacles like poisonous darts that release a toxin that can cause paralysis, cardiac arrest, and even death, all within a few minutes of being stung.

The Australian box jellyfish is considered the most venomous marine animal in the world.

'The class Cubozoa, commonly known as box jellyfish due to the cube-shaped bells, consists of a small group of cnidarians with approximately 50 described species and is well-known to the public for containing some of the most venomous marine animals in the world,' reads the study published in the in academic journal Zoological Studies.

A team of scientists led by Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) observed the marine animal for three years, finding that an increasing number appeared in the brackish water of shrimp ponds at Mai Po Nature Reserve.

The reserve features wetlands with shallow pools that run into the Sham Chun River, Shan Pui River and Tin Shui Wai Nullah

The team collected the jellyfish from the pond and analyzed its DNA and tissue, allowing them to determine it was a new species.

It is closely related to Jamaica, Florida, Singapore, Australia and India species.

Its two dozen eyes are equally divided into four groups of six, which are located inside a sensory depression called a rhopalium on each side of the bell

The creature has three tentacles measuring up to 10 centimeters long at its corners

Part of the box jellyfish family, the invertebrate has a transparent body measuring less than one inch and three long tentacles - and it is the first found in the region

READ MORE: Woman relives the horrific moment she was stung by a deadly box jellyfish Prue Davey, 22, from Nhulunbuy in the Northern Territory, was standing in murky water trying to pull in her boat when she felt a burning pain. Advertisement

Lead researcher Professor Qiu Jianwen said box jellyfish are 'poorly known' in Chinese marine waters, and believes the discovery signifies a 'rich diversity' of marine life around Hong Kong.

Both males and females were gathered from the pond in 2022.

Female gonad 'wings' are slender, extending from the stomach to the velarium, a thin muscular sheet that forms the opening of the bell.

And the 'wings' are a yellowish color.

Male gonad 'wings' are broad with rounded tops extending from the stomach to the velarium and are whiteish.

The 24 eyes are standard for box jellyfish, and two of the groups are said to have had lenses that enable image-forming, while the other four can only sense light.

The creature has three tentacles measuring up to 10 centimeters long at its corners.

A flat pedal-shaped structure at the base of each tentacle looks like a boat paddle, allowing box jellyfish to produce strong thrusts when they contract their bodies.

And this feature helps it swim faster than other kinds of jellyfish.

Box jellyfish can reach four knots while swimming, while other types float with the current.

The new species is the only known of its type in the region, leading scientists to name it Tripedalia maipoensis in honor of the reserve where it was found.

'It is currently known only in Mai Po,' said Jianwen.

'We believe this species is also distributed in the adjacent waters of the Pearl River Estuary as they are connected to the estuary through a tidal channel.'
The projected impact zone is anywhere in South America, Africa or Asia

A dead NASA spacecraft with a one in 2,500 chance of killing someone is just one hour away from crashing into Earth - and astronomers have drawn up a map of potential impact zones.

The 600-pound craft - about the size of a shipping container - is set to re-enter the atmosphere at 9:30pm ET after it was retired by the space agency in 2018 due to communication failure.

NASA said Tuesday that the reentry location is not being disclosed, given lingering uncertainty over when and where it might go down.

But Aerospace, a national security space program, shows debris that survives the hellish return could fall anywhere in South America, Africa or Asia.

There is a 75 percent chance of debris crashing into the ocean, but NASA has still admitted a 'low' risk of it impacting land.

Aerospace, a national security space program, shows debris that survives the hellish return could fall anywhere in South America, Africa or Asia. The 600-pound NASA satellite is expected to re-enter the atmosphere at 9:30pm ET. The white lines are potential impact zones

Professor Hugh Lewis, who teaches astronautics at the UK's University of Southampton, shared on Twitter: 'Unfortunately, many people live within the latitude region, which means that the chance of a casualty is still relatively high.'

While NASA said Monday that the craft could re-enter around 9:30pm, some reports show 7pm - give or take 16 hours.

Reports surfaced online around 5pm ET about pieces of the 'satellite falling' over Ukraine's Kyiv.

Many of the claims state city officials sent out the warning shortly after a fireball shot through the night sky.

However, Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer and astrophysicist at the HarvardSmithsonian Center for Astrophysics, told DailyMail.com the object 'definitely was not' the NASA satellite nor space debris.

'[It could be a natural meteor or Russian missile attack,' he said.

The dead craft is NASA's Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (RHESSI), which was tasked with observing solar flares when it launched on February 5, 2002.

It was decommissioned in 2018 after NASA failed to communicate with it.

Aerospace's reentry project map places RHESSI over the northwestern region of India, suggesting this location is where it sits over Earth.

There is a 75 percent chance of the debris crashing into the ocean, but NASA has still admitted there is a chance it could impact land

'Thanks to a quirk of orbits and a spherical Earth, the impact probability for any elements of the spacecraft surviving to Earth's surface is greatest at latitudes around 38 degrees North and South,' Lewis shared.

READ MORE: Moment one of Elon's new Starlink satellites falls from the sky and burns up One of Elon Musk's new Starlink internet satellites deorbited this month, fells toward Earth and burned up in the atmosphere. Advertisement

'There is no chance of impact at higher latitudes.'

While the chances of debris hitting humans do not sound that dire, the risk is higher than someone getting hit by a car.

Data from the Centers for Disease Control shows that the odds of being struck by a car in the US is about 1 in 4,292.

RHESSI launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Corporation Pegasus XL rocket, aiming to image the high-energy electrons that carry a large part of the energy released in solar flares.

It achieved this with its sole instrument, an imaging spectrometer, which recorded X-rays and gamma rays from the Sun.

Before RHESSI, no gamma-ray or high-energy X-ray images of solar flares had been taken.

Data from RHESSI provided vital clues about solar flares and their associated coronal mass ejections.

These events release the energy equivalent of billions of megatons of TNT into the solar atmosphere within minutes and can have effects on Earth, including the disruption of electrical systems. Understanding them has proven challenging.

RHESSI recorded more than 100,000 X-ray events during its mission tenure, allowing scientists to study the energetic particles in solar flares.

The imager helped researchers determine the particles frequency, location, and movement, which allowed them to understand where the particles were being accelerated.
Stargazers are in for a treat today, as a rare 'hybrid' solar eclipse is set to plunge parts of the world into total darkness.

This type of astronomical event - where the moon blocks out a different proportion of the sun in different parts of the world - only occurs once every 10 years.

In some places including Western Australia, viewers will experience a 'total' solar eclipse, where the face of the sun is completely blocked by the moon.

But in others, an 'annular' solar eclipse will be visible, where the moon appears slightly smaller than the sun, leaving a ring of light around its silhouette.

According to Royal Observatory Greenwich, the event will only be visible from parts of the equator and southern hemisphere.

Those in Western Australia and Southeast Asia will be able to catch it the total eclipse at 11.27am local time (1.27pm AEST).

The curvature of the Earth sometimes means that the moon will be close enough to our planet during part of the eclipse to cover the whole of the sun, but too far away to do so during another part. Different parts of the world then see a total or annular eclipse

Shaded area marks the moon's shadow moving over the Earth on Thursday; people in this area will only see a partial eclipse unless they're in the path traversed by the black dot right in the centre  in this case they'll see a total or annular solar eclipse

Solar eclipse: Types Total: Moon completely blocks out the sun, casting a shadow on Earth Annular: Moon doesn't completely cover the sun, resulting in a halo of sunlight known as a 'ring of fire' visible around the silhouette of the moon Partial: Sun is only partially covered by the moon, making it look like the sun has had a 'bite' taken out of it Hybrid: Combination of a total and an annular solar eclipse Advertisement

But for those in other parts of Australia and the rest of the world who want to witness the total solar eclipse, NASA is putting on a livestream from Perth Observatory in Western Australia.

Viewers will have the chance to ask NASA scientists questions about the phenomenon.

The last time a hybrid solar eclipse occurred was way back in November 2013, plunging parts of Africa, Europe and America into darkness.

And keen astronomers certainly won't want to miss this week's event, as the next one isn't due until November 2031.

A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at new moon - when the moon is between Earth and the sun - and blocks out some or all of its light.

Because the moon 'wobbles' up and down, a new moon can happen with it blocking all the sun (total solar eclipse) or partially blocking the sun, so it appears to have a 'bite' taken out of it (partial solar eclipse).

The more of the sun is obstructed, the darker it will be when the eclipse occurs.

A hybrid solar eclipse is a combination of a total and an annular solar eclipse, but it's preceded by a partial solar eclipse as the moon moves into position.

Dr Greg Brown, astronomer at the Royal Observatory Greenwich, told MailOnline: 'This eclipse is only visible from Australia, East Timor, Indonesia, the southern Indian Ocean and western Pacific Ocean, while the connected partial eclipse will also be visible to a few surrounding regions.'

Area indicated by the blue lines on this map is the total area that will be traversed by the moon's shadow on Thursday. The purple line in the centre marks out 'the path of totality'

When will the hybrid eclipse occur? The hybrid solar eclipse will be preceded and succeeded by a partial solar eclipse. Times given in Australian Western Standard Time (AWST): Partial solar eclipse starts: 10:04am Totality begins: 11:29am Totality ends: 11:31am Partial solar eclipse ends: 1:02pm Advertisement

Hybrid solar eclipses happen because of the curvature of the Earth.

At any given moment, some points on the planet are closer to or farther from the moon than others.

So when a shadow is cast over the Earth during an eclipse, different parts of the world are in different parts of its shadow.

The centre point of the shadow - which is the point on Earth closest to the moon - and the track it draws across the planet is known as the 'path of totality'.

Some people stood in the path of totality will be blocked completely from any sunlight by the moon, so will see a total solar eclipse.

But as the moon continues along its path, it will get slightly further away from the Earth, making it appear smaller and not cover covering as much of the sun.

Those stood in the path of totality at this point will see an annular solar eclipse.

Finally, people stood in the moon's shadow but not in the path of totality will experience a partial eclipse.

So on Thursday, as the the sun, moon and Earth line up, people in Western Australia, East Timor and Indonesia will be closer to the moon than those who are positioned further around the curvature of the Earth.

Because of this, people in these locations will be perfectly placed to see a total solar eclipse.

Meanwhile, those further along the path of totality will see an annular solar eclipse, because they will be just that bit further away from the moon.

On Thursday, as the the sun, moon and Earth line up, people in Western Australia, East Timor and Indonesia will be closer to the moon than those who are positioned further around the curvature of the Earth. Therefore the moon will appear bigger and block more of the sun. Time in top right corner is given in UTC

A solar eclipse occurs in the daytime at new moon - when the moon is between Earth and the sun - and blocks out some or all of its light

Like any eclipse, it's important that skywatchers do not look directly at the sun with the naked eye while the event is happening, even with sunglasses on.

READ MORE- Partial solar eclipse graces skies A partial solar eclipse appeared in skies around the world in October Advertisement

It is also not wise not to look at the sun through binoculars, telescopes or a telephoto lens on an SLR camera.

Using a simple pinhole projector, solar eclipse viewing glasses, which can be purchased online, or special solar filters are viable alternatives.

'The simplest way to watch an eclipse is to use a pinhole in a piece of card,' said Dr Robert Massey at the Royal Astronomical Society.

'An image of the sun can then be projected on to another piece of card behind it (experiment with the distance between the two, but it will need to be at least 30cm).

'Under no circumstances should you look through the pinhole.'

Dr Massey said another popular method used to view an eclipse is the mirror projection method.

'You need a small, flat mirror and a means of placing it in the sun so that it reflects the sunlight into a room where you can view it on a wall or some sort of a flat screen,' he said.

'You may also have eclipse glasses with a certified safety mark, and these are available from specialist astronomy suppliers.

'Provided these are not damaged in any way, you can then view the sun through them.'

Binoculars or telescopes can also be used to project the image of the sun.

'Mount them on a tripod, and fit one piece of card with a hole in it over the eyepiece, and place another between 50 cm and a metre behind it, Dr Massey said.

'Point the telescope or binoculars towards the sun and you should see its bright image on the separate card.'
Pras Michel made the risky move of testifying at his own federal conspiracy trial on Tuesday and told a jury that his relationship with Malaysian financier Jho Low involved 'free money'.

The 50-year-old Fugees rapper is charged in political conspiracies under two different U.S. presidents. Federal prosecutors say he funneled money from the fugitive Malaysian financer through straw donors to Barack Obamas 2012 reelection campaign.

He's also accused of trying to squelch an investigation into the businessman and persuade then-President Donald Trump's administration to return to China a 'vocal critic of the government.'

'I looked at it as free money,' Michel said of the money Low gave him, according to an article on Tuesday by CNN.

Michel added that he did not intend to violate any laws and relied on the advice of his financial managers and attorneys.

Federal trial: Pras Michel, shown last month in Washington, DC with his lawyer David Kenner, made the risky move of testifying at his own federal conspiracy trial on Tuesday and told a jury that his relationship with Malaysian financier Jho Low involved 'free money'

The Justice Department says Michel conspired with Low Taek Jho, usually known as Jho Low. The fugitive financier is accused of masterminding a money laundering and bribery scheme that pilfered billions from the Malaysian state investment fund known as 1MDB. Low has maintained his innocence.

Michel has been charged with conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as acting on the behalf of a foreign agent.

Looted money paid for jewelry and luxury art and helped finance Hollywood films such as The Wolf of Wall Street. Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio, 48, testified earlier this month that Low had appeared to him to be a legitimate businessman and had mentioned wanting to donate to Obamas campaign.

When Michel first met Low, 41, at a nightclub in 2006, the businessman 'appeared and acted as though he had unlimited amounts of money,' said Michel's attorney David Kenner on Monday as he launched the defense case. Michel would later make money himself through his association with Low, but 'making money, even if you consider it greedy, is not a crime.'

Prosecutors, on the other hand, say Low directed millions to Michel, who funneled the money to straw donors to give to the Obama reelection campaign in 2012. He later tried to lean on the donors to keep them from talking to investigators, prosecutors said.

In 2017, prosecutors say, the Grammy-winning rapper worked with a Republican 'fixer' to try and shut down a U.S. investigation into Low and embezzlement from the Malaysian fund. Hes also accused of pushing the Trump administration to send a Chinese person who had fled to the US back to China.

The defense says he tried to set up a meeting on that issue, but no one ever told him he should have registered as a foreign agent before doing so, Kenner said.

'What he was trying to do was go through the proper channels,' he said.

Michels testified on Tuesday on that he did not know that funneling campaign donations through other people is illegal.

'At that time, I didn't know that,' he said.

Multiple charges: The 50-year-old Fugees rapper has been charged with conspiracy, witness tampering and failing to register as acting on the behalf of a foreign agent
Robert Irwin has taken his romance with new girlfriend Rorie Buckey to the next level by flying interstate to spend the Easter break with her family.

The 19-year-old son of Aussie TV legend Steve 'The Crocodile Hunter' Irwin was seen packing on the PDA with Rorie, 18, as they reunited at Perth Airport on April 6.

Robert had flown in from Queensland, where he works at the family-run Australia Zoo, to get to know the Buckeys - who already have links to showbusiness as Rorie is the niece of the late Hollywood star Heath Ledger.

The pretty blonde rushed up to Robert as he exited the plane and threw her arms around him for a lingering hug.

Rorie couldn't keep her hands off her photographer beau as she led him out to the street, where her parents Kate and Nathan were waiting for them in a parked car.

Robert Irwin has taken his romance with new girlfriend Rorie Buckey to the next level by flying interstate to spend the Easter break with her family. The 19-year-old wildlife photographer was seen with Rorie, 18, as they reunited at Perth Airport on April 6

Rorie, who is the niece of the late Hollywood star Heath Ledger, rushed up to Robert as he exited the plane and threw her arms around him

Rorie couldn't keep her hands off her beau as she led him out to the street, where her parents Kate and Nathan were waiting for them in a parked car

Robert looked thrilled as he pulled his two suitcases behind him, before politely greeting his girlfriend's parents, who smiled approvingly.

As the young couple approached the car, Nathan jumped out and helped Robert load his bags into the boot.

Kate, the sister of Heath Ledger, owns a design and media production company, while Nathan runs a floor coverings store in Perth.

Rorie dressed to impress for the airport reunion in a plunging white halterneck dress and dainty platform sandals.

Robert looked thrilled as left the arrivals terminal, pulling along two suitcases

The university student added a cross-body blue satchel bag and delicate jewellery, including a necklace, drop earrings and a bangle with an 'R' pendant.

Robert swapped Australia Zoo's signature khaki uniform for a white printed T-shirt, blue jeans and hiking boots.

He also wore a silver wristwatch and sported a freshly coiffed hairdo.

As the young couple approached the car, Rorie's father Nathan (right) jumped out and helped Robert load his bags into the boot

Robert demonstrated his strength by lifting his suitcase into the trunk with one arm

Rorie dressed to impress for the airport reunion in a plunging white halterneck dress and dainty platform sandals

The couple was last pictured together in December during Robert's birthday celebrations at Australia Zoo.

They were seen in the crowd during a live crocodile feeding show, with Robert's protective mother Terri awkwardly sat between them.

Terri, 58, had apparently been keeping a close eye on the couple to make sure they 'kept things PG', New Idea reported at the time.

The university student wore her blonde locks out and appeared to wear minimal makeup. She completed her look with a cross-body blue satchel bag and delicate jewellery

The lovebirds giggled as they strolled out of Perth Airport together

Rorie was busy chatting on her phone as the young couple walked towards her parents' car

'Terri is really happy for Robert, and she likes Rorie, but she's urging him to take it slow for both their sakes,' a source said.

'Terri knows all too well what it's like to be in a relationship in the public eye. She wants to make sure they're ready.'

Robert and Rorie were first spotted together on a romantic beachside date in Queensland on November 18.

Rorie wore a delicate bangle that featured an 'R' pendant

Robert swapped Australia Zoo's signature khaki uniform for a white printed T-shirt, blue jeans and hiking boots

The couple have plenty in common; both grew up in the public eye after suffering the devastating loss of a family member.

Rorie's uncle Heath Ledger was at the peak of his Hollywood career when he was found dead in January 2008 following an accidental prescription drug overdose.

Robert's father Steve Irwin, known around the world as 'the Crocodile Hunter', died aged 44 on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray.

The couple was last pictured together in December during Robert's birthday at Australia Zoo

They were seen in the crowd during a live crocodile feeding show, with Robert's protective mother Terri awkwardly sat between them

This time, however, Terri did not join Robert for his trip to Perth

Steve is survived by his wife Terri, daughter Bindi and son Robert - who was just three years old when his father passed away.

Robert and the Irwin family have vowed to keep Steve's memory alive through their conservationist work at Australia Zoo.

'What I am all about is continuing dad's legacy,' Robert said last year in an Instagram video promoting Steve Irwin Day, which is on November 15.

'He gave it his all. He was always there for us kids. He was the ultimate wildlife warrior and is our greatest inspiration,' he added.

Terri had apparently been keeping a close eye on the couple to make sure they 'kept things PG'

The couple have plenty in common; both grew up in the public eye after suffering the devastating loss of a family member

Rorie's uncle Heath Ledger was at the peak of his Hollywood career when he was found dead in January 2008 following an accidental prescription drug overdose

Heath Ledger, known for his roles in The Dark Knight and Brokeback Mountain, is seen here at a film premiere in Berlin, Germany, on February 15, 2006

Robert's father Steve Irwin, known around the world as 'the Crocodile Hunter', died aged 44 on September 4, 2006, after being pierced in the chest by a stingray
This week, Netflix unveiled a trailer for its upcoming documentary about the late model - which sources tell DailyMail.com Larry refused to take part in

Anna Nicole Smith's former partner Larry Birkhead is set to lift the lid on the most intimate aspects of the late model's life in an upcoming documentary that will lay bare her 'explosive' personal diaries and never-before-seen home movies.

Along with their teenage daughter Dannielyn, photographer Larry, 50, is currently working on a new movie about the late pin-up, which they believe will finally reveal to the world who she really was.

According to a source close to the pair, both Dannielyn, 16, and her father want Anna Nicole's story to be told in her own words and through her own eyes, having watched on for years as different TV networks and movie producers have attempted to portray her life on-screen.

Just this week, Netflix released a trailer for its upcoming documentary about the starlet - which, the insider revealed exclusively to DailyMail.com, both Larry and Dannielyn refused to appear in.

'Larry was asked to be in the documentary, but he refused,' a source close to Larry - who dated Anna Nicole on and off for four years prior to her death - explained. 'Larry wishes everyone luck that wants to tell Anna's story in a different way, but he feels that nothing released so far have scratched the surface on the real story.'

The trailer for Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me was released this week and did not include Larry Birkhead, 50, and their daughter Dannielynn, 16

Larry (with Anna and her late son Daniel in 2004) 'refused' the offer to appear in Netflix's new film, a source tells DailyMail.com exclusively

Dannielynn was just six months old when her mother Anna Nicole (pictured together shortly after her birth in the Bahamas) died

Larry and Dannielynn (at the Barnstable-Brown Kentucky Derby) are working together on a documentary using Anna Nicole's personal diaries and never-seen-before home videos

Now, Larry and his daughter have decided to take matters into their own hands by starting production on their own documentary project, which will use 'explosive' personal diaries kept by Anna Nicole over the space of a decade - as well as secret home videos shot by the model herself.

'They are developing a documentary that is in the works right now using Anna Nicole's personal diaries and journals that document her highs and lows throughout her life,' the insider shared.

'He wants to let Anna Nicole tell her own story instead of others trying to do it for her.'

In addition to her diaries, Anna also left behind a 'treasure trove' of never-seen-before home videos, the source adds, many of which will feature in Larry and Dannielyn's untitled project.

When Anna Nicole died in 2007 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Florida, she left all of her possessions to her daughter Dannielyn, including the diaries and videos that will be used in the documentary.

In 2021, Larry surprised their daughter by unearthing several of her mother's belongings in a sweet segment for ABC's 20/20 - including the model's incredibly glamorous wardrobe, as well as jewelry and photo albums.

According to DailyMail.com's insider, Anna Nicole's love of fashion and accessories will play a key part in Larry and Dannielyn's untitled film project.

'Larry also has every dress that Anna wore to every event. All of these things will likely play a part in the story that they are going to tell,' the source continued.

Grand debut: Dannielynn (at the 2022 Barnstable-Brown Gala in Kentucky) will 'appear on-camera for the first time' to talk about her late mom

Bombshell: 'Larry feels that nothing released so far have scratched the surface on the real story,' says source

Larry (with Anna when they met at the 2004 Kentucky Derby Gala) 'wants to let Anna Nicole tell her own story instead of someone doing it for her'

Larry has kept his daughter out of the spotlight for most of her life, with the exception of their annual appearance at the Barnstable-Brown Kentucky Derby Gala in May, which they will attend this year as well, the source explained.

However, Anna Nicole's stunning lookalike teen daughter, will 'absolutely' appear in the production that is being created by her and her father.

'Dannielynn is not a baby anymore and she's quite opinionated. She wants to be a part of this and appear in it.

'Shes going to talk about her mom from what she knows based on things that she's seen, heard, and read. She is going to share her own personal feelings for the first time.

'Larry is very protective of Dannielynn, so he wanted to make sure that the people included in the story are not just people that used to work for Anna and performed with her.

'Most of these people have all been heard from and the stories that they tell vary greatly depending on what show they were on with Anna.'

Above all, Larry wanted to make sure that if he allowed people access to Annas archives that they would be 'used in the right way,' the source said.

Anna and Larry began dating in 2004 - and the photographer admitted in a 2013 documentary, Life After Anna Nicole, that it 'wasn't always an easy relationship'.

She had an entourage and that got in the way sometimes, but I loved her and we talked about marriage,' he said.

'I was just some guy  I never thought Id have a chance with Anna Nicole Smith, but we ended up having a child together.

Anna Nicole gave birth to Dannielynn in the Bahamas in September 2006. Three days after her birth, Anna Nicole's only son, Daniel, died of a drug overdose

Anna died six months later, in February 2007.

According to Larry, he was left heartbroken at not being present for the birth of their daughter - and was stunned when Anna Nicole left the US to move to the Bahamas.

'I really wanted to be there at the birth of my daughter,' he said.

'It was puzzling when she took off. I never saw her again, so we didnt have any kind of closure.'

Anna Nicole (in a scene from the Netflix film) had a tumultuous life and rose to fame as a pinup for Guess Jeans

Coming soon: Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me - directed by Ursula Macfarlane - is set to stream on Netflix beginning May 16

He added in an interview with Fox News: 'My goal at the time was to try to get her to come back to the U.S. from the Bahamas, and I had almost got her to that place of saying that she would do it.'

'We still had that connection and she was really more curious about what I was doing at the time, the last time I spoke with her.'

'I told her that I was going on a tour with a country artist, this female country artist.'

Anna and Larry's relationship was further complicated after Dannielynn's birth - with the model insisting that her lawyer Howard K. Stern may be the father of Dannielynn.

In an attempt to solidify this, Anna wed Howard in a shotgun ceremony on a houseboat in the Bahamas just a few weeks after giving birth.

Anna put Howard's name on Dannielynn's birth certificate - and Larry found himself embroiled in a bitter custody battle that went on for months after the model's death.

On April 10, 2007 a judge ruled Larry as Dannielynn's biological father after it was determined by a DNA test.

Larry immediately amended the birth certificate, transferring the parental rights from Howard to him.

He also moved Dannielynn to his home in Kentucky, where they still live today.

Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me is directed by Ursula Macfarlane and produced by Alexandra Lacey.

The trailer promises to offer and 'unflinching and humanizing examination of the life, death and secrets of Vicki Lynn Hogan - better known as model and actress Anna Nicole Smith.'

DailyMail.com reached out to to the producers regarding Larry's refusal to be in the documentary, who have not yet responded.
Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the impending release of his new book Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life in an Instagram post on Tuesday.

The 75-year-old actor also revealed his upcoming publication's cover and said it would hit shelves on October 10 of this year.

The Terminator, whose ex-wife Maris Shriver recently delved into their marriage and subsequent split, wrote a message in his post's caption to expand on the themes of his newest book.

Schwarzenegger began his message by looking back to his earlier years and offering an explanation of the book's title.

'My dad always told me, "Be useful, Arnold." And every time people come up to me and tell me how my advice has helped them throughout their lives, I can see that it's useful when I share my life philosophy, rules, and tools,' he wrote.

New material: Arnold Schwarzenegger announced the impending release of his new book, Be Useful: Seven Tools For Life, through a post that was shared to his Instagram account on Tuesday

Coming soon: The 75-year-old actor also shared his upcoming publication's cover image and revealed that it would hit the shelves on October 10; he is seen in January

The former governor of California continued: 'I was finally convinced to sit down and write a book about my philosophy. This way, my tools can be useful for everyone.'

The upcoming book's publisher, Penguin Press, shared a press release via ET Canada to further promote the upcoming release of Be Useful.

It began: 'The world's greatest bodybuilder. The world's highest paid movie star. The leader of the world's sixth largest economy. That these are the same person sounds like the setup to a joke. But this is no joke. This is Arnold Schwarzenegger.'

Schwarzenegger's success in his personal and professional lives was attributed to 'the result of clear vision, big thinking, hard work, direct communication, resilient problem-solving, open-minded curiosity, and a commitment to giving back.

'All of it guided by the one lesson Arnold's father hammered into him above all: be useful. As Arnold conquered every realm he entered, he kept his father's adage close to his heart,' it continued.

The book was then described as taking 'readers on an inspirational tour through Arnold's toolkit for a meaningful life.'

The press release concluded with further information on the upcoming book's content.

'[Schwarzenegger] brings his insights to vivid life with compelling personal stories, life-changing successes and life-threatening failures alike  some of them famous, some told here for the first time ever,' it read.

Extra information: The upcoming book's publisher, Penguin Press, shared a press release via ET Canada to further promote the upcoming release of Be Useful: Seven Tools for Life

Content: The book was then described as taking 'readers on an inspirational tour through Arnold's toolkit for a meaningful life'; Schwarzenegger is seen in 2019

Author: His most recent book, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, was released in October of 2012; he is seen in 2021

Schwarzenegger's first book was Arnold: Developing a Mr. Universe Physique, which he published in 1977

The Predator star went on to collaborate with Douglas Kent Hall on another bodybuilding-centric book released in 1979.

The actor subsequently co-wrote further fitness-focused publications with Bill Dobbins.

His most recent book, Total Recall: My Unbelievably True Life Story, was released in October of 2012.
The rumour mill has been running non-stop about Carrie Bickmore and Tommy Little's growing friendship following her split from long-term partner Chris Walker.

And the Hit FM co-hosts fuelled the speculation on Tuesday when the Gold Logie winner, 42, came forward to support the comedian's fundraiser.

Carrie and Tommy, 38, posed in matching jumpers for the Hoodies4Homelessness charity in a cosy snap shared to Instagram.

'Get your Hoodies4Homelessness now! One in four homeless people are aged between 12 and 24,' the mother of three captioned the photo.

'Help change lives. For every hoodie sold, a hoodie will be donated to a young person sleeping rough.'

The rumour mill has been running non-stop about Carrie Bickmore (right) and Tommy Little's (left) growing friendship following her split from long-term partner Chris Walker

With Carrie in a cream hoodie and Tommy in black, the radio duo, who co-host the Hit Network's national drive show, were all smiles as they stood close to each other.

It follows reports the duo have grown close following Carrie's recent break-up and Tommy's split from girlfriend Natalie Kyriacou in 2021.

The funnyman rushed to Carrie's side in January when she announced she'd called it quits with Chris, who is the father of her two youngest children, leading insiders to speculate their friendship could evolve into something more.

The Hit FM co-hosts fuelled the speculation on Tuesday when the Gold Logie winner, 42, came forward to support the comedian's Hoodies4Homelessness fundraiser

In recent months Tommy has shared several gushing tributes to his friend on Instagram, and in one post called her the 'best in the business' who 'lifts up everyone around her and makes them look good'.

Ahead of her last day on The Project last November, Tommy also treated the blonde bombshell to a private helicopter ride across Melbourne.

He is often seen close to her at glitzy events, including the 2022 Australian Commercial Radio Awards (ACRAs) last October, where he didn't leave her side even as guests got up from their tables and mingled with others.

The duo are regularly seen posing for cosy selfies on social media, which has prompted curious fans to question whether romance is on the cards.
Adult star Angela White has revealed that, contrary to popular belief, there are no 'fluffers' on set of pornographic films.

According to the long-standing rumour, a 'fluffer' is a woman employed to keep a male porn star's penis erect while he is getting ready for a shot.

They are usually another porn actress, a makeup artist or the performer's girlfriend.

But Angela, who has appeared in more than nine hundred hardcore scenes during her career, said 'fluffers' are actually a myth.

Speaking to the Pillow Talk podcast recently, she clarified the only person helping the men stay hard on set is their female co-star.

Adult star Angela White has revealed that, contrary to popular belief, there are no 'fluffers' on set of pornographic films. According to the long-standing rumour, a 'fluffer' is a woman employed to keep a male porn star's penis erect while he is getting ready for a shot

'That's a myth. What are you talking about?' Angela said.

'When I do those fifteen-guy [scenes], it's me. I'm the performer and I'm fluffing everyone,' she added with a laugh.

Elsewhere in the interview, Angela revealed that on mainstream porn sets, the actual sex only lasts for about 'thirty minutes'.

She said the rest of the time - up to five hours - is spent taking pictures and applying makeup to the actresses.

Angela, who has appeared in more than nine hundred hardcore scenes during her career, told the Pillow Talk podcast recently that on-set 'fluffers' are actually a myth

In another surprising admission, she said adult DVDs 'still make money' because there are remote parts of the world without high-speed internet.

Angela also revealed 'there are the hardcore collectors' who like to have physical copies of all the latest porn releases.

It comes after worried fans begged Angela to give her body 'a break' following a twenty-year career that has seen her take part in over nine hundred scenes.

She clarified the only person helping the men stay hard on set is their female co-star

She spoke about her workload after one of her fans, who goes by the username DionYoung255, asked her on Instagram to 'consider taking a break for once'.

'After doing over nine hundred scenes, isn't it time to consider taking a break for once?' they commented on one of Angela's posts.

But the three-time winner of the AVN Award for Female Performer of the Year was having none of it.

'Do a job you love and never work a day in your life,' she responded.

'That's a myth. What are you talking about? When I do those fifteen-guy [scenes], it's me. I'm the performer and I'm fluffing everyone,' she said with a laugh

But DionYoung255 wasn't alone in expressing concern, with more fans saying Angela risks long-term health issues if she continues with her punishing work schedule.

'I don't know, Angela. That's a brutal way to treat your body for years on end. At some point you pay a price,' one said.

'I think you should find a nice guy, enjoy a relationship for once. Haven't you at least earned that? I think you have earned some downtime and a romantic dinner with some guy you connect with. But it's your body, so go ahead and keep going, if that's what you want to do.'

It comes worried fans begged Angela to give her body 'a break' following a twenty-year career that has seen her take part in more than nine hundred scenes

Angela downplayed these concerns, saying she 'loves my life and my job' and does take time out to connect and have 'romantic dinners'

Angela downplayed these concerns, saying she 'loves my life and my job' and does take time out to connect and have 'romantic dinners'.

'I do take time to have romantic dinners and connect. I do have "real relationships" (even if they may be unconventional). Thank you for your concern but I love my life and my job,' she commented.

It comes after Angela was forced to throw cold water over rumours she 'almost died' while filming an intense sex scene with fellow porn star Keiran Lee.

It comes after Angela was forced to throw cold water over rumours she 'almost died' while filming an intense sex scene with fellow porn star Keiran Lee

Keiran (pictured with his wife) recently made headlines when he claimed Angela was rushed to hospital with a burst appendix after they filmed an hour-long sex scene in 2013

Keiran, 39, recently made headlines when he claimed Angela was rushed to hospital with a burst appendix after they filmed an hour-long sex scene in 2013.

Speaking on the Only Stans podcast with Glenny Balls, Angela said reports of the incident had been 'blown way out of proportion'.

'My appendix actually did not burst, but it is true I had appendicitis and did have to have emergency surgery to have it removed,' she clarified.

Appendicitis refers to a condition where the appendix is inflamed, with symptoms including severe abdominal pain, fever, chills and weakness.

Prolonged appendicitis can lead to the appendix rupturing, also known as a 'burst appendix'.

While Keiran was under the impression his large manhood was the cause of her injury, Angela insisted her condition was 'likely a pure coincidence'.
A staff member at Channel Nine's Melbourne newsroom was busted watching a children's movie in the middle of a live bulletin this week.

The employee was watching Shrek on a desk monitor as reporter Gillian Lantouris delivered a report about a missing Melbourne woman.

A TikTok user recorded the gaffe on TV and uploaded the footage on Wednesday.

The male staffer can be seen in the background in the studio, over Lantouris' shoulder, watching the film - which was most likely not work-related.

The TikTok video has attracted more than 66,000 likes, with many social media users saying the man was 'living the dream'.

A staff member at Channel Nine's Melbourne newsroom was busted watching a children's movie in the middle of a live bulletin this week. The employee could be seen in the background in the studio, over reporter Gillian Lantouris' shoulder, watching a Shrek movie

'Finally, news we can trust,' one commented. Another wrote: 'A man of the people.'

'He's living the dream,' one TikTok user said, while another simply dismissed the gaffe as someone 'bored with his work'.

Eagle-eyed TikTokers believe the man was watching the 'Shrek Karaoke Dance Party' short film, from the 2001 VHS release of the first film.

A TikTok user recorded the gaffe on TV and uploaded the footage on Wednesday

Eagle-eyed TikTokers believe the man was watching the 'Shrek Karaoke Dance Party' short film, from the 2001 VHS release of the first film

The clip was also included in the DVD release of the movie.

Shrek, an animated feature from DreamWorks, was first released in 2001, and starred the likes of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, and Cameron Diaz.

It grossed $491million worldwide and spawned three sequels and two spin-offs, including Puss in Boots (2011) and Puss in Boots: The Last Wish (2022).

Shrek was also the basis for a Broadway stage show, Shrek the Musical, in 2008.
Denise Welch has celebrated 11 years of sobriety and took to social media to reflect on her decision to give up alcohol as she marked the milestone.

The Loose Women star, 64, took to Instagram on Tuesday to share two snaps of herself, taken over 11 years apart, as she spoke about how sobriety changed her life.

She admitted her 'disastrous' relationship with alcohol affected her relationship with her husband Lincoln Townley and the lives of her sons Louis, 22, and Matty, 34, who she shares with her ex Tim Healy.

The Coronation Street actress went on to share that although going sober 'wasn't easy', it completed changed her life and the lives of her loved ones.

In a poignant caption, she penned: '11 yrs sober today!!! Giving up my disastrous relationship with alcohol changed my life, my husband's life and my children's lives. Plus the lives of all who love me.

Sobriety: Denise Welch has celebrated 11 years of sobriety and took to social media to reflect on her decision to give up alcohol as she marked the milestone

Alcohol: The Coronation Street actress shared that although going sober 'wasn't easy', it completed changed her life and the lives of her loved ones

'It wasn't easy. Addiction is a cruel and frightening illness. But together @lincolntownley and I realised that we were destroying many lives including our own and we did it.

'I now have a wonderful marriage that is the foundation of my life. Our kids are happy and I hope those of you struggling find the strength to stop.

'If alcohol no longer makes you happy, if your drinking makes others lives miserable it's time to stop. There is help there if you need it.'

Her Loose Women co-stars and famous friends were quick to take to the comments section to share their support for the Hollyoaks star.

This Morning's Alison Hammond wrote: 'Well done babes , very proud of you.'

While Nadia Sawalha gushed: 'I am in awe .. one day at a time for 11 years ! And look what it's brought you ! So happy for you both.'

Michelle Heaton, who has openly spoken about her own addiction, said: 'Yes my super star friend!! Xx I'm 2 years next week.'

And Ruth Langsford commented: 'You're amazing and such a great help to others.'

Responding to her supportive pals, Denise commented: 'I'm honestly so touched and overwhelmed by your comments and support. Thank you so much.'

Denise and Lincoln tied the knot in July 2013 in Portugal, after becoming engaged in August 2012.

Lincoln previously credited his wife with helping him to become sober, leading him to become one of the country's most in-demand artists.

Kind words: Her Loose Women co-stars and famous friends were quick to take to the comments section to share their support for the Hollyoaks star

Struggles: She admitted her 'disastrous' relationship with alcohol affected the lives of her sons Louis, 22, and Matty, 34, (both pictured in May 2015) who she shares with her ex Tim Healy

Romance: Denise's husband Lincoln Townley previously credited his wife with helping him to become sober, leading him to become one of the country's most in-demand artists

Speaking to The Mirror in June 2019, the London-born art sensation said of his other half: 'Drinking never brought anything good into my life except for Denise.'

'We got to the point where we knew the best way to do it was to embrace sobriety together,' he added.

Addressing their joint journey into sobriety, he shared: 'We have known each other through a very dark time and we wanted to create something out of what we had. We're here and we're both very happy and that's the way it works for us.'

Lincoln added that it's 'not hard' to stay sober as the couple have plenty going on in their lives to keep them busy and focused.

Anyone battling similar issues can contact AA on 0800 917 7650 or email the helpline at help@aamail.org.
Damian Lewis looked stylish as he cosied up to girlfriend Alison Mosshart at the Bowie X Mother Collaboration launch party in London on Tuesday.

The actor, 52, wore a leather jacket with a pair of quirky green trousers for the event which took place at private members' club Caviar Kaspia.

He topped off his outfit with a black Bowie T-shirt and some white loafers while posing for photos with his love.

Alison looked as chic as ever in a star print jacket with a pair of smart black trousers and heeled boots.

The musician wore her long blonde hair loose and opted for a subtle makeup look to enhance her flawless complexion.

Couple: Damian Lewis, 52, looked stylish as he cosied up to girlfriend Alison Mosshart, 44, at the Bowie X Mother Collaboration launch party in London on Tuesday

All smiles: The actor wore a leather jacket with a pair of quirky green trousers for the event which took place at private members' club Caviar Kaspia

They were joined at the event by Lady Mary Charteris who wore a Bowie cropped top and chunky knit cardigan from the collection.

Mother Denim debuted its David Bowie themed clothing collection earlier this week, featuring 70s style cuts and graphic designs inspired by the later star.

Damien and Alison are thought to have met through mutual friends while in London.

They had grown increasingly fond of one another, Mosshart's mother Vivian, 76, told MailOnline last year.

Speaking exclusively from her home in Florida, she said: 'I don't know how much flak I'm going to get for all of this but of course we are excited for her.

'They have mutual friends. I don't know exactly how they met but I'm fine with it. If she's happy, we are happy. I'm yet to meet him but certainly I'd like to.'

The pair were first photographed together in July at a swanky fundraising party for London's National Gallery.

A fellow passenger, who spotted the pair travelling to the event by train, told The Mail on Sunday that the two looked '100 per cent romantically involved  like they were on a hot date'.

Fun-filled: He topped off his outfit with a black Bowie T-shirt and some white loafers while posing for photos

On stage: Alison looked as chic as ever in a star print jacket with a pair of smart black trousers and heeled boots as she performed

Band: The musician wore her long blonde hair loose and opted for a subtle makeup look to enhance her flawless complexion (pictured with Jack Lawrence of The Dead Weather)

Stunning: They were joined at the event by Lady Mary Charteris who wore a Bowie cropped top and chunky knit cardigan from the collection

Pals: Damon Bryant, Mary, Josephine de La Baume and Damian smiled for a photo

Bold: Mary topped off her look with a slick of cherry red lipstick

It comes following the news that Damien is forging a new career path as a musician as he releases his debut single with an album to follow in the summer.

The actor reportedly signed a record deal with Decca Records after a bidding war for the rights to release his debut album Mission Creep.

Damian has written a series of 'deeply personal' songs for the album which comes nearly two years after the death of his wife Helen McCrory.

Speaking to The Mirror, he said: 'It encompasses many life experiences, and won't take Sherlock Holmes to work out what some of those are.'

His debut single is called Down On The Bowery, with his fans speculating that it serves as an ode to his girlfriend, fellow musician Alison Mosshart.

Jokingly referring to his new career path as a 'mini midlife crisis', Damian said: 'I suddenly had a lot to say. People will judge if it's any good or not, but for me, it felt entirely natural.'

Socialites: She was joined by Charlie Barker, who opted for a black and red biker jacket

Party: Juliet Angus (left) also wore the chunky cardigan

Sleek: Josephine wore a long velvet coat while and Robbie Furze donned a denim jacket

Fun night: Greta Bellamacina and Robert Montgomery were also in attendance at the event

'There's nothing more annoying than an actor who thinks he's Bruce Springsteen. By the way, I don't. This is a mini midlife crisis, but not a full-blown one.'

Damian's love of music started early, with the actor busking throughout Europe after graduating from Eton.

He began playing the guitar again during lockdown while the film industry was shut down.

The actor is said to be playing the Cheltenham Jazz Festival on May 1 and Black Deer Festival on June 16 and he also hopes to perform at Glastonbury.
Rylan and Scott Mills were announced as Radio 2's hosts for Eurovision Song Contest final on Wednesday morning - while Paddy O'Connell will host semi-finals

TV and radio stars Scott, 50, and Rylan, 34,  who have been involved in Eurovision coverage for many years - will be bringing commentary to the Grand Final on the network broadcasting live from the centre of the action at Liverpool Arena.

The UK is hosting the 2023 event on behalf of the 2022 winners, Ukraine and the final will be on May 13. Mae Muller is the UK's entry.

It will be the culmination of a week in the city for Scott and Rylan, as they are also providing TV commentary for the Semi Finals - both of which, for the first time in the UK's Eurovision Song Contest history, will be broadcast live on the BBC.

Meanwhile Scott's afternoon show (Tuesday to Friday, 2-4pm) on Radio 2 will be coming from Liverpool all week, with Richie Anderson hosting the show on Tuesday and Thursday as Scott prepares to host the semi-finals on TV.

Here we go! Rylan and Scott Mills were announced as Radio 2's hosts for Eurovision Song Contest final on Wednesday morning - while Paddy O'Connell will host semi-finals

Exciting: The UK is hosting the 2023 event on behalf of the 2022 winners, Ukraine and the final will be on May 13. Mae Muller (pictured) is the UK's entry

For the first time, this year Radio 2 will also be broadcasting the two Eurovision Semi-finals, with Paddy O'Connell hosting the network's live coverage from the Liverpool Arena.

In the first semi-final on May 9 (8-10pm), fifteen countries are taking part with ten qualifying for the Grand Final on Saturday night.

And on Thursday May 11, Paddy returns with live coverage from the second of the semi-finals, with sixteen countries taking part and ten qualifying for the Grand Final on Saturday night.

These shows will also be simulcast on BBC Radio Merseyside.

Rylan says: 'Eurovision is my favourite time of the year, I cannot wait! And I'm so excited and absolutely buzzing to be hosting the Eurovision Grand Final on Radio 2, the biggest and best music event in the world, with my partner-in-crime Scott Mills.

' We can't wait to bring listeners closer to the action than ever before, with all the fun, excitement and backstage gossip from what promises to be an unforgettable night.'

Scott added: 'I can't begin to describe how excited I am to be presenting the Grand Final of the Eurovision Song Contest on Radio 2.

'I've had the great pleasure of being involved with Eurovision in various ways over the years, from commentating alongside Graham Norton to singing karaoke with the contestants, but presenting from the Grand Final in Liverpool is the ultimate childhood dream come true.

Yay! TV and radio stars Scott, 50, and Rylan, 34, will be bringing commentary to the Grand Final on the network broadcasting live from the centre of the action at Liverpool Arena

Busy: It will be the culmination of a week in the city for Scott and Rylan, as they are also providing TV commentary for the Semi Finals

Icon: Last month a slew of big names were confirmed as part of the presenting lineup for Eurovision 2023, with longtime commentator Graham Norton at the helm

Huge stars: Sam Quek, Mel Giedroyc, Rylan, Julia Sanina, Graham Norton, Hannah Waddingham, Alesha Dixon, Scott Mills, Rylan and Timur Miroshnychenko lead the TV host lineup

'Rylan and I will be going all out so please come and join the party live on Radio 2!'

Paddy also said in a statement: 'I'm walking on sunshine to join Radio 2 live in Liverpool hosting the Eurovision semi-finals.

'Sam Ryder broke the UK Eurovision spell last year and I hope it's magic for Mae in 2023.'

Helen Thomas, Head of Radio 2, said: 'The 2023 Eurovision Song Contest will be a very special event and who better to host Radio 2's coverage of the Grand Final than our very own Scott and Rylan.

'And I'm delighted that for the first time, Radio 2 will be bringing our listeners all the drama and fun from the semi-finals, hosted by Paddy O'Connell.

'With years of Eurovision experience under his belt, Paddy is the perfect guide for fans and also those who may be discovering Eurovision for the first time.'

Superstar: Mae is set to represent the UK at this year's Eurovision with her own track I Wrote A Song
Ana de Armas put on a sizzling display in a black mini dress as she joined her costar Chris Evans at the premiere of their new action-comedy Ghosted in New York City on Tuesday.

The 34-year-old Cuban actress looked effortlessly chic in a black mini dress, while Chris, 41, opted for a much more casual outfit.

The stars led other famous faces, including Hugh Jackman and his wife, as the supported the film.

Chris stars as Cole, who hits it off with Sadie (de Armas) after a great first date, but their burgeoning romance is thrown into question after he discovers that she's a secret agent. The film premieres on Apples TV+ on April 21.

And had all eyes on her at the premiere when she arrived in a chic black button-up blazer-like mini dress.

Leads: Ana de Armas put on a sizzling display in a black mini dress as she joined her costar Chris Evans, 41, at the premiere of their new action-comedy Ghosted in New York City on Tuesday

Back in black: The 34-year-old Cuban actress looked effortlessly chic in a black mini dress

The Louis Vuitton item featured the brand's recognizable monogram pattern in all black, which was broken up with thick metal buttons.

It had wide black leather lapels and a matching collar, and the long sleeves also had intriguing leather straps fastened around them.

The 5ft6in beauty elevated her stature with a set of black open-toe stilettos that strapped around her ankles.

She kept her hairdo more casual, parting her dark locks down the middle and tying them back while fanning her hair across her back.

The style put the spotlight on her elegantly made-up face, as well as her slim hoop earrings and gleaming diamond necklace.

Chris opted for a cool and comfortable cream-colored cardigan with textured vertical stripes and multiple pockets.

He wore the green-trimmed shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and he complemented it with a pair of lustrous green pleated trousers.

The Avengers star also had on olive-colored loafers and stylish black-frame glasses.

Classy: The Louis Vuitton item featured the brand's recognizable monogram pattern in all black, which was broken up with thick metal buttons. It had wide black leather lapels and a matching collar, and the long sleeves also had intriguing leather straps fastened around them

Taking it easy: Chris opted for a cool and comfortable cream-colored cardigan with textured vertical stripes and multiple pockets

Seeing green: He wore the green-trimmed shirt with the sleeves rolled up, and he complemented it with a pair of lustrous green pleated trousers

Another superhero film star, Hugh Jackman, arrived at the premiere with a bushy salt-and-pepper beard.

He wore an all-black look with a black windbreaker, while his wife Deborra-Lee Furness had on a black top dipping below her shoulders, along with a matching skirt and black platform shoes.

They were joined by Ghosted's director Dexter Fletcher, who wore a classic black suit, and his wife, the opera and theatre director Dalia Ibelhauptaite, who stood out in an intriguing black dress with long tassels hanging from her shoulders to the carpet.

The actor, director and playwright Tim Blake Nelson also showed off a beard. He wore a stylish grayblue plaid suit with a knit tie and a pale blue striped shirt.

The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs star's wife, Lisa Benavides, looked lovely in a blue-and-white dress covered in a floral design.

Amy Sedaris, who also brings her comedic talent to Ghosted, stood out in a sleeveless black sack dress decorated with cartoonish white floral patterns.

She accessorized with a silver handbag, which matched her silver open-toe heels.

The actress Sky Katz, who doesn't appear to be part of the film's ensemble, changed things up with a cool white double-breasted suit covered in pinstripes.

She went topless underneath the jacket, highlighting her cleavage, and she contrasted the look with metallic hot pink platform heels.

Power actress Lela Loren was a breath of fresh air with a sweater top and a matching pleated skirt covered in abstract pastel designs.

Lizzie Broadway, who plays Mattie in the film, looked too cool for school in a black suit that she went topless under.

Her jacket featured rows of silver buttons decorating her lapels and breast pockets, and she added a silver chain to the edgy ensemble.

Lovebirds: Hugh Jackman arrived at the premiere with a bushy salt-and-pepper beard. He wore an all-black look with a black windbreaker, while his wife Deborra-Lee Furness had on a black top dipping below her shoulders, along with a matching skirt and black platform shoes

The boss: They were joined by Ghosted's director Dexter Fletcher, who wore a classic black suit, and his wife, the opera and theatre director Dalia Ibelhauptaite, who stood out in an intriguing black dress with long tassels hanging from her shoulders to the carpet

Triple threat: Tim Blake Nelson also showed off a beard. He wore a stylish grayblue plaid suit with a knit tie and a pale blue striped shirt. The Ballad Of Buster Scruggs star's wife, Lisa Benavides, looked lovely in a blue-and-white dress covered in a floral design

Black and white: Amy Sedaris, who also brings her comedic talent to Ghosted, stood out in a sleeveless black sack dress decorated with cartoonish white floral patterns

Revealing: The actress Sky Katz changed things up with a cool white double-breasted suit covered in pinstripes. She went topless underneath the jacket, highlighting her cleavage, and she contrasted the look with metallic hot pink platform heels

Soothing: Power actress Lela Loren was a breath of fresh air with a sweater top and a matching pleated skirt covered in abstract pastel designs

Fierce: Lizzie Broadway, who plays Mattie in the film, looked too cool for school in a black suit that she went topless under. The actress Tory Trowbridge stuck to classic looks with a sleeveless black dress that hugged her figure, along with tall black leather boots

Standing out: Sydney Scotia showed off a winning smile while rocking a colorful orange dress with long sleeves that was ruched around her midriff and featured a cutout over her side

Engaged: Power Book II: Ghost star Lovell Adams-Gray Kiana wore pajama-like red satin paisley pants and a matching shirt, along with a black blazer. He as joined by his fiancee, actress Kiana Madeira, who stunned in a powder blue bustier with attached sleeves

Awkward: Chris stars in Ghosted as Cole, who hits it off with Sadie (de Armas) after a great first date, but their burgeoning romance is thrown into question after he discovers that she's a secret agent. The film premieres on Apples TV+ on April 21

Arrivals: Ana kept her hands in her pockets as she arrived at the premiere in NYC. Chris waved to his fans before heading into the theater

The actress Tory Trowbridge stuck to classic looks with a sleeveless black dress that hugged her figure, along with tall black leather boots.

Sydney Scotia showed off a winning smile while rocking a colorful orange dress with long sleeves that was ruched around her midriff and featured a cutout over her side.

Power Book II: Ghost star Lovell Adams-Gray Kiana wore pajama-like red satin paisley pants and a matching shirt, along with a black blazer.

He as joined by his fiancee, the Canadian actress Kiana Madeira. She stunned in a powder blue bustier with attached sleeves featuring padded shoulders and a row of buttons running down the side.
A Sydney influencer is facing backlash and has been dropped by a major sponsor after she joked on a podcast about killing two cats when she was a child.

Emma Claiir, a 28-year-old mummy blogger and Instagram model, shared the bizarre confession on the latest episode of her Simply Chaotic podcast.

The mother of one was asked to tell a personal secret, and left her co-host Kristy Jean stunned by admitting: 'I killed my cat.'

Chuckling awkwardly, Claiir continued: 'I didn't mean to... I was young, I was a child.

'I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it.'

Sydney influencer Emma Claiir (pictured) is facing backlash and has been dropped by a major sponsor after she joked on a podcast about killing two cats when she was a child

Claiir clarified the animal died 'from the fright', rather than because of any injuries from being hurtled across the room.

After sharing a laugh with her co-host, Claiir added: 'I just want to say, I'm giggling about it now, but this happened years and years and years [ago].

'And, like, I was a f**king little child.'

Incredibly, Claiir went on to admit she 'also killed her best friend's cat' by accident.

'I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it,' she said of the incident when she killed her family cat

Claiir, who now owns a sausage dog named Douglas, has since received furious backlash online from her own fans.

As the controversy erupted, she was also dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning.

The company said: 'It has come to our attention that Emma Claiir recently relayed a story on her podcast discussing an incident of animal cruelty from her childhood.

'We were dismayed by this story, and will no longer be working with Emma in [the] future. Here at MCoBeauty, we take instances like this extremely seriously and do not condone animal cruelty of any kind.'

Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, saying it was a 'bit of light humour' and that her critics should stop being so sensitive.

As the controversy erupted, Claiir was also dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning

'To the people offended by my story in today's Simply Chaotic episode that I just shared... It happened 21 years ago. I was a small child... accidents happen and you all need to chill,' she wrote in an Instagram post.

'I hope that you are not the same person you were at nine years old (I could have been younger,' she added, before insisting she had been 'the best mother to multiple cats' since the accident.

Instagram 'snark' account Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir's alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry.

'What the? Not sure I would consider a conversation about killing two cats to be "a bit of light humour",' one follower commented.

Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, telling her Instagram followers it was a 'bit of light humour' and that her critics should stop being so sensitive

'I wish I didn't listen to that that's not humour in the slightest. That's really traumatising,' another agreed.

Someone else added: 'I would've expected it as a two-year-old or below as accidental, but at nine?'

However, several users defended Claiir, with one writing: 'How are people offended by this? She made a mistake as a young child.'

The mother of one, now owns a sausage dog named Douglas (pictured), has since received furious backlash online from her own fans

'Pretty horrific, but kids are rough, and as a parent I could imagine a kid doing that,' another supporter wrote.

Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse.

'I am well aware that the story was not light humour and in fact very serious,' she wrote in a lengthy post.

Instagram 'snark' account Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir's alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry

'It was not intended to come across the way that it did as it was simply just a story from the past about an accident [when I was] a little kid, but I can see how it has come across like that,' she added.

Claiir said she had 'taken time to think about my actions' and concluded it was 'not something [she was] proud of', as the incident impacted her entire family.

She stressed she had definitely 'grown up' and had been a loving owner of 'multiple cats and dogs' as an adult.

'Again I deeply apologise for those affected by an accident that happened in the past and I hope we can leave it there,' she concluded.

Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse
Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans has undergone a medical procedure on her esophagus.

The Oak Island, North Carolina native, 31, shared a series of clips on Instagram Stories Tuesday detailing the series of events involving her esophagus, which is the tube that carries food and liquid from one's throat to one's stomach.

The MTV alum indicated to her 3.1 million Instagram followers that her husband David Eason, 34, was not present to accompany her to the doctor's appointment.

'Going alone to get a procedure done on my esophagus today,' Evans said in a frame on the social media site showing the road as she traveled to the appointment. 'Have no support so any prayers are appreciated.'

Evans later shared an image in which she donned a long-sleeved ribbed teal top as she had a line placed in her nose connected to a medical device.

The latest: Teen Mom star Jenelle Evans, 31, revealed has undergone a medical procedure on her esophagus in a series of social media posts Tuesday

'First part over now I have to wait 24 hours,' the reality star said of her progress.

In a subsequent post, Evans put on a brave face as she told followers she was having a difficult time in the wake of the medical procedure.

'I am this close to falling off the deep end,' she said. 'I know I'm smiling right now but the light inside of me is dying.'

Evans earlier this month took to the site to share photos from her Easter Sunday celebration with her family, after regaining custody of her son Jace last month.

'Easter vibes, and sunny skies!' she captioned the image, with emojis of a cloudy sun, heart and bunny, with the hashtag #HappyEaster.

In the family photo, Evans was flanked by husband Eason, 34, stepdaughter Maryssa, 15, son Jace, 13, son Kaiser, eight, and daughter Ensley, six.

The one-time MTV star is mother to Jace with Andrew Lewis, Kaiser with Nathan Griffith and Ensley with Eason.

In a carousel of accompanying images, the family was seen enjoying the holiday by painting and collecting Easter eggs, and playing billiards. Jace was seen matching his stepdad Eason in blue plaid button-down shirts.

Moving forward: The MTV alum indicated to her 3.1 million Instagram followers that her husband David Eason, 34, was not present to accompany her to the doctor's appointment

On the mend: Evans later shared an image in which she donned a long-sleeved ribbed teal top as she had a line placed in her nose connected to a medical device

Courageous: In a subsequent post, Evans put on a brave face as she told followers she was having a difficult time in the wake of the medical procedure

Evans said in the clip, 'I am this close to falling off the deep end - I know I'm smiling right now but the light inside of me is dying'

Evans was granted custody of Jace last month after relinquishing parental rights to her mother Barbara Evans more than a decade ago.

'My relationship with Jace is closer than ever and doing much better,' Jenelle told E! News last month. 'I feel like being with his family makes him much happier. Our family wasn't complete without him.'

Evans also revealed that the new arrangement has partially helped to heal her strained relationship with Barbara, saying, 'My relationship with my mother has got a little better, but truthfully she is still a little controlling.'

'I think it's going to take time for her to get use to this change,' she added.

Evans revealed the push to get custody came from believing that her son 'needed a change' of pace.

'We also didn't like the crowds he was hanging out with, so now he's in the country. He loves riding his dirt bike and working on it recently. He wants to sign up for dirt bike races in the future,' she shared.

Jenelle also shed light on Jace's relationship with stepdad David Eason.

She said, 'David teaches him how to hunt, fish, fix dirt bikes or giving Jace dating advice. Jace needed a father figure and I can tell how happy Jace is having one around.'

Holiday: Evans earlier this month took to the site to share photos from her Easter Sunday celebration with her family, after regaining custody of her son Jace last month

Game on! Jace was seen matching his stepdad Eason in blue plaid button-down shirts

Love: Eason was seen daughter Ensley, six, in a colorful outdoor shot on the family day

Memorable: The kids enjoyed seasonal activities such as making Easter eggs

Holiday: Ensley was seen holding a basket full of Easter goodies on the sunny day

Enjoyable: Kaiser smiled alongside his own Easter basket as he sat on the back of a truck

The new custody arrangement became official after Jenelle and her mother Barbara signed the papers on March 16.

She wrote in the caption of a video of herself signing the documents and shedding tears of joy: 'Words can't describe how happy I truly am. Our family is complete now! Thank you mom.'

The North Carolina native  who welcomed Jace in 2009  had signed over custody of her eldest son to Barbara just shortly after his birth.

Previously, Jenelle had stated that she regained custody of Jace while speaking in a candid TikTok video posted in January 2021.

Over the years, Jenelle continued with a long battle in court with her mother over custody of her firstborn child, due to battling a drug addiction and having been arrested a number of times in her preteen years.

'My mom and I decided together to grant full custody back to me because we want to build our relationship back as mother and daughter,' Jenelle told Us Weekly in a statement.

'We have officially signed the papers on Thursday, March 16th at the courthouse,' she stated. 'It's a done deal!'

She went on to explain that her mother wishes for Jace to live with his family and be around a proper father figure.

'My relationship with Jace is closer than ever': Teen Mom's Jenelle Evans, 31, revealed that her relationship with son Jace, 13, is thriving, after she recently regained full custody of him

Complete: 'I feel like being with his family makes him much happier. Our family wasn't complete without him,' she added

Father figure: Jenelle shared Jace enjoys having step-dad David Eason, 34 (pictured) around: 'Jace needed a father figure and I can tell how happy Jace is having one around'

'My mother agrees it's time for Jace to be back with his siblings and living with a mother and father,' she said.

'She also thinks it's important for Jace to be around a father figure to learn "boy things" and have "men talk",' she added, noting that Barbara 'has seen the way David parents [her] children'.

'She knows we're able to handle it,' Jenelle continued. 'We want to all get along for the sake of the children and - like I said before - building back our relationship as mother and daughter.'

Her manager, August Keen, also told Us Weekly despite disputes in the past, Jenelle and her husband have patched things up and are in a stable, healthy relationship.

'Jenelle and David are definitely together,' Keen said. 'Things between them are great.'

'They're a happy family, and they are completely fine,' he said in the statement.

Jenelle was 17 at the time of Jace's birth and had her entire pregnancy documented on MTV's 16 And Pregnant.

David also has two children  Maryssa and Kaden  from previous relationships.

Update: She also shed light on her relationship with mom Barbara - who previously had custody of Jace - saying it 'got a little better, but truthfully she is still a little controlling'; The duo pictured 2015

Finalized: She recently posted a sweet clip of the process of signing the custody paperwork and wrote,'#MyHappyEnding, IT'S OFFICIAL! Thanks everyone for the support!'

Happy tears: She wrote in the caption of a video of herself signing the documents and shedding tears of joy, 'Words can't describe how happy I truly am. Our family is complete now! Thank you mom'

In the past, Jenelle and David had lost custody of all of their children after a scary incident involving their dog in April 2019.

Eason killed their French bulldog, Nugget, after the dog allegedly attacked and bit Ensley.

Following the tragic event, their children were removed from their custody, and the couple separated for around a year.

Despite their rocky history and having both been fired from the MTV program, they ended up rekindling their relationship and reconciling their issues.

Mother-of-three: Jenelle also shares an eight-year-old son named Kaiser with her ex-boyfriend Nathan Griffith as well as daughter Ensley, six, with her husband David
Jane Seymour and Krysten Ritter brought their fashion A-game while attending the AMC Networks UpFront 2023 event at Jazz at Lincoln Center in New York on Tuesday.

The Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman star, 72, showed off her age-defying physique in a strapless shredded black and beige bodycon dress that clung to her fit frame.

The actress - who recently shared the secrets to her youthful appearance - paired the ensemble with black studded heels, and accessorized with a chic butterfly necklace.

Seymour accentuated her visage with a touch of mascara and blush, and wore her auburn tresses cascading down in bouncy locks.

Meanwhile Ritter, 41, put her toned legs on display in a chic black blazer and a matching skirt, which she paired with pointed-toe heels.

Stylish ladies! Jane Seymour and Krysten Ritter brought their fashion A-game while attending the AMC Networks UpFront 2023 event in New York on Tuesday

Stunners! The Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman star, 72, showed off her age-defying physique in a strapless shredded black and beige bodycon dress that clung to her fit frame

The Breaking Bad star wore her raven tresses parted in the middle and lightly curled.

The actress opted for a touch of contrast with a bright red lipstick on her pout.

Also in attendance was The Killing star Mireille Enos, 47, who looked red hot in a vivid silk mini dress and black heels.

She wore her red tresses parted in the middle and styled in waves.

Clive Owen, 58, looked dapper as ever in a classic black suit and whit shirt.

Vanessa Simmons, 39, looked ready for Spring in a matching yellow top and skirt with a feather trim.

Rapper MC Lyte, 52, donned a cheetah-print red button-up and black leather pants.

The Walking Dead cast was also present, with Danai Gurira, 45, looking incredible in a white tube top and matching maxi skirt.

Sultry: The ladies happily posed together at the event

Chic: The actress paired the ensemble with black studded heels, and accessorized with a chic butterfly necklace

A beauty: Seymour accentuated her visage with a touch of mascara and blush, and wore her auburn tresses cascading down in bouncy locks

Sequin Queen: Ritter, 41, put her toned legs on display in a chic black blazer and a matching skirt, which she paired with pointed-toe heels

Showing off: The ladies flaunted their stylish ensembles from a variety of angles

She was seen mingling with co-star Norman Reedus, 54, who looked handsome as ever in a black suit.

Reedus wore his brunette tresses in a slicked down look.

Norman was also seen posing with French actress Clemence Poesy, 40.

The Harry Potter star opted for a business chic look in a double-breasted black suit.

She wore her blonde tresses swept back into a slick bin, and accessorized with dangling earrings.

Lauren Cohan, 41, was glamorous as ever in a black velvet down with a triangle cut-out on the midriff.

Her co-star Jeffrey Dean Morgan, 56, looked effortlessly cool sporting a black suit and a black shirt which he left partially unbuttoned.

Morgan - who plays redeemed villain Negan on the series - was joined by wife Hilarie Burton, 40, on the red carpet.

Red hot! The Killing star Mireille Enos, 47, looked red hot in a vivid silk mini dress and black heels

Classic: Clive Owen, 58, looked dapper as ever in a classic black suit and whit shirt

Pretty: The Walking Dead cast was also present, with Danai Gurira, 45, looking incredible in a white tube top and matching maxi skirt

Pop of red: Danai rocked red lipstick for the night

With Norman: She was seen mingling with co-star Norman Reedus, 54, who looked handsome as ever in a black suit

All black: Reedus wore his brunette tresses in a slicked down look

Dazzling: He was also joined by his dazzling co-star Lauren Cohan, 41

Glamorous: Cohan was glamorous as ever in a black velvet down with a triangle cut-out on the midriff

Charming: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, 56, looked effortlessly cool sporting a black suit and a black shirt which he left partially unbuttoned

Stylish pair: Morgan - who plays redeemed villain Negan on the series - was joined by wife Hilarie Burton, 40, on the red carpet

Sizzling: The One Tree Hill star sizzled in a plunging orange suit that put her cleavage on display

Loved-up: The duo put on a loved-up display in front of the shutterbugs

Classy: Also present was Andrew Lincoln, 49, who wore a grey suit and sported a silver beard for the event

Buddies: Lincoln was pictured holding hands with his buddy Norman at one point, as they mingled on the red carpet

French beauty: Norman was also seen posing with French actress Clemence Poesy, 40. The Harry Potter star opted for a business chic look in a double-breasted black suit

All together: The original cast members proudly posed together

Having a blast: The group seemed to have a blast on the red carpet

The One Tree Hill star sizzled in a plunging orange suit that put her cleavage on display.

Also present was Andrew Lincoln, 49, who wore a grey suit and sported a silver beard for the event.

Lincoln was pictured holding hands with his buddy Norman at one point, as they mingled on the red carpet.

Lisa Rinna's husband Harry Hamlin, 71, showed off his cool style in a black leather jacket, black shirt and matching jeans.

Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito, 64, looked elegant in a dark navy suit and a black fedora. He paired the look with black-rim reading glasses and dress shoes.

Scream star Skeet Ulrich, 53, sported a classy black suit over a navy shirt.

The event focused its presentation on their hit shows, such as The Walking Dead spin-offs, as well as its new Anne Rice programming and Lucky Hank, Bob Odenkirks new series.

'We are looking forward to the most innovative and future-facing upfront in our history, with a focus on partnering with marketers around targeted audiences, creative ad products and an exciting slate of high-quality programming that will build on our proven ability to engage passionate fan communities around compelling franchises and universes,' Chief Commercial Officer Kim Kelleher said in a statement.

Stylish: Vanessa Simmons, 39, wore a yellow top and skirt with a feather trim, while rapper MC Lyte, 52, donned a cheetah-print red button-up and black leather pants

Leather look: Lisa Rinna's husband Harry Hamlin, 71, showed off his cool style in a black leather jacket, black shirt and matching jeans

Classy guy: Breaking Bad's Giancarlo Esposito, 64, looked elegant in a dark navy suit and a black fedora
Keri Russell was joined by her husband, Matthew Rhys, at the premiere of The Diplomat, which took place at the Park Lane Hotel in New York City on Tuesday evening.

The 47-year-old actress and her husband, 48, stayed close while posing for a picture outside of the event's main grounds.

The performer, who recently appeared in the upcoming show's trailer, was also joined by several other cast members from the Netflix program during the premiere.

Russell wore a fashionable dark purple dress, which featured a cut-out portion that showed off her toned midsection.

The Felicity star accessorized with a stylish pair of earrings and carried a jet-black clutch during the event.

Better together: Keri Russell was joined by her husband, Matthew Rhys, at the premiere of The Diplomat, which took place at the Park Lane Hotel in New York City on Tuesday evening

Her gorgeous light brunette hair cascaded onto her shoulders and paired well with the dark tone of her clothing.

Rhys opted for a navy blue jacket and matching pants that were contrasted with a white button-up shirt.

Nana Mensah donned a stunning red-orange dress that clung tightly to her sculpted form during the premiere.

The writer's dark brunette locks fell onto her back and contrasted well with the light tone of her clothing.

The performer was also pictured next to David Gyasi, who donned a patterned jacket and matching pants, as well as a black turtleneck sweater.

Ali Ahn contrasted a revealing black sleeveless top with a pair of white shorts as she posed for a photo.

The actress also wore a pair of black stockings that were paired with matching high-heeled shoes.

Debora Cahn opted for an all-black outfit that included a fashionable pair of leather pants.

Making an impression: Russell wore a fashionable dark purple dress, which featured a cut-out portion that showed off her toned midsection

Accessorizing well: The Felicity star accessorized with a stylish pair of earrings and carried a jet-black clutch during the event. Her gorgeous light brunette hair cascaded onto her shoulders and paired well with the dark tone of her clothing

Standing out: Nana Mensah donned a stunning red-orange dress that clung tightly to her sculpted form during the premiere

Dressed to the nines: The performer was also pictured next to David Gyasi, who donned a patterned jacket and matching pants, as well as a black turtleneck sweater

Color coordnation: Ali Ahn contrasted a revealing black sleeveless top with a pair of white shorts as she posed for a photo

Sharp-dressed man: Rufus Sewell donned a burgundy suit that was contrasted with a white button-up shirt

One and done: Debora Cahn opted for an all-black outfit that included a fashionable pair of leather pants

In the past: Development on The Diplomat was initially revealed to the public in January of last year

Rufus Sewell donned a burgundy suit that was contrasted with a white button-up shirt.

Ato Essandoh opted for an eye-catching dark purple tunic-like outfit that stood out while taking a photo with his castmates.

Development on The Diplomat was initially revealed to the public in January of last year.

The program is centered on a new American ambassador who must juggle various political situations while working in London.

Other members of the show's cast include Rory Kinnear, Jon Moore and Adam Silver.

Netflix's VP and head of Drama Development, Jinny Howe, previously issued a statement via Deadline to express her enthusiasm about working with Cahn, who serves as the show's creator.

She stated: '[Cahn] knows how to tell an amazing story, with character depth, stakes and surprises, all of which she'll bring to The Diplomat.'

The Diplomat's first season is currently scheduled to premiere on Netflix on April 20.

Storyline: The program is centered on a new American ambassador who must juggle various political situations while working in London
She has never shied away from flashing the flesh.

And Hailey Bieber was at it again in her latest Instagram post.

The catwalk queen, 26, rocked a skimpy white crop top and thong underwear as she posed in a shower with her abs and legs on full display.

'Spring has been rlly cute and today we did a shoot for a new @rhode product coming soon,' she captioned the post.

In a full-length image, Bieber wore an edgy leather jacket as she raised her hands behind her neck.

Va va voom! Hailey Bieber rocked a skimpy white crop top and thong underwear as she posed in a shower with her abs and legs on full display

She seductively placed one leg over the other and hit the camera with a sultry expression.

Her radiant complexion was done up with glossy lips and a dewy shade of blush.

In another shot, she had ditched the jacket as she rested one manicured hand atop her head.

Another sexy shot showed Bieber posing in a sexy LBD and black sunglasses.

The rest of her photo dump included adorable videos of her dogs, a photo of spring flowers, and a tweet promoting her Rhode products.

Hailey launched her Rhode skincare line  named after her middle name  in June 2022.

The business has been booming ever since.

CEO Melanie Bender, who joined the company in October 2022, recently talked to Vogue Business about the brand's astronomical sales.

Sexy: In another shot, she had ditched the jacket as she rested one manicured hand atop her head

Little black dress: Another sexy shot showed Hailey posing in a sexy LBD and black sunglasses

Pooches! She shared video of her dogs running across a yard

Snuggle time! One of the photos showed her dog cuddling in blankets

'We crossed the eight-figure [sales] threshold in just 11 days of selling. Its surpassed anything Ive ever seen,' Bender said.

She added that Bieber is also involved in all aspects of the business.

Bender stated, 'As founder and creative director, she plays a major role in product development and overall creative direction of the brand.

'We are speaking to her more than once a day to build our formulas and priorities around what she identifies as a need in the market,' she added.

Less than one year in, Bieber is now planning a global expansion, with the line's launch in Canada to be followed by a United Kingdom branch.

The road to Rhode: Bieber also plugged her skincare line

Spring is here! The post also included a photo of blooming flowers

Justin recently accompanied his wife to a dinner party in Toronto to help her celebrate Rhode's Canadian debut.

Last fall Hailey was included on Forbes magazine's 30 Under 30 list, where she earned a spot for her flourishing business.

The star took to social media to share the news and she wrote, 'Thank you so much @forbes @forbesunder30 so beyond excited about this cover, and so very excited for everything that is to come with @rhode and thank you to team @rhode for being the most bad a** team I could ask for.

'The journey has been one that causes me to pinch myself on the daily. Cover shot by @timtadder story written by the wonderful mcgrathmag @hairinel @leahdarcymakeup @danixmichelle #ForbesUnder30.'

In the accompanying interview, Hailey revealed that she and her business partners went through several rounds of reformulating products during the development process until they met her standards, while making sure the price tag on any product did not exceed $30.

Flawless: On Tuesday, the Arizona-born beauty's skincare company Rhode shared a make-up free video of herself getting ready for day three of Coachella on Sunday

Hailey said: 'I already have a hydrating essence on, which has been saving me all weekend in the desert. It's been changing the game for me'
Olivia Molly Rogers has a new man in her life - and a swanky new high-rise apartment to boot.

The former Miss Universe Australia, 30, gave fans a tour of her luxury pad in a video shared to Instagram on Wednesday.

As the camera panned around the modern space, Olivia's followers were treated to a never-before-seen look at the model's stunning surroundings.

The apartment is the epitome of modern elegance, with floor-to-ceiling windows that offer city views, and ultra-modern architecture.

Olivia added personal touches throughout the apartment, including an ornate floral theme and even her own painting room.

Olivia Molly Rogers has a new man in her life - and a swanky new high-rise apartment to boot

'Grateful to live here,' she captioned the footage.

Olivia went Instagram official with her new boyfriend Morgan Waterhouse earlier this month, sharing a gallery of images of the loved-up couple just days after dismissing rumours the pair was an item.

In one image, Olivia smiled from ear to ear as the two of them leaned in for a cuddle.

In another, Olivia and Morgan looked smitten as they drank cocktails on a night out.

The former Miss Universe Australia, 30, gave fans a tour of her luxury pad in a video shared to Instagram on Wednesday. As the camera panned around the modern space, Olivia's followers were treated to a never-before-seen look at the model's stunning surroundings

The apartment is the epitome of modern elegance, with floor-to-ceiling windows that offer city views and ultra-modern architecture

Olivia and Morgan, who met though their mutual friend, the stylist Paul Versace, were first romantically linked when they posted identical photos of the view from her apartment.

The beauty queen confirmed her split from husband Justin McKeone in October last year, after just eight months of marriage.

Break-up rumours began swirling in September after fans noticed she'd reverted to her maiden name on Instagram and unpinned all photos from their February 2022 wedding.

The former couple, who met in 2018, were last pictured together in August 2022 in a series of loved-up holiday snaps from their trip to New York City.

Olivia has added personal touches throughout the apartment, including an ornate floral theme and even her own painting room
Stormy Daniels, the porn star who could put former U.S. president Donald Trump behind bars, say it's inevitable his wife Melania will divorce him.

The adult entertainer, 44, made the claim during an interview on Australian radio show Kyle and Jackie O on Wednesday morning.

When host Kyle Sandilands asked Daniels, whose real name is Stephanie Clifford, if she had ever reached out to the former first lady, 52, to discuss her alleged affair with Trump, 76, she said she hadn't - but added provocatively: 'She knows how to find me. Maybe she'll ask me to testify at her divorce hearing.'

'You think they'll get divorced?' asked Sandilands, to which Daniels responded: 'Oh, I think so.'

She later backtracked slightly, saying she didn't wish to 'speak for another woman or to know what she's thinking', but noted Melania's silence 'speaks more than words'.

Stormy Daniels, 44, (pictured) the porn star who could put former US president Donald Trump behind bars, said it's inevitable his wife Melania will divorce him

Daniels added that Melania's absence at her husband's arraignment in New York City on April 4 - which saw him plead not guilty to falsifying business records related to his alleged role in hush money payments to the former stripper during his 2016 presidential campaign - was particularly telling.

'She hasn't said anything. Silence sometimes speaks more than words and she was not with him at his arraignment,' Daniels explained to Sandilands and his co-host Jackie Henderson.

Melania and Trump married in 2005 after eight years of dating. They welcomed their son Barron a year later - months before his alleged sexual encounter with Daniels.

She went on to joke that the former first lady, 52, (right) may even ask Daniels 'to testify at her divorce hearing' against the 76-year-old businessman (left)

Daniels' claim about the Trumps' marriage comes just two weeks after the ex-president was charged in a criminal court in Manhattan with 34 felony counts related to allegations he orchestrated hush-money payments to her.

He reportedly paid her $130,000 ahead of his 2016 U.S. election bid to suppress publication of their alleged sexual encounter in 2006.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal is also reported to have received hush-money to cover up her own alleged encounter with Trump.

Trump also faces criminal investigations in Washington for trying to overturn his 2020 election loss and mishandling classified documents, and a separate criminal probe in Georgia about his attempt to overturn his defeat in that state.

Daniels' claim comes just two weeks after Trump was charged in New York with 34 felony counts related to allegations he orchestrated hush-money payments to her

Prosecutors in Manhattan accused Trump, the first sitting or former U.S. president to face criminal charges, of trying to conceal a violation of election laws during his successful 2016 campaign.

Trump, the front-runner in the race for the Republican nomination in 2024, denies having an affair with Daniels but has acknowledged the payment.

The next hearing in the case is set for December 4.

Legal experts said a trial may not even get under way for a year, and that an indictment or even a conviction would not legally prevent Trump from running for president.
Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan attended the AMC Networks UpFronts event in New York City on Tuesday evening.

The 40-year-old actress and her 56-year-old husband cut stylish figures as they posed for photos.

The actor - who supported his wife after she referred to Candace Cameron Bure as a 'bigot' - is currently preparing for the release of his upcoming series The Walking Dead: Dead City.

His wife Burton wowed in a bright orange jacket and matching wide-legged pants for the occasion, which was attended by a number of Morgan's current and former co-stars.

The One Tree Hill actress modeled a sexy black lace blouse with a plunging neckline that showcased her smooth decolletage.

Showing up: Hilarie Burton and Jeffrey Dean Morgan attended the AMC Networks UpFronts event in New York City on Tuesday evening

She accessorized with several pieces of jewelry, including a choker necklace and gold earrings.

Stylish: The 40-year-old actress and her 56-year-old husband cut stylish figures as they posed for photos

Her gorgeous gray-to-brunette hair fell onto her shoulders and contrasted well with the bright tones of her clothing.

Morgan opted for an all-black outfit that included a double-breasted jacket and leather shoes.

The Losers star also posed for photos with several of his former castmates, including Danai Gurira, Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus.

Burton and Morgan initially began dating in 2009, and their son Gus, aged 13, was born the following year.

The pair went on to bring their daughter George Virginia, aged five, into their lives in 2018.

The happy couple subsequently tied the knot during a ceremony that was officiated by Jensen Ackles in 2019.

Morgan began starring as Negan in The Walking Dead during its seventh season, having made his debut as the character during its sixth run of episodes.

The performer portrayed the character up until the show's final season, which concluded last November.

Burton guest starred as Negan's wife Lucille during the horror drama's tenth run of episodes.

Morgan is currently set to reprise his role as Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City, in which he will star alongside Lauren Cohan, who will also remain in her old part as Maggie Greene.

Development on the spinoff program was revealed to the public in March of last year.

It was revealed that the actors were expected to return to their roles at the time.

Wow! His wife Burton wowed in a bright orange jacket and matching wide-legged pants for the occasion, which was attended by a number of Morgan's current and former co-stars

Back in black: The One Tree Hill actress modeled a sexy black lace blouse with a plunging neckline that showcased her smooth decolletage. Meanwhile, Morgan rocked an all-black outfit that included a chic double-breasted jacket

Good company: The Losers star also posed for photos with several of his former castmates, including Danai Gurira, Andrew Lincoln and Norman Reedus

On screen: Morgan began starring as Negan in The Walking Dead during its seventh season, having made his debut as the character during its sixth run of episodes

Finishing the run: The performer portrayed the character up until the show's final season, which concluded last November

Back for more: Morgan is currently set to reprise his role as Negan in The Walking Dead: Dead City, in which he will star alongside Lauren Cohan, who will also remain in her old part as Maggie Greene

Storyline: The show will follow the characters as they head into a zombie-filled Manhattan in an attempt to find Maggie's kidnapped son Hershel

Coming soon: The Walking Dead: Dead City's first season will run for six episodes, the first of which is set to debut on June 18

The show will follow the characters as they head into a zombie-filled Manhattan in an attempt to find Maggie's kidnapped son Hershel.

Other members of the program's cast include Gaius Charles, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Anthony.

Physical production took place from July to October of last year, with much of filming occurring in New Jersey.

The Walking Dead: Dead City's first season will run for six episodes, the first of which is set to debut on June 18.
Cameron Diaz was back to work on Tuesday night as she filmed more scenes for her upcoming action-comedy Back In Action.

The 50-year-old actress was spotted filming a scene outdoors while surrounded by extras.

It also gave her a chance to show off some of her fight skills, as she rehearsed a physical confrontation with another actor between takes.

Cameron is moving forward with the cursed production even as her costar Jamie Foxx remains in the hospital while undergoing tests and recuperating from a medical emergency that his family have so far opted to stay mum about.

Instead, she was forced to film with a body double until her costar is well enough to film his remaining scenes.

Fists of fury: Cameron Diaz, 50, was spotted on Tuesday on the set of her upcoming action-comedy Back In Action as she filmed a fight scene

Going alone: Cameron is moving forward with the cursed production even as her costar Jamie Foxx remains in the hospital while undergoing tests and recuperating from a medical emergency that his family have kept quiet about

Cameron was seen in the same costume that she wore while filming scenes on Monday, and it also appeared to have been a similar portion of the film.

She had on a white sweatshirt with her sleeves slightly rolled up, and it was paired with a set of slim jeans that hugged her trim figure.

The outfit was capped off with white sneakers, and she wore her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail.

The Mask star was spotted chatting with one of her costars, the young actress McKenna Roberts.

McKenna was attired in a puffy black jacket, which she wore with a low-cut black top and matching dark jeans.

Part of the evening shoot was devoted to working on Cameron's hand-to-hand combat.

She appeared to block out a fight scene with one actor in a gray jacket while other members of the crew observed.

The Vanilla Sky actress grabbed at the man's collar while he comically grimaced at her.

Substitute: She was forced to film with a body double until her costar is well enough to film his remaining scenes

Continuity: Cameron was seen in the same costume that she wore while filming scenes on Monday, and it also appeared to have been a similar portion of the film

Casual: She had on a white sweatshirt with her sleeves slightly rolled up, and it was paired with a set of slim jeans that hugged her trim figure

No fuss: The outfit was capped off with white sneakers, and she wore her long blond hair tied back in a ponytail

Fight time! Part of the evening shoot was devoted to working on Cameron's hand-to-hand combat

Showdown: She appeared to block out a fight scene with one actor in a gray jacket while other members of the crew observed. The Vanilla Sky actress grabbed at the man's collar while he comically grimaced at her

Demolished: She pulled one hand back as if for a punch, and then she was seen putting a hand on the other actor's head, as if she was about to smash it in to the window of a car

She pulled one hand back as if winding up for a punch, and then she was seen putting a hand on the other actor's head, as if she was about to smash it in to the window of the car he was standing against.

Almost no plot details have been released about Back In Action, which is said to be an action-comedy, so there's a good chance the fight scene would be played for laughs.

Although Cameron's costar and friend Jamie has been missing in action for some time, she seemed to have a great time chatting with the body double, as she flashed a wide grin at him and seemed to laugh while they caught up.

Only one actor was pictured standing in for Jamie on Tuesday, but there was also a second actor dressed in an identical costume who was seen on set the day before.

Cameron was previously seen filming a scene outside of a fake nightclub named The Level.

Although the set would likely look convincing on camera, the set photos revealed that it appeared to have been constructed on a parking lot.

The club set wasn't pictured, but Cameron appeared to be in the same environment, suggesting that she was continuing work on the sequence.

While she continued filming, her 55-year-old costar remains at a medical facility in Georgia where he is undergoing tests, People confirmed on Monday.

Having a laugh: Although Cameron's costar and friend Jamie has been missing in action for some time, she seemed to have a great time chatting with the body double, as she flashed a wide grin at him and seemed to laugh while they caught up

Colleagues: The Mask star was also spotted chatting with one of her costars, the young actress McKenna Roberts

While she continued filming, her 55-year-old costar remains at a medical facility in Georgia where he is undergoing tests, People confirmed on Monday

While his family has shared news of his health scare, they have not provided any details.

However, on Friday, a source told People that Foxx was steadily improving.

Fans were initially alerted about the health scare when the actor's daughter Corinne Foxx shared a grave statement on social media this past Wednesday.

The 29-year-old actress wrote, 'We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday.

'Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery,' she continued.

'We know how beloved he is and appreciate your prayers. The family asks for privacy during this time,' the statement concluded.

At the time, sources confirmed to TMZ that Foxx's unnamed condition was serious enough to require him to go to a hospital.

Limited details have been shared and it's unclear what symptoms the comedian may have been suffering from.

Getting to the bottom of it: On Friday, CNN reported tests were being conducted to determine what led to his health scare and that the actor was under observation at the hospital

Figuring it out: 'They are running tests and still trying to figure out what exactly happened,' an insider said

Out of the loop: Despite his improving condition, there's no word yet on when he will be able to leave the hospital or get back to filming

On Friday, CNN reported tests were being conducted to determine what led to his health scare and that the actor was under observation at the hospital.

'They are running tests and still trying to figure out what exactly happened,' an insider said.

Despite his improving condition, there's no word yet on when he will be able to leave the hospital or get back to filming.

The film, which also features Glenn Close, has been marketed as the return to acting for his co-star Cameron Diaz, whom he helped to lure out of retirement, though she reportedly plans to retire for good after a string of catastrophes on the film set.

The hospitalization was serious enough that the actor's family came from out of town to be with him.

One source told TMZ, 'He's communicating now, and that's good news,' which may imply that he was at one point unable to communicate due to the medical emergency.

Foxx shares his daughter Corinne with his ex-girlfriend Connie Kline. He also has a 13-year-old daughter Annalise, whom he shares with Kristin Grannis.

His latest film shoot in Atlanta appears to have been a surprisingly stressful ordeal for the Baby Driver actor, as well as his colleagues.

Breaking: Fans were initially alerted about the health scare when the actor's daughter Corinne Foxx shared a grave statement on social media this past Wednesday; pictured in 2019

Grave: The 29-year-old actress wrote, 'We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday'

It was reported last month that Foxx 'had an absolute meltdown' while the film was shooting in the UK, which led to the firing of multiple people.

He reportedly booted an executive producer from the project, along with two directors and even his own driver.

According to The Sun, one staffer was fired in relation to an apparent scam to access 33,000 in cash from the actor, which was reportedly in relation to the sale of a Rolex watch.

There was even more drama when it was revealed that production was paused last month after an unexploded WWII-era bomb was discovered on the film's set in London, just before two major action scenes were set to be filmed.
She's gearing up to tie the knot with fiance Elliot Grainge imminently.

Yet Sofia Richie ensured she still had time to relax and unwind as she soaked up the sunshine with her loved ones ahead of the ceremony.

Taking advantage of their stunning surroundings in the South of France, the model, 24, enjoyed a day sunbathing by the pool.

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, she gave her followers a glimpse at the festivities, posing up a storm in a tiny pink patterned bikini.

Sofia was joined by her lookalike mother, Diane Alexander, 56, who looked sensational in a plunging Missoni swimsuit.

Fun in the sun: Sofia Richie, 24, shared bikini-clad snaps with lookalike mother Diane Alexander, 56, on Tuesday as she kicked off wedding celebrations in the South of France

Sofia was left in awe by her mother's incredible figure, sharing a snap of the former dancer that she captioned: 'K my mom wins.'

She also shared a snap of the pair together and remarked 'twin'.

Joining the mother-daughter duo on their pool day was Sofia's stylist Liat Baruch, who shared a snap planting a kiss on the model's head.

Not featured in the snaps was Elliot, who was no doubt spending time with his own loved ones while sorting out last minute bits for the wedding.

Sofia and Elliot got engaged in April last year after he proposed by candlelight at sunset.

She shared the good news on social media at the time with photos from the romantic proposal.

Showcasing her new diamond ring in a post, Sofia declared: 'Forever isnt long enough.'

The outdoor proposal went down at sunset with photos showing a shocked Sofia standing with her hands over her face as Elliot got down on one knee.

Sweet: Joining the mother-daughter duo on their pool day was Sofia's stylist Liat Baruch, who shared a snap planting a kiss on the model's head

Wow: Sofia was left in awe by her mother's incredible figure, sharing a snap of the former dancer that she captioned: 'K my mom wins'

Elliot curated a romantic scene, placing himself and Sofia on a bed of white flower petals surrounded by dozens of cream coloured candles in glass vases.

Needless to say, the answer was yes. Sofia shared a snap from the big moment on social media followed by one of the pair sharing a kiss.

Sofia has now been with Elliot for two years after they were initially spotted in each other's company in 2021 before going Instagram official in March that year.

Earlier this month, Sofia announced she had converted to Judaism ahead of her wedding Elliot.

The Christian-born model said she has had 'one of the greatest experiences of my life' as she was welcomed into the Jewish community.

Sofia converted ahead of her upcoming nuptials to Elliot, who is Jewish.

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'What a magical day. I want to thank cantor Nathan Lam for helping me along this journey of converting to Judaism.

'It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Today was that day!!!'

Fun in the sun: Many of her pals captioned their pictures: 'Here we go!', adding the bride and groom emojis, hinting Sofia and Elliot's wedding could be taking place any day now

Sofia was raised as a Christian and spent two years at a Christian school, Oaks Christian.

She previously told Complex of her upbringing: ' I went there for two years, and that's where I got my sense. My family wanted church to be a place where we all went together.

'My dad was always traveling and my mom was always working. School is where I did Bible classes and studied God.'

Elliot, meanwhile, is the son of Lucian Grainge, the chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group and had Take That play at his bar mitzvah.

He previously told the Jewish Boston: 'Take That played at my bar mitzvah!

'They were No. 1 in the UK at the time. The party was great fun and gave me a real taste of how to create an exciting party.'

Previously, Sofia was in a high-profile relationship with reality television personality Scott Disick, whom she began seeing in 2017. The two have a 16-year age gap.

The pair remained together for nearly three years before they broke things off in May of 2020.

The former couple reconciled that July, although they went on to separate for a final time in August.
The Hollyoaks cast have paid tribute to a cherished crew member named Reggie, who has tragically passed away.

Gregory Finnegan, 42, who plays James Nightingale in the Channel 4 soap, took to Instagram on Tuesday to announce the heartbreaking news.

Sharing a photo of Reggie on set, he wrote: 'The Hollyoaks family lost a great one today.

'Huge love for you Reggie, my Harlesden neighbour and friend - youll be missed by everyone who knew and loved you. Rest in Peace brother Gx.'

Stars of the show from over the years heaped praise upon their late colleague as they flooded the comments section.

Awful: The Hollyoaks cast have paid tribute to a cherished crew member named Reggie, who has tragically passed away

Jessica Ellis (Tegan Lomax): 'Absolute legend,' while Jessamy Stoddart (Liberty Savage) added: 'Heartbreaking news RIP Reggie xx.'

Chelsee Healey (Goldie McQueen), said: 'Absolutely devastated by this news, sleep wel reg,' with Anna Passey (Sienna Blake) penning, 'Rest easy Reggie.'

Rishi Nair (Sami Maalik) commented, 'One of a kind ,' and David Tag (Sylver McQueen) continued, 'Oh no Reg! What a guy .'

The Hollyoaks' official account penned: 'Such heartbreaking news. RIP Reggie.'

It is unclear how Reggie passed away.

Hollyoaks' most recent storyline sees the McQueen family resort to desperate measures to solve their money problems.

Faced with the prospect of losing their home, it's a race against time for Mercedes, Goldie and their loved ones as they try and find the cash they need in time.

But after coming up with yet another money-making scheme, the family once again find themselves in trouble with law, casting doubt on whether they'll earn the much-needed funds in time.

Tragic: Gregory Finnegan shared a photo of Reggie on set

Tribute: He wrote in a Tuesday Instagram post: 'The Hollyoaks family lost a great one today'

Upset: Stars of the show from over the years heaped praise upon their late colleague as they flooded the comments section

As they get closer and closer to their goal, the family's joy is short-lived when they're faced with some shocking news.

Will their money plans tear the tight-knit family apart?

The week begins with Goldie (Chelsee Healey) plotting to cash in on an influx of European tourists ahead of the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, by renting out Mercedes' room to Swedish Sven.

However, she soon realises that might not hold all the answers to the cash flow problem like she hoped when she learns she had advertised the room per week not per night.

But Mercedes (Jennifer Metcalfe) has a trick up her sleeve to help them solve their money issues... and plans to set up an escape room in their home.

As the family open their new business venture, its success is short-lived when P.C Sam turns up and shuts it down.

Things then go from bad to worse, when Francis arrives to deliver the McQueens some bad news... the days disastrous activities has got back to the property company and as a result the rent has been increase.

The family have just days to pay up before eviction proceedings are started, making it a race against time for the family to drum up the funds they need in time.

Talented: Gregory, 42, plays James Nightingale in the Channel 4 soap (pictured in 2019)

While the clock ticks until their deadline, Sallyy comes across a new money-making idea when she sees an advert for at home telesales work.

Needing all the help they can get, she sets John-Paul, Goldie, and Mercedes into putting their best phone voices into action...

But when the electricity is cut off, the McQueens are left in the dark on how theyll raise the money needed with only 24 hours left to save their home.

Time is of the essence as everyone scrambles to pull together any money they can over at the McQueens.

The familys efforts at clubbing together to bring in the cash is nearly a success but, celebrations are halted when the police come to investigate stolen booze that was confiscated from the house

Sally is concerned at what sort of dodgy dealing Mercedes has got herself into.... but when Bronzers bad tummy turns out to be as a result of him eating a 50 note, the McQueens have managed to get together the money needed to save the house.

But the family's happiness is short lived when they get some unexpected news... what will it be?

Hollyoaks airs Mondays to Fridays at 6:30pm on Channel 4, and first look episodes at 7pm on E4.
Barry Humphries is in hospital after suffering a 'serious' health setback after a hip replacement, but one of the constants in the Australian comedian's life is Elizabeth Spender, his fourth wife.

Barry, 89, a father-of-four, is known for playing character Dame Edna and has described himself as lucky after finding love with Elizabeth.

He told Reader's Digest: 'We've been married for over 30 years now. I have to thank Wife No. 2 for two daughters and Wife No. 3 for two sons.

'Between them, they've produced 10 grandchildren on whom I dote. But then I've become a lot smarter which is why this marriage has endured.'

He lives in London with Elizabeth, also known as Lizzie, but has been spending time in Australia, catching up with old friends like painter John Olsen.

As he remains in hospital, his devoted wife has reassured news publications that he is 'doing fine.'

Love: Barry, 89, a father-of-four, is known for playing character Dame Edna and has described himself as lucky after finding love with Elizabeth (pictured together in 2022)

Who is Elizabeth Spender?

Elizabeth, 73, is the film, television actress and writer daughter of concert pianist Natasha Spender and poet, novelist and essayist Sir Stephen Spender.

The actress was born in London and is the sister of sculptor Matthew Spender.

As a child, she spent every summer in Galway with American actress Anjelica Huston and her family and they remain friends to this day.

In 2012, she became an Australian citizen after living there for 24 years, attending a ceremony at Australia house in the Strand.

She and Barry spend half the year in Australia, living in Sydney together.

How did Barry and Elizabeth meet?

The couple first met in 1988 at a Groucho Club party and reconnected a few years later when he was separated from his third wife.

Barry called her when he was 'in a less married state' and they married in 1990.

Acting: Elizabeth, 73, (pictured with Barry in 2016) is the daughter of concert pianist Natasha Spender and poet, novelist and essayist Sir Stephen Spender

What is Lizzie's work history?

Before becoming an actress, Lizzie picked up a variety of jobs after abandoning her dream originally because she did not think she was the right fit for the business.

When she began her career, she explained that execs were looking for actresses of 'uniform height and weight'.

Instead of being an actress, she worked as a journalist for a teen magazine, interviewing a host of stars including Freddie Mercury.

But she left the industry, favouring writing fiction before working for Virgin under Richard Branson.

She did achieve her dream of going to drama school when she was older and attended at the same time as Pierce Brosnan.

Lizzie wrote the television series Hedgehog Wedding which was a success and also penned These Foolish Things, which was not so successful.

The star also featured in a host of films and televison shows, going on to write her memoir Wild Horse Diaries.

What television shows and films has Elizabeth acted in and written?

The actress has featured in and written a host of films and television shows.

They include Testament of Youth; Part 5: 1918 (1979), Feet First (1979), Over There Trudi (1979) and The Happy Autumn Fields (1980).

Also on the list are New Life (1982), Kelly Monteith (1982), Brazil (1985), The Mozart Inquest (1986) and Hedgehog Wedding (1987).

Others include The Hound Of The Baskervilles (1988), These Foolish Things (1989), Selling Hitler (1991) and The Leading Man (1997).
Sophie Monk has joked she's the 'worst online shopper ever' after falling for an Instagram scam.

The Love Island Australia host, 43, revealed she forked out $400 after seeing an advert on the social media platform, only to be disappointed when it arrived.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Sophie made as sarcastic video revealing she picked up a wig because she thought it looked 'just like her real hair'.

'I saw online this wig, which looks exactly like my hair with a tiny bit of regrowth,' she explained.

Sophie Monk has joked she's the 'worst online shopper ever' after falling for an Instagram scam

'It was $400 but I thought it was worth it so I didn't have to style my hair everyday.

'Look closely because you'll barely know the difference. Its so similar,' she said before putting the synthetic-looking wig on.

'How natural does this look?' she joked showing off the cheap-looking hair.

'$400, its real hair apparently. It's so good, I'll just wear this everyday now,' she added before busting out laughing and admitting: 'I am the worst online shopper ever'.

'Please make me feel better,' she joked in the caption. 'Whats the worst thing youve bought online? Those bloody ads get me every time'.

The Love Island Australia host, 43, revealed she forked out $400 after seeing an advert on the social media platform, only to be disappointed when it arrived

Clearly taking the online mishap in good humour, many of her celeb pals offered to help out, with Courtney Act writing: 'Oh dear. Do you need some wig assistance, Soph?'

Celeb stylist Natalia De Martin added: 'Stunning! Please send the link I need this high quality wig in my life,' followed by a series of laughing emojis.

Podcast host Mitchell Coombs added: 'Did you forget to post the after shot??? I cant see a difference'.

It comes after Sophie revealed she is set to expand her career by starring in the tongue-in-cheek thriller Zombie Plane alongside 90s American rapper Vanilla Ice.

On Saturday, the pair were spotted filming scenes on the set of their new movie in the scenic suburb of Noosa, Queensland.

Taking to Instagram on Wednesday, Sophie made as sarcastic video revealing she picked up a wig because she thought it looked 'just like her real hair'

Sophie looked every inch the stunner in a plunging, figure-hugging pink top that showcased her very ample assets.

The reality star let her golden-blonde hair fall freely around her shoulders and she added a touch of glamour to her look with a statement gold necklace.

The film also stars Home and Away hunk Dan Ewing, 37, and Neighbours veteran Teressa Liane, 35.

Back in December, Sophie admitted she gets jealous if she catches husband Joshua Gross with a wandering eye.

On an episode of Love Island Australia, the host sat down with the contestants and discussed her private life.

The 43-year-old said that she's 'the most jealous partner in the world' and couldn't cope seeing her man kiss someone else, like the show's stars do.

'I'm the most jealous woman on earth. My poor partner can look at a tree and a girl walks past and he's in trouble!' Sophie said.

The blonde beauty also admitted she told Josh that she loved him the first week they met.

The couple eloped at their home on the NSW Central Coast in March last year, which came as a surprise to fans as they had not announced a wedding date.
Love Is Blind producers have responded after a previous contestant has accused them of failing to offer mental health support or appropriate aftercare.

Danielle Ruhl, 29, who appeared on the second season of the show, married Nick Thompson, 37, but they sadly divorced a year after tying the knot.

An Insider story has spoken to a number of show contestants who revealed challenging aspects of their time on the Kinetic Content-produced show.

Kinetic Content told MailOnline: 'The wellbeing of our participants is of paramount importance to Kinetic.

'We have rigorous protocols in place to care for each person before, during, and after filming.'

Something to say: Love Is Blind bosses respond after contestant Danielle Ruhl, 29, accused them of failing to help when she had suicidal thoughts or giving appropriate aftercare

All over: Danielle married Nick Thompson, 37, in season two but they divorced after just one year of marriage

Danielle told Insider said she underwent a psychological screening before filming, but felt like she shouldnt have passed the screening, having claimed she discussed her history of mental illness and previous attempted suicide.

Adding she had a panic attack during production while on honeymoon in Mexico and claimed that she hid in a closet to avoid having the experience appear on camera.

But she said producers persuaded her to stay on the show, telling her, 'you're the love story.'

She said. 'I kept telling them, "I dont trust myself. Ive tried committing suicide before. Im having suicidal thoughts. I dont think I can continue in this".'

Danielle has also claimed that she did not feel supported after the show ended.

She said: 'I literally begged for help, and I didnt get it. Like, I want to fix my marriage that youve thrust us into for profit. And it was nothing.'

Contestants have claimed that they sign a contract which allegedly states that appearing on the show could expose their 'personal, private, surprising, defamatory, disparaging, embarrassing, or unfavourable' information.

Other contestants claimed that they were lacking in sufficient sleep during filming, while others said food and water were not always readily available.

The site claims that multiple former castmembers have said the show should have made a therapist available during filming.

One castmember from season two, who did not want to give their name, said: 'I thought I might find my husband, I had no idea it was going to be a lot of emotional warfare.'

Danielle has also claimed that she did not feel supported after the show ended. She said: 'I literally begged for help, and I didnt get it. Like, I want to fix my marriage that youve thrust us into for profit. And it was nothing'

Mental health: Danielle said she had a panic attack during production while on honeymoon in Mexico and claimed that she hid in a closet to avoid having the experience appear on camera
Ian 'Dicko' Dickson was evicted from Wednesday night's episode of I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia.

The 60-year-old was sent home after receiving the least votes from the public.

After hosts Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown announced Dicko would be leaving the show, he told the other cast members: 'It's good, I've loved it and it's time to go. It's been really really special.'

He later told the hosts he is 'really grateful' for the experience and has made lifelong friends.

'I wasn't expecting the lessons I was going to get out of this experience and I really was not expecting to fall in love with strangers like I did. I feel really grateful,' he said.

Ian 'Dicko' Dickson was eliminated from I'm A Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here! Australia on Wednesday night

Dicko also revealed he believes Liz Ellis will win the reality show.

'I've got absolutely no doubt about it. As long as she gets to present her light every night,' he said.

'She's one of the single most impressive human beings I've had the pleasure of ever spending time with.'

Dicko's elimination comes after he revealed on Monday he was the one who handed Guy Sebastian his first royalty cheque - worth a whopping $1million.

The former Australian Idol judge, shared the story of the pop star's early success on I'm a Celebrity... Get Me Out of Here!

The eye-watering earnings came after Sebastian's debut album had raced up the Australian charts soon after it was released in December 2003.

After hosts Julia Morris and Dr Chris Brown announced Dicko would be leaving the show, he told the other cast members: 'It's good, I've loved it and it's time to go. It's been really really special'

At the time, the musician was only 21 years old and had just won Idol's first season, Dicko said, adding that his debut album, Just as I Am, was 'a massive success'.

He said it was the fastest selling album of all time in Australia, even beating John Farnham's Whispering Jack.

'We went out and took him for a bowl of pasta,' Dicko continued.

'And after the lunch we handed him an envelope. He said, 'What's this?' We said, 'It's your first royalty cheque for all the records you've sold.' And he took out the cheque and it said, 'Guy Sebastian, one million dollars.''

Dicko added: 'Never done it before and never done it since, but it was a special moment to give him.'
Katie Price is selling her 60,000 Hummer for a bargain price.

The news comes after she was pictured 'using an unregistered plate' two days after getting her licence back following a two-year driving ban.

Katie, 44, had been banned from driving following a booze and cocaine-fuelled car crash in September 2020, which came to an end earlier this month.

Photos of the Hummer have been now posted online on car trading site Auto Trader for a bargain price of 28,995 amid her 3.25M bankruptcy case.

The day before, pictures emerged of Katie behind the wheel of her Hummer appearing to use an unregistered licence plate - as she returned to driving following a two-year ban.

Moving on? Katie Price is selling her new 60k Hummer for a bargain price after she was pictured 'using an unregistered plate' - two days after getting her licence back

Time to sell: Photos of the Hummer have been now posted online on car trading site Auto Trader for a bargain price of 28,995 amid her 3.25M bankruptcy case

The former glamour model had been criticised for driving in rubber sliders which don't have backs.

Katie had been hit with a 16-week suspended jail sentence and barred from the roads in 2021 after admitting drink-driving while disqualified and without insurance, following a crash near her home in Sussex.

She had flipped her car on the B2135 near Horsham at about 6.20am on 28 September while driving to see a friend. Price immediately checked into The Priory following the arrest, and has completed her court-assigned rehab order.

Price was only allowed back onto the roads on Friday, and two days later she was seen driving her 15-foot black Hummer which was bearing the licence plate 'X 22 KP X' - details of which cannot be found in the Government's vehicle enquiry service database, suggesting it may be illegitimate.

The plate is also listed for sale, using different spacing between the letters - 'X22 KPX' - for 499 on the DVLA registrations Government website.

Price had been seen being collected in a black Hummer which was using a different registration plate two weeks earlier on April 3. The plate on the vehicle was first registered with the DVLA in November 2007 and is taxed with an up to date MOT.

A representative of Price has been contacted for comment.

Her sister Sophie told MailOnline: 'We love that the team at the MailOnline took the time to go on the Government's website to check Kate's number plate.'

Selling up: The car has been pictured on car trading site - Auto Trader

Drivers can be fined up to 1,000 and their vehicle will fail its MOT test if they drive with incorrectly displayed number plates.

The sentence for using an unaltered licence from another vehicle should be a fine consisting of '100% of relevant weekly income', according to government guidelines.

Using a forged or altered licence bought for one's own use could also result in a fine.

But vehicle licence or registration fraud is an either way offence which can lead to a prison sentence of two years, if tried on indictment.

The number plate cannot be found when searched in the Government's vehicle enquiry service database

The plate is also listed for sale using different spacing between the letters - 'X22 KPX' - on a number of websites, for as much as 499 on the DVLA registrations Government website

A person is guilty of an offence under the Vehicle Excise and Registration Act 1994 if he or she forges, fraudulently alters, fraudulently uses, fraudulently lends or fraudulently allows to be used by another person a registration mark, registration document, or a trade plate (including a replacement trade plate).

In December 2021 Price had issued a grovelling apology after avoiding jail for her drug and booze-fuelled car crash.

She said she was 'incredibly sorry' and was working hard to address her mental health issues.

She said: 'It's been a really difficult time and I'm incredibly sorry for my actions - I'm sincerely grateful nobody was hurt.'

The mother of five added: 'I'm spending time getting better - mental health is a hidden illness and can strike at any time.'

In 2021 she received a 16-week suspended jail sentence and the ban after she admitted drink-driving while disqualified and without insurance after a crash near her home in Sussex

In December 2021 Katie issued a grovelling apology after avoiding jail for her drug and booze-fuelled car crash

Campaigners were furious after she walked free from court at the time, despite crashing her Range Rover near her Sussex home that September during her fifth driving ban.

She told police at the scene: 'I took drugs. I should not be driving. I admit it all'.

But she escaped with a 16-week suspended sentence for drink-driving after going into rehab.

Katie crashed her BMW while double the drink-drive limit after leaving her home to allegedly hunt for drugs during an all-night alcohol and cocaine bender and was subsequently arrested before pleading guilty in court.

The model had no driving licence at the time after being disqualified for two years in October 2019 - and has been banned from the roads six times in total.

The three charges were using a motor vehicle on a public place without third party insurance; driving while unfit to drive through drink; and driving while disqualified. Katie had been taken to hospital but is not thought to have been badly injured.

The star is mother to Junior, 16, and Princess, 14, who she shares with Peter Andre, as well as Jett, eight, and Bunny, seven, with ex-husband Kieran Hayler and Harvey, 18, with Dwight Yorke.

Last week Katie dodged a court hearing for a fifth time to answer questions over her 3.2million debts.

She had been expected to appear in person at the bankruptcy court in London at noon today and was going to be asked to explain how she plans to pay off her creditors.

The hearing was still scheduled to go ahead a week before, but court officials revealed the case had been adjourned at the last minute and a new date has now been arranged for July.

The reality star who has been on two holidays in the last few weeks including a trip to Thailand in March - will be asked to lay bare just how much cash she makes when she finally faces the music.

She has avoided being grilled in person since November 2021 and today's planned hearing had been moved from February.
EastEnders star Michelle Collins has given fans an update after she was rushed to hospital earlier this week.

Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the actress, 60, reassured fans that she was doing 'very well' and had enjoyed a day of filming.

Posting the update with a series of snaps, Michelle could be seen frolicking in the countryside and beaming from ear to ear as she basked in the sun.

The soap star appeared in extremely good spirits as she lifted her arms in joy and jumped from the grass.

'Great day #filming in #Northam. I am very well ! #Thankyou. Great cast and crew,' Michelle said alongside the post.

Doing well: EastEnders star Michelle Collins has given fans an update on her health on Instagram on Wednesday after she was rushed to hospital earlier this week

The actress is currently filming for a romantic drama called Melodrive.

Michelle certainly worried fans when she revealed she was rushed to hospital on Monday.

Taking to Twitter, the actress admitted it had been a 'worrying time' but was quick to assure her fans that she was on the mend.

She revealed: 'Thank you @nhs @RoyalFreeNHS for seeing me this morning at 9 am ,been a Worrying time but hopefully now all ok . when it works the @NHSEngland is fantastic ! Don't destroy it. [sic]'

The following morning Michelle revealed she was feeling back to her best as she snapped a selfie ahead of working on a new project.

She kept the details brief, simply captioning the black and white snap: '#filming #hotel #swimmingpool #bitchilly #northdevon #firstday #britishfilm #indiefilm #melodrive #herewego'.

While Michelle didn't reveal the reason for her hospital dash she shared in October that she had undergone various tests at a walk-in clinic.

She shared: 'Thank you so much, under two hour wait and great staff, doctors, polite, well mannered.

Good spirits: Taking to Twitter on Wednesday, the actress, 60, reassured fans that she was doing 'very well' and had enjoyed a day of filming

Idyllic: 'Great day #filming in #Northam. I am very well ! #Thankyou. Great cast and crew,' Michelle said alongside the post

Busy: The actress is currently filming for a romantic drama called Melodrive

'Thank god we still have these to put less pressure on A&E, had tests and went away with antibiotics.'

After a fan expressed their concern and asked: 'Hope all is OK now?' Michelle replied: 'Yes, thanks. I'll be fine now, so nice of you to ask.'

MailOnline has contacted Michelle's representatives for comment.

As well as working on her new film, Michelle has been kept busy with a political project and last month delivered a petition to Downing Street asking for all primary school children to receive free school meals.

The actress, who hails from London, spoke out about her own experiences as a child as her mum had to work three jobs to pay for food so she would not have to line up for free dinners.

The capital's mayor Sadiq Khan recently unveiled a taxpayer-funded 130million plan to give all London primary schoolchildren free meals - and suggested the scheme should be copied nationwide.

The capital's mayor will fund meals for one year from September for up to 270,000 students, funded by business rates paid by firms, in a move he said would save families up to 440 per child.

Health scare: Michelle revealed she rushed to hospital on Monday (pictured on Good Morning Britain in March)

Worries: Taking to Twitter, the actress admitted it had been a 'worrying time' but was quick to assure her fans that she was on the mend

Looking good: The following morning Michelle revealed she was feeling back to her best as she snapped a selfie ahead of working on a new project

Touching on the very personal reasons she decided to back this scheme being rolled out across the UK, Michelle told Ben Shephard and Susanna Reid on Good Morning Britain that she has been an ambassador for children's charity Barnardos for years.

'I'm a mother, but I also remember when I was a kid and my mum was a single parent,' Michelle said. 'She didn't want us to have free school dinners because she felt it was humiliating for us.

'There were separate queues in those days, so she had three jobs and she really struggled. But I knew how some of my friends felt, who were in that queue. Now things are getting back to what it was years ago.

'At the moment there are free school meals up to the age of two and then you have to pay for it.

'Sadiq Khan has rolled out that London is going to do it for a year but what we want the Government to do is make it nationwide.'
Vogue Williams says she will miss Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo's second wedding ceremony in Seville after her manager inadvertently booked her to host a show on the same day.

Laing and Habboo originally exchanged vows at Chelsea Registry Office on Friday morning while Williams, husband Spencer Matthews and their children were on a planned holiday in Portugal.

They will hold a second service in the idyllic Spanish city of Seville on May 19, and Williams admits she's 'raging' because while Matthews will no doubt attend, she will once again miss out after not being invited to the first.

The couple discussed Laing's wedding and their absence from the Chelsea service during the latest instalment of their Spencer & Vogue podcast, during which they furiously denied snubbing his big day in favour of an overseas break.

Williams said: 'Sophie looked absolutely magnificent, we were absolutely thrilled for them, but we also did not know it was happening because we were not invited.

Missing out: Vogue Williams says she will miss Jamie Laing and Sophie Habboo's wedding ceremony in Seville after her manager booked her to host a show on the same day

I do: Laing and Habboo originally exchanged vows at Chelsea Registry Office on Friday morning while Williams, husband Spencer Matthews and their children were on holiday

'I'm raging because I can't actually go to the wedding, and it's not my fault. My manager messed up my schedule and I actually have a show on the day of Jamie's wedding.'

The couple said they returned from their overseas break to be confronted by an 'inbox full of messages' accusing them of 'snubbing' the service.

And Matthews insists he was 'p***ed off' to not receive an invite, as he would have 'flown to Japan' in order to attend.

He said: 'Long story short I didn't get the call up to the wedding, and about ten days ago I was with him recording [podcast] Sixty Degrees.

'I said is there anything I can do for this registry? Is there anything I can do for you given I'm a part of this wedding and I'm one of your best men?

Good times: Williams and Matthews and his family were abroad on the day of the wedding ceremony, and they have since clarified their reason for missing the service

Not happy: The couple said they returned from their overseas break to be confronted by an 'inbox full of messages' accusing them of 'snubbing' the service

'And he said no, this is a very small family thing and you don't have to do anything - there's nobody coming to it. It's tiny.'

Matthews says he took Laing at his word, but was astonished when he returned from Portugal to discover published pictures from the wedding featuring his best friend surrounded by numerous groomsmen.

Williams added: 'Jamie does have a lot going on, to be fair, and we're in no way having a go at Jamie or Sophie.

'We hope they had a great day and we do wish we were there, but I actually genuinely think they thought f**k it they're in Portugal, it doesn't matter.

'I'm just raging because I could've gone to one of them. Now I won't get to go to any of them.'
Elizabeth Olsen stood out from the crowd in a bright yellow midi dress with black buttons while arriving to the Today show in New York City on Tuesday.

While preparing to tape an episode of NBC's popular morning show, the actress, 34, radiated beauty as she flashed a bright smile at onlookers that crowded outside the GE Building in Rockefeller Center to catch a glimpse of her.

For the occasion, the Ingrid Goes West star sported a bright red lipstick, structured black blazer, matching high heels and her golden blonde tresses in loose waves.

During her interview, alongside costar Love and Death costar Jesse Plemons, the younger sibling of twin sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen discussed taking on the role of real-life axe murderer Candy Montgomery for HBO Max's true-crime series.

When asked how she got in the mindset of a 'cold' killer, Elizabeth said she used John Bloom book, Evidence of Love: A True Story of Passion and Death in the Suburbs as her 'main resource.'

Cheerful: Elizabeth Olsen stood out from the crowd in a bright yellow midi dress with black buttons on the sleeves while arriving to the Today show in New York City on Tuesday

Radiant: For the occasion, the Ingrid Goes West star sported a bright red lipstick, structured black blazer, matching high heels and her golden blonde tresses in loose waves

'It's the only interviews that the woman, Candy Montgomery, actually participated in after her trial,' she continued. 'So it is really the only source that I have that gives me an understanding of who she is and how she was raised.'

The performer, best known for her portrayal of Wanda Maximoff/ Scarlet Witch in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise, then hilariously quipped: 'I don't know, playing characters that make questionable decisions is something I actually enjoy!'

Plemons, who is married to actress Kirsten Dunst, reflected on the 'added pressure' of playing a real person, which he believes must be an 'unusual feeling.'

Elizabeth said working with the Emmy winner was 'great' and that they 'luckily' had a bit of rehearsal time, which she called a 'luxury' to 'really discuss' everything they needed to before shooting.

'We were kind of getting to know each other as actors and people while are characters were just beginning their affair', she joked.

When asked if viewers should expect to see more of her as the Scarlet Witch anytime soon, Elizabeth was careful with her response.

'It's a hard question for me to answer because I feel like more words are twisted every time I answer it,' she admitted.

She then stated that she 'hopes so' but 'I have no idea.'

Exciting: During her interview, alongside costar Love and Death costar Jesse Plemons , the younger sibling of twin sisters Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen discussed taking on the role of real-life axe murderer Candy Montgomery for HBO Max's true-crime series

'Playing characters that make questionable decisions is something I actually enjoy!' she raved of her latest role based on real-life axe murderer Candy Montgomery for HBO Max's true-crime series

'When I say that, it's not because I have a loaded answer...it's because I mean it on face value,' she insisted.

When asked if they had started shooting anytime, Elizabeth replied: 'Absolutely not!'

She also said she had not even seen a script and has 'no contract' on the next project yet.

Her show, Love and Death, which follows the true tale of Candy Montgomery, a Texas housewife who murdered her church friend Betty Gore with an axe in 1980, comes out April 27.

Despite overwhelming evidence against her, Montgomery was acquitted of the murder charges, with the jury believing she acted in self-defense.

Beloved role: When asked if viewers should expect to see more of her as the Scarlet Witch anytime soon, Elizabeth was careful with her response as she teased that she would love to reprise her character

The Texas Monthly articles, which debuted in 1984, would ultimately reveal that Montgomery was having an affair with Gore's husband before killing Betty with 41 blows from an axe.

The 1984 book Evidence of Love was previously adapted into the 1990 TV movie A Killing In a Small Town, which won Barbara Hershey both a Golden Globe and Emmy for playing Candy Morrison, based on Candy Montgomery.

'This is a gripping story about the frustrations and desires of two women in a small town that culminates in a terrible act of violence, said Sarah Aubrey, Head of Original Content, HBO Max, in a statement.

Just last year, Jessica Biel took on the role of Montgomery on Hulu's series, Candy.

Suits her! The Marvel star was also seen in a lime suit as she arrived to The Late Show With Stephen Colbert

Red-y or not! Olsen rocked a bright red jumpsuit and heels during another outing on Wednesday
Rachel Weisz was seen in New York City on Wednesday, just days after she dazzled while at the Cannes Film festival in France.

The 53-year-old actress looked elegant in a flirty pale blue and ivory floral print dress that came in at the waistline and had a hem with a ruffle.

The wife of 007 vet Daniel Craig added pointy white pumps and wore her hair down as she looked camera ready outside NBC studios.

The Oscar-winner has been promoting her new series Dead Ringers.

The six-episode miniseries is a gender-swapped adaptation of director David Cronenberg's 1988 psychological thriller of the same name, which starred Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists' operating a infertility clinic.

She never disappoints: Rachel Weisz was seen in New York City on Wednesday, just days after she dazzled while at the Cannes Film festival in France

Chic chick: The 53-year-old actress looked elegant in a dress that came in at the waistline and had a hem that ended on her calf. The wife of 007 vet Daniel Craig added pointy white pumps and wore her hair down as she looked camera ready outside NBC studios

It comes after the actress, who shares a daughter with husband Daniel Craig, revealed she was 'obsessed' with the original movie and that it was she who brought the idea of a female-led remake to Amazon.

Amazon first announced the project in August 2020, giving it a straight-to-series order, with production beginning in August 2021.

Set in New York, Weisz plays both Elliot and Beverly Mantle, twins who share everything: drugs, lovers and an unapologetic desire to do whatever it takes.

They team up to push the boundaries of medical ethics -in an effort to challenge antiquated practices and bring women's health care to the forefront.

The key to the plot is the relationship between them, she explained.

She said: 'Beverly is altruistic, thoughtful, careful, and kind. She wants to change the way women give birth.

'Elliot is very, very different. She's not altruistic and she's pushing the boundaries of what's ethical.'

She is adored: The Oscar-winner has been promoting her new series Dead Ringers

Dead sexy: The six-episode miniseries is a gender-swapped adaptation of director David Cronenberg's 1988 psychological thriller of the same name, which starred Jeremy Irons as twin gynecologists' operating a infertility clinic

Dark humor: 'It's quite deliciously mischievous at times. Emotional. Moving. And there is some humor, also  darkly, darkly humorous,' Weisz told the Hollywood Reporter

'It's quite deliciously mischievous at times. Emotional. Moving. And there is some humor, also  darkly, darkly humorous,' Weisz told the Hollywood Reporter.

With her telling the publication: 'It's a very intense relationship. They love each other very deeply, but I think they kind of feel everything about each other very deeply, and that takes us to more of a dangerous co-dependent place.'

The original David Cronenberg film was adapted from the 1977 novel Twins by Bari Wood and Jack Geasland, which was loosely based on the true story of twin gynecologists Stewart and Cyril Marcus.

They were both found dead in July 1975 in separate rooms of Cyril's Manhattan apartment at just 45 years of age, with Stewart dying of a barbiturate overdose and Cyril suspected of possibly taking his own life in a suicide pact after finding his brother dead.

On Saturday evening she was seen at Day Two of the Canneseries International Festival.

Fabulous: The Mummy star looked glamorous while at the Cannes Film Festival

The actress stunned in a plunging midnight blue gown with sparkling embellishments as she walked the pink carpet at the glitzy event.

Rachel's strapless gown clung to her figure, with the deep V-neck detail highlighting her decolletage.

The Mummy star boosted her height with towering black suede platform heels, while he allowed her dress to do the talking by ditching any further accessories.

She wore her raven locks in a loose style that cascade over her shoulders while her features were highlighted with a radiant palette of make-up.

Rachel looked in good spirits as she beamed for the cameras as she made her way down the carpet.

It comes after Rachel cut a stylish figure as she promoted her series Dead Ringers at the festival.
Lindsay Lohan and her husband Bader Shammas reunited with her entire family for the first time in at least seven years at the The Clocktower in New York City.

After traveling to the Big Apple to visit her loved ones ahead of the birth of her first child, the 36-year-old pregnant actress, who has lived in Dubai since 2014, enjoyed some quality time with her divorced parents, Dina and Michael Lohan, and siblings: Michael Jr., 35, Aliana, 29 and Cody, 26.

Lindsay's younger brother, Michael Jr., shared a photo from their dinner on Thursday, in which they could all be seen smiling inside the swanky Michelin-starred eatery in Madison Square Park.

'Family time with Mommy To Be,' he captioned his Instagram post. 'Let's get this straight! Lindsay and Bader asked ME to have dinner with THEM! I thought it would be great if we ALL got together to see her before she had the baby! SO, I invited the whole family!'

Under the slightly blurry image, Lohan commented three heart-eyes emojis.

All together! Lindsay Lohan and her husband Bader Shammas reunited with her entire family for the first time in seven years for dinner at the The Clocktower in New York City

In the snap, Lindsay could be seen sitting between her dad and younger sister while rocking a white blouse and trademark red tresses in loose curls.

A source told TMZ that she and her spouse are returning to Dubai ahead of her due date.

On Wednesday, she shared a photo of a white onesie with 'coming soon' written in the center.

'We are blessed and excited!' she gushed, after sharing a stunning mirror selfie while wearing a beige robe and some behind-the-scenes photos on set.

Other pictures showed her grabbing pizza at Rubirosa with Dakota and Aliana.

Lindsay reportedly 'loves being pregnant' and has been doing 'great' since revealing she is expecting, according to Us Weekly.

'She's the happiest when she's with her closest friends and family,' an insider told the outlet of Lohan.

They also revealed that Lohan had 'a mini baby shower' over the weekend.

Mom-to-be: After traveling to the Big Apple to visit her loved ones ahead of the birth of her first child, the pregnant actress, who has lived in Dubai since 2014, enjoyed some quality time with her divorced parents, Dina and Michael Lohan, and siblings: Michael Jr., 35, Aliana, 29 and Cody, 26

'We are blessed and excited!' she gushed, after sharing a stunning mirror selfie while wearing a beige robe and some behind-the-scenes photos on set

Enjoying every minute: Lindsay reportedly 'loves being pregnant' and has been doing 'great' since revealing she is expecting, according to Us Weekly

Yum! Other pictures showed her grabbing pizza at Rubirosa with Dakota and Aliana

'She is rarely in town for long, so friends and family wanted to celebrate. It was very private  just a handful of close friends and family having brunch in honor of Lindsay's pregnancy,' the insider stated.

Lohan will still most likely have a 'bigger more official baby shower' might take place in Dubai.

The actress and her husband initially began dating in 2018 and he first showed up on her Instagram account in 2020.

The performer was previously linked to figures such as Wilmer Valderrama and Samantha Ronson.

Lohan was also engaged to Egor Tarabasov, although they later split up and she went on to allege that he had abused her during their relationship.

She went on to start seeing Shammas, and the happy couple revealed their engagement to the public in 2021 before they tied the knot the following year.

'Oh baby!' Lindsay Lohan's friends and family members recently threw a baby shower for her over the weekend (seen above)

The performer subsequently announced her pregnancy through a post that was shared to her Instagram account on March 14.

Lohan's mother Dina previously spoke to People and stated: 'I'm literally over the moon. I'm so happy, I can't stop smiling...My oldest baby is having a baby.'

She added: 'It's so crazy. I'm in disbelief a little bit sometimes because you're like, "Well... it makes you older clearly!"'

The performer has not revealed her child's projected due date to the public as of yet, although sources told People that her baby would arrive this summer.
The fallout continues for Sydney influencer Emma Claiir after she sparked backlash for her bizarre remarks about killing a cat when she was a child.

The Instagram model, 28, drew widespread criticism and was dropped by makeup company MCoBeauty on Wednesday after she admitted to two incidents of historic animal cruelty on an episode of her podcast Simply Chaotic.

Now three more brands have cut ties with Claiir, including a vegan makeup company that promotes how it does not test its products on animals.

Lust Minerals confirmed in a lengthy Instagram post on Wednesday evening it would no longer be working with Claiir.

'We are deeply saddened by the events that have taken place regarding Emma Claiir. Lust Minerals does not condone any cruelty of any kind. We stand by our values - our products are cruelty-free and vegan-certified,' the statement read.

'As a company, we take matters like this very seriously and have therefore made the decision to end all activity with Emma Claiir. Our community is our number one priority.'

Fashion retailers Glassons and Princess Polly also distanced themselves from Claiir and said they would not be partnering with her in future campaigns, according to screenshots of DMs the brand sent to customers.

The screenshots, obtained by 'snark' account Influencer Updates AU, confirmed both labels had severed ties with Claiir as a result of her cat controversy.

Three more brands have cut ties with Sydney influencer Emma Claiir, 28, (pictured) after she laughed about killing two cats as a child on her podcast Simply Chaotic earlier this week

Claiir had shared the bizarre confession earlier this week on her podcast, after she was asked by her co-host Kristy Jean to tell a personal secret.

The mother of one left Jean stunned by admitting: 'I killed my cat.'

Chuckling awkwardly, Claiir continued: 'I didn't mean to... I was young, I was a child.

'I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it.'

After being dropped by makeup company MCoBeauty on Wednesday, three more brands have cut ties with Claiir, including a vegan makeup company that does not test products on animals

Claiir had shared the bizarre confession earlier this week on her podcast, after she was asked by her co-host Kristy Jean to tell a personal secret

Claiir clarified the animal died 'from the fright', rather than because of any injuries from being hurtled across the room.

After sharing a laugh with her co-host, Claiir added: 'I just want to say, I'm giggling about it now, but this happened years and years and years [ago].

'And, like, I was a f**king little child.'

Incredibly, Claiir went on to admit she 'also killed her best friend's cat' by accident.

'I was swinging my cat around. Like, I was thinking it was just a stuffed toy. And I accidentally let go of it,' she said of the incident when she killed her family cat

Claiir, who now owns a sausage dog named Douglas, has since received furious backlash online from her own fans.

As the controversy erupted, she was also dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning.

The company said: 'It has come to our attention that Emma Claiir recently relayed a story on her podcast discussing an incident of animal cruelty from her childhood.

'We were dismayed by this story, and will no longer be working with Emma in [the] future. Here at MCoBeauty, we take instances like this extremely seriously and do not condone animal cruelty of any kind.'

Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, saying it was a 'bit of light humour' and that her critics should stop being so sensitive.

As the controversy erupted, Claiir was dropped as an ambassador for makeup brand MCoBeauty on Wednesday morning

'To the people offended by my story in today's Simply Chaotic episode that I just shared... It happened 21 years ago. I was a small child... accidents happen and you all need to chill,' she wrote in an Instagram post.

'I hope that you are not the same person you were at nine years old (I could have been younger,' she added, before insisting she had been 'the best mother to multiple cats' since the accident.

Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir's alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry.

'What the? Not sure I would consider a conversation about killing two cats to be "a bit of light humour",' one follower commented.

Claiir initially doubled down on her podcast confession, telling her Instagram followers it was a 'bit of light humour' and that her critics should stop being so sensitive

'I wish I didn't listen to that that's not humour in the slightest. That's really traumatising,' another agreed.

Someone else added: 'I would've expected it as a two-year-old or below as accidental, but at nine?'

However, several users defended Claiir, with one writing: 'How are people offended by this? She made a mistake as a young child.'

The mother of one, now owns a sausage dog named Douglas (pictured), has since received furious backlash online from her own fans

'Pretty horrific, but kids are rough, and as a parent I could imagine a kid doing that,' another supporter wrote.

Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse.

'I am well aware that the story was not light humour and in fact very serious,' she wrote in a lengthy post.

Instagram 'snark' account Influencer Updates AU drew attention to Claiir's alarming remarks on Wednesday, prompting further outcry

'It was not intended to come across the way that it did as it was simply just a story from the past about an accident [when I was] a little kid, but I can see how it has come across like that,' she added.

Claiir said she had 'taken time to think about my actions' and concluded it was 'not something [she was] proud of', as the incident impacted her entire family.

She stressed she had definitely 'grown up' and had been a loving owner of 'multiple cats and dogs' as an adult.

'Again I deeply apologise for those affected by an accident that happened in the past and I hope we can leave it there,' she concluded.

Just hours after her post downplaying the backlash, Claiir issued a statement apologising for making a joke out of animal abuse
They said it would never last.

But Anthony LaPaglia and his much younger wife Alexandra Henkel proved the haters wrong last Wednesday as they attended a screening of the Aussie actor's new Netflix show Florida Man in Los Angeles.

The Without a Trace star, 64, held hands with Henkel - who at 33 years old is more than three decades his junior - as the couple posed for photos on the red carpet.

LaPaglia, who plays the eponymous protagonist's father Sonny Valentine in the limited series, kept things casual in a black zip-up hoodie and matching blazer.

He completed his laid-back look with black pants and monochrome sneakers.

Anthony LaPaglia and his wife Alexandra Henkel put on a united front at a screening of the Aussie actor's new Netflix series Florida Man in LA last Wednesday

The Without a Trace star, 64, held hands with his glamorous wife, who at 33 years old is more than three decades his junior, as they posed for photos on the red carpet

LaPaglia posed alongside the cast of the Netflix series, about a disgraced cop who is forced to return to his home state of Florida for a shady mission, only to get swept up in a treasure hunt

Henkel looked stylish in a floral-printed shirt dress, and styled her shoulder-length blonde hair loosely.

LaPaglia also posed for photos alongside his castmates, including Lex Scott Davis and Australian model-turned-actress Abby Lee.

The Frasier star married Henkel in an intimate ceremony in Hawaii in July 2018, a year after the couple got engaged in April 2017.

Announcing the news on social media at the time, the young bride wrote: '28.4.2018. The day I married the love of my life.'

LaPaglia was joined by Australian model-turned-actress Abby Lee, who also stars in the series

LaPaglia is seen here with his co-star Lex Scott Davis at the Florida Man screening

Clearly aware of the age gap in their relationship, Henkel singled out trolls in another Instagram post.

'They said it wouldn't last. Love you, bub,' she captioned a photo of the pair.

Before meeting Henkel, LaPaglia was married to My Big Fat Greek Wedding actress Gia Carides for 17 years.

They announced their split in March 2015, and divorced a year later.

The former couple share 20-year-old daughter Bridget.

The Frasier star married Henkel in an intimate ceremony in Hawaii in July 2018, a year after the couple got engaged in April 2017. (The couple is seen here in Melbourne on April 27, 2017)

During an interview with the Herald Sun in April 2016, LaPaglia said his divorce from Carides was nobody else's business.

'My attitude is that if I don't know someone - and it's no disrespect to anyone out there - then I don't care what their opinion is because they're not me, they're not in my life and they can have all the opinions they like - they don't know what went on,' he said.

'Outsiders are relatively unimportant to me, as long as the people involved know what went on.'
Kate Bosworth and her fiance, Justin Long, shared an affectionate embrace as they were spotted for the first time since confirming their engagement.

The Blue Crush actress, 40, initially sparked speculation that the Tusk actor, 44, had popped the big question when she flashed an eye-catching, diamond ring at the Vanity Fair Oscars party earlier last month in March.

Only a few weeks later, a source informed People that the two stars were engaged, and that the blonde beauty was on 'cloud nine.'

As the two lovebirds strolled hand-in-hand on the bustling streets of New York on Wednesday, Kate opted for stylish comfort and flashed her toned midriff wearing a plain, white cropped top.

The star additionally donned a pair of cream-colored, cargo pants along with white sneakers that were tightly secured with laces.

So cute! Kate Bosworth, 40, and her fiance, Justin Long, 44, shared a loving embrace and held hands as they enjoyed an outing in NYC on Wednesday for the first time since confirming their engagement

Loving embrace: The Blue Crush actress initially sparked speculation that the Tusk actor had popped the big question when she flashed an eye-catching, diamond ring at the Vanity Fair Oscars party earlier last month in March

The Immaculate Room actress layered her outfit with a dark blue, denim jacket that she opted to leave unbuttoned.

Her blonde locks were parted in the middle, and slicked back into a low up do that was secured with a large claw clip.

She easily slung a fashionable, black purse that contained a flashy gold chain to hold a few items she needed during the relaxing outing.

The beauty accessorized her look with a flashy gold choker and a silver-chained necklace that contained a circular pendant on the front.

Kate threw on a pair of black shades for a stylish flare and to protect her eyes from the bright sunshine.

Justin also kept his look simple and casual for the daytime stroll, and donned a pair of faded blue jeans along with a plain, white T-shirt.

He opted to wear a tan-colored button up that he left unfastened and tossed a black cap to partially cover his brunette locks.

The He's Just Not That Into You actor slipped into black and white sneakers, and similar to his fiancee, also added a pair of black sunglasses to complete his overall ensemble.

Stylishly casual: As the two lovebirds strolled hand-in-hand on the bustling streets of the Big Apple, Kate opted for stylish comfort and flashed her toned midriff wearing a plain, white cropped top

Fashion statement: The Immaculate Room actress layered her outfit with a dark blue, denim jacket that she opted to leave unbuttoned

Having a blast: The happy couple flashed cheerful smiles as they enjoyed quality time together during a relaxing stroll in the Big Apple

As they walked through the crowded city streets, the happy couple were seen flashing cheerful smiles as they strolled hand-in-hand and later paused to fall into a quick embrace while waiting at a crosswalk.

At one point, the actress's diamond engagement could be seen peaking through the long arm cuff of her denim jacket and sparkled under the warm sunshine.

Kate and Justin's engagement was confirmed late last month in March after the actress flashed a stunning diamond ring as they attended the 2023 Vanity Fair Oscars party together.

At the time, a source informed People that, 'Kate is just the happiest. Justin is an amazing guy,' and added, 'She can't wait to marry him. They are very cute together.'

The insider further expressed to the publication that, 'Kate has this amazing energy around Justin. She is just beaming.'

Later that same month, separate sources revealed to the outlet the two actors were indeed engaged, with one insider stating, 'Kate is just on cloud nine. She is showing off her engagement ring to friends. She is being coy about details, but she is beaming.'

'Everyone is happy for her. Justin is a great guy. He adores her. It's just amazing to see them together.'

In regards to the engagement ring, Chris Arakel of The Diamond Bank in Los Angeles recently informed DailyMail.com that the diamond itself is between five and seven carats.

Tying the knot! Late last month in March, separate sources revealed to People he two actors were indeed engaged, with one insider stating, 'Kate is just on cloud nine...'

Wow! In regards to the engagement ring, Chris Arakel of The Diamond Bank in Los Angeles recently informed DailyMail.com that the diamond itself is between five and seven carats

Flashing her ring: At one point, the actress's diamond engagement could be seen peaking through the long arm cuff of her denim jacket and sparkled under the warm sunshine

Arakel then explained that, 'The price could possibly be around $500,000.'

Earlier this month, both Kate and Justin opened up about their engagement and taking the next step during an episode of the actor's Life Is Short podcast.

'I did have a special thing planned around your birthday,' he had recalled when talking about the romantic proposal, per E! News.

He then stated that, 'about a month before that, lifelike we were talking aboutthings change, and sometimes they change pretty drastically without any warnings. It was a moment where it just felt so organic.'

'It felt connected to something very, very deeply, profoundly personal that we were going througha real life changeand so it came out in a very organic way.'

Kate also chimed in and explained that they had 'gone through this really hard thing' and went to a therapist who had given the advice of, 'Make sure that you're pretty consistently asking the other what you need, or asking the other what they need.'

The actress stated that not long after receiving the advice, 'I looked at Justin and I remember, I smiled at you, and I said, 'What do you need?' And he, like, really looked at me and he said, 'To spend my life with you.'

'And I smiled and I said, 'Well, yeah, you have that. Oh my gosh, you have that,' and he said, 'No, I mean I really want to spend my life with you.'

The big moment: Earlier this month, both Kate and Justin opened up about their engagement and taking the next step during an episode of the actor's Life Is Short podcast

Reflection: When talking about the proposal, Justin stated on his podcast, per E! News, 'It felt connected to something very, very deeply, profoundly personal that we were going througha real life changeand so it came out in a very organic way'

First met: The two stars first crossed paths back in 2021 while on the set of House Of Darkness, and later sparked romance rumors in March 2022

Kate later gushed on the podcast that, 'I thought it was the most romantic and honest and loving proposal.'

The Superman Returns actress had previously been married to Michael Polish from 2013 until their divorce was officially finalized in 2021.

Bosworth and Long first crossed paths in 2021 when they were on set of the film titled, House Of Darkness, and soon sparked romance rumors in March 2022.

The two lovebirds have shared special moments from their relationship on social media, and Kate herself confirmed the engagement on her main Instagram page the same day Justin's podcast episode was released on April 4.

'These things are funny to announce. How to do this right? Hes going the distance? Ive got a Blue Crush? Hes just THAT into me? Ive won a date with??? Ok you get it!' she penned in the caption.

'We thought it might be nice to share our joy in a conversation you all can listen to, on my future husbands @lifeisshortpodcast. So if you would like to be in the room with us (sort of!) & hear our story...'

'If life is short, find the one who brings you endless peace and radical wonder,' she sweetly concluded. '@justinlong I am so grateful its you.'
Painting Birds With Jim and Nancy Moir (Sky Arts) ***

Chimp Empire (Netflix) ****

Vic Reeves and Bob Mortimer rarely talk any more. The double act has broken up, so permanently that Vic no longer exists  the actor Jim Moir has ditched his comic alter ego.

What caused the split, they're not saying. As recently as 2019, they were still doing their relaunched Big Night Out on BBC4.

But now, Jim says he's turned down all offers for a reunion, and the pair don't even speak on the phone. Maybe it hasn't helped that Bob, always the sidekick in the duo, landed a hit series with Gone Fishing.

That would certainly explain the rationale behind Painting Birds With Jim And Nancy Moir (Sky Arts), which is really Gone Twitching.

Bird-watcher Jim travels the country with his wife of 20 years, former model and I'm A Celebrity contestant Nancy Sorrell. They go in search of unusual species to study and capture on canvas, starting with curlews on the Aln Estuary in Northumberland.

Bird-watcher Jim Moir travels the country with his wife of 20 years, former model and I'm A Celebrity contestant Nancy Sorrell

There are the makings of a feelgood format here, if Jim will only focus on the birds and stop ricocheting around

'It's Britain's biggest wading bird,' said Jim, like a gameshow host announcing tonight's star prize. Vic Reeves may be dead but he won't stay buried.

Painting Birds fails to achieve the bucolic bliss of Gone Fishing, because it refuses to relax. Sitting in a hide with an expert on waterfowl, Jim didn't even pretend to listen. Instead, he was peering around the box with his binoculars, only paying attention when the cameraman spotted a peregrine falcon.

He's happier when it's just him and Nancy. Driving across the causeway at low tide to the isle of Lindisfarne, he warned her they might have to spend the night there, cut off by the sea.

'We could get stranded there?' Nancy demanded. 'I haven't bought my pyjamas.' That drew a dirty chuckle from Jim.

If they had stayed longer, watching the seals and the eider ducks, the show might have been more satisfying. But it kept jumping around. One minute Jim was in his studio at home in Kent, pleading with Nancy for biscuits while he drew a curlew.

Then they were cutting out paper bird silhouettes at a museum in Berwick-upon-Tweed, or teaching actor Mark Benton which way round to hold a paintbrush.

Mark claimed he'd barely thought about art since leaving school, which is odd because we saw him drawing landscapes with pal Robson Green earlier this year, on BBC2's Weekend Escapes.

There are the makings of a feelgood format here, if Jim will only focus on the birds and stop ricocheting around. He also needs to get himself some waterproofs. A safari suit on the beach isn't very practical. Within ten minutes, his turn-ups were soggy.

The wildlife unit filming Chimp Empire (Netflix) had all the right kit. This dramatic study of the biggest chimpanzee troupe ever discovered, with more than 120 animals in the forest of Ngogo in Uganda, is shot in ultra-high definition, giving it the look of a Hollywood superhero movie.

Chimps swagger towards the camera in slow-mo, the picture so crisp and sharp that every bristling hair is visible. Drops of water fall and explode like glass balloons, and the butterflies seem as big as hang-gliders.

The close-ups in Chimp Empire are so vivid that you can almost feel the warmth of the animals' breath. Impressive, and not a little scary.

True Detective's Mahershala Ali supplies the narration, his voice deep and powerful enough to make the speakers buzz.

But he doesn't offer much information, and some segments feel overlong because we're not told enough about the behaviour we are watching.

All the same, the close-ups are so vivid that you can almost feel the warmth of the animals' breath. Impressive, and not a little scary.
Sienna Miller looked typically chic as she headed out and about in New York on Thursday.

The actress looked impeccably elegant in a grey blazer teamed with coordinating jeans as she went about her day.

Making the most of the spring sunshine, the British beauty flashed a hint of her toned stomach in her cropped t-shirt.

She completed her look with classic adidas sneakers and shades.

City chic: Sienna Miller looked typically chic as she headed out and about in New York on Thursday in the Spring sunshine

Always cool: The actress looked impeccably elegant in a grey blazer teamed with coordinating jeans as she went about her day

Sienna's NYC outing comes days after she and her siblings had an emotional reunion with their ailing father in the city.

The Hollywood star, 41, joined her sister, bridal wear designer Savannah, 44, in New York, where they huddled round their father, art dealer Edwin Miller, with his sons, Stephen and Charles, from a previous relationship.

Sharing the photo on Instagram, Savannah penned an emotional caption about the meeting.

'For the first time in six years, we're all together with our dad,' Sienna's sister wrote.

'A lot has changed in that time, with his declining health, but at the same time nothing at all.'

'Love feels the same, as deep and true as it ever did. We may be oceans apart but our love for each other and our papa transcends it all.'

The snaps showed the four siblings beaming as they surrounded their father, with Sienna seen holding his hand.

The sisters' mother is ex-model Jo Miller, who was married to Edwin until 1987. He went on to marry the interior designer Kelly Hoppen.

Looking fab: Making the most of the spring sunshine, the British beauty flashed a hint of her toned stomach in her cropped t-shirt
Ioan Gruffudd's girlfriend Bianca Wallace recalled having spinal surgery five years ago as she gives fans an MS update.

In January 2022, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with 'aggressive' multiple sclerosis three years prior.

Multiple sclerosis is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system that attacks the myelin sheaths protecting neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

Common symptoms include tiredness, vision problems and problems with walking or balance. Multiple sclerosis cannot be cured, but medicines and other treatments can help ease some of the symptoms

Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Bianca shared a series of snaps from her time in hospital when she underwent surgery.

Health update: Ioan Gruffudd's girlfriend Bianca Wallace recalled having spinal surgery five years ago as she gives fans an MS update

Tough: In January 2022, she revealed that she had been diagnosed with 'aggressive' multiple sclerosis three years prior

In a lengthy post, she wrote: 'I had no idea how many people werent aware of my spine issues after I shared the photo of my scar on my story!

'In July 2018 when the MRIs of my brain and spine came back it showed the brain and spine lesions (MS), but it also revealed issues in three of my discs (C4, C5, C6), with C5 having herniated into my spinal cord, where is was compressing the cord.

'Surgery was urgent as there was already permanent damage on my cord. My orthopaedic surgeon told me that I had a high chance of becoming paralysed from C5 down within a matter months if we didnt find it when we did. It was complete luck, and all thanks to the MS showing up when it did! Divine timing and something watching over me.'

She continued: 'I had one emergency and complications during the surgery. Firstly, I haemorrhaged, losing just under 2L of blood (thats a lot!). A laser machine had to be brought in to stop the haemorrhaging.

'After this, they found spinal stenosis and a bunch of osteophytes that had to be cut and ground out so the cage and screws could get in. You will see that I was stapled shut instead of stitches, this was so the surgeon could get back in as quickly as possible in case of an emergency. Thankfully healing went to plan.

'Its called degenerative disc disease and many people have it, mine just became a problem. As of now I cant turn my neck very far to the left as I lost that movement. I get stuck and achy in that area at times, especially when I am tired. The central bone has remained fused, but the bones at the sides are crumbly, did not fuse and the plate and screws have shifted.

'I was told that my best case scenario is that my next spine surgery will be 10 years from my first one. My worst case was surgery again within the year. It will be 5 years in August this year, so we are looking good!

Bianca signed off by saying: 'It is pretty unbelievable how much good has come because of the MS! It really makes you see everything happens for a reason, doesnt it?!'

Surgery: Taking to Instagram on Tuesday, Bianca shared a series of snaps from her time in hospital when she underwent surgery

In a lengthy post, she wrote: 'I had no idea how many people werent aware of my spine issues after I shared the photo of my scar on my story!'

Update: Bianca unveiled her 'droopy eye' and revealed she's had brain and spine MRIs in an MS update

Bianca previously unveiled her 'droopy left eye and cheek' and explained that she has had Botox to try and lift it.

Alongside three photographs of herself, the actress also revealed that she's had brain and spine MRIs after experiencing 'spasming, nerve pain and numbness' in an MS update.

Bianca wrote: 'Hi guys! An update. I came out of remission at the end of September after two entire months of total remission. So incredibly amazing!

'Before I went to Aus for work I started to have some old issues pop up. Nerve pain, rapid weight loss and blindness / vision disturbances.

'Unfortunately though, I also had new symptoms appear. My left pectoral/boob, the left side of my face and my in the heel of my left foot.

'Spasming, nerve pain, numbness across the side and top of my boob and face, and some really unusual sensations.

'The best way I can describe it is a painful, itchy, alive feeling. These symptoms, especially the ones in my pec/boob, have been the kind of pain and discomfort that become quite distracting.

'I had brain and spine MRIs yesterday to see what on earth is going on in there, as well as botox put in to help lift up my left eye and right cheek droop (I have added a pic of my eye in action.

'But as always, I choose to carry on with life. This disability and its dramas come along with me on my journey and in turn, working in Australia went well!.

'Once we know more I shall send out a little update. Maybe a video! Lots of love to you all.'

Last year, Ioan revealed that he is set to co-star in a new drama with his girlfriend Bianca, which will detail her experience with Multiple Sclerosis.

The actor announced that he had begun working on a project with his partner as he gushed on Instagram: 'I am so proud to be able to bring Bianca's extraordinary story to life.'

Bianca and Ioan both reshared a Deadline article which announced they would be working with director Jimmy Gadd on the drama, dubbed A Ray Of Sunshine.

Ioan said he was 'looking forward to sharing this', while Bianca said in response: 'Two truly incredibly humans telling my story!? If only B 3 threes ago could see this... I can't believe my luck. I love you [heart].'

New project: Earlier this year, Ioan revealed that he is set to co-star in a new drama with his girlfriend Bianca, which will detail her experience with Multiple Sclerosis

Delighted: The actor announced that he had begun working on a project with his partner in a gushing Instagram post

'Excited!' Sharing the post on her own page, Bianca wrote: 'Incredibly excited to share this with you all. Love to all'

Sharing the post on her own page, Bianca wrote: 'Incredibly excited to share this with you all. Love to all.'

Bianca has taken from her own experience of MS to write the script for the project, which will be co-directed by Ioan and Jimmy.

The story follows a chronically ill newly married young woman finds herself alone at rock bottom, struggling to come to terms with her life-altering diagnosis.

Ioan, who announced his relationship with Bianca in October 2021, told Deadline: 'Bianca's unique way of approaching such a sensitive and personal topic as Multiple Sclerosis, with such raw emotion and the perfect glimmer of humor, made me certain that there was something special ahead and I knew I wanted to be involved.'
She's gearing up to tie the knot with fiance Elliot Grainge imminently.

But on Wednesday, Sofia Richie and her partner Elliot enjoyed some down time in the South of France, putting wedding planning on hold.

Taking advantage of her stunning surroundings, the model, 24, enjoyed a day sunbathing by the pool.

She showed off her incredible figure in a blue polka dot bikini top, teamed with a white maxi skirt.

Sofia accessorised with a pair of stylish sunglasses and a white bow in her braided hair.

Loved-up: Sofia Richie and her partner Elliot enjoyed some down time in the South of France on Wednesday, putting wedding planning on hold

Wow! The model, 24, showed off her incredible figure in a blue polka dot bikini top, teamed with a white maxi skirt

Before leaving the poolside, Sofia covered up with a chic white top with gold button detail.

Meanwhile, Elliot donned a cream shirt and gave his fiance a hug while their pals took pictures of the pair.

Taking to Instagram, she gave her followers a glimpse at the festivities, posing up a storm in a tiny pink patterned bikini.

Sofia was joined by her lookalike mother, Diane Alexander, 56, who looked sensational in a plunging Missoni swimsuit.

Sofia was left in awe by her mother's incredible figure, sharing a snap of the former dancer that she captioned: 'K my mom wins.'

She also shared a snap of the pair together and remarked 'twin'.

Joining the mother-daughter duo on their pool day was Sofia's stylist Liat Baruch, who shared a snap planting a kiss on the model's head.

Not featured in the snaps was Elliot, who was no doubt spending time with his own loved ones while sorting out last minute bits for the wedding.

Sofia and Elliot got engaged in April last year after he proposed by candlelight at sunset.

She shared the good news on social media at the time with photos from the romantic proposal.

Showcasing her new diamond ring in a post, Sofia declared: 'Forever isnt long enough.'

Looking good: Sofia accessorised with a pair of stylish sunglasses and a white bow in her braided hair

Stylish: Before leaving the poolside, Sofia covered up with a chic white top with gold button detail

Sweet: Meanwhile, Elliot donned a cream shirt and gave his fiance a hug while their pals took pictures of the pair

Smitten: Sofia and Elliot got engaged in April last year after he proposed by candlelight at sunset

Relaxed: The group of pals soaked up the sun while chilling by the pool

All white: The bride-to-be looked gorgeous with her chic designer accessories

Fun in the sun: Sofia was seen playing with a child as she mingled with her loved ones in the sunshine

Big day ahead: The star looked relaxed and happy as she made the most of time with family

Stunning: The group relaxed in their beautiful surroundings in the South of France

The outdoor proposal went down at sunset with photos showing a shocked Sofia standing with her hands over her face as Elliot got down on one knee.

Elliot curated a romantic scene, placing himself and Sofia on a bed of white flower petals surrounded by dozens of cream coloured candles in glass vases.

Needless to say, the answer was yes. Sofia shared a snap from the big moment on social media followed by one of the pair sharing a kiss.

Sofia has now been with Elliot for two years after they were initially spotted in each other's company in 2021 before going Instagram official in March that year.

Earlier this month, Sofia announced she had converted to Judaism ahead of her wedding Elliot.

The Christian-born model said she has had 'one of the greatest experiences of my life' as she was welcomed into the Jewish community.

Sofia converted ahead of her upcoming nuptials to Elliot, who is Jewish.

Chanel: The blonde tied a designer bow into her locks for her chic day out

Checking up on things? Sofia was seen checking her phone in between relaxing

Stripping off: She made the most of the sizzling temperatures by stripping down to her bikini

Loved ones: The engaged couple had animated conversations with their loved ones

Happy: Sofia has looked the picture of happiness over the past few days as she counts down to the wedding

Taking to Instagram, she wrote: 'What a magical day. I want to thank cantor Nathan Lam for helping me along this journey of converting to Judaism.

'It has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. Today was that day!!!'

Sofia was raised as a Christian and spent two years at a Christian school, Oaks Christian.

She previously told Complex of her upbringing: ' I went there for two years, and that's where I got my sense.'

'My family wanted church to be a place where we all went together.

'My dad was always traveling and my mom was always working. School is where I did Bible classes and studied God.'

Elliot, meanwhile, is the son of Lucian Grainge, the chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group and had Take That play at his bar mitzvah.

He previously told the Jewish Boston : 'Take That played at my bar mitzvah!

Fun in the sun: Sofia shared bikini-clad snaps with lookalike mother Diane Alexander, 56, on Tuesday as she kicked off wedding celebrations in the South of France

Sweet: Joining the mother-daughter duo on their pool day was Sofia's stylist Liat Baruch, who shared a snap planting a kiss on the model's head

Cute couple: Sofia is gearing up to tie the knot with fiance Elliot Grainge. The couple got engaged in April last year after he proposed by candlelight at sunset

'They were No. 1 in the UK at the time. The party was great fun and gave me a real taste of how to create an exciting party.'

Previously, Sofia was in a high-profile relationship with reality television personality Scott Disick, whom she began seeing in 2017. The two have a 16-year age gap.

The pair remained together for nearly three years before they broke things off in May of 2020.

The former couple reconciled that July, although they went on to separate for a final time in August.
The decision on the Agniveer recruitment drive is likely to be delayed until May-June when the Nepali PM discusses the issue with PM Modi in India

Last week, I celebrated Nepals New Year in Pokhara covered in a perpetual haze obscuring the splendour of the iconic Machhapuchhre (Fishtail Mountain), which is also the presiding deity of the valley which was recently blessed with a Chinese-built international airport that threatens to become a white elephant. The Chinesebuilt Pokhara-Kathmandu road is being turned into a six-lane highway over five years till when dust kicked up by earthmovers and forest fires will keep Machhapuchhre shrouded.

In Kathmandu, the nineparty coalition is hampered in completing government formation by the single-largest but factionalised Nepali Congress party and three byelections due on April 23 to accommodate, among others, the defeated Janta Samajwadi Party stalwart, Upendra Yadav, in case he wins from Bara constituency.

Meanwhile, PM Pushpa Kamal Dahals (Prachanda) visit to India due this month is delayed till May for lack of a full Cabinet, especially Foreign Minister NCs NP Saud, who was sworn in on Sunday.

Always divided into camps, NC now has a hekhar KoiralaGagan Thapa faction demanding four Cabinet berths but has settled for three Ministers and one Minister of State. This will be the

eighth Cabinet expansion since December 26, 2022. Prachanda will start breathing normally once his Cabinet is formalised. He has won two votes of confidence and obtained a majority vote for NC chief Ram Chandra Paudel.

In a wobbly coalition, there are likely to be three PMs  Prachanda for two years, Madhav Nepal (Nepal Communist Socialist) for one year and Sher Bahadur Deuba (NC) for two years. There is no certainty about the longevity of this unorthodox power-sharing agreement. A new development could roil this arrangement. The tintinnabulating Rashtriya Swatantra Party whose charismatic and controversial leader Rabi Lamichhane, after settling his citizenship case, is hoping to reclaim his Chitwan seat following the dual citizenship fiasco. RSP is the fourth largest party but has lately been

embroiled in fraud and corruption. After the Lamichhane imbroglio, lawmaker Dhaka Kumar Shreshtha was allegedly caught on video demanding Rs 2mn for securing the Health Ministers portfolio for one Durga Prasai. Shreshtha was instantly sacked by Lamichhane for a clean image

RSP is engulfed in discontent due to Lamichhanes arbitrariness in appointing Shreshthas replacement as a lawmaker through a proportional representation system. Lamichhanes ambitions are

larger than his ego, his opponents say. Privately, he has been saying that if the leader of a party not recognised as national and with only 10 seats  Madhav Nepal  can be PM, why not RSP with 20 seats? The tantalising question is whether the Prachanda-Deuba coalition will take him or his party on board or can he, by joining Opposition KP Olis coalition, destabilise the government. That seems quite unlikely. A twist in the tale is the deep bonding between Lamichhane and Gagan Thapa, NCs rising star.

For Prachanda, Maoist excesses during the civil war along with his statement that he was ready to take moral responsibility for 5,000 conflict victims (out of 17,000 insurgency deaths), he says, has no

legal implications as it was a political statement with a focus on Truth and Reconciliation Commission. Haribol Gajurel, his chief advisor, has said the TRC Bill will hasten the conclusion of the peace process.

Ahead of Prachandas visit to New Delhi, Nepal, according to Kathmandu Post, has gifted India Lower Arun II to Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam. This is the third project on a single river awarded to India after the 900 MW Arun III and 695 MW Arun IV projects. Fiscal Nepalreported last September that Adani Group representatives had thrice met then Deuba government officials in Nepal Electricity Authority and wished to invest in the 10,000MW Karnali-Chisapani project and construct 400- 600 KV transmission lines.

Other projects awarded to India are West Seti Hydroelectric 750MW and SetiVI 669 MW. Nepal, at long last, has learnt a lesson from Bhutan on its liquid gold assets. In 15 years, Nepal has increased its power production from 600 MW to 2500 MW and, last year, earned $100 mn by exporting power to India in the wet season.

In my conversations with Indian Army Gorkha ex-servicemen, I learnt that on longdelayed Agniveer four-year recruitment, there are mixed feelings. A Gorkha veteran told me that Agniveers returning to Nepal will be branded as rejected when only 25 per cent are re-enlisted. Some are happy that these lads will return with Nepali Rs18 lakh and can start a business or go abroad. But many are unhappy there has been no recruitment for three years. The new Cabinet will likely be fairly ignorant about Agniveer. While the Foreign Affairs Parliamentary Committee will be formed later this month, the decision on Agniveer is likely to be delayed into May-June after Prachanda visits India. Gorkha Regiment Training Centres in India have so far trained a batch of IndianDomiciled Gorkha Agniveers. Another batch is under training and both exclude Nepali Domiciled Gorkhas. With only IDGs available for recruitment, the elite Gorkha Brigade of the Indian Army will be missing its Nepali brethren. PM Prachanda will urge Modi not to leave Nepal with an unsavoury option on Agniveer.



(The writer, a retired Lt Gen, was Commander, IPKF South, and founder member of the Defence Planning Staff, currently the Integrated Defence Staff. The views expressed are personal)
Two infants were in a critical condition Tuesday after a group of men set fire to the home of a minor Dalit girl, whom two of them had allegedly raped last year.

The injured babies include the rape victim's six-month-old child  born after the 11-year-old was impregnated in the sexual assault  and her two-month-old sister, police said.

The two rape accused, recently released on bail, allegedly barged into the family's thatched shed Monday evening with five others, after the victim refused to withdraw the case.

They beat up her mother and then set the shed on fire.

According to chief medical superintendent Sushil Srivastava, the rape victim's infant son suffered 35 per cent burns and her sister 45 per cent burns in the incident.

"As their condition worsened, both the kids were sent to Kanpur for better treatment," he said.

Santosh Singh, Circle Officer, Purva said the rape victim's father was attacked with an axe by her grandfather and uncle, who had sided with the accused, and four other people on April 13 according to a complaint filed by her mother.

The father is admitted at the district hospital with serious injuries, he said.

Police said the Dalit girl was gang-raped on February 13, 2022. She gave birth to a son in September that year.

The victim's mother also alleged that their house was set on fire to eliminate her daughter's infant son.


In latest development in UP, reports have surfaced that gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad had written a letter two weeks before his murder, with instructions to send it to the Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister and the Chief Justice of India in case of his death. The letter is being dispatched to the CM and the CJI, Atiqs lawyer said on Tuesday.

That letter in a sealed envelope is neither with me nor sent by me. It is kept somewhere else and being sent by some other person. I dont know the contents of the letter, gangster-politicians lawyer Vijay Mishra said.

Meanwhile, a senior Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force (STF) official on Tuesday said police will seek remand of the three assailants who shot dead Atiq and his brother Ashraf, and added all the questions regarding the killing will be answered.

In a related development, the Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on April 24 a plea seeking an independent probe into the killing of Atiq and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj.

Atiq (60) and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting the two brothers to a hospital in Prayagraj for a check-up.



Atiq had said that if there was any mishap or if he was murdered, the letter in the sealed envelope should be sent to the chief justice of India and Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Mishra told PTI.

The brothers, both jailed in Prayagraj, were in handcuffs when they were killed in full view of camera crews. They were brought to Prayagraj from Gujarat and Bareilly prisons for interrogation in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal and his two police security guards in February this year.

Atiq had moved the Supreme Court for protection, claiming that he and his family have been falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal murder case and he might be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
At least five Australian universities have placed bans

or restrictions on students from some Indian States, amid a surge in fraudulent applications from South Asia seeking to work  not study  in this country, according to a media report.

Australia is on track for its biggest-ever annual intake of Indian students, topping 2019s high watermark of 75,000.

But the current surge has prompted concerns from lawmakers and the education sector about the integrity of Australias immigration system and the long-term impact on the nations lucrative international education market, The Sydney Morning Herald newspaper reported on Tuesday.

The volume of students arriving has come back a lot stronger than anyone was expecting, said Jon Chew from global education firm Navitas. We knew there would be a lot of pent-up demand, but there has also been a surge in non-genuine students, Chew was quoted as saying.



With many applications deemed by universities not to meet Australian visa requirements that they are a genuine temporary entrant coming solely for education, universities are putting restrictions in place to pre-empt their risk rating being downgraded, the report said. An investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald newspapers has obtained emails from within Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and agents working for Southern Cross University that show the crackdown on applications from Indian students.



Those universities that have restricted access to some Indian states are concerned Home Affairs will reduce their ability to fast-track student visas because of the number of applicants who are actually seeking to work - not study - in Australia. Perths Edith Cowan University in February placed an outright ban on applicants from the Indian states of Punjab and Haryana, then in March, Victoria University increased restrictions on student applications from eight Indian states, including Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat.

These restrictions came just days after Prime Minister Anthony Albanese visited India, in part to celebrate Australias education links and announce a new agreement with Australias universities and colleges that would, he said, herald the most comprehensive and ambitious arrangement agreed to by India with any country. Crucially, the agreement included a mutual recognition of qualifications between Australia and India, which will make travelling to either country for university study easier.

The University of Wollongong in March also ratcheted up conditions on its genuine temporary entrant test on students from India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Lebanon, Mongolia, Nigeria and other countries deemed a risk (of students not being a genuine temporary entrant) by the Department of Home Affairs
Scotching speculation that he along with his loyal MLAs in the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) is set to join the BJP, Leader of the Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said he would work for his party NCP till he is alive

There is no truth in reports about any rift in the NCP and my joining hands with the BJP. We (party MLAs) are all with the NCP. I will work for the NCP till I live, said Ajit

He dismissed reports that he had taken the signatures of 40 of 53 MLAs of NCP amid a buzz about his rumoured alliance with the BJP

Ajit said such unfounded reports hurt party workers and create confusion among them.

Responding to a query, Pawar said no signatures of (NCP) MLAs were taken. We are working as a family and will continue to do that, he added.

Rumours about Ajit Pawars next political move started doing rounds last week when he suddenly cancelled his scheduled meetings and also made comments which were seen as being soft on the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shindes camp

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday added grist to the rumour mill claiming Sharad Pawar recently told Uddhav Thackeray that his party will never join hands with the BJP even if anyone takes an individual decision to do so.

Ajit Pawar slammed Raut without taking the latters name on Tuesday and said spokespersons of other parties are behaving like spokespersons of NCP.

The NCP leader said he would raise this issue whenever there is a party meeting.

No one knows who has given them this right. You speak about the party of which you are a spokesperson. You speak about your partys mouthpiece. We are very capable of making our stand clear.

There is no reason to take our brief. They can put forth respective (partys) views. Our partys spokespersons, leaders at the state, as well as the national level, are capable of explaining the partys stand, he added.

When Maharashtra was under Presidents rule after the results of the 2019 Assembly polls were out and Shiv Sena (undivided) severed ties with ally BJP, Ajit Pawar secretly joined hands with Devendra Fadnavis and a government was formed with Fadnavis as the chief minister and the NCP leader as his deputy. However, that government lasted for just 80 hours after Ajit Pawar resigned.
The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has attached four properties (three movable and one immovable property located at Coorg district, Karnataka) valued at 11.04 crore belonging to Congress MP and son of former Union Minister P Chidambaram, and others in the INX Media Pvt Ltd case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

PMLA proceedings were initiated against Karti Chidambaram, Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd (ASCPL), and others by the ED by recording an enforcement case information report (ECIR)

(equivalent to FIR in police parlance) on the basis of an FIR registered by the CBI for commission of offences punishable under various sections of the IPC and Prevention of Corruption Act.

During the investigation conducted by the ED, it is revealed that illegal gratification (proceeds of crime) was received directly and indirectly from M/s INX Media Pvt Ltd, to which accused P Chidambaram had granted FIPB approval, through several shell companies controlled / beneficially owned / used by another accused Karti P Chidambaram, the ED said.

Illegal gratification was received in the company of the accused in the name of providing consultancy by the entities from INX Media.

The total proceeds of crime laundered over a period of time is 65.88 crore, the agency said. The money was routed to overseas accounts and investment was made in various overseas properties and shares of companies through various shell companies directly or indirectly controlled by Karti P Chidambaram and through his confidants, it said
A multi-agency investigation has led to the arrest of 17 people  including mafia members wanted in India  mostly members of the local Sikh community, in connection with 11 shootings, including one at a gurdwara in Sacramento, and have seized assault weapons in a series of raids carried out over 20 places, authorities have announced.

Law enforcement officials in Northern California on Monday said members of these groups were allegedly involved in a mass shooting at a Stockton Sikh temple where five men were shot outside the Gurdwara on August 27, 2022, and a shooting at a Sacramento

Sikh temple on March 23, 2023, where two men were

shot.

The 17 felony arrests, primarily members of the local Sikh community, were made during a large-scale operation with agents executing search warrants at 20 locations in Northern California on Sunday, according to an announcement made by California Attorney General Rob Bonta, Yuba City Police Chief Brian Baker, and Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre. Police seized 42 guns, such as AK-47s, handguns, and at least one machine gun, Dupre said.

At a news conference, Dupre said, two of the people arrested are mafia members who are wanted on a number of murders in India. The arrested members, said California Attorney General, are part of rival criminal syndicates alleged to be responsible for numerous violent crimes and shootings, including five attempted murders, in Sutter, Sacramento, San Joaquin, Solano, Yolo, and Merced counties.

Throughout the investigation, known as Operation Broken Sword, 41 firearms were confiscated from suspects. A press release said that law enforcement was able to prevent two additional shootings from occurring.

Today, California is safer thanks to collaboration, determination, and swift action by DOJ agents and our law enforcement partners in Sutter County, said California Attorney General Rob Bonta. He said there is more to be done to prevent gun violence.



The CM was addressing a programme here which was organised to sign a memorandum of understanding with the Centre for the establishment of textile parks in Lucknow and Hardoi districts spread over an area of 1,000 acre. The MoU was signed under the PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM Mitra) scheme. Union Textiles Minister Piyush Goyal was also present at the event.

Yogi also said Uttar Pradesh today has the most favourable environment to set up enterprises, asserting that the government is capable of safeguarding the interests and the capital of the investors, according to an official statement.

Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for choosing UP under the Centres ambitious PM Mitra scheme, Yogi said, This move is a step towards re-establishing the UPs ancient glory and towards making the state the new textile hub of the country.

As a result of the efforts in the last six years, the state received investment proposals worth over Rs 35 lakh crore and Team UP is moving forward with these programmes in a time-bound manner to bring

an investment of up to Rs 10 lakh crore on the ground, he said.

He also said that UP has its own policy for textiles and garments, and the government is making every effort to take the state forward in terms of ease of doing business.
New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) will probe the case of protests and attempt to vandalise the Indian High Commission in London last month. The NIA will take over the case from the special cell of the Delhi Police.

A group of pro-Khalistani protesters shattered windows at the London mission and pulled down the national flag during protests on March 19, a day after crackdown against radical preacher Amritpal Singh in Punjab.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Gujarat Government over the remission granted to the 11

convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, saying the gravity of the offence should have been considered and asked whether there was any application of mind.

The apex courts displeasure came after the Centre and

Gujarat Governments reluctance to share the file notings of the remission and Governments move to seek review of the earlier orders seeking file notings.

The court also warned that Governments will face contempt of court.

Asking for reasons for the premature release of the convicts, a bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna also questioned the paroles granted to them during their incarceration period. It (remission) is a kind of grace which should be proportional to crime. Look at the records, one of them was granted parole

for 1,000 days that is three years, the other 1,200 days

and the third for 1,500 days. What policy have you (Gujarat Government) been following? It is not a simple case of Section 302 (murder) but a case of murders compounded by gangrape. Like you cannot compare

apples with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with single murder.

Hearing a plea challenging the release of the convicts, the court said although there was consultation with the Centre for grant of remission, the State is required to apply its mind, looking at the gravity of the offence.

The Centre and the Gujarat Government also told the court they may file a plea seeking a review of its March 27 order asking them to be ready with original files on the grant of remission.

Senior advocate AM Singhvi, appearing for one of

the PIL petitioners, said the records show that when the

convicts were released on bail, they had issued threats to witnesses and were involved in other crimes.

Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bilkis, said no

new records have been filed in the petition and it is just the challenge to the remission granted to the convicts.



The bench told Additional Solicitor General SV Raju, appearing for the Centre and the Gujarat Government, Here a pregnant woman, who was gang-raped and several members of her family were killed. Crimes are generally committed against society and the community. Unequals cannot

be treated equally.

The real question is whether the Government applied its mind and what material formed the basis of its decision to grant remission in the facts and circumstances of the case, the bench said, adding, Today it is this lady (Bilkis) but tomorrow it can be anyone. It may be you or me. If you do not show your reasons for grant of remission, then we will draw our own conclusions.



The bench told Raju that non-production of original files will be construed as contempt and asked him why the State Government was shying away from producing the files. Justice Joseph said the court is actually concerned with the exercise of power by the State in the present case and referred to a 2006 two-judge verdict of the apex court in the case of Epuru Sudhakar versus Government of Andhra Pradesh, in which the remission order was set aside as the ground was that the convict was a good Congress worker
A helicopter raid by US forces in northern Syria early on Monday resulted in the probable death of a senior leader of the militant Islamic State group, the US military said.

The US Central Command said in a statement that the IS leader, who was not named, was responsible for planning terror attacks in the Middle East and Europe. Two other armed individuals were killed along with the target of the raid, CENTCOM said. The statement said no civilians or US troops were hurt in the operation.

Syrias White Helmets, a civil defense group operating in opposition-held areas of northern Syria, said it transported two people wounded during the raid to a local hospital, which later said they had died. A third person was killed when the US forces landed for the raid, the White Helmets said.

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, which partners with the US in anti-IS operations in northeast Syria, said that the operation was launched from a base near the town of Kobani and targeted a military site belonging to a Turkish-backed armed opposition group, Suqour al-Shamal, in the village of village of Suwayda in the region of Jarablus, near the Turkish border.
American Green, Inc. (OTCMKTS:ERBB  Get Rating) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 472,800 shares, a growth of 72.4% from the March 15th total of 274,300 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 26,505,900 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.0 days.

American Green Price Performance

OTCMKTS ERBB remained flat at $0.00 on Tuesday. 7,926,785 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 12,123,438. 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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Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP  Get Rating) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a hold rating to a buy rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE:FDP traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $29.60. 141,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 181,787. The firms fifty day moving average is $30.04 and its 200-day moving average is $27.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.44 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 0.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 12-month low of $22.63 and a 12-month high of $32.49.

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Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.05) by $0.50. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 4.97% and a net margin of 2.22%. The firm had revenue of $1.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) earnings per share. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Transactions at Fresh Del Monte Produce

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

In other news, SVP Hans Sauter sold 1,499 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.76, for a total value of $46,109.24. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink . In related news, VP Sergio Mancilla sold 1,485 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.20, for a total transaction of $44,847.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,053.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink . Also, SVP Hans Sauter sold 1,499 shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.76, for a total transaction of $46,109.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,677 shares of company stock valued at $112,788. Company insiders own 36.96% of the companys stock.

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 2nd quarter worth about $32,000. Clear Street Markets LLC purchased a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the third quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Federated Hermes Inc. purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 247.3% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,813 shares of the companys stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 64.82% of the companys stock.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

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Fresh Del Monte Produce, Inc engages in production and distribution of fresh fruit and vegetable products. It operates through the following segments: Fresh and Value-added products, Bananas, and Other Products and Services. The Fresh and Value-added products segment includes sales of pineapples, melons, non-tropical fruit (including grapes, apples, citrus, blueberries, strawberries, pears, peaches, plums, nectarines, cherries, and kiwis), other fruit and vegetables, avocados, fresh-cut fruit and vegetables, prepared fruit and vegetables, juices, other beverages, and prepared meals and snacks.

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MTY Food Group Inc. (TSE:MTY  Get Rating)  Equities research analysts at Raymond James decreased their FY2023 earnings estimates for MTY Food Group in a research note issued on Wednesday, April 12th. Raymond James analyst M. Glen now forecasts that the company will post earnings per share of $3.48 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $4.10. Raymond James currently has a Market Perform rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for MTY Food Groups current full-year earnings is $3.82 per share. Raymond James also issued estimates for MTY Food Groups FY2024 earnings at $4.25 EPS.

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Several other brokerages have also recently commented on MTY. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of MTY Food Group from C$66.00 to C$75.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of MTY Food Group from C$73.00 to C$69.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. TD Securities upped their target price on shares of MTY Food Group from C$65.00 to C$67.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of MTY Food Group from C$59.00 to C$69.00 and gave the company a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, National Bankshares upped their target price on shares of MTY Food Group from C$72.00 to C$74.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of C$70.00.

MTY Food Group Stock Performance

MTY Food Group Announces Dividend

Shares of MTY Food Group stock opened at C$60.76 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of C$1.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 1.87. The firms 50-day moving average is C$63.84 and its 200 day moving average is C$60.97. MTY Food Group has a 1 year low of C$45.20 and a 1 year high of C$73.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 148.46, a current ratio of 0.61 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 3rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 2nd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. MTY Food Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.68%.

MTY Food Group Company Profile

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MTY Food Group Inc franchises and operates quick-service, fast-casual, and casual dining restaurants in Canada, the United States, and internationally. The company also sells retail products under a multitude of banners. As of November 30, 2021, the company had 6,719 locations comprising 6,603 franchised, 23 joint ventures, and 93 corporate locations.

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Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OTCMKTS:OROVF  Get Rating) saw a significant decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 932,700 shares, a decrease of 26.6% from the March 15th total of 1,269,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 200 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4,663.5 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, HSBC raised Orient Overseas (International) from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, March 23rd.

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Orient Overseas (International) Price Performance

Shares of OTCMKTS:OROVF remained flat at $18.61 during trading on Tuesday. Orient Overseas has a one year low of $14.37 and a one year high of $36.59. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $17.42 and a 200 day moving average of $17.21.

Orient Overseas (International) Company Profile

Orient Overseas (International) Limited, an investment holding company, provides container transport and logistics services in Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and internationally. The company offers supply-chain management and distribution services; and containerised shipping services in various trade lanes comprising Trans-Pacific, Trans-Atlantic, Asia/Europe, Asia/Australia, and Intra-Asia trades.

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Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU  Get Rating) announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Monday, April 17th, RTT News reports. The company plans to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the coal producer to purchase up to 26.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the companys board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. B. Riley upped their price objective on Peabody Energy from $37.00 to $39.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $34.75.

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Peabody Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE BTU traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $26.15. The companys stock had a trading volume of 3,661,281 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,220,295. The company has a current ratio of 2.58, a quick ratio of 2.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The businesss 50 day moving average is $25.85 and its two-hundred day moving average is $26.96. Peabody Energy has a 12-month low of $17.42 and a 12-month high of $32.89. The firm has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 1.02.

Insider Buying and Selling

Peabody Energy ( NYSE:BTU Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 14th. The coal producer reported $3.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.82 by $2.10. Peabody Energy had a return on equity of 53.25% and a net margin of 26.04%. The company had revenue of $1.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 earnings per share. Peabody Energys revenue was up 30.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Peabody Energy will post 6.77 EPS for the current year.

In other Peabody Energy news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 11,573 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total transaction of $299,509.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 62,930 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,628,628.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Scott T. Jarboe sold 11,573 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.88, for a total value of $299,509.24. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 62,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,628,628.40. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Elliott Investment Management sold 1,445,985 shares of Peabody Energy stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $29.92, for a total value of $43,263,871.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 21,579,015 shares in the company, valued at $645,644,128.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 1,735,924 shares of company stock valued at $51,415,878 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Peabody Energy Company Profile

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Peabody Energy Corp. engages in the business of coal mining. It operates through the following business segments: Powder River Basin, Midwestern U.S., Western U.S., Seaborne Metallurgical, Seaborne Thermal Mining and Corporate and Other. The Powder River Basin Mining segment consists of its mines in Wyoming.

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PHX Energy Services Corp. (OTCMKTS:PHXHF  Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 7,700 shares, an increase of 35.1% from the March 15th total of 5,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days.

PHX Energy Services Stock Performance

Shares of PHX Energy Services stock traded down $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $5.19. The stock had a trading volume of 265 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,090. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $5.38 and a two-hundred day moving average of $5.55. PHX Energy Services has a 12-month low of $3.30 and a 12-month high of $6.70.

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PHX Energy Services Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.1097 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 9.05%. PHX Energy Servicess payout ratio is currently 62.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PHX Energy Services Company Profile

Separately, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of PHX Energy Services from C$12.00 to C$11.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st.

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PHX Energy Services Corp. engages in the provision of horizontal and directional technology and drilling services. The firm also offers electronic drilling recorder technology and services. It operates through the following geographical segments: Canada, United States, and International. The company was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Calgary, Canada.

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Spotify Technology (NYSE:SPOT  Get Rating) had its target price hoisted by Truist Financial from $132.00 to $154.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, The Fly reports. Truist Financials target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.44% from the companys previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on SPOT. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Spotify Technology from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their target price for the company from $121.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Monday, February 6th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Spotify Technology from $142.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Pivotal Research lifted their price target on Spotify Technology from $100.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 1st. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Spotify Technology from $87.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on Spotify Technology from $100.00 to $105.00 in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $135.67.

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Spotify Technology Trading Up 0.6 %

Spotify Technology stock traded up $0.79 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $134.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,023,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,864,734. Spotify Technology has a 12-month low of $69.29 and a 12-month high of $138.74. The companys fifty day moving average is $126.85 and its 200-day moving average is $100.22. The company has a market capitalization of $26.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.55 and a beta of 1.76.

Institutional Trading of Spotify Technology

Spotify Technology ( NYSE:SPOT Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The company reported ($1.43) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($1.28) by ($0.15). The business had revenue of $3.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.26 billion. Spotify Technology had a negative return on equity of 17.78% and a negative net margin of 3.48%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Spotify Technology will post -2.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in SPOT. Baillie Gifford & Co. increased its position in Spotify Technology by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 27,964,517 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,413,338,000 after acquiring an additional 1,764,880 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its stake in Spotify Technology by 20.2% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,214,562 shares of the companys stock valued at $363,717,000 after purchasing an additional 707,653 shares in the last quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt boosted its stake in Spotify Technology by 29.3% during the 4th quarter. Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt now owns 3,925,600 shares of the companys stock valued at $309,848,000 after purchasing an additional 890,000 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Spotify Technology by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,733,909 shares of the companys stock valued at $215,843,000 after purchasing an additional 10,302 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in Spotify Technology by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,990,976 shares of the companys stock valued at $171,821,000 after purchasing an additional 95,510 shares in the last quarter. 52.80% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Spotify Technology

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Spotify Technology SA is a digital music service offering music fans instant access to a world of music. It operates through the Premium and Ad-Supported segments. The Premium segment provides subscribers with unlimited online and offline high-quality streaming access of music and podcasts on computers, tablets, and mobile devices.

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The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating)  Investment analysts at William Blair decreased their Q1 2023 earnings estimates for shares of Charles Schwab in a report issued on Friday, April 14th. William Blair analyst J. Schmitt now forecasts that the financial services provider will earn $0.87 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $0.93. William Blair has a Outperform rating on the stock. The consensus estimate for Charles Schwabs current full-year earnings is $3.80 per share. William Blair also issued estimates for Charles Schwabs Q2 2023 earnings at $0.89 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $0.90 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $0.99 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $1.03 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $1.13 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $1.20 EPS and Q4 2024 earnings at $1.29 EPS.

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Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $72.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Charles Schwab from $53.00 to $51.00 in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $86.00 to $85.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $89.00 to $65.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $69.21.

Charles Schwab Stock Up 2.3 %

NYSE:SCHW opened at $54.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. Charles Schwab has a 12-month low of $45.00 and a 12-month high of $86.63. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $64.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $73.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $96.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.90 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $5.13 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 24.94%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 10th were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.85%. This is a positive change from Charles Schwabs previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. Charles Schwabs payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Charles Schwab

In other news, President Richard A. Wurster bought 2,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $54.39 per share, with a total value of $108,780.00. Following the transaction, the president now owns 101,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,514,656.49. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, President Richard A. Wurster bought 2,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 17th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $54.39 per share, with a total value of $108,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 101,391 shares in the company, valued at $5,514,656.49. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mark A. Goldfarb purchased 4,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $58.37 per share, for a total transaction of $233,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,017 shares in the company, valued at $1,576,982.29. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,706,960 and sold 676,962 shares valued at $53,960,539. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in shares of Charles Schwab in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Selway Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter worth about $29,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Charles Schwab by 54.8% in the 1st quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 565 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in Charles Schwab in the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. 73.49% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Charles Schwab

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The Charles Schwab Corp. is a savings and loan holding company, which engages in the provision of wealth management, securities brokerage, banking, asset management, custody, and financial advisory services. It operates through the Investor Services and Advisor Services segments. The Investor Services segment includes retail brokerage and banking services to individual investors, and retirement plan services, as well as other corporate brokerage services, to businesses and their employees.

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Shares of Agricultural Bank of China Limited (OTCMKTS:ACGBY  Get Rating) hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The stock traded as high as $9.70 and last traded at $9.68, with a volume of 8758 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $9.55.

Agricultural Bank of China Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.18, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $9.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.70 and a beta of 0.25.

Agricultural Bank of China Company Profile

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Agricultural Bank of China Limited provides corporate and retail banking products and services. The company operates through Corporate Banking, Personal Banking, and Treasury Operations segments. It offers demand, personal call, foreign currency time, foreign currency call, time or demand optional, foreign exchange demand, foreign exchange call, foreign exchange time, certificates of deposit, savings, agreed-term, and negotiated deposits; and loans comprise housing, consumer, business, fixed asset, working capital, real estate, and entrusted syndicated loans, as well as trade finances, guarantees and commitments, and loans with custody of export rebates accounts.

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Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) by 23.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,217 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after acquiring an additional 5,532 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLCs holdings in Bristol-Myers Squibb were worth $2,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Boston Financial Mangement LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% during the third quarter. Boston Financial Mangement LLC now owns 15,468 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,100,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.9% during the third quarter. Accredited Investors Inc. now owns 15,461 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $1,099,000 after buying an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Lincoln National Corp increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 0.4% during the third quarter. Lincoln National Corp now owns 36,282 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $2,579,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.4% during the third quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,053 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $715,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Bristol-Myers Squibb by 1.0% during the third quarter. Elmwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 13,686 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock worth $973,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. 75.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Bristol-Myers Squibb

In related news, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $17,916,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 236,104 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $17,625,163.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Ann Powell sold 11,183 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.69, for a total value of $835,258.27. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 23,043 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,721,081.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Giovanni Caforio sold 240,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $17,916,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 236,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,625,163.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.08% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Bristol-Myers Squibb Price Performance

Several equities analysts have commented on BMY shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Bristol-Myers Squibb from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Bristol-Myers Squibb in a research report on Monday, March 6th. They issued a hold rating and a $62.00 price target on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Atlantic Securities raised their price target on Bristol-Myers Squibb from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $79.69.

BMY traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.84. 1,851,985 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,845,307. The firm has a market capitalization of $146.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.55 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Bristol-Myers Squibb has a one year low of $65.28 and a one year high of $81.43. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $69.47 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.78.

Bristol-Myers Squibb (NYSE:BMY  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.71 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $11.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $11.20 billion. Bristol-Myers Squibb had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 51.60%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Bristol-Myers Squibb will post 7.98 EPS for the current year.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 10th will be issued a $0.57 dividend. This represents a $2.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 6th. Bristol-Myers Squibbs dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.29%.

Bristol-Myers Squibb Company Profile

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Bristol Myers Squibb Co engages in the discovery, development, licensing, manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of biopharmaceutical products. It offers chemically-synthesized drugs or small molecules and products produced from biological processes called biologics. The company was founded in August 1933 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

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A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Canadian Natural Resources (TSE: CNQ):

4/18/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target raised by analysts at National Bank Financial from C$100.00 to C$110.00.

4/18/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target raised by analysts at National Bankshares, Inc. from C$100.00 to C$110.00.

4/17/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at ATB Capital from C$94.00 to C$90.00.

4/13/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target raised by analysts at Scotiabank from C$86.00 to C$87.00.

4/6/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at CSFB from C$93.00 to C$90.00.

3/27/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at Morgan Stanley from C$90.00 to C$87.00.

3/14/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from C$92.00 to C$94.00.

3/3/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target lowered by analysts at National Bankshares, Inc. from C$105.00 to C$100.00. They now have an outperform rating on the stock.

3/3/2023  Canadian Natural Resources had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from C$76.00 to C$82.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Price Performance

CNQ stock traded up C$0.06 during trading on Wednesday, reaching C$81.90. The companys stock had a trading volume of 2,872,149 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,221,655. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a 1 year low of C$58.75 and a 1 year high of C$88.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 34.01. The company has a market capitalization of C$90.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.53 and a beta of 2.02. The companys fifty day moving average is C$76.98 and its 200-day moving average is C$77.34.

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Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 17th were given a dividend of $0.90 per share. This is a positive change from Canadian Natural Resourcess previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $3.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.40%. Canadian Natural Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.82%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Norman Murray Edwards sold 200,000 shares of Canadian Natural Resources stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$81.38, for a total value of C$16,276,320.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,259,336 shares in the company, valued at C$1,730,118,778.62. In other Canadian Natural Resources news, Director Norman Murray Edwards sold 200,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$81.38, for a total value of C$16,276,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,259,336 shares of the companys stock, valued at C$1,730,118,778.62. Also, Senior Officer Trevor James Cassidy sold 20,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$81.38, for a total transaction of C$1,627,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 34,806 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately C$2,832,512.28. Insiders sold a total of 269,000 shares of company stock worth $21,881,897 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.22% of the companys stock.

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers synthetic crude oil (SCO), light and medium crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), primary heavy crude oil, and Pelican Lake heavy crude oil.

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Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras (NYSE:EBR  Get Rating) was the target of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,250,000 shares, an increase of 38.3% from the March 15th total of 2,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,540,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Macquarie Group Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras in the second quarter valued at approximately $20,062,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 1,775,553 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $14,221,000 after acquiring an additional 390,626 shares during the period. Citadel Advisors LLC lifted its position in Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras by 64.9% during the 2nd quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 803,451 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $7,127,000 after acquiring an additional 316,345 shares during the last quarter. Barings LLC lifted its position in Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras by 108.7% during the 4th quarter. Barings LLC now owns 649,975 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $5,154,000 after acquiring an additional 338,479 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp bought a new stake in Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras during the first quarter valued at about $5,114,000. 2.37% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com cut Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Friday, April 14th.

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras Stock Down 3.5 %

About Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras

Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras stock traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $6.68. 1,087,549 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,553,115. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $6.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.74. Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras S.A.  Eletrobras has a 1-year low of $5.67 and a 1-year high of $10.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

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Centrais Eletricas Brasileiras SA engages in the production and dissemination of electricity. It operates through the Generation and Transmission segments. The Generation segment refers to the electric power generation including hydroelectric, thermal, and nuclear power plants. The Transmission segment focuses on the transmission of electric power in Brazil.

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Shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners PLC (NYSE:CCEP  Get Rating) reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $61.27 and last traded at $61.22, with a volume of 46686 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $61.10.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on CCEP shares. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $63.00 to $66.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Argus upped their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from $60.00 to $62.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Coca-Cola Europacific Partners from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $62.64.

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Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Trading Down 0.2 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.42, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a current ratio of 0.89. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $56.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.64.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola Europacific Partners

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners Company Profile

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CCEP. Veriti Management LLC increased its stake in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Veriti Management LLC now owns 4,696 shares of the companys stock valued at $200,000 after buying an additional 546 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 459.4% during the third quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,496 shares of the companys stock worth $149,000 after purchasing an additional 2,871 shares in the last quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. lifted its position in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 598.0% in the third quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 73,979 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,153,000 after purchasing an additional 63,381 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 14,226,512 shares of the companys stock valued at $606,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,152,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in Coca-Cola Europacific Partners by 166.5% during the 3rd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,380 shares of the companys stock worth $15,445,000 after purchasing an additional 226,400 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 28.63% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Coca-Cola Europacific Partners plc engages in the distribution and sale of non-alcoholic ready to drink beverages. It operates through the following geographical segments: Iberia, Germany, Great Britain, France, Belgium/Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, and Iceland. The company was founded on August 4, 2015 and is headquartered in Uxbridge, the United Kingdom.

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Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in iShares MSCI Canada ETF (NYSEARCA:EWC  Get Rating) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 17,094 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after purchasing an additional 1,538 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Canada ETF accounts for approximately 0.4% of Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest position. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI Canada ETF were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of EWC. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its stake in iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 104.1% in the 2nd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 892 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 133.2% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,264 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 722 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 4,624 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525 shares during the last quarter. Brinker Capital Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF during the 1st quarter valued at about $209,000. Finally, Element Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Element Wealth LLC now owns 5,583 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 598 shares during the last quarter.

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iShares MSCI Canada ETF Stock Performance

Shares of EWC traded down $0.12 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.48. 198,415 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,497,430. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $34.19 and a 200-day moving average of $33.82. iShares MSCI Canada ETF has a 52 week low of $29.55 and a 52 week high of $40.58. The stock has a market cap of $3.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.02.

iShares MSCI Canada ETF Profile

iShares MSCI Canada ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Canadian market, as measured by the MSCI Canada Index (the Index).

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iShares MSCI India ETF (BATS:INDA  Get Rating) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $40.37 and last traded at $40.02, with a volume of 1650654 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.16.

iShares MSCI India ETF Trading Down 0.2 %

The firm has a market cap of $4.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86 and a beta of 0.70. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $39.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $41.19.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On iShares MSCI India ETF

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in iShares MSCI India ETF by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 15,725,497 shares of the companys stock valued at $700,887,000 after buying an additional 579,672 shares during the last quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Treasury Department now owns 8,432,698 shares of the companys stock valued at $351,981,000 after purchasing an additional 85,135 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,618,572 shares of the companys stock valued at $234,519,000 after purchasing an additional 480,819 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 3,441,930 shares of the companys stock valued at $153,407,000 after purchasing an additional 127,200 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. grew its stake in shares of iShares MSCI India ETF by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 2,852,526 shares of the companys stock valued at $116,326,000 after purchasing an additional 634,200 shares during the period.

iShares MSCI India ETF Company Profile

The iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the MSCI India index, a market-cap-weighted index of the top 85% of firms in the Indian securities market. INDA was launched on Feb 2, 2012 and is managed by BlackRock.

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James J. Burns & Company LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:AGG  Get Rating) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 95,209 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF comprises about 3.8% of James J. Burns & Company LLCs holdings, making the stock its 5th largest position. James J. Burns & Company LLCs holdings in iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF were worth $9,234,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of AGG. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 15.2% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 46,527,580 shares of the companys stock valued at $4,482,469,000 after buying an additional 6,127,129 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 24.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 8,925,971 shares of the companys stock valued at $955,866,000 after buying an additional 1,754,499 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 320.0% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 2,100,000 shares of the companys stock valued at $202,246,000 after buying an additional 1,600,000 shares during the last quarter. Continental Investors Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 6,307.4% during the third quarter. Continental Investors Services Inc. now owns 1,503,361 shares of the companys stock valued at $152,004,000 after buying an additional 1,479,898 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Orgel Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF by 9,635.5% during the third quarter. Orgel Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,251,009 shares of the companys stock valued at $120,522,000 after buying an additional 1,238,159 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.07% of the companys stock.

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iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:AGG traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.85. 858,248 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,365,041. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.62 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.95. iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF has a 12-month low of $93.20 and a 12-month high of $104.39.

iShares Core U.S. Aggregate Bond ETF Company Profile

IShares are index funds that are bought and sold like common stocks on national securities exchanges as well as certain foreign exchanges. iShares are attractive because of their relatively low cost, tax efficiency and trading flexibility. Investors can purchase and sell shares through any brokerage firm, financial advisor, or online broker, and hold the funds in any type of brokerage account.

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Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO  Get Rating) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 276,920 shares of the mining companys stock after selling 1,425 shares during the period. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KSs holdings in Rio Tinto Group were worth $19,717,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in RIO. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 9,499 shares of the mining companys stock valued at $676,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. 180 Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,581 shares of the mining companys stock worth $529,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,137 shares of the mining companys stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. increased its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 7.4% during the 3rd quarter. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. now owns 2,741 shares of the mining companys stock worth $151,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Front Row Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Rio Tinto Group by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Front Row Advisors LLC now owns 1,258 shares of the mining companys stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. 10.43% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Rio Tinto Group Price Performance

NYSE:RIO traded down $1.08 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.33. The stock had a trading volume of 1,427,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,175,063. Rio Tinto Group has a twelve month low of $50.92 and a twelve month high of $80.51. The companys 50 day simple moving average is $69.74 and its 200 day simple moving average is $67.75. The company has a current ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

Analyst Ratings Changes

The company also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th will be paid a $2.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th. This represents a yield of 9.8%.

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on RIO shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 5,800 ($71.77) to GBX 6,200 ($76.72) in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 5,310 ($65.71) to GBX 5,380 ($66.58) in a report on Wednesday, January 18th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a sell rating to a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a report on Thursday, March 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $5,790.00.

Rio Tinto Group Profile

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Rio Tinto Plc engages in the exploration, mining, and processing of mineral resources. It operates through the following business segments: Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper and Diamonds, Energy and Minerals, and Other Operations. The Iron Ore segment supplies global seaborne iron ore trade. The Aluminium segment produces bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum.

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Novartis AG (NYSE:NVS  Get Rating) has been given an average rating of Hold by the fourteen analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.25.

A number of research firms recently commented on NVS. Citigroup downgraded shares of Novartis from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Novartis from an underweight rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Novartis from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 27th. StockNews.com started coverage on Novartis in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a strong-buy rating for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut Novartis from an equal weight rating to an underweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 6th.

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Novartis Price Performance

Novartis stock opened at $97.32 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $215.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.76 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $87.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.77. Novartis has a 12-month low of $74.09 and a 12-month high of $98.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Novartis Increases Dividend

Novartis ( NYSE:NVS Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.51 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.09. Novartis had a return on equity of 21.79% and a net margin of 13.75%. The business had revenue of $12.69 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.85 billion. Equities analysts expect that Novartis will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a $3.4694 dividend. This is an increase from Novartiss previous annual dividend of $1.18. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.6%. Novartiss payout ratio is presently 71.61%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Novartis by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,503,191 shares of the companys stock worth $494,313,000 after purchasing an additional 465,677 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Novartis by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,488,196 shares of the companys stock worth $588,609,000 after acquiring an additional 377,693 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Novartis by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,568,714 shares of the companys stock worth $389,426,000 after acquiring an additional 41,253 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Novartis by 102,209.0% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,522,057 shares of the companys stock valued at $410,241,000 after purchasing an additional 4,517,637 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Novartis by 0.9% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,131,935 shares of the companys stock worth $362,577,000 after purchasing an additional 35,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 8.12% of the companys stock.

Novartis Company Profile

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Novartis AG is a holding company, which engages in the development, manufacture, and marketing of healthcare products. It operates through the following segments: Innovative Medicines, Sandoz, and Corporate. The Innovative Medicines segment researches, develops, manufactures, distributes and sells patented pharmaceuticals, and is composed of two business units: Novartis Oncology and Novartis Pharmaceuticals.

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Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Occidental Petroleum Co. (NYSE:OXY  Get Rating) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 44,799 shares of the oil and gas producers stock after purchasing an additional 2,520 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLCs holdings in Occidental Petroleum were worth $2,822,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in Occidental Petroleum in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $96,636,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 87.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,276,078 shares of the oil and gas producers stock worth $185,885,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,100 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 117.2% during the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,424,556 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $148,989,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308,043 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Occidental Petroleum by 32.8% during the 3rd quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,494,359 shares of the oil and gas producers stock valued at $214,728,000 after buying an additional 862,354 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clean Energy Transition LLP bought a new position in Occidental Petroleum in the 1st quarter worth $46,838,000. 78.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Occidental Petroleum Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE OXY opened at $63.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $56.58 billion, a PE ratio of 5.09, a PEG ratio of 0.50 and a beta of 1.78. The companys 50-day moving average price is $61.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.04. Occidental Petroleum Co. has a 12 month low of $51.53 and a 12 month high of $77.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.15, a quick ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Occidental Petroleum Increases Dividend

Occidental Petroleum ( NYSE:OXY Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.83 by ($0.22). The firm had revenue of $8.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.21 billion. Occidental Petroleum had a return on equity of 52.68% and a net margin of 35.87%. The companys revenue was up 97.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.48 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Occidental Petroleum Co. will post 5.84 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 17th. Investors of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. This is a boost from Occidental Petroleums previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Occidental Petroleums dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5.82%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have commented on OXY shares. Truist Financial raised their price target on Occidental Petroleum from $84.00 to $86.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $64.00 to $65.00 in a report on Friday, April 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $63.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Mizuho reduced their price target on shares of Occidental Petroleum from $83.00 to $79.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Occidental Petroleum from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $80.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $72.68.

Insider Activity

In other news, major shareholder Berkshire Hathaway Inc bought 1,678,017 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $61.56 per share, with a total value of $103,298,726.52. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 198,392,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,213,057,997.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders purchased a total of 12,371,716 shares of company stock valued at $735,557,715 in the last quarter. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Occidental Petroleum Profile

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Occidental Petroleum Corp. engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Oil and Gas, Chemical, and Midstream and Marketing. The Oil and Gas segment explores for, develops and produces oil and condensate, natural gas liquids and natural gas.

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Profund Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE  Get Rating) by 5.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,790 shares of the utilities providers stock after selling 904 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLCs holdings in Sempra Energy were worth $2,286,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of SRE. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Sempra Energy by 0.6% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 1,141,824 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $191,963,000 after buying an additional 6,246 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 780.0% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,804 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $302,000 after purchasing an additional 1,599 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Sempra Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $782,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 3.6% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 668,646 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $112,411,000 after purchasing an additional 23,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Sempra Energy by 77.4% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 13,575 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $2,276,000 after purchasing an additional 5,924 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.75% of the companys stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Sempra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $173.00 to $165.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $169.00 to $166.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Sempra Energy from $158.00 to $150.00 and set an equal weight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Sempra Energy from $180.00 to $174.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Sempra Energy has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $167.50.

Sempra Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE SRE opened at $156.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $151.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $154.25. Sempra Energy has a 52 week low of $136.54 and a 52 week high of $176.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.09 billion, a PE ratio of 23.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.73.

Sempra Energy (NYSE:SRE  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $2.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.06 by $0.29. Sempra Energy had a net margin of 14.74% and a return on equity of 10.53%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $3.79 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.16 EPS. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Sempra Energy will post 8.95 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Sempra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 22nd were issued a $1.19 dividend. This is a boost from Sempra Energys previous quarterly dividend of $1.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 21st. This represents a $4.76 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. Sempra Energys dividend payout ratio is presently 71.90%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.09, for a total value of $2,813,693.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $146.09. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 15,964 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $161.92, for a total value of $2,584,890.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 19,261 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,118,741.12. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jeffrey W. Martin sold 19,260 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $146.09, for a total transaction of $2,813,693.40. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $146.09. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 52,504 shares of company stock worth $8,045,547. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the companys stock.

Sempra Energy Company Profile

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Sempra Energy is an energy-service holding company, which engages in the development and operation of energy infrastructure, and provision of electric and gas services. It operates through the following segments: San Diego Gas and Electric Company (SDG&E), Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), Sempra Texas Utilities, Sempra Mexico, and Sempra LNG.

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ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG  Get Rating) by 46.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 806,033 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 255,946 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLCs holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $38,472,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. EWG Elevate Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Romano Brothers AND Company bought a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter valued at about $38,000. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 95.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 975 shares of the companys stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 47.0% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,176 shares of the companys stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. 69.96% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CEO Chris Franklin acquired 37,245 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 8th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $40.70 per share, with a total value of $1,515,871.50. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 37,245 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,515,871.50. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Several brokerages recently commented on WTRG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $54.00 price objective on shares of Essential Utilities in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $53.00 to $52.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. UBS Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a neutral rating to a buy rating and increased their price objective for the company from $54.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Essential Utilities from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $52.38.

WTRG opened at $42.63 on Wednesday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12-month low of $38.50 and a 12-month high of $52.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a PE ratio of 24.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.79. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $43.71 and a two-hundred day moving average of $45.18.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 27th. The company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.45 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $705.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $578.00 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.73% and a net margin of 20.33%. Essential Utilitiess revenue for the quarter was up 31.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.287 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.69%. Essential Utilitiess payout ratio is 64.97%.

Essential Utilities Company Profile

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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.

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Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its position in shares of United Parcel Service, Inc. (NYSE:UPS  Get Rating) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 177,214 shares of the transportation companys stock after buying an additional 2,177 shares during the quarter. United Parcel Service makes up 1.0% of Raymond James Trust N.A.s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Raymond James Trust N.A.s holdings in United Parcel Service were worth $30,807,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 67,099,021 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $10,839,176,000 after buying an additional 601,166 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 9,273,417 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $1,988,777,000 after buying an additional 54,401 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,163,287 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $892,858,000 after buying an additional 93,463 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,103,236 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $501,354,000 after buying an additional 82,716 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of United Parcel Service by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 2,653,108 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $428,583,000 after buying an additional 179,296 shares during the period. 58.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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United Parcel Service Price Performance

UPS opened at $195.00 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $167.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.09. The firms fifty day moving average price is $186.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.15. United Parcel Service, Inc. has a 1 year low of $154.87 and a 1 year high of $209.39.

United Parcel Service Increases Dividend

United Parcel Service ( NYSE:UPS Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 31st. The transportation company reported $3.62 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.59 by $0.03. United Parcel Service had a net margin of 11.51% and a return on equity of 66.10%. The company had revenue of $27 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $28.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.59 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was down 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that United Parcel Service, Inc. will post 11.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a positive change from United Parcel Services previous quarterly dividend of $1.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 17th. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. United Parcel Services payout ratio is presently 49.09%.

United Parcel Service declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase program on Tuesday, January 31st that permits the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the transportation company to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the companys management believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on UPS shares. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $196.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $195.00 to $221.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Melius started coverage on shares of United Parcel Service in a report on Monday, March 27th. They issued an overweight rating and a $225.00 price target for the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $165.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Finally, Cowen increased their price target on shares of United Parcel Service from $187.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $195.22.

Insider Transactions at United Parcel Service

In other United Parcel Service news, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total value of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,130,585.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other United Parcel Service news, insider Laura J. Lane sold 14,617 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.16, for a total value of $2,604,164.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Brian Newman sold 19,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $182.46, for a total value of $3,466,740.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 11,677 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,130,585.42. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 54,341 shares of company stock valued at $9,848,061. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

United Parcel Service Profile

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United Parcel Service, Inc is a package delivery company, which engages in the provision of global supply chain management solutions. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Domestic Package, International Package, and Supply Chain Solutions. The U.S. Domestic Package segment includes time-definite delivery of letters, documents, and packages.

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Todd Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE:MO  Get Rating) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 696,671 shares of the companys stock after selling 4,208 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLCs holdings in Altria Group were worth $31,845,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MO. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 159,134,691 shares of the companys stock valued at $6,425,858,000 after buying an additional 1,275,790 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Altria Group by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 71,579,128 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,957,671,000 after buying an additional 513,208 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 6.4% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 36,302,349 shares of the companys stock worth $1,896,798,000 after purchasing an additional 2,178,596 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 24,517,169 shares of the companys stock worth $990,002,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192,266 shares during the last quarter. Finally, London Co. of Virginia increased its stake in shares of Altria Group by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. London Co. of Virginia now owns 6,084,403 shares of the companys stock worth $245,688,000 after purchasing an additional 150,351 shares during the last quarter. 58.68% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Altria Group Stock Performance

MO traded up $0.20 on Wednesday, reaching $46.34. The company had a trading volume of 1,223,443 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,128,967. Altria Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.35 and a fifty-two week high of $57.05. The stock has a market cap of $82.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.23 and a beta of 0.59. The companys fifty day moving average is $46.00 and its 200 day moving average is $45.55.

Altria Group Dividend Announcement

Altria Group ( NYSE:MO Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $1.18. The business had revenue of $5.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.15 billion. Altria Group had a net margin of 22.97% and a negative return on equity of 284.29%. Altria Groups quarterly revenue was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.09 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Altria Group, Inc. will post 5.06 EPS for the current year.

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 24th will be issued a $0.94 dividend. This represents a $3.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 8.11%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 23rd. Altria Groups dividend payout ratio is currently 117.87%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MO. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $52.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Altria Group from $49.50 to $47.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Altria Group in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have assigned 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 $45.50.

Altria Group Profile

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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.

Further Reading

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Todd Asset Management LLC reduced its stake in Ameriprise Financial, Inc. (NYSE:AMP  Get Rating) by 0.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 145,420 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 483 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial accounts for 1.1% of Todd Asset Management LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Todd Asset Management LLCs holdings in Ameriprise Financial were worth $45,279,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. BDO Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 10,073 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $3,136,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 123,272 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $31,059,000 after buying an additional 3,688 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 38.1% during the 3rd quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 4,551 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,147,000 after buying an additional 1,255 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in Ameriprise Financial by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,776 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,456,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameriprise Financial during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. 81.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Ameriprise Financial Stock Performance

AMP traded down $0.22 on Wednesday, reaching $315.41. The company had a trading volume of 49,762 shares, compared to its average volume of 595,085. Ameriprise Financial, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $219.99 and a fifty-two week high of $357.46. The stock has a market cap of $33.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.46. The companys fifty day moving average is $318.87 and its 200 day moving average is $315.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Ameriprise Financial Dividend Announcement

Ameriprise Financial ( NYSE:AMP Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 26th. The financial services provider reported $6.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $6.35 by $0.59. Ameriprise Financial had a net margin of 17.91% and a return on equity of 70.64%. The firm had revenue of $3.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $6.15 EPS. The businesss revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Ameriprise Financial, Inc. will post 30.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 10th were given a dividend of $1.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 9th. This represents a $5.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. Ameriprise Financials payout ratio is presently 22.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AMP has been the topic of several analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameriprise Financial from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Argus upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $340.00 to $392.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $360.00 to $338.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ameriprise Financial from $355.00 to $370.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, January 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $346.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameriprise Financial news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 11,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $347.69, for a total transaction of $3,992,524.27. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 16,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,654,134.78. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CEO William F. Truscott sold 11,480 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $355.33, for a total transaction of $4,079,188.40. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 17,489 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,214,366.37. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO William F. Truscott sold 11,483 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $347.69, for a total transaction of $3,992,524.27. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 16,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,654,134.78. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 75,328 shares of company stock worth $26,478,645 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.73% of the companys stock.

Ameriprise Financial Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Ameriprise Financial, Inc operates as a holding company. The firm provides financial planning, asset management and insurance services to individuals, businesses and institutions. It operates through the following business segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Retirement & Protection Solutions, and Corporate & Other.

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Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS reduced its position in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 366,177 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 1,988 shares during the period. Waste Management makes up approximately 1.2% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KSs holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KSs holdings in Waste Management were worth $57,446,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Waste Management by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 9,952 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,594,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,966 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Management by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,876 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $294,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management boosted its stake in Waste Management by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Financial Advocates Investment Management now owns 4,055 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $650,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gamble Jones Investment Counsel boosted its stake in Waste Management by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Gamble Jones Investment Counsel now owns 1,430 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $229,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 78.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $165.48. 220,008 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,835,669. Waste Management, Inc. has a twelve month low of $138.89 and a twelve month high of $175.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $155.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

Waste Management ( NYSE:WM Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The company had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.26 EPS. The companys revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6 earnings per share for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $0.70 per share. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. This is an increase from Waste Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 9th. Waste Managements payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total transaction of $1,164,825.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 46,542 shares in the company, valued at $7,214,010. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $14,799,318.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 30,743 shares of company stock valued at $4,762,320. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WM. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. Truist Financial initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday. They issued a buy rating and a $190.00 price objective on the stock. Raymond James lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $179.00 to $181.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. They issued an outperform rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $174.67.

About Waste Management

(Get Rating)

Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.

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BEIJING - China - TikTok is a fundamental tool being utilised by the Chinese Communist Party to indoctrinate and damage the West.

The CCP is not only utilising Wokism to demoralise and create internal conflict in the West, but it is also utilising attack tools like social media site TikTok to spread dangerous trends amongst Western youth. Where the Chinese version of TikTok (Douyin) only spreads positive and affirming information that helps Chinese citizens in their lives, TikTok is a toxic soup of misinformation, abuse, paedophilia and evil challenges designed for young impressionable users to hurt themselves or others.

Woke agents in American companies, education system and within the US administration align themselves with the Chinese Communist Party to destroy the fundamental concepts of democracy and freedom of speech that America was built on. The American constitution is the target of the CCP, and their agents who have been implanted in many American institutions work day and night for their masters in Beijing to kill America from the inside, either through Woke campaigns or through any avenue in the media/education/government/film industry.

Egged on by other TikTok users, thirteen-year-old Jacob Stevens, from Columbus, Ohio, swallowed more than a dozen Benadryl pills as his friends filmed to see what would happen.

His body then began to seize up within minutes. Within hours, his organs began to shut down resulting in full brain death. Stevens died after six days on a ventilator.

Stevens is the third known victim of the Benadryl Challenge, a deadly viral TikTok game that supposedly induces hallucinations. In 2020, a 15-year-old girl from Oklahoma also died from overdosing on the pills.

Every day, more deadly TikTok challenges intended for young children are spread on the platform designed specifically to hurt and maim kids in Western countries.

TikTok, like other social media sites, has the ability to artificially push certain accounts or videos to higher status on the site, and this is called heating. Through their algorithm or manual selection, they most certainly target certain accounts of young children and teens with various videos designed to damage their physical and mental health.

The entire premise of TikTok is to destroy the attention span of the people who are using their app and to dumb-down the population further.

As Chinese-made Fentanyl streams into the USA daily and wokism creates more polarised communities, the weapon on the internet is TikTok, and it is working a treat.
T. Anitha, the 12th additional metropolitan sessions judge and fast-track special judge for POCSO cases, however, acquitted school principal Sivaraju Madhavi, who was accused of negligence for employing the convict as the personal driver. (DC)

Hyderabad: A driver, Bheemana Rajani Kumar, was on Tuesday sentenced to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and penalised Rs 50,000 for raping an LKG student of a reputed school in Banjara Hills in October 2022.

T. Anitha, the 12th additional metropolitan sessions judge and fast-track special judge for POCSO cases, however, acquitted school principal Sivaraju Madhavi, who was accused of negligence for employing the convict as the personal driver.

The police said that the chargesheet was filed in 34 days and the trial concluded 84 days after the first hearing.

They said that Rajani Kumar was arrested immediately after the incident and placed in judicial remand till the court gave its verdict, despite Kumar applying for bail on multiple occasions, without success, due to police opposition.

Banjara Hills police station house officer S. Narender, who led the investigation, said there was sufficient medical and technical evidence to prove the convicts guilt, along with circumstantial evidence through witness statements.

Over the course of hearings, the victim, her parents and school staff were deposed before it, detailing the events leading to the crime.

12 witnesses were examined during the trial

2022

October 18: Police register case

October 18: Accused Rajani Kumar is arrested

October 19: Principal S. Madhavi is arrested

November 21: Chargesheet is filed

December 6: SCPC (court case number) is obtained

2023

January 24: Trial begins

April 18: Judgment is pronounced

Rape victims family unhappy over principals acquittal

Parents of an LKG girl who was raped by the driver of the school principal on the school premises in Jubilee Hills were dissatisfied with the principal, Sivaraju Madhavi, being acquitted by the court.

"She might have escaped the law, but God will definitely punish her for allowing this to happen to our daughter," the girls parent told Deccan Chronicle.

Family members said that the girl and her twin sister, who was also studying in the same school, dropped out after the incident and have not been attending school since.

They said they are undecided about their future, owing to uncertainty about safe spaces. "Since it happened at school, where we thought they would be safe, we are now worried about their safety at other places too," a family member said.

The victims parents said they cannot muster the courage to send them to any other school either, stating that their daughter was still in trauma and unable to move socially with others.

The family was anguished over the inaction against the principal, questioning why she was imprisoned for so long if she played no apparent role.

"She used him (the driver) to destroy our child and she again used him to evade punishment in court," the victims brother said.
Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (Twitter)

VIJAYAWADA: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday said that he would start governance from Visakhapatnam, from September this year. The chief minister made the important announcement during his visit to Srikakulam.

As part of the decentralisation of administration, the government functioning will be from Visakhapatnam from September. Jagan added that he will stay in Visakhapatnam from September.

"Today, four developmental projects have been initiated. Foundation stone was laid for the construction of Moolapet Greenfield port and construction of the colony for the port evacuees at Naupada. The Hira Mandal Vamsadhara Lift Irrigation projects including Budagatlapalem fishing harbor in Etcherla Mandal were also initiated. These projects will change the face of Srikakulam," Jagan said.

"Previous rulers neglected Srikakulam district. Now, Moolapeta stands as the pillar of development. In the future, Moolpet and Vishnu Chakra will become another Mumbai and Chennai."

"Moolapet Port will be completed in 24 months at an estimated cost of Rs. 4,362 crores. The port will provide employment opportunities to 35,000 people, both directly and indirectly. The construction of fishing harbours will prevent Gangaputras from migrating to other areas for livelihood. Construction of fishing harbour at Budagatlapalem spending Rs. 365 crores will also be undertaken", the chief minister added.
The government is also focusing on irrigation and drinking water projects, keeping in mind the interests of the farmers, said Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy (Photo: by Arrangement)

Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday announced that he would start governance from Visakhapatnam in September this year.

"This is part of the decentralisation process that has approval from the entire people of Andhra Pradesh," the Chief Minister stated after laying the foundation stone for the Mulapeta port and three other projects in Srikakulam district. A large number of people attended the event braving the heatwave conditions.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said Srikakulam district has a coastline of 193 km out of APs 974-km sea-face but no previous government had ever thought of constructing a port or fishing harbour. This was so even as thousands of fisherfolk families had to go outside the state to eke out a living.

"The port, a modern fishing harbour, will change the face of Srikakulam. This place can emerge as a big city like Mumbai or Chennai, which developed in leaps and bounds over the years due principally to the presence of ports, Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

Stating that the port will be a game changer, the Chief Minister said, "The Mulapeta Port being built at a cost of 4,362 crore will have four berths with a capacity to handle 24 million tonnes of cargo. The project employing 35,000 people directly or indirectly will be completed in 24 months," he said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said the port would be connected to the Howrah  Chennai main rail line with an 11-km road and linked to the National Highway 14 km away from the port.

Announcing that the district would also have two fishing harbours, the Chief Minister said the foundation stone was laid for the 365 crore fishing harbour at Budagatlapalem. This apart, the fish-landing centre at Manhineellpeta, constructed at a cost of 12 crore, would be upgraded as a fishing harbour with a fund of 85 crore.

Pointing out that only six ports were built during the last 75 years, Jagan Mohan Reddy said his government was developing four ports and 10 fishing harbours in 46 months. Three fish-landing centres were also being developed. "After the commissioning of the port and the fishing harbours, fishermen need not go to Gujarat or elsewhere to seek employment," he said.

"The government is also focusing on irrigation and drinking water projects, keeping in mind the interests of the farmers," he said.

The Chief Minister laid the foundation stone for the Lift Irrigation project that would fill Hiramandalam reservoir with 19tmc-ft of water. With this, the ayacut will be stabilised, supplying water for two crops in several parts of the district.

Similarly, stone was also laid for the offshore reservoir of Mahendratanaya with a promised fund of 400 crore. The work began during the Y.S. Rajasekhar Reddy term but could not be completed by YSRs successor Chandrababu Naidu, Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

Among the other projects, the work on Neradi Barrage would also begin. "I had held talks with Odisha Chief Minister Navin Patnaik two years ago and we are sorting out the pending issues," the CM said.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said he would inaugurate the Kidney Research Centre at Palasa in June this year and a 700 crore water project that would bring surface water from Hiramanadalam to Palasa and Tekkali villages for the benefit of kidney patients.

Announcing some more projects for north coastal Andhra Pradesh, the Chief Minister said construction works on the Tribal Engineering College at Kurupam in Manyam district, the medical colleges at Paderu in ASR district as also Narsipatnam and Vizianagaram districts, were going on in full swing.

The CM said he would lay the foundation stone for the Tribal University in Salur in Manyam district this June.

This apart, "I would lay the foundation for the biggest project of north Andhra, the Bhogapuram International Airport in Vizianagaram district, on May 3," Jagan Mohan Reddy said.

He said a six-lane road project worth 6,200 crore, linking the airport, will also be launched. On the same day, the foundation stone would be laid for the Adani Data Centre in Visakhapatnam.
The Chief Minister said it was on a request of Duvvada Srinivas that the government had sanctioned Rs 70 crore for implementing the projects that will supply drinking water to 94 villages in Tekkali constituency. (Image source: Facebook)

Visakhapatnam: Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has said MLC from Tekkali, Duvvada Srinivas, would be the MLA candidate from Tekkali Assembly constituency in the next elections.

Srinivas was present at the Mulepaeta Ports stone-laying ceremony in Srikakulam district on Wednesday.

"You all know Srinvias. There should be no confusion. Confusion will harm the prospects of election results. I am putting Srinivas in your hands. Please bless him, the Chief Minister told the large crowd.

The Chief Minister said it was on a request of Duvvada Srinivas that the government had sanctioned Rs 70 crore for implementing the projects that will supply drinking water to 94 villages in Tekkali constituency.

Duvvada Srinivas would take on TD giant Kinjarapu Atchannaidu, who defeated YSRC candidate Perada Tilak in the 2019 elections. Tilak remained as the constituency coordinator after the elections. Srinivas himself had lost to Kinjarapu Ram Manohar Naidu for the Srikakulam Lok Sabha seat by a narrow margin.

"Both Srinivas and Tilak lost when the Jagan Mohan Reddy wave was sweeping the state on the eve of the 2019 elections, noted a local TD leader from Srikakulam, and he added:

"Atchennaidu grew in stature and Srinivas was no match for him. Moreover, Tilak would withdraw his support to Srinivas after his ouster. On the other hand, Srinivas has strained his relationship with former Union minister Killi Kriparani and state revenue minister Dharmana Prasada, which will make it easy for Atchannaidu to defeat his rival."
Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday held a massive roadshow along with BJP national President J P Nadda and Kannada film star Kichcha Sudeep in his constituency of Shiggaon, ahead of filing nomination for the May 10 Assembly polls.

VIDEO | BJP's massive roadshow in Shiggaon constituency of Haveri district in Karnataka ahead of nomination filing by Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai today. pic.twitter.com/OVy4GUqgT4  Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) April 19, 2023

Earlier this month, actor Sudeep had announced his support to Chief Minister Bommai in the poll-bound state.

Read | Jagadish Shettar's exit will not make a difference to BJP's electoral prospects: Karnataka CM Bommai

A large crowd had gathered, as Bommai, Nadda and Sudeep travelled through the streets in a specially-designed vehicle, after garlanding the statue of Kittur Rani Chennamma, queen of the former princely state of Kittur who led an armed resistance against the British East India Company.

The crowd, mostly wearing saffron caps, moved along with the vehicle with BJP flags in their hands. They cheered when the leaders and their favourite cinema star waved at them.

Bommai is seeking re-election from Shiggaon, from where he has been MLA thrice. The BJP leader became the Chief Minister in 2021 after party stalwart B S Yediyurappa stepped down from the post.

He has already filed one set of nominations, during an "auspicious muhurat" on Saturday.

Congress has fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur to take on the Chief Minister from Shiggaon.

Filing of nominations for the election ends on April 20. Voting will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be on May 13.
Filmmaker Om Raut's Adipurush will have its world premiere at the 2023 edition of the Tribeca Film Festival.

Starring Prabhas, Kriti Sanon, Sunny Singh and Saif Ali Khan, the film will be screened under the 'Escape From Tribeca' section of the film gala, to be held in New York from June 7 to June 18.

In an Instagram post, Prabhas said he is looking forward to the movie's premiere on June 13.

"Looking forward to #Adipurush being premiered at the #TribecaFestival on June 13th," the Baahubali star wrote alongside the movie's official poster.

Raut, who made his directorial debut with Ajay Devgn-starrer Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior in 2020, said he is excited and honoured that Adipurush will be having its world premiere at Tribeca.

Also Read | Manipulation drama gets plodding and dull

"'Adipurush', the epic saga of courage and devotion, is set to make its world premiere at the prestigious #TribecaFestival on the 13th of June in New York. I am immensely grateful for the relentless efforts of team Adipurush and thanks to the entire jury of @tribeca. Can't wait to let Adipurush's grandeur unfold at #Tribeca2023!" he said.

According to the synopsis of Adipurush, posted on the gala's official website, the movie has been described as a "reimagining" of the "epic Indian poem 'Ramayana'".

"The big-budgeted visual feast Adipurush tells the tale of a prince on a mission to rescue his wife from a ten-headed demon overlord," it read.

The 'Escape From Tribeca' segment will also showcase films such as Enter the Clones of Bruce, Final Cut, and Suitable Flesh. Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon will be screened as part of the film's 50th anniversary.

The runtime of the "action drama", written by Raut and Manoj Muntashir Shukla, is 174 minutes.

Adipurush is produced by T-Series' Bhushan Kumar, Krishna Kumar, Raut, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair.

The film courted controversy, including boycott calls, last year when the teaser of the magnum opus was launched in Oactober over the depiction of Hindu deities and inferior quality of visual effects.

The makers were also slammed for the apparent Islamisation of Lankesh, played by Saif, as the demon king who was seen sporting a beard and buzz cut.

The film was initially set to arrive in cinema halls on August 11, 2022, but the release date was further pushed to January 12, 2023.

Adipurush is now slated to hit the screens in 3D on June 16, 2023.
Track news highlights from India and across the globe, only with DH.
Twelve days after the Ministry of Home Affairs recommended a probe, the CBI has registered a case against Oxfam India for allegedly using funding NGOs illegally and attempting to pressure the central government to renew its foreign funding licence using foreign governments and institutions.

The premier investigation agency filed the FIR under Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 against Oxfam India and its office bearers on April 17 following a complaint filed by MHA Director Jeetendar Chadha.

The CBI has taken cognizance of at least five alleged violations by Oxfam India, whose licence to receive foreign funds was not renewed by the MHA 14 months ago. Oxfam India had denied allegations earlier and had said when its FCRA licence was not renewed, the decision would have an impact on its ongoing humanitarian and social work in 16 states across the country, especially Covid-19 related programmes.

According to the MHA complaint, which is part of the FIR, Oxfam India has planned to circumvent FCRA by routing funds through means other than the legal route. It said the survey by the Income Tax Department had paid Rs 12.71 lakh to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in the form of commission to employees or associates.

It said this was in violation of the FCRA as its licence was not renewed and the payments made to the CPR were not in line with the law of the land.

The FIR also quoted email communication found during the I-T survey and claimed that Oxfam India has been "planning to pressurise the Indian government for renewal of FCRA (licence) through foreign governments and foreign institutions".

"Oxfam India has the reach and influence to request multilateral foreign organisations to intervene on its behalf with the Government of India. This exposed Oxfam India as a probable instrument of foreign policy of foreign organisations/entities which have funded Oxfam India liberally over the years," the FIR quoted the complainant.

An I-T Department document attached with the FIR claimed that Oxfam India wanted to involve World Bank, International Monetary Fund, European Union, US State Department, Asian Development Bank and various European governments, including Ireland.

It also alleged that Oxfam India continued to pay sub grants to various partners even after the FCRA was amended to ensure that foreign funds cannot be transferred to other NGOs or partners.

It was also alleged that Oxfam India used to route funds of its foreign affiliates such as Oxfam Australia, Oxfam Great Britain among others in India to select NGOs and at the same time exercising control over funds and projects.

The complaint by the MHA Director also claimed that Oxfam India received Rs 1.50 crore directly into its utilisation account in violation of FCRA.
A 60-year-old man and his two wives were found dead in their house in Odisha's Bargarh district, police said on Wednesday.

The incident happened in Akhjifuta village in Bheden police station on Tuesday, they said.

The bodies of Tankadhar Sahu (60) and his two wives -- Drupadi Sahu (55) and Madhavi Sahu (50) -- were found lying in a pool of blood, said Subdivisional Police Officer (SDPO) Amrut Kumar Panda.

Also Read | Man murdered in Mangaluru; four taken into custody

The bodies had deep injury marks, he said.

Tankadhar married for the second time as he had no child from his first wife, police said, noting that bigamy is illegal in India.

The house was bolted from the inside when the bodies were found, they said.

A case was registered and an investigation underway, they added.
Mukul Roy, the veteran politician in Bengal  who had shifted to the BJP, but had made a comeback to his former party  on Wednesday, told a section of media that he was with the BJP, is with the BJP, and will continue to remain with it. He also expressed willingness to meet senior BJP leaders Amit Shah, and JP Nadda.

Roy had gone missing, but re-emerged in a surprising move, in Delhi on Monday evening, as was observed in a viral video.

A day earlier on Tuesday, Roys son Subhranshu had claimed that his father was not keeping well, and was being subjected to dirty politics in such a situation. He had further claimed that the attempt, he personally considered, was to malign Abhishek Banerjee, Trinamools national general secretary. Subhranshu had even filed a missing complaint at a local police station concerning Roy, late on Monday.

Read | After Mukul Roy expresses wish to join BJP, son says he needs medical attention

Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, on Wednesday, said that Roy is a BJP MLA. It depends upon him where he goes, it can be Delhi or Punjab. His son has filed a missing complaint and the police will investigate the matter, Banerjee said.

In Bengal, the BJP seems apparently less keen on Roy, with Suvendu Adhikari, BJP MLA, and leader of the Opposition in state assembly, saying that the party was busy in strengthening the organisational structure.

An important leader in Trinamools emergence in West Bengal, Roy had walked over to the BJP in 2017, with differences between him and Banerjee, as one among factors. He stayed with the BJP as a national vice-president, and after the 2021 elections, made a return, publicly to the Trinamool, though he retains his official status of a BJP MLA in the state assembly.

Trinamool chief on Opposition unity:

Banerjee has said that the countrys Opposition parties are together. We believe that silence is golden, hence we are all quiet now. But before the polls, like a tornado, we will come together as every opposition party shares good rapport with each other, she said on Wednesday.
Justice Amit Sharma of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday recused himself from hearing a petition filed by northeast Delhi riots accused, Asif Iqbal Tanha, against the alleged leak of his "disclosure statement" in a case pertaining to the "larger conspiracy" behind the communal violence that took place here in 2020.

"List before another bench subject to the orders of the Chief Justice on April 24," said Justice Sharma.

The petition was listed for hearing before the judge after the recusal of Justice Anup Jairam Bhambhani last week.

Also Read: 2020 Delhi riots: Court orders framing of charges against 5 for rioting, arson

During the proceedings, Justice Sharma asked if the matter arose from the FIR probed by the special cell of Delhi Police under the UAPA.

Lawyer Sowjhanya Shankaran, representing the petitioner, said the present case did not "arise" as such from the Delhi riots FIR but Tanha was an accused in that FIR and his purported disclosure statement was put in public domain by certain media organisations even before the charge sheet was filed and taken cognisance of.

The court was informed by special public prosecutor Amit Prasad that the charge sheet has now been filed in the case which was investigated by special cell.

Lawyer Rajat Nair, appearing for the Delhi Police, said an inquiry was carried out into the allegations of leak and a report was submitted before the court.

The court subsequently said the matter has to be sent to another judge.

On April 12, Justice Bhambhani had recused himself from hearing the matter, saying a court's act should never have a deleterious impact on the justice system's credibility.

Justice Bhambhani had earlier expressed his reservations on hearing the matter after the News Broadcasters and Digital Association (NBDA), with whom he had had a "past association", filed an intervention application in the case.

He had said the court's view must yield in favour of preserving the system's credibility, which is derived not just from "fairness in fact", but also from "fairness in perception".

Tanha had moved the high court in 2020 against certain media houses disseminating his alleged admission of his guilt before cognisance was taken by the trial court.

He had objected to the "intervention" by the NBDA in the matter on grounds that the association, which was "not interested" in the issue of broadcast of the alleged disclosure statement when a complaint was made to it, had now filed the intervention application in order to ensure that the eventuality of Justice Bhambhani's recusal "must come true".

The NBDA had sought to intervene on grounds that the petition concerned prays for registration of FIRs against journalists, which would have ramifications, and being a well-recognised body, it thus wanted to assist the court in the matter.

Senior advocate Siddharth Aggarwal, appearing for the petitioner, had earlier asserted that there can be no "intervention" by a third person in a criminal matter and urged the court to consider the fact that the application came to be filed only when the petition, which was filed in 2020, travelled through six judges to reach before this court for adjudication.

He had also argued that the application for intervention was an "attempt to overreach the institution" after Justice Bhambhani suggested sending the plea to another judge on account of his "past association" with the NBDA.

"This is the dirty tricks department at its worst and if we do not stand up to this, I think we are making it far too easy for people to do this exercise," Aggarwal had said.

The NBDA's counsel had said the association was not seeking the recusal of the judge, but only intervention.

Additional Solicitor General Sanjay Jain, who appeared in the matter for the Delhi Police, had said the present case was not a "criminal matter as such" and the media organisations have a legitimate interest in its outcome.

He had further said the issue of recusal pertained to the judge's "conscience" and "nobody has to persuade" him on that issue as there was no application for recusal from any party.

In his petition, Tanha has said he was aggrieved by various publications reporting that he has confessed to orchestrating the 2020 northeast Delhi riots and alleged that he was coerced to sign certain papers in the effective custody of police.

He has contended that the action of two media houses of placing contents from the charge sheet in the public domain has violated the programme code.

Tanha, who was arrested in May 2020, was released from jail in June 2021 after the high court granted him bail in the riots case on the larger conspiracy.

In its status report filed in the case, the police has said while the inquiry could not establish how the details of the investigation were shared with the media, no prejudice was caused to Tanha in his exercise of right to a free and fair trial.

Tanha's counsel had earlier argued before the high court that the internal inquiry conducted by the police into the leak was an "eyewash".
Anithakumari S, a resident of Thrikkannapuram near Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram, makes sure her family members drink boiled water although it was sourced directly from the open well in the courtyard of her house.

When the well was dug up around 26 years ago, her family and many people from her neighbourhood used to drink water without boiling it.

"We used to draw very clean water from this well then. Now, we have pollution around us and water is contaminated. That is why we decided to boil the water," said Anithakumari in her mid-40s.

Kerala Water Authority (KWA) officials, citing various studies, agreed with what Anithakumari said on the level of contamination of the state's water resources.

Also Read | Act now to avoid a water crisis

According to them, Kerala, known for its abundant groundwater and surface water, with 44 rivers, thousands of streams, lakes, and lagoons, is facing a serious water crisis.

More than 80 per cent of the open wells for which the majority of people depend for drinking water, and more than 90 per cent of rivers are contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. Coli) bacteria, they said.

Officials cite rapid urbanisation and pressure on land due to density of population as reasons for such a situation.

Research conducted by the Centre for Water Resources Development and Management (CWRDM) during different periods, for Kerala in total, and many urban regions in specific has confirmed the presence of E. Coli bacteria -- a few strains of which can cause severe stomach cramps, diarrhoea and vomiting -- in wells and rivers and has declared them unusable without boiling, officials said.

"Of late, these precious resources are getting contaminated by various contaminants and anthropogenic activities. Open wells in Kerala have the problem of bacteriological contamination," a report from a study conducted by the CWRDM in 2019 said.

The study has found out most of the dug-up wells in Kerala have faecal contamination due to poor or poorly maintained sanitation facilities.

"Our people are still unaware of the importance of keeping our water resources clean from pollution. In Kerala, we do not have a major issue with groundwater depletion but pollution is a major concern," John V Samuel, an IAS officer and director of the Ground Water Department, Kerala told PTI.

Officials said when water from wells is unsafe for direct drinking, open rivers pose a greater risk.

Last month, there were 11 cholera cases reported in Malappuram, where people drank water from a river. It was later found that sewage from commercial establishments was released into the same river upstream, they pointed out.

KWA, which supplies drinking water through pipelines to most parts of urban Kerala, is spending several crores to clean up this water before supplying it to the people.

According to KWA sources, when the comparatively cleaner water from Peppara dam in Thiruvananthapuram district is taken to Aruvikkara through the Karamana river for treatment, it gets polluted from E. Coli, heavy metals, and other chemicals.

The high cost involved in the treatment of contaminated water and a highly subsidised supply will soon make it unviable for KWA to ensure an uninterrupted water supply in Kerala. For treating 1,000 litres of water, the organisation is spending Rs 22.50 and this is supplied through a pipeline for just over Rs 14 per 1,000 litres to the public, they said.

"The water from Aruvikkara Dam is treated in four treatment plants. We supply 330 to 340 million litres of water to Thiruvananthapuram city daily. The water is treated through a seven-step process to remove all contaminants from the water," Manju Somanath, Assistant Executive Engineer and head of the treatment plants at Aruvikkara, told PTI.

The treatment process starts with pumping raw water into the aerator to infuse more oxygen into the water so that many contaminants are converted into oxides and released from the water.

It is then mixed with alum and lime, based on the turbidity and pH levels, mixed well with flash mixers, and then sent to flocculation tanks where soluble heavy contaminants are solidified and sunk.

The water is then taken to the plate settlers for removal of remaining contaminants, then to the sand bed for filtration of insoluble particles. The water is then mixed with chlorine gas after a lab test to ensure quality and pumped out for supply.

A National Accreditation Board for Testing and Calibration Laboratories (NABL)-accredited lab inside the premises tests both the raw water and the treated water for about 17 parameters as per World Health Organisation (WHO) recommendation every hour.

Though, KWA is taking utmost care and spending several crores on the treatment of the contaminated river water before supplying it, weathered pipelines with porous or broken surfaces often contaminate the water in transit.

KWA has a quality cell that collects samples from the consumer end and checks them for quality and takes remedial measures if they find contamination in the water supplied. This costly affair is depleting the resources of KWA due to the poor quality of water pumped from the rivers in Kerala.

"We must have better management in preserving the water very seriously. Pollution is increasing day by day and it is only because of our attitude toward using water," Samuel said.
Foundry Partners LLC cut its holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Get Rating) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 349,761 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 5,185 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. makes up 2.6% of Foundry Partners LLCs portfolio, making the stock its largest position. Foundry Partners LLCs holdings in JPMorgan Chase & Co. were worth $46,903,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 1.1% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 272,539,783 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $28,480,408,000 after acquiring an additional 2,918,554 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 5.3% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 21,084,558 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,203,621,000 after acquiring an additional 1,058,790 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 4.5% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 18,607,661 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,536,598,000 after acquiring an additional 805,196 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 0.7% during the third quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 15,606,783 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,630,909,000 after acquiring an additional 102,242 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. by 28.4% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 10,063,918 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,061,182,000 after acquiring an additional 2,227,785 shares during the last quarter. 67.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $131.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $153.00 to $157.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $154.00 to $169.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Monday. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $150.00 to $165.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $152.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, JPMorgan Chase & Co. presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $154.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Price Performance

In other JPMorgan Chase & Co. news, Director Mellody L. Hobson acquired 375 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $134.53 per share, for a total transaction of $50,448.75. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 22,040 shares in the company, valued at $2,965,041.20. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website . Corporate insiders own 0.79% of the companys stock.

Shares of JPM opened at $141.40 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $414.51 billion, a PE ratio of 10.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 0.85. JPMorgan Chase & Co. has a fifty-two week low of $101.28 and a fifty-two week high of $144.34. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $134.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $131.71.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $4.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.41 by $0.69. The business had revenue of $38.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $35.77 billion. JPMorgan Chase & Co. had a net margin of 23.73% and a return on equity of 16.02%. The businesss revenue was up 24.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.63 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that JPMorgan Chase & Co. will post 12.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 6th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.83%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co.s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.52%.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. Profile

(Get Rating)

JPMorgan Chase & Co is a financial holding company, which engages in providing financial and investment banking services. The firm offers a range of investment banking products and services in all capital markets, including advising on corporate strategy and structure, capital raising in equity and debt markets, risk management, market making in cash securities and derivative instruments, and brokerage and research.

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Wedbush Securities Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Banco Santander, S.A. (NYSE:SAN  Get Rating) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 87,436 shares of the banks stock after selling 4,206 shares during the quarter. Wedbush Securities Inc.s holdings in Banco Santander were worth $258,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in SAN. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Brookstone Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Banco Santander in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Banco Santander in the 1st quarter worth approximately $39,000. Enterprise Financial Services Corp bought a new position in shares of Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, O Dell Group LLC purchased a new stake in Banco Santander during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. 1.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on SAN shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of Banco Santander from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Banco Santander from a neutral rating to an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $3.76.

Banco Santander Price Performance

SAN opened at $3.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $64.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 4.40. Banco Santander, S.A. has a 12-month low of $2.26 and a 12-month high of $4.09. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $3.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $3.19.

Banco Santander (NYSE:SAN  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The bank reported $0.14 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.13 by $0.01. Banco Santander had a net margin of 18.47% and a return on equity of 9.77%. The business had revenue of $14.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.43 billion. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Banco Santander, S.A. will post 0.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Banco Santander Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be given a dividend of $0.0631 per share. This represents a yield of 2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 27th. This is a boost from Banco Santanders previous semi-annual dividend of $0.06. Banco Santanders dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.79%.

About Banco Santander

(Get Rating)

Banco Santander SA is a banking services company, which engages in the provision of banking services to individuals, companies, and institutions. It operates through the following segments: Europe, North America, South America, and Digital Consumer Bank. The Europe segment comprises business activities carried out in the region.

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A man who a court heard has 'one of the worst records the court has ever seen' with 476 previous convictions has been granted bail at Derry Magistrate's Court today.

Eamonn Lynch (49) of River Court Apartments in John Street in Derry appeared charged with one count of breaching a restraining order on April 16.

A police officer connected the accused to the charge and opposed bail.

She told the court that the alleged injured party, Lynch's former partner, said she received a phone call from the defendant in breach of the order at 3.42am on the date in question.

The officer said that the woman said he started the conversation with 'well, well, well' something he does quite often.

The woman told police she hung up after 16 seconds but recognised the voice as being that of the accused as she had been in a relationship with him for 14 years.

Bail was opposed due to the risk of re-offending and the officer said that Lynch was on bail for similar offences.

She added the alleged victim was deemed a high risk victim of domestic abuse with Lynch being the perpetrator.

Defence solicitor Seamus Quigley said his client denies the allegation and added that while we can all recognise voices 'we can all make mistakes.'

He said Lynch maintained the woman had made a mistake but did accept Lynch had an 'appalling record'.

District Judge Barney McElholm said that he accepted the breach had occurred as the woman recognised a phrase used by the accused.

He said he was not going to revoke Lynch's bail at this stage but was now on his final warning.

Lynch will appear again on May 12.
Stephen Silver, who murdered Gda Colm Horkan by shooting him eleven times with the garda's service gun, has been jailed for life with a minimum time to be served of 40 years by a judge at the Central Criminal Court.

Gda Horkan's family and friends packed out the courtroom at the Criminal Courts of Justice building this morning to hear the sentence being passed down. In statements read out to the court, Gda Horkan's family described him as a loving and thoughtful man who was their "go-to" person when they needed advice or help.

Ms Justice Tara Burns offered her condolences to the Horkan family who she said were visibly traumatised by the tragic circumstances that led to the death of the "heart and soul" of their family. She also called on people suffering from mental health problems to recognise the importance of continuing their medical treatment in light of the evidence that Silver had stopped taking medication prescribed for his bipolar affective disorder when he shot Gda Horkan.

Judge Burns said things "could have been very different" if he had maintained his treatment regime.

Garda Colm Horkan

Passing sentence, the judge said that she has no discretion given that the jury had returned a verdict that Silver is guilty of murdering a member of An Garda Siochana acting in the course of his duty. She sentenced him to life imprisonment and in accordance with the Criminal Justice Act 1990, she specified that he must serve a minimum of 40 years in prison.

Silver (46), a motorbike mechanic from Aughaward, Foxford, Co Mayo, had pleaded not guilty to the murder of Det Garda Horkan (49) knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in the course of his duty. He had pleaded guilty to manslaughter at Castlerea, Co Roscommon on 17 June 2020, and the jury were told the main issue in the trial was Mr Silvers state of mind at the time of the shooting.

After two trials at the Central Criminal Court a jury found Stephen Silver guilty of capital murder last month. His first trial ended last November with a jury disagreement.

The trials heard that Gda Horkan was a well-regarded member of the force with 25 years service and no disciplinary issues on his record. The prosecution told the jury that Gda Horkan had no idea when he signed out his firearm on the afternoon of June 17, 2020, that he would be shot dead with the same gun just nine hours later.

They maintained Silver had a "seething resentment" toward gardai and that the shooting of Gda Horkan was a deliberate action done with the intent of murder".

During the trial, the jury heard evidence from Silver that he believed Gda Horkan was a heavy down from Dublin who was trying to kill him. He said that Gda Horkan, who was not in uniform and drove an unmarked car, was wearing a Tommy Hilfiger jacket and didnt come across as a garda. He gave evidence that a struggle ensued between them before he fell to the ground, and in the process of getting up he felt the gun on Gda Horkans hip.

He had his hand on the gun and I had my hand on the gun and we wrestled. The gun came out; I couldnt tell you who took it out, said Silver.

He said that he felt Gda Horkan was trying to kill me.

I kept shooting until the gun finished and there was no ammunition left, Silver said.

Silver's defence at the second trial was that he could be found guilty of manslaughter either because he believed he was acting in self defence but used excessive force or because his responsibility was significantly diminished due to a mental disorder. The jury rejected both defences and found him guilty of murdering Gda Horkan, a member of An Garda Siochana acting in the course of his duty.

Under the Criminal Justice Act 1990, the judge must impose the ordinary life sentence for murder and specify that Silver serve a minimum of 40 years in prison. With ordinary remission for good behaviour, Silver will be eligible to apply for parole after he has served 30 years.

Having gone into custody in June 2020, he will be aged 74 when he can first be considered for release by a parole board.

The jury heard evidence from Dr Brenda Wright, interim clinical director at the Central Mental Hospital, who said it was her view that Silvers bipolar affective mental disorder at the time he killed Gda Horkan was such that it impaired his thinking and his judgement and therefore contributed significantly to his actions at that time.

However, consultant psychiatrist Professor Harry Kennedy disagreed and told the jury that he found no positive evidence that Silver had suffered a relapse of his mental disorder at the time he shot dead Gda Horkan. Professor Kennedy's opinion was that Silver's behaviour was explained by his personality and that his increasingly aggressive and bizarre behaviour while in garda custody was due to a "learned impunity" whereby he expected to be treated as a psychiatric patient rather than held for questioning.

In the closing statement for the prosecution, Michael Delaney SC said that it had been established beyond reasonable doubt that Silver knew Gda Horkan was a garda acting in the course of his duty, and in taking the gun he attempted to kill or cause serious injury.

Addressing the claim that Silver may have thought he was acting in self defence, prosecution counsel Michael Delaney told the jury: He fired until the gun was empty. If there had been more bullets in the gun, would he have kept firing? How many bullets until he felt safe in his own mind?

In the closing statement for the defence, Dominic McGinn SC said the shooting of Gda Horkan was not a rational act and there was no rational basis or motivation for what happened.

Shooting a garda - thats not intact social function, he said, adding the natural conclusion from this was that Silver was in a relapse of his bipolar affective disorder at the time.
Google Pixel Fold has been creating quite a buzz on the internet for some days. This will be the first-ever foldable smartphone from the company and it is rumoured to be powered by the Google Tensor G2 processor. A publication known as Front Page Tech has leaked some renders of the Google Pixel Fold as well.

The Google Pixel Fold is expected to roll out pretty soon and the launch date, pricing and some specs of the device have been leaked too. Here are these three leaked details we learned about Google Pixel Fold so far:

Google Pixel Fold launch date

Google is launching the affordable version of the Google Pixel 7 series namely the Google Pixel 7a at the Google I/O developer conference. The event will take place on May 10 in California. The tech giant might also reveal the Google Pixel Tablet and Google Pixel Buds Pro but along with that, it is also rumoured that the company could also launch the Google Pixel Fold in the same event.

Google Pixel Fold specifications

The Pixel Fold could be powered by Googles Tensor G2 Chipset as mentioned above. Along with that, it might be packed with a larger battery in comparison with the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is expected to last 24 hours on a single charge and 72 hours in low-power mode.

The foldable device will reportedly weigh 283 grams and could be equipped with a water-resistant body.

The Google Pixel Fold is rumoured to feature a 5.8-inch cover display, with a 7.6-inch foldable display.

Google Pixel Fold price and availability

Google Pixel Fold is reportedly launching on May 10 and it will reportedly be available for purchase from June 27 onward from Googles store. The foldable device is expected to be launched at a price of $1,700 (approx 1,40,000). The tech giant might also offer a free Pixel Watch along with the Google Pixel Fold to the buyers.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
Vivo is on a roll at releasing some amazing smartphones at different price-ranges. On that note, another new smartphone of Vivo V-series will be coming soon in the market, none other than the Vivo V29 Lite 5G.

The Vivo V29 Lite 5G has appeared on the Google Play Console database. Though Vivo hasn't confirmed anything yet, this listing has made it quite obvious that the phone is about to get launched pretty soon.

From the Google Play Console listing the design and certain specifications of the smartphone could be determined. Let's look into those one by one.

Also, you can check out the recent mid-range smartphones launched by Vivo as well: TVivo T2 5G and T2x 5G.

Possible look of the Vivo V29 Lite 5G

Vivo V29 Lite 5G listing suggests a HD+ display

The Google Play Console suggests how the Vivo V29 Lite 5G might look like. But it has suggested only the phone's front look. As the Google Play Console database leak suggests, the phone reportedly has a HD+ display, a water drop notch for the front camera and thin bezels.

Possible specifications of the Vivo V29 Lite 5G

Vivo V29 Lite's suggested specifications

The Vivo V29 Lite will be powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon 695 chipset which has a clock speed of 2.2GHz. Additionally, the phone will also have an Adreno 619 Graphics Processing Unit (GPU).

The Google Play Console listing suggests that the smartphone will run on Android 13. As of now, according to the listing the phone will have 8GB RAM and 128GB internal storage atleast. The phone might also have a triple lens camera. Coming to the battery, it will be packed with 5,000mAh battery and fast charging.

The Vivo V29 Lite 5G has the listing in Google Play Console under the model name Vivo V2244. On the other hand, Vivo Y78 has already been traced in Google Play and 3C websites under the same model number. So, it can be taken into consideration that the Vivo V29 Lite 5G can turn out to be a rebranded version of Vivo Y78 5G.

However, nothing has been revealed by Vivo yet. So, a final confirmation from the company is all that we are waiting for. Just some added information, before I leave you with thoughts of V29 Lite 5G, there is a huge Flipkart sale going on, where you can get the Vivo T2 5G with some amazing offers. Check it out.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
The flagship Vivo X90 series is coming to India on April 26, 2023. With the launch date coming near, Flipkart has confirmed that the series will be available on the e-commerce platform. Except for Flipkart, it will also be available on Vivo's official website.

Flipkart shared a trailer for the e-commerce launch of Vivo X90 series on 26thApril

Source: Flipkart (YouTube)

The Vivo X90 series consists of three phones- Vivo X90, Vivo X90 Pro, and Vivo X90 Pro+ and is available in the Chinese and a few other international markets already. But, it hasn't been confirmed yet whether all the three phones will be available in India or not. It could neither be deciphered from the Flipkart trailer.

Rumours are only the Vivo X90, Vivo X90 Pro are going to be available in India and Vivo X90 Pro+ will be limited to China only.

Also, rumours are flying that a brand new Vivo V29 Lite 5G will soon be announced by Vivo. You should check out what it has to offer. Let's look at the specifications of the Vivo X90 and X90 Pro.

Specifications of the Vivo X90 series phones

Both the Vivo X90 and Vivo X90 Pro have a 6.78-inch AMOLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate. With that the phones have a 300Hz touch sampling rate. The slight difference is that Vivo X90 Pro has a slightly better display with 2K resolution.

Also, they are both powered by MediaTek Dimensity 9200 chipset accompanied by Immortalis-G715 GPU for graphics. The phones have up to 128GB RAM and 512GB of onboard storage.

Vivo X90 and X90 Pro specifications

The X90 Pro is slightly ahead in case of the battery, with 4,870 mAh compared to 4,810 mAh for the X90. But both come with 120W fast chargers.

Between the two phones there is a major difference in the camera section. The Vivo X90 comes with a triple lens camera which includes 50MP primary sensor, a 12MP portrait lens and a 12MP ultrawide sensor. With these three rear cameras comes a 32MP front camera. Moving on to Vivo X90 Pro, this also has a camera with triple lens. But it includes a 50MP primary sensor, a 50MP portrait sensor and a 12MP ultrawide sensor. The front camera remains the same here as well.

Some more yet very important features of the phone are it has 5G support, dual-band Wi-Fi 6, stereo speakers, Hi-Res audio and an in-display fingerprint sensor.

The launch will take place on April 26th, 12 noon. So, if you are planning to get this flagship smartphone then keep yourself prepared to order as soon as it launches.

For more technology news, product reviews, sci-tech features and updates, keep reading Digit.in or head to our Google News page.
The German state of Saxony deepens high-tech cooperation with Taiwan; funding opportunities under 'Horizon Europe' considered

The German state of Saxony is expanding scientific cooperation with Taiwan.

Sebastian Gemkow, Saxony's Science Minister, is on a three-day visit to Taiwan, and has signed a cooperation agreement with the managing director of the National Applied Research Laboratories (NARLabs). Both sides agree to further intensify the scientific exchange between universities and research institutes. Gemkow also met with Tsung-Tsong Wu, head of the National Science and Technology Council (NSTC).

As a result of the visit, the state of Saxony has decided to establish an office in Taipei to coordinate joint activities in the field.

Another part of the joint declaration with NARLabs is mutual support in the development of technical solutions for industrial applications and production processes. Joint funding applications within the framework of European technology funding programs, such as "Horizon Europe", are being considered.

Gemkow emphasizes the strategic importance of the agreement for both sides:

"With the joint declaration, we are supporting the further development of two high-technology centers that complement each other perfectly in terms of content and focus. The industrial clusters in our two countries also benefit from the even closer networking in the field of microelectronics research and training. In my opinion, the cooperation is proof of mutual trust and high esteem in a sensitive technological area."

The first concrete steps have already been taken in the new chapter of Saxon-Taiwanese cooperation: the TU Dresden will deepen its relationships with three Taiwanese universities, while the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS), which operates a research factory in Dresden for the production of future semiconductor components, among other things, will enter into a cooperation with Taiwan's National Yang Ming Chiao Tung University.

Saxony will likely host one of TSMC's overseas fabs, with evaluation still ongoing. According to sources, TSMC is to partner with Bosch as well as two other European players connected to the auto industry to jointly finance the fab, reportedly targeting special process technology at 28nm.
Tata ropes in fomer Intel Foundry Service president for OSAT business

As Tata is looking to build its OSAT business and precision electronics manufacturing amid India's aspiration to build a self-reliant semiconductor ecosystem, the Indian conglomerate has hired Randhir Thakur, former head of Intel Foundry Services, to lead its newly-established semiconductors business.

According to The Economic Times and EE News Europe, Thakur joined Tata Electronics, established in April 2020 by Tata Group in Karnataka, as the CEO of the subsidiary. Tata Electronics is looking to foray into iPhone assembling and OSAT business.

The Economic Times quoted N Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, saying that the roadmap for Tata Electronics is exciting and Thakur's in-depth knowledge and multi-functional experience will bode well for the company, and Tata Electronics will lead India to the right position in the global semiconductor and precision manufacturing industry.

Thakur said that he is excited to contribute to building Tata Electronics as an integral and trusted part of the global electronics industry, adding that the company intends to deliver innovation, quality, and cost advantage for semiconductors as well as precision manufacturing.

According to Thakur's profile on LinkedIn, he joined Intel in 2017 and had been leading the development and growth of Intel's foundry business and its IDM 2.0 strategy before he decided to resign from Intel in November 2022. Intel announced the acquisition of Tower Semiconductor and inked deals with MediaTek during his tenure.

In August 2021, Chandrasekaran officially announced Tata Group would enter semiconductor and precision manufacturing, aiming for a slice of the high electronics manufacturing market pegged at US$1 trillion, especially when the world is bracing for a large-scale supply chain shakeup due to geopolitical tensions and the pandemic.

Tata Group has entered into telecom gear manufacturing by acquiring Tejas Networks and into IC design through the acquisition deal of Saankhya Labs by Tejas Networks. The group is reportedly talking with Taiwan-based Wistron for a buyout of Wistron's plant for iPhone manufacturing. Chandrasekaran previously told Nikkei Asia that Tata Group would begin with OSAT before moving upstream to make chips through Tata Electronics, which has manufacturing facilities in Hosur, Tamil Nadu.
AI Expo Taiwan 2023, hosted by DIGITIMES, showcases Taiwan's AI prowess

Sun Tzu's Art of War once said: "More calculations win, less calculations can't win, let alone no calculations?" The quote can find its modern analogue in how computing power underpins national competitiveness.

Computing power is like electricity, underpinning the smart era, and it also determines the progress of AI to a certain extent. According to DIGITIMES Research, the total investment of global enterprises in artificial intelligence software, hardware and services will exceed US$85 billion in 2021; it is expected to increase to US$204.5 billion in 2025, with a five-year compound growth rate (CAGR) of 24.5% .

The demand for AI computing power is growing rapidly, and platform-based infrastructure has become the focus. AI computing power will especially accelerate the integration of artificial intelligence technology and the real economy, empower the transformation and upgrading of traditional industries, and give birth to new industries, new businesses, and new models.

The main axis of AI Expo Taiwan 2023, hosted by DIGITIMES, is to shed light on the value of multiple types of computing power, with high-speed computing, data algorithm, edge computing and green sustainability as the core, transforming artificial intelligence into a versatile, green, efficient, safe and reliable computing system, to promote the key breakthrough link in the development of the artificial intelligence industry.

Between April 19 -21, AI Expo Taiwan 2023 will feature 30+ speeches, demonstrate 60+ industrial solutions, with more than 150 brands and companies involved.

Credit: DIGITIMES

Credit: DIGITIMES

Credit: DIGITIMES
The Irish Minister for Health has said he does not intend to take any action over comments made by his Secretary General over a controversial proposed secondment which have been described as grossly inaccurate by another senior Government official.

Minister Stephen Donnelly said those involved in the proposed secondment of former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan were acting in good faith.

On Monday, an external review into the proposed secondment to a post in Trinity College Dublin was published.

It said that there was a lack of formal consultation with the Taoiseach, Minister for Health and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform throughout the process.

It also said an associated annual commitment of two million euro in research funding to be allocated through the Health Research Board (HRB) was not based on any scope nor costings and that the HRB was not consulted.

The report said the proposed funding bypassed all accepted protocols for research funding and did not, in the authors opinion, meet accepted norms of scrutiny, transparency and accountability.

It said the proposed secondment and associated research funding should not have been linked together.

It said the CMO should not have been exclusively personally involved in the negotiation of funding.

Following controversy over the proposed secondment, it did not take place.

The review also details differences in the accounts of Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt and then Department of the Taoiseach chief of staff Deirdre Gillane.

Mr Watt told the review that he had informed Ms Gillane and that she was aware of all the critical details of the secondment, including the proposal to increase research funding.

He requested that comments relating to Government officials not being told be removed from the report.

Based on the facts it is not accurate to suggest that Government or key players were not told, he said.

In her submission to the review, Ms Gillane criticised some assertions made by Mr Watt as grossly inaccurate and unwarranted.

At a select health committee meeting on Wednesday, Social Democrat TD Roisin Shortall said Mr Watts account was at complete variance with the then-taoiseachs officials.

Addressing the minister, she said: Surely you cant allow that situation just to sit.

A situation where the Taoiseachs senior adviser is saying quite clearly that the account provided by your Secretary General is not accurate.

So whose account of events, minister, do you believe?

Mr Donnelly said the report is very clear that Ms Gillane did not have the details until much later in the day.

The report is very clear that Ms Gillanes account of the timings is correct.

Ms Shortall asked the minister if he intended to take any action on that.

I dont, deputy, he replied.

Ms Shortall said: We cant learn lessons unless theres accountability for what has happened already.

Mr Donnelly said Mr Watt would appear before the committee on finance, public expenditure and reform later on Wednesday.

In terms of accountability, I believe hell be before the committee for several hours today, I think that he is a senior civil servant accounting to Oireachtas through that mechanism, he said.

He said there may have been a misunderstanding in some of the testimony given.

Asked by Sinn Fein health spokesperson David Cullinane about his submissions to the review, Mr Donnelly said his main point was that, notwithstanding the letter of intent, there would still have been procedures before the allocation of funding.

Asked if he was kept in the dark until very late in the process, Mr Donnelly said the report is quite clear on timelines.

Mr Cullinane said established processes had not been followed.

This was informal, and and that informality has led, I think, to a lot of problems, he said.

Mr Donnelly said he would not disagree with that.

We always have to strive to improve at every at everything we do.

I would just like to say that having spent a lot of time on us, I do believe that everybody involved was acting in good faith.

I do believe that the proposed secondment, in fact probably most of us here believe that actually it would have been very valuable.

Mr Donnelly said several things were done to ensure transparency and that lessons were learned from the process.

The question is in the context of a proposed secondment that didnt happen, so nothing actually happened in terms of any spending of money, he said.
Colm Murphy, who was found liable in a civil trial for the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity, has died.

Murphy, 70, a Dundalk-based contractor and publican originally from Co Armagh, died in Co Louth.

A death notice on Tuesday said he had died at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with funeral details to be announced later.

The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with unborn twins, just months after the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Murphy was originally arrested over the bombing in 1999 in a joint RUC-Garda investigation. He was charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause injury as well as membership of the Real IRA.

In 2002 he was found guilty by the Dublin Special Criminal Court of conspiracy to cause the Omagh bombing and jailed for 14 years.

However, his conviction was overturned in 2005 and a new trial ordered.

In 2008 the families of some of the victims of the bombing begin a landmark civil case, suing five men they claimed were involved, including Murphy.

The following year in Belfast a judge in the civil trial ruled that Murphy and four others were all liable for the Omagh bomb, ordering them to pay a total of 1.6 million damages to 12 relatives who took the case.

In the criminal case, Murphy was cleared after a retrial in 2010, after interview evidence from the Garda was ruled inadmissible.

In 2011 he won an appeal against the civil trial verdict, but he was again found liable after a civil retrial in 2013.

Last year, a judge in Belfast recommended the UK Government carry out an investigation into the bombing, and urged the Irish Government to do likewise, after finding plausible arguments that there had been a real prospect of preventing the atrocity.

In February the UK Government ordered an independent inquiry into the bombing.
Hubs across the country will open their doors for a national Connected Hubs Showcase Day on net Wednesday, April 26th.

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys will officially launch the series of open day initiatives with a visit to the Creative Spark Downtown Hub in Dundalk in County Louth.

The hub will host an event focussed on town regeneration, hub users and their experience of returning to the area and working from the hub.

On the day hubs across the Connected Hubs network will display the incredible variety and regional diversity with a focus on promoting why their hub and locality are great places for remote workers.

This open day is taking place in support of the Governments national campaign promoting Remote Work and is likely to become an annual event in the Connected Hubs calendar.

Connected Hubs is a flagship initiative led by Minister Humphreys and the Department of Rural and Community Development and implemented by the Western Development Commission.

The initiative will connect and deepen the remote working infrastructure across rural Ireland.

The network now has 315 hubs across the country registered on its online platform.

One of the aims of the Connected Hubs initiative is to create a shared platform and brand and to raise awareness of hubs, the services they offer and the opportunities to relocate to, or establish a business from anywhere in Ireland, as well as developing and raising awareness of hubs as convenient and professional distributed workplaces.

As part of this national initiative Creative Spark Downtown Hub in Dundalk will hold a panel talk on the benefits of living, working and investing in Dundalk.

The goal of the Why Choose Dundalk event is to promote the local area and supports available from the Downtown Hub.

Registration is free and can be found here www.connectedhubs.ie/events.

Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys said: When I launched Our Rural Future, the most ambitious and transformational policy for rural development in decades, I set an ambitious goal to have 400 remote working hubs nationwide by 2025.

We are well on track to exceed that target with 315 Hubs already on the national Connected Hubs network.

I have met remote workers in every county who tell me the huge difference working from their local Hub has made to their lives: Less time commuting; More time with family; Better work-life balance.

Connected Hubs is playing a pivotal role in rural regeneration by allowing people to live, work and raise a family in their own locality.

I believe that in the 21st century the local Connected Hub will perform as important a role as the Carnegie Library network did in the last century, providing a portal for learning, economic opportunities and empowering our rural communities across the country.

Stephen Carolan, National Hub Network Programme Manager said: This national Connected Hubs Showcase Day will see hubs from all over the country take on the role as key activators of community activity, promoting their locality as a great place to live, work and invest in.

In the same way that Culture Night, Enterprise Week, the Tidy Town Awards and Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrate and raise awareness of their respective missions it will highlight the mission of hubs in driving the economic and social development of their locality.

The showcase day will encourage more employers, small businesses and start-ups to consider the wide range of remote working options available nationally.

It will also enable individual hubs to strengthen their stakeholder relationships and collaborate to attract investment, remote workers, home buyers, shoppers and visitors to their locality

Eoin Costello, National Director of Showcase Day added: This national initiative will help address the three pillars needed to deliver on the rural repopulation through remote working goals of the Department of Rural and Community Development's 'Our Rural Future', a strong hub in a vibrant locality with engaged stakeholders.

It will help local people know the value of their hub and what it does in a very visible way.
The MG brand collapsed with the entry into its various markets by cheaper, better and more reliable cars from Japan and then Korea.

They could not respond fast enough, got swallowed by the Rover Group that eventually collapsed entirely in 2005 finally being bought by Chinese car companies, with the current owner SAIC.

The MG brand evokes a lot of motoring memories and is a prized badge on a car, and Rover used it to full advantage with the MG range of what were essentially Rover cars.

They traded on the badge and in fairness there were some tasty cars that warranted the badge - not all of them mind.

When the Chinese took over they sold cars like the MG TF and the MG3, which was a rebadged Rover 25, and MG7 which was essentially the Rover 75 - a particularly good car that deserved more success than it got.

The first all new model under Chinese ownership was the MG6 in 2011 and they have produced their own car designs since then.

Here in Ireland we were not able to buy them properly until 2020 when they made a big splash return to the Irish market.

They are now a familiar sight on Irish roads, embraced by the taxi drivers (always considered a good measure of a car) and have a decent range of body styles and means of propulsion.

And then there is the MG4. This is a seismic step for MG and from the moment I saw it I said get that here quickly.

Its a car that looks simply stunning, has some striking angles and edges and screams futuristic.

The designers had a ball designing this car and it shows. The rear showcases the design best with the inlaid LED lights across the back. Not only that but it is fully electric on a dedicated EV platform so its at the top of buyers lists.

But electric cars are expensive and only the well off can afford them as they are not mass market cars?

Think again, this car has a price starting at 29,495. For that you get 150 kw of power and a 51lWh battery that has a claimed range of 350kms.

My top of the range model called the Exclusive Long Range has a bigger 64kWh battery thats good for 435kms. Itll do 0-100km/h in 7.9s pushing hard from the rear wheels as it is driven from there.

All those stats should tell you that you are getting an awful lot of car for the money. Itll charge fully overnight in just 7.5 hours or 35 mins from a fast charger to get from 10% to 80% which I did over a cup of tea and a bacon sandwich in Mullingar.

That trip to and from Mullingar gave me an opportunity to test the car's ability and energy performance.

I took the motorway down and the twisties back. EV driving on the motorway is very Zen. Set the cruise to 100 or 110 kM/h to save as much electricity as possible and let the car do the driving with its adaptive cruise control.

All isnt perfect in the MG4 and I found the adaptive programme used to be a bit severe with unexpectedly hard braking at times.

On the way back having recharged I was a bit more exuberant and revelled in driving it around the bends. It is a very well planted car and the stability it maintains is uncanny.

It is comfortable too and the minimalist cabin feels airy and is spacious. Its not hard to see where the MG engineers took their inspiration for the interior from.

They must have dissected all the Tesla models because it is very Teslasque. The central display controls everything and in front of the driver is a square digital display for all the things you expect.

There are steering wheel controls with two buttons that are capable of being set for any function you choose instead of scrolling through menus.

Of course there is voice control which I always recommend as the default choice.Materials used are excellent and I could not find a standout compromise so top marks for MG.

Its ironic that the brand that was mercilessly attacked by the oriental brands is now leading the charge for one of them and is making serious inroads here.

Established brands must be very nervous because MG are not coming in and offering cheap basic cars to establish sales and then build the brand up the prestige ladder.

No, they are coming in with honed and super modern cars that can go head to head with the best the competition can offer. Theres assurance too with a 7 year warranty up to 150,000kms.

Notwithstanding all the above the MG4 is the best electric car in its class and probably one of the best electric cars, period.

I wonder who will suffer a similar fate that MG suffered all those years ago because for sure, there will be casualties with MG and other Chinese brands bringing top quality cars to the market like the MG4.
Early Childhood Ireland has today announced that 24 of its member settings in Louth contributed almost 10,000 to an impressive total of 349,222 raised on National Pyjama Day 2022.

Running for 19 years, National Pyjama Day is the largest one-day fundraising event organised by the Early Years and School Age Care sector in Ireland.

On the special day last November, over 60,000 enthusiastic children and their educators were sponsored to wear their cosy pjs in 1,142 settings all across Ireland.

As well as supporting a new member project to enhance quality for children in Early Years and School Age Care settings, Early Childhood Irelands 3,900 members also voted to support AsIAm.

The autism charity underwent an appraisal process conducted by the Community Foundation for Ireland.

Commenting on the announcement, Teresa Heeney, CEO, Early Childhood Ireland said: We are so proud of the positive impact that will happen as a direct result of the funds raised by our fantastic members.

These donations will make a tangible difference to the lives of children with autism and will also continue to enhance quality for children in the Early Years and School Age Care sector in Ireland.

On behalf of everyone at Early Childhood Ireland, I would like to thank our members, their educators and the children at their settings together with their families for supporting this important fundraiser year after year.

For the first time ever, we also had a donation button for the general public and people have been so giving. Thank you for your generosity.

As well as the AsIAms Child and Family Support Programme, money raised will also benefit The Reggio Children Project 2023.

AsIAms Child and Family Support Programme provides group-based support to autistic children and their families, while building the capacity of families to engage with support services and advocate for the critical support they require.

This years donation will support 400 children to build meaningful relationships with others in similar situations, participate and thrive in local communities and reduce isolation and anxiety about the future.

Inspired by the commitment to quality for children, which Early Childhood Ireland shares with its members, the funds raised for the Reggio Children Project will deliver three interconnected activities:

1. A Reggio Emilia Study Tour for 24 members of Early Childhood Ireland in April.

2. A week-long event delivered by Reggio Emilia in Ireland in May, with a focus on quality in education aimed at Early Childhood Irelands members, stakeholders and policy makers, to include setting visits and seminars.

3. A bespoke eLearning toolkit for members of Early Childhood Ireland available from September, inspired by the collaboration between Early Childhood Ireland and Reggio Children.

For more information about National Pyjama Day, visit: https://www.earlychildhoodireland.ie/pyjama-day/
Cork City representatives are to travel to Portugal next month to visit supervised injection centres, to inform a similar facility in Cork.

The trip will see a group of Cork City councillors, HSE staff and An Garda Siochana staff visit facilities in Porto and Lisbon that are providing a means for drug users to safely inject heroin.

Lord Mayor of Cork Deirdre Forde will be joined by former lord mayors Colm Kelleher and Dr John Sheehan, as well as councillor Damian Boylan of the Joint Policing Committee and councillor Thomas Maloney of the youth group Foroige.

Blackpool-based GP Dr John Sheehan said discussions surrounding a possible centre in Cork have been ongoing for some time, adding he hopes their trip in May will shed further light on how to establish the facility.

We been talking about an injecting centre for the last number of years, said Dr Sheehan.

Ultimately, this is about saving lives because about 20% of drug abusers are people that are called chaotic drug abusers, and theyre the ones who are injecting down the alleyway or the laneway.

In those cases, there are discarded needles left in toilets and in alleys and all of the chaos that kind of comes with that. Every year, unfortunately, we come across individuals who have stepped on discarded needles, or they are found near school playgrounds or something like that, he added.

Thats very worrying for parents, for teachers and for pupils.

Dr Sheehan said that implementing centres where drug users can safely use will greatly reduce the level of drug litter and will be a positive for the city.

The city council, the gardai, and the HSE are all in agreement that this is a positive step for the city, he said. It is important to get all stakeholders on board and to communicate to everyone else, to the traders and the city, because sometimes there can be huge fear about these sort of things.

Colm Kelleher added his support for a supervised injection centre ahead of the trip to Portugal.

I know firsthand how addiction as a whole, in particular heroin addiction, can affect a family member and the family unit  in this case my brother, he said.

So, Im speaking from experience and its something I have long championed.

Mr Kelleher has previously visited similar supervised injection facilities in New Jersey, where centres have attributed to an 85% reduction of open drug use.

The location for any proposed centre in Cork has not yet been decided but Mr Kelleher stated it would be located on HSE grounds.
OVERCROWDING in Cork hospitals was described as unacceptable in the Dail yesterday after both Cork University Hospital (CUH) and the Mercy University Hospital (MUH) recorded new highs in the numbers of patients waiting for a bed.

Up until this morning, the record admitted but without a bed at Cork University Hospital was 90, Socialist Party & Solidarity TD Mick Barry said yesterday.

This morning that record was broken when 92 patients were without a bed.

Up until this morning, the record of patients admitted but without a bed at the Mercy University Hospital was 38. This morning that record was broken too  40 patients at the Mercy without a bed this morning.

According to the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) TrolleyWatch figures, of those waiting on trolleys at CUH, 77 were in the emergency department (ED) with a further 15 patients in wards elsewhere.

At MUH, the 40 patients on trolleys at the hospital were waiting at the hospitals ED.

INMO assistant director of industrial relations for the Southern region Colm Porter described the situation as out of control.

Overcrowding in both major hospitals in Cork has become out of hand, with records being broken in both Cork University Hospital and the Mercy, he said.

It is clear now that this warrants a national response from the Health Service Executive.

Highlighting the pressures on frontline workers, he said the situation at CUH is continuing to deteriorate week on week.

Our members are under significant pressure across all wards. The bed deficit that currently exists in CUH is impacting the ability of our members to carry out the safe care they have been trained to provide to patients.

Immediate engagement is required to ensure that discharge facilities are available in the community and that all capacity that can be used from the private sector is being deployed.

INMO industrial relations officer Liam Conway described the conditions in the Mercy over the last two weeks as intolerable for nurses.

There are real concerns for nurse safety when it comes to fire safety and infection control due to the levels of overcrowding. Our members are calling it for what it is inside the Mercy  dangerous. Patients are being cared for near exit doors and in areas blocking fire safety equipment. This is not acceptable.

As well as a national response from the HSE, the hospital and the South/Southwest Hospital Group is required today on de-escalation protocols and the cancellation of all non-urgent elective care, Mr Conway said.

In a joint statement issued yesterday afternoon, a spokesperson said the two hospitals are currently experiencing increased level of activity due to the large volumes of patients presenting which may regrettably cause delays for some patients in the EDs.

CUH has also experienced long standing issues with acute inpatient capacity which unfortunately results in a large number of patients having to endure lengthy waiting times for admission. CUH and MUH are working with HSE colleagues regionally and nationally to address this.

In the Dail, Mr Barry said: Limerick was the capital city of hospital overcrowding on your watch, Taoiseach, and on the watch of the three quiet men, ministers Martin, Coveney, and McGrath, that mantle seems to be passing to Cork. Its not good enough.
THE Cork International Hotel is celebrating World Book Day with a Paddington Bear-themed event for all the family to enjoy.

Hosted over three days, the hotel is providing an afternoon tea complete with marmalade sandwiches and a screening of the much-loved film starring Hugh Bonneville, Nicole Kidman, and Hugh Grant.

World Book Day takes place on April 23 and the Cork International Hotel will be welcoming families to mark the occasion on April 21, 22, and 23.

Events kick off at 12pm each day with a screening of Paddington in the hotel cinema, followed by the Paddington Bear-themed afternoon tea.

Children will also be treated to a story corner at 3pm where a hotel team member will read to them.

Cork International Hotel general manager Eoghan Murphy said he is delighted to be offering our customers, young and old, a chance to celebrate World Book Day.
LATEST:

SIPTU has written to management seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the safety concerns of workers following a workplace accident at a Stryker plant in East Cork on Tuesday.

Two men suffered suspected burns during a workplace accident at the companys Anngrove site in Carrigtwohill on Tuesday afternoon.

One of the men underwent lengthy emergency surgery on Tuesday and is now on life support at Cork University Hospital (CUH).

A second man who was injured in the incident was also taken to hospital with less serious injuries.

SIPTU members have expressed their deepest sympathies to two workers.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Neil McGowan said: The two workers and their families are uppermost in our thoughts and all SIPTU members at the plant wish them a speedy and full recovery from the serious injuries they suffered.

We will await the outcome of an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority before we comment further on the incident.

We have today written to management seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the safety concerns of workers on the three Stryker sites in Carrigtwohill. We want to ensure that the best safety systems possible are in place across the sites.

SIPTU Organiser, Allen Dillon, added: "Our members have previously raised health and safety concerns and we have been seeking engagement with management on these matters since 2019. We want to take a collaborative approach in order to ensure the safest possible environment for all workers on the Cork sites."

EARLIER:

A family member of the man who is on life support has asked the people of Cork to pray for him.

In a statement issued on Wednesday on behalf of the man's family, a family spokesperson said they received "the worst news yesterday afternoon" following the incident during which he said his family member sustained massive burns.

In the statement to The Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's RedFM, the family spokesperson described his family member as a kind, mild-mannered family man, 41 years old, with a loving wife, a baby, a young child and a stepson - who are his world.

He was living the perfect life until 1 oclock, yesterday.

His devoted parents, wife and siblings are devastated and keeping vigil at the hospital.

He was in surgery until late last night and is on life support.

Our extended family are heartbroken and feel helpless at this shocking turn of events.

In the statement, the spokesperson said they wanted to portray the human side of yesterdays incident in the hope that people would keep the injured man in their thoughts and prayers.

"I just wanted to put the human side of the story out there, so that your listeners might keep him in their thoughts and prayers, that he will pull through, as all we have is hope and prayer, the statement read.

INVESTIGATION

Following the incident, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) told The Echo that it was aware of the incident and had launched an investigation.

While the exact nature of the incident remains under investigation, it is understood it occurred on the roof of the plant.

Emergency services including the Cork County Fire Service, the National Ambulance Service, and gardai, responded to the scene at approximately 1.15pm yesterday afternoon.

A spokesperson for the Cork County Fire Service said it was reported that one person had suffered burns while working on equipment located on the roof.

Midleton Fire Brigade received a call to assist with a medical emergency in Stryker Anngrove IDA Business Park, Carrigtwohill at 13.09 today [Tuesday].

It was reported that one person had suffered burns while working on equipment which was located on the roof and that the fire was out.

One fire appliance and an emergency tender responded from Midleton Fire Station, the spokesperson said.

A spokesperson for Stryker confirmed to The Echo on Tuesday that two people were transferred to hospital following the incident and all others were safely evacuated from the facility.

The spokesperson said the incident was "managed by our emergency response team with support from local emergency services".

The spokesperson for Stryker told The Echo: "Were committed to a safe and healthy work environment at all of our facilities. Were working closely with the authorities to investigate the incident. A medical equipment manufacturer, Stryker is a large employer in Cork, with over 4,100 employees across its six Cork-based six sites.

Its Anngrove site, which was officially opened in 2016, is one of the largest 3D printing facilities in the world and is also the worldwide headquarters of the AMagine Institute which develops breakthrough technologies from early research and development to support the full commercial launch and scaling across a broad portfolio of products and services.
The heart of science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) at University College Cork (UCC), the Kane Science building, will undergo significant redevelopment after receiving 25 million in funding under the second round of Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund.

Opened in 1971, the Kane Science Building supports undergraduate and postgraduate education for approximately 1,500 students per year.

The redevelopment will facilitate the education of 300 more STEM students at undergraduate and postgraduate level per year through redeveloped and expanded state of the art teaching and research spaces.

The Kane building has seen many wonderful scientists and students work within it over many generations and this funding secures the future of a building which plays such a pivotal role in helping us develop excellent graduates and expand our world class research," President of UCC, Professor John OHalloran, said.

The funding awarded by the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science will amplify the critical contribution of the University and the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science to the regional and national economy, through enhanced STEM education and research.

The funding will also ensure the Kane building becomes more sustainable and energy efficient reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 51%, helping UCC achieve its 2030 carbon reduction targets and serving as an exemplar of how retrofitting can be deployed in publicly funded buildings and adapted to respond to climate mitigation measures.

"This investment into the Kane Building at UCC is of immense value both to the university and to the region as a whole.

UCC STEM graduates help underpin Irelands Biotechnology, ICT and Pharma sector, with many of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies present in Cork," Head of the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science Professor Sarah Culloty said.
A woman who was arrested in Cork city told the arresting officer: You have no idea who I know, you are dead.

Now at Cork District Court, 45-year-old Amanda Kenny of no fixed address has been sentenced to four months for this and other offences.

Sergeant Gearoid Davis outlined the background to the offences committed by the accused.

On September 6, 2021 she was stopped at Parnell Place, and found to be in possession of a clear zip-lock bag with cannabis inside. She admitted having the drug for her own use. On April 21, 2022 at Crane Lane, Cork, she was caught with heroin for her own use.

More recently, on February 11 this year at Merchants Quay, gardai had to go to the assistance of an ambulance crew because of her behaviour. She was verbally abusive, calling one garda a dirty rotten bastard.

The following day, gardai had to go to the assistance of staff at the Simon Community because she was not welcome at the premises and she was aggressive and refusing to leave.

On February 27, Garda Ross Broekhuizen encountered Ms Kenny in an intoxicated condition on Oliver Plunkett Street where she was stumbling on to the road.

When she was being arrested she shouted at Garda Broekhuizen, threatening him that he was dead.

On Sunday, April 16, she was involved in a drunken disturbance at the bus station on Parnell Place.

Solicitor Frank Buttimer said: This is a 45-year-old lady. She has substantially recovered from a heroin addiction. She does continue to have significant problems with alcohol  presently untreated. Plans for rehabilitation are aspirational rather than actual. Her offending takes place in or about the Simon community, Lower Oliver Plunkett Street and Parnell Place. There is this constant draw of alcohol drawing her to the area and meeting people for the purpose of drinking.

It does upset her to hear she behaved in the manner described by the guards. She accepts the guards properly approached her to make sure she was OK.

Judge Kelleher imposed the total sentence of four months and said: The very people helping her in Cork Simon had to call the guards to protect themselves from her.
A 72-year-old man was approached by a garda because of his drunken behaviour in Cork city and when asked for his name he said it was Prince Charles.

He later complained that the garda was a disgrace for arresting Prince Charles.

Garda Alan ODonovan gave evidence in the case against Michael Ambrose at Cork District Court.

The case was listed for hearing but Mr Ambrose failed to appear so Judge Olann Kelleher said the case could go ahead in his absence.

Garda ODonovan testified that the incident occurred after 2am on November 29, 2022.

Garda ODonovan found him out in the middle of MacCurtain Street. He was asked to walk on the footpath and did so but then stumbled back out on to the road.

The member of An Garda Siochana then required him to give his name. He gave his name as Prince Charles, Garda ODonovan testified.

There was a strong smell of intoxicating liquor from the 72-year-old and he was arrested and charged for being intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself or others. He was also charged with failing to give his name and address when required.

When I arrested him and charged and cautioned him he told me I was a disgrace for arresting Prince Charles.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the accused had no previous convictions.

Judge Olann Kelleher convicted and fined him 150 for being drunk and a danger, and 100 for refusing to give his details.
By Jonathan McCambridge and Rebecca Black, PA

The DUP has been urged to grasp the goodwill being shown to Northern Ireland during the Good Friday Agreement commemorations and restore the power-sharing institutions at Stormont.

Sinn Fein MP John Finucane said the executive needed to come together to speak with a united voice to the Treasury about budget difficulties in the region.

But DUP MLA Emma Little-Pengelly said that power-sharing could only be restored on the right foundations and added that action by the UK Government was needed to bring Stormont back.

The remarks come ahead of an address by British prime minister Rishi Sunak to close a major three-day conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Sir Tony Blair, former US president Bill Clinton and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern have been among those taking part in a conference to mark the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement (Niall Carson/PA)

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Finucane told the BBC Good Morning Ulster programme that he wanted to see the democratic outcome of last years Assembly elections, in which Sinn Fein emerged as the largest party, respected.

He said: The DUP should move to enable power-sharing to take place, they should prioritise the needs of those who are on the waiting lists, children who have had access to holiday meals removed, and grasp the opportunity, because that is something that has also shone through powerfully over the last two days, the enormous positivity and goodwill that we have been presented with to allow our economy to progress and flourish and to deliver for everyone in our society.

Mr Finucane was asked about a leaked Northern Ireland Office briefing paper which recommends revenue-raising measures such as water charges and higher tuition fees should be the focus of future Stormont budgets.

He said: The key in this is the need for a restored executive because nobody is under any illusions that there are very tough decisions to be made.

The need for all of that requires an executive and that united voice going to the British treasury and asking for the funds that are necessary.

Emma Little-Pengelly said Stormont could only return with the right foundations (Niall Carson/PA)

But Ms Little-Pengelly said the issues which caused the collapse of the Stormont institutions have still not been fully addressed.

I think it is important that we put across our position, we have been very clear that we want to see devolution restored, but it has to be restored on the right foundations, she told the BBC Nolan Show.

She added: We need to address what it was that broke this in the first place.

The Secretary of State (Chris Heaton-Harris) knows that, he knows what needs to be done.

Quite frankly, making speeches and having digs is not going to resolve this, what is going to resolve it is talking with each other, it is action by the UK Government, there is a pathway to getting Stormont back.

Our plea to everybody is to get on with that.

The UK government insists the DUP concerns have been addressed by the new trading deal it struck with the EU, the Windsor Framework.

But Northern Irelands largest unionist party has insisted the UK government needs to provide it with further legal assurances on sovereignty and the application of EU law in Northern Ireland.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
Michael Bolton

Pro-choice campaigners are calling for the 3-day waiting period to access an early abortion to be removed.

The measure was brought in 2018 after the repeal referendum, alongside new laws allowing terminations during the first 12-weeks of pregnancy.

Anyone looking to access a termination during the first 12 weeks of pregnancy, has to arrange two doctor's appointments spaced at least three days apart.

The Irish Family Planning Association has described the measure is 'inappropriate' and 'paternalistic' towards women. The association says of the almost 500 women who attended their clinic for abortion services in 2021, around 97.5 per cent went ahead with their terminations.

Action for Choice, which is a member of the National Women's Council's Abortion Working Group, is also calling for the 3-day 'reflection' period to be abolished..

Sinead Kennedy from the group says women should be trusted to make important decisions about their lives.

"One of the things that came up very much in the referendum was that people needed to trust women to make these decisions for themselves. I think overwhelmingly, that was one of the key sentements behind the enourmous support behind repeal.

"We trust women to make these decisions. Women are capable of making difficult, complex, moral and ethical decisions."
By PA Reporters

Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as extraordinary.

Addressing the event at Queens University in Belfast, Mrs Clinton said she had received messages from people around the world.

Her remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mrs Clinton said: I want to thank everyone for the last extraordinary days of events.

I have heard from people from the United States to Singapore, we have heard from the architects of the Good Friday Agreement about the challenges they encountered and the solutions they built.

We have had a chance to reflect on what has been achieved and to really honour all of the citizens of Northern Ireland who made the peace possible.

We also recognise the impact of those who often go unrecognised, the many women of Northern Ireland who were crucial to the agreements inception and its longevity.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, paid tribute to the peace accord for ending conflict in Northern Ireland.

He said it took strength and courage, and people being able to listen to each other and shake hands despite past divisions.

Congressman Joe Kennedy III said peace and prosperity were linked. Photo: Brian Lawless/PA.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, especially when we look at the arc of human history, full of conflicts that continue to divide people leading to intense suffering generation after generation.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

US envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, whose remit is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, earlier emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Hillary Clinton attended an education event in Limavady. Photo: Niall Carson/PA.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

By Amy Westervelt

One by one, big oil firms have touted their investments in algae biofuels as the future of low-carbon transportation  and one by one, they have all dropped out. Now in the wake of the last remaining algae proponent, ExxonMobil, announcing its withdrawal, insiders say they are disappointed but not surprised.

Algae research was central to Exxons green marketing campaigns for years, and frequently criticized as greenwashing rather than a genuine research effort.

But several of its former research partners told the Guardian that it was serious about the potential of algae biofuels  explaining why it stayed in the field long past the point at which other oil companies dropped out  but not serious enough.

In its 12 years in the space, Exxon invested $350m in algae biofuels, according to spokesperson Casey Norton. (Norton says thats more than double what the company spent on touting this research in ads.)

Even so, every algae researcher who spoke to the Guardian said a real effort to commercialize biofuels, algal or otherwise, requires several billion dollars, and a long-term dedication to overcoming seemingly fundamental biological limitations of wild organisms. And no oil company was willing to go that far.

Its very challenging and very expensive to bring these technologies to market, said George Huber, whose biofuels research at the University of Wisconsin at Madison was funded by Exxon for years. Its not gonna happen overnight. Its great they make these commitments, but you know they need to start putting more capital into these projects.

He added: Theyre driven by Wall Street and they have to keep their stock prices high and keep their shareholders happy. And usually thats making a large amount of money. All the oil companies have been talking about the need to get into more sustainable things, but its hard to make money with. And most of their money comes from oil.

The appeal of algae as a feedstock for biofuels was twofold: because they grow in large concentrations in ponds, they dont compete with food crops for arable land. And some strains produce large amounts of lipids  fatty acids that can produce an oil, which can be turned into fuel relatively easily. But competing with abundantly available and heavily subsidized fossil fuels, particularly gas, was not so easy.

One of the biggest challenges was that wild strains of algae couldnt deliver the high levels of lipids needed to produce large quantities of fuel, said Todd Peterson, the former CTO of Viridos, Exxons longstanding and now former algae research partner.

Thats why Viridos was focused on genetically modifying the organisms to maximize lipid production. And they were making real progress. The magic formula for commercial viability of algae biofuels is a strain that can produce 15g of oil per square meter in an outdoor environment, and one Viridos strain had reached 10. Its hard to engineer an organism that is hundreds of millions of years old to behave differently, Peterson said.

Peterson, who worked for the company from 2013 to 2018, said he always got the impression the scientists at Exxon that Viridos worked with were serious about the research. Im disappointed, he said of Exxons withdrawal from algae, but trying to keep an open mind. You never know what the shifting priorities are within a company.

Viridos laid off 60% of its workforce after Exxons December 2022 withdrawal from the sector, which was only revealed by Bloomberg last month. On Monday, Viridos announced a $25m round of funding led by Bill Gatess Breakthrough Energy, with Chevron and United Airlines contributing as well.

Despite making enormous progress over the past decade, most algae researchers say algae biofuels at the sort of scale necessary to meet current fuel demands are still at least a decade, and more likely two decades, away. It is possible that more investment during the years in which oil companies touted their investments in the space would have moved the needle faster. Exxon ultimately invested just over half of the $600m it once promised back in 2009, according to Norton.

Multiple former Viridos employees who requested anonymity because they had signed non-disclosure agreements said the Exxon research funding never seemed like much, but the company would send big crews out to the algae ponds to get video for its ads. I would see them running and think I wish they had given us more research funding versus spending so much on advertising, one former employee said.

It is not unusual for companies to shift their investment priorities over time as markets and revenues change.

The first big investments in algal biofuels research happened during the 1970s, when oil supply was constrained thanks to the Opec embargo against the United States, and all the oil majors plowed funds into alternative fuels and renewable energy tech. At the time, Exxon was investing in everything from solar and nuclear to lithium batteries and climate change research. When the bottom dropped out of the oil market in the 1980s, all of that stopped.

Similarly, oil majors BP, Shell, Chevron and ExxonMobil all swung big for algae beginning in 2008, announcing hundreds of millions of dollars in research funding. Then the fracking boom went bust in 2015, and one by one they dropped out. Some, like Shell, continued major investments in biofuels more broadly, but only Exxon stayed in algae.

Today, in addition to Exxons pullout, there are other reasons to question algaes promise.

The algae boom emerged at a time in the early 2000s when it seemed like the world still needed to run on some sort of liquid fuel, said Matthew Posewitz, of the Colorado School of Mines and National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Posewitzs algae lab was funded by Exxon for eight years. Now theres another transition  a lot of ground transportation will become electrified and you might not need liquid fuels there, which means a smaller market, basically just jets and boats.

Posewitz credited Exxon with being a very involved partner. Theyre paying attention to the data and influencing research directions and informing academics of market needs, Posewitz said. And thats what you want. Sometimes academics can go in a direction that doesnt fulfill any market need.

All the researchers who spoke to the Guardian agreed: what was needed to make algal fuels a success was a longer runway and funding in the billions  closer to what oil companies spend on fossil fuels.

It was great while Exxon was interested, but in the end its going to take more time and investment to mature this from a fuels perspective and they have other priorities, Posewitz said.

This story originally appeared in The Guardian, and is part of Covering Climate Now, a global journalism collaboration strengthening coverage of the climate story.
Opening of Hanover Fair 2023 with Dr. Gunther Kegel, President of ZVEI, Bettina Stark-Watzinger, Federal Minister of Education and Research, H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Stephan Weil, Prime Minister of Lower Saxony.

Despite similar growth forecasts of 1 to 2 percent, the BDI sees Germany's competitiveness waning, while the ZVEI emphasizes innovation and job growth.

At the opening of the Hanover Trade Fair, the associations BDI (Federation of German Industries) and ZVEI (Association of the Electrical and Digital Industry) announced their assessment of the economic situation.

The BDI expects only slight growth in exports and manufacturing production for the current year. The economic momentum in our country is currently still decidedly low, said BDI President Siegfried Russwurm on Monday at the start of the Hanover Fair. The BDI forecasts an increase in exports of just two percent this year. While this is twice as much as in the BDI's forecast at the start of the year, it is lower growth than in 2021 and 2022. Last year, there was an increase of just under three percent.

Manufacturing sector losing global market share

World trade will grow by 2.5 percent this year, faster than exports made in Germany. Once again, we are losing world market share because world trade is growing faster than our exports  Germany's competitiveness is fading, Russwurm stressed. According to the BDI, global competitiveness and investment behavior are being hit above all by the current prices for electricity and energy. The high industrial electricity price urgently needs to return to a competitive European level, otherwise the transformation in industry risks failing, Russwurm explained.

ZVEI and its member companies are more optimistic about 2023, with price-adjusted real output picking up 6 percentage points in the first two months of the year. The strong first two months prompted the ZVEI to raise its annual forecast for real production from 0 to 1 to 2 percent. Particularly encouraging in this regard is the continued increase in employment, said ZVEI President Dr. Gunther Kegel at the opening press conference for the Hanover Fair. According to the ZVEI, for the first time in a quarter of a century, the industry employs more than 900,000 people in Germany alone (just under 902,000).

The association of the electrical and digital industry places the positive development in the context of the two megatrends electrification and digitization. For two years, we have observed that our industry is developing more dynamically than the manufacturing sector on average, emphasizes Dr. Kegel. There is no doubt that this has to do with the transformation to a climate-neutral industrial society.

Reduction of bureaucracy demanded

Both the BDI and the ZVEI are critical of the steady increase in state intervention in economic activity, most recently in the form of the Competition Enforcement Act. Instead of constantly creating new bureaucratic monstrosities, the German government should concentrate on its actual tasks and ensure competitive framework conditions, said the ZVEI president, criticizing the approach of politicians to slow down entrepreneurial freedom through dragging-out approval procedures and excessive documentation and reporting requirements. The over-bureaucratization paralyzes and is to the detriment of competition and innovation, says the ZVEI president, calling for Germany to finally get serious about its speed.
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Post Office to Run Tender for Postal Services in Peel

Isle of Man Post Office (IOMPO) is running a tender exercise (on the Isle of Man Government procurement website) for the provision of counter and/or parcel collection services in Peel.

Now that the contractual three-month cooling off period in which the sub postmaster could have rescinded their termination notice has passed, IOMPO is launching a tender exercise to seek to maintain counter, postal and bill payment services in this area through the provision of a counter and/or a parcel collection point. Its preferred outcome would be to select a single preferred supplier covering both the counter and parcel collection services. However, consideration will be given to submissions from interested parties who could provide one or more of the services. This opportunity is for a fixed period, until 31st March 2025, with the option to extend one year.

Earlier this year when the sub postmasters termination notice was received, IOMPO ran a Request for Information advert on the Government portal seeking to understand what interest there was from existing or new businesses in the community and this will now be explored more formally through a tender exercise.

Stu Peters MHK, Chairman of Isle of Man Post Office said: On behalf of the Board, I would like to thank the outgoing sub postmaster for the services she has provided on our behalf and that of our commercial partners for the past 9 years. This formal tender process builds on the more informal Requests for Information previously issued and based upon that feedback, IOMPO would feel confident in successfully appointing a new sub postmaster to continue to provide services to the community of Peel.

The closing date for expressing an interest in the tender is noon Friday 5th May 2023.
Snapchat is expanding ChatGPT-powered My AI service to all users The company still says the bot cant be trusted for advice.

Snapchats ChatGPT-powered AI personality is expanding to all the apps users. An upgraded version of My AI, the in-app chatbot that was previously limited to Snapchat+ subscribers, is now launching globally, Snap CEO Evan Spiegel announced at the companys Partner Summit event.

With the expansion, My AI has a number of new Snapchat-specific features. It can provide Snapchat users with recommendations for restaurants and other activities based on whats popular in the Snap Map, and can suggest augmented reality lenses. Users can also add the AI to group chats, and set a custom name and avatar (via Bitmoji) for the AI persona. My AI is also now able to respond to photo and video snaps. For now, it can only respond with text messages, but Snap says that soon it will be able to respond to snaps with its own AI-generated art. (That feature will, however, be exclusive to Snapchat+.)

While My AIs rollout has been limited until now, the company says that My AI has already been a hit with users, who exchange 2 million messages a day with the bot. Snaps implementation of OpenAIs technology has also been criticized, though. The Washington Post reported that the bot engaged in inappropriate conversations and gave questionable advice to researchers posing as teens.

Now, Snap says that My AI uses additional moderation technology so that users can be temporarily restricted from the feature if they misuse the service. The company also says the AI has been trained to consider the age of the user its messaging with to help prevent chats from veering into unsafe territory. Additionally, parents will eventually be able to use the apps parental control feature, Family Center, to track how much time their teens are spending chatting with their new AI friend.

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Even so, Snap seems to be well-aware of the limitations of My AI, which it has previously described as prone to hallucination. Even Spiegel, who has suggested that interacting with AI like ChatGPT will soon be an everyday activity, was somewhat cautious in his endorsement My AI certainly makes plenty of mistakes, so you cant rely on it for advice, but its definitely entertaining, he said.
corpuls is a leading global medical technology provider, focusing on high quality and innovative products for professional users in emergency situations.

The Company sells its products in more than 60 countries with a particular focus on portable defibrillator and monitoring systems as well as devices for mechanical chest compression and the corresponding software solutions.

Based on its extensive experience in the healthcare sector, Nordic Capital will support corpuls' continued growth trajectory in close partnership with the founding family and the management team, while staying true to the Company's emphasis on innovation and quality.

(Informacion remitida por la empresa firmante)

STOCKHOLM, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nordic Capital has agreed to acquire a majority share in corpuls to support the Company's next phase of growth, in partnership with the founding family. corpuls is an innovative medical technology company, specialising in emergency medical solutions and cardiac resuscitation with a key focus on the external defibrillator segment. The Company is one of Germany's fastest growing mid-market companies due to an innovative product portfolio and pronounced research & development capabilities.

The founding family of corpuls is committed to a long-term partnership with Nordic Capital and will remain invested in the company and represented on the management board. Together, Nordic Capital and the founding family are dedicated to continuing to invest in innovation at the Company's site, furthering its telemedicine offering, accelerating its growth in the hospital segment and further expanding its international footprint.

corpuls develops a range of medical products and solutions, including advanced life support defibrillators and monitoring devices, automated external defibrillators, chest compression devices as well as telemedicine and software solutions. The products are designed to support professional users, such as emergency medical professionals in delivering critical care to patients under demanding circumstances. corpuls was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Kaufering, Germany. The Company has just acquired a new factory site near its headquarters on which an additional production facility is to be built. corpuls sells its products in more than 60 countries, posted revenues of EUR 127 mn in 2022 and employs 450 people in total. The Company has recently been recognised in a study as the fastest growing SME in Germany with an impressive annual revenue growth rate of 26.5 % between 2017 and 2021.

With its extensive expertise in the healthcare sector, Nordic Capital will help corpuls continue its successful growth trajectory. Nordic Capital has more than 30 years of experience in supporting the growth of innovative healthcare and technology companies globally, and is an active investor in the DACH region. Healthcare, and especially medical technologies, is one of Nordic Capital's key focus sectors since its establishment in 1989 and the investment in corpuls fully aligns with Nordic Capital's focus on innovative, differentiated, and responsible healthcare companies. Previous Nordic Capital investments include companies such as The Binding Site, a global leader in specialty diagnostics, Equashield, a leading global provider of closed system transfer devices designed to protect healthcare professionals from exposure to hazardous drugs, Advanz Pharma, a global specialty pharmaceutical company, and Sunrise Medical, a global leader within rehab mobility solutions.

"We are excited to partner with Nordic Capital with the objective of jointly supporting the next stage of corpuls' growth. Having attracted a leading investor like Nordic Capital is a testimony to the remarkable success of our company over the past years. They are the ideal partner for further developing corpuls, for solidifying our position as a leading technology supplier for cardiac resuscitation and emergency medical solutions, and for expanding into new markets. We share the same perspective about innovative high-quality products and continued strong growth of the company," said Klaus Stemple, CTO, corpuls.

"We have followed and admired corpuls for many years and are impressed by the company's product differentiation, based on strong innovation power, unique know-how in the organisation, outstanding customer feedback and a successful track record of growth. Nordic Capital greatly values the unique expertise that exists within corpuls and believes that investing in talent as well as staying true to corpuls' roots and quality will be key to future success," said Jonas Agnblad, Partner, Nordic Capital Advisors.

"With this transaction, Nordic Capital is further strengthening its footprint as a partner to support innovative, mid-sized growth companies in the important German-speaking region. corpuls is a prime example of companies Nordic Capital likes to invest in to drive the business forward in a true spirit of partnership: a strong track record of growth alongside dedicated family owners and founders as well as a strong management team and skilled employees," said Rainer Lenhard, Partner and Head of DACH, Nordic Capital Advisors.

The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including relevant regulatory approvals with completion being expected at the end of Q2 or the beginning of Q3 2023.

Media contacts:

Nordic CapitalKatarina Janerud, Communications ManagerNordic Capital Advisorse-mail: katarina.janerud@nordiccapital.comTel: +46 8 440 50 50

corpulsSusanne Bosch, Editor Communications & Marketinge-mail: susanne.bosch@corpuls.comTel: +49 8191 657220

About corpulsGS Elektromedizinische Gerate G- Stemple GmbH  known under the brand name corpuls  based in Kaufering, Germany, has been developing and manufacturing innovative high-end devices for emergency and intensive care medicine for more than 40 years. With 450 employees, GS develops defibrillators, monitoring devices, and chest compression devices for cardiac resuscitation, as well as digital solutions in telemedicine and quality management. For further information, please visit https://corpuls.world/en/

About Nordic CapitalNordic Capital is a leading private equity investor with a resolute commitment to creating stronger, sustainable businesses through operational improvement and transformative growth. Nordic Capital focuses on selected regions and sectors where it has deep experience and a long history. Focus sectors are Healthcare, Technology & Payments, Financial Services, and selectively, Industrial & Business Services. Key regions are Europe and globally for Healthcare and Technology & Payments investments. Since inception in 1989, Nordic Capital has invested EUR 22 billion in over 130 investments. The most recent entities are Nordic Capital XI with EUR 9.0 billion in committed capital and Nordic Capital Evolution with EUR 1.2 billion in committed capital, principally provided by international institutional investors such as pension funds. Nordic Capital Advisors have local offices in Sweden, the UK, the US, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway and South Korea. For further information about Nordic Capital, please visit www.nordiccapital.com

"Nordic Capital" refers to, depending on the context, any, or all, Nordic Capital branded entities, vehicles, structures and associated entities. The general partners and/or delegated portfolio managers of Nordic Capital's entities and vehicles are advised by several non-discretionary sub-advisory entities, any or all of which are referred to as "Nordic Capital Advisors"

The following files are available for download:

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/nordic-capital-acquires-majority-share-in-corpuls-to-support-further-development-of-the-high-growth-med-tech-company-301801602.html
The Australian Dollar to New Zealand Dollar exchange rate (AUD/NZD) has experienced a bullish move over the last two weeks, taking the pair to 1.084 at the time of writing.

Foreign exchange analysts at Goldman Sachs, however, suggest taking profits on the AUD/NZD exchange rate trade at this pricing level.

They do, however, maintain a medium-term view that monetary policy convergence will drive the Australian Dollar higher vs te New Zealand Dollar.

Monetary Policy Convergence

The bank entered a tactical long position on the AUD/NZD currency pair to capture their relative monetary policy view between Australia and New Zealand.

"Since we entered the trade, policy rate pricing has moved in our favour," says Kamakshya Trivedi, Head of Global FX, Rates and EM strategy at Goldman Sachs.

"Employment growth in Australia also surprised materially to the upside this week, but the abrupt reversal in price action following the print may suggest some near-term exhaustion on this theme due to the broader risk backdrop," says Trivedi.

Resuming Hiking Cycle and New Zealand's CPI Release

While the analysts expect the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) to resume its hiking cycle at some point this year, they believe it is most likely to occur later in the summer.

"It is most likely to occur later this summer," says Trivedi. Additionally, they see upside risks to New Zealand's CPI release next week. "Our economists see upside risks to New Zealands CPI release next week," he adds.

The analysts conclude that while they continue to believe in the medium-run view of monetary policy convergence bolstering the Australian Dollar, the small number of catalysts in the short-term could limit any gains.

"We continue to think that monetary policy convergence will drive AUD/NZD higher, but near-term catalysts seem limited," says Trivedi.

As a result, they recommend closing the trade for now, with the intention of re-engaging when circumstances look favourable.

"With our more medium-run view still intact we will look for opportunities to reengage when the circumstances look favourable," Trivedi adds.
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Aprils big higher education philanthropy news left me grumpy. I mean, yes, its nice that financier Ken Griffin has pledged $300 million to Harvard University, which will rename its graduate school the Kenneth C. Griffin Graduate School of Arts and Sciences.

Higher education is good, philanthropy is good, and Harvard is good. It should be all good.

Still, Im grumpy because Harvard is the least worthy use of hundreds of millions of philanthropic education dollars I can possibly think of. They need it the least. A $300 million gift seems like a bizarre over-allocation of resources to people with plentiful resources.

Harvard already boasts the largest endowment of any university, with $50 billion under management. Cynics  like me  have long quipped that Harvard is a world-class hedge fund with a fine educational institution attached to it.

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Harvard does not really elevate learning in our larger society, except in the most extreme trickle-down kind of way. Among four-year colleges, it is already generous to families with demonstrated financial need, although students admitted from low-socioeconomic strata are extremely few. The path into Harvard is so narrow that only rarely does a student from a lower-income family gain admittance. And these narrowly selected students  rich, poor or middle class  probably would thrive wherever they went. Still, most of Harvards of students come from relatively privileged backgrounds, making the institution far less impactful on society as a whole, when considering it as a recipient of philanthropy.

In short, giving $300 million to Harvard helps an organization that doesnt need it and, in turn, serves mostly students who largely dont need it and would succeed without it.

What Griffin mostly bought for his $300 million was naming rights as a monument to himself in perpetuity, burnishing his own reputation as a success, via brand-affiliation with Harvard. Its Griffins money, and he gets to prioritize what he wants. Nevertheless, the gift struck me as the worst kind of higher-education philanthropy.

Meanwhile, the contrast with the very best in higher education philanthropy is very stark.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and 2021, MacKenzie Scott  author, philanthropist and a 4 percent owner of Amazon via divorce from Jeff Bezos  set a new and better standard for higher education philanthropy. Scotts lessons were ones that Griffin either didnt notice or chose to not learn.

She gave billions to organizations vetted for accomplishing great work but that suffer from insufficient resources  the opposite of Harvard in terms of need. She gave to hundreds of organizations that actually needed the money.

She thoughtfully targeted institutions, like Big Brother Big Sister or community colleges, that serve a broad and inclusive swath of people who lack sufficient resources.

Because social and economic class is self-reinforcing  in contrast to our national myth of social mobility  higher status and more selective higher education institutions matriculate students from higher income families, on average. Also, higher status and more selective institutions generally cost more. As a result, if you want to help social mobility through increasing educational opportunity, the place to focus is regional and community colleges, which is what Scott did. Thats where the transformation in peoples lives and in society is likely to take place.

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At Harvard, less than 12 percent of students come from the bottom 40 percent of households by income. A larger cohort at Harvard, 15 percent of students, come from the top 1 percent of households by income. This is according to research by Harvards own Raj Chetty and a team of economists.

At the University of Texas at Austin, 15 percent of students come from the bottom 40 percent of households by income, also a result of its highly selective status. At the University of Texas at San Antonio, 26 percent of students come from the bottom 40 percent of households by income.

At Alamo Colleges Districts institutions, 43 percent of students come from the bottom 40 percent of households by income. So thats where Scott gave, where the students with the most financial need are actually studying.

The socioeconomic origin of students' families is an important measure of the role higher education plays, or does not play, in creating pathways to social mobility.

For all of Harvards successes in championing lower socioeconomic access to higher education  a pitch made with just about every alumni solicitation for donations that it sends out  a much more effective way to support this cause would be to donate to higher education institutions that truly serve middle- and lower-income families, such as community colleges and public universities that serve a region or state.

In San Antonio, Scott gave $20 million to San Antonio College and $15 million to Palo Alto College, both part of the Alamo Colleges District.

Mike Flores, chancellor of the Alamo Colleges District, admires Scotts philosophy of giving to under-resourced communities. Further, Scott affords recipient institutions full discretion in how to spend her gifts.

Scotts donations went into programs such as $4 million to support students in high-demand degrees in technology or nursing that will likely transform their lifetime economic prospects for the better. Also, $5 million went toward the $75 million endowment for AlamoPROMISE, which provides scholarships to make an associate degree affordable for most area high school students.

I think what Scott got for her $35 million to Alamo Colleges was life-transforming social mobility among people who need it most. And they didnt name anything after her. She doesnt really get bragging rights through brand affiliation with a community college. Instead, she gets to make a difference.

ALSO READ: MacKenzie Scotts gift to San Antonios Palo Alto College: a cool $20 million

A huge priority for Alamo Colleges is to ensure any area high school graduate can get free or greatly subsidized tuition, with wrap-around services, on the way to getting an associate degree, what Flores deems the moonshot program known as AlamoPROMISE.

Flores, when asked how he thinks about transformational gifts in higher education, said: Just imagine, an $80 million dollar gift could guarantee graduating high school seniors access to AlamoPROMISE in perpetuity for Bexar County graduates for decades.

Scott didnt build a monument to herself when she gave her gifts, but she demonstrated a far better philanthropic model than the old one Griffin followed.

Harvard is not a bad institution. It represents greatness in many fields and is a cool place for a fortunate few. As a destination for philanthropic dollars, I just would place it last on my list.

Disclosure: In 2022, Michael Taylor offered consulting services  online personal finance lessons  for employees of the Alamo Colleges District.
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Roland Gutierrez is gearing up for a likely run against Ted Cruz in 2024.

Two sources close to Gutierrez, a San Antonio-based Democratic state senator, say he is nearly certain to challenge Cruz for the U.S. Senate seat that Cruz has held since 2013.

He is very serious, one source told the Express-News. Another source said, I would be shocked if he does not challenge Ted Cruz.

Gutierrez declined to comment on his political plans.

Gutierrez has been contacting fellow Democrats in recent weeks to sound them out about his interest in taking on Cruz. But any announcement is likely to wait until after this years Texas legislative session, which concludes in six weeks.

Because Gutierrez won re-election last year and wont have to defend his Texas Senate seat again until 2026, a race against Cruz would be a free shot for him. He could run for the U.S. Senate in 2024 without relinquishing his current seat.

By all accounts, Gutierrez has been profoundly changed by last years horrific mass shooting at Robb Elementary in Uvalde. The May 24 massacre took the lives of 19 children and two teachers.

Related: With new bill, Roland Gutierrez calls Ted Cruzs term-limits bluff

Gutierrez represents Uvalde and the last 11 months have been defined by his anguish for the families of the shooting victims, and frustration with the states Republican leaders over their stubborn refusal to seriously consider even modest gun-reform legislation.

I think its changed his service completely, one source said. This has really focused him on those who have been left behind by their government in the most egregious way.

In January, Gutierrez introduced a package of bills and resolutions crafted in response to the Uvalde massacre: ending qualified immunity for local or state peace officers, creating a school-violence victims compensation fund, enabling Uvalde shooting victims to sue the state and urging Congress to repeal a law which shields gun manufacturers and distributors from liability for violent acts committed with their products.

His efforts have been blocked by Senate Republicans.

If Gutierrez follows through with his tentative plan to challenge Cruz, his campaign will focus on puncturing the GOP-driven myth of the so-called Texas Miracle.

He will argue that the Republican political monopoly in Texas has resulted in an obsession with culture-war demagoguery and a neglect for the issues that matter the most: basic infrastructure, education, health care, gun safety and electrical-grid reliability.

Gutierrez sees Cruz as emblematic of that Texas Republican mindset.

The hyper-partisan Cruz is a divisive figure even in his home state, as shown by his narrow, 2.6-percentage-point victory the last time he defended his seat  in an intense 2018 battle with former El Paso Congressman Beto ORourke.

While ORourke dedicated himself to visiting all of the states 254 counties in an attempt to convert rural Republican voters, Gutierrez would be more surgical if he made it to a 2024 general election. Sources say he would concentrate on 30 major counties and try to build up turnout numbers in areas with established Democratic support.

No Democrats have yet announced their candidacy in the U.S. Senate race, but Dallas Morning News political writer Gromer Jeffers reported on Feb. 21 that U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is pondering a bid for Cruzs seat.

Unlike Gutierrez, Allred would have to sacrifice his current seat to run.

Related: Roland Gutierrez gets little help from Senate Democrats in his rebellion against Dan Patrick

Gutierrez is an attorney, former South Side city councilman and former six-term member of the Texas House. In January, he gave an early indication of his interest in the U.S Senate seat when he filed a term-limits bill targeting Cruz.

Every two years since 2017, Cruz has filed legislation calling for a constitutional amendment that would limit U.S. senators to no more than two terms in office. At the same time, Cruz is gearing up to run for a third term in the Senate.

Gutierrez attempted to spotlight Cruzs hypocrisy with a Texas Senate bill that would allow the state to prevent its U.S. senators from serving more than two terms.

In a sarcastic Jan. 25 letter addressed to Cruz, Gutierrez wrote, Your leadership on this issue has inspired me to file S.B. 596 in the Texas Legislature.

Cruz finished second in the 2016 Republican presidential primary race to Donald Trump. Cruz has flirted with the possibility of running for president again in 2024 (and Texas law would allow him to simultaneously seek the presidency and the U.S. Senate), but it now appears that he will concentrate on his Senate race.

Whoever faces Cruz in next years general election will have some daunting history to overcome. No Texas Democrat has won a statewide election since 1994.

Gutierrez is aware of the odds, but you get the sense that he cant stand the thought of sitting on the sidelines right now.

ggarcia@express-news.net
ROME (AP)  A San Antonio-born princess who lives in a Rome villa containing the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio is facing a court-ordered eviction Thursday, in the latest chapter in an inheritance dispute with the heirs of one of Romes aristocratic families.

Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, formerly known as Rita Carpenter, was still holding out at the Casino dellAurora on Wednesday night, awaiting what she expected to be the arrival of Carabinieri police in the morning. With her are her Ukrainain housekeeper Olga, and the housekeeper's daughter and two young grandchildren who fled Kyiv last year after Russia's invasion.

In January, Rome Judge Miriam Iappelli instructed Carabinieri police at the Via Veneto station to evict her, accusing the princess of having failed, among other things, to maintain the home in a good state of conservation after an exterior wall crumbled. With the warning time now up, the decree calls for police to evict anyone still living there, take possession of the property, change the locks and dispose of or destroy any furniture or documents left behind.

RELATED: S.A.-born princess fights eviction in Italy

The eviction order marked the culmination of a bitter inheritance saga that simultaneously saw the villa, located off the famous Via Veneto, put on the court-ordered auction block last year and assigned a court-appraised value of 471 million euros ($533 million). After the minimum bid of 353 million euros ($400 million) failed to get any takers in the first auction, the price was progressively lowered in a series of successive auctions, with more scheduled until a buyer is found.

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The house, built in 1570, has been in the Ludovisi family since the early 1600s. After Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi died in 2018, the villa became the subject of an inheritance dispute between the children from his first marriage and his third wife, the San Antonio, Texas-born Princess Rita, whom he married in 2009.

The children have argued that the home belongs to them, that their grandfather intended them to inherit it and that their late father mismanaged his fortune. They have mounted a multi-pronged legal campaign to get control of the home so it can be sold.

The villa, also known as Villa Ludovisi, is famous for the Caravaggio that graces a tiny room off a spiral staircase on the second floor.

It was commissioned in 1597 by a diplomat and patron of the arts who asked the then-young painter to decorate the ceiling of the small room being used as an alchemy workshop. The 2.75-meter (9-foot) wide mural, which depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, is unusual: Its not a fresco, but rather oil on plaster, and represents the only ceiling mural that Caravaggio is known to have painted.

The American princess previously was married to former U.S. Rep. John Jenrette Jr. of South Carolina.
There are about as many tropes and stereotypes about Texas as there are miles of dusty highway crisscrossing this 171-million-acre state.

None of those quips are as threadbare and saddle-sore as the one about everything being bigger here. Mention you're from the Lone Star State just about anywhere in the world, and there's a good chance someone will reply with a guffawed rendition of that weary line.

But sometimes, those sayings contain a kernel of truth. And that's certainly the case when it comes to some of the larger-than-life food challenges available in restaurants and bars across San Antonio.

From 3-pound burgers to 200-beer challenges, these establishments can fill an indulgent soul to the gills and beyond. And some of them will enshrine your efforts with a photo on the wall or reward you with free swag if you manage to survive the belly-busting feat.

If you have a Texas-sized appetite and want to test your gustatory mettle, consider tackling the food and beverage challenges at these five San Antonio institutions.

Best burgers: The best burgers in San Antonio

Armadillos Texas Style Burgers

This restaurant features burgers under two headings: Texas Style Burgers and The Giants. The former is a fairly reasonable lineup of burgers available in patty sizes ranging from 6 ounces to 1 pound.

The latter category is where you'll find 3-pound, double-patty monsters guaranteed to require a good bit of belt loosening. And if you can successfully put one of those bad boys away, Armadillos will reward you with a free T-shirt  although you may want to go up a size after all that beef.

Armadillos Texas Style Burgers, (two locations) 1423 McCullough Ave., 210-226-7556; 2619 SE Military Drive, 210-617-7797, armadilloburger.com

Staff photographer file photo

Chunky's Burgers & More

There's a waiver to sign. There's a bucket provided for any unfortunate "reversals," as the term for vomiting is known in the competitive eating world. And there's a $20 clean-up fee if you miss said bucket.

If all of that sounds acceptable, you may be ready to attempt The 4 Horsemen burger  dubbed "Hottest Burger on the Planet" when famously finished by The Travel Channel's Adam Richman in a 2009 episode of his show "Man v. Food." The burger derives its fire from fresh jalapeno and serrano chiles, habanero sauce and, just for good measure, a hefty dose of fiery ghost peppers.

If you survive the ordeal, you'll earn a photo alongside other victors on Wall of Flame at this restaurant located on the West Side near Ingram Park Mall.

Chunky's Burgers & More, 4602 Callaghan Road, 210-433-9960, mychunkysburgers.com

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Paul Stephen/Staff

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium

If you enjoy exploring the outer realms of beer culture, there's no better way to prove it than with entry into Flying Saucer's Ring of Honor. This challenge is for those willing to play the long game, and requires tasting 200 beers in exchange for a personalized plate hung on the restaurant's walls and ceiling.

To participate, first join Flying Saucer's UFO Club ($18), which earns you the title of "Beerknurd" and a T-shirt. Then, start quaffing. With each new pour, the bar will scan your UFO Card and track your progress as you sip your way to glory. Flying Saucer has several locations around the country with San Antonio's lone spot located near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Huebner Road.

Flying Saucer Draught Emporium, 11255 Huebner Road, Suite 212, 210-696-5080, beerknurd.com

Mike Sutter/Staff file photo

The Lord's Kitchen

Burgers come in all shapes and sizes at this East Side establishment in San Antonio's Government Hill neighborhood. The Get Down Burger is impressive at a pound and a half of beef. But none are bigger than the 3-pound Now That's a Burger composed of three 1-pound patties stacked with mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, onions and pickles.

Many have attempted this 30-minute challenge. Fewer have succeeded. But you can earn a photo on the restaurant's wall with determination and an elastic waistband.

The Lord's Kitchen, 118 Seguin St., 210-354-3888, Facebook: The Lords Kitchen

Best brunch: Mike Sutter's Top 10 Brunch Restaurants in San Antonio

Paul Stephen/Staff

Mark's Outing

The first things you'll notice when walking into this East Side restaurant near the Alamodome are the faces of about a hundred customers smiling back at you from photos lining nearly every available space on the dining room wall. Those grinning mugs all belong to customers who've bested the 2-pound burger at Mark's Outing.

The burger features a stack of 1-pound patties, cheese, lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles and mustard. It looks almost manageable by hand, but good luck unhinging your jaw wide enough to take that first bite. By the time you finish  even if the experience devolved into a fork-and-knife affair  you'll be wearing the remnants well past the wrists and on the way to your elbows.

Mark's Outing, 1624 E. Commerce St., 210-299-8110, marksouting.com
San Marcos school leaders have signed off on hiring armed marshals to protect students in the districts eight elementary schools.

The plan, approved this week by the San Marcos Consolidated Independent School Districts board, calls for hiring a school marshal to serve as a safety officer at each elementary school campus in the district. The marshals responsibilities would include patrolling the campuses, performing safety checks and audits, and conducting safety training drills.

The board's decision comes in the wake of the 2022 mass shooting at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde that killed 19 students and two teachers.

A school marshal would in essence take the place of the hired off-duty officers who presently reside on campuses. They will not wear uniforms but they will carry a concealed handgun and be a (school district) employee, according to school board documents. A marshal's primary role is to engage and protect during an active attack.

GUN DEBATE: Uvalde families urge Texas lawmakers to raise age requirement for buying assault-style rifles

To be hired as marshals, applicants would be required to have certification from the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. The marshals will also take part in regular training through the San Marcos Police Department, according to district officials and San Marcos police Chief Stan Standridge, who spoke during the Monday school board meeting.

Sam Owens/Staff photographer

Standridge said 74 Texas school districts are operating marshal programs, with about 300 marshals currently in place. There are about 1,200 school districts in the state.

The plan calls for each school marshal to carry a concealed handgun and for their identity to be confidential, according to school board documents.

The board members voted 6-1 to have the district pursue a three-year pilot program using school marshals, but they did not set a date for the program to begin. The district said it expects to spend more than $500,000 per year on the program over the three years.

In a presentation to board members, Doug Wozniak, director of school safety for the San Marcos CISD, said the plan does not call for arming teachers or other district employees.

San Marcos school board members said they prefer the school marshal program over the idea of arming teachers or adding fencing around campuses or metal detectors at school entrances  something board member Brian Shanks compared to minimum security prisons.

I think thats a worse experience for our kids, Shanks said.

DEALING WITH TRAUMA: Uvalde grief counseling center born in part from New Braunfels donations

Bonnie Bevers, youth pastor at San Marcos United Methodist Church and a volunteer for the school district, was among those opposed to having a marshal on campuses whose identity would not be provided to students and parents.

As a family and youth pastor, I spend my days working with students in San Marcos.  I cannot count the number of conversations we have had about their fears of guns on their school campuses, Bevers said. Having armed law enforcement officers on the school campuses adds a sense of safety and security to their minds. They can see who is there to protect them.  In arming school district employees and asking them to remain anonymous and to carry a concealed weapon, we are adding to the anxiety of our students.

Standridge, the San Marcos police chief, said he agreed the best solution would be to have more uniformed school resource officers on the districts campuses. He said the city doesnt have the resources to make that happen, mainly due to swift population growth in San Marcos that has contributed to an increase in violent crime.

If school officials asked for more school resource officers, even if I had the additional officers, we would not assign them to campuses," Standridge said. Why? Because we need them in the field responding to 911 to mitigate this remarkable increase in violent crime.

The San Marcos school district serves about 8,000 students and has an annual budget of nearly $100 million.
The Army has acknowledged that a second female soldier at Fort Hood died on the same day in March that Pvt. Ana Basaldua Ruiz, a Hispanic GI whose family says she was sexually harassed, also was found dead.

Spc. Katerina Weikel, a military police officer, died off-post March 13, a day after her 29th birthday, prompting investigations by the Killeen Police Department and the Armys Criminal Investigation Division.

LATEST FORT HOOD DEATH: Bipartisan group of senators demands "thorough" investigation

Four days after the deaths, Fort Hood's commander, Lt. Gen. Sean Bernabe, held a news conference and spoke at length about Basaldua Ruiz, a combat engineer. But he made no mention of Weikel.

A Fort Hood spokeswoman, Lt. Col. Tania Donovan, confirmed Weikel's death on Tuesday in response to an inquiry from the Express-News.

Donovan said the Army did not disclose the death earlier because of the time required to notify next of kin. A soldier's death can be confirmed only after relatives have been informed, she said.

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"It is important to protect the family members, especially when circumstances of the death are sensitive, to demonstrate compassion and empathy for a grieving family," Donovan said in an email.

The Army did not say how Weikel died.

'Major flaws'

The twin deaths could intensify pressure on the Army to demonstrate that it has improved the treatment of female soldiers since an investigation in 2020 found major flaws at Fort Hood and a command climate that was permissive of sexual harassment and sexual assault.

That investigation was triggered by the murder of another Hispanic female soldier, Vanessa Guillen, 20, of Houston. Like Basaldua Ruiz, Guillen had told her family that she had been sexually harassed at the Central Texas installation, the nation's largest active-duty armored military post. Guillen went missing in April 2020.

Her remains were discovered in June of that year near the Leon River in Bell County. Prosecutors said a fellow soldier bludgeoned her to death with a hammer, then tried to dismember and burn her remains. He committed suicide before he could be tried.

After the Army investigation, the base's acting commander, Maj. Gen. Scott Efflandt, and top leaders of the 1st Cavalry Division lost their jobs. In all, 14 commanders up and down the chain of command were removed from their posts.

The death in March of Basaldua Ruiz, 20, of Long Beach, Calif., prompted a bipartisan group of U.S. senators led by Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to demand a complete, thorough and impartial investigation last week. The Army has not said how the soldier died.

Fort Hood, like other military installations, has witnessed outbreaks of violent crime and suicides, as well as sexual harassment and sexual assault over the decades.

A total of 101 soldiers have died on-post and off since 2020, Fort Hood officials told the Express-News. Forty-four were suicides.

About 35,000 soldiers are assigned to the base near Killeen, about 150 miles northeast of San Antonio.

It could be weeks or longer before the Army releases information about how Basaldua Ruiz and Weikel died. Shortly after Basaldua Ruiz's death, Bernabe said the soldier had been dealing with "stressors in her life" not tied to sexual harassment. He did not elaborate.

The Express-News asked Donovan on Tuesday whether Weikel also showed signs of stress and, if so, whether she had sought help.

"I cannot speak to those," she said. "I can tell you that there are stressors to all soldiers and that will be part of the overall look into her case."

'Passed away all too soon'

Weikel was born in Buffalo, N.Y., and moved with her family to the Hudson Valley town of Walden when she was 3 years old, her family said in a death notice published in the Hudson Valley Times. She graduated from Valley Central High School in 2012 and attended the State University of New York at Albany.

Weikel enlisted in the Army in November 2019, graduated from boot camp at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri and was assigned to the 64th Military Police Company at Fort Hood, her family said, adding that she deployed to Poland and Germany in November 2020.

The Army said she had received the National Defense Service Medal

"Katerina, aka Kate and Kat, passed away all too soon on 13 March 2023," the family death notice stated.

"She had a deep love for all kinds of music, gaming, fishing with the family, and many sports. She loved riding bikes. Our neighbors fondly recall her at her favorite past-time, riding her bike around the neighborhood with a smile as she would greet them all with sincerity and enthusiasm as she rode by."

Fort Hood once routinely issued news releases after soldiers died that included their ranks, names, ages, hometowns, their units, and their awards and commendations. The practice began early in the war on terrorism and continued until around the middle of the past decade.

Those releases were intended "to honor those we lost" in combat, said a longtime Fort Hood spokesman, Chris Haug. He said that later, soldier deaths were announced only in response to requests for information from the news media.

He said the revised practice is in keeping with an Army-wide policy.

"Isolating Fort Hood on this policy is a bit of a stretch," he said.

Donovan said the delay in confirming Weikel's death reflected concern for "the privacy of family and taking care of them, the next-of-kin notification, resources for soldiers and the sensitivities about the death.

"Our priority is the families and soldiers," she said. "Those are our main considerations."
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A woman was shot twice in the back after she and a driver gave a man a ride to a West Side apartment, San Antonio police said.

The man, who was not immediately identified, hitched a ride about 10:50 p.m. Tuesday to a complex near 26th and San Fernando streets, police said.
Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer

If you missed the April 6 deadline to register to vote in the May 6 election because you were too busy planning your Easter egg hunt or going through your Fiesta calendar to find a place to park, then you're probably a procrastinator.

If you're still messing with your IRS forms to file your income tax return by today's deadline, then you know you are.
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SpaceX will take a second attempt at launching the world's most powerful rocket from South Texas on Thursday.

The company has spent years developing the fully reusable Super Heavy rocket and Starship spacecraft in Boca Chica, outside of Brownsville. It has launched Starship prototypes on high-altitude flight tests  which often ended in fireballs  but it has never launched Starship atop the Super Heavy rocket.

The first launch attempt was scrubbed on Monday. Instead of igniting the engines, SpaceX turned the day's activities into a wet dress rehearsal. It practiced loading the rocket with propellant but did not fire the engines.

On Thursday, the company hopes the Super Heavy rocket will push Starship upward for 2 minutes and 49 seconds. Super Heavy would then separate from the spacecraft and land in the Gulf of Mexico about 20 miles from Boca Chica. Starship would continue around the planet and, about an hour and a half after liftoff, splashdown off the coast of Hawaii. It'll land before taking a full lap of the Earth.

Super Heavy is expected to launch Thursday morning

In what has become a joke fueled by SpaceX founder Elon Musk on Twitter, Starship could indeed get high on 4/20.

SpaceX has a 62-minute launch window that opens Thursday at 8:28 a.m. and closes at 9:30 a.m.

The launch pad is on Boca Chica Beach, though that area won't be accessible Thursday morning. A good viewing spot is available on South Padre Island, which is located on the other side of Brazos Santiago Pass roughly 5 miles from the rocket.

Those watching from home can visit spacex.com for a live video that will begin about 45 minutes before liftoff.

The first launch attempt of this rocket was scrubbed because of a valve

SpaceX scrubbed its Monday launch because of a "pressurization issue."

Musk said a valve appeared to be frozen. SpaceX had to wait at least 48 hours before trying again because it had to remove propellant from the rocket and then prepare for liftoff.

It has been nearly two years since SpaceX launched from South Texas. Starship prototypes took five high-altitude flight tests between December 2020 and May 2021, four of them exploded, and the company has since focused on developing its Super Heavy rocket and working through an environmental review.

Ken Ellis/Staff illustration

With 33 engines, Super Heavy is twice as powerful as the Saturn V

Super Heavy emits between 16 million and 17 million pounds of thrust as it throttles toward space.

That's twice as powerful as the Saturn V rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon with 7.6 million pounds of thrust. Super Heavy also surpasses NASA's Space Launch System rocket that sent an uncrewed capsule to the moon last year with 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

Super Heavy has 33 engines. No rocket has launched with so many before. Current U.S. rockets have no more than nine engines in a single booster, though the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket combines three Falcon 9 boosters, for a total of 27 engines.

The Soviet Union came close to Starship with the N1 rocket's 30 engines  each of its four launches failed within seconds of liftoff.

"You don't have to be an engineer to realize, jeez, that's a lot of valves and pipes and gaskets," said Phil Smith, a space industry analyst at BryceTech.

SpaceX has simplified the plumbing inside its engines, which should help it ignite 33 at one time.

Yet Musk mentioned the N1 rocket multiple times during a conversation Sunday on Twitter Spaces. One of his biggest fears ahead of launch was that one engine would explode and take out other engines or the launch pad. He was particularly worried about losing the launch pad as it would take several months to rebuild.

But why so many? Smith said it comes down to redundancy. Think of a commercial airliner. If one engine goes out, the plane typically has one, two or three other engines that will get it to a comfortable landing.

Still, he's eager to see how SpaceX manages 33 engines on Thursday.

"Will it work?" Smith asked. "Because operationally it has not been proven."

Landing Starship off the coast of Hawaii would be 'historic'

Smith will consider the mission a success if Super Heavy survives the 2 minutes and 49 seconds its engines are supposed to be ignited.

But that's actually the easier part.

Operations will become more complex when Super Heavy separates from Starship. It's important that these two vehicles don't collide.

Then Starship's engines have to ignite. And after nearly three minutes of shaking and rattling, Smith said it's possible that something gets knocked out of place and an engine doesn't turn on.

If the Starship engines do ignite, they're expected to burn for more than six minutes. Then they will turn off and the spacecraft will essentially coast around the planet to land off the coast of Hawaii.

"That will be a historic moment," Smith said.

It could also be awesome to watch if SpaceX shares the video. A graphic released by SpaceX suggests Starship could belly flop into the Pacific Ocean.

"Seeing that thing come down and hit the water, I think would be very striking," said Jason Davis, senior editor at the Planetary Society, a nonprofit that seeks to popularize space exploration.

On future missions, SpaceX wants both Super Heavy and Starship to land in an upright, vertical position. SpaceX would use giant robotic arms to help catch the Super Heavy.

Accessing space could become cheaper than ever before

SpaceX is already credited with bringing down the cost of accessing space. Its reusable Falcon 9 rocket, which launches up to 60 times a year, has reduced the price to between $2,500 and $3,000 per kilogram of cargo, Smith said.

On Starship, he said each kilogram could cost less than $1,000.

That's largely because Starship will be able to push between 100 and 150 tons into low-Earth orbit, which is significantly more than the Falcon 9 rocket's 25 tons. The ability to launch more items means each individual item costs less.

Is there enough demand for a rocket this big? Not yet, space analysts said, but they expect businesses will find new, innovative uses for this cheaper rocket once it's reliable.

And in the meantime, SpaceX will use Starship to launch the satellites for its Starlink broadband internet service.

"That solves the early question of, 'Well, what the hell are you going to put inside this rocket?'" said Brendan Rosseau, a teaching fellow and research associate focused on the economics of space at Harvard Business School. "You'll see more and more people designing satellites specifically for Starship. It's a different kind of vehicle, and you can think about and design satellites a little bit differently."

And while he agreed that Starship will bring down the cost of accessing space, he said it might not be as dramatic as some are expecting. Because Starship will do work that is now done by another SpaceX rocket: the Falcon 9.

"They're only cutting into their own margins, and launch is a pretty tough industry," Rosseau said. "That's something that we're watching for. When this does come online and they do start launching it with some frequency, what will be the actual cost that they're charging people?"

Thursday's launch is another step toward Mars

SpaceX is designing Starship to take humans to Mars. But first, it will help NASA return to the moon.

The agency's Orion capsule can carry astronauts to the moon's orbit, but it can't land them on the surface. So NASA selected Starship to land its Artemis III crew on the moon in 2025. Super Heavy will launch an empty Starship to the moon, and astronauts will transfer from Orion into Starship to be lowered to the lunar surface.

"We have a very tight schedule between now and landing on the moon," Smith said. "We need to see this thing work not just once or twice or three times. We need to see it work a lot between now and then."

Landing humans on the moon in 2025 will be very difficult, said Davis with the Planetary Society.

"There's just so many things that have to happen in two years," Davis said. "Realistically, we're not going to be able to meet that deadline."

"But who knows? Stranger things have happened."
The city of New Braunfels has agreed to pay $175,000 to settle a lawsuit filed by a Black motorist who alleged he was wrongfully stopped by a white police officer, pulled out of his car, tasered and charged for protesting the stop three years ago.

In his federal lawsuit against the city, Clarence Walter Crawford accused then-New Braunfels police officer Kaleb Meyer of violating his civil rights.

The city, however, admits no wrongdoing in its settlement with Crawford.

"There's no admission of liability," said attorney Charles Frigerio, who represents the city. "We basically were just able to settle it."

Crawford's lawyer, Paul Vick, said that despite not admitting liability, the city "did realize this was an egregious case."

Meyer claimed he pulled over Crawford for having a dirty license plate on his white Pontiac, meaning the plate number was obscured by dirt or soot. At the time, Meyer was 23 and had been on the New Braunfels police force less than a year.

Most of the encounter with Crawford was captured on Meyers body camera. The city released the bodycam video and a dashboard camera recording from Meyer's patrol car nine months after the January 2020 incident.

Meyer quit the police force before the recordings were made public.

The footage begins with Meyer driving his patrol car with the siren on. He read a license plate number twice to a dispatcher  though Meyer said later he had to guess the number because of dirt on the plate. Meyer said the driver wasnt acknowledging his siren and lights.

A little more than a minute into the recording, Meyer said the driver finally started to pull over, taking the Texas 46 exit. Meyer requested backup.

After Crawford stopped in an urgent care clinics parking lot, Meyer instructed a female bystander to move away as Meyer approached Crawfords car, gun drawn.

He instructed Crawford to put his hands on the steering wheel. Crawford asked why hed been stopped, and holding his cell phone in one hand, he put both on the steering wheel.

The video then shows Crawford shouting, Please dont shoot me, officer! Im Black!

As Meyer ordered Crawford to get out of the Pontiac, the driver told the officer he still had his seat belt  because Meyer had directed him to keep his hands on the wheel. Crawford then asked if he could put down his phone as Meyer yelled at him, directing him to put the phone down.

Meyer threatened to cut Crawfords seat belt, but Crawford unfastened it. Meyer then grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the car. Crawford went down on one knee as the officer ordered him to get on the ground.

Meyer is seen using a stun gun on the back of Crawfords leg. The officer tasered him again and handcuffed him. By then, Crawford was lying flat on the ground.

Meyer told Crawford that he had tried to run, and Crawford replied: I wasnt running. I wasnt stopping on the highway because it wasnt safe. I was trying to get to a safe location. Im allowed to do that. Those are the rules.

Crawford was arrested on charges of having an unclean license plate, attempting to elude police and interfering with official duties.

The Comal County District Attorneys Office, after reviewing video from Meyers patrol car, found he had probable cause to stop Crawford on a misdemeanor license-plate charge, which normally would result in a ticket.

District Attorney Jennifer Tharp said in a court motion, however, that it appeared Meyer was conducting a felony stop because he approached with his gun drawn. Meyer did not follow the departments procedures for felony stops, the DA wrote.

She added that Crawford had been overly dramatic in yelling at Meyer not to shoot him, but that the officer did not try to de-escalate the situation.

The DA said then-police Chief Tom Wibert had asked prosecutors to drop all charges against Crawford in the interest of justice, and she did.

By then, Meyer had resigned.

Wibert retired in September 2020.

In November of that year, New Braunfels city officials publicly released the body-camera recording. They said the kind of behavior Meyer exhibited would not be tolerated and was not representative of the rest of the police force.

"In my opinion, Mr. Crawford was very courageous for pushing forward and making the city do the right thing," Vick said.

The settlement comes after the city and Meyer's lawyers filed motions for summary judgment requesting they be dismissed as defendants before trial in San Antonio federal court. In February, U.S. District Judge Xavier Rodriguez paused the case and instructed the parties to start settlement talks.

The city of New Braunfel's settlement money will come from the Texas Municipal League's liability insurance pool for cities.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The roster of Republican presidential hopefuls who flocked to the National Rifle Association's annual convention reflects the political potency of gun rights, despite the group's eroding revenues and an opposition movement that's growing increasingly vocal as the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on.

Even amid internal turmoil and legal woes, the gun ownership culture and movement that the NRA helped build remains formidable. And the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment last summer has given new strength to gun-rights activists seeking to invalidate firearm restrictions across the country.

On the one hand, the gun-rights movement has never been stronger, said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who wrote Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America." But one of the interesting things about this moment is the NRA, in some ways, has never faced more organizational incoherence and disarray.

This year's convention came just days after mass shootings at a school in Nashville, Tennessee and at a bank last week in Louisville, Kentucky, the latter of which marked the 15th mass killing of the year in the U.S. in which four or more people were killed other than the perpetrator, according to a mass killings database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. That was the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 incidents had occurred by April 10.

No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today, Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, told The Associated Press during the event. But I dont think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all.

The Indianapolis gathering drew a slew of Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, potential rivals for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination. They vowed to defend the Second Amendment and dismissed the idea that gun restrictions are the answer to violence on the streets.

It also came as the NRA grapples with the fallout of infighting and lawsuits.

A judge last year ruled that the New York attorney generals lawsuit accusing some top NRA executives of financial improprieties can move forward, even though the judge rebuffed Attorney General Letitia James' bid to put the group out of business. The NRA filed for bankruptcy in 2021, but a judge dismissed that case, ruling it was not filed in good faith.

Five years ago, the NRA had a $36 million deficit because of lavish spending, followed by lawsuits from its own members as well as the attorneys general in New York and Washington, D.C.

In the years since, the group appears to have pulled itself out of a financial hole, but not because of an influx of cash, said Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University who has studied the groups finances. Revenue fell by 4% in 2020, and by 18% the following year, he found. The group cut back on spending on longstanding programs, including education and training, recreational shooting and law enforcement initiatives, Mittendorf said.

Their primary source of revenue has always been membership dues, but that base has also declined in recent years, and cuts to programs could make it harder to draw in new members, Mittendorf said.

Despite the fact that theyve reduced their footprint, theyre still not getting enough revenues to cover their costs. So it suggests something has to give for this organization, he said.

Still, a bigger piece of the NRA's influence has been its ability to mobilize people to oppose gun control by creating a social identity around gun ownership, said Matt Lacombe, a Case Western Reserve University political science professor and author of Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners into a Political Force. And people are motivated to oppose efforts that feel like a threat to part of their identity, he said.

The NRA was responsible for creating that identity, but it is now a thing that exists in the world somewhat independently of the National Rifle Association as an organization, he said. So if the NRA were to fold tomorrow or to go out of business, its not as though this constituency of people who own guns and who largely view politics through this lens of being a gun owner is going to go anywhere, at least overnight.

An NRA spokesperson said the organization is financially strong and as effective as ever in its mission to protect the Second Amendment, despite the effects of a pandemic, weak economy and other factors that have affected so many corporations and organizations.

The demise of the NRA is a desperate and false narrative - one weve heard every year for decades," spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam said in an emailed statement. "And yet, the strength of this organization was on full display this past week, as nearly 80,000 people gathered in Indianapolis to celebrate the Association and listen to almost every pro-Second Amendment presidential candidate.

Gun sales in the U.S. rose to unprecedented levels during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Florida just became the latest state to do away with requirements that people get a permit to carry a concealed weapon.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's Bruen decision in June  in a case brought by an NRA-affiliate  has prompted gun rights activists to file a flurry of challenges to firearm restrictions across the country. Judges already have pointed to the ruling, which changed the test that lower courts long used to evaluate gun laws, to declare unconstitutional measures designed to keep weapons out of the hands of domestic abusers and defendants under felony indictment, among other laws.

Yet, the last decade also has seen a growing counterweight in the gun-control movement.

Kissing the NRAs ring may help GOP presidential hopefuls win a primary, but it will be the kiss of death in a general election where a clear majority of voters favor common-sense gun safety laws," John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in an emailed statement.

Congress passed its first major gun legislation in decades over the summer, stepping up FBI background checks for buyers under 21 and sending millions of new dollars to mental health services for children and schools.

The Biden administration has also tightened regulations on so-called ghost guns and stabilizing braces, an accessory used in at least two mass shootings. President Joe Biden has also signed executive orders expanding background checks on gun sales, and has called for reinstating a ban on so-called assault weapons," or certain semi-automatic rifles.

Still, the political prospects for that step look bleak at best. And NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre made clear during his Friday speech that the gun-rights group will mobilize supporters to fight such efforts.

Gun-hating politicians should never go to bed unafraid of what this association, and all of our millions of members, can do to their political careers, he said.

____

Richer reported from Boston. Associated Press data journalist Larry Fenn contributed to this report. Arleigh Rodgers also contributed. She 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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AUSTIN, Texas (AP)  It was getting close to midnight Tuesday when Kimberly Mata-Rubio finally got her first chance since the Robb Elementary School massacre in Uvalde  nearly one year ago  to ask Texas lawmakers to their faces to pass proposed restrictions on guns that had finally gotten a hearing.

Sobbing, she pleaded for them to raise the purchase age for semiautomatic rifles like the one an 18-year-old gunman used to kill her daughter Lexi.

Did you look at images of children running for their lives, and think, What if we had enacted stricter gun laws?'" Mata-Rubio asked a state House committee, wiping away tears.

The hearing adjourned  shortly after 3 a.m. Wednesday  without a vote, and with no certainty that one will happen later.

The result was the end, in the middle of the night, of what may wind up as the only debate in the Texas Capitol this year over a raft of stricter gun proposals filed following the deaths of 19 children and two teachers in Uvalde last May.

Other than the late-night hearing, Republican leaders in Texas have not announced any other intention to consider or vote on proposed gun measures before the session ends next month.

As the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on in the U.S., the emotional hearing underlined mounting frustration over gun violence. Gun supporters also stayed late, including a National Rifle Association lobbyist and a man who legally wore a holstered handgun, as well as others who offered sympathies to Uvalde families before urging lawmakers to reject what they called an infringement of their rights.

The hearing went over the grim scene investigators found in the fourth-grade classroom at Robb Elementary after police finally confronted the gunman after 77 minutes, including descriptions that Uvalde families had not previously heard. Many in the room cried.

The string of recent mass shootings has reenergized gun control advocates nationwide, but in Texas, their prospects remain bleak. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has waved aside talk of raising the age to purchase AR-15-like rifles as unconstitutional and earlier this year made no mention of Uvalde while laying out the priorities of his third term.

The office of Republican state Rep. Ryan Guillen, chairman of the House Select Community Safety Committee, did not immediately respond to a message Wednesday about whether he intends to hold a vote on the gun control bills.

Time is running out: The anniversary of the Uvalde shooting is May 24, just days before the Texas Legislature is scheduled to adjourn until 2025.

This is not an issue of maturity. This is an issue of mental health, said Stephen Willeford, who in 2017 ran off the gunman in the Sutherland Springs church shooting by confronting him with his own AR-15 rifle. If you think that he couldn't have found a gun other ways, or waited simply until he was 21 to do his murder spree, you're wrong.

A shooting that killed four young people at a Sweet Sixteen birthday party in Alabama last weekend was the 16th mass killing of the year in the United States. A 17th took place in Maine on Tuesday. A total of 88 people have died in the killings so far in 2023.

A mass killing is defined as when four or more people were slain, other than the perpetrator, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University.

Before the Kentucky shooting, a gunman in Nashville, Tennessee, last month killed three children and three adults at a private elementary school. Republican Gov. Bill Lee responded by signing an executive order strengthening background checks for gun purchases.

On Wednesday, Washington state's Democratic-controlled Legislature passed a bill to ban dozens of types of semiautomatic rifles, with Gov. Jay Inslee expected to sign it into law. In Colorado, lawmakers debated a slew of aggressive gun control bills, though a sweeping ban on semiautomatic firearms faced much stiffer odds.

Mata-Rubio is among a group of several Uvalde parents who have been outspoken in their demands for tougher gun laws since the shooting. Before urging the committee to vote to raise the purchase age, she shared the alternative scenarios she still asks herself: What if Lexi had stayed home that week with a stomach bug? What if she had picked her up from school early that day?

She scolded lawmakers for making her wait more than 12 hours at the Capitol to testify. "Did you think we would go home? she said.

For years in Texas, Republicans have waved aside efforts to tighten gun laws after mass shootings, and even expanded gun rights after the 2019 racist attack on a Walmart in El Paso. Rather than have debates on gun bills this session, Republicans have instead pushed forward proposals to increase mental health services and increase school security.

Tess didnt have a choice in life and death, said Veronica Mata, referring to her 10-year-old daughter who was killed in the Uvalde classroom. But you as lawmakers have a choice in what her life will be remembered for.
Ty O'Neil/AP

MEXICO CITY (AP)  Police and marines in Mexicos capital on Tuesday arrested an alleged senior leader of the Mara Salvatrucha gang who is wanted in the United States for extortion, drug distribution and terrorism-related charges.

Mexico Citys Secretariat of Citizen Security said Salvadoran Jose Wilfredo Ayala-Alcantara, alias El Indio de Hollywood, was arrested in the center of the city. Authorities in Mexico said their investigation indicated the 55-year-old was the second in command of the Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13.
The law is a little different for those at the top.

As the world now knows, Justice Clarence Thomas did not disclose a real estate deal he and his family made in 2014 with Harlan Crow, a billionaire Republican donor. Thomas and several other relatives sold his mothers home in Savannah, Ga., along with two vacant lots, for $133,363 to a company owned by Crow.

Soon after the sale was completed, according to ProPublica, contractors began work on tens of thousands of dollars of improvements.

Thomas mother, Leola Williams, 94, still lives in the house. Neither she nor the justice appears to pay rent.

There is some dispute over whether Thomas actually violated federal disclosure laws by accepting gifts from Crow  as ProPublica also revealed  without reporting them to the government. Thomas legal obligations on this real estate transaction are a little more straightforward. Under the Ethics in Government Act of 1978, passed in the wake of Watergate, federal officials, including members of the federal judiciary, are required to disclose most real estate transactions totaling more than $1,000.

Thomas, in other words, may have broken the law.

If so, then penalties for either falsifying or knowingly or willfully failing to file or report required information include fines of as much as $71,316 per omission and, potentially, a criminal referral. In 2015, for example, as CNN reported, a financial administrator for the Federal Bureau of Prisons was given three years probation and paid a $5,000 fine for failing to disclose a business relationship he had with a federal contractor that was competing to provide inmate health care services.

The idea that Thomas will face any penalty, much less an official investigation by the Supreme Court, is obviously wish-casting. The politics of the court, the lack of any internal check on the courts members and the general unwillingness of Congress to challenge the courts power  or even scrutinize its affairs  mean Thomas can act with relative impunity.

And even if he couldnt, even if there were meaningful and politically feasible consequences for misconduct among members of the Supreme Court  impeachment is practically a dead letter  theres the fact that the law is simply more forgiving of the rich and the powerful.

If Thomas were an ordinary federal employee  or even an ordinary federal judge  he would probably have to answer to authorities for his failure to disclose income from a real estate sale for nearly a decade. As it stands, it is apparently enough for him to amend the form in question, as he did in 2011 after he failed to report the more than $686,000 his wife, Ginni Thomas, earned from the Heritage Foundation between 2003 and 2007. When asked to report his spouses income, Thomas had checked the box labeled none. (Thomas has in fact let it be known that he intends to amend his disclosure forms to account for the 2014 real estate transaction.)

It is apparently no harm and no foul for a justice of the Supreme Court to show willful and repeated indifference to disclosure requirements under the law.

Here, its worth saying that Thomas is notoriously unforgiving of criminal defendants who make procedural mistakes. In a 2022 opinion for the court, he narrowed the scope of appeals for state prisoners  including those on death row  who believe they received inadequate legal representation. Thomas says those prisoners can no longer present new evidence to support their claim.

The issue is that most claims of poor assistance involve new evidence. Too bad, says Thomas. If it wasnt presented at the appropriate point in the process, then it doesnt count. The Constitution, as interpreted by Thomas, doesnt allow prisoners to amend the form.

To move away from the Supreme Court for a moment, we can see this pattern of leniency for some and the stiff arm of the law for everyone else wherever we choose to look in American society. Take the workplace. A 2017 study by the Economic Policy Institute found that in the 10 most populous states, an estimated 2.4 million people lose a combined $8 billion income to unscrupulous employers. If this is representative of national trends, the institute contends, then American workers lose more than $15 billion a year to wage theft. For comparisons sake, the total losses attributed to all property crime in 2018 amounted to $16.4 billion.

If you are a regular person and you shoplift from Walgreens, you might be arrested. The law doesnt usually let you make restitution or return the item you stole. If you are Walgreens, on the other hand, and you take millions of dollars worth of wages from your employees, then you can just pay them back  provided the victims bring a class-action lawsuit, as a group of Walgreens workers in California did in 2018. Walgreens settled with them in 2020.

Of course, no account of our legal double standards would be complete without the example of President Donald Trump, who spent his career in real estate skirting the law and made a show of his lawlessness while in office. Its only now, more than two years after he left the White House, that he is in any danger of criminal prosecution and legal accountability. And so far, its for falsifying business records and not any of his more egregious offenses.

This is all to say that the United States is a nation of laws if you are an ordinary citizen. However, with a little money and a little power  or at least a seat on the Supreme Court  the law becomes less of a directive and more of a suggestion.
There are dates on the calendar that stand out. Birthdays and holidays, fun days like the day I brought home my cat. There are other dates that have a grim reminder: the day a loved one died or something on a more devastating scale, such as 9/11.

April 20 stands out. Twenty-four years ago, two high school seniors at Columbine High School in Colorado murdered 12 students and one teacher.

Nearly 1,000 miles away, I was a 16-year-old junior at Judson High School. Part of me is surprised that an incident so far away, something I have had no direct connection to, has had such a lasting impact on me.

I was so naive then. I complained for years about how strict the public school was about security. There were no off-campus lunches and the dress code seemed more rigid than some private schools.

The requirement for see-through backpacks  even before Columbine  was annoying. Wearing my school ID on a chain around my neck was annoying. Having to tuck in my collared shirt was annoying. Admittedly, not much wasnt annoying as a teenager, especially those seemingly arbitrary rules from adults.

However, 24 years later, I see it differently.

See-through backpacks, school IDs, closed campus lunches  theyre the least we could have done to keep everyone safe.

Now, the least we can do is increase the age to buy a gun and have stricter background checks. Annoying for law-abiding gun owners? Perhaps. But it could mean at least one life is saved, or maybe prevent the next mass shooting. Even age restrictions didnt prevent the Columbine murders, but as a nation, we have to start somewhere.

In my role as op-ed and letters editor, Ive read several letters imploring the Express-News to stop reporting on Uvalde or for the opinion team to stop demanding more gun control. Were not going to do that. It has been 24 years since Columbine, and were still facing the same dilemma: gun rights versus gun control.

The Gun Violence Archive reports there have been 164 mass shootings so far this year, and according to the Washington Post, there have been 377 school shootings since Columbine.

During an Editorial Board meeting this week, one school board candidate detailed how he walked with his daughter through her elementary school to strategize about where to hide in case of an active shooter. Kids should be playing hide-and-seek, but not like this. Why is this their reality?

Something has to be done. More gun restrictions, more funding for mental health care, better training for law enforcement. It should be all of those things.

The next date we remember should be the date we all put the needs of others before our own and pass policies that save lives.

Until then, we wont forget:

Columbine in Littleton, Colo., April 20, 1999.

Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va., April 16, 2007.

Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., Dec. 14, 2012.

Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., Feb. 14, 2018.

Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, May 24, 2022.

Covenant School in Nashville, Tenn., March 27.

Melissa.Murphy@express-news.net
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Northside ISD, the fourth-largest school district in Texas, has benefited from two consecutive strong superintendents and a committed school board. As it begins a new chapter with a new superintendent, its crucial the school board remain focused on meeting the needs of students and teachers.

Four NISD trustee seats are on the ballot.

As our board meets with school board candidates, our prevailing concern is whether they can deliver the best policies for students and teachers during a tumultuous moment in public education. Most of the candidates we met from Northside ISD convinced us they can do the job.

In District 1, Amy Hoffmann and David Salcido, are capable. Salcido, a father, grandfather, disabled U.S. Army veteran and former Bexar County Sheriffs Department detention officer who unsuccessfully ran for school board in 2019, provided a few examples of raising concerns to campus and district officials. He would represent the district well and would be particularly focused on campus security. He gets our recommendation.

We were impressed with Hoffmanns enthusiasm, ideas and work in the district, but we cannot recommend her.

Hoffmann was at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. 2021, one of the darkest days in American history. While she attended the rally, she said she was not part of the violent insurrection. While she acknowledged Joe Biden is president, she also told us she harbors doubts about the 2020 election  which is extremely troubling for someone seeking elected office. We had hoped to hear more regret from her about that disturbing day and a complete affirmation that Biden won the presidency. That didnt happen.

In terms of school board issues, particularly involvement with NISD, Hoffmann was impressive.

On ExpressNews.com: Editorial: NISD candidate Amy Hoffmann is more than her Jan. 6 riot attendance

Its clear Hoffmanns life revolves around kids. Shes PTA mom extraordinaire. A Northside graduate and mother of five, she has served the district in various ways for 14 years. She heaped praise on the Northside ISD board and outgoing Superintendent Brian Woods. She opposes vouchers and book bans and spoke passionately about school security.

We can only hope Hoffmann comes to see the 2020 presidential election with the same clarity she sees education issues.

In District 2, we recommend incumbent Gerald Lopez for a third term. First elected in 2015, he serves as vice president of the board. Lopez, a small business owner, is a father to three. His board experience and desire to find more ways to serve students would be a benefit to the district.

In District 3, we recommend Karla Duran, a single mother who has experience as a school administrator, teacher and adjunct professor. A San Antonio ISD assistant principal, Duran seeks to increase parent and community engagement, increase teacher and staff support and student success. Durans professional and lived experience would serve Northside well. We were especially impressed with her knowledge of school safety and support of bilingual education.

Were also impressed with Ty Chumbley, a Palo Alto College professor, department chair and Northside graduate. His mother, MLissa M. Chumbley is a Northside trustee who is retiring. Chumbley understands the community and its changing needs and has a desire to serve. He would be a great trustee.

Vera Billingsley also met with us. But she has misguided ideas about education. She has no place on a school board.

In District 4, we were impressed with Jordan Wagner, a mother, substitute teacher, small business owner and community volunteer; and George Ayala, a father, U.S. Army veteran, community volunteer and director of procurement for Opportunity Home San Antonio. But theres no comparison to Trustee Bobby Blount s experience and dedication to Northside.

We recommend Blount for another term.

A U.S. Air Force veteran and father, Blount has served on Northside ISDs board since 1999. Hes also the president of the Bexar County School Board Coalition, chair of the Texas Caucus of Black School Board Members and president of the Go Public campaign. Blount is an asset to Northside ISD  and public education in Texas.
So far through February 2023, Seattle Public Schools has made $67.5 million more in expenditures than it has received in revenue, part of a total projected deficit of $131 million, according to Chalkboard Review.

According to the article, the spending comes in three main categories: regular education, special education, and support services.

Falling enrollment and ballooning support staffs have both contributed to the districts insolvency. Student enrollment has plummeted from 52,730 in the 2019-20 school year to 49,387 in the 2023-24 school year.

Despite fewer students in the buildings, the number of staff has increased from 5,609 in 2014 to 7,273 last year. These expensive bureaucrats have steadily increased costs despite having fewer students needing their help.

According to The Center Square, the school district is considering cutting $33 million in spending from the central office. It is also looking at another $11 million in school-based cuts.

These measures, while necessary and appropriate, still dont come close to solving the problem. The most effective and succinct solution  consolidation  has been ruled out for now by the superintendent.

School districts are just as liable as local and state governments to overspend and exercise poor financial judgement. For the sake of our children, its important they rein in ballooning costs and spend wisely.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com
A rural legal expert has urged farmers to check Land Registry documents to ensure 'every inch' of their land is legally registered.

The alert has come from law firm mfg Solicitors, which has spoken out following a growth in adverse possession cases.

These can see a person without a legal land title becoming the owner by being in possession of the land in excess of 10 to 12 years.

The firm said it had dealt with a growing number of cases where neighbouring landowners have possessed land which does not belong to them, some by growing crops or keeping horses.

It said these landowners have claimed ownership through 'adverse possession laws', successfully convincing the Land Registry to record the land in their name.

Hannah Taylor, a senior associate at mfg Solicitors, said many farmers own hundreds of acres of land and some have lost small sections of that land due to these laws, known as squatters rights.

She said: Whilst there is no guarantee that an application will be successful if someone has used the land for a specific number of years, it has caused stressful situations for a growing number of landowners and driven considerable delays on any sales, or when remortgaging.

With the issue gaining more and more profile in recent years, it highlights not only the importance of checking every inch of boundaries and fencing on a regular basis, but also ensuring the Land Registrys records accurately reflect the actual position in the propertys deeds.

"It sounds simple, but if land is already registered correctly, it makes it more difficult for someone making an adverse possession claim," Ms Taylor explained.

Overall, adverse possession claims from either side are hugely complex and time consuming, she said, with specific steps and procedures which must be taken as part of the process.

"More than anything, its a growing problem which highlights exactly why expert legal advice should be the first port of call, both proactively and reactively."
One of Scotland's largest landowners has announced that it will undertake the restoration of peatlands across its portfolio.

Buccleuch Estates, working with the Crichton Carbon Centre, have undertaken an intensive exercise to map areas of potential deep peat on estates in the south of Scotland.

The report by the centre, a not-for-profit organisation specialising in peatland restoration, has identified 28 sites on the estates where peatland can be restored.

This is in addition to more than 150 hectares of peatland that has already been restored across two sites in the Scottish Borders.

In Scotland, it is estimated that peatland covers 20% of the land, but around 80% of this is degraded.

The partnership is part of ongoing efforts by Buccleuch to slash its footprint and ensure its business remains sustainable into the future.

Adrian Dolby, head of agriculture at Buccleuch, said the estate was 'very pleased' to be moving forward with their ambition to restore peatlands.

"In the last few years, peatland and its environmental importance has moved beyond a discussion between land managers and scientists and gained greater prominence with the public," he said.

"We also, however, face a situation where historic degradation must be addressed before the full positive impact of peatland restoration can be realised.

Buccleuch has an understanding of the effort required to restore and manage peatland, and we take our environmental responsibilities into account in our wider land use discussions ensuring we make the right decisions for future generations.

Dr Emily Taylor, general manager at the Crichton Carbon Centre, said Buccleuch was taking its environmental commitment 'seriously'.

Working in partnership, we have been able to find the right solutions for the areas restored," Dr Taylor explained.

"The next few years will certainly be busy, but we have already seen change in the areas we have worked on, which is incredibly exciting for the future of the environment and biodiversity.

Earlier this year, Buccleuch Estates concluded the sale of 11,390 acres of Langholm Moor, known as Blackburn and Hartsgarth, to Oxygen Conservation.
Emmanuel Macron is working on a secret plan with China to end the war in Ukraine.

Emmanuel Macron is working on a plan to end the war in Ukraine

The French president is said to have missioned his foreign policy adviser Emmanuel Bonne to work with China's top diplomat Wang Yi to establish a framework that could be used as a basis for peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.

Macron's strategy sees talks between Moscow and Kyiv happening as soon as this summer if things go to plan, according to Bloomberg.

However, the negotiations are dependent on several conditions - including a successful Ukrainian spring offensive that would allow the war-torn nation to be in a position of strength during any talks.

Bloomberg revealed that an official from Macron's office had confirmed the plan for Bonne to speak to Wang.

The French leader recently met Chinese president Xi Jinping in a bid to use Beijing's influence to end the conflict and it was revealed over the weekend he had "discussed the next steps in the organisation of a peace summit" with Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelensky.

Sources told The Daily Telegraph newspaper: "Mr. Macron said publicly during his China trip that he wanted to get China to commit to playing a constructive role. Naturally, diplomatic discussions took place and there is a follow-up."
Pop Francis has given King Charles small cross-shaped shards of wood said to be from the cross Jesus Christ was crucified on for the monarch's coronation procession.

The Cross of Wales will lead The King's coronation procession

The relics from the True Cross have been added to The Cross of Wales, a silver crucifix, which will lead the journey to Westminster Abbey on May 6.

As a symbol of the former Prince of Wales' fondness for Wales, the two pieces were set into the larger cross behind a rose crystal gemstone.

Charles gave the cross to the Church in Wales to mark its centenary, and after being blessed by the Archbishop of Wales Andrew John, in Llandudno today (19.04.23), it will be taken to the British capital to be shared among the Anglican and Catholic Churches.

It also boasts an inscription of the last sermon of St David in Welsh reading: "Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain."

In English, it means: "Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things."

His Majesty had already made some adjustments to the cross, adding a hallmark and leopard's head himself last November after becoming King upon the passing of Queen Elizabeth on September 8.

The Church of Wales' Archbishop Andrew John said: "We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic.

"Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability.

"We are delighted too, that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the Coronation Service."

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark O'Toole, said: "With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See.

"It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

"We look forward to honouring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home."

Designer and maker Michael Lloyd added: "The commission has allowed me to delve into the previous 1,000 years of faith and history. Now, with more than 267 thousand hammer blows, the cross has emerged from the inanimate sheets of silver, and I am delighted it will be used as part of the Coronation Service on 6 May."
Next Story : Renowned Mathematician Sujatha Ramadorai Honored With Padma Shri

Image: ShutterstockThe results of the Uttar Pradesh Public Service Commission (UPPSC) were announced and for the first time, girls outperformed boys in the state clinching eight ranks in the top 10. Additionally, female candidates took the top three ranks. Divya Sikarwar of Agra took first rank in the UPPSC PCS exam, followed by Pratiksha Pandey of Lucknow in second rank and Namrata Singh of Bulandshahr in third rank.To fill 383 positions in the combined state and higher subordinate services, as well as assistant conservator of forest/range forest officer services, the UPPSC PCS 2022 exam was held in a number of locations across the nation. 10,70 of the 5,964 students who took the main exam qualified for the interview stage. In total, 364 candidates334 from the state of Uttar Pradesh and the remaining 30 from other statespassed the interview stage.Of the 364 candidates selected for various positions, 110 are women. In addition, 19 of the 39 candidates selected for the position of sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) are women, or roughly 50% of the total. The entire exam process was completed in a record-breaking 10 months for the first time.Uttar Pradesh Yogi Adityanath congratulated all the candidates who got selected and he was especially proud of the results in which women outperformed this year. "Congratulations to all the successful candidates in the Combined State / Upper Subordinate Services Examination-2022 which was conducted by UPPSC in a transparent and fair manner in a record 10 months! The record success of the daughters of the state in this examination and the representation of almost every district is a new picture of 'new Uttar Pradesh'," tweeted the CM.
The impact of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) programme on beneficiary countries within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) can be substantial depending on the sector, according to a report by the US International Trade Commission (USITC). The programme has had a positive impact on poverty reduction and job growth in some countries, particularly in the apparel sector.

AGOA benefits accrue to a subset of countries and sectors within Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Over three-quarters of non-crude petroleum imports under AGOA originated from five countries during 201421: South Africa, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, and Ethiopia. Countries with lower utilisation rates typically have few exports to the US in general or their primary traded goods are not eligible for AGOA preferences or are already duty-free under normal trade relations.

The AGOA programme has had a substantial impact on beneficiary countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the apparel sector, according to a USITC report. Of non-petroleum imports under AGOA, imports of textile and apparel constitute the largest share. However, the benefits of AGOA accrue to a subset of countries and sectors within SSA.

The SSA apparel sector has benefitted substantially from the AGOA programme. Of non-petroleum imports under AGOA, imports of textile and apparel constitute the largest share. Duty savings of up to 30 per cent and the third-country fabric provision have allowed multiple countries to expand their manufacturing capacity. Employment in this sector has provided an avenue for women to enter the formal economy and earn relatively high wages, as per the AGOA: Program Usage, Trends, and Sectoral Highlights report by USITC.

Agricultural products like cotton are important sectors for a number of SSA economies. Growing these crops employs millions of farmers across the region, and their export is critical for accessing foreign exchange. However, growing cotton provides low income and therefore does not provide a reliable pathway for poverty reduction.

While meeting AGOA eligibility requirements created a positive impact on workers and poverty reduction, the loss of programme eligibility due to failure to meet programme requirements had a negative impact on beneficiary economies and regional integration, the report added.

The investigation and report were requested by the US House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means in a letter received on January 19, 2022.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)
Myanmar's apparel exports surged by 51.63 per cent last year, reaching $6.495 billion in 2022. The preceding year, 2021, recorded trade at $4.280 billion. Data analysis shows that Myanmar's apparel exports made a full recovery in 2022 from the impact of COVID-19. The rapid rebound is surprising, given a series of protests amid political upheaval.

Myanmar's exports were $5.313 billion in 2019. They experienced a steep decline to $4.430 billion in 2020, then improved to $4.280 billion in 2021, but remained below pre-pandemic levels. In the first quarter of 2023, the country exported apparel worth $725.633 million, according to Fibre2Fashions market insight tool TexPro.

Japan was Myanmar's largest market in 2022, with a 16.57 per cent share, amounting to $1.076 billion out of the total exports of $6.495 billion. Other top markets included Germany (11.23 per cent), Spain (9.88 per cent), the United Kingdom (8.41 per cent), South Korea (7.27 per cent), Poland (6.50 per cent), the Netherlands (6.01 per cent), the United States (5.82 per cent), France (3.73 per cent), and Italy (2.98 per cent). Europe and Asia-Pacific were the dominant regions for Myanmar's apparel exports, as per TexPro.

Myanmar's apparel exports significantly increased by 51.63 per cent in 2022, reaching $6.495 billion, despite political upheaval and protests. The exports made a full recovery from the impact of COVID-19, surprising many in the textile industry. Myanmar's largest market in 2022 was Japan, followed by Germany, Spain, the UK, and other countries.

Many within the textile industry were surprised by the increase in Myanmar's apparel exports due to the political turmoil in the country. However, the data indicates that Myanmar returned to normalcy after these disruptions.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)
Nikhila Vimal is one of the actresses who openly expresses her views on many issues. Kannur native Nikhila's words about Muslim weddings in her native place are now being discussed on social media, and Nikhila is also being attacked in cyberspace.

Nikhila Vimal was talking about weddings in her native place, Kannur, during an interview related to the promotion of her new film, ''Ayalvaashi'. The film is directed by debutant Irshad Perari. The film tells the story in the comedy genre and stars Soubin Shahir, Binu Pappu, Nikhila Vimal, and Lijo Mol in lead roles.

Nikhila was responding to a query about weddings from an earlier time in the Malabar region. Social media users who found Nikhila's remark offensive have criticised her for it. Nikhila said that in Kannur, there is a tendency in Muslim weddings to serve food to women separately in the kitchen area, and there is not much difference even now.

"When you talk about a local wedding, the first thing that comes to mind is rice and fish curry from the day before. I have been to Muslim weddings while studying in college. In all Muslim weddings in Kannur, women are allowed to eat only in the kitchen area. Still, not much has changed. All males have food in the front area. After marriage, the bridegroom stays in the bride's house. They are called Puthyapla. They will be Puthyapla till they die." Nikhila said

There are also people who are supporting Nikhila Vimal for her remarks criticising the traditional practises in weddings. They say that instead of examining the merits of criticism and correcting them if necessary, cyber-lynching the critic is not democratic, and in any case, it is not good to approach healthy criticism with intolerance.

Nikhila, who began as a child actor and made her acting debut as a female protagonist in Love 24x7' in 2015, was outspoken about her views before as well. Nikhila claimed in an interview in May 2022 that cows don't require any special consideration. She had stated, "You either slaughter all animals or don't slaughter at all," adding that if animal welfare was the real concern, then no animal should be slaughtered. She had previously been outspoken about her political views and supported the Left in an election.
Eid 2023: Ramazan is the holy festival celebrated by people all over India. It's a month of doing charity and good work. Star Bharat actors like Hiba Nawab, Iqbal khan and Rahil Azam opens up about their plans on celebrating Eid this year and extend their wishes to their fans.

Hiba Nawab from 'Woh Toh Hai Albela' aka Sayuri says, "his Eid will be little special as my mother is here so will get to eat all yummy food prepared by her. I love eating biryani so I'm very happy also this whole month is about doing good deeds and doing charity so I've been doing that and I keep this as my every year ritual. I'll also celebrate it with my family on set on Star Bharat's 'Who Toh Hai Albela' as we also do iftar together on set. On the day of Eid, I'll call all my friend's home and have good food and spend some good time together.

Iqbal Khan from 'Na Umra Ki Seema Ho' says, "Eid is going to be a little different today as I'll celebrate it with my family although I'll be shooting on the day of Eid but I'll fly the same night to Kashmir and celebrate it with my family there. I am usually working every time on Eid but this time even though I'm working on the main day but I'll take some day off from the next day and try to make this Eid special for everyone in my family and since I'll be on set during the day, I'll celebrate it with my 'Na Umra ki Seema Ho' family.

Rahil Azam, who is seen in 'Ashaon Ka Savera...Dheere Dheere Se', revealed that he would jet off to his home in Bangalore to celebrate the festive season. He mentioned that actors often don't get time to spent time with their loved ones during festivals due to her jam-packed schedule.

The actor revealed that he has got an off from the shoot and hence, he would celebrate Eid 2023 with his parents.
Shiv Thakare Fan Passes Away: Colors TV's Bigg Boss 16, hosted by Salman Khan, ended in February this year and turned out to be a huge success. It won't be wrong to say that Shiv Thakare was among the highlights of the controversial reality show.

After winning the second season of Bigg Boss Marathi, Shiv entered Bigg Boss 16 and became a household name. However, taking to social media today (April 19), he expressed his sorrow over the loss of one of his fans to cancer.

SHIV THAKARE SAD WITH HIS FAN'S DEMISE

Taking to Twitter, Shiv conveyed his condolences to the bereaved family, saying, "Just came to know about the sad demise of one member from our family because of Cancer @__Sam_Sammy. My heart goes out to his family and friends at this difficult time."

Imlie EXCLUSIVE - Megha Chakraborty On Pressure Of Replacing Sumbul Touqeer: Negative Cheezon Ko Side Hatao...

Take a look at his post below:

Just came to know about sad demise of one member from our family because of Cancer. @__Sam_Sammy



My heart goes out to his family and friends at this difficult time   Shiv Thakare (@ShivThakare9) April 19, 2023

Many of Shiv's fans responded to his tweet, with one recalling the deceased as a humble and amazing person who was an ardent admirer of Shiv's work. Others expressed their grief by saying "Om Shanti" and praying for the family's strength and hope during this difficult time.

May his soul rest in peace!

Coming back to Shiv Thakare, the popular 'Marathi Maanus' has managed to achieve great success despite coming from a modest background. He now owns a car and a restaurant in Mumbai.

Is Fahmaan Khan Open To Participate In Next Bigg Boss Season? Dharampatnii Star Says 'I Need To Talk To...'

SHIV THAKARE CONFIRMS PARTICIPATION IN KHATRON KE KHILADI 13

On the career front, he has also been confirmed as a participant in the upcoming season of Khatron Ke Khiladi, a popular adventure-based reality show hosted by Rohit Shetty. In an interview with a leading lady, Shiv shared his excitement about joining the show and facing his fears under the guidance of action guru Rohit Shetty.

Talking about the same, he recently told Times Of India, "Joining the show is like a dream come true for me." He's the first confirmed contestant of Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 so far and is said to the highest-paid too.

Despite the loss of one of his loyal fans, Shiv continues to inspire and entertain his followers with his hard work and dedication to his craft.

Keep watching this space for more updates!
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 18, 2023 / Last week, Entergy (NYSE:ETR) joined the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, or LPIC, and United Way of Southeast Louisiana at the Louisiana State Capitol for the release of a new report, "A Modern History of Early Care and Education in Louisiana." The report analyzes the modern history of early care and education in legislation and funding. The report was funded with support from Entergy.



Dr. Libbie Sonnier, Gov. John Bel Edwards , Patty Riddlebarger and Charmaine Caccioppi advocate for early child care and education at the Louisiana State Capitol

Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy vice president of corporate social responsibility, attended a press conference alongside Gov. John Bel Edwards and Dr. Libbie Sonnier, executive director of the LPIC.

"At Entergy, we firmly believe that an investment in our children is an investment in our economy," said Riddlebarger. "Over the past two decades, Entergy has worked with countless advocates, legislative champions, policy makers and community leaders to expand access to high quality early childhood education for Louisiana families. This report documents that progress, while also highlighting how much further we have to go."

The report provides a comprehensive modern history of the early care and education, or ECE, reform movement in the state, including lessons learned. In the late 20th century, scientists concluded the vast majority of brain development takes place during the first three years of a child's life. At the same time, increasingly, child care was becoming one of the most common contexts in which child development unfolds.

In the early 2000s, Louisiana served only 27% of 4-year-olds in pre-kindergarten (pre-K), and the state ranked last in the country for access to child care for 3-year-olds. The state's ECE regulatory structures met only four out of 10 national benchmarks, with no required teacher professional development or minimum staff-child ratios. Yet Louisiana's ECE advocates understood that affordable, high-quality ECE opportunities could be a game-changer for both children and their families, as well as for the state as a whole, and they began to organize themselves to support families with young children.

At the press conference, Edwards offered his remarks about the report.

"When I first took office, the state had spent years disinvesting in education. Now, we have the best budget for education in the history of the state," said Edwards. "This year's budget includes the largest investment of state general fund in early childhood education in state history. We all know how important increasing both access and quality of early childhood education in Louisiana is, and I'm incredibly proud of the strides we've made to put our children first."

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Entergy Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Entergy Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/entergy-corporation

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Entergy Corporation

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750045/Entergy-Advocates-for-Early-Child-Care-and-Education-at-the-Louisiana-State-Capitol
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 18, 2023) - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to report on quarterly results for Q1 2023 from the Farellon Copper-Gold-Iron (Cu-Au-Fe) mine located near La Serena, Chile.

During Q1, 2023, the Company extracted a total 7,675 tonnes of mineralized Cu-Au material at Farellon. This represents a decrease of 32% from the 11,340 tonnes of material mined in Q4. Mined tonnes were lower in Q1 2023 as the Company transitioned from scoop trams to haulage trucks to transport material to surface. This new transportation system will begin to show improvements over the coming months. Tonnes processed in Q1 represented 7,584 tonnes, up 11.5% from the previous quarter of 6,804 tonnes. The copper grade recovered was 1.90%, down 7.3% from the previous 2022 Q4 result of 2.05%. Waste removal decreased by 125% to 628 tonnes in 2023 Q1. Sales of 307,104 pounds of copper in 2023 Q1 generated approximately US$822,765 in revenue (after processing costs), an improvement of 19% over the 2022 Q4 $691,000 sales figure.

At the end of March 2023, the Company had 325 tonnes in stockpiles at the Farellon site and a total of 2,850 tonnes of stockpiles at the El Penon mill site. An additional 1,400 tonnes of lower grade material are stockpiled at the Farellon site and ready for processing at the El Penon facility. The Company currently has 1,665 tonnes of material in process with ENAMI. This material will be processed for sale and the revenue will be realized in the coming months.

President and CEO Alastair McIntyre comments: "We are pleased with the improved revenues during 2023 Q1 from our mining operations at Farellon. Good copper grades at 1.9% and firm copper prices have contributed to a good quarter. With new improved underground haulage operations, we expect to increase our output and begin increased extraction to support higher processing capacity as our mill comes on line."

Figure 1. Quarterly Review of US$ Revenue and Copper Pounds Sold

Period Mined USD Revenue* Cu Pounds Sold Copper Grade Q1 2022 9,843 $908,419 295,199 2.06% Q2 2022 10,742 $967,685 310,062 1.96% Q3 2022 13,440 $692,731 297,403 1.87% Q4 2022 11,340 $691,103 295,397 2.05% Q1 2023 7,675 $822,764 307,104 1.90%

* After processing costs

Figure 2. Mined, Processed, Waste Removed and Cu Grade by Quarter 2021-2023



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/162961_66277da51431fb7a_001full.jpg

Figure 3. Processed Material, Income vs. Mining Costs by Quarter 2021-2023



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/162961_66277da51431fb7a_002full.jpg

Mining activity in the first quarter was focused on the extraction of copper and gold material from the 344 m and 352 m north levels where grades in the NE section produced copper grades above 1.9%. In this area of extraction, the IOCG vein maintained an average width of 4.5 meters, ideal for minimizing dilution. Bench mining continued between the 360 m and 352 m levels in the NE section of the mine. Bench mining was also conducted at the 344 m south level using the Jumbo machinery to improve efficiencies. Mining was reactivated at level 352 m South level in anticipation of shipping this material to the El Penon processing facility. Development work on the Hugo Decline has begun to reach the intersection of the new 336m level.

Altiplano has generated over US$12.1 million from the recovery and sale (after processing costs) of more than 5.2 million pounds of copper with an average grade of 1.80% Cu (2018 Q1-2023 Q1). Cash flow has been re-invested into equipment, underground drilling, expanding underground development at Farellon, enhancing ventilation to increase productivity and capacity, new underground development and exploration, and the commissioning of the El Penon fit-for-purpose mill and flotation plant located 15 km from the Farellon site.

Management Cease Trade Order

The Company also announces that it anticipates a delay in the filing of the financial statements required pursuant to Part 4 of National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Instrument"). The potential for delay is due to the Company's and its auditors' joint assessment of the time required for the remaining audit procedures and the auditors' review process. Both the Company and its auditors continue to work diligently towards the completion and filing of the financial statements.

The Instrument requires that the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 be filed by April 30, 2023. The Company and its auditor are in the process of completing the associated audit work to complete these audited financial statements. The Company expects that the audited financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022 (collectively, the "Required Filings") will be completed and filed on or before May 15, 2023.

In connection with the anticipated delays in making the Required Filings within the time periods mandated by the Instrument, the Company has made an application under National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203") to the British Columbia Securities Commission, as principal regulator for the Company, requesting that a management cease trade order ("MCTO") be issued. If granted, the MCTO will restrict all trading by the Company's CEO and CFO in securities of the Company, whether direct or indirect. The issuance of the MCTO will not affect the ability of persons who are not directors, officers or insiders of the Company to trade their securities. The MCTO will remain in effect until the Required Filings are filed or until it is revoked or varied.

The Company confirms that it intends to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines described in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of a news release for so long as it remains in default of the requirement to make the Required Filings. The Company has not taken any steps towards any insolvency proceeding and the Company has no material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed.

About Altiplano

Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets that include an operating copper/gold/iron mine and a state-of-the-art operating copper/gold and iron processing facility in the final stages of completion. Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG.

John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this document

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

/s/ "John Williamson"

Chairman

For further information, please contact:

Alastair McIntyre, CEO

alastairm@apnmetals.com

Tel: (416) 434-3799

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the (TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately 300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162961
News in brief:

The next generation B360 and B360 Pro feature powerful Intel Core 12 th generation i5/i7 processors, along with optional NVIDIA GeForce graphics controller, providing a benchmark performance up to 2.8x faster than the previous generation. 1

generation i5/i7 processors, along with optional NVIDIA GeForce graphics controller, providing a benchmark performance up to 2.8x faster than the previous generation. Both devices offer Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, and optional 4G LTE and 5G sub-6 for convenient connectivity for remote workers.

The new B360 is designed for challenging field-based industries such as public safety, utility field services and manufacturing, while the new B360 Pro is ideally suited to defence professionals

TAIPEI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Getac has today announced the launch of its next generation B360 and B360 Pro fully rugged laptops, delivering exceptional connectivity, reliability, and computing performance to professionals working in challenging environments every day.





Enhanced specification for superior real-world performance

The next generation B360 and B360 pro laptops feature a wide range of upgrades and refinements to make difficult computing tasks simple, even in demanding conditions.

Key features include an upgraded Intel Core 12th generation i5/i7 processor with integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, for remarkable performance, responsiveness, and rich visuals. A 256GB PCIe NVMe SSD as standard (with option of up to 4TB) offers ample storage, while the 13.3" FHD LumiBond display with Getac Sunlight Readable Technology (1,400 nits) and capacitive touchscreen helps maintain productivity around the clock.

The B360 Pro takes this even further, with optional NVIDIA GeForce GTX1650 4GB discrete graphics controller, plus an optional media bay that can accommodate a third SATA SSD (for up to 6TB storage capacity), third battery, or a DVD drive as required.

In real-world terms, this makes complex tasks like performance monitoring and quality control in the manufacturing industry quicker, easier, and more reliable to perform. For public safety and defence professionals, the B360 and B360 Pro's rapid analysis capabilities can be used to boost situational awareness and data sharing both up and down the chain of command.

True mobile connectivity

Both the new B360 and B360 Pro also offer extensive connectivity options, keeping users connected in even remote or isolated environments. These include Wi-Fi 6E AX211, 802.11ax, and Bluetooth 5.3 as standard, as well as optional 4G LTE or 5G Sub-6 with integrated GPS.

This high level of connectivity is playing an increasingly critical role in day-to-day activity for many field-based professionals. For example, gas engineers attending call outs must reliably connect to base directly from customers' homes, wherever they are, in order to deliver the high levels of services expected. Similarly, maintenance workers performing preventive maintenance often need to obtain schematics, generate POs, check inventory, and even coordinate with colleagues via live video chat to quickly resolve on-site problems.

Maximum productivity in the field

The new B360 and B360 Pro deliver even better versatility in the field compared to previous models. New features include an upgraded USB 3.2 port, a ThunderboltTM 4 Type-C port, an upgraded HDMI 2.0 port, as well as the addition of a mini-SIM card slot. Both devices also feature dual hot swappable batteries, while the B360 Pro has the option of a third battery if required.

These features are designed to help large field services teams maintain 24/7 productivity levels by enabling them to connect to a wide range of legacy infrastructure without the need for external adaptors. The inclusion of multiple hot swappable batteries as standard also helps avoid time being wasted while team members wait for devices to recharge mid-shift.

Reliable, portable, secure

Like all Getac devices, the new B360 and B360 Pro are built rugged from the ground up for excellent reliability in the field. Both devices include MIL-STD-810H, MIL-STD-461G, and IP66 certification, as well as drop resistance up to 6ft (1.8m).

Despite this rugged build quality, they weigh in at an impressively light 2.32kg. Their compact form factor also means they can be easily carried on foot in the field or docked/stored in a compartment while travelling in a vehicle.

Additionally, both devices feature numerous advanced data security features. These include a range of multi-factor authentication options (Windows Hello Webcam, HF RFID, smartcard, and fingerprint readers), optional Absolute Persistence software, and user replaceable PCIe NVMe SSD storage, to keep sensitive data protected at all times.

Available as a comprehensive Getac Select rugged solution

The next generation B360 and B360 Pro are available as part of a comprehensive Getac Select total solution, which includes all the hardware, software, accessories and peripherals needed to resolve a range of industry specific challenges right out of the box. This includes a selection of secure office and vehicle docks, alongside Getac's proprietary Driving Safety Utility, Device Monitoring System, and VGPS Utility software.

Both devices also come with Getac's industry leading 3-year Bumper-to-Bumper warranty, featuring accidental damage cover as standard, for additional peace of mind.

"The next generation of our B360 and B360 Pro devices are designed to help customers achieve even greater levels of productivity across their workforces, both in and out of the field," says James Hwang, President of Getac Technology Corporation. "The combination of fully rugged design, powerful specifications, extensive connectivity and compact form factor helps ensure difficult tasks get completed at first time of asking, regardless of the situation, location, or weather conditions."

Availability

The new B360 and B360 Pro will be available in April. For more information, please visit www.getac.com

1. According to Getac Cinebench R20 performance tests comparing the B360G2 with Intel Core 12th generation i7 processor vs. the B360G1 with Intel Core 10th generation i7 processor.

About Getac

Getac Technology Corporation is a global leader in rugged mobile technology and intelligent video solutions, including laptops, tablets, software, body-worn cameras, in-car video systems, digital evidence management and enterprise video analytics solutions. Getac's solutions and services are designed to enable extraordinary experiences for frontline workers in challenging environments. Today, Getac serves customers in over 100 countries spanning defense, public safety, ambulance, fire & rescue, utilities, automotive, natural resources, manufacturing, transport, and logistics. For more information, visit: http://www.getac.com. Participate in the Getac Industry blog or follow the company on LinkedIn and YouTube.

Getac and Getac logo are trademarks of Getac Holdings Corporation or its affiliates. Other brands or trademarks are the property of their respective owners. 2023 Getac Technology Corporation.









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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Bennett College was founded in 1873 in the basement of St. Matthews Methodist Episcopal Church in Greensboro, NC. They are one of only two all-women, Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States - and their mission is to prepare "women of color through a transformative liberal arts education to lead with purpose, integrity, and a strong sense of self-worth." I encourage you to read more about their rich "herstory" in honor of Women's History Month.

At Cisco, we've taken considerable steps to fight injustice and inequity around the world. One of the most powerful examples of the bold actions we're taking is our $150 million commitment to preserve the legacy and sustainability of HBCUs through Social Justice Action 8.

While that commitment includes driving technology modernization and improving STEM education at HBCUs, Cisco is actively investing into the future of their students as well - and I am proud to say that those investments continued earlier this month at Bennett College.

We are building a bridge with Bennett College

Bennett College has been a private, four-year historically black liberal arts college for women since 1926. Over the course of our relationship, we have worked to establish Bennett College as a Networking Academy, provided student recruiting support, offered guidance on funding grants, and helped enhance their network security for remote learning through a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Assessment. In addition, Bennett College has requested mentorship, job shadowing, and guest lectures by Cisco professionals to prepare Bennett students for life after college. These opportunities align with Action 8 initiatives and will enable Cisco to continue to support the sustainability and legacy of Bennett College.

Women of color often face racism and discrimination in academic and professional environments. HBCUs like Bennett College offer the advantage of providing a supportive, inclusive, and justice-oriented approach to education. Bennett College operationalizes student support through special convocations, lectures, and seminars that comprise their Academic Cultural Enrichment Series (ACES) series, which is designed to enhance the cultural and intellectual development of the student population. Cisco's commitment to delivering student success, accelerating young AA/B talent, and making a lasting impact for generations to come provides an excellent foundation for a symbiotic partnership with Bennett College and augments student support.

As the Executive Sponsor for Bennett College, I worked with Wesley Carter, CX Sr. Program Manager, and Bennett College to create an ACES event that?delivered an important message to Bennett's liberal arts students:

? You don't have to major in the computer sciences field to be valuable to a technology company like Cisco!

It's a powerful message, and one that we can continually build upon to show Bennett students that even entry-level digital and cybersecurity skills can enhance their competitive edge, no matter what they choose for their career path. Dr. Santiba Campbell, Director of Academic Special Initiatives for Bennett College, suggested an all-woman panel and focus on liberal arts, instead of STEM, because Bennett College is predominately a liberal arts college.

An overview of our Women in Cisco Panel Discussion in March of 2023

One of the most important aspects of this event was the evidence-based approach. It was kicked off by our own Shaina Tamburr, VP, CX Programs & Compliance, and featured a panel of diverse, liberal arts-educated, successful women from different areas within Cisco - ranging from project management to sales and marketing. These successful women came together to share their unique career stories and life experiences, as well as welcome Bennett College's liberal arts students to engage with Cisco. We doubled down on Cisco's commitment to student success by inviting our Emerging Talent Diversity Engagement Team to create a portal specifically for students to upload their resume and be considered for future Cisco opportunities!

The connection between the speakers and students was palpable - and after sharing their stories, our panelists had a chance to answer these insightful questions in front of students:

What has been the most significant barrier in your career?

How have mentors helped you grow as a leader? What was your path to get there?

What advice would you give your 21-year-old self?

As the event concluded, the students were provided with contact information for all the panelists so they could reach out and ask questions to prepare themselves for a career in the tech industry.

This was an incredible event for Bennett College

The Women in Cisco event was a success for Bennett College because it provided students with valuable insights into working in the tech industry, as well as an opportunity to network with successful liberal arts majors - including two alumnae from Bennett College!

But most of all, this was a great step in strengthening the relationship between Bennett College and Cisco:

"I hope both of you are doing well and still glowing from a great experience Friday at Bennett College! Thank you for all of the hard work in planning, organizing and communicating for the Women in Cisco ACES panel. I look forward to more opportunities and sponsorships for us to work together."

- Dr. Santiba Campbell, Director of Academic Special Initiatives, Bennett College

I am genuinely proud to be part of a company that is committed to not only creating opportunity and exposure in the IT field to non-technical students, but also to the strategic recovery, sustainability, and legacy of HBCUs like Bennett College.

Let's continue to work together to power an inclusive future for all by identifying more ways to transform our beliefs into action, especially as we celebrate Women's History Month.

Register now for our upcoming Women Rock-IT event to learn how

amazing women are using technology to address climate change.

International Girls in ICT Day

April 27th, 2023

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/749795/Cisco-Sharing-Career-Opportunities-and-Advice-with-the-Women-of-Bennett-College
NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, TO U.S. NEWS WIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AUSTRALIA, CANADA OR JAPAN, OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTION IN WHICH THE DISTRIBUTION OR RELEASE WOULD BE UNLAWFUL.

Grunenthal GmbH (the "Company") today announced the pricing of 300 million aggregate principal amount of 6.75% senior secured notes due 2030 (the "Notes"). The Notes will be issued at 100%. The Notes were offered outside the United States in reliance on Regulation S under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). In the United States, the Notes were offered only to qualified institutional buyers pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act.

The Notes were rated 'BB+', 'BB-' and 'B1' by the three major independent credit rating agencies Fitch Ratings, Standard Poor's and Moody's Investors Service respectively.

This new financing will enhance Grunenthal's capital structure and its maturity profile. The Notes will provide additional flexibility for the company's strategy implementation and growth plans. The Company will use the proceeds from the Notes mainly to refinance its 200 million loan facility established in 2022 to partially fund the Nebido acquisition, as well as to refinance its 75 million promissory notes.

This Notes issue follows on from Grunenthal successfully extending the maturities of its 500 million revolving credit facility earlier this year. The offering of the Notes is expected to close on 25 April 2023.

These materials are not an offer for sale of securities. The offering is being made by means of an offering memorandum. This announcement does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy the Notes or any other security and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale in the United States or in any jurisdiction in which, or to any persons to whom, such offering, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

The Notes and the related guarantees have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or the securities laws of any state or other jurisdiction of the United States, and may not be offered or sold within the United States, or to, or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons, except pursuant to an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, the registration requirements of the Securities Act and applicable state or local securities laws. Accordingly, the Notes and the related guarantees are being offered and sold (i) in the United States only to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the Securities Act and (ii) in "offshore transactions" to non-U.S. persons outside the United States in accordance with Regulation S under the Securities Act.

This communication is only being distributed to and is only directed at (i) persons who are outside the United Kingdom, (ii) persons who are investment professionals falling within Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order"), (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.) of the Order, or (iv) any persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or cause to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as "relevant persons"). The investments to which this press release relates are only available to, and any invitation, offer or agreement to subscribe, purchase or otherwise acquire such securities will be engaged in only with, relevant persons. Any person who is not a relevant person should not act or rely on this press release or any of its contents.

The offer and sale of the Notes will be made pursuant to an exception under the Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to produce a prospectus for offers of securities. This press release does not constitute a prospectus within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation or an offer to the public.

Manufacturer target market (MIFID II product governance) is eligible counterparties and professional clients only (all distribution channels). No PRIIPs key information document (KID) has been prepared as not available to retail investors in EEA.

The distribution of this press release into certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this announcement comes should inform themselves about and observe any such restrictions. Any failure to comply with these restrictions may constitute a violation of the laws of any such jurisdiction.

Forward-looking statements

This news release may include "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the securities laws of certain applicable jurisdictions. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, all statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this news release, including, without limitation, those regarding the Company's intentions, beliefs or current expectations concerning, among other things: the Company's future financial conditions and performance, results of operations and liquidity; the Company's strategy, plans, objectives, prospects, growth, goals and targets and future developments in the markets in which the Company participates or is seeking to participate. These forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "ongoing", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "potential", "predict", "project", "target", "seek" or, in each case, their negative, or other variations or comparable terminology. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and that the Company's actual financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and the development of the industry in which the Company operates, may differ materially.

About Grunenthal

Grunenthal is a global leader in pain management and related diseases. As a science-based, fully-integrated pharmaceutical company, we have a long track record of bringing innovative treatments and state-of-the-art technologies to patients worldwide. Our purpose is to change lives for the better and innovation is our passion. We are focusing all our activities and efforts on working towards our vision of a world free of pain.

Grunenthal is headquartered in Aachen, Germany, and has affiliates in 28 countries across Europe, Latin America and the U.S. Our products are available in approximately 100 countries. In 2022, Grunenthal employed around 4,400 people and achieved sales of 1.7 billion.

More information: www.grunenthal.com

Follow us on:

LinkedIn: Grunenthal Group

Instagram: grunenthal

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006290/en/

Contacts:

Florian Dieckmann

Tel:0241-569-2555

Email:florian.dieckmann@grunenthal.com
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Li-FT Power Ltd. (CSE: LIFT) (FSE: WS0) ("LIFT" or the "Company") is pleased to announce it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with the Yellowknives Dene First Nation ("YKDFN") regarding the Yellowknife Lithium Project located approximately 60 kilometers east of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories in YKDFN's traditional territory; Chief Drygeese Territory.

The MOU states that both LIFT and YKDFN intend to enter into an Engagement Agreement based upon the terms outlined in the MOU, and that LIFT can begin mobilizing equipment and supplies for the summer drill campaign at the Yellowknife Lithium Project with an anticipated start date of June 1, 2023. The summer drill campaign at the Yellowknife Lithium Project is expected to be approximately 42,000 meters and will run until November, 2023.

Francis MacDonald, CEO of LIFT, comments, "We are very pleased to sign this MOU that will lead to a definitive Engagement Agreement with the YKDFN. LIFT is committed to working collaboratively and respectfully with Indigenous groups and creating a mutually beneficial working relationship to explore in Indigenous traditional territory. We look forward to beginning the summer 2023 drill program on or around June 1, 2023."

Lena Black, A/CEO of YKDFN, comments, "The Yellowknives Dene First Nation are looking forward to continue building a long and prosperous relationship with LIFT and hope we can work together as partners to benefit our community and those involved in LIFT's endeavors."

Qualified Person

The disclosure in this news release of scientific and technical information regarding Li-FT Power's mineral properties has been reviewed and approved by Carl Verley, P.Geo., Vice-President, Exploration of Li-FT Power and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About LIFT

Li-FT is a mineral exploration company engaged in the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium pegmatite projects located in Canada. The Company's flagship project is the Yellowknife Lithium Project located in Northwest Territories, Canada. Li-FT also holds three early-stage exploration properties in Quebec, Canada with excellent potential for the discovery of buried lithium pegmatites, in addition to the Cali Project in Northwest Territories within the Little Nahanni Pegmatite Field.

For further information, please contact:

Francis MacDonald

Chief Executive Officer

Tel: Canada: + 1.604.609.6185

Email: info@li-ft.com

Website: www.li-ft.com

Lena Black

A/Chief Executive Officer

Yellowknives Dene First Nation

Tel: 867-873-4307

Email: LBlack@ykdene.com

Website: www.ykdene.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

Certain statements included in this press release constitute forward-looking information or statements (collectively, "forward-looking statements"), including those identified by the expressions "anticipate", "believe", "plan", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "should" and similar expressions to the extent they relate to the Company or its management. The forward-looking statements are not historical facts but reflect current expectations regarding future results or events. This press release contains forward looking statements. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and various estimates, factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors.

Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions which are difficult to predict. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions, including the effects of COVID-19. Forward-looking statements contained in this press release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. These statements should not be read as guarantees of future performance or results. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from those implied by such statements. Although such statements are based on management's reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that the statements will prove to be accurate or that management's expectations or estimates of future developments, circumstances or results will materialize. The Company assumes no responsibility to update or revise forward-looking information to reflect new events or circumstances unless required by law. Readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange (the "CSE") nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162956
MOU Brings Gcore's Pioneering Cloud Services to APAC Customers and Offers Asian Businesses Gateway to EMEA

LUXEMBOURG, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gcore - a European provider of high-performance, low-latency, international cloud and edge solutions - and NHN Cloud - a subsidiary of South Korean technology and gaming giant, NHN Group, and a leading provider of public and private cloud services in South Korea and across Asia Pacific - today announce a strategic partnership together.





Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Gcore's pioneering cloud services - including CDN (Content Delivery Network), 5G eSIM, and accelerated AI processing - will be made available to enterprises in Asia Pacific through the NHN Cloud, providing a gateway for Gcore into this key market. In return, Gcore will function as NHN Cloud's strategic partner in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and provide a bridge for NHN Cloud's Asia Pacific customers into the region.

Additionally, the MOU sets up a framework for the two companies to jointly develop new solutions and collaborate on commercial initiatives.

NHN Cloud manages various internet businesses, including Hangame, an online gaming portal with over 37 million members in South Korea, NHN Payco, a payment gateway and digital wallet service, and FashionGo, an online marketplace.

For nearly ten years Gcore has been building Europe's most powerful and extensive edge and cloud services. Today, Gcore's infrastructure includes 140 points of presence worldwide and more than 11,000 peering partners.

Donghooom Kim, CEO at NHN Cloud, commented: "Gcore's strength in EMEA is a significant benefit for us as we look to support the expansion of our customers across the region. Gcore has a shared desire to drive innovation in the areas of edge and cloud computing, and we are confident that together we can create compelling new propositions that will unlock even more value for our customers."

Andre Reitenbach, CEO at Gcore, said: "We at Gcore are immensely proud to embark on this partnership with NHN Cloud, one of Asia Pacific's outstanding technology innovators. Both businesses sharpened their expertise in delivering compelling gaming experiences built on high-performance, low-latency technology infrastructure, and have extended that know-how to businesses across the globe."

About Gcore

Gcore is an international leader in public cloud and edge computing, content delivery, hosting, and security solutions. Gcore is headquartered in Luxembourg and has offices in Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Georgia. Gcore manages its own global IT infrastructure across six continents. Andre Reitenbach, Gcore CEO since 2014.

About NHN Cloud

NHN Cloud is a major public/private CSP in Korea, servicing the representative open stack-based comprehensive cloud services. Thanks to NHN Group's various IT services portfolio and experience, NHN Cloud is expanding its services by developing and launching cloud solutions for each industry. As a market front-runner in public cloud transformation sector, NHN Cloud is leading the technology business by reinforcing public and private competitiveness by enlarging public sector and expanding private cloud service area.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSXV:XIM)(FRA:1XMA)(OTCQB:XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") announces that it has received the Final Mines Act Permit for its Kenville Gold Mine project in southeastern BC.

"The Kenville Gold Mine, which began operations in 1888, was one of the first underground gold mines in British Columbia. After years of working on this particular permit, the Kenville Gold Mine is now on track to becoming one of the greenest and environmentally-friendly gold mines in Southern BC. While there is still very much to do, our team's tenacity has brought us this far, and we are ready for the next phase of milestones that will finally bring this gold mine to fruition." States Anderson CEO Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp's - Kenville Gold Mine - Manager Lloyd Penner

A Mines Act Permit was issued to the Company for the Kenville Mine Project approving the following work:

Establishment of new Venango Portal and 1200 m of decline development with associated drill bays, re-mucks, safety bays and sumps.

Underground Exploration Drilling (20,250 m) from the new decline.

Establishment of one Waste Rock Storage facility.

Installation of surface water management structures.

Location of portable office structure.

Onsite fuel storage.

The permit is comprehensive and includes several conditions for Health and Safety, Geotechnical, Environmental Land and Watercourses, and the Reclamation and Closure Program. Items to be addressed before starting include:

60 days prior to commencement of construction, engineering drawings must be submitted for surface water ponds, ditches, water management and water treatment system pipelines, pumping systems, or diversion channels.

60 days prior to installation of the required monitoring wells and underground dewatering, the location, installation depths, and water level monitoring frequency must be submitted for review and approval.

Has Completed and submitted, a Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) that addresses potential downstream effects on Eagle Creek associated with groundwater inflow rates to the underground workings must be developed and submitted.

Has Completed and submitted, underground development, a Ground Control Management Plan must be developed and implemented.

Has Completed and submitted, waste rock dump construction, a foundation inspection confirming that unsuitable materials have been removed from the footprint area.

Prior to initiation of the first blast, 2 days notification to the Senior Health & Safety Inspector, and 3 business days notification to Fortis BC are required.

Several other items are required once operations commence, as is typical for permits of this type.

The Company is very happy to have this permit in hand and can finally focus on developing the Kenville gold mine project. Design work for water management infrastructure is underway and the Company is looking forward to starting the mine development and finally getting the project underway.

Photo of ore-type vein material from Kenville.

Photo of rock truck and scooptram to be deployed at Kenville mine.

Technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Christopher R. Anderson"

Christopher R. Anderson,

President, CEO and Director

604 488-3900

Investor Relations:

Sophy Cesar,

604-488-3900,

ir@XimenMiningCorp.com

About Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen's two Gold projects, The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under an option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has also in addition acquired 100% interest in the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment.

Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL.

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Ximen Mining Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750054/Ximen-Receives-Final-Mines-Act-Permit-for-the-Kenville-Gold-Mine--Nelson-BC-Canada
ROSYTH, Scotland, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- epipole, a local specialist optical imaging device manufacturer, had a very special guest visit recently. Facilitated with support from the British Private Equity & Venture Capital Association (BVCA), and introduced by The Syndicate Room, the Member of Parliament for the area, Douglas Chapman, came to tour the facility and discuss the impact of venture capital investment with the company's leadership team, how this has helped drive international growth, and to introduce a number of local government initiatives.

During his visit, MP Chapman was impressed with the way epipole has not only been able to survive through the difficulties of the pandemic, but has grown into a strong challenger brand in the competitive US Ophthalmic Diagnostic industry with their flagship product, the epiCam. A significant factor in the company's success has been thanks to the venture capital investment from investors who could see the potential of the company.

MP Chapman believes that epipole has become a shining example of what can happen when a local Scottish company is given the right kind of backing:

"epipole is a great example of what can happen when innovative ideas are paired with the right kind of financial support," he said, "This company has been able to take its ideas and turn them into a thriving business that is not only providing local production and manufacturing jobs, but is exporting to the USA too, and supporting the local community with initiatives such as the Career Ready programme. This kind of outreach work is an excellent example of giving back locally and investing in future skills and training."

But epipole is not content to rest on its laurels. The company is committed to bettering the local community through support and outreach programs. In particular, its leadership team is dedicated to ensuring that the benefits of its success are felt by everyone in the community:

"We believe that as a successful company, we have a responsibility to give back to the community," said Sarah Jardine, CEO of epipole. "That's why we're committed to supporting local schools, community organisations, and other initiatives that we have discussed with Douglas, that will help make our community a better place to live."

"This has been a great visit for everyone involved." Says Sarah "We're looking forward to continuing to grow the business and our export work, whilst also expanding our local community support even further with the additional initiatives and projects that Douglas has introduced us to - the whole team are very excited and can't wait to get started!"

epipole

epipole is a Scottish med-tech company with a proud history of excellence in the engineering and manufacturing of high-performance optical imaging devices (fundus cameras)

Founded by Dr Craig Robertson, who witnessed first-hand his grandmother's rapidly deteriorating sight from diabetes, epipole was formed with a mission - the eradication of preventable blindness!

To this end, they have recently developed and launched the latest epiCam device: their cutting-edge, hand-held retinal imaging camera, capable of taking high-resolution still and video imagery of the living retina.

Find out more:

Social: https://www.linkedin.com/company/epipole-ltd/

Website: https://www.epipole.com

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MILAN, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Omni Bridgeway is pleased to announce the company's continued European expansion with the addition of permanent operations in Milan, Italy, and welcomes Giacomo Serra Zanetti who joins as Investment Manager and Senior Legal Counsel.





Based in Milan, Giacomo will leverage his background in finance and law to deliver non-recourse legal financing and legal recovery solutions to clients with an emphasis on the Italian market.

Giacomo brings two decades of legal experience in structuring and executing cross-border transactions, with specific expertise in restructuring, insolvency and the acquisition of litigious and distressed claims gained while working for leading Italian law firms Grimaldi SL LLP, BonelliErede, and most recently, Advant - NCTM where he was an Equity Partner, as well as direct experience with an investor in insolvency actions and claims against distressed debtors. He is both admitted to the Italian bar and a solicitor of the courts of England and Wales.

"Omni Bridgeway has been successfully funding and supporting clients with legal proceedings in Italy for more than a decade," notes Raymond van Hulst, Executive Director, Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer EMEA. "With our expansion into Italy, following France and Spain recently, we now have permanent operations in seven European jurisdictions and are funding proceedings in more than 15 European jurisdictions. Omni Bridgeway is now even better positioned to provide on-the-ground resources and expertise for corporations, law firms and claimants across Europe. Giacomo brings a stellar track record and is an excellent addition to the Omni Bridgeway team."

Managing Director and Co-Chief Investment Officer EMEA, Hannah van Roessel, added, "I look forward to working with Giacomo and am thrilled to launch our permanent operations in Italy. Giacomo's unique expertise, coupled with his deep knowledge of the Italian market allows Omni Bridgeway to provide a comprehensive offering to clients to address their legal finance, enforcement, and recovery needs within Italy and Europe, as well as internationally."

Giacomo Serra Zanetti commented, "I am truly excited to join Omni Bridgeway, a world leader in the legal finance industry. Italy's legal market, with its high level of complexity and sophistication, represents a compelling market for legal finance and risk management. With operations based in Milan, Omni Bridgeway is perfectly situated to deliver innovative litigation financing and recovery solutions for a broad range of business and legal matters, including the most complex local and cross-border situations. With its truly diversified, global team, Omni Bridgeway adds value for stakeholders in a broad range of situations with underlying legal complexity (in both solvent and insolvent scenarios). I look forward to playing an instrumental role delivering capital and expertise in such circumstances."

ABOUT OMNI BRIDGEWAY

Omni Bridgeway is the global leader in legal finance and risk management, including dispute and litigation finance from case inception to post-judgment enforcement and recovery. Listed on the ASX, Omni Bridgeway operates from 26 international locations.

CONTACT:

Daniela Haessler| Marketing and Business Development Manager (EMEA)| +49 221 8011 5527| dhaessler@omnibridgeway.com





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Dr. Sren Mouritsen, co-founder of Engimmune, steps down as Chief Executive Officer in planned transition

BASEL, Switzerland, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Engimmune Therapeutics AG ("Engimmune"), a Swiss biotech company developing novel T-cell receptor (TCR)-based therapeutics, today announces the appointment of Dr. Lars Nieba as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Sren Mouritsen, co-founder and previous CEO, steps down in a planned transition.

Dr. Lars Nieba brings more than 25 years of experience in biopharmaceutical leadership in R&D, business and clinical development, venture capital, manufacturing and product strategy and has been CEO and a Scientific Advisor to a number of biotechnology companies. Dr. Nieba has held previous positions in big pharma and VC firms including Roche, Bayer and Pureos Bioventures where he touched a wide variety of modalities in drug development, from small molecules, through to therapeutic proteins, antibodies and gene therapies.

Dr. Sren Mouritsen co-founded Engimmune alongside Dr. Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi and Prof. Sai Reddy in 2021, as a spinout from Prof. Sai Reddy's lab at ETH Zurich. Engimmune uses cutting-edge technologies to engineer highly potent and specific TCR-based therapies for cancer treatment and potentially autoimmune disease. By combining genome editing, functional screening, deep sequencing and machine learning, Engimmune addresses major efficacy and safety challenges that currently limit the full potential of TCR-T cell and soluble TCR therapies. TCR pioneer and industry veteran Dr. Bent Jakobsen, co-founder of Immunocore and Adaptimmune, is Chairman of the Board. Engimmune is backed by leading investors Pureos Bioventures and Novo Holdings.

Bent Jakobsen, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Engimmune, said: "On behalf of the Board and management team, I would like to thank Sren for his outstanding contribution in establishing Engimmune and completing the seed financing. I am very pleased to welcome Lars as CEO. His leadership, financial and biopharmaceutical expertise will be invaluable as Engimmune progresses to the next stages of development. There is immense untapped potential in TCR-based therapeutics which Engimmune's novel technologies and approach are ideally positioned to explore."

Sren Mouritsen, co-founder of Engimmune, said:"When we first founded Engimmune, I agreed to take on CEO role until the Company was established and the seed financing completed. I am very proud to have achieved this. For the past months I have led the search for my successor, and I am very pleased to be able welcome Dr. Lars Nieba as the new CEO. Lars has a solid experience both from big pharma and biotech companies and not least within the oncological therapeutic focus area of Engimmune. I feel very confident - also as a shareholder - that he will be able to successfully build further on the very strong progress that Rodrigo, our excellent team and I have established for Engimmune the past couple of years and to eventually lead the Company to a big commercial success."

Lars Nieba, newly appointed Chief Executive Officer of Engimmune, said: "I am looking forward to this exciting new role as the CEO of Engimmune Therapeutics. It is clear that the Company has an exciting future based on the significant potential of TCR-based therapies in oncology and immune mediated diseases. I am joining an excellent board and management team and I am confident that with my complementary experience and networks, we can succeed with its breakthrough TCR platform to develop next-generation treatments."

Rodrigo Vazquez-Lombardi, Chief Scientific Officer of Engimmune, said: "The entire Engimmune team is very excited to welcome Lars as CEO and looks forward to working together with him to advance our programs closer to clinic. I am confident that his impressive track record in leadership roles across early stage, clinical and commercial development of biotherapeutics will rapidly become an invaluable asset to realise the unique potential of our technology platforms for TCR drug development."

For further information, please contact:

Engimmune Therapeutics

e-mail: press@engimmune.com

About Engimmune Therapeutics AG

Engimmune Therapeutics is a technology platform and product-based company using cutting-edge technologies to engineer highly potent and specific T cell receptor (TCR) therapies. By applying proprietary platform technologies combining genome editing, functional high-throughput screening, deep sequencing and machine learning, Engimmune addresses key efficacy and safety challenges that currently limit the full potential of TCR-T cell and soluble TCR therapeutics. The company was co-founded by Dr. Rodrigo Vazquez Lombardi, Prof. Sai Reddy and Dr. Sren Mouritsen in 2021 with the latter as CEO. For more information, please visit www.Engimmune.com.

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Credit Agricole and Worldline

enter into exclusive discussions to create a major player

in merchant services in France

A unique alliance to create a major payments player

in the largest Continental Europe payment market of

c. 700 billion Merchant Sales Value ("MSV")

Strategic long-term partnership

between the leading French retail banking Credit Agricole Group and Worldline

Contemplated creation of a joint company fully operational by 2025 combining

Credit Agricole's merchant acquiring footprint, French market intimacy and distribution power with Worldline's leading innovation, technology

and global infrastructure

Paris, La Defense, April 19, 2023 - Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a global leader in payment services, and Credit Agricole SA [Euronext: ACA], announced today the signing of a non-binding exclusive agreement regarding a strategic partnership to create a major player in the French payment market.

Gilles Grapinet, CEO of Worldline, said: "The contemplated strategic alliance we announce today between Worldline and Credit Agricole is a landmark transaction for the Group. I am very proud that Worldline has been selected by Credit Agricole for a strategic long-term partnership combining our merchant services capabilities, with the joint ambition to create a player able to deliver premier services to all merchants operating in France. The perfect fit of Worldline's state-of-the-art products, technology and services at scale combined with Credit Agricole Group unique distribution network and acquiring market leadership would be a key differentiating factor for our customers.

For Worldline, this is a unique opportunity to further expand our footprint and to achieve scale within a few years on the largest continental European acquiring market. Through this strategic partnership, Worldline would also benefit from additional specific French market offerings while we intend to invest together with Credit Agricole into an ambitious and differentiating innovation roadmap leveraging the Worldline leading-edge global value proposition.

Structured primarily as a contribution in kind of our respective technological capabilities, commercial footprint and distribution capabilities to a joint company, this major contemplated transaction fully preserves our balance sheet and financial and strategic flexibility."

Jean-Paul Mazoyer, Deputy General Manager of Credit Agricole S.A. in charge of Technology, Digital and Payments, commented: "Payments are a cornerstone of the relationship with our customers, hence a strategic business for the Credit Agricole Group. The partnership with Worldline would allow us to strengthen our market leadership in France for merchant payment solutions and fully aligns with Credit Agricole's 2025 ambitions to outperform the market growth by 2x on merchant payments solutions. Worldline is a French and European leader in in-store and online acceptance and a prominent payments processor in Europe.

Worldline is already a trusted partner of the Credit Agricole Group and, through this deepened strategic partnership, we would jointly develop comprehensive services for French merchants on the whole merchant services value chain (acceptance and acquiring) which is a fast-moving and critical area to their business. This integrated mastery would allow us to equip merchants with innovative all-in-one offers that integrate natively in their ecosystem and provide value added business services."



Attractive and evolving French payment market

France is a highly attractive and strategic market for Worldline. France is the 2nd largest economy in Continental Europe, enjoying robust economic performance, sustained by consistent policy frameworks and strong institutions, as well as an attractive investment environment.

The French payment industry shows solid dynamics with a sizable and growing addressable market and a high level of readiness and receptiveness towards cashless payment methods. With aggregated Merchant Sales Value (MSV) of c. 700 billion, the French payment market is by far the largest payment market in Continental Europe.

With cash penetration still high, at c.40% of payment volumes, the French market offers an attractive growth opportunity driven by the secular shift from cash to card and by continued demand for innovation. Combined with French "Cartes Bancaires" domestic scheme and its strong and resilient market share capturing c.80% of card transactions volumes, these market trends make France a particularly attractive country in the broader European context.

The contemplated alliance between Credit Agricole and Worldline is a unique opportunity for both companies to significantly expand their merchant services activities in this high-potential market.

A partnership to create a major player in the French market

Leveraging the strengths of the two companies, the contemplated partnership would offer a state-of-the-art combination of technological and commercial offerings at scale allowing to adequately respond to any type of evolving merchant needs, whether local or global. It would be fueled by:

Worldline's vertical expertise embedded into strong instore and online capabilities to serve merchants at scale thanks to its global solutions, platforms and payment applications, and;

Credit Agricole's strong distribution networks through the 39 Credit Agricole 's Regional Banks and LCL bank, combining a deep French market presence with more than 16,000 banking advisors for enterprises1 and local knowledge in merchants acquiring.

The partnership would be ensured by the set-up of a fully licensed joint-company between Credit Agricole and Worldline. The joint-company would be majority owned (50% of total capital plus one share) and fully consolidated by Worldline. It would be in charge of leveraging Worldline's global European processing platforms and of developing all the innovative products dedicated to the French market. The joint-company would also be in charge of the commercial development of the alliance, both directly for largest merchants in particular, and by providing an active support to the bank distribution channels.

The contemplated joint-company would offer to the key accounts in France a full-service offering leveraging Worldline's global acceptance and acquiring platform, including the domestic "Cartes Bancaires" scheme. In parallel, Worldline would be able to offer to its international merchants an access to the domestic scheme, further expanding its broad range of payment schemes.

With respect to SMBs, this planned combination would also bring to merchants, whatever their size or location, deep access to an enriched offering of payment brands and means, and value-added services covering all their needs, from mobile acceptance devices to more traditional Point-of-Sales (POS: Point Of Sale) solutions for seamless payment experience, ultimately improving merchant experience and consumer purchasing journeys.

These new all-in-one solutions combining instore and online capabilities at large and local scale to serve French merchants and consumers in the best way, coupled with the power of Credit Agricole's distribution network, would be a key differentiating factor to create a payments major player in France.

Key steps of the partnership implementation

The contemplated operation remains subject to both parties' works council consultation and to corporate authorizations and customary regulatory approval:

2023-2024: Joint investment phase of  80 million equally financed by Worldline and Credit Agricole for the product and offering design, and joint company implementation

2025 onwards: Full implementation of the joint company starting to generate revenues and OMDA.

Contacts

Investor Relations Worldline

Laurent Marie

+33 7 84 50 18 90

laurent.marie@worldline.com

Benoit d'Amecourt

+33 6 75 51 41 47

benoit.damecourt@worldline.com

Communication Worldline

Sandrine van der Ghinst

+32 499 585 380

sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com

Helene Carlander

+33 7 72 25 96 04

helene.carlander@worldline.com

Investor Relations Credit Agricole SA

Institutional shareholders + 33 1 43 23 04 31 investor.relations@credit-agricole-sa.fr Individual shareholders + 33 800 000 777 (freephone number - France only) relation@actionnaires.credit-agricole.com Clotilde L'Angevin + 33 1 43 23 32 45 clotilde.langevin@credit-agricole-sa.fr



Equity investors: Jean-Yann Asseraf

Fethi Azzoug + 33 1 57 72 23 81

+ 33 1 57 72 03 75 jean-yann.asseraf@credit-agricole-sa.fr fethi.azzoug@credit-agricole-sa.fr Josephine Brouard + 33 1 43 23 48 33 josephine.brouard@credit-agricole-sa.fr Oriane Cante + 33 1 43 23 03 07 oriane.cante@credit-agricole-sa.fr Nicolas Ianna + 33 1 43 23 55 51 nicolas.ianna@credit-agricole-sa.fr Leila Mamou + 33 1 57 72 07 93 leila.mamou@credit-agricole-sa.fr Anna Pigoulevski + 33 1 43 23 40 59 anna.pigoulevski@credit-agricole-sa.fr Annabelle Wiriath + 33 1 43 23 55 52 annabelle.wiriath@credit-agricole-sa.fr Credit investors and rating agencies: Caroline Crepin + 33 1 43 23 83 65 caroline.crepin@credit-agricole-sa.fr Rhita Alami Hassani + 33 1 43 23 15 27 rhita.alamihassani@credit-agricole-sa.fr Florence Quintin de Kercadio + 33 1 43 23 25 32 florence.quintindekercadio@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Communication Credit Agricole

Alexandre Barat + 33 1 57 72 12 19 alexandre.barat@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Olivier Tassain + 33 1 43 23 25 41 olivier.tassain@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Mathilde Durand + 33 1 57 72 19 43 mathilde.durand@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Benedicte Gouvert +33 1 49 53 43 64 benedicte.gouvert@ca-fnca.fr



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About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] helps businesses of all shapes and sizes to accelerate their growth journey - quickly, simply, and securely. With advanced payments technology, local expertise and solutions customised for hundreds of markets and industries, Worldline powers the growth of over one million businesses around the world. Worldline generated a 4.4 billion euros revenue in 2022. worldline.com

Worldline's corporate purpose ("raison d'etre") is to design and operate leading digital payment and transactional solutions that enable sustainable economic growth and reinforce trust and security in our societies. Worldline makes them environmentally friendly, widely accessible, and supports social transformation.

About Credit Agricole Group

The Credit Agricole Group is the leading partner of the French economy and one of the largest banking groups in Europe. It is the leading retail bank in Europe as well as the first European asset manager, the first bancassurer in Europe and the third European player in project finance.

Built on its strong cooperative and mutual roots, its 145,000 employees and the 27,000 directors of its Local and Regional Banks, the Credit Agricole Group is a responsible and responsive bank serving 53 million customers, 11,5 million mutual shareholders and 800,000 individual shareholders.

Thanks to its universal customer-focused retail banking model - based on the cooperation between its retail banks and their r elated business lines -, the Credit Agricole Group supports its customers' projects in France and around the world: day-to-day banking, home loans, consumer finance, savings, insurances, asset management, real estate, leasing and factoring, and corporate and investment banking.

Credit Agricole also stands out for its dynamic, innovative corporate social responsibility policy, for the benefit of the economy. This policy is based on a pragmatic approach which permeates across the Group and engages each employee.

Disclaimer Worldline

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning the Group's expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions or competitors' behaviors. Any forward-looking statements made in this document are statements about Worldline's beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Worldline's plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the 2021 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) on April 25, 2022 under the filling number: D.22-0342 and its Amendment filed on July 29, 2022 under the filling number: D. 21-0342-A01.

Worldline does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law.

This document is disseminated for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell, any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they have been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or the securities laws of any U.S. state, or are exempt from registration. The securities that may be offered in any transaction have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or the securities laws of any U.S. state and Worldline does not intend to make a public offering of any such securities in the United States.

1 Pro/SME/Agri/Flux
SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global asset management software industry size stood at USD 56.76 billion in 2022 and will depict a healthy CAGR of 11.1% during the forecast period 2023 to 2030, according to the "Asset Management Software Industry Data Book, 2023 - 2030," published by Grand View Research. Technology leaders have sought automation products to streamline tasks, asset tracking, foster organization's performance and bolster decision-making. Software tools have become trendier to prevent breakdown and downtime. Some other attributes, such as sustainability concerns, aging assets and climate issues, have compelled incumbent players to inject funds into asset management tools.





Companies across industry verticals, including healthcare, retail, construction, oil & gas, mining, manufacturing and telecom, have exhibited an inclination for software asset management. For instance, a healthcare organization can use tools to track major devices and equipment, thereby fostering patient care. These trends have fueled the demand for enterprise asset management (EAM), asset performance management (APM) and infrastructure asset management (IAM) software.

Asset-intensive industries have banked on enterprise asset management to optimize the quality of operational assets. Industry players are bullish on the foray of artificial intelligence and IoT in EAM. These state-of-the-art technologies have witnessed an exponential demand to help organizations optimize, track, manage and assess assets. For instance, AI-built remote monitoring devices have gained popularity in providing inputs on assets' condition. The enterprise asset management market size was valued at USD 5.74 billion in 2022 and will witness a strong CAGR of 16.9% during the assessment period. The growth is partly attributed to the rising footprint of cloud-based EAM solutions on the back of growing smartphone penetration and internet services.

Order your copy of the Free Sample of Asset Management Software Industry Data Book - Asset Performance Management, Enterprise Asset Management, Infrastructure Asset Management Market Size, Share, Trends Analysis, And Segment Forecasts, 2023 - 2030" Data Book, published by Grand View Research

An uptick in the infrastructural development plans across advanced and emerging economies has expedited the demand for infrastructure asset management systems. IAM can help governments and other stakeholders to spearhead sustainable development. The United Nations infers that more than 90% of the Sustainable Development Goals are pegged to infrastructure. Asset management has become invaluable to augment workforce safety, minimize risks and boost economic practices across railways, ports, waterways, bridges, electric grids and water supplies. The infrastructure asset management market size logged USD 31.70 billion in 2022 and could exhibit a 9.2% CAGR through 2030.

Trends and opportunities that are poised to bring a paradigm shift in the global landscape are highlighted below:

Asset performance management software has received an impetus to optimize asset reliability and operation. The solution can underpin risk management, asset strategy and predictive maintenance.

Stakeholders will likely invest in software tools to automate asset management and make them auditable. Organizations are expected to seek these tools to enhance KPIs and boost asset availability.

North America could contribute notably towards the global market with buoyant investments in bespoke solutions, including AI, analytics and IoT.

Incumbent players are poised to inject funds into the Asia Pacific market, largely due to an exponential rise in digitization and automation across China, Japan, India and Australia. Predominantly, predictive maintenance, remote monitoring and computer vision have become paramount to reduce equipment failure, augment asset life and manage risk. Well-established and emerging companies are slated to count on advanced tools and digital twins to optimize asset health using AI and IoT platforms. It is worth mentioning that digital twins create virtual replicas of physical assets (airplane, bridge or a building).

Go through the table of content of Asset Management Software Industry Data Book to get a better understanding of the Coverage & Scope of the study

Cloud-based solutions have become instrumental in EAM to automate approvals, manage work orders, conduct mobile compliance inspections and track spare parts inventory. In essence, the expanding footfall of cloud-based tools has led to the prevalence of data, furthering the need for cloud-based asset management solutions across the region.

Industry players are expected to invest in organic and inorganic strategies, such as technological advancements, product offerings, innovation, R&D activities, geographical expansion, mergers & acquisitions and partnerships. To illustrate, in September 2022, WSP announced the acquisition of John Wood Group's Environment & Infrastructure business to foster penetration in the environmental and water sectors. Meanwhile, in October 2022, Oracle included an asset-based service solution in its cloud applications suite. The software company asserts the launch will help boost revenue, minimize costs and foster customer satisfaction by optimizing asset's service lifecycle management.

Check out more Industry Data Books, published by Grand View Research

About Grand View Research

Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research Helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead.

Contact:

Sherry James

Corporate Sales Specialist, USA

Grand View Research, Inc.

Phone: 1-415-349-0058

Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519

Email: sales@grandviewresearch.com

Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/sector-reports-list

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BIELEFELD, Germany, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NTT DATA Business Solutions today announced that it received SAP Pinnacle Awards 2023, which recognize its outstanding contributions as an SAP partner, in four categories "Sales Success - Midmarket", "Sales Success - Cross Segment", "Customer Success Management", and "Partner-Led Demand Management". The leading global consulting company specializing in SAP technologies for small to midsize enterprises (SMEs) was also named a finalist in the categories "Delivery Quality" and "Cloud Business Transformation with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition". Additionally, the NTT DATA Group was recognized as a finalist in the "Social Impact" category. SAP presents these awards annually to the top partners that have excelled in developing and growing their partnership with SAP and helping customers run better. Winners and finalists in 22 categories were chosen based on recommendations from SAP, customer feedback, and performance indicators.





"SAP's ecosystem plays a key role in our vision to enable every organization and every industry to become a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises. The SAP Pinnacle Awards recognize and celebrate the winning partners' outstanding commitment to customer value creation, exponential growth, and simplification," said Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

"The SAP Pinnacle Award is the most prestigious award for SAP partners. Out of more than 500 SAP partners worldwide, we are among the top 3 winners this year. With four Pinnacle Award wins and three finalist placements, we have once again proven that we are among the best in the world," said Norbert Rotter, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions and SVP NTT DATA. "At the same time, the awards are an endorsement of our strong performance in the fiscal year 2022. We convinced customers with our in-depth SAP consulting expertise and significantly strengthened our position as a leading SAP midmarket partner worldwide. The Pinnacle Awards are both recognition and motivation for us."

SAP Pinnacle Awards shine a spotlight on distinguished partners to acknowledge their dedication to teamwork, exceptional innovation, and capacity to help customers achieve their goals. This year, an elite group of 13 partners worldwide were honored. NTT DATA Business Solutions is a Pinnacle Award winner for the ninth time in a row.

Detailed information on the SAP Pinnacle Award 2023 can be found here.

About NTT DATA Business Solutions

NTT DATA Business Solutions drives innovation - from advisory and implementation, to managed services and beyond, continuously enhances SAP solutions to make them work for companies - and for their people. Aiming to help companies to transform, grow and become more successful, NTT DATA Business Solutions connects with a more than in-depth expertise for SAP solutions its clients' business opportunities with the latest technologies - individually and across all business areas. As part of the NTT DATA group and as a global strategic partner of SAP, with close ties to other partners, NTT DATA Business Solutions gives clients and prospects access to innovative solutions and developments and thus makes an important contribution to innovation and long-term business success. NTT DATA Business Solutions employs more than 13,000 people in 30 countries.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA - a part of NTT Group - a trusted global innovator of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo. We help clients transform through consulting, industry solutions, business process services, IT modernization and managed services. NTT DATA enables clients, as well as society, to move confidently into the digital future. We are committed to our clients' long-term success and combine global reach with local client attention to serve them in over 50 countries. Visit us at nttdata.com.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Press Contact for NTT DATA Business Solutions AG

NTT DATA Business Solutions

Jasmin Straeter

Head of Global Communications

Global Communications

T: +49 521 9 14 48 108

Email: Jasmin.Straeter@nttdata.com

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LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Agris, the agriculture and forestry division of investment company Maris, and Granot, a leading avocado producer from Israel, are developing a 390 hectare avocado plantation at Agris' flagship Ndabibi farm in Naivasha, Kenya, with investment from AgDevCo.

The partnership combines Granot's expertise as one of the world's biggest avocado producers with Agris' local expertise and portfolio of agricultural and forestry businesses across East Africa. Granot produces one third of Israel's total avocado yield and with an annual revenue of more than USD 1.5 billion is one of the largest cooperatives in the world. Ndabibi farm will secure year-round avocado production for their new marketing arm.

"Ndabibi will benefit the whole of the Kenyan avocado industry, providing producers across the country with the technical research and development we need to put Kenya on the map as a major avocado producer," says Ran Kadosh, Agris CEO. "Granot's expertise will take production up a gear and achieve greater scale through extension, packing and marketing services for commercial out-growers."

The market for avocados continues to grow in Europe. Favourable conditions in Naivasha, Kenya, produce high yields of quality fruit at a lower unit cost. Ndabibi farm enjoys ideal growing conditions and is less than a day's travel to the international port of Mombasa, for sea links to Europe, and key emerging markets.

"Our partnership with Agris and AgDevCo allows us to harness Kenya's potential as one of the best places in the world to grow avocados," says Giyora Merom, CEO of Granot. "With a professional value chain we can produce a superior product to other major producing regions. In this partnership we've found the East African experience and presence we need."

AgDevCo's Chief Investment Officer, Chris Isaac, says: "We're thrilled to be partnering with Agris and Granot to make this major investment in Kenya's avocado industry, where there is so much potential to raise quality and develop new export markets. Our USD 8m mezzanine loan is flexibly structured to support new avocado orchards, which take three to four years to reach maturity. This project adds to our existing avocado investments in Tanzania and Mozambique, for a total of more than 1,250 hectares of production."

Ndabibi will serve as Agris' production hub and a world-class agricultural centre. The farm will increase production capacity of high-value crops primarily for export, as well as short-cycle crops for the local market. Agris' fast-expanding herb producer, Evergreen Herbs, will grow herbs and vegetables in open-field and greenhouses, which will be sold through Evergreen Fresh, Agris' distribution company.

At its peak, about 2,000 people will be employed at the farm, including horticulture operations, creating employment and training opportunities for local communities.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

This transaction was supported by Herbert Smith Freehills in London, Prolegis LLC in Singapore, Anjarwhalla & Khanna in Kenya, and Ady Kaplan & Co. in Israel.

Agris is a subsidiary of Maris Ltd, and offers investors unique access to an integrated portfolio of food and forestry operations across sub Saharan Africa.

www.agris.group

Evergreen Herbs Ltd offers a full selection of fresh cut herbs throughout the year, with GLOBAL G.A.P., GRASP and SMETA certification. Their technology and operating expertise puts them at the forefront of the East African fresh herb industry.

www.evergreenherbs.net

Granot is owned by 43 Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the center of Israel. The cooperative includes 20 factories and corporations, mainly focused on agriculture and the needs of the Kibbutzim. Granot has an aggregated annual turnover of approximately 4 billion NIS from a portfolio spanning multiple sectors.

www.granot.co.il

AgDevCo is a specialist investor in African agriculture, growing sustainable and impactful agribusiness, with USD 280m under management. Their vision is a thriving commercial agriculture sector, which benefits both people and planet by investing in and supporting agribusinesses to grow, create jobs, produce and process food and link farmers to markets. They support their partners to work towards climate sustainability, and where possible, regenerative solutions. AgDevCo has made over 65 investments to date and committed over $150 million.

www.agdevco.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057188/AgDevCo.jpg

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/agris-and-granot-international-ltd-enter-joint-venture-with-support-from-agdevco-to-develop-avocado-research-and-production-hub-in-kenya-301801556.html
MILAN, Italy, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Edison Energia, an Edison Group company active in the sale of electric power and natural gas to households and businesses and value-added services to the retail market, reached 2 million contracts including residential, SME and industrial customers, thereby consolidating its third position in the national market in terms of volumes of electric power and its second position in terms of volumes of natural gas sold. The company's goal, through its strategic development plan to 2030, is to double the number of contracts to 4 million between commodities, energy efficiency services and products (photovoltaic technology, heat pumps, boilers and climate), electric mobility solutions and insurance products for the protection of domestic systems.



At the event to present the plan and celebrate the milestone, Nicola Monti, CEO of the Edison Group, explained that the group has "a strategic plan with three main growth axes between now and 2030": renewables, natural gas and the growth of all market activities. Monti continued: "We are very satisfied with the goals achieved by Edison Energia, a company that best expresses the corporate values of quality, innovation and competence at the service of the domestic and industrial sectors." The group's CEO added that, "Edison is an operator committed to the ecological transition of our country through the entire industrial chain from generation to the marketing of energy products and services to all market segments."

The goal is to achieve 4 million contracts by 2030, mainly through organic development but also through non-organic growth opportunities, with the acquisition of large and small companies - as has already happened between 2018 and 2022 with Gas Natural, Attiva, Energia Etica and Gaxa - as well as through participation in auctions following the end of the protected market. According to the CEO of Edison Energia, Massimo Quaglini, "today more than ever people are looking for a relationship based on trust, reliability and soundness of the supplier. Our unique 140-year history of excellence in the sector qualifies us to be a partner capable of fully satisfying these needs of our customers: we accompany families and businesses in learning about and progressively adopting increasingly advanced solutions for a conscious and sustainable energy consumption for all", all this in a context in which the energy crisis and the concerns triggered by the scarcity of raw materials "have profoundly changed the behaviour in the purchasing choices of families and businesses".

For more information:

Press Office LaPresse - ufficio.stampa@lapresse.it

A video accompanying this announcement is available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2f3bf836-7bb1-4e19-8998-ffa8c1261fa8
SODANKYLA, FINLAND / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / FireFox Gold Corp. (TSXV:FFOX)(OTCQB:FFOXF) ("FireFox" or the "Company") is pleased to report that it has been granted a new exploration permit covering nearly 20km2 along a major geologic break ("the Kolho Trend") in Finland's Central Lapland Greenstone Belt (CLGB) (see Figure 1, below).

The Kolho Trend occupies a 23-kilometer-long section of a key thrusted contact zone that is deformed around older granitic rocks. Regional mapping by the Geological Survey of Finland (GTK) and limited exploration along the trend has revealed evidence of complex faulting and folding from multiple deformation events. Bedrock geology is interpreted to include mafic to ultramafic volcanic rocks, graphitic schists, and quartz-rich clastic rocks that have been thrust onto Archean basement to the east. These rock units are part of the assemblages that host Agnico Eagle's Kittila Mine and Rupert Resources' Ikkari deposit.

In spite of its prospective setting, there is evidence of only very limited gold exploration along the Kolho Trend prior to FireFox gaining control of it in 2020 via an exploration reservation (see News release dated September 16, 2020). The Company subsequently applied for six exploration permits covering 122.60 km2 of the original reservation area, of which the central 19.56 km2 license, "Nuttio" is the first to be approved. Issued by Tukes, the Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency, the exploration permit is an important step as it allows for mechanized work, including diamond drilling, exploration trenching and bottom-of-bill (BoT) sampling.

FireFox's CEO, Carl Lofberg, commented, "Our previous surface and geophysical work secured our belief that the Kolho Trend is highly prospective for orogenic gold deposits. This huge new Nuttio permit is just the first of several we expect to receive to cover the entire trend, allowing us to control exploration and discovery in an exciting new area. We are eager to get started, so we have mobilized a BoT rig to take advantage of the remaining winter drill season with a brief sampling program."

Since 2020 FireFox has undertaken reconnaissance exploration and completed airborne magnetics over the area. The FireFox team worked jointly with GoldSpot Discoveries on an integrated interpretation of the geophysical data along the Kolho Trend. In addition to the multiple generations of deformation that are evident in the Kolho thrusting and shearing corridor, there are also prominent N-S and NE oriented linears that appear to be later stage structures (see Company news release dated May 12, 2022). The presence of these late crosscutting structures is consistent with the setting of the Kittila Mine along the Kiistala shear zone (~20km NW).

Based on this targeting work, FireFox selected the Nuttio permit as the first project to move forward along the Kolho Trend. The Company has mobilized a BoT drill rig to Nuttio and commenced its first detailed sub-surface testing program.

Figure 1. The vast Kolho Trend, including the recently granted Nuttio permit central to the group of other in-progress permit applications (Click here to enlarge).

FireFox cautions that proximity or similar geology to another gold deposit or active mine does not indicate that mineralization will occur on FireFox's property, and if mineralization does occur, that it will occur in sufficient quantity or grade that would be economically viable. These factors are only cited as evidence of prospectivity of certain properties.

Quality Assurance

Patrick Highsmith, Certified Professional Geologist (AIPG CPG # 11702) and director of the Company, is a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Highsmith has helped prepare, reviewed, and approved the technical information in this news release.

About FireFox Gold Corp.

FireFox Gold Corp is listed on the TSX Venture Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol FFOX. FireFox also trades on the OTCQB Venture Market Exchange in the US under the ticker symbol FFOXF. The Company has been exploring for gold in Finland since 2017 where it holds a huge portfolio of prospective ground.

Finland is one of the top mining investment jurisdictions in the world as indicated by its multiple top-10 rankings in recent Fraser Institute Surveys of Mining Companies. Having a strong mining law and long mining tradition, Finland remains underexplored for gold. Recent exploration results in the country have highlighted its prospectivity, and FireFox is proud to have a Finland based CEO and technical team.

For more information, please refer to the Company's website and profile on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Carl Lofberg"

Chief Executive Officer

CONTACT:

FireFox Gold Corp.

Email: info@firefoxgold.com

Telephone: +1-778-938-1994

Forward Looking Statements

The information herein contains forward looking statements that are subject to a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated in our forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause such differences include changes in world commodity markets, equity markets, the extent of work stoppage and economic impacts that may result from the COVID 19 virus, costs and supply of materials relevant to the mining industry, change in government and changes to regulations affecting the mining industry.

Forward-looking statements in this release may include statements regarding: the intent to conduct additional drilling; the belief as to the location of the most prospective gold targets; the location of targets for future drill programs; and the current and future work program, including the extent and nature of exploration to be conducted in 2023. Although we believe the expectations reflected in our forward-looking statements are reasonable, results may vary.

The forward-looking statements contained herein represent the expectations of FireFox as of the date of dissemination and, accordingly, are subject to change after such date. Readers should not place undue importance on forward-looking statements and should not rely upon this information as of any other date. FireFox does not undertake to update this information at any particular time except as required in accordance with applicable laws.

SOURCE: FireFox Gold Corp.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750064/FireFox-Secures-Large-Exploration-Permit-and-Initiates-Mechanized-Exploration-at-Nuttio-Project-along-the-Kolho-Trend-Lapland-Finland




Original-Research: NEON EQUITY AG - von GBC AG



Einstufung von GBC AG zu NEON EQUITY AG



Unternehmen: NEON EQUITY AG

ISIN: DE000A3DW408



Anlass der Studie: Research Report (Anno)

Empfehlung: BUY

Kursziel: 10,76 EUR

Kursziel auf Sicht von: 31.12.2023

Letzte Ratinganderung:

Analyst: Cosmin Filker; Marcel Schaffer



- Always positive results achieved since the company was founded - Successful year 2022 with after-tax result of almost 12 million EUR

NEON EQUITY AG has been listed on the "Primarmarkt" of the Dusseldorf Stock Exchange since 13 January 2023 and has been tradable on Xetra since 1 February 2023. This is a pure listing, without raising any proceeds from the issue. In accordance with its corporate focus, the company plans to participate as a strategic investor in companies with future potential or to establish such companies. This is based on the strategic objective of sustainably increasing the enterprise value of the portfolio companies by implementing a capital market strategy. Within the framework of their investment approach, the portfolio companies are not only provided with capital, the companies can access the extensive industry know-how and the network of NEON EQUITY AG. The investment focus is on small to medium-sized companies operating in the real estate, consulting or technology sectors. In principle, the portfolio candidates should have good development potential and be able to be developed into an IPO candidate in the long term.



Despite its recent stock market debut, the company has a corporate history spanning several years. Since its foundation in 2012, NEON EQUITY AG has acquired various investments and sold some or all of them again. In total, exit transactions amounting to EUR 645.54 million have been carried out, which have enabled the company to always show positive earnings levels.

This also applies to the past financial year 2022, in which total income of EUR 17.45 million (previous year: EUR 11.89 million) was generated. The proceeds from the sale of shares in publity and PREOS played an important role here, as did income from the reduction of individual value adjustments on receivables. In addition, interest income was generated in connection with publity bonds held. Based on the increased income, a higher after-tax result of EUR 11.98 million (previous year: EUR 6.72 million) was generated compared to the previous year.



Since profits have always been retained since the company's foundation, NEON EQUITY AG has a high equity capital of EUR 245.47 million as at 31 December 2022, accompanied by a high equity ratio of 98.9%. The assets side is primarily made up of shares held in publity AG and Preos AG as well as publity bonds held. As NEON EQUITY AG prepares its accounts in accordance with the principles of the German Commercial Code (HGB), the lower of cost or market principle is applied rather than the market value approach.

For the coming financial years, we expect an expansion of the investment portfolio and also assume an increase in advisory mandates. A key aspect of the forecasts is the company's ability to identify and acquire portfolio candidates with development potential and then to develop them in a way that is suitable for the capital market. Then possible exit proceeds can be achieved. In the current financial year, the sale of publity shares should generate notable proceeds, before new investments in the following years should ensure a strong increase in revenues and earnings.

We have determined the fair value of NEON EQUITY AG using a NAV model and a DCF model. On average, the fair value we have determined is EUR 430.78 million, which corresponds to a fair value of EUR 10.76 per share. We assign the rating BUY.



Die vollstandige Analyse konnen Sie hier downloaden:

http://www.more-ir.de/d/26827.pdf



Kontakt fur Ruckfragen

GBC AG

Halderstrae 27

86150 Augsburg

0821 / 241133 0

research@gbc-ag.de

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Offenlegung moglicher Interessenskonflikte nach  85 WpHG und Art. 20 MAR Beim oben analysierten Unternehmen ist folgender moglicher Interessenkonflikt gegeben: (5a,11); Einen Katalog moglicher Interessenkonflikte finden Sie unter: http://www.gbc-ag.de/de/Offenlegung.htm

+++++++++++++++

Date and time of completion of the study: 19.04.2023 (10:29 am) Date and time of publication of the study: 19.04.2023 (11:30 am)

ubermittelt durch die EQS Group AG.

Fur den Inhalt der Mitteilung bzw. Research ist alleine der Herausgeber bzw. Ersteller der Studie verantwortlich. Diese Meldung ist keine Anlageberatung oder Aufforderung zum Abschluss bestimmter Borsengeschafte.




Board International will showcase its comprehensive suite of Intelligent Planning solutions to help businesses create integrated and impactful approaches to achieve better business outcomes

Board International, a leading global provider of Intelligent Planning Solutions which help organizations to plan smarter, enabling actionable insights and better outcomes, today announced it will be hosting its first physical event since 2019. "Board Beyond," a global conference, will take place at Illuminate located inside the Science Museum in London, UK, on May 16, 2023.

The event will bring together global business leaders for a day of conferences, networking, collaboration and learning. Board International will showcase its latest innovations in business planning, introduce product enhancements and deliver interactive solution sessions.

The event will feature keynote speeches from Marco Limena, Nelson Petracek, CTO and CPO of Board International, and industry experts across finance, retail and supply chain as well as a panel discussion moderated by Founder and Managing Director, Carsten Bange of BARC, along with customer success stories from Groupe SEB, BASF, Decathlon, The Very Group, Sella Holding, OTC Industrial Technologies and more. Jed Griffiths, UK Chief Digital Officer at Microsoft, joins the speaker roster as well to discuss digital transformation, migration to the Cloud, and open collaboration and the role Board plays in it.

Attendees will have the opportunity to learn about best practices for driving business transformation, improving decision-making processes and achieving better business outcomes.

"We are thrilled to organize our first physical event in three years," said Marco Limena, CEO of Board International. "Board Beyond is an opportunity for us to connect with our customers and partners, and other planning leaders to share our latest innovations and further ignite the intelligent planning revolution."

Board Beyond is sponsored by: Microsoft, BDG, BIOS, Oliver Wight, SDG, Absolute Labs, KPMG, and EY.

For more information, please visit https://beyond.board.com/

About Board

Board's Intelligent Planning Platform delivers solutions that help over 2,000 organizations worldwide plan smarter enabling actionable insights and better outcomes. Placed as a leader in the 2022 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Financial Planning Software, Board helps leading enterprises discover crucial insights which drive business decisions and unify strategy, finance and operations through more integrated and intelligent planning to achieve full control of performance. Partnering with Board, global enterprises such as H&M, BASF, Burberry, Toyota, Coca-Cola, KPMG, and HSBC have digitally transformed their planning processes.

Founded in 1994, and now with 25 offices worldwide, Board International is recognized by leading analysts including BARC, Gartner, and IDC.

www.board.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005145/en/

Contacts:

Board Contact:

Victoire Depoix, VP of Global Communications

vdepoix@board.com
If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this





Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Heliostar Metals Limited (TSXV: HSTR) (OTC Pink: HSTXF) (FSE: RGG1) ("Heliostar" or the "Company") is pleased to report that drilling has commenced at the Ana Paula Deposit in Mexico. This follows the re-scoping plans announced on April 3, 2023.

Heliostar CEO, Charles Funk, commented, "Heliostar continues to move rapidly with our re-scope of the Ana Paula deposit. By focussing on the High Grade Panel at the core of Ana Paula, we believe we can considerably improve the project economics by changing from an open pit mine plan to an underground gold mine plan. The current drill program is expected to increase both the size and grade of the Ana Paula reserve and resource. Further, the information gathered will also be used to guide mine and mill designs. First results are expected by the end of May. These are key first steps in delivering on the 2023 catalysts for Heliostar's shareholders."

2023 Drill Program for Re-Scoping Ana Paula

Heliostar Metals' 2023 Ana Paula drill program endeavors to achieve three goals:

Increase the size and grade of the resource and reserve.

Provide the geotechnical information required to complete underground mine planning.

Provide metallurgical samples testwork designed to improve gold recovery and simplify the mill flow sheet.

The program will consist of 3,000 - 3,600 metres (m) of drilling in 16 - 24 drill holes. Drilling will utilize large diameter, PQ-sized, core to provide adequate sample mass for metallurgical testing. Drill holes will target the High Grade Panel at the center of the Ana Paula deposit, with a combination of growth and infill targets to be tested.

As noted in the April 3, 2023 press release, the High Grade Panel contains wide, historic intercepts of superior grade, including:

231 m grading 7.5 grams per tonne (g/t) gold

120 m grading 11.2 g/t gold

81.1 m grading 14.5 g/t gold

57.6 m grading 18.6 g/t gold

63.4 m grading 15.3 g/t gold

Based on the current geological model, the company believes there is potential to add up to an additional 100m to the current 250 metre strike length of the High Grade Panel. Volume increase is possible both up and down plunge of the current mineralized panel (Figure 1). Furthermore, the High Grade Panel is inadequately defined by the historic drill program. The panel contains areas of closer spaced drilling less than 25m apart and other gaps with greater than 40m spacing. In these greater than 40m gaps, despite consistent geology and mineralization in the nearby holes, the resource model has conservatively reduced the grade with increasing distance from data points (Figure 1). The company is planning to infill these gaps with the expectation that similar results to surrounding holes can result in materially improved local grades. These in turn may lead to additional ounces and increased resource and reserve grades.

The second aspect of the program is geotechnical and rock mechanics data. This data will support the design of an underground mine plan. To support a robust mine development plan, engineers require detailed information to estimate the size and shapes of the underground workings.

Metallurgical testing will be the third aspect of the program. The Company chose to use large diameter core in order to provide sufficient mass of sample for multiple types of metallurgical testing. The limited amount of historic metallurgical studies made the current testing program a priority. Much of the historical metallurgy focused on the lower grade granodiorite-hosted mineralization. However, whilst this mineralization makes up a much larger volume of rock, it is less relevant to the proposed underground mining scenario.

Our vision for Ana Paula is to unlock significant value that was overlooked historically. The re-scoping program is expected to be catalyst-rich for shareholders, starting with results from the ongoing drill program. The first assays from the High Grade Panel are expected to be reported by the end of May 2023. The re-scoping study aims to bring forward ounces in the mine plan and improve the base case metallurgy. Both of those will have material impacts on Ana Paula's net present value. The ongoing re-scope should provide the key studies necessary to advance to a feasibility study and ultimately to development.





Figure 1: Resource model from 2017 PFS highlighting the High Grade Panel (clipped to greater than 5g/t resource blocks). Growth targets are shown in the red circles and infill areas with potential to increase the grades are shown in white circles.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7729/162964_953bdf6634009a58_003full.jpg







Figure 2: Cross section showing planned infill holes, resource model and geology at Ana Paula. The resource model is clipped to only show greater than 5g/t resource blocks.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/7729/162964_953bdf6634009a58_004full.jpg

Statement of Qualified Person

Stewart Harris, P.Geo., a Qualified Person, as such term is defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101"), has reviewed the scientific and technical information that forms the basis for this news release and has approved the disclosure herein. Historical information contained in this news release cannot be relied upon as Stewart Harris has not prepared nor verified such information.

About Heliostar Metals Ltd.

Heliostar is a junior mining company with a portfolio of advanced high-grade gold projects in Mexico and Alaska.

The Company is focused on developing the 100% owned Ana Paula Project in Guerrero, Mexico. In addition, Heliostar is working with the Mexican government to permit the San Antonio Gold Project in Baja Sur, Mexico. The Company continues efforts to expand the resource at the Unga Gold Project in Alaska, United States of America.

The Ana Paula Project deposit contains proven and probable mineral reserves of 1,081,000 ounces of gold at 2.38 grams per tonne ("g/t") gold and 2,547,000 ounces of silver at 5.61 g/t silver. Ana Paula hosts measured and indicated resources of 1,468,800 ounces of gold at 2.16 g/t gold and 3,600,000 ounces of silver at 5.3 g/t silver. The asset is permitted for open-pit mining and contains significant existing infrastructure including a portal and a 412 metre long decline.

San Antonio is a high-grade oxide gold deposit containing measured and indicated mineral resources of 1,735,000 ounces of gold at 0.83 g/t gold. A Preliminary Economic Assessment for Argonaut Gold was completed in 2012.

Unga is an advanced vein district containing the SH-1 gold deposit within a large, prospective vein field. SH-1 contains inferred minerals resources of 384,000 ounces of gold at 13.8 g/t gold.

Sources

1 Heliostar Metals Limited, Ana Paula Gold Project NI 43-101 Technical Report Preliminary Feasibility Study Update with effective date 28 February 2023.

For additional information please contact:

Charles Funk

Chief Executive Officer

Heliostar Metals Limited

Email: charles.funk@heliostarmetals.com

Rob Grey

Investor Relations Manager

Heliostar Metals Limited

Email: rob.grey@heliostarmetals.com

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains forward-looking information which is subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding we believe we can considerably improve the project economics by changing from an open pit mine plan to an underground gold mine plan, the current drill program is expected to increase both the size and grade of the Ana Paula reserve and resource and the company expects first drill results by the end of May, 2023. These forward-looking statements are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. Risks that could change or prevent these statements from coming to fruition include, but are not limited to, general business, economic and social uncertainties; litigation, legislative, environmental and other judicial, regulatory, political and competitive developments; and other risks outside of the Company's control. Further, labour shortages, high energy costs, inflationary pressures, rising interest rates, the global financial climate and the conflict in Ukraine and surrounding regions are some additional factors that are affecting current economic conditions and increasing economic uncertainty, which may impact the Company's operating performance, financial position, and future prospects. Collectively, the potential impacts of this economic environment pose risks that are currently indescribable and immeasurable. Readers are cautioned that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance or events and, accordingly, are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements due to the inherent uncertainty of such statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this news release and, unless required by applicable law, the Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162964
Will bring unique high-THC Colombian strains owned by PharmaCielo to Europe for the first time.





Combines PharmaCielo's expertise in producing premium medicinal cannabis products, with CANNPRISMA's conversion capabilities, to bring patients in Europe the highest quality high-THC flower product currently available in the market.

Toronto, Ontario and Rionegro, Colombia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - PharmaCielo Ltd. (TSXV: PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF) ("PharmaCielo" or the "Company"), the Canadian parent of Colombia's premier cultivator and producer of dried flower and medicinal-grade cannabis extracts, PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S. ("Holdings"), today announced that it has partnered with CANNPRISMA - PHARMA, LDA ("CANNPRISMA"), a Portuguese Contract Manufacturing Organization ("CMO"), to supply high-quality EU-GMP1 certified medicinal cannabis flower to the European market. PharmaCielo will provide GACP2 flower to CANNPRISMA, which will convert the flower to EU-GMP standards and distribute it directly from Portugal to European customers. CANNPRISMA is a Portuguese medical cannabis company founded in 2018 that encompasses all aspects of the production process, from cultivation to distribution and research. The company's main objective is to provide high-quality medicinal cannabis products that comply with GACP and GMP standards, and serve as a reference in the market, ultimately contributing to enhancing the quality of life for as many people as possible.

Bill Petron, CEO of PharmaCielo, said, "We are very pleased to announce this agreement to ship THC-dominant dried flower to the European market. Against a tough macro backdrop for all publicly traded cannabis companies, PharmaCielo has taken the right steps to ensure it is positioned to drive results and build value for shareholders as the sales team continues to deliver on its growing pipeline of opportunities."

Mr. Petron continued, "We strongly believe that companies who have access to Europe will benefit from a substantial shift in both medical demand and the potential for adult-use legalization, but it will take time. Our team has created a capital-light product introduction strategy to bring our THC-dominant flower to key markets in the EU. This approach, learned from our experience in other global markets, ensures we are in the supply chain early without overcommitting to a market prematurely, which is a mistake that has been made by others in the industry. PharmaCielo has a structural cost advantage compared to any North American player currently shipping into the European market, with very high-quality products, unique strains and a business model that is poised to rotate to cash flow positive as the revenue line continues to grow. Our team is very excited about the opportunities ahead of us over the next several quarters."

Shares for Debt

On April 14, 2023, the TSX Venture Exchange accepted for filing the Company's proposal to issue 1,549,627 shares and to settle outstanding debt for $437,615 at a deemed price of $0.2824 per share in consideration of certain services provided by former employees of the Company pursuant to employment agreements and subsequent settlement agreements. For more information, please refer to the Company's news release dated February 02, 2023. The Company shall issue a news release when the shares are issued, and the debt extinguished.

Grant of Stock Options

On March 31, 2023, the Company granted an aggregate of 4,010,000 stock options to directors, officers, and key employees. The options vest over two years, are exercisable at a price of $0.22 per share and expire five years from the date of grant. The options are granted pursuant to the Company's stock option plan.

About PharmaCielo

PharmaCielo Ltd. (TSXV: PCLO) (OTCQX: PCLOF) is a global company, headquartered in Canada, with a focus on ethical and sustainable processing and supplying of all natural, pharmaceutical-grade medical cannabis products to large channel distributors. PharmaCielo's principal (and wholly owned) subsidiary is PharmaCielo Colombia Holdings S.A.S., headquartered at its cultivation and processing center located in Rionegro, Colombia.

The board of directors and executive team of PharmaCielo are comprised of a diversely talented group of international business executives and specialists with relevant and varied expertise. PharmaCielo recognized the significant role that Colombia's ideal location plays in building a sustainable business in the medical cannabis industry, and the Company, together with its directors and executives, is executing on a business plan focused on supplying the international marketplace.

For further information:

Ian Atacan, Director & Chief Financial Officer

+1 416-562-3220

i.atacan@pharmacielo.com

Media and Investor Inquires:

investors@pharmacielo.com

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "expects", "is expected", "intends", "anticipates", "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results "may" or "will" be taken, occur or be completed or achieved.

Forward-looking statements can be affected by known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, including changes to PharmaCielo's development plans, the failure to obtain and maintain all necessary regulatory approvals relating to the export of cannabinoid products and the import of these products into other countries, TSX Venture Exchange approval, the inability to export or distribute commercial products through sales channels as anticipated due to economic or operational circumstances, risks associated with operating in Colombia, fluctuation of the market price for the Company's products, risks associated with global economic instability relating to COVID-19 or other developments, risks related to retention of key Company personnel, currency exchange risk, competition in PharmaCielo's market and other risks discussed or referred to under the heading "Risk Factors" in PharmaCielo's Annual Information Form for the financial year ended December 31, 2019, which is available at www.sedar.com. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, PharmaCielo undertakes no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

1 Good Manufacturing Practices

2 Good Agricultural and Collecting Practices

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162911
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - TEAKO MINERALS CORP. (CSE: TMIN) (the "Company" or "Teako"), is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with The Coring Company AS ("TCC"), a fast-growing technology company that is creating a new standard for ground investigations using state-of-the-art research, AI, and robotics. TCC is a private company based in Norway that is arms' length to Teako.

Earlier this year, TCC launched its new Sample Control System ("SCS") for the optimization of ground investigations. SCS expects to significantly reduce the cost of basic investigations and create time savings relative to traditional sampling and lab analyses by quickly collecting results in a single integrated app. This system is designed to optimize fieldwork procedures by utilizing data from drill rigs, samples, and industrial experience to produce more detailed analyses with reduced sample materials.

The collaboration between Teako and TCC is focused on creating long-term value for shareholders for both companies by applying TCC's advanced hardware and software tools across Teako's portfolio of projects which requires a close cooperation between engineers, geologists and management. While the partnership's initial focus is on disrupting conventional sample analysis, opportunities for joint value creation extend far beyond this as both companies intend to jointly develop cutting-edge solutions for exploration. Modern mining demands better strategies and tools, and Teako and TCC are confident that their cooperation will propel them to the cutting edge of the industry.

Frida Vonstad, CEO of The Coring Company comments, "The mining industry is an important factor in the world's green transition. We believe our collaboration with Teako, can make a difference. Through combining The Coring Company's knowledge of technology with Teako's industry knowledge and network - the full potential of our innovative solutions can be reached. It is crucial that the mining industry and innovative companies work together to create viable solutions that increase efficiency as well as reduce the environmental footprint."

Sven Gollan, CEO of Teako Minerals states, "By leveraging these proprietary tools, we believe we are at the beginning of a new era of exploration, one where newly developed and partly AI-assisted tools will enhance nearly every area of the discovery process. Our team feels privileged to partner with The Coring Company, whose visionary ground-breaking research, AI and robotics will assist in elevating the value of each property within our portfolio. The strategic partnership with The Coring Company aligns with Teako's vision of incorporating best in class ideas from different sectors to pioneer new and innovative approaches to exploration, with the aim of disrupting the way exploration is done."

Research & Development Agreement

Teako will enter into a Research and Development Agreement (the "R&D Agreement") which has the objective of bringing the SCS Mining Product - Exploration module to the point of commercial use in the mining exploration industry, and available for licence or sale to other third parties interested in its use. Teako will provide the geologists and mining exploration sites to further develop, test and enhance the SCS Mining Product - Exploration module.

TCC will apply to Innovation Norway, a government funded entity, for each exploration testing site where up to 50% of exploration costs will be funded by the Norwegian government. TCC will be responsible for 30% and Teako responsible for 20% of the costs.

Business Development

The Parties agree to work together regarding business development related to the following: that TCC and Teako will work together on other mining-related topics; that TCC and Teako will work together on marketing the SCS versions and the products and services of TCC; and that Teako will provide introductions to other exploration companies for TCC to introduce and sell its SCS Exploration module.

About The Coring Company AS:

The Coring Company AS ("TCC") is a Norwegian technology company that develops digital solutions for conducting ground investigations within a range of fields. TCC was founded in 2019 based on the research conducted by its founder and CEO, Frida Vonstad, during her doctoral studies at University College of London and Oxford University. TCC's main product, the Sample Control System (SCS), is a powerful tool that helps reduce costs, decrease carbon footprint, and reduce risk when conducting ground investigations.

About Teako Minerals Corp.:

Teako Minerals Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on creating shareholder value through exploration, acquisition, and development of mineral projects.

ON BEHALF OF TEAKO MINERALS CORP.

"Sven Gollan"

Chief Executive Officer

T: +43 5522 500429

E: sven.gollan@teakominerals.com

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Teako. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Teako. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that (a) Teako and TCC are confident that their cooperation will propel them to the cutting edge of the industry, (b) newly developed and partly AI-assisted tools will enhance nearly every area of the discovery process, and will assist in elevating the value of each property within our portfolio, (c) Teako will enter into a Research and Development Agreement and will provide the geologists and mining exploration sites to further develop, test and enhance the SCS Mining Product - Exploration module, (d) TCC will apply to Innovation Norway, a government funded entity, for each exploration testing site where up to 50% of exploration costs will be funded by the Norwegian government, (e) we expect SCS to reduce the cost of basic investigations and create time savings relative to traditional sampling and lab analyses, and (f) both companies intend to jointly develop cutting-edge solutions for exploration. Although Teako believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Teako can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162944
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Wildpack Beverage Inc. (TSXV:CANS)(OTC Pink:WLDPF) ("Wildpack" or the"Company") a leading middle market co-packer of canned goodsannounces the closing of a term loan in the aggregate principal amount of US$12,500,000 (the "Bridge Loan") from Sandton Credit Solutions Master Fund V, LP (the "Lender"), an affiliate of Sandton Capital Partners, L.P. ("Sandton") pursuant to a loan agreement between Sandton and the Company's indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, as borrowers.

Terms of Bridge Loan and Convertible Loan

The Bridge Loan is comprised of a 12-month secured term loan in the principal amount of USD$12,500,000, bearing interest at a rate of 13.00% per annum. All interest accrued during the term of the Bridge Loan will be added to the principal balance and will thereafter accrue interest (such paid in kind interest being referred to as "PIK"), for clarity no cash will be paid during the term.

Proceeds from the Bridge Loan will be utilized for facility improvements and working capital to support and continue Wildpack's growth trajectory in sales and production (as disclosed in Monthly Corporate Updates press released on January 19, February 10, March 3, and April 10, 2023). The Bridge Loan is secured by a first priority lien on all assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and is guaranteed by the Company and its subsidiaries.

Wildpack and Sandton have also executed a term sheet (the "Term Sheet") outlining a USD$25,000,000 interest-bearing four-year term loan which would be convertible into 49% of the equity of the Company (the "Convertible Loan") to replace the Bridge Loan. The Convertible Loan is to be a four-year secured term loan in the principal amount of USD$25,000,000 (inclusive of the amount advanced under the Bridge Loan), bearing interest at a rate of 13.00% per annum accrued but not payable until after the first year. The Convertible Loan is to be secured by a first priority lien on all assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and is to be guaranteed by the Company and its subsidiaries. The Convertible Loan will be subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

In the event that the Bridge Loan is not replaced by the Convertible Loan within 120 calendar days of the closing date (the "Step up Date"), for any reason other than (a) Lender's election to not to enter into such refinance transaction on the terms set forth in the Term Sheet, or (b) the failure of the TSX Venture Exchange to clear any personal information forms required in connection therewith, then the original principal balance of the Bridge Loan will be increased by USD$1,250,000, effective as of the Step up Date, and all accrued interest (including PIK) will be recalculated consistent therewith.

Termination of Manna Loan

The Company also announces that the parties will not be proceeding with the previously announced USD$20,000,000 interest-bearing convertible term loan (the "Manna Loan") between the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Thirsty Cat, LLC and MBV-WP, LLC (the "Manna Lender"), an affiliate of Manna Capital Partners, LLC.

For additional details regarding the terms of the Manna Loan, please refer to the Company's news release dated March 28, 2023.

Per: "Mitch Barnard"

Mitch Barnard

Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact us at:

invest@wildpackbev.com

or

Elijah Clare

Vice President, Investor Relations

elijah@wildpackbev.com

Advisors

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is the legal advisor to Wildpack Beverage Inc.

Visit our investor website at:

https://investor.wildpackbev.com

About Wildpack

Wildpack provides beverage manufacturing and packaging to the middle market by providing sustainable aluminum can filling, decorating, packaging, brokering, sleeve/label printing services, and logistics to brands throughout the United States. Wildpack currently operates indirectly through its wholly owned subsidiaries and out of six facilities in Baltimore, Maryland; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Longmont, Colorado; Sacramento, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada with a focus on digital innovation and green ready-to-drink packaging. Wildpack commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS" on May 19, 2021.

Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the use of proceeds of the Loan. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks including but not limited to: risks related to the termination of the Manna Loan; risks related to repayment of the Bridge Loan; the negotiation of the Convertible Loan; risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to operations; risks related to general economic conditions and credit availability, ability to obtain sufficient and suitable financing, actual results of current production and decorating, fluctuations in prices of aluminum; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the co-packaging industry; delays in the completion of capex activities, changes in national and local government regulation of manufacturing operations and labour laws particularly in light of the COVID pandemic, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments where Wildpack operates. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied by Wildpack are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of Wildpack's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Although Wildpack has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties related to Wildpack's business, including that Wildpack's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; risks related to the termination of the Manna Loan; risks related to repayment of the Bridge Loan; delays in filing of financial information; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the beverage manufacturing and packaging sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and competition in the markets where Wildpack operates. Except as required by securities law, Wildpack does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Wildpack Beverage Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750073/Wildpack-Announces-Closing-of-Bridge-Loan-with-Sandton-Capital-Partners-and-Termination-of-Convertible-Term-Loan-with-Manna-Capital-Partners
CHELMSFORD, England, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Saxton 4x4 , the UK's number one independent SUV dealership, has just released a brand new website to reflect their position as one of the leading prestige automotive dealers.

The new website showcases the dealership's impressive selection of luxury vehicles, including the latest models from world-renowned brands such as Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Audi and BMW. The website also features a comprehensive inventory search function, allowing customers to filter by make, model, year, price range and much more to find the perfect car for them.

Super simple site search, easily navigable menus, enhanced stock pages with unrivalled imagery, helpful video content and a focus on site speed have all been added with the customer buying experience being paramount.

The new site makes it easy for customers to find their perfect car by;

Reserving online and collect it in store,

Reserving online and arrange delivery

Buy it in store and drive it away the same day.

In addition to the extensive inventory of luxury vehicles, the new website also offers customers the ability to book test drives, request personalised videos, and explore a variety of financing options. Saxton 4x4's team of experienced professionals are available to answer any questions and provide guidance throughout the car-buying process.

With the automotive market shifting towards e-commerce, the new website makes the user journey smoother than ever and positions Saxton 4x4 as one of the only prestige automotive websites globally that can claim to be 'online first'.

The old Saxton 4x4 website clocked an impressive number of users in January 2023, increasing 200% in visitors compared to just 5 years ago. Even more staggeringly, in that same time period there has been a 328% increase in mobile visitors.

The new website launch has had this shift towards 'online first' and the user experience in mind.

James Reeves, Marketing Manager said:

"We are thrilled to unveil our new website, which is the result of months of hard work and dedication from our team. Our goal was to create a user-friendly and intuitive platform that reflects our commitment to excellence in every aspect of our business."

"We believe that our new website will help us to better connect with our customers and provide them with the exceptional service they deserve."

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/saxton-4x4-launch-market-leading-new-website-301801750.html
Leyden Laboratories B.V., (the "Company" or "Leyden Labs") announced today the dosing of the first Phase 1 healthy volunteer cohort with a nasal spray containing PanFlu candidate CR9114. CR9114 is a universal anti-hemagglutinin stem human antibody which has been shown to provide broad protection in animal studies against influenza infection and disease.

The Company's Phase 1 first-in-human trial is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, dose escalation trial. The Phase 1 trial is designed to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics of PanFlu candidate CR9114 through intranasal administration in approximately 75 healthy volunteers. Trial data are expected later this year, after which Leyden Labs plans to initiate subsequent Phase 2 studies of this PanFlu candidate.

"We believe our PanFlu nasal spray could provide protection for both seasonal epidemics and potential future pandemics of influenza," said Jaap Goudsmit, PhD, MD, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer. "This is not only relevant for people with a weakened immune system and at high risk for hospitalization, but for anyone who risks missing work or school because of flu that keeps them at home or in bed. In case of a severe influenza pandemic, PanFlu could function as an important first line of defense."

"Amidst the worrisome spread of highly virulent H5N1 avian flu among animals, it's becoming clearer than ever that society needs a readily available 'universal response' ahead of future potential pandemics. Leyden Labs is extremely excited to have reached the first-in-human milestone for PanFlu," said Koenraad Wiedhaup, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Leyden Labs.

About Leyden Laboratories B.V.

Leyden Labs is working to free people from the threat of respiratory viruses. Leyden Labs is leveraging its mucosal immunity platform to develop a portfolio of candidates aimed at providing protection against influenza, coronaviruses, and other respiratory viruses through a new class of broadly protective nasal sprays. To learn more, visit www.leydenlabs.com.

About PanFlu candidate CR9114

CR9114, Leyden Labs' lead product candidate for the PanFlu program, is a human monoclonal antibody that protects against influenza in preclinical models. Leyden Labs holds an exclusive license from Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., one of the Janssen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson Johnson, to develop and commercialize CR9114 for mucosal administration.

Forward-looking statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which involve certain risks and uncertainties. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology, including the terms "believe," "would," "could," "may," "will," "should," "anticipate," or "expect," as well as similar expressions, and include statements concerning the mechanism of action, profile, and timing of clinical trials, of CR9114. Leyden Labs cautions the reader that forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Leyden Labs' actual results and achievements may materially differ from those predicted by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. Given these uncertainties, the reader is advised not to place any undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of publication of this press release. We expressly disclaim any obligation to publicly update the information in this press release, including any forward-looking statements, unless required by law or regulation.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005109/en/

Contacts:

Investor:

Elizabeth Goodwin

+1 781-460-1784

investors@leydenlabs.com



Media:

Olivia Durr

+1 240-997-3534

media@leydenlabs.com
NEW YORK and LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Petra Funds Group ("Petra"), a leading independent private funds administrator, announced today that KPMG's Hugh Simpson joined the firm as Director of ESG in Petra's London office.

Hugh will be responsible for delivering the firm's ESG managed services and advisory offering for private market investment funds. Working closely with Petra's Head of ESG, Charlie Chipchase, the team will continue to build out its comprehensive ESG advisory services that focuses on helping fund managers establish scalable and value driving ESG/sustainability strategies that are in step with investor and increasingly stringent regulator expectations.

"At Petra, we are continuing to improve our ESG practice for asset management firms, and our continued investment in senior ESG talent is a testament to the demand for our services," stated Mr. Chipchase. "We are confident that Hugh's breadth of experience and knowledge of ESG regulation and sustainability best practices will greatly strengthen Petra's ESG offering and be accretive to Petra's clients."

Mr. Simpson joins Petra from KPMG, where he served as the Sustainable and Impact Investors Lead for institutional investors and multinational private equity firms across Europe and North America. In this role, he helped private equity fund managers integrate ESG and launch sustainable and impact-driven funds aligned to the EU's Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR). Mr. Simpson gained hands-on experience working with top-tier private equity firms through the investment cycle, including strategy, origination, due diligence, monitoring, and reporting to ensure value creation as well as investor and regulatory alignment.

Prior to KPMG, Hugh held roles with Deloitte's private market funds practice and MSCI, one of the leading providers of ESG investment data.

"The focus of our recruiting efforts on hiring top-tier talent with years of industry experience has differentiated Petra's service offering," stated Stephen Coats, Managing Partner and Co-Founder. "Hugh's proven experience helping fund managers establish ESG programs will be a huge asset to the continued development and refinement of our comprehensive ESG managed services and advisory practice."

"I'm excited by the opportunity to join Petra at such a pivotal time in the development of the firm's ESG solution," stated Mr. Simpson. "I have known Charlie for years and have great admiration for the ESG program he developed at Riverstone. Leveraging our complimentary backgrounds and the wider team's experience, I am excited to deliver the outsourced ESG solution that private equity and private debt firms have been seeking, focusing on clear, practical, and pragmatic delivery."

About Petra Funds Group

Petra Funds Group is a leading fund administration provider to global private equity and debt funds. The firm is the first to deliver comprehensive fund administration and related middle and back-office services, offering global private fund managers an enhanced, data-driven solution. Our services include fund administration, investor servicing, regulatory compliance, management company services, and ESG advisory services. Petra offers fund managers a best-in-class solution of people, back-office services, and technology, enabling general partners to focus on their internal operations, investments, and investor relationships. Petra has offices in New York, London, Amsterdam, Los Angeles, and Boston and administers funds and structures totaling more than $90 billion in assets.

Learn more about Petra Funds Group by visiting www.petrafundsgroup.com.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/petra-funds-group-expands-esg-advisory-offering-with-senior-hire-301800935.html
Centric Software helps customers make better business decisions, speed time to market, and maximize profits with unmatched AI-driven solutions.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Frost & Sullivan recently researched the fashion, retail, and consumer goods product lifecycle management (PLM) industry and, based on its findings, recognizes Centric Software with the 2023 Global Customer Value Leadership Award. Centric Software is a fast-moving company in the PLM industry for the fashion, retail, and consumer goods sectors. The company delivers a Product Concept to Launch Platform that includes leading-edge PLM, Planning and Pricing solutions with an extensive portfolio of tools that enables seamless data analytics to streamline product management.





Centric Software's products help businesses become operationally efficient in an industry plagued by inefficient processes and a range of limited solutions that do not provide the same effectiveness as Centric Software's products. The company offers world-class solutions, such as Centric Pricing and Centric Planning. Centric Pricing provides access to competitors' product comparisons and analytics to enhance product allocation and pricing. Centric Planning enables enterprises in the decision-making process by keeping inventory under control, forecasting demand with augmented intelligence (AI) capabilities, and improving sales across all channels, among other benefits.

"Centric Software identified the pitfalls of the traditional PLM systems, primarily using spreadsheets or manpower to attempt to manage product development and allocation, finding these systems time consuming and not easily updated, thus ineffective and inaccurate in the long term. Centric Software created its portfolio with these pitfalls in mind and designed its product offering to help customers orchestrate a competitive retail and product strategy and maximize revenues by increasing agility and decreasing time-to-market using data-driven insights," said Michelle Funke, Best Practices Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

Centric Software addresses the evolving needs of brands, retailers and manufacturers in multiple verticals and tailors innovative solutions directly based on their feedback. The company prioritizes customer feedback by regularly collaborating with users to gain valuable insights into features and capabilities, of which customers can take advantage.

This comprehensive customer-centric approach offers enormous value to customers and solidifies Centric Software's reputation in the marketplace, with its impressive 99% customer retention rate. Centric Software, therefore, continually evolves and innovates to expand its services and meet the unique demands of its customers. In addition, the company is expanding the capabilities of its AI and machine learning (ML) product line to increase efficiency.

"The product concept to launch platform addresses problems across the entire market value chain, from understanding the market, product design and development, sourcing, packaging, compliance, pricing and selling by optimizing omnichannel revenues. Brands, retailers and manufacturers leveraging Centric Software see significant return on investment from the platform, including 20% to 100% improved operating margins and 5% to 15% reduced cost of goods sold," noted Karthik Sundaram, Research Director, Industrial at Frost & Sullivan.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that demonstrates excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers, focusing on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes Centric Software's unique focus on augmenting its customers' value, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and customer base expansion.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

Centric Software ( www.centricsoftware.com )?

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a product concept to launch platform for consumer goods such as fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor, consumer electronics, cosmetics & personal care and food & beverage. Centric Software's flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric?PLM, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and product portfolio optimization innovations specifically for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric Visual BoardsTM offer?highly visual, touch-screen experiences for collaboration and decision-making. Centric?PlanningTM is an innovative, cloud-native, augmented-intelligence solution delivering end-to-end retail planning to maximize retail and wholesale business performance. ?Centric PricingTM, powered by StyleSageTM, is an AI-driven market insight platform for data-informed decision-making on pricing and product assortments to maximize revenue and margins.?Among many other market-driven innovations, Centric Software is widely known for its connectivity to dozens of other enterprise systems, including ERP, DAM, PIM, e-com and more, in addition to creative tools such as Adobe?Illustrator, a host of 3D CAD connectors and sustainability tools, such as Higg. Centric Software has the highest user adoption rate, customer satisfaction rate and fastest time to value in the industry.

Centric Software is a subsidiary of Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D digital mock-up and PLM solutions.?

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list several times. Centric Software also received five excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan over the past decade.?

Centric Software and Centric PLM are registered trademarks of Centric Software, Inc. In the US and other countries. All third-party trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.?

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Contact:

Claudia Toscano

P: +1.210.477.8417

E: claudia.toscano@frost.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2055938/Centric_Software_Award.jpg

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/centric-software-awarded-by-frost--sullivan-for-delivering-out-of-the-box-solutions-that-optimize-its-customers-business-performance-301799369.html
Metariver is revolutionizing institutional investments

NASSAU, Bahamas, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- METARIVER is proud to announce they have received their Digital Assets and Registered Exchanges Act "DARE" license, as well as its Financial and Corporate Service Providers Act "FCSP" license from the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.

METARIVER is a digital asset services company for institutional investors, private banks and family offices who are looking to allocate a portion of their assets under management. Custody of assets will be client-controlled in secure vaults.

METARIVER was founded by a team of governance, compliance, and product development specialists, from the fintech sector. There is a strong need for corporate governance in the crypto industry, and METARIVER believes it is well positioned to address this growing opportunity.

The Bahamas, through their Securities Commission, is a leading jurisdiction globally for digital asset licensing. The DARE Act provides a comprehensive regulatory framework guided by compliance and best practices. DARE can be viewed as a major achievement in legislation which regulates the issuance, sale, and trade of digital assets as well as legally recognizing distributed ledger technology (e.g. blockchain), as emerging platforms for financial services innovation.

"We are thrilled to be licensed by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas and look forward to introducing our services and infrastructure to asset holders, in offering an alternative to traditional treasury management", stated Frank Svatousek, CEO of METARIVER.

Key services include:

Digital Asset Custody & Treasury Management: Infrastructure for portfolio allocation Payments & FX Settlement: Send stablecoins / crypto globally and instantly International Company Formation: All-in-one setup for institutions clients

METARIVER is in the process of acquiring additional digital asset licensing in a complementary jurisdiction, to open added sales channels and asset bases under management. METARIVER has targeted Fall 2023 to roll out their services.

For partnership opportunities, media inquiries or to schedule an interview with Frank Svatousek, please email media@metariver.xyz

About METARIVER

METARIVER is an Institutional Digital Asset Custody & Treasury Management services company that additionally offers International Company Formation to institutional asset holders. Founded in 2022 by Frank Svatousek, Dean Thrasher, and Stephanie Colebrook, the company is dedicated to corporate governance, regulatory compliance, and white-glove service. METARIVER is licensed in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas under the Digital Asset and Registered Exchanges Act, as well as a registered Financial Corporate Service Provider, by the Securities Commission of The Bahamas.

For more information, please visit metariver.xyz or follow the company on Linkedin at /company/metariver

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/metariver-granted-digital-asset-license-in-the-bahamas-301801724.html
Halifax, Nova Scotia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - E-Tech Resources Inc. (TSXV: REE) ("E-Tech" or the "Company") reports soil sample results from drill target T09, located ~800 m north from Zone 1 of its Eureka REE Project ("Eureka" or the "Project").

The Eureka T09 soil sampling program has resulted in the delineation of a large-scale, well-defined, drill-ready REE target, which will now be referred to as the "Adder target".

Jim Megann, CEO of E-Tech Resources, commented: "Our previous drilling program in Zones 1-4 has yielded promising results, with a robust number of intercepts demonstrating significant mineralization. The outreach soil samples we are reporting here are located 800 m north of Zone 1 and indicate that our outreach program is identifying new areas for exploration. Moreover, we have identified numerous targets and are awaiting assay results that may confirm that they are as promising as Zones 1-4. This ongoing validation further supports our belief that the Eureka Dome may have several mineral-rich targets. As we continue to interpret the Dome's structure, we hope to identify even more drilling targets in the near future.'

The Adder target is approximately 450 m long and 250 m wide and is coincident with anomalous Thorium (Th) radiometric response. Thorium is used as an effective exploration targeting tool due to its association with the REE-bearing monazite mineralization (see Figure 1 below) identified at Eureka.

An in-situ soil pXRF survey was conducted on the Adder target on a tight 20 m by 10 m spaced sample grid. Approximately 72% of all points analyzed on the Adder target returned anomalous grades >=500 ppm (0.05%) TREO in soil, with the highest returning 0.32% TREO in soil. The anomalous concentrations of REE found in the soil are consistent with the discovery of mineralized rock chip grab samples, (see News Release April 13, 2023) providing further confirmation of this target.

The measured background REE concentrations are <0.03% TREO. The target is open-ended and has the potential to extend beyond its current interpreted surface area which is being investigated with further detailed groundwork. Exploration activities to date have included systematic detailed prospect-scale mapping and surface geochemical sampling, augmented by high-resolution magnetic and radiometric surveys.

Use of the pXRF enables the field team to rapidly identify target areas with anomalous REE, and the designed detailed soil sampling work programs are then completed to further delineate drill targets.

Figure 1: Location of the Adder Target

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6102/162996_8d2f1f14a4fc6b2c_001full.jpg

Eureka Project Technical Disclosure

The current Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Eureka Project was prepared by SRK Consulting (UK) ("SRK") effective from August 2, 2021. An Independent Technical Report titled "Independent Technical Report: Eureka, Rare Earth Project, Namibia" was released on September 15, 2021 and prepared by SRK, supporting the disclosure of the MRE, and is available on SEDAR and the Corporation's website. (https://etech-resources.com)

pXRF Technical Disclosure:

Portable X-Ray Fluorescence (pXRF) analyzers measure the presence of an element in a sample by identifying the element's characteristic X-ray emission wavelength or energy (i.e. fluorescence) when the sample is struck by a primary X-ray source/beam emitted by the instrument's X-ray tube. The amount of an element present is quantified by measuring the intensity of that element's characteristic X-ray emission. pXRF results provide only a preliminary indication of the presence of REE mineralization in samples. Accurate determination of REE content still requires analysis of samples by an accredited, certified laboratory.

E-Tech is using a SciAps X-555 pXRF analyzer equipped with a 55kV X-ray tube enabling it to detect seven (7) of the REEs (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) and Y, along with a range of transition elements and heavy metals. This enables the Company to have live preliminary results for TREO which are based on pXRF assays. From the pXRF results1, the TREO2 is the sum of the oxides of the analyzed REEs (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) plus Y. Comparisons between the internal pXRF results and ActLabs laboratory assay results for historical analytical work has confirmed the reliability of the Company's pXRF results. In the current conditions, pXRF results give the Company a strong indication of which samples are mineralized.

Samples prepared during the procedure described above are analyzed through the 40-micron sample bag with the Company's X-555 pXRF analyzer with read times of 120 seconds (40 seconds per beam).

Sample processing techniques for pXRF analysis:

The pre-loaded sample point is located using the GPS. The sampling area (i.e. pXRF analyzing spot on the ground) is swept free from the overlying gravel/rubble/pebbles using a broom. Soil material is loosened with the edge of a spade and scooped into a sieve. The material is poured through a sieve and the <=1 mm fraction is collected in a container. A 100-micron plastic sample bag is placed over the fine material to prevent the pXRF from coming in contact with the soil. The pXRF analyzes the fine material in the container and the test results are saved. Samples prepared during the procedure described above are analyzed through the 40-micron sample bag with the Company's X-555 pXRF analyzer with read times of 120 seconds (40 seconds per beam).

Quality Assurance / Quality Control

The pXRF is calibrated at the start with two (2) standards. Blanks (pulverized marble rock chips) and REE standards are inserted in the analyzing sequence for every 20 samples analyzed to continually monitor the performance of the instrument. All equipment used during sample preparation is cleaned before proceeding to the next sample to prevent carry-over/contamination. Regular analysis of the blank material indicates minimal issues regarding sample contamination caused by the in-field preparation method. Each sample is thus assigned a pXRF La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Eu, Gd, and Y value (in parts per million (ppm)) which will then be superseded by lab quality assay results when they are received.

Qualified Person

Pete Siegfried, BSc. (Hons), M.Sc., is a Consulting Geologist and director of GeoAfrica Prospecting Services CC. Mr. Siegfried has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information in this news release. Mr. Siegfried is a Member of The Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (AusIMM) membership number: 221116 (CP Geology), and a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About E-Tech Resources Inc.

E-Tech Resources Inc. (TSXV: REE) is a rare earth exploration and development company focused on developing its Eureka Rare Earths Project in Namibia. The Eureka Project is located approximately 250 km north-west of Namibia's capital city Windhoek and 140 km east of Namibia's main industrial port Walvis Bay. The project is situated next to the national B1 highway in the Erongo Region of Namibia. The Eureka deposit lies in the Southern Central Zone of the Neoproterozoic Damara Belt within EPL 6762. which covers Eureka Farm 99 and Sukses Farm 90. Namibia is recognized as one of Africa's most politically stable jurisdictions, with an extremely well-established national infrastructure and a clear and transparent mining law. The Corporation continues to assess new project opportunities and expand its Southern African portfolio.

Further details are available on the Corporation's website at www.etech-resources.com or contact Jim Megann, Interim CEO of E-Tech Resources Inc., at +1 902 334 1949.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Caution Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain forward-looking information, such as statements regarding the completion of the work in Namibia by E-Tech and future plans and objectives of E-Tech, including acquisition of EPL 8748 by E-Tech which is subject to granting of EPL 8748 by Namibian authorities, regulatory approval and closing conditions. This information is based on current expectations and assumptions (including assumptions in connection with the continuance of the applicable company as a going concern and general economic and market conditions) that are subject to significant risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict, including risks relating to the ability to satisfy the conditions to completion of exploration programmes and work in Namibia. Actual results may differ materially from results suggested in any forward-looking information. E-Tech assumes no obligation to update forward-looking information in this release, or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those reflected in the forward-looking information unless and until required by applicable securities laws. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties is contained in filings made by E-Tech with Canadian securities regulators, copies of which are available at www.sedar.com.

Footnotes:

1pXRF results are for screening purposes and are semi-quantitative only. Only 7 of the REE elements (La, Ce, Pr, Nd, Sm, Eu and Gd) and Y are analyzed with pXRF analyzer.

2TREO: Total Rare Earth Oxide Incl. Yttrium oxide (Y2O3)

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162996
- Results to be presented at American Urological Association's 2023 Annual Meeting (AUA2023) -

Blue Earth Diagnostics, a Bracco company and recognized leader in the development and commercialization of innovative PET radiopharmaceuticals, today announced the presentation of additional results from its completed Phase 3 SPOTLIGHT trial of 18F-rhPSMA-7.3 in recurrent prostate cancer, among a subgroup of patients who had undergone primary treatment with radiation therapy only. The results will be presented at the upcoming American Urological Association's 2023 Annual Meeting (AUA2023), being held in Chicago, Ill., from April 28 to May 1, 2023. 18F-rhPSMA-7.3 is an investigational Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-targeted radiohybrid (rh) PET imaging agent. The SPOTLIGHT trial (NCT04186845) was a Phase 3, multi-center, single-arm imaging study conducted in the United States and Europe to evaluate the safety and diagnostic performance of 18F-rhPSMA-7.3 PET imaging in men with suspected prostate cancer recurrence based on elevated PSA following prior therapy. Currently, 18F-rhPSMA-7.3 is investigational and has not received regulatory approval.

Details of the presentation are listed below.

Date: Saturday, April 29, 2023 Presentation: 18F-rhPSMA-7.3 Detection Rates in Patients with Recurrence of Prostate Cancer Following Primary Treatment with Radiation Therapy: Results from the SPOTLIGHT study. Presenter: Brian T. Helfand, MD, Chief of Division of Urology, NorthShore University HealthSystem, Evanston, Ill., on behalf of the SPOTLIGHT Study Group Session Title: Prostate Cancer: Detection and Screening 1 Type: Moderated Poster MP40 Session Times: 1:00 3:00 PM CT Abstract ID: 23-6028 Location: McCormick Place South Building, Room S405ab

Blue Earth Diagnostics invites participants at AUA2023 to attend the presentation above and to learn more about the Company at Booth 645. For full session details and scientific presentation listings, please see the AUA online program here.

About Radiohybrid Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (rhPSMA)

rhPSMA compounds consist of a radiohybrid ("rh") Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen-targeted receptor ligand which attaches to and is internalized by prostate cancer cells and they may be radiolabeled with 18F for PET imaging, or with isotopes such as 177Lu or 225Ac for therapeutic use creating a true theranostic technology. The radiohybrid technology and rhPSMA originated from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. Blue Earth Diagnostics acquired exclusive, worldwide rights to rhPSMA imaging technology from Scintomics GmbH in 2018, followed by acquisition of exclusive rights to therapeutic applications in 2020. Blue Earth Diagnostics has completed two Phase 3 clinical studies evaluating the safety and diagnostic performance of 18F-rhPSMA-7.3 PET imaging in prostate cancer: ("SPOTLIGHT," NCT04186845), in men with recurrent disease, and ("LIGHTHOUSE," NCT04186819), in men with newly diagnosed prostate cancer. rhPSMA compounds are investigational and have not received regulatory approval.

About Blue Earth Diagnostics

Blue Earth Diagnostics, an indirect subsidiary of Bracco Imaging S.p.A., is a growing international molecular imaging company focused on delivering innovative, well-differentiated diagnostic solutions that inform patient care. Formed in 2014, the Company's success is driven by its management expertise and supported by a demonstrated track record of rapid development and commercialization of positron emission tomography (PET) radiopharmaceuticals. Blue Earth Diagnostics' expanding oncology portfolio encompasses a variety of disease states, including prostate cancer and neuro-oncology. Blue Earth Diagnostics is committed to the timely development and commercialization of precision radiopharmaceuticals for potential use in imaging and therapy. For more information, please visit: www.blueearthdiagnostics.com.

About Bracco Imaging

Bracco Imaging S.p.A., part of the Bracco Group, is a world-leading diagnostic imaging provider. Headquartered in Milan, Italy, Bracco Imaging develops, manufactures and markets diagnostic imaging agents and solutions. It offers a product and solution portfolio for all key diagnostic imaging modalities: X-ray imaging (including Computed Tomography-CT, Interventional Radiology, and Cardiac Catheterization), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), Contrast Enhanced Ultrasound (CEUS), and Nuclear Medicine through radioactive tracers and novel PET imaging agents to inform clinical management and guide care for cancer patients in areas of unmet medical need. Our continually evolving portfolio is completed by a range of medical devices, advanced administration systems and dose-management software. In 2019 Bracco Imaging also enriched its product portfolio by expanding the range of oncology nuclear imaging solutions in the urology segment and other specialties with the acquisition of Blue Earth Diagnostics. Visit: www.braccoimaging.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005140/en/

Contacts:

For Blue Earth Diagnostics (U.S.)

Priscilla Harlan

Vice President, Corporate Communications

(M) (781) 799-7917

priscilla.harlan@blueearthdx.com



For Blue Earth Diagnostics (UK)

Clare Gidley

Associate Director Marketing and Communications

Tel: +44 (0)1865 784186

clare.gidley@blueearthdx.com



Media

Sam Brown Inc.

Mike Beyer

(M) (312) 961-2502

mikebeyer@sambrown.com
Management to Build Relationships with Institutional Investors at Leading Investor Conference for Small-Cap Public Companies

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Med-X, Inc., a leading innovator of all-natural green scene bio-solutions addressing the pest control, health and wellness markets, today announced that the Company will attend the 2023 Planet MicroCap Showcase taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada from April 26-27, 2023.

The Planet MicroCap Showcase is one of the premier investor conferences in the small-cap public company space - bringing together hundreds of investors and presenting companies for two days of presentations, one-on-one meetings, and networking.

Med-X Chairman and CEO Matthew Mills is scheduled to host a formal presentation to investors on Wednesday, April 26th and will host one-on-one meetings with institutional investors throughout the conference. To view the webcast presentation, please reference the below link:

Planet MicroCap Showcase: VEGAS 2023 - Company Presentation

Date: Wednesday, April 26, 2023

Time: 4:30 p.m. Pacific time

Location: Horseshoe Hotel & Casino - Las Vegas, Nevada

Webcast Link: https://www.webcaster4.com/Webcast/Page/2963/48025

Matthew Mills, Chief Executive Officer of Med-X, said: "The Planet MicroCap Showcase is an unparalleled opportunity for Med-X to form relationships with public company investors, building the foundation for an expected transition to the public markets in 2023. This industry-leading investor conference serves as a fantastic platform to enhance our visibility throughout the capital markets. I look forward to sharing our exciting story with investors as we strive to build long-term value for my fellow shareholders through sustained operational execution."

A live audio webcast and archive of the presentation will be available using the link above. Registration is mandatory for conference participation. For more information, or to schedule a meeting with management, please contact MZ Group at MXRX@mzgroup.us .

About Med-X, Inc.

Med-X, Inc. is a leading innovator of all-natural green scene bio-solutions addressing the international pest control , health and wellness markets. Capitalizing on its diverse family of in-house brands to offer safe alternatives to conventional chemical and pharmaceutical products using all-natural ingredients, Med-X's comprehensive go-to-market strategy includes an integrated e-commerce, brick and mortar distributor and on-site services presence in key national markets. For more information, please visit www.medx-rx.com .

Disclaimer and Forward-Looking Statements

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities. Any offers, solicitations or offers to buy, or any sale of securities will be made in accordance with the registration requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"). This announcement is being issued in accordance with Rule 135 of the Securities Act. This press release may contain forward-looking statements regarding projected business performance, operating results, financial condition, and other aspects of the company, expressed by such language as "expected," "anticipated," "projected" and "forecasted." Please be advised that such statements are estimates only and there is no assurance that the results stated or implied by forward-looking statements will actually be realized by the company. Forward-looking statements may be based on management assumptions that prove to be wrong. The Company and its business are subject to substantial risks and potential events beyond its control that would cause material differences between predicted results and actual results, including the Company incurring operating losses and experiencing unexpected material adverse events.

Investor Relations Contact

Lucas Zimmerman

Director

MZ Group - MZ North America

262-357-2918

MXRX@mzgroup.us

www.mzgroup.us

SOURCE: Med-X, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/749893/Med-X-to-Present-at-Planet-MicroCap-Showcase-from-April-26-27-2023
CALGARY, AB / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / CannaPharmaRx, Inc. (OTC PINK:CPMD), a future leader in ultramodern, highly efficient cannabis production facilities announced today that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Spanish Company Nasha Genetics ("Nasha"). The business arrangement sets forth a cooperating relationship in the medical cannabis industry between the two entities.

Nasha Genetics owns intellectual property involved in certain genetics of cannabis strains. As Nasha expands export operations outside of Israel and into additional areas such as Europe, Thailand and the United States, they will partner with CannaPharmaRx. CannaPharmaRx will initiate the process of obtaining all appropriate licenses and approvals required in order to export medical cannabis grown in its facility, subject to Nasha placing purchase orders in a quantity of at least 400 KG designated to shipment to locations other than Israel.

Under the terms of the agreement, Nasha will supply the Genetics to CannaPharmaRx for use in its facility. The supplied Genetics will have the ability to generate THC rich varieties, at least 20% THC, of grade A+ quality cannabis dried flowers. Nasha will bear the costs involved in the delivery of the genetics and be solely responsible for the safe delivery of the genetics to the facility. CannaPharmaRx and its experienced professional team will grow cannabis flowers in its facility, using one or more strains from the Genetics selected solely by Nasha and Nasha will purchase the flowers from them. CannaPharmaRx will initiate the growing process of the flowers within 10 days of receiving the Genetics and a purchase order from Nasha.

The Term during which CannaPharmaRx will grow the flowers and Nasha will purchase them, subject to the provisions of this MOU, will last 7.5 (seven and a half) years. It is anticipated that a definitive agreement pursuant to this MOU will be finalized within 45 days.

"We continue to build an international brand for our product. Nasha will offer unique high-quality strains that we will be able to cultivated and deliver for distribution in several new countries. We are growing our customers and distribution worldwide," commented Nick Colvin, CEO of CannaPharmaRx.

About Nasha Genetics

Nasha Genetics provides the most exclusive and exotic seed strains on the market, focusing on quality of origins. The company has professional breeders bringing you the best feminized seeds from exotic and exclusive genetics.

About CannapharmaRx, Inc.

CannapharmaRx is focused on the acquisition and development of state-of-the-art cannabis grow facilities in Canada. CPMD is in discussion with other companies regarding potential acquisitions. CannapharmaRx's business strategy is to become a leader in high quality and low-cost production of cannabis through the development, acquisition, and enhancement of existing facilities. CannapharmaRx is committed to operating high-quality facilities utilizing the latest technology in combined heat and power generation to ensure being a low-cost producer of cannabis.

Safe Harbor Statement

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information or Statements

This press release contains forward-looking information or statements. All statements that are or information which is not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations, or beliefs of future performance, are 'forward-looking information or statements.' Forward-looking information or statements can be identified by the use of words such as 'plans,' 'expects,' or 'does not expect,' 'is expected,' 'estimates,' 'intends,' 'anticipates,' or 'does not anticipate,' or 'believes,' or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results 'may,' 'could,' 'would,' 'might' or 'will' be taken, occur or be achieved. With respect to forward-looking information and statements contained herein, Management of CannapharmaRx has made numerous assumptions, including, among other things, assumptions about general business and economic conditions. Such forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, events, or developments to be materially different from any future results, events, or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking information or statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information or statements. There can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking information or statements. CannapharmaRx assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking information or statements, even if new information becomes available as a result of future events, new information, or for any other reason except as required by law.

Contact Information:

Brokers and Analysts

Chesapeake Group

(410) 825-3930

SOURCE: CannaPharmaRx

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750044/CannaPharmaRx-Signs-Agreement-with-Nasha-Genetics
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Northstar Gold Corp. (CSE: NSG) (OTCBQ: NSGCF) ("Northstar" or the "Company") announces that a high resolution airborne magnetic survey completed over the Company's 100%-owned, flagship Miller Gold Property situated 18 km southeast of the town of Kirkland Lake, has identified a volumetrically large positive magnetic anomaly (SM-01) partially underplating the near-surface Allied Gold Zone and syenite stock (Figures 1 and 2). The SM-01 Anomaly displays a high magnetic susceptibility signature, possibly reflecting a deeper large, discrete mafic intrusion and source area for higher, recently discovered steeply dipping Au-Cu sulphide mineralization discovered in 2021 drill holes MG21-64 (4.71 g/t Au, 0.51% Cu over 6.4m - CG1 Zone) and MG21-65 (9.41 g/t Au, 1.03% Cu over 3.0m - CG2 Zone). Eleven additional anomalies consistent with possible syenite intrusions (Figure 3) have also been identified.

"The Miller UAV magnetic survey results are a potential game changer that indirectly supports the premise the Allied Gold Zone is the late-stage, shallow-dipping carapace of an earlier deep-seated, multi-phase gold-copper mafic intrusion-related system, similar in style to Agnico Eagle's advanced Upper Beaver Project situated 18 km north of the Miller Gold Property," states Northstar CEO and Director Brian P. Fowler, P.Geo. "Alkalic gold-copper deposits such as Upper Beaver have demonstrable vertical copper-gold mineralization and grade continuity that may support both open pit and underground exploitation. Northstar is positioning to confirm this new Allied Gold Zone geological model and deeper gold-copper mineralization potential by diamond drilling this summer."

The 13 square km, 296-line km airborne UAV high resolution magnetic survey was completed by Val d'or based Abitibi Geophysics utilizing a high resolution AeroVision MAG-drone survey system with 30m to 35m terrain clearance between February 9th and 13th 2023. Abitibi performed an unconstrained 3D magnetic inversion of the residual magnetic field over the entire survey area to a projected depth of ~1500m, and over two focus areas including the Allied, Planet and Meilleur Syenites to a projected depth of ~900m. The primary objective was to define copper-gold geological and structural controlling features at depth on the Miller Gold Property. Targeting analysis was performed by using an automatic (unsupervised) predictive method known as Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET) grid analysis.

Future Plans

A Miller Gold Property-wide LIDAR survey will be conducted next month preceding a targeted surface mapping, sampling and prospecting program on the Miller and Rosegrove properties, as follow up to recent UAV magnetic survey results from both properties.

Northstar is positioning to expand the Allied Gold Zone, confirm new geophysical insights and target deeper gold-copper mineralization by diamond drilling at the Miller Gold Property this summer.

UAV Mag Survey Results

A 3D inversion of residual magnetic anomaly data covering the Miller Gold Property identified a volumetrically large (>1,000 metres in vertical extent x 1,000 metres in strike x 400 metres in width) positive magnetic anomaly termed "SM-01" as the primary feature dominating the 3D model.

SM-01 (Figures 1 and 2), is a steeply dipping rooted source that exceeds 0.15 SI (Magnetic susceptibility expressed as susceptibility per unit volume) located between the Allied and Planet Syenites. The anomaly appears to occupy the hanging wall of the Catharine Fault Zone which is dipping steeply to the southwest and underplates much of the Allied Deformation Zone.

Both the high magnetic susceptibility and drill hole data (MG15-22, MG21-69) suggest that the SM-01 anomaly likely represents a large-scale mafic intrusion cut by numerous northwest and northeast fault structures, syenite and feldspar porphyry dike swarms, and is bounded by the underlying Catharine Fault Zone and Independence Fault Zone towards the east. The Allied Syenite occupies much of the upper and eastern contact of the inferred intrusion where it's cut by the Independence Fault Zone. The Allied Syenite also hosts the near-surface Allied Gold Zone, determined by a 2022 SRK Exploration Target Study*, to have an upper potential range exceeding 500,000 oz gold and averaging 2.04 g/t Au.

Potential Cu-Au Source and Feeder Zone(s)

Discoveries of high-angle gold and copper rich quartz-chlorite veins and breccias at depth in holes MG21-64 within a segment of the Independence Fault Zone, MG21-65 alongside a vertical feldspar porphyry dike near the western contact of the Allied Syenite, and MG21-70 (2.30 g/t Au over 8.0m - IFZ East) possibly manifest a structurally controlled, sub-vertical feeder system tapping a large, deep source area of gold and copper-bearing magmatic and hydrothermal fluids within the Allied Deformation Zone. The volumetrically large, inferred mafic intrusion termed "SM-01" underplates the Allied Deformation Zone and may be the source of metalliferous Cu-Au bearing hydrothermal fluids channeled upwards by structures such as sub vertical felsic dikes, tectonic breccias and contacts with proximal syenite lithologies such as the Allied Syenite (Figure 2).

Drill hole data from holes MG21-63 and MG21-64 suggest the Independence Fault Zone "IFZ" is a broad sub-vertical, brittle deformation zone likely representing the upward continuation of the faulted and brecciated contact of the inferred mafic intrusion at depth. The structure features abundant chlorite-quartz breccias with chalcopyrite mineralization and multiple occurrences of visible gold and tellurides, including an intercept of 4.71 g/t Au, 0.51% Cu over 6.4m from 151.1m to 157.5m within the CG1 Zone in DDH MG21-64. Drill hole MG21-65, collared near the northeast contact of the Allied Syenite, intercepted semi-massive pyrite with chalcopyrite over 3.6 metres (from 259.2 metres to 262.8 metres) grading 9.41 g/t Au, 1.03% Cu over 3.0m between 260m to 263m in the CG2 Zone within a larger halo of magnetite alteration, proximal to a feldspar porphyry dike contact.

Both the CG1 and CG2 Zones constitute excellent exploration targets that are highly chargeable, open to depth and can be traced along strike by magnetic and 3D IP geophysical surveys.

Additional Syenite Targets

In addition to the SM-01 magnetic susceptibility anomaly, 11 additional targets (SI-01 to SI-11 - Figure 3) with SI values consistent with syenite intrusions have been identified on the Property. Most of these anomalies are in the vicinity of the known Allied and Planet Syenites which along with the Meilleur Syenite would represent areas for potential near surface bulk tonnage expansion. Syenite targets SI-06 and SI-11 are both associated with high chargeability IP anomalies and will be priority targets for follow up in an upcoming spring exploration program on Miller. Some magnetic skarn development is apparent within a halo surrounding the Allied and Planet Syenites which bears some similarity with the Upper Beaver Intrusive Complex where mineralization is also dominated by copper enriched, oxidized and alkaline magmatic hydrothermal fluids with similar Fe-skarn development.

CET Targets

Centre for Exploration Targeting (CET) is an automatic image processing technique for prospectivity analysis of Archean lode-gold deposits in structurally complex areas that may have enhanced hydrothermal permeability prospective for gold mineralization.

The Miller Gold Property CET analysis highlighted five structurally complex zones (CET-01 to CET-05 - Figure 4). CET-01, CET-02 and CET-03 align west and parallel to Catharine fault along the Allied Deformation Zone. CET-01 is centred along the western contact of the Planet Syenite. CET-02 is favorably located between the Allied and Planet Syenites and correlates with the large magnetic susceptibility anomaly SM-01. CET-03 is found southeast of Allied Syenite and is encircled by SI-04, SI-05 and SI-06, as well as magnetic susceptibility anomaly SM-03. Similarly, CET-04 and CET-05 align west and parallel to the Pacaud Fault. The Pacaud Fault, which is proximal to the former producing Barry-Hollinger gold mine, strikes sub parallel to the Catharine Fault on both the Rosegrove and Miller Properties and represents another first-order regional structure.

Miller Exploration Target Model - Potential for Growth

In addition to the currently defined late stage, near-surface, shallow-dipping Au-Bi-Te enriched quartz veins of the Allied Gold Zone, the Miller Gold Property potentially hosts an underlying, large-scale multi-stage intrusion and related system of earlier stage subvertical skarn/porphyry-style Au-Cu quartz-chlorite-magnetite veins and gold-bearing sulphides in syenite and mafic volcanics.

The current SRK Exploration Target Estimate of the Vein 1 and Allied Bulk Tonnage Gold Zones (251,000 to 503,000 oz Au @ 1.39 to 2.04 g/t Au*) is limited to late-stage, shallow dipping telluride rich quartz veins and structures (Veins 1 to 6) found within 150 metres of the surface. While the bulk tonnage target estimate will likely be expanded with the discovery of additional near surface high grade mineralization or mineralized syenites, the Cu-Au discoveries in drill holes MG21-64 and MG21-65, which are not included in the current Target Estimate, appears to represent an earlier stage of sub vertical gold-copper sulphide mineralization contemporaneous with mafic intrusive tectonism within the Allied Deformation Zone. This style of mineralization, which was previously unknown on the Miller Property, highlights the potential for the discovery of a much larger potential resource extending to depth on the Property.

*The Exploration Target estimate primarily highlights the exploration potential and +150m expansion upside of the Vein 1 gold zone on the Miller Gold Property, with a more constrained contribution provided by 2 near-surface Allied Gold Zone domains. The quantity and grades are purely conceptual in nature. Insufficient exploration has been carried out to define a mineral resource on the property. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify this Exploration Target estimate as current mineral resources and the Company is not treating this Exploration Target estimate as current mineral resources. These estimates must be fully verified with additional exploration work using NI43-101 reporting and CIM best practices and procedures. These values cannot and should not be relied upon and are only referred to herein as an indication of potential mineralization on the property. It remains uncertain whether a mineral resource will be delineated on the Property.

In this context, the AeroVision magnetic survey has played a key role in improving Northstar's structural and geological understanding (mapping) and ability to target possible deep-seated copper-gold mineralization at the Miller Gold Property. Survey results delineate magnetic features that could be linked to key elements (structures and lithologies) that identify the location of deep seated copper-gold deposits, younger gold-bearing syenite intrusions and structural controls of mineralization.





Figure 1. Plan View of Planet and Allied Syenites with 3D Inversion of Mag (Orange) and IP (Red) Anomalies

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6839/162926_37fb0b9fb4d9a888_002full.jpg





Figure 2. Longitudinal Section Through the Allied Syenite with 3D IP and Mag Anomalies

To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6839/162926_37fb0b9fb4d9a888_003full.jpg





Figure 3. Geophysical Interpretation of Magnetic Survey with Syenite Targets

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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6839/162926_37fb0b9fb4d9a888_004full.jpg





Figure 4. CET Targets on the Miller Gold Property

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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/6839/162926_37fb0b9fb4d9a888_005full.jpg

Qualified Person

Brian P. Fowler, P.Geo., a 'Qualified Person' (Q.P.) as defined under Canadian National Instrument NI 43-101, has reviewed technical aspects of this news release.

Northstar Issues Shares to Settle Debts

Northstar also announces the Company has agreed to pay an aggregate of $88,458.88 in trade payables, consisting of an aggregate $53,458.88 (net of source deductions) owed to the directors of the Company for their accrued director fees since September 1 2021, 2022 and $35,000 to settle a working capital loan with a consultant of the Company (together, the "Group") via the issuance of 1,263,698 common shares in the capital of the Company (the "Settlement Shares") for services rendered by the directors up to March 31, 2023 and the loan from the consultant (the "Debt Settlement").

The Company will issue 1,263,698 Settlement Shares to the Group at a deemed price of $0.07 per Settlement Share, representing a one cent premium over the last closing price of $0.06 per common share. The Settlement Shares were issued in reliance on certain prospectus exemptions available under Canadian securities legislation and are subject to a four month and one day statutory hold period, which will expire on August 14, 2023.

As 763,698 of the Settlement Shares were issued to officers, directors and insiders of the Company, the Debt Settlement constituted a "related party transaction" pursuant to Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). The Company relied on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of MI 61-101 (pursuant to subsections 5.5(a) and 5.7(a)) as the fair market value of the securities distributed to, and the consideration received from, the related party did not exceed 25% of the Company's market capitalization. The Debt Settlement was approved by all of the directors of the Company.

About the Miller Gold Property

Northstar's flagship property is the 100% owned Miller Gold Property ("Miller"), situated 18 km southeast of Kirkland Lake and Agnico Eagle Mines' Macassa SMC gold mine. The Miller Gold Property is highly prospective for the discovery of a large-scale, higher grade gold system similar to the deposits of the Kirkland Lake camps that produced over 24 M oz. of gold from 7 mines (Clark 2013). Geologically, Miller is believed to be a close analog to Agnico Eagle Mines' Macassa SMC gold mine, given the numerous geological similarities. Both Miller and the newly discovered lower SMC at Macassa share the similar formation, age and mineralization style (gold-telluride vein system with calaverite the main gold mineral). Both deposits are also located next to a First Order fault structure (Catharine Fault Zone at Miller Property and the Larder Break at Kirkland Lake) potentially sharing a gold enriched magmatic reservoir at depth.

The Kirkland District is being explored by major and junior gold companies alike with some significant consolidation transactions recently announced and completed. Since going public by IPO in late 2020, Northstar has spent over $4.7 million in exploration at Miller, resulting in the discovery of a series of broad, near-surface, shallow dipping sheeted quartz-gold-telluride vein structures in the Allied Syenite (Allied Gold Zone) and Planet Syenites and numerous 70 - 750 gold gram/metre drill hole intercepts. Drilling to date at the AGZ has returned near-surface gold intercepts that include 6.6 g/t Au over 117.0 metres, 4.0 g/t Au over 50.6 metres, 1.4 g/t Au over 118.5 metres, and 1.2 g/t Au over 107.3 metres. Step out AGZ drilling in 2021 intersected peripheral steeply dipping copper-gold bearing structures (CG1 and CG2 Zones) returning intercepts that include 9.41 g/t Au, 1.03% Cu over 3.0m. The AGZ shares numerous compelling similarities to Agnico Eagle's nearby Upper Beaver Deposit, currently in the pre-development stage.

In April, 2022, as a precursor to a Mineral Resource Estimate and for reporting purposes, the Company commissioned Ronacher Mackenzie Geoscience and SRK Consulting (Canada) to conduct an Exploration Target Study of the Miller Property Allied Gold Zone and No. 1 Vein. An upper range exceeding 500,000 ounces of gold averaging 2.04 g/t Au has been referenced in this study. Results were reported July 26, 2022, (Click here to view Northstar News Release dated July 26, 2022) verifying the significance, size and gold grade potential of the Allied gold mineralizing system. Results provide the Company and investors a fact-based conceptual tonnage and gold grade range for the Allied Syenite Gold Zone, and basis for continued expansion drilling and mineral resource development.

Northstar is positioning to conduct a Phase IIIA Allied Gold Zone lateral and depth expansion drill program on the Miller Gold Property this coming summer.

About Northstar Gold Corp.

Northstar's primary exploration focus is the advancement of the Company's flagship, 100%-owned Miller Gold Property, situated 18 km southeast of Kirkland Lake and Agnico Eagle Mine's Macassa SMC gold mine. The Company's strategy is to develop either a minimum material (+1 million ounce) high-grade gold mineral resource to potentially supplement a nearby mining operation or a stand-alone mining operation at the Miller Gold Property.

Northstar has 3 additional 100%-owned exploration projects in northern Ontario, including the recently acquired 1,200 ha Rosegrove Property situated 0.5 km from the Miller Gold Property, the 4,650 ha Bryce Gold Property (includes the recently optioned Britcanna Lease), an intrusive-gold / PME VMS project located along the projected east extension of the Ridout Break, and the recently expanded Temagami-Milestone Cu-Ni-Co Property located in Strathcona Township. Northstar recently filed a NI43-101 Technical Report on the Bryce Gold Property and is advancing all 3 properties to enhance monetization opportunities.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Mr. Brian P. Fowler, P.Geo.

President, CEO and Director

(604) 617-8191

bfowler@northstargoldcorp.com

Connect with us on Twitter | LinkedIn | Instagram

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

All statements, other than statements of historical fact, contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 (referred to herein as "forward-looking statements"). Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, disclosure regarding the completion of the Debt Settlement. Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes", or the negative connotation thereof or variations of such words and phrases or state that certain actions, events or results, "may", "could", "would", "will", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotation thereof.

Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: risks and uncertainties related to the completion of the Debt Settlement as presently proposed or at all. These risks and uncertainties are not, and should not be construed as being, exhaustive.

Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. In addition, forward-looking statements are provided solely for the purpose of providing information about management's current expectations and plans and allowing investors and others to get a better understanding of our operating environment. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

Forward-looking statements in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162926
Small and Mid-Market Co-Investment Fund and parallel investment vehicles have closed and will invest in up to 50 companies

Flexstone Partners has closed another vintage of its small- and middle-market private equity co-investment funds, a significant step for Flexstone flagship investment strategy, despite challenging global markets. A leading asset manager with over US$10 billion assets under management (AUM)2, Flexstone Partners specializes in small and mid-market global private assets and is an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, which has more than $1.1 trillion AUM3

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005209/en/

With a focused investment objective to provide increased exposure to high-conviction managers in their core areas of expertise, Flexstone Partners' Global Opportunities IV will follow the same proven strategy and investment selection process as its predecessor funds, which are performing on or above expectations with significant risk mitigation. The fund is expected to make between 40 to 50 direct co-investments. The final close was held on March 31, 2023.

Eric Deram, Managing Partner at Flexstone Partners, said, "Our latest fund's close demonstrates strong appetite for Flexstone's unique small and middle-market co-investing strategy, even during times of global economic uncertainty. Since we started our co-investments fund series in 2008, we're proud to have been able to generate strong and consistent returns for our investors."

The offering is backed by long-standing Flexstone Partners' investors, including institutional investors such as insurance companies, pension funds, financial institutions, asset managers, foundations, and corporations, as well as a significant number of family offices and high net worth individuals. Investors in the new fund span the globe from Asia to Europe to the US. More than 40% of the commitments have been raised from over 65 new business relationships.

"Flexstone has followed a consistent investment philosophy for over 15 years with no strategy drift. This has allowed us to make successful co-investments across various industries with the potential to reap strong and steady returns for our investors," said Nitin Gupta, Managing Partner at Flexstone Partners.

Flexstone, which targets the small- and mid-market private equity space, has built a legacy of investing in co-investments in the private equity space. Its successful co-investment track-record shows the quality of its deal flow and the strength of its investment selection process. Out of more than 140 co-investments completed since 2008, 60 are fully realized, generating an attractive risk and return performance.

_________________________________

1 Global Opportunities IV offering includes a Luxembourg SICAV, several Delaware LPs, and their parallel vehicles. The Global Opportunities IV offering is closed to new commitments.

2 US$10 billion assets under management as of December 31, 2022.

3 Assets under management ("AUM") of current affiliated entities measured as of December 31, 2022 are US$1,151.3 billion (1,078.8 billion).

About Flexstone Partners

Flexstone Partners ("Flexstone")1,a majority owned affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, providing global institutional investors with investment management and advisory services across global private markets. Flexstone manages $10 billion in assets and offers clients bespoke, global private markets solutions through Customized Investment Solutions, and Secondary and Co-Investment funds focused on lower, middle market buyouts, growth equity, and emerging managers in the US, Europe and Asia.

With over 50 professionals based in New York, Paris, Geneva, and Singapore, Flexstone's global team serves the distinct needs of our clients worldwide. The team has diverse backgrounds, deep market experience, and private markets expertise, and is immersed in the world's most compelling markets across North America, Europe, and Asia.

Further information: www.flexstonepartners.com

1 Flexstone is the name that collectively identifies Flexstone and its affiliated entities.

2 Under certain conditions related to marketing and prospection regulatory requirements specific to each entity.

3 Source: Flexstone Partners at 31/03/2021. Assets under management and advisory made up of commitments for closed-end private placement funds and sum of Net Asset Value and unfunded commitments otherwise.

About Natixis Investment Managers

Natixis Investment Managers' multi-affiliate approach connects clients to the independent thinking and focused expertise of more than 15 active managers. Ranked among the world's largest asset managers1 with more than $1 trillion assets under management2 (1 trillion), Natixis Investment Managers delivers a diverse range of solutions across asset classes, styles, and vehicles, including innovative environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategies and products dedicated to advancing sustainable finance. The firm partners with clients in order to understand their unique needs and provide insights and investment solutions tailored to their long-term goals.

Headquartered in Paris and Boston, Natixis Investment Managers is part of the Global Financial Services division of Groupe BPCE, the second-largest banking group in France through the Banque Populaire and Caisse d'Epargne retail networks. Natixis Investment Managers' affiliated investment management firms include AEW; DNCA Investments;3 Dorval Asset Management; Flexstone Partners; Gateway Investment Advisers; Harris Associates; Investors Mutual Limited; Loomis, Sayles Company; Mirova; MV Credit; Naxicap Partners; Ossiam; Ostrum Asset Management; Seventure Partners; Thematics Asset Management; Vauban Infrastructure Partners; Vaughan Nelson Investment Management; and WCM Investment Management. Additionally, investment solutions are offered through Natixis Investment Managers Solutions and Natixis Advisors, LLC. Not all offerings are available in all jurisdictions. For additional information, please visit Natixis Investment Managers' website at im.natixis.com LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/natixis-investment-managers.

Natixis Investment Managers' distribution and service groups include Natixis Distribution, LLC, a limited purpose broker-dealer and the distributor of various U.S. registered investment companies for which advisory services are provided by affiliated firms of Natixis Investment Managers, Natixis Investment Managers S.A. (Luxembourg), Natixis Investment Managers International (France), and their affiliated distribution and service entities in Europe and Asia.

1 Cerulli Quantitative Update: Global Markets 2022 ranked Natixis Investment Managers as the 18th largest asset manager in the world based on assets under management as of December 31, 2021.

2 Assets under management ("AUM") of affiliated entities measured as of December 31, 2022 are $1,151.3 billion (1,078.8 billion). AUM includes AlphaSimplex Group, LLC ($8.2 billion 7.7 billion), which was acquired by Virtus Investment Partners, Inc., effective April 1, 2023. AUM, as reported, may include notional assets, assets serviced, gross assets, assets of minority-owned affiliated entities and other types of non-regulatory AUM managed or serviced by firms affiliated with Natixis Investment Managers.

3 A brand of DNCA Finance.

5612675.1.1

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005209/en/

Contacts:

Press:

Kelly Cameron

+ 1 617-449-2543

Kelly.Cameron@natixis.com
SALT LAKE CITY, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- GPS Capital Markets, LLC, a leading fintech firm offering corporate foreign exchange services has established a new charity initiative, 'GPS Days of Giving.' This initiative delivers on our pledge to increase service opportunities for each employee throughout the international company.



GPS Days of Giving is a charity initiative that GPS will hold annually to make a positive impact in its communities. April is National Volunteer Month, and GPS wanted to find a way to do its part to give back. Each GPS employee throughout the globe in the United States, Australia, the UK, Lithuania, and Canada is finding a way to support their community, whether a beach clean-up, feeding the homeless, volunteering for refugee services, etc.

GPS has allotted a half day of work hours to support various community programs. GPS organized service projects for employees to volunteer during work hours and has challenged employees to find ways to serve outside of the organized GPS projects as well. GPS looks forward to all the diverse ways it will find its employees giving back. Service projects that GPS organized as a company for the kick-off week include volunteers prepping 2,000 meals for the homeless at the Catholic Community Services Dining Hall and working an assembly line to can food products at Welfare Square Cannery, who distributes food to the needy worldwide and helps supply food pantries.

"I am proud to see GPS Capital Markets' "Days of Giving" campaign come to fruition. It is a testament to our commitment to not only succeed in business but also to give back to our community," said GPS Capital Markets President, Brandon Parke. "By providing our employees with the opportunity to engage in service activities, we demonstrate that our organization is not solely focused on profit but also on making a positive impact on the world around us. I firmly believe that this initiative reflects the core values of our company and our dedication to being a responsible corporate citizen."

GPS Capital Markets continues to expand its charitable activities with new initiatives that support our employees' desire to spend more time and resources giving back to their communities and providing service. Other upcoming efforts include the Huntsman Sportsfest, which raises money to help fight Cancer and support Cancer research at the Huntsman Cancer Institute. GPS will be a returning sponsor and will also have employees participate by fundraising for fighting Cancer by running, walking, or biking for the cause.

ABOUT GPS CAPITAL MARKETS, LLC:

Headquartered in Salt Lake City, Utah, GPS Capital Markets, LLC provides corporate foreign exchange services that help companies manage their foreign currency risk and execute foreign currency transactions. Founded in 2002, GPS brings together a senior management team rich in international banking experience from the world's leading financial institutions. GPS has several offices throughout the United States, as well as in Australia, Canada, the European Union and the United Kingdom. It combines competitive exchange rates with a host of tailored international financial solutions for its clients. For more information, visit www.gpsfx.com.


Airwallex today announced the launch of its global payments services in Canada. The launch will empower Canadian businesses to tap into Airwallex's global payments and financial platform, offering a faster, more cost-effective and transparent alternative to the traditional banking platform.

Businesses in Canada can now access Airwallex's key offerings, including local currency accounts in over 12 currencies, a multi currency wallet in 44 currencies and payouts to 150 countries with its proprietary local payment network. The full suite of Airwallex's global products, including multi-currency cards, spend management and online payments will be progressively rolled out in the market.

"To thrive in today's challenging global economy, businesses must be able to scale without borders, move money across currencies with ease and manage their finances across markets with a single integrated platform," said Ravi Adusumilli, General Manager of Americas. "Airwallex is excited to support the ambitious Canadian businesses who wish to grow internationally, quickly and economically, as well as international businesses who have operations in Canada."

Airwallex already supports a number of Canadian businesses across eCommerce, professional services and technology sectors. These customers leverage the centralized Airwallex platform to simplify payments, from collections to payouts, streamline multi-currency management and optimize cost savings.

"With the launch of global payments services in Canada, Airwallex will be able to empower local businesses even more, to stay competitive, grow their customer base and expand to new markets," Adusumilli added.

Airwallex's further expansion into Canada comes on the heels of strong growth in the Americas region, where its customer base increased by more than 300 percent YoY. Globally, Airwallex continues to scale at pace, covering more than 150 countries, and enabling US$50 billion in annualized transactions. Last month, the company secured an online payment license in China, becoming a third-party payment provider in one of the largest ecommerce markets in the world. This adds to Airwallex's existing licenses in markets around the world, including Australia and New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the European single market, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore and the United States.

Founded in 2015 in Melbourne, Airwallex is one of the world's fastest growing financial technology companies today, operating across Asia-Pacific, Europe and the Americas with nearly 1,300 employees in 19 major locations globally.

Airwallex (Canada) International Payments Limited is licensed to do business as a Money Services Business (MSB Registration No. 14460) with Revenu Quebec, and is registered as a Money Services Business (MSB Registration No. M19395067) with FINTRAC.

For more information about our Canada offering, please visit https://www.airwallex.com/ca

About Airwallex

Airwallex is a global payments and financial platform for modern businesses. We remove the unnecessary friction and cost inherent in the traditional financial system to help entrepreneurs achieve their global ambitions. Leading companies around the world trust Airwallex to manage everything from payments, treasury, and spend to embedded finance all in one single platform.

Our purpose is to connect entrepreneurs, business builders, makers and creators with opportunities in every corner of the world. With an international footprint across the Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America, we empower businesses to grow without borders.

For more information, please visit www.airwallex.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005442/en/

Contacts:

NOTES TO MEDIA

For further information

If you have any questions or would like to request further information, please contact press@airwallex.com.
Eviosys is expanding its presence into Asia, opening a state-of-the-art new plant in Thailand with high sustainability credentials. Eviosys Thailand will produce 85-gram, single-serve, drawn aluminium pet food cans, responding to the rapid growth of the wet pet food market in the region.

ZUG, SWITZERLAND / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Global packaging giant Eviosys has today announced its expansion into Asia, opening a brand-new, state-of-the-art plant in Thailand. With this investment, Eviosys will bring its expertise and leadership to the region. As Eviosys looks to continue to grow in 2023, this new plant will serve as a benchmark for expanding into new markets.

The plant will feature state-of-the-art new eco-friendly equipment with reduced energy-use and will be fully powered by electricity - eliminating the need for gas - in line with Eviosys' goal to reduce emissions by 20% by 2027. The aluminium used will be provided by a local supplier located less than 100km from the plant, further reducing the carbon footprint as well as supporting local employment. Eviosys will hire and develop local teams on site, contributing to its ambitious Preserve Together programme and the development of the region simultaneously. For Eviosys, sustainability expands beyond the circularity of its products. The business is keen to lead by example and support local communities around all of its plants globally.

Of the new expansion, Francois Querrioux, COO at Eviosys, said: "Whilst being a global player in the industry, Eviosys also seeks to maintain its roots at all times and support local communities in the regions we invest in. Our expansion into Thailand represents an exciting move into a new market. Sustainability remains the central focus of our operations, and the line of classic drawn-piece aluminium cans that will be produced here for the local market will advance progress towards our goal of being the first choice in innovative and sustainable packaging globally."

Eviosys is offering infinitely recyclable metal packaging. The 85-gram, single-serve, drawn aluminium cans produced in the new plant will serve the local wet pet food category (a segment currently underserved with a 6% annual growth rate). Metal is a strong, durable material, with unbeatable shelf-life credentials which better protect and preserve brands' products and our planet. The 85g format and the durability of metal will both help fight waste across the full supply chain all the way to the consumer's cupboard.

Notes to Editors

About Eviosys:

Eviosys is a leading global supplier of metal packaging, producing food cans and ends, aerosol cans, metal closures and promotional packaging to preserve the products of hundreds of consumer brands.

Eviosys has the largest manufacturing footprint in Europe, the Middle East and Africa with 7,000 employees in 44 manufacturing facilities across 17 countries in the region. In 2022, it generated 2.7 billion in revenue. Eviosys is a portfolio company of KPS Capital Partners, LP.

https://pr.report/IRtx5cKj

Contact Information:

Maisie Jenyon

PR Manager

mailto:eviosysuk@grayling.com

SOURCE: Eviosys



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JENNINGS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / JD Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX:JDVB) Dan L. Donald, Jr., Chairman of the Board of Directors of JD Bancshares, Inc., announced that at its regularly scheduled meeting on April 18, 2023, the Board voted to pay a cash dividend in the amount of $0.27 per share on May 5, 2023 to the shareholders of record on April 28, 2023.

The amount and payment of future dividends for the JD Bancshares, Inc. common stock is determined on a quarterly basis, based on earnings, financial condition, capital requirements and other factors.

About JD Bancshares, Inc.

JD Bancshares, Inc. is the bank holding company of JD Bank, a state chartered bank headquartered in Jennings, Louisiana. JD Bank has been serving the citizens of south Louisiana since 1947 and offers a variety of personal and commercial lending and deposit products through both physical and digital delivery channels. The Bank also offers both trust and investment services. JD Bank operates through 22 full service branch offices and two Loan Production/Deposit Production offices located along the Interstate 10/12 corridor from Lake Charles to Mandeville, Louisiana. JD Bancshares, Inc. may be accessed on its website at jdbank.com.

JD Bancshares, Inc. (OTCQX: JDVB) trades on the OTCQX Best Market. Companies meet high financial standards, follow best practice corporate governance, demonstrate compliance with U.S. securities laws, and have a professional third-party sponsor introduction. Investors can find current financial disclosure and Real-Time Level 2 quotes for the Company on otcmarkets.com.

Contact:

Bruce Elder (CEO) 337-246-5399

Paul Brummett (CFO) 337-246-5395

SOURCE: JD Bancshares, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750007/JD-Bancshares-Inc-Declares-Cash-Dividend
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. ("Nevada Vanadium" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the voting results at the Company's 2023 Annual General and Special Meeting of Shareholders held on April 18, 2023 (the "Meeting"). All proposed resolutions were passed.

Detailed voting results for the Meeting are as follows:

Motion Votes For %

For Votes

Against % Against Votes

Withheld %

Withheld Number of Directors 29,847,107 99.55 136,198 0.45 0 0.00 Election of Director Nominees: John Lee 29,816,548 99.44 0 0.00 166,757 0.56 Harald Batista 29,845,585 99.54 0 0.00 137,721 0.46 Greg Hall 29,839,685 99.52 0 0.00 143,621 0.48 Appointment of Auditors 30,108,871 99.89 0 0.00 32,051 0.11

Furthermore, the Company announces the appointment of Mr. Adrian Lupascu as the Company's VP of Exploration, effective April 24, 2023. Adrian is a "Qualified Person" as defined in National Instrument 43-101 ("NI 43-101"). He holds a bachelor's degree in geological engineering and a master's degree in geochemistry. As an accomplished geologist and engineer, he has more than 20 years of experience in mining exploration and development for nickel platinum-group-metals, other precious and base metals projects.

Adrian was previously with Glencore, Agnico Eagle, Goldcorp and Nyrstar. Adrian has hands-on skills which include managing onsite diamond drilling and production blasting, geological modeling, management of quality assurance/quality control standards, geochem laboratory work and community relationships.

About Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp.

Nevada Vanadium Mining Corp. is a Canadian reporting issuer, holding a 100% interest in the Gibellini Vanadium project in Nevada, United States.

To find out more about Nevada Vanadium, visit www.nevadavanadium.com

NEVADA VANADIUM MINING CORP.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

"Ron Espell"

CEO

For more information about Nevada Vanadium, please contact Investor Relations: info@nevadavanadium.com

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.

These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163016
As published in Qualcomm's 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / In 2022, we expanded our ISO 50001 certification to our Singapore and Wuxi manufacturing facilities.

ISO 50001 is the global standard for energy management systems, which demonstrates the commitment of our leadership to efficiently use energy in our manufacturing facilities. ISO 50001 helps to evaluate and prioritize the adoption of new energy efficient technologies and improve energy efficiency, promote best practices and behaviors in energy management, provide a framework for promoting energy efficiency throughout the supply chain, and facilitate improvements in energy management for projects to reduce GHGs.

An essential element of ISO 50001 is continuous improvement. This applies for the improvement of management processes as well as technical processes. To stay informed, our German manufacturing facility joined an industry network organized by FfE. A research institute for energy economics and industry, FfE has experience in supporting companies in energy efficiency projects and enabling the design of sustainable energy systems. FfE organizes regular meetings between cross-industry companies, enabling us to connect with peers and exchange best practices.

We have also implemented more than 50 energy savings projects across our manufacturing facilities. The projects range from building infrastructure improvements, such as upgrading to state-of-the-art windows, to technical infrastructure improvements, such as rectifying compressed air leaks and upgrading vacuum pumps, resulting in more than 10,000 MWh of energy savings.

Learn more in Qualcomm's 2022 Corporate Responsibility Report

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Qualcomm on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Qualcomm

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/qualcomm

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Qualcomm

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750142/Qualcomms-Commitment-to-Energy-Efficiency
DUBAI, UAE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the recent report published by Extrapolate, the global Hydrogen Storage Tank Market size was around USD 164.22 million in 2022 and is anticipated to increase to approximately USD 1561.32 million by 2030, with a CAGR of 32.87% between 2023 and 2030.

The demand for hydrogen storage tanks is anticipated to grow over the forthcoming years due to the growing utilization of hydrogen in numerous applications, including power generation, fuel cells, healthcare, space exploration, and aviation. For instance, B20 biodiesel produces 16% less carbon dioxide than regular diesel, according to Biofleet.

Get a Sample PDF of this Report - (Including Full TOC, List of Tables & Figures, Chart) @ https://www.extrapolate.com/sample/energy-and-power/hydrogen-storage-tank-market/87492

"Key merits of hydrogen combustion include the ability to leverage existing internal combustion engine technologies, quick refueling times, and the clear reduction in the use and necessity for limited supply elements like lithium and nickel. By adapting existing technologies and further leveraging existing investments, hydrogen combustion could lead to widespread, accessible carbon-reduction solutions faster."

~ Toyota Motor Corporation

In order to promote the reduction of GHG emissions and to reduce the dependence on other nations for the import of petroleum goods, governments throughout developed and developing economies are making significant investments in energy-efficient hydrogen stations.

Toyota Corolla Cross H2 Hydrogen Unveils at the 2023 Auto Expo Creating Landmark in Hydrogen-Fuelled Automobiles Innovation

Toyota has introduced the Corolla Cross H2 concept, a new prototype vehicle with a hydrogen combustion engine, as part of its Beyond Zero program. It uses a robust and armored fuel tank, a feature of its FCEV Mirai, to hold the highly combustible hydrogen.

Furthermore, on the hydrogen storage, the Corolla Cross has two 70 MPa-operating tanks that are hidden beneath the seat and boot floor. Toyota specifies compressed gaseous hydrogen as the fuel type for the Corolla Cross H2 Concept.

Inquire Before Buying This Report: https://www.extrapolate.com/enquire/energy-and-power/hydrogen-storage-tank-market/87492

Multiple Industrial Application Propels Tank Type 1 Segment to Generate Maximum Revenue

The Type I segment dominates the hydrogen storage tank industry in terms of tank type with a market value of USD 76.29 Million in 2022 and is growing at a CAGR of 30.36% during the forecast period (2023-2030). Type I tanks currently controls most of the market due to their applications in various end-user verticals such as industrial and transportation. The Type I tank has a weight disadvantage compared to the other three types of tanks as it is entirely comprised of metal and therefore is heavy. Given the strong gas penetrability of hydrogen, a metal inner liner is also provided to guarantee gas compression in these tanks.

Physical-based Segment to Dominate Market with Growing Support from OEMs Globally

During the forecast period, the physical-based segment is expected to lead the global hydrogen storage tank market. With the introduction of novel technologies and equipment, including volumetric density and gravimetric density equipment, as well as lower cost operations, the segment, which had revenue of 116.74 million in 2022, is anticipated to increase at a CAGR of 34.15%. With physical-based hydrogen storage systems, the car OEMs have only released hydrogen fleet vehicles to date. For instance, Ford Motor Company equipped a fleet of vehicles with internal combustion engines with hydrogen fuel cells with 35 MPa (350 bar) compressed gaseous hydrogen storage systems.

Purchase This Comprehensive Research Report for Valuable Market Insights: https://www.extrapolate.com/complete-checkout-buyal/87492

Growing Adoption and Production of Fuel Cell Powered Vehicles to Garner Substantial Revenue

The growing acceptance of hydrogen-powered vehicles drives the demand for hydrogen storage tanks. For instance, about 40,000 fuel cell-powered vehicles were in circulation worldwide as of June 2021, up from about 9,100 in the previous year. These vehicles are concentrated in four nations: the US, Korea, China, and Japan, which account for about 90% of the total.

With the increasing utilization of hydrogen in chemical and hydrocarbon refineries, the market for hydrogen storage tanks is growing steadily. As an estimate, the U.S. Energy Information Administration predicted that by October 2020, there will be about 161 operational fuel cells spread across 108 locations across the country, producing a total of 250 megawatts (MW) of electricity utilizing hydrogen produced from natural gas.

Asia Pacific is the Fastest Growing Region Followed by North America

With a predicted compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 32.87%, Asia Pacific is the market leader for hydrogen storage tanks globally. India is anticipated to have the highest CAGR within the region, at 42.56%, as the nation strives to become a key producer and exporter of renewable hydrogen through programs like the National Hydrogen Mission.

A hydrogen storage system dubbed Jupiter was also presented in 2023 by the Chinese hydrogen solution business FTXT as part of their efforts to investigate the FCEV market. Also, the company unveiled its most recent gas hydrogen storage tank, which has a storage density of 6.1% percent weight per volume, exceeding the US DoE's aim of 5.5% weight per volume for 2025.

In the North America region, the US is the largest market in terms of value and will reach USD 252.64 Million by 2030 with a CAGR of 31.66% in the forecasted period (2023-2030). This growth is attributed to the rapid innovation in automobile technology in the region along with the high disposable income of the population.

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Consolidated Market Owing to the Presence of Large and Medium-Sized Firms

The hydrogen storage tanks market is fairly consolidated, with the majority of market income generated from a small number of large and medium-sized firms. Large businesses are using a variety of tactics, making mergers and acquisitions, strategic agreements, and contracts, as well as creating, evaluating, and launching newer, more efficient hydrogen storage tank products.

Prominent players in the market include:

Air Liquide Energies

Cummins Inc.

Linde plc

AIR PRODUCTS AND CHEMICALS, INC.

Steelhead Composites Inc.

Nedstack Fuel Cell Technology BV

CHINA SHENHUA

SHENHUA TOYOTA MOTOR CORPORATION

Engie

ITM Power PLC

Key Points from TOC:

Chapter 1. Executive Summary

Chapter 2. Research Methodology

Chapter 3. Market Outlook

Chapter 4. COVID-19 Impact on Hydrogen Storage Tank Market

Chapter 5. Global Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Tank Type, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 6. Global Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Storage Form, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 7. Global Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Application, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 8. Global Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Geography, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 9. North America Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Countries, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 10. Europe Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Countries, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 11. Asia Pacific Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Countries, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 12.Middle East & Africa Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Countries, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 13. South America Hydrogen Storage Tank Market Overview, By Countries, 2018 - 2032 (USD Million)

Chapter 14. Competitive Landscape

Chapter 15. Key Vendor Analysis

Chapter 16. Sourcing Strategy and Downstream Buyers

Chapter 17. Marketing Strategy Analysis, Distributors/Traders

Chapter 18. Market Effect Factors Analysis

Chapter 19. Future Outlook of the Market

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BAODING, China, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- On April 19, GWM held the 2023 Global Conference with the theme of "NEW GWM NEW ENERGY", attended by more than 260 distributor representatives from more than 60 countries and regions.





Mu Feng, President of GWM, gave a detailed introduction to the participants on GWM's global expansion, Forest Ecosystem, and future new energy strategic planning.

Mu Feng said that GWM has issued a declaration on new energy to the world, that is, GWM Intelligent NEV, Greener, Higher, Safer. In the future, based on the Forest Ecosystem, GWM will adopt the "ONE GWM" model and global big single product strategy to carry out targeted differentiated planning in the global market and cooperate with global partners to create more high-quality new energy products for customers.

At the conference, GWM held a grand award ceremony to commend distributors who worked with GWM to expand the market. Parker Shi, the Vice President and the Head of international market of GWM, awarded honorary awards to distributor partners who have made outstanding achievements. Before the ceremony, GWM also held the Global Business Partner Signing Ceremony and established partnerships with dozens of new distributors from global markets.

GWM also invited hundreds of distributor representatives to visit the factory and R&D laboratory on the eve of the conference and attend GWM's press conference in Auto Shanghai, which gives distributors a more comprehensive understanding of the Forest Ecosystem. Distributors expressed their recognition of GWM's great vehicle manufacturing strength and intelligent new energy products.

A new distributor partner said, "The visit to GWM has given me an experience of its excellent new energy solutions and I hope to bring new energy vehicles to more local customers as soon as possible."

Distributors from Australia, South Africa and Brazil are optimistic about the future market performance of GWM. Distributor representatives believe that GWM's excellent quality, luxury features and new energy advantages are recognized by consumers and it is gaining a good reputation. Cooperation with GWM will be an important step towards a better future.

Currently, GWM is continuously expanding its global sales and market layout. In 2022, the overseas sales volume of GWM exceeded 170,000 units, with a year-on-year increase of 21.28%, hitting a record high. Since its export in 1997, GWM has had more than 700 overseas sales channels covering more than 170 countries and regions around the world, with a total sales of more than one million vehicles.

In the future, GWM will promote the overseas implementation of the whole industrial chain including products, technologies, and services. GWM also expects to strengthen the Forest Ecosystem to achieve a win-win result for all and jointly promote the transformation of GWM's global new energy strategy with global distributor partners.

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Lenovo:

In celebration of International Women's Day, we spoke to three of our Lenovo Innovators , who share their empowering stories of overcoming adversity in their respective careers and what it means to EmbraceEquity.

Highlighted below are three women whose mission is to build an inclusive and equitable world for all:

Cat Capon

Zoologist, filmmaker, and Ecotourism Specialist

Joan Marie

NASA Engineer & women in STEM advocate

Karla Huerta

CEO of Daisies , a platform that provides accessible healthcare to women

What does International Women's Day (IWD) mean to you?

Cat Capon: For me, IWD means giving women an equitable opportunity to choose how to live their lives. I believe that every human has an innate sense of purpose within them - a deep understanding of what they can achieve in their lifetime. Whether that's becoming a scientist, a sportsperson, an artist, a CEO, or a caregiver, IWD is a moment to celebrate the successes of women and to understand and change where discrimination, prejudice, and bias still exist.

Joan Melendez-Misner: To me, IWD is a day to acknowledge and honor women trailblazers around the world, both past and present, who have and continue to pave the way for women to one day have equity and equality in society.

Karla Huerta: Being a woman is a superpower; it's incredibly powerful to have the ability to intertwine and manage professional, emotional, and physical situations. I believe that women are very connected to their emotions and we have the innate ability to apply this energy into our daily lives, personally and professionally. We have the ability to recognize this in others and empower people to follow and activate it within themselves, but beyond all, we have the special capability to raise other women.

This year's International Women's Day theme is EmbraceEquity. What does embracing equity mean to you?

Cat Capon: Embracing equity is all about inclusion. We must understand that every person has different experiences, opportunities, and resources available to them. To give everyone what they need to be successful will look very different for each individual. It's also worth educating oneself on the difference between equality and equity. As the saying goes, "It's not enough to give everyone a shoe, they need a shoe that fits."

Joan Melendez-Misner: Equity means that each individual or groups of individuals are given the same resources and opportunities as everyone else. For me, growing up in a lower-middle-class family meant I had to seek out jobs at an early age. Whether it was mowing grass to help pay for a laptop or starting my first real job at 15, I knew that I would have to fund my own college classes if I wanted to attend.

Being a first-generation Latina to graduate college, I had to navigate applying for scholarships and other financial aid in order to make my dream of becoming an engineer a reality. I remember studying and working a full-time job to make ends meet while my friends were able to go out and enjoy their college experience. It was at that point I realized that we are not given the same opportunities as others. Some have to work twice as hard to get to where they want to be. That's why I am honored to be working with Lenovo as a LenovoInnovator to provide the necessary tools to underrepresented communities to give them a leg up in achieving their dreams.

Karla Huerta: Embracing equity sometimes means taking whatever you firmly believe and being open to the possibility of changing that thought and taking intentional action. Sometimes, we may even have to re-educate ourselves and teach others new possibilities - which I think is exciting because we are human, and we are allowed to change and evolve. Embracing equity means shifting the way we were taught things and evolving it into a new and powerful perspective.

Have you faced any barriers in your career due to being a woman? If so, how did you overcome them?

Cat Capon: Yes, I certainly have. Unfortunately, too many to list separately here. If you search 'TV adventurer' on the internet, you'll be scrolling for a long time before you find a woman. This means that many kids might grow up asking, "Can only men be adventurers?" They simply haven't been exposed to seeing many women explore, survive and navigate hostile environments. That's not to say that there aren't amazing women out there doing incredible things in the world; however, the media hasn't supported them equally. I've been told things like, "You don't look like an adventurer," and, "I've had to fire women from expeditions before because they are too distracting." These aren't even the worst of the sexist remarks I've been subjected to in my career.

I'm still working on overcoming these barriers, as are many other women in this industry. Now that I have a daughter, I'm even more passionate to not give up and to show the younger generation that women can dive with sharks, track grizzly bears and thrive in the most inhospitable places. Whenever I've heard the word "No," I'm just inspired to find another way!

Joan Melendez-Misner: I have faced many challenges in my life, especially as a woman in a very male-dominated space. One example that always sticks out to me was the first time I led a project as the Lead Engineer. It was our first in-person meeting and I immediately noticed I was the only female in a room full of male colleagues. One of those colleagues walked up to me and asked, "Would you mind taking notes during the meeting?" I remember being shocked and angry. Why was the only female in the room asked to take notes?

Women have come a long way, and I know I stand on the shoulders of women trailblazers before me. However, I also recognize we have a long way to go in order to achieve complete equality in the workplace. When I am confronted with a situation like this, it takes me a long time to find my voice. I've learned over the years that when these situations arise, you need to have a combination of two things: 1) being empowered to call out the behavior by speaking to the individual in private and 2) having male allies in the workplace. Now, as a Lead Engineer, I make sure to call on everyone and give equal opportunity for suggestions from all members of the team, no matter their gender.

Karla Huerta: I believe social inequality, sexism, racism, and lack of women in authoritative roles are a few of the biggest struggles women face. When experiencing these challenges, women often have two options: we can either be the "game changers" that will face these struggles head-on in an effort to try to solve them or find resources and support groups that will fight with us. We should aim to evolve as a society to tackle these issues. The world needs this kind of unified power, along with empathy, to solve these challenges that are affecting women all around the world.

What is a piece of advice that someone gave you that has always resonated with you?

Cat Capon: To regularly ask yourself these questions:

How do I feel about myself?

How do I leave an impact on the world?

What are all the great things in my life right now?

When things get tough, it's easy to lose sight of the positives, but asking myself these three questions always brings me back to my purpose.

Joan Melendez-Misner: I have two favorite quotes, the first is: "Failure is not the opposite of success, it is part of every success story." In the age of social media, it has become the norm to only post about your successes. From an outsider's perspective, it must appear that I have an amazing life being a NASA Engineer who has no struggles. However, that's not true at all, which is why I make it a point to share my obstacles and how I overcame them. It's easy to focus on the iceberg that's visible above the surface, but most people don't see the rest that's underneath the water. We should look at failure as an opportunity to learn and grow, rather than viewing it negatively.

The other motto I live by is, "Network to get work." I truly believe that the connections you make along the way, whether personally or professionally, will open doors you never knew existed.

Karla Huerta: Prepare yourself and master something. As leaders and CEOs, we have to prepare ourselves and inspire others through powerful actions and intelligence. The way to create a virtuous circle is by helping and supporting other women. When women are placed in powerful positions, learn from them, teach them, and make them unstoppable, while also encouraging men to support and grow. That's how one can create a team and encourage equality.

Do you have any advice for the next generation of young women who are thinking about their careers?

Cat Capon: Take the time to explore your strengths and weaknesses. We all have them! You'll then be able to combine your passion and skills with what the world really needs right now. This will be your true calling.

Joan Melendez-Misner: My advice is to take up space. Women in male-dominated careers tend to not go for the promotion or apply to jobs they don't think they are qualified for. We need to take up space and apply for those jobs, aim for the promotion, speak up in meetings and make room for other women at the table. We have not achieved equal representation yet, but by continuing to take up space, we will get there one day.

Karla Huerta: Honestly, be as smart as you can be, work on your emotional intelligence, develop leadership skills and be aware of the power and magic around you. Create a balance in everything you do and learn how to question yourself and your team. Situations and humans are always evolving - learn how to question everything around you and be prepared to evolve as well.

Follow Cat , Joan , and Karla's LenovoInnovators journey and learn more about their individual missions on making the world a more equitable place for women.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Lenovo on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Lenovo

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/lenovo

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Lenovo

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CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Digital Asset Management Market size is expected to grow from USD 4.7 billion in 2023 to USD 8.7 billion by 2028, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.0% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.





Browse in-depth TOC on "Digital Asset Management Market"

252 - Tables

53 - Figures

274 - Pages

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The Digital Asset Management Market is currently expanding, and vendors are adopting a strategic focus to attract customers. The emphasis is on providing a straightforward and elegant user experience. As more users turn to DAM to streamline their asset creation process, software providers must respond to the demand for simple, user-friendly solutions.

Human Resources segment to hold the largest market size during the forecast period.

Employee onboarding is facilitated by a DAM system. One of the most significant effects of a DAM system on a company's HR operations is that it streamlines file management. A DAM system gives the company a powerful system for managing its large number of files, including creative digital assets and resources. From the perspective of human resources departments, this capability simplifies the task of provisioning and monitoring employees' compliance with the level of permissions and restrictions on access to servers and files. Because of the comprehensive scope and extent of the system's applications and functionalities, systems such as a digital asset management platform and the like have a significant impact on human resources (HR) operations. There are numerous advantages to digital asset management, such as how a DAM system can help HR departments streamline their operations. Remote Work Collaboration is facilitated by a DAM system. Another significant benefit of implementing digital asset management solutions is that it simplifies arrangements for remote work coordination and collaboration. With the onset of the new normal, more businesses and organisations are said to have realised that there is no going back to the ways of doing things before the global pandemic. Both companies and their clients have recognised the importance of allowing at least some of their employees to work remotely indefinitely. Without a DAM system, HR would have to determine what types of permissions can be granted to a specific employee manually. The information technology (IT) department may need to ask them from time to time if a specific employee should be granted access to sensitive or confidential creative digital assets that are above their paygrade. With a DAM system, however, HR and IT would only need to agree on the levels of access permissions that can be granted to each corresponding role and function in the staffing pattern. IT can then automate the provisioning of access permissions based on what HR stated was permissible for the employees in question. In a centralised library, DAM software organises product photos and videos, packaging designs, campaign collections, and prototypes. Create user-based permissions for self-serve editing, sharing, and viewing content for subsidiary brands, contractors, or agencies. Leverage linked multiple libraries so that divisions and subsidiary brands could only access relevant media.

Retail & eCommerce vertical to record the highest CAGR during the forecast period

For retailers to build brand trust and drive purchase-ready behavior, high-quality product images and engaging content are essential. However, as product lines and distribution channels expand, it can become difficult to effectively manage product-related content. Retailers can use digital asset management to better manage and distribute product and brand material across all customer touchpoints, such as eCommerce, social media, and store locations, reducing time-to-market and powering omni-channel strategies. DAM software allows users to find the media they need by using keywords, SKUs, and other unique identifiers in conjunction with advanced search. Save frequently used searches that can be filtered by name, color, approval status, star rating, date, file type, and other criteria. Preview and share asset collections of any size or file type (product images, HD videos, brand guides, etc.). It also enhances the assets with AI-generated object and text recognition, allowing users to search for images based on color, gender, and other criteria. DAM application software access to product shots, logos, and content from within Adobe Creative Suite programmes such as InDesign, you can quickly create on-brand content. It provides self-service downloads in the format, size, and resolutions required by offices, partners, and stores worldwide. It helps to get instant access to photoshoots, with simple uploading capabilities for photographers from all over the world. DAM is a system that assists businesses in storing, organizing, and tracking digital content. This can include images of products, videos, marketing collateral, and other materials. Retailers can use a DAM system to centrally manage their digital assets and ensure that they are being used effectively. Furthermore, DAM can assist retailers in tracking the success of their marketing campaigns and making data-driven decisions about future initiatives. Retailers who use DAM will be well-positioned to succeed in a highly competitive landscape. Here are some of the reasons why digital asset management is important in retail. The goal of DAM is to manage complexity. Retailers can use DAM to automate many of their administrative processes. Streamlining content creation is a big part of this. Retailers can free up their teams to focus on more important tasks by automating the creation of product images. This includes developing new content as well as marketing campaigns. A streamlined content creation process, like inventory management, can help alleviate retail workflow inefficiencies. Process automation also includes sales and marketing campaigns. With fewer people requiring attention, retailers can use DAM to improve the automation of their sales and marketing processes. This reduces the possibility of human errors affecting these processes.

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North America is projected to have the largest market size during the forecast period

North America is expected to have the largest market size in the Digital Asset Management Market, and the trend is expected to continue till 2028. The current trend of purchasing online is growing due to its ease of access for customers when compared to brick and mortar stores. The use of the internet and smartphones is also assisting the market's growth. North America is a developed and technologically advanced region, creating a massive opportunity for the region's E-Commerce market. E-commerce businesses have created customised mobile applications to showcase their products with all of the necessary specifications, allowing customers to easily place orders. The increased use of smartphones, as well as the implementation of the 5G network, make the process flexible and flawless. The region's audiences are well-educated and technologically savvy. Because of the popularity of social media applications, marketing opportunities are abundant nowadays, which aids in propelling the region's e-commerce market towards growth trajectories. Many mergers and acquisitions are taking place among regional companies in order to increase their capability in the E-commerce business. Descartes, a Canada-based software-as-a-service solutions provider, announced the USD 65 million acquisition of XPS Technologies, an e-commerce shipping solutions company. Because of lower communication and infrastructure costs, established organisations and large corporations are shifting their operations to the internet. The E-commerce channel enables the organisation to reach out to more clients, resulting in valuable exposure for the company. E-commerce is also being driven by the growing importance of online marketing tools such as Google ads and Facebook ads. Walmart, for example, has 4,700 locations in the United States, and 90% of the population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store. Because of its potential, the company is now planning its massive store network to expand its e-commerce operation. This demonstrates the expansion of the E-Commerce market in North America. E-commerce platforms provide numerous opportunities for relatively small and emerging businesses to sell their products. To reach their clients in the region, one niche product company created a vertical E-commerce website. The American Baker Association has estimated the potential for bakers to expand their use of e-commerce. Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), for example, a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, a Mexican baking conglomerate, has developed a direct-to-consumer platform to deliver BBU brands to consumers' doorsteps. These drives the market for DAM in this region.

Market Players

Some prominent players across all service types profiled in the Digital Asset Management Market study include Adobe (US), OpenText (Canada), Cognizant (US), Aprimo (US), Bynder (Netherlands), Sitecore (US), Widen (US), MediaBeacon (US), CELUM (Austria), Nuxeo (US), WoodWing (Netherlands), Canto (US), Wedia (France), Digizuite (Denmark), censhare (Germany), Cloudinary (US), MediaValet (Canada), Ignitetech (US), BrandMaker (Germany), Brandfolder (US).

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The B2B economy is witnessing the emergence of $25 trillion of new revenue streams that are substituting existing revenue streams in this decade alone. We work with clients on growth programs, helping them monetize this $25 trillion opportunity through our service lines - TAM Expansion, Go-to-Market (GTM) Strategy to Execution, Market Share Gain, Account Enablement, and Thought Leadership Marketing.

Built on the 'GIVE Growth' principle, we work with several Forbes Global 2000 B2B companies - helping them stay relevant in a disruptive ecosystem. Our insights and strategies are moulded by our industry experts, cutting-edge AI-powered Market Intelligence Cloud, and years of research. The KnowledgeStore (our Market Intelligence Cloud) integrates our research, facilitates an analysis of interconnections through a set of applications, helping clients look at the entire ecosystem and understand the revenue shifts happening in their industry.

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Athos to perform molecular and computational analyses of patient biomaterials from de-identified Inflammatory Bowel Disease patient samples from the Faculty of Medicine, School of Health Sciences and the Division of Gastroenterology at the University Hospital of Ioannina based in Ioannina, Greece.

LOS ANGELES, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Athos Therapeutics, Inc. ("Athos"), a clinical stage biotechnology company pioneering the development of artificial intelligence-based precision small molecule therapeutics for patients with immune-mediated diseases and cancer, announced today a systems biology and computational collaboration for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) with the Division of Gastroenterology at the University of Ioannina Medical School.

Athos will perform high throughput transcriptomic and proteomic analyses using blood plasma and biopsy tissues from up to 300 de-identified Ioannina Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease patients. The Athos computational and machine learning platform will then interrogate the molecular results and correlate them to detailed clinical information including the patient's age, sex, disease location, prior treatments, and status.

"Prof. Katsanos is a world expert on Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and we are happy to collaborate with his clinical research team at the University of Ioannina," said Dimitrios Iliopoulos, PhD, MBA, President & CEO. "Given that IBD is a highly heterogeneous disease, the molecular characterization of patients from different countries is a key part of precision drug development."

"We are excited to collaborate with Dr. Iliopoulos and the Athos team in this important scientific endeavor to characterize IBD patients in the molecular multi-omic level, aiming to develop precision therapeutics that are more effective, having less side effects for IBD patients," said Prof. Katsanos.

About Athos Therapeutics

The Mission of Athos Therapeutics is to develop first-in-class medications that will significantly impact the lives of patients with autoimmune disorders, chronic inflammatory diseases, and cancer. The Athos drug development platform begins with the interrogation of high-quality patient samples and data sourced from premier global hospital systems. Athos identifies novel drug targets (hubs) by integrating clinical and molecular datasets into the biological network of a disease (the disease interactome) and matches them to its small molecule computational chemistry platform. At Athos, we aim to disentangle the complexity of autoimmune and cancer biology by evaluating disease heterogeneity at the molecular level and develop precision-medicine therapeutics by implementing a systems biology approach and stratifying patients into specific molecular subtypes. Our analytical platform includes the Athos data lake, singular well-established omics workflows, and an integrative deep machine learning engine. The co-founders of Athos include the medicinal chemist behind two multi-billion-dollar FDA-approved drugs (Xtandi & Erleada), one of the founders of Kite Pharma (acquired for $12B), and the discoverer of the miR-124 drug target, currently in a Phase III IBD trial. Along with ATH-063, the Company's lead drug compound for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, the Athos pipeline includes small molecule approaches for various autoimmune disease and cancer.



Additional information about Athos Therapeutics can be found at https://athostx.com/

Contact:

Athos Therapeutics, Inc.

Keith Hoffman, PhD, Chief Business Officer

khoffman@athostx.com

SOURCE: Athos Therapeutics, Inc.

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19 April 2023

Rightmove plc

Share buy-back programme

Rightmove plc - Transaction in own shares

Rightmove plc ("Rightmove"), announces that today it purchased 150,000 of its 0.1p ordinary shares at a volume weighted average price paid per share of 569.051p. The highest price paid per share was 576.800p and the lowest price paid per share was 565.000p. Rightmove purchased these shares through UBS AG London Branch.

The number of shares purchased represented 0.0183% of the voting rights attributable to the total ordinary shares in issue prior to such purchase. The purchased shares will be cancelled.

Since announcing a share buy-back programme on 28 December 2007, Rightmove has purchased in aggregate 486,018,295 ordinary shares.

The total number of ordinary shares in issue (excluding treasury shares) following this announcement is 820,984,551. Rightmove holds 12,051,234 shares in treasury.

In accordance with Article 5(1)(b) of Regulation (EU) No 596/2014 (the Market Abuse Regulation) as amended by The Market Abuse (Amendment) (EU Exit) Regulations 2019 (the "UK MAR"), the schedule below contains detailed information about the purchases made by UBS AG London Branch on behalf of the Company as part of the buyback programme.

-Ends-

Contact: Michelle Palmer, Assistant Company Secretary

CompanySecretary@rightmove.co.uk

Schedule of Purchases - Individual Transactions
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / CRB



In recent years, Black History Month (BHM) has given companies an opportunity to discuss why groups seeking to advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) workplace initiatives should partner with Black-centered organizations, such as the United Negro College Fund (UNCF) and the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE), who promote the advancement of Black people and Black professionals. The month also provides time to reflect and understand the positive long-term benefits that a partnership with these types of organizations offers.

In workplaces seeking innovation through DEI initiatives, where to start can seem very perplexing and, in some cases, almost crippling due to today's cultural focus. Toeing the line between celebrating every cultures' holidays and just providing a desk for someone to work at can seem like a much smaller spectrum than one would think. I find it best in situations like this to rely on the advice we all learned in grade school: if you need help, ask for it.

I understand that asking for help can be hard. I tried to play division 1 sports, participate in my university's NSBE chapter and the Black Student Union, and work as a student ambassador all while attempting to study and maintain a social life. However, all of those things did not last long. When I finally asked for help, I received it from professors, friends and study groups who all met me where I was to ease my lift. I believe that this similar feeling is felt in many organizations, specifically surrounding DEI initiatives, which often can leave the group at square one while the world moves forward.

The good news is there are groups doing this work already. Organizations like NSBE and the UNCF are just two of the many Black organizations helping bridge the opportunity gap for Black students and professionals. These organizations provide scholarships, mentorship, academic support and much more programming in a mixed effort to promote STEM and continual education.

When COVID first hit in March of 2020, I was lucky enough to be serving on NSBE's Regional & National Executive Boards during the transition to working from home. This experience was my reference to better understanding how and in what ways groups can partner with organizations like NSBE and UNCF and alleviate their DEI concerns in this new landscape.

Upon going through my first Black History Month at CRB, I noticed that Black employees led the celebration of our rich and widespread history. They wrote biographies on historical Black figures, developed lists of Black-owned restaurants, businesses and products along with other things associated with promoting Black history at CRB. Knowing that this important work had to be done virtually, you'll understand just how difficult and time-consuming it was to take on these tasks.

The work that our Black employees did, to no surprise, was spectacular, and I applauded them. However, I noticed an opportunity for us to further expand our BHM celebration. By raising money for a Black-centered organization, we would have another means of impact to promote DEI at CRB and in the engineering field in general. So, I spearheaded the relationship between the Los Angeles UNCF office and CRB to get a CRB-specific donations page published on the UNCF website. Each submission would include the information from each donor, so we could track from whom and in which office each donated dollar came from. This allowed my team to monitor and report donations per office to generate healthy competition. My team and I also received support from our senior leadership who vowed to match every employee-donated dollar.

Why partner with UNCF?

One thing that I learned since working in a corporate environment is that DEI efforts start with hiring. I believe that the most effective use of the donations would be to a program dedicated to collegiate student resources. UNCF provides scholarship support to STEM majors, aligning nicely with CRB's engineering, architecture, consulting, and construction work. My team and I decided that it was best to donate with the specific intention of supporting STEM students. At the end of the month, CRB as a company raised nearly $20,000 in support of UNCF's STEM programming. We are now in the third year of this donation campaign.

Through the campaign, I was able to see more opportunities where CRB could further strengthen our relationship with the UNCF, mainly through support and participation in UNCF's programming. After CRB's first donation campaign, I was invited by the UNCF team to be a panelist at their 2021 LA Unified School District Young Mens Conference. I shared my experience, what I've achieved and words of encouragement to the group of young individuals, many who looked just like me. I was able to illuminate career opportunities in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) field, as lots of students had no idea how intricate, engaging and accessible this work is to them. Whether it be through hands-on demonstrations at high schools or mentorships and partnerships with engineering departments at colleges and universities, the impact that collaboration can have and what it can grow into can simultaneously support the trajectory of Black people within the AEC field and expedite the achievement of a company's DEI goals.

This is a clear example that companies do not have to start a reading club and read through all the books under the "How to Be an Anti-Racist" section in your local bookstores to make progress. Progress can exist right in our wallets. As long as we, as individuals and organizations, seek help from those with the expertise, we may ride these very quick and always-changing winds of life with partnership, not fear.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from CRB on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: CRB

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/crb

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: CRB

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750191/Doing-More-During-Black-History-Month
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.:

How long ago was it that when you mentioned "ESG", people would ask, "what's that"? We sure have moved a far distance from those times. Now ESG is seen in Republican-led states as "a threat" to the well-being of citizens and public finance. In the halls of Congress we see frequent "pro and con" debates about ESG, climate change, sustainable investing, corporate sustainabilityand more. ESG is now today's hot topic for some politicians!

To remind us of an important development that helped to set the scene of the current ESG and climate crisis debate: in the first days of the Biden Administration (January 27, 2021), President Joseph Biden signed a sweeping Executive Order - "On Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Aboard" - that set out the landscape of policies, actions and financing that were described as "the whole of government" to be focused on various climate change matters.

The order offered this perspective:" The U.S. and the world face a profound climate crisis. We have a narrow moment to pursue action at home and abroad to avoid the most catastrophic impactand to seize the opportunity that tackling climate change presents"

The White House explained what the Federal government could and would do to take a range of planned actions intended to mitigate climate-related damage to humanity and protect the national and global economies. The order also involved actions for states and cities to help protect and fortify public and private infrastructure, natural resources, oceans, and a range of physical assets.

The political opposition was instant, and criticisms were thereafter steadily voiced at federal, state, and local levels. As the various arms of government began to develop policies, legislation, rules and regulations, there was consistent pushback by political opponents. Specific rule-making actions enabled opponents to pounce.

Case in point: the back and forth positions on ERISA oversight of pension funds. Under the prior Republican administration, rules were adopted in November 2020 that set out to prohibit or limit the ability of public employee pension systems and other plans covered by ERISA, and their appointed asset management firms, to consider ESG factors in selecting investments. Under the Biden Administration, the Department of Labor approved a Final Rule (December 29, 2022) to "address the chilling effect and other potential negative consequences caused by the Prior Rule with respect to consideration of climate change and other ESG factors."

Republican lawmakers in Congress then passed a resolution to rescind the Department of Labor law, claiming that the Final Rule is "woke" policy that will hurt retirees' bottom lines. President Biden then issued the first veto of his presidency on March 20, enabling the Final Rule of the Department of Labor to stand.

This is but one skirmish in the ESG arena, where we see asset management firms punished or threatened to be punished by elected and appointed public officials for embracing ESG issues and topics properly regarded as material factors in institutional investment management.

Another example we're sharing with you in our Top Stories discusses another struggle in the ESG arena: Governor Ron DeSantis is now organizing an "anti-ESG" alliance with 18 other governors. Their stated reason is to "protect individuals from the ESG movement that threatens the vitality of the American economy and Americans' economic freedom". With this and other actions, we probably are seeing an important campaign platform shaping up for the 2024 state and national elections.

The G&A Institute team is closely monitoring the actions of the public sector ESG opposition and will continue to share important developments with you in this newsletter.

This is just the introduction of G&A's Sustainability Highlights newsletter this week. Click here to view the full issue.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/governance-accountability-institute-inc

Email: info@3blmedia.com

SOURCE: Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc.

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750205/Is-ESG-a-Threat-to-Humanity-Opponents-Think-So-Are-Pushing-Back-on-Climate-Crisis-Actions
A vibrant, wide-ranging exhibition celebrating the variety within Japanese graphic arts.

The show is curated by artists Hiro Sugiyama and Takahashi Kintaro, the team behind the Tokyo exhibition WAVE, held annually since 2018.

and Takahashi Kintaro, the team behind the exhibition held annually since 2018. Presenting the work of more than 60 contemporary Japanese artists, the London edition includes five emerging artists whose work appears for the first time in this touring exhibition.

edition includes five emerging artists whose work appears for the first time in this touring exhibition. WAVE is the amalgamation of a diversity of voices representing a variety of styles and artistic backgrounds. Artists range in age from their early twenties to their late eighties.

is the amalgamation of a diversity of voices representing a variety of styles and artistic backgrounds. Artists range in age from their early twenties to their late eighties. Press preview: Wednesday 5 July (09:00-12:00). Book your place by emailing press.office@japanhouselondon.uk

Exhibition runs 6 July to 22 October 2023 .

. Press images together with a full list of the exhibiting artists are available here.

LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Discover the vibrancy and variety of Japanese graphic arts at WAVE: Currents in Japanese Graphic Arts. Curated by artists Hiro Sugiyama and Takahashi Kintaro, the exhibition presents the work of 60 of Japan's most significant graphic artists today, introducing many of them to the UK for the first time. An anthology of styles and stories, bridging the worlds of fine art, commercial illustration and counterculture, WAVE offers UK audiences a rare opportunity to fully experience the diversity of expression within Japanese graphic arts.

The exhibition at Japan House London is inspired by WAVE, an annual exhibition that started in 2018 in Tokyo. Also curated by Hiro Sugiyama and Takahashi Kintaro, the WAVE exhibition in Tokyo showcases 100 of Japan's leading illustrators, graphic and contemporary artists. Of the 60 artists featured in the Japan House London iteration, five emerging artists are being presented as part of the WAVE touring exhibition for the first time: Utsunomiya Nao, Kakuda Mayu, Kato Takaaki, Nakajima Yuta and Yano Keiji.

Presenting an eclectic assembly of artists

WAVE: Currents in Japanese Graphic Arts presents the work of artists who have emerged during multiple waves in the history of Japanese print culture since the late 20th century - their ages ranging from early twenties to late eighties. Tanaami Keiichi (b.1936) is known for his colourful images inspired by war, dreams and pop culture and has been active since the 1960s. The bold, humorous work of Yumura Teruhiko (b.1942) is associated with indie manga magazine GARO, first popular in the 1970s and '80s. Works by younger artists include the photorealist stylings of Yukishita Mayu (b.1995), and the hyperrealist art of Tomozawa Kotao (b.1999).

Art beyond category

Many works in the exhibition have qualities representative of popular genres of Japanese graphic art such as pop art, photorealism and heta-uma - the combination of two Japanese words meaning 'bad, unskilled' and 'good' - where something that appears bad, is actually, on closer inspection, good. However, WAVE moves beyond categories, instead responding to multiple positions and perspectives, in cheerful defiance of arbitrary distinctions. The work of actor-cum-artist Asano Tadanobu (of Marvel Studios fame) appears alongside that of tupera tupera, a husband-and-wife team who have illustrated some of Japan's most popular children's books.

WAVE invites guests to delight in the chaos, colour and creativity of Japanese graphic arts and print culture. This exhibition is a rare opportunity for UK audiences to experience the variety of Japanese illustration and graphic arts, through the works of leading artists from diverse disciplines and generations.

Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House London, commented:

"This exhibition of new works explores the perhaps surprising variety and anarchy of the world of illustration and graphic art in Japan. Of particular interest is the underground concept of heta-uma -literally 'bad-good' - whose first proponents in the 1970s and 1980s challenged contemporary notions of what was 'ugly' or 'beautiful', the definition of art itself and the hierarchy of the art world."

Co-curator Takahashi Kintaro commented:

"The present and the future of the creative essence of Japanese media art, unbound by genre or generation - welcome to the WAVE exhibition."

Co-curator Hiro Sugiyama commented:

"The most significant movement in the world of Japanese illustration from the 1970s to the 1980s was that of heta-uma. What is 'heta-uma'? It was one concept proposed by one illustrator. The concept has influenced many creators. It has also had a tremendous impact on Japanese graphic art today. We hope that through the WAVE exhibition you will be able to enjoy a look at the true state of Japanese graphic arts."

Notes to Editors

Japan House London is a cultural destination offering guests the opportunity to experience the best and latest from Japan. Located on London'sKensington High Street, the experience is an authentic encounter with Japan, engaging and surprising even the most knowledgeable guests. Presenting the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology, it deepens the visitor's appreciation of all that Japan has to offer. Part of a global initiative, there are two other Japan Houses, one in Los Angeles and the other in Sao Paulo.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2058457/Shonen_Tiger_01.jpg

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Los Angeles, California--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - ELEVATE, a California-based recreational and medical marijuana dispensary, is excited to announce the event details for the upcoming holiday, 4/20. The celebration will be open to the public at all three of their retail locations in and around Los Angeles.

ELEVATE's 4/20 event will be a celebration of all things cannabis. Attendees can expect complimentary food throughout the day, numerous raffles, and take-home goodie bags full of items from popular cannabis brands, including but not limited to Lowell, Gelato, STIIIZY, Kiva, Fresh Flower, Punch, and PlugPlay.

"We couldn't be more excited for this year's 4/20 celebrations at ELEVATE. This will be the biggest 4/20 event we've done, and we're excited to celebrate with our communities. We can't wait to welcome everyone to our favorite holiday festivities," Kevin Krivitsky, ELEVATE's owner, explained.

Each ELEVATE dispensary will also be running 4/20 deals for in-store and delivery purchases.

The contact details and location information for each ELEVATE dispensary are:

Elevate Dispensary Woodland Hills

20010 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91364

(818) 835-9525

Elevate Dispensary Los Angeles

8018 W 3rd St, Los Angeles, CA 90048

(323) 424-4788

Elevate Dispensary South Los Angeles

10401 S Avalon Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90003

(323) 455-0970

About ELEVATE Weed Dispensary

ELEVATE is a compassionate company that provides their community with safe access to cannabis products for healing and wellness. ELEVATE's mission is to educate and provide an elevated experience for our customers and community. And with that, to create a place where people feel safe and comfortable exploring the healing possibilities of this plant medicine with the guidance of knowledgeable professionals.

Media Contact:

Leslie Arellano, leslie@elevatecannabiscompany.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163038
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - AgriCann Solutions Corp. (the "Company" or "AgriCann") announces executive appointments and voting results from the Company's Annual General and Special Meeting ("AGM") held in Vancouver, British Columbia on April 17, 2023.

Executive Appointments

The Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Adam Sancewicz as Chief Executive Officer. Since joining AgriCann as Executive Vice-President of Operations in Q4 2021, Adam progressively assumed greater responsibilities as a strategist, team leader and sales director. After refining, implementing and successfully establishing the economics of our strategic business model, Adam built a dedicated technical and operations team and assembled a genetic library and pipeline of rare and potent cultivars, key inputs to our branding and market positioning. Appointed President in August 2022, Adam spearheaded the difficult decision to transition operations from our Lake Country greenhouse operations to the fully licenced ~18,000 sq.ft. four-unit building in Vernon we currently occupy, perfectly suited for our expansion plans. Adam's focus and passion is integral to AgriCann's ambitions to build and strengthen the cannabis industry using premium genetics, scalable support for craft cultivators, and global alliances.

To further build out our executive team, the Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Bobby Athwal as its new Chief Operating Officer. Bobby brings a unique combination of skills and experience well-suited for this role, having started his professional career as an engineer prior to becoming an attorney, specializing in intellectual property law. Bobby brings an exceptional understanding of the retail cannabis landscape, having launched and listed multiple brands with provincial distributors across Canada, and establishing an impressive track record of building and managing successful cannabis companies. With Bobby's passion and strong leadership skills, and deep knowledge of the cannabis sector, AgriCann is well-positioned to execute on its strategy and achieve its goals. Bobby's expertise will be critical as we continue to grow and expand our operations, and his demonstrated ability to work closely with Adam plays a key role in driving our continued success.

Rob van Santen, founding CEO of the Company, continues his involvement as Executive Chairman of the Board, financially supporting the Company's growth, and remains responsible for overseeing and helping guide the overall direction and strategy of the Company.

Timothy Tombe, founding COO of the Company, has resigned his executive position to devote more time to his family, travel and other business affairs, and remains a director. The Company thanks Tim for his mentorship and financial support and wishes him all the best for good health and safe travels.

Annual General and Special Meeting results

A total of 41,945,986 common shares were represented at the AGM, representing 74.3% of the votes attached to all outstanding common shares as at the record date. All the matters submitted to the shareholders for approval as set out in the Company's Notice of Meeting and Management Information Circular, both dated March 13, 2023, were approved by the requisite majority of votes cast at the AGM. Shareholders voted in favour of setting the number of directors at four (4) and elected all incumbent and proposed nominee directors. The details of the voting results for the election are set out below:

Director Votes For % For Votes Withheld % Withheld Robert van Santen 41,853,778 100.00 120 0.00 Chris MacPherson 41,853,898 100.00 0 0.00 Dome Duong 41,853,778 100.00 120 0.00 Timothy Tombe 20,843,276 49.80 21,010,622 50.20

Motion Votes For % For Votes Against % Withheld Newline Ventures Inc. Acquisition 41,853,898 100.00 0 0.00 Creation of New Control Person 41,853,898 100.00 0 0.00 Stock Option Plan 41,769,098 99.80 84,800 0.20





About AgriCann

AgriCann Solutions Corp. is a "Reporting Issuer" created through a statutory plan of arrangement completed by Valens GroWorks Corp. (now SNDL Inc.) in 2015. AgriCann owns and operates wholly owned subsidiary Craft Nurseries Canada ("CNC"), a full-service Health Canada licensed cannabis nursery located in Lake Country, British Columbia. The Company has received unanimous shareholder support to complete the planned acquisition of 100% of Newline Ventures Inc., which will complete our corporate migration to Vernon, British Columbia as an operational facility with superior licensing, operational and expansion capabilities.

ON BEHALF OF AGRICANN SOLUTIONS CORP.

(signed) "Rob van Santen"

Executive Chairman

For further information, please contact:

Adam Sancewicz

Chief Executive Officer

Telephone: +1.778.231.5431

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Some of the statements contained in this press release are forward-looking statements and information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements and information can be identified by the use of words such as "expects" or "does not expect", "intends", "is expected", "potential", "suggests" or variations of such words or phrases, or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information are not historical facts and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties beyond the Company's control. Actual results and developments are likely to differ, and may differ materially, from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained in this news release. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or otherwise revise any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable law.

AgriCann Solutions Corp.

400-1771 Robson Street, Vancouver, BC, Canada V6G1C9

Tel. +1.604.608.1999 ~ Fax. +1.778.379.9990

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163055
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Henkel

When it comes to teambuilding and giving back to their communities, our Henkel employees don't play around.

As they planned to gather in person for an "All-in" employee meeting, several teams within the Hair Professional Business of Henkel Consumer Brands, knew they wanted to help improve life in the San Diego community where their meeting would be held.

"We try to build volunteerism into the framework of these all-employee meetings so we can pour back some positive energy into our communities," says Alicia Williams, who led the efforts to organize the volunteer activity.

Where Purpose Meets Play

Alicia worked closely with Angela Curley, Henkel's Senior Manager of Corporate Citizenship and DEI, Camille Coward, Senior Manager of Brand Experience & Events, and San Diego Habitat for Humanity to arrange a volunteer opportunity for approximately 75 employees that would build teamwork - and playhouses with pizzazz.

Through San Diego Habitat's playhouse program, groups who want to give back construct and decorate durable playhouses, each measuring 4x5x6'. Habitat then offers the playhouses to low-income families through partnerships with several local charities, military groups, foster networks, and the Habitat ReStore.

"These playhouses offer children a special place of their own where they can let their imaginations run free," notes Linnea Lagerstrom, Corporate Partnerships Manager for San Diego Habitat for Humanity. "In turn, the funds raised through the playhouse program ensure that Habitat can continue to build and repair more affordable homes throughout the region."

Good Will & Good Times

With severe weather forecasted for the build day, Camille Coward arranged a last-minute pivot to an indoor location: a carefully protected hotel conference room. Employees gathered in seven teams to build and decorate seven playhouses. Volunteers from Habitat for Humanity were on hand to guide the day's activities.

Over a three-hour period, the playhouses began to take shape. After construction, each house was decorated in keeping with a playful theme - from dinosaurs and sea creatures to castles and clouds. Considering that these Henkel volunteers work in the beauty industry, it is no surprise that they produced some show-stopping playhouses that are sure to be the envy of the neighborhood.

"The designs brought all of the playhouses to life, and everybody really got into it. One team was absolutely covered in paint," says Williams. "Lots of laughs were shared, and that was probably the best part of the experience."

Each family had their brand-new playhouse delivered right to their home after the build.

"For some families, the playhouse is a surprise for their children and for others, they're anxiously waiting for the playhouse to arrive," says Lagerstrom. "All the families were so grateful to receive their playhouse, and the kids are loving them!"

Henkel & Habitat

Henkel employees are united by their desire to help others. Henkel is there to support them. The playhouse build was no exception.

Through the Make an Impact on Tomorrow (MIT) program, Henkel provided a grant to cover the costs of materials for the playhouses and funds to support Habitat for Humanity's mission.

Celebrating its 25th year in 2023, the MIT program provides financial and other resources to support the causes closest to our employees' hearts.

"Henkel and its employees are committed to creating positive change to help make society "future-fit". The MIT program is a grassroots effort that helps us connect with communities in meaningful, sustainable ways," says Angela Curley. "Habitat is one of those causes MIT supports year after year because we can see the impact of their mission to provide safe and affordable housing."

"We are so grateful for Henkel's active support of our mission to ensure that everyone has a safe, decent, and affordable place to call home," says Lagerstrom. "We particularly appreciate collaborations like this where people from all over come to San Diego, not just for the lovely weather, but also to give back to the community they are visiting."

Our volunteers walked away filled with team spirit - and the joy of knowing that happy memories will be made in those playhouses for years to come.

"Some of us are still new to the Henkel team. It was a great feeling to connect with each other and to give back," says Williams. "It was very meaningful to see how just a few hours of our time is going to provide endless possibilities for kids to play in their backyard and let their imaginations shine."



View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Henkel on 3blmedia.com.



Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Henkel

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/henkel

Email: info@3blmedia.com



SOURCE: Henkel

View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/750237/Pro-Teams-Playhouses-Some-Assembly-Required
Augmentir, a Horsham, PA-based provider of an AI-based connected worker solution, completed a new financing round of undisclosed amount.

The round was led by Gardner Lewis Asset Management, with participation from Lerer Hippeau, Pritzker Group Venture Capital, and the companys founding team.

The company intends to use the funds to expand its team, global sales and marketing efforts while accelerating product development and innovation.

Led by Russ Fadel, CEO, Augmentir has developed connected worker technology, which leverages AI to digitize and optimize frontline work based on worker capability and task complexity. This technology adds precision to workforce development by helping manufacturers identify opportunities to improve training and optimize upskilling and reskilling programs. In February, the company announced that it expanded its AI platform to incorporate Generative AI and other foundational technologies underpinning ChatGPT.

Companies in manufacturing, service, energy, and construction use its suite of tools to deliver effective skills management, training, digital workflow, and collaboration for todays more dynamic industrial workforce.

In addition to the funding news, Augmentir has also announced organizational growth, including two new additions to the leadership team. Kiyomi Otani joins the team as Vice President of Operations bringing with her two decades of experience in technology leadership. Carsten Hunfeld, who previously led Augmentirs sales efforts in the DACH region, will become the Companys Director for EMEA.

FinSMEs
Avalor co-founders, CTO Kfir Tishbi (left) and CEO Raanan Raz (right). (Photo: Business Wire)

Avalor, a Tel Aviv, Israel-based cybersecurity company focused on data management, raised $30M in total funding.

A $25M Series A round was led by TCV, with participation from Salesforce Ventures. A $5M Seed round was led by Cyberstarts, with participation form Jibe Ventures.

The company intends to use the funds to expand operations, hiring for R&D, Product and Solution, Sales, Marketing, and Customer Success.

Co-founded by Raanan Raz and Kfir Tishbi, Avalor provides a Data Fabric for Security, enabling teams to make decisions by making sense of their data.

The company integrates disparate data sources from legacy systems, data lakes, data warehouses, SQL databases, applications or any source of data, providing a holistic view of business performance. With the platform, security teams are able to:

Prioritize risks  Conduct analysis across an organizations entire data surface, not just security data.

Align with business goals  Identify and communicate vulnerability remediation priorities with business context and KPIs.

Analyze complete, accurate, and precise data  Quickly and accurately respond to questions from the business using data from across the organization.

Empower stakeholders  Provide real-time transparency into data sources with labeling and lineage for the security team and internal partners.

Avalor is launching the first application powered by its security data fabric  a dedicated solution for vulnerability risk management and prioritization. Among the applications primary benefits, security teams can now access:

Automatically aggregated, normalized, and de-duplicated risk data from discovery to remediation.

A single source of truth for assets, controls, identities, vulnerabilities, security bugs, and other related data points.

FinSMEs

19/04/2023
Coro, a New York-based provider of a cybersecurity platform for mid-market organizations, raised additional $75M in funding.

With this round, Coro added Energy Impact Partners to its current investors Balderton Capital and JVP.

The company intends to use the funds for expansion both organically (across its R&D, channel, sales and service teams) and through strategic acquisitions.

Led by Guy Moskowitz, CEO, Coro provides a cybersecurity platform that unifies comprehensive protection into a single solution to empower organizations to defend against malware, ransomware, phishing, data leakage, insider threats and bots across devices, users, and cloud applications. The platform automatically detects and remediates the many security threats that todays distributed businesses face, without IT teams having to worry, investigate, or fix issues themselves.

More than 5,000 businesses currently use Coro for holistic security protection. Over the past year, the company tripled its revenue, customer and employee base, and signed more than 100 new channel partners. Coro also expanded its presence in Chicago, where a new business enablement center is under development to support the companys direct sales team and network of resellers.

FinSMEs

19/04/2023
Cortica, a San Diego, CA-based physician-led autism services company, raised $75M in funding and acquired Springtide Child Development.

The round was led by Deerfield Management and Optum Ventures. Additional new investors included RA Capital Management and Echo Health Ventures, alongside existing investors Longitude Capital, .406 Ventures, Questa Capital, Ajax Health, Aperture Venture Partners, and the Autism Impact Fund.

In the acquisition of Springtide, a premier integrated data-driven autism provider in the Northeast, Springtides investors have rolled their equity entirely into Cortica. The deal includes six autism centers in Connecticut and Massachusetts.

The company has also acquired the Melmed Center, a developmental pediatrics clinical and research group based in Arizona.

Led by CEO Neil Hattangadi, Cortica is a physician-led autism services company that blends neurology, research-based therapies, and technology into comprehensive care programs for families that search diagnoses and therapies for their children.

Since its founding in 2017, the company has grown into an organization with more than 1,600 employees, including pediatric neurologists, developmental pediatricians, epileptologists, pediatric nurse practitioners, speech language pathologists, occupational therapists, physical therapists, music therapists, board certified behavior analysts, registered behavior technicians, social workers, marriage and family therapists, care navigators, and more. They have built the Cortica Innovation Network, a team of researchers and physicians who conduct outcomes research and are a global leader in clinical trial recruitment. Through organic growth and new acquisitions, the company will serve more than 10,000 neurodivergent children and their families this year.

The company now owns and operates 23 integrated autism centers across the country.

FinSMEs

19/04/2023
A Place for All Conservatives to Speak Their Mind.
Nativo, a Los Angeles, CA-based provider of a content technology platform where advertisers and publishers distribute brand stories at scale, raised $25M in structured capital.

Capital IP provided the capital.

The company intends to use the funds to further expand upon their technology, differentiated ad formats and insights platform.

Founded by Justin Choi in 2010, Nativo is a content technology platform where advertisers and publishers distribute brand stories at scale. Its patented technology leverages machine learning and artificial intelligence to automate the distribution of content in a fully integrated experience within trusted environments, and delivers deep insight into content performance  all working together to drive connections with todays digital consumer.

Nativo is working with more than 3,500 premium publisher websites around the globe.

FinSMEs

18/04/2023
Social Value Portal, a London, UK-based provider of a platform for measuring and monitoring social impact, raised 8.5M in Series B funding.

The round was led by Mercia with support from existing investor Beringea.

The company intends to use the funds to tap into demand from the public and private sectors, and launch a new Social Value Academy to help educate business leaders and embed social value into business decision making and delivery.

Founded in 2014 by Guy Battle, Social Value Portal is an online solution that provides precise, standardised reporting to enable organisations to quantify and maximise the social value generated. It provides the tools to measure, manage and report both financial and non-financial data for stakeholders.

The company, which also has an office in Manchester, today supports more than 16,000 users, from UK public sector bodies such as the NHS and Met Office to corporates such as Accenture, Vodafone and Fujitsu. SVP is used by over 100 public sector buyers nationwide and is supported by the Local Government Association. In total, it has enabled users to track over 17bn of social value, up from 2bn at the time of its Series A in 2020.

FinSMEs

19/04/2023
In a fresh round of legal troubles for Netflix, a man from the US state of Kentucky has sued the streaming giant over inappropriately using his picture in a true crime documentary that falsely portrayed him as a killer. A picture of the man named Taylor Hazlewood has been apparently used in the 2023 documentary The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker alongside the picture of a convicted murderer with audio that calls him a stone-cold killer. In his complaint, Taylor also alleged his pictures were taken from his Instagram handle without his consent and without him having any connection to the film.

Taylor has filed the case against Netflix in a Texas state court, accusing the OTT giant of defamation and misappropriation of likeness or right of publicity further seeking over $1 million and punitive damages.

As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor in his complaint added that he had no idea that the documentary will use the pictures from his personal Instagram account. It was only when his close friends and family members brought the thing to his notice.

I suffered reputational harm, stress, and anxiety because of the constant fear of losing future employment or relationships because of people believing he is dangerous or untrustworthy, he added in the complaint.

About the controversial Netflix documentary

Earlier, in January this year, Netflix released The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker, a true crime documentary that revolves around Caleb Lawrence McGillvary who rose to fame after he bludgeoned an assailant with a hatchet. The show explores the bloody aftermath following the incident. It also includes interviews with police officers involved in the case, McGillvarys family members, and law enforcement figures, among others.

Speaking about the aforementioned controversy, the film toward the end uses a picture of Taylor Hazlewood along with a narration that describes the murder of McGillvarys victim and further indicates the picture with, Is this a guardian angel or a stone-cold killer?
Much has changed for Shaista Parveen, the wife of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.

The daughter of a retired police constable, the 51-year-old now finds herself atop the Uttar Pradesh Polices most-wanted list.

Whats more, the authorities have announced a reward of Rs 50,000 for information about Shaista.

Lets take a closer look:

According to The Times of India, Shaista is the daughter of Mohammed Haroon, a former police constable. The family lived in Prayagrajs Damupur village.

Shaista, the oldest of seven siblings, stayed at the government police quarters with her father. A retired schoolteacher described her as very polite and said she would always attend parent-teacher meetings. One of her brothers is a principal at a madrasa, as per The Times of India.

News18 reported that Shaista passed her 12th exams from a Prayagraj school and wed Atiq in 1996.

Shaista was initially a homemaker, but she became more and more involved with her husbands criminal empire  especially after Atiq went to prison.

News18 reported that Shaista took an active role in running Atiqs criminal enterprise and even took part in the planning of lawyer Umesh Pals murder.

In fact, Shaista and Atiq reportedly talked about killing Pal  who was murdered in February  when she went to visit hm at Sabarmati Jail.

For this, Atiq had asked her to send a phone and a SIM card to him inside jail. He had also told her the name of a cop who would deliver the phone to him in prison. Days later, the phone was sent and Atiq used it to speak to shooters and plot the crime, police sources told The Times of India.

Shaista is among the main accused in the Pal case and also has three cheating cases pending against her.

According to Hindustan Times, those cases were filed at Colonelganj police station and were registered under Section 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security or will), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using forged document) besides section 30 (contravention of licence or rule) of the Arms Act.

Atiqs relative Mohammad Jishan claimed he once sent his son along with 25 shooters to demand that he transfer his land to Shaista as well as pay Rs five crore, according to Hindustan Times.

According to The Times of India, a property dealer named Zeeshan has accused Shaista of threatening him on the phone over extortion money Atiq demanded.

According to DNA, Shaista first joined AIMIM but later switched to the Bahujan Samaj Party.

My husband (Atiq) could not learn discipline due to friendship with SP supremo. My husband always liked BSP and even helped top BSP leaders earlier, Shaista said as per Hindustan Times.

However, the party ultimately decided not to field Shaista.

Shaista has been absconding since her son Asad was shot dead in an encounter in Jhansi, as per DNA.

According to News18, Shaista in February purportedly wrote a letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath claiming that her husband and brother-in-law have been framed in the Pal case.

If you (CM Adityanath) do not intervene, my husband, brother-in-law and sons will be killed, Shaista wrote.

Shaista further claimed that minister Nand Gopal Gupta is the main conspirator in Pals murder.

With inputs from agencies

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What was anticipated to be the biggest trial in the United States was over even before it started. Fox News, owned by Rupert Murdoch, on Tuesday agreed to pay $787.5 million (Rs 6,466 crore) to resolve a defamation suit filed by Dominion Voting Systems.

Dominion Voting Systems, a voting machine company based in Colorado, had filed a $1.6 billion (Rs 13,138 crore) defamation case against the right-wing network over the broadcasters alleged role in spreading the lie of a stolen 2020 presidential election  when Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden.

After the settlement was announced in a full courtroom in Wilmington, where the case was being heard, Justin Nelson, a lawyer for Dominion, said: The truth matters. Lies have consequences.

But what exactly was the case all about? Who was involved in the matter? What are the implications of the case? Has the case affected Fox News credibility?

Why Dominion sued Fox

At the heart of the matter is the 2020 US presidential elections.

When Donald Trump lost the election, he claimed it was stolen from him. One of the lies peddled by him and his allies was that thousands of votes for Trump were switched to Joe Biden, particularly in Antrim County, Michigan. They further stated that voting machines by Dominion ran a secret algorithm that switched votes from one candidate to another. Moreover, they claimed that Dominion was founded in Venezuela in a bid to help that countrys leftist leader, Hugo Chavez, fix elections.

Dominion says Fox News aired these claims. In its lawsuit, it wrote, Fox engaged in this knowing and reckless propagation of these enormous falsehoods in order to profit off these lies. Fox wanted to continue to protect its broadcast ratings, catering to an audience deeply loyal to President Trump.

Several of Trumps supporters and allies appeared on various Fox News shows and peddled these lies. For instance, Sidney Powell, then a lawyer working with Trumps campaign, accused Dominion of flipping votes in the computer system or adding votes that did not exist and a huge criminal conspiracy that should be investigated by military intelligence on Maria Bartiromo and Jeanine Pirros shows. Another example was former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani claiming on Lou Dobbss show that Dominion and Smartmatic were companies formed in order to fix elections by associates of the Venezuelan dictator Hugo Chavez.

Court documents have, however, revealed that the networks biggest personalities did not believe these accusations. Sidney Powell is lying, prime-time star Tucker Carlson had written to his producer. Anchor Bret Baier had told an executive: There is NO evidence of fraud.

Yet in public, Dominion argued that Fox News reiterated and amplified these conspiracies. Famous US American presenter Sean Hannity said in a deposition that he didnt believe the fraud claims for one second but wanted to give accusers the chance to produce evidence.

Fox News owner Rupert Murdoch when asked under oath agreed that the 2020 election was free and fair. The election was not stolen, he said.

The settlement

On Tuesday, just when it seemed that the trial in the Dominion vs Fox case would begin, the case had another twist and it was revealed amid gasps that the two parties were settling.

It is, in fact, the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history involving a media company. Notably, in 2017, ABC News paid $177 million after its years-long legal dispute with South Dakota-based meat processor Beef Products Inc. over its textured meat product that the network referred to as pink slime.

Justin Nelson, the lead counsel for Dominion later told CNN that there were two goals in its defamation case against Fox News  accountability and trying to make Dominion whole. Both were accomplished in this settlement, he said Tuesday.

Also read: Why Fox News imposed soft ban on former US president Donald Trump

The payment by Fox News to Dominion and the networks statement acknowledging that its coverage of the 2020 election was false was a strong message of accountability and an important victory for the employees of his clients company.

This is really the first time that anyone has paid a price for telling the lies of the 2020 election and were very proud about that, he said.

What this means



The settlement with Dominion is undoubtedly a rebuke of Fox News and its journalism. While the media outlet, as per the settlement, doesnt have to acknowledge on-air that it told election lies, the entire matter does hurt Fox beyond just the money.

As former assistant US attorney for the Southern District of New York Elie Honig told CNN, The settlement is an unequivocal rebuke of the right-wing news network and its journalism.

The Associated Press wrote that this case shows there is a real financial risk for conservative media that traffic in conspiracy theories. However, it is left to be seen how much of a deterrent will it be in the future.

Some experts believe that despite the huge pay-out, it was beneficial for the news outlet. Syracuse University professor and First Amendment expert Roy Gutterman told BBC: Looking down the line at a six-week trial, this was going to be gruelling for everyone involved and likely embarrassing for Fox.

But a verdict against Fox could have been even costlier, and had serious implications on subsequent rulings on the actual malice standard and the First Amendment itself.

Civil litigation attorney Michelle Simpson Tuegel in the same BBC report opined that the settlement speaks to the massive threat Fox saw from this litigation. The reputational harm of having executives, including chairman Rupert Murdoch, and hosts take the stand seems to have moved the parties towards a resolution, Tuegel added.

But what about Foxs viewership? Will the audiences confidence in the outlet be affected? According to a Vox report, it seems unlikely. It is important to note here that Fox almost completely ignored the matter in its coverage. A New York Times analysis revealed that the settlement was covered only three times by Fox News in about four hours after the settlement became public, amounting to about six minutes of coverage. But remained the top story on CNN, MSNBC and CBS News.

But the settlement does come as a silver lining. CNN commentator David Axelrod tweeted, This Fox settlement is one more crushing blow to the conspiracy mongers who tried to steal an election on the basis of false charges and intimidation.

With inputs from agencies

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Will India join the small but growing list of nations to legalise same-sex marriage? All eyes are on the Supreme Court, which is hearing petitions seeking legal recognition of homosexual couples. A favourable decision would make India the first country (and the second place) in Asia to allow marriage equality  Taiwans parliament became the first in the continent to legalise same-sex unions.

A five-judge Constitution bench, presided by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, said that it would steer clear of personal laws and can examine if the right can be conferred under the Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954. The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, indicated that it may only confine to the interpretation of the Special Marriage Act (SMA) to include the term person instead of man and woman.

We are not willing to go into personal law issues. Remit will thus have to be restricted only to the extent we are willing to consider the issue, it told the counsels appearing for petitioners and respondents, which include the Centre, religious bodies and individuals.

While the government, through Special Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, questioned the maintainability of petitions, the CJI said that the hearings scope would be limited to developing a notion of a civil union that finds legal recognition under the Special Marriage Act.

What is the Special Marriage Act?

Marriages in India can be registered under the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 (HMA) and Muslim Marriage Act, 1954 (MMA), which fall under personal laws, and the Special Marriage Act, 1954 (SMA).

The Special Marriage Act was passed in Parliament on 9 October 1954. It is the provision which governs civil marriages of people of India and all Indian nationals in foreign countries, irrespective of religion or faith. Under this act, the state sanctions marriage over religion.

Also read: I Do: Will India become the next country to approve of same-sex marriages?

In India, marriage, divorce, and adoption fall under the ambit of personal law and are governed by religious laws like the Hindu Marriage Act and Muslim Marriage Act, which require the spouse to convert to the religion of the other before marriage.

However, the Special Marriage Act allows marriages between inter-faith and inter-caste couples without conversion.

Now the Supreme Court is examining if the right to same-sex marriage can be conferred under this Act.

What is a civil union that CJI mentioned?

A civil union is a legally recognised union which allows rights similar to that of marriage, created for same-sex couples. It covers employment, inheritance, property and parental rights. However, there are some differences between the two.

What are the differences between civil union and marriage?

Before the Supreme Court of the United States legalised same-sex marriages across the country in 2015, several American states had civil union laws. While it allowed homosexual couples to marry, it did not provide them a formal recognition of the same.

However, under the civil union, couples could inherit property from spouses, enjoy the employment benefits of their partners, and have rights to joint ownership and joint parenting.

Also read: Homosexuality vs same-sex marriages: Indias one step forward, two steps backwards

The big difference was that civil unions were recognised in the issuing states, which determined their own marriage laws, and not by federal law. This meant that the couples enjoyed the benefits of the partnership only in states that recognised same-sex unions and not across the country.

What is the Supreme Court of India considering?

The focus of Indias top court is on the Special Marriage Act. There is speculation that the Supreme Court might do away with the gender binary under this Act to extend it to same-sex couples.

Some petitions have challenged the provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act and others have asked the court to re-interpret the Special Marriage Act so that it covers same-sex marriage.

There may be some amount of sage wisdom in also going about our tasks in an incremental manner. Because otherwise do we then confine ourselves only to HMA? What about the Parsis, Jews, Muslims? There are a lot of communities, the CJI observed.

He was responding to remarks by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, representing one of the petitioners, who said that there were concerns with the HMA.

The bench also told the petitioners that since the court is playing a dialogical role to create a consensus to move towards an equal future, they should assist it on how we can develop the notion of a civil union, which finds recognition in SMA, according to ThePrint.

While debating on the notions of male and female in the Supreme Court, CJI Chandrachud said that there is no absolute concept of a man or woman and the postulation is far more complex than categorising a person according to born-with genitals.

He was responding to an argument by the Solicitor General that even in the Special Marriage Act the legislative intent of marriage throughout has been a relationship between a biological man and a biological female.

The CJI said, It is a very important value judgment you are making. You are saying that the very notion of a biological man or a biological woman is absolute.

Biological man means what genitals he has, SG Mehta said to which Justice Kaul replied, That is a point of view.

According to Mehta, several issues are to be gone into in the matter. It is better Parliament debates this.

If we are not touching personal law, why should states be heard? We are confining it to SM Act and whether we can read it as a person instead of man and woman, Justice Kaul said.

Today, the hearing has entered its second day. The Supreme Court is hearing final arguments this week after which a verdict is expected.

With inputs from agencies

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We are a crowded country  and the United Nations officially stated that we are more populous than China too. On Wednesday, UN estimates put Indias population at 142.86 crore against Chinas 142.57 crore.

This is the first time that India has topped the UN list of most populous countries since it started collecting population data in 1950. The report revealed that 25 per cent of Indias population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18 per cent in the 10 to 19 age group, 26 per cent in the age bracket of 10 to 24 years, 68 per cent in 15 to 64 years age group, and seven per cent above 65 years.

The new UN report also estimated that the global population will have hit 8.045 billion by mid-2023, by which time almost one in five people on the planet will be Indian.

This data has once again reignited the debate on whether this will be a help or hindrance to India in the long term.

By the numbers: From here to 2050

According to New Indian Express, India is adding 86,000 to its population daily as against Chinas 49,400.

A fourth of Indias population is under the age of 15, while more than half is below the age of 30, as per the newspaper.

Only a fourth of Chinas population is under the age of 25, as per Fox News.

As per The National, Indias median age is 28.4 years, while Chinas is 38.4 years.

In 2020, around 67 per cent of Indias population was in the working group compared to 64.9 per cent for China.

India is projected to have a population of 1.66 billion by 2050, as per Business Standard.

Between 2023 and 2050, India will provide more than a sixth of the increase of the worlds working-age population (15- to 64).

That same year, Chinas population is projected to be down to 1.31 billion.

India will be among the eight countries  Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania  accounting for more than half the global population increase by 2050.

Speaking to The Guardian, Swedish physician and academic Hans Rosling put the worlds current pin code at 1114.

Rosling explained this meant there are around 1 billion people in the Americas, Europe and Africa and four billion in Asia.

By 2050, the pin code will be 1145 with four billion in Africa and five billion in Asia, Rosling explained.

Why is Indias population going up?

According to Fox News, since 1950, India and China have accounted for roughly 35 per cent of the worlds growth in population.

As per BBC, the country witnessed rapid population growth for much of the second half of the past century. The death rate fell while life expectancy increased  all the while birth rates remained high.

The outlet noted that India first launched its family planning programme in 1952 and the national population policy in 1976.

However, in 1975, Indira Gandhi imposed the Emergency.

The forced sterilisations of millions caused a natural antipathy towards the concept family planning.

Fertility decline would have been faster for India if the Emergency hadnt happened and if politicians had been more proactive. It also meant that all subsequent governments treaded cautiously when it came to family planning, Tim Dyson, a demographer at the London School of Economics, told the BBC.

Indias current demographics can be chalked up to a population boom in North India, as per New Indian Express.

Experts note that fertility levels are lower in South India where education is widespread and women go to work.

Experts told the newspaper Uttar Pradesh and Bihar alone will account for a third of the population increase.

What about China?

Meanwhile, Chinas population is decreasing.

This comes as a result of Beijings stringent family planning rules.

Experts say China faces a huge challenge.

The Chinese are facing a population contraction that is far greater than anything experienced by Japan or South Korea, and theyre going to be facing it as theyre still only a middle income economy, so this is a huge challenge for them, Ian Bremmer, the president and founder of Eurasia Group, a political risk research and consulting firm, told The Guardian.

The Chinese age profile will also be transformed.

By 2050, around 330 million people will be above the age of 65  a figure thats more than double than the 150 million above that age today, according to the newspaper.

This means the younger generation will have to support increasing numbers of retirees.

According to Bloomberg, some parts of China are attempting to correct the faster-than-expected decline by offering couples money to have children.

Also read: China to crack down on bride price custom to boost birth rates: The dowry practice explained

The measures taken to boost birth rates have been far too little and too late, and were completely overwhelmed by the impact of COVID-Zero on birth rates, Christopher Beddor, deputy China research director at Gavekal Dragonomics, told Fox News.

The core issue is that theres only so much policy can accomplish in this realm, because declining birth rates are driven by deep structural factors, Beddor added. The leadership seems to have belatedly realized that those issues are very real and arriving very quickly.

Indias demographic dividend or nightmare?

Thats the question on everyones mind.

Some are optimistic.

For India, the main advantage of the young working-age population is that young people adapt fast and can keep pace with the continuing dramatic and constant technological change, Vidya Mahambare, professor of economics at the Great Lakes Institute of Management in Chennai, told The National.

Saket Gaurav, chairman and managing director of Indian electronics and Home appliances brand Elista, added, Indias large population is one of the most significant opportunities for domestic and international companies.

Its a great growth opportunity for various companies, and especially, for value-driven companies like ours, Gaurav stated.

As a large set of people can produce and consume more goods, it is expected to lead to more economic growth for the country, says Gaurav. We consider Indias population as an asset for the business rather than a liability.

But experts said challenges on providing quality health, education and jobs abound.

India currently spends around 3.5 per cent of GDP on education  which is below the 4.2 per cent global average, as per Business Standard.

The newspaper quoted a 2020 McKinsey Global Institute report as saying India needed to create 90 million non-farm jobs between 2023 and 2030 in order to absorb new workers and an additional 30 million workers who could shift from farm work to non-farm sectors.

To absorb this influx, India would need close to 12 million additional gainful non-farm jobs every year starting in financial year 2023. This would be triple of the four million non-farm jobs created annually between 2012 and 2018, the report stated.

India thus needs to increase its GDP 8 to 8.5 per cent annually over the next decade and productivity growth at 6.5 to 7 per cent, as per Business Standard.

The demographic dividend doesnt happen automatically, because that big group of young working-age people need to have work and they need to be productive, Stuart Gietel-Basten, professor of humanities and social sciences at Khalifa University in Abu Dhabi, told The Guardian.

It will be about resources, about governance, about infrastructure, about location, Gietel-Basten, said.

Poonam Muttreja of the Population Foundation of India told The Guardian the news was a fantastic window of opportunity but warned about that demographic dividend could turn into a demographic disaster sans investment in training and education.

With inputs from agencies

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The United States is regressing. Gun legislation continues to be lax, several states have banned abortion and now even child labour laws are being relaxed. In the midwestern state of Iowa, children will be allowed to work longer hours and take up jobs that were earlier prohibited like serving alcohol and assembly line work. What has changed? The Iowa Senate, controlled by Republicans, passed a new bill before dawn on Tuesday to fight labour shortages.

Its the biggest push to roll back laws protecting children from labour in the United States since the 1930s, according to reports in the media.

Nights shifts and permission to serve alcohol

The Iowa senate pulled an all-nighter and passed changes to the states child labour laws to allow 14 to 17-year-olds to work longer hours and in restricted fields with parental permission.

The controversial bill permits children as young as 14 to work six-hour night shifts, 15-year-olds to work in plants on assembly lines and move items of up to 22 kilos, and 16-year-olds to serve alcohol even though they cant legally drink themselves. Minors can work until 9 pm during the school year and until 11 pm during the summer, two hours later than the current law and for six hours a day, up from the four hours currently.

BREAKING: The Iowa Senate passed a child labor law before dawn today. The bill lets 14-year-olds work 6-hour night shifts, 15-year-olds work on assembly lines, and 16- and 17-year-olds serve alcohol. The Senate went through the night, and voted on child labor at 4:52 a.m.  More Perfect Union (@MorePerfectUS) April 18, 2023

The Democrats voted against the bill as did two Republicans. But the rest of the Grand Old Party caucus voted in its favour.

The Iowa bill passed the senate vote of 32-12 and the voting took place just before 5 am, after a heated debate.

No added compensation

Democrats in the Iowa senate attempted to introduce additional compensation for working children, as they are more likely to get injured because of their inexperience. However, the Republicans, who are in control, paid no heed.

According to the bill, businesses will not be liable for injuries or illnesses a student suffers on the job unless the student can prove that their boss told them to perform the action which made them injured or ill, reports VICE.

A business that accepts a secondary student into a work-based learning program shall not be subject to civil liability for any claim for bodily injury to the student unless the student is acting within the course and scope of the students employment at the direction of the business, the bill states.

The outrage

Democrats in the senate protested and attempted to delay the bill but were unsuccessful. Along with activists and labour advocates, they criticised the bill which allows children to work in fields riddled with danger  roofing, excavating and demolition.

No Iowa teenager should be working in Americas deadliest jobs, said Zach Wahls, the Senate minority leader, according to a report in The Guardian. Iowa Republican politicians want to solve the  workforce crisis on the literal backs of children.

Eric Blanc, an author and professor of labour studies at Rutgers University, told VICE that the decision to roll back laws that were codified over 100 years ago is a pretty unprecedented attack. It goes above and beyond previous attacks on workers rights, which have tended to focus on things like preventing unions, preventing increases to the minimum wage law, he added.



Labour unions held protests against the bill. According to Charlie Wishman, president of the Iowa Federation of Labor, efforts to relax child labour laws in the US were a lazy way of dealing with the fact that certain states dont have enough workers.

But the Republicans have defended the bill and denied claims that it was an attempt to address the workforce shortage in Iowa.

We do know slavery existed in the past, but one place it doesnt exist, thats in this bill, said Senator Adrian Dickey. Throwing around such terms loosely and callously for shock value in the news, on social media, even within the walls of this great building, is irresponsible and wrong.

He said that Democrats have been protesting over false narratives about the bill but none came to him with concerns.

Iowa not alone

However, Iowa is not the only state which is introducing changes to minor employment amid a reported shortage of workers.

In March, Arkansas Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed legislation to roll back child labour protections. It did away with state requirements to verify that children are at least 16 before they get a job.

The bills sponsor, Rebecca Burkes, said that the previous regulation was one small burden on businesses, and also steps in front of parents decision-making process about whether their child under 16 years of age can get a job, according to a report in The Guardian.

In Ohio, legislators reintroduced a bipartisan bill earlier this year to extend working hours for 14- and 15-year-olds with permission from a parent or legal guardian, and called on Congress to adopt the same rollbacks at the federal level.

In Minnesota, a similar bill was introduced in January to extend work hours for 14- and 15-year-olds. New Jersey Governor Phil Muray signed a law in July last year that allowed 14 and 15-year-olds to work for longer hours during summer months and holidays and extended work hours for 16 and 17-year-olds.

In Wisconsin, Republicans passed a bill that would expand work hours for those aged 14 and 15 but was vetoed by Governor Tony Evers in February 2022.

The US Department of Labours top lawyer, Seema Nanda, said it is irresponsible for states to consider loosening child labour protections. But no one seems to be listening.

Child labour violations in the US

Child labour laws were among the earliest wins for the workers rights movement in the US. The federal child labour bill was introduced in US Congress in 1906, which outlawed the transport in interstate commerce of any articles mined or manufactured by children under the age of 14.

But now several American states, especially those controlled by Republicans, seem to be going backwards.

Also read: Apple accused of using child labour to mine cobalt, promises to switch to 100% recycled cobalt by 2025

Last year, there was a big 37 per cent jump in the number of children working illegally in factories, eateries and other workplaces in the US. The US Department of Labour found 3,876 children working in breach of labour rules. More than 688 were working in hazardous conditions, according to a report in DailyMail.

However, these numbers are underreported. According to experts, the estimate is between 20 and 100 times higher: As many as 388,000 children are overworked and 69,000 are indulging in hazardous tasks that could damage their health or lead to accidents.

Theres some evidence to support the data. Children as young as 13 were reported with chemical burns from cleaning slaughterhouses in Nebraska. An investigation by Reuters found that at least four major suppliers of Hyundai Motor Co and its sister firm Kia Corp employed children, mostly migrant minors, at factories in Alabama. Fast-food chains like McDonalds, Dunkin Donuts and Chipotle also violated child labour laws by making 14 and 15-year-olds work longer, not supervising minors after 8 pm, and not providing appropriate meal breaks.

While child labour violations continue, several states are rolling back child labour protections, further exposing this vulnerable lot to exploitation.

More than a century ago, the US decided that its children should spend more time in schools and not factories. But today it cant seem to leave them kids alone.

With inputs from agencies

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Russia is being accused of planning to sabotage infrastructure in the North Sea.

The allegations have been made after a joint investigation by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Lets take a closer look:

What happened?

Moscow is being accused of deploying a fleet in the North Sea to identify potential sabotage sites.

The investigation, conducted by public broadcaster DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland, cited intelligence officials in the Nordic countries.

Parts of the documentary entitled The Shadow War have already been released.

The full report is set to air late Wednesday.

DR reported that the Russian spy programme is known by the acronym GUGI, or the Main Directorate of Deep-Sea Research.

The BBC quoted the head of Norways intelligence as saying Moscow had a direct hand in this plan and a Danish intelligence as saying these tactics have been planned in case Russia has a full-on conflict with the West.

Russian boats are masquerading as trawlers and research vessels, the BBC reported.

These are fitted with underwater and radio surveillance technology, the investigation claimed.

One ship documented was the Admiral Vladimirsky, officially an oceanographic research vessel, that was observed sailing near large offshore windfarm parks off Britain and Denmark at the end of 2022.

The BBC reported that a former Royal Navy expert in the documentary traced the ships path.

The ship slowed down when it neared windfarm sites and seemed to loiter, as per The Guardian.

When a DR team approached the vessel in a dinghy, masked and heavily-armed men appeared on deck, an excerpt published by the Danish broadcaster showed.

This comes after the Netherlands in February warned that infrastructure could be sabotaged.

We saw in recent months Russian actors tried to uncover how the energy system works in the North Sea. It is the first time we have seen this, General Jan Swillens said, as per the BBC.

Swillens at a news conference in February said a Russian ship was detected at an offshore wind farm in the North Sea as it tried to map out energy infrastructure, but that the vessel was escorted out of the North Sea by Dutch marine and coast guard ships before any sabotage effort could become successful.

Dutch intelligence agencies MIVD and AIVD, in a joint report published in February said critical offshore infrastructure such as internet cables, gas pipes and windmill farms had become the target of Russian sabotage activities.

Russia is secretly charting this infrastructure and is undertaking activities which indicate preparations for disruption and sabotage, the agencies said.

Covert threats by Russia to water and energy supplies in the Netherlands were also conceivable, they added.

The documentary says Norwegian police who boarded two Russian fishing trawlers discovered old Soviet-era radios, with an operator in a locked compartment.

In Sweden, 27 suspect vessels have allegedly sailed through its waters or docked in its ports in the past five years, SVT said.

In Norway, over a period of 10 years, at least 50 Russian vessels had the possibility to collect information clandestinely, according to a tally based on the ships Automatic Identification System (AIS), NRK said.

NRK quoted the head of Norways intelligence service, Nils Andreas Stensnes as saying the activities were on top of the [fishing boats] usual commercial activity.

Politico quoted Russian ambassador to Oslo Teimuraz Ramishvili as saying that the work of research projects [was] coordinated through diplomatic channels and [was] in accordance with international legislation.

Kremlin dismisses claims

The Kremlin on Wednesday dismissed the media claims as a mistake and without basis, reiterating its appeal for a transparent and impartial international inquiry into the sabotage of the Baltic Sea Nord Stream gas pipelines in September 2022.

The media in these countries have made a mistake in their investigation, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

They prefer to once again accuse Russia without basis.

We would prefer that they focus more attention on the attacks against Nord Stream and on a transparent and impartial international inquiry, he said.

Nord Stream 1 and Nord Stream 2, each consisting of two pipes, were built by Russias state-controlled Gazprom to pump 110 billion cubic metres (bcm) of natural gas a year to Germany under the Baltic Sea.

Three of the pipes were ruptured by unexplained blasts in September, and one of the Nord Stream 2 pipes remains intact.

Moscow has blamed the West for the spectacular sabotage involving the explosions of Nord Stream pipelines linking Russia to Germany.

With inputs from agencies
Paris: Sudan, where fighting is raging between the army and paramilitary forces led by rival generals, has a history of civil strife and coups.

Here are five things to know about the vast east African country:

Same ruler for 30 years

Sudan was ruled for three decades by career soldier Omar al-Bashir, who is wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) on charges of war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Bashir seized power in a 1989 coup during the second of two civil wars fought by the mainly Muslim north against the mainly Christian and animist south after Sudan gained independence in 1956.

Under Bashir, an Islamist, floggings were frequently meted out for crimes such as adultery and drinking alcohol.

Also Read: Sudan fighting escalates: How hospitals and aid organisations are the latest targets

He signed a peace deal with the south in 2005 but was accused of widespread atrocities in the western Darfur region, where he deployed a brutal Arab militia in 2003, known as the Janjaweed, to suppress a rebellion by non-Arab rebels in a war that left hundreds of thousands dead.

In 2013, the Janjaweed fighters were formed into the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the heavily armed paramilitary force that is currently battling Sudans military.

Bashir was deposed by the army in 2019 after a popular uprising triggered by the tripling of the price of bread. The military seized power again in 2021, led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan.

Split in two

Sudan endured two civil wars between its northern and southern regions, the first from 1955 to 1972 and the second from 1983 to 2005. Millions died in the conflicts.

Under the terms of a 2005 peace deal, the Southerners were allowed to hold an independence referendum.

In January 2011, 99 per cent voted to secede and the independent state of South Sudan was born six months later.

The split removed roughly a quarter of the territory of what had been Africas largest country.

Sudan also lost most of its oil fields, which are situated in South Sudan.

Bin Laden links

The late leader of the Al-Qaeda terror network, Osama bin Laden lived in Sudan for five years in the 1990s, investing heavily in the local economy.

But he was expelled in 1996 after the US piled pressure on Khartoum to expel suspected terrorists.

Two years later, Al-Qaeda bombed US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing over 200 people. The US retaliated by bombing a pharmaceutical plant in Khartoum. Washington claimed the plant was linked to chemical weapons, which Sudan vehemently denied.

In 2020 Sudan was removed from a US blacklist of alleged state sponsors of terror in a quid pro quo with Washington for normalising relations with Israel.

Gum power

Sudan is the worlds largest producer of gum arabic, a key ingredient used in everything from soft drinks to chewing gum and pharmaceuticals.

The golden blobs of resin tapped from thorny acacia trees are one of Sudans main foreign currency earners.

Also read: The fight between rival generals for the control of the nation, explained

Their importance to the world economy earned them a special exemption from the US trade embargo imposed on Sudan during the three decades of Bashirs rule.

Meanwhile, the trees themselves are drought resistant, helping Sudan, which is one of the countries worst affected by climate change, fight desertification.

More pyramids than Egypt

Sudans ancient civilisations built more pyramids than the Egyptians, but the ancient tombs of Meroe, about 220 kilometres (136 miles) north of Khartoum in the desert, remain largely unexplored.

Meroe was the heartland of the Kush kingdom, which occupied Egypt for close to a century until the seventh century BC.

Around 250 pyramids have been excavated at the UNESCO World Heritage Site since the 1960s.

But unlike the grander Egyptian pyramids of Giza, they rarely receive visitors.

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Ralph Yarl Shooting Case: The White man accused of shooting a Black teenager who mistakenly rang his doorbell in Missouris Kansas City in the United States will be arraigned on Wednesday (19 April).

As per CNN, 84-year-old Andrew Lester turned himself in on Tuesday for firing at Ralph Yarl. He was later released on a $200,000 bond.

What is the case about and how has it caused uproar in the US? Lets find out.

Dont come around here

Yarl, a junior in high school, was asked to pick up his twin brothers from a friends house on 115th Terrace on 13 April. However, he accidentally ended up at 115th Street, where he rang the doorbell of Lesters residence at 10 pm local time.

According to the octogenarians statement to the police, he had just gone to bed when he heard the doorbell.

Lester grabbed his .32 caliber revolver and went to the front entrance of the house which has an interior door and an exterior door made of glass, reported CNN.

Lester opened the interior door and saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle, according to the police statement.

He stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door, the probable cause document was cited as saying by Associated Press (AP).

He believed he was protecting himself from a physical confrontation and could not take the chance of the male coming in, the document added.

There was reportedly no conversation between the two before the shooting.

Yarl told police he rang the doorbell but did not pull on the door.

As per AP, the man shot Yarl in the head and after he fell to the ground, he again shot the teenager in the arm. As Yarl got up to flee, Lester told him: Dont come around here, according to the police report.

How is Yarl now?

After the shooting, Yarl sought help from multiple neighbouring houses before someone called the police, as per reports.

James Lynch was the neighbour who found Yarl covered in blood, reported AP. Another neighbour came out with towels to suppress the bleeding till paramedics reached the scene.

As per a Vox article, Yarl, who loves music and engineering, was hospitalised with life-threatening injuries but is now expected to make a full recovery after surgery.

Yarls attorney Ben Crump told CNN on Monday that he was discharged from the hospital but hes not out of the woods yet.

Yarls mother, Cleo Nagbe, told CBS Mornings that her son is in good spirits but the trauma continues to linger.

She said he is able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares, and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.

You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesnt stop my tears either, Nagbe was quoted as saying by AP.

The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable, Yarls aunt Faith Spoonmore wrote on a GoFundMe page.

Life looks a lot different right now, she wrote, as per Vox. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally.

ALSO READ: Even as US mass shootings continue, 2024 Republican hopefuls back NRA: Why is the gun lobby so powerful?

Charges against Lester

Lester was detained for only two hours on the night of the shooting and released as the police needed to further probe the incident, reported CNN.

If they would have held him for 24 hours, they would have held him long enough to get the statement from the kid with a bullet in his brain, Lee Merritt, another attorney for the Yarl family, told AP. They got the statement the very next day.

The 84-year-old White man is facing two felony charges  first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison, while armed criminal action can land someone in jail for anywhere between 3-15 years.

Racial component

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said he believes the shooting was racially motivated. This boy was shot because he was existing while Black, Lucas was quoted as saying by CNN.

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said, There was a racial component to this case, without adding further.

Law enforcement is also being cornered for not acting against Lester quickly.

Nobody can tell us if the roles were reversed, and you had a Black man shoot a White 16-year-old teenager for merely ringing his doorbell that he would not be arrested. I mean, this citizen went home and slept in his bed at night after shooting that young Black kid in the head, Crump, Yarls attorneys, told CNN.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin, Merritt was quoted as saying by AP.

ALSO READ: Racism against blacks made USA lose $16 trillion since 2000, says Biden official

Protests in Kansas City

The teenagers shooting triggered protests in Kansas City as the incident put the spotlight on racial relations in the US.

Hundreds of demonstrators marched over the weekend, chanting Justice for Ralph and calling for Lesters arrest.

Yarls classmates held protests on Tuesday, holding placards that read: We Walk For RALPH, Stop The Hate and Justice 4 RALPH, reported AP.

The incident also evoked memories of the killing of Trayvon Martin and Ahmaud Arbery  young Black males  whose shooters later claimed self-defence.

It also outraged political leaders, including President Joe Biden who has demanded justice. He also invited Yarl to the White House.

White House: President Joe Biden spoke with Ralph Yarl this evening over the phone; wished for a speedy recovery  philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) April 18, 2023

Missouris gun laws

Legal experts believe Lesters lawyers will claim self-defence under Missouris stand your ground law.

This legislation allows people to respond to threats or force in any place if a person fears for their life, as per media reports.

Missouri is among around 30 states in the US that have such statutes.

St. Louis defense attorney Nina McDonnell told AP that prosecutors have a strong case against Lester but stand your ground law defence is a huge hurdle to overcome.

The defendant was in his house and has expressed that he was in fear, McDonnell said.

The incident has also once again raised questions about US liberal gun laws in several states amid heightened violence.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all the varsities to allow students to write the exams in mother tongue or local languages even if the course is offered in English medium.

The Commission has also suggested universities in India to promote translation of original writing in local languages as well as emphasise the use local language in the teaching-learning process.

Once teaching, learning, and assessment are done in the local languages, students engagement will gradually increase, leading to an increase in success rate, UGC Chairman Professor M Jagadesh Kumar told in a letter addressed to Vice Chancellors of the universities across India.

Teaching in mother tongue will significantly strengthen the efforts of achieving the envisioned target of enhancing the GER [Gross Enrolment Ratio] in higher education from 27 per cent to 50 per cent by 2035, Prof. Kumar said.

In order to strategise the initiatives, the UGC has asked universities to provide information, that includes:

 List of textbooks/reference book/study material available /used in the local languages in the institution/university

 List of the main topics/courses for which textbooks/reference books/study materials must be written/translated into local languages

 Availability of faculties/subject experts/scholars who can write or translate textbooks/reference books/study materials in local languages in institution/university

 Availability of local publishers for printing textbooks in local languages

 Discuss success story/plan on bringing study material in local languages

 Whether the students can write answers in local languages in exams.

One of the crucial area of in the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020 is promotion and regular use of Indian languages in education. The policy also gives special emphasis on the importance of teaching and instruction in mother tongue/local languages.

The chairman of UGC is his letter to universities also said that teaching-learning process in local languages has benefitted students, particularly the socially and economically disadvantaged groups (SEDGs).

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IAF chief Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari on Tuesday said that operations like Balakot have demonstrated that given the political will, aerospace power can be

effectively used in a no-war, no-peace situation, under a nuclear overhang without escalating into a full-blown conflict, ANI reported.

This is very important, given the nature of our adversaries. The response options available to the leadership have suddenly increased and increasingly, air power has become an option of choice due to the inherent flexibility and unmatched precision strike capability, the IAF chief said.

Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari was speaking at the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Seminar Aerospace power: Pivot to future battlespace operations.

The Balakot airstrikes were carried out in February 2019 by the IAF after terrorists attacked a CRPF convoy in Pulwama, Jammu and Kashmir.

The IAF chief also said that the foremost lesson that can be drawn from the twentieth century and indeed the early twenty-first century is that no war can be successfully prosecuted without aerospace power.

He cited the words of Field Marshal Montgomery, If we lose war in the air, we lose the war and lose it quickly.

There are a few very pertinent words in the theme of the seminar which need a bit more study. The first being Pivot. Pivot translates to Fulcrum, which is defined as a thing that plays a central or essential role in an activity, event or situation. The other words that need more study are Future Battlespace Operations.

Over the last few decades, the understanding of a military operational environment has significantly transformed from primarily a force, time and space-driven linear battlefield to a system of systems capable of simultaneous, parallel and independent operations across multiple domains, the IAF chief said.

He said the traditional battlefield has long left the lexicon of modern strategists and what is increasingly being used is battlespace in the land, sea, air, cyber and space domains.

Future battlespace

When we bring all these words together, it broadly gives a contour of things to come in the next few decades. Call it a reveille bugle or a heralding trumpet, we must acknowledge that the wars of the future will be fought differently. Adversaries will use lethal as well as non-lethal weapons, wars will be fought across multiple domains and will not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants, he said.

The IAF chief added the future battlespace will be increasingly complex characterised by heavy dependence on technology, asymmetric nature of threats, expanded battlespaces, high tempo of operations, enhanced lethality, compressed sensor-to-shooter cycles and media scrutiny.

So, what does aerospace power bring to the table in order to be labelled as a Pivot? Attributes of high speed, reduced response time, long reach, increased mobility, technological intensity, precision firepower, shock effect, ability to operate across domains and network centric operations have made aerospace power a formidable component of our nations military might, he said.

With inputs from ANI

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New Delhi: With 2.9 million more people than China, India has become the worlds most populous country. According to the UN world population dashboard, India has 1,428.6 million people, while Chinas population stood at 1,425.7 million.

For the first time since 1960, Chinas population shrank last year, after which Beijing had to end its strict one-child policy, imposed in the 1980s. In 2021, it started letting couples have three children. Apart from a plunge in birth rates, the country has been also facing problem of ageing workforce.

The latest figures were given under the category of Demographic Indicators in the UNFPAs The State of World Population Report, 2023 released on Wednesday.

It is the first time since 1950 that Indias population has overtaken Chinas.

It was in 1950, the UN began to collect and release population data.

Indias population to peak at 165 crore

As per the latest report by UNFPA, 25 per cent of Indias population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18 per cent in the 10 to 19 age group, 26 per cent in the age bracket of 10 to 24 years, 68 per cent in 15 to 64 years age group, and 7 per cent above 65 years.

As per estimates by several agencies, Indias population is expected to keep rising for nearly three decades before it peaks at 165 crore and then would start declining.

A report by Hindustan Times quoted Anna Jefferys, media and crisis communications advisor, UNFPA saying, Though it is unclear exactly when the crossover took place and direct comparisons can be hard due to the slightly different timings of countries individual data collection.

What we can say is that Chinas population reached its peak last year and started to decline and that while Indias population is growing, its rate of population growth has been declining since 1980, she added.

As per the UN report, however, also pointed out that China has been better than India in the context of life expectancy, which in the case of women is 82 and 76 that of men. The figures for India are 74 and 71.

World population

According to the report, the global population is expected to hit 8.045 billion by mid-2023.

The report further said the trend of the rising population can be witnessed in Africa too.

Eight nations with more than 10 million people, most of them in Europe, saw their populations shrink over the past decade.

Japan has also witnessed a decline due to its ageing population, losing more than three million inhabitants between 2011 and 2021.

According to the projection by the UN, the population of the entire planet is only expected to decline in the 2090s, after peaking at 10.4 billion.

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New Delhi: Congress youth wings national president Srinivas BV has sent a defamation notice to Assam Youth Congress chief Dr Angkita Dutta.

In a press statement issued by IYC national media in-charge Varun Pandey on Tuesday, the IYC accused Dutta of using utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words against Srinivas BV.

The entire exercise of publically maligning and defaming Srinivas BV is politically motivated, and is absolutely false and baseless, the statement said.

Dr Dutta has resorted to using utterly unparliamentary, undignified, defamatory, malicious words against Srinivas BV and has levelled totally sexist, chauvinistic, false, frivolous allegations against him. The IYC legal cell has taken a strong, stringent legal action and therefore IYC National President Srinivas BV has sent a Criminal Defamation notice to Dr Angkita Dutta in view of the same, the release stated.

IYC Legal Cell National Chairman Roopesh Singh Bhadauria stated that Dutta was appointed as Vice-President of Assam PYC in June 2018 when Kamrul Islam Chaudhary was PYC President.

Later on, in accordance with the resolution passed by IYC for 33 per cent reservations for women in the organisation, she was nominated as PYC Assam President in November 2021 and remained in the post till membership of IYC was announced in Assam to induct new leaders in the state organization, the release stated.

The release added, Since her tenure was over, and after the declaration of State PYC election she was not discharging her duties competently, she started raising baseless allegations against National Secretary Vardhan Yadav, IYC I/C of Assam PYC which were never fructified and she has constantly refrained herself from participating and cooperating with the inquiry committee set up by the IYC Leadership to probe the allegations made out by her. Such acts clearly reflect the falsity of the charges.

Levelling the accusations further, Bhadauria stated, It is also a matter of public knowledge that Dr Duttas name has come up in Sharda Chit Scam Fund and ED / PMLA cases. It is also reliably learnt that Dr Dutta is in constant touch with the Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma and has been undertaking this exercise of maligning and defaming simply to create an atmosphere of leaving the Congress party with an objective to join the BJP, the ruling dispensation at the State and the Centre and consequently to have a closure of these cases.

Meanwhile, Dr Angkita Dutta had earlier accused Srinivas BV of harassing her for the past six months, discriminating against her for being a woman and using foul language to destroy her image.

Speaking exclusively to Firstpost, Angkita Dutta had said she felt disappointed in her partys leadership for not taking any action against Srinivas BV despite knowing full well what was going on. I went to Jammu to participate in the Bharat Jodo Yatra and had then, in person, apprised Rahul Gandhi about the misdeeds of Srinivas BV. I expect my leadership to stand by women, but I am appalled at the high commands inaction.

Angkita Dutta claimed that her harassment started after she raised her voice against the mismanagement of Indian Youth Congress affairs by Srinivas, which also included discrimination against her since I am a woman.

He went on saying that I am an alcoholic. He undermined my existence because of being a woman. At the Rampur session, I was going inside the Mayfair hotel to meet seniors, while Srinivas was on his way out. As he crossed me he asked: What alcohol do you drink? Do you text after drinking?. Two of my colleagues were witness to this, Angkita claimed.
Bengaluru: Ahead of the keenly watched Karnataka elections 2023, all eyes are star campaigners that political parties would showcase to woo voters. The incumbent BJP government in the poll-bound state has been demanding Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath to campaign for the party the upcoming assembly elections.

The demand for Yogi as BJP campaigner for Karnataka elections has gone up after the police encounter of Asad Ahmed, son of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed.

On 15 April, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three men in Uttar Pradeshs Prayagraj.

The Uttar Pradesh CM is also gaining popularity in Karnataka for his hit slogan Mitti mei mila denge.

A report by News18 said the Karnataka unit of the BJP has requested six trips by Yogi to the state ahead the polls for multiple rallies and road shows.

Multiple candidates want the UP CMs rallies in their constituencies, especially coastal Karnataka, where Hindutva is a major issue, the report quoted a BJP leader in Bengaluru as saying.

Why Yogi Adityanath?

The report quoted sources saying that Asad Ahmed encounter case could make Adityanath a big draw.

The Uttar Pradesh CMs strict approach towards gangsters and criminals could make its way into his speeches during campaigns in Karnataka, which the BJP feels will have good resonance.

BJPs star campaigners for Karnataka Assembly election 2023

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath are among the 40 star campaigners for the BJP for the assembly elections in Karnataka.

Other central leaders on the list include BJPs national president JP Nadda, Union Ministers Rajnath Singh, Nirmala Sitharaman, Nitin Gadkari and Smriti Irani.

Also Read: Karnataka Elections 2023: BJP releases list of star campaigners; PM Modi, Amit Shah among 40 big names

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivaraj Singh Chouhan, Assam CM Hemanth Biswa Sharma, and Maharashtra Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis are also in the list of star campaigners.

Karnataka election 2023 dates

Election on 224 seats of Karnataka Assembly will be held in a single-phase on 10 May.

The results will be declared on 13 May.

BJP, Congress and JD(S) are the three main players in the Karnataka polls 2023.

In the 2018 assembly polls, Karnataka threw up a fractured mandate with BJP emerging as the single largest party with win on 104 seats, Congress bagged 87 seats, while the JD(S) secured victory on 30.

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Shivamogga: BY Vijayendra, son of BJP strongman BS Yediyurappa, filed his nomination from the Shikaripura constituency in Shivamogga district for the 10 May Karnataka Assembly elections, according to PTI.

#WATCH | BY Vijayendra, BJP candidate from Karnatakas Shikaripur Assembly seat, offers prayers at a local temple ahead of nomination filing His father BS Yediyurappa has been a seven-time winner from this Assembly seat. pic.twitter.com/IWC6g6wv5k  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023

He later attacked the Congress for dividing the Lingayat community and assured that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP enjoy the full support of the community.

People in Karnataka know who has ditched the Lingayat community. Everyone knows that it was the Congress party that fought against the Lingayat community. So, I am confident, not only the lingayat community but every section of other communities will support BJP and they will support Narendra Modi ji, Vijayendra told ANI.

He added, The lingayat community is not with the family but with BJP. Ofcourse we are happy and proud that they have trusted Yediyurappas leadership and at the same time they trust PM Narendra Modi jis leadership also. The community is strongly behind BJP and the Prime Minister.

Vijayendra stated that the people of Karnataka and the rest of the country know about the doings of the Congress party, and everyone wants to see the double-engine government as they want to prosper under the dynamic leadership of PM Modi as well as BJP Karnataka, reported ANI.

The deadline for submitting nominations is April 20. Voting will take place on 10 May, and the results will be announced on 13 May.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh interacted with the senior leadership of the Indian Army during the Army Commanders Conference on Wednesday.

The Indian Army said in a statement on social media platform Twitter that Defence Minister Rajnath Singh commended the Indian Army for its high standards of operational preparedness, capability development and contribution towards military diplomacy.

The Raksha Mantri appreciated efforts of #IndianArmy in developing niche technologies in collaboration with the industry, including premier educational institutions, and thereby progressing towards the aim of Modernisation through Indigenisation & #Aatmanirbharta, the Indian Army tweeted.

The Defence Minister also released a Commemorative Postage Stamp on 75 Years of Indian Army Day and unveiled the Indian Army UN Journal Blue Helmet Odyssey  Changing Contours of Peacekeeping Operations in the 21st Century.

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) General Anil Chauhan also addressed the senior officers of the Indian armed forces at the Army Commanders Conference.

CDS General Anil Chauhan underlined the need for the Indian armed forces to act as a catalyst for modernization, and self-reliance through their involvement in the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the Indian government.

He also commended the contribution of the Indian Army towards the cause of national security and nation building.

Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Manoj Pande also addressed the Army Commanders Conference.

Emphasising the changing nature of modern warfare in the present geo-strategic scenario, COAS General Manoj Pande highlighted the transformation of the Indian Army into a future ready fighting force.

During his address, Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) Admiral R Hari Kumar spoke about the maritime security challenges facing the Indian Navy and the increasing synergy amongst the different wings of the Indian armed forces.

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New Delhi: On Wednesday, Nobel laureate and social activist Kailash Satyarthi stressed the value of compassion in addressing the prevention and management of alcohol misuse in society.

At the Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS), he was giving a speech.

The ILBS on Wednesday launched a campaign called PLAY-SAFE (Protecting Liver From Alcohol Use In Youth Enhancing Societal and Familial Awareness) in honour of World Liver Day, which is celebrated annually on 19 April and aims to increase public awareness of liver illnesses and their prevention.

The ILBS stated in a statement that the event included a series of speeches and an interactive panel discussion that underlined the significance of societal and familial awareness for battling alcohol-related liver disorders.

While citing a few real-life examples, Satyarthi, guest of honour at the event, emphasised the importance of compassion in dealing with the prevention and control of alcohol abuse in society.

He promised to provide his wholehearted support in this endeavour to tackle the abuse of alcohol and prevent its health and societal complications, the statement said.

The social activist invited all the participants present at the venue to take a pledge on increasing awareness regarding the ill effects of alcohol in youth (#Let Liver Live), it said.

Dr S K Sarin, Vice Chancellor, ILBS, in his introductory speech, emphasised the increasing burden of alcohol-related liver disease in India, especially among the younger age groups.

He voiced his concern over the increasing number of young citizens requiring liver transplants due to cirrhosis as a result of alcohol abuse.

Sarin stressed that per capita alcohol consumption in India had increased by 60 per cent in the last decade and of the total admissions in ILBS, 48 per cent are that of alcoholic liver disease.

Alcohol is now the commonest cause of liver cancer in Europe and without transplant mortality due to severe alcoholic hepatitis within 28 days is 40 per cent which is more than any cancer, he said.

The doctor emphasised that deaths due to ALD have tripled in the recent past and more so after COVID-19. The WHO has declared that a safe limit for consumption is zero alcohol and 59 per cent of harmful effects of alcohol are in young population, he said.

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Last weeks visit to India by Ukraines first deputy foreign minister Emine Dzhaparova had a clear agenda: nudge New Delhi gently away from its Russia tilt.

Dzhaparova called India a vishwaguru, echoing Prime Minister Narendra Modis chosen global branding. It didnt get her a meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar. India followed strict protocol. The meeting with Minister of State for External Affairs Meenakshi Lekhi was cordial but unproductive.

Ukraine wants India to invite President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to speak via video link at the G20 heads of government summit in Delhi in September. Dzhaparova carried a letter from Zelenskyy inviting Modi to visit Kyiv in an attempt to loosen Moscows grip on Delhi.

India has made it clear that neither is possible: there will be no video link for the G20 summit and no visit by Modi to Kyiv in the near future.

India is, however, treading carefully. It does not want to be bracketed with the Russia-China axis. At the same time, it is mindful that in the next few months, as president of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), it will chair a heads of government summit with Russia, China and key central Asian countries.

India is also part of the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral. Though the RIC is not a particularly active forum, it is still a regional grouping that delivers geopolitical advantages to India.

Dzhaparovias speech at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) made it clear what Ukraine wants from India and how Kyiv views the new world order being shaped by the Russia-Ukraine war: Being with Russia is being on the wrong side of history Supporting Russia and being with Russia means backing a medieval vision of the world. The suggestion that I brought here is to have a better and deeper relationship with India. And it needs reciprocity. We knocked on the door but it is also up to the owner of the house to open the door.

Looking ahead

India has a busy diplomatic season over the next few months. In May, G20 delegates will visit Jammu and Kashmir. China and Pakistan have objected vehemently. Both protests have been ignored. Jammu and Kashmir will showcase the all-round development since the revocation of Article 370: tourism, investment, infrastructure and security.

In July, a state visit by Modi to Washington is likely. With Modi and US President Joe Biden both facing re-election in 2024, the visit will have clear political undertones. Modi is keen to ensure that the G20 heads of government summit in New Delhi in September goes as per script.

What is that script? First, to make sure that the Russia-Ukraine war does not hijack the summit. That is why Zelenskyys plea in his letter to Modi seeking to speak at the summit by video link is a non-starter.

Second, India wants the presidents of China, Russia and the United States to be in the same room at the summit. That did not happen at last years G20 summit in Indonesia. Vladimir Putin didnt show up.

The big three have more or less confirmed their participation in the G20 summit in Delhi. It will be the first time since the Russia-Ukraine war began on 24 February 2022 that the leaders of the US, Russia and China will come face to face.

The third element in the script is Indias determination to ensure that the G20 heads of government communique does not get entangled in politics over the Russia-Ukraine conflict. New Delhi wants a clean communique focusing on key global issues ranging from climate change (and climate justice), economic cooperation, lowering trade barriers and using technology to catalyse global growth.

The two G20 meetings of finance ministers and foreign ministers held earlier this year in India fell prey to big power politics, resulting in no communiques, just the chairs statement.

An impotent anger

The West is quietly furious at Indias neutral stand on the Russia-Ukraine war. Feeding the anger is its helplessness to do much about it. Washington has decided that India is an indispensable counterweight to China. Indias neutrality on Ukraine is a price the US is prepared to pay.

Europe is much less prepared to be charitable. It does not regard China as the existential threat the US does. As French President Emmanuel Macron said after his three-day visit to Beijing last week: Being an ally (of the US) does not mean being a vassal doesnt mean that we dont have the right to think for ourselves.

Macron wants Europe to be a pivot in the axis between the US and China. It does nearly $1 trillion in trade with China. Unlike the US, it has no direct military rivalry with Beijing. Even on Taiwan, Europe has taken a softer stance on a possible Chinese invasion.

As Macron said, Paris supports the One China policy and the search for a peaceful resolution to the situation.

Till Russias invasion of Ukraine, there had been no land war in Europe since 1945. The Balkan conflict of the 1990s was largely aerial. Russias invasion of Ukraine which has already cost, on a conservative estimate, over 50,000 lives, has shocked European leaders.

China, after years of harsh Covid-19 lockdowns and attacks on leading Chinese companies, has meanwhile embarked on a global charm offensive. It has moderated its wolf diplomacy as it seeks to project hard and soft power in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.

A series of European leaders have visited Beijing over the past two months. They ignore Chinas no limits friendship with Russia even as they bristle at Indias trade and defence ties with Moscow. India has used these double standards to ward off allegations that its neutrality over the Russia-Ukraine war will hurt its economic interests.

By 2026, Indias GDP is set to overtake Germanys GDP to become the worlds fourth-largest economy. A pragmatic, transactional Washington has recognised that the national interests of rising India must be respected.

Europe, an older continent, is slower to recognise reality. It will take a little longer to fall in line with a world order it no longer leads.

The writer is an editor, author and publisher. Views expressed are personal.

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Provisional data from Indias Ministry of Commerce indicated Tuesday that the United States has retained its position as Indias largest trading partner. This is significant. Given the current fluidity in geopolitical climate and the crises in food, fertilizer, energy, and financial markets thrust on the world by interstate conflicts in Europe, predictability in India-US ties across all domains may address critical vulnerabilities, including in supply chains.

Close on the heels of Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharamans recent visit to Washington where she advocated building strong foundations for a strong, peaceful and harmonious global community through closer India-US ties and foresaw the relationship growing from strength to strength, it has emerged that two-way trade between India and the US is up by 7.65 per cent to $128.55 in 2022-23 against $119.5 billion in 2021-22  the year America displaced China as Indias top trading partner.

The economic partnership between India and the US is now beginning to mirror the trajectory in defence, security, and strategic domains where the relationship has matured and the alignment deeper amid rapid converging of interests.

Already major defense partners, the US State Department in March this year named India as its global strategic partner, indicating New Delhis centrality to its Indo-Pacific strategy and its role as a democratic bulwark against China  the only country with both the intent to reshape the international order and, increasingly, the economic, diplomatic, military and technological power to advance that objective, as the Biden administrations National Security Strategy, released in 2022, points out.

In 2020-21, when China still maintained its run as Indias top trading partner, Indo-US trade stood at $80.51 billion. The next two fiscals saw a dramatic rise in bilateral trade through the entrenchment of trade mechanisms, diversification of arenas, reinvigoration of existing trade institutions such as the US-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF), increased private sector participation and focus on increasing supply chain resilience.

Washington has made explicit its plans for reducing supply chain vulnerabilities in critical fields by closer economic integration with trusted partners such as India through an approach it calls friendshoring. US treasury secretary Janet Yellen, who was in India last year, had explained that friendshoring approach involves partnering with developing countries to grow local industries and connect them to the global supply chain. For example, our development finance institution is providing Americas largest solar manufacturer with up to $500 million in debt financing to build a facility in Tamil Nadu in India. This facility will boost Indias solar manufacturing capacity.

Moreover, Indias attractiveness as a trade destination for global businesses  and particularly for American firms and investors who are searching for the next best place to make a fast buck given the slowdown in the West and policy unpredictability in China  has gone up substantially given surprisingly bright outlook of Indian economy despite a global gloom. The Bretton Woods Institutions have consistently been rating India as an exceptionally strong economy that is expected to buck the global trend as the lone bright spot.

The US is now not only Indias most important export market for merchandise, Washington is also among those rare trade destinations where India enjoys a surplus. Latest commerce ministry data says exports to the US rose by 2.81 per cent to $78.31 billion in 2022-23 as against $76.18 billion in 2021-22, while imports grew by about 16 per cent to $50.24 billion.

This is excellent news for India which exports far less than its competitors of similar size. If the Biden administration manages to persuade the US Congress to recommence the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) programme, from which India was removed in 2019 before the mechanism itself expired in 2020, thousands of Indian goods may get renewed duty-free access to the US market. Bilateral trade may take off further if some of the Indian market access and protectionist issues, perennial complaint areas of American businesses, are negotiated in lieu of the removal of Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminium that were implemented by the Trump administration.

Amid the positive signs, however, the worry remains about a widening trade deficit with China. While Indias two-way trade with China declined 1.5 per cent $113.83 billion against $115.42 billion in 2021-22, Indias exports took a further hit by about 28 per cent to $15.32 billion in 2022-23, whereas imports from China rose by 4.16 per cent to $98.51 billion in the last fiscal, widening the trade chasm to a staggering $83.2 billion in the last fiscal. This is a direct incentive and fuel for the Chinese war machine.

Unless this endemic issue is addressed, which is intrinsically linked with Indias attempts to become a global manufacturing hub, New Delhis goal of achieving an export target of $2 trillion by 2030 will remain unfulfilled by a long shot.

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Before the war you could eat whatever you wanted, anything, now its one bite, said a nine-year-old boy to The Guardian, the boy belonged to the village Aunqba, somewhere in the central highlands of Yemen. Years have passed since the statement, however, the solution remained doomed.

However, recently, the boy might have got a reason to redream his lost paradise, as a distinct light of peace and tranquillity is visible in Yemen.

On Friday, 14 April 2023, peace negotiations bore the heaviest fruit hitherto, as the Saudi-led coalition and Houthi rebels, two most prominent conflictual factions of the eight-year-long civil war, swapped around 900 prisoners, with Houthi chief negotiator Mohammed Abdulsalam tweeting that talks had been serious and positive.

The conflict began in late 2014 primarily between the Rashad al-Alimi-led Yemeni government and the Houthi armed movement, along with their supporters and allies. Houthis captured the capital city of Sanaa and by 25 March, 2015, Lahij fell to them and the rebels reached the doors of Aden, seat of power for president Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. This led Hadi to flee and Saudi Arabia to launch military operations to re-establish recognised Yemeni government.

Since then, the world has seen the biggest humanitarian crisis perhaps in the entire history of mankind, with the United Nations Population Fund stating, A staggering 21.6 million people require some form of humanitarian assistance as 80 per cent of the country struggles to put food on the table and access basic services.

But, 2023, became a year of hope for the war-torn nation, with parties ostensibly depicting a serious urge to resolve the conflict. The valuable mediation is being provided by Oman, which enjoys the goodwill of friends-of-all foreign policy that it has followed since Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said ascended the throne.

Once ridiculing Muscat for not joining this ominous conflict, Riyadh seems to have finally realised where lies the sense.

Since the beginning  Oman has been the voice of reason, saying early on that military intervention wasnt the answer in Yemen but rather peaceful diplomatic political talks Eight years on, Oman is demonstrating that it has always been right, Afrah Nasser, a non-resident fellow at Arab Center Washington DC, told Al Jazeera.

Further, a China-brokered detente between two warring bloc heads of the Middle East  Saudi Arabia and Iran  might have also given a fresh breath to the emerging sentiments of probable coexistence among the Sunni and Shia poles of Islamic civilisation. Even though nowhere Iran has directly involved itself in the aforesaid conflict, its proximity to Houthis is a known fact.

But what dynamics have changed? Why a sudden hurry is overt for the resolution of a conflict which was considered an unrelenting stalemate in a proxy war between two arch-rivals?

As attributed to Abbas (A.S.) on the battleground of Karbala  ye kham khyali hai ki dariya hai tumhara, dariyaa hai humra, (It is a false belief that you own the river, these waters are ours)- Saudi seeks to reply to the US in the very same way.

The US-Saudi partnership is falling apart, as the alliance that was prima facie based on security and oil seems to be fading away. Clearly, the Biden government can hardly be a reliable security guarantor, particularly to Mohammed bin Salman-led Saudi monarchy.

Further, as the emphasis on the renewables-fueled global economy is being laid, it decreases the relevance of oil fields for every player, for Trans-Atlantic people and for Middle Asians as well.

In this case, Saudis have realised that the best option is to make a face-saving escape from Yemen and focus on creating an economy that is diverse and safe enough to attract future investments that goes beyond crude oil.

On the other side of the Gulf, Persia (Iran), is facing the tag of rogue state and isolation. It is very much expected that it will seek to break American shackles and opt for alternatives to boost up its economy and increase its geopolitical clout, in a region traditionally dominated by a hostile superpower at least an ocean away.

Houthis for their part has also realised that negotiations are rational settlement to end the conflict that has caused them enough fatigue and sizable casualties.

This led Mohamed Ali al-Houthi, member of the Supreme Political Council and former head of Yemens Houthi Supreme Revolutionary Committee, to say, If we were not looking for full control during the war, then we will not look for full control at any other time, in an interview with CNN. Frankly implying that Houthis are open to a power-sharing agreement with other Yemeni factions involved in the dispute.

Oman on its part wants to project itself as an important regional player and boost its standing in the Arabian peninsula. Further, peace in the backyard has always opened up better bargains for any economy. Above all, it may allow Muscat to become the Switzerland of Arab, both in terms of investments and neutrality.

But what about the boy of Aunqba, would he have a plate full of his choicest dishes back?

Beyond the airstrikes and deadly violence, Yemenis face structural violence  violence where social institutions themselves permit systematic violence resulting in the exploitation of the community as a whole or a section of it. Corruption, internal-strifes and several militias fighting for power have worsened the situation. Rival sections in basic institutions of polity and economy have resulted in two different central banks and separately managed currencies. Further, the issue of compensation which involves the rebuilding ofthe economy and payment of public servants remains inconclusive.

In this dim light dawn, rushing hurriedly may result in a gruesome fall. As Shams-i Tabrizi, the spiritual instructor to the 13th-century Islamic poet Rumi, remarked, Patience does not mean to passively endure. It means to be farsighted enough to trust the end result of a process. Parties involved must deliberate elaborately on a whole spectrum of issues before them and must reach a conclusive, broad-based, inclusive, and people-centric solution to power sharing and economic reconstruction.

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There are three kinds of people in the West. The first belongs to a group that doesnt understand India. Then there are people who dont want to understand this country and its people. And the third group, a minuscule one, looks up at India with hope and empathy. Unfortunately, its the first two groups that invariably set the tone for India in the West. This was evident last week in the manner in which the Western media headlined and covered the killing of a dreaded Uttar Pradesh gangster and his brother. Atiq Ahmed: Former Indian MP and brother shot dead live on TV, screamed the BBC headline. Others followed the suit.

Yes, Atiq was a former Member of Parliament, but then this lawmaker was actually the sum total of his law-breaker image. Milan Vaishnav begins his 2017 book, When Crime Pays: Money and Muscle in Indian Politics, with a July 2008 exploit of Atiq Ahmed, who was then lodged in a jail, to bail out the then UPA government staring at a no-confidence vote over the India-US civil nuclear deal. Forty-eight hours before the vote and with little fanfare, the government furloughed six of the nations most prominent suspected lawbreakers  collectively facing over 100 cases of kidnapping, murder, extortion, arson and more  so that they could fulfill their constitutional duties as lawmakers.

If one thought that the BBC highlighting Atiqs lawmaker part at the expense of his lawbreaker image was an act of ignorance, then this notion needs urgent revisiting. For, the BBC soon came up with another report, this time by its Women and Social Affairs Editor, which got the headline right by calling him an Indian mafia don-turned-politician but the content of the article was even more skewed than the first one. The report projected Atiq as Robin-Hood and a Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde type of character who would help the poor, provide them with school fees, assist them during family weddings, and also give them money during Eid. But this persona, the BBC Editor emphasised, unravelled with mounting accusations of heinous crimes.

Interestingly, while the BBC used the term accusations while listing out Atiqs heinous crimes, thus putting in an air of ambiguity in the matter, no such operative words were used while mentioning his social works.

This BBC-style of reporting has become a template for other foreign media houses. Al Jazeera, for instance, while maintaining a BBC-like tone and tenor on the Prayagraj killings  even the headlines were similar (Ex-MP Atiq Ahmed, brother shot dead on live TV in India)  added communal colours to the entire episode. It reported that the three suspects quickly surrendered to the police after the shooting with at least one of them chanting Jai Shri Ram, or Hail Lord Ram, a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists in their campaign against Muslims. In the following lines, Al Jazeera again reminded the readers that the two victims were from Indias Muslim minority. And police did not say whether they were investigating a possible sectarian motive in the killings.

Other foreign newspapers  from The Guardian and the Daily Telegraph to The Washington Post  almost took the same twisted line, turning the murder of a dreaded gangster into the dastardly killing of a lawmaker, thus putting a question mark on the democratic credentials of the country. The New York Times, for instance, used the opportunity to project Indias Slide Towards Extrajudicial Violence. Its in a way fascinating to see all these newspapers, from different countries with contrasting worldviews, having a common stand on a killing in faraway Uttar Pradesh.

While the Western media tends to use such incidents to project Indian democracy in a bad light, the fact of the matter is these are the isolated cases of law and order violations, just the same way the US is facing the epidemic of gun violence. In just four months of 2023, there have been at least 160 mass shootings across the US, leading to the death of 11,523 people (as of 10 April), which on an average means about 115 deaths per day. Do we ever question Americas democratic credentials based on these shootings?

Just as the American democracy remains unscathed and unblemished by the gun culture in the US, the Indian democracy today remains as strong as ever. The Western medias attempt to turn an isolated case of law and order violations into the question of Indias democratic degeneration is as malicious an act as the USCIRF-like institutions invariably clubbing democratic India with communist China, Islamist Pakistan, autocratic North Korea, fundamentalist Saudi Arabia, and terror-infested Syria and Afghanistan. The Wests doublespeak on democracy becomes obvious when one finds all sorts of anti-India forces, from Khalistanis to Islamists, finding refuge in Western capitals!

Vaishnav is spot on when he writes, India has sustained a nearly uninterrupted commitment to democratic governance for nearly seven decades. Given the odds the fledgling democracy faced at the time of Independence, its survival is no minor accomplishment. In terms of longevity, it is one no other developing country can boast, a distinction made even more admirable when Indias low level of per capita income is taken into account. He then makes a distinction between the flourishing Indian democracy and its administrative ineffectiveness. Indias central weakness has been the quality of its state. The mixed capacity of the state to fulfill its most basic functions has meant that the rule of law which exists in practice is at odds with what its Constitution aspires to establish. Democratic accountability has survived largely intact but its form has been disfigured by a high degree of administrative ineffectiveness, he adds.

Its reasonable to say that while the Indian democracy has excelled, the Indian administration needs urgent reform. But before being overly critical of the Indian state, one must look at the giant stride it has taken in the last seven decades. At the time of Independence, India adopted universal suffrage. This despite the fact that the country had just faced the brunt of Partition, was economically impoverished, and was marred by massive illiteracy, with nine out of 10 Indians not even educated enough to read and write. The US, in contrast, took almost seven decades to let non-propertied White men vote in elections. For the same voting rights, the women had to wait till the end of World War I, and the Native Americans and African-Americans till the 1950s and the 1960s respectively.

Indias tryst with democracy, despite all its glitches, criminalisation of politics, et al, should be celebrated, rather than bemoaned. In his book, India: A Million Mutinies Now (1990), VS Naipaul sums up Indias journey beautifully. While conceding how he misunderstood this country when he first arrived here in the early 1960s, calling it an area of darkness, with no salvation in sight, he writes, What I hadnt understood in 1962, or had taken too much for granted, was the extent to which India had been restored to itself, after its own equivalent of the Dark Ages Two decades later, when Naipaul revisited India, he was much more forgiving and understanding. India was amidst a million mutinies then, but he saw these group excess, sectarian excess, religious excess, regional excess as part of the beginning of a new way for many millions, part of Indias growth, part of its restoration.

The West needs a similar Naipaulian transformation and change of outlook. This wont be good just for India and the West, but also world democracy, especially when it is well and truly threatened by Chinas hegemonistic designs. The big question, however, is: Will the West, including its media, change? Given the fact that of the three types of people in action in the West, the most powerful and influential seem to be those who dont want to understand India, the path to change wont be that easy. The Atiq Ahmed murder case is a reminder to that.

The author is Opinion Editor, Firstpost and News18. He tweets from @Utpal_Kumar1. Views expressed are personal.

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Kathmandu: Officials in Nepal on Wednesday confirmed that Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel will be flown to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in an air ambulance after he was detected with a lung infection.

The President would be flown to AIIMS for further treatment on Wednesday following no improvement in his health, an official from the Presidents Secretariat told ANI.

Paudel was admitted to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH) on Tuesday after falling short of breath and fainting.

Earlier, the Chief Administrator of the hospital had confirmed that he might be flown to India in an air ambulance.

He might be flown to India today in an air ambulance, Thapaliya had told ANI over the phone.

He is prepared to be flown out at 9:30 am (Local Time), informed TUTH hospital officials.

The President had reached the government hospital on Monday for a check-up, following which he was admitted to the hospital.

On Monday, doctors found an infection in his lungs. Following this, he was put on medicines which apparently failed to make a significant improvement in his health.

Paudel also underwent treatment for four days at the same hospital after being admitted on 5 April this year. As per the hospitals release issued earlier, Paudel, who is the third President of the Republic of Nepal, was admitted after he complained about a stomach ache.

On 13 March, 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 Nepals Election Commission.

Further, according to the 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.

Eight parties supported Paudel while Subash Chandra Nembang, the sole candidate from CPN-UML, was tipped to be backed by independent lawmakers.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: Apple CEO Tim Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday ahead of the opening of Apples second store in India in Delhi, highlighting that the business supports his vision of positive impact technology and is dedicated to investing throughout the nation.

Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country, Tim Cook posted on Twitter after meeting PM Modi.

Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country. pic.twitter.com/xRSjc7u5Ip  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023

In reply to the tweet by the Apple CEO, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India."

Before meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Apple CEO Tim Cook had a meeting with Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. https://t.co/hetLIjEQEU  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2023

Tim Cook will greet consumers at the store's opening in Saket's Select City Mall on Thursday, which will be similar to the celebration of Apple's first India store in Mumbai.

Tim Cook officially opened Apple's first retail outlet in India on Tuesday at Mumbai's Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC). The Apple Store opened in Jio World Drive at Bandra Kurla Complex is larger than the Saket location.

The opening of the Apple store in Mumbai was characterised by long lines of enthusiasts outside the BKC location, and similar enthusiasm is anticipated among the tech giant's devotees in Delhi.

An Apple store is intended to serve as a one-stop shop for the purchase of goods, services, and accessories with the goal of giving customers an exceptional experience.

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At least seven Palestinians were injured in an Israeli army operation in West Bank, the Palestinian health ministry said on Tuesday, hours after two Israeli men were injured by gunfire near a Jewish site in east Jerusalem.

The shooting comes amid a period of deadly attacks and military raids across the West Bank, along with killings in Israel.

The Palestinian ministry reported six people with minor injuries from live fire had gone to Jenin governmental hospital, while another person shot had been admitted to a nearby hospital following the raid in the northern West Bank city.

A statement from the Israeli military confirmed that an operation was underway in the Jenin refugee camp, without giving further details.

Earlier Tuesday, Israeli authorities said a suspected Palestinian gunman had wounded two Israeli men in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood of east Jerusalem after firing at their car.

Police officers are at the scene conducting searches for the suspect who fled, the police said in a statement.

Israeli security forces closed off streets in the neighbourhood, where an AFP journalist saw officers entering a Palestinian home, with a drone and helicopter as well as police dogs aiding the search.

Officers enforcing the shutdown prevented cars and people from moving in the centre of the neighbourhood, as heavily armed forces combed the area.

Police announced they had found the perpetrators gun near the scene of the attack, which took place near the tomb of Simeon the Just  Shimon Hatzadik in Hebrew  a site frequented by religious Jews.

The weapon was identified as a Carlo makeshift submachine gun, which Palestinians manufacture in the West Bank.

Hadassah Hospital said they received a 48-year-old gunshot victim lightly wounded, and Shaare Zedek medical centre said it was treating a man in his 50s in moderate condition.

Rising deaths

The search was punctuated by the 10:00 am (0700 GMT) two-minute siren marking Israels Holocaust Remembrance Day, honouring more than six million Jews killed by the Nazis during World War II.

Later in the morning, most of the security forces had left Sheikh Jarrah, with roads reopened and traffic flowing as normal, according to AFP.

Sheikh Jarrah was the focal point of protests against the eviction of Palestinian residents by Israeli settler organisations in the build-up to and during the May 2021 war between Israel and Gaza militants.

It is also the site of a weekly Israeli demonstration against the occupation of the Palestinian territories.

The attack took place a day after a Palestinian woman stabbed and moderately wounded an Israeli man at the Gush Etzion junction in the southern West Bank.

The woman was shot by security forces and taken to hospital in moderate condition.

The conflict has this year claimed the lives of at least 96 Palestinians, 19 Israelis, one Ukrainian and one Italian, according to an AFP count based on Israeli and Palestinian official sources.

With inputs from AFP

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Brasilia, Brazil: Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, president of Brazil, came under fire for parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda, but he made it clear on Tuesday that he disapproved of Russias violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

The White House criticised Lulas comments on Monday that Kyiv was also to blame for the violence and that Washington was encouraging the war in Ukraine during a recent trip to China.

Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, while Ukraine also expressed anger at the comments.

Lula met in Brasilia on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is visiting several Latin American nations during the week.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian president insisted that while his government condemns the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine it also defends a negotiated political solution to the conflict.

Lula was speaking during a lunch in honour of visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Lulas main foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim on Tuesday described criticism of his boss as absurd.

We have several points of convergence (with Russia), but at various times Brazil condemned the invasion of Ukraine, he said.

Brazil has not joined Western nations in imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion and has refused requests to supply ammunition to Ukraine.

Lavrov on Monday said Russia was grateful to our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation. We are grateful for their desire to contribute to finding ways of settling this situation.

Lula has proposed creating a group of countries to mediate in the war.

Lavrov was in Venezuela on Tuesday, and would also visit Cuba and Nicaragua  all countries whose leftist governments are under US sanctions and at loggerheads with Washington.

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Krakow: A British man died in Poland after he was served 22 shots in a span of one and a half hours at a shady strip club. According to authorities, the victim, identified, only as Marc C due to local privacy laws, was on a night out in Krakow with a friend. The 36-year-old visited a club called Wild Nights where the shocking incident happened.

As per a report in Metro.co.uk, Mark was already drunk and must have gone into the club, lured by the prospect of free drinks. He apparently tried to refuse the drinks being offered to him by members of the club but was still forced into having 22 potent shots before he collapsed and subsequently, died.

The report quoted Polands National Prosecutors Office as saying that Mark C, who was a tourist in the country, had a blood alcohol content of at least 0.4 per cent, which is considered lethal.

Moreover, Mark was robbed of 2,200 zoty  equivalent of $522 in cash  while he was unconscious and probably dying.

The incident reportedly happened in 2017, but it is only now that the Police has charged 58 people as being part of an organised crime group, in connection with the death of the tourist.

A report in NDTV also states that over 700 criminal charges were found against the group as authorities conducted a raid on a number of nightclubs.

As per a statement by the police, one of the leads investigated by cops was that of a victim who was driven to a state of intoxication, which ultimately led to his death by acute alcohol poisoning. The man was not even given medical assistance during the incident.

According to the Polish Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP), the clubs ran a racket where they would get customers drunk before stealing their money. The investigation in the case is still underway.

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Hong Kong/London: Dealmakers at Credit Suisse Group AG are failing to allay concerns about a cultural clash and many will be disappointed, according to individuals familiar with the negotiations. They are seeking to secure employment after UBS Group AGs rescue acquisition.

In order to move rapidly on possible new employment after the merger is done, UBS bankers have recently started meeting with their Credit Suisse colleagues in the worlds largest financial cities, according to four individuals with knowledge of the negotiations.

After initial negotiations that one person described as brutal, only a very limited number of Credit Suisse senior bankers who have solid customer ties would be kept, said one of the sources.

Once the transaction is done, formal interviews will happen, according to two sources.

UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

Culture clash

Credit Suisse in recent years took part in deals that UBS perceived to be riskier, illustrative of a culture and a way of handling business that could clash with UBSs, one source said.

Whats more, UBS doesnt tend to lend to potential clients as Credit Suisse has often done, a move that can persuade some customers. That could make it harder for bankers to be as successful if they move across to UBS, two of the sources said.

Since announcing the state-sponsored rescue of its beleaguered smaller peer last month, UBS has said it plans to scale back Credit Suisses investment bank.

There are clearly parts of Credit Suisse that have had a bad culture, UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher told reporters on March 29. Primarily, that was focused on the investment bankWe need to put everybody through a culture filter to make sure we dont import something into the eco system that causes issues.

The Swiss state is providing UBS with a 9 billion Swiss franc guarantee on potential losses from winding down the investment banking business. The trading operations will be managed in a separate non-core division, Kelleher has said.

As part of the merger, UBS is also considering letting go its own underperforming bankers to free up budget to hire top performers from Credit Suisse, one of the people said.

Speaking with analysts on March 19, UBS executives said they expect the deal to bring $8 billion in cost reductions by 2027, $6 billion of which would come from cutting the number of full time employees across the firms operations.

U.S. presence

UBS and Credit Suisse, neighbours in their hometown of Zurich, for decades have competed head-to-head for mergers and initial public offerings across the world.

Credit Suisse employs about 17,000 across its investment banking and trading operations, according to recent media reports, while UBS has fewer employees, one of the sources said. The banks dont publish the numbers.

UBS ranked 14th advising on mergers globally last year, behind 11th placed Credit Suisse, according to data compiled by Dealogic. In underwriting share sales, Credit Suisse also ranked ahead of UBS, at no. 10 while UBS ranked 19th, the data shows.

Yet in the U.S., where UBS has been lagging Wall Street peers, bringing in Credit Suisse bankers could provide an opportunity to quickly bolster its presence, according to one of the sources.

Credit Suisse grew its Wall Street business with the First Boston merger in 1988, creating CS First Boston. The Swiss bank doubled down on the U.S. in 2000 when it bought Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Credit Suisse was planning to revive the First Boston brand by spinning off the investment banking operations into a standalone business with veteran banker Michael Klein at the helm. It had agreed to buy the investment banking business of M. Klein & Company LLC, for $175 million.

Since the merger was announced, UBS has examined how to void the contract with Klein in the cheapest way possible, reports say.

That would give UBS the opportunity to pick the bankers it wants to keep.

UBS has been racing to complete the takeover by as soon as the end of April.

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Canberra: About 11 Indonesian fishermen were rescued by Australia from a desert island off the northwest Australian coast after their vessel shipwrecked during a powerful tropical cyclone, stranding them there for six days without food and water.

Eight fishermen are still missing, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.

The survivors were rescued on Monday night from Bedwell Island, about 313 km (195 miles) west off the coast of the town of Broome in Western Australia state.

The survivors were spotted Monday by the Australian Border Force, which patrols Australias northern approaches for smuggling and other illegal activity, from a plane on a routine surveillance mission. A Broome-based rescue helicopter was deployed and winched all 11 aboard in failing light.

Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation, said the rescue helicopter crew had been unable to land on the sand.

They had to conduct winch recoveries which, in itself, is a challenging task, Watt said. The time of day meant that nightfall was upon the crew during the rescue, so they had to transition to using night vision goggles.

The survivors were taken to Broome Hospital where Border Force said in a statement they were reported to be in good health despite their ordeal.

This incident highlights the dangers of undertaking journeys in small boats unsuited to rough seas and adverse weather events, both of which are common in Australias northern waters, the statement said.

The survivors have been flown from Broome to the northern city of Darwin, from where they will be flown back to Indonesia, the statement said.

Indonesias consulate in Darwin requested to meet the fishermen and provide them with assistance, Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The consulate would facilitate their repatriation, the statement said, thanking Australian agencies for their help.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which manages searches and rescues in Australian waters, did not immediately respond when asked Wednesday if there was a search for other potential survivors.

Bedwell Island is part of the Rowley Shoals, a group of three coral reefs.

The missing Indonesian fishermen are expected to be the only fatalities from Ilsa, which was a maximum Category 5 cyclone when it crossed the Pilbara region coast of Western Australia state southwest of Broome.

A gust of 289 kph (180 mph) recorded on an island off the Pilbara coast was the fastest ever recorded by Australias weather bureau equipment in the country. While the reading remains preliminary and requires further analysis, the bureau said Tuesday it beats the previous record of 267 kph (166 mph) set by Cyclone Vance on the Pilbara coast in 1999.

With inputs from agencies.

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Washington: A federal watchdog is looking into allegations that the US Drug Enforcement Administration under chief Anne Milgram, inappropriately gave millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to recruit her former allies, according to sources familiar with the investigation.

One of the contract expenditures that the Office of Inspector General of the Justice Department is looking into is $4.7 million for strategic planning and communication to hire people Milgram knew from her time as the attorney general of New Jersey and as a law professor at New York University  at costs far higher than pay for government officials.

At least a dozen people have been hired under such contracts, including some in Milgrams inner circle handling intelligence, data analytics, community outreach and public relations  work often requiring security clearances and traditionally done by DEAs own 9,000-person workforce.

Also under scrutiny is $1.4 million to a Washington law firm for a recent review of the DEAs scandal-plagued foreign operations that was widely criticized for giving short shrift to agent misconduct and how to prevent it. That review was co-authored by Boyd Johnson, former right-hand man to one of Milgrams closest friends, Preet Bharara when he was US Attorney in Manhattan. Bharara himself landed at the firm, WilmerHale, even as the review was being conducted.

Some of these deals look very swampy, said Scott Amey, general counsel of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, noting that federal contracting is not intended to bypass the government hiring process and should be conducted with no preferential treatment and avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Contractors are also prohibited from performing inherently governmental functions such as directing federal employees.

Contracts should never be awarded based on who you know, Amey said.

Widening Inquiry

Details of the widening inquiry, which began several months ago in response to employee complaints, came from several people interviewed by the Inspector Generals office who discussed the ongoing probe and provided contracting documents on the condition of anonymity. If misconduct is found, the Inspector General can recommend anything from administrative sanctions to criminal prosecution.

The probe comes as the DEA is struggling with repeated revelations of agent misconduct that have rocked the federal narcotics agency and a fentanyl crisis claiming more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year that Milgram has called the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced.

The DEA declined to make Milgram available for an interview or to discuss the investigation and specific contracts, instead releasing a statement.

DEA has acted with urgency to set a new vision, target the global criminal networks responsible for hundreds of thousands of American deaths, raise public awareness about how just one pill can kill, and promote and recruit hundreds of highly talented people, it said. These changes have been made through an extensive and multi-part process, and we are committed to ensuring that DEA is working relentlessly to protect the national security, safety, and health of the American people.

Anthony Coley, a former Justice Department spokesman who has known Milgram for 15 years, said the investigation may stem from employees who arent happy with such organizational change and are seeking ways to push back or undermine it, even if the underlying allegations arent true.

But thats what inspectors general are for, he said, to call balls and strikes.

Mandate to clean house

With a tough New Jersey bravado and data-driven Moneyball approach to the war on drugs, the 52-year-old Milgram came to the DEA nearly two years ago with a mandate to clean house.

But the Biden appointee quickly ruffled feathers by pushing out several career DEA officials she viewed as part of a cliquish culture that allowed misconduct to flourish. Instead, she favoured the counsel of newly installed attorneys and data crunchers who work with her in an isolated part of the 12th floor of DEA headquarters known as the bubble.

Milgram has also made a point to show zero tolerance for sexual misconduct and racism in the ranks, warning agents they may now be fired for certain first offences  a departure from previous administrations.

One of her first actions was ordering an external review of the DEAs sprawling foreign operations, which spans 69 countries. It came in the wake of the high-profile arrest of Jose Irizarry, a disgraced agent now serving a 12-year federal prison sentence after confessing to laundering money for Colombian drug cartels and skimming millions from asset seizures and informants to fund an international joyride of fine dining, parties and prostitutes.

Stunningly vague

But those selected to carry out the review raised eyebrows. One, John Jack Lawn, is a DEA legend but the 87-year-olds insights date from his tenure leading the agency in the 1980s. After leaving government, Lawn headed the Century Council, a beverage industry group, which funded research into campus alcohol abuse that was conducted by Milgrams mother, a Rutgers University expert in the field.

Lawns co-author, Boyd Johnson, worked as a prosecutor on international drug cases before becoming a partner at WilmerHale. Both Johnson and Milgram have close ties to Bharara, who after being fired as US attorney by President Donald Trump joined the NYU faculty alongside Milgram and together hosted the legal issues podcast Cafe Insider. Last year  as the foreign operations review was being conducted  Bharara joined WilmerHale. And this year, DEA hired away from firm Milgrams former NYU research assistant to become her deputy chief of staff.

Competitive bidding rules for the review were sidestepped by the DEAs argument of unusual and compelling urgency, saying the threat of illicit foreign drugs to the health and safety of the American public has never been greater.

But instead of the projected six months to get the review out, it took nearly three times that long.

Its a complete waste of taxpayers money, said Matthew Donahue, who led DEAs foreign operations until he butted heads with Milgram and was transferred to Colombia, a demotion that prompted him to retire.

Donahue said he and several other DEA overseas veterans were never interviewed as part of the review, which scarcely mentioned Irizarry or other scandals, and borrowed heavily from publicly available audits and DEA operating manuals.

Its something that couldve been written in three days, he said.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a longtime voice against government waste and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ripped WilmerHales review as stunningly vague and recently sent Johnson a letter requesting a range of records, background on his relationship with Milgram and asking whether she or anyone else at DEA requested edits of the report.

Though DEA originally billed this report as a comprehensive review of DEAs foreign operations strategy, the report glosses over or ignores serious shortcomings at the agency and spends much of its 49 pages quoting from publicly available documents that one could have pulled off a web site, Grassley wrote in the letter last week.

Neither Lawn, Johnson, Bharara nor WilmerHale responded to requests for comment.

New Jersey ties

Another no-bid contract under scrutiny went to Jose Cordero, a longtime New York City police official whose ties to Milgram go back to 2007 when as attorney general she named him New Jerseys first statewide director of gangs, guns and violent crime.

Together they overhauled the police department in Camden  then under state control due to soaring crime and corruption  by crunching crime stats and intelligence data in real-time to deploy resources as needed. The approach won national praise as the homicide rate in what was then the countrys most dangerous city was slashed by nearly half.

We have a lot of culture to change, Milgram said in a 2014 TED talk on applying statistics to crime fighting. But the great news about all of it is that we know it works.

Less than three weeks after taking the top job at DEA, Milgram awarded Cordero what has become a nearly $400,000 contract to conduct data analysis of crime stats.

But Donahue said Corderos expertise in urban policing has less value to the DEA, which processes a flood of intelligence from foreign and domestic wiretaps, as well as informants, to dismantle cross-border criminal networks.

Cordero didnt respond to requests for comment.

The Clearing

Several of the hires in question joined DEA through The Clearing, a Washington-based federal contractor that provides outsourced administrative services to the DEA and other federal agencies.

The Clearings $4.7 million in billings to the DEA for strategic planning and communication consulting services over the past two years have accounted for 30% of its federal contracts during that period, records show.

Among those from The Clearing under scrutiny is Lena Hackett, a former Democratic congressional staffer and founder of Community Solutions, an Indianapolis consulting firm focused on public health and criminal justice. Milgram described her as her main partner in a policing reform project she established in Indianapolis while teaching at NYU.

Internal records show Hackett regularly briefs field offices, prepares policy statements and memos for Milgram and meets with families affected by the fentanyl crisis. For her services, the DEA budgeted $257 an hour  more than triple the hourly rate earned by the agencys top civil servants, including the head of community outreach.

Another brought in through The Clearing is Julia Pacetti, a New York City publicist who has led media campaigns for prominent public figures and authors.

According to documents, Pacettis firm JMP/Verdant collected $11,500 a month plus expenses to write news releases, handle interview requests and arrange news conferences work some DEA employees viewed as redundant given the agencys existing staff of public relations employees.

Several recent DEA news releases  including those announcing fentanyl busts as part of the agencys One Pill Can Kill enforcement surge  came not from the DEAs official email account but from Julia Pacetti-Verdant.

Neither The Clearing, Hackett nor Pacetti responded to requests for comment.

This looks terrible to taxpayers, said Don Fox, former acting director and general counsel of the Office of Government Ethics. The appearance is awful.

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New Delhi: The US has sensitive nuclear technology at a nuclear power plant inside Ukraine and is warning Russia not to touch it.

According to a letter, the US Department of Energy sent to Russias state-owned nuclear energy firm Rosatom, The director of the Energy Departments Office of Nonproliferation Policy, Andrea Ferkile, tells Rosatoms director general that the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar contains US-origin nuclear technical data that is export-controlled by the United States Government.

Meanwhile, the head of the U.N.s atomic energy watchdog crossed the front line in the war in Ukraine to visit Europes largest nuclear power plant in March and warned that it was easy to see evidence of intensified fighting in the area that poses a threat to the facilitys safety.

The increasing combat makes it urgent to find a way to prevent a potentially catastrophic nuclear accident at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, said Rafael Mariano Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

It is obvious that this area is facing perhaps a more dangerous phase, he said of the facility, which is in a partially Russian-occupied part of Ukraine. We have to step up our efforts to get to some agreement of the protection of the plant.

Grossi has struggled to agree with Russian and Ukrainian authorities on a deal to secure the plant, which has been hit several times during the Ukraine war. The site has also suffered several losses of external power needed to cool its six shut-down reactors, forcing it to rely on emergency back-up generators.

With inputs from agencies

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Khartoum: Around 270 people have died and more than 2,600 have been injured as a result of the turmoil in Sudan, reported CNN, citing authorities with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Sudans Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Centre.

Hours after an internationally mediated ceasefire was supposed to go into effect, fighting in Sudan resumed as soldiers loyal to opposing generals fought over vital locations in the city and accused one another of violating the ceasefire.

Loud gunfire could still be heard in the background of live feeds from several television news channels in the Khartoum capital region on Tuesday, minutes after the agreed-upon 6 pm (16:00 GMT) start of the truce, according to ANI.

Both the competing paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the regular army issued statements accusing each other of violating the ceasefire. The armys top leadership has stated that operations to secure the capital and other places will continue, according to Al Jazeera.

United Nations spokesman Stephane Dujarric at a news briefing in New York said, We have not received any indications here that theres been a halt in the fighting.

According to Al Jazeera, the conflict between Sudans military leader and his deputy on the ruling council erupted four days ago, derailing a plan for a civilian democracy that had received international support, four years after the overthrow of the previous government by widespread protests and two years after a military coup.

According to the UN, the fighting has caused a humanitarian disaster, including the near-complete collapse of the health system. The organisations Global Food Programme ceased operations when three of its employees were assassinated.

While speaking in Japan on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he had called the two rival leaders  army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo  and asked for a ceasefire to allow the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families and to provide them with relief.

Both parties told Al Jazeera they supported the agreed-upon ceasefire.

Colonel Khaled Al-Akida, an army spokesman said, We are keen to implement the truce and restore normal life in the city. But the RSF is a militia that does not respect anything.

Meanwhile, the RSF said that it will uphold its part of the truce agreement.

According to Musa Khaddam, adviser to the RSF commander, our forces deployed in various areas of Khartoum are committed to the truce.

Al-Burhan is the leader of a ruling council formed after the military takeover in 2021 and al-Bashirs departure in 2019, while Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, is his deputy on the ruling council.

After decades of authoritarianism and military control in Sudan, which is strategically placed between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia, and Africas volatile Sahel region, their power struggle has hindered plans for a transition to a civilian administration.

If the violence does not stop, it may draw regional actors who have previously supported various Sudanese factions.

A previous, more condensed truce set for Sunday was also largely ignored. Artillery barrages, combat aircraft raids, and street fighting have confined residents and visitors to their houses in Khartoum.

According to the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, providing humanitarian services in the capital is nearly impossible. According to Al Jazeera, it warned that Sudans health system could collapse.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: India is working closely with other nations to safeguard the safety and security of its citizens in violence-hit Sudan, reported PTI, citing government sources.

The current state of affairs in Sudan is extremely tense, making human mobility extremely dangerous. For the past six days, the country has witnessed brutal combat between the army and a paramilitary group.

Also Read: Fighting continues in Sudan as death toll mounts to 270, over 2,600 injured

According to the PTI report, the sources claimed that India prioritises peoples freedom of movement and health regardless of where they are.

They claimed that India is cooperating with the Quartet nationsthe US, the UK, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)because they play a significant role in Sudan. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already spoken with his Saudi and UAE counterparts. According to the sources, Jaishankar was guaranteed of their practical support on the ground by both foreign ministers, reported PTI.

India is coordinating closely with various countries to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals in Sudan. The Quartet countries of US, UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE have a key role and we are engaging them accordingly: Government sources  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023

India is also collaborating with the United Nations, which has a significant presence in Sudan. According to the sources, the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian embassy in Sudans capital Khartoum are constantly watching the situation in the African country.

Concerns of safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details, the source cited above said, reported PTI.

With inputs from agencies

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Washington: Indias Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu and Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy on Tuesday held discussions on further strengthening the India-US partnership.

Taking to Twitter, Sandhu said, Delighted to meet again with Speaker @SpeakerMcCarthy today at Capitol. Continued our fruitful discussions on further strengthening India-US partnership and other issues of mutual interest.

The Republican Speaker is the third in line of succession after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

Sandhu has been meeting influential Republican leaders for quite some time now, which according to his twitter timeline goes back to 21 November, when the Indian diplomat met McCarthy who then was the House Minority Leader.

In February this year, McCarthy sent his wishes to Sandhu during a reception hosted in his honour by an eminent Indian American couple in California.

In his message, McCarthy had then said that he looks forward to travelling to India as Speaker and wants to continue to strengthen the bonds between the two countries.

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Mexico City: In response to leaks in US media, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of eavesdropping on his administration and declared he would start classifying military data to safeguard national security.

His remarks came after the Washington Post, citing a US military briefing made public by internet leaks of classified US military information, reported on alleged tensions between Mexicos Navy and Army.

Were now going to safeguard information from the Navy and the Defense Ministry because were being a target of spying by the Pentagon, Lopez Obrador told his daily news conference.

A Pentagon spokesman said the US Department of Defense has a strong collaborative defence partnership with Mexicos Army and Navy, and that the entities tackle common challenges while respecting each others sovereignty and respective foreign policy agendas.

The Pentagon has previously called the leak a deliberate, criminal act.

The Washington Post story said there was no indication the cited document came from intercepted communications of Mexican officials.

Lopez Obrador has come under pressure to hold the military accountable for years of alleged abuses, including reported disappearances and killings. Even so, he has increased the armys role in public safety and sought to put the National Guard, a militarized police force, under Army control.

On Monday, Lopez Obrador had described the US intelligence in the leaks as an abusive, overbearing intrusion that should not be accepted under any circumstance, adding that he did not plan to rebuke the US, but would at some point discuss conditions for collaborative work.

When presented on Tuesday with new allegations of the use of controversial spyware Pegasus during his government, he reiterated that his administration does not spy.

Prominent Mexico-based rights group Centro Prodh on Tuesday said two of its staff had their phones targeted by Pegasus last year, according to an analysis by Toronto-based digital watchdog Citizen Lab, becoming the latest of several alleged cases of Pegasus used during Lopez Obradors government.

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Tallinn (Estonia): A court in Moscow on Wednesday dismissed a key Russian opposition leaders appeal of his eight-and-a-half-year prison term for criticism of Russias special military operation in Ukraine.

Ilya Yashin, was convicted in December for spreading false information about the Russian troops, which was made a criminal offense after President Vladimir Putin sent the military into Ukraine.

The charges against him stemmed from a series of online posts discussing atrocities in Bucha, a town outside Ukraines capital where dead civilians were found in the streets and a mass grave after Russian troops withdrew.

During his trial last year, Yashin argued that a livestreamed YouTube video in which he talked about Ukrainians being killed in Bucha cited official Russian sources along with Ukrainian statements to give his audience an objective view.

I will not renounce the truth behind bars, he said, emphasizing that he considered it his duty to tell the truth.

Yashin, one of the few Kremlin critics to have stayed in Russia after Putin launched the military action in Ukraine, participated by video link in Wednesdays Moscow City Court hearing on his ultimately unsuccessful appeal.

International human rights groups have denounced the sentence as a mockery of justice and called for Yashins immediate release.

Before his sentencing, Yashin addressed Putin directly, urging him to immediately stop this madness, recognize that the policy on Ukraine was wrong, pull back troops from its territory and switch to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict.

Asked at the time about the December 8 verdict, Putin replied that Yashins lawyers could appeal it.

The Kremlin has repeatedly used the law on discrediting the military to stifle dissent.

A Russian court on Monday convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. of treason for publicly denouncing Moscows war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison as part of the Kremlins relentless crackdown on critics of the invasion.

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Numerous notable incidents have occurred in the past, and many of them have left a huge impact on our world. Lets go back in time and remember some of such noteworthy events that happened on this day in the past. American actress Mae West was sentenced to a 10-day imprisonment on 19 April 1927. Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begun on this day in 1943 and lasted till 16 May. Indias first unmanned Earth satellite Aryabhata was launched on 19 April 1975. The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was nearly obliterated by a truck bomb on this day in 1995. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected as a successor of Pope John Paul II on 19 April 2005.

19 April: Historical events

1927  American actress Mae West was sentenced to a 10-day imprisonment

Mae West, an American actress, was sentenced to a 10-day imprisonment on 19 April 1927 after being convicted of obscenity and corrupting the morals of youth for her portrayal of a prostitute in the Broadway play called Sex. The play was written by herself and this incident garnered widespread publicity and brought her national recognition.

1943  Warsaw Ghetto Uprising begun and lasted till 16 May.

On this day in 1943, the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, a courageous act of resistance by Polish Jews during the Nazi occupation, commenced. It lasted for four weeks until 16 May when it was eventually suppressed.

1975  Indias first unmanned Earth satellite Aryabhata was launched

Indias inaugural satellite, the Aryabhata spacecraft, that was named after the renowned Indian astronomer, was entirely designed and manufactured within India. It was launched into orbit on this day in 1975, using a Soviet Kosmos-3M rocket from Kapustin Yar.

1995  The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was nearly obliterated by a truck bomb

The Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City was nearly obliterated by a truck bomb on 19 April 1995. This was considered to be the most devastating act of terrorism in US history at that time. The attack resulted in the tragic loss of 168 lives and left over 500 individuals injured.

2005  Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was elected as a successor of Pope John Paul II,

Following the death of Pope John Paul II approximately two weeks earlier, Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger was chosen as his successor and took on the name Benedict XVI on this day in 2005.

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Quetta (Pakistan): Six mobile phone towers owned by Pakistani and Chinese firms were allegedly set ablaze by the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLA) in Dasht tehsil of Kech district in the Balochistan province of Pakistan.

These mobile towers were reportedly located along the route of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) in Balochistan.

In Kech, Balochistans Dasht Kambel, Jan Muhammad Bazar, Print Bazar, and Zarin Bug neighbourhoods, the BLA also attacked mobile towers of the Chinese business Zong and the Pakistani company Ufone. In a statement, the Balochistan Liberation Front (BLA) asserted that all the equipment in the towers had been burned and destroyed.

According to media reports, similar attacks occurred on a second Ufone tower along the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) route in Dasht, Kech, and on the Zong Company towers in Sungai Bazaar, Kech, where all the machinery was destroyed.

To aid their spy network and the Pakistan Army, Pakistan and China are building a network of cell phone towers in several locations around Balochistan. The towers are also allegedly employed for the surveillance of the civilian population in Balochistan.

To secure the CPEC route, cell phone towers were erected. Several Baloch groups have claimed that the Pakistan administration is deceiving the locals in order to prolong its occupancy of the territory and plunder the people and their resources by promoting the CPEC projects as being essential to the development of the Baloch people and Balochistan.

Additionally, two years earlier, in June 2021, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) asserted that its men had seized six employees of a telecommunications company and set fire to their facilities in Margats Chokhobi Wadh neighbourhood of Quetta, Balochistan.

In addition, the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed that its soldiers had kidnapped six workers from a telecommunications business and set fire to their offices in Margats Chokhobi Wadh suburb of Quetta, Balochistan, two years earlier, in June 2021.

Various communications businesses in occupied Balochistan have allegedly received repeated warnings from the BLA not to facilitate the expansionist aspirations of the imperialist powers (Pakistan and China), according to the BLAs report from 2021.

China, in collaboration with Pakistan, set up a telecommunications network and has been using other telecom companies, including In order to spy on and track the movement of people in Balochistan, Hawaii and Subcon businesses (Netcom, Exeleron, ZTE) were involved.

An efficient project run under the Universal Service Fund is providing funding for each of these initiatives.

In the coastal city of Gwadar in Balochistan, where the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project has been threatened by Baloch freedom fighters, China has already partially carried out its economic and military ambitions against the will of the Baloch nation. As a result, China and Pakistan are constantly experimenting with new tactics for the genocide of the Baloch people.

(With agency inputs)

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At the direction of the Pakistani military, telecom providers are erecting mobile towers in remote, hilly regions of Balochistan. China and Pakistan communicate classified information about Baloch freedom fighters through these telecom businesses, aiding the Pakistan army in escalating its ongoing military aggression and kidnappings of Baloch youngsters in Balochistan.
New Delhi: Eight former members of the Indian Navy are currently being tried in Qatar on charges of spying on the covert project the oil-rich country had to acquire high-tech submarines produced in Italy that were difficult for enemies to detect.

Intelligence sources were quoted as saying by the media that the next hearing is planned for May and that legal action against the eight former Indian Navy officers had started on March 29.

Qatar will become the first Arab nation to deploy underwater vehicles when two submarines built by the Trieste-based shipbuilding company Fincantieri SpA are delivered in 2021. As part of a significant naval buildup, Qatar had also placed orders for four corvettes and a helicopter carrier.

Weve tried hard to convince our counterparts in Doha that India and its nationals were not involved in hostile intelligence operations against the emirate, an intelligence officer was quoted as saying by ThePrint.

But the Qataris are insisting that intelligence on their submarine programme was passed on to Israel, he added.

The officer further claimed that Qatar State Security, the countrys intelligence service, claimed to have intercepted electronic communications proving that the navy officers were spying on the submarine programme. He continued by saying that India has not received the alleged proof.

Along with fellow officers Navtej Singh Gill, Birendra Kumar Verma, Sugunakar Pakala, Sanjeev Gupta, Amit Nagpal, Saurab Vasisht, and Ragesh Gopakumar, former naval commander Purnendu Tiwari has been imprisoned since September of last year. Tiwari received the Pravasi Bharatiya Samman in 2019 for his services to India. The men were hired to assist the Qatar navy with its training needs.

According to public archives, at least one of the previous officers had experience with submarine projects. According to his LinkedIn page, Sugunakar served as the additional general manager in charge of submarine repairs at Hindustan Shipyard in Visakhapatnam from 2016 to 2018.

At the defence consulting firm Dahra Global Technologies & Consulting Services, Tiwari served as managing director. Following the arrests, Khamis al-Ajmi, the CEO of Dahra Global and a former member of the Omani air force, was temporarily imprisoned before being let go. According to sources, the company has started operations in Doha and has kept certain employees who are Indian citizens.

MEA reaction

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has stated that India has obtained consular access to the men in December of last year.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) had said in a statement earlier this month that the Indian government attaches high priority to the matter and remains engaged with the Qatari authorities regarding the case.

Lets seenow that the legal process is underway, well keep a close watch on that, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi had said, adding that the charges had not been placed in open court so far.

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London: Terming the media reports on overseas Chinese police stations in the country a great concern, Britain said on Wednesday that any intimidation on British soil of foreign nationals by China or other states was unacceptable and that it was investigating the matter.

Britains policing minister Chris Philp said on Wednesday that the government is determined to protect communities from transnational repression.

The latest reporting in the Times on the so-called overseas police stations are, of course, of great concern, Philp told lawmakers.

Investigations by the law enforcement community are ongoing, he added.

Philp also said the government was aware of about 100 such stations around the world.

Earlier on Monday, police in New York arrested two men for allegedly setting up a secret police station for a Chinese provincial police agency to collect information on opponents of the ruling Communist Party.

According to media reports, such offices have been reported across North America, Europe and other countries where Chinese communities include critics of the Communist Party who have family or business contacts in China.

However, China denied all accusations of an overseas police presence, saying Tuesday that the United States was making groundless accusations after U.S. law enforcement arrested two men in New York for establishing a secret police station.

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Moscow: A Russian-Ukrainian citizen suspected of planning to sabotage an energy infrastructure site in annexed Crimea has been detained, Russias FSB domestic security agency said on Wednesday, adding that he was in contact with a representative of Ukraines security services, who coordinated his criminal activities.

The FSB in the city of Kerch prevented the preparation of sabotage at a facility of the energy system of the peninsula annexed from Ukraine in 2014, it said in a statement.

A citizen of Russia and Ukraine, born in 1971, who was involved in the preparation of this crime, was detained, the statement added.

Russian lawmakers this week toughened penalties for terrorism and sabotage as Moscow pursues its military offensive against Ukraine.

According to the FSB, the suspect was being held for planning to commit sabotage and possession of explosives or explosive devices.

The charges carry a possible life sentence, the FSB said.

According to The Moscow Times, a video released by the FSB on Wednesday showed agents entering an apartment block, detaining the suspect and photographing items identified as explosives inside a backpack.

A recording from what the FSB said was the suspects smartphone showed a video tour of an industrial site narrated in the Ukrainian language. According to TASS, the voice belongs to the detained suspect.

FSB chief Alexander Bortnikov this month accused Ukraine and Western powers of inciting Russians to armed rebellion.

President Vladimir Putin also accused Western security services of being involved in terrorist attacks in Russia.

In early April, Russia detained a young woman after an explosion killed a top military blogger in Saint Petersburg, blaming Ukraine and the opposition.

With inputs from agencies

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Kyiv: Russia early Wednesday launched a drone attack on Ukraines southern port city of Odesa but Ukraines air defences destroyed most of the drones, authorities said, adding, there were no immediate reports of casualties.

In a statement on Telegram, Yuriy Kruk, head of the Odesa district military administration, said, At night, the enemy carried out an attack by UAVs of the Shahed-136 type on the Odesa region.

Kruk said some civilian infrastructure was hit but there were no casualties.

According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. Measures are being taken to contain the fire, units of the State Emergency Service and other structures are working on the spot.

The Shahed-136 is a small Iranian-made, self-detonating drone that can be programmed to fly automatically to a set of GPS coordinates with a payload of explosives.

Russias drone industry has been hit by international sanctions and a number have been shot down since the start of the war  prompting Moscow to import drones from Iran.

The Black Sea port of Odesa was a favourite holiday destination for many Ukrainians and Russians before President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year.

Since the start of the invasion, Odesa has been bombed several times by Russian forces. It was also hit by a drone attack two weeks ago that caused some damage.

In January, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO designated the historic centre of Odesa a World Heritage in Danger site.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: Center for Strategic and International Studies has come up with a report saying battlefield losses and Western sanctions have left the Russian military in a state of decline, but Moscow will still have enough firepower to extend the war in Ukraine.

Russia can dip into Cold War-era and older stocks on the front lines to make up in numbers what it may have lost in technology,  the report added.

According to a report in CNN, The quality of the Russian military in terms of advanced equipment will likely decline, at least over the near term.

Meanwhile, Russia early Wednesday launched a drone attack on Ukraines southern port city of Odesa but Ukraines air defences destroyed most of the drones, authorities said, adding, there were no immediate reports of casualties.

In a statement on Telegram, Yuriy Kruk, head of the Odesa district military administration, said, At night, the enemy carried out an attack by UAVs of the Shahed-136 type on the Odesa region.

Kruk said some civilian infrastructure was hit but there were no casualties.

According to preliminary information, there were no casualties. Measures are being taken to contain the fire, units of the State Emergency Service and other structures are working on the spot.

The Shahed-136 is a small Iranian-made, self-detonating drone that can be programmed to fly automatically to a set of GPS coordinates with a payload of explosives.

Russias drone industry has been hit by international sanctions and a number have been shot down since the start of the war  prompting Moscow to import drones from Iran.

The Black Sea port of Odesa was a favourite holiday destination for many Ukrainians and Russians before President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine in February last year.

Since the start of the invasion, Odesa has been bombed several times by Russian forces. It was also hit by a drone attack two weeks ago that caused some damage.

In January, the United Nations cultural agency UNESCO designated the historic centre of Odesa a World Heritage in Danger site.

With inputs from agencies

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Moscow: US, UK and Canadian ambassadors have been summoned by the Russias Foreign Ministry after they condemned the conviction of prominent Russian opposition politician Vladimir Kara-Murza.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova accused the ambassadors of attempting to pressure the judiciary. She further said diplomats who meddled in Russias affairs risked being expelled.

A report by news agency Interfax said the Russian Foreign Ministry accused the three ambassadors of crude interference in Russias internal affairs and activity incompatible with their diplomatic status.

Inappropriate and provocative

The US, UK and Canadian ambassadors had made a joint appearance before the TV cameras from outside the Moscow court on Monday to condemn the verdict against Kara-Murza and demanded his release.

UK ambassador Deborah Bronnert, on Monday, delivered her remarks in Russian so that the local television channels in Moscow could broadcast what she and her Canadian and the US counterparts wanted to convey.

The next day, Russian foreign ministry called Bronnerts remarks inappropriate and provocative and said they ran counter to the British embassys status and to diplomatic norms.

The fact that Kara-Murza had a British passport in addition to his Russian one meant nothing in the eyes of Russian law, the foreign ministry added.

Diplomats involved in subversive work will be expelled

Any actions of the US, Britain and Canada aimed at inciting discord and enmity in our society will be dealt with in the most decisive way and the diplomats involved in this subversive work will be expelled from Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

She further said that people she referred to as traitors who are applauded in the West will get what they deserve.

Who is Vladimir Kara-Murza?

A historian, journalist and political activist, Kara-Murza has alleged been persistently speaking out against Russian President Vladimir Putin despite the mounting risks.

He was a close associate of Boris Nemtsov, a leading opposition figure who was assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015.

Kara-Murza, 41, holds Russian and British passports. He had lobbied Western governments for sanctions which were later imposed on Russia following its invasion of Ukraine.

In 2015 as well as in 2017 Kara-Murza suddenly fell ill in what he said were poisonings by the Russian security services. Both the times, he fell into a coma before eventually recovering. Meanwhile, Russian authorities denied involvement in the incidents.

He was arrested in April 2022, moments after CNN broadcast an interview in which he said Russia was being run by a regime of murderers.

He was later declared a foreign agent and was also accused of spreading false information about Russias special military operation in Ukraine. In a speech he had given in the Arizona House of Representatives, he said Putin was dropping cluster bombs on residential areas, mothers homes, hospitals, and schools.

In July, last year, he was additionally charged over his involvement with two foreign-based opposition forums that are labelled by Russia as undesirable. On 6 October, 2022, he was charged with treason over public speeches he had made in Lisbon, Helsinki and Washington. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison.

With inputs from Reuters

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Kremlin: Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has indicated that if South Korea starts to provide military assistance to Ukraine, Russia may provide North Korea cutting-edge weapons.

In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol hinted at a potential policy change on the Ukraine conflict ahead of a state visit to the US the following week.

It might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support if there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any significant attack on civilians, massacre, or serious violation of the laws of war, Yoon added.

We will take the most suitable actions, he continued, considering our relationship with the warring parties and developments on the battlefield.

The deputy chairman of the Russian National Security Council, Medvedev, underlined that Seoul had so far declined to give Kiev lethal support.

I wonder what the citizens of our country would think if they learned that their closest neighbors, our partners from the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, were in possession of the most recent example of Russian armaments. In a post on social media, Medvedev.

Yoon told Reuters that he intends to talk to US Vice President Joe Biden about how the two countries might work together to produce tangible outcomes that will dissuade North Korea.

In order to counter perceived threats from its neighbor, Seoul is developing ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons, he continued. Pyongyang announced this week that it had tested its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile.

Due to its policy against delivering weapons to conflict areas, South Korea, a significant supplier of weaponry, has decided against sending Ukraine lethal assistance.

According to the Yonhap news agency, President Yoons administration stated that his comments to Reuters did not indicate a change in government policy.

Last week, South Korean media reported that the nation had thought about loaning the US 500,000 rounds for 155mm artillery cannons. According to reports, Ukraine needs this kind of ammunition desperately for its fight with Russia.

According to a government representative, the deal would demonstrate Seouls responsibility as a member of the world community without provoking Russia, according to the Dong-A Ilbo daily.

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Who would have ever thought that a software company, that makes antivirus softwares would make one of the most important pieces of tech in modern warfare. Kaspersky Lab, a leading Russian software company, has created a portable gadget for detecting tiny drones. According to the business, the Antidrone Portable is a security solution intended for government and commercial usage.

Also read: In a first, Ukraine attacks Russia with US-made kamikaze drone

The radio frequency detector is less than 5 kilogrammes and may be carried in a rolling suitcase. To follow drones using a graphical interface, the operator use a tablet running Kasperskys Antidrone software. According to the business, the gadget can pinpoint the exact location of most drone types within a kilometer-wide radius, as well as the operators position. Antidrone Portable, with a battery life of up to two hours, can be used to patrol the perimeter of a protected location.

The new software is another confirmation that we have long been more than an anti-virus company, said Eugene Kaspersky, general director, in a statement on Monday.

In 2019, Kaspersky released Antidrone hardware and software to assist defend critical infrastructure, industrial facilities, transportation infrastructure, and public events from drone misuse.

The portable gadget, according to Vladimir Turov, the leader of the Antidrone programme, is the product of ongoing study and iteration.

Unmanned vehicles are evolving, and the risks associated with their use are growing, Turov said, emphasising that identification is the most challenging aspect of any drone defence. In a crowd or among dense urban infrastructure, a tiny commercial drone is almost impossible to identify, he adds.

Also read: Ukrainians call for more Stinger missiles amid drone threat from Russia

While drone-mounted cameras have assisted professional and amateur filmmakers in producing magnificent pictures over the last decade, the technology did not take long to become militarised. During the war in Syria, Islamic State (IS, previously ISIS) militants employed tiny civilian quadcopters not just for scouting but also as suicide bombers. Drones have also played an important part in the Ukraine conflict, from scouting and directing artillery fire to dropping grenades on opposing positions.

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New Delhi: Italian scientists will arrive in Turkiye next week to examine samples from the devastating earthquakes, said a Turkish scientist living in Italy on Monday.

According to a report in Anadolu, The latest earthquakes in southern Turkiye on Feb. 6 garnered great interest among Italian scientists, said Turkish scientist Aybike Akinci of the Italian National Institute of Geophysics and Volcanology (INGV).

Meanwhile, the Dutch government has said it is ready to contribute to Turkeys quake-hit region.

The Dutch minister for foreign trade and development cooperation on Tuesday offered support for the reconstruction of Turkeys quake-hit region.

Liesje Schreinemacher visited Hatay province, which was among the 11 Turkish provinces hit hardest by the twin earthquakes last month, and met with earthquake victims living in tent cities. He also paid visits to Sarimiye Mosque and the Turkish Catholic Church of Antioch and the historical Habibi Neccar Mosque.

The 7.8 magnitude earthquake devastated parts of southern Turkey and northern Syria on February 6.

That quake led to more than 48,000 deaths in both countries as well as the collapse or serious damage of 185,000 buildings in Turkey.

AFADs chief urged people not to enter damaged buildings, saying strong aftershocks continue to pose a risk. More than 10,000 aftershocks have hit the region since February 6.

The World Bank also estimated that 1.25 million people had been left temporarily homeless.

A state of collective psychosis has since gripped Istanbulites, who have requested more than 140,000 checks of the type being conducted on Uyguns apartment building.

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New Delhi: Fresh data released by the UNICEF on Wednesday revealed that South Asia has the highest number of child brides globally as increased financial costs and closure of educational institutions due to the Covid-19 pandemic forced poor families with little or no income to marry off their young daughters.

The UN agencys data showed there are 290 million child brides in the region, accounting for nearly 45% of the global total of such children.

The fact that South Asia has the highest child marriage burden in the world is nothing short of tragic, said Noala Skinner, UNICEFs regional director for South Asia, in a statement calling for an end to the unfair practice.

Child marriage locks girls out of learning, puts their health and wellbeing at risk and compromises their future. Every girl who gets married as a child is one girl too many, she said.

A new study by the UNICEF that also included interviews and discussions across 16 locations in Bangladesh, India and Nepal found that many parents saw marriage as the best option for daughters who had limited options to study during the Covid-19 induced lockdowns in the subcontinent.

The legal age of marriage for women is 20 in Nepal, 18 in India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh and 16 in Afghanistan. It is 16 in Pakistan except for Sindh province, where the minimum age is 18.

The UN-backed study also found that a large number of families were pushed by financial strains during the pandemic to marry their daughters young in order to reduce living costs at home. The agency added that potential solutions identified in discussions include enacting social protection measures to counter poverty, protecting every childs right to education, ensuring an adequate framework to enforce the law and making more efforts to address social norms.

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Seoul: Signalling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol for the first time said that his country might extend support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack.

Ahead of his state visit to the U.S. next week, the South Korean President said that just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-53 Korean War, his government has been exploring ways to help defend and rebuild Ukraine.

If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support, Yoon said in an interview with Reuters

It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid.

A key U.S. ally and a major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea has so far tried to avoid antagonising Russia due to its companies operating there and Moscows influence over North Korea, despite mounting pressure from Western countries for weapons supply.

I believe there wont be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country thats been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law, Yoon said.

However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments on the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures. Yoon is scheduled to visit Washington next week for a summit with U.S. President Joe Biden to mark the 70th anniversary of the two countries alliance.

During the summit, Yoon said he would seek tangible outcomes on the allies efforts to improve responses to evolving threats from North Korea, which has ramped up military tests, and launched its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

Seoul, for its part, will step up its surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence analysis capability and develop ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons to fend off the Norths threats, Yoon said.

If a nuclear war between South and North Korea erupts, this is probably not just a problem between the two sides, but entire Northeast Asia would probably turn to ashes. That has to be stopped, he said.

When asked if the allies would envision an Asian version of NATOs nuclear planning group involving Japan, Yoon said they are focusing on bilateral measures to strengthen information-sharing, joint contingency planning and joint execution of the plans.

In February, South Korea and the U.S. staged table-top exercises simulating a North Korea nuclear attack as part of Seouls efforts to play a bigger role in Washingtons nuclear policy over the North.

In terms of responding to a powerful nuclear attack, I think stronger measures than what NATO has should be prepared, Yoon said.

I think theres no big problem if Japan is joining, but since theres been much progress between the U.S. and South Korea, it would be more efficient to create this system ourselves first.

No summit for show

Tension has flared recently, with the North threatening more practical and offensive action over South Korea-U.S. exercises and refusing to answer inter-Korean hotlines.

Yoon said he is open to peace talks but opposes any surprise summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to show off to voters out of domestic political interests. He criticised former governments sudden, uninformed announcements of inter-Korean talks, which he said did little to build trust.

Yoons predecessor, Moon Jae-in, staked his legacy on improving inter-Korean ties and helped arrange a historic meeting between Kim and then U.S. President Donald Trump in 2018.

Three summits Kim and Moon held in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation but relations have soured and the North conducted unprecedented numbers of weapons tests following a second failed summit between Kim and Trump.

They used those talks ahead of elections, but ultimately inter-Korean relations were always back to square one, Yoon said.

Humanitarian aid could open the door for dialogue, and both sides could build on those discussions to move onto more sensitive topics including the economy and military, he said.

Yoons administration proposed COVID-19 relief last year and unveiled plans to provide economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang flatly rejected the offers.

If previous talks had proceeded step by step  before the leaders met, the inter-Korean relationship would have developed steadily, though at a snails pace, Yoon said.

On Sino-U.S. rivalry, Yoon has trodden cautiously, with China being South Koreas largest trade partner, but he has been more vocal over tension in the Taiwan Strait. Tensions over democratic Taiwan, which China claims as its own, have spiked as Beijing intensifies diplomatic and military pressure to get Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.

After all, these tensions occurred because of the attempts to change the status quo by force, and we together with the international community absolutely oppose such a change, Yoon said.

The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue.

South Korea, a growing arms exporter with a well-equipped, U.S.-backed military, has provided humanitarian aid and other support to Ukraine while joining U.S.-led economic sanctions against Moscow.

But it has not directly provided arms to Ukraine, citing a long-standing policy of not supplying weapons to countries actively engaged in conflict.

With inputs from agencies.

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London: Fans of the northern lights were amazed to see a tiny blue spiral galaxy-like object appeared in the Alaskan skys aroura.

The sky spiral was generated by extra fuel released from a SpaceX rocket that had launched from California about three hours earlier, despite the fact that it may have appeared to be a doorway or the start of an alien invasion.

There are instances when rockets need their fuel ejected. (dropped from the aircraft).

Don Hampton, a research associate professor of space physics and director of the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, said that when they do this at high altitudes, the fuel condenses into ice.

And if its in the sunshine, you can see it as a type of large cloud that occasionally has swirls when youre on the ground in the dark, he said.

On Friday, April 14, the rocket was launched from the Californian Vandenberg Space Force Base.

Given how uncommon it was, it wasnt surprising when the swirl appeared and set off a internet storm after being captured on the all-sky time-lapse camera of the Geophysical Institute.

Todd Salat, a professional photographer, was equally as impressed by the really cool looking spiral thing.

He continued, This entire event took place as it passed over Alaska during a stunning aurora display, stunning many night-watchers including myself.

Believe me, I was initially very confused. Although I now realise it may be explained using rocket science, I truly loved the eerie sense of the unknown both during and shortly after the event.

The blue spiral was visible over sections of Alaska because to the polar launch, the timing of the fuel drop, and other factors.

It comes as Elon Musks SpaceX prepares to launch the most potent rocket system in the world for the second time this week. The first launch attempt was abandoned after a problem occurred just before liftoff.

On Thursday, April 20, between 8.28 a.m. local time (2.28 p.m. in the UK) and 9.30 a.m. (3.30 p.m. in the UK), a launch will take place from southern Texas.

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Khartoum (Sudan): With fighting between the army and paramilitaries escalated in spite of an internationally brokered truce that was supposed to be in effect, thousands of residents reportedly fled Sudans capital on Wednesday.

Residents of multiple neighbourhoods of Khartoum told The Associated Press they could see hundreds, including women and children, carrying luggage, some leaving by foot, others crowding into vehicles.

Thousands of people took matters into their own hands and, according to witnesses, began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children. They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

Khartoum has become a ghost city, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

The generals fight for power has caught millions of Sudanese in the crossfire, as their forces have battled it out since Saturday with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes in residential neighbourhoods of Khartoum, its neighbouring city Omdurman and other major towns of the country.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of clashes.

A 24-hour cease-fire was to have been in effect from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. It was the most concrete attempt yet to bring a pause that it was hoped could be expanded into a longer truce.

It came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately by phone with the two rivals  the leader of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down.

But fighting continued after the intended start of the truce and through the night. Each side blamed the other for the failure.

Fierce clashes between the army and RSF were reported Wednesday morning around the militarys headquarters in central Khartoum and the nearby airport, as well as around the state television building across the river in Omdurman. Bombs and artillery could be heard around the city.

A high-rise in the city centre was on fire with burning debris falling from its top floors, according to footage by the Al Arabiya news network.

The battles intensified in the morning after sporadic gunfire over the night, said Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate who lives close to the military headquarters. Bombing and explosions are shaking our houses.

Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor, said many in her south Khartoum neighbourhood have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings. Others fled the city to stay with relatives elsewhere, she said.

Armed men were roaming the streets, storming shops and houses. They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you, she said.

Foreigners stuck

The fighting has killed at least 185 people and injured more than 1,800, according to the United Nations.

But the real figure is thought to be far higher with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors union.

Governments have started planning to evacuate thousands of foreigners stuck in the country, among them many UN staff.

Japan said its defence ministry had begun the necessary preparations to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation, it tweeted.

The violence has also seen a US diplomatic convoy fired upon, the European Unions ambassador attacked at home and a Belgian humanitarian official with the EU hospitalised after reportedly being shot.

On Tuesday, United Nations emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said the UN had received reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies.

After the collapse of the truce, the army accused the rebel militia of failing to commit to it and of continuing skirmishes around the army headquarters and the airport.

The RSF pointed the finger at the army for committing violations and breaching the ceasefire by launching sporadic attacks on its forces and bases around the capital.

International actors bide time

The latest violence, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, came after more than 120 civilians had already been killed in a crackdown on regular pro-democracy demonstrations over the past 18 months.

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy  in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

Since the start of the fighting, each side has claimed the upper hand and that they have taken control of key sites or made advances on the others bases across Sudan.

None of the claims could be independently verified.

Neither side seems to be winning at the moment, and given the intensity of the violence, things could get even worse before the two generals come to the negotiating table, said Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Pariss Sorbonne University.

But that would necessitate regional allies exerting pressure, and right now their declarations arent heading in that direction  with international actors seemingly biding their time until the situation is clearer.

Saturdays outbreak of violence is the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

They have since been allies with their relationship interspersed with brief periods of tension.

In October 2021, the pair led a military coup against the civilian government, which was installed following Bashirs ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose through the ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was necessary to include more factions in politics.

But Daglo, also known as Hemeti, has since called the coup a mistake that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashirs remnants.

With inputs from agencies.

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Khartoum, Sudan: On Wednesday, thousands of civilians left the capital of Sudan because of gunfire between the army and paramilitaries that continued after a 24-hour cease-fire, according to witnesses.

More than 270 civilians have died in five days of fighting in Khartoum and other parts of the nation of northeastern Africa, according to foreign embassies on Wednesday.

Attacks on foreign diplomats have occurred, and Martin Griffiths, the UNs emergency assistance coordinator, reported that the organisation had been made aware of reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers.

Governments began preparing to evacuate their population, including several UN employees.

The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army  a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudans democratic transition.

Life in Khartoum is impossible if this war does not stop, said Alawya al-Tayeb, 33, on her way out of the capital.

I tried to make children not see the slain bodies on the streets, she said, adding that her children currently suffer from shock and will need treatment.

Deafening explosions rattled buildings and heavy gunfire was heard in Khartoum, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

A 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire announced by South Sudan failed to take hold at its proposed start at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.

Escalating violence

Neither side seems to be winning at the moment, and given the intensity of the violence, things could get even worse before the two generals come to the negotiating table, according to Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Pariss Sorbonne University.

On Wednesday, the RSF said it would fully commit to a complete ceasefire, again from 1600 GMT and for 24 hours. The army had made no comment on such a development.

Thousands of people took matters into their own hands and, according to witnesses, began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

We are now on our way to Madani to stay with our relatives after my family and kids lived through the terror of explosions, said Mohamed Saleh, 43, a government employee.

We were very worried fighters would start storming homes.

Foreigners stuck

The toll has been high, with initial estimated civilian deaths of more than 270, the US Embassy wrote in a statement signed by 14 other diplomatic missions in Sudan.

The real toll is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors union.

Out of 59 main hospitals in Khartoum, about 39 are currently out of service, said the union which reported severe shortages in remaining facilities.

Japan said its defence ministry had begun the necessary preparations to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

Berlin aborted on Wednesday an evacuation attempt involving three military transport planes, which would have carried 150 citizens, according to the German weekly Der Spiegel.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation, it tweeted.

The violence has also seen a US diplomatic convoy fired upon, the European Unions ambassador attacked at home and a Belgian humanitarian official with the EU hospitalised after being shot.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies.

RSF has since Saturday captured a group of Egyptian soldiers in the northern city of Meroe. It said they have now been transported to Khartoum.

They will be handed over (to Egypt) whenever there is a chance, it said in a statement.

Army chief Burhan counts on support from Egypt, which according to experts unequivocally favours the military establishment.

Crackdown

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy  in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

The battles that began Saturday are the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021 the pair led a military coup against the civilian government installed following Bashirs ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose to the ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was necessary to include more factions in politics.

But Daglo, whose RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, has since called the coup a mistake that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashirs remnants.

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Miami, United States: Elon Musk, the CEO of Twitter, made an effort to reassure hesitant advertisers on Tuesday by touting the sites recently implemented content moderation policy against offensive material.

The controversial billionaire provided details of new regulations, which were first made public on Monday and are intended to limit the reach of tweets that do not adhere to the platforms rules, during a meeting in Florida.

If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesnt mean he should have a microphone, the self-described free-speech absolutist told gathered journalists.

He still should be able to say it, but it needs to be not them pushing it on people, he added.

Under the new policy, unveiled in a blog post titled Freedom of Speech, Not Reach, Twitter will soon begin tagging posts whose visibility has been limited.

The labels will bring a new level of transparency to enforcement actions, the blog post said.

Tweets with these labels will be made less discoverable on the platform. Additionally, we will not place ads adjacent to content that we label.

Since purchasing Twitter in a rollercoaster $44 billion deal last year, Musk has sharply reined in content moderation on the platform, allowing the return of many users who had been banned for posting tweets that incite hate or spread misinformation.

At the same time, he also reduced the companys workforce from more than 7,500 to fewer than 2,000 employees.

Last week, US public radio NPR said it was quitting Twitter after the site labeled the highly respected news outlets account as state-affiliated media, branding it the same way as media in authoritarian countries such as Russia or China.

The tag was later amended to read government-funded media, which was also applied to Britains BBC.

Following the row, Canadas CBC/Radio-Canada and Swedish public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) also quit the social network.

The drama came against the backdrop of the rollout of yet another contentious new policy, as Twitter has said that starting 20 April, it will only grant its famous blue checkmark to accounts that pay for its Twitter Blue service.

According to analyst Jasmine Enberg at market research firm Insider Intelligence, Twitters revenue is set to drop 28 per cent this year, because advertisers dont trust Musk.

But for Musk, the ability to tinker with Twitters protocol might be worth the financial risk of spooking advertisers.

Its totally cool to say that you want to have your advertisement appear in certain places in Twitter and not in other places, Musk said Tuesday.

But its not cool to try to say what you can do or not do. And if that means Twitter loses hundreds of thousands of dollars, well lose it, he said.

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London: In connection with alleged war crimes that allegedly occurred more than 30 years ago, a man has been extradited from the UK to Croatia.

According to Derbyshire Police, Croatian authorities issued an international arrest warrant for Milenko Maric in 2001 for crimes against humanity.

At Westminster Magistrates Court, the 63-year-old, who was residing in Derby, was given the go-ahead to be extradited in September 2022.

The extradition, according to the police, happened on April 5.

Between 1991 and 1995, the Balkans war claimed more than 100,000 lives.

Maric, a Serbian, is charged with belonging to a militia organisation that allegedly forcibly removed and attacked many residents of non-Serbian ancestry from Croatias Baranya region in August and September 1991.

We continue to work with law enforcement partners nationally and internationally to remove dangerous offenders and ensure people are brought to justice, temporary sergeant Sarah Baker of Derbyshire Polices international liaison branch said.

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London: In a bizarre incident, two plainclothes Scotland Yard detectives stopped a well-known French publisher as he was on his way to the London Book Fair in Kensington and questioned him about his involvement in anti-government protests back in his country.

Ernest Moret, works as foreign rights manager for Editions La Fabrique in Paris.

Moret was reportedly stopped by ports officers and questioned for six hours under terrorism laws when he arrived at St Pancras station on the Eurostar from Paris at 6.30pm on Monday.

He was searched and his phone and laptop were confiscated, and demanded his passwords; according to coworkers, he refused to comply.

His furious employers blasted his treatment yesterday night as a violation of his right to free speech, and pals encouraged protests in front of the British Embassy in Paris and the French Institute in London.

After French President Emmanuel Macron passed a contentious pension reform into law that includes raising the retirement age to 64, thousands have demonstrated in Paris over the past three months.

His detention is believed to be the first time a French person has been detained in the UK due to protests in his own country, though the Metropolitan Police has not confirmed this.

It was revealed last night, as a diplomatic battle over his incarceration erupted, that the 28-year-old publisher is still being held after being arrested for refusing to reveal the passcodes to his computer and phone.

The editorial director of the Paris-based publishing house, Stella Magliani-Belkacem, who was with him when he was arrested, told the Guardian: When we were on the platform, two people, a woman and a guy, told us they were counter-terrorist police.

They claimed they had the right to question him about protests in France and displayed a document called Section 7 of the Terrorism Act of 2000.

Im still shaking, she continued, and we are still in shock over what happened.

The Terrorism Act of 2000s Schedule 7 permits police to stop and search individuals passing through the UK border in order to determine whether that person is or has been involved in the commission, preparation, or instigation of acts of terrorism. Moret was initially detained under this provision.

The act specifies that stopping a passenger does not necessarily mean the officer believes the person is a terrorist.

However, if a suspect refuses to cooperate and insists on leaving, they may be held for a further nine hours.

On suspicion of willfully impeding a Schedule 7 examination in violation of section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000, Moret was additionally detained the following day.

La Fabrique referred to the arrest as a assault on freedom of expression and asserted that the British and French governments conspired to imprison Mr. Moret.

The police officers claimed that Ernest had participated in demonstrations in France as a justification for this act, a quite remarkably inappropriate statement for a British police officer to make and which seems to clearly indicate complicity between French and British authorities on this matter, said a spokesman for the publisher, calling his arrestscandalous.

We view these actions as outrageous and unjustified violations of fundamental rights to free speech and as an illustration of how anti-terrorism laws can be abused.

According to reports, after the three-day book show, which will feature a speech from the wife of the Ukrainian president, Olena Zelenska, Moret had 30 meetings scheduled in London before he was set to return to the French capital on Friday.

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New Delhi: Germany has delivered a Patriot air defense system and a set of missiles to Ukraine, according to an official German government website where the updated list of delivered military support has been published.

The list includes, in particular, the Patriot system, 16 Zetros trucks (a total of 76 have already been delivered), and two border protection vehicles (122 units have been sent).

After Washington committed to sending the American-made system in January, Germany pledged to give Ukraine a Patriot battery. Later, the Netherlands too joined the efforts.

The weapon system that was supplied has been included in the delivered category of military assistance which amounts to $2.41 billion in lethal and non-lethal aid, according to The Eur Asian Times.

Additionally, the US has committed to sending a MIM-104 Patriot air defence system. On April 18, however, the Pentagon once more declined to confirm whether or not the equipment had been delivered.

The Pentagons chief spokesperson, Air Force Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder, said back in March that the Patriot battery delivery would be expedited. However, he didnt give any further information.

In a media briefing, US officials recently confirmed that the Ukrainian air defense troops training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, had completed their training and left for Europe. However, the US officials refrained from disclosing the delivery timeline of the MIM-104 Patriot air defense system that the US has pledged to send to Ukraine.

Major boost to Ukraines defences

Patriots aim to significantly improve the defence of Ukrainian cities and critical infrastructure against regular Russian missile attacks.

The Patriot system is used to combat enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. It is the most advanced air defense weapon in the US arsenal that Kyiv has been long pleading for.

One Patriot battery has four to eight launchers designed for four missiles each.

On 30 March, Pentagon spokesperson Patrick Ryder said that 65 Ukrainian soldiers had completed training on Patriot systems at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, and returned to Europe.

With inputs from agencies

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New Delhi: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that he and US House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy discussed in a phone call about Ukraines need for weapons as well as increasing sanctions pressure on Russia, notably in the oil and gas sectors, reported Reuters.

Had a call with @SpeakerMcCarthy. Thanked for bipartisan support of  by Congress. Outlined the situation at the front & s urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft. Discussed enhancing sanctions pressure on RF, inter alia in oil & gas sector    (@ZelenskyyUa) April 18, 2023

According to Reuters, McCarthys spokesman did not immediately reply to a request for comment. McCarthy is the highest-ranking Republican in Washington.

Since the Russian invasion began in February 2022, Congress has approved billions of dollars in humanitarian, economic, and defence aid for Ukraine, including a $45 billion aid package approved in December, with strong support from both President Joe Bidens Democrats and McCarthys fellow Republicans.

However, some Republicans have questioned the move, saying federal funds should be spent on domestic needs or devoted to competition with rising power China, according to Reuters.

McCarthy has stated his support for Ukraine, but House Republicans, who seized control of the chamber in January, will not issue a blank check for US help to Kyiv.

With inputs from agencies

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Belfast: On Wednesday, the UK governments cyber defence organisation issued a warning about a growing threat from hackers who support Russia and its conflict with Ukraine to Western essential national assets.

Russian-aligned hacktivists have run generally non-lethal internet campaigns that have taken down or damaged well-known public websites. However, according to a warning from the British National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), a division of the eavesdropping spy agency GCHQ, some of those organisations have been actively planning methods to do greater physical harm.

Some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK, the NCSC said.

We expect these groups to look for opportunities to create such an impact, particularly if systems are poorly protected, said the alert, which was released to the press at a two-day conference hosted by the NCSC and GCHQ in Belfast.

Although such groups are ideologically motivated and align themselves with Russian state interests, they are not subject to formal state control, the alert said.

This makes them less predictable, it said.

A successful cyberattack on critical national infrastructure such as an energy grid or water supply could be highly destructive, and do serious real-world damage.

The NCSC alert said such attacks, which typically require very high levels of technical skill and resources to carry out, would be unlikely to be achieved by hacktivist groups without external assistance, but warned that they may become more effective over time.

That assistance may already be in place, however.

Among the dozens of highly classified US intelligence documents which were posted online in recent weeks was one marked Top Secret that warned a pro-Russia hacking group named Zarya had infiltrated networks within Canadas gas infrastructure.

According to that Top Secret document, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, the group offered screenshots to officers of Russias FSB as proof that they were able to increase valve pressure, disable alarms, and initiate an emergency shutdown of an unspecified gas distribution station.

Reuters has not independently verified the documents authenticity. A number of countries have questioned the veracity of some of the documents, including Britain, which said there was a serious level of inaccuracy in the information.

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New York: The United Nations (UN) said that it is prepared to leave Afghanistan in May if it cannot persuade Taliban to allow local women to work for the organization, according to the chief of the UN Development Program, reported Afghan news outlet Khaama Press.

The UN is talking with the Taliban in the hopes that it will make exceptions to an order forbidding local women from working for the organisation.

UNDP Administrator, Achin Steiner, said, according to Khaama Press, It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and re-evaluate its ability to operate there. But it is not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.

After Afghan female UN employees were prohibited from reporting to work in the eastern province of Afghanistan, Nangarhar, the UN recently raised serious concerns.

The UN said, The United Nations in Afghanistan expresses serious concern that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province.

Since women make up the majority of the workers of the international organisation, the UN warned Taliban that the life-saving aid would be in jeopardy without them.

We remind de facto authorities that United Nations entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff, the UN said on Twitter, Khaama Press reported.

International organisations, like the UN, have frequently voiced their concerns over womens exclusion from the aid sector, claiming that these organisations wont be able to reach needy women without female personnel.

Since taking control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the Taliban has put restrictions on women and girls, preventing them from receiving education and finding work.

The Taliban first prevented girls from continuing their education past the sixth grade; in December 2022, a decree prohibited Afghan women from pursuing higher education or working with national and international non-governmental organisations.

According to Khaama Press, the oppressive restrictions on women have drawn widespread condemnation from national and international organisations, who fear that they may stymie humanitarian help to Afghanistans most vulnerable population.

With inputs from agencies

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At least one worker was killed and five others injured as a parking structure collapsed in lower Manhattans Financial District in New York, US on Tuesday.

Vehicles tumbled into what looked like a frozen stream of sedans and SUVs. People nearby described a fearsome rumbling, followed by screams.

It felt like an earthquake, said Liam Gaeta, a student at nearby Pace University told AP.

Like the earth opened up inside, like thats how violent it was, said another student, Jadess Speller, who initially thought a bomb had gone off. Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.

BREAKING: At least 1 dead and 5 injured after a parking garage in Lower Manhattan collapsed. Details below:  The garage is a location where the New York Sheriffs Department parks their vehicles.  The second floor of the five-story parking garage collapsed into the first pic.twitter.com/HLAvSvGpaj  Brian Krassenstein (@krassenstein) April 18, 2023

One vehicle landed on its end in the garage entrance, a photo posted by Mayor Eric Adams office showed.

Authorities believed they had accounted for everyone inside the building, but searches continued Tuesday evening to make sure no one was in any of the squashed cars, Fire Department Chief of Operations John Esposito said. One garage employee was rescued via a neighboring roof after being trapped on an upper floor, he said.

He was conscious and alert and moving around, calling us. He just couldnt get down, Esposito said. Four of the injured were hospitalized and in stable condition, and the fifth refused medical attention, he said.

The garage caved in around 4 pm., a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange. Pace evacuated an adjacent dorm and classroom building, and canceled all evening classes as it assessed the buildings safety. School officials sent the displaced students to a student center while working out other accommodations.

Cause of the collapse not known yet

Don Mulligan was on the 17th floor of a nearby hotel when he heard a roar like a jet flying overhead and felt the high-rise sway.

You knew something was happening, said Mulligan, of Cincinnati. The hotel was evacuated, he said.

It wasnt immediately clear what caused the collapse. City Buildings Department records show the three-story structure has been a garage at least since the 1920s, and there are no recent permits for construction.

Messages were left for a parking company that lists the garage as one of its properties.

The collapse left the building completely unstable, Adams said at a news conference. Esposito said firefighters had to pull out because of the danger, conducting searches instead with a drone and robotic dog.

The building was all the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor, acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.

William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and his friends thought they heard an explosion and ran to a window to look. As they opened the window, a plume of thick dust rose in the air.

When it cleared, they peered down into the parking structure, where cars were tossed asunder and a top deck had cracked open.

Flashnick initially worried for all of their lives. One of his first thoughts was of the World Trade Center, which looms over the neighborhood.

We freaked out. Given the history of this place, its a little scary, he said.

With inputs from AP

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Moscow: China has accused the United States of being engaged in nuclear proliferation in the Asian region.

The US is de-facto engaged in nuclear proliferation in the region, including due to its unlawful transfer of nuclear submarines to Australia, Special Representative of the Chinese Government on Korean Peninsula Affairs Liu Xiaoming has told TASS in an interview.

Liu Xiaoming said that the US and the United Kingdom have unlawfully transferred submarines to Australia. In essence, this constitutes nuclear proliferation, and that is why it is a threat to stability in this region. In fact, this shows that the US is the biggest troublemaker in the sphere of peace and security, he told TASS.

According to a Chinese official, the United States has publicly declared its readiness to create a strategic wall around China.

They have put forward the Indo-Pacific strategy, pretending to promote peace and transparency, but in reality, this is just an attempt to pull together small groups and formats to restrain Chinas development, Xiaoming said.

The US, South Korea and Japan are holding large-scale military exercises that stir tensions on the Korean peninsula. Further in Southeast Asia, the US is also holding joint military exercises with the Philippines, with the participation of 12,000 US servicemen, he added.

He also accused the US of playing the Taiwanese card and use Taiwan for deterring China, stirring tensions in the Taiwan Strait.

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Indias smartphone market saw an unprecedented decline of 20% in Q1 2023, according to a new report by Canalys. This follows a 6% drop in smartphone shipments in Q4 2022, as reported by Canalys earlier.

Indian Smartphone Market Faces First-Ever Q1 Shipment Decline in 2023

According to Canalys research, the Indian smartphone market experienced a challenging start to 2023, with a 20% year-on-year decline in Q1 shipments. The market still struggles with uneven demand, and stock build-up remains a vulnerability for channels. Samsung maintained its position as market leader, with a 21% market share and 6.3 million shipments.

OPPO overtook vivo and Xiaomi to reach second place with 5.5 million shipments, and vivo came in third with 5.4 million shipments. Xiaomi slipped to fourth place with 5 million units, while realme held fifth place with 2.9 million shipments.

Importance of Channel Management

Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia highlighted the importance of brands balancing their channel contributions to maintain business operations and market share.

Vendors who manage channels well are more stable in uncertain markets. After the pandemic, vendors who boosted mainline retail channels have shown steadiness. More high-end models have motivated vendors to improve their offline channels.

Samsung has been effective with its fast-moving model placement in the offline space, while Apples new offline stores staffed by expert employees will enhance its brand experience and position.

Challenges and Opportunities in the Market

Chaurasia mentioned that the mass-market segment is still moving slowly, making 2023 a challenging year. However, the premium segment is poised for growth, boosting the ASP growth of the overall market.

Consumers are gradually willing to spend more on premium devices, and to succeed in this segment, brands must prioritize availability, affordability, and aspirational value. Brands should also focus on export strategies to align with the governments initiatives, as Apple and Samsung are currently driving Indias smartphone export growth.

Canalys expects modest growth this year, driven by organic growth drivers, but to stimulate the upgrade cycle, 5G devices and other market drivers must offer compelling utility for consumers.

Commenting on the report, Sanyam Chaurasia, Analyst at Canalys, said:

Indias market struggles but vendors remain optimistic. They invest in retail, manufacturing, local sourcing, and R&D to align with the government and consumers. They aim for long-term market success.

Commenting on the milestone of being the only brand to register year-on-year growth, Damyant Singh Khanoria, Chief Marketing Officer, OPPO India, said:

OPPO remains dedicated to providing its customers with premium technological experiences and fulfilling its brand promise of Innovation Ahead. Our consistent year-on-year growth is a testament to our commitment to pushing boundaries and introducing groundbreaking technology that delights consumers. We will continue to strive for excellence and innovate for the future.

Source
Attached is Meridian Energy Limited's monthly operating report for the month of March 2023.

Mike Roan (CFO) and Owen Hackston (Investor Relations Manager) will host a quarterly operating result call via a Microsoft Teams Live event today, Wednesday 19 April at 11am NZST (9am AEST).

Click on the link below at this time to join the call.

https://teams.microsoft.com/l/meetup-join/19%3ameeting_MTIzZGQxNDctMjk1Ni00OTY5LWE5MzUtOTFjODJiZDBjNTA4%40thread.v2/0?context=%7B%22Tid%22%3A%22e6cf3f80-614d-4939-895c-3d5287c0f245%22%2C%22Oid%22%3A%2248e2fc44-0e82-47ab-8101-fef0a8fb4324%22%2C%22IsBroadcastMeeting%22%3Atrue%2C%22role%22%3A%22a%22%7D&btype=a&role=a

Please submit any questions using the Q&A panel on the right-hand side of the call window. If the Q&A panel doesnt automatically appear, please select the small ? speech bubble.

Highlights this month include:

 In the month to 13 April 2023, national hydro storage increased from 105% to 119% of historical average

 South Island storage increased to 110% of average and North Island storage increased to 196% of average by 13 April 2023

 Meridians March 2023 monthly total inflows were 111% of historical average

 Waiau catchment inflows in March 2023 were 93% of historical average

 Meridians Waitaki catchment water storage at the end of March 2023 was 117% of historical average

 Water storage in Meridians Waiau catchment was 112% of average at the end of March 2023

 National electricity demand in March 2023 was 1.8% lower than the same month last year

 March 2023 saw above normal rainfall in the lower North Island and much of the South Island, while the rest of the country was considerably drier. Above average temperatures were recorded in most parts of the country

 New Zealand Aluminium Smelters average load during March 2023 was 573MW

 Meridians retail sales volumes in March 2023 were 2.7% lower than March 2022

 Compared to March 2022, segment sales increased in residential +3.4%, small medium business +3.7% and large business +13.9%. Sales decreased in agricultural -18.3% and corporate -3.9%

 Revised full year FY23 capital expenditure of $370m-$395m; $320m-$340m growth spend, $50m-$55m say in business spend

Highlights for the third quarter include:

 Meridians Q3 total inflows were 78% of historical average, 21% higher than Q3 last year

 Meridians Waitaki catchment water storage at the end of Q3 was 28% higher than Q3 last year

 Compared to Q3 last year, Meridians generation was 9.0% lower a 14.1% lower average price

 Q3 saw decreases in electricity futures prices

 Close outs of forward hedge positions generated $6m of losses in Q3

 New Zealand Aluminium Smelters sales volume in Q3 was the same as Q3 last year

 National electricity demand in Q3 was 1.1% lower than Q3 last year

 The 2022-23 summer was the third warmest summer on record and was exceptionally wet for the North Island. In the South Island, rainfall was above for the northeast, and well below normal across parts of the west and south

 During the quarter, Meridian made calls on volume under swaption agreement with Nova

 At the end of Q3, Meridians customer numbers were 0.5% higher than the same time last year

 Compared to Q3 last year, Meridians retail sales volumes were 1.3% higher at a 13.1% higher average price

 Sales increased in all segments, except corporate, where sales were 3.2% lower

 Compared to Q3 last year, total operating costs were 10.7% higher

 Compared to Q3 last year, total capital expenditure was 236.6% higher and included ex-works payments to Siemens Gamesa in relation to the Harapaki Wind Farm construction

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GLOBALink | Foreign business people at Canton Fair upbeat about development opportunities Pub Date:23-04-19 08:50 Source:Xinhua This year's China Import and Export Fair hosts close to 70,000 booths for about 35,000 exhibitors in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. Follow Xinhua's Huo Siying to find out why the foreign business people are interested in the event and what new opportunities they find at the exhibition.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service Editor:Zheng Chen

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Beijing and Moscow visualise that the US, having failed to erase Russia, is turning attention to the Asia-Pacific theatre.

by M. K. Bhadrakumar

The official visit by Chinese State Councilor and Defence Minister General Li Shangfu to Russia on April 16-19 prima facie underscored the two countries emergent need to deepen their military trust and close coordination against the backdrop of worsening geopolitical tensions and the imperative to maintain the global strategic balance.

The visit carries forward the pivotal decisions taken at the intensive one-on-one talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping in Moscow through March 20-21. In a break with protocol, Gen. Lis 4-day visit was front-loaded with a working meeting with Putin  to quote Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.

Li is no stranger to Moscow, having previously held charge of Equipment Development Department of the Central Military Commission who was sanctioned by the US in 2018 for purchasing Russian weapons, including Su-35 combat aircraft and S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.

Song Zhongping, prominent Chinese military expert and TV commentator, forecast that Lis trip would signal the high level of bilateral military ties with Russia, and lead to more mutually beneficial exchanges in many fields, including defence technologies and military exercises.

Meeting with State Councillor and Minister of National Defence of the Peoples Republic of China Li Shangfu. Left: Defence Minister of Russia Sergei Shoigu. [Photo Credit: Pavel Bednyakov, RIA Novosti ]

Last Wednesday, US Commerce Department announced the imposition of export controls on a dozen Chinese companies for supporting Russias military and defence industries. The Global Times hit back defiantly that as China is an independent major power, so is Russia. Its our right to decide with whom we will carry out normal economic and trade cooperation. We cannot accept the US finger-pointing or even economic coercion.

Putin said at the meeting with Li on Easter Sunday that military cooperation plays an important role in Russia-China relations. Chinese analysts said Lis visit is also a signal jointly sent by China and Russia that their military cooperation will not be impacted by the US pressure.

Putin had disclosed in October 2019 that Russia was helping China to create an early missile warning system that would drastically enhance the defensive capacity of China. Chinese observers noted that Russia was more experienced in developing and operating such a system, which is capable of identifying and sending warnings immediately after intercontinental ballistic missiles are launched.

Such cooperation demonstrate a high level of trust and require a possible integration of Russian and Chinese systems. The system integration will be mutually beneficial; stations located in the North and West of Russia could provide China with warning data and, in turn, China could provide Russia with data collected at their Eastern and Southern stations. That is to say, the two countries could create their own global missile defence network.

These systems are among the most sophisticated and sensitive areas of defence technology. The US and Russia are the only countries which have been able to develop, build and maintain such systems. Certainly, close coordination and cooperation between Russia and China, two nuclear-armed powers, will profoundly contribute to world peace in the present circumstances by containing and deterring US hegemony.

It cannot be a coincidence that Moscow ordered a sudden check of the forces of its Pacific Fleet on April 14-18, which overlapped Lis visit. The inspection took place against the background of the aggravation of the situation around Taiwan.

Indeed, in early April, it became known that the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz approached Taiwan; on April 11, the US began a 17-day military exercise in the Philippines involving over 12000 troops; on April 17, news appeared about the dispatch of 200 American military advisers to Taiwan.

The US Global Thunder 23 strategic exercises at Minot Air Base in North Dakota, (which is the US Air Force Global Strikes Command) began last week where a training was conducted to load cruise missiles with nuclear warhead on bombers. The images showed B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers being equipped by the flight technical personnel of the base with AGM-86B cruise missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads on the underwing pylons!

Again, exercises of US aviation and fleet forces have been increasingly noticed in the immediate vicinity of Russian borders or in regions where Russia has geopolitical interests. On April 5, B-52 Stratofortress circled over the Korean Peninsula allegedly in response to nuclear and missile threats from North Korea. At the same time, South Korea, the US and Japan conducted trilateral naval exercises in the waters of the Sea of Japan with the participation of aircraft carrier USS Nimitz.

Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev recently drew attention to Japans growing capability to conduct offensive operations, which, he said, constituted a gross violation of one of the most important outcomes of the Second World War. Japan plans to purchase around 500 Tomahawk cruise missiles from the US, which can directly threaten most of the territory of the Russian Far East. The Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is working on developing Type 12 land-based anti-ship missiles in order to protect the remote islands of Japan.

Japan is also developing hypersonic weapons designed to conduct combat operations on remote islands, which Russians see as options for Japans possible seizure of the Southern Kuriles. In 2023, Japan will have a military budget exceeding $51 billion (on par with Russias), which is slated to increase to $73 billion.

Actually, during the latest surprise inspection, the ships and submarines of Russias Pacific Fleet made the transition from their bases to the Japanese, Okhotsk and Bering Seas. Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said, in practice, it is necessary to work out ways to prevent the deployment of enemy forces to the operationally important area of the Pacific Ocean  the southern part of the Sea of Okhotsk and to repel its landing on the Southern Kuril Islands and Sakhalin Island.

Loudly on the quiet

Surveying the regional alignments, Yuri Lyamin, Russian military expert and Senior Fellow at the Centre for Analysis of Strategies and Technologies, a leading think tank of the military-industrial complex, told Izvestia newspaper:

Considering that we have not settled the territorial issue, Japan lays claim to our South Kuriles. In this regard, checks are very necessary. It is necessary to increase the readiness of our forces in the Far East

In the context of the current situation, we need to further strengthen defence cooperation with China. In fact, an axis is being formed against Russia, North Korea and China: the USA, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and then it goes to Australia. Great Britain is also actively trying to participate All this must be taken into account and cooperation should be established with China and North Korea, which are, one might say, our natural allies.

In highly significant remarks at a Kremlin meeting with Shoigu on April 17  while Li was in Moscow  Putin noted that the current priorities of Russias armed forces are primarily focusing on the Ukrainian track (but) the Pacific theatre of operations remains relevant and it must be borne in mind that the forces of the (Pacific) fleet in its individual components can certainly be used in conflicts in any direction.

The next day, Shoigu told Gen. Li, In the spirit of unbreakable friendship between the nations, peoples, and the armed forces of China and Russia, I look forward to the closest and most successful cooperation with you The Russian MOD readout said :

Sergei Shoigu stressed that Russia and China could stabilise the global situation and lessen the potential for conflict by coordinating their actions on the global stage. It is important that our countries share the same view on the ongoing transformation of the global geopolitical landscape The meeting we have today will, in my opinion, help to further solidify the Russia-China strategic partnership in the defence sphere and enable an open discussion of regional and global security issues.

Beijing and Moscow visualise that the US, having failed to erase Russia, is turning attention to the Asia-Pacific theatre. Suffice to say, Lis visit shows that the reality of RussiaChina defence cooperation is complicated. RussiaChina military-technical cooperation has always been rather secretive, and the level of secrecy has increased as both countries engage in more direct confrontation with the US.

The political meaning of Putins 2019 statement on jointly developing a ballistic missile early warning system extended far beyond its technical and military significance. It demonstrated to the world that Russia and China were on the brink of a formal military alliance, which could be triggered if US pressure went too far.

In October 2020, Putin suggested the possibility of a military alliance with China. The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs reaction was positive, although Beijing refrained from using the word alliance.

A working and effective military alliance can be formed quickly if the need arises but their respective foreign policy strategies rendered such a move unlikely. However, real and imminent danger of military conflict with the US can trigger a paradigm shift.

M. K. Bhadrakumar was a career diplomat by profession. Roughly half of the 3 decades of his diplomatic career was devoted to assignments on the territories of the former Soviet Union and to Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan. Other overseas postings included South Korea, Sri Lanka, Germany, and Turkey. He writes mainly on Indian foreign policy and the affairs of the Middle East, Eurasia, Central Asia, South Asia and the Asia-Pacific.
Finally, the Japanese government accepts that there is a new mood in the Global South, with countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America unwilling to submit any longer to the will of the Western states.

by Vijay Prashad

In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023, its most important guidebook on international affairs. Japans foreign minister, Yoshimasa Hayashi, wrote the foreword, which begins: The world is now at a turning point in history. This phrase is key to understanding the Japanese approach to the war in Ukraine. Hours after Russian forces entered Ukraine, the Japanese government signed the G7 statement that condemned the large-scale military aggression and called for severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions. The next day, Hayashi announced that Japan would sanction designated individuals related to Russia, freeze assets of three Russian banks, and sanction exports to Russias military. In its Diplomatic Bluebook 2022, Japan condemned Russia and urged the Russian government to withdraw its troops immediately, and comply with international law. Russias war, the Japanese argued, shakes the very foundation of the international order, an order whose attrition, as the new Bluebook argues, has brought the world to this turning point.

National Interests

Despite all the talk of sanctions, Japan continues to import energy from Russia. In 2022, 9.5 percent of Japans imported liquefied natural gas came from Russia (up from 8.8 percent in 2021). Most of this energy came from Russias Sakhalin Island, where Japanese companies and the government have made substantial investments. In July 2022, Hayashi was asked about Japans continued imports from Sakhalin-2. His answer was clear: Sakhalin-2 is an important project for energy security, including the stable supply of electricity and gas in Japan. Since July, Japans officials have continued to emphasize Japans national interestsincluding through the Sakhalin-2 natural gas projectover its obligations to the G7 and to its own statements about the war. In August 2022, the Japanese government asked two private firmsMitsui and Mitsubishito deepen its involvement in Russias Sakhalin-2; We will respond by working with the public and private sectors to protect the interests of the companies and secure [a] stable supply of liquefied natural gas, said former Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Koichi Hagiuda.

This photo taken on March 27, 2023 shows cherry blossoms along the Meguro River in Tokyo, Japan. (Xinhua/Zhang Xiaoyu)

In March 2022, Kyodo News reported that a leaked version of the Diplomatic Bluebook 2022 used a rather startling phraseillegal occupationto describe Russian control over islands north of Hokkaido. The Japanese government had not used that phrase since 2003, largely because of increased diplomatic activity between Japan and Russia driven by the collaboration over the development of Sakhalin-2. As it turned out, the draft that Kyodo News had seen was altered so that the official Diplomatic Bluebook of 2022 did not use this phrase. Instead, the Bluebook noted that the greatest concern between Japan and Russia is the Northern Territories issue, which is yet to be resolved. Japan could have taken advantage of the Western animosity against Russia to press its claim on these islands, but instead, the Japanese government merely hoped that Russia would withdraw from Ukraine and return to negotiations on a peace treaty regarding the islands north of Japan.

Three New Points

The Diplomatic Bluebook 2023 makes three important points: that the post-Cold War era has ended, that China is Japans greatest strategic challenge (p. 43), and that Global South countries must be taken seriously. The Bluebook highlights Japans confusion, caught between its reliance upon Russian energy and the growing confidence of the Global South.

The Bluebook from 2022 noted, The international community is currently undergoing an era-defining change. Now, however, the Bluebook 2023 points to the end of the post-Cold War era (p. 3), which is illustrated by the collapse of the U.S.-led world order (which both the United States and Japan call the rules-based international order). Washingtons power has declined, but it is not clear what comes next.

Anxiety about the growing role of China in Asia is not new for Japan, which has long contested the Diaoyu (China)/Senkaku (Japan) islands. But now, there is a much more pronouncedand dangerousassessment of the situation. The Bluebook 2023 notes the close alignment between China and Russia, although it does not focus on that strategic partnership. Rather, the Japanese government focuses on China, which it now sees as Japans greatest strategic challenge. Even here, the Japanese government acknowledges that the two countries have held a series of dialogues to discuss common issues. The efforts of both Japan and China are important, says the Bluebook, to build a constructive and stable relationship (p. 43).

Finally, the Japanese government accepts that there is a new mood in the Global South, with countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America unwilling to submit any longer to the will of the Western states. In January 2023, a reporter from Yomiuri Shimbun asked the Foreign Ministrys press secretary Hikariko Ono how Japan defined the Global South. Her tentative reply is instructive. The Government of Japan does not have a precise definition of the term Global South, she said, but it is my understanding that in general, it often refers to emerging and developing countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, she noted, must strengthen engagement with the Global South. In the Bluebook 2023, the Japanese recognize that Global South countries are not following the Western position on Ukraine and that berating the countries of the Global South raises accusations of double standards (wars by the West are acceptable, but wars by others are unacceptable) (p. 3). Japan will promote multilateralism, building an inclusive approach that bridges differences. A new attitude is required, says the Bluebook.

In March, Japans Prime Minister Fumio Kishida met with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine. Both sides said that they were working to share security information, but Japan once more refused to send weapons to Ukraine. A few weeks after Kishida left Ukraine, Mitsuko Shino, Japans Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations warned in a guarded statement about the risks stemming from violations of the agreements regulating the export of weapons and military equipment and about the importance of the Arms Trade Treaty. Japan remains caught in the horns of its own dilemma.

Vijay Prashad is an Indian historian, editor and journalist. He is a writing fellow and chief correspondent at Globetrotter. He is an editor of LeftWord Books and the director of Tricontinental: Institute for Social Research. He is a senior non-resident fellow at Chongyang Institute for Financial Studies, Renmin University of China. He has written more than 20 books, including The Darker Nations and The Poorer Nations. His latest books are Struggle Makes Us Human: Learning from Movements for Socialism and (with Noam Chomsky) The Withdral: Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, and the Fragility of U.S. Power.
Iti doresti o presa libera si independenta, care nu da inapoi cand vine vorba de respectarea standardelor profesionale, refuza sa se lase cenzurata, sustine independenta justitiei, transparenta decizionala si valorile democratice. Alege sa o sustii.
The Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen and the rebel Houthis completed a three-day prisoner exchange on April 16. Close to 900 prisoners have been exchanged between the two warring sides through mid-April. The exchange is the result of an agreement reached in Switzerland in March as part of a round of ongoing peace and reconciliation talks between the Houthis and Saudi Arabiathe primary supporter of the Yemeni government.

The historic peace talks are seen as a result of the rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia brokered by China. A resolution toward ending the years-long war in Yemen was reportedly one of the key issues in the Saudi-Iran rapprochement.

Prisoners released disembark from a plane during a prisoner exchange at the Sanaa airport in Sanaa, Yemen, April 16, 2023. (Photo by Mohammed Mohammed/Xinhua)

The prisoner exchange has been widely recognized as an important step towards peace in a war that has already claimed over 1.5 million lives, according to the Houthi-backed administration in Sanaa, and displaced millions. As a consequence of the Saudi-imposed blockade, millions of people, including at least 2.2 million children, have also suffered from acute malnutrition and hunger.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen, Hans Grundberg, who helped broker the prisoner exchange agreement in Switzerland, commented, This release operation comes at a time of hope for Yemen as a reminder that constructive dialogue and mutual compromises are powerful tools capable of achieving great outcomes. Today, hundreds of Yemeni families get to celebrate Eid with their loved ones because the parties negotiated and reached an agreement. I hope this spirit is reflected in ongoing efforts to advance a comprehensive political solution.

from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service
Almost five years without an in-house conductor, and years without holding in-person concerts, the Willamette Valley Symphony enters its concert season with a new artistic director and conductor.

Conductor Lance Inouye doesnt want to spend too much time talking about his repertoire or his training in the music world. He doesnt want to focus on those things because often concerts are seen as something difficult to access. An exclusive art form. But it doesnt have to be.

Its so important to have access to music; its not just written for wealthy patrons, its written for everyone, Inouye said.

Part of that is having an experience where you arent shoved into a corner because thats the only seat for live music you can perform. But where the Willamette Valley Symphony plays, there are no bad seats, he said.

The April 22 and 23 concerts, to be held in Corvallis, will include pieces from the Romantic Era, he said. Where the Classical Period with pieces by Mozart was all about simplicity, the Romantic Era was all about the outward expression of emotion.

Some of the emotions that will likely be evoked in the upcoming concerts are longing, desire, unfulfilled desire, anxiety and love, he said.

The pieces are lush and full of sound.

By the end of Sibelius Second Symphony, the whole stage is shaking, he said.

Finnish composer Sibelius described this grand work as a confession of the soul," said Tom Bruch, president of the Willamette Valley Symphony Board of Directors.

The five years without an in-house director were an exciting time to work with several talented people, Bruch said.

But it also proved to be more difficult. You cant go as in-depth with the people you work with because they are changing around, he said. Now the symphony is able to have guest performers as well.

After a period of struggle, we found a great new conductor, Bruch said.

One of the most impressive things about him was that he didn't have to look at any scores when he conducted a whole concert, Bruch said.

It's true that sometimes he plays things from memory, Inouye said.

"It gives me the freedom to free up my eyes and ears and engage with the orchestra better," he said.

Inouye doesnt have a favorite piece. Whatever project he is working on is his favorite until he moves onto the next, he said. At the end of each rehearsal, he finds himself wishing it were longer.

If you go: The concerts will take place at Ashbrook Independent School in Corvallis, at 7 p.m. Saturday, April 22, with a pre-concert talk at 6:15. On Sunday, April 23, the concert will begin at 4:30 p.m. with a pre-concert talk at 3:45 p.m. Those under 17 will be admitted free. Tickets for everyone else are $18 for seniors and $20 for adults, and are available at www.willamettevalleysymphony.org.

Editor's note: This article has been edited to correct the days of the concerts to match the dates.
The drills come at a time when tensions between China and the U.S., along with its allies in East Asia, are at their highest.

The largest ever U.S.-Filipino military exercise began April 11 in the South China Sea, despite massive international protests. The Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) 2023 has the participation of over 17,700 troops from the United States, the Philippines, and Australia and is set to last until April 28.

The annual military exercises have expanded tremendously, nearly doubling in size since the last series of drills, as the administration of President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. has sought to clear the way for an increased U.S. military presence in the country. The drills come at a time when tensions between China and the U.S., along with its allies in East Asia, are at their highest.

Around 9,000 personnel participated in the exercise Balikatan 2022 off the coast of the Philippines. Credit: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Michael Doan/US Navy.

Meanwhile, Filipinos and peace advocates in the U.S. and the Philippines greeted the joint exercises on April 11 with protests. In Quezon City, progressive groups like Bayan, GABRIELA, and League of Filipino Students, among a dozen others rallied hundreds outside Camp Aguinaldo, the headquarters of the Armed Forces of the Philippines, just hours before the exercises began.

Diaspora Filipinos and anti-war organizations in the U.S. also organized demonstrations against the exercises under the slogan of Hands Off Philippines. In New York City and San Francisco, activists gathered in protest and demanded the complete withdrawal of the U.S. military from the Philippines.

Speaking to Democracy Now!, Renato Reyes, Jr., the general secretary of Bayan, stated that Filipinos do not want tensions in the region to increase. It is not in our interest to see the conflict escalate, said Reyes. We want peace in the region. We want respect for our sovereignty, for our sovereign rights. We dont want incursions from China, but we dont want to be used as a staging ground for U.S. military intervention and hegemony in the region.

from the Peoples Dispatch / Globetrotter News Service
Did you know Google Search was down for a brief period today? News oi -Carlsen Martin

Google's search engine recently went down for a few minutes during the early hours of April 19, 2023. However, the outage didn't last long and was quickly fixed by the company, although there were several thousand reports of issues on Downdetector.

According to a report by The Verge, Google's search results weren't working properly as the actual list of blue links were missing. While The Verge noticed that things like the Top Stories box and the info box on the side were visible, the list of links weren't.

Moreover, nearly 20,000 users reported issues with Google Search on Downdetector. Additionally, several users also took to Twitter to report the Google outage. In an official statement, Google confirmed that its search engine was issues, but it has since been resolved.

When did Google search stop returning page results? Is anyone else seeing results like this? pic.twitter.com/Q8OUxzoxhY  Matthew Mullins (@mullinsms) April 19, 2023

A spokesperson for Google told The Verge in an email that "there was a very brief issue affecting the availability of results for some searches, limited to the Americas region, and it was quickly addressed."

While the issues were resolved rather quickly, several users took to Twitter to voice their frustration, which displayed the heavy reliance on the search engine in our lives. It is still unclear why the issue only affected some users and not others, but everything seems to be in order now.

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FTC To Check If Generative AI Platforms May Be Used To Violate Civil Rights Or Execute Scams News oi -Alap Naik Desai

Seniors in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) testified that the agency would legally pursue companies that abuse Generative AI platforms. Legislators around the world appear increasingly concerned about the misuse of platforms such as ChatGPT, Bard, Midjourney, and many others like them, by questionable entities to violate laws enacted against discrimination.

FTC Chair Lina Khan and Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya noted the agency is well aware of the exponential growth in the use of Generative AI platforms. In a Congressional hearing, the duo admitted to the platforms' potential for abuse, violating laws, and committing hate crimes.

Growing Use Of Generative AI Platforms Is Concerning?

There's no doubt that the Generative AI platforms, several of which are based on ChatGPT, are being used actively. These platforms offer answers to queries instead of links to web pages. Additionally, several platforms draw realistic-looking images and even mimic the voices of people if they are fed enough data.

However, this rapid rise in the use of Generative AI platforms, and the fact that many of them are currently free to use, have raised concerns about misuse or abuse of these platforms. There have been persistent calls for regulation amid concerns worldwide about the possible use of the innovation for wrongdoing.

US FTC Agency Will Take Action Against The Misuse Of Generative AI Platforms

FTC Chair Lina Khan, and Commissioners Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, were asked about concerns about using Artificial Intelligence to make more effective scams or otherwise violate laws. As these platforms are already making high-quality deep fakes, they could also be used to commit crimes and fraud.

Bedoya has noted that companies using algorithms or AI weren't allowed to violate civil rights laws or break the rules against unfair and deceptive acts. The laws protecting civil rights apply to these companies as well, she noted.

The newer versions of AI, "could be used to turbocharge fraud and scams and any wrongdoing would put them on the hook for FTC action," assured Khan.

Throughout its 100-year history, the FTC had to adapt to changing technologies, mentioned Slaughter. Adapting to ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence tools was no different, observed the commissioner.

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Meta Now Allowing Teens Into Horizon Worlds App News lekhaka -Anu Joy

Meta is trying to expand its customer base, now letting teenagers in the US and Canada use the Horizon Worlds app. The social media giant states that it will also include age-restricted safety defaults to provide teens a safe experience.

This expansion was in the works since February, if reports are to be believed. The company's latest announcement comes amid protests by online safety experts and organizations against Meta's plans to allow children into the app.

What is Horizon Worlds?

For the unversed, Horizon Worlds is a free VR (virtual reality) game that's described as a "social experience." While it's only available on the Meta VR headset for now, the company plans to branch out to mobile devices and web browsers.

Age-Restricted Content for Teens

Prior to today's announcement, Horizon Worlds was restricted to users that were over 18. With the app being opened up to teens between the ages of 13 and 17, Meta is introducing a set of "age-appropriate protections and safety defaults."

The profiles of teenagers will be set to private by default, and they will also have the option to control who follows them back on the app. In addition, teens will be restricted from finding or viewing mature content.

Meta is also introducing a "voice mode" which will convert the voice of people that the teen is unfamiliar with into "friendly sounds." The mode also garbles the teen's voice when talking to strangers.

Meta states in a blog post, "Meta Horizon Worlds' teen safety features have been designed with input from parents, safety advocates, and experts, including ConnectSafely, and we continue to design with best practices from the United Nations, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, and youth developmental experts in mind."

Parents Can Supervise Their Kids Too

Parents and guardians can add parental supervision controls via Meta's Family Center. With the controls set up, parents will be able to view and control various safety features. They will be able to monitor how long their child has been using the app in the past week, view the list of followers, and more.

Source: Meta

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Recent North Korean military exercises, monitored by South Korea and the United States, included a new North Korean AUV (Autonomous Underwater Vehicle) that North Korea later revealed could be used with a nuclear or conventional warhead. Called Haeil (tsunami), this was the first open sea test of the system. North Korea described the new AUV as designed to make sneak attacks against enemy ports or ships at sea. Haeil will purportedly be towed by a surface ship to the location it will be launched from or launched from a North Korean port. If a nuclear warhead is used, it is purportedly supposed to produce a radioactive tidal wave in enemy ports or destroy ships at sea with a large radioactive shock wave. There are no pictures of Haeil although one recent photo showed North Korean leader Kim Jong Un standing next to a large torpedo shaped object. Haeil is similar in function to the new Russian Poseidon torpedo, which is armed with a large nuclear weapon and launched from a modified nuclear submarine. This sub can carry four to eight Poseidons, attached to the outside of the sub. Russia claims Poseidon is armed with a new two-megaton nuclear warhead that detonates underwater, creating a tidal wave of radioactive water that hits enemy ports. Poseidon can travel several thousand kilometers underwater, using a nuclear propulsion system. Russia considers Poseidon a terror weapon and it is unclear if any are available with the new nuclear warhead. Poseidon had not been tested with a conventional warhead to see if it works. For the Russians, the possible existence of such a weapon generates a lot terror, even if it has not been tested.

The new North Korean Haeil AUV was tested. During the exercises the new AUV operated for nearly 60 hours at depths of 80 to 150 meters (260-500 feet) before detonating its explosive warhead. North Korea already uses silos, railroad cars, submarines and large truck mounted launchers to deliver its nuclear weapons. Now there is an AUV. It is uncertain how accurate and reliable the AUV is and the North Koreans would not discuss any possible problems. The AUV requires an accurate and reliable INS (Inertial Navigation System) to work effectively. North Korea is not known to have used such technology in ships before and it is unclear if they have an effective INS system. North Korea is probably still working on the INS system, a technology they have little experience with.
April 18, 2023: Somali soldiers and AU peacekeeper operations in 2022 drove al Shabaab out of a third of the territory the terror group occupied. This included 70 towns and villages. Other losses included killing over 3,000 al Shabaab gunmen and wounding nearly 4,000. In response, more al Shabaab forces moved towards the Kenya border or into Kenya itself. The Kenyan security forces responded but there were still 77 al Shabaab attacks in northern Kenya inflicting 116 deaths among Kenyan civilian and security personnel. Thats a 50 percent increase over 2021 and the fifth year in a row that al Shabaab violence has increased in Kenya, most of it un Mandera county and three other counties in northeast Kenya.

Part of this problem is that for years, thousands of visibly starving Somalis have been allowed to enter the country and take shelter (and regular meals) in the massive Dadaab refugee camp. Kenya has long maintained that the camps have become a menace to Kenyans and there is much popular support in Kenya for closure. Dadaab became the largest refugee camp in the world since it was established in 1991. At its peak it contained over 400,000 people but that had declined to about 330,000 in 2016 and 200,000 now. The other camp, Kakuma, holds over 160,000. An additional 24,000 Somalis fled across the border into Kenya during 2022 and this caused two smaller satellite camps to be reopened. In addition, there are as many as 100,000 or more unregistered Somali refugees. The first camp for exiled Somalis was built outside the town of Dadaab. The Kenyans living near the camp are largely ethnic Somali but the camp is unpopular because it disrupts more than benefits the locals, and has become a base for criminal gangs and Islamic terrorists. Kenya is mostly concerned about Dadaab being used as a base for Islamic terrorists who carry out attacks in Kenya and recruit young men from Dadaab for those attacks. Too often, Kenyan police point out Islamic terror attack investigations come back to Dadaab or Kakuma. Many of the Somalis who said they were returning to Somalia quietly stayed in Kenya, finding refuge in ethnic Somali communities on the Kenyan side of the Somalia border.

The Dadaab camp is near Mandera county, which is on the Somali border and long the scene of Somali violence. Counter-terror efforts have largely kept Somali al Shabaab terrorists out of the capital (Nairobi), which is a thousand kilometers from Mandera, and that is what national politicians focus on. There have been two al Shabaab attacks in Nairobi since 2013. The latest one was in 2019. Politicians have priorities and problems get more attention the closer they are.

Al Shabaab has long sought to drive all non-Moslems out of northeastern Kenya because a lot of ethnic Somalis and Moslems live there. Over 80 percent of Kenyans are Christian and only twelve percent Moslem, most of them ethnic Somalis. Despite the Kenyan ban on new arrivals at the UN operated camps, over 80,000 visibly hungry Somalis (most of them women and children) have been accepted in the last few months. Most come from areas in southern Somalia that are under al Shabaab control and not receiving much, if any foreign food aid.

The UN has been unsuccessful in obtaining needed food aid for Somalia. Foreign aid donors have convinced Somalis that the send the aid to where it will do the most good approach was definitely being applied to Somalia. That policy put Somalia at a disadvantage because much, if not most of its aid was stolen and never reached those who needed it. If the new government can demonstrate an ability to change the wicked ways of its predecessors, the aid will resume and increase. In 2022, the drought was blamed for at least 43,000 deaths.

Somalia and other nations in the region need this because the region is suffering from one of its periodic droughts, and a major one at that. In the past these major droughts would cause visible declines in the population. After World War II (1939-45) foreign aid by a growing number of countries and NGOs (Non-government Organizations) made it possible to prevent these starvation deaths, at least in countries that could distribute the aid effectively. Somali was one of the nations that had trouble doing that, mainly because Somalia was still a deeply divided region because of the persistence of many powerful clans that looked after their own even if it meant other Somalis suffered. The clan loyalties are still a problem and a major factor in delaying fair elections of a national parliament.

April 17, 2023: AU (African Union) officials revealed that peacekeeper deaths in Somalia were much higher (3,500) than previously made public and that there has been some problems in getting family benefits ($50,000) to the families of peacekeepers killed in Somalia over the last sixteen years. So far the EU has paid out nearly $200 million in death benefits and disabling injuries.

The peacekeeper force costs about $200 million a year. That is provided by the UN via contributions by the U.S. and EU (European Union). The UN approves the size and duration of the peacekeeper force annually. The peacekeepers have been in Somalia since 2007 at a cost of over three billion dollars. So far about 3,500 peacekeepers have been killed and at least as many permanently disabled from their wounds. The AU pays for medical care, including long term care for some of the wounded. The bodies of peacekeepers killed in Somalia are usually buried there. The AU pays for this and is supposed to send to families of the dead a lump sum in death benefits. The AU pays the death benefits to the country that supplied the peacekeeper, not directly to the family. Some local officials steal, or try to steal the death benefits. There are similar problems with peacekeeper payrolls and disability payments. This sort of corruption is found everywhere but is worst in Africa and Somalia is rated as the most corrupt nation on the planet. For years the AU played down the high casualty rates in Somalia, reporting less then a third of the actual deaths. The growing number of corruption scandals involving missing death benefits and other compensation led to the actual loss statistics being revealed. There are sometimes problems with soldiers not being paid during peacetime in their home countries. Too much of this sometimes sparks a rebellion or insurrection over missing pay and other grievances. Despite this there was never a problem obtaining peacekeepers for duty in Somalia, paid for by the AU (and a long list of African and Western donors).

Somalia is the most dangerous peacekeeping duty in the world. About 300,000 men served as peacekeepers in Somalia, receiving an average annual compensation of $9,100 each. Officers, NCOs and privates all receive different amounts and peacekeeping duty pays better than their regular pay when back home. In most countries, peacekeeping duty is relatively safe. This was not the case in Somalia, where about three percent of peacekeepers were killed or badly (disabled) wounded.

The first AU peacekeepers (from Uganda) arrived in March 2007 and these 8,000 troops were supposed to be gone within six months. That force did not disappear by the end of 2007 but kept growing and quickly reached 22,000, most of them soldiers plus a few thousand police, trainers and administrators. Uganda and Burundi supplied most of them with most of the rest coming from Kenya and Ethiopia. The peacekeeper force made a difference, but in the face of massive corruption in the Somali government and various Somali communities that demanded help, the operation proved far more expensive and time-consuming than expected. Peacekeepers are due to leave because the best they can do is reduce the violence and disunity, while UN donors are not willing to waste money on that when there are other disaster zones that can make better use of the limited foreign aid.

April 3, 2023: In Mogadishu, a peacekeeper armored vehicle on patrol hit a landmine, killing three civilian bystanders and wounding many others. Al Shabaab was believed responsible for this.

March 27, 2023: In the northeast (Somaliland) fighting between rival Islamic terror groups left 43 al Shabaab and ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) members dead.

March 26, 2023: In the south (Middle Shabelle region) al Shabaab attacked an army base but were repulsed with heavy losses. The al Shabaab force retreated, taking their dead and wounded with them.

March 22, 2023: In the north (Somaliland) a long simmering territorial dispute has led to weeks of fighting between Somaliland forces and local militias. Since February this fighting has left nearly a hundred dead and over 400 wounded. This has driven several hundred thousand civilians to cross into Ethiopia to escape the violence. This fighting was a side effect of disputes between Puntland and Somaliland. The Sool area had been quiet since mid-2108, when there was renewed violence lasting about a week that left fifty dead. Since the 1990s these two statelets that comprise northern Somalia; Puntland and Somaliland, have been squabbling, and sometimes shooting, over possession of the Sool region that lies astride their border. Both sides claim it, and both are willing to fight for it. The dispute has been going on since Puntland was formed in 1998. Back then Puntland declared they controlled the Sool because the inhabitants belonged to a Puntland tribe. Somaliland based their claim on borders drawn by the colonial governments of Italy and Britain a century ago. Years of negotiations did not achieve much. Both statelets sent additional troops to the border in anticipation of a fight for Sool. The 2018 Sool violence got started after several months of escalating demonstrations and threats. This has been the case since the last outbreak of violence in mid-2014. Before that there was brief fighting in early 2012. There was some Sool tension in 2009 and fighting in early 2008. This was a continuation of a confrontation that started in late 2007. The first real threats of violence were in 2003 and ever since the best the two statelets could do was keep things quiet. A resolution of the Sool dispute continues to be out of reach.

March 8, 2023: Somalia has massive problems with corruption, which explains why the latest annual Transparency International Corruption Perception Index showed that Somalia is the most corrupt nation in the world. Somalia continued to be as corrupt as it has been during the last decade, with a corruption score of 12, which is why Somalia is stuck at the bottom of the list. Transparency International measures corruption on a 1 (most corrupt) to 100 (not corrupt) scale. The nations with the lowest scores are currently Yemen (score of 17). Syria (13), South Sudan (13) and Somalia (12). The least corrupt nation is currently Denmark, with a CPI of 90, followed by Finland and New Zealand, each with 87.

While the Middle East has a lot of corruption, there are exceptions. In the Persian Gulf the UAE (United Arab Emirates) is the least corrupt nation in the region, followed by Israel. Both Somalia and UAEs corruption score have not changed much since the 2011 Arab Spring revolution when it was 8 for Somalia and 68 for the UAE. The UAE achieved the most favorable corruption score in the region because it has long depended on foreign trade to survive and to make money in that business you must be known as an honest trading partner. The UAE is also different in that it is a federation of formerly independent emirates that realized the wisdom of joining forces. Laws and customs vary somewhat among the emirates and some are more gangster than others. Overall, the UAE is a place where foreigners feel comfortable doing business. The UAE has also partnered with Turkey to provide foreign aid to Somalia. This has proved very difficult to carry out and Somalia is not a place most foreigners want to do business in. Somalia is also a federation of seven (including separatist Somaliland and Puntland in the far north) clan-dominated regions that have never achieved the degree of unity and prosperity of the UAE.
U.S. Citizens and Russian Intelligence Officers Charged with Conspiring to Use U.S. Citizens as Illegal Agents of the Russian Government

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

Defendants Sought to Sow Discord, Spread Pro-Russia Propaganda and Interfere in Elections Within the United States

A federal grand jury in Tampa, Florida, returned a superseding indictment charging four U.S. citizens and three Russian nationals with working on behalf of the Russian government and in conjunction with the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) to conduct a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States. Among other conduct, the superseding indictment alleges that the Russian defendants recruited, funded and directed U.S. political groups to act as unregistered illegal agents of the Russian government and sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda; the indicted intelligence officers, in particular, participated in covertly funding and directing candidates for local office within the United States.

Additionally, in a separate case out of the District of Columbia, a criminal complaint was unsealed charging Russian national Natalia Burlinova with conspiring with an FSB officer to act as an illegal agent of Russia in the United States.

"Russia's foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights - freedoms Russia denies its own citizens - to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt U.S. elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are U.S. citizens or foreign individuals abroad."

"Efforts by the Russian government to secretly influence U.S. elections will not be tolerated," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "As today's announcement demonstrates, the Criminal Division is committed to eradicating foreign malign influence from the U.S. political system and helping ensure the integrity of our elections."

"Today's announcement paints a harrowing picture of Russian government actions and the lengths to which the FSB will go to interfere with our elections, sow discord in our nation and ultimately recruit U.S citizens to their efforts," said Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division. "All Americans should be deeply concerned by the tactics employed by the FSB and remain vigilant to any attempt to undermine our democracy. The FBI remains committed to confronting this egregious behavior and ultimately disrupting our adversaries and those who act on their behalf."

United States v. Ionov, et al.

According to the superseding indictment returned in the Middle District of Florida, Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, a resident of Moscow, was the founder and president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia (AGMR), an organization headquartered in Moscow, Russia, and funded by the Russian government. Ionov allegedly utilized AGMR to carry out Russia's malign influence campaign. Ionov's influence efforts were allegedly directed and supervised by Moscow-based FSB officers, including indicted defendants Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov and Yegor Sergeyevich Popov.

"The prosecution of this criminal conduct is essential to protecting the American public when foreign governments seek to inject themselves into the American political process," said U.S. Attorney Roger B. Handberg for the Middle District of Florida. "We thank our partners at the FBI for their tireless investigation of these events and their commitment to ensure justice is done."

Among other illegal activities, the superseding indictment alleges that Ionov, Sukhodolov and Popov conspired to directly and substantially influence democratic elections in the United States by clandestinely funding and directing the political campaign of a particular candidate for local office in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2019. For instance, the superseding indictment alleges that Popov expressly referred to this effort on behalf of the FSB as "our election campaign," and Ionov referring to the candidate as the "candidate whom we supervise." Ionov and Popov allegedly intended that this election interference plot would extend beyond the 2019 local election cycle in St. Petersburg, and subsequently discussed that the "USA Presidential election" was the FSB's "main topic of the year."

Moreover, from at least November 2014 until July 2022, Ionov allegedly engaged in a years-long foreign malign influence campaign targeting the United States. As a part of the campaign, Ionov allegedly recruited members of political groups within the United States, including the African People's Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement (collectively, the APSP) in Florida, Black Hammer in Georgia and a political group in California (referred to in the superseding indictment as U.S. Political Group 3), to participate in the influence campaign and act as agents of Russia in the United States, including the following indicted defendants:

Omali Yeshitela, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served as the chairman and founder of the APSP;

Penny Joanne Hess, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served as the leader of a component of the APSP;

Jesse Nevel, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis, Missouri, who served as a member of a component of the APSP; and

Augustus C. Romain Jr., aka Gazi Kodzo, a U.S. citizen residing in St. Petersburg, Florida, and Atlanta, who served as a leader of the APSP and a founder of Black Hammer in Georgia.

One focus of Ionov's alleged influence operation was to create the appearance of American popular support for Russia's annexation of territories in Ukraine. For example, in May 2020, Ionov allegedly sent a request he stated was from "Russia, the Donetsk People's Republic" - an apparent reference to a Russian-occupied region in eastern Ukraine - to Yeshitela and members of other U.S. political groups to make statements in support of the independence of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, a Russian-backed breakaway state in eastern Ukraine. Ionov later allegedly touted to the FSB that Yeshitela's video-recorded statement of support was the first time that "American nonprofit organizations congratulated citizens" of the occupied region.

Ionov's use of the APSP to promote Russian propaganda relating to Ukraine allegedly continued after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. On the day Russia invaded Ukraine, Feb. 24, 2022, Ionov allegedly emailed Nevel an "URGENT MESSAGE" which contained pro-Russian talking points in support of the invasion. Thereafter, throughout March 2022, the APSP repeatedly hosted Ionov via video conference to discuss the war, during which Ionov falsely stated that anyone who supported Ukraine also supported Naziism and white supremacy, and Yeshitela and another APSP member allegedly made statements of solidarity with the Russian government.

Ionov, Sukhodolov, Popov, Yeshitela, Hess, Nevel and Romain are charged with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government within the United States without providing prior notification to the Attorney General, as required by law. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Yeshitela, Hess and Nevel are also charged with acting as agents of Russia within the United States without such prior notification. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. If convicted, a federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel J. Marcet and Risha Asokan for the Middle District of Florida, Trial Attorney Menno Goedman of the Justice Department's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section, and Trial Attorney Demetrius Sumner of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section are prosecuting the case.

United States v. Burlinova

According to the affidavit in support of the criminal complaint unsealed in the District of Columbia, Russian national Natalia Burlinova, a resident of Moscow, conspired with an FSB officer to recruit U.S. citizens from academic and research institutions to travel to Russia to participate in a public diplomacy program called Meeting Russia. The program was operated by PICREADI, a Russian organization led by Burlinova, funded by the Russian government and devoted to promoting Russian national interests.

"The defendant is accused of subverting our foreign agent notification laws to promote Russian national interests here in the United States, concealing from the public that her recruitment efforts were funded by a Russian security service," said U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves for the District of Columbia. "We will continue to expose these serious crimes and hold all who perpetrate them accountable."

The affidavit alleges that the FSB officer provided funding and other support for Burlinova's foreign recruitment and her efforts to advance Russian interests in the United States. In return, Burlinova provided the FSB officer with extensive information about U.S. citizens who were recruited to attend her programs, including their rAsumAs, passport information, photographs and analyses of their views toward Russia. Burlinova further identified for the FSB officer particular U.S. citizens who, in Burlinova's view, had expressed positive attitudes towards Russia and were prepared to continue to collaborate. During a recruitment trip to the United States in fall 2018, Burlinova met with U.S. citizens at various universities and research institutions and provided to photographs of her meetings to the FSB officer. The FSB officer used the information Burlinova provided prepare FSB intelligence reports. Burlinova never notified the Attorney General of these efforts or otherwise disclosed to the public that her recruitment efforts were supported and funded by a Russian security service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael J. Friedman for the District of Columbia and Trial Attorney Emma D. Ellenrieder of the National Security Division's Counterintelligence and Export Control Section are prosecuting the case.

An indictment and a complaint are merely an allegation. All defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Attachment(s): Download Ionov et al. Superseding Indictment

Download Burlinova affidavit

Topic(s): Export Control

National Security

Component(s): Criminal Division

Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)

National Security Division (NSD)

USAO - District of Columbia

USAO - Florida, Middle

Press Release Number: 23-430

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FBI Investigating Ex-US Navy Officer Over Spread of Pentagon Leaks - Reports

Sputnik News

20230418

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The United States' Federal Bureau of Investigation has launched an inquiry into former US navy officer Sarah Bils, who runs a social media account believed to be one of the places where the leaked Department of Defense documents were published, US media reported, citing officials.

A US media outlet said, citing an unnamed US official, that Bils was "actively under federal investigation, but the circumstances of the content of the investigation are unclear at this time."

Citing people in the know, the outlet reported that both the FBI and the US navy were investigating Bils' alleged role in the spread of Pentagon leaks.

The ex-navy officer herself has denied any links to the leaks. The 37-year-old said in multiple interviews that she was only one of the people administering the Donbass Devushka (translating from Russian as "Donbas Girl") channel on Telegram, largely dubbed in Western media as "pro-Russian."

On April 5, the Donbass Devushka channel posted four of the leaked classified documents to its over 65,000 followers, which have since increased to over 71,000. The Pentagon has launched an investigation into the leaks after several large Russian social media accounts shared the original posts.

A package of top secret US Department of Defense documents has been leaked online in the recent weeks, disclosing some of Washington's highly classified military analysis and showing that the US was spying not only on its opponents but also on its allies. The leakage sparked deep concern among US officials, who fear that the situation might endanger the US's sources and undermine important international ties.

On Thursday, the FBI arrested Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the US Air Force National Guard, for his alleged involvement in leaking the classified documents. According to The Washington Post, Teixeira started publishing classified documents on Discord around February 2022, at the beginning of Russia's military operation in Ukraine.

On Friday, a federal court in Boston charged Teixeira with the unauthorized retention, removal and transmission of classified information, and ordered him to remain in custody until the next hearing, scheduled for Wednesday.

A Sputnik

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UN Expresses Concern to US Over Spying Reports

By Margaret Besheer April 18, 2023

The United Nations has lodged a formal complaint with the United States over reports that Washington spied on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other senior U.N. officials.

"We have now officially expressed to the host country our concern regarding the recent reports that the communications of the secretary-general and other senior U.N. officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the U.S. government," U.N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday.

The reports related to Guterres and the U.N. emerged as part of a trove of highly classified U.S. documents that were leaked and circulated on social media sites for weeks. They included sensitive information about Russia's war in Ukraine as well as information about U.S. allies, including Israel, Turkey and South Korea.

Dujarric said the U.N. sent a letter Monday evening via the U.S. Mission to the United Nations. He said no reply had been received by Tuesday afternoon.

"We have made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States as enumerated in the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," Dujarric said.

The U.S. government has not commented on the substance of the leaked documents. However, on April 13, Jack Teixeira, the Air National Guard member suspected of leaking the documents, was arrested in connection to the case. He faces two criminal charges: unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents.

The BBC first reported last week that Guterres may have been spied on, including his private conversations with Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed. The leaked documents also contained Washington's concerns that Guterres was too accommodating to Moscow.

The U.N. chief has been working to keep alive a nine-month-old grain deal that allows Ukraine to export its food products through the Black Sea. Moscow has repeatedly complained that benefits it was supposed to receive in exchange have not materialized and is threatening to leave the deal. But Guterres has been very vocal from the start of Russia's invasion of Ukraine that it is a violation of the U.N. Charter and international law.

"The secretary-general has been at his job for quite some time," Dujarric said on April 13 when asked about those reports. "He's been in politics and a public figure for quite some time. So, he's not surprised, I think, by the fact that people are spying on him and listening on his private conversations. Unfortunately, either for various reasons, it allows such private conversations to be distorted and made public."

The latest report, published Monday by The Washington Post, recounts Guterres' anger over a letter from Ethiopia's foreign minister rejecting the U.N. chief's plan to visit northern Ethiopia's Tigray region during a February 2023 trip to Ethiopia to attend the African Union Summit. Guterres did visit Addis Ababa on the trip but did not go to northern Ethiopia.

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US Accuses 3 Russians, 4 Americans in 'Malign Influence' Campaign

By VOA News April 18, 2023

The U.S. Justice Department on Tuesday indicted three Russian security agents and four Americans on charges of conducting "a multi-year foreign malign influence campaign in the United States" on behalf of the Russian government.

A federal grand jury in the southern city of Tampa, Florida, alleged that Russian Federal Security Service agents recruited, funded and directed U.S. political groups to act as unregistered Moscow agents to "sow discord and spread pro-Russian propaganda." The indictment, replacing an earlier one, alleged that the Russian intelligence agents covertly funded and oversaw the political campaigns for a local office in the U.S.

"Russia's foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights a freedoms Russia denies its own citizens a to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States," Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said in a statement.

The indictment alleges that a group called the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia was founded by Moscow resident Aleksandr Viktorovich Ionov, one of the three Russians charged, and funded by the Russian government. The U.S. alleges that the Russian group carried out the malign influence campaign under the supervision of two others charged in the case, Federal Security Service agents Aleksey Borisovich Sukhodolov and Yegor Sergeyevich Popov.

The U.S. accused the three Russians of directing the campaign of an unnamed candidate for local office in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2019 and referred to the political aspirant as the "candidate whom we supervise," but intended its work to extend to the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

Ionov allegedly recruited members of political groups within the United States, including the African People's Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement in Florida.

The four indicted Americans a Omali Yeshitela, Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus C. Romain Jr. a have residences in St. Petersburg, and according to the Justice Department, all had ties to the African People's Socialist Party and the Uhuru Movement.

The Justice Department said one focus of Ionov's alleged influence operation "was to create the appearance of American popular support for Russia's annexation of territories in Ukraine."

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Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo / Hemeti

The force is commanded on the ground by Brig. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commonly known in Sudan as 'Hemeti'. Hemeti is a former Border Guard commander and Janjaweed militia leader. He is the nephew of Juma Dagalo, the traditional chief of the Awlad Mansour section of the Mahariya clan of the Abbala (camel-herders) Rizeigat Arabs. Hemeti reported to NISS Maj. Gen. Abbas Abdelaziz, based in Khartoum. Overall command was said to reside with NISS Director General Ali El Nasih El Galla.

Hemedti is the diminutive name for little Mohamed, which Dagolo ironically kept because of his youthful looks. Hemedtis grandfather, Dagolo, was the head of a subclan of the Mahariya Rizeigat Arab tribe that grazed the pastures of Chad and Darfur. Young men from the camel-herding Mahariya  landless and marginalized in both countries  formed the core element of the Janjaweed militia that fought in Darfur. Hemedti is from the farthest of Sudans far peripheries, an outsider to the Khartoum political establishment. Hemedti is a school dropout turned trader, without formal education or military staff college the tsnk General was awarded on account of his proficiency in fighting and bargaining.

Hilals cousin, Muhammad Hamdan Daglo Hemetti, is a member of the Mahariya branch of the northern Rizayqat and Hilals former Janjaweed deputy. Daglo led the governments 2017 disarmament campaign in Darfur, intended to confiscate weapons held by civilians, rebel groups and government-controlled militias such as the Popular Defense Forces (PDF) and the Central Reserve Police (CRP). The RSF deployed 10,000 men and an armored regiment in North Darfur to deal with the threat posed by Hilal and his followers.

Uncontrolled elements of Mohammed Hamdan Dagolo, alias Hemmeti, head of the Rapid Support Force of the Sudan, were also reportedly involved in arms trafficking into the Central African Republic.

Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemeti), who apologized for taking part in the transitional military junta, stressed his demand for six conditions to meet the Sudanese peoples demands, including the establishment of special anti-corruption courts. Hemeti said in a statement 13 Aprik 2019 that developments of the events require that the crisis be addressed in a way that satisfies the Sudanese people and puts the country back on track. He stressed the need to open dialogue with various segments of society, and organize meetings with leaders and heads of political parties, Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), youth leaders and leaders of civil society organizations, and setting a transitional period of no more than three to six months, during which the constitution will be revised through a drafting committee with the participation of all Sudanese forces.

The (RSF) leader also called for the establishment of public courts and prosecution to combat corruption and to hold fair elections, in accordance with international local control and in accordance with an election law agreed between the stakeholders. He pledged that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF would defend the country and the people with the rest of the armed forces.

General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo was appointed deputy leader of the ruling military council, according to Sudanese state television. Footage showed Hemeti, who commands the paramilitary unit Rapid Support Forces (RSF), being sworn in 13 April 2019. Since becoming deputy chairman of the Transitional Military Council that toppled former President Omar al-Bashir, Hemitte had been engaged in intensive meetings with Western ambassadors to clarify the councils view in running the two-year interim period. The deputy chairman of the Transitional Military Council, Lieutenant General Mohamed Hamdan (Hemitte), continued his meetings with ambassadors accredited to the Sudan. Hemitte briefed the ambassadors on the circumstances and developments in the country and briefed them on the reasons that led to the formation of a transitional military council for this phase, the role of the Council and the steps and measures taken to preserve the safety and security of the Sudan.

The Sudanese ruling transitional military councils deputy head said that the Sudanese forces backing the Yemeni legitimate government against the pro-Iranian Houthi militia will remain in Yemen, Sudan news agency (SUNA) reported on 15 April 2019. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo - widely known as Himeidti - said in a statement to SUNA: We are adhering to our commitment to the coalition, and our forces will remain until the coalition fulfils its goals.

A decade before, in 2008 in South Darfur, break-away groups from former Arab opposition leader Mohamed Hamdan ("Hemeti") had only a small force of approximately six vehicles near Tulus. UN sources saw former Hemeti fighters as responsible for recent security incidents near Firdus.

On 12 April 2019 the commander of the government militia Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (aka Hemitte) refused to participate in the Transitional Military Council which took over power following the ouster of former President Omer al-Bashir. On 11 April 2019, the Defence Minister and First Vice- President Awad Ibn Ouf overthrew President Omer al-Bashir and announced his arrest in a safe place. He said the Supreme Security Committee, including the armed forces, the National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS), RSF and the police took full responsibility for changing the whole regime during a two-year transitional period.

In a statement published on the RSF webpage on 12 April 2019, Hemitte said: Id like to announce to the Sudanese people that I, in my capacity as commander of the RSF, have refused to participate in the military council since 11 April. He pointed out that RSF would remain part of the armed forces and would work to maintain the unity of the country and respect for human rights. Hemitte added his forces would continue to side with the choices of the Sudanese people.

The commander issued a statement in which he stressed support for the peoples demand of handing over power to a civil transitional government, saying the RSF rejects any solutions that dont meet the desires of the Sudanese people. He also asked the leaders of the Sudanese Professionals Association and the various opposition parties and the youth to open the door of dialogue and engage in negotiations to achieve solutions that satisfy the desire of the people and protects the country against from sliding into chaos.

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April 18, 2023

By Jim Garamone , DOD News

DOD Officials Detail Progress With Indo-Pacific Allies, Friends

Defense leaders will chart the progress made in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region and what more needs to be done during testimony before the House Armed Services Committee today.

Jedidiah P. Royal, the principal deputy assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific affairs, will discuss U.S. force structure in the region, steps made to improve contacts and military capabilities with friends and allies and how the United States and its allies will proceed.

In his prepared opening remarks, Royal said China is America's pacing challenge, and the nation is increasingly using the People's Liberation Army "as a tool for coercion in support of its global aims, and we have in turn seen the PLA conduct more dangerous and aggressive activities in the region."

In the last year, Chinese aircraft and ships conducted inherently risky intercepts increasing the unacceptable danger of an accident. "The PLA continues to conduct coercive military activities in the Taiwan Strait, the South and East China Seas, and beyond," he said. "With our allies and partners across the region, the United States has called out such behavior."

The United States has condemned the People's Republic of China's use of military-grade lasers against an Australian aircraft and a Philippine ship, both operating lawfully in their respective Exclusive Economic Zones. "Additionally, we have seen continued coercive PLA behavior along the Line of Actual Control with India," Royal said. "For the sake of preserving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, we must never accept military activities intended to undermine the rules-based international order through coercion and aggression."

China is not transparent about most of its defense activities, but what is especially worrisome is that the nation is engaged in a significant and fast-paced expansion, modernization and diversification of its nuclear forces. "While the end state of the PRC's nuclear force expansion remains uncertain, the trajectory of these efforts points to a large, diverse nuclear arsenal with a high degree of survivability, reliability and effectiveness, encased in an opaque posture," Royal said. "This could provide the PRC with new options before and during a crisis or conflict to leverage nuclear weapons for coercive purposes, including military provocations against U.S. allies and partners in the region."

Other disturbing developments involve China embracing rapid technological change to accomplish military goals. "Of particular concern is [China's] interest in biotechnology and other areas that may have peaceful purposes but that also enable weapons development, including advanced biological and chemical weapons," he said.

Officials are also disturbed by China's lack of interest in developing important lines of communication that underpin a stable defense relationship.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III has said on many occasions that even at the height of the Cold War, U.S. and Soviet military leaders had lines of communication.

"The Department of Defense believes strongly in maintaining open lines of communication between Washington and Beijing to ensure competition does not veer into conflict," Royal said. "Immediately after downing the PRC high-altitude balloon in February, the department submitted a request for a call between Secretary Austin and the PRC Minister of National Defense because we wanted to ensure there was no misunderstanding or miscalculation in Beijing about our actions. Unfortunately, the PRC declined our request."

He noted this was not the first time Chinese officials refused to communicate with the secretary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff or other department officials.

The United States is strengthening force posture in the region and sharpening American military capabilities alongside allies and friends. "We're seeing states across the region invest in their own capabilities, their connections with regional partners and their relationships with the U.S.," said a senior defense official speaking on background. "That's because they share our vision about what our free and open Indo-Pacific looks like."

The United States will maintain its emphasis on the Indo-Pacific. Royal said deterrence in the region is strong and real for two reasons: "First, the U.S. military remains the most capable and credible fighting force in the world," he said. "The major investments in the President's Budget Request will help keep it that way.

"Second, the United States is not the only Indo-Pacific power seeking to uphold peace and stability in the region by investing in greater capability and connection," he continued. "The alliance and partner network both in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond is our greatest asymmetric advantage, and it is gaining even greater strength."

He noted that Japan has decided to increase substantially its defense budget over the next five years and to introduce new capabilities, including counterstrike.

The United States and South Korea are taking clear, meaningful steps to modernize and strengthen that treaty alliance, including by expanding the scope and scale of our combined exercises and deploying some of our most capable platforms to the Korean Peninsula at a faster tempo.

The United States and the Philippines are working together to modernize the Philippine military. "We are working together to accelerate allied capabilities in the air and maritime domain," he said.

"With India, we are making major investments in our defense ties to uphold the regional balance of power," Royal said.

The Australia, United Kingdom and United States security pact may be the best example of this collaboration, Royal said.

"Finally, we continue to fulfill our commitments under the Taiwan Relations Act," he said. "The [act] has formed the bedrock of peace, stability and deterrence in the Taiwan Strait over the last four decades, and it is sustained by strong bipartisan support for providing Taiwan with self-defense capabilities, as well as for maintaining the U.S. capacity to resist any use of force that jeopardizes the security of the people on Taiwan."

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NATO Secretary General: we stand at a crossroads for international arms control

NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

18 Apr. 2023

Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg virtually addressed the 18th Annual NATO Conference on Arms Control, Disarmament and Weapons of Mass Destruction Non-Proliferation on Tuesday (18 April 2023), underscoring the continued importance of arms control for Allied security.

The Secretary General warned that "this is a deeply challenging period for arms control and for our security in general", noting Russia's pattern of "ignoring, violating or abandoning much of the network of international arms control agreements that have kept the world safe". He also warned that "China is rapidly growing its nuclear arsenal without any transparency about its capabilities", and that further challenges come from Iranian and North Korean nuclear programmes and delivery systems, as well as new technologies like Artificial Intelligence and autonomous systems.

In the short term, Mr Stoltenberg said, Allies need to bolster the existing global arms control regimes, principally the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions. He also underscored the importance of engaging with countries in the global south. Looking to the future, the Secretary General called for a new approach to deal with the rapid spread of new, disruptive technologies. "We are determined to develop a shared, universal gold standard for the responsible use of new technologies in defence," he said. "At NATO, we have started this process with our Artificial Intelligence Strategy and its principles of responsible use." He further underlined the importance of engaging with Beijing, saying: "NATO is a unique platform where we engage with China and the wider international community for our mutual benefit; and for Allies to consult on arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation."

Hosted by a different country each year, NATO's 2023 Weapons of Mass Destruction conference is taking place for the first time this year in the United States, in Washington D.C., and brings together more than 150 attendees from around 50 countries. Mr Stoltenberg spoke in an opening session alongside Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, and Bonnie Jenkins, Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs.

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G7 foreign ministers promise tougher measures against Russia, call out China

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 18 April 2023 4:38 PM

Top diplomats from the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies have vowed to take a more unified stand against Russia and China.

In a communique released on Tuesday, the G7 foreign ministers condemned "Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine" and called out China to "abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force" in the East and South China Seas.

"We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States of America (US), and the High Representative of the European Union, underline our strong sense of unity as the world navigates grave threats to the international system, including Russia's continued war of aggression against Ukraine," the G7 communique read following the three days of talks in the Japanese hot springs resort town of Karuizawa.

The G7 communique warned about the "severe consequences" for any use of chemical, biological, or nuclear weapons by Russia in the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, and pledged that those supporting the Kremlin's war effort there would face "severe costs."

"There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities such as Russia's attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure," the communique said.

"We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them," the ministers said, and would continue to support Kiev "for as long as it takes."

The US and its allies have already sent Kiev tens of billions of dollars worth of weapons, munitions and military equipment since Russia began its special operation in Ukraine last year.

The communique also stressed the importance of free and open navigation in the Indo-Pacific waters, while calling on China to uphold its commitments and act responsibly.

"We remind China ... to abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force. We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. There is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose China's militarization activities in the region," it said.

"We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community," it added.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin condemned the statement, saying the G7 foreign ministers had "rudely interfered in China's internal affairs, maliciously slandered and smeared China."

"The statements were filled with arrogance, prejudice, and sinister intentions to suppress China," he said during a press conference in Beijing, adding that China made a "strong demarche to the host Japan."

The G7 communique also criticised North Korea over its nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

"We demand North Korea refrain from any other destabilizing or provocative actions, including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology," the communique emphasized while adding that future actions by Pyongyang "must be met with a swift, united and robust international response, including further significant measures to be taken by the UN Security Council."

"It is critical that sanctions be fully and scrupulously implemented by all states and remain in place for as long as North Korea's WMD (weapons of mass destruction) and ballistic missile programs exist," the G7 ministers said.

North Korea has been developing its nuclear missile capabilities -- unveiling new, smaller nuclear warheads, testing of a nuclear-capable underwater attack drone, and firing an intercontinental ballistic missile reportedly capable of striking anywhere inside the United States -- in response to the US-led threats and military activities on the Korean Peninsula.

Finally, the G7 communique also called for "collective action to address global challenges, including climate change, pollution, loss of biodiversity, health, and food and energy security, and to uphold and reinforce the free and open international order based on the rule of law, respecting the United Nations (UN) Charter ... to build a better, more prosperous, and more secure future."

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Southern Afghan City Becomes De Facto Capital As Taliban Chief Tightens Grip On Power

By Ikramullah Ikram, Abubakar Siddique April 18, 2023

Afghanistan's southern city of Kandahar is the historical birthplace and the political base of the Taliban. Now, the country's second-largest city appears to be becoming the de facto capital under the militant group's rule.

Several officials have recently been transferred from the capital, Kabul, to Kandahar. Taliban Supreme Leader Mullah Haibatullah Akhundzada lives in the city and rarely leaves the Pashtun heartland in southern Afghanistan.

Experts say Akhundzada's decision to relocate the offices of two Taliban spokesmen to Kandahar is part of efforts to tighten his grip on power. The move comes amid growing reports of infighting between key Taliban ministers based in Kabul and a powerful group of clerics led by Akhundzada in Kandahar.

"It looks like political power is being transferred from Kabul to Kandahar," Sami Yousafzai, a veteran Afghan journalist and commentator who has tracked the Taliban since its emergence in the 1990s, told RFE/RL's Radio Azadi. "[Akhundzada] is creating a parallel administration to the one in Kabul."

In recent months, senior Taliban officials have appeared to criticize Akhundzada, accusing him of monopolizing power and empowering ultraconservative clerics who share his extremist views.

Akhundzada's repressive policies have alienated Afghans and isolated the Taliban's unrecognized government internationally. Under his leadership, the Taliban has severely curtailed women's rights, stamped out the free press, and committed human rights abuses.

Akhundzada, a hard-line cleric and former chief justice, has the ultimate say on all important matters under the Taliban's clerical system.

'Appointing Loyalists Everywhere'

After the Taliban seized power in 2021, ministers carried out the day-to-day administration of the Taliban government. But in recent months, Akhundzada has sought to micromanage the affairs of the state, said Yousufzai.

"He is now involved in appointing district commanders, administrators, and the directors of various government departments," Yousufzai told Radio Azadi. "He is appointing loyalists everywhere."

Zabihullah Mujahid, the Taliban's chief spokesman, relocated his office from Kabul to Kandahar on April 6, according to Abdul Mateen Qani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Information and Culture.

Innamullah Samangani, another key government spokesman and head of the Taliban's Media and Information Center, was also recently transferred to Kandahar.

Kandahar, a historically important political center, briefly served as the capital of Afghanistan, which was founded in 1747. Many of the kings that ruled the country until the monarchy was overthrown in 1973 hailed from the broader Kandahar region.

The Taliban first emerged in Kandahar during the civil war in Afghanistan in the mid-1990s. Its founder, Mullah Mohammad Omar, kept Kandahar as the de facto capital even after the Taliban seized control of Kabul in 1996. The hard-line Islamist group was ousted from power by the U.S.-led invasion in 2001.

Andrew Watkins, a senior Afghanistan expert at the United States Institute of Peace think tank in Washington, says Mujahid's transfer is one of the most public signs of a trend in which Akhundzada appears to be strengthening his influence.

Watkins said Akhundzada wants control over "public messaging," which he says has "long been a priority for the Taliban."

The Taliban has denied that the decision to relocate senior officials to Kandahar is part of a power struggle.

Mujahid said part of his office has moved to Kandahar in order to report more closely on the meetings and other activities of the Taliban chief. "The recent move doesn't amount to transferring the capital to Kandahar," Mujahid told Radio Azadi.

But observers are not convinced.

"There are factions within the Taliban that want more power," Tariq Farhadi, an Afghan political analyst based in Europe, told Radio Azadi. "It paints an overall worrying picture for the future of the Taliban."

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/afghanistan-kandahar- taliban-akhundzada-capital/32369212.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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Sudan Slips Into Chaos. Russia Lurks In The Background.

By Mike Eckel April 18, 2023

In the Sudanese capital, civilians cower behind interior walls, fearing flying window glass and stray bullets. Commerce in Khartoum has ground to a halt. Water and electricity outages are widespread. Pitched battles have broken out near the airport and other parts of the city of 5 million, with fighter jets roaring overhead.

Two military factions -- once political allies, now battlefield adversaries -- are wrestling for control over the city and over the country's lucrative mineral resource exports, especially gold. Violence is erupting in other parts of the northeast African nation.

Four days after an initial spasm of violence, the Sudanese capital of Khartoum is slipping further toward outright civil war.

While the two battling factions are headed by rival Sudanese generals, there's another player that's been lurking around the shadows of Sudanese politics and commerce for years now, a foreign country that has long had its eye on securing a port on Sudan's Red Sea coast: Russia.

For the moment, there is no public evidence that Moscow is playing a role in the violence in Khartoum or elsewhere. That also goes for Wagner, the notorious Russian mercenary company whose owner has close ties to the Kremlin and the Russian Defense Ministry, and whose employees have been reportedly working at Sudanese gold mines.

But experts are closely watching for hints that Russia may have a hidden hand in the turmoil -- or what it might do as the country sinks deeper into chaos.

Here's what you need to know about the roots of the violence and Russia's presence in the country.

Chaotic Backstory

Sudan was ruled for nearly three decades by the dictator Omar al-Bashir, who gained infamy for, among other things, orchestrating a campaign of rape, pillage, and mass killings in the western Darfur region. In 2009, he became the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

In 2019, mass protests seeking his ouster led to a military coup whose plotters kicked out Bashir that April and took control of the country before later giving way to a civilian-military transition council. Two years later, however, in October 2021, the military wrested control of the government in its entirety.

The two officers behind that seizure were General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, chief of the Sudanese Army, and his deputy, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who heads a powerful paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. Dagalo is commonly known by a nickname: Hemedti.

Hemedti's forces were instrumental in the Darfur atrocities that resulted in Bashir's indictment, according to Alex de Waal, a longtime scholar of Sudan who is now executive director of the World Peace Foundation at The Fletcher School at Tufts University in the United States.

"They have - in a mere decade - become the dominant power in Khartoum," de Waal wrote in an analysis. "And Hemedti has become the face of Sudan's violent, political marketplace."

Last December, under pressure from Western nations and other African countries, the two agreed to a framework deal that would eventually transition the government back to civilian control.

That led to uncertainty among Sudan's powerbrokers and civilian leaders, and rising tensions between military factions until on the morning of April 15, fighting broke out between units loyal to Burhan and Hemedti's RSF.

So, What About Wagner?

In November 2017, Hemedti's forces took control of gold mines located in the Jebel Amer district in Darfur. The mines are Sudan's single largest source of export revenues, according to the World Peace Foundation.

About five months later, on April 24, 2018, the founder and owner of Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, flew from Moscow to Khartoum, accompanied by two Wagner security guards.

The flight, first documented by Novaya Gazeta, was one of many that Prigozhin took over the years to a range of African countries where Wagner soldiers, and other Prigozhin-linked companies, have appeared: the Central African Republic, Mozambique, Libya, and others.

In August 2018, according to the French newspaper Le Monde, Prigozhin again flew to Khartoum, this time to meet with the leaders of several Central African Republic armed groups. On August 31, the Russian Foreign Ministry announced the "Khartoum Declaration" and "the creation of a Central African opposition association in order to achieve long-term and sustainable peace in the Central African Republic."

Since then, Prigozhin's Wagner soldiers have steadily increased their visibility, and impunity, according to the United Nations, in the Central African Republic, offering security to the impoverished country's leadership in exchange for access to its vast mineral resources.

In Sudan, Wagner's presence has been less visible, but of growing concern to Western countries.

Prigozhin's companies likely won access to Sudan's most lucrative gold mines around the time Bashir met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in late 2017, according to C4ADS, a Washington-based research organization. Mikhail Potepkin, a man who was employed by Prigozhin's Internet Research Agency - the organization commonly known as Russia's troll factory - was named head of Prigozhin's operations in Sudan.

The Russian open-source research group CIT, meanwhile, documented evidence of Wagner security guards helping to suppress public protests in Khartoum in late 2018 - protests that eventually led to Bashir's ouster a few months later.

According to documents obtained by The New York Times from the Dossier Center, a London-based opposition research organization funded by exiled Russian oil tycoon Mikhail Khodorkovsky, Wagner advisers advised Bashir to launch a social media campaign to undermine the anti-government protesters.

A former top-ranking Wagner commander named Aleksandr Kuznetsov, meanwhile, has been identified by CNN as being a key leader of Prigozhin's gold-mining operations in Sudan. Kuznetsov has been sanctioned by the European Union and Britain for his alleged ties to Prigozhin.

About a week after Bashir was ousted, a group of high-ranking Russian military officials flew to Khartoum on a corporate jet registered to a Prigozhin-affiliated company, according to Novaya Gazeta. It wasn't clear if Prigozhin was on that flight. The same jet was used to fly several top Sudanese officials to Moscow not long after that, including a brother of Hemedti.

In June 2019, Sudanese security forces, including members of Hemedti's RSF, used heavy gunfire and tear gas to disperse a demonstration in Khartoum. More than 100 people were believed to have been killed.

Prigozhin's Sudan company, Meroe Gold, also imported 13 tons of riot shields, as well as riot police helmets and batons for a company controlled by Hemedti's family, the Times reported.

In 2020, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned several Prigozhin companies and employees for their work in Sudan, and other countries, including Meroe Gold and Mikhail Potepkin.

"Prigozhin's role in Sudan highlights the interplay between Russia's paramilitary operations, support for preserving authoritarian regimes, and exploitation of natural resources," the department said in a statement. The companies targeted "have directly facilitated Prigozhin's global operations and attempted to suppress and discredit protestors seeking democratic reforms in Sudan."

Responding to a reporter's query about Wagner's presence in Sudan, Prigozhin said in a statement published on his Telegram channel on April 18: "I can tell you with absolute certainty, absolutely exactly, and you can enter my words into any record.... Today not a single Wagner fighter, I emphasize not a single one, is in Sudan. And it's been that way for over two years," he said.

What About That Naval Port?

Sudan's 850-kilometer (530-mile) Red Sea coastline is largely undeveloped, except for Port Sudan, which is the country's most important gateway for international trade. Around 90 percent of the country's exports and imports go through the port.

In November 2020, Putin announced that Russia would build a facility for naval ships at Port Sudan, under a 25-year lease deal. The agreement, which would give Moscow a second port outside Russia, irked the United States and other Western nations. Russia's other foreign port is located in Tartus, Syria.

A separate announcement stipulated that the facility would have workspace for up to 300 personnel and docks for as many four warships, including nuclear-powered vessels. The deal also stipulated that Russia would supply weapons to Sudan to help defend the facility.

Sudan's political turmoil put the deal on hold until 2022. One day before Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, Hemedti traveled to Moscow for undisclosed talks, accompanied by a group of Sudanese government ministers. Returning to Khartoum about a week later, he told reporters that he supported moving forward with the deal.

"If any country wants to open a base and it is in our interests and doesn't threaten our national security we have no problem in dealing with anyone, Russian or otherwise," he was quoted as saying.

This past February, meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov traveled to Khartoum, as part of a multileg journey to several African nations. Shortly afterward, two Sudanese ministers signaled the naval base deal was nearing completion.

With reporting by RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Aleksandr Gostev.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/sudan-civil-war-russia- wagner/32369273.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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Turkish NATO Envoy Calls Media Reports on Sweden's Compliance Misleading

Sputnik News

20230418

ANKARA (Sputnik) - The Turkish envoy to NATO said on Tuesday that Sweden was less in compliance with Ankara's requirements for its accession to the military alliance than foreign media let on.

Levent Gumrukcu told Turkish newspaper in an interview that media made it took like Sweden had addressed all objections to its membership of NATO and the ball was in Turkiye's court.

"This is not true. Even Sweden itself admits that there are still steps to be taken to fulfill the requirements set out in the trilateral agreement," the envoy said.

Turkiye has demanded guarantees from Sweden and Finland that they will not harbor Kurdish separatists, whom it perceives as terrorists. Finland was cleared to join NATO in late March, while Sweden's admission stalled over pro-Kurdish protests in Stockholm.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in March that Ankara expected Sweden to make tangible progress in the fight against terrorism. NATO chief Jens Stolteberg argued at the Finnish accession ceremony in April that Sweden too had complied with every requirement.

"As soon as Sweden delivers on its promise to fight terrorism, we will take the necessary steps to finalize Sweden's membership process as soon as possible and start the parliamentary approval process," Gumrukcu said.

The Swedish government has denied sheltering people with ties to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is banned in Turkiye. Despite this, Turkish media reported Tuesday that PKK flags were seen flying outside government institutions in the country's second-largest city, Gothenburg.

 Sputnik

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G7 Japan 2023 Foreign Ministers' Communique

Media Note

Office of the Spokesperson

April 18, 2023

The text of the following communique was released by the G7 foreign ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States of America and the High Representative of the European Union.

I. INTRODUCTION

We, the G7 Foreign Ministers of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom (U.K.) and the United States of America (U.S.), and the High Representative of the European Union, underline our strong sense of unity as the world navigates grave threats to the international system, including Russia's continued war of aggression against Ukraine. We reaffirm our commitment to collective action to address global challenges, including climate change, pollution, loss of biodiversity, health, and food and energy security, and to uphold and reinforce the free and open international order based on the rule of law, respecting the United Nations (UN) Charter. We will continue to work with our partners to promote open, transparent, resilient, and sustainable societies that champion human rights, justice, and dignity, and address the needs of the most vulnerable. We reaffirm our intention to promote human security and continue building a global community that leaves no one behind. We call on all partners to join us in addressing these pressing global challenges and to work together to build a better, more prosperous, and more secure future.

II. PROMOTING PEACE AND SECURITY

1 Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine

We once again condemn in the strongest possible terms Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine, which constitutes a serious violation of international law, including the UN Charter. Russia must withdraw all forces and equipment from Ukraine immediately and unconditionally. We recommit today to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes and to providing sustained security, economic, and institutional support to help Ukraine defend itself, secure its free and democratic future, and deter future Russian aggression.

We reiterate our support for President Zelenskyy's efforts to promote a comprehensive, just and lasting peace, in line with the UN Charter, and we support the basic principles outlined in his Peace Formula. We also welcome the resolution A/RES/ES-11/6, which was adopted on February 23, 2023, with the broad support of the international community at the Emergency Special Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). We will continue to help Ukraine repair and restore its critical energy and environmental infrastructure and reemphasize our strong support for Ukraine's energy security. Ukraine's anti-corruption and domestic reform efforts must continue, and we will support them. In this regard, we reiterate our full confidence in the G7 Ambassadors Support Group in Ukraine and its role of supporting the implementation process.

Russia's irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable. Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences. We recall the importance of the 77-year record of non-use of nuclear weapons since 1945. We condemn Russia's continued seizure and militarization of Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP), which could lead to potentially severe consequences for nuclear safety and security. We support the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) efforts to help strengthen nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, including the Director General's leadership on efforts at the ZNPP.

We remain committed to intensifying sanctions against Russia, coordinating and fully enforcing them, including through the Enforcement Coordination Mechanism, and countering Russia's and third parties' attempts to evade and undermine our sanctions measures. We reiterate our call on third parties to cease assistance to Russia's war, or face severe costs. We will reinforce our coordination to prevent and respond to third parties supplying weapons to Russia and continue to take actions against those who materially support Russia's war against Ukraine. We are determined, consistent with our respective legal systems, that Russia's sovereign assets in our jurisdictions will remain immobilized until there is a resolution of the conflict that addresses Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity. Any resolution to the conflict must ensure Russia pays for the damage it has caused.

There can be no impunity for war crimes and other atrocities such as Russia's attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure. We further condemn the unlawful transfer and deportation of Ukrainians, including children, and conflict-related sexual violence against Ukrainians. We reiterate our commitment to holding those responsible to account consistent with international law, including by supporting the efforts of international mechanisms, in particular the International Criminal Court. We support exploring the creation of an internationalized tribunal based in Ukraine's judicial system to prosecute the crime of aggression against Ukraine. In addition, we underscore the importance of the protection and preservation of Ukrainian cultural properties and heritage damaged and threatened by the war of aggression.

Russia's weaponization of food and energy resources has compounded economic vulnerabilities, exacerbated already dire humanitarian crises, and escalated global food and energy insecurity. We will continue to provide assistance, including food-related aid, to help affected countries and populations.

2 Indo-Pacific

We reiterate the importance of a free and open Indo-Pacific, which is inclusive, prosperous, secure, based on the rule of law, and that protects shared principles including sovereignty, territorial integrity and peaceful resolution of disputes, fundamental freedoms and human rights. We reaffirm individual initiatives of the G7 members and welcome those of our partners to enhance their engagement with the region. We underscore our commitment to further strengthening our coordination among the G7 on the region, to working with regional partners, including ASEAN and its member states. We reaffirm our unwavering support for ASEAN centrality and unity and our commitment to promoting cooperation in line with the ASEAN Outlook on the Indo-Pacific. We also reaffirm our partnership with Pacific Island countries and reiterate the importance of supporting their priorities and needs, in accordance with the Pacific Islands Forum's 2050 Strategy for the Blue Pacific Continent, including through the 4th International Conference on Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in 2024. We welcome and further encourage efforts made by the private sector, universities and think tanks, which contribute to realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific.

3 China

We recognize the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China. We acknowledge the need to work together with China on global challenges as well as areas of common interest, including on climate change, biodiversity, global health security, and gender equality. We reiterate our call for China to act as a responsible member of the international community. We stand prepared to work together to build constructive and stable relations through dialogue and to promote global economic recovery and people-to-people exchanges in a mutually beneficial way. It is in the interest of all countries, including China, to ensure transparent, predictable, and fair business environments. Legitimate business activities and interests of foreign companies must be protected from unfair, anti-competitive, and non-market practices, including through illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure in exchange for market access. We encourage China to uphold its commitments to act responsibly in cyberspace, including refraining from conducting or supporting cyber-enabled intellectual property theft for commercial gain.

We remind China of the need to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and abstain from threats, coercion, intimidation, or the use of force. We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. There is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose China's militarization activities in the region. We emphasize the universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reaffirm UNCLOS' important role in setting out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and the seas. We reiterate that the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on July 12, 2016, is a significant milestone, which is legally binding upon the parties to those proceeding, and a useful basis for peacefully resolving disputes between the parties.

We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community, and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. There is no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated one China policies. We support Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organizations, including in the World Health Assembly and WHO technical meetings, as a member where statehood is not a prerequisite and as an observer or guest where it is. The international community should be able to benefit from the experience of all partners. We continue to raise our concerns with China on reported human rights violations and abuses, including in Xinjiang and Tibet. We reiterate our concerns over the continued erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy rights and freedoms, and call on China to act in accordance with its international commitments and legal obligations, including those enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law.

We call on China to act in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

4 North Korea

We strongly condemn North Korea's unprecedented number of unlawful ballistic missile launches, including the April 13 launch of what North Korea claimed as a solid-fuel Intercontinental Ballistic Missile. Each of these launches violated multiple United Nations Security Council Resolutions (UNSCRs). North Korea's actions, together with increasingly escalatory and destabilizing rhetoric regarding the use of nuclear weapons, undermine regional stability and pose a grave threat to international peace and security. We demand North Korea refrain from any other destabilizing or provocative actions, including any further nuclear tests or launches that use ballistic missile technology. Such actions must be met with a swift, united, and robust international response, including further significant measures to be taken by the UN Security Council (UNSC).

We reiterate our unwavering commitment to the goal of North Korea's complete, verifiable, and irreversible abandonment of its nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs, and any other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and ballistic missile programs in accordance with relevant UNSCRs. We urge North Korea to fully comply with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and IAEA safeguards, and to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). North Korea cannot and will never have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under the NPT. We call on North Korea to accept repeated offers of dialogue, including from Japan, the U.S., and the Republic of Korea.

It is critical that sanctions be fully and scrupulously implemented by all states and remain in place for as long as North Korea's WMD and ballistic missile programs exist. We call for greater international coordination to counter North Korea's malicious cyber activities.

We remain deeply concerned about the growing humanitarian crisis in North Korea, which is driven by North Korea's choice to prioritize its unlawful weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missile programs over the welfare of the people in North Korea. We deplore North Korea's systematic human rights violations and urge North Korea to respect human rights, facilitate access for international humanitarian organizations, and resolve the abductions issue immediately.

5 Myanmar

We continue to strongly condemn the military coup in Myanmar, remain deeply concerned about the deteriorating security, humanitarian, human rights, and political situation, and express our solidarity with its people. We strongly condemn the April 11 airstrike by the Myanmar military in Kanbalu Township in Sagaing Region that killed a large number of civilians, including children. We call on the Myanmar military to immediately cease all violence, release all political prisoners and those arbitrarily detained, and return the country to a genuinely democratic path. We condemn further exclusion of forty Myanmar political parties, including the National League for Democracy, from the political process by the Myanmar military. The Myanmar military should create an environment for inclusive and peaceful dialogue, which includes all relevant stakeholders in the country. We also call for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people, especially the most vulnerable. We continue to support ASEAN's efforts to implement the Five-Point Consensus, including through the ASEAN Chair and ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar. We also reaffirm support for the UN Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) on Myanmar and welcome UNSCR 2669 on the situation in Myanmar, which calls for the immediate cessation of violence, the respect for human rights and fundamental freedom, and the protection of civilians. We reiterate our call on all states to prevent the flow of arms into Myanmar. We stress the need to create conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of all displaced persons, including Rohingya refugees.

6 Afghanistan

We note with grave concern increased threats to stability in Afghanistan and the deteriorating humanitarian and economic situation. We express our strongest opposition to the Taliban's increasing restrictions on human rights and fundamental freedoms. In particular, we condemn the Taliban's systematic abuses of human rights of women and girls and discrimination against the members of religious and ethnic minorities. All Afghans must enjoy full, equal, and meaningful participation in all spheres of public life, access to life saving humanitarian aid and basic services, including education, and freedom of movement and freedom of expression. These are prerequisites for peace, stability, and prosperity in Afghanistan. Unimpeded access of aid workers is essential for the effective delivery of assistance. We call for the immediate reversal of unacceptable decisions restricting human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the latest bans prohibiting Afghan women from working for NGOs and the UN.

We remain concerned about the persistent lack of political inclusivity and representative governance. We urge the Taliban to take significant steps to engage in credible and inclusive national dialogue, in which all Afghans, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or religious and political belief, can have a voice. We recognize the need for conveying unified messages to the Taliban in coordination with regional countries and other international partners. We underscore the Taliban's responsibility to ensure respect for human rights and a dignified life of all Afghans, the country's stability and recovery, as well as to prevent Afghanistan from becoming a safe haven for terrorism. We are united in condemning the recurring terrorist attacks, including those that target specific ethnic and religious groups. We support the mandate of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), and the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Afghanistan to work towards achieving peace and stability.

7 Iran

We reiterate our clear determination that Iran must never develop a nuclear weapon, and urge Iran to cease nuclear escalations. We call on Iran to fulfill its legal obligations and political commitments regarding nuclear non-proliferation without further delay. We remain deeply concerned about Iran's unabated escalation of its nuclear program, which has no credible civilian justification and brings it dangerously close to actual weapon-related activities. We recall recent sampling by the IAEA which found particles of uranium highly enriched to 83.7 percent. A diplomatic solution remains our preferred way to resolve international concerns regarding Iran's nuclear program. In that context, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action continues to provide a useful reference. We take note of Iran's stated readiness to provide the IAEA with further information and access to address the outstanding safeguards issues, and its agreement to allow the IAEA to implement further appropriate verification and monitoring activities. We call on Iran to uphold its safeguards obligations and stated commitments with prompt and concrete action.

We express our grave concern regarding Iran's continued destabilizing activities, including the transfer of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and related technologies to state and non-state actors and proxy groups in breach of UNSCRs including 2231 and 2216. Iran must stop supporting the Russian military in its war of aggression. In particular, we call upon Iran to cease transferring armed UAVs, which have been used in Ukraine. Indiscriminate attacks against civilians and critical civilian infrastructure constitute war crimes. We reiterate our conviction that the transfer of ballistic missiles would represent a major escalation. We welcome initiatives to improve bilateral relations among countries and de-escalate tensions in the region, including Iran and Saudi Arabia's recent agreement to restore ties. Furthermore, we emphasize the importance of ensuring maritime security in the Middle East's waterways, including through the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al Mandab, and call on Iran not to interfere with the lawful exercise of navigational rights and freedoms by all vessels.

We reiterate our profound concern over Iran's systemic human rights violations and abuses, especially with Iran's efforts to oppress peaceful dissent through threats and intimidation. We condemn the targeting of individuals, including women, girls, minority groups, as well as journalists, in and outside of Iran. We call on Iran to take concrete action to address these issues. We strongly reject Iran's targeting of dual and foreign citizens, and call on Iran's leadership to end all unjust and arbitrary detentions.

8 Cooperation for peace and stability in the Middle East and North Africa

De-escalation, stability, and regional prosperity are key priorities. We call on Israelis and Palestinians to take steps to build trust toward the realization of a two-state solution, which envisions Israel and a viable Palestinian State living side by side in peace and security and mutual recognition. All parties must refrain from unilateral actions that undermine the prospects for a two-state solution, including settlement activities and incitement to violence. We strongly condemn all forms of violence against civilians, including terrorism. We reiterate our support for the historic status quo in Jerusalem and Jordan's special role in this regard. We welcome the recent meetings in Aqaba, Jordan, and Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, between Jordan, Egypt, the U.S., Israel, and the Palestinian Authority aimed at de-escalating tensions, and hope the commitments in the resulting Joint Communiques will be fulfilled in good faith. We will continue assisting the Palestinians to enhance their economic self-reliance. We call for the international community's broad and sustained support for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

Regarding Yemen, we reiterate our support to the Special Envoy of the UNSG and call on all parties, especially the Houthis, to secure a durable ceasefire and work towards a comprehensive, durable, and inclusive Yemeni-led political process. We also call on the Houthis to lift any impediments to the delivery of humanitarian assistance, especially with regard to women and girls. We express our appreciation for the concerted efforts by the Government of Yemen and other countries in the region, including the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Sultanate of Oman. We call on all relevant parties and the international community to support the implementation of the UN-led plan to salvage the FSO Safer, including swiftly filling the remaining funding gap.

In order to achieve stability and promote unity in Libya, we support the SRSG's proposal to identify a pathway towards reaching political consensus and holding free, fair, and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections by the end of 2023. We urge all actors to preserve stability on the ground and to commit to working constructively on the political process.

We encourage and support the Tunisian government to quickly implement its own economic reform program to address the country's economic situation and reach an agreement with the IMF.

In Syria, we remain firmly committed to an inclusive, UN-facilitated political process consistent with UNSCR 2254. We underscore the need for the international community to continue supporting the UN Special Envoy. We reiterate that the international community can only consider reconstruction assistance after there is authentic and enduring progress towards political solution in line with UNSCR 2254. We condemn the ongoing atrocities against the Syrian people. We are firmly committed to accountability for those responsible for the use of chemical weapons and violations of international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, as applicable. We continue to urge the Syrian regime to comply with its obligations under UNSCR 2118. We also confirm our continued commitment to supporting the Syrian people through all necessary means, including early recovery assistance as appropriate. We call for full and unhindered humanitarian access to all Syrians in need, particularly through UN cross-border aid for which there is no alternative in scope or scale.

We stand in solidarity with the peoples of Turkiye and Syria affected by the horrifying February earthquakes and plan to continue our support in tackling the consequences of this catastrophe. It is also vital that humanitarian aid reaches all those who require it, safely and unhindered, as efficiently as possible.

9 Working together with Central Asian countries

We affirm our intent to support the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Central Asian countries. We commit to working together with Central Asian countries to address regional challenges, including the consequences of Russia's war of aggression, the destabilizing effect of the situation in Afghanistan, food and energy insecurity, terrorism, and the consequences of climate change. We are determined to foster sustainable connectivity, transportation, and trade and energy links to enhance regional prosperity. Furthermore, we remain committed to strengthening our cooperation with Central Asian countries on socio-economic development, women's economic empowerment, human rights, gender equality, domestic and institutional reforms, and regional security. We welcome the intensification of regional cooperation of Central Asian countries in the abovementioned fields and remain committed to support such cooperation.

10 G7-Africa Partnership

We are deepening our partnerships with African countries and regional organizations, including the African Union (AU). We support African calls for stronger representation in international fora.

We reiterate our strong commitment to supporting governments in the region to tackle the underlying conditions conducive to the spread of terrorism, violent extremism, and instability across Africa. We are seriously concerned about the growing presence of the Russia-affiliated Wagner Group forces on the continent, and their destabilizing impact and human rights abuses. We urge all actors to respect international human rights law and international humanitarian law and reiterate our call for accountability of all those responsible. We also call for safe, unimpeded access for humanitarian actors to reach those in need.

In the Sahel, we commend the efforts by the UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali for helping protect the lives of civilians, in the context of political and security constraints on the mission. We take note of the UNSG's strategic review and the parameters set to allow for the pursuit of the mission. We are also seriously concerned about the spread of terrorist threats and activities towards coastal countries in West Africa. Acknowledging the need to improve government responsiveness to citizens' needs and the importance of free and fair elections, we call for comprehensive implementation of the transition charters in countries on the path to constitutional order.

There is an urgent need to reinforce peace and security in the Horn of Africa, meet serious humanitarian needs, and build resilience in the region. We welcome the positive developments stemming from the cessation of hostilities agreement between the Government of Ethiopia and the Tigray People's Liberation Front, commend the AU for its mediation, and urge progress on transitional justice and accountability. We call on both parties to remain committed to fully implementing the agreement, including unhindered access for international human rights monitors. We also call for international support for the Somali President's reform priorities and the fight against al-Shabaab.

We strongly condemn the ongoing fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan's democratic transition. We urge the parties to end hostilities immediately without pre-conditions. We call on all actors to renounce violence, return to negotiations, and take active steps to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians, including diplomatic and humanitarian personnel.

We reaffirm our commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity, and territorial integrity of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). We condemn the advance of the UN-sanctioned March 23 Movement (M23) armed group, exacerbating an extreme humanitarian situation. We urge M23 to end any further advances and to withdraw from all territories it controls. All armed groups must immediately cease all violent acts and disarm. We demand the immediate and full implementation of the cessation of hostilities agreed on March 3. We welcome regional stabilization efforts, including East African Community-led Nairobi process and heads of state dialogue mediated by Angola, and underscore the critical role of the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the DRC in protecting civilians and supporting the DRC government's peace consolidation efforts.

11 Cooperation with Latin American and Caribbean Partners

We highlight the importance of enhancing cooperation with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to uphold shared interests as well as values. We are committed to working together to address economic challenges, natural disasters and climate change, strengthen the rule of law, enhance socio-economic resilience, promote trade and investments, and address global issues.

We are concerned about the economic, political, and humanitarian situation in Venezuela that is driving forced displacement, leading to the unprecedented migration flows in the region and overstretching the hosting countries' capacities. We call for humanitarian access to address the urgent needs of those affected by the multilayered crisis. The way forward lies in Venezuelan-led negotiations leading to free and fair presidential and parliamentary elections for the benefit of the Venezuelan people.

We reiterate our commitment to supporting, together with other actors of the international community, all efforts to strengthen public institutions and resolve the worsening security and humanitarian situation in Haiti. We condemn the violence and criminal activities perpetrated by armed gangs and those who support them, and we welcome UNSCR 2653 establishing a sanctions regime for Haiti. We support the role of the UN Integrated Office in Haiti and call on all stakeholders to overcome differences and achieve progress in the dialogues on the basis of the political accord of 2022, the "National Consensus for an Inclusive Transition and Transparent Elections". We reiterate the importance of restoring stability in Haiti and establishing the conditions necessary to allow for free and fair elections, as well as facilitating the unhindered provision of humanitarian support to the Haitian people.

We note with concern the elevated humanitarian and security needs in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras. These countries suffer from large-scale displacements, rising food prices, and insecurity challenges. We encourage existing and new efforts by donors, including private actors, to meet the urgent needs outlined in the respective 2023 UN Humanitarian Response Plans.

We follow very carefully the situation in Nicaragua, where human rights violations and abuses continue. We condemn the decision of Nicaragua to arbitrarily revoke the nationality of over 300 Nicaraguan citizens. We call on Nicaragua to end the widespread repression of civil society, private sector and political actors, release all political prisoners, respect its international obligations, and provide remedies for violations and abuses.

III. ADDRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES

12 Free and open international order

We are determined to strengthen the free and open international order based on the rule of law, respect for the UN Charter, the sovereignty, and territorial integrity of all states, and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Countries, large and small, benefit from these principles. We are determined to uphold and protect them, and we stand ready to work with all willing partners in this endeavor.

The prohibition of threats or the use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, in accordance with the provisions of the UN Charter, constitutes the cornerstone of the post-war international system. Yet, territorial ambition is again driving some states to return to rule by force, so we have redoubled our efforts to uphold peace guided by the rule of law. The prohibition on the acquisition of territory resulting from the threat or use of force, reaffirmed in the Friendly Relations Declaration of 1970, should be observed in good faith. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the peacefully established status of territories by force or coercion anywhere in the world. In this regard, sending regular or irregular forces to unilaterally annex a territory is prohibited.

We emphasize that free and fair trade is key to resilient and sustainable development for all, particularly the most vulnerable. We recognize that free and equitable public access to scientific knowledge is integral to solving global challenges. We also recognize the importance of enhancing international action to detect, deter, and end illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, including through support to developing countries.

We reconfirm the need to accelerate cooperation with our partners to prevent and counter terrorism and violent extremism, including terrorist financing and misuse of cyberspace for terrorist purposes. We reiterate the importance of combating transnational organized crime, including crimes related to drug trafficking, small arms and light weapons trafficking, human trafficking, and child abuse, both online and offline. We recognize the significant public health and security challenges posed by synthetic drugs. We will enhance efforts to stop the illicit manufacture and trafficking of these substances and to address the public health consequences of substance use. We remain committed to safe, orderly, and regular migration around the world and will continue to engage in preventing and countering migrant smuggling and trafficking in persons. Our approach will continue to be human rights oriented, survivor-centered, and gender-responsive, and will focus on identifying and protecting those most at-risk, as well as prosecuting the perpetrators. We are committed to working together to strengthen cross-border law enforcement efforts and pursue accountability for corruption. We commit to ensure strong and effective implementation of our existing obligations and commitments to counter corruption, including efforts to fight against foreign bribery, and work to advance our common anti-corruption priorities.

13 Global governance

We reiterate the importance of multilateralism and international cooperation in promoting peace, stability, and prosperity. We express our support for the vision of the UNSG's Our Common Agenda. We believe the UN should be strengthened to address the changing international environment and challenges to collective security. In this regard, we highlight the voices of the overwhelming majority of Member States in the UNGA, who have sent a clear signal of condemnation of Russia's war of aggression, despite Russia blocking decisions in the UNSC. We welcome the commitment of France, the U.K., and the U.S. to voluntarily refrain from use of the veto in the UNSC except in rare and extraordinary circumstances, and hope that the remaining permanent members will join them. We recall in this context the ACT code of conduct and the French-Mexican Initiative on suspension of the veto in case of mass atrocities. We are committed to working with all UN Member States to strengthen the roles of the UNSG as well as the UNGA. We also recommit to the reform of the UNSC.

Underscoring the shared responsibilities of the world's major economies to bridge the SDGs financing gap, we strive to implement the 2030 Agenda and achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and recognize the need for accelerated action to meet them by 2030. We are committed to contributing to the success of the 2023 SDG Summit, the UN Food Systems Summit Stocktaking Moment, and the 2024 Summit of the Future. We reaffirm our efforts to enhance support for vulnerable populations, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where projections suggest extreme poverty will become increasingly concentrated, including by promoting the concept of human security in the new era. We welcome the Chair's Summary of the G7 Senior Development Officials meeting as published on March 20, 2023, which stresses the critical centrality of sustainable development efforts in all G7 work and acknowledges the ongoing revision of Japan's Development Cooperation Charter. We welcome the "Summit for a New Global Financing Pact" to be held in Paris in June, aiming at catalyzing and complementing ongoing efforts to realize the 2030 Agenda overall. We reaffirm the need for strengthened international financial institutions and underscore the role of multilateral developments banks (MDBs) in the SDGs achievement, including in crisis affected contexts. We support the ongoing efforts for MDBs reform, including the World Bank Group evolution roadmap. We also reaffirm our support for the G20 and will support our Leaders in working towards a successful outcome at the New Delhi Summit in September 2023.

14 Peacebuilding and peacekeeping

We renew our commitment to strengthening peacebuilding efforts to address increasingly complex and interconnected security challenges. We must build resilient societies, protect human rights, support good governance, and invest in people to achieve sustainable peace. We condemn sexual and gender-based violence, especially when related to conflict.

We highly value the role of the UN and support an integrated approach to peacebuilding and peacekeeping. We support the Peacebuilding Commission in its role as a convener of relevant stakeholders and an advisory body to other UN organs. We reaffirm that the UN peacekeeping operations and special political missions are valuable tools to prevent escalation and the recurrence of conflicts and to protect civilians where mandated to do so. We further reaffirm our commitment to and support for the UNSG's "Action for Peacekeeping" and "Action for Peacekeeping Plus" to reform and strengthen such operations. We will enhance capabilities and ensure the safety and security of those deployed, for example through the UN Triangular Partnership Programme. We also underscore the importance of strengthening the global implementation of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) agenda. We reiterate our commitment to contributing to the discussion in the UN on a "New Agenda for Peace."

15 Disarmament and non-proliferation

We are committed to maintaining and strengthening disarmament and non-proliferation efforts for a more secure, stable, and safer world and endorse the Statement of the G7 Non-Proliferation Directors' Group of April 17, 2023.

Cognizant of the G7 Leaders meeting to be held in Hiroshima, which together with Nagasaki offers a reminder of the unprecedented devastation and immense human suffering the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki experienced as a result of the atomic bombings of 1945, we reaffirm our commitment to the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons with undiminished security for all, achieved through a realistic, pragmatic, and responsible approach. In this regard, Japan's "Hiroshima Action Plan" is a welcome contribution embodying a pragmatic approach given the current harsh security environment. We underscore the importance of disarmament and non-proliferation education, while encouraging other leaders, youth, and others to also visit Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

The overall decline in global nuclear arsenals must continue and not be reversed. The NPT is the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and the foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear energy. We call for the immediate commencement of long-overdue negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices (FMCT) while urging all states that have not yet done so to declare and maintain voluntary moratoria on the production of such material. We underline the urgent need to bring the CTBT into force. We express our concern over Russia's announcement of its readiness to conduct a nuclear test, and we call for Russia's adherence to its moratorium on nuclear tests.

The G7 is committed to working with all states to further identify and implement measures to minimize risks of nuclear weapons use and to strengthen arms control. We recall the Joint Statement of the Leaders of the Five Nuclear-Weapon States issued on January 3, 2022 on Preventing Nuclear War and Avoiding Arms Races, and reaffirm that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. We call on Russia to recommit - in words and deeds - to the principles enshrined in that Statement. We welcome the transparency of G7 nuclear-weapon States in providing data on their nuclear forces and the objective size of their nuclear arsenals. We call on others that have not yet done so to follow suit. We deeply regret Russia's decision to suspend the New START Treaty, and call on Russia to return to its full implementation and U.S.-Russia dialogue on reducing nuclear risks. We are also concerned about China's ongoing and accelerating expansion of its nuclear arsenal, and development of increasingly sophisticated delivery systems, without transparency, good faith arms control or risk reductions measures. The G7 urges China to engage promptly in strategic risk reduction discussions with the U.S. and to promote stability through greater transparency of China's nuclear weapon policies, plans, and capabilities. Our security policies are based on the understanding that nuclear weapons, for as long as they exist, should serve defensive purposes, deter aggression, and prevent war and coercion.

Those G7 countries which opt for nuclear power, or related peaceful nuclear applications, recognize that the use of nuclear energy, science, and technology contributes to providing affordable low-carbon energy, while adhering to the highest standards of nuclear safety, security, and non-proliferation. We recognize the essential role of the IAEA in assisting Member States to build human and institutional capacities in support of these standards. We underscore the importance of increasing the transparency of the management of civil plutonium. We call on all states that committed to reporting annually their holdings of all plutonium in peaceful nuclear activities to the IAEA to fulfill those commitments. We also support the universal adoption of key safeguards agreements, including Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, IAEA Additional Protocols and, where applicable, revised Small Quantities Protocol.

We recall the G7 Leaders' commitment to evaluate measures to reduce reliance on civil nuclear-related goods from Russia and to assist countries seeking to diversify their supplies.

We underscore that export controls remain a key instrument in maintaining international security and stability, and that all States have the legal obligation to take and enforce effective measures to establish domestic controls to prevent the proliferation of WMD and their means of delivery under UNSCR 1540. Multilateral export control regimes have a central role in this regard. We continue to coordinate among the G7 and work with other states in strengthening effective and responsible export controls on materials, technology, and research that could be used for military purposes. We reiterate our commitment to review the material and technology that we control, including by coordinating our respective efforts and supporting work to update multilateral export control regime lists to keep pace with rapid technological developments. We reaffirm our determination to work together with our partners to counter the threat of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. We reiterate our commitment to ensure that the G7-led 31-member Global Partnership Against the Spread of Weapons and Materials of Mass Destruction retains its leadership role in addressing threats posed by weapons and materials of mass destruction.

16 Economic resilience and economic security

We express our concern that threats to economic security are increasing and emphasize the urgent need to enhance our coordination and cooperation within and beyond the G7. We express our continued commitment to strengthening economic security, especially for the most vulnerable countries. We emphasize the importance of honoring international norms and obligations to safeguard global economic security and resilience, and reaffirm our commitment to building global economic resilience and responding to harmful practices that undermine the rules-based multilateral trading system with the WTO at its core. We share the view that resilient supply chains should be built in a transparent, diversified, secure, sustainable, trustworthy and reliable manner.

We remain committed to increasing our vigilance and enhancing our cooperation to counter threats that are meant to undermine not only our interests but also global security and stability, including economic coercion. We stress the importance of equipping ourselves with necessary means to counter economic coercion and working together with like-minded partners, including partners with emerging or developing economies, to improve our assessment, preparedness, deterrence, and response to such threats, based on robust diplomatic coordination.

We also emphasize the urgent need to take measures against illegitimate or forced state-led acquisition of critical technologies and intellectual property, especially when this constitutes a risk to the security of target countries. Critical and emerging technologies will have a transformative effect on the way societies function, and their unexpected, malicious, untrustworthy, or improper use has the potential to disrupt national and individual security. We reiterate that the design, development, governance, export, and use of such technologies should be guided by shared democratic values.

We also welcome the G7 Roma-Lyon Group's efforts to bridge discussions on economic security and on counter-terrorism and anti-crime efforts to foster coordination and collaboration with private companies and other non-governmental partners, and to enhance the law enforcement responses, including preventive measures.

17 Development finance and infrastructure

We reaffirm our commitment to narrowing the infrastructure investment gap by delivering financing and other support for sustainable, resilient, inclusive, and quality infrastructure. We will work together to operationalize the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment (PGII), including through country-led partnerships and investments in enabling environments for sustainable infrastructure development. We aim to focus investments on areas that drive equitable growth and resilience, including climate and energy, connectivity including ICT and transport, food security, health, and gender.

As the SDGs are reaching their halfway point in 2023, we need to strengthen the efforts to revitalize international cooperation to achieve SDGs in a comprehensive manner, and we are concerned about the increasing debt burdens in many developing countries and crowding out investments in transitioning to greener, more resilient, and inclusive economies, highlighting the importance of fair and open lending practices. We aim to enhance creditor coordination for debt restructuring and to improve the implementation of our existing frameworks through relevant capacity development.

We are determined to promote transparent and fair development finance practices and will work together to address the implementation gap of existing principles such as debt transparency and sustainability, internationally coordinated debt treatments and the respect of the comparability of treatment, fair appraisal, selection and lending practice, and quality infrastructure investment. In this regard, we call on all actors to adhere to internationally recognized rules, standards, and principles, including the G20 Principles for Quality Infrastructure Investment and the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions. We commit to deepening discussions and fostering cooperation among like-minded partners.

18 Outer space and cybersecurity

Given that our societies are increasingly reliant on space systems, we are committed to promoting the maintenance of a peaceful, safe, secure, and sustainable space environment and call on all states to work together for future generations. We reiterate the importance of addressing the issues of space debris, which is growing exponentially. We strongly support the implementation of international guidelines adopted at COPUOS and welcome national efforts to develop further solutions for space debris mitigation and remediation. Supporting UNGA resolution 77/41, we commit not to conduct destructive direct-ascent anti-satellite missile testing and encourage others to follow suit. We remain deeply concerned about increasing threats to space systems. We strongly support the UN Open Ended Working Group on "Reducing space threats through norms, rules and principles of responsible behaviors." It is also important to jointly improve capabilities of Space Situational Awareness to avoid unintentional collision and better share such data.

We support an open, interoperable, reliable, and secure cyberspace. We are concerned about growing cyberspace threats and remain committed to countering challenges and promoting the rule of law in cyberspace. We encourage all states to deepen the substantive discussion on how existing international law, including the UN Charter, applies to cyberspace. We are determined to implement regional and global confidence building measures, promote internationally established, voluntary, and non-legally binding norms of responsible state behavior in cyberspace, and enhance capacity building efforts. We are steadfast in disseminating existing international cooperation frameworks for investigation and prosecution and contributing to ongoing efforts to combat cybercrime.

19 Countering foreign interference including disinformation

We remain concerned by the increasing threats to our nations, economies and societies posed by foreign interference activities including disinformation, which aim to disrupt our democratic processes, destabilize our societies, endanger our people, and undermine our institutions and shared values. We are committed to promoting a free and open information environment without foreign information manipulation. We reaffirm our commitment to strengthening the G7 Rapid Response Mechanism (RRM) as part of our efforts to collectively safeguard against foreign threats to democracy, including foreign information threats, alongside other international efforts. We strongly condemn the widespread use of information manipulation and disinformation by Russia in order to gain support for its aggression against Ukraine. Access to, quality, and trustworthy information is key to combating information manipulation and disinformation, and we will redouble our efforts in this regard, including through supporting relevant international initiatives, such as the Partnership for Information and Democracy, and efforts by the UN, OECD, or elsewhere. We also commit to encouraging digital companies to bolster their platforms against any misuse for manipulation, while promoting a free, open, and secure Internet.

20 Energy security, climate change and environmental degradation

We recognize that achieving energy security and simultaneously accelerating the transformation towards net zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050 and halting and reversing biodiversity loss by 2030 is an urgent task. To that end, we reaffirm our determination to reduce energy consumption, promote energy efficiency, and fast-track clean, safe, and sustainable energy development and deployment, while reducing our dependency on fossil fuels, in order to speed the decarbonization of global energy systems. We reaffirm our determination to strengthen global energy governance and to ensure liquidity of energy markets through ways such as increased usage of clean energy, in order to prevent any country from leveraging energy exports as a tool of geopolitical coercion. We will work to strengthen secure, resilient, sustainable, responsible, transparent, and diverse critical minerals supply chains essential for net zero economies and clean technologies, and diversify wider clean energy supply chains to support the global energy transition. Recalling our commitment to the goal of achieving fully or predominantly decarbonized power sectors by 2035, we remain committed to working to ensure access to affordable, reliable, and sustainable energy for all. We will foster international cooperation to accelerate clean and sustainable energy transitions to keep a temperature limit of 1.5C within reach. We stress the importance of objective data and analysis as well as dialogue among stakeholders with a view to stabilizing energy markets.

Concerning the accelerating impacts of the triple global crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution, and in light of the findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we reaffirm our unwavering commitment to strengthening the implementation of the Paris Agreement and Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (KMGBF) in this critical decade, and will work towards a successful United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change COP28. We welcome the conclusion of the negotiations for an international and legally binding instrument under the UNCLOS on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ). We call on all actors to take scaled-up, immediate, ambitious, and inclusive actions to ensure that their climate commitments are aligned with a 1.5 C pathway to achieve global net-zero GHG emissions by 2050 at the latest. We also call on all countries to commit at COP28 to collectively peaking global GHG emissions as soon as possible by 2025 at the latest, revisiting and strengthening the 2030 targets in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) as necessary. We reaffirm our commitment to the developed country goal of jointly mobilizing 100 billion USD annually in climate finance through to 2025 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation. We will continue accelerating our efforts to at least double the collective provision of climate finance for adaptation to developing countries from 2019 levels by 2025, and call on others to do the same. We reaffirm the need for robust G7 pledges and the broadening of the contributor base for the Green Climate Fund's ambitious second replenishment process. We commit to aligning financial flows with the Paris Agreement and the KMGBF, and call on other countries and MDBs to do the same. We reaffirm the importance of Just Energy Transition Partnerships (JETPs), and welcome progress achieved on the JETP with South Africa, Indonesia and Vietnam, and the ongoing discussions with India and Senegal.

Protecting people living in climate vulnerable situations, including those in SIDS, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and fragile states, is essential for human security and sustaining stability. We promote the empowerment and protection of groups that may be more adversely affected by climate change. We will continue to provide further support to advance adaptation and strengthen the resilience of those people and to take timely and effective actions to reduce risks posed to peace and stability by climate change and environmental degradation. We recognize the particular concerns of many countries, including the member countries of the Pacific Island Forum and AOSIS, with respect to the stability of their baselines and maritime zones in the face of sea level rise. We emphasize the strong determination to work to successfully implement the decision at COP 27/the Paris Agreement-CMA4 to establish new funding arrangements for responding to loss and damage. We reaffirm the urgent need to halt and reverse biodiversity loss by 2030.

21 Food security, nutrition, and humanitarian assistance

We reaffirm that multiple factors including COVID-19 pandemic, soaring energy and food prices, climate change, biodiversity loss, and armed conflicts especially Russia's war of aggression have disrupted global food systems including production and fertilizer and energy supply chains, exacerbating food insecurity and worsening malnutrition particularly in Africa and the Middle East. We acknowledge growing concerns about poor soil health and fertility, water scarcity, poor management of water resources, a lack of nutritious foods, and a lack of access to and affordability of fertilizers and underline the importance of adopting measures to build more resilient and sustainable supply chains.

We have responded to the food and nutrition crisis by strengthening efforts to prevent and treat all forms of malnutrition and by stepping up our assistance to affected countries, regions, and populations, including women and girls who are disproportionately impacted by the food and nutrition crisis. We also emphasize the importance of the efforts started within the framework of the Global Alliance for Food Security that was established by the G7 together with the World Bank. We reaffirm support to the G7 Famine Prevention and Humanitarian Crises Compact. We recognize the critical importance of the "Solidarity Lanes", the "Black Sea Grain Initiative", and the "Grain from Ukraine Initiative" to support the restoration of Ukraine's agricultural sector and to prevent further food system shocks. We call upon Russia to stop threatening global food supplies and allow the Black Sea Grain Initiative to operate at its maximum potential and indefinitely.

We underline the importance of preventing and treating malnutrition and protecting the most vulnerable populations and of the right to adequate food. We consider access to affordable, safe, and nutritious food and the realization of the right to adequate food to be a basic human need. We affirm the necessity of enhancing agricultural related infrastructure, including processing, storage, irrigation, and transportation systems. We affirm our intention to accelerate support for particularly vulnerable countries, promote regional agricultural trade, strengthen food supply management, and build market linkages for smallholder farmers. We acknowledge that sustained investments in agricultural development helped reduce global hunger, poverty, and malnutrition. We affirm our commitment to mobilizing public and private sector partners to help vulnerable countries transform their agricultural sectors and sustainably increase agricultural productivity as they adapt to climate change and sustainably, nutritiously and safely feed growing populations and build long-term resilient and sustainable agriculture and food systems.

We reaffirm our commitment to humanitarian crisis prevention and response to support vulnerable populations severely affected by multiple crises. We are determined to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of humanitarian assistance, such as anticipatory action and other measures, in line with the Grand Bargain and other commitments. We will continue to work with the international community towards the second Global Refugee Forum in December 2023. We also recognize the importance of the UNSG's follow-up Action Agenda on Internal Displacement.

22 Global health

A healthy environment is precondition for human health and wellbeing. We are working together and cooperating with global partners to prevent, prepare for, and respond to future epidemics and pandemics. The One Health approach is an essential component of these efforts. We are determined to build more resilient health systems to improve prevention, preparedness, and response (PPR) for future pandemics, antimicrobial resistance, and other global health threats. We reiterate our commitment to draft and negotiate a WHO convention, agreement or other international instrument on pandemic PPR (WHO CA+), working with other WHO Member States in the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body. We are also negotiating targeted amendments to strengthen the International Health Regulations (2005).

We are committed to strengthening health systems and enhancing equitable and timely access to safe, high quality, affordable and effective medical countermeasures (MCMs), including in humanitarian settings. To this end, we are committed to supporting the strengthening of an end-to-end MCM ecosystem for future health emergencies. We emphasize the importance of promoting sustainable local and regional manufacturing and delivery based on public health needs. Achievement of universal health coverage (UHC), with Primary Health Care as a cornerstone, is critically important for the continued social and economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and to tackle other health challenges. We commit to ensuring the effective operationalization of the Pandemic Fund, which focuses on strengthening pandemic prevention and preparedness capacities.

We reaffirm our strong commitment to a comprehensive approach to mental health and psycho-social support for all and to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health and rights for all individuals, including through strengthened coordination to advance sexual and reproductive, maternal, and child health, nutrition, and improved access to family planning. We are determined to work with others to maximize synergies and ensure ambitious action-oriented outcomes across UNGA High Level Meetings on pandemic PPR, UHC, and tuberculosis. We emphasize the importance of cooperative capacity-building efforts, including expanded surveillance and augmented laboratory capacity to strengthen global biosafety and security.

23 Gender Equality

We reaffirm the G7's continued global leadership on gender equality and the promotion and protection of the rights of women and girls in all their diversity as well as LGBTQIA+ persons. We express our strong concern over the global rollback of women's and girls' rights in particular and the disproportionate impact of conflict and crisis on them. We are committed to the elimination of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related and technologically-facilitated sexual violence. We underscore the importance of ensuring the full empowerment of women, as well as their full, equal and meaningful participation in all political and peace processes. We recognize the importance of advancing gender-responsive climate action, closing the digital gender gap, strengthening and formalizing the care economy, and breaking down gender barriers in education. We reaffirm our commitment to implementing the global WPS agenda in accordance with UNSCR 1325 and subsequent resolutions.

24 Disaster-risk reduction

We are enhancing international cooperation on disaster risk reduction, recognizing that many countries are vulnerable to natural disasters and the resulting forced displacement. We fully acknowledge the importance of capacity building and early warning systems, in line with the UNSG's "Early Warnings for All" initiative, adaptable procurement, and social protection systems with a view to strengthening resilience against disasters, many of which are exacerbated by climate change. We are also committed to accelerating international cooperation in line with the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030 and welcome the output of its midterm review conducted by the UNDRR together with states and relevant stakeholders this year. Building on the outcome of COP27, we underline that such disaster risk reduction efforts contribute to averting, minimizing, and addressing the loss and damage associated with climate change and to achieve sustainable development. We stress the importance of taking anticipatory actions to prevent or reduce acute humanitarian crises before they fully unfold.

(End)

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Sudan: UN rights chief calls for a return to talks, amid fragile ceasefire

18 April 2023 - The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, on Tuesday called for an immediate end to the hostilities in Sudan and pleaded for the opposing sides in the military power struggle to return to the negotiating table, as reports emerged of a proposed 24-hour pause in the fighting, due to start at 1800 local time.

"Sudan has already endured so much pain and suffering. The fighting is born out of power games and personal interests that only serve to alienate the democratic aspirations of the population," said Mr. Turk, adding, "Do those responsible not understand that the civilian population now only craves a peaceful life?"

According to latest news reports, fighting continued in parts of the capital Khartoum, despite the planned 24-hour truce.

Aid operations affected

The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in intense fighting for four days.

The unrest erupted as Sudan appeared to be returning to the path towards democratic transition following three decades of military rule.

International media reported that the sides have agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire, which is set to begin at 6pm, local time.

In the interim, 270 people have been killed and and 2,700 have been injured, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), citing the authorities.

Among those killed were three staff members with the World Food Programme (WFP) working in North Darfur, prompting a temporary suspension of activities across the county. UN agencies in Sudan have also halted most of their operations.

Trapped at home

Most of the fighting has occurred in the capital, Khartoum, where crossfire at the airport also reportedly damaged a UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) plane which could seriously affect access to remote areas, where needs are highest.

Nearly one third of the Sudanese population, almost 16 million people, were in need of aid at the start of this year.

"Thousands upon thousands of civilians are trapped in their homes, shielding from the fighting, with no electricity, unable to venture out and worried about running out of food, drinking water and medicine," Mr. Turk said.

'Common sense must prevail'

Sudan has a history of instability. The military toppled long-time leader Omar al-Bashir in April 2019 after mass protests. The former President had ruled for more than 25 years.

The military then overthrew a power-sharing Government in October 2021, putting two men at the helm - the head of the army and his deputy, who is also the head of the RSF. Both were at odds over the process of restoring civilian rule.

Mr. Turk urged the warring sides to remind their fighters of their obligation to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, such as schools and hospitals, as stated under international law.

The UN rights chief also said he was appalled by reports of attempted rape. He called for prompt, thorough and independent investigations into the killings of civilians, including the WFP staff, along with other reported violations, adding that those responsible must be held to account.

"Only a few weeks ago, Sudan appeared to be on the right path towards an agreement that would restore civilian rule," said Mr. Turk. "Common sense must prevail, and all parties must act to de-escalate tensions. The shared interests of the Sudanese people must come first."

'Silence the guns'

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has also called for an end to the fighting in Sudan, describing the situation as "deeply disturbing" .

The World Health Organization's Director-General condemned the loss of life and expressed solidarity with the population.

"I urge all sides to heed the calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, to silence the guns and to work towards a peaceful resolution," said Tedros, speaking on Tuesday during his latest media briefing from the agency's headquarters in Geneva.

Shelling and insecurity have forced the closure of nine hospitals in Khartoum and two in Bahri, or Khartoum North.

Tedros told journalists that hospitals in the capital have reported shortages of medical personnel and lifesaving supplies. WHO also distributed supplies to health facilities prior to the escalation, which are now exhausted.

Health facilities looted

Movement has been restricted, making it difficult for health workers and ambulances to reach health facilities, thus putting further lives at risk, he added. Fuel shortages for hospital generators, as well as water and power cuts are also reportedly affecting the running of hospitals and other health facilities.

"There are disturbing reports of some health facilities being looted and others being used for military purposes," he added. "It is also reported that some hospitals are already closed, or on the brink of closure, due to attacks, and a lack of medical personnel and medical supplies.

Echoing the UN human rights chief, Tedros called on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, stressing that healthcare facilities and workers must never be a target.

He said WHO teams on the ground will continue to work closely with partners and health authorities to try and fill gaps in the provision of health care, especially for trauma.

Aid delivery practically 'impossible'

At an earlier briefing in Geneva, UN humanitarian agencies and partners called for an immediate end to the hostilities to ensure medical workers and ambulances can deliver assistance to the wounded.

"The truth is that at the moment it is almost impossible to provide any humanitarian services in and around Khartoum," said Farid Aiywar, Head of Delegation for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC).

"We have thousands of volunteers who are ready, able and trained to perform humanitarian services. Unfortunately, due to the current situation, they are not able to move," he added.

"We have ambulances, we have people who are able to provide first aid, psychosocial support, but that will only be possible once that humanitarian corridor is assured by all parties."

The UN has underscored the critical importance of helping all those in need, but insecurity has forced the interruption of humanitarian operations in many states.

Eager to resume operations

UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the Secretary-General's Special Representative in Sudan, Volker Perthes, remains in Khartoum and continues to engage with the rival leaders and other key Member States on the ground.

"Going beyond the initial calls for a daily pause in fighting from 4 to 7pm local time to be fully upheld, there are also ongoing discussions on an extended ceasefire to ensure that civilians, including UN staff, who are currently under threat can receive assistance, access essential supplies, and evacuate to safer zones where needed," he said, speaking in New York on Tuesday.

Mr. Dujarric stressed that the targeting and looting of humanitarian premises must stop.

"Obviously, any attack on humanitarian personnel, whether United Nations or others, looting of premises, has an extremely and immediate impact on our ability to help people," he said. "We want to resume lifesaving operations as soon as possible."

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Eglin's joint C-5M aircraft load exercise wraps

Published April 18, 2023

By Samuel King Jr.

Air Force Materiel Command

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. (AFNS) -- The 436th Airlift Wing, based out of Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, and the 96th Test Wing from Eglin AFB conducted unique training exercise recently where a 436th AW C-5M Super Galaxy flew to Eglin so base units could process and load their support vehicles onto the largest aircraft in the Air Force's inventory.

The vehicles, including the base's new P-23 firetruck, a Humvee, a front-end loader, an ambulance and more, were weighed and measured by Eglin's 96th Logistics Readiness Squadron aerial porters and then positioned and readied for load and mock transfer.

Once the aircraft arrived and opened for loading, the vehicles and their drivers lined up for their turn to drive onto the C-5 through its gaping maw.

The C-5 can be loaded from the front or back of the aircraft and can have a cargo load of 281,000 pounds, can fly 2,150 nautical miles, offload, and fly to a second base 500 nautical miles away from the original destination  all without aerial refueling.

"This is a rare opportunity for Eglin Airmen to practice generating load plans and securing vehicles on the aircraft," said Tech. Sgt. John Gordon, 96th LRS air operations NCO-in-charge, who helped coordinate the Eglin portion of the training operation.

It was also a chance for firefighters, medics, fuels and the aerial porters to drive their primary vehicles onto an aircraft, many of them for the first time.

"It was my first time loading a vehicle on to an aircraft, let alone the biggest aircraft, so there were some nerves, but good nerves," said Airman Philip Nazario, a new 96th LRS aerial porter. "I just focused on the spotter, did one thing at a time and tried not make mistakes."

When loading began, the 9th Airlift Squadron's loadmasters took charge. They validated the order and location of the vehicles and marshalled them up and inside the aircraft.

"The C-5 is designed for out-sized cargo and we aren't always utilized in this way, so to be able to train to and for that was a big win for us," said Master Sgt. Monty West, 9th AS C-5M evaluator loadmaster. "Heavier weights and axels, like on the firetruck, was a great teaching opportunity for aircraft limitations since you can't just park it anywhere."

For the 9th AS's loadmaster, Airman Wyatt Nagelkirk, this cargo load was his first.

"The goal was to show him the basics of a cargo load and sequence of events that take place from the Dover take off, cargo upload/download and move on," West said.

Although Nagelkirk was there to shadow and observe, he led the marshalling and parking of the ambulance into the C-5. It was a glimpse of what he will oversee during his career, according to West.

When the opportunity for this training mission began, the Air Force invited the Army's 7th Special Forces Group to participate. Soldiers brought two light tactical vehicles similar to Humvees and trained in the loading and vehicle-tie-down process with the Airmen.

When each new vehicle was parked, loadmasters, aerial porters and Soldiers all pitched in to chain down and secure them to the floor of the C-5. Each different military specialty took turns to listen, learn and participate in the hands-on training. The aerial porters also completed some chemical-biological training with two Airmen securing a vehicle while dressed in Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosives, or CBRNE, protective gear.

More than 30 Airmen and Soldiers loaded, secured and then unloaded six vehicles weighing more than 150,000 pounds in just a few hours, helping to further the Air Force's commitment to training Multi-Capable Airman who are faster, smarter and ready for the future fight.

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Sweden Hopes Turkey Approves NATO Membership After May Election

By Henry Ridgwell April 18, 2023

With Turkey and Hungary continuing to block Sweden's application to join the NATO military alliance, the Swedish government hopes for a swift ratification soon by both countries after Turkish elections scheduled for May 14.

Sweden and Finland lodged a joint application to join NATO just weeks after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

The alliance welcomed Finland earlier this month - NATO's 31st member state - after Turkish and Hungarian lawmakers finally voted through the ratification in March. Sweden's application has yet to be approved by the same two NATO members.

Anti-terror law

Ankara has accused Sweden of harboring what it considers pro-Kurdish terrorists, including members of the PKK militant group, which Sweden denies.

Sweden's prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said he hoped next month's presidential elections in Turkey could mark a turning point.

"Now we're waiting for the Turkish elections. I think everyone realizes that there is a substantial role in this, which is about Turkish domestic politics and that is fully understandable, that's how it is in most countries," Kristersson said at a press conference March 31.

Sweden is set to introduce a new anti-terrorism law, which it hopes will persuade Turkey to approve its NATO application. Speaking to reporters April 5, Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, gave a measured response. "Of course, they have taken some steps but they are not enough. We are expecting additional efforts in the coming period," he said.

NATO summit

NATO's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said he hopes that Sweden's application is ratified in time for the alliance's annual summit, scheduled for July 11-12 in Lithuania.

Alper Coskun, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the former director general for international security affairs at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told VOA Turkish approval of Sweden's application is not guaranteed.

"It will depend more on whether in the aftermath of the elections - irrespective of who wins - the Turkish authorities will be able to say to themselves and to the public at large, that some of Turkey's expectations from Sweden have been met in terms of the implementation of that very law," he said.

"I do not believe that it is necessarily in Turkey's interest after the election and post the implementation of that (anti-terror) law in Sweden, to prolong the matter. So I would assume that it is still a realistic expectation that Sweden will be able to join (NATO) by the summit in Vilnius."

Election campaign

Foreign policy comes second to domestic concerns in Turkey's election campaign - and that could benefit Sweden's NATO application, Coskun added.

"Especially now, in the aftermath of the earthquakes and the economic circumstances in Turkey, it has even decreased even more. In that sense, I don't think as far as the public opinion is concerned, or as far as the interest of the political parties in Turkey is concerned, it's a leading topic, that there is attention on it. And I think that alleviates the domestic political pressure on the issue, which should facilitate a solution post-election."

Turkish opposition parties have rallied behind a single candidate, Kemal Klcdaroglu, in an effort to unseat incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Coskun believes an opposition win could benefit Sweden. "They've made it clear that they will underline Turkey's place within NATO, within the Western security architecture," he said.

Hungary

Meanwhile, Hungarian lawmakers say they are blocking Sweden's NATO bid over its recent criticism of their country's democratic credentials, part of a long-running dispute over the rule of law between Budapest and its European allies.

Analysts say that Turkey's approval of Sweden's bid would likely pressure Hungary to do the same, citing Budapest's approval of Finland's NATO application, which came just days after Ankara had signaled it would ratify Helsinki's bid to join the alliance.

Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, told the Associated Press March 25 that his country deserves more respect. "When Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that's really unacceptable... As we give respect to all countries, we expect respect as well. And this respect was not really given," he said.

Szijjarto did not elaborate on whether Hungary would approve Sweden's NATO application, if Turkey were to do so after the May 14 election.

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G7 Foreign Ministers Highlight Concerns About Russia, China

By VOA News April 18, 2023

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven nations condemned Russia's war in Ukraine and highlighted the need to engage with China to address global challenges as they closed their meetings in Japan on Tuesday.

While noting the importance of working with China on issues such as climate change and global health security, the ministers expressed concerns in a joint communique about China's actions in the East and South China Seas and its stance toward Taiwan.

"We reaffirm the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community, and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues," the ministers said.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in the talks with his counterparts from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy and Japan there was "remarkable convergence" regarding concerns about China and what is being done to address those concerns.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told reporters that the G-7 communique grossly interfered with China's internal affairs and maliciously slandered the country.

Blinken told reporters that regarding stalled U.S.-China discussions, the United States believes "that having lines of communication, being able to engage across the broad rand of issues that animate the relationship is important."

"My expectation would be that we will be able to move forward on that, but it does require China to make clear its own intentions in doing that," Blinken said.

The G-7 ministers said in their communique they are committed to "intensifying sanctions against Russia," while also coordinating to make sure Russia and others do not evade those measures. They also warned Russia against the use of nuclear or chemical weapons and condemned Russia's occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant.

"Russia must withdraw all forces and equipment from Ukraine immediately and unconditionally," the ministers said. "We recommitted today to supporting Ukraine for as long as it takes and to providing sustained security, economic, and institutional support to help Ukraine defend itself, secure its free and democratic future, and deter future Russian aggression."

Blinken said G-7 members will "remind the world who is the aggressor and who is the victim" in the conflict that Russia started with its full-scale invasion of Ukraine last year. He also said Russia is breaking its promises by blocking Ukraine's grain exports from reaching areas of the world where they are badly needed.

Regarding Iran, the G-7 ministers expressed concern about what they called Iran's "continued destabilizing activities," and called on Iran to stop supplying drones to Russian forces who have been using them to carry out attacks in Ukraine.

"We remain deeply concerned about Iran's unabated escalation of its nuclear program, which has no credible civilian justification and brings it dangerously close to actual weapon-related activities," the ministers said as they called on Iran to fulfill its nuclear non-proliferation commitments.

The G-7 ministers also said they have concerns about Afghanistan and the country's Talban leaders, saying they "condemn the Taliban's systematic abuses of human rights of women and girls and discrimination against the members of religious and ethnic minorities."

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press.

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US, World Urge Sudan Combatants to Stop Fighting

By Anita Powell April 18, 2023

U.S. officials in Congress and the White House on Tuesday urged Sudan's warring parties to stand down after four days of clashes in the capital, but analysts say Washington's leverage over Khartoum may be limited.

Fighting in Khartoum sparked Saturday between members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Their leaders - SAF head General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF chief General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedti - joined forces to mount a 2021 coup that returned the country to military rule. The two men have since turned on each other, amid squabbles over power-sharing in the new government.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated calls made by the top U.S. diplomat and the White House National Security Council for an immediate cease-fire without conditions.

But, when asked by VOA, Jean-Pierre declined to say what the consequences would be if the warring parties didn't listen.

"Look, you know, we've been very clear about the importance of de-escalating," she said. "And you've heard Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken speak to this. You heard my colleague from NSC speak to this as well. And so, I'm just not going to go beyond what they have said."

Earlier in the day, Blinken, speaking from a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven in Japan, said that he delivered a message to both leaders.

"This morning, I made calls to Generals Burhan and Hemedti, urging them to agree to a 24-hour cease-fire to allow Sudanese to safely reunite with their families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies," he said.

U.S. lawmakers familiar with the continent say the stakes are high.

On Tuesday, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told VOA, "I have not given up hope that there is still a path towards an end to the violence, but we need to prepare for the very real possibility that Sudan is about to descend into all-out civil war.

"My concern is that this may quickly become a proxy war. That other more powerful, more militarily sophisticated countries in the region may begin sending drones, airpower - possibly even munitions or troops," Coons said.

That is an assessment shared by analysts who study the region.

Six of Sudan's neighbors - Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan - have experienced conflict in the past few years.

"There's a history in this region of these countries getting involved in the other's internal conflicts," Cameron Hudson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA via Zoom.

"All of these countries have rebels on various payrolls, more than willing to join this fight. And certainly all of these countries have an interest and a stake in the ultimate outcome of who wins this fight," Hudson said. "And so I think the longer this drags on, there's every reason to believe that the neighbors are increasingly going to see an opportunity to get involved."

He added that outside actors like Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, which has other activities in the Sahel region, may also see an opportunity.

"It's a very dangerous situation for Washington when we look at the regional picture," Hudson said.

But Washington has little room to maneuver. Ties with Khartoum have long been strained, and the U.S. suspended assistance to Sudan during the 2021 coup.

U.S. lawmaker Coons was involved with the effort to remove Sudan from a state sponsor of terrorism list in 2020. He said the tense relationship between Washington and Khartoum means that other players, such as the African Union and humanitarian organizations like the World Food Program, need to be involved.

"Look, we need to do whatever we can to reduce the loss of life to restore stability, and to show a clear path forward towards a resolution of negotiations," Coons said. "We do have some leverage, but there's other players in the region that also have a lot at stake and some leverage and we need to work with them in close coordination."

CSIS' Hudson said this may be the only viable path.

"I think the challenge here is that the leverage that Washington has left is not leverage that it wants to put on the table, and that's the use of punitive measures," Hudson said.

"I think for the last six months you've seen Washington, and even since the coup, using an engagement strategy and an incentive strategy to try to bring the generals around to relinquishing power," he said. "The problem is that in Sudan's history, these generals don't have a history of responding to incentives. Just like they govern the country through fear, intimidation and their own punitive measures, that's what they respond to themselves."

Washington is left facing the toughest question of all: whom to back in this two-sided conflict?

Hudson said there is a middle ground.

"I think we're backing the Sudanese people, is who we're backing," he said. "We're on the side of the Sudanese civilians. We've been trying to restore civilian rule to the country since the coup d'etat in October 2021. And that has been the focus of U.S. diplomacy on the ground."

Coons said Tuesday that his committee was working toward a peaceful resolution.

"Sudan is a country of vast potential," he said. "It could be the breadbasket of the whole region.

"The civilians of Sudan showed real bravery and determination in leading the demonstrations that led to the overthrow of Bashir. To have them slide so quickly, so far backwards, into brutal internal fighting is disheartening. I am talking with leadership here, this week, about our options for the path forward," he said.

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Sudan Fighting Creates Humanitarian Issues

By Michael Atit April 18, 2023

A third day of fighting between Sudan's military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces raged Monday in the capital, with both sides claiming control of strategic sites. A doctors' union says nearly 100 people have been killed in the clashes as calls for a cease-fire are growing.

The sounds of gunfire echoed across the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and other towns Monday afternoon.

The military headquarters, Khartoum international airport and areas around the presidential palace are the current main battlefields between the military and the Rapid Support Forces.

The shooting affected the power supply and water systems in the capital, making life more difficult for those trapped indoors by the fighting and people wounded in the clashes.

In the Al-Kalakla neighborhood south of Khartoum, the situation seemed to be relatively calm, and people ventured out to get basic necessities.

Wisal Mohammed, a mother of three, says this is the first time in three days she's come out to get food for her children.

She says the situation is difficult, and we are stranded. There is no electricity and water, and we cannot be mobile if there is an emergency. We are approaching the festivity time, and people are just indoors.

The fighting started on Saturday morning, and Sudanese doctors say nearly 100 people have been killed and several others injured, including civilians during the past three days.

Hamid Babikir sells vegetables along the Jebel Aulia highway south of Khartoum. He told VOA that he is unable to order more stock from the central market due to the tense situation.

He says roads are blocked, and we can't risk going to get more vegetables. What I am selling today is left over from yesterday. Everybody keeps on complaining of the tense situation and an increase in prices because of a lack of fuel.

Al Muiz Hassan is a grocer in the Abu Adam neighborhood south of Khartoum. He says he is worried about robbery and has only partially opened his shop as a precaution.

He called on the warring parties to put the interest of the country and civilians as the first priority.

"The fighting has affected all the shops, not only mine. I am not afraid of anything rather than losing lives," he said. "The two who are fighting are all Sudanese and are only following their orders. We hope that God will change their hearts."

The military said this afternoon that they had restored control over state-run TV and radio, which was taken over by the RSF yesterday.

The East African regional bloc IGAD has delegated the presidents of South Sudan, Kenya and Djibouti to talk with the Sudanese warring parties in an effort to halt the fighting.

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G7 Joint Statement Strongly Condemns the Fighting in Sudan

By Nike Ching April 18, 2023

The Group of Seven has strongly denounced the ongoing fighting in Sudan between two military factions, urging all parties to "end hostilities immediately without pre-conditions."

Tuesday, G-7 foreign ministers released a joint communique after meeting two and half days in Karuizawa, Japan.

"We strongly condemn the ongoing fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudan's democratic transition," said the G-7 joint statement.

"We call on all actors to renounce violence, return to negotiations, and take active steps to reduce tensions and ensure the safety of all civilians, including diplomatic and humanitarian personnel."

The joint statement came amid reports that an armored US embassy vehicle was targeted by forces associated with the RSF fighters during the surge of violence in Khartoum. Monday, the European Union said its envoy to Sudan was assaulted in his own residence.

"I can confirm that yesterday, we had an American diplomatic convoy that was fired on. All of our people are safe and unharmed. But this action was reckless. It was irresponsible. And of course, unsafe," Blinken told VOA during a news conference upon the conclusion of G7 ministers' meetings.

Tuesday, Blinken spoke separately with General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, commander of the Rapid Support Forces, urging them to agree to a 24-hour ceasefire to allow Sudanese to safely reunite with their families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies.

Blinken said he made it very clear to both Burhan and Hemedti that "any attacks, threats or dangers posed to our diplomats were totally unacceptable."

The White House has said there are no plans yet for a U.S. government evacuation.

Blinken also said Tuesday that the State Department will continue to "take every responsible measure to make sure that our people are safe and secure," when asked by VOA if there is an evacuation plan given the latest development on the ground.

Both military factions fighting for control in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, claimed to have made gains, as the death toll from the violence exceeded 180 amid calls from Washington, multiple international bodies and capitals around the world for an immediate cease-fire.

In Washington, U.S. lawmakers also weighed in, condemning the fighting in Sudan between the army and paramilitary forces.

"The Biden Administration must take immediate steps to sanction Generals Burhan and Hemedti, and other senior security officials, push the international community to do the same," said U.S. Senator Jim Risch, a Republican from Idaho who is ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"Ultimately, the only way to achieve peace and stability in Sudan is through meaningful political discussion and the return of a civilian-led transition that respects the rights and aspirations of the Sudanese people. Continued fighting risks dragging the country back into civil war and threatens the stability not only of Sudan, but the entire region," said Democratic Senator from Delaware Chris Coons in a statement.

Katherine Gypson contributed to this report.

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Abdelfattah Burhan

Sudans Defence Minister, Lt Gen Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, who was sworn-in as interim president of Sudan and head of the military transitional council, announced that he had steppped down after little more than a day in office. The Sudanese Professionals Association (SPA), which spearheaded the months-long demonstrations that triggered al-Bashir's overthrow, praised Ibn Auf's departure as a "triumph of the will of the masses". The group also calls on people to continue a sit-in outside the army headquarters in the capital and take to the streets outside the military's "various garrisons" elsewhere throughout the country.

His successor, Lt Gen Abdelfattah Burhan, Inspector-General of the Armed Forces, was sworn-in as new interim president on the evening of Friday 12 April 2019. The head of Sudan's rapid support forces, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemeti, was appointed deputy of the transitional military council.

The retiring President of the Council also announced the exemption of Kamal Abdel-Maarouf from his post as Vice-President of the Council, without mentioning a replacement. A number of figures of the ruling National Congress party were arrested by a Sudanese army force and taken from their homes to an unknown location.

The head of Sudan's National Intelligence and Security Service, Salih Ghosh, resigned from his post, the country's new military rulers said. "The chief of the transitional military council, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has accepted the resignation of... the chief of NISS," the transitional military council said. Ghosh had overseen a sweeping crackdown led by NISS agents against protesters taking part in four months of mass demonstations that led up to the toppling of veteran president Omar al-Bashir by the army.

The party of ousted leader al-Bashircondemned the coup as unconstitutional and urged the military leaders to release its acting president and other key members. "We consider the military council's power grab a violation of constitutional law," the National Congress Party said in a statement. "The NCP rejects the detention of its leaders, among them its acting president and a large number of prominent members, and calls for their immediate release."

The decision to appoint Burhan was welcomed among the demonstrators. He was one of the senior officers who contributed to the protection of the protesters in the vicinity of the General Command of the Sudanese armed forces. On several occasions, he went to the sit-in area, spoke directly with the protesters, and made contact with activists in the revolutionary movement. On Friday morning, prior to the announcement by Ibn Auf that he would step down, Burhan was seen speaking to one of the leaders of the opposition Sudanese Congress Party, Ibrahim El Sheikh, at the sit-in in front of the General Command of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

The name of Abdul Fattah al-Burhan became a shining name in the world of politics and media after Awad bin Auf stepped down from office two days after Sudan's coup. Lt Gen Abdelfattah Burhan, as Inspector-General of the Armed Forces, was not as close to Al Bashir, and the Military Transitional Council hoped that Burhan will be more acceptable to the people, who are adamant that the interim government should include civilians, and not replace one military junta for another. Burhan is said not to be affiliated with any political body or organization. Sources with close ties to the new head claim he is the only one among Sudans senior military figures without a case at the International Criminal Court.

This was the second time that the name of Abdelfattah al-Barhan had appeared publicly in less than two months. His name was mentioned in the presidential decisions issued by President Omar al-Bashir, on 26 February 2019, as part of a general shakeup of the military command. It included appointments and amendments to the chief of staff and the Sudanese army. At that time, al-Bashir upgraded Abdul-Fattah al-Burhan from the rank of Lieutenant-General to the rank of full General, and appointed him Inspector General of the Armed Forces.

Sudan had been the scene of large demonstrations since 19 December 2018, which killed dozens of dead and left thousands wounded. The most prominent event on Thursday 11 April 2019 was the announcement of the removal of President Omar al-Bashir and the formation of a Transitional Council to run the country for two years.

His name recently jumped to the forefront of events in Sudan, before he held the highest political and security post in a rapidly changing country under pressure from months of popular protests. Little is known about the Sudanese military commander. Abdul Fattah al-Burhan was one of the advocates of ousting President Omar al-Bashir, and supervised the arrest after the army's decision to isolate him, thus taking over the responsibility of managing a sensitive phase in the history of the county.

Lieutenant General Abdel Fattah Burhan, 60, served in Sudans border guard and was later appointed to China as a military attache. He worked as a trainer at a military college in eastern Sudan, and served as a commander in wars in the countrys south before South Sudan gained independence from Sudan in 2011. He later became commander of the border guard, eventually advancing in his career as a commander of the Land Forces. Burhan reportedly made frequent visits to the United Arab Emirates while he was a coordinator for Sudans military forces in Yemen. Al-Burhan supervised the Sudanese forces in Yemen in coordination with Mohamed Hamdan Daklou, commander of Sudan's rapid support forces.

Burhan was born in the village of Kandto in the state of the River Nile, Sudan, in 1960, which is about 172 kilometers from Khartoum, it is close to the historic city of Shendi. He came from a religious family that owed allegiance to the Khatami way, one of the Sufi methods in Sudan, and is the religious arm of the Democratic Unionist Party led by Mohammed Osman al-Mirghani. Abd al-Fattah al-Burhan, the third son among seven boys and two daughters, was born to Abdul Rahman al-Burhan and his wife Safia al-Siddiq, whose roots are attributed to Sheikh Ali al-Hafian. As is the case of many tombs in Sudan. Abdul Rahman al-Burhan also built a dome on his grave after his burial in the city of Eidj in the east of the island of central Sudan.

He studied elementary and middle school in the schools of his village, the majority of whose population is the Chaikya tribe, one of the most famous Sudanese tribes. He then moved to Shendi where he completed secondary school before joining the Sudanese military academy. After graduating from the War College, he worked in Khartoum and traveled between the units of the Sudanese army. He also participated in combat fronts in southern Sudan, Darfur and other areas and has been assigned training courses in Egypt and Jordan.

The brother of the head of the new military council, Abdul Qader Burhan, was quoted as saying that his brother had known courage, honesty and integrity since his youth. The family was deeply concerned after their son was declared president of the transitional military council. Is due to the great stalemate the country has had over the past months.

Abdul-Qader al-Burhan confirmed that his brother did not belong to any political party throughout his life and did not have any ideological orientation. "One day, when they were sitting with children, they remembered their father, Burhan Abdel Rahman, who then went to talk to their brother Abdel Fattah to tell him that he would become a great leader, and that would be the test of proof or exile at a difficult stage in the history of the country."

A 10-member delegation representing groups behind the months-long anti-government demonstrations held talks with Sudan's military council at the army headquarters in Khartoum on 13 April 2019. The meeting came as the new head of the council calls for dialogue and vows that a transitional period will last a maximum of two years.

The new head of the military council said those involved in the killing of protesters will face justice and ordered the release of protesters jailed by special emergency courts. "I announce the restructuring of state institutions according to the law and pledge to fight corruption and uproot the regime and its symbols," al-Burhan adds in a televised address to the nation.

In his televised address to the nation, al-Burhan says: "I invite all the people of Sudan, including political parties and civil society groups, to engage in dialogue." The council's new head adds: "A military council will be formed to represent the state until an interim government is formed. The interim military council commits to the following: A two-year transitional period during which, or at the end of which, power will be handed over to a civilian government formed by the people."

The new leader of Sudan's military transitional council has announced the lifting of the curfew. Addressing the protesters, al-Burhan says: "In order to provide an atmosphere for your design to establish a state, we declare that the curfew is lifted, all detained or sentenced under martial law will be immediately released."







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Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Outlines Vision for Peace in the Indo-Pacific

By Phil Mercer April 18, 2023

Australian Foreign Affairs Minister Penny Wong has outlined her government's ambition to "avert war and maintain peace" in the Indo-Pacific region. Wong addressed the National Press Club in Canberra, saying Australia wants to ensure there is a "strategic equilibrium" in Asia where "no country dominates, and no country is dominated."

Wong said Monday that Australia did not want competition between the United States and China to "career into conflict."

She warned that China continues "to modernize its military at a pace and scale not seen in the world for nearly a century with little transparency or assurance about its strategic intent."

Australia's foreign affairs minister also detailed the destabilizing consequences of "coercive trade measures, political interference" and the reshaping of "international rules." However, there was no specific mention of China in the remarks or of the trade restrictions Beijing has imposed on various Australian export commodities because of diplomatic tensions stretching back to 2017.

Wong told the audience in Canberra about her concerns for Taiwan, which China regards as a wayward province that could be retaken by force.

"Today I want to talk to you about how we avert war and maintain peace - and more than that, how we shape a region that reflects our national interests and our shared regional interests," Wong said. "Those interests lie in a region that operates by rules, standards and norms where a larger country does not determine the fate of a smaller country."

Wong said the Canberra government had to "lower the heat on any potential conflict, while increasing pressure on others to do the same."

"A war over Taiwan would be catastrophic for all," she said. "We know that there would be no real winners, and we know maintaining the status quo is comprehensively superior to any alternative."

There has, so far, been no reaction in Beijing to Wong's comments.

Relations between the two Indo-Pacific nations began to deteriorate in 2017 over growing concerns about alleged Chinese interference in Australia's domestic affairs.

There followed further disagreements about Taiwan, freedom of navigation in the contested South China Sea and the origins of COVID-19, which was first detected in China.

However, Australia's left-leaning government a elected almost a year ago a has made concerted efforts to ease tensions with China, Australia's biggest trading partner.

Earlier this month Canberra agreed to suspend its appeal to the World Trade Organization against China's punitive tariffs on Australian barley, which Beijing has agreed to review.

Australian officials have said they were confident that China would scrap the tariffs, raising hope that restrictions on other exports, including wine, would also end.

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China's aircraft carrier Shandong holds intensive drills comparable with Liaoning in West Pacific

Global Times

By Liu Xuanzun Published: Apr 18, 2023 09:21 PM

The second aircraft carrier of the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) Navy, the Shandong, is reportedly conducting intensive drills beyond the first island chain, reaching near Guam on the second island chain after completing Taiwan island encirclement drills last week.

The Shandong's ongoing exercise is comparable with, if not surpassing, those previously done by the country's first carrier, the Liaoning, and showed its high level of operational capability, experts said on Tuesday.

Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force spotted a PLA Navy flotilla consisting of the Shandong, a Type 055 large destroyer, a Type 052D destroyer, two Type 054A frigates, a Type 901 comprehensive replenishment ship and a Type 903 comprehensive replenishment ship when they sailed in Pacific waters from April 10 to Sunday, Japan's Ministry of Defense Joint Staff said in a press release on Monday.

In this period, the Shandong hosted about 140 fighter jet sorties and about 70 helicopter sorties, meaning that the carrier hosted about 210 aircraft sorties in a week, according to the press release.

Japan has been reporting the Shandong aircraft carrier group's movement since April 7 when it first entered the West Pacific from the Bashi Channel. In the 10 days from April 7 to Sunday, the PLA Navy carrier hosted about 330 aircraft sorties, the Japanese Defense Ministry said.

This figure means that the Shandong's drills are more intensive than those previously carried out by the Liaoning, observers said.

In the Liaoning's latest far sea drills in the same region from late December last year to early January this year, the PLA Navy's first carrier hosted about 320 aircraft sorties in 15 days and set a record in terms of the aircraft sortie rate.

These figures show that the aircraft carrier Shandong has reached full operational capability, Wei Dongxu, a Beijing-based military expert, told the Global Times on Tuesday.

Having been commissioned only in December 2019, the Shandong achieved its current status very fast, and one of the most important reasons has been the sharing of the valuable experience of the Liaoning, Wei said.

According to the Japanese press release, the Shandong operated in waters to the east of the island of Taiwan from April 7 to April 12, which was in line with official PLA announcements that the carrier took part in combat alert patrols and "Joint Sword" exercises encircling the island of Taiwan from April 8 to April 10.

From Thursday to Sunday, the Shandong headed further east and reached waters about 600 to 700 kilometers to the west of Guam, a militarized island used by the US as a key node in the second island chain.

The Liaoning also trained near Guam in its previous drills.

The regions in which the Shandong and Liaoning have trained are vital to safeguarding China's national sovereignty and territorial integrity, another Chinese military expert told the Global Times on Tuesday, requesting anonymity.

From waters between the island of Taiwan and Guam, the PLA Navy aircraft carriers can surround "Taiwan independence" forces from the east, giving them nowhere to hide and nowhere to run, and deny external military interference attempts by foreign forces like the US and Japan, the expert said.

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Chinese pandemic whistleblower tried in secret was given 3-year jail term

Fang Bin, to be released later this month, disappeared after filming from Wuhan in early days of COVID-19 outbreak

By Gu Ting for RFA Mandarin 2023.04.18 -- Citizen journalist Fang Bin, who disappeared for three years after filming from hospitals and funeral homes early in the COVID-19 pandemic from the city of Wuhan, had been sentenced in secret to three years in prison, Radio Free Asia has learned.

Fang went incommunicado after a Feb. 1, 2020, livestream from Wuhan healthcare facilities, and made a couple more videos in the days that followed about his interrogation by police, before falling silent for three years, with no news of his fate.

He was among a number of high-profile bloggers who tried to report on the emerging and little-understood viral outbreak from Wuhan. His report also described the pandemic as a "man-made" disaster, calling on people to resist government "tyranny."

Fang's family was notified by police that he will be released from prison on April 30, said a person familiar with the case who declined to be identified for reasons of personal safety.

"Fang Bin was sentenced in secret by the Jiang'an District People's Court to more than three years' imprisonment," the person said. "The family hasn't received any legal documents or a copy of the judgment, however ... and they don't know the nature of the charges."

Fang had served his sentence in the Xiaojunshan former juvenile correctional center in Wuhan's Jiangxia district, the source said.

"He may have been held in solitary confinement for more than three years," the person said.

The presiding judge who sentenced Fang, surnamed Lian, declined to comment when contacted by the person to enquire about the case, saying only: "How dare you ask about this kind of thing?" before hanging up, the source said.

"Friends of the family have said Fang Bin will likely go to live with his relatives after his release, and the police told the family to prepare for that," the person said.

'Disaster of the century'

Wuhan resident Wang Xiaohua said Fang had reported on "the disaster of the century" through his live-streamed video reports to the rest of the world during the Wuhan lockdown.

Fang had been reporting from the Wuhan No. 5 Hospital and a funeral home in Wuchang, part of the three-city conurbation that makes up Wuhan, at the time, and watched staff move out eight dead bodies in the space of five minutes, his video report showed.

"He was the first to make a video saying publicly that the Chinese Communist Party's authoritarian rule had given rise to the outbreak," Wang said. "He launched a nationwide citizen journalism effort, and let people see the dead bodies in the hospital, counting them, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight a it was shocking."

Fang's disappearance came a few days after the detention of another citizen journalist, Chen Qiushi, who had been interviewing people around the new mega hospitals being thrown up at great speed in Wuhan.

Fellow citizen journalist Kcriss Li continued reporting from the scene for a few more weeks after that, until his dramatic, live-streamed chase by police on Feb. 26.

Lawyer-turned-reporter Zhang Zhan was detained and taken back to Shanghai, where there are ongoing concerns about her health in prison following months of on-off hunger-striking and forced feeding.

The U.S. The Congressional-Executive Commission on China called for Fang's release in its annual report last November, along with all those detained for reporting on the pandemic in China.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content April not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Rights group says banks are withholding pension pots from U.K.-based Hong Kongers

Blockage is seen as a form of punishment for leaving Hong Kong amid a crackdown on dissent.

By Lee Yuk Yue for RFA Cantonese 2023.04.18 -- London-based rights group Hong Kong Watch has accused banks of perpetrating a "brazen asset grab" by withholding up to U.S.$2.4 billion in the pension pots of Hong Kongers who have emigrated to the United Kingdom under its British National Overseas visa scheme.

Banks have written to several people who sought to withdraw funds from the city's compulsory Mandatory Provident Fund savings plan on the grounds that they had left the city permanently, rejecting their requests, according to a recent investigation by the group.

The group called it a form of "punishment" for leaving amid an ongoing crackdown on dissent.

The small group of protesters gathered outside London's Guildhall as Hong Kong financial chief Christopher Hui gave a speech inside, and some ran after Hui's car after he left the venue by the back door.

The letters from the banks cited Hong Kong government guidance issued on March 10, 2021, for the decision, which stated that the British National Overseas passport can no longer be used as part of an application to withdraw accumulated pension savings.

The group blamed China's foreign ministry for revoking recognition of British National Overseas passports in anger at the launch of the visa scheme in January 2021, saying it was in breach of British promises prior to the 1997 handover.

The British government says 160,700 people have emigrated to the United Kingdom on its BNO visa scheme, which includes a pathway to permanent residency and citizenship, since its launch in 2021, which prompted retaliation from Beijing.

The majority of these visas are being used to live in the U.K., with an estimated 60% holding Mandatory Provident Fund accounts, Hong Kong Watch found.

"Taking the average MPF account size (U.S.$28,500), and multiplying it by the number of main BNO visa holders (96,000) there would be around A2.2 billion (U.S.$2.4 billion) of ... assets that Hong Kongers are currently being denied access to," the group's investigative report said.

Sam Goodman, director of policy and advocacy at Hong Kong Watch, said: "The Chinese government's retaliatory action to no longer recognise the British National (Overseas) passport is designed to financially punish those leaving the territory and is a gross violation of its obligations under [the treaty and constitutional arrangements governing the handover]."

"This amounts to a brazen asset grab that is a punitive measure targeting anyone who has left Hong Kong under the BNO visa scheme and is intended to warn others who are thinking of leaving," Goodman said.

The report singled out HSBC for criticism, saying the bank had been supportive of a draconian national security law imposed on Hong Kong by the Communist Party from July 1, 2020.

"[The bank] has around 30% of the Mandatory Provident Fund market through various schemes, meaning that it would be withholding an estimated A660 million (U.S.$820 million) of assets," it said.

According to Goodman, the bank is failing to satisfy its responsibilities as a trustee of the compulsory pension scheme.

"It must explain to its customers why it is blocking access to their hard-earned savings and the U.K. government must ask why a London-headquartered bank is doing the bidding of an authoritarian government by failing to recognise a valid government issued document," he said in a statement issued with the report.

HSBC hadn't replied to a request for comment from RFA's Cantonese Service by the time of publication.

Veteran Hong Kong journalist Joseph Ngan said it is now looking increasingly unlikely that people leaving the city for good will be given access to their money.

"This is very worrying," Ngan told Radio Free Asia. "It's likely that the authorities will make various excuses, including the fact that the person has applied for British citizenship via the British National Overseas route [to withhold their money]."

"It seems that the Hong Kong government wants to make things as difficult as possible for people emigrating to the U.K. on the British National Overseas route."

A May 2022 report found that nearly one in four Hongkongers who fled the ongoing political crackdown under the ruling Chinese Communist Party still suffered from symptoms of post-traumatic stress syndrome linked to police violence during the 2019 protests and the subsequent fear engendered by the national security law.

The survey of recently arrived migrants by the Hongkongers in Britain group found that 23.8% of respondents reported symptoms of PTSD linked to the 2019 protests and subsequent political crackdown, while nearly 19% reported symptoms of depression and 25.8% reported symptoms of anxiety disorders.

Translated by Luisetta Mudie. Edited by Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content April not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Beijing Confirms Entry Ban Against Lockheed and Raytheon Execs Over Taiwan Arms Sales

Sputnik News

20230418

Ilya Tsukanov

The restrictions complement measures imposed in February which labeled the US weapons makers as "unreliable entities" and prohibited them from carrying out a range of export/import activities, investing in China's economy, and having employees living or working there.

Beijing has offered new details on sanctions imposed against Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defense.

In a Tuesday statement, China's Ministry of Commerce confirmed that a ban has been in place since February on company executives visiting, working in or residing in the country, and that import/export restrictions have been set up to "prevent Chinese products from being used in their military business."

The ministry urged Chinese firms to "strengthen their due diligence and compliance system construction to verify transaction information" to make absolutely sure that they do not do any business with the US defense companies and aid in their anti-China activities.

Tuesday's comments come amid the continued of escalation of tensions between Beijing and Washington over Taiwan, with tensions spilling into trade ties between the two countries and between China and the West in general.

China has been conducting what British financial media has characterized as "surgical" retaliation against foreign firms in response to US-led technology restrictions. Some measures include a probe into US chip maker Micron Technology for illegal activity, the closure of the Beijing offices of US corporate due diligence firm Mintz Group, a $31 million fine against auditing firm Deloitte over suspected auditing negligence, and the detention of an executive of a major Japanese pharmaceuticals company on suspicion of espionage.

Earlier this month, Asian business media reported that China is considering slapping restrictions on the export of rare-earth magnet technology to the US on "national security" grounds.

The United States has spent over four decades flouting a 1982 joint communique with China which obliges Washington to gradually bring arms sales to Taiwan to zero. Washington has recently ramped up its informal diplomatic ties with Taipei in violation of commitments made to China when diplomatic relations were restored in 1979.

Recent administrations have signed off on the sale of tens of billions of dollars in advanced military hardware to Taiwan. However, this trade has witnessed the buildup of a $19+ billion backlog, with Covid and the Ukraine crisis blamed for delays.

Representatives from more than two dozen major US defense contractors plan to travel to Taiwan next month to discuss the joint production of drones and ammunition. These plans come following Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin's announcement in late March that the US military would use a $1 billion authorization to speed up the transfer of weapons to the island.

Chinese officials have repeatedly announced their aspiration to ensure a peaceful reunification of Taiwan with the mainland under the so-called 'One Country, Two Systems' model - which will allow the island to preserve elements of its existing political, legal and economic systems while remaining in China's jurisdiction. Beijing has warned, however, that any attempts by foreign-backed separatists to declare independence could trigger a military solution to the issue.

A Sputnik

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Chinese, Russian defense ministers hold meeting in Moscow, emphasizing military cooperation, respective core interests

Global Times

Close ties, military cooperation, respective core interests emphasized in talks

By Liu Xuanzun and Yu Xi Published: Apr 19, 2023 12:10 AM

The Chinese and Russian defense ministers held an official meeting in Moscow on Tuesday, in which they highlighted the high level of China-Russia military-to-military relations, agreed to deepen military cooperation, and stressed mutual support in respective core interests.

Chinese State Councilor and Minister of National Defense Li Shangfu and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu agreed in the meeting that under the strategic guidance of President Xi Jinping and President Vladimir Putin, the comprehensive strategic partnership of coordination for a new era between China and Russia has continued to develop at a high level, with the two militaries having closely cooperated and coordinated, fruitful results achieved in many fields, and strategic connotation continuously enriched in the development of the bilateral ties, reads a press release from China's Ministry of National Defense on Tuesday.

The two sides agreed to fully implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, continue to maintain close high-level communication, improve the mechanism for military exchanges, expand cooperation between theaters, military services and academies, and make new contributions to promoting high-quality development of China-Russia relations, safeguarding world and regional security and stability, and serving the building of a global community with a shared future, the Chinese Defense Ministry said.

Song Zhongping, a Chinese military expert and TV commentator, told the Global Times on Tuesday that by expanding cooperation between theaters, military services and academies, the meeting between Li and Shoigu has elevated the two countries' military cooperation.

Cooperation between theaters means that the two militaries could jointly tackle emergencies in a particular direction, while cooperation between military services means that the armies, navies and air forces of the two countries could share their experiences and enhance their capabilities, Song said.

Zhang Hong, an associate research fellow at the Institute of Russian, Eastern European and Central Asian Studies of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times on Tuesday that more military services could start to have exchanges, like strategic rocket forces.

Russia previously announced that it is helping China developing a missile early warning system, Zhang said.

In terms of cooperation between military academies, the two countries could expand personnel exchanges in officer training as well as studies in military theory, experts said.

China and Russia have held many joint drills and patrols, and such activities are expected to continue and expand, observers said.

During the talks, Li and Shoigu reiterated that they will firmly support each other when it comes to safeguarding the two countries' respective core interests, first and foremost those concerning sovereignty, territorial integrity, security and development, and resolutely oppose external forces interfering in internal affairs.

China and Russia are both facing suppression attempts from the US and the US-led NATO, as the US sees the two countries' development as threats to its hegemony, Song said.

Both China and Russia oppose power politics and global hegemony, and that is why the two countries stressed safeguarding their respective core interests. Russia supports China in the Taiwan question, and China support Russia in its national security, Song said.

On the Ukraine crisis, China's position will remain the same, and that is to promote peace and negotiations, and not to provide weapons to either side of the conflict, Zhang said.

Li said during the meeting that the first place he chose to visit since his appointment as defense minister was Russia in order to demonstrate the high level of development of China-Russia relations as well as the firm determination to strengthen the strategic cooperation of the two countries' armed forces, according to a press release from the Russian Ministry of Defense on Tuesday.

The Russian press release quoted Shoigu as saying that the interaction between Russia and China has a stabilizing effect on the situation in the world and helps to reduce tension. He also stressed that the two countries are coordinating their actions in preparing joint sea and air patrols, military exercises both on a bilateral basis and in multilateral formats.

During Li's visit to Moscow on Tuesday, he laid a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, RT reported.

The location is a war memorial dedicated to Soviet soldiers killed during World War II, and Li's visit showed the Chinese and Russian people's traditional comradery and friendship by remembering their joint efforts in fighting fascism in World War II, observers said.

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Respected Comrade Kim Jong Un Inspects NADA

Korean Central News Agency of DPRK

Pyongyang, April 19 (KCNA) -- Kim Jong Un , general secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea (WPK) and president of the State Affairs of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, inspected the National Aerospace Development Administration (NADA) on April 18.

He was accompanied by Pak Thae Song, secretary of the WPK Central Committee, Kim Jong Sik, vice department director of the WPK Central Committee, Kim Sung Chan, president of Kim Il Sung University and minister of Higher Education under the Education Commission, Pak Ji Min, president of Kim Chaek University of Technology, senior officials of educational and scientific research institutions, technicians and experts in the field of IT communication sci-tech studies and commanding officers of the technical intelligence department of the General Reconnaissance Bureau of the Korean People's Army.

He was greeted by leading officials of the NADA and the Academy of Defence Science on the spot.

Going round the space science research institute, the space environment test center and other places, he learned in detail about the work for fulfilling the immediate scientific research tasks set forth by the Party's far-reaching space-conquering policy on the long-term development of the country's space industry, and about the recent progress achieved by the field of space science research in the development of core technologies and production.

The respected Comrade Kim Jong Un highly praised the noteworthy achievements made by the NADA in the core space sci-tech studies to attain the immediate and long-term objectives of the space policy set forth at the 8th Congress of the WPK, the 5th and 6th Plenary Meetings of the 8th WPK Central Committee.

Noting that the development of space industry is of very important significance in building a socialist economic power whose development is propelled and guaranteed by science and technology, he set forth the important tasks to be fulfilled to radically develop space science and technology.

The growth of the space industry is a key element in the exploration of a shortcut to securing the position of a world-class economic and sci-tech power and a demonstration of the overall national power, he said, adding that it is necessary to build a full-fledged space industry capable of dynamically steering the economic development of the country by constantly spurring the independent space development.

He noted that it is the steadfast stand of the WPK and the DPRK government to fulfill on a priority basis the advanced and valuable space development plans in the light of the strategic interests of the country in the present-stage efforts for achieving accelerated space development, steadily expand the successes and finally turn the country into a world space power.

He underscored the need to set it as a main thrust to possess weather and earth observation and communication satellites, in particular, to get thoroughly prepared for the disastrous weather, effectively protect and use the resources of the country, and immediately provide the possibilities for giving strong impetus to the scientific development of the national economy.

He also called on the educational and scientific research units at all levels to establish a system of actively participating in the development of application satellites of various uses, increase state investment for promoting the development of space science and technology, produce standardized and reliable carrier rockets on a full scale in step with the accelerated development of various satellites, and successfully build satellite launching sites reflecting the ideal and ambition for building a space power.

He recalled that in the light of the present situation, in which the U.S. imperialists are deploying nuclear carriers, nuclear strategic bombers and other huge strategic assets of various missions on a permanent basis on the Korean peninsula and its vicinity to turn south Korea into an advanced base for aggression and an arsenal for war, and of the prospective concern that the military actions of the U.S. and south Korea threatening the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the DPRK under the pretext of the allied readiness would get more undisguised, the Eighth Congress of the WPK specified it as the most important and prerequisite task for building up the national defence capabilities of the country to have access to the space reconnaissance capability for securing real-time information about the hostile forces' military scenario and moves in the five-point major goals for developing the national defence capabilities.

Again referring to the role and the strategic value and significance of possessing the military reconnaissance satellite in bolstering up the self-defensive military capabilities for defending the security environment and territorial integrity of the state, the safety and development interests of the people from the escalating military threat and challenge of the U.S. and south Korea, and for using the preemptive military power according to situation, he said that possession of such satellite is a primary task to be indispensably fulfilled to bolster up the armed forces of the DPRK that can never be abandoned, missed and changed, and belongs to its sovereignty and legitimate right to self-defence in view of the requirements of the recent security environment on the Korean peninsula and tackling of the long-term threats.

As the U.S. and south Korea are scheming to further tighten their military posture against the DPRK under the pretext of "offer of extended deterrence" and "strengthened south Korea-U.S. alliance", as evidenced by their most hostile rhetoric and explicit action this year, it is quite natural for the DPRK to develop its military deterrence strong enough to cope with the serious security environment at present and in the future, he said, adding that possessing and operating military reconnaissance means is the most crucial primary task for increasing the military effectiveness and utility of different war deterrence means of the DPRK in doing so.

He set forth the militant task to organize a non-permanent satellite-launching preparatory committee to make sure that the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 completed as of April will be launched at the planned date, speed up its final preparations and firmly establish the satellite intelligence-gathering capability by deploying several reconnaissance satellites on different orbits in succession in the future.

Upon receiving the deep trust and encouragement of the respected Comrade Kim Jong Un , the officials, scientists and technicians of the NADA were filled with a firm determination to become conquerors of space faithfully upholding the Party's far-reaching plan for building a space power through their perfect practice and thus proudly demonstrate the dignity and prestige of the DPRK and the great national power of Juche Korea in the outer space. -0-

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New Wave Of Illnesses Renews Fears Of Possible Poisonings At Iranian Schools

By RFE/RL's Radio Farda April 18, 2023

Several Iranian cities have seen a new wave of suspicious illnesses mainly at girls schools sparked by what some have called poisonings, reigniting fears among families after a similar outbreak saw hundreds of students taken to the hospital.

Reports on social media on April 18 noted a surge in illnesses in the cities of Sanandaj, Saqqez, Bukan, Divandarreh, Urmia, Tabriz, Dezful, and Mahdasht Karaj, with several students needing to be hospitalized. That comes after reports in recent days of new illnesses seen in Tehran, Islamshahr, Karaj, Ardabil, Urmia, Qazvin, Babolsar, Hersin, and Shiraz.

Earlier this year, hundreds of students, mainly girls, were hospitalized after complaining of symptoms that included nausea, headaches, coughing, breathing difficulties, heart palpitations, numbness, and hand or leg pain. It remains unclear what might be causing the illnesses, though some of those affected have said they smelled chlorine or cleaning agents, while others said they thought they smelled tangerines in the air.

No one has claimed responsibility for the wave of illnesses that some officials -- including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei -- have characterized as poisonings.

An unspecified number of arrests had been made in five provinces in connection with the incidents, but few details have been made public.

The lack of clarity over the situation has prompted some to say the suspected poisonings are intentional and a scare tactic being used to intimidate females who have protested over the September 16 death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody for allegedly wearing a hijab, or head scarf, improperly.

The Telegram channel 1500 Tasvir reported that laboratory samples of students affected by the new wave of poisonings have been sent out of Iran to relevant experts in the field for testing.

The Iranian Teachers' Union's Coordination Council in Iran reported that worried parents have taken to the streets to demand justice for the students. In response, government forces resorted to beating, threatening, and arresting a number of parents, sparking more fear among students.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-new-wave- illnesses-suspected-poisonings-schools/32369199.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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India shutters borders to Myanmar's Chin state after killing of three nationals

The closure comes amid a crackdown on Myanmar refugees in Manipur and Mizoram states.

By RFA Burmese 2023.04.18 -- India has locked the gates to key border crossings with Myanmar's Chin state after three Indian citizens were killed in the state last month, according to sources from the area.

The closure comes amid an intensified military offensive against rebel forces in Chin state, where on April 10, a junta jet dropped bombs near a high school in Falam township, killing nine civilians and injuring four others.

Thousands of Myanmar nationals have fled fighting and taken refuge across the border in India's Mizoram state.

Sources told RFA Burmese that on March 22, the charred remains of three Myanmar-born ethnic Chin women holding Indian citizenship were discovered in Matupi. An investigation identified the victims as C. Biaksuii, 48, Bablu Talukdar, 37, and B. Lathafamkima, 44, but has yet to determine who is responsible for their deaths.

In the aftermath of the discovery, civil society organizations in Mizoram issued a statement warning Indian nationals against traveling into Myanmar and on April 6, Indian authorities shuttered the two main border gates at Matupi's Hlungmang and Gawnglaung villages, residents told RFA. Additionally, crossings accessed from the Chin towns of Rihkhawdar and Thantalan were also closed by the Indian side, they said.

A resident of Matupi, who declined to be named for security reasons, told RFA that the closure of the border gates had cut off access to food, medical treatment, and refuge for inhabitants of the township.

"The closure of the border is mostly related to the murder of Indian nationals," the resident said. "It's caused a lot of trouble for Myanmar refugees in Matupi. They can't enter the Indian side for now."

Attempts by RFA to contact Thant Zin, the junta's social affairs minister and spokesman for Chin state, for comment on the measures taken to restrict border crossings went unanswered Tuesday.

Salai Dokhar, the founder of India-based aid group India For Myanmar, urged Myanmar nationals in India to refrain from illegal activities, saying that doing so could impact refugees who have already fled across the border.

"What I mean by 'illegal' includes doing business illegally, committing crimes and that sort of activity," Dokhar told RFA. "I urge all Myanmar refugees not to become involved in such activities because one person's crime can impact tens of thousands of refugees sheltering in India."

Arrests in Manipur

Following the deaths of the three Indian nationals, residents of India's Manipur state, which also borders Chin state to the north, said that they have seen authorities conduct a series of arrests of Myanmar nationals on the grounds of illegal immigration.

In one incident on April 6, authorities in Manipur arrested a group of six men, 11 women, and six children from Myanmar who had fled across the border to Langkaur township and were working in the local weaving industry, Myanmar refugees told RFA.

"The reason for their arrest is that they did not have permission to stay in the town," a Myanmar national in Langkaur told RFA. "They were supposed to stay in temporary refugee shelters being built by the Manipur government. They are being kept in a temporary detention center for now and will be moved to the refugee shelters once they are complete."

Police in Manipur began hunting Myanmar nationals living in the state at the start of the year and, as of the beginning of March, had arrested around 170 people, according to aid workers assisting refugees.

On March 26, Manipur government officials visited villages in Moreh township where Myanmar refugees are sheltering to announce the construction of the camps, which they said will be able to accommodate half of the more than 10,000 who have fled across the border into the state.

"They came and took pictures of the refugees and issued refugee identity cards to them ... saying that it will be more secure to live there," said a refugee in Moreh, who spoke to RFA on condition of anonymity. "They have made a list of the refugees, too. We are currently staying near the villages along the border."

RFA emailed the Indian Embassy in Yangon inquiring after the border closure and the arrests of refugees in Manipur, but had yet to receive a response as of Tuesday evening.

According to Chin civil society organizations, around 60,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Chin state, while some 50,000 others have fled across the border to Mizoram and Manipur states in India.

Translated by Myo Min Aung. Edited by Joshua Lipes and Malcolm Foster.

Copyright 1998-2023, RFA. Used with the permission of Radio Free Asia, 2025 M St. NW, Suite 300, Washington DC 20036. For any commercial use of RFA content please send an email to: mahajanr@rfa.org. RFA content April not be used in a manner which would give the appearance of any endorsement of any product or support of any issue or political position. Please read the full text of our Terms of Use.

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Russia summons US, British, Canadian ambassadors over 'interference' in internal affairs

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 18 April 2023 6:58 PM

Russia has summoned ambassadors of the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada to object to their "gross interference" in its domestic affairs.

In a statement on Tuesday, Russia's Foreign Ministry said that it had called in US, British and Canadian ambassadors to inform them that the Kremlin strongly protested against what it called meddling in Russia's internal affairs.

"The ambassadors of the US, the UK and Canada have been summoned to the Foreign Ministry over gross interference in Russia's internal affairs and activities that do not correspond to their diplomatic status," the statement reads.

The brief statement did not precisely say why the envoys were summoned, but Moscow has already denounced the three envoys for their statements condemning a 25-year sentence against Kremlin critic Vladimir Kara-Murza, designated by the Kremlin as a foreign agent, a day earlier.

The judges on Monday awarded prosecutors the full 25-year prison term they had requested against the 41-year-old high-profile Russian opposition activist over his criticism of the war in Ukraine, the harshest prison sentence yet imposed on a government opponent since Moscow waged its war against Ukraine on February 24 last year.

Kara-Murza is accused of treason and discrediting the Russian army.

"Today's verdict is a sad testament to the dark turn this struggle [for democracy] has come to," Canadian Ambassador to Russia Alison LeClaire said at the time.

Hours after the trio's statements, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova slammed their statements in criticism of the verdict, implying that the envoys would be called in "to refresh their memories... so that they remember what diplomats should and should not do."

She stressed that Moscow viewed British Ambassador Deborah Bronnert's statement as unacceptable, warning London against politicizing international human rights issues.

Zakharova further denounced calls by the American and Canadian envoys for releasing Kara-Murza as "the height of cynicism," pointing to gross human rights violations and the persecution of dissenters back in the US and Canada.

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Russian Recruiters Target Central Asian Migrants At Mosques, Dorms To Join War In Ukraine

By Farangis Najibullah, Zarangez Navruzshoh April 18, 2023

Tajik migrant Foziljon Umarov recently applied to renew his expiring Russian residency permit in Nizhny Novgorod Province, where he works as a bricklayer.

As Umarov handed in his documents at the migration department, a clerk asked him if he would consider joining the Russian military.

"She said if I became a contract soldier I'd no longer need a residency permit or a work permit and could get a Russian passport after six months of military service. I would also earn about $3,000 a month," Umarov claimed.

He said the employee who spoke to him at the migration center was an ethnic Tajik.

"She spoke Tajik with me. I don't know if they hired a Tajik employee specifically to speak to Tajik migrants, and Uzbek clerks for Uzbeks, etc.," Umarov said.

Many migrant workers from Central Asia say Russian recruiters have increasingly approached them at mosques, in dormitories, and at migration offices to try to lure them into joining the military as Moscow struggles to replace its depleted forces in Ukraine.

Moscow has not officially announced a new military mobilization after its "partial" call-up of some 300,000 reservists in September caused tens of thousands of Russian men to abruptly flee the country.

The government plans to recruit 400,000 new soldiers to fight in Ukraine, according to Russian regional government sources.

Russian officials have expanded their campaign to attract potential contractors -- both Russian citizens and foreign workers -- with a promise of money and other benefits.

Recruiters on Russian city streets are handing out brochures to men claiming those who sign up for the military contract service will receive an initial one-time payment of $2,390, followed by salaries of up to $4,160 a month.

Photos and videos sent to RFE/RL show similar leaflets hanging on the walls, doors, and staircases in migrant workers' dormitories.

One video obtained by RFE/RL's Tajik Service purports to show a representative of a Russian military recruiting office giving a speech at a popular mosque in the city of Chelyabinsk.

"You don't have to wait five years to become Russian citizens -- instead you can sign a contract for military service for six months or up to one year in exchange for fast-track citizenship for yourself and your families," the uniformed man tells the congregation in the mosque.

Another video depicts a man in the Russian military outfit promoting contract military service to a group of men, some of whom can be heard speaking Uzbek. The video purportedly shows Central Asian migrants lining up for work permit in the western city of Penza.

Recruiters say those willing to become military contractors don't even have to take the mandatory medical checkup, says Jurabek Amonov, a migrant rights advocate in Russia.

"They only need to sign a paper saying 'I am healthy,'" Amonov told RFE/RL on April 10.

"I always tell the migrants that 99 percent of those who went to war in the hope of getting Russian passports were killed in Ukraine. It's also illegal for them to go to Ukraine," he said.

Not My War

Russia hosts millions of migrants from Central Asia and other former Soviet countries where unemployment has been a major problem the past three decades.

Most migrants have stayed away from the widely condemned war their host country has waged against Ukraine. But it is believed that many hundreds or thousands have accepted jobs in Ukraine's Russian-occupied territories -- mostly working for Russian construction companies.

Since the war began in February 2022, dozens of families in Central Asia have received the bodies of relatives killed in Ukraine. Some of them were naturalized Russian citizens, some were foreign contractors, and there were also convicts recruited from Russian prisons often under pressure.

Despite the falling value of the Russian ruble, a shrinking job market, and other consequences of the war, Russia remains a key destination for Central Asian workers.

One Tajik migrant contacted RFE/RL from a deportation detention center in the Far Eastern Russian city of Vladivostok earlier this month, saying a military recruitment officer had come to the facility to meet with the detainees.

"The officer told us, 'You are being deported and can't return to Russia for at least five years, but if you agree to join the Russian military your records will be wiped clean, you'll get a good wage, and become Russian citizens after just six months,'" said the Tajik man on condition of anonymity.

Though he said he wasn't convinced, some others "seriously considered accepting the offer, because going back to Tajikistan with no money, no jobs, and no future is almost as bad."

In Nizhny Novgorod, migrant worker Umarov decided to reject the offer of a Russian passport and $3,000 a month to fight in Ukraine, although he makes only half of that amount during the height of the summer work season.

"I am not going to Ukraine at any cost," Umarov said. "It is not my war."

Written and reported by Farangis Najibullah with additional reporting by Zarangez Navruzshoh

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/russia-recruits-central- asia-migrants-ukraine-war/32369341.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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Taiwan welcomes U.S. military instructor help with training

ROC Central News Agency

04/18/2023 04:00 PM

Taipei, April 18 (CNA) Taiwan's Ministry of National Defense (MND) on Tuesday said it welcomes the ongoing efforts of the United States to help the country train its troops after a source told CNA Monday that nearly 200 active duty American military instructors are currently in Taiwan training military personnel.

Around 200 U.S. military instructors are currently stationed at bases across Taiwan, an unnamed source told CNA Monday.

They are primarily assigned to boot camps and reserve brigades to observe Taiwan's protocols and provide practical consultations on training methods.

The inputs from American advisers will be later used to help Taiwan formulate better training when mandatory military service is extended from the existing four months to one year in 2024, the unnamed source added.

Asked to comment, MND spokesman Sun Li-fang (ac) expressed the ministry's appreciation toward "an allied country in boosting the nation's armed forces by means of military training," without elaborating.

However, Sun said he would not go into details on such programs, citing mutual understandings, when asked to comment on the report Tuesday.

Meanwhile, asked for a comment on the same report, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the de facto U.S. embassy, told CNA that although AIT does not comment on specific operations, engagements, or training the U.S. has in Taiwan, it reiterated Washington's support for Taipei in the field of defense.

"We don't have a comment on specific operations, engagements, or training, but I would highlight that our support for, and defense relationship with Taiwan remains aligned against the current threat posed by the People's Republic of China," an AIT spokesperson told CNA in an email.

"Our commitment to Taiwan is rock-solid and contributes to the maintenance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait and within the region," the spokesperson added.

(By Joseph Yeh)

Enditem/AW

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U.S. must be ready to 'fight and win' against China over Taiwan: Admiral

ROC Central News Agency

04/19/2023 01:23 PM

Washington, April 18 (CNA) The head of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Admiral John C. Aquilino, has warned Washington must be ready to "fight and win" if it fails to deter China from taking military action against Taiwan.

Speaking during a U.S. House Armed Service Committee hearing Tuesday, Aquilino declined to put a date on a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan, stating that "for me, it doesn't matter what the timeline is."

"I'm responsible [for finding a way] to prevent this conflict today and -- if deterrence were to fail -- to be able to fight and win," Aquilino said.

Aquilino's assessment that other top military commanders were "guessing" regarding the date contrasted with his predecessor, Admiral Philip Davidson, who suggested in 2021 that China could invade Taiwan within the next six to 10 years.

"There's a tonne of variables on what might motivate [Chinese] President Xi Jinping (cea) to take that action," Aquilino said. "It's our job to convince him, every day, [that] it would be a bad choice."

Aquilino said Tuesday that estimates of a possible Chinese invasion of Taiwan were based on an order directing the Chinese military to develop the requisite military capability by 2027.

Asked if he believed the threat of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan had grown over the past few years, Aquilino replied: "The trends for the threat are in a wrong direction ... There's no doubt about that."

Aquilino said that the Pentagon and the defense industry of the United States needed to move more quickly to reduce the odds of a conflict.

However, U.S. military forces in the region are fully prepared for any scenario, Aquilino added.

(By Chiang Chin-yeh and Evelyn Kao)

Enditem/ASG



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EU foreign policy chief highlights importance of Taiwan Strait peace

ROC Central News Agency

04/19/2023 12:48 AM

Brussels, April 18 (CNA) European Union (EU) Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell on Tuesday underscored the importance to Europe of maintaining peace in the Taiwan Strait, singling out Taiwan's location along one of the world's key shipping routes and its role as a semiconductor manufacturing hub.

Borrell was speaking at a European Parliament plenary session, in which members of the legislative body discussed the need for a coherent strategy on China, in view of the country's growing political and economic power globally.

He said the EU's strategy towards China has to be based on four elements: values, economic security, Taiwan and Ukraine.

On Taiwan, Borrell described the Taiwan Strait as "the most strategic strait in the world, in particular for our trade."

"It is not only for a moral reason that an action against Taiwan must necessarily be rejected. It is also because it would be, in economic terms, extremely serious for us, because Taiwan has a strategic role in the production of the most advanced semiconductors," he said

Borrell said that if the EU wants to be a geopolitical power, it must be present in all parts of the world to assert its positions, defend its interests, call for calm and prevent provocations.

"Taiwan is clearly part of our geostrategic perimeter to guarantee peace," he added.

Also, China's role following Russia's invasion of Ukraine is the key to whether EU-China relations could develop normally, he argued.

"Our relationship with China cannot develop if China does not use its influence on Russia to get Russia to withdraw its troops from Ukraine and end the war," he said.

Echoing Borrell's comments, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said as China emerges as a global political and economic player, it is all the more important for Europe to manage its relations with Beijing based on its own interests.

"A strong European China policy relies on strong coordination between member states and EU institutions and on the willingness to avoid divide and conquer tactics," said von der Leyen, who recently accompanied French President Emmanuel Macron on a trip to Beijing.

China's shows of military force in the South China Sea, in the East China Sea, and at the border with India, "directly affect our partners and their legitimate interests. Or on the issue with Taiwan," she added.

She reiterated the EU's position on the dispute between Beijing and Taipei.

"The EU's 'One China' policy is long-standing. We have consistently called for peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait and we stand strongly against any unilateral change of the status quo, in particular by the use of force," she said.

(By Flor Wang and Vicky Tien)

Enditem/cs





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War in Ukraine - Military support for Ukraine

Germany - Federal Government

Tuesday, 18 April 2023

Germany provides support for Ukraine by supplying equipment and weapons, these come from supplies of the Federal Arms Forces and from deliveries from industry financed from the Federal Government's funds for security capacity building. An overview.

The Federal Government supports the Ukrainian military in close coordination with its partners and allies. This list provides an overview of lethal and non-lethal German military support for Ukraine. It includes deliveries from the Federal Armed Forces, as well as supplies from German industry financed from the Federal Government's funds for so-called security capacity building.

Funding for the security capacity building initiative amounts to a total of 2.2 billion Euros for the year 2023 (after 2 billion Euros for 2022). The funds are to be used primarily to support Ukraine. At the same time, they will be used to finance Germany's increased mandatory contributions to the European Peace Facility (EPF), which in turn goes towards reimbursing EU member states for costs incurred to them in providing support for Ukraine.

Delivered military support to Ukraine:

(Changes compared to the previous week in bold)

air defence system PATRIOT with missiles

76 trucks Zetros* (before: 60)

124 border protection vehicles * (before: 122)

4 armoured engineer vehicles DACHS* (before: 3)

42 mobile antenna mast systems* (before: 34)

34 reconnaissance drones* (before: 26)

83,520 rounds ammunition 40mm* (before: 60.000)

18 LEOPARD 2 A 6 main battle tanks with ammunition (joint project with further LEOPARD 2 operators)

40 infantry fighting vehicles MARDER with ammunition (from Bundeswehr and industry stocks*)

2 armoured recovery vehicles Bergepanzer 3

2 mine clearing tanks WISENT 1*

160,000 first aid kits*

103.000 tourniquets

100 MG3 for LEOPARD 2, MARDER and DACHS

Spare parts for LEOPARD 2 and MARDER

90 drone detection systems*

500 pistols SFP9*

2 hangar tents*

23,500 projectiles 155mm

155mm precision guided ammunition*

ammunition for multiple rocket launchers MARS II

8 lift trucks*

295 generators

34 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns GEPARD including circa 6.000 rounds of ammunition*

6 bridge-laying tanks BEAVER*

10 winter camouflage nets

26 load-handling trucks 15t*

32 frequency range extensions for anti-drone devices*

10 roll off containers

Iris-T SLM missiles*

3 mobile, remote controlled and protected mine clearing systems*

40 laser target designators* (before: 20)

12 truck tractor trains and 4 semi-trailers*

145 Pick-ups*

8 mobile and protected mine clearing systems*

168 mobile heating systems*

20 rocket launchers 70mm on pick-up trucks with rockets*

15 armoured recovery vehicles Bergepanzer 2*

12 tank transporter tractor M1070 Oshkosh*

7 tracked and remote controlled infantry vehicles for support tasks*

35 load-handling trucks 8x8

36 ambulances*

36.400 wool blankets

12 heavy duty trailer trucks*

55 anti-drone sensors and jammers*

50 MRAP vehicles DINGO

10 unmanned surface vessels*

14,000 sleeping bags

Mi-24 spare parts*

spare parts for heavy machine gun M2

17 heavy and medium bridge systems*

5 multiple rocket launchers MARS II with ammunition

14 self-propelled howitzers Panzerhaubitze 2000 (joint project with the Netherlands)

air defence system Iris-T SLM*

200 tents

116.000 winter jackets

80.000 winter trousers

240.000 winter hats

405,000 pre-packaged military Meals Ready

67 fridges for medical material*

counter battery radar system COBRA*

4,000 rounds practice ammunitions for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns

54 M113 armoured personnel carriers (systems of Denmark, upgrades financed by Germany)*

53,000 rounds ammunitions for self-propelled anti-aircraft guns

3,000 anti-tank weapons Panzerfaust 3 with 900 firing devices

14,900 anti-tank mines (9,300* from industry stocks)

500 Man Portable Air Defense Systems STINGER

2,700 Man Portable Air Defense Systems STRELA

22 million rounds of ammunition for fire arms

50 bunker buster missiles

100 machine gun MG3 with 500 spare barrels and breechblocks

100,000 hand grenades

5,300 explosive charges

100,000 m detonating cord and 100.000 detonators

350,000 detonators

10 anti-drone guns*

100 auto-injector devices

28,000 combat helmets

15 palettes military clothing

280 vehicles (trucks, minibuses, all-terrain vehicles)

6 palettes material for explosive ordnance disposal

125 binoculars

1,200 hospital beds

18 palettes medical material, 60 surgical lights

protective clothing, surgical masks

600 safety glasses

1 radio frequency system

3,000 field telephones with 5.000 cable reels and carrying straps

1 field hospital (joint project with Estonia)*

353 night vision goggles*

12 electronic anti-drone devices*

165 field glasses*

medical material (inter alia back packs, compression bandages)

38 laser range finders*

Diesel and gasoline (ongoing deliveries)*

10 tons AdBlue*

500 medical gauzes*

MiG-29 spare parts*

30 protected vehicles*

7,944 man-portable anti-tank weapons RGW 90 Matador*

6 mobile decontamination vehicles HEP 70 including decontamination material

10 HMMWV (8x ground radar capability, 2x jamming/anti drone capability)*

7 radio jammers*

8 mobile ground surveillance radars and thermal imaging cameras*

1 high frequency unit with equipment*

Military support to Ukraine in planning/in execution

(due to security concerns, the Federal Government abstains from providing details on transportation modalities and dates until after handover)

6,350 projectiles 155mm*

Iris-T SLM missiles*

20 bridge-laying tanks BEAVER*

300.000 rounds of GEPARD ammunition

2 air surveillance radars*

78 truck tractor trains and 86 semi-trailers*

8 mobile antenna mast systems*

40,000 first aid kits*

108 reconnaissance drones*

1 tank transporter tractor M1070 Oshkosh*

17 mobile heating systems*

18 wheeled self-propelled howitzers RCH 155*

7 load-handling trucks 8x6 with 18 roll of containers*

3 self-propelled anti-aircraft guns GEPARD*

7 tracked and remote controlled infantry vehicles for support tasks*

6 mobile and protected mine clearing systems*

40 mine clearing tanks WISENT 1*

5 mobile reconnaissance systems (on vehicles) *

376 border protection vehicles*

132,480 rounds ammunition 40mm*

1 armoured engineer vehicles DACHS*

3 heavy and medium bridge systems*

16 self-propelled howitzer Zuzana 2* (joint project with Denmark and Norway)

78 heavy duty trailer trucks*

3 air defence system IRIS-T SLM*

12 communications electronic scanner/jammer systems*

field hospital (role 2)*

8 frequency range extensions for anti-drone devices*

2 tractors and 4 trailers*

10 protected vehicles*

vehicle decontamination system

5,032 man-portable anti-tank weapons*

124 trucks*

The total value of individual licenses issued by the Federal Government for the export of military goods in the period from January 1, 2022 toApril 17, 2023 amounts to 2.748.163.254 Euro. The total license value includes the goods listed above insofar as their export is subject to licensing requirements under German foreign trade laws. This is not the case for all of the goods listed above. In order to speed up the processing of certain deliveries, the Federal Government has also eased certain licensing processes, e.g. with regard to military protective goods. These deliveries are also not included in the total license value. The values stated for used material from the German Armed Forces are also based on current values which can be significantly lower than the corresponding values for new or replacement goods. The total license value includes the goods regardless of how their procurement and delivery were financed. For security reasons, the Federal Government does not provide further details until the goods have been delivered.

* Deliveries from industry stocks financed by German funds for security capacity building. Some of the deliveries require upgrades or productions is ongoing; also training measures take place.

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New European Bauhaus: call for projects to help rebuild Ukraine and foster sustainable construction skills in Europe

European Commission

Press release

18 April 2023

Brussels

Today, the Commission is calling for proposals for three projects - two for the reconstruction of Ukraine and one for the development of skills in sustainable construction. The calls on the reconstruction of Ukraine are part of the 'Phoenix' initiative announced in February by Commissioner Virginijus Sinkevicius and are financed by the LIFE Programme. The aim of 'Phoenix' is to develop and put at the disposal of Ukrainian cities cutting-edge expertise from the New European Bauhaus (NEB) community in affordable and sustainable reconstruction. The initiative also connects Ukrainian cities with like-minded ones in the EU to exchange experiences on their way to climate neutrality and more energy efficiency.

Supporting Ukrainian cities in reconstruction

Two LIFE projects will support cities in identifying and implementing a holistic, sustainable city planning approach, including innovative effective solutions and support for the rapid reconstruction of destroyed or damaged infrastructures and facilities.

They will focus on sustainable and circular (re)construction including waste management, the reuse of debris resulting from damages and destruction, or the management of hazardous waste. They will also cover water treatments, including decontamination. They will build on mappings and strategies previously financed by European funds.

Fostering sustainable construction skills

In parallel, another LIFE project will contribute to the NEB Academy, which aims to develop, foster, and increase skills for sustainable construction.

The project will contribute to map skilling initiatives on sustainability in the construction ecosystem, with a focus on bio-based materials and circularity; test pilot projects on using sustainable materials for construction (focusing on wood and other biomaterials); and promote skills sharing initiatives.

This call is particularly relevant in the context of the European Year of Skills. It will help develop the NEB Academy and develop training on sustainable construction, circularity, and biobased materials to accelerate the transformation of the construction sector.

At the same time, there is a call running by the New European Bauhaus to map already existing learning material and possible contributions to the NEB Academy. This call is open until 25 April.

Background

The New European Bauhaus (NEB) is an environmental, economic, and cultural project launched by President von der Leyen in her 2020 State of the Union. The NEB puts the focus on community building and bottom-up approaches to implement the European Green Deal by promoting beautiful, sustainable, and inclusive places, products, and services.

Only two years after its launch, the NEB has grown into a movement with an active and growing community of more than 1,000 members from a wide variety of sectors (e.g., education, construction, fashion) operating across all EU Member States and beyond.

Since the start of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine, the NEB community has shown readiness to support Ukrainians; always with the approach to combine, as much as possible, emergency actions with longer-term needs in the country.

In Ukraine, the NEB works very closely with several Ukrainian partners like the Covenant of Mayors East, the NGOs Ro3kvit, ReThink and the Architects' Council of Europe.

The NEB Academy was first announced by President von der Leyenin November last year. It focuses on research and innovation and on the necessary skills that we need for the green transition, mainly in the construction sector.

Total funding of some 3 million is available for the projects announced today, in addition to 8 million under existing LIFE funding for the NEB for which similar proposals could also be eligible.

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Putin visits two Russian-held regions in Ukraine as Moscow keeps pressing assault on Bakhmut

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 18 April 2023 3:20 PM

Russian President Vladimir Putin has visited two Russian-occupied regions of Kherson and Luhansk in Ukraine as Moscow keeps pressing an assault on the frontline town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region.

On Tuesday, Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a press conference that Putin had met his commanders in the two regions of Kherson and Luhansk a day earlier, rejecting claims that the visits took place at a different time.

"It was yesterday. Indeed, the president said, when gifting the icon, that we have Easter. The fact is that our Easter lasts 40 days, we continue celebrating it, now we have Easter week. That's why it is erroneous to pay attention to that phrase and make hypotheses about something that was never real. The trip took place yesterday," Peskov stressed.

He added that Putin had visited on Monday the headquarters of the Dnipr battlegroup on the Kherson front and the headquarters of the National Guard East battlegroup in Luhansk.

During his short trip, Putin heard reports from his commanders of the airborne forces and the Dnieper army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south.

According to the Kremlin, Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov did not accompany Putin on his trip as a security precaution.

Moscow added the four Ukrainian regions of Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia to the Russian Federation after holding referendums in the said regions in September last year.

Ukraine and its Western allies denounced the move as illegal, calling the votes a "sham." However, Moscow named the regions as constituent subjects of the Russian Federation in a constitutional decree despite the fact that Russian forces have not yet managed to take the regions under their full control. In fact, much of the territory in the Russian-annexed regions still remains in Ukrainian hands.

The development comes as Russian forces on Tuesday stepped up heavy artillery bombardments and air strikes on the devastated eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut in Donetsk region, where Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Moscow to have seized the mining town.

For the past several months, Bakhmut and its surrounding towns have been the focal point of attacks by Russia, which launched a full-scale war against neighboring Ukraine on February 24, 2022. Neither side has full control over the town and both have suffered heavy losses so far.

"Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins," the commander of Ukraine's ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi, said in a statement on Tuesday.

The battle to seize heavily fortified Bakhmut has been spearheaded by mercenaries of the Wagner group, Russia's private security company which has made small but steady gains against the Ukrainian troops defending the town.

Earlier this month, the head of the Wagner group said that its fighters controlled more than 80 percent of the town. Ukraine's military, however, has denied this.

Moscow says Bakhmut would be a stepping stone and a rare battlefield gain in completing the capture of the Donbas industrial region (composed of Donetsk and Luhansk), one of Moscow's most important objectives.

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Russia 'interested' in quick end to Ukraine conflict, urges solution based on multipolarity

Iran Press TV

Tuesday, 18 April 2023 7:38 AM

Moscow is "interested" in ending the year-long war in Ukraine "as soon as possible", Russia's foreign minister Sergei Lavrov said on Monday following his meeting with Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in Brasilia.

The top Russian diplomat stressed that any solution would have to be based on "multipolarity," accusing the West of "trying to dominate the international arena."

Lavrov reaffirmed Russia's stance that any diplomatic solution to the raging conflict must acknowledge the realities of four former Ukrainian provinces joining Moscow.

"We are interested in the Ukrainian conflict ending as soon as possible. We have already announced in detail the reasons for what is happening and the very goals that we are pursuing in this regard," Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Vieira.

"They consist primarily in guaranteeing the absence of any threats to the military security of the Russian Federation on the territory of Ukraine, and the West has been implementing such plans for many years. And the second task, of course, is to protect the lives and legal rights of the Russian-speaking population of the east and south of Ukraine," he hastened to add.

During the press conference, Veira hit out at Washington, denying its claims that Brazil was relaying propaganda from China and Russia.

Lavrov arrived in Brasilia on Monday, where he discussed issues such as the war in Ukraine and bilateral trade with Brazilian government officials.

"We are grateful to our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation [in Ukraine]. We are grateful for their desire to contribute to finding ways of settling this situation," Lavrov told reporters following his meeting with Vieira.

The top Russian diplomat also met with Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and thanked Brazil for its efforts to resolve the conflict in Ukraine.

Lula drew criticism from Washington on Monday for his recent comments suggesting the West had been "encouraging" war by arming Ukraine.

White House spokesman John Kirby accused Lula of "parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without looking at the facts."

"The United States needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace," Lula told reporters on Saturday after he returned from China, where he discussed the matter with Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

He also called for countries not involved in the war to engage Russia and Ukraine in peace talks.

"But we also have to talk to the United States and European Union. We have to convince people that peace is the way," Lula was quoted as saying.

Lavrov told journalists in Brasilia on Monday that Moscow was "grateful to our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation."

"We are grateful for their desire to contribute to finding ways to settle this situation," the top Russian diplomat said.

Brazil has not joined Western countries in imposing sanctions against Russia and has turned down requests to supply Ukraine with ammunition.

During his Brazil visit, Lavrov said Russia will support the country's entry into the United Nations Security Council as a permanent member.

"We are tapping into a fairer, more correct and law-based world order. In this regard, we have a vision of the multipolar world, in which we consider the protagonism of various countries and no longer just a few", he said inviting Lula to visit Russia.

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Zelenskiy Visits Frontline Town After Kremlin Says Putin Toured Occupied Ukrainian Regions

By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service April 18, 2023

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy concluded a "long and emotional day" in the city of Poltava in eastern Ukraine on April 18 after visiting Ukrainian forces near the front line in the Donetsk region where heavy fighting has been under way.

Zelenskiy said in his evening video message that he visited soldiers who have been "restraining and gradually destroying this Russian evil for 419 days and nine years," a reference to fighting that broke out in 2014 between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists in the Donbas regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.

He said he "had the honor to congratulate Ukrainian soldiers and officers on Easter [and] to present awards." Easter Sunday for Orthodox Christians was on April 16.

Zelenskiy also said that he had a conversation with U.S. Representative Kevin McCarthy (Republican-California), speaker of the House of Representatives, from Poltava.

He said he briefed McCarthy about what is happening at the front, described Ukraine's defense needs and capabilities, and discussed establishing a tribunal to adjudicate Russia's aggression against Ukraine. He also invited McCarthy to visit Ukraine.

The president's office reported that Zelenskiy also visited wounded servicemen in the hospital in Poltava and presented awards. He visited a hospital in the Donetsk region earlier in the day and also presented awards there.

Zelenskiy toured the Ukrainian military's advanced positions in Avdiyivka, which together with Bakhmut and Maryinka has been the focal point of Russia's monthslong offensive that was met with fierce resistance by Kyiv's forces, the presidential office said on April 18.

Zelenskiy's visit to the Donetsk region came just hours after the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir Putin had made a rare trip to the partially occupied Ukrainian regions of Kherson and Luhansk to visit Russian military headquarters and meet with commanders.

"The president is conducting inspections of military headquarters and is getting current firsthand information on the spot about progress in the special military operation," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists, using the term Moscow has coined to describe its unprovoked invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhaylo Podolyak said on Twitter that Putin was touring "the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time."

The Kremlin also released footage purportedly showing Putin receiving reports from military commanders in the Russian-controlled part of Kherson before traveling by helicopter to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard in the Luhansk region.

Russia in September announced the annexation of Kherson, Luhansk, Donetsk, and Zaporizhzhya, Ukrainian regions -- following what were widely considered to be sham referendums -- that Moscow only partially controls, in a move rejected by most of the world as illegal.

The footage released by the Kremlin could not be independently verified.

Peskov told journalists that the president made the trip on April 17, although in the original Kremlin video, according to the Agentsvo publication, Putin could be seen and heard saying Orthodox Easter, celebrated on April 16, "will" be coming. However, the word "will" appears to have been subsequently edited from the footage.

"It was yesterday," Peskov told journalists on April 18.

"The fact is that our Easter lasts 40 days and we continue celebrating it, now we have Easter week."

On the battle front, Russian forces used aircraft to unleash fresh assaults on Ukrainian positions in the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian military said on April 18.

Indiscriminate shelling of Luhansk and Kherson killed several civilians and caused extensive infrastructure damage, according to regional officials.

Over the 24-hour period that ended early on April 18, the Ukrainian military repelled more than 70 enemy attacks on Bakhmut and Maryinka, which remain the epicenter of hostilities, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in its daily report.

The battle for Bakhmut in particular has turned into one of the bloodiest of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with both sides reportedly suffering heavy casualties.

Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of Ukraine's ground forces, reported heavy fighting in Bakhmut as Russian troops attack from the air with heavy artillery. However, he said that "the situation is under control at this point."

In the Luhansk region, Russian shelling killed at least three people and wounded one in the village of Novoyehorivka, the head of the regional military administration, Artem Lysohor, said on April 18.

Lysohor said that in recent days Russian forces have been continuously using aircraft to bomb liberated settlements in the area.

In the Kherson region, one person was killed and several others were wounded by Russian shelling, according to Oleh Prokudin, head of the regional military administration.

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and dpa

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bombardment- donetsk-luhansk/32368364.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 War A Clear-Cut Case Of 'Right Versus Wrong,' Says Petraeus

By Vazha Tavberidze April 18, 2023

Retired four-star General David Petraeus is a veteran of nearly four decades in the U.S. Army, commanding U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan before serving as director of the CIA in 2011-12.

In an interview with RFE/RL's Georgian Service, Petraeus argues that Russia's invasion of Ukraine is "about as clear a right-versus-wrong as we've seen in our lifetime." He also talks about the "staggering failure" of Russia's military leadership and its refusal to learn from its mistakes, the aims and strengths of Kyiv's impending "combined arms" offensive, and why the West can't seek "an early exit."

RFE/RL: Where do we stand now in the Ukraine war?



David Petraeus: I think we stand near the end of the Russian winter offensive, which has not achieved its objectives so far, and which probably will culminate short of achieving those objectives. And even if [Russian forces] ultimately take Bakhmut, it will have come at such a cost that it will have been an unwise offensive.

And then we are awaiting the expected Ukrainian late spring-early summer offensive, which will feature Western tanks, Western infantry fighting vehicles, artillery, and a variety of other systems, and the kind of training and unit development that will allow Ukraine for the first time to achieve combined arms operations in this particular war -- something that Russia has not done in the past and something that the Ukrainians did, to a modest degree, in the Kharkiv offensive last fall.

By combined arms operations, I'm referring to the use of tanks together with infantry to keep the enemy infantry and their anti-tank guided missiles off the tanks, with artillery and mortars suppressing the enemy, and with engineers and explosive ordnance disposal to reduce obstacles and defuse mines, with air defense right up with the tanks to keep the enemy's air off of them. [With] their close air support, supported now by the MiG [fighter jets] provided by Poland and other NATO nations, logistics right up behind them with additional ammunition, food, fuel, water, medical support, and supplies, [and] good command-and-control on the Ukrainian side, electronic warfare to degrade the communications of the Russians.

And then, most importantly of all perhaps, right behind the lead elements, additional units that can exploit the gains of the lead forces -- something that didn't really exist sufficiently in Kharkiv last fall, so that when the physical capacity of the forces was reached, after a week or so, there was nothing to push through and to exploit in the way that I think we will see this summer.

So that's where we are. We completed a year in which Russia lost the battle of Kyiv, lost the battle of Kharkiv, lost the battles of Sumy, Chernihiv, and Kherson, and they have not achieved their winter objectives. And now, [they] will be faced with a spring and summer offensive by new Ukrainian forces that are being trained and equipped in Germany, Poland, the U.K., and Ukraine that, I think, again, will achieve what Ukraine sets out to do.

RFE/RL: What do you think would be the aim of such a Ukrainian counteroffensive?

Petraeus: I think it will be twofold. One will be to ensure that the Russians are not able to reinforce or to resupply Crimea through the southeastern part of Ukraine -- so to sever that ground line of communications that they achieved by their offensive last spring and summer. And then, second, to bring about the crumbling, perhaps even collapse, of Russian forces in a fairly broad area of southern Ukraine as they liberate more of the Ukrainian territory that the Russians captured last year.

RFE/RL: Up to Crimea? Including Crimea? Where do we draw the line?

Petraeus: Well, this will take time. You'll do it a piece at a time. And, of course, I think it's very important to reach a point where, with the additional longer-range precision munitions that the U.S. is providing for the multiple-launch rocket system that we have provided -- so now we're providing the small-diameter bomb for that system, which is about 150 kilometers [in range] and precise -- that they can hold...and target many more of the sites in Crimea that have been important to supporting Russians in southern and southeastern Ukraine. So, the air bases, headquarters, logistical locations, reserve-force locations, and so forth.

RFE/RL: Let me ask you specifically about Bakhmut. Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of General Staff General Mark Milley said recently that Ukrainians have turned it into a slaughterhouse of Russians, that they are getting hammered there. Could this have been the Ukrainian plan all along, to use so-called bottleneck tactics and waste Russian manpower?



Petraeus: I don't know whether it was all along, but it clearly has become that over time. Early on, I believe even Ukrainians would have observed that Bakhmut has no real, true geographic significance; it's not a great rail or road hub the way some other locations are. But I think they came to see the value of defending an urban area against a force that was very unprofessionally just throwing soldiers into this particular cauldron and allowing those soldiers -- as General Milley said -- to be hammered. The losses have been staggering, while the gains have been incremental and incredibly costly. And I think over time, as well, [Ukrainian] President [Volodymyr] Zelenskiy clearly came to recognize the need to not give Russia anything that it could portray as a victory or as Russian forces achieving the objectives they set out for themselves.

RFE/RL: Was that also the reason Russians persisted with it? We can talk about leadership deficiencies in the Russian military, but surely they could have seen that this is being used as a kind of trap for them.

Petraeus: Well, after you throw wave after wave of soldiers [at them], the problem is that they don't have any alternatives. They don't have well-trained forces, they no longer have well-equipped forces, [and] they don't have collective training of these units.

I think it's very important for observers to recognize that the Ukrainian forces that will lead the offensive this spring and summer are not engaged in Ukraine on the front lines right now. They are in training -- in Germany, Poland, U.K., Ukraine, and elsewhere. And they will be committed over time...with the presence of all these different elements and capabilities, and combat and combat-support forces that I've described before they launch that offensive.

The Russians haven't done that. They've basically just thrown soldiers into units. There's no coherence...there's no real organization to it. Of course, some of them are actual former convicts -- prisoners who were given a chance to get out of jail free, if you will, if they could survive for six months, I guess it was, then they could go free. But, of course, the odds of surviving the way the Russians have employed them...it's World War I-ish, in a lot of ways, but up against capabilities, on the defensive side from the Ukrainians, that are vastly more capable than the formidable opposition that individuals encountered even in the trench warfare of World War I.

But what the Ukrainians will do in the upcoming offensive, this is going to be vastly different. This is going to be combined arms operations, which the Russians have never achieved even at the outset, despite having had months deployed in Belarus and in Russia on Ukraine's borders, when they could have been training on these kinds of tasks. That's a staggering failure, in my view. If you'd given me, as a commander, months to train for an invasion, I think I could have done a good bit better job.

RFE/RL: You know more than most about [commanding] an invasion. From that perspective, what are the major mistakes Russia made in this war?

Petraeus: Well, at the very highest level, they completely underestimated Ukrainian capabilities, they completely overestimated Russian capabilities, and they failed to design a campaign properly and to prepare the force to carry out that campaign. Beyond that, they didn't have modern communication systems -- that's why [their] generals kept getting killed. And again, they didn't train their forces. We've always known that they lack a professional noncommissioned officers corps such as that which we have which are the backbone of our forces. But [there were] many, many, many deficiencies that they demonstrated, some of which were anticipated, others of which were somewhat surprising.

[There was, for instance,] the fact that their communication system is single-channel so you can easily find it in the clear -- it's not encrypted. It's also HF [high-frequency], which means it's broadcast very widely, anyone can pick it up with a police scanner; as opposed to ours, which is FM, frequency-hopping, and encrypted. That they don't have that kind of system at least encrypted is really quite staggering, given how much they supposedly invested in the modernization of their military.

RFE/RL: There is an enduring belief that Russians always start badly and then they get better. Back in October 2022, you said the battlefield reality that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin faced was irreversible. Six months on, is there still a chance for Russia to turn it all around, learn, and adapt?

Petraeus: [The Russian] military is not a learning organization, [like] we sought to make our forces. When I was privileged to command our forces in Iraq and Afghanistan and the greater Middle East, we explicitly set out to be learning organizations. We built into what we did lessons-learned sessions [and] planning sessions that required me to make decisions -- refine the big ideas, the strategy, the tactics, and so forth. All of our commanders' conferences featured a requirement that each commander share one or two lessons learned that would be applicable to all the others. So, you have to build a culture of learning.... We, in most of the NATO countries, all do that.

Russia clearly has not done that -- they're not a learning organization -- and they didn't recognize the deficiencies in advance. And actually, some of these are not the kind of deficiencies that you can remedy just by sitting down and trying to learn lessons, because to develop a professional noncommissioned officer corps, that's a huge decision that involves years of training and education and development and experience. So again, I just don't see them learning.

I do see the Ukrainians learning and developing and getting better and better. And that's why I say they will do what the Russians have failed to do, which is to achieve combined-arms effects and operations. Now, what I should point out, though, is that [Russian President] Vladimir Putin is still not convinced that the Russians will not be able to out-suffer [the enemy]. He still thinks that, just as you said, in history, the Russians had a terrible start, the Nazis pushed them back, Napoleon's army pushed them out, but in the end they prevailed. And he still thinks he can out-suffer the Ukrainians, the Europeans, and the Americans in the way that Russians out-suffered Napoleon's army and the Nazis. And we have to ensure that we enable the Ukrainians to prove him wrong.

RFE/RL: In realpolitik terms, can one truly argue that Russia is losing this war, considering it holds twice the size of Ukrainian territory than it had before the February 24, 2022, full-fledged invasion? And let's not forget that is some of the richest land, natural resource-wise, in Europe.

Petraeus: Well, the war is still not over; this is still very much a work in progress. Ukraine has achieved some extraordinary victories -- the battles of Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv, Kharkiv, Kherson, and so forth -- but the Russians, as you note, still control almost 20 percent of their [Ukrainians'] territory -- some of which is particularly important in a variety of different respects, geographically or [in terms of] raw materials, minerals, and so forth. So, this is still ongoing. [The Ukrainians] should certainly be proud of what they have achieved. We should be proud of what they have achieved and what we've enabled them to achieve.

But this is very much an ongoing war, and it requires continued support, continued determination not just on the part of the Ukrainians but on the part of those who are helping them in what I think is about as clear a right-versus-wrong as we've seen in our lifetime: a dictatorial, kleptocratic regime denying the right of its neighbor to even exist, invading and doing so without provocation and in a particularly brutal manner, with a...culture of committing war crimes rather than preventing them and dealing with them when inevitably they might take place; against a country that is a democratically elected government [and] free-market economy, however imperfect that may be.

RFE/RL: At the Munich Security Conference in February, I remember you saying that you hoped the war would end by the time of the release of your forthcoming book on Ukraine, which comes out in the autumn. Is it realistic to expect Ukraine to win by that time?

Petraeus: Well, I think we should hope, [but] that is not necessarily the likely outcome. A lot depends on what gets achieved by this Ukrainian offensive in the late spring and early summer. And if Russian forces can crumble and collapse, and then that can spread [further], then perhaps you might reach a point at which a negotiated resolution might actually be attainable. But without that, this is going to go on for another year or years, and we need to be prepared for that. We should not be seeking an early exit or anything like this. The Ukrainians are in this for their survival, their independence; they're determined to do what's necessary, and we need to be determined to do the same.

RFE/RL: In your view, what is the most realistic endgame scenario?

Petraeus: I think it will either be a negotiated resolution which includes a Western provision of a Marshall-like reconstruction plan of enormous substance and a NATO- or U.S.-led security guarantee when Russia realizes that this war is not sustainable on the battlefield or on the home front. Or there could be, at some point, a new frozen conflict, ideally with Ukraine having liberated all of its territory, including Crimea, but without a formal resolution [or] a formal negotiation.

And here we should acknowledge that we failed to give Ukraine the kind of [security] guarantee that we should have provided. We were sensitive to Moscow's concerns about Ukraine joining NATO or having some kind of security relationship that was particularly meaningful -- such as we provided for the Baltic states, and they've turned out pretty well -- and it hasn't, obviously, turned out well for Ukraine. So, any concerns about Kremlin considerations in the future should be completely disregarded.

RFE/RL: Let me ask about the neighborhood. What's at stake here, do you think, for countries like Moldova and Georgia?



Petraeus: I think Moldova has significant vulnerability. I believe that the U.S. and NATO countries have recognized this and are seeking to provide various forms of support to withstand various Russian efforts to undermine the government, to topple it, [or] to not just hang onto [the breakaway region of] Transdniester but to expand that and to make Moldova a kind of Belarus for Russia if they can. But I don't think the Moldovans want that; a majority of them do not want that. And what we need to do, in addition to enabling the Ukrainians, is also to enable [the Moldovans].

Georgia is a bit of a different situation, given that Russia is so intently focused with just about everything they have on Ukraine and on Eastern Europe, again including Moldova, that I don't think there's much left for anything outside of that focus. You've seen this elsewhere: You've seen it in the Caucasus, you've seen it in the eastern part of Russia, you've seen it in areas where Russia has a boundary with NATO countries. It's all about Ukraine and, to a slightly different degree, Moldova.

I think Georgia has some breathing space, but they need to make the most of it. And I thought it was very interesting to see in their domestic political dynamics, of course, a very considerable rejection of Russia in recent months. (Protests erupted in Tbilisi in March until the ruling Georgian Dream party announced the withdrawal of a draft bill on "foreign influence" that critics likened to Russia's harsh "foreign agent" legislation.)

RFE/RL: Unlike Moldova, Georgia harbors NATO membership hopes. What impact is this war going to have on those hopes? Was eventual NATO membership more realistic for Georgia before this war or now that it has happened?

Petraeus: I suspect it's just a tiny bit more realistic now. I think, at some point, you will see not just Finland, which now is approved to come into NATO, but also Sweden [in NATO]. And Ukraine over time, I think, will ultimately be a NATO member; if there is some kind of requirement in the interim, there will be a security guarantee provided for it.

We should not care what the Kremlin thinks anymore about this. We deferred to them in the past, and that set the conditions that enabled Putin and led him to invade Ukraine. Those concerns should be finished; they should be dismissed. And we now need to ensure that Ukraine can be part of what is a defensive alliance, at the end of the day; this is not an offensive alliance, there's no history for that whatsoever. And once that's done, I think that the aspirations of a country like Georgia may be more realistic than they were in the past.

This interview has been edited for clarity and length.

Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/petraeus-interview- ukraine-russia-putin/32369104.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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It is inspiring and encouraging to see our Ukrainian resolve and know that there will be victory - address by the President of Ukraine

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 22:15

Good health to you, fellow Ukrainians!

We are wrapping up this day in Poltava. Quite a long and emotional day.

In the morning I was in the Donetsk region, in our Avdiivka. It is hard to see what Russian terrorists have done to this city...

And honor to each of our warriors, to all Ukrainian men and women, who have been restraining and gradually destroying this Russian evil for 419 days and 9 years already.

I had the honor to congratulate Ukrainian soldiers and officers on Easter, to present awards. I often thank them in my evening addresses for their accuracy and bravery, for destroying the occupiers.

The 55th separate artillery brigade, marines of the 35th and 36th separate brigades, paratroopers of the 79th separate brigade, warriors of the 110th separate mechanized brigade... The 501st separate marine battalion... Bohdan Khmelnytsky separate presidential brigade... Thank you all for your service! And thank you all for the chevrons you gave me today, it's truly an honor. Thanks guys!

I especially want to thank our medical forces, all the doctors and nurses who bring our defenders back to life after wounds. I visited hospitals both in the Donetsk region and here in Poltava. I am proud of our people, strong even when they are still recovering. Honor and respect to all who heal our soldiers!

I held a long, meaningful meeting in Poltava regarding the situation in the region. The military leadership, local authorities... The first priority is security and social issues, security for educational institutions, reconstruction, support for displaced persons.

There are solutions for the restoration of the energy sector - generation and networks. There are various assignments of the working level - what we should support the Poltava region with. And we will definitely do it.

It is important that we do not lose a single day in communication with our partners. And it was from here, from Poltava, that I had a conversation with Speaker of the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress Kevin McCarthy. I thanked for the unflagging bipartisan support. Right after a trip to the frontline, I briefed Mr. McCarthy on what is happening now at the front, on our defense needs and capabilities. I raised the issue of F-16, long-range weapons, additional artillery and the tribunal - the tribunal regarding Russia's aggression against our country.

Together, we make the free world stronger, and every dollar invested in that strength is fully transparent and accountable to our partners. I invited Mr. Speaker to visit Ukraine.

It is truly inspiring and encouraging to see our Ukrainian resolve and know that there will be victory.

I am thankful to the Donetsk and Poltava regions for today!

Thank you to everyone who works for our victory! Glory to everyone who is currently in combat, at combat posts, on combat missions!

And today I would like to mention separately those of our fighters who identify and destroy enemy positions, those positions from which the occupier fires at our cities and villages. Russian strikes at Kherson, at the Beryslav district, at the cities of the Donetsk region - all the enemy strikes will face our response. A tangible response.

Glory to Ukraine!

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President held a meeting on the security and socio-economic situation in the Poltava region

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 21:59

During a working trip to the Poltava region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a meeting on the security, socio-economic and socio-political situation in the region.

The participants heard information from Head of the Poltava Regional Military Administration Dmytro Lunin about the socio-economic situation in the region.

The issue of the situation in the Poltava region in the operational zone of responsibility of the "Sumy" operational-tactical group and the readiness of military units to perform tasks was also discussed.

In addition, during the meeting, the participants heard information about the operational and criminal situation in the region.

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Andriy Yermak had a phone call with the British Prime Minister's National Security Adviser

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 21:39

Following the negotiations between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Rishi Sunak, and with the aim of fulfilling the corresponding mandate of the President, Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak had a phone call with National Security Adviser to the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Sir Timothy Barrow.

The parties discussed the current situation at the front and the importance of supplying Ukraine with the necessary weapons for the successful liberation of territories occupied by Russian troops.

Andriy Yermak and Timothy Barrow also focused on the preparation for this year's NATO Summit in Vilnius, noting the need for Ukraine to obtain effective security guarantees even before joining the Alliance.

In addition, the interlocutors exchanged views on further steps in the implementation of the Ukrainian Peace Formula. The Head of the President's Office thanked Timothy Barrow for Great Britain's willingness to take an active part in this process.



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Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 21:02

During a working trip to the Poltava region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy had a phone call with Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy.

The Head of State of Ukraine expressed gratitude for the unflagging bipartisan support of Ukraine from the United States Congress.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy informed the interlocutor about the course of hostilities in the main frontline areas and about the urgent defense needs of our country, in particular in armored vehicles, long-range weapons, artillery, air defense and aircraft. As the President assured, Ukraine stands ready to account for every dollar of American assistance.

In addition, the Ukrainian President and the Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives discussed the need to increase sanctions pressure on Russia, in particular, lower the price cap on Russian oil and gas.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy invited Kevin McCarthy to visit Ukraine.

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President visited the frontline positions of the Ukrainian defenders in the Donetsk region

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 14:33

During a working trip to the Donetsk region, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the frontline positions of the Ukrainian defenders in Avdiivka.

The Head of State listened to the report of the commander of the "Donetsk" operational-tactical group regarding the situation in the area of his responsibility.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy talked with the servicemen of the marines, airborne assault, mechanized and artillery units and thanked them for their service.

"I have the honor to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families. Congratulations on the holidays, on Easter, I wish you only victory - this is what I wish for every Ukrainian, this is what is very important to all of us. I wish good health to all of you and your families, and I am sincerely grateful on behalf of every Ukrainian for the great path that you overcome every day," he said.

The memory of the fallen defenders was honored with a moment of silence.

The President presented the servicemen with state awards. The defenders received the Orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky of the II and III degrees, as well as the Orders "For Courage" of the II and III degrees.

The military presented the Head of State with a military coin, a chevron and a plaque with the symbols of the 110th separate mechanized brigade.

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Andriy Yermak held an online briefing on security issues for representatives of the British Parliament

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 13:52

On the instructions of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak held an online briefing on security issues for members of the defense and foreign affairs committees of the House of Commons of the Parliament of Great Britain.

The Head of the Office of the President thanked Great Britain for the support felt by the Ukrainian people, in particular during the recent visit of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to Great Britain, his reception in the Westminster Hall of Parliament and the audience with King Charles III, as well as the adoption of important decisions for Ukraine.

"As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasizes, our common task is to defeat a country that does not recognize civilizational evolution and is doomed under any circumstances. The only question is the number of innocent victims, which our country still has to suffer for this," emphasized Andriy Yermak.

The Head of the President's Office told the participants of the meeting about the course of the defense of Ukraine against the Russian invaders and the intentions to liberate all Ukrainian lands from the occupiers. In particular, the representatives of the British Parliament were informed about the current situation at the front and the needs of the units of the defense forces.

Deputy Head of the Office of the President Roman Mashovets noted the importance of parliamentary support for the approval of political decisions regarding the provision of all necessary weapons to Ukraine and the important role of Great Britain, which is an example for other partner countries in the security support of our state.

Andriy Yermak also called on representatives of the British Parliament to help bring all those guilty of this terrible war to justice.

"After all, you are wise politicians and experienced specialists, you perfectly understand what can happen in the world if you do not fight back against the aggressor now," the Head of the Office of the President emphasized.

"We are convinced that the information you received will contribute to a deep understanding of what is really happening in Ukraine now. In this regard, we invite you to personally visit our country at your convenience," he added.

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A ship with Ukrainian grain arrived in Yemen as part of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's Grain from Ukraine humanitarian food program

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 12:29

As part of the Grain from Ukraine initiative of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, the ship Negmar Cicek delivered humanitarian cargo - 30,000 tons of wheat - to the Port of Salif in the Republic of Yemen.

In general, this is the sixth batch of grain within the Grain from Ukraine initiative, launched with the aim of overcoming the global food crisis, in particular in the countries that suffer the most from hunger.

The shipment of this batch of Ukrainian grain to Yemen was backed by the UN World Food Programme (WFP), as well as thanks to the financial assistance of the governments of the United States, France and Spain.

"Our Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program, which we implement together with partners, already helps millions of people in the countries most affected by hunger and confirms Ukraine's global role as a guarantor of world food security," President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized.

According to the Head of State, even in the conditions of a full-scale Russian invasion, Ukraine helps the world guarantee stability and security, and really resists the chaos and food crisis that have become a consequence of Russian aggression.

In particular, 30 thousand tons of Ukrainian grain will help about 1.7 million residents of Yemen to feed their families for at least a month. Similar steps within the Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program were taken by Ukraine together with partners to support African countries, in particular Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya.

Head of the Office of the President Andriy Yermak added: "By implementing the Grain from Ukraine presidential humanitarian program, Ukraine strives to fulfill its obligations to the world community regarding global food security. The world cannot remain without Ukrainian grain."

Representatives of Ukraine and the Republic of Yemen agreed on further joint efforts to ensure food security in the region. It was noted that the Ukrainian state will continue to support the Yemeni people despite the war and Russia's efforts to block the export of Ukrainian food.

The Grain from Ukraine humanitarian program launched by President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy is designed to ensure the transportation of agricultural products through Ukrainian ports and prevent hunger in the most vulnerable countries of the world.

Since the beginning of the implementation of the initiative, Ukraine has sent 170 thousand tons of wheat to countries with the most difficult food situation, including Ethiopia, Somalia, Yemen and Kenya.

More than 30 countries and international organizations, including the EU countries, the USA, Canada, Great Britain, Japan, Korea and Qatar, have joined the Grain from Ukraine program, raising more than $200 million in donations.

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Andriy Yermak had a phone call with Jake Sullivan

President of Ukraine

18 April 2023 - 10:11

Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Andriy Yermak, as part of the ongoing dialogue with partners, had a phone call with National Security Advisor to the U.S. President Jake Sullivan.

Yermak briefed the interlocutor on the current situation at the front, the latest actions of the Russian aggressor, and the actions of the defense forces of Ukraine.

The interlocutors agreed on further coordination in the issue of providing security assistance to Ukraine and discussed next steps in this direction.

Andriy Yermak thanked the American people, President Joseph Biden and his team, as well as both houses of the U.S. Congress for the strong, comprehensive support of the Ukrainian state in the fight against the aggressor for freedom and democracy in Europe.

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Hong Kong: Deputy SJ visits GZ, SZ

Deputy Secretary for Justice Cheung Kwok-kwan visited Guangzhou and Shenzhen today to enhance legal co-operation.

The Secretary for Justice established the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) Task Force in January. Chaired by the Deputy Secretary for Justice, the task force has held its first meeting, focusing on enhancing the convergence of legal practices in the GBA, advancing the practice of mutual legal assistance, and promoting the development of online dispute resolution and the application of lawtech in the GBA.

Mr Cheung called on Guangdongs Department of Justice and met its Director-General Chen Xudong in Guangzhou.

At the meeting, further collaboration on legal and dispute resolutions in the GBA was explored to better the alignment and harmonisation of relevant mechanisms and practices, jointly capitalising on the bay area's unique strengths of "one country, two systems and three jurisdictions" to promote the building of the rule of law in the GBA.

Mr Cheung then met Shenzhen Municipal Government Deputy Secretary-General Huang Qiang this afternoon.

He also renewed the Co-operative Arrangement on Legal Matters for another five years after the meeting with the Shenzhen Municipal Government.

The renewed arrangement will continue to strengthen co-operation on legal matters between Hong Kong and Shenzhen and provide a robust exchange platform for the two cities' government departments and the legal sectors.

It will also support Hong Kong's position as an international centre for legal and dispute resolution services in the Asia-Pacific region as provided for under the National 14th Five-Year Plan.

Mr Cheung then visited the Shenzhen Qianhai Cooperation Zone People's Court (Qianhai Court) and the Shenzhen Court of International Arbitration (SCIA).

He exchanged views with Qianhai Court President Bian Fei and SCIA President Liu Xiaochun, on the development of and co-operation in dispute resolution related to Hong Kong, including the use of technology.

This story has been published on: 2023-04-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
According to Anhui Agricultural University(AAU), the international standard ISO 20715:2023 "Tea Classification" led by Professor Wan Xiaochun, director of the State Key Laboratory of Resource Utilization of AAU, was officially promulgated. This marks a milestone in China's internationalization of tea standards, as the six major categories of Chinese tea have become an international consensus.

Standards are an important technical specification. Mastering the dominance in international standard setting can strengthen technological dominance and further enhance competitive advantages. As the birthplace of tea, China's tea planting, production, processing, and consumption have long been at the top of the world, and its exports of tea products, especially green tea products, have been taking the lead. However, its progress in establishing the international standardization of tea used to be rather lagged behind.

In 1979, Professor Chen Chuan, one of the founders of higher education in tea science in China, proposed the six major categories of tea classification in his article "Theory and Practice of Tea Classification," which divides tea into the six types of green tea, yellow tea, fermented tea, oolong tea, white tea, and black tea. Although this method laid the foundation for modern scientific tea classification and has been widely recognized and applied, it had not been stipulated as a standard.

Since the establishment of the National Technical Committee 339 on Tea of Standardization Administration of China in 2008, Professor Wan and the Chinese tea expert delegation that he leads have worked actively to seize the right to develop international tea standards in the Tea Subcommittee of the Food Technical Committee of the International Standardization Organization (ISO). Based on the Chinese standard GB/T 30766-2014 "Classification of tea" and GB/T 35825-2018 "The method of tea classification by chemical analysis", the team has worked with 31 tea technical experts from countries such as India, the UK, Germany, Japan, Kenya, Hungary, and Sri Lanka to negotiate and revise China's six major tea categories and eventually made it an ISO international standard according to the organization's rules.

Based on the quality and processing techniques of different teas, the standard categorizes them into six major types: black tea, green tea, yellow tea, white tea, oolong tea, and fermented tea. It also specifies the noun terminology of key processing procedures for tea, such as "zuo xing" (shaping), "men huang" (sealing yellow), and "wo dui" (piling fermentation) which are directly derived from Chinese tea culture.

The release of this international standard has effectively enhanced the global influence and discourse power of China's tea standardization. It is of great significance to standardize and promote fairness in the international tea trade and consumer rights, as well as to promote the export of Chinese teas, especially white tea, yellow tea, and fermented tea that are uniquely Chinese. (Reported by Chen Wanwan)


Latest in Ukraine: Zelenskyy, Putin Visit Their Troops in Eastern Ukraine

By VOA News April 18, 2023

New developments:

Foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations issued a joint statement calling Russia's invasion of Ukraine a "serious violation of international law" and demanding Russia immediately withdraw its troops without conditions.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops on Tuesday in the small eastern city of Avdiivka, a day after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his military leaders and troops in territories occupied by Moscow's forces.

Russian forces used aircraft to unleash fresh assaults on Ukrainian positions in the eastern Donetsk region, the Ukrainian military said on Tuesday, RFE/RL reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops on Tuesday in the small eastern city of Avdiivka, a day after the Kremlin said Russian President Vladimir Putin met with his military leaders and troops in territories occupied by Moscow's forces.

Zelenskyy's office said he was briefed by commanders on the battlefield situation. A video showed him addressing troops in combat gear and handing them awards in what appeared to be a large industrial warehouse with sandbags packed against at least one of the high walls.

"I have the honor to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families," he said.

Zelenskyy was also shown visiting a hospital where he inspected facilities, met wounded soldiers and handed out more awards.

Russia has targeted Avdiivka during its winter offensive but has made only small territorial advances in the east. The video footage released by Zelenskyy's office also showed heavily damaged high-rise residential buildings in the city, where Ukrainian officials say about 1,800 civilians remain.

Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelenskyy's office, said Ukrainian troops were successfully repelling Russian attempts to encircle the city. "Our army has already broken the enemy's plans to break through the [Ukrainian] defenses and advance in the east," Yermak said on the Telegram messaging app.

The Kremlin said Tuesday that Putin visited Moscow's forces on Monday, in Russian-occupied parts of the Kherson and Luhansk regions of Ukraine, two provinces that Putin claimed to annex last September. News organizations could not independently confirm his trip to Ukraine and the Kremlin did not announce it until he had left and returned to Russia. It was reportedly Putin's second trip to occupied Ukraine in two months.

A video released by the Kremlin and broadcast by Russian state television showed Putin arriving by helicopter at the command post for Russian forces in the southern Kherson region and afterward flying to the headquarters of the Russian National Guard of the eastern Luhansk region.

Dressed in a dark suit, Putin appeared to be heading meetings with his top military brass. The locations of the military headquarters in the Kherson and Luhansk regions weren't disclosed, so it wasn't possible to assess how close they are to the front line.

His trips to the military headquarters come as Ukraine says it is preparing for a new counteroffensive to reclaim the occupied territories.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak, in an apparent reference to Putin's visit, tweeted Tuesday about the Russian leader touring "the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time."

Also Tuesday, foreign ministers from the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations issued a joint statement calling Russia's invasion of Ukraine a "serious violation of international law" and demanding Russia immediately withdraw its troops without conditions. The G-7 ministers also pledged to keep Russian assets in their jurisdictions frozen "until there is a resolution of the conflict that addresses Russia's violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity."

Ukrainian grain

Monday European Union ambassadors in Brussels discussed a decision by some member states to temporarily ban imports of grain and other items from Ukraine.

Slovakia on Monday joined Poland and Hungary in announcing a ban on some food imports from Ukraine, with other central and eastern European countries saying they may follow suit.

The three countries argue a glut of low-priced agricultural imports is hurting their local farmers. Poland and Hungary on Saturday said their bans will remain in effect through June 30.

Spokespersons for the EU's executive arm said Monday a solution must be found that respects the EU legal framework, The Associated Press reported.

Lavrov in Brazil

Separately, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Monday that Moscow wants a quick end to the conflict in Ukraine.

At a news conference with Brazilian counterpart Mauro Vieira in Brasilia, Lavrov thanked his counterpart for "understanding of the genesis of the situation in Ukraine." He added that Russia had "an interest" in the conflict ending as soon as possible.

Russia has reiterated that any peace negotiation in Ukraine must acknowledge the "realities" of Russia's unilateral annexation of four Ukrainian provinces.

Russia says it was forced to intervene in Ukraine to defend Russian speakers from persecution and prevent the West from using Ukraine as a springboard to threaten Russia's security.

Kyiv and the West say these are baseless pretexts for a war of conquest where war crimes have been committed.

The White House sharply criticized Brazil for meeting with Lavrov in person, while only speaking to Ukrainian officials by phone.

National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said, "Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda" on Ukraine without looking at the facts.

Brazil's foreign minister pushed back on the criticism, saying of Kirby, "I don't know how or why he reached that conclusion but I do not agree at all."

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

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NEW ORLEANS, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (KSF) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until April 25, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Catalent, Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: CTLT), if they purchased the Companys securities between August 30, 2021 and October 31, 2022, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.



What You May Do

If you purchased securities of Catalent and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-ctlt/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by April 25, 2023 .

About the Lawsuit

Catalent and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On November 1, 2022, the Company reported its financial results for 1Q2023 ending September 30, 2022, disclosing that its earnings had fallen to zero, a slashed fiscal year 2023 revenue guidance from $4.975B to $5.225B to the range of $4.625B to $4.875B, and that it was anticipating negative P&L [profit and loss] effects, due to regulatory issues.

On this news, shares of Catalent plummeted by 31.7% over two trading sessions, to close at $44.90 per share on November 2, 2022.

The case is City of Warwick Retirement System v. Catalent, Inc., No. 23-cv-1108.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nations premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients  including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors  in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/.

Contact:
NEW ORLEANS, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC (KSF) and KSF partner, former Attorney General of Louisiana, Charles C. Foti, Jr., remind investors that they have until May 1, 2023 to file lead plaintiff applications in a securities class action lawsuit against Dutch Bros Inc. (Dutch or the Company) (NYSE: BROS), if they purchased the Companys securities between March 1, 2022 and May 11, 2022, inclusive (the Class Period). This action is pending in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.

What You May Do

If you purchased securities of Dutch and would like to discuss your legal rights and how this case might affect you and your right to recover for your economic loss, you may, without obligation or cost to you, contact KSF Managing Partner Lewis Kahn toll-free at 1-877-515-1850 or via email (lewis.kahn@ksfcounsel.com), or visit https://www.ksfcounsel.com/cases/nyse-bros/ to learn more. If you wish to serve as a lead plaintiff in this class action, you must petition the Court by May 1, 2023 .

About the Lawsuit

Dutch Bros and certain of its executives are charged with failing to disclose material information during the Class Period, violating federal securities laws.

On May 11, 2022, the Company disclosed dismal 1Q2022 financial results including a net loss of $16.3 million, compared to a net loss of $4.8 million for the first quarter of 2021 and an adjusted net loss of $2.5 million (a loss of $0.02 per share), which fell below analysts expectations, due to its failure to perceive the speed and magnitude of cost escalation within the quarter, among other things.

On this news, shares of Dutch fell $9.26, or 26.9%, to close at $25.11 per share on May 12, 2022.

The case is Peacock v. Dutch Bros Inc., et al., No. 23-cv-01797.

About Kahn Swick & Foti, LLC

KSF, whose partners include former Louisiana Attorney General Charles C. Foti, Jr., is one of the nations premier boutique securities litigation law firms. KSF serves a variety of clients  including public institutional investors, hedge funds, money managers and retail investors  in seeking recoveries for investment losses emanating from corporate fraud or malfeasance by publicly traded companies. KSF has offices in New York, California, Louisiana and New Jersey.

To learn more about KSF, you may visit http://ksfcounsel.com/.

Contact:
Reference is made to the announcement by Ensurge Micropower ASA (the "Company") on 20 February 2023, wherein the Company announced the Financial Calendar for the financial Year 2023.

The Annual Report for 2022 will be published on 27 April 2023 (earlier communicated date: 20 April 2023).

Contact Stale Bjrnstad - Investor Relations E-mail: stale.bjornstad@ensurge.com (mailto:stale.bjornstad@ensurge.com) Phone: +47 99 16 76 72

This information is published in accordance with the requirements of the Continuing Obligations in Euronext Oslo Brs Rule Book II.
New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Soldier Systems Market Report 2023-2033" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06447096/?utm_source=GNW





The Soldier Systems Market Report 2023-2033: This report will prove invaluable to leading firms striving for new revenue pockets if they wish to better understand the industry and its underlying dynamics. It will be useful for companies that would like to expand into different industries or to expand their existing operations in a new region.





Demand for Advanced Soldier Systems Is Driven by the Need for Real-Time Communication Between Soldiers



The soldier systems market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years due to the rising demand for modernisation of military equipment and the increasing focus on soldier safety and security. The soldier systems includes various components such as communication systems, surveillance systems, and navigation systems that enhance the operational capabilities of the soldiers.





The demand for advanced soldier systems is driven by the need for real-time communication between soldiers, as well as the need for accurate situational awareness and efficient mission execution. Furthermore, the growing trend of soldier modernisation programs across various countries is expected to fuel market growth in the coming years.





In addition, the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, and augmented reality into soldier systems is expected to provide significant growth opportunities for market players in the coming years.





However, factors such as budget constraints, operational challenges, and the need for skilled personnel to operate these advanced systems may hinder the growth of the soldier systems market. Nevertheless, with the increasing demand for advanced soldier systems and the rising investment in defence modernisation programs, the market is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years.





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 In addition to revenue forecasting to 2033, our new study provides you with recent results, growth rates, and market shares.



 You will find original analyses, with business outlooks and developments.



 Discover qualitative analyses (including market dynamics, drivers, opportunities, restraints and challenges), cost structure, impact of rising soldier systems prices and recent developments.





This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect the industry and your company. Four COVID-19 recovery patterns and their impact, namely, V, L, W and U are discussed in this report.





Segments Covered in the Report





Market Segment by Weapon Systems and Ammunition



 Lethal



 Non-Lethal





Market Segment by Personal Protection Systems



 Modular



 Multi-Threat



 Survivability





Market Segment by Operational Clothing Systems



 Headwear Systems



 Handwear Systems



 Footwear Systems



 Other Operational Clothing Systems





Market Segment by C4I Systems



 Battle Management Systems



 Soldier Network and Communication Suite



 Navigation Systems



 Sensor Suite



 Other C4I Systems





Market Segment by Type



 Operational Clothing Systems



 Personal Protection Systems



 Weapon Systems and Ammunition



 C4I Systems



 Power & Energy Systems



 Other Type





In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for four regional and 20 leading national markets:





North America



 U.S.



 Canada





Europe



 Germany



 Russia



 United Kingdom



 France



 Italy



 Rest of Europe





Asia Pacific



 China



 Japan



 India



 Australia



 South Korea



 Rest of Asia Pacific





Latin America



 Brazil



 Mexico



 Rest of Latin America





Middle East & Africa



 GCC



 South Africa



 Rest of Middle East & Africa





The report also includes profiles and for some of the leading companies in the Soldier systems Market, 2023 to 2033, with a focus on this segment of these companies operations.





Leading companies and the potential for market growth



 BAE Systems PLC



 Elbit Systems Ltd



 General Dynamics Corporation



 Honeywell International Inc



 Kongsberg Gruppen



 L3Harris Technologies Inc



 Leonardo S.P.A.



 Lockheed Martin Corporation



 Northrop Grumman Corporation



 Rheinmetall AG



 Saab AB



 Safariland, LLC



 Safran S.A.



 Teledyne FLIR LLC



 Thales Group





Overall world revenue for Soldier systems Market, 2023 to 2033 in terms of value the market will surpass US$12.8 billion in 2023, our work calculates. We predict strong revenue growth through to 2033. Our work identifies which organizations hold the greatest potential. Discover their capabilities, progress, and commercial prospects, helping you stay ahead.





How will the Soldier systems Market, 2023 to 2033 report help you?



In summary, our 370+ page report provides you with the following knowledge:





 Revenue forecasts to 2033 for Soldier systems Market, 2023 to 2033 Market, with forecasts for type, weapon systems and ammunition, personal protection systems, operational clothing systems, and C4I systems, each forecast at a global and regional level  discover the industrys prospects, finding the most lucrative places for investments and revenues.





 Revenue forecasts to 2033 for four regional and 20 key national markets  See forecasts for the Soldier systems Market, 2023 to 2033 market in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. Also forecasted is the market in the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, UK, Italy, China, India, Japan, Russia and Australia among other prominent economies.





 Prospects for established firms and those seeking to enter the market  including company profiles for 15 of the major companies involved in the Soldier systems Market, 2023 to 2033.





Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06447096/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________
Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Cryocooler Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Type , By Heat Exchanger, By Application, By Operating Cycle, By Region, Segment Forecast, 2023 - 2032" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global cryocooler market size is expected to reach USD 5.20 billion by 2032, according to a new study. The report gives a detailed insight into current market dynamics and provides analysis on future market growth.



Rise in the adoption of cryocoolers in power stations, super-conducting magnets, & the semiconductor industry is driving demand of the cryocoolers.

In November 2022, the CH-160D2 77K Cryocooler has been added as a new model to the SHI Cryogenics Group's line of Gifford-McMahon (GM) Cryocoolers. The CH-160D2 is perfect for a variety of uses, including the production and liquefaction of liquid nitrogen, & high temperature super-conducting uses including cables, wind turbines, ship motors, & accelerator magnets.



Continued R&D and technical advancements of cryocoolers have boosted their use in the medical industry for a variety of applications, including proton treatment, NMR technology, and MRI. This should accelerate market expansion. In order to cool superconducting magnets used in proton therapy to the liquid state Helium temperatures, cryocoolers must be utilised. In Jan 2023, the UK is planning to launch its first proton beam therapy trial for certain patients with breast cancer.



Worldwide space cryogenics market is expanding as a result of the aerospace industry's rising demand for cryogenic materials. Cryogenic fuels, have a better efficiency than conventional fuels, which improves spacecraft performance. Therefore, there is now a greater need for cryogenic systems, which is what will propel the worldwide space cryogenics market throughout the next years. In August 2022, Australian space agency launched it first mission, a space telescope named spIRIT which is fitted with a cryocooler thermal regulation system on the small satellite.



In the United States, superconducting magnets used in mobile phone stations are now cooled using cryocoolers for commercial purposes. Superconducting receivers create incredibly small filters with exceptionally steep skirt slopes using the High-Temperature Superconducting (HTS) filters. In combination with cryogenically cooled amplifiers, these receivers increase call quality.

Market Dynamics

Drivers and Opportunities

Growing Need for Effective Cooling Systems for the Manufacturing of Super-Conductors

Rising Use of the Product to Maintain Low Temperatures

Restraints and Challenges

Leakages of Cryogen Gases

Cryocooler Market Report Highlights

Gifford McMahon segment is leading the global market for cryocooler owing to its low cost and unique benefits offered.

Regenerative heat exchanger segment accounted for highest revenue share in the global market because of its feature of energy regeneration and the rising need for it across sensor-driven sectors.

Healthcare segment is expected to exhibit the highest market growth during the forecast period owing its widespread application in MRI systems, cryosurgery, proton treatment, and oxygen liquefaction in hospitals.

Asia Pacific region is estimated to grow at a high CAGR during the projected period. The increasing demand for cryocoolers in healthcare and defense applications is majorly responsible for the market growth in this region.

The global players include Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Northrop Grumman Corporation, Superconductor Technologies., Sunpower, RICOR, Advanced Research Systems, Chart Industries, AMETEK, Cryomech, DH Industries, Janis Research Company, Brooks Automation, Cobham Missions Systems, and Wimborne Limited

The publisher has segmented the Cryocooler market report according to type, heat exchanger, application, operating cycle and region:

Cryocooler, Type Outlook (Revenue - USD Billion, 2019 -2032)

Gifford Mcmahon

Pulse-Tube

Stirling

Brayton

Joule-Thomson

Cryocooler, Heat Exchanger Type Outlook (Revenue - USD Billion, 2019 -2032)

Regenerative Heat Exchanger

Recuperative Heat Exchange

Cryocooler, Application Outlook (Revenue - USD Billion, 2019 -2032)

Military & Defense

Power & Energy

Healthcare

Aerospace

Research & Development

Transport

Mining & Metal

Others

Cryocooler, Operating Cycle Outlook (Revenue - USD Billion, 2019 -2032)

Open-Loop Cycle

Closed-Loop Cycle

Cryocooler, Regional Outlook (Revenue - USD Billion, 2019 - 2032)

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

Germany

UK

France

Italy

Spain

Russia

Netherlands

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

South Korea

Indonesia

Malaysia

Latin America

Argentina

Brazil

Mexico

Middle East & Africa

UAE

Saudi Arabia

Israel

South Africa

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 115 Forecast Period 2023 - 2032 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2023 $2.94 billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2032 $5.2 billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 6.5% Regions Covered Global

Key Topics Covered:



1. Introduction



2. Executive Summary



3. Research Methodology



4. Global Cryocooler Market Insights



5. Global Cryocooler Market, by Heat Exchanger Type

5.1. Key Findings

5.2. Introduction

5.3. Regenerative Heat Exchanger

5.4. Recuperative Heat Exchanger



6. Global Cryocooler Market, by Application

6.1. Key Findings

6.2. Introduction

6.3. Military & Defense

6.4. Power & Energy

6.5. Healthcare

6.6. Aerospace

6.7. Research & Development

6.8. Transport

6.9. Mining & Metal

6.10. Others



7. Global Cryocooler Market, by Operating Cycle

7.1. Key Findings

7.2. Introduction

7.3. Open-Loop Cycle

7.4. Closed-Loop Cycle



8. Global Cryocooler Market, by Type

8.1. Key Findings

8.2. Introduction

8.3. Gifford Mcmahon

8.4. Pulse-Tube

8.5. Stirling

8.6. Brayton

8.7. Joule-Thomson



9. Global Cryocooler Market, by Geography



10. Competitive Landscape



11. Company Profiles

Companies Mentioned

Sumitomo Heavy Industries Limited

Northrop Grumman Corporation

Superconductor Technologies Inc.

Sunpower Inc. RICOR

Advanced Research Systems

Chart Industries

AMETEK.Inc. (Sunpower Inc.)

Cryomech Inc.

DH Industries

Janis Research Company LLC

Brooks Automation

Cobham Missions Systems Wimborne Limited.

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/gb56bn

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "3D Sensor Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The 3D Sensor Market is expected to register a CAGR of 18% over the forecast period.

The increasing adoption of 3D technology in various industry verticals has developed real-time sensors that can gauge shapes. Instruments that were once bulky are now miniaturized due to advanced technologies. Additionally, rapid technological advancements open up a plethora of new applications across different industry verticals where these sensors can be used.



Key Highlights

Increasing sensor compatibility with the Internet of Things platform is gradually becoming a prerequisite for promoting remote monitoring and control. The IoT-connected appliances have opened massive opportunities for sensors in several industrial, medical, consumer electronics, automobile, applications etc. According to Cisco's Annual Internet Report, by 2023, there will be nearly 30 billion network-connected devices and connections, up from 18.4 billion in 2018. By 2023, IoT devices will make up 50% (14.7 billion) of all networked devices, up from 33% (6.1 billion) in 2018. Such an increase in IoT devices would drive the growth of the studied market.

Moreover, governments' initiatives for smart homes and buildings are helping the adoption of 3D sensors faster. Recently, councils in Leeds, Suttons, and Richmond advanced IoT technology in homes to better support residents and make services more efficient. Further, in July 2022, Senet, Inc., and Iota Communications, Inc., a data analytics software, low power, vast area network (LPWAN) wireless communication company, announced a partnership to deliver LoRaWANthrough 915 MHz unlicensed spectrum and IotaComm's800 MHz FCC-licensed spectrum network connectivity, for facilitating the adoption of smart infrastructure 3D sensors.

Increasing demand for consumer electronics is expected to provide opportunities to increase the company's revenue. Further, the global demand for smartphones has been witnessing an upsurge owing to several factors, such as increasing disposable income, the advent of 5G, and the development of telecom infrastructure. For instance, according to Ericsson, the number of smartphone subscriptions worldwide amounted to 6,259 million recently and is expected to reach 7,690 million in 2027.

Recently, TDK Corporation announced the addition of the HAR 3927 to its Micronas direct-angle Hall-effect sensor family. This product employs proprietary 3D HAL pixel-cell technology and addresses the demand for ISO 26262-compliant development. The sensor includes a ratiometric analog output and a digital SENT interface by SAE J2716 rev. Such developments will further drive market growth.

Further, in May 2022, Infineon and PMD Technologies collaborated to create 3D depth-sensing technology for Magic Leap 2, allowing for advanced cutting-edge industrial and medical applications. The IRS2877C Time-of-Flight imager captures the physical environment around the user and assists the device in understanding and eventually interacting with it.

Furthermore, the industry 4.0 revolution, in which machines are becoming more intelligent and intuitive, is increasing the need for the industrial applications of sensors. According to the IFR forecasts, global adoption is expected to increase significantly to 518,000 industrial robots operational across factories all around the globe by 2024. The positive growth trajectory of the industrial robots market is expected to drive the demand for sensors during the same period.

Several types of research regarding biosensors focusing on increasing efficiency and accuracy and tackling limitations are expected to spearhead the adoption of biosensors. For instance, in August 2022, a new study from the University of Chicago's Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering showed that a flexible, stretchable computing chip worn directly on the skin could collect and analyze health data in real-time using artificial intelligence (AI). The device, a neuromorphic computing chip, utilizes semiconductors and electrochemical transistors to collect data from biosensors touching the skin. Unlike other wearables like smartwatches, which leave a small gap between the user's skin and the device, the chip is designed to be worn directly to improve sensor accuracy and data collection. Also, in July 2022, researchers from the School of Science at IUPUI reported that they were working to create a new biosensor that could meet future COVID-19 testing requirements for speed and efficiency.

3D Sensor Market Trends

Automotive to Hold Significant Share

3D Sensors are widely used in the automotive industry to monitor various aspects of a car, including its temperature, coolant system, oil pressure, and vehicle speed. The rising demand for safer and cleaner vehicles drives the need for 3D sensors in the automotive industry. For instance, sensors provide information regarding clean and effective fuel combustion in the engine, which helps in significantly reducing exhaust emissions values and fuel consumption.

According to IBEF, India could be a shared mobility leader by 2030, opening up electric and autonomous vehicle opportunities. Further, in April 2022, Tata Motors announced plans to invest INR 24,000 crores (USD 3.08 billion) in its passenger vehicle business over the next five years. In addition, according to CAAM, in April 2022, around 210,000 commercial motorcars and 996,000 passenger vehicles were produced in China. Such investment in automobiles will further drive market growth.

Further, according to the American Automotive Policy Council, automakers and their suppliers are America's largest manufacturing sector, responsible for ~3% of America's GDP. Over the past five years alone, the FCA US, Ford, and General Motors have announced their investments of around USD 35 billion in their US assembly, engine, and transmission plants, R&D labs, administrative offices, and other infrastructure connecting and supporting them.

The market is also getting increasingly competitive, with various established and new players developing and launching more unique products in the automation market. For instance, in July 2022, Universal Robots unveiled a new 20 kg payload cobot to help machines in heavy lifting. The launch of these more potent, faster, and more capable cobots aims at accelerating the company's expansion in high-growth segments, including healthcare, consumer electronics, etc., meeting the rising demand for automation across numerous industries.

Furthermore, the car and automotive sector is one area that is likely to be affected significantly by the 3D modeling market, consequently boosting the 3D sensor market. Additionally, a lot of technological advancements are carried out by various vendors in the market. Recently, Yokohama Rubber and Zenrin started the practical testing of a sensor attached to the inner surface of a tire as part of a pilot study investigating road surface and tread wear measurement using an IoT-enabled road surface-sensing system.

Further, in June 2022, Sentronics announced a partnership with HORIBA UK to launch the next-generation Ultrasonic Fuel Consumption Measurement Sensor, the HORIBA RealFlow: Powered by Sentronics, for the automotive industry. Featuring the latest patented technology in ultrasonic fuel flow sensing, the HORIBA RealFlow offers accurate under-bonnet installation and real-time measurement of fuel consumption for automotive validation and verification of test applications. With an improved flow measurement accuracy of 0.5% over an expanded turndown range of 1000:1, it offers optimum performance compared to its predecessor.

North America to Hold Significant Market Share

In North America, the United States is expected to be the largest growing market, owing to the great demand from consumer electronics and automotive sectors, employing 3D sensors for multiple applications in their domains.

With the increasing adoption of smartphone devices in the US, the demand for sensors is expected to increase simultaneously in the market. According to the US Census Bureau and Consumer Technology Association, the sales of smartphones in the US reached USD 74.7 billion in 2022 compared to USD 73 billion in 2021. With the increasing adoption of smartphones in the market, the demand for 3D sensors is also expected to increase at the same speed.

Recently, Qualcomm launched its second-generation 3D Sonic Sensor under-display fingerprint reader. The new scanner would offer a 77% larger fingerprint reader area and 50% faster than its first-gen scanner, featured in Samsung's Galaxy S20 and Note20 models.

Moreover, Apple's product, iPhone, plays a significant role in increasing the demand for smartphones in the United States. For instance, in September 2022, Apple unveiled the iPhone 14 and iPhone 14 Plus in California. A unique, larger 6.7-inch size joins the popular 6.1-inch design, with a new dual-camera system, Crash Detection, a smartphone industry-first safeness service with Emergency SOS via satellite, and multiple helpful battery life on iPhone. Similarly, a trend of people keen on trying innovative technology is rising in Canada.

Also, consumers today prefer enhanced image quality, such as laptops and Ultra HD or 4K television sets. This is, further expected to drive the 3D sensor market. In addition, the fast adoption of new technology in this region, such as self-driving cars, is expected to drive the demand for 3D sensors in the automotive sector.

3D Sensor Industry Overview



The 3D sensor market is moderately competitive. However, with increased innovations and sustainable products, to maintain their position in the global market, many companies are increasing their market presence by securing new contracts by tapping new markets.



In September 2022, Ouster, Inc., a leading manufacturer of high-resolution digital lidar sensors, released a 3D industrial lidar sensor suite for high-volume material handling applications. The industrial line of high-resolution OS0 and OS1 sensors is designed to meet the needs of forklifts, port equipment, and autonomous mobile robot (AMR) manufacturers while remaining affordable for high-volume production fleets. According to the company, its industrial sensor suite's 3D capabilities outperform legacy 2D laser scanners by providing superior resolution, range, and field of view without increasing system cost or complexity.



In June 2022, ST introduced the first 3D sensor with meta-optics. The direct time-of-flight sensor is a depth sensor used in smartphones, virtual reality headsets, and robotics. Meta-optics can replace existing complex and multi-element lenses; they collect more light, perform multiple functions in a single layer, and enable new forms of sensing in smartphones and other devices while taking up less space.



Key Topics Covered:



1 INTRODUCTION



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET DYNAMICS



5 MARKET SEGMENTATION



6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE



7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS



8 INVESTMENT ANALYSIS



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Intel Corporation

Occipital Inc.

SoftKinetic SA

Sick AG

LMI Technologies

Infineon Technologies AG

XYZ Interactive Technologies

OmniVision Technologies

Panasonic Corporation

Cognex Corporation

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/zf9t1z

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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Available in the App Store and Google Play, Thumzup Enables Virtually Everyone to Earn Cash Rewards for Posting on Social Media about the Brands They Love

Los Angeles, CA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thumzup Media Corporation ("Thumzup" or the "Company") (OTCQB: TZUP) is excited to welcome The Red Chickz to its cash rewards digital social media branding platform.

The Thumzup mobile app, which is available for download in the App Store and Google Play, incentivizes virtually everyone to become social media advocates for the brands they enjoy by paying them cash for approved posts.

Were thrilled to welcome The Red Chickzs Culver City location to the Thumzup community, stated Robert Steele, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thumzup. Thumzups users are now able to earn cash while enjoying the crunchiest hot chicken. We look forward to continuing our commitment to helping grow The Red Chickzs customer base and sales.

For more information, please visit https://www.thumzupmedia.com and https://theredchickz.com/

About Thumzup

Thumzup Media Corporation (Thumzup) is democratizing the multi-billion dollar social media branding and marketing industry. Its flagship product, the Thumzup platform, utilizes a robust programmatic advertiser dashboard coupled with a consumer-facing App to enable individuals to get paid cash for posting about participating advertisers on major social media outlets through the Thumzup App. The easy-to-use dashboard allows advertisers to programmatically customize their campaigns. Cash payments are made to App users/creators through Venmo and PayPal.

Thumzup is a publicly traded company (OTCQB stock ticker: TZUP). For more information, please visit https://www.thumzupmedia.com

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include, without limitation, statements about its potential growth, impacts on the advertising industry, and planned expansion. These statements are identified by the use of the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "may," "continue," "predict," "potential," "project" and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Info:

800-403-6150

investors@ThumzupMedia.com

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Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Automotive Towbar Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2017-2027 Segmented By Vehicle Type (Two-Wheeler, Passenger Car, Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV), Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV)), By Type, By Sales Channel, and By Region" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global automotive towbar market is anticipated to register growth at an impressive CAGR in the forecast period, 2023-2027.

Companies Mentioned

Brink Group B.V.

PCT Automotive Ltd.

Bosal International N.V.

Curt Manufacturing LLC.

David Murphy Towing

Trimas Corporation

Horizon Global Corporation

Hayman Reese

ACPS Automotive GmbH

Mccabe Towbars

A towbar refers to an external device that is attached to the chassis of an automobile so that it can be towed by another vehicle. This device is specifically designed to optimize and distribute the load of the towed vehicle. The market growth can be attributed to the rising adoption of recreational vehicle activities such as adventure tourism and off-roading, creating a demand for automotive tow bars.

Automotive towbars are available in several types and can be easily installed in the aftermarket vehicles. The rapid growth in the automotive sector has resulted in the increased number of vehicles produced and sold in both developed and developing nations, which in turn, is proliferating the demand for towbars.



Increasing Government Mandates for the Adoption of Towbars Fuels the Market Growth



The rising disposable income of the consumers has pushed the sales of vehicles and vehicle accessories, which is propelling the sales of tow bars. Along with this, the increasing preference for off-road and touring activities and the rise in roadside assistance services across the globe are further supporting the market growth. Moreover, governments of several nations have formulated stringent rules for vehicles to adopt tow bars.

For instance, the regulation (EU) No 1005/2010 in Europe has mandated all motor vehicles to have a towing device such as tow bars to ensure the strict levels of safety that are vital when towing on a busy road. Adoption of such regulations in developing and developed countries is anticipated to augment the global market for tow bars.



Towbars Reduces Manual Efforts and Ensures Safety



Towbars are highly useful as they replace the need for manual labor, minimize the fatigue of the driver, and ensure safety that is difficult or impossible to achieve with ropes. As the mode of transport has evolved over time, the need for towbars has increased steadily.

The material used to manufacture towbars is usually made of steel or aluminum and has a horizontal or V-shaped attachment system to attach the trailers to the vehicle. This allows people to haul large items such as SUVs and XUVs. The towbars have made the off-loading process quite easy and fast because these towbars can be folded when not in use.

For instance, several premium car manufacturers such as BMW and Audi are offering retractable automotive towbars as a part of their cars which can be folded when not in use. As a result, the demand for automotive towbars is anticipated to remain strong and increase over the coming years.



Report Scope:



In this report, global automotive towbar market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below:



Automotive Towbar Market, By Vehicle Type:

Two-Wheeler

Passenger Car

Light Commercial Vehicle (LCV)

Medium & Heavy Commercial Vehicle (M&HCV)

Automotive Towbar Market, By Type:

Fixed System

Detachable System

Electric System

Automotive Towbar Market, By Sales Channel

OEM

OES

IAM

Automotive Towbar Market, By Region:

North America

United States

Canada

Mexico

Europe

Germany

France

United Kingdom

Spain

Italy

Netherland

Norway

Sweden

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

Malaysia

Thailand

South Korea

South America

Brazil

Colombia

Argentina

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/hp2ou9

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.
Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Crude Oil Flow Improvers Market, By Product Type, By Application, and By Region - Size, Share, Outlook, and Opportunity Analysis, 2023 - 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

This report provides in-depth analysis of global crude oil flow improvers market and provides market size (US$ Mn) and compound annual growth rate (CAGR %) for the forecast period (2023-2030), considering 2022, as the base year.

Company Profiles

Halliburton Company

BASF SE

LiquidPower Specialty Products Inc.

Schlumberger Ltd.

Baker Hughes

A GE Company

Nalco Champion

Clariant AG

Evonik Industries AG

Infineum International Limited

Innospec Inc.

Ability to transfer crude oil through pipelines from wellhead to refinery without any complication is important during transportation and extraction. Crude oil deposits is found during these procedures, and leads to several problems. Hence, crude oil flow improvers are used in oil pipelines to improve flow capacity and productivity of crude oil.



Increasing exploration and production activities especially in untapped regions is expected to increase the need to use products and services for efficient operation in the oil and gas industry, and therefore, increasing the demand for crude oil flow improvers.



Red Sea is a potential host for large oil and gas fields. Exploration has been slow due to the complicated topography and the depth of the sea bed. High depth leads to high drilling costs. In March 2022, Minister of Petroleum announced that a global tender will be issued before the end of 2022, in order to explore petroleum reserves including new sectors of the Red Sea after providing international research companies with geophysical data from Egypt's economic zone in the Red Sea.



Political instability in various regions is one of the major restraining factors in growth of global crude oil flow improvers market. Political instability has plagued African countries for decades. Algeria, Libya, and Egypt were victim to the Arab Spring Revolution and have encountered political chaos since then. Oil production has fallen in all the three countries. Egypt has become a net importer and depends on Saudi Arabia to meet its crude oil requirements.



Key features of the study:

It elucidates potential revenue opportunity across different segments and explains attractive investment proposition matrix for this market

This study also provides key insights about market drivers, restraints, opportunities, new product launches or approvals, regional outlook, and competitive strategies adopted by key players

It profiles key players in the global crude oil flow improvers market based on the following parameters - company overview, financial performance, product portfolio, geographical presence, distribution strategies, key developments and strategies, and future plans

Insights from this report would allow marketers and the management authorities of the companies to make informed decision regarding their future products launches, technology up gradation, market expansion, and marketing tactics

Global crude oil flow improvers market report caters to various stakeholders in this industry including investors, suppliers, portable toilet manufacturers, distributors, new entrants, and financial analysts

Stakeholders would have ease in decision-making through various strategy matrices used in analyzing the global crude oil flow improvers market

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 150 Forecast Period 2022 - 2030 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $1587 Million Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2030 $2398.8 Million Compound Annual Growth Rate 5.3% Regions Covered Global

Detailed Segmentation:

Global Crude Oil Flow Improvers Market, By Product Type:

Paraffin Inhibitors

Asphaltene Inhibitors

Scale Inhibitors

Drag Reducing Agent

Emulsion Breakers

Biocides

Pour Point Depressants

Free Flow/Anticaking Agents

Others (Hydrate Inhibitors, Wax Dispersants, etc.)

Global Crude Oil Flow Improvers Market, By Application:

Extraction

Pipeline

Refinery

Global Crude Oil Flow Improvers Market, By Region:

North America

U.S.

Canada

Europe

U.K.

Germany

Italy

France

Russia

Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific

China

India

Japan

ASEAN

Australia

South Korea

Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America

Brazil

Mexico

Rest of Latin America

Middle East

GCC

Israel

Rest of Middle East

Africa

North Africa

Central Africa

South Africa

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ommnpi

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

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Mt. Vernon, WA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- You know spring has arrived when its time for the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival. Its an opportunity to take in the expansive views of color and multiple varieties of blooming tulip fields.

One vital element to keeping the tulips beautiful and helping them last? Manure. Harmony Dairy, located west of Mt. Vernon, sits right next to the festival. Owned and run by third generation dairy farmers and brothers Jason and Eric Vander Kooy, they work closely with the festival owners providing two commodities, soil and manure. For the next four to six years the farmers will cover the area of land previously inhabited by the tulips and plant grass, clover, alfalfa, or corn to provide food for their nearly 2,000 cows. Rotating crops gives the soil a rest and a chance to rebuild its nutrients and provides a method to ensure the tulip bulbs stay healthy and strong year after year.

As a kid, I remember manure from cows was a problem. Nowadays, dairy farmers see it as an asset., said Jason Vander Kooy. Cow manure from the dairy along with many waste products from other businesses in the community are put into an anaerobic digester and in the absence of oxygen, methane is captured, producing biogas which generates enough electricity to power around 700 homes. The resulting digestate is used as a natural and nutrient-rich fertilizer that improves the health of the soil and reduces the need for synthetic fertilizers. This system using manure to generate electricity and fertilize the fields is a great example of how a regenerative approach to agriculture is benefiting the farm, the tulips, and the environment.

So, when you make your way to Skagit Valley this year, hopefully you see the tulips in a new light. Maybe youll see the variety of crops being grown that highlight the importance of sustainable agriculture in our region and its part in creating a more resilient future for everyone to enjoy.

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NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Credit Suisse Group AG (NYSE: CS) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.



Class Period: March 10, 2022 to March 15, 2023

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 8, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in CS:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/credit-suisse-lawsuit-submission-form?id=38303&from=4



Credit Suisse Group AG NEWS - CS NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Credit Suisse Group AG made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (i) contrary to representations made in December 2022 by Credit Suisses Chairman, Axel P. Lehmann, the sharp increase in customer outflows Credit Suisse began experiencing in October 2022 remained ongoing; (ii) accordingly, Credit Suisse had downplayed the impact of the Companys recent series of quarterly losses and risk and compliance failures on liquidity and its ability to retain client funds; (iii) as a result, Credit Suisse had overstated the Companys financial position and/or prospects; and (iv) as a result, the Companys public statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Credit Suisse you have until May 8, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Credit Suisse securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the CS lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/credit-suisse-lawsuit-submission-form?id=38303&from=4.

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

jk@kleinstocklaw.com

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com








NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Klein Law Firm announces that a class action complaint has been filed on behalf of shareholders of Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE: MPW) alleging that the Company violated federal securities laws.



This lawsuit is on behalf of investors who purchased or otherwise acquired certain Medical Properties Trust, Inc. securities between March 1, 2022 and February 22, 2023.

Lead Plaintiff Deadline: June 12, 2023

No obligation or cost to you.

Learn more about your recoverable losses in MPW:

https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/medical-properties-trust-lawsuit-loss-submission-form

Medical Properties Trust, Inc. NEWS  MPW NEWS

CLASS ACTION CASE DETAILS: The filed complaint alleges that Medical Properties Trust made materially false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) Prospect Medical Holdings, Inc. (Prospect), which leases and operates 13 of the Company's facilities, was facing significant pressures affecting the profitability of its Pennsylvania properties; (2) as a result, there was a significant risk that Prospect would be unable to meet its rental obligations owed to Medical Properties Trust; (3) given the elongated timing of the Pennsylvania recovery, the Company was reasonably likely to record an impairment charge to the real estate value of the Pennsylvania properties; (4) and, as a result of the foregoing, defendants positive statements about the Companys business, operations, and prospects were materially misleading and/or lacked a reasonable basis.

WHAT THIS MEANS TO YOU AS A SHAREHOLDER: If you have suffered a loss in Medical Properties Trust, Inc. you have until June 12, 2023 to petition the court for lead plaintiff status. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as a lead plaintiff.

NO COST TO YOU: If you purchased Medical Properties Trust, Inc. securities during the relevant period, you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out-of-pocket fees.

HOW TO PROTECT YOUR FINANCIAL INTERESTS: For additional information about the MPW lawsuit, please contact J. Klein, Esq. by telephone at 212-616-4899 or click this link: https://www.kleinstocklaw.com/pslra-1/medical-properties-trust-lawsuit-loss-submission-form

ABOUT KLEIN LAW FIRM

J. Klein, Esq. represents investors and participates in securities litigations involving financial fraud throughout the nation. The Klein Law Firm is a boutique litigation firm with experience in a wide range of areas including securities law, corporate finance and commercial litigation. Since 2011, our experienced attorneys have achieved superior results for our clients with a personalized focus. Attorney advertising. Prior results do not guarantee similar outcomes.

CONTACT:

J. Klein, Esq.

535 Fifth Avenue

4th Floor

New York City, NY 10017

jk@kleinstocklaw.com

Telephone: (212) 616-4899

www.kleinstocklaw.com
Newark, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Brainy Insights estimates that the USD 8 billion in 2022 global fly ash market will reach USD 15.73 billion by 2032. The construction market as of 2022 is approximately 600 billion in market size. The market is expected to grow steadily at 7-8% in the next decade. The increasing infrastructural demands of the rising population with access to increased disposable income are the major driving factors. The Belt and Road Initiative of China, the build back better Initiative by the USA and the Gati-Shakti scheme of the Indian government are a few examples of driving infrastructural investments worldwide. The housing needs of the urban population, especially in tier-1 and tier-2 cities, will drive the real estate market. The private investment in commercial and infrastructural development and public funding for better connectivity with roads, ports, airports and railways will offer lucrative opportunities for the global fly ash market in the forecast period.



Request PDF Brochure: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/sample-request/13417



Key Insight of the Global Fly Ash Market



Asia Pacific is expected to rise the fastest during the forecast period.



The region's large population is experiencing a rise in per capita income and rapid urbanization, which has increased demand for housing, healthcare, education, and other public services. The well-established building and construction private sector, with thriving cement and steel production facilities in India and China, can meet the rising demand for housing. The fact that the region's nations rely primarily on thermal power to satisfy their energy requirements is good news for the fly ash market. Government officials have been pushed to promote the production and consumption of fly ash, which has helped the market expand. The growth and development of the Asia Pacific fly ash market will be fuelled by the rising demand for housing and public and private infrastructure investments during the forecast period.



In 2022, the class F segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 60% and market revenue of 4.80 billion.



The type segment is divided into class C and class F. In 2022, the class F segment dominated the market with the largest market share of 60% and market revenue of 4.8 billion.



In 2022, the cement and concrete segment accounted for the largest market share, with 40% and a market revenue of 3.20 billion.



The application is divided into cement and concrete, waste stabilization, oilfield service, fills and embankments, mining, road stabilization and others. In 2022, the cement and concrete segment accounted for the largest market share, with 40% and a market revenue of 3.20 billion.



Procure Complete Report (230 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/buy-now/13417/single



Advancement in market



December 2022  NTPC Simhadri will build a nano concrete aggregate production facility at an anticipated cost of Rs. 50 Crore in Vishakhapatnam, India. Construction materials, such as fly ash bricks, lightweight aggregate, and interlocking paver tiles, will be made from ash. NTPC is investigating all avenues of using fly ash, with the twin goals of assisting sustainable development and judicious use of fly ash. In addition to increased long-term power, durability, and permeability, this can also lower the cost sustainability. Fly ash helps fill low-lying and waste areas in horticulture, forestry, and farmland. It is also the perfect substance to fill abandoned open-pit and underground mines.



Market Dynamics



Driver: The increasing demand for infrastructure worldwide.



The demand for homes is driven by the expanding global population and increasing disposable income in the developing world. The increasing population drives the demand for a higher quality of living, which is being met by rising government spending on infrastructure. The federal government has recently increased its financing for constructing roads, hospitals, schools, and other public utilities. Furthermore, given the growing demand for smart homes, real estate, workplace space, commercial complexes, and other infrastructure, private investment in building and construction is also gaining momentum. Global infrastructural development is also significantly fuelled by bilateral and multilateral collaborations to enhance connectivity. Demand for fly ash will rise due to increased infrastructure spending in the private, commercial, and public sectors. Fly ash is used as a pozzolanic ingredient in cement and other building supplies like concrete. As a result, the demand for fly ash will rise due to the growing demand for construction and building.



Restraint: Fly ash can be of low quality.



While fly ash has many benefits for the building and construction sector, it is also constrained in some ways. The best and most appropriate fly ash for making fly bricks is that from thermal power facilities. The combustion procedure in thermal plants affects the fly ash's quality. Low mechanical strength, longer setting periods, restricted sizes, and gradual discolouration of the concrete are all effects of an irregular pattern in fly ash output. Additionally, the material's inconsistent nature results in greater permeability, which raises the possibility that the concrete will sustain damage. Fly ash is, therefore, unsuitable for use in the building and construction sector due to its inconsistent nature and poor quality, which restricts the market's expansion.



Opportunities: The advantages that fly ash bricks provide for the ecosystem.



The advantages of fly ash bricks for the climate come in two forms. The first thing to know is that fly ash is a by-product of coal combustion in thermal power facilities. These pollutants have a significant impact on the acceleration of global warming. With growing concerns about global warming, using fly ash will lessen the number of emissions released into the atmosphere and help the world achieve its sustainable development objectives. Second, unlike red brick production, the manufacture of fly ash bricks does not necessitate burning or kilns. Fly ash provides more strength, durability, and flexibility than traditional concrete. Because of this, market participants will adopt fly ash in the building and construction sector due to growing environmental concerns, creating lucrative possibilities for market participants during the forecast period. Beneficial government efforts will also aid the expansion of the global fly ash market.



Challenge: The increasing trend of using renewable energy.



For most of its energy requirements, the world primarily depends on natural resources like fossil fuels. Fossil resources are scarce and non-renewable. Overusing these natural resources has also decreased their abundance in the environment and increased world temperatures. As a result, the nations have agreed to switch to sustainable and renewable energy sources like sun, wind, and hydroelectricity. The change will guarantee an unbroken energy supply, environmentally friendly growth, and zero emissions. A move away from thermal power is being made as green energy sources gain popularity. Fly ash is produced using thermal energy, and the move away from conventional sources of energy will challenge the global fly ash markets growth.



Want to Access the Statistical Data and Graphs, Key Players' Strategies: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/buying-inquiry/13417



Some of the major players operating in the global fly ash market are:



 Aggregate Industries

 Ashtech Pvt. Ltd.

 Boral Ltd.

 Cement Australia Pty Ltd

 Cemex S.A.B. de C.V.

 Charah LLC

 Lafarge America Inc.

 Salt River Materials Group

 Separation Technologies

 Tarmac Holdings Ltd



Key Segments cover in the market:



By Type



 Class C

 Class F



By Application



 Cement and Concrete

 Waste Stabilization

 Oilfield Service

 Fills and Embankments

 Mining

 Road Stabilization

 Others



By Region



 North America (U.S., Canada, Mexico)

 Europe (Germany, France, the UK, Italy, Spain, Rest of Europe)

 Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, India, Rest of APAC)

 South America (Brazil and the Rest of South America)

 The Middle East and Africa (UAE, South Africa, Rest of MEA)



For more information in the analysis of this report, speak to research analyst: https://www.thebrainyinsights.com/enquiry/speak-to-analyst/13417

About the report:



The market is analyzed based on value (USD Billion). All the segments have been analyzed worldwide, regional, and country basis. The study includes the analysis of more than 30 countries for each part. The report analyses driving factors, opportunities, restraints, and challenges to gain critical market insight. The study includes Porter's five forces model, attractiveness analysis, Product analysis, supply, and demand analysis, competitor position grid analysis, distribution, and marketing channels analysis.

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The Brainy Insights is a market research company, aimed at providing actionable insights through data analytics to companies to improve their business acumen. We have a robust forecasting and estimation model to meet the clients' objectives of high-quality output within a short span of time. We provide both customized (clients' specific) and syndicate reports. Our repository of syndicate reports is diverse across all the categories and sub-categories across domains. Our customized solutions are tailored to meet the clients' requirement whether they are looking to expand or planning to launch a new product in the global market.



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NEW YORK, April 19, 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.

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Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

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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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Farmington, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Agricultural Wastewater Treatment (WWT) Market Was Valued At US 2.58 Billion In 2022 And Is Expected To Expand USD 4.60 Billion By 2030 at a CAGR Of 7.50% From 2023 To 2030. The analysed market is expected to be driven by the rising demand for agricultural water and the rapidly depleting freshwater supplies. However, a lack of knowledge about the importance of treating agricultural wastewater is anticipated to slow the industry. The analysed market is poised to take advantage of substantial development prospects brought about by increased investment and vigorous research in water treatment technology. The Asia-Pacific region now accounts for the largest market share and is expected to maintain its dominance during the projected horizon. The report covers the period from 2017 to 2030, with 2022 as the base year, and provides information in terms of market size, estimations, and forecasts in terms of sales volume (K units) and revenue (million USD). The global Agricultural Wastewater Treatment (WWT) Market is broken down into its component parts in this analysis. Product, application, and key player market sizes by region are also provided. We factored in the effects of both COVID-19 and the conflict between Russia and Ukraine when calculating the potential size of the market.

Request Sample Copy of Report  Agricultural Wastewater Treatment (WWT) Market Size, Share & Trends Estimation Report By Type Outlook (Crop, Non-crop), By Application Outlook (Farmland Runoff, Farm Wastewater, The Agricultural Products Processing Wastewater, Other) By Region And Forecasts, 2023 - 2030 , published by Contrive Datum Insights.

Segmentation Overview:

Regional Analysis:

China grows enough food to sustain 22 percent of the global population on only 7 percent of the world's farmland. Rice, cotton, potatoes, and other vegetables are among the many crops for which the country is the world leader in production. Therefore, there is a growing need for domestic agricultural wastewater treatment. As a result of rapid urbanization in the last decade, more than half of China's population currently resides in urban areas. The government's encouragement of economic growth has contributed to a rise in urbanization. This is likely to increase the need for new and better agricultural wastewater facilities. Due to rising pricing, increased demand, and the opening of new facilities, China's chicken output is forecast to rise in 2022, surpassing that of 2021. The ensuing pace of expansion is estimated to be close to 20%. However, total chicken exports to China are predicted to increase by 4% in 2019. Chinese farmers harvest roughly 212.84 million metric tons of rice in 2021. Meanwhile, China's wheat output hit a record high of 136.95 million metric tons. Growth of China's rice, wheat, and maize output slowed to a halt in 2015, leveled out in the years that followed, and then picked up again in 2021.

Buy this Premium Research Report@

https://www.contrivedatuminsights.com/buy/9522

Scope of Report:

Report Attributes Details Growth Rate CAGR of 7.50% from 2023 to 2030. Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 4.60 Billion By Type Physical Solutions

Chemical Solutions

Biological Solutions By Application Crop

Non-crop By Pollutant Source Point Source

Nonpoint Source By Companies BASF SE (Germany), Ecolab Inc. (US), Kemira (Finland), Suez (France), Veolia (France), Kurita Water Industries Ltd. (Japan), Thermax Limited (India), Dow (US), IDEX (US), LEWA GmbH (Germany), Ingersoll Rand (US), Dover Corporation (US), ProMinent (Germany), Grundfos Holding A/S, (Denmark), Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions (UK) Regions and Countries Covered North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)

Europe(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)

Asia-Pacific (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

The Middle East & Africa(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

Latin America(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)

Rest Of the World Base Year 2022 Historical Year 2017 to 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030

Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Rapid advances in technology and the food sector have led to industrialisation.

Rapid growth in the automation and food safety industries has led to greater consumption of available freshwater resources. Wastewater from numerous sectors and agriculture has been dumped carelessly into freshwater sources, causing a biological imbalance. Multiple human activities contribute to polluting freshwater sources, including the existence of chemical waste that can spark fires in lakes. Therefore, there is a significant need for chemicals used in the treatment of agricultural wastewater before the water is released into a river or other water resource to remove pesticides and other dangerous contaminants.

The widespread application of fertilizers in agriculture.

Because it is the most important industry for developing countries, agriculture also uses a lot of water. A strong demand for agricultural wastewater treatment is expected to boost the use of fertilizers during this time period. Similar factors are expected to act as major growth drivers for the agricultural wastewater treatment market from 2023 to 2030. These include the rapidly depleting water resources worldwide, rising water pollution issues as a result of increased agricultural activities, an increase in the agriculture industry, an increase in fertilizer consumption, and an increase in population.

Restraints:

The key factor hindering the expansion of the industrial wastewater treatment chemicals market is the stringent environmental legislation enforced by various authorities such as the EPA. Manufacturers of water treatment chemicals now face strict regulatory limits due to rising public concern about the environmental impact of their products. These days, greener options are being promoted for use in water treatment chemical production. Due to the effectiveness of green alternative formulations under harsh conditions, manufacturers have a hard time coming up with a suitable replacement for regular formulas. Also, the likelihood of bio-fouling rises when environmentally friendly chemical formulations are used, requiring a higher concentration of biocides and lowering the system's overall efficiency.This report examines opportunities in terms of emerging revenue pockets, shifting market regulations, strategic market growth analysis, market size, category market growth, application niches and dominance, product approvals, and product forecasts in the Agricultural Wastewater Treatment Market. Contact Data Bridge Market Research for an Analyst Brief on the Agricultural Wastewater Treatment Market, and our experts will assist you in making educated decisions in order to expand your share of that market.

Key Segments Covered:

Top Market Players:

BASF SE (Germany)

Ecolab Inc. (US)

Kemira (Finland)

Suez (France)

Veolia (France)

Kurita Water Industries Ltd. (Japan)

Thermax Limited (India)

Dow (US)

IDEX (US)

LEWA GmbH (Germany)

Ingersoll Rand (US)

Dover Corporation (US)

ProMinent (Germany)

Grundfos Holding A/S, (Denmark)

Watson-Marlow Fluid Technology Solutions (UK)

By Type:

Physical Solutions

Chemical Solutions

Biological Solutions

Pollutant Source:

Point Source

Nonpoint Source

By Application:

Crop

Non-crop

Regions and Countries Covered

North America: (US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America)

(US, Canada, Mexico, Rest of North America) Europe: (Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe)

(Germany, France, Italy, Spain, UK, Nordic Countries, Benelux Union, Rest of Europe) Asia-Pacific: (Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific)

(Japan, China, India, Australia, South Korea, Southeast Asia, Rest of Asia-Pacific) The Middle East & Africa: (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa)

(Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, South Africa, Rest of the Middle East & Africa) Latin America: (Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America)

(Brazil, Argentina, Rest of Latin America) Rest Of the World

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Customization of the Report: The report can be customized as per client needs or requirements.For any queries, you can contact us on anna@contrivedatuminsights.com or +1 215-297-4078. Our sales executives will be happy to understand your needs and provide you with the most suitable reports.

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Credit Agricole and Worldline

enter into exclusive discussions to create a major player

in merchant services in France

A unique alliance to create a major payments player

in the largest Continental Europe payment market of

c. 700 billion Merchant Sales Value (MSV)

Strategic long-term partnership

between the leading French retail banking Credit Agricole Group and Worldline

Contemplated creation of a joint company fully operational by 2025 combining

Credit Agricoles merchant acquiring footprint, French market intimacy and distribution power with Worldlines leading innovation, technology

and global infrastructure

Paris, La Defense, April 19, 2023  Worldline [Euronext: WLN], a global leader in payment services, and Credit Agricole SA [Euronext: ACA], announced today the signing of a non-binding exclusive agreement regarding a strategic partnership to create a major player in the French payment market.

Gilles Grapinet, CEO of Worldline, said: The contemplated strategic alliance we announce today between Worldline and Credit Agricole is a landmark transaction for the Group. I am very proud that Worldline has been selected by Credit Agricole for a strategic long-term partnership combining our merchant services capabilities, with the joint ambition to create a player able to deliver premier services to all merchants operating in France. The perfect fit of Worldlines state-of-the-art products, technology and services at scale combined with Credit Agricole Group unique distribution network and acquiring market leadership would be a key differentiating factor for our customers.

For Worldline, this is a unique opportunity to further expand our footprint and to achieve scale within a few years on the largest continental European acquiring market. Through this strategic partnership, Worldline would also benefit from additional specific French market offerings while we intend to invest together with Credit Agricole into an ambitious and differentiating innovation roadmap leveraging the Worldline leading-edge global value proposition.

Structured primarily as a contribution in kind of our respective technological capabilities, commercial footprint and distribution capabilities to a joint company, this major contemplated transaction fully preserves our balance sheet and financial and strategic flexibility.

Jean-Paul Mazoyer, Deputy General Manager of Credit Agricole S.A. in charge of Technology, Digital and Payments, commented: Payments are a cornerstone of the relationship with our customers, hence a strategic business for the Credit Agricole Group. The partnership with Worldline would allow us to strengthen our market leadership in France for merchant payment solutions and fully aligns with Credit Agricoles 2025 ambitions to outperform the market growth by 2x on merchant payments solutions. Worldline is a French and European leader in in-store and online acceptance and a prominent payments processor in Europe.

Worldline is already a trusted partner of the Credit Agricole Group and, through this deepened strategic partnership, we would jointly develop comprehensive services for French merchants on the whole merchant services value chain (acceptance and acquiring) which is a fast-moving and critical area to their business. This integrated mastery would allow us to equip merchants with innovative all-in-one offers that integrate natively in their ecosystem and provide value added business services.



Attractive and evolving French payment market

France is a highly attractive and strategic market for Worldline. France is the 2nd largest economy in Continental Europe, enjoying robust economic performance, sustained by consistent policy frameworks and strong institutions, as well as an attractive investment environment.

The French payment industry shows solid dynamics with a sizable and growing addressable market and a high level of readiness and receptiveness towards cashless payment methods. With aggregated Merchant Sales Value (MSV) of c. 700 billion, the French payment market is by far the largest payment market in Continental Europe.

With cash penetration still high, at c.40% of payment volumes, the French market offers an attractive growth opportunity driven by the secular shift from cash to card and by continued demand for innovation. Combined with French Cartes Bancaires domestic scheme and its strong and resilient market share capturing c.80% of card transactions volumes, these market trends make France a particularly attractive country in the broader European context.

The contemplated alliance between Credit Agricole and Worldline is a unique opportunity for both companies to significantly expand their merchant services activities in this high-potential market.

A partnership to create a major player in the French market

Leveraging the strengths of the two companies, the contemplated partnership would offer a state-of-the-art combination of technological and commercial offerings at scale allowing to adequately respond to any type of evolving merchant needs, whether local or global. It would be fueled by:

Worldlines vertical expertise embedded into strong instore and online capabilities to serve merchants at scale thanks to its global solutions, platforms and payment applications, and;

Credit Agricoles strong distribution networks through the 39 Credit Agricole s Regional Banks and LCL bank, combining a deep French market presence with more than 16,000 banking advisors for enterprises1 and local knowledge in merchants acquiring.

The partnership would be ensured by the set-up of a fully licensed joint-company between Credit Agricole and Worldline. The joint-company would be majority owned (50% of total capital plus one share) and fully consolidated by Worldline. It would be in charge of leveraging Worldlines global European processing platforms and of developing all the innovative products dedicated to the French market. The joint-company would also be in charge of the commercial development of the alliance, both directly for largest merchants in particular, and by providing an active support to the bank distribution channels.

The contemplated joint-company would offer to the key accounts in France a full-service offering leveraging Worldlines global acceptance and acquiring platform, including the domestic Cartes Bancaires scheme. In parallel, Worldline would be able to offer to its international merchants an access to the domestic scheme, further expanding its broad range of payment schemes.

With respect to SMBs, this planned combination would also bring to merchants, whatever their size or location, deep access to an enriched offering of payment brands and means, and value-added services covering all their needs, from mobile acceptance devices to more traditional Point-of-Sales (POS: Point Of Sale) solutions for seamless payment experience, ultimately improving merchant experience and consumer purchasing journeys.

These new all-in-one solutions combining instore and online capabilities at large and local scale to serve French merchants and consumers in the best way, coupled with the power of Credit Agricoles distribution network, would be a key differentiating factor to create a payments major player in France.

Key steps of the partnership implementation

The contemplated operation remains subject to both parties works council consultation and to corporate authorizations and customary regulatory approval:

2023-2024: Joint investment phase of  80 million equally financed by Worldline and Credit Agricole for the product and offering design, and joint company implementation

2025 onwards: Full implementation of the joint company starting to generate revenues and OMDA.

Contacts

Investor Relations Worldline

Laurent Marie

+33 7 84 50 18 90

laurent.marie@worldline.com

Benoit dAmecourt

+33 6 75 51 41 47

benoit.damecourt@worldline.com

Communication Worldline

Sandrine van der Ghinst

+32 499 585 380

sandrine.vanderghinst@worldline.com

Helene Carlander

+33 7 72 25 96 04

helene.carlander@worldline.com

Investor Relations Credit Agricole SA

Institutional shareholders + 33 1 43 23 04 31 investor.relations@credit-agricole-sa.fr Individual shareholders + 33 800 000 777 (freephone number  France only) relation@actionnaires.credit-agricole.com Clotilde LAngevin + 33 1 43 23 32 45 clotilde.langevin@credit-agricole-sa.fr



Equity investors: Jean-Yann Asseraf

Fethi Azzoug + 33 1 57 72 23 81

+ 33 1 57 72 03 75 jean-yann.asseraf@credit-agricole-sa.fr fethi.azzoug@credit-agricole-sa.fr Josephine Brouard + 33 1 43 23 48 33 josephine.brouard@credit-agricole-sa.fr Oriane Cante + 33 1 43 23 03 07 oriane.cante@credit-agricole-sa.fr Nicolas Ianna + 33 1 43 23 55 51 nicolas.ianna@credit-agricole-sa.fr Leila Mamou + 33 1 57 72 07 93 leila.mamou@credit-agricole-sa.fr Anna Pigoulevski + 33 1 43 23 40 59 anna.pigoulevski@credit-agricole-sa.fr Annabelle Wiriath + 33 1 43 23 55 52 annabelle.wiriath@credit-agricole-sa.fr Credit investors and rating agencies: Caroline Crepin + 33 1 43 23 83 65 caroline.crepin@credit-agricole-sa.fr Rhita Alami Hassani + 33 1 43 23 15 27 rhita.alamihassani@credit-agricole-sa.fr Florence Quintin de Kercadio + 33 1 43 23 25 32 florence.quintindekercadio@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Communication Credit Agricole

Alexandre Barat + 33 1 57 72 12 19 alexandre.barat@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Olivier Tassain + 33 1 43 23 25 41 olivier.tassain@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Mathilde Durand + 33 1 57 72 19 43 mathilde.durand@credit-agricole-sa.fr

Benedicte Gouvert +33 1 49 53 43 64 benedicte.gouvert@ca-fnca.fr



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About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] helps businesses of all shapes and sizes to accelerate their growth journey  quickly, simply, and securely. With advanced payments technology, local expertise and solutions customised for hundreds of markets and industries, Worldline powers the growth of over one million businesses around the world. Worldline generated a 4.4 billion euros revenue in 2022. worldline.com

Worldlines corporate purpose (raison detre) is to design and operate leading digital payment and transactional solutions that enable sustainable economic growth and reinforce trust and security in our societies. Worldline makes them environmentally friendly, widely accessible, and supports social transformation.

About Credit Agricole Group

The Credit Agricole Group is the leading partner of the French economy and one of the largest banking groups in Europe. It is the leading retail bank in Europe as well as the first European asset manager, the first bancassurer in Europe and the third European player in project finance.

Built on its strong cooperative and mutual roots, its 145,000 employees and the 27,000 directors of its Local and Regional Banks, the Credit Agricole Group is a responsible and responsive bank serving 53 million customers, 11,5 million mutual shareholders and 800,000 individual shareholders.

Thanks to its universal customer-focused retail banking model  based on the cooperation between its retail banks and their r elated business lines , the Credit Agricole Group supports its customers projects in France and around the world: day-to-day banking, home loans, consumer finance, savings, insurances, asset management, real estate, leasing and factoring, and corporate and investment banking.

Credit Agricole also stands out for its dynamic, innovative corporate social responsibility policy, for the benefit of the economy. This policy is based on a pragmatic approach which permeates across the Group and engages each employee.

Disclaimer Worldline

This document contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including references, concerning the Group's expected growth and profitability in the future which may significantly impact the expected performance indicated in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are linked to factors out of the control of the Company and not precisely estimated, such as market conditions or competitors behaviors. Any forward-looking statements made in this document are statements about Worldlines beliefs and expectations and should be evaluated as such. Forward-looking statements include statements that may relate to Worldlines plans, objectives, strategies, goals, future events, future revenues or synergies, or performance, and other information that is not historical information. Actual events or results may differ from those described in this document due to a number of risks and uncertainties that are described within the 2021 Universal Registration Document filed with the French Autorite des marches financiers (AMF) on April 25, 2022 under the filling number: D.22-0342 and its Amendment filed on July 29, 2022 under the filling number: D. 21-0342-A01.

Worldline does not undertake, and specifically disclaims, any obligation or responsibility to update or amend any of the information above except as otherwise required by law.

This document is disseminated for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer to purchase, or a solicitation of an offer to sell, any securities in the United States or any other jurisdiction. Securities may not be offered or sold in the United States unless they have been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the U.S. Securities Act) or the securities laws of any U.S. state, or are exempt from registration. The securities that may be offered in any transaction have not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act or the securities laws of any U.S. state and Worldline does not intend to make a public offering of any such securities in the United States.

1 Pro/SME/Agri/Flux

Attachment
Perth, April 19, 2023 - MARCH 2023 QUARTER REPORT

Perseus Mining's strong operating performance continues with 130,275oz gold produced at AISC of US$971/oz

PERTH, Western Australia/ April 19, 2023/Perseus Mining Ltd. ("Perseus" or the "Company") (TSX & ASX: PRU) reports on its activities for the three months' period ended March 31, 2023 (the "Quarter").

Key Operating highlights for the March 2023 quarter and the nine months ending 31 March 2023 include:





PERFORMANCE INDICATOR UNIT SEPTEMBER 2022 QUARTER DECEMBER 2022 QUARTER MARCH 2023 QUARTER FY 2023 TO DATE Gold recovered Ounces 137,460 130,911 130,275 398,645 Gold poured Ounces 139,553 130,992 130,512 401,057 Production Cost US$/ounce 762 881 830 823 All-In Site Cost (AISC) US$/ounce 879 983 971 943 Gold sales Ounces 58,767 203,154 135,111 397,031 Average sales price US$/ounce 1,645 1,748 1,821 1,757 Cash margin US$/ounce 766 765 850 814 Notional Cashflow US$ million 112 101 111 324

Gold production of 130,275 ounces was within 0.5% of December 2022 quarter production.

US$971 per ounce weighted average AISC was 1.2% lower than the December 2022 quarter.

Average sale price of gold sold (135,111 ounces) was US$1,821 per ounce, up 4% or US$73 per ounce compared to December 2022 quarter.

Average cash margin of US$850 per ounce of gold sold was 11% greater than in the prior quarter, reflecting both an improved realised gold price and the AISC decrease.

Notional cashflow from operations of US$111 million during the quarter, 10% more than last quarter (US$101 million).

Perseus's strong operating performance is forecast to continue in the June 2023 quarter with both gold production and cost guidance for the 2023 June Half Year and Financial Year, expected to be achieved.

Strong quarterly cashflows further strengthened Perseus's financial position with available cash and bullion of US$471 million, zero debt, net cash and bullion balance increased by US$66 million at quarter end.

Perseus's revolving corporate credit facility upsized to US$300 million during the quarter provides additional capacity to fund its growth strategy while continuing to pay dividends to shareholders.

Development activities continued at Meyas Sand Gold Project (MSGP) in Sudan, with confirmatory and sterilisation drilling, Front-End Engineering and Design and site preparation, ahead of a possible FID during December 2023 Half Year.

Organic growth activities including Mineral Resource drill outs and feasibility studies for MSGP and Yaoure's CMA Underground Project progressed on schedule. Results due in the September 2023 quarter.

Perseus's total economic contribution to its host countries?of Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire and Sudan was ~US$156 million (approximately 63% of revenue) during the quarter.





Competent Person Statement

All production targets referred to in this report are underpinned by estimated Ore Reserves which have been prepared by competent persons in accordance with the requirements of the JORC Code.

Edikan

The information in this report that relates to the Esuajah South Underground Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve was first reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves" released on 24 August 2021. The information in this report that relates to Esuajah North Mineral Resources estimate was first reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Updates Resources & Reserves" released on 28 August 2018. The information in this report that relates to AF Gap Mineral Resources and Ore Reserve estimate was first reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Updates Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves" released on 25 August 2020. The information in this report that relates to the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates for the Fetish deposit and the Heap Leach was first reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Updates Edikan Mineral Resource & Ore Reserves" released on 19 February 2020. The information in this report that relates to the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates for the Nkosuo deposit was first reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Increases Edikan's Inventories of Mineral Resource & Ore Reserves" released on 19 July 2022. An update for mining depletion at Edikan as at 30 June 2022 was reported in a news release "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" dated 30 August 2022. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affect the information on those market releases and that all material assumptions underpinning those estimates and the production targets, or the forecast financial information derived therefrom, continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company further confirms that material assumptions underpinning the estimates of Ore Reserves described in "Technical Report - Edikan Gold Mine, Ghana" dated 7 April 2022 continue to apply.

Sissingue, Fimbiasso and Bagoe

The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resources and Ore Reserve estimates for Sissingue was reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Mining Updates Life of Mine Plan for Sissingue Gold Mine & Satellite Deposits" released on 28 March 2022. An update for mining depletion at Sissingue as at 30 June 2022 was reported in a news release "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" dated 30 August 2022. The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates for the Fimbiasso deposits was reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" released on 26 August 2020. The information in this report that relates to Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimates for the Bagoe deposits was reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" released on 24 August 2021. The Company confirms that all material assumptions underpinning those estimates and the production targets, or the forecast financial information derived therefrom, in that market release continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company further confirms that material assumptions underpinning the estimates of Ore Reserves described in "Technical Report - Sissingue Gold Project, Cote d'Ivoire" dated 28 March 2022 continue to apply.

Yaoure

The information in this report that relates to the Open Pit and Underground Mineral Resources and the Underground Ore Reserve at CMA was first reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Mining announces maiden Underground Ore Reserve at Yaoure" released on 30 August 2022. The information in this report that relates to the other Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves (including the Heap Leach) for the Yaoure Deposit was reported by the Company in a market announcement "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources & Ore Reserves" released on 24 August 2021. An update for mining depletion at Yaoure as at 30 June 2022 was reported in a news release "Perseus Mining Updates Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves" dated 30 August 2022. The Company confirms that all material assumptions underpinning those estimates and the production targets, or the forecast financial information derived therefrom, in that market release continue to apply and have not materially changed. The Company further confirms that material assumptions underpinning the estimates of Ore Reserves described in "Technical Report - Yaoure Gold Project, Cote d'Ivoire" dated 18 December 2017 continue to apply.

The information in this report relating to exploration results was first reported by the Company in compliance with the JORC Code 2012 and NI43-101 in a market update "PERSEUS'S DRILLING DEMONSTRATES POTENTIAL FOR ADDITIONAL GOLD RESOURCES AT YAOURE GOLD MINE" released on 18 January 2023. The Company confirms that it is not aware of any new information or data that materially affect the information in these market releases.

Caution Regarding Forward Looking Information:

This report contains forward-looking information which is based on the assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management of the Company believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made by the Company regarding, among other things: the price of gold, continuing commercial production at the Yaoure Gold Mine, the Edikan Gold Mine and the Sissingue Gold Mine without any major disruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic or otherwise, the receipt of required governmental approvals, the accuracy of capital and operating cost estimates, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive of all factors and assumptions which may have been used by the Company. Although management believes that the assumptions made by the Company and the expectations represented by such information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that the forward-looking information will prove to be accurate. Forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any anticipated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such factors include, among others, the actual market price of gold, the actual results of current exploration, the actual results of future exploration, changes in project parameters as plans continue to be evaluated, as well as those factors disclosed in the Company's publicly filed documents. The Company believes that the assumptions and expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the Company's ability to carry on its exploration and development activities, the timely receipt of required approvals, the price of gold, the ability of the Company to operate in a safe, efficient and effective manner and the ability of the Company to obtain financing as and when required and on reasonable terms. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Perseus does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws.

ASX/TSX CODE: PRU



CAPITAL STRUCTURE:

Ordinary shares: 1,367,463,113

Performance rights: 12,001,072



REGISTERED OFFICE:



Level 2

437 Roberts Road

Subiaco WA 6008



Telephone: +61 8 6144 1700

Email: IR@perseusmining.com



www.perseusmining.com DIRECTORS:



Mr Sean Harvey

Non-Executive Chairman



Mr Jeff Quartermaine

Managing Director & CEO



Ms Amber Banfield

Non-Executive Director



Ms Elissa Cornelius

Non-Executive Director



Mr Dan Lougher

Non-Executive Director



Mr John McGloin

Non-Executive Director



Mr David Ransom

Non-Executive Director



CONTACTS:



Jeff Quartermaine

Managing Director & CEO

jeff.quartermaine@perseusmining.com



Nathan Ryan

Corporate Relations

+61 4 20 582 887

nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au

Attachment
VANCOUVER, April 18, 2023 - Gatos Silver Inc. (NYSE/TSX: GATO) ("Gatos Silver" or the "Company") announced that, further to its announcement on April 17, 2023 that the Company intends to delay the filing of its Annual Report on Form 10-K ("2022 Form 10-K"), it received today a notice from the New York Stock Exchange ("NYSE") stating that the Company was not in compliance with Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual as a result of its failure to timely file its 2022 Form 10-K with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.



In accordance with Section 802.01E of the NYSE Listed Company Manual, the NYSE will closely monitor the status of the Company's late filing and related public disclosures for up to six months from the date of the filing delinquency (the "Initial Cure Period"). The Company's common stock will continue to trade on the NYSE during the Initial Cure Period, subject to the Company's compliance with other continued listing requirements. Notwithstanding the foregoing, if circumstances warrant, the NYSE may commence delisting proceedings at any time. The Company has also requested an extension of the time to file the 2022 Form 10-K under the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange.

As previously announced, the Company is working expeditiously to complete and file its 2022 Form 10-K along with restatements of previously issued financial statements of the Company and of the 70%-owned Los Gatos Joint Venture for the year ended December 31, 2021 and the quarters ended March 31, 2022, June 30, 2022 and September 30, 2022.

About Gatos Silver

Gatos Silver is a silver dominant exploration, development and production company that discovered a new silver and zinc-rich mineral district in southern Chihuahua State, Mexico. As a 70% owner of the Los Gatos Joint Venture, the Company is primarily focused on operating the Cerro Los Gatos mine and on growth and development of the Los Gatos district. The LGJV consists of approximately 103,000 hectares of mineral rights, representing a highly prospective and under-explored district with numerous silver-zinc-lead epithermal mineralized zones identified as priority targets.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains statements that constitute "forward looking information" and "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of U.S. and Canadian securities laws. All statements other than statements of historical facts contained in this press release, including statements regarding timing of filing the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K, restatements of previously issued financial statements of the Company and of the 70%-owned Los Gatos Joint Venture, and the ability of the Company's securities to continue to trade on the NYSE or the TSX. are based on management's beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to management. Such statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, and actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, and such other risks and uncertainties described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and Canadian securities commissions. Gatos Silver expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to update the forward-looking statements contained in this press release to reflect any change in its expectations or any change in events, conditions, or circumstances on which such statements are based unless required to do so by applicable law. No assurance can be given that such future results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.

Investors and Media Contact

Andre van Niekerk

Chief Financial Officer

investors@gatossilver.com

(604) 424-0984
Edmonton, April 18, 2023 - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to report on quarterly results for Q1 2023 from the Farellon Copper-Gold-Iron (Cu-Au-Fe) mine located near La Serena, Chile.

During Q1, 2023, the Company extracted a total 7,675 tonnes of mineralized Cu-Au material at Farellon. This represents a decrease of 32% from the 11,340 tonnes of material mined in Q4. Mined tonnes were lower in Q1 2023 as the Company transitioned from scoop trams to haulage trucks to transport material to surface. This new transportation system will begin to show improvements over the coming months. Tonnes processed in Q1 represented 7,584 tonnes, up 11.5% from the previous quarter of 6,804 tonnes. The copper grade recovered was 1.90%, down 7.3% from the previous 2022 Q4 result of 2.05%. Waste removal decreased by 125% to 628 tonnes in 2023 Q1. Sales of 307,104 pounds of copper in 2023 Q1 generated approximately US$822,765 in revenue (after processing costs), an improvement of 19% over the 2022 Q4 $691,000 sales figure.

At the end of March 2023, the Company had 325 tonnes in stockpiles at the Farellon site and a total of 2,850 tonnes of stockpiles at the El Penon mill site. An additional 1,400 tonnes of lower grade material are stockpiled at the Farellon site and ready for processing at the El Penon facility. The Company currently has 1,665 tonnes of material in process with ENAMI. This material will be processed for sale and the revenue will be realized in the coming months.

President and CEO Alastair McIntyre comments: "We are pleased with the improved revenues during 2023 Q1 from our mining operations at Farellon. Good copper grades at 1.9% and firm copper prices have contributed to a good quarter. With new improved underground haulage operations, we expect to increase our output and begin increased extraction to support higher processing capacity as our mill comes on line."

Figure 1. Quarterly Review of US$ Revenue and Copper Pounds Sold

Period Mined USD Revenue* Cu Pounds Sold Copper Grade Q1 2022 9,843 $908,419 295,199 2.06% Q2 2022 10,742 $967,685 310,062 1.96% Q3 2022 13,440 $692,731 297,403 1.87% Q4 2022 11,340 $691,103 295,397 2.05% Q1 2023 7,675 $822,764 307,104 1.90%

* After processing costs

Figure 2. Mined, Processed, Waste Removed and Cu Grade by Quarter 2021-2023



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/162961_66277da51431fb7a_001full.jpg

Figure 3. Processed Material, Income vs. Mining Costs by Quarter 2021-2023



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/4303/162961_66277da51431fb7a_002full.jpg

Mining activity in the first quarter was focused on the extraction of copper and gold material from the 344 m and 352 m north levels where grades in the NE section produced copper grades above 1.9%. In this area of extraction, the IOCG vein maintained an average width of 4.5 meters, ideal for minimizing dilution. Bench mining continued between the 360 m and 352 m levels in the NE section of the mine. Bench mining was also conducted at the 344 m south level using the Jumbo machinery to improve efficiencies. Mining was reactivated at level 352 m South level in anticipation of shipping this material to the El Penon processing facility. Development work on the Hugo Decline has begun to reach the intersection of the new 336m level.

Altiplano has generated over US$12.1 million from the recovery and sale (after processing costs) of more than 5.2 million pounds of copper with an average grade of 1.80% Cu (2018 Q1-2023 Q1). Cash flow has been re-invested into equipment, underground drilling, expanding underground development at Farellon, enhancing ventilation to increase productivity and capacity, new underground development and exploration, and the commissioning of the El Penon fit-for-purpose mill and flotation plant located 15 km from the Farellon site.

Management Cease Trade Order

The Company also announces that it anticipates a delay in the filing of the financial statements required pursuant to Part 4 of National Instrument 51-102 Continuous Disclosure Obligations (the "Instrument"). The potential for delay is due to the Company's and its auditors' joint assessment of the time required for the remaining audit procedures and the auditors' review process. Both the Company and its auditors continue to work diligently towards the completion and filing of the financial statements.

The Instrument requires that the Company's audited financial statements and MD&A for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 be filed by April 30, 2023. The Company and its auditor are in the process of completing the associated audit work to complete these audited financial statements. The Company expects that the audited financial statements and MD&A for the year ended December 31, 2022 (collectively, the "Required Filings") will be completed and filed on or before May 15, 2023.

In connection with the anticipated delays in making the Required Filings within the time periods mandated by the Instrument, the Company has made an application under National Policy 12-203 Cease Trade Orders ("NP 12-203") to the British Columbia Securities Commission, as principal regulator for the Company, requesting that a management cease trade order ("MCTO") be issued. If granted, the MCTO will restrict all trading by the Company's CEO and CFO in securities of the Company, whether direct or indirect. The issuance of the MCTO will not affect the ability of persons who are not directors, officers or insiders of the Company to trade their securities. The MCTO will remain in effect until the Required Filings are filed or until it is revoked or varied.

The Company confirms that it intends to satisfy the provisions of the alternative information guidelines described in NP 12-203 by issuing bi-weekly default status reports in the form of a news release for so long as it remains in default of the requirement to make the Required Filings. The Company has not taken any steps towards any insolvency proceeding and the Company has no material information relating to its affairs that has not been generally disclosed.

About Altiplano

Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets that include an operating copper/gold/iron mine and a state-of-the-art operating copper/gold and iron processing facility in the final stages of completion. Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG.

John Williamson, B.Sc., P.Geol., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101, has reviewed, and approved the technical contents of this document

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

/s/ "John Williamson"

Chairman

For further information, please contact:

Alastair McIntyre, CEO

alastairm@apnmetals.com

Tel: (416) 434-3799

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the (TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately 300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162961
VANCOUVER, April 19, 2023 - Vortex Metals Inc. (TSXV: VMS) (FSE: DM8) (OTC: VMSSF) ("Vortex" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on April 16th 2023, the local community residing at the Zaachila project, held a general assembly and approved the augmentation of an environmental baseline study, including biological studies and surface geological work for targeting at the company's flagship Zaachila Copper project, located in Southern Oaxaca, Mexico.

Under the direction of Mexican environmental firm Ambiental y Social Servicios Integrales (ASSI), the baseline study will focus on gathering data on 7 land uses as defined by the National Institute of Statistics Geography (INEGI), and informatics. The study will be developed during a 30-day period by a group of 10 environmental specialists supported by field assistants from the local community, and it will involve a total area of 500 Ha.

This study will provide the basis for an environmental diagnosis that will be presented to the local community as a tool to protect their environment and to the Federal Environmental Office, The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), in the form of an EIA study for approval of advanced mineral exploration activities.

Previous mineral exploration activities at the Zaachila project identified significant anomalous copper mineralization followed by a geochemical targeting analysis by world-renowned Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) expert and Vortex Metals' advisor, Jim Franklin.

Geochemical Anomalies at Zaachila:

Surface copper mineralization occurs along a >5 km trend in stratigraphic horizons adjacent to a trondhjemite complex





1.5 x 1 km gravity anomaly is located adjacent to the most persistent and extensive copper-in-rock anomalies





Pronounced 3 km linear magnetic low is centered directly beneath the most persistent and extensive surface copper mineralization





The mineralized system at Zaachila is classified by Franklin as 'bimodal mafic' - similar to the Noranda Camp (Canada) deposits, and the large VMS deposits in Latin America including Tambo Grande, San Nicholas and Campo Morado.

Project Geologist, Rob Johansing has also recommended that the Company complete geological mapping, sampling and trenching. Followed by surface impact definition that will be needed for drill permitting.

Vortex Metals' Chief Executive Officer Vikas Ranjan commented, "This community approval is the result of Vortex Metals systematic and responsible community engagement process designed to ensure respect, transparency and sustainability in the relation of the company with its stakeholders and shareholders. We are very pleased with the community's approval of environmental works at the Zaachila project, and with the support from local stakeholders. We believe that with future submission of an EIA study, Vortex will be a step closer to exploring multiple high-grade copper targets identified by our co-founder and leading geologist, the late Dave Jones."

About Vortex Mines Inc.

Vortex Metals Inc. is the parent company of Mexican subsidiary Empresa Minera Acagold, S.A. de C.V., which is the owner of a 100% interest in two drill-ready high-potential copper volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) properties (Riqueza Marina and Zaachila) in the state of Oaxaca, and a third high-potential gold property (El Rescate) in the state of Puebla. The Oaxaca projects incorporate the most highly prospective areas of high-grade copper mineralized surface exposures ('gossans') and prominent gravity anomalies along an emerging copper VMS belt that includes Minaurum Gold's (TSXV:MGG) Santa Marta project.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release may contain forward looking statements that are made as of the date hereof and are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business including permitting approvals, any private placement financings, the uncertainty as to whether further exploration will result in the target(s) being delineated as a mineral resource, capital expenditures, operating costs, mineral resources, recovery rates, grades and prices, estimated goals, expansion and growth of the business and operations, plans and references to the Company's future successes with its business and the economic environment in which the business operates. All such statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, applicable Canadian securities legislation. Any statements contained herein that are statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution readers of this news release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations. Please refer to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent annual MD&A and the Company's continuous disclosure documents that can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Vortex Metals
VANCOUVER, April 19, 2023 - Golden Shield Resources Inc. (CSE: GSRI) (Frankfurt: 4LE0) (OTCQB: GSRFF) (the "Company" or "Golden Shield") announces that it has granted a total of 2,250,000 incentive stock options (the "Options") to employees, officers, directors and consultants of the Company. The Options are exercisable at a price of $0.26, have a term of five years, and will vest over a period of 36 months. The Options were granted pursuant to the Company's incentive stock option plan and are subject to regulatory approval.

The Company announces that it has engaged Thesis Marketing Inc. of Langley, British Columbia, Canada, to provide marketing services through social media channels and digital ads for a term of six months to commence on May 1, 2023, in consideration of a payment of CA$40,000 plus applicable taxes.

About Golden Shield

Golden Shield Resources was founded by experienced professionals who are convinced that there are many more gold mines yet to be found in Guyana. The Company is well-financed and has three wholly controlled gold projects: Marudi Mountain, Arakaka and Fish Creek. Golden Shield continues to evaluate other gold opportunities in Guyana.

This news release includes certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target", "plan", "forecast", "may", "would", "could", "schedule" and similar words or expressions, identify forward-looking statements or information.

Forward-looking statements and forward-looking information relating to any future mineral production, liquidity, enhanced value and capital markets profile of Golden Shield, future growth potential for Golden Shield and its business, and future exploration plans are based on management's reasonable assumptions, estimates, expectations, analyses and opinions, which are based on management's experience and perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, and other factors that management believes are relevant and reasonable in the circumstances, but which may prove to be incorrect. Assumptions have been made regarding, among other things, the price of gold and other metals; no escalation in the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic; costs of exploration and development; the estimated costs of development of exploration projects; Golden Shield's ability to operate in a safe and effective manner and its ability to obtain financing on reasonable terms.

These statements reflect Golden Shield's respective current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of other assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties and contingencies. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements or forward-looking information and Golden Shield has made assumptions and estimates based on or related to many of these factors. Such factors include, without limitation: the Company's dependence on one mineral project; precious metals price volatility; risks associated with the conduct of the Company's mineral exploration activities in Guyana; regulatory, consent or permitting delays; risks relating to reliance on the Company's management team and outside contractors; risks regarding mineral resources and reserves; the Company's inability to obtain insurance to cover all risks, on a commercially reasonable basis or at all; currency fluctuations; risks regarding the failure to generate sufficient cash flow from operations; risks relating to project financing and equity issuances; risks and unknowns inherent in all mining projects, including the inaccuracy of reserves and resources, metallurgical recoveries and capital and operating costs of such projects; contests over title to properties, particularly title to undeveloped properties; laws and regulations governing the environment, health and safety; the ability of the communities in which the Company operates to manage and cope with the implications of COVID-19; the economic and financial implications of COVID-19 to the Company; operating or technical difficulties in connection with mining or development activities; employee relations, labour unrest or unavailability; the Company's interactions with surrounding communities and artisanal miners; the Company's ability to successfully integrate acquired assets; the speculative nature of exploration and development, including the risks of diminishing quantities or grades of reserves; stock market volatility; conflicts of interest among certain directors and officers; lack of liquidity for shareholders of the Company; litigation risk; the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine; and the factors identified in the Company's public disclosure documents available on www.sedar.com. Readers are cautioned against attributing undue certainty to forward-looking statements or forward-looking information. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially, there may be other factors that cause results not to be anticipated, estimated, or intended. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or forward-looking information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements or information, other than as required by applicable law.

SOURCE Golden Shield Resources
April 19, 2023, Vancouver, British Columbia - Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. (TSXV:GCC) is pleased to announce its participation at the upcoming Sequire Investor Summit. This highly anticipated event, scheduled for April 24-26, 2023 at La Concha Resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico, promises to offer an array of exciting opportunities for funds, companies, and investors. There will be 40 plus public companies presenting and estimated 500 attendees.

The summit also promises to offer comprehensive training sessions and keynote panels on various topics. These sessions are led by top experts in the field and provide attendees with a wealth of information and insights into the latest trends, strategies, and best practices in the industry.

The Golden Cariboo Resources presentation will be at 2:00 pm on Wednesday April 26, 2023 and management looks forward to sharing with attendees.

For more information about the Sequire Investor Summit, including registration details, please visit the official event website at https://puertorico.srax.com/

About Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd.

Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. is rediscovering the Cariboo Gold Rush by proceeding with high-grade targeted drilling and trenching programs on its Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine project which is almost fully encircled on 3 of 4 sides by Osisko Development Ltd. (ODV: NYSE/TSX.V)

Golden Cariboo's Quesnelle Gold Quartz Mine property is 4 km northeast of, and road accessible from, Hixon in central British Columbia. The Property includes the Quesnelle Quartz gold-silver deposit, which was discovered in 1865 in conjunction with placer mining activities. Hixon Creek, which dissects the Hixon Gold claims, is a placer creek which has seen limited, small-scale placer production since the mid 1860's. From Ministry of Mines Reports prior to 1945, estimates of up to $2,000,000 worth of placer gold was mined from Hixon Creek.

For further information please contact:

Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd.

"Andrew H. Rees"

Andrew H. Rees, Director

Tel: 604-682-2928

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains certain forward-looking statements which involve known and unknown risks, delays, and uncertainties not under the control of Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. which may cause actual results, performance or achievements of Golden Cariboo Resources Ltd. to be materially different from the results, performance or expectation implied by these forward looking statements. By their nature, forward looking statements involve risk and uncertainties because they relate to events and depend on factors that will or may occur in the future. Actual results may vary depending upon exploration activities, industry production, commodity demand and pricing, currency exchange rates, and, but not limited to, general economic factors.

Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Australia - 20 April 2023 - Jervois Global Ltd. ("Jervois" or the "Company") (ASX:JRV) (TSX-V:JRV) (OTC:JRVMF) has completed an infill drilling campaign at its 100%-owned Nico Young nickel-cobalt project in New South Wales ("NSW"), Australia, as part of work initiated towards a Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS").

Highlights:

Jervois has completed a limited in-fill drilling campaign at its 100%-owned Nico Young nickel cobalt deposit in Australia, comprised of 86 holes totaling over 3,000 metres

Drilling was designed to increase confidence in the Australian JORC and Canadian CIM National Institute ("NI") 43-101 Mineral Resource Estimation ("MRE") by converting portions from Inferred to Indicated category on the Ardnaree deposit

Environmental studies and metallurgical testwork associated with a Bankable Feasibility Study ("BFS") for Nico Young are ready to advance, in part funded by the A$0.5 million grant from the NSW Critical Minerals Activation Fund

Jervois has applied for funding for a Nico Young BFS with the Australian Federal Government Critical Minerals Development Program

As part of an ongoing strategic review of its portfolio, Jervois has determined that Nico Young is a non-core asset and intends to commence a divestment process in Q2 2023

Jervois's 100%-owned Nico Young nickel and cobalt deposits are comprised of mineralisation bodies held under separate but adjacent exploration licenses, "Ardnaree" and "Thuddungra". The project envisages heap leaching nickel and cobalt laterite ore to produce an intermediate mixed hydroxide precipitate ("MHP"). In prior roles, Jervois's Directors and Executives constructed, commissioned and operated the only commercially successful nickel - cobalt heap leach operation outside of China at Glencore's Murrin Murrin facility in Western Australia, which was based on ores similar to Nico Young.

In May 2019, Jervois released a positive NI 43-101 compliant Preliminary Economic Assessment ("PEA")1 on Nico Young. The PEA supported the technical and economic viability of heap leaching laterite ore, based on the production of battery grade nickel sulphate hexahydrate crystal and cobalt sulphide, as final, refined products. Within the study scope, Jervois also completed to the equivalent level of engineering, the ability to produce an MHP. The PEA was based upon a MRE of 3.2 million tonnes ("Mt") of 0.67% nickel ("Ni") and 0.04% cobalt ("Co") in the Indicated category at Ardnaree and 90.1 Mt of 0.63% Ni and 0.05% Co in the Inferred category at Ardnaree and Thudunggra (using 0.5% Ni cut-off).

Jervois' drill programme comprised eighty-six (86) drill holes totaling slightly over 3,000 metres and was designed to increase confidence in the mineral resource by converting portions of the Ardnaree deposit from the Inferred to Indicated category. The drilling was successfully executed by Wallis Drilling Pty. Ltd.

Jervois was awarded funding under the NSW Government Critical Minerals Activation Fund, Stream 1, for environmental studies and metallurgical testwork associated with a BFS for Nico Young. The Critical Minerals and High-Tech Activation Fund is designed to support regional NSW to become a global leader in these sectors. The award of A$0.5 million will supplement Jervois' and/or future Nico Young owners' contribution to these studies.

The funding supports further environmental and metallurgical testwork and will underpin environmental and infrastructure permitting required to advance the project's development. These studies are a critical element that will improve process definition, progress water access management and key Environmental Impact Studies ("EIS"), define the product path-to-market, de-risk the project and support project financing. Funding for the complete BFS is subject of a separate application under the Australian Federal Government's Critical Minerals Development Program.

Jervois' view is that heap leaching is the most attractive development route for the low grade nickel-cobalt laterite mineralization typical of Eastern Australia. Heap leaching nickel laterites containing a high silica and low iron contents in dry climates has lower capital intensity, a reduced carbon footprint and less technical and environmental risk compared to the high capital, energy intensive, elevated construction and operating risk nature of high pressure acid leach ("HPAL") facilities.

As part of an ongoing portfolio review, Jervois has determined that Nico Young is no longer core to the company's strategy. Jervois will commence a divestment process in Q2 2023. Jervois expects to pursue the sale of all or part of its 100 per cent interest in Nico Young subject to realizing adequate value for the asset through a sale transaction.

On behalf of Jervois Global Ltd.

Bryce Crocker, Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Investors and analysts: James May Chief Financial Officer Jervois Global james.may@jervoisglobal.com Media: Nathan Ryan NWR Communications nathan.ryan@nwrcommunications.com.au Mob: +61 420 582 887

Competent Person's Statement

The information in this release that relates to Mineral Exploration is based on information compiled by Dean Besserer, P.Geo. who is the GM Exploration for the company and a member of The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. Mr. Besserer has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the 'Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves'. Mr. Besserer consents to the inclusion in the release of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.

Qualified Person's Statement

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Dean Besserer, P.Geo., the GM Exploration for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule", "expected" and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to the future studies at Nico Young, the grant funding applications for studies at Nico Young, the potential sale of Nico Young and certain other factors or information. Such statements represent Jervois' current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Jervois, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Jervois does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

1 Due to the PEA's reliance on inferred mineral resources, Australian regulatory requirements prevent the release of the PEA on the ASX. Accordingly, Jervois shareholders and potential investors are cautioned against placing undue reliance on the content or outcomes of the PEA.

Copyright (c) 2023 TheNewswire - All rights reserved.
Dr Helmut Marko admits Red Bull's Formula 1 engine program for 2026 and beyond is a "risk".

The engine regulations are changing markedly for 2026, with Volkswagen-owned Audi teaming up with Sauber.

Audi is at Shanghai's car show Auto Shanghai this week, where board member Oliver Hoffman revealed that the F1 project "has really taken off in recent months".

"In the ongoing concept phase of the power unit, the foundation of our drivetrain for 2026 is being laid today," he said.

Audi CEO Markus Duesmann is also in Shanghai, and he said China was chosen for this week's activities because it is "our most important sales market".

At the same time, while actually undecided about whether to definitely stay in Formula 1 beyond 2025, Honda is being linked with a works collaboration with the sport's surprise performer of the moment - Aston Martin.

Currently, Honda is still part of Red Bull Powertrains - but the energy drink-owned outfit has already decided to team up with Ford for 2026 rather than with sticking with Honda or working with another ruled-out option, Porsche.

Red Bull chose Ford as its 2026 F1 engine partner because it will leave the world champions with its independence while Ford works mostly on the hybrid side.

"Independent development of power units is a risk," top Red Bull official Dr Helmut Marko told formel1.de.

"But we are relying on experienced employees and are confident that everything will work out. The current information I have about the new engine is encouraging. I do not expect that we will be at a disadvantage.

"Reliability too. Everything should be in order. We have a serious partner who is well versed in the hybrid part of the power unit, and if they do not have something ready, they will look for a solution with young companies or startups.

"We are confident we will be competitive with Ford," the 79-year-old Austrian insisted. "Ford engineers are working in the same building with us, where we launched six test benches last year.

"We have made one engine, we are assembling another n the progress is obvious. We are on schedule, including recruitment. We have not yet reached the optimal number of employees, but we will get there.

"And of course, the arrival of yet another competitor in Audi will only increase our passion for victory," Marko said.

(GMM)
Even poaching Adrian Newey from Red Bull would not solve Ferrari's current performance problems.

That is the view of famous former Ferrari driver Jean Alesi, responding to former Ferrari tester Daniil Kvyat's view that the Maranello team needs "a technical revolution".

"The team has a new boss," said the Russian and former Red Bull driver, "but perhaps they should have hired engineers from other teams.

"They should have done exactly what Red Bull did with Mercedes or Aston Martin did with Red Bull."

Curiously, Ferrari president John Elkann appears to agree, as he told shareholders this week that "profound changes are taking place within the walls of Maranello, especially in strengthening the sporting activity at the circuit".

Frenchman Alesi, however, thinks Ferrari's new team boss Frederic Vasseur simply needs more time to deliver.

"It will take time," he told a French Eurosport program Les Fous du Volant, "but Fred Vasseur is the right choice."

He recalls when fellow Frenchman Jean Todt arrived at Ferrari in the 90s and started a massive recruitment drive including Ross Brawn, Rory Byrne and Michael Schumacher.

"That is no longer possible in Formula 1," 58-year-old Alesi insists.

"Today, if Adrian Newey decided to go to Ferrari, we wouldn't see his car until 2025 because of the clauses in all the contracts. So it will take time.

"But I repeat that Fred Vasseur is the right person for this job."

Alesi said Vasseur needs to stay calm and prioritise "reliability, performance, stability".

"He has to put these three things in the order he wants, but that's what has to be done," he added.

Alesi also insists that the only "number 1" at Ferrari is Vasseur.

"That's not the problem," he answered when asked if making Charles Leclerc the clearly prioritised Ferrari driver over Carlos Sainz would be a wise move.

"If at the next grand prix they said 'Charles, you are the first driver and Carlos is the second', it would not help in the process to develop the car, especially the lack of performance and reliability.

"That's not the problem, frankly," Alesi said.

(GMM)
Agyemang-Manu: Health Minister explains why he doesn't use the NHIS card

GraphicOnline Apr - 19 - 2023 , 15:18

The Minister of Health, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu, has expressed his dissatisfaction with certain service providers under Ghana's National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), whom he accuses of extortion.

He claims that instead of benefiting from the scheme, poor subscribers are being overcharged and denied necessary services that they have already paid for.

During the Ghana Health Service Senior Managers Meeting 2023 on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, Mr Agyemang-Manu stated that the complaints from NHIS subscribers suggested that the scheme was not functioning correctly.

He cited his own experiences, claiming that he had to pay for healthcare services out of his pocket when he visited hospitals like Ridge and the University of Ghana Medical Centre (UGMC), even though he is an NHIS subscriber.

"I pay when I go to Ridge Hospital. I pay when I go to UGMC. I dont even present my insurance card," he said. "The complaints that are coming about how those who are subscribed to health insurance are treated in almost all our facilities...".

The Health Minister expressed concern about the increasing number of lawsuits being filed against health professionals for negligence. He noted that the number of such cases has risen significantly since he took office six years ago. He urged senior managers of the Ghana Health Service to take measures to address the situation and prevent further instances of extortion and negligence.
CHPS compound for Adaklu-Ablornu

Alberto Mario Noretti Apr - 19 - 2023 , 07:12

A Community-based Health Planning and Services (CHPS) compound has been inaugurated at Adaklu-Ablornu in the Adaklu District of the Volta Region.

The project, which cost GH290,000 was financed through the District Performance Assessment Tool (DAPT) of the district assembly. It has two delivery beds and two hospital beds.

The District Chief Executive, Juliana Kpedekpo, and the Queen of Adaklu-Ablornu, Mama Dzuenyeakpe III, jointly performed the tape-cutting ceremony.

Miss Kpedekpo said the facility was yet another testimony of the great importance the government attached to primary health care in the country.

She announced plans by the assembly to construct a cluster of nurses quarters on the CHPS compound soon.

For her part, Mama Dzuenyeakpe commended the government for its ceaseless development efforts, not only at Adaklu-Ablornu but also in the whole of the Adaklu District.

Cordial ties

Mama Dzuenyeakpe, who chaired the function, entreated the residents to maintain cordial ties with the nurses at the CHPS compound always, to ensure smooth healthcare delivery from the facility.

She also entreated the people to adhere to a culture of personal hygiene to reduce the number of cases at the CHPS compound.

Despite the CHPS compound, we must also make conscious efforts to remain healthy, Mama Dzuenyeakpe added.

The District Director of Health, Mathew Ayamba, said the CHPS compound was a giant step in healthcare delivery in the district.

He said the facility now had a staff strength of three and appealed for two more nurses to enhance its service delivery.

Mr Ayamba entreated the community to assist the nurses with accommodation in the interim while plans were underway to put up nurses quarters at the CHPS Compound.

The District Director of Health also highlighted the need for a regular supply of water to the CHPS compound to support the comfort of the staff and patients.
Eid-ul-Fitr: Monday, April 24 declared public holiday

Kweku Zurek Apr - 18 - 2023 , 11:22

Ghana's Ministry of Interior has declared Monday, April 24, 2023, as a public holiday to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr, a significant religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide.

The announcement was made by the Minister for the Interior, Ambrose Dery, on Tuesday, April 18, 2023.

According to the statement released by the Ministry, Saturday, April 22, 2023, marks Eid-ul-Fitr, which is a Statutory Public Holiday.

However, since this date falls on a Saturday, the President of the Republic of Ghana, Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has in accordance with Section 2 of the Public Holidays and Commemorative Days Act (Act 601), has declared Monday, April 24, 2023, as an additional Public Holiday. This additional holiday is to be observed throughout the country.

The decision to declare Monday, 24th April, 2023, as an additional Public Holiday is in recognition of the significance of the Eid-ul-Fitr festival to Muslims in Ghana. It also provides an opportunity for Muslims and non-Muslims alike to celebrate the festival and engage in activities that promote unity, harmony, and peaceful co-existence.

The Ministry of Interior has urged all citizens to observe the Public Holiday and use the occasion to reflect on the values of Eid-ul-Fitr, such as forgiveness, kindness, and generosity. The Ministry has also advised citizens to abide by COVID-19 safety protocols and celebrate the holiday in a responsible manner.

The announcement has been warmly received by Ghanaians, with many expressing their gratitude to the government for the additional Public Holiday. This gesture is seen as a recognition of the diversity of Ghana's population and a reflection of the government's commitment to promoting religious tolerance and inclusivity.
Jurors strike delays court proceedings

Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson Apr - 19 - 2023 , 09:04

A strike by jurors last Monday, April 17, brought some court proceedings at various High Courts located at the Law Court Complex in Accra to a halt.

Some of the cases affected by the strike included the trial of the 14 persons accused of killing Major Maxwell Adam Mahama and the trial of two teenagers alleged to have murdered an 11year-old boy at Kasoa.

A source told the Daily Graphic that the jurors decided to embark on strike because the government has for more than one year failed to pay some allowances due them.

Strike

At the trial of the 14 accused persons, one of the seven jurors failed to show up leading to the presiding judge, Justice Mariama Owusu, a Justice of the Supreme Court, sitting as an additional High Court judge, to adjourn the case to May 8, this year

With regard to the Kasoa boy murder case, two of the jurors did not show up, a situation that led to the case being adjourned to the next day, with the presiding judge, Justice Lydia Marfo, warning the jurors to appear before the court for the continuation of the trial.

In another case before Justice Marfo, five of the seven jurors failed to show up for the trial.

Under the Criminal and Other Offences (Procedure) Act, 1960 (Act 30) all the jurors must be present during a trial by jury before proceedings will commence.

A source told the Daily Graphic although not all the jurors had embarked on the strike, the strike was effective because per law the absence of one juror would halt court proceedings.

In ordering the jurors to appear in court for the continuation of the trial, Justice Marfo said that she had not received any formal communication to the effect that the jurors had embarked on a strike.

With regard to the jurors in the trial of the teenagers, Justice Marfo wondered why they had joined the strike action by their colleagues when they were newly appointed jurors.

The presiding judge, therefore, ordered the Registrar of the Court to write to the superiors of the absentee jurors to produce the jurors.

They should come and show cause why they failed to appear in the court for a hearing when they were aware that they ought to be in court today, Justice Marfo directed.

Jury system

The jury system is employed in Ghana for offences that are tried on indictment. Such offences include capital offences such as murder and first-degree felonies such as rape, manslaughter and narcotics.

Under the jury system, jurors, based on the evidence presented in court, determine whether an accused person is guilty of an offence he or she has been charged with, while the judge passes a sentence based on the verdict of the jury.

Juries in Ghana are composed of seven individuals randomly selected from a list composed mainly, if not exclusively, of civil servants.

Many stakeholders in the criminal justice system have criticised the jury system with the case that the system unduly delays trials, since the absence of a single juror stalls proceedings.
Possess in-depth understanding of global issues  Prof. Opoku-Agyemang

Daily Graphic Apr - 19 - 2023 , 07:21

The 2020 running mate of former President John Dramani Mahama, Prof. Jane Naana Opoku-Agyemang, is of the strong conviction that a global citizen must possess an in-depth understanding of global issues to be able to navigate the complex nature of a rapidly changing and interconnected world today.

Those issues, she said, included climate change, human rights violations, sources of the injustice of penury, abuse of power as well as corruption and nepotism, which denied the peace that citizens require to live in an equitable world.

Sensitive

Such a person, she said, must, therefore, be culturally sensitive and empathetic to appreciate the diversity of human experiences, different customs, beliefs and traditions.

Prof. Naana Opoku- Agyemang made the assertion as the Special Guest of Honour of the Cyprus International University, Greece, to deliver a lecture on Future Global Citizen: Navigating a Changing World.

The former Minister of Education and first female Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cape Coast (UCC) noted that global citizens were open-minded, socially responsible and committed to impacting their local as well as global communities in constructive ways.

Fervid

They are fervid about issues of social justice, sustainability and equity in all spheres of life, she said and endorsed the study abroad and university exchange programmes in all their varied forms.

That, she said, were effective modes of exposing students to other ways of seeing and appreciating the diverse world.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang commended the Cyprus International University for the honour done her by inviting her as the guest of honour, and especially for staying focused on their vision of shaping individual minds to operate successfully in the fast-growing and evolving world.

As part of her visit, she held meetings with members of the university faculty, workers and students, the newly created womens unit and the Ghanaian and African Student Associations.

Prof. Opoku-Agyemang has since returned to Ghana.
Revenue mobilisation exercise: ECG recovers 50% of debts

Emmanuel Bonney Apr - 18 - 2023 , 08:21

With about two days to end its March 20 to April 20 special revenue mobilisation exercise, the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) says it has been able to retrieve close to about 50 per cent of its targeted GHc5.7 billion owed the company by customers.

While the amount is nowhere near its targeted 100 per cent recovery, the company says it is a positive sign that with a little more effort, it will further improve, adding that it is going to use the final days to aggressively round off the exercise.

The Director of Communications of the ECG, William Boateng, explained that the final days of the exercise should not be seen as being used to harass anyone or any industry, saying: Unfortunately, we have to recover the debt to sustain not just our business but also the power production chain.

We owe the independent power producers (IPPs) and they have already indicated that they risk scaling down operations if the bills are not settled.

Now where we are, we need to let the value chain survive. The value chain must be stable, else the power sector will suffer. We want customers to appreciate the fact that we are not out to harass them, he told the Daily Graphic in an interview to give an update on the exercise.

Mobilisation exercise

Last month, the ECG announced that it was embarking on a revenue mobilisation exercise from March 20 to April 20 to recover all debts owed by all categories of customers, including state-owned enterprises (SOEs).

Only critical installations, such as the National Security and public health facilities, were exempted from the exercise

The company began the exercise by temporarily closing down all its administrative offices to deploy its staff to be collectors on the field during the one-month period.

The exercise is currently operational in each district and has the full backing of the Energy Ministry.

Rationale

Explaining the rationale for the exercise, the Managing Director of the ECG, Samuel Dubik Mahama, told the Daily Graphic that the debt situation had reached worrying levels, for which reason it had become important to ensure that it was improved to preserve the integrity of the company.

He said while the company had an idea about the debt situation, the picture was better painted after it upgraded its digitalisation process, saying there was the need to reverse the situation before it negatively affected its operation.

We buy power to sell and we cannot allow this situation to happen. After providing the service and the power is consumed, bills are in arrears of this huge amount, and that cannot continue to happen. We have to stay in business; our suppliers also need to stay in business, and so we are going all out to recover the arrears.

It has got to a point where everyone needs to help. This is non-partisan, so we must all pay our bills to continue to enjoy power, the ECG MD stressed.

Successful

Mr Boateng noted that the exercise had so far been successful, given the teamwork, camaraderie and support of administrative staff, among other things.

The understanding of all, he said, was that the company had to survive, and in order to do that, it had to retrieve money owed it, so that it would remain in operation and settle its indebtedness as well.

He said the support from the public was also an encouragement, saying the staff of the company had visited virtually all of its special load tariff (SLT) customers and others and that the work was still ongoing.

The ECG Director of Communications said some payments had been made by customers, while others had made arrangements with payment plans.

On the revised decision of not allowing regions and districts to negotiate payment with indebted customers, he said the company expected customers who were in business, SLT and others to see the payment of the usage of power as an essential line item in their scheme of things.

Asked whether the period for the exercise would be extended after April 20, he said for now there was no plan to extend the period, adding: However there will be an evaluation of the work that has been undertaken, and based on the outcome, the management will decide if it has to be extended or not, and that that will inform the next line of action.

However, the revenue mobilisation teams will be out to continue from where the special exercise will leave off.

Private sector principles

Mr Boateng said going forward, the company was going to adopt the private sector approach in its operations to ensure that it became more efficient and also effective in its revenue mobilisation activities.

The company, he said, revised its strategy because it could not continue doing the same thing and expect different results.

That is how we are going to turn the company around because we have reached a stage where we think we should bring private sector principles into the public sector, so that the ECG becomes viable for the benefit of all of us, he said.

With the demand for regular and uninterrupted power supply, he said, there was the need to make the company very viable.

He advised customers, particularly businesses, to see power as an essential component of their production, so that just as they planned and made provision for other production materials, so must they make provision to pay for power and not treat it as an after thought.

We want customers to know that we are not at war with them, nor are we anti-industrialisation. We are just saying that we have reached a stage where if we want to improve on our services and provide stable power supply, we have to pay for power.

Just as they make allocation or plans for raw materials or other essentials for their businesses and production, so must they make plans for the power they require to operate. That is an essential component of business; without it, there is no business at all, Mr Boateng stressed.
Duffuor ends campaign in 3 regions

Daily Graphic Politics Apr - 19 - 2023 , 09:15

Aspiring Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Dr Kwabena Duffuor, has said his leadership will ensure the party works closely with government in order to further strengthen the grassroots of the party in a sustainable fashion.

I will ensure appointments are made in consultation with you, the constituency and branch executives when elected leader of the party and President of the Republic come 2025, he said.

Dr Duffuor said this when he addressed delegates and supporters of the party as part of his just ended campaign tour of the Northern, North East and Savannah Regions.

He interacted with the regional, constituency, and branch executives of the party in all the constituencies of the three regions.

In the Northern region, the former Governor of the Bank of Ghana and Finance Minister, paid a courtesy call on Ya- Na Abukari II, the Overlord of Dagbon at the Gbewaa Palace in Yendi.

Dr Duffuor said it was a honour to meet with the Ya-Na to discuss matters of mutual interest.

 I look forward to future engagements with traditional leaders across the length and breadth of our beloved nation for us to work towards a common goal of building a Better Ghana, he stated.
NDC urges Council of State to reconsider the appointments of Hajia Tijani and Dr Appiahene to EC Board

GraphicOnline Politics Apr - 19 - 2023 , 12:28

The main opposition party in Ghana, the National Democratic Congress (NDC), has requested that the Council of State review the appointments of two members of the Electoral Commission's governing board.

The NDC has expressed concerns about the affiliations of the newly appointed members, Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani and Dr Peter Appiahene, with the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).

The Coalition for Democratic Election Observers (CODEO) and some members of the public have also criticized the appointments.

A letter to the Council of State, signed by the Chairman of the NDC, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah urged a reconsideration of the appointments, arguing that the reputation of the Electoral Commission would be further tarnished if the appointments were not rescinded.

The NDC's letter cited evidence of Dr. Appiahene's and Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani's affiliations with the NPP, including their involvement with TESCON, the NPP's tertiary wing, and their close relationships with senior NPP officials.

Although the appointments have already been sworn in, the NDC hopes that the Council of State will review its advice to the President to avoid any perception of complicity in the appointment of "patently partisan individuals" to the Electoral Commission.

Dr. Peter Appiahene is not only a card-bearing member of the ruling New Patriotic Party but a recognized leading figure within the ranks of the Party. He has been a patron of the tertiary wing of the New Patriotic Party, TESCON, at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani since 2017. He is a known communicator of the New Patriotic Party in the Bono Region on both radio and television," the letter reads.

Prior to his appointment to the Electoral Commission, Dr. Appiahene had played various leading roles for the New Patriotic Party in the Bono Region. Indeed, he touts himself in his political profile and personal credentials as a strong NPP man with a lot of experience in election issues in Ghana.

We are nevertheless of the view that against the background of the evidence that we have presented, it is possible for the Council to re-consider its advice to the President in order to erase any perception that the Council has been complicit in the appointment of these patently partisan individuals to the Electoral Commission and to safeguard the integrity of the Council as far as its role in the structure of our governance architecture is concerned.

The letter was also copied to some foreign missions in Ghana.
We wont rush to take action "Police on political violence, incendiary comments"

Daily Graphic Politics Apr - 19 - 2023 , 10:50

The Ghana Police Service has set up a dedicated legal team to subject all politically related incidents to legal scrutiny to establish whether there are elements of crime or otherwise before any action is taken.

Consequently, it said the service would not intervene in any situation where there was no criminality involved.

A statement to that effect was released yesterday by the police administration after the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Dr George Akuffo Dampare, met with the leadership of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) over recent happenings on the political front.

This is a paradigm shift from the practice in the past where people were arrested in the heat of the moment for politically related incidents as a result of attempts by politicians on either side to whip up public sentiments against the police thereby creating the impression that the police supports one side against the other.

 In such instances when no concrete charges can be levelled against such people, they are eventually released thereby creating the impression in the public domain as though the police were manipulated in effecting their arrests, the statement said.

It added: This initiative has been used to analyse all recent cases such as comments made by the Minister of Food and Agriculture and the Constituency Youth Organiser for the NDC at Suame, among others.

The meeting, which was called at the instance of the IGP, was necessitated by press statements issued by both parties and subsequently followed by petitions to the police service to arrest certain individuals on either side of the political spectrum for some alleged offences.

The NDC petitioned the police service to arrest the Member of Parliament (MP) for Abetifi and Minister of Agriculture, Bryan Acheampong, for allegedly claiming that the NPP would never hand over power to the NDC.

On the other hand, the NPP, following the NDCs petition, followed up with a similar petition calling on the police to arrest former President John Dramani Mahama and the NDC National Chairman, Johnson Asiedu Nketiah, over some alleged inflammatory comments they had made in the past.

Updates

The police said they provided an update on the status of political violence and related incidents recorded during the recent internal elections of both parties.

These included the arrest and prosecution of some 14 members of the NPP for disturbances during their constituency election at Enchi and the arrest of nine out of the 16 wanted individuals for disturbances at the national youth and women organiser polls of the NDC in Cape Coast.

An update was also provided on the status of the 2020 general election-related cases, including Techiman South and Odododiodio constituencies and the public will be duly updated on these cases in the course of the week, the statement said.

Strategic intervention

Again, the police service said it had established a Police Election Security Secretariat to work with all political parties and other stakeholders to enhance the management of security for all elections in the country.

This is a complete departure from the old order where an election security task force was put together just some months before the general election.

Since its creation over a year ago, the Police Election Security Secretariat has worked with the various political parties in their respective internal elections from the polling station, through the constituency to the national executive elections, it stated.

It added that the secretariat was currently working with both parties on their parliamentary and presidential primaries.

Support police

The police statement further indicated that at the meeting, both parties were informed that with the new policing interventions in place, they should do their politics and allow the police to do their policing.

 We, therefore, called on them to support us, including by criticising us constructively to do a professional job in line with our constitutional mandate.

While commending the leadership of the two political parties for availing themselves and contributing to the success of the meeting, the police service called on Ghanaians to help the service in their effort to build an independent police service which would serve the greater good of the people and not the interest of any individual or group of people.

Once again, we wish to assure the public that we remain committed to ensuring peace, security, law and order in the country at all times including before, during and after all elections in the country, the statement said.
The Volkswagen Group is investing around 1 billion in a new development, innovation, and procurement center for fully connected intelligent electric vehicles in the southern Chinese city of Hefei.

The Group made the announcement at the Shanghai Auto Show. The new company, with the project name 100%TechCo, combines vehicles and components R&D teams with purchasing. This will leverage synergies in the development process and integrate state-of-the-art local technologies into product development at an early stage.

The aim is to align the Groups vehicles even more quickly with the wishes of Chinese customers and to achieve shorter time to market. With the launch of 100%TechCo in 2024, the development times of new products and technologies will be gradually shortened by around 30%.

For R&D activities, 100%TechCo will not only bundle research and development for vehicles and components in China, for China, but also merge procurement into a joint unit. To this end, local suppliers will be involved in the early stages of product development in order to integrate the latest technologies and application concepts into new products. In addition, the new company will more closely integrate the development projects of all of the Volkswagen Group's joint ventures in China  SAIC, Volkswagen, FAW-VW, and Volkswagen Anhui.

The new unit is expected to launch in early 2024 and will comprise more than 2,000 employees from procurement and R&D. The CEO will be Marcus Hafkemeyer, Chief Technology Officer of Volkswagen Group China.

With 100%TechCo, we are opening a new chapter in our cooperation with our joint venture partners in Changchun, Shanghai, and Hefei, as well as the Group's brands. We are fostering seamless collaboration to bring customized products to the Chinese market even faster and more efficiently. In a first step, 100%TechCo will steer the development of the models of the Volkswagen Anhui joint venture based on the MEB platform and will be responsible for the development of China-specific platform requirements and modules with a focus on electric mobility. Marcus Hafkemeyer

The company is already expected to play a major role in the development of a future Volkswagen brand model to be launched in 2024.
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The competition for Connecticut consumers interested in high-speed internet service is continuing to heat up even as Norwalk-based Frontier Communications is in the midst of an investment in a fiber optic network that will total $800 million through 2025.

Frontier announced the fiber optic build out last fall with a goal of 90 percent of its customers having access to fiber optic cable by the start of 2026. Chrissy Murray, a company spokeswoman, said Frontier has completed a little more than half of its planned Connecticut build out in more than 111 communities.

Access to a fiber optic network was something most Connecticut households could only dream of five years ago, according to Lon Seidman, an Essex businessman who has his own YouTube channel where he reviews technology products.

"I think we're in a much better place now because there's more competition," Seidman said. "The last six months in particular have seen a real explosion of choice."

He credits part of the increase in competition to Frontier's emergence from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May 2021.

"That allowed them to get more money to take advantage of their position on (utility) poles," Seidman said, referring to utility poles the company owns across the state.

At the same time that Frontier is rolling out its fiber optic network, an upstart company from Rochester, N.Y. is trying to make inroads in the Connecticut market. GoNetspeed started building its fiber optic network from scratch in 2018 and has already extended its network past 100,000 homes and businesses, according to Tom Perrone, the company's chief operating officer.

Perrone said the company's fiber optic network currently passes 200,000 homes and businesses now. He said the company will be building the network past another 100,000 homes over the remainder of this year and into 2024.

GoNetspeed provides fiber optic internet service in nearly three dozen Connecticut communities and is adding service in Clinton, Westbrook and Seymour in the coming months.

Seidman said high speed internet incumbents see GoNetspeed as a legitimate threat.

"They (GoNetspeed) have advantage in terms of size," he said. "They can be more personal and they've really focused a lot on customer service."

Perrone said company officials "are super proud of service we provide and the customer service that goes with it."

"There's an expectation that the company provides a good customer experience," he said. The company has opened a centralized operations facility in Berlin and has added another 50 employees to its Connecticut workforce, which already had about 65 employees.

GoNetspeed has also launched a partnership with DirecTV Stream. Perrone said that while some of the company's customers use streaming video service on the GoNetspeed network, the new partnership "helps make streaming an easier transition for some people."

The company also plans on offering telephone service via its network, which Perrone said will probably debut sometime in the third quarter of this year.

"It's not where we see our future, but we're trying to do something with a broader appeal," he said.

Altice USA is currently building its Optimum fiber internet network in the 28 communities it serves in Fairfield, Litchfield and New Haven counties, according to Janet Meahan, a company spokeswoman.

"The fiber deployment is part of the companys broader network investment initiative in the state of Connecticut to build out fiber internet services across its footprint in the state," Meahan said in a statement. "Our construction crews continue to make progress to bring fiber services to more homes and businesses across the state."

Consumers interested in determining whether Optimum fiber is available where they live can check on the company's website.

Stamford-based Charter Communications extended its hybrid fiber optic network in 2022 to reach an additional 1,000 homes and businesses in Connecticut while serving 126,000 customers, according to a statement from company officials.

Comcast is the nation's largest broadband provider. Here in Connecticut, it provides service in portions of the New Haven, Hartford, Waterbury, Danbury, Middletown and Thames River Valley regions.

Kristen Roberts, a Connecticut-based Comcast spokeswoman said the company "operates one of the largest fiber deployments in the nation," that includes an all-fiber backbone that connects cities coast-to-coast,

"Comcast has consistently added and expanded fiber throughout its Xfinity 10G Network that serves customers directly," Roberts said. "Comcast continuously looks at opportunities to expand our Xfinity 10G Network strategically, looking into rural or underserved community expansion opportunities.

In the past year, Comcast has made fiber optic expansions in Plainfield, Jewett City, East Lyme, New London, Waterford and to nearly 100 unserved businesses in the North End of Hartford.

Seidman said one reason internet providers are so eager to lure customers with fiber optic service is "once you get with one, you're unlikely to change."

Data from a Connecticut Conference of Municipalities survey released last month showed that while state residents seem to be satisfied with the pace at which high speed internet is expanding, consumers around the state want service that is more affordable and reliable.
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DENVER (AP)  Fox News nearly $800 million settlement of a voting machine company's defamation lawsuit marks the first milestone in a larger legal strategy designed to combat the false claims and conspiracy theories about elections that have rippled through the United States for nearly three years.

Several similar lawsuits are teed up against those who have spread election lies, including another against Fox. The plaintiffs range from a different voting technology company to Georgia election workers who were falsely accused of tampering with the vote count in that state. The defendants include close advisers to former President Donald Trump and a conservative group that funded a film last year alleging widespread voter fraud during the 2020 presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden.

Lawyers involved in the effort describe it as an attempt to strike back against those whose lies about fraud in that election helped inspire the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol and continue to circulate in conservative circles.

Lies like these, that inflict serious harms on our democracy, have been costless," said Rachel Goodman, a lawyer with the group Protect Democracy who is representing the Georgia election workers along with plaintiffs in other libel claims against election conspiracists. "This litigation creates accountability and makes clear that there are steep costs to recklessly or intentionally spreading fiction for political or personal profit.

Yet even if the legal challenges keep generating eye-popping settlements or damage awards, its not clear they will change behavior or counter the attacks on democratic institutions.

I personally do not regard a libel suit to be a good mechanism to deal with the disinformation problem, said Jane Kirtley, a professor of media ethics and law at the University of Minnesota. I keep coming back to this fear that we're trying to put a square peg in a round hole here.

The lawsuit against Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corp., from Dominion Voting Systems was one of the first defamation claims filed after Trump and his allies spent weeks falsely claiming the 2020 election was stolen. One of the initial conspiracy theories they floated was that the Denver-based voting machine company was part of an international cabal that threw the election to Biden.

Dominion sued Trump adviser and former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Trump lawyer Sidney Powell, MyPillow founder Mike Lindell and others who helped spread the false theory. Dominion also sued the right-leaning news networks that repeatedly featured the theory in their coverage  two insurgent, pro-Trump channels, Newsmax and One America News Network, and the nation's most-watched cable news network, Fox.

The Fox News case has generated the most attention. That's because the litigation moved faster than others and also because it unearthed a trove of internal documents that showed Fox's executives and prominent personalities were privately dismissive of Trump's election claims but aired them anyway. Star hosts such as Tucker Carlson also expressed disdain for Trump in texts with colleagues.

Shortly after a Delaware jury was empaneled to hear the case Tuesday, Fox and Dominion agreed to settle the lawsuit for $787.5 million, which is more than half the profits Fox reported last year.

There is no requirement in the settlement that Fox admit airing inaccurate information. The network itself made a brief reference to the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false, but made no apologies or other marks of contrition in its statement. That statement also said: This settlement reflects FOXs continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards.

Some Fox critics were upset that the settlement didn't include an admission of wrongdoing from the network.

Whats most frustrating  its downright infuriating  about this outcome is how little accountability it demands from Fox News, tweeted Andy Kroll, a journalist who wrote a book about conservative conspiracy theories surrounding the 2017 killing of a Democratic National Committee staffer, whose parents sued Fox.

Kathy Boockvar, Pennsylvania's former top voting official, in an interview hours after the settlement, recalled crying during her deposition in the Dominion-Fox case when she recounted the death threats she received after the 2020 election. She said those threats spiked after Fox aired segments amplifying false accusations of mass fraud.

Boockvar said she was cheered by the settlement, even if it didn't include an admission of wrongdoing.

It would ideally be better to have part of the settlement include admissions of their knowingly broadcasting lies, Boockvar said. However, the very substantial amount of this settlement and the strong language from the judge last week speak volumes, and I believe it will help deter future flagrant disregard of the truth of this severity.

In his ruling allowing the lawsuit to go to trial, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said it was CRYSTAL clear that none of the allegations Fox aired about Dominion were true. Dominion CEO John Poulos said that while the settlement did not require an apology from Fox, the company felt the court system forced accountability on the network.

For us, it was never really about Fox, per se. It was about telling the truth and the media telling the truth, Poulos told ABCs Good Morning America on Wednesday. And I think that what was important for us, is for people to be held to account for when they recklessly and knowingly tell lies that have such devastating consequences.

Justin A. Nelson, Dominion's lead attorney, said the size of the settlement will matter.

Theres a long way still to make my client right, Nelson said in an interview with The Associated Press. We still have six more suits to go out there. But this was, as I say, just a tremendous victory. And when theyre paying nearly $800 million, three quarters of a billion dollars, that speaks to it.

Still, Fox has continued to air misleading segments about the 2020 election and the threat to democracy posed by election lies, even as the Dominion case hurtled towards its conclusion. Last month, Carlson aired a segment playing down the severity of the Jan. 6 attack, drawing condemnation even from some Republican senators.

Fox faces more legal peril from a similar defamation claim filed by the voting company Smartmatic, which was briefly conflated with Dominion during the lies spread by Trump's allies after the 2020 election. Additional lawsuits target other players in the conservative media world: The Georgia election workers filed a claim against Gateway Pundit, a popular right-wing website that has spread numerous conspiracy theories about 2020.

Goodman and Protect Democracy also are representing a Georgia man suing the conservative group True The Vote for including a video image in their film 2000 Mules that shows the man legally dropping off ballots in 2020. That film falsely alleges widespread fraud by people illegally stuffing drop boxes.

Kirtley, however, noted that some of the other targets may not have the same internal documentation and standards of Fox, which retains a robust stable of reporters and positions itself as a straightforward, objective news organization.

Speaking about some of the other defendants in libel lawsuits, Kirtley said, They don't even have the veneer of being a journalistic enterprise.

She also said she doubted that the lawsuits, even if they resulted in enormous settlements, would convince those who have fallen for Trump's election lies that the entire narrative is false.

It's going to take a lot more than a secret settlement to dissuade their loyal viewers that they're a credible news source, Kirtley said of Fox.

___

Associated Press writer Randall Chase in Wilmington, Delaware, contributed to this report.
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ROME (AP)  A Texas-born princess who lives in a Rome villa containing the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio is facing a court-ordered eviction Thursday, in the latest chapter in an inheritance dispute with the heirs of one of Romes aristocratic families.

Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, a widow formerly known as Rita Carpenter, was still holding out at the Casino dellAurora on Wednesday night, awaiting what she expected to be the arrival of Carabinieri police in the morning. With her are her Ukrainian housekeeper Olga, and the housekeeper's daughter and two young grandchildren who fled Kyiv last year after Russia's invasion.

In January, Rome Judge Miriam Iappelli instructed Carabinieri police at the Via Veneto station to evict her, accusing the princess of having failed, among other things, to maintain the home in a good state of conservation after an exterior wall crumbled. With the warning time now up, the decree calls for police to evict anyone still living there, take possession of the property, change the locks and dispose of or destroy any furniture or documents left behind.

The house, located off the swank Via Veneto, has been in the Ludovisi family since the early 1600s. After Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi died in 2018, the villa became the subject of an inheritance dispute between the children from his first marriage and his third wife, the San Antonio, Texas-born Princess Rita, whom he married in 2009.

The children have argued that the home, built in 1570, belongs to them, that their grandfather intended for them to inherit it and that their late father abused them and mismanaged his fortune. They have mounted a multi-pronged legal campaign to get control of the property so it can be sold.

One of the children, Bante Boncompagni Ludovisi, took to Twitter on Wednesday to praise Iappelli's eviction order and assert the children's right to the villa and its contents.

The widow Boncompagni Ludovisi says she and her husband worked diligently to restore the villa as best they could, adding that she has tried to negotiate with her late husband's children. In a statement provided to The Associated Press on Wednesday, she called her imminent eviction unexpected and unjust.

What a brutal ending to my beautiful life with my beloved Nicolo, she wrote.

The eviction order marked the culmination of a bitter inheritance saga that simultaneously saw the villa put on the court-ordered auction block last year and assigned a court-appraised value of 471 million euros ($533 million). After the minimum bid of 353 million euros ($400 million) failed to get any takers in the first auction, the price was progressively lowered in a series of successive auctions, with more scheduled until a buyer is found.

The villa, also known as Villa Ludovisi, is famous for the Caravaggio that graces a tiny room off a spiral staircase on the second floor.

It was commissioned in 1597 by a diplomat and patron of the arts who asked the then-young painter to decorate the ceiling of the small room being used as an alchemy workshop. The 2.75-meter (9-foot) wide mural, which depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, is unusual: Its not a fresco, but rather oil on plaster, and represents the only ceiling mural that Caravaggio is known to have painted.

The American princess previously was married to former U.S. Rep. John Jenrette Jr. of South Carolina.
Thousands of Webster Bank customers' personal information was posted online after there was a data breach in one of its vendor's systems, officials said Wednesday.

In a letter submitted to the Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations, Webster Bank said it learned on Jan. 26 that Guardian Analytics, a third-party vendor that provides fraud detection services to the bank, experienced a data security incident.

Some 153,754 Connecticut customers were affected  117,278 of whom had their name and account number exposed, while 36,476 had their name, account number and Social Security numbers exposed, according to the Connecticut Attorney General's Office.

Once Guardian Analytics detected the incident, the company immediately activated their incident response plan and retained a third-party cybersecurity firm to conduct an investigation, the letter stated.

The investigation revealed the unauthorized third parties accessed certain systems between Nov. 27, 2022, and Jan. 22, 2023.

During that time, the unauthorized third parties acquired files that contained Webster clients personal information from Guardians systems and later posted the acquired files on the internet, Webster Bank stated in the letter. The data included some customers' names, financial account numbers and Social Security numbers.

In a statement Wednesday, Webster Bank said it has communicated with regulators and affected clients.

"Websters own systems have not been compromised nor were they impacted by this incident," the bank noted. "We apologize for the inconvenience this caused our clients and disappointed this occurred with this vendor.

Webster Bank notified the Connecticut Attorney Generals Office on April 10 of the breach, the same day it began mailing notices to impacted residents, said Elizabeth Benton, a spokesperson for the Attorney Generals Office.

Webster has informed us that they do not believe there is a risk of harm at this time, Benton added.

The bank is also providing 24 months of credit monitoring, which is required by state law, Benton said.

Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify Guardian Analytics' system was breached.
Netflix posted its latest financial results, revealing an increase in revenue and paid memberships for the January-March period this year. The company was pleased with the results and announced that the paid sharing feature, which is essentially a crackdown on password sharing, yielded pleasing results in its trial markets of Canada, New Zealand, Spain, and Portugal. As such the company plans to roll it to more markets in Q2.

Revenue grew 4% on a yearly basis, which was expected, per the beginning-of-quarter guidance. Operating income declined in Q1 2023, compared with the same period last year, as ongoing expense management and timing of hiring and content spend affected the bottom line.

The outlook for the rest of the financial year is mixed. Because of the delayed implementation of paid sharing to more markets, some of the membership growth and revenue benefit will move to Q3 instead of fitting into Q2. Operating profit and revenue are expected to remain flat or slightly down, due to currency volatility.

Regarding engagement, Netflix proudly said it, alongside YouTube, is the clear leader in the streaming market, even if streaming is still a minor part of viewing content in every country. The platform named its most successful productions: Outer Banks S3, You S4, Ginny & Georgia S2, and new movies and series like the Oscar-winning All Quiet on the Western Front and Too Hot To Handle Germany.

Netflix decreased prices in India in December 2021. It was so impressed with the overall results, leading to improved engagement, that it adapted prices in the other 116 markets it is currently operating in Q1. While the change brought down a 5% decrease in FY 22 revenues, the company believes the increased adoption in these markets will help offset that in the longer term.

The new ads plan is already bringing people on board in the United States, and Netflix is expanding it to Canada and Spain starting today.

The company is aware that clamping down on account sharing might see a cancel reaction, as it was during the demo run in Latin America, but is confident many will activate their own accounts and current member will use the option to add extra member.

Finally, the report marks the discontinuation of a once-core feature - the company DVD business. Since 1998, DVD Netflix has been offering DVD-by-mail rental service with free shipping both ways, but that is stopping later this year. The final shipments will be sent on September 29, and Netflix thanked its employees that worked on building the booster rocket that got streaming to a leading position.

Source
No one has so far taken up Gov. Lou Leon Guerrero on her offer to consider an executive pardon for anyone with a past petty marijuana-related conviction, a year after the governor announced her plan on April 20, or 4/20 which is considered an unofficial holiday celebrating cannabis.

We have received no application for a pardon from people convicted of only possession of cannabis, Krystal Paco-San Agustin, the governors director of communications, said.

But even if theres no application received yet, the government is currently looking to streamline processing of pardon requests for possession convictions, Paco-San Agustin said.

Since April 2019, possession, consumption and cultivation of recreational marijuana among adults 21 years or older have been legal on Guam. The selling and buying of marijuana are still not allowed.

A petty marijuana conviction is still a barrier to getting gainful employment, the governor said earlier.

On April 20 last year, the governor and then Sen. Clynton Ridgell, the author of the bill that became Guams recreational marijuana legalization law, announced a consideration for an executive order pardoning people convicted of past misdemeanor marijuana-related crimes on Guam. Ridgell, now the governors deputy chief of staff, earlier said this enables those who made past mistakes to seek a new life.

Across the country, states that have legalized marijuana have also reduced convictions, or sealed or expunged convictions for past marijuana convictions. In general, this means removing convictions from public databases.

President Joe Biden also opened the process to pardon all prior federal offenses of simple marijuana possession, and eligible individuals can now start applying for a certificate of proof showing that they have been officially forgiven for their crime.

The presidents pardon does not apply to state marijuana convictions.

On Guam, Leon Guerrero has so far granted two gubernatorial pardons since her first term, one for a person convicted of a felony for stealing a vehicle in 2003, and another for a person convicted of assault in 2015.
The Guam Waterworks Authority, which is involved in several legal battles, including a $220 million land dispute with Core Tech International, is concerned the Office of the Attorney General will hamper its ability to win those cases, GWA stated this week in court documents.

The AGs office, which lost at least a third of its attorneys under newly elected Attorney General Douglas Moylan, is trying to transfer GWA legal counsel Therese Rojas to the AGs office, stating she was not legally hired to represent GWA.

According to the attorney generals office, the attorney general represents the government of Guam in all civil cases, except for departments and agencies that are authorized to employ their own legal counsel.

There is no exemption for GWA, according to the AGs office, which wants to move Rojas to the AGs office but continues to have her provide legal services to GWA, with GWA paying for her salary.

GWA cant use ratepayer money to pay an attorney generals employee, according to the Consolidated Commission on Utilities, because doing so would violate the water agencys bond covenants.

Rojas told the AG she has an ethical obligation under the rules of professional conduct to continue representing GWA without interference by the AG.

However, the attorney generals office plans to notify opposing attorneys in six different GWA court cases that Rojas is not authorized to represent GWA, Chief Deputy Attorney General Joseph Guthrie stated in a March 15 letter to Rojas.

Core Tech, Badger Meter

The Core Tech lawsuit and an $18.4 million lawsuit against meter vendor Badger Meter are among those cases, Guthrie stated.

GWA is challenging Core Techs claims that the construction company owns the site of GWAs Northern District Wastewater Treatment Plant. Core Tech has argued it acquired the property in 2015 and wants GWA to pay for its past and future use.

GWA sued Wisconsin-based Badger Meter in 2020, accusing the company of selling GWA more than 20,000 faulty water meters and failing to honor the warranty on those meters, which had to be replaced. Oral arguments in the case are scheduled for May 17.

GWA this week filed a motion in federal court, asking District Court Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood to hold a status hearing in the Badger Meter case to address its concerns about the attorney generals actions. It told the judge it would file similar motions in its other pending cases to make the courts aware of the situation.

As the court is aware, this case involves complex litigation in which dozens of depositions have been taken, hundreds of thousands of pages of documents have been exchanged between the parties, and numerous complex legal and factual issues exist, GWA told the court, noting trial is supposed to start July 5 and will require immediate and extensive work by Rojas.

Tydingco-Gatewood said she agrees GWA would be harmed if it loses its legal counsel at this advanced stage of the case, but she declined to hold a hearing on the matter, stating Rojas is not one of the counsels in the case and neither is the attorney general.

The judge said GWA has been represented by William Dowd, Alex Lumaghi, Rachel Dowd, Laura Lumaghi and Vincent Leon Guerrero. She ordered that those attorneys continue in the case, as the counsel of record.

Rojas is one of the attorneys representing GWA in the Core Tech case.

The attorney generals office last month temporarily ended some legal services to GovGuam agencies, stating it does not have enough attorneys.

Weve shifted the lawyers into prosecution to protect the crime victims in this community, and we are having a problem pulling in enough lawyers to make up for some of the civil work thats required, Moylan said last month.

The CCU, which met Tuesday, disputed the attorney generals argument that it does not have the authority to hire staff legal counsel for the water agency. The CCU is the elected policy-making body for the governments power and water agencies.

Commission member Simon Sanchez said the law allows autonomous agencies to hire their own legal counsel.

Hes not the only legal counsel approved by the Legislature to serve, Sanchez said about the attorney generals role. Autonomous agencies also can do it, and in our case were the only autonomous agency that are also elected.
Mayors could be taking over the operation of senior citizen centers and adult day care centers in their villages by the Oct. 1 start of fiscal 2024, based on discussions at the Mayors Council of Guams Wednesday meeting.

Sept. 30 is probably the last that the MCOG will be operating these centers as a council. It will go to your individual mayors offices. You will be responsible for operating the senior centers and the adult day care, council Executive Director Angel Sablan told mayors and vice mayors.

The Department of Public Health and Social Services, which is currently operating the centers with the help of MCOG, is drafting a memorandum of understanding that will go directly to each of you that are involved with a center, Sablan said.

Once approved, Sablan said, funding will go directly to the mayors offices just like youre getting funding now from GEDA, from other grants, so going into your non-appropriated funds, and become a subgrant from DPHSS.

This drew applause from some mayors, as well as concerns.

Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares said she and other mayors would want to see the draft memorandum. Among the main concerns at this point, she said, are the salaries and benefits of the employees and the continued funding shortfall for centers.

This director now of the Department of Public Health was the administrator for the Division of Senior Citizen Centers and this section just continues to fall apart under his leadership. What else are they gonna do? I think the administration just step up and do something about the director, the Dededo mayor said.

No comment was received from Public Health Director Art San Agustin about the operation of senior citizen centers.

Sablan and council President Jesse Alig said there is no final decision yet, adding that there will be a separate meeting for mayors and vice mayors from villages with senior citizen centers.

But I will assure you that before anything is set in stone or put ink to paper that we will get together and all of your concerns and questions raised and answered in that meeting. We have a ways to go to get to that point, Sablan said.

No one at MCOG has seen the memorandum, mayors said.

If the agreement isnt approved, other options will be considered, Sablan said.

Alig said there has to be a guarantee that mayors with senior centers receive the resources they need to run the program otherwise Public Health has to take back their own program because this is their own program.

I know your struggles. I dont know all of it but I know funding is a big deal. I know personnel, management, all of that is a big deal so were working with that, Alig, mayor of Piti, said.

Eleven of Guams 19 villages have senior citizen centers. Dededo, which has the largest population, has two senior centers. Yigo, Tamuning, Sinajana, Agana Heights, Mangilao, Hagat, Santa Rita-Sumai, Malesso, Inalahan and Yona have one senior citizen center each.
Mayors on Wednesday said they will continue to provide free funeral escort service but will limit it from one point to another only  or from the church to the cemetery  instead of escorting the hearse to multiple areas that include the deceaseds home, place of work or favorite place in different villages.

Two other options  ending the free funeral escort and maintaining the status quo  got fewer votes based on a month-long survey of mayors and vice mayors.

This takes effect after the Mayors Council of Guams leadership is able to meet once again with funeral home representatives to formally communicate what a majority of the mayors prefer.

Of the responses, 46% would like to offer one-way escort transfer from the church to the cemetery, MCOG President and Piti Mayor Jesse Alig told mayors and vice mayors during their combined regular and special meeting on Wednesday.

Some 26.7% of the mayors preferred to maintain the status quo, which is providing multiple-stop funeral escort service, and another 26.7% wanted to stop offering the free funeral escort service at all.

Mayors are not mandated by law to provide free funeral escort servicea.

However, it has become a common practice among elected mayors, and residents have come to expect it.

But with limited funding, providing free funeral escort service has been draining the mayors offices resources, from personnel hours to costly vehicle gas expenses and major wear and tear on the vehicles themselves.

The question of liability has also become a concern among mayors. Unlike Guam Police Department officers, mayors staff do not necessarily have proper traffic control training.

Providing free funeral escort service also takes away mayors office staff time from responding to village emergencies, cutting grass, cleanups and stray animal removals, among other things, Dededo Mayor Melissa Savares and other mayors said.

Santa Rita-Sumai Mayor Dale Alvarez, at the Wednesday meeting, cited as an example a request for a funeral escort for a Santa Rita-Sumai resident whose family wanted to go to Dededo for a Mass before going to Barrigada for the burial.

Humatak Mayor Johnny Quinata said at times, the funeral itinerary spans two days.

Alig said at the end of the day, each mayor has purview over their village and the services they want to provide.

The one thing though that I do see in the responses is putting the onus on a private entity. And so we cannot as a government agency tell the funeral home that you have to do this. But we can recommend, and we can have another discussion with the funeral home to let them know we would prefer that the discussion with the family happen so that they are fully aware of what we provide and dont provide, Alig said.

The MCOG president said the mayors office should not be the first line of contact for the funeral escort, but it should be GPD because you could pay that fee.

GPD charges about $43 an hour for a minimum of two-hour booking per officer for funeral escort service, while the mayors offices provide these services free of charge.

Alig and other mayors said there are times when the funeral home and the family of the deceased do not have clear communication with each other, and multiple funeral escort services show up  GPD, bikers groups and the mayors staff.

Village bookshelf showcase winners

At the beginning of the MCOG meeting, mayors and vice mayors also heard presentations from the Department of Public Health and Social Services, the University of Guam Center for Island Sustainability, HMI By Veterans for Veterans, and the UOG Press.

Victoria-Lola Leon Guerrero, the first director of publishing at the UOG Press, announced the three winners of the Village Bookshelf Competition, which allowed villages to showcase their uniqueness and creativity centered on promoting literacy.

Talofofo won first place, Hagat placed second and Asan-Maina placed third.

The five other villages that took part in the competition were Agana Heights, Barrigada, Dededo, Inalahan and Tamuning.
No occupants were in this Dededo structure on April 19, 2023, when Guam Fire Department units were called to extinguish a blaze.
Ron McNinch is a longstanding member of the Guam community and frequently gives his opinion on a wide range of topics.




Haiti - Insecurity : The PM of Saint-Kitts-et-Nevis condemns the kidnapping of his honorary consul in Haiti





On Tuesday, April 19, 2023, the Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Terrence Drew, strongly condemned the kidnapping in Haiti over the past weekend of the Honorary Consul of Saint Kitts and Navis, the businessman Haitian Harold Marzouka Jr. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39327-haiti-news-zapping.html and specified that his Government continued to monitor the situation in Haiti.



"We are still gathering information and so far, as far as we are concerned, there has been no loss of life and we continue to work. But at this time, we are continuing to get information," Drew explained.



"The Government of St Kitts and Nevis is deeply concerned about the safety of Mr Marzouka and hope that he will be returned to his home and loved ones soon.



[...] The Governments wish that the Marzouka family will find solace in the fact that the Government and people of St Kitts and Nevis stand in solidarity with them at this undoubtedly traumatic time [...]" underlines a press release from the Prime Minister .



Note that the Honorary Consul and his father who accompanied him were kidnapped by heavily armed men. In addition, the official vehicle of the Consulate was also stolen.



Photo thumbnail : Harold Marzouka Jr.



S/ HaitiLibre






















Haiti - News : Zapping...





PNH : 9 bandits mortally wounded

As part of Operation Tornado 1 and thanks to information from the population, during a strong police intervention carried out on the night of April 17 to 18, 2023 in Montagnac, a locality in the commune of Dame-Marie (Dept. Grand'Anse), 9 bandits including a "mambo" who was an accomplice according to testimonies, were mortally wounded in the exchange of fire with the police. Several arrests were made and firearms seized (the PNH did not provide further details).



The former CAS Chief Accountant in prison

Tuesday April 18, 2023, Pierre Richard Vales, the former Chief Accountant of the Social Assistance Fund (CAS), banned from leaving the territory https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39313-haiti-news-zapping.html was arrested and detained in the national penitentiary, after his hearing by the examining magistrate Jean Wilner Morin. This summons by Judge Morin follows the charges of embezzlement of public property, illegal taking of interest, complicity in forgery and use of forgery, influence peddling, criminal association and illicit enrichment brought against Vales in an investigation by the Unit for the Fight Against Corruption (ULCC).



Phone salesman shot dead

A young mobile phone seller was shot dead and several high school students came out injured, during a demonstration organized in the city of Cap Haitien, by high school students to demand the presence of teachers in the classrooms who started a strike movement since April 17 to demand better working conditions.



38% of displaced persons taking refuge in 51 sites

For the month of March, IOM counted 127,977 Internally Displaced Persons in the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince. 38% of them settled in the 51 sites scattered in the capital, while 62% would find refuge in the host communities. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) continues its assistance and relocation activities for the benefit of the poorest families. In March, IOM relocated 1,172 people from the "Nam Tom-Tom" site. Its interventions in the protection of people focused this month on sites located in particular at the primitive church of Delmas 19, the church of God Union of the brothers of Delmas 65.



WFP Aims for 100% Local School Meals

In 2023, WFP's goal is to increase the number of students receiving locally produced meals to 182,000, which will be achieved during the month of April. By 2030, the WFP aims for 100% of the ingredients for the school meals in Haiti that it supports to be of local origin.



None of the sanctioned Haitians is on Dominican soil

On Tuesday, April 18, the Dominican General Directorate of Migration (DGM) revealed that none of the 39 Haitians sanctioned by the Dominican State https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39320-haiti-flash-39-haitians-banned-from-entering-the-dominican-republic-list.html is not located in the Dominican Republic. Immigration officers have been ordered to arrest on Dominican soil all persons sanctioned by the Government.



HL/ HaitiLibre


















Published on 2023/04/18 | Source

New stills added for the upcoming Korean drama "Tale of the Nine Tailed 1938" (2023).

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Directed by Kang Sin-hyo

Written by Han Woo-ri

Network: tvN

With Lee Dong-wook, Kim So-yeon, Kim Beom, Ryu Kyung-soo, Hwang Hee, Kim Yong-ji,...

12 episodes - Sat, Sun 21:20

Follow up to "Tale of the Nine Tailed"

Synopsis

The story of Lee Yeon, a gumiho who was summoned back to a chaotic 1938 after being embroiled in an unexpected incident.

Broadcast starting date in Korea : 2023/05/06
Xia Baolong, director of the Hong Kong and Macao Affairs Office of the State Council, met with representatives from Hong Kong's business and scientific communities on Monday  the fifth day of his inspection tour of the city  saying he will carefully consider suggestions put forward to further improve the city's business environment and strengthen economic and scientific cooperation with the Chinese mainland. Hong Kong lawmakers called Xia's unprecedented visit to the city's legislature on Sunday "a milestone event" following the city's return to order, and reflects the importance the central government attaches to the city's legislative work and overall development. The central government official arrived in Hong Kong on Thursday and will wrap up his six-day tour on Tuesday. On Monday morning, he exchanged views with leaders of commercial chambers at the special administrative region's Central Government Offices. He then visited the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, and met with representatives of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority and other financial leaders. Allen Shi Lop-tak, president of the Chinese Manufacturers' Association of Hong Kong, told Xia that the "one country, two systems" principle will be firmly adhered to in Hong Kong, and that Hong Kong will maintain stability and enjoy more prosperity and freedom than before as long as the city continues to take advantage of the Basic Law. Shi said he told Xia that he hopes the central government will provide more favorable policies and incentives for Hong Kong businesses to expand on the Chinese mainland, unify goods importation standards between the two places and strengthen the protection of intellectual property rights. Xia said he will consider the suggestions after returning to Beijing and hopes they can be adopted in the near future, according to Shi. Xia went to Hong Kong Science Park on Monday afternoon, where he learned more about the city's innovative achievements, and visited a lab that develops robots for medical surgeries. Xia was inspired by the technological achievements Hong Kong has made in such a short time, saying the city could make a greater contribution to the country in science and technology. Xia believes Hong Kong's goal of building an international innovation and technology hub will be achieved soon with the whole community's participation, according to Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong. Following that, Xia headed to the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and talked with its president Nancy Chu Ip Yuk-yu and some professors. He inspected two key laboratories at HKUST. On Sunday, Xia met and had lunch with the city's more than 80 lawmakers during a visit to the Legislative Council. Xia spoke highly of the seventh Legislative Council's work and encouraged members to keep serving the public interest, according to Andrew Leung Kwanyuen, LegCo president. Leung said without the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong and the electoral reform under the principle of "patriots administering Hong Kong", there would have been no such opportunity for an arrangement to enable central government officials to communicate with lawmakers. Regina Ip Lau Suk-yee, chairperson of the New People's Party, said that due to the previous obstructions caused by opposition lawmakers, it used to be quite difficult for central government officials to visit the legislature. Since the city's electoral system has now been improved, Ip hopes Hong Kong will be able to demonstrate its high-quality democracy to the world. During Xia's visit in Hong Kong, he met with a wide range of government officials and social leaders, reached out to local communities and delivered a keynote speech about the significance of safeguarding national security on the National Security Education Day on Saturday. The official also inspected the Northern Metropolis, an ambitious development project that aims to turn northern Hong Kong into a new development engine of the city; and the Kau Yi Chau Artificial Island, a significant part of the city's reclamation plans to ease land shortages.
By Tim Gardner

The first Avery Latine Fair, sponsored by OASIS, Incorporated, will be held on Friday, May 5th from 5:30 until 8:00 p.m. at Avery County High School, located at 401 High School Road in Newland.

OASISs PART (Preventing Abuse Response Team) helped create the Avery Latine Fair as a response to the ever-growing Latine/Hispanic community in Avery County. Its purpose is to build a bridge between the LEP (Limited English Proficient) residents and the entire Avery community.

The event is free to all who attend.

Many LEP immigrants easily isolate due to the language barrier and cultural differences, so the Avery Latine Fairs primary goals are to provide an inclusive, welcoming space and to celebrate the diversity within the Latine/Hispanic community.

There will be tables and booths at the Latine Fair to represent what country Latine/Hispanic community leaders are from, an interactive salsa class hosted by Latin Dance Boone, traditional folkloric Mexican dance, delicious Latine/Hispanic food and drinks.

Anyone who is interested in serving as an interpreter for the Avery Latine Fair can do so by scanning the Quick Response (QR) barcode on the appropriate poster (in English or Spanish) included with the article and filling out the Google form. An OASIS representative will then contact you about working the event.

Avery County Services Coordinator Rubi Estrada (left) and Language Access Advocate Yelisa Leiva (right), are OASIS, Inc. contacts for the Avery Latine Fair. Picture courtesy of Rubi Estrada.

On behalf of the entire OASIS organization, the Avery Latine Fair is a much anticipated event and one that myself and many others are eagerly anticipating, said Rubi Estrada, Avery OASIS Services Coordinator. I welcome and strongly encourage all who would like to attend this most needed and worthwhile Fair to please do so.

Estrada, who was born in Mexico, relocated to America and Avery County when she was seven years old. She attended Avery County Schools, graduating from Avery High in 2017. She then earned a degree from East Tennessee State University in Johnson City in 2021. She has worked as OASISs Services Coordinator in Avery County for a year-and-a-half.

Estrada declared that the love and warmth I have experienced from Avery County residents always makes me look forward to giving back to the community that has given me so much. And she added that the top ways she strives to give back to Avery County is through events such as the Latine Fair and making the county safer for everyone from any nationality who lives in, or visits the county, in her work with OASIS.

Like Estrada, Yelisa Leiva, Language Access Advocate for OASIS, is an organizer for the Avery Latine Fair.

Leiva is a daughter of Cuban immigrants who fled as political refugees to the United States to seek better lives for themselves and their family. Born in Miami, Florida, Leiva moved to Boone, NC to pursue a degree in sociology at Appalachian State University. She has worked for language inclusivity through several job opportunities. In her current position, Leiva serves Spanish-speaking clients to provide cultural and linguistic support through all programs offered by OASIS, and she does outreach to the Hispanic community to spread awareness and provide education in both Avery and Watauga counties.

Leiva commented about the Latine Fair: I am thrilled that Avery County has been so open and welcoming to the idea of the Latine Fair. It really shows the support and intention to build bridges and create a united community. This event is for everyone, to get to know each other better, and to celebrate the diversity of within Hispanic/Latine cultures. We will provide an educational presentation by OASIS at its end that will highlight the strengths of conjoining the Spanish and English-speaking people so that we can all strive for a resilient and safe environment in Avery County.

For further information about the Avery Latine Fair or OASIS, Incorporated, call the Avery OASIS office at (828) 785-5249; write Avery County OASIS, PO Box 1571, Newland, NC 28657 via U.S. Mail; or log online to oasisinc.org.

The Watauga County OASIS office may be reached by phone at (828) 264-1532.

Standing for Opposing Abuse with Service, Information and Shelter, OASIS, Inc. was founded in 1978, and is dedicated to ending domestic violence and sexual assault in Watauga and Avery Counties. The organization works toward its mission in three ways, by: (1) Providing comprehensive emergency services, transitional support, and a safe environment for survivors as they explore options for a violence-free life; (2) Providing education and skill development to encourage families in our community to create and maintain healthy peer and intimate partner relationships that are based on respect and equality; and (3) Helping to create a community that supports survivors through advocacy and education.

In particular, OASIS provides: 24-hour crisis phone lines; medical and legal advocacy; referrals; crisis intervention counseling; case management; free emergency shelter; transitional housing; support groups; outreach and community education.

Crisis phone line numbers are: (828) 504-0911 for Avery County; (828) 262-5035 for Watauga County; and (828) 504-0800 for Spanish.

All OASIS services are free and confidential.

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Artist Kim Fueling poses on her front porch next to two of her oil paintings that will be additions to her upcoming show at Common Good Co. The show opens May 5, and is titled Fun and Games. Photo by Maddie Lipe.

By Maddie Lipe

Tucked away in the hills of the small community named Mabel, North Carolina, is Mabel Studios, home to fine art and interior design services.

Fuelings workshop is located in Mabel, North Carolina, just 20 minutes outside of Boone. Photo by Maddie Lipe.

In the foyer, the walls are home to numerous oil paintings, ranging from lighter pastel landscapes to primary-colored works of human interests and pastimes.

Between a skateboarder, a trip to Yellowstone, a hike up the ski slopes, and a motorcyclist taking off at the beginning of a race, artist Kim Fueling captures many of lifes adventures on wooden panels.

I grew up in Indiana and loved art and design my whole life. I always was creative and wanted to make things with my hands, Fueling said. I really was determined to do fine art.

With the help of her husband Paul Fueling, Kim Fueling was able to start Mabel Studios Woodworking and Fine Art to cater to those looking for new additions to their living space.

The couple met at John Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, Indiana, and decided to move to the High Country after they graduated from college because of their love for rock climbing.

Kim Fueling said she fell in love with the High Country because of all the area offers. Theres a lot of artists up here, theres a lot of music, theres a lot of people that love this creative lifestyle, Fueling said.

Along with her Mabel Studios work, Kim Fueling is also an interior designer for Common Good Interiors along with Melina LaV Daniels.

Among Fuelings talents and trades, one thing remains the goal, making spaces beautiful, and her oil paintings contribute to that goal.

Many of Fuelings pieces of artwork are inspired by the landscapes throughout the High Country. One painting featured a friends 100-acre farm and is inspired by many old rural homesteads in the area.

Fueling in her studio home in Mabel, North Carolina, adding additions to her painting inspired by rural homestead landscapes. Photo by Maddie Lipe.

It is gorgeous and all this rolling pasture land with pops of forest in between, Fueling said when she described the piece.

The piece reminds Fueling of summer and being outside on those joyful days and working outdoors.

The fact that were pretty much in the forest is amazing, Fueling said.

One technique Fueling uses to add more depth to her paintings is the use of geometric shapes. I love building layers and textures and so thats one way for me to do that, Fueling said.

My favorite part of making art is the drawing aspect and creating those compositions in the image-making, Fueling said. That just adds this other level to it that I get to play with and it always changes as the piece evolves.

Another piece from Fuelings latest collection of oil paintings focuses on a skateboarder, with a half pipe on one side and a neon arrow pattern on the left side of the skateboarder.

One of Fuelings paintings that will be featured in her Fun and Games show at Common Good Co. May 5. Photo by Maddie Lipe.

The bright colors used in the painting were intentional. I wanted this to feel like those bright, sunny days when the suns hitting and everythings rhythmic, Fueling said.

Color and light are Fuelings main inspirations when it comes to the artwork she creates. Because of the way that those things make you feel and what makes something beautiful, Im just trying to highlight and edit down those things, Fueling said.

Fueling uses oil paint on birch plywood panels because the wood is a higher grade and less porous than other types of wood. Fueling said she enjoys using wood because of the drawing process before the paint goes on.

The graphite on those panels is just pleasing to me, and I like building off of that, Fueling said.

To use the grain of the wood as part of her work, Fueling said she usually skips priming and lets the oil paint soak into the wood.

Currently, a few of Fuelings paintings can be found at Common Good Co.s gallery on King Street, but more will be added to the gallery for Fuelings show that opens May 5, as part of the art crawl.

I ended up doing something a little different and the show title is Fun and Games, Fueling said.

Fueling hanging samples of wallpaper in her foyer to see which ones complement her paintings in preparation for her upcoming show. Photo by Maddie Lipe.

The theme focuses on people doing fun things in their lives, whether its sporting events or leisure activities.

Its been a challenge for me because normally I do landscapes, more vast imagery, so I really focused on more figures here, Fueling said.

Fueling said the process has been fun and she hopes people will respond to the little more light-hearted feel, that focuses on the fun things in life.

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Liisa Liimatainen is a seasoned journalist with decades of experience covering the Middle East. As a freelance journalist, based in Rome since 1970, Liimatainen followed Italian and Vatican affairs, as well as the situation in the Balkans, North Africa, and the Middle East. She produced news articles for newspapers, radio, and television.

After her career as a news journalist, Liimatainen became a non-fiction author. Her first book, "Iran: Huntu ja haaste" (Iran: Veil and Challenge), was published in 2009 and examines Iranian society and women's issues. Another book, "Saudi-Arabian toiset kasvot" (The Other Face of Saudi Arabia), was published in 2013. Her latest book: Riikinkukko ja Kameli (The Peacock and the Camel) about the history of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia was published in 2022.

For her last book traveled extensively across the region and spoken to both ordinary people and government officials. Her unique perspective on the region offers deep insights into the complex relationships and political landscapes that shape the Middle East. In this Q&A article, we explore Liimatainen's thoughts on recent developments in the region, including the potential for peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia, the challenges faced by Lebanon, and the future of the Abraham Accords.

Q: You have researched Iran and Saudi Arabia for a long time. You have written several books on this topic, and the latest book, The Peacock and the Camel, just came out. Was it a surprise for you that Iran and Saudi Arabia made peace?

A: No. It was already happening. I mean, the former Iraqi Prime Minister has been a mediator in this deal, and there had been five meetings before this in Baghdad.

Also, behind this story, there is an Iranian attack in 2019. They attacked with drones on production plants. It was a terrible message for the Saudis because with this attack, the Iranians showed that they knew everything about them. They could destroy the source of their wealth if they wanted to, but they didn't want to do that. They wanted them to change their politics, and this message was accepted by the Saudis. It was a terrible message for them, and they accepted it and started to negotiate with Iraqi mediation.

I interviewed a very important female journalist in Tehran when I was there last time, in March 2021. She told me that the Iranians wanted this kind of deal, and there was a will within the population to resolve this issue with the Saudis. Somehow, it was accepted by the population. So, it was already in the works, and I could see it coming.

Q: So, you think that drone attack was a turning point?

A: I think it was clearly a turning point. It was a tremendously well-orchestrated attack. Israeli experts said that it was the most precise attack ever made: two oil production plants were attacked by 25 drones, and every drone hit exactly where it was supposed to attack. And also, the fact that it was not some kind of massive destruction, it was a very intelligent strike which was meant as a message, and the Saudis understood the message. So they realized that the Iranians could hit any target inside Saudi Arabia if they wanted to.

Q: What do you think the reaction of the United States will be to this peace agreement between Iran, Saudi Arabia?

A: We must remember that the United States made a deal with Iran for the nuclear agreement, and the Biden administration has tried to restart negotiations. So, there is a will to resolve this because they want to control Iran's nuclear policy. I can't imagine that they see it as a very negative event. Of course, I think they mainly see a big and dangerous competitor in China who mediated the peace. A competitor for the future that is following a different line using the economy to influence instead of the military.

The American power has always also used economic means, but I think this Chinese version is new. At least officially, they don't use armies; they use the economy, technology, and loans. I can't understand what the Americans could say to this. Of course, it can harm their way of dealing, but let's hope it also makes them understand that there are other methods.

Q: Do you think that the peace between Saudi Arabia and Iran decreases US influence? Because if Saudi Arabia doesn't have an enemy like Iran, they won't buy more weapons, they don't need US bases in the country, and they wouldn't help the USA in containing Iran.

A: I think the US has decided on its own initiative to change its situation in the Middle East. Already during the Trump administration, they decided this. For example, the drone attack was during the Trump period, and it was terrible for Mohammed bin Salman that the Americans reacted so mildly. The Americans have realized by themselves that they can't afford the old kind of imperialist intervention anymore.

The US has to somehow adapt to the new reality of the world. They are not the only global power; there are other actors, and China is emerging very strongly. And of course, the fact that China is making some kind of alliance with Russia is a danger for Americans. But I think the American leadership must realize that the world is changing.

The main question was if this peace deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia would decrease the influence of the US in the region. I think US is very strongly oriented towards Asia

Yes, the other part of Asia is also significant for Americans, as future competition lies there. As a result, there has been a decrease in American presence in the Middle East, which is part of Eastern Asia. This is because they have felt that they have lost too many American soldiers and invested tons of money without achieving their goals.

It is unclear whether the new American offensive in the far east will be productive, but it seems that the United States is realizing that the world is changing, and so is the concept of East and West. For example, when Saudi Arabia declined Biden's request to increase oil production after the Ukraine war, it signaled that the country is no longer willing to accept the rules and demands of the United States.

One of the primary objectives for Saudi Arabia is the reorganization of its society and economy, as they understand that depending solely on oil is not sustainable in the long run. They need to invest on other revenues that are not generated from oil in the future. By refusing the American request, the Saudis sent a message that the world is changing, and they are no longer an obedient ally, always ready to serve the interests of the United States.

In summary, the message from Saudi Arabia highlights the shifting dynamics in the global landscape and the evolving relationships between countries like the United States and its traditional allies.

Q: Does de-dollarization in trade contribute to the fading influence of the United States?

A: Yes, I believe it does. As the concentration of global politics shifts more towards the East, the financial sector must adapt to these changes in order to follow the political landscape.

Q: What are the regional effects of peace between Iran and Saudi Arabia, considering countries like Yemen, Lebanon, Iraq, and Syria? How would peace between these nations affect these countries and beyond?

A: Well, for example, Saudi Arabia is negotiating with Syria and its leader, Assad. Previously, Assad was considered a terrible enemy by Saudi Arabia due to his alliance with Iran. The Saudis financed jihadists, while Iran had its proxies in Syria. However, in the current situation, the Arab nations, led by Saudi Arabia, are trying to salvage their relations with Syria because they sense that the Arabs are in a precarious position in the Middle East.

Now, they need not just Syria, but also Assad on their side. They are negotiating with him in order to restore the power position of the Arab nations. With all the changes occurring globally, the Arab nations feel that they are losing the next game, and so they are investing in these relationships.

As for Iran's role in Syria, it seems that they are less focused on the country now that the major conflict is over. However, it is important to remember that Iranian proxies were one of the main opponents of ISIS. While ISIS was attacked heavily by American airstrikes and heavy weapons, it was mainly Iranian militias that liberated towns like Mosul, which had been occupied by ISIS.

Currently, ISIS still operates in the region between Syria and Iraq. Iran remains a strong force there, with its militias present in the border zone. They continue to make decisions and engage in questionable deals, which has led to criticism from Syria and Iraq. But they are also a strong force able to oppose ISIS on the ground in that zone.

The fact that Saudis are negotiating with Assad likely indicates they need some kind of central power in Syria. Perhaps this is one reason, but I'm just trying to guess. What we see in the Middle East is a long-lasting war with different components, and now there is a general resurgence of efforts to stabilize peace and move forward with the economy.

This seems to be a general feeling, and I think that if Iranians and Saudis made this deal, even if they are still strong enemies, it is in line with this sentiment. They have to restore some semblance of normal life in that region. For example, in Yemen, which has been severely affected by the conflict, Saudis need a deal. In Syria and Iraq, there have been changes in government, with Iraq now having a government consisting mainly of pro-Iranian parties.

However, even these pro-Iranian parties seem to be working differently now. Iran has tremendous power in Iraq and strategically feels the need to maintain control. But perhaps even there, some reasoning is taking place, as constant fighting and destruction do not improve people's lives.

As for Lebanon, I fear it is almost lost. Sectarian politics have ruined the country, a legacy of French colonialism aimed at protecting Christians. The country is now in economic ruin, and there is no sign of willingness to change the rules in Lebanon. Saudis have grown tired of the Lebanese, but they are now trying to reestablish relations.

However, Hezbollah is too strong in Lebanon, making it difficult to deal with them. The economy in Lebanon has completely collapsed, and it is a tremendous challenge to help the country recover. In Yemen, it remains uncertain whether there will be peace now that Saudi and Iran have made a deal. The Yemeni population has suffered terribly from the war, and they need peace. Saudis also need peace because they can be continually attacked.

Q: What do you think will happen to the Abraham Accord?

A: Regarding the Abraham Accords, it was an attempt by Israel and the United Arab Emirates to reach a deal, but Saudis have not been too enthusiastic. The current Israeli government is more extremist than ever before, which may worry those participating in the Abraham Accords. Those countries that made a deal and others who probably want to make a deal now have to think about where they are going and if this deal with Israel will continue.

Q: How do you see Iran and Saudi Arabia as a Finn who has traveled to both several times? Are there more differences or similarities between two countries and cultures?

A: Iran and Saudi Arabia are very different countries, with Iran having a long and complex history and civilization, while Saudi Arabia's society has been more nomadic. Iran has had a parliamentary system and civil society for decades, while this is a completely new concept in Saudi Arabia. These two countries have been on opposite sides, but now they are trying to understand each other and move forward, despite their differences.

Q: Who do you think will be fighting the next war in the Middle east?

A: It is difficult to predict if there will be a new war in the Middle East, given the recent attempts at peace. The main actors are trying to make peace, so it is not clear who would be involved in a potential conflict. Israel and Iran could be contenders, because Israel's current leadership may not be able to live in peace within the region. Iran, while making peace with Saudi Arabia, might still try to exert control over the Middle East through its proxies and other means.

HT
The Finnish Immigration Services foresight network is a group of experts tasked with preparing quantitative and qualitative forecasts regarding migration to and arrivals of asylum seekers in Finland.

The Finnish Immigration Service has updated its forecasts regarding application volumes for 2023 and 2024. The new estimates concern residence permit applications by students and employed persons. In addition, previous forecasts about the number of applications for temporary protection and asylum have been revised.

The Finnish Immigration Service makes the projections in cooperation with other authorities and interest groups, and is responsible for coordinating the work of the foresight network.

Increase in residence permit application volumes as demand for foreign labour rises

The number of first work-based residence permit applications is projected to reach 19,000 in 2023 and 21,500 in 2024.

Following a record number of applications submitted in 2022 (20,961 in total), a slight decrease is predicted for this year. Last year's high application volumes were due to the release of built-up demand accumulated during the coronavirus pandemic, as employment-based immigration recovered quickly once restrictions were lifted.

The volume of first work-based residence permit applications reflects global economic fluctuations, the prevailing labour market conditions in Finland, national action plans designed to support employment-based immigration as well as the development of international recruitment networks.

Many industries and businesses are facing serious labour shortages. Meanwhile, the working-age population is shrinking. As a result, the increased need and demand for foreign labour is set to continue in the future, said Johannes Hirvela, Director of Development at the Finnish Immigration Service.

Number of student applicants expected to remain high

Last year also saw a record number of first residence permit applications submitted by students (9,855 in total). The high figure is estimated to result from students who had begun their studies remotely or deferred the start of their course due to the coronavirus pandemic moving to Finland in 2022.

While application volumes are projected to decrease slightly in 2023 and 2024, they are expected to remain at a historically high level. The agency expects to receive 8,500 applications this year, and 9,000 applications in 2024.

The number of first residence permit applications submitted by students depends on factors including the available intake for international degree programmes, the acceptance rate of admission offers, and Finlands attractiveness as a place to live and study.

Previous temporary protection and asylum projections revised

In January 2023, the Finnish Immigration Service published forecasts regarding applications for temporary protection and asylum.

According to the foresight network's updated projection, 20,00030,000 applicants for temporary protection will arrive in Finland from Ukraine this year. This is down from the earlier estimate of 30,00040,000 applicants. The expert group decided to revise its previous forecast downward as the impact of winter on the movement of Ukrainians to EU countries was less pronounced than expected. The number of applicants for temporary protection in Finland has remained relatively stable since late 2022.

In line with the projected continuation of the migratory movement in 2024, that year is estimated to see 10,00015,000 applicants for temporary protection arrive in Finland.

It is now expected that between 3,500 and 4,500 first-time asylum applicants will arrive in Finland per year in 2023 and 2024. These estimates are underpinned in particular by prolonged conflicts in key countries of origin such as Afghanistan, Somalia and Syria, as well as the strained refugee situation within transit countries.

There was a marked increase in the number of asylum applications submitted by Russian nationals after Russia declared a military mobilisation. Following the imposition of entry and visa restrictions in late September 2022, asylum application volumes declined rapidly and have remained low since.

However, recent years have shown us that our operating environment can change quickly, and that asylum applications are often driven by sudden developments. It is therefore challenging to predict the evolution of application volumes, and we must be prepared for a range of scenarios, Hirvela said.

HT

Source: Finnish Immigration Service
The Centre Party was the only party not to answer to the questions in detail, reiterating in its curt response that it is bound for the opposition after losing 8 of its 31 seats in the Parliament.

PARTIES in the Finnish Parliament on Tuesday shed light on their conditions for coalition co-operation in their answers to the questions presented last week by Petteri Orpo , the chairperson of the election-winning National Coalition.

The Centre will spend the next four years working uncompromisingly from the opposition for developing Finland and the well-being, success and security of Finns, it stated, arguing that it made the decision out of respect for democracy.

With the Centre Party and its 23 seats apparently out of the picture, the National Coalition is essentially limited to two options to form a ruling majority in the Finnish Parliament: A 113-seat coalition with the Social Democrats, Green League and Swedish Peoples Party. Or a 108-seat coalition with the Finns Party, Swedish Peoples Party and Christian Democrats.

Finns Party hints at readiness for concessions on work-based immigration

The Finns Party stated in its response that it is prepared to join a ruling coalition on three conditions: immigration that is harmful for the economy and security must be restricted significantly, public finances must be consolidated, and new income transfers within the EU must be rejected.

Work-based immigration must be understood as an element that supplements Finnish labour markets. Recruitment from outside the EU must focus on highly educated professionals who are needed by Finnish IT firms, for example. Workers for blue-collar jobs from outside Finnish borders must be recruited primarily from the EUs 450-million-people internal market, it outlined.

The populist right-wing party did not call for measures to support its long-term goal of leaving the EU. Finland is an EU member state. The Finns Party accepts this, it retorted.

It expressed its readiness to make fiscal adjustments as long as the measures take into account economic cycles are scaled and timed appropriately. We are ready to balance the economy by saving on expenses that are of secondary importance to citizens, such as development aid, cumulative expenses linked to immigration, and expenses inflicted by oversized climate actions, it stated.

Key for a right-wing ruling coalition, though, is the Swedish Peoples Party.

Also it imposed three conditions on its participation in a ruling coalition. Finland must be an active and permanent member of the international community, respect and comply with international treaties, basic and human rights, and pursue policies that reflect such values.

The country should also reaffirm its status as a collaborative member of the EU and stand by its carbon-neutrality target for 2035.

Accelerating sustainable economic growth and improving productivity are key, the party wrote. Improving labour availability is one key measure. We also need foreign labour, which is why we want to remove the labour availability consideration for foreign labour and streamline permit processes.

The Christian Democrats and Movement Now both essentially voiced their readiness to join a ruling coalition led by the National Coalition.

The Christian Democrats is ready to participate in various ruling coalitions as long as the government programme is compatible with the partys values and objectives, the conservative party stated.

Movement Nows objective is to participate in the ruling coalition, the one-person group said. Our threshold issues are adjusting central government finances, pursuing a pro-business growth policy, accelerating the sustainable transition and carrying out structural reforms that promote economic growth.

Fiscal adjustment difficult for left-leaning parties

On the political left, the key question remains how to reconcile views on the scope and nature of fiscal adjustment and, more broadly, the public economy.

The Social Democratic Party declared in its response that it is prepared to join a ruling coalition that adopts a government programme that aligns sufficiently with its key goals of promoting economically, environmentally and socially sustainable policies. Such a coalition, it stressed, must not target spending cuts at the basic functions of welfare society  namely, education, social security and social and health care services.

The party also said it is imperative to hold on to the carbon-neutrality goal by 2035 and to promote work-based immigration by, for example, increasing the number of international students who come to and, after graduation, stay in Finland.

The Green League, one of the big losers of the recent parliamentary elections, laid down altogether six conditions for joining the ruling coalition.

The next government, it declared, must make the decisions to stop biodiversity loss by 2030 and agree on concrete measures that ensure carbon neutrality by 2035. Public spending on culture and education must not be slashed, access to social and health care services must be improved, and the public economy must be consolidated by attracting investments in the green transition, significantly accelerating work-based immigration and increasing public spending on research and development.

The government must also work actively to promote the realisation of international human rights obligations and continue collaborating actively on the global stage.

The Left Alliance questioned the scope of fiscal adjustment pursued by the National Coalition. The left-wing party said it is ready to make adjustments to the tune of three billion euros, relying on measures laid out in its election platform.

We agree with the view of several experts, including economist Sixten Korkman, that an adjustment of six billion euros over a single electoral term is too harsh and would cause considerable economic harm and human suffering.

The left-wing party also called for an incentive scheme that supports the transition toward more sustainable forms of consumption and production.

Achieving the carbon-neutrality target requires increasingly ambitious collaboration between the state, regions and municipalities, as well as industries. Various incentives such as emission trading, taxes and subsidies will continue to have a crucial role in promoting sustainable consumption and production, it said.

National Coalition tones down demand for adjustment

Orpo on Tuesday thanked the parties for their answers, saying he would offer his thoughts on the answers this afternoon.

Also the National Coalition submitted answers to its questions, apparently toning down its language on fiscal adjustment: instead of insisting on adjusting public finances to the tune of six billion euros, it stated that its goal is to guarantee the funding and future of the welfare society.

That can only be achieved if we generate sustainable economic growth. We need societal changes that strengthen expertise and promote employment and entrepreneurship, along with investments in clean energy, it said.

The right-wing party would resort to measures such as tearing down inactivity traps, increasing labour market flexibility, reducing the taxation of labour and devising tax policies that attract international talent to Finland.

We would expedite and automate permit processes, move away from labour availability consideration to effective monitoring and concentrate duties related to international recruitment to a single authority. We would increase student intake in sectors afflicted by labour shortage and guarantee opportunities to individuals to supplement their expertise, it listed.

The National Coalition also reaffirmed its commitment to the carbon-neutrality target by 2035, the omission of which in the questions caught the attention of many analysts.

We support the climate acts goal of a carbon-neutral Finland by 2035, it stated.

Aleksi Teivainen  HT
A recent study conducted by Helsinki University Hospital (HUS) shows that epileptic seizures are a significant burden on emergency services and hospital emergency departments in the Helsinki metropolitan area. The research, published in the European Journal of Neurology, revealed that only a small fraction of patients ultimately required medication or basic life support treatment.

Epileptic seizures are a common reason for emergency calls and visits to emergency departments. The study combined data from emergency medical services, hospital emergency departments, and hospitalization records in the Helsinki metropolitan area and surrounding municipalities for suspected epileptic seizures in individuals over 16 years old. The unique data set was collected over four years from the emergency medical services and information systems of HUS and the City of Helsinki.

During the study period, there were over 14,000 emergency medical service calls related to suspected epileptic seizures, accounting for 3.3% of all emergency medical service calls. Emergency call center operators and paramedics identified seizure symptoms in three out of four cases.

The study found that the burden of epileptic seizures was greatest on emergency medical services, with 333 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. However, in nearly 40% of cases, patients did not require transport to the hospital or declined it themselves.

Despite this, there were over 11,000 visits to hospital emergency departments related to epileptic seizures. When adjusted for population, the burden on hospital emergency departments was lower than that on emergency medical services, with 266 visits per 100,000 inhabitants. Moreover, for patients who required hospitalization, the burden decreased to less than a third of that on emergency medical services, with 107 hospitalizations per 100,000 inhabitants.

Nearly two-thirds of patients treated for epileptic seizures were men, with an average age of approximately 50 years.

Less than 8% of hospitalized patients required intensive care. The healthcare chain resulted in an annual cost of 6.8 million, which corresponds to 0.5% of the specialty care costs in the study area.

The study's lead author, Dr. Leena Kamppi, a neurologist at HUS Neurocenter, stated that the findings highlight the need for more information on the recognition of epileptic seizures. She emphasized the importance of directing healthcare resources appropriately and providing urgent care to patients who require it. Additionally, identifying patients who do not require treatment but have a typical epilepsy-related seizure is essential.

In conclusion, the study provides valuable insights into the burden of epileptic seizures on emergency services and hospital emergency departments. With appropriate identification and triage, healthcare resources can be directed towards patients who require urgent care, while reducing the burden on the emergency medical services and hospital emergency departments.

HT
All motor liability insurance policies issued for Russia and Belarus under the Green Card agreements will expire at the start of June.

The international Green Card agreements on motor liability insurance with Russia and Belarus were terminated last year, and the agreements end at the end of May. After this, drivers must take out the required insurance from a local insurer when they cross the border.

This means motor liability insurance policies issued in Finland, other EEA countries or Switzerland are no longer valid in Russia and Belarus in June. Some insurers have already stopped issuing Green Cards for travel to these countries.

All Green Cards issued for travel to Russia and Belarus will indeed expire at the start of June. If you travel to these countries earlier, when Green Cards are still valid, you must take out a new motor liability insurance policy from a local insurer by 1 June. Otherwise, you will be driving without insurance, says Janne Jumppanen, director of the Finnish Motor Insurers Centre.

Having a motor liability insurance policy is mandatory in Russia and Belarus as well. From 1 June 2023 onwards, the policy must be taken out from a Russian or Belarussian insurer when crossing the border. The Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs recommends avoiding all travel to Russia and Belarus.

Russian motor liability insurance policies have a minimum validity period of five days. We have been informed that insurance policies can be taken out at the Vaalimaa, Nuijamaa, Imatra and Vartius border crossings, and the service points are open around the clock throughout the year, says Jumppanen.

Accidents are compensated according to the legislation of the country where the accident happens. Before a trip, it is important to find out the main differences in compensation and practices between the relevant countries. The Finnish Motor Insurers Centre does not handle road accidents that happen in Russia or Belarus.

The change in the Green Card collaboration has no effect on the coverage of road accident victims in Finland. The Finnish Motor Insurers Centre will cover road accidents caused by a vehicle from a non-EEA country such as Russia in the future as well. This means that the coverage for victims is not reduced due to the changes.

Arriving in Finland from Russia or Belarus

Having a motor liability insurance policy is mandatory to enter Finland. Finnish Customs provides motor liability insurance policies at Finnish border crossings. The minimum period of validity of the insurance policy is 30 days and the maximum is one year. When necessary, further coverage in Finland can be bought from Finnish Customs or the Finnish Motor Insurers Centre. Frontier motor liability insurance policies taken out in Finland are valid in all EEA countries and Switzerland.

What is the Green Card system for motor liability insurance?

The Green Card is an international certificate of valid motor liability insurance. The system facilitates travelling abroad with a car, because drivers do not need to take out a separate local motor liability insurance in countries included in the system.

In Finland, an electronic Green Card that proves you have a valid insurance policy can be obtained free of charge from your motor liability insurer. Usually, the Green Card is a black and white PDF file provided to the customer that should be printed and kept at hand when travelling.

Motor liability insurance granted in Finland is automatically valid within the European Economic Area (EEA) and in Switzerland. This means requesting the Green Card from your insurer is not mandatory if you are travelling to these countries. However, having the Green Card facilitates crossing the border and handling possible accidents.

In non-EEA countries that are part of the Green Card system, you must always have your Green Card at hand. When entering countries outside the Green Card system, you have to acquire valid motor liability insurance at the border.

More information

More information in Russian

HT

Source: Finnish Motor Insurers' Centre (LVK)
For four days, more than 3,000 participants from 38 nations will protect real computer systems from real-time attacks, and train tactical and strategical decision-making in critical situations. In addition to defending systems, teams must report incidents, execute strategic decisions, and solve forensic, legal, and media challenges.

Locked Shields is a training exercise that pits an attacking Red Team against defending Blue Teams, composed of NATO CCDCOE member states and partner nations.

This past year has shown us how important strength in cyber defence is. Cyber warfare may not be as visible as kinetic warfare, but it is integrated into wartime activities. Ukraine has strong digital competences, and that has meant that their state can keep delivering essential digital services even in wartime. Cyber competence grows through investments, but not only monetary ones  exercises like these, where allies with shared values also exchange know-how and train together, are key to continued resilience, said Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.

Locked Shields, the major international cyber defense exercise organized by the NATO CCDCOE, underscores the importance of not just technical expertise, but also strategy and cooperation.

According to Mart Noorma, director of NATO CCDCOE, cyber crises require a coordinated effort among decision-makers and experts from diverse government bodies and professions. Locked Shields thus focuses not only on cyber defense, but also on strategy games, legal issues, and crisis communication. In the event of a major cyberattack, swift cooperation is crucial to prevent the escalation of a security crisis.

Noorma emphasizes that exercises like Locked Shields help ensure that we are better prepared to handle such scenarios.

The 24 participating Blue Teams represent national cyber Rapid Reaction Teams, deployed to assist a fictional country under large-scale cyberattacks. Their task is to protect the mock state's information systems and critical infrastructure, like banking system and power plant, from thousands of attacks, make management decisions in a crisis situation, and ensure that decisions are well considered.

In addition to training, Locked Shields is also a competitive exercise. In 2022, the Finnish Blue Team came out on top by demonstrating solid network and web defenses, and they excelled in situation reporting.

Locked Shields has been organized in Tallinn by the NATO Cooperative Cyber Defense Center of Excellence (CCDCOE) since 2010.

HT

Source: CCDCOE
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Cancer is a deadly disease that affects millions of people worldwide. In Dhaka, the capital city of Bangladesh, there are numerous oncologists who are dedicated to providing the best possible care for cancer patients. Here are the top 10 oncologists in Dhaka, who are known for their expertise and dedication in the field of oncology.

1. Dr Anita Malik MD - Radiotherapy, MD, MBBS (New Delhi-India)

Check out the Website- https://www.dranitamalik.com/Bangladesh

Phone No- +91-9310491198

Dr. Anita Malik (MD - Radiotherapy, MBBS) is a well-known Oncologist with experience of over 15 years

She takes interest in research and has published papers in reputed National and International journals. She has been trained and gained experience at prestigious institutions like AIIMS, Delhi, Medanta Gurugram and National University health system Singapore (NUH) for Modern radiotherapy techniques like IMRT and IGRT.

She was involved in Linnac Accelerator installation and setting up a new Oncology and radiotherapy facility at Venkateshwar hospital Dwarka Delhi.

Professional Associations

She is a member of numerous prestigious professional associations that include: European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO), Association for Radiation Oncologist of India (AROI) and Medical Council of India (MCI).

Radiotherapy Techniques

She is well versed with modern Radiotherapy Techniques such as IMRT, IGRT, VMAT, and Stereotactic SBRT/SRS/SRT and uses them with high precision.

2. Prof. Dr. Md. Mozammel Hoque

Dr. Mozammel Hoque is one of the most renowned oncologists in Bangladesh. He is currently the Director of the National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH) in Dhaka. He has been working in the field of oncology for more than 12 years and has a vast knowledge of various types of cancers.

3. Dr. Md. Mahbub Hasan

Dr. Hasan is a well-known oncologist in Dhaka, with over 10 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the Apollo Hospitals Dhaka. He is known for his expertise in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and head and neck cancer.

4 .Prof. Dr. Muhammad Kamruzzaman

Dr. Kamruzzaman is a highly respected oncologist in Dhaka, with more than 30 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently the Head of the Department of Oncology at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) in Dhaka. He is an expert in treating lung cancer, head and neck cancer, and gynecological cancer.

5 .Dr. Mohammad Ali Chowdhury

Dr. Chowdhury is a well-known oncologist in Dhaka, with over 15 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the United Hospital Limited in Dhaka. He is known for his expertise in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

6 .Dr. Mohammad Ehteshamul Hoque

Dr. Hoque is a highly respected oncologist in Dhaka, with more than 15 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the Labaid Specialized Hospital in Dhaka. He is an expert in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

7. Md. Habibur Rahman

Dr. Rahman is a well-known oncologist in Dhaka, with over 10 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the Square Hospitals Limited in Dhaka. He is known for his expertise in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

8. Dr. Muhammad Abdul Aziz

Dr. Aziz is a highly respected oncologist in Dhaka, with more than 10 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the Apollo Hospitals Dhaka. He is an expert in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

9. Dr. Nasir Uddin

Dr. Uddin is a well-known oncologist in Dhaka, with over 10 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the Bangladesh Specialized Hospital in Dhaka. He is known for his expertise in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

10. Dr. Syed Akram Hussain

Dr. Hussain is a highly respected oncologist in Dhaka, with more than 10 years of experience in the field of oncology. He is currently working as a consultant at the Dhaka Medical College Hospital. He is an expert in treating breast cancer, lung cancer, and gastrointestinal cancer.

Best Oncologist/Cancer Specialist click here: Top Oncologist in India

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
India has become one of the major players in the global IT industry. With its vast pool of skilled professionals, India has been consistently delivering cutting-edge technology solutions to the world. In order to maintain its competitive edge, it is important to have a strong IT training infrastructure. This is where Top IT training institutes come in, providing the necessary skills and knowledge to the next generation of IT professionals.

The Indian IT industry is known for its innovation and excellence, with companies such as TCS, Infosys, and Wipro making a mark on the global stage. According to NASSCOM, the Indian IT industry is expected to grow to $350 billion by 2025. With such a promising future, it is important for aspiring IT professionals to choose the right training institute to stay ahead of the curve.

Choosing the best IT training institutes is critical for anyone who wants to start a career in the IT industry. With a growing demand for skilled IT professionals, it is important to gain the right skills and knowledge to excel in the field. IT training institutes provide a structured learning environment where students can learn from experienced trainers and gain practical hands-on experience in the latest technologies.

The institute will offer a curriculum that is aligned with industry standards and trends. This will ensure that students are equipped with the latest skills and knowledge needed to succeed in the IT industry. In addition, the institute should provide access to modern facilities and equipment that replicate real-world scenarios. This will enable students to gain practical experience in a safe and controlled environment, ensuring that they are prepared for any challenges they may face in their future careers.

Top IT training institutes in India

Here are the top five IT training institutes in India:

1. Koenig Solutions

Koenig Solutions is the no. 1 IT training institute in India. It offers a wide range of courses, including Microsoft, Cisco, Oracle, and ITIL certifications. The institute has a strong reputation for its quality of training, with experienced trainers and state-of-the-art facilities. It has been awarded by the Microsoft Learning Partner of the Year award multiple times and is an authorized training partner for several leading technology companies.

Koenig Solutions also offers a wide range of courses including Azure certifications, which have become increasingly popular due to the growing demand for cloud computing professionals. The institute offers a comprehensive training program that covers all aspects of Azure, including infrastructure, security, and development.

2. NIIT

NIIT is one of the oldest and most well-known IT training institutes in India. It offers a wide range of courses in areas such as software engineering, cloud computing, and data analytics. NIIT is known for its innovative teaching methods and strong industry partnerships. It has a presence in over 30 countries and has trained over 35 million students worldwide.

3. Aptech

Aptech is a leading IT training institute in India with a strong focus on career-oriented courses. It offers courses in areas such as software development, data science, and cybersecurity. Aptech has been in the industry for over three decades and has a strong network of over 1300 centers across the world.

4. Jetking

Jetking is a popular IT training institute in India, known for its courses in networking and hardware. It has a strong reputation for its practical-oriented training, with a focus on real-world applications. Jetking has a presence in over 20 countries and has trained over 7,00,000 students so far.

5. IIHT

IIHT is a leading IT training institute in India, offering courses in areas such as cloud computing, cybersecurity, and software development. It is known for its industry-aligned training programs and strong placement support. IIHT has a presence in over 20 countries and has trained over 10,00,000 students so far.

For more information you can visit these Learning Paths from Microsoft which will help you in preparation of your exams.

Factors To Consider When Choosing An It Training Institute

When choosing the top IT training institutes in India, it is important to consider several factors such as:

1. Course offerings - Make sure that the institute offers courses that align with your career goals and interests.

2. Trainer experience - Ensure that the trainers have relevant industry experience and are up-to-date with the latest technologies.

3. Facilities - Look for institutes with modern facilities such as labs, classrooms, and equipment.

4. Certification and accreditation - Check if the institute offers certifications that are recognized by the industry and if it is accredited by relevant organizations.

5. Placement support - Look for institutes that offer strong placement support, with tie-ups with leading companies in the industry.

Best IT training institutes in India play a crucial role in the development of the Indian IT industry. With the industry expected to grow at an exponential rate, it is essential for aspiring IT professionals to choose the right institute for their training.

The top five IT training institutes in India - Koenig Solutions, NIIT, Aptech, Jetking, and IIHT - offer a wide range of courses, experienced trainers, modern facilities, industry-aligned training programs, and strong placement support. When selecting an institute, consider factors such as course offerings, trainer experience, facilities, certification and accreditation, and placement support.

By choosing the best IT training institutes, you can gain the skills and knowledge needed to excel in the fast-paced world of IT and contribute to the growth of the industry.

Disclaimer: This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of Hindustan Times. Hindustan Times does not endorse/subscribe to the content(s) of the article/advertisement and/or view(s) expressed herein. Hindustan Times shall not in any manner, be responsible and/or liable in any manner whatsoever for all that is stated in the article and/or also with regard to the view(s), opinion(s), announcement(s), declaration(s), affirmation(s) etc., stated/featured in the same.
Credit Suisse Group AG was accused by US lawmakers of impeding an investigation into its historical assistance to Nazis that had revealed a number of previously undisclosed accounts. The latest internal Credit Suisse investigation was conducted by forensic research firm AlixPartners and overseen by Neil Barofsky,(HT Print)

The allegations relate to an internal probe started after the Simon Wiesenthal Center informed the lender in 2020 that it had new information about Nazi-linked accounts. While Credit Suisse agreed to investigate, the bank established an unnecessarily rigid and narrow scope, refused to follow new leads and removed the independent ombudsman overseeing it, according to a statement by the US Senates Budget Committee.

Also Read: Credit Suisse rescue package rejected by Swiss parliament

When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned, Senator Chuck Grassley said in the statement. Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard.

The accusations add to the challenges facing the Swiss lender as its being taken over by larger rival UBS Group AG, which last month agreed to buy Credit Suisse in a government-led rescue. While the $3 billion price tag marked a steep discount, the emergency deal hashed out over a weekend left little time for UBS to assess risks such as potential losses on assets, legacy issues and litigation.

The spat over the internal Credit Suisse probe comes about a quarter century after the two big Swiss banks reached a $1.25 billion settlement with victims of the Holocaust. That accord resolved claims that the banks failed to return assets to survivors of Hitlers genocide and heirs of victims. It also covered claims by victims whose assets were looted by the Nazis and deposited in Swiss banks.

Also Read: 'I apologise,' Credit Suisse chairman admits failure to shareholders

The latest internal Credit Suisse investigation was conducted by forensic research firm AlixPartners and overseen by Neil Barofsky, the former inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Barofsky, a frequent Wall Street critic, also served as the monitor for the Justice Departments settlement with Credit Suisse over the banks sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, and as monitor after the Swiss firm in 2014 admitted to helping Americans evade taxes.

Barofsky was removed as ombudsman by Credit Suisse in November. While he was initially tasked with producing a public report on his findings, the Budget Committee only obtained the document after issuing a subpoena, it said in the statement.

Credit Suisse, in a statement on its website, said the probe didnt support key claims by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and that Barofskys report contained numerous factual errors, misleading and gratuitous statements and unsupported allegations that are based on an incomplete understanding of the facts.

The bank strongly rejects these misrepresentations, Credit Suisse said. The bank is fully cooperating with an inquiry by the Budget Committee and has extended the mandate of AlixPartners.

Also Read: Swiss financial regulator defends Credit Suisse takeover by UBS

The reports the Committee obtained indicate that Credit Suisse seems to have maintained accounts for at least 99 individuals who were either senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of Nazi-affiliated groups in Argentina. A vast majority of those have not previously been disclosed. Some remained open until recently.

The probe identified 21 accounts from a list of notorious high-level Nazis provided by the SWC, including one that belonged to a Nazi commander who was sentenced at Nuremberg and another belonging to an SS commander who was convicted, according to the Budget Committee. The sentenced commanders account remained open until 2002.
Age seems to be just a number for 91-year-old Shamanur Shivashankarappa, who is again gearing up for the Assembly polls in Karnataka, as he calls himself a "galloping horse" in the electoral arena. SS, as people around the veteran leader fondly call him, needs support while walking but has a good listening capacity, a clear voice and speaks his mind with clarity. (Twitter)

The Congress veteran, a five-time MLA and also a former Lok Sabha member, has been re-nominated by the grand old party to contest from Davangere South.

"I have people's support and God's blessings. What else is required?" Shivashankarappa, who has virtually become "synonymous" with Davangere in central Karnataka, says with a smile, expressing confidence of winning again.

Dwelling on how the Congress gave him a ticket given his advanced age, he replied wittily: "Only galloping horses are chosen for races. I am one such horse. I am going to win with the highest margin in the election."

The main fight of the elderly politician, who is also President of the influential Veerashaiva Mahasabha, in the May 10 Assembly elections is with BJP's B G Ajay Kumar, a former Davangere mayor.

SS, as people around the veteran leader fondly call him, needs support while walking but has a good listening capacity, a clear voice and speaks his mind with clarity. He has declared assets worth 312.75 crore while filing nomination.

When a reporter, quoting some reports, told him that someone from the minority community was supposed to get the ticket instead of him, the Congress leader playfully chided him: "Dont create trouble. All are with me here (Davangere South). You don't need to bother about it. Muslims and Lingayats are all with me."

An eminent educationist, who runs medical, engineering and nursing colleges, among others in Davangere, Shivashankarappa said he does not have a competitor in the electoral arena and he is sure of winning the election.

Shivashankarappas political acumen could be gauged from the fact that the party assigned him the job of getting former chief minister and BJP leader Jagadish Shettar into the Congress fold, a party leader told PTI.

The BJP denied Shettar a ticket to contest the upcoming elections following which he quit the party. The Congress was quick to induct him through Shivashankarappa, whose granddaughter and S S Ganesh's daughter Anchal, is Shettars daughter-in-law.

The Congress has given ticket to Shivashankarappa's son and former minister S S Mallikarjun to contest from Davangere North.
With just a day left to file nominations for May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, the ruling BJP on Wednesday released its fourth list, naming candidates for remaining two constituencies- Shivamogga and Manvi. The BJP has announced candidates for all the 224 Assembly segments in the state.(Vipin Kumar/HT Photo)

In Shivamogga, the party has given ticket to Channabasappa, while denying it to sitting MLA and senior BJP leader K S Eshwarappa's family. Eshwarappa, a former Deputy Chief Minister, had recently conveyed to the party's central leadership his wish to retire from electoral politics, and had requested it to not consider fielding him in the Assembly polls from Shivamogga.

Karnataka polls: Key electoral contests to watch out for

The five time MLA from the seat, however is said to have sought the ticket for his son K E Kantesh, from the assembly segment. Senior BJP leader and MLC Ayanur Manjunath, who too was a ticket aspirant from Shivamogga, quit the party earlier today, and joined JD(S). He is now the JD(S) candidate from the segment.

ALSO READ: Bommai to contest Shiggaon, BJP fields BSY's son BY Vijayendra. Full list

From Manvi, a ST reserve constituency, the party has fielded B V Nayak as the candidate. With the announcement of this list, the BJP has announced candidates for all the 224 Assembly segments in the state. April 20 is the last day for filing of nominations. Voting will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be on May 13.
A fast track POCSO court in Udupi district of Karnataka has sentenced a youth to rigorous imprisonment of 20 years for raping a girl from Byndoor on multiple occasions after befriending her. Karnataka youth handed 20-year jail term in POCSO case

The Udupi district additional and sessions court handed out the punishment to 23-year-old Sahil for raping the girl around two years ago.

According to the chargesheet, Sahil was working in a shop near a hotel in Sagar town of Shivamogga district. The victim, a native of Byndoor in Udupi, was residing at Sagar as her father owns the hotel there. The youth entered into a relationship with her.

In July 2021, Sahil travelled to Byndoor for the girl's birthday celebrations. After the birthday party, he took the victim to a deserted place and raped her. The youth promised to marry her and repeatedly committed the act after the first incident, the chargesheet said.

When the victim's mother came to know about the relationship, she filed a complaint at Byndoor police station. The then police inspector Santhosh Kaykini had filed the chargesheet in the case.

Fast track court judge Srinivas Suvarna, who considered the circumstantial evidence in the case, pronounced the accused as guilty and sentenced him to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and slapped a fine of 22,500.

The court has also directed the government provide 1.5 lakh compensation to the victim. Special public prosecutor Y T Raghavendra appeared for the prosecution.
Kannada actor Kichcha Sudeep who recently announced his support to Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai addressed his first public rally at Shiggon in the state. He shared the stage with BJP national president JP Nadda and CM Basavaraj Bommai. Not naam ke vaaste CM but..: Kichcha Sudeep lauds his Bommai mama

Speaking at Shiggon, from where CM Bommai is contesting the polls, Sudeep said, The people of Shiggon have received me with such a warm response and I feel happy to be here. I am here today to support my Bommai mama(uncle). Within a short span of time as a CM, he has contributed a lot to the development of Karnataka. He is not a 'naam ke vaaste' CM but he is sure a 'kaam ke vaaste' CM and I will always be there for him."

Sudeep also said that he admires PM Narendra Modi and his work for the country. "Whenever I visit other countries, they speak highly of India and I think our PM is the reason for all the good reputation we have gained. He is truly the most respectable man across the world," he added.

Earlier this month, Kichcha Sudeep said that his support for Bommai is his way of showing gratitude. "During the tough time, few people stood by me and it is time for me to show gratitude to them. I am not a politician and I will not be joining any party. This is my way of showing love towards my Bommai mama," he said.

The elections in Karnataka will be held on May 10 and the results will be declared on May 13.
The former chief minister of Karnataka and senior Congress leader Siddaramaiah announced that this assembly election will be his final election as a candidate. He filed his nomination papers from the Varuna constituency on Wednesday and addressed a rally in his home turf. Will quit electoral politics after this': Siddaramaiah at his nomination rally

Speaking at the rally, Siddaramaiah said, After this assembly elections, I will quit electoral politics. The people of Varuna have always been with me and because of their support, I have reached places in my political career. This will be my last time filing papers from the Varuna constituency. The 75-year-old politician won from Chamundeswari constituency in 1983 for the first time and later played an important role in Janata Dal (Secular) and the Congress party. He also served as a chief minister of Karnataka between 2013  2018.

In the 2018 assembly elections, Siddaramaiah contested from Badami and Chamundeswari constituencies in which he only won Badami. In this assembly elections, the Congress leader is contesting from his traditional Varuna constituency, and he was denied a ticket at Kolar, where he earlier announced that he will be contesting from. Siddaramaiah is also eying at the chief ministerial post once again, if Congress manages to win the assembly elections.

The Election Commission of India 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.
The collapse of a three-storey building, which housed labourers of a rice mill, in Taraori of Karnal, has once again brought to fore a much-neglected issue  the poor living conditions provided to migrant labourers by their employers. The collapse of a three-storey building, which housed labourers of a rice mill, in Taraori of Karnal, has once again brought to fore a much-neglected issue  the poor living conditions provided to migrant labourers by their employers. (HT File)

The building in question had been in a dilapidated state for several years and had a seepage problem but was still housing more people than its capacity, as per the labour contractor. Nearly 150 migrants were cramped in around 24 rooms, with each room accommodating at least six to eight labourers.

Four of them were killed and at least 20 injured in the building collapse on Tuesday.

As per the FIR, there was negligence on the part of owners of Shiv Shakti Rice Mills and the incident could have been averted had timely steps been taken.

The Karnal district administration has formed a committee to look into the cause of the building collapse and if there were any structure or stability issues.

Also Read | BMC identifies 217 unsafe buildings for demolition

Deputy commissioner Anish Yadav said a committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of Karnal sub-divisional magistrate and executive engineer of the public works department (B&R) with an official of the Haryana labour department as member.

Labour contractor Ramdev Mehto, who had deputed workers at the Shiv Shakti rice mill, said the labour quarters had been constructed near the rice mill to ensure round-the-clock availability of workers. But nothing was done to ensure the safety of the workers, he said in his police complaint.

The building was quite old and water from the toilet and kitchen was seeping into its foundation. I had even alerted the rice mill owners on several occasions but my requests fell on deaf ears and no action was taken, he alleged.

When contacted, DP Singh, deputy director, industrial safety and health, of the Haryana labour department said the incident is being looked at as case study by the department and further action will be taken as per the findings of the committee.

A complete report of the incident will also be sent to the chief inspector of factories and further action will be taken on this. Also, in future inspections will be carried out in all buildings and structures, he added.

Industrialists have also been told to take steps to ensure better living conditions for their workers. It is learnt the labour department will also take initiatives to monitor the labour quarters and stability certificates will be issued accordingly.

On whether the department conducts inspections of buildings and labour quarters, he said inspections are carried out as per government norms.

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A 22-year-old Chandigarh resident was held guilty of raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced by a fast-track POCSO court on Wednesday. A 22-year-old Chandigarh resident was held guilty of raping and impregnating a 16-year-old girl. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced by a fast-track POCSO court on Wednesday. (Shutterstock)

The convict has been identified as Rakesh Kumar, a resident of one of the colonies in Chandigarh.

The case dates back to September 19, 2020, when the victims father approached the police to file a missing persons complaint.The complainant told the police that his youngest child, a Class-9 student, had left home for school but not returned home. The girl was later rescued from Gorakhpur of Uttar Pradesh by the child helpline.

Her medical examination later revealed she was pregnant. In the meanwhile, the accused also landed in the police net. The case was registered under Sections 363/366 (kidnapping), 376 (2)(n) (rape) of the Indian Penal Code and Section 6 of POCSO Act.
The Khanna Police have arrested a foreign national for allegedly raping a 22-year woman from Zimbabwe, currently pursuing her studies in a Mandi Gobindgarh institute. The Khanna Police have arrested a Liberian man for allegedly raping a 22-year student from Zimbabwe, currently pursuing her studies in a Mandi Gobindgarh institute. (Getty Images/ Representational image)

The accused has been identified as Promise Worzeen Klehkleh of Liberia and was currently living in Khanna. He is a student at another Mandi Gobindgarh institute. The accused was produced in a local court on Wednesday and has been sent to police remand. The accused allegedly came close to her on the pretext of helping her with cooking food and forced himself on her. The victim, who lived in a rented accommodation in Khanna City, in her complaint to the police on Tuesday said that the accused lives in a rented accommodation in the same colony and had invited her to his brothers room on Tuesday evening. They both were consuming alcohol when she entered their room.

She added that she refused their offers to join them. She said that she went to the kitchen to cook food for herself, adding that the accused came to the kitchen and started molesting her. She added that despite her resistance, the accused did not back off and started forcing himself on her.

She said the accused followed her to her room even after she came back to her home.

Station house officer Sanjeev Kapoor said that a case under Section 376(rape) of the Indian Penal Code has been registered against the accused at the Khanna City police station. Police said that both are overseas students pursuing higher education at separate private institutes near Khanna.
Days after a girl was allegedly barred entry into Harmandar Sahib (Golden Temple) in Punjabs Amritsar as she had a Tricolour painted on her face, she and her father apologised for their act and pleaded for peace, on Wednesday. A combo of two pictures shows a woman, left, with tricolour painted on her face who was allegedly denied entry to the Golden Temple by a temple staffer, right, in Amritsar, Monday. (PTI)

They said this while speaking to a local news portal at their residence in Ambalas Naraingarh sub-division, three days after the controversy.

The incident and the conversation of the duo with a sewadar that followed, was also recorded on a video and had since gone viral on social media, leading to backlash.

Expressing regret, the girl said, The Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) have apologised to us already and I feel hurt when such elderly people do so.... Im sorry for the bad words and the wrong act.

Her father said that on Saturday, they had visited Wagah Border in Amritsar and then headed to the Golden Temple.

The video got leaked mistakenly from my daughter, but we were not in favour for sharing it with anyone. Following the incident, the committee members attended us respectfully. I appeal everyone to end this here. I apologise to the sewadar, the committee and everyone for my daughters mistake, he added.

However, both refused to divulge the details on why exactly she was disallowed to enter and on the different narratives like the girls attire or procession of tobacco, being made out.

Toning it down further, the man said, There was nothing in connection with tobacco and neither I was frisked. Rather, they showed us different tobacco products, explaining how devotees carry them and they are removed.

He appealed to social media users to end the issue for the sake of communal harmony and brotherhood.

On Monday, SGPC president Harjinder Singh Dhami had also condemned the narrative being created against the Sikhs on social media and asked devotees to follow the Maryada (code of conduct).
Haryana chief minister (CM) Manohar Lal Khattar on Wednesday said about 10-15% crop appears to have been affected by the recent rains and the extent of damage to the ready-to-harvest crop was not as huge as it was appearing earlier. Haryana chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar addressing a press conference in Chandigarh on Wednesday. (HT File)

Addressing a press conference, the chief minister said out of 17 lakh acre where the crop was reported to have been damaged, girdawari (field inspection) on 15 lakh acre has been completed. He said farmers will be paid compensation in May.

The CM said so far, 41 lakh metric tonne (MT) wheat has arrived in various mandis of the state, out of which 32 lakh MT tonne has been procured. Apart from this, 2.12 lakh MT mustard has also been procured and farmers are being paid on time, Khattar added.

He said damage to wheat crop was between 10-20% and not as high as was earlier anticipated.

Scattered showers in state

Meanwhile, scattered showers accompanied by high-velocity winds reported in the parts of state on Wednesday affected the harvesting and wheat procurement operations in most of the northern parts of the state.

As per reports, harvesting operations were halted for the day as machines could not harvest wet straws of wheat.

We had to stop harvesting in the afternoon as the combine harvester could harvest only 10-acre against 30- acre we harvest daily, said Jai Ram, the owner of combine harvesters from Radaur of Yamunanagar.

Darshan Lal, a farmer from Ladwa of Kurukshetra district, said, Yes, the rain has affected harvesting operations. Now we have to wait for a day or two to resume harvesting.

On the other hand, ahrtiyas were also facing difficulties to protect the procured wheat from rain as they had to depute labourers to cover the wheat lying in the open.

We had to face problems due to showers on Wednesday evening as due to slow lifting our 6,600 bags of procured wheat were in open and we are struggling to protect it from rain as the ahrtiyas are responsible for the safety of grains until it reaches the government godowns, said a commission agent Sohan Singh of Ladwa grain market.
Punjab agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday held a meeting with the representatives of a group of leaders of different farm bodies, which are a part of the Sanyukat Kisan Morcha (non-political). Punjab agriculture minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday held a meeting with the representatives of a group of leaders of different farm bodies, which are a part of the Sanyukat Kisan Morcha (non-political).

He ordered the principal secretary, agriculture, to get the details of the farmers, who have not received compensation for crop damage, from the deputy commissioners by May 15 so that the compensation can be given to them.

He also directed the officials and employees of the state revenue and agriculture departments to submit a report of girdawari after assessment of crop damage.

Notable, another group of farm bodies is protesting in the state by blocking trains and demanding release of pending compensation for crop loss during the past seasons.

The minister informed the farmer representatives that he has already written to the Centre regarding the difficulties faced by farmers near the international border.

The farmer representatives said it would be better if land owners near the international border or those acquired by the BSF be given land elsewhere.

The minister informed the farmer representatives that the state government has also written to the Centre to provide compensation to farmers whose animals died due to lumpy skin disease and assured that no action would be taken on the warrants issued by the Land Mortgage Bank, informing that a new policy is being made to give ownership rights to the land occupying farmers.

Regarding compensation of  5 lakh each to families of farmers who committed suicide, Dhaliwal said no case was pending so far and if there is any, then that could be flagged.
Eight years after being arrested in a graft case, a senior officer of the principal controller of defence accounts (PCDA), Western Command, was pronounced guilty by the special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Eight years after being arrested in a graft case, a senior officer of the principal controller of defence accounts (PCDA), Western Command, was pronounced guilty by the special court of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). (Shutterstock)

The convict, identified as Vitesh Kumar, 51, the then senior auditor of the principal controller of defence accounts (PCDA), Western Command, has been held guilty under Section 7 and 31 (d) of the Prevention of Corruption Act. The quantum of sentence will be pronounced on April 20.

Another accused, assistant accounts officer (AAO) Kashmiri Lal, has been acquitted of all charges.

The case dates back to May 25, 2015, when complainant Jagdeep Dogra, a Manimajra resident, wrote to the CBI SP, accusing Vitesh Kumar of demanding 20,000 bribe from his brother-in-law Ajay Sharma for issuance of annual settlement certificate of his firm M/s Ambay enterprises, Pathankot, for the period March 31, 2013 to April 1, 2014.

His brother-in-law had a business of stationery items, coolers, fridges etc, which he used to supply to the Army unit in Pathankot.

The bribe was demanded through repeated calls. In one of the calls, the caller said that he was directed by Kashmiri Lal to speak to him.

A trap was laid and the complainant met Vitesh Kumar during which the latter said that he has been directed by the AAO to collect the bribe of 20,000. The moment Kumar received the money, the CBI nabbed him.

As per the CBI, Kumar was caught from Chandigarhs Sector 9 market while Lal was arrested from his office.

On Tuesday, the special court of CBI convicted Vitesh Kumar and acquitted Kashmiri Lal.

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Delhi reported 1,767 fresh Covid-19 cases, and six fatalities in the last 24 hours. With the new fatalities, the death toll from the pandemic rose to 26,578, according to data shared by the health department. Representational image.

The positivity rate in the city climbed to 28.63%, while the active cases stand at 6046. The national capital recorded 1,537 fresh cases on Tuesday with a positivity rate of 26.54 per cent.

The number of cases had dropped to zero on January 16 for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic. However, the city has witnessed a spurt in cases over the last fortnight.

To take stock of the preparedness in hospitals mock drills were conducted at Delhi hospitals on April 11. Medical experts have said Omicron sub-variant XBB.1.16 could be driving the surge in cases in the city.

However, they have maintained that there is no need to panic and people should follow Covid-appropriate behaviour and get their booster shots.

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For Chitra Khurana and Sanjay Yadav it was a dream come true as they joined 1,500 others who were handed over their letters of appointment to serve in the Delhi government by Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena during a ceremony held by the Delhi governments services department at Vigyan Bhawan on Wednesday. Speaking on the occasion, LG VK Saxena congratulated the newly recruited government servants and emphasised that government job is not only a source of livelihood but a commitment to serve the society. (Sanjeev Verma/HT Photo)

It is really a moment of pride for us. We will perform with the utmost dedication, devotion and honesty, and serve the citizens of Delhi, said Khurana who was appointed as principal in the education department.

We are lucky to get our appointment letter in such a short span of time. Well give our best, said Yadav who was appointed as a statistical officer .

Those who were handed over their letters of appointment on Wednesday include 324 principals, recruited through Union Public Service Commission (UPSC), in various government schools -- posts which were vacant since 2010-11; and 500 fire operators, appointed by Delhi Subordinate Services Selection Board (DSSBB), officials aware of the matter said.

Speaking on the occasion, Saxena congratulated the newly recruited government servants and emphasised that government job is not only a source of livelihood but a commitment to serve the society. These fresh permanent recruitments are in line with Prime Ministers vision of ending adhocism in government departments and providing opportunities to deserving candidates selected in a transparent manner. Ive always laid stress on the need of augmentation of the manpower in Delhi by recruitment on permanent basis against the posts lying vacant for long time in Delhi government. It will not only provide increased job opportunities to youth, but at the same time it will also ensure availability of required manpower for overall development of Delhi, he said.

Meanwhile, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) alleged that the central government was stalling recruitments in the capital for the last nine years. LG has claimed that in the last few years, these vacancies had been piling up. Everyone is aware that appointment for jobs in Delhi, transfer of government officers or taking actions against errant officers, all of this comes under the central government. If 35,000 posts had been lying vacant, the central government should be blamed for the delay in filling up these posts, said Saurabh Bharadwaj, AAP spokesperson.

The LG office hit back at the allegations and said that the education department or any other department of the Delhi government never put up demands for filling vacancies despite huge vacancies. They always preferred adhocism aimed at favouritism by appointing thousands of employees on contract, in gross violation of procedures, manuals and court orders, an official in the LG office said.

Bharadwaj further alleged that questions should be raised about why these posts were left vacant for so long. He said that over the last years, he has asked several questions regarding the number of vacancies in the various departments of the state government in the Vidhan Sabha, but no reply was provided.

During his address at the event, the LG said that he has been personally monitoring the recruitment process, to fill up the permanent vacancies in Delhi government exiting at various levels. Due to concerted efforts made by all the departments concerned and a transparent recruitment system having been put in place, it has been possible to fill more than 15,000 posts in the last 10 months. A large number of posts of principals in the education department were lying vacant since 2010-2011 and no action in this regard was taken. As of now 324 principals have been recruited through UPSC, which in itself is a significant and landmark achievement. I hope that the newly appointed principals will work with full dedication to create a robust education system in Delhi, he said.

Saxena also said that the appointment of more than 500 post graduate teachers (PGT) and trained graduate teachers (TGT) has also been made to strengthen the education department. Besides, the vacant posts in Delhi Fire Service, forensic science laboratory (FSL), Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) and planning department have also been filled up on a priority basis, he added.

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The Delhi Police on Wednesday announced the arrest of 31-old-man from West Bengals Murshidabad, who illegally procured Indian and international SIM cards in bulk, activated them, and then sold them to cybercriminals operating from Jharkhands Jamtara district and other parts of the country. Delhi Police Cyber Crime branch busted a fake call centre syndicate from Jamtara (Jharkhand) with the arrest of six persons which led to the recovery of 22,000 sim cards used in the crime. (ANI photo)

Officers aware of the arrest said they had seized nearly 22,000 SIM cards from the accused, identified as Nasim Malitya.

It took us nearly six hours to count all the SIM cards. Nearly 16,000 of them were of three leading cellular service providers of India. International SIM cards from countries like Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan and Sri Lanka were also there, said an investigator probing the case, on condition of anonymity.

Malityas arrest came after the Delhi Police busted a gang of cybercrooks operating from Jamtara and arrested five people involved in running a pan-India scam, in which they would impersonate customer care executives of various banks and e-commerce sites, and dupe unsuspecting customers.

Apart from the 21,761 used and unused SIM cards that were recovered from Malitya, at least 12,500 pre-activated SIM cards were already provided to Jamtaras cyber criminals over a period of one year. The cyber criminals were posting their mobile numbers on Google as the customer care helplines of banks of repute and several e-commerce sites, said deputy commissioner of police (outer-north) Ravi Kumar Singh.

Senior officers said the Jamtara gang was busted by the cyber police station of Delhis outer-north district following a complaint filed by a Dubai resident, who was duped of 10 lakh while he was in Delhi to meet his daughter. The man wanted to get his daughters bank passbook updated and searched for the banks customer care number on the internet.

The complainant said he dialled a number he found on the internet, where one of the crooks impersonated a customer care executive and tricked him into downloading a mobile app through which the scammers made two unauthorised transactions of 9.5 lakh and 50,000, said an officer aware of the case.

The victim then filed a police complaint, and subsequently, the call detail records of the phone numbers used by the suspects were examined. Through technical surveillance, the suspects were tracked to Jamtara and five of them were arrested on April 11 following a raid in their village with the help of the local police, said DCP Singh.

The five arrested men were identified as Nizamuddin Ansari, 23, Afroj Alam, 23, Mohammad Amir Ansari, 22, Sarfaraj Ansari, 22, and Afroj Ansari, 22. We recovered 25 mobile phones containing incriminating data and fraudulent SIM cards Their interrogation revealed that the SIM cards were supplied after activation from Murshidabad, West Bengal. In one mobile phone, more than 300 SIM cards were activated in a day, the DCP said.

A police team then took Nizamuddin to Murshidabad, and he led them to a Maltiya, a local SIM card supplier. A raid at Malityas house led to the recovery of two cellphones in which the SIM card used to dupe the complainant was activated. The team also recovered 21,761 more SIM cards that he had kept in buckets at his house, officers said.

DCP Singh said at least 77 cyber fraud crimes have been connected to Maltiya and the five arrested from Jamtara. There is a likelihood that a larger number of cases may be connected with this scam, he added.

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Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited the Matia Mahal market in old Delhi Tuesday evening and enjoyed some popular dishes. Rahul Gandhi seen in old Delhi Tuesday evening.

Gandhi, dressed in a blue polo t-shirt, was captured in old Delhi's Chandni Chowk, which is particularly lively during the ongoing month of Ramzan. The ex-Congress chief was greeted by swarms of people at the market, who followed him around and also raised slogans, news agency PTI reported.

Gandhi was seen relishing popular Indian street food, including golgappas' at the popular Nathu sweets at the Bengali market. He was also spotted at a famous vendor's 'sharbat' shop, surrounded by crowd of people and media persons.

His return to the national capital was marked after two days of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka.

Earlier on Sunday, Gandhi shared photos of enjoying ice cream at a Nandini milk shop during his visit to Karnataka. Sharing photos in a tweet, he also termed the brand Karnataka's pride amid the controversy surrounding the local dairy brand and Gujarat's Amul  after the latter announced it would begin supply of its milk varieties in Bengaluru.

Meanwhile, Gandhi's tweet was met with response from the Karnataka Bharatiya Janata Party MP Tejasvi Surya who said given that Gandhi thinks Nandini is the best, he should intervene in Kerala for its smooth sale.

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The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), which is probing multiple allegations of irregularities including in the recruitment of teachers in West Bengal, has taken samples for analysis from the site of a fire near Kolkata amid allegations that thousands of documents were set afire. The CBI has taken samples for analysis. (HT PHOTO)

Half burnt documents including cheques, vouchers, and other documents were seized. They will be analysed, said an official, who did not want to be named.

Several ruling Trinamool Congress leaders face charges or have been arrested in connection with the cases federal agencies are probing in the state.

Residents told the media that thousands of documents were set on fire on a plot of land from Sunday to Tuesday. ...the documents appear to be related to some mining in Bihar. We need to examine them further, said the official.

In a tweet, Bharatiya Janata Partys information and technology department in charge Amit Malviya said something sinister is brewing in Bengal. As per inputs, Govt documents are being burnt in a closed compound in Bhangar, 30 km from Kolkata, for last two days. CBI apparently found incriminating documents, cash vouchers etc linked to cases under investigation Someone is scared!

West Bengal minister Shashi Panja said the CBI should question the owner of the plot where the documents were being burnt. They should investigate and find out the truth.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) Mukul Roy, who was reported untraceable since Monday evening by his son but later spotted in Delhi at night, said he is still a BJP legislator and his visits purpose was to join back the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), ending speculation around his next political move. TMC leader Mukul Roy.(file photo)

"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda, he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening, news agency PTI reported.

After his son and TMC leader Subhranshu lodged a missing complaint with the Bidhannagar police in West Bengal, Roy was later seen saying at the Delhi Airport that there was no special reason behind his visit. Cant I come to Delhi? I am an MP and MLA, he said.

Also Read: CBI arrests third TMC legislator in Bengal recruitment scam

I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics but now I am ready again, he said and even added a piece of advice for his son to join the BJP as well. ...it would suit him best," the TMC leader added.

TMC leader Mukul Roy's son Subhranshu.

Roy, a founding member of the TMC, had earlier joined the BJP in 2017, citing differences with party leadership and was made BJPs national vice-president. In 2021, he, however, returned to the TMC after winning the election as a saffron candidate.

Roy headed for Kolkata airport and boarded a flight for Delhi around 7.45pm but his son claimed two people had taken the politician without informing the family. He also said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease". "My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters.

Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP were fueled after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra, shared a cryptic post that read comeback". When asked about it, Haze said "It's time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two days.

(With PTI inputs)

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Women representation in the new Lucknow University Teachers Association (LUTA) body is set to be reduced from the rather embarrassing two members to just one after the April 29 LUTA elections. Women teachers again show disinterest in contesting Lucknow University Teachers Association polls (File)

The lone women representative in LUTA would be Mrinalini Singh, declared elected unopposed as the Law faculty representative. However, for the other key positions of president, general secretary, vice president, treasurer or joint secretary, only male teachers are in contest.

Women teachers make up for nearly 30 percent of the total 378 voters, said Rajiv Manohar, returning officer, LUTA elections.

Prof Vineet Kumar Verma, LUTA president said: The disinterest of women teachers in LUTA polls could be because they arent interested in contesting elections. The present LUTA body had Pratibha Raj Singh (joint secretary) and Richa Pandey (arts representative).

Professor Nishi Pandey, who once contested LUTA president elections in early 2000 said: Even today LU system is deeply rooted in a patriarchal mindset.

If any women candidate contests elections, it becomes a gender battle. I contested only to make a statement because one of the male teachers who was contesting the LUTA presidents post was involved in a sexual harassment case and no strong male candidate stood opposite him. The minute I filed my nomination, two other male candidates professor RC Rastogi and professor JV Vaishampayan also filed nominations. I backed professor Rastogi, she said.

For the April 29 LUTA poll, three teachers contesting for LUTA chief include Mohd Ahmed (Law), Dinesh Kumar (Education) RB Singh (Physics). An equal number is contesting for general secretary including Anitya Gaurav (AIH), Ajay Arya (Geology) and Pawan Kumar Mishra (Sociology).

Five teachers are contesting for three posts of vice presidents including Arun Kumar (Education), OP Shukla (Defence Studies), Ram Milan (Commerce), Satish Chandra (Law) and S Arshad Ali Jafri (Oriental and Persian).

Three teachers elected unopposed as joint secretaries are: Nand Kishor (Law), Akash Asthana (Statistics) and Pramod Gupta (Sociology). HN Prasad (English) was elected unopposed as treasurer. All faculty representatives too have been elected unopposed. They are: Fazil Ahsan Hashmi, Jitendra Kumar and Prashant Shukla (Arts representatives). Gyan Prakash (Commerce), Hemendra Kumar Singh (Education), Alok Kumar (Fine Arts), Mrinalini Singh (Law representative) and Amit Kumar Singh and Ashutosh Singh for Science representative.
PRAYAGRAJ Asad Kalia, a top aide of slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, carrying a cash reward of 50,000 on his head, was arrested by the UP Police from Kareli locality of Prayagraj on Wednesday. He was involved in managing a part of Atiqs illegal real estate business, said police. During interrogation, Kali informed the police that Atiq Ahmed, who was lodged in Ahmedabads Sabarmati jail, used to call him on mobile phone and assign work, shared a police officer. (Pic for representation)

A country-made pistol and some live bullets were recovered from his possession. Crime Branch sleuths were questioning him for more details about Atiqs gang.

Asad Kalia, a resident of Kasari Masari area of Prayagraj, was wanted in five cases lodged at Kareli, Puramufti and Dhumanganj police stations, said Ramashray Yadav, SHO of Kareli Police station.

During interrogation, Kali informed the police that Atiq Ahmed, who was lodged in Ahmedabads Sabarmati jail, used to call him on mobile phone and assign work, shared a police officer.

Kalia claimed that he was managing illegal plotting work of Atiq in Kareli, Dhumanganj, Bamrauli and Kaushambi border areas. Money received after the deals used to be sent to Atiqs wife Shaista Parveen, the official added.

Two years back, Kalia along with Atiqs son Ali, had absconded following a named FIR against them in connection with an extortion attempt against a businessman Zeeshan in December 2021, said police.

During interrogation, Kalia informed the police that he had fled to Kolkata to evade the cops. He hid there at a friends house for a year but came to Kareli following the murder of Atiq. But he was arrested by the Kareli police from Enuddinpur locality on Wednesday.
The Yogi government will be showcasing the success of the Jal Jeevan Mission in Uttar Pradesh, at Delhis Vigyan Bhawan on the Civil Services Day on Thursday. UP has become the third state in the country to provide tap connections to more than one crore rural households in a remarkably short span of time, a senior official in the state government said. (HT File)

Principal secretary (Namami Gange and Rural Water Supply) Anurag Srivastava will give a presentation on Har Ghar Jal-- the water-for-all initiative undertaken for Bundelkhand and Vindhya regions--at the venue.

Srivastava is reportedly the first officer in the country to be invited to speak on water initiatives at the Civil Services Day function. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to attend the concluding session.

Senior officers from across the country are likely to attend the Delhi event, whose theme is Developed India: Empowering citizens and reaching the last mile.

Srivastava, who has been associated with the Har Ghar Jal project since its inception in 2019, will speak about the changes experienced and seen in the state since.

Peoples lives changed dramatically as clean water is now available at their doorstep in Bundelkhand, a mountainous region with rocky and stony terrain. UP has become the third state in the country to provide tap connections to more than one crore rural households in a remarkably short span of time, a senior official remarked.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat has said if Ajit Pawar joins the BJP with a group of NCP leaders, then the Eknath Shinde-led Sena will not be part of the government in Maharashtra. Talking to mediapersons in Mumbai on Tuesday, Shirsat, whose party shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, said he thinks the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will not go with the BJP directly. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat.(Hindustan Times)

"Our policy is clear about it. The NCP is a party which betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out (of the earlier undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray) because people didnt like us going with the Congress and NCP," he said.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not said anything which means he doesn't want to be in the NCP. "We left the Congress-NCP (which were part of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government) because we didnt want to be with them. Ajit Pawar doesn't have a free hand there. Therefore, if he leaves the NCP, we will welcome him. If he comes along with along with a group of NCP (leaders), we will not be in the government," the Shiv Sena leader said.

He said Ajit Pawar's displeasure is because his son Parth Pawar lost election earlier. His displeasure has no connection with the case of a plea seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs pending before the Supreme Court. Shirsat was recently appointed spokesperson of the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Parth Pawar was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from Maval constituency in Maharashtra.

"Ajit Pawar not being reachable is not a new thing. But his displeasure, which is being shown by the media, and our case (pending before the Supreme Court) has no relation. Ajit Pawar is disgruntled since his son Parth Pawar had lost the election," Shirsat said. "Ajit Pawar was held responsible for the oath ceremony held at dawn (in November 2019 with Devendra Fadnavis). After two-and-a-half years, Sharad Pawar said it was an experiment to revoke President's rule," he claimed.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not clarified over this till date. The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 had lasted for three days. Shirsat said Ajit Pawar is a big leader and he will not tell easily about what is going on in his mind. He also slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi's move to hold rallies in parts of the state, as a show of unity and strength.

"We have to search for Ajit Pawar's stand in the ongoing rallies of MVA. He could not speak at the rally in Nagpur. The party which has only 15 MLAs (referring to Uddhav Thac is the key speaker and the one which has 54 MLAs is side-tracked. This is disrespect of Ajit Pawar," he said.
Mumbai: For three years, beginning from the academic year 2023-24, Marathi will be a graded subject for Classes 8, 9 and 10 in non-state board schools (CBSE, ICSE and IB). Students will henceforth get grades (A, B, C) instead of marks, besides which the assessment will not be included in the combined assessment of these examination boards. HT Image

The states decision stems from complaints from parents that Marathi scores have been pulling down the overall marks of their children. The new decision to grade Marathi will be applicable for three years, following which the state will reassess the situation and decide if it should be continued or there should be a return to the marking system.

In February 2020, the Maharashtra Compulsory Teaching and Learning of Marathi Language in Schools Bill, 2020 was unanimously passed in the state assembly. According to it, schools could be fined for not teaching Marathi as a compulsory subject. The rule was implemented in phases, involving two classes every year. For the academic year 2020-21, Classes 1 and 5 were mandated to study Marathi, followed by other classes in subsequent academic years.

The Government Resolution (GR) that was issued by the school education department on Wednesday regarding grades instead of marks has been met with disapproval in some quarters. Sushil Shejule, coordinator of the association of Marathi-medium school managements, pointed out that if the grades obtained in Marathi were not included in the consolidated marks of a student, the subject would not be on par with other compulsory subjects. Additionally, the GR states that the relaxation is only applicable for three years, but it is unclear who will review it later, he said.

Educationist Francis Joseph said that the government needed to consult the education boards concerned before changing any rule since as of now, most schools were implementing the compulsory Marathi rule. Instead of making these changes, the government should give students the option of choosing a level according to their understanding of the subject, he suggested. A compulsory language that is unfamiliar is tough on students who have shifted here from abroad or from another state in the middle of the academic year. The government should give such students a choice of level.
MUMBAI: Two finance companies allegedly duped two businessmen of lakhs in the name of processing fees for arranging finances for their projects. HT Image

In the first case, businessman Jyotibhushan Tiwari, 51, approached the MIDC police after he was cheated by the accused of 42 lakh. According to Tiwari, chairman of Sonachi Pharma company in Marol, they had purchased land in Hyderabad and the company required 500 crore to build their manufacturing plant and they were looking for a financer.

In January 2020, Tiwari met a man named Anthony Divya Kumar, 39, who had promised to arrange the required money. Kumar had told Tiwari that an American company named Chase Investment Ltd will provide the necessary finance.

In 2022, Kumar executed a memorandum of understanding and demanded his commission for getting the finance, Tiwari said, adding that he had given Kumar 42 lakh as commission. Kumar had promised that the amount will reflect in Tiwaris account within 60 days.

When the Tiwari did not get the promised amount, he asked Kumar to return the commission, however, the latter did not return the amount a police officer said. We have registered a case against Kumar and are verifying Tiwaris claims and transactions, the officer added.

In another case, a retired Mantralaya employee Asha Gaikwad filed a case against a finance company owner for allegedly cheating Gaikwads brother of 22 lakh in the name of processing fee to get him a loan of 5 crore.

According to the Charkop police, Gaikwads brother Ramesh Bansode was looking for financiers for his project. In February, he met Suhas Bhalerao who had introduced him to the accused, Darshana Botle, 30, owner of Capital Financing Services in Malad.

Botle had promised to arrange the required amount without any documentation for Bansode, provided she was paid a processing fee of 22 lakh. When Botle was unable to get Bansode any finance, he asked her to return the processing fee and approached the police after she failed to do so, a police officer said. We have booked Botle for cheating and investigating further, the officer added.
NAVI MUMBAI: In the aftermath of the Kharghar heatstroke tragedy, the health department of Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation, (NMMC) has rolled out its action plan if there are any new cases of heat stroke. A 10-bed ward has been prepared at the Nerul Municipal hospital and all the Urban Health Post (UHPs) have been asked to stock up with oral rehydration kits, Ice packs, paracetamol tablets etc. Navi Mumbai, India - April 17, 2023:A Deserted overview of Kharghar Corporate Ground, day after Maharashtra Bhushan Award at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai, India, on Monday, April 17, 2023. (Photo by Bachchan Kumar/ HT PHOTO) (HT PHOTO)

NMMC operates 23 UHPs and four municipal hospitals.

NMMC has issued an appeal informing residents about the precautions to be taken to avert heat stroke, nevertheless the corporation is also ensuring that it is in position to treat patients as and when needed, said municipal commissioner Rajesh Narvekar.

As per the decision taken, cases requiring admission are to be specifically transferred to the Nerul municipal hospital.  We are equipped with all necessary medication that includes adequate stock of Oral Rehydration Solutions (ORS), ice packs to cool down the patient additionally the ward is provisioned with a centralized Air conditioning unit and even has centralized oxygen supply. If needed we can even set up ventilators. The ward capacity too can be increased up to 20 beds and there are separate wards which too can be utilised if there is crisis like situation, said Medical superintendent of Nerul hospital, Dr Uddhav Khilare.

The soaring temperature in the city and the loss of human lives due to heatstroke during the Maharashtra Bhushan program held at Kharghar has prompted the Navi Mumbai Municipal Corporation (NMMC) to take precautionary measures for its citizens.  Across the state extreme temperature spikes are being recorded, in states like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, the temperature has crossed 43 degree Celsius. In fact, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that the temperature in Gondia, a district in Maharashtra, could reach up to 49 degrees this summer. Then the unfortunate incident in Kharghar -- all were an indications of the problems that can occur and therefore it was important to be prepared, said the Medical officer Health (MOH), Dr Pramod Patil.

Following a meeting convened by the Municipal Commissioner on Tuesday morning, the health department, NMMC has worked out its action plan to tackle cases of heat stroke. Some of the measures already implemented include screening of every patient visiting the out patient department of NMMC hospital for any signs of dehydration.  We have been asked to check the vitals of the patients visiting the OPD and ascertain whether it is associated with the rising heat. A record is also being maintained about the number of patients visited and whether their ailments are due to the extreme temperature, said a medical officer from Turbhe UHP.

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MUMBAI: The special MCOCA court on Wednesday acquitted a private detective and two others arrested six years back for allegedly demanding 7 crore from senior IAS officer Radheshyam Mopalwar. HT Image

The court gave a benefit of doubt to the accused and acquitted Satish Mangle, his wife Shraddha Mangle, and their purported associate Atul Tambe, who were hired by Mopalwar to assist in his fight for divorce from his wife.

The court said that the prosecution failed to prove their claims that the accused and the IAS officer had met three times, during which allegedly, money was demanded and exchanged for not sharing videos and audio recordings of Mopalwar.

According to the prosecution case, Mopalwar was posted as vice president and managing director of Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) when he met Mangle, who owned Shirley Detective Agency, through a common friend. Mopalwar had sought the detectives assistance in his legal fight for divorce from his wife.

However, allegedly soon Mangle had started demanding money from Mopalwar. The prosecution alleged that Mangle had gathered several videos and audio tapes against the IAS officer. He allegedly gave some of them to news channels and then began blackmailing the IAS officer.

The prosecution claimed that the Mangle couple began threatening to defame Mopalwar with the video and audio recordings, if he failed to give them 7 crore. It was alleged that it was during discussions over the demand for money and its payment that there were three meetings between the trio and the IAS officer.

It was alleged that during these meetings, Mangle had first demanded 10 crore and later, settled for 7 crore. The prosecution claimed that the three were arrested while accepting a part of the payment at a famous seven-star hotel in Juhu.

The court, however, discarded the prosecution case and observed that the prosecution had failed to establish the three meetings and the alleged call recordings, which were at the center of the controversy.

On Wednesday, while pronouncing the verdict the court said the prosecution had claimed that there were three meetings between Mopalwar and Mangle in which the demand of 10 crore was discussed.

The first meeting was held on October 23, 2017, at Kharegaon Toll Naka, on Nasik Highway, the second meeting was held at Shangrila Resort wherein the conversation in which Mangle allegedly demanded 10 crore was recorded by Mopalwar. It was claimed that Mangle agreed to accept installments of 1 crore on November 2, 2017, and 3 crore on November 21, 2017. Mopalwar later approached the Thane police and lodged a complaint against the Mangles and their associate.

While acquitting the three, the court observed that, There were doubts created about the first meeting on whether the first informant was present there. The call data record showed he was not present, the court said.

Besides, the court said, for the meeting held at the resort, the CCTV footage was submitted but it did not reflect what discussion or conversation took place and hence, the court discarded the video recording done by Mopalwar.

For the meeting held at the seven-star hotel, the court said the spy camera used by Mopalwar was never seized and submitted before the court in a prescribed manner because of which it created doubts and therefore discarded the evidence as inadmissible.

The court, hence, gave a benefit of doubt to the accused and acquitted them.
The Supreme Court has granted bail to Assam lawmaker Akhil Gogoi in a case under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) even as it upheld a high court order setting aside a special courts July 2021 verdict discharging him. Assam lawmaker Akhil Gogoi. (PTI)

A bench of justices V Ramasubramanian and Pankaj Mithal on Tuesday brushed aside the National Investigation Agency (NIA)s objections while noting it was a fit case for granting bail. It said the investigation in the case was over and there was nothing to show that Gogoi was involved in any unlawful activity since he was discharged.

In this case, the investigation is over and the petitioner is not yet a convicted criminal. Therefore, we do not think that any purpose will be served in allowing the special court to remand him to custody and then enabling him to move an application for bail. The bench said Gogoi will remain out on bail during the period of trial on the fulfilment of the special courts conditions.

Gogoi moved the Supreme Court after the high court set aside his discharge on February 9. His lawyer, Huzefa Ahmadi, argued his client should be granted bail if the trial resumes.

Gogoi was arrested in December 2019 for his alleged Maoist links following his participation in protests against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.

The bench said except for the offences under UAPA, Gogoi faces charges including sedition, which is punishable with a maximum sentence of three years, half of which he has already been incarcerated for.
PRAYAGRAJ Efforts to nab slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmeds wife Shaista Parveen have been further intensified in the past 48 hours. Police teams are raiding all known possible hideouts, including the houses of her kin in different localities and villages of Prayagraj and neighbouring Kaushambi districts, said cops privy to the development. Police believe Atiqs wife could divulge vital leads in Umesh Pal murder case. (HT Photo)

Police officials believe that with the murders of Atiq Ahmed and his younger brother Khalid Azeem (aka Ashraf) as well as death of Atiqs son Asad Ahmad in encounter with U.P. STF in Jhansi on April 13, Shaista remains the one who could shed more light on the planning and execution of February 24 killings of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards.

One of the named accused in Umesh Pal murder case, Shaista has been on the run since the February 24 murders. She carries 50,000 reward on her head. Shaista failed to attend the funerals of her son Asad on April 15 as well as of her husband and brother-in-law held at Kasari Masari graveyard on April 16. She has also not surrendered before the court.

During the past 48 hours, raids have been carried out by police teams in search of Shaista Parveen at Baretha, Mariyadeeh, and Hatwa areas of Kaushambi district. Also, Rajruppur, Chakia, Kasari Masari, and Bamrauli areas of Prayagraj were raided. Even the house of Sahistas father Mohd Haroon has been searched in Kasari masari area of Prayagraj, said a senior police officer aware of the developments.

Several close relatives are also being questioned about her whereabouts, he added. As Sahista was last seen in the city in a commercial car, police are also reaching out to the owners of travel agencies to find out if they have any leads. Police officials claim that Shaista has been supporting Atiq in many of his criminal acts and maintain that she played a vital part in the conspiracy to eliminate Umesh Pal.

To help Atiq, who could not get the licence for new weapons owing to his criminal record, Shaista procured the licences for three weapons -- including a sophisticated rifle and two pistols -- in her name using fake address with the help of Atiqs connections without even having to go for the mandatory test firing required before being issued a weapon license, said a police officer.

This has led to the first three cases being registered against her at Colonelganj police station in 2009 under different relevant sections of IPC and Arms Act, the official added. According to police, Shaista started actively managing her husbands empire after Atiq went to jail in February 2017. She was even videorecorded walking along with Atiqs known henchmen in city. She also started making inroads in political corridors soon after.

Police claim that at the behest of Atiq, she used to collect extortion money from builders and other traders. She gave the money extorted through such sources to assailants involved in the murder of Umesh Pal and his two police guards. While conducting raids to nab Shaista post February 24 murders, police even recovered cash worth 72 lakh that she had allegedly given to her servant Rakesh to hide, said a police officer aware of the development.

Apart from the three cases (dating back to 2009) lodged in connection with procuring weapons illegally, Shaista also has a fourth case registered against her on February 24, 2023, at Dhumanganj police station under relevant sections of IPC which relates to gunning down of lawyer Umesh Pal and his two police guards in Sulem Sarai locality of Prayagraj.

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PRAYAGRAJ Days after mafia-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Khalid Azeem (aka Ashraf) were shot dead by three assailants, the Prayagraj police commissioner Ramit Sharma on Wednesday ordered suspension of five policemen -- including the station house officer (SHO) of Shahganj police station Ashwani Kumar Singh. The two brothers were in the custody of Dhumanganj police at the time of the incident on April 15 night. (HT Photo)

Other policemen suspended over the murders include -- in-charge of Neewa police outpost sub-inspector Preet Pandey, sub-inspector Shiv Prasad Maurya, constable Jaymesh Kumar, and constable Sanjay Prajapati of Dumanganj police station, said a senior police officer.

Based on a report of the special investigation team (SIT) set up by the Prayagraj Police Commissioner to probe the murders of Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf, action has been taken against these policemen for showing laxity and failing to take adequate precautions and security of the two accused in custody.

The killing of the two brothers in police custody had taken place on the Motilal Nehru (Colvin) Divisional Hospital premises that falls under Shahganj police station. The two brothers were in the custody of Dhumanganj police at the time of the incident on April 15 night. They were being taken to the Colvin Hospital for daily medical check-up as mandated by the court while allowing the police remand.

As Atiq and Ashraf, tied in a single handcuff, were being taken on foot inside the hospital buildings, three armed assailants posing as media persons had opened fire using sophisticated handguns and firing multiple rounds at them from close quarters, killing them on the spot. The assailants had then surrendered to the policemen present on the spot.

The SIT set up to probe the murders of Atq and Ashraf is headed by additional deputy commissioner of police (crime) Satish Chandra as its chief investigator. It also has assistant commissioner of police (kotwali) Satendra Prasad Tiwari and inspector Om Prakash of Crime Branch (investigation cell) of Prayagraj police as co-investigators.

A high-level team has also been set up by U.P. DGP RK Vishwakarma to supervise this probe. The panel comprises ADG (Prayagraj zone) Bhanu Bhaskar as its head, police commissioner (Prayagraj) Ramit Sharma, and director of forensic science laboratory, Archana Tripathi.

The SIT members had visited Dhumanganj police station on Tuesday and questioned policemen who were escorting the two brothers at the time of the incident. The SIT also spoke to the policemen of Shahganj police station who were to provide the security at the hospital premises.

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KANPUR More than 24 hours after the house of a minor gangrape survivor was set ablaze in Unnao, police on Wednesday arrested her uncle for arson. The fire endangered the lives of the 14-year-old gangrape survivor, her infant son, and her three-month-old sister, among others. Police have also recovered a lighter from the accused. (HT Photo)

The action comes after the siblings of the gangrape survivor told police that their uncle torched the house late on Monday evening. Notably, the girls uncle and grandfather are among the seven accused in the gangrape case. The survivor, who was impregnated during the sexual assault, conceived a son.

Police had received a video in which the children can be seen speaking about their uncle and how he set the house on fire. Thereafter, cops confirmed the authenticity of the video with the children. The rape survivor has seven siblings, said Siddharth Meena, SP Unnao.

Police have also recovered a lighter from the accused, which the children pointed out was used to start the fire. The house was set on fire just five days after the family alleged that the gangrape accused attacked the survivors father with an axe. Due to serious injuries, he had to be hospitalised. In this case too, the survivors uncle was charged under section 151 CrPC.

Among the seven accused in the gangrape case, two were given bail in December while another secured a bail in February. Further probe is underway into the incident of torching the survivors house, said SP Meena.

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PATNA: Twenty-four students fell sick after consuming mid-day meal served at a school in Bihars Gaya district on Wednesday, said administration officials. A student alleged that she found a dead lizard in the meal. (AFP)

According to officials, the incident came to light after one of the students, identified as Chhoti Kumari, of Kastoorba Vidyalaya, Maigra, started vomiting in the class after eating the meal. After I ate two rotis, I found a dead lizard in the vegetable and I felt sick, she alleged.

Soon after, other students also fell sick and were shifted to the primary health centre, officials said.

The school administration shifted the sick students to the nearby PHC and informed the police and administration about the incident. Dumaria circle officer reached the school and health centre to take stock of the situation.

The food samples could not be collected as it was thrown away, officials said.

The Gaya district administration took cognisance of the matter and said action will be taken against the school headmaster and others if found guilty. It is also being probed who was the person who threw the food away. Further investigation will be done on the basis of the report, said a district administration official familiar with the matter.

Narendra Tripathi, headmaster of the school told HT that after eating the mid-day meal over two dozen students complained of stomach ache and vomiting.

PHC-in-charge Dharmveer Kumar admitted that the school authority brought 24 students for treatment. Eight are undergoing treatment while the others were shifted to another place by the health department, officials said.

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A group of people gheraoed the Bihta police station in Bihars Patna district on Tuesday demanding the release of 45 people who were arrested on Monday for illegal sand mining and attacking officials, police said. Officials of the Bihars Mining Department, including two women, were beaten with sticks allegedly by sand mining mafia after they seized overloaded sand trucks on Monday. (Video grab/ANI)

On Monday, officials of the Bihars Mining Department, including two women, were beaten with sticks allegedly by sand mining mafia after they seized overloaded sand trucks near Koliwar bridge under Bihta police station. On getting information, a police team with reinforcement reached the spot, arrested 45 people and seized two dozen trucks from the spot.

Danapur assistant superintendent of police (ASP) Abhinav Dheeman said that the Bihta police have lodged four separate first information reports (FIRs) against 55 named and dozens of others based on the statement of three injured mining officials and the station house officer (SHO) of the Bihta police station.

All the arrested persons were sent to judicial custody on Tuesday evening.

A black Scorpio fitted with a walkie-talkie was also seized from the spot. During the investigation, police found that the Scorpio was being used by the Entry Mafia, said the ASP. An Entry Mafia is a group, mostly youngsters, who escort illegal sand mining and overloaded trucks and ensure safe passage from their jurisdiction.

The ASP said that police are trying to arrest the owner as well as his accomplices.

On April 12, the mafia also torched a temporary check post that was set up between Bihta-Bhojpur road.

Meanwhile, geology and mining minister Ramanand Yadav, who visited the spot on Tuesday, said the government would take steps to stop illegal mining. Yadav said no innocent would face criminal cases but those who are involved in the incident would not be spared.

I have asked my department to coordinate with the authorities concerned to stop this, or face the consequences, said Yadav.

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The Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Wednesday raided two locations of a prominent Patna builder against which the Real Estate Appellate Tribunal (REAT), Bihar, passed an order last week for trapping prospective home buyers and diverting money collected from allottees of a particular project for acquiring other landed property or fresh project. (Representative Photos)

Raids by the central agency were carried out at the Kankarbagh and Danapur locations of Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd, said a senior official. The officials of the ED are scanning the documents seized. The process is on, he added.

REAT had earlier dismissed the appeal of Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd against the order of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA), Bihar, Patna.

The authority had in November last year decided to proceed under the provisions of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 in order to complete the remaining work of the stuck-up project by the association of allottees as registration of the project granted by the authority had already lapsed on December 31, 2019.

Further, directions were given to both respondent/complainant, as well as, the association of allottees to get the evaluation of the project done by a chartered valuer who will determine the estimated resale value of unsold partially constructed flats and refer the matter for consultation with the government so that long pending project is completed in the interest of allottees.

The nature of dispute solely created by the unscrupulous promoter is exemplary in nature and perhaps to avoid such a situation, Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 was brought into existence by the Parliament. The promoter has gained notoriety in trapping prospective home buyers and money collected from allottees of a particular project and diverting it for acquiring other landed property or fresh project to trap others, the bench of tribunal chairman justice (retd) Arun Kumar and Sunil Kumar Singh observed in the order.

The complaint was filed seeking possession of the flats by the buyers who had paid in advance to Agrani Homes Pvt Ltd. The project was to be completed with possession to be given to the allottees as per the agreement in December 2015, however, even after eight years since its commencement, the project still remains unfinished. The promoter never made any complaint to the authority regarding non-payment by allottees.

The tribunal rejected the promoters plea that RERA passed the order without considering the application for an extension of the period of registration on the plea that it was done after the expiry of the registration period, while the rule states it should be done three months prior to the registration expiry date along with requisite fee and documents supporting the cause of delay.

In fact, the promoter is a defaulter in discharging the legal obligation to complete the project and the authoritys order is to protect the interest of the flat allottees, the order from the tribunal said.

The tribunal cited section 8 of the Act, which empowers the authority, on expiration or revocation of registration, to take effective steps in consultation with the state government to get the project completed by a selected agency, or a competent authority, or by the association of allottees and the first right of refusal for carrying out remaining development work lies with the association of allottees.

The tribunal also criticised RERA for its lackadaisical attitude in granting registration in a mechanical manner without ascertaining whether the project was eligible for registration or not, as at the time of making application for registration of the project on April 30, 2018, the validity of map plan granted by the competent authority had lapsed in the year 2015.

The order is significant as several buyers in Patna have been suffering due to delays and the whimsical attitude of builders and promoters. I am unable to move into my flat at Parasnath Complex, despite registration over a year ago as my builder, Maa Tara Constructions and Developers, has not completed the project as promised at the time of the agreement, said Kameshwar Jha, vice chairman of the State Higher Education Council (SHEC).

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PATNA: A decision by education department officers in Patna to get senior students to oversee junior classes when the teachers are away for the caste survey on Wednesday prompted the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to criticise the government. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar during the beginning of the second phase of the caste census at Bakhtiyarpur on April 15 (HT File Photo)

This is unfortunate. Teachers are being used and misused for non-productive purposes, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and leader of Opposition in Bihar assembly Vijay Kumar Sinha said on Wednesday, insisting that it would have been better to deploy other state government employees for the task.

Patna district education officer (DEO) Amit Kumar said it was a temporary arrangement decided at a meeting of stakeholders so that school work is not completely disrupted due to the exercise.

A circular issued by Kumars office said schools should deploy senior students as class monitors to engage students when teachers are not available due to the caste survey. It asked teachers to mark their attendance at any point between 6:30am and 11:30am and get back to the caste survey.

Kumar said the decision was taken at the meeting with stakeholders on April 15, the day the second round of the caste survey was formally started. It will continue till May 15. The first round, in which officials listed the households to be covered and numbered them, was conducted between January 7 and 21.

It is a makeshift arrangement so that schools are not fully disrupted due to caste survey. It is a known fact that teachers are engaged in the work. If there are 10 teachers and 4-5 are engaged, naturally classes will suffer. But we dont want the schools to be fully disrupted. It is not an order. It was a way out discussed at the meeting and is part of the proceedings, Kumar added.

In Patna district alone, about 15,000 officials, including enumerators and observers, have been assigned various responsibilities for the door-to-door survey.

Across the state, the government has assigned about 320,000 enumerators to document the details of 29 million registered households on 17 socioeconomic criteria  ranging from employment, education, marital status, land holding and property ownership  and caste. Enumerators will have to choose between 214 pre-registered castes that have been allotted individual codes.

The BJP said the deployment of teachers showed that the Nitish Kumar government had no interest in education.

Sinha hit out at the government for going ahead with caste survey to use it as a political tool at the cost of childrens education. The government should clarify if it is its order, else it should take action against the DEO, he said.

Imagine the plight of teachers and students. Nitish Kumar has to fulfil his political mission of hanging on to power as long as possible and he is up to new tricks. In a state where he syllabus is never completed in schools, senior students are being asked to monitor junior classes because the teachers cannot be in schools. Senior students need more serious schooling, but they dont get subject teachers. Education is being destroyed here, said Sinha.

An education department official said that teaching at schools will be affected, but there was no choice. Due to heatwave conditions, the problem is for the real and the department may announce holidays for the students. Summer vacation may be early. That will leave the teachers will time to continue with the survey at a convenient time, he added.

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The death of a 12-year-old boy in a leopard attack in Junnar, Pune district, has once again bought focus to the man-animal conflict in the region. Three people have died in 27 incidents this year. On Sunday, a 12-year-old boy died after he was attacked by a leopard in Junnars Otur village. (HT FILE PHOTO)

Sanjeev Bashiram Zamre (12), son of migrant labourers stepped out of the farm to address natures call on Sunday evening, when the leopard attacked and dragged him for a short distance. The incident occurred in Otur village in Junnar.

Earlier on the same day, a minor girl was attacked by a leopard in Bhimashankar area. She sustained serious injuries.

The leopard attacks have increased in Pune, even as the forest department are taking precautions. The forest department has also placed a few cages to capture leopards in the area where their population is high.

We have an established Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for rescuing all animals. If an animal is spotted, our teams will rescue it. All medical formalities are performed at the rescue centre, where the animal is first taken and then released in their natural habitat, said Rahul Patil, deputy conservator of forests, Pune.

With forest areas being encroached by urbanisation, the animals are making their way to human civilisation. This year has already seen 27 incidents and the forest department has advised citizens to maintain safe distance and notify forest department if they spot an animal, said officials.

We have rescue teams in place, along with volunteers who are ready to tackle such a situation in every Tehsil in Pune. We also maintain compensation packages for any damage to crops within villages due to the attack of the animal, or for any physical damages endured by the people. said Patil.

Speaking about the increase in leopard attacks Patil said, It is due to the thinning of forest corridor. Animals are seen to be invading human space since there has been diversion of forest land and the jungle corridor is damaged. It is inevitable as they will come out to make their space.

According to locals, these situations are becoming frequent near the forest areas and cause physical and economical damage. There should be a lasting and innovative solution by concerned departments.
The Pune city polices Anti-Extortion Unit No. 2 has detained a man for threatening and extorting politicians across the city. Police informed that he had committed the crime to avenge the refusal of his girlfriend to marry him. The Pune city polices Anti-Extortion Unit No. 2 has detained a man for threatening and extorting politicians across the city (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

The accused has been identified as Shanawaz Gaziykhan, a resident of Guruwar Peth.

Recently, many political figures in and around the city had been targeted with ransom calls and death threats. Given the gravity of the incidents, the Crime Branchs Anti-Extortion Unit was charged with conducting an investigation.

During the technical analysis, a similar modus operandi was observed in all the incidents. It was discovered that Gaziykhan would disclose the car details of a girls parent to all lawmakers and ask them to put the ransom in that car. He hoped to use her car information to falsely implicate her in the case.

Accused Gaziykhan was a member of the marriage bureau WhatsApp group, stated Ramnath Pokale, Additional Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch.

His marriage proposal was turned down by the parents of a girl. To exact revenge on them, he gave their automobile information to various politicians so that police might apprehend them, he added.

Pokale went on to say that by using a womans WhatsApp DP, he was able to communicate with many males and hack their accounts by stealing their OTP.

Then he threatens political leaders using these Whatsapp numbers.

Gaziykhan was arrested for extortion from political leaders in order to exact revenge on the girl and his family who had rejected his marriage proposal, said DCP (crime) Amol Zende.

Further investigation is currently underway to learn more about the case, he added.

During the inquiry, police discovered that the accused had acquired the mobile numbers of former Shiv Sena MP Shrirang Barane, corporator Gajanan Babar, and many more politicians and businesses to make threatening and extortion calls in the near future.
The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in its recent report titled Status of Tigers 2022 remarked that tiger occupancy has been expanded towards the territorial forest divisions of Maharashtra. The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) in its recent report titled Status of Tigers 2022 remarked that tiger occupancy has been expanded towards the territorial forest divisions of Maharashtra. (HT FILE PHOTO)

As per the authority, this expansion requires urgent attention and preparedness to deal with negative human-tiger interactions.

In a recently released tiger census report, it was highlighted that the tiger population in India has increased from 2,967 in 2018 to 3,167 in 2022.

The research also stated that Maharashtra, which is part of the Central Indian highland, had seen remarkable tiger population growth.

According to the research status of Tigers, co-predators, and prey in the Vidharbha landscape, a minimum of 390 tigers were observed, with an estimated population of 446.

According to the NTCA data, Tiger has taken various Maharashtra territory regions that were not occupied in 2018.

Sunil Limaye, former senior chief conservator of forests (Wildlife), Maharashtra, who was also a member of the research team, stated, The report highlighted the expansion of the tiger population, and the good news is that it has not declined. It is an encouraging sign that our conservation efforts are bearing fruit. The new expansion areas are primarily in the Vidharbha region, and attempts are being made to investigate this matter.

This regions wildlife habitats (PAs and corridors) face a variety of threats, including habitat encroachment, illegal hunting of both tigers and their prey, human-wildlife conflicts, unregulated and illicit cattle grazing, excessive harvesting of non-timber forest products (NTFP), human-induced forest fires, mining, and ever-expanding linear infrastructure.

This region also has multiple mines of significant minerals, hence mitigating measures such as lower mining effect techniques and mining site rehabilitation should be prioritised.

It is critical to build environmentally friendly methods to mitigate the influence of linear infrastructure on connectivity between two habitats.

Speaking of conservation initiatives According to Limaye, the Sahyadri area is mostly a wildlife corridor, thus the tiger does not slather for long periods.

We need to create a habitat for them if we want them to stay in this location. It entails boosting the prey population. For this reason, the forest department intends to establish a breeding programme for prey animals in this reserve, he said.
In a tragic incident, a 23-year-old woman lost her life after falling from her balcony while attempting to retrieve clothes from a lower floor in Kirkatwadi on Tuesday. 23-year-old woman lost her life after falling from fourth floor in Pune (REPRESENTATIVE IMAGE)

The deceased has been identified as Akansha Singh. According to police information, she was alone at home when she noticed some of her dried clothes were lying on the lower floor balcony. As the flat downstairs was locked, she tied a saree to the fourth floors balcony and attempted to disembark. However, she lost her balance during the descent and fell down from the fourth floor.

The victim had been staying with her cousins in Kirkatwadi. After the incident, residents immediately contacted the police and her relatives. She was rushed to Sassoon Hospital for further treatment, where doctors announced her dead. In this context, the Haveli Police Station has opened an accidental death investigation.
RANCHI: The directorate of enforcement (ED) has provisionally attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs. 39.28 crore belonging to of a former Jharkhand rural development department chief engineer who was arrested by the federal agency on money laundering charges in February this year, ED officials said on Wednesday. The ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) Jamshedpur. (Picture for representation)

The former chief engineer Veerendra Kumar Ram is currently in judicial custody.

According to an ED statement, the properties which have been attached, include a farmhouse, flats, a duplex bungalow, land in Delhi, Jamshedpur and Ranchi, and three bank accounts having a collective balance of around 36 lakh.

ED had initiated a money laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the anti-corruption bureau (ACB) Jamshedpur. Investigation revealed that Ram posted as chief engineer in the rural works department in Ranchi had generated proceeds of crime in the name of commission from contractors in lieu of allotment of tenders to them. The proceeds of crime thus generated were used by Ram and his family members to live a very lavish lifestyle, the agency said.

A search was conducted at 30 premises related to Ram in different cities and as a result, various incriminating evidences were seized, officials said.

Further, during the raid, cash worth 40 lakh (approx), seven high ends luxurious vehicles, and jewellery worth 1.51 crore were recovered and seized which were later found to be part of proceeds of crime acquired by him. Subsequently, Ram was arrested by ED on February 23, 2023, after being found guilty of money laundering, the agency said.

Alok Ranjan, cousin of Ram was also arrested on April 11, 2023, as he was found to be assisting him in laundering the proceeds of crime in the present case. Both Ram and Ranjan are in judicial custody and further investigation is in progress.

Meanwhile, the agency on Wednesday sought four-week time from the Jharkhand high court to furnish a status report of its investigation in the case. The development was part of a public interest litigation filed by one Pankaj Yadav seeking a CBI investigation in the cash haul case.
RANCHI: Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan has returned the bill that proposes to increase reservation in state government jobs for the socially and educationally backward sections of the society back to Hemant Soren government suggesting it to review the legislation, people aware of the development said on Wednesday. Jharkhand Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan. (PTI)

As per the bill, popularly known as the OBC reservation bill, the quota of the other backward classes (OBC) would increase to 27% (up from 14%), for schedule tribes (ST) it would go up to 28% (from 26%) and 12% for the scheduled castes (up from 10%). After including 10% reservation for EWS (economically weaker section), the total reservation in state government jobs would go up to 77%.

The bill, passed at a one-day special session on November 11, 2022, also proposes to be included in the ninth schedule of the Constitution. The state government had sent the bill to the Governor for assent and forwarded to the Centre for its inclusion in the ninth schedule.

A senior official in Raj Bhawan, however, said the bill has been returned back to the government based on the legal opinion provided by the Attorney General of India.

The previous governor (Ramesh Bais) had sent the bill to the Attorney General for a legal opinion. As per the attorney generals opinion, the bill does not confer with several Supreme Court judgments over the issue of reservation. Considering that opinion, Raj Bhawan returned the bill back to the government last month for a review, the official said.

Sources said the attorney general has underlined that the bill cant be given assent as it crosses the 50 percent cap laid on job quota for different caste groups as affirmative action.

Though this is the first bill to have been returned by incumbent governor CP Radhakrishnan, the state government and Raj Bhawan have been at loggerheads in the state over the past couple of years, with the Hemant Soren government having repeatedly accused the governors office of working in a partisan manner.

The development has once invoked a sharp response from the ruling party as well as the Opposition.

It is clear that the Raj Bhawan is working with a biased mindset. Our key legislations like the Khatiyan bill and anti-lynching bills were also blocked. On one hand the BJP brags about the welfare of OBCs and on another hand their governor is obstructing our law that intends to double up their quota, said Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha.

The Opposition BJP, however, accused the government of deliberately making controversial laws with the aim to fool people.

They deliberately take decisions that are technically incorrect because their intention is not to do what they preach. They have made false promises and are fooling people by making consulates laws which would never get cleared legally, said senior BJP legislator and former minister CP Singh.

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Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan reunited for a shoot in Mumbai on Tuesday. As per multiple reports, the Pathaan co-actors were spotted shooting for a special song for Shah Rukh's forthcoming action film, Jawan, in photos shared on paparazzi and fan pages. Both Deepika and Shah Rukh wore white shirts with black pants and black boots in the leaked pictures from the set. Also read: Shah Rukh Khan unveils his battered, bruised look for Atlees Jawan; fans cant keep calm Actors Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone in the song Jhoome Jo Pathaan.

In some of the photos, Deepika Padukone, who had her hair tied in a ponytail, also wore a red scarf. She and Shah Rukh also carried red shirts as they danced on set during the song's shoot. Fans reacted to their latest photos, and said they could not wait to see them together again on the big screen, even if only in a song. "This is fab, can't wait (fire emoji)," commented a fan on their photos shared on Instagram.

Shah Rukh has been busy working on Jawan, which also features Nayanthara. The movie will also have Vijay Sethupathi in a negative role. Jawan is written and directed by Atlee and backed by Shah Rukh's wife, Gauri Khan. The film will be released this year in theatres worldwide in five languages  Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada.

Last year in June, Shah Rukh had shared the teaser of his upcoming film. It gave fans a glimpse of Shah Rukhs new look in the much-anticipated film. Around the same time, Shah Rukh had said that 'inevitable issues surrounding us' had led to the delay in Jawan. He also thanked film director Atlee for 'making his dream come to life'.

Shah Rukh Khan was reportedly shooting for his upcoming films Dunki and Jawan simultaneously. After the success of his last film Pathaan, which was released in January, he will be again seen in a rugged avatar in Jawan. The initial shoot began for the action film began in 2021. The movie has reportedly been shot in Pune, Hyderabad, Chennai, Rajasthan and Mumbai.

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Radhika Apte has always played a variety of roles on screen, each more interesting than the other. After playing a cop with a spicy way of tongue in Monica O My Darling, the actor recently played a housewife-cum-undercover spy in Anushree Mehta's film Mrs Undercover. The film may have received a mixed response but there is no denying how interestingly the actor played the role of Durga, a vulnerable woman who hardly has a say in front of her husband but is given the task to find a most wanted killer. Also read: Mrs Undercover trailer: Housewife-spy Radhika Apte has to choose between the mission and her son's unit tests. Watch Radhika Apte recently featured in Mrs Undercover.

Radhika, who is trained in contemporary dance from London, has now said she would be happy to do more action and more dance on screen if the filmmakers are listening.

In an interview with Hindustan Times, Radhika talked about her latest film which released on ZEE5, and she is anything but "just a housewife" in real life. She also talked about working extensively on OTT and why the audience is choosing it over theatres. Excerpts:

Would you have married somebody just for a cover had you been in Durga's place?

If I was a real undercover, maybe I would have married somebody just for a cover.

You are not at all a conventional housewife. You travel from London to India for work and you both make it work. What is your life as a wife when you are in London?

Yeah. I'm not conventional. I'm not a housewife at all. Me and my husband do everything together or we distribute jobs equally, and we have complete equality in our relationship.

You spend a lot of your time in London as well. Haven't you thought of doing some work in the West? We are also yet to see you dance on screen.

I hope the filmmakers are listening to me - I would love to do more dance and more action in films. Working abroad is tough but I just finished a British film called System Midnight, and I have another American film in the pipeline. So let's see. I like to do work in India also, I want to keep doing both.

You recently spoke about how you lost a project just because you were 3-4 kgs more. Do you still lose out on projects over stupid reasons or are you calling the shots now?

I think things are changing now; weight, looks and everything. This is not entirely governing how people are doing things and how people are, whether people are getting jobs or not. Things are definitely changing, thanks to so many people and their contribution towards it.

Is there a recent character you have loved and wish you get to play something like that?

I really like my character in Monica O My Darling. I wish we do something, on that, some extension of that.

OTT has boomed like anything and is the best place for talent now. Do you think silver screen is now mostly for big budget glamourous entertainers and pure talent suits OTT?

Let's just wait and see what happens in OTT and films because I think there are various reasons why probably the theatres have become a bit difficult to rely on. It's a costly affair to go every weekend to the theatre, take the whole family when it's so cheap to sit at home and watch such a variety of content. Cinema is a part of our culture and I don't think it will die. I'm sure there will be a good balance that we can find.
Actor Ronit Bose Roy took to Instagram to share a cryptic post which hinted that he was betrayed by someone whom he considered like his brother. The actor didn't take any name but indicated how he had had been deceived by someone close and talked about the importance of being real in a space where everyone is fake. (Also read: Ronit Roy on why he lost Zero Dark Thirty due to Karan Johar's Student of the Year: 'They refused to release my dates') Ronit Roy shared a cryptic post on Instagram.

Bhaibro, these words have completely lost their meaning. When someone calls me that I take the words seriously and then they do to me what I wouldnt do to my enemy. It hurts but chalta hai (it is okay), it is their falling. Not mine, read the message on the post. The actor also added in the caption: "Money, status, all materials lost can be regained. Time, love, respect, relationships once lost can never be. At least not to its fullest glory. Why be #fake when you #needtobereal . #respect #yourself #screw #fakelove.

The cryptic post caught the attention of his fans and colleagues, accounting to which many wrote in the comments. Former actor and Minister of Minority Affairs, Smriti Irani also took to the comments and asked him what had happened. She wrote, Kya hua? in the comments. Actor Rupali Ganguly, of Anupama fame commented to show her support for Ronit and said, I totally feel u . (sad face emoticon) Take it with a pinch of salt and move on . Ekla Cholo re! (sic). Meanwhile, actor Actor Anuj Sachdeva extended his support in a comment and said, You are rightThese days these words are used for the heck of it. (Bro.. is like HI.. sorry is like Chill.. relax is like f**k it!).

A lot of fans also showed their support for the Udaan actor. "The problem is people these days live their lives on social media ...just bcos they may hv the "Be Real" platform they think they're real... Love off Instagram etc etc etc .... Theres nothing more Fake than social media and sadly ppl live their lives in this fake world," said one fan. Another comment read, "I know exactly what u mean.....but c'est la vie Ronit. Just remember there are a handful who will backstab but there are more than thousands who adore u!!!..Keep rocking (red heart emoticon)." Another fan said, "What is going wrong and right doesnt matter you know that we ( Ronitians) love you in every second."

Ronit is best known for his work in TV in shows such as Kyunkii Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kasautii Zindagii Kay, Bandini and Adaalat.

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Sushmita Sens brother Rajeev Sen spoke about the actor's health in a new interview. In March, Sushmita had said that she suffered a heart attack. Sharing her health update with fans, Rajeev said Sushmita was doing 'absolutely fine now'. Calling her mentally and physically 'very strong', the actor praised Sushmita for managing her work and health along with raising her two daughters Renee Sen and Alisah Sen. Also read: Sushmita Sen goes shopping with ex Rohman Shawl, daughter Alisah Sushmita Sen is working on her show Aarya's new season.

On March 2, Sushmita Sen had broken the news of her heart attack, a couple of days after it happened. In her Instagram post, the actor had said that she underwent an angioplasty at a hospital. Days later, Sushmita informed fans in an Instagram Live that it was a 'massive heart attack', which had caused 95 percent blockage in one of her arteries. She is now working on her web series Aarya season 3.

Speaking to ETimes, Rajeev said about Sushmita, "Shes absolutely fine now with the blessings of God. What happened was quite unfortunate, health is something which is quite unpredictable, things can happen. But touchwood shes doing much better, shes back to work." He added, "She is mentally very strong and physically as well. You need to be because it is not easy to manage two kids and be an actor at the same time. I did a short film for about 4 days and I had to go through so much and do hard work. And here I see my sister shooting for months non-stop. It takes a lot of toll and it is not easy."

Earlier this month, Sushmita's co-star Vikas Kumar had said in an interview that she had heart attack after landing in Jaipur for Aarya 3 shoot. A major chunk of season 3 is done. The show is Rajasthan based. There are some outside scenes that we have to shoot in Jaipur. We landed there, but unfortunately, Sushmita Sen suffered a heart attack. We didnt know at first about it. Ultimately in a couple of days, we got to know, as she revealed it to the world," Vikas had told News18.

He had further said, In the beginning, even she didnt know what happened. Tests were done and all. She came to know about it later and then she told the world. Thats how we got to know. We just did one day of shoot and then we realised that we cant proceed. By then, it was obvious that was not just a day or two affair, but we need to stop. So we stopped for a bit."

Sushmita, who was diagnosed with the autoimmune condition called Addison's Disease in 2014, had urged fans to monitor their health in a recent Instagram Live. Last month, just days after her heart attack, Sushmita left everyone surprised as she walked the ramp at the Lakme Fashion Week in Mumbai for designer Anushree Reddy. She was met with a thunderous applause as she turned showstopper.

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Babil Khan has shared the trailer of his late father and actor Irrfan's swan song The Song of Scorpions which is all set to release in India. Sharing the trailer, Babil wrote, Bringing alive a heart-wrenching tale of love, obsession and betrayal. The film is a folktale set in the Thar desert of Rajasthan and stars Irrfan as a camel dealer in love with Nooran (Golshifteh Farahani), a woman who is the only one to know the song with which she treats those bitten by a scorpion. Also read: Babil Khan has no space to keep his OTTplay Changemakers award amid Irrfan Khan's collection Irrfan in a still from The Song of Scorpions trailer.

The captivating trailer shows how Nooran travels on foot far and wide in the desert to sing for those bitten by scorpions to save their lives. Irrfan falls in love with her and even she reciprocates his feelings. But before the two could go on to tie the knot, a tragedy befalls her, bringing their plans to a standstill. Waheeda Rehman plays Nooran's grandmother in the film.

Director Anup Singh had told Hindustan Times in an interview in 2017 that it was Irrfan who had suggested Golshifteh Farahani's name for the female lead. Irrfan died in April, 2020 after a two-year-long battle with neuroendocrine tumour.

Talking about how he had written the male lead for Irrfan, he had said at the time, Yes, when I first started writing the male character, I even named him Irrfan! Thats how I saw the character. Theres the spirit of a musician in Irrfan. Though we dont really say much to each other, we listen to each others timbre, modulation, tone of voice, and improvise dialogues like two musical instruments would! We have a deep understanding and respect for each others creative inspiration. Therefore, when we work together, its not just comfortably but also with the joy of opening to each other our creative best.

He had even said, I do hope Ill make many more movies with Irrfan. I already have a script for when he is 80 years old! The Song of Scorpions will release in theatres on April 28, a day before Irrfan's third death anniversary.

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The title of Mahesh Babus upcoming Telugu film, which is being directed by Trivikram, will be unveiled on the occasion of his late father G. Krishnas birth anniversary on May 31, as per reports. The project marks the third collaboration between Mahesh and Trivikram, who had previously worked together in films such as Athadu and Khaleja. Also read: Mahesh Babu flexes biceps in new pic, Namrata Shirodkar reacts; fans say hes ready for Bollywood. See post Mahesh Babu at Sania Mirza's party. (ANI) (Mohammed Aleemuddin )

Mahesh Babu, over the last few years, has managed to share some updates with respect to his projects on the occasion of his fathers birth anniversary. As per a Pinkvilla report, the makers have zeroed in on May 31 to release the title of the movie. The film is currently dubbed SSMB28.

Since there was a lot of speculations on the movie being postponed, the makers had to announce the new release date recently, which is January 13, 2024. On personal grounds, Mahesh Babu is very close to his family and he shared a very special bond with his superstar father Krishna. With all the blessings and to make 31st May even more special, Mahesh Babu will be announcing the title of SSMB28 on father Krishna's birthday anniversary," a source was quoted in the report.

In the film, Mahesh will be seen sporting a new look featuring a stubble and long hair. The look has got his fans excited.

A few months ago, Namrata Shirodkar took to Instagram to share the picture of Mahesh in a completely new avatar which got his fans wondering if it is for his next film with filmmaker Trivikram. Some fans compared his look to Keanu Reeves in John Wick. This film also stars Pooja Hegde as Maheshs love interest. The rest of the cast and crew are yet to be officially announced.

Meanwhile, Mahesh will next team up with filmmaker SS Rajamouli for an Indiana Jones style globe-trotting action adventure. The film, which will have a story by Rajamoulis father Vijayendra Prasad, will be predominantly shot in the forests of Africa. Rajamoulis film is expected to go on the floors later this year or early next year.

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Andy Cohen, host of the Watch What Happens Live show, is no stranger to the Real Housewives franchise. However, in a shocking confession, the 53-year-old TV personality revealed that live reunions were a "very bad idea." During his Sirius XM series, Radio Andy, Andy explained why he would never host a live reunion again, citing the disastrous Miami Season 1 reunion. Andy Cohen, host of the Watch What Happens Live show.

"There's a reason we don't do reunions live," Andy stated. He also explained that during regular reunion tapings, it takes 12 to 13 hours to film, giving the ladies ample time to talk about certain subjects in depth. In contrast, live reunions often feel rushed and do not have the same level of depth and nuance.

Andy compared the experience of hosting a live reunion to a "fishing expedition," where the producers never know which topics will land or have the desired impact. Additionally, editing is crucial in shaping the final product, ensuring that it is "finely shaped" and that it has the desired impact.

It's not the first time that Andy has discussed the difficulties of hosting live reunions. During the Real Housewives of Miami Season 4 reunion, he apologized to Larsa Pippen for her first and only live reunion experience. He referred to the Miami Season 1 reunion as "horrible," and added that they had never done a live reunion since.

Also read | Real Housewives fans disappointed as Andy debunks rumors of new instalments

In light of Andy's confession, fans of the Real Housewives franchise will be keeping their fingers crossed that the upcoming Season 5 reunion will be a success. But it begs the question: can the producers deliver a finely crafted reunion without the convenience of editing? Only time will tell.
Tejasswi Prakash loves documenting her life on social media, and often shares her travel videos on her YouTube channel. In a new video, the actor who is known for her lead role in Ekta Kapoor's hit supernatural TV series Naagin, gave a glimpse inside her Mumbai home. As Tejasswi welcomed fans inside her 'very sweet little house', the actor said her home was not fancy like other celebrity homes. Also read: Karan Kundrra says he is ready to marry Tejasswi Prakash on any set in Film City Tejasswi Prakash inside the kitchen of her Mumbai home. (Credit: Brut India)

Tejasswi's home has simple interiors. The actor admitted not much thought has gone into putting the house together, revealing she has lived in the same house for 25 years. The actor will turn 30 in June this year. In the video, she also clarified that unlike popular belief, she was not born in Saudi Arabia, but had lived there as a baby.

In the video shared by Brut India, Tejasswi said as she showed of her living room with a floral wing chair, matching ottoman and a green couch, "This is the house that I have been living in for the last 25 years... there's not a lot of thinking. Not a lot of thinking has gone behind making this house. It is a very basic house. It has got four walls." When asked about the couple of teddy bears kept in the room, the actor said they were gifts from her fans. She then showed a carved wooden wall clock she bought from Switzerland, adding it was the 'smallest one' she could find as the others were massive and 'too expensive'.

Next, Tejasswi walked into her 'very basic kitchen' as she made tea. It had a grey fridge with floral fridge magnets, white countertop, limited grey cabinets and appliances, all in a grey and white colour theme. There was also a red staircase leading up to Tejasswi's 'small little balcony', which was more like a verandah, and quite spacious with lots of potted plants and views of nearby homes and trees.

Tejasswi won Bigg Boss 15 in 2022. She met actor-boyfriend Karan Kundrra on the Salman Khan-hosted reality show. She made her Marathi film debut with Mann Kasturi Re (2022).

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Bride-to-be actor Sreejita De is busy planning her Indo-German wedding with her beau Michael Blohm Pape. Sreejita De

My idea was always to have an intimate, close-knit wedding. The wedding at Hamburg will be held on July 1 whereas in October end, we will organise the rituals in India, and of course, with a long list of ceremonies, she says.

My sasural people are way too excited for the Indian wedding function as they want to be part of all the rituals including haldi, mehndi. I am tired of explaining the purpose of all the ceremonies, says De with a chuckle.

Being a Bengali, I had a Kolkata wedding on mind, but not all my friends and relatives could travel that far so we zeroed in on Goa.

Talking about her bridal trousseau, De says, Like almost everybody else in the industry, I have Sabyasachi (Mukherjee) trousseau on my mind. Also, we have that Bong connection which is also the reason to opt for him as a designer. As far as the German version of the wedding is concerned, I had already finalised my wedding gown when I was there. My would-be mother-in-law helped me find the perfect one for me.

On the work front, the Naxalbari and Untouchables actor has been readily exploring projects from across mediums. I will never restrict myself as I am a character centric artiste. My past projects well support that aspect. So, whichever medium would provide me with that satisfaction, my audience will find me there. As of now I am looking for something different yet again. Taking up such a role in Naxalbari that was totally out of the box, made me creatively content. That character was well received and thus motivated me to continue with my search for something unique.

De was also a part of Bigg Boss 16. Talking about her stint she says, There is no script, and you are left to live with people you might know a bit or dont know at all. But it was fun, I enjoyed it because I always find my tribe. And I dont carry the baggage of negativity. If I get to work with people with whom I dont gel at some point, I will still manage without slightest of apprehension.
International politics is an arena where there are no permanent friends or foes, there are only permanent interests. Because of the nature of international politics, shifting alliances have been a constant be it in the pre-World War II era, during the Cold War era or in the current multilateral system. The Bretton Woods institutions in the form of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank were created in 1945 to serve as important pillars for international capital financing and trade activities. However, given the inequalities in decisions around financing by the institutions and the emergence of the Global South as a potent political and economic force in international relations, the need for the creation of alternative mechanisms of cooperation around trade and investment was felt, as a result of which emerged groupings like that of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa (BRICS). Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa

While the BRICS is not a formal organisation, the leaders of the five groups meet annually to deepen, broaden and intensify cooperation for sustainable, equitable and mutually beneficial development. However, there have been systematic changes since the time the term BRIC was coined by Goldman Sachs in 2001 and now in 2023; to the extent that questions have even emerged on whether the group should exist anymore or not. In 2001, the countries were seen as potential drivers of the global economy; in 2023 Russia is engaged in a protracted war with Ukraine, China is suffering after effects of a stringent zero-Covid policy among other issues, the Brazilian economy contracted in 2022, the South African Gross (GDP) declined by 1.35 between October to December last year and growth in India is set to decline to 6.1% in 2023 before picking up to 6.8% in 2024.

In 2023, South Africa is set to host the 15th BRICS Summit in Durban in late August. The summit will be held in the in-person format for the first time in three years. The challenges for the grouping remain myriad, as Russias war in Ukraine continues, India and China remain locked in a military duel at the borders, while Brazil and South Africa remain preoccupied with severe internal challenges. In the grouping, India and China remain the two countries with relatively high growth rates, but trade between the two is marred by several challenges ranging from lack of equal market access in China to non-tariff barriers against Indian products. To add to the quagmire, possibilities of an uptick in bilateral relations remain less, as seen in last years Samarkand meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), where Prime Minister (PM) Modi and Xi Jinping ignored each other as they posed for a group photograph. The mutual and intentional display of ignoring each other at a forum specifically meant to promote cooperation in myriad fields had implications for where the bilateral relationship stood and could possibly be headed. The same could be witnessed in Durban since relations between India and China have only become worse since Samarkand.

Another problem for India that has been largely constant since 2017 when the U.S.-China trade war began is in Chinas and Russias anti-West stances. India has amicable relations with the West as compared to China and Russia and does not stand to benefit by taking a stance against the West. Even in last years virtual summit, PM Modi delicately and safely steered clear of Chinese and Russian rancor against the West, keeping his focus on the necessity for dialogue and the humanitarian crisis emerging from the situation in Ukraine. The problem of maintaining this delicate balance may only increase for India as China plans to extend BRICS memberships to other countries. While expansion of the BRICS may surely bring in greater scope for cooperation with other emerging economies, it also has immense possibilities that China includes countries with an anti-West stance and the voice against the West from within the BRICS only emerges louder making it more difficult for India. Also, there is a huge body of Chinese language research that states that BRICS and the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) can be aligned. If China does manage to expand the BRICS membership and get in countries that are more amenable to Chinese political interests, and BRI figures in prominently in BRICS declarations, yet another challenge for India emerges since the BRI is violative of Indian sovereignty in the form of the China-Pakistan economic corridor (CPEC) and India is not a signatory to the BRI. Another challenge which impedes the development of the BRICS as a potent force lies in the institutions it has itself created- such as that of the New Development Bank. The NDB as opposed to the World Bank, or the African Development Bank is opaque, and it is impossible to access information on its operational policies. It is also unclear on questions of accountability.

Beyond the creation of the NDB, the BRICS have had very little policy coordination to foster their own collective economic growth efforts. While China often calls out the Wests retreat from globalization, the fact is the Chinese market itself does not operate on fair economic principles. Given the huge social, political and governance differences, the group has not been able to live up to the expectations from it. The question here is should India then leave the grouping? While the BRICS may seem full of challenges for India, it always makes more sense to be in a room rather than to be outside it to understand discussions taking place within.
with Ajit Pawar on Tuesday night attended the NCP's Iftar party in Mumbai with uncle and NCP chief Sharad Pawar and his daughter MP Supriya Sule after a day-long drama speculating rifts in the Nationalist Congress Party. At the Iftar party, Sharad Pawar criticised the 'ruling forces' that inculcate the habit of taking the law in the hand. Without mentioning UP and the encounter of Asad Ahmad, the son of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad, Sharad Pawar said there is an attempt to create an atmosphere that this is the right thing to do, and this is not good for the country. Read | Pawar vs Pawar redux: Did uncle best the nephew again? Sharad Pawar and Ajit Pawar were seen at the NCP's Iftar Party in Mumbai on Tuesday. (PTI)

NCP drama over speculation that Ajit Pawar will support BJP: 10 points

1. Before the Iftar party where Sharad Pawar and his nephew Ajit Pawar were seen together, there was intense speculation that Ajit Pawar was up to some different political plan. In 2019, Ajit Pawar had extended support to the BJP.

2. The apparent rift is believed to have resulted from a power tussle inside NCP between Ajit Pawar and Supriya Sule.

3. With the rumours of Ajit Pawar breaking away a faction of the NCP, Sharad Pawar, Supriya Sule, Uddhav Thackeray and UBT Sena MP Sanjay Eait held a conference call. Ajit Pawar was not present.

4. Some NCP MLAs met Ajit Pawar and assured Ajit of their support -- whatever decision he takes.

5. Sharad Pawar dismissed the speculations and said there was no meeting convened by Ajit Pawar.

6. Ajit Pawar too came out with a statement clarifying that he would work for the NCP till he is alive.

7. "I have not taken the signatures of any MLAs. Now, all rumours must stop," Ajit Pawar said. "There are some media reports saying that I have convened a meeting of the (NCP) MLAs on Tuesday. This is completely false. I wish to clarify that I have not called a meeting of my party MLAs and office bearers," Ajit Pawar said.

8. Reports say though the top NCP leadership glossed over the speculations of the rift, Sharad Pawar was aware of the parleys between Ajit Pawar and the BJP and his meeting with the NCP MLAs.

9. It was Sharad Pawar who weighed Ajit Pawar down and quelled the fledgling rebellion in the party.

10. Sharad Pawar's aides started contacting the party MLAs and they were told that if they take any sudden decision, they will have to face the disqualification case like Shinde's MLAs are facing.

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The University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar on Wednesday asked universities to let students write exams in local languages even if the course programme was offered in English. UGC Chairman M Jagadesh Kumar further urged the Vice Chancellors of all universities to promote the translations of original writings to local languages.(PTI)

He said that higher education institutions play an essential role in the preparation of textbooks as well as in supporting the teaching-learning process in mother tongue/local languages.

He added, It is necessary to strengthen these efforts and promote such initiatives as writing textbooks in the mother tongue/local languages and encouraging their use in teaching, including translating standard books from other languages.

Kumar further urged the Vice Chancellors of all universities to promote the translations of original writings into local languages.

The Commission requests that students in your University be allowed to write the answers in local languages in examinations even if the programme is offered in English medium, and promote translation of original writing in local languages and use local language in the teaching-learning process at universities, Kumar said.

The UGC had been planning a roadmap to introduce undergraduate and postgraduate courses in regional languages in all disciplines, including commerce, humanities and science, across India.

Last year in December, Kumar met representatives of international publishers to discuss translating their books as part of plans to introduce Indian language courses across disciplines.

Not just in universities, the central government has been pushing for exams to be held in local languages for government examinations too.

The department of personnel and training (DoPT) on Tuesday approved the decision to conduct the Staff Selection Commission Multitasking (non-technical) Staff (SSC MTS) examination, 2022, and CHSLE Examination, 2022, in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English.

Even in the 2023-2024 Union Budget, finance minister Niramala Sitharaman had set aside 300.7 crore for the national institutions to promote Indian languages, an increase of 20% from 2022-23, and doubled the fund for the Indian Knowledge Systems (IKS) scheme.

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Amid the allegations of harassment levelled by Indian Youth Congress Assam unit head Dr Angkita Dutta against IYC chief BV Srinivas, Anil Antony, who recently switched over to BJP from Congress, criticised Rahul Gandhi for not walking the talk on women empowerment. Retweeting the post shared by Dutta alleging harassment, Antony on Wednesday called out Congress hypocrisy as the party failed to take action in the matter. Anil Antony (L) and Rahul Gandhi. (File)

He claimed that trolls supporting the party were abusing Dutta to tarnish her image. The Congress turncoat also predicted a massive win for the Narendra Modi-led BJP in the 2024 general elections.

He wrote, From early 2010s one of the main themes of Mr.@RahulGandhi was woman empowerment. Recall him parroting that many many times in the now famous interview in@TimesNow with Arnab Goswami way back in 2014. And your right hand@srinivasiyc was mistreating another@IYC office bearer for months and your party did nothing about it. And shamelessly your IT cell trolls are abusing and maligning her name trying to silence her without looking at the merits of her complaint. Hypocrisy thy name is@INCIndia. A drubbing bigger than 2014 and 2019 awaits you in 2024 as whole of India has absolute trust in Hble PM Sri.@narendramodi ji and his vision of Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas, Sabka Vishwas, Sabka Prayaas.

Dutta on Tuesday had accused Srinivas of harassment on the basis of her gender. The youth leader, who is also the daughter of former Assam minister Anjan Dutta, alleged in multiple tweets that Congress leaders Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi did not take up the matter despite her complaints.

Srinivas, however, has termed Dutta a sponsored stooge of the BJP, adding that no diversion was going to save the saffron party's government in Karnataka, which will go to polls on May 10.

Dutta, meanwhile, denied reports she would be joining the BJP, and stuck with her allegations against Srinivas.

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HAIKOU/NANNING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Cheng Zhongyun, chairman of a jetboard maker in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, just wrapped up a busy trip to Hainan, where he attended the third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE). "We've participated in the expo for three consecutive years, and every year our participation has proved fruitful. While further exploring the local market in Hainan, the expo also provides opportunities for us to acquire orders from foreign companies," said Cheng. His company, Guangxi Tefei Yuntian Aviation Power Technology Co., Ltd., is a microcosm of many domestic companies leveraging the resumed offline expos to gain wider overseas market access. From April 10 to 15, over 320,000 visitor arrivals were registered at the CICPE, which gathered more than 3,300 brands from 65 countries and regions. On Saturday, the 133rd China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off in Guangzhou and welcomed purchasers from over 220 countries and regions. Burgeoning on-site activities, coupled with a suite of free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), have greatly boosted regional economic integration. Apart from China, 10 other RCEP member countries, including the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, participated in this year's CICPE, while Japan set up an exhibition area exceeding 1,800 square meters at the CICPE this year. "The cooperation between Hainan and RCEP member states has deepened in recent years with the help of platforms such as the CICPE," said Zhang Bin, director of the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province. Zhang added that in 2022, Hainan attracted total investment of 840 million yuan (about 122 million U.S. dollars) from other RCEP member states. The import and export volume of goods between Hainan and RCEP member countries increased by 23.7 percent year on year. Of the over 160 types of featured products displayed in the Guangxi pavilion at this year's CICPE, about 60 varieties come from ASEAN countries, which are all RCEP member countries. Yu Xuemei, deputy director of Guangxi's department of commerce, said as China's gateway to ASEAN, Guangxi has adopted a more proactive strategy to deepen economic cooperation and trade exchanges with neighboring countries. "The CICPE will definitely promote consumption and boost regional economic development," Yu added. In 2022, China's total retail sales of consumer goods reached nearly 44 trillion yuan, and China maintained its status as the second-largest import market in the world for the 14th consecutive year. Exhibitors at both the CICPE and the Canton Fair highlighted China's vital role in driving global economic recovery and the massive growth potential of China's consumer market. "The rising enthusiasm of many countries and regions, especially RCEP member countries, to participate in the offline expos proves that the international community is optimistic about the vitality of China's consumer market and economic development prospects," said Chen Jian, a researcher with the China Society of Economic Reform. Chen noted that such fairs will fully unleash the potential of economic growth, promote mutual benefit, and continue to inject new impetus into regional and global economic recovery.
NWTN, an eco-conscious mobility technology company bringing passenger-centric green premium mobility solutions to the world, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Al Kalid Auto for the delivery of over 1,000 Rabdan ONE vehicles over the next two years.

With the MoU, NWTN is kicking off the development of its sales and distribution network in the GCC countries.

Headquartered in Dubai, NWTN has a full vehicle assembly facility in Abu Dhabi and a supply chain manufacturing base in Jinhua, China.

Under the MoU, Al Kalid will become the exclusive distributor of vehicles under Rabdan brand, enabling the sale of Rabdan vehicles, parts, and accessories together with the provision of after-sales services within Kuwait.

Al Kalid will promote the Rabdan brand and plans to establish a flagship showroom in the Warehouse Mall in Sadiya, as well as the development of a further three sales outlets.

NWTN will assist Al Kalid with technical, after-sales, marketing, and communications support during the entirety of the MoU.

The MoU between NWTN and Al Kalid was signed at the NWTN Suhoor Gathering held at NWTN's assembly facility in the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (Kezad).

NWTN completed construction of its facility in Kezad at the end of 2022. The facility enables NWTN to address the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles in the UAE and the Middle East, promote green mobility, and accelerate sustainable energy transformation in the UAE.

Guests were offered an exclusive preview and experience of the Rabdan ONE, the first product of the Rabdan brand.

The origin of the Rabdan brand is deeply rooted in Arabic culture. The brand will cover a full range of intelligent new energy passenger vehicle products from extended range to pure electric technology solutions. NWTN believes these vehicles complement the improvement and change in local new energy infrastructure, such as charging stations in the Gulf, Middle East, and North Africa.

Rabdan products will integrate the advanced technologies and resources in the global new energy vehicle industry, as well as surpass traditional fuel vehicle products in every aspect, from driving experience and intelligent comfort to energy saving and emissions reduction. It will define a new category of traveling and lifestyle, said a statement.

The Rabdan ONE is a dynamic, intelligent, and comfortable, all-wheel-drive SUV that adopts the world's leading range extension technology. It has a comprehensive range of up to 860 km, which removes range anxiety while achieving energy savings and emissions reduction. It has excellent endurance and is capable of travelling long distances. The Rabdan ONE is suitable for a variety of uses from business, family, leisure, adventure, work to pleasure. - TradeArabia News Service
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday reached Delhi after he launched India's first Apple retail store in Mumbai. He is set to throw open the gates of second retail store in the national capital on Thursday. Cook visited the Lodhi Art District and was mesmerised by the creative wall art there. Apple CEO Tim Cook with artist Dattaraj Naik during his visit to the Art District, in New Delhi, Wednesday, April 19, 2023(Twitter)

Delhis Lodhi Art District is a remarkable public space. Congratulations to the St+art India Foundation and so many amazing artists for capturing Indian life so powerfully, the Apple CEO said in a tweet, thanking one the artists to show how he designed his murals on iPad.

Earlier in the day, he also visited the Indian School of Design and Innovation and discovered how students there used Apple products in designing. The Indian School of Design & Innovation is helping the next generation of creatives unlock their full potential. Thanks for sharing how you create those amazing designs using iPad! he said.

The brand's first flagship store was opened in Mumbai on Tuesday which reflects the tech giant's interest in expanding in the country through investments. The Cupertino-based company's plan to open its flagship store in India was earlier delayed due Covid-19. India has such a beautiful culture and an incredible energy, and were excited to build on our long-standing history," he said in a statement.

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Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in the presence of Union home minister Amit Shah on Thursday to end border disputes along the boundaries of both northeastern states, Assam tourism minister Jayanta Malla Baruah said on Wednesday. Assam and Arunachal Pradesh governments will sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Thursday (Manash Das)

Baruah said the proposals made by regional committees of both states to address the long-pending issue were approved by the Assam cabinet on Wednesday.

Explained: Assam-Meghalaya border dispute

Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and his Arunachal Pradesh counterpart Pema Khandu have already had several rounds of meetings to address the problem. On Wednesday, the Assam cabinet approved the suggestions made by the regional committees comprising senior ministers of both states, Baruah said.

Assam shares an 804 km long boundary with Arunachal Pradesh.

Though there was no dispute initially, over the years, the allegations of residents of one state encroaching on land on the other have led to disputes and violence. A suit on the issue has been pending in the Supreme Court since 1989.

In 2021, following the insistence of both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Shah, both states resolved to settle their border dispute out of court through talks, people familiar with the matter said.

In July last year, both states signed the Namsai Declaration, where it was agreed to bring down the number of disputed villages from 123 to 86 and resolve the boundary row by forming 12 committees, each headed by a cabinet minister, that visit disputed areas, take feedback from residents and submit reports to their respective governments, they added.

The Assam cabinet on Wednesday approved a monthly pension of 15,000 each to those from the state who were jailed during the Emergency that lasted for 21 months from 1975 to 1977.

In Assam, 301 people were arrested and put behind bars at that time under various provisions like the Maintenance of Internal Security Act (MISA). The cabinet today approved 15,000 as a monthly pension for them. The sum could be the highest for Loktrantra Senanis (Soldiers of Democracy) in the country, said urban development minister Ashok Singhal.

He added that if any of those 301 died, the pension would be given to their wives. If the wives also died, the sum would be given to the unmarried daughters of the person.

The cabinet also approved the setting up of eight mega industrial projects worth a total of 8,200 crore. Once completed, these industries will provide direct employment to 6100 persons.

Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with these companies will be signed on May 9, a day before the completion of two years of the present government, minister Baruah said.

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Five police personnel have been suspended over the murder of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf while in the custody of the cops late Saturday in Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh. The suspended police officers include Station House Officer Ashwani Kumar Singh from the city's Shahganj Police Station. Of the other four, two hold the rank of Inspector and two Constable. Atiq and Ashraf Ahmad were in the police custody when they were killed in front of the media at point-blank range while they were being taken to a hospital for checkup by three shooters who had been posing as journalists.

All four were questioned by the SIT, or special investigative team, set up by UP Police this week.

The SIT on Tuesday tried to re-create the crime scene as part of its inquiries; news agency ANI said the team was trying to determine how many of the large number of police personnel 'guarding' Atiq Ahmad and Ashraf that night - as the two were being walked to the hospital for a 'medical check-up' - tried to stop the attack and how much time it took to restore order after the killings.

Atiq Ahmad and his brother were shot dead by three men on live television; the three shooters made no attempt to escape after the murders and were reportedly carrying imported Turkish-made guns.

They posed as journalists to get close to their targets and police claim they were motivated by a desire to gain fame as the killers of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad and his associates.

The three - identified as Lovelesh Tiwari, Sunny Singh and Arun Maurya - were sent this morning to four-day police custody; they have also been transferred to a different prison amid security fears.

All three - caught shouting 'Jai Shri Ram' as they killed Atiq and Ashraf - have also been questioned by the police's SIT.

A parallel judicial inquiry into the Atiq Ahmad-Ashraf murders is being conducted by a three-member team appointed by chief minister Yogi Adityanath's government, which has come under severe criticism by opposition leaders like Akhilesh Yadav for its track record of extra-judicial killings.

Meanwhile, the status of a mystery letter - a sealed envelope - reportedly sent by Atiq Ahmad to Yogi, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and the chief justice of the Allahabad High Court is unknown.

The letter was reportedly sent Tuesday by an unknown person who had been told to initiate delivery in the event Atiq Ahmad was murdered, his lawyer Vijay Mishra told reporters.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on Monday plea for an independent probe of the killings.

Atiq Ahmad's son Asad was gunned down by UP Police's Special Task Force last week in Jhanis.

Both Atiq and Asad have been accused in the February murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, and two UP cops assigned to guard him, in Prayagraj. Pal was a witness to the 2005 killing of Bahujan Samaj Party lawmaker Raju Pal.

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51-year-old Shaista Parveen, the wife of mafia politician Atiq Ahmad who was shot dead in police custody, is now on the most-wanted list of the UP Police. A reward of 50,000 has been announced for any information about the empress of Atiq's crime world. In a gap of only two days, Shaista lost her son Asad and husband Atiq. Two days after Asad was killed in a police encounter, Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj. There were speculations that Shaista Parveen will surrender at Atiq's last rites, but she is absconding. Shaista Parveen remained in the background of Atiq Ahmad's operations until her name cropped up in the Umeh Pal murder case.

Who is Shaista Praveen? How did she become the czarina of Atiq's gang?

1. Shaista's father was in the police and before marrying Atiq in 1996, Shaista's world was completely different. She studied till Class 12 and had no association with any illegal activities.

2. In Shaista's name, there are four cases registered in Prayagraj since 2009 -- three cheating and one murder. The first three cases filed at Colonelganj police station date back to 2009 and were registered under different sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security or will), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 471 (using forged document) besides section 30 (contravention of licence or rule) of the Arms Act. The murder case is of Umesh Pal.

3. Shaista is one of the prime accused in the Umesh Pal murder case.

4. In 2021, Shaista joined AIMIM. In January 2023, she joined the BSP. When Shaista joined the BSP, she said, "My husband (Atiq) could not learn discipline due to friendship with SP supremo (former). My husband always liked BSP and even helped top BSP leaders earlier." Mayawati, however, decided not to field Shaista in the mayoral election.

5. Shaista was part of the plan and execution of Umesh Pal murder, reports said.

6. When Atiq Ahmad was in jail, Shaista took an active role in running his syndicate.

7. Shaista Parveen is known as the godmother in the gang.

8. Atiq's relative Mohammad Jishan said Atiq once sent his son Ali accompanied by 25 shooters to Jishan asking him to transfer his land in Shaista's name and demanding 5 crore.

Shaista's letter to Yogi

A purported letter written by Shaista Parveen to chief minister Yogi Adityanath has surfaced after Atiq's death. In the letter, she wrote that Atiq, Ashraf are being falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal murder case. Shaista alleged that minister Nand Gopal Gupta was the key conspirator of Umesh Pal's murder. The letter was written on February 27.

"If you (CM Adityanath) don't intervene, my husband, brother-in-law, and sons would be killed," she wrote in the letter.

As cops are now hunting Shaista, reports said they may find it difficult as Shaista might be observing the ritual of iddhah following her husband's death when nobody is allowed to meet her.

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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has tasked its parliamentarians with making 7-8 daily posts on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, the bulk of those in the form of videos, with a view to promoting the party and its work on social media, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. The party has also created a WhatsApp group that will feed content to the MPs.

A note circulated by the party, a copy of which was seen by HT, mandated that each member of Parliament should post every day or hire a team to do so for them.

The note followed a meeting chaired by party president JP Nadda on April 4 and it lists nine daily and three weekly tasks each member has to perform. Initially, the MPs were gently reminded to improve their social media presence but ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections stricter guidelines were deemed necessary, party functionaries said.

Also read | U.P civic polls: All eyes on BJPs second list now

For instance, guideline number four on daily tasks asks MPs to ensure content on important political events is posted on each platform -- Mann Ki Baat, Union Budget, election results, etc.

Point number seven says, Content from the PM or the PMOs social media properties must be shared and retweeted daily.

Its necessary for us to do this because as MPs, we have to spread the word among our constituents, said Delhi MP Manoj Tiwari, who with 1.7 million followers on Twitter, welcomed the initiative.

If we see news articles which prove our point of view, we should retweet them as then our ideas will get propagated, he said, referring to point number five on the to-do list.

The party has also created a WhatsApp group that will feed content to the MPs.

Ensure that content provided by the national social media team on the MPs WhatsApp group is shared the same day on the MPs social media properties, says rule number eight, which may explain why many MPs may post similiar or even identical posts. The party has asked those MPs who are unable to do all these tasks themselves to hire a social media team.

The prime mover behind this drive is Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, senior party leaders said. Speaking to workers at the partys foundation day, he said, It is the age of reels, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. Communication and information will play a crucial role. We need to train our workers, from panchayats to Parliament.

During the PMs interactions with groups of MPs from time to time, it is not unsual for his office to have notes on the social media activity of each lawmaker, HT has learnt. The PM then illustrates which MP has done a good job with their posts, while gently pulling up those who havent fully embraced the world of social media.

The note lists among weekly tasks a meeting between the person running social media and the MP to discuss what content will help the MP win his constituency, what content will help the BJP win that state in the next elections, etc. The party has appointed three people to help MPs verify their accounts.

Harvinder Kumar, who is based at the partys Parliament office, told HT that he would do all it takes to amplify content posted by MPs.

Not everyone appears equally adept at managing social media though. When 68-year-old Sumitra Balmik became a Rajya Sabha member last year, she didnt anticipate all that may be in store to be a new-age politician from the BJP. Balmik had been a municipal councillor from Madhya Pradesh from 1999 and held various posts within the state unit, but when the party sent her a confidential note on Wednesday with a comprehensive list of things to do on social media, she says it was daunting.

But we all have to make a beginning somewhere, she said over phone, accepting that it was a challenge. While the ruling party is widely acknowledged for good social media skills, Balmik falls into a category of about 100 lawmakers who have a modest presence. Since she joined Twitter in 2021, shes managed 1,488 followers and a total of 900-odd tweets. At the moment, she barely manages to post once a day but she plans to get some help for the future.

I am getting someone who will handle it because we have to follow all the guidelines, she said.

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At 80, former Karnataka chief minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader BS Yediyurappa is as busy as ever. While he is no longer BJPs chief ministerial candidate, Yediyurappa is the man spearheading the partys campaign for the 2023 assembly elections in Karnataka. On the day his son BY Vijayendra filed his nomination papers for Shikaripura, Yediyurappa spoke to Priyanka Rudrappa about prominent leaders quitting the party, its prospects of retaining power in the only southern state it controls, a festering row over the wearing of hijab and his relationship with the partys top leadership. Edited excerpts: PREMIUM Former Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa. (ANI)

Vijayendra filed his nomination from Shikaripura today. How was the response?

The response was great. We have confidence that well win by over 50,000 votes. People came in large numbers, beyond what we expected, from all booths. We have worked really well at the booth level. Hence, well get the maximum number of votes.

Also read | BS Yediyurappa takes a ride in his first ever car at Shikaripura. Watch

Do you have confidence that the BJP will get a clear majority?

We are 100% confident that we will get a full majority and will form the government.

But in the last 30 years, no incumbent government has come back to power. How do you think the BJP will form the government again?

I have travelled across the length and breadth of the state. I have confidence in the people. Im seeing the trust people have for us. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah will visit again and the situation will improve. Our strength will increase. The Congress doesnt have the kind of leaders we have. Rahul Gandhi has visited the state, but he is no match for PM Modi and Amit Shah.

In a rare gesture, Modi held your hands and walked with you during the Shivamogga airport inauguration, while Shah visited your residence in Bengaluru for breakfast. How is your relationship with PM Modi?

I have a lot of respect for Modiji. Hes a national leader and the entire world has recognised him. Its rare that we have that kind of leadership. Hence, I have immense respect and trust in him. He has also showed the same respect and love towards me. Amit Shah also has the same kind of respect for me.

Youre considered one of the tallest Lingayat leaders in the BJP. Who is there in the BJP to fill your shoes?

We will decide after the elections. There are so many leaders from my community and other communities. They will take that responsibility.

Basavaraj Bommai will remain the face of the party, although the BJP has not declared him as its chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming elections. Your thoughts?

He is doing good work. After elections, the legislature party will take the decision on who the next chief minister will be.

Do you think the exit of Jagdish Shettar and Laxman Savadi could dent the BJPs Lingayat support in the elections?

Our party will not be affected in any way. Im 100% confident about it. Ive already said several times that there will be no impact. We have no done any injustice to Shettar. We have given him all kinds of promises. We asked him to come to the Centre and assured him that he would be made a Rajya Sabha member. We had asked him to field someone from his family. Even after making all sorts of promises, he didnt oblige, and everyone knows this. He shouldnt have taken such a decision.

There has been backlash regarding the internal reservation for scheduled castes (SCs), especially in your constituency, Shikaripura. Do you think the reservation issue can put the BJP in a tough spot?

The reservation weve given to the SCs will help them. It will not have any negative impact. The Banjara community is also happy. At todays event as well, there were several leaders from the Banjara community. We will tour the entire state and try convince them.

Youve said earlier that you dont agree with the Tipu vs Savarkar narrative, and the hijab, halal row. But leaders in your party have expressed their support to these issues.

Im not going to support such things. If other leaders in the party support such issues, its not right. I will talk to them and warn them not to talk in such a way.

There has been speculation of attempts by the high command to sideline you.

There is no question of anyone sidelining me. I resigned from the chief ministerial post on my own and said I wont contest any elections. My party has not sidelined me.

What is your realistic assessment of the elections?

We will get an absolute majority. There is no doubt about it.

What is your next role in the BJP and on the next Lok Sabha elections?

In the Lok Sabha, we are going to get more than 25 seats. I will work towards it.
The CBI registered an FIR against Oxfam India and its office-bearers for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act and carried out searches at its office here, officials said on Wednesday. File photo of a high-street branch of an Oxfam charity shop in south London.(AFP File Photo)

The FIR against the Indian arm of the global NGO Oxfam was registered based on a complaint from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The complaint, which is now part of the FIR, has alleged that though Oxfam India's FCRA registration ceased, it planned to circumvent the law by taking other routes to channelise funds.

"Email communication found during IT (income tax) survey by the CBDT shows that Oxfam India has been planning to pressure Indian government for renewal of FCRA through foreign governments and foreign institutions," it alleged.

"The Oxfam India has the reach and influence to request multilateral foreign organisations to intervene on its behalf with the Government of India," it alleged.

The complaint alleged that this exposed Oxfam India as "a probable instrument of foreign policy of foreign organisations or entities" which have funded it liberally over the years.

It alleged that Oxfam India routed funds of its foreign affiliates such as Oxfam Australia and Oxfam Great Britain to certain NGOs and exercised control over the project.

"From the email found during IT survey by the CBDT it appears that Oxfam India is providing funds to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) through its associates/ employees in the form of commission. The same is also reflected from the TDS data of Oxfam India which shows payment of 12.71 lakh to CPR in the F.Y. 2019-20...," the complaint has alleged.

It said the organisation got FCRA registration to carry out social activities but payment made to the Delhi-based think tank CPR through its associates or employees in the form of commission -- professional or technical services -- is not in the line with its stated objectives.

"This is violation of section 8 & 12(4) of the FCRA 2010," it alleged.

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at the office of Oxfam India in Delhi Wednesday, officials said.

In a statement earlier this month, Oxfam India said it is fully compliant with Indian laws.

"Oxfam India is fully compliant with Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception. Oxfam India has been cooperating with all government agencies since its FCRA registration wasn't renewed in December 2021," the NGO said.

The group has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the decision to not renew its FCRA registration, it said.

"In times of growing inequality and greater need for action on poverty eradication, Oxfam India has been and will continue to work in Public and National interest. Oxfam India believes this is our constitutional duty as an organisation, irrespective of obstacles and hurdles in the path," it had said.

The CBI in its FIR registered on Tuesday also alleged that Oxfam India continued to pay sub grants to various partners even after coming into force of FCR Amendment Act, 2020 which prohibited such transfers.

"The FCRA Amendment Act, 2020 (section 7 of the FCRA, 2010), states that FCRA registered association would not be entitled to transfer or sub grant any of the FC to other organization whether registered or unregistered under the FCRA, 2010. The amendment came in force from September 29, 2020. Oxfam India transferred funds to its partner NGOs, violating section 7 of the FCRA, 2010," it said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has registered a case against Oxfam India and its office bearers for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) and carried out searches at its Delhi office, people familiar with the development said on Wednesday. In its reference to the CBI, the MHA (ministry of home affairs) stated that even though Oxfam Indias FCRA registration is ceased, the organisation planned to circumvent FCRA by routing funds through other routes. (AFP)

The Union home ministry had, on April 5, ordered a CBI probe into the foreign funding and utilisation of the Indian arm of global non-government organisation (NGO) Oxfam, which works for the rights of tribal people, Dalits, Muslims, women and girls across the country. The government had earlier, on December 31, 2021, denied renewal of its FCRA licence.

The federal anti-corruption probe agency registered a first information report (FIR) naming Oxfam India and its office bearers on Monday under multiple sections of the FCRA, but the FIR was made public on Wednesday, when searches were conducted.

HT reached out to Oxfam India but there was no comment from the organisation till the time of going to press.

A criminal probe by the CBI against Oxfam came over seven months after the income tax department conducted a survey against the organisation and found various anomalies in receiving foreign funds and their usage.

In its reference to the CBI, the MHA (ministry of home affairs) stated that even though Oxfam Indias FCRA registration is ceased, the organisation planned to circumvent FCRA by routing funds through other routes.

Besides, citing emails found by the I-T department, the MHA stated that Oxfam India has been planning to pressurise the Indian government for renewal of FCRA through foreign governments and foreign institutions.

The Oxfam India has the reach and influence to request multinational foreign organisations to intervene on its behalf with the government of India. This exposed the Oxfam India as a probable instrument of foreign policy of foreign organisations or entities which have funded the Oxfam India deliberately over the years, the MHA said in its communication, adding that such conduct violates the FCRA.

The MHA letter, reviewed by HT, is part of the CBI FIR.

The ministry has further said that if the CBI finds during its probe any violations of specific statutes like the Income Tax Act, the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), etc, then it may refer the matter to the competent authorities dealing with such matters. The I-T departments investigation wing deals with matters related to tax while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) handles money-laundering cases.

The CBI has further claimed that Oxfam India routed funds of its foreign affiliates such as Oxfam Australia and Oxfam Great Britain to certain NGOs and exercised control over the project.

From the email found during I-T survey by the CBDT (central board of direct taxes), it appears that Oxfam India is providing funds to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) through its associates/ employees in the form of commission. The same is also reflected from the TDS data of Oxfam India which shows payment of 12.71 lakh to CPR in the FY 2019-20... it adds.

It said the organisation got FCRA registration to carry out social activities, but payment made to the Delhi-based think tank CPR through its associates or employees in the form of commission -- professional or technical services -- is not in line with its stated objectives.

The agency also said that Oxfam received 1.50 crore foreign funds in its foreign contribution utilisation account instead of the designated FCRA account.

The organisation previously said it is fully compliant with the Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception.

Oxfam India has been cooperating with all government agencies since its FCRA registration wasnt renewed in December 2021. We have filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the decision to not renew our FCRA registration. The High Court has asked the Union government to respond to our plea, Oxfam India said in a statement earlier this month.
NEW DELHI: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) carried out searches at the Delhi office of Oxfam India on Wednesday, two days after registering a case against the non-profit and its office bearers for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), people familiar with the development said. An outside view of CBI headquarters at CGO Complex in New Delhi. CBI registered a case against Oxfam India on Monday (Sonu Mehta/HT File Photo)

The Union home ministry on April 5 ordered a CBI probe over allegations of FCRA violations by the organisation.

The federal anti-corruption probe agency registered a first information report (FIR) naming Oxfam India and its office bearers on Monday under multiple sections of the FCRA. The FIR was, however, made public on Wednesday when the searches were conducted.

Oxfam India is the arm of global NGO Oxfam and works for the rights of Adivasis, Dalits, Muslims, and women and girls across the country. It was registered under FCRA for undertaking social activities but the ministry of home affairs (MHA) denied renewal of its licence for receiving and using foreign funding on December 31, 2021.

HT has reached out to Oxfam India for its comment. In a statement on April 6, Oxfam India insisted it was fully compliant with Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception.

The CBI probe against Oxfam India comes over seven months after the Income Tax department first conducted a survey against the organisation and allegedly found various anomalies in receiving foreign funds and its usage.

In its reference to the CBI, the home ministry said that even though Oxfam Indias FCRA registration had ceased, the organisation planned to circumvent FCRA by routing funds through other routes.

The home ministry cited emails found by the tax department to conclude that Oxfam India has been planning to pressurize Indian government for renewal of FCRA through foreign governments and foreign institutions.

The Oxfam India has the reach and influence to request multinational foreign organisations to intervene on its behalf with the government of India. This exposed the Oxfam India as a probable instrument of foreign policy of foreign organisations or entities which have funded the Oxfam India deliberately over the years, the MHA said in its communication, adding that such conduct violates FCRA act.

The home ministry communication is part of the FIR registered on Monday. HT has reviewed the letter.

The ministry also added that the CBI may refer violations of specific statutes such as Income Tax Act and the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) that it comes across to the specialised agencies concerned. I-T departments investigation wing deals with matters related to tax while the Enforcement Directorate (ED) handles money laundering matters.

CBI has further alleged that Oxfam India routed funds from its foreign affiliates such as Oxfam Australia and Oxfam Great Britain to certain NGOs and exercised control over the project.

From the email found during I-T survey by the CBDT (central board of direct taxes), it appears that Oxfam India is providing funds to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) through its associates/ employees in the form of commission. The same is also reflected from the TDS data of Oxfam India which shows payment of 12.71 lakh to CPR in the FY 2019-20..., it added.

It said the organisation got FCRA registration to carry out social activities, but payment made to the Delhi-based think tank CPR through its associates or employees in the form of commission -- professional or technical services - is not in the line with its stated objectives.

The agency also said that Oxfam received 1.50 crore foreign funds in its foreign contribution utilisation account instead of the designated FCRA account.

The organisation previously said it is fully compliant with the Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception.

Oxfam India has been cooperating with all government agencies since its FCRA registration wasnt renewed in December 2021. We have filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the decision to not renew our FCRA registration. The High Court has asked the Union government to respond to our plea, Oxfam India said in a statement earlier this month.
The Congress party on Wednesday hit out at Bharatiya Janata Party president Jagat Prakash Nadda for allegedly threatening to withhold constitutional rights from the people of Karnataka if they don't vote for the incumbent BJP government in the upcoming assembly elections. Sharing a clip of Nadda's speech in poll-bound Karnataka, Congress alleged that it was a blatant attack on democracy and shows how the BJP plans to treat the Kannadigas. BJP National President JP Nadda addresses a public meeting for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly elections, in Haveri on Wednesday.(Jagat Prakash Nadda Twitter)

On Wednesday, Nadda accompanied Karnataka chief minister Basavaraj Bommai in filing his nomination for the assembly election from his traditional seat of Shiggaon in Haveri district amid fanfare. He later addressed a public meeting seeking votes for Bommai and the BJP, and said the nomination that Bommai was filing today was not just for the MLA's post, "but it is a way that will give direction for Karnataka to move ahead".

"Looking at your enthusiasm I'm sure that you have decided to send Bommai here to the Assembly for the next five years. I have not come here just to ask for Bommai from you, but have come to seek vote from you on the lotus symbol so that the 'Ganga' of continuous development keeps flowing in Karnataka," he said.

Karnataka should not be deprived of the blessings of Modi ji, so I request you to make the lotus win and take forward the development of Karnataka, the BJP president added, drawing flak from Congress.

We are not subjects of a Raja but citizens of a federal country governed by the constitution, Congress said in a tweet from the party's official handle.

Jairam Ramesh, Congress general secretary in charge of communications, said There should be a limit to devotion too, Nadda ji.

Why are you threatening and scaring the people of Karnataka? With the blessings of the people of Karnataka, the Congress government is going to be formed, he said in a tweet in Hindi.

Bommai won in Shiggaon in the 2018 Assembly polls by 9,260 votes. Congress had fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur, president of the Anjuman-e-Islam in Hubballi-Dharwad, to take on the CM but replaced him with Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan.

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New Delhi, Apr 19 (UNI) External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar will be on an official visit to Guyana (April 21-23), Panama (April 24-25), Colombia (April 25-27) and the Dominican Republic (April 27-29). This will be his first visit to these countries as EAM, and will help add to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

In Guyana, EAM will be calling on the leadership and interacting with several Ministers. He will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, Hugh Hilton Todd that will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries. EAMs visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM)) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers, an official statement said.

In Panama, EAM will be calling on the top leadership and would be hosted by Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo. During this visit, the India-SICA Foreign Ministerial Meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the eight-country Central American Integration System (SICA).

EAMs Colombia visit would be a first Foreign Ministerial level visit to the country. He would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society. Foreign Minister of Colombia Alvaro Leyva Duran and EAM would review the bilateral ties.

The visit to Dominican Republic is the highest level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999. EAMs visit takes place after the establishment of our resident Embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022. Apart from calling on the countrys political leadership, EAM will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez. The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. EAM is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic Foreign Ministry.

A business delegation from India, led by CII will be joining EAM at business events that are planned during the course of the visit. These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties. EAM will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries.

EAMs visit to these four countries, his bilateral engagements as well as interactions with counterparts of important regional groups, CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

It will provide an opportunity to continue high level contacts with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post pandemic scenario, the statement added.

UNI RN
Local Congress leader Rajkumar Singh Rajju was taken into custody by the police on Wednesday after he allegedly placed the Tricolour on the grave of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, calling him a "martyr". Ahmad (60) and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists on Saturday night.

The Congress expelled Rajju, who was a candidate in the upcoming urban local body polls, from the party for six years, its city president Pradeep Mishra Anshuman said.

Anshuman said that Rajju was a Congress candidate for corporator from Azad Nagar in South Malaka.

A purported video of the incident went viral in which Rajju can be seen placing the Tricolour on the Ahmad's grave and raising slogans in favour of Ahmad and his brother Ashraf and demanding Bharat Ratna for the former MP.

Also read | Shooters must have fired hundreds of rounds to practise

"He was a people's representative and a martyr. Why he was not given state honour and why the Tricolour was not put on his grave," Rajju said, according to the purported video.

Anshuman claimed to have a photo of Rajju receiving the award from state's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and said whatever happened was a conspiracy.

Read | This is how Atiq collected money to fund his poll campaigns

Rajju is undergoing treatment for some psychiatric issues, he said, adding a prescription for psychiatric medicines were found at his home.

Dhoomanganj police station SHO Rajesh Kumar Maurya said Rajju has been detained and an FIR is being registered against him.

Ahmad (60) and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting the two brothers to a hospital in Prayagraj for a check-up.
A local Congress leader in Uttar Pradesh has been suspended from the primary membership of the party for calling slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad a martyr and demanding Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, for him. Prayagraj Congress president Pradeep Kumar Mishra said that Rajkumar Singh, who was the party's candidate for the upcoming urban local body polls in Uttar Pradesh, was suspended for six years. Atiq and Ashraf had been shot dead on live television on Saturday by three men who posed as journalists while they were being taken by the police to a medical college for madatory check-up. (File)

Party has taken immediate action after his (Rajkumar Singh) comment by suspending him for 6 yrs from the party, Mishra told news agency ANI.

Stressing that Congress was against such statements, Mishra said, We are completely against those who give such statements...We have come to know that his psychological condition is not fit. Also, we feel he was sent on the orders of the BJP and this statement was given by him (Rajkumar Singh) on their (BJP) directions.

The ruling Bharat Janata Party (BJP) has been facing backlash from the Opposition parties, including Congress, over the murder of Atiq Ahmad and his brother Ashraf, captured on live television.

Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead on live television on Saturday by three men who posed as journalists while they were being taken by the police to a medical college for a mandatory check-up.

While the Opposition leaders have termed the killings as a failure of law and order, art of elimination and rule of gun in the state, BJP leaders had called the incident a divine justice and Paap, punya ka hisaab isi janm main hota hai (one's good and bad acts are settled in this lifetime only).

Atiq's and Ashraf's killers - identified as Lovelesh Tiwari, Sunny Singh and Arun Maurya - were sent to four-day police custody on Wednesday morning. They have also been transferred to a different prison due to security fears.

Atiq's son Asad Ahmad was killed in an encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police's Special Task Force last week in Jhansi.

Both Atiq and Asad were accused in February in the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal, and the two UP cops that were assigned to guard him, in Prayagraj. Pal was a witness to the 2005 killing of Bahujan Samaj Party lawmaker Raju Pal.

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The Congress on Wednesday took a swipe at Bengaluru South MP Tejasvi Surya over his reaction to former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah's tweet regarding the stranded Indian nationals in embattled Sudan. On Tuesday, Siddaramaiah posted a series of tweets urging the central government to initiate action to ensure the safe return of people belonging to Karnataka's Hakki Pikki tribe, drawing backlash from BJP leaders including Tejasvi Surya. (Also Read | On Sudan clashes, Siddaramaiah hits back at appalled Jaishankar) BJP MP Tejasvi Surya (HT PHOTO)

Surya said that the BJP doesn't need lessons on rescuing stranded Indians" from the Congress party and pointed to the Vande Bharat mission launched in the wake of the Ukraine-Russia war to rescue thousands of stranded nationals in the war-torn country.

Modi Govt has rescued lakhs of stranded Indians during Vande Bharat Mission, students during Ukraine war, nurses from Yemen and more. All Kannadigas will return safe! he said in a tweet.

Taking a jibe at Surya, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate tweeted, Just make sure this man isnt in the flight fiddling with the emergency exit door, in an apparent reference to the December 2022 incident when the Lok Sabha member accidentally opened the emergency door of a flight in Chennai.

On flight 6E 7339 from Chennai to Tiruchirapalli on Dec 10, 2022, Surya accidentally opened the emergency exit during the boarding process. As per IndiGo, the airline operator, The passenger immediately apologised for the action. As per SOPs, the incident was logged and the aircraft underwent mandatory engineering checks, which led to a delay in the flights departure.

While IndiGo didn't name Surya, the civil aviation ministry confirmed his name in a response to a question by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Lala Roy. Minister of state (MoS) for civil aviation, Gen (Retd) V.K. Singh replied, As per the report submitted by M/s Interglobe Aviation Limited, the name of the passenger alleged in the incident is Tejasvi Surya who had boarded flight 6E-7339 (Chennai to Tiruchirappalli) at Chennai Airport on December 10, 2022. The emergency door opened accidentally as clarified by Interglobe Aviation Limited.

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NEW DELHI: Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday expressed confidence in the Indian Army to handle any contingency along the countrys border with China even as he said talks would continue for a peaceful resolution of the lingering row in the Ladakh sector, and that disengagement and de-escalation were the best way forward. Defence minister Rajnath Singh s comments come at a time when the border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh is set to enter its fourth year in early May (Agencies)

Singhs comments come at a time when the border row between India and China in eastern Ladakh is set to enter its fourth year in early May. Despite four rounds of disengagement from Galwan Valley, Pangong Tso, Gogra (PP-17A) and Hot Springs (PP-15), the Indian and Chinese armies still have more than 60,000 troops each and advanced weaponry deployed in the Ladakh theatre.

The Indian and Chinese armies have held 17 rounds of talks so far, but problems at Depsang in the Daulet Beg Oldi sector and Charding Nullah Junction (CNJ) in the Demchok sector are still on the negotiating table.

It is our whole-of-government approach to ensure availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to our troops braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend our territorial integrity, Singh said in his address to the army brass at the ongoing Army Commanders Conference.

War preparedness should be a continuous phenomenon and we should always be ready for unpredictables and uncertain events that may crop up at any time. We should always be honing our fighting skills and weapons technologies to act effectively whenever required, he said.

The army has built infrastructure at a rapid pace in eastern Ladakh with a focus on better living experience and improved facilities for soldiers, conservation of modern weapons and equipment deployed there, and supporting the faster movement of men and material to deal with any contingency.

The infrastructure push comes alongside concerted efforts to upgrade military capability with a variety of weapons and systems including artillery guns, swarm drone systems that can carry out offensive missions in enemy territory, longer-range rockets, remotely piloted aerial systems and high mobility-protected vehicles.

The army is fully prepared to deal with any challenge along the line of actual control (LAC), said military affairs expert Lieutenant General Vinod Bhatia (retd). Our deployment along the LAC is such that we can resolve the dispute through talks and from a position of relative strength, Bhatia added.

On the current complex global scenario, the minister said, Unconventional and asymmetric warfare, including hybrid war, will be part of future conventional wars. Cyber, information, communication, trade and finance have all become an inseparable part of future conflicts. This necessitates that armed forces will have to keep all these facets in consideration while planning and formulating strategies.

On the situation along the border with Pakistan, Singh said proxy war by the adversary was continuing. I compliment the excellent synergy between the central armed police forces (CAPF), police and the army in tackling the menace of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The synergised operations in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir are contributing to increased stability and peace in the region and the same should continue.
'Will resign if...': Mamata Banerjee's dare over Trinamool's 'national' party status West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday rubbished senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's claim that she had dialled Union home minister Amit Shah over Election Commission's decision to revoke TMCs national party status, saying she would resign from her position if evidence was found to support Adhikari's claims. Read Here. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. (PTI)

India overtakes China in population race. Beijing says, 'Want to tell you'

Shortly after the United Nations said Wednesday India remains on track to become the world's most populous nation - surpassing China by mid-2023 - Beijing hit back boasting of a better trained workforce with nearly 900 million people working towards the development of the country. A Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson was quoted by news agency PTI as stressing on skilled labour and said: "I want to tell you that population dividend does not depend on quantity but also quality." Read Here.

India braces for heat-related illness, blackouts as temperatures soar

Temperatures are soaring across India this week, sparking warnings about heat waves and increasing the risk of blackouts, potentially exposing millions of people to heat exhaustion or deadly heat stroke. Read Here.

'Arjun seems to have inherited Sachin's...': Gavaskar after Tendulkar jr. begins IPL career with a bang

The past few days in the IPL 2023 have all been about one man  Arjun Tendulkar. Arjun, 23, has made as many  if not more  headlines than anyone else in the IPL, by first making his much-awaited debut for Mumbai Indians and then picking up his maiden wicket. Arjun, son of the legendary Sachin Tendulkar, stirred the internet when he received his maiden cap from Rohit Sharma at the iconic Wankhede Stadium against Kolkata Knight Riders, and then raised his stocks by defending 20 runs off the final over against Sunrisers Hyderabad. Read Here.

Hydrating Drinks To Have This Summer

Summer season can often leave many dehydrated. Here is the list of drinks that will keep you hydrated this summer. Read Here.

Deepika Padukone seen with Shah Rukh Khan in leaked Jawan pics as they shoot for a special song for his new film

Deepika Padukone and Shah Rukh Khan reunited for a shoot in Mumbai on Tuesday. As per multiple reports, the Pathaan co-actors were spotted shooting for a special song for Shah Rukh's forthcoming action film, Jawan, in photos shared on paparazzi and fan pages. Both Deepika and Shah Rukh wore white shirts with black pants and black boots in the leaked pictures from the set. Read Here.

Summer pet care tips: 4 things to remember while walking your dog during summer

Summer time can be tough for your pet child but keeping them indoors all the time can wreak havoc on their physical as well as mental health. Walking your dog is important for their health and also provides mental stimulation. However, extreme heat can be detrimental for your pooch's well-being and pet parents must choose early morning or late evenings for walking their dog. Read Here.

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After the mafia-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead in Prayagraj, the security of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been strengthened on the inputs of the Intelligence Department. Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.(File)

After the input received from the Intelligence Department, changes have been made in CM's fleet and now CM Dhami is travelling in a bulletproof Fortuner vehicle.

Days after Atiq Ahmed's son Asad was killed in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi, the mafia-turned-politician and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed on Saturday while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.

Atiq Ahmed was accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, as well as in the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the BSP leader's murder, in February this year.

As many as three people were arrested, informed the police at a hurried press briefing on Saturday night after ganglord-turned-politician and his brother was shot dead in the full media glare.

All three attackers were apprehended at the scene after they voluntarily turned themselves in. They have been kept in the custody of the police and questioned.

A CJM court in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Wednesday remanded gangster Atiq Ahmed's killers to four-day police custody.

This comes after the Special Investigation Team filed an application in the court seeking remand for questioning for all three accused.

They were earlier sent to 14-day judicial custody by the district court on April 16.

During the police remand, the police will question the accused, who were identified as Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh and Lovelesh Tiwari, about the weapon they used to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on April 15 night, where did they get the weapon from and who gave it to them. (ANI)
Foreign liquor and cigarettes worth a total of 99.3 lakh have been seized in Mizoram's Champhai district close to the India-Myanmar border, Assam Rifles (AR) said in a statement. The seized consignment has been handed over to the Customs department for further legal proceedings, the statement added. (Representative)

Acting on a tip-off, AR and customs officials raided Ruantlang village on Tuesday and seized 351 cases of foreign liquor worth 12.8 lakh and 51 cartons of foreign cigarettes worth 76.5 lakh, it said.

The seized consignment has been handed over to the Customs department for further legal proceedings, the statement added.
NEW DELHI: Union home minister Amit Shah on Wednesday asked the anti-narcotics officers from across the country to be ruthless towards the drug smugglers and treat the users as victims. Union home minister Amit Shah during the 1st National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Force of states and UTs in New Delhi on April 19 (PTI)

Shah also asked the anti-narcotics officers to adopt a top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach to dismantle the entire network of drug smugglers  international or national, from the point of origin of supply to the paan shops. He also asked them to prepare a drug network chart in every district.

The home minister was addressing the first conference of the heads of anti-narcotics task forces (ANTFs) of states and union territories (UTs), which have come into being since March 25 last year to deal with all drugs-related matters.

During the two-day conference, the ANTFs heads and central investigation and intelligence agencies will deliberate upon various aspects including new trends in drug trafficking, information sharing, targeting larger networks, cross-border contraband smuggling and comprehensive public campaigns etc.

The drugs trafficking doesnt affect an individual or a state or the Centre. It is a national problem, which hinders a countrys development and makes it hollow. This fight needs to be fought by keeping party politics and political ideologies aside so that we can give a drug-free atmosphere for the next generations, Shah said

The vision of drug-free India is important for the future generations, and at this crucial stage in the fight against drugs, if we move forward with determination, collective efforts, Team India and whole of government approach, then our victory is certain, he added.

Asserting that there has been a mistake in our approach till now, Shah said - Our (officers) aim should be clear that one who consumes drugs is a victim and the one who deals in it is a criminal. And we must be ruthless with the latter.

We have two important weapons  PIT NDPS (prevention of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances act) and confiscation of property of drugs smugglers  in the fight against drugs. Firm action should be taken against the peddlers, only then will the fight gain momentum, Shah said.

He urged states to hand over select interstate and international cases to the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) in line with the bottom to top and top to bottom approach so that the criminals local and international linkages could be unearthed, and entire network could be dismantled.

Besides, a drug network chart of each district and the state must be made that indicates the spread of the problem, he said.

Shah said as compared to the 1,257 drug-related cases registered during 2006-2013, the number has increased by 181% to 3,544 during 2014-2022.

The total number of arrests also increased by 300% from 1,363 to 5,408. The seizure of drugs also doubled, up from 1.52 lakh kg during 2006-2013 to 3.73 lakh kg during 2014-2022.
As Assam Youth Congress chief Angkita Dutta accused IYC president Srinivas BV and secretary in-charge Vardhan Yadav of harassment, she said Vardhan does not know how to respect women. "He has been addressing me as Ae ladki, not as Dr Dutta or president. During the Raipur plenary session, Srinivas ji asked me kya peeta hai tum, vodka peeta hai? I was appalled. I was so shocked that I kept quiet," Angkita Dutta told news agency ANI adding that despite her complaints against them, no action has been taken against him. Angkita Dutta said Vardhan Yadav does not know how to talk to women.

"Now they have made posters of me with Himanta Biswa Sarma, the chief minister saying that I am trying to please the chief minister. If a woman speaks of the disrespect she has been facing, the party reacts like that? My grandfather, father and I -- we all have been Congress presidents in the state. We don't want to leave the party. Throw us out if you want to. But we love the party," Angkita Dutta said.

"People like Srinivas and Vardhan Yadav have destroyed the party. they have destroyed the state politics.

'Don't have a father or husband'

Dr Dutta said Srinivas and Vardhan are now bringing up her CBI and ED cases. "It all started in August last year. I am fighting these cases alone. Had I wanted to be a part of the BJP, August was a good time. I don't have a father. I don't have a husband. I have my mother and three sisters who are fighting and facing this. We know we are not wrong. But this is how the party reacts because of a complaint of gender discrimination?" Dr Dutta said.

'Horrendous to say the least': BJP reacts

The BJP has reacted sharply to the allegations brought by Dr Dutta. BJP leader and National Commission for Women member Khushbu Sundar said the lack of empathy for women in the Congress is shocking. "Youth congress leader @angkitadutta has taken to social media to express her concerns regarding the lack of action by @INCIndia in a serious case of harassment! Congress surprises us every time by stooping to new lows. Both @RahulGandhi & @priyankagandhi are in slumber," Khushbu tweeted.

'False, frivolous'

The charges against Srinivas BV are false and frivolous, the Indian Youth Congress said in a statement seeking an apology from the Angkita Dutta. "You are in constant touch with Mr Himanta Biswa Sarma, CM of Assam and you have been undertaking this exercise of maligning and defaming simply to create an atmosphere of leaving the Congress party with an objective to join the BJP," the legal notice sent by the Congress to Angkita said.

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NEW DELHI: Indian and British officials on Wednesday discussed the need for robust global approaches for dealing with crypto-assets and explored new areas for collaboration, including regulatory frameworks for pension funds. At first in-person India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue, UKs senior Treasury officials met with their Indian counterparts to explore ways to boost our collaboration and help grow the economy. (Twitter/hmtreasury)

These issues figured in the second meeting of the India-UK Financial Markets Dialogue, which was held in London to deepen bilateral ties in the financial sector. This was the first in-person financial dialogue between the two sides since 2017.

The dialogue focused on six themes  banking, payments and crypto-assets, insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, asset management, and sustainable finance. Following the discussions between the officials, private sector partners, led by the co-chairs of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP), Bill Winters and Uday Kotak, joined the talks.

Participants discussed international developments regarding crypto-assets, and the importance of robust global approaches, and progress in delivering the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, said a joint statement issued after the dialogue.

India has been giving a push to a collaborative approach towards cryto-assets and digital payment systems as part of the priorities for its G20 presidency.

The participants identified emerging areas for collaboration, including knowledge exchange on regulatory frameworks for pension funds (PFs), potential investment opportunities for PFs, and the development of ecosystems including technology-based solutions for social stock exchange, the joint statement said.

Both sides also discussed the possibility of further technical discussions on effective regulation of environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating providers. They also reiterated their commitment to collaboration on opportunities offered by GIFT-IFSC across verticals, including capital markets for dual listing, sustainable finance, fund management and reinsurance.

The two sides also took up matters related to the insurance sector, including UK updates on Solvency II reforms and a consultation on introduction of an Insurer Regulation Regime (IRR). The Indian side provided an update on developments in the regulatory approach towards insurance in India aimed at enhancing ease of doing business and encouraging entry of new players.

Besides exploring opportunities to collaborate on Sovereign Green Bonds, the two sides explored the scope of leveraging asset management industries for deeper cross-border trade and investment. Sustainable finance was also taken up, including collaboration between central banks on climate scenario analysis and stress testing, as well as capacity building and spreading awareness on climate risk and sustainable finance.

Surbhi Jain, joint secretary in Indias department of economic affairs, and Richard Knox, director for international financial services at the UK treasury, co-chaired the dialogue. Along with the IUKFP, the officials discussed future areas of focus, including workshops, capacity building and conclusion of the cross-border trade and investment workstream.

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New Delhi, Apr 19 (UNI) The Congress on Wednesday launched a fresh attack on the BJP-led government at the Centre over Adani issue, alleging Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Cabinet Ministers and MPs of the ruling dispensation of trying to save billionaire businessman Gautam Adani.

The party also said truth can not be hidden and it will come out.

The Hindenburg Research Report on Adani Group alleged that it had engaged in stock manipulation and accounting fraud schemes over the course of decades.

Addressing a press conference at party headquarters, Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate while referring to the Adani issue said, "Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government , Union Ministers and MPs are trying to save Gautam Adani."

"Truth can not be hidden. It will come out," Shrinate added.

The Congress spokesperson also claimed that diamantaire Jatin Mehta, relative of Adani is a "fugitive" and fled the country after allegedly "defrauding " Rs 7,000 crores.

Shrinate also asked the government what action it has taken in this matter.

The Congress has been spearheading the Opposition, demanding Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the Adani issue.

UNI DS GNK
India is coordinating with key partners in West Asia, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US to ensure the safety of Indian citizens caught up in the intense fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force in Sudan. External affairs minister S Jaishankar has spoken to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE (File Photo)

One Indian, Kerala resident Albert Augustine, was among the 185 people who have died so far in the fighting and thousands of citizens are believed to be in Sudan, where violence between the Sudanese Army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) flared up last week.

The situation on the ground is very tense and any movement at this stage is very risky, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Our priority is the safety of movement and well-being of individuals, wherever they are located, one of the people cited above said.

India is coordinating closely with different countries to ensure the safety and security of its citizens in Sudan. Among these countries are members of the so-called Quartet  Saudi Arabia, UAE, the US and the UK  that has been actively engaged in peace efforts in Sudan.

The Quartet countries have a key role and we are engaging them accordingly. External affairs minister S Jaishankar has spoken to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the person said.

Also Read: Situation tense in Sudan, New Delhi engaging with Quartet countries

The Saudi and UAE foreign ministers assured Jaishankar of their practical support on the ground, the people said.

Indias envoys to the US and the UK are also in touch with their host governments, and the Indian side is working with the UN, which has a substantial presence in Sudan, the people said.

The external affairs ministry has created a control room in New Delhi and is in continuous touch with the embassy in Khartoum to get regular updates on the status of Indian citizens. The embassy is in close touch with the Indian community and individuals through multiple methods, including WhatsApp groups, said the people.

While both the ministry and the embassy are continuously monitoring the situation, concerns about safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details, the person said.

According to the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there are about 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan. There is also a settled Indian community of about 1,200, which has been in the country for nearly 150 years. Details about where most Indian citizens are currently located could not be ascertained. Many Indian expatriates work as professionals in key sectors and a few more work with the UN missions and other international organisations.

Fighting between Sudans army and powerful RSF has erupted in Khartoum and several other cities, derailing an internationally backed plan for transition to a civilian democracy and increasing the risk of civil war. The hostilities continued hours after an internationally brokered ceasefire was supposed to come into effect on Tuesday, with the two sides battling for key locations in Khartoum and accusing each other of violating the truce.

Albert Augustine, an Indian citizen working for the Dal Group in Sudan, died over the weekend after being hit by a stray bullet. The Indian embassy in Khartoum has issued several advisories asking Indian citizens not to venture out of their homes in view of the fighting, which it said is expected to continue.

Also Read: On Sudan clashes, Siddaramaiah hits back at appalled Jaishankar

We have come across many instances of looting. All Indian nationals are advised please not to venture out. Please ration your supplies. The situation may continue for a few more days. Please try to take help from your neighbours. Please stay at home and remain safe, said the latest advisory issued on Tuesday.

Another earlier advisory had asked Indian citizens to stay away from open spaces such as balconies or terraces, and to keep essentials such as medicines, food, water, money, passports and OCI cards ready to ensure easy mobility, when feasible.

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India is coordinating with key partners in West Asia, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the US to ensure the safety of Indian citizens caught up in the intense fighting between the army and a rival paramilitary force in Sudan. People flee from southern Khartoum on April 18, 2023 as fighting between the army and paramilitary forces. (AFP | Ebrahim Hamid)

One Indian, Kerala resident Albert Augestine, was among the 185 people who have died so far in the fighting and some 2,800 Indians are believed to be in Sudan, where violence between the regular army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) flared up last Saturday.

The situation on the ground is very tense and any movement at this stage is very risky, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

Our priority is the safety of movement and well-being of individuals, wherever they are located, one of the people cited above said.

Also Read: Death toll mounts to 270, over 2,600 injured in Sudan clashes

India is coordinating closely with different countries to ensure the safety and security of its citizens in Sudan.

Among these countries are members of the so-called Quartet  Saudi Arabia, UAE, the US and the UK  that has been actively engaged in peace efforts in Sudan.

The Quartet countries have a key role and we are engaging them accordingly. External affairs minister S Jaishankar has spoken to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the person said, referring to phone conversations late on Tuesday.

The Saudi and UAE foreign ministers assured Jaishankar of their practical support on the ground, the people said.

Indias envoys to the US and the UK are in touch with their host governments, and the Indian side is also working with the UN, which has a substantial presence in Sudan, the people said.

Relatives of Indians stranded in Khartoum said they had heard of dwindling food and water supplies and long power cuts. Several people said they had been able to speak to family members who were on business visits to Khartoum when the fighting suddenly erupted.

A number of Indian business persons had travelled to Sudan to finalise trade deals before the Eid holidays.

A woman whose businessman husband is holed up in a hotel in Khartoum said on condition of anonymity armed militia members, including teenagers, were out on the streets and had targeted foreign missions and looted shops and supermarkets.

There are power cuts, though the hotel is using generators. The food situation is bad, and my husband had to shelter in the basement on Tuesday night, she said.

Mansi Seth, a Mumbai resident whose father is stranded with a group of other Indians at another hotel in Khartoum, said, Supplies of food and water are running short at the hotel. I spoke to my father on Wednesday morning for the first time since the fighting started. For now, they are safe, but they cant even open the windows in their rooms because of the firing outside.

The external affairs ministry has set up a control room in New Delhi that is in continuous touch with the embassy in Khartoum to get updates on the Indian citizens. The embassy is in contact with the Indian community and individuals through multiple methods, including WhatsApp groups, the people said.

While both the ministry and the embassy are continuously monitoring the situation, concerns about safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details, the person cited above said.

According to the website of the Indian embassy in Khartoum, there are about 2,800 Indian nationals in Sudan. There is also a settled Indian community of about 1,200, which has been in Sudan for about 150 years. Details about where most of the Indian citizens are currently located could not be ascertained. Many Indian expatriates work as professionals in key sectors and a few work with the UN missions and other international organisations.

Fighting between Sudans army and powerful RSF erupted in Khartoum and several other cities, derailing an internationally backed plan for transition to a civilian democracy and increasing the risk of civil war. The hostilities continued hours after an internationally brokered ceasefire was supposed to come into effect on Tuesday, with the two sides battling for key locations in Khartoum and accusing each other of violating the truce.

Augestine, an Indian citizen working for the Dal Group in Sudan, died over the weekend after being hit by a stray bullet.

The Indian embassy in Khartoum has issued several advisories asking Indian citizens not to venture out of their homes in view of the fighting, which it said is expected to continue.

We have come across many instances of looting. All Indian nationals are advised please not to venture out. Please ration your supplies. The situation may continue for a few more days. Please try to take help from your neighbours. Please stay at home and remain safe, said the latest advisory issued on Tuesday.

An earlier advisory had asked Indian citizens to stay away from open spaces such as balconies or terraces, and to keep essentials such as medicines, food, water, money, passports and OCI cards ready to ensure easy mobility, when feasible.

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India is coordinating closely with various countries to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals in Sudan, the external affairs ministry officials said on Wednesday. New Delhi is engaging with the Quartet countries of the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE on the issue as these countries have a key role. External affairs minister Jaishankar has spoken to the counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the officials said. "Both assured their practical support on-ground," the ministry said. India engaging with US, UK, Saudi Arabia, UAE on Sudan crisis(Ayush Sharma)

"Our Ambassador in Washington DC&High Commissioner in London in touch with their respective host govts. We are working with UN, which has a substantial presence in Sudan," the ministry said.

Read | Please stay at home: Indian embassy on looting incidents in Sudan

"In New Delhi, we have set up a dedicated Control Room. We are in continuous touch with our Embassy in Khartoum and are getting regular reports of the status of the Indian community. The Embassy in turn is in touch with the community and individuals through multiple methods including WhatsApp groups," the ministry said.

Read | On Sudan clashes, Siddaramaiah hits back at appalled Jaishankar

"Situation on the streets in Sudan is very tense and movement is very risky at this stage. Our priority is safety of movement and well-being of individuals wherever they are located. While both the Ministry and the Embassy are continuously monitoring the situation, concerns of safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details," it said.

On his phone conversation with foreign minister of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Jaishankar said they exchanged views on the situation in Sudan. "Thank HH @ABZayed, Foreign Minister of UAE, for the exchange of views on the situation in Sudan. Our continuing contacts are helpful," the external affairs minister tweeted. "Appreciated his assessment of the Sudan situation. Will remain in close touch," he said on Twitter.

On Monday, the Indian embassy in Sudan issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm. The embassy on Sunday said that an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.

Sudan has been witnessing violent clashes between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last six days that have reportedly left around 100 people dead.

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India is expected to be the most populous country by the middle of this year and overtake China, according to the latest data from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). The UNFPA report said 25% of Indias population is in the age group of 0-14, 18% in 10-19, 26% in 10-24, 68% in 15-64. (Reuters/Representative)

The UNFPAs The State of World Population Report, 2023, titled 8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: The Case for Rights and Choices released on Wednesday said Indias population is projected to be 1,428.6 million while that of Chinas 1,425.7 million, a difference of 2.9 million.

Also Read: We are many, we are one: Ambi Parameswaran on Indias population milestone

The latest figures were given under the category of Demographic Indicators in the report.

It will be the first time that Indias population will overtake Chinas since 1950 when the UN began to collect and release population data.

Anna Jefferys, UNFPAs media and crisis communications advisor, said Chinas population reached its peak last year and started to decline. ...Indias population is growing; its rate of population growth has been declining since 1980.

Jefferys said there is no perfect population number for either country, but more important is how India and China can support their populations.

The UNFPA report said 25% of Indias population is in the age group of 0-14, 18% in 10-19, 26% in 10-24, 68% in 15-64, and 7% above 65.

The corresponding figures for China are 17%, 12%, 18%, 69%, and 14%, which means the country has nearly 200 million above the age of 65.

China is doing better than India in the context of life expectancy, which in the case of women is 82 and 76 that of men. The figures for India are 74 and 71, according to the report.

Experts said India has a clear demographic advantage. Its young population in a consumer-driven economy will be a major factor in driving the countrys development, and presents an enormous opportunity for the countrys economic growth, said Andrea Wojner, UNFPAs India representative.

The country will not just enjoy an abundant supply of labour from this working age cohort, but the rising domestic consumption should help the nation tide over any external shocks, a fact well demonstrated during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Chinese demography expert Huang Wenzheng said Indias advantage is that it is still growing even as it is slower than before. ...the key is not whether the total population of India has surpassed that of China but India now has more than twice as many new babies as China with a total fertility rate about twice as much as Chinas, which means that Indias population will be much bigger than Chinas in the long run, said Huang, a researcher at the Beijing-based Centre for China and Globalisation.

Huang said India has a much bigger demographic strength than China. ...it can be translated into comparative strengths on many other fronts as well if India can take advantage of it.

Indias demographic diversity among states also provides unique opportunities to reap the benefits of demographic dividends. Different states are at various stages of demographic transition.

For example, an ageing population in southern India can meet its labour demands from the greater proportion of the youthful population in the northern and eastern parts of the country through conducive policies on inter-state migration, Wojner said.

Chinas population decreased by 850,000 people in 2022, the first such decline since 1961. The number of births in China did not increase as expected since Beijing abolished the one-child policy and then allowed even three children. Primary reasons include rising costs of living, childcare, and education.

Overall, the UNFPA report called for a radical rethink of how population numbers are framed. It urged politicians and media to abandon overblown narratives about population booms and busts.

Instead of asking how fast people are reproducing, leaders should ask whether individuals, especially women, are able to freely make their own reproductive choices  a question whose answer, too often, is no, the UNFPA said in a statement released along with the report.

UNFPA executive director Natalia Kanem said womens bodies should not be held captive to population targets. To build thriving and inclusive societies, regardless of population size, we must radically rethink how we talk about and plan for population change.

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A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Assam-based Tezpur University on Wednesday for training army personnel in Chinese language, officials informed. The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks and will be conducted at Tezpur University. (Tezpur University)

The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks and will be conducted at Tezpur University.

The MoU was signed by HQ 4 Corps on behalf of Indian Army and the registrar, Tezpur University in presence of the vice chancellor Prof SN Singh.

Also Read: China surveys Indian Ocean, expands its naval footprint

Tezpur University established in 1994 by an act of parliament as a central university is one the pioneers in Northeast in teaching of foreign languages including Chinese with highly qualified faculty.

This Chinese language course will improve the in-house Mandarin expertise and empower the army personnel to engage with the Chinese Military personnel as and when the situation demands, said Lt. Col. Mahender Rawat, PRO-Defence (Guwahati), in a statement.

With improved Chinese language skills, the army personnel will be better empowered to convey their points in a much more cogent manner, he added.

According to the army, the course will also help in better exchange of viewpoints and understanding of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Armys (PLA) version of their activities during various interactions such as commander Level talks, flag meetings, joint exercises and border personnel meetings.

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A court in India can take cognizance of a case of domestic violence even if the alleged offence takes place in a foreign country, the Nagpur bench of the Bombay High Court has held. The court recently rejected a plea by an Indian man who claimed that a magistrate's court in Nagpur can not act on a complaint of domestic violence.(HT_PRINT)

Read here: Publicity of court proceedings: The question of privacy and reputation

The court recently rejected a plea by an Indian man who claimed that a magistrate's court in Nagpur can not act on a complaint of domestic violence filed by his estranged wife because the alleged incidents had taken place in Germany.

Justice G A Sanap noted in the ruling that the Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act (DV Act) was a "social beneficial legislation", and it does not matter where the offence has taken place.

The copy of the judgement, passed on March 29, became available on Wednesday. "...though the Domestic Violence Act extends only to the whole of India as provided under section 1 of the DV Act, the domestic violence caused on the foreign soil could also be taken cognizance of," the high court said.

In the present case, consequence of trauma, suffering and distress carried by the complainant woman when she returned to her parents would be sufficient to reject her estranged husband's claims that an Indian court would have no jurisdiction to hear the case, the judge said.

The couple got married in 2020 after which the husband left for Germany for work. The wife joined him later. In a complaint filed in a local court in Nagpur, she claimed that she was mentally and physically harassed by the husband in Germany and also by his parents when she was living with them in Nagpur. She was forced to have an abortion while in Germany, she alleged.

Read here: Why is India discussing same-sex marriage? 5 points

The woman initiated criminal proceedings under the DV Act against her husband and his parents after returning to Nagpur. The husband filed an application seeking dismissal of the proceedings on the ground that the alleged acts of domestic violence had taken place in Germany, outside the jurisdiction of any Indian court.
NEW DELHI: Israel has no concerns about the Adani Groups plans to expand its presence in the country after taking over the management of Haifa port, and it is also looking to India to help boost cooperation in crucial sectors such as skilled IT manpower and desert tech, Israeli economy and industry minister Nir Barkat has said. Though the focus between the two countries may not be on pushing ahead negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), the Israeli side is keen on encouraging more Israeli companies to set up office in India and to develop joint ventures while aligning interests with the Make in India initiative, Barkat said in an interview.Edited excerpts: Israeli economy and industry minister Nir Barkat said they had been discussing how can we encourage Israeli companies to set up office here, to develop joint ventures and to align interests with Make in India (ANI)

What were the priorities in your meeting with commerce minister Piyush Goyal?

Fundamentally, I shared my vision of what Israel needs to do, which is to expand its technology. In the next 20 years, we want to increase the number of hi-tech employees from 10% to 25%. Its a huge undertaking and the opportunity is in aligning interests with other countries that are interested in growth. What I found on this trip is that India is well on course to becoming the third largest economy. It was a bit of deja vu for me because in the beginning of the 1990s, we broke ice and developed a relationship with the US. It took us a few years to figure out what is the optimal way for Israeli companies to engage in the US marketplace, and the challenge we have right now is not just on the security side, but actually to expand the relationship on the business-to-business or B2B side [with India]. I think minister Goyal and I see eye to eye on the opportunities. It goes well over and beyond the FTAs. Its a lot of business development, engagement between companies on the technology side in areas like desert tech, which is the technology that improves quality in deserts, agro-tech, food tech, creating food from the sea, water management and energy. Were talking a lot about health and natural and classic IT, including security.

Israel is going to go into many other areas  satellites, space and others  that are very complementary. Because the relationship between the Jewish people and the Indian people goes back thousands of years, we have always felt secure and safe and you have good people-to-people and government-to-government ties, now its time to develop the business side.

When you talk about increasing skilled IT manpower, are you looking at the possibility of a migration and mobility agreement with India?

Possibly, yes. In the long term, I believe theres going to be a lot of outsourcing and joint ventures between Israel and India based here [in India]. The majority of the effort will be focusing on this side of the ocean. Certainly, we have the largest number of foreign students in Israel coming from India and I believe we should expand that relationship on both sides.

What is the status of the FTA that was being discussed by India and Israel?

Weve been discussing it. Right now, theres not a lot of trade happening that you need to...we need to sort of figure out where it makes sense for both sides. Put aside the FTA, the business development is much, much greater. Weve been discussing exactly that  how can we encourage Israeli companies to set up office here, to develop joint ventures, to align interests with Make in India. Its an interesting concept that makes a lot of sense, how to synchronise into that effort. Because of the growth and scale of India, Im going to give the relationship with India very high priority because it matches our strategy into the future.

Could you identify a few priority areas where you think India could drive business with Israel?

First of all, security is a big deal and scaling and growing that. We feel comfortable sharing our security secrets with India because we trust the Indian government and people. The next would be what I call desert tech, which includes how we grow better food, and provide better water and better energy. The southern part of Israel is a desert. It has a huge amount of entrepreneurs. Drip irrigation comes from Israel. We have a number of startups that are totally thinking out-of-the-box and improving the yield in agriculture. Hydroponics is a good example where Israel is developing really well. On one acre of hydroponics, you could develop food equivalent to 50 acres of land. Imagine what you could do with that agriculture here in India, if we know how to share that knowledge in a big way. I think the sky is the limit in terms of the potential here and Israel is a tiny country. Were less than 10 million people and Indias 150 times larger. Naturally, when you want to develop business models that are scalable for the rest of the world, I believe India is a classic development partner. Thats what were going to be doing. I believe thats a classic win-win.

Theres been a lot of interest in when Prime Minister Netanyahu will visit India because the trip has been in the pipeline for long. Do we have any indication of when hes going to be headed to India?

I havent spoken to him before [coming to India] but honestly, when I go back, Ill strongly recommend to him to pay a visit as soon as possible. I know his relationship with [Prime Minister Narendra] Modi is really good, and its been very helpful for the business community. Im going to provide some ideas on how to take that to the next level and create better understandings with the Indian people. So, Im very optimistic and excited.

Given the problems faced recently by the Adani group, are you concerned about the groups investments in Israel and its plans to expand its presence in your country?

No, its not a concern. Were not looking into the businesses here. Its a classic good investment in Israel and we welcome more investments. As a matter of fact, we dont have a lot of ports. We have one in Haifa and one in Ashdod. The port in Haifa  the fact that Israels trusting a foreign entity to manage and lead the port is testimony that we trust our friends in India. Were not looking at whats happening here. Its clean, hopefully a good deal and we want to welcome more deals like that in Israel.

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Israel has no concerns about the Adani Groups plans to expand its presence in the country after taking over the strategic Haifa port as it is a good deal that could pave the way for more investments from the Indian side, Israeli economy and industry minister Nir Barkat said. Nir Barkat, Israels economy minister addressing an audience. (Twitter | CII)

Though the focus between India and Israel may not be on pushing ahead with negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA), the Israeli side is keen on encouraging more Israeli companies to set up office in India and to develop joint ventures while aligning interests with the Make in India initiative, Barkat said in an interview.

Asked if Israel was concerned about the Adani Groups investments in Israel following the recent downturn in the fortunes of the conglomerate, Barkat replied, No, its not a concern. Were not looking into the businesses here. Its a classic good investment in Israel and we welcome more investments.

Also Read:Israeli PM wont fire defence minister, puts differences behind

Noting that Israel had only two major ports at Haifa and Ashdod, Barkat said it was significant that the country had entrusted the management of a port to an Indian firm.

The port in Haifa  the fact that Israels trusting a foreign entity to manage and lead the port is testimony that we trust our friends in India. Were not looking at whats happening here. Its clean, hopefully a good deal and we want to welcome more deals like that in Israel, he said.

A consortium led by Adani Group completed the purchase of Haifa port, a major trade and tourism hub on the Mediterranean, for $1.15 billion in January.

Though both countries have been discussing an FTA, Barkat said India and Israel need to sort of figure out where it makes sense for both sides.

He added, Put aside the FTA, the business development is much, much greater. Weve been discussing exactly that  how can we encourage Israeli companies to set up office here, to develop joint ventures, to align interests with Make in India.

He said it makes a lot of sense for Israel to synchronise with Make in India because of Indias growth and scale.

He also spoke of Israels long-term plans in the IT sector, including a lot of outsourcing and joint ventures based in India.

The majority of the effort will be focusing on this side of the ocean. Certainly, we have the largest number of foreign students in Israel coming from India and I believe we should expand that relationship on both sides, Barkat said in response to a question on the possibility of forging a migration and mobility arrangement with India.

At his meeting with commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday, Barkat shared Israels vision for expand its technology sector and increasing the number of hi-tech employees from 10% to 25% in the next 20 years.

Its a huge undertaking and the opportunity is in aligning interests with other countries that are interested in growth...and the challenge we have right now is not just on the security side, but actually to expand the relationship on the business-to-business [with India], he said.

In the field of technology, Barkat identified desert tech, or technology for improving the quality of life in desert areas, agro-tech, food tech, creating food from the sea, water management and energy as priority areas for cooperation with India.

Israel is going to go into many other areas  satellites, space and others  that are very complementary... Hydrophnics is a good example where Israel is developing really well. On one acre of hydroponics, you could develop food equivalent to 50 acres of land, he said.

Naturally, when you want to develop business models that are scalable for the rest of the world, I believe India is a classic development partner. Thats what were going to be doing. I believe thats a classic win-win.

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Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan has returned the Jharkhand reservation in vacancies of posts and services (Amendment) Act, 2022 that had sought to increase reservation in state government jobs, asking the Hemant Soren led state government to review the legislation, government officials said. Jharkhand governor CP Radhakrishnan was appointed onFebruary 18. (ANI)

The bill, passed in a special one day session on November 11, 2022, looked to increase the quota of Other Backward Classes (OBC) to 27% from the existing 14%, for Scheduled Tribes to 28% from the existing 26%. Combined with the 10% reservation for EWS(economically weaker sections), this would have taken the total reservation in government jobs up to 78%.

A senior Raj Bhawan official said that the bill has been returned to the government based on legal opinion provided by the Attorney General of India. The previous governor (Ramesh Bais) had sent the bill to the Attorney General for legal opinion. As per the attorney generals opinion, the bill does not confer with several Supreme Court judgements on the issue of reservation. Considering that opinion, Raj Bhawan returned the bill back to the government last month for a review, the official said. The return happened in March.

The official said that the attorney general has said that the bill could not be given assent as it crosses the 50% cap on job quotas.

Though this is the first bill to have been returned by incumbent governor CP Radhakrishnan, who was appointed onFebruary 18, the state government and Raj Bhawan have been at loggerheads in Jharkhand over the past two years, with the Hemant Soren government repeatedly accusing the governors office of working in a partisan manner.

Over the past two years, the Governors office has also returned at least four other contentious legislations and the ruling coalition reacted sharply. It is clear that Raj Bhawan is working with a biased mindset. Key legislations have been blocked. On the one hand the BJP brags about welfare of OBCs and on other hand their governor is obstructing a law that intends to double their quota, said Jharkhand Congress spokesperson Rakesh Sinha.

The BJO however said that the government was deliberately making controversial laws to fool the people. They deliberately take decisions which are technically incorrect because their intention is not to do what they preach, said senior BJP legislator and former minister CP Singh.

Several non-BJP ruled states have had run-ins with their respective Governors in the recent past. Last week, the Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution seeking a constitutional amendment to fix a timeframe for governors to decide on a bill passed by the state legislature.

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Incumbent governments have been ousted in every Karnataka assembly election starting the 1989 one, although some have clutched on to power by forging post-results coalitions. Congress supporters walk past giant cut-outs of senior party leaders in Karnatakas Kolar. (PTI)

But such encouraging trends rarely come with guaranteesthe Congress learnt this the hard way. Two years ago, in neighbouring Kerala, the LDF government defeated the Congress alliance to retain power, breaking a 44-year-old record of a change in government every 5 years.

From party sympathizers in Udupi or Ramnagara to former Rajya Sabha MP BK Hariprasad to Congress general secretary Randeep Surjewala, everyone speaks of two key elements of the Congress strategy for this election. First, four direct benefit schemesa formula that has helped the BJP curve out a unique vote bank of beneficiaries in the 2019 national election. Two, highlighting the alleged corruption and misgovernance of the Basavaraj Bommai-led Bharatiya Janata Party government.

In Karnatakas Humnabad on Monday, Rahul Gandhi said: The Congress party is making four promises to you and these promises will be made into laws in the first cabinet meeting. The first promise and perhaps the most important promise, which we call Grihalakshmi, (is to give) 2,000 per month to every woman in the family. Second promise, Griha Jyoti (of) 200 units of free electricity per month to every family. The other two poll promises are Anna Bhagya or 10 kg rice to every poor family every month and Yuva Nidhi, 3,000 per month to every graduate and 1,500 per month to every diploma holder in Karnataka for 2 years.

The schemes, aiming to tackle price rise, signal a shift from the partys policy push for rights-based legislation to the creation of individual beneficiaries, and Gandhis speech promised a deadline -- the first cabinet meeting should the party come to power. The Congress usually avoids such deadlines arguing the government has five years to fulfil its promises.

Hariprasad claims the allegations of 40% commission government against the Bommai administration was not coined by the Congress. This allegation was made by the Karnataka Contractors Association. The Association even wrote a letter to the Prime Ministers Office alleging that payments are withheld and they are demanding 40% commission.

On November 25, 2021, the contractors association said in its letter to the PMO: Thus, the local registered contractors of our state have (to) pay to the extent of 25% to 30% (for elected representatives & others) of the tender amount before starting the works. Such being the position how (will) the contractor undertakes good work.

Then, in April 2022, a contractor Santosh K Patil died by suicide , after accusing state minister Eshwarappa of corruption. The minister was subsequently cleared after an investigation by the state CID.

In January this year, the associations president D Kempanna, reiterated charges of corruption, mentioned the 40% cut, and said we have given all documents regarding 40 per cent commission to our lawyer and he will submit them before the court, as he demanded a probe monitored by the high court.

The state government has flatly denied any charges of corruption. In Udipi, Karnatakas social welfare minister Kota Srinivas Poojari told HT, Our CM has said on several occasions show us the proof. No one has shown us any proof. Moreover, I throw the same challenge as far as my department is concerned. My budget of 19,000 crore has been spent and there is no allegation against me.

Caste equations for the Congress

But the Congress, which swept to power in 2013 is aware of why it fared badly in 2018. In 2013, it won 122 seats in the 224 seat assembly while the BJP won 40. In 2018, it won 78 to the BJPs 104, but formed a government along with the Janata Dal (Secular) that lasted for a year.

(BS) Yeddiyurappa rejoined the BJP in 2018, said a senior Congress leader.

From its 40 seats in 2013, the BJP secured 104 seats in 2018 as former chief minister Yeddiyurappa, the BJPs most powerful Lingayat leader returned to the party, disbanding his own party, the KJP, which he formed in 2012 after being ousted from the BJP over corruption charges. In 2018, the Congress lost most of its seats in the central and northern Karnataka region.

This year, the BJP has offered 52 seats to Lingayat candidates, relying on Yeddiyurappa to deliver on those seats. The Congress, in its first two lists, fielded 41 members of the dominant community. that accounts for 16-17% of the states population. Earlier this week, the Congress got a shot in the arm when BJP stalwart and former CM Jagdish Shettar (Lingayat) left the party after he was denied ticket. The Congress lost no time in inducting him and naming him its candidate in his Hubli Dharwad constituency. Earlier, another Lingayat leader Laxman Savadi joined the Congress from the BJP under similar circumstances.

According to a data from Lok Dhaba of Ashoka University, the BJP drastically improved its vote share in central Karnataka from 12.1% to 32.5%-- the steepest rise among all regions of the state -- in 2018. The Congress vote share dropped in Bangalore and coastal Karnataka in 2018 and marginally improved in other parts.

The Lok Dhaba data also showed how the BJPs strike rate in winning seats shot up to 46.85% in 2018 from 17.9% in 2013, while the Congress rate dropped from 54.46% to 35.45% in the same period even.

Interestingly, the Congress vote share has remained higher than the BJPs in all assembly elections in the state.

Congress vs Kumaraswamy

If Yeddiyurappas presence poses a challenge to the Congress ine central, coastal and northern Karnataka, so does the JDS strong following among the Vokkaliga voters in the Old Mysuru region in southern Karnataka.

Southern Karnataka, as poll data shows, is the only region where the JDS has been able to increase its seat share as well as vote share in 2018. More than half of the JDS seats comes from the Vokkaliga belt of Old Mysuru, the states largest electoral battlefield with 64 seats. The BJP too has increased its seat share in this area while the Congress has lost ground.

In this election, the BJP is eyeing the Old Mysuru region, especially the Mysuru and Mandya belt for further gains. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah have already visited Mysuru and Mandya and an intensified campaign is expected in this region. The BJP has already announced 41 seats for Vokkaliga candidates while Congress first two lists allotted 22 seats for Vokkaligas.

Siddaramaiah factor

The Congress is looking at the SC and OBC votes with former CM Siddaramaiah, a Kuruba leader, being the statess most popular OBC face. OBCs, roughly 22% of Karnataka voters, are the largest class group in the state. In the past few days, the Congress has reignited the issue of case census, with Rahul Gandhi demanding that the government release the Socio-Economic Caste Census data and Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge shooting off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the same issue.

The party needs Siddaramaiah for its outreach to OBC voters. For the past many years, OBC votes decide the fate of Karnataka. While Prime Minister Modi has been able to capture OBC votes in other parts of the country, in Karnataka, its a different issue and Siddaramaiah is a formidable leader, said another senior Congress leader.

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Shimla, Apr 18(UNI) The President of India, Droupdi Murmu on Wednesday said that it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to develop scientific temper and the spirit of inquiry and reform.

She told the graduating students that while entering a new phase of life they should connect their individual goals with the national goals and contribute to the development of the country by marching forward in their chosen fields.



She said this while addressing the 26th convocation of Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla today.



Speaking on the occasion, the President said that since its inception in 1970, Himachal Pradesh University has played a very important role in the field of higher education. The alumni of this University have left their mark in various fields including arts, medical, judiciary, sports, social service, politics and administration.



The President said that the climate of Himachal Pradesh attracts people from across the world. This region of the Himalayas is rich in fauna and flora. But climate change is affecting the ecology of this region also. It is need of hour to move forward together towards the goal of sustainable development while conserving the rich natural heritage of the state. Therefore, it is the duty of institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research and innovation keeping in mind the needs of the local community and the ecological challenges of the region and contribute in eco-friendly development.



The President said that the youth of our country are making a mark across the world with their talent. Many of them have established start-ups and set great examples of success. Innovation is the main element of these start-ups. She was happy to note that Himachal Pradesh University has taken initiative to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth by setting up Incubation Centers.



The President of India presented Gold Medals to 10 meritorious students including seven girls during the 26th Annual Convocation of Himachal Pradesh University Shimla in a simple but impressive function held in the Auditorium of the University at Shimla today.



The President also addressed the Convocation function on the occasion and acknowledged the efforts of the University for providing quality education.



As many as 99 Students were given Ph. D. degrees including 59 females and 40 males and 111 Gold medals were presented to 34 males and 77 females.



While congratulating all the degree holders and gold medalists, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is also a Chancellor of the University, said that it was a matter of pride for all of us that this convocation ceremony is being organized in the august presence of President, Smt. Droupadi Murmu. He said that it was an important occasion in the life of the students studying in this institution, when they were starting the journey of life to give it a practical form after completing their formal education.



Congratulating the University authorities, the Governor said that it was a matter of great pride that the National Assessment and Accreditation Council have once again granted 'A' grade accreditation to this University. He added that HP University is a prestigious institute imparting higher education and students from India as well as abroad were pursuing their higher studies and research work here.



Shukla said that HP University has a glorious past and the students who have passed from this university were rendering their outstanding services in different fields in the country and the world thereby bringing laurels to the State as well as the country. He said that India is rapidly becoming a strong nation globally and we were moving forward with a strong and stable economy. The whole world is looking towards India as it is emerging as a superpower, he said.



Expressing concern over the illegal trade of drugs in Himachal Pradesh, he said that there was a need to launch a mass movement against this menace by taking students and youth along with them. Today, India is proud to preside over the world's leading prosperous G-20 countries. The concept of One Earth- One Family- One Future was not built in a day. It reflects in our thoughts, our nature, said the Governor. He said that our Universities should impart such thoughts to carry our traditions and culture beyond boundaries.



He said that today was an important day for every student as they were going to join an open society with a degree under their belt. He added that education was a life-long process and degree holders were now ready to step in for practical learning outside the campus. He also lauded the University for meeting the objectives of National Education Policy.



While speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu greeted the students for their stupendous achievements in education and said that it was a moment of happiness for us that the President of India Smt. Droupadi Murmu had arrived in Devbhoomi, Himachal Pradesh and graced the convocation function of Himachal Pradesh University. He said that such programs motivate the students to excel in their life and encourage them to serve the Nation with dedication.



The Chief Minister said that Himachal Pradesh University was his alma mater and recalled the memories of his student life. He also highlighted the rich history of the University and said that many laurels had been brought to the State by its students in various fields.



The Chief Minister also praised the authorities of the University for maintaining the best educational atmosphere, adding that 'A' grade given by NAAC again, is a testament to the quality of education it provides to its students besides other co-curricular activities. He assured that the State Government would extend all possible cooperation and assistance to upgrade more facilities for the students and the teaching faculty.



He applauded the University for actively participating in national campaigns and undertaking various educational and awareness activities to ensure that the benefits of education are percolated down to every section of society. He said that the State Government was committed to successfully implement the National Education Policy-2020 and hoped that the University would play an important role to meet its objectives.



The Chief Minister also emphasized the importance of honesty in the life of the students and how it is the key to success. He reminded the students that learning is a lifelong process and said that they should continue to attain the knowledge even after completing their formal education.

Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu urged the students to perform their duties and responsibilities towards the country and society with full honesty and integrity and learn from their mistakes as they move forward in life.



The Chief Minister said that he has spent the precious eight years of his life in this University. He said that it is a matter of pride for Himachal Pradesh that National BJP President Shri J.P. Nadda had also been a student of this University.



The Governor honoured the President by presenting a Himachali cap and shawl while the Chief Minister presented a memento to the President on the occasion.



Vice Chancellor of Himachal Pradesh University Prof. S.P Bansal welcomed the President and other dignitaries and read out the progress report of the University. He said that concerted efforts have been made to implement National Education Policy in the University.



The Vice Chancellor also honoured the Governor, Chief Minister, Education Minister Rohit Thakur and MP, Suresh Kashyap on the occasion.



UNI ML RKM
An Indian Army soldier from Maharashtras Washim district sacrificed his life while rescuing fellow jawans who had fallen into a river in Arunachal Pradesh during patrolling, officials said. Thousands of citizens turned for his last journey with people chanting Long Live Amol Gore," said Washim Superintendent of Police Bachchan Singh. (File)

The mortal remains of Naik Amol Gore, who died on duty on April 14, were brought to his native village Sonkhas in the district on Wednesday where he was cremated with full military honours, they said.

Thousands of citizens turned for his last journey with people chanting Long Live Amol Gore. Washim rural police station in-charge API Pramod Ingle paid respects to the martyr on behalf of police department, said Washim Superintendent of Police Bachchan Singh.

Gore was attached to the Armys 11 Para Special Forces unit, said police. He joined the Army in 2010 and is survived by his wife and two sons, they said. The Additional Directorate General of Public Information, IHQ of MoD (Army), shared details about Gores supreme sacrifice on Twitter.

It said Gore lost his life in East Kameng in Arunachal Pradesh on April 14 while rescuing soldiers who had fallen in a river while patrolling.

It further said, General Manoj Pande #COAS and All Ranks of #IndianArmy salute the supreme sacrifice of Naik Gore Amol Tanhaji who lost his life while rescuing fellow soldiers who had fallen in a river and express heartfelt condolences to the bereaved family.
Atiq Ahmad's wife Shaista Parveen now 'most-wanted' by UP Police. Who is she? 51-year-old Shaista Parveen, the wife of mafia politician Atiq Ahmad who was shot dead in police custody, is now on the most-wanted list of the UP Police. Read more Shaista Parveen (File photo)

China conducts surveys in the Indian Ocean, expands its naval footprint

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Radhika Apte says 'working abroad is tough', talks about her projects in the West

Radhika Apte has always played a variety of roles on screen, each more interesting than the other. After playing a cop with a spicy way of tongue in Monica O My Darling, the actor recently played a housewife-cum-undercover spy in Anushree Mehta's film Mrs Undercover. Read more

Priyanka Chopra looks unreal in hot red gown at Citadel London Premiere with Nick Jonas, Richard Madden. Pics, videos

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Life has come a full circle: Rohit's priceless gesture for Arjun after Sachin's son takes 1st IPL wicket - Watch

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KOLKATA: Veteran Bengal politician Mukul Roy insisted on Wednesday that he was and continues to be part of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), his response to a barrage of questions on his next move over speculation that the 69-year-old politician could exit the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Mukul Roy, a founding member of the Mamata-Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, switched over to the BJP in 2017 (ANI Screengrab)

I was with the BJP. I am still with the BJP. I will remain with the BJP. Even a few days back, BJP sent me a letter saying that I am with them. BJP would perform well, Mukul Roy told reporters in Delhi on Wednesday.

The veteran leaders profile on Twitter - he last retweeted a post by West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on March 19 - does not mention the BJP. Instead, the profile only says, All India Trinamool Congress, Former Union Railway Minister, Govt. of India.

Mukul Roy, a founding member of the Mamata-Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress, switched over to the BJP in 2017 after he was named as an accused in the Narada sting operation case and following a fallout with Mamata Banerjee. He was also suspended from the party for six years. The BJP appointed him as its national vice president.

Mukul Roy returned to the TMC in 2021 after the assembly elections at a public event but did not resign his seat in the state assembly that he had won on a BJP ticket. When the BJP sought his disqualification under the anti-defection law, Roy and his legal team told the speaker that he hadnt joined the TMC and continued to remain a part of the BJP. Assembly speaker Biman Banerjee finally rejected the disqualification complaint.

Roys appearance before the media in Delhi on Wednesday comes days after he was reported missing by his son Subhranshu Roy in Kolkata and there was buzz that the BJP had reached out to him.

Mamata Banerjee brushed aside the speculation around Roy, who she also referred to as a BJP legislator.

He is a BJP legislator. I have heard that his son has lodged a missing diary. Police will investigate. I have nothing to say. It is absolutely his choice. I think you know how BJP is behaving. Maybe he was threatened. It is a very small matter. We dont care. It is better to ignore. But the missing case is very serious, Banerjee told reporters at the state secretariat.

In an interview with a television channel, Mukul Roy incidentally described him as a Lok Sabha MP. Subhranshu Roy has repeatedly said that his father was unwell.

I am not a legislator. I am a Lok Sabha MP. I came to Delhi for the parliament session, Mukul Roy who won the Krishnanagar Uttar assembly seat in the 2021 elections, said in course of an interview with a TV channel earlier in the day. He also stressed that the CPM must be defeated in West Bengal and that he will try to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah during his Delhi visit.

Subhranshu reiterated about his fathers health condition on Tuesday. He had to undergo a surgery and takes 18 medicines every day. Dirty politics is being played with him. The target is to malign Abhishek Banerjee, he said.

The BJP suggested that it wasnt taking Mukul Roys statements seriously.

His (Mukul Roys) statements change every six months. There is nothing to worry about. He has no credibility. Let him get well. He wants to evict the CPIM from Bengal. Where is the CPIM? Everyone is in confusion about his political allegiance, Dilip Ghosh, BJPs national vice president told reporters.
Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel on Wednesday was airlifted to India for treatment after he was admitted to a hospital here for the second time within a month after he complained of shortness of breath, his press aide said. Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel (Reuters)

Paudel, 78, was admitted to TU Teaching Hospital here on Tuesday. A preliminary investigation has revealed that he had a chest infection.

President Paudel will undergo treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (AIIMS), New Delhi, the aide said.

Kiran Pokharel, the press adviser to the President, said that the President was medevacked to India in an air ambulance around 10.30 am on Wednesday.

He was accompanied by his son Chintan Paudel and others.

On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka, among other leaders, visited him to inquire about his health condition.

Last week, the President complained of pain in his stomach. On April 1, President Paudel was admitted to a hospital here for the first time after complaining of some problem in his stomach.

A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to deploy a team of government officials, led by the health secretary, to facilitate his treatment. The team will assess the nature of the Presidents illness and report to the government, a minister said.

Further decisions on the Presidents treatment will be taken after the team submits its report.

Paudel of the Nepali Congress was elected as the new president of Nepal last month, in a relief to the fragile coalition government headed by Prime Minister Prachanda'.

Paudel, a common candidate of the eight-party alliance that included the Nepali Congress and Prime Minister 'Prachanda'-led CPN (Maoist Center), received the vote of 214 lawmakers of Parliament and 352 provincial assembly members.
The Union government has decided to drop a controversial provision that gave it the power to recommend to the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that it review a movie that has already received certification from the body, officials familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur. (HT photo)

Announcing the introduction of the revised Cinematograph Bill, 2023 on Wednesday, Union minister for information and broadcasting Anurag Thakur said filmmakers and the industry would be very happy with the final version.

The Cinematograph Act, 2023 will be introduced in the upcoming session of Parliament, Thakur said. It will satisfy everyone without creating any controversy.

Referring to the new bill, Thakur added that stricter provisions for countering piracy were being included, apart from the inclusion of a certification system on a par with OTT (over-the-top) platforms. OTT platforms have five categories as per digital media rules, while the Cinematograph Act has three.

At present, under the Cinematograph Act, 1951, three categories of film certification exist, which are unrestricted public exhibition or U, parental guidance required for children under 12 or U/A, and adult films. The amendments will further sub-categorise these.

As far as piracy is concerned, one of the above-mentioned officials said, the government will introduce sections specific to online piracy. Any website found violating these rules will immediately be asked to take down the pirated content, the official added.

HT reported last year that owing to a pushback from the industry and filmmakers, the government was reviewing the provisions that would have allowed CBFC to recall a film.

If the earlier proposed amendments were cleared, the government would have had the power to restrict cinematic content on the basis of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to any offence.

The Central Government in respect of a film certified for public exhibition, on account of violation of Section 5B(1) of the Act, the Central Government may, if it considers it necessary so to do, direct the Chairman of the Board to re-examine the film, the government said in a release seeking feedback last year. Section 5B (1) stated, A film shall not be certified for public exhibition if, in the opinion of the authority competent to grant the certificate, the film or any part of it is against the interests of [the sovereignty and integrity of India] the security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States, public order, decency or morality, or involves defamation or contempt of court or is likely to incite the commission of any offence.

The draft amendments provoked a sharp response from the film industry that has expressed concerns that some proposed provisions could curtail creative freedom. The proposed changes led to 1,400 filmmakers and artists, including Anurag Kashyap, Shabana Azmi, and Farhan Akhtar, writing an open letter to the ministry objecting to this kind of censorship.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday charged Ibrahim Puthanathani, the national coordinator of the banned Popular Front of India (PFI) allegedly responsible for arms training, under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The probe has revealed that PFI cadres were being systematically trained in the use of weapons in the guise of Physical Education(PE) classes in different parts of India. Popular Front of India (PFI) workers protest against the raid of National Investigation Agency (NIA) at the PFI office, in Chennai.(PTI/ File photo)

Ibrahim Puthanathani allegedly conducted arms training camps across various states on behalf of the banned outfit and had also designed the syllabus for the advanced physical and arms training courses. Ibrahim travelled across the country to coordinate and supervise such arms training camps, according to officials familiar with the details of the investigation. He has been charged under sections 120B, 121A, 122, 153A of IPC, and sections 13, 18, 18A, and 18B of the UAPA.

The NIA has also invoked additional charges under sections 38 and 39 of the UAPA against the PFI, as an organization.

This follows the chargesheet filed by NIA on March 18 against the National Executive Council (NEC) members and senior cadres of the PFI. The central probe agency had charged 19 persons linked to PFI, including 12 NEC members, founding members and senior leaders, in its fifth chargesheet in the case.

The NIA exposed its sinister motive to establish Caliphate in India by 2047 through four stages, including weapons training to cadres and infiltrating police and judiciary. The investigation revealed that it espoused an Islamic Caliphate by working under the pretext of national integration, communal harmony, and welfare of minorities and weaker sections.

NEC, the top decision-making body in the organizational hierarchy of PFI, had devised a well-planned strategy to wage a large-scale war against the Indian government by recruiting and providing weapons training to radicalised Muslim men who pledged their allegiance to the outfit by administration of Oath of secrecy and loyalty. These men were trained to use deadly weapons in various training camps to raise an army of radicalised and fundamentalist militia.

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Like most things in India, it began at a wedding. Kajal Chauhan and Bhawna Singh met in the summer of 2018. Sparks flew at first sight, and the two women, 28 and 23 respectively, started chatting. They lived in different states, under the watchful eyes of parents who abhorred same-sex desire and were willing to use brute force to stop the two women from being together. In July that year, unable to deal with escalating violence at home, Singh ran away to Chauhans house in Punjab; but her parents traced her in two days; in the face of a torrent of abuse and threats, the younger woman, then barely an adult, was forced to commit to severing the relationship and never talking to Chauhan again. She returned home, resigned to the life of desolation and despair that is everyday for thousands of queer people in India. Members of LGBTQ+ community take part in 17th Kolkata Rainbow Pride Walk, in Kolkata.(ANI)

Also Read | SC overrules govt objection, begins same sex hearing

Then something looked up. On September 6, 2018, the Supreme Court decriminalised homosexuality. The judges eloquent defence of same-sex desire made headlines across the world and gave the two women the courage to fight for their love.

They ran away from home, braving threats of murder, and decided to make a life together. Five years on, they are again in front of Indias highest court, this time seeking changes in the 1954 Special Marriage Act (SMA) that will allow them to get married.

My family has never stopped harassing us. They tell my partner that Ill eventually come to my senses and leave her [to marry a man]. Its been more than four years. Were tired of running, Singh said. If we get married, it will be a legal proof of my love for Kajal.

Singh and Chauhan are part of a 50-odd-strong club of people  lawyers and actors, economists and students, therapists and businesswomen, dancers and consultants, sales executives and accountants  pushing to legalise same-sex unions in a country that criminalised homosexuality with life imprisonment before September 2018. In their way stands the Union government, which has strongly opposed any such move on the grounds that it infringes on Parliaments prerogative and a clutch of religious bodies. Hearings before a five-member Constitution Bench began on Tuesday.

If the petitioners succeed, it will mark a global epoch because no other country has gone from decriminalisation of same-sex relationships to formal recognition of marriage this quickly, or without intervening steps such as civil unions or partially recognised partnerships. It may also pry open a window for other people to come before the court and challenge family laws, and fundamentally transform the understanding of marriage in a way that has not happened for decades. This is an exciting moment for family law in India, said Saptarshi Mandal, a professor at Jindal Global Law School. HT analysed all 20 petitions before the court to understand this moment.

The quest for an answer

Why is marriage important? In India, this question can have many answers, and these are reflected in the petitions  dignity, respect, respectability, financial security, equal opportunity, elderly care, parity with other countries, constitutional rights to privacy, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. But for Singh and Chauhan, the overwhelming one is safety.

In 2018, after Singhs family learnt of her relationship, they locked her up, confiscated her phone, and she was thrashed by her mother routinely. When she escaped her illegal confinement, her family members threatened Chauhans father and mother. Finally, the lesbian couple moved the Delhi high court in April 2019 and were granted police protection. Despite that, Singhs family never stopped calling and threatening Chauhan. In one instance, they told the landlord of a house the two had moved into that the young women were on drugs. The couple eventually left the Capital and made a home in another city.

Were more settled now. We have friends. I have a supportive boss who knows of my relationship. Weve even started interacting with Bhawnas family after no contact for two years. But, if I were to be completely honest, we are still afraid of them, Chauhan said.

Their petition, as well as at least five others, make a similar argument: that their vulnerability arises from how easily their relationship can be erased or their partner excluded, owing to the complete lack of recognition of their relationship in the eyes of law. Not being able to live their lives jointly de jure though doing it de facto makes it a herculean task for them to access even basic services like putting their partners name as a nominee in insurance or bank accounts, their plea stated.

Petitioners Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, Gopi Shankar, Giti Thadani and G Oorvasi have challenged the Hindu Marriage Act, saying that Section 5 of the Hindu Marriage Act does not specify that the marriage must be between a Hindu man and a Hindu woman, but instead refers to marriage between two Hindus. The petition invoked Article 21, which guarantees right to life, arguing that right to marriage was part of that fundamental right.

Three petitions challenged the Foreign Marriage Act (1969) and the 1955 Citizenship Act, including Joydeep Sengupta who asked that his partner, Russel Blaine Stephens, a resident of France, be permitted to apply for an Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) card under the rules of the Citizenship Act (1951). The couple was legally married in the United States in 2012 and their marriage is recognised in France. Vaibhav Jain and Parag Mehta, who were married in the US, have also challenged the Foreign Marriage Act, arguing that the law was responsible for their marriage not being registered by the Indian consulate in Washington DC in 2020.

Rituparna Borah and others argue that mere recognition of spousal marriage is not enough, and the court should go further and recognise the right to have a chosen family that can assume the rights and responsibilities typically reserved for natal families. Their petition includes three anonymous couples  each of them in hiding from their respective birth families on account of extreme violence that they and their partners faced. Runaway LBI [Lesbian, Bisexual and Intersex] women and trans persons often wish to marry each other and are seeking to secure some legal and social legitimacy for their relationship, particularly given the hostility, threat and violence that is inflicted on them not only by society at large but specifically from family members, opposed to their choice and decision.this necessitates that the law recognise that LGBTI persons often form intimacies not through blood related ties, but bonds forged through mutual care, love, understanding and respect, their petition stated.

But even when the family is supportive, legal recognition is necessary, petitioners Nikesh PP and his partner Sonu MS say. Kerala residents Nikesh and Sonu exchanged garlands at the Guruvayoorappan temple in 2018. Two years later, they moved the Kerala high court as they were unable to register their marriage under the Special Marriage Act, on account of the gendered language in the act. People just refused to accept that we were married, they refused to grant us basic amenities that other couples can take for granted, Nikesh said.

A rights question

But the bulk of the petitions, 15 at last count, target Indias secular marriage law, the 1954 Special Marriage Act. The law, passed by Parliament in a haze of controversy, allows people to bypass customary religious personal laws and get married. But it comprises provisions such as a mandatory 30-day waiting period, police verification, public display of the names of the couple in some states, and notices sent to their natal families  all aspects weaponised by right-wing groups in recent years to thwart intercaste and interfaith unions.

The Supreme Court hinted on Tuesday that it will limit itself to aspects of SMA and steer clear of personal laws  a step forward, but not the radical change some of the other petitions sought.

The 15 petitions cite articles 14, 15, 19 and 21 of the Constitution as legal grounds on which the law discriminates against lesbian, bisexual, gay, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) persons in relationships. They argue that the right to marry is a fundamental right and is connected to other fundamental rights of dignity, equality and freedom granted in the Constitution.

Three trans-rights activists, including Bengaluru-based Akkai Padmashali, say SMA be changed to the word, spouse rather than husband or wife to include all persons irrespective of their gender identity and sexual orientation. Laws that restrict rights based on notions of biological man or biological woman are arbitrary and violate constitutional morality. They undermine our dignity and this lack of equality in the 21st century. Dignity cannot be compromised, Padmashali said.

Singh and Chauhans petition raises objections against the notice, domicile and objection framework of the SMA, which stipulates that the couple is required to notify a marriage officer, who is required to affix the details of the couple in a conspicuous place for a 30-day notice period during which time anyone can raise an objection to the proposed marriage, following which the officer is obligated to decide upon the matter within 30 days. and has the powers of a civil court in doing so.

They say this places couples like them at a disadvantage as they already face stiff familial and social opposition. There are countless cases where individuals have no choice but to keep their relationship a secret from their families Familial and social objections are likely to be particularly strong in the interregnum period between a publicly-declared intention to marry and the solemnisation of the marriage itself, their petition said.

But these demands may face a hurdle. Mandal argues that Hindu personal laws are embedded in the structure of SMA, and gives the example of Section 21A, which says that if two Hindus (or Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains) are getting married under SMA, they will be governed by the Hindu Succession Act  which only recognises a widow as the successor in the case of a Hindu mans death. This means that either succession would become inoperative, or the court will have to insert or reinterpret words under the Hindu laws. Similarly the Foreign Marriage Act also uses gender-specific terms such as bride and bridegroom, which the court will have to replace or reinterpret if it decides in favour of the petitioners. In the history of family law, the Supreme Court has generally played it safe. Even when it had good reasons to strike down a discriminatory provision, it resorted to creative interpretation, which still retained the provision. While in case of other laws, courts have not shied from striking it down, in the case of family laws, they have largely allowed space to the legislature. But this case opens up the space for challenging various aspects of family law in general. In that sense, this is an important moment, Mandal said. This is also an opening the government wants to use in its argument that it is Parliament, not the courts, that should hold the prerogative of recognising and creating social institutions.

The choice not to recognise same-sex marriage is a facet of the legislative policy, the government said in an eleventh-hour petition, adding it is not a dispute fit for the court to adjudicate upon in the wake of a clear legislative policy and compelling state interest in upholding biological notions of man and woman.

A decision by the court in recognising the right of same sex marriage would mean a virtual judicial rewriting of an entire branch of law....Given the fundamentally social origin of these laws, any change in order to be legitimate would have to come from the bottom up and through legislation...a change cannot be compelled by judicial fiat, the Centre argued.

Either way, the case is transforming the popular understanding of marriage and shaping the debate around gender, sex and union in a way that has only been done a handful of times before  in the 1950s with the reformation of personal laws, in the row over alimony and religion in marriage in the 1980s, and the debate on sexual violence and marital rape in 2012-13.

From cradle to grave

But its not just the act of marriage thats at stake, argue some other petitioners, but a bundle of rights and entitlements that affect an individual from cradle to grave, and even after death.

Petitioner Parth Pheroze Mehrotras partner has two adopted sons but Mehrotra does not have any legal claim over the children. His petition lists the various ways in which this poses complications, which a heterosexual couple would not face. The practical problems range from day-to-day complications such as none of their paperwork having his name as a parent in the present day, to far reaching and deeply personal issues such as the children not having the rights granted to any other child of a parent, such as the right to someday make end of life decisions for Petitioner no. 1 [Mehrotra].

Amburi Roy and her partner have sought a change in the adoption regulations, which require applicant couples to be in a heterosexual marriage for two years. Though the petitioners, a lesbian couple, are married in Germany, their petition stated they miss their homes and want to return to India to lead a regular family life and adopt a child, like any other married couple.

Petitioners Aditi Anand and Susan Dias petition also lists out the monetary penalties that same-sex couples face. Section 80 C of the Income Tax act permits deductions on the total income assessed when such sums are paid on behalf of the child  but these would be denied to a person when they make such payments on behalf of their partners child. The child cannot also be recognised as a dependent of their parents partner, which closes off a swathe of entitlements guaranteed to children of hetrosexual couples, including inheritance of joint family property.

The government disagrees. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) said children of same-sex couple are affected in both social and psychological aspects and allowing adoption by same-sex parents is akin to endangering the children.

The fate of the petitioners will be decided over the next few weeks. If the petitioners succeed, it will make India only the third country in Asia to legalise same-sex marriage. India would have leapfrogged countries such as the United Kingdom, where the journey from decriminalisation to marriage took three decades or France, where it took two centuries. But even by getting their day in court, the petitioners have created a landmark. As we did on the day we filed our petition three years back, we take this step with continued and unwavering faith in our Constitution, said petitioners Kavita Arora and Ankita Khanna in a statement on social media. ...we carry and represent the hopes of millions of LGBTQIA+ people, allies and familieswe are not alone.
Dehradun: Days after Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami said the situation in crisis-hit Joshimath is stable, some residents of the holy town claimed new cracks have appeared in their houses and sought a fresh survey of their residences. According to the Chamoli district administration, at least 296 families have been shifted to temporary relief camps . (HT)

The residents also wrote a letter to sub-divisional magistrate Kumkum Joshi, on April 18, seeking the administrations intervention in the matter.

New cracks have appeared in our house. Earlier, there were only a few hairline cracks. Now, they have grown bigger and wider too, Basanti Devi, a resident of Chhawani Bazar, said.

We have come here to the tehsil to request the administration to carry out a fresh survey of our house. But nobody seems to be paying heed to our requests, she added.

Narendra Lal, another resident of the same area, said: My house has developed new cracks and our lives seem to be in danger. I have submitted a complaint to the SDM office for a fresh survey.

According to the Chamoli district administration, at least 296 families have been shifted to temporary relief camps so far after 868 residential buildings and other structures developed cracks since the first week of January. Meanwhile, 181 have been put in the unsafe zone.

On January 25, eight technical agencies, such as Central Building Research Institute and IIT Roorkee, who conducted studies on the sinking town, submitted their report to the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA). The report is yet to be made public.

In February, the Uttarakhand cabinet approved a policy for compensation and permanent rehabilitation for affected residents during a meeting chaired by chief minister Dhami. In a statement, the government said the rate of compensation for land will be decided on the basis of survey reports received from the technical institutes.

In the state budget for 2023-24, the government earmarked 1,000 crore for relief operations in Joshimath.

On April 8, chief minister Dhami said: Initially, an atmosphere was created that the entire Joshimath town was sinking. People across the country would ask whats happening to Joshimath. Somehow, we put the real situation before everyone. The situation is stable.

Dismissing the chief ministers claims, Atul Sati, convener of Joshimath Bachao Sangharsh Samiti, said: The situation on the ground is contrary to claims being made by the government and the local administration. They have been saying the town has become stable now. However, locals have been claiming that fresh cracks are appearing in their houses and are seeking another survey. The situation is worsening over the period.

Joshi confirmed receiving complaints from some residents. I have received complaints from some locals about new cracks in their houses. However, there are no complaints about houses or areas developing cracks for the first time. We have sent our technical team to conduct an assessment. On the basis of the assessment, we will take further a decision.

She added: If the technical team says the house is unsafe, we will shift the dwellers to safer areas and include them in the list of affected residents.
The second day of the Supreme Court hearing of pleas to legalise marriage for same-sex and alternative sexuality couples - which the government opposes - began Wednesday with a reference to the oft-repeated rant against LGBTQIA+ relationships - they are 'against the order of nature'. Arguing for one of the petitioners, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi stressed the need to 'push society to acknowledge us as equals in all respects because the Constitution says so'. A parade-goer holds a flag as she watches as the 15th annual Miami Beach Pride Celebration parade passes by on April 16, 2023 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by JOE RAEDLE / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

"The argument of the other side is - a 'biological man', a 'biological woman' (and) their union will lead to procreation that is the order of nature. They are saying I'm 'abnormal'. What is 'normal' is the majority but that is not the law, that is a mindset. The important thing is deconstructing the hetero-normative framework" he told the bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud.

"This Victorian morality issue came in the 1800s. If you go back to Indian texts, for hundreds of years these (non-heterosexual sexual) acts were depicted on walls for thousands of years our morality was very different, far more advanced (and) not Victorian stereotyped, stigmatised!"

He referred to the cave paintings of Khajuraho and differentiated between popular morality' and 'constitutional morality', saying, "Popular morality cannot defer the decisions of this court for the legislative process constitutional morality will become a habit when upheld by this court."

"What I am really requesting declaration of marriage is really a paraphrasing of this - 'I walk into a public space with my partner knowing that the law and the state recognises this union as a marriage, no one will raise stigma against me'," he said, "I require beyond the badge that I am 'married'. I also want the positive and affirmative consequences of a valid marriage."

READ | Marriage equality around the world. What about it?

He then referred to a point he made yesterday - that 'wherever husband and wife (are) used' (in the Special Marriage Act), legal inclusivity (and with that a guarantee of rights) only needed a reading of the terms to become gender neutral. "Wherever 'man', 'woman' is used say 'person'."

"If we are equal, we require an affirmative nod from the court - 'you are equal, you will not be treated as lesser, and therefore, there will be full enjoyment of right to life, dignity, privacy at home'"

READ | List of countries where same-sex marriage is legal

To Justice SK Kaul saying 'everything can't change at once', Rohatgi underlined the 'consequential effects' - a reference to the many socio-economic and legal benefits currently denied to non-heterosexual married couples, like the ability to open joint bank accounts, buy medical insurance or even rent an apartment - that will follow the Supreme Court legalising same-sex/alternative unions.

Rohatgi also stressed to the court that social conventions - while influenced by a multiplicity of factors - remain governed to a large extent by what the law says, even if society itself has not yet understood or accepted the change.

"Sometimes the law takes the lead I gave you the example of the Hindu Widows Right to Remarry Act which came in 1800s. Society was not even ready till 1900s. There, the law acted with alacrity."

The letter to states, UTs

Earlier today, before the hearing began, the court was told the law ministry had written to states and UTs asking for their views on this subject 'so the standpoint of the Union and State Governments are represented properly'

States and UTs have been given 10 days to respond.

The government has dismissed pleas seeking the legality of non-heterosexual marriage as urban elitist views for purpose of social acceptance.

READ | From SC, Centre seeks views of states, UTs on same-sex marriage

What happened on Tuesday?

On Tuesday - on the first day of these hearings - the court overruled the governments objections against the judicial determination of the issue.

The government opposed the hearing on grounds it is for Parliament to take a call on this subject, and that the legislative intent is clear - that only a 'biological man' and 'biological woman' could be legally married.

But the court was unimpressed and said, "There is a value judgment you are making this is wrong. There is no absolute concept of 'man' or 'woman'. It cannot be about your genitals.. far more complex cant depend on genitals."

READ | In same-sex marriage plea, Supreme Court's 'incremental approach'

On Sunday

The government urged the court not to interfere with the legislative policy that consciously outlaws same-sex marriages while seeking the dismissal of all the petitions on the ground of maintainability.

READ | 'Urban elitist views': Centre opposes same-sex marriage pleas

The application followed a counter affidavit in March which said that legal validation of same-sex marital unions will cause 'complete havoc' with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and accepted societal values.

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Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Wednesday said he looks forward to attend the launch of the first Vande Bharat train in the state to be done by PM Modi on April 25th as progress must be beyond politics. The Thiruvananthapuram MP also tagged railways minister Ashwini Vaaishnaw and expressed his delight that Vande Bharat now reaches Kerala. Tharoor in 2022 urged the Centre to give Vande Bharat to the state. "Delighted that Ashwini Vaishnaw has done just that," Tharoor said. Shashi Tharoor said progress must be beyond politics.(PTI)

Kerala's first Vande Bharat will cover a distance of 600 lm in 8 hours across the state from Kasaragod to Thiruvananthapuram.

"Bringing Vande Bharat trains to Kerala could address Pinarayi Vijayan's concern for speedy train travel to promote development and alleviate Kerala Congress's concerns about land acquisition and environmental impact. The GOI and the government of Kerala should discuss a win-win outcome in the interests of the state," Shashi Tharoor tweeted in 2022.

Recently, PM Modi flagged off a Vande Bharat Express train in Rajasthan. Chief minister Ashok Gehlot was present at the event. I express my special gratitude to Gehlot ji. During these days of a political tussle when he is going through several crises, he took out the time for development work and participated in a railway programme. I welcome him, PM Modi said calling Congress's Gehlot a 'friend'.

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Chennai, Apr 19 (UNI) Samsung, Indias largest electronics brand, today



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He said "since its launch in 2019, Galaxy M series has garnered the love



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A 60-year-old man and his two wives were found dead in their house in Odisha's Bargarh district, police said on Wednesday. The bodies of Tankadhar Sahu (60) and his two wives -- Drupadi Sahu (55) and Madhavi Sahu (50) -- were found lying in a pool of blood, said Subdivisional Police Officer (SDPO) Amrut Kumar Panda. (File)

The incident happened in Akhjifuta village in Bheden police station on Tuesday, they said.

The bodies of Tankadhar Sahu (60) and his two wives -- Drupadi Sahu (55) and Madhavi Sahu (50) -- were found lying in a pool of blood, said Subdivisional Police Officer (SDPO) Amrut Kumar Panda.

The bodies had deep injury marks, he said.

Tankadhar married for the second time as he had no child from his first wife, police said, noting that bigamy is illegal in India.

The house was bolted from the inside when the bodies were found, they said.

A case was registered and an investigation underway, they added.
Mizoram, a northeastern state of India, has been declared as the country's happiest state, according to a study conducted by an institute based in Gurugram. Totally, six different parameters were considered to measure happiness index in the state, including the relationship between students and their teachers, news agency ANI reported citing the study. Totally, six different parameters considered to measure happiness, including the relationship between students and their teachers. (File)

Also Read | Mizoram's lively festivals provide an insight into its vibrant culture

The study reveals that Mizoram, which is the second state that boasts 100% literacy, has a unique social structure that plays a significant role in enhancing the happiness of its young population. The happiness index of Mizoram is evaluated with the parameters of family dynamics, professional concerns, societal matters and philanthropy, religious beliefs, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on happiness, and both physical and mental well-being.

Also Read | Finland tops World Happiness rankings for sixth straight year

What makes Mizoram a happy state?

-The report said that the youth in the Mizo community, irrespective of their gender, tend to pursue financial independence from a young age and no task is considered too small. A very low incidence of gender discrimination can been observed within the state.

-While Mizoram has a high prevalence of broken families, the presence of numerous peers in similar situations, working mothers, and early financial independence has resulted in children not being left bereft.

-Khiangte, a private school teacher in the state said, "When both genders are taught to earn their living, and neither is dependent on the other, why should a couple continue to live together in an unhealthy setting?"

-According to students in the state, their teachers are not only educators but also their best friends, and they feel comfortable sharing anything with them without fear or shyness.

-Upbringing plays a crucial role in the happiness of Mizoram's youth, who live in a casteless society. Moreover, parental pressure for academic success is relatively lower in the region.

-The study illustrates how two students, despite facing challenges, excelled academically and maintained a positive mental state to achieve their goals. One of the students, who was abandoned by their father, remains optimistic and aspires to become a chartered accountant. If that doesn't work out, the student plans to appear for civil services exams.

(With ANI inputs)

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New Delhi Disapproving of the Union governments stand that the demand for legal validation of same-sex marriage is an urban elitist concept, the Supreme Court on Wednesday said that an innate characteristic of a person cannot be called elitist, adding the government has failed in adducing any data to buttress its statement. HT Image

When you say that this is an innate characteristic, its also an argument in response to the contention that this is very elitist or urban or that it has a certain class bias. Something which is innate cannot have a class bias, said a Constitution bench, led by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud.

It added: It may be more urban in its manifestations because more people in urban areas are coming out of the closet. But there is no data coming from the government that this is urban or something.

The bench, which also comprised justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli and PS Narasimha, was apparently responding to the Centres application filed on Sunday stating that the plea before the court reflected urban elitist views for the purpose of social acceptance. Through this application, the Centre urged the court not to interfere with the legislative policy that consciously outlaws same-sex marriages while seeking dismissal of all the petitions on grounds of maintainability.

The proceedings began with the Centre telling the top court that it had written to all states, asking them to submit their views on the legalisation of same sex marriages within 10 days. The Union government urged the court to either make all states and Union territories parties to the case or halt the proceedings till the consultation process is over. But the court was unfazed and continued to hear a clutch of petitions seeking legal validation of same-sex marriages.

The top court also did not find favour with the views of the Centre that it is for the legislature to examine a bundle of factors, including the impact on the psychology of a child being raised by a same-sex couple, for the purpose of taking a call on legal recognition of such unions.

The bench said that the foundation of such an argument is belied by the fact that one of the partners in a homosexual relationship can still adopt under the law. Incidentally, even if a couple is in a gay relationship or a lesbian relationship, one of them can still adopt. So, the argument that this will create a psychological impact on the child is belied by the fact that today, as the law stands, its open, it observed.

The five-judge bench had on Tuesday commenced its hearing of the case after turning down the Union governments objections against the judicial determination of the issue. While the Centre maintained that it is exclusively for the legislature to grant legal recognition to a social institution and that the court must first seek the views of all states, the court went ahead with the matter saying it will adjudge the issue in a restricted arena of granting validation to same-sex marriages by reading down or interpreting relevant provisions of the Special Mariage Act (SMA).

On Wednesday, the government made yet another attempt to persuade the bench that the matter should not be heard without calling upon the views of states and Union territories. Solicitor general Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, told the bench that the government has filed a fresh affidavit on Wednesday morning, informing the court about the initiation of a consultative process with the states.

Hours after the Constitution bench began hearing the case, the Union law ministry on Tuesday wrote a letter to the chief secretaries of the states, asking them to submit their views on the validation of same-sex marriage within 10 days so that the standpoint of the Union and state governments are represented properly without delay.

In the letter to the states, a copy of which HT has seen, the ministry said that marriage falls under Entry 5 in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, enabling both the Union government and states to regulate the related issues. Moreover, any decision on this matter requires an assessment of the ramifications on existing social customs, practices, values, norms, mores, state Rules and such like that may be prevalent in different sections of the society, it said. If the court decides not to issue notices to the state governments, the letter said, it will be expedient that states communicate their views for appropriate submissions by the Union of India before the court.

The Centres affidavit on Wednesday brought on record this development. After S-G apprised the bench of the new development, the CJI responded: Thats excellent. So, you have informed all the states. Now, the states are also aware and anybody who has to say anything can come to us.

Resuming his arguments on behalf of a same-sex couple, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi implored the bench to substitute terms like man, woman, husband and wife under the SMA with gender-neutral terms such as person and spouse could solve the problem to a large extent.

Assisted by a team of advocates from law firm Karanjawala & Co, Rohatgi emphasised that the petitioners do not want a mere declaration on the validity of their union but an array of secular rights related to banking, insurance, pension, adoption and so on. All kinds of secular legal rights and benefits flowing from a marriage between a heterosexual couple should flow to us as well. Thats what we call equality, dignity, he added.

At this point, the bench said that if the court were to accept the petitioners contentions and direct registration of marriage, legal consequences will certainly follow. At the same time, one fine day, everything cannot change. That must be kept in mind. It has to be incremental...If we say that a marriage can be registered under SMA, that itself is a right. If someone does not accept our order, then its a violation of the orders of this court, added the bench.

It also told Rohatgi that using gender-neutral terms under the SMA may pose certain issuing in defining the age of the partners since the law requires a man to be 21 and a woman to be 18 for entering into a valid marital union. Rohatgi replied that lawyers appearing for other petitioners will be addressing the bench on this issue.

Senior counsel Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing another petitioner, found fault with the Centres arguments that a marriage between a heterosexual couple is socially and culturally ingrained. The Union forgets that SMA was created as an alternative to the same socially, culturally ingrained form of marriages or the unpopular marriages. So, the government of India is hoist on its own placard when it says it will look at only one type of marriage when SMA has existed for so long, said Singhvi.

The senior counsel said that legal validation of same-sex marriage is a source of dignity, fulfilment and self-respect as a core member of society and that the court must intervene to assure these rights to the LGBTQI+ community.

Around 50 petitioners have approached the top court asking for legalisation of same-sex marriage, arguing that denying them the right to wed was unconstitutional and violative of their fundamental rights. If they succeed, India will become only the third country in Asia to allow same-sex unions, a mere five years after the court decriminalised homosexuality.

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The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside a Bombay High Court order acquitting former Delhi University professor G N Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case and remanded it to the high court for fresh consideration on merits within four months. The SC remanded it to the high court for fresh consideration on merits within four months. (PTI file photo)

A bench of justices M R Shah and CT Ravikumar directed the chief justice of the Bombay high court to place Saibabas appeal and that of other accused not before the same bench which had discharged them but another bench.

Also Read: Not being selective against Saibaba, Mah govt to SC in appeal against HC order

The Court was hearing appeals filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the order of acquittal passed on October 14 by the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court.

Before Saibaba and others could be released, Maharashtra approached the top court which held a special sitting on a Saturday and suspended the high court order.

The lawyers appearing for the accused consented to this order as the top court had noticed that the high court did not decide the matter on merits and acquitted the accused on the finding that valid sanction was not obtained or was lacking to invoke the draconian provisions under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Additional solicitor general (ASG) SV Raju appearing for the state told the top court that once the trial court at Gadchiroli in 2017 convicted the accused, the issue of sanction did not arise. He further submitted that the question of sanction was never raised during the trial.

A bench of justices MR Shah and CT Ravikumar said, In view of the consensus between both sides and without expressing any view on merits of the case, we set aside the judgment of the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court.

The Court further added, The matters are remitted back to the high court to decide the matter afresh on all aspects including the question of sanction.

The Court permitted Maharashtra to raise the objection on the necessity of sanction being valid or absent and allowed the accused led by senior advocates R Basanth, Nithya Ramakrishnan and Shadan Farasat to respond to the same.

To avoid apprehensions of any bias, the Court requested the Chief Justice of the Bombay high court to place the matter before a bench other than the one which heard and decided the case. We request the high court to decide and dispose the appeals at the earliest and preferably within four months of receiving this order.

On October 15, while suspending the HC order, the top court had held, The offences of which the accused were convicted are very serious against the interest of the society and integrity of the country. 59-year old Saibaba, who is 90% specially-abled and is wheelchair-bound had submitted to the top court through his lawyers that while he may have ideological inclinations, he was not involved in any criminal activity. But the top court dismissed his arguments by claiming that for Maoist and terrorist activities, brain plays an important role than physical activity.

The high court, while acquitting all the accused, found the trial to be vitiated for want of valid or no sanction under UAPA. The HC said that a civil, democratic society cannot afford to sacrifice the procedural safeguards provided under law while dealing with states unwavering resolve to wage war against terror.

Along with Saibaba, the other accused were Mahesh Tirki, Hem Keshwdatta Mishra, Prashant Rahi, and VIjay Nan Tirki.

One of the accused Pandu Narote died in custody at Nagpur Central jail prior to the high court order.
The Tamil Nadu assembly passed a resolution on Wednesday calling on the Centre to amend the Constitution and extend the same rights, protection, concessions and reservation to scheduled caste people who converted to Christianity. Chennai, Apr 19 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin speaks in the State Legislative Assembly, in Chennai on Wednesday. State Government passes a resolution in the Assembly urging the Union government to bring amendments in the laws to give reservation to the Adi Dravidians who have converted to Christianity. (ANI Photo) (ANI)

The resolution called on the Government of India to amend the Constitution to extend statutory protection, rights, and concessions, including reservation, to Scheduled Castes who have converted to Christianity, so that they can avail the benefits of social justice in all aspects.

Also read | Strengthen our fight: Tamil nationalist Seeman favours Vijays political entry

The assembly passed the resolution while the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) leaders walked out in protest.

Chief minister MK Stalin, who introduced the resolution, said it was unfair to deny Dalit Christians the rights enjoyed by other members of the Adi Dravidar (Dalit) community on the grounds of religious conversion.

People have the right to practice the religion of their liking, but their caste doesnt change. Adi Dravidar people continue to suffer caste atrocities such as untouchability even after converting to other religions, Stalin said.

Our stand is that they (Dalit Christians) should not be denied rights just because they converted to another religion. Caste is a social malady.

Stalin urged the justice (retired) K.G. Balakrishnan Commission, appointed by the Union government in October 2022 to study whether reservation can be extended to Dalit Christians and Muslims to submit its report only after gathering the views of state governments.

Currently, the constitutional right to reservations in jobs and education as SC is extended only to people from Hindu, Sikh or Buddhist faiths, in accordance to the Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Order, 1950. But activists have argued for decades that the umbrella of SC reservation should be extended to Dalit people who have converted to Christianity or Islam.

The Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions that argue that scheduled caste quotas should be extended to Dalit Christians and Muslims. In December 2022, the Union government told the apex court that a report of the Justice Ranganath Misra Commission , which recommended providing SC quota to Dalits who converted to Christianity and Islam was flawed.

BJPs Mahila Morcha national president and Coimbatore (South) MLA Vanathi Srinivasan led the partys walkout.

Srinivasan said, The central government is already looking into this issue through the Balakrishnan commission and that the matter was also being heard in the Supreme Court. Even last week, this came up in the Supreme Court, and the case has been adjourned to July. So, when it is in court, and the central government is looking into it, why does this resolution need to be brought in now?

Stalin cited the inclusion of Sikhs in 1956 and Buddhists in 1990 through constitutional amendments and said that the Adi Dravidars (Dalits) who converted to Christianity were also expecting a similar amendment. In Tamil Nadu, Dalit Christian students and research scholars avail several scholarships, and it is only fair that they also receive the benefits of reservation, he said.

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The Telangana government has registered strong objection with the Centre for turning down its detailed project report for the Palamuru-Rangareddy Lift Irrigation Scheme (PRLIS) under construction on Krishna River. Telangana urges centre to re-examine project report on PRLIS.

The state has urged the Central Water Commission (CWC) to re-examine the report and grant clearance to the project at the earliest.

Telangana special chief secretary (irrigation) Rajat Kumar has written a letter to the Union Jal Shakti secretary Pankaj Kumar requesting that the CWC be directed to examine the detailed project report again.

Also read | Telangana announces cool roof policy to reduce impact of heat on buildings

The PRLIS being constructed at a cost of 35,000 crore envisages lifting water from the foreshore of Srisailam reservoir to the proposed KP Laxmidevipally Reservoir near Shadnagar in Rangareddy district, irrigating upland areas of Nagarkurnool, Rangareddy, Narayanpet, Mahbubnagar, Vikarabad and Nalgonda districts, for an ayacut of 10 lakh acres, besides providing drinking water to en route villages and Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, besides industrial use.

On April 15, CWC project appraisal directorate official Nityananda Mukherjee communicated to the state government that the commission was rejecting the DPR, following objections raised by Andhra Pradesh.

The CWC official made it clear that the DPR could not be taken up for examination until the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal -II gives its verdict on the issue. The project aims at drawing 45tmcft (thousand million cubic feet), which would be utilised after diversion of Godavari water to Krishna River.

Chief secretary Rajat Kumar said a detailed explanation on the project was given for all concerns raised by the CWC and hence the Centre should not have any issue examining the DPR.

Taking objection to the CWC claim that the DPR was not taken up for examination in wait of the Krishna Water Disputes Tribunal (KWDT-II) verdict, Kumar recalled that Justice Brijesh Kumar said that they do not have the authority to allocate water, hence, it was requested to examine the DPR and grant permissions subject to the final judgment of the Tribunal..

According to the gazette released by the Central government on July 15, 2021, Palamuru-Rangareddy has been included on the list of non-permitted projects. It has been said that permissions should be obtained within six months and a DPR has been submitted for the same, said Kumar.

It is the Centres responsibility to scrutinise the DPR and grant permissions within six months from then. However, it is unfair for the CWC to say that the DPR cannot be examined because the case is pending in the tribunal, he added.

How did the Centre grant permissions to the Upper Bhadra irrigation project in Karnataka, in addition to according it the status of a national project. How are the norms different for Telangana and Karnataka?, Kumar asked.

During the 2014 elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had promised that the BJP government will complete the project after coming to power, said the official, urging the Centre to immediately examine the report.

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The Union government has initiated the process of collating the views of the states on the legal validation for same-sex marriages even as the Supreme Court is yet to take a call on its plea to implead states in the matter. The court on Tuesday commenced hearing petitions demanding legal recognition for same-sex marriages. (ANI)

The court on Tuesday commenced its hearing on petitions demanding legal recognition for same-sex marriages even as it clarified the remit of the proceedings will confine to the validation of such unions only under the Special Marriage Act (SMA).

The Union law ministry later wrote a letter to the chief secretaries of the states asking them to submit their views on the subject within 10 days so that the standpoint of the Union and State Governments are represented properly without delay.

The Union government has brought on record its consultative process before the court by filing an affidavit, requesting the court to either make all states and Union territories parties to the case or let it conclude the consultation process.

In the letter to the states, a copy of which HT has seen, the ministry said that marriage falls under Entry 5 in the Concurrent List of the Constitution, enabling both the Union government and states to regulate the related issues. Moreover, any decision on this matter requires an assessment of the ramifications on existing social customs, practices, values, norms, mores. State Rules and such like that may be prevalent in different sections of the society, it said.

The ministry said it is important that a composite and cohesive view is presented before the court incorporating the views of all state governments. For effective adjudication, the Union of India has requested the court to implead all states as parties in the case. The prayer is under consideration of the court.

If the court decides not to issue notices to the state governments, the letter said, it will be expedient that states communicate their views for appropriate submissions by the Union of India before the court.

You may note that the matter is ongoing in the Court and arguments of the petitioners have commenced. Accordingly. I would request you to offer your views within a period of ten days, the letter said.

On Tuesday, the court overruled the Union governments objections against the judicial determination of the issue. A constitution bench headed by Chief Justice of India Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud said that it will adjudge the issue in a restricted arena of granting validation to same-sex marriages by reading down or interpreting relevant provisions of the SMA. The bench also includes justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha.

The Union government maintained that it is exclusively for the legislature to grant legal recognition to a social institution and that the court must first seek the views of all states. The bench set about to hear the matter saying it is for the bench to decide the course of the proceedings.

In an application filed on Sunday, the Union government urged the court not to interfere with the legislative policy that consciously outlaws same-sex marriages while seeking the dismissal of all the petitions on the ground of maintainability. The application followed a counter affidavit in March which said that legal validation of same-sex marital unions will cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws in the country and accepted societal values.

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Ahead of the launch of Apple's second store in Delhi, CEO Tim Cook met with Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, in the sidelines of his meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Both had a discussion on a range of topics from job creation for women to deepening engagement of the tech giant. Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar meet Tim Cook(Twitter)

Met with @tim_cook, CEO, Apple. Discussed deepening Apples engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports, app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women. Jointly charting a long-term and strong relationship, the Union minister said in a tweet.

Similarly, Cook also met with Union minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar and discussed on Apple's long-term and strategic partnership with India's digital journey.

It was a delight to meet @tim_cook CEO, @Apple and his team to engage on Apples strategic and long-term partnership with and in Indias digital journey. We discussed deepening and broadening manufacturing, exports, skilling of youth, expanding app n innovation economy and job creation, the Union minister tweeted.

Meeting with PM Modi, the Apple CEO underscored that his company share his vision of positive impact technology and added that he is committed to invest in India.

Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country, Cook said in a tweet.

In line with the grand opening of Apple's first store in Mumbai, Cook will open doors of its second store in Delhi tomorrow in Saket's Select City Mall.

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Five Uttar Pradesh Police personnel were suspended on Wednesday for laxity and failure to take adequate precautions to ensure the security of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad and his brother Khalid Azeem alias Ashraf, who were gunned down in police custody in a dramatic attack caught on live TV in Prayagraj last week. Ashraf and Atiq Ahmad were shot dead on April 15. (ANI)

This is the first time action has been taken against any police personnel since the daring shootout on Saturday night. Another senior police officer was transferred on Tuesday night overthe same incident, according to an officer aware of the matter.

The three accused in the murder were immediately nabbed after the incident and sent to police custody for four days on Wednesday. The government has announced two probes -- one headed by a retired Allahabad high court judge and another by a three-member special investigation team (SIT). The SIT is headed by additional deputy commissioner of police (crime) Satish Chandra as its chief investigator and has assistant commissioner of Police (Kotwali) Satendra Prasad Tiwari and inspector Om Prakash of crime branch (Investigation Cell) of Prayagraj police as its co-investigators, informed the order of the Payagraj commissioner of police.

According to the senior police officer cited above, Prayagraj police commissioner Ramit Sharma ordered the suspension of five policemen for showing laxity and failing to take adequate precautions and security of the two accused in custody.

Those who were suspended were Shahganj station house officer Ashwani Kumar Singh, Neewa police outpost in-charge Preet Pandey, sub-inspector Shiv Prasad Maurya and constables Jaymesh Kumar and Sanjay Prajapati of Dhoomanganj police station, the senior officer said.

Dhoomanganj assistant commissioner of police Narsingh Narayan was transferred and attached to the state police headquarters over the same incident, the officer cited above added.

Ahmad and Ashraf were being taken for a medical check-up in police custody when they were shot dead by the three assailants  Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, Mohit aka Shani (23) of Hamirpur and Arun Kumar Maurya (18) of Kasganj district  who were posing as journalists at Colvin Hospital premises on Saturday night.

Ahmad and Ashraf were talking to reporters and were ringfenced by policemen when gunshots rang out and the murder was captured live on video.it came two days after Ahmads son Asad was killed in a police encoutner in Jhansi.

The SIT visited Dhoomanganj police station on Tuesdayandquestioned the policemen who were escorting the two brothers at the time of the incident, a second police officer said, requesting anonymity. The panel also spoke to the policemen at Shahganj police station who were to provide security at the hospital premises, the second officer added.

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West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday rubbished senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's claim that she had dialled Union home minister Amit Shah over Election Commission's decision to revoke TMCs national party status, saying she would resign from her position if evidence was found to support Adhikari's claims. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee.(PTI)

Addressing a rally at Singur in Hooghly district, Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that Banerjee had dialled Shah after the Election Commission revoked TMCs national party status to request him to repeal the decision.

"Yesterday, we saw how Mamata Banerjee had demanded the resignation of Amit Shah. But, after the EC revoked the national party status, she had repeatedly called him to request that the decision be repealed. It, however, did not yield any result," Adhikari said.

Strongly refuting these allegations, the West Bengal chief minister told reporters, I will resign if it is proven that I called up Amit Shah over TMC's national party status.

The TMC supremo said that her party's name will remain All India Trinamool Congress despite the poll panel's decision to revoke its national status.

TMC also mounted an attack on Adikhari from its official Twitter handle alleging that the BJP leader was desperately attempting to tarnish Banerjee's reputation and said the party is exploring legal remedies to expose his baseless claims and bring out the truth.

Suvendu Adkhikari indulges in these theatrics to curry favor with his political masters & spread fake news, it said.

TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had earlier asserted there is not even an iota of truth in Adhikari's claims.

Suvendu Adhikari is a habitual liar. We have seen how he has earlier brazenly lied about several political developments. His remarks are baseless and don't have an iota of truth. Having a national party status or not is notional. It is not going to impact the growth of the TMC," Ghosh said.

(With PTI inputs)

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The composite skeleton of a Tyrannosaurus rex on Tuesday managed to haul in 5.5 million Swiss francs ($6.1 million; 5.6 million) at an auction in Zurich. The skeleton called "Trinity" is estimated to be between 65 to 67 million years old and is made up of 293 bones, from three different T. rex specimens. The bones were excavated between 2008 and 2013 from Hell Creek and Lance Creek formations in Montana and Wyoming. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP)

'Trinity' bought by private European collector

The 3.9-meter (12.8-foot) high skeleton was sold at the Koller auction house in Zurich after having been shipped from the United States in nine crates.

"It was a wonderful auction because we showed Trinity for two-and-a-half weeks in the concert hall in Zurich. And so more than 30,000 visitors came and admired Trinity; a lot of children," auctioneer Cyril Koller told AFP news agency.

Trinity was put up for sale by an anonymous US individual, with the winning bid going to a private European collector of art and dinosaur relics.

Koller expressed optimism that the skeleton would continue to remain on public display again, despite going to a private buyer.

"I'm 100 percent sure we will see Trinity in the future somewhere again," he said. The bones were uncovered between 2008 and 2013 in Montana and Wyoming in the US.

Previously, another skeleton called "Sue" sold for $8.4 million in 1997. "Stan" however holds the title for the most expensive T. rex bone set to sell at auction, fetching $31.8 million in 2020.
Actor Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan attended the London Global Premiere of Citadel last night. Priyanka Chopra, Richard Madden, Nick Jonas, Russo Brothers, and other stars were also present at the grand event. Samantha and Varun chose chic black ensembles to walk the blue carpet at the star-studded premiere. We especially loved Samantha's outfit for the evening. She slipped into all-black separates for the event and set London on fire with her head-turning elegance. Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan attend Citadel Global Premiere. (Instagram)

Samantha Ruth Prabhu wears an all-black outfit to the Citadel Premiere

Samantha Ruth Prabhu and Varun Dhawan, who will headline Citadel India, attended the London Premiere with the directors of the Indian chapter, Raj & DK. Samantha handpicked a black ensemble from the house of Victoria Beckham for the occasion. Fan pages of the actor shared her pictures and videos on Instagram. They showed Samantha blushing as Varun held her close while posing for pictures. She posed solo, flashed her contagious smile, and showed off her all-black outfit. Check out our download on Samantha and Varun's outfits below.

Samantha's Victoria Beckham all-black outfit features a cropped blouse and a midi-length skirt. While the top features a round neckline, short midriff-baring hem, half-length sleeves, scalloped borders, and a fitted bust, the bottoms have a scalloped high-rise waist, a figure-hugging silhouette, fringe and fur embellishments, and an asymmetric hem.

Samantha wore the ensemble with striking jewels from Bulgari, including a choker necklace, a bracelet, and matching earrings. She rounded it off with black high heels, a messy updo, nude lip shade, subtle eye shadow, kohl-lined eyes, darkened brows, mascara on the lashes, blushed cheekbones, and a dewy base.

Meanwhile, Varun complemented her in a see-through black jumper, a matching bomber jacket, and baggy-fit pants. He styled the ensemble with a back-swept hairdo, chunky boots, and a trimmed beard.

Citadel India is currently shooting. The Indian chapter is a branch of the international version starring Priyanka Chopra and Richard Madden.
Chand Raat is a term used in South Asian cultures, particularly in India, Pakistan and Bangladesh, to refer to the night before Eid-ul-Fitr or Eid al-Adha where "Chand" means moon and "Raat" means night in Urdu, so the term refers to the night when the Muslims sight the crescent or new moon, signaling the end of the month of Ramadan or the month of Zul-Hijjah. It is a festive night where people go out shopping for new clothes, bangles and other items to wear on the day of Eid as the markets are usually bustling with activity and people celebrate by eating sweets, exchanging gifts and greeting each other with Eid Mubarak (Blessed Eid) as this important cultural event marks the end of a period of fasting and is a time of celebration with loved ones. Eid 2023 date in Saudi Arabia, India: When will Muslims mark Chand Raat, Eid-ul-Fitr in Middle East, India, other nations (Photo by Rayn L on Pexels)

The festive night of chand raat is followed by Eid-ul-Fitr celebrations in the morning, which is a major religious holiday celebrated by Muslims all over the world as it marks the end of the month-long fasting period of Ramadan, during which Muslims abstain from food and drink from sunrise to sunset hence, Eid-ul-Fitr is also known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast. The ninth month in the Islamic Lunar Calendar is Ramadan and the tenth is Shawwal whose first day is marked as Eid-ul-Fitr across the world.

While the West culturally follows the Gregorian calendar, the Islamic calendar is lunar which means it is based on the sighting of the crescent moon. Every year, Eid-ul-Fitr occurs approximately 10-11 days earlier depending on when the crescent moon is sighted since lunar months are shorter than solar months and so it varies from country to country by about a day.

Muslims in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Oman, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Egypt, Turkey, Iran, United Kingdom and other countries in the Middle East and West will gear up to sight the crescent moon on Thursday i.e. April 20 evening, after breaking the Ramadan fast at maghrib or evening payers. If the crescent moon is sighted, chaand raat will be on Thursday which marks the onset of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated the next day i.e. April 21, 2023 but if the Shawwal crescent is not sighted on Thursday evening, Chand Raat in these countries will be on Friday April 21 while Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on April 22, 2023.

As per the United Kingdoms HM Nautical Almanac Office, the Shawwal crescent moon will be visible at 04:13 GMT on Thursday, April 20 but will only be visible across North America under certain conditions while a majority of the world should be able to easily sight the new moon with the naked eye the following night i.e. Friday, April 21, meaning the first day of Eid will be Saturday, April 22. Unless conditions are ideal or if they use an optical aid, a handful of countries in the southern hemisphere, including parts of South America, Australia and New Zealand, might not sight the cresent on Friday night so Muslims in those countries will celebrate Eid on Sunday, April 23.

Indian Muslims and those in other South Asian countries will gear up to sight the crescent moon on Friday i.e. April 21, after breaking the Ramadan fast at maghrib or evening payers. If the crescent moon is sighted, chaand raat will be on Friday night which will mark the onset of the Islamic month of Shawwal and the day of Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated the next day i.e. April 22, 2023.

Otherwise, Muslims in India and other South Asian countries will continue to fast on Friday and Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on Sunday i.e. April 23, 2023. The buzz of chaand raat is however, unmissable in the air as this is the time of celebration when families and friends gather on the terrace of their homes or courtyards or parks or any open places at the end of the last day of Ramadan to spot the crescent moon.

Chaand raat is a witness to cauldrons of desserts being cooked, houses whitewashed and lit, streets decorated and women applying mehndi or henna designs on their hands, all in preparation of Eid the next day. On the day of Eid-ul-Fitr, Muslims wake up early in the morning, take a bath and wear new clothes, then gather in mosques or open areas for special Eid prayers, which are followed by a khutbah or sermon by the Imam (religious leader).

After the prayers, people exchange greetings of "Eid Mubarak" and hug each other as a sign of brotherhood while giving alms to the poor. Muslims celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr with feasting and giving gifts to family, friends and the less fortunate where many families prepare special dishes for Eid, such as sheer khurma (a sweet vermicelli pudding), biryani (a meaty rice dish) and other sweets while children often receive gifts and money, which is known as "Eidi."

Eid-ul-Fitr is a time of joy, unity and compassion for Muslims, who use the occasion to strengthen their bonds with family and friends and to reach out to those in need. It is a time to express gratitude to Allah for His blessings and to seek His forgiveness for any sins committed during Ramadan.
A day after the grand launch of Apples first retail store in India, CEO Tim Cook is set to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday, as per a LiveMint report. Cook will also reportedly meet union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and Rajeev Chandrasekhar ahead of Apples second Indian store opening at Saket on Thursday. However, the prime ministers office or the Indian government is yet to confirm the reports of the meeting. Apple CEO Tim Cook and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. (File)

On Tuesday, Apple opened its flagship store in India at Mumbai's Jio World Drive Mall Bandra Kurla Complex. At Apple BKC, the company also has a service centre called Genius Bay to provide professional troubleshooting advice.

The new stores are a clear signal of the company's expansion plans in India. In September, Apple announced it would start making its iPhone 14 in India, the world's second-largest smartphone market. The news was hailed as a win for Modis government, which has pushed for ramping up local manufacturing ever since he came to power in 2014.

Currently, India makes close to 13 million iPhones every year, up from less than 5 million three years ago, according to Counterpoint Research. Last week, Indias Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said the government was in regular touch with Apple to support their business here and that the company had plans to have 25% of their global production come out of India in the next five years.

Apple Saket is spread over 8,417.83 sqft, while BKC store sprawls across 20,000 sqft. Notably, despite the difference in area size, the Delhi store is leased at the same rate as the Mumbai shop, as per documents shared by CRE Matrix.

In an effort to tailor the store to the local culture, BKC outlet is designed around Mumbai's iconic Kaali Peeli taxis, while the Saket store is themed on Delhis many gates, each signifying a new chapter to the citys storied past.

Earlier, Apples products were sold via resellers and e-commerce sites such as Flipkart and Amazon.

(With inputs frm AP)

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A day after the launch of Apples first retail store in India, CEO Tim Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on Wednesday. Thanking PM Modi for the welcome, he said that the tech giant looks forward to expanding its base and investment plans in the country. Ahead of the Saket store launch in Delhi, he revealed that the talks brought out a shared vision regarding the positive effects of technology on sectors ranging from education to environment. Tim Cook with PM Modi (Twitter)

Watch: Tim Cook lauds PM Modi's tech vision; Committed to investing in India

He tweeted, "Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country," he tweets.

On Tuesday, Apple opened its first Indian store at Mumbai's Jio World Drive Mall in Bandra Kurla Complex.

Responding to Cook's tweet, PM Modi expressed his happiness on discussing various topics with a special focus on technology-based revolutions happening in India.

He wrote, An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India.

Cook had earlier visited the Lodhi Art District and had revealed his amazement at the creative wall art. Delhis Lodhi Art District is a remarkable public space. Congratulations to the St+art India Foundation and so many amazing artists for capturing Indian life so powerfully, the Apple chief said in a tweet.

He also went to the Indian School of Design and Innovation and gaines insights on how students utilised Apple products in designing. The Indian School of Design & Innovation is helping the next generation of creatives unlock their full potential. Thanks for sharing how you create those amazing designs using iPad! he said.

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Chinese scientists held a seminar in Wuhan on Saturday to discuss "how to build a house on the moon." The extraterrestrial construction is planned to be done with a 3D printer using moon soil. China planning to use 3D printing robots to build building structures on moon.(Representative visuals / Image created using Bing AI Image creator)

"It will cost 200,000 US dollars to transport a bottle of mineral water to the moon." Ding Lieyun, the initiator of the first academic seminar and chief scientist of the National Digital Construction Technology Innovation Centre, said in an interview with China Science Daily. He added that the high cost means that the steel, concrete, water, and other materials necessary for extraterrestrial construction cannot be obtained from the earth and can only be constructed in situ using the natural lunar soil materials on the moon as much as possible.

If the methods are approved, they might be used to build the International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) that China aims to build in the 2030s, space.com reported.

China's next lunar missions include Chang'e 6, which will collect samples from the far side of the moon in 2025; Chang'e 7, which will search for water ice in shadowed craters in 2026; and Chang'e 8 in 2028, which will lay the groundwork for the ILRS project.

However, construction on the moon is extremely complicated and involves high-end engineering.

"There are about 1,000 moonquakes of magnitude 2-3 on the moon every year, as well as strong radiation from cosmic rays, solar wind, micrometeorite impacts, complex topography and geology of the lunar surface, etc., all of which make the in-situ construction of the lunar surface extremely complicated and involving multidisciplinary super engineering," Lieyun said.

It would however take at least another 20 to 30 years for plans to get implemented.

Ding discussed the latest developments in the research at his laboratory at the conference. His team earlier created the Lunar Pot Vessel, an egg-shaped moon base consisting of 3D printed moon soil bricks. They built the base using traditional Chinese construction techniques and a robot called the Chinese Super Mason. Ding compared the approach to Lego construction, which he claimed was less dangerous and more efficient than 3D printing the entire structure.
Toronto: Canada will have to endure one of the largest strikes by government employees beginning on Wednesday as negotiations with a public sector union failed. Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa, Ontario, on Tuesday. (AP)

The final deadline of 9pm in the discussion between the Treasury Board of Canada, which employs government workers, and the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC), elapsed without a resolution. PSAC announced that 155,000 federal employees will begin their strike at 12.01am on Wednesday.

We truly hoped we wouldnt be forced to take strike action, but weve exhausted every other avenue to reach a fair contract for Canadas Federal Public Service workers, PSAC national president Chris Aylward.

Among the services that will be impacted will be that of immigration, and will effect applicants like prospective international students seeking study permits, those looking for temporary work documents or permanent residency. Indian nationals comprise the largest country cohort for these categories.

In a statement released on Tuesday night, PSAC said, With nearly a third of the entire federal public service workers on strike, Canadians can expect to see slowdowns or a complete shutdown of services nationwide beginning tomorrow, including a complete halt of the tax season; disruptions to employment insurance, immigration, and passport applications; interruptions to supply chains and international trade at ports; and slowdowns at the border with administrative staff on strike.

Among the demands from the union are a raise of 13.5% over three years, retrospective from 2021. The government countered with a figure of 9% spread over that term.

Bargaining is expected to continue even after the strike commences, as Aylward said, Were ready to reach a fair deal as soon as the government is ready to come to the table with a fair offer.

Earlier on Tuesday, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had expressed hope that a strike could be averted.

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Pakistani security forces gunned down two members of the banned Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in an intelligence-based operation in the country's Punjab province, police said on Wednesday. The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police said it received information about the presence of five TTP terrorists in the Rajanpur district of Punjab, some 475 km from Lahore, with plans to target security personnel. (File)

The Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) of Punjab police said it received information about the presence of five TTP terrorists in the Rajanpur district of Punjab, some 475 km from Lahore, with plans to target security personnel.

"A CTD team, along with Elite Force commandos, surrounded the hideout of the terrorists and asked them to surrender. Instead, the terrorists opened fire on the raiding team which returned the fire and in the shootout, two terrorists were killed while the other three managed to flee, taking advantage of darkness," the CTD said in a statement.

Weapons and hand grenades were recovered from the crime scene. The two terrorists killed were residents of the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The outlawed TTP has increased the attacks in recent months and has apparently become stronger since the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban.

The militant group, set up as an umbrella group of several militant outfits in 2007, called off a ceasefire with the federal government and ordered its militants to stage terrorist attacks across the country. The CTD has since intensified its operation against the TTP.

The TTP was reportedly behind January's suicide attack on a mosque here, in which more than 100 people, mostly police personnel were killed.

The group, which is believed to be close to Al-Qaeda, has been blamed for several deadly attacks across Pakistan, including an attack on army headquarters in 2009, assaults on military bases, and the 2008 bombing of the Marriott Hotel in Islamabad.

In 2014, the Pakistani Taliban stormed the Army Public School in the northwestern city of Peshawar, killing at least 150 people, including 131 students. On January 30, a Taliban suicide bomber blew himself up during the afternoon prayers in a mosque in Peshawar, killing 101 people and injuring more than 200 others.

Pakistan has hoped that the Afghan Taliban, after coming to power, would stop the use of their soil against Pakistan by expelling the TTP operatives, but they have apparently refused to do so.

The Taliban-led government in Afghanistan proposed in February for the first time to Pakistan that it should bear the cost of disarming and rehabilitating the outlawed TTP members and their families, numbering more than 30,0000 from the Pak-Afghan border areas.
The United Nations (UN) said that it is ready to withdraw from Afghanistan if it cannot convince the Taliban to permit local women to work for the organization, head of the UN Development Program said as per news agency Associated Press. United Nations In Afghanistan: A Taliban fighter stands guard as a woman walks past in Kabul, Afghanistan.(AFP)

The decision may be taken as soon as next month as the UN is negotiating with the Taliban on the decree prohibiting local women from working.

UNDP Administrator Achin Steiner said, "It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and re-evaluate its ability to operate there. But it is not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights."

Expressing "serious concerns", the UN has condemned Taliban's ban on Afghan female UN staff members from reporting to work. The United Nations in Afghanistan expresses serious concern that female national UN staff have been prevented from reporting to work in Nangarhar province, the UN had then said, adding that life-saving aid in the country would be at risk without female staff.

"We remind de facto authorities that United Nations entities cannot operate and deliver life-saving assistance without female staff," the UN said.

The Talibancame to power in Afghanistan in August 2021 after US troop withdrawal. It has since imposed severe bans on women and girls, preventing them from education as well as work.

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Animal experts will decide in coming days whether an ailing elephant at a zoo in Pakistan needs to be euthanised after it collapsed in its pen last week and has since failed to stand up, officials said. African elephant Noor Jahan, 17, who is unwell, rests on a sand pile, at a zoo in Karachi, Pakistan(Reuters)

Read here: Air pollution, heat linked to lower sleep quality, says research

The 17-year-old African elephant underwent emergency treatment for a tumour in Karachi on April 5, but collapsed days later and has since lain stricken on its side.

The pitiful plight of Noor Jehan is being shared by animal rights activists on social media in Pakistan and abroad, prompting calls for the zoo to be shut down.

Pakistan's zoos are frequently accused of disregarding animal welfare, and in 2020 a court ordered the only facility in the country's capital to close because of its decrepit state.

Noor Jehan's fate now lies with a committee waiting for the arrival of Amir Khalil, the Austria-based chief vet of animal charity Four Paws International.

Khalil, who led the team that treated Noor Jehan for the tumour, told AFP he wanted to have "one last try" at helping the pachyderm recover.

"We will fight till the last for her recovery, and the rest is in the hands of Allah," said Kanwar Ayub, the director of Karachi Zoo.

"We are diligently following Four Paws instructions for Noor Jehan's treatment."

Noor Jehan is still eating despite being on her side, pin-pricked by drips and regularly doused with water to cool her down.

"Her condition remains critical and uncertain," Four Paws said.

Vet Khalil said the focus would likely shift to Noor Jehan's pen pal, Madhubala, with the hope of finding her better accommodation.

"We will do what we can for Noor Jehan but really we need to move the other animal," he said.

In 2019 Islamabad's zoo was shut down after drawing international condemnation for its treatment of an Asian elephant named Kaavan.

Read here: Carcass of wild elephant with tusk trimmed found in Bihars Kishanganj

Kavaan was later airlifted to retirement in Cambodia in a project spearheaded by US popstar and actor Cher, and carried out by Four Paws.
A leaked U.S. military assessment says the Chinese military may soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, the Washington Post reported late on Tuesday. Chinese military may soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone, according to the report. (AFP)

The newspaper cited a secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

Also Read | China surveys Indian Ocean, expands its naval footprint

The document, which Reuters could not confirm or verify independently, features satellite imagery dated Aug 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles (560km) inland from Shanghai, according to the newspaper.

The U.S. assessment said China's People's Liberation Army (PLA) had "almost certainly" established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theater Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Chinese sovereignty claims over Taiwan, the newspaper reported.

The U.S. Defense Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Chinese government could not immediately be reached for comment.

The Washington Post said it obtained the assessment of the program from a trove of images of classified files posted on the Discord messaging app, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, who was arrested last week.

The FBI on Thursday arrested Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, over the leaks online of classified documents that embarrassed Washington with allies around the world.

The leaks first became widely known earlier this month, setting Washington on edge about the damage they may have caused. The episode embarrassed the U.S. by revealing its spying on allies and purported Ukrainian military vulnerabilities.

Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen's recent meeting with U.S. House of Representative Kevin McCarthy had upset Beijing. China, which claims democratically ruled Taiwan is one of its provinces, says Taiwan is the single most important and sensitive issue in its relations with the United States. Taiwan's government rejects Beijing's sovereignty claims.
A Chinese acrobat fell to her death during a performance in Chinas Anhui province, according to a BBC report. 37-year-old Sun was reportedly doing the routine with her acrobatic partner and husband Zhang. Though Sun was taken to the hospital after the fatal fall, the mother of two succumbed to her injuries, (Twitter)

An investigation has been launched into the aerial silks performance held at a farm in Suzhou city on Saturday. Suns fatal plunge has sparked concerns over the dearth of safety measures in aerial performances. Visuals shared online of the flying-trapeze stunt showed Zhang failing to catch Sun with his legs, which resulted in her fall from a significant height onto a hard stage.

Although Sun was taken to the hospital, the mother of two succumbed to her injuries, according to a Tongqiao district government statement on Monday.

The BBC quoting Chinese media outlet The Paper, said that the couple had resorted to doing risky stunts sans any safety belts to earn more money amidst stiff competition.

Questioning the lack of a safety net on the stage, netizens demanded tighter regulation in the acrobatics industry to ensure protection of the stunt artists.

A CNN report stated that the show was reportedly conducted by a local farm business owner, who contracted the Anhui Yaxi Performing Arts Media Company to run the performance. However, the mandatory clearance was not approved by authorities in order to hold the performance. The probe into the matter revealed that essential emergency requisites were not followed for the show and that a crane was used in violation of rules.

Action will be taken against the company, which has reportedly decided on the amount of compensation to be given to the kin of Sun. Highlight the need to put greater safety measures in place, Chinas Acrobats Association said in a statement Sunday that it was devastated and shocked by the tragedy.

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The UK on Wednesday promised to get tough on authoritarian regimes operating overseas, after newspaper claims about a London-based businessman's links to a secret Chinese police station. China and other hardline governments were attempting 'to silence their critics overseas'.(File)

"Any attempt to coerce, intimidate or illegally repatriate any individual will not be tolerated," said junior Home Office minister Chris Philip.

China and other hardline governments were attempting "to silence their critics overseas, undermine democracy and the rule of law and further their own narrow geopolitical interests", he added.

A planned "foreign interference" offence in new national security laws would criminalise the practice, lawmakers were told.

Philip's comments came after The Times said Chinese businessman Lin Ruiyou operated a food delivery business in the London suburb of Croydon that doubled as an undeclared Chinese police station.

It said Lin had also been active in local politics for the ruling Conservatives, and reprinted on Wednesday photographs of him meeting former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Theresa May.

The daily said Lin had been active in a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) 'United Front' organisation, but that he denied working surreptitiously for provincial police to monitor other Chinese nationals in London.

Philips' department earlier called the reports "very concerning" and said they were being taken "very seriously".

"Attempts by foreign governments to coerce, intimidate, harass or harm their critics overseas, undermining democracy and the rule of law, are unacceptable," a spokesperson told AFP.

"We are committed to tackling these challenges wherever they originate."

- Overseas stations -

The UK interior ministry and London's Metropolitan police force began investigations after the human rights group Safeguard Defenders last year first detailed the existence of the overseas Chinese stations.

The Madrid-based group's campaign director, Laura Harth, told AFP that Lin had "clear and demonstrable ties to the CCP apparatus".

"It is imperative democratic authorities, including in the UK, break these investigations wide open and urgently start looking into the gamut of activities 'United Front' organisations in their country are involved in," she said.

On Monday, US authorities arrested two men for allegedly setting up one such outpost in New York and charged dozens of Chinese security officials over a campaign to monitor and harass US-based dissidents.

The arrests of Harry Lu Jianwang, 61, and Chen Jinping, 59, were the first anywhere over the alleged campaign by China to establish secret police stations around the world, US prosecutors said.

China denies any such campaign, and accused the US government of "slandering, smearing (and) engaging in political manipulation" following the New York arrests.

Beijing's embassy in London said of The Times allegations: "We have made it clear many times that there are no so-called 'overseas police stations'.

"China adheres to the principle of non-interference in other countries' internal affairs, strictly observes international laws and respects the judicial sovereignty of all countries".

It warned against the media quoting "hearsay" and spreading "false accusations".
Rather than fixating on the impact of the world's soaring population, the world should look at women's reproductive rights to shore up "demographic resilience," the UN said Wednesday. Twenty-five percent of the world's population is aged 14 or under; 65 percent are aged 15-64 and 10 percent are aged 65 and over.(AP File)

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency -- acknowledged there was widespread anxiety over the size of the world's population, which is expected to peak at around 10.4 billion during the 2080s.

Also Read| UN may withdraw from Afghanistan if talks fail with Taliban on this issue

But the UNFPA said the focus should be on giving women more power to control when and how they have children.

"The question is: 'Can everyone exercise their fundamental human right to choose the number and spacing of their children?'. Sadly, the answer is a resounding no," said UNFPA chief Natalia Kanem.

She said that "44 percent, almost half of women, are unable to exercise bodily autonomy. Unable to make choices about contraception, healthcare and whether or with whom to have sex. And globally, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended."

She said countries with the highest fertility rates contribute the least to global warming and suffer the most from its impact.

In its flagship annual "State of World Population" report, the UNFPA found the most commonly-held view is that the world's population is too big.

But it said that passing the eight billion mark "should be a reason to celebrate. It is a milestone representing historic advances for humanity in medicine, science, health, agriculture and education".

"It is time to put aside fear, to turn away from population targets and towards demographic resilience -- an ability to adapt to fluctuations in population growth and fertility rate," it said.

India overtaking China

"The world population is rapidly reordering itself," Kanem told a press conference.

While the population is now the largest ever seen, "the global average fertility rate is the lowest in living memory".

Kanem said the ranking of the world's most populous countries would change significantly over the next 25 years, with India currently overtaking China at the top.

Eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.

The report said two-thirds of people were living in countries with low fertility.

"This is the first time in human history where not every country is getting bigger," said Kanem.

The countries with the highest fertility rates were all in Africa: Niger (6.7), Chad (6.1), DR Congo (6.1) Somalia (6.1) and Mali and the Central African Republic (5.8).

The territories with the lowest birth rates were Hong Kong (0.8), South Korea (0.9), Singapore (1.0), Macau and San Marino (1.1) and Aruba and China (1.2).

Europe is the only region projected to experience an overall population decline between now and 2050.

The report said the world fertility rate per woman was currently 2.3. Life expectancy is 71 for men and 76 for women.

"All populations are ageing largely because we're living longer lives. Since 1990, the average life expectancy has increased by about a decade," said Kanem.

Twenty-five percent of the world's population is aged 14 or under; 65 percent are aged 15-64 and 10 percent are aged 65 and over.

The report found anxious governments were increasingly adopting policies aimed at raising, lowering or maintaining fertility rates. However, such efforts are very often ineffective.

"Half a million births every year take place among girls aged 10-14... girls too young to consent to sex, girls married off, abused, or both," Kanem added.
Fox news admitted to telling lies about Dominion, the company's CEO John Poulos said after the last-minute $787.5 million settlement with the network. "Fox and Dominion have reached a historic settlement. Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my Company, our employees, and our customers. Nothing can ever make up for that," John Poulos said in a statement. Fox News- Dominion Defamation: People walk by the News Corporation headquarters, home to Fox News.(AFP)

Throughout this process, we have sought accountability and believe the evidence brought to light through this case underscores the consequences of spreading and endorsing lies, he added.

The settlement for more than $787 million with Fox News represents a ringing endorsement for truth and accountability, attorney representing Dominion Voting Systems- Justin Nelson- said.

The truth matters. Lies have consequences, Justin Nelson said, adding that more than two years ago a torrent of lies had swept Dominion and election officials across America which caused grievous harm to Dominion and the country.

The country must remain ever vigilant to find common ground", the attorney warned, further saying, For our democracy to endure for another 250 years and, hopefully much longer, we must share a commitment to facts."

Following the settlement, Fox news anchors will not have to acknowledge on-air that they told lies about Dominion Voting Systems, CNN reported.

The payment which is required of Fox news to Dominion Voting Systems is the largest publicly known defamation settlement in US history involving a media company. Earlier in 2017, ABC News paid $177 million after its legal dispute with Beef Products Inc.

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Hillary Clinton said that former US President Donald Trump will not win the next election but Joe Biden will be re-elected no matter who the Republican candidate is. Former Democratic presidential candidate and secretary of state Hillary Clinton said, more people are onto him [Trump] and his behaviour than they were before, as per Sky News. Hillary Clinton: Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is seen. (Reuters)

I always thought about him, if you follow him you can see it - he accuses people of things he himself is doing, it's a form of psychological projection. I always thought his record in business in particular, but then as we saw him in politics and government, he was someone who cared nothing about rules. He cared nothing about the law, Hillary Clinton said.

There is nothing that the US legal system can do to prevent Donald Trump from running for president again despite the hush money payment indictment, she said, adding, "But even if he gets the Republican nomination, he cannot, in my view, be re-elected president. I think more people are on to him and his behaviour than they were before. He has a hard core of support that is likely to help him win the Republican nomination. But in a general election against President Biden, I do not believe he can win.

On Florida governor Ron De Santis, who is expected to run for president as a Republican candidate, Hillary Clinton said that he will be unsuccessful as he is "unproven".

Nobody really outside of Florida knows very much about him, and in Florida, they're watching him do crazy things. So I actually believe that President Biden will be re-elected regardless of who the Republican nominee is, she said.

Dismissing suggestions that Joe Biden is too old to be president, Hillary Clinton said, I feel like I could do the job. I'm in my mid-70s.

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In July 2017, Indonesia made a diplomatic move that could have made China proud in some part of the multiverse: Jakarta renamed part of the South China Sea (SCS)  within the Indonesian exclusive economic zone but claimed by Beijing  as the North Natuna Sea. PREMIUM This time, Chinas ministry of civil affairs released the changed names as well as precise geographical coordinates of the 11 places in early April. ((Waseem Andrabi /HT Photo))

The renamed maritime area is located north of the Natuna Islands at the southern end of the SCS but within China's nine dash line.

The "nine dash line" is an internationally contested demarcation, which Beijing brandishes to lay sweeping claims to almost the entire resource-rich SCS: According to estimates, more than 80% of it.

Chinas response to Jakarta's move was terse.

The so-called change of name makes no sense at all and is not conducive to the effort to the international standardisation of the name of places, Geng Shuang, then Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson, responded in Beijing, indicating that the change could impact the current hard-won sound situation in the SCS.

It makes no sense at all.. Really?

Three months earlier, a fuming China had renamed several places in Arunachal Pradesh (AP)  which Beijing claims is South Tibet or Zangnan in Chinese  on its map, a day after Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, concluded his visit to the northeastern Indian state.

The announcement was made on April 13, 2017, following a nine-day high-profile visit to AP by the Dalai Lama.

Since then, Beijing has done the same twice more in the Indian state: Once in December 2021, and most recently, earlier this month.

The 2017 announcement included six Arunachal locations while the second batch in 2021 comprised 15 locations.

This time, Chinas ministry of civil affairs released the changed names as well as precise geographical coordinates of the 11 places in early April.

It included two residential areas, five mountain peaks, and two rivers in AP and also listed the administrative districts, the state-run tabloid Global Times reported on April 3.

Looking at the list of 11 places, most of them are unknown or remote areas. Three are close to the Line of Actual Control (LAC)  namely Pangchen, a village in the Zimithang Circle which has a historical background during the 1962 border war with China; then Chakmutse Gangri, near Taksing in Upper Subansiri and finally Goyul Thang, a tiny flat ground near Kaho on the river Lohit, Claude Arpi, India-based Tibet expert wrote on his blog which he also shared with HT.

Except for Pangchen village, these places are small and unknown even to most Arunachalis, Arpi wrote.

A chart in Chinese characters, Tibetan and Pinyin transliteration of the 11 new names was released in accordance with regulations on geographical names issued by the State Council, China's cabinet of ministries.

"This is not the first time China has made such an attempt. We reject this outright," Arindam Bagchi, external affairs ministry spokesperson said in New Delhi.

AP is an integral, inalienable part of India. And attempts to assign invented names will not alter this reality, he added.

What prompted China to rename places in AP this time? At least two immediate reasons seem likely besides Beijings continuous attempts to assert sovereignty in disputed areas.

One, the announcement was made days before home minister Amit Shah visited the state to inaugurate the Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP).

The VVP, with a financial allocation of 4,800 crore from 2022-23 to 2025-26 will provide funds for development of essential infrastructure and creation of livelihood opportunities in 19 Districts and 46 Border blocks (in) 4 states and 1 UT (union territory) along the northern land border of the country, the Press Information Bureau (PIB) had then said in a statement.

In the first phase, 663 villages were part of the programme.

Chinas decision seemed to be directly linked to the VVP, an effort by New Delhi to match Beijings rapid development of its villages under the Xiaokang (moderately prosperous) scheme to modernise villages along the border.

The second reason could be that it was Beijings angry response to Washington recognising the McMahon Line as the international boundary between India and China  a demarcation that Beijing has never acknowledged  and also putting it on record that AP is an integral part of India in March.

This bipartisan resolution expresses the (US) Senates support for unequivocally recognising the state of Arunachal Pradesh as an integral part of India, condemning Chinas military aggression to change the status quo along the Line of Actual Control, and further enhancing the US-India strategic partnership and the Quad in support of the Free and Open Indo-Pacific, Senator Bill Hagerty who along with Senator Jeff Merkley introduced the resolution in the Senate said in March.

The name changes were a timely countermeasure against USs recognition of the McMahon Line as the international boundary between China and India, as well as a major action to undermine India's illegal territorial claims over the South Tibet, Nian Peng, director of Haikou-based Research Centre for Asian Studies (RCAS), said.

It could consolidate national sovereignty and enhance the administrative jurisdiction of the disputed territories controlled by China. It could also strengthen the PLA's (China's People's Liberation Army) military deployment along the Line of Actual Control, Nian said.

Renaming places in another country as a countermeasure against a third country or assuming that renaming places in a contested region could consolidate national sovereignty may seem meaningless.

Why then does China do it at all whether in Arunachal, or the SCS, or even in Russia, where it recently standardised names of eight cities in Chinese including the name of Vladivostok?

Bill Hayton, associate fellow at the Chatham House Asia-Pacific programme and author of books on China and Vietnam, said the practice of renaming places in disputed areas is an effort to inculcate a sense of anxiety about the perceived loss of territory.

This dates back at least to the 1920s. Much of these claims are specious and demonstrate some misunderstandings of East Asian history. These misunderstandings have left a dangerous legacy in the modern era, Hayton said.

Now, China tries to assert territorial claims in whatever way they can, Hayton said adding: Renaming disputed features or naming unnamed features in disputed areas has become common in the SCS.

China claims nearly the entire SCS but is locked in a dispute over the ownership of islands and reefs with several maritime neighbours including the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Indonesia besides Vietnam and Taiwan (which Beijing says is a breakaway region.)

In 2020, for example, China gave names to 80 geographical features in the disputed SCS including features in the Paracel and Spratly islands; these include 25 islands, shoals and reefs and 55 oceanic mountains and ridges.

The last such exercise was carried out in 1983, when China named 287 features in the area.

It seems to be a way that Chinese officials can appear to be doing something to support Chinas territorial claims. In reality, its a meaningless gesture but it makes them feel good, Hayton said.

Meanwhile, life goes on as usual in Indonesias North Natuna Sea.

In January this year, Jakarta deployed a warship, maritime patrol aircraft and drone to monitor a Chinese coast guard vessel in the region, Laksamana Madya Muhammad Ali, Indonesian navy chief, told Reuters.

Not just any coast guard vessel but the CCG 5901, the worlds largest coast guard vessel, dubbed, according to reports, the monster.

The renaming was a bit pointless, Jakarta must have realised.

Sutirtho Patranobis, HTs experienced China hand, writes a weekly column from Beijing, exclusively for HT Premium readers. He was previously posted in Colombo, Sri Lanka, where he covered the final phase of the civil war and its aftermath, and was based in Delhi for several years before that

The views expressed are personal
US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden released their federal tax return which showed that the couple earned almost $580,000 last year and paid an effective federal income tax rate of 23.8%. They donated roughly 3.5% of their income to 20 charities. The release of tax returns comes ahead of a 2024 presidential race in which Joe Biden is expected to seek a second term. US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are seen.

The Bidens reported adjusted gross income of $579,514 and paid $137,658 in federal income tax. Joe Biden's salary as US President is $400,000 while Jill Biden earned $82,335 from her job at Northern Virginia Community College. Rest of the couple's income came from investment interest, pensions, annuities and distributions from retirement accounts, the joint tax return showed.

Their donations included contributions to churches and organizations focused on helping children and first responders.

US Vice President Kamala Harris and her husband Doug Emhoff also released their tax returns. The couple reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918. They paid $93,570 in federal income tax for a federal income tax rate of 20.5%.

The income included $219,171 in salary paid to Kamala Harris as the US Vice President and $62,870 from her books. Doug Emhoff earned $169,665 earned for teaching at Georgetown University Law Center. The couple contributed roughly 5% of their income to charity, the joint return showed.

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Prince William's wife Kate Middleton felt resentment towards Prince Harry's wife Meghan Markle for causing her to miss Queen Elizabeth IIs final moments, a new book has claimed. Royal author Robert Jobson claimed in his book Our King: Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed that when senior royals travelled to Scotland to visit the monarch before her death, King Charles had ordered that Prince Harry and Prince Wiliams wives should not come. Kate Middleton-Meghan Markle: Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are seen. (File)

Privately, [Charles] wanted to say Meghan was not welcome but he couldnt say that to Harry so he personally intervened and asked Kate to stay back so that it was fairer on Meghan, Robert Jobson has said.

The book claimed that Kate Middleton felt resentment towards Meghan Markle as she desperately wanted to be in Scotland. The author also claimed that King Charles was "captivated" by Meghan Markle's "intelligence and vivacious personality," when the monarch first met her.

King Charles was fond of Meghan Markle and saw much of himself reflected in her, the royal commentator added, saying, "Meghan, at first, was seen by the press as a breath of fresh air. She threw herself into her new role even before they married, visiting Edinburgh, Cardiff, Belfast and London, and was greeted warmly by large enthusiastic crowds wherever she went...Charles could not have been more welcoming to his future daughter-in-law. Meghan said at the time that she was bowled over by his gentlemanly charm."

Meghan Markle also facilitated a "softening" of tension between the father and son, the author alleged.

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Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to declare a member of the Russian embassy staff persona non grata, a government spokesperson said. Moldovan President Maia Sandu. (AFP)

Government press secretary Daniel Vode told reporters the decision was connected to the actions of embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport this week.

The embassy staffer was not named.
As King Charles and the royal family is preparing for a coronation ceremony for the monarch in May, the historic event takes a lot of work and practice in order to make sure that every detail is perfectly executed. A royal expert revealed that King Charles might be doing a lot of things to get ready for his royal coronation including practicing wearing the crown. King Charles' Coronation: Britain's King Charles is seen. (Reuters)

Editor of Majesty Magazine Joe Little said, [The crowns] are both very heavy, so the queen practiced for quite some time wearing St. Edwards Crown, and also the Imperial State Crown because of the weigh."

The St. Edwards Crown is only used during coronation ceremonies, so its a once-in-a-reign moment", Joe Little explained adding that King Charles has memories of Queen Elizabeth practicing with the heavy headgear and wearing the crown at home to get used to having it on her head.

Even though the crown will not be placed on his head for a very long time, King Charles may still need to practice. King Charles maybe practicing wearing the crown, the royal expert said, adding Id be amazed if he didnt. There may be even a mock Abbey set up in Buckingham Palace so that they can rehearse" as even Queen Elizabeth frequently went to Westminster Abbey in the run-up to her coronation for various rehearsals."

The crown used for the coronation is set to be heavy as Historic Royal Palaces said that the St. Edwards Crown weighs nearly 5 pounds. The Imperial State Crown weighs over 2 pounds.

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Majority of Britons do not believe that King Charles coronation should be funded by the public, a YouGov poll showed. Almost 51 percent of Britons said that the event should not be funded by the government, while only 32 percent argued that it should be government-funded. Further 18 percent said that they 'don't know' whether or not the crowning of King Charles should be funded. King Charles Coronation: King Charles accompanied by his wife, Camilla, the Queen Consort.

The poll included responses from 4,246 adults of which in the age group 18-24, 62 percent said that the coronation 'should not' be funded by the government. This was followed closely by 25-49 year olds in which 55 percent said it should not be government funded. Although, in the 65+ age group, most agreed that the coronation should be funded by the public- 43 percent.

King Charles coronation is scheduled to take place on May 6 and comes at a time when Britain's economy suffers owing to a severe cost of living crisis.

King Charles III's coronation could cost 100million, several reports have said. Meanwhile, the ceremony for Queen Elizabeth II was estimated to have cost a total of 1.57million.

In today's money the 1953 Coronation cost around 50million but estimates for King Charles's are twice that because of things like security, which weren't such a big issue back then. But worldwide TV rights will more than cover the cost and it will be a massive boost to tourism. Hotels are already being booked out for the Coronation weekend, The Sun reported.

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A new biography about King Charles III by royal biographer Robert Jobson titled Our King Charles III: The Man and the Monarch Revealed looks at the monarch's life ahead of his coronation next month. The book aims to to reveal the real man behind the crown and look at King Charles passions, purpose and motivations, the book's publisher said. Britain's King Charles III is seen. (Reuters)

The book also contains new claims about members of the royal family. Here are the biggest claims in the book:

Prince Harry insisted royal family that Meghan Markle should accompany him to Balmoral after the Queen died

The book claimed that Prince Harry chose to travel to Balmoral alone after a major disagreement over his wife s attendance. Prince Harry insisted Meghan accompany him to Balmoral, but his father King Charles told him she could not come.

It did not go down well with the family, they were all shocked by his behaviour," the book claimed.

Queen's meeting with then UK PM Liz Truss

Only two days before her passing, Queen Elizabeth II invited the newly appointed prime minister Liz Truss to Balmoral to form the government. The book claimed that the monarch scheduled the meeting against the advice of her doctors who were extremely worried about the Queen due to her frailty.

Nothing was going to stop her from carrying out the official meetings with Liz Truss, the book claimed.

King Charles on wedding to Diana

King Charles agonised over the fact that he did not call off his wedding to Diana, as he was unsure about whether they were compatible. Charles believes he let down not only the monarchy, but himself and Diana too, through his inability to call off the wedding", the author wrote. King Charles had then said according to the author, I desperately wanted to get out of the wedding in 1981, when during the engagement I discovered just how awful the prospects were, having had no chance whatsoever to get to know Diana beforehand.

When King Charles stopped taking Harrys calls

King Charles stopped taking Prince Harrys calls after he stepped back from his royal duties in 2020 even though Harry continued to talk to Queen Elizabeth.

In the end, [the late Queen] asked him to speak directly to his father instead, the book claimed, adding, Her Majesty found Prince Harrys calls quite difficult and wearisome. She didnt want to interfere in the father/son relationship and would urge him to speak to his father.

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Meghan Markle might be ready to end the feud between the Sussexes and the royal family, a report claimed ahead of King Charles' coronation. Her husband Prince Harry is set to attend the ceremony but she has decided to skip the event at Westminster Abbey in May. Meghan Markle at the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II.

Buckingham Palace confirmed the same saying in a statement, Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6 May. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Meghan Markle is determined to make sure that there are no more rifts that will disrupt the family's harmony.

She "wants her children to know their grandfather" King Charles, PageSix reported. Meghan Markle wants this as the children won't know their grandfather from their mother's side.

She does hope they will meet and hopes her decision will be seen as an unselfish one, as it was best to keep the attention on His Majesty. She just really doesnt want a song and dance and everything being lived out in the public eye, the report claimed.

Meghan's decision to not be by her husband's side also resulted in some royal watchers saying that it is an attempt on her behalf to not distance the royal family further. PR expert Chad Teixeira told the Mirror, "Whether there's a solid reason behind this play or it shows Meghan's stance, one might reckon that they'd hit the pause button on their differences.

However, only the Royal Family and the Royal Institution will know the full story behind Meghan's decision to stay away, Chad Teixeira added.

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Prince Harry hasn't gone "down on bended knee" to apologise to his father King Charles by accepting an invitation to attend the monarch's coronation, a royal expert claimed after the Buckingham Palace confirmed that Prince Harry will be attending the ceremony. Prince Harry accepted the invitation after months of speculation over whether he and Meghan Markle would attend. Prince Harry will soon be seen at his father King Charles III's coronation in the UK.

Meghan Markle, however, will not accompany Prince Harry when he travels to the UK for the ceremony on May 6.

Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that the Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6 May, the Palace said, adding, The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

Royal author Emily Andrews said that this was a "really positive" sign for relations between Prince Harry and his father King Charles. The relations have been sour since Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle stepped down from royal duties in 2020 and moved to California. But the expert warned that reconciliation could still be a long way off.

"Whilst I think it's really positive that there are green shoots of reconciliation, I don't we should think we should think that Harry's gone down on bended knee on the phone and apologised - 'Hello pa, I'm so sorry for everything I've said, that hasn't happened," Emily Andrews said.

What has happened is that Charles and Harry had a conversation about Charles inviting him to the Coronation and Harry graciously accepted after his people spoke to Buckingham Palace people about what the event would entail, the expert added.

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Prince William still "doesn't want to speak" to his brother Prince Harry and has cut down all communication since their grandmother Queen Elizabeth's funeral, a royal commentator claimed as the rift between the two brothers has increased since the Duke of Sussex stepped down from his royal duties in 2020. Prince Harry: Britain's Prince William and Britain's Prince Harry are seen.(AP)

Owing to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's incessant swipes at the royal family, the frostiness between the brothers has increased, so much so that Prince William does not want to talk to Prince Harry.

Royal commentator Emily Andrews said that Prince Harry succeeded in holding peace talks with King Charles ahead of the coronation but no reconciliation has been reached between the brothers.

I think the core thing to take away is that it's really good that Charles and Harry have spoken but royal sources also said there's no real time at the Coronation for any kind of make-up chat which, of course, takes a lot of William, Emily Andrews said.

And it's definitely true to say, everything I've been told Harry and William haven't spoken since the Queen's funeral and, frankly, William doesn't want to speak to his brother, the royal expert added.

While I think it's positive there are green shoots of reconciliation, I don't think we should think that Harry has gone down on bended knees on the phone and apologised to...'hello, Pa, I'm so sorry for everything I said', the expert explained.

Prince Harry and Prince William were last seen together at the Queen's funeral in September. Following that, Prince Harry made several accusations against his brother in the six-part Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan and his memoir Spare.

Prince William was "absolutely horrified" by some of the claims Harry made in his book, US Weekly reported.

He doesnt even recognize his own brother anymore. He wants to believe that theres hope for peace down the line, but its hard. At this point, hes got no plans to speak to Harry. Hes come to terms with the fact that hes lost his little brother and quite possibly for life, the report claimed.

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King Charles' second wife and stepmother of Prince Harry and Prince William, Queen Consort Camilla was hurt over being labelled the villain by the Duke of Sussex in his memoir, it was reported. In Spare, Prince Harry claimed that his stepmother leaked stories about the royal family to the media in order to bolster her image. Britain's Camilla, Queen Consort leaves after attending the Easter Mattins Service at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle.(AFP)

I have complex feelings about gaining a step-parent who I thought had recently sacrificed me on her personal PR altar, Prince Harry wrote. Recalling his meeting with Camilla, Prince Harry said that it was like an injection, adding, Close your eyes and you wont even feel it.

I remember wondering... if she would be cruel to me; if she would be like all the evil stepmothers in the stories," Prince Harry continued. During an interview, people close to Camilla shared her thoughts on Prince Harry's memoir.

Of course it bothers her, of course it hurts. But she doesnt let it get to her, Fiona Petty-Fitzmaurice, who is one of the Queens six companions, told The Sunday Times.

This comes as Buckingham Palace announced that Prince Harry will be attending the coronation without his wife Meghan Markle which King Charles reportedly sees as an opportunity to mend family divisions.

Relations between the King and his brother have never been this bad. It has turned into a real battle which he never expected and its left him tired and infuriated," PageSix reported.

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For encouraging students to fight inside the classroom, a 24-year-old teacher was arrested in US' Texas, authorities informed. The teacher- Natally Garcia- was charged with four counts related to endangering student's lives, the Mesquite Police Department in Texas said. Through her actions, the teacher put students in danger of the bodily injury, police said. Texas: Through her actions, the teacher put students in danger of the bodily injury, police said.

The teacher made rules and space for the 12 and 13-year-old children to fight in the classroom and was seen in the security footage telling other students to guard the door.

"[She] definitely [was] trying to conceal her actions and actions that were going on in the class," Police Lt. Brandon Ricketts said as per Fox News. In the video, the students were seen fighting after the teacher called out "30 seconds" before one of the fights began. A timer was heard going off while the fights took place.

Mesquite Independent School District said that the teacher was fired. She had been working at the school for almost one month.

"Her actions are appalling and intolerable. We share the disgust that the families of students in this class must feel," the school district said in a statement.

Betty Martinez, the mother of a student, said that she was in "utter disbelief" after seeing the video. I thought it was a joke. I didnt think it was real. My brain couldnt comprehend what was going on, right?, she said.

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A pharmacy manager in UK's Birmingham has come up with a unique way to tackle shoplifting- by putting up a 'wall of shame' featuring a gallery of suspected crooks. Whasuf Farooq, manager of Pharmacy in Saltley, Birmingham, has installed a wall of shame. (The Metro/ SWNS)

Read here: Does UK have secret Chinese police stations in London? Lawmaker says

Following a surge in shoplifting crimes at his Saltley's store, Whasuf Farooq, the manager of Pak Pharmacy set up a 'wall of shame' where he publicly shamed over 16 individuals by featuring images of alleged shoplifters.

According to report by The Metro (article beyond paywall), the images on the wall of shame which featured alleged thieves carrying out the crime, were captioned in a humorous way to mock them for their acts.

One man, was depicted as 'Nivea Man after he stole a Nivea cream with staff telling him to "moisturise his crusty hands". In another picture, a woman was labelled as 'big dummy' after allegedly attempting to steal a dummy before blaming it on her child, the report added.

According to BBC (article beyond paywall), the shopkeeper was repeatedly targeted by shoplifters who had stolen thousands of pounds worth of medicines and even the police failed to investigate the stealing, despite having CCTV evidence.

He said, "Shoplifting has been a big problem here but the police dont do anything to help us. We've had 15 or 16 people on the wall in the past year. If they come and pay we take it down  it's as simple as that, it's no problem".

Farooq devised the idea of wall of shame started erecting the images of wanted thieves in his window. He insisted that his idea is so effective that the thieves are returning to pay for what they owe.

Read here: Chinese acrobat falls to death during mid-air stunt with husband

He said, "It's decreased a lot, everyone thinks twice now. It's like a deterrent, people walk up to the door and turn around. People don't want to be featured. Naming and shaming works, people see them and tell us where they live or who they are. I do plan to keep it going", he further added.
A toddler, who briefly infiltrated the White House- the official residence of the president of the United States- on Tuesday, was escorted back by the Secret Service, setting off security alerts. A toddler, who briefly entered the White House, being escorted by Secret Service officers. (AP)

According to the chief of communications for the Secret Service, Anthony Guglielmi, a toddler crawled through the fence on the north side of the White House, CNN reported.

The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House ground, Gugliemli said. The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.

US Secret Service Uniformed Division officers walked across the North Lawn to retrieve the child and reunite him with his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue, reported AP. Access to the complex was briefly restricted while officers conducted the reunification. The parents were briefly questioned before allowing them to continue on their way.

It may also be the first successful intrusion onto the complex since the White House fence was doubled in height to roughly 13 feet (3.96-meters) in recent years after a series of security breaches. While taller, the new fence has an additional inch of space between pickets, for a total of 5 inches (12.7 centimeters) between posts.

A similar incident was reported in 2014 when a toddler squeezed through the White House fence just before then-President Barack Obama was about to address the nation on Iraq. The incident had prompted a temporary lockdown and delayed the briefing, reported CNN.

We were going to wait until he learned to talk to question him, but in lieu of that, he got a timeout and was sent on way with parents, Edwin Donovan, then a spokesman for the United States Secret Service, said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin's appearance at a church service sparked further speculation that he may be ill since a scar was seen on his neck, a report said. Vladimir Putin was filmed and photographed at the Orthodox Easter service at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow. Vladimir Putin Health: Russian President Vladimir Putin attends a meeting.(AFP)

Ukrainian news outlet Dialog.ua reported that the photo taken by the Tass news agency showed "a strange mark" on his neck which resembled an extensive scar quoting Ukrainian journalist Denis Kazansky.

"I think I figured out where Z came from," Denis Kazansky said, suggesting that the scar was in the shape of the letter. The letter has become the symbol for Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Goncharenko said that Vladimir Putin's visit to an Easter service in Moscow meant that "talk about his health flared up with renewed vigor."

"He didn't look very good in church yesterday. He moved with difficulty. And in the photographs, a scar is clearly visible on his neck," Oleksiy Goncharenko said. "Most likely, he has undergone some kind of medical procedure. I don't know what they did there. Maybe they did some kind of artificial ventilation of the lungs or something else," he added.

Earlier, leaked US intel documents claimed that Vladimir Putin is suffering from a serious illness. Earlier as well, Russian president's health has been talked about several times as claims have been made that Vladimir Putin has cancer, Parkinson's disease, or both. The Kremlin has repeatedly insisted that Vladimir Putin is in good health.

This comes as the Russian president visited the occupied Ukrainian territories of Kherson and Luhansk, Kremlin informed.

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The US Air Force shot UFOs flying over Britain, a new book by ex-cop Gary Heseltine claimed referring to the time when they opened fire during the famous British Roswell incident in the December 1980. In the book titled Non-Human, The Rendlesham Forest Incidents: 42 years of Denial, Gary Heseltine wrote, as per The Mirror, that the American personnel blasted at UFOs buzzing over RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge in Suffolk. One female supervisor- Lt Bonnie Tamplin- fired at a strange ball of light.(Representational)

Citing numerous military witnesses involved in the world-famous case, Gary Heseltine said that the encounter happened outside the twin NATO airbases at the height of the Cold War when strange lights were seen by security patrols. One female supervisor- Lt Bonnie Tamplin- fired at a strange ball of light which she saw when she was driving along a road between the bases to investigate reports of a UFO.

She then radioed for help and was flown off base back to the US as she was so shaken up. Although, she never spoke about the incident but a supervisor on shift later revealed to former detective Gary Heseltine that at that time he was working at an entry control point at RAF Bentwaters.

I saw that she was crying, her clothes looked dirty, and she was not wearing her beret. I remember asking someone what had happened to Lt Tamplin but I didn't get a response. Then a while later the vehicle, the jeep she'd been in, was driven back to the base via the Butley Gate. After shift I was called into an office and was told what had happened to her by a supervisor who asked me to promise him that I would never reveal his name, he told Gary Heseltine.

I was told that an orange/reddish ball came in front of her jeep as she was driving. This occurred as she was about to enter the end of the runway near to the forest and before you get to the cleared area, he added.

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New York City is the world's wealthiest city with 58 billionaires, followed by Tokyo and The Bay Area at the second and third spot respectively, a report by investment migration firm Henley & Partners noted. Analysing high-net-worth individuals (HNWIs) with an investable wealth of over $1 million, the report included four US cities in the top 10- New York City, The Bay Area, Los Angeles and Chicago. World's Wealthiest Cities: A view of New York city. (Unsplash)

China had two of its cities- Beijing and Shanghai- listed as well while London featured in the list at the fourth place. New York held its top spot as the number of high net worth individuals in the city surged 40 percent in 2012-2022.

Singapore ranked fifth with 2,40,100 HNWIs while Sydney ranks 10th with 1,26,900 HNWIs. From India, Mumbai was part of the list with 59,400 HNWIs followed by Delhi with 16 billionaires, Bengaluru with 8 billionaires, Hyderabad with 5 billionaires and Kolkata with 7 billionaires.

In terms of billionaires, Californias Bay Area won as 63 call the region surrounding Silicon Valley and San Francisco home. It was followed by New York, Beijing, Los Angeles and Shanghai.

Chinese city of Hangzhou saw a 105 percent rise in 10 years while Austin in US' Texas came in second with a 102 percent increase. Miami and West Palm Beach saw the number of high net worth individuals climb 75 percent and 90 percent respectively.

In Moscow, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the number of millionaires plunged 44 percent from a decade earlier, while St. Petersburg saw a 38 percent slump.

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A former 14th century church and monastery transformed into an innovative lifestyle destination leading a new energy in this historic city.

Comprising a 125 room and suite hotel, three restaurants and bars, an expert wellness concept by Alexandra Soveral and private members club.

This is a piece of history reborn for the modern traveller and locals alike, in a city that is being transformed. Voted by CNN as the top city to visit this year, Stradom House is perfectly positioned between the ancient Jewish Quarters and buzzing Old Town for those wanting to discover Krakow's rich heritage, art and soul, including 2023's cultural happenings

A brand new hospitality destination is coming to the historical city of Krakow this Spring. With a storied past, dating back to the 14th century, 12|14 Stradom House, located in a former church and monastery, sees heritage reborn, bringing the charm of its past into the present, inviting guests to discover its legacy, whilst offering an uplifting 'home away from home'.

The hotel is perfectly situated between the historical Jewish and Royal Quarters, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and Krakow's buzzing Old Town and Wawel Castle, providing the ideal base to discover Krakow's attractions and rich history. This year Krakow's cultural calendar is thriving as it plays host to the 3rd European Games this summer with other cultural events including Krakow Art Week in May and the International Festival of Independent Cinema, 'Off Camera' , taking place in April and May.

A TRIBUTE TO HISTORY AND HERITAGE

12|14 Stradom House's meticulous and sensitive transformation spotlights new ways to fuse modernity and heritage and sees frescoes and high ceilings restored with the use of bold colours and textures. Interiors are by the leading design company ADC Atelier, whose founder is behind the design of high-profile projects such as the exclusive Members Club, Soho House. 12|14 Stradom House building is embracing its historical features with polish modernism to create a hotel steeped in authenticity and heritage. The lobby captures Krakow's rich history and culture through mineral salt inspired walls, classic Krakow tiled floor patterns, rugs based on 17th-century tapestries and locally sourced vintage furniture. The colour palettes in the artfully designed rooms reference the Krakow skyline, with soft pinks and patinated blues. Classic details are offset with modern furniture such as leather-clad, high-gloss desks and vintage furniture that have been reupholstered in modern fabrics. Local talent and craftsmanship is spotlighted throughout with specifically commissioned artwork by local Polish artists including Przemek Pyszczek, Marcin Janusz and Dorota Buczkowska, adorned on the walls of each room. Ideal for groups or multi-gen families, the spacious 155 sqm Chapel Loft - the largest suite in the city - oozes sophistication and comprises a master bedroom, a private kitchen with a large dining table accommodating up to 10 guests and a grand piano.

DETOX & RETOX

A new Krakow foodie hotspot for locals and guests alike, 12|14 Stradom House will feature three restaurants and bars - John Dory, an elegant seafood restaurant with playful underwater interiors and salt pink marbles that nod to the local salt mines. Guests can choose exceptional fine dining dishes from the Chef 's Table or enjoy an intimate dining experience in the private dining room. Fresh Mediterranean inspired dishes will be served at Gaia restaurant and highlights include the Rib Eye Shawarma with Tahini and Green Chili Paste. Lush green plants populate this light space and full height patio doors provide a fluid flow to the courtyard, further provoking ideas of Mediterranean dining. The jewel of the crown is Hedwig's Club housed in the Church of St. Hedwig. The world-class bar and wine cellar takes centre stage in this majestic space and combines baroque details and modernist twists with a colour palette inspired by the patinated copper roofs of Krakow. Here, guests can enjoy creative cocktails such as N2, a truffle-infused Bourbon cocktail. Those looking to drink in the privacy of their suite can benefit from the in-room bartender service as staff shake up signature cocktails and mocktails suite-side.

To unwind after exploring the historic city, guests can benefit from the incredible Sol spa in partnership with Alexandra Soveral that showcases award winning products that are hand blended using natural raw ingredients for a holistic and luxurious experience. Soothing facials and body treatments can be enjoyed in the atmospheric cave-like treatment rooms. Inspired by local salt mining traditions, signature Salt Bath treatments are a highlight and incorporate the natural salts and healing essential oils for the ultimate relaxation. Upon departure guests will be gifted their own oil that was used during their treatments and uniquely tailored to the individual. Promising a city sanctuary to rejuvenate the mind and body, Sol's facilities also include a stunning 20-meter indoor pool, fully-equipped 24/7 gym and a variety of wet facilities, including a steam room, hydromassage showers, bio sauna, infrared salt sauna and sound room.

A TIMELESS LIFESTYLE DESTINATION

With visions of becoming a Lifestyle Destination, 12 I 14 Stradom House has launched a private Membership Club, offering members exclusive access to the hotel's incredible F&B and wellness offerings, events and coworking spaces. Stylish events can be hosted at Hedwigs bar and the hotel's versatile 250 sqm meeting and event spaces are equipped with state-of-the-art technology; ideal for professional meetings, cocktail receptions, weddings, exhibitions, or private screenings.

"We keep it real, and authentic. 12I14 Stradom House, Autograph Collection is a lifestyle destination assembled, transformed, and prepared to be one-of-a-kind experience. It presents a connection with the city, the community and nature, which is exactly what we want to be. We look forward to welcoming guests and locals alike to discover." Lionel Valla, General Manager.

Hotel website
QUO is expanding into healthcare and wellness. To lead this initiative, QUO CEO David Keen has appointed Ruben Toral as the new Director of Healthcare. Ruben is an industry veteran with over 25 years of experience building businesses, brands and physician networks in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East. He is best known as a thought leader in medical tourism and for his seminal work as Marketing Director of Bumrungrad International Hospital from 2001-2007. David took this pivotal step to capitalise on tremendous growth opportunities in healthcare and expanded synergies within QUO's hospitality and tourism branding campaigns. "Healthcare and wellness are future-forward, growth industries, and QUO wants to be the branding agency of choice for hospitals, clinics and hospitality companies in Asia and the Middle East." Knowing from experience that branding is essential to building enterprise value, institutional reputations and consumer trust, Ruben agrees. "Healthcare is a trust-driven industry, and if you build trust you create value."

QUO

Bangkok

Thailand Website
Alethea Kessler has been appointed Director of Sales and Marketing at The J House Greenwich, an award-winning, luxury, boutique hotel located in Greenwich, Connecticut. In this role, Kessler oversees the sales and marketing efforts, including new business development and generating awareness for the property through traditional marketing and community outreach efforts.

Prior to joining The J House Greenwich, Kessler served as Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Packard Hospitality (now Avalon Hospitality), strategically managing direct sales efforts for the 28 hotels in the portfolio. She's also held roles as Area Director of Business Travel for Highgate Hotels, managing the Hilton portfolio in New York City, Director of Sales and Marketing at Embassy Suites New York City, and sales and marketing positions with Marriott International, TravelClick, Ritz-Carlton, Hyatt Hotels and Adam's Mark Hotel. She is a graduate of Penn State University.
Olivier Thomas began his career in 1997 at the Westin Palace in Milan as Food & Beverage Director. Then he held the same position at the Savoy in London from 2000 to 2001.

Shortly after, he was appointed executive assistant manager of the Westin Excelsior in Rome for three years (2002-2005). Mr. Thomas then landed his first position as hotel manager at the St Regis Hotels & Resorts in New York (2005-2008). He collaborated in particular with Alain Ducasse, who is also the chef of the Louis XV restaurant at the Hotel de Paris Monte Carlo, whose table is crowned with three Michelin stars.

After these eight years of responsibility within Starwood Hotels & Resorts, a long sequence of almost fifteen years at Four Seasons began in 2008. Olivier Thomas was first director of the Fours Seasons hotel in Prague in the Czech Republic (2008-2010). Then that of Aman in Jordan (2010-2014).

In 2014, he won his first title as general manager of the Four Seasons in Casablanca, from its opening until 2017.

His career then took him to the United Arab Emirates from November 2017 to April 2023. The Canadian group again entrusted him with general management, that of the ultra-modern Four Seasons in Abu Dhabi at Al Maryah Island.
Newly leading the distinguished dining concepts and culinary team at Kimpton The Rowan Palm Springs is Executive Chef Richard Crespin. With his appointment, Crespin is responsible for overseeing culinary operations for the Michelin-recognized 4 Saints rooftop restaurant, the all-day dining concept Juniper Table, the poolside High Bar, banquets, catering and in-room dining.

Crespin brings his distinct international culinary expertise - rooted in classic French technique and informed by his studies in New York, Paris, Spain and Japan - to the award-winning, 153-room downtown Palm Springs hotel and its restaurants and bars. His career has taken him into kitchens helmed by acclaimed chefs such as Jean-Georges Vongerichten, Gordon Ramsay and Kiyomi Mikuni. Most recently, he served as executive chef and culinary director for Anaheim Arena Management, which manages the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif., home of the Anaheim Ducks. During his six-and-a-half-year tenure, Crespin systematically upgraded the cuisine throughout the operations, including 86 luxury suites, a private club, a steakhouse, a buffet, a gastropub, a sushi bar and concessions.

Born in Northern Spain and raised in the U.S., Crespin gained an early appreciation for food as an expression of culture and connection. The camaraderie of sharing a meal with family and community inspired him to become a chef, leading him to study at The French Culinary Institute in New York (today the Institute of Culinary Education). Crespin then spent time in Japan, which shaped his foundational philosophy of working in harmony with the land. His resume also includes executive chef positions at The Portofino Hotel & Marina in Redondo Beach, Calif., part of Noble House Hotels & Resorts, as well as the late Magnolia in Hollywood and Los Angeles' former Ole! Tapas Bar.
Los Angeles, CA - The Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA) is returning to the live stage with the 11th annual Boutique Hotel Investment Conference on June 7-8, 2023. Boutique experts and visionaries will gather in New York Citys Florence Gould Hall to better understand the fundamentals of hotel investment as it relates to the evergrowing boutique landscape.

Taking the stage are hospitality icons like Andrew Zobler - The Sydell Group, Jason, Larry, and Michael Pomeranc - SIXTY Hotels, Andrea Grigg - JLL Hotels & Hospitality, Richard Valtr - Mews, Chris Hemmeter - Thayer Ventures, Raul Leal - SH Hotels & Resorts, Rafael Museri - Selina, and Amanda Hite - STR to name a few. The roster of leaders includes dynamic owners, investors, and developers who will ignite conversations about the current trends and projected growth for the thriving sector that is boutique hospitality.

There is always excitement in the air when BLLA returns to New York to meet with our industrys top hoteliers. This years conference is the first time, in its 11-year history, to hold it over 2 days. Weve added extra time for networking, more active sessions with audience participation throughout, and a later start time which has been requested by attendees. Frances Kiradjian, Founder & CEO of BLLA

Key topics on the two-day agenda include:

Capital Markets Overview

The Legal Matters

Debt & Equity

A Candid Talk on Technology

Update on European Boutique Hotel Investment Landscape

F&B as a Recipe for Success

The Realities of Asset Management

Development: Transforming Vision into Reality

By uniting top minds in the boutique hospitality industry, this event showcases the shared embodiment of leadership, innovation, knowledge, and passion for the boutique lifestyle. The diverse programming is especially interactive with formats such as mentorship sessions, in-person networking, debates, evidence-based think tanks, keynotes, case studies, and more. Ariela Kiradjian, COO & Partner of BLLA

Companies speaking include: SH Hotels & Resorts, STR, JLL, The Sydell Group, Citi, Thayer Ventures, SIXTY Hotels, Selina, Main Street Hospitality Group, HFTP, PKF hotelexperts, Bridgeton, Global Holdings Management Group, HVS Americas, Mews, Auberge Resorts Collection, Beaumier, Goldman Sachs, Nestle Premium Waters, Roomza, citizenM, Dragonfly Strategists, Corporate Spending Innovations, Greenberg Traurig, Prospect Ridge, cb5 Hospitality Group, JMBM, EOS Hospitality, FOC, Gansevoort Meatpacking, The Canyon Group, Cedar Capital Partners, and StayBoutique.

Tickets are available here. There are discounts for current members of BLLA. If you would like to become a member to receive the Member rate, apply here for BLLA. Student pricing is available. Please contact [email protected]

There will be an exclusive digital Webex networking platform for attendees to build their own personal profiles and connect with one another throughout the conference, as well as receive communication such as the agenda and other announcements in real-time.

The network is grateful for the support of the current Headline Sponsors, including: HFTP (exclusive association sponsor), Nestle Premium Waters, Dragonfly Strategists, Lockton, Greenberg Traurig, Roomza, Mews, Pace Revenue, and Corporate Spending Innovations, as well as its Boutique Sponsor: Lily Jack, and Lifestyle Sponsors: cb5 Hospitality Group and Staypineapple.

Sponsorships are also available and offer a range of digital and in-person benefits, such as speaking opportunities and marketing promotions before and during the event. Contact [email protected] for more information.

Check out some video reels from past events here: 1-BLLA conference (the 2022 Conference at The Plaza Hotel), and 2-BLLA conference (showcasing Florence Gould Hall).

About the Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA)

The official organization for the world's boutique lifestyle leaders promoting connection, education, and advocacy. As a pioneer in forecasting the boutique movement, the BLLA's network has grown beyond its hotel foundation to welcome more passionate entrepreneurs, businesses, and purveyors that amplify the boutique lifestyle. The BLLA Corporate Manifesto video. Experience the intention behind BLLA Events in this video. BLLA is a catalyst for trends and the future of the boutique lifestyle. BLLA.org

Boutique Lifestyle Leaders Association (BLLA)

BLLA

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WASHINGTON  Wait times for U.S. visitor visas among applicants in India, a top source of visitors to the United States, declined rapidly in recent weeksdropping from 669 days in mid-March to 337 days in early April.

This signals much-needed progress that follows steps taken by the U.S. Department of State to reduce extreme visitor visa delays.

The results were seeing in India are proof thatwith the right toolsState can make significant progress on this issue, said U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Geoff Freeman. However, there is clearly more work ahead to lower wait times worldwide.

Other top source marketssuch as Brazil, Mexico and Colombiacontinue to face staggering wait times of 511 days, 590 days and 752 days, respectively, as of April 14.

U.S. Travel encourages the State Department to implement the strategies that are leading to promising results in Indiasuch as surging consulate staffing and expanding operating hours to Saturdaysto effectively lower wait times elsewhere.

Losing the competitive edge

Inbound travel was once the United States top services export, generating a potent trade surplus that peaked at $86 billion in 2015. However, in 2022, travels surplus declined to just $3 billion.

Further, while the U.S. continues to put up barriers in the form of excessive visitor visa wait times, more accessible destinations are a growing threat to U.S. global market share.

Among the top ten inbound markets whose citizens require tourist visas to visit the U.S., sixMexico, Brazil, Colombia, Argentina, Israel and Venezuelacan travel visa-free to the European Union, five can travel without visas to the United Kingdom, and two can travel without visas to Canada.

No one will wait years for a visa to visit the U.S. when so many other countries welcome global travelers with open arms, said Freeman. The State Department must continue to make international visitors an economic priority before we lose them to other destinations.

About U.S. Travel Association

U.S. Travel Association is the national, non-profit organization representing all components of the travel industry. Travelers in the United States are estimated to spend $1.1 trillion in 2022 (still 10% below 2019 levels). U.S. Travel advocates for policies to accelerate an even recovery across the travel industry and restore economic and job growth for this essential contributor to our nation's success. Visit ustravel.org for information and recovery-related data.
Leo Lasdun in The Millions:

In Humboldts Gift, Saul Bellows roman a clef about his turbulent friendship with the poet Delmore Schwartz, the Bellow stand-in muses that all the highly gifted see themselves shunted for decades onto dull sidings, banished exiled nailed up in chicken coops. Imagination has even tried to surmount the problems by forcing boredom itself to yield interest. He goes on to name Joyce, Stendhal, Flaubert, and Baudelaire as a few sultans of solitude. If hed wanted to sell it even harder, he might have tacked on the Jewish-Polish writer and artist Bruno Schulz. Unearthed again in a new biography by Benjamin Balint, Schulz was hamstrung by boredom and loneliness. Twice denied a paid leave of absence (which he requested in order to focus on his writing) from his job as a school teacher, and later boxed into a Jewish ghetto, Schulz spent nearly his entire life in Drohobycz, where he was born in 1892. The small slippery city has changed management a number of times: for most of Schulzs adulthood, Drohobycz was part of Poland, before that Austria-Hungary, now its part of Ukraine (spelled Drohobych). Except for some short trips, Schulz never left his hometown, and he became well acquainted with isolation. In his own words, loneliness is the catalyst that makes reality ferment; in Balints words, Schulz made of his solitude a way of seeing.

More here.
In Europe Avani will make its debut in Spain and Italy in June, followed by Germany later in 2023 and the Netherlands in 2024

Latin America will see Avani launch in Mexico and Colombia later this year

Bangkok  Minor Hotels, an international hotel owner, operator and investor with more than 530 hotels in 56 countries in Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe, South America and North America, has announced the expansion in Europe of its lifestyle brand targeted at millennial-minded travellers: Avani Hotels & Resorts. Designed for guests that prioritise service, style and value, Avani is characterised by functional design and unique service offerings. Part of a strategic expansion of the brand into new regions of operation, Avani will add five properties in key cities in Europe  one in Spain, two in Italy, one in Germany and next year, one in the Netherlands. Coinciding with the European expansion, Avani will also launch in Central and South America with hotels to be added in Mexico and Colombia.

The first of the strategic additions will see Avani make its debut in Spain in June, with the rebranded 101-key Avani Alonso Martinez Madrid Hotel. In Italy the brand will launch with the rebranding of two hotels  first the 65-key Avani Palazzo Moscova Milan Hotel in June, followed by the 144-key Avani Rio Novo Venice Hotel in the summer. Later in the year Avani will also debut in Germany with the rebranded Avani Frankfurt City Hotel with 256 keys.

Also in Europe, Avani will enter the Netherlands in 2024 with the launch of a 163-key hotel in Amsterdam: the rebranded Avani Museum Quarter Amsterdam Hotel, located in one of the Dutch capitals most vibrant districts, will join the brands portfolio in Q2 next year.

The company is also preparing to introduce the brand in Latin America, where two additions to the Avani portfolio are planned for later this year with two rebranded properties. Regional operations will begin in one of Central Americas leading tourist destinations with the launch of the 140-key Avani Cancun Airport Hotel in Mexico in Q3, followed in Q4 by the 66-key Avani Royal Zona T Bogota Hotel in Colombia.

According to Dillip Rajakarier, CEO of Minor Hotels, the expansion of the Avani brands footprint into Europe and Latin America reflects the group's strategy of continuing to expand and diversify its hotel offerings in the upscale tourist segment: Avani is now a well-established brand in Asia, Africa and the Middle East and known for its great value proposition, its design philosophy and unique service offering. The work of recent years has prepared us to commit strategically to the expansion of Avanis footprint into new regions of operation and marks a significant milestone for Minor Hotels.

Avani Hotels & Resorts unique proposition

Avani was created to meet the tastes and needs of millennial-minded travellers  a growing sector of discerning guests who value comfort and affordability while travelling in style. Conceived with the latest travel trends in mind, including bleisure travellers and digital nomads, the Avani experience is markedly modern and functional, with meticulously designed smart,

flexible and social spaces and a genuine passion for service. Care is placed on the small details to ensure guests feel comfortable wherever they go, in urban hotels and beach resorts alike.

Each Avani property has its own unique personality, but they all offer something special tailored to their audiences, so guests can enjoy the distinct Avani experience anywhere from Bangkok and Dubai to Melbourne and soon Madrid. AvaniFit goes beyond the traditional hotel gym offering health and wellness experiences for the body and mind. The Pantry, originally created as a grab and go concept, offers guests flexible dining solutions while staying at their Avani of choice. Other noteworthy concepts include Avani PopUp  a unique al fresco casual dining experience for couples and groups, and Avani Kids, the brands way of enhancing the stay of younger guests.

Launched in 2011, Avani Hotels & Resorts currently has 38 properties in 20 countries across Asia, Australasia, the Middle East, Indian Ocean, Africa, and one hotel in Europe in Portugal.

About Avani Hotels & Resorts

Avani Hotels and Resorts, part of Minor Hotels, was launched in 2011 and designed for the millennial-minded traveller whose priorities are style, value and comfort. The brand is an upbeat and contemporary hotel concept that delivers the perfect balance, with a focus on good sleep, designed social spaces, locally inspired sustenance and friendly service. Avani welcomes guests to over 35 hotels located in Asia, Europe, the Middle East, Indian Ocean and Africa, with an exciting pipeline of properties to come.

To learn more about Avani Hotels, visit www.avanihotels.com. Follow Avani on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube and engage with #AvaniHotels.

About Minor Hotels

Minor Hotels is an international hotel owner, operator, and investor currently with more than 530 hotels in operation. Minor Hotels passionately explores new possibilities in hospitality with a diverse portfolio of properties designed intelligently to appeal to different kinds of travellers, serving new passions as well as personal needs. Through our Anantara, Avani, Oaks, Tivoli, NH Collection, NH Hotels, nhow, Elewana, Marriott, Four Seasons, St. Regis, Radisson Blu and Minor International properties, Minor Hotels operates in 56 countries across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, Africa, the Indian Ocean, Europe, South America and North America.

With dynamic plans to expand existing brands and explore strategic acquisitions throughout opportunistic markets, Minor Hotels pursues a vision of a more passionate and interconnected world.

Minor Hotels is part of the GHA DISCOVERY loyalty programme, enabling travellers to savour every moment at home or away, while being recognised and rewarded at participating hotels and resorts worldwide.

For more information, please visit www.ghadiscovery.com

For more information, please visit www.minorhotels.com
The media coverage surrounding the Metaverse has been -at best- mixed, with some portraying it as the logical evolution of the internet and others dismissing it as mere hype. This is nothing new. The media's relationship with emerging technologies has always been complicated, marked by a mix of skepticism, fascination, and, at times, hysteria. The parallels between the media coverage of the internet in the late '90s and early '00s and the Metaverse narrative of today are striking. In the late '90s, the internet was a new and unknown territory, and many people were skeptical about its potential. The media coverage of the internet was often negative, portraying it as a breeding ground for hackers, cybercriminals, and Chis Hansen catching predators. Terms like "cyberspace," "virtual reality," and "dot.com" were new and confusing to many, and the media struggled to explain what they meant.

Fast forward to today, and we are witnessing a similar situation with the Metaverse. In my recent article (The Metaverse is Gone, and the Dream With It), I took old articles from the late '90s and early '00s and replaced the word "internet" with "Metaverse." The result was strikingly similar to the media coverage around the Metaverse today. The media's FUD approach to the Metaverse, crypto, and Web3, in general, is understandable, given the uncertainty that surrounds these emerging technologies. However, it is essential to remember that every new technology is often met with skepticism and criticism. The internet, which is now an essential part of our daily lives (and, according to a 2021 report by Oxford Economics, an economy worth $11.5 trillion), was once, exactly like the metaverse, dismissed as a fad that would soon fade away...

That being said, if I should give a piece of advice to start testing the waters in the Metaverse, it would be to follow these basic rules:

DYOR (Do Your Own Research)

The first rule is to conduct thorough research and planning before entering the Metaverse. This involves identifying the most suitable platforms and technologies to use and defining the hotel's goals and objectives that align with your brand and audience. Implement a Metaverse strategy with a proper roadmap in mind. Hotels should not rush into Metaverse adoption but take a strategic approach, considering the challenges, risks, and opportunities. The strategy should outline the goals and objectives of the Metaverse entry, including the desired user experience, the target audience, and the metrics for success. When deciding whether to adopt Metaverse technology, hotels should ask themselves whether it solves a problem. If so, what problem is it solving? If a hotel is only joining the Metaverse scene out of fear of missing out, my suggestion is pretty straightforward: don't.

Advertise

Creating a virtual presence in the Metaverse can be a powerful way for hotels to engage with customers and create immersive experiences. However, building a virtual hotel is not the only way for hotels to enter the Metaverse. Advertising in existing platforms, such as ROBLOX, can be an effective way for hotels to reach their target audience and achieve a good return on investment. Hotels should take a strategic approach to effectively leverage Metaverse advertising, treating it as an additional marketing channel, similar to Google ads, sponsored social media, or OTAs and metasearch ads. Metaverse advertising can range from VR billboards to immersive native ad experiences, in-game product placements, and AI-powered avatar concierge services. Another important consideration for hotels is to use utility tokens to incentivize customers to engage with their Metaverse ads.

Pick a world

When considering entering the Metaverse, choosing the right platform is crucial. With so many options available, deciding which platform aligns with your goals and target audience can be overwhelming. Here are my personal ten commandments to follow when selecting a Metaverse platform:

How many users are using it? How popular is it? How long do users stay? How often do they return? What is their demographic? What do they do? What are its rules/restrictions? How much does creating a digital twin cost? Is it interoperable? Do you have to purchase land?

By answering these questions, hotels can narrow down their options and select a Metaverse platform that meets their requirements. Here is an (incomplete) list of Metaverse platforms (both centralized and decentralized) to consider: Avakin Life, Axie Infinity, BigScreen VR, Bloktopia, Breakroom, Decentraland, Fortnite, Gather, Illuvium, Immersed, IMVU, MeetinVR, Meta (Horizon), MetaverseGG, Microsoft Mesh, Minecraft, Mozilla Hubs, Musee Dezentral, Noda, Noknok, NOYS VR, OtherSide, Over the Reality, PartySpace, PocketWorlds, Realm, RecRoom, RendezVerse, Roar Studios, Roblox, Rooom, Second Life, Somnium, Spatial, Stage11, StageVerse, Star Atlas, Surreal, The SandBox, The Wild, TreeVerse, Upland, Voxels, VRChat, Wave, and Zepeto.

Design/build/upload

To create a virtual presence in the Metaverse, hotels must design, build, and upload their presence to the chosen Metaverse platform. This process requires the services of experienced Metaverse developers and designers who can help bring the hotel's vision to life. Here are some companies to consider when looking for Metaverse development and design services: Bit Space Development (Canada), Erectrus (Thailand), iARC (Canada), iCreate (UK), LKDN Metaverse (International), Local Studios (India), Mirum (Hong Kong), Noesis Tech (India), Olimaint (Italy), Polycount (USA), SPACES (Spain), Studio MBUS703 (Korea), Treeple Dreamers (USA), Visionaries777 (Hong Kong), ZenFri (Canada). When selecting a Metaverse developer or designer, it is crucial to consider their experience, portfolio, reputation, and confidence with specific languages (Unity, Unreal Engine, Godot, CryEngine, Vuforia, Amazon Sumerian, A-Frame, etc.).

Engage with (existing) communities

Creating a digital twin alone is not enough to engage with new audiences. In order to make the most of the Metaverse, engaging with existing communities and incorporating their interests into your strategy is crucial. One way to engage with the metaverse community is to host social events and virtual tours within your digital space. This allows people to explore your space and interact with one another, building a sense of community and engagement. Another way to engage with the community is through creating and exhibiting NFT art. Gamification is also a popular strategy for engaging with the metaverse community. You can create a more interactive and engaging user experience by incorporating game mechanics into your digital space. Drops and collectibles are another way to incentivize engagement, as they encourage users to return to your space to collect limited-edition items. And, please, don't be THAT guy embracing the Facebookization of everything. It is essential to understand the lingo and values of the metaverse community to create an engaging space.

Promote

After creating a presence in the Metaverse, promoting your property in relevant marketing channels is the next step. Social media platforms like Twitter, Discord, and TikTok are great places to connect with the metaverse community and promote your property. Online advertising on platforms like Google and Facebook can also help attract new users to your digital space. NFT marketplaces are another avenue to consider when promoting your property. It is also important to integrate metaverse marketing with real-life marketing efforts. While the Metaverse is a virtual space, it can have a tangible impact on your business. Promoting your property in both the physical and virtual worlds can create a more cohesive and impactful (phygital) marketing strategy.

Track, track, and track

Before the New Coke disaster, Sergio Zyman said, "If you can't track it, then it's not marketing." Use the same approach with the Metaverse. Tracking your results is crucial in any marketing effort, and the Metaverse is no exception. Before even embarking on a metaverse marketing campaign, it is important to have a solid understanding of how you will track your results. Tracking your virtual presence is the first step in this process. This includes monitoring engagement metrics like views, clicks, and time spent in your digital space. It is also important to track user behavior within your space, such as which areas are most frequently visited and which features are used the most. Once you have established a baseline for your virtual presence, making necessary adjustments to improve the user experience is also essential. This may include improving UX, adding new features, or updating the overall design of your space. Tie your metaverse marketing efforts to tangible business outcomes, such as increased revenue or customer acquisition. This may require integrating your metaverse data with your existing CRM or marketing analytics tools.

Decentralize

Don't just create a digital twin and keep doing business as usual. The concept of decentralization is at the core of the Metaverse and Web3. To fully embrace the potential of the Metaverse, it is important to flirt with the idea of decentralization, particularly when it comes to distribution. Start experimenting with dApps and decentralized marketplaces to reduce dependence on third-party platforms and create more personalized and engaging experiences for your guests.

Conclusion

When it comes to the Metaverse, it is important to strike a balance between optimism and caution. While there is certainly a lot of hype surrounding the Metaverse, it is important to approach it with a critical eye and not get swept up in unrealistic expectations. The key is to approach the Metaverse with a balanced and critical mindset. Don't believe the hype, but also don't fall for fearmongering. Because, as always, veritas in medio stat.
Current Market Conditions

Coming out of past recessions, the diverse employment base has benefited the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. Major employers within the medical technology, consumer goods, healthcare, higher-education, financial, and consumer goods industries and sectors have historically generated a sufficient level of hotel demand. The natural beauty of the area attracts outdoor enthusiasts, its central U.S. location makes it a convenient destination for conventions, and the Mall of America draws visitors from around the world.

Unfortunately, in 2021 and early 2022, leisure demand was the only segment to show a strong recovery, with less corporate traffic in Downtown Minneapolis and St. Paul and a lull in convention events. However, group bookings picked up in late 2022 and remain strong for the next several years, as reported by the Minneapolis Convention Center. Additionally, many large sporting events, concerts, and festivals scheduled in 2023 are expected to generate additional demand in the metro area. Furthermore, an announcement will be made this summer regarding the host city for the World Expo 2027, with Bloomington as one of five finalists.

New Supply

The luxury Four Seasons opened in Downtown Minneapolis in June 2022, along with six other hotels, including the Hotel Indigo (former Crowne Plaza), for a total of 875 new rooms.

The luxury West Hotel is anticipated for the North Loop in the fall of 2023.

While no new hotels opened in Downtown St. Paul in 2022, a 120-room Courtyard by Marriott is scheduled to open in 2023 adjacent to the Xcel Energy Center.

Additional hotel projects have been announced around the metro area; however, the volume of new hotel development is nowhere near the level realized between 2014 and 2018, and we do not expect significant supply growth to return without a substantial change in market conditions, lower construction costs, and more favorable financing.

Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA vs. Top 25 U.S. Markets

Largely due to seasonality, this MSA has always performed below the top 25 U.S. markets in RevPAR. However, in 2020 and 2021, the discount to the national RevPAR widened due to a significant loss in occupancy. The Twin Cities struggled more than other urban markets with the return of corporate and group demand in 2021 and early 2022 due to public perception regarding lack of safety in the metro area. Fortunately, leisure travel made up for some of the lost demand, resulting in a rebound to pre-pandemic ADR levels in 2022. We expect some normalization in the near term as the top 25 markets stabilize and Minneapolis-St. Paul continues to rebound.

Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA RevPAR in Comparison to Top 25 Markets RevPAR Photo by HVS

The slow return to office trend is a concern, as corporate demand remains below pre-pandemic levels, particularly in the urban cores. According to the Minneapolis Downtown Councils 2022 annual report, nearly 64% of downtown employees are returning to work in some capacity each week, which is up more than 56% from the prior years. The impact of fewer corporate travelers is most evident in day-of-week occupancy statistics, with Thursday through Saturday registering significantly higher occupancy levels than other days of the week.

With more corporations enforcing in-office requirements, we anticipate corporate demand will continue to slowly rebound, albeit remaining below prior levels. However, the influx of strong leisure demand since the onset of the pandemic is expected to fill in softer days of the week, helping to round out some of the lost corporate demand.

Given the absorption of new supply, a favorable convention outlook, the popularity of the area for sporting events, and the quantity and diversity of major employers in the Minneapolis-St. Paul metro area, as well as the limited amount of new supply in the immediate pipeline, we expect occupancy to return to the mid-60s within the next two years. Our forecasts are illustrated below.

Historical and Forecasted Metrics for the Minneapolis-St. Paul MSA Photo by HVS

Hotel Transactions

As the hotel performance indices remain somewhat depressed, it is an opportunistic time for buyers to enter the Minneapolis-St. Paul market. Some recent transactions have been at a discount to prior sale prices:

The Marriott Southwest sold in December 2022 for approximately $74,000 per room, a 28% discount to the 2014 price.

The Sheraton Bloomington sold in July 2022 for $53,000 per room, a 22% discount to the 2013 price.

However, Monarch Alternative Capital purchased the Hotel Ivy for $226,000 per key in March 2022, which was a 53% premium over the 2013 sale price. This premium was reflective of a renovated luxury property.

Most recently, the Hilton Minneapolis was transferred to its creditors in March 2023 via foreclosure auction.

Conclusion

The long-term outlook for the Minneapolis-St. Paul hotel market is optimistic due to its diverse economy and central U.S. location. Aspects that bode well for the market going forward include the booking pace at the Minneapolis Convention Center, the popularity of the Mall of America and outdoor recreation, the strong medical-related employment base, the numerous higher-education institutions, and the number of Fortune 500 companies.

For more information, contact Tanya Pierson, MAI, of the HVS Minneapolis office.
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When Taylor Swift takes the stage Friday night for the first of three shows in Houston, it'll be a homecoming. Sort of.

KARMA IS A CAT: Taylor Swift's Eras Tour inspires $13 adoptions at Houston Humane Society

Swift's mom, Andrea Swift, grew up in Houston. She attended Memorial High School and graduated from the University of Houston.

Though her mom left the area shortly after, Swift has said they returned a few times to visit family.

"I remember going and visiting my aunt and thinking that this was the best shopping (The Galleria) I've ever seen," Swift told me in 2007.

Swift again referenced the local connection during a 2015 tour stop at Minute Maid Park during her 1989 World Tour.

"Houston has been historically one of my favorite places to play shows," she told the crowd. "Houston is where my parents got married. Houston is where my mom graduated college."

Andrea and Scott Swift were married in 1989 in Houston. Swift revealed to fans in 2015 that her mother was diagnosed with cancer. It returned in 2019, and she was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2020. Swift channeled her feelings into the song "Soon You'll Get Better" featuring The Chicks.

In 2017, Swift made a "very sizable donation" to the Houston Food Bank in honor of her mother.

Welcome home, y'all.
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Blue Bird Circle volunteers have been playing the role of Santa Claus recently at Texas Childrens Hospital, handing out gift bags to children with neurological conditions.

The Blue Bird Circle for Pediatric Neurology is renowned for its comprehensive approach to treating patients, and the volunteers are an integral part of that history. The gift bags  which are filled with books, games and other goodies  are designed to help children and families feel more at ease in the clinic.

Working in the clinic can be emotional, but seeing children and families is a reminder of why Blue Birds are volunteering in the first place, said Gail Branca, the organizations current clinic lead.

Kids are kids," Branca said, "no matter what theyre going through.

The gift bags only scratch the surface of the Blue Bird Circles work in the community. The all-women organization is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023, and it has focused on supporting Houstons children and families since its inception.

The Blue Bird Circle now donates more than $2 million annually to support research and clinics at Texas Childrens Hospital and Baylor College of Medicine. For its centennial, the organization announced a $10 million gift to the Jan and Dan Duncan Neurological Research Institute to support research and help develop therapies for complex pediatric neurological diseases.

READ MORE: Blue Birds race for cures in pediatric neurology

Dr. Huda Zoghbi, the director of the Duncan NRI and a professor at Baylor, said the Blue Bird Circles influence in Houston has been tremendous. The organization supported Zoghbis earliest research into Rett syndrome, a neurological disorder that primarily affects girls, nearly 40 years ago.

When the Blue Bird Circle decides to support a cause, other donors tend to follow, Zoghbi said. Scientists in Houston are fortunate, Zoghbi said, because the organization is a reliable source of funding for research.

Consistency is important because then you can think long term. You can build for the future, Zoghbi said. You can be strategic when you know there will be some funding.

The Blue Bird Circle isnt resting on its laurels, though. Its leadership decided the 100-year anniversary was also a good time to take stock of itself. Theyre working to determine whether aspects of the organization, including its resale shop on West Alabama, can be run more efficiently, said Abigail Tonry, the organizations current president.

It kind of made us look at ourselves a little bit differently, and maybe a little more immensely, Tonry said. We made a decision as an organization to be better organized and to streamline our activities so that we allow ourselves to make as much (money) as we can so that we can give away even more.

100 years of service

The Blue Bird Circle began in 1923 when a group of 15 women asked the pastor at First Methodist Church if they could form an organization like the Methodist Missionary Society that focused on local projects. The pastor, A. Frank Smith, suggested the organizations name because the bluebird symbolizes happiness.

The Blue Bird Circle now has more than 300 volunteers, roughly 125 of which are active members. Many Blue Birds are retired, but some are working as doctors, lawyers, accountants and police officers.

The organization supported various causes over its first few decades, but in 1934, it provided a space for overflow patients at the childrens ward at Methodist Hospital. The Blue Bird Circle decided to focus on supporting research and treatment of childrens neurological conditions in 1952 and opened its shop in 1959.

The clinic for pediatric neurology opened in 1949 and was associated with Methodist Hospital until 1998 when it formed a new association with Texas Childrens. Over the years, Blue Birds have acted as an advocate for children and families, doctors, nurses and social workers, Zoghbi said.

Theyve also gone above and beyond to lend their support, Zoghbi said. When she first met a patient she suspected of having Rett syndrome, she asked Blue Birds to look through medical charts to find other patients with similar symptoms. One week later, theyd found 35 more children.

READ MORE: As Easter approaches, Blue Bird Circle gets busy with baskets

The Blue Birds work, and a subsequent grant from the organization, kick-started Zoghbis research into Rett syndrome. She continued to study the disease and won the prestigious Kavli Prize in neuroscience last year.

I think that played a very important role in my career, for patients with Rett syndrome and for science in general, Zoghbi said.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, new volunteers always spent time in the pediatric neurology clinic at Texas Childrens Hospital. Two Blue Birds now volunteer in the clinic three days a week, sending letters and making phone calls to remind families that they have an upcoming appointment.

This year, volunteers donated books, games and other items to make gift bags for children for the centennial. The Blue Bird Circle may continue to make gift bags after 2023 because they can brighten a childs day.

Its a great feeling to do something for someone else, said Margot Madsen, who has been a Blue Bird since 2016. To be part of that, and to try to help in some tiny way, is special.

Business of giving money

The Blue Bird Circles work can also be seen at its resale shop, which opened on Hathaway in 1959 and moved to West Alabama in 1962. The shop closed for a renovation in 2019 and reopened in January 2020.

The shop sells assorted China, silver, lamps, rugs, furniture and clothes, all of which are donated or sold on consignment. Each item is priced by an expert or a volunteer who does research to gauge the correct price, said Vivian Thigpen, the Blue Bird Circles current shop lead.

The shop runs like a well-oiled machine, with approximately 12 volunteers on-site each day. The shop also has nine full-time employees who work in administration, bookkeeping, as porters and on the receiving dock.

Running the shop efficiently is important because it allows the Blue Birds to donate as much money as possible, Thigpen said. The shop is one of the organizations primary sources of revenue, along with fundraisers, donations and investments.

READ MORE: Find hidden treasures in these Houston-area antiques shops

Were in the business of giving money away, but its still a business, Thigpen said. You have to run it like one.

Many Blue Birds said they were drawn to the social aspects of the organization. Tonry, for example, became a member after she moved to Houston.

Being a Blue Bird is a way to make new friends and continue to be part of a work environment after retirement. Volunteers said theyre glad they can do that while supporting the organizations mission of helping children and families in their community.

We have a lot of fun, said Amy Reid, a volunteer from Houston. Were volunteers, but were enjoying every minute that were here.
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Almost three years after the COVID pandemic nearly wiped out her prom dress business, Debbie Crane signed a lease to keep it open in Oak Ridge North for five more years.

When prom season was canceled in March 2020, Crane had a crisis on her hands. Unable to allow returns on prom dresses due to national policy, Crane was met with desperate customers and no new business as her shop, Crane's Dress Boutique, fought to survive.

"It was brutal," Crane said. "We sell party dresses, and every party in America was canceled."

After two years of no business and a sudden spike in 2022, Crane said it's finally business as usual. Both Crane and Misty Clow, who owns nearby prom dress store Couture House, said customers' taste in dresses are reflective of their excitement to have prom back in action.

On YourConroeNews: As summer camp season nears in Montgomery County, here's 5 things to know

"People want to wear bright colors, there's no more dullness like you saw kind of pre-COVID," Clow said. "People are excited to go all out."

At Couture House, the area's longest-running prom dress store, customers started prom shopping in November and have come in from as far away as Michigan and Maryland.

As one of the first stops into the north end of Houston, girls come in from smaller towns and suburbs with their entire family in tow, Crane said.

"We're getting people from just really all over. The Beaumont area, south Houston," Crane said. "Customer service is key, and we've developed a strong reputation on that."

Still, Clow said it'll be a five-year recovery before all aspects of the industry are back to normal. Clow used to work in partnership with Walmart, helping make hearing aids more accessible and affordable. She wanted to translate that into the prom business, and Couture House born as a prom and tuxedo rental business.

"We started with rentals, just to bring an affordable way for people to have their Cinderella moment for prom," Clow said.

On YourConroeNews: Rookies dive bar rebrands to Ale & Ivy in hopes of bringing vibe of Houston's midtown to The Woodlands

Couture House rented dresses for 10 years. Now, it's only able to sell dresses due to brand rules and supply chain issues.

"We had thousands of rental cancellations from proms and lost about two years of people having events," Clow said. "It didn't just hurt the stores, it hurt the people that produce the dresses because nobody was buying inventory."

Crane first got into the dress business when she was 23 before opening Crane's five years ago. With numbers back to normal, Crane said she can focus on what she's always done  keeping up with trends and helping girls have that "aha" moment.

"My favorite thing is when people open the doors and you just hear, 'ahhh,'" Crane said. "It's fun when it's the right one."

Prom is Friday, April 21 at College Park High School and Saturday, April 22 at The Woodlands and Oak Ridge high schools. But it won't be over then  Clow said customers are already filing in for Homecoming.
Every year, the United States Presidents National Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award is given to volunteers who have inspired others to help their communities and who have accumulated more than 4,000 hours of service. On Tuesday, a New Canaan resident tallied almost 20,000 at Norwalk Hospital.

Carol Bauer was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award on Tuesday during a ceremony at the hospital celebrating National Volunteer Week, with Norwalk Hospital president Peter Cordeau and Corky Stewart, the hospitals manager of Volunteer Services, in attendance.

Bauer has volunteered at the Norwalk Hospital for 45 years and currently serves as a chaplain in maternal/child health assisting in the childbirth center as well as helping minister to all hospital patients and staff. She also worked on the Norwalk Hospital Board of Trustees for more than 20 years and was the first woman to be elected the chairman. Bauer has received numerous philanthropic awards like the Connecticut Hospital Association 2012 "Healthcare Hero Award" for her service at the hospital.

Since moving to New Canaan in the late 1970s, she and her husband, George, a former IBM executive, have also made numerous contributions to the Norwalk Hospital  including their most recent gift of $20 million to help build a new 188,000-square-foot Patient Pavilion  and have created multiple charities in Connecticut.

Bauer feels humbled by the Lifetime Achievement Award and fortunate to do what she loves: give back.

It's just such a privilege to be able to do the work, she said. I so admire seeing our EMS people come into the hospital with ambulances and their dedication and focus. And, of course, our first responders, always. It's a world of people that reach out to others.

During the ceremony, Bauer was joined by fellow chaplains and friends from the hospital, she said.

I feel like Norwalk Hospital has been my family, one I'm honored to be part of, she said.

Bauer said her faith as a Christian is what motivated her to continue giving back all these years. She began volunteering through her church in St. Louis, Missouri at age 13 and worked as a candy striper at the Missouri Baptist Hospital, where she would carry food trays to different patients.

Decades later in the mid-70s, CeCe Orvis, the then-director of volunteers at Norwalk Hospital, met Bauer in Paris and encouraged her to help out at the hospital. She remembers her first shift at the hospitals Grace Cole Jones Gift Shop like it was yesterday and was mentored by Grace Cole Jones herself. Bauer then volunteered as a receptionist in the Intensive Care Units waiting lounge and after a few years, she became president of the volunteers.

In addition to volunteering in various hospital departments, Bauer founded the Emergency Department Reception Volunteers and worked in the emergency room as a greeter for 25 years, including when she served as chairman of the board. Bauer calls the emergency room the window to the community.

At any point in time, you don't know what's walking through that door. And it's people from all walks of life, all different problems, illnesses, she said. We've never asked for a cent from people who couldn't pay. Anyone is and was welcome to a nonprofit hospital to come through that door, and they knew they would be treated, regardless of their zip code or their stage in life.

She also helped start the hospitals spiritual care program, which includes pastors of different faiths and religions, and has supported new parents for several years as a chaplain in maternal/child health. Bauer said her responsibility is to be a spiritual presence to any patient and she supports people at each stage of their lives.

Joe Angeles /Washington University / Joe Angeles /Washington University

Bauer described a core memory at the hospital in which a patient paged a chaplain one day. A few minutes into the conversation, Bauer asked what she could do for them. The patient broke into tears and cried for ten minutes while Bauer, not saying a single word, held their hand and listened.

[People] just need someone to listen and to try to understand where they are. And I think that those are the most meaningful times, she said. I always say, I can't fix your problem, but I can be present for the journey.

Bauer plans to continue volunteering at the hospital for as long as I can" and to celebrate the award with her husband, three children and five grandchildren, who were unable to attend the ceremony.

People say to my husband and me all the time, because he's equally giving of his experiences and mentoring young people, and they'll say, When are you going to stop and do something for yourselves? And our answer is always the same: What makes you think we don't love what we're doing?
Courtesy of Metro Video Services

A man was killed and a woman injured following a shooting near a Fort Bend Independent School District elementary school late Tuesday in southwest Houston, officials said.

City and district police around 8:30 p.m. responded to the 5000 block of Raven Ridge Drive in response to a report of a shooting, Lt. Larry Crowson, of the Houston Police Department, told Metro Video Services reporters. They found a man dead at the scene and a woman with gunshot wounds.

Emergency responders took her to a hospital, where she was expected to survive, Crowson said.
A Houston woman and Florida man convicted of orchestrating a PPP loan scheme that stole millions from the government will spend several years in federal prison.

U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced the two co-conspirators three months after both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud concerning the scheme that defrauded the U.S. of COVID-related disaster loan funds. The two conducted the scheme from April 1, 2020, until or about August 25, 2021, according to court documents.

Dylan Kinlock, 30, of Orlando received a nearly five-year sentence for being the ringleader, while Felicia Garza, 36, of Houston will spend two years in federal prison for participating in the scheme as a recruiter.

Kinlock and Garza falsified documents that showed income that was never received but qualified their clients for self-employed PPP loans, court documents show. As part of the loan application process, Kinlock required each client to execute a contract in which they agreed to share the proceeds of their PPP loan with him. The contracts were sent to Kinlock's home in Orlando from the Houston Division of the Southern District of Texas.

Kinlock participated in at least 241 fraudulent PPP loans leading to the distribution of at least $4,844,274 of CARES Act

money, according to court records. He received at least $939,379 in fee income from individuals he assisted in securing fraudulent PPP loans.

"The PPP loan was enacted during a significant crisis and it's unfortunate that individuals took advantage of the money intended for the American public and used it for personal gain," Ramsey Covington, the special agent in charge of IRS-Criminal Investigation's Houston Field Office, said.

In addition to the sentences, Garza will have to pay $251,699.50 in restitution to the U.S. Small Business Administration, while Kinlock will have to repay the $939,379 he accrued from client fees.

Garza and Kinlock express regrets

Kinlock's fiance attended his hearing, while Garza's family sat in courtroom pews for hers. Kinlock and Garza are first-time criminal offenders, but both of them acknowledged their wrongdoing in letters to Hittner.

"I spent a lot of time thinking about this day," Kinlock, donning an orange jumpsuit and shackles, said to Hittner. "I accept full responsibility for my actions and the damage I caused. This by far is the most terrible decision I've ever made in my life. I am deeply ashamed, embarrassed, disgusted, and most importantly, disappointed in myself."

Kinlock added how his conviction has caused him shame because it inhibits his ability to take care of his 11-year-old son.

"Being a father is something I'm tremendously proud of," he said. "Up until this point, I have consistently been in my son's life. I know the results of my selfish actions have led me to being away from my son and the rest of my family.

Garza's attorney, Alex Omar Rosa-Ambert, had to read his client's letter to Hittner after she was unable to do so through heavy sobs.

"I am definitely apologetic for my actions of breaking the law," Rosa-Amber said on Garza's behalf. "I cannot and will not attempt to place blame on anyone else. I have always prided myself on being a wonderful mother and putting children first. But if I am being honest, I did not consider all of the consequences of making the decision to break the law. By far, breaking the law was the dumbest decision I could have ever made."

Sending a message to other PPP loan schemers

Last year, IRS Criminal Investigation's identified $30 billion in fraud and tax fraud nationwide, Covington said.

"This is not our first investigation, and it's not our last investigation," he said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney for the SDTX Jay Hileman said a "very fair sentence" was assessed based on Garza's and Kinlock's criminal records and both of them pleading guilty in a "timely fashion."

Hileman recalled seeing hundreds of similar circumstances where people felt "pretty free and easy with lying to the government" about their participation in PPP loan schemes.

"We try to prosecute to send a message to people that the government takes this seriously," he said. "A time of national crisis is not the time to be attempting to defraud the government. I think the court recognized that very strongly today."
On Scene TV

A woman was hospitalized after getting wounded Tuesday night in an apparent road rage shooting, according to the Harris County Sheriffs Office.

The woman was driving in the middle lane of Farm-to-Market 529 in west Houston when she reportedly got caught in between two vehicles with passengers shooting at each other, Sgt. Charles Gbunblee told On Scene reporters.
Ali Smith at The New Statesman:

On yet another of the many days were living through in which our government sends out poisonous, divisive and powermongering rhetoric about disallowing entry in the UK to refugees, especially those endangered people brave enough to arrive in small boats, I went to see the Lucie Rie exhibition, The Adventure of Pottery, at Kettles Yard in Cambridge. Rie, an international prizewinner when she was only in her thirties, had been ploughing an original furrow against the grain of ceramic design expectations in Vienna in the 1930s. She trained at the citys Kunstgewerbeschule but made work like no one else, based on her own experiments on ancient Roman pots shed seen in the vineyard of an uncle, and in her determination to make and use glazes her tutor had told her were impossible.

She arrived in England from Vienna as an Austrian Jewish fugitive from Hitlers fascism in 1938 with a suitcase full of the pots shed made wrapped in her clothes.

more here.
One doesn't have to fully participate in 420 activities in order to indulge in some of the discounts and events around Houston.

For those who are unaware, April 20 is an annual celebration during which people consume cannabis and/or advocate for its legalization, according to National Today. Obviously just advocate and not partake in Texas, though, where recreational marijuana is illegal.

Here is a list of restaurants, breweries, coffee shops and event spaces where anyone can celebrate the day.

Celebrate Houston 420: Food deals, events and more

8th Wonder

8th Wonder Distillery, 2201 Dallas St., is hosting a 420 party and is celebrating its distillery's anniversary with a special cocktail menu, $4.20 Wonder Waters, and $4.20 off to-go six packs of beer. There will also be live music and food options.

Chapman and Kirby

This upscale East Downtown event bar and event space at 2118 Lamar St., No. 100 is hosting a 420 crawfish festival, selling 4 pounds of crawfish for $20.

Wild Concepts

Wild Concepts, 2121 N. Shepherd Drive, is hosting 420 events at both of their locations. Wild Concepts owns Grinder's Coffee Bar and Wild Montrose, both selling THC and CBD-infused products. Wild Montrose is Houston's first cannabis-infused restaurant.

POST Houston

Located in Houston's historic downtown post office, the Houston Hemp Market is hosting its second annual 420 celebrations with over 70 vendors selling hemp, smoking accessories, clothing, vintage art and more.

Food Deals

Blaze Pizza: Those who sign up for their app can receive a free Hi-Rise crust upgrade that can be used through April 21.

Carl's Jr: The restaurant chain is offering a $4.20 Snack Sack through April 24.

Insomnia Cookies: The bakery chain is offering a free classic cookie with any in-store purchase or delivery order on April 20.

Smashburger: On April 20, Smashburger is offering four burgers for $20.

Twin Peaks: Those who sign up for Twin Peaks Friends of the Peaks Club on April 20 can get free chips and queso.

Jimmy Johns: Only on April 20, Jimmy John's announced an app-exclusive deal called the Munchie Crusher that comes with free chips with the promo code FREESIDE with any regular or giant-sized sandwich.

This list will be updated as more businesses release promotions.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court is leaving women's access to a widely used abortion pill untouched until at least Friday, while the justices consider whether to allow restrictions on the drug mifepristone to take effect.

The court is dealing with a new abortion controversy less than a year after its conservative majority overturned Roe v. Wade and allowed more than a dozen states to effectively ban abortion outright.

At stake now is whether to allow restrictions on mifepristone ordered by a lower court to take effect while a legal challenge to the medication's Food and Drug Administration approval continues.

The justices had at first given themselves a Wednesday evening deadline in a fast-moving case from Texas in which abortion opponents are seeking to roll back FDA approval of mifepristone, which is used in the most common method of abortion in the United States.

But on Wednesday afternoon, Justice Samuel Alito issued a one-sentence order giving the court more time and indicating it expects to act by Friday night. Alito, the justice in charge of handling emergency appeals from Texas, provided no explanation.

The justices are scheduled to meet for a private conference Friday, where they could talk about the issue. The additional time could be part of an effort to craft an order that has broad support among the justices. Or one or more justices might be writing a separate opinion, and asked for a couple of extra days.

The drug first won FDA approval in 2000, and conditions on its use have been loosened in recent years, including making it available by mail in states that allow access.

The Biden administration and New York-based Danco Laboratories, the maker of the drug, want the nations highest court to reject limits on mifepristones use imposed by lower courts, at least as long as the legal case makes it way through the courts. They say women who want the drug and providers who dispense it will face chaos if limits on the drug take effect. Depending on what the justices decide, that could include requiring women to take a higher dosage of the drug than the FDA says is necessary.

Alliance Defending Freedom, representing anti-abortion doctors and medical groups in a challenge to the drug, is defending the rulings in calling on the Supreme Court to restrict access now.

Complicating the situation, a federal judge in Washington has ordered the FDA to preserve access to mifepristone under the current rules in 17 Democratic-led states and the District of Columbia that filed a separate lawsuit.

The Biden administration has said the rulings conflict and create an untenable situation for the FDA.

Even as the abortion landscape changed dramatically in several states, abortion opponents set their sights on medication abortions, which make up more than half of all abortions in the United States.

The abortion opponents filed suit in November in Amarillo, Texas. The legal challenge quickly reached the Supreme Court after a federal judge issued a ruling on April 7 that would revoke FDA approval of mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions.

Less than a week later, a federal appeals court modified the ruling so that mifepristone would remain available while the case continues, but with limits. The appeals court said the drug should only be approved through seven weeks of pregnancy for now, even though the FDA since 2016 has endorsed its use through 10 weeks of pregnancy.

The court also said that the drug cant be mailed or dispensed as a generic and that patients who seek it need to make three in-person visits with a doctor, among other things.

The generic version of mifepristone makes up two-thirds of the supply in the United States, its manufacturer, Las Vegas-based GenBioPro Inc., wrote in a court filing that underscored the perils of allowing the restrictions to be put into effect.

In the latest legal twist surrounding the case, GenBioPro filed a lawsuit Wednesday to preemptively block the FDA from removing its drug from the market, in the event that the Supreme Court doesnt intervene.

The FDA approved the companys generic pill in 2019, based on data and studies showing it is essentially identical to the original version of mifepristone. Both versions have been studied extensively and deemed safe for women.

If the justices aren't inclined to block the ruling from taking effect for now, the Democratic administration and Danco have a fallback argument, asking the court to take up the challenge to mifepristone, hear arguments and decide the case by early summer.

The court only rarely takes such a step before at least one appeals court has thoroughly examined the legal issues involved.

The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans already has ordered an accelerated schedule for hearing the case, with arguments set for May 17.

Mifepristone has been available for use in medication abortions in the United States since the FDA granted approval in 2000. Since then, more than 5 million women have used it, along with another drug, misoprostol, to induce abortions.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with The Associated Press that for the court to allow restrictions intervening with FDA decisions would be ludicrous, if it wasn't so serious.

If the justices take such a step, said Pelosi, D-Calif., "theyve been too long on Mount Olympus, and it is time for a bright light to be shone."

__

AP Health Writer Matthew Perrone and Associated Press writer Jessica Gresko contributed to this report.
Two years ago, a white Chicago police officer named Eric Stillman fatally shot Adam Toledo, an unarmed 13-year-old Mexican American with no criminal record, while the boy was complying with the officers orders following a late-night foot chase. The killing brought greater awareness to police brutality in Latino communities, yet no charges were filed against Stillman. Since then, Chicago has been able to turn a corner on violent crime, thanks partly to investments in after-school youth programs. Murders are down by 20% from two years ago.

Thats one version of events, the version favored by the progressive left.

Another version goes like this. On March 29, 2021, at 2:36 a.m., Stillman and his partner responded to a call that shots were being fired. Stillman pushed Ruben Roman, a 21-year-old with a criminal record, to the ground and chased Toledo, who was holding a 9 mm handgun, down a dark alley. Stillman yelled drop it. Toledo tossed the gun behind a fence and turned toward him. The officer fired the fatal shot less than a second after Toledo got rid of the gun. Stillman then immediately jumped to Toledos aid and called for an ambulance.

Roman was acquitted of firing the weapon at a passing car; his lawyers argued that it might have been Toledo who had fired the weapon.

Stillman was placed on administrative leave. Chicagos interim police superintendent, Eric Carter, recommended last week that Stillman be fired.

Homicides are, in fact, down in Chicago, but they remain at some of the highest rates since the 1990s, and overall crime spiked by 41% between 2021 and 2022. Last weekend alone, mass hooliganism overwhelmed Chicagos downtown while 11 people were killed and 26 wounded in shootings across the city.

Maybe theres a lesson in this, simple and old-fashioned as it may seem. When bad guys walk free and brave cops have to fear for their jobs for doing their jobs, crime tends to go up. And when the national conversation about the Adam Toledo tragedy revolves around the officers split-second, life-or-death decision instead of the question What is a 13-year-old child doing with a 21-year-old criminal firing a gun at 2:30 a.m.? then we are deeply confused about the nature of our problems, to say nothing of the way to a solution.

A similar dynamic is playing out in other big cities, too. Police morale is abysmal. One way in which this fact registers is in high levels of voluntary resignations and early retirements, leading to critical staffing shortages. As of mid-March, New Orleans had 944 police officers  down from 1,200 just three years ago, despite increased recruitment efforts. Last year the city registered a 100% increase in shootings over 2019. Criminals know theres not enough officers on the street! They know this! Delores Montgomery, a ride-share driver, recently told NPR. Fewer cops; more crime: Who would have thought?

New Orleans isnt alone. A recent academic analysis found that 11 out of the 14 cities it studied suffered from higher-than-expected losses to their police after the George Floyd protests of 2020, with Seattle losing the highest proportion of its force. One possible unfortunate result, the study suggests, is that, as good cops depart, the quality of newer recruits also suffers. That may help explain the appalling police brutality in the killing of Tyre Nichols in Memphis, Tennessee, in January.

Then theres the other side: The growing sense of impunity among the criminally inclined.

In Chicago, the proportion of crimes reported that resulted in arrest, which stood at nearly 31% in 2005, fell to 12.3% in 2021, according to an analysis last year by The Chicago Sun-Times. Even that may be an undercount, since fewer crimes in the city are being reported both to and by the police.

In New York, where major crimes rose by 22% last year, complaints of shoplifting have nearly doubled over the past five years  while the arrest rate since 2017 fell by almost half. A report by Hurubie Meko in The New York Times notes that a mere 327 shoplifters accounted for one-third of all arrests and that they had been arrested and rearrested more than 6,000 times. Why? Law enforcement and trade groups have blamed a proliferation of organized shoplifting crews, repeat offenders and the new state bail law that they argue has enabled such offenders to avoid jail time.

In other words, lax enforcement when it comes to petty criminality has led to big-time criminality. And the consequence of supposedly victimless crimes like shoplifting has created a palpable sense of disorder, menace and fear  each conducive to the anything-goes atmosphere in which crime invariably flourishes.

Will things get better? Eventually, yes, when a critical mass of voters recovers the simple combination of common sense and political will. But whether it occurs sooner or later is a difference that will be measured in thousands of lives, harmed or ended by the crime we collectively let happen.
As part of Houstons push to win the Republican National Convention in 2028, the George R. Brown Convention Center could be expanding.

State Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, passed legislation out of the Senate this week that would allow Houston to use hotel occupancy taxes to make improvements and expand the convention center, though he did not detail what those plans might look like.

Houston needs to modernize and expand the George R. Brown Convention Center to remain competitive and attract large conventions, such as the 2028 Republican National Convention, Whitmire said in his push for the legislation.

The 2024 Republican National Convention has already been awarded to Milwaukee, and cities are competing for 2028. Nashville and Miami are among those that have reportedly made moves to host the event.

Houston was in the running for the Democratic National Convention in 2020 but was passed over for Milwaukee. It also submitted a bid for 2024, but that convention will be in Chicago.

Houston has not hosted a Republican National Convention since 1992 when George H.W. Bush was renominated for president but lost to Democrat Bill Clinton in the general election.

Houston last hosted a Democratic National Convention in 1928, when New York Gov. Alfred Smith was nominated but lost in the general election to Republican Herbert Hoover.

If Houston were to win the convention, it would be in July or August 2028 with most of the activity at the Toyota Center and the George R. Brown Convention Center. However, when conventions are held in a city, there are dozens of offshoot events that can happen all over the region in hotels and at college campuses.

Holly Clapham, chief marketing officer for Houston First, didnt detail plans for a potential expansion but said if the legislation Whitmire is pushing becomes law, it would help ensure Houston remains a Tier 1 convention destination for years to come.

Houston Republican State Sen. Paul Bettencourt is among those opposing Whitmires bill because of how it is allowing hotel occupancy tax revenue to be used for expenses that werent originally intended. Bettencourt said he doesnt want the Legislature to set a precedent for taxes collected for one purpose to be shifted to some other use.

I am concerned about the long-term implications of it, Bettencourt told Whitmire.

Whitmire, who is running for mayor of Houston, said similar legislation was previously passed to allow Dallas and Fort Worth to use hotel occupancy taxes to expand their convention centers, and he just wants Houston to have that chance so it can better compete for big national conventions.

The bill passed on a 26-5 vote and now heads to the Texas House where it also must pass in order to be sent to Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for final approval.
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The third edition of the Cyber Africa Forum (CAF) will be held at the Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire (Cote d'Ivoire) on April 24th and 25th of April 2023. This year's edition will tackle a pressing theme: "Challenges, actors and partnerships: the solutions to secure Africa's digital transformation.

REGISTER: https://inscription-cyberafricaforum.com/

The third edition of the Cyber Africa Forum (CAF) will be held at the Sofitel Abidjan Hotel Ivoire (Cote d'Ivoire) on April 24 th and 25 th of April 2023. This year's edition will tackle a pressing theme: "Challenges, actors and partnerships: the solutions to secure Africa's digital transformation. The forum will address the necessity of adopting cross-cutting comprehensive approaches to cyber security on the continent and the need to reinforce multisectoral and transnational partnerships in cyber security.

Co-organized this year in partnership with the "Forum International de la Cybersecurite" (FIC), the CAF will bring together more than 1,200 participants, notably economic players, key decision-makers from both the public and private sectors, CISOs, CIOs, tech entrepreneurs and Fintechs.

This two-day event will feature conferences, roundtables, workshops, side events, BtoB lunches, and networking sessions. Discussions and debates will cover the state of cyberattacks in Africa; digital transformation strategies for companies, organizations, administrations, and local authorities; the digitalization of the financial sector and public administrations; data security and responsible and ethical use of data; artificial intelligence and the challenges of cyber-diplomacy.

The Cyber Africa Women Initiative will celebrate African women's talents and endeavors in the digital sector. Furthermore, a cyber crisis management awareness exercise will gather the attending decision-makers so as to encourage concrete actions toward countering current and future threats. A hackathon will also bring together about thirty candidates around various ethical hacking challenges. The first three to complete the challenge will be rewarded. Finally, prizes will be awarded to figures who have enormously contributed to the strengthening of African cybersecurity.

Many top-tier companies have confirmed their attendance, such as Cybastion, Deloitte, CCDOC, Mastercard, Ecobank, Kaspersky, Data Protect, KMT, Mitrelli SaH Analytics International and Camenki.

Cyber Africa Forum The forum will address the necessity of adopting cross-cutting comprehensive approaches to cyber security on the continent and the need to reinforce multi-sectoral and transnational partnerships in cyber security.

Moreover, high-level personalities will be present, notably:

Amadou Coulibaly , Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Spokesperson for the Government of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire,

, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Spokesperson for the Government of the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire, Aurelie Adam Soule Zoumarou , Minister of Digital and Digitization of the Republic of Benin,

, Minister of Digital and Digitization of the Republic of Benin, Patrick Muyaya Katembwe , Minister of Communications and Media of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC),

, Minister of Communications and Media of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Ousmane Gaoual Diallo, Minister of Posts, Telecommunications, and Digital Economy of the Republic of Guinea.

Franck Kie, General Commissioner of the Cyber Africa Forum stated: "Africa has an enormous digital potential that can only be reached if we address in tandem the opportunities and challenges of a safe and secure digital transformation to ensure the safety of African companies and organizations regardless of their size."

To ensure the event is a fertile soil for the proliferation of concrete and sustainable partnerships, the CAF's organizers have set up a dedicated application that allows participants and partners to optimize their program, follow the sessions live, and interact with all the actors attending the conference.

Pre-register at www.cyberafricaforum.com

About the Cyber Africa Forum (CAF):

Founded in 2020 by Franck Kie, President of Ciberobs - Make Africa Safe - and Managing Partner of Ciberobs Consulting, the Cyber Africa Forum (CAF) is the leading platform for digital security and trust in Africa. In 2022, the second edition of the CAF brought together more than 1,000 participants and some 45 partners and sponsors. More than 40 countries were represented, and over 200 business meetings were held.

Find out more about the Cyber Africa Forum (CAF):
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Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation Completes Purchase of Farmland

WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass.  Through a combined effort of the Select Board and peer land trusts, and with generous support from the community, Williamstown Rural Lands Foundation last week purchased 10 acres of active farmland on Oblong Road with frontage on a scenic byway, preserving both farming and a view of Mount Greylock.

The Trustees of Reservations will buy the development rights for the parcel from Rural Lands, placing a farm-forward conservation restriction on it, thereby preserving the land in perpetuity.

"This was a special opportunity to protect a unique piece of land and many people deserve credit for this acquisition," WRLF President Greg Islan said. "The Select Board , our WRL board, our new Executive Director Robin Sears, many residents, and peers at Berkshire Natural Resources Council all worked for a year to protect this special land."

The conservation of this parcel secures a key link in a conservation corridor of forest and farmland immediately to the south and northeast, the land trust said. It protects a key section of Sweet Brook, which drains down from the Taconic Ridge into a series of wetlands and ponds and comprising the headwaters of Hemlock Brook, which feeds into the Hoosic River.

The parcel has for multiple generations been under stewardship by the Phelps family, which until the close of last century, owned vast acreage in the immediate area.

"We are thrilled that a portion of the farmland that has been in our family for nine generations will enjoy the protection it deserves," said Sarah Phelps Lipinski, who with her husband, Darryl, owns and operates Sweet Brook Farm.

More than 100 acres of adjacent land owned by Sweet Brook Farm will be temporarily preserved for farming through a 10-year covenant with the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resource's Farm Viability Enhancement Program.

"While we intend to pursue permanent conservation of the whole farm at the expiration of this agricultural covenant, we could not pass up the opportunity to work with MDAR's Farm Viability Program to plan and invest in the long-term business viability of our farm," Lipinski said.

According to American Farmland Trust, more than 80 percent of Berkshire County's agricultural land is not permanently protected. Rural Lands plans to lease the pasture to a neighboring farm operator.

"If we want to have farms in Williamstown five or 10 years from now, it's critical to protect the farmland in town," Williamstown Agricultural Commission Chair Sarah Gardner said. "Farms can't compete with homebuyers in the real estate market. There are about 12 farms left in Williamstown but half are not expected to be in business 10 years out. Most farmers here are in their 60s or 70s, and many lack a successor.

"The wonderful thing about this project is that it supports young enthusiastic farmers who are investing in their farm, expanding their operation, and who plan to stay in business for the long term. The preservation of this parcel, which is designated as Farmland of Local Importance, increases the viability of Williamstown's agricultural economy."

Sears, a forest ecologist, said the preservation of the 10-acre lot achieves a number of goals.

"This has been an exciting and complicated project, which landed on my desk the first day I took the helm of the organization last March," Sears said. "The parcel holds tremendous value of diverse sorts. The preservation of the pasture and a sugarbush, both utilized by Sweet Brook Farm, supports a local livelihood and provides healthy foods. It protects a key section of the cold-water Sweet Brook, which drains a sub-basin of the Taconic Ridge into a series of wetlands and ponds and comprising the headwaters of Hemlock Brook. The hedgerow at the back of the plot is excellent habitat for birds that thrive in open spaces. To say nothing of the tremendous view, which is now protected to be enjoyed by everyone who passes by."
Colin Todd addresses the City Council on Tuesday night at a special meeting to revote his appointment to the North Adams Housing Authority.

North Adams Council Revotes to Back Housing Authority Commissioner



Colin Todd says he had not heard the complaints brought forward at the March 29 meeting at which his appointment was rejected and did not know who some of the people were. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  The City Council flipped its vote from last month to reappoint Colin Todd as a member of the North Adams Housing Authority.

The vote at Tuesday's special meeting was 7-1 for; three weeks ago it was 6-2 against.

The council had been swayed by stories from Housing Authority residents and others about poor conditions at the federal housing projects and a lack of communication from the commissioners at the March 28 meeting

On Tuesday, Todd defended his role as chair of the commission, saying he had not heard from the tenants association about problems and that those speaking out against him really didn't understand the commission's purview.

"As a commissioner, your role is to adopt policy, it's to approve budgets, oversee or supervise the executive director and make sure you're financially strong," he said. "Yes, we know there's problems. We've never said there was no problems."

Todd said the commission had held a community meeting in the last couple weeks to hear from tenants and told them about more security that would be installed. But, he said, there were matters beyond the board's control when it came to policing and laws about no trespassing, and that it was hard to evict anyone without a paper trail

He said the commission's meetings had only been lightly attended and that no one from the tenants association that was created last year had lodged complaints with the commission or at its meetings.

"Half these people that have spoke out about me, I've never met in my life," Todd said. "Five years I've been on that board. They've never been to a meeting."

Councilor Wayne Wilkinson had agreed to bring reappointment back to the council; it could only be brought forward again by someone who had voted against the order.

"I bring this before you because I was wrong. I'll be the first one to admit it. We listened to a brief presentation at our last meeting. I ended up voting no," said Wilkinson. "However, after the meeting I realized we never gave him a chance to speak. We never heard the other side of the story. ...

"There was no proof, all we heard were some unhappy residents  come and find out  some of them don't even live there. We heard an embellished story by a city councilor."

City Councilor Jennifer Barbeau had spoken of her experience as a the liaison to the Housing Authority, saying the commission had been "hostile" and crediting herself with helping establish the tenants association last year. Barbeau was not in attendance on Tuesday.

"I think this deserves to have another vote by this council. Vote however you want, I all I can tell you is I was wrong," said Wilkinson.

Mayor Jennifer Macksey, who had put Todd's name forward for reappointment, said she had talked about his role and that of the commission with him. She thanked the council for revoting the decision.

"I think he should be afforded that opportunity. I wouldn't have put his name forth if I didn't think he could do that," she said. "I think there was a bit of a miscommunication about his role and presentation. But he's got the biggest heart and he really wants to help people and I think we should afford him the opportunity to do that."

In contrast to the March 28 meeting, the majority of people in audience seemed to be in support of Todd but few people spoke. Michael Milazzo, owner of T&M Auto, said, "Mr. Todd in his other capacity with the [Department of Public Works] and he's been nothing but professional and represented this city appropriately and professionally ... As far as for being a good person. He gets my vote on doing the right thing at every moment that he can for this."

But Marianne Alizio, a resident of 150 Ashland St., reiterated from the last meeting that "the living conditions are unbearable lately." She said there were heroin needles outside her window, no real security and complaints that had police banging on her door.

"There's so many people in that building that don't have a voice and obviously I do," she said. "I worked my whole life so I could retire in peace. And I'm not retiring peace, by any means."

Councilor Marie T. Harpin, who voted against the Todd the last time, said she had to stick by her vote though she had heard good things about him and thought he was probably doing his best. Rather, she said, it was the conditions at the Housing Authority that gave her pause.

"I'm really disheartened because we go there and we see things. I think the whole community knows it's not good there, it hasn't been for a while," she said. "When are they going to get the help, that's my question ... When are they going to feel safe and secure in their home."

Councilors Ashley Shade and Michael Obasohan agreed that people should feel safe in their homes. Obasohan said it was "all too familiar" when people were pouring out their feelings last time and that "that was something that kind of hit me." But he understood there were things out of Todd's control.

Shade said she didn't "believe it's on just Mr. Todd fix that problem. It's on all of us to fix that problem. This is our community. This is our city. That's all of our responsibility to make sure that people are safe here."

Councilor Keith Bona, who had voted in Todd's favor, asked the Housing Authority's Lisa Labonte about what was being done to address security. She said there were now more than 150 cameras in the authority's four properties and that the authority was getting quotes on facial recognition software and fingerprint backups to address people giving out their key fobs. The authority is also working with its security company to rotate shifts so different hours are covered each day. She also said maintenance issues were being addressed within 48 hours, outside of immediate emergencies.

President Lisa Blackmer cautioned that it was not up to the council to micromanage the Housing Authority but Bona said he was just wanted to be clear that the residents' concerns were being addressed.

"I think we have to take our role back a step," said Blackmer. "I agree that we want to address concerns, but we are voting on someone to be able to be appointed to this board and we have to keep that in mind."

Councilor Bryan Sapienza, who had also voted nay, said he believed Todd cared about the volunteer position. He encouraged residents of the authority to remember that the councilors were their representatives and could be contacted about problems, as well as their state and federal legislators. It was also not fair, he said, to put everything on Todd because it is a five-person board.

The board of commissioners now has three members, with Todd also being the union representative as a member of Teamster 404. He and Leigh Harrington Uqdah are the only certified commissioners in Western Massachusetts and the third member, Richard Lavigne, is a tenant. The governor's appointee had also been tenant but had died last month.

Harpin asked Todd about the tenants association's statements about not being allowed time to speak at meetings. He responded that they have not asked to be on the agenda.

"I don't know where they're saying that they brought stuff to the board and it hasn't been addressed because in the five years I've been there," I've never been approached to put anything on the agenda," he said. "I spoke to the tenants association president multiple times and asked her if there was anything she wanted to put on there, and she never puts anything on."

Macksey said the city would work on better communications with the authority, including community meetings to include police, fire and the Board of Health. Shade encouraged tenants to "keep talking to us. Keep making your voices heard."

Blackmer, Obasohan, Sapienza, Shade and Wilkinson switched their votes to join Bona and Peter Oleskiewicz in voting yes; Harpin remained with a no vote.
Jennifer Segala, holding a proclamation from the mayor, and the team at Steepleview Realty celebrating 25 years in business. Mayor Jennifer Macksey speaks at last Thursday's open house celebration for Steepleview Realty and Berkshire Elder Law at the Berkshire Plaza. The mayor with Steepleview broker-owners Jennifer Segala and Deb Trzcinski. PreviousNext

Steepleview Realty, Berkshire Elder Law Mark 25 Years



Attorney James Sisto speaks after receiving a proclamation on Berkshire Elder Law's 25th anniversary from Mayor Jennifer Macksey. NORTH ADAMS, Mass.  Two local businesses have celebrated their 25th anniversaries  and their founders' quarter-century of friendship.

Jennifer Segala of Steepleview Real ty and attorney James Sisto of Berkshire Elder Law marked their anniversaries last week with an open house and music at the Berkshire Plaza on Main Street, where both have offices.

"Twenty-five years ago this nerdy attorney with a full head of hair walks into my office and says, 'I just opened a new practice we're going to be best friends,'" Segala joked. "And 25 years later, we are."

Each was presented with a proclamation from Mayor Jennifer Macksey recognizing their years in business and service to their clients.

Steepleview was established in 1998 with its first and main office in Adams, later opening offices in North Adams and Pittsfield.

"Steepleview Realty has provided high quality, professional sales and support to the residents of North Adams for so many years, investing countless hours ensuring that their clients are making sound investments," said Macksey.

The firm has brokered more than $600 million in real estate sales in Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and the state of Florida. Segala, a graduate of Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, has been in the real estate business for more than three decades and operates two real estate schools.

She was joined as broker-owner in 2015 by Deb Trzcinski, who has been with Steepleview since it opened.

"If you would have asked me 25 years ago, this young lady, with I guess a lot of moxie, who decided to go out on her own, if I would be here today, I would never have guessed in a million years," Segala said. "I have a powerful team of strong women that are dedicated to the business. And I'm amazed, I'm amazed that we've sold over $600 million over the 25 years ... I guess we're up to McDonald's standards."

Segala said she and her team believe in North Adams and that Scarafoni & Associates has been a "wonderful partner ... making sure we always had a beautiful presence downtown." Steepleview had been located at 53 Main before moving to 33 Main, both owned by Scarafoni.

Sisto, an elder law and real estate attorney, came to the Berkshires in 1990 after working in the World Trade Center as a tax consultant.

"He promised he would only practice in the areas he enjoyed and enhance the quality of life for all of us in Berkshire County," said Macksey, who pointed to his founding membership in the National Alliance of Attorneys for Alzheimer's Training, his speaking engagements explaining the many aspects of elder law and financial planning, and his informative reports.

"He provides free newsletters to help others make sound decisions, and his work and responsiveness to the city of North Adams is remarkable," she said.

Sisto said the cost of buying a home in New York City led to him to the "country" as his then wife was from the Berkshires.

"I love it, I love the fact that it's not congested and the people are so nice," he said. "It has been my honor to serve the people of North Adams with real estate and estate planning, especially my elder clients, that's a passion of mine.

"Berkshire County has welcomed me with open arms. I consider myself a resident now."

Macksey described both as good friends, telling how Segala had helped her through the difficulties in buying her house on Hospital Avenue  which suffered squirrel damage  and how Sisto had arrived at the closing for the seller and gave her  a squirrel.

"We've been good friends and we survived it. So if anybody has any squirrels, you can send them to Jim Sisto," she said to laughter.

As dozens of friends, colleagues and clients mingled in the Steepleview offices, Segala was already thinking about the next 25 years.

"We'll be here for a while longer," she laughed. "We'll be selling everybody's great-grandchildren's houses."

Correction: Jennifer Segala's name was originally given incorrectly in this article. iBerkshires regrets the error.
Leila Ndiaye, Senior Vice President for Business Strategy and Government Affairs at Cybastion, one of the featured speakers at the Cyber Africa Forum 2023.

announcement

Abidjan  Cybastion, a rapidly growing cybersecurity firm, is pleased to announce its role as a founding sponsor at the 2023 Cyber Africa Forum (CAF) in Cote d'Ivoire on April 24-25, 2023. The theme for this year's forum is "Challenges, actors, and partnerships: what solutions to secure the digitalization of Africa?"

The Forum will bring together key public and private actors and decision-makers in cybersecurity and digital trust in Africa, emphasizing the promotion of multi-sector and transnational partnerships in the field of digital security. The Cyber Africa Forum is an annual event that seeks to address critical issues related to cybersecurity in Africa.

Leila Ndiaye, Cybastion's Senior Vice President for Business Strategy and Government Affairs, stated:

We are delighted to participate in the upcoming third edition, which will focus on the challenges and solutions related to the digital transformation of African societies and businesses. We believe that events such as the Cyber Africa Forum play a crucial role in fostering dialogue, sharing best practices, and promoting collaboration in the field of cybersecurity."

Andre Biyong, Senior Vice President of Operations and COO at Cybastion, added:

"Cybastion aims to contribute to the development of secure digital ecosystems across Africa by sharing our expertise and collaborating with other stakeholders at CAF 2023 to discuss the challenges, actors, and partnerships necessary to secure the digitalization of Africa. Our masterclass and exhibition booth will offer an opportunity for forum participants to learn more about our innovative cyber solutions."

Cybastion is a cybersecurity solutions provider that offers a range of services, including cyber-infrastructure, training, and digital technologies. The company, headquartered in North Carolina, United States, has established a strong presence in Africa, working across eight countries. Cybastion intends to address the cybersecurity gap between Africa and more developed countries by providing the necessary cyber solutions. As a leader in the cybersecurity industry, Cybastion is committed to contributing to the development of secure digital ecosystems across Africa.

We are excited about participating in the upcoming edition and making a positive impact on the future of cybersecurity in Africa.

For more information about Cybastion's participation at the 2023 Cyber Africa Forum, please contact Emana Shunnom, Senior Manager, Policy, at mailto:"eshunnom@cybastiontech.com"; +1 240-423-4130.

RELATED: Cybastion  Leveraging U.S. Expertise to Bolster Cyber Safety in Africa

[interview]




iciHaiti - National essay and eloquence contest : Names of the winners





Saturday April 15, 2023, as a prelude to the International Day for Monuments and Sites, also called World Heritage Day (April 18, 2023), as part of the 3rd edition of the national essay and eloquence competition on built heritage in Haiti, which was held from March 5 to April 15, 2023 https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-39046-haiti-reminder-national-essay-and-eloquence-contest-open-participations-all-details.html on the theme "Bois Caiman: a neglected historical heritage, get involved!" The members of the jury: Marjory LOUIS-MARD, Arol ST FELIX, Minouche SENEPHARD and Vladimir PREDVIL, 4 seasoned professionals designated the 3 winners of this competition.



1st Prize: Nerline ETIENNE (Student in medical biology at UNASMOH)

Rewards: a stay in Cap-Haitien with Sunrise Airways, Laptop, Works, a Household appliance, a Medal, a Certificate.



2nd Prize: Jehu PASCAL (Student dissertation at the FDSE)

Rewards: a stay in Cap-Haitien Sunrise Airways, a Tablet, Books, a Household appliance, a Medal and a Certificate.



3rd Prize: Rony PETIT (Student in art history at IERAH-ISERSS)

Rewards: received a Smartphone, Books, a Household appliance, a Medal and a Certificate.



People's Choice Award: Erique Loubens ANTOINE.



IH/ iciHaiti


















Young women, including adolescent parents, gather at a UNFPA Safe Space in Bangula camp in the aftermath of Cyclone Freddy (file photo).

Nsanje, Malawi  "We are sleeping in the cold," says 19-year-old Mirriam Karilito, who is seven months pregnant. "And when the rains come, it's worse."

Tropical Cyclone Freddy made landfall in Malawi on 14 March. In its wake, hundreds of thousands of buildings have been destroyed, at least one thousand people have been killed and more than 650,000 people have been displaced.

In recent weeks, the threat from the cyclone itself has abated. But rain continues to fall, causing weakened structures to cave and exacerbating already dire conditions in the Nsanje district - especially for women and girls like Ms. Karilito.

Driven from her home by the cyclone, Ms. Karilito now lives in one of the dozens of temporary camps that have sprung up to accommodate those displaced. But her shelter, made of grass and sticks, offers scant protection.

"I fear for my health and that of my baby," she said.

Shelter, but not safety

For women and girls, displacement presents particular challenges, including the risk of violence, exploitation and abuse.

Menstrual hygiene products are also in short supply at the camps, forcing women and girls to remain inside their shelters while menstruating.

Anne Benjamin, 15, is one of the more than 300 adolescent girls now taking refuge at a converted storage facility called Bangula camp. More than 13,000 people live there in total.

For Anne and the other girls at Bangula, it is a struggle to manage their menstrual health, as the camp offers few pit latrines and its bathrooms are in disrepair.

"We are now using the river for bathing," she said. "But it's difficult to wash and dry the cloth we use as pads, because the men are always loitering around."

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Sharing stories, easing hardships

To combat these challenges, UNFPA is providing adolescent girls and pregnant women at Nsanje district's camps with dignity kits containing supplies like menstrual pads, underwear, soap and sanitary napkins.

The agency has also set up a network of 68 safe spaces where women and girls can obtain mental health services and information related to sexual and reproductive health, menstrual hygiene and other life skills.

More than 11,000 women and girls, including Anne, have participated so far.

"The safe space has helped ease some of the hardships I face in the camp. During the sessions, we are encouraged to share our stories and to discuss how best we can handle the challenges we are facing," Anne said.

The safe spaces also offer camp residents an avenue for disclosing incidents of violence or sexual exploitation. Eleven have been reported so far, and UNFPA and local government officials are following up.

"I now know my rights and where to report if someone takes advantage of me," Anne said. "Through the safe space, I have learned so many things that have helped me to survive."
President Emmerson Mnangagwa has been invited to British monarch Prince Charles' coronation set for May 6, 2023 at Westminster Abbey.

He will form part of a long list of international dignitaries expected at the ceremonial home of Britain's monarchy.

Prince Charles, who will take up the title of King Charles the third (King Charles III), officially takes over reigns from his mother, late Queen Elizabeth.

He acceded to the throne on September 8 last year, upon the death of Queen Elizabeth II, the longest serving monarch.

His wife Camilla will also take up the role of British Queen.

Queen Elizabeth passed on September 8 last year.

Mnangagwa broke the news on Twitter Monday following a visit by British Ambassador Melanie Robinson on Sunday.

"I'm most excited to announce that I have accepted an invitation to the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III," said Mnangagwa.

"Yesterday I met with the British Ambassador, Melanie Robinson. We also discussed trade, investment, and the special relationship between Zimbabwe and the UK."

Zimbabwe's relationship with its former colony has not been all rosy. Britain has accused successive Zimbabwean governments of deliberately ignoring basic tenets of democracy, including human rights.

I'm most excited to announce that I have accepted an invitation to the coronation of His Majesty King Charles III.

Yesterday I met with the British Ambassador, Melanie Robinson. We also discussed trade, investment, and the special relationship between Zimbabwe and the UK. pic.twitter.com/WcwXfShncQ

-- President of Zimbabwe (@edmnangagwa) April 17, 2023
Mobile Legends: Bang Bang Philippines will mount its first MLBB-themed music carnival event to gather users around Metro Manila on April 22, 2023, in Market Market, Taguig. The event will be spearheaded by famous artists and MLBB creators ChooxTV, Jelai Andres, Buboy Villar, and a secret bida who have been part of the Be The Bida campaign that aims to encourage users to be their own superstar.

The one-day event will be packed with exciting activities designed to help users unleash their talents and meet other MLBB users. The venue is also specially crafted to give them the chance to experience the virtual MLBB world in real life and how to be the main character in MLBB through challenges.

Those who wish to participate in the event can go to Market! Market! and enter the venue for FREE. Fans will see fun activations such as the Bida Wall that allows them to take photos in an ALLSTAR-themed photo booth. Fans will also go through the MLBB Minion Lane Maze up to the 360 rotating photo stage to take photos with Miya.

In-game turrets are also stationed to be destroyed by participants. Apart from the towers, a lucky wheel will give awesome prizes such as limited-edition merch items and ALLSTAR-themed rewards.

Meanwhile, the Main Stage will host exciting show matches and meet and greet with the invited MLBB personalities, including popular esports players from ECHO namely Karl Gabriel "KarlTzy" Nepomuceno and Tristan "Yawi" Cabrera.

Simultaneously, the in-game event ALLSTAR Last Encore runs until 31 April 2023 to give players high-value in-game rewards. To participate, log in to MLBB application, complete Wish Tasks to get Wish Skin Fragments during the event, and exchange them for any of the returning event-exclusive skins.
ASUS Philippines expands its ASUS ExpertBook Series with the all-new ExpertBook B5 (B5602C), and ExpertBook B5 Flip (B5602F) laptops. These two new ExpertBook laptops boast a large 16-inch display, 16:10 aspect ratio, and it only weighs 1.4kg despite the devices large screen.

Level up your business because the ASUS ExpertBook B5 series is up to Intel Core i7 CPUs with Intel Arc graphics and enterprise-grade security.

With the growing demand for hybrid work setup and business laptops in the Philippines, these new ExpertBook B5 series features up to 12th Gen Intel Core processor, with up to Intel Arc A350M discrete graphics, dual-fan cooling, AI-powered conferencing technology, and dual-SSD RAID support to meet the needs of the growing modern workflow in the country.

Refined for the Modern Filipino Professional

Weighing only 1.4kg, The ExpertBook B5 and B5 Flip are crafted with magnesium-aluminum alloy and pure aluminum to create a classy, premium design. The 16-inch display and 16:10 aspect ratio is perfect for multitasking because they will provide users a larger visual workspace as compared to the standard 16:9 screen in the market.

For users looking for a better display, these two new ExpertBook series laptops have an OLED option, ExpertBook B5 OLED (B5602C OLED) and B5 Flip OLED (B5602F OLED). ASUS OLED laptops let you enjoy an incredible viewing experience at home, work, or traveling. It is also less harmful to the eyes because it produces 70 percent less blue light emissions, perfect for users working for more than 8 hours a day. Lastly, ASUS OLED laptops produce cinema-grade colors perfect for presentations and client meetings.

The new ExpertBook B5 and B5 Flip are designed to last a day with their all-day battery life to ensure an efficient and stress-free remote work experience. On-the-go Filipino professionals will no longer worry if there are no available charging stations because of the battery life of this device. The B5 Flip also supports fast-charge technology that will charge the laptop up to 50 percent in just less than an hour.

As an additional feature, the ASUS ExpertBook B5 Flip has a 360 flippable screen and a garaged stylus for easier and faster content sharing, perfect for users who need to present from time to time.

No compromise work experience

The new ASUS ExpertBook B5 and B5 Flip are powered by up to 12th Gen Intel Core i7 processor with Intel vPro platform and up to 40 GB of RAM. All these powerful features promise an efficient and powerful workflow to users looking for a device that can run multiple apps simultaneously.

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For businesses dealing with data security, the ASUS ExpertBook B5 and B5 Flip have an Intel vPro support, a built-in fingerprint sensor, and TPM 2.0 chip to protect the laptops data. It also includes a physical webcam shield for instant privacy and an integrated Kensington Nano lock slot to easily secure the data.

Lastly, to ensure no workflow hiccups, the ExpertBook B5 and B5 Flip are equipped with up to Intel Arc A350M discrete graphics that deliver a quiet, cool, and powerful performance that minimizes the noise of the laptop especially when running demanding tasks.

Reliable, dependable, and durable

The Expertbook B5 and B5 Flip underwent a series of industry thresholds, including the ultra-demanding MIL-STD 810H US military standard. This ensures that both ExpertBook laptops are built to survive extreme environments -- from freezing temperatures to the searing heat of desert storms and from high-speed shocks to everyday bumps. It also underwent rigorous in-house testing, including panel pressure, shock, and drop tests for an assurance of serious durability. Even the keyboard is engineered to resist everyday spills and splashes.

The all-new ExpertBook B5 series laptops are also taking professional conferencing to the next level with ASUS-exclusive AI-powered technologies. Both laptops have a two-way AI-powered noise-canceling technology and an AI-driven camera. The latest enhancement enables users to customize the microphone, allowing the ASUS ExpertBook B5 and B5 Flip to adapt however best suits the location. On-the-go professionals will no longer have to worry because joining a video conference in a crowded place will no longer be a nuisance.

Meanwhile, the AI-powered camera ensures excellent video quality for every virtual meeting. The motion-tracking technology automatically keeps the users face centered. It adjusts the focus to their eyes  eliminating the annoyance of adjusting the camera mid-chat. With its ability to automatically enhance image quality and brightness, the AI camera is perfect for working anywhere, anytime.

Availability in the Philippines

The ASUS ExpertBook B5 and ASUS ExpertBook B5 Flip are truly modern business marvels. With its improved and new features, the future of working remotely is promising to every Filipino professional. You can Talk to our Experts here to know more about these new ASUS ExpertBook series laptops.

Stay tuned for more news on the incredible ASUS for Business products on the ASUS Facebook page and the ASUS for Business website. For inquiries, you can also send us a message on ASUS for Business Facebook page.
Xperto, a Philippine-based tech startup company that develops digital solutions for lifelong learning and professional organizations, has announced that its CEO, Engr. Emmanuel Caguimbal, has received the prestigious Philippine Federation of Professional Associations (PFPA) Award for his outstanding contributions to his field. PFPA Award recognizes Filipino professionals who have made significant contributions to their respective fields and aims to leverage the expertise of professionals in both the government and private sectors to enhance the quality of life of Filipinos.

Caguimbal's vision of developing digital solutions blossomed after he experienced frustrating issues attending conferences, such as delayed starts, registration issues, technical glitches, and inadequate staffing caused by limited manpower and a lack of technology for planning and managing professional development events. Xpertos team of developers innovated a web-based platform that hosts virtual events for professionals and students, which includes end-to-end services such as registration, payment collection, virtual event platform setup, and certification.

Through his sense of urgency and innovation, Caguimbal's vision led Xperto to be at the forefront of the digital transformation of professional organizations in the Philippines. Their three core services, namely, Xperto Event Management System (XEMS) are used for events through automated registration and benefits higher attendee engagement, fast and secure payments as well as networking opportunities. Second is the Xperto Association Management System (XAMS) which simplifies member registration and management. Third is the Xperto Credentialing Management System (XCMS) which streamlines the process of applying for and issuing credentials while leveraging blockchain technology to enhance security.

Currently, Xperto is expanding its services to further professional societies in the health, business, natural, and built environments. Its plan is to service other professional communities, sororities, fraternities, and alumni associations. In fact, Xperto achieved a significant milestone by being selected as one of the Top 14 startups among the ninth cohort of IdeaSpace's Flagship Accelerator Program and received recognition as one of the beneficiaries of the DOST-PCIEERD Startup Grant Fund Program. These noteworthy accomplishments in the past demonstrates Xperto's potential to make a more remarkable impact in the industry.

Xperto's success story is a testament to the growing trend of digital solution platforms in the Philippines that allow professional organizations to thrive in the modern world. Engr. Caguimbal believes that behind their success, one good entrepreneur should have a solid understanding of technology, business mathematics, and good people skills. What started as Caguimbal's vision turned into a fruitful passion and is now recognized by the PFPA as a notable contribution to Filipino advancement and innovation.

With this award, Xperto continues to drive innovation, develop digital solutions, and provide unparalleled services to its customers, making a significant contribution to the advancement of the Philippines.
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A deadly fire at a hospital in Beijing killed at least 29 people, with 26 of the victims being patients.

The fire broke out in a wing of Beijings Changfeng Hospital that housed critically ill patients, according to a city government official who spoke at a news briefing on Wednesday.

The incident, which occurred at about 12.50pm on Tuesday, prompted China to order an investigation into the cause of the fire.

12 people have been detained so far, including the director of the hospital and representatives from a company renovating the hospital, Sun Haitao from Beijings public security bureau told a press conference on Wednesday.

Dramatic videos on social media showed people escaping the smoke and flames by using tied bedsheets to climb down the walls.

Though 71 people were rescued during the evacuation, the death toll has risen since the fire was first reported. State-run media reported that 21 people had died by 6pm on Tuesday. This number, however, climbed to 29 a day later.

The fire was extinguished in around half an hour, according to local reports, but questions have been raised about why the news was not reported earlier.

Many social media posts about the incident were deleted by Chinese censors, with people criticising a delay in announcing the news.

Rescue work at the scene concluded in 3.5 hours, but the public only knew that 21 had died from the fire when its already past 8 in the evening, one person wrote on WeChat in a post that was later deleted.

It is very puzzling that little information was known about a fire killing 21 people in a densely populated major city like Beijing before the official notification, the comment said.

Despite the tragic incident, Changfeng Hospital had boasted about its fire preparedness in a February article on its official WeChat account, leading to criticism from some members of the public.

Access to the hospital has been blocked, as broken and burned out windows could be seen along with heavy police presence, according to local media reports.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation and there is no information available at this time regarding the extent of the injuries suffered by survivors.

Additional reporting by agencies
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China has warned Guatemala against helping Taiwan and said the one-China principle was the overriding trend in the world ahead of the Latin American nations president announcing a two-day visit to Taipei.

Taiwan is a self-governing country that China claims as its own territory. The country often frowns upon attempts by Taiwan to shore up international support for its cause.

Guatemala is only one of the 13 remaining diplomatic allies the self-governing island has. The list mostly includes small nations in the Caribbean, the Pacific and Latin America.

On Wednesday, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin also dismissed Taiwanese attempts to expand its international space, dubbing it as just a gimmick.

The fact that China has established diplomatic relations with 182 countries shows that the one-China principle is the overriding trend in the world, he said at a regular press briefing.

He said Guatemalas attempts to not follow the universal recognition of the one-China principle and sticking to their wrong decision will fail in the end.

Beijing has repeatedly called on Guatemala to make the right choice by forging diplomatic relations with it and break away from Taipei for economic prosperity.

In recent years, China has managed to lure away at least seven diplomatic allies of the island nation, with the latest being Honduras, which suddenly cut off its relations with Taiwan.

We urge Guatemala to not help Taiwan authorities in their attempts to seek independence and go against the trends in the world and aspirations of the people in that country, Mr Wenbin said.

Guatemalan president Alejandro Giammattei had on Tuesday announced his two-day visit to Taiwan scheduled to begin on Saturday.

This will be his second meeting with Taiwanese president Tsai Ing-wen within a month after Mr Giammattei welcomed her to Guatemala during her 10-day tour of Central America.

The tour included a stopover in the US, where Ms Tsai met House of Representatives speaker Kevin McCarthy, something that angered China into holding three-day drills around the Taiwan Strait.

During their meeting this month, Mr Giammattei reaffirmed the countrys recognition of the sovereignty of Taiwan and called the island the one and only true China.

The two leaders will sign trade deals to boost exports of Guatemalan coffee, sugar and other products and a $1.5m agreement for developmental work at the airport in Guatemala City.

Mr Wenbin said Taiwan belongs to China and added that opposition to the one-China principle has changed the status quo.

He also condemned the joint communique of the Group of Seven nations that criticised Beijings threats, coercion, intimidation and the use of force in the Taiwan Strait.

He said the G7 communique grossly interfered in the countrys internal affairs and maliciously smeared and discredited it.
Mr Fintiri polled a total of 430,861 votes to defeat Mrs Dahiru who got 398,788 votes.

The Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) has declared Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the governorship election in Adamawa State.

Mr Fintiri won the supplementary election with 9,337 votes. He defeated his closest rival, Aisha Dahiru, popularly called Binani, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who came second in the poll with 6,513 votes.

Mr Fintiri and Mrs Dahiru are the major contenders in the governorship poll.

The supplementary poll was held in 69 polling units in the 20 local governments in the state, with less than 40,000 eligible voters.

At the 18 March governorship poll before it was declared inconclusive, Mr Fintiri was leading with over 30,000 votes.

For both the main election and the rerun, the governor polled a total of 430,861 votes while the APC candidate scored 398,788 votes.

The final results were announced by the INEC Returning Officer in the state, Mohammed Mele.

Mr Mele, a professor, said the PDP governorship candidate has met the constitutional requirement and thereby returned as governor of the state.

"I, Professor Muhammed Mele, hereby certified that I am the Returning Officer for the Adamawa State Governorship election. The election was contested. That the candidates received the following votes," he said.

"That Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected."

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Ari, had, on Sunday, declared Mrs Dahiru the winner of the governorship election.

Mr Ari announced the APC candidate winner of the election while the collation of the results of the supplementary election conducted on Saturday was still in progress.

However, INEC headquarters in Abuja declared the REC's action null and void and suspended the collation of the results.

The commission also summoned him to Abuja and subsequently barred him from the office. It is not certain if he has arrived Abuja.

Also on Monday, Mrs Dahiru approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop INEC from voiding her illegal declaration as Adamawa governor-elect. The court adjourned to 26 April, the day the collation of the results of the supplementary election resumed and Mr Fintiri declared winner.

Meanwhile, the electoral body said it had decided to write the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, requesting to probe and prosecute Mr Ari for his conduct.

Mr Baba, on his part, has ordered the removal of the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde, over his alleged role in the illegal declaration of Mrs Dahiru, as the winner of the state governorship election on Sunday.

The IGP also directed the Gombe State Police Commissioner, Etim Equa, to proceed to Adamawa to take charge.

See the results of the supplementary election below

Total registered voters 42,929

Accredited voters 16,423

AA 2

AAC 28

ADP 40

APC 6,513

APGA 16

APM 03

APP 02

LP 03

NNPP 05

NRM 35

PDP 9,337

PRP 03

SDP 05

YPP 06

ZLP 01

Total 15,999

Rejected votes 399

Total votes cast 16,398

Total Election Results

Total registered voters 21965666

Accredited voters 876,387

Total results of the 18 March election and 15 April supplementary elections

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AA 643

ADC 324

ADP 2,174

APC 398,788

APGA 892

APM 606

APP 286

LP 2,732

NNPP 4,852

NRM 1,272

PDP 430,861

PRP 1,188

SDP 6,870

YPP 1,431

ZLP 200

Total valid votes 853,819

Rejected votes 15,287

Total votes cast 869,106
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North Korea has built and will soon launch its first military spy satellite, Kim Jong-un said after touring the countrys space agency with his daughter.

Launching the spy satellite into orbit would be a violation of UN sanctions.

State media released pictures of Mr Kim touring the National Aerospace Development Administration facility with his daughter, thought to be 10-years-old and called Kim Ju-ae, who has accompanied him to other recent events such as missile launches and military parades. He was seen apparently smoking a cigarette and talking to officials.

North Korea has conducted missile and rocket tests previously, demonstrating its ability to send satellites into space, but analysts questioned whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying on a satellite after only low-resolution images were released after past launches.

In December, the country said it conducted the final phase test for the spy satellite, releasing grainy black and white pictures showing the space view of South Korean cities.

Experts at that time said that the pictures were too crude to use for surveillance purposes and that they were likely capable of only recognising big targets like warships or military installations.

State media KCNA reported that the satellite production has been completed, but it did not reveal the launch date.

Mr Kim said it was natural for North Korea to boost its military deterrence in the face of serious security threats posed by the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the US and South Korea.

Kim Jong-un, smoking a cigarette. with his daughter (AP)

The North Korean leader highlighted the US deployment of nuclear carriers, nuclear strategic bombers and other huge strategic assets of various missions in the Korean Peninsula, possibly suggesting that it could use reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including US military bases.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

UN sanctions on North Korea against the launch of satellites were imposed after it send its first and second observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016. But foreign experts say neither transmitted imagery back to North Korea.
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Five police officials in northern Indias Uttar Pradesh (UP) state have been suspended for negligence in connection with the murder of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother.

A former MP, Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range in an incident that was captured on live television over the weekend.

The brothers had been arrested in February in connection with the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder of state-level lawmaker Raju Pal, who had defeated Atiqs brother in a November 2004 by-election.

UP police officials were escorting the two brothers for a mandatory medical checkup on Saturday night when they briefly stopped to talk to reporters. The three accused posed as journalists before killing the brothers at point-blank range using semi-automatic pistols.

Among those who have been suspended include police station in-charge Ashwani Kumar Singh, a sub inspector and three constables, a senior police official told the Press Trust of India news agency on Wednesday.

The suspensions came after the formation of two Special Investigation Teams (SITs) on Monday  one to probe the murders and the other to supervise the first team.

The team formed to probe the murders found the police officials guilty of negligence.

The brutal executions in the presence of police officials, journalists and live television cameras drew criticism and backlash from opposition parties against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state government led by hardline Hindu nationalist monk chief minister Yogi Adityanath.

Ashraf Ahmed and Atiq Ahmed moments before being murdered on live TV (ANI)

Opposition parties accused the Adityanath government of breakdown of law and order in the state.

Just days before the murders, Ahmeds son Asad and his aide were shot dead by UP police officials.

On Tuesday, the National Human RIghts Commission also issued a notice to UP police for the killings and asked for a report to be submitted in four weeks, reported ANI.

According to a report in the Indian Express, Ahmed, who was a former MP and state-level lawmaker, had over 100 criminal cases registered against him, including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and extortion among others.

Police records also showed he headed a gang of 144 members in UPs Prayagraj city.
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Indian mountain climber Baljeet Kaur, who had been declared missing this week while scaling the worlds tenth highest peak in Nepal, has been found alive, according to officials.

The news of her miraculous rescue comes after she was rumoured to have died and one climber was found dead in the hazardous conditions of the Mt Annapurna.

Ms Kaur, 27, had gone out of radio contact above Camp IV on the mountain and was declared missing on Monday, leading to rumours that she had died.

However, she sent a radio transmission asking for urgent help on Tuesday morning, which prompted the beginning of an aerial search operation.

Ms Kaur, who had scaled the mountain without using supplemental oxygen, was found alive and rescued from 7,363m after an aerial search team located her above Camp IV, Pasang Sherpa, chair at Pioneer Adventure, told the Himalayan Times newspaper.

She has suffered from frostbite and is now being rushed to CIWEC Hospital from Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, Mr Sherpa said.

She disappeared while descending from the peak, but the search crew was able to find her close to the Annapurna I camp.

Meanwhile, another climber named Noel Hanna from Northern Ireland died on the mountain on Monday.

Another Indian climber named Anurag Malu was declared missing on Monday while he was descending from Camp III of Mt Annapurna.

The search for other missing climbers continues, and officials said they are working to ensure the safety of all those on the mountain.

Hours before she lost contact with authorities, Ms Kaur, who hails from northern Indias Gurgaon city, shared a photo of herself on social media.

Climbing a mountain is a beautiful metaphor for life itself, she wrote in the caption. You decide on an objective, get ready, ascend, and take in the scenery.

On 9 April, she also uploaded a photo taken at Camp 2 above Mount Annapurna I.

In May last year, Ms Kaur scaled Mt Lhotse and became the first Indian climber to have climbed four 8000-metre peaks in a single season.

The news of Ms Kaur being found alive is a remarkable turn of events for her family, friends, and fellow climbers who were fearing the worst after her disappearance.

Annapurna stands at 8,091m above sea level. The dangerous conditions of the mountain make scaling it a risky endeavour.
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The UN is looking to sit down with the Taliban in baby steps to officially recognise Afghanistans caretaker regime and utilise the militant groups need for recognition as leverage, said a top official from the intergovernmental agency.

The move comes at a time the UN is grappling with the Talibans efforts to restrict its operations by passing orders that have forced its staff to stop work in the country amid crippling poverty and diminishing human rights.

The UN could pack its bags and exit from Afghanistan by May if the Taliban persists.

What we are hoping is that well gather them now in another two weeks in the region, and they will have that first meeting of envoys across the board  the region and internationally  with the secretary-general for the first time," said Amina Mohammed, the regions UN deputy secretary-general.

The highest-ranking woman leader at the UN was addressing a public gathering at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs on Monday.

She added that a table discussion with the Taliban will see diplomats for Afghanistan from across the world.

And out of that, we hope that well find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition [of the Taliban], a principled recognition, Ms Mohammed said.

Asking if it is possible, she said she doesnt know.

[But] that discussion has to happen. The Taliban clearly want recognition, and thats the leverage we have, the UN deputy secretary general said.

The UNs Development Programme (UNDP) administrator Achim Steiner said the agency is negotiating with Taliban officials to tweak an edict that has barred local women from working with the UN.

I think there is no other way of putting it [other] than heartbreaking, he said.

I mean, if I were to imagine the UN family not being in Afghanistan today, I have before me these images of millions of young girls, young boys, fathers, mothers, who essentially will not have enough to eat, the UNDP head told the Associated Press.

A total of 3,300 Afghans employed by the UN  2,700 men and 600 women  have been asked to stay home since 12 April in a diktat by the Taliban, impeding serious human rights work for millions in the country.

It is fair to say that where we are right now is the entire United Nations system having to take a step back and reevaluating its ability to operate there, Mr Steiner said.

But its not about negotiating fundamental principles, human rights.

A report by the UN shows Afghanistan needs more women working amid its flailing economy.

The number of Afghans living in poverty nearly doubled to 34 million after the Taliban takeover, the UN said.

Some of Afghanistans economic problems are because of the Talibans policies of keeping most women out of the workplace, Mr Steiner said.

While these economic problems confirm a rise in the need for more aid, the UN has to decide that human rights are non-negotiable, the official said. If the Taliban does not relent, the UN will reduce its presence in May, Mr Steiner said.

The Talibans rule over Afghanistan is not recognised as legitimate by any country and the countrys seat the UN is still in the name of the former government of Western-backed president Ashraf Ghani.
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Anti-monarchy demonstrators have shared their plan to disrupt the coronation of Kind Charles III next month.

Republic, a protest group that calls for the monarchy to be replaced with an elected head of state, says its supporters will march along The Mall on 6 May, down which the King will process from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Abbey.

The group is urging participants to don yellow clothing and carry placards emblazoned with the words Not My King.

Demonstrators will gather in Trafalgar Square from 6am, before marching down the procession route towards Westminister Abbey  the site of the coronations of England and Britains monarchs since 1066.

Protesters will wave signs saying "Not My King" as King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort make their way to Westminster Abbey (UK Press via Getty Images)

Graham Smith, chief executive of Republic, has vowed to make the peaceful demonstration unmissable and loud, but told The Times that they were not staging any Extinction Rebellion-style demos because its not a good look and doesnt help the cause.

He said more than 1,350 people had pledged to take part so far.

Republics website states: On Saturday 6th May the eyes of the world will be on the Coronation. This is the moment we make our objection loud, visible and impossible to ignore.

Pledge to add your voice to the call for a republic.

Mr Smith has branded the crowning of Charles and the Queen Consort a pointless piece of theatre which will cost tens of millions of pounds and be a slap in the face for people struggling with the cost-of-living crisis.

He said: Anti-monarchy protests will carry one simple message: Do you want Charles or do you want a choice?

The campaigners have written to every police force in the UK including the Metropolitan Police asking for reassurances they will not interfere in peaceful and meaningful protests against the monarchy.

Republic has promised a loud and unmissible demonstration (AFP via Getty Images)

Protesters have already targeted Charles at recent public appearances, with their Not my King signs and shouts of Why are you wasting money on a coronation Charles?

The group is asking people to sign a pledge to protest and to add their voices to their call for the UK to become a republic and have an elected head of state.

On Saturday 6th May the eyes of the world will be on the coronation, its website says. This is the moment we make our objection loud, visible and impossible to ignore.
 Close Prince Harry's lawyer arrives at High Court ahead of privacy claim against The Sun's publisher

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Prince Harrys case against a newspaper he accuses of phone-hacking is back in court today. The Duke of Sussex is suing the publisher of the Sun, News Group Newspapers, over alleged unlawful information-gathering.

On day one of the case, the duke said he felt like the tabloid press was a third party in all of his relationships. In court documents revealed at the High Court in London on Tuesday, Harry said he always tried to be the best partner he could be, but every woman has her limit.

He said that the tabloid press always became involved in his relationships, and tried to ruin them.

Whenever I have been in a relationship, I have always tried to be the best partner that I possibly could, but every woman has her limit, he said in a witness statement.

Unfortunately, they are not just in a relationship with me but with the entire tabloid press as a third party.

Meanwhile, the court also heard that the Prince of Wales allegedly reached a settlement, that the late queen was aware of, with publisher News Group Newspapers over claims of hacking.
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A new Covid strain behind a surge of infections in India has sparked fears it could also lead to a rise in cases in the UK.

Research indicates Arcturus could be one 1.2 times more infectious than the last major sub-variant.

Also known as Omicron subvariant XBB.1.16, the strain was first identified in January and has been monitored by the World Health Organisation (WHO) since 22 March, which upgraded it to a variant of interest in mid-April.

Addressing Arcturuss emergence at a press conference on 29 March, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove, the WHOs technical lead for Covid, said: Its been in circulation for a few months.

We havent seen a change in severity in individuals or in populations, but thats why we have these systems in place. It has one additional mutation in the spike protein, which, in lab studies, shows increased infectivity as well as potential increased pathogenicity.

The sub-variant, one of 600 spawned from Omicron so far but seemingly no more lethal than others, has been detected in 34 countries so far, including Britain and US.

In India, the countrys health ministry reported 63,380 active Covid cases on 25 April, part of a steady six-week rise that has prompted compulsory face masks to be introduced in some states, hospitals to carry out mock drills and vaccine production to be ramped up.

India was devastated by the Delta wave in 2021 and suffered a total of 4.7m excess deaths, according to WHO estimates.

Dr Vipin Vashishtha, a paediatrician and former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunisation, told The Hindustan Times that Arcturuss symptoms include a high fever, a cough and itchy conjunctivitis or pinkeye.

Five deaths and around 135 cases have been detected in the UK so far, according to the UK Health Security Agency, but Professor Paul Hunter of the University of East Anglia has told The Daily Mail it is too soon to say that Britain could face a fresh surge in infections driven by Arcturus.

Commuters wear face masks amidst the spike in Covid cases in Chennai, India (EPA)

Although in India it has taken off in the past few weeks so far it has not been increasing rapidly globally, Professor Hunter said.

I suspect we will see a wave of infections with this variant but I doubt it will cause a big wave probably not even as great as the one we have just had in the UK and so probably not put as great a pressure on health services than recently.

The professor was alluding to the Kraken strain of Covid, also known as XBB.1.5, which was the dominant form of the disease in Britain until February.

Scientists at the University of Tokyo comparing the Kraken and Arcturus sub-variants have suggested that the newer strain spreads about 1.17 to 1.27 times more efficiently than its relative, warning that it will spread worldwide in the near future aided by the fact that it seems robustly resistant to antibodies lingering in the body from previous Covid infections.

In the US, Arcturus is now responsible for 9.6 per cent of American Covid cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the WHO.

Virologist Professor Lawrence Young from the University of Warwick told The Independent that the rise of the new variant in India is a sign that were not yet out of the woods.

We have to keep an eye on it, he said. When a new variant arises you have to find out if its more infectious, more disease-causing, is it more pathogenic? And whats going to happen in terms of immune protection.

These kinds of things highlight the importance of genomic surveillance but a lot of countries including our own have let our guards down a bit and we cant be sure what variants are around and what level of infection theyre causing until we see a significant outbreak.
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Last week, Ralph Yarl found himself lying in a hospital bed with gunshot wounds to his left forehead and right arm.

Harrowing photos showed the Black teenager with tubes coming out of him and his head and arm wrapped up in bandages.

He is alive but his family says he has a long road to recovery ahead  a recovery that threatens to derail his dreams of going off to college to pursue a career in engineering.

So how did he end up here?

He went to pick up his younger brothers from a friends house, accidentally rang the doorbell at the wrong address and was shot twice by the 84-year-old white homeowner, Andrew Lester.

Its a horror case that has led protesters to take to the streets, civil rights attorneys to rally behind the 16-year-olds family, and Hollywood celebrities use their platform to amplify the case  all demanding justice for the Black teenager and for the white homeowner to face charges.

Heres what we know so far about the case:

The shooting

The 16-year-old high school junior had gone to collect his siblings from a friends house on 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri, on the evening of 13 April, according to Kansas City Police.

Police said that the teenager got muddled up with the address and went to a home on 115th Street by mistake.

Ralph allegedly rang the doorbell and the homeowner opened fire on him through a glass screen door using a .32 caliber revolver.

The aspiring Texas A&M University student was shot twice  once in the head and once in the arm.

Prosecutors said that there is no indication Ralph and the homeowner exchanged any words with each other before the shooting unfolded and there is no footage of the encounter.

According to a probable cause statement, Mr Lester told police he was in bed when he heard the doorbell ring and so he grabbed a handgun.

The 16-year-old high school junior had gone to collect his siblings from a friends house on 13 April when he got the wrong home and was shot (Ben Crump Law via AP)

When he saw Ralph, he claimed he was scared to death at the boys size and feared he was unable to defend himself given his elderly age.

He claimed he thought the boy was trying to break in and so shot twice through his exterior glass door, the documents state.

However, Ralph told police from his bed at Childrens Mercy Hospital that he only pressed the doorbell and did not try to enter the home.

He said he was waiting at the door when the man opened it and immediately shot him. He fell to the ground and was shot a second time, he said.

After being shot, he said he heard the shooter warn him: Dont come around here.

Prosecutors also said that the investigation also found no evidence to suggest Ralph was trying to enter the property.

Following the shooting, Ralph managed to stumble away to some other homes in the neighbourhood to get help.

Unfortunately, he had to run to 3 different homes before someone finally agreed to help him after he was told to lie on the ground with his hands up, the family said in a GoFundme campaign.

Kansas City Police were called to reports of a shooting and arrived to find the teenager outside with gunshot wounds.

According to a probable cause statement, Mr Lester told police he was in bed when he heard the doorbell ring and so he grabbed a handgun.

When he saw Ralph, he claimed he was scared to death at the boys size and feared he was unable to defend himself given his elderly age.

He claimed he thought the boy was trying to break in and so shot twice through his exterior glass door, the documents state.

However, Ralph told police from his bed at Childrens Mercy Hospital that he did not pull the door  but only pressed the doorbell.

Police officer walks past the house where the shooting took place (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

He said he was waiting at the door when the man opened it and immediately shot him.

He fell to the ground and was shot a second time, he said.

After being shot, he said he heard the shooter warn him: Dont come around here.

Investigators also said that Ralph did not enter the home.

The homeowner

White homeowner Andrew Lester, an 84-year-old retired aircraft mechanic, is now facing the rest of his life in prison for shooting the Black teenager.

His family broke its silence for the first time to condemn the shooting.

Mr Lesters grandson Daniel Ludwig told The Daily Beast that the violent encounter never should have happened.

Its just crazy. I wish it didnt happen, he said.

Mr Ludwig, who said he is very close to Mr Lester, revealed he understands how easy it was for Ralph to get lost on the streets.

Id go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets, he said.

Its easy to do. They all look the same and everything.

Other people who knew the 84-year-old have described a penchant for anger and conspiracy theories.

Another grandson Klint Ludwig said that he was estranged from his grandfather because of the 84-year-olds right-wing views.

He claimed that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Lester had shared a crazy conspiracy theory about Dr Anthony Fauci.

He said his grandfather also used to make disparaging comments about Black people, gay people, and immigrants  and kept a large number of guns in his home.

Another relative, who did not want to be named, said Mr Lester spent considerable time at home in a living room chair, watching conservative news programs at high volume.

Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action on Wednesday (AP)

Mr Lesters ex-wife Mary Clayton has also spokem out to reveal why she isnt surprised by the shooting.

Ms Clayton, who was married to Mr Lester when she was young and had three children with him, told The New York Times she was always scared of her former husband.

During their 14-year marriage, she said he had anger issues and would smash up items around their home.

She called the police at least once over his rages but she said that nothing was done about it and she was told Mr Lester could do what he wanted in his home.

I was always scared of him, she said, adding of the shooting: It doesnt surprise me, what happened.

Following the shooting, Mr Lester was initially taken into custody on Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold.

However, under Missouri state law, a person can only be held for 24 hours on suspicion of a felony before officials must either charge or release them.

Attorneys for Ralph  and jail officials  said that the suspect was actually released after less than two hours.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference on Sunday that  due to Ralphs injuries  police had been unable to get a formal statement from him. This was also contradicted by Ralphs attorneys who said that the teenager gave an interview from his hospital bed on Friday.

On Monday morning, before charges were announced, Ben Crump and Lee Merritt  the prominent civil rights attorneys now representing the victim and his family  condemned the release of the armed and dangerous suspect.

There is no excuse for the release of this armed and dangerous suspect after admitting to shooting an unarmed, non-threatening, and defenseless teenager that rang his doorbell, the attorneys said. We demand swift action from Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest, and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting.

Police booking photo of Andrew Lester, charged with shooting Ralph Yarl (Kansas City Police)

The motive

Initially, officials denied any racial element to the shooting and offered no motive for the gunman opening fire on the teen.

Speaking on Sunday, the police chief said that there was no evidence to indicate that the shooting was racially motivated.

But, on Monday, when charges were announced, the prosecutor said he believed there was a racial component to the case.

He did not give details as to what led officials to that conclusion and nothing to that end was outlined in the probable cause document.

Mr Merritt, who is representing Ralph and his family, said that they were meeting with the prosecutor on Tuesday where they hoped to learn what racial element investigators had found.

He told CBS Mornings that the suspects claim that he felt threatened by a Black boy ringing his doorbell sounds awfully familiar.

Being Black has been seen as a threat often in this country. It is unjustifiable for him to use deadly force against this so-called threat. Again, Blackness is not a threat, he said.

Lee Merritt, lawyer for the family of Ralph Yarl, arrives for the initial court appearance of Andrew Lester (Getty Images)

He added that the investigation itself shows bias in the treatment of the Black teen and the white shooter.

We saw law enforcement respond by essentially criminalising the boy, he said of Mr Lesters lack of arrest.

[Mr Lester] went home and slept in his bed that night, he said.

Mr Crump told CNN that he believes things would have been different if the races of the suspect and victim were reversed.

Nobody can tell us if the roles were reversed, and you had a Black man shoot a white, 16-year-old teenager for merely ringing his doorbell that he would not be arrested, he said.

I mean, this citizen went home and slept in his bed at night after shooting that young Black kid in the head.

The charges

On Monday afternoon, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson finally announced that Mr Lester had been charged with two felonies: assault in the first degree, which carries a punishment of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment, and armed criminal action, which carries a punishment of 3 to 15 years.

However, more than 20 hours passed before Mr Lester was taken into custody.

He surrendered to authorities on Tuesday before being released again less than two hours later after posting $200,000 bond.

Under the conditions of his release, he is not allowed to possess weapons of any type or have any contact with Ralph or his family.

Mr Lester appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday for his arraignment.

He pleaded not guilty to the two felonies and was released on bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for 1 June.

The 84-year-old is facing life in prison on the charges but is also said to be under investigation for a possible hate crime.

Andrew Lester in mugshot after he surrendered to authorities on 18 April (Clay County Jail)

Mr Merritt told reporters outside Clay County Court on Wednesday that the Justice Department is looking into the case.

Before I even made it to Kansas City, we reached out to the Department of Justice, myself and my co-counsel Ben Crump, we have some longstanding relationships there, Mr Merritt said.

We thought that this was something the DOJ should be looking into. They are (looking into it). Its under investigation, theyve received our complaint and now theyre looking into it.

On Monday, when asked if Mr Lester could be charged with a hate crime by the state, the prosecutor said that it would not be possible under Missouri law.

In Missouri, a hate crime is a lower level of felony and to add the charge would amount to double jeopardy, he said.

Ralphs attorneys have also questioned why the suspect has not been charged with attempted murder.

While Mr Merritt said the family is happy that two felony charges have been brought, he has questions as to why Mr Lester has not been charged with attempted murder.

He told CBS Mornings on Tuesday that, while Mr Lesters age may be a factor in the case, the current and former president of the United States is about that age. He made a conscious decision to shoot a 16-year-old boy, he said.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin, he said.

Ralph released from hospital

Ralph was rushed to hospital after the shooting where he was listed in critical condition.

Two days later, Ralph was released from hospital to continue his recovery at home.

The 16-year-olds mother Cleo Nagbe spoke out to CBS Mornings Gayle King on Tuesday about the horror injuries that her son suffered in the shooting, revealing that he had a bullet lodged in his head for a staggering 12 hours.

Ralph was shot on the top of his left eye  his frontal lobe and the top of his right arm, she said.

He had the bullet up here [in his head] for about 12 hours before it was taken out, so that injury is extensive.

Ralph Yarl lies in hospital bed (Shaun King)

Ms Nagbe said that the extensive injuries mean that he has a long road ahead to recovery.

The residual effect of that injury is going to stay with him for quite a while, she said.

Ms Nagbe said that his return home needs to be put [...] into perspective as it was possible due to many family members being medical professionals.

Hes home but I want to remind everybody that Ralph is home because he is surrounded by a team of medical professionals, she said.

Now, her son is now left replaying Thursdays attack over and over again, she said,

You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again. And that just doesnt stop my tears either, because when you see your kid just sits there and constantly he just  tears are just rolling from both sides of his eyes, theres nothing you can say to him, she said.

She said that her son is able to communicate when he feels like it but he mostly just sits there and stares and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.

On Wednesday, Mr Merritt shared the first photo of the Black teenager recovering at home.

Ralph Yarl is home and recovering! How the bullet in his head did not cause more extensive damage is truly a miracle. To God be the glory! wrote Mr Merritt.

Ringing a doorbell is not a crime

The shooting  which marks the latest in a constantly-growing number of shootings of Black people in America  sparked protests in the city demanding justice for Ralph and questioning the treatment of the shooter.

Hundreds of residents first took to the streets of Kansas City on Sunday to march through the Northlands area where the teenager was shot.

Many carried placards reading Black Lives Matter, Ringing a doorbell is not a crime and Justice for Ralph, reported KSHB.

A pregnant family friend of Ralph Yarls parents told The Kansas City Star that she fears for her unborn child.

How do you protect a Black kid? said Patience Gaye.

What are we supposed to do now? We left our countries because we dont want to be killed. Thats why we left. They came to America for a better life. How is this a better life?

On Tuesday, over a thousand students at Ralphs school Staley High School staged a walkout  or unity walk  in solidarity with their classmate.

They were joined by school staff, civil rights leaders and politicians in a huge rally in downtown Kansas City where they chanted Justice for Ralph and We love you Ralph.

I was out here to support my friend Ralph through this time he is going through today, one of the boys friends told KSHB.

The student said he wasnt surprised by the number of people who had come out to support Ralph because everyone is willing to support a friend at our school.

GoFundMe donations

A GoFundMe launched to support the Black teenager has soared past $3.35m in donations.

Donations have been flooding in on a GoFundMe campaign, set up to help pay for the boys recovery.

As of around 9am ET Thursday  just three days after its launch  a staggering $3.35m had been raised.

Among the donors was comedian Ellyn Daniels who gave $15,000, Madonnas manager Guy Oseary who gave $5,000 and TV star Julianne Hough, who donated $1,000.

On the fundraising page, Ralphs aunt described the teenager as a fantastic kid who had dreams of doing to Texas A&M University to major in chemical Engineering.

At school, he is a member of the Technology Student Association and Science Olympia Team. Jazz and competition band. He is a section leader in the marching band; a scholar and one of the top base clarinet players in Missouri. He recently earned Missouri All-State Band recognition with an honorable mention. He plays multiple instruments in the metropolitan youth orchestra. He is a 2022 Missouri scholar academy alumni. Ralph can often be found with a musical instrument. He loves them all, the page reads.

Last summer, Ralph attended Missouri Scholars Academy, where he got a full college life experience. His goal is to attend Texas A&M to major in chemical Engineering.

Ralph Yarl GoFundMe tops $3m (GoFundMe)

When asked how he plans to get into this university, he said, Well, if they have a scholarship for music or academics, I know I can get it. Ralphs teacher and friends describe him as  a kind soul, quiet, friendly, well-mannered, always willing to help, super smart, and a musical genius. Ralph was looking forward to graduating high school and finally getting the opportunity to visit West Africa before starting college.

Life looks a lot different right now. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally. The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable. He is our miracle. We have heard these types of stories many times, and unfortunately, most black boys are not alive to get another chance.

Ralph deserves to have the future that he has dreams about. He deserves to be the light that shows the world that LOVE wins and that humanity is still Good. However, he will need a lot of help to get there. Funds from this account will be used for his medical bills and therapy. Any additional funds will be use for college expenses at Texas A&M, a trip to West Africa, and other expenses.

In an update on Tuesday, the family thanked people for their support and donations for the teenager and confirmed that he is now recovering from his injuries at home.

Ralph is currently at home with the family. He can ambulate and communicate. A true miracle considering what he survived.Each day is different. He has a long road ahead, the GoFundMe read.

However, we are very thankful that he is still here with us. Ive been taking the time to read the emails and comments to Ralph. It warms our hearts to see him smile at all the kind words. Thank you so much for loving Ralph.

On Monday it was announced that Ralph had been discharged from hospital.

Celebrities share outrage

Several celebrities have also spoken out to condemn the shooting, with actor Halle Berry  writing before charges were announced  urging her Twitter followers to contact the local prosecutor to bring charges against the homeowner.

His name is #RalphYarl and Im sick and tired of this feelingmy heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head by a man who didnt want him on his property. This innocent child is now fighting for his life, she wrote.

This could be your child. This should NOT happen. Please do something today! Join me and please contact Prosecutor Zachary Thompson and demand an immediate arrest and bring the appropriate charges: Building: James S. Rooney Justice Center Address: 11 South Water Street, Liberty, Missouri 64068 Phone: 816-736-8300 Fax: 816-736- 8301 Email: prosecutor@claycopa.com

Fellow Black actor Viola Davis also took to Instagram to demand action.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!! she wrote, directing people to the posts of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt.

Actor Gwyneth Paltrow wrote on Instagram: #RalphYarl accidentally rang the doorbell of the wrong house in KCMO. He was trying to pick his younger siblings. The white owner of the hours shot this Black child in the head. He shot him again as Ralph bled out. The shooter is free. No charges. This is America.

Kim Kardashian also used her platform to condemn the shooting, sharing an infographic of what happened to the teenage boy.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, actor Amy Schumer, model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen and actor Justin Timberlake also shared social media posts about the case as they all rallied behind the family of the 16-year-old boy now fighting his injuries.

Joe Biden welcomes victim to White House

President Joe Biden has also spoken with the teenager and his family and invited them to the White House.

The president called the 16-year-old on Monday afternoon after Ralph had returned home from hospital.

On Tuesday, he shared a photo of himself on the phone to the teenager, writing: Last night, I had a chance to call Ralph Yarl and his family. No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence. And Ralph, well see you in the Oval once you feel better.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also condemned the shooting in a press conference on Tuesday, calling it devastating and the latest in an epidemic of gun violence in America.

It feels like every week, at least once a week, I come to the podium and I talk about this gun violence epidemic that were seeing across the country, and how our communities and families across America, yet again, have been devastated by tragic acts of gun violence, she said.

And it is not just devastating for me, Im sure its devastating for all of you and your families. Its devastating for this president, its devastating for our administration ... to have to continue to do that over and over again.

Neighbours speak out

Neighbours have now spoken out about the shooting including one man  James Lynch, 42  who said he ran to the boys aid.

Mr Lynch, who lives on Northeast 115 Street, told NBC News that he heard loud screams and someone shouting help, help, Ive been shot!at around 10pm on Thursday night and went to see what the commotion was.

At first, he said he thought Ralph was dead and noticed what looked like a hole in his head near his eye socket.

I thought he was dead, he said.

No one deserves to lay there like that. He hasnt even begun to live his life yet. He didnt deserve to get shot.

He said he told the teen Im going to grab your hand really tight and then launched into his Eagle Scout training, keeping Ralph awake until EMTs arrived.

I didnt do anything but hold a kids hand so he wouldnt feel alone, Mr Lynch said.

He had just gotten shot twice; he had a hole in the side of his head.

He added: That kid is tougher than I am.
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A ceremonial silver cross containing shards said to be from the cross used to crucify Jesus Christ has been blessed before it will be used in the Kings coronation.

The Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, blessed the Cross of Wales at a church service on Wednesday morning, ahead of it being brought to London to be carried before the King at the head of the coronation procession next month.

Two shards of the True Cross, said to be the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, were given to Charles by Pope Francis to mark the royal occasion.

The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales, which will be seen by millions as it is carried into Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Both pieces are shaped as crosses, one being 1cm in size and the other 5mm, and are set into the larger silver cross behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can only be viewed up close.

Archbishop Andrew, blessing the cross during the service before around 200 parishioners and dignitaries at Holy Trinity Church in Llandudno, North Wales, said: May this cross be sanctified that whoever prays before it in your honour, may find health and wholeness for body and soul, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Cross of Wales was a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary and upon its return to Wales after the coronation, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches in Wales.

Designer Michael Lloyd took two years to make the Cross of Wales, involving more than 217,000 hammer blows to chase out its design.

Crafted from recycled silver bullion, provided by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, the cross also includes a shaft of Welsh windfall timber and a stand of Welsh slate.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain, translated as: Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.

The silver elements of the cross bear a full hallmark, including the Royal Mark  a leopards head, which was applied by the King himself in November 2022 when visiting The Goldsmiths Centre in London.

Archbishop Andrew said: We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic.

Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability.

We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the coronation service.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark OToole, said: With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See.

It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We look forward to honouring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home.

Dr Frances Parton, deputy curator of The Goldsmiths Company  who managed the commission, said: Using the ancient craft of chasing silver, Michael Lloyd has created a beautiful object which combines a powerful message with a practical purpose.

We are thrilled that the cross will both feature in the coronation and see regular use within the Church in Wales.
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The Kings coronation procession will be led by a cross that includes religious relics gifted to the monarch by the Pope.

Two shards of the True Cross  which is said to be the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ  were given to Charles by Pope Francis to mark the royal occasion.

The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales, which will be seen by millions as it is carried into Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Both pieces are shaped as crosses, one being 1cm in size and the other 5mm, and are set into the larger silver cross behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can only be viewed up close.

The Cross of Wales, which is a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary, will be blessed by the Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, in a service at Holy Trinity Church, Llandudno, North Wales on Wednesday before it heads to London.

Upon its return, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches in Wales.

Crafted from recycled silver bullion, provided by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, the cross also includes a shaft of Welsh windfall timber and a stand of Welsh slate.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain, translated as: Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.

The silver elements of the cross bear a full hallmark, including the Royal Mark  a leopards head, which was applied by the King himself in November 2022 when visiting The Goldsmiths Centre in London.

Archbishop Andrew said: We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic.

Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability.

We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the Coronation Service.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark OToole, said: With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See.

It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We look forward to honouring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home.

Designer and maker Michael Lloyd said: The commission has allowed me to delve into the previous 1,000 years of faith and history. Now, with more than 267 thousand hammer blows, the cross has emerged from the inanimate sheets of silver, and I am delighted it will be used as part of the Coronation Service on 6th May.

Dr Frances Parton, deputy curator of The Goldsmiths Company  who managed the commission, said: Using the ancient craft of chasing silver, Michael Lloyd has created a beautiful object which combines a powerful message with a practical purpose.

We are thrilled that the Cross will both feature in the Coronation and see regular use within the Church in Wales.

The public service held in Llantrisant will begin at 9am at the start of the Churchs Governing Body meeting.
The university said meat derived from the breeds is the healthiest of all red meats, having low fat, calories, low cholesterol, and high in protein.

The Federal University of Technology Akure, (FUTA) said collaborative research between its Laboratory for Geoecology and Sustainable Food System, GeoLab, and Biospheric Scientific Nigeria Limited, BioSci, has come up with a sustainable climate-smart goat/sheep farming.

The outcome of the research titled: "Unlocking the Potentials of Indigenous Goats and Sheep Using Climate Smart Agriculture Innovations," is a specially bred "FUTASA goats and sheep," it said.

The university said meat derived from the breeds is the healthiest of all red meats, having low fat, calories, low cholesterol, and high in protein.

"There are three indigenous goat breeds in the franchise programme namely the West African dwarf, the Savannah, and the large Sahel goats," it said, adding: "The large Sahel goat is a dual-purpose goat with a diary capacity of 0.5 litres per day for between 90 to 100 days."

About FUTA GeoLab

GeoLab is a laboratory in FUTA's Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, School of Earth and Mineral Science.

The focal person for the project, Ahmed Balogun, a professor in the Department of Meteorology and Climate Science, said the project which was kick-started in 2021, has developed innovative sustainable goat and sheep breeding strategies.

He noted that the breeds developed through painstaking research are disease-resistant and fast-growing.

He said they are also a low-maintenance hybrid variety of goats and sheep from indigenous breeds.

According to Mr Balogun, Sustainable Climate Smart Commercial Goat/Sheep farming is an emerging agribusiness that can be developed into an efficient value chain.

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The professor said: "The collaboration is a climate-smart sustainable commercial indigenous goat and sheep production franchise. The project is also able to provide technical support from production to marketing to individuals who are interested in the business of producing and marketing the special breeds of goats and sheep."

He said it is a weather-based index assurance for crops and other agricultural products.

The major drive behind the establishment of the Geoecology lab, he said, is to understand the relationship between the environment and agriculture which is only possible by acquiring real data and information from farmers.

"The lab demonstrates the implications and effects of climate change on animal and crop yield and finds sustainable solutions to farmers' problems. It is a facility that provides short courses for farmers and extension workers to learn how to provide services. It is also structured to provide ICT support and innovations for farmers," he further explained.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe.
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Two men have admitted removing body parts of a man who is accused carrying out castrations and broadcasting the footage on his eunuch maker website.

Nurse Nathan Arnold, 48, from South Kensington, west London, admitted the partial removal of Marius Gustavsons nipple in the summer of 2019 and stealing medicine from the hospital where he worked in 2016.

Damien Byrnes, 35, from Tottenham, north London, admitted removing Gustavsons penis on February 18 2017.

Arnold and Byrnes pleaded guilty during a hearing at the Old Bailey on Wednesday to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to 45-year-old Gustavson.

Arnold also pleaded guilty to the theft of local anaesthetic lidocaine from the Chelsea and Westminster Hospital and accepted a further offence of possessing extreme pornography.

Gustavson, who is originally from Norway, is said to have been the ringleader in a wide-ranging conspiracy, involving up to 29 offences of extreme body modifications, the removal of body parts, the trade in body parts and the uploading of videos.

The Metropolitan Police have said the charges relate to 13 alleged victims.

His alleged right-hand man, Peter Wates, 66, from Croydon in south London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm between January 1 2016 and January 1 2022.

Wates was alleged to have been involved with nine of the 29 incidents.

Prosecutor Caroline Carberry KC told the court Wates was a key player who had a role as a surgeon in a very large number of procedures.

The three defendants appeared in court alongside Gustavson and five other defendants who were not asked to enter pleas.

The defendants are alleged to have performed extreme body modifications, including the removal of penises and testicles.

The procedures were allegedly filmed and uploaded to the eunuch maker website Gustavson ran, and subscribers would pay to watch.

The defendants were arrested after police raids in London, Scotland and South Wales.

Judge Mark Lucraft KC set a further hearing for May 31 and a plea and case management hearing on June 30.

He said the earliest available date to start an eight-week trial at the Old Bailey is March 4 next year.

Gustavson, from Tottenham, north London, is charged with conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm with intent between January 1 2016 and January 1 last year and five counts of causing grievous bodily harm to five alleged victims.

The GBH charges include the removal of a mans penis, the clamping of anothers testicles, and freezing of a leg which required amputation.

He is further charged with acquiring or possessing criminal property, making an indecent image of a child and distributing an indecent image of a child.

Romanian national Ion Ciucur, 29, who worked in a hotel in Gretna Green, Scotland, is said to have been involved in two incidents in the alleged conspiracy to cause grievous bodily harm.

Other alleged conspirators are David Carruthers, 60, Janus Atkin, 38, and Ashley Williams, 31  who are all from Newport in Gwent, South Wales.

Jacob Crimi-Appleby, 22, from Epsom, Surrey, who is accused of freezing Gustavsons leg requiring amputation, is charged with causing GBH with intent.

The defendants are said to have been part of a society in which people willingly undergo extreme body modification.

The practice is linked to a subculture where men become nullos  short for genital nullification  by having their penis and testicles removed.

The Metropolitan Police previously said in a statement: We encourage anyone who has had similar experiences to seek medical advice from their local sexual health clinic or GP.

Gustavson, Wates and Ciucur attended court by video-link from Wandsworth Prison.

The other six defendants, who are on bail, sat side by side in the dock at the Old Bailey.
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A man was allegedly killed, burned and buried in a shallow grave in woods in a grim case likened to a Hollywood film.

Mohammed Shah Subhani, 27, known as Little Man, was allegedly murdered when he visited R & J Plumbing in Hounslow, west London, on May 7 2019.

Prosecutor Tom Little KC told jurors: He comes out rolled in a carpet, thrown into the back of a vehicle, driven away, moved from vehicle to vehicle, moved to the countryside, burnt and dumped.

Sounds like something out of a Hollywood film but it is the grim reality of this case.

It is a murder that appears to arise from, and be linked to, the criminal underworld of a number of those living in and around the flightpath to Heathrow Prosecutor Tom Little KC

Brothers Amraj Poonia, 27, aka Bigs, and Raneel Poonia, 25, aka Ace, and Gurditta Singh, 26, are on trial at the Old Bailey accused of murder and perverting the course of justice.

Mohanad Riad, 22, known as Emz, Mahamud Ismail, 26, known as Major or Skinny, and Mohammed Shakeel, 29, are charged with perverting the course of justice.

Opening their trial on Wednesday, Mr Little said the victim was killed behind closed doors at the plumbing premises by at least three people.

He said: It is a murder that appears to arise from, and be linked to, the criminal underworld of a number of those living in and around the flightpath to Heathrow.

However, the criminality does not end with that murder in west London.

An elaborate and extensive attempt to pervert the course of justice was set in train and carried out and which very nearly succeeded Prosecutor Tom Little KC

Having murdered Mohammed Shah Subhani it was necessary for the defendants to cover up and clean up their crimes.

That includes disposing of the body, moving and disposing of Mohammed Shah Subhanis Audi Q3 motor vehicle, other vehicles and other items.

Mr Little said the reason for the cover-up was to try to avoid justice catching up with the defendants.

He went on: Accordingly, an elaborate and extensive attempt to pervert the course of justice was set in train and carried out and which very nearly succeeded.

Following the murder, Mohammed Shah Subhanis body was removed from R & J Plumbing and, having been kept in a vehicle or vehicles in London, was driven to the countryside in Buckinghamshire where it was partially burnt and then left in a shallow grave in a storm drain in a wooded area off the beaten track.

Jurors heard how the venue for the killing was a Poonia family business and the motive was a dispute over missing drugs.

But the victim and Amraj Poonia were said to have been involved in the supply of cannabis which Mr Little said came with risks, rivalries, suspicion, treachery, violence  and even murder.

A local dealer named only as Robbie had asked Mr Subhani to look after a very large quantity of cannabis for him in April 2019, from which he took five kilos, it was claimed.

He entrusted Amraj Poonia with one kilo for safe keeping but that stash went missing, it was claimed.

Mr Little said there was no dispute that co-defendant Riad had recruited two local drug dealers to help stage a fake theft of the cannabis.

In the weeks before the killing, suspicions erupted in incidents of violence towards Amraj Poonia and/or Riad either by or for Mr Subhani, it was claimed.

The defendants from west London deny the charges against them.

The trial continues.
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A female Afghan lawyer who says her life is at risk from the Taliban has lost a High Court challenge over the operation of a UK Government resettlement scheme.

The prosecutor and womens rights activist argued she was wholly excluded from the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), claiming its narrow implementation was unlawful.

Lawyers for the woman, who specialised in prosecuting cases involving violence against women, forced marriage and honour crimes, alleged that at-risk people who had a legitimate expectation of being considered under the scheme were excluded instead.

The court was told that the exceptionally vulnerable campaigner, who cannot be named, had openly criticised the Taliban, repeatedly received direct threats over her work for several years and has been in hiding since August 2021.

Vulnerable people who stood up for values such as democracy, womens rights and freedom of speech or rule of law and currently remain in hiding and at risk in Afghanistan, and who are entitled to prioritisation, are currently excluded from accessing ACRS Irena Sabic

But the UK Government denied the implementation of the ACRS was unlawful, and in a ruling on Wednesday her case was dismissed by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Bourne ruled that the woman had failed to establish she had a legitimate expectation of consideration under the scheme and that the policy did not exclude her from any category.

The court was told at a hearing last month that the ACRS was split into three pathways by which people would be considered eligible for resettlement, with the first two routes covering those notified by the Government who are in the UK or were unable to board initial evacuation flights or people referred by the UN Refugee Agency.

In the first phase of the scheme, the third pathway offers places to three specific groups: those who worked with the British Council, security company GardaWorld and Chevening alumni.

Irena Sabic, for the woman, told the hearing in London that the Government previously identified other priority groups  including those at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan  as well as those who are particularly vulnerable, such as women and girls at risk.

Ms Sabic said in written submissions: Despite these clear and unambiguous statements, vulnerable people who stood up for values such as democracy, womens rights and freedom of speech or rule of law and currently remain in hiding and at risk in Afghanistan, and who are entitled to prioritisation, are currently excluded from accessing ACRS.

The barrister later said the woman does not have an expectation she should be granted resettlement, but that she should be able to access and be considered for eligibility under the scheme.

The claimant does not fit that description so closely that she could expect, with confidence rather than just hope, to benefit from the scheme ... That does not mean that she is not in great danger Mr Justice Bourne

Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, told the court: There is an active consideration to expanding pathway three, the issue is whether there is a legal obligation to do what the Government is doing by considering it.

The barrister added that the woman has no legitimate expectation that she would be eligible under ACRS and the High Court was not considering the strength of her case for entering the UK.

The court was told that after the first year of the third pathway, the Government will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk.

In his ruling Mr Justice Bourne said the implementation of ACRS was not unlawful.

The judge said it had been repeatedly stated that there would be a focus on those who had directly assisted the UK or its international partners in Afghanistan.

The claimant does not fit that description so closely that she could expect, with confidence rather than just hope, to benefit from the scheme, the judge added.

That does not mean that she is not in great danger. Nor am I questioning her contribution to the democratic values which the UK and its partners sought to uphold in Afghanistan.

However, while her contribution identifies her as one of those who may be included in the pathway 3 cohort, the policy documents simply did not state that she, or others like her, would definitely be included or included from the start.

Mr Justice Bourne said the policy may have life-and-death consequences for individuals and involved the making of choices of a painfully invidious nature.

He said the Governments objectives justified the choice of the three groups in pathway 3, which included people at very serious risk.

The judge added that Government guidance said there were only 1,500 places in the first year, and emphasises the need to make restrictive and painful choices which would exclude some deserving individuals.

He said he did not interpret policy announcements over the intention to help womens rights activists as a commitment to help any minimum quantity of individuals who fit any of those descriptions but who were less directly connected with the activities of the UK or its international partners.

Mr Justice Bourne concluded: Nothing in this judgment is intended to call into question the extraordinary courage of those who have stood up for democratic values in Afghanistan or the dangers which face them.

As I have said, decision-makers in this area are faced with profoundly difficult and painful choices.
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Deputy Prime Minister Dominic Raab has forked out for his own legal team to defend himself against allegations he bullied officials, the much-delayed register of ministerial interests shows.

The declaration published on Wednesday came despite the taxpayer footing an estimated 222,000 bill for Boris Johnsons legal fees in the inquiry into whether he lied to MPs over partygate.

In the long-awaited register, Mr Raabs entry notes read: The minister has engaged lawyers at his own expense in relation to the investigation being conducted by Adam Tolley KC.

I know the Justice Secretary has been been busy trying to save his own job rather than actually doing it, but has the Prime Minister asked him when he is going to get a grip on the prison system? Sir Keir Starmer

Mr Tolley was appointed in November to lead the investigation into Mr Raabs conduct, but it is unclear when Mr Raab first engaged legal representation.

It is not clear why Mr Raab paid for his own legal team when Mr Johnson  whose outside earnings since leaving office have made him the highest-paid MP over the past 12 months  received Government support.

The Prime Ministers official spokesman indicated that Mr Johnson received taxpayer-funded lawyers because he is defending allegations relating to Government business, drawing a distinction to getting funding for legal challenges over allegations about a ministers behaviour.

Mr Raab is under investigation over eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.

The process is expected to draw to a close shortly, with some reports that it may only be a matter of days before Mr Tolleys report is with the Prime Minister.

At Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday, Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer mocked Mr Raab over the matter as he attacked the Governments record on tackling crime.

I know the Justice Secretary has been been busy trying to save his own job rather than actually doing it, but has the Prime Minister asked him when he is going to get a grip on the prison system?
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It is wrong for Dominic Raab to continue in his job while under investigation, a former Tory chairman has suggested ahead of the imminent release of a report into bullying allegations against him.

Sir Jake Berry hit out at the outdated system for dealing with such complaints in Westminster amid reports that the review of the Deputy Prime Ministers conduct could be released as soon as Thursday.

Appearing on ITVs Peston show on Wednesday night, Sir Jake, who served in the cabinets of both Boris Johnson and Theresa May, said: It does seem to me quite wrong that when people are under these kinds of investigations of this type that they continue in their job.

He added: Whatever the outcome is, and were going to find out tomorrow, I actually think theres a fundamental rethink required about how we deal with these sorts of allegations both in Government made against ministers and made against Members of Parliament.

Its a massively outdated system that isnt what our constituents would expect of any of us.

Sir Jakes comments come amid reports that senior Ministry of Justice officials could quit if Mr Raab, who is also Justice Secretary, is cleared of the allegations.

A decision not to sanction him would be demoralising for staff in the department, the Guardian quoted a source as saying.

One person involved in the process described the review as devastating while a senior Government official said Mr Raab was toast, according to the Financial Times.

Mr Raab has been under investigation for months over eight formal complaints about his behaviour as foreign secretary, Brexit secretary and during his first stint as justice secretary.

The result of the long-running probe is expected imminently, with reports that it may be a matter of hours before the review by Adam Tolley KC is made public.

The Deputy Prime Minister has insisted he believes heart and soul that he is not a bully but defended his forthright approach to his work.

Senior lawyer Mr Tolley is said to have been thorough in his handling of the investigation, having interviewed Mr Raab multiple times and spoken to or taken written evidence from a number of others.

It emerged earlier on Wednesday that the minister had forked out for his own legal team to defend himself against the allegations.

The declaration in the heavily delayed register of ministerial interests came despite the taxpayer footing an estimated 222,000 bill for Boris Johnsons legal fees in the partygate inquiry into whether he lied to MPs.

In the register, Mr Raabs entry notes read: The minister has engaged lawyers at his own expense in relation to the investigation being conducted by Adam Tolley KC.

Mr Tolley was appointed in November to lead the investigation into Mr Raabs conduct but it is not known when Mr Raab first engaged legal representation.

It remains unclear why he paid for his own lawyers when Mr Johnson  whose outside earnings since leaving office have made him the highest-paid MP over the past 12 months  received Government support.

Mr Raabs team did not respond to the reports on Wednesday apart from to suggest it would be inappropriate to comment on the investigation before it had been completed.
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DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said there was a bubble at the Agreement 25 conference at Queens University Belfast.

The conference to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement took place from Monday to Wednesday and saw speeches from former and current political leaders on the history and future of the deal.

A panel on Tuesday featured leaders of the five main political parties, the exception being the DUP, which were represented by MLA Emma Little-Pengelly.

At times during the panel discussion, audience members at Queens made their opposition to the DUPs stance clear, loudly applauding points made by other party representatives when they criticised the Stormont boycott.

I think the mood in London is rather different from the Queens University bubble that weve seen for the last few days DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson

Speaking at Belfast City Airport after arriving back from London, Mr Donaldson said there was realism in London that was not evident at the conference.

I think the mood in London is rather different from the Queens University bubble that weve seen for the last few days, he said.

There is a realism in London that frankly there isnt at the event at Queens  a realism that we need to sort this out, that whilst well have lots of people who will tell us what the problem is, I havent heard anyone come forward with a solution.

The party leaders panel also touched on potential reform of the Good Friday Agreement.

Alliance leader Naomi Long said stability can only be achieved at Stormont if the Good Friday Agreement institutions are reformed to remove the ability of the biggest unionist and nationalist parties to veto governance.

Mr Donaldson said the Alliance party wants to abandon cross-community consensus.

Frankly, I think its amazing after 25 years that the so-called bridge builders are in favour of abandoning cross-community consensus in Northern Ireland DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson

Except, of course, those who want to exclude unionists, who think the answer is to abandon cross-community powersharing, especially the Alliance party.

Frankly, I think its amazing after 25 years that the so-called bridge builders are in favour of abandoning cross-community consensus in Northern Ireland.

Thats not for the DUP. We believe thats the way forward, it gives us the solid foundations for the restoration of Stormont and thats what we need to get.

Sir Jeffrey also responded to European Commission president Ursula von der Leyens statement that the Windsor Framework is a gateway to a bright future.

Its a pity that the gateway has bars and locks on it and checks and all kinds of things that we need to see removed if Northern Ireland is going to have unfettered access to our own internal market, he said.

Thats simply all were asking of our own government: to respect the integrity of its own internal market, to stand up for the union, to be the Prime Minister for all of the United Kingdom.

If Chris Heaton-Harris thinks that berating unionists on a public platform of this nature is going to find the solution that we need to get Stormont restored, then I think someone should take him aside and give him a lesson in peace building and in quiet diplomacy DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson

I think the Prime Minister will respond to that; I am hopeful that what we will hear from the Prime Minister is something more positive and forward looking, something that is more inclusive than what we heard yesterday from the Secretary of State.

At the conference, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said a restoration of the Stormont institutions is the surest way to secure the regions place in the UK.

Sir Jeffrey said Mr Heaton-Harriss approach was entirely counterproductive.

If Chris Heaton-Harris thinks that berating unionists on a public platform of this nature is going to find the solution that we need to get Stormont restored, then I think someone should take him aside and give him a lesson in peace building and in quiet diplomacy, he said.

Because thats the way were going to resolve these issues, not shouting from platforms at each other. Put away the megaphone and lets sit down with the Government and unionists, and other parties for that matter too, and lets sort out these problems.

Thats where the solution will be found; it will be found in those quiet conversations that enable us to get to the solution we need to see Stormont restored.

Thats what we want.
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Stephen Silver, who was found guilty last month of the capital murder of Garda Colm Horkan, has been sentenced to life in prison.

Silver, of Aughavard, Foxford, Co Mayo, was found guilty by a jury at the Central Criminal Court in Dublin after a six-week trial.

Silver shot Mr Horkan several times with the gardas own gun on June 17 2020 in Castlerea, Co Roscommon.

The 46-year-old had denied murdering Mr Horkan knowing or being reckless as to whether he was a member of An Garda Siochana acting in accordance with his duty, but had pleaded guilty to manslaughter.

The jury of seven men and five women found him guilty of murdering a garda in the course of his duty, which carries a mandatory sentence of 40 years.

His family had welcomed the verdict as giving them some measure of closure, but said it would never replace Mr Horkan, who they paid tribute to as a fantastic son, brother, uncle and friend.

Following the sentencing, the president of the Garda Representative Association said that Mr Horkan would never be forgotten.

Colm was a much loved, respected and dedicated member of the An Garda Siochana family and his loss has been deeply felt in the passing years, Brendan OConnor said.

Members who knew him have told me that Colm was a great character and an absolute gentleman who was always looking out for others.

He will never be forgotten.

I would like to extend the thoughts and sympathies of the Garda Representative Association to his family, colleagues and friends and all who loved him.

I would also like to acknowledge the work and professionalism of the investigating team in this extremely difficult case which led to todays sentencing.
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The Kings coronation oath is to be updated to reflect the change in realms over which the British sovereign is monarch, but there appears to be no suggestion of the addition of a multi-faith or religious tolerance element.

The full text of Charless oath, which is a key part of his May 6 ceremony, has yet to be revealed.

But the Government confirmed in a written statement to Parliament that some of the wording will be amended because the number of Commonwealth realms has evolved since 1953.

The Coronation Oath Act of 1688 requires the King to declare during his crowning ceremony that he will maintain the established Anglican Protestant Church, rule according to laws agreed in Parliament, and cause law, justice and mercy to be executed in his judgment.

Amending the oath by statute is a very serious matter. You get all sorts of people coming out of the woodwork Dr Bob Morris, UCL

In the 1990s there was speculation the oath would be altered to meet the-then Prince of Waless vision of his spiritual role as Defender of Faith'.

But Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden said on Wednesday: Some updating to the wording of the oath is required to reflect the current position as regards the realms and territories, whose number has evolved since the coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and who will be referred to collectively.

He added that legislation was not being used to update the oath, emulating the approach explained by Sir Winston Churchill for the late Queens coronation in 1953.

Constitutional expert Dr Bob Morris said the changes were not anything ambitious and the decision had been taken not to give themselves enough time to make major changes.

He suggested any mention of religious tolerance or multi-faith would have required a change to the Act.

Dr Morris, of the Constitution Unit at University College London, said: Theyve chosen not to give themselves enough time to review the oath because they could have done had they wished to do so.

Amending the oath by statute is a very serious matter. You get all sorts of people coming out of the woodwork.

He added: Theyre not doing anything ambitious. They explain the only alterations they are making are because of developments elsewhere.

The Constitution Unit of UCL suggested possible amendments to the oath in the wake of the Queens death.

They included the proposed: Will you to your power maintain tolerance and freedom, including religious tolerance; and will you seek to uphold the rights of all your Peoples to observe their different religions and beliefs without fear of persecution?

The King has long been a passionate advocate of religious tolerance and caused controversy in 1994 when he spoke of his desire to become Defender of Faith rather than Defender of the Faith as monarch  raising the prospect of a major change in the ancient relationship between the Church of England and the monarchy.

Jonathan Dimbleby, in his 1994 official biography of Charles, wrote how advisers believed the oath could be modified to meet the princes vision of his spiritual role.

Dimbleby also suggested others thought it would be possible to include a supplementary declaration at the coronation affirming Charless belief in the divinity of other religions.

Charles said in 2015 that he believed it was possible to be Defender of the Faith as well as being a protector of faiths, and he was proclaimed Defender of the Faith at his Accession Council in September.

In a reception for faith leaders after the Queens death, he described himself as a committed Anglican Christian, saying he would take an oath at his coronation relating to the settlement of the Church of England.

But he said he believed the sovereign has a less formally recognised additional duty to protect the diversity of our country, including by protecting the space for faith itself and its practise through the religions, cultures, traditions and beliefs to which our hearts and minds direct us as individuals.

Each part of the oath is framed as a question to the monarch.

Having answered the three parts, he will kiss a Bible and declare: The things which I have here before promised I will perform and keep so help me God.

Elizabeth IIs oath included a pledge to govern the people of South Africa, Pakistan and Ceylon  now Sri Lanka  but all three countries have since become republics.

Charles is monarch of the UK and 14 Commonwealth realms but the monarchys future role in some of the nations looks set to change, with Jamaica, Belize and Antigua and Barbuda raising the prospect of becoming republics.

Mr Dowden said the realms would be referred to collectively rather than being listed in full.

If the King uses the wording of the late Queens oath regarding the Protestant religion, he will be asked in this third section: Will you to the utmost of your power maintain in the United Kingdom the Protestant Reformed Religion established by law?

Will you maintain and preserve inviolably the settlement of the Church of England, and the doctrine, worship, discipline, and government thereof, as by law established in England?

And will you preserve unto the Bishops and Clergy of England, and to the Churches there committed to their charge, all such rights and privileges, as by law do or shall appertain to them or any of them?
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Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as extraordinary.

Addressing the event at Queens University in Belfast, Mrs Clinton said she had received messages from people around the world.

Her remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland Charles Michel, European Council president

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mrs Clinton said: I want to thank everyone for the last extraordinary days of events.

I have heard from people from the United States to Singapore, we have heard from the architects of the Good Friday Agreement about the challenges they encountered and the solutions they built.

We have had a chance to reflect on what has been achieved and to really honour all of the citizens of Northern Ireland who made the peace possible.

We also recognise the impact of those who often go unrecognised, the many women of Northern Ireland who were crucial to the agreements inception and its longevity.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, paid tribute to the peace accord for ending conflict in Northern Ireland.

He said it took strength and courage, and people being able to listen to each other and shake hands despite past divisions.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, especially when we look at the arc of human history, full of conflicts that continue to divide people leading to intense suffering generation after generation.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

US envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, whose remit is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, earlier emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
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Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has listed shared education and housing as issues that should be top of our list of priorities, in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Clinton, who is Chancellor of Queens University Belfast, was awarding honorary degrees to the principals of St Marys High School Limavady and Limavady High School for their shared education initiative.

The schools, which are next door to each other, are establishing a new shared education campus that will be used by students from both schools.

As well as promoting cross-community education, the campus will boast a range of new and upgraded facilities for pupils.

Mrs Clinton said the work of sharing education and housing was not finished.

Because while we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement at Queens, and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues, she said.

The journey is by no means finished.

And the work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

No victory and no defeat is ever permanent.

Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.

During her visit to the schools, Mrs Clinton unveiled two benches to commemorate their new campus, and met with the head boy and head girl from both schools, before visiting the woodworking classrooms at Limavady High School where she talked with pupils and viewed their projects.

The former first lady waved to the schoolchildren greeting her outside St Marys High School as she entered the neighbouring school to attend the honorary graduation ceremony.

In her speech at the ceremony, Mrs Clinton paid tribute to Ms Rita Moore and Mr Darren Mornin, the principles of the two schools in Limavady, and said the Good Friday Agreement would not have been reached without the work of teachers.

I know how difficult it was to secure the Good Friday Agreement, how much work and sacrifice it took on all sides to bring about peace and how much effort has continued to go into implementing its tenets and building a new future, including a new government in Northern Ireland, she said.

There would not, however, be a Good Friday agreement if there had not been teachers, principals, community leaders, citizens who did so much of the work of building and maintaining progress.

Mrs Clinton also said that more should be done to ensure young people want to stay in Northern Ireland.

We know at Queens that 33% of school leavers in Northern Ireland leave to seek their futures elsewhere, she said.

The goal is to ensure that they can choose to remain here and follow their dreams.

Institutions like this shared campus help build a bulwark against sectarianism and divisiveness, help to create a Northern Ireland where students, parents, members of the community come together in pursuit of common purpose.

Queens Universitys mission is transformation of knowledge and learning of individuals and societies, of leaving its mark on history and the world and that is what todays honouree graduates have each achieved.

Theyve led the schools and this community through a great transformation.
A stowaway believed to be a Nigerian was on Monday found dead in the wheel well of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777 plane.

The dutch aircraft, registered PH-BQM, flew from Nigeria's commercial hub, Lagos, according to Belgium's Aviation24

Confirming the incident, the Royal Dutch Marechaussee noted that stowaways survive sometimes but do not in most cases.

The Royal Marechaussee is the national force of the Netherlands, performing military and civilian police duties.

"This morning a deceased stowaway was discovered in the wheel well of a KLM Royal Dutch Airlines Boeing 777 (registered PH-BQM).

"The aircraft originated from Lagos, Nigeria. It's currently unknown how and when the man was able to climb into the aircraft; an investigation has been launched.

"The extra passenger is believed to have died from hypothermia. Occasionally, stowaways are discovered in wheel wells of aircraft.

"Sometimes they survive, but most of the time it goes wrong given the sharp drop in temperature. On longer flights, temperatures can go down to minus fifty degrees, impossible to survive," a spokesperson of the Royal Dutch Marechaussee explained.
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A former marine commando hailed a hero by Prince Harry has backed our campaign to grant asylum to an Afghan war pilot facing deportation to Rwanda.

Ben McBean, who became a double amputee after being critically injured on a 2008 tour in Afghanistan, said he couldnt see why anyone would have an issue with Afghan veterans being given a new home in Britain.

The Independent wants the government to allow the pilot  who arrived on a small boat after he was unable to find a safe legal route  to remain in the UK. He has been threatened with removal to Rwanda and is desperate that his young family are brought to safety from the Taliban.

The Independent has launched a petition calling for the UK to support Afghan war heroes who served alongside Britain

The former head of the army, General Lord Richard Dannatt, First Sea Lord Admiral West, and former head of Nato Lord Robertson are among those who have backed the campaign.

Marine McBean, who was described as a hero by Prince Harry after they shared a flight home from Afghanistan, told The Independent: It is hard to take any positives from Britains time in Afghanistan.

We were trying to help and there were some good stories, but the reality is we are just back to square one  in fact, the situation in Afghanistan may be even worse, he continued.

It is sad to say but I cant take any positives from it. What would be a positive is if someone who helped us was able to settle here and live a normal life.

Prince Harry with Ben McBean (SWNS)

Speaking about the Afghan veterans, he said: It was the Taliban versus the other side. They werent trying to kill me more than an Afghan who was on our side. They were just trying to kill anyone who was against them.

Thats why they get the same respect, the same credit. This is why when Harry came over to Afghanistan everyone respected him more. Because he was putting himself in the same line of fire as everyone else.

Anyone who went against them [the Taliban], who was on our side, everyone respected them  Afghan national army, Afghan national police, Afghan air force. Some of the elders that we used to speak to who were fighting for their land, everyone respected them.

Marine McBean, who was badly injured during a desert patrol, was described by Prince Harry as a real hero after they shared a flight home from the warzone in Afghanistan (Getty)

And if you said, would you mind if they came here to get a new life now because theyre in danger over there? I dont see why anyone would have an issue with that.

He said the current politics around small boats meant that it was the worst time for Afghans who had been promised help to try to get support from the UK.

Marine McBean meets Prince Harry after his tour of Afghanistan (PA)

Referring to those resorting to illegal routes to get to the UK, he said: Because of the way that we just left, people have been left behind, forgotten about, they are in hiding, so it is almost impossible for them to get here safely. It doesnt surprise me whats happened, unfortunately.

The Afghan pilot, who was praised by his coalition forces supervisor as a patriot to his nation, says he was forced into hiding when the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021. He told The Independent that he had no choice but to travel to the UK via a small boat because there were no viable safe routes.

The Afghan pilot has been threatened with deportation to Rwanda (The Independent )

He said: What safe and legal way was there after the fall of Afghanistan? You entered Afghanistan on the first day as a friendly and brotherly country, and now this bad day has come upon us. [The UK government should] keep the promise of friendship and cooperation that you made, and fulfil it.

The American and British forces have forgotten us. We worked with them and we helped them like they were our brothers. We are not Talib, we are not Isis, so why are they leaving us like this?

Piers Morgan became the latest supporter to back our campaign, saying deportation would be a complete failure of moral duty.

This man is a hero who helped us take on the Taliban, his family is in Afghanistan, we have a moral compulsion as a country to save this man and take care of his family, Mr Morgan said on his TalkTV show on Wednesday night, while also encouraging Prince Harry, who also fought against the Taliban, to do whatever he can to support the campaign.

He later directly appealed to Rishi Sunak to help the pilot. Sharing a clip from his TalkTV show, Mr Morgan said the case was a scandal that shamed Britain, before urging the prime minister: Do the right thing and give this hero a new life here, then bring his family over too. Its the very least we can do after all he did for us.

Former international development secretary Rory Stewart said that the pilots story was profoundly shocking because it went against the promises made to those in Afghanistan. He said the UK was shirking our responsibilities towards Afghans who risked their lives to fight alongside us.

General Sir Richard Barrons, a former chief of joint operations who served in Afghanistan, said the fact that the pilot went through other countries to get to the UK was not surprising considering the mess the government made with the evacuation process.

Colonel Simon Diggins, who served as a defence attache in Afghanistan, said: It is appalling that this man who was in our allied forces is being treated in this way.
The Home Office expects to be supporting up to 140,000 asylum seekers by the end of this year, Suella Bravermans lawyers have told the High Court.

A barrister also revealed the government is working on estimates of up to another 56,000 people arriving on small boats this year, which would be a new record and a rise of more than a fifth on 2022.

The disclosures were made as the home secretarys legal team defended her attempt to declare the current shortage of asylum accommodation an emergency to bypass normal planning permission.
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Social media is abuzz with conspiracy theories and misinformation about the governments emergency alert system which is set to blast from phones within days.

The UK Emergency Alert system is intended to be used in life-threatening situations including flooding and wildfires and will be tested this Sunday.

The test will be received on 4G and 5G mobile phones, along with sound and vibration for up to 10 seconds even if devices are on silent.

Though touted by the government as a "vital tool to keep the public safe in life-threatening emergencies", advances in smart technology or government initiatives are often met with scepticism and the system has sent certain corners of the internet into a frenzy of conjecture.

Bizarre conspiracies have surfaced ahead of Sundays test - including the notion the alert is an activation signal for the pathogen in the Covid vaccine, among others.

This theory is one of several circulating on social media, with experts warning of potentially harmful consequences.

The emergency alert will appear in this format on devices (Cabinet Office)

Pippa Allen-Kinross, news and online editor at Full Fact, a charity of fact-checkers and campaigners, said: We have seen multiple instances in which bad information about the emergency alert has already been shared thousands of times online.

Be careful what you share on social media. Misinformation about this alert may lead to unnecessary alarm, and in some instances, may even cause people to opt out of future alerts (as many online have claimed they already have) based on incorrect information.

Ahead of Sundays test, Full Fact has debunked five of the most troublesome instances of misinformation spreading about the alert online:

Emergency Alerts wont match personal data with information collected during the pandemic

Claims on social media suggesting that the emergency alert system will allow personal data to be collected, and that this will be matched with data collected when people signed into venues during the pandemic, are not true, Full Fact said.

The cabinet office confirmed to the charity that the alerts will not collect personal data. The alerts will also not enable the government to know if phones are active or where they are.

The government website describes the alert as one-way and confirms that the alert does not require the government to know any individual phone numbers. Since no data is collected by the Emergency Alert system, it isnt possible for it to be matched with personal data collected during the pandemic.

Besides, the NHS Covid-19 app did not share personal information, such as someones name and address, with local authorities. It shared the time and date an infected person visited a venue.

The alert is not an activation signal for the vaccine pathogen

Full Fact also highlighted a conspiracy theory that the emergency alert test was an activation signal for the pathogen in the shot.

This appears to be a reference to the Covid vaccineswith the shot commonly referred to this way on social media, although none of the posts directly specify that they relate to Covid vaccines.

Theres no way a signal from a cell tower could activate a pathogen or anything that was in the Covid-19, or any other, vaccine, Full Fact said.

Dr Al Edwards, associate professor in biomedical technology at the University of Reading, told Full Fact: There is no mechanism known to physics or biology that could connect radio signals set by mobile phone data systems, to the biological or chemical materials found in vaccines.

The emergency alert will not access your personal data

When an alert is triggered, all cell towers in the area concerned will broadcast the alert to connected devices.

The government does not need to know your location or phone number to do this. The cabinet office confirmed to Full Fact that no personal data is collected by the alert.

The alert will not be a text message you need to reply to

The alert will not be a message that needs to be replied to, but a notification that will need to be acknowledged before you can keep using your phone as normal.

What it will contain, however, is a website link containing further information relating to the threat and how you can best protect yourself from it.

The cabinet office confirmed that phone calls wont go to voicemail if you havent acknowledged the alert and the alert wont stop a phone call in progress.

Other notifications will also still come through to your phone. However, in order to answer a call or view notifications, you will need to acknowledge the alert.

The emergency alert test will not breach GDPR

Full Fact identified claims online suggesting that phone network providers have breached GDPR by allowing the emergency alert to take place.

When an alert is triggered, mobile phone masts broadcast it to every compatible phone and tablet within range. The government wont be using your personal data, like your mobile phone number, to do this.

This means that your phone network provider has not breached GDPR by giving your number to another agency outside of your permission, because the alerts are sent to phones that are connected to cell towers, not via a list of numbers that networks have given the government.

The Independent has contacted the cabinet office for further comment.
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A fit and healthy doctor died of unintended consequences of vaccination after a rare reaction to the AstraZeneca Covid jab, a coroner has ruled.

As an NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker, Dr Stephen Wright, 32, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic. He died 10 days later.

A small group of people, Dr Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, an inquest at Londons Southwark Coroners Court heard.

Dr Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and vaccine-induced thrombosis.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to Kings College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.

Coroner Andrew Harris described a very unusual and deeply tragic case.

Regarding the official documents detailing Dr Wrights death, Mr Harris said it is very important to record as fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine  but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca.

He said: Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16 2021, awoke with a headache on January 25 and later developed left arm numbness.

He attended an A&E department just after midnight where was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis.

Charlotte Wright outside Southwark Coroner's Court, London following the inquest into death of her husband (PA)

He was transferred to Kings College Hospital at 6.39am but, due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery

Dr Wrights widow Charlotte is considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca.

After the inquest, she said: It was made clear that Stephen was fit and healthy and that his death was by vaccination of AstraZeneca.

My understanding is that this condition is rare Coroner Andrew Harris

For us, it allows us to be able to continue our litigation against AstraZeneca.

This is the written proof.

Work is underway to try and understand why severe reactions the jabs can happen, the inquest was told.

Mr Harris said: My understanding is that this condition is rare.

Causes are being examined by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).

It seems to me that there is not an action one can take at the moment.

There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation Consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani

It is being looked at and there are reports being given to the Government from the MHRA and there is advice on the matter.

Medical experts told the court nothing could be done to save Dr Wright as his condition quickly worsened.

Earlier, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the bodys first response to try and stop bleeding and are important for clotting.

He said: There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation.

When you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.

Dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at Kings College Hospital, said scientists and medical experts were not aware of the vaccines possible deadly side effects because Dr Wrights case happened so early in its rollout.

The circumstances arise in a very small number of people. There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence Dr Mark Howard

He said: Stephen was a very fit, young and healthy man in January 2021.

It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-meant vaccination.

We had no knowledge that this was a potential side effect at this time.

Its not fully understood why this happens.

Its an idiosyncratic reaction.

The circumstances arise in a very small number of people.

There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence.

It was a rare and unintended consequence.
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Greggs is set for a court showdown with Westminster Council after the bakery was banned from selling late night snacks from its flagship Leicester Square store.

The popular high street chain was refused permission to keep its doors open from 11pm until 5am at the central London location by the council in July last year.

Westminster Council called the application half baked and police argued that the location would become a hotspot for crime and disorder.

Greggs and Westminster Council are currently in mediation talks to settle the dispute, as reported by The Evening Standard.

However, a three day court hearing on May 16, 17 and 18 has now been scheduled where the Greggs will appeal the decision to not let it serve its baked goods past 11pm.

The baker previously told the BBC that the extended hours would bring in customers working night shifts and staff from emergency services and not be a hotspot for trouble.

Greggs also promised to install CCTV and hire door staff to ensure safety at the location, which is nestled in Londons busy West End.

However, the council said last year that legitimate concerns have been raised by the police and local people that these plans are half-baked.

There are worries that businesses serving 24/7 in the city centre creates challenges and that the bakery could become a hot spot for late night disturbances and anti-social behaviour.

In a letter to the council, the Metropolitan Police said: It is our belief that if granted, the application could undermine the licensing objectives in relation to the prevention of crime and disorder.

Greggs rolled out the blue carpet for the opening of its flagship central London location in July last year.

Hundreds of people gathered to sample the bakers most popular items such as steak bakes, sausage rolls and donuts.

It comes as the bakery has set it sights on expansion plans after record sales as consumers flock to the chain store for low cost meals during the cost of living crisis.
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Workers on low wages have been shocked by figures showing that nearly 2,800 council chiefs were paid more than 100,000 last year  hundreds of them taking home more than the prime minister.

Some 721 town-hall bosses were given more than 150,000, including 608 who were paid more than Rishi Sunak, who earned 156,163 in the last financial year.

The figures, from the TaxPayers Alliances annual local government rich list, prompted anger among many council-tax payers, especially those on low or average wages.

The highest-earning was the unidentified managing director of Guildford Borough Council, who was paid 607,633  enough to fund 18 nurses for a year.

The sums are at one end of a scale of huge disparities in salaries among UK workers, which often upend popular expectations.

The Treasury plans to pay its new head of cybersecurity only 50,550 to 57,500, around a third of the prime ministers salary. But at a time of serious cyber threats from Russia and North Korea, its a highly responsible role: according to the job advert, the candidate will defend the governments economic and finance department.

Equivalent jobs pay 128,696 to 140,074 elsewhere, according to the jobs review website Glassdoor.

And a director at Barclays bank makes on average at least three times the Treasurys new cybersecurity chiefs salary  173,990 including bonuses and additional compensation, the site shows.

Glassdoor also reveals that at Facebook owner Meta, a diversity director is paid 212,000 to 226,000 a year including bonuses, while a production engineer there is paid 102,754 on average.

By contrast, the salary for a talent consultant at the company is estimated to range from 21,199 to 22,723.

Powys county council, on the other hand, may have taken a leaf out of the Treasurys book. It is advertising for an intelligence officer to assist in providing a professional corporate investigation service by supporting the corporate fraud team in planning and undertaking proactive anti-fraud activities into allegations of fraud, error and corruption of varying nature and complexity.

The successful candidate must have research skills, data interpretation skills, problem-solving skills, risk-management skills and writing, drafting and presentation skills. The job will pay 24,054 to 25,409.

Even plumbers can earn much more, commanding earnings that come close to the Treasurys cybersecurity role, as demand for their services has grown over the years in line with the growth in homes.

A plumber working for the Pimlico Group in London will earn an average salary of 42,684 a year, Glassdoor figures show.

View more

Away from London, Robert Rice Contractors have advertised for a plumber covering the southwest of England on a salary of 35,000-40,000.

One start-up advertising on jobs site Indeed is promising freelance plumbers 50,000-70,000 a year by accepting work through its app that books clients.

A site agent, who works under a contracts manager, manages construction sites, with an average national salary of 48,092. But posts for site agents advertised on Indeed, from Stockton-on-Tees to Cornwall, give salaries of around 400 a day  equal to 104,000 a year.

A deputy compliance manager in Home Office immigration enforcement at Gatwick Airport will earn just 26,750 to 28,730 a year for a job that involves enforcing immigration laws, tackling illegal migration, removing foreign national offenders and immigration offenders from the UK, as well as helping to disrupt organised criminal groups.

But apply for and be given the job of pest-controller in London and you will earn from 19,000 a year, according to one job advert, while similar roles come with a 25,000 salary.

The lowest paid jobs are usually paid a daily or weekly rate. Pay of 80-90 a day is not atypical for a teaching assistant for children with speech and language special needs, and classroom assistants will be paid 70-85 a day.

While pay in the not-for-profit sector is on average lower than in other sectors, there are still some high earnings to be had. A salary of 105,000 to 120,000 is being offered for an executive director of quality assurance and impact at a charity for people with a learning disability.
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A rare black fox has been spotted roaming streets in south Wales

Residents in Barry and Sully in the Vale of Glamorgan saw the unusual sight on Tuesday morning after the animal reportedly escaped from its owner.

Barry resident Leigh Partiland took a photo of the fox and said: He was terrified of all the trucks and lorries coming off the docks.

It is thought the rare black fox may have escaped from its owner (Leigh Partiland)

The foxes are not native to the UK and originate from North America, where around 10 per cent of the fox population is black.

Black foxes could be the descendants of foxes bred for the fur trade and released into the wild many years ago, an RSCPA statement said. Others could have escaped from captivity and continued to survive in the wild.

The sighting follows a 2021 incident, also in Barry, where a town-wide search was carried out to find an escaped black fox. The animal, the BBC reported at the time, was eventually found caught in a snare and needed its leg amputated.

It is believed the foxes seen in Wales are tame and could possibly approach people. On Facebook, one commenter said he had even seen the fox lurking outside Home Bargains in Barry.

There are no restrictions on breeding or owning black foxes in the UK, but it is not a step the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (RSPCA) encourages.

A spokesman for the Welsh branch of the charity told the BBC: Silver foxes are the same species as the red foxes we have living wild in the UK but with different colouration.

Traditionally, they were bred for their fur but are now sometimes kept as exotic pets.

Foxes are wild animals with very specific needs that are no different to those of foxes living in the wild and they require specialist care.

Exotic pets can live a long time, grow to a large size and need to be taken to an exotics vet if they become ill, which can be expensive.

If you spot the fox you can contact the RSPCA emergency line on 0300 1234 999.
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One of Britains most senior police officers has said he does not believe that any force in the UK is institutionally racist.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the label is unhelpful and misunderstood by members of the public.

He told LBC: I think it possible that a police force could be institutionally racist, I just dont think that applies to any of the UK police forces.

A major review of the Metropolitan Police found last month that the force is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic in the wake of a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.

This echoed the 1999 Macpherson Report on the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence which originally branded the force institutionally racist over its handling of the case.

Stephen Lawrence was murdered in 1993 (Metropolitan Police )

The bungled original investigation hampered by racism and alleged police corruption meant it took nearly 20 years for two of the 18-year-olds five killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted.

Mr Watson, who has served in six forces in England since he first joined the police in 1988, said the label of institutional racism is unhelpful.

It is not helpful because people do not differentiate between the nuanced, balanced interpretation as was set forth in Macpherson, and the otherwise assertion that people will very often put to our people at three oclock in the morning  Youre institutionally X, Y or Z, he told LBC.

His comments came after Mr Lawrences mother said nothing much has changed at the Metropolitan Police in the 30 years since her son was murdered by a racist gang as he tried to get the bus home with a friend in Eltham, south-east London, on April 22 1993.

The chief constable of Englands third biggest police force Stephen Watson (PA Wire)

Baroness Doreen Lawrence told the BBC: I dont know how many more inquiries and how many reviews you need to have to say the same thing.

Officers have been able to be as brutal as they want, and nobody holds them to account.

And until that happens, theres no way that the police are going to move forward.

They have to not do it behind closed doors, it needs to be seen publicly what theyre doing for people to accept that they are going to change.

Over the past, in Stephens case 30 years, nothing much has changed.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley rejected the accusation of institutional racism in the recent review by Baroness Louise Casey, saying the term is ambiguous and politicised.
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Peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland go together, a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has been told.

US special envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III said American companies considering investing in the region want certainty for the future, adding the sooner they have clarity the better for the economy.

His comments echo those of US President Joe Biden last week when he said hundreds of US investors were poised to invest but were cautious due to the lack of powersharing executive at Stormont.

Mr Kennedys remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the anniversary of the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity Joe Kennedy III

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Kennedy, whose remit as envoy is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.

Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Limavady, Co Londonderry, to honour a new shared education initiative by two local schools.

She said: While we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement at Queens (University), and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues.

The journey is by no means finished.

The work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

No victory and no defeat is ever permanent. Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.
The Government rewriting the rules on the standards required at short-term holding facilities for migrants is a bit like the Soviet Union, Parliament heard.

Regulations introduced in December have created a new category of holding centre at Manston, Kent, that allows Channel migrants to be held for up to four days, up from 24 hours.

This was in response to chaos last year, when the processing centre became severely overcrowded, with many people held for much longer than the legal maximum and in unacceptable conditions, due to a surge in small boat crossings.
In continuation of their strike action across major airports in the country, aviation workers, on Tuesday, gave the federal government a seven-day ultimatum after which they would totally shut down the nation's aviation sector.

LEADERSHIP reports that on Monday, aviation workers started a two-day warning strike, led by the National Union of Air Transport Employees (NUATE), Air Transport Services Senior Staff Association of Nigeria (ATSSSAN), Nigerian Association of Nigeria Aviation Professionals (ANAP), National Association of Aircraft Pilots and Engineers (NAAPE), and the Engineers Amalgamated Union of Public Corporation Civil Service Technical and Recreational Services Employers.

The unions claimed that their demands, including the implementation of new minimum wage consequential adjustment with arrears for the Nigerian Meteorological Agency (NIMET) since 2019 and the release of the reviewed conditions of service for the Nigerian Airspace Management Agency (NAMA), Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT), Zaria and NiMET, have not been met.

The unions also demanded a stop to the planned demolition of the office buildings of FAAN and NAMA, by the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika.
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Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations  a leadership quality still needed in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach was applauded after telling a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark peace deal that the people of Northern Ireland deserve a functioning Assembly.

The challenges of today require Northern Irelands leaders to make the decisions that affect their constituents on the ground, he told the event in Belfast.

I believe that the Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations.

We need that kind of leadership still.

The peace process has always been at its strongest when the two governments have worked hand in hand, and Northern Ireland works best when the two governments work together with an agreed strategy Irish premier Leo Varadkar

Mr Varadkar said the accord challenged our assumptions of what we once thought possible and that, in the face of difficult compromises, vision, leadership and optimism triumphed.

He told those gathered at Queens University that leaders at the time defied assumptions about what was possible.

They also defied those within their own communities  who would have preferred to stay mired in conflict to avoid concessions or compromises.

They realised that, to see their way to a better future, they had to reject the divisions and differences that had kept Northern Ireland in what seemed an unresolvable impasse for many decades.

These were not easy decisions to make and some paid a high personal and political price.

Mr Varadkar paid tribute to the political leaders of 1998 for what they achieved, noting that many are now dead.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart on behalf of my generation, he said.

Mr Varadkar also committed to working closely with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying the peace process is at its strongest when the Dublin and London governments work hand in hand.

Both governments have an ongoing obligation to honour and implement the agreement and that is why I am so pleased to share a stage with Prime Minister Sunak, he said.

The peace process has always been at its strongest when the two governments have worked hand in hand, and Northern Ireland works best when the two governments work together with an agreed strategy.

Mr Varadkar said the Windsor Framework will play an essential role in winning additional investment in Northern Ireland  and that the presence of US special envoy on economic affairs Joe Kennedy was a reminder of the opportunities that lie ahead if we reach together.

The framework has been welcomed by the business community, which has expressed a desire to move forward and take advantage of the opportunities and certainty it offers, he said.

It is incumbent on Northern Irelands political leaders today to take the initiative Irish premier Leo Varadkar

A prosperous Northern Ireland is a place in which people want to live, a place that people want to make work, a place where young people will stay and return to.

Quoting John Hume, Mr Varadkar concluded: Unionists and nationalists have at last taken the future in their hands, they have seized control of their history rather than letting history hold them in thrall.

He added: It is incumbent on Northern Irelands political leaders today to take the initiative.

To see past the shadow of the mountain behind, he said, referring to a metaphor used by David Trimble upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Mr Hume, in 1998.

To seize control of their history, to seize control of their destiny, and to lead their people into the future, and we as co-guarantors of the agreement will be here to help, every step of the way.
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Military experts are assessing if the Ministry of Defence can provide a temporary replacement for a key Highland ferry service.

A reduced service has been running on the five-minute crossing of Loch Linnhe since January as the main ferry on the Highland Council service, the MV Corran, was removed for repairs.

But there is now only a foot passenger service from Corran to the Ardnamurchan peninsula after relief vessel MV Maid of Glencoul broke down, leaving drivers with a 42-mile round trip.

An end to the diversion could soon be in sight after a team of MoD experts were sent to work with the council and other local agencies to explore potential options.

A Ministry of Defence spokesman said: We have accepted a request from the Scottish Government for an assessment team to explore the feasibility of providing a temporary replacement for the Corran ferry service.

The ferry is usually the busiest single-vessel route in Scotland, carrying more than 270,000 cars a year.

First Minister Humza Yousaf admitted earlier this week there are challenges around the overall ferry network.

We know that there are challenges around the resilience of the ferry network, we know the age of some of the fleet. We are committed to the ferry network but yes there are challenges around its resilience, theres no escaping that.

Transport minister Kevin Stewart said: I fully appreciate that the unavailability of the Corran Ferry is causing disruption for communities, businesses and visitors to the area. We welcome the latest progress and the Highland Councils work to explore all solutions.

We look forward to the outcome of the initial assessment by the MoD which will assist in identifying possible next steps. The Scottish Government will continue close engagement with the Highland Council throughout this process.
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Ofcom could allow broadcasters like ITV, Channel 4 and Channel 5 to show more adverts after provisionally concluding its current restrictions are no longer justified or proportionate.

Public service broadcasters (PSBs) must currently adhere to stricter rules compared to their private rivals, with their advertising limited to an average of seven minutes per hour across the day  apart from peak times where they can show slightly more.

Non-PSB commercial channels, such as ITV2, 5USA and Pick, are allowed nine minutes for advertising and an extra three for teleshopping.

The broadcasting watchdog said on Wednesday it was seeking views on whether to remove some or all of the tighter restrictions, which were introduced more than 30 years ago.

It comes as UK broadcasters face growing competition from streaming giants such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and Disney+ in terms of viewing figures and programme commissions.

The move may result in the rules for PSBs being brought in line with the private channels.

A second option, preferred by Ofcom, would see them brought in line while retaining safeguards that limit the number of internal breaks allowed in programmes.

Ofcom said it was also considering maintaining the status quo.

Industry group Coba, which represents commercial broadcasters in the UK, said the move could increase the amount of advertising on PSBs by up to 850 hours per year.

Adam Minns, its executive director, said: It is hard not to draw the conclusion that Ofcom has asked audiences for their views and then, when it did not like the answer, gone out of its way to try to persuade them they are wrong.

To do this, the regulator has used an argument that no financial analysis  including its own  supports.

It is deeply concerning that a regulator that has always prided itself on being evidence led has come to this conclusion.

Ofcom said giving PSBs the same freedoms as their private rivals would not significantly impact the range of services or materially affect audiences perceptions of their quality.

It said the move could also strengthen their commercial position as they transition to digital.

However, the watchdog said its findings suggest an increase in ad breaks would be more of a concern to viewers.
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A senior Labour MP has apologised after calling Scotlands first minister Humza Yousaf Mohammed during a live TV interview.

Shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland Peter Kyle made the mistake during an appearance on Sky News today, while championing Scottish Labour as a credible alternative to the Scottish National Party, led by Mr Yousaf.

The newly-minted first minister succeeded Nicola Sturgeon following her sudden resignation in March. Mr Yousaf took the helm just days before Ms Sturgeons husband, Peter Murrell, was arrested in connection with the police probe into the SNPs finances.

Mr Kyles gaffe occurred during an interview with Sky News Niall Paterson, who asked the MP for Hove whether Mr Yousaf should suspend Ms Sturgeon from the party.

Speaking from Belfast this morning, Mr Kyle said: What were trying to do is put together a credible alternative, an inspiring, hopeful alternative, with credible plans to solve the challenges in public services in Northern Ireland, which are rife, the economy, which is underperforming because of two failed governments which are there to serve the people of Northernof Scotland.

The Labour MP made the mistake during an interview with Sky News on Wednesday morning (Sky News)

Those are the things weve tried to set out an alternative to.

He added: I think that Mohammed Yousaf needs to get a grip on his party, because right now it is not capable of serving the people of Scotland.

Mr Kyle has since admitted he was mortified by the mistake and has offered his apologies to Mr Yousaf.

Im always mortified if I ever get someones name wrong and I am now, he said in a statement. Im sorry to Humza and promise its a mistake I wont make twice.

Mr Kyles slip up has sparked widespread criticism online.

The Labour Muslim Network called the mistake extremely disappointing, adding on Twitter: We hope this can be corrected urgently on the public record and an apology issued.

Meanwhile, journalist Ash Sarkar wrote: I dont think its unreasonable for British politicians to have to remember the name of the Scottish first minister, and not just replace it with something equally ethnic-sounding.

Humza Yousaf was made first minister in March (Getty Images)

Police Scotland has been looking into how more than 600,000 in donations to the SNP earmarked for an independence referendum had been used.

Earlier on Wednesday, SNP treasurer Colin Beattie said he was stepping down from his role after he was arrested on Tuesday.

Mr Yousaf said he wanted to offer my thanks to Colin after he announced he would step back.

The Independent contacted the Labour Party for comment, who again shared Mr Kyles statement.
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Senior members of the SNP fear that former leader Nicola Sturgeon could be the next figure to be arrested in the Police Scotland investigation into the partys finances.

The SNP has been rocked by the arrest of former chief executive Peter Murrell and current treasurer Colin Beattie, both of whom were later released without charge pending further enquiries.

One senior SNP figure told The Independent it was likely that Ms Sturgeon would also be arrested, given that she is one of the three names believed to be on party accounts.

Ms Sturgeon, Mr Murrell and Mr Beattie were named on the financial information presented to the SNP conference last year, the source said  but added that the police would want to cover their bases before any arrest.

On Tuesday, Police Scotland arrested Mr Beattie, who is also an MSP, as part of their investigation into how more than 660,000 in donations, earmarked for an independence referendum, had been used.

Some of the partys MPs and MSPs have also said it is inevitable that Ms Sturgeon will be interviewed by police under caution in the weeks ahead.

One SNP politician told The Times: Nicola must be next to be interviewed, its inevitable, with another saying: Its obvious theres a list and Nicolas name is on it.

A third told the newspaper: Theyve interviewed witnesses, and now they are onto suspects. It was the small fry, and now its the big people  its the way the police work.

The leader of the SNP, Humza Yousaf, who was recently elected to replace Ms Sturgeon, is facing calls to suspend the former leaders membership of the party along with that of her husband and Mr Beattie.

Following Mr Beatties arrest on Tuesday, Mr Yousaf said that he does not believe the party is operating in a criminal way, and resisted calls to suspend Mr Beattie from his role as treasurer.

Nicola Sturgeon and Humza Yousaf (Getty)

Mr Yousaf said he wanted to discuss pertinent issues with Mr Beattie  who was last night released without charge pending further investigation  and said: People are innocent until proven guilty.

Kate Forbes, one of the two defeated leadership candidates, said Mr Yousaf needs to take decisive and quick action or the party will be in trouble at the next general election.

She told BBC Radio 4 that claims about the partys finances had been mind-blowing, adding that people are watching with astonishment, but they want to see leadership in dealing with it and resolving it.

She said: I think we need decisive and quick action or we will be in trouble ... We perhaps have the next election in the early part of next year. They will vote in that election on the basis of how we have sorted out our internal problems.

Kate Forbes (right) has called on Yousaf to take decisive action (Getty/PA)

Her fellow leadership candidate Ash Regan appeared to go further, telling the BBC that any SNP members involved in the police investigation should be suspended  though she clarified that they would have to be found guilty of wrongdoing.

Police Scotland detectives investigating the partys finances have been handed emails showing that Ms Sturgeon quashed the idea of appointing a fundraising manager in June 2021, according to Scotlands Sunday Mail.

The newspaper also published a video in which Ms Sturgeon is seen giving officials on the SNPs national executive committee a stern warning to be very careful about suggesting there were any problems with party accounts.

Craig Hoy, the chair of the Scottish Conservatives, said: [Mr Yousaf] must show some leadership and suspend Colin Beattie  along with Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon.

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The Tory chair added: Colin Beattie should also stand down from membership of the public audit committee until the conclusion of the investigation.

The Independent has approached the SNP for comment.
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Watch as Rishi Sunak speaks on the final day of the conference at Northern Irelands Queens University to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

In a closing speech at the Agreement 25 Conference in Belfast, the prime minister is expected to hail the 1998 peace deal as one of the most extraordinary political achievements in recent history.

He will also vow to fulfil the promise of the Good Friday Agreement by bringing jobs and investment to Northern Ireland.

Together we must fulfil the true promise of the 1998 Agreement, Mr Sunak will tell an audience of global leaders.

That future enshrined in the very words of the text - of sustained economic growth, and where we tackle the problems of a divided society.

And I will give everything to help deliver that vision.

BGFA [Belfast Good Friday Agreement] promised prosperity and a more integrated society and we have work to do to deliver on that promise.

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Rishi Sunak has opened up a new line of attack on Sir Softy Keir Starmer as he launched a withering onslaught on the Labour leaders record on crime.

In a PMQs session in which the pair sought to one-up each other on their record on crime, the prime minister criticised the leader of the opposition as soft on crime and soft on criminals.

He lashed out at Mr Starmers background as a leftie lawyer and repeated past criticism of his tenure as director of public prosecutions from Labours home secretary Emily Thornberry.

The prime minister said: We toughened the law on sex offenders so they spend longer in prison; he voted against it.

We increased rape convictions by over 60 per cent; meanwhile he attended 21 sentencing council meetings that watered down punishment.

Thats why they call him Sir Softy, soft on crime, soft on criminals.

Environment secretary Therese Coffey was quick to back the line, accusing Sir Softy of getting a bit desperate in his defence against Mr Sunaks criticism.

The Labour leader said he has prosecuted thousands upon thousands of sex offenders and accused Mr Sunak of not knowing how the criminal justice system works.

And he highlighted praise from the home affairs select committee in 2013 which commended the work of director of public prosecutions Keir Starmer. The committee, then chaired by disgraced former Labour MP Keith Vaz, said the work Mr Starmer did should provide a model to other agencies and when he leaves the CPS he will be missed.

The committees report was presented to parliament by then home secretary Theresa May and supported by the government, Mr Starmer said.

Labour MP Justin Madders backed Mr Starmer, accusing the prime minister of channelling his inner [Boris] Johnson with playground jibes. He said: Literally nobody has ever called him that before - a pathetic diversion from the Tories weak record on crime where violent criminals dont go to prison.

The attack came a week after policing minister Chris Philp called Mr Starmer the wettest Labour leader on crime in history.

Mr Philp added that his record is worse than his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, who the Conservatives also described as soft on crime.

When you look at how Keir Starmer has behaved and how his Labour party has voted in parliament thats why I say hes the wettest Labour leader on crime weve seen, he said.

Mr Philps comments, and Mr Sunaks new attack line, come amid a bitter row between Labour and the Conservatives over crime. Labour has run a series of controversial adverts criticising Mr Sunak over the issue, including one claiming the prime minister does not think child sex abusers should go to prison.
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Britain is facing cyber threats from Russia-aligned groups who want to to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure, senior Tory minister Oliver Dowden has warned.

The Cabinet Office minister used a speech in Belfast to say Russia hackers are ideologically motivated, rather than financially motivated and have begun to target the UK this year.

Mr Dowden confirmed that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is issuing an official threat notice to operators of the UKs critical national infrastructure.

The minister revealed that in the last few months several Russia-aligned groups have focused on the UK  with Mr Dowden saying they were the cyber equivalent of the Wagner group.

These adversaries are ideologically motivated, rather than financially motivated, he said, adding that the lack of any restraint makes them particularly concerning.

Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly, Mr Dowden said. But we believe it is necessary ... if we want these companies to understand the current risk they face, and take action to defend themselves and the country.

The NCSC alert points to what it calls the emerging risk posed by state-aligned adversaries in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with officials recommending that organisations act now to protect against future attacks.

Mr Dowden warned that cyber security is closely linked to economic prosperity as he unveils new measures to support businesses on the front line of our cyber defences.

He used the address at the CyberUK conference to acknowledge that more needs to be done to improve salaries to attract cyber security experts into the civil service.

Mr Dowden announced plans to set specific and ambitious cyber resilience targets for all critical national infrastructure sectors to meet within two years, as well as moves to bring private sector businesses working on critical infrastructure into regulations.

Businesses warned against complacency from cyber threats (PA Wire)

He said: A bricks-and-mortar business wouldnt survive if it left the back door open to criminals every night. Equally in todays world, businesses cant afford... to leave their digital back door open to cyber crooks and hackers.

The annual conference run by the government also heard from the head of the National Cyber Security Centre, Lindy Cameron, who warned of the dramatic rise of China as a technology superpower.

Ms Cameron told Sky News on Wednesday: What Im saying about China is that China is, as we say in the integrated review, an epoch-defining threat.

She added: The scale and pace of their ambition and technology is something that all of the people here at the conference need to take seriously and think about how it is that we build security into our future technology to keep our people safe.

The government also announced new cyber security measures, known as GovAssure and run from the Cabinet Office, to protect the UKs critical IT systems.

Concerns have mounted in recent years about the danger posed by cyber attacks. Only in January, an attack on Royal Mail caused severe disruption to parts of its services.
SNP leader Humza Yousaf needs to take decisive and quick action or the party will be in trouble at the next general election, defeated leadership candidate Kate Forbes has said.

Ms Forbes, defeated by Mr Yousaf in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, has spoken spoke out as police investigations into the partys finances saw a second arrest and fresh turmoil.

On Tuesday Police Scotland arrested SNP treasurer Colin Beattie MSP as part of an ongoing investigation into how more than 600,000 in donations to the party earmarked for an independence referendum had been used.
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SNP treasurer Colin Beattie has quit a day after being questioned by police investigating the partys finances, as senior figures fear Nicola Sturgeon could be the next to be arrested.

The MSP for Midlothian North and Musselburgh was taken into custody by Police Scotland on Tuesday for questioning and released without charge.

And on Wednesday Mr Beattie said he was stepping down as party treasurer with immediate effect and also giving up his role on the Scottish parliaments public audit committee.

On a personal level, this decision has not been easy, but it is the right decision to avoid further distraction to the important work being led by Humza Yousaf to improve the SNPs governance and transparency, he said.

Mr Beattie added: I will continue to cooperate fully with Police Scotlands enquiries and it would be inappropriate for me to comment any further on a live case.

Scottish Labour deputy leader Jackie Baillie said it was the right decision made by the wrong man.

While Humza Yousaf played for time and failed to do the right thing, Colin Beattie at least could see the writing on the wall, she said. For too long, a culture of secrecy and cover-up has been allowed to fester at the heart of the SNP.

And while the investigation spreads, the SNP is still refusing to take the basic step of suspending MSPs who are the subject of police inquiries.

Humza Yousafs failure to act has made it clear  his priority is the cover-up to protect the SNP, not the people of Scotland.

Scottish Conservative chair Craig Hoy said it was right for Mr Beattie to step back. He added: But the SNPs leadership should have moved decisively to address this immediately, instead of dithering. They should now suspend him, Peter Murrell and Nicola Sturgeon from the party until this murky business is cleared up.

Mr Yousaf has so far rejected calls to suspend his predecessor Nicola Sturgeon and her husband Peter Murrell as the police probe rumbles on.

Police Scotland is currently investigating the matter of 660,000 that was raised by the SNP for Scottish independence campaigning, following allegations of donations fraud.

The inquiry, codenamed Operation Branchform, was launched in 2021 after it was alleged that money had been diverted from a ring-fenced fund to fight a second Scottish independence referendum  sparking the resignation of several senior people from the SNPs ruling body.

Mr Beatties arrest and resignation followed the arrest two weeks ago of chief executive Mr Murrell, who was released without charge pending further inquiries.

The 71-year-old will remain as the deputy convener of Holyroods economy and fair work committee for now. Mr Yousaf, who won the contest to replace Ms Sturgeon last month, will be thrust into the role of party treasurer until a permanent replacement for Mr Beattie is appointed.

Mr Beatties arrest and resignation is the latest shock to hit the beleaguered party. It comes as senior members of the SNP fear that Ms Sturgeon could be the next figure to be arrested in the investigation.

One senior SNP figure told The Independent it was likely that Ms Sturgeon would also be arrested, given that she is one of the three names believed to be on party accounts.

Ms Sturgeon, Mr Murrell and Mr Beattie were named on the financial information presented to the SNP conference last year, the source said  but added that the police would want to cover their bases before any arrest.

Some of the partys MPs and MSPs have also said it is inevitable that Ms Sturgeon will be interviewed by police under caution in the weeks ahead.

And despite Mr Beatties arrest, Mr Yousaf said he does not believe that the SNP is operating in a criminal way. Scotlands first minister also said he was surprised one of his colleagues had been arrested.

Ash Regan  who came last in the SNP leadership contest  has said that she has some sympathy with those saying the contest should now be re-run given the ongoing turmoil.

Although she said she wasnt calling for a re-run, she told BBC Radio 4s Today programme that some people were making that argument, and added: I do have some sympathy with that argument.

Leadership runner-up Kate Forbes said on Wednesday Mr Yousaf needs to take decisive and quick action or the party will be in trouble at the next general election.
New York  Nigerian authorities should investigate the recent harassment of journalist Benedict Uwalaka by a police officer and ensure members of the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

On the morning of Monday, April 17, an unidentified police officer attacked Uwalaka, a freelance photojournalist working with the privately owned Daily Trust newspaper, while he covered a protest at an airport in Lagos, according to a report by the Daily Trust and Uwalaka, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

Uwalaka said that the officer injured his hand, which was still painful the following day, and damaged his camera, breaking its screen and preventing its lens from reattaching.

"Nigerian authorities should swiftly and transparently investigate the recent assault of journalist Benedict Uwalaka by a police officer," said Angela Quintal, CPJ's Africa program coordinator. "Police in Nigeria too often arrest and harass journalists for their work. Authorities should ensure recourse and restitution for those who face such abuses."

Uwalaka told CPJ that he was covering a protest by aviation workers at the airport when an officer sitting in a police vehicle with two other officers summoned him and criticized the journalist for taking a woman's photo without her permission.

"He asked me to delete the picture. I said no," Uwalaka told CPJ, saying the officer then grabbed his camera and punched him in the hand about 10 times.

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The officer took Uwalaka to the airport's police station and left, saying he would return. When he did not come back after about 40 minutes, officers at the station told Uwalaka that he was free to leave.

Uwalaka said he then waited at the station for more than two hours hoping to speak to a supervisor, but left when they did not arrive. Officers at the airport station told Uwalaka that they did not know the officer who had brought him in.

"The police said that unless the person who brought me is available, there is nothing they can do about it," Uwalaka said. "They do not know him and there is no way they can trace him."

Lagos police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin told CPJ via messaging app that questions should be directed to the airport's police command.

When CPJ called that office's spokesperson, Olayinka Ojelade, he said he was not available to comment and would provide contact details for another spokesperson; he had not done so by the time of publication.

Previously, in 2012, hospital workers in Lagos beat Uwalaka with their fists and hit him with bottles and sticks while he covered the aftermath of a plane crash, as CPJ documented at the time. Uwalaka took his attackers to court, but the case was dismissed in September 2019, he told CPJ.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak is set to deliver the closing address to a major three-day conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

The final day will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak is to be joined by two of his recent predecessors  Boris Johnson and Liz Truss  at a gala dinner later, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over the Brexit protocol.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris claimed a restoration of the Stormont institutions was the surest way to secure the regions place in the UK, and said real leadership was about having the courage to say yes.

At a separate event in Londonderry on Tuesday evening, Mr Clinton insisted it would be fairly easy to resurrect Stormont if it was wanted, but cautioned that an excuse can always be found to say no.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party will not be browbeaten into submission, and insisted unionist concerns around the protocol must be addressed.
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Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has been pressed during a visit to Belfast on a controversial government Bill to deal with the legacy of Northern Irelands troubled past.

The Bill proposes an effective amnesty for Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a new truth recovery body, as well as ending future court processes.

It has been almost universally opposed by political parties across the UK and Ireland.

Mr Sunak was criticised by Amnesty International for not mentioning Troubles victims in his speech at a major conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar raised his governments concerns with the Bill during his meeting with Mr Sunak on Wednesday.

Mr Varadkar said opposition to the Bill is rare in that it has united the main political parties in Northern Ireland.

He said it is his governments strong view that the Bill should be withdrawn  and if not withdrawn at least amended until it has the support of the majority of people in Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister must take the opportunity of this milestone anniversary to drop the Troubles Bill and other legislation which directly undermines the agreement Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UK

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UKs Northern Ireland deputy director, said Mr Sunaks pledge to the agreement will be judged by his actions, not words.

Prosperity comes when peace thrives; the ongoing process of reconciliation requires conflict related violations to be addressed, she said.

The total absence from Sunaks speech of Troubles victims was a missed opportunity to show he is listening to them and the opposition to his Governments Troubles Bill.

The Prime Minister must take the opportunity of this milestone anniversary to drop the Troubles Bill and other legislation which directly undermines the agreement.
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SNP leader Humza Yousaf needs to take decisive and quick action or the party will be in trouble at the next general election, defeated leadership candidate Kate Forbes has said.

Ms Forbes, defeated by Mr Yousaf in the race to succeed Nicola Sturgeon, has spoken spoke out as police investigations into the partys finances saw a second arrest and fresh turmoil.

On Tuesday Police Scotland arrested SNP treasurer Colin Beattie MSP as part of an ongoing investigation into how more than 600,000 in donations to the party earmarked for an independence referendum had been used.

Ms Forbes said claims about the partys finances had been mind-blowing, saying there were questions over integrity, trust, transparency.

She told BBC Radio 4s Leading Scotland Where? programme, which airs on Wednesday evening, that right now, people are watching with astonishment, but they want to see leadership in dealing with it and resolving it.

Ms Forbes said: I think we need decisive and quick action or we will be in trouble. I think right now, people are watching with astonishment, but they want to see leadership in dealing with it and resolving it.

She continued: The danger will be if there is an absence of decisive and quick action. We are at a pretty critical moment and it will be the response and the reaction that determines how big a problem this is for the SNP.

Ms Forbes stated: Right now with questions over integrity, trust, transparency  I think voters are watching extremely carefully.

We perhaps have the next election in the early part of next year. They will vote in that election on the basis of how we have sorted out our internal problems  even more than that, how we govern.

She added: There is still time to sort it out. But, I said throughout the campaign, Im afraid Im going to say it now  continuity wont cut it.

SNP leader Humza Yousaf facing further turmoil (Getty Images)

Former chief executive Peter Murrell, who is married to Ms Sturgeon, had previously been arrested and questioned, before being later released without charge, with the couples home also being searched by officers.

Mr Yousaf is facing calls to suspend SNP membership from Ms Sturgeon and those under investigation, with the Scottish Tories saying the former leader, her husband and Mr Beattie should all be suspended.

The SNP leader said on Tuesday that he does not believe the party is operating in a criminal way following Mr Beatties arrest, but resisted calls to suspend him as treasurer.

Mr Yousaf said he wanted to discuss pertinent issues with Mr Beattie  who was last night released without charge pending further investigation  and said: People are innocent until proven guilty.

Speaking about Ms Sturgeon and Mr Murrell, Ms Forbes said the couple were obviously a very good team in the sense of managing the SNP.

But she added: Theres no question that since then there have been lots of questions about transparency, the integrity of the systems and structures, and it doesnt matter how slick the optics are  you need good governance.

Fellow leadership candidate Ash Reagan said SNP figures should be suspended if significant wrongdoing was found, saying she and others were shocked by the latest arrest.

An SNP spokesperson said: We have no comment on a live police investigation.
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Trapped residents of Khartoum are hiding in their basements with dwindling supplies while hospitals are being bombed, looted and occupied, with fighting between the forces of Sudans two top generals having intensified.

A 24-hour, internationally-brokered truce collapsed within hours of being implemented on Tuesday, although both sides claimed they would follow another one-day ceasefire from Wednesday evening.

At least 270 people have been killed since Saturday when clashes erupted between the Sudanese military and rival parliamentary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for control of the country.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned that hospitals, medical personnel and ambulances had been hijacked and attacked while facilities had been bombed.

On Tuesday, bitter rivals, army chief Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan and the head of the RSF General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo  known as Hemedti  promised to respect a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire brokered by the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken.

The international community had hoped it would allow civilians trapped in the fiercest points of the fighting to evacuate, hospitals to treat the wounded and families to get food and water supplies.

But civilians told The Independent the truce collapsed almost immediately after it started and instead, the fighting had worsened.

I have been staying in the basement since 5am this morning. Today is the most aggressive and heaviest bombing, Mohamed Amin, a Sudanese journalist told The Independent from where he was sheltering. He sent a video showing the constant heartbeat of shelling and explosions around his home.

The airstrikes are very intense by the army and RSF is trying to counter with artillery shelling.

They are attacking indiscriminately. Some projectiles are falling on the houses of civilians. We see smoke in the air, he added.

UN secretary-general Antonio Guterres warned of a catastrophic humanitarian crisis while the WHO said that attacks on health personnel, facilities and ambulances were on the rise. In total 16 hospitals including nine in the capital Khartoum are believed to have ceased work due to the damage.

The WHO also said that ambulances had been hijacked despite patients and paramedics being on board, and health facilities had been looted.

Sudanese medics put out pleas via Sudanese social media. One communique said that two key hospitals in the capital had been seized by armed groups that were forcing medical personnel to treat their own men first rather than soldiers they claimed to be the enemy.

A mission by the German military to evacuate around 150 citizens had to be halted on Wednesday due to fighting in the capital Khartoum, German magazine Der Spiegel reported, citing unnamed sources.

Fighting erupted on Saturday as a tense rivalry reached breaking point between Hemedti and Burhan, who currently hold the two top positions in the countrys ruling Sovereign Council.

The powerful pair had initially joined forces in October 2021 to instigate a military coup, just two years after the toppling of long-term autocrat Omar Bashir by nationwide protests.

However, tensions had boiled over an internationally-backed political agreement to transition to civilian rule.

The long-awaited deal was supposed to be signed last month and would have seen the RSFs integration into the regular military.
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Some conservatives upset with Anheuser-Busch over a minor ad campaign featuring a trans influencer now believe that the company's CEO was put in charge of the company in order to make the company "woke."

The company's CEO, Brendan Whitworth, has become the target of a conservative conspiracy theory that his prior employment is influencing the brand's current direction.

Mr Whitworth joined Anheuser-Busch in 2013 and became CEO in 2021.

When conservative commentators found that his LinkedIn page listed the Central Intelligence Agency as one of his past employers, they worked up a theory that he is part of a wide-ranging psyop intended to launder "woke" ideas to the masses.

Benny Johnson, a 35-year-old man who runs a conservative meme show on conservative social media site Parler, is one of the most notable commentators to spread the theory.

Hey guys, I think I found the problem, he wrote on Twitter. The CEO of Budweiser is a CIA operative. No, really.

That sentiment was echoed by another notable Twitter user going by the name DC_Draino. He suggest that Mr Whitworth  despite being a Republican  was ordered by someone to push the "regime's Leftist agenda."

Bud Lights Woke marketing makes a lot more sense when you realize their CEO was in the CIA, he wrote. Hell never apologize for what AB did b/c hes a foot soldier for the regimes Leftist agenda.

Mr Whitworth joined the Marines in 1998 and served for three years before he joined the CIA in 2001, where he worked as a recruiter. He then attended Harvard Business School before joining AB.

Cans of Bud Light beer are seen, Thursday Jan. 10, 2019, in Washington. On Friday, April 7, 2023 (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File) (Copyright 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

If the CIA  an agency whose entire mission involves clandestine work  was trying to influence the culture through beer ads, it did not hide its involvement well, since Mr Whitworth is not shy about sharing his former employment with the organisation.

That has not stopped some conservatives from believing the theory.

I just learned that the current CEO of Anheuser-Busch is actually former CIA. Boy, does that explain A LOT, another user wrote. We all know how involved the Clowns In America are in pushing Communist/Marxist agendas all over the world. Playbook known.

Mr Whitworth put out a statement following the apoplectic boycott some conservatives launched against Budweiser beers in the wake of an ad campaign featuring trans influencer Dylan Mulvaney. He assured readers the company did not intend to wade into a culture war, which some progressives took as him walking back the company's support of Ms Mulvaney.

We never intended to be part of a discussion that divides people, he wrote. We are in the business of bringing people together over a beer.
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Two teenagers have been arrested in connection with a deadly mass shooting at a birthday party in Dadeville, Alabama.

Authorities announced the arrests of 17-year-old Ty Reik McCullough, 16-year-old Travis McCullough and Wilson LaMar Hill Jr, 20, on Wednesday, three days after four people were killed and 32 injured by gunfire at a Sweet 16 party. According to local outlet AL.com, the teen suspects are brothers.

The teens were taken into custody on Tuesday night, while Mr LaMar was arrested on Wednesday evening. They have been charged with four counts of reckless murder.

Sgt Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said during a press conference that a motive for the shooting has been determined, but details will not be shared with the public at this time.

Please understand, with the violence that went on and the magnitude of what happened, we are absolutely still in the early stages of the investigation, Sgt Burkett said. This is the beginning, this is not the end. There is a tremendous amount of work that is yet to be done.

Tallapoosa District Attorney Mark Sergist said more charges are expected to come. The suspects will have a bond hearing within the next 72 hours, and prosecutors are expected to ask a judge to hold them without bail.

Wilson LaMar Hill Jr, 20, and Ty Reik McCullough, 17 (ALEA)

Mr Sergist became emotional as he announced the developments, saying some of the victims were children of his longtime friends. He said that grand jurors typically meet in Tallapoosa County in March and September, but he would recall a panel to seek an indictment before September.

Theres an uncut cake and unburnt birthday candles that never got lit, he said. I know some of these victims personally ... These are my kids, these are our kids, you dont mess with our kids.

The shootings Saturday night rocked the small town of Dadeville, about 80 miles southeast of Birmingham, and families suddenly found themselves planning memorials and burial services instead of graduation parties or college move-ins.

The victims killed were identified on Monday as Keke Nicole Smith, 17, Phil Dowdell, 18, Marsiah Collins, 19 and Corbin Holston, 23. Four victims remain hospitalised in critical condition as of Wednesday night, Mr Sergist said.

We are going to make sure every victim gets justice, not just the deceased, he said. Even though these are 16 and 17-year-olds, we are going to charge them as adults.

Mourners attend a vigil at the First Baptist Church of Dadeville (Getty Images)

The gunfire broke out at a birthday party for Dowdells sister Alexis Dowdell, which was being held at a dance studio just off the towns courthouse square. Witnesses had said multiple people began shooting sometime after Dowdells mother paused the celebration to ask people with guns to leave.

Family members welcomed the arrests on Wednesday.

It dont make the hurt any easier. But we are relieved that they (the suspects) are not out in the community, Smiths cousin Amy Jackson told the AP.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency had said only that shell casings from handguns had been found, noting that there was no evidence a high-powered rifle was used. Investigators repeatedly appealed for information from the public, including videos.
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The grandson of the 84-year-old man accused of shooting Black teenager Ralph Yarl said it never should have happened.

Ralph, an honors student and all-state band member, was supposed to have gone to 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri to pick up his twin brothers on Thursday.

But he muddled the address and rung the doorbell on 115th Street by mistake, after which he was shot. He suffered gunshot wounds to the left forehead and right arm.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond on Tuesday afternoon.

Some civil rights leaders and the Yarl familys lawyers have said Mr Lester should be charged with a hate crime. Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said while there was a racial component to the case, first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence  up to life in prison.

Its just crazy. I wish it didnt happen, Daniel Ludwig, Mr Lesters grandson, told The Daily Beast.

Mr Ludwig, who described himself as very close with his grandfather, said he has often been in precisely the same situation as Ralph while looking for homes there.

Id go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets, he told the outlet. Its easy to do. They all look the same and everything.

The grandson also said he believed Mr Lester felt he was in danger.

An attorney for the Yarl family said the case should qualify as a hate crime.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin," he said.

Lee Merritt said the family is also angry that police held Mr Lester for only two hours after the shooting, when they legally could have held him for a day.

If they would have held him for 24 hours, they would have held him long enough to get the statement from the kid with a bullet in his brain, Mr Merritt said. They got the statement the very next day.

The Yarl familys lawyers said the Clay County prosecuting attorney, Mr Thompson, appears sincere in his effort to get a successful conviction.

Again, were frustrated with law enforcement, the agents working for him, in their failure and denial to get this family due process come last week, Mr Merritt said. No one really owned up to that. We confronted them directly; we know the mistakes that have been made. So, that part is still off-putting.

Although satisfied with the charges brought against the 84-year-old accused, Mr Merritt said the family wants to see it through the sentencing.

We get that the 16-year-old, unarmed boy didnt pose a threat but, far too often in America, his skin alone is his weapon. Its the weaponization of Blackness itself that is what we really feel like this case is about, Mr Merritt said.

Its not only Mr Lester who says he fears for his life when he sees Black people. Its almost every cop who says, I feared for my life, as justification for deadly use of force against an unarmed suspect. We hear it every day. We need to address that in our culture. There seems to be an animosity or violence associated with just Blackness alone.

Additional reporting by agencies
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The shooting of Ralph Yarl is being investigated by the Justice Department as a hate crime, his lawyers said, as suspect Andrew Lester pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance.

Mr Lester, 84, used a cane as he was arraigned in Kansas City on Wednesday afternoon, entering two not-guilty pleas to first-degree assault and armed criminal action, reported KCUR.

The judge also set his next court date for 1 June at 1.30pm. Mr Lester will remain out on $200,000 bond but is banned from possessing any type of weapon, must have no contact with Ralph Yarls family and his cell phone will be monitored.

(Clay County Sheriffs Office/AP/MerrittForTexas/Getty)

He also cannot leave the state of Missouri without permission from his bond supervisor and must surrender his passport and concealed carry permit.

Lee Merritt, the lawyer for Ralph Yarls family, told reporters outside Clay County Courthouse that the shooting was now being probed by the Justice Department as a hate crime.

Before I even made it to Kansas City, we reached out to the Department of Justice, myself and my co-counsel Ben Crump, we have some longstanding relationships there, Mr Merritt said, according to KCUR.

We thought that this was something the DOJ should be looking into. They are (looking into it). Its under investigation, theyve received our complaint and now theyre looking into it.

Mr Merritt was speaking after Mr Lester pleaded not guilty to shooting the 16-year-old high school student.

I want him to spend the rest of his life in prison, Mr Merritt said. All of his assets are going to become Ralphs.

Lee Merritt, lawyer for the family of Ralph Yarl, arrives for the initial court appearance of Andrew Lester, who was charged in the shooting of 16-year-old Yarl, in Clay County Court on April 19, 2023. (Getty Images)

Mr Lester is accused of shooting the 16-year-old in the head and hand after the teen mistakenly rang the doorbell at the wrong home as he tried to collect his younger twin brothers.

Following Mr Lesters not-guilty pleas, Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson released a statement on the case moving forward.

Today, an arraignment was held in the case of State of Missouri v. Andrew D. Lester. In Missouri, every defendant is entitled to an initial arraignment where charges are read and a next court date set. In this case, the defendant waived formal reading of the charges and the Court continued the case to 1 June, 2023 at 1.30pm.

The purpose of this continuance is to allow the defendants attorney, who only filed his entry of appearance today, to review the case and for the State to fulfil its statutory and constitutional obligations to provide discovery to the defendant. From this point forward, the State will be pushing to move this case forward as swiftly as legally permitted.

While charges have been filed, this remains an active investigation. We are continuing to work with law enforcement to gather any and all evidence available in this case. If anyone in the community has information that would assist in this case, we ask that you please contact the Kansas City, Missouri Police Department or other law enforcement.

Now that this is an active and pending case, our office is severely limited in the information we can publicly disclose. This is due to our desire to protect the legal integrity of the case and ensure that justice is served for the victim and our community. Despite these restrictions, we will be as transparent as legally permitted and strive to keep the public informed of any developments.
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Black teenager Ralph Yarl was shot by a white homeowner after he accidentally rang the doorbell at the wrong house while going to collect his brothers.

The 16-year-old accidental visit to Andrew Lesters home in the Northland suburb of Kansas City quickly turned violent and the high school student was left hospitalised with serious injuries.

Instead of going to a home in the 1100 block of Northeast 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri, to pick up his brothers, he mistakenly went to Northeast 115th Street, police said.

Now prosecutors have brought charges against the homeowner.

Here is everything we know about the suspect.

The homeowner

The identity of the shooter was revealed on Monday afternoon as Andrew D Lester, aged 84.

He is now facing the rest of his life behind bars over the shooting.

His family broke its silence for the first time to condemn the shooting.

Mr Lesters grandson Daniel Ludwig told The Daily Beast that the violent encounter never should have happened.

Its just crazy. I wish it didnt happen, he said.

Mr Ludwig, who said he is very close to Mr Lester, revealed he understands how easy it was for Ralph to get lost on the streets.

Id go to visit my grandpa, and I would get lost on those streets, he said.

Its easy to do. They all look the same and everything.

Other people who knew the 84-year-old have described a penchant for anger and conspiracy theories.

Another grandson Klint Ludwig said that he was estranged from his grandfather because of the 84-year-olds right-wing views.

Andrew Lester appears in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action on Wednesday (AP)

He claimed that, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr Lester had shared a crazy conspiracy theory about Dr Anthony Fauci.

He said his grandfather also used to make disparaging comments about Black people, gay people, and immigrants  and kept a large number of guns in his home.

Another relative, who did not want to be named, said Mr Lester spent considerable time at home in a living room chair, watching conservative news programs at high volume.

Mr Lesters ex-wife Mary Clayton has also spokem out to reveal why she isnt surprised by the shooting.

Ms Clayton, who was married to Mr Lester when she was young and had three children with him, told The New York Times she was always scared of her former husband.

During their 14-year marriage, she said he had anger issues and would smash up items around their home.

She called the police at least once over his rages but she said that nothing was done about it and she was told Mr Lester could do what he wanted in his home.

I was always scared of him, she said, adding of the shooting: It doesnt surprise me, what happened.

The charges

Following the shooting, Mr Lester was initially taken into custody on Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold.

However, under Missouri state law, a person can only be held for 24 hours on suspicion of a felony before officials must either charge or release them. Attorneys for Ralph  and jail officials  said that the suspect was actually released after less than two hours.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference on Sunday that  due to Ralphs injuries  police had been unable to get a formal statement from him.

This was also contradicted by Ralphs attorneys who said that the teenager gave an interview from his hospital bed on Friday.

In an appearance on CNN, Mr Crump described the shooting as an attempted murder.

The home where the suspect shot Ralph Yarl (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

On Monday afternoon, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson announced that Mr Lester had been charged with two felonies: assault in the first degree, which carries a punishment of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment, and armed criminal action, which carries a punishment of 3 to 15 years.

However, more than 20 hours passed before Mr Lester was taken into custody.

He surrendered to authorities on Tuesday before being released again less than two hours later after posting $200,000 bond.

Under the conditions of his release, he is not allowed to possess weapons of any type or have any contact with Ralph or his family.

Mr Lester appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday for his arraignment.

He pleaded not guilty to the two felonies and was released on bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for 1 June.

The 84-year-old is facing life in prison on the charges but is also said to be under investigation for a possible hate crime.

Mr Merritt told reporters outside Clay County Court on Wednesday that the Justice Department is looking into the case.

Before I even made it to Kansas City, we reached out to the Department of Justice, myself and my co-counsel Ben Crump, we have some longstanding relationships there, Mr Merritt said.

We thought that this was something the DOJ should be looking into. They are (looking into it). Its under investigation, theyve received our complaint and now theyre looking into it.

On Monday, when asked if Mr Lester could be charged with a hate crime by the state, the prosecutor said that it would not be possible under Missouri law.

In Missouri, a hate crime is a lower level of felony and to add the charge would amount to double jeopardy, he said.

Ralphs attorneys have also questioned why the suspect has not been charged with attempted murder.

While Mr Merritt said the family is happy that two felony charges have been brought, he has questions as to why Mr Lester has not been charged with attempted murder.

Ralph Yarl was shot twice on 13 April (Ben Crump Law)

He told CBS Mornings on Tuesday that, while Mr Lesters age may be a factor in the case, the current and former president of the United States is about that age. He made a conscious decision to shoot a 16-year-old boy, he said.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin, he said.

The motive

Initially, officials denied any racial element to the shooting and offered no motive for the gunman opening fire on the teen.

Speaking on Sunday, the police chief said that there was no evidence to indicate that the shooting was racially motivated.

But, on Monday, when charges were announced, the prosecutor said he believed there was a racial component to the case.

He did not give details as to what led officials to that conclusion and nothing to that end was outlined in the probable cause document.

Mr Merritt, who is representing Ralph and his family, said that they were meeting with the prosecutor on Tuesday where they hoped to learn what racial element investigators had found.

He told CBS Mornings that the suspects claim that he felt threatened by a Black boy ringing his doorbell sounds awfully familiar.

Being Black has been seen as a threat often in this country. It is unjustifiable for him to use deadly force against this so-called threat. Again, Blackness is not a threat, he said.

He added that the investigation itself shows bias in the treatment of the Black teen and the white shooter.

We saw law enforcement respond by essentially criminalising the boy, he said of Mr Lesters lack of arrest.

[Mr Lester] went home and slept in his bed that night, he said.

Andrew Lester in mugshot (Clay County Jail)

Mr Crump told CNN that he believes things would have been different if the races of the suspect and victim were reversed.

Nobody can tell us if the roles were reversed, and you had a Black man shoot a white, 16-year-old teenager for merely ringing his doorbell that he would not be arrested, he said.

I mean, this citizen went home and slept in his bed at night after shooting that young Black kid in the head.

What happened

According to court documents, a witness told police that they saw a vehicle pull into Mr Lesters driveway at around 9.30pm.

Mr Lester told investigators that he had just lain down when the doorbell rang, he picked up a .32 pistol and opened the interior door of his house.

He told police that he saw a Black male pulling on the exterior door and thought he was trying to break into the property.

He claimed he was scared to death at the boys size and feared he was unable to defend himself given his elderly age, the documents state.

Mr Lester said that he fired twice and that no words were exchanged with the victim.

Ralph Yarl was discharged from hospital after suffering two gunshot wounds (AP)

During an informal police interview at Childrens Mercy Hospital, the teenager said that he did not pull the door and was waiting outside.

He told investigators that a man opened the door and immediately shot him, causing him to fall to the ground where he was shot for a second time.

Ralph told police the man said, Dont come around here.

Following the shooting, Ralph managed to stumble away to some other homes in the neighbourhood to get help and was rushed to hosptial.

On Monday, he was released from hospital to recover at home from his injuries.

Celebrities join demands for justice as GoFundMe appeal soars

Before charges were announced  and when the suspect had been freed from police custody without charge  several celebrities joined calls for justice for Ralph.

Halle Berry posted Ralphs image on Twitter and urged her Twitter followers to contact the local prosecutor to urge him to bring charges against the homeowner.

His name is #RalphYarl and Im sick and tired of this feelingmy heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head by a man who didnt want him on his property. This innocent child is now fighting for his life, she wrote.

Fellow Black actor Viola Davis also took to Instagram to demand action.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!! she wrote, directing people to the posts of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt.

Meanwhile a GoFundMe appeal to try and help raise funds for his treatment saw donations flooding in.

On Thursday morning  around two days after its launch  a staggering $3.35m had been raised.

On the campaign page, a woman who identified herself as Ralphs aunt described the teenager as a fantastic kid who had dreams of doing to Texas A&M University to major in chemical Engineering.

At school, he is a member of the Technology Student Association and Science Olympia Team. Jazz and competition band. He is a section leader in the marching band; a scholar and one of the top base clarinet players in Missouri. He recently earned Missouri All-State Band recognition with an honorable mention. He plays multiple instruments in the metropolitan youth orchestra. He is a 2022 Missouri scholar academy alumni. Ralph can often be found with a musical instrument. He loves them all, the page reads.

Protesters in support of Ralph Yarl on Tuesday 18 April (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Last summer, Ralph attended Missouri Scholars Academy, where he got a full college life experience. His goal is to attend Texas A&M to major in chemical Engineering.

When asked how he plans to get into this university, he said, Well, if they have a scholarship for music or academics, I know I can get it. Ralphs teacher and friends describe him as  a kind soul, quiet, friendly, well-mannered, always willing to help, super smart, and a musical genius. Ralph was looking forward to graduating high school and finally getting the opportunity to visit West Africa before starting college.

Life looks a lot different right now. Even though he is doing well physically, he has a long road ahead mentally and emotionally. The trauma that he has to endure and survive is unimaginable. He is our miracle. We have heard these types of stories many times, and unfortunately, most black boys are not alive to get another chance.

Protesters have also taken to the streets of Kansas City in support of Ralph and to demand justice for his alleged attacker.

On Tuesday, over a thousand students at Ralphs school Staley High School staged a walkout  or unity walk  in solidarity with their classmate.

They were joined by school staff, civil rights leaders and politicians in a huge rally in downtown Kansas City where they chanted Justice for Ralph and We love you Ralph.

I was out here to support my friend Ralph through this time he is going through today, one of the boys friends told KSHB.

The student said he wasnt surprised by the number of people who had come out to support Ralph because everyone is willing to support a friend at our school.
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The discovery of a fourth body in a Texas lake since February has sparked fears of a possible serial killer on the loose.

Authorities in Austin say that John Christopher Hays-Clark, 30, was pronounced dead at the scene at Lady Bird Lake in the city. It is at least the seventh body to found in the lake in the states capital city in the past 10 months, according to The Houston Chronicle.

Still, Austin police say that they have not seen any evidence of foul play in the long string of deaths, regardless of online speculation.

While the investigation is still in the early stages, we do not suspect foul play was involved based on the information we have at this time, police said. The investigation remains ongoing, and we have no further information to provide.

The latest victim was found unresponsive in the lakes waters at around 1.20pm on Saturday 15 April. Police also insist that there is nothing suspicious about any of the previous deaths either.

Although these cases are still under investigation and evidence is being analyzed, at this time, there is no evidence in any of these cases to support allegations of foul play, they said in a statement. While each incident has occurred at the lake, the circumstances, exact locations, and demographics surrounding these cases vary.

APD Statement on Lady Bird Lake Drownings pic.twitter.com/mpc3uuJJ1N  Austin Police Department (@Austin_Police) April 3, 2023

Jason John, 30, was found dead in the lake in February a week after going missing in the city. An unidentified male was found dead there on 5 March.

Jonathan Honey, 33, was found dead at the lake on 1 April after last being seen alive at a food truck on Rainey Street, which has a sting of popular bars near the water, according to the Chronicle.

Investigators say that none of the victims showed any signs of trauma, although autopsy reports have not been made publicly available.

One common theme of the drownings in Austin this year is the combination of alcohol and easy access to Lady Bird Lake, which has numerous access points, police added. Many of the access points can be challenging to see at night.

But that has not stopped rampant internet speculation. A Facebook group called Lady Bird Lake Serial Killer/ Rainey St Killer now has more than 70,000 members since it was started in February.

According to the Chronicle, Austin has had one previous serial killer, the Servant Girl Annihilator who is believed to have murdered eight women between December 1884 and December 1885. The killer in that case was never caught.
"For decades, we were told that because of various vested interests, it would be nearly impossible to pass the bill but we made it happen," Mr Buhari said.

President Muhammadu Buhari on Monday said the actualisation of the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) 2021 is the second biggest achievement in the country's energy sector.

The president disclosed this while declaring the Nigeria International Energy Summit, (NIES) 2023, open at the presidential banquet hall in Abuja on Monday.

Mr Buhari, represented by Boss Mustapha, the secretary to the government of the federation, explained that for decades, Nigerians were told that it would be near impossible to pass the bil because of vested interests,

On 16 August 2021, Mr Buhari signed the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB) 2021 into law.

The Petroleum Industry Act provides legal, governance, regulatory and fiscal framework for the Nigerian petroleum industry, the development of host communities, and related matters.

Speaking on Monday, Mr Buhari described the bill as revolutionary.

The president said that when he assumed office in 2015, his administration set out to dismantle the challenges it met on the ground by embarking on major reforms.

According to him, during his administration, the government quickly moved to scrap the existing agencies and replaced them with new regulators, while the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPC) was immediately transformed into a limited liability.

He added that the new NNPC is on course to becoming the biggest, most capitalised and most profitable company in the whole of Africa.

"Our perspectives have provided the incoming government with the tools to guide Nigerians' energy future. I enjoin industry stakeholders to give the incoming administration the support and cooperation I received from you," he said.

He noted that energy will remain the top priority of his administration till his last day in office.

"The first task we combated is the issue of funding and sanitising the oil and gas sector; we then proceeded to exit the federal government from joint registrar cash go-funding. This freed the federal government from the shoes of funding the oil sector.

"The Petroleum Industry Act (PIA) remains our second biggest achievement in the energy sector. For decades, we were told that because of various vested interests, it would be nearly impossible to pass the bill but we made it happen," Mr Buhari said.

Natural Gas

In the natural gas sector, Mr Buhari announced that he pushed for the diversification of Nigeria's economy and drove industrialisation through domestic gas utilisation, officially declaring natural gas as Nigeria's transition fuel.

"We also made giant strides in infrastructure. We kick started the $2.8 billion Ajaokuta-Kaduna-Kano (AKK) natural gas pipeline project. The AKK project will transport up to 3,500 million cubic feet (mcf) of gas a day from various gas-gathering projects and help to generate 3.6 gigawatts of power and support gas-based industries along the route when completed. At present, the 614 km gas pipeline is 43 per cent completed.

"We have also reinvigorated the private sector in the industry. We ensured an attractive framework for the indigenous companies to take advantage of divestment by International Oil Companies' (IOCs) assets.

"This move ensured that the indigenous companies grew their capacity tremendously and they are now accountable for about 30 per cent of national oil and gas production up from just about 2 per cent in 2010.

"We implemented a marginal field bid round and saw to the conclusion of the process which resulted in the award of Petroleum Prospecting Licences (PPLs) to 161 successful firms with the federal government raking in about N200 billion as well as $7 million from the process," he said.

Meanwhile, in a statement on Monday, Mele Kyari, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) Group Chief Executive Officer said the world today has recognized the need to ensure sustainability in the energy landscape which is in line with the current realities and as key players in the energy sector.

Mr Kyari said the company's mandate of providing energy for the country remains a priority.

He said in order to achieve that, NNPC is poised to reliably deliver energy to its stakeholders, through efficient utilization of hydrocarbons and other new energy sources which Nigeria is blessed with.

"You will agree with me that sustained energy sufficiency directly enables economic growth and development as can be seen in the history of developed countries. This is why we are focused on efficiently producing energy while minimizing the effect on the environment.

"Oil and gas remain a significant component of energy in the global energy mix therefore we are unlocking more opportunities across both the oil and gas value chain spanning from supply and infrastructure to the markets," he said.

For instance, he said, the NNPC Limited is actively supporting the federal government towards the realization of key initiatives such as the Decade of Gas and the National Gas Expansion Programme (NGEP) which seeks to deepen natural gas utilization as an alternative transportation fuel, virtual gas supply to off-pipeline grid gas customers and gas utilization as feedstock for the development of gas-based industries.

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"This is evident in the definite actions taken to utilize CNG and LNG to power vehicles, buildings and power plants.

"NNPC Limited is also investing heavily in critical gas infrastructure such as the Ajaokuta-Abuja-Kano (AKK) gas pipeline and the OB3 gas interconnector to support 5 Bscf/d of domestic gas utilization including 5 GW of power generation capacity by developing power plant projects along the AKK pipeline corridor and across the country to complement the existing ones," Mr Kyari said.

For the gas export market, he said the ongoing NLNG Train 7 will expand Nigeria's LNG production capacity to about 30 million tons per annum (30 MTPA).

"This is in addition to the planned Nigerian Morocco and the Trans Sahara Gas Pipeline projects which will supply gas to sub-regional African countries and subsequently Europe.

"In addition to our existing Upstream activities, we are also deepening exploration activities of the Nation's frontier Basins using the best industry standards and technologies which are already yielding results such as the Kolmani discovery, and we are hopeful that the recent spud-in of the EBENYI A in Nasarawa State will yield positive result as well.

"NNPC will continue to leverage our partnerships with the Industry, Government, Research Institutions and Academia to ensure energy security and sustainability," he said.
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A teenager from Texas is recovering in the ICU from being shot after her friend accidentally entered the wrong car in the parking lot of a grocery store.

Payton Washington, 18, was coming home from cheerleading practice around 12.15 am with three other friends on Tuesday when gun fire occurred in the parking lot of an H-E-B in Elgin, Texas.

Authorities from the Elgin Police Department responded to the report of gun fire and found, two occupants of the vehicle were struck by gun fire, according to a statement shared on the Elgin Police Departments Facebook

One victim was treated and released on scene. The other sustained serious injuries and was transported to the hospital by helicopter where they remain in critical condition, the statement says.

Paytons father, Kelan Washington, told NBC News that his daughter was shot in the leg and the back during the incident which required doctors to remove her spleen.

Payton is in stable condition at the Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas according to Mr Washington.

Paytons accomplished everything she has with only one lung [from] when she was born. Shes as tough as they come, Mr Washington told NBC News.

Authorities have arrested 25-year-old Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr in connection to the shooting and charged him with deadly conduct.

Lynn Shearer, the owner of the cheer team, told KXAN that the girls were returning from cheerleading practice at Woodlands Elite Cheer Company when the incident occurred.

Ms Shearer said the cheerleaders carpooled to the gym in Oak Ridge and were returning to their respective cars when one of the girls accidentally tried to enter the wrong vehicle.

Upon noticing it was the wrong vehicle, she got back into her friends car when the man got out to confront them.

The guy got out and they saw that he had a gun. And so they tried to speed off, and he shot his gun, like five times or so into the car, Ms Shearer told KXAN.

Ms Shearer said the situation was unfortunate because these girls were just trying to get home.

A GoFundMe has been set up to help pay for Paytons medical expenses.

On Instagram, Woodlands Elite Cheer Company wrote: 4 of our girls were involved in a horrific incident on their way home after practice last night. Please keep these girls and our WE cheer family in your thoughts and prayers. WE appreciate our cheer community.

The Independent has reached out to Woodlands Elite Cheer Company for comment.

This is the third recent incident of young people being met with gun fire when making a mistake. Ralph Yarl, 16, was recently shot after he mixed up the addresses of a house he was supposed to go to in order to pick up his younger brothers. After ringing the doorbell, Ralph was shot twice.

Meanwhile, 20-year-old Kaylin Gillis was fatally shot after accidentally driving up the wrong driveway of the wrong home.
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On day six of testimony in the trial of cult mom Lori Vallow, the jury heard a recording of a phone call between the defendant and her eldest son from the early months of her incarceration.

Colby Ryan, Ms Vallows son from her second marriage, was called a witness for the prosecution. He is her only surviving child following the murders of daughter Tylee, 16, and adopted son JJ, 7, in September 2019.

In the emotional call between mother and son, Ms Vallow refused to switch on her camera, while Mr Ryan demanded to know whether Jesus had really told her to murder his siblings.

The jury remained focused during the call, which was played at the end of Mr Ryans testimony and is believed to have taken place in early August of 2020.

In the call, he said he had been praying for his mother and her fourth husband Chad Daybell, with whom she is accused of the murders of his brother and sister as much as I want to hit him in the face with a shovel.

Mr Ryan pleaded for Ms Vallow to tell him the truth about what happened leading up to the discovery of Tylee and JJ in shallow graves in a pet cemetery on Mr Daybells property in Rexburg, Idaho.

In an especially visceral moment, he said: My siblings, my whole family, my dad  everyone is gone except my mom and youre in jail because of it. You ripped my heart out. You ripped everyones heart out."

Mr Ryan also called her out for texts he received from his sisters phone in the weeks after she was last seen and how Ms Vallow must have known and lied to him about her whereabouts.

An incredulous Mr Ryan, himself a devout Christian, asked why with all that had happened, how could Ms Vallow then say that Jesus Christ was on her side, when, he says, she will be judged by him.

Ms Vallow in response laughs and says that only Tylee and JJ know what happened.

They love me and they are fine and they know the truth and we are the only people that do, she says.

Ms Vallow and Mr Daybells beliefs of an impending doomsday and Second Coming included a concept of people being taken over by dark spirits and demons that had to be cast out. She said her children and husband had been taken over by such entities.

Tylee and JJ were last seen in September 2019. Their bodies were discovered on 9 June 2020 after months of searching.

Ms Vallows husband Charles was shot and killed by her brother on 11 July 2019. Tammy Daybell died by asphyxiation on 19 October.

Mr Daybell and Ms Vallow were married on 5 November 2019 in Hawaii.

On 20 February 2020, she was arrested and charged with two felony counts of desertion of dependent children.

Mr Daybell was arrested upon the discovery of the childrens remains on his property and on 25 May 2021, they were both indicted on the charge of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder, first-degree murder, and grand theft by deception for the deaths of Tylee, JJ, and Tammy.

They are being tried separately.
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Two communities in Maine were rocked by gun violence when suspected gunman Joseph Eaton suddenly embarked on a shooting rampage  first at a home and then along an interstate.

Maine State Police said that officers were called to a house in the town of Bowdoin on 18 April morning to find four victims dead from gunshot wounds.

Not long after the grim discovery was made, an assailant randomly opened fire on cars driving along Interstate 295 in nearby Yarmouth.

Three people were shot in the second attack. The alleged gunman was taken into custody on the scene.

Heres what we know so far about Joseph Eaton:

Who is Joseph Eaton?

Joseph Eaton, 34, was arrested over the two incidents. He was charged with four counts of murder over the victims in the home and is being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail.

He has not yet been charged over the highway shootings. He appeared in court on Thursday for the first time since the shootings.

The suspect has been charged with four counts of murder after reportedly shooting and killing his father David Eaton, 66; his mother Cynthia Eaton, 62; and their friends Robert Eger, 72; and Patricia Eger, 62.

The suspect left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday when he was picked up by his mother, according to the state authorities.

A hearse leaves the scene of the shooting at the home in Bowdoin, Maine (AP)

The shooting took place at the home of the Egers. Three of the bodies were found inside the home, while Mr Eatons father was found at the property in a barn.

Not long after the grim discovery was made, an assailant randomly opened fire on cars driving along Interstate 295 in nearby Yarmouth.

Col Bill Ross of Maine State Police identified the three people injured on the highway as 51-year-old Shawn Halsey, 29-year-old Justin Halsey, and 25-year-old Paige Halsey. Ms Halsey remains in critical condition at Maine Medical Center.

Col Ross said there appears to be no connection between the Halsey family and Mr Eaton. Mr Eaton began shooting on the highway because he thought he was being hunted by the police, Col Ross added.

Speaking about the deceased, Col Ross said that the office of the chief medical examiner determined that all died of gunshot wounds and were determined to be homicides.

Court records made public on Thursday revealed the grisly crime scene discovered by police called to the residence.

The suspect appeared in court in West Bath on Thursday, his first appearance since the killings.

The court records outline the scene that police encountered on Augusta Road on Tuesday morning.

The documents state that Ms Egers sister visited the home at about 9am, finding drops of blood near the door, WABI reported.

Inside, she discovered a number of guns and bullet holes. She exited the home and called 911.

Police said on Wednesday that they found one victim in a barn and three others in the home. Court documents reveal that a dog was also shot at the scene.

Detectives searching the area also discovered a note stating that someone had been molested and that there was nothing done about it.

The note also stated that someone had been freed of pain and that the author of the note wanted a new life.

Not much later on Tuesday morning, police responded to the highway shooting where the three members of the Halsey family had been shot.

They were transported to Maine Medical Center.

The father and son suffered injuries not considered life-threatening while Ms Halsey was in critical condition. Mr Halsey said on Wednesday afternoon that his daughters breathing tube had been removed and that she was on the road to recovery.

The car the suspect had been driving was rented by his parents at Portland Jetport when they arrived in the state on 13 April to collect their son upon his release from prison.

The affidavit states that police found small and large calibre casings in the passenger side of the vehicle.

Mr Eaton was detained shortly before 11am in the woods close to exit 15 on I-295 in Yarmouth.

The calls from the highway shooting came in as police were investigating the scene at the home where the bodies were found.

One of the highway witnesses told the emergency services that a man had been standing in the middle of exit 15 waving his hands in the air and appearing to have blood on him. Court filings state the man was Mr Eaton.

While police have said that Mr Eaton has confessed to the shootings, they havent revealed when the victims were killed. Its also unclear how the suspect got ahold of the weapon or weapons used.

Following felony convictions in Maine and in Florida, where his parents were living, Mr Eaton was unable to legally own firearms.

Police have said that Ms Eaton picked up her son at the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday where he had just finished serving a sentence after being convicted of assault. The mother reportedly took him to the home of the Egers where they had been staying, according to the Bangor Daily News.

The Thursday release of the affidavit revealed that Ms Egers sister told the authorities that she texted Ms Eger at about 8.30am on Tuesday to say that she would be at their house at about 9am that morning but she never got a response.

The sister had been staying at the home but had left to allow the Eatons to stay there while they collected their son from prison. She said she was going back to some clothing she had left behind, according to WMTW.

When she arrived at the house, Ms Egers sister saw two drops of blood on the front steps of the house.

She opened the front door and called out but didnt get a reply. She then spotted broken glass and blood on the floor in addition to a body covered by a towel on the kitchen floor.

The sister said she couldnt tell if it was Mr Eger or David Eaton as they had similar appearances, but going off his clothing, she guessed it was Mr Eger.

She said she saw bullet holes everywhere, according to the legal filing.

She left when she saw drag marks throughout the home, waiting outside until police arrived.

The note was found on the kitchen island, but it wasnt addressed to anyone or signed by the author, the affidavit states. The legal document said that the note said someone had been molested there and there was nothing done about it. The note mentioned someone being freed from pain and the writer wanted a new life.

In a video shared on Facebook on Monday, Joseph Eaton said he had been molested as a child.

The other two bodies in the home, likely those of Ms Eaton and Ms Eger had also been covered. The fourth body, reportedly that of Mr Eaton, was found in a barn on the property.

The court filing states that police found several firearms in the home.

When he appeared in court on Thursday, the suspect was dressed in orange inmate clothing as well as a bulletproof vest.

Joseph Eaton, the suspect in a shooting spree in Maine, appears in court in West Bath, Maine, Thursday, April 20, 2023 (AP)

Superior Court Justice Daniel Billings asked the suspect if he understood the charges hes facing, which he said he did. The suspect wasnt requested to enter a plea since he hasnt yet been indicted by a grand jury in Sagadahoc County.

The justice ordered that Mr Eaton be held without bail. Maine law states that bail isnt available to those facing charges of murder, the Bangor Daily News noted.

Justice Billings added that the suspect must undergo a psychiatric evaluation to ascertain if he can be a part of his own defence. Mr Eaton is set to appear in court again on 28 June.

Assistant Attorney General Leanne Robbins and Assistant Attorney General Robert Ellis are prosecuting the case.

Ms Robbins said following the hearing on Thursday that her office would be filing charges against the suspect in connection to the highway shooting in Yarmouth and that local police are still investigating that case.

She added that Maine State Police is investigating who owned the guns used in the shootings. She didnt comment on how many weapons had been found and how many had been used, the Daily News reported.

As a public safety measure, we want to know where he got the firearms, Mr Robbins said.

Next, evidence will be presented to a grand jury for them to decide on possible indictments.

Attorney Andrew Wright of Brunswick has been appointed to defend Mr Eaton. Mr Wright was unable to attend Thursdays court session  he was temporarily replaced by lawyer James Mason, also of Brunswick.

James Mason, the court appointed attorney for Joseph Eaton, the suspect in a shooting spree in Maine, speaks outside court in West Bath, Maine, Thursday, April 20, 2023 (AP)

Outside the court, Mr Mason said that he hoped that people would wait to dole out judgement regarding the allegations against Mr Eaton and allow the defence to prepare.

If Mr Eaton is convicted of murder, he could be sentenced to between 25 years and life in prison. Maine law allows judges to hand out life sentences to those convicted of several murders.

Eatons lengthy criminal record

Mr Eaton has a lengthy rap sheet going back more than a decade before the shooting spree.

Past convictions include burglary, felony aggravated assault, domestic violence, and violence against a law enforcement officer, as well as possessing a weapon as a felon.

Joseph Eaton was released from prison four days before shooting spree (Supplied)

Most recently, he was sentenced to eight months in prison for assault in March 2022. He was then returned to prison for violating his probation.

Based on his felony convictions, he also could not legally own a firearm.

The suspect had spent the last two years in jail, the colonel said.

Mr Eaton was taken by Major Crimes detectives and Portland police officers to the Portland Police Department where he gave a confession and admitted to killing his parents and his parents friends  he admitted to killing his parents David and Cynthia and their friends Robert and Patricia in the residence at 1459 Augusta Road, he said.

He had also admitted that he shot vehicles on Interstate 295 because he thought he [was] being followed by police officers, Col Ross said.

He added that a few days ago, he was released from Windham Correctional Center, where he was serving about two years for aggravated assault. He was picked up I believe on April 14 at the Windham correctional facility by his mother Cynthia and they drove to the residence in Bowdoin where the murders occurred.

When asked about the suspects living arrangements, Col Ross said, Hes been in jail for two years and [on] April 14 of this year his mother picked him up at the Wyndham Correctional Facility.

He added that his parents were involved in his accommodations.

Mr Eaton was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black. He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

State records reveal that Mr Eaton has a criminal history which meant that he couldnt legally own a firearm.

Mr Eatons criminal past begins in 2008 in Kansas when he was charged with burglary. He was sentenced in 2009 and released in 2010.

He was sentenced to three years behind bars in May 2018 after being charged with three counts of aggravated assault of a first responder in Nassau County, Florida.

Within a month of being released on 15 February 2021, he was sentenced on 1 March for an assault in Maine.

Chilling video shared on Facebook

The suspect appears to have posted a sobbing Facebook video speaking about his trauma and being molested on Monday, The Independent can reveal.

Mr Eaton shared an emotional video of himself online on Monday where he said that people think he is just another f*** up and complained about people who claim to be Christian.

In the footage, he is seen sitting in a car filming himself as he chokes up with tears and goes on a confusing ramble.

Im probably going to get emotional just talking about it, he said. But a lot of people look at you and think oh well theres just another f*** up, another guy that cant get his stuff together, treats people like s*** and then they turn around and claim to be Christian. And you cant forgive somebody or understand what they go through. You cant give someone a second chance but you say youre Christian. How does that make sense? Why cant you just try to get to know the person again? What goods it do to hate somebody? It destroys you. Its not the way things were supposed to be done, the way things were made.

Joseph Eaton posted a sobbing video online hours before the shooting (Facebook)

Mr Eaton then went on to say he wants forgiveness for the things I did as he said he has had trauma for a long time.

Just need to try to forgive me for the things I did. Ive been dealing with trauma for a long time on things I dont talk to people about  being molested and stuff it destroys somebody, he said. I know Im good for my kids. I just wish somebody would forgive me. Some people, I dont get it.

Suspects grandmother speaks out

Betty Fagan lost her daughter Cynthia Eaton in the shooting, who was the mother of the suspect. Police have not yet commented on a motive for the killings, after which Mr Eaton allegedly opened fire on an interstate.

Ms Eaton had picked up her son from prison on 14 April when he was released after serving a term for aggravated assault.

Ms Fagan said the suspects his parents had returned to Maine but that they were planning to move to Kansas, where they had previously lived.

I couldnt believe it. I just couldnt believe he would do something like that, she told the AP.
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Among the four victims shot dead in Maine were the suspects parents.

Joseph Eaton, 34, has been charged with four counts of murder after reportedly shooting and killing his father David Eaton, 66; his mother Cynthia Eaton, 62; and their friends Robert Eger, 72; and Patricia Eger, 62.

The suspect was released from prison just four days before he went on a rampage, shooting and killing those at the home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

The suspect left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday when he was picked up by his mother, according to the state authorities.

The shooting took place at the home of the Egers. Three of the bodies were found inside the home, while Mr Eatons father was found at the property in a non-attached garage, according to the authorities.

The killings have been connected to the highway shooting in which three people were injured on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.

Col Bill Ross of Maine State Police identified the three people shot on the highway as 51-year-old Shawn Halsey, 29-year-old Justin Halsey, and 25-year-old Paige Halsey. Ms Halsey remains in critical condition at Maine Medical Center.

Speaking about the deceased, Col Ross said that the office of the chief medical examiner determined that all died of gunshot wounds and were determined to be homicides.

Mr Eaton began shooting on the highway because he thought he was being hunted by the police, Col Ross added. The suspect had spent the last two years in jail, the colonel said.

Mr Eaton was taken by Major Crimes detectives and Portland police officers to the Portland Police Department where he gave a confession and admitted to killing his parents and his parents friends  he admitted to killing his parents David and Cynthia and their friends Robert and Patricia in the residence at 1459 Augusta Road, he said.

He had also admitted that he shot vehicles on Interstate 295 because he thought he [was] being followed by police officers, Col Ross said.

He added that a few days ago, he was released from Windham Correctional Center, where he was serving about two years for aggravated assault. He was picked up I believe on April 14 at the Windham correctional facility by his mother Cynthia and they drove to the residence in Bowdoin where the murders occurred.

The authorities didnt specify when the killings took place  a friend of the Egers discovered the bodies after making several attempts to contact the couple and eventually went over to check in on them.

When asked about the suspects living arrangements, Col Ross said, He's been in jail for two years and [on] April 14 of this year his mother picked him up at the Wyndham Correctional Facility.

He added that his parents were involved in his accommodations.

Mr Eaton was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black. He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

While Mr Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder, he hasnt yet been charged in connection to the highway shooting.

State records reveal that Mr Eaton has a criminal history which meant that he couldnt legally own a firearm.

Mr Eatons criminal past begins in 2008 in Kansas when he was charged with burglary. He was sentenced in 2009 and released in 2010.

He was sentenced to three years behind bars in May 2018 after being charged with three counts of aggravated assault of a first responder in Nassau County, Florida.

Within a month of being released on 15 February 2021, he was sentenced on 1 March for an assault in Maine.

Mr Eaton has been sent back to jail while he waits to attend a court hearing on Thursday. Officials at the jail said it wasnt clear if he had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.
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The boyfriend of Kaylin Gillis has spoken out about the final moments before she was shot and killed after they pulled into the wrong driveway.

The 20-year-old was killed in New York on Saturday when the couple entered the wrong driveway while searching for a party. The boyfriend, Blake Walsh, 19, told NBC News that his life has been destroyed.

The teenager from Cambridge, New York, told the network that he was driving the car with his girlfriend and two other passengers in the Ford Explorer searching for the party when two bullets flew in their direction, with one striking Ms Gillis.

She was fatally shot when they were exiting the driveway in Hebron, about 50 miles north of Albany.

Mr Walsh said the group was driving along with another car that also entered the same driveway but that they had realised they were in the wrong place and were in the process of leaving when the gunfire began.

We thought we were at the right address, he told NBC News. We didnt have any cell service to figure it out. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happened.

My friend said, Theyre shooting, go! I tried to step on the gas as fast as I could, and thats when the fatal shot came through, he added.

I want to believe it was instant. Im hoping it was. Im praying it was, an emotional Mr Walsh told the outlet.

Kaylin Gillis was killed in New York state on Saturday (Facebook)

On Monday, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy told the press that the suspect, Kevin Monahan, 65, fired when the group was leaving his driveway and that they clearly posed no threat.

Ms Gillis was struck by one of the bullets and she was pronounced dead miles away after her friends called 911. Mr Walsh said she was hit in the neck and that they had to drive five miles to find cell service, but he said, It did not feel like that. It felt like 30 seconds. The adrenaline was rushing so bad.

The suspects attorney Kurt Mausert said Mr Monahan was arraigned on Sunday on a charge of murder in the second degree and he pled not guilty. Mr Mausert said Mr Monahan wasnt intending to harm anyone when he discharged his firearm.

When you have a victim and a tragedy, the thing everyone wants is a villain, but not every time theres a victim and tragedy is there a villain, the lawyer said, according to NBC News. A number of errors were made that were unintentional.

Kevin Monahan is charged with Kaylin Gillis murder (Warren County Jail)

The attorney added that Mr Monahan is set to appear at a bail hearing on Wednesday.

New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand said, Our children shouldnt be met with lethal violence for making simple, completely harmless mistakes. This reckless, senseless gun violence has stolen far too many children from their families, and it must be stopped.

Ms Gillis loved animals and was working towards becoming a marine biologist, Mr Walsh said. She graduated from Schuylerville High School in 2021. They met when he was a high school sophomore.

They had been together for more than four years and spoke about being part of the two per cent, pointing to an apparent figure of the number of high school couples who go on to get married.

I had high hopes, and I had plans, Mr Walsh told NBC News. I didnt want to be with anybody else, and I wanted to spend the rest of my life with her.

Kaylin Gillis was shot and killed in upstate New York (GoFundMe)

I want the world to know how good of a person she really was and how much she impacted everybody who had the fortunate opportunity to be in her life, he added.

Mr Walsh said hell miss how happy she was able to make me, adding that my world was taken from me Saturday.

He said hell attend Mr Monahans bond hearing.

I need to see who took my girlfriend away from me. I need to look at him, he told the network.
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Hollywood actors and celebrities including Gwyneth Paltrow and Kim Kardashian have spoken out to demand justice for a Black teenager who was shot in the head by a white homeowner in Kansas City.

Ralph Yarl, a 16-year-old high school junior, was shot twice last Thursday when he accidentally went to the wrong house to pick up his younger twin brothers.

The teenager spent days in hospital while the white homeowner  84-year-old Andrew Lester  is still walking free.

Mr Lester was finally charged on Monday afternoon with two felonies: assault in the first degree, which carries a punishment of 10 to 30 years or life imprisonment, and armed criminal action, which carries a punishment of 3 to 15 years.

However, more than 20 hours passed before Mr Lester was taken into custody.

He surrendered to authorities on Tuesday before being released again less than two hours later after posting $200,000 bond. He is now due to appear in court on Wednesday.

Protesters have been demanding justice for Ralph and a growing chorus of celebrities are weighing in on the case, voicing outrage over the shooting and the treatment of his accused attacker.

Actor Gwyneth Paltrow wrote on Instagram: #RalphYarl accidentally rang the doorbell of the wrong house in KCMO. He was trying to pick his younger siblings. The white owner of the hours shot this Black child in the head. He shot him again as Ralph bled out. The shooter is free. No charges. This is America.

Kim Kardashian also used her platform to condemn the shooting, sharing an infographic of what happened to the teenage boy.

Halle Berry posted Ralphs image on Twitter and urged her Twitter followers to contact the local prosecutor to urge him to bring charges against the homeowner.

His name is #RalphYarl and Im sick and tired of this feelingmy heart completely broke when I learned this precious 16-year-old, who accidentally rang the door of the wrong address in an attempt to pick up his siblings, was shot in the head by a man who didnt want him on his property. This innocent child is now fighting for his life, she wrote.

This could be your child. This should NOT happen. Please do something today! Join me and please contact Prosecutor Zachary Thompson and demand an immediate arrest and bring the appropriate charges: Building: James S. Rooney Justice Center Address: 11 South Water Street, Liberty, Missouri 64068 Phone: 816-736-8300 Fax: 816-736- 8301 Email: prosecutor@claycopa.com

Fellow Black actor Viola Davis also took to Instagram to demand action.

ALL HANDS ON DECK!! she wrote, directing people to the posts of civil rights attorneys Ben Crump and Lee Merritt.

Actor Kerry Washington wrote on Twitter: Instead of waiting around for #LoveIsBlindmake a phone call. For #RalphYarl. Demand that Prosecutor Zachary Thompson make an arrest and bring the appropriate charges. 816-736-8300.

Supermodel Naomi Campbell, actor Amy Schumer, model and TV personality Chrissy Teigen and actor Justin Timberlake also shared social media posts about the case as they all rallied behind the family of the 16-year-old boy now fighting his injuries.

A GoFundMe launched to help pay for the boys medical bills had topped $3.2m by Wednesday morning.

Kansas City Police said that Ralph had gone to collect his siblings from a friends house on 115th Terrace in Kansas City, Missouri, on the evening of 13 April.

Police said that the teenager got muddled up with the address and accidentally went to a home on 115th Street by mistake.

There, Ralph allegedly rang the doorbell and the homeowner opened fire on him through a glass screen door using a .32 caliber revolver.

Prosecutors said that there is no indication Ralph and the homeowner exchanged any words with each other before the shooting unfolded and there is no footage of the encounter.

Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, the prominent civil rights attorneys now representing the victim and his family, said that the aspiring Texas A&M University student was shot twice  once in the head and once in the arm.

According to a probable cause statement, Mr Lester told police he was in bed when he heard the doorbell ring and so he grabbed a handgun.

When he saw Ralph, he claimed he was scared to death at the boys size and feared he was unable to defend himself given his elderly age.

He claimed he thought the boy was trying to break in and so shot twice through his exterior glass door, the documents state.

However, Ralph told police from his bed at Childrens Mercy Hospital that he did not pull the door  but only pressed the doorbell.

He said he was waiting at the door when the man opened it and immediately shot him.

He fell to the ground and was shot a second time, he said.

After being shot, he said he heard the shooter warn him: Dont come around here.

In the GoFundMe, Ralphs family wrote: The man in the home opened the door, looked my nephew in the eye, and shot him in the head. My nephew fell to the ground, and the man shot him again.

Following the shooting, Ralph managed to stumble away to some other homes in the neighbourhood to get help.

Unfortunately, he had to run to 3 different homes before someone finally agreed to help him after he was told to lie on the ground with his hands up, the family said.

He was rushed to hospital where the family said he was listed in critical condition.

Two days later, Ralph was released from hospital and is now recovering from his injuries at home.

Ralph Yarl (pictured) was shot twice on 13 April (Ben Crump Law via AP)

The suspect was initially taken into custody on Thursday and placed on a 24-hour hold.

However, under Missouri state law, a person can only be held for 24 hours on suspicion of a felony before officials must either charge or release them. Mr Lester was released pending further investigation. The charges were announced later by Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson in a press conference on Monday afternoon.

Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said at a press conference on Sunday that  due to Ralphs injuries  police had been unable to get a formal statement from the victim. This was contradicted by Ralphs attorneys who said that the teenager gave an interview from his hospital bed on Friday.

While the police chief initially said that there was no evidence to date to indicate that the shooting was racially motivated, Mr Thompson said while announcing the charges that prosecutors did believe there was a racial element.

The shooting  which marks the latest in a growing number of shootings of Black people in America  has been branded a hate crime and has sparked protests in the city demanding justice.

Hundreds of residents took to the streets of Kansas City on Sunday to march through the Northlands area where the teenager was shot.

Many carried placards reading Black Lives Matter, Ringing a doorbell is not a crime and Justice for Ralph, reported KSHB.

A pregnant family friend of Ralph Yarls parents told The Kansas City Star that she fears for her unborn child.

How do you protect a Black kid? said Patience Gaye.

Ralph Yarl lies in hospital bed after being shot twice (Shaun King)

What are we supposed to do now? We left our countries because we dont want to be killed. Thats why we left. They came to America for a better life. How is this a better life?

A huge rally also took place on Tuesday in Kansas City in support of the Black teen.

Speaking before the charges were announced, Mr Crump and Mr Merritt  who have previously represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd  condemned the release of the armed and dangerous suspect in a joint statement after taking the case.

In a joint statement, the attorneys said: There can be no excuse for the release of this armed and dangerous suspect after admitting to shooting an unarmed, non-threatening and defenseless teenager that rang his doorbell.

We demand swift action from Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting.

A woman who identified herself as Ralphs aunt described 16-year-old Ralph as a fantastic kid in the GoFundMe campaign.

At school, he is a member of the Technology Student Association and Science Olympia Team. Jazz and competition band. He is a section leader in the marching band; a scholar and one of the top base clarinet players in Missouri. He recently earned Missouri All-State Band recognition with an honorable mention. He plays multiple instruments in the metropolitan youth orchestra. He is a 2022 Missouri scholar academy alumni. Ralph can often be found with a musical instrument. He loves them all, it reads.

Last summer, Ralph attended Missouri Scholars Academy, where he got a full college life experience. His goal is to attend Texas A&M to major in chemical Engineering.

When asked how he plans to get into this university, he said, Well, if they have a scholarship for music or academics, I know I can get it. Ralphs teacher and friends describe him as  a kind soul, quiet, friendly, well-mannered, always willing to help, super smart, and a musical genius. Ralph was looking forward to graduating high school and finally getting the opportunity to visit West Africa before starting college. Life looks a lot different right now.
 Close Idaho police detective, FBI continues to testify in Lori Vallow triple-murder case

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The trial of doomsday cult mom Lori Vallow is underway in Ada County Courthouse in Boise, Idaho, where the mother-of-three is accused of killing her two youngest children and her new husband Chad Daybells first wife.

The 49-year-old is charged with first-degree murder, conspiracy, and grand theft over the deaths of her daughter Tylee Ryan, 16, son Joshua JJ Vallow, 7, and Mr Daybells first wife Tammy, 49.

Tylee and JJ were last seen alive in September 2019. In June 2020, their remains were found buried on the Daybell property. Tammy died one month after their disappearance in October 2019.

The string of mysterious deaths and murders, and the bizarre cult beliefs of those involved, have generated huge interest in the case. Ms Vallow allegedly also conspired to murder her fourth husband Charles Vallow and is charged separately in a case in Arizona.

On Tuesday, jurors heard a jailhouse call where Ms Vallows sister Summer Shiflet confronted her about not caring that her children were thrown away like garbage.

Outside court, Ms Vallows uncle choked up with emotion as he said the past four years had been very difficult for the families.
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The suspect in the Maine shootings was released from prison just four days before he allegedly went on a rampage, shooting and killing four people at a home and wounding another three people while driving down a highway.

Suspect Joseph Eaton, 34, left the Maine Correctional Center in Windham on Friday. He was sentenced in March 2021, according to the director of governmental affairs for the Maine Department of Corrections, Anna Black. He had been serving a sentence after a probation violation, the state official said on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported.

Following his 14 April release, Mr Eaton was arrested on Tuesday after four bodies were found in a home on Augusta Road in Bowdoin. The killings have been connected to the highway shooting in which three people were injured later on Tuesday about 20 miles away in Yarmouth.

While Mr Eaton has been charged with four counts of murder, he hasnt yet been charged in connection to the highway shooting. One of those shot on the highway remained in critical condition on Wednesday.

State records reveal that Mr Eaton had a criminal history which meant that he couldnt legally own a firearm.

Mr Eatons criminal past begins in 2008 in Kansas when he was charged with burglary. He was sentenced in 2009 and released in 2010.

He was sentenced to three years behind bars in May 2018 after being charged with three counts of aggravated assault of a first responder in Nassau County, Florida.

Within a month of being released on 15 February 2021, he was sentenced on 1 March for an assault in Maine.

When he left prison on Friday, he had been sent back following a probation violation.

Mr Eaton has been sent to jail while he waits to attend a court hearing. Officials at the jail said it wasnt clear if he had a lawyer to speak on his behalf.

The victims have not been named and the authorities havent announced a possible motive. The four bodies found at the home in Bowdoin have been transported for autopsies and positive identification by the state medical examiners office in Augusta, the AP noted.

Bowdoinham resident Ian Halsey told the news agency that two of his cousins had been shot and that his uncle had been wounded by shrapnel in the highway shooting in Yarmouth. No one in the family knew the shooter, he said.

They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time, he told the AP. Its horrible what happened.

Over the course of the last decade, Mr Eaton was charged with over a half-dozen offences, with an assault charge leading to him spending eight months behind bars last year. The aggravated assault conviction would have prevented him from legally owning a firearm.

Maine Governor Janet Mills, a Democrat, tweeted that like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply saddened -- acts of violence like we experienced today shake our state and our communities to the core.

My thoughts are with the families, friends and loved ones of those impacted by this tragedy, and I am praying for the quick recovery of those who are hospitalized, she added. There is still much to learn, but I am grateful to the quick response of State, county, and local law enforcement to protect Maine people.
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A family of four who vanished months ago has been located, according to the Newton, Illinois, Police Department.

Stephen Lutz, 44; Monica Lutz, 34; as well as their two sons, Nicholas, 9; and Aiden, 11; were last heard from on 10 February.

The family of four from Newton, Illinois, suddenly left their home in the middle of the night with a U-Haul attached to their blue, 2005 Ford F150, according to surveillance footage.

For months, police have been trying to locate the Lutz family as they were thought to be in danger.

But on 17 April, the Newton Illinois Police posted a memo from the Jasper County Daily News indicating the family of four had been located and were safe.

Stephen, Monica, Aiden, and Nicholas have been located in Cochise County in Arizona, the memo read.

Cochise County is approximately 1,500 miles from Newton, Illinois.

With the help of state police and license plate readers, the family was located and a deputy was able to make contact with Ms Lutz and Mr Lutz separately.

The deputy stated that the boys appear healthy and Monica informed him of where to find Stephen. Shortly after the deputy made contact with Stephen, the deputy contacted Chief Britton, the memo reads.

Mr Lutz told the deputy that they have relocated with no plans of returning to Newton.

The Jasper County Sheriffs Office confirmed to The Independent that the family has been found.

The circumstances surrounding the familys sudden disappearance were alarming to family and friends as well as law enforcement.

Prior to their sudden departure, Mr Lutz was issued a no-contact order and no-entry order after facing domestic battery charges, according to Newton Police.

Mr Lutz appeared in court via Zoom in January to face the charges and was released on bond under the condition of no contact and no entry. He had not been charged at the time.

Police said there were previous reports of domestic violence in the home, though reiterated that Mr Lutz is innocent until proven guilty.

Mr Lutzs adult daughter, Brittany Lutz, said she was very concerned for her younger brothers safety in a Facebook post.

Brittany told WCIA that she exchanged text messages with her younger half-brother, Aiden, a few days before they disappeared.

Aiden said the family was taking a vacation but wasnt sure where they were going. She hadnt heard from him since 10 February.

Brittany also exchanged a message with her father on 14 February and offered to take her half-brothers and just get them back to a normal life.

Mr Lutz responded by saying they have a normal life and he was no longer allowed to be around them. In a lengthy text message, he informed Brittany there was nothing wrong with our house or the way we raise our children.

Brittany had not heard from him since and all of the familys cell phones were disconnected shortly thereafter.

Chief Britton said they are relieved to have made contact with the family and are thankful that they are safe.
The judge, Inyang Ekwo, who expressed doubts about Binani's suit, directed Binani's lawyer to return to court on 26 April to address him on the point of law.

The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Tuesday, raised doubts about its power to hear an application by the governorship candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Adamawa State, Aisha Dahiru-Ahmed, popularly called Binani, over the governorship election in the state.

Binani had filed the suit to seek an order validating an illegal declaration by an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) awarding her victory in the election.

Disputes relating to the conduct of an election or the declaration of its results are usually resolved at the election petition tribunal, a point that triggered the doubts raised by the judge about whether a regular court could hear the Adamawa matter.

The judge, Inyang Ekwo, directed Binani's lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff, to return to court on 26 April to address him on the point of law.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Ari, had illegally declared Mrs Dahiru the governor-elect, following last Sunday's supplementary election in the state.

Mr Ari, in making the declaration, attempted to usurp the power of the collation officer appointed by INEC. The electoral body had swiftly reversed Mr Ari's declaration and announced that the legitimate collation and announcement of final results of the election would continue at a later date.

INEC also barred Mr Ari from its premises immediately. On Wednesday the commission said it had referred him to the police for investigations and possible prosecution.

Mrs Dahiru has her main rival in the election in Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who scored the most votes during the main election on 18 March.

Suit

Binani, through her lawyer, Hussaini Zakariyau, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, sought a judicial review of the administrative decision of INEC on 16 April in respect of her declaration as the winner of the governorship election held on 18 March and the supplementary poll of 15 April.

She sued INEC, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its candidate, Governor Fintiri, as the 1st, 2nd and 3rd respondents respectively.

She sought an order of prohibition and certiorari preventing INEC and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the elections pending the determination of her application for judicial review.

Hearing

Although, Binani's application filed ex parte, was meant to be heard on Wednesday in the absence of other parties sued as defendants in the case, a lawyer, Afeez Matomi, announced appearance for Governor Fintiri, the 3rd respondent, in the suit.

Mr Ekwo asked Mr Matomi if he had been served.

The lawyer told the court that though they were yet to be served, they had filed a motion to counter part of Binani's prayers.

He said they got wind of the ex-parte motion through social media, hence, they decided to file a motion.

But the judge declined to listen to Mr Fintiri's lawyer insisting that things must be done according to law.

Mr Ekwo then turned to Binani's lawyer, Mohammed Sheriff.

Doubtful if he had the jurisdiction to hear the suit, Mr Ekwo ordered Mr Sheriff to address him on the point of law on Tuesday.

The lawyer said his ex-parte motion was filed on April 17 and that he was ready to move it.

Mr Ekwo directed that the application would be taken together with the issue of jurisdiction on the next adjourned date.

He then adjourned the matter until 26 April for hearing of the motion and the submissions on the jurisdiction of the court.

Meanwhile, INEC is expected to resume the announcement of the final results of the election any moment.

Grounds of suit

Giving the grounds why the motion should be granted, Binani stated that after the collation of results, INEC declared her as the winner of the elections but the PDP and its candidate, Governor Fintiri, resorted to fighting and causing a public disturbance which led to the beating and manhandling of an INEC staffer.

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This crisis, she said, led INEC to cancel the initial declaration which it had no power to do as only the election petition tribunal is vested with such powers.

By cancelling her declaration, Binani contended that INEC usurped the powers of the election petition tribunal which is the only court vested with powers on a declaration from the conduct of an election.

In the application, she averred that a judicial review exists to enable the superior court to checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts as well as the legislative and administrative arm of government including agencies and public officers.

The applicant further submitted that the INEC, being an agency of the government, can have its actions, records, and decisions checked by the court and only a court can nullify the actions of an INEC official and not the INEC itself.

(NAN)
 Close Ralph Yarl: Prosecutors charge Kansas City homeowner for shooting teen

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The family of suspected shooter Andrew Lester have said they are disgusted by the 84-year-olds shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl.

Mr Lesters grandson Klint Ludwig told CNN that myself and my family stand with Ralph Yarl and seeking justice.

This is a horrible tragedy, it never should have happened, he said.

Mr Ludwig also revealed details about his grandfathers racist comments and interest in QAnon-level conspiracy theories prior to the 13 April shooting.

The 84-year-old is accused of shooting Ralph, 16, twice through the glass screen door of his home in Kansas City, Missouri, when the Black teenager accidentally called at the wrong home to pick up his brothers.

Ralphs recovery is still ongoing, with attorney Lee Merritt sharing a photo of him back at home following his release from hospital.

Meanwhile, Mr Lester appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday where he pleaded not guilty to two felonies.

The shooting has led to protests and an outpouring of support for Ralph from celebrities and donors to a GoFundMe campaign, as the incident casts a renewed spotlight on Americas stand your ground laws and whether they help to fuel random shootings and racism.
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Ralph Yarl had no reason to think he was in danger when he approached the house where believed his younger brothers were waiting for him to pick them up, his family say.

"He got a couple of bullets inside his body, instead of a couple of twins coming out and giving him a hug," Ralph's mother Cleo Nagbe said in her first interview after the shooting.

Prosecutors have charged Andrew Lester, 85, with shooting Ralph twice on the evening of 13 April when the 16-year-old accidentally mixed up the older man's address with that of his brothers' friends.

Although Ralph survived and is reportedly in good spirits, the shooting sparked protests in Kansas City and condemnation across the country, with activists and civil rights lawyers describing it as part of a pattern of white Americans using deadly force against unarmed Black people based on exaggerated and unreasonable ideas of danger.

Yet many questions remain over exactly what happened, not just on the night of the shooting but in the three days that followed without any charges being announced against Ralph's assailant.

Here are some of the questions that still need answering.

Why was Ralph Yarl shot?

The simple, inadequate answer is that Ralph rang the wrong doorbell by accident. The harder question  what was going through Mr Lester's head  will be for a jury to decide should this case go to trial.

Ralph had meant to go to a house on 115th Terrace in the northeastern suburbs of Kansas City to pick up his younger twin brothers from a friend's home, according to lawyers representing his family.

But instead, he mistakenly went to the same house number on 115th Street, just one block away, and rang the doorbell just before 10pm. His family say he did not have his phone with him.

Ralph Yarl (Ben Crump Law)

"Whoever was inside took a little longer than he anticipated to respond, and so he just waited at the door," Yarl family lawyer Lee Merritt  who also represented the families of Ahmaud Arbery and George Floyd  told NBC News on Monday. "He heard rustling around going on in the house and then finally the door was open."

According to Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson, Mr Lester then fired twice at Ralph through a glass door using a .32 calibre revolver, hitting him in the head and then the arm.

The first shot knocked Ralph to the ground, he told police, and the second shot came when he was already down. At some point, Ralph alleges, Mr Lester yelled "dont come back around here!", though there is conflicting information on whether this was before or after the shots.

Either way, Ralph managed to scramble away and tried to seek help. Yet according to his aunt Faith Spoonmore, he had to go to three houses before someone finally agreed to help him.

What has Andrew Lester said?

According to the police report, Mr Lester told officers that he believed someone was trying to break into his home.

Mr Lester lives alone and had already gone to bed when the doorbell rang. The sound apparently perturbed him enough to fetch his revolver before going to see who was there.

"Lester stated he opened the interior door, and saw a Black male approximately six feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle," the report alleges, adding that Ralph disputes the claim that he pulled on the door handle.

"[Mr Lester] stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door," the report continues.

He told officers that firing his revolver "was the last thing he wanted to do", but that he was "scared to death" because of Ralph's height and his own old age.

Ms Spoonmoore has challenged the former claim, saying: "I doubt Ralph is even 170 pounds. Ralph is not even six feet."

Andrew Lester is seen in a booking photo (Clay County Jail)

One police detective wrote that Mr Lester "believed he was protecting himself from a physical confrontation and could not take the chance of the male coming in".

Mr Thompson, the county prosecutor, said on Monday that there was a "racial component" to the case, without giving any details.

Mr Merritt was more explicit, suggesting that the shooting was part of a pattern of white Americans exaggerating the danger posed to them by Black people, with lethal consequences.

"Its not only Mr Lester who says he 'fears for his life' when he sees Black people," Mr Merritt said. "Its almost every cop who says, 'I feared for my life' as justification for deadly use of force against an unarmed suspect. We hear it every day.

"We need to address that in our culture. There seems to be an animosity or violence associated with just Blackness alone."

Mr Lester appeared in court for the first time on Wednesday for his arraignment.

He pleaded not guilty to the two felonies and was released on bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for 1 June.

The 84-year-old is facing life in prison on the charges.

A police officer walks past Andrew Lesters home (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Why did it take so long to charge and arrest Lester?

We still don't really know. Andrew Lester gave himself up to the police on Tuesday 18 April, and was released that evening on bail after paying a $200,000 bond.

In fact, Mr Lester had already been taken into custody on the night of the shooting five days earlier, after police reportedly found him standing inside his house behind the shattered glass storm door.

But according to arrest logs and media reports, he was held for less than two hours before being released by the Kansas City Police Department (KCPD).

That raised alarm bells for civil rights activists, given that police officers across the US have frequently justified fatal shootings of unarmed and often Black citizens by claiming, however questionably, that they believed they were at imminent risk of violence.

Were frustrated with law enforcement and their failure to take responsibility for the denial of this familys due process. No one has owned up to it," Mr Merritt said. "This 16-year-old unarmed boy didnt actually pose a threat. But far too often in America, his skin alone is his weapon."

Police and prosecutors have since claimed that they released Mr Lester that night because they could not hold him longer than 24 hours without charging him, and that they did not charge him because officers needed to get a victim statement from Ralph, who was still in hospital in critical condition.

Ralph's lawyers have contested that, saying that he actually gave an interview to investigators from his hospital bed on Friday  within the 24-hour limit.

"There is no excuse for the release of this armed and dangerous suspect after admitting to shooting an unarmed, non-threatening, and defenceless teenager that rang his doorbell, the lawyers said prior to Mr Lester surrendering himself.

"We demand swift action from Clay County prosecutors and law enforcement to identify, arrest, and prosecute to the full extent of the law the man responsible for this horrendous and unjustifiable shooting."

Protesters attend a rally for Black teen Ralph Yarl in front of US District Court (Getty Images)

Gwen Grant, head of the Urban League of Greater Kansas City, likewise said: "It is appalling and flat-out unacceptable that the shooter remains free. It is extremely difficult to understand why a statement from the victim is required to detain the assailant."

A KCPD spokesperson told The Kansas City Star that this was only a "cursory" interview, not a formal statement, which would need to be done "away from medical personnel".

The decision to release Mr Lester hours after the shooting was a key spark for protests throughout Kansas City over the weekend, and the fact that he was not immediately arrested on Monday 17 April when the charges were announced provoked further outrage.

"This shows that we are less important and that equal justice in the process is not a reality for us," said Reverend Vernon P Howard, president of the Kansas City branch of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference. The law enforcement agency responsible for the arrest is failing, which starts at the top."

What are the charges?

Mr Lester has been charged with assault in the first degree, which carries a maximum sentence of life in prison, and armed criminal action, which is punishable by between three and 15 years in prison.

In a press conference on Monday 17 April, Mr Thompson said that Mr Lester was accused of the highest category of felony that exists in Missouri state law.

Some journalists and activists have questioned why Mr Lester was not charged with attempted murder or with a hate crime, if there is indeed a "racial component" to the case.

Prosecutors said that both of these charges would be a lower class of felony with a lower degree of mandatory punishment.

Asked by a reporter whether he would consider adding those charges to the rap sheet in addition to the higher felonies, Mr Thompson gave scant details, saying only: "At that point you would be talking about double jeopardy issues."

Mr Merritt told reporters outside Clay County Court on Wednesday that the Justice Department is now also looking into the case as a possible hate crime.

Before I even made it to Kansas City, we reached out to the Department of Justice, myself and my co-counsel Ben Crump, we have some longstanding relationships there, Mr Merritt said.

We thought that this was something the DOJ should be looking into. They are (looking into it). Its under investigation, theyve received our complaint and now theyre looking into it.

What are Missouris gun laws?

Gun control advocates characterise Missouri as being one of the loosest states in the Union for restricting access to deadly weapons.

The campaign group Everytown for Gun Safety rates Missouri's "gun law strength" at nine out of 100. The Giffords Law Center says it has "appallingly weak gun laws and one of the countrys highest gun death rates".

According to the pro-gun National Rifle Association, Missouri does not require a permit for citizens and lawful permanent residents to purchase or carry handguns, shotguns, or rifles. Nor does it require firearms to be registered or owners to get a gun licence.

That is thanks to the state's Republican-ruled legislature, which voted in 2014 to lower the minimum age for concealed weapons from 21 to 19, and in 2016 to allow concealed carry without any permit or special firearms training.

There are also no state regulations on gun dealers, although federal laws remain in place  not for lack of trying by pro-gun legislators.

In 2021, Republicans voted to ban all Missouri law enforcement bodies from enforcing federal gun laws, but in March a federal court declared that act unconstitutional.

Is this a Stand Your Ground case?

Stand Your Ground is a legal doctrine that allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves from apparent threats, without having any legal duty to try retreating first.

By contrast, some US states and English common law  from which much US law derives  do not permit the use of deadly force in self-defence if a jury finds that you could have retreated from the situation without putting yourself at serious risk.

In 2016, Missouri Republicans expanded its Stand Your Ground rules to cover not just a defendant's home or car but any place where they have a legal right to be.

Specifically, the law says: "A person may, subject to the provisions of subsection 2, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful force by such other person."

It adds: "A person does not have a duty to retreat... from a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining."

Since then, a study by a team of researchers from the University of Oxford, the University of Pennsylvania, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has found that states that implemented such laws saw their homicide rates increase by between 16 and 34 per cent.

Nevertheless, Stand Your Ground laws still require someone accused of murder or assault to persuade a court that they acted reasonably and proportionately.

"You cant just shoot people who come to your door," Missouri criminal defence lawyer Kevin Jamison told The Kansas City Star. St Louis law professor Anders Walker told The Washington Post that ringing a doorbell was not a justification for deadly force.

However, Republicans have tried to weaken this requirement, filing a bill last year that would have reversed the burden of proof in self-defence cases. Rather than a defendant having to prove that their belief was reasonable, the law would assume by default that it was, and prosecutors would have to prove that wrong.

Opponents have derisively referred to such bills as the "Make Murder Legal Act", and the bill failed after opposition from prosecutors and law enforcement officials, including some conservatives.

"I think we now have a shoot first, ask later policy in this state, or at least that is what people have interpreted it to be," said Maggie Nurrenbern, a Democratic state legislator.

These shoot first laws, stand your ground laws  theyre harmful and theyre dangerous policies that give people a license to kill, said Carthesa Dillard of Moms Demand Action, who has lost two of her family members to gun violence.

Under current laws, some experts do believe Mr Lester may have a workable case. Robert Spitzer, a New York political science professor who researches gun policy, said Missouri state law offers "wide latitude for people to use lethal force".

St Louise defence lawyer Nina McDonnell agreed, saying that prosecutors have a strong case but Stand Your Ground laws are a "huge hurdle" to overcome.

"The defendant was in his house and has expressed that he was in fear," she said.
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Dominion Voting Systems agreed to settle its defamation lawsuit with Fox News for $787.5m on Tuesday  but its legal battles are far from over.

While the Fox News case attracted most of the headlines, Dominion filed a swathe of defamation suits against right-wing networks, lawyers and media personalities in the months after the 2020 election.

Heres everyone who is being sued by Dominion.

Mike Lindell

Mike Lindell has continued to spread false claims about Dominion while being sued for $1.3bn (AFP via Getty Images)

MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell emerged as arguably the most prominent Trump ally to engage in spreading fact-free conspiracy theories about Dominions voting machines being rigged to help Joe Biden win the 2020 election.

At rallies, television appearances, in a 90-minute documentary called Absolute Proof and on the streaming service he self-funds, Mr Lindell repeated widely debunked claims that Dominion had been infiltrated by a vast and ever-changing cast of ne'er-do-wells to commit voter fraud.

By February 2021, Dominion had had enough, and filed a damages claim seeking $1.3bn from the pillow salesman.

The lawsuit alleged that Mr Lindell had knowingly lied about Dominion to sell more pillows to people who continued tuning in to hear what they wanted to hear about the election.

Fox News eventually banned him from the network, even though he was a top advertiser.

In court filings in the Dominion case, Foxs lawyers admitted to knowing he was not a reliable source of information when he appeared on Tucker Carlsons show in January 2021.

Mr Lindell has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but his efforts to have the civil action dismissed have been unsuccessful.

In a ruling in the District of Columbia District Court in August 2021, Judge Carl Nicholas wrote: In addition to alleging that Lindells claims are inherently improbable, that his sources are unreliable, and that he has failed to acknowledge the validity of countervailing evidence, Dominion has alleged numerous instances in which Lindell told audiences to purchase MyPillow products after making his claims of election fraud and providing MyPillow promotional codes related to those theories.

Then in October 2022, Mr Lindells appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court.

Mr Lindell appears completely undeterred by the legal setbacks.

In March, he called on Dominion to show us whats inside your machines?

According to the New York Times, he described Dominions lawsuit as the biggest cover-up for the biggest crime in United States history  probably in world history.

Dominions attorneys will likely be keeping tabs on his public statements.

Sidney Powell

Sidney Powell promised to release the Kraken after Donald Trumps 2020 election defeat (REUTERS)

Sidney Powell emerged in the days after the 2020 election as a key figure in Magaworlds effort to delegitimise Mr Bidens victory.

As a member of the former presidents so-called Elite Strike Force legal team, Ms Powell promised she would release the Kraken  referring to a legendary sea monster  in an interview with Fox Business days after the November election.

The Dallas-based former federal prosecutor helped to file a slew of lawsuits that challenged the election results, all of which failed.

Her inflammatory public statements about election rigging, bribery and fraud led Dominion to file a $1.3bn defamation claim in January 2021.

Powells statements were calculated to  and did in fact  provoke outrage and cause Dominion enormous harm, an attorney for Dominion wrote in the lawsuit.

Dominion alleged in the lawsuit that Ms Powell had used the profile gained from media appearances to raise money through a company called Defending the Republic, which is also named as a defendant in the suit.

Ms Powell tweeted in response that the claims were designed to harass, intimidate, & to drain our resources as we seek the truth of #DominionVotingSystems' role in this fraudulent election.

Rudy Giuliani

Hair dye runs down Giulianis cheek during a bizarre press conference in November 2020 (Getty)

With hair dye dripping down the side of his face, former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed Dominion had used Venezuelan technology, approved by the late Hugo Chavez, and supported by Cuba and China, to rig the 2020 presidential election.

The comical scene at a press conference in mid-November 2020 was part of a viral disinformation campaign about Dominion, the company alleged in a $1.3bn lawsuit filed two months later.

Dominions attorneys again claimed that Mr Giuliani had been motivated by financial gain as he made false election fraud accusations in media appearances, on Twitter and his YouTube show.

Mr Giuliani had cashed in by hosting a podcast where he exploited election falsehoods to market gold coins, supplements, cigars and protection from cyberthieves, Dominions attorneys wrote.

Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement that even the family and friends of its employees were among those who were duped by the avalanche of lies.

Mr Giuliani responded that he welcomed Dominions lawsuit as it would allow him to investigate their history, finances and practices fully and completely.

Newsmax

Newsmax anchor Greg Kelly interviewing Donald Trump (Newsmax)

After the 2020 election, the Chris Ruddy-owned right-wing news channel Newsmax saw its market share increase as it refused to acknowledge Mr Bidens victory and hosted a string of election-denying conspiracists.

In doing so, Newsmax helped create and cultivate an alternate reality where up is down, pigs have wings, and Dominion engaged in a colossal fraud to steal the presidency from Donald Trump by rigging the vote, Dominion said in a $1.6bn lawsuit filed in August 2021.

For Ruddy and Newsmax, the facts did not matter. What mattered was feeding the audience what it wanted  even if it was spreading false information. And the race to the bottom began in earnest, dragging Dominion down with it, the lawsuit argued.

In June last year, Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis denied Newsmaxs motion to dismiss and ruled the lawsuit could proceed.

In a statement to ABC News, a Newsmax spokesman said it was confident of defending the case under First Amendment protections.

Newsmax reported on both sides in the election dispute without making any claim about the results other than saying they were legal and final, the statement said.

One America News (OAN)

OAN host Chanel Rion has been accused of spreading false claims about Dominion (AFP via Getty Images)

Dominion filed a $1.6bn lawsuit against One America News in August 2021, claiming that, like Newsmax, the San Diego-based cable channel had spread false and manufactured stories about election fraud.

Dominion quickly became the focus of this downward spiral of lies, as each broadcaster attempted to outdo the others by making the lies more outrageous, spreading them further, and endorsing them as strongly as possible, the suit alleged.

It also named OAN hosts Chanel Rion and Christina Bobb in the lawsuit, accusing them of fuelling election conspiracies.

In February, OAN filed a countersuit alleging tortious interference with its business.

Patrick Byrne

Patrick Byrne speaks during a panel discussion at the Nebraska Election Integrity Forum on 27 August, 2022 (Associated Press)

In August 2021, Dominion filed a defamation lawsuit against former Overstock CEO Patrick Byrne for spreading election conspiracies, alongside suits against OAN and Newsmax.

It alleged that Mr Byrne had manufactured and promoted fake evidence to convince the world that the 2020 election had been stolen as part of a massive international conspiracy among China, Venezuelan and Spanish companies, along with the Justice Department and Chief Justice John Roberts.

We are filing these three cases today because the defendants named show no remorse, nor any sign they intend to stop spreading disinformation, Dominion CEO John Poulos said in a statement at the time.

Mr Byrne lost a bid to have the case dismissed in April 2022.
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Like the cat that had gotten away with the cream, Fox News declared it was pleased to have paid out $787.5m to Dominion Voting Systems and avoided a grueling six-week courtroom examination of its shoddy journalistic practices.

Yet the measured celebration in Foxs statement after paying out the second largest defamation award in US history may be short-lived.

Dominions private equity majority owners were always considered likely by to opt for the guarantee of a payout by media observers, rather than leave it to the whims of 12 members of a Delaware jury.

However, the thousands of emails, texts and private documents unearthed during Dominions discovery process have pried open Foxs internal decision-making process, and the willingness of its anchors and executives to lie for the sake of ratings, like never before.

Other plaintiffs with defamation cases against Rupert Murdochs right-wing network have been paying close attention.

Smartmatic

Voting software company Smartmatic is suing Fox News for $2.7bn for spreading lies that it manipulated its machines during the 2020 election.

The case largely mirrors Dominions claims: that Fox News knowingly platformed irreputable members of Donald Trumps entourage so they could falsely accuse the company of rigging the 2020 presidential election in favour of Joe Biden.

Fox News allowed unfounded claims that Smartmatic was created in Venezuela at the direction of Hugo Chavez and had ties to the Clintons and George Soros to go unchallenged.

In reality, the company was created by Venezuelan expats in Florida in 2000 after the hanging chad debacle that led to George W Bushs presidential victory that year.

 Recording captures Giuliani admitting he doesnt know about Dominion voting machines

The 300-page complaint filed in the New York Supreme Court in February 2021 also names Fox hosts Maria Bartiromo, Jeanine Pirro, and Lou Dobbs, along with Mr Trumps lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell.

Ms Powell was dropped from the case last year, after the New York court deemed it did not have jurisdiction over the Texas-based attorney. Smartmatic is pursuing a federal lawsuit against her.

In February, an appeals court panel ruled the case could go forward in a 5-0 decision.

In a statement after the $787.5m Dominion settlement had been reached, Smartmatic attorney J Erik Connolly said the case had litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Foxs disinformation campaign.

Smartmatic will expose the rest, Mr Connolly said. Smartmatic remains committed to clearing its name, recouping the significant damage done to the company, and holding Fox accountable for undermining democracy.

Rupert Murdoch is still facing a deluge of litigation cases over Fox News 2020 election lies (Associated Press)

Like in Delaware, New York defamation law requires plaintiffs to prove a media outlet published false information with actual malice, which can be a high bar to clear.

Fox News has defended itself in court statements by saying that Smartmatics claims are nothing more than a flagrant attempt to deter our journalists from doing their jobs.

There has been no trial date set in the case.

Fox Corporation shareholders

On 11 April, investor Robert Schwarz filed a lawsuit against Fox Corporation alleging chairman Rupert Murdoch, his son Lachlan, and other board members had damaged the networks credibility and brought about a deluge of litigation for failing to stop it from spreading election lies.

FOX knew  from the Board on down  that Fox News was reporting false and dangerous misinformation about the 2020 Presidential election, but FOX was more concerned about short-term ratings and market share than the long-term damages of its failure to tell the truth, he said in the lawsuit filed in the Delaware Chancery Court, according to Reuters.

 'Lies have consequences': Dominion announces settlement with Fox

The boards failure to act on red flags raised by spreading defamatory statements about Dominion and Smartmatic was a dereliction of corporate governance, the suit claims.

This week, Reuters reported that Fox Corporation shareholders were demanding internal company records to determine whether the board had maintained proper oversight of claims made on the network about the 2020 election.

The lawsuit names both Murdochs, and fellow directors Chase Carey, Roland Hernandez and Jacques Nasser, as being potentially liable.

Abby Grossberg

Former Fox News producer Abby Grossberg filed two lawsuits in March alleging the network had coerced her into giving false testimony in the Dominion defamation case.

Ms Grossberg, who had worked as a senior producer on Tucker Carlson and Maria Bartiromos shows, claimed the network had tried to blame her for allowing the spread of election conspiracies in separate court filings in New York and Delaware.

She alleged this was part of a broader culture of misogyny and racism in the workplace, that subjugates women based on vile sexist stereotypes, typecasts religious minorities and belittles their traditions, and demonstrates little to no regard for those suffering from mental illness.

Abby Grossberg has filed two lawsuits alleging she was coerced to take the blame for Foxs election conspiracies (NBC News)

She further claimed that she was fired unlawfully days after filing the claims on 24 March.

Fox News later moved unsuccessfully to have the complaint sealed, arguing that it contains information protected by attorney-client privilege.

Fox News disputes her claims, and said at the time they were filed immediately after a critical performance review.

Crikey

In a separate case in Australia, Lachlan Murdoch, the Fox Corporation chief executive, launched libel proceedings against the independent Australian news site Crikey in August 2022.

It relates to a June 2022 article in which Crikey described the Murdoch family as an unindicted co-conspirator in the deadly January 6 riots.

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Lachlan Murdoch alleges in a Federal Court filing that the article contained 14 defamatory statements claiming he had illegally conspired with Donald Trump to incite an armed mob to march on the Capitol.

Crikeys publisher Private Media has stated that it will rely on evidence produced in the Dominion defamation trial to show that the elder Murdoch son was morally and ethically culpable for the riots.
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A local official in Oklahoma who allegedly discussed killing reporters and lynching Black people has resigned from his office, according to the state's Governor Kevin Stitt.

McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings resigned on Wednesday, according to a spokesperson for the governor's office. He sent a handwritten letter to the governor's office, saying he planned to resign immediately and indicating he planned to release a formal statement "in the near future regarding the recent events in our county," according to the Associated Press.

Mr Jennnings and other county officials were allegedly recorded following a 6 March meeting. The recordings were sent to the McCurtain Gazette-News, which made a transcript of its findings available this week.

The recordings were met with outrage across social media and locally in the city of Idabel, which serves as the county's seat.

The county sheriff's office has not directly addressed the details of the conversation, but has complained that the recordings were obtained illegally. Oklahoma is a one-party consent state, meaning only one recording party needs to consent in order to legally capture a discussion or phone call, though the actual legality of how the audio was captured is unclear.

Sheriff Kevin Clardy and one of his subordinates, Alicia Manning, were among those allegedly captured on the recording.

Mr Jennings, the law enforcement officials, and the city's Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix were reportedly recorded discussing how they could kill and dispose of the bodies of the publisher of the Gazette-News, Bruce Willingham, and his son, Chris, who works as a reporter at the paper.

Mr Jennings can allegedly be heard telling Ms Manning that he knows "where two deep holes are dug if you ever need them."

Mr Clardy reportedly responds that he's "got an excavator."

Mr Jennings then allegedly says that he's known "two or three hit men" in Louisiana who are "very quiet guys."

The conversation eventually turned to speculating on who might challenge Mr Clardy for the sheriff's position in upcoming elections, to which Mr Jennings reportedly said he knew a sheriff who would take a damned Black guy and whoop their a** and throw them in the cell.

McCurtain County District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings, who resigned after he was allegedly recorded discussing hiring hitmen to kill journalists and lynching Black people (McCurtain County District 2)

Mr Clardy reportedly lamented that its "not like that no more," a sentiment Mr Jennings shared.

I know, Mr Jennings allegedly said. Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damned rope. But you cant do that anymore. Theyve got more rights than weve got.

Mr Willingham admitted to recording the conversation by leaving a voice recorder behind after the meeting. He left the recorder because he suspected the county officials were continuing to conduct business outside of normal meeting parameters, which would violate the state's Open Meeting Act.

Many states have laws dictating when official business can be discussed, which often include mandatory announcements to ensure the public can attend those meetings. Some laws restrict the number of public officials that can meet and discuss at any time without first alerting the public.

The newspaper publisher said he met with attorneys twice to ensure he was not breaking the law.

Idabel residents demand the resignation of county officials allegedly captured on an audio recording discussing killing journalists and lynching Black people

The Gazette-News had published stories critical of the sheriff's department in the past, in particular after the the death of Bobby Barrick, who died after deputies shot him with a stun gun. The paper sued the department for body camera footage and other records related to the death.

Chris Willingham also sued the sheriff's department, alleging Ms Manning slandered him in retaliation for an eight-part series he wrote detailing problems inside the department. The lawsuit claims Ms Manning told an individual that Christ Willingham traded marijuana for child sex abuse materials from a man who had been arrest on similar charges.

Members of the public have been gathering outside the McCurtain County Courthouse since the recordings were reported on calling for the sheriff and other officials to resign.

The Oklahoma Sheriff's Association held an emergency meeting on Tuesday and voted unanimously to suspend Mr Clardy, Ms Manning, and Mr Hendrix from the group.
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Over a thousand students at the Staley High School staged a walkout in support of their classmate Ralph Yarl who was shot by a man in Kansas City for mistakenly ringing his doorbell.

Ralph, a 16-year-old high school junior, was shot twice by an 84-year-old white homeowner last Thursday after the Black teenager went to the wrong home to pick up his younger brothers.

As Ralph recovered from his wounds, students, school staff, civil rights leaders and politicians rallied in downtown Kansas City on Tuesday to call for justice for the teen and a stronger effort to improve racial relations.

Speakers urged the crowd to support Ralph, to fight for justice, and to remove politicians who pass discriminatory laws and support gun rights.

Many carried signs saying, "He is only 16" and "Is this what Kansas City has come to? Stop gun violence".

"I was out here to support my friend Ralph through this time he is going through today," one of his friends was quoted by KSHB as saying.

The student said he wasn't surprised by the number of people that marched in support of Ralph because everyone is "willing to support a friend at our school".

The injured teen's classmates chanted, "We love you Ralph," and "Justice for Ralph", as they walked in a circle around their school's campus to show support.

Nearly 1,500 students were present for the unity walk, which represented the majority of the Staley student body, officials said.

"This display of unity is intended to support Ralph in his recovery and have a positive impact on the community," said Susan Hiland, a spokesperson for North Kansas City Public Schools.

The homeowner, Andrew Lester, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday afternoon.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Yarls, said the family was angry that the police held Mr Lester for only two hours after the shooting, when they legally could have held him for 24.

"If they would have held him for 24 hours, they would have held him long enough to get the statement from the kid with a bullet in his brain," the attorney said. "They got the statement the very next day."
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Watch as Ukrainians who say they are survivors Russian atrocities speak about war crimes in the US House of Representatives on Wednesday, 19 April.

The two unnamed Ukrainian people spoke at a hearing and briefing titled "Evidence of Russian War Crimes and Other Atrocities in Ukraine."

In March, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued an arrest warrant for Russian president Vladimir Putin in the wake of his invasion.

The court said Mr Putin is "allegedly responsible for the war crime of unlawful deportation of population (children) and that of unlawful transfer of population (children) from occupied areas of Ukraine to the Russian Federation."

According to Ukraine's leading war crimes prosecutor, more than 100,000 Ukrainian civilians are believed to have been killed in the year since Russia invaded.

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The University of Pittsburgh issued a public safety emergency after a loud pop was heard just as an anti-transgender event was kicking off on campus.

On Tuesday, Daily Wire personality Michael Knowles and libertarian writer Brad Polumbo visited the campus for a discussion titled "Should transgenderism be regulated by law?" according to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. The chat began around 7pm.

Just as the discussion was beginning, a loud bang was heard near the student centre, which prompted the university to issue its emergency advisory.

It is unclear what caused the small explosion, though Mr Polumbo compared the sound to "fireworks in the street."

The fact that the explosion was small and did not cause any injuries did not stop conservative commenters on social media from seizing on the fictitious idea that transgender protesters were throwing bombs.

In a video captured the day of a protest, one individual, who identifies themselves as a trans woman, can be seen screaming at another protester who was acting out of line with the demonstration's ideals. One person in the video calls out to the masked individual and asks if they're "a plant"  essentially asking if they were a conservative or law enforcement officer who infiltrated the demonstration with the intent to derail the protest.

It is unclear if the masked individual seen in the video was the one who set off the explosive.

The school prepared for backlash earlier in the day and shut down several campus for the evening. The campus reportedly re-opened and went back to normal operations shortly after 10pm. More than 11,000 students signed a petition asking the school to cancel the event. The University refused, citing its commitment to the First Amendment.

A group of around 175 people were protesting outside the lecture, and a crowd continued to demonstrate throughout the course of the evening. Police escorted attendees out a back door while they barricaded the front to prevent protesters from potentially entering.

Law enforcement in Pittsburgh eventually told the protesters they would need to leave the area or they would be arrested for blocking streets. Protests continues in small pockets throughout the evening.
Mrs Dahiru, on Monday, approached the court seeking court to restrain the commission from voiding the illegal declaration that announced her as governor-elect.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says it is confident that the decision of the Federal High Court, Abuja on the suit filed by Aisha Dahiru of the APC seeking validation of her illegal declaration as governor-elect of Adamawa State, would be in its favour.

Acting National Chairman of the PDP, Umar Damagum, stated this on Tuesday while addressing journalists at the party's secretariat in Abuja.

INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa State, Hudu Ari, on Sunday declared Mrs Dahiru, also called Binani, winner of the governorship election in the state while the collation of the results of the supplementary election held the previous day was ongoing.

The electoral law provides that announcements of results should be made by the returning officer, who is a different person, usually appointed from higher institutions.

Consequently, INEC declared the REC's action null and void.

Mrs Dahiru, on Monday, approached the court seeking court order to restrain the commission from voiding the illegal declaration that announced her as governor-elect.

In the application, she said Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of Adamawa State, who is candidate of the PDP, allegedly disturbed her declaration as winner of the poll and attacked an INEC National Commissioner, a situation that forced the electoral commission to declare the election null and void.

The court on Tuesday adjourned hearing on the suit until 26 April.

PDP leading

But, Mr Damagun claimed that available results from polling units indicated that Mr Fintiri won the election with a clear lead.

"APC is shopping for a court order to stop the continuation of the collation process. I don't know whether they're doing this with the INEC. We are aware that an application was filed before the federal high court, it is an ex-parte application seeking judicial review," Mr Damagum stated.

"We have not been served as a party, we are studying the process and I can assure you that we are above it."

Demands

Mr Damagum demanded immediate declaration of the total results of the election.

He urged the Inspector General of Police, Usman Alkali, to as a matter of urgency sanction the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police for allegedly providing cover for perpetrators of criminal acts against Nigeria's democracy.

The PDP national chairman also encouraged the leadership of the electoral commission to hand over the Resident Electoral Commissioner of INEC in the state, Hudu Ari, to the police for investigation and prosecution.

"The PDP insists that such subversive conduct of Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari must not go unpunished. We restate our demand that INEC should without further delay hand over Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari to the police for investigation and prosecution," he said.

"The Inspector General of Police should, as a matter of urgency, remove, investigate and sanction the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police for providing cover and enabling the perpetration of this grievous criminal act against our democracy."

Tension

Mr Damagum said continuous delay in declaration of the total results and winner of the election may spark violence in the state.

He urged the INEC Chairman, Mahmood Yakubu, to direct the Returning Officer, Mohammed Mele, to immediately conclude collation, declare the final results and return Mr Fintiri as the duly elected Governor of Adamawa State.

"Gentlemen of the press, the PDP, majority of Nigerians and indeed the International Community are now worried that in spite of the results of the election as obtained from the Polling Units, which show Governor Umaru Ahmadu Fintiri in clear lead, INEC has continued to delay the conclusion of official collation, announcement and declaration of the rightful winner of the election.

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"This continuing delay is heightening tension in Adamawa State and is capable of triggering a serious breakdown of Law and Order in the State, which is already overstretched as a result of the many perverse activities of the heavily compromised Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari.

"It is therefore imperative and urgent that INEC does the needful and save Adamawa State from serious crisis by directing the Returning Officer, Prof. Mohammed Mele, to immediately conclude collation, declare the final results and return the rightful winner, Governor Umaru Ahmadu Fintiri as the duly elected Governor of Adamawa State," Mr Damagun said.
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A federal judge weighing whether House Republicans can question a former prosecutor about the Manhattan criminal case against former President Donald Trump peppered lawyers on both sides with questions Wednesday, asking them to parse thorny issues of sovereignty, separation of powers and Congressional oversight arising from the historic indictment.

U.S. District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil promised to rule within hours of the hearing in a courtroom that, on one side, offered views of the New York City skyline that Trump helped shape as a real estate developer, and on the other, the federal building where House Judiciary Committee Chair Rep. Jim Jordan convened a hearing Monday on Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's handing of violent crime.

Vyskocil aggressively questioned lawyers for Bragg, who is prosecuting Trump, and the House Judiciary Committee, which started scrutinizing Bragg's investigation of the former president in the weeks before his indictment. Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, sought to focus on the legalities, not the politics surrounding the case.

Im talking about the subpoena, thats whats in front of me, Vyskocil said. "Not all the political rhetoric thats been flying back and forth. Thats all color. Thats all theater, but its not whats in front of me.

Jordan's committee is seeking to enforce a subpoena for testimony Thursday from Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor who once oversaw the yearslong Trump investigation but left the job after clashing with Bragg over the direction of the case. Pomerantz later wrote a book about his work pursuing Trump and discussed the investigation in recent interviews on 60 Minutes and other shows.

Bragg, a Democrat, sued Jordan and the committee last week seeking to block the deposition. His lawyer, Theodore Boutrous, argued that subpoenaing Pomerantz was part of a transparent campaign to intimidate and attack Bragg and that Congress was invading a state to investigate a local prosecutor when it had no authority to do so.

Boutrous said House Republicans interest in Bragg amounted to Congress jumping in and haranguing the D.A. while the prosecution is ongoing.

A committee lawyer, Matthew Berry, countered that Congress has legitimate legislative reasons for wanting to question Pomerantz and examine Bragg's prosecution of Trump, citing the office's use of $5,000 in federal funds to pay for Trump-related investigations.

Congress is also considering legislation, offered by Republicans in the wake of Trump's indictment, to change how criminal cases against former presidents unfold, Berry said. One bill would prohibit prosecutors from using federal funds to investigate presidents, and another would require any criminal cases involving a former president be resolved in federal court instead of at the state level.

House Republicans, Berry said, want to protect the sovereignty and autonomy of the presidency, envisioning a scenario where the commander in chief could feel obligated to make certain decisions to avoid having local prosecutors in politically unfavorable jurisdictions charge them with crimes after they leave office.

For those reasons, Berry argued, Congress is immune from judicial intervention and the subpoena for Pomerantz's testimony should stand. He cited the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution.

Pomerantz declined comment as he walked out of the hearing, holding a stack of papers with his book, "People vs. Donald Trump." His lawyer, Ted Wells, said he would accompany Pomerantz if he is required to give deposition testimony on Wednesday.

Neither Pomerantz nor his lawyers spoke during the hearing. But in a declaration submitted to the judge beforehand, he aligned himself with Bragg's position and maintained he should not be questioned by the committee.

Vyskocil said Wednesday that forcing Pomerantz to testify would put him in a little bit of a difficult position here.

Berry, the committee lawyer, argued that Pomerantz has already shared lots of information with the public about his work on the Trump investigation and the Judiciary Committee has the right to question him about it, too.

I dont think this is either rational or reasonable behavior that somehow the House Judiciary Committee committee ranks below 60 Minutes,'" Berry argued.

Pomerantz can refuse to answer certain questions, citing legal privilege and ethical obligations, and Jordan would rule on those assertions on a case-by-case basis, Berry said, but he shouldn't be exempt from showing up. If Jordan overrules Pomerantz and he still refuses to answer, he could then face a criminal referral to the Justice Department for contempt of Congress, but that wouldn't happen immediately, Berry said.

In his lawsuit, Bragg said hes taking legal action in response to an unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack by members of Congress on an ongoing New York State criminal prosecution and investigation of former President Donald J. Trump.

Trump was indicted last month on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records related to hush-money payments made during the 2016 campaign to bury allegations of extramarital sexual encounters. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty at an arraignment last week.
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Floridas Board of Education approved of an expansion of Governor Ron DeSantiss Dont Say Gay law that restricts instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity to all grades, the Associated Press reported.

The original law prevented lessons about sexual orientation and gender identity until the 3rd grade. But the new rules would expand the prohibition up until 12th grade as well, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take.

The move comes as Mr DeSantis ramps up his hard-right approach on social policies ahead of an expected presidential campaign in 2024. The governor put forward the proposal last month.

Mr DeSantis signed the law, formally known as the Parental Rights in Education Act, which explicitly prohibits classroom instruction on sexual orientation or gender identity from kindergarten through third grade in a manner that is not age appropriate or developmentally appropriate for students in accordance with state standards.

The law also drove Mr DeSantiss ongoing feud with Disney after the company came out in opposition to the law. Earlier this week, Mr DeSantis suggested building a prison near Walt Disney World, one of the biggest attractions in the state.

Mr DeSantis has previously criticised reporters for advancing a fraudulent narrative and said the media is promoting a woke gender ideology whereas his bill is meant to protect young children from learning about LGBTQ+ sex.

He is largly expected to launch a run for president later this year and challenge his former political benefactor, former president Donald Trump. But this week, Mr Trump earned a series of endorsements from Republican members of Floridas congressional delegation.

The governor has avoided discussion about the law, instead deferring questions to Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. Mr Diaz said the law was meant to clarify any misunderstanding about the existing law and make sure teachers do not diverge from existing curricula.

In addition to the expansion of the law, Mr DeSantis also recently signed legislation that would restrict abortion after six weeks of pregnancy, which is before most people know they are pregnant.

Alex Woodward contributed reporting
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Former president Donald Trump said that if he returns to the White House in 2025, he will mandate that federal employes take a civil service test and workers who do not pass would be fired.

The former president made the remarks in a video released on Friday.

I will require every federal employee to pass a new civil service test, demonstrating an understanding our constutitional limited government, he said.

Mr Trump said that the test would include command of due proceess rights, equal protection, free speech, religious liberty and Fourth Amendment to the Constitutions protection against unreasonable search and seizure, which led him to mention the FBI searching his Mar-a-Lago estate in August for classified documents.

We will put unelected bureaucrats back in their place, librate the US economy and attract millions of jobs and trillions of dollars to our shores, he said.

Mr Trump has previously called on putting in new requirements for federal employees. In March of last year, he called on passing laws that would make every employee who works under the executive branch fireable by the president.

We will pass critical reforms making every executive branch employee fireable by the president of the United States, he said at the time. The deep state must and will be brought to heel. Its already happening.

Throughout his presidency, Mr Trump regularly went after various executive branch officials, such as when he fired FBI director James Comey and when he regularly attacked his attorney general Jeff Sessions.

Mr Trump was recently indicted and arraigned in Manhattan on 34 charges related to alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels. He also faces a federal investigation led by Special Counsel Jack Smith, whom Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed, to investigate both his keeping of classified documents and his attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, including his actions on January 6.
 Close Donald Trump reacts to Joe Bidens 2024 re-election campaign announcement

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Donald Trumps alleged raped of E Jean Carroll matches his MO of targeting women at random, the former Elle magazine columnists attorney told jurors on Tuesday.

Opening arguments in the civil rape trial began in a courtroom in New York on Tuesday.

Ms Carroll has claimed that the former president raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in Manhattan in the mid-1990s.

She first spoke out about the allegations in 2019, when Mr Trump was president.

He denied the incident took place and infamously retorted, Shes not my type.

Now, Ms Carroll is getting her day in court after filing a new lawsuit in November, suing him for both the alleged sexual assault and for then defaming her by denying it took place.

The trial comes after New York passed its Adult Survivors Act, giving sexual abuse victims a one-year window to sue attackers for historic assaults.
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Decades after she was allegedly raped by a New York real estate mogul who would go on to be the 45th President of the United States, E Jean Carroll is getting her day in court.

Ms Carroll, a writer and former advice columnist for Elle magazine, is the plaintiff in a pair of civil lawsuits against former president Donald Trump that will be presented in a New York City federal courtroom starting Tuesday 25 April, when a jury will be chosen under the supervision of US District Judge Lewis Kaplan.

Those jurors, who will remain anonymous on Judge Kaplans orders due to the risk of threats, intimidation or outright violence against anyone seen as an enemy by Mr Trump and his supporters, will hear evidence presented on two separate sets of allegations made by Ms Carroll against the twice-impeached and indicted ex-president.

One set of claims stems from a defamation lawsuit she filed against the then-president in November 2019, five months after she came forward to allege that Mr Trump raped her in a dressing room at Bergdorf Goodman in the mid-1990s.

In that lawsuit, she alleged that Mr Trump defamed her when he responded to her allegation by accusing her of lying in a bid to bolster sales of her forthcoming book.

What Carroll said about the alleged dressing room rape

The allegations against against Mr Trump were first laid out in an excerpt from her book What Do We Need Men For? A Modest Proposal, that ran in New York magazine in June 2019.

In the book excerpt, she said she was shopping at the Bergdorf-Goodman department store in New York when Mr Trump approached her and struck up a conversation, with him asking her for help picking out a gift for a woman.

She then alleged that he took her to the lingerie section of the store and asked her to try on an item for him in a dressing room before pinning her up against a wall and sexually assaulting her for three minutes.

At the time, Ms Carroll said the emergence of the #MeToo movement in late 2017 motivated her to tell her story publicly.

Mr Trump addressed the allegations days later when pressed on them by reporters at the White House.

He claimed he had never met her and denied raping her by telling the White House press corps that Ms Carrol was not [his] type.

He also accused her of lying to boost sales of her memoir.

She is trying to sell a new book  that should indicate her motivation, the then-president said, adding that her book should be sold in the fiction section.

Ms Carroll pushed back on his claims, sharing a photo of herself and Mr Trump together with his then-wife Ivana Trump and her then-husband John Johnson at an NBC party in 1987 to show they had met.

In her defamation suit against Mr Trump, she alleged his denials had caused her to suffer reputational, emotional, and professional harm and said she was suing to obtain redress for those injuries and to demonstrate that even a man as powerful as Trump can be held accountable under the rule of law.

Justice Department involvement delayed the defamation suit

Although a Clinton-era Supreme Court case, Jones v Clinton, allows presidents to be sued for conduct which occurred before the start of their time in the White House, Mr Trumps legal team asked the Department of Justice to aid in his defence.

The department filed papers seeking to shield him from liability on the grounds that he was acting in an official capacity as president when he made the allegedly defamatory statements about Ms Carroll. But Judge Kaplan rejected those arguments and said the suit could proceed. An attempt by Mr Trump to appeal that decision failed in September 2021 as well.

Then, Ms Carroll filed a new lawsuit against Mr Trump under a New York law that allows sexual assault survivors a chance to bring civil suits after the statute of limitations has expired on alleged offences. The new case accuses him of battery  and also adds a new defamation claim based on recent posts in which he called her a con job.

His legal team took up yet another approach in February of last year, when they moved to countersue Ms Carroll.

But Judge Kaplan blocked that bid in a scathing decision on 11 March 2022, in which he slammed Mr Trumps continuing attempts to delay the 2019 case as futile and in bad faith.

The defendants litigation tactics, whatever their intent, have delayed the case to an extent that readily could have been far less, Judge Kaplan wrote.

Granting leave to amend without considering the futility of the proposed amendment needlessly would make a regrettable situation worse by opening new avenues for significant further delay.

Letting Mr Trump countersue would make a regrettable situation worse, the judge added.

Ms Carroll is also suing Mr Trump for the alleged rape itself

Last year, New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed into law the Adult Survivors Act, which created a one-year suspension of statutes of limitations for rape and other civil claims arising from allegations of sexual misconduct.

The law allows sexual assault survivors to sue their attackers regardless of when the alleged assault may have taken place.

Shortly after the bill signing, Ms Carroll filed a second lawsuit against Mr Trump for rape.

Both lawsuits are seeking monetary damages from the ex-president.

Judge Kaplan rejected Trumps last-minute delay bid

After Mr Trumps lawyers made an 1th-hour attempt to once again postpone his long-delayed civil defamation and rape trial on the grounds that publicity surrounding his recent indictment necessitated a cooling-off period to ensure an impartial jury, Judge Kaplan said the one-month delay Mr Trumps attorneys had asked for would have no impact on the potential jury pool in the case, which will be tried in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

There is no reason to assume that a sufficient number of fair and impartial jurors cannot be found on April 25, 2023 or that it would be materially easier to find such jurors on May 23, 2023, he said.

Will Mr Trump attend the trial?

Its not yet known whether Mr Trump will avail himself of his right to be present in Judge Kaplans courtroom for the trial. But the judge has asked by Mr Trump and Ms Carroll to notify him of whether they intend to attend the proceeding. Ms Carroll plans to attend the trial.
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Mountains of evidence boxes were wheeled into a seventh-floor courtroom on Tuesday morning, moments before lawyers for Dominion Voting Systems planned to eviscerate Fox News and its Fox Corporation leadership for the volley of false claims about the company in the aftermath of the 2020 election.

Later that morning, jurors were sworn in. They ordered lunch. Hours later, it was over. And Fox News admitted that statements on its airwaves about Dominion were false, agreeing to pay the voting machine company more than $787m in a settlement that averted one of the biggest-ever defamation trials in American history.

In a twist of fate, the trial involving the countrys most-watched cable news network was not going to be broadcast at all. Cameras or audio feeds were not allowed in the courtroom. The judge presiding over the case in Wilmington, Delaware warned that anyone photographing or livetweeting from inside his courtroom could even face contempt of court charges. Officers removed at least one person for tweeting a photo of the inside  she happened to be a representative for Fox.

While a court spokesperson set up a lectern outside the courthouse steps, with news cameras from around the world jockeying for a sweet spot to film them, attorneys for Fox rushed out the other side of the building, chased down by photographers and two men carrying signs reading FOX IS GUILTY and MAKE EM PAY.

It was a fitting end to a trial that wasnt: A made-for-TV courtroom drama that would never be televised, and the highest-profile and most significant attempt to extract accountability for 2020 election lies, ended with two men both named Bill framing the Fox legal team with white posters reminding Americans what is at stake.

Ive been following Fox News for the last seven years and how they are basically pushing lies to increase their viewership, without any regard for the damage it has done to our country, to people I know, to people in my own family, one of those men, Bill Schultz, who stood outside the courthouse all day, told The Independent.

If Dominion doesnt win, theres something wrong here, he said.

A settlement averts a six-week trial after more than two years of litigation, and nearly three years after Mr Trump and his allies launched a bogus campaign to overturn millions of Americans votes.

The former president waged a public assault on 2020 elections before a single vote was even cast, sowing public doubt about the process in an apparent effort to justify challenges to the outcomes.

In the months that followed, Republican lawmakers across the US launched a coordinated campaign under the guise of preserving election integrity and restoring voter confidence that the president himself undermined.

The persistent lie that the election was stolen from him  and his legal teams baseless attempts to overturn millions of Americans votes  fuelled violence at the US Capitol on 6 January, 2021, sustained partisan investigations to reverse the outcomes in states that Mr Trump lost, inspired GOP-led legislation in nearly every state to change how elections are run, and is baked into Republican Party dogma, forming the basis of his 2024 run.

That lie also propelled failed litigation and bogus claims involving Dominion, including allegations that its technology flipped votes, has ties to Venezuela and Hugo Chavez, and gave kickbacks to election officials.

Those statements made their way to Fox News.

Dominions case argued that the media empire relies on lying to its audience. The companys extensive court filings revealed private admissions among Fox producers, executives and programme hosts questioning or ridiculing the networks unreliable guests and their dubious arguments about Dominion, while, at the same time, conceding that the network risked alienating Fox viewers and losing them to competing far-right networks if Fox publicly rejected those claims.

Jurors were not even asked to consider if those statements were true or not. The question wasnt up for debate. Judge Davis asserted in a ruling last month that it is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion in the 2020 election are true.

Instead, they were tasked with figuring out if those statements meet the high legal standard of actual malice for defamation cases  in other words, deciding if the network and its leadership knowingly aired false statements or aired them with reckless disregard for the truth.

Reporters from around the world filled every inch of seating on the long wooden benches inside the courtroom. An overflow room reserved for media converted a smaller courtroom into a satellite station for reporters who could send updates from the trial to their newsrooms and social media. That room was also full, with reporters sprawled out on tables otherwise reserved for lawyers, and in the brown leather seats in a jury box otherwise filled with jurors.

An 11th hour settlement means Fox avoids that heightened level of scrutiny from the nations top media and elections reporters in a trial that was set to last six weeks. A witness list was likely to include the networks biggest names, including Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Maria Bartiromo, and Fox Corporation CEO Rupert Murdoch.

 'Lies have consequences': Dominion announces settlement with Fox

Defamation cases rarely get this far. Most are settled out of court before a jury can look at them.

Speculation about a possible settlement was growing over the weekend as the parties neared a court date on 17 April.

Instead, Judge Davis announced that the trial would be delayed  by one day.

From the bench on Monday morning, Judge Davis stressed his announcement was not a press conference.

I dont do that, he said.

It was nothing unusual, he said, underscoring the fact that both parties were headed towards a real-deal trial. Twenty-four hours later, jury selection was underway. A trial was imminent.

Meanwhile, a truck carrying a sign reading RUPERT MURDOCH KNEW and TUCKER CARLSON KNEW was circling the courthouse for hours.

Twelve jurors and 12 alternate jurors were selected and sworn in shortly after 11am on 18 April. There was a break for lunch, followed by a nearly three-hour long delay.

Shortly after returning to the courtroom, Judge Davis announced that the parties have resolved their case. The jury was excused. Reporters raced out the room.

A mob of journalists and cameras followed lawyers for Dominion after addressing cameras parked outside the courthouse, hoping to get a better idea of what exactly is inside the massive settlement.

Moments later, a statement from Fox attributed only to the network confirmed the settlement.

We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems, the statement said. We acknowledge the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Foxs continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.

That afternoon, Fox host Howard Kurtz  who attended the near-trial in Delaware  read the statement on his programme, adding that claims from Mr Trump and his allies on Fox and elsewhere about Dominion stealing votes and flipping them to Joe Biden in the 2020 election were obviously false.

Those were conspiracy theories, he said.

And that is likely as far as the admission will go. It does not appear likely that the settlement includes conditions that any Fox personalities admit the same on air.

I hope this exposes Fox New as the liars they are, Mr Schultz told The Independent on Tuesday outside the court, where he held a GOP + FOX = FASCIST PROPAGANDA sign while wearing a MAKE AMERICA KIND AGAIN T-shirt. And our country can get back to a point where were not as divided.
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President Joe Biden is summoning top Democratic donors to Washington next week as he prepares to launch his 2024 reelection bid, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The event, which is being organized by the Democratic National Committee, is not a fundraiser, but is meant to energize the top party donors for Biden's campaign, the people said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Biden is expected to meet with the assembled donors, who are also set to hear from some of his top political advisers.

Biden has repeatedly said he intends to run for reelection, but aides say he feels little pressure to formally launch a campaign, especially since he's warded off any serious challenge from within his party for the nomination.

We are here and ready, said Michael Smith, who along with his partner, James Costos, hosted Bidens first Hollywood fundraiser of the 2020 primary, and will be meeting with Democratic officials and strategists in Washington next week.

Biden in recent months has been focused on implementing the massive infrastructure, technology investment and climate laws passed during his first two years in office and drawing a sharp contrast with Republicans as Washington gears up for a fight over raising the nation's borrowing limit. Aides believe those priorities will burnish his image ahead of his reelection campaign.

News of the gathering was first reported by The New York Times.



AP writer Brian Slodysko contributed from Washington.
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Republican Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri denounced the shooting of a 16-year-old Black teenaged boy in Kansas City after a suspect in the case turned himself in and was released on Tuesday.

Andrew Lester, 84, is accused of shooting Ralph Yarl in the head and hand after the teenager mistakenly rang the doorbell at the wrong home as he tried to collect his younger twin brothers.

Mr Hawley, a former attorney general, said the shooting was terrible.

And I'm glad if he thinks he's got that facts to charge the case, he told The Independent. And I hope that they'll prosecute this thing and that there'll be justice.

Prosecutors set a $200,000 bond for Mr Lester and he was released less than 2 hours after authorities arrested him, but he was required to pay 10 per cent of the bond. Clay County Prosecutor Zachary Thompson said in a press conference on Monday that there was a racial component to the case. He announced that he would charge Mr Lester with two felonies: assault in the first degree and armed criminal action.

Mr Hawley said that the shooting of Mr Yarl is part of a larger trend of crime proliferating across the country.

I think the only way to deal with this is you've got to charge people who commit violent crimes and who use guns and violent crimes, he said. You have to charge it.

Senator Eric Schmitt, Missouris junior Republican Senator, offered a more measured response.

Ill let the prosecution play itself out, he told The Independent. Thats where its at and Im praying for the family.

But Senator Cory Booker of New Jersey, a Democrat, told The Independent while he was waiting for the facts, he found the situation tragic.

I want to get all the facts out, what I know already is anguishing, he told The Independent. I'm happy that there was an arrest, but it should never have happened. This beautiful child should never be experiencing this kind of horror and trauma.

Senator Raphael Warnock of Georgia, another Democrat and one of three Black Senators, also expressed condolences.

Well it's heartbreaking, he told The Independent. And it's one more instance of the ways in which Black parents don't know what to tell their children.

Mr Warnock mentioned how Black parents have the talk with their children about police and the fear they might be shot.

And now we got to add to that, be careful that you don't ring the wrong door bell, he said.

Graeme Massie contributed to this report
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Kansas' governor has vetoed legislation that would mandate clinics to tell patients that a medication abortion can be interrupted using an unproven drug regimen.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly vetoed the bill Wednesday, again pushing back state GOP efforts to restrict abortion despite a decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights last year.

The governor's action marked the second time this month that she vetoed an anti-abortion bill approved by the GOP-controlled Legislature.

Last week, she rejected a measure that could subject doctors to criminal charges and lawsuits if they are accused of not providing enough care for infants delivered alive during certain abortion procedures, even if they are expected to die within seconds outside the womb because of a severe medical issue.

The vetoes mean that abortion access and providers in Kansas remain far less restricted for now compared to other states with GOP-controlled legislatures that have banned or severely restricted abortion procedures over the past year.

Abortion opponents in Kansas had the two-thirds majorities that will be necessary to override the veto of the bill on medical treatment for infants delivered alive during abortion procedures.

But Republican lawmakers may be able to override the bill vetoed on Wednesday in a vote later this month. If they do, patients asking for a medical abortion would get a state-mandated, written notice that they can interrupt their abortion, even though the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology says there is no scientific evidence that the reversal approach promoted by abortion opponents is safe or effective.

Abortion rights supporters contend both measures break faith with voters.

We were told that we must listen to the people, Kansas Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes said before her chamber passed the bill earlier this month, recalling the campaign ahead of the statewide vote in August 2022. Nearly 60% of Kansans  Democrats, Republicans and independents  voted no on giving elected representatives and state senators more power to pass laws regarding abortion.

Even if Kansas lawmakers override Kellys vetoes, providers could ask state courts to block the new laws. Lawsuits have prevented Kansas from enforcing a 2015 ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure and a 2011 law from imposing extra health and safety rules on abortion providers.

Kelly also vetoed an abortion medication reversal measure in 2019.

Supporters of the so-called abortion reversal notification requirement cite individual women's cases to bolster their claims, but Kelly told lawmakers in a message in 2019 that the notification mandate represented a government mandate that is not adequately supported by medical science.

The practice of medicine should be left to licensed health professionals, not elected officials, she said in her 2019 veto message.

A least a dozen states enacted abortion reversal bans before the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 2022 allowing states to prohibit abortion, though legal challenges put four states' laws on hold.

But in Kansas, the state Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a fundamental right under the state constitution. The vote last year rejected stripping out that protection.

Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups contend the vote last year doesnt preclude reasonable abortion restrictions or rules for providers like the reversal bill.

Basically, it's saying if you are a woman, if you are seeking an abortion, you do have the right to know that the is such a thing as APR, abortion pill reversal," state Senate health committee Chair Beverly Gossage, a Kansas City-area Republican, said before her chamber approved the measure earlier this month.

A majority of U.S. patients terminating their pregnancies do so with abortion medications. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year, abortion opponents have sought to undercut access to the pills. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the legal status of mifepristone, the first of two medications in the most common and most effective method.

The abortion reversal approach promoted by Kansas lawmakers involves giving women doses of the hormone progesterone after mifepristone is taken but before the second medication, misoprostol, is taken. Doctors use progesterone to try to prevent miscarriages.

Experts question the findings of the two anti-abortion doctors who began using the off-label reversal approach more than 15 years ago and see a 2018 study vouching for its effectiveness as seriously flawed. Republican lawmakers in Kansas have brushed aside the criticism.

Medical knowledge is passed within our profession very much like political knowledge is passed here, peer to peer, Republican state Rep. Bill Clifford, a southwestern Kansas eye doctor, told his colleagues during one recent debate. It isn't always about studies, and you have to trust your colleagues.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
It is reported that the 2021 results from the Phase-IIb trial reported that R21/Matrix-M demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77 per cent.

Like her West-African counterpart- Ghana, Nigeria on Monday made history with the approval granted a new malaria vaccine- R21/Matrix-M, which has been developed by the University of Oxford and manufactured by the Serum Institute of India.

With malaria accounting for 60 per cent of outpatient visits to the nation's health facilities; 30 per cent of childhood deaths; 11 per cent of maternal death, and 25 per cent of deaths in infants, Nigeria is said to contribute a huge 27 per cent to the global malaria burden.

Confronted by this staggering statistics, Nigeria's decision to endorse any measure aimed at curtailing the rampaging disease would be applauded by the people. And this was the basis the country's National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) announced the approval granted the vaccine use after it conducted its in-house checks.

NAFDAC said Nigeria expects to get at least 100,000 doses of the vaccine in donations soon.

This development has been described by many as a step forward in the fight against the life-threatening disease.

About new vaccine

The R21, otherwise referred to as Matrix-M malaria vaccine, is the second vaccine ever developed for a disease that claims more than 600,000 lives each year, most of which are children.

The first-ever malaria vaccine, RTS, S or mosquirix, from British drugmaker- GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), was approved by the WHO in 2021 after decades of work, but various research shows that the effectiveness of the vaccine is approximately 60 per cent, and that it significantly wanes over time, even with a booster dose.

But the latest intervention, according to the University of Oxford, a booster dose of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine at one year following a primary three-dose regime, maintained high efficacy against malaria and continued to meet the WHO's Malaria Vaccine Technology Roadmap goal of a vaccine with at least 75 per cent efficacy.

It is also reported that the 2021 results from the Phase-IIb trial reported that R21/Matrix-M demonstrated high-level efficacy of 77 per cent.

The researchers also confirmed that R21/Matrix-M vaccine has undergone clinical trials in the UK, Thailand, and several African countries, including an ongoing phase III trial in Burkina Faso, Kenya, Mali and Tanzania, which the said has enrolled 4,800 children.

However, while the World Health Organisation (WHO) is yet to give go-ahead for its roll-out, both Nigeria and Ghana's drug regulators have approved it domestically for children between the ages of five months and three years old.

Vaccine's targets

The R21/Matrix-M vaccine is said to target the plasmodium 'sporozoite', which is the first form of the malaria parasite entering the human body.

According to the Director General of NAFDAC, Mojisola Adeyeye, "the R21 Malaria vaccine is an adjuvanted protein vaccine presented as a sterile solution. A dose which is 0.5ml is composed of R21 Malaria antigen 5g and Matrix-M1 50g as an adjuvant filled in a vial as a ready-to-use liquid formulation for intramuscular injection."

Mrs Adeyeye said the R21 malaria vaccine dossier complied substantially with the best international standards with which the dossier was bench-marked, adding that its torage temperature is 2-8 C."

Vaccine supply

Gavi, a public-private global vaccine alliance with the goal of increasing access to immunisation in poor countries, has said the supply of the R21/Matrix-M vaccine should be able to meet its demand.

PREMIUM TIMES has reported that the Oxford team in collaboration with the Serum Institute of India will produce up to 200 million doses annually with a vaccine factory being constructed in Accra, Ghana.

According to Gavi, mass production of the vaccine will mean that it won't face the same bottlenecks in manufacturing hurdles encountered by other vaccines, including the COVID-19 vaccines.

"This is critical because vaccinating those at high risk of malaria simultaneously will be important in stemming the spread of disease, as well as protecting the vaccinated," it noted.

Possible roll-out schedule

Gavi has also confirmed that WHO is currently assessing whether to prequalify the vaccine for wider use or not.

It said if WHO eventually recommends it, "Gavi and UNICEF could begin funding and procuring doses immediately to protect children across Africa as soon as possible."

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"However, the idea is not to replace RTS, S but to be complementary - Gavi has already approved funding for a malaria vaccine programme and is ready to support the roll-out of R21 alongside RTS, S," it added

Africa's malaria burden

According to the latest WHO World Malaria Report, the African region continues to carry a disproportionately high share of the global malaria burden.

The report published in December 2022 shows that there were 247 million cases of malaria in 2021 compared to 245 million cases in 2020. The estimated number of malaria deaths stood at 619,000 in 2021 compared to 625,000 in 2020.

In 2021, Africa accounted for about 95 per cent of all malaria cases and 96 per cent of deaths, with children under 5 years of age accounting for about 80 per cent of all malaria deaths in the region.

Four African countries accounted for just over half of all malaria deaths worldwide: Nigeria (31.3 per cent), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (12.6 per cent), the United Republic of Tanzania (4.1 per cent) and Niger (3.9 per cent).

Nigeria's Health Minister, Osagie Ehanire, said in the country, about 10 persons die every hour due to malaria or malaria-related issues.
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Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene was criticised by members of her own party for attacking fellow Rep Eric Swalwell in the middle of a House Homeland Security Committee hearing.

During the hearing, which took place on Wednesday 19 April, Mr Swalwell used social media posts to express concern over rhetoric being used by members of the committee.

One of which  defund the FBI  belonged to Ms Greene.

After Mr Swalwell yielded his time, Ms Greene responded with a smirk. That was quite entertaining from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy and everyone knows it, she said.

Ms Greenes comments are a reference to an unfounded claim that Mr Swalwell had sexual relations with alleged spy, Christine Fang.

There is no evidence that Mr Swalwell had any sort of sexual relationship with Ms Fang.

Representative Daniel Goldman swiftly motioned to have Ms Greens words taken down, which would strike them from the official hearing record and bar her from speaking.

One committee member could be heard saying, Completely inappropriate though it is unclear who said this.

On Twitter, people critised Ms Greene for her behavior.

Journalist Molly Jong-Fast called it, disgusting.

Congressional candidate John Burrows said, If it was not clear before, todays Homeland Security Committee hearing showed exactly why Marjorie Taylor Greene should be removed from the Committee.

She has no class. No respect, Chris Flemming tweeted.

Conservative writer Benny Johnson called the hearing chaos.

Later on in the hearing, Ms Greene shouted and called the witness, the Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayoraks, a liar.

Ms Greenes words were determined to have violated the rules of the committee by Republican Chairman Mark Green and Ms Greenes words were taken down and she was barred from speaking.

In response to the situation, Mr Swalwell took to Twitter and wrote, The hardest thing I do every day is to wake, feed, and dress 3 little monsters who are 5 and under. Dealing with this crazy ladys delusions is like dunking in Oz.
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Republican lawmaker and conspiracy theorist Marjorie Taylor Greene has again lashed out at New York City, claiming to have encountered marijuana zombies on her recent visit to the Big Apple.

The Georgia congresswoman was seen in Manhattan on 4 April when she attempted to address a rally staged by the New York Young Republicans Club in support of Donald Trump during his arraignment over alleged hush money payments, only to be drowned out by counter-demonstrators with whistles and drums.

Clearly unhappy at the hostile reception she received from this emergency noise demo  which rendered her diatribe in defence of the disgraced former president incomprehensible, even with the aid of a megaphone  Ms Greene took to Fox News that evening for an interview with Tucker Carlson.

When the host asked her whether she had found the city to be neat and tidy, she scoffed and said she thought New York was disgusting, invoking its portrayal as the crime-ridden Gotham City of the Batman comics and attacking mayor Eric Adams, who had specifically warned her against indulging in hate speech.

The streets are filthy, they are covered with people, basically dying on drugs, they cant even stand up  theyre falling over, she told Carlson.

Theres so much crime in the city, I cannot comprehend how people live there. It was repulsive, it smells bad  I think its a terrible place.

Evidently still not over the experience two weeks later, the politician has now retweeted a New York Post article entitled: Lets be blunt  legal weed is turning New York workers into zombies.

She commented: 100%. I saw them when I went there to protest against the weaponization of government against President Trump by a George Soros funded DA.

Mr Soros, a Hungarian-born billionaire philanthropist, donated money to a group that endorses liberal prosecutors, some of which was spent on helping elect Alvin Bragg as Manhattan DA. The Jewish financiers name is frequently bandied about by the far-right when making insinuations about globalism that pander to antisemitic sentiment.

The piece in question, a Post editorial by Steve Cuozzo, alleges that New York City is now so in thrall to marijuana that stinky smoke hangs everywhere, seeping into subway cars and even Broadway theaters, with the writer claiming he now routinely has to repeat his Starbucks order multiples times to baristas too bummed-out to comprehend his words.

Cuozzo concludes his polemic by arguing that it is time to lower the minimum wage as punishment for service staff stoned up the wazoo, hollow-eyed, disengaged from their tasks, their breath reeking of weed.

I havent seen so much pot-induced lethargy since my Vietnam-era college days, when so many fellow students were high that their panicked weed-flushing during a rumoured police raid overwhelmed the campus pipes.

How much of this supposed hellscape-on-the-Hudson Ms Greene could possibly have seen on 4 April, even if true, is open to question, given the speed with which she fled the Trump rally amid a hail of taunts and jeers from a crowd too energetic and impassioned to match the bong zombie archetype described by Cuozzo.

Also outside the Manhattan Criminal Courthouse that day was New York Democrat Jamaal Bowman, who told his fellow representative: Go back to your district. What are you doing here? Youre here for politics, youre here because you want to be VP... Youre here for your own nonsense.

Preferring the comparative safety of a moving car, the Maga congresswoman instead gave an interview to the sympathetic Right Side Broadcasting Network in which she compared Mr Trump to Nelson Mandela and Jesus Christ.

She has since busied herself by defending Pentagon leak suspect Jack Teixeira and engaging in a meme war with fellow Republican Lindsey Graham.
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A federal judge in New York ruled on Wednesday that a former prosecutor in the Manhattan District Attorneys office that indicted Donald Trump must comply with a subpoena from Congress.

No one is above the law, District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil wrote in her ruling.

The subpoena was issued with a valid legislative purpose in connection with the broad and indispensable congressional power to conduct investigations, the ruling added. It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection.

The holding means that former Manhattan special assistant district attorney Mark Pomerantz may have to appear before the Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee, which has launched an investigation into the Trump probe in Manhattan.

We are looking into whether or not there is a problem with politically motivated prosecutions of former presidents and whether the motivated prosecutions of former presidents is using federal funds, attorney Matthew Berry said on behalf of the committee during deliberations in court.

Mr Pomerantz resigned in protest last year from the DAs office and later penned a book in which he called Mr Trump a malignant narcissist, and perhaps even a megalomaniac who posed a real danger to the country and the ideals that mattered to [him] and said the ex-president was guilty of numerous crimes.

The current Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg asked a federal court last week to stop the House committee from subpoenaing Mr Pomerantz, calling the effort an unprecedently brazen and unconstitutional attack by members of Congress.

We respectfully disagree with the District Courts decision and are seeking a stay pending appeal, the Manhattan DAs office told The Independent in a statement.

House Judiciary Committee chair Jim Jordan has threatened to subpoena other officials in the DAs office, including Mr Bragg.

Everythings on the table, Mr Jordan told Fox Business Networks Sunday Morning Futures.

At the beginning of April, the former president was indicted on and pleaded not guilty to charges of concealing hush money payments made to an adult film actress who claimed she had an affair with Mr Trump.
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Senate Republicans blocked a request from Democrats to temporarily replace Senator Dianne Feinstein on the Senate Judiciary Committee in a Tuesday evening vote.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer had requested unanimous consent to replace Ms Feinstein on the committee. Ms Feinstein, 89, is the oldest-serving Senator and has been absent while suffering from shingles.

As a result, Ms Feinstein had requested to be temporarily removed from the committee to allow for President Joe Bidens judicial nominations to proceed with confirmation votes.

Democrats have a 51-49 majority, meaning that Ms Feinsteins absence will cause judicial nominations to be deadlocked in committee, as was the case when the Senate was split 50-50 in the previous Congress.

But Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, the top Republican on the committee, objected to a request for unanimous consent. Many Republicans had also criticised the ploy to temporarily replace Ms Feinstein with Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland.

Mr Schumer excoriated Mr Graham in a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday.

Democratic Senate leader Chuck Schumer said: Few have accomplished as much in office as Senator Feinstein. Our colleague and friend has made her wish clear, that another Senator temporarily serve on the Judiciary Committee until she returns. I thank Senator Cardin for agreeing to step in.

So today, I am acting not just as Leader but as Diannes friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the Senate, he said. When someone as dear and as accomplished as Senator Feinstein asks us for something so important to her, we ought to respect it.

Mr Graham was not alone in his criticism.

Senator Feinstein has been an extraordinary senator, and she's a good friend of mine, Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine told reporters on Monday about attempts to remove Ms Feinstein temporarily from the committee. During the past two years, there's been a concerted campaign to force her off of the Judiciary Committee, and I will have no part of that.

Ms Feinsteins absence comes as Pennsylvania Senator John Fetterman returned to the Senate on Monday after he had spent six weeks undergoing treatment for depression.

Earlier this year, Ms Feinstein announced she would not seek re-election.
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Anti-vaccine activist and conspiracy theorist Robert F Kennedy Jr has officially declared himself to be a candidate in next years Democratic presidential primary, ending a four-decade stretch of presidential elections without a member of his famous family on the ballot.

Mr Kennedy, the son of assassinated 1968 presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy and the nephew of assassinated president John F Kennedy, announced his candidacy in a long and winding speech in Boston alongside his wife, actress Cheryl Hines.

Notably absent from the event were any other members of Americas most famous Democratic political dynasty, which has sent members of the family to the House and Senate since the 1960s.

The environmental lawyer turned anti-vax crusaders foray into presidential politics isnt being made with the support of any of his numerous relations, many of whom have gone on record to condemn him and stress their support for President Joe Bidens yet-to-be-declared re-election bid.

His years of public opposition to childhood vaccinations against communicable diseases  and his more recent advocacy against Covid-19 vaccines  has made him a pariah among Democrats and a superstar in extremist Republican circles, making his choice to run as a Democrat particularly puzzling to many experts.

Mr Kennedy noted his lack of family support in remarks tinged with more than a bit of sarcasm.

There are other members of my family who are not here today,' the 69-year-old Kennedy scion said to laughs after giving shout-outs to the handful who were in the crowd. 'I know most American families - they never have any differences with each other, he said.

He added that multiple members of the Kennedy clan disagree with his political views and have maintained long personal relationships with Mr Biden, but said he love[s] them back nonetheless.

Later in his rambling address, he hit out at Donald Trump  Mr Bidens predecessor and the likely GOP nominee next year  for lending support to numerous public health measures aimed at stemming the spread of Covid-19 during the earliest days of the pandemic.

President Trump is blamed for a lot of things that he didn't do and that he gets blamed for some things that he didn't do, Mr Kennedy said. But it was the worst thing that he did to our country, to our civil rights, to our economy, to the middle class.

He also took aim at the US health system and repeated discredited claims about the connection between childhood vaccines and autism while also pledging to end the chronic disease epidemic.

If I don't significantly drop the level of chronic disease in our children after my first term, I do not want you to reelect me, he said.

Though Mr Biden has not yet announced a re-election campaign, he has repeatedly said he intends to run for a second term next year.

The 46th president is widely expected to earn his partys nomination, making it unlikely that Mr Kennedy will have a chance to be elected to a first term.
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Florida Democratic Representative Jared Moskowitz listed off a series of former president Donald Trumps lies about Covid-19 during a House subcommittee hearing on the origins of the pandemic.

The House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic convened on Tuesday to discuss the origins, with Republicans largely focusing on the likelihood that a lab leak in the Wuhan province caused the virus to spread.

But Mr Moskowitz, a freshman Democratic representative on the subcommittee, used his time to cite the numerous times Mr Trump gave the Chinese President Xi Jinping the benefit of the doubt about the Peoples Republic of Chinas managment of the virus.

I think the American people have a right to know why so much misinformation was spread about Covid-19 in this country by President Trump, he said, before he rattled off a series of greatest hits from Mr Trump.

China has been working very hard to contain the Coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well. In particular, on behalf of the American People, I want to thank President Xi, Mr Moskowitz said, citing Mr Trumps words from January 2020.

He also cited Mr Trumps words where he said he spoke to Xi and said the country was working on the problem.

Just had a long conversation with the president of China, hes strong, sharp, powerful, focuseed on leading the counterattack to the coronavirus, Mr Moskowitz read of an old quote from Mr Trump.

Along with praising Chinas response to coronavirus, Mr Moskowitz also read Mr Trumps downplaying the severity of the virus.

You know, in April, supposedly its going to die with the hotter weather, and thats a beautiful date to look forward to, which Mr Trump said on Fox Business in February 2020.

Mr Moskowitz also cited how Mr Trump said that the United States had very few people getting Covid-19 and theyre getting better.

I could keep going, Mr Moskowitz said. This goes on and on, and every day it goes on, there were more and more cases in this country. And so we have to find out why this president was spreading misinformation.
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The former American president who was once a fixture on Fox News before turning against the network after losing the 2020 election has remained silent on the right-wing channels decision to settle a defamation lawsuit with the voting machine maker he had falsely accused of rigging the election.

Former president Donald Trumps social media output in the hours since Fox News reached a $787m settlement with Dominion Voting Systems has included numerous posts promoting a series of digital trading cards he is selling, attacks on Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, and bizarre complaints about Elon Musk and alleged censorship on Twitter (where Mr Trumps account has gone unused since it was restored earlier this year).

But Mr Trump has not weighed in on Foxs decision to offer more than three-quarters of a billion dollars to Dominion rather than allow a Delaware jury to determine how much the right-wing network should pay for broadcasting repeated lies about the companys products rather than report the truth because it was upsetting their audience.

The twice-impeached ex-presidents most recent comment on the lawsuit came on Monday, the day jury selection was initially set to begin in the billion-dollar lawsuit.

Writing on Truth Social, Mr Trump issued an all-caps missive calling on Fox to double down on the lies that led to the lawsuit in the first place.

If Fox would finally admit that there was large scale cheating & irregularities in the 2020 presidential election, which would be a good thing for them, & for America, the case against them, which should not have existed at all, would be greatly weakened, he said.

He added: Back up those patriots at Fox instead of throwing them under the bus - & they are right! There is sooo much proof, like mass ballot stuffing caught on government cameras, FBI colluding with Twitter & Facebook, state legislatures not used, etc.
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An intrepid toddler became the smallest White House intruder ever apprehended after he squeezed through the metal fencing on the north side of the executive mansion.

US Secret Service Uniformed Division officers, who are responsible for security at the White House, nabbed the errant infant on Tuesday afternoon.

Pictures show the childs feet dangling as a smiling officer carried the diapered interloper back to his parents on Pennsylvania Avenue.

Access to the complex was briefly restricted while officers conducted the reunification. President Joe Biden was inside the complex.

Officers questioned the trespassers parents before allowing them to continue on their way.

White House toddler apprehended (Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

It may be the first successful intrusion onto the complex since the White House fence was doubled in height to roughly 13 feet (3.96m) in recent years after a series of security breaches.

While the new $64m fence may be taller, it also has an additional inch of space between pickets, leaving a total of 5.5 inches (12.7cm) between posts.

The Secret Service did not immediately comment on the incident when approached by the Associated Press but later Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi reported officers encountered a curious young visitor.

A father retrieves his son from a US Secret Service uniformed division police officers outside the Northwest Gate of the White House (EPA)

The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited, Mr Guglielmi said in a statement reported by the BBC.

This is not the first time a toddler has made it through the fence. In 2014 fence baby was also caught uninvited on the lawn, according to USA Today .

Older children have sometimes become stuck in the iconic barrier, which has also been the scene of demonstrations, with protesters chaining themselves to the fence.

With reporting by the Associated Press
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This article was published in February 2023

When Governor Gavin Newsom announced that California would no longer do business with Walgreens, most reacted with surprise. While retweeting a CNN story about the pharmacy giant choosing not to distribute the abortion pill mifepristone in 20 states, Newsom wrote: California wont be doing business with Walgreens  or any company that cowers to the extremists and puts womens lives at risk. Were done.

It was action without a warning shot, and it clearly took the pharmacy giant by surprise. Walgreens  which, for any Brits and New Yorkers keen to join the boycott, shares a parent company with Boots and Duane Reade  operates nearly 600 stores in California and is the second-largest pharmacy chain in the United States. It is responsible for around 10 per cent of the pharmacy market in the west coast state. That means that taking a stand against Walgreens would be costly for the company, but also potentially for Californians themselves. The state is huge  the most populous in the country, with the third-largest landmass after Alaska and Texas  and many in rural locations known colloquially as healthcare deserts rely on supersize Walgreens stores to access in-network medication. Because of the companys size, it is able to accept most health insurance plans versus a local pharmacy on an isolated small-town street.

Pulling all business with Walgreens may, then, have the unintended effect of cutting off some Californian womens ability to access the abortion pill altogether.

Yet it remains unclear what California no longer doing business with Walgreens actually means. Newsom has been cagey about details, and his spokesman Brandon Richards told CNN that his team is currently reviewing all relationships between Walgreens and the state. Its hard to imagine the forced closure of over 600 stores going ahead. Its possible that doing business refers to pensions or sharing in California-specific innovations. The state recently announced that it plans to make its own insulin as a solution to keeping costs down for diabetics. If that comes to fruition, and insulin for $35 or less per month becomes the norm in the state as opposed to the usual $200-plus co-pay for privately insured citizens at the moment, then cutting Walgreens out of the deal could drive thousands away from the stores almost immediately.

Mifepristone is used for abortions conducted in under 8 weeks gestation (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

Whats most bizarre about Newsoms statement is that Walgreens didnt see it coming. Just days earlier, it had responded to pressure from Republican politicians from jurisdictions where abortion is both legal and illegal by agreeing not to distribute mifepristone in any of their 20 states. On 1 February, the attorneys general of states where abortion has been effectively outlawed, like Kentucky and Texas, co-signed a letter alongside colleagues from other states  such as Alaska, Montana, Iowa and Florida  where abortion remains legal. The letter was sent to Walgreens and competitors including CVS, Rite Aid and Walmart, and purported to concern the protection of women and children. It effectively threatened the pharmacies with numerous legal actions if they continued to sell mifepristone. The message was clear: We intend to make this hard for you.

In late February, Walgreens was the only company to publicly respond to the pressure. In a letter dated February 17, a representative of the Walgreens Boots Alliance responded to all of the signatories, stating: Walgreens does not intend to dispense mifepristone within your state and does not intend to ship mifepristone into your state from any of our pharmacies. If this approach changes, we will be sure to notify you. To many peoples surprise, this letter didnt exclude the attorneys general who had written from states where the abortion pill remains legal. It looked very much like Walgreens was throwing women to the dogs at the first sign of trouble.

Perhaps Walgreens didnt imagine that liberals would be as strident in their blowback as conservatives were in their pressure campaign. Or perhaps the pharmacy simply doesnt have a strategy to deal with the fallout of Roe v Wades overturn, even months down the line. Either way, they released a statement in the wake of California Governor Newsoms announcement that directly contradicted what theyd said days earlier. We want to be very clear about what our position has always been: Walgreens plans to dispense mifepristone in any jurisdiction where it is legally permissible to do so. Once we are certified by the FDA, we will dispense this medication consistent with federal and state laws. Providing legally approved medications to patients is what pharmacies do, and is rooted in our commitment to the communities in which we operate, the company wrote in a statement on March 6th. The Independent approached Walgreens for further explanation and was directed back to the statement on the Walgreens website. Requests for further clarification, considering that the statement directly contradicted what was said in the letter days earlier, were ignored.

Whether or not Walgreens is backpedaling, enough damage has clearly already been done. Filmmaker Michael Moore addressed the controversy in his popular Substack newsletter on 5 March with a simple headline: Boycott Walgreens, a pharmacy that stands with anti-abortion extremists against the rights of women. #BoycottWalgreens began trending on Twitter. Walgreens stock began to plummet. Stories on social media began to proliferate about people cancelling their Walgreens accounts or clogging up the companys inboxes and phone lines with angry missives. People began reminding each other that the typical Walgreens customer, as well as the typical Walgreens employee, is female. By this point, it was 8 March: International Womens Day. Few could imagine an organisation finding itself in a worse PR bind for the biggest female-centred day of the year. Walgreens became central to the celebrations in the worst way possible  as an example of how collective action by women can be used to take sexist corporations down.

What is perhaps the most concerning about Walgreens initial caving to the pressures of Republican attorneys general is the fact that many of those politicians were attempting to directly subvert democracy. Kansas is a pertinent case in point. The ruby-red state ran a referendum not long after Roe v Wades overturning by the Supreme Court, in August 2022. It was widely expected that Kansans would vote in that referendum to overturn the state constitution and make abortion illegal. This was the first state to test the waters after SCOTUS decision. Anti-abortion campaigners planned to declare the results as proof that the moral majority agreed the procedure should be illegal.

But the plan never came to fruition. Instead, in an unexpected twist, 59 per cent of Kansans voted no on an amendment that would have banned abortion in the state. The victory went to the Biden administration instead, who released a triumphant statement about the importance of allowing women to make their own healthcare decisions. It seemed that far-right campaigners on the issue had forgotten why a huge proportion of Americans  especially in rural states like Kansas  vote Republican. These Republican voters are not necessarily evangelicals; in fact, they are more often than not libertarian-minded people whose main concern is keeping the government out of their business. And bringing in rules about what women can do with their own bodies in the privacy of their own homes really smells like bringing the government into their business.

Kamala Harris holds up a map showing the inconsistency of abortion access in the US after the overturn of Roe v Wade

Mifepristone is an abortion pill that works when a woman has been pregnant for eight weeks or less. Different to Plan B, it ends an early pregnancy by cutting off progesterone and opening the cervix (Plan B, sometimes known as the morning-after pill, is not an abortion pill and instead works to prevent implantation before a pregnancy occurs.) Around 80 per cent of abortions in the US are performed at this early stage, many of which can be conducted at home by taking mifepristone. Despite Republican horror stories and Trumpian lies about abortions being conducted at birth, just 4 per cent of abortions are carried out after 16 weeks, and most of those are because of an immediate health danger to the mother or the sad finding that a fetus has a condition incompatible with life.

Importantly, mifepristone is also prescribed by doctors to women who are experiencing a miscarriage. It helps to clear the uterus of any debris from a failed pregnancy that could lead to serious infection and potentially fatal sepsis.

Put simply, when access to mifepristone is politicized and then made difficult, people die. That Walgreens treated the issue so flippantly in the first place is a red flag  and is probably enough for a lot of its customers to never shop there again.
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Australian authorities rescued 11 Indonesian fishermen after they survived six days without food or water on a tiny desert island in the Indian Ocean.

The survivors were rescued on Monday from Bedwell Island, located 195 miles (313km) west off the coast of the town of Broome in Western Australia, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) said.

Nine other fishermen are feared dead.

The fishermen were left stranded after their two vessels were destroyed last week by Tropical cyclone Ilsa, one of the strongest storms to hit the region in years.

A border security aircraft spotted them during a surveillance mission following the cyclone that smashed into Australia as a Category 5 storm.

Australian authorities diverted a rescue aircraft to investigate and tasked a rescue helicopter to airlift the fishers to Broome.

The survivors said that there had been two fishing vessels with 10 crew each, but one vessel had sunk in the cyclone's extreme conditions.

Nine of the 10 crew members of the second vessel, Putri Jaya, were unaccounted for.

The sole survivor from the second ship reportedly spent 30 hours in the water, clinging onto a jerry can, before being picked up by the fishermen from the other vessel.

Pictures released by the Australian authorities showed the group of fishermen waving to the rescue helicopter above, while their damaged vessel lay by the shore.

Indonesian fishermen who were shipwrecked on Bedwell Island off Australias west coast for six days without food or supplies (Australian Maritime Safety Autho)

Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation, said it was "remarkable" that the fishermen survived for so long. "That must have been really difficult for them  it's a really remote area," Mr Watt told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

He added that the rescue helicopter crew struggled to land on the sand due to the fading visibility.

They had to conduct winch recoveries which, in itself, is a challenging task. The time of day meant that nightfall was upon the crew during the rescue, so they had to transition to using night vision goggles to [detect any] image in the dark," he said.

"It was apparent [that], using the onboard sensors on the aircraft, the team was able to identify that the survivors were signalling they needed water and refreshments."

The survivors were taken to the Broome hospital, where they were said to be in good health despite their ordeal.

The missing Indonesian fishermen are expected to be the only fatalities from Ilsa, which was a maximum Category 5 cyclone when it crossed the Pilbara region coast of Western Australia state southwest of Broome.

A gust of 180mph (289kmph) recorded on an island off the Pilbara coast was the fastest ever recorded by Australias weather bureau equipment in the country. While the reading remains preliminary, the bureau said on Tuesday it beats the previous record of 166mph (267kmph) set by cyclone Vance on the Pilbara coast in 1999.
document

The Nigeria Civil Situation Room (Situation Room) observed the 2023 Supplementary Elections held on Saturday, 15th April 2023, in 23 States of the Federation: 2 Governorship, 5 Senatorial, 31 Federal Constituencies and 57 State Assembly elections. Field observers were deployed to Kebbi, Adamawa, Kano, Kaduna, Jigawa, Oyo, Imo, Sokoto , Akwa Ibom, Anambra and Edo States.

Situation Room notes that the elections still fell short of the 'Credibility Threshold for the 2023 General Election", a Situation Room document used as a basis for evaluating the elections.

OPENING OF POLLS

Situation Room observed early commencement of polls in many locations particularly in Kano and Kebbi States. However, there was late commencement of accreditation and voting in some polling units due to the late arrival of election officials. In Egor Local Government Area (LGA), Edo State, polls opened by 9:30am, 10:30am in Sokoto South LGA, Sokoto State, about 9:40am in several polling units in Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State, and 11:48am in Michika LGA, Adamawa State.

ILLEGAL DECLARATION OF WINNER IN ADAMAWA STATE

Situation Room received with shock, the illegal declaration of a winner made by the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Adamawa State, Barr. Yunusa Hudu Ari, while collation of results was yet to be concluded. Section 25(2)(f) and Section 66 of the Electoral Act 2022 empowers only the returning officer for a Governorship election to announce the result and declare the winner following conclusion of the collation process at State Collation Centre. Situation Room welcomes the action taken by the headquarters of INEC to declare as unlawful the action of the REC in Adamawa State and suspend him from further duties. It is pertinent that the Commission follows up with a proper investigation into what transpired and apply sanctions as necessary. This will serve as a deterrent to erring electoral officials.

Situation Room notes the mob action taken against the supervising National Commissioner in the course of the elections who was physically assaulted and treated with indignity. This action is condemned, and Situation Room calls for the arrest and prosecution of persons involved in this act. Situation Room notes that the action of the suspended REC of Adamawa State represents the collapse of the current system of appointment of RECs and National Commissioners of INEC who are now being appointed by partisan political interests. It also represents the failure of the National Assembly to scrutinise the nominees as required by law and going ahead in confirming partisan persons into INEC at all levels. It is important to revisit the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee which in 2010 recommended steps to appoint independent persons into INEC.

VOTE BUYING

Situation Room largely observed vote buying in this election with some political parties displaying with reckless abandon, their pattern of vote buying as seen in polling unit 008, Burum Burum Ward, Tudun Wada LGA, Kano State, where bags of fertilizer, Atamfa (a brand of ankara fabric) and N5,000 were shared to voters who voted for a particular Party. Other places include: polling unit 06, Atani 1 Ward, Ogbaru LGA, Anambra and polling unit 024, Badon Uku Uku Ward, Wamakko LGA, Sokoto States.

VOTER INTIMIDATION AND SUPPRESSION

Reports of voter intimidation and suppression were also received particularly from Uzebu Ward, Oredo LGA, Edo State where local thugs took over Uzebu 1. Owegie Primary School 1 polling unit and the few voters who showed up to vote were asked to display their ballot papers after thumb printing. Also, the Presiding Officer in Kahuta (003) polling unit, Kauru East Ward, Kaura LGA in Kaduna State, is reported to have asked voters which Party they were voting for and consequently paired them with Party Agents.

DISRUPTION OF POLLS AND ELECTION VIOLENCE

Situation Room received reports of disruption of voting in some States with pockets of election violence. In Anambra State, political thugs stormed Atani 1 Ward in Ogbaru LGA and attempted to hijack ballot boxes but were arrested by the Nigerian Army. In Takakume Ward, Goronyo LGA and Badon Uku Uku Ward in Wamakko LGA, Sokoto State, fight broke out between different party agents and voters. Polling units 002, 003, 005 in Amuri 1, Amandugba Ward, Isu LGA, Imo State, witnessed political thugs carting away election materials. Violence also erupted in polling unit 05, Utai Ward, Wudil LGA, Kano State, which led to several voters sustaining varying degrees of injury. Party agents also disrupted the voting exercise in polling unit 010, Iyiowa/Odekpe/Ohita Ward, Ogbaru LGA, Anambra State, thereby halting the voting process for over an hour. Situation Room strongly condemns the attacks on election officials in both Ikono/Ini Federal Constituency, Akwa Ibom State, and in Adamawa State. Desperation of some politicians must not be allowed to disrupt the electoral process and endanger the lives of election officials and voters.

Generally, there was presence of security personnel in most of the polling units observed. However, their impact was not felt in the places where there were violent incidents. It is the duty of security personnel deployed for election duties to protect voters, election officials and materials, which they failed to do in these instances, a reflection of what was witnessed during the 2023 Presidential and Governorship Elections in February and March. This phenomenon is appearing to be the new normal.

CONCLUSION

Situation Room notes that the supplementary elections of Saturday, April 15th 2023 does not represent an improvement on the two earlier elections that INEC conducted. The same shortcomings of the national and state level elections conducted on 25th February and 18th March respectively, continues to dog our elections in Nigeria. The problems of vote buying, logistics, rogue election officials, compromised security officials, reckless political actors etc., again found their way into the Saturday, 15th April 2023 Supplementary Elections. There is an important need for Nigeria to go back to the drawing board and address the problem of reform of the elections. Part of that reform will need to include accountability on the part of election officials and stakeholders. This election cycle has seen extraordinary levels of abuse of the electoral and collation process by political actors. Their sponsorship of obvious manipulations are electoral crimes that must be prosecuted if this trend is to be reversed. A failure to prosecute the sponsors and beneficiaries of electoral crimes will allow an environment of impunity to continue and escalate, putting both our democratic function and credibility at severe risk.

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Asma'u Joda

Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room

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Co-Convener, Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room
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The European Union is still the largest importer of oil products from Russia among the countries that have imposed some of the strictest sanctions on Moscow since the invasion of Ukraine, new data has revealed.

It is because the EU indirectly imported oil from countries that have become the main buyers of energy from Moscow undermining its own sanctions.

Five laundromat countries that export Russian crude to the EU were identified by the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) in its new report.

The countries ramp up their imports and sell the refined products to Western counterparts that have imposed sanctions to whittle down the Kremlins revenues that fund the Ukraine invasion.

The five countries are China, India, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Singapore.

The report noted that even though the EU currently uses legal means to import Russian oil by changing import origin, it continues to fund Vladimir Putins war chest.

The EU, Group of Seven (G7) countries and Australia have joined the US in imposing some of the strictest sanctions  an embargo on most oil export to Europe and a G7 price cap on Russian crude  to crack down on Russian crude oil and oil products.

Change in laundromat imports and export (CREA)

Another round of sanctions  in which the EU embargoed refined products like diesel, gasoline and others  had taken effect in February this year. The price cap also applied to these products.

But imports of these products have increased by leaps and bounds from the laundromat countries  all of which became the largest importers of Russian crude since the invasion, the report said.

The EU, G7 countries and Australia have imported a total 42bn (37bn) worth of oil products from the laundromat countries for the entire year since the Russian invasion, it found.

And the EU  which has claimed its sanctions are effective in reducing Russias revenues from energy exports  is the largest importer. Its oil imports have amounted to 7.7bn (6.7bn) in the year since the invasion.

Lauri Myllyvirta, the co-author of the report and co-founder and lead analyst at CREA, said the imports blunt the effect of the sanctions on Russia.

Increasing the imports of oil products from the main importers of Russian crude oil undermines the oil sanctions against Russia. On the other hand, clamping down on this trade is an opportunity to exert badly needed additional leverage and cut off financing for Russias brutal invasion of Ukraine, he said.

He tells The Independent that the EU and G7 have failed to lower the price cap to a level that would truly deny Russia excess profits from oil exports.

Russian crude oil to main buyers in Asia and their exports to sanctioning nations (CREA)

Of course the situation also highlights the oil dependency and lack of action to reduce oil demand by the EU and G7, he said.

The imports of Russian crude oil by the five Asian and Middle East countries rose to more than 140 per cent in volume compared to the year before the war, with the total value of imports rising to 74.8bn (66bn).

The report found the oil-sanctioning countries were responsible for the vast majority of the increase in the laundromat countries oil exports during the invasion.

Their exports to the West had increased by 80 per cent in value and 26 per cent in volume.

The price-cap coalition countries had increased imports of refined oil from China by 93 per cent, from India by 2 per cent, Turkey by 43 per cent, UAE by 23 per cent and Singapore by 33 per cent.

India, however, became the largest exporter of oil to price-cap coalition countries since December 2022 after the G7 cap kicked in.

Its exports rose to 3.8m tonnes, while China exported 3m tonnes.
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Alain Robert scaled a skyscraper in Paris' business district on Wednesday, 19 April.

The climber, nicknamed the "French Spiderman", has named his feat "The People" in relation to the widespread opposition to pension reforms.

Protests have erupted in France over Emmanuel Macrons divisive new bill, which includes a provision to raise the legal age of retirement from 62 to 64.

The bill has been signed into law after the government forced it through parliament without a final vote, angering opponents of the law.

Frances Constitutional Council ruled in favour of the provisions and determined that the bill was in accordance with French law.

Robert is well known for his free solo climbing, and has previously scaled buildings such as the Burj Khalifa, the Eiffel Tower, and the Sydney Opera House.

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Spains prime minister warned lawmakers Wednesday that the acute drought afflicting the southern European country has become one of its leading long-term concerns.

The government of Spain and I are aware that the debate surrounding drought is going to be one of the central political and territorial debates of our country over the coming years, Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told the Madrid-based Parliament.

The territorial tensions between regions over water that Sanchez referred to are already being seen in protests over the rerouting of water and disputes between farmers and ecologists.

Three years of scant rainfall and high temperatures put Spain officially into long-term drought last month.

The national weather service said 2022 was the hottest year ever recorded, when average daily temperatures rose above 15 degrees Celsius (59 degrees Fahrenheit) for the first time since records started in 1961. The country has warmed 1.3 degrees Celsius (34 F) since the 1960s, a warming that is noticeable all year round but especially in summer when average temperatures have risen by 1.6 degrees.

The Mediterranean region as a whole is warming faster than the global average due to climate change caused by the release of greenhouse gases, experts and authorities say.

And there is no sign of the situation in Spain improving over the coming weeks.

That has led to water restrictions in the driest areas. Regional authorities in northeast Catalonia said this week that Barcelona and a wide surrounding area that's home to some 6 million people could enter a drought emergency by September unless forecasts prove wrong.

The reservoirs that provide northern Catalonia with water have shrunk to 27% of capacity. Only the reservoirs connected to the Guadalquivir river basin in southern Andalusia are worse off, at 26% of capacity.

Andalusia and other agricultural areas are bearing the brunt of the drought as farmers lose crops.

Spains forests are also suffering as firefighters battle blazes that are normally not seen until the hottest summer months.

Sanchez, a Socialist leader who faces a general election in December, said that a priority of his government is to invest heavily to help recover our rivers, improve our water purification and cleaning systems and the reuse of water, and digitalize our water management.

This is clearly our responsibility, our duty, because the challenge we face from climate change and water stress is evident, Sanchez said.

___

Follow APs climate and environment coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment
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Russian ghost ships are mapping offshore wind turbines, underwater data cables and other pieces of infrastructure in the North Sea  in preparation for a campaign of sabotage in the event of conflict with the West, according to a new investigation.

Moscow is alleged to have has deployed ships to carry out underwater surveillance and map key sites for possible disruption to European communications and energy supplies  infrastructure that is sometimes shared with Britain  according to a report by public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland.

Up to 50 suspected Russian spy ships are said to have been identified sailing through the waters around the four nations and Britain. The investigation suggests that the ships, officially fishing trawlers or research vessels, often switch off their automatic identification system (AIS) transponders, rendering them invisible to conventional tracking. Their whereabouts must be monitored through other techniques such as sonar, satellite imagery or patrol boats.

Danish counterintelligence chief Anders Henriksen told the investigation: In the event of a conflict with the West, they will be ready and know where to intervene if they wish to paralyse Danish society. While Nils Andreas Stensones, the head of Norwegian intelligence, told the broadcasters the apparent programme was considered highly important to Russia and was likely controlled directly from Moscow.

Journalists from DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland said they analysed intercepted Russian communications which indicate so-called ghost ships have been sailing in Nordic waters with their locations masked.

The report focuses on a Russian vessel called the Admiral Vladimirsky, which is, officially, an oceanographic expedition ship, or underwater research vessel. But the report alleges it is being used as a Russian spy ship.

The first of a series of reports containing the allegations, is set to air across the four Nordic countries on Wednesday. The broadcasters used an anonymous former UK Royal Navy expert to track the movements of the vessel in the vicinity of seven wind farms off the coast of the UK and the Netherlands on one mission.

Through intercepted communications, the broadcasters were able to determine that Admiral Vladimirsky sailed around the Baltic Sea and North Sea for a month with its transmitter turned off.

The ships route passed both current and future offshore wind farms, where it stayed for several days.

Footage shows that when reporters from DR approached the research vessel near the eastern Danish town of Grenaa, they saw an armed man in uniform with a Russian military rifle on board.

Admiral Vladimirsky' as seen in the documentary (DR)

Admiral Vladimirsky was reportedly sighted off the Scottish coast last year. It was spotted entering the Moray Firth on 10 November and seen about 30 nautical miles east of Lossiemouth, home to the RAFs Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet before heading slowly west, according to H I Sutton, another naval expert who was consulted for the Nordic investigation.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: The government takes the security and resilience of our national infrastructure very seriously ... We continue to review all our investments and activities against the full range of threats and risks.

The Independent understands that the ship was unlikely to be conducting mapping of data cables around the UK, as this information is available elsewhere.

Russian ambassador to Norway, Teymuraz Ramishvili, responded to the report, saying: The work of the research vessels is in demand and is carried out in full compliance with international law. That work is coordinated through diplomatic channels.

In February, a report by Dutch intelligence agencies accused Russia of covertly mapping critical infrastructure in the North Sea. The joint report by the Dutch intelligence services AIVD and MIVD warned that vital marine infrastructure could be vulnerable to sabotage and that Russia is undertaking activities that indicate espionage and acts to prepare for disruption and sabotage.

Russia is mapping how our wind parks in the North Sea function. They are very interested in how they could sabotage the energy infrastructure, the head of the MIVD, General Jan Swillens, said at a news conference at the time.

However, this Scandivanian investigation is the most comprehensive look at the matter released to the public.

In September last year, the Nord Stream pipeline, which carries gas through the Baltic from Russia to Europe, were severely damaged by explosions. Russia and Western nations have traded accusations over the apparent sabotage, though investigations are ongoing.

It comes as British officials warned that Russian hackers seek to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure in the UK.

The National Cyber Security Centre issued an official threat notice to operators of Britains electricity, water and other critical systems, telling them to boost their defences.
 Close Related: Putin visits Russian troops in Ukraines Kherson and Luhansk regions

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Three Russian military ghost aircraft have been intercepted in international airspace over the Baltic Sea, Germanys Luftwaffe said on Wednesday.

The planes were flying without transponder signals.Germany and Britain sent Eurofighter jets to identify the two Sukhoi Su-27 fighter aircraft and one Ilyushin Il-20 aircraft, the German air force said on Twitter.

Earlier, an ally of Russias president Vladimir Putin warned that the world is probably on the verge of a new world war as the risks of a nuclear battle escalate.

The world is sick and quite probably is on the verge of a new world war, former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev told a conference in Moscow.

He said such a new world war was not inevitable but that the risks of a nuclear confrontation were growing  and more serious than concerns about climate change.

It comes as Ukrainian forces based on the western side of the River Dnipro begin frequently carrying out raids on the eastern bank near the city of Kherson to try to dislodge Russian troops, a regional official said on Tuesday.
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An Italian region has imposed a cap on tourist numbers to prevent overcrowding.

Autonomous region Alto Adige (or South Tyrol) in northern Italy will limit the number of overnight visitors to figures seen in 2019.

There were 34 million overnight visitors to the area during 2022.

Alto Adige borders both Austria and Switzerland, is set among the Dolomites and has a population of both German and Italian speaking residents.

The region includes Bolzano (or Bozen), the provinces capital city.

Bolzano provincial council member and tourism official Arnold Schuler, who proposed the new legislation, told CNN: At certain times of the year and in certain areas, it became a lot.

We reached the limit of our resources, we had problems with traffic, and residents have difficulty finding places to live.

The law was enacted in September 2022 and there are now just under 230,000 guest beds which have been officially approved to fit within the newly capped number  the same number as pre-pandemic.

There is also a ban on any new accommodation opening unless another venue closes. That restriction includes Airbnb accommodation too.

Local businesses have been given until 30 June to record their 2019 accommodation figures, including sofa bed usage, to ensure official numbers are correct.

Mr Schuler added: The tourism sector is very important for us, for jobs and the economy, but we had reached the limit, so we took these measures to guarantee a better management of the flow of people, and to guarantee lodging for tourists.

Tourists come here to hike and to see beautiful places, not to find themselves in a traffic jam.

Measures have been put in place to to support small businesses, and there are to be an extra 7,000 guest bed slots, which the authorities can assign where needed to any accommodation hosting fewer than 40 guests.

An additional 1,000 guest beds have also been allocated for future authorisation should a business want to offer accommodation in a part of the region which has a lower overnight visitor count.

Restrictions have also been imposed on day trippers, with a reservation now required to visit key tourist spots including Alto Adiges glacial lake Lago di Braies.

You have to register to go to the lake, but that way youre guaranteed access and we wont have too many people there, Mr Schuler said, adding that officials will implement a reservation system in other areas of the region where needed too.
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Eight passengers required medical assistance after severe turbulence struck a plane making its way to Portugal.

The incident caused people to be knocked over in the cabin and items to be thrown about. The TAAG Angola Airlines plane was travelling from Luanda, the Angolan capital, to Lisbon at the end of March.

Brazilian influencer Diana Assis was filming on board at the moment the turbulence first hit, reports The New York Post.

Ms Assis, who was holding a glass of wine at the time, was filming the shaky ride and giggling, but the fun was interrupted when a jolt sent the drink flying out of her hand as people shouted.

She told her followers that one of those injured was an infant who had allegedly flown out of their parents arms and hit the ceiling.

She said the terrifying turbulence struck about two hours after take-off and just as lunch was being served.

It only lasted a few seconds but it was enough to leave some people injured and the crew provided first aid before landing, she added.

Other videos from the plane show the aftermath, with food and drinks splattered all over the cabin and a crack in one of the ceiling panels.

As well as eight passengers, two crew members were also injured, according to Simply Flying.

The incident occurred while the plane was flying over the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In a statement, TAAG said the turbulence was caused by adverse atmospheric conditions. The plane continued to its final destination in Portugal, where it was met by medical staff. There was also a doctor on board the flight who assisted those who had been hurt.

The Independent has contacted TAAG for comment.
The Independents Editor-in-Chief Geordie Greig has joined forces with Piers Morgan to appeal to Rishi Sunak to help Afghan war heroes who served alongside British forces.

Mr Morgan suggested the prime ministers response to our campaign, which has been backed by over 50,000 people including senior military figures and MPs, has not been good enough.

An Afghan war veteran, who served alongside British armed forces, is among those who have fled to the UK on small boats and is now being threatened with deportation to Rwanda.

I hope, prime minister, you do the right thing. This man is a hero, Mr Morgan said.

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The Independents campaign calling for the UK to give refuge to Afghan war heroes who served alongside British forces was discussed on Piers Morgan Uncensored on Wednesday evening (19 April).

Senior military figures and MPs are among the 50,000 people backing the petition after we revealed the plight of an Afghan pilot, who served alongside the British army and fled to the UK on small boats, is now being threatened with deportation to Rwanda.

Editor-in-Chief Geordie Greig told TalkTV the air force lieutenant, who flew 30 combat missions against the Taliban, is a hero.

Click here to sign The Independents petition.
Dorcas Akila, Programme Manager, The Challenge Initiative (TCI) during the Voice it Up session. Art work: Voice of my inner woman by Mangai Joel Dawang.

blog

Listening to woman's voices, needs and unique perspectives is paramount to improving access to quality, respectful maternal healthcare.

In 2021, Nigeria Health Watch conceptualised the Celebrating Womanhood Art Gala, as a "Health Meets Art" initiative aimed at raising greater awareness about maternal health issues, among a broader audience outside the health sector, providing a forum for critical maternal health issues to be discussed through various forms of creative arts.

Beyond storytelling, artistic expressions have a huge role to play in education, expression and especially in the communication of important messages that evoke emotions beyond words, hence the initiative to use arts in conveying maternal health messages to stakeholders.

On Friday, the 24th of March 2023, Nigeria Health Watch convened the second edition of the Celebrating Womanhood Art Gala themed "Elevating Women's Voices for Quality Maternal Healthcare". The Art Gala brought together multi-sectoral stakeholders from the health sector and beyond to advocate for the inclusion of women's perspectives and experiences with maternity care in the design and implementation of sustainable policies and programmes to improve maternal health.

The art gala began with a walk-through session, which served as a catalyst for discussions about maternal health. Nigeria Health Watch collaborated with the National Gallery of Art (NGA) and the Female Artist Association of Nigeria (FEAAN) to send out a call for art submissions and relied on their expertise for the selection process subsequently. In addition, the artworks were jointly curated with technical support from both organisations and featured diverse and unique representations of the theme of the gala through varying forms of art.

At the Gala, Curator/Board of Trustees Secretary of the Female Artist Association of Nigeria (FEAAN) Ngozi Akande (Ph.D) led the guests through a guided tour of the art pieces providing an opportunity for guests to engage and interact with the artwork on display.

The various art pieces displayed at the art gala included paintings and photographs that illustrated the challenges faced by women during pregnancy and childbirth.

From brushstrokes to change

A key theme that emerged from the event was the importance of social and political engagement for policy action. In her opening remarks, Vivianne Ihekweazu, the Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch emphasised this stating that a "broader social and political engagement and focused policy action is critical to improving maternal health outcomes".

This statement highlighted the need for collaborative efforts between maternal health initiatives, policymakers, and other stakeholders to address the root causes of poor maternal health outcomes. Stating further, she spoke on the need to be intentional about integrating women's voices in quality health improvements and "there needs to be a more systematic process to gather and capture women's voices and experiences".

There is so much at stake when women's voices are ignored and Iyadunni Olubode, Director of Programs Nigeria, MSD for Mothers implored all invited guests to "work together to institute systems that seek women's perspectives". This call to action explained the importance of centering women's voices in maternal health and most importantly, "if we are to have any meaningful understanding of the woman's clinical experience, and if that is supposed to shape how we offer a woman care, if we are supposed to encourage and sustain women going into facilities to receive care, we need to understand how they perceive the care that they receive and that's why it's very important that we listen to women".

Curated cconversations for Maternal Health

In addition to the art exhibition, the gala also included a session called "Curated Conversations" where four organisations implementing maternal health projects spoke about their efforts to elevate women's voices in maternal health.

The session, which was moderated by Kemisola Agbaoye, Director of Programmes, Nigeria Health Watch was comprised of Chibugo Okoli (Jhpiego) representing RICOM3 Project, Uche Igbokwe (SCIDaR) representing Smiles for Mothers Project, Emeka Okafor (Society for Family Health) representing IntegratE Project, and Jennifer Adebambo representing White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria.

Dr Okoli, who worked in a consortium with mDoc and Health Strategy and Delivery Foundation (HSDF) to implement the 'Reducing Indirect Causes of Maternal Mortality and Morbidity' (RICOM3) project, shared how in the implementation of the project, women's perspective was prioritised at the center of execution; "we selected a group of women randomly, about 600 of them and actually carried out a survey asking them what they knew about these risks factors. We also used photo voice to help capture stories from the women who participated in the initiative," she added.

Similarly, Uche Igbokwe shared how Smiles for Mothers project used human-centered design by working with communities to develop patient literacy materials to inform women about the risks they face at childbirth. The project, which is aimed at reducing maternal deaths, with a focus on postpartum haemorrhage worked with the women to design the materials tailored to their specific needs. "From that perspective, we found a few things; there were a lot of issues with the quality of the medications that were being provided. So, we leveraged a new WHO recommendation at the time, that provided options for more drugs to be used to prevent excessive bleeding after childbirth".

For the IntegratE Project, Emeka Okafor shared how listening to women's voices impacted the programme by expanding access and options available for family planning services. "We continue putting the voices of women front and centre...We have a forum that we call the community dialogue, where we sit with women, and find out what they think about the services that they are receiving".

The Self Care Network project prioritised women's selfcare by giving them the ability and the power of choice. "I saw one rather young lady, sitting down, and she was literally holding her baby and I was like, I'm tired, let me just sit near her and I asked her, how are you doing?" for Jennifer from White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria this instance was an opportunity to listen to a woman's voice.

The Self Care Network project prioritised women's selfcare by giving them the ability and the power of choice. "I saw one rather young lady, sitting down, and she was literally holding her baby and I was like, I'm tired, let me just sit near her and I asked her, how are you doing?" for Jennifer from White Ribbon Alliance Nigeria this instance was an opportunity to listen to a woman's voice.

The session was an important opportunity for partners to share their experiences and learn from each other. After the session, guests were allowed the opportunity to share how they had experienced the theme of the gala. Adebisi Adedoyin from the Smiles for Mothers project shared a unique story of a man speaking up for her. She said, "my daughter was barely a year old at the time and I was having issues with support. I needed to move closer to my husband, I requested one month to work from home and my male boss granted the request almost immediately".

Partnerships for improved Maternal Healthcare

One of the highlights of the art gala was the "Voice it Up" session that provided a creative and innovative way to raise awareness and promote the importance of maternal health. The session brought together development partners -- Options Consultancy Services Limited, Society for Family Health (SFH), The Challenge Initiative and United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- who are incorporating women's voices and perspectives, as well as community needs, into their policies and programme designs. Partner programmes were identified, and art pieces were commissioned through a collaborative effort.

One of the paintings titled Mothers Alive, Babies Alive, depicted a typical Community Maternal and Perinatal Death Surveillance Review (cMPDSR) meeting, through which the Options Consultancy Services programme E4A-MamaYe seeks to improve accountability for maternal deaths at the community level. Guests had the unusual opportunity to go on a visual journey to Katsina, Kaduna, Kano, Yobe, Jigawa, and Zamfara, when Dr. Moshood Ojo Salawu, Senior MPDSR Advisor, explained how the perspectives of women and communities were incorporated into community-based programmes aimed at reducing maternal deaths.

Similarly, Dorcas Akila, Programme Manager, The Challenge Initiative also highlighted how their general approach for implementing their projects involves putting women at the forefront of advocacy to high-level stakeholders. The TCI project, through partnership with the state government, Ministry of Health and Primary Health Care Department is building the capacity of women on social mobilisation and advocacy. Based on this skill women have been given a voice to canvass for services that will enable them to access health care services. The transformation from her suppression to confidence was portrayed in a painting titled "Voice of my inner woman".

" A Girl with a Plan" was the painting presented by Hannatu John, Programmer at Adolescents360 Amplify, Society for Family Health (SFH). She elaborated on how the girl-centered approach was utilised to support girls to identify and achieve their goals by talking to their healthcare provider and adopting modern contraception.

Chiazam Onyenso, Knowledge Management Analyst at United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shared how the "Bodily Autonomy: My Body is My Own" report kept women informed on the authority they have to make decisions in matters that relate to them and their bodies through a painting titled "Your Body, Your Choice". She also highlighted that men and boys must be part of the conversation if progress on women's health is to be made.

While it's crucial to prioritise women's input in maternal health initiatives, men also have a vital role to play in elevating women's voices. Charles Usie, Country Director PLAN International Nigeria in his reflection shared that for him "elevating women's voices was more than just fancy titles, it is a conviction that influences our everyday lifestyle." At Plan International, we speak about it; we act on it and we are passionate about it. Because of our mandate as an organisation. Women face unique challenges that must be given adequate attention. Elevating women's voices is not just a good thing to do, it is the right thing to do".

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Ulla Mueller the Country Representative of UNPFA also shared her personal thoughts on the theme of the event, particularly around the discussions and stories. "The stories shared would be a constant reminder of how many women die every single day while giving birth. It is left for us to "use the momentum of this evening to change the story about Nigeria's maternal health".

The Director of Health Planning Research and Statistics at the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr Ngozi Azodo re-emphasised the strength of women and the importance of the collective responsibility of every woman to create opportunities and stand up for each other "Let's remember and remind ourselves how powerful we are, and how powerful we can make other women around us and together we will change ourselves, change our environment, change our community, and change our world."

Linking maternal healthcare to cancer outcomes, the First Lady of Kebbi State and CEO of Medicaid Cancer Foundation, said that "the unique opportunity that the maternal health clinics across our nation offer for our women to improve women's cancer outcomes. The maternal health clinics particularly the family health clinics, are an opportunity for a lot of us to get cervical cancer screening, whereby this hasn't been well established in our health system and it's not something that most women even know about".

Everyone should be part of the conversation

The art gala also showcased incorporated performing art as a powerful tool to promote the importance of elevating women's voices by inspiring and motivating action towards gender equality.

Pariolodo, from the Abuja Literary Society (ALS) shared his spoken word performance titled "Into the Heart of a Broken Place," taking guests into the heart of the complexities of womanhood, while Mangai a visual artist simultaneously provided a visual interpretation of the spoken word performance.

We must all be committed to the cause of improving maternal health in Nigeria and in the words of Iyadunni Olubode: "When women speak, let us listen, share, reflect and collectively act to ensure that no more Nigerian women have to die while giving life" for if we do not listen to women's voices, we are missing half the story.

MSD for Mothers is MSD's global initiative to help create a world where no woman has to die while giving life. Applying MSD's business and scientific resources, MSD for Mothers works with grantees and collaborators to improve the health and well-being of women during pregnancy, childbirth and the months after. MSD for Mothers is an initiative of Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA. For more information, visit www.MSDforMothers.com."
Former Confederation of British Industry (CBI) boss Tony Danker has said his reputation has been totally destroyed after he was sacked over complaints regarding his behaviour.

In his first interview since being fired, Tony Danker told the BBC that stories about rape and sexual assault and cocaine and bullying were nothing to do with him and all before his time.

The businessman claimed that his termination letter detailed four reasons for dismissal, including organising a secret and private karaoke party.

CBI president Brian McBride told the BBC Mr Dankers description of reasons for his dismissal was selective.

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Bernie Ecclestone arrived at court on Wednesday, 19 April, for a hearing before a 400m tax fraud trial.

The former Formula One boss will stand trial in October for allegedly failing to declare millions of pounds in a trust in Singapore to the government.

Mr Ecclestone faces a single charge of fraud by false representation between 13 July 2013 and 5 October 2016.

The billionaire is on conditional bail and previously indicated at a hearing Westminster Magistrates Court last August that he would enter a not guilty plea.

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Emmanuel Macron was greeted by boos and heckles upon his arrival in Alsace on Wednesday (19 April).

The French president visited the commune of Selestat, where he was welcomed by Mayor Marcel Bauer and MP Charles Sitzenstuhl.

As Mr Macron arrived, the crowd chanted slogans such as Macron resignation and we are here, the famous song of the Yellow Vests.

During his visit to a factory in Muttersholtz, the president was greeted by hundreds of demonstrators banging on saucepans.

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Anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr has launched his longshot bid to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year.

I come here today to announce the candidacy for Democratic nomination for president of the United States, he told a crowd in Boston, Massachusetts.

Mr Kennedy, a nephew of President John F Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F Kennedy, was once known most as an environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.

But over the past nearly two decades, hes become one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement.

His work has been described by members of his own family and public health experts as misleading and dangerous.

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The truth matters. Lies have consequences. The lawyer for Dominion Voting Systems put it better than any of Rupert Murdochs mercenary army of journalists ever would; or, indeed ever be permitted to attempt to do so (the sensational story doesnt figure much on his channels or in his titles). And it is about time that someone, somewhere, decided enough already with the fake news.

Without wishing to come over as sanctimonious  we journalists are all of us flawed  the humiliation of Fox News at the hands of Dominion, a hitherto obscure election machinery company, is a victory for truth.

Its not as simple as that  because no defamation case of this magnitude can be  but the world is now just a little better off, a little safer, a little more protected from the abuse of media power than it was before Murdochs Fox News decided to cave in to Dominion.

It is $787.5m (733m) worse off, and Fox News has had to acknowledge its failures, and the most basic deceptions a news organisation can perpetrate on its audience. OK, the audience were gagging to be fed such distortions, to be confined in their belief that Donald Trump was right, and that the 2020 election was being stolen. Yet we know that, as the anti-Fox billboards had it, Fox Knew that Trump was spouting lies, and they related them all the same.

This wasnt a case of a reliable source getting something wrong, or an error in a detail of some investigative documentary. It was a self-conscious and deliberate deception, as evidenced by documents disclosed as part of the case. And they were caught out, for a change, and punished. Just rejoice at that news, as someone once said.

Indeed, there may be some more jubilation to follow. Dominion isnt the only voting systems company to claim to have had its reputation traduced by the casual peddling of knowingly false claims on Fox News. Dear me, no. The media company also faces a $2.7bn defamation lawsuit filed by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, that alleges Fox broadcast lies that decimated its business.

Smartmatic alleges that Fox News knowingly  note that, knowingly  made over 100 false statements and implications about the company, repeating and amplifying false information from Trump and his allies that Smartmatic played a role in his election loss. Indeed, one may add, one brave American judge has stated that disclosed emails show that President Trump knew that the specific numbers of voter fraud were wrong but continued to tout those numbers, both in court and to the public.

Its worth pausing a moment to reflect on how it is that Fox was forced to confront what it had done in 2020. It wasnt because Democrats had won the argument against them. It wasnt because not a single one of Trumps claims, as repeated and reported as true by Fox, were supported by evidence, or that not a single court allows them to proceed very far.

It wasnt because they made no logical sense  because why didnt this grand shadowy conspiracy steal the election Trump won in 2016? And, for that matter, why is Trump bothering to run now if the Dems and Antifa and the Rinos can just blatantly steal the 2024 election?

No, the lies are having consequences because they cost two corporations a great deal of money, and they are pursuing their right to restitution. The far greater, indeed incalculable, cost to the health of American democracy goes entirely without penalty, as if some unscrupulous water company was dumping raw sewage into the river with impunity.

Had Dominion and Smartmatic just decided to let it slide, or quietly settled entirely in private, none of the Trump-Fox lies would have been exposed.

So its just as well that, for all the attacks on activist lefty lawyers, in most places in the West we still have a free and independent judicial system (albeit one under sustained assault). We see it too in Britain, when the Leveson Inquiry exposed the extent of illegal phone hacking and the industrial-scale theft of private data with no public interest justification whatsoever. The current legal case being conducted by Baroness (Doreen) Lawrence, Prince Harry, Sir Simon Hughes and others is another example of the media being made to answer claims.

Yet the Dominion victory over Fox is hardly going to transform our devalued political culture. Fox News seems unlikely to alter its modus operandi. It will just steer a bit clearer of Trumps ridiculous claims of election theft (as will Trump, probably).

Not that much will change. Journalists, and before them chroniclers, playwrights and hack historians have published knowingly distorted versions of the facts for as long as humans have communicated with one another. Politicians, too (obviously). We need not be too starry-eyed about that: there has never been a golden age of clean journalism, and never will be.

Yet the modern 24/7 news culture, social media and, frankly, a new wave of neo-fascistic populists do pose a severe and unprecedented threat to these grand but precious ideals of truth, trust and democracy.

Trump and Fox still havent gone away. Far from it, for it still seems all too true that they know full well that lies dont always have consequences.
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Its rarely easy to discuss politics calmly as a British lawyer. Its even harder as a child of Iranian immigrants.

The news from Iran over the last few months has been alarming. Over 15,000 protesters  calling for more basic freedoms for women  have been arrested, and security forces are estimated to have killed at least 537 people. State-directed torture and sexual abuse has become routine. Meanwhile, schoolgirls across the country face horrifying chemical attacks without much support from the government.

So far this has elicited an ineffectual response from Western governments. Condemnation and sloganeering has been futile. Iranians and human rights activists abroad are right to feel frustrated by this state of affairs, but theres a lot we can do still do.

International law grants rights to all people regardless of where they live, not just to citizens of certain countries, said the former head of the UN, Kofi Annan. As lawyers concerned about global human rights, its time we put that into practice.

Today, a group of lawyers, academics, journalists and activists, some of Iranian heritage, will join together to launch a new initiative to get justice for human rights abuses in Iran. We aim to build a global group of experts to help document and analyse the human rights abuses in Iran, with a view to securing justice for the victims in international courts.

We want to put the Iranian government on notice. It can choose to dismiss Western government actions as posturing and interference, but it cannot take the same attitude when its own people have submitted evidence of brutal human rights violations to independent bodies.

The recent and unprecedented arrest warrant issued for Vladimir Putin by the International Criminal Court judges was an example of how international law can be pushed beyond what was previously thought possible. In our modern world, where citizens can more easily record and share evidence of state abuse, it set an important marker. Expect to see a lot more such arrest warrants.

The beauty of international law is that much of it is newly established. That makes it fertile territory for creating new precedents. We believe that monitoring and documenting human rights violations in Iran and preparing that evidence so it can stand up in court, is a powerful way to hold the regime to account. Those guilty should have evidence presented against them at international courts.

In November 2022 the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to establish an independent international fact-finding mission to thoroughly and independently investigate alleged human rights violations in Iran. It has also invited groups and organisations to submit evidence towards that mandate. We believe this is an excellent starting point.

We also believe that by using the full force of the law alongside a globally connected community of academics, politicians and the media, we can be a force to hold those abusing their power to account.

The people of Iran must know that someone out there is documenting their plight and bringing it, in all its harrowing detail, to the international stage. Perhaps one day they will finally get the justice they deserve.

Alicia Alinia is global chief operating officer at Pogust Goodhead
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Earlier in my career, I covered the moment members of the Congressional Black Caucus endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in 2016. After that, I ran into Texas Representative Al Green, who told me an adage about politics that explained why so many members of the CBC endorsed her instead of Senator Bernie Sanders: Make your friends before you need them.

Mr Sanders had served in Congress, both as a member of the House and Senate, for 25 years by the time he had announced his candidacy for president in 2016. But as an Independent who kept at arms length from the Democratic Party as a whole, he didnt have the strong bonds with Black members of Congress that Ms Clinton, a former first lady and United States senator, had as a card-carrying member of the Democratic Party. That problem would carry over to Mr Sanderss troubles with Black voters, the most reliable primary voting bloc in the party, during the Democratic presidential primaries.

That memory and Mr Greens aphorism echoed in my mind this week when Florida Governor Ron DeSantis visited Washington, only to be met with a torrent of Republicans from his states congressional delegation lining up one after another behind former president Donald Trump.

Mr DeSantis should have been greeted as a conquering hero. After serving in the House from 2013 to 2018 and as a founding member of the barn-burning House Freedom Caucus, he took his talents back to South Beach and ran for governor and served as a staunch conservative, mostly keeping the state open during the Covid-19, restricting abortion and targeting LGBT+ communities. That propelled him to win an overwhelming re-election this last November when other Republicans faltered.

Just on Wednesday, the Florida Board of Education approved the expansion of his Dont Say Gay law to prevent students of all grades from learning about gender identity or sexual orientation. Hes also continued his campaign against Disney, which opposed the law, even hinting at constructing a prison next to the Magic Kingdom.

That combination, along with the fact that Mr Trump has been criminally charged and faces multiple investigations, should prime Mr DeSantis for a coronation. Unfortunately, it didt go as planned for the Florida governor. Instead, a torrent of Florida Republican members of Congress  including Representatives Vern Buchanan, John Rutherford, Greg Steube and Brian Mast  all got behind Mr Trump. This adds to Representatives Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz and Anna Paulina Luna supporting Mr Trump instead of the governor.

And a big reason for this might be Mr DeSantiss well-documented aloofness. Politicos Playbook reported that Mr DeSantis never returned Mr Steubes repeated attempts to contact him and that when he was initially invited to stand beside the governor after Hurricane Ian, he was told he would not be part of the event. Conversely, Mr Trump called Mr Steube when the congressman fell during a tree-trimming accident. In turn, Mr Steube said acidly Floridians want him focused on Florida.

Moreover, Mr DeSantis contiued attempts to own the libs might hurt him in the one area he actually thrives  his ability to raise prolific amouts of money. Republican megadonor Thomas Peterffy told the Financial Times this week that I have put myself on hold when it comes to giving Mr DeSantis money because of his stance on abortion and book banning . . . myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our powder dry.

Of course, all is not lost for Mr DeSantis, as he hasnt even announced his candidacy yet. But hes continued to run out of options largely because he did not make his time in the House count and translate it into close alliances. Now, he might not have someone to help him when he drowns.
The incident meant an email about the proposed secondment of the chief medical officer was not passed on to the minister, a committee was told.

Minister of Health Stephen Donnelly and another department official were advised not to use their devices during a St Patricks Day trip to the US in March 2022, in an incident described by department secretary general Robert Watt as a hack.

Minister Donnelly and his officials were advised not to use their devices  particularly for email  due to concerns about a cyber security risk, a spokesman for the minister said.

The officials devices were powered off and surrendered to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) upon their arrival back in Ireland.

However, the NCSC said no signs of compromise were found on the devices.

A spokesman for the Department of Communications said the NCSC technically examines peoples devices as a precautionary measure on occasion.

Minister Donnellys device was examined at the time in question and no signs of compromise were found, the spokesman said.

The minister had travelled to Texas as part of a St Patricks Day visit, where he met then Texas secretary of state John B Scott and mayor of Austin Steve Adler.

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At the Finance Committee on Wednesday, Mr Watt said a message relating to a controversial secondment of the chief medical officer was drafted for the minister but he did not receive it because his computer was hacked.

Mr Watt claimed the machine was corrupted for four to five days.

According to Mr Watt, the incident meant that an important email about the proposed secondment of then chief medical officer Dr Tony Holohan was not passed on to the minister.

It would have contained details around proposals for the annual allocation of two million euro to accompany the secondment of Dr Holohan to Trinity College Dublin.

There was a technical issue that got in the way. I havent spoken about this before because that sounds like making excuses but thats actually what happened.

A controversy arose around the secondment and it ultimately did not take place.

An external review into the proposed secondment was published this week and highlighted a lack of formal consultation with the Taoiseach, Minister for Health and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform throughout the process.

There were conflicting reports of when key government officials were informed of significant details about the proposal.

It also said the associated annual commitment of two million euro in research funding to be allocated through the Health Research Board (HRB) was not based on any scope nor costings and that the HRB was not consulted.

The report said the proposed funding bypassed all accepted protocols for research funding and did not, in the authors opinion, meet accepted norms of scrutiny, transparency and accountability.

It said the proposed secondment and associated research funding should not have been linked together and that it should have been fully discussed at an earlier stage by Mr Watt with the Minister for Health.

Reflecting on the incident at committee, Mr Watt said: Whatever, we didnt communicate with him. We should have.
Stephen Donnelly said the secondment, which did not go ahead, would have been positive.

The Irish Minister for Health has said he does not intend to take any action over comments made by his Secretary General over a controversial proposed secondment which have been described as grossly inaccurate by another senior Government official.

Minister Stephen Donnelly said those involved in the proposed secondment of former Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Dr Tony Holohan were acting in good faith.

On Monday, an external review into the proposed secondment to a post in Trinity College Dublin was published.

It said that there was a lack of formal consultation with the Taoiseach, Minister for Health and Department of Public Expenditure and Reform throughout the process.

It also said an associated annual commitment of two million euro in research funding to be allocated through the Health Research Board (HRB) was not based on any scope nor costings and that the HRB was not consulted.

The report said the proposed funding bypassed all accepted protocols for research funding and did not, in the authors opinion, meet accepted norms of scrutiny, transparency and accountability.

It said the proposed secondment and associated research funding should not have been linked together.

It said the CMO should not have been exclusively personally involved in the negotiation of funding.

Following controversy over the proposed secondment, it did not take place.

Dr Tony Holohan (PA/Brian Lawless)

The review also details differences in the accounts of Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt and then Department of the Taoiseach chief of staff Deirdre Gillane.

Mr Watt told the review that he had informed Ms Gillane and that she was aware of all the critical details of the secondment, including the proposal to increase research funding.

He requested that comments relating to Government officials not being told be removed from the report.

Based on the facts it is not accurate to suggest that Government or key players were not told, he said.

In her submission to the review, Ms Gillane criticised some assertions made by Mr Watt as grossly inaccurate and unwarranted.

At a select health committee meeting on Wednesday, Social Democrat TD Roisin Shortall said Mr Watts account was at complete variance with the then-taoiseachs officials.

Addressing the minister, she said: Surely you cant allow that situation just to sit.

A situation where the Taoiseachs senior adviser is saying quite clearly that the account provided by your Secretary General is not accurate.

So whose account of events, minister, do you believe?

Mr Donnelly said the report is very clear that Ms Gillane did not have the details until much later in the day.

The report is very clear that Ms Gillanes account of the timings is correct.

Ms Shortall asked the minister if he intended to take any action on that.

I dont, deputy, he replied.

Ms Shortall said: We cant learn lessons unless theres accountability for what has happened already.

Mr Donnelly said Mr Watt would appear before the committee on finance, public expenditure and reform later on Wednesday.

In terms of accountability, I believe hell be before the committee for several hours today, I think that he is a senior civil servant accounting to Oireachtas through that mechanism, he said.

He said there may have been a misunderstanding in some of the testimony given.

Asked by Sinn Fein health spokesperson David Cullinane about his submissions to the review, Mr Donnelly said his main point was that, notwithstanding the letter of intent, there would still have been procedures before the allocation of funding.

Asked if he was kept in the dark until very late in the process, Mr Donnelly said the report is quite clear on timelines.

Mr Cullinane said established processes had not been followed.

This was informal, and and that informality has led, I think, to a lot of problems, he said.

Mr Donnelly said he would not disagree with that.

We always have to strive to improve at every at everything we do.

I would just like to say that having spent a lot of time on us, I do believe that everybody involved was acting in good faith.

I do believe that the proposed secondment, in fact probably most of us here believe that actually it would have been very valuable.

Mr Donnelly said several things were done to ensure transparency and that lessons were learned from the process.

The question is in the context of a proposed secondment that didnt happen, so nothing actually happened in terms of any spending of money, he said.
One kilogramme of desflurane has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide, according to experts.

The Irish College of Anaesthesiologists (CAI) has advised its members not to use an astonishingly environmentally damaging gas in therapy.

One kilogramme of desflurane has a global warming potential 2,500 times greater than carbon dioxide.

As the first regulatory body in the Irish healthcare sector, the CAI strongly advised its members that the use of desflurane is no longer justifiable due to its super-potent greenhouse gas effects.

While almost all common anaesthetic gases are potent greenhouse gases, desflurane is of particular concern.

It is not widely used in Ireland but is considered to be the worst driver of global warming among all anaesthetic gases.

The move follows similar measures by major anaesthesiology organisations in the UK.

The CAI said the healthcare industry emits more greenhouse gases than aviation.

Dr Donall O Croinin, of the CAI sustainability committee, said it was hoped the action would inspire the HSE and other stakeholders to green our heavily polluting industry.

We believe that people working in all areas of healthcare have a huge desire to make what they do more environmentally sustainable, they just need the appropriate tools to make it happen.
107 stranded Nigerians on Tuesday afternoon arrived in Lagos Nigeria from Tripoli, Libya.

The Returnees arrived in the country through Al Buraq Air Boeing 737-800 with registration number 5A-DMG which landed at about 3:55 PM at the Cargo Wing of the Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja.

According to the National Emergency Management Agency NEMA, the profile of the repatriated Nigerians are 48 adult females including three who have medical-related issues. Five female children and one infant female were among the Returnees.

Also, the profile further indicates that 49 adult males, three male children and one male infant completed the 107 number of today's Returnees.

Receiving the returnees, the Director General of the Agency, Alhaji Mustapha Habib Ahmed who was represented by the Chief Relief and Rehabilitation Officer, Mr Aziz Afunku, disclosed that this flight has brought the total number of assisted voluntary Returnees to 690 in five flights through Murtala Muhammad International Airport, Ikeja.

He further elaborated that in February 2023 a total of 105 stranded Nigerians were repatriated with an additional 281 assisted back to the country in March 2023.

In April this year, a total of 259 have so far been assisted back into the country.

Vanguard gathered that the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) with the support of international partners have been assisting distressed Nigerians stranded in Libya back to the country since 2017
If youre not willing or able to expand your herd numbers, then finding a niche market is key

Its been roughly 100 days since myself and my neighbour Sean embarked on a dairy farm partnership together. By this stage in an American presidency, there would be a strong indication of what the future would hold for the next four years, and before the breeding season kicks off its probably a good time to weigh up what Ive learnt.
Ukrainian workers inspect the emptying process of one of the rail wagons full of grain inside a 48-container silo near Cierna nad Tisou, Slovakia on March 13, 2023. (Photo by Robert Nemeti/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Polish and Ukrainian officials say convoys of Ukrainian grain transiting Poland for export abroad will be sealed, guarded and monitored to ensure the produce stops flooding the Polish market and playing havoc with prices.
Billions of dollars worth of aircraft and engines have been written off entirely by lessors

Dublin-based aircraft leasing giant Carlyle Aviation Management has launched a fresh barrage of legal claims in the UK in relation to jets that were seized following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Carlyle and subsidiaries of the leasing group have taken new actions against firms including insurers AIG and Liberty.

In one of the claims filed in London, Carlyle, Ireland-based subsidiary Sasof III (D) Aviation Ireland DAC and Wells Fargo are listed as having taken a case against Axa XL Insurance and Liberty Corporate Capital. Liberty Corporate Capital is a specialty insurer that is part of US-owned Liberty Mutual.

In another filed just last Friday, Carlyle, subsidiary Amber Aircraft Leasing, and Wells Fargo, have sued Chaucer Corporate Capital (No 3) Ltd and AIGs UK unit.

The latest publicly-available accounts for Sasof III (D) show that it had three of four aircraft it controlled out on lease in 2020. They show that the firm had aircraft worth $27.7m on its books at the end of that year and made a pre-tax profit of $4.1m in the period. The accounts were signed off prior to the invasion of Ukraine.

Accounts for Amber Aircraft Leasing for 2021, which were signed off last December, show that in July 2021 the company agreed to extend the lease of the only aircraft on its books to April 2025 to its Russian client, with a monthly rent of $160,000 between July 2021 and April 2022, falling to $140,000 from April 2022 until the lease expiry.

Amber terminated the lease in March 2022 to comply with sanctions against Russia.

The company anticipates that repossession of the aircraft could be a long and difficult process, if at all, Ambers accounts note. The company continues to work to affirm applicable insurance coverage.

Western aircraft lessors  many of them based in Ireland  had to terminate leases with Russian carriers due to sanctions imposed on Russia following Vladimir Putins invasion of Ukraine in February last year. However, most of the jets have been effectively stolen by the Russian government.

Billions of dollars worth of aircraft and engines have now been written off entirely by lessors, with no expectation that the assets will ever be returned. Although theyre still flying in Russia, none of the aircraft or engines are now being properly maintained as sanctions prevent the export of spare parts to the country.

Earlier this year, two of Carlyles Irish units launched an action in London against Convex Insurance and Liberty Corporate Capital.

One of the Carlyle units making the claim  Sasof III (A3) Aviation  had one aircraft in Russia at the time of the invasion, valued at millions of dollars, which has already been written off.

The invasion of Ukraine is a significant geopolitical and economic event for the global economy, and in particular, the aviation industry, note the Amber accounts.

They add: There is uncertainty over how the future development of this conflict will affect the company.

A raft of aircraft lessors have initiated legal action in London against insurers and Russian carriers including Aeroflot related to the seizure of their jets by Moscow.
The High Court has granted two funds and receivers a temporary injunction preventing a businessman from publishing or distributing allegedly confidential financial information he claims to have.

The injunction was granted against Patrick Paddy Byrne to Emerald Sky II DAC and the related Lotus Decalia DAC and to receivers Myles Kirby and John Healy who were appointed over properties owned by Dublin registered housing firm Victoria Homes Limited.

Last year the plaintiffs appointed the receivers over three developments owned by Victoria Homes, which are currently the subject of proceedings before the court.

However, the plaintiffs returned to the High Court yesterday claiming that Mr Byrne, the alleged owner and director of Victoria Homes and a related company Victoria Homes Development Ltd, is threatening to publish confidential information he claims to have received about one of the funds.

Represented by Edward Murray Bl, the plaintiffs were granted a temporary injunction restraining Mr Byrne and the two Victoria Homes companies from using, publishing, distributing or disseminating any information he claims to have acquired referred to in an email sent on April 14 last.

Counsel said that Mr Byrnes email states he has the whole Lotus loan book amounting to 110m including the names, personal contact details of everyone on the Lotus loan book".

Counsel said that Mr Byrne says in the email that the Lotus loan book was sent to his company by somebody working for the financial firms.

Mr Byrne said in the email that the details of the loan book makes great reading but not for the Lotus clients involved.

In the email, which was read to the court by Mr Murray, Mr Byrne says that he has an excel sheet that includes details including loan to values and assets owned, and risk assessments by Lotus.

What a GDPR breach, the email states.

I really think we should talk before I go to the relevant authorities about this. Mr Byrne also says.

The email adds that unless Mr Byrne heard from the plaintiffs by a certain date, he said he would blow this out of the water. I have a national newspaper lined up for an interview.

It is your call, the war is on, and if this gets out in the media there will be no Lotus in my opinion, not in Ireland anyway. Check it out, it is your call, Mr Byrnes email concludes.

The matter came before Mr Justice Brian OMoore, who said that he was satisfied to grant an interim injunction with only the plaintiffs side being represented in the court hearing.
Ires chief executive Margaret Sweeney was elected to board with less than 80pc approval. Photo: Naoise Culhane

Disgruntled Ires Reit shareholder Vision Capital is threatening to call an extraordinary general meeting on selling the company if the board refuses to deal with its criticisms.

The Canadian fund, which last week published an open letter lacerating the companys leadership for its poor performance, told the Irish Independent that it was in touch with sympathetic shareholders representing at least 12pc of the outstanding stock.

We have invited the company to engage in dialogue with us, said Vision chief executive Jeffrey Olin. But we are ready to proceed to an EGM to consider a resolution to retain advisers to seek value-maximising options.

Calling an EGM requires the agreement of the owners of just 10pc of a companys share capital, according to Irish company law.

Mr Olin said significant Irish and international institutions, as well as numerous retail investors, had responded to his letter in what he called a concurrence of disgruntlement.

He said all were aligned in wanting to find solutions to surface value in Ires, which Vision argued is underperforming on the stock market relative to the value of the 4,000 apartments it owns.

The Irish Independent was given access to numerous emails from Ires shareholders, with names redacted, substantiating Visions claims.

Mr Olin also said that it was not difficult to infer that 18.7pc founding shareholder Capreit was not fully supportive of the Ires board and management, based on the results of voting at last years AGM.

Ires chief executive Margaret Sweeney and chief financial officer Brian Fagan were elected to the board, but with less than 80pc approval. Two special resolutions disapplying shareholder pre-emption rights were defeated.

Vision said it would be voting against the re-appointment of chair Declan Moylan and Mr Fagan at the next AGM on May 4, and is urging fellow shareholders to join in voting down other key resolutions.

Visions preference is for Ires to be sold to a private buyer and taken off the stock market, giving shareholders a crystallising event that would likely pay them a premium over the current share price.

In a letter on Monday, the board rejected Visions criticisms and said the stock had outperformed its peers. The company also said it was in the process of making asset disposals worth 100m.

Mr Olin was dismissive of the response, saying the board had ignored the issues he raised in the letter.

We need adult supervision in the room now, he said.
New wealth manager Unio is looking to buy up smaller rivals to build its franchise in a market dominated by big bank-owned firms Davy and Goodbody.

The company, which brings together Invesco, Acumen & Trust, and APT under one brand, already has 14bn in assets under management and is looking to grow that to 20bn in four years.

Ireland is a very fragmented market, and we expect consolidation to continue, said Unios head of private clients Miceal Gunning. Well be looking for acquisition targets as time goes on.

Irish Life owner Great-West combined its Irish brands under the Unio umbrella to challenge the dominance of Davy and Goodbody.

The move, announced yesterday, immediately gives the new firm scale that puts it on a level with the big two wealth managers.

The development will be especially concerning for AIB, which is in a joint venture with Great-West to provide life, pensions and investment to its customers via its subsidiary, Canada Life.

Now Great-West has set up a wealth manager owned by another Great-West company, Irish Life, that will compete directly with Goodbody, the banks stockbroking and wealth management arm.

About half of Unios 250 staff are now devoted to personal clients, mainly passive pension customers from its constituent businesses that the firm is planning to migrate to more lucrative advisory services. It is also seeking to capture the post-retirement wealth management market rather than letting the business walk out the door.

It is targeting entrepreneurs, small business owners, professional services personnel, and high-income employees of both multinational and indigenous companies with 1m in investable assets.

Given the evolution of wealth in Ireland over the past number of decades, and that Ireland only started to materially grow in the late 1990s, there is an historic, generational transfer of wealth under way, Mr Gunning said.

People are under-invested and under-advised because wealth is a new phenomenon in Ireland. The structures and behaviours are just beginning to surface.

The company will be led by Invesco Ireland managing director Des McGarry.


Politics

I will wait and see  potential blow for Fine Gael as Richard Bruton yet to make mind up about running at next election
Job search platform Indeed is to let 225 of its 1,400 Irish employees go as part of 2,200 job cuts worldwide.

Indeed last month confirmed it was going to be letting roughly one in seven people on its workforce go with the cuts coming from nearly every team, function, level and region at Indeed and Indeed Flex, chief executive Chris Hyams said.

Labour Leader and TD for Dublin Bay South, Ivana Bacik, today called on management at Indeed to do right by its staff as the deputy said it appeared the company was trying to shut down the consultation period halfway through the 30-day statutory period.

Deputy Bacik said Indeeds downsizing in Dublin means 640 livelihoods could potentially be affected.

My thoughts are with all those who I know will be worrying and wondering how they will provide for themselves and their families, should their jobs be among those which are cut. As with other Big Tech firms, I have heard of individuals who fear they may be forced to leave the State if made redundant, due to the consequent revocation of their work visa, Ms Bacik said.

The statutory 30-day consultation period has only reached its mid-way point but, already, it would appear that Indeeds management is already seeking to shut down the process. This is exacerbating the anxiety of staff.

A report in the Business Post this week stated that 85pc of employees are unhappy with how management at the company have handled the layoff process.

I note that the severance package which has been proposed is significantly less generous than those which have been offered by other Big Tech firms in recent months. A profitable company like Indeed should provide the most generous possible safety net for all those who risk losing their livelihoods, Ms Bacik said.

In recent months, we have learned of new redundancies from Indeed, Google, Meta, Amazon, Twitter, PayPal, Stripe, Salesforce, Intel and Microsoft. The confirmed job losses combined are likely to amount to approximately one thousand people, with details of additional cuts still due to be announced. Clearly, the sector is in chaos in Ireland, and it is causing immense uncertainty for the thousands of people who rely on the industry for a living.

The Government continues to run a sizable surplus, in no small part due to corporation tax receipts from Multinational Tech Companies. It is ironic, therefore, that those same corporations are causing such immense distress for their own employees.

In an email to staff last month, Indeed chief executive Hyams acknowledged that some staff may feel disappointed that I did not share sooner that we were considering layoffs.

Until we knew who would be impacted, I believe any announcement would have increased anxiety for everyone, he said.

Mr Hyams singled out the slowdown in tech recruitment among other big companies as a primary cause for the layoffs.

It is clear the job market will continue to cool after the recent post-Covid boom, he told staff.
The US needs robust partnership between top universities and private industry as it works to beef up domestic semiconductor-manufacturing capacity, Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said.

We really have to just get a lot more serious about it, and also develop new pipelines, Ms Raimondo said. The forecasts are that well be about 100,000 semiconductor technicians short in the next handful of years, if we dont do something differently. Thats a huge problem. Its also an opportunity.

Ms Raimondo spoke in Washington at an event organised by Purdue University and industry groups to highlight federal investments in the semiconductor industry. Ms Raimondos department is leading the way in investing about $52bn into the US semiconductor industry, which she frames as a key national-security resource.

In a bid to bolster US technological competitiveness, the US last year enacted the Chips and Science Act to facilitate the development of semiconductor manufacturing hubs across the US and preserve the countrys technological supremacy while countering challenges from China.

The Biden administration opened applications for the manufacturing part of the funding under the act at the end of February. Congress passed the law last year after pandemic lockdowns and supply-chain disruption laid bare US reliance on chips from Asia and particularly Taiwan, the target of frequent threats from Beijing.

The event was attended by about a hundred representatives from the industry, including Thomas Sonderman, president and chief executive officer of SkyWater Technology, and top executives from Micron Technology, Intel and Applied Materials. Much of the discussion was about the need to train workers to meet new demands.

Frankly, the thing that worries us most is workforce development, Mr Sonderman said. If we dont have people to get excited like we all did when we joined this industry, then it wont succeed.
Director Ciaran Creagh talks about his shocking new dramatisation of the final hours and death of the 15-year-old girl that shamed 1980s Ireland

On Saturday, February 4, 1984, at the end of The Late Late Show, Gay Byrne took his customary glance through the Sunday papers and stopped at a headline. Girl, 15, dies giving birth in a field, he read out, then added, nothing terribly exciting there before throwing the newspaper to the studio floor.
analysis

Former Eskom chief executive Andre De Ruyter will appear before Parliament next week - but while the committee will meet in person, De Ruyter will participate virtually.

Andre de Ruyter will appear before Parliament on 26 April over claims of corruption at state power utility Eskom. During a meeting of the Standing Committee on Public Accounts (Scopa) on Tuesday, its chairperson, Mkhuleko Hlengwa, confirmed the upcoming meeting.

The latest development follows a written request by ANC MP Bheki Hadebe to Hlengwa to have De Ruyter appear before the committee to provide evidence on allegations he made during a television interview with eNCA's Annika Larsen. In the interview, he spoke of politicians' links to cartels that were essentially bleeding Eskom dry.

Hlengwa told committee members that next week's Scopa meeting would be held at Parliament in a bid to avoid connectivity issues. However, De Ruyter would not be attending in person.

"He was requested to be physically in Cape Town, but I received a request from De Ruyter through his legal representatives to appear virtually. I have acceded to that request," said Hlengwa.

The meeting will take place between 9am and 4pm.

De Ruyter resigned as Eskom CEO in December 2022. The resignation would have come into effect in March this year, but he was released from his job at the end of February after making a...
The award-winning actor said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life.

Jim Broadbent: Its lovely to have an older-generation film not about death (Jeff Moore/PA)

Jim Broadbent says it is lovely to have a film about people of his age that does not revolve around death, after starring in The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry.

The award-winning actor, 73, said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life.

Broadbent stars as the eponymous Harold Fry in the new movie, which is based on a novel of the same name by Rachel Joyce.

The award-winning actor said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life (Jeff Moore/PA)

It tells the story of a man in his 60s, who embarks on a journey to visit his old friend Queenie in the hospice after learning she is dying  walking more than 400 miles in the process.

Broadbent attended a gala screening of the film in central London on Tuesday, alongside Joyce and his co-stars Dame Penelope Winton and Earl Cave.

Its lovely to have a film about people our age that isnt about them dying, I mean dementia or something, he told the PA news agency.

Its lovely to have a film about people our age that isn't about them dying. Jim Broadbent

I think this is just going to encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life. Theyre all full of energy and ambition and (have) complex, complicated stories all going on.

Broadbent added that the industry was at risk of becoming too limited to blockbuster franchises such as Marvel or DC, adding maybe they can bring more films (out) about my generation.

(Left to right) Dame Penelope Wilton, Rachel Joyce, and Jim Broadbent, attends the gala screening of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Jeff Moore/PA)

Joyce said that seeing her book, first published in 2012, made into a big screen film was incredibly moving.

I feel like for the past two years now Ive just been on the brink of tears, because it was just so private and theyve made it so beautiful, she told PA.

Im so grateful for the entire production company, the crew and the cast everybody really got on board.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry is due for UK release on April 28.
Britains Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon said holding the competition on behalf of last years winners Ukraine gave it a whole new meaning.

The presenters of this years Eurovision Song Contest have said it is so much more than a competition as Liverpool prepares to host the final.

Britains Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon, who is hosting along with actress Hannah Waddingham, Ukrainian singer Julia Sanina and presenter Graham Norton, said holding the competition on behalf of last years winners Ukraine gave it a whole new meaning.

She said: Its so much more than just a competition. Its very important. We feel that sense of responsibility, to do it with joy, love.

Sanina said the contest was a big deal for those watching back in her home country and they were very grateful to the UK for hosting on Ukraines behalf.

Meeting the horrific things that we know are going on, and I don't want us to shy away from that, but meeting it with love and joy and music and all our hands holding each other up and holding each other together Hannah Waddingham

She said: Even last year, when people were watching Eurovision from bomb shelters, lots of them, they were still watching it and they were still voting and wanted to win.

Waddingham, who stars in American comedy-drama Ted Lasso, said: We have to always balance the joy and the love with what Julia just said.

You know, people voting from the bomb shelters hits me more than anything and theres the reason I wanted to get involved.

Meeting the horrific things that we know are going on, and I dont want us to shy away from that, but meeting it with love and joy and music and all our hands holding each other up and holding each other together.

Sanina, speaking at the BBC media launch on Wednesday, said it was her first visit to Liverpool.

She said: The first thing that I saw were so many Ukrainian flags and Ukrainian slogans all over the city centre and that makes me feel so, first of all speechless, and then heartwarming.

Very friendly people and friendly city and Im sure that Liverpool can rule the party and can make this party a Ukrainian party as well.

The three female presenters met for the first time on Wednesday and joked they were ready to form a new girl group.

I don't know what it's going to be like having it in the UK, I still can't quite get my head around that it's going to be in the UK, that it's going to be in Liverpool Graham Norton

Waddingham said: We are proper Eurovision fans and us three finally getting together has really, I think, fuelled us today. The excitement is really palpable between us.

So youve got three giddy fan girls, right here.

Norton appeared for the media launch via video link and in a reference to an unstable internet signal, joked: This is peak Eurovision right here.

He added: I dont know what its going to be like having it in the UK, I still cant quite get my head around that its going to be in the UK, that its going to be in Liverpool. I dont know what its going to feel like.
Netflixs documentary boils down to a story of lads wrecking the gaff

I actually signed up to review Chimp Empire (Netflix) in the belief that it was a drama about big business. After all, couldnt Succession be called Chimp Empire? And so could Rise and Fall on Channel 4. And so could most programmes about party politics or terrorism or organised crime.

Anyway, it turns out that Chimp Empire is actually a four-part documentary about chimps. It is still very like Succession, and also any speech by Donald Trump, only without the planes and helicopters. Chimp Empire is concerned almost entirely with succession; this time adult males are competing for a chance to overthrow the alpha male of the large chimp group in the Ngogo rainforest in Uganda.

The Logan Roy in this case is Jackson. All the chimps have American names; they must be watching too much television.

The adult females in Jacksons large group  which consists of about 100 animals, the largest group of chimpanzees ever studied by scientists  look after their children and hang out. The adult females in the rival, western, group also do those things but because the western group is so much smaller, the adult females there also go on patrol with the males. You could call them working mothers.

As well as the internal politics around Jackson, there is an external conflict between his central group and the westerners, their sworn enemies. This is played out on the border between the two territories. Chimps are territorial. And the trees that bear their favourite fruit are all situated along the border.

Chimps are pretty big. Sometimes they move so slowly that you wonder if the production team is using slow motion. And at other times, for example when they are running up trees to kill a monkey, they move so fast that it is heart-stopping. The monkey meat is then shared among the group, and at this moment it is not who gets a share of the meat that is important, but rather who does not. Friendless adolescent males do not do very well out of the distribution, bless them.

The man who directed Chimp Empire, James Reed, previously co-directed My Octopus Teacher, which was a very big hit and won an Academy Award. But he may have overstepped the species mark on this one. The commentary, by another Oscar winner, Mahershala Ali, attributes a bit too much human drama to chimpanzees. For example: As powerful as he is, Jackson fears the West. And: Abrams challenge to Jackson has stalled. Its like watching CNN.

Then theres the sexism. Although the series opens with shots of Christine and her new baby, who wont be given a name until she is a year old, no female is identified until about 20 minutes into the first episode. This is the story of the lads, and how they might wreck the gaff. Chimp Empire is beautifully photographed, but it will probably be most popular with friendless adult males, watching alone. Lets just hope they dont have guns.
The pair were notably absent from Jamie Laings wedding to Sophie Habboo last Friday despite Spencers role as groomsman.

Vogue Williams and Spencer Matthews have hit back at claims they snubbed their best friends wedding to go on holidays.

Spencers best friend and former Made In Chelsea co-star Jamie Laing tied the knot with Sophie Habboo at a registry office in London on Friday ahead of their main ceremony in Seville, Spain next month.

But despite Spencer being one of the groomsmen, he and his wife were not present at the celebrations as they were sunning themselves in Portugal with their three kids  Theodore, Gigi, and Otto  at the time.

Speaking on the latest episode of the Spencer & Vogue podcast, the couple said their absence brought on some really mean messages from fans who called them out for skipping Jamie and Sophies big day.

Vogue said that while they were absolutely thrilled for the newlyweds, there was no way they could have ditched the wedding because they didnt know it was happening in the first place as they werent invited.

Spencer chimed in to clear the air, saying: Im being hammered because I snubbed my best friends wedding to go on holiday...

Im not here to b***h about my best friends but theres been some serious miscommunication from him.

I just want set the record straight, more than anything. Im not here to whinge. I was not invited to this part of Jamies wedding, and neither was Vogue.

Vogue jumped in to say she was kind of raging about the lack of invite because she cant make it to Jamie and Sophies Spanish nuptials because of her My Therapist Ghosted Me podcast tour with comedian Joanne McNally.

It would have been nice to go to this wedding but alas, we werent invited, she added before Spencer continued to explain himself.

Long story short, I didnt get the call up, he told listeners.

About ten days ago, I was with Jamie recording 6 Degrees (their podcast) and I said, Is there anything I can do for this registry, given that Im part of your wedding and one of your best men?'

And he said, No, this is a very small family thing and you dont have to do anything. Theres nobody coming to it, its tiny.

I get home from Portugal and there is Daily Mail article saying Ive snubbed his wedding and in the pictures, hes surrounded by groomsmen and his mates and quite frankly, Im like, What the f**k is happening here?'

Ive got an inbox full of furious people that Im not there, and Im actually quite pissed off myself to be honest that Ive not got the call up... I was pretty pissed off.

I called him the following day and he just said that that day wasnt supposed to be what it turned out to be. There was never supposed to be groomsmen and bridesmaids there, but they decided to make more of a thing of it and I was away, so it just didnt cross his mind to call me.

I was like, I wouldve flown over to Japan for that because youre my best friend and I wouldve loved to have been there, and I dont really think you made the right call deciding for me when you could have asked and I would have come. Anyway, its water under the bridge now.

Vogue chimed in: Were in no way fighting with Jamie or Sophie before anyone tries to make anything out of it. We hope they had a great day.

Im just raging because I could have gone to one of (their weddings) and now I cant go to any of them.

But I wouldnt want to stand anywhere near Sophie on her wedding day. F**king hell, she was like a 50 out of ten.

Spencer said that the two couples had put the issue to bed and joked: If you are thinking about sending me a message, Id appreciate you messaging Jamie and asking him why I wasnt invited. I think that would be the more adequate route to take at this stage.

He added: But for those that are wondering, I love Jamie and Sophie and were very close friends. Jamie has been profusely apologising that this was just a huge misunderstanding and a big mistake. And we just wanted to set the record straight.

Finishing off their spiel, Vogue teased: Spenny is now not invited to the big wedding.
As the US Senate prepares to conduct an open hearing on Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) this week, US General John Olson has called for international collaboration on the subject.

Mr Olson is Chief of Operations for the Space Force, an armed branch of the US military which deals with space. The department currently has 77 spacecraft in its arsenal.

The hearing has been scheduled to address growing concerns surrounding increasing UAP incidents.

If we can all share information, that is better. Much like in international aviation. This is an important opportunity, General Olson said.

The senior official referenced the international nature of UFO incidents.

It involves collaborative inputs with all kinds of countries because these are not just events that occur within the confines of the United States, theyve occurred globally, General Olson added.

Dr Sean Kirkpatrick will be speaking at the hearing. He is head of the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) at the Pentagon.

The defence chief authored a report last month which suggested UFOs may be small probes visiting planets in our solar system, released from a larger vehicle.

An artificial interstellar object could potentially be a parent craft that releases many small probes during its close passage to Earth, an operational construct not too dissimilar from NASA missions, Mr Kirkpatrick wrote.

The research was co-authored by Abraham Loeb, chairman of Harvard Universitys astronomy department.

This theory echoes the findings of Dr Eamonn Ansbro, an Irish astronomer based at Kingsland Observatory in Roscommon.

Thats exactly what I have been saying for thirty years, Eamonn said, from his home.

The Connacht scientist was shunned from mainstream science for the past three decades due to his research.

Dr Ansbro presented data on UAP at a SETI (Search for Extra Terrestrial Intelligence) conference in San Jose in 2001.

It was an absolute no, no in mainstream academia. When I presented the material, some people went white.

I said these things are in our back yard. The panel of eight astronomers got absolutely irate.

I had all the data to back up the theory. To my astonishment, they ostracized me, Dr Ansbro said.

Eamonn went on to co-found ICER (the International Coalition for Extraterrestrial Research) an organization comprised of scientists, academics and UAP researchers from 27 countries who are unanimous humans are not alone in the universe.

My research concluded earth is under automated surveillance, using hundreds of probes which operate along orbital tracks, synchronized with the rotation of the earths movement, he said.

Another Irish man, Chris Gaffney, received correspondence regarding UFOs from then Chairman of the European Union Military Committee, General Claudio Graziano.

UAP are critical events that could threaten the air traffic and aerial security in Europe, the General wrote, whilst also recommending further data sharing amongst EU institutions.
The firms, owned by the Russian Federation, have estimated worth of over 4bn

The High Court was told that several directors of GTLK's ultimate parent are government ministers in the Kremlin. Photo: Getty

The High Court has been asked to wind up two Irish registered companies that are part of a group involved in the leasing of aircraft and ships.
Courts

Man caught drunk driving his horse and cart to get cigarettes ordered to do a safer driving course
Convicted fraudster Catriona Carey was released from garda custody late last night after she was arrested in connection with an alleged 600k mortgage scam.

The former hockey star (45) had been detained at Irishtown Garda Station since Monday afternoon, where she was questioned by officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB).

Mobile phone evidence as well as the analysis of documents has played a key role in the fraud squads investigation into Ms Carey.

She was questioned about conspiracy to commit a serious offence, namely alleged deception under Section 50 of the Criminal Justice Act and could have been held in custody for up to seven days.

Statements made by Ms Carey to detectives in their interviews with her will form a key role in a file that will now be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

However, this file will not be sent to the DPP until a third person at the centre of the probe  a middle aged man based in Co Wexford - is arrested by fraud squad detectives.

This arrest is expected in the coming weeks.

Last month, a man was arrested and questioned for two days at Wexford Garda Station before being released without charge by detectives investigating the alleged mortgage scam. He was also questioned about conspiracy to commit deception.

Gardai are not looking for anyone else apart from this trio in their detailed investigation.

It is understood detectives are investigating allegations that Ms Carey was offering alleged fraudulent services to distressed mortgage holders from all across the country, in which she allegedly offered her services to refinance properties. Instead of doing this, it is alleged that the money she obtained was stolen.

It is alleged she received thousands of euro from people in financial distress after promising to help them secure new deals to keep their properties.

Ms Carey previously admitted that up to 200,000 deposited into an account by desperate homeowners was spent on personal items including holidays, a 55,000 BMW and designer clothing.

She said the money is now gone and not recoverable.

Ms Carey has been accused of scamming dozens of people after offering to buy debt from their mortgage lenders at a discount once she received deposits. However, the deals she promised never materialised.

Ms Carey also has a previous conviction for fraud. In February 2020 she was before the courts for altering a cheque she received from a client who hired her as his accountant.

In February, Carey was arrested as part of a separate investigation. The former camogie player was detained by officers from the Corporate Enforcement Authority (CEA) and brought to Carlow garda station for questioning.

She was released without charge after over 12 hours in custody.

The CEA is an independent statutory agency tasked with investigating suspected breaches of company law. The CEA investigation is separate from the ongoing garda probe which led to this weeks arrest of the alleged fake solicitor and the expected imminent arrests.

The CEA, based in Dublin's Parnell Square, was given tough new powers when it replaced the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement in July of last year.

Catriona Carey hit the headlines in February 2022 when RTE Investigates aired a programme detailing complaints of alleged fraud regarding her Careysfort Asset Estates firm.

Property owners are alleged to have paid tens of thousands in deposits to Ms Carey's UK-registered company, Careysfort Asset Estates, over two years.

Ms Carey also asked clients to transfer deposits to bank accounts in Germany and Belgium.

Earlier this month it emerged that Ms Carey made a complaint to the Garda Siochana Ombudsman Commission (Gsoc) about the criminal investigation into claims she ran a mortgage scam after an early morning search of her Kilkenny home.

Separately 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.
Composite image of Jonathan Dowdall with Daniel Kinahan and Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch Source images: SundayWorld.com and Gareth Chaney/Collins

As the fallout continues from the gangland trial of the century and the dramatic acquittal of Gerry Hutch, the focus of attention will inevitably turn to the fate of his arch accuser, Jonathan Dowdall.
Gerry Hutch is believed to be staying at the Dublin inner-city home of a relative since he was acquitted of murder on Monday

Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch outside court after being found not guilty of murder on Monday. Photo: Sasko Lazarov/RollingNews.ie

Cartel leader Daniel Kinahan is believed to have arranged for weapons to be transported to the Canary Islands for the botched hit on Gerry The Monk Hutch in Lanzarote.

The Irish Independent can reveal the suspected involvement of key cartel associates, including Daniel Kinahan, in the plot to murder Hutch more than a month before the 2016 Regency Hotel shooting.

It comes as The Monk has been sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where its understood he has been staying since he was acquitted of murder on Monday.

There was a policing plan in place at the location on Monday and again yesterday, with a significant garda presence.

The Regency attack in 2016, which claimed the life of Kinahan associate David Byrne, was carried out just over a month after The Monk survived an attempt on his life in Spain.

Two gunmen attempted to shoot him in a Lanzarote bar on New Years Eve. Several senior cartel associates have been identified as suspects in the plot, including Kinahan, whom gardai believe arranged for the weapons to be transported to the Canaries.

This is believed to have been done through a key member of the cartels network, based in Spain, who later supplied the handguns to the Dublin hit team sent to Lanzarote.

Gang member Sean McGovern, whom gardai want to charge with a feud murder, is also suspected of having organised meetings between the firearms supplier and the gunmen.

The murder bid failed after The Monk recognised the shooters and fled the bar.

Just over a month later, a five-man team entered the Regency Hotel in Dublin and shot David Byrne dead. McGovern was injured in the attack.

The Indo Daily EXTRA: Gerry The Monk Hutch NOT guilty of murder in the Regency Hotel gangland shooting

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a request to allow Hutch leave court on Monday through a side entrance was denied, and he had to walk out of the front door to a media scrum.

Later on Monday, The Monk was sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where its understood he has been staying since his release.

Gardai put in place a policing plan covering the wider area on Monday evening, which remained in place yesterday, with a significant garda presence. No incidents were reported.

The office of the DPP has so far refused to comment on the States unsuccessful prosecution of Hutch. Its case relied on audio surveillance and testimony from convicted criminal Jonathan Dowdall.

The non-jury court found the attack was carried out by the Hutch family and that Hutch had control of the weapons, but said it was not proved he was one of the gunmen.

Shortly before 4pm on Monday, Hutch (60) walked from the Special Criminal Court.

He declined to answer any questions as he left. His legal team then flagged down a taxi that took him away from the courts.

Following the acquittal, questions have been raised over the decision to charge him with murder.

Ms Justice Tara Burns raised serious concerns about the reliability of key witness Dowdall. He was originally charged with murder, but agreed to give evidence for the prosecution shortly before the trial started and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of facilitating the murder gang.

The non-jury court found that the surveillance audio relied on by the prosecution did not contain admissions that Hutch was one of the hotel gunmen dressed in fake garda uniform.

Ms Justice Burns said one would wonder what the prosecution case intended to be prior to Dowdall turning States evidence.
Khartoum  Journalist and political analyst El Jamil El Fadil said that the chances of victory in the ongoing clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are stronger for the SAF than the RSF, but warned of the disastrous consequences of an army victory.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga yesterday, El Fadil explained that a victory of the SAF would allow the Islamist movement to return to power, creating a situation even more difficult than it was before April 11, 2019, when the Islamist regime of dictator Omar Al Bashir was ousted after 30 years in power.

"The army and the Islamic Movement will resort to settling scores with the forces and parties that emerged after the revolution and overthrew the National Congress Party regime."

The high ranks of the army largely consist of a loyal clan of Islamist Al Bashir supporters, the Kizan. A common knowledge that RSF Commander Lt Gen Mohamed 'Hemedti' Dagalo has used to frame himself as a fighter for democracy against dictatorial Islamists.

Given the fact that his RSF were set up by the ousted Al Bashir regime and were deployed to commit genocide in Darfur, his recent tweets and framing attempts have been called hypocritical by many Sudanese.

On the ground, the RSF have already been accused of looting, rape, and embedding themselves in residential areas, using civilians as human shields.

The chances that the battle will be resolved in the RSF's favour are weak, El Fadil estimates. Even if it would emerge victorious, Hemedti would face problems. "If Hemedti wins, he will find himself forced to accept the waiver of power and exit from the military to enter the political stage. This option, however, cannot be trusted."

'The best option for the Sudanese in this war is that the two sides weaken each other'

He said that "the best option for the Sudanese in this war is that the two sides weaken each other, which will contribute to the success of the civil democratic transition". If both the RSF and SAF face heavy losses, the revolutionaries might have a better position to push for a democratic transition.

However, El Fadil also warned that "this scenario will surely lead to a prolongation of the war and the harm caused to civilians."

Anti-military sentiments

Amidst the escalation of the tensions between the SAF and RSF, most Sudanese parties and revolutionary groups condemn the behaviour of both forces and call for an immediate end to all violence.

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The secretary-general of the National Umma Party (NUP), El Wasig El Bereir, said that the plans of the affiliates of the former Al Bashir regime have succeeded in dragging the country into bloody military confrontations.

He said that the NUP is working with all its capabilities and relations to stop this war. "We are communicating with the two parties and the regional and international community to stop the fighting immediately."

The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party also condemned the use of military force to resolve differences between the army and the Rapid Support Forces.

Adel Khalafallah, the spokesperson for the party, told Radio Dabanga that he regretted the parties' failure to respond to local and international efforts to stop the fighting.

He called on the forces of the revolution to condemn the war and call for an immediate cessation of the war.

'For years now we have been demanding that the armed forces return to their barracks and RSF is dissolved'

Member of the Khartoum Resistance Committees El Fateh Hussein told Radio Dabanga that the resistance committees indeed call for an immediate end to the fighting.

"For years now we have been demanding that the armed forces return to their barracks and RSF is dissolved."
Irish astronomers 30-year-old UFO surveillance theory echoed by Pentagon

Dr Eamonn Ansbro wrote a paper which indicated Earth was under surveillance by extra terrestrials which he presented at a SETI conference in California in 2001

Dr Ansbro at Lough Key

Niall Feiritear Wed 19 Apr 2023 at 16:10
A man who has lost both legs is facing a five-year wait to see a specialist about his obesity which he needs to tackle in order to get prosthetic limbs, the Oireachtas health committee was told today.

Chairman of the committee Deputy Sean Crowe highlighted the case, one of several brought to his attention, when Health Minister Stephen Donnelly appeared to give an update on revised health estimates.

Deputy Crowe also said he had also been contacted about a patient in Donegal whose jaws need to be realigned. He was promised surgery in 2020 and he is still waiting.

Mr Donnelly said he has asked the HSE to focus on very long waiters.

Although several of these people no longer need to be seen there are instances of people waiting years, he acknowledged.

He said a lot of investment has been allocated to obesity services in Loughlinstown hospital and staff are being successfully recruited.

He believed that this will impact waiting lists and reduce the waiting times for obesity surgery.

Meanwhile, referring to scoliosis waiting lists he said a substantial amount of money was allocated to tackling the delays for children .

There were 380 surgeries in 2019 and 509 last year. The lists have not come down because of the numbers being referred.

An additional operating theatre in Temple St Hospital has been delayed but it is now back on track and extra beds are also being opened.

There is more money than can be spent, he insisted.

Asked about extra costs driving staff from Dublin, he said he would be in favour of an extra allowance for workers the health service is struggling to hire.

He instanced staff in disability services for children.

However, he said any such allowance would need to be negotiated.

He added that that in line with our Programme for Government commitment to universal healthcare, Budgets 2021, 2022 and now 2023 have provided an unprecedented level of investment. 

So far this decade we have seen record levels of recruitment with nearly 20,000 extra staff including 6,201 nurses and midwives; 3,047 health and social care professionals; and 1,805 doctors and dentists. The HSE has opened an additional 970 permanent hospital beds, excluding critical care, since January 1, 2020.

The level of funding provided will enable the advancement of a number of priorities in 2023 including addressing unacceptably long waiting lists, womens health issues, patient access and delivery of beds.
More than half of all Irish women and 40pc of all Irish adults have experienced sexual violence in their lifetime.

One in five adults has experienced some form of sexual violence as a child, while the majority of people who have experienced sexual violence at some point in their lives knew the perpetrator.

These figures are part of a landmark piece of research on sexual violence in Ireland, which is understood to be the most thorough data the State has to understand its true prevalence in Ireland.

The first sexual violence survey undertaken by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) is out today, and the research is due to be repeated every 10 years.

A CSO spokesperson said this will be a new baseline for the measurement of the prevalence of sexual violence in Ireland.

The complex survey found that younger people reported higher levels of sexual violence than older people, with 22pc of those aged between 18 and 24 experiencing sexual violence as both an adult and as a child, compared with 8pc of those aged 65 and older. It revealed 52pc of women experienced sexual violence in their lifetime, compared with 28pc of men.

There was a dramatic difference noted between the experiences of women and men.

According to the survey, 21pc of women reported what the CSO described as non-consensual sexual intercourse in their lifetime, compared with 5pc of men.

One in 10 women experienced non-consensual sexual intercourse as an adult, when they were unable to give consent.

And almost one in five men aged between 25 and 34 said that they have experienced non-consensual sexual touching as an adult.

The survey was carried out on over 4,500 adults, but they were also asked about their experiences of sexual violence as children. The research found that one in five adults experienced unwanted contact sexual violence as a child, while 19pc said they had experienced unwanted non-contact sexual violence as a child.

A total of 7pc of women said they had experienced unwanted sexual intercourse as a child, while 2pc of men reported unwanted sexual intercourse in childhood.

The vast majority  78pc of people who experienced sexual violence  said they knew the perpetrator.

Women who experienced sexual violence were more likely to tell someone than men were, with 53pc of women sharing the experience compared with 34pc of men.

The National Womens Council (NWC) strongly welcomed the new national survey and said it is dismayed but not surprised by the findings.

Director Orla OConnor said the impact of sexual violence on women is devastating, traumatic, and has long-term implications.

We must remember that behind each of these statistics is a woman, whose life may have changed forever because of trauma, or a woman whose life is marred by ongoing violence, she said.

And we need to know how prevalent sexual violence is  who commits it and how it impacts different groups of women  so we can effectively tackle it and create a safer society for all women and girls.

CEO of Dublin Rape Crisis Centre Noeline Blackwell said the survey sets a new standard for defining sexual violence on an international level.

Nonetheless and even if consistent with other surveys, it is shocking to see the level of sexual violence that persists in our society today, she said.

In light of these figures, it is more important than ever that we acknowledge the harm done by sexual violence, and continue to provide support to victims and survivors. Not only that, but we must build a society that recognises the impact of non-consensual activity  and works to eradicate it.

The CSO research, which was carried out as a result of decades of campaigning by frontline sexual violence services, is the first time that the State has tried to carry out a national survey on sexual violence since 2002.

But statisticians have warned that this new research cannot be compared to the results of the first Sexual Abuse and Violence in Ireland (SAVI) report, due to the different methodologies used, the dramatic change in Irish society, and the way it talks about sexual violence over the last 20 years.

The new sexual violence study was designed to try to minimise under-reporting of sexual violence, which has traditionally made the true scale of sexual violence in Ireland hard to understand.

This research is likely to steer the States response to the problem of sexual violence, and may also lead to calls for increased funding to frontline services.

Helen McGrath, a statistician in the social analysis section of the CSO, said the data in yesterdays report represents a range of individual stories which speak to the lived experience of those who have, and those who have not, experienced sexual violence.

It provides a lot of important detail on a very serious and sensitive societal issue. The survey focused on respondents experiences of a broad spectrum of sexual violence and harassment experiences, she said.
A renowned Northern Ireland climber who died while descending from one of the worlds highest peaks was a legend who lived for the mountains, his sister has said.

Noel Hanna (56) from Dromara, Co Down, passed away on Monday night after climbing the 8,091 metre-high Annapurna peak in western Nepal  the 10th highest mountain in the world.

Mingma Sherpa, chairman at Seven Summit Treks, said Mr Hanna breathed his last in Camp IV last night.

He told AFP: "His body has been brought down and flown to Kathmandu."

Yubaraj Khatiwada, an official of the Department of Tourism, said the circumstances of Mr Hannas death were unclear.

One of Irelands best known climbers, Mr Hanna had scaled Mount Everest 10 times in his career and, in 2018, became the first person from the island of Ireland to successfully summit and descend K2.

His sister, Irene Hunter told the BBC that her brother "loved a view and he just loved people" and that he was "a legend".

She said he "lived for the mountains", adding that her brother's body would be returning to Finnis, close to the Mourne Mountains, where he began his climbing career.

Mr Hannas friend and fellow mountaineer Pat Falvey told RTE that details were scant, but it is believed that he died at base camp after returning from the mountains summit.

I got a text in from my people in Kathmandu... which said that Noel had passed away, he said.

"He was one of the most amazing climbers, not in Ireland alone but in the world.

His love and passion was about climbing big mountains.

It was, as a friend of mine once quoted, his cathedral  it was where he went to pray.

DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson led tributes yesterday (tues), saying it was devastating news.

"I had the privilege of meeting Noel and hearing about his mountain-climbing exploits, including his conquest of Everest. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and his fellow mountaineers at this sad time."

Mourne Mountain Adventures said: "Local to the Mournes, Noel was the first person from Ireland to successfully climb K2, and astonishingly he climbed the summit of Everest 10 times.

There is some peace in that he spent his last moments doing what he loved best, such a great man and one of Northern Irelands finest mountaineers.

SDLP councillor Laura Devlin said the local community was devastated.

This is awful news to wake to. Noel was an absolute gentleman who I first met away back.

Ms Devlin added: To say he was an athlete was an understatement. He was an incredible climber who climbed Everest many, many times.

Noel was such an interesting person with so much life experience and always up for a chat.

This news is devastating. I am thinking of Lynne and all their family and friends.
Department of Health secretary general Robert Watt has repeatedly rejected the findings of an independent review into former chief medical officer Tony Holohans abandoned secondment to Trinity College Dublin.

Mr Watt repeatedly told the Oireachtas Finance Committee on Wednesday that he did not accept the findings of the review carried by former Institute of Directors chief Maura Quinn which found that the botched move bypassed all established protocols.

Mr Watt also revealed for the first time a hacking incident involving Stephen Donnelly, which meant the Health Minister was not made aware of details about Dr Holohans proposed secondment on his existing civil service terms and conditions.

Here is what we learned from the top civil servants robust testimony to TDs and Senators in Leinster House.

I dont accept the report

Maura Quinn concluded that Dr Holohan should not have been exclusively involved in the negotiations around the secondment and disbursement of research funding of up to 2m linked to the role.

After repeatedly stating that he did not accept specific findings by Ms Quinn, Mr Watt eventually told Sinn Feins Pearse Doherty: "I reject most of the findings of the report to avoid any doubtthere is no point in suggesting otherwise."

Mr Watt said he disagrees with the implication that somebody was involved in something which suggests they acted out of personal interest.

He was sharply critical of the report throughout his testimony, at one point asking where in the report were the protocols he was supposed to have breached listed.

The dispute with Tanaistes top adviser

The Quinn report revealed significant contradictions between Mr Watts position and that of both the former Department of the Taoiseach secretary general Martin Fraser and Tanaiste Micheal Martins chief of staff Deirdre Gillane.

Ms Gillane, in written evidence to the review, described Mr Watts assertions that she knew about the details of the secondment as grossly inaccurate and unwarranted and at one point referred to a comment about her role as fatuous.

Mr Watt said in his evidence on Wednesday that he accepted the positions of Mr Fraser and Ms Gillane. Whatever people said they were told I accept what people said they knew or didn't, he said. I accept people's bonafides on that."

He later added: "I accept that Deirdre Gillane didnt know, I accept Deirdres bonafides, if she said she didnt know.

Motivated by the public interest

This controversy last year saw Dr Holohan abandon his proposed switch to academia as professor of public health strategy at Trinity on foot of a political backlash over news that the Department of Health would have continued to pay his 187,000 civil service salary.

In his evidence, Mr Watt said that he, Mr Fraser, and Dr Holohan had entered into discussions about the CMO moving into academia in good faith and were motivated by public interest to prepare the State for the next pandemic.

The notion was how can we galvanise all that support to have better research, better understanding, to prepare us for the next pathogen that might arrive, Mr Watt explained in response to questions from Fianna Fail TD Jim OCallaghan.

He said himself and Mr Fraser were motivated by great respect for Dr Holohan and argued the real lesson from the debacle was better communications. I assumed there was support for this and that transpired to not be the case, he said.

It is what it is

Mr Watt argued repeatedly that the 2m in Health Research Board funding linked to the proposal would be disbursed beyond Trinity as part of a competitive process.

He said the proposition was to allocate this funding to enhance our ability to prepare for the next pandemic and pointed out that it was in the context of 40bn being spent by the State in response to Covid-19.

Pearse Doherty argued that it was in black and white in Mr Watts letter of intent that the money was to go to Trinity as exchanges became more heated.

At one point, in a back and forth over his discussions with Martin Fraser about the matter, Mr Watt put it to Mr Doherty that if Mary Lou McDonald asked the Donegal TD to do something he would. Mr Doherty did not respond to this. Eventually, Mr Watt concluded: Anyway, it is what it is.

The ministers machine was hacked

Mr Watt also disclosed that while Stephen Donnelly knew of the plan in generality and there was an attempt to send him a more detailed note while he was in America.

However, Mr Watt disclosed that his "machine was hacked" so he he did not receive an email with the details of plans to allocate 2m in funding towards the position. "His system got corrupted and it slipped our mind to give him the detail," Mr Watt said without providing much more by way of detail. "There was an IT challenge with the minister and the system."

On a separate IT matter, Mr Watt said it was a matter for Dr Holohan as to why he conducted discussions about the secondment with Trinity over his personal email account. Jim OCallaghan said it underlines the casual nature of this arrangement".

Mr Watt said he did not accept this.

A spokesperson for Mr Donnelly said: "In March 2022 (during the St. Patricks Day trip to the United States) Minister Donnelly and his officials were advised not to use their devices  particularly for email  due to concerns about a cyber security risk."

Asked about the matter raised by Mr Watt at the committee on Wednesday, a spokesperson for the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications said: "On occasion the NCSC (National Cyber Security Centre) technically examines the devices of persons as a precautionary measure. Minister Donnellys device was examined at the time in question and no signs of compromise were found."

'Arrogantly dismissive'

As the committee hearing drew to a close, the committee chair John McGuinness excoriated Mr Watt and his testimony.

He revealed that the secretary general had initially refused to appear before the committee which then received powers to compel him, at which point Mr Watt agreed to appear. Mr Watt insisted he had ultimately not been compelled to appear and was there voluntarily.

Nonetheless, Mr McGuinness said the civil servant's evidence fall well short of the standard that I would expect from a senior civil servant". Mr Watt, in response, said it was "not appropriate" for McGuinness to comment on the way he had done.

"I don't think youre doing it impartially if you are going to criticise me," Mr Watt told the Fianna Fail TD.

Mr McGuinness said Mr Watt was "arrogantly dismissive" of the report, which Mr Watt rejected as exchanges became increasingly fraught.
Enterprise Minister Simon Coveney has questioned the AIB slogan Were backing brave in the context of the banks actions with existing clients.

The slogan, used in the banks TV advertising, is predominantly aimed at young entrepreneurs setting up on their own  and the financing they will need.

Mr Coveney, standing in for the Taoiseach for Leaders Questions in the Dail today, made his comments after Independent TD Michael Collins raised the case of a family business in Clonakilty, Co Cork, which is a customer of AIB.

The ODonovan familys business loan was restructured and then sold off to a third-party fund.

I have huge sympathy for the ODonovan family and businesspeople who find themselves in the kind of financial pressure they are clearly feeling at the moment, Mr Coveney replied.

Every bank in Ireland has an obligation in my view to behave fairly towards their clients.

When we hear slogans like Were backing brave - and all the rest of them coming from advertisements for banking in Ireland - it is not unreasonable that questions are raised as to whether they are supporting enterprise in an appropriate way.

Mr Coveney stressed that it was not appropriate for him to start getting involved in an individual case on the floor of the House when he did not know the full detail of what happened.

When loan books are sold on there is a responsibility, of course, on the regulator, which is the Central Bank of Ireland, to ensure that consumers are given the protections that are expected, Mr Coveney said.

He said that as Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister he had responsibility to ensure that businesses are treated fairly, and that enterprise has an opportunity to thrive and grow. That includes the relationship, obviously, with the banking sector.

But he added: Government ministers do not control the banks, and they should not do so.

I assume AIB has sold on this loan and therefore has no more control or attachment to it. The liability is now owned by Everyday Finance.

Mr Coveney offered to meet a representative from the O'Donovan family. I will go through their case in more detail with them, he said.

Mr Collins said: They are an honest, straight, hardworking family who have been in business for seven generations and 44 years.

Their hearts and souls have been broken by what the vulture funds and banks have done. The Government cannot keep turning its back and saying it does not know the details.
THE Irish diaspora around the world wont have an opportunity to vote for the successor to Michael D Higgins as President of Ireland.

The next election to Aras an Uachtarain is in 2025, when the incumbent will vacate office, having served two seven-year terms.

But minister Simon Coveney said today it was still the Governments intention to hold a referendum on widening the franchise before it leaves office.

Even if passed by the people, there would not be enough time to legislate to allow for embassy or postal voting from around the world next time out.

Mr Coveney said the Covid outbreak in recent years had disrupted the schedule of planned referenda, pushing back public consultations on Constitutional questions.

He was answering his party colleague, Ciaran Cannon TD, who said there was a Government commitment to extend the right to all Irish people, no matter where they live on this planet, to elect the First Citizen. It was promised in the Programme for Government to hold that referendum.

I think it's about time that we give recognition to those of our citizens, including those who live on this island and can't exercise that right either, he said, referring to Northern Ireland.

Mr Coveney said the commitment to extend voting rights to Irish people living abroad for Presidential elections required a referendum  which isn't straightforward. He added: In some ways, we have been prevented in the last number of years from holding referendums through the Covid period.

It has made it more complicated, because we have a whole series of referendums that that this Government wants to deliver between now and the next election.

I don't have a date -- but my understanding is that it's still the intention of the Government to hold a referendum in this space before the next (general) election. The next election, if the Government lasts its full term, must be held by February 2025.

Failure to hold a referendum, allowing sufficient time for amending legislation, would mean the Irish worldwide being unable to vote for their Head of State before 2032.
JOHN Paul Phelans decision to step down as a Fine Gael TD at the next general election is the latest blow to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar who is losing yet another architect of his successful bid for the party leadership six years ago.
Former chief medical officer Tony Holohan raised objections to a report into his abandoned move to Trinity College Dublin last year.

Independent.ie has learned that Dr Holohan expressed unhappiness with a report by Maura Quinn into his botched secondment after reviewing a draft she had circulated to those mentioned in it for their observations.

His proposed switch to academia, which he subsequently abandoned on foot of a political backlash, would have seen the Department of Health continue to pay the former CMOs 187,000 civil service salary.

Some of Dr Holohans concerns over the report by Ms Quinn, the former head of the Institute of Directors, are understood to have been similar to those raised by Robert Watt, the secretary general of the Department of Health.

Mr Watt strongly objected to the suggestion that other senior figures in the Government, including then Taoiseach Micheal Martins top civil servant and most senior adviser, were not aware of the details of the proposed secondment before it became public.

Sources with knowledge of the matter said in his observations on the draft last June, Dr Holohan expressed concern that the draft report was straying outside its terms of reference and was, as one source described it, unpublishable. The former CMO is understood to have discussed these matters with Mr Watt prior to the report being finalised.

Dr Holohan confirmed last night that, at the request of Ms Quinn, he fed comments back to her external review in June 2022. But he would not comment on what exactly he told her or whether he requested changes to the report.

He did, however, say he did not understand why the publication of Ms Quinns report was delayed by several months after it was finalised last October. I wrote to the Minister of Health [Stephen Donnelly] some time ago urging completion and publication of the report given the lengthy delay, the explanation for which is not apparent to me, Dr Holohan told Independent.ie last night.

Ms Quinns final report was only published on Monday, nine months after it was first submitted to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly and six months after it was finalised. Mr Donnellys spokesperson has previously attributed the delay to due process. The Attorney General also examined the report prior to publication.

The final report contains criticism of Dr Holohan, saying he should not have been exclusively personally involved in the negotiation of research funding of up to 2m linked to the secondment. The report also reveals Dr Holohan carried out discussions with Trinity on his proposed role as professor of public health strategy on his personal email account  something which Ms Quinn recommends against in future.

In correspondence with the review that was partly published in Ms Quinns report on Monday, Mr Watt strongly disputed the contention that former Department of the Taoiseach secretary general Martin Fraser and the Tanaiste Micheal Martins chief of staff Deirdre Gillane were not aware of the detail of the plan for Dr Holohan to move into academia.

But the report also reveals significant contradictions between Mr Watt and Ms Gillane over what her knowledge of the proposal was. Mr Fraser also disputes Mr Watts contention that he was aware of the details of the proposal, including the research funding that was to come from the Health Research Board.

Ms Gillane, in written evidence to the review, described Mr Watts assertions as grossly inaccurate and unwarranted and at one point referred to the comment about her role as fatuous.

Speaking in Belfast yesterday, Mr Martin said he believed Ms Gillanes conclusive account of events. But Government sources last night downplayed suggestions of lingering tensions between Mr Watt and Ms Gillane over the matter. Both are widely viewed as strong personalities within their respective roles.

A spokesperson for Mr Martin also said he has confidence in Mr Watt and added the report speaks for itself and it is clear that lessons have to be learnt from this.

Mr Watt, who controversially earns a salary of nearly 300,000  more than any other civil servant  was also backed by a spokesperson for the Taoiseach and Green Party leader Eamon Ryan as well as Finance Minister Michael McGrath and Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe.

The Taoiseachs spokesperson said he is not aware of Leo Varadkar having concerns about such a public spat between two of the States most senior officials, Mr Watt and Ms Gillane.

Theyre both very professional individuals who work together on a wide range of issues on a regular basis, he said.

He also emphasised the report does not have findings against anyone.

There has been criticism privately within Government circles of Ms Quinns 35-page report, with one source describing it as a mess that appeared to have sections added incrementally over several weeks as different submissions were made. Ms Quinn declined to comment when contacted yesterday.

Mr Watt, meanwhile, will go before the Oireachtas Finance Committee today to answer questions about the secondment which was ultimately abandoned due to a political backlash. Dr Holohan instead retired from the civil service last summer.

Mr Watt had not submitted an opening statement as of last night despite being requested to do so by the committee.
Health Minister Stephen Donnelly said he believes Tanaiste Micheal Martins adviser in her assertion she was not told in advance about Tony Holohans secondment arrangement to Trinity College.

This is despite claims by his own Department of Health Secretary General Robert Watt that she was informed.

The minister was quizzed in the wake of the report published this week, looking at the botched plan for the former chief medical officer Dr Holohan to take up a post of Professor in Trinity College.

It descended in to controversy this time last year, after media reports revealed that instead of leaving the department, Mr Holohan would continue to be paid his 187,000 salary until retirement although working in Trinity. It also emerged that a pledge to give the university 2m a year in funding was given,

The minister said he does not intend to take any action over Mr Watts claims.

Micheal Martins adviser Deidre Gillane told the inquiry that Mr Watts assertion she was told of Mr Holohans arrangements as "grossly inaccurate" .

The Health Minister, who was appearing before the Oireachtas health committee today, was himself not informed Dr Holohan would be on secondment or that 2m, without sanction, was pledged for research linked to the Trinity post.

Pressed on his response to the report, Social Democrat TD Roisin Shortall asked him whose account do you believe?

She said Mr Watts account was at variance with that of Ms Gillane or the former Secretary to the Government, Martin Fraser.

"Surely you can't allow that situation just to sit  a situation where the Taoiseach's senior adviser is saying quite clearly that the account provided by your Secretary General is not accurate. So whose account of events, minister, do you believe?"

Mr Donnelly told the committee that it was clear Ms Gillane did not have the details until "much later in the day".

"The report is very clear that Ms Gillane's account of the timings is correct."

Asked if he intended to take "any action" he replied: I don't, deputy.

Deputy Shortall said: "We can't learn lessons unless there's accountability for what has happened already."

"In terms of accountability, I believe he (Mr Watt) will be before the finance committee for several hours today, I think that he is a senior civil servant accounting to Oireachtas through that mechanism.

He suggested that there may have been a "misunderstanding" that Mr Fraser had told Ms Gillane of the arrangements.

Questioned by Sinn Fein health spokesperson David Cullinane about his submissions to the review, Mr Donnelly said his main point was that, notwithstanding the letter of intent, there would still have been procedures before the allocation of funding.

Asked if he was "kept in the dark" until very late in the process, Mr Donnelly said the report is "quite clear" on timelines.

Mr Cullinane said standard processes had not been followed.

"This was informal, and that informality has led, I think, to a lot of problems," he said.

Mr Donnelly said he would not disagree with that.

"We always have to strive to improve at every at everything we do.

"I would just like to say that having spent a lot of time on us, I do believe that everybody involved was acting in good faith.

"I do believe that the proposed secondment, in fact probably most of us here believe that actually it would have been very valuable."

Mr Donnelly said several things were done to ensure transparency and that lessons would be learned from the process.

"The question is in the context of a proposed secondment that didn't happen, so nothing actually happened in terms of any spending of money," he said.

The review found that Dr Holohan should not have been personally involved in exclusively in the Trinity move negotiations and protocols around the 2m a year research funding pledge were breached, the report said.
A demonstration in Khartoum in the week of July 1, 2019.

Khartoum  At least 18 hospitals in Sudan, including 13 in Khartoum state and five outside the capital, had to close their doors because of the fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces militia. 15 more hospitals are threatened with closure because of a lack of staff, fuel, and medical supplies and significant safety concerns, leaving many Sudanese unable to access medical care.

In a report yesterday, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate reported that several hospitals and other health institutions have been damaged during the fighting.

The People's Teaching Hospital, Ibn Sina Specialist Hospital, and the El Bashayer Hospital in Khartoum are particularly damaged by the ongoing bombing and shelling.

The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) reported that a stray missile had fallen on El Bashayer Teaching Hospital in southern Khartoum. No one was killed.

The El Moalem Hospital in Khartoum, not far from the SAF General Command, was reportedly shelled as well. Five eyewitnesses told CNN that the RSF laid siege to the hospital on Sunday. "I have no doubt that they deliberately targeted the hospital," said one medic who evacuated the hospital told CNN yesterday.

The hospital was full of patients, including wounded soldiers and their families. According to hospital employees, a wall in the hospital's maternity ward collapsed during the shelling. A 6-year-old child reportedly died in the building.

"At first we were praying for salvation," one medic told CNN. "Then when the shelling got worse, we started to discuss what would be the most painless part of the body to be shot in and began to pray instead to die painlessly."

The bombing of hospitals is considered a clear violation of international humanitarian law and international charters that stipulate the protected status of health institutions.

The CCSD explained earlier today that it is extremely difficult to evacuate people or count the dead. Based on yesterday's records, it estimates that at least 144 civilians have died. This does not include today's records and the real number is likely to be higher as many bodies cannot be reached.

"What makes matters worse: many hospitals and health facilities are out of service due to being hit by missiles, power outages, and the scarcity of supplies," the organisation reported in a statement this morning.

They also explained that the targeting of hospitals "is considered a human and moral crime that contradicts laws and regulations, and traditions and customs".

"As we condemn in the strongest terms this ongoing war, we demand the opening of safe passages to treat the sick and injured, and to deliver food and medical supplies."

A ceasefire has reportedly been refused by the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and fighting continues.

Dire situation

The Sudanese Doctors Syndicate reported that the International Hospital in Khartoum North suffers from power outages. "The fuel for generators is about to run out, which puts the lives of patients in intensive care and surgical operations at risk of death."

The few hospitals that are still in operation, Khartoum and Omdurman are home to roughly 20 hospitals combined of which 12 have now been forced to shut, are overwhelmed and understaffed. They are running low on most supplies and are hampered by power and water outages.

Nyala Teaching Hospital in South Darfur was amongst the many hospitals forced to shut down due to a lack of blood and other supplies.

'We are running out of everything'

Before it was forced to shut completely after shelling yesterday, Dr. Amin Saad told The Associated Press that the situation in the Khartoum Teaching Hospital was dire: "We are running out of everything," "We are working with the least possible capabilities. ... We're all exhausted, but there is a shortage of physicians."

Staff is struggling to reach the hospitals due to the shelling.

Several hospitals have been evacuated, including the Khartoum Teaching Hospital reports indicate, but patients and staff remain trapped in others, unable to leave due to clashes on the streets.

Stormed by soldiers

In North Kordofan, El Daman Hospital in state capital El Obeid was closed after it was stormed by army soldiers.

The doctors called on the international community "to oblige the two parties to the conflict not to harm health facilities, open safe passages for patients, and allow ambulances to pass".

They renewed their appeal to humanitarian organisations to extend a helping hand and take urgent action to help evacuate the wounded and provide intravenous solutions, blood bags, and medical supplies.

Most international humanitarian operations were halted after three aid workers of the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) were killed in North Darfur.

The El Geneina Teaching Hospital in West Darfur and the Merowe Military Hospital and the Social Security Hospital, also in Merowe, were forced to shut down too.

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Medical aid initiatives

Several civilian initiatives are emerging to deliver medical aid as people struggle to access care in hospitals.

A group of medical specialists in the field of children's medical care, family care, kidney care, gynaecology, and obstetrics put forward the Family Doctors Initiative in Khartoum to provide medical consultations via WhatsApp and phone. They published a list of doctors' phone numbers and consultation hours.

Another group of Sudanese doctors in Qatar, with various specialisations, reportedly created a hotline to provide consultations over the phone to people in Sudan who are stranded without access to healthcare.

On social media, people also share announcements of people on the ground that are organising emergency support to their neighbours by providing improvised medical assistance and ER rooms, women's shelter and support for domestic workers, and by distributing basic necessities, often risking their lives.

UNICEF Sudan warned of fake hotlines. "It has come to our attention that there are fake phone numbers on social media claiming to be UNICEF hotlines including for evacuations. Please only refer to UNICEF website and official media channels for advisories."
The dead zoo is an easy sell for kids. Any other cultural institutions might take a bit of wrangling to convince them its worth getting off the sofa for, but not the dead zoo. The first trick is to never call it by its real name  the Natural History Museum  because that has the deal-killing words history and museum in it and they will think you are trying to trick them into learning something. No, call it by its unofficial moniker, because that has all you need to know  like a zoo, its full of animals, but they are all dead, and therefore much cooler, in every sense.
An investigation will also be conducted by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA)

A MAN is now on a life support machine after an industrial accident at the plant of a US multinational in Cork.

The family of the 41 year old man - who was seriously injured following an industrial accident at the Stryker plant in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork at lunchtime on Tuesday - has now asked members of the public to keep him in their prayers.

The family of the worker, who has not been named, released a statement to Cork's RedFM about the incident.

They said that they were writing with a "heavy heart" after their family received the "worst news" of an accident at the plant in Anngrove, Carrigtwohill.

"A close family member was the chap who was very seriously injured during the incident and he sustained massive burns."

"Though, I cannot divulge any specific personal information, I would like to ask the good people of Cork and beyond, for their heartfelt prayers."

"He (the injured man) is a kind, mild-mannered family man, 41 years old, with a loving wife, a baby, a young child and a stepson - who are his world. He was living the perfect life until 1pm yesterday."

"His devoted parents, wife and siblings are devastated and keeping vigil at the hospital. He was in surgery until late last night and is now on life support."

The statement added that the extended family are "heartbroken and feel helpless" at this shocking turn of events.

"I just wanted to put the human side of the story out there, so that (people) might keep him in their thoughts and prayers, that he will pull through, as all we have is hope and prayer."

The incident occurred at the premises of the medical equipment manufacturer in east Cork at 1.09pm on Tuesday.

Two men suffered burns while working on the roof when a mini explosion occurred.

One man was seriously injured and was rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH) by ambulance.

Three units of the Cork County Fire Service attended at the scene alongside the emergency services and members of Stryker's trained fire fighting force.

Gardai were also in attendance.

The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) will conduct an investigation into the incident which is routine for all workplace incidents where individuals are injured.

Stryker employs around 4,000 people at six locations in Cork and established its location base in 1998.

The US multinational medical company was named Cork Company of the Year in February at a function in Cork City Hall.

Cork is a manufacturing, supply chain and research and development hub for Stryker.

In the aftermath of the accident Stryker issued a statement in which it expressed its commitment to a "safe and healthy work environment at all of their facilities".

The company is working closely with the authorities to investigate the incident.
Selfish: Spanish artist Pablo Picasso has been described as the ultimate male chauvinist to whom nobody ever said no. Photo: Tony Vaccaro / Getty Images

Millionaires, billionaires and art collectors  you might soon consider it wise to remove that Picasso from your wall and refrain from bidding for the artists work at the next auction.
Lorraine Courtney: Why are candidates for the Aras so uninspiring? And don't we deserve better?
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said his government is struggling to spend the huge budgets that are being allocated to housing. Photo: Don Moloney

Some very clever management guru came up with a notion that we ought not prioritise whats on our schedule; but rather, to schedule our priorities.

Such failure has left us with perennial housing and health crises, which have somehow embedded themselves into the institutions of state.

We know all the explanations, and the excuses, almost by rote. Time had made them threadbare, but the munificence of the last few years had rendered them practically indefensible.

The Central Statistics Office has had to once again revise its surplus upwards for last year by 50pc. It will now come to 8bn. If things go as they are, we will finish in the black  with 10bn for this year, and 16bn for next.

The EU insists that the Department of Finance furnish us with what is called a Stability Programme Update. This outlines our economic vital statistics from revenue to spending and everything in between.

And its a refreshingly good news story. Once again those in charge of the public purse have been caught on the hop  but in a good way, by the scale of largesse coming their way.

Our as they put it: Economic data have surprised on the upside and the near-term outlook is somewhat better than anticipated. Despite the powerful headwinds faced over the past year, the Irish economy has proven to be remarkably resilient.

Borrowing from the same well-thumbed book of meteorological metaphors, one might say, the outlook is sunny. But theres something a little disquieting in learning each year that those in charge of the counting house are never quite sure what is flowing their way.

In recent years, we have enjoyed a far more solid position in terms of the national coffers. This makes issues like homelessness, and interminable hospital waiting lists, all the more intolerable.

People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett told the Dail that the Government was swimming in money. In calling on the State to use the funds to buy the houses of tenants facing eviction, he argued the big missing piece is the failure of the councils.

Land earmarked for social housing hasnt even been serviced, he said.

In reply, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisted that the Government was helping people buy their own homes. But he had to agree that there is no lack of money. He further elaborated: Were struggling to spend the huge budgets that were allocating to housing.

And, lest there be still any uncertainty, he added: But let there be no doubt, there is no lack of money.

With an election coming down the way, and with so much money in the till, time is rapidly running out to account for why so many might feel left out of the success story.

The narrative for the future needs to be more inclusive, rather than exclusive. The party which can best root its story in fact, not spin  and which can be shown to use our resources most productively for all  is most likely to find itself rewarded.
When it comes to paintings, AI may be able to produce something amazing - but can it ever be original?

The photo by Boris Eldagsen that won the Sony World Photography Award is a beautiful, haunting photo, but its done by AI. Although it appears that AI can produce beauty, can it produce original works? By its own nature it is artificial and so are its thoughts as it, like ChatGPT, scans all of the electronically recorded information and builds using existing blocks. Or, in less polite terms, it steals.

It might be possible to fake a Van Gogh if you have all of the known examples and a big tin of yellow paint, but not the soul that made it. It would be fun to create my own fake life with constructed photos of myself with numerous famous people, although dead, as they couldnt then inform on me.

Maybe its time for people to get a life and a real one, even if it is a bit boring.

Dennis Fitzgerald

Melbourne

Leo should have told Joe where to go on Ukraine

I thought we had heard the last of US president Joe Bidens visit, but I see in todays paper (Bending the knee for the

next foreign leader to visit, Letters, April 17) that his sojourn here has been revisited hopefully for the last time. I agree with Seamus Hanratty, and his letter in which he wondered who will be the next US president to visit Ireland, and whose closing words might be: Good Paddy, good Paddy.

Our political classes seem to have an enduring need to bend the knee, and get a pat on the head. It was reported that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had discussions with Mr Biden on China  although they previously had stated that the subjects to be discussed were Northern Ireland and Ukraine. I hope in those talks on Ukraine at least, that Mr Varadkar suggested it would be appreciated if the price of one days supply of arms to that country might be diverted to help the other victims of the war, who are of course the refugees.

As far as discussions on China go, the less said the better.

Hugh Duffy

Cleggan, Co Galway

Bidens stance on abortion at odds with that of Catholic Church

In his letter (Like Kennedy in 1963, Biden has been a breath of fresh air, Letters, April 17), John Glennon referred to Joe Biden as being a breath of fresh air and also mentioned his religious faith.

Whatever about Mr Biden being a breath of fresh air, he certainly did well in his campaigning for re-election. However, Mr Glennons reference to his faith is somewhat off the mark as he vigorously sets about being, as described by one commentator, the most pro-abortion president ever.

While some may support Mr Biden in his stance, it cannot hide the hypocrisy involved. The Catholic Church has consistently held the line against abortion.

Mary Stewart

Donegal town

UK Labour Party stooping to a low that mirrors the Tories

UK politics, with its first past the post (FPTP) electoral system, generates a win-at-all-costs mentality. In such an environment, campaigning quickly degenerates into rancour, recrimination and slander. Meaningful rational policy debate is lost. This is why Britain needs a proportional representation (PR) system that encourages cooperation and consensus government, instead of conflict.

Under FPTP, the winner does indeed take all. Seats won are not commensurate with votes cast. For example, in the 2019 election the Conservatives took 55pc of parliamentary seats with just 40pc of the vote. However, in addition to this inequality, it also contributes to a toxic culture of venomous campaigning. It helps explain the accusations of racism levelled towards UK home secretary Suella Braverman after her inaccurate claim that grooming gangs are composed mainly of Asian men.

Sadly, the Labour opposition has now also sunk to this win-at-all-costs game. This is manifest in its puerile and slightly ludicrous advertisement claiming that UK prime minister Rishi Sunak does not want to imprison those convicted of child sexual assault. Labour, it seems, would rather deploy deceitful, emotionally charged accusations against Mr Sunak rather than offer a serious critique of Tory policy. It reeks of the same visceral, gutter politics employed by the Tories themselves.

If politics is simply a contest to see who can whip people into a fury with inflammatory rhetoric, then the result is a government which only acts on trivial, symbolic issues. In the US, the campaigns of Ron DeSantis and Donald Trump demonstrate that this can lead to ever more reactionary and insane policies designed purely to appeal to the prejudices and paranoia of their base.

George Workman

Donabate, Co Dublin
A TG4 'Iniuchadh' investigation found there was a significant decline in the number of Mna Ti accepting Irish students at summer colleges.

EVERYTHING is on track for Colaiste na Mumhan, Irelands oldest Gaeltacht summer college, to reopen this year following a three-year hiatus due to the Covid pandemic, one of the organisers of the college has told The Corkman.

The confirmation by Colaiste na Mumhan committee officer Diarmuid O Dalaigh that the Summer courses due to begin in the Muscrai Gaeltacht village of Beal Athan Ghaorthaidh on June 4 will go ahead comes as a TG4 investigation found there had been a 30% drop in the number of mna ti providing accommodation for students in courses throughout the countrys Gaeltacht regions. Colaiste na Mumhan has its own accommodation facility in Beal Athan Ghaorthaidh and is not reliant on mna ti to the same extent as other colleges.

According to new figures obtained by TG4s current affairs programme Iniuchadh TG4, in the four years since 2018, the number of host families in the Gaeltacht has fallen from 712 to 495  a decline of 217 or 30 per cent.

The latest figures on the Gaeltacht sector released by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media to Iniuchadh TG4 show the number of mna ti for the years 2017 (655), 2018 (712), 2019 (648), 2022(495). Gaeltacht colleges were closed in 2020 and 2021 because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While some new mna ti have been attracted into the system in recent years, their numbers are considerably lower than those opting to leave. The numbers entering the sector are 2017 (26), 2018 (25), 2019 (34) and 2022 (39).

Colaiste Pobail Chleire on Cape Clear Island off Co. Cork has seen the number of host families fall from a peak of seven, twenty years ago, to only one.

The former manager of the Comharchumann Chleire Teoranta, Mairtin O Mealoid said its proving extremely difficult to attract new mna ti to keep students.

Its a crisis really - how will we bring new host families on board, he said.
Co. Down mountaineer Noel Hanna died while descending from the summit of Annapurna in the Himlayas.

THE first Corkman to reach the summit of Mount Everest, Pat Falvey, has paid tribute to fellow summiteer Noel Hanna from Co. Down who died following his descent of Annapurna, the tenth highest peak in the world.

The Co. Down man died on Monday night following his descent from the 8.091 metre summit of the Himalayan peak in western Nepal.

Pat Falvey, who reached the summit of Mount Everest for the first time in May 1995, described Noel Hanna as one of the worlds most amazing climbers. His love and passion was about climbing big mountains, said Mr Falvey.

It was, as a friend of mine once quoted, his cathedral  it was where he went to pray.

Noel Hanna had climbed Mount Everest 10 times and he and his wife Lynn reached the summit together in 2009. Noel was also the first Irish man to reach the summit of K2, the worlds second highest peak and arguably a more challenging climb than Everest.

His sister, Irene Hunter told the BBC that her brother loved a view and he just loved people and that he was a legend.

She said he lived for the mountains, adding that her brothers body would be returning to Finnis, close to the Mourne Mountains, where he began his climbing career.
The ambassadors for this year's Darkness Into Light event which takes place at 4.15am on Saturday, May 6, at 23 locations in Cork and many more around Ireland and globally. Grainne Seoige, musician Tolu Makay and former Dublin GAA player Philly McMahon.

Darkness Into Light, the annual fundraising event organised by Pieta & supported by Electric Ireland, is taking place on Saturday May 6 in 23 locations across Cork.

On that morning more than 100,000 people will come together across 200 locations around Ireland and globally for the most important sunrise of the year.

Each year the walk provides an opportunity for communities to come together and to bring hope to people who have been impacted by suicide. Launched by the local committees, and proudly supported by Electric Ireland, organisers are welcoming everyone to join the event and raise vital funds for Pietas lifesaving services.

Suicide continues to be a real problem in Ireland and was the leading cause of death in young men aged under 25 in the country in 2019. Darkness Into Light helps raise essential funds and enables Pieta to continue providing free of charge suicide prevention, intervention and bereavement support to people of all ages across Ireland.

In Munster in 2022 alone, Pieta delivered over 14,000 hours of free, one-to-one therapy, and helped almost 2,000 clients. Over 38% of clients presenting to Pieta in 2022 in Munster were aged between 18-35 years and a further 32% of clients in the same year were under 18 years.

The funds raised from this years Darkness Into Light will help communities within Cork, with the funding going directly to Pietas services.

Speaking at the launch, John Mansworth, Community Fundraising Executive said Darkness into Light was an essential fundraiser for Pieta but it also had another equally vital purpose. Just as importantly it is also about generating awareness around what Pieta do.

To see large crowds of people turning out in Cobh, young and old, every year, inspires us as a committee to continue our work for Pieta.

The service and support provided by Pieta to people the length and breadth of the country is vital in creating suicide safer communities all over Ireland.

Stephanie Manahan, CEO, Pieta commented, Over 80% of Pietas annual funds are raised every year from public donations and by people taking part and supporting events like Darkness Into Light.

By signing up and taking part, every single person helps to support us continue to provide the services like the 24/7 crisis helpline which receives up to 2,000 calls and texts each week

Everyone is invited to sign up at www.darknessintolight.ie to make a valuable contribution. Electric Ireland have worked in partnership with us for the last ten years to build Darkness into Light and we are delighted that they have agreed to continue their sponsorship for another three years up until 2025.

Pat Fenlon, Executive Director of Electric Ireland commented, Electric Ireland has sponsored Darkness into Light since 2013. Each year we work with Pieta to create marketing and fundraising campaigns to promote awareness of this unique event and encourage as many people as possible to participate and donate much needed funds. I am delighted to announce that we have renewed our sponsorship for another three years up to and including 2025. Darkness into Light is very important to our staff, customers and the communities in which we operate.

Whether its taking part at an event in your community, with family, friends and colleagues or taking on a challenge by walking, running, jogging, or swimming and fundraising for Pieta, there are endless ways to take part in the most important sunrise of the year.

You can sign up and take part at darknessintolight.ie.

The Cork DIL events are to take place in Ballincollig, Blarney, Fermoy, Mitchelstown, Youghal, Cobh, Drinagh Kinsale, Bandon, Skibbereen, Baile Mhuirne/Ballyvourney, Castletownbere, Kanturk, Mallow, Macroom, Sherkin Island, Bantry, Clonakilty, Dunmanway, Inchigeelagh, UCC, Midleton and Schull.
A Dublin barber shop has been ordered to close after it was found operating as an unsuitable takeaway with no hygiene facilities.

It was one of six Dublin premises served with various closure orders in March, for issues such as unidentifiable meat, a live cockroach infestation and a dead rat.

La Punk Beauty hair salon at 19 Henry Place, near Moore Street in the city centre, was ordered by the HSE to close after an inspection by the Food Safety Authority on March 23.

According to the inspector, the premise is unsuitable for running a food business. It fails to permit adequate maintenance, cleaning and disinfection.

The inspection found that the hair salon failed to protect the food against the accommodation of dirt and contact with toxic materials.

On the day of the inspection, food was being served from a small table in the barbers area and was being reheated in a microwave on the floor.

The only provision that had been made for cleaning food equipment was a small plastic bowl containing soapy water, said the inspector.

The closure was ordered under Section 53 of the Food Safety Authority of Ireland Act 1998.

It also said it failed to permit good food hygiene practices and there were no wash hand basins for cleaning hands.

The whole premises was congested meaning that cleaning and pest control would be very difficult and putting all open food at risk of contamination from foreign objects, added the inspector.

The premises was served with a closure order as it is likely to be a grave and immediate danger to public health. The order has not since been lifted.

Meanwhile, five other food businesses were ordered to stop serving food by the Food Safety Authority.

Union Cafe on Road Mount Merrion was served with a temporary closure order to its kitchen on March 22.

An inspection to the popular South Dublin restaurant found a large number of rodent droppings on the floor of the kitchen and a thorough lack of cleaning in the food preparation area.

A large accumulation of rotting food was noted in an open receptacle beside the grease trap, said the inspection report.

The inspector also said there was an open container of lettuce stored in the raw meat fridge directly below an open container of raw fish, placing it at risk of contamination.

The lack of cleaning coupled with the presence of rodent droppings provides a significant risk to food safety, said the report. The closure order was lifted on March 25.

A temporary closure order was also served on Johnson Best Food African after a live cockroach infestation was observed in the kitchen.

Dirt, grease, food debris and the remains of dead cockroaches were found under and behind cooking equipment and work units. This order was lifted on April 6.

Daisy's Grill takeaway in Malahide was served with an order to close on March 3 as there was no water supply which the inspector said posed an a grave and immediate danger to public health. This order has since been lifted.

Mullingar Farm Meats in Tallaght was ordered to close on March 22, while Market Street Foodhalls in Swords was ordered to close on March 23. Both orders have not been lifted.

Dr Pamela Byrne, Chief Executive of the FSAI, said some businesses failed to follow basic food safety legislation and a number were found to be unregistered during March.

Food law requires all food businesses to be notified to the relevant inspection authority prior to operating, she said.

This requirement ensures that food businesses are registered and/or approved to ensure food safety and protect consumer health.

Maintaining a clean premises that is fit for purpose, managing pest control, properly labelling produce and providing traceability information are also legal and mandatory requirements.

Consumers have a right to safe food and the food business owner is legally responsible for ensuring that the food they produce is safe to eat, she added.
Gokwe Nembudziya Member of Parliament (MP) Mayor Wadyajena who is smarting from a second round of defeat at the party's primaries has boldly claimed people in his constituency still love him.

Wadyajena will not be in Parliament after this year's general elections following his re-run defeat to former Cabinet Minister Flora Buka.

It was his second defeat to Buka in a month, after a contested first election in March where he polled 2180 against her 3051.

His loss on Sunday was the heaviest, managing 1822 against 5022.

"I come from Nembudziya where the people love their son and know who they want, regardless. The videos of folks kneeling and welcoming me is genuine love that you can't coerce," said Wadyajena.

"It's amazing how CCC is celebrating our primaries without the slightest idea about the implications or what goes on. After all is said and done, the Party is supreme and guides every cadre. Nembudziya is a one party constituency, ZANU-PF! Now on the way home!"

Wadyajena was responding to journalist Hopewell Chin'ono who mocked him for the loss, demanding a re-run so he could lose again.

NO! We want another Re-run this weekend.

Wadyajena @JusticeMayorW haasati akwana, ngaarohwe futi!!! https://t.co/0KhWHZiJyv

-- Hopewell Chin'ono (@daddyhope) April 17, 2023
Father of four Robbie Slye (64), from Clonshaugh, Co Dublin, died from injuries sustained during the incident at Tuites garage

An oil delivery driver was killed in a freak accident after falling into an underground diesel tank at a filling station in Co Meath two years ago, an inquest has heard.

Father of four Robbie Slye (64), from Clonshaugh, Co Dublin, died from injuries sustained during the incident at Tuites garage on Cavan Road, Oldcastle at around 12.30pm on April 6, 2021.

A sitting of Dublin District Coroners Court last week heard that Mr Slye, who worked for Capital Oil, was in the process of opening a manhole to access an underground diesel tank when he slumped headfirst into the chamber from a kneeling position.

He was rescued from the tank within a minute and rushed to Tallaght University Hospital by air but was pronounced dead later that night.

John Tuite, who owns the filling station, told the inquest that he called for assistance from other workers after noticing Mr Slyes legs sticking out of the manhole.

They managed to pull the limp and blue and unresponsive delivery driver out of the hole, with Mr Tuite describing how a small amount of liquid was coming out of his mouth and nose.

Mr Tuite said Mr Slye began to breathe again after CPR was carried out, adding: He was looking good and appeared to be doing well".

Responding to questions from coroner Clare Keane, he said he had never experienced such an event over his many years operating the service station.

The witness said the underground diesel tank was always in use with deliveries made every seven to ten days.

Mr Slye regularly delivered fuel to the garage and had spent half an hour filling other tanks on the day of his death without any issues.

The inquest heard the underground chamber was about three feet deep with around a foot of water lying at the bottom topped with a film of diesel.

Stephen McGarry, an inspector with the Health and Safety Authority, investigated the circumstances of Mr Slyes death and gave evidence at the inquest.

He said the underground tank was found to be of standard construction and design dating from 1937 and although it was undesirable to have water in the chamber accessing the diesel tank, it was almost impossible to avoid due to Irelands rainy weather.

Mr McGarry said he had never seen an incident like this in his two decades working with the HSA.

In response to concern expressed by members of Mr Slyes family about the volume of diesel that might have been present in the chamber, the HSA inspector said he believed only a small amount of fuel covered the water inside.

He said he believed it was unlikely that the victim could have been overcome by diesel fumes as he was not working in an environment where dense fuel vapours would have caused him to be deficient in oxygen.

The HSA concluded that there had been no breach of any health and safety regulations.

Some of Mr Slyes relatives suggested that his death may have been avoided had there been a safety cage fitted into the chamber to prevent him from falling in.

His son, Eamonn Slye, who also worked with Capital Oil, said the family wanted to ensure that measures were taken to avoid this happening to someone else.

He told the coroner he had spoken to his father on the phone just 20 minutes before the fatal incident.

Post-mortem results showed Mr Slye died from multi-organ failure, which was most likely caused by diesel exposure.

A jury of five women and one man returned a verdict of accidental death.

Dr Keane endorsed a recommendation made by the jury that consideration be given to installing a safety grid to the access chamber of underground fuel tanks where possible.

These grids could be removed for cleaning, access, and maintenance before being relocked into position for the next job.
The derelict houses on Tyrrell Place (on the right) which will be redeveloped. Pic: Google

Eight adjoining derelict buildings in the north inner city are set to be partially demolished and rebuilt to create eight new homes.

The row of houses on 1-8 Tyrrell Place have been derelict for a number of years and have fallen into a state of disrepair.

Dublin city councillors have approved plans to partially demolish the existing buildings, while keeping the front facades.

The first dwelling, at 1 Tyrrell Place, will be a two-storey home with a one-storey rear extension, while the seven other dwellings, from 2-8 Tyrell Place, will be two-storey dwellings with two-storey rear extensions.

The buildings across the road are also derelict, but are in private ownership. The proposal went out for public consultation in February and received no objections.

However, concerns were raised by councillors about the cost of retaining the front facades of the run-down properties.

The council previously spent 700,000 to retain the facades of homes on Ballybough Road. After issues arose with the facades, the homes were fully demolished and rebuilt from scratch, delaying the project by about 18 months.

Its a horrible, horrible street, unfortunately, its derelict. Why not just knock it down and rebuild properly, said councillor Nial Ring.

Robert Buckle, senior executive engineer at Dublin City Council, said the project is expected to take 24 months to complete and a more accurate cost will be available after the design is approved.

These are derelict properties that have been in a state of disrepair for a number of years, Mr Buckle told councillors at Tuesday's area committee meeting.

We will be keeping the front facade of Tyrell Place in its original features, but we will be changing the windows, doors and roof, he said.

In regard to the facades, Mr Buckle said the concerns will be raised with the conservation architects but, we are bound by the same planning laws as everybody else in the city.
It is a story that has gripped the nation for almost 40 years and once again the Kerry Babies is back in the limelight.

The Kerryman journalist Sinead Kelleher discusses the latest development in the case on Ireland's most successful true Crime Podcast Crime World hosted by Nicola Tallant

She talks about how the recent developments have changed the perspective on the story and about what is like to grow up the Kerry Babies case and what the local reactions has been in recent weeks.

It was great to have Sinead on the podcast to give us a look at the story from the local angle. Its a story thats touched many across Ireland over the years but it's always important to see things from the local perspective," said researcher Clodagh Meaney.

The story hit the headlines once again in recent weeks with the arrest of a man and a woman, understood to the parents of Baby John. Their arrest on suspicion of murder had led to further developments in the case. The couple have since been released without charge.

Last week marked the 39th anniversary of the discovery of the baby who became known as Baby John with 28 stab wounds on White Strand in Cahersiveen in April 1984.

Now a new perspective on the unsolved murder has been gained and Gardai are continuing their investigations and will speak to other family members and acquaintances of the couple.
Mandatory wearing of face masks in hospitals and clinical settings has officially ended following a recommendation by the Health Protection Surveillance Centre.

After three years of stringent regulations since the COVID pandemic started in 2020, masks were considered a key part in reducing transmission of the virus.

Management at University Hospital Kerry (UHK) today welcomed the fact healthcare workers were no longer required - outside of periods of high levels of community transmission  to wear a mask.

The advice is still for masks to be worn in cases of respiratory illness. However, the ending of mandatory mask wearing is seen as a positive sign of entering a post-COVID phase.

Patients are not required to wear masks but must be facilitated if they wish to wear one.

The HSE say masks are still required as a means of transmission-based precaution and where there remains a risk between patient and healthcare worker.

UHK say it will continue to support the requirement for all patients and staff to be fully vaccinated and that boosters are up to date.

General Manager of UHK Mary Fitzgerald expressed her support for the decision stating it is a positive step towards a return to normality in the hospital.

She explained that mandatory wearing of masks had been a necessary precaution, which was challenging for patients and staff.

"As always, we will continue to follow the guidance of the HSE and implement any necessary measures to ensure the safety of our patients and staff, Ms Fitzgerald said.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our staff, patients, and visitors for their compliance and cooperation in wearing masks over the past number of years, she added.

"Your dedication to following public health guidelines has helped to keep our hospitals safe and protect vulnerable patients from the virus, said Ms Fitzgerald.
Former Mayor brings head of 1947 winner Caughoo to watch this years race

Frank Godfrey and 1947 Aintree Grand National winner Caughoo place their bets on this years race at Paddy Power Bookmakers Duleek St. Drogheda. Photo: Colin Bell Photography

The 1947 Grand National winner Caughoo, ridden by Eddie Dempsey, is led towards the winners' enclosure after the race at Aintree. Picture by Keystone/Getty Images

Frank Godfrey and 1947 Aintree Grand National winner Caughoo with Brenda and Ruth Campbell, Paul Grace, Sean Victory, Roty McCann, Trevor Marry, Isabelle Phillips, Pat Quinn, Sharon Campbell, Sarah and Jackson Balfe and Pat Clarke at The Pheasant. Photo: Colin Bell Photography

76 years ago, on a late March afternoon in 1947, an Irish horse won the most iconic of all horse races, the Aintree Grand National.

The horse, named Caughoo, romped home at odds of 100-1. The whole of Ireland celebrated the victory.

And only Frank Godfrey could bring the head of a former Grand National winner to see who won the current Grand National!

Indeed other heads did turn when the former Mayor of Drogheda walked into the Pheasant bar in Duleek Street last Saturday, with all that remains of 1947 Grand National winner Caughoo under his arm.

"I just love the old horse and he always makes some sort of an appearance on Grand National Day and everyone has great memories of Caughoo, he explains. If course in 1987, I brought him to Aintree and 58 million people saw him go across the screen on the BBC for his 40th anniversary!

Not quite so many people saw him at the Pheasant, but he still managed to grab a fair bit of attention.

Frank bought the unusual souvenir for the princely sum of 50 some years before, and although there was some dispute that it was actually the head of the champ, Frank even brought the jockey to his cottage to verify the authenticity!

"Winning jockey Eddie Dempsey came here and had a bottle of stout and a good look around the head, said Frank. He then said, yes, without a shadow of a doubt, that was the horse which brought him to victory!

Caughoos head was rescued from the devastating fire which ravaged Franks cottage in 2008.

He survived the fire when a piece of galvanise fell on top of his head and prevented it from being totally destroyed, said the colourful former councillor. I was told he always used to watch the Grand National before I had him, so I want to keep up the tradition.

But does the legendary winner bring Frank any luck?

"I dont think so, he says with a laugh. I put a little bet on and did win, but Im not sure whether that has anything to do with Caughoo!
President Joe Biden with young members of New Leaf and Comhairle na nOg in the Windsor Bar, Dundalk on Wednesday.

While the pomp and ceremony of the visit of US President Joe Biden was taking place in Dundalk last week, there was one small group of hard-working and dedicated young people waiting patiently in a back room to to meet with the leader of the United States of America!

A handful of young people from New Leaf/Mid-Louth Youth Service in Dee Hub in Ardee got a private meeting with President Biden at the Windsor in Dundalk, to say thank you for the funding they receive from The International Fund for Ireland (US peace money).

New Leaf is based out of the Hub in Ardee and work with local youths.

Operated and managed by the Ardee & District Community Trust, co-ordinated by Damien McKenna and funded by the International Fund for Ireland, the programme is designed to help young people build and develop life skills that foster good relations, build confidence and resilience and enhance their employability skills.

The fund was set up in 1986 and New Leaf is a shining example of the Personal Youth Development Programme. All credit must go to Louth Comhairle na nOg for the photo and to Damien McKenna, Beth Carragher, the team in IFI and Dept of Foreign Affairs for flying the local flag with POTUS!

After the visit finished,Clllr John Sheridan met with co-ordinator Damien McKenna and Beth Carragher of New Leaf and four local Ardee teenagers in the Windsor for a while. They were accompanied by Paddy Harte, chair of the IFI along with civil servants from the Department of Foreign Affairs

I should also say it spoke volumes that the President and his organising team wanted to prioritise this group for a private audience with him and Tanaiste Micheal Martin, added Cllr Sheridan.
President Biden broke down in tears after meeting priest who performed the last rites for his late son, Beau Biden

Fr Frank O'Grady, from Gurteen, Co Sligo, speaking in Knock Shrine after US President Joe Biden's emotional visit on Friday.

A Gurteen priest, working at Knock Shrine who performed the last rites for US President Joe Bidens late son Beau in 2015 while working as a US Army chaplain, has described the chance meeting with the US President on as a surprise and a delight.
A new public artwork scheme will see the community of Ferns harvest and sell honey from bee colonies on the grounds of St Edans Catherdral Church. Do the Little Things is the latest venture in the Ancient Connections programme which seeks to strengthen ties between Ferns and St Davids in Pembrokeshire, Wales.

Three oversized skeps (traditional beekeepers hives) made from cedar wood are being installed in both locations. These living sculptures will contain bee colonies that are being cared for by local beekeepers and community groups, who will be harvesting and selling honey in labelled jars designed by the artist and local school children.

The idea came from Welsh artist Bedwyr Williams who said it harks back to the St David and his friendship with St Aidan, who, it is believed, brought bees back to Ireland from Wales.

Im interested in objects that invite communities to become active participants to make the artwork whole, said Bedwyr. St Davids last words were Gwnewch y pethau bychain or Do the little things. This ethos has guided the development of my proposal, which is founded on the story of St David and St Aidan and steeped in the magic and history of these two intertwined locations.

Sited in the grounds of St Edans Cathedral Church heritage graveyard, the work opens to the public on Saturday, April 15 from 12 p.m. The launch event will bring community groups to the site for a Q&A with Bedwyr and local beekeeper Joe Kelly; folklore and storytelling, and a performance of music and song by Melanie OReilly, David Creevy and the Chord On Blues Ferns Community Choir, led by Mary Moulds.

The event is free to attend and all are welcome.

Bees have linked Wales and Wexford since the sixth century, when it is reported St David gifted a hive of bees to an Irish pupil to keep, after his monastery bees twice followed their favourite monk home to Ireland and had to be brought back, said the Very Revd Paul Mooney, Dean of St. Edans Cathedral. Ferns. Were delighted to welcome this striking symbol of the ties between us and to honour the friendship between our own Saint Aidan (Mogue) or Edan, and Saint David of Wales.

Do the Little Things will also mark the beginning and end of another legacy of the Ancient Connections project., the new pilgrim route between St Edans Cathedral in Ferns and St Davids Cathedral in Pembrokeshire. The Wexford-Pembrokeshire Pilgrim Way will encourage low impact tourism in both regions and will open to the public in 2023.
Some in the UK press seemed annoyed that someone of the power and influence of the US President would deign to visit lowly little Ireland, and not the UK on this occasion.
The recently published 136-page Report of the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss is the latest indictment of the persistent failures of successive Governments to seriously address biodiversity loss, and the failure to adequately fund, implement and enforce existing national legislation and policies as well as EU biodiversity-related laws and directives.

In their report, the members of the Assembly call on the Government to urgently change course and to stop pursuing policies that are driving the loss of biodiversity. They make 159 recommendations for change. So, who are these people who make up the Citizens Assembly?

In early 2022, then Taoiseach Micheal Martin wrote to 20,000 households in the State with an invitation addressed to The Householder, to nominate one adult from the household to apply to become a member of the Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss. Households that received invitations were randomly generated from the GeoDirectory database.

Of the 20,000 households invited to nominate an Assembly member, 2,261 responded; 131 responses were deemed invalid leaving 2,130 valid applications. From that number 99 people were selected to comprise the Citizens Assembly. To optimise diversity and inclusivity of membership in the selection process, targets were set for selecting members by gender, age group, location by region, language, and occupation.

Consequently, the 99 people selected to be Assembly members represented a cross-section of Irish society. The selected members were tasked with discussing how the State can improve its response to the issue of biodiversity loss. Dr Aoibhinn Ni Shuilleabhain, broadcaster and university lecturer, was invited to chair the Assembly as the 100th member. She was responsible for the smooth running of the Assembly.

In its 159 recommendations the hard-working Citizens Assembly on Biodiversity Loss charts a way forward. Much of what they recommend is already in, or is echoed in, successive Government National Biodiversity Action Plans, the EU Biodiversity Strategy and a plethora of reports. What needs to be done is now abundantly clear. What needs attention is the injection of more resources and a tad more urgency into getting the job done.
press release

Good morning, good afternoon and good evening,

The situation in the Republic of Sudan is deeply concerning.

Sudan's Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Center reports 270 people have been killed and more than 2600 people have been injured.

Tragically, three workers from WFP have also been killed.

I condemn all loss of life and we stand in solidarity with our brothers and sisters in Sudan.

The heaviest fighting is currently in Khartoum.

Movement has been restricted due to insecurity, creating challenges for health workers and ambulances, to reach health facilities, and putting further lives at risk.

The supplies that WHO distributed to health facilities prior to this recent escalation of conflict are now exhausted.

Hospitals in Khartoum receiving injured civilians are reporting shortages of medical personnel and lifesaving medical supplies.

Fuel shortages for hospital generators, as well as water and power cuts are also reportedly affecting the functionality of health facilities.

There are disturbing reports of some health facilities being looted and others being used for military purposes.

It is also reported that some hospitals are already closed, or on the brink of closure, due to attacks, and a lack of medical personnel and medical supplies.

WHO calls on all parties to comply with their obligations under international law.

Health care facilities and workers must never be a target, especially in a situation like this where there are thousands of civilians who need access to emergency care.

I want to be very clear; all parties must ensure unrestricted and safe access to health facilities for those injured and everyone in need of medical care.

WHO teams on the ground will continue to work closely with the partners and health authorities to try and fill gaps in the provision of health care, especially for trauma.

I urge all sides to heed the calls for a humanitarian ceasefire, to silence the guns and to work towards a peaceful resolution.

Marburg.

Now to Marburg, Marburg Virus Disease in Equatorial Guinea where in the last week, two healthcare workers that had contracted the virus were discharged from a WHO supported treatment center.

There has now been a total of 16 laboratory-confirmed MVD cases. Among these cases, 11 people have died.

23 probable cases of MVD have also been reported since the outbreak was declared on 13 February.

The most affected district is Bata in Litoral province, where nine cases have been reported.

Today a new case was reported in a health worker from Bata who was being monitored due to exposure from a previous case.

The case was detected on the day of disease onset and they were given antiviral therapy via government protocol, which is being supported by WHO.

WHO calls on all partners to remain vigilant as there may be undetected chains of transmission in the country.

With partners, WHO is supporting the Ministry of Health to strengthen surveillance, in affected areas, and increase laboratory capacity.

We're also working together to improve case management; infection prevention and control, protect health and care workers, conduct safe and dignified burials, as well as engaging with the community around risk and staying safe.

WHO is working with neighbouring countries to help prepare for any importation.

This is a critical moment in the outbreak response in Equatorial Guinea, and it will take an all of government and all of society effort to stop this outbreak.

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In Afghanistan, I am extremely disappointed that the Taliban has banned Afghan women from working with the United Nations in the country.

As the UN Secretary-General said, this is a violation of the fundamental human rights of women.

Female staff members and health workers are essential for delivering life-saving health services to those in need.

I call on the Taliban to rethink a decision that will massively reduce access to health services and only harm the Afghan people.

===

To tuberculosis, an ancient disease which continues to affect an estimated 10.6 million people around the world and accounts for 1.6 million deaths every year.

Nearly 40 percent of people with TB are not receiving the health and care services they need.

Efforts to bring TB under control have been hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic and conflicts in Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

All of this makes working with affected communities and civil society

critical to bringing this killer disease under control.

On World TB Day, I launched a Flagship Initiative to End TB.

Its aim for the next four years is to support the fast-tracking of progress towards ending TB, and advancing research and innovation on new vaccines.

The WHO Civil Society Task Force on TB has been working to bring the voices of TB-affected communities and civil society to the work of WHO.

With this in mind, new WHO guidance for community engagement to end TB will be published soon.

Today, I'm joined by Blessina Kumar, a member of WHO's Civil Society Taskforce on TB and CEO of the Global Coalition of TB Advocates, to discuss the role of civil society and local communities will play in tackling the disease.

Blessi, you have the floor.

===

Blessi Kumar takes the floor.

===

Thank you so much Blessi for those inspiring words and for your leadership.

I agree that the UN High-Level Meeting on TB in September is a key moment to look at challenges and find solutions together.

And civil society and affected communities are central to our joint efforts to support countries in controlling and stopping the spread of TB.

I'm also pleased to see the establishment of a TB vaccine council, which will involve civil society and jointly push for speeding up new vaccine development for TB.

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There are currently 16 vaccine candidates, and with the right investment, we can finally turn the tide against this ancient killer.

===

To abortion, WHO is concerned that the right of women to access safe abortion services, including through use of medical abortion medicines, are being limited by legislatures and/or courts.

To be clear on WHO's position - women should always have the right to choose when it comes to their bodies and their health.

Restricting access to abortion does not reduce the number of procedures and only drives women and girls towards unsafe ones and also death.

Ultimately access to safe abortion is health care that saves lives.

===

Finally, this week there will be a high-level meeting with health leaders to review progress since WHO and the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) launched the hub in June 2021 in South Africa.

During the five-day meeting, participants will discuss critical enablers for sustainability of the effort such as intellectual property issues and an enabling regulatory environment.

They will also look at the science of mRNA technologies and key applications relevant to low- and middle-income countries for diseases like TB and HIV.

In two years, we have proved that when we work collaboratively, we can succeed collectively.

WHO and partners supporting a sustainable model for mRNA tech transfer to catalyse access in low- and middle-income countries is a potential gamechanger.

Fadela back to you
Sinead White, Mairead White and Bridget Fitzgerald at the Nicola Doyle's Coffee Morning to raise funds for her trip to Arusha, in Tanzania, in Oulart Community Centre.

Caoileann Farrell, Carol Sinnott, John Mernagh and Ann Doyle at the Nicola Doyle's Coffee Morning to raise funds for her trip to Arusha, in Tanzania, in Oulart Community Centre.

l-r: Siobhan Britton, Jemma Reck, Nicola Doyle (host), Vivian Gahan and Alice Mythen at the Nicola Doyle's Coffee Morning to raise funds for her trip to Arusha, in Tanzania, in Oulart Community Centre.

Martin Farrell, Siun Farrell, Sybil Mernagh and Denis Doyle at the Nicola Doyle's Coffee Morning to raise funds for her trip to Arusha, in Tanzania, in Oulart Community Centre.

Nicola Doyle pictured with her parents Michael and Geraldine at the Nicola's Coffee Morning to raise funds for her trip to Arusha, in Tanzania, in Oulart Community Centre.

Sean Doyle and Murt Doyle at the Nicola Doyle's Coffee Morning to raise funds for her trip to Arusha, in Tanzania, in Oulart Community Centre.

THERE was a great show of support in Oulart Community Centre recently for a fundraising event in aid of a local woman who is helping a special needs centre in Tanzania that caters for children aged between one and 10.

The coffee morning event in Oulart was organised in support of Nicola Doyle who is working with the centre, located in Arusha, in Tanzania.

A very big crowd attended the event, much to the delight of Nicola and the organisers and it highlighted the willingness of the local community to help others.

Nicola set up a GoFundMe page to help raise money for supplies and materials for the centre.

She highlighted that local schools and the centre are not government funded and that means the ongoing running and maintenance costs have to be met largely by donations and the generosity of others.

"They are underfunded and under-resourced, she said.

All money raised through the GoFundMe page will go towards making improvements to the lives of the children attending the centre. Nicola is very appreciative of all the support shown to her from within the local community and she expressed sincere gratitude to everyone who contributed to the fundraising page to-date.

To give support to Nicola go to her page titled volunteering with children in Arusha, Tanzania on the GoFundMe platform. To-date the campaign has raised 4,029.
Misery (1990) Film4, 11.10p.m.

When author Paul Sheldon (James Caan) is involved in a near-fatal car accident he is pulled from the wreckage by nice Annie Wilkes (Kathy Bates) who, it turns out, is his number one fan.

But when she discovers that Paul is planning to kill off his most famous creation, Misery Chastain, in his latest novel, Annie reveals herself to a scenery-chewing psychopath with a fondness for sledgehammers.

Stephen Kings shocking thriller is ably directed by Rob Reiner with first-class performances from both stars  particularly the Oscar-winning Bates, whose mood-swinging character is quite terrifying. It also helped Caan (who was 12th in line for the role), who was in the midst of a comeback, prove he could do more than play tough guys.

THURSDAY

School for Scoundrels (1960) BBC4, 9p.m.

Inspired by a popular series of books by Stephen Potter  including Gamesmanship (1947), Lifemanship and Oneupmanship (1952)  this comedy stars Ian Carmichael as a timid company owner who is sick of being pushed around by his own employees.

After a series of further humiliations, including losing his girlfriend, he enrols at a college dedicated to teaching students how to succeed through being manipulative and devious.

Its not in the same class as director Robert Hamers Kind Hearts and Coronets, but it is an enjoyable period piece  and far superior to the 2006 Hollywood remake.

FRIDAY

Blinded by the Light (2019) BBC1, 10.40p.m.

Adapted from Sarfraz Mansoors memoir, Blinded by the Light is an uplifting coming-of-age comedy, charting one downtrodden British Pakistani teenagers Bruce Springsteen-inspired self-awakening in 1980s Luton.

Sixteen-year-old Javeds (Viveik Kalra) dreams of writing full-time must be extinguished to be a dutiful son to his seamstress mother Noor (Meera Ganatra) and father Malik (Kulvinder Ghir), who works on the production line of the local Vauxhall car plant.

When Malik is unexpectedly made redundant, pressure intensifies on Javed to marry and settle down when what he really wants to do is kiss a girl and get out of this dump. An escape from Luton seems frustratingly out of reach until fellow sixth-former Roops (Aaron Phagura) loans Javed his Springsteen cassettes.

SATURDAY

Stand By Me (1986) Channel 5, 12.35p.m.

Based on The Body, a short story by Stephen King, this drama set in the 1950s follows a group of four 12-year-old boys as they set out on an adventure in the Oregon wilderness. The lads are looking for the body of a missing teenager, but fail to anticipate the other horrors theyll encounter along the way.

Stephen King has claimed this was the first big-screen adaptation of one of his works that he was entirely happy with  and its easy to see why. Its a classic coming-of-age story that manages to be funny and moving, while director Rob Reiner coaxes brilliant performances out of the young cast.

The fact that River Phoenix would never really get the chance to deliver on the promise he shows here only adds to the poignancy. With Wil Wheaton, Kiefer Sutherland and Richard Dreyfuss.

SUNDAY

Back to the Future (1985) ITV, 3.30p.m.

The first chapter in director Robert Zemeckiss consistently imaginative and exciting trilogy introduces us to Michael J. Fox as young buck Marty McFly, who accidentally travels back in time courtesy of Dr Emmett Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and his DeLorean time machine, and comes face to face with his own parents in 1950s America.

But when the woman who is destined to become his mother (Lea Thompson) suddenly finds herself attracted to Marty instead of his dad George (a scene-stealing Crispin Glover), his entire future is placed in jeopardy, leaving the hapless teenager racing against time to set things right before he is wiped from existence.

MONDAY

Jaws (1975) ITV4, 9p.m.

Its now nearly 50 years old, but Steven Spielbergs first blockbuster has lost none of its bite. Roy Scheider heads the cast as Brody, a police chief on New Englands Amity Island whose relatively idyllic existence is turned upside down when a great white shark starts snacking on the locals.

The mayor is reluctant to close the beaches in case it scares off the tourists, so with the aid of a wealthy expert (Richard Dreyfuss) and a salty hunter (Robert Shaw), Brody heads off to find and kill the beast.

Its a masterpiece of direction, combining genuine thrills with three-dimensional characters, and although the shark itself is a bit of a let-down, by the time we get a good look at it, were having too much fun to care. John Williams iconic score just adds to the tension.

TUESDAY

City Slickers (1991) Film4, 3.50p.m.

Friends Mitch (Billy Crystal), Phil (Daniel Stern) and Ed (Bruno Kirby) are all facing their own midlife crises and decide that the best way to handle them is with an adventure holiday that will see them taking part in a cattle drive.

The trip proves to be more demanding than they expected as they are whipped into shape by a tough veteran cowboy (a scene-stealing, Oscar-winning Jack Palance).

This comedy may be a little too sentimental for some tastes, but sharp performances and plenty of great gags stop it from getting too sweet. Look out for a very young Jake Gyllenhaal as Mitchs son and listen out for Yeardley Smith  if you dont know her name or face, you will recognise her as the voice of Lisa Simpson.
New Ross councillors Anthony Connick and Pat Barden are due to join a committee with councillors and officials from Callan-Thomastown Municipal District, to meet and discuss collaboration efforts between the two districts.

Following an agreement reached at a meeting in Thomas in February to form a working group to drive forward issues in common areas like Rosbercon, Shanbogh and the Waterford and Glenmore roads, Cllr Connick was chosen to lead the New Ross delegation, with Cllr Barden agreeing to join the committee

The working group features officials including directors of service and district managers.

Cllr Connick said the representatives should remain on the group for years as some issues like sewerage and roads are complex and will take time.
Raymond Forte from Raymondo's fast food restaurant on North Street, New Ross, with his signed copy by Cillian Murphy of 'Small Things Like These'. Photo; Mary Browne

EVER-inventive New Ross businessman Raymond (Ray) Forte has won praise from Hollywood legend Cillian Murphy for having the actors face painted over one of the doors of his New Ross restaurant to capitalise on the filming of Small Things Like These in the town.

Ray said: With the buzz about the film in town I said Id do it as it was trendy and uplifting.Early on in the pandemic, he had Thank you to the HSE and Frontline Staff written above his door.

People from Wexford, Gorey, everywhere around the county were texting me about it. It probably helped business as well even though that wasnt the initial plan.

When I put this one up I thought it would be a good little marketing idea.Local artist Ciaran Moran did the artwork.

Ray tried to get Murphy to come and see the sign, contacting the films production crew.

He wasnt able to make it over. He smiled when one of the production crew showed it to him. It was a bit of an ordeal to get him over as he always has people around him, so he would probably have gotten mobbed if he came over here, especially with the spotlight on him at the moment.

On Thursday Ray was surprised when one of the locations production team on the film arrived in with a copy of the book with a message from Murphy saying: To Raymondo best wishes, with an x on it.Ray said: It was nice of them to provide the book for me and for him to sign it. It was just a lovely, classy touch.He said other businesses who assisted the company, Barrow Productions DAC, were also gifted books.
Maritime history of Wexford port to be celebrated at New Ross park

A design for the attractive Emigrant themed park which will be developed on the old oil tanks site on New Ross quayfront.

The Emigrant Park in New Ross is due to be opened in September during this years Kennedy Summer School.

New Ross district director Eamonn Hore said works are ongoing on the old oil tanks site beside the Dunbrody visitor centre.

The wall running along the river Barrow has been lowered by about three feet and ramps will be created to afford a wonderful view of the river.

These will bring it up to the same level as the boardwalk, said Mr Hore.

On top of the wall there will be a railing similar to the one on the boardwalk.

You will be able to see the river entirely. We hope to open it as part of the Kennedy Summer School in four months time.

He said because of the close association with New Ross quay front and emigration the decision was made to give the park an emigrant theme.

To this end steps that were on the old Graves office will be incorporated into the parks design, while a sign for the famous New Ross company will be visible from the park.

Matt Cullen and his brother Liam had the good sense to get the original steps before the building was demolished. Thousands of people would have climbed those steps to get their tickets so you will walk those original steps and you will be looking down at the Graves and Company sign, which will be repainted at the side of the car showroom on the quay.

Information boards will give the history of New Ross port where timber was imported from Canada and other countries.

There will be a small play area for children made of logs.

There were five ships, including the Dunbrody, that sailed regularly from the quay at New Ross. The names of the five ships will be etched into the timber support posts of the proposed natural play feature.

The play feature will be set in rubber safety matting and reflective strips will be incorporated into the timber supports at the appropriate height for the partially sighted. Information about the historic ships will be included in the interpretive panel located at the edge of the play area.

A wall will divide the edge of the park form the Dunbrody centre, with three graphal panels located in the park, creating a stunning effect at night when the pinholes are illuminated. Aspects of the maritime heritage of New Ross will be integrated into the design of the space using historic and new design features.

Work started on garden by Dunbrody. Photo Mary Browne

The proposed corten steel panels to be fixed to the screen wall at the northern end of the space will be perforated to compose graphic motifs of historic sailing ship rigging.

They will be mounted to the wall with a steel frame with LED lighting integrated into the rear of the panels to create a backlit effect, with the lighting emanating from the perforated shapes.

Seating and lighting will be erected, along with flags.

As you walk along the upper boardwalk all of the ports visited by New Ross ships form Liverpool to New York to Quebec will be referenced.

The original plan was that you would be walk all the way along the quay right beside the water  apart from at the Dunbrody centre. It runs along 1.3kms 12 years ago you couldnt walk along any of it.

He said the Emigrant Park is protected by bund walls use to ensure oil didnt seep into the river. The total cost of the will run to around 1m including the demolition of the tanks which happened in mid-2021. The depot consisted of five bulk fuel storage tanks and a control building.

A design for the attractive Emigrant themed park which will be developed on the old oil tanks site on New Ross quayfront.

Its remediation from industrial use to public open space will be very positive for the immediate environs and town. Working with consulting engineers Fehily Timoney & Co. Ltd., Brady Shipman Martin were commissioned by Wexford County Council to prepare environmental site investigations and report with recommendations, decommissioning of the tanks and site certification, demolition design, preparation of planning application and tender documents for the removal and remediation of the site into the public realm, a Wexford County Council spokesperson said.

Planting on the site will commence with the completion of each stage of the works and as a result the programme is closely tied to construction operations.

Ground preparation is preceding planting. Planting of species will be carried out in the dormant period from November to March, with grass seeding carried out from April to September. This will ensure ample opportunity for planting to establish properly and reduce casualties during the maintenance period.
Alejandro Mizsan, the young boy who was horrifically attacked by an XL Bully dog while playing outside his home in Enniscorthy last November has returned to his school.

Alejandro, who turned 10 in February, suffered horrific injuries in the attack and spent weeks in hospital in Dublin. He will also require intensive ongoing treatment.

The attack occurred as the youngster was playing outside his home in the Old Forge area of the town.

Such was the ferocity of the attack that the young boy was airlifted to Crumlin Childrens Hospital in Dublin where he was treated for serious injuries.

Alejandro about to leave for school again.

In the wake of the attack his brother, Raul, said his family were overwhelmed by the level of support they had been shown within the community in Enniscorthy.

His brother, Raul, described the pain of seeing his brother's injuries as heartbreaking at the time and the fact he wasn't home over Christmas was also very difficult for the family.

However, Alejandro has shown immense bravery and courage in the wake of the attack and on Monday, April 17, he eventually returned to third class in St Aidan's Parish School in Enniscorthy where he was warmly greeted by his friends and teachers.

School principal Frank Murphy said Alejandro has settled in well since returning to school and everyone is delighted to see him back.

Alejandro Mizsan before the dog attack in November 2022.

However, he still has a long road ahead of him in terms of his overall recovery but seeing him back in school has brought great joy not just to his family and friends but also the wider community in Enniscorthy.
People across Wexford will have the opportunity to learn more about connections between Ireland and Canada when the Ambassador of Canada to Ireland, Nancy Smyth visits Gorey on Tuesday, April 25.

At the end of the ambassadors Gorey trip, which will see her meet with a number of business and educational representatives, the ambassador will facilitate a talk on Ireland and Canada Links at Gorey Library. This event will take place at 6.30 p.m. and those with Canadian connections or an interest between the relationship between Ireland and Canada are encouraged to come along.

During her visit, Ambassador Nancy Smith will visit Gorey Community School, the Hatch Lab and IWP Pallets at Wells, among other venues. She will also meet with representatives of Tara Studios and Screen Wexford to hear more about the development of Tara Studios and on opportunities for collaboration with the Canadian Audio Visual sector. Construction is set to begin on Tara Studios later this year.

One of the key elements of the Ambassadors visit is to talk about how we can look at the possibility of enhancing Canadian-Irish TV and film production, both with the Tara Studios based north of Gorey and in Wexford overall. The Canadian film industry is very strong. Internationally, there is a lot of emphasis in the industry on co-production nowadays so we would like to explore how that could work between Ireland and Canada, said Senator Malcolm Byrne.

While he said that current trade between Wexford and Canada is limited, Senator Byrne said another objective of the upcoming visit is to explore how those connections can be enhanced.
Small Things Like These film. Extras from left; Rita Dunphy, Annette Stacey, Barry O'Connor and Richie Kirwan from New Ross . Photo; Mary Browne

Presentation to Small Things Like These film crew from New Ross Municipal district. From left; Cathaoirleach Michael Sheehan and Sharon Ryan staff officer with a presentation to Cillian Murphy and one of the film producers Catherine Magee receiving a presentation on behalf of the crew from Alan Fitzhenry District Manager. Photo; Mary Browne

As the film crew behind Small Things Like These leaves New Ross this week, the town is a brighter, better, richer place, according to municipal manager Alan Fitzhenry.

Filming wrapped on Friday with the crews and some of the cast recording in the town centre and at Rochestown.

The entire bandwagon wrapped up and moved out of town by the weekend. There are a handful of people from the locations team still around tidying up and theyll be gone soon, said Mr Fitzhenry.

He said the benefits to the town are many, especially positive exposure.

It has given the town a lovely lift for the last month or so. That is the feedback weve been getting from the businesspeople and local people in general. It has been a great talking point and has put a lot of smiles on faces.

Based on the novella by Booker prize nominated writer Claire Keegan, who lives in Clonegal, the 116 page book concerns coal merchant Bill Furlong, who faces a moral dilemma in a town dominated by the church, in 1985.

Mr Fitzhenry said Quay Street, in particular, has been popular with locals and people visiting the town to see all the excitement, with people engaging with the shop fronts, straight out of 1985 when the Claire Keegan book is set.

For the long term, we are really hopeful that the film is successful and that it does well because there is potential in that that tourists and people from across Ireland will see it and want to visit the locations in New Ross. A lot of people who came during filming were very complimentary of the town.

He said the cast and crew were so complimentary about their reception in New Ross that many working decades in the film industry said it was the best they had ever received.

That was genuine feedback. They were really blown away about how nothing was any trouble. He paid tribute to Staff Officer Ger Walsh for working until 4 a.m. several mornings in The Tholsel, to facilitate the cast and crew, executive roads engineer David Murphy, general operatives, road crews and everyone who worked to ensure filming ran smoothly.

He said Ms Walsh, in particular, was engaged with the crew from day one, linking them with local business owners and residents for locations.

We have proven that there is an awful lot here for filming.

He said it remains unknown how much the film cast and crew spent in New Ross, adding that it was significant.

Mr Fitzhenry said he was not made privy as to whether the film ran under or over budget, adding that B&Bs, hotels, restaurants, pubs; businesses of all sizes benefited from Small Things Like These being filmed in New Ross.


Slaney Search & Rescue members checking on residents of the Island Road in Enniscorthy during flooding in December 2015. It's been an ongoing problem for years.

A special meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District focusing attention on the towns proposed but long awaited flood relief scheme is due to take place in the Presentation Centre on Thursday, April 20, at 10.30 a.m.

Its expected that councillors will meet with officials from the local authority with a view to getting a detailed update on where the project is currently at.

The initial proposal was rejected by the then Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath TD, early in 2022.

Min McGrath based his decision on a recommendation by independent assessors appointed to examine the submission lodged by the OPW in respect of the 50m scheme.

The decision to refuse permission for the scheme was made under Section 7E(1)(b) of the Arterial Drainage Acts (as amended by the European Union (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Arterial Drainage) Regulations 2019).

In making the decision the minister carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment which took into consideration a number of factors including: the Environmental Impact Assessment Report (EIAR) and Natura Impact Statement (NIS) prepared for the OPW and Wexford County Council; supplementary information submitted by the OPW on foot of a request from the ministers department to the OPW for further information following an initial review by the environmental consultants, CAAS.

Read more Disappointment and anger at shock decision to refuse permission for Enniscorthy Flood Defence Scheme

Min McGrath said at the time that in adopting the consultants reports he noted CAAS had outlined a number of inadequacies with the EIAR, with which he agreed.

In respect of the significant effects of the scheme on the environment, Min McGrath said he was satisfied that there are significant shortcomings in the biodiversity assessment in relation to impacts on habitats and species which make it uncertain if the project can comply with environmental legislation including the Wildlife Acts.

However, there are fears locally that the scheme still wont be progressed significantly within the next five years and the proposed development of a new bridge over the river Slaney has also been separated from the main project. However, thats been done as part of a strategy that could benefit the project in the long term as its a component of the scheme that will hopefully get the go-ahead before permission is granted for works to take place on the main flood relief scheme itself.

All of the local councillors have expressed dismay over the fact its taken so long to develop the flood relief scheme that is seriously needed in the town where repeated incidents of intense flooding have taken place over a very long number of years.

Its hoped that Thursdays meeting will provide some clarity for the members in relation to the scheme and what the next stage is with regard to moving the project forward.

The meeting will also include a discussion on special projects planned for the town and district.
Family have raised almost 47,000 of the 60,000 needed for pioneering cancer treatment

Andy OReilly had hoped to attend the benefit night held in his honour in the Hill Bar in Oulart, had hoped to personally thank all those who have offered their support in his battle against cancer.

But, in a sign of how grave his condition has become, Andy (42) was unable to make even a brief appearance, was left at home, waiting for news on the fundraiser.

That fundraiser added another 4,320 to a pot which currently stands at 46,655, which needs to rise to 60,000 for Andy to travel to Mexico for pioneering treatment to extend his life. The cancer which began in his oesophagus just over a year ago has since spread to his lungs and stomach, is now beyond the capabilities of the Irish medical system, considered too far gone to be treated by our surgeons and oncologists.

The quicker he can get on that plane the better, I was up visiting him yesterday and hes not looking well; his lungs are filling with fluid, hes struggling to breathe, to talk, said Andys father-in-law Lar Brennan.

His cancer is so aggressive, its that bad he could barely talk to us yesterday, hes gasping for breath between each word. And bear in mind this is a guy who never smoked, went jogging every day, was as strong as a horse. Its hard to believe whats happened really. Ive said to Amanda (Andys wife), get on that plane tomorrow, he needs this treatment, time is now of the essence. Any funds we raise in the meantime can be added to the total as we go along.

Currently the plan is for Andy, who worked as manager of Dunnes Stores in Enniscorthy prior to his illness, and Amanda to fly out to the Mexican treatment centre on May 3. During a three-week stay, Andy will receive daily treatment in eight-hour blocks, treatment which comes with a hefty 55,000 bill.

Like so many people who fall foul of the disease, the father-of-three had been healthy and fit before his sudden diagnosis.

Last March he was struggling to swallow his food which led to scans and tests which, in turn, led to stage two oesophageal cancer, said sister Maria. He was offered chemotherapy, which he chose, but it tore him apart. The plan was to eventually get the tumour to shrink and have an operation in November to remove the tumour.

That operation was a success and for a brief couple of months Andy, Amanda, and their children Craig, Ian, and Kyle, allowed themselves to hope. But in March came further news, the worst news.

Ian O'Reilly, Maria Lappin, Craig O'Reilly, Amy Brennan, Larry Brennan and Lar Brennan at the Benefit night for Andy O'Reilly, in Oulart Hill Bar, Oulart.

The cancer has spread and he is now at stage four and there is no effective treatment available for him in this country, says Maria. But we have found somewhere that can help him abroad, we just need help to improve the quality of his life and prolong his life for as long as we possibly can.

In addition to his own children and the newest addition to the family, granddaughter Kayla, Andy and Amanda have also fostered children for the past 15 years, a sign, Lar says, of the innate kindness and generosity of the couple. Andy was brilliant with the kids, got them into sports, helped them with anything they need, straightened them out, he was successful with them all.

This is not the first time Andys family have been visited by cancer, five years ago he and Marias parents both died from the disease with within weeks of one another. Yet rather than dwell on the severity of the situation, Lar has been working to keep his son-in-laws spirits up.

Grace Byrne, Jess Doyle and Rebecca Byrne at the Benefit night for Andy O'Reilly, in Oulart Hill Bar, Oulart.

The family are bottling it all up, you can see theyre stressed but theyre putting their good side out, trying to keep as normal as possible for Andy, staying positive. Im the same, I keep on at him about positivity, telling him to keep any negative thoughts out of his head and concentrate on the positives, he has three sons, a beautiful granddaughter, these are the things he needs to focus on, he says.

Hopeful that the GoFundMe will reach 60,000 in the coming weeks, Lar wished to pay special tribute to all those in Oulart and beyond, a group of people who he says have gone above and beyond in their support of the family.

The community here have really rallied round, theyve been absolutely brilliant, especially for a crowd of Dubs who only came down here 20 years ago. We want to thank everyone for all the support theyve given us since this all began.

Anyone who would like to donate can do so on the Help Andrew beat cancer GoFundMe page.
Tanzania joins the Peace and Security Council (PSC) of the African Union (AU) to condemn the ongoing armed confrontation in Sudan.

A statement issued in Dodoma by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and East African Cooperation's communication Unit says the ongoing conflict in Sudan has not only resulted in the loss of lives, injuries and destruction of property but also is a serious setback to the peace process in the Northeast Africa.

"In this respect Tanzania as a member of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union welcomes and fully subscribes to the Communique issued at its meeting held on the 16th of April, 2023," the statement reads.

The Government, through the statement, urges parties concerned in Sudan to exercise restraint and refrain from any action that may further escalate violence, casualties and humanitarian crisis.

"We call upon the parties concerned without condition to engage in dialogue in order to find a solution to their differences through peaceful means," the statement says. "We also urge all parties concerned to ensure the safety of all people, not only Sudanese but also all the foreigners in Sudan, including Tanzania nationals,"

Equally, the Tanzanian Government says it is ready to support efforts by the United Nations, African Union, IGAD and the International Community at finding a lasting peace in Sudan.

"In this respect we support the AU call to reject any external interference that could complicate the situation in Sudan," the statement adds.
Supervised, safe space for youths aged 13-17 in town

The first youth social cafe to open in the region has opened on North Street, New Ross.

1317North is, as the name suggests, exclusively for 13 to 17 year olds. Offering a supervised space where teenagers can enjoy games of pool, free video games, board games, snacks and free wi-fi, the social enterprise is located beside Murrays bar, but is in no way connected to the adjoining premises.

Shawn Murray said he has spent around 22,000 on the new business venture, which is run by several people, including Sinead Cashin.

The business opened on Saturday and got a good crowd in.

The cafe at 4 North Street is free to enter and is open from 4 p.m. to late evening daily, except for Mondays. It has pool tables, Playstation games, broadband, Jenga, darts, phone charging points, a tuck shop and tunes.

Officially launching the May Bank Holiday, Mr Murray said the social enterprise project is targeted at local youngsters so they have a warm, safe and welcoming space to hang out together and have some fun.

With free entry and low cost activities were sure this will prove popular with all concerned and theres food available too. A limited number of venue club memberships will be available from 50 per annum which give discounts and priority booking on reserving the space for Membership Mondays or to privately hire for a birthday party or celebration among other privileges.

Mr Murray said people aged 15 and up go to his pub to play pool, but it didnt look right seeing them leave the premises with schoolbags on their backs.

He has rented the neighbouring premises at 4 North Street and is using it as a youth cafe for the present.

I am out on the door with security at the pub on a Friday or Saturday night and I can see the young lads hanging around  often in the rain  and there is nothing to do for hundreds of these young people.

Ms Cashin said: This is a business with the aim to make profit to cover staff costs etc. The tuck shop is cost price for members and cheaper than the shops. There is a toilet and the key has to be gotten from the counter.

The cost of a game of pool is 2 or 1 for members. People can order food in the form of basket bites for a fiver.

Ms Cashin said the venue is ideal for teenagers who are waiting to be collected by their parents after school or as a hang out spot.

We market it as an adult free zone because you cant have an adult come in to play pool with teenagers, but parents with vulnerable children can come in and have a coffee at the tuck shop.

Ms Cashin said the social enterprise will be entered into a Rethink Ireland awards competition, adding that it is unique in Ireland.

Mr Murray said he is aware of anti social behaviour on The High Hill, including graffiti.

Ms Cashin said the cafe will provide a safe space for teenagers who come from difficult backgrounds, allowing everyone to mix together, adding that it is the only youth space in town over the summer months.

Its about inclusion. I hope 1317 becomes like the Mens Shed and has branches everywhere around the country, said Ms Cashin.


There was great sadness in the parish of Templetown among the large congregation of family, friends and neighbours of Eileen Finn (nee Tector) late of Winningtown, Saltmills, who sadly passed away on the March 28, 2023, at Cherrygrove Nursing home, Horeswood at the age of 91.

Eileen was the wife of the late Paddy Finn and the daughter of the late Leo and Elizabeth Tector, Raheenvaren, Newbawn, where she spent her early childhood as one of 12 siblings.

As was common at the time, Eileen went to live with her maternal grandmother in McCabes of Ballyvergin and went to primary school in Adamstown.

At the age of 15, Eileen went to live at Hantons of Stonehouse when her step-aunt Mary Ellen McCabe married John Hanton, and attended Shielbaggin Vocational School during her time there and subsequently helped with the rearing of the young Hanton family to whom she remained fondly attached all her life.

While in Stonehouse, Eileen met the love of her life, Paddy Finn and they set up home in Winningtown and went on to have a family of eight children.

As a couple, they were hard to divide and seldom seen apart.

Eileen was a great wife and mother, always ensuring that the family were well looked after, that they applied themselves to their schooling, as well ensuring that the there was plenty of work for them to do on the farm.

Along with being a busy wife and mother, Eileen also found time and was fully committed to parish and community activities.

Whether it was keeping the church flowers looking well, or baking her renowned cakes for parish field days or events in the hall, she was always helping out.

Eileen was a frequent prize-winner for her baking and jams at the Annual Fethard Show.

She was a member of the Fethard ICA for many years and looked forward to their annual bus tours to many parts of the country, coming back with many funny stories.

Eileen was a very popular lady in her community and held in high regard by her neighbours for her kind disposition.

The house in Winningtown was very much an open house and everyone was well looked after whether just visiting or helping out at busy times on the farm.

Eileen was a woman with a great sense of humour, strong values and deep faith and loved meeting people.

She would always ensure that she visited her siblings on a regular basis, especially her sisters, where on Sunday afternoon a conversation and great laughter would be heard as well as the clinking of teacups.

Eileen liked to dress up for any occasion and loved attending local dinner dances in the Naomh Seosamh Hotel in Fethard to dance the night away and chat to her may friends.

The weekly Bingo was a great social outlet for her going multiple evenings a week travelling to Fethard, Campile, Taghmon, Adamstown and coming home with tales of winning or waiting for one number for the snowball, but it was the meeting of friends that meant a lot to her on these occasions.

Eileens greatest joy was in her family, and she was proud of them as they made their way in life and fulfilled the role of a much-loved grandmother treating all with equal amounts of her kindness and time.

The family home in Winningtown was the meeting place and the big events were special occasions fondly remembered,

Eileens funeral mass was celebrated in St Aidans Church in Poulfur on Thursday, March 30, by Fr Michael Doyle, with burial in the new cemetery immediately afterwards.

The celebration of her life was made touching and personal by Fr Doyle outlining with pertinent attributes of Eileen interspersed some with humorous memories put together by her loving family.

Eileen now joins her beloved Paddy and will be sadly missed by her sons and daughters, Joan, Richard, Bernadette, Leo, Helen, Victor, Sean and Donal, her daughters-in-law, Eileen, Helen, Rhona, Deirdre, and Beverly, her Sons-in-law Noel, Ger and Declan, by her 14 Grandchildren, and eleven great-grandchildren and her brothers Leo, Michael and William and her sisters Lena (Smith), Kathleen(Keating), and Breda (Murphy) and fondly remembered by her friends and neighbours.

Eileen was predeceased by her bothers, Sean, Jim and Tom and by her sisters Maura and Ann.

A life well lived and fulfilled and now time to reap the rewards.

May she rest in peace
A man looks at the damage inside a house during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum. Photo: Reuters

Sudans rival commanders agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire yesterday, after pressure from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken over fighting that has engulfed the capital Khartoum and saw shots fired at a US diplomatic convoy.

The conflict between Sudans military leader and his deputy broke out four days ago, triggering what the United Nations has described as a humanitarian catastrophe, including the near collapse of the health system. At least 185 people have been killed in the fighting across the country.

Irish diplomat Aidan OHara (58), who is serving as the EUs ambassador to Sudan, was assaulted at his residence in Khartoum on Monday. An EU spokesperson said Mr OHara was not injured.

The ceasefire was due to start at 6pm and will not extend beyond the agreed 24 hours, Army General Shams El Din Kabbashi, a member of Sudans ruling military council, said on al Arabiya TV.

Early yesterday, gunfire echoed across the capital Khartoum accompanied by the sound of warplanes and explosions.

Residents in the neighbouring cities of Omdurman and Bahri reported air strikes that shook buildings and anti-aircraft fire. Fighting also raged in the west of the country, the United Nations said.

In video verified by Reuters, fighters from the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) opposing the army could be seen inside a section of the army headquarters in Khartoum. The fighters did not appear to control the sprawling site, a Reuters reporter in the capital said.

Fighting appeared to tail off close to the deadline for the ceasefire, which coincided with the evening breaking of the daily fast during Ramadan.

Mr Blinken, speaking in Japan, said he had telephoned both army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and paramilitary leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, of the RSF, appealing for the 24-hour ceasefire to allow the Sudanese to be safely reunited with families.

Gen al-Burhan heads a ruling council installed after a 2021 military coup and the 2019 ouster of autocratic president Omar Bashir during mass protests. Hemedti is Gen Burhans deputy on the ruling council.

Their power struggle has derailed an internationally backed plan to shift to civilian democratic rule after decades of autocracy and military control in Sudan.

Unless controlled, the violence risks drawing in actors from the region who have backed different factions, and could play into competition for regional influence between Russia and the United States.

Mr Blinken said the US convoy was attacked despite its vehicles being marked with diplomatic licence plates and bearing US flags. Initial reports suggest the attack was undertaken by RSF-associated forces, he said, calling the action reckless. Mr Blinken said all US personnel were safe after the incident.

After the call, Hemedti said the RSF approved the ceasefire to ensure the safe passage of civilians and the evacuation of the wounded.

In a post on Twitter, he said he and Mr Blinken discussed pressing issues and more talks were planned.

The RSF issued a statement saying it was waging a battle to restore the rights of our people in what it called a new revolution.
Mr Kennedy is a member of one of the countrys most famous political families and has in recent years been linked to some far-right figures.

Anti-vaccine activist Robert F Kennedy Jr has launched his longshot bid to challenge US President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year.

Mr Kennedy, a member of one of the countrys most famous political families who has in recent years been linked to some far-right figures, kicked off his campaign in Boston on Wednesday and likened his campaign to the American revolution.

My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country, Mr Kennedy said.

Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running for the Democratic nomination.

Mr Biden has said he is planning on running again but has not formally announced a campaign.

He is expected to have a glide path to the nomination, with much of the Democratic establishment behind him.

Mr Kennedy is a nephew of President John F Kennedy and the son of his brother Robert F Kennedy, both of whom he repeatedly referenced during his lengthy speech.

He was once known most as an environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.

But over the past nearly two decades, he has become one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement.

Mr Kennedys work has been described by members of his own family and public health experts as misleading and dangerous.

His efforts intensified after the pandemic and development of the Covid-19 vaccine, and an Associated Press (AP) investigation in 2021 showed he had linked up with anti-democratic figures and other groups.

He has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the US Capitol on January 6 2021.

A photo posted on Instagram showed Mr Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former president Donald Trumps ally Roger Stone, former national security adviser Michael Flynn and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger.

All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen.

Mr Kennedy has been a guest on Infowars, the channel run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and on the War Room podcast hosted by longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, where he promoted his bestselling 2021 book, The Real Anthony Fauci, in which he accused the USs top infectious disease doctor of participating in a historic coup detat against Western democracy.

The AP documented how Mr Kennedy and his anti-vaccine group, Childrens Health Defence, had capitalised on the Covid-19 pandemic  raking in funding and followers in the US and abroad, and doubling its revenue from 2019 to 2020.

Researchers have found that the group is among the most influential spreaders of anti-vaccine misinformation, and the AP found traffic to its website had soared.

In the second year of the pandemic, Childrens Health Defence continued its huge growth, according to a more recent filing with charity regulators in California.

Revenue more than doubled from seven million dollars in 2020 to 16 million dollars in 2021.

Facebook and Instagram removed the accounts of Childrens Health Defence for spreading misinformation.

Mr Kennedy has repeatedly invoked Nazis and the Holocaust when talking about measures aimed at mitigating the spread of Covid-19, such as mask requirements and vaccine mandates.

He has apologised for some of those comments, including when he suggested that people in 2022 were worse off than Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.
Beijing takes steps to be diplomatic player in the Middle East.

China has offered to organise peace talks between Israel and Palestine, according to the Asian giants foreign ministry (Jade Gao/AP)

China has offered to organise peace talks between Israel and Palestine, according to the Asian giants foreign ministry.

Ministry statements said foreign minister Qin Gang expressed Chinas concerns over rising tensions and support for renewed peace talks in phone calls with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016  an outcome Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

In a statement about their call, Mr Qin told Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set an example of overcoming differences through dialogue.

He told Mr Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks.

China is willing to provide convenience for this, he was quoted as saying.

Israel and Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks in more than a decade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government is committed to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank  which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace  and several of his key allies are staunchly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

China is willing to provide convenience for this Chinese foreign minister Qin Gang

Mr Cohen expressed his countrys commitment to reducing tensions, but conveyed the threat that we see in Irans nuclear program and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Mr Qin told Palestinian foreign affairs minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.

Violence in Israel and the West Bank has increased after an Israeli police raid on Jerusalems most sensitive holy site, the compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque.
The fishermen were rescued from a barren island in the aftermath of the storm.

Fishermen from Indonesia stand on a beach on Bedwell Island, west of Broome, Australia (Australian Maritime Safety Authority via AP)

Eight Indonesian fishermen are feared to have drowned and another 11 have been rescued after spending six days without food or water on a barren island off the north-west Australian coast in the aftermath of a tropical cyclone.

Authorities said two wooden Indonesian fishing boats were caught in the path of Cyclone Ilsa, which on Friday became the most powerful storm in eight years to cross the Australian coast, with winds gusting at an apparent record of 180 miles per hour.

One of the boats, Putri Jaya, sank in extreme weather conditions on April 11 or 12 while Ilsa was gathering strength over the Indian Ocean as it tracked south-east toward the coast, Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement.

The other boat, Express 1, ran aground with 10 men aboard in the early hours of April 12 on Bedwell Island, a sandy outcrop some 200 miles west of the Australian coastal tourist town of Broome, the authority said.

The only known survivor from the Putri Jaya spent 30 hours in the water before washing ashore on the same island, the statement said.

The only known survivor from the Putri Jaya spent 30 hours in the water before washing ashore on the same island, the statement said.

They all remained (on Bedwell Island) for six days without food and water before being rescued on Monday night, the authority said.

The Putri Jaya survivor had tied himself to a fuel can to stay afloat at sea before swimming to the island, said Putu Sudayana, head of Indonesias search and rescue agency in Kupang  the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province where the fishermen live in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago.

The survivors were spotted on Monday by the Australian Border Force, which patrols Australias northern approaches for smuggling and other illegal activity, from a plane on a routine surveillance mission.

A Broome-based rescue helicopter was deployed and winched all 11 aboard in failing light.

Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation, said the rescue helicopter crew had been unable to land on the sand.

They had to conduct winch recoveries which, in itself, is a challenging task, Mr Watt told the Australian Broadcasting Corp.

The time of day meant that nightfall was upon the crew during the rescue, so they had to transition to using night vision goggles.

The survivors were taken to Broome Hospital where authorities reported them in good health. They are expected to be flown back to Indonesia soon.

The missing Indonesian fishermen are expected to be the only fatalities from Ilsa, which was a maximum Category 5 cyclone when it crossed the Pilbara region coast of Western Australia state south-west of Broome.

A gust of 180mph recorded on an island off the Pilbara coast was the fastest ever recorded by Australias weather bureau equipment in the country.

While the reading remains preliminary and requires further analysis, the bureau said on Tuesday it beats the previous record of 166mph set by Cyclone Vance on the Pilbara coast in 1999.
In this photo taken from video released by Russian TV Pool, Russian President Vladimir Putin arrives at an undisclosed location in Russian-occupied Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has met his commanders in two regions of Ukraine that Moscow claims to have annexed, while Russian forces stepped up heavy artillery bombardments and air strikes yesterday on the devastated Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

Ukraines president Volodymyr Zelensky, meanwhile, visited troops in the eastern town of Avdiivka, about 70 km (43 miles) southwest of Bakhmut, and was briefed on the battlefield situation, his office said.

The Kremlin said Putin had attended a military command meeting in Ukraines southern Kherson region on Monday and visited a national guard headquarters in eastern Luhansk.

Putin heard reports from commanders of the airborne forces and the Dnieper army group as well as other senior officers who briefed him on the situation in the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in the south.

Neither defence minister Sergei Shoigu nor chief of the general staff Valery Gerasimov joined Putin on his trip as a security precaution, the Kremlin said.

A senior Ukrainian presidential aide, Mykhailo Podolyak, took to Twitter to mock Putins trip as a special tour of the mass murders author in the occupied and ruined territories to enjoy the crimes of his minions for the last time.

Kyiv and the West accuse Russian forces of committing war crimes in occupied Ukrainian territory, which Moscow denies.

Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk and Donetsk are the four regions that Putin proclaimed annexed last September following what Ukraine said were sham referendums. Russian forces only partly control the four regions.

Russian troops retreated from Kherson city, the regional capital, last November, and have been reinforcing their positions on the opposite bank of the Dnipro River in anticipation of a Ukrainian counteroffensive this spring.

While numerous Western leaders have made their way to Kyiv for talks with President Zelenskiy since Russian forces invaded 14 months ago, Putin has rarely visited parts of Ukraine under Russian control.

Last month, he visited Crimea  annexed by Russia in 2014  and the south-eastern city of Mariupol in Donetsk region.

A Russian winter offensive failed to make much progress and its troops have been bogged down in a series of battles in the east and south, where advances have been incremental and come at a huge cost to both sides.

Fighting has raged in and around Bakhmut in Donetsk region for months, with Ukrainian forces holding out despite regular claims by Russia to have taken the city.

Currently, the enemy is increasing the activity of heavy artillery and the number of air strikes, turning the city into ruins, said the commander of Ukraines ground forces, General Oleksandr Syrskyi.

Bakhmuts capture could provide a stepping stone for Russia to advance on two bigger cities it has long coveted in the Donetsk region  Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.

The head of the Wagner mercenary group, which has spearheaded Russias attempt to take Bakhmut, said this month that its fighters controlled more than 80pc of the city. Ukraines military has denied this.

Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky on a visit to troops

Russia says its special military operation in Ukraine, launched on February 24 last year was necessary to protect its security against what it sees as a hostile and aggressive West.

Ukraine and its Western allies say Russia is waging an unprovoked war aimed at grabbing territory.

On his visit to Avdiivka yesterday, Zelenskys office said he had handed out awards to his troops, telling them: I have the honour to be here today, to thank you for your service, for defending our land, Ukraine, our families.

A meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers in Japan condemned a Russian plan to station shorter-range, so-called tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus, a Moscow ally which borders Ukraine.

In a communique at the end of a three-day meeting in Japan, G7 foreign ministers said: Russias irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and its threat to deploy nuclear weapons in Belarus are unacceptable.

Any use of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons by Russia would be met with severe consequences, they added.

The G7 groups the United States, Japan, Germany, Britain, France, Italy and Canada, which have all imposed economic sanctions on Russia over its invasion of Ukraine.

The war in Ukraine has killed tens of thousands of people, levelled cities, forced millions from their homes and shaken up the global security order, including by prompting Russia to strengthen ties with non-Western actors, especially China.

Russias defence minister Shoigu told his Chinese counterpart Li Shangfu during talks in Moscow that their countries military cooperation was a stabilising force in the world and helped to reduce the chances of conflict.

Li said his trip aimed to show the world that China firmly intends to strengthen its strategic cooperation with Russia, the TASS news agency reported.

Beijing has refrained from criticising Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the Japanese defence ministry said it had scrambled a jet fighter in response to what it said were Russian aircraft gathering information over seas near Japan.

Earlier, Russia said two of its strategic bombers  which are capable of carrying nuclear warheads  had conducted patrol flights over the Sea of Okhotsk and the Bering Sea in Russias Far East.
Wall Street Journal reporter denies espionage charges levelled against him

A Moscow court yesterday rejected an appeal from US journalist Evan Gershkovich to be freed from pre-trial detention, meaning he will stay in a former KGB prison until at least May 29 while a spying case against him is investigated.

Mr Gershkovich, a reporter for the Wall Street Journal, denies the espionage charges. He looked calm and smiled as he stood in a glass and metal cage before the appeal ruling, wearing a checked shirt with his arms folded in front of him.

His legal team suggested he be freed on bail of 50 million roubles (560,000) or placed under house arrest, Tatiana Nozhkina, his lawyer, was quoted as saying by Russias RIA news agency. She said the court had rejected both suggestions.

Before the hearing got under way, Mr Gershkovich turned around when one of the Russian reporters in the courtroom told him to stay strong! and relayed to him that everyone said hi. US ambassador Lynne Tracy stood nearby.

When asked by the judge if he needed translation, Mr Gershkovich said no and that he understood everything.

Russias FSB security service arrested Mr Gershkovich on March 29 in the Urals city of Yekaterinburg on espionage charges that carry a possible 20-year prison sentence for collecting what it said were state secrets about the military industrial complex.

The Kremlin has said Mr Gershkovich, the first US journalist detained in Russia on espionage charges since the end of the Cold War, was caught red-handed.

The United States has deemed him wrongfully detained. His employer and colleagues have said he is innocent, and President Joe Biden has called his detention illegal.

His lawyer, Ms Nozhkina, told reporters he was reading Russian literature, adding: Hes in a combative mood, denies he is guilty, and is ready to prove it.

Yesterdays hearing was procedural, covering how Mr Gershkovich should be detained, not the substance of the charges against him  as investigators are still working on the details of the case.

Mr Gershkovich, the son of Soviet emigres, is being held at the Lefortovo prison, which in Soviet times was run by the KGB but is now operated by the Federal Penitentiary Service.

Traditionally it has been used to hold those suspected of spying and other grave crimes.

Ambassador Tracy said on Monday that she had made her first visit to Mr Gershkovich.

He feels well and is holding up. We reiterate our call for Evans immediate release, Ms Tracy said in a statement.

The White House said it hopes to secure regular consular access to Mr Gershkovich.

Washington last week designated Mr Gershkovich as wrongfully detained, in effect saying that the spy charges were bogus and the case was political.

The US hostage envoy has pledged to do whatever it takes to bring home Mr Gershkovich and Paul Whelan, an American ex-Marine who was convicted of espionage in 2020 and has also been designated by Washington as wrongfully detained.
The Kansas City case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly turning up in the wrong places.

Ralph Yarl, the teenager shot by a homeowner in Kansas City, Missouri (Ben Crump Law via AP)

An 84-year-old white man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a black teenager, in the US state of Missouri has pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance.

Andrew Lester was in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting, which has attracted presidential attention and renewed national debate about gun policies.

Lester turned himself in on Tuesday and was later released on bail after agreeing to relinquish any weapons and have no contact with Ralph or his family.

He also agreed to have his mobile phone monitored.

The Kansas City case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places.

A 20-year-old woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway.

In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a car thinking it was hers.

Ralph was shot at point-blank range in the head but miraculously survived the bullet, his familys lawyer said on Tuesday.

Some civil rights leaders have urged prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime, an action lawyer Lee Merritt said was warranted in Ralphs shooting because he was armed only with his black skin.

Lester could face up to life in prison on the assault charge if convicted.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime allowing a longer sentence than a hate crime charge would.

Though activists have called for the US Department of Justice to investigate, it was unclear whether it would do so.

The shooting happened at about 10pm local time on Thursday.

Police chief Stacey Graves said that Ralphs mother asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Ralph, an honours student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a street away from where he meant to be.

When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and used a .32 calibre Smith and Wesson 1888 revolver to shoot Ralph in the forehead, then in the right forearm.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw Ralph on the porch because he thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterwards, as Ralph got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Mr Merritt said Ralph is hardly an imposing figure.

The question is, at 5ft 8in and 140 pounds, what did Andrew Lester look out and see? Mr Merritt asked at a city centre rally on Tuesday.

And the answer is he saw a black person. And for him, that was enough justification. And that would just be a tragedy except law enforcement agreed with him.

Ralph ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, according to court documents.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country.

President Joe Biden spoke with Ralph on Monday, and on Tuesday invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Mr Biden tweeted.

Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Republican governor Mike Parson, who had remained silent on the shooting until Wednesday, accused Mr Biden of politicising it.

I dont want some 16-year-old kid to be getting shot because he went to the wrong house  we just dont want those kinds of things to happen. Its a tragedy, Mr Parson told the Kansas City Star.

When the president of the United States is trying to make a political statement over a very serious tragedy, it is very unfortunate.

Mr Thompson, the prosecutor, said on Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting.

He did not elaborate.

Mr Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Mr Thompson.

The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously there is a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Mr Merritt, who called the answer shallow.
Olive Rumvimbo Ruzvidzo, who lives in Rutland, is seeking asylum in the UK. She explains why today (April 18) is a day of mixed emptions...

Barely a month after bearing my soul to the world about my immigration case, in what felt like part therapeutic release and part embarrassing revelations, I find myself reaching out once again to my community.

This time it is to share the bitter-sweet emotions evoked by today's date: April 18.

This is a day that 43 years ago, in 1980, Zimbabwe attained Independence from Britain in a landslide victory won by the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (Zanu PF).

For most black Zimbabweans, this date stood for self-rule and freedom and was marked by countrywide celebrations as president Canaan Banana and prime minister Robert Mugabe were officially instated.

I was just under seven years old and all I understood was that something good had happened, which called for celebration.

I was in my first year of mainstream school as the history of Zimbabwe began to play out right in front of my eyes.

The years following saw my parents and me (being the only child at the time) move from the high-density area of Chitungwiza, then Seke, to the more affluent lower-density suburb of Marlborough.

The schools, geographical areas, and services that had previously not been accessible to people of colour became part of our lives and, as each year passed, April 18 was a day to celebrate and embrace these changes.

The exposure to the British syllabus and to English as the language of education equipped me for international communication and I attained my high school and tertiary qualifications with the confidence to break into the corporate world.

My social life was shaped by the multi-lingual and multi-cultural community I lived in.

As I began to manage my own earnings, it didn't take long for me to notice the decline in productivity in Zimbabwe due to varying economic and political decisions made by the government.

From the late 90s going into the early 2000s, Zimbabwe experienced a drop in food production. It was a country once known as the breadbasket of SADCC (Southern African Development Co-ordination Conference), an amalgamation of countries formed to advance the cause of national liberation in Southern Africa and reduction of western dependency.

Manufacturing also fell, while the unemployment rate and prices rose. This translated to the shrinking of my personal pocket and, year by year, things became worse.

The opposition parties began to speak more loudly as Zimbabwe regressed economically and Zanu PF held on to power, presumably to continue to control wealth.

The people of Zimbabwe, through opposition parties, attempted to resist the imbalance of wealth benefitting the few but Zanu PF became ruthless to anyone whose views were contrary to those of the government.

At the time, I secretly supported and voted for the opposition as I feared that coming out about it would attract government scrutiny.

Stories of people being harassed or tortured by individuals from Central Intelligence Organisation (CIO) were quietly narrated amongst communities which instilled fear in members of the opposition.

Independence Day, April 18, no longer represented the same level of freedom as before and celebrations were not as thunderous as in 1980. Though I remained patriotic, I resented the values presented by Zanu PF, the ruling party.

During my time in the United Kingdom, April 18 has been a day I remember how Zimbabwe has been reduced to a poverty-stricken country with violence-filled elections and a government that seems to pursue personal gain rather than community development.

My heart breaks for the children who do not have access to proper facilities and resources for education who may never experience the balanced and safe education I received.

The day that previously celebrated independence now represents a broken justice system in which people are locked up in maximum prison before they are tried, a dried-up water reticulation system where taps once provided water into homes, a dark nation where electricity shortages are causing outages for more than 18 hours a day in some areas, and a community that fears to speak its mind.

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As I fight to remain in the UK, I feel chills down my spine as I imagine what would happen should I be sent back to Zimbabwe as a person who has already said 'too much' about the injustices back home. It is a clear depiction of being 'caught between a rock and a hard place'.

For me, April 18, 2023, will be spent demonstrating in the streets of London and outside the Zimbabwe Embassy with other Zimbabweans in the hope that the world will see that our 'Independence Day' is not free for all Zimbabweans. What Independence? Whose independence?

My protest (together with others) is a cry to my UK community to understand why my heart breaks when I think of Zimbabwe and for them to speak louder about the human rights abuses, corruption, injustice, maladministration, and abuse of office happening in Zimbabwe.

It is a call to those in authority to consider and act on the plight of Zimbabweans, whose country is run by a gold, diamond, chrome and lithium Mafia who carry on with their lives, while the innocent people are locked away.
Xavier Bettel has been openly critical of Hungarian leader Viktor Orban.

Luxembourgs openly gay prime minister has backed LGBT rights in the European Unions parliament and chastised member state Hungary, which wants to curtail addressing the issue of homosexuality at school and in the media.

Xavier Bettel told legislators at the plenary session in Strasbourg, France: If theres anyone in this house who thinks that youve become a homosexual by watching the television or listening to a song, then youve not understood anything.

The most difficult (thing) for a homosexual is to accept themselves.

Mr Bettel has often spoken about his sexuality and has been especially critical of Hungary.

He already came out against Budapest in 2021 when a law was approved to prohibit sharing content on homosexuality or sex reassignment to people under 18 in school sex education programme, films or advertisements.

I am ashamed, Madam President, that some colleagues want to win votes at the expense of minorities Xavier Bettel

The EU has accused populist Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban of cracking down on LGBT rights and has openly challenged them.

Mr Bettel, who married his husband eight years ago, believes Hungary is out of touch with many of the other EU member states.

He said that he knew becoming public about ones homosexuality could be dangerous in too many nations outside the EU.

I could end up in prison, face (a) life sentence. And soon maybe, in a European Union member state, I would only be able to talk about this in secret, because I would be accused of perverting the young generation, he added.

I am ashamed, Madam President, that some colleagues want to win votes at the expense of minorities. Weve had that before in our history.

Mr Bettel has often taken a strong stand. At an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt in 2019, Mr Bettel told Arab leaders that he was married to a man and would probably face capital punishment in many of their countries.
Star student Ralph Yarl was shot when he called at the wrong address to pick up his brothers. Photo: Lee Merritt/via Reuters

An 84-year-old white man in Kansas City, Missouri, has been charged with first-degree assault for shooting a black teenager who mistakenly went to the mans home to pick up his brothers.

Prosecuting attorney Zachary Thompson said there was a racial component when Andrew Lester twice shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital.

But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated, Mr Thompson said.

We understand how frustrating this has been but I can assure you the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work, he said.

The shooting has outraged many people in Kansas City and across the United States.

Civic and political leaders  including US president Joe Biden  have demanded justice. Some, including lawyers for Yarl, pressed the racial dimension of the case.

Yarl was picking up his two younger brothers when he approached the wrong house  in 115th Street instead of 115th Terrace  about 10pm on Thursday.

Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead, then shot him again, in the right forearm. No words are reported to have been exchanged before the shooting.

Afterwards, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, a statement said. Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police.

The Rev Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, called the shooting a heinous and hate-filled crime.

US vice president Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter, No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell. 

The civil rights attorneys for Yarls family, Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, said: Gun violence against unarmed black individuals must stop.

Our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted.

The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison.

Lester has also been charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison.

Mr Thompson said an arrest warrant had been issued for Lester but he was not yet in custody.

Lester told police he lived alone and had just gone to bed when he heard his doorbell.

He said he picked up his gun and went to the door, where he saw a black male pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought someone was breaking in.

The shooting happened in a middle-class neighbourhood in north Kansas City.

Yarl did not have a phone with him and went to the wrong block, his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay medical bills.

By Monday afternoon, $1.4m (1.28m) had been raised.

High-school student

Yarl is a bass clarinettist who earned Missouri All-State Band honourable mention and who plays several instruments in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City.

A statement from the North Kansas City School District described him as an excellent student and talented musician.
Alexis Dowdells Sweet 16 birthday party ended with her kneeling beside her fatally wounded brother on the floor of a dance studio in small-town Alabama, the bodies of other teens scattered around them.

The shooting left her 18-year-old brother, Philstavious Phil Dowdell, and three others dead, along with another 32 injured, some critically.

I got on my knees and he was laying face down. And thats when I grabbed him. I turned him over, I was holding him, Alexis Dowdell said, recalling the moment she found her brother with the life ebbing out of him.

She tapped her brothers face, begging him to, stay with me.

I wasnt crying at the moment because I was trying to be strong instead of panicking. And so I said, Youre going to be all right. Youre a fighter, youre strong, she recalled.

As of Monday evening, state officials had yet to release much information about their investigation.

The Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said only that shell casings from handguns had been found, noting that there was no evidence a high-powered rifle was used.

Investigators continued to appeal for information from the public, including videos. Saturday night in Dadeville, about an hours drive from Montgomery in Alabama, began as it should have, with everybody dancing, vibing to the music, Alexis Dowdell said.

Keenan Cooper, the DJ at the party, said the event was stopped briefly when partygoers heard someone had a gun. He said people with weapons were asked to leave, but no one did. Soon after, the shooting started.
A New York homeowner shot and killed a young woman who went to the wrong house with a group of friends  in eerily similar circumstances to the shooting of Black teenager Ralph Yarl, which has caused outrage in the US.

Kaylin Gillis (20) was travelling in a car with three friends when they made a wrong turn looking for a friends house in Hebron, upstate New York, on Saturday night.

The group accidentally drove into the driveway of homeowner Kevin Monahan (65) who came out onto his porch and fired two shots, according to police.

Gilliss boyfriend has spoken out about the final moments before she was shot and killed

Her boyfriend, Blake Walsh (19), told NBC News that his life has been destroyed.

The teenager from Cambridge, New York told the network that he was driving the car with his girlfriend and two other passengers in Ford Explorer searching for a party when two bullets flew in their direction.

Mr Walsh said the group were driving along with another car that also entered the same driveway but that they had realized they were in the wrong place and were in the process of leaving.

We thought we were at the right address, he told NBC News. We didnt have any cell service to figure it out. As soon as we figured it out that we were at the wrong location, we started to leave, and thats when everything happened.

My friend said, Theyre shooting, go! I tried to step on the gas as fast as I could, and thats when the fatal shot came through, he added.

I want to believe it was instant. Im hoping it was. Im praying it was, an emotional Mr Walsh told the outlet.

On Monday, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy told the press that the suspect, Kevin Monahan (65), fired when the group was leaving his driveway and that they clearly posed no threat.

The sheriff said Monahan had shown no remorse for the killing.

(He), quite frankly, has not shown any remorse in this case, he said.

There was clearly no threat from anyone in the vehicle. There was no reason for Mr Monahan to feel threatened, Sheriff Murphy added.

Its a very rural area with dirt roads. Its easy to get lost. They drove up this driveway for a very short time, realised their mistake and were leaving, when Mr Monahan came out and fired two shots, the sheriff has also said.

The suspect has been charged with second-degree murder in connection with the death of Gillis, Sheriff Murphy said.

The shocking incident took place just days after Black teenager Ralph Yarl was shot twice by a white homeowner in Kansas City after accidentally ringing the bell at the wrong address as he tried to pick up his younger brothers.

Mr Monahans lawyer, Kurt Mauser, has disagreed with the sheriffs version of events.

This was not a simple case of coming up a driveway and turning around, he told CNN. The description I was given by my client is there were multiple vehicles, including a motorcycle, revving engines, coming up the driveway at a high rate of speed.
Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day.

Sudans rival generals have made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire after a failed truce the night before.

But sporadic fighting continued and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat.

Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the countrys top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and air strikes since Saturday.

The fighting became less intense in the first hours after the ceasefire took effect at 6pm, with sporadic clashes continuing in the city centre, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

But he said neither side has provided guarantees to his group to facilitate movement of healthcare workers and ambulances.

Desperate residents of the capital have been running out of food and other supplies as they sheltered in their homes from the gun battles on the streets outside.

Hospitals have been damaged and forced to close or have been overwhelmed by the number of wounded, with staff exhausted and medical supplies depleted.

Increasingly, armed fighters have turned to looting shops and robbing anyone who dares step outside.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the UN health agency said, but the toll is likely to be higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

In the tense hours after Wednesdays ceasefire, Abdalla al-Tayeb joined other residents in collecting bodies near the main military headquarters, the scene of intense fighting.

All of them nearly rotted, causing a foul smell that reached our homes, he said.

The scene was heinous.

After the failure of Tuesday evenings truce attempt, hundreds gave up on trying to hold out for calm and fled their homes throughout the day, even as explosions and gunfire shook Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman.

Residents of multiple neighbourhoods told The Associated Press they could see men, women and children leaving with luggage, some on foot, others crowding into vehicles.

On Wednesday evening, the army and its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, separately announced that a new 24-hour truce had begun.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday called for both sides to stand by the truce, renounce violence and return to negotiations.

She said the countrys two top generals, whose forces have turned the capital into a war zone for the past five days are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and non-combatants.

Until now, army chief General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and RSF commander General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo  former allies against Sudans pro-democracy movement  have seemed determined to crush each other in their struggle for power.

Tuesdays ceasefire attempt failed even after US secretary of state Antony Blinken spoke to each general by phone and after pressure from their regional allies.

Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have been calling on all sides to stand down.

Throughout the day on Wednesday, the two sides battled around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture, and the nearby airport.

Residents said the military was pounding RSF positions with air strikes.

The armys monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days.

But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force are fanned out across neighbourhoods.

Residents say armed men, mostly in RSF uniforms, have raided homes, offices and shops in neighbourhoods across Khartoum.

Aid agencies and foreigners, including diplomats, have also been trapped in the fighting.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said in a tweet that its compound in Nyala in the western Darfur region had been raided by armed men who stole vehicles and office equipment and looted a warehouse storing medical supplies.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Niyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Darfur, which has been the scene of heavy fighting since the weekend, is a stronghold of the RSF, where the force had its origins among the Janjaweed militias, accused of atrocities during the long conflict there.

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum, but turned around on Wednesday due to security concerns in Khartoum.

Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan.

Ms Spinant did not provide details.

The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national.

The report said Mr Fransen was receiving medical treatment for serious injuries.

Our urgent priority is to get medical assistance to hospitals and try to make repairs to their water and power lines so they can treat the wounded Patrick Youssef, ICRC's Africa regional director

It said he had gone missing on Sunday evening and that his colleagues tracked him down on Tuesday.

Another spokeswoman said the EU office in Khartoum is still operating and the delegation is not being evacuated.

The EU ambassador, who was assaulted when gunmen broke into his residence several days ago, is back at work, she said.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement.

Dozens of healthcare facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said on Wednesday.

At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

Our urgent priority is to get medical assistance to hospitals and try to make repairs to their water and power lines so they can treat the wounded, said Patrick Youssef, the ICRCs Africa regional director.

But fighting has made it impossible to reach the facilities.

The UNs World Health Organisation said on Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed.

The Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said on Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudans transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

But Gen Burhan and Gen Dagalo joined to carry out a 2021 coup.

Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Gen Burhan and Gen Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups.

But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.
At least 2,600 injured since fighting erupted at the weekend.

Smoke rises from burning aircraft inside Khartoum Airport during clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army in Khartoum, Photo: REUTERS.

Sudanese troops declared a new ceasefire on Wednesday in their fierce battle with paramilitary forces across the country after the failure of an earlier truce agreement to allow for the evacuation of civilians caught up in the sudden conflict.

The 24-hour ceasefire, which the army's paramilitary rivals had already announced, was supposed to come into effect at 6 p.m. local time (4pm Irish). It was not immediately clear whether fighting had stopped.

Earlier in the day continuous bombardments could be heard in central Khartoum around the compound housing the army HQ and at the main airport, which has been fiercely contested and put out of action since fighting erupted at the weekend.

Thick smoke billowed into the sky and the streets were largely empty in the capital. Gunfire rattled in the south of the city, a Reuters witness said, while the army appeared to retake a key military airport in Sudan's north, images on TV network al Arabiya showed.

Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, had said he was operating from the Khartoum army HQ. Reuters could not establish whether he was still there on Wednesday.

"The armed forces are responding to a new attack in the vicinity of the General Command," the army said in a statement.

Huddled in their homes, residents of the capital, one of Africa's largest cities, struggled with power cuts and worried how long food supplies would last.

"Today we were starting to run out of some essentials," said architect Hadeel Mohamed, concerned for the safety of her brother who had gone to look for food.

With no signs of peace in the city before the Eid festival that marks the end of Ramadan this week, some Khartoum residents braved the bombardments to leave for the nearby state of Al Gezira, to the south, where fighting has not been reported.

The conflict stems from a power struggle between military leader Burhan and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely know as Hemedti, over a plan to integrate the paramilitary fighters into the regular military.

Burhan heads a ruling council installed after the 2021 military coup and the 2019 ouster of veteran autocrat Omar al-Bashir, while Hemedti, who analysts say may command more than 100,000 fighters, was his deputy on the council.

At least 270 people have died and 2,600 have been injured, the World Health Organization said, citing Sudan's health ministry.

The conflict risks drawing in Sudan's neighbours and could play into competition between Russia and the United States for regional influence. Sudan sits strategically between Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia and Africa's volatile Sahel region.

Chad's armed forces disarmed 320 Sudanese soldiers who had entered its territory on Monday, the defence minister of Sudan's western neighbour said on Wednesday, adding that Chad did not want to be involved in the conflict.

A Reuters reporter said there was a heavy exchange of gunfire in the Jabra neighbourhood of west Khartoum, where homes belonging to Hemedti and his family are located. Hemedti's location has not been revealed since fighting began on Saturday.

The RSF said the army had used heavy artillery against the homes of families and citizens in Jabra, breaching international law.

The army controls access to Khartoum, a metropolis of around 5.5 million people, and appeared to be trying to cut off supply routes to RSF fighters within the capital. Army reinforcements were brought to the city from eastern areas near the border with Ethiopia, witnesses and residents said.

EVACUATION THWARTED

Foreign powers including the United States and Egypt have pushed for a ceasefire to allow residents to obtain relief and supplies, along with evacuations of foreign citizens.

Both sides accused each other of breaking a 24-hour truce they had agreed from Tuesday. Both then announced they would observe a ceasefire from 6 p.m. (1600 GMT) on Wednesday.

Diplomatic missions in Sudan called on the warring sides to cease fire, initiate talks and protect civilians as well as diplomats and humanitarian actors.

With planes smouldering on the runway of Khartoum's international airport, evacuations looked difficult for now.

"There's no way to get out," Belgian diver Henri Hemmerechts told Reuters from Khartoum. "Its just horrible and honestly, theres nothing we can do at this point."

The US State Department said the "uncertain security situation" and the closure of the airport meant there were no plans for a US government-coordinated evacuation. Turkey has also said it could not currently evacuate.

Germany halted a mission on Wednesday to fly out about 150 citizens on three Luftwaffe A400M transport planes, Der Spiegel magazine reported, citing unnamed sources.

Asked about the report, the German foreign ministry said all options were being assessed.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary said authorities were planning to use a plane from its military Self-Defense Forces to evacuate around 60 Japanese citizens.

Gunmen have targeted hospitals and humanitarian workers, with reports of sexual violence against aid workers, the United Nations said. Most hospitals are out of service and health charity Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said armed men raided a warehouse of supplies it operates in the west of the country.

Even before the conflict, around a quarter of Sudan's population was facing acute hunger. The World Food Programme halted one of its largest global aid operations in the country on Saturday after three of its workers were killed.
This publication is designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in the Indian market and includes a gu...
Updates to the existing India-Russia Bilateral Investment Treaty and recommencement of the India-Eurasian Economic Union Free Trade Agreement are all underway in Delhi as the BRICS makes its global trade presence felt.

By Chris Devonshire-Ellis

India and Russia are in advanced negotiations for an updated Bilateral Investment Treaty (BIT) that is necessary to boost the conf confidence of investors, Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar said on Monday as he described India-Russia relations as amongst the steadiest in the world. Jaishankar was speaking in New Delhi at a business event also attended by Russian Trade Minister Denis Manturov.

India-Russia Bilateral Investment Treaty

BIT are fairly basic documents and do not generally cover tariff reduction agreements, but instead provide investment protections for investors on each side. They deal with issues such as Double Tax protection and offer reduced taxes based on Withholding Tax provisions, in addition to addressing issues related to bilateral services rather than trade. The previous BIT was agreed back in 1994 and is outdated.

India-Russia Free Trade Agreement

At the same time, both parties are recommencing their Free Trade negotiations with the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) having been delayed by Covid. The EAEU includes Russia along with Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan, and is a trade bloc with a GDP of USD3.5 trillion and a consumer market size of 167 million. Russia is the largest member. Any agreement has to be ratified by all parties and would be an India-EAEU deal, and not exclusively Russian.

Jaishankar said a new deal with Russia would make a huge difference to trade relations. Bilateral trade shot up to US$45 billion in 2022, although there is an imbalance in Russias favour created by Indias substantial purchases of Russian oil and gas. Both sides have agreed to establish an inter-governmental commission on trade, culture, science and technology, and discussed a wide range of issues to develop the India-Russia strategic partnership.

BRICS

Jaishankar also stressed Indias commitment to a multipolar world in comments that will alarm Washington. Brazils President Lula said the same thing when discussing trade with the Russian Foreign Minister, Sergey Lavrov, in Brazil on Monday. Both India and Brazil are members of BRICS, together with Russia and China. Lula met with Chinese President Xi Jinping last week, who the week before had met with Vladimir Putin in Moscow. Developments within BRICS are rapidly progressing amongst a flurry of intra-Bloc activity.

Other India-Russia issues discussed

In terms of specifics, energy was very much on the agenda, as was transportation and logistics. India and Russia are at opposite ends of the International North-South Transportation Corridor (INSTC), a multimodal route that includes maritime passage from Mumbai to Irans Chabahar Port, overland by rail to Irans Caspian sea ports, and connectivity from there through to Russia as well as Azerbaijan and onto Turkiye and Europe, and east via Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan to markets in Central Asia. Iran has also agreed to an FTA with the EAEU and has applied to join BRICS Plus.

The two countries also discussed improving and expanding their trade settlements in mutual currencies with both committed to dropping the USD and Euro in bilateral trade settlements. Other trade matters such as the improved import of Russian fertilizer were also discussed as Indian imports have been disrupted by the Ukraine conflict. Mutually acceptable trade documentation such as certificates of origin and related standards recognition were also part of the negotiations, as were discussions dealing with a Russian program of preferential loans and insurance for Russian importers towards procurement of priority products from foreign countries  with India being among them.

Among the most demanded goods under this program are components and equipment for road construction, products of chemical and pharmaceutical industries. I am sure that this will create opportunities for Indian companies to increase their supplies to Russia. Manturov stated. Russia has also invited Indian companies who are keen on joint projects to consider cluster investment platform. This provides preferential credits for designing and manufacturing of priority products, subsidies for pilot batches of goods, insurance premium and income tax preferences he said.

Summary

The speed of which changes to the global trade system are occurring are breathtaking, and especially with what can only be described as a massive and rapid strengthening of the existing BRICS bloc. As mentioned, all leaders are currently involved in enhancing bilateral trade discussions: Russia-China; Brazil-China, Brazil-Russia and now India-Russia within the space of a month.

It is apparent that all member countries see BRICS as a hedge against US-EU trade which is viewed as becoming unreliable in terms of sanctions threats spilling over. This is not an end to globalization, but an end to who controls it and decisions taken as to who wants in and who wants out. With the BRICS group already looking at significant expansion  Bangladesh, Egypt and the UAE have all de facto joined with numerous other nations lining up to do the same, the global trade onus is no longer on isolating Russia  as portrayed by the West  but reducing dependency upon the United States and Europe  as is being carried out by significant economies. That the BRICS has already overtaken the G7 in terms of percentage share of global GDP is now ushering in an era where their collective trade might is gaining an upper hand in the battle for multipolarity and a revised world order.

Related Reading
Image: Pixabay

Gandhinagar: IndusInd Bank on Wednesday said that its GIFT City IBU branch has entered into a $100 million long-term loan agreement with the Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC).

The funds thus raised, will be used by IndusInd Bank to foster the growth of Japanese construction equipment companies in India through need-based credit facilities to the upstream and downstream companies.

Mizuho Bank Ltd. Japan, the Shizuoka Bank Ltd. Singapore and the Joyo Bank Ltd. Japan will also co-finance in this facility.

Under this initiative, IndusInd Bank will provide credit facilities to companies that comprise the supply chain of the Japanese original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in India.

Currently, the programme will cover the component suppliers and dealers of the selected Japanese OEMs, as well as the final buyers of the construction machinery manufactured by those companies.

IFSCA Chairperson Injeti Srinivas said, We are pleased to note that IndusInd Bank GIFT City IBU has partnered with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC). The monies raised will be used for financing companies who are engaged in strengthening Indias Infrastructure. This is also in line with the IFSCAs objective to make GIFT City a hub for raising long-term finance.

MD & Group CEO GIFT City Tapan Ray said, The long-term loan agreement between JBIC and IndusInd Banks IBU in GIFT City is indeed a positive move. It will act as a catalyst in securing funding for the component suppliers and dealers of the Japanese construction equipment companies in India, thereby boosting bilateral ties between India and Japan.

GIFT City has witnessed significant growth across a spectrum of financial services, including banking and has emerged as a preferred destination for global and national banking entities to carry out their international operations.

Commenting on the occasion, Managing Director & CEO, IndusInd Bank Sumant Kathpalia said, IndusInd Banks Commercial Vehicles Finance Division is one of the largest financiers of Japanese OEMs in India and the Bank plans to build on the synergies by increasing our business share from the component suppliers and dealers who form the upstream & downstream supply-chain of the OEMs. The tie-up with JBIC marks an important milestone in the Banks activities in GIFT City and underlines the growing prominence of the Center GIFT City as an International Financial Hub of choice.

Commenting on the occasion, JBIC Director General Kazushige Gobe stated, The government of India announced PM Gati Shakti, the national infrastructure development plan for improving the countrys infrastructure connectivity. In materializing this plan, Japanese construction equipment manufacturers play an important role through the supply of construction equipment. We are convinced that the expanded local presence of Japanese high-quality construction equipment contributes to the accelerated improvement of infrastructure in India.
Geneva  United Nations and international aid agencies say it is almost impossible to provide humanitarian services in and around the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, because it is too dangerous for staff to move around without assurances of safety from the warring parties.

"There are calls from various organizations and people trapped asking for evacuations," said Farid Aiywar, head of delegation in Sudan for the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

Speaking on a video link from the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, he said, "For the past four days, people have been out of water, food, and electricity has been rationed in some places or been totally disconnected.

"So, we are talking about a situation where there have been calls to the Sudanese Red Crescent and also to the international Red Cross movement present in Sudan, almost on a daily basis from people wanting basic humanitarian services."

He said this will not be possible until there are assurances of safety for volunteers. "We have thousands of volunteers who are ready, able and trained to perform humanitarian services. Unfortunately, due to the current situation, they are not able to move."

Nevertheless, he said the Sudanese Red Crescent has been able to mobilize 246 volunteers from its Khartoum branch to support medical staff in hospitals, adding that "This is very minimum compared to the total ability we are able to mobilize, which is almost 40,000 at one go" from the country's 18 branches.

In the four days since fighting broke out in Khartoum between the Sudanese army and Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces at least 185 people reportedly have been killed and 1,800 wounded.

While much of the fighting is concentrated in the heavily populated parts of the capital, it has expanded into residential areas of cities throughout the country.

Volker Turk, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, who is calling for an immediate cessation to hostilities, warns the widespread use of air strikes, artillery shelling and explosive weapons in civilian areas is exposing the population to the risk of death and injury.

"Both parties must remind their fighters of their obligations under international law to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals, and they must ensure that these obligations are respected."

The high commissioner chastised the warring parties, noting that, "The fighting is born out of power games and personal interests that only serve to alienate the democratic aspirations of the population.

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"Do those responsible not understand that the civilian population now only craves a peaceful life?"

The biggest losers from this latest setback are the civilians who are likely to remain without essential aid for the foreseeable future. The World Health Organization says that many of the nine hospitals in Khartoum that are receiving injured civilians are reporting shortages of everything, including blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, medical supplies, and other lifesaving commodities.

Margaret Harris, WHO spokeswoman, said movement is severely restricted because of the dangerous security situation and that "is making it so difficult for staff to get to the hospitals," adding that, "We have seen serious attacks on healthcare."

She said the WHO has documented three attacks, though "We know of many more. At least three people have been killed and two injured but those are only the first that have been verified."

She condemned the attacks on healthcare, noting that, "they are a flagrant violation of humanitarian law and the right to health and they must stop now. It is absolutely critical for everybody concerned that those attacks stop.

"Our staff currently, I understand are safe," she said, "but it is also one of our crucial things, as for all our sister agencies, to protect their safety."
Image Credit: Twitter/S Jaishankar

New Delhi/UNI: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will be on an official visit to Guyana (April 21-23), Panama (April 24-25), Colombia (April 25-27) and the Dominican Republic (April 27-29).

This will be his first visit to these countries as EAM, and will help add to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

In Guyana, EAM will be calling on the leadership and interacting with several Ministers.

He will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, Hugh Hilton Todd that will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries.

EAMs visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers, an official statement said.

In Panama, EAM will be calling on the top leadership and will be hosted by Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo.

During this visit, the India-SICA Foreign Ministerial Meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the eight-country Central American Integration System (SICA).

EAMs Colombia visit would be a first Foreign Ministerial level visit to the country. He would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society. Foreign Minister of Colombia Alvaro Leyva Duran and EAM would review the bilateral ties.

The visit to the Dominican Republic is the highest level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999.

EAMs visit takes place after the establishment of our resident Embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022.

Apart from calling on the countrys political leadership, EAM will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez.

The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. EAM is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic Foreign Ministry.

A business delegation from India, led by CII will be joining EAM at business events that are planned during the course of the visit.

These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties. EAM will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries.

EAMs visit to these four countries, his bilateral engagements as well as interactions with counterparts of important regional groups, CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

It will provide an opportunity to continue high level contacts with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post pandemic scenario, the statement added.
Image Credit : dcb_design via Pixabay

New Delhi/IBNS: India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous country, data released by the United Nations on Wednesday showed.

The UN estimates India's population to be 142.86 crore, compared to China's 142.57 crore.

This marks the first time India has ranked at the top of the UN list of most populous countries since population data collection began in 1950.

China is grappling with an imminent decline in its population due to decreasing birth rates and an aging workforce.

Despite some efforts by local governments to encourage childbirth, official attempts have not yet been able to reverse this trend.

Meanwhile, India has not conducted a census since 2011, which means there is no recent official data on its population.

The census that was scheduled for 2021 was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

According to the UN data, nearly a quarter of India's population is under 14 years old, while 68% falls in the age group of 15 to 64. The remaining 7% are aged 65 and above.

Various agencies have estimated that India's population will continue to increase for nearly 30 years before reaching a peak of 165 crore, after which it is expected to decline.

The latest UN report predicts that the world's population will reach 8.045 billion by mid-2023.

However, according to another UN report published in July last year, many countries in Europe and Asia are expected to experience a demographic decline in the coming decades.

This report projected how the global population will evolve from now until 2100.
Image Credit: Video grab

Lucknow: The UP government has suspended five police officials in connection with the brazen murders of gangster politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed on the night of April 15, media reports said.

The suspended cops were posted at the Shahganj Police Station and the medical college hospital where the two brothers were killed falls within the limits of this police station.

Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, both accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, were shot by three individuals who posed as journalists. The shooting occurred while several police officers and media personnel were present to interview the duo.

As per media reports, the three killers identified as Sunny Singh (23) from Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) from Banda, and Arun Maurya (18) from Kasganj, were sent to a four-day police remand until April 23.

The suspension of the police officers and the police remand of the shooters follows Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanaths meeting to nab Shaista Parveen, Atiq's wife, and another accused in the Umesh Pal murder case, Guddu Muslim.

The CMs meeting with Uttar Pradesh Police STF head Amitabh Yash, Special DG Prashant Kumar, and other police officers was held online.

Guddu Muslim, Shaista Parveen and two other accused in the Umesh Pal murder case are absconding, while six accused have been killed.
Suvendu Adhikari (L) and Mamata Banerjee (R) | Image Credit: Twitter/Suvendu Adhikari and IBNS File

Kolkata/IBNS: Bengal's Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari Wednesday dubbed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee as the "queen bee of the corruption hive".

Taking to Twitter, Adhikari said, "Your MLAs got arrested as they were submerged in Corruption. Glad that your facade of 'Zero Tolerance' is coming off. You're defending the culprits & once again voicing your support for them who were recruited illegally."

Your MLAs got arrested as they were submerged in Corruption.

Glad that your facade of "Zero Tolerance" is coming off. You're defending the culprits & once again voicing your support for them who were recruited illegally.



Shame on you. You're the Queen Bee of the Corruption Hive.  Suvendu Adhikari    (@SuvenduWB) April 19, 2023

"Shame on you. You're the Queen Bee of the corruption hive," he added.

Taking strong exception to Banerjee's indirect reference to him as "Kimbhut Kimakar" (de-shaped and ugly) during a presser here, Adhikari said the use of such "demeaning" words is shameful.

Adhikari said, "Yeh Darr Mujhe Achha Laga ! Shameful that you used the same demeaning words "Kimbhut Kimakar" in my reference as you had earlier used in regards to Hon'ble PM. "

You know why you keep repeating Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Malda, Medinipur; because in your subconscious mind you know that you grabbed power in 2011 because I was in charge of these districts.

Your worthless Bhaipo was nowhere in the scene & was launched only after July 2011.  Suvendu Adhikari    (@SuvenduWB) April 19, 2023

Referring to Banerjee's challenge that she would resign if anybody can prove his claim that she rang up Union Home Minister Amit Shah four times after Trinamool Congress lost its "All India" tag, Adhikari stated, "For making the call to Delhi, you used a landline. I'd expose you in due time. Wait for my befitting reply tomorrow. "

On Tuesday Adhikari claimed that Banerjee had dialled Shah four times to request him to repeal the Election Commission's decision revoking TMCs national party status.

Referring to Banerjee's naming some districts, Adhikari said, "You know why you keep repeating Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Malda, Medinipur; because in your subconscious mind, you know that you grabbed power in (May) 2011 because I was in charge of these districts. Your worthless Bhaipo (nephew) was nowhere in the scene & was launched only after July 2011."

A CM who's taken Oath of Office bearing allegiance to the Constitution of India; is politically attacking ECI (Autonomous Constitutional Authority), at a Press Conference inside State Secretariat with the National Flag & Emblem in the background.@ECISVEEP please take cognizance: pic.twitter.com/uVAXogabXA  Suvendu Adhikari    (@SuvenduWB) April 19, 2023

[With UNI inputs]
Suvendu Adhikari (L) and Mamata Banerjee (R) | Image Credit: Twitter/Suvendu Adhikari and IBNS File

Kolkata/IBNS: The Trinamool Congress Wednesday threatened to initiate legal proceedings against Bengal's Leader of Opposition and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Suvendu Adhikari if he didn't immediately withdraw his "false" statement against Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee .

On Tuesday Adhikari claimed at a rally in Hooghly's Singur that Banerjee had dialled Union Home Minister Amit Shah four times to request him to repeal the Election Commission's decision revoking TMCs national party status.

In a letter to Adhikari, Trinamool's leader in the Rajya Sabha Derek O'Brien referred to Banerjee saying that "No such conversation ever took place between her and Amit Shah."

The letter was posted on the Trinamool's official Twitter handle with the party tagging both Shah and Adhikari under the caption "See you in court".

The letter alleged that by making such a "false" statement, Adhikari has attempted to "defame our party and mislead the public".

"It is evident that you have caused to make a such an incorrect and motivated statement without making any enquiry to verify its authenticity including from Sri Amit Shah and in fact knowing the same to be a lie," O'Brien stated.

"Under such circumstances, we call upon you to immediately withdraw such false statement failing which we shall be constrained to initiate appropriate legal proceedings against you and Sri Amit Shah, who needlessly shall be drawn into a serious litigation for such falsehood of yours," he asserted.

Mamata Banerjee's reaction:

During a press conference, CM Mamata Banerjee said she was "appalled" at how a false statement was doing rounds in the media.

"I am appalled how without clarifying the truth, you all (referring to media people) have carried the news that I called Amit Shah after TMC lost its national party status. This is a complete lie," said Banerjee.

.@SuvenduWB is a liar and he is spreading FAKE NEWS.



He must apologize to the the people of Bengal for repeatedly LYING because Hon'ble CM @MamataOfficial DID NOT reach out to the HM @AmitShah regarding @ECISVEEP's decision to revoke our National Party status. pic.twitter.com/S3ZcRK5frr  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 19, 2023

Without naming Suvendu Adhikari directly, the TMC supremo called him a "liar" and accused him of spreading fake news.

"He must apologize to the people of Bengal for repeatedly lying," she added.

Banerjee said the BJP is not above the Constitution.

Calling BJP the most corrupt party, Banerjee said: " It is a trail of corruption, neglect and apathy which is evident all over the country! BJP-run states are plagued with malfeasance, injustice, and the absence of freedom of speech and expression."

.@BJP4India is the most corrupt political party in the country!



Its TRAIL OF CORRUPTION, NEGLECT, AND APATHY is evident all over the country!



BJP-run states are plagued with malfeasance, injustice, and absence of freedom of speech and expression. pic.twitter.com/Q4qOqk2cqY  All India Trinamool Congress (@AITCofficial) April 19, 2023

Meanwhile, referring to Banerjee's challenge that she would resign if anybody can prove his claim that she rang up Union Home Minister Amit Shah four times after Trinamool Congress lost its "All India" tag, Adhikari stated, "For making the call to Delhi, you used a landline. I'd expose you in due time. Wait for my befitting reply tomorrow. "

On Tuesday Adhikari claimed that Banerjee had dialled Shah four times to request him to repeal the Election Commission's decision revoking TMCs national party status.

Referring to Banerjee's naming some districts, Adhikari said, "You know why you keep repeating Purulia, Bankura, Birbhum, Malda, Medinipur; because in your subconscious mind, you know that you grabbed power in (May) 2011 because I was in charge of these districts. Your worthless Bhaipo (nephew) was nowhere in the scene & was launched only after July 2011."
Image credit: Twitter/Oxfam India

New Delhi/IBNS: The Central Bureau of India (CBI) Wednesday is conducting searches at the offices of Oxfam India after registering a case against the NGO and its office-bearers for allegedly violating the provisions of India's foreign funding rules, reports said.

According to the complaint filed with the agency by the Home Ministry, Oxfam India received around Rs. 1.5 crore directly into its Foreign Contribution Utilisation account instead of the designated bank account between 2013 and 2016.

The complaint further alleged that Oxfam India routed Rs. 12.71 lakhs to the Centre for Policy Research (CPR) in the financial year 2019-20 in violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act (FCRA), 2010 rules.

In conducting the searches, the CBI claimed that it acted on a complaint from the Home Ministry, which had suspended Oxfam India's FCRA licence in January last year.

Oxfam India is a part of the global confederation of Oxfam, which works on issues such as poverty, inequality, gender justice and climate change.

The non-governmental organisation has, however, denied any wrongdoing and said that it was cooperating with the authorities.
Nusraat Faria | Image Credit: SVF

Bangladeshi actor Nusraat Faria , who has worked in a number of films in Tollywood over the last few years, will be seen in SVF's upcoming music video Bujhina Toh Tai, which is slated for April 21 release. Ahead of the release, IBNS correspondent Souvik Ghosh catches up with Faria on the music video, her journey from Dhaka to Kolkata and future plans...

Q. What is the difference you feel when you step into Kolkata now as compared to around 10 years ago?

A. I still feel like that small kid who was coming to Kolkata for a commercial and got selected in a film. I still feel the same nervousness everytime I land in Calcutta (Kolkata). It's not only about Calcutta but work. I am a workaholic, be it here or Dhaka.

Q. Were you always interested to be in films?

A. I never had an aim (to be in films). I always wanted to be an Army officer because my family has an Army background. My plan was either to be a housewife or an Army officer. Since I was fluent in speaking and debates, I was getting offers in hosting in BTV. I used to earn Rs. 500 per show back then. That's how my journey started and then I used to do small shows on different private TV channels. I had a grip in the hosting field because of my fluency in both English and Bengali. Then I finished my higher education which has always remained supremely important for me. Then a movie happened and I felt like giving it a try.

Q. When did you take acting seriously?

A. I always give 200 percent to everything I do in life, be it hosting or acting or modelling. When I had first signed a movie, I didn't work on anything else for nine months because I wanted to be exclusive on the screen. For me, it was a big challenge but I knew films were the thing I wanted to do. I wanted to see myself on big screens.

Q. How excited are you for the upcoming music video Bujhina Toh Tai?

A. The song is fantastic to me. I would say this has been my best work till now. I do songs out of passion. I listen to pop music in English and Hindi. So I often question why not make Bangla pop music? We are trying to make a scenario where our generation will listen to Bangla pop music too.

Q. Do you want to explore more on OTT since you have ventured into the medium as well?

A. Absolutely. I wanted to do more web films, which has created its own audience. Mine and Ankush's (Ankush Hazra's) project (Bhoy) was initially being made for the theatrical release but later it was sold to OTT because of the demand. So I am also aiming a bit more on OTT for the future. But I don't rush, I wait for the right opportunity.

Q. Do you fear getting typecast to gorgeous roles?

A. Yes, I have already been typecast and it's okay. Screen maturity is very important for an actor. Moreover a director's responsibility is to deconstruct an actor for various roles. I will look forward to working with directors who will take the risk to portray me in different roles. At this stage of my career, I am experimenting with my work every other day.

Q. You spoke about screen maturity. How much Faria has matured over the last 10 years?

A. I was a kid in 2013. Right now, I am more centred, I know what I am doing and aware of my ambitions. I don't waste my time now. I am very clear about my dreams and what I want to do in my life now. I think it comes with age and experience.

Q. You are not shy to share developments of your personal life on social media unlike various celebrities!

A. Most of the people, I feel, are not real to social media. But I am very real to social media. I am very true to my audience. That's why my fans adore and love me. I want to be a girl who will seem relatable.

Q. How do you react when you are judged on social media?

A. I can't make everyone happy. People will have their perceptions. Staying true to myself at the end of the day is the most important thing for me. Making happy is not the goal, making oneself happy is the goal because we can take the right decisions for our lives only when we are happy.

(Image Credit: SVF)
Image: Wallpaper Cave

Baghdad: Four Islamic State (IS) militants were killed on Tuesday in an airstrike on IS hideouts in Iraq's northern province of Kirkuk, the Iraqi military said.

Based on intelligence reports, the Iraqi warplanes conducted an airstrike in the rugged area of Wadi al-Shay, southwest of the namesake provincial capital Kirkuk, some 250 km north of Baghdad, according to a statement issued by the Security Media Cell, a media outlet affiliated with the Iraqi Joint Operations Command.

The airstrike resulted in the killing of four IS terrorists and the destruction of their hideouts, the statement added.

The security situation in Iraq has improved since the defeat of the IS in 2017. However, IS remnants have since melted into urban centers, deserts and rugged areas, carrying out frequent guerilla attacks against security forces and civilians.
Trustees with the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB) met on Wednesday, April 12, 2023. Some of the items discussed in the public session are as follows.

The Impact of Sleep and School Start Times on Student Wellness

UCDSB Chief Psycholog...
The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians formalized a Tribal Forest Protection Act proposal with the Hiawatha National Forest.

This proposal establishes a collaborative stewardship agreement and involves a $364,000 contribution from the U.S....
press release

Algiers  The President of the Republic, and current chairman of the Arab Summit, Abdelmadjid Tebboune has sent messages to the United Nations (UN) Secretary General (SG), the current chairman of the African Union (AU), and the Executive Secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), as part of a common and unified approach to stop the fighting in Sudan.

"The initiative of the President of the Republic comes in the context of the accelerated deterioration of the situation in Sudan, against the background of continuing armed clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces, causing heavy human and material losses, which requires international action to stop the bloodshed and return to the peace process for the settlement of the deep Sudanese crisis," said the same source.

According to the same source, President Tebboune called for "joint and urgent action to avoid further escalation and put an end to the fighting between the Sudanese brothers, by urging them to prevail wisdom and give priority to dialogue in resolving their differences, while avoiding the Sudanese people the risks of engaging in the spiral of deadly violence that constitutes a danger to both social peace and the process of political settlement in Sudan."

On the same occasion, the current chairman of the Arab Summit highlighted "Algeria's readiness to intensify its efforts in cooperation and collaboration with regional and international partners to effectively contribute to the efforts and steps to stop the clashes between the Sudanese brothers and urge them to quickly return to the peace process for a final and lasting settlement of the Sudanese crisis."

"Pooling the efforts of international and regional actors, collectively and urgently, aims to work for a ceasefire, to calm the situation and establish a new era that meets the ambitions and aspirations of the Sudanese people brother to a dignified life in peace, harmony, and stability," said the same source.
Elon Musk is going after popular artificial intelligence chatbots again, claiming that they're biased towards liberals while simultaneously announcing to launch his own version called "TruthGPT." Sounds familiar, anyone? Former United States President Donald Trump launched his Twitter alternative "Truth Social" to counter the same so-called bias.

Unsplash

A ChatGPT alternative made by Elon Musk

On April 17, Elon Musk told Fox News that he plans to create a ChatGPT alternative that will be a "maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe." Why, you wonder? Besides his disdain for the so-called liberal bias, Musk believes that an AI tool that intends to understand humanity is less likely to destroy it.

Musk also claimed that he's worried about ChatGPT being "trained to be politically correct." Not sure why being cognisant of diversity in society and being sensitive to others is a problem for Musk, but he asked for more regulation of artificial intelligence, saying AI is "more dangerous" than cars and rockets with the potential to destroy humanity.

Reuters

Also read: Elon Musk Announces Content Subscriptions Feature For Twitter: All You Need To Know

This is not the first time Elon Musk has made his problems with AI public. Earlier this month, Musk, along with along technologists (including Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak) signed an open letter calling for a six-month halt on AI development until more government regulations were in place.

Recently, Elon Musk also set up a company called X.AI that was incorporated in Nevada on March 9. Twitter's new parent company, X Corp. is also registered there. For X.AI, Elon Musk is listed as the sole director and Jared Birchall is listed as secretary.

Reuters

Also read: Elon Musk Opens Up, Says 'Many Mistakes' Made Since His Twitter Takeover



What do you think about Elon Musk's plans to set up a ChatGPT alternative? Let us know in the comments below. For more in the world of technology and science, keep reading Indiatimes.com.
Eid ul Fitr is an important religious festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide. The festival marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, which is a period of fasting, prayer, and reflection. Eid ul Fitr 2023 is around the corner and expected to fall on April 21st or 22nd, depending on the sighting of the new moon.



Eid Ul-Fitr 2023 images | Photo: Freepik

Billions of people want to know when is Eid Ul-Fitr 2023? or How many days are left in Eid Ul-Fitr 2023? In this article, we will be presenting you the Eid Ul-Fitr 2023 date, continue reading this article to see the countdown of Eid al-Fitr 2023.

In Kerala Eid ul-Fitr 2023 will be celebrating a day before the rest of the country due to the moon sighting adheres to the traditional Islamic calendar and actual sighting of the moon. Kerala is the only Indian state whose Eid-ul-Fitr date is decided by the sighting of the moon in Saudi Arabia. The state government declares a holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr based on the committee's decision. According to the official website, this year, the festival will be celebrated in Kerala on April 21st. Meanwhile, in Kashmir, the date of the holy festival Eid Ul-Fitr is determined by the grand mufti of the state, they have the authority to announce the beginning of Eid based on moon sighting timings. As per the official website, in Kashmir, Eid-ul-Fitr 2023 will be celebrated on April 22nd this year.

How many days are left in Eid Ul-Fitr 2023?

Muslims around the world will be eagerly anticipating the arrival of Eid ul Fitr, which is a time for celebration, feasting, and spending time with family and friends. During this time, people exchange gifts, wear new clothes, and offer prayers at the mosque. Eid ul Fitr is a time of joy and gratitude, marking the end of a month of spiritual purification and self-discipline.

Eid-ul-Fitr which marks the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan or Ramadan will be celebrated in India on Saturday, 22 April 2023, as the moon has been sighted on Friday, 21 April 2023, in many parts of the country including, Bihar, Lucknow, Hyderabad.

Fatehpuri Masjid Imam Mufti Mukarram Ahmad told PTI that the Ruet-e-Hilal Committee of the mosque contacted many places and was informed that the moon was sighted at several places. Eid will be celebrated in the country on Saturday, he said.

Apart from India, many other countries including, Australia, Mareeba (Queensland), and New Zealand will be celebrating the Eid Ul-Fitr on Saturday, 22 April 2023 as the Shawwal crescent moon has been sighted on Friday, 21 April 2023.

Saudi Arabia celebrated Eid Ul-Fitr today

Saudi Arabia is celebrating the holy festival of Eid Ul-Fitr on Friday, 21 April 2023 as the Shawwal crescent moon was sighted Thursday. The Saudi Supreme Court confirmed the sighting of the crescent moon.



Apart from Saudi Arabia, many other countries including Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, UAE, and Yemen celebrated Eid-ul-Fitr today.

Not just Saudi Arabia other Islamic countries also celebrating the Eid Ul-Fitr today. These countries are Yemen, UAE, Tunisia, Syria, Sudan, Palestine, Qatar, Lebanon, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Bahrain, and Algeria.

As Shawwal moon has been sighted in Mareeba (Queensland), Australia, Bangladesh to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Saturday, April 22.

Eid al-Fitr or Eid ul-Fitr History

The history of Eid al-Fitr dates back to the time of Prophet Muhammad, who founded Islam in the 7th century. According to Islamic tradition, the Prophet received the first revelation of the Quran during the month of Ramadan, which is why the month is considered sacred. The end of Ramadan is marked by the celebration of Eid al-Fitr, which means "festival of breaking the fast" also signified the end of fasting from dawn to dusk throughout Ramadan and the opening of the Shawwal month.

The festival of Eid al-Fitr is a time of joy and celebration, with Muslims gathering with family and friends to exchange gifts, share food, and pray together. On the day of Eid al-Fitr, Muslims attend morning prayers at the mosque or in an open area, wearing new clothes and reciting special prayers. The day is marked by feasting, with traditional foods such as sweets, dates, and biryani served in abundance.

The celebration of Eid al-Fitr is also a time of giving, with Muslims encouraged to donate to charity which is among the most noble deeds in Islam and help those in need. The festival is an important reminder of the values of community, compassion, and gratitude, and serves as a time for reflection and spiritual renewal.

Eid al-Fitr is a time of great significance for Muslims around the world, marking the end of a month of spiritual devotion and self-reflection, and the beginning of a new chapter of faith and commitment to the values of Islam.

Eid al-Fitr or Eid ul-Fitr Significance

Eid Ul-Fitr 2023 images | Photo: Freepik

The significance of Eid al-Fitr is multifaceted and has deep cultural, social, and spiritual roots.



From a spiritual perspective, Eid al-Fitr is a time of joy and celebration, as Muslims have successfully completed the month-long fast and fulfilled their religious obligations. It is a time to express gratitude to Allah for the blessings received during Ramadan and to seek forgiveness for any sins committed.

From a social perspective, Eid al-Fitr is a time for families and friends to come together and celebrate the end of the month-long fast. People gather for communal prayers, exchange gifts and greetings, and share meals and sweets. It is a time to strengthen family and community bonds and to show compassion and generosity to those in need.

From a cultural perspective, Eid al-Fitr is an important occasion that has been celebrated for centuries. It has its own unique traditions and customs, such as wearing new clothes, decorating homes with lights and ornaments, and preparing special dishes. These customs vary from region to region but are all part of the rich cultural heritage of Islam.

Eid al-Fitr is a time of spiritual, social, and cultural significance that brings joy, unity, and peace to the Muslim community. It reminds people of the importance of faith, family, and community, and reinforces the values of compassion, generosity, and gratitude.

Why do Muslims pray on Eid ul Fitr?

Eid Ul-Fitr 2023 image | Photo: Freepik

Muslims pray on Eid ul Fitr as it is a religious festival that marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan. During Ramadan, Muslims observe fasts from dawn till dusk, abstain from food, drink, and other physical needs during the day, and spend time in prayers and reflection.



Eid ul Fitr is a celebration of the successful completion of this month-long journey of self-discipline and devotion. On this day, Muslims offer special Eid prayers in congregation in the morning, followed by a sermon by the Imam (religious leader) and then greet each other with hugs, handshakes, and the traditional greeting of "Eid Mubarak."

The prayers on Eid ul Fitr serve as a reminder of the importance of spiritual discipline, gratitude, and compassion towards others. It is also a time for Muslims to come together as a community and celebrate the blessings of Allah (God) by sharing food, gifts, and spreading joy and happiness.

How to celebrate Eid Ul-Fitr?

Eid ul Fitr is a major Islamic holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide. It marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, a period of fasting, spiritual reflection, and charitable deeds. Here are some ways you can celebrate Eid ul Fitr:



Attend the Eid prayer

The day begins with Eid prayer, which is typically held in large open spaces like parks or mosques. Joining other Muslims for prayer is an important part of the Eid celebration.

Wear new clothes

Muslims often dress in new, festive clothes to mark the occasion. This is a symbol of the new beginning that comes after a month of fasting and spiritual growth.

Give gifts

It is customary to exchange gifts with family and friends during Eid ul Fitr. The gifts can be anything from sweets to clothes or money.



Prepare special dishes

Cook special Eid dishes such as Sheer Khurma or Biryani and share it with family and friends.

Give charity

Muslims believe that giving charity during the Eid ul Fitr is a way to express gratitude to God for the blessings received during Ramadan.

Visit family and friends

Eid ul Fitr is a time for reuniting with family and friends. Visit loved ones and share the joy of the occasion with them.

Spread happiness

Spread happiness and love around you. Eid ul Fitr is a time to forgive, forget and let go of any grudges or animosity that you may hold against anyone.

Remember, the most important thing about Eid ul Fitr is to celebrate it with love, happiness, and gratitude for the blessings of the past month.






Finland decided to construct the barrier in case Russia moved to flood the border with migrants just as Turkey did in 2020 at the borders with Greece
is a young woman , a lawyer by profession and active in politics. Her professional capacity and engagement with the public gives special weight to her complaint against the actor and former SYRIZA MEP, Alexis Georgoulis, for sexual harassment and abuse.
Former Vice-President Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has congratulated Umaru Fintiris re-election as the Governor of Adamawa State, describing it as a win for democracy.

All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Aisha Binani Dahiru was earlier announced the winner by an official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) even before the collation of results for the supplementary exercise ended, a move that the Commission nullified.

Recalled that INFORMATION NIGERIA earlier reported that INEC resumed the conclusion of the rescheduled collation, Fintiri, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, was declared the winner of the highly-dramatic poll Tuesday, beating his closest rival Binani.

Minutes after the declaration, Atiku who was the PDP presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, said the triumph proves that good can overcome bad.

Congratulations, Gov Ahmadu Fintiri, on your deserved reelection as governor of Adamawa State. Thank you to the people of Adamawa and men and women of goodwill for staying the course in resisting coupists and enemies of democracy from having their way, the Adamawa-born former vice president tweeted.

READ MORE: INEC Declares Fintiri Winner Of Adamawa Guber Poll

The lesson from this exercise and others is the need for Nigerians to be vigilant and never give in to anti-democratic forces whose objective is to snatch, run with and undermine the mandate of the people as freely expressed in their votes.

Following Fintiris victory, Atiku is optimistic about winning at the presidential election tribunal where he is challenging Bola Tinubus emergence as Nigerias leader.

By the way, it is not yet uhuru as we still have one more major mandate to reclaim, and together as ONE, we shall accomplish the task for the good of our country and its people, he added.
Reno Omokri, former aide to former president Goodluck Jonathan, has cautioned president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu to be wary of losing at the Presidential Election Petition Court.

This reaction stems from the the victory of the Adamawa State Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, in last Saturdays supplementary election against All Progressives Congress (APC) rival, Aisha Binani Dahiru.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had on Tuesday evening declared the incumbent as the winner of the election after he polled 430,861 votes to defeat Binani, who got 398,788 votes in the exercise.

Recall that the declaration of Binani as the winner of the election by the now-suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, forced the commission to suspend the collation of the election results.

READ ALSO: Aisha Binani Loses Bid To Stop Guber Election Result

But reacting via Twitter, Omokri cautioned president-elect Bola Ahmed Tinubu, that the PDP would be returning to reclaim its mandate at the presidential election petition tribunal just as it was reclaimed in Adamawa.

He wrote: To God be the glory! Binani has been put in the bin! The Peoples Democratic Party has emerged victorious, and Governor Umaru Fintiri had been re-elected. Congratulations to him. Big congratulations to Waziri Atiku Abubakar.

This proves the victory of evil over good is only temporary! Now that Adamawa is in the bag, Tinubu, we are coming for you at the Presidential Election Petition Court. We won our presidential candidates state. You could not win your own state. Be afraid. Be very afraid!
President Muhammadu Buhari has said his administration will appeal the court judgement on the case between Ifeanyi Ararume and the Nigeria National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Limited.

Information Nigeria had reported that that Buhari removed Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of NNPCL board, at the time arrangement was going for his swearing in.

But the Federal High Court in Abuja had on Tuesday, set aside all decisions taken by the NNPC board since his absence, nullifying Buharis removal of Ararume as the chairman.

The judge, Inyang Ekwo who also held that the Presidents removal of Ararume on January 17, was illegal, awarded five billion naira damages against President Buhari and NNPC in favour of Ararume for his wrongful sack and disruption of his appointment.

READ ALSO: Court Reverses Buharis Illegal Sack of Ararume As NNPC Chairman

However, the presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, reacting on Wednesday via a statement said, President Muhammadu Buhari has taken due notice of judgment by the Federal High Court, Abuja, restoring Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

While the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation /Minister for Justice is yet to receive a formal copy of the ruling, the President affirms that due judicial process will be followed, and NNPCL has already taken steps to go on appeal.

The Administration respects the Rule of Law, and nothing will be done outside it to resolve the matter, the President says.

He sues for calm from all sides involved.
Lagos States National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) has reinstated the operations of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the State.

The judge, Maureen Esowe who voided the Lagos State Parks Administrator Caretaker Committee, held that the state governments suspension of the national unions operations and setting up of a caretaker committee last October was illegal and unconstitutional.

According to her, the government and the Police should have intervened by arresting and prosecuting those behind any fracas purportedly involving union members and not inquiring into the dispute.

While restraining the state government from further interference in the operations of the unions executives, it ordered the police to refrain from intimidating the unions officers, to remove all barricades it imposed around their secretariat and to grant them unfettered access to their offices.

READ ALSO: Man Arraigned In Court For Stealing N21m From Catholic Church

However, Esowe also dismissed the defendants preliminary objections to the suit, saying the matter was straightforward, with no serious dispute to warrant an exchange of pleadings.

Information Nigeria reports RTEAN instituted the suit marked NICN/LA/381/2022, in October 2022 to challenge the Lagos State government for allegedly dissolving the elected executive committee of the union in the State and appointing a caretaker body, known as the Parks and Garages Administrators.

The defendants in the case are governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu; the Attorney-General of the State, Moyosore Onigbanjo and Sola Giwa, the Special Adviser to the governor on transportation.

The 4th-37th defendants are the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, and all the members of the caretaker committee.
Adamawa State governor, Ahmadu Fintiri has said that he contested against powerful individuals in the country and not the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Aishatu Dahiru (Binani).

Information Nigeria had earlier reported that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on Tuesday declared Fintiri the winner of the governorship election in the State.

Fintiri while speaking on Channels Television on Tuesday said the controversial declaration of Binani as the winner of the governorship election on Sunday by the Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa Ari, shows he was battling people who feel they own Nigeria.

READ ALSO: Binani Asks Court To Stop INECs Action On Adamawa Guber Result

He said, I dont think I have run against any woman in Adamawa State, I ran against enemies of democracy outside Adamawa State.

I contested against the whole system, I contested against those who feel they own Nigeria from Abuja and they feel they can make Adamawa a scapegoat.

Even in the election, I didnt go into the election against the woman, I went into the election against INEC. The whole presiding officers that were conducting the election, all of them were APC members.

He resolved that his performance in the State in the last four years stood for him against the alleged enemies of democracy in Abuja.
Presidential candidate of Labour Party, Peter Gregory Obi, has said he will not give up in his journey of reclaiming the mandate of what he described as a New Nigeria.

Obi made the remark on Tuesday, during Labour Partys National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Asaba, Delta State, where leadership of the Party met to discuss pressing issues.

This was even as the NEC again suspended its acting national chairman, Bashir Apapa; the National publicity secretary, Abayomi Arabambi, others and thereafter set up a disciplinary committee to look into the matter.

Information Nigeria reports that the embattled acting national chairman, Apapa, again dared the Party, describing the outcome of the Asaba meeting as inconsequential.

However, during the meeting, Obi explained that he never expected the journey to New Nigeria to be an easy one, saying that the forces who had, over the years, lived off the old order, were bound to fight back, as is being experienced now.

He said, if they come at us through land, air and sea, we will respond to them through land, air and sea, but we will remain law abiding and will never give up on the nation.

READ ALSO: FG Announces Five-Year Strategic Steps To Tackle Insecurity

Obi vowed that he would never give up on the journey, until victory was achieved.

The former Anambra governor said, We are on the right path, and we will remain committed to the course.

Obi reiterated his commitment to a, Nigeria that will be beneficial to every Nigerian.

He insisted that the struggle to reclaim the mandate was not about him, as a person, but about millions of Nigerians who reposed their trust on him through their votes.

The millions of Nigerians who voted for me did not just cast their votes, but they invested their hope in me. They deserve justice.

So we must stay the course. And beyond regaining our mandate, I am committed to lifting people out of poverty. I remain committed to transforming Nigeria, starting from the North to every part of the nation, Obi stated.

According to him, there may be more mudslinging on him from those against the emergence of the New Nigeria, saying he would never be deterred by the obstacles along the way to victory.

I have always lived my life in the most law abiding manner possible. Sometimes, as humans, we make mistakes, but I will never knowingly break any law. I am, therefore, not afraid of the lies and propaganda against my person. They are part of the journey to a New Nigeria, Obi added.

Sharing further through Twitter he wrote, I encourage Nigerians to remain calm and steadfast in the journey to reclaiming their mandate of a New Nigeria. I will never give up on this journey until victory is achieved.
Seychelles has taken steps to modernise and improve the quality of home care service offered to the elderly, disabled, and other groups of its population through the establishment of a Home Care Agency (HCA), which started its work on March 1.

It will manage and regulate home care services in the country, which before the enactment of the Home Care Agency Act, was being done by the Agency for Social Protection. The Agency for Social Protection was also responsible for the application and management of home care services on all three main islands of Mahe, Praslin, and La Digue.

On Monday, April 24, the Home Care Agency will start its operation at Block A in Unity House in Victoria. The registration team will continue to provide the same service for home care and the HCA will be fully operational by the end of June.

Reverend Daniel Kallee, the HCA chief executive, told SNA that "the government, through the act, has established the agency to provide the highest quality of life possible for those who cannot take care of themselves as a result of sickness, disability, aging and where the ability of a person has been reduced considerably."

Kallee, an Anglican priest, added that aside from the management and regularisation of home care services and the administration of all applications from people seeking home care service, the Home Care Agency will also be responsible for registering all carers and recipients of care services in Seychelles.

"In addition, we will be registering potential candidates willing to provide home care services, monitor and evaluate the level of services being provided as per established standards, recognising organisations and competent authorities which provide training for carers and facilitate training for caregivers as well as assisting in solving issues and address concerns raised to care between recipient and caregivers," he said.

The approval of the Home Care Agency Act by the National Assembly and its setup has been welcomed by many in Seychelles - 115 islands in the western Indian Ocean - as home care service for many years was not seen as essential and not given its true value. This has led to working as caregivers amongst one of the most sought out services, attracting very few people to take up this job, and where most of the time, family members had to quit their jobs and take up work as caregivers for their loved ones.

Others feel that through the agency, now there will be a readily available pool of carers that can be enlisted and employed.

"We have been seeking a carer for our elderly sister since last year, in October, and to date, we have not been able to get one. We are now relying on this new agency to recruit the right people for this service," said Dyanna Pool.

Another person SNA spoke to, Nadia Lagrenade, is the full-time carer of her 10-year-old daughter Nia, who has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Nia is on full-time treatment, and her mother gives her 24-hour care and even sits with her at school.

"I feel that for many years carers have been looked at as inferior with a very low salary for the kind of delicate work we do. Before caring for Nia, I was the caregiver of a bedridden elderly man until he passed. So I know what the job entails. We get paid very late, we do not have a proper scheme for benefits such as end-of-employment dues, though we do get to take annual leave, and now we can also apply for loans as before we could not do so with the salary of SCR6,300 ($476). So, I welcome this new agency and hope they will do what is necessary to valorise us caregivers and our work," explained Lagrenade.

Clemence Ernesta, in her mid-eighties, looks forward to having a full-time carer and adds that with the new agency, the work of providing care can be better scrutinised. "Though I have yet to get a carer, from what I have heard and gathered, the work needs to be better monitored. I have heard of people being abused by carers and carers themselves being mistreated and working, in some situations, as maids for the whole family."

The new agency is fully aware of the many challenges of providing home care faced by caregivers, and one of the many priorities is to ensure that home care is regularised, and proper training is given, with strict monitoring and evaluation.

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"The Agency will work with the district authority and all stakeholders and families to address all pertinent issues regarding home care. We are conscious of the magnitude of its operation and the challenges associated with home care services and all measures and precautions will be taken for a smooth transition," said Kallee.

Kallee added that currently, there are a few private businesses offering this service, and "we are open to working and developing partnerships when and where necessary."

"We are also conducting working visits on Praslin to ensure that the inner island is on board with the agency. All staff working with the ASP Home Care services will be transferred to the Seychelles Home Care Agency. It will take some time to complete the migration process, and the operational aspects of domiciliary care will continue," said the CEO.
The All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate in Adamawa State, Aisha Dahiru (Binani), has dismissed unfounded claims that she bribed officials of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) with N2 billion to be declared the winner of the State governorship election.

The commission had on Tuesday evening declared governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as the winner of the election after he polled 430,861 votes to defeat Binani, who got 398,788 votes in the exercise.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa-Ari, had on Sunday stirred controversy after he declared the APC candidate as the winner of the election with only 10 out of the 21 local government areas of the States collated.

The electoral body, however, declared the announcement null and void and directed the REC to stay away from election duty in the State.

Following Yunusa-Aris declaration, there were claims in several quarters that the Adamawa central senator bribed INEC officials N2 billion to be declared winner of the election.

Binani who denied bribing staff of the commission to be declared the Adamawa governor-elect, alleged that the INEC collation and returning officers for the election were selected by the governor.

The statement read: I never did, I would never do such. I wish to reiterate that I am a democrat. I have always been a committed democrat and will never do anything to subvert the democratic process.

READ ALSO: INEC Declares Fintiri Winner Of Adamawa Guber Poll

I am not a do-or-die politician. In the past, I have won elections into the House of Representatives and the Senate in a free and fair manner.

What happened in Adamawa was an unsuccessful attempt to subvert the will of the people. The REC was illegally told to stand down by two INEC national commissioners from Abuja who were supposed to be in Adamawa in a supervisory capacity.

Even more curious is the nocturnal visit of some INEC national officers to the Adamawa State Government House and the bizarre declaration the same day after the visit that they have taken over the collation through the backdoor with the collation and returning officers selected by the governor of Adamawa.

The roles of these INEC officers from Abuja and the real mission of the two to the government house should be of interest to all democrats.

I urge all lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in our electoral process and democracy not only in Adamawa but in the whole country.
The United Nations (UN) in a data released on Wednesday, has revealed that India has overtaken China as the worlds most populous nation.

The mid-2023 estimates by the UNs World Population dashboard shows, Indias population surpassed 1.4286 billion, slightly higher than Chinas 1.4257 billion people

The country will also be the worlds fastest-growing major economy in the coming years with half its population under the age of 30.

The data revealed that Chinas figures do not include Hong Kong and Macau, Special Administrative Regions of China, and Taiwan.

With the burgeoning population, the countrys Prime Minister, Narendra Modis government will urgently create employment for the millions of people entering the workforce as the nation moves away from farm jobs.

READ ALSO: 3,298 Inmates On Death Row In Nigeria  NCoS Reveals

Asias third-largest economy is now home to nearly a fifth of humanity, which is greater than the entire population of Europe, Africa, or America.

Andrea Wojnar, Representative United Nations Population Fund India and Country Director Bhutan on State of the World Population Report disclosed that Indias story is a powerful one. It is a story of progress in education, public health and sanitation, economic development as well as technological advancements

India seized the top spot as it added about 23 million babies in 2022, while Chinas population started shrinking for the first time in six decades, with about 9.56 million newborns last year.
A 37-year-old man identified as Nwafor Onyebuchi, was arraigned before a Badagry Magistrates Court sitting in Lagos State, for allegedly stealing N21 million from a Catholic Church.

Onyebuchi is facing a three-count charge of stealing, breach of public peace and conspiracy which he pleaded not guilty to.

READ ALSO: Church Founder In Court For Raping Two Worshippers In Lagos

The prosecutor, Insp. Ayodele Adeosun, told the court that the defendant committed the offences on December 21, 2022 at Saint Patrick Catholic Church, Alaba in Ojo area of Lagos.

Adeosun said the defendant allegedly stole the money meant for development of the Church and converted it to his personal use.

Adeosun said that the defendant also conducted himself in a manner likely to breach the peace by stealing from the Church.

He said that the offences contravened Sections 287, 168 and 307 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The Magistrate, T. A Popoola, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.

Popoola ordered that one of the sureties must be related to the defendant, while both sureties should show evidence of three years tax payment to Lagos State Government.

He adjourned the case until June 5, 2023, for mention.
A 45-year-old man, Gbenga Ogunfadeke, has been arrested for allegedly chaining and locking his two children in solitary confinement which led to their death in Ogun State.

The suspect was arrested on Tuesday in Ibiade, Ogunwaterside Local Government Area of the state by men of the State Security Network, otherwise known as the Amotekun Corps.

The state Commander of Amotekun, David Akinremi, confirmed the arrest of the suspect in a statement made available to journalists in Abeokuta on Wednesday.

According to the Amotekun commandant, the suspect, a father of three, who accused his children of stealing, chained and locked them in solitary confinement, without food and water for over three months which led to the death of two of the children.

READ ALSO: 18-Year-Old To Be Arraigned For Making Hoax Call To Lagos Fire Service

He added that the suspect had been maltreating the children whose age ranges from 16, 17 and 18 since he took custody of them following his crashed marriage with their mother, Busola Otusegun.

Akinremi said the suspect was arrested following a complaint by his ex-wife.

He said, One of the three children came across his aunty in Ibiade where he currently lives with his father (suspect) and narrated their experience with their father which led to the death of his two elder siblings  Yusuf Ogunfadeke (18 years) and Dasola Ogunfadeke (17 years) between April and June, 2022 in Ijebu-Ode where they were all living with the suspect until he relocated back to Ibiade.

According to him (the child), their father chained and locked them in solitary confinement, without food and water for over three months which led to the death of the two siblings but he miraculously survived the ordeal.

The Amotekun commandant disclosed that the suspect when interrogated, admitted the alleged confinement of the children for months, but denied not feeding them and being responsible for their death.

According to the suspect, his action was based on the childrens involvement in stealing, hence the need to ensure they are prevented from such criminal action.

He added that the suspect claimed that the two deceased children were taken to the hospital for treatment at different times when they fell ill, but unfortunately died in the process.

What is however curious about his defence is that the hospital where he claimed the two children died in Ijebu Ode could neither be located nor where he allegedly buried them behind a rented apartment he lived in Ijebu-Ode before relocating to his present abode in Ibiade with the third child for possible exhumation be traced.

The fact that he refused to make the incidents known to any member of the family also gives cause for concern as the suspect is a herbalist, thus further fueling the suspicion of having killed the deceased for possible rituals.

Consequently, the case is being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation with a view to establishing further facts that will facilitate his prosecution, Akinremi added.
Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo has suggested replacing state of origin with a certificate of residence or birth, which according to him, would promote social cohesion and unity among Nigerians.

Speaking at an event in Plateau State on Monday, April 17, the VP lamented the rising of frightening divisive tendencies, which according to him was responsible for the backwardness in the nation.

Osibanjo said that the countrys diversity ought to be a blessing and not a curse, adding that Nigeria had the potential to be a great nation but only when the cankerworm of division was collectively fought.

Osinbajo, who cited examples of Singapore, Tanzania and Rwanda, as nations that effectively managed their diversities, said that Nigeria could take a cue.

READ MORE: Dont Foster Division, Hatred  Osinbajo Cautions Politicians On Responsible Electoral Conduct

Most heterogeneous nations have been able to manage and harness their diversities for the good of all and we can also do the same in Nigeria.

Our diversity in Nigeria should not be a burden; in fact it is a blessing and so we must develop the capacity to manage this diversity for the growth of our nation.

So, the elite must come together and agree to end the ethnic and religious profiling that we are currently facing in our dear nation; we must prioritise things that bind us together and de-prioritise ones that set us apart.

I also believe that the political class and the nations leadership can do more in developing policies, laws and enforcing them toward addressing the weaponisation of ethnicity and religion in our dear nation, he said.
The factional chairman of the Labour Party (LP), Bashir Apapa, has declared the Asaba National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the party as illegal, stating that its presidential candidate, Peter Obi was not qualified to rule the country.

According to Apapa, the presence of Julius Abure, the embattled national chairman in the meeting showed that he is disobedient to the Federal High Court Order in Abuja.

Recall that a court order had restrained Abure and three others from parading themselves as officials of the Party.

The Apapa-led faction in a statement on Tuesday noted that it had access to a letter of invitation to the Asaba NEC meeting of the LP signed by Abure and said he has no such powers given the restraining order of the court.

The statement read partly: that following the anti-party activities and disobedience to court order of the FCT High Court through the illegal suspension and expulsion of national working committee members under the leadership of Alh. Bashiru Lamidi Apapa, the NWC members meet this afternoon, after receiving information and letter by the restrained former national chairman Julius Abure and Former National Secretary inviting elected members of national assembly to observe their illegal NEC meeting of our party.

By this rascality exhibited by these miscreants, the national working committee of our party led by Alhaji Lamidi Apapa hereby, suspend the following officers with immediate effects;

READ ALSO: Submit Your Hand Over Notes Before April 19  Gombe Gov. Dissolves Cabinet

Ladi Iliya Deputy National Chairman NLC, Ayo Olorunfemi, Deputy National Chairman TUC, Kennedy Chigozie Ahanotu, Deputy National Secretary, Dudu Manuga, National Women Leader and Innocent Okeke. National Vice Chairman South East.

The statement signed by the national publicity secretary, Arabambi Abayomi furthered that the party also frowns at the gross misconduct of Mr Peter Obi who is vigorously pursuing ethnic cleansing.

Peter Obis mission was to amputate the Labour party structure so that he and his gang of ethnic bigots would take over the party and fix his wife as the new national women leader of the party to continue his trade.

We want the world to know that Peter Obi was not properly nominated as our party flag bearer which we pointed out to him and the reason he wanted all of us opposed to his illegal candidacy out by all means.

Peter Obi is not fit to govern Nigeria for his involvement in the gross disobedience to the FCT high court order as this is an evidence that he will cause civil unrest , turn nigeria to banana republic and lawlessness where rule of law will be a thing of the past.

Finally the national working committee of our party hereby dissolved the presidential campaign council with immediate effect.
Operatives of the Kwara State Police Command have arrested a Point of Sale operator identified as Alfa Rafiu who reportedly went on a spending spree after N280m was erroneously transferred to his account by a commercial bank.

According to The Punch, that the suspect is a resident of the Akuji compound, the Abayawo area in the Ilorin West Local Government Area of the state.

READ ALSO: EFCC Nabs Cleric, 27 Others Over Internet Fraud In Kwara

According to sources who spoke to The Punch, Rafiu went on a spending spree after he received the alerts in batches some weeks back.

But instead of him to draw the attention of the bank that mistakenly transferred the huge fund, he went on a spending spree.

Rafiu bought houses, and cars and sponsored people to lesser Hajj. Although he was generous to several people in the community, some residents were surprised about his sudden wealth as a POS operator, one of the sources said.

It was further gathered that the bank auditors later discovered the error and sent law enforcement agents after Rafiu who was arrested and moved to Lagos.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the incident saying, His arrest was carried out by the Force Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department from Alagbon-Close, Ikoyi, Lagos which makes it out of our jurisdiction.
Operatives of the tactical team of the Imo State Police Command have raided the hideout of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia affiliate (ESN) at the tropical forest located at Ubah Agwa/Izombe in Oguta Local government Area of Imo State.

According to the Commands Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye, in a statement issued on Tuesday, the Command Operative acted on intelligence about the activities of members of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) and its militia affiliate (ESN).

Henry said the IPOB members were strategizing on how to perpetrate another dreadful crime, before operatives of the Commands Tactical teams swiftly swung into action, tactically manoeuvred their way into the identified criminal hideout and raided it.

READ MORE: IPOB Laments Supreme Courts Delay In Hearing Nnamdi Kanus Appeal

The hoodlums on sighting the police operatives engaged them in a fierce gun duel but were overpowered by the superior firepower of the operatives who professionally took vantage position and returned fire forcing them to flee with various degrees of gunshot injuries. A concerted effort is on top gear to arrest the fleeing suspects, the statement read.

The Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Ahmed Barde, while commending the officers and men for their gallantry, ordered operatives of the Command to continually raid criminal hideouts and mop up illicit firearms.

He also thanked Imo residents for their unalloyed support and assured them of the Commands commitment to wiping out crime in the State.

The well-meaning residents of the state are encouraged to be wary of persons living within their neighbourhoods and to report any person seen with or treating bullet wounds to the nearest Police station or via the Commands emergency numbers 0803773600 or 08098880197, the police spokesman added.
The female students hostel at the Ekehuan campus of the University of Benin has been engulfed by fire on Tuesday.

It was gathered that the fire destroyed some documents and properties at the university.

A source who made the revelation to the News Agency of Nigeria that the incident, which started at midday, however, claimed no life.

READ MORE: UNIBEN Final Year Student Shot Dead In Hostel

While an account said the cause of the fire could not be ascertained, another source said it was ignited by a surge from an electric cooker, popularly known as hot plate, that one of the female students was using.

According to the source, the attention of the fire service in the state was drawn to the incident on time and its men were on the ground to extinguish the fire.

When contacted, the Public Relations Officer of the University, Dr. Benedicta Ehanire, declined comment.

The state fire service is also yet to comment on the incident.
Two people have reportedly died, while six others were injured following a lone fatal crash that occurred at the Odumodu Junction, along the Nteje-Onitsha Expressway in Anambra State.

The Sector Commander, Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) in Anambra State, CC Adeoye Irelewuyi, confirmed this in a statement to newsmen on Wednesday.

He disclosed that the crash, which occurred around 6.50 pm on Tuesday, involved a commercial Toyota Sienna with Registration Number: LND502YE with six persons on board.

According to him, eyewitness accounts revealed that the crash was attributable to over-speeding, as the driver, who was cruising on high speed, suddenly lost control of the vehicle and somersaulted, after hitting a pedestrian crossing the highway.

He identified the female pedestrian and one of the passengers in the bus as the two people who died in the crash. He also sympathized with the deceased families and prayed for the quick recovery of the injured.

READ ALSO: Driver Reportedly Dies As Fire Guts Commercial Bus On Ogudu Bridge In Lagos

Irelewuyi, however, warned motorists against excessive speeding in order to arrive at their destinations alive.

He said, A fatal road traffic crash was recorded on 18th April 2023 at Tempo 300 meters away from Odumodu junction, along Nteje-Onitsha Expressway.

The lone crash involved a Commercial Toyota Sienna with Registration. Number: LND502YE belonging to young shall grow motors.

The probable cause of the fatal road traffic crash was speed.

According to an eyewitness, the driver was on speed, lost control of the vehicle, somersaulted after hitting a woman crossing the expressway and crashed.

Seven persons were involved in the crash comprising 4 male adults, and 3 female adults. 4 male adults and 1 female adult sustained varying degrees of injury and 2 female adults (the pedestrian crossing the road and 1 passenger in the vehicle) were killed.

FRSC first responders at Nteje rushed the injured victims to Beatrice Specialist Hospital Umunya where 2 female adults were confirmed dead.

FRSC personnel at RS5.33 Nteje Unit Command on ground managed traffic and ensured obstruction caused by the crash was cleared.
President Yoweri Museveni has commissioned into flight the first ever overhauled and upgraded Russian type helicopter in sub Saharan Africa at the Pro Heli Plant International Services Limited at Nakasongola Air base.

The overhauled and upgraded chopper is the MI 24 which is gunship, attack helicopter and low-capacity troop transport.

"In 1986 I sent the late Kategaya to buy MI 17 from the Soviet Union, but soon after the Soviet Union collapsed during the time of Gorbachev and Yeltsin there was chaos. When Putin took over, he stabilized the country. I want to congratulate President Putin for stabilizing Russia and strengthening it again," Museveni said,

He noted that there was no contact with the Russian partners then and so he offered himself to travel to Russia as a tourist to revive the relationship with the Russians.

"You couldn't get anything from Russia, there was no contact. I worked with the UN office on a private visit. I said I want to revive this relationship. I went as a tourist and met the current Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and the former Prime Minister. That is when I bought the Sukoi," he disclosed.

Museveni said there was no problem between Russia and Uganda as well as the African continent.

He commended the Managing Director of NEC, Lt Gen Mugira for the initiative to follow up the project noting that many ideas are always conceived but end up getting aborted because they are not supported.

"Normally these ideas come but they are not grown by those who are concerned, they die," he noted.

The president further said he has often indicated in writing to the Western partners on how the world should be run not through rivalry but through cooperation.

"We don't want this nonsense of rivalry, what are you rivaling for, we have got enough problems to solve as a human race. It should be through cooperation and respecting the internal issues of countries. How can you have the whole world thinking the same way?"

He said it was in the same vein he told the Western world that tried to mobilize African countries to stand against Russia that it was impossible for Africa to tow that line.

"I saw the potential of convergence of interests. We have no problem with Russia and vise-versa. How can you say we fight Russia without any reason? Soviet Union for the last 100 years has been with Africa, Asia and Latin America," he said.

Museven said the relationship between Africa and Russia in terms of support in the field of military hardware dates back to the times of President Abdel Nasser who in 1955 first bought equipment from the Soviet Union as there was no independent African country except for Ethiopia, Egypt and Liberia.

He noted that Russia therefore has been Africa's partner for the last 100 years and had been supporting anti colonial movements.

Museveni stressed that the partnership with PRO Heli facility in Nakasongola is a healthy one and describing it as that of common sense.

He said there is a big demand in Uganda that has helicopters which need maintenance, overhaul and upgrading.

"Which is better? To do it there or here in Uganda? Of course, what is common sense is not always common," he said.

The excited Museveni also welcomed the idea fronted by the PRO Heli International Services Ltd CEO Valari Copcin to have the Sukois also overhauled and upgraded at the facility, to work with other countries in Africa and Latin America as well as Brazil adding that it is convenient for everybody in terms of proximity.

He said these countries can also benefit from the services of the facility.

He however noted that the facility serves for better economics as it employs highly trained Ugandan engineers whose remuneration is lower than their counterparts in Europe.

"Both strategically and economically it is very correct to cooperate here,"

He also welcomed the idea of the general electronic counter measures for self-protection when in the air as well as plans to have other commercial aircrafts serviced and maintained at the facility. 5 | P a g e President Museveni however urged Pro Heli to get other investors in other areas that are non-military like was done with the Chinese investors.

"So, there is no limit to our cooperation," he said, applauding the Russian government for not objecting to Uganda's cooperation but rather supporting it.

The Minister of Defense Vincent Ssempijja said the facility will save the country huge sums of money that were going into works on helicopters.

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He disclosed that transporting one helicopter alone to and from for hauling and maintenance abroad costs over US$ 2 million.

Ssempijja revealed that many heads of state who have visited the facility have expressed their interest to bring equipment for service and overhaul.

The Chief of Defense Forces (CDF) Gen Wilson Mbadi pointed out the major benefits of the facility that include among others self-reliance, combat readiness and employment of over 200 Ugandan engineers.

He added that the facility will also promote defense diplomacy as other countries will be utilizing its services.

Brig David Gonyi who represented the commander of the UPDF Air Force Gen Okidi, highlighted many advantages the facility is to offer that include giving the air force short time of service and but also support the industrialization policy and the country's economy.

"Formerly it would take two years to overhaul a helicopter but today with our own facility in Uganda, it takes one year and 3 months only," he said.

The CEO of PRO Heli International Services Valari Copcin said their aim is to make the facility, a one stop center for all aviation needs.
Boma Amieyeofori, Chevening Programme and Communication Officer in Nigeria, led this out at the welcome ceremony for the Chevening scholars.

The scholars were hosted at the residence of the British Deputy High Commission, Ikoyi, Lagos.

The Chevening is a UK Governments global scholarship programme, funded by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and partner organisation.

The scholarships support study at UK universities, mostly a one-year taught masters degrees, for individuals with demonstrable potentials to become future leaders, decision makers and opinion formers.

Amieyeofori said that the scholars were fully funded in their various scholarships programmes in UK where they would got world-class education with the intention of coming back to the country to make impacts.

We had over 8,000 Nigerians who applied for the scholarship and 50 scholars were selected which includes three people with disabilities.

It is extremely important that people with disabilities are selected because the UK embraces all kinds of people as they are top priorities in all ramifications, she said.

Amieyeofori noted that Chevening has over 50,000 alumni globally which helps in networking.

A Chevening scholar is different from others because you get to meet an alumni network of over 50,000 people globally and 1,500 locally.

READ MORE: Im Not Aware Of Any Apology From UK Over My Detention  Peter Obi

This in turn helps and aids in networking which provides limitless careers and job opportunities, she said.

In his remarks, Ben Llewelyn-Jones, British Deputy High Commission in Lagos, urged the scholars to take advantage of the opportunity.

I urge all the scholars to make use of this opportunity to have a positive impact on the society.

The skills acquired while in the UK should be used to build networks that would translate into creating positive lasting changes, he said.

A beneficiary of the scholarship, Miss Janet Zagah, expressed her excitement at the completion of her masters degree programme in the UK.

She commended the UK government for the skills set acquired while studying overseas.

My experience was nothing short of breathtaking as I was able to acquire various skill sets during my one-year programme.

Im glad I was given the opportunity to further my studies in the UK and I would use the experience to impact the country in a positive way, he said.

Mr Daniel Nwaeze, another beneficiary, noted that the experience gained would enable him to take his career to higher levels.

He noted that he would impact the society positively with his skill set.
Director Raelle Myrick-Hodges (back to camera) watches a rehearsal for Media/Medea. Student actors from Community College of Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr College, and Haverford College are cast members. Read more

Medea, in the legendary Greek tragic tale, is best known for her worst deed: killing her children. The vengeful sorceress has been revisited in countless plays since Euripides first presented the work in 431 B.C. This month, Medea appears in a fresh take written by James Ijames, the Philly playwright who won a Pulitzer for Fat Ham, his reimagining of Hamlet.

Media/Medea, one of Ijames first new works since the award in 2022,pairs renowned Philly theater makers with student actors from Community College of Philadelphia, Bryn Mawr College, and Haverford College.

In Ijames version, Medea is part of a wealthy Black celebrity family that implodes when her husband, Jason, decides to leave for the younger white princess, Glauce of Corinth.

Ijames crafted a Medea inspired by Real Housewives of Atlantas Porsha Williams and Sunset Boulevards Norma Desmond. The chorus  here a cacophony of social media commentary (the Media in the plays title)  follows the drama closely. Medea plots her revenge on Jasons new family, killing Glauce, Glauces father, and her own children.

When Ijames first read Medea as an undergraduate, the play was scary but undeniably compelling. The final act was so disturbing to me, it just never left me, he told The Inquirer. I also found the arguments about honor and love and forgiveness, and belonging  which run throughout the play prior to this really awful ending  to be really powerful things to talk about today.

Raelle Myrick-Hodges, founder of Azuka Theatre, directs, and longtime actor Akeem Davis plays Jason. Monet Debose, a recent graduate of Bryn Mawr, stars as the antiheroine in a breakout lead role. Sixteen students, eight from CCP and eight from Bryn Mawr or Haverford, form the cast.

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The collaboration, Greek Drama/Black Lives, is led by Bryn Mawr professors Catharine Slusar, in theater, and Catherine Conybeare, of the classics department. A grant from the American Council of Learned Societies connects Bryn Mawr, CCP, and E.M. Stanton Elementary School in Philadelphia in this yearlong partnership.

Medea, however, wasnt the first Greek classic they had in mind. When Slusar, Conybeare, and Davis pitched Ijames the idea last year of rewriting a classic, they proposed The Frogs, a comedy by Aristophanes. Ijames said yes to the project but not the text. He suggested a reexamination of Medea with a particular emphasis on how revenge impacts an entire family, especially the children. The team ran with it.

The next day, he won the Pulitzer for Fat Ham, said Conybeare. It was very good timing.

The collaborators also agreed to make Media/Medea available for other colleges, high schools, or theater groups to produce for free in the future. I would wager a Pulitzer Prize winner has never done that before [for their] next play. I mean, youre trying to get the money! Slusar said, laughing.

Over the next several months, Ijames put his play to paper. Particularly, because I knew I was doing it for a university, [I tried] to see the story as much as I could, from the perspective of the young people, he said.

He devised more speaking roles for women, like Medeas aunt, Circe, who becomes the childrens caretaker, and Glauce, the Paris Hilton-like princess. The children, Devan and Shel, get a bigger spotlight, too.

Debose was introduced to Medea first through Ijames eyes. I saw myself in Medea, she said. I saw other women who have been heartbroken by betrayal in Medea, so she just became relatable. Reading Euripides afterward, she understood how such a powerful being  the daughter of a god  could exact that scale of violence once betrayed.

One acting note from Myrick-Hodges stuck, Debose said: Medea is not crazy for going ballistic on her family. So dont play her crazy. Why is she doing this?

Rehearsals began this semester with the cast alternating weekly between CCP and Bryn Mawr campuses.

The director holds nothing back, either. I do not treat students any differently than I treat professional artists, it doesnt serve them and it doesnt serve the show, said Myrick-Hodges.

In developing the show, Myrick-Hodges thought back to Will Smith slapping Chris Rock and how that led to a chorus of people blaming Jada Pinkett Smith. She is being vilified, she is being called names online, it is literally what happens in this play for Medea, she said.

That commentary grounds the millennia-old classic in todays world with the careful skill that Ijames is known for delivering. Despite stepping into big shoes, the creative team has embraced the adaptation fearlessly. I look at it as a new work, period, versus an adaptation, said Myrick-Hodges. And nobody writes like James.

Media/Medea runs April 20-22 at CCPs Black Box Theater in the Bonnell Building, Room BG-21, 1700 Spring Garden St., Phila. Performances are sold out.
Kyson A. Martin (from left) as John Hall, June Patterson as Maria Hall, Ray Wrightstone as Anthony Cross, and Alexandria Orr as Angela Murray rehearse "Plum Bun" for EgoPo Classic Theater and Theatre in the X. The production runs April 19-29. Read more

When it came to admitting highly qualified students, Bryn Mawr University, then an all-girls liberal arts college, knew a safe bet: award a full scholarship to the best scholar from Philadelphia High School for Girls, a premier academic magnet school.

But, in 1900, when Jessie Redmon Fauset graduated from Girls High as its valedictorian, Bryn Mawr didnt welcome her. Fauset was Black.

Then-Bryn Mawr president M. Carey Thomas refused to admit Blacks or Jews.

It was that kind of steady racism and humiliation that Fauset, a novelist, turned to repeatedly in her work, including Plum Bun: A Novel Without a Moral, a 1928 novel about a white-passing Black Philadelphia woman.

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Now Fausets work is home again  in Plum Bun, a world premiere play adapted from her novel and staged by Theatre in the X and EgoPo Classic Theater. The two Philadelphia companies have partnered this season to produce works centered on the Harlem Renaissance.

In Plum Bun, Angela, the protagonist, moves from Philadelphia to New York, where she passes for a white woman until she needs to reckon with the choices she has made.

It happened a good amount, said Walter DeShields, co-artistic director at Theatre in the X and director of Plum Bun. Light-skinned Black folks, who couldnt necessarily be determined to be Black, used it to their benefit. We know of Black women who passed for white, who used it to their advantage. But, at what cost?

Attitudes have shifted, DeShields said. Someone passing may have once been described as a race traitor, he said, but now we look at it with a bit more empathy. What is probably true is that it doesnt happen as much anymore  plus we have a lot of biracial kids.

Fausets work focused on the relentlessly striving Black middle class.

Certainly, Black folks are all about how we get ahead  how we get ahead in this generation and how do we ensure that our children and grandchildren get ahead, DeShields said. Meanwhile, there is the constant critique of how poorly we are doing  how poorly our institutions treat us, our schools, our police, our banks  and how poorly we treat ourselves and how poorly we treat each other.

The result is an intertwining of self-hatred and racism that forms the heart of play.

Angelas family [represents] forward progress, DeShields said. Shes coming from a family heading to the middle class. But its not enough for her. For her, being Black is sad. Its tragic. For her to escape that tragedy means she has to go be white, because theres freedom there and opportunity.

But we know you cant run from yourself, DeShields added. You always return to yourself, but she doesnt understand that.

Angela heads to New York in the 1920s, which is also when Fauset moved there.

Fauset, who was born in 1882 in what is now Lawnside, Camden County, grew up in North Philadelphia, and died here in 1961, was a major contributor to the Harlem Renaissance, DeShields said. But, he said, she was not as well known as the men who made it famous, including poet Langston Hughes, musicians Duke Ellington and Fats Waller, and philosopher Alain Locke, a Central High School graduate.

DeShields and Lane Savadove, artistic director of EgoPo, collaborated to adapt Fausets novel. To play the role of Angela, they tapped Alexandria Orr, a Temple University theater student.

DeShields and Savadove chose to stage the play at Christ Church Neighborhood House in Old City. Before the building was built in 1915, the area had been a neighborhood for the citys Black middle-income Philadelphians.

Knowing how deeply loyal Girls High alumni are, the two theater groups plan to honor Fausets alma mater with a special show April 26.

Plum Bun, by EgoPo Classic Theater and Theatre in the X, runs April 19-29 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, 20 N. American St., Phila. 267-273-1414 or egopo.org. Check with the theater for COVID-19 protocols. For other local events, visit inquirer.com/things-to-do-philly.
Rachel McAdams as Barbara Simon and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret in the movie adaption of Judy Blume's novel, "Are You There God? It's Me, Margaret." Read more

Are You There God? Its Me, Margaret., the movie adaption of Judy Blumes iconic coming-of-age novel starring Rachel McAdams, Kathy Bates, and Abby Ryder Fortson as Margaret, is so faithful to the book, snippets of the story came rushing back to me as I watched the preview.

But I wasnt experiencing Margaret as a 9-year-old girl whose body was on the cusp of change; I was watching the story unfold through the lens of a 49-year-old, perimenopausal woman who remembers what it was like to be anxious about her developing body. I now know the desperation Margaret felt as she chanted, We must, we must, we must increase our busts, with her homegirl crew. And I remember how scared I was the first time I finally got my period, despite having prayed so hard for it to come.

Margaret is the most seminal of Blumes 29 books, however, I devoured all her other novels from Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing to the teen love story Forever (raise your hand if you passed it around, steamy scenes dog-eared). Blume wrote about tweens emerging sexuality decades before tween was a term, when such things  especially when told from a girls perspective  were taboo. Blume was brave, and her impact on young adult fiction is lasting.

Now, Blumes earliest fans, finally in the position to green light projects at major studios, are ushering in a Judy Blume renaissance, introducing her work to a younger generation. Amazon Prime will release a 97-minute documentary about the authors life, Judy Blume Forever on April 21. The documentary features commentary from actors Molly Ringwald, Lena Dunham, and young adult writer Jacqueline Woodson, who all credit Blume with their frank storytelling. Margaret opens in theaters April 28. Netflix has ordered a limited series based on Forever that will be directed by Mara Brock Akil and centered on Black teenagers. And Liz Tigelaar, showrunner for Little Fires Everywhere, is reportedly working on a limited series based on Blumes 1998 novel, Summer Sisters for Hulu.

Blume is becoming amenable to on-screen adaptations. Shes open now. Shes open to sharing her work, said Marcella Steingart, a producer on Blumes Amazon documentary. She trusts they will treat it with care. She can see we are moved by it, have a personal stake in it.

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I know I do. Im grateful to Blume. Shes a major reason why Generation X women had an easier time talking about our bodies than our mothers. We led discussions about period poverty and period shame. Blumes work was a precursor to shows that explored womens sexuality like HBOs Sex and the City and CWs Girlfriends. Its not surprising that Gen X women  like Tracee Ellis Ross, Naomi Watts, and Drew Barrymore  are leading conversations demystifying perimenopause and menopause.

Interest in Blume is timely as young adult novels like Philadelphia-based author Kacen Callenders Felix Ever After, about a transgender teen grappling with their identity, are increasingly banned in conservative school districts across the country. Several of Blumes books were banned in the 1970s and 1980s, including Margaret. In fact Blume went toe-to-toe with conservative commentator Pat Buchanan in 1984 on his talk show, Crossfire, about a passage in Blumes Deenie that discusses masturbation.

Its shocking, shocking that this was going on just as if time stood still and we are back in the 1980s, said Blume, who is now 85, in Judy Blume Forever.

Teen angst remains universal

Just like the book, the film version of Margaret is set in the 1970s, a simpler time, when children rode yellow cheese buses to school and little girls wore plaid dresses on the first day of classes. Margaret moves from her tiny Manhattan apartment to suburban New Jersey with her parents, Barbara and Herb (McAdams and Benny Safdie), leaving her beloved grandmother Sylvie (Bates) in the city. She starts sixth grade at a new school and becomes friends with girls who pressure her to be more mature.

All of girls in the novel are white. I grew up in Queens, N.Y., in the 1980s in a neighborhood white families like Margarets left. Still, I related to Margaret because just like the girls in the book, my friends formed secret clubs, snuck peeks at our dads girlie magazines  how else were we to know what grown-up bodies looked like?  and looked up the word sex in the encyclopedia, searching for a definition we could understand.

Books that were written about girls at the time were fluffier and neater, said Megan Jackson, a young adult librarian at the Free Library of Philadelphia. Judy Blume wrote so matter-of-factly, capturing how cruel and uncertain the world could be for teenage girls.

The movie succeeds in inclusivity where the book fails. Margarets teacher, Miles J. Benedict, who encouraged Margaret to examine her relationship with God, is played by Echo Kellum (Arrow), who is Black. One of Margarets besties, Janie Loomis, is played by actress Amari Alexis Price.

There is a montage in Margaret where the girls get dressed up for a classmates dinner party. Janie, who wears her hair in two adorable Afro-puffs, gets her hair pressed straight with a hot comb for the occasion. A small detail, but a big acknowledgment to Black women who read Blume growing up.

Margaret is universal, Jackson said. Blume explores a very complex and emotional landscape in terms that all kids could relate to. Thats why Margaret still holds up so well.

In other words, all children  whether they are from a smartphone generation or not  know what its like to be bullied, or not feel good enough.

The cool thing about the Judy Blume resurgence is that were learning so much about her. We were intimately familiar with Margaret; Peter, Fudges exasperated older brother; and Linda, the chubby girl who was teased in Blubber. But what made Blume tick was a mystery to us  much like our parents.

Blume was born Judy Sussman and grew up in New Jersey with a mom who she had a hard time talking with and demanded perfection from her. In high school, Blume struggled with fitting in. She went to NYU, where she met her first husband, and married in 1959 while she was still in college. Blumes two children, Randy and Larry, were born when she was in her early 20s. (Shes been married three times.)

She published her first book, The One in the Middle is the Green Kangaroo, in 1969. Margaret, Blumes first young adult novel, was published the following year. Blumes daughter, Randy, inspired it, but it was Blumes skill at recalling her own childhood moments with authenticity that made Margaret a literary success.

She can literally time travel back to that feeling of being a kid, Steingart said. She taps into those feelings and those details with such honesty, and shes so prolific.

Blume has sold more than 82 million books across the young adult and adult genre.

Over the years, Blume has received thousands of letters from young fans. She was always seeking to connect with readers, counseling some and becoming their friends.

I never wrote to Blume, but I felt connected to her, too. Shes the reason I kept a journal, and wrote and illustrated my own childrens books as a preteen and teen. I always knew Blume inspired my writing. Now I understand why.
Chuck E. Cheese may be the place where a kid can be a kid, but Concourse Dance Bar is a place where an adult can be a kid. We take you to Center Citys most fun-loving club. Also this week: We tell you the regions best bubble tea outlets, take you on a tour of Manayunk, and show off a dog park with a bar. Or is that a bar with a dog park?

 Read on for a quiz and restaurant news.

If you see this  in todays newsletter, that means were highlighting our exclusive journalism. You need to be a subscriber to read these stories.

 Mike Klein

Making the rounds at a hot nightclub

The owner of Concourse Dance Bar had one goal: to become a place for people where they could just be who they are and kind of celebrate being alive. To that end, writes colleague Henry Savage, Avram Hornik installed a ball pit, with neon balls. Talk about lit.

On the far more chill side, colleague Jenn Ladd visits The Hayes, a moody, comfy reinterpretation of the former Irish Pub in Washington Square West from Townsend Wentz. It may be an American tavern, he says, but in lieu of mozzarella sticks, I figured wed put scallops on the menu.

Manayunk: With and without the dogs

Manayunk, which for a quarter-century has been one of Phillys hipper neighborhoods, is rocking a wholesome hustle and bustle. Let colleague Hira Qureshi take you on a tour of Main Street.

Bark Social, an outdoor dog park combined with an indoor bar for people, opened in Manayunk this week. Its the first of its kind in the area. The 30 self-service beer taps and dog food menu will have tails wagging.

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Manayunk StrEAT Food Festival is set for Sunday. Music and shopping go along with a roster of restaurants and trucks.

Oh, boba boba boba...

Bubble tea has come a long way here. Colleague Hira Qureshi reports that Philadelphia is second only to Chicago in growth in boba shops over the last three years. Get yourself a straw and check her guide to top bubble tea and boba shops in the region.

Scoop

Samuels, the deli-ish restaurant on the street level above Giuseppe & Sons (1523 Sansom St.), has shut down after eight months. A rep for the Schulson Collective said only that its closed for renovations for a few weeks and that Giuseppe & Sons is unaffected. In his review in November, critic Craig LaBan kvelled about the food while noting two previous concept misfires at the space (Italian luncheonette and pizzeria). But Samuels has seamlessly repurposed the nostalgic decor of pendant lights, tufted booths, and tiled floors into a buzzy brunch niche in Center City, where the lunchtime mojo has struggled elsewhere to return. 

Restaurant report

Latin-inspired dining near Rittenhouse Square, unavailable since the pandemic shutdown of Alma de Cuba, has reemerged with last weekends opening of Bolo from chef Yun Fuentes and the partners from MilkBoy. Theres a romantic bar specializing in rum on the first floor. A skylit dining room on the second floor of 2025 Sansom St. Menu spans the Caribbean, Central America, and South America with ceviches, piscolabis (snacks), pinchos (skewered meats and vegetables), cuchifritos (fried foods), verduras (vegetables), platillos (main dishes), desserts, and Latin-style coffees, and the flip-up front window exposing a four-seat bar creates a cool street scene. 

Bolo, 2025 Sansom St. Hours: 4-10 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 4 p.m.-midnight Thursday-Saturday.

South Jerseys small complement of French restaurants just increased by one with this months opening of Cafe le Jardin in Audubon, a sunny, casual cafe/brasserie from chef Richard Cusack, who with his wife, Christine, also owns the more buttoned-up June BYOB in nearby Collingswood.

The Cusacks, who took over the former Smoke BBQ, are doing pastries and croissants at opening, and proper breakfasts and brunch-ie foods (including luscious omelets, quiche Lorraine, French toast, and rich French onion soup) from 10 a.m. At 5 p.m., the dinner menu kicks in with trout amandine, chicken quenelle, and steak frites (at $33, thats the top price). Its BYOB, and theres a sizable patio.

Cafe le Jardin, 34 W. Merchant St., Audubon. Hours: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday to Monday.

Briefly noted

The thought of 4/20 causes restaurateurs and snackers to light up  with ideas. This is the Big Jac, a special at the delivery-only Jackass Burrito, available only from Thursday to Saturday. Its like a Big Mac in burrito form: a smash burger with American cheese, special sauce, shredded lettuce, crunchy sesame bread croutons, and curly fries. Other great burritos? Lets go to South Philly, where critic Craig LaBan likes the Aztec (with pork and nopals) at El Jarocho (1138 S. 13th St.), while Im a fan of the customizable Cali burrito from Juana Tamale (1941 E. Passyunk Ave.), which I get with fried seitan, crinkle fries, refried beans, cheese, and Juana Sauce.

Earth Day: Help cut food waste by downloading the Too Good to Go app. Restaurants and other food businesses list their daily leftovers, and customers can snap up a meal deal for as little as $5.

To mark the birthday of Rome (Friday, April 21), Francesco and Alison Crovetti of Rione pizzeria in Center City will give out cacio e pepe ciottolino (breaded pasta squares filled with spaghetti, mozzarella, pecorino, and black pepper) to the first 100 customers, starting at 11:30 a.m., at 100 S. 21st St. The Crovettis opened in 2017 and later moved next door.

And finally: An off-duty Philadelphia police officer is accused of stopping at Stratus, the rooftop bar at the Hotel Monaco, for a late-night bite. This was not happy hour, police allege.

Pop quiz

A popular, regally named Philly cheesesteak shop is opening a location in Wildwood. Which one?

A) Steves Prince of Steaks

B) Pats King of Steaks

C) Marks Marquess of Queso

D) The Duke of Oil

Find out if you know the answer.

Ask Mike anything

Which restaurant has the best bathroom? @t_roland16

The one with no line is what Id say. There are all kinds of best, and Philly is flush with options, aside from the predictably bougie loos at hotel-restaurants. The fire-engine-red one at LMNO in Fishtown/Kensington, which will admit you to the restaurants secret bar, is cool. Theres the multicolor mosaic-tiled one at Cogito Coffee in Washington Square West. Theres the subway-tiled restroom lined with antique photos at Hop Sing Laundromat, where its tempting to break the Chinatown bars no-photo rule. (Some have, above.) The Instagram account @sittingovationsphl was created to rate public WCs, but it seems to be out of odor. My all-time eyebrow-raiser was at Paradigm, restau-bar in Old City in the 1990s that had three stalls with clear glass doors that fogged up only when locked. Late some nights, theyd be occupied by people who didnt click the latch, redefining the concept of dinner and a show.

Have any candidates for best bathrooms? Drop me a line.

 Have a question about food in Philly? E-mail your questions to me at mklein@inquirer.com.

 If someone forwarded you this newsletter and you like what youre reading, sign up here to get it free every week.

 Keep reading more food news.

 Follow me on Twitter. Or follow me on instagram.
A patient is prepared for a CT scan at a hospital in Seattle. Independence Blue Cross and Penn Medicine recently started a pilot under which doctors with a history of few insurance denials for high-cost scans will not have to submit CT and other scans for preauthorization. Read more

The Philadelphia areas largest insurer, Independence Blue Cross, has started offering select Penn Medicine doctors a pass on the onerous paperwork typically needed to get patients approved for ultrasounds, CT scans, and PET scans.

Most insurance companies require that doctors get preapproval for certain costly tests and procedures that research has found are commonly overprescribed. The approach is intended to avoid wasting money and ensure patients are receiving medically necessary care.

Leaders at IBC and Penn worked out the new system as a way to get care to patients more quickly and decrease administrative burdens on both sides. Financial savings is expect to be minimal at the beginning.

The pilot program covers 1,280 physicians employed by Penn at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Pennsylvania Hospital, Presbyterian Medical Center, and Chester County Hospital.

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To be included, doctors had to have a 12-month history of ordering the scans and a coverage denial rate of less than 2% with Independence, a signal that they are usually following IBCs criteria for deciding what scans it will pay for. Penn said it expects the new arrangement to eliminate prior authorizations for 24,000 imaging tests annually.

Rodrigo Cerda, IBCs chief medical officer described the exemption from pre-authorizations as a privilege that were really hoping helps make a huge difference for Penn docs and for our patients.

If the program is successful, meaning physicians continue ordering scans appropriately, IBC wants to expand it to other health systems, Cerda said. He said the insurer is testing the new approach with Penn because its doctors have lower denial rates than doctors at local competitors. Penn said its denial rate in imaging is about 2%.

Under the program, Penn is on the hook financially if its doctors start ordering notably more scans that dont meet IBCs guidelines. IBC pays thousands of dollars each for some of the scans.

Broad scrutiny of the prior authorizations

The IBC-Penn pilot is part of a trend toward rethinking health insurance pre-authorizations, aiming to streamline and bring more transparency to the process, said Kaye L. Pestaina, codirector of the Kaiser Family Foundations program on patient and consumer protections.

It makes sense that you would focus on things that we know are often approved, Pestaina said.

That impulse tracks with the recent decision by the nations biggest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, to shorten its list of medical procedures and devices that must go through prior authorization, the Wall Street Journal reported last month.

And this month, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services issued revised rules for prior authorization under Medicare Advantage. The changes are designed to ensure timely access to medically needed care, regulators said, but did not entirely eliminate pre-authorizations, which are supposed to ensure that money isnt wasted on unneeded treatments.

Some states, including Texas, have passed laws that exempt doctors from prior authorizations if they meet specific compliance standards.

Cutting costs not the main point

Penn Medicine has 50 full-time slots for people who spend all their time trying to get prior authorizations from insurance companies. Sometimes they have to arrange for doctors to speak with an insurance companys physician who has a question about why a request should be approved.

Eliminating IBCs prior authorization requirements for high-cost imaging wont lead to job cuts, said Mitchell Schnall, Penns chair of radiology. We have lots of things for those people to do. Trust me. People with that skill set, nobodys losing their job over this.

More important is getting patients care more quickly and cutting back on wasted time, Schnall said. Sometimes a doctor will schedule a scan five days out, assuming thats enough time to get the precertification, but if theres a delay Penn has to call the patient the night before to cancel.

Thats bad for the patient, who may have taken time off work. Its also a loss for Penn, Schnall said. We now have an open slot that we cant fill because we cant pre-authorize anyone in that short a period of time, he said.

Guardrails remain

IBC and Penn did not consider taking away all the checks on how doctors order high-cost tests.

If IBC were to say, were just not going to monitor them any more because they are doing well, they will drift and start to order studies that may not be as well indicated, Schnall said. Thatll raise health-care costs for everybody.

Doctors in the program will receive a quarterly report card on how well they are complying with American College of Radiology guidelines. Doctors not included at first because they had too many denials over the last 12 months will be able get into the program if they improve their performance. Those who stray will lose the benefit of not needing pre-authorizations.

Penn is measuring the use of these tests and if that sort of balloons up then we will probably have to stop and go back to traditional pre-authorization, Schnall said, but were pretty confident that were going to be able to manage this.
Rupal Gupta, director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, speaks in Philadelphia about the risk from xylazine, an animal tranquilizer added to fentanyl. Philadelphia Health Commissioner Cheryl Bettigole (L), and Latika Davis-Jones (R), acting secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, listen. Read more

Nationwide alarm over fentanyl laced with xylazine, an additive that can lead to festering wounds, amputations, and overdoses, could bring new federal funding for enforcement and treatment to Philadelphia.

Last week, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy designated the mix of fentanyl and xylazine an emerging national threat, which is prompting a review of federal resources to prevent the drugs spread and mitigate its harm.

The White House has 90 days to give Congress a plan of action, said Rahul Gupta, director of the federal drug policy office, in a visit to Philadelphia on Wednesday. That could include diverting funds for wound care to injuries caused by xylazine, or allocating money dedicated to drug testing strips to boost the supply of tests for the additive.

We are working right now with all the agencies within federal government, whether its Health and Human Services, Department of Justice, and others, to look at what exists right now, and how some of that funding could be utilized, Gupta said.

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Some of these funds could be available quickly, he said, though he didnt say exactly how much might become available. The White House is also seeking additional funding from Congress, Gupta said, through a budget proposal that includes $46.1 billion for drug control.

Public health officials priority, said Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphias health commissioner, is to keep people from dying of substance abuse.

Our first and most fundamental responsibility is to keep people alive until theyre ready for treatment and then to connect them with the treatment they need, she said.

About 75% of people who have had substance abuse disorders are in recovery, Bettigole said, giving hope that most people struggling with addiction can eventually manage it.

Guptas visit to Philadelphia will include stops in Kensington, the neighborhood hardest hit by the opioid crisis, and the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. He noted about 65% of jail and prison inmates nationwide have some form of substance abuse disorder. Gupta said he hoped to learn fentanyl and xylazine response strategies in Philadelphia that could be expanded nationwide.

Xylazine is an animal tranquilizer approved for veterinary use but not human consumption. It began appearing in Philadelphias dope supply around 2020. (Dope is a catch-all term the city health department uses to denote drugs marketed as heroin or fentanyl, since the actual products are so variable.) By 2022, it was present in 90% of dope samples the health department tested.

In Philadelphia, xylazine was involved in more than 550 fatal overdoses in the city over the last two years, health officials said at the Wednesday news conference. In 2020, xylazine was involved in 377 deaths statewide.

Xylazine isnt an opioid, though it also slows breathing, and its effects cant be treated with naloxone, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses. Its effect on the vascular system is also believed to be behind the serious wounds that many xylazine users suffer  wounds that open easily and heal slowly, putting people at risk for infections and even amputations.

Nationwide, xylazine is one example of a shift toward more deadly, and entirely synthetic, drugs, Gupta said. Heroin, by contrast, is organic, since it is derived from poppies.

There are big gaps in drug experts knowledge of synthetic substances. Authorities arent certain whether the xylazine used in illegal drugs is being diverted from legally available supplies, or being made specifically for use in illicit drugs. Its also unclear if it is coming from foreign or domestic sources, Gupta said.

Another class of synthetic opioids, nitazenes, 40 times more powerful than fentanyl, is emerging in the city, but health department officials say they are uncertain of how widespread that drug is.

Meanwhile, Gupta said, health officials are seeing a proliferation of social media accounts that promote drug use to young people. Federal authorities have launched their own social media campaign to inform people that fentanyl can be present in pills, and that it is legal to carry drugs that counteract fentanyls effects, like naloxone.

Health officials believe xylazine was initially added to fentanyl to produce a longer-lasting high. Fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that replaced most of the heroin in the citys drug supply in the mid-2010s, is more powerful than heroin, but its effects wear off more quickly, forcing people with addiction to inject multiple times a day in order to avoid withdrawal.

Many people who now take xylazine did not initially seek out the drug, but became dependent on it when it was added to the dope supply.

The drug causes serious withdrawal symptoms  severe chills, sweating, anxiety, and agitation among them  that many doctors are just learning to treat.

The threat from xylazine is increasingly spurring government action. On Tuesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro declared it a Schedule III controlled substance. That will allow the state more scrutiny over the drug, including requiring that it be stored in locked facilities and making it possible to prosecute people for illegally possessing and selling it.

Last month, the Food and Drug Administration introduced restrictions that allow the agency to more closely scrutinize and detain shipments of xylazine and drug products that contain it.

Some advocates for reducing the harmful effects of drug use have raised alarms about cracking down on possession of xylazine and nitazenes. The Pennsylvania Harm Reduction Network, a statewide advocacy organization, said in a statement that it was concerned that such efforts would further criminalize and stigmatize drug users, and make it more difficult to conduct research.

While Bettigole has said she supports FDA restrictions on xylazine, harm reduction specialists in the health department have expressed concerns that the measure could send people addicted to it into withdrawal or prompt dealers to add new drugs to the supply to avoid the restrictions.
File pic of Philadelphia Police Crime Scene tape at shooting along 3400 block of W. Huntingdon in Philadelphia early Tuesday, March 1, 2022. Read more

A 17-year-old teen has been arrested and charged in connection with a Saturday night shooting that left three injured and sparked a frenzy among shoppers at Christiana Mall earlier this month.

Delaware State Police said they identified the Newark, Del., teen who turned himself in Monday and was charged with the felonies of facilitating a riot and second-degree conspiracy. His name has not been released because he is a minor. The teen, who police said was not the shooter, was also charged with offensive touching, police said.

In announcing the arrest, police also laid out a clearer picture of how the shooting led to the malls evacuation and early closure on April 8.

According to investigators, the altercation began as an 18-year-old man exited the malls food court and he was confronted and subsequently assaulted by three other males. Authorities say two additional people joined the melee, after seeing their friend in trouble. But the fistfight escalated when one of the initial suspects pulled a gun from his waistband and began firing multiple rounds, according to state police.

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The 18-year-old and one of his friends, a 16-year-old who joined the fight to help him, sustained a total of three gunshot wounds to the torso and lower extremities, police said.

A third person, also 18, was shot once while standing on the sidewalk by a mall entrance.

State police said they responded to reports of a shooting at the mall at about 6:45 p.m. As law enforcement descended on the scene, videos of confused shoppers unsure of whether to stay put or exit the mall circulated on social media. A reunification site was established at the north entrance of the mall and the shopping center was closed for the remainder of the evening as authorities investigated.

State police said the 17-year-old suspect was arraigned in New Castle Family Court. He has been committed to a Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services facility on a $15,000 secured bail.

Police said they have yet to identify the two remaining suspects and are seeking the publics help should they have any leads.
Boys Latin' founder and CEO David Hardy, right, shakes the hand of Antonio Grays as he talks to parents following the charter school's graduation ceremony in this June 2017 file photo. Hardy was announced Wednesday as interim president at Girard College, a boarding school in Fairmount. Read more

David Hardy, the founder of Boys Latin Charter School in Philadelphia and a prominent school-choice advocate, has been named interim president of Girard College.

The former president, Christopher Goins, resigned last month after less than a year leading the historic boarding school in Fairmount, which serves about 300 students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds in first through 12th grades.

Hardy, currently a senior fellow at the Commonwealth Foundation, a conservative Harrisburg think tank that promotes school choice, will take over at Girard on April 25.

Under Mr. Hardys leadership, we will continue to move Girard forward, reaffirming its connection to the community, and maximizing opportunities for our students to be successful, Bernard Smalley, president of the Board of Directors of City Trusts, and Lynette Brown-Sow, chair of the Girard College Committee, said in a statement Wednesday.

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Hardy did not immediately return a request for comment.

Since retiring as CEO at Boys Latin, a West Philadelphia school that is Pennsylvanias only single-gender charter, Hardy has advocated on behalf of charters and the school-choice movement.

Hardy serves on the board of the national Center for Education Reform, the Pennsylvania Coalition for Public Charter Schools, the Independence Mission Schools  a network of Catholic schools in Philadelphia  and Ad Prima Charter School, with campuses in Overbrook and Mount Airy.

He replaces Goins, who was hired at Girard College last year after a six-month search. Goins, who previously founded a high-performing Chicago charter school and worked with the Obama Foundation to build a nonprofit focused on creating communities for Black and brown boys, had said he aimed to bring stable leadership to Girard.

Goins, who took over July 1, resigned March 31 due to personal reasons, according to the board of directors.
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has once again waded into the protracted legal battle over whether mail ballots missing a date or with the wrong date should be thrown out.

But while a series of opinions the justices issued Wednesday offered new clarity, they also opened the door to fresh confusion and the almost certain prospect of counties developing a patchwork of different policies over what exactly constitutes a correct date.

The ruling follows an order the court issued last fall instructing counties to set aside all undated and wrongly dated ballots for last Novembers midterm. It did not issue opinions explaining the decision at the time or providing guidance to counties going forward.

The question of how to handle dates on mail ballots  state law requires voters to handwrite a date on the outer envelope  had been one of the most hotly contested legal and political fights in recent elections. In a tense status quo before last falls order, some counties had accepted undated ballots or ballots with any date, such as voters birth dates, saying it was unfair to disqualify ballots from legal voters simply because they had made a mistake.

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But writing for the court Wednesday, Justice David Wecht said the dating requirement spelled out in state law is clear: For a mail ballot to count, it must be dated with the date the voter filled it out.

As for how a county should determine that the date on the ballot is the correct one, Wecht, a Democrat, wrote that that question falls beyond our purview. Individual county boards of elections, he said, retain authority to evaluate the ballots that they receive in future elections.

That means its likely that counties will adopt different policies on which ballots to count or reject going forward.

For instance, some counties could  as the state Supreme Court ordered in October  decide to accept all votes dated between when mail ballots are sent out and Election Day. Others could decide to closely track individual ballots through the mail and only accept those dated when in voters possession.

All six Supreme Court justices agreed that undated ballots should be rejected under state law, but two  Justices Christine Donohue and Debra Todd, both Democrats  split from the others on the question of incorrectly dated ballots. In a separate opinion, they said the ballot-dating requirement isnt as clear as Wechts majority opinion makes it out to be.

In my view, Donohue wrote, a mail-in or absentee ballot received on or before election or primary day should be counted if it is signed and bears any date affixed by the elector.

The likely future patchwork of county policies is likely to only fuel the confusion that has made the issue the subject of more than a half-dozen lawsuits in venues ranging from county courts all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

In recent years, battles over mail ballots have broken along largely partisan lines, with larger, more Democratic counties aiming to accept and count as many ballots cast by legitimate voters as possible, even if they contained errors such as lacking a date on their outer envelopes. Many Republican counties, though, sought to throw out ballots with various deficiencies, citing state law requirements or security concerns.

The state Supreme Court has ruled on some of these questions before. In a split 2020 decision, three justices said undated ballots should be rejected; three justices said undated ballots should count; and the seventh justice said undated ballots should be rejected in the future but allowed in that years presidential election.

But confusion over how counties should apply that fractured ruling led to a flurry of subsequent litigation in state and federal courts that resulted in competing and contradictory rulings last year.

The case that prompted Wednesdays Pennsylvania Supreme Court ruling stemmed from a suit the state and national Republican Parties had brought asking the justices to declare that both undated and wrongly dated ballots should be rejected statewide.

The Pennsylvania Department of State, which administers voting, pushed back, arguing that the dating requirements in state election law run afoul of federal law.

Specifically, it cited whats known as the Materiality Provision of the Civil Rights Act, which bars states from enacting laws to throw out ballots over technical errors that have no bearing on determining whether a person is an eligible voter.

In its October ruling, the six-justice court said it had deadlocked 3-3 on whether the Materiality Provision meant federal civil rights law overrode the state law requirement. On Wednesday, the justices detailed their disagreement.

Three justices  Wecht, Donohue, and Todd  concluded that no matter what the election code may require, the Materiality Provision protects those votes from being thrown out.

Justices Kevin Brobson and Sallie Updyke Mundy, both Republicans, and Democrat Kevin Dougherty disagreed. The court normally has seven justices, but then-Chief Justice Max Baer died shortly before last falls ruling.

Because the court was evenly divided on the issue, the question of whether the state laws violate the Civil Rights Act remains unresolved.

That fight is ongoing. In its latest iteration  a lawsuit brought last fall in federal court by the NAACP, ACLU, and several other advocacy groups  lawyers hope to have clarity before the May 18 primary election.

In the meantime, Allegheny County is counting ballots from three special elections held Tuesday. A spokesperson said the county was still reviewing the opinions.
Mr Fintiri promised to deliver more democratic dividends for the development of the state in his second term.

The Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri, on Tuesday in Yola expressed appreciation to voters for their support at Saturday's supplementary governorship election which ended in his re-election.

The governor, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), also commended INEC for conducting free, fair and credible elections.

Mr Fintiri scored 430,788 votes to defeat his closest opponent, Aishatu Binani of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who secured 398,788 votes at the election.

In his acceptance speech, the governor promised to deliver more democratic dividends for the development of the state.

"You voted for continuity in functional public school system and payment of West African Examination Council's and National Education Council's examination fees for our children.

"You voted for continuity in the provision of healthcare and health insurance that make it easier for the vulnerable to access quality health service with ease.

"You voted for continuity in the provision of urban and rural infrastructure, policies that empower our women and youths and continuity of justice and fair play," he said.

Mr Fintiri particularly commended the institutional capacity of INEC at the election, especially its use of new technology in the conduct of the exercise.

"Technological innovation introduced in the conduct of the election and the untiring commitment of the management and staff of INEC added tremendous value to the credibility of the election," the governor said.

Mr Fintiri thanked and appreciated national and international election observers, the media, security agencies and all other stakeholders for the role they played in ensuring a free, fair and credible election.

(NAN)
Philadelphia School District Superintendent Dr. Tony Watlington Sr. greeted students entering summer programs in this 2022 file photo. For the summer of 2023, the school system is spending $20 million to offer summer programs to 15,000 youth. Read more

The Philadelphia School District will spend $20 million to offer free summer programs to 15,000 students citywide.

Roughly 2,400 teachers will be needed to staff the programs, which are slated to begin June 26 and run for five or six weeks. The offerings encompass programs for children entering kindergarten to those in high school.

Officials said Wednesday that summer school, paid for with federal recovery funds, is crucial both to combatting learning loss and for student safety in a city beset by gun violence.

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, Reginald Streater, president of the Philadelphia school board, said at a news conference Wednesday at West Philadelphia High School.

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I absolutely believe that students who are actively engaged in learning and school-sponsored activities are less likely to be victims of or perpetrators of violence, Superintendent Tony B. Watlington Sr. said.

Heres information about the districts programs and how to access them:

Whats going to be offered?

The district will have several kinds of programs, including:

A virtual transition program for rising kindergarteners. In-person opportunities for first through seventh graders for additional English and math skills, project-based learning, art, music and physical education. Extended school year programming for those eligible for special education services. Newcomer programs for English learners in first through 11th grade. Summer bridge programming for rising eighth and ninth graders to reinforce English and math skills and introduce career pathways. Credit recovery opportunities for students who have failed a course and need credits to stay on track to graduation. An entrepreneurship program for students in grades 10 through 12. And, new this year, a summer drumline program for students entering grades 6 through 12 who want to learn the basics of drumline percussion.

The district, in partnership with the city and other organizations, is also offering work-based learning opportunities.

The programs will be offered at 100 sites around the city; most are full day. Only air-conditioned spaces will be used for district programs; city-run programs may use un-air-conditioned spaces.

Bus service will be provided for children enrolled in extended school year programs for students with special needs; students in other programs will receive SEPTA passes.

How do I register my child for the districts summer programs?

Families can register their students online, or attend a registration event on April 25 at district headquarters, 440 N. Broad St., from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Registration is on a first-come, first-served basis except for extended school year, which is federally mandated and has guaranteed seats.
The city has agreed to pay a combined $9.25 million to hundreds of people teargassed, struck with rubber bullets, and detained by police during the 2020 racial justice protests after the police murder of George Floyd.

In a settlement order signed Monday by U.S. District Magistrate Judge David R. Strawbridge, the city agreed to pay plaintiffs in four federal civil rights lawsuits, as well as contribute $500,000 to a fund that will provide counseling to victims of police violence and offer community-led programming. That money will be distributed to grassroots organizations via grants through the Bread & Roses Community Fund.

The damages awarded to each of the about 350 plaintiffs vary depending on the circumstances of their cases, attorneys said during a news conference at the Paul Robeson House and Museum in West Philadelphia.

This power must not go unchecked. It must be confronted, said Paul Hetznecker, one of the civil rights attorneys in a team representing 240 of the plaintiffs.

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He said this is the largest settlement in a mass protest-related case in the citys history.

In a statement Monday, Mayor Jim Kenney said that the pain and trauma caused by a legacy of systemic racism and police brutality against Black and Brown Philadelphians is immeasurable.

While this is just one step in the direction toward reconciliation, we hope this settlement will provide some healing from the harm experienced by people in their neighborhoods in West Philadelphia and during demonstrations on I-676 in 2020, Kenney said.

In the four lawsuits, hundreds of people sued the city, citing extraordinary abuses of police power during unrest that roiled the country after Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police in May 2020. Plaintiffs asserted that the heavy-handed tactics police used to disperse crowds trampled their constitutional rights to free expression and freedom from excessive force.

 READ MORE: Protesters, residents sue Philly police over tear gas, extraordinary abuses of police power

The lawsuits focused on two incidents: the mass teargassing of protesters on I-676 on June 1, 2020, and the police use of military-style weaponry on demonstrators and neighborhood residents while attempting to curb looting and violence along the 52nd Street corridor in West Philadelphia, a historically Black neighborhood.

Plaintiffs described rashes, pain, and difficulty breathing due to exposure to the noxious chemicals, with some requiring hospitalization and many others suffering mental trauma.

In an event that garnered national attention and later an apology from Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw, police surrounded protesters marching on the Vine Street Expressway, then shot rubber bullets and launched tear gas into the fleeing crowd. Many demonstrators were trapped up against a fence, unable to breathe from the gas, while police dragged others down the hill. Dozens were detained.

During the melee, three plaintiffs were pepper-sprayed in the face at close range by former Philadelphia SWAT officer Richard Nicoletti, who was later fired, arrested, and charged with assault.

Some demonstrators said the response still haunts them, physically and psychologically.

Gwen Snyder, a West Philadelphia-based organizer and one of the plaintiffs, was detained on the highway, and said her wrists were zip-tied behind her back so tightly, she lost feeling in her hands. One of her arms still periodically goes numb as she breastfeeds her daughter or pushes her stroller, she said.

I was in some of the worst pain Ive ever experienced in my life, she said.

Ed Parker, who was similarly detained and zip-tied, said he has had three surgeries to correct the wrist damage. He said the sounds of people screaming and weeping still haunt him.

 READ MORE: Philadelphia protesters gassed on I-676, leading to pandemonium as they tried to flee

The irony is that the Police Department responded to a protest of police brutality, racial discrimination, and excessive force, with further police brutality, said Charles McLaurin, of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund.

One day earlier in West Philadelphia, a police response to looting and altercations with officers on 52nd Street drew crowds of peaceful demonstrators and bystanders who were met with the same aggressive tactics. People fled from pepper spray and rubber bullets, while tear gas blanketed the neighborhood, sickening children and causing some residents to evacuate.

 READ MORE: 'I couldn't breathe:' Inside the West Philly neighborhood tear-gassed by police

Police fired tear gas at our familys home, leaving my 3-year-old son crying and my 6-year-old son completely terrified, said Shahidah Mubarak-Hadi, a plaintiff in the Legal Defense Funds case, who hid from the fumes in a bathroom and later moved her family out of the area. The house was enclosed in gas, and we were trapped inside with nowhere to go.

She called the settlement an important step, but it does not represent full accountability for the harm that occurred.

Attorneys from the LDF  which represented 20 plaintiffs  called the tactics in West Philadelphia racially discriminatory and retaliation against Black residents exercising their right to protest.

Kenney later said he regretted the police actions. The city banned the use of tear gas or rubber bullets during demonstrations and created a new deputy inspector general of public safety and a police oversight commission with investigative powers.

As part of the settlement, police officials will meet biannually with West Philadelphia community members to discuss the departments use of force and respond to questions and comments. Attorneys noted that the city has also disengaged from a federal program that transfers extra military equipment to local police departments.

Attorneys Monday emphasized that the settlement is only one part of their fight to hold the city accountable. Some protesters said they want the city to commit to banning the use of less-than-lethal ammunition like tear gas and rubber bullets.

In a statement, Outlaw said that the Philadelphia Police Department is a learning organization, and we remain dedicated to moving forward in meaningful and productive ways.

Along with city, state, and community stakeholders, we will continue to work non-stop towards improving what we as police do to protect the first amendment rights of protesters, keep our communities and officers safe, and to ultimately prove that we are committed to a higher standard, she said.

Mondays settlement marks the largest  but not the first  to emerge from the hundreds of claims filed against the city after the 2020 unrest. In 2021, the city agreed to pay $87,000 to a family teargassed in their West Philadelphia home. The city paid $20,000 to a 27-year-old Roxborough man who said he was pelted with rubber bullets and required hospitalization and $267,000 to settle three lawsuits filed against former Police Inspector Joseph Bologna, who physically attacked protesters.

And, following October 2020 unrest after police killed Walter Wallace Jr., the city agreed to pay $2 million to a mother who was pulled from her SUV, beaten by police, and separated from her toddler.

Earlier this month, New York City similarly agreed to pay $21,500 each to more than 300 protesters who were surrounded and arrested by police in 2020.

 READ MORE: How George Floyd changed a city 1,100 miles away

Jo Dean, a plaintiff who was on I-676, recalled back to the moments before police began firing the tear gas.

I remember thinking during that time that if anything was going to change, this would be it. And it didnt, Dean said. I would give up all the money if the police could simply agree to do no harm.

Staff writer Jeremy Roebuck contributed to this article.
Philadelphia City Council President Darrell Clarke (at the podium) stands alongside Trenton officials during a news conference about the city's gun-violence reduction strategy. Read more

A Philadelphia City Council proposal to create a cabinet-level position overseeing public safety would grant lawmakers an unusual level of power over the next mayor, including the ability to dictate the qualifications and responsibilities of the person in the role and to reject the mayors choice for the new position.

The chief public safety director  who must be a former head of a law enforcement agency  would coordinate departments including police, fire, prisons, recreation, and emergency services. Council members who support the bill said the intention is to strengthen cooperation among disparate agencies as the city faces a persistent gun violence crisis.

Council President Darrell L. Clarke, who is retiring at the end of the year, characterized it as a needed shift in the status quo.

But a senior official in Mayor Jim Kenneys administration, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the legislation publicly, expressed serious reservations about the plan, saying it could limit a future mayor by dictating how they form their leadership system.

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The official also said requiring a law enforcement professional to administer the citys public-safety response could make it harder for a future mayor to create a plan that focuses on social services, such as mental-health support or jobs programs.

A Council committee is scheduled to hold a hearing on the proposal Wednesday. It comes amid a spate of high-profile crimes, including the killing of a Temple University police officer and a shooting in Strawberry Mansion that left seven people, including children, wounded.

Kenney, who is term-limited, will be replaced in January, so the legislation if approved would likely only affect his successor. Clarke said he spoke to Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw and that she expressed support.

Council members over the last two years have criticized Kenneys approach to handling gun violence, with lawmakers repeatedly expressing frustration over what they see as a lack of urgency. The crisis is in many ways defining the race to replace Kenney, and the candidates hold widely differing views on how to stem shootings.

The proposal can be seen as part of Clarkes years-long effort to shift power from the executive branch to Council.

Philadelphia is one of many large U.S. cities that have what is known as a strong mayor form of government, in which lawmakers set funding levels and policy but the mayors administration has autonomy over implementing the citys goals.

 READ MORE: To address gun violence, Philly leaders need to figure out a way to like each other, Council president says

The goal of centralizing executive responsibility in one office is to foster a unified government approach to tackling the citys issues and to ensure voters know who they can hold accountable if something goes wrong.

But in Clarkes view, it is only fair to Council members that they have a greater role than just writing laws because they are held responsible by their constituents for the citys failings on issues such as the gun violence crisis. While announcing last week he is not seeking reelection, Clarke said it is appropriate that Council has grown more powerful in relation to the administration during his tenure.

One thing after another, Council [said], Since were going to be held responsible for the outcome in the neighborhoods, we should be a part of that process,  he said, pointing to previous instances in which Council gained greater roles in education and zoning matters.

The director would need at least five years experience as the head of a law enforcement agency, and would be confirmed by a majority of Council, according to the bill.

The new role requires a change to the citys Home Rule Charter, a document akin to a constitution, so voters need to approve its creation through a ballot question. The question could appear on the primary election ballot in May.

Joe Grace, a spokesperson for Clarke, said while the bill grants Council an advice and consent role, the eventual appointee will still report to the mayor.

The person is in the cabinet, the person is appointed by the mayor, [and] obviously its got to be somebody the mayor wants in the job, Grace said. The goal here is collaboration and coordination and less who controls who.

He said the goal is for the chief public safety director to coordinate all city services related to public safety, including law enforcement and community-based programs outside of it. The legislation says the director would organize resources within the public-safety agencies and all other relevant departments.

The legislation says the director, who is to be paid $265,000 annually, should provide department heads with guidance and initial approvals of budgets and policies. It also says the director is responsible for security in all city-owned facilities, including schools and rec centers.

Aside from those tasks and other advisory responsibilities, the proposal grants little direct power to the public safety director, but says the office may acquire any other powers, duties, and responsibilities as established by ordinance. That means Council could add to the directors powers in the future.

Mayors generally have freedom to shape the top rungs of city government and oversee public safety issues as they see fit. Former Mayor Michael A. Nutter had a deputy mayor who oversaw public safety issues and reported directly to him. Kenney instead employs a deputy managing director for public safety who does not report directly to him.

Few other roles in a mayors administration require Council approval.

The legislative body confirms the mayors appointees to a handful of boards  including the school board and the Zoning Board of Adjustment  as well as the city solicitor, who serves as a legal adviser to both Council and the mayor. Council also has the power to approve or reject appointees to be the citys victim advocate and its chief assessment officer.

The mayor is empowered to appoint their own police commissioner, while voters pick the citys judges and district attorney.
The Bell Tower at Lenfest Circle on the campus of Temple University. Read more

Given its vested interest, Temple University must serve as a leader in bringing the city, community, and businesses together to improve safety conditions around its North Philadelphia campus, says a report commissioned by the school last year to study its safety measures.

Even where Temple does not have law enforcement authority or power, it has an interest in and must exert its influence toward ensuring safety, said the report that was released Wednesday.

Described as among the most critical of nearly 70 recommendations in the 134-page report by 21CP Solutions, the company started by former Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey, Temple should initiate a safety partnership zone in areas that adjoin, relate to and interact with Temple most in collaboration with the city, community, and businesses. The partners should focus on violence prevention, crime deterrence, neighborhood quality of life, off-campus housing, outreach to residents and business relationships  headed by a newly created position of community safety coordinator.

 READ MORE: Amid recent shootings, Temple hires former Philly Police Commissioner Charles Ramsey to conduct campus safety audit

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Also chief among the recommendations, Temple should start a response resource task force comprising university, city, Philadelphia Police Department, District Attorneys Office, and other state and federal representatives aimed at ensuring sufficient public safety patrols, said the report.

Ramsey said Temple students are living farther off campus and the university has a vested interest in keeping that area safe.

They are a major stakeholder, said Ramsey, who served as Philadelphias police commissioner from 2008 to 2016, a time when the citys homicide rate fell dramatically. You cant put that campus on wheels.

But in an interview with The Inquirer, he also emphasized that Temple cant do the work alone, calling on the city, police department, business owners, and landlords to step up.

Responding to the report, Mayor Jim Kenney said, Reducing gun violence is the administrations top priority, and we believe that a comprehensive and collaborative approach is the only way forward.  As we continue to make record investments in our vision for a safer and more just Philadelphia, we look forward to continuing our work with Temple University to promote public safety.

The university hired Ramseys group to conduct a comprehensive study of its police department and security personnel following the 2021 killing of Temple student Samuel Collington, who was shot during an apparent carjacking outside his off campus residence after Thanksgiving.

 READ MORE: Temple's campus is on edge after a student was shot to death: Students are afraid

Since then, safety concerns near campus have accelerated, especially after the Feb. 18 shooting death of Temple Police Sgt. Christopher Fitzgerald while on duty.

The report also suggested hiring incentives to lure officers from other police departments, continued upgrades of the shuttle service, and tuition forgiveness for university students who agree to work for a time as Temple police officers after graduation.

The presence of more personnel within [the Temple police department] with long-standing familiarity and affiliation with the Temple and North Philadelphia communities can likely be a substantial benefit to the university and surrounding neighborhoods, the report said.

Some work is already underway

Jennifer Griffin, who began as Temples vice president of public safety last August, said Temple already is working on many recommendations in the report, such as upgrades to the shuttle system, a reorganization of the department, making policies and safety data more accessible to the campus community, and an audit of security cameras. And it has plans to embark on others.

 READ MORE: Temple defends its police staffing struggles after the shooting death of one of its officers

She said she met with Ramsey three weeks into her job and has been running observations and plans by him and his team.

Ramsey described the Temple audit as the most comprehensive that his company has completed on a university police department  a request by Temple. He also noted that the extensive recommendations did not mean Temple was failing.

We didnt see anything that was a huge red flag, Ramsey said.

JoAnne A. Epps, who became Temples acting president last week, said Temple wants to work on recommendations with the community and hopes to get support from the city.

The city cant sit back and wait for us to solve this problem, she said. This has to be a coordinated citywide effort of which we are a part.

Alec Shaffer, president of the Temple University Police Association, said the report findings support what he has repeatedly said: Temple needs to recruit more police and retain them. The union is in talks with the university about hiring and retention bonuses, salary increases, and additional university payments toward officers retirement.

But the numbers the university has offered so far arent high enough, he said. The starting police officer salary, which took effect in a new contract last year, is $59,200.

We need to be competitive, and being competitive includes money, he said. Lets do it right. Lets make the salary where it should be, the benefits where they should be and we can focus as a team effort to recruit.

More equipment also is needed, he said. There arent enough tasers for the eight new officers that were recently hired, he said.

Griffin said the department ordered them before the officers graduated from the police academy, but they havent arrived. No officer goes on the street without one, she said, noting that the officers share three, which they sign out from a supervisors office before going on patrol and return at the end of their shift. She said she has created a new position under the reorganization who will be in charge of equipment and technology to better streamline the inventory process.

Sophomore Nate Weinberg, who belongs to the student group Keep Us Safe TU, which held a protest and march in February, said he was pleased to see the recommendation about tuition forgiveness for students who serve as Temple officers after graduation.

Im not going into criminal justice, said Weinberg, 20, a public relations major from Abington, but having someone pay for your college sounds pretty appealing to me.

A Temple student group focusing on sexual assault called the report a welcome and necessary step in increasing the  public safety on and around campus [and]  restoring trust in Temple to follow through on their public safety promises. The group, called Student Activists Against Sexual Assault, applauded the reports recommendation for the university to create a clear and concise sexual assault response plan.

Gun violence in Temples neighborhood is up

Gun violence near Temple increased in both the total and the share of citywide shootings, the report said. Nineteen people were shot in what the report defined as the campus area  within 0.4 miles of the center of the universitys main North Philadelphia campus  between January and mid-August 2022.

This means that more individuals were victims of shootings in the campus area in the first approximately eight-and-a-half months of 2022 than during the nearly four-year period from 2016 through 2019, the report said.

The trend was the same in the larger area surrounding campus, referred to as the near campus area. There were 206 shooting victims there from January 2021 to mid-August 2022, nearly as many as between 2016 and 2019.

Robbery rates on and around campus also are higher than the citywide average, the report said.

I feel anxious and extremely fearful

The report included comments from students, faculty, and other stakeholders  some from a Temple student government survey last year and others gathered by Ramseys company since it started its review last May  expressing concerns about crime and violence off campus.

It is extremely unsettling the amount of danger and violence in the vicinity of Temples campus, so much so that I am discouraged from commuting to campus to attend  classes and often consider the risks vs. benefits of skipping class to remain safe at home, one student wrote.

I feel anxious and extremely fearful for my life daily, another wrote.

A faculty member said some students were contemplating dropping out because they dont want to take late afternoon courses, and they would rather delay  their degree than be on or near campus at night.

A parent shared: I am worried that PTSD is going to be an unexpected experience of going to Temple.

Some students expressed concerns about not getting enough safety alerts or receiving them in a timely fashion when an incident occurs, but others also saw the number of alerts as having negative impact.

The TU Alert system criminalizes the neighborhood surrounding Temple and generates fear and perpetuates stereotypes more than promoting safety, one student said.

Some cited the need for students to receive at least one-hour mandatory safety training on how to live in an urban community.

 READ MORE: Philly colleges dont have to report all crimes that happen near campus. Should that law change?

How many police officers are needed?

The number of police officers at Temple has been a point of contention. In the aftermath of Collingtons murder, former president Jason Wingard pledged to increase the police force by 50%, but the week before Fitzgerald was killed  more than a year later  there were actually fewer officers.

The Temple police officers union recently called for 40 more officers.

Griffin, who has cited the departments difficulty in hiring officers amid a national shortage, said more officers are needed, but so is a sound strategy for deployment and a comprehensive study to determine how many.

When fully staffed with 108 patrol officers, Temple has one of the largest university police departments in the country. It currently has 79 officers.

The report recommends a comprehensive, long-term staff study to determine the needed number of public safety personnel.

Civilians could respond to some calls

To alleviate officer shortages, the report said Temple should consider using civilians in some jobs and recruit mental health, student housing and security employees to respond to some calls rather than police. The report noted that property crime, general service, medical and traffic issues made up nearly three out of every five police calls between 2019 and 2021.

Griffin is looking into having students in the masters of social work program go out with officers on calls involving mental health issues, the report noted.

Other recommendations include:

Establish a Temple Public Safety Advisory Board to invite community participation in making improvements. Provide more information to students, parents, and the community about crime and safety trends off campus, perhaps creating a dashboard with an interactive map of reported crimes. Extend shuttle hours. Despite Temples effort to improve its shuttle service, students continue to report the need for improvement, including the expansion of service hours. The report found that other universities in major urban areas offer service for longer periods than Temple, which runs shuttles daily from 6 p.m. to 2 a.m. Increase the numbers of officers patrolling on foot, noting that a 2011 study by Jerry Ratcliffe, a Temple criminal justice professor, found that in areas where foot patrols were used in Philadelphia, a policy started under Ramsey, crime decreased 23%. Separately, foot patrols may also promote community engagement and problem-solving, the report said. Hire Pennsylvania State Police as supplementary patrols. Griffin said the department already is involved in a partnership between the city police and state police.

Staff writer Sean Collins Walsh contributed to this article.
Humana is one of the largest health insurers in the country. Its $15 million gift to Thomas Jefferson University will be split between endowed positions in the university and collaboratives to improve health equity. Read more

Thomas Jefferson University will expand its efforts to address health disparities with a $15 million gift from the health insurance company Humana.

The majority of the money  $12 million  will fund three permanent positions focused on health equity: a deanship in the College of Population Health, a professorship of community health and equity, and a chief community health and equity office for the health system.

The remaining $3 million will support the Jefferson Collaborative for Health Equity, a partnership between Jefferson and community organizations that aims to narrow health disparities in Philadelphia.

This collaboration demonstrates our shared commitment to advancing community health and health equity, said J. Nwando Olayiwola, Humanas chief health-equity officer and senior vice president, in a news release announcing the donation.

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Other Philadelphia-area health systems have also partnered with insurers to address community health challenges.

Independence Blue Cross partnered with 11 Philly-area health organizations  including Jefferson and Penn Medicine  to address disparities in treatment for substance abuse, obesity, diabetes, and prenatal care, among other areas. When the initiative was announced last year, IBC had not committed to a specific financial investment, but said it would likely spend in the single-digit millions over a few years.

 READ MORE: Philly hospitals and key insurers plan novel effort with the city to improve health equity

The new $15 million gift strengthens an existing tie between Jefferson and Humana, one of the largest health insurers in the country.

Last year, Humana joined Jefferson and Main Line Health as a co-owner of the Delaware Valley Accountable Care Organization, a network of physicians for people covered by Medicare Advantage plans.

The new funding will allow Jefferson students and faculty to evaluate community outreach programs and identify best practices that could be replicated across the entire hospital system, said Billy Oglesby, the new Humana Dean of the College of Population Health.

For example, a Jefferson group is currently interviewing patients to understand how their social needs affect their health.

Better understanding this connection could help Jeffersons providers offer more useful resources to the families they work with, Oglesby said.
Riverfront Park is closed to the public because of impending construction of the New Fortress Energy terminal in Gibbstown, N.J., on Dec. 29, 2020. Read more

The train derailment disaster in East Palestine, Ohio, might seem like a long way from Camden. But that incident has focused more attention on a plan to bring similarly dangerous chemical trains near our city. It is a risk to our health and safety that we must stop.

Camden already deals with massive sources of pollution, which is part of the reason our asthma hospitalization rate is roughly three times the state average. But a plan to build a massive gas terminal in Gibbstown, N.J.  just 30 minutes away from Camden  elevates threats to our air and water even more.

A company called New Fortress is seeking approval to liquefy fracked gas at a new facility in Pennsylvania. From there, the gas would travel hundreds of miles to the Gibbstown liquefied natural gas terminal. This would require sending bomb trains and trucks carrying explosive materials right through the already overburdened community of Camden, and potentially parts of North Philadelphia as well. A derailment of these trains carrying explosive material through Camden  a much larger community than East Palestine  would have even more catastrophic effects than what we saw in Ohio.

Even without a catastrophic derailment, the toxic emissions from additional diesel-burning trains and trucks coming through Camden every day would further harm public health. Camden cannot bear the brunt of this project. Bringing volatile liquefied natural gas through our community to be exported abroad would be an egregious and blatant contradiction of Gov. Phil Murphys commitment to environmental justice.

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Nearly 300 Rutgers faculty, students, and staff members have come out in opposition to this project for this exact reason. We come to school to grow our individual and collective knowledge, not have our health and safety threatened by an unnecessary fossil fuel export scheme.

In fact, Camden City Fire Chief Michael L. Harper recently urged City Council to join the 18 other towns that have passed resolutions opposing this project. We are working alongside longtime residents and local environmental justice advocates who have fought for decades to improve conditions in the city. We cannot continue to allow our air and water to be polluted, and the risk of an explosion even worse than what happened in East Palestine is intolerable. The Gibbstown export terminal cannot be allowed to go forward.

As communities across South Jersey unite in opposition to the dangerous New Fortress fracking plan, we, alongside other student and community leaders, rallied at City Council on March 7. We demanded that our elected officials on the county, state, and federal levels oppose this project. After that rally, the Murphy administration released a statement: Due to the safety and public health risks posed by the transportation and storage of liquified natural gas (LNG), Governor Murphy remains opposed both to rail transport of LNG and the use of the Gibbstown facility as an LNG terminal. This reiterates Murphys previous position opposing the transport of liquefied natural gas.

But we need more than words.

The same goes for the Biden administration, which has not taken appropriate actions to stop these dangerous trains. A policy change during the Trump administration allowed the transport of liquefied natural gas by rail  a reckless move that drew lawsuits from several states, including New Jersey. But for some reason, the Biden administration continues to delay a decision on changing that Trump-era policy.

The East Palestine disaster was a wake-up call that no one needed, and yet lawmakers are still moving too slowly. New Fortress has given word that it intends to reapply for permits at its fracking site in Pennsylvania, signaling its continued interest in developing this export scheme. That is why we will continue to call on Camden City Council to pass a resolution holding Gov. Murphy to his commitments to stop this project from endangering our community.

Political leaders at every level  from Camden City Council all the way to the White House  must stop this project from moving forward before its too late.

Kinjal Mody, an incoming student at the Rowan University School of Osteopathic Medicine, is president of the Rutgers University-Camden Green Thumbs. Minister Roy L. Jones is a longtime Camden resident and the founder of the National Institute for Healthy Human Spaces.
The 2500 block of South Mildred Street in Philadelphia. This one South Philly block saw one of the largest increases in new property assessments in recent years. Read more

As part of his final budget address, Mayor Jim Kenney announced that the Office of Property Assessment will not reassess properties for the coming year, to focus instead on a backlog of assessment appeals.

This one-year pause follows the first citywide reassessment since 2019, conducted in 2022 for taxes due in 2023. As a result of that assessment, the value of residential properties increased by an average of 31%. But many homeowners  especially those in low-income and majority-Black neighborhoods  saw much larger increases, leaving many worried that they wouldnt be able to afford to live in their own neighborhoods once the property tax bill arrived.

While this pause makes sense, the city should continue annual reassessments, as required by law, so homeowners do not experience sticker shock once again in coming years. More importantly, the city must make a long-term commitment to improving the entire assessment process. Heres how.

Address racial disparities in tax assessments

A recent Inquirer analysis revealed that properties are more likely to be overassessed in neighborhoods with lower median incomes and with more Black residents. This means that some lower-income residents are paying more than their fair share of property taxes, while wealthier property owners pay less.

This does not mean that the Office of Property Assessment is intentionally misassessing properties in low-income and majority-Black neighborhoods. But a city that has committed to budgeting for racial equity must carefully watch for and correct any systemic bias that leads to disparate outcomes.

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To get there, the city should fund a yearly, independent study for the next three years to track its progress in increasing racial equity in tax assessments. To ensure that progress continues over the long term, Philadelphia should repeat the study at least once every three years.

Publish the methods and data used to assess properties

The Office of Property Assessment uses various data points when assessing properties, but only publishes a general overview of its methodology.

This leaves many homeowners confused about how the city arrived at their new assessed value, which prevents them from identifying errors or what issues to raise on appeal.

Soon after releasing new assessments each year, the city should publish all underlying supporting data and furnish property owners with detailed information about their own assessments. Increased transparency will increase confidence in the citys assessment system.

Ensure access for all to the appeals process

Even though some owners of lower-value properties are more likely to be paying more than their fair share of taxes, those owners are also the least likely to challenge their assessments through appeals. This compounds the equity issues already plaguing the assessment system.

In addition to simplifying and streamlining the information and paperwork required to file appeals, the city should create a position within the Office of Property Assessment to help homeowners navigate the appeals process so they are not left to fend for themselves. This position could be modeled on the citys division in the Department of Revenue dedicated to helping taxpayers who need tax relief get appropriate information and assistance in applying.

Enact a low-income tax freeze

Even with all the reforms listed above, low-income homeowners will continue to see dramatic increases in their property tax bills because of rapidly rising property values, especially in neighborhoods such as Point Breeze and Norris Square. No one should have to face the threat of losing their home because they are suddenly house-rich and cash-poor.

City Councils 2022 property tax relief package protected many senior and longtime homeowners from dramatic property tax increases, but it leaves many other low-income homeowners at risk of displacement because they cant afford their rising tax bills.

The best way to avoid displacement of our most vulnerable homeowners is to pass a bill introduced by Council President Darrell L. Clarke last spring that would create a tax freeze for certain low-income homeowners, protecting them from year-to-year increases in their property tax bills.

A fair and accurate assessment system is good for everyone  both homeowners and the city. Given rising property values, a more accurate assessment system captures more revenue for essential city services, while targeted tax relief and a commitment to equity will ensure that low-income homeowners are not paying more than their fair share for those services.

Jonathan Sgro, Kate Dugan, and Monty Wilson are attorneys in the homeownership and consumer rights unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia.
The Labour Party (LP) has 14 seats on the list, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the remaining 10 seats.

The electoral commission, INEC, on Tuesday, released the list of the 24 members-elect of the Enugu State House of Assembly.

The Labour Party (LP) has 14 seats on the list, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has the remaining 10 seats.

INEC's Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Enugu State, Rex Achumie, issued the list detailing the names, constituencies, parties and number of votes scored by the members-elect at the March 18 election.

Mr Achumie urged members of the public to disregard any unauthorised list posted on social media or in online media but not issued by INEC.

(NAN)
With more than 83% of claims now closed, insurers have agreed it is timely to review the industrys response to identify best practice and what could be improved when responding to future extreme weather events, said Hall.
Andrew's promotion to partner of forensic accounting is a testament to his excellent performance, said Emma Levett, partner and head of forensic accounting services in Australia at Sedgwick. He joined us when the Melbourne operation consisted of just two colleagues, and he has been a driving force in growing that team. Andrew brings a rigorous technical skillset, with particular specialisation in large loss property claims and cyber business interruption, as well as strong interpersonal leadership skills that he uses to nurture and upskill the team.
Its helping APRA and also ASIC [the Australian Securities and Investments Commission], because it will be a jointly administered piece of legislation, to improve the risk and governance culture but also to zero in on who is responsible within these organizations for ensuring that the risk and governance frameworks are being enforced and are driving the right behaviours and outcomes, said Lam.
Grant said this will lower the risk of data breach and, as insurers would know, contribute to reducing premiums for the company. He said more education is needed around what is meant by data security and much of it needs to be driven by data-dependent organisations themselves.
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Four Native Americans who say they were abused by three Roman Catholic priests on their reservation in Maine are the latest to bring lawsuits since the state fully lifted the statute of limitations for child sex crimes.

The Penobscot Nation members contend the abuse started when they were 7 to 16 years old at St. Ann Parish on Indian Island, just north of Bangor. The oldest abuse dates to 1972, while the most recent happened in 1987, according to the lawsuits.

Michael Bigos, a lawyer representing the members, filed the lawsuits in Penobscot County Superior Court, despite potential legal roadblocks by the Roman Catholic Diocese of Portland. More than two dozen lawsuits brought by Bigos law firm are currently on hold while the diocese challenges the 2021 law that repealed the statute of limitations.

Let us find out what the diocese knew and when they knew it, so they can be held fully accountable, and we can keep our communities safe for survivors, Bigos told reporters in Bangor.

The diocese didnt respond to an email requesting comment.

One of the priests identified in a lawsuit, the Rev. Marcel Robitaille, was previously accused by others of sexual abuse and sentenced to a life of prayer and penance by the Vatican. Robitaille has since died. The other two priests named in the lawsuits, the Revs. David Cote and Leo James Michaud, are believed to be alive and living in Maine, Bigos said.

Reached at his home, Cote said he was surprised to learn that he was targeted in a lawsuit. I dont see myself as abusing anybody, the 79-year-old told The Associated Press. The AP was unable to reach Michaud.

Copyright 2023 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Maine
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New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced that the nonprofit InnSure will administer the states $6.5 million insurance innovation fund that includes grants to encourage the development of new insurance policies and products that support new clean technologies.

The initiative, announced last September, aims to remove obstacles and provide funding for products that manage the financial risk associated with climate change, supporting the states goal of reducing carbon emissions 85% by 2050. It falls under the Insurance Innovation for Climate-Technology Solutions program.

Removing barriers to innovative, climate technologies that lower carbon emissions is a critical part of reaching New Yorks ambitious climate goals, Governor Hochul said. By supporting new insurance policies for New Yorkers purchasing cutting-edge, climate-friendly products, we can offer protection and reassurance for consumers and companies alike to help ensure our state continues to lead in climate innovation.

Cambridge, Massachusetts-based InnSure runs a climate risk and insurance sandbox where insurance, technology, climate, data and other providers collaborate in working groups and laboratories on innovative ways that insurance can contribute to the battle against climate change.

InnSure will work with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) to competitively award insurance innovators for the research and development of new insurance policies and products.

New York Launches $6.5M Fund for Clean Tech Insurance Products; Seeks Program Manager

As the program administrator, InnSure will receive up to $1.5 million to work with managing general underwriters and managing general agents that can research, develop, and test new insurance products, and it will award up to $5 million in competitive grants in 2023.

One of projects InnSure is working on with another group, Climate Interactive, aims to bring a climate simulator game developed by MIT Sloan to the insurance industry. The nonprofits hope this program, which will include workshops and role-playing games, will interest more insurers in becoming invested in the climate change battle.

Climate-related solutions will drive insurance industry innovation and growth over the coming decades, InnSure said in announcing the simulator project last December. It estimates that growth in climate-related insurance products and services will present more than $100 billion in new business opportunities per year by 2030.

NYSERDA CEO Doreen M. Harris said InnSure will provide the research and data needed to support new investments and bring more products to fruition for New Yorkers to use on a daily basis.

NYSERDA plans to deploy $800 million over 10 years as direct investments via grants and commercialization support. More than $680 million in private investments and $200 million in project finance capital have been created, and more than 450 clean energy products have been commercialized as a result. These include LED lighting systems, home appliances, longer-lasting batteries, and more efficient heating-and-cooling systems.

Funding for this initiative is through the states 10-year, $6 billion Clean Energy Fund.

New York City Launches Parametric Flood Program With Insurance, Tech Firms

New York City has also waded into the insurance innovation waters. Insurer Swiss Re Corporate Solutions, reinsurance broker Guy Carpenter, and the data technology firm ICEYE have teamed up with the city government agencies to develop a pilot parametric flood recovery assistance program for low and moderate income households in the city. The pilot will provide up to $1.1 million in emergency funding to households in need after a major flooding event.

Topics New York InsurTech Tech
Some Japanese banks may soon come under the spotlight for potential gender washing over the way they count the number of women in management positions.

Japans Financial Services Agency found a big discrepancy in responses from a regional bank survey of female managers. One group of lenders reported that women hold less than 10% of management roles, while for another group in the same survey, it was closer to 20%, according to Tatsufumi Shibata, the senior agency official in charge of regional financial institutions.

I wonder if there is a difference in how they define managers? he said in an interview.

The issue has broader implications for other industries in Japan, which has long lagged behind global counterparts for workplace diversity. The government has been urging companies to promote more women to leadership roles, while requiring greater disclosure including pay gaps. The $1.4 trillion Government Pension Investment Fund is allocating 500 billion yen ($3.77 billion) to an index of Japanese companies that do better on gender diversity.

Shibata said hes not passing judgment on whether banks are inflating the number of women in managerial positions to look better on diversity scorecards. Rather, he said the banks should ask their own staff if the titles really carry weight.

There are some job titles that make me wonder if they have responsibility and compensation that match managerial positions, he said. For example, if male employees with the same titles as women dont consider themselves managers, then it cannot be helped but be called gender washing.

Shibata said the survey responses are also likely to show signs of gender role fixation.

There is a stereotypical unconscious bias, such as men do strategy planning and corporate banking, while women do asset management and clerical works, he said. There is also a clear pay gap.

He said the agency is planning to disclose the results of the survey, without giving a timeline. The survey only covers regional lenders, not the nations megabanks like Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., or Mizuho Financial Group Inc..

Larger Banks

The potential for gender washing isnt limited to regional banks. Some bigger lenders and insurance companies may also be counting as managers women with titles that dont necessarily reflect their real authority, said two industry officials, who asked not to be identified speaking about their companies.

Japan has plenty of catching up to do on the gender gap. The country ranks 116th in the World Economic Forums Global Gender Gap Index, trailing Tajikistan and Burkina Faso.

Consistency and integrity are required for disclosure of a companys human capital, Shibata said.

Photograph: A pedestrian crosses a street near Yurakucho station in Tokyo, Japan on Monday, March 7, 2022. Photo credit: Noriko Hayashi/Bloomberg

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Carriers
Transport Canada said on Tuesday Hyundai Auto Canada Corp pleaded guilty to six different counts of criminal charges for violating the Motor Vehicle Safety Act.

Hyundai Auto Canada failed to send out notices of safety defect within the prescribed time period of 60 days, the statement said, and the company will pay a fine of $360,000.

It is alarming that Hyundai failed to notify vehicle owners of a recall in a timely manner on six different occasions, Transport Minister Omar Alghabra said.

The defects that affected nearly 300,000 vehicles were a part of the recalls issued by Hyundai in 2020 and 2021. Some of these recalls were safety risks related to possible vehicle fires, reduced braking performance and sudden loss of engine power.

Hyundai Canada recognized that during the COVID pandemic, it was not meeting the precise timing requirements identified in the applicable regulations in a limited number of instances. However, we immediately corrected the issue and accepted responsibility, the company said.

(Reporting by Priyamvada C in Bengaluru; editing by Krishna Chandra Eluri and Shounak Dasgupta)

Topics Auto Canada
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  The defrocked Roman Catholic cardinal who became the face of the churchs clergy sex abuse crisis has been charged in Wisconsin with sexually assaulting an 18-year-old man more than 45 years ago, court records show.

A criminal complaint filed Friday alleges that Theodore McCarrick, who was removed from the priesthood in 2019 after a Vatican investigation found he had sexually molested adults and children, fondled a man in 1977 while staying at a cabin on Geneva Lake in southeastern Wisconsin.

The alleged victim, who is not named, told investigators that McCarrick had repeatedly sexually assaulted him since he was 11 and even brought him to parties where other adult men sexually assaulted him, according to the complaint.

McCarrick became the highest-ranking Roman Catholic official in the U.S. to face criminal charges for sexual abuse when he was accused in 2021 of sexually assaulting a teenage boy in Massachusetts at a wedding reception in 1974. His attorneys asked the judge in that case earlier this year to dismiss the charges, saying that McCarrick, now 92 and suffering from dementia, is not competent to stand trial.

The once-powerful priest was ordained in 1958 and became archbishop in Newark, New Jersey, in 1986 and then archbishop of Washington, D.C., in 2000. He rose to power despite church officials knowledge of accusations against him. A two-year Vatican investigation into McCarricks tenure found credible reports of his problematic behavior dating back to 1999, including an inquiry confirming that McCarrick had slept with seminarians.

The church has confirmed it made financial settlements with adults who accused McCarrick of sexual misconduct. McCarrick retired in 2006 but continued to be active in political circles until he was defrocked by Pope Francis in 2019.

Wisconsin prosecutors learned of the alleged 1977 assault through a program dedicated to prosecuting instances of abuse by faith leaders, according to a news release. Officials were able to charge McCarrick because the statute of limitations does not apply to people who are not residents of the state. A similar law allowed Massachusetts prosecutors to bring their case against McCarrick more than 40 years later.

McCarricks attorney in Massachusetts, William Fick, did not immediately return a phone call or email sent Monday. An attorney for McCarrick has not yet been listed in the Wisconsin case.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Wisconsin
DETROIT (AP)  An Ohio doctor acquitted in the deaths of 14 patients who died after they were given painkillers has filed a lawsuit against a national Catholic health system that operates the hospital where he worked in the intensive care unit.

William Husel claims malicious prosecution and names Trinity Health Corp. in a complaint filed Wednesday in federal court in Detroit. He is seeking a jury trial and at least $20 million in damages.

Husel was accused of ordering painkillers for patients in the Columbus-area Mount Carmel Health System. He was indicted in cases that involved the use of at least 500 micrograms of the powerful painkiller fentanyl.

Prosecutors in that case had said ordering such dosages for a nonsurgical situation indicated an intent to end lives. Husels attorneys argued he was providing comfort care for dying patients, not trying to kill them.

A jury found Husel not guilty of 14 counts of murder in April 2022.

Husel was fired in late 2018 from Mount Carmel West Hospital, a member of Trinity Health. He later was indicted on 25 murder counts. Eleven of those counts were dismissed by county prosecutors in January 2022.

Husel voluntary relinquished his license to practice medicine, according to the federal lawsuit.

Dr. Husel understood that, notwithstanding the acquittal, the reputation damage he endured would prevent him from ever working as a doctor, the complaint said.

A separate defamation lawsuit against Trinity is awaiting trial in Ohios Franklin County, according to Husels attorney, Robert Landy of the New York- based Ford OBrien Landy law firm.

That lawsuit was filed while Husel was under indictment. The damages sought by Husel in the malicious prosecution lawsuit are in case he does not recover the amount in the defamation case, Landy said.

A malicious prosecution case says that a person complains to the authorities for the purpose of getting you arrested and indicted, as opposed to good faith belief that youve done something wrong, Landy said. It only works if the defendant is acquitted.

Trinity Health said through a spokeswoman Thursday that the allegations in the lawsuit are unfounded.

We will address the matter as appropriate through the legal process, Trinity Health said in an email. As this is an active lawsuit, we have no further comment.

Copyright 2023 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Topics Lawsuits Ohio Medical Professional Liability
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nap Inc. says it cant be sued for allegedly addicting young users and contributing to a mental-health crisis because its ephemeral messaging service is fundamentally different from other platforms including TikTok and Instagram that are at the center of a surge in lawsuits over social media addiction.

Unlike these other platforms, Snapchat is primarily used for direct communication between people who already know each other in real life, Snaps attorneys said in a filing seeking dismissal of the cases against the company.

Platform owners Meta Platforms Inc., ByteDance Ltd., Google and Snap are fighting almost 200 lawsuits filed across the US on behalf of adolescents and young adults  and at least two dozen complaints by public school districts  blaming the companies for health issues including anxiety, depression, eating disorders and sleeplessness.

The social media companies filed a joint request late Monday for dismissal to a federal judge in Oakland, California, contending the plaintiffs have failed to adequately state claims of wrongdoing. Snaps attorneys submitted an additional filing to argue that the platform stand outs among its peers in ways that diminish harmful influences on youths.

Snapchat doesnt feature like counts used to show positive reactions to content or other public vanity metrics, Snap said in its filing. And far from encouraging minor users to create permanent content for public consumption, messages called Snaps or Chats disappear shortly after theyre seen by users, the company said.

Earlier in the litigation, Snap, ByteDance, and Google argued said they preferred to defend themselves separately from Meta because the bulk of the suits were brought against the Instagram owner. They argued it would be inefficient for them to be dragged into Metas fight. But a panel of federal judges decided to group all the cases together.

The case is In Re. Social Media Adolescent Addiction and Personal Injury Products Liability Litigation, 22-MD-3047, US District Court, Northern District of California (Oakland).

Photo: Photographer: Gabby Jones/Bloomberg

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Lawsuits
FRANKLIN COUNTY  Volunteer firefighter Jim Emery grew emotional as he spoke to the crowd at an anti-solar development town hall meeting in his northeast Texas community. Emery, who worked for decades at the nearby coal power plant before it closed in 2018, didnt worry then about pollution from the plant.

But now, the fear of storage batteries catching on fire at a solar facility grip the 67-year-old.

Ive been in the fire department since we started in 76, and this scares me more than anything Ive ever been involved with, Emery told roughly 50 people gathered in a local coffee shop called Penelopes in Mount Vernon, the county seat. We need to stop it. I dont know how we can. But we dont need solar power in Franklin County at all.

People cheered and whistled. Someone shouted, Amen!

In this pastoral county of about 11,000 residents roughly 100 miles east of Dallas, people have become alarmed by the number of solar companies interested in their abundant open land  and more importantly, their access to crucial electricity transmission lines. At least one solar project is being developed in the county, and community organizers are bracing for more.

They have a list of reasons for fighting solar development: The projects can require cutting down trees, scraping away grasses and blocking wildlife with fences. The community argues the long-term impacts of acres of solar panels on people and the environment have not been well studied.

Residents say theyre frustrated that Texas has few regulations for renewable energy. They are banding together with people in other rural Texas communities to push the Legislature to pass Senate Bill 624, which would require the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to review environmental impacts for wind and solar projects, require renewable power developers to hold public meetings and require facilities to be built at least 100 feet from property lines and 200 feet from homes.

Over the past decade, solar and wind development has boomed in Texas, spurred by federal incentives and previous renewable-friendly state policies that lawmakers are now undoing. Texas leads the country in wind production and is near the top for solar.

Opponents have argued that wind and solar projects are bad for the ecosystem  wind turbines can kill birds and bats, and solar farms require installing infrastructure on large areas of land.

Supporters point to the benefits: Local and state governments get tax dollars, companies hire a handful of people to run the facilities and the cheap power they produce doesnt require burning fossil fuels, which drives climate change.

They say the legislation puts unfair burdens on the wind and solar industry  other kinds of development dont automatically have to host a community meeting or undergo the same level of environmental review before breaking ground. They say it poses one of the biggest threats to their ability to operate in Texas, jeopardizing billions of dollars of investment. And its just one of a slew of bills legislators are considering that could potentially harm the industry.

We are just another case of private landowners deciding what to do with their property, said Monty Humble, managing director at High Road Clean Energy LLC, which develops solar projects. And in that sense were no different than somebody deciding to develop a trailer park, or any other land use that the neighbors might not particularly like.

They have rallied to fight the bill, primarily authored by state Sens. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, and Mayes Middleton, R-Galveston, which passed out of committee April 13.

Why does the bill only apply to renewable energy projects that use minimal water, have no air emissions and provide vital revenues in long-term lease payments to ranchers and farmers to enhance the productive use of rural land? John Davis, a former state representative and a board member for Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, asked during a hearing before the Senate Business and Commerce Committee. It doesnt make sense, unless of course its to punish renewables.

Residents in Franklin County still dont want solar panels next to their land. David Truesdale, a 64-year-old retired federal law enforcement agent, moved from Dallas to a 57-acre property in the area during the COVID-19 pandemic and now runs a nonprofit with his wife and leads the local group of solar opponents.

Both husband and wife meditate. Theyre pescatarians. Their daughter drives a Tesla.

Truesdale said the state was doing nothing to protect them from what he considers an unsafe type of development thats destroying a beautiful, peaceful landscape of cattle farms and prairie.

We dont think its appropriate to destroy the earth in order to save the earth, Truesdale said. It makes no sense to us.

A statewide fight

The fight against renewables is playing out in other Texas communities.

In neighboring Hopkins County, Michael Pickens, grandson of the late oil and gas magnate T. Boone Pickens, is part of an effort to incorporate the town of Dike so it can at least charge power line fees or road fees to the solar companies if it cant stop the projects from coming.

A self-described tree-hugger, the 41-year-old Pickens wore a save the vaquita T-shirt  a reference to an endangered marine mammal  at the Franklin County town hall meeting. He described what they were experiencing as renewable energy company Engie started building a 250-megawatt solar farm on land with post oak trees and wetlands that attracted bald eagles.

Pickens claimed the project destroyed the wetlands and polluted the water so badly that it smelled like a rotting carcass. Residents have filed lawsuits to challenge the local tax breaks the company received and complained to state environmental regulators and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, claiming that sediment was flowing off the construction site.

Its just gorgeous, Pickens said, showing an image of his moms land. Why would you ever clear-cut and decimate that for solar? Its about the money.

In a statement, Engie said the 1,850-acre site was largely cow pasture where the majority of trees had already been cleared and there were no active bird nests. The company said it assessed where wetlands were located and put runoff and erosion control measures in place. Many people supported the site, and the company planned to continue to reach out to the community, the statement said.

We take our environmental compliance seriously and have worked through various agency processes and with our contractors to design and construct the project, the company said. While we have taken many proactive measures and continue to monitor and work diligently on compliance, when there is an issue raised, we want to evaluate and address it promptly, regardless of the source of a complaint.

On the Texas-Mexico border, a local group supported a bill during the 2021 legislative session aimed at blocking Chinese developers from building a wind farm near the pristine Devils River around Del Rio and connecting it to the electrical grid. But the victory was short-lived; a Spanish company is acquiring the rights to develop the site, according to the Devils River Conservancy.

And near El Campo, about an hours drive southwest of Houston, Cricia Ryan is fighting wind and solar development that she sees as a threat to the agricultural way of life that her family depends on to make a living. Ryans dad is a crop duster; her mom helps run the business.

Ryan, 33, has lived in the area since she was 10 years old and has watched as farmland has been cleared to make way for solar panels and wind turbines.

I truly dont think people realize whats taking place until its too late, Ryan said as she climbed into her vehicle to give a tour of the new development over dirt roads. Especially if you live in the city, and you just dont think about it. Its kind of like out of sight, out of mind.'

Ryan, who drove to Austin to speak in support of SB 624, said shes concerned about the hazards turbines pose for crop duster pilots. And shes tired of seeing roads torn up by construction traffic (signs on some local roads now prohibit construction trucks).

Environmental advocates agree its preferable to avoid undeveloped land and put solar and wind projects on land that has already been cleared. Some companies have tried to address that concern voluntarily. For example, clean energy company rsted announced plans to buy 1,000 acres of sensitive prairie land as part of a northeast Texas project in Lamar County and donate it to The Nature Conservancy, then build a solar project on another 5,000 acres.

Every development has decisions that are being made, and we would love for them to think about developing more sustainably, but it takes a willingness on the part of the business, said Suzanne Scott, state director for the Texas chapter of The Nature Conservancy.

What can we do?

At the Franklin County town hall meeting, organizers served tamales, and B. F. Hicks, the 71-year-old town lawyer and a seventh-generation area resident, greeted everyone.

Hicks moved home to Franklin County from Dallas soon after law school. Hes a naturalist who gets excited about spotting an eastern kingbird or a scissor-tailed flycatcher on a barbed wire fence. He lives in a restored church, maintains a 922-acre swath of flower-covered prairie that he owns and displays a slew of environmental and historic preservation awards in his office.

Were lobbying really hard in Austin right now, Hicks told a county commissioner at the meeting.

Anguished residents argued renewable energy was getting away with too much. Ron Barker recalled squirrel hunting in sun-streaked woods that he fears will be chopped down by solar companies. Kathy Boren, who retired from the local Lowes distribution center, said a battery facility that will store solar energy is being built near her home, and she felt nobody was concerned about her property rights.

What can we do? asked someone in the crowd.

Theyve tried fighting the solar projects on multiple fronts. More than 1,100 locals signed a petition against any solar projects in the county. County commissioners voted to impose a 180-day moratorium on commercial solar development  even though the county attorney warned them that they didnt have the authority to limit what a company could do on leased land.

The commissioners later rescinded the moratorium, and the county attorney asked the state attorney generals office to review whether the county had the power to adopt and enforce it.

Some residents took the fight to the local school board last year as it weighed whether to give tax breaks to two solar developers, including Enel Green Power, which is developing a 210-megawatt solar installation and the 70-megawatt battery storage site that worried Boren. The company named the project Stockyard.

At an Oct. 6 school board meeting, the residents asked the board to turn the deals down while Zach Precopia, a development manager for Enel, tried to assuage their concerns. Precopia said the company typically reached out to the local fire department to prepare them for the unlikely possibility of electrical fires and used low-risk and tough-to-break panels; residents had voiced concerns about trace metals from the panels contaminating soil and water.

The company in other cases had developed agreements with neighbors, sometimes offering small monetary payments in recognition that they have to live next to an industrial site.

Precopia, who grew up about two hours away in Sherman, said when he negotiates leases with landowners, he assures them their property will be protected and promises that the company will remove its equipment and return the land in healthy condition when it eventually shuts down a solar project  the company said it expects to operate on the land for about 40 years.

The company has leased around 1,900 acres for the project from the family of Cody West, 48, who said in an interview that the money his family will earn from leasing two properties to Enel has allowed him to quit his work as a project manager building wind turbines and move home to work on the familys ranch.

This affords us another opportunity to have the money to keep ranching, go buy another place, expand our herd, West said. Ultimately, it was a pretty easy decision to go ahead and take the offer.  Everybody can continue doing what they like to do, what they love to do.

On Nov. 14, the school board rejected the tax breaks, saying the financial benefits of adding a new company to the strapped school tax rolls didnt offset the intangible costs to the relationship between the district and the community.

Enel is moving ahead with the project.

Disclosure: Conservative Texans for Energy Innovation, the Devils River Conservancy, the Texas Parks And Wildlife Department and The Nature Conservancy have been financial supporters of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribunes journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

The Texas Tribune is a member-supported, nonpartisan newsroom informing and engaging Texans on state politics and policy. Learn more at texastribune.org.
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After five years of tweaks to Floridas insurance and tort laws, all designed to reduce the vast amount of claims litigation and  eventually  bring down property rates, many in the industry argue that theres still one big piece of the puzzle thats missing: an affordable, effective, state-run layer of reinsurance that could have an immediate impact on costs.

But with just two weeks left in the 2023 regular session of the Florida Legislature and no bills in the hopper, hopes are fading that lawmakers will warm to the idea.

Its dead as far as I know, said John Rollins, a former chief financial officer for a Florida insurance carrier.

Its unfortunate, but we never heard there was much appetite for it this year, said Melissa Burt DeVriese, president of Security First Insurance Co., based in Ormond Beach.

Unfortunately, the benefit of that reduction in litigation is probably going to be canceled out by the expected increase in the cost of reinsurance.

Others in the industry agree that legislators, hit with criticism that recent tort-reform and insurance rescue laws may be seen as too insurer friendly, may now have little interest in another insurance-assistance package, no matter how much it may be needed. The deadline for new bills has long passed, but there is a glimmer of hope that a reinsurance bridge-type measure could be added as an amendment to another bill before a May 1 deadline.

A white paper being circulated by former Deputy Insurance Commissioner Lisa Miller and others explained that reinsurance for several Florida-based carriers increased by as much as 60% in January. With the June 1 renewals right around the corner, costs are expected to rise again, while reinsurers coverage has continued to shrink.

A proposed, temporary, lower-level state program, dubbed the Florida Insurance Rate Reduction Mechanism, would have an attachment point of $500 million to $1 billion, with a limit of $3 billion, the white paper and Miller said. That optional program could stave off more insurer insolvencies and could save Florida homeowners as much as $2 billion a year, altogether, or about 15% for the average policyholder, she suggested.

Critics may point out that Florida lawmakers have, in fact, offered two state-backed reinsurance programs in the last 12 months: RAP, the Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders fund, approved at a special session last summer; and FORA, the Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance Program, passed in December.

But some insurers have said that neither program hit the mark. RAP did not provide enough coverage and FORA was too expensive and didnt offer the level of coverage at the bottom of the reinsurance tower, where carriers need it the most. FORA was priced at 50% to 65% of reinsurance market rates. But with market rates soaring by that much or more in the the last year, the plan provided little help, insurers have said.

Just three insurers have signed up for the FORA program, according to a preliminary list provided Tuesday by the Florida State Board of Administration. The deadline for agreeing to participate in layers 1 through 3 of the plan was Monday, April 18. First Protective Insurance Co., Cypress Property & Casualty Insurance and American Coastal Insurance are the only carriers to participate in the program, so far. American Coastal had just 5,400 policies in force as of late last year, but First Protective is the eighth-largest insurer in Florida, with some 230,000 homeowner policies and $633 million in direct premium written.

The deadline for FORAs layer 4 sign up is May 30, two days before the private-market reinsurance renewals for many carriers.

Florida lawmakers have approved six significant insurance measures since 2019  to limit assignments of benefits, curb roofer solicitations, ban one-way attorney fees, limit roof replacements and curtail bad-faith and claims lawsuits. Insurers have generally welcomed all of those. But insurance executives and legislators have repeatedly said it could be another 18 months before the latest and most extensive reforms start to translate into lower rates for consumers.

The one idea that could have a faster impact, perhaps as soon as 60 days, some advocates have said, now seems out of reach.

Year over year, consumers have been getting hit with rate increases, and if theres not some additional public reinsurance capacity offered, the insurers have no choice but to pass another reinsurance rate increase on to consumers, said Paul Handerhan, president of the Florida-based Federal Association for Insurance Reform. So after June 1, when they get their policy renewals in the mail, those higher reinsurance costs will be reflected.

FORA, the Florida Optional Reinsurance Assistance Program, enacted in December: Creates an optional hurricane reinsurance program that insurers can purchase at

reasonable rates. Rates vary by tier level purchased and will range from 50% to

65% rate on-line.

reasonable rates. Rates vary by tier level purchased and will range from 50% to 65% rate on-line. Provides purchase tiers that begin at the Florida Hurricane Catastrophe Fund (FHCF)

attachment point and cumulatively are limited to no more than $5 billion below the

FHCF attachment point.

attachment point and cumulatively are limited to no more than $5 billion below the FHCF attachment point. Allows insurers that purchase FORA coverage or receive free Reinsurance to Assist

Policyholders (RAP) coverage at each tier to have the option to purchase the next tier

down.

Policyholders (RAP) coverage at each tier to have the option to purchase the next tier down. Maintains the Reinsurance to Assist Policyholders (RAP) program, thus allowing

those insurers and their policyholders that could not participate during 2022-2023, to

receive and benefit from RAP reinsurance in 2023-2024.

those insurers and their policyholders that could not participate during 2022-2023, to receive and benefit from RAP reinsurance in 2023-2024. Funds FORA coverage with $1 billion in general revenue funds and the premiums

insurers pay for FORA coverage. Source: Florida Senate analysis.

Premiums, which have climbed sharply in recent years for most property owners, are expected to spike again this year. The average cost for homeowners will rise modestly, nationwide, in 2023. But in Florida, property insurance rates could jump by more than 40%, according to the Insurance Information Institute and other rate-tracking reports. Florida homeowners will continue to pay some of the highest premiums in the country, Insurify, a quote-comparison and insurance provider, predicted recently.

Its unfortunate that Florida legislators could not come to agreement on providing an affordable reinsurance program for the 2023 Atlantic hurricane season, said Mark Friedlander, director of communications for the Institute. This will have a detrimental effect on many Florida domestic insurers as upcoming renewals may run as high as 70% year-over-year.

Inadequate levels of reinsurance coverage could lead to financial ratings downgrades, potential insolvencies and even higher premiums for policyholders, he warned.

At a recent gathering of the Pensacola, Florida, Association of Realtors, Miller blamed Realtors for not lobbying harder for a new state reinsurance offering. Despite recent cries from real estate interests that higher insurance premiums are hammering home sales in some parts of the state, few have pushed for reinsurance legislation this year, she said.

The Florida Association of Realtors public policy communications director, Tom Butler, responded obliquely to the criticism.

Florida Realtors applauds the Florida Legislature for taking unprecedented steps during the 2021 session and two special sessions last year to stabilize Floridas deteriorating property insurance market, Butler said in an email. We understand that comprehensive property insurance reform takes time to provide relief for policyholders and are confident that these reforms will ultimately attract insurance and reinsurance capital back to the state.

Rollins, formerly with Olympus Insurance Co., argued that another reinsurance program may have done little to help some struggling insurers, and would have only postponed some inevitable insolvencies after poor financial decisions by executives in recent years.

DeVriese noted that part of the December reform package, Senate Bill 2A, is already having a significant impact on claims litigation in Florida, and most carriers are grateful. For the first three months of this year, Security First has seen half the number of lawsuits it has faced in years past for the same period.

Unfortunately, the benefit of that reduction in litigation is probably going to be canceled out by the expected increase in the cost of reinsurance, she said.

Topics Carriers Florida
Classrooms across Tucson, Arizona, were ravaged by ransomware in January that locked up computer systems and forced teachers to revamp lesson plans. Officials in southern Arizonas largest school district tried assuring students and staff for weeks that, despite the cyberattack, sensitive data wasnt stolen.

But Bloomberg News found that cybercriminals made off with gigabytes of files, containing tens of thousands of current and former employees Social Security numbers and other confidential records. They then uploaded the information in February to the dark web for anyone to access with an easily downloadable browser. The data were still accessible as recently as April 17.

Examples of the leaked files include a high schoolers medical records; another detailed arguments for expelling several students. There are documents showing a confidential settlement agreement with Joann Anderson, a former employee who had previously sued the Tucson Unified School District in federal court, alleging discrimination.

They told me, There was no evidence of a data breach,' Anderson said of a recent conversation with a school district lawyer, who, she says, told her that nothing was taken.

Ransomware can wreak havoc: Financial institutions flagged almost $1.2 billion in likely ransomware-related payments in 2021 alone, according to the US Treasury Department. Many cases go unreported, so the actual number may be higher. And as TUSDs attack shows, ransomware isnt just costly, but it can jeopardize the privacy of private citizens  including children  and undermine confidence in school systems.

Last fall, a different group stole gigabytes of data from the Los Angeles public school system, the nations second-largest. A subsequent report found that leak contained hundreds of students mental-health records. (A spokesperson for the Los Angeles Unified School District said individuals were notified if their data was posted online.) Cybercriminals frequently use similar tactics to go after businesses, high-net-worth individuals and critical infrastructure.

In response to written questions from Bloomberg, TUSD spokeswoman Leslie Lenhart said an investigation so far showed no indication that Social Security numbers belonging to tens of thousands of employees were accessible, or that anyone could view them on the dark web. No instruction time was lost, she said. Schools remained open throughout the event. Systems were safely restored and recovered.

Lenhart said senior TUSD leadership was unavailable for an interview with Bloomberg, including Superintendent Gabriel Trujillo, whom she said was on leave.

By late March, after Bloomberg began contacting people affected by the breach, Trujillo said in a staff email that unspecified employee information of a confidential and sensitive nature was accessed, but not Social Security numbers. Bloomberg found more than 16,000 numbers and birth dates tied to current and former employees on the dark web.

Another leaked document included confidential records concerning a high school students diabetes diagnosis and instructions for their insulin injections. Parents for the student, whom Bloomberg is not naming, didnt respond to inquiries seeking comment.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts a victims computers, essentially taking it out of the owners control. The attackers then demand a ransom payment to unlock the data. In addition to encrypting files and demanding money, some attackers also steal private troves of data and threaten to release it if their demands arent met. Ransomware groups like the notorious Conti gang have encumbered critical infrastructure globally, including Irelands public health system in 2021. Lenhart said the TUSD didnt engage with the attackers or pay a ransom.

Brett Callow, who tracks ransomware attacks for the cybersecurity firm Emsisoft, said school systems face unusual challenges. Budget-strapped districts are often under pressure to prioritize student resources, teacher pay and buildings in disrepair over cybersecurity spending, he said. Attacks are cheap, Callow said. They dont need big or frequent payouts to get a return on investment.

The Tucson attack began sometime about Jan. 30, interviews and documents show. One morning, staffers were greeted by a message from the attackers, who used a type of ransomware called Royal, sent to printers across the district. If you are reading this, it means that your system were [sic] hit by Royal ransomware, the author wrote. Since the beginning, the group indicated that some of TUSDs data could be uploaded online for anyone to see.

For the next two weeks, teachers and staff had to improvise lesson plans and come up with makeshift attendance-taking, documents and interviews show. Electronic grade books, email access and other key services were down as the districts internet connection was cut. It was hard to keep stuff accountable, said Rueben Loya, whos taught music for two decades. We didnt even have the kids parents phone numbers, he said, which added to confusion over who was allowed to pick up students at dismissal.

Days after the attack, documents show, employees were instructed to install a malware scanner made by CrowdStrike Holdings Inc., a major firm that responds to cyberattacks. Lenhart, the district spokeswoman, said cybersecurity firm PacketWatch began an initial investigation on behalf of the Arizona Risk Retention Trust insurance program.

Other district staff grew frustrated at what they considered a lack of answers. Not [too] happy with the confusion and lack of transparency, one employee replied to their colleagues in an email seen by Bloomberg. Some states require that cyberattacks on school districts be disclosed to state officials; others have no reporting requirement, according to Allan Liska, a ransomware analyst with the firm Recorded Future Inc.

Campus computer outages, however, were only the beginning of the headaches for TUSD employees. Several teachers interviewed by Bloomberg expressed alarm that their private data was freely available for the taking. Officials, they said, initially offered resources for credit monitoring, but provided few details on the extent of the data leak.

The cybercriminals behind the Royal ransomware applied pressure beyond school leadership. In one email seen by Bloomberg, the hackers claimed to have sent a message to 140 TUSD email addresses containing copies of a half-dozen passports and evidence of gigabytes of data they said they stole: Just imagine what will happen if such data leak into the internet. (Royal attacks have also targeted the manufacturing and health care sectors.)

Your company will face reputational and financial harm among [sic] with regulatory and legal penalties, the attackers taunted shortly after the attack in late January. Hurry up!

The education sector is among the least likely to pay, Liska said. He said nearly two dozen school systems have already been attacked this year, adding to more than 200 school districts hit since early 2020. Ransomware groups are still attracted to these targets, he said.

The ransomware scourge has grown so concerning worldwide that the Biden administration hosted nearly three dozen countries last fall for a summit in Washington. The pace and sophistication of those intrusions is increasing faster than the US governments ability to disrupt them, a senior administration official said late last year.

I wish that there was more openness about the possibilities of what could go wrong when this happens, Margaret Chaney, president of the Tucson Education Association, a teachers union, said in an interview. You dont want to needlessly panic people. But Im an adult, and I need to make my own decisions.

Top photograph: A teacher sits at her desk at John B. Wright Elementary School in Tucson, Arizona. Photo credit: Cheney Orr/Bloomberg

Copyright 2023 Bloomberg.

Topics Cyber K-12 Arizona
Uganda Wildlife Authority has said it is optimistic the number of visitors to Uganda's national parks will hit a record high this year.

"As Uganda Wildlife Authority received 367,869 visitors between January and December 2022. Before Covid happened, 320,000 visitors is what we had as the highest number of visitors coming to our protected areas and this was in 2019 but we surpassed this last year," said Dorcus Rukundo Twesigomwe, the Business Development Manager at Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA).

"367,869 has been the biggest number we have ever registered in the history of Uganda Wildlife Authority."

She was speaking during a media breakfast at Skyz Hotel in Kampala.

Uganda has 10 national parks, 12 wildlife reserves, 13 sanctuaries and 05 community wildlife areas, all of which are under the Uganda Wildlife Authority.

Domestic tourists rise

The onset of the Covid pandemic brought the tourism sector to its knees as one of the most affected since airports and facilities were closed.

However, following the opening of the economy, the country embarked on a campaign for Ugandans to visit local tourist attractions.

Rukundo explained that comparing with pre-covid, 2019 had the highest number of visitors to Uganda's protected areas ever at 330,000 but noted since the lifting of the lockdown, the number of visitors has shot up.

The UWA Business Development Manager reasoned that the growth in number of visitors to Uganda's protected areas can be partly explained by the outdoor experiences for several Ugandans in the country's national parks.

"Last year we saw many Ugandans choosing to visit our national parks and other protected areas comparing to the time before Covid. Many people now choose to visit our national parks when they would probably choose to fly out of the country."

Optimistic

The UWA Executive Director, Sam Mwandha said that the country is on course to beat the number of visitors recorded last year.

"For us to reach that number (367,869 visitors), this quarter we are in, we only need 56,000 visitors and I am confident we will get more than 60,000 and we will go above. Previously, the highest we have got was 330,000 and we are now saying, we are doing better than ever before,"Mwandha said.

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Poaching still a menace

Whereas the country has taken great strides in increasing the number of visitors to its national parks and other protected areas, issues like poaching and human wildlife conflict still pause challenges.

"The biggest problem we have with elephants, lions and pangolins is poaching because people are looking for easy money. The vice of poaching will unfortunately not go easily. It is like theft that despite many being taken to prisons, there are still many thieves. What we do is to ensure when we catch you, you get a big enough punishment to deter you from going back,"Mwandha said.

For example, between July and December last year alone, 7307 poaching implements and seven guns with 14 live ammunitions were recovered during operations by UWA personnel.

During the same period, 224.15 kilograms of ivory and 1870.5 kilograms of pangolin scales were also seized.

On the other side, there were 3974 cases of human wildlife conflict reported.

"Now that the population for both humans and the wildlife has risen, there will always be conflict. Wildlife knows no boundaries and what you get is wildlife crossing to the human habitats,"Mwandha said.
Source: Streetwise Reports

April 19, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Drilling at Dakota Gold Corp.'s Richmond Hill project in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota outlines an extensive gold system more than a mile in length from north to south.

Drilling at Dakota Gold Corp.'s (DC:NYSE American) Richmond Hill Project in the historic Homestake District of South Dakota has outlined an extensive gold system more than a mile in length from north to south, with mineralization open in all directions.

Hole RH22C-013 assayed 5.98 grams per tonne gold (g/t Au) over 30 meters at the intersection of a dominant north-south structure, confirming the existence of higher-grade gold mineralization.

"DC continues to drill aggressively across its Homestake District land package, with two drills turning at the Maitland Project and two at Richmond Hill," Canaccord Genuity analyst Michael Fairbairn wrote in an April 13 research note. "At Richmond Hill, DC is working on upgrading the historic oxide resource ... and conduct additional exploration/step-out drilling. Results to date bode well for the next resource update, with indications that Richmond Hill hosts a substantial high-grade gold orebody."

Fairbairn doubled down on his Speculative Buy rating for the stock with a US$5 per share target price.

The project "continues to provide positive drill results," Vice President of Exploration James M. Berry said.

"We are seeing large intervals of visible alteration in the drilling and are using historical drilling, geophysics, and surface mapping to test the known breccia pipes for better-grade mineralization," Berry said. "Four previously known breccia pipes remain untested."

Robert Quartermain and Jonathan Awde head the company, which is exploring 46,000 acres surrounding the Homestake Mine, which it acquired and consolidated over the past decade. The historic Homestake Mine produced more than 40 million ounces (Moz) Au over its lifetime.

"The best place to find a new gold mine is in the shadow of the head frame of an existing gold mine," geologist and investment analyst Matt Badiali has told Streetwise Reports.

Industry giant Barrick Gold Corp. (ABX:TSX; GOLD:NYSE) also backs the company.

Fairbairn wrote in January that "upside potential could be significant" for the company.

"Dakota Gold is now seeking to revitalize this legendary district in hopes of making a material discovery on its land package proximal to the mine," Fairbairn wrote.

The Catalyst: 'Significant Mineralization'

Richmond Hill is 2.3 miles west of another of the company's Homestake projects, Maitland.

It's also 1.5 miles north of Coeur Mining Inc.'s Wharf Mine, which produced more than 79,000 ounces Au in 2022 and is the only current operating gold mine in South Dakota.

Dakota Gold released results from five holes that were drilled into the Twin Tunnels Breccia Pipe and "intersected significant mineralization," Fairbairn wrote.

Hole RH23C-014 intersected 1.35 g/t Au over 42 meters, RH22C-009 intersected 1.21 g/t Au over 5.1 meters, RH22C-010 intersected 1.24 g/t over 1.54 meters, and RH22C-011 intersected 1.24 g/t over 15.4 meters, the company said.

"Tertiary breccia pipes are favorable conduits for gold-bearing fluids in the Homestake District and continue to be a priority drill target," the company released.

'On the Cusp'

Dakota Gold continues to have four drills operating on its Homestake properties, two at Richmond Hill and two at Maitland.

Results from Maitland released earlier this month expanded the gold mineralization of its Unionville Zone.

Drill hole MA22C-007 intersected 7.19 g/t Au over 7 meters and was designed to test the formation south of previous drilling. It likely extended the Unionville Zone farther to the south. Mineralization is open in both directions, the company said.

The drill hole also intersected 5.37 g/t Au over 1.4 meters of Homestake-style gold mineralization. The results from another drill hole at Maitland, MA22C-009, showed gold mineralization similar to the Homestake Mine in the lower portion, the company said. The drill hole returned 5.78 g/t Aug over 4.4 meters.

President and Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Awde has said he was "extremely encouraged" by Maitland.

"We believe we are on the cusp of vectoring toward higher grades and on making a discovery with Maitland," he said.

Much of the land owned by Dakota Gold has not been explored in nearly 30 years, leading experts toward the hope of a large discovery.

Ownership and Share Structure

According to the company, approximately 30% of the company's shares are with management and insiders. Out of management, Co-Chairman Robert Quartermain holds the most shares at 10% or 7.34 million shares. President and CEO Jonathan Awde is next at 9%, with 6.71 million, while COO Jerry Aberle holds 6%, with 4.21 million. The remainder of the 30% is held by other members of management and the board of directors.

According to Reuters, about 26.6% of the shares are with institutional investors, including Van Eck Associates with 3.8%, BlackRock Fund Advisors with 3.6%, CI Investments with 3.6%, Fidelity Management with 3.5%, The Vanguard Group with 3.2%, Barrick Gold Corporation with 3%, Medalist Capital with 2.4%, Delbrook Capital with 2%, and Sprott Asset Management with 2%.

About 27.4% is with strategic investors, Reuters said. The largest holding is with Marin Katusa + KCR LLC, which owns 4.9%.

Dakota Gold has a market cap of US$248.47 million, with 75.3 million shares outstanding and 56 million free-floating. It trades in a 52-week range of US$4.88 and US$2.61.

Disclosures:

1) Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He or members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Dakota Gold Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

3) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

4) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Dakota Gold Corp. and Barrick Gold Corp., companies mentioned in this article.

Disclosures For Canaccord Genuity Corp., Dakota Gold Corp., April 13, 2023

Analyst Certification Each authoring analyst of Canaccord Genuity whose name appears on the front page of this research hereby certifies that (i) the recommendations and opinions expressed in this research accurately reflect the authoring analyst's personal, independent and objective views about any and all of the designated investments or relevant issuers discussed herein that are within such authoring analyst's coverage universe and (ii) no part of the authoring analyst's compensation was, is, or will be, directly or indirectly, related to the specific recommendations or views expressed by the authoring analyst in the research, and (iii) to the best of the authoring analyst's knowledge, she/he is not in receipt of material non-public information about the issuer. Analysts employed outside the US are not registered as research analysts with FINRA. These analysts may not be associated persons of Canaccord Genuity LLC and therefore may not be subject to the FINRA Rule 2241 and NYSE Rule 472 restrictions on communications with a subject company, public appearances and trading securities held by a research analyst account.

Required Company-Specific Disclosures (as of date of this publication) Canaccord Genuity or one or more of its affiliated companies intend to seek or expect to receive compensation for Investment Banking services from Dakota Gold Corp. in the next three months. An analyst has visited the material operations of Dakota Gold Corp.. Partial payment was received for the related travel costs.

General Disclaimers See "Required Company-Specific Disclosures" above for any of the following disclosures required as to companies referred to in this report: manager or co-manager roles; 1% or other ownership; compensation for certain services; types of client relationships; research analyst conflicts; managed/co-managed public offerings in prior periods; directorships; market making in equity securities and related derivatives. For reports identified above as compendium reports, the foregoing required company-specific disclosures can be found in a hyperlink located in the section labeled, "Compendium Reports." "Canaccord Genuity" is the business name used by certain wholly owned subsidiaries of Canaccord Genuity Group Inc., including Canaccord Genuity LLC, Canaccord Genuity Limited, Canaccord Genuity Corp., and Canaccord Genuity (Australia) Limited, an affiliated company that is 80%-owned by Canaccord Genuity Group Inc. The authoring analysts who are responsible for the preparation of this research are employed by Canaccord Genuity Corp. a Canadian broker-dealer with principal offices located in Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Montreal, or Canaccord Genuity LLC, a US broker-dealer with principal offices located in New York, Boston, San Francisco and Houston, or Canaccord Genuity Limited., a UK broker-dealer with principal offices located in London (UK) and Dublin (Ireland), or Canaccord Genuity (Australia) Limited, an Australian broker-dealer with principal offices located in Sydney and Melbourne. The authoring analysts who are responsible for the preparation of this research have received (or will receive) compensation based upon (among other factors) the Investment Banking revenues and general profits of Canaccord Genuity. However, such authoring analysts have not received, and will not receive, compensation that is directly based upon or linked to one or more specific Investment Banking activities, or to recommendations contained in the research. Some regulators require that a firm must establish, implement and make available a policy for managing conflicts of interest arising as a result of publication or distribution of research. This research has been prepared in accordance with Canaccord Genuity's policy on managing conflicts of interest, and information barriers or firewalls have been used where appropriate.

Canaccord Genuity's policy is available upon request. The information contained in this research has been compiled by Canaccord Genuity from sources believed to be reliable, but (with the exception of the information about Canaccord Genuity) no representation or warranty, express or implied, is made by Canaccord Genuity, its affiliated companies or any other person as to its fairness, accuracy, completeness or correctness. Canaccord Genuity has not independently verified the facts, assumptions, and estimates contained herein. All estimates, opinions and other information contained in this research constitute Canaccord Genuity's judgement as of the date of this research, are subject to change without notice and are provided in good faith but without legal responsibility or liability. From time to time, Canaccord Genuity salespeople, traders, and other professionals provide oral or written market commentary or trading strategies to our clients and our principal trading desk that reflect opinions that are contrary to the opinions expressed in this research. Canaccord Genuity's affiliates, principal trading desk, and investing businesses also from time to time make investment decisions that are inconsistent with the recommendations or views expressed in this research. This research is provided for information purposes only and does not constitute an offer or solicitation to buy or sell any designated investments discussed herein in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation would be prohibited. As a result, the designated investments discussed in this research may not be eligible for sale in some jurisdictions. This research is not, and under no circumstances should be construed as, a solicitation to act as a securities broker or dealer in any jurisdiction by any person or company that is not legally permitted to carry on the business of a securities broker or dealer in that jurisdiction. This material is prepared for general circulation to clients and does not have regard to the investment objectives, financial situation or particular needs of any particular person. Investors should obtain advice based on their own individual circumstances before making an investment decision. To the fullest extent permitted by law, none of Canaccord Genuity, its affiliated companies or any other person accepts any liability whatsoever for any direct or consequential loss arising from or relating to any use of the information contained in this research.

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Source: Streetwise Reports

April 19, 2023 (Investorideas.com Newswire) Defense Metals Corp. successfully runs a test of its hydrometallurgical pilot plant at SGS Lakefield in Ontario. One analyst says it's a good sign for the viability of the company's rare earth elements (REE) project.

Defense Metals Corp.'s (DEFN:TSX.V; DFMTF:OTCQB; 35D:FSE) successful Phase 1 test of its hydrometallurgical pilot plant at SGS Lakefield in Ontario is a good sign for the viability of the company's Wicheeda rare earth element (REE) project, one analyst says.

The objective of the pilot plant is to demonstrate the processing of Wicheeda flotation concentrate to produce REEs using the acid bake hydrometallurgy process, Noble Capital Markets analyst Mark Reichman wrote on April 13.

"Given the pilot plant program's impact on the engineering design and economics of the feasibility study, we think early success, along with outstanding results from the 2021 and 2022 drilling programs, bode well for a compelling preliminary feasibility study (PFS)," Reichman wrote, who continued to rate the stock Outperform with a CA$0.90 target. "We believe the current stock price offers an attractive entry point for investors."

Defense Metals recently updated Wicheeda's 3D geological model with 10,000 meters of new drilling from 47 holes completed in 2021 and 2022, which the company called a "significant milestone."

It next plans to update its resource estimate and complete the PFS.

The company wants to produce as much as 10% of the world's light REEs to reduce reliance on China, which has about 85% of the world's processing capacity of the elements.

Why Rare Earth Elements?

REEs are in high demand in the new green economy for purifying water, MRIs, fertilizers, weapons, scientific research, wind turbines, computers, and permanent magnet motors for electric vehicles (EVs).

According to a report by Fortune Business Insights, the global REE market is expected to grow from US$2.6 billion in 2020 to US$5.5 billion in 2028.

"The rising demand for consumer durables such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones is one of the factors driving the consumption of rare earth elements," the report said. "The demand for these elements in developing economies is estimated to expand rapidly."

The Catalyst: Phase 2 Scheduled This Month

During five days of operation, the pilot plant ran continuously for 110 hours.

Defense Metals and SGS Lakefield "confirmed the viability of the process, optimized certain design parameters, and identified areas that will be improved ahead of the Phase II pilot plant run scheduled for late April," Reichman wrote.

Assays are still being received, and evaluation of the results is continuing, but Defense Metals said that extraction of praseodymium (Pr) and neodymium (Nd) from the acid bake calcine was more than 90%, the impurity removal circuits were efficient, and reagent regeneration and water circulation were effective. Only minor changes will be made to the circuit ahead of Phase II, and an alternative precipitant will be used.

Praseodymium is used in a variety of alloys, including a high-strength one it forms with magnesium that is used in aircraft engines. Neodymium is used as an alloy with iron and boron to make strong permanent magnets.

The demonstration "delivered exactly what was required of it," said John Goode, consulting metallurgist to the company. "We have confirmed the general workability of the process, optimized certain design parameters, and identified areas that will be improved ahead of the Phase II pilot plant. The SGS Lakefield team did an excellent job of construction and operation of the circuit."

The acid bake extraction process being tested could lower capital and operating costs, the company has said. High-temperature concentrated sulfuric acid is used to convert the REEs to water-soluble sulfates, which can then dissolve during a water leach. A precipitation process is then used to recover the REEs.

The process is expected to allow for a more than 95% recovery rate for the REEs, compared to less than 90% with the alternative caustic cracking process.

Analyst: Co. Well-Positioned for Global Markets

The holes from 2021 and 2022 returned some of Wicheeda's longest and highest-grade intercepts, the company said.

Hole WI21-58 returned 3.09% total rare earth oxide (TREO) over 251 meters, and WI22-68 returned 6.7% TREO over 18 meters.

High-grade REE dolomite-carbonatite was discovered in the north area of the deposit, returning 3.17% TREO over 196 meters, including 4.29% TREO over 55 meters to a depth of 201 meters extending 30 meters below the resource pit shell.

Wicheeda is well-located with access to key infrastructure and "could become a globally significant producer" of REEs, analyst Michael Gray of Agentis Capital wrote in a research note. [OWNERSHIP_CHART-9678]

"DEFN is a best-of-breed North American REE developer that is well-positioned to its leverage-growing global REE demand and government support to become part of a North American REE critical metals supply chain," wrote Gray, who set a 12-month valuation of CA$3.50 for the stock.

Ownership and Share Structure

About 5% of the company's stock is owned by insiders, including Director Andrew S. Burgess with 2.01% or 4.18 million shares, and CEO Taylor with 1.2% or 2.5 million shares, according to Reuters.

About 5% of the company is owned by institutional entities, including U.S. Global Investors Inc. with 0.96% or 2 million shares, Reuters said.

The rest, 90%, is retail.

Defense Metals has a market cap of CA$68.54 million with 207.7 million shares outstanding, about 165 million of them free floating. It trades in a 52-week range of CA$0.39 and CA$0.165.

Disclosures:

1) Steve Sobek wrote this article for Streetwise Reports LLC. He or members of his household own securities of the following companies mentioned in the article: None. He and members of his household are paid by the following companies mentioned in this article: None.

2) The following companies mentioned in this article are billboard sponsors of Streetwise Reports: Defense Metals Corp. Click here for important disclosures about sponsor fees. As of the date of this article, an affiliate of Streetwise Reports has a consulting relationship with: None. Please click here for more information. The information provided above is for informational purposes only and is not a recommendation to buy or sell any security.

3) The article does not constitute investment advice. Each reader is encouraged to consult with his or her individual financial professional and any action a reader takes as a result of information presented here is his or her own responsibility. By opening this page, each reader accepts and agrees to Streetwise Reports' terms of use and full legal disclaimer. This article is not a solicitation for investment. Streetwise Reports does not render general or specific investment advice and the information on Streetwise Reports should not be considered a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Streetwise Reports does not endorse or recommend the business, products, services or securities of any company mentioned on Streetwise Reports.

4) From time to time, Streetwise Reports LLC and its directors, officers, employees, or members of their families, as well as persons interviewed for articles and interviews on the site, may have a long or short position in securities mentioned. Directors, officers, employees or members of their immediate families are prohibited from making purchases and/or sales of those securities in the open market or otherwise from the time of the decision to publish an article until three business days after the publication of the article. The foregoing prohibition does not apply to articles that in substance only restate previously published company releases. As of the date of this article, officers and/or employees of Streetwise Reports LLC (including members of their household) own securities of Defense Metals Corp., a company mentioned in this article.

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Just 3% of Ireland's agricultural land would be needed for grass to meet the biomethane target set for 2030.

A collection of the latest news, views and analysis from the farming desk on the topic of Agribusiness and technology.

A bigger challenge than finding the 120,000 hectares of grass for biodigesters is likely to be sourcing winter slurry from the equivalent of 1.3 million cattle, according to JJ Lenehan of Teagasc, speaking in a recent Teagasc Signpost event online.

Dr Tom O'Dwyer, Head of the Signpost Programme, was joined by Teagasc Energy and Rural Development Specialist Barry Caslin, and Mr Lenehan, to discuss the biomethane opportunities.

The current Climate Action Plan includes the production of up to 1 Tera-Watt hour (TWh) of biomethane energy by 2025, and up to 5.7 TWh by 2030. The Plan anticipates the construction of 20 large anaerobic digesters by 2025, and up to 200 by 2030.

Mr Lenehan said large beef-finishing enterprises where cattle are kept indoors, or piggeries, could be ideal locations for biodigester plants, especially in areas with considerable potential for increased grass production.

He suggested: If we do have to reduce animal numbers because of greenhouse gas emissions, production of forage for anaerobic digestion [AD] is a relatively easy practical solution for farmers to reuse their land.

Biomethane is a carbon-neutral renewable gas made from crops (including grass), slurry, manure, and food waste, in the AD process. The feedstock can be any organic non-woody material which is converted by micro-organisms into biogas and digestate, in the absence of oxygen.

The "raw" gas containing about 55% methane is called biogas. When upgraded to 97% methane, it is called biomethane. The digestate residue is a valuable fertiliser.

The studies have shown that grass is the feedstock for Ireland, said Mr Lenehan. The crop of choice would be grass.

Teagascs research has demonstrated that up to 12 tonnes of grass dry matter can be produced in Ireland. But the average production is only five tonnes.

Farmers with low stocking rates could be incentivised to produce grass for biodigester plants.

Research by Dr Ciara Beausang on the sustainability of biomethane production in Ireland demonstrated that 10.77 tonnes of dry matter per hectare could be produced with a perennial ryegrass and clover sward; or 11.68 t/ha with a more mixed sward of Timothy, perennial ryegrass, red clover, ribwort plantain and chicory, with no added nitrogen in either instance.

Environmental impact

The issue of unintended consequences of reduced biodiversity was raised, if increased production of grass for AD plants was incentivised on currently low-intensive farm areas.

Barry Caslin responded that production for biomethane must adhere to the EU Renewable Energy Directive. Any AD plant must attain strict sustainability targets for zero-carbon renewable fuels.

For example, land that was formerly peatland, land of a high biodiversity value, or land with a high carbon stock, cannot be used to grow feedstock for AD.

Mr Caslin added that using slurry in biodigesters significantly reduces methane released into the atmosphere. However, EU animal by-products regulations impose strict criteria on AD plants utilising slurry or manure.

They are designated as Class 2 animal by-products and require thermal treatment and volume reduction, with associated capital investment costs. The exception is small volumes of slurry from a single farm (less than 5,000 tonnes of fresh material per year) processed on-farm in a small-scale biogas plant.

Poultry manure or broiler litter can be used as AD feedstock, but because of the high nitrogen content, additional feedstocks are needed for optimal nitrogencarbon balance.

Policies are currently under preparation in Ireland which, it is believed, will provide aid for capital investment in AD plant construction (buildings and equipment), as well as aid linked to the amount of biogas produced.

Customers are looking for biomethane across Europe, said Mr Lenehan. But economic viability is fundamental to success in developing biomethane in Ireland, he added.

Mr Caslin said the Renewable Heat Obligation (RHO), which comes into force in Ireland in 2024, and requires that a percentage of fuel is sourced from renewables, is likely to increase demand for biomethane.

Natural gas (fossil fuel) contributed 31.3% to energy generation in Ireland in 2019, and remains at approximately that level. The Sustainable Energy Authority Of Ireland has indicated that biomethane could replace 25% of Ireland's fossil fuel gas supply, with forage-based feedstock contributing most to this (over 40%), and waste only 5%.

The Irish biomethane targets are challenging, and will require appropriate policies and incentives to be put in place.

Mr Lenehan referred to the example of Denmarks biomethane industry, which was developed over 30 years. In Denmark, 25% of total gas usage is renewable gas. They aim to have 75% by 2025 and 100% by 2030.

The benefits of developing a biomethane industry include increased energy security, organic waste processing, reduction of synthetic fertiliser use, provision of biogenic carbon dioxide to industry, job creation, and reduction of greenhouse gases.

Digestate is a potent fertiliser, said Mr Lenehan, who explained that it contains N, P and K, which are not removed during biogas production.

"Digestate can be spread in liquid form (by trailing shoe or direct injection) or processed and the individual nutrients segregated out. The nitrogen is in ammonia form in the digestate and hence, will be readily available in the soil."

Biomethane from grass compares well with some other energy crops, with German research showing that the output of biomethane from grass (per hectare) far exceeds biodiesel from oilseed rape, or bioethanol from wheat.
Baker Claire Ptak nearly missed out on the biggest job of her career: making Harry and Meghan's wedding cake.

An assistant to Harry and Meghans wedding planner reached out ahead of the couples 2018 nuptials, with Ptak confessing: I almost missed the email, to be honest, because I didnt recognise the name.

My manager at the time called me up and was like, Oh my God, you have to check the email  I think this is important.

Ptak, 44, says Meghan first heard of her when running her now-defunct lifestyle blog, The Tig, which had featured the baker in the past. This got Ptak on the royal radar, but she didnt get the job straight off the bat.

When I went to meet with them, I brought like six whole cakes  I wanted the job so bad, and was like, how do you bring a slice of cake to Kensington Palace? I have to bring a whole one! Ptak remembers with a laugh. So, I showed up with all these cakes, and they were so sweet and delighted  and thats how it happened.

Harry and Meghan's wedding cake (Steve Parsons/PA)

Ptak ended up baking a layered lemon and elderflower cake for the couples big day, and now you can make it yourself at home as the recipe is in her latest cookbook, Love Is A Pink Cake.

I dont think you have to be so skilled as a baker [to make it], its a pretty straightforward recipe  but its very time-consuming, Ptak explains.

You need to have patience, and I always say, read the recipe through a couple of times before you get started.

Ptak was the perfect person to make Harry and Meghans wedding cake  their union is the combination of California and England, and Ptak is a Californian who has lived in London for 18 years.

We were really lucky where I grew up  its called Marin County, its an hour from San Francisco. Its Northern California  its not sunny LA, so we have a lot of rain, and it can be a little chilly, says Ptak.

The baker says her upbringing had a huge influence on her food philosophy and style. Foraging for seasonal ingredients was a big part of her childhood, and fruit was in abundance.

We had apple trees and wild blackberries everywhere, and wild huckleberries. There was a lot of foraging berries and getting apples from a friends tree, or another friend would have pears  there was a lot of exchanging going on. Its a pretty hippie, Northern California community, but a really, really special place.

Ptak learned to bake from her mother and grandmother and took summer jobs in bakeries and as a pastry chef, but for a while she thought she had to get a more serious job before realising she could bake professionally.

After moving to the UK, Ptak set up her bakery Violet Cakes, bringing a slice of Californian sunshine to East London with its American-style baking.

Love Is A Pink Cake reflects Ptaks dual cultures, with half of the recipes spotlighting Californian recipes and ingredients  with the pictures shot in Inverness, California  and the other half transporting us to England, with bakes photographed in Herefordshire.

I still feel so much a Californian  I am clearly from California, says Ptak, referencing her still strong accent.

But I also really am a Londoner, Ive lived here almost 20 years, my business is here, my child was born here, my life is here and I love, love, love London. Theres a really nice thing here too, where theres a lot of love for California from Londoners I find. Its fun to be able to bring something here that makes people smile when its deepest, darkest winter. Our little California bakery in East London, its a nice juxtaposition.

My roots are based in foraging and seasonal baking, really fruit-based, fruit-focused and ingredient-driven. My training is very much of that [American chef] Alice Waters farm-to-table school of thought  organic and seasonal. But upon moving to London, she discovered the joys of English patisserie (custards and traditional British bakes), and Violet Cakes channels a bit of that too.

And while foraging might seem like a distant, Californian dream, Ptak emphasises it can be done in England  even in big cities such as London.

There are things such as fig leaves, for example  and I have a recipe in the book for peaches BBQd on fig leaves, which is one of my favourite recipes  I know for a fact there are so many fig trees around London that are gigantic and laden with leaves, and they creep into the sidewalks.

I feel like you can help yourself sometimes, or you can find them on trails in the parks. I live in Hackney, so out in the marshes there are a couple of trees I know about. Elderflower is another one you can forage all over London, she says, and this was a major reason she chose it as the central flavour to Harry and Meghans wedding cake.

Elderflower is in season in May  the time of the wedding  and Ptak says: It was really warm and really beautiful weather, and there was elderflower in bloom everywhere on the day of the wedding  it was really nice.

Claire Ptaks vegan chocolate chip cookies recipe by:Claire Ptak Going plant-based doesnt have to mean you miss out on all your favourite treats. (Love Is A Pink Cake by Claire Ptak is published by Square Peg) Servings 18 Preparation Time  15 mins Cooking Time  14 mins Total Time  29 mins Course  Baking Ingredients 1tbsp ground flaxseeds

60g oat milk

455g plain flour

60g rolled oats

1tsp baking powder

1tsp bicarbonate of soda

1tsp fine sea salt

250g plant-based butter

250g soft light brown sugar

150g caster sugar

1tsp vanilla extract

250g vegan chocolate, broken into 1cm pieces

Flaky sea salt, to finish Method Soak the ground flaxseeds in the oat milk and set aside. Whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, bicarb and salt in a bowl and set aside. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the vegan butter and both sugars until creamy. Beat in the flax mixture and vanilla, then add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Finally, add the chocolate and mix once again. Use an ice cream scoop to portion out 18 cookies onto a tray. Chill or freeze for at least one hour. (You can also store the unbaked cookies in the freezer and bake as needed.) When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 170C fan/190C/375F/gas mark 5. Line one or two large baking sheets with baking paper and arrange the dough evenly on the trays, leaving enough space between each one so they have room to expand during baking (they almost double in size). If you are baking from frozen, allow the cookies five minutes out of the freezer before placing in the oven. Sprinkle a few flakes of sea salt over the top of each cookie and then bake for 12-14 minutes, until the centre of each cookie is slightly soft and underbaked but the edges are crisp and golden. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the tray for 10 minutes before eating.
Jim Broadbent says it is lovely to have a film about people of his age that does not revolve around death, after starring in The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry.

The award-winning actor, 73, said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life.

Broadbent stars as the eponymous Harold Fry in the new movie, which is based on a novel of the same name by Rachel Joyce.

The award-winning actor said he hoped the story would encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life (Jeff Moore/PA)

It tells the story of a man in his 60s, who embarks on a journey to visit his old friend Queenie in the hospice after learning she is dying  walking more than 400 miles in the process.

Broadbent attended a gala screening of the film in central London on Tuesday, alongside Joyce and his co-stars Dame Penelope Winton and Earl Cave.

Its lovely to have a film about people our age that isnt about them dying, I mean dementia or something, he told the PA news agency.

Its lovely to have a film about people our age that isn't about them dying.

I think this is just going to encourage more films about older people who arent actually at the end of life. Theyre all full of energy and ambition and (have) complex, complicated stories all going on.

Broadbent added that the industry was at risk of becoming too limited to blockbuster franchises such as Marvel or DC, adding maybe they can bring more films (out) about my generation.

(Left to right) Dame Penelope Wilton, Rachel Joyce, and Jim Broadbent, attends the gala screening of The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry (Jeff Moore/PA)

Joyce said that seeing her book, first published in 2012, made into a big screen film was incredibly moving.

I feel like for the past two years now Ive just been on the brink of tears, because it was just so private and theyve made it so beautiful, she told PA.

Im so grateful for the entire production company, the crew and the cast everybody really got on board.

The Unlikely Pilgrimage Of Harold Fry is due for UK release on April 28.
Here in Ireland were all given to complaining about the amount of rain we get. But theres a spin-off, still largely unknown, to our wet climate: before our ancestors cleared it, much, and very probably most, of this island was rainforest.

Hearing the word rainforest conjures images of dense, steamy jungles in the Amazon, Congo, or South East Asia, and its true: most of the worlds rainforests are in the tropics. But theres another type: temperate rainforest, and thats exactly what once covered a lot of Ireland. The thing that defines any sort of rainforest, anywhere on the planet, is the abundant presence of what are called epiphytes. These are plants that grow on other plants such as trees, but are not rooted in the ground, hence excluding ivy or honeysuckle, for example. And in a tropical rainforest youll likely see plenty of bromeliads, orchids, and other growths, living on the trunks and branches of the trees.

Epiphytes, and hence rainforests, can only survive in areas with high levels of rainfall, and Ireland certainly isnt lacking in that department. But perhaps even more important than the amount of water that falls from the sky is the annual number of wet days: days in which more than 1mm of precipitation arrives in some shape or form. In places like West Cork, where I live, these average out at more than 200 per year. Every sort of aerial moisture helps to create the conditions for rainforest, including drizzle, fog, mist, and sleet.

But temperate rainforest is rare compared to its tropical equivalent. Before farming, it probably covered something like one-tenth of the global area of tropical rainforest. And for a long time, agriculture was largely concentrated in the temperate zones, so until recently temperate rainforests were far more drastically cleared for farming. (That has changed radically over the last 50 years or so, of course, with tropical forests now also being devastated.) The result is that they now only exist in small pockets here and there globally.

That is also very much the case here in Ireland, where natural forest cover has dropped from an estimated 80% or so down to only 1.5%. While many of us were taught to blame the English for this state of affairs, thats only one side of the story. The truth is that the vast majority of the forests were already gone by the 17th century when English military supremacy was fully established following the Battle of Kinsale in 1601, and later reinforced mid-century in the aftermath of the Cromwellian conquest. But this period did see the rapid annihilation by the colonising power of almost all of what was left.

West Cork rainforest. Picture: Eoghan Daltun

The terrible consequence is that less than 0.1% (one-thousandth) of Ireland is now covered by ancient woodland, where trees are known to have existed since at least 1660. And none of even these tiny fragments is anything close to what might be called pristine, or primeval forest: all have been heavily exploited for timber and other resources over millennia, and most are ecologically wrecked, overgrazed by sheep, invasive sika/fallow deer, or feral goats, and infested with rhododendron or other invasive non-native plants.

As I outlined last week, I discovered in the most personal way just how incredibly rich and beautiful an Irish temperate rainforest can be through ecologically restoring exactly this habitat on the farm I bought in 2009 on the Beara Peninsula. Now, walking in the forest is like entering a dream world, brimming with life, shafts of sunlight penetrating down though the canopy above to illuminate a fantastic diversity of plants and buzzing insects. And while I very quickly began to realise that what I had wasnt merely native forest, but rainforest, for a long time I was reluctant to trumpet that. How could it be possible that I had happened on something that virtually nobody else was saying?

Its beyond extraordinary that here in Ireland a massively important part of our heritage has been, and continues to be, ignored and allowed to dwindle and die away, as is currently the case with our last pieces of rainforest. It really is as though countless unique artifacts like the Ardagh Chalice were daily being thrown into a giant crusher, and barely anyone was aware of the situation, and almost nothing was being done about it. But I have been hugely encouraged by the incredible reaction to my recently published book on the subject, with innumerable letters, emails, texts, and phone calls from people all over the country wanting to know how they can do more for nature. (To my great regret, I simply dont have time to reply to most of them, for which I do apologise.)

One of the biggest difficulties we face on this island is that nature is so very severely depleted that people really dont know what a truly wild place looks or feels like, at least not in an Irish context. We have nothing along the lines of Yellowstone National Park or the Serengeti to remind us, since our own national parks are all ecologically wrecked, pale shadows of what they could be. So nature to us is the few species that have somehow managed to survive in an increasingly hostile environment. Wilderness is an abstract concept, something that exists in other parts of the world, not here. But it absolutely doesnt need to stay that way.

How, for example, could we bring our rainforest cover back up to decent levels nationally? People love planting trees, but theres a far, far better way: to let existing pockets of rainforest expand back out naturally by reducing grazing pressures, allowing trees to self-seed into surrounding areas. That way, the entire ecosystem grows: not just trees, but all the associated ground flora, insects, fungi, lichens, mammals, the whole shebang.

What on Earth (literally) are we waiting for?

If youre interested in learning more, you can read all about it in my book, An Irish Atlantic Rainforest: A Personal Journey into the Magic of Rewilding , published last September. Also, find me on Twitter and Instagram under @IrishRainforest.

, published last September. Also, find me on Twitter and Instagram under @IrishRainforest. Anja Murray is away this week
I have just returned from Davao in the Philippines. I work with a charity I set up called EMBRACE Badjao  (European Mission for Badjao Relief and Continued Education). The Badjao are a wonderful tribe that live above the shoreline; their way of life is fascinating to witness.

It is certainly one of the great privileges of my life, to be welcomed into their community as a trusted friend. Being with them is to see the value of family.

On our first day, we brought all of the children attending school out for lunch  a rare treat for the children. There was the screaming joy of 50 children when Jackie Araman, one of the teachers in the school and one of the tribe members who came to live with my family for three months in 2019, announced the exciting news about lunch. I could see the smiles on my team as they witnessed the utter happiness and unguarded joy of the children, it made them unguarded too.

That is what happens when you are in the tribes presence, they disarm all the protective shields we have to make sure we dont embarrass ourselves in front of people.

Immediately you are less self-aware, a dancer unaware of the dance, and lost in the joyful music of humanity, sharing jokes, high-fiving, and the odd punch in the stomach to check if you are, indeed, Ironman.

I can see some of the younger children staring at me. Are you Ironman? they ask. Of course, I am, who else would I be?

Embrace Badjao in action

OLD MAN

My true identity is soon revealed by the older children I have worked with for more than 13 years. Manong they call me  old man. I have watched these children grow up, become adults, marry, have children, and settle down. They have watched me age too, and they tell me that every time they see me.

That first meeting of the team was fascinating to observe. When all the food was handed out after the pandemonium of ordering and the drama that ensues any purchase in the Philippines had abated, I could see the looks on the Irish teams faces as they watched children sit for more than 30 minutes without touching their food, they were waiting for everyone to be served before they started eating.

I remember many years ago my first time bringing them to Jollibee (an Asian McDonalds). I asked one of the children: Do you not like the burgers? My question was in response to all the uneaten burgers in front of the children. No, they replied, full.

It wasnt until I went back to their homes that I understood what had taken place. They were saving the food for their family. I witnessed them cutting the burgers into pieces for everyone in the family. It was an incredibly touching moment. Family is the beginning, middle, and end  thats the meaning of life for them.

Living among the Badjao tribe for a period of time always gives you an insight into the human condition; I always take so much away from the experience. Of course, while I was there I was following the events that were unfolding in Ireland with Joe Bidens visit to our shores. And his line to the 27,000-strong crowd that turned up in Mayo to witness his passionate riverside address: Family is the beginning, middle, and end  thats the Irish of it was an inspiring moment.

President Joe Biden in St Muredach's Cathedral, Ballina, Co Mayo. Picture: John O'Grady.

FAMILY IS EVERYTHING

As I read these words surrounded by Badjao families, I discovered a note from my daughter secretly stuffed in my pocket: Come home soon Dad, love you to Saturn and back.

Bidens words really hit me. Its something I have known for a long time, but at that moment, lying in a hammock in the evening, listening to the Badjao tribe lovingly interact with each other, the sun sinking like a ship into the Pacific outside, the soporific air lulling me into some sort of dream-like state as children played in the broken streets below, I was thinking about my own family of origin and the impact it had on me and who I became.

Having just finished a book on the importance of family, Bidens words had a profound impact on me at that moment. Family is everything.

The Grant Study, one of the longest studies into human happiness and life satisfaction, carried out by Harvard, ironically included the first American president to visit our shores in its cohort, JFK, found that life meaning and satisfaction is not in money or acquisition of objects but the level and depth of the relationships you have with those you love, family and friends.

Living with the Badjao tribe, who struggle with abject poverty, if you really observe them, you see how rich they are with how they love and support each other. They are all family, we are all family, connected through our humanity. We are all the same under an MRI, if we truly began to see each other like that how colourful and rich our world would be.

Family is everything, as far as I can see, its the meaning of life and we are all family.
The Irish mountaineer who died in the Himalayas was a former RUC close protection officer who once served as one of Bill Clintons bodyguards.

Noel Hanna, who was a highly experienced endurance athlete who had climbed Mount Everest 10 times, died on his way back down from Mount Annapurna in west Nepal.

The 56-year-old had reached the top of the 8,091m peak, which is one of the highest and most treacherous mountains in the world.

The bodyguard and fitness instructor was on his way down on Monday night when he died.

Climbers regard scaling Annapurna as a daunting challenge because of the frequent risk of avalanches. Before last season, only 369 people had reached the summit of Annapurna, while 72 had died climbing it.

According to the Kathmandu Post, his body was found lying at Camp IV, about 1,000m from the summit in an area prone to avalanches.

Two other climbers who went missing in the same area, one at Camp IV and the other some distance below at Camp III, have since been found alive.

Seven Summits Treks chairman Mingma Sherpa said Noel breathed his last in Camp IV.

He told news agency AFP: "His body has been brought down and flown to Kathmandu."

Kerry-based mountaineer, and friend, Pat Falvey told RTE: I got a text in from my people in Kathmandu which said Noel had passed away.

"His love and passion was about climbing big mountains.

"As a friend of mine once quoted, it was his cathedral, it was where he went to pray."

Bonita Norris, the youngest person to reach both the top of Everest and the North Pole, described him as Irelands greatest high altitude climber.

'Best of the best'

Noel was the best of the best," she said.

He taught me so much, which I will always take with me to the hills.

He was patient, funny, and totally obsessed with his wife Lynne and their dogs.

Noel told an interviewer in one of his many interviews that he was well aware of the risks he knew he was taking.

You know when you go away there is a chance youre not coming back but thats just the way we live and if you were to think about that every time you went out the door, then theres no point really living life, he said.

In an interview with the Belfast Telegraphs Sunday Life magazine, he said: "The only thing we are sure of is dying.

Ever since I was young, Ive always felt that since the day you are born, theres a nick in the calendar when you are going to die.

And should you live life to the extreme, or should you not go out the door, lightning will strike the house and you will get killed in the house, and thats been my motto for living life to the full.

He served as a police officer in the North for 15 years until 2002.

During one of Mr Clintons presidential visits to the North in the 1990s, he was assigned as one of his close protection officers.

Noel is survived by wife Lynne, 60, a former CEO of the Paris-based cosmetics giant Clarins.

Although they did not have children, the couple shared a passion for their three German Shepherd dogs Babu, Ruskie, and Buddha.
Trade union Siptu has sought an urgent meeting with Stryker on health and safety issues as a worker continues to fight for his life after a mini-explosion at one of its plants in Cork.

The news came this lunchtime just hours after the injured man's family asked people to pray for him.

Siptu, which raised health and safety concerns about the operations at Stryker's three plants in East Cork in 2021, said it is now seeking an urgent meeting with the company in the wake of Tuesdays incident at the companys Anngrove facility in the IDA business park in Carrigtwohill.

Two men were injured  one critically  in an apparent mini-explosion and fire as they worked on equipment on the roof of the plant just after 1pm.

The most seriously injured man, aged 41, suffered extensive burn and blast injuries to his head and upper body.

He was rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH) where he underwent emergency surgery and was placed on life support.

The second man was also taken to CUH for treatment for less serious and non-life-threatening burn injuries.

The Health and Safety Authority is investigating the incident.

Siptu said its members have expressed their deepest sympathies to the two men involved, and that their thoughts are with them and their families.

The two workers and their families are uppermost in our thoughts and all Siptu members at the plant wish them a speedy and full recovery from the serious injuries they suffered, Siptu sector organiser, Neil McGowan said.

We will await the outcome of an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority before we comment further on the incident.

We have today written to management seeking an urgent meeting to discuss the safety concerns of workers on the three Stryker sites in Carrigtwohill.

We want to ensure that the best safety systems possible are in place across the sites.

Siptu organiser, Allen Dillon, pointed out that Siptu members have previously raised health and safety concerns linked to Stykers operations in East Cork and that the union has been seeking engagement with management on these matters since 2019.

We want to take a collaborative approach in order to ensure the safest possible environment for all workers on the Cork sites, he said.

Stryker's Anngrove plant was in shutdown following the incident as an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) got underway

In a statement issued this morning on behalf of the family of the critically injured man, a spokesperson said his family received "the worst news yesterday afternoon" after the incident.

"He is a kind, mild-mannered family man, 41 years old, with a loving wife, a baby, a young child, and a stepson who are in his world." the statement said.

"He was living the perfect life until 1pm yesterday.

"His devoted parents, wife and siblings are devastated and keeping vigil at the hospital.

"He was in surgery until late last night and is on life support.

"Our extended family are heartbroken and feel helpless at the shocking turn of events."

In the statement to the Neil Prendeville Show on Cork's RedFM, the spokesperson said they wanted to portray the human side to the industrial incident in the hope that people would keep the injured man in their thoughts and prayers, and that he will pull through.

A second man who was injured in the incident was taken to hospital with less serious injuries.

Stryker issued a short statement confirming the incident, that two people had been injured and that it was cooperating with investigations, but it declined to answer a raft of questions about the exact nature of the incident, or whether it was linked to previous health and safety concerns raised by workers at the company.

Were committed to a safe and healthy work environment at all of our facilities. Were working closely with the authorities to investigate the incident, it said.

The Irish Examiner first reported in November 2021 how a group of workers had made a protected disclosure to the HSA about a raft of health and safety concerns in relation to operations at the three Stryker plants in East Cork.

The plant was in shutdown following the incident as an investigation by the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) got underway.

While the exact nature of the incident remains under investigation, it is understood it occurred while a person was working on the roof area of the plant.

Emergency services including the Cork County Fire Service, gardai, and the National Ambulance Service responded to the scene after the incident at around 1.15pm yesterday afternoon. The HSA confirmed it has launched an investigation into the incident.

The alarm was raised just after 1pm on Tuesday when Midleton fire brigade was asked to help with a medical emergency at Strykers Anngrove plant at the IDA Business Park in Carrigtwohill.

A spokesman for the county fire service said it was reported that one person had suffered burns while working on equipment which was located on the roof and that the fire was out.

However, in a statement later, Stryker confirmed that two people had been injured in the incident which it said was managed by the companys emergency response team with support from local emergency services.

'Safely evacuated'

Two people were transferred to the hospital and all others were safely evacuated from the facility, a spokesperson said.

Were committed to a safe and healthy work environment at all of our facilities. Were working closely with the authorities to investigate the incident.

It declined to answer a range of specific questions about the nature of the incident.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing thick black smoke pouring from the roof and hearing people screaming in pain. The plant was evacuated safely.

One fire appliance and an emergency tender responded. The fire crew remained at the scene for several hours.

Cork East Sinn Fein TD Pat Buckley, who helped to raise workers concerns about a raft of health and safety issues at Strykers plants in East Cork less than two years ago, said the stakes could not be higher after the two suffered suspected titanium burns in what one source described as a mini-explosion on the roof of one of the firm's Carrigtwohill plants on Tuesday.

Lives are at stake here now, Mr Buckley said.

The assurances we got from the company and the HSA two years ago that everything was fine can no longer be accepted.

We need a full and detailed health and safety review now. Lives depend on it.

It emerged that six workers from across the companys three East Cork sites, Tullagreen, Springhill, and Anngrove, had been raising health and safety concerns with the HSA for the previous three years.

The Irish Examiner revealed in November 2021 how the staff made a protected disclosure to the HSA in 2020 which included references to gas leaks, argon leaks, solvents escaping, several hospitalisations, plant evacuations, broken fire alarms, and faulty equipment.

"The standards are on the floor," one of the whistleblowers told the Irish Examiner.

"There's always a perception of production before everything else and its writ large, production before health.

Stryker at the time said it absolutely rejects any such allegations and insisted that it operates the highest level of health and safety processes and equipment rightly expected in any global medical device company.
Fuel prices are at their lowest price since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia  but are set to rise by around 20c per litre by the end of 2023.

Prices for oil, petrol and diesel all skyrocketed at the beginning of 2022 after production fell and sanctions were introduced following Vladimir Putin's invasion.

To combat that, the Government cut excise duty on March 9 of 2022.

The excise duty cut amounted to 20c per litre on petrol, 15c per litre on diesel and 2c on marked gas oil.

Now, the prices at the pumps have fallen as far as they were prior to the war in Ukraine. At the peak of the crisis brought on by the war, motorists were paying an average of 2.13 per litre of petrol and 2.05 per litre of diesel last June, according to the AA.

The average petrol price across the state is now 1.59, the lowest since September 2021. Diesel fuel has dropped significantly, with the average at 1.51, 9% less than in March 2023, a survey from AA Ireland found.

Data from Pumps.ie shows these average prices mirrored in many areas in Cork with garages such as the Top in Ballinspittle, the Maxol on Glasheeen Road and the Circle K on the Commons Road in Blackpool all around the 1.59 mark for petrol.

In recent days, however, this rose to as high as 1.65 per litre at the Maxol at Shean Lower in Blarney, according to the website.

AA Ireland spokesman Paddy Comyn said: "We have not seen prices this low for petrol and diesel since September 2021, well before the start of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which led to a dramatic increase in fuel prices internationally."

However, fuel prices are set to rise with the Government confirming earlier this year that the excise duty would be phased back into the prices in stages.

Rates will be restored on June 1 by 6c per litre of petrol, 5c per litre of diesel and 1c per litre of gas oil.

September 1 will see rates increase by a further 7c for petrol, 5c for diesel and 1c for gas oil.

They will be fully restored on October 31 with an increase of 8c for petrol, 6c for diesel and 3c for gas oil.

Mr Comyn added: "Motorists wont be able to enjoy these prices for too long, however. We already know that unless prices fall again, then petrol will be back up to around 1.80 per litre and diesel to 1.76 per litre by the end of October. Which were the same as at the start of the Ukraine conflict."

In a recent Dail debate, Sinn Fein finance spokesperson Pearse Doherty said that by the time the tax cut is phased out the price will be higher than it was before the initial reduction.

Is this something the Government is willing to keep under review if prices start to creep up to 2 and beyond?, he asked. Would the Government look at this measure again?

In response, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said the Government had agreed a phased restoration of the excise tax rate through to October with an associated cost of around 383 million.

To answer the Deputy's question directly, no, he said.

We are legislating so it is our intention to proceed in line with the legislation, although of course we always keep everything under review.

"I am not giving any specific commitment on whether we would make a change if prices come in at a certain level. We keep everything under review including this issue, but our intention is to proceed in line with the way that we are intending to legislate here today.
Abdoulaye Bathily (on screen), Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, briefs the Security Council meeting on the situation in Libya, October 2022.

Against the backdrop of a fragile human rights landscape, a "new dynamic" of cooperation among Libyan leaders provides much-needed momentum as the country prepares for elections later this year, the UN Secretary-General's Special Representative told the Security Council on Tuesday.

"There has been a new dynamic in Libya," Abdoulaye Bathily said, urging authorities to meet the people's expectation that they will be able to choose new leaders via the ballot box, and deliver on all their commitments. "All international partners should support the current momentum and speak with one voice on Libyan matters."

"Intensive consultations have taken place amongst security actors; institutional and political leaders have also taken action to move the political process forward," he said, providing a snapshot of developments since he last briefed the Council in February.

Indeed, the international community should remain mobilized and vigilant to further enable the activity of Libya's institutions and political actors towards elections, the Special Representative said.

Tense security landscape

While the overall security situation remains tense, the ceasefire continues to hold and there were positive developments on cooperation between the Libyan Army under the control of the internationally-recognized Government and the rival Libyan National Army, and on the withdrawal of foreign fighters and mercenaries, said Mr. Bathily, who also heads the UN mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

On the issue of the return of foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya, the Special Representative travelled to Chad, Niger, and Sudan to discuss with leaders there, how best to improve conditions to make that happen.

"The withdrawal of foreign fighters should be conducted in a coordinated, sequenced and synchronised manner to ensure that they do not become a threat to the security of their home countries," he said, adding that the process should also contribute to combatting terrorism, illegal gold mining, human and drug trafficking and all forms of criminality affecting border areas.

Outlining progress on a number of other fronts, he said the active mobilization of all those with a vested interest in the political future, including the Presidential Council, the Government, the House of Representatives and the High State Council, is key to achieving consensus on political matters, security issues as well as questions pertaining to the participation of women and youth.

Human rights restrictions

During the reporting period, civic space was further restricted, and operations of civil society organizations deemed illegal, he said.

Pointing to recent human rights reports recommending further efforts to combat impunity, he urged Libyan authorities to rise to their obligations, ensure accountability, and provide more space for the action of civil society organizations.

'Unique opportunity'

Turning to the electoral process, he said it offers a unique opportunity to mobilize the entire country to ensure peaceful, inclusive, free, and fair elections.

In this vein, he said he engaged key Libyan political leaders through "shuttle diplomacy" to seek common ground and encourage them to make compromises that will "clear a path to elections".

"They all expressed their readiness to discuss the parameters of the organization of elections," he said, welcoming their commitment and calling for the translation of their engagement into concrete steps on the ground. "This action will continue and intensify as relevant actors will need to negotiate and agree on the most contentious issues pertaining to the holding of inclusive elections this year."

Confidence-building gains

For purposes of promoting national solidarity, furthering national reconciliation, strengthening the ceasefire, and mobilizing all armed actors for election security, the Special Representative said he has facilitated the 5+5 Joint Military Commission's engagement with Libyan security and military actors, including other armed groups from the country's three regions.

"These meetings were of great symbolic value on the path to reconciling and unifying the country," he said, urge political actors to follow the example set by military and security leaders. "As a result, on 8 April, Libyan National Army authorities released six detainees from western Libya as a confidence-building measure."

'Peaceful competition of visions'

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Several rounds of consultations in Tripoli, Benghazi, and Sebha, with Libyans representing civil society, women, youth, and political parties, had amplified their views on elections and demands for greater inclusion, he said.

"It is vital for the success of elections that all parts of Libyan society are involved and have their voices heard, and that the electoral campaign provides an opportunity for a peaceful competition of visions and programmes and not an occasion that triggers hate speech and violence," he said.

UNSMIL provided technical expertise for preparing election laws alongside support to the "6+6 Committee" of the House of Representatives and High State Council, he said, urging leaders of both chambers to expedite efforts and publish a timebound work programme.

Intensifying mediation

For its part, he said, UNSMIL will intensify its facilitation and mediation, through the multiple, interdependent, and mutually reinforcing axes of the mission's comprehensive approach, to support the realization of all political, legal, and security requirements so elections can go ahead, later this year.
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as extraordinary.

Addressing the event at Queens University in Belfast, Mrs Clinton said she had received messages from people around the world.

Her remarks come ahead of an address by British prime minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-British prime minister Tony Blair, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mrs Clinton said: I want to thank everyone for the last extraordinary days of events.

I have heard from people from the United States to Singapore, we have heard from the architects of the Good Friday Agreement about the challenges they encountered and the solutions they built.

We have had a chance to reflect on what has been achieved and to really honour all of the citizens of Northern Ireland who made the peace possible.

We also recognise the impact of those who often go unrecognised, the many women of Northern Ireland who were crucial to the agreements inception and its longevity.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, paid tribute to the peace accord for ending conflict in Northern Ireland.

He said it took strength and courage, and people being able to listen to each other and shake hands despite past divisions.

Congressman Joe Kennedy III said peace and prosperity were linked (Brian Lawless/PA)

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, especially when we look at the arc of human history, full of conflicts that continue to divide people leading to intense suffering generation after generation.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

US envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, whose remit is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, earlier emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Hillary Clinton attended an education event in Limavady (Niall Carson/PA)

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
Gardai are investigating after skeletal remains were discovered at a building site in Dublin on Wednesday morning.

The area, in Clonshaugh, Dublin 17, has now been sealed off for a technical examination.
A 72-year-old man was approached by a garda because of his drunken behaviour in Cork City and when asked for his name said it was Prince Charles.

He later complained that the garda was "a disgrace" for arresting Prince Charles.

Garda Alan ODonovan gave evidence in the case against Michael Ambrose at Cork District Court.

The case was listed for hearing but Ambrose failed to appear so Judge Olann Kelleher said the case could go ahead in his absence.

Garda ODonovan testified that the incident occurred after 2am on November 29, 2022.

Garda ODonovan found him out in the middle of MacCurtain Street. He was asked to walk onto the footpath and did so but then stumbled back out onto the road.

The garda then required him to give his name.

He gave his name as Prince Charles, Garda ODonovan testified.

There was a strong smell of intoxicating liquor from the accused and he was arrested and charged for being intoxicated to such an extent that he was a danger to himself or others.

Ambrose was also charged him with failing to give his name and address when required.

When I arrested him and charged and cautioned him he told me I was a disgrace for arresting Prince Charles, the witness said.

Sergeant John Kelleher said the accused had no previous convictions.

Judge Olann Kelleher convicted and fined him 150 for being drunk and a danger, and 100 for refusing to give his details.
University College Cork (UCC) and the University of Limerick (UL) are among four colleges that are being given 25m each in Government funding to refurbish buildings.

The capital investment, announced under the second round of the Higher Education Strategic Investment Fund by Higher Education Minister Simon Harris, is part of ongoing investment in the education sector through Project Ireland 2040.

UCC's 25m is for the redevelopment of the Kane Science Building, while UL's funding will go towards the refurbishment and extension of its Main Building, originally built in the late 1970s.

A further 25m in funding has been given to both Trinity College and University College Dublin for the Trinity South Renewal Project and the O'Brien Centre for Science respectively.

Mr Harris said: "These projects will help support the creation of approximately 21,000sq m of new build and over 51,000sq m of reimagined and refurbished space. They will also assist the creation of enhanced capacity to support over 8,500 whole-time equivalent student places in higher education institutions, across Stem, social sciences, science and multi-disciplinary areas.

He said the projects would contribute to Ireland becoming recognised internationally as a leading knowledge economy.

UCC president Professor John OHalloran, said: "This is wonderful news for Stem at UCC and for our region and national economy. The Kane Building has seen many wonderful scientists and students work within it over many generations and this funding secures the future of a building which plays such a pivotal role in helping us develop excellent graduates and expand our world-class research.

UL president Professor Kerstin May said: "We very much welcome this vital funding award from the Government which will allow us to complete a full transformation of the Main Building and its surrounding places. This is a key project for us and the future development of the university.

The project has been informed by the principles of sustainability, inclusivity and will deliver a healthy and empowered environment for learners and staff."

Ms May said the project would include the development of "digitally enhanced active learner spaces" and works to "regenerate and reconnect existing spaces to make them fit for purpose in line with advanced pedagogies and further embracing a research-led culture".

Climate action targets will also be assisted by the redevelopment, she noted, with the Main Building being "one of the poorest performing" in terms of C02 emissions.
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has again refused to rule out running for president.

Mr Ahern dismissed that he was playing up to speculation he may run for president when put to him that he will not say whether he is intending to run or not.

Ill give you the reason. Weve a convention in this country that the presidential election starts about three to four months out from the election, he told the Irish Examiner.

Mr Ahern is at Queens University Belfast on Wednesday for a conference to mark the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to give a keynote speech to an audience which includes British prime minister Rishi Sunak, European Commission president Ursula van der Leyen, European Council president Charles Michel, and former US president Bill Clinton.

When asked about the DUPs continued position to obstruct power-sharing in Northern Ireland, Mr Ahern said he was not on the side of pressurising people.

The whole thing for 25 years is that it was inclusive and we try and keep people together and when one party has problems we try and work and encourage them, try and find solutions and I think thats the same, he said.

Im not on the side of pressurising people to death, that has never worked. In fact it normally works the other way up here, I found out that the hard way.

So I think its encouragement, persuasion, the party argument, trying to find solutions, thats the way to go, he added.
The ongoing events to mark the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Good Friday Agreement have included marches, civic events, international conferences, and even a US presidential visit.

We will soon learn what role, if any, these will play in the restoration of the Good Friday Agreement power-sharing institutions and whether they will help cement  and assuage  the myriad hopes, fears, desires, and protections expressed and interwoven in that historic document.

The anniversary has already prompted voluminous commentary  and some inevitable finger-pointing  on why these institutions have collapsed, again.

Commentary that inevitably asks why the hoped-for nirvana (or 'normality' as most commentators like to call it) of cross-community and cross-border peace, co-operation, reconciliation, and prosperity has not yet been achieved.

While there are inevitably disagreements as to who exactly is to blame for that, most commentators settle on the conclusion that the restoration of devolved government and other cross-border institutions will be necessary if all the hopes and aspirations invested in the GFA have any hope of being achieved in the decades ahead.

Less prominent  and worryingly so  in much of the commentary (particularly in the south), however, is an acknowledgement and understanding that true and lasting peace, an end to sectarianism, and greater shared prosperity will not be achieved in the debating chambers of Stormont, the Dail, or Westminster.

They will only be achieved if any such political will is mirrored and reflected on the streets and in working-class communities which make up cities and towns such as Belfast, Portadown, Derry, and Lurgan.

Yes, we and they have all enjoyed the fruits of peace and seen an end to what was then the regular and needless slaughter of loved ones as a result of sectarian and armed conflict in this country.

But it is also time to ask if many of the communities worst affected by that slaughter have  in any real sense  seen their hopes and desires for improved cross-community relations, educational and employment opportunities, and enhanced living conditions realised to the same extent.

The importance of asking that question is perhaps highlighted best with reference to the writings and work of two Irish people who rose to prominence in the same city, but who were from very different eras and backgrounds.

The first is Derry native, Irish grandee, and Nobel Laureate, the late John Hume.

Former SDLP leader, the late John Hume, pictured in 2002. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan/Collins

It was at his behest that in 1995  three years before the signing of the Good Friday Agreement  US president Bill Clinton travelled to the North and Derry City to lend his support to the formative peace negotiations that were going on at the time; talks that would ultimately lead to the signing of the GFA.

I was a cub reporter with the Derry Journal at the time, and so watched on enviously as senior editors, reporters, and photographers emptied the office to cover his historic visit. I, meanwhile, was putting the finishing touches to a weekly on-street vox pop that I had taken outside the city's historic Guildhall the day before.

Some 24 hours later, and the US president was addressing the people of Derry from the same location with what was, unquestionably, a powerful speech.

"My friends, everyone in life at some point has to decide what kind of person he or she is going to be," he said. "Are you going to be someone who defines yourself in terms of what you are against, or what you are for? Will you be someone who defines yourself in terms of who you aren't, or who you are?"

Thought-provoking stuff, but it was words uttered by John Hume, in his introduction to Mr Clinton, which resonated most with me and are perhaps those which verbalise best the real challenge facing us all in the decades ahead as we attempt to realise all the hopes and aspirations which underpinned the signing of the GFA some 25 years ago.

He told the crowd: "The economic problems that we face today unite all sections of our people ... and as we move to the next century, let it be our dream to build a new land ... a land where, for the first time in our history, there will be no killing in our streets, and no emigration of our young people to other lands."

Little did Mr Hume know that 24 years after he spoke those words, and 21 years after the signing of the GFA, one of those young people, a journalist in his own city, would be killed by a stray bullet which found its way to her during riots by disaffected republicans and young people in one of the most disadvantaged areas of the city.

Belfast Journalist Lyra McKee. Picture: Jess Lowe/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

It is in Lyra McKee's words that perhaps we find the answer to what will see the eventual fulfilment of all the hopes and promises of the Good Friday Agreement.

"I dont care much for a stronger union or a united Ireland," she wrote.

I just want a better life  and I think most people just want a better life."

Perhaps, if his visit has achieved nothing else, the clear love and admiration Mr Biden has for Irish poets and thinkers will prompt us at home to also extol and respect the words of our own Irish heroes and perhaps, God forbid, actually listen and realise them.

Dolan O'Hagan is the Irish Examiners Digital Products and Projects Editor. He lived in Derry City and Belfast from 1982-1999.
The news that the European Union ambassador to Sudan, Aidan OHara, was assaulted in his home in Khatrtoum on Monday was shocking. Obviously it is all the more resonant for readers because OHara is Irish  a career diplomat who served in the Department of Foreign Affairs for many years before moving to represent the EU.

At the time of writing the indications were that OHara was not seriously hurt  the Tanaiste said he was in good shape  which is the first and most important point to make.
China has offered to organise peace talks between Israel and Palestine, according to the Asian giants foreign ministry.

Ministry statements said foreign minister Qin Gang expressed Chinas concerns over rising tensions and support for renewed peace talks in phone calls with his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts.

In March, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016  an outcome Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

Palestinians burn tires and wave the national flag during a protest against an Israeli police raid of the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound last month (Adel Hana/AP)

In a statement about their call, Mr Qin told Israeli foreign minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set an example of overcoming differences through dialogue.

He told Mr Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks.

China is willing to provide convenience for this, he was quoted as saying.

Israel and Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks in more than a decade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus government is committed to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank  which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace  and several of his key allies are staunchly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

China is willing to provide convenience for this

Mr Cohen expressed his countrys commitment to reducing tensions, but conveyed the threat that we see in Irans nuclear program and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Mr Qin told Palestinian foreign affairs minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.

Violence in Israel and the West Bank has increased after an Israeli police raid on Jerusalems most sensitive holy site, the compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque.
The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital has risen to 29, including 26 patients, authorities have said.

A nurse, a medical assistant and a family member also died, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of the Fengtai district.

The fire at the private Changfeng Hospital that broke out on Tuesday afternoon forced dozens of people to evacuate, and prompted some of those who were trapped to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.

Dozens of patients were evacuated during a fire (AP)

The cause of the fire is under investigation, but officials say they believe it originated from welding sparks from work being carried out in the hospitals inpatient wing.

Authorities have detained 12 people, including the hospitals head and her deputy, along with the head of the construction crew.

A total of 39 people are being treated for injuries, three of whom are in a critical condition, officials said.

Rescue crews and medical staff from around the city were mobilised, with squads plucking some of the 142 people who were evacuated from air conditioning units on the buildings exterior.
German police have released a description of a suspect wanted in connection with a knife attack at a gym in the western city of Duisburg that left four men seriously wounded.

Police said that witnesses interviewed after the attack late on Tuesday described the man as being about 30 years old, 5ft 11in, of normal build and with a long black beard.

They added that witnesses said he had southern appearance  a term sometimes used in Germany to describe people of Mediterranean origin  and wore a long-sleeved pullover, dark trousers and a black baseball cap.

Ambulances on duty in front of the health club in Duisburg (dpa via AP)

Police said the four victims are German citizens aged 21, 32 and two aged 24.

One of the victims remains in a life-threatening condition, police said.

They added that officers were not yet able to interview any of the victims, meaning the description of the suspected attacker could not yet be verified.

Authorities have asked members of the public with any information about the attack to get in touch and submit relevant photos or videos.

A search is under way for the man responsible (dpa via AP)

Police said that a stabbing or cutting weapon was used in the attack at the gym, which is part of the John Reed Fitness chain.

The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted the incident and expressed hope that the victims would recover quickly.

Last month, a gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovahs Witness hall in the northern Germany city of Hamburg, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived.
opinion

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. Robinah Nabbanja dated April 3, 2023, H.E President Yoweri Museveni has vowed to take political action against all ministers that took Karamoja iron sheets that were meant for the Karachuna.

The president's pronouncement comes as a major reassurance to all sections of society that awaited his response since the 'mabbati saga' came into public domain.

The president termed the diversion of mabaati by Ministers and giving them to people or institutions in their constituencies as 'political corruption'.

He goes ahead and advises the ministers that were consciously involved to take personal responsibility and pay back the value of the mabaati they took.

Corruption is a major problem that has plagued our country for decades and though there are mechanisms to fight it, many still believe that more can be done.

This belief has eroded public trust in government, and undermined the rule of law.

Recently, fighting corruption has become a top priority for President Museveni, playing a crucial role in making sure that the culprits are brought to book.

As the head of state, he has the power and influence to enact policies and create a culture of transparency and accountability.

Hon. Mary Goretti Kitutu, the Minister for Karamoja spent Easter in jail whereas Amos Lugoloobi, the State Minister for Finance is also at Luzira because of their involvement and there is hope that more leaders will follow suit.

According to the office of the Director of public Prosecutions, seven more files of ministers cited in the mabaati saga have been received and according to deputy public relations officer of the office, these files will be handled urgently.

This strong stance against corruption amongst the top leadership of the country has elicited a variety of emotions from Ugandans.

Right now, Ugandans who have long been frustrated with the pervasive corruption in the country feel a renewed sense of hope seeing government taking concrete actions to fight it.

Finally there is hope for change and that Uganda can start to move in a positive direction.

This is a necessary step towards a more just and equitable society, and most people are willing to lend their voices to support this cause.

President Museveni should be applauded for his constant stance against corruption and he has demonstrated this with various initiatives he has put in place.

Firstly, the head of state acting under Article 99 (4) of the Constitution established the State House Anti-corruption Unit with a view of obtaining speedy resolution to corruption complaints.

True to their mandate, the mabaati story was the work of a whistle-blower and State House Anti corruption Unit.

With adequate resources to carry out its duties effectively, this unit is independent of the government and reports directly to the head of state. This has ensured that corrupt officials are held accountable for their actions, regardless of their position within the government and have been applauded for their involvement in exposing corruption tendencies.

Secondly, the head of state has allowed mechanisms that strengthens anti-corruption measures. Legislation with provisions for the disclosure of assets by public officials, protection for whistleblowers, and harsh penalties for those found guilty of corruption are already in place.

This, including strengthening of existing laws and ensuring that they are enforced sends a strong message that corruption will not be tolerated in this country.

Thirdly, government promotes transparency and accountability in her operations. This has been done through encouraging public participation in decision-making processes, and ensuring that government officials are held accountable for their actions.

The parliament's Public Accounts Committee COSASE has done a great job in exposing Auditor General's reports on performance of government agencies and ensuring that these agencies are accountable to the public.

Alot more has been put in place to fight corruption like the use of technology in fighting corruption. This includes the use of electronic procurement systems, which can reduce the opportunities for corruption in government procurement processes.

President Museveni has also embraced the use of social media and other digital platforms to increase transparency and accountability in government operations.

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Uganda promotes a culture of ethics and integrity in government through ethics training for government officials, promoting the values of transparency and accountability, and creating an environment where honesty and integrity are valued.

More needs to be done but since there is political will, alot will be salvaged.

Therefore, for someone to collect public property meant for vulnerable persons and take for personal use must be strongly condemned.

The president rightly referred to this category of ministers as 'thieves' and must be handled by the police under the criminal Laws of Uganda.

He goes ahead to promise political action against all those involved after police investigations. What a time to be alive.

Fighting corruption in a country like Uganda is complex and challenging.

However, all measures, if implemented effectively, can go a long way in reducing corruption and improving the lives of citizens.
Ukraines defence minister said his country has received the US-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved, and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian strikes during the war.

Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet: Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine.

Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion.

The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.

Russia has used that weaponry to bombard Ukraine, including residential areas and civilian infrastructure, especially the power supply over the winter.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late on Tuesday that delivery of the system would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Patriot missile launchers deployed in Warsaw, Poland (Michal Dyjuk/AP)

Mr Reznikov thanked the people of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many systems had been delivered, or when they arrived.

Germanys federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine, and German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to legislators in Berlin.

Mr Reznikov said he had first asked for Patriot systems when he visited the US in August 2021, five months before the full-scale invasion by the Kremlins forces and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula.

He described possessing the system as a dream, but said he was told in the US at the time that it was impossible.

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which requires as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Mr Reznikov wrote.

A part of a Russian rocket is seen in an agricultural field as a farmer works on a tractor during the sowing campaign in the Zaporizhzhia region (AP)

Experts have cautioned that the systems effectiveness is limited, and it may not be a game changer in the war, even though it will add to Ukraines arsenal against its enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the US in the 1980s. The system costs approximately four million dollars (3.22 million) per round and the launchers cost about 10 million dollars (8 million) each, analysts say.

At such a cost, it is not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the far smaller and cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were injured in Ukraine on Tuesday and overnight, the press office of Ukraines defence ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian air strike on a border town in the north-eastern Kharkiv region, its governor Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraines southern Kherson region, its governor Oleksandr Prokudin said, killing one civilian at a market in the centre of Kherson, the regions namesake capital, and a nearby school.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired night-time exploding drones at Ukraines southern Odesa region.
French President Emmanuel Macron has braved hecklers who shouted for him to resign as he threw himself into the uphill task of repairing damage done to his presidency by forcing through unpopular pension reforms.

The visit to eastern France, close to the border with Germany, was part of a concerted new effort by Mr Macron and his government to put the furore caused by the pension change behind him.

Raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 has ignited a months-long firestorm of protest in France.

The climate of discontent threatens Mr Macrons ability to get some other planned policies through in the remaining four years of his second and last term.

French President Emmanuel Macron meets residents in Selestat, eastern France (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

He got to see first-hand how unhappy people still are when he mingled among a crowd in the town of Selestat.

One man who shook his hand did not hold back and told Mr Macron that his government is corrupt  a claim that the president immediately denied.

Youll soon fall. Youll see, the man said.

Working his way along the crowd, which was kept back by a metal barrier, Mr Macron argued for his pension reform but also acknowledged that it was unpopular.

It doesnt make anyone happy to work more and for longer, he said.

Still, he insisted that he would not be cowed from mixing with people.

Ive known worse, he said.

In the background, some shouted Macron, resign, or intoned a song that has become an anthem of the retirement protests.

French President Emmanuel Macron, right, talks to employees during a visit to Mathis, a company specialising in large wooden buildings, in Muttersholtz, eastern France (Ludovic Marin, Pool via AP)

Earlier on Wednesday, during a visit to a company specialising in wooden buildings, Mr Macron was met by a more silent protest.

Legislator Emmanuel Fernandes, of the far-left France Unbowed party, appeared wearing a gag over his mouth bearing the number 49-3, in reference to the constitutional article that the government used to force the new pension age through parliament without a vote.

The hard-left CGT union plans scattered protest actions on Thursday, and all of Frances main unions plan new nationwide protests on May 1 to coincide with International Workers Day.
An 84-year-old white man accused of shooting Ralph Yarl, a black teenager, in the US state of Missouri has pleaded not guilty during his first court appearance.

Andrew Lester was in court to answer charges of first-degree assault and armed criminal action in the shooting, which has attracted presidential attention and renewed national debate about gun policies.

Lester turned himself in on Tuesday and was later released on bail after agreeing to relinquish any weapons and have no contact with Ralph or his family.

He also agreed to have his mobile phone monitored.

Andrew Lester (Clay County Sheriffs Office via AP)

The Kansas City case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places.

A 20-year-old woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway.

In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a car thinking it was hers.

Ralph was shot at point-blank range in the head but miraculously survived the bullet, his familys lawyer said on Tuesday.

Some civil rights leaders have urged prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime, an action lawyer Lee Merritt said was warranted in Ralphs shooting because he was armed only with his black skin.

Lester could face up to life in prison on the assault charge if convicted.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime allowing a longer sentence than a hate crime charge would.

Though activists have called for the US Department of Justice to investigate, it was unclear whether it would do so.

Ralph Yarl (Ben Crump Law via AP)

The shooting happened at about 10pm local time on Thursday.

Police chief Stacey Graves said that Ralphs mother asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Ralph, an honours student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a street away from where he meant to be.

When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and used a .32 calibre Smith and Wesson 1888 revolver to shoot Ralph in the forehead, then in the right forearm.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw Ralph on the porch because he thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterwards, as Ralph got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Mr Merritt said Ralph is hardly an imposing figure.

The question is, at 5ft 8in and 140 pounds, what did Andrew Lester look out and see? Mr Merritt asked at a city centre rally on Tuesday.

Graffiti is seen on the house where 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot when he went to the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers in Kansas City (Charlie Riedel/AP)

And the answer is he saw a black person. And for him, that was enough justification. And that would just be a tragedy except law enforcement agreed with him.

Ralph ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, according to court documents.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country.

President Joe Biden spoke with Ralph on Monday, and on Tuesday invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Mr Biden tweeted.

Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Republican governor Mike Parson, who had remained silent on the shooting until Wednesday, accused Mr Biden of politicising it.

People attend a rally to support Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri (Charlie Riedel/AP)

I dont want some 16-year-old kid to be getting shot because he went to the wrong house  we just dont want those kinds of things to happen. Its a tragedy, Mr Parson told the Kansas City Star.

When the president of the United States is trying to make a political statement over a very serious tragedy, it is very unfortunate.

Mr Thompson, the prosecutor, said on Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting.

He did not elaborate.

Mr Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Mr Thompson.

The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously there is a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Mr Merritt, who called the answer shallow.
Burma Fighting Continues After Myanmar Junta Convoy Crushed in Chin State

Chin National Army cadets at a graduation parade. / Chinland Information Center

Fierce fighting is continuing in Hakha Township, Chin State, in response to the destruction of a Myanmar junta convoy by resistance forces.

The 30-truck junta convoy was defended by two armored vehicles when it left Kale in Sagaing Region in early March to reinforce Chin States capital Hakha but Chin resistance groups weakened it with repeated ambushes.

Last Thursday, the remaining vehicles were destroyed or disabled near Chuncung village about 16km from Hakha.

The convoy originally had around 200 troops but was reduced to about 40 soldiers and 12 vehicles before the final ambush. Resistance groups used drones and landmines, destroying or disabling the two armored vehicles and the remaining trucks, according to resistance groups. Some junta troops escaped to the village on Thursday, groups said.

The junta sent around 100 reinforcements in four vehicles from Hakha following the attack, according to the Chinland Joint Defense Committee.

The fighting continues with the troops who are temporarily stationed in Chuncung and the junta forces advancing from Hakha to Chuncung, Chin National Front spokesman Salai Htet Ni said.

During the clashes on Monday, a resistance fighter was killed and two injured, he said.

The Chin media reported that three junta soldiers were killed and ammunition seized on Monday. The Irrawaddy could not independently verify the reports.

The junta has retaliated with shelling, airstrikes and arson attacks in Chin State. Some houses in Chuncung have reportedly been burned by junta forces.

A resistance fighter told The Irrawaddy that anti-regime forces are preparing to ambush the reinforcements from Hakha.
Burma Myanmar Junta Troops Seize Hospital Patients, Torch Villages in Magwe Region

Junta troops and a military transport helicopter during a drill. / Junta Website

At least 30 people including hospital patients were detained and thousands of residents forced to flee their homes when regime aircraft and infantry attacked a village in Myaing Township, Magwe Region on Tuesday, according to local news sources and a junta website.

At 11 am on Tuesday, regime troops dropped by two transport helicopters raided Magyi Kan village in the north of the township while a Russian-made MI 35 helicopter gunship attacked the village, said local news site We Love Myaing, which monitors the regimes atrocities in the township.

Regime forces arrested patients who were being treated at the hospital in the village along with their caregivers. Some civilians were also shot dead by the junta troops during the raid, according to the local news site.

The Irrawaddy has been unable to independently confirm the reports.

Thousands of residents from Magyi Kan and nearby villages were forced to flee as regime troops torched their houses and buildings.

In a statement on Tuesday, the junta said that following a tip-off about PDF terrorist bases in the area, it raided Magyi Kan and the adjacent Kan Gyi village.

The junta did not mention its airstrikes and arson attacks on the villages, but said it had detained 30 people, 20 of them women, suspected of having links to resistance groups.

It claimed a large quantity of explosives and uniforms with the logo Peoples Defense Force Myaing were also seized from the clinic, along with three vehicles, and five motorbikes.

The regime also claimed its troops seized an improvised grenade, a vehicle, and 15 motorbikes from the school during their raid on nearby Kan Gyi Village.

A resistance leader of Myaing PDF announced on Facebook on Wednesday that he and all his comrades had escaped the junta raid but confirmed the loss of ammunition.

On Wednesday morning, MI 35 helicopter gunships returned to attack on Magyi Kan village while regime forces torched the remaining houses, the We Love Myaing group reported.

Earlier, on April 8 and 9, a military detachment burned down nearly 50 houses during raids on two villages in the south of Myaing Township and abducted and killed a 37 year-old-resident suffering from mental illness.
Burma Myanmar Military Raids Pazi Gyi Village Again

Pazi Gyi villagers flee raiding junta troops on Tuesday.

Myanmar junta troops on Wednesday raided Pazi Gyi Village in Kantbalu Township, Sagaing Regionwhich last week suffered the deadliest ever air strike by the Myanmar militaryresulting in nearly 10,000 displaced villagers from the area being forced to flee once again, according to residents.

Around 200 regime troops from Sabel Nago Village in Mandalay Region traveled to Ma Lae Village in Kantbalu Township on Thursday night. Then, the troops headed to Pazi Gyi Village, which is 6.4 km from Ma Lae, on Wednesday morning, according to a resident.

An Mi-35 helicopter and jet fighter flew over while the troops were heading to Pazi Gyi Village this afternoon, a resident told The Irrawaddy.

Due to the regime raids, displaced villagers have been forced to move from the places where they are currently sheltering.

The troops are currently in our village. We dont know what they will do next, a Pazi Gyi villager told The Irrawaddy.

A military jet fighter dropped two bombs on a house in Pazi Gyi where a housewarming ceremony was being held on April 11.

More than 170 civilians including 42 children were killed and 30 injured in the regime air strike. The attack was followed by several rounds of gunfire from an Mi-35 combat helicopter.

The regime raid on the village a week after launching the deadly air strike has left the residents worried and scared.

Ko Thura, a spokesperson for the Kantbalu Peoples Security Force, said the regime troops are currently stationed at the Pazi Gyi Village monastery.

I think they will try to erase the traces left by their air strike in Pazi Gyi, Ko Thura told The Irrawaddy.

A resident said regime troops searched civilian houses but havent torched them. They have arrested Pazi Gyi villagers, forcing them to falsely testify that the villagers were not killed in a military air strike.

After arresting the villagers, they might force them to say that the villagers were killed by their own mines. I think thats why they came to arrest the villagers, a resident told The Irrawaddy.

Currently, along with those from Pazi Gyi, villagers from Htan Taw, Lay Twin Zin, Kyaut Lone Gyi, Zin Chaung and six other villages are once again fleeing as a result of the raid.
War Against the Junta More Than a Dozen Myanmar Junta Troops Killed in Four Days of Resistance Attacks

Resistance fighters of Venom Column during an operation in Karen State / Venom Column

Over a dozen Myanmar junta troops were killed in the last four days as Peoples Defense Forces (PDFs) and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) continued to attack regime targets and bases.

In one case, resistance forces bombed a military weapons factory in Magwe.

Incidents were reported in Magwe, Sagaing and Mandalay regions and Karen and Mon states.

The Irrawaddy has rounded up the following reports of significant attacks from PDFs and EAOs.

Some military casualty figures could not be independently verified.

Junta weapons factory bombed in Magwe

Some regime forces were believed to have been killed or injured in Seik Phyu Township, Magwe Region on Sunday when Minbu District PDF Battalion bombed the No. 21 Military Weapons Factory in Kansumma Village, said the Defense Ministry of Myanmars civilian National Unity Government (NUG).

The PDF forces used improvised rocket launchers to fire artillery rounds and explosives at the factory.

A factory building was destroyed in the attack, the Defense Ministry claimed. On April 8, other PDF groups managed to destroy a power line supplying electricity to the No. 22 Military Weapons Factory in the same township.

On April 10, the PDF forces conducted drone strikes and bombardments against 15 junta troops who were repairing the power line, killing two soldiers and injuring three, the civilian Defense Ministry said.

Junta base seized by resistance group in Sagaing

The NUGs Defense Ministry claimed that one of its armed wings, Yinmabin District PDF Battalion 1, managed to seize a junta base on Tower Taing Hill in Kani Township, Sagaing Region on Monday.

About 30 junta soldiers were stationed at the base. During the raid, around 16 weapons and some ammunition were seized by the resistance forces, said the ministry.

Local media also reported that there were some military casualties while other soldiers escaped after abandoning the base.

Military column ambushed while attacking village in Sagaing

Khin U Region Defense Alliance Force said it and five other PDF groups jointly used four clusters totaling 16 land mines to ambush 120 junta troops in Khin U Township, Sagaing Region on Tuesday.

The regime forces were ambushed with land mines while rounding up residents and attacking Magyi Oak Village in the township. A shootout broke out between the PDF forces and the junta troops.

In the ambush, three regime forces are believed to have been killed, the PDF group said.

Military base attacked in Sagaing

Eagle Defense Force (EDF) claimed it and other local resistance groups used over 30 improvised rounds including 60-mm to 120-mm explosives to attack a junta base in Monywa town, Sagaing Region at 3 a.m. on Tuesday.

The attack was in response to junta air strikes against Pazi Gyi Village in Sagaings Kantbalu Township, which killed around 160 civilians including dozens of children and women.



PDF fighters fire improvised mortar rounds while attacking a military base in Monywa town on Tuesday morning. / EDF

During the attack, the regime base responded with heavy explosives and junta troops approached the resistance forces position. A PDF fighter was injured in an accident while handling explosives. However, all PDF fighters managed to escape from the area.

Military casualties were unknown.

Regime forces celebrating Thingyan bombed by PDF drones in Sagaing

Combined PDF groups conduct drone strikes against regime forces in Sagaing Region in recent days. / CDSOM

The Civilian Defense and Security Organization of Myaung (CDSOM) claimed to have killed three regime forces and injured 17 others when it and other PDF groups used drones to drop six bombs on a pavilion where regime forces and pro-junta Pyu Saw Htee militia members were celebrating the Thingyan Water Festival in the pro-regime village of Ngwe Dwin in Ayadaw Township, Sagaing Region on Saturday.

PDF forces retreated from the area after regime forces responded with both heavy explosives and automatic firearms. The PDF group lost three drones during the drone strike mission.

On April 14, the group also conducted drone strikes on the central pavilion of a junta-organized Thingyan festival in Sagaing town. However, casualties were unknown. The group also bombed a police outpost in Hla Taw Village in Sagaings Wetlet Township on April 13.

Junta bombs civilian targets after facing resistance attacks in Mandalay

Myanmar junta forces used a Russian-made Yak 130 fighter jet to bomb areas where internally displaced persons (IDPs) were staying after facing three days of resistance attacks in the Tagaung area of Thabeikkyin Township, Mandalay Region from April 13-15.

Four clashes broke out in the area over the three days as Tagaung PDF attacked a military detachment of 70 soldiers that was raiding and torching villages.

In the clashes, many regime forces are believed to have been killed and injured while two PDF fighters suffered injuries caused by junta explosives.

Regime suffers losses in resistance attacks in Karen

Many regime forces were killed or injured in Myawaddy District, Karen State on Tuesday when resistance group Venom Column attacked regime forces attempting to disguise themselves as resistance forces by wearing the uniforms of ethnic revolutionary group the Karen Nation Union (KNU), said the PDF group.

In the clash, two weapons were seized from the regime forces. The PDF group released a photo of the body of a dead soldier but did not state the number of military casualties.

Junta police station, military battalion attacked in Mon

Resistance fighters raid a police outpost in Thaton Township, Mon State on Monday. / HRS

Resistance group Hawk Revolutionary Squad-HRS said it coordinated with Thaton PDF and the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA), the armed wing of the Karen National Union (KNU), to attack a police outpost and another military battalion in Thaton Township, Mon State on Monday.

At 10:20 on that morning the combined resistance forces attacked the Thein Seik police outpost in the township, killing three regime forces and injuring four others including the head of the police outpost.

At the same time, other resistance forces conducted drone strikes on the Myanmar militarys Light Infantry Battalion 9 in the township, damaging the house of the battalion commander as well as barracks and some other buildings, claimed HRS.
Guest Column Thai Diplomacy Has Come Full Circle

This handout photo released on April 13, 2023 by the Royal Thai Army shows people from Myanmar crossing the Moei River on the Thai-Myanmar border to return from Thailand's Mae Sot district in Tak Province. / AFP

After eight arduous years, Thai diplomacy has come full circle. With less than a month to go before the next general election on May 14, the international community is wondering whether there will be any change in the countrys overall diplomatic outlook. Since the dark days leading up to the intervention in May 2014, Thailand has undertaken an extraordinary journey given the state in which the country was caught with its deteriorated standing in the global community. Critics varied in their assessments of Thai foreign policy under deep stress. Indeed, the long winding diplomatic road revealed both the strengths and weaknesses of strenuous efforts to protect national interests amid the competition of the great powers and in tackling the unavoidable ripple effects caused by an increasingly polarized world.

At the outset, it must be noted that in the ongoing political campaign, which is very dynamic albeit packed with constant bickering, mudslinging and populist policy messaging, the Thai democratic zeal is still embedded in the hearts of Thaisnever diminishing, for better or worse. As in previous elections, foreign policy has seldom been an issue in any political partys platform. Currently, there are well over 300 campaign pledges by 67 contesting parties focusing mainly on populist programs with some political reforms tagging along.

Three factors have contributed to this enduring trend. First of all, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) has been adamant with every administration in power, elected or otherwise, for Thailand to uphold international norms, obligations and responsibilities as well as undertake joint global efforts in tackling common challenges such as climate change, fisheries, labor standards and human rights. These issues, oftentimes unpopular at home, would not have been much of a concern or a priority for incumbent administrations.

Furthermore, Thai foreign policy is run by the MFA bureaucrats, who generally are not easily swayed by the political rhythms of the day. They serve the national agenda and interests through thick and thin, regardless of the ruling political parties. Since the Foreign Ministrys establishment in 1875, the country has consistently maintained a sound balance with friends and allies. It always searches for strategic equilibrium in engagement with great powers.

Finally, despite criticism of diplomatic passivity, no political party has offered any alternative foreign policy direction or vision, especially on ties with great powers and international institutions. In other words, Thai political parties, as well as private sectors and other stakeholders, are largely on the same page regarding the countrys diplomacy, helping to push pivotal issues onto the national agenda. Above all, the 20-year National Strategy also provides foreign policy guidelines for future administrations.

Along the way, there have been hits and misses with lost opportunities, but mostly these have had no broader impacts on the countrys overall diplomatic direction. Intermittent sanctions and isolation by the West have also pushed the country to adopt and sternly support multilateralism of any size and scope. Recalcitrant allies and friends have finally come back into the fold. As an independent nation, Thailands foreign policy has been the least affected by the infamous political changes and uncertainties. That has been the nations prominent trademark. However, with the dramatic shift in the security and strategic environment in the past few years, there could be some urgent issues that could test the countrys diplomatic finesse. Of late, clarion calls are being heard for more active and assertive diplomacy.

Since the government of Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha dissolved parliament on March 20, all activities have been placed in caretaker mode, especially those plans or initiatives that need budget allocations. However, Thai foreign policy continues unabated. In fact, the caretaker government has suddenly become more energetic. For instance, the past month was pivotal as Thailand and its neighbors Laos and Myanmar, which have suffered from the cross-border haze, were able to forge common actions under the Clear Sky Strategy. After the recent virtual meeting called by Bangkok, their leaders decided to jointly tackle the common cross-border issue at the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) level. On behalf of General Prayut, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Don Pramudwinai is expected to raise dust pollution at the upcoming 42nd ASEAN summit in Labuan Bajo, Indonesia.

Furthermore, the crisis in Myanmar continues to keep the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the security sectors on their toes. Thailand backed the ASEAN statement on April 13, strongly condemning the April 11 aerial attack on Pazi Gyi Village, Kantbalu Township, Sagaing Region, by the Tatmadaw, which killed at least 160 people. It registered that All forms of violence must end immediately, particularly the use of force against civilians. The current ASEAN chair, Indonesia, is trying to create a conducive environment for an inclusive national dialogue.

But the continued fighting between the junta and resistance forces remains a stumbling block. The large-scale atrocity in Pa Zi Gyi is likely to further harden ASEAN leaders views when the situation in Myanmar and the five-point consensus come under review. They might agree on further actions to reprimand the military regime. Recently, Myanmars membership in the Mekong-US Partnership has also become problematic due to Washingtons refusal to co-chair with the junta. In a related development, the second round of track 1.5 roundtable talks on Myanmar will be held soon to build on the progress made on the first dialogue convened in Bangkok last month.

Another headline, which has eluded media attention, was the recent departure of 65 Chinese Christians, members of the Shenzhen Holy Reformed Church, who had been stuck in Thailand since last March after their visas expired. They were not subject to refoulement as claimed. Instead, the government facilitated their onward travel to third countries. In this case, they have chosen to go to the State of Texas in the US. Thailand has followed the so-called nonrefoulement principle, although it is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

However, truth be told, there have been some cases along the volatile Thai-Myanmar border that involved immigration rules and procedures which sent the wrong messages to the international community about the countrys nonrefoulement policy. Indeed, these days a more holistic border management with better coordination among intra-agencies is urgently needed due to the on-and-off influx of villagers escaping violence inside Myanmar. For instance, over the past 10 days, nearly 8,000 villagers crossed over to the Thai side in Tak Province due to intense fighting. However, once the fighting subsided, more than 5,000 returned home. During this influx, efficient mechanisms that prevent rights abuses, bribery and all forms of malfeasance must be enforced to avoid misunderstanding.

In the meantime, until a new government is formed sometime in July, Thai diplomacy will remain in motion unperturbed by the electoral campaign and outcome.

This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post.

Kavi Chongkittavorn is a veteran journalist reporting on regional affairs.
During their last meeting, the City of Miami Commission authorized the City Manager to negotiate and execute an inter-local agreement with Miami-Dade County for the reimbursement of county funding to the City for the construction of a Virginia Key museum project.

That money  not to exceed $20.5 million  would be derived from funding from the County Development Tax Funds of $5 million and the Culture and Education Fund Project 291 of the Building Better Communities bond program of $15.5 million.

The much-ballyhooed, much-debated museum would be designed to tell the story of Miamis segregated era and the triumphs of the Black community in the location of Miami's only public beach for "colored" residents at one time, which opened in 1945.

Last week's decision didn't come without concerns, however, especially since the public had not had the opportunity to engage in two promised meetings, one by the new Trust members and one for the community.

"This is exactly what we need, receiving money from the GOB (general obligation funds)," said N. Patrick Range, past chairman for the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, "but it's like (putting) the cart before the horse.

"There's supposed to be a plan for what would take place. My understanding is that a community meeting was to take place, to discuss this plan, to allow the community to have input."

He also pointed out that there has not been a public meeting of the new Trust, either.

"To my knowledge, these things have not taken place," he said. "This is a community project, a community park; the community wants to be involved.

"Please consider restoring the Trust at this time."

In October, Commission members abruptly decided to take over the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, a 24-year-old agency responsible for managing the park with a budget of more than $1 million a year. They pointed to sloppy bookkeeping, a lack of progress, and at least one member even claimed malfeasance by mismanaging public funds, although the final audit did not show that.

"Let's restore the Trust so we can move forward," said Leroy Jones, of Miami's Circle of Brotherhood, a group primarily of Black men from all walks of life dedicated to collectively solving social ills in the community. "Let's have the community meeting ... We can all work together."

He told the Commission that how things played out when the Trust was replaced "was unfair and not right."

"We can all agree to disagree, but we have to restore the Trust, to correct the wrong that was done. And look, everybody makes mistakes, everybody does things they wish they could change ... we're all subject to human error. Let's right the wrong."

Another item on Thursday's agenda linked to the museum was withdrawn until the April 27 Commission meeting.

That resolution calls for the waiving of requirements for a competitive sealed bidding process that was "not being practicable or advantageous to the City of Miami." It would establish a contract for museum consultant services with Lord Cultural Resources Planning & Management, Inc. for a Capital Improvement Project and the Virginia Key Beach Park Trust, allocating funds from that general account and other funding sources.

The item had been indefinitely deferred since October 13, when the historic museum was being discussed, and the Trust was disbanded and replaced with Miami Commission members as its nucleus.

Range said that if the Trust were to be restored, the Commission would "continue to have this oversight ... (and) the political will to help move this project along."

Back in 2001, County commissioners approved steering $5 million in convention development taxes toward construction of a civil rights museum at Virginia Key Beach Park.

In 2004, Miami-Dade County voters approved a bond program that included $15.5 million for the project.

But plans were stalled, reportedly, by bureaucratic disagreements between the city and county.

Finally, in June of 2019, Miami commissioners passed a resolution prompting the release of the $20.5 million funds that had been allotted for the project.

Among the latest ideas that have been tossed around by Commission members was to have a museum that could be an attraction for residents and tourists from around the globe, perhaps with a restaurant overlooking Biscayne Bay. Another idea was to create a more lively park with potential rides or the restoration of the mini-train to entertain kids and adults.

Proponents of the civil rights museum have spoken at previous Commission meetings, questioning why other museums, serving other cultural heritages, have been built in the meantime, including the Perez Art Museum Miami, the Frost Science Museum and the American Museum of the Cuban Diaspora, to name a few.

But, restoring the Trust remains the bigger issue for some in the community.

Lyle Muhammad, executive director of the Circle of Brotherhood, told Commission members Thursday, "A lot of people don't understand that as an organization, we're watchmen for the community. 'Restore the Trust' is not just a slogan, it's an attempt to restore things that have been broken."

He said "three perplexing things" have stood out to him recently.

"One, dealing with the tongue ... there have been two promised community meetings that never have taken place. That's a forked tongue," he said.

"The other is the ears. There seems to be cotton in the ears in reference to having input from the community.

"And the third is the mind. Some great minds have been aligned, and God knows as we open up in prayer here all the time, if there was an invitation from those minds to work together, what could be created.

"We're not going anywhere when it comes to the public's interest and having input."
Dodoma  THE proposed 2023/24 budget for the President's Office (Regional Administration and Local Governments (PO-RALG), which also unveiled the arrival of 528 ambulances to be distributed to all councils countrywide, was unanimously endorsed by the Members of Parliament yesterday.

In response to concerns expressed by lawmakers prior to the budget's approval, the docket's Minister, Angellah Kairuki, stated that ambulances started arriving in the country on April 7, this year.

"During the budget estimates debate, majority of lawmakers expressed concerns about acute shortage of ambulances in their constituencies, but there is good news: we have ordered a fleet of 528 ambulances in coordination with the Ministry of Health and UNICEF," she said

She added, "Earlier, we were supposed to get 407 ambulances, but with that collaboration, the number has increased in which, each council will get an ambulance and one vehicle for the management and coordination of health projects in their areas,"

Ms Kairuki further said that for the last two fiscal years, the government allocated 280.35bn/- which has been used to complete 52 classrooms, dormitories, and health centres and 1,419 dispensaries. For the year 2023/2024 more than 20.56bn/- has been allotted where it will complete the construction of more than 376 dispensaries, 10 dormitories and other infrastructure.

She said PO-RALG, in collaboration with the regions and councils; assessed the real needs of the unfinished dipsensaries in order to set a strategy for completing them.

On Tanzania Rural and Urban Roads Agency (TARURA), she said there was an argument about it not having enough offices. "That is true and the agency has already come up with a strategy to get plots in councils to start construction of their own offices," said Ms Kairuki.

Regarding the lack of vehicles, she said to date TARURA has 282 vehicles and the government has continued to procure more, the shortage, she said, currently stands at 177 cars.

She added that President Samia Suluhu Hassan had ordered the issuance of an employment permit for the hiring of 250 engineers in the country, who would be responsible for overseeing the construction of projects carried out countrywide.

In addition, she said that the country is currently facing a shortage of 262 ward executive officials, 2,864 local government officials and 1,773 village officials.

"There is a shortage of 262 ward officials as well as 1,773 village executive officers, and the government will continue to hire them budget withstanding," the minister said in reference to the shortage of local, village, and ward government officials' comments by legislators.

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Earlier, Deputy Minister PO-RALG (Health) Festo Dugange said they will work on all the queries and recommendations aired by lawmakers.

"On hospitals and health care centers concern the government's priority at the moment is to complete the unfinished buildings, after that we will move on to the construction of new ones," he said.

Dr Dugange said the government has put in place a system to ensure that disciplinary and legal measures are taken against employees who commit misconduct.

Regarding good governance, he said steps have started to be taken and they will continue for all those who will be involved in misappropriation of public funds.

Last Friday, Ms Kairuki tabled her office's budget estimates with the proposed 2023/24 budget increasing by 3.4 per cent compared to the allocation made in the current fiscal year, with focus on driving people's development and national wellbeing.

The minister asked the House to endorse a 9.1tri/- budget for the coming financial year.

The Parliament had endorsed 8.8tri/- for the ministry's 2022/23 budget, which is to say the next budget will see an increase of 0.3tri/-, if the MPs endorses the proposed budget today.

According to Ms Kairuki, the increase means that the development budget will be about 3.5tri/-, up from 3.3tri/- of the current budget.

On the other hand, the ministry plans to spend about 5.7tri/- for recurrent expenditure, increasing from 5.5tri/- allocated in the current financial year.
Monday, Mar 9th, 2020 (8:34 am) - Score 6,009

Mobile operators BT (EE), Vodafone, O2 and Three UK have today reached a final agreement on costs to support the Governments 1bn Shared Rural Network (SRN) plan, which will work to extend geographic 4G mobile (mobile broadband) coverage to 95% of the UK by the end of 2025. But one aspect may have been watered down.

The industry-led plan essentially proposed both the reciprocal sharing of existing masts in certain areas and the demand-led building and sharing of new masts in others between all four operators. The broad outline of an agreement was signed last year (avoiding the introduction of an enforced coverage obligation by Ofcom), but the thorny issue of cost was left until the last minute (e.g. how much will be charged by each operator for rivals to access existing sites).

NOTE: The Government has pledged 500m to help fund the SRN (part of the 1bn).

Catering for remote rural areas tends to be very expensive and there were fears that the issue of costs would be one area where the SNR might hit a major stumbling block. In particular BT has a fair bit more infrastructure (masts etc.) deployed across rural areas than their rivals and as such any costs proposed by them would have been extremely important.

At the start of 2020 BT issued their first cost proposals and they did so alongside a somewhat defensive sounding blog post (here), which read as if they were bracing rivals for hefty charges. Naturally it didnt take long for rivals to raise concerns, with O2 warning that the proposed fees may undermine the viability of the project.

BT were reportedly seeking to include 320 yet-to-be-built masts into the agreement and to charge 250% more than the existing commercial rate for rivals to access them (i.e. the suggestion was that this might have made it cheaper for Three UK, Vodafone and O2 to just build their own masts). BT also offered rivals a cheaper rate for masts on its partly Government funded Emergency Services Network (ESN); several hundred of these have been built in rural areas.

The Final Agreement

The official announcement that reached out inbox today still appears to be striving for the same broad coverage target and time-scale as before, although one report (here) alleges that it has been watered down. According to that story, new mast in some areas will only be built by Three UK, Vodafone and O2, while in those specific locations BT (EE) will be left to run their existing equipment (i.e. no sharing).

The original SRN proposal would have seen each individual operator reach 92% geographic coverage by the end of 2025, with licence obligations taking effect in 2026 (the collective effect of this would have delivered such coverage to 95% of the UK). However in todays announcement the Government said that each operator would instead reach 90% by 2026, but they still expect the collective effect to be 95% by the end of 2025.

The announcement notes that the SRN will be overseen by a jointly owned company called Digital Mobile Spectrum Limited, which all together will guaranteed coverage to 280,000 additional premises and 16,000km of roads. We can also expect some further indirect improvements over time, including a boost to in car coverage on around 45,000km of road and better indoor coverage in around 1.2m business premises and homes, said DCMS.

NOTE: Ofcom defines 4G coverage based on the minimum signal strength required to deliver a 95% probability of making a 90-second telephone call successfully completed and a 95% chance of getting a download speed of at least 2Mbit/s.

SRN Coverage Targets and Ofcom Obligations * Coverage in Scotland will rise by more than ten per cent to 91% from at least one operator and 74% from all four operators. This compares to 80% and 42% today. * Coverage in Wales will improve to 95% from at least one operator and 80% from all four operators. This compares to 89% and 58% today. * Coverage in Northern Ireland will reach 98% from at least one operator and 85% from all four operators. This compares to 97% and 75% today. * Coverage in England will improve to 98% coverage from at least one operator and 90% from all four operators. This compares to 97% and 81% today. * To ensure that these coverage targets are met, Ofcom has developed legally enforceable coverage obligations that are attached to the mobile network operators radio spectrum licences. These commit the operators to:  Each reach 88 per cent coverage of the UK by 2024;  Each reach 90 per cent coverage of the UK by 2026;  Each reach nation-specific coverage targets in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales by 2026;

The legally binding coverage commitments will be enforced by Ofcom, which has the power to issue fines up to 10% of an operators gross revenue if they fail to meet their targets.

Oliver Dowden MP, UK Digital Secretary, said: For too many people in the countryside a bad phone signal is a daily frustration. So today were delivering on the Prime Ministers 100-day promise to get a 1 billion landmark deal signed with industry to end poor and patchy mobile rural coverage. This is an important milestone to level up the country, improve peoples lives and increase prosperity across the length and breadth of our United Kingdom.

The new deal means that the four networks have committed to legally binding contracts and investing 532m to close almost all partial not-spots (areas where there is currently only coverage from at least one but not all operators). Meanwhile the Governments 500m will be used to build new masts in total not spot areas, which are not usually commercially viable for operators to build in.

Philip Jansen, CEO of BT Group, said: High-speed mobile connectivity is a central part of modern life whether you live and work in a city centre or in the countryside. Building out fast and reliable access to 4G across the country is a national mission and were playing a leading role, collaborating with government and the other mobile network operators in the UK, to make this happen. The Shared Rural Network is something we can all be proud of.

Mark Evans, CEO of O2, said: Im proud of the work weve done to secure the Shared Rural Network agreement, ensuring customers living in rural areas will be able to get the fast and reliable coverage they need and deserve. The collaboration between the industry, government and Ofcom should be seen as a leading example of how to deliver infrastructure investment and we look forward to now rolling the Shared Rural Network out as quickly as possible.

Dave Dyson, CEO Three UK, said: The Shared Rural Network is a game-changer for the country with coverage from each of the four operators expanding to at least 90% of the UKs geography.

Vodafone UK CEO, Nick Jeffery, said: A rural postcode should not be a barrier to receiving a decent mobile signal. Together, we have created a programme that is unmatched anywhere in the world. It will mean an end to mobile not spots for people in the more remote areas whether they are at home, at work or on the move. We will now get on with the job of delivering it.

The SRN will be complemented by the Governments recent move to soften planning rules (here), which should make it easier to build newer and taller masts. Building taller masts tends to mean better coverage and safety (i.e. people on the ground are put further away from the signal source), which in turn means fewer small masts are needed to reach the same area (i.e. less clutter, not more). Sharing existing masts will also help to reduce the overall population of such infrastructure.

All of this sounds very good, although the National Association of Local Councils (NALC) has previously voiced opposition to any changes that would weaken local planning rules (here). In the past a lot of new masts have been rejected because a portion of local people chose to object and councils are very sensitive to such situations. But by refusing new masts communities often end up punishing those who are in need of a better signal.

Squaring the circle on such competing interest is difficult, although it will be essential if the SRN is to achieve its goals. Sadly todays press release made no mention of whether the new mast builds will still be demand-led in the final agreement (we assume they will), which is a key point since by adopting this approach the responsibility is shifted more to local communities to decide their own fate.

One final point to make is that while todays announcement may focus upon 4G, its fair to say that the operators will also look to make as many sites as possible 5G ready, so customers can benefit from the new, faster and more reliable technology as it is rolled out more widely. Vodafone has already committed to do this.
Wednesday, Apr 19th, 2023 (10:30 am) - Score 1,872

The FTTH Council Europes annual conference in Vienna (Austria) has today announced the winners of their 2023 awards, which among other things saw national UK network operator Openreach being named as the winner of their FTTH Operator Award.

The award is typically given to an operator company that has made a clear decision in favour of deploying full fibre broadband technology in Europe. The winner is typically selected not only based on the size of the network and investment made, but also on factors such as the economic, political and competitive environment for driving the FTTP/H roll-out.

Four awards in total were presented by Eric Festraets, President of the FTTH Council Europe, during the plenary session of the FTTH Conference today, rewarding the outstanding contributions to the well-being of the industry and the acceleration of FTTH deployment in Europe:

The 2023 FTTH Council Award Winners  Fiberhost, Polish open access operator, is the winner of the newly introduced Champion of Diversity Award  Openreach is the winner of the FTTH Operator Award  Mrs. Gerda Meppelink , Senior Expert Politics and Administration at Deutsche Glasfaser, is the winner of the FTTH Individual Award  Heinz Pabisch, Director Section Group Gigabit Fiber Access at CMG-AE, a technology organisation based in Austria, is the winner of the Charles Kao Award

Admittedly, Openreach were rather slow to get the FTTP build rolling in the UK and their deployment programme only really took off in 2018, but theres also no denying that their 15bn deployment project has so far covered 10 million UK premises (the largest full fibre operator in the market by far)  including 3 million customers  and theyre aiming to reach 25m UK premises by Dec 2026 (80%+ of the UK). Some 6.2 million of those will be in rural and semi-rural areas (3m have already been completed).
Wednesday, Apr 19th, 2023 (11:55 am) - Score 1,368

A new study from SaaSGenius.com, which contacted ten of the UKs leading utility companies to test the quality and responsiveness of their customer help desks, has perhaps surprisingly found that home energy and broadband ISP Shell Energy came top of the table with a customer support score of 80.1 out of 100.

The study reportedly contacted each utility provider to ask  I have a question about my latest bill amount and was wondering if you could help?. After that they measured the response times of the companies across four different methods of customer service to reach a score out of 100.

NOTE: The average score for customer service in the utility industry is 40.38/100.

Admittedly, the focus of this study was on energy providers, although Shell is also one of the few listed that also sells fixed broadband and phone packages to consumers. But todays results may surprise some of our readers, particularly given how poorly Ofcom tends to rate the provider  due to the high level of customer complaints they attract (here).

Despite this, SaaSGenius found that Shell Energy ranked top for customer support, with an incredible score of 80.1/100. Customer seeking support online will, they claim, find that it only takes 1 click to reach the Shell Energys live chat help desk. The provider is one of only three utility companies studied to offer 4 methods of customer service, including live chat, telephone, email and Twitter.

Shell Energy was also the only utility company to respond to an email query within 24 hours (they responded in just 27 minutes). But wed still take this list with a pinch of salt, since consumers tend to rate some of these providers rather differently.

However, its worth noting that Shell Energy is currently the subject of significant market speculation, with some sources predicting that it may be acquired by utility provider Ovo Energy (here), which could later look to sell off the broadband base like they did with SSE before.
April 17, 2023



An influx in students enrolling in Idaho State Universitys Counseling degree programs could soon bring some relief to the shortage of mental health care workers in the state.

Idaho ranks 49th in the United States for physicians per capita. Specifically for mental health care providers, the entire state is considered a shortage area and is consistently among the top 15 states for highest suicide rate annually.

Total enrollment in counseling programs is up from 100 students to 122, who started in the fall of 2022. This includes 21 students pursuing masters level degrees and one pursuing a doctoral degree. The department offers a wide range of specialization options for counselors, including clinical mental health; marriage, couple and family; school; clinical rehabilitation; student affairs and the Ph.D. option. There is also a post-graduate certificate in animal assisted intervention that has seen growth in enrollment in recent years.

Because of the increase in students enrolling in counseling programs, the clinical sites where students provide treatment for clients with faculty supervision have expanded as well. This puts student counselors in direct contact with clients receiving mental health care, ultimately increasing the availability of providers across the state.

We are thrilled to see our enrollment numbers increase, primarily in the areas of clinical mental health and clinical rehabilitation counseling, said Dr. David Kleist, department chair. Because the need is so great for additional providers, these counselors are frequently employed by the sites where they completed their rotations upon graduation, and sometimes even before.

Kleist says the doctoral program is designed to prepare graduates for work in counselor education programs and the major emphasis is to prepare graduates for a career in university teaching, supervision, and research in counseling programs.

ISUs program was the first to be accredited by the Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) in 1981, Kleist said. Graduates from this program frequently secure faculty teaching positions in all parts of the United States at highly renowned colleges and universities.

A relatively new program in the department, Clinical Rehabilitation Counseling, provides a full scholarship for those who wish to enroll, which has also helped boost enrollment numbers. From 2020-2025, 30 students will have the opportunity to receive a tuition-free, masters level education at Idaho State University. The scholarships are funded by a $1 million grant from the United States Department of Education.

Clinical rehabilitation counseling professionals collaborate with persons with disabilities, their health care and rehabilitative team members, and employers, to facilitate their psychosocial adaptation and provide support in every aspect of their lives.

These counselors may be working with a person who is recovering from a motor vehicle accident who has acquired a traumatic brain injury (TBI) in order to help them cope with the stress and changes from the injury. They may be working with a veteran who is experiencing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) to help them manage their condition. And from their historic roots, they may be working with a person with an intellectual or psychiatric disability to learn transferable skills or restructure an environment and provide supports that will help them achieve and maintain meaningful employment.

The goal is simple: enhancing a persons physical abilities and mental well-being brings improvements to their inclusion, employment, independent living, and overall quality of life, Kleist said.

For more information about the counseling programs available at ISU, visit isu.edu/counseling.
April 17, 2023



The Medina Recording Studio will officially open with a dedication ceremony on April 20. The recording studio has been in use for a number of years, but a donation by Galo and Robyn Medina enabled the Department of Music to invest in upgraded equipment, including technology that can be used remotely, transforming the possibilities for what can be produced at Idaho State University.

The Medina Recording Studio gives ISU students, alumni, faculty, and staff the opportunity to utilize a professional recording studio in the heart of Southeast Idaho. Students produce professional albums on campus as part of ISUs innovative commercial music program, which is the only one of its kind in Idaho.

The studio is integral for students in the commercial music program, who learn how to set up, record, mix and edit their original compositions. Albums are produced in-house through ISUs first record label, City Creek Records. So far, five albums have been created in the Medina Recording Studio. The Medina Recording Studio is one of the many initiatives and opportunities that Galo and his wife, Robyn, have supported over the years at ISU.

I love the quote by Winston Churchill, We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give, Galo said. When it comes to philanthropy at a university, ultimately, you are investing in people, and thats how we strengthen communities and make our world a little bit better.

Galos generous contributions to our students in the College of Arts and Letters are unparalleled, says the Dean of the College of Arts and Letters, Dr. Kandi Turley-Ames. We are so fortunate to have such loyal and supportive alumni and donors like Galo and Robyn.

Guests will gather in the atrium of the Fine Arts Building at 4:15 p.m. for a short program including remarks from Dean Dr. Kandi Turley Ames, Chair of the Music Department Shandra Helman, and students from the commercial music program. Attendees for the grand opening will have the opportunity to tour The Medina Recording Studio and listen to live music from ISU students.
Nancy Obermeyer is a tenured faculty member in the Department of Earth & Environmental Systems at Indiana State University. She grew up in Batesville, Indiana. Batesville, Indiana is a small town with only around 3,500 people when Professor Obermeyer was growing up. She has been teaching at Indiana State University since 1990.

Professor Obermeyer teaches a wide variety of courses in the Earth & Environmental Systems department. Some of these courses include World Cultures and Environments, Introduction to Geospatial Technology, Political Geography, and Ethics & Environment.

Professor Obermeyer received her undergraduate degree in Political science and Environmental Studies from Indiana University. After finishing her undergraduate degree, she earned her first masters degree in Public Affairs, also from Indiana University. After receiving her masters, she spent time in Springfield, Illinois holding two public sector positions. Professor Obermeyer then returned to school to earn her second masters in Geography from the University of Cincinnati. Her final degree is her PhD in Geography, received from the University of Chicago.

When asked about why she loves ISU, she said, I love working with our students at ISU. Like so many of our students, I'm from a working-class family, and I'm also a first-generation college student. I feel that I have a lot in common with our students and can relate to the challenges that many students experience. Being able to help students to overcome challenges and succeed is at the heart of what I love about ISU.

Professor Obermeyer has a strong passion for education, but most importantly a strong passion for helping students succeed.

My best advice is based on quote that is attributed to the Roman philosopher, Seneca: Luck is where preparation meets opportunity. Opportunities may present themselves, but you have to be prepared for them. Do your work, study, prepare, and be ready to take advantage of opportunities when they appear said Professor Obermeyer.

She added, All of that [referring to past experiences] was made possible by having the right combination of education, experience, and skills when the opportunity arrived. Based on my experience, I believe that Seneca had it right when he stated that "Luck is where preparation meets opportunity."

Professor Obermeyers favorite place on Indiana State Universitys campus is the classroom. This is because it is where she interacts with students which she believes is the most rewarding part of her career.

Outside of her life on campus, Professor Obermeyer enjoys walking through parks near her home as a stress reliever. She also enjoys watching Wheel of Fortune. However, her current favorite television show is Abbott Elementary. She said that she highly recommends this show to students who are pursuing a teaching career. Her favorite book is The Ghost Map by Steven Johnson. She believes that this book is very informative, while also being easy to read.

Professor Obermeyer is dedicated to giving her students the best experience they can have at Indiana State University. Her passion is evident throughout the courses that she teaches.
After nearly one month of suspense involving a testy rerun exercise and one of the most brazen, albeit unsuccessful, electoral coups of the Fourth Republic, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), yesterday, declared Adamawa State Governor, Ahmad Fintiri, winner of the March 18 governorship election and returned him re-elected. Fintiri, who ran on the platform of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), led his closest rival, Senator Aisha Binani of All Progressives Congress (APC), with 32, 073 votes difference.

But the repercussions of the unwholesome events that attended the rerun poll, held following the inconclusive March 18 election, continued to unfold. Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, yesterday, ordered the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde, to withdraw from the state with immediate effect. Baba ordered Gombe State Commissioner of Police, Etim Equa, to immediately proceed to Adamawa State for election security.

In a similar vein, INEC wrote to the IGP to demand investigation and prosecution of the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari.

In Abuja, the Federal High Court, yesterday, declined to hear an application by the governorship candidate of APC in Adamawa State seeking to restrain INEC from invalidating her purported declaration as winner of the governorship election. The court said Binani's lawyers must first address the issues of jurisdiction.

Binani's desperate quest to emerge first elected female governor in Nigeria firmly registered her in the hall of infamy by the way she and her co-conspirators tried to subvert the electoral process and ultimately the will of the people.

Although the application for leave to bring the application for judicial review was contained in an ex-parte application filed on April 17, 2023, the court fixed the hearing for April 26, 2023.

The leadership of PDP had earlier called on Inspector General of Police to arrest the Commissioner of Police in Adamawa State, Ari, and others alleged to have aided the unapproved results announcement in the governorship election. PDP likened Ari's illegal pronouncement of Binani as winner, while collation of the rerun results were still on-going, to a civilian coup.

A pro-democracy group, Yiaga Africa, in a statement by Dr. Hussain Abdu and Samson Itodo, also asked the police authorities to arrest and prosecute everyone alleged to have aided Ari in the illegal result announcement.

Similarly, the Nigeria Civil Situation Room, otherwise known as the Situation Room, said there was need to revisit the nomination process for INEC national commissioners with a view to triggering another electoral reform.

Oyo State Governor, 'Seyi Makinde, yesterday, paid a solidarity visit to his Adamawa State counterpart over the thorny governorship election. Makinde, during the visit, lamented the delay in the conclusion and announcement of the rerun poll results.

Nevertheless, the INEC Returning Officer (RO) in Adamawa State, Professor Mohammed Mele, said Fintiri scored 430,861 votes to defeat Binani, who scored 398,788 votes to come second in the election.

Announcing the results of the supplementary election held on April 15, Mele said the number of registered voters was 42, 929; number of accredited voters 16, 423; total valid votes 15, 999; rejected votes 399; and total votes cast 16, 398. He said the PDP candidate scored 9, 337 votes to defeat the APC candidate, who scored 6, 513 votes in the supplementary elections.

Mele said at the governorship elections held on March 18, the total registered voters was 219,656; total accredited voters 876,387; total valid votes 853,819; rejected votes 15,287; and total votes cast 869,106.

Shortly after the declaration, Fintiri, in his acceptance speech, said, "Today, history was made, because the supporters of the PDP administration reaffirmed your willingness to support the good work we have started in Adamawa State.

"It is made because we have reached a consensus that Adamawa State must work. It is made because we have collectively agreed that we desire a better Adamawa that is lifted from depths of despair to the great high hope with the belief that each of us is at liberty to aspire to any height without any human hindrance.

"Welcome to Adamawa of our dreams. Here, we decide the fate of governance by ourselves, we rise or fall together as one people, we have perfected the art of winning for our dear state. This time, again, we won; Adamawa State won."

The governor appreciated citizens of the state for their resilience, patience, and maturity in the face provocative triggers that could have otherwise landed them in flames.

He told the people of Adamawa, "You demonstrated restraint and civility, you waited patiently for INEC to announce the date for the rerun elections for the affected areas."

But Binani denied giving anybody N2 billion to declare her winner of the governorship election. She disclosed this via a press statement she personally signed.

The APC candidate said in the statement, "My attention has been drawn to a very bizarre, unfounded wild allegations purportedly made by an officer of the Department of State Services to the effect that I, Senator Aishatu Dahiru Ahmed ( Binani), gave out the sum of N2 billion to procure a favourable declaration as governor-elect to some unnamed INEC staff. I never did; I would never do such.

"This said statement was allegedly made when the officer was being tortured at gunpoint by the agents of the Adamawa State governor and the Government House police team alongside their political thugs.

"I wish to reiterate that I am a democrat. I have always been a committed democrat and will never do anything to subvert democratic process. I am not a do-or-die politician. In the past, I have won elections into the House of Representatives and the Senate in a free and fair manner.

"What happened in Adamawa was an unsuccessful attempt to subvert the will of the people. The REC was illegally told to stand down by two INEC national commissioners from Abuja, who were supposed to be in Adamawa in a supervisory capacity.

"Even more curious is the nocturnal visit of some INEC national officers to Adamawa State Government House and bizarre declaration same day after the visit that they have taken over the collation through the backdoor, with the Collation and Returning Officers selected by the governor of Adamawa.

"The roles of these INEC officers from Abuja and the real mission of the two to the Government House should be of interest to all democrats. I urge all lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in our electoral process and democracy not only in Adamawa but in the whole country.

"Meanwhile, to all my supporters, both within and outside Adamawa, I wish to use this opportunity to thank you for your unflinching support, in the midst of half-truths and opposition smear propaganda. Thank you."

IGP Replaces Adamawa CP, Moves to Probe Malfeasance

The Inspector-General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, yesterday, ordered the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde, to withdraw from the state.

The Force Headquarters, in a statement, said, "The IGP has given directive that the Commissioner of Police on election security in Adamawa State, CP Barde, should pull out of Adamawa State and the Commissioner of Police in charge of Gombe State, CP Etim Equa to proceed to Adamawa immediately, to go and supervise election and provide necessary information and ensure that the process is a success."

The statement signed by the Force Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Olumuyiwa Adejobi, said the police high command would investigate the failed electoral heist in Adamawa.

The police said, "We have not received any letter but we will carry out thorough investigation on the Adamawa incident in collaboration with INEC.

"So, if INEC sends in any letter, we will treat it as recommended as well. Also, the IGP has ordered the redeployment of the CP election Adamawa and replaced him with CP Gombe, CP Etim Oqua, who has been directed to proceed to Yola immediately for the conclusion of the guber election process in Adamawa. We are committed to having a more secure and successful process in Adamawa."

INEC Writes IGP, Demands Investigation, Prosecution of Ari

Soon after concluding the Adamawa State governorship election, INEC, yesterday, wrote to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, demanding investigation and prosecution of the state's Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Hudu Yunusa Ari.

The commission took the decision at its meeting yesterday in Abuja.

A tweet via it verified Twitter handle said the commission, wrote, "At its meeting today, 18th April 2023, the commission discussed matters arising from the Adamawa governorship election and decided to:

"Write to the Inspector-General of Police for the immediate investigation and possible prosecution of the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Adamawa State, Barr. Hudu Yunusa Ari.

"Request the Secretary to the Government of the Federation to draw the attention of the appointing authority to the unwholesome behaviour of the REC for further action." It announced that the collation process would resume at a time to be determined by the Returning Officer.

How Court Declined Binani's Emergency Application

The Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday, declined to hear an application by the governorship candidate of APC in Adamawa State seeking to restrain INEC from invalidating her purported declaration as winner of the governorship election, saying her lawyers must first address the issues of jurisdiction.

Binani had Monday approached the court for leave to file an application for judicial review of the administrative decision of INEC made on April 16th in respect of her announcement as winner of the governorship election of Adamawa State held on March 18 and the supplementary election of April 15.

However, when the matter was called yesterday, Justice Inyang Ekwo, who told Binani's lawyer, Mr Mohammed Sherif, to first address the court on issues of jurisdiction, said the governorship hopeful was to file her address on whether the court had jurisdiction to hear the application within two days.

Although one Hafis Matonmi had announced appearance for Governor Ahmadu Fintiri and candidate of PDP, the court still declined to hear him on the grounds that he had not been served with court processes on the matter.

Binani, alongside her party, APC, were in the application seeking an order of Prohibition and Certiorari, preventing the electoral umpire and its agents from taking any further steps towards the declaration of the winner of the elections pending the determination of her application for judicial review.

Sued with the commission were PDP and Fintiri listed as first, second, and third defendants, respectively.

The application was brought pursuant to order 34 Rules 1a, order 3(1) & 3(2) a, b, c, Order 6 of the Federal High Court (civil procedure rules) 2019 and Section 251 (1)q & r of the 1999 Constitution, as well as Section 149 & 152 of the Electoral Act, 2022.

Arguing the grounds upon which the application was brought, Binani contended, "The only court with power on a declaration made from the conduct of an election is only the Election Petition Tribunal set up by the 1999 Constitution."

According to her, after the completion of vote in the supplementary governorship election of April 15, and the subsequent collation of same results, INEC declared her as the winner of the gubernatorial election and she was thereby returned as elected.

The applicant said pursuant to the declaration, any dissatisfied candidate should resort to the tribunal for redress, if any.

She faulted the cancellation of her declaration on April 16 based on some crisis caused by PDP and Fintiri, stressing that INEC "has no powers to cancel or declare the declaration as null and void."

Continuing, she stated, "INEC after the declaration of Senator Aisha Dahiru Ahmed as the winner usurped the powers of the Election Petition Tribunal and declared the declaration null and void. The 1st respondent does not have the requisite powers to declare an election in which the winner has been declared null and void."

Binani, through her lawyers, led by Hussaini Zakariyau, SAN, submitted that a judicial review existed to enable the superior court checkmate the actions and decisions of inferior courts as well as the legislative and administrative arms of government, including agencies and public officers.

The applicant further submited that INEC, being an agency of the government, could have its actions, records and decisions checked by the court and only a court could nullify the actions of an INEC official and not INEC itself.

PDP Asks IGP to Prosecute Ari, Police Commissioner, Others

Acting National Chairman of PDP, Ambassador Umar Iliya Damagum, yesterday, called on the IGP to arrest the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police, Afolabi Adeniyi, the INEC REC, Mallam Hudu Ari, and all others alleged to have aided the unapproved governorship election results announcement in the state.

Damagum, who described Ari's action as equivalent to an attempted civilian coup, urged INEC to order the immediate continuation and completion of the result of the supplementary election, as continued delay was already causing tension in the state.

According to the PDP chairman, the subversive conduct of Ari must not go unpunished.

Damagum said, "We restate our demand that INEC should without further delay hand over Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari to the police for investigation and prosecution

"The action of the Adamawa State REC is a reckless, inexcusable and unpardonable assault on our democracy, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended), the Electoral Act, 2022, INEC Guidelines and the manifest will of the people of Adamawa State, which they expressed in voting en masse for the PDP.

"This action by Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari amounts to a 'Civilian Coup' with the intention to take control and install an illegal government in Adamawa State contrary to the provision of Section 1 Sub-section 2 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic Nigeria 1999 (as amended).

"For clarity, Section 1 Sub-section 2 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) provides: 'The Federal Republic of Nigeria shall not be governed, nor shall any person or group of persons take control of the government of Nigeria or any part thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution'.

"The Inspector General of Police should, as a matter of urgency, remove, investigate and sanction the Adamawa State Commissioner of Police for providing cover and enabling the perpetration of this grievous criminal act against our democracy."

The PDP chairman said the party, majority of Nigerians, and, indeed, the international community had become worried that in spite of the results of the election, as obtained from the polling units, which showed Fintiri in clear lead, INEC had continued to delay the conclusion of official collation, announcement and declaration of the rightful winner of the election.

Damagum stated, "This continuing delay is heightening tension in Adamawa State and is capable of triggering a serious breakdown of law and order in the state, which is already overstretched as a result of the many perverse activities of the heavily compromised Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Mallam Hudu Yunusa Ari.

"It is, therefore, imperative and urgent that INEC does the needful and save Adamawa State from serious crisis by directing the Returning Officer, Professor Mohammed Mele, to immediately conclude collation, declare the final results and return the rightful winner, Governor Umaru Ahmadu Fintiri as the duly elected Governor of Adamawa State."

On Binani's legal action to reclaim her 'mandate', the PDP national legal adviser, Kamarudeem Ajibade (SAN), said the party was aware that she was already in court.

Ajibade said, "They are seeking an ex-parte order and therefore when contacted, the party will respond appropriately. We have not been served and more over, the matter is now in court."

Makinde Visits Fintiri, Laments Delay in Rerun Outcome

Oyo State Governor, Seyi Makinde, yesterday, paid a solidarity visit to his Adamawa State counterpart, Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri, over the electoral crisis in the state and lamented the delay in announcing the outcome of the elections.

Makinde appealed to INEC to do the right thing in order to redeem its name before the international community and well-meaning Nigerians. He called on PDP supporters in the state to remain calm and maintain law and order, adding that the party at the top would not allow anybody to trample on its mandate.

INEC had suspended Ari with immediate effect, after first summoning him and other officials to its headquarters in Abuja.

The commission, in a letter by its secretary, Rose Ariaran-Anthony, directed the REC to stay away from its Adamawa office until further notice. It directed the commission's administrative secretary in the state to take full charge of the activities of the commission.

Ari's suspension followed the illegal announcement of Binani as winner of the Adamawa governorship supplementary election, when collation was still ongoing.

Yiaga Wants All Security Personnel Involved Tried

Yiaga Africa, a pro democracy group, demanded that all those involved in the Adamawa governorship election imbroglio should be arrested and tried for undermining democracy.

In a statement by Dr. Hussain Abdu and Samson Itodo, the group also asked INEC to urgently conclude the collation process and declare the official results based on results announced at the polling units and uploaded on the IReV portal."

It further called on President Muhammadu Buhari and the Senate to initiate removal proceedings against the Adamawa REC in defence of the constitution, independence of INEC, and the overall integrity of the electoral process.

Yiaga also urged the police and INEC to swiftly prosecute the Adamawa REC for gross misconduct, insubordination and fraud.

Yiaga said in the statement, "In addition, the attacks on two the National Commissioners deployed to oversee the supplementary elections in Adamawa should be thoroughly investigated and perpetrators brought to justice.

"The Inspector General of Police, Commandant of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defense Corps (NSCDC), and Director General of the Department of State Services should thoroughly investigate and sanction its officers involved in this criminal subversion of the electoral process."

Yiaga further called for a comprehensive and independent audit of the 2023 general election as an imperative for inspiring public confidence and ensuring accountability for operational lapses, constitutional and electoral legal framework violations, and cases of subversion of the people's vote.

Situation Room Pushes for Fresh Electoral Reforms

The Nigeria Civil Situation Room, otherwise known as the Situation Room, yesterday, said there was need to revisit the nomination process for national commissioners at INEC and by so doing, engender another electoral reform.

While recommending the prosecution of all indicted INEC officials to serve as a deterrent, the Situation Room said rogue election officials and their politician sponsors must be prosecuted if the ugly trend must be reversed.

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A statement issued in respect of the 2023 supplementary elections held on Saturday, 15th April 2023, in 23 states of the federation, stated that the shortcomings witnessed at the supplementary polls were similar to what was experienced during the February 25 presidential/National Assembly election and March 18 governorship/ State Assembly polls.

It lamented the current system of appointment of RECs and National Commissioners of INEC, who were being appointed by partisan political interests.

According to the Situation Room, "It also represents the failure of the National Assembly to scrutinise the nominees as required by law and going ahead in confirming partisan persons into INEC at all levels.

"It is important to revisit the recommendations of the Electoral Reform Committee, which in 2010 recommended steps to appoint independent persons into INEC."

In addition, the Situation Room said it was shocking to behold the illegal declaration of the supplementary governorship election result in Adamawa State by Ari.

It, however, welcomed the action taken by the headquarters of INEC to declare as unlawful the action of the REC in Adamawa State and suspend him from further duties. It urged the commission to follow up with a proper investigation into what transpired and apply sanctions as necessary.

Atiku, PDP Govs' Forum, Party Leadership Congratulate Fintiri

Former Vice President and presidential candidate of PDP, Atiku Abubakar, the party's governors' forum, and the PDP leadership congratulated Fintiri on his re-election.

Atiku, in a congratulatory message he signed said, "Congratulations, Governor Ahmadu Fintiri, on your deserved re-election as governor of Adamawa State.

"Thank you to the people of Adamawa and men and women of goodwill for staying the course in resisting coupists and enemies of democracy from having their way.

"The lesson from this exercise and others is the need for Nigerians to be vigilant and never give in to anti-democratic forces whose objective is to snatch, run with and undermine the mandate of the people as freely expressed in their votes.

"By the way, it is not yet uhuru as we still have one more major mandate to reclaim, and together as one. We shall accomplish the task for the good of our country and its people."

The PDP Governors' Forum, in a statement, said it was a hard fought and hard won victory not just for Fintiri, but also for Adamawa State, democracy and due process in Nigeria.

According to the forum, "Indeed, Nigeria has just been rescued from descent into the abyss. We have just dodged another bullet. We commend INEC for redeeming itself and hopes that this is a harbinger of things to come. It is in this regard that the commission is requested to promptly re-visit all other elections where infractions have been identified.

"Where the matters have been taken to the tribunal, INEC should assume a garb and toga of neutrality and inform the tribunals of the actual events that transpired in the elections. It has been shown by today's development that INEC can reverse itself where mistakes have been made. We call on Governor Fintiri to continue to justify this huge mandate and trust of the people of Adamawa State."

On its part, the PDP leadership described Fintiri's victory as a momentous triumph for democracy and the will of the people of Adamawa State over tyranny and desperate manipulative forces that sought to take over control of the state illegally.

In a statement by National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, PDP said, "The spontaneous jubilation of citizens in Adamawa State and across our nation at the official declaration of Governor Fintiri as the rightful winner of the election, irrespective of the nefarious schemes by the rejected All Progressives Congress (APC), is a confirmation that the PDP and its candidate are indeed the choice of the people.

"Governor Fintiri's overwhelming victory is a validation that the will of the people cannot be subdued no matter the plot by a tyrannic, domineering and power-grabbing few who, with over-bloated ambition, desperately sought to subvert our democracy, scuttle the electoral process, compromise the judiciary, subjugate the people and impose an unconstitutional regime in the polity."

PDP saluted the courage, resilience and determination of the people of Adamawa State in resisting the defeated APC and compromised Ari in their bid to destabilise the state.

The PDP spokesman stated further, "Our party also lauds the Adamawa State Returning Officer, Mohammed Mele, for his courage in standing on the side of justice, due process and democracy in the discharge of his duty."
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In the tumultuous and often turbulent energy sector, nobody stands taller than Mele Kyari, Group Managing Director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC). As the head of the apex oil and gas corporation, Kyari spearheaded a transformative effort to revolutionize the way the nation produces and distributes its most vital resource.

From the moment he assumed his position at the helm of affairs of the NNPC, he was driven by a fierce sense of purpose and an unshakable commitment to excellence, implementing a series of bold and innovative reforms that have transformed the sector. Under his leadership, the NNPC has become a beacon of hope and a model of excellence. The NNPC revamped and upgraded its refining capacity, with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency in the production of petroleum products.

Refineries are brought back to life after years of neglect and disrepair, with significant investments in maintenance, repairs and upgrades. There's the ongoing rehabilitation of the Port-Harcourt refinery, which has been non-functional for several years due to poor maintenance and lack of investment. Under Kyari's leadership, the NNPC has entered into a partnership with Italian oil company, Eni, to rehabilitate and upgrade the refinery, with a target of achieving full production capacity by 2023.

In addition to the Port Harcourt refinery, Kyari also initiated the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Warri and Kaduna refineries. When completed, the collective capacity of these refineries will slow down the rate of fuel importation to a trickle. It will save billions for the government, decrease the burden on petroleum marketers, and spare the masses the agony from incessant fuel price hikes.

In addition, Kyari has overseen the implementation of a number of innovative initiatives designed to maximize the efficiency and effectiveness of the NNPC's operations. These include the establishment of a new trading subsidiary, the creation of a new crude oil marketing division, and the implementation of a new performance management system.

The NNPC is famously known to be long on empty talk and short on transparency. Not anymore. Under the leadership of Mele Kyari, the company has taken significant steps towards enhancing accountability in the industry, by publishing monthly financial and operational reports.

These reports provide detailed information on the organization's operations, including revenue, expenditure, and production figures. This level of transparency is unprecedented in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and has been hailed as a significant step towards promoting a culture of disclosure and openness, and fighting corruption.

Kyari's vision goes beyond the transformation of the nation's refining capacity. He has also been an advocate for the development of our vast natural gas resources, promoting the use of gas as a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

Under his leadership, the NNPC has embarked on a massive effort to increase domestic gas utilization, with the aim of diversifying the nation's energy mix and reducing its carbon footprint. This has involved the development of new gas infrastructure, the expansion of existing facilities, and the promotion of gas-based industries such as petrochemicals and fertilizers.

These efforts have yielded impressive results, with Nigeria now the largest producer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Africa, and one of the top 10 producers globally. The nation's gas reserves, estimated at over 200 trillion cubic feet, provide a huge opportunity for growth and development, and Kyari is determined to ensure that Nigeria takes full advantage of this potential.

Under his direction, the NNPC has launched several initiatives, including the Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (NPEX), a platform for trading Nigerian crude oil and other petroleum products, and the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF), a $200 million fund aimed at supporting the development of local content in the industry.

Shall we talk about his devotion to the development of renewable energy in Nigeria? Kyari believes that the nation's vast renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, and hydropower, provide a huge opportunity for growth and development, and has been working to promote their utilization.

The Kyari-led NNPC has launched several renewable energy initiatives, including the development of a 20 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Kaduna State, and the commissioning of a 7.5 MW solar power plant at the NNPC's headquarters in Abuja.

Hei has worked tirelessly to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. He has been a vocal advocate for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), a comprehensive reform package aimed at overhauling the industry's regulatory framework and promoting investment and growth.

After years of delay, the PIB was finally passed into law in August 2021, marking a major milestone in the history of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Kyari was among the stakeholders who worked tirelessly to ensure the passage of the bill, and his efforts were instrumental in its success.

The PIB has already wrought significant changes, with provisions for the unbundling of the NNPC, the creation of new regulatory bodies, and the promotion of local content and investment. It is expected to attract significant investment into the Nigerian energy segment, creating jobs, promoting growth, and enhancing the nation's energy security.

One of his most notable accomplishments is the achievement of full payment of Nigeria's joint venture cash call arrears to international oil companies (IOCs) amounting to $5.1 billion. This feat was achieved through the introduction of the Alternative Funding Approach (AFA), which replaced the previous cash call payment model.

The AFA model allowed for the utilization of NNPC's own funds to finance its share of joint venture operations, thereby reducing the country's reliance on external borrowing and increasing the flow of investment into the industry. This model has since become a blueprint for other oil-producing countries in Africa.

Another important feather in his cap is the successful negotiation of the OPEC+ production cut agreement, which has helped stabilize global oil prices and boosted Nigeria's revenue from crude oil sales. This agreement, which was signed in April 2020, saw Nigeria agree to cut production by 417,000 barrels per day, a significant reduction that helped balance global oil markets and protect the country's revenue.

Kyari's innovative approach to the management of Nigeria's oil and gas resources has also led to the discovery of new oil and gas reserves in the country. In 2021, the NNPC announced the discovery of oil and gas reserves in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria.

This discovery, which was made under Kyari's leadership, has been described as a significant milestone in the nation's quest to achieve self-sufficiency in oil and gas production, and a boost to the economy.

It has been said that a man's peers are the best barometers of his success. They are the ones who know him intimately and have witnessed his deeds and words in the most varied circumstances. In this vein, it is instructive to note that Mele Kyari is the toast of stakeholders and industry watchers. .

Kyari's contemporaries have arrayed him with numerous garlands for his exceptional performance and dedication to excellence. In 2020, he was awarded the prestigious Forbes Best of Africa Award, which recognizes the achievements of oustanding African business leaders who are driving economic growth and development on the continent.

He was also recognized by the African Leadership Magazine as the African CEO of the Year 2020, a testament to his leadership and the success of his reforms in the NNPC. In 2021, the International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE) also honored him for his transformative leadership style with the "Outstanding Contribution to the Energy Industry Award".

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Kyari's matchless exploits as the NNPC boss continues to attract attention and plaudits from far and near. In 2021, he was recognized as the African Energy Executive of the Year by the African Energy Chamber, a testament to his commitment to excellence and innovation.

He was also given the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, by the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG) in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Of course, the road to success has not been without its challenges. Kyari has had to contend with a number of obstacles and setbacks, including a concerted campaign of calumny waged against him and his colleagues by a group of malicious mischief-makers.

But Kyari has not been deterred by these challenges. He has remained steadfast in his commitment to excellence, and has continued to push forward with his transformative agenda despite the odds.

And the results speak for themselves. Under intense pressure and scrutiny, the NNPC has become a world-class institution, capable of competing with the best and brightest in the global energy industry. Its employees are dedicated, skilled, and motivated, and its operations are efficient, effective and sustainable.

There is no doubt that Mele Kyari is a leader of unparalleled vision and courage, and a man whose matchless exploits have transformed the Nigerian oil and gas industry for the better.

His legacy will endure for generations to come, inspiring others to follow in his footsteps and build on his remarkable achievements. As Nigeria looks to the future under a brand-new government, men like Mele Kyari will remain relevant and crucial to the delivery of good governance and continuity.
An N.C. House Select Committee is recommending that the General Assembly change a state law forcing districts to start school the Monday closest to Aug. 26 and end no later than the Friday clo
Poland is set to commemorate the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on Wednesday, which saw hundreds of Jews launch a doomed attack against the Nazis, marking the largest single act of Jewish resistance against the Germans in World War II.

The commemorations will look beyond the fighters and emphasise the civilian experience.

The presidents of Germany and Israel will join their Polish counterpart for the memorial event, which will see church bells and sirens sounded at midday, in commemoration of the insurgents who fought and died rather than in gas chambers.

Participants will gather in front of the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes to pay tribute to the fate of Jewish civilians during the uprising.

Poland is preparing to mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, which was the largest single act of Jewish resistance against the Nazis during World War II. The event, which took place on April 19, 1943, saw hundreds of Jews launch a doomed attack against the Germans, fighting for their lives and freedom.

On Wednesday, the Polish people will remember the brave fighters who took up arms against their oppressors. However, the commemorations will also focus on the civilian experience, as the majority of those who fought and died in the uprising were non-combatants.

The presidents of Germany and Israel will join their Polish counterpart for the memorial event, which will see church bells and sirens sounded at midday. This is a symbolic gesture to commemorate the insurgents who fought and died rather than being sent to the gas chambers.

The participants will gather in front of the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes, which honors the memory of the thousands of Jews who died during the uprising. The monument is a powerful reminder of the courage and resilience of those who refused to be broken, even in the face of unimaginable horror.

The Warsaw Ghetto Uprising is an important moment in the history of the Jewish people, as it demonstrated that even in the darkest of times, there is hope, and that resistance is possible.

The uprising also served as an inspiration for future generations, as it showed that even when the odds are stacked against you, it is possible to fight back against tyranny and oppression.

As we mark the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, it is important to remember the lessons of the past and to honor the memory of those who fought and died for their freedom.

We must also continue to fight against hate and intolerance, and to work towards a world where everyone is treated with dignity and respect, regardless of their race, religion, or nationality.
The European Parliament has passed a new EU law on Wednesday, which will prohibit imports that are driving deforestation.

This shows the blocs trade power and support for the global fight against climate change. The law will apply to coffee, cocoa, soy, timber, palm oil, cattle, printing paper, rubber, and derivative products from countries worldwide.

Imports that are sourced from deforested land after December 31, 2020, will be prohibited in the EU market.

Firms that sell such products to Europe will need to present a certificate confirming that they do not come from such areas.

The European Union is the second-largest market for the goods after China. The EU legislation aims to end imported deforestation, which is responsible for 10 percent of deforested land across the world.

The incoming law is considered a vital first step, but campaign groups highlighted the need for further action, such as stopping the funding of deforestation by banks.
Thousands of residents fled Sudans capital Wednesday as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed.

Roughly 200 people have already been killed. The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, who commands the paramilitary.

Rapid Support Forces (RSF). It followed a bitter dispute between Burhan and Dagalo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular armya key condition for a final deal aimed at resuming Sudans democratic transition.

There is no ceasefire at all, s regional correspondent Bastien Renouil reported from Nairobi, citing sources on the ground.

The fighting in Khartoum continues and [the sources] say they could hear gunshots all night long, and that now planes are flying over the city bombing locations that they [the army] believe belong to the RSF. The RSF is fighting these planes, shooting anti-aircraft artillery.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

Their hopes of being evacuated were dashed on Tuesday when a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire collapsed within minutes of its proposed start at 1600 GMT.

On Wednesday morning, thousands of people took matters into their own hands and began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air. Governments have starting planning to evacuate thousands of foreigners, among them many UN staff. Japan said on Wednesday that its defence ministry had begun the necessary preparations to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

After the truce collapsed, the army accused the rebel militia of failing to commit to it and of continuing skirmishes around the army headquarters and the airport.

The RSF in turn accused the army of committing violations and breaching the ceasefire by launching sporadic attacks on its forces and bases around the capitals Renouil said that the ongoing communication war between the army and the RSF has made it extremely difficult to know exactly what is going on.

If the RSF publishes a statement saying that they are in control of this or that building and institution, the army publishes another statement saying that no, thats not the case and that theyre [the ones in control].

So its impossible to know exactly what is happening on the ground. Hospitals being shelled.

The fighting has left at least 185 people dead and more than 1,800 injured, according to the United Nations.

But the real figure is thought to be far higher with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors union.

Deafening explosions rattled buildings, windows and the nerves of many terrified residents who hunkered down hoping for an end to the violence.

Offices and residential buildings in the city have been left with shattered windows and facades riddled with bullets.

Electricity and water are out in many parts of Khartoum, forcing residents to sneak out during lulls in fighting to buy food and supplies, witnesses said.

The latest violence, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, came after more than 120 civilians had already been killed in a crackdown on regular pro-democracy demonstrations over the past 18 months.

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracyin a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

Saturdays outbreak of violence is the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Dagalo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

They have since been allies with their relationship interspersed with brief periods of tensions.

In October 2021, the two men led a military coup against the civilian government which was installed following Bashirs ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose through the ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was necessary to include more factions into politics.

But Dagalo has since called the coup a mistake that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashirs remnants. ( Jowhar with AFP)
The European Parliament and EU member states have reached an agreement on how to increase the supply of semiconductors within Europe, in order to reduce its reliance on suppliers from Asia.

The coronavirus pandemic caused significant shortages and supply chain shocks across the globe, leading the EU to prioritise local chip production.

Although Asian firms, especially those in China and Taiwan, currently dominate semiconductor manufacture and export, under the agreement the EU will double its current global market share to 20% by 2030 and mobilise more than 43 billion euros ($47.2 billion) in public and private investments.

Production will need to quadruple to meet this target. The legislative text, known as the Chips Act, is also part of the blocs bid to reduce its vulnerability to geopolitical shocks, such as the war in Ukraine.

The EUs executive arm has published two proposals to encourage Europe to produce more clean technology, including critical raw materials for manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles.

The European Union (EU) is set to double its global market share in semiconductor production and export from its current 10% to 20% by the year 2030. This comes as part of a new agreement known as the Chips Act, which aims to reduce the EUs vulnerability to geopolitical shocks such as the ongoing conflict in Ukraine.

Currently, Asian firms, particularly those in China and Taiwan, dominate the semiconductor market. However, with the implementation of the Chips Act, the EU will mobilise over 43 billion euros ($47.2 billion) in public and private investments to support the quadrupling of production needed to achieve this target.

Apart from reducing vulnerability to geopolitical shocks, the Chips Act is also part of the EUs broader goal of producing more clean technology, including critical raw materials needed for manufacturing batteries for electric vehicles. The EUs executive arm has published two proposals to encourage Europe to produce more of these materials, which are vital for achieving the blocs ambitious climate goals.

The new agreement will not only boost the EUs economic competitiveness in the semiconductor market but also create new jobs in the region. It will also help reduce the EUs reliance on imports from Asia, which have been a source of concern for policymakers.

The Chips Act is a significant step towards establishing the EU as a major player in the global semiconductor market. The EUs commitment to investing in clean technology and reducing its reliance on imports from Asia is commendable, and it shows the blocs determination to achieve its climate goals while also promoting economic growth.

In conclusion, the Chips Act is a crucial legislative text that will help the EU double its global market share in semiconductor production and export. It is part of a broader strategy to reduce the EUs vulnerability to geopolitical shocks and promote the production of more clean technology. With the implementation of this act, the EU is set to become a major player in the global semiconductor market, creating new jobs and boosting economic competitiveness in the region.
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By Joshua Frank | 

( Tomdispatch.com)  Its sure to be a blood-soaked spring in Ukraine. Russias winter offensive fell far short of Vladimir Putins objectives, leaving little doubt that the Wests conveyor belt of weaponry has aided Ukraines defenses. Cease-fire negotiations have never truly begun, while NATO has only strengthened its forces thanks to Finlands new membership (with Sweden soon likely to follow). Still, tens of thousands of people have perished; whole villages, even cities, have been reduced to rubble; millions of Ukrainians have poured into Poland and elsewhere; while Russias brutish invasion rages on with no end in sight.

The hope, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, is that the Western allies will continue to furnish money, tanks, missiles, and everything else his battered country needs to fend off Putins forces. The war will be won, according to Zelensky, not through backroom compromises but on the battlefield with guns and ammo.

I appeal to you and the world with these most simple and yet important words, he said to a joint session of Great Britains parliament in February. Combat aircraft for Ukraine, wings for freedom.

The United Kingdom, which has committed well over $2 billion in assistance to Ukraine, has so far refused to ship fighter jets there but has promised to supply more weaponry, including tank shells made with depleted uranium (DU), also known as radioactive bullets. A by-product of uranium enrichment, DU is a very dense and radioactive metal that, when housed in small torpedo-like munitions, can pierce thickly armored tanks and other vehicles.

Reacting to the British announcement, Putin ominously said he would respond accordingly if the Ukrainians begin blasting off rounds of DU.

While the UKs decision to send depleted-uranium shells to Ukraine is unlikely to prove a turning point in the wars outcome, it will have a lasting, potentially devastating, impact on soldiers, civilians, and the environment. The controversial deployment of DU doesnt pose faintly the same risks as the actual nuclear weapons Putin and his associates have hinted they might use someday in Ukraine or as would a potential meltdown at the embattled Zaporizhzhia nuclear facility in that country. Still, its use will certainly help create an even more lethal, all too literally radioactive theater of war  and Ukraine will end up paying a price for it.

The Radioactive Lions of Babylon

Stuart Dyson survived his deployment in the first Gulf War of 1991, where he served as a lance corporal with Britains Royal Pioneer Corps. His task in Kuwait was simple enough: he was to help clean up dirty tanks after they had seen battle. Many of the machines he spent hours scrubbing down had carried and fired depleted uranium shells used to penetrate and disable Iraqs T-72 tanks, better known as the Lions of Babylon.

Dyson spent five months in that war zone, ensuring American and British tanks were cleaned, armed, and ready for battle. When the war ended, he returned home, hoping to put his time in the Gulf War behind him. He found a decent job, married, and had children. Yet his health deteriorated rapidly and he came to believe that his military service was to blame. Like so many others who had served in that conflict, Dyson suffered from a mysterious and debilitating illness that came to be known as Gulf War Syndrome.

After Dyson suffered years of peculiar ailments, ranging from headaches to dizziness and muscle tremors, doctors discovered that he had a severe case of colon cancer, which rapidly spread to his spleen and liver. The prognosis was bleak and, after a short battle, his body finally gave up. Stuart Dyson died in 2008 at the age of 39.

His saga is unique, not because he was the only veteran of the first Gulf War to die of such a cancer at a young age, but because his cancer was later recognized in a court of law as having been caused by exposure to depleted uranium. In a landmark 2009 ruling, jurors at the Smethwick Council House in the UK found that Dysons cancer had resulted from DU accumulating in his body, and in particular his internal organs.

My feeling about Mr. Dysons colon cancer is that it was produced because he ingested some radioactive material and it became trapped in his intestine, Professor Christopher Busby, an expert on the effects of uranium on health, said in his court testimony. To my mind, there seems to be a causal arrow from his exposure to his final illness. Its certainly much more probable than not that Mr. Dysons cancer was caused by exposure to depleted uranium.

The U.S. Department of Defense estimated that American forces fired more than 860,000 rounds of DU shells during that 1991 war to push Iraqi autocrat Saddam Husseins military out of Kuwait. The result: a poisoned battlefield laced with radioactive debris, as well as toxic nerve agents and other chemical agents.

In neighboring southern Iraq, background radiation following that war rose to 30 times normal. Tanks tested after being shelled with DU rounds had readings 50 times higher than average.

Its hot forever, explains Doug Rokke, a former major in the U.S. Army Reserves Medical Service Corps who helped decontaminate dozens of vehicles hit by DU shells during the first Gulf War. It doesnt go away. It only disperses and blows around in the wind, he adds. And of course, it wasnt just soldiers who suffered from DU exposure. In Iraq, evidence has been building that DU, an intense carcinogenic agent, has led to increases in cancer rates for civilians, too.

When we were moving forward and got north of a minefield, there were a bunch of blown-out tanks that were near where we would set up a command post, says Jason Peterson, a former American Marine who served in the first Gulf War. Marines used to climb inside and play in them  We barely knew where Kuwait was, let alone the kind of ammunition that was used to blow shit up on that level.

While its difficult to discern exactly what caused the Gulf War Syndrome from which Dyson and so many other soldiers suffered (and continue to suffer), experts like Rokke are convinced that exposure to depleted uranium played a central role in the illness. Thats an assertion Western governments have consistently downplayed. In fact, the Pentagon has repeatedly denied any link between the two.

Im a warrior, and warriors want to fulfill their mission, Rokke, who also suffers from Gulf War Syndrome, told Vanity Fair in 2007. I went into this wanting to make it work, to work out how to use DU safely, and to show other soldiers how to do so and how to clean it up. This was not science out of a book, but science done by blowing the shit out of tanks and seeing what happens. And as we did this work, slowly it dawned on me that we were screwed. You cant do this safely in combat conditions. You cant decontaminate the environment or your own troops.

Death to Uranium

Depleted uranium cant produce a nuclear explosion, but its still directly linked to the development of atomic weaponry. Its a by-product of the uranium enrichment process used in nuclear weapons and fuel. DU is alluring to weapons makers because its heavier than lead, which means that, if fired at a high velocity, it can rip through the thickest of metals.

That its radioactive isnt what makes it so useful on the battlefield, at least according to its proponents. Its so dense and its got so much momentum that it just keeps going through the armor  and it heats it up so much that it catches on fire, says RAND nuclear expert and policy researcher Edward Geist.

The manufacturing of DU dates back to the 1970s in the United States. Today, the American military employs DU rounds in its M1A2 Abrams tanks. Russia has also used DU in its tank-busting shells since at least 1982 and there are plenty of accusations, though as yet no hard evidence, that Russia has already deployed such shells in Ukraine. Over the years, for its part, the U.S. has fired such rounds not just in Kuwait, but also in Bosnia, Iraq, Kosovo, Syria, and Serbia as well.

Both Russia and the U.S. have reasons for using DU, since each has piles of the stuff sitting around with nowhere to put it. Decades of manufacturing nuclear weapons have created a mountain of radioactive waste. In the U.S., more than 500,000 tons of depleted-uranium waste has built up since the Manhattan Project first created atomic weaponry, much of it in Hanford, Washington, the countrys main plutonium production site. As I investigated in my book Atomic Days: The Untold Story of the Most Toxic Place in America, Hanford is now a cesspool of radioactive and chemical waste, representing the most expensive environmental clean-up project in history with an estimated price tag of $677 billion.

Uranium, of course, is what makes the whole enterprise viable: you cant create atomic bombs or nuclear power without it. The trouble is that uranium itself is radioactive, as it emits alpha particles and gamma rays. That makes mining uranium one of the most dangerous operations on the planet.

Keep It in the Ground

In New Mexico, where uranium mines were primarily worked by Dine (Navajo People), the toll on their health proved gruesome indeed. According to a 2000 study in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine, rates of lung cancer in Navajo men who mined uranium were 28 times higher than in those who never mined uranium. The Navajo experience with uranium mining, it added, is a unique example of exposure in a single occupation accounting for the majority of lung cancers in an entire population.

Scores of studies have shown a direct correlation between exposure to uranium and kidney disease, birth defects in infants (when mothers were exposed), increased rates of thyroid disease, and several autoimmune diseases. The list is both extensive and horrifying.

My family had a lot of cancer, says anti-nuclear activist and Indigenous community organizer Leona Morgan. My grandmother died of lung cancer and she never smoked. It had to be the uranium.

One of the largest radioactive accidents, and certainly the least reported, occurred in 1979 on Dine land when a dam broke, flooding the Puerco River near Church Rock, New Mexico, with 94 million gallons of radioactive waste. The incident received virtually no attention at the time. The water, filled with acids from the milling process, twisted a metal culvert in the Puerco and burned the feet of a little boy who went wading. Sheep keeled over and died, while crops curdled along the banks. The surge of radiation was detected as far away as Sanders, Arizona, fifty miles downstream, writes Judy Pasternak in her book Yellow Dirt: A Poisoned Land and the Betrayal of the Navajo.

Of course, weve known about the dangers of uranium for decades, which makes it all the more mind-boggling to see a renewed push for increased mining of that radioactive ore to generate nuclear power. The only way to ensure that uranium doesnt poison or kill anyone is to leave it right where its always been: in the ground. Sadly, even if you were to do so now, there would still be tons of depleted uranium with nowhere to go. A 2016 estimate put the worlds mountain of DU waste at more than one million tons (each equal to 2,000 pounds).

So why isnt depleted uranium banned? Thats a question antinuclear activists have been asking for years. Its often met with government claims that DU isnt anywhere near as bad as its peacenik critics allege. In fact, the U.S. government has had a tough time even acknowledging that Gulf War Syndrome exists. A Government Accountability Office report released in 2017 found that the Veterans Affairs Department had denied more than 80% of all Gulf War illness claims by veterans. Downplaying DUs role, in other words, comes with the terrain.

The use of DU in weapons should be prohibited, maintains Ray Acheson, an organizer for the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons and author of Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy. While some governments argue there is no definitive proof its use in weapons causes harm, it is clear from numerous investigations that its use in munitions in Iraq and other places has caused impacts on the health of civilians as well as military personnel exposed to it, and that it has caused long-term environmental damage, including groundwater contamination. Its use in weapons is arguably in violation of international law, human rights, and environmental protection and should be banned in order to ensure it is not used again.

If the grisly legacy of the American use of depleted uranium tells us anything, its that those DU shells the British are supplying to Ukraine (and the ones the Russians may also be using there) will have a radioactive impact that will linger in that country for years to come, with debilitating, potentially fatal, consequences. It will, in a sense, be part of a global atomic war that shows no sign of ending.

Copyright 2023 Joshua Frank

Via Tomdispatch.com
VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Nevada Sunrise Metals Corp. ("Nevada Sunrise", or the "Company") (TSXV: NEV) (OTC: NVSGF) is pleased to announce that the Company has completed its Phase 2 drilling program at its 100%-owned Gemini Lithium Project ("Gemini") located in the Lida Valley basin in Esmeralda County, Nevada. Three holes were completed in Phase 2 for a total of 5,310 feet (1,618.9 metres), bringing the total number of holes drilled by the Company at Gemini to five, totaling 7,330 feet (2,234.76 metres). The Gemini drilling program began in March 2022 and was successful in intersecting lithium mineralization in every hole, both in sediments and in groundwater (see Nevada Sunrise news releases dated May 18, 2022, June 6, 2022, February 7, 2023 and March 28, 2023).

Summary of Borehole GEM23-05

GEM23-05, the final Phase 2 borehole, was completed to depth of 1,740 feet (530.49 metres) at a location approximately 0.52 miles (0.83 kilometres) south of borehole GEM22-02 and 1.04 miles (1.67 kilometres) southeast of borehole GEM23-04. After passing through Quaternary alluvium, the borehole intersected green clay from 440 to 540 feet (134.15 metres to 164.63 metres) followed by varying stratigraphies of green, brown and sandy clays and white ash tuffs until a rhyolite flow sequence was encountered at 1,575 feet (480.18 metres). The rhyolite sequence, predominantly dark gray to black volcanic glass (obsidian) flows with minor tuff and lithic tuff, may represent a basement layer unconformably overlying the much older Emigrant Formation basement unit that was intersected in hole GEM23-03, drilled to 1,620 feet (493.9 metres), thus providing further definition of the depth of the Gemini basin.

Nevada Sunrise believes that the southern and western parts of the Gemini basin are highly prospective for additional lithium mineralization and that further drilling could eventually define a large lithium resource. The Company is planning to carry out a Phase 3 drilling program at Gemini later in 2023 to infill the current pattern of boreholes with the goal of producing a National Instrument 43-101-compliant resource estimate and a Preliminary Economic Assessment of the lithium-bearing zones. In addition to the lithium-fertile western area of Gemini, the 2016 and 2022 geophysical results indicate continuity of the conductive zones (shown in red, Figure 1) in the eastern part of the Project, where these untested zones appear to be mapping the lithium-bearing stratigraphies intersected in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 drilling (Figure 2).

A total of 49 groundwater water samples and 172 sediment samples were collected from GEM23-05. Groundwater samples were collected intermittently at 20-foot intervals from a depth of 640 feet to a depth of 1,080 feet (195.12 to 329.27 metres), and then continuously from 1,120 feet to the bottom of the hole at 1,740 feet (341.46 to 530.49 metres). Sediment samples were collected at 20-foot (6.1 metre) intervals from the surface to a depth of 460 feet (140.24 metres) and then at 10-foot (3.05 metre) intervals from 460 feet (140.24 metres) to the bottom of the hole at 1,740 feet (530.49 metres).

Geochemical analyses for sediment and groundwater samples from GEM23-05 are pending, and will be released following their receipt, compilation and interpretation.

About the 2022-2023 Gemini Drilling Program

In March and April 2022, Nevada Sunrise drilled two RC boreholes for a total of 2,020 feet (615.85 metres) in its maiden drilling program at Gemini. The drill sites were located within a defined gravity low that hosts conductive layers detected by historical ground electromagnetic surveys. The results from the first two holes at Gemini represented a new discovery of lithium-bearing sediments and lithium-in-water in the western Lida Valley, which was not historically drill tested for lithium mineralization. Borehole GEM22-03, drilled to 1,620 feet (493.9 metres) intersected the same sequence of volcanic ash sediments as was found in GEM22-01 and GEM22-02, and similar geologic formations are observed in borehole GEM23-04 and GEM23-05.

In July 2022, Nevada Sunrise received a permit for an expanded drilling area from the Bureau of Land Management (the "BLM") good until July 2024.

About Gemini

Gemini consists of 582 unpatented placer and lode claims located in the western Lida Valley, Esmeralda County, approximately 6 miles (10 kilometres) east of the town of Lida, Nevada. The Lida Valley is a flat, arid basin with a similar geological setting to the better-known Clayton Valley basin where Albemarle Corporation operates the Silver Peak lithium brine mine, which has operated continuously since 1966.

Gemini is situated adjacent to the Gold Point Solar Energy Zone, a BLM land reserve set aside for solar and wind power generation projects until 2033. Exploration at Gemini is complemented by the Company's 80.09 acre/feet/year water right, a pre-requisite for the exploration and development of lithium brine projects in Nevada.

For further information on Gemini, including drill hole location maps and photos click here

Sampling and Analytical QA/QC and Statement of Qualified Person

Sediment Sample Collection and Analysis

Sediment samples described in this new release are a composite of material collected from the rotary splitter in the RC drilling rig, which produces a continuous, representative 3 to 5 kilogram sample for each sample interval. Samples were submitted to American Assay and ALS Global USA in Reno, NV and were analyzed utilizing a multi-element ICP-AES method. Specifically, the analytical method involves aqua regia digestion of the sample followed by the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) technique to ionize the sample, and atomic emission spectrometry (AES) to determine elemental concentrations. Duplicates, field blanks, and certified reference standards were inserted at regular intervals in the sample stream to ensure accuracy of the analytical method.

Water Sample Collection and Analysis

Water parameters including TDS, conductivity, temperature, and pH values were obtained in the field by direct measurement with a handheld YSI556 Multi-parameter water meter, which meets Good Laboratory Practice (as proscribed by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) for calibration and measurement.

Groundwater samples were collected at 20-foot (6.1-metre) intervals and sent to Western Environmental Testing Laboratory in Reno, Nevada under project chain-of-custody protocols for analysis. Industry standard methods for examination of water are employed by the laboratory. General chemistry testing may include analysis for specific gravity, total hardness, total alkalinity, bicarbonate, carbonate, hydroxide, total dissolved solids (TDS) and electrical conductivity. Lithium is analyzed by inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectroscopy (ICP-OES) methods.

The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Robert M. Allender, Jr., CPG, RG, SME and a Qualified Person for Nevada Sunrise as defined in National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

About Nevada Sunrise

Nevada Sunrise is a junior mineral exploration company with a strong technical team based in Vancouver, BC, Canada, that holds interests in gold, copper, cobalt and lithium exploration projects located in the State of Nevada, USA.

Nevada Sunrise owns 100% interests in the Gemini, Jackson Wash and Badlands lithium projects, all of which are located in the Lida Valley in Esmeralda County, NV. The Company owns Nevada water right Permit 86863, also located in the Lida Valley basin, near Lida, NV.

The Company's key gold asset is a 20.01% interest in a joint venture at the Kinsley Mountain Gold Project near Wendover, NV with Copaur Minerals Inc. Kinsley Mountain is a Carlin-style gold project hosting a National Instrument 43-101 compliant gold resource consisting of 418,000 indicated ounces of gold grading 2.63 g/t Au (4.95 million tonnes), and 117,000 inferred ounces of gold averaging 1.51 g/t Au (2.44 million tonnes), at cut-off grades ranging from 0.2 to 2.0 g/t Au 1.

1 Technical Report on the Kinsley Project, Elko County, Nevada, U.S.A., dated June 21, 2021 with an effective date of May 5, 2021 and prepared by Michael M. Gustin, Ph.D., and Gary L. Simmons, MMSA and filed under New Placer Dome Gold Corp.'s Issuer Profile on SEDAR (www.sedar.com).

Nevada Sunrise has the right to earn a 100% interest in the Coronado VMS Project, located approximately 48 kilometers (30 miles) southeast of Winnemucca, NV. The Company owns a 15% interest in the historic Lovelock Cobalt Mine and the Treasure Box copper properties, each located approximately 150 kilometers (100 miles) east of Reno, NV, with Global Energy Metals Corp. holding an 85% participating interest.

FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS

This release may contain forwardlooking statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur and include disclosure of anticipated exploration activities. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forwardlooking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forwardlooking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date such statements were made. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forwardlooking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Such factors include, among others, risks related to the results and outcomes of the Company's 2022-2023 exploration and future exploration plans at the Gemini Lithium Project; reliance on technical information provided by third parties on any of our exploration properties; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; current economic conditions; future prices of commodities; possible variations in grade or recovery rates; failure of equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; the failure of contracted parties to perform; labor disputes and other risks of the mining industry; delays due to pandemic; delays in obtaining governmental approvals, financing or in the completion of exploration, as well as those factors discussed in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis for the Three Months ending December 31, 2022, which is available under Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com.

Although Nevada Sunrise has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause actions, events or results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Nevada Sunrise disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
In-fill drill holes at La Romana intersect additional high grade mineralization; 15m at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag, including 7.8m at 1.9% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 8.8g/t Ag 22m at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn 3.1g/t Ag, including 12m at 1.1% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 5.0g/t Ag

First drill holes at Romana Deep deliver encouraging results and follow-up geophysics planned

Exploration drilling ongoing at Zarcita and La Romana

Drilling to commence at Canada Honda target

VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Pan Global Resources Inc. ("Pan Global" or the "Company") (TSXV: PGZ) (OTCQB: PGZFF) is pleased to announce assay results for its ongoing diamond drilling at the La Romana copper-tin-silver discovery and results for the first three drill holes at the Romana Deep target at the Company's 100%-owned Escacena Project in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, southern Spain.

"The near surface high grade copper, tin, and silver results reported today confirm the continuity of the La Romana mineralization and highlight the potential to improve the overall grade with further in-fill drilling," said Tim Moody, Pan Global's President & CEO. "Planned testing of the strike extensions of the gravity and electrical geophysics targets east and west of the La Romana discovery is expected to further expand the area of mineralization."

"Exploration drilling at the Romana Deep target revealed an 80-meter-plus zone of alteration similar to that associated with mineralization at La Romana. The first three holes encountered multiple narrow intercepts of high grade copper mineralization up to 1.0m thick grading 1.1% to 3.8% Cu and up to 0.43% Sn and 55g/t Ag. The frequency of thin bands of massive and semi-massive sulphide and alteration intensity indicate an ecouraging vector with increasing copper towards the east, providing a guide for follow-up drilling."

Drill results are summarized in Table 1 and drill hole collar details are presented in Table 2 below. Drill hole locations are shown in Figure 1.

La Romana Drilling Highlights

LRD145  15m at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag from 74m , including 7.8m at 1.9% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 8.8g/t Ag (includes 0.4m at 16.1% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 68.1 g/t Ag)

 at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag from , including LRD142  22m at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 3.1g/t Ag from 40m , including 12m at 1.1% Cu, 0.13% Sn and 5.0g/t Ag

 at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 3.1g/t Ag from , including LRD144  22m at 0.5% Cu, 0.05% Sn and 2.9g/t Ag from 50m , including 7m at 1.0% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 4.6g/t Ag

 at 0.5% Cu, 0.05% Sn and 2.9g/t Ag from , including LRD143  70.85m at 0.33% Cu, 0.03% Sn and 2.3g/t Ag from 57m , including 6m at 1.1% Cu, 0.01% Sn, 5.2g/t Ag, 0.6m at 1.9% Cu, 0.12% Sn, 10.8g/t Ag, 1.0m at 1.1% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 6.4g/t Ag, and 0.6m at 1.7% Cu, 0.11% Sn, 9.4g/t Ag

 at 0.33% Cu, 0.03% Sn and 2.3g/t Ag from , including

The new drill results at La Romana intersected high grade copper (Cu) in four of the five drill holes targeting electromagnetic (EM) anomalies within the drill area. Together with previous drilling, the results further demonstrate good continuity of the mineralization and the potential for additional infill drilling to have a positive impact on the overall grade at La Romana. Drill holes LRD142 and LRD145 delivered the highest grade Cu, tin (Sn), and silver (Ag) intersections compared to previous drilling on the same north-south section (see Figures 2 and 3 below). Hole LRD143 returned one of the widest intersections reported at La Romana with 0.33% Cu over 70.85m, including 6m at 1.1% Cu plus additional narrow high grade Cu-Sn-Ag intersections.

Results are pending for a further five stepout drill holes targeting EM anomalies and downdip projections of the La Romana mineralization. An additional 10 drillholes are planned to test a gap in the drill pattern, previously inaccessible due to farm infrastructure, for additional high grade copper mineralization. These holes will also test the potential for additional near-surface supergene enriched chalcocite mineralization. Additional holes will test the continuity of tin mineralization and provide samples required for the tin metallurgy test work program. Drilling of the untested western strike projection of the La Romana mineralization is planned pending access.

Romana Deep

The three drill holes testing a heliborne EM anomaly at Romana Deep each intersected more than 80m thick zones of chlorite and sericite alteration with multiple thin bands of massive and semi massive sulphide with high copper grades. The drilling shows alteration and associated copper mineralization extending from 300m to more than 600m downdip from the near-surface La Romana mineralization. The results for drill holes RDD02 and RDD03 indicates the heliborne EM anomaly in this area is potentially related to an upper copper mineralized horizon, approximately 100m stratigraphically above the main La Romana copper mineralization.

The drill results also highlight a vector to the east, characterized by increasing intervals of semi-massive and massive sulphide towards the east and anomalous copper over a wide interval in hole RDD01, the easternmost hole. Follow-up drilling at Romana Deep will be planned on completion of additional geophysics to help identify potentially thicker zones of high grade mineralization and potential to the east.

High grade intercepts at Romana Deep include:

RDD01  73.6m at 0.13% Cu from 454.2m , including 0.25m at 1.7% Cu, 9.9g/t Ag from 456.30m 0.20m at 3.5% Cu, 11.2g/t Ag from 460.90m 0.20m at 1.1% Cu, 5.6g/t Ag from 493.60m 0.35m at 2.4% Cu, 9.1g/t Ag from 497.45m 0.25m at 3.8% Cu, 29.8g/t Ag, 0.15g/t Au from 513.85m 0.40m at 1.6% Cu, 3.9g/t Ag from 527.40m

at 0.13% Cu from , including RDD02  1.0m at 1.4% Cu, 10.2g/t Ag from 310.0m , and 0.5m at 1.2% Cu, 5.7g/t Ag from 369.75m 0.6m at 3.0% Cu, 55.3g/t Ag from 561.65m 1.0m at 1.3% Cu, 7.4g/t Ag from 565.00m

at 1.4% Cu, 10.2g/t Ag from , and RDD03  1.0m at 1.1% Cu, 0.43% Sn, 4.3g/t Ag from 513.00m

Table 1  Escacena Project, drill results summary (all intersections are >90% to approximately 100% of true thickness)

La Romana Hole From To Interval Cu Sn Ag Co Au Pb Zn m m m % % g/t ppm g/t ppm ppm LRD141 74.00 87.65 13.65 0.2 0.01 1.4 66 0.01 58 374 LRD142 40.00 62.00 22.00 0.7 0.07 3.1 77 <0.01 65 399 inc. 41.00 53.00 12.00 1.1 0.13 5.0 96 <0.01 29 431 inc. 40.00 43.00 3.00 1.0 0.24 5.6 98 <0.01 38 321 inc. 46.00 53.00 7.00 1.4 0.11 6.0 104 <0.01 36 559 LRD143 57.00 127.85 70.85 0.33 0.03 2.3 76 <0.01 95 566 inc. 57.00 63.00 6.00 1.1 0.01 5.2 133 0.01 36 670 inc. 59.00 62.00 3.00 1.6 0.01 6.7 145 0.01 38 532 inc. 100.45 101.00 0.55 1.9 0.12 10.8 239 0.04 150 863 inc. 108.00 109.00 1.00 1.1 0.04 6.4 90 0.01 268 804 inc. 127.25 127.85 0.60 1.7 0.11 9.4 612 0.09 481 2190 LRD144 50.00 72.00 22.00 0.5 0.05 2.9 66 <0.01 100 639 inc. 57.00 64.00 7.00 1.0 0.13 4.6 89 <0.01 94 615 inc. 59.00 64.00 5.00 1.2 0.10 5.1 95 <0.01 97 695 LRD145 74.00 89.00 15.00 1.2 0.05 5.4 97 <0.01 114 588 inc 74.00 87.00 13.00 1.3 0.06 6.0 105 <0.01 118 626 inc. 77.50 85.30 7.80 1.9 0.07 8.8 131 0.01 156 787 inc. 77.50 79.00 1.50 3.0 0.18 14.4 173 0.02 185 1144 inc. 84.00 85.30 1.30 6.5 0.07 28.0 292 0.04 367 1561 inc. 84.90 85.30 0.40 16.1 0.08 68.1 557 0.07 802 3020

Romana Deep Hole From To Interval Cu Sn Ag Co Au Pb Zn m m m % ppm g/t ppm g/t ppm ppm RDD01 454.20 527.80 73.60 0.13 <0.01 0.9 29 <0.01 93 284 inc. 456.30 456.55 0.25 1.7 <0.01 9.9 128 0.02 76 602 inc. 460.90 461.10 0.20 3.5 0.01 11.2 195 0.05 53 536 inc. 493.60 493.80 0.20 1.1 <0.01 5.6 64 0.05 196 939 inc. 497.45 497.80 0.35 2.4 <0.01 9.1 54 0.10 207 6980 inc. 513.85 514.10 0.25 3.8 0.01 29.8 351 0.15 225 615 inc. 527.40 527.80 0.40 1.6 <0.01 3.9 163 0.07 40 215 RDD02 310.00 311.00 1.00 1.4 <0.01 10.2 124 0.17 536 598 369.75 370.25 0.50 1.2 <0.01 5.7 94 0.03 23 93 561.65 562.25 0.60 3.0 0.01 55.3 167 0.11 9470 14300 565.00 566.00 1.00 1.3 <0.01 7.4 136 0.05 669 528 RDD03 513.00 514.00 1.00 1.1 0.43 4.3 63 0.02 17 127



Table 2  Escacena Project, drill hole collar information (Total 2609.75m)

Hole_ID Easting1 Northing1 Azimuth

() Dip

() Depth

(m) LRD141 736842 4152657 180 -55 180 LRD142 736484 4152669 180 -55 120 LRD143 736735 4152673 180 -55 161.4 LRD144 736438 4152708 180 -55 125.5 LRD145 736487 4152717 180 -55 165.15 RDD01 736788 4153045 180 -90 608.4 RDD02 736680 4153109 180 -90 629.4 RDD03 736527 4153046 180 -90 619.9 1Coordinates are in ERTS89 datum UTM29N\

Drilling is ongoing in the Escacena Project at the La Romana and Zarcita targets and is due to commence at the Canada Honda target approximately 5 km north of La Romana targeting geophysics targets adjacent to historical mine workings. Results are pending for approximately 15 drill holes at La Romana and Zarcita. Negotiations are progressing with land owners for access to the untested potential near-surface extensions to the La Romana mineralization.

QA/QC Procedures

Core size was HQ (63mm) and all samples were  core. Nominal sample size was 1m core length and ranged from 0.4 to 2m. Sample intervals were defined using geological contacts with the start and end of each sample physically marked on the core. Diamond blade core cutting and sampling was supervised at all times by Company staff. Duplicate samples of  core were taken approximately every 30 samples and Certified Reference materials inserted every 25 samples in each batch.

Samples were delivered to ALS laboratory in Seville, Spain and assayed at the ALS laboratory in Ireland. All samples were crushed and split (method CRU-31, SPL22Y), and pulverized using (method PUL-31). Gold analysis was by 50gm Fire assay with ICP finish (method Au-ICP22) and multi element analysis was undertaken using a 4-acid digest with ICP AES finish (method ME-ICP61). Tin was analyzed in selected intervals using Lithium borate fusion and ICP MS finish (method ME-MS81). Over grade base metal results were assayed using a 4-acid digest ICP AES (method OG-62). Over grade tin was determined using peroxide fusion with ICP finish (method Sn-ICP81x).

About the Escacena Project

The Escacena Project comprises a large, contiguous, 5,760-hectare land package controlled 100% by Pan Global in the east of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The project is located near operating mines at Las Cruces and Riotinto and is immediately adjacent to the former Aznalcollar and Los Frailes mines where Minera Los Frailes/Grupo Mexico is in the final permitting stage with construction anticipated to restart in 2023. The Escacena Project hosts the La Romana copper-tin discovery and a number of other prospective targets, including Zarcita, Hornitos, La Jarosa, Romana Deep, Bravo, Barbacena, El Pozo, and San Pablo.

About Pan Global Resources

Pan Global Resources Inc. is actively engaged in base and precious metal exploration in southern Spain and is pursuing opportunities from exploration through to mine development. The Company is committed to operating safely and with respect to the communities and environment where we operate.

Qualified Persons

James Royall, Vice President Exploration for Pan Global Resources and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information for this news release. Mr. Royall is not independent of the Company.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

www.panglobalresources.com

Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this news release are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.

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.
Australia - TheNewswire - 19 April 2023 - Jervois Global Limited (Jervois or the Company) (ASX:JRV) (TSX-V:JRV) (OTC:JRVMF) advises an updated (April 2023) Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for its 100% owned Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO) in the United States (U.S.) is now complete and surmised below.

Highlights

2023 updated Mineral Resource Estimate (MRE) for the RAM deposit at the Idaho Cobalt Operations (ICO) incorporates 10,000 metres (m) of new drilling comprising six (6) resource expansion drillholes and sixty-two (62) infill drillholes 1

Updated ICO Measured and Indicated (M) MRE at 3.78 million metric tonnes (Mt) grading 0.52% cobalt (Co), 0.84% copper (Cu) and 0.54 grams per metric tonne of gold (g/t Au), reported at a cut-off grade (CoG) of 0.20% Co; update broadly consistent with previous (2020) MRE

Updated Inferred Resources increased grade, relative to the previous (2020) MRE, with updated tonnage of 1.59Mt @ 0.51% Co, 0.92% Cu and 0.65 g/t Au; at a 0.20% Co CoG. Co, Cu and Au grades improved 21%, 84% and 18%, respectively

Inferred Resources represent significant opportunity with respect to resource/reserve development through potential conversion to MI classification with further drilling

RAM orebody remains open at depth and along strike; Jervois has identified Exploration Targets beyond the limits of the current MRE that represent between 0.5-0.7Mt of mineralisation ranging from 0.63% to 0.79% Co, 0.69% to 0.79% Cu and 0.45 to 0.53 g/t Au

Drilling results provide confidence that the updated RAM resource has potential to ultimately support extended mine life when utilised to update Mineral Reserves and incorporated into a revised Life of Mine plan

United States (U.S.) Department of Defense (DOD) intends to award Jervois US$15 million under Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III programme; proceeds can accelerate drilling, aimed at increasing ICO mineral resource and reserve, and assess construction of a cobalt refinery in the U.S.; both can proceed as planned despite the recently announced suspension of the ICO mine2

Mineral Resources

An updated MRE for the RAM deposit is presented below (Tables 1 and 2) at a series of cut-off grades (CoGs) that includes a 0.15% Co CoG, which was the reported CoG for the previous 2020 MRE, as well as the 0.20% Co CoG that has been selected for current reporting, due to a revised evaluation of anticipated mining and processing costs.

The global resource (mineralised envelope) comprising the RAM deposit at ICO remains open both at depth and along strike. Jervois is confident there is significant continued potential for resource expansion. Encouragingly, the 10,000 metres (m) of new drilling completed since the previous (2020) ICO MRE, has increased both statistical and geological confidence based on the consistency of the new drilling results. In particular, no significant offsets or other grade discontinuities were identified.

The current ICO mineral resource estimation work incorporates revised geological modelling that more accurately represents Co-Cu mineralisation within the RAM deposit. The revised modelling approach, along with modified resource categorisation criteria, has resulted in a minor decrease in tonnage (-11%) of the 2023 total Measured and Indicated (M&I) resources relative to the previous (2020) MRE. However, these changes have also resulted in corresponding increases in Co and Cu grades of +6% and +12%, respectively. Figures further illustrating the comparison between the previous (2020) and the current ICO MRE are presented below (Figures 1-4).

Table 1: Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources (Inclusive of Mineral Reserves)

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources (Inclusive of Mineral Reserves) 2023 MRE 2020 MRE Co Cut-off (%) Metric tonnes Co (%) Co (lbs) Cu (%) Cu (lbs) Au (g/t) Au (Oz*) Metric tonnes Co (%) Co (lbs) Cu (%) Cu (lbs) Au (g/t) Au (Oz*) 0.15 4,350,000 0.48 45,750,000 0.79 76,270,000 0.50 70,354 5,230,000 0.44 50,100,000 0.69 80,060,000 0.53 89,260 0.20 3,780,000 0.52 43,540,000 0.84 69,820,000 0.54 65,299 4,260,000 0.49 46,300,000 0.75 70,080,000 0.60 82,300 0.25 3,260,000 0.57 40,990,000 0.87 62,680,000 0.57 59,447 3,500,000 0.56 42,600,000 0.79 61,270,000 0.65 73,220 0.30 2,780,000 0.62 38,110,000 0.92 56,180,000 0.61 54,211 2,920,000 0.61 39,100,000 0.83 53,620,000 0.68 64,220 0.35 2,410,000 0.67 35,420,000 0.95 50,330,000 0.64 49,390 2,440,000 0.66 35,600,000 0.86 46,520,000 0.73 57,450

*Troy ounce

Table 2: Inferred Mineral Resources

Inferred Mineral Resources 2023 MRE 2020 MRE Co Cut-off (%) Metric tonnes Co (%) Co (lbs) Cu (%) Cu (lbs) Au (g/t) Au (Oz*) Metric tonnes Co (%) Co (lbs) Cu (%) Cu (lbs) Au (g/t) Au (Oz*) 0.15 1,940,000 0.45 19,330,000 0.83 35,550,000 0.58 36,156 1,570,000 0.35 12,000,000 0.44 13,820,000 0.45 22,490 0.20 1,590,000 0.51 17,990,000 0.92 32,250,000 0.65 33,053 1,110,000 0.42 10,300,000 0.50 11,100,000 0.55 19,520 0.25 1,370,000 0.56 16,880,000 0.98 29,660,000 0.69 30,558 830,000 0.49 8,900,000 0.56 9,300,000 0.62 16,380 0.30 1,160,000 0.61 15,580,000 1.05 26,800,000 0.75 27,885 610,000 0.57 7,600,000 0.65 7,930,000 0.72 14,070 0.35 970,000 0.67 14,280,000 1.09 23,420,000 0.80 24,877 450,000 0.65 6,400,000 0.71 6,390,000 0.72 10,500

*Troy ounce

Table 3: ICO Underground Constrained Mineral Resource Estimate @ 0.20% Co CoG

Classification Tonnes Co (%) Co (lbs) Cu (%) Cu (lbs) Au (g/t) Au (Oz*) Measured 460,000 0.70 7,100,000 1.16 11,800,000 0.783 11,500 Indicated 3,320,000 0.50 36,500,000 0.79 58,000,000 0.504 54,000 M&I 3,780,000 0.52 43,600,000 0.84 69,800,000 0.538 65,500 Inferred 1,590,000 0.51 18,000,000 0.92 32,300,000 0.645 33,000

*Troy ounce

Notes:

Mr. Andrew Turner, P.Geol. of APEX Geoscience Ltd., a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and a Competent Person as defined by JORC, is responsible for the completion of the updated mineral resource estimation, with an effective date of April 1, 2023. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The estimate of Mineral Resources may be materially affected by environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio-political, marketing, or other relevant issues. The Inferred Mineral Resource in this estimate has a lower level of confidence than that applied to an Indicated Mineral Resource and must not be converted to a Mineral Reserve. It is reasonably expected that the majority of the Inferred Mineral Resource could potentially be upgraded to an Indicated Mineral Resource with continued exploration. The Mineral Resources were estimated in accordance with the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM), CIM Standards on Mineral Resources and Reserves, Definitions (2014) and Best Practices Guidelines (2019) prepared by the CIM Standing Committee on Reserve Definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. The cut-off grade of 0.20% Co is based on an estimated process cost and GA cost of US$123.17/t, and metal prices of US$25.00/lb Co, US$3.00/lb Cu, and US$1750/troy oz Au, with process recoveries of 91.0% Co, 95.4% Cu, and 84.9% Au. An average contribution of 22% to Co payable values from Cu and Au has been assumed based upon the relative concentrations of the payable metals within the reported MI resources. The reported mineral resources are constrained by manually created wireframe solids (mineable shapes) that encapsulate contiguous blocks demonstrating reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction within the minable shapes.

Estimation parameters used to calculate the new 2023 ICO MRE are discussed in greater detail below and differ in a number of ways from those used in the 2020 ICO MRE. The current MRE uses 4-ft composites, while the historical MRE utilized 2-ft composites. Density data is also handled differently, as the current MRE utilizes single density values for each estimation domain based upon a statistical analysis of the individual density measurements contained within each domain. In comparison the 2020 MRE used a Co+Cu linear regression equation and the available density measurement data to estimate a density value for each composite. Estimation methodologies differ as well with the updated MRE utilising ordinary kriging and the 2020 MRE employing inverse distance squared.

As discussed above, the slight decrease in the total 2023 M&I resource tonnage, relative to the 2020 MRE, was accompanied by modest Co and Cu grade increases that have resulted in only a minor decrease in contained Co (-6%) and effectively no change in the contained Cu. In combination there was a significant increase in the 2023 Inferred MRE tonnage at ICO, relative to the 2020 MRE, increasing tonnes by more than 40%, up to 1.59Mt @ 0.51% Co, 0.92% Cu, 0.65 g/t Au. This gain in Inferred resources was largely driven by results of the 2,300m of resource expansion drilling completed in 2022 that tested down-dip extents of the RAM deposit. The RAM orebody remains open at depth, and also along strike.

Figure 1: 2023 vs 2020 MRE M&I Resource Tonnage Comparison

Figure 2: 2023 vs 2020 MRE M&I Resource Contained Cobalt Comparison

Figure 3: 2023 vs 2020 MRE Inferred Resource Tonnage Comparison

Figure 4: 2023 vs 2020 MRE Inferred Resource Contained Cobalt Comparison

The Companys long-term forecasted metal prices, used for the evaluation of the reporting cut-off grade for the 2023 MRE, remain unchanged from those utilized in the 2020 ICO MRE and Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS), which are tabulated below (along with 2-year and 3-year trailing average metal prices for comparison).

Table 3: US$ Metal Prices for Resource CoG Determination

Metal Values (US$) Unit Cobalt $25.00 /lb Copper $3.00 /lb Gold $1,750 /tr.oz.

Metal 2 Year Average 3 Year Average Cobalt/lb $28.28 $24.47 Copper/lb $4.12 $3.68 Gold/tr. oz $1,800 $1,792

Resource expansion work at ICO has focussed on down-dip extension of the RAM deposit, targeting beneath the central and southern extents of the 2020 MRE. Recent resource expansion drilling extended the vertical extents of the RAM deposit within targeted zones between 115m and 215m down-dip to an elevation of approximately 1,750m (see Figure 5).

Figure 5: RAM Resource Long Section



Future expansion drilling will focus on expanding the Indicated and Inferred depth continuity of the RAM MRE down-dip of the deposits central zone and along strike to the north.

In-fill drilling within the 2020 M&I Resources has provided strong indications of continuity in mineralisation across the south-central to central domains of the RAM deposit, which has increased confidence that is reflected in the estimation methodology implemented in production of the current MRE. Additional definition drilling available to the MRE has also increased confidence along the deposit margins, resulting in a greater level of accuracy across all resource categories. Furthermore, the geological continuity established within the updated M&I Resources of the RAM deposit provides confidence with respect to the mineability of the orebody due to the observed absence of significant offsets, gaps or other grade discontinuities. This is also likely to benefit an ability to upgrade newly defined Inferred Mineral Resources in an effort to extend mine life at ICO.

As noted previously, the RAM deposit remains open at depth and along strike to the north. As a result, JORC Exploration Targets proximal to the updated RAM deposit MRE have been identified that range between 0.5 and 0.7Mt with anticipated grades ranging from 0.63% to 0.79% Co, 0.69% to 0.79% Cu and 0.45 g/t to 0.53 g/t Au. These Exploration Targets are located between 100m and 150m from existing drillhole intercepts along the periphery of the current RAM deposit, an examination of which was used to establish the estimated ranges of tonnages and grades. This represents further upside potential for mine life expansion at the ICO, although it should be noted that Exploration Targets are conceptual in nature, with insufficient exploratory data to be included as part of a formal MRE, and are thus not included with the currently reported ICO MRE3.

MRE Methodology

Modelling was conducted in local Mine Grid coordinates (in US feet). The MRE block model utilised a rotated block size of 12 ft (X) x 12 ft (Y) x 4 ft (Z) to honour the mineralisation wireframes. The percentage of the volume of each block below the bare earth surface and within each mineralisation domain was calculated using 3D geological models and a 3D surface model.

The ICO drillhole database consists of 158 drillholes that intersect the interpreted mineralisation wireframes. The Co, Cu, and Au assays were composited to 4-foot composite lengths and the estimation utilised 1469 composited samples. A total of 0.4% of the total drilled metres inside the interpreted mineralisation wireframes were not sampled, assumed to be waste, and assigned a nominal waste value of half the detection limit of modern assay methods (0.005 % Co, 0.005 % Cu, 0.0005 g/t Au).

Estimation of Co, Cu, and Au grades was completed using Ordinary Kriging. The search ellipsoid size used to estimate each metal was defined by the modelled variograms. Block grade estimation employed locally varying anisotropy, which uses different rotation angles to define the principal directions of the variogram model and search ellipsoid on a per-block basis. Blocks within estimation domains are assigned rotation angles using a modelled 3D mineralisation trend surface wireframe, which allows structural complexities to be reproduced in the estimated block model. The number of variogram structures, contributions of each structure, and their ranges are set per estimation domain and do not vary within the estimation domain.

A total of 3466 bulk density samples are available from the ICO drillhole database, of which, 639 are within the modelled estimation domains. Jervoiss geological adviser, APEX Geoscience Ltd (APEX) performed exploratory data analysis of the bulk density samples available and the density was assigned for each domain at the ICO. The density of the deposits ranged from 2.86 g/cm3 to 3.11 g/cm3. The non-mineralised country rock was assigned a density of 2.83 g/cm3.

There are no other factors or issues of which the JORC Competent Person (CP), NI 43-101 Qualified Person (QP), is aware that would materially affect the current ICO MRE other than normal risks faced by all mining projects. The ICO is subject to the same types of risks that large base metal projects experience at an early stage of development in U.S.. The nature of the risks relating to ICO will change as the mine evolves and more information becomes available. The Company has engaged experienced management and specialized consultants to identify, manage and mitigate those risks.

U.S. Department of Defense Award Status

As previously announced, the U.S. Department of Defense (the DOD) has advised that it intends to award Jervois an immediate need for Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III with US$15 million of funding through a Not to Exceed Technology Investment Agreement. The DOD award would be subject to Jervois successfully completing required documentary steps including agreement to terms and conditions of the award. These steps continue to advance towards completion.

Whilst ICO site has been demobilised and Jervois Salmon workforce restructured, the Companys local geology team has been retained, and it is preparing to remobilise once DOD award monies are available. Detailed 2023 drilling plans have been prepared and the Company stands ready to execute in partnership with the U.S. Government to ensure that ICO can meaningfully contribute to improving the robustness of the U.S. critical mineral supply chain as it pertains to cobalt. ICO continues to offer potential to contribute in managing both U.S. energy transition and national security risks.



Quality Assurance

All drill core samples are sent to ALS Global Laboratories (Geochemistry Division), an independent and fully accredited laboratory (ISO 9001:2008), in Vancouver, Canada, for analysis for gold by Fire Assay and multi-element Induction Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy. Jervois employs a regimented Quality Assurance, Quality Control (QA/QC) program where at least 10% duplicates, blanks and certified reference material are inserted into each sample shipment. An examination of the QA/QC data associated with the recent resource expansion and in-fill drilling completed at the ICO was conducted by APEX as part of its initial drilling database validation work and no issues were identified.

On behalf of Jervois Global Limited

Bryce Crocker, Chief Executive Officer

For further information, please contact:

Investors and analysts: James May Chief Financial Officer Jervois Global This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Media: Nathan Ryan NWR Communications This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Mob: +61 420 582 887

Competent Persons Statement

The information in this release that relates to Mineral Exploration is based on information compiled by Andrew Turner, P.Geol. who is a consultant for the company and a member of The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta. Andrew Turner has sufficient experience which is relevant to the style of mineralisation and type of deposit under consideration and to the activity which he is undertaking to qualify as a Competent Person as defined in the 2012 Edition of the Australasian Code for Reporting of Exploration Results, Mineral Resources and Ore Reserves. Andrew Turner consents to the inclusion in the release of the matters based on the information in the form and context in which it appears.

Qualified Persons Statement

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed and approved by Andrew Turner, P.Geol., a consultant for the Company and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release may contain certain Forward-Looking Statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When used in this news release, the words anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, target, plan, forecast, may, schedule, expected and other similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. These forward-looking statements or information may relate to conversion of Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at ICO, the outcome of future drilling program, timing of updated Mineral Reserves, the mine life of ICO and certain other factors or information. Such statements represent Jervois current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by Jervois, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Jervois does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affections such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Appendix 1:

JORC Code, 2012 Edition  Table 1

Section 1 Sampling Techniques and Data

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Sampling techniques Nature and quality of sampling (eg cut channels, random chips, or specific specialised industry standard measurement tools appropriate to the minerals under investigation, such as down hole gamma sondes, or handheld XRF instruments, etc). These examples should not be taken as limiting the broad meaning of sampling. Include reference to measures taken to ensure sample representivity and the appropriate calibration of any measurement tools or systems used. Aspects of the determination of mineralisation that are Material to the Public Report. In cases where industry standard work has been done this would be relatively simple (eg reverse circulation drilling was used to obtain 1 m samples from which 3 kg was pulverised to produce a 30 g charge for fire assay). In other cases more explanation may be required, such as where there is coarse gold that has inherent sampling problems. Unusual commodities or mineralisation types (eg submarine nodules) may warrant disclosure of detailed information. Sampling is by diamond drill coring. All drill core was sampled contingent on geology and core recovery: Core was collected directly from the core barrel into core boxes, and drill core was cut in half by diamond saw, with one half of the core collected for laboratory analysis and the other half retained as reference core in the tray. Core trays were clearly labelled with the hole number, tray number and depth intervals marked. A cut-line was drawn by the logging geologists along the length of the drill core as a guide for the core sawing. The half-core was sampled, ensuring that the same side is consistently sampled, and placed into sample bags labelled with the assigned sample number. Downhole measurements are recorded using a Reflex OMNI Gyro at 30 metre intervals down each hole and at 1.5 metre intervals continuously at the end of every hole. Field sampling followed Jervois protocols including industry standard quality control procedures. Samples were sent to: ALS Geochemistry-Vancouver, an independent and fully accredited laboratory in Vancouver, Canada (ALS) for analysis for gold by 30g Fire Assays with wet chemical finish (ICP) and by multi-element Induction Coupled Plasma Spectroscopy (ICP). Jervois also has a regimented Quality Assurance, Quality Control (QA/QC) program where at least 10% standards and blanks are inserted into each sample shipment. Sample representivity is ensured by: Diamond Core: core samples are representative (and not selective) in that each sample comprised half (cut) core that was collected along the entire length of each sample interval. Handheld XRF instruments were used to spot check drill core for mineralization, however those results were not relied on. All sample results reported on are from ALS, an independent laboratory. All of the drilling was diamond drill core (HQ/NQ). Typically, drill core was sampled on nominal 3 foot (~1m) half core samples for HQ/NQ. All sample analyses were completed at ALS . ALS operates independent laboratories globally, which are ISO accredited. Samples are received at the laboratory: Bar codes are scanned and logged; samples are weighed and dried; samples are crushed to 70% less than 2mm, the crushing product is riffle split to collect a 250g split, which is pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns; aliquots from the pulverized split (the sample pulp) are analysed for 34 elements using ICP analysis and for gold by 30 gram Fire Assay with ICP-AES finish. Any samples with initial over-limit results for specific metals, including gold, copper, cobalt and arsenic are re-analysed accordingly to achieve complete results. Drilling techniques Drill type (eg core, reverse circulation, open-hole hammer, rotary air blast, auger, Bangka, sonic, etc) and details (eg core diameter, triple or standard tube, depth of diamond tails, face-sampling bit or other type, whether core is oriented and if so, by what method, etc). The 2022 underground drilling comprised HQ and NQ sized core, with reduction of hole size where appropriate. Holes were generally angled from -55 to -90 degrees at varying azimuths. Drill sample recovery Method of recording and assessing core and chip sample recoveries and results assessed. Measures taken to maximise sample recovery and ensure representative nature of the samples. Whether a relationship exists between sample recovery and grade and whether sample bias may have occurred due to preferential loss/gain of fine/coarse material. All holes are logged for basic geotechnical characteristics including measurements and calculations for core recovery and RQD values. Core recovery is recorded as a percentage equivalent to the length of core recovered, as a percentage of the drill run (interval length). Excellent recoveries were obtained from the 2022 diamond drilling. There is no bias noted between sample recovery and grade. Excellent recoveries were obtained from Diamond drilling other than in faulted zones which were not sampled. Logging Whether core and chip samples have been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail to support appropriate Mineral Resource estimation, mining studies and metallurgical studies. Whether logging is qualitative or quantitative in nature. Core (or costean, channel, etc) photography. The total length and percentage of the relevant intersections logged. Diamond drilling: Drill core is photographed and logged prior to sampling; Core has been geologically and geotechnically logged to a level of detail appropriate to support mineral resource estimation and mining studies. Logging has been conducted both qualitatively and quantitatively; full description of lithologies, alteration and comments are noted, as well as percentage estimates on veining and sulphides. The total length of all holes drilled in 2022 was 10,302m. All depths of relevance to this release are listed in the table in the body of the text. All drillholes are logged in their entirety. Sub-sampling techniques and sample preparation If core, whether cut or sawn and whether quarter, half or all core taken. If non-core, whether riffled, tube sampled, rotary split, etc and whether sampled wet or dry. For all sample types, the nature, quality and appropriateness of the sample preparation technique. Quality control procedures adopted for all sub-sampling stages to maximise representivity of samples. Measures taken to ensure that the sampling is representative of the in situ material collected, including for instance results for field duplicate/second-half sampling. Whether sample sizes are appropriate to the grain size of the material being sampled. All core was half-cut lengthwise using a diamond saw. The HQ/NQ core half-core was sampled. Samples are received at the laboratory: sample ID bar codes are scanned and logged; samples are weighed and dried; samples are crushed to 70% less than 2mm, the crushing product is riffle split to collect a 250g split, which is pulverized to better than 85% passing 75 microns; aliquots from the pulverized split (the sample pulp) are analysed for 34 elements using ICP analysis and for gold by 30 gram Fire Assay with ICP-AES finish. Any samples with initial over-limit results for specific metals, including gold, copper, cobalt and arsenic are re-analysed accordingly to achieve complete results. For core sampling the same side is consistently sampled, half-core is retained in the tray for HQ/NQ. The assay sub- sample is placed into sample bags labelled with the assigned sample number. One in 20 samples is duplicated where the core is quartered and a quarter cut sample is analysed as a duplicate. The remaining quarter samples is retained in the tray. Sample sizes of 2-3 kg are appropriate for the grain size of material. The sample preparation technique and sample sizes are considered appropriate to the material being sampled. Quality of assay data and laboratory tests The nature, quality and appropriateness of the assaying and laboratory procedures used and whether the technique is considered partial or total. For geophysical tools, spectrometers, handheld XRF instruments, etc, the parameters used in determining the analysis including instrument make and model, reading times, calibrations factors applied and their derivation, etc. Nature of quality control procedures adopted (eg standards, blanks, duplicates, external laboratory checks) and whether acceptable levels of accuracy (ie lack of bias) and precision have been established. The ICP-AES and Fire Assay (30 gram) analytical techniques are considered total and are high quality and appropriate for the mineralization being tested. Jervois has a regimented Quality Control protocol which has consisted of systematic submission of blanks, standards and duplicates in addition to those conducted at the laboratory. Precision levels for all blanks, standards and duplicate samples fell within acceptable ranges. Verification of sampling and assaying The verification of significant intersections by either independent or alternative company personnel. The use of twinned holes. Documentation of primary data, data entry procedures, data verification, data storage (physical and electronic) protocols. Discuss any adjustment to assay data. Significant intersections are alternatively verified by the CP and QP of the company. No holes have been twinned in this drill programme. Data is collected using a PostGRE SQL database custom-built for Idaho Cobalt Operations and incorporates historic MS Excel templated data. The database software includes data validation algorithms. The database software also allows for the direct importation of digital data files from the laboratory. Data is backed up on the cloud hosted server on and off site. All assay/analytical data returning below detection limit results have been entered in the project database as one half of the detection limit value. Samples received damaged at the laboratory, or with insufficient sample weight for analysis had the interval or location left blank. Location of data points Accuracy and quality of surveys used to locate drillholes (collar and down-hole surveys), trenches, mine workings and other locations used in Mineral Resource estimation. Specification of the grid system used. Quality and adequacy of topographic control. All surface drilling collars were surveyed by licensed surveyors and by trained geologists in the underground. Down-hole surveys were routinely carried out on all holes using a Reflex OMNI Gyro at 30 metre intervals down each hole and at 1.5 metre intervals continuously at the end of every hole. Holes were setup on collar using a Reflex TN14 Gyro. All datum is collected and recorded in a localized ICO Mine Grid. The 3D location of the individual samples is considered to be adequately established, consistent with accepted industry standards. Data spacing and distribution Data spacing for reporting of Exploration Results. Whether the data spacing and distribution is sufficient to establish the degree of geological and grade continuity appropriate for the Mineral Resource and Ore Reserve estimation procedure(s) and classifications applied. Whether sample compositing has been applied. To date, due to the exploratory nature of the drilling, the spacing is wide. Assay results for only two holes have been received. Further intervals have been sampled but the assays are not yet available. The intervals released are proximal to the existing RAM deposit MRRE and are interpreted as representing an extension of the RAM deposit. As a result, this data, along with the results from the 4 remaining holes with pending analyses, will be used in a planned mineral resource update later this year. The reported drillhole data comprises length-weight averaged core interval grade values. Data compositing is completed during Mineral Resource Estimation, but has not been applied to the data reported in this release. Orientation of data in relation to geological structure Whether the orientation of sampling achieves unbiased sampling of possible structures and the extent to which this is known, considering the deposit type. If the relationship between the drilling orientation and the orientation of key mineralised structures is considered to have introduced a sampling bias, this should be assessed and reported if material. Drilling sections are orientated perpendicular to the strike of the host rocks. Drillholes were inclined between -55 and -90 to optimize intercepts of mineralisation with respect to thickness and distribution. Drilling with angled holes in most instances provides a representative sample across the stratigraphy. Sample security The measures taken to ensure sample security. All individual samples are placed in plastic sample bags sealed with a cable tie. Then groups of samples are bagged in poly-woven sacks also sealed with a cable tie. The samples are sent by courier to the lab and tracked. To date, no sample shipments have had reported problems and/or a breach in security. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of sampling techniques and data. Jervois protocols consist of a regimented internal QA/QC which match or exceed global industry standards. APEX Geoscience Ltd. has been retained as independent geological consultants and have reviewed and approved the ICO sampling protocols and procedures and will be conducting a thorough review of the drill data, including the QA/QC data, prior to the initiation of resource update.

Section 2 Reporting of Exploration Results

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Mineral tenement and land tenure status Type, reference name/number, location and ownership including agreements or material issues with third parties such as joint ventures, partnerships, overriding royalties, native title interests, historical sites, wilderness or national park and environmental settings. The security of the tenure held at the time of reporting along with any known impediments to obtaining a licence to operate in the area. ICO consists of 358 unpatented mineral claims totalling 7390 acres. The claims are 100% owned by Jervois subsidiary Jervois Mining USA Ltd. and are in good standing. Unpatented Mineral Claims: Ownership of unpatented mining claims in the U.S. is in the name of the holder, with ownership of the minerals belonging to the United States of America, under the administration of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. Under the Mining Law of 1872, which governs the location of unpatented mining claims on federal lands, the locator has the right to explore, develop and mine minerals on unpatented mining claims without payments of production royalties to the federal government. Annual claim maintenance and filing fees paid before September 1st each year are the only federal encumbrances to unpatented mining claims. Exploration plans are permitted and administered by the Unites States Forestry Service. The United States Department of Agriculture Salmon Challis National Forest (the Forest Service) issued a revised Record of Decision (the ROD) for the ICO in January 2009. The ROD described the decision to approve a Mine Plan of Operations (MPO) for mining, milling and concentrating mineralized material from the ICO. The ROD was subsequently affirmed by the Forest Service in April 2009. The Plan of Operations at the ICO mine and mill remained unchanged and the ROD remains in place. In December 2009, the Forest Service approved the MPO allowing for the commencement of ICO construction. There are no known encumbrances. Exploration done by other parties Acknowledgment and appraisal of exploration by other parties. The ICO came under Jervois management following the merger with eCobalt in 2019. Prior to this merger, the area has a long history of copper and cobalt exploration and mining. Copper mineralization in the Blackbird Creek area was discovered in 1892, and the area was soon explored as both a copper and gold prospect. The area was first mined by Union Carbide at the Haynes-Stellite Mine located south of the present ICO claim block, during World War I. Union Carbide mined approximately 4,000 tons of cobalt-bearing ore before ceasing operations. From 1938 to 1941, the Uncle Sam Mining and Milling Company operated a mine at the south end of the present Blackbird mine and reportedly mined about 3,600 tons of ore. Calera Mining Company, a division of Howe Sound Company, developed and mined the Blackbird deposit between 1943 and 1959 under a contract to supply cobalt to the U.S. government. Calera stopped mining when the government contract was terminated in 1960. Machinery Center Inc. mined from the district between 1963 and 1966, when Idaho Mining Company (owned by Hanna Mining Company) purchased the property. Noranda optioned the property from Hanna in 1977 and carried out extensive exploration, mine rehabilitation and metallurgical testing. In 1979 Noranda and Hanna formed the Blackbird Mining Company (BMC) to develop the property. BMC completed an internal feasibility study of their property at the time, including material from the Sunshine deposit in 1982. BMC allowed perimeter claims to lapse in 1994, and eCobalt restaked much of that ground. From 1995 to the present, eCobalt completed surface geochemical sampling and drilled 158 diamond drillholes on the ICO ground. Geology Deposit type, geological setting and style of mineralisation. Deposit Types: Whilst the deposits in the Idaho Cobalt Belt have been studied over many years the deposit types are still a subject of debate. Prior to 2005 the overriding opinion was that the deposits are sedimentary exhalative and are referred to as the Blackbird Sediment Hosted Cu-Co. And have been described as stratabound iron-, cobalt-, copper-, and arsenic-rich sulphide mineral accumulations in nearly carbonate-free argillite/siltite couplets and quartzites. Post 2005 the discovery of high concentrations of rare earth elements (REE) lead to the postulation that the deposits are not volcanogenic massive sulphide or sedimentary exhalative deposits but instead are iron oxide-copper-gold (IOCG) deposits. Geological Setting: The ICO is situated in the Idaho Cobalt Belt, a 50- to 55-kilometre long metallogenic district characterized by stratiform/tabular copper-cobalt deposits. The deposits are hosted by a thick, dominantly clastic sequence of Middle Proterozoic age sandwiched between late Proterozoic quartz monzonitic intrusions. The clastic sediments were deposited in a large fault-bounded basin, probably as large submarine fan complexes and/or deltaic aprons that were frequently drowned by continuing subsidence within the basin. All significant copper-cobalt deposits and occurrences are found in the Proterozoic Apple Creek Formation, which constitutes the base of this sequence. This formation was originally correlated with Pritchard Formation metasediments of the Belt supergroup to the north, its age being constrained by dates of 1.37 Ga for adamellites intruding the sequence and 1.7 Ga from mafic dykes and sills emplaced along the basin margin faults. The structure of the Apple Creek Formation is dominated by the regional rift structure. Cobalt-copper-gold mineralization occurs along a northwest-southeast trending structure parallel to and west of the central axis of the rift. There is a series of northerly trending faults that are considered to represent initial growth faults, reactivated by Laramide and younger events. The district has also been affected by north-easterly structures of the Trans-Challis Fault Zone. The ICO is hosted in Proterozoic age meta-sediments found on the east side of the central Idaho Batholith comprising granitic-to-granodioritic rocks. The Idaho Cobalt Belt represents a distinct district dominated by stratabound cobalt + copper  gold mineralization, with a remobilized constituent. The district is underlain by strata of the middle Proterozoic-age Apple Creek Formation, which is an upward-thickening, upward-coarsening clastic sequence at least 14,900 metre thick that represents a major basin-filling episode and was formerly considered part of the Yellow Jacket Formation. The Apple Creek can be divided into three units. The lower unit of the Apple Creek Formation is over 4,500 metre thick and consists mainly of argillite and siltite, with lesser occurrences of fine-grained quartzite and carbonates. Graded bedding and planar to wavy laminae are common in the lower unit, which is locally metamorphosed to phyllite. The middle unit of the Apple Creek Formation is up to 1,100 metres thick and comprises several upward-coarsening sequences of argillite, siltite, and quartzite, with distinctive biotite-rich interbeds that generally have a direct correlation to mineralization. The middle unit hosts the majority of the known cobalt, copper and gold occurrences in the Idaho Cobalt Belt. The upper unit exceeds 3,000 metres in thickness and is predominantly composed of thin- to thick bedded, very fine- to fine-grained quartzite. Mafic tuffs within the Apple Creek Formation are the oldest igneous rocks exposed in the Sunshine-Blackpine district. They are accompanied by felsic tuffs and carbonatitic tuffs. Some mafic dikes and sills intrude the Apple Creek Formation and may be comagmatic with the mafic tuff beds. Several small lamproitic diatremes may also be coeval with mafic volcanism. The Apple Creek Formation has undergone varying degrees of regional metamorphism, ranging from greenschist facies in the southern part of the district to amphibolite grade facies in the northern part of the district. Several types of mafic dikes and sills, ranging from 1m to 30m thick, intrude the Apple Creek Formation and are interpreted as feeders to the exhalative mafic tuffs, which are most abundant in areas of intrusive activity. Style of Mineralization: Mineralization at the ICO is characterized as syngenetic, stratiform/tabular exhalative deposits within, or closely associated with, the mafic sequences of the Apple Creek Formation. This mineralization is dominantly bedding concordant and the deposits range from nearly massive to disseminated. Some crosscutting mineralization is present that may be in feeder zones to the stratiform mineralization or may be due to remobilization locally into fracture quartz veins and/or crosscutting structures. Dominant minerals include cobaltite (CoAsS) and chalcopyrite (CuFeS2), with lesser, variable occurrences of gold. Other minerals present in small quantities are pyrite (FeS2), pyrrhotite (FeS), arsenopyrite (FeAsS), linnaeite ((Co Ni)3S4), loellingite (FeAs2), safflorite (CoFeAs2), enargite (Cu3AsS4) and marcasite (FeS2). Recently, rare-earth minerals have been identified in samples from the deposit as monazite, xenotime and allanite. At this time, these minerals have not been considered for potential recovery as by-products of the Co-(Cu-Au). The RAM is the largest and best-known deposit in the ICO area. It consists of a Hanging-wall Zone with 3 primary and 4 minor horizons, a Main Zone comprising 3 horizons, and a Footwall Zone with 3 horizons. These sub-parallel horizons generally strike N15oW and dip 50o  60o to the northeast. Most of the significant Co mineralization is associated with exhalative lithologies i.e. biotitic tuffaceous exhalate (BTE), siliceous tuffaceous exhalate (STE), and quartzite with impregnations of biotitic tuffaceous exhalate (QTZ/BTE) or siliceous tuffaceous exhalate (QTZ/STE). Drillhole Information A summary of all information material to the understanding of the exploration results including a tabulation of the following information for all Material drillholes: ooeasting and northing of the drillhole collar ooelevation or RL (Reduced Level  elevation above sea level in metres) of the drillhole collar oodip and azimuth of the hole oodown hole length and interception depth oohole length.

If the exclusion of this information is justified on the basis that the information is not Material and this exclusion does not detract from the understanding of the report, the Competent Person should clearly explain why this is the case. No Exploration data is being reported in this release. Data aggregation methods In reporting Exploration Results, weighting averaging techniques, maximum and/or minimum grade truncations (eg cutting of high grades) and cut-off grades are usually Material and should be stated.

Where aggregate intercepts incorporate short lengths of high grade results and longer lengths of low grade results, the procedure used for such aggregation should be stated and some typical examples of such aggregations should be shown in detail.

The assumptions used for any reporting of metal equivalent values should be clearly stated. In previous reports weighted averaging has been used in reported composite intervals and individual results are also listed, no grade truncations etc. has been used. Aggregate intercepts are reported using a grade metre calculation. For example: ((assay x meter interval sampled) + (assay x meter interval sampled) + (assay x meter interval sampled) / divided by total number of meters in the interval). Individual sample intercepts are also shown. Calculated true widths determined for the composited intercept mid-point, perpendicular to the down-dip projection of the RAM deposit. No metal equivalent values have been reported. Relationship between mineralisation widths and intercept lengths These relationships are particularly important in the reporting of Exploration Results.

If the geometry of the mineralisation with respect to the drillhole angle is known, its nature should be reported.

If it is not known and only the down hole lengths are reported, there should be a clear statement to this effect (eg down hole length, true width not known). Downhole lengths are reported. Diagrams Appropriate maps and sections (with scales) and tabulations of intercepts should be included for any significant discovery being reported These should include, but not be limited to a plan view of drillhole collar locations and appropriate sectional views. Refer to figures and tables in the body of the text. Balanced reporting Where comprehensive reporting of all Exploration Results is not practicable, representative reporting of both low and high grades and/or widths should be practiced to avoid misleading reporting of Exploration Results. Calculated true widths determined for the composited intercept mid-point, perpendicular to the down-dip projection of the RAM deposit. Other substantive exploration data Other exploration data, if meaningful and material, should be reported including (but not limited to): geological observations; geophysical survey results; geochemical survey results; bulk samples  size and method of treatment; metallurgical test results; bulk density, groundwater, geotechnical and rock characteristics; potential deleterious or contaminating substances. There is no other substantive exploration data. Further work The nature and scale of planned further work (eg tests for lateral extensions or depth extensions or large-scale step-out drilling).

Diagrams clearly highlighting the areas of possible extensions, including the main geological interpretations and future drilling areas, provided this information is not commercially sensitive. Jervois plans to continue to undertake infill and expansion drilling to upgrade resource categories as well as to test the footwall horizons discovered during the 2019 drill program.

Section 3 Estimation and Reporting of Mineral Resources

(Criteria listed in section 1, and where relevant in section 2, also apply to this section.)

Criteria JORC Code explanation Commentary Database integrity Measures taken to ensure that data has not been corrupted by, for example, transcription or keying errors, between its initial collection and its use for Mineral Resource estimation purposes.

Data validation procedures used. Jervois utilizes a robust database system for analytical data management that involves multiple cross-checks between digital datafiles provided by the laboratory and the archived data files. Additionally, APEX Geoscience Ltd. (APEX), geological consultants to Jervois, conducted additional data validation checks involving examinations of analytical certificates, provided directly to APEX by ALS (analytical laboratory), and no issues were identified. Following data validation checks, APEX deemed the ICO drilling and analytical databases, provided by Jervois, to be suitable for use in the geological modelling and resource estimation work that is the subject of this release. Site visits Comment on any site visits undertaken by the Competent Person and the outcome of those visits.

If no site visits have been undertaken indicate why this is the case. APEX was initially contracted by Jervois to provide geological services at the ICO shortly after underground development at the project was initiated in the fall of 2021. The Competent Person, Andrew J. Turner, P.Geol. (Canada), has visited the ICO on many occasions since that time and has personally observed and sampled mineralization in the underground, thus verifying the nature of the main mineralized zone that is the subject of this release. Additionally, Mr. Turner has been supervising the core logging and sampling process that has resulted in a significant portion of the data that was utilized in the Mineral Resource Estimate discussed in this release. Geological interpretation Confidence in (or conversely, the uncertainty of ) the geological interpretation of the mineral deposit. Nature of the data used and of any assumptions made. The effect, if any, of alternative interpretations on Mineral Resource estimation. The use of geology in guiding and controlling Mineral Resource estimation. The factors affecting continuity both of grade and geology. There is a relatively high degree of confidence in the geological model underlying the MRE which is supported by underground mapping and continued infill drilling at ICO. The data utilized in the geological modelling of the ICO mineralization is based on geological logging of surface exploration and underground in-fill drilling, as well as mapping in underground developments. The only assumptions made concern the exact orientation of several minor faults that were observed in drillholes and explain several minor offsets in the ICO mineralization. There are no viable alternative geological interpretations of the ICO mineralization. The mineralisation at the ICO is interpreted according to the established model for Sediment-hosted Co-Cu deposits, which includes stratabound, replacement-style mineralization. As a result, the interpreted geology is an important control on the interpreted mineralization. However, there does not appear to be a perfect correlation between a specific geological unit and the ICO mineralisation. Instead, the Main Mineralized Horizon at the ICO has been interpreted as a grade shell constrained within the gently east-dipping ICO stratigraphy. Other than the normal geological controls on mineralizing fluids, there are no other unusual controls on grade continuity at the ICO. Grade continuity throughout the RAM deposit at the ICO is supported by extensive drilling, including the results of the 62-hole 2022 infill drill program (see ASX Announcement dated 8 February 2023). There is no evidence of any significant structural controls on mineralization at the ICO. As a result, the RAM deposit remains open along strike and down-dip. Dimensions The extent and variability of the Mineral Resource expressed as length (along strike or otherwise), plan width, and depth below surface to the upper and lower limits of the Mineral Resource. Strike Length: 1160m (3800ft)

Down-Dip Extent: 175-600m (500-2000ft) from surface

Thickness ~1-38m (4-124 ft), averaging ~5-10m Estimation and modelling techniques The nature and appropriateness of the estimation technique(s) applied and key assumptions, including treatment of extreme grade values, domaining, interpolation parameters and maximum distance of extrapolation from data points. If a computer assisted estimation method was chosen include a description of computer software and parameters used.

The availability of check estimates, previous estimates and/or mine production records and whether the Mineral Resource estimate takes appropriate account of such data.

The assumptions made regarding recovery of by-products.

Estimation of deleterious elements or other non-grade variables of economic significance (eg sulphur for acid mine drainage characterisation).

In the case of block model interpolation, the block size in relation to the average sample spacing and the search employed.

Any assumptions behind modelling of selective mining units.

Any assumptions about correlation between variables.

Description of how the geological interpretation was used to control the resource estimates.

Discussion of basis for using or not using grade cutting or capping.

The process of validation, the checking process used, the comparison of model data to drillhole data, and use of reconciliation data if available. The ICO drill database comprises 8327 samples, of which 2498 are non-waste samples occurring within the modelled estimation domains, which have a mean sample length of 2.27 ft (0.69 m). The cobalt, copper, and gold analytical data for these samples was composited to 4-foot composite lengths and the estimation considered 1469 composited samples. To prevent overestimation of metal grades due to outlier values, composites are capped to maximum values, as determined from the examination of probability plots for each element. Cobalt, copper, and gold estimation was completed using Ordinary Kriging. Block grade estimation employed locally varying anisotropy, which uses different rotation angles to define the principal directions of the variogram model and search ellipsoid on a per-block basis. Blocks within estimation domains are assigned rotation angles using a modelled 3D mineralisation trend surface wireframe, which allows structural complexities to be reproduced in the estimated block model. To maintain the proper volume-variance relationship, kriges relation is utilized to tune each metals estimation kriging and search parameters. Two estimation passes were used, a maximum of 30 conditioning data points are considered during estimation, two composites are required for the first pass, and the number of composites considered per drillhole are limited to two and four for cobalt and silvers first pass, respectively. Two estimation passes were utilized with maximum ranges varying from 300-900; 180-400; and 14-30 feet in the major, minor, and vertical directions. Given the planned mining methods, a SMU size of 12 x 12 x 4 feet was selected to define the block model populated with estimated metal values which is much less than 25% of the data spacing. Metals are estimated independent of each other. Swath plots verify that the estimated block model honours directional trends and identifies potential areas of over- or under-estimation in grade. In addition to Co, Cu and Au, other elements/values of interest (including iron, total sulphur, sulphur speciation data) were estimated using the same strategy outlined for the primary metals of interest. The majority of the resource is constrained within a wireframe that encapsulates a unit defined as the MMH (Main Mineralized Horizon) that represents a discreet stratigraphic interval that hosts the majority of the Co-Cu-Au mineralization comprising the Ram deposit. Thinner and more discontinuous (parallel) mineralized zones occur in the hanging wall and footwall to the MMH. The updated (current) ICO MRE was compared in detail to the 2020 MRE in order to understand their differences as a way to validate the updated estimate. Moisture Whether the tonnages are estimated on a dry basis or with natural moisture, and the method of determination of the moisture content. The ICO MRE is estimated on a dry basis, as moisture content is not a significant factor at the ICO. Cut-off parameters The basis of the adopted cut-off grade(s) or quality parameters applied. Although Co prices have dropped in recent months, the 2-year and 3-year trailing average prices for Co (US$28.28 and US$24.47, respectively) continues to support Jervois long-term forecast price of US$25.00/lb Co, which was also used in the 2020 ICO Feasibility Study (FS) (Sletten et al., 2020) and is used here to evaluate the 2023 ICO MRE reported Cut-off Grade (CoG).

The 2020 ICO Feasibility Study estimated total mining costs (mining, processing, GA) at approximately US$111.86/short ton or ~US$123.30/tonne.

At 0.20% Co and US$25.00/lb and 91% recovery, each tonne of ore would contain approximately US$100.30 of Co.

Using the average grades of Co, Cu and Au in the combined Measured and Indicated resource categories, Jervois forecast prices of $3.00/lb Cu and $1750/oz Au, and their respective recoveries of 95.4% and 84.9%, it is anticipated that Cu and Au will contribute an additional 22% to the payable metal value of each tonne of ore, which is expected to be on the order of US$120-125/ tonne, which is essentially equivalent to the estimated mining cost from the 2020 FS.

As a result, a CoG of 0.20% Co was used for reporting purposes for the RAM deposit MRE that is the subject of this release / announcement. Mining factors or assumptions Assumptions made regarding possible mining methods, minimum mining dimensions and internal (or, if applicable, external) mining dilution. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider potential mining methods, but the assumptions made regarding mining methods and parameters when estimating Mineral Resources may not always be rigorous. Where this is the case, this should be reported with an explanation of the basis of the mining assumptions made. The dominant mining method proposed for the ICO is overhand longitudinal short hole back stoping from 12 ft high sills spaced 36 ft vertically (Stetten et al., 2020).

With respect to the MRE that is the subject of this release / announcement, APEX conducted an evaluation of the resource block model for its reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction that involved a review of grade continuity relative to mineable shapes, both in the X-Y plane, as well as the Z direction relative to a presumed minimum mining width of approximately ~2.5m (8 ft). This analysis resulted in the exclusion of a small number of discontinuous blocks with Co values above the cut-off grade. Metallurgical factors or assumptions The basis for assumptions or predictions regarding metallurgical amenability. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider potential metallurgical methods, but the assumptions regarding metallurgical treatment processes and parameters made when reporting Mineral Resources may not always be rigorous. Where this is the case, this should be reported with an explanation of the basis of the metallurgical assumptions made. The 2020 ICO Feasibility Study utilized average recoveries of 91.0% for Co, 95.4% for Cu and 84.9% for Au, which were factored into the Cut-off Grade calculation (see above). Environmen-tal factors or assumptions Assumptions made regarding possible waste and process residue disposal options. It is always necessary as part of the process of determining reasonable prospects for eventual economic extraction to consider the potential environmental impacts of the mining and processing operation. While at this stage the determination of potential environmental impacts, particularly for a greenfields project, may not always be well advanced, the status of early consideration of these potential environmental impacts should be reported. Where these aspects have not been considered this should be reported with an explanation of the environmental assumptions made. Tailings and Waste Rock management are all discussed in detail in the 2020 ICO Feasibility Study (Sletten et al., 2020), which includes minimal surface storage of process residue and waste rock as the majority of both will be returned to the underground as paste backfill and CRF (concrete rock fill), respectively.

A fully lined TWSF (Tailings and Waste rock Storage facility has been constructed at the ICO Bulk density Whether assumed or determined. If assumed, the basis for the assumptions. If determined, the method used, whether wet or dry, the frequency of the measurements, the nature, size and representativeness of the samples.

The bulk density for bulk material must have been measured by methods that adequately account for void spaces (vugs, porosity, etc), moisture and differences between rock and alteration zones within the deposit.

Discuss assumptions for bulk density estimates used in the evaluation process of the different materials. The 2023 MRE included the modelling of 5 estimation domains. Bulk density values were established as the median Specific Gravity (SG) value for each domain based on a statistical analysis of the available density data within each. Domain Group (n) Density (g/cm3) (ston/ft3) MMH 186 2.93 0.0915 North (HG) 353 3.00 0.0936 FW/HW 66 2.86 0.0893 South (HG) 34 3.11 0.0971 Country Rock 2827 2.83 0.0883 SG measurements were made by the logging geologist/geotech in the field, primarily from whole core prior to cutting and sampling, using the wet/dry weight method (Archimedes principle).

Only competent (and geologically representative) pieces of core were selected for SG testing and no significant issues with respect to voids or vugs were noted (either in the SG samples are elsewhere in the core).

APEX has reviewed the available density data and has not identified any issues that might affect the results of density testing and has accepted the density dataset for use in the mineral resource estimation work that is this subject of this release/announcement. Classification The basis for the classification of the Mineral Resources into varying confidence categories. Whether appropriate account has been taken of all relevant factors (ie relative confidence in tonnage/grade estimations, reliability of input data, confidence in continuity of geology and metal values, quality, quantity and distribution of the data). Whether the result appropriately reflects the Competent Persons view of the deposit. The Updated ICO Mineral Resource is stated in accordance with both the JORC Code 2012 and the Canadian Securities Authority (CSA) NI 43-101 rules for disclosure and was estimated in accordance with the CIM Estimation of Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves Best Practice Guidelines dated November 29, 2019, and CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves dated May 10, 2014. Resource Categorization (classification) was determined for each block based on its proximity to supporting data using a multiple-pass strategy (independent from estimation) that consists of a sequence of runs that flag each block with a run number if the block meets certain search restrictions. With each subsequent pass, the search restrictions are decreased, representing a decrease in confidence and classification from the previous run. The following criteria were used to define the classification categories assigned to each block within the ICO Resource: Measured: 150 x 80 x 23 feet ellipsoid, at least 3 drillholes Indicated: 300 x 160 x 23 feet ellipsoid, at least 2 drillholes Inferred: 400 x 250 x 23 feet ellipsoid, at least 1 drillhole A categorical smoothing algorithm written by APEX (maximum a-posteriori selection LVA; MAPS-LVA) is utilized to remove the spotted dog effect that is a common by-product of multiple pass strategy classification approaches. The updated ICO Mineral Resource Estimate utilized Jervois ICO drilling database, which was examined and validated by APEX prior to the initiation of geological modelling and resource estimation. APEX is not aware of any other data-related factors that would adversely affect the resource estimation process. The Competent Person considers that the updated RAM deposit mineral resource, which is the subject of this announcement, accurately reflects the global mineral resource at the ICO. Audits or reviews The results of any audits or reviews of Mineral Resource estimates. An internal resource audit was conducted by APEX personnel, wherein each stage of the workflow completed by an individual is subsequently reviewed by a different team member. Jervois also conducts an exhaustive review of the methodologies, estimation domains, and statistical data produced by APEX, ensuring a thorough audit and validation of the entire process. Discussion of relative accuracy/ confidence Where appropriate a statement of the relative accuracy and confidence level in the Mineral Resource estimate using an approach or procedure deemed appropriate by the Competent Person. For example, the application of statistical or geostatistical procedures to quantify the relative accuracy of the resource within stated confidence limits, or, if such an approach is not deemed appropriate, a qualitative discussion of the factors that could affect the relative accuracy and confidence of the estimate.

The statement should specify whether it relates to global or local estimates, and, if local, state the relevant tonnages, which should be relevant to technical and economic evaluation. Documentation should include assumptions made and the procedures used.

These statements of relative accuracy and confidence of the estimate should be compared with production data, where available. The Competent Person considers that the updated RAM deposit mineral resource, which is the subject of this announcement, accurately reflects the global mineral resource at the ICO.

The resource classification applied to the updated RAM resource reflects the Competent Persons confidence in the estimate.

There has been no commercial production at ICO to date.

1 See ASX announcements Jervois drilling de-risks RAM resource and Expansion drilling consolidates RAM deposit extension at Jervois ICO dated 8 February 2023 and 20 February 2023 (Australia).

2 See ASX announcement Jervois suspends final construction at Idaho Cobalt Operations dated 29 March 2023 (Australia).

3 Exploration targets calculated using density ranging from 2.8 to 2.9 g/cm3 and projected widths ranging from 3 to 4 metres per observed deposit characteristics.

%MCEPASTEBIN%
VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. ("Fosterville South" or "FSX") or (the "Company") (TSXV: FSX) (OTCQX: FSXLF) (Germany: 4TU) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with privately held Wild Dog Resources Inc. ("WDR") to acquire a significant 2166 sq. km mineral exploration land package in Papua New Guinea ("PNG") including multiple Exploration Licenses ("EL") and Exploration License Applications ("ELA").

Highlights:

2166 sq. km land position assembled via acquisition of a variety of EL and ELAs

including 614 sq. km project contiguous with and SE of K92 Mining Inc exploration tenements

including 130 sq. km project contiguous with and NW of K92 Mining Inc. tenements, 10km from mining operations

PNG EL and ELAs will compliment extensive gold land package of FSX in Australia

The total PNG land package to be acquired by FSX includes both early stage and advanced stage exploration targets with high grade epithermal vein and porphyry style mineralization present. FSX has a significant cash position and therefore, post-transaction, will be well positioned to advance these projects on the ground following up the substantial amount of fieldwork and development of drill targets already completed by WDR over the past two years. FSX team members have significant experience operating within Southeast Asian island arc epithermal and porphyry mineralization environments, and specifically in PNG.

FSX CEO Bryan Slusarchuk states, "Papua New Guinea is home to multiple world class mining, development and exploration projects and the country hosts some of the most incredible geology on earth. Through the rapid growth of K92 Mining in PNG, the recent announcement regarding Wafi-Golpu moving forward and of course the ongoing corporate discussions between Newmont and Newcrest, the amazing mineral potential of PNG is becoming more widely known. Many shareholders of FSX have invested in the PNG mining sector and we are confident they will share management's enthusiasm for this acquisition.

WDR has invested significant capital and time acquiring and advancing these assets in PNG and their hard work and strong technical execution both on the ground and corporately has put in place an excellent foundation for success as we move forward."

WDR CEO Alan Martin, states, "WDR has assembled a commanding land position within the heart of one of the world's best regions for gold and copper exploration. Putting together these projects, developing excellent community relations and then advancing targets through fieldwork has put WDR in a position to now take the next step in PNG. Through this transaction with FSX, we are emerging as a company with a very strong cash position to deploy on the ground and a team with a track record of success in PNG within a superb share structure. Current WDR shareholders become large shareholders of the combined entity and we look forward to working together within this well funded entity to unlock the potential of the assets, exploring for Tier 1 Copper-Gold deposits in PNG."

Kainantu Regional Geology, PNG

The Kainantu district is located within the New Guinea Thrust Belt, close to its northern contact with the Finisterre Terrane. The contact is marked by the northwest trending Ramu-Markham Fault, a major suture zone that marks the northern margin of the Australian Craton. The New Guinea Thrust Belt records an early Miocene or older ductile, tight folding event that was followed by middle Miocene intrusions. Late Miocene regional scale low-angle thrust faulting followed, associated with the collision of the Finisterre Terrane. The belt is characterised by a number of north-northeast trending fault zones that commonly host major deposits (K92 Mining).

Locally, the Kainantu area is underlain by greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphic rocks of the Early Miocene Bena Bena Formation, which are unconformably overlain by the Miocene age Omaura Formation consisting of volcano-sedimentary units and limestone lenses. The overlying Yaveufa Formation comprises basaltic and andesitic flows, agglomerates, volcanoclastic sandstone and limestone. The mid-Miocene Akuna Intrusive Complex consists of multiple phases ranging from olivine gabbros, dolerites, hornblende gabbros and biotite diorites to granodiorites. Late Miocene age Elandora Porphyry intrusions and breccias are associated with mineralization and occur within proximity to a major north-northeast trending transfer structure.

Known mineralisation in the area consists of gold and copper skarn deposits, porphyry copper deposits, shear-hosted gold deposits, epithermal vein deposits and gold placer deposits.

Over 35 hard rock and 18 gold placer deposits are known within the area. Of significance are the Kathnell shear-hosted auriferous quartz veins; such structurally controlled veins may be more widespread than proposed previously and offer a new exploration target (Downes, 1993).

The Kainantu Gold Mine, in Eastern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea, is a newly discovered and significant example of diverse Cu-Au mineralisation styles in a porphyry mineral system. K92 Mining owns and operates Kainantu, and in March 2023 their stated resources at the mine were 2.6 Moz at 9.8 g/t AuEq (Measured and Indicated), and 2.9 Moz at 9.2 g/t AuEq (Inferred). Furthermore, the Inferred Resource at the K92 Blue Lake porphyry deposit is stated as 10.8Moz at 0.61 g/t AuEq. Mineralization on the property includes Au, Ag and Cu occurring in low sulphidation epithermal Au-telluride veins, Au-Cu-Ag sulphide veins of Intrusion Related Gold Copper ("IRGC") affinity, less explored porphyry Cu-Au systems and alluvial gold. The mineralization at the Kainantu Gold Mine is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the WDR mineral properties

Arau Project, Kainantu, PNG

The Arau Project consists of one EL2651 and one ELA located in Kainantu region, Eastern Highlands Province, PNG, which are immediately east of and adjoining the Kainantu gold mine owned by K92 Mining Ltd.

Initial exploration work by previous operators has identified two potential deposit types at the project:

Epithermal gold (Sabudia Hill, Onga Hill and Erandora prospects) and

Copper-gold porphyry prospects (Mt. Victor, Mt. Aiyonka, Ebitara and P1 prospects).

Within the licence area, the Mt. Victor Prospect (copper-gold porphyry target) covers an area of 800m by 400m and previous drilling suggests that the prospect area is a multiple phase intrusive complex that is copper and gold mineralized. It is a drill ready prospect in which previous channel sampling has identified the following strong gold grades:

38m @ 2.64 g/t Au

@ 2.64 g/t Au 12m @ 5.5 g/t Au

@ 5.5 g/t Au 18m @ 2.4 g/t Au

@ 2.4 g/t Au 10m @ 3.7 g/t Au.

These channel samples are in the central part of the Mt Victor prospect southwest of the former Mt Victor gold mine. Previous drilling was carried out in the 1980s, and all drillholes presented were vertical, which may not have been appropriate for the subvertical fault zones present within the prospect.

Hole ID E* N* Depth From (m) Length (m) Au g/t Cu ppm Notes CRD58 385177 9291680 64.5 0 64.5 0.18 106 granodiorite intruded by diorite DDH89-1 384650 9291308 260 234 5 0.85 NA visible disseminated copper mineralization DDH89-2 384965 9291825 300 43 10 1.10 NA under review DDH89-3 384873 9291562 300 213 10 1.20 NA under review MVD07 384746 9291253 52.8 0 52.8 0.10 384 altered pyritic diorite MVD08 384831 9291327 30 16 14 0.19 373 argillic altered QFP MVD09 384853 9291333 36 34 2 0.29 NA epidote altered intrusive MVD20 384900 9291345 75 0 75 0.34 304 argillic altered brecciated porphyry MVD21 384890 9291353 48 0 48 0.41 329 diorite/QFP brecciated contact MVD36 385032 9291456 24 22 2 14.70 463 altered pyritic porphyry MVD40 384994 9291435 38 0 38 3.10 1400 silica epidote altered porphyry MVD46 384932 9291388 34.5 15 19.5 0.33 117 epidote pyrite altered porphyry MVD50 385068 9291469 29 16 13 0.13 722 clay altered granodiorite MVD52 384962 9291475 30 14 16 1.01 77 sericite epidote altered porphyry MVD62 384704 9291152 75 40 35 0.12 287 kspar epidote altered porphyry MVD63 384596 9291160 48 0 48 0.75 373 diorite intruded by pyritic porphyry Table 1  Mt Victor Prospect Significant Drill Intercepts

Initial drilling at the Arau Project will involve five angled diamond drill holes to follow up on a successful electromagnetic survey and previous excellent geochemical sampling results.

Wild Dog Project, New Britain, PNG

The Wild Dog Project consists of two Exploration Licence Applications (EL2516 & EL2761) totalling 1424 sq. km, which are located on the island of New Britain and are approximately 50 kms southwest of Rabaul and Kokopo, PNG.

The Wild Dog project occurs within a major NNE trending structure of at least 26km in length which transect apparent volcanic caldera structures and intrusions. During the Mio-Pliocene at least three volcanic centres, known as the Nengmutka, Keravat and Sikut calderas, were localised along this horst and graben zone. This structural corridor is an epithermal and porphyry hydrothermal-magmatic mineralized field.

The Nengmutka Caldera, which hosts the Wild Dog deposit, is characterised by a suite of calc-alkaline andesite breccia and ash flow tuff known as the Nengmutka Volcanics (Lindley, 1988). This formation has been mapped over an area of 600 km2. Tonalite of the Arabam Diorite intrudes the volcanic sequence and appears to be partly coeval with the caldera related volcanism.

The precious metal prospects are associated with epithermal type veining that contain gold-silver-telluride (Au-Ag-Te) mineralisation. Gold and silver occur as native metals and as telluride minerals. Porphyry copper-gold type mineralization also occurs associated with these intrusion centres that usually underly the epithermal systems. The whole of the recognised belt is held within the Wild Dog tenements.

Within the central part of the Wild Dog project, a significant structural corridor called the "Wild Dog  Gunsap Corridor" occurs. The corridor is at least 15 km long and up to 4 km wide and hosts at least three porphyry copper-gold prospects and several epithermal gold deposits and prospects.

The original Wild Dog epithermal gold deposit occurs within the "Wild Dog  Gunsap Corridor" in the central part of the tenements. It was discovered in 1983, with exploration including extensive mapping, trenching, rock sampling & drilling between 1983 and 2005 by various explorers. New Guinea Gold Limited (NGGL) operated a small open pit mining operation from 2007 and 2011. No exploration has occurred since the closure of the mine.

Historical work completed by a previous operator returned significant gold assays. Channel sampling at the Kavursuki Prospect yields 4m at 9.41 g/t Au and at the Kargalio Vein 6m at 11.5 g/t Au.

Drilling of the Kavursuki Prospect by previous explorers, located within the Wild Dog Zone and north of the former Wild Dog mine, also yielded positive high-grade results.

Hole ID N E RL Depth Azim Dip From (m) Length (m) Au g/t Cu ppm 90KVD005 9490500 395008 787 85.60 101.50 -45.00 5.35 1.25 12.80 1200 90KVD009 9490834 395227 758 93.85 101.50 -45.00 44.65 3.75 11.21 639 10KVD016 9490464 394971 798 51.00 101.50 -50.00 35.44 8.06 6.49 194 10KVD017 9490464 394970 798 50.00 101.50 -65.00 29.08 1.12 33.70 120 11KVD019 9490496 395039 807 45.10 101.50 -60.00 11.10 5.25 9.45 167 11KVD020 9490537 395045 805 50.90 101.50 -50.00 32.45 11.05 3.18 377 11KVD025 9490809 395241 752 45.20 101.50 -50.00 14.75 8.15 18.77 2801 11KVD026 9490810 395272 776 51.70 281.50 -60.00 33.80 5.10 14.70 101 11KVD027 9490870 395252 767 56.10 101.50 -50.00 30.70 1.90 10.35 46 Table 2  Kavursuki Prospect Significant Drill Intercepts

Apart from the drilling conducted at the former Wild Dog gold mine there remain several drill intercepts that require further exploration outside of the mine environment as tabulated below, apart from the various trenching and channel sampling targets.

Hole ID N E RL Depth Azim Dip From Length Au g/t Cu ppm 86WDD020 9489141 394278 983 259.35 103.50 -60.00 129.35 7.70 5.28 902 87WDD024 9489117 394316 965 152.55 98.50 -60.00 138.25 5.10 8.32 8556 87WDD027 9489115 394325 965 200.40 98.50 -60.00 117.95 6.20 19.13 786 87WDD040A 9489219 394320 994 280.99 103.50 -60.00 148.60 4.20 12.50 4066 87WDD045 9489235 394287 988 300.20 103.50 -60.00 201.30 2.85 16.94 32123 87WDD051 9489249 394257 985 309.10 103.50 -60.00 253.95 6.05 7.29 2054 87WDD058 9489285 394359 977 285.90 101.50 -60.00 147.00 12.45 4.96 6694 87WDD064 9489179 394289 1001 290.60 101.50 -60.00 158.00 14.95 2.73 650 87WDD065 9489160 394330 996 250.10 101.50 -60.00 142.70 4.65 5.49 3246 87WDD069 9489139 394375 991 123.50 101.50 -60.00 88.55 7.75 7.12 7151 08WDD111 9489393 394513 906 100.00 281.50 -60.00 48.40 7.10 5.47 931 85WDD014 9488708 394260 954 86.20 113.50 -51.00 48.25 5.25 9.79 10863 86WDP010 9488839 394302 909 60.00 83.50 -60.00 34.00 6.00 6.71 5047 87WDD040A 9489219 394320 994 280.99 103.50 -60.00 164.55 13.50 8.56 3056 90WDD086 9488948 394337 890 79.00 78.50 -50.00 18.45 11.25 16.22 3473 97WD098 9489389 394487 905 39.00 98.50 -45.00 12.00 8.00 9.73 NA* Table 3  Wild Dog Prospect Area Significant Drill Intercepts

NA* - not assayed or not available.

Hole ID North East RL Depth Azim Dip From Length Au g/t Cu ppm MRC01 9487963 393871 968 20.00 0.00 -90.00 2.00 18.00 3.05 3084 MRC02 9487978 393874 971 30.00 0.00 -90.00 0.00 18.00 3.07 1053 90WDD087 9488091 394082 1021 61.95 101.50 -50.00 7.30 1.35 5.02 1650 90WDD088 9488104 394070 1023 40.30 101.50 -50.00 21.30 1.55 3.95 25 MMD003 9486870 393532 924 104.00 133.00 -50.00 2.35 4.42 NA* MMD006 9486770 393479 945 122.05 133.00 -50.00 2.55 4.16 NA* Table 4  Mengmut Prospect Significant Drilling Intercepts

Additionally, multiple samples collected from a historic stockpile near the Wild Dog Zone returned bonanza grades of gold and copper including Sample 30104 which assayed 242 g/t Au, 601 g/t Ag, 9.52% Cu and Sample 68001 which assayed 122.5 g/t Au, 350 g/t Ag and 11% Cu.

The exploration program at Wild Dog will initially focus on drilling the copper-gold Magiabe porphyry target as well as testing the potential existence of an arrowhead intrusion complex at depth beneath the Wild Dog zone (Figure 5).

Kesar Creek Project, Kainantu, PNG

The Kesar Creek Project consists of one ELA2711 and is located 10 kms west of the Kora gold mine owned and operated by K92 Mining.

Exploration at Kesar Creek has identified the presence of semi-massive copper sulphides associated in quartz veins paralleling the Kora gold deposit as well as the potential for a copper-gold porphyry deposit. Although limited exploration has been carried out at Kesar Creek, initial rock sampling programs returned high-grade gold-copper-silver values including:

Rock sample no 14128 at 11.5 g/t Au

Rock sample no A1428 at 11.9 g/t Au

Rock sample no 9231F at 10.6 g/t Au

Rock sample no 14236 at 11.6 g/t Au, 29 g/t Ag, 360 ppm Cu

Rock sample no. A14023 at 30.4 g/t Au, 240 g/t Ag, 1300 ppm Cu

Terms of Transaction

Via the execution of a non-binding term sheet, Fosterville South and WDR have agreed to negotiate and settle the terms of a definitive share purchase agreement whereby Fosterville South will acquire all the issued and outstanding securities of WDR. Management of both WDR and FSX support this transaction. In consideration of WDR, Fosterville South will issue a total of 16.8 million common shares to the shareholders of WDR, 526,835 share purchase warrants to the warrant holders of WDR and grant 1,553,520 options to the stock option holders of WDR. The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, entry into a definitive agreement and such conditions as are customary for similar transactions.

About FSX

FSX began with two, 100% owned, high-grade gold projects called the Lauriston and Golden Mountain Projects, and has since acquired a large area of granted and application tenements containing further epizonal (low-temperature) high-grade gold mineralisation called the Providence Project and a large group of recently consolidated license tenement applications called the Walhalla Belt Project, which contain a variety of epizonal and intrusion related style gold mineralisation, all in the state of Victoria, Australia. The Fosterville South land package, assembled over a multi-year period, notably includes a 600 sq. km property immediately to the south of and within the same geological framework that hosts Agnico Eagle's Fosterville epizonal gold tenements. Additionally, Fosterville South has gold-focused projects called the Moormbool and Beechworth, which are also located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Moormbool project has epizonal style gold mineralisation and Beechworth has mesozonal and intrusion relation gold mineralisation. The primary focus has been to explore for epizonal gold deposits similar to the outstanding world class Fosterville gold mine.

All of FSX's properties, with the possible exception of Moormbool, have had historical gold production from hard rock sources despite limited modern exploration and drilling. Victorian exploration is continuing to focus on specific key targets where results to date indicate excellent exploration potential.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by WDR Director, Chris Muller, PGeo, a Qualified Person under the meaning of National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Muller is responsible for the technical content of this news release and has spent time onsite reviewing sampling results as well as discussing work programs and results with geology personnel and external consultants.

On behalf of the Company

Rex Motton

Chief Operating Officer and Director

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Fosterville South cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many material factors, many of which are beyond their respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Fosterville South's limited operating history, its exploration and development activities on the Lauriston, Golden Mountain, Providence and Beechworth Properties and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Fosterville South does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Vancouver, BC - TheNewswire - April 19, 2023 - Arctic Fox Lithium Corp. (CSE:AFX) (FSE:7N4) (the Company) is pleased to announce that it has entered into a property option agreement (the Agreement) dated April 17, 2023 (the Effective Date) with 1Minerals Corp. (1Minerals) to acquire fifty-one (51) mining claims, covering approximately 2,700 hectares adjacent to its Kana Lake Lithium project in the James Bay region of Quebec. Under the terms of the Agreement the Company must pay and issue the following:

i. issue 600,000 fully paid common shares of the company within thirty (30) days of the Effective Date;

ii. pay $50,000 or issue $50,000 worth of fully paid common shares of the company within one hundred and eighty (180) days of the Effective Date;

iii. pay $250,000 or issue $250,000 worth of fully paid common shares of the company within one year following the Effective Date; and

iv. pay $250,000 or issue $250,000 worth of fully paid common shares of the company within two years following the Effective Date.

In addition, the project is subject to a 2% NSR (Net Smelter Returns) royalty in favor of 1Minerals of which the Company has an irrevocable right to purchase 1.5% at any time after the option has been exercised for $2,000,000.

Mr. Harry Chew, President, CEO and director, commented: Our strategic holdings at our Kana Lake Lithium Project now consist of 91 claims covering approximately 4,832 hectares with multiple pegmatite outcrops. In light of the recent geological compilation work done by Noranda Royalties we decided it was important for us to secure these surrounding claims.

About Kana Lake

The Kana Lake Lithium project is located north of the Fliszar Lithium showing in the James Bay region of Quebec. During a summer/fall 2022 survey program conducted by the Quebec Ministere de lEnergie et des Ressources Naturelles (MERN) their geologists identified this area as a new lithium prospective zone that is characterized by the presence of numerous E-W trending pegmatitic granite dykes. The presence of garnet and muscovite in these rocks indicates a hyperaluminous composition, suitable for the development of lithium mineralization. These pegmatites are consistent with the Fliszar Lithium showing to the south of the property which three grab samples rich in lepidolite, returned up to 1.83% LiO2, 0.34% Cs, 1.11% Rb, 126 ppm Nb, 374 ppm Ta and 0.3% B*.

For further information, please contact:

Harry Chew, President, CEO

Phone: (604) 689-2646

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

Harry Chew

Harry Chew

President & CEO

Arctic Fox Lithium Corp.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

* This news release contains information about adjacent properties on which Arctic Fox has no right to explore or mine. Readers are cautioned that mineral deposits on adjacent properties are not indicative of mineral deposits on the Companys properties.

The technical information contained within this News Release has been reviewed and approved by Gerald G. Carlson, Ph.D., P.Eng., Director of Arctic Fox and Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

Forward-Looking Information

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address any activities and events or developments that Arctic Fox Lithium Corp. ("Arctic Fox") expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Although Arctic Fox believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements relating to: the future payments and share issuances relating to the option agreement described in this press release; potential benefits of the claims described in this press release; and the future potential of and the exploration on the properties described in this press release. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include uncertainty with respect to the results of future exploration and the ability to conduct any exploration activities on the properties described in this press release; failure of the Company to exercise the option described in this press release; market prices; disruptions relating to the COVID-19 pandemic; and continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. These statements are based on a number of assumptions including, among other things, assumptions regarding general business and economic conditions; and the Company having sufficient resources to be able to conduct anticipated exploration activities. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Arctic Fox does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.
Vancouver, British Columbia  TheNewswire - April 6, 2023  Element79 Gold Corp. (CSE: ELEM) (OTC: ELMGF) (FSE: 7YS) ("Element79 Gold", the "Company") is pleased to announce the appointment of Zara Kanji, CPA, CGA, as a director of the Company. In addition to helping support the Board in strategic decision making and guidance, Zara will also support the Company as head of the Audit Committee.

Zara is a founder of Zara Kanji & Associates (established in 2004). Zara is experienced in financial reporting compliance for junior listed resource companies, personal and corporate taxation, general accounting, financial reporting and value-added operational consulting services for individuals, private and public companies. Prior to starting her accounting practice, Zara served as a controller for a marketing company, as an accountant in public practice for a CA firm, a CGA firm and as an analyst for a pension fund. In addition to providing accounting and financial compliance services to private and public entities, Zara has served as director and officer for several listed issuers.

Zara has been a Member of the Chartered Professional Accountants of British Columbia and Canada and has been a designated professional for almost two decades. Zara holds a Bachelor of Technology in Accounting (Honors) and a Diploma in Corporate Finance (Honors) from the British Columbia Institute of Technology.

James Tworek. CEO, noted that The expertise and passion that Zara brings to the Board with both a very strong Accounting and Finance background as well as experience with the intracacies of international mining companies will help provide value and clarity to our accounting and financial reporting and ultimately our shareholders.

About Element79 Gold

Element79 Gold is a mining company focused on gold, silver and associated metals. Element79 Golds main focus is on two core properties: developing its previously-producing, high-grade gold and silver mine, the Lucero project located in Arequipa, Peru, with the intent to bring it back into production in the near term; and its flagship Maverick Springs Project located in the famous gold mining district of northeastern Nevada, USA, between the Elko and White Pine Counties. Maverick Springs hosts a 43-101-compliant, pit-constrained mineral resource estimate reflecting an inferred resource of 3.71 million ounces of gold equivalent AuEq at a grade of 0.92 g/t AuEq (0.34 g/t Au and 43.4 g/t Ag) with an effective date of Oct. 19, 2022 (see news release October 20, 2022, available on SEDAR). The acquisition of the Maverick Springs Project also included a portfolio of 15 properties along the Battle Mountain trend in Nevada, which are non-core to its primary business focus. In British Columbia, Element79 Gold has executed a Letter of Intent and funded a drilling program to acquire a private company which holds the option to 100% interest of the Snowbird High-Grade Gold Project, which consists of 10 mineral claims located in Central British Columbia, approximately 20km west of Fort St. James. The Company also has an option to acquire a 100% interest in the Dale Property, 90 unpatented mining claims located approximately 100 km southwest of Timmins, Ontario, Canada in the Timmins Mining Division, Dale Township. The Company is analyzing the non-core Nevada projects, The Dale Property and Snowbird Property for further merit of exploration, sale or spin-out. For more information about the Company, please visit www.element79.gold

On Behalf of the Company

James Tworek

CEO

Contact Information

Investor Relations Department

Phone: +1.613.879.9387

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Cautionary Note Regarding Forward Looking Statements

This press contains "forwardlooking information" and "forward-looking statements" under applicable securities laws (collectively, "forwardlooking statements"). These statements relate to future events or the Company's future performance, business prospects or opportunities that are based on forecasts of future results, estimates of amounts not yet determinable and assumptions of management made in light of management's experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments. Forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to: the Companys business strategy; future planning processes; exploration activities; the timing and result of exploration activities; capital projects and exploration activities and the possible results thereof; acquisition opportunities; and the impact of acquisitions, if any, on the Company. Assumptions may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated. Consequently, forward-looking statements cannot be guaranteed. As such, investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, assumptions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forwardlooking statements. Any statements that express or involve discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives or future events or performance (often, but not always, using words or phrases such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "project", "predict", "forecast", "potential", "target", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions) are not statements of historical fact and may be "forwardlooking statements".

Actual results may vary from forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to materially differ from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, including but not limited to: the duration and effects of the coronavirus and COVID-19; risks related to the integration of acquisitions; actual results of exploration activities; conclusions of economic evaluations; changes in project parameters as plans continue to be refined; commodity prices; variations in ore reserves, grade or recovery rates; actual performance of plant, equipment or processes relative to specifications and expectations; accidents; labour relations; relations with local communities; changes in national or local governments; changes in applicable legislation or application thereof; delays in obtaining approvals or financing or in the completion of development or construction activities; exchange rate fluctuations; requirements for additional capital; government regulation; environmental risks; reclamation expenses; outcomes of pending litigation; limitations on insurance coverage as well as those factors discussed in the Companys other public disclosure documents, available on www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in these forwardlooking statements are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forwardlooking statements included herein should not be unduly relied upon. These statements speak only as of the date hereof. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable laws.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor the Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - TEAKO MINERALS CORP. (CSE: TMIN) (the "Company" or "Teako"), is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with The Coring Company AS ("TCC"), a fast-growing technology company that is creating a new standard for ground investigations using state-of-the-art research, AI, and robotics. TCC is a private company based in Norway that is arms' length to Teako.

Earlier this year, TCC launched its new Sample Control System ("SCS") for the optimization of ground investigations. SCS expects to significantly reduce the cost of basic investigations and create time savings relative to traditional sampling and lab analyses by quickly collecting results in a single integrated app. This system is designed to optimize fieldwork procedures by utilizing data from drill rigs, samples, and industrial experience to produce more detailed analyses with reduced sample materials.

The collaboration between Teako and TCC is focused on creating long-term value for shareholders for both companies by applying TCC's advanced hardware and software tools across Teako's portfolio of projects which requires a close cooperation between engineers, geologists and management. While the partnership's initial focus is on disrupting conventional sample analysis, opportunities for joint value creation extend far beyond this as both companies intend to jointly develop cutting-edge solutions for exploration. Modern mining demands better strategies and tools, and Teako and TCC are confident that their cooperation will propel them to the cutting edge of the industry.

Frida Vonstad, CEO of The Coring Company comments, "The mining industry is an important factor in the world's green transition. We believe our collaboration with Teako, can make a difference. Through combining The Coring Company's knowledge of technology with Teako's industry knowledge and network - the full potential of our innovative solutions can be reached. It is crucial that the mining industry and innovative companies work together to create viable solutions that increase efficiency as well as reduce the environmental footprint."

Sven Gollan, CEO of Teako Minerals states, "By leveraging these proprietary tools, we believe we are at the beginning of a new era of exploration, one where newly developed and partly AI-assisted tools will enhance nearly every area of the discovery process. Our team feels privileged to partner with The Coring Company, whose visionary ground-breaking research, AI and robotics will assist in elevating the value of each property within our portfolio. The strategic partnership with The Coring Company aligns with Teako's vision of incorporating best in class ideas from different sectors to pioneer new and innovative approaches to exploration, with the aim of disrupting the way exploration is done."

Research & Development Agreement

Teako will enter into a Research and Development Agreement (the "R&D Agreement") which has the objective of bringing the SCS Mining Product - Exploration module to the point of commercial use in the mining exploration industry, and available for licence or sale to other third parties interested in its use. Teako will provide the geologists and mining exploration sites to further develop, test and enhance the SCS Mining Product  Exploration module.

TCC will apply to Innovation Norway, a government funded entity, for each exploration testing site where up to 50% of exploration costs will be funded by the Norwegian government. TCC will be responsible for 30% and Teako responsible for 20% of the costs.

Business Development

The Parties agree to work together regarding business development related to the following: that TCC and Teako will work together on other mining-related topics; that TCC and Teako will work together on marketing the SCS versions and the products and services of TCC; and that Teako will provide introductions to other exploration companies for TCC to introduce and sell its SCS Exploration module.

About The Coring Company AS:

The Coring Company AS ("TCC") is a Norwegian technology company that develops digital solutions for conducting ground investigations within a range of fields. TCC was founded in 2019 based on the research conducted by its founder and CEO, Frida Vonstad, during her doctoral studies at University College of London and Oxford University. TCC's main product, the Sample Control System (SCS), is a powerful tool that helps reduce costs, decrease carbon footprint, and reduce risk when conducting ground investigations.

About Teako Minerals Corp.:

Teako Minerals Corp. is a Canadian mineral exploration company focused on creating shareholder value through exploration, acquisition, and development of mineral projects.

ON BEHALF OF TEAKO MINERALS CORP.

"Sven Gollan"

Chief Executive Officer

T: +43 5522 500429

E: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Forward-Looking Information:

This press release may include forward-looking information within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, concerning the business of Teako. Forward-looking information is based on certain key expectations and assumptions made by the management of Teako. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of words such as "will," "may," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "seek," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," "likely," "could" and variations of these terms and similar expressions, or the negative of these terms or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements in this press release include that (a) Teako and TCC are confident that their cooperation will propel them to the cutting edge of the industry, (b) newly developed and partly AI-assisted tools will enhance nearly every area of the discovery process, and will assist in elevating the value of each property within our portfolio, (c) Teako will enter into a Research and Development Agreement and will provide the geologists and mining exploration sites to further develop, test and enhance the SCS Mining Product  Exploration module, (d) TCC will apply to Innovation Norway, a government funded entity, for each exploration testing site where up to 50% of exploration costs will be funded by the Norwegian government, (e) we expect SCS to reduce the cost of basic investigations and create time savings relative to traditional sampling and lab analyses, and (f) both companies intend to jointly develop cutting-edge solutions for exploration. Although Teako believes that the expectations and assumptions on which such forward-looking information is based are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on the forward-looking information because Teako can give no assurance that they will prove to be correct.

The Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or the accuracy of the contents of this release.
6,951 g/t AgEq over 0.5m within 14.2m of 977 g/t AgEq

HALIFAX, NS, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - GoGold Resources Inc. (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) ("GoGold", "the Company") is pleased to announce additional drilling results from Los Ricos South, within the Eagle Deposit. Hole LRGAG-22-145 intercepted 42.2m of 417 g/t silver equivalent ("AgEq"), including 14.2m of 977 g/t AgEq which also contained 6,951 g/t AgEq over 0.5m. See Table 1 for breakdown of silver and gold values.

"We continue to intersect exceptional metal values with the drill bit at the Eagle deposit within Los Ricos South. These holes, combined with additional drilling in the Los Ricos South Main area, should add value to the upcoming updated Los Ricos South Mineral Resource and Preliminary Economic Assessment," said Brad Langille, President and CEO. "We expect to have these updated studies on Los Ricos South by the end of June."

Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections

Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2 (m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGAG-22-134 Eagle 66.6 103.5 36.9 1.13 69.2 2.05 153.8 including 78.9 95.3 16.5 2.28 134.0 4.06 304.6 including 80.7 81.9 1.3 8.55 823.9 19.53 1,465.1 LRGAG-22-135 Eagle 133.9 138.0 4.2 0.80 96.3 2.08 156.2 including 151.8 152.6 0.8 3.96 448.0 9.93 745.0 and 188.4 199.2 10.8 1.32 42.5 1.89 141.7 including 195.8 198.1 2.3 5.10 37.2 5.60 419.8 LRGAG-22-136 Eagle 47.0 100.0 53.0 1.03 64.8 1.90 142.2 including 78.1 98.2 20.2 2.16 55.6 2.90 217.6 including 78.1 78.8 0.7 9.54 490.0 16.07 1,205.5 LRGAG-22-137 Eagle 120.6 122.8 2.3 0.64 157.5 2.74 205.5 including 121.2 122.0 0.8 1.52 390.0 6.72 504.0 and 142.8 149.8 7.0 0.99 77.8 2.03 152.1 LRGAG-22-138 Eagle 109.0 136.3 27.3 3.06 193.4 5.64 423.1 including 110.8 112.2 1.4 15.64 907.7 27.74 2,080.6 also including 121.9 122.7 0.8 14.00 19.0 14.25 1,069.0 also including 124.3 125.3 1.0 5.43 563.0 12.94 970.3 LRGAG-22-139 Eagle 76.3 97.4 21.1 1.77 43.7 2.35 176.6 including 93.0 94.0 1.1 20.04 71.2 20.99 1,574.0 including 93.5 94.0 0.5 29.10 67.0 29.99 2,249.5 LRGAG-22-140 Eagle 157.6 163.7 6.1 0.77 135.8 2.58 193.7 including 159.2 160.8 1.6 2.32 309.3 6.44 483.2 LRGAG-22-141 Eagle 156.6 185.0 28.4 3.82 113.9 5.34 400.1 including 177.1 178.0 0.9 43.30 99.0 44.62 3,346.5 and 192.0 203.4 11.4 2.10 188.6 4.61 345.7 including 196.4 197.7 1.3 9.43 709.8 18.89 1,416.7 LRGAG-22-142 Eagle 99.0 107.0 8.0 2.79 138.9 4.64 348.2 including 99.6 101.1 1.5 3.01 393.5 8.26 619.5 including 99.6 100.2 0.7 4.00 704.0 13.39 1,004.0 LRGAG-22-143 Eagle 123.9 133.4 9.6 2.29 198.9 4.94 370.8 including 126.7 128.2 1.5 7.41 708.0 16.85 1,263.8 LRGAG-22-144 Eagle 35.1 43.5 8.5 2.80 472.7 9.11 682.9 including 35.1 40.4 5.4 4.38 727.3 14.07 1,055.6 including 37.4 39.7 2.4 8.19 1,400.5 26.87 2,015.1 LRGAG-22-145 Eagle 112.5 154.6 42.2 1.94 271.7 5.56 417.2 including 128.4 142.5 14.1 3.70 699.7 13.03 977.2 including 132.9 133.4 0.5 16.15 5,740.0 92.68 6,951.3 LRGAG-22-146 Eagle 75.5 78.7 3.2 1.99 57.8 2.76 206.7

1. Not true width 2. AgEq converted using a silver to gold ratio of 75:1 at recoveries of 100%

The Eagle Deposit adjoins the Main Deposit and represents a northern extension of the previously defined Mineral Resource Estimate in the Los Ricos South PEA. The Eagle concession covers 1,107 hectares, including the area between the Main Deposit and the Company's Jamaica concession located 3km to the northwest, where the Company holds the rights to additional concessions. Drilling at the Eagle has returned the highest grade intercepts to date in the district. These wide high-grade intercepts are consistent with geophysical targets on the new concession.

Figure 3, above, provides a summary of the Los Ricos District, including both the Los Ricos North and Los Ricos South projects. The map includes an outline of the concession areas and a summary of the current Mineral Resource Estimates ("MRE") on the projects, as well as stars locating each of the deposits included within the current MREs.

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length LRGAG-22-134 610103 2328383 1291 50 -59 151 LRGAG-22-135 609989 2328393 1263 50 -64 234 LRGAG-22-136 610091 2328421 1291 50 -71 132 LRGAG-22-137 610009 2328481 1258 50 -74 170 LRGAG-22-138 610055 2328369 1282 50 -59 168 LRGAG-22-139 610015 2328570 1273 50 -48 169 LRGAG-22-140 610199 2328136 1353 50 -46 194 LRGAG-22-141 610055 2328367 1282 50 -82 260 LRGAG-22-142 610015 2328569 1273 50 -68 150 LRGAG-22-143 610014 2328569 1273 50 -89 194 LRGAG-22-144 610278 2328104 1323 50 -45 101 LRGAG-22-145 610099 2328217 1307 50 -79 182 LRGAG-22-146 610054 2328537 1274 50 -62 129

VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation

VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps.

The VRIFY 3D Slide Deck for GoGold can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/companies/gogold-resources-inc and on the Company's website at: www.gogoldresources.com.

Los Ricos District Exploration Projects

The Company's two exploration projects at its Los Ricos Property are in Jalisco state, Mexico. The Los Ricos South Project began in March 2019 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on July 29, 2020, which disclosed a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 63.7 million ounces AgEq grading 199 g/t AgEq contained in 10.0 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.9 million ounces AgEq grading 190 g/t AgEq contained in 3.3 million tonnes. An initial PEA on the project was announced on January 20, 2021, indicating an NPV 5% of US$295M. The Eagle Concession was acquired in October 2022 and is adjacent to the Main Area which contains the initial Mineral Resource.

The Los Ricos North Project was launched in March 2020 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on December 7, 2021, which disclosed an Indicated Mineral Resource of 87.8 million ounces AgEq grading 122 g/t AgEq contained in 22.3 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.2 million ounces AgEq grading 111 g/t AgEq contained in 20.5 million tonnes.

Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ALS Chemex facility in Guadalajara, Mexico. ALS Chemex crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay (Code AA23) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code ME-GRAV21). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code ME-ICP61 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (ME-GRA21).

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed GoGold's QA/QC protocols.

Mr. David Duncan, P. Geo. is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information of this release.

About GoGold Resources

GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico. The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco. Headquartered in Halifax, NS, GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT

The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States.

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release.
Eloro Resources Ltd. (TSX.V: ELO) ("Eloro" or the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that it is proceeding with a non-brokered private placement (the "Private Placement") of up to 1,000,000 units of Eloro at a price of $0.35 per unit ("Units") for proceeds of up to $350,000. Each Unit will... Read More
A Quebec Superior Court justice has ordered Google to pay $500,000 to a Montreal man after the company restored a link to a post falsely accusing him of being a pedophile. The Google app on an iPad in Baltimore is seen on March 19, 2018. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Patrick Semansky
Kennesaw State to offer bachelors degree in data science and analytics

KENNESAW, Ga. | Apr 20, 2023

A new Bachelor of Science in Data Science and Analytics has been approved for Kennesaw State University. The undergraduate degree rounds out a full suite of degree opportunities in the discipline, joining the Universitys existing masters and doctoral degree programs.

The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia approved the degree at its meeting on April 19, and the program will welcome its first group of students in August 2023.

We are extremely grateful to our president and provost for supporting a key degree that will have transformative impact on student success and workforce development, said Sumanth Yenduri, dean of the College of Computing and Software Engineering.

This new bachelors degree will give Kennesaw State unique educational opportunities.

This is going to make us fully stacked in data science, said Sherrill Hayes, the director of the School of Data Science and Analytics. Kennesaw State can offer students a bachelors, a masters, and a doctorate in data science. I dont know any other university in the country that is fully stacked in data science, so that makes us proud and excited for the students we will serve.

Jobs in data science are among the most in demand in the U.S., according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, with 13,500 new positions forecast per year through 2031  a growth rate of 36 percent. The median annual salary for data scientists was $100,910 in 2021, the latest year for which statistics were available.

Data science and analytics has become increasingly important in a wide range of sectors, including government, logistics, finance, healthcare, technology, retail, manufacturing and more. Data scientists analyze large sets of data to spot trends and gather other useful information to help organizational leaders make better decisions.

In outlining the need for an undergraduate degree in data science, Kennesaw State leaders cited a rising need for data scientists in metro Atlanta, northwest Georgia, and the state. The degree proposal cited an Atlanta Regional Commission opinion that data analysis will be key in addressing important issues, such as increasing the supply of quality housing, increasing civic engagement, and understanding educational performance and outcomes in the metro area.

Graduates of Kennesaw States masters degree program have seen a 99% placement rate in data science jobs within six months of graduation. KSU began offering a doctorate in data science and analytics in 2015.

 Amanda Cook

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A leader in innovative teaching and learning, Kennesaw State University offers undergraduate, graduate and doctoral degrees to its more than 43,000 students. Kennesaw State is a member of the University System of Georgia with 11 academic colleges. The universitys vibrant campus culture, diverse population, strong global ties and entrepreneurial spirit draw students from throughout the country and the world. Kennesaw State is a Carnegie-designated doctoral research institution (R2), placing it among an elite group of only 7 percent of U.S. colleges and universities with an R1 or R2 status. For more information, visit kennesaw.edu.
There has been growing recognition of the importance of emotional intelligence (EI) in health care in recent years. EI refers to the ability to recognize, understand, and manage ones emotions and the emotions of others. One way to enhance emotional intelligence is by incorporating the Five Love Languages into health care practices. Dr. Gary Chapman developed the Five Love Languages as a framework for understanding how individuals express and receive love. In health care, these languages can help doctors and medical professionals connect more deeply with their patients and colleagues.

In this article, we will explore the application of the Five Love Languages and emotional intelligence in health care by providing detailed examples of how doctors can apply these concepts to improve their relationships with patients and team members.

Words of affirmation

One of the Five Love Languages is expressing love and appreciation through words. In health care, words of affirmation can significantly impact a patients experience and improve team dynamics. For example, a doctor can use words of affirmation to encourage patients during treatment or congratulate a colleague on a job well done. This simple act boosts morale, builds trust, and contributes to a positive work environment.

Acts of service

Acts of service refer to doing something for someone else to show love and appreciation. In health care, doctors can demonstrate acts of kindness by going above and beyond for their patients and team members. For example, a doctor may take extra time to explain a diagnosis or treatment plan to a patient, ensuring they fully understand the information. Additionally, offering to cover a colleagues shift or volunteering to help with a challenging case can foster a supportive and collaborative work environment.

Receiving gifts

Receiving gifts is another love language that can be applied in health care. Small tokens of appreciation, such as a personalized thank-you note or a small donation, can go a long way in building positive relationships with patients and colleagues. For example, a doctor might give a patient a small keepsake to commemorate the end of their treatment or offer a colleague a thoughtful gift to celebrate a professional milestone.

Quality time

Quality time, or giving someone your undivided attention, is another love language that can be applied in health care. Doctors can demonstrate quality time by genuinely listening to their patients concerns and discussing their health goals. Similarly, doctors can invest time building relationships with their colleagues by engaging in team-building activities or offering mentorship. Doctors can create a more empathetic and supportive health care environment by dedicating quality time to patients and colleagues.

Physical touch

Physical touch is essential to health care and can be a powerful love language when used appropriately. Doctors can use physical contact to comfort patients by offering a reassuring hand on the shoulder during a difficult conversation or providing a gentle touch during a medical examination. In team settings, doctors can support colleagues with a pat on the back or a congratulatory handshake. When incorporating physical contact into health care practices, it is crucial to be mindful of individual preferences and cultural sensitivities.

Incorporating the Five Love Languages in a health care organization

At one of the companies I founded, we made it a point to integrate the Five Love Languages and emotional intelligence principles into our health care practice. Our team, including doctors, nurses, and front and back office staff, attended mandatory conferences designed to teach them how to incorporate these principles into their daily work. We were committed to helping all our patients, regardless of their issues.

For example, a patient refused to be admitted for chest pain because she had pets at home that needed care. Our compassionate team went above and beyond, arranging for the pets to be picked up and cared for while the patient was in the hospital. This service helped the patient focus on her health, knowing her pets were in good hands.

To express our gratitude, we thanked our patients with small gifts when they visited our emergency room. This gesture of appreciation helped create a positive environment and reinforced the importance of receiving presents as one of the love languages.

We also monitored the time our doctors and nurses spent with patients. If we noticed that a health care professional spent too little time with a patient, we would review the case to understand why that was the case and provide guidance on how to improve their patient interactions. This focus on quality time ensured that our patients received the undivided attention they deserved.

Incorporating the Five Love Languages and emotional intelligence principles into our health care organization fostered a compassionate and supportive environment for patients and team members. These examples demonstrate the potential impact of applying these principles in health care and the importance of ongoing education and training to ensure successful implementation.

Conclusion

The Five Love Languages and emotional intelligence can enhance connections and compassion in health care. By understanding and applying these principles, health care professionals can create a more empathetic and supportive environment for patients and colleagues. Implementing training programs and workshops, focusing on cultural sensitivity, and ensuring personalized communication will help further the success of these practices, leading to better patient outcomes and stronger working relationships among team members.

Harvey Castro is a physician, health care consultant, and serial entrepreneur with extensive experience in the health care industry. He can be reached on his website, harveycastromd.info, Twitter @HarveycastroMD, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. He is the author of Bing Copilot and Other LLM: Revolutionizing Healthcare With AI, Solving Infamous Cases with Artificial Intelligence, The AI-Driven Entrepreneur: Unlocking Entrepreneurial Success with Artificial Intelligence Strategies and Insights, ChatGPT and Healthcare: The Key To The New Future of Medicine, ChatGPT and Healthcare: Unlocking The Potential Of Patient Empowerment, Revolutionize Your Health and Fitness with ChatGPTs Modern Weight Loss Hacks, and Success Reinvention.
The Democratic Party (DP) has commended the Judiciary and police for standing against government officials who allegedly misused the iron sheets meant for vulnerable people in Karamoja.

So far, police have arrested three ministers; Mary Gorreti Kitutu, Amos Lugoloobi, and Agnes Nandutu .

Police have also handled Kitutu and Lugoloobi to court for mention of their case following the allegations of diverting government relief aid including Iron sheets and goats meant to benefit the underprivileged communities in Karamoja sub-region.

Speaking to the media at the party head offices on Tuesday, the president of Uganda Young Democrats, Ismail Kirya, said so far, the two agencies are doing good work however, he implored Judiciary to also clear other old scandalous corruption cases. He cited the Temangalo, Gavi funds, CHOGM money among other scandals.

Meanwhile, Kirya urged President Museveni not to interfere with the ongoing investigations and court procedures in a bid to ensure that all the culprits are brought to book.
Electoral Commission (EC) has asked Civil Society Organizations (CSO) to back up the governments efforts to minimize post-election violence, which is currently being exhibited in various countries in Africa.

The director in charge of operations at the Electoral Commission, Richard Kamugisha says the current postelection violence occurring in countries such as Kenya is due to lack of general acceptance by those who contest in the elections.

He says it is vital for civil society organizations to sensitize the community to minimize such situations to occur.

Now, why is a section of some citizens not accepting the outcome? This kind of situation is bringing a lot of violence, he said.

He made the remarks while addressing leaders of the African Electoral Alliance, advocating for free and fair elections in African countries.
The minister for ICT and National Guidance Dr. Chris Baryomunsi has called for the restructuring of the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM).

OPM has been hit by several corruption scandals with the latest being a probe into the alleged diversion of 14,500 pre-painted iron sheets meant for vulnerable people in the Karamoja sub-region.

While addressing journalists at the ICT ministry head offices in Kampala, Baryomunsi said that the OPM only needs to be restructured and have some offices like that of implementation transferred to other sectors for efficient service delivery.

The OPM is too huge for one person [Robinah Nabbanja] to supervise. Government needs to restructure the whole OPM in terms of supervision and implementation of programmes, Baryomunsi said.

During the same press conference, Baryomunsi castigated police for apprehending ministers implicated in the Karamoja iron sheets scandal during hours they cannot be produced in court.

One of the remanded ministers; Amos Lugoolobi was apprehended on Friday last week and detained at Kira Division Police pending trial this week. He was later remanded to Luzira prison.

Baryomunsi says police should have just told him to appear for statement recording this week and then present him before court instead of having him intentionally spend nights behind bars before trial.
The National Social Security Fund (NSSF) has extended an ultimatum notice it issued to employers to register with the Fund and remit contributions for their employees.

Addressing journalists in Kampala on Wednesday, NSSF acting Managing Director, Patrick Ayota said the revised deadline whose countdown commenced on March 28 is now June 28, 2023.

He says employers who fail to comply will be penalized according to the National Social Security Fund (Amendment) Act.

The employer registration drive is being undertaken to operationalize the new provisions in the NSSF Act, as amended; introducing mandatory contributions by all workers regardless of the size of the enterprise or number of employees.
Mayor of Kilkenny, David Fitzgerald, has raised fresh concern over the lack of accommodation for incoming workers in Kilkenny.

His comments came during last week's meeting of Kilkenny City Municipal District Council.

After welcoming the official sod-turning event that took place at the Abbott Ireland site in Kilkenny earlier that day, he then highlighted the 'significant challenge to find accommodation for incoming workers'.

His comments mirror the concern in the findings of a recent property study by property agents Hooke and MacDonald.

That study identified a severe shortage of new homes on the market in Kilkenny that is adversely impacting companies operating here.

It came to the conclusion that measures need to be introduced urgently by the government to make it viable and fundable for builders and developers to provide housing in Kilkenny and throughout the country.

Although many of the new jobs will inevitably be secured by local people, there will be some jobs, particularly high-end jobs, that will presumably be secured by people outside of the county.

These people may seek to move to Kilkenny and contribute back to the local economy by living here, but their plans may be thwarted by the countys current property market.
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(Kitco News) - The integration of blockchain technology into the financial system continues to progress as the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub London Center has announced the completion of a pilot test conducted in conjunction with the Bank of England exploring distributed ledger technology (DLT)-powered payment settlements.

Project Meridian was designed to explore how rapid advances in financial technology could deliver innovations in real-time gross settlement (RTGS) systems, which form the foundation of modern electronic payment systems.

According to a report published by the BIS on Wednesday, the joint pilot project successfully completed the purchase of houses in Wales and England through the synchronization network using DLT.

Synchronized settlement is the conditional transfer of funds in an RTGS system and assets or funds on another ledger, the report said. It has the potential to reduce the time, costs and risk associated with settling transactions for a wide range of assets. It eliminates the risk of a counterparty failing to hand over ownership of an asset (settlement risk).

Synchronization model. Source: BIS

Synchronized settlement can also be used to reduce liquidity costs by cutting the amount of time that assets need to be reserved for a specific transaction.

Project Meridian involved a prototype that develops a synchronization network using DLT. The prototype demonstrates how a DLT network can connect to the resilient and secure centralized systems of actors in a transaction  including the RTGS operator  using open standard application programming interfaces (APIs), the report said.

In the pilot program, the Meridian prototype was used to conduct English and Welsh housing transactions.

Steps in the synchronized settlement of housing transactions. Source: BIS

To digitize the process, a digital deed was created to represent the properties in question. The Meridian prototype was successfully able to settle multiple transactions simultaneously through the introduction of a common chain identifier in messages sent to the RTGS system, the report said.

The Meridian prototype demonstrates that the benefits of synchronisation could be realised by digitally orchestrating settlement, the BIS wrote. Digitisation reduces uncertainty by giving greater clarity to all actors in a transaction.

The key insights gleaned from Project Meridian were noted by the BIS in the following graphic.

Key insights from Project Meridian. Source: BIS

Moving forward, the BIS and BOE plan to test synchronization and the Meridian system in a number of asset markets, including housing transactions, corporate actions, securities settlement, cross-border payments and foreign transactions.

Areas of concern that still need to be addressed include the mechanics of identity verification and restrictions to synchronization services due to RTGS operating hours.

Project Meridian has demonstrated that synchronized settlement in central bank money can be achieved for a house purchase in England and Wales, the BIS wrote. The project concludes that synchronization is a relatively simple way to reduce the time, costs and risks of a transaction. Central banks and RTGS operators can consider the benefits of this approach alongside others that improve payment infrastructures to improve wholesale settlement. Synchronization can provide a catalyst for innovation in wholesale payments and support the emergence of new payments infrastructures that settle using central bank money.
April 18 (Reuters) - Deutsche Bank's (DBKGn.DE) deputy chief executive Karl von Rohr will not renew his contract as a member of its management board after October 2023, marking the end of a 25-year career at Germany's biggest bank.

"Deutsche Bank will provide an update concerning Karl von Rohr's succession in the Management Board in the near future," Deutsche Bank said in a statement on Tuesday.

The 57-year-old joined Deutsche Bank's management board in 2015 and was its longest standing member alongside chief executive Christian Sewing, serving as deputy CEO alongside Chief Financial Officer James von Moltke.

Von Rohr is also standing down as chairman of Deutsche Bank's fund business DWS (DWSG.DE), which said in a separate statement that the bank, which is its majority owner, had asked him to stand again for the DWS supervisory board when his five-year term ends in June.

The role of DWS chair is usually held by the Deutsche Bank board member responsible for the business.

Shares in DWS were down 0.39% at 0949 GMT on Wednesday, while Deutsche Bank shares were 0.88% lower.

A search process will begin over the coming months for a new chairman of DWS, which is still facing investigations by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and German financial watchdog BaFin into allegations by its former head of sustainability that it overstated how it used sustainable investing criteria, a practice known as greenwashing.

DWS, whose offices were raided in 2022, denies this and says it is cooperating with authorities. Former DWS CEO Asoka Woehrmann resigned in June last year after the raids.
(Adds Teck's response and investor Waratah's statement)

April 19 (Reuters) - Swiss miner Glencore Plc said on Wednesday it was willing to raise its bid for Canada's Teck Resources Ltd , its latest attempt to bring the Canadian miner on the negotiation table ahead of restructuring. Teck has repeatedly rejected Glencore's offer and instead urged shareholders to vote for the company's own plan to split its coal and copper businesses. Here is the snapshot of key events in the Teck-Glencore saga so far.

Date Development

March Glencore privately offers to merge with Teck Resources 26 in a $22.5 billion all-share deal. April Teck rejects Glencore's offer citing reluctance to 3 expose its shareholders to thermal coal, oil, LNG and related sectors.

April Teck Chief Executive Jonathan Price reinforces the 10 rejection of Glencore's unsolicited bid and tells shareholders that Teck's restructuring plan is the only viable option. Reuters reports that Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle plans to personally meet some Canadian shareholders of Teck to get their support for the merger. April Glencore modifies its $22.5 billion all-share takeover 11 bid to include up to $8.2 billion in cash, which Teck's board dubs "largely unchanged". April Several Teck shareholders ask Glencore to sweeten its 12 takeover bid.

April Teck rejects the improved bid and tweaks its own 13 restructuring plan to allow for an earlier full separation of its metals and coal divisions. Influential proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) advises shareholders to reject Teck's restructuring plan on uncertainties and structural issues. April Bloomberg News reports that Teck's biggest shareholder 14 China Investment Corp (CIC) favors Glencore's revised offer as it allows investors to exit their coal exposure for cash.

April Bloomberg News reports that Advisory firm Glass Lewis 15 has recommended to its shareholders to vote against Teck's plan to spin off its coal segment. April Vale SA , Anglo American Plc and 16 Freeport-McMoRan Inc , among others, approach Teck to explore deals for its base metals business if the spinoff takes places, sources tell Reuters.

Teck's Chairman Emeritus Norman Keevil says he would support deals for the base metals business of Teck post spinoff. April A source tells Reuters that Glencore's executives have 17 met or spoken with some 120 Teck shareholders to win support for their takeover bid.

Teck denies media reports that stated its largest shareholder CIC favored the Glencore deal.

April Teck CEO Price again advises shareholders to back the 18 spinoff in a hastily arranged conference call after skipping the World Copper Conference in Chile. April In an open letter, Glencore says it is willing to 19 improve the $22.5 billion bid and will consider taking the offer directly to shareholders if Teck's board refuses to discuss the deal. Teck says Glencore is seeking to frustrate the vote and pre-empt a competitive future landscape. Teck reiterates its recommendation that shareholders vote for a planned spin-off. Teck shareholder Waratah Capital Advisors says it has voted against the restructuring plan. As of March 7, the asset management firm held about 2.3 million class B subordinated voting shares.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
MADRID, April 19 (Reuters) - Spanish lenders may feel the impact from rising global risks, such as the higher cost of funding and liquidity stress, though their cash positions remained stable in March, Bank of Spain officials said on Wednesday.

In its semi-annual financial stability report, the central bank warned global uncertainty could lead to a higher cost of equity in the sector in the coming quarters, while macro-economic risks could have a negative impact on banks' profitability and solvency.

"This may put under negative pressure the favourable financial situation with which (Spanish lenders) started 2023," it said.

The Bank of Spain noted however that risks to the Spanish financial system were limited due to a lack of any significant direct exposure to the banks at the heart of the recent global turmoil. It also underscored the sector's strong liquidity ratios.

Global banking shares went into a tailspin last month after the failure of Silicon Valley Bank and two other lenders in the United States, as well as the forced takeover of Credit Suisse (CSGN.S) by UBS (UBSG.S), but markets have since largely calmed.

Spanish banks' exposure to Credit Suisse stands at up to 400 million euros ($437 million), according to Bank of Spain officials.

The central bank urged lenders to ensure they have adequate systems in place to recognise risks early on to preserve confidence in the sector.

It also highlighted positive elements of Spanish banks' business model, such as a diversified deposit base, with the bulk of retail clients' deposits guaranteed.

As of December, the liquidity coverage ratio of Spanish lenders stood at levels close to 180%. A ratio above 100% means they don't need to tap the markets in the short term to cover for potential outflows of funds in a 30-day stress scenario.

A Bank of Spain official said that neither Spanish, nor European banks, had suffered a significant worsening of their liquidity ratios in March despite episodes of stress in entities in the United States or Switzerland.

"Spanish or European entities have not seen outflows of resources or consumed liquid resources," Carlos Perez Montes, director of the Bank of Spain's financial stability unit, said.

The institution's head of financial stability Angel Estrada also said on Wednesday that it may be worth considering different parameters to measure liquidity ratios, given how bank runs, such as the one experienced by SVB, are able to intensify and spread fast thanks to new technology and the speed of access to bank accounts.

"All what has to with communication is very important in order to avoid panic (outflows of funds)," Estrada said.

(= 0.9158 euros)
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(Kitco News) - Investors are starting to wake up to platinum's value play as momentum drives the price to its highest level since the start of the year.

Platinum prices are looking to end Wednesday above $1,100 an ounce, up more than 4% this week. Meanwhile, prices are up 10% since testing support in late April at $1,000 an ounce.

The precious metal is outperforming gold and silver, which are currently treading water in neutral territory this week. Gold is up more than 9% from its lows in late April.

According to the World Platinum Investment Council, platinum is an attractive asset for investors looking for value in the precious metals sector.

"Platinum remains under-owned but also still undervalued compared to gold and to its one-to-one substitute, palladium," said Trevor Raymond, CEO of the WPIC, in a comment to Kitco News.

According to some analysts, while technical momentum is driving platinum prices, the market also has strong fundamentals, supporting what could be a sustainable rally in the precious metal. Analysts note that improving economic data in China came in stronger than expected, supporting robust platinum jewelry demand.

At the same time, further power disruptions in South Africa continue to impact platinum production.

"Even if producer ounces are not affected in the short-term (they have proven to manage load curtailment), it's a supply/fundamental story that fits the bullish story  like anything in markets, it will matter when it does," said Nicky Shiels, head of metals strategy at MKS PAMP.

Analysts note that platinum's latest rally shows the precious metal's explosive potential. Ole Hansen, head of commodity strategy at Saxo Bank, described the precious metal as the market's Sleeping Beauty, "due to its troubled supply origins and given its participation in the green transformation."

"What has been missing to push the market into a supply deficit is investor demand through ETFs. That demand seems to be returning now and with the price outrunning gold by 100 dollars in a matter of days tells a story about the easiness of moving this metal when the drivers start to align," he said in a comment to Kitco.

Platinum has struggled to attract sustainable investor interest in recent years because of a struggling auto sector. Platinum is primarily used in the auto sector and is a critical component in catalytic converters, which are used to reduce harmful emissions from gasoline and diesel-powered vehicles.

However, analysts note that platinum is also coming into its own as part of the global green energy transition. It is used as a catalyst to separate water into oxygen and hydrogen; the hydrogen is then used as a power source.

Phillip Streible, chief market strategist at Blue Line Futures, said that looking at platinum's fundamental backdrop, it's only a matter of time before prices push above their 2023 highs established in January.

"If gold prices are going to $2,500, then platinum has to at least move back above $1,200," he said. "Platinum, while a precious metal, is an important industrial metal and it checks a lot of boxes for some. It is one of those metals you should have in your portfolio because of its potential."
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(Kitco News) - As countries around the world deepen their exploration of central bank digital currencies (CBDC), the topic of a digital dollar was recently discussed by Federal Reserve Board governor Michelle Bowman, who spoke at Georgetown University on Tuesday, offering her perspectives on a U.S. CBDC.

In broad terms, a CBDC is simply a new form of digital liability of a central bank, Bowman said. Beyond this baseline definition though, what is a CBDC defies a simple definition. A CBDC built on distributed ledger technology offers a wide range of design and potential use options, as well as potential risks.

As the Federal Reserve explores the possibility of issuing a digital dollar, Bowman indicated that there are two questions that need to be answered before moving forward. First, what problem is the policymaker trying to solve, and is a CBDC a potential solution? Second, what features and considerations  including unintended consequences  may a policymaker want to consider in deciding to design and adopt a CBDC?

In her view, What problem could a CBDC solve? is the fundamental question. One of the most often cited benefits of introducing a CBDC is the ability to improve payment systems, but Bowman expressed doubt that a digital dollar would be needed to achieve this goal.

Improving the speed of payments, particularly retail payments, can be accomplished without the introduction of a CBDC, she said. In the United States, beginning later this year, the Federal Reserve's FedNowSM Service will enable banks in the United States to offer their customers the ability to send and receive payments in real-time.

Increasing financial inclusion is another regularly purported benefit of CBDCs, which Bowman also questioned. In the United States today, over 95 percent of households have a least one member of the household with a banking relationship holding a checking or savings account, she said. Of the remaining 4.5 percent who are not banked, nearly three-quarters have no interest in having a bank account, and approximately one-third cited a lack of trust in banks as the reason for not having a bank account.

I think it is unlikely that this group would find the government somehow more trustworthy than highly regulated banks, Bowman said. Unbanked households are also less likely to own mobile phones or have access to the internet, which would present barriers to CBDC adoption.

The Fed governor suggested that policymakers should consider other means of improving financial inclusion, such as alternatives for making the distribution of government benefits more efficient and effective like promoting financial literacy.

On the topic of the government using a CBDC to achieve a variety of policy objectives, Bowman warned that using a digital dollar to achieve goals could lead to the politicization of the payments system and at its heart, how money is used.

Imagine a scenario in which fiscal spending, in the form of government benefits or payments, could be transferred via CBDC and could include a limited timeframe in which they could be spent before expiring, she proposed.

Enabling this type of limit through a CBDC would stand in stark contrast to the flexibility and freedom embedded in physical currency or bank deposits and could serve to control or even harm consumers and businesses. A CBDC that permitted this type of control not only has the potential to allow the government to limit certain types of private spending or limit access to banking accounts, it could also threaten the Federal Reserve's independence.

Circling back to the topic of improvements to the payment system, Bowman again asserted that the introduction of the FedNow system will accomplish that goal without the introduction of a digital dollar. What could a CBDC accomplish, if anything, over and above what instant payments platforms alone can accomplish? she questioned.

While she acknowledged that there could be some benefits offered by a wholesale digital dollar used to settle certain interbank transactions, she also noted that participants in the wholesale financial markets have already been exploring the integration of distributed ledger technology that does not require the creation of a CBDC.

Policymakers must carefully consider the wholesale use cases, including whether there is added value of a wholesale version of CBDC in supporting new infrastructure to financial transactions over and above existing methods, she said.

When it comes to using CBDCs for cross-border payments and other activities, Bowman noted that the biggest challenge would actually be the regulatory and legal safeguards in place for payments between countries with different legal structures, such as KYC/AML policies and sanctions screenings.

These competing priorities are challenging to reconcile, she said. While cross-border payments are among the slowest and least efficient, they also raise substantial legal and regulatory compliance concerns that would apply equally to CBDCs.

One topic where Bowman said a digital dollar could come in handy is related to the declining use of cash. Because the Federal Reserve is committed to ensuring the continued safety and availability of cash, a CBDC could be considered as a means to expand safe payment options, not to reduce or replace them. So, an important issue for us to consider would be whether a CBDC could provide the public with a more attractive alternative to cash in a world that may be shifting away from cash-based payments.

Transitioning to the topic of stablecoins, Bowman called them less secure, less stable, and less regulated than traditional forms of money with opaque structures and frameworks.

It is important for us to continue to evaluate the evolving landscape of digital assets and understand whether and how well-regulated stablecoins or a CBDC would interact with each other and with the broader payments system, she said.

As far as the risks, challenges and tradeoffs that a digital dollar poses, Bowman indicated that safeguarding privacy is a top concern for both the Fed and other stakeholders. A central consideration must be how a potential U.S. CBDC could incorporate privacy considerations into its design, and what technology and policy options could support a robust privacy framework, she said.

The risks a CBDC poses to the U.S. banking system was another major concern. There are significant risks in adopting a CBDC that cannibalizes rather than complements the U.S. banking system, Bowman said. A CBDC, if not properly designed, could disrupt the banking system and lead to disintermediation, potentially harming consumers and businesses, and could present broader financial stability risks.

If the Federal Reserve were to be authorized and directed to implement a U.S. CBDC, we would need to carefully consider how an intermediated CBDC, with private-sector service providers, could be designed in a way that maintains financial institution involvement and minimizes disruptions to the financial system.

According to Bowman, the Feds measured approach to exploring the issuance of a CBDC is being made to address these types of concerns to ensure that the appropriate guardrails are put in place to mitigate the potential impacts a digital dollar would have on the banking sector and the financial system.

Bowman concluded that while there could be some promise for wholesale CBDCs in the future for settlement of certain financial market transactions and processing international payments, [...] it is difficult to imagine a world where the tradeoffs between benefits and unintended consequences could justify a direct access CBDC for uses beyond interbank and wholesale transactions.

In the end, the issuance of a digital dollar ultimately depends on what legislators in Congress decide to do, with Bowamn saying that the Fed would not implement a U.S. CBDC without the approval of Congress.
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(Kitco News) As gold rose above the $2,000 level last month, some central banks turned to selling the precious metal, according to the World Gold Council.

The biggest gold buyer of 2022  Turkey  sold 15 tonnes of gold in March, the WGC said. This marked the first monthly net sale since November 2021 and lowered the country's reserves to 572 tonnes.

Turkey's official gold reserves rose by 148 tonnes last year, marking the highest level on record.

Another bank that offloaded some gold was the National Bank of Kazakhstan, which sold 10.5 tonnes in March. However, Kazakhstan was a seller even before March. Year-to-date, the Bank reduced its gold holdings by 19.6 tonnes. The country's total gold reserves are now at 332 tonnes - the lowest since August 2018.

Also, the WGC estimated that China's gold consumption could slow after the country went on a shopping spree in the last five months.

"Seasonality patterns suggest a slowdown in local gold consumption, which could weigh on wholesale gold demand in April and May. In addition, the elevated local gold price and budget diversion from tourism and other consumption needs may add further pressure," the WGC said in a report.

In the meantime, China continues to be one of the biggest official gold buyers this year.

In March, the People's Bank of China bought 18 tonnes of gold, its fifth consecutive monthly purchase. This brought Q1 acquisitions to 58 tonnes and total gold reserves to 2,068 tonnes.

Overall, central banks continue to be interested in adding more gold to their reserves. January and February marked the strongest start to the year since at least 2010, the WGC said, citing the precious metal's safe-haven properties and the global de-dollarization trend.

Global gold reserves increased by 52 tonnes in February, followed by January's 74 tonnes. And that comes on the heels of last year's record levels of 1,136 tonnes.

India is also starting to play a more significant role. The Reserve Bank of India bought 3.5 tonnes of gold bullion last month, raising its Q1 total to 7.3 tonnes, said WGC's senior analyst Krishan Gopaul. The central bank now holds 794.6 tonnes of gold in its reserves.

Russia also recently disclosed that it bought one million ounces (31 tonnes) of gold between February 2022 and March 2023.
Its declarative lunch was partly eaten

An article making the rounds, "Who Killed Prolog?", asks: of the major programming traditionsimperative, functional, object-oriented, and logicwhy did the logic-programming one, exemplified by Prolog, more or less die (to overstate its death a little)? The author, prominent Prolog veteran Maarten van Emden, traces it back to a large Japanese-government project, "Fifth-Generation Computer System", active from 1982 to 1992, which could've been Prolog's killer app, but instead failed and took Prolog down with it. I don't doubt that history might have been different if a few large Prolog projects in the 1980s turned out differently, and this one in particular might be key. But with all due respect, I think a larger reason for Prolog gradually losing steam is that its uniqueness as a declarative language has been chipped away.

Prolog proposed logic programming, the idea that one should write a program's logic not as a set of procedures, nor as a set of functions, but quite literally as logical statements. A lot of the novelty and excitement, though, was not specifically from logic, but from this being the first major proposal of declarative programming, the idea that one should specify what, not how, as a general paradigm for programming computers. That approach, specifying the solution's properties rather than the algorithm for finding it, is still the part that most fascinates computer-science undergraduates first exposed to Prolog. Specifying problems declaratively does predate Prolog, as in traditional mathematical equation solving, and in mathematical programming, scheduling, and planning systems. But these were intended as optimization systems for specific domains, not as a programming paradigm on par with functional or imperative programming. Prolog proposed that declarative programming could be flexible and general. Indeed it's turned out to be, but Prolog's lunch has largely been eaten, as bits of declarative-programming niceness have been incorporated into a variety of other systems, often in simplified and non-logic-based form.

Simpler declarative programming

People quickly noticed that Prolog gave bigger wins with some kinds of programming than others, and that often its full power wasn't actually needed for those wins. Perhaps this could've been solved by clever language engineering, the way that Haskell finally broke through the wall of pure-functional programs being seen as ivory-tower languages that were impractical, or at least really awkward, for any system that needed to do I/O or interact with users. But that didn't happen, at least in the 1970s. Instead, I see two main trends of systems that picked up some of the nicer bits of declarative programming. Both involved mining what was, in my view at least, the single biggest thing that Prolog made easier: the ability to keep track of facts and compute their implications.

The first observation was that rather than viewing Prolog as a way to write programs, it could be viewed as a database with a particularly powerful query language. Instead of just retrieving data, as databases of the time were mainly oriented to do, it could deduce complex results from that data. This way, the purely application logic (GUIs and network protocols and such) could be written in whatever language was most convenient, and Prolog could handle what, in this view, it was most natural for: using rules to deduce facts from other facts. Clearly a retreat from the full logic-programming view, but I think Prolog-as-a-database captures a big portion of the low-hanging fruit, and a lot of Prolog programs had that flavor anyway.

By the late 1970s, some Prolog researchers started working on Datalog, a variant intended to make a Prolog-type system usable as serious next-gen database. Clearly the relational database wasn't displaced, but the declarative-programming-over-data model did win to a certain extent. Today, a lot of logic is written declaratively in SQL, rather than SQL being used purely as a way to retrieve data for processing in an application language. Most of the classic Prolog examples can be written in SQL: if you have tables of sibling and parent relationships, you can write an SQL query that declaratively defines an "uncle" relationship, much as you'd do with the Prolog rule uncle(A,B) :- male(A), sibling(A,C), parent(C,B). The addition of recursive queries to SQL in the 1990s made even more of that sort of thing possible. It's not quite everything Datalog promised, but it incorporates enough of the declarative-programming win while retaining the relational-database model in which a lot is already invested (and where a lot of data is already stored) that it outcompeted Prolog-derived databases.

Another big set of systems that ate a tasty portion of Prolog's lunch were propositional rule-based systems. If you take Prolog's model of facts and Horn clauses, but turn them all into propositional facts and rules, with no logic variables or unification, your statements all look equivalent to either bare assertions of facts, like a. , or simple boolean implications, like a :- b, c. This simplification has some advantages. First, and a consideration that probably shouldn't be underestimated: it's simpler to think about. You have facts, and boolean combinations of those facts can imply other facts. Secondly, it's now computationally efficient to calculate the whole set of "things that are true" by forward chaining from the set of initial facts, as opposed to issuing specific queries that are then answered through backwards chaining. Finally, it becomes easier to build truth-maintenance systems, which maintain a dependency between facts and conclusions, so if you add or remove a fact from the database, you can quickly update the set of things that are now true. These simpler kinds of declarative programming, especially production-rule systems like Jess and Drools, are now used to encode the core logic of lots of things, from expert systems to enterprise business logic.

Prospects today

In AI at least, a lot of current interest is in answer-set programming (ASP) [pdf], which uses Prolog-like syntax, extended with some nice new constructs (like choice rules), and inference based on SAT solvers rather than backwards chaining. It's theoretically cleaner than Prolog (its declarative semantics are clear, while Prolog always had the dirty secret of backwards-chaining operational semantics hiding under the hood), and can solve some complex search problems quite fast. Its grounding-based setup and the fact that it takes in a whole program and outputs a whole answer all in one go means that ASP is generally used neither as a general-purpose programming language (as in the original logic-programming ideal), nor as a way of dealing with large databases (as in Datalog), but instead as a way of specifying complex logic on relatively small domains, as with combinatorial search problems. I do find it quite promising, though, and its syntax and semantics are nice.

A different strain of research has carried on the logic-programming-as-general-purpose-programming dream, usually by creating hybrid languages that also incorporate some aspects of functional programming or other programming paradigms. Mercury and Mozart/Oz seem to be two of the more prominent ones, though I sadly know relatively little about them, and they seem to still be searching for their breakthrough.

A quite interesting twist is the addition of LINQ to C#. It's billed as adding something like SQL as a native C# language feature, allowing you to "query" things in the language like arrays, in the same declarative way you might query a database with SQL. This isn't quite logic programming, but you can see it as the reverse of the PrologDatalog transition, with SQL as the starting point this time: now we're taking a database query language, and using something modeled on it as a general-purpose programming construct. It's not everything the logic-programming dream promised, but people are today writing applications with large portions of their core logic written declaratively in LINQ, which is quite a win for mainstream adoption of declarative programming. It might be one of the more promising angles for future adoption, as well. If I had to guess, I would put the odds of a successor to LINQ incorporating more features from logic programming higher than I would put the odds of a Prolog descendent finally breaking through to mainstream use. So this might be worth watching.

* * *

I should disclaim that this is all my personal take on the history of how this all played out, based on what I've read and used myself. I'm not a 40-year veteran of the logic-programming scene or anything close to it, so it's not any sort of authoritative conclusion. I might be missing some key information, or misinterpreting bits of the history. I'd love to read a proper historical study on the subject, but for now, these are my guesses and opinions.
Colleen Spurlock, a former city employee, accused former city manager John Glascock of mismanagement and abuse of authority.
On April 18, the Justice Department unveiled new charges against members of small separatist political groups accused of working with agents of the Russian government to influence a local Florida election with aspirations of extending those efforts to the 2020 presidential campaign.
Recovery of Black teen allegedly shot by White homeowner after ringing wrong doorbell is a miracle, attorney says
Shares of American Well Co. (NYSE:AMWL  Get Rating) have earned a consensus rating of Hold from the nine analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $4.28.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AMWL shares. Bank of America upgraded American Well from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $4.20 target price for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 4th. Piper Sandler cut American Well from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and lowered their target price for the company from $5.00 to $3.50 in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a hold rating on shares of American Well in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Guggenheim reissued a buy rating and issued a $5.00 target price on shares of American Well in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. Finally, TD Cowen downgraded American Well from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their target price for the company from $5.00 to $2.50 in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd.

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In other American Well news, CEO Ido Schoenberg sold 136,208 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total value of $326,899.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 1,327,174 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,185,217.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO Ido Schoenberg sold 136,208 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.40, for a total transaction of $326,899.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,327,174 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,185,217.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Robert Shepardson sold 20,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $2.36, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1,091,225 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,575,291. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 214,700 shares of company stock valued at $572,486. Company insiders own 13.91% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

American Well Stock Down 1.9 %

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its stake in American Well by 1.6% during the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 150,442 shares of the companys stock valued at $650,000 after purchasing an additional 2,353 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in American Well by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 110,356 shares of the companys stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 3,160 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lifted its position in American Well by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 67,177 shares of the companys stock worth $241,000 after buying an additional 3,177 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in American Well by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 190,120 shares of the companys stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 3,238 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System increased its stake in shares of American Well by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 57,713 shares of the companys stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 3,810 shares during the last quarter. 46.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Shares of NYSE AMWL opened at $2.04 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $566.28 million, a P/E ratio of -2.08 and a beta of 0.77. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $2.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $3.31. American Well has a twelve month low of $2.01 and a twelve month high of $5.43.

American Well (NYSE:AMWL  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The company reported ($0.22) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.25) by $0.03. The company had revenue of $79.20 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $78.05 million. American Well had a negative return on equity of 23.77% and a negative net margin of 97.73%. American Wells quarterly revenue was up 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($0.18) EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that American Well will post -0.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

American Well Company Profile

(Get Rating)

American Well Corporation operates digital care delivery enablement platform in the United States and internationally. Its platform connects and enables providers, insurers, patients, and innovators to deliver access to care. The company products offer urgent care; scheduled visits; acute behavioral health; telestroke; pediatrics; retail health, school health, and home settings.

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Tobam raised its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR  Get Rating) by 62.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 925 shares of the business services providers stock after buying an additional 354 shares during the quarter. Tobams holdings in Broadridge Financial Solutions were worth $124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. MV Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 33.0% in the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 290 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Northstar Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Northstar Group Inc. now owns 30,997 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $4,473,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cypress Capital Management LLC now owns 20,775 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $2,998,000 after purchasing an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,037 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $294,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Broadridge Financial Solutions by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 9,074 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $1,217,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. 86.45% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wolfe Research reduced their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $137.00 to $135.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Raymond James upped their price objective on Broadridge Financial Solutions from $180.00 to $183.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. TheStreet raised Broadridge Financial Solutions from a c+ rating to a b rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Broadridge Financial Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of BR stock opened at $145.83 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $17.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $142.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $142.63. Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. has a 12-month low of $131.35 and a 12-month high of $183.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30.

Broadridge Financial Solutions (NYSE:BR  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The business services provider reported $0.91 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts consensus estimates of $0.91. The business had revenue of $1.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.35 billion. Broadridge Financial Solutions had a return on equity of 40.38% and a net margin of 9.13%. The companys revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. will post 6.91 EPS for the current year.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 5th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 15th were issued a $0.725 dividend. This represents a $2.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 14th. Broadridge Financial Solutionss dividend payout ratio is currently 64.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert N. Duelks sold 1,425 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $141.06, for a total value of $201,010.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 6,275 shares in the company, valued at approximately $885,151.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.60% of the companys stock.

Broadridge Financial Solutions Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc engages in the provision of investor communications and technology solutions to banks, broker-dealers, mutual funds, and corporate issuers. It operates through the following segments: Investor Communication Solutions and Global Technology and Operations. The Investor Communication Solutions segment offers services for broker-dealer investor communication, customer communication, corporate issuer, advisor solutions, and mutual fund and retirement solutions.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding BR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (NYSE:BR  Get Rating).

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Shares of Tronox Holdings plc (NYSE:TROX  Get Rating) have received an average recommendation of Hold from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $16.88.

A number of brokerages have commented on TROX. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Tronox in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group restated an underperform rating and set a $10.00 price target on shares of Tronox in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Tronox from $17.00 to $19.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on Tronox from $16.00 to $18.00 in a research note on Friday, February 17th.

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Tronox Stock Performance

Shares of Tronox stock opened at $13.80 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a PE ratio of 4.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 1.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 2.31. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $14.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $14.33. Tronox has a one year low of $11.09 and a one year high of $21.01.

Tronox Announces Dividend

Tronox ( NYSE:TROX Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.12 by ($0.29). The firm had revenue of $649.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $659.43 million. Tronox had a return on equity of 13.55% and a net margin of 14.39%. The businesss revenue for the quarter was down 26.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Tronox will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 6th. Investors of record on Monday, March 6th were given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. Tronoxs dividend payout ratio is currently 15.87%.

Insider Activity at Tronox

In other Tronox news, CEO Jean Francois Turgeon sold 93,942 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.51, for a total value of $1,457,040.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 756,732 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,736,913.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Tronox news, CEO Jean Francois Turgeon sold 93,942 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $15.51, for a total value of $1,457,040.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 756,732 shares of the companys stock, valued at $11,736,913.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Srivisal sold 40,026 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.52, for a total value of $621,203.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 115,051 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,785,591.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 195,487 shares of company stock worth $3,032,725 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.80% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Tronox during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $215,000. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in Tronox by 184.6% in the 3rd quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 242,026 shares of the companys stock valued at $2,965,000 after purchasing an additional 156,971 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its holdings in Tronox by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 248,270 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,041,000 after purchasing an additional 2,898 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC lifted its holdings in Tronox by 255.2% in the 3rd quarter. Algert Global LLC now owns 161,127 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,974,000 after purchasing an additional 115,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its holdings in Tronox by 19.3% in the 3rd quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D now owns 153,317 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 24,754 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.30% of the companys stock.

About Tronox

(Get Rating)

Tronox Holdings Plc engages in the mining and inorganic chemical business. Its products include Titanium Dioxide Mineral Sands. The firm also mines and processes titanium ore, zircon and other minerals, and manufactures titanium dioxide pigments. The company was founded in 2006 and is headquartered in Stamford, CT.

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First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE:FR  Get Rating)  Jefferies Financial Group issued their Q1 2025 EPS estimates for First Industrial Realty Trust in a research note issued on Friday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst J. Petersen forecasts that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $0.68 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for First Industrial Realty Trusts current full-year earnings is $2.38 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for First Industrial Realty Trusts FY2025 earnings at $2.85 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $3.08 EPS.

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FR has been the subject of several other research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Tuesday, March 21st. They set a sell rating and a $48.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an outperform rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on shares of First Industrial Realty Trust from $55.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $59.63.

First Industrial Realty Trust Stock Performance

First Industrial Realty Trust Increases Dividend

NYSE FR opened at $51.25 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $6.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $52.31 and a 200-day moving average of $50.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. First Industrial Realty Trust has a 1-year low of $42.91 and a 1-year high of $65.92.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were issued a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.50%. This is a boost from First Industrial Realty Trusts previous quarterly dividend of $0.30. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. First Industrial Realty Trusts dividend payout ratio is presently 47.23%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On First Industrial Realty Trust

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FR. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 245,235 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $13,044,000 after acquiring an additional 1,662 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 3,429 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $182,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares during the period. Lake Street Financial LLC bought a new position in First Industrial Realty Trust in the 1st quarter valued at about $703,000. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 211.4% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 27,129 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $1,443,000 after acquiring an additional 18,418 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in First Industrial Realty Trust by 75.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 16,990 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $904,000 after acquiring an additional 7,287 shares during the period. 98.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

First Industrial Realty Trust Company Profile

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First Industrial Realty Trust, Inc engages in the ownership, management, acquisition, sale, development, and redevelopment of industrial real estate. The firm product portfolio includes bulk warehouse, regional warehouse, R&D/flex, and light industrial properties. The company was founded by Johannson L.

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Harmony Gold Mining Company Limited (NYSE:HMY  Get Rating) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 6,510,000 shares, a drop of 27.8% from the March 15th total of 9,020,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 4,090,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Currently, 1.1% of the companys shares are sold short.

Institutional Trading of Harmony Gold Mining

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of HMY. O Dell Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Harmony Gold Mining during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of Harmony Gold Mining by 334.9% during the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 12,816 shares of the mining companys stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 9,869 shares in the last quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Harmony Gold Mining by 378.1% during the 4th quarter. Advisor Group Holdings Inc. now owns 11,714 shares of the mining companys stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 9,264 shares in the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Harmony Gold Mining by 94.7% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 12,081 shares of the mining companys stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 5,875 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Architects LLC bought a new position in shares of Harmony Gold Mining during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 36.50% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on HMY. Investec downgraded shares of Harmony Gold Mining from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday. HSBC cut Harmony Gold Mining from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Harmony Gold Mining in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company.

Harmony Gold Mining Price Performance

About Harmony Gold Mining

NYSE HMY traded down $0.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $4.33. 3,866,354 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,120,123. The companys 50-day moving average is $3.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $3.46. Harmony Gold Mining has a one year low of $1.93 and a one year high of $4.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.52 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

(Get Rating)

Harmony Gold Mining Co Ltd. engages in mining and exploration of gold. It involves building mines, open-pit operation, sales and financial management, land rehabilitation and mine closure. It operates through the following segments: Tshepong Operations, Moab Khotsong, Mponeng, Bambanani, Doornkop, Joel, Target 1, Kusasalethu, Masimong, South African Surface Operations, Mine Waste Solutions, Kalgold, and Hidden Valley.

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Legal & General Group Plc (LON:LGEN  Get Rating) insider Jeff Davies sold 62,086 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 249 ($3.08), for a total transaction of 154,594.14 ($191,305.70).

Legal & General Group Price Performance

Legal & General Group stock traded up GBX 0.63 ($0.01) during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching GBX 253.03 ($3.13). 10,597,878 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 17,690,830. The company has a market cap of 15.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 699.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 619.54. Legal & General Group Plc has a twelve month low of GBX 201.40 ($2.49) and a twelve month high of GBX 287.90 ($3.56). The stock has a 50 day moving average of GBX 247.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of GBX 247.

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Legal & General Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 27th will be issued a GBX 13.93 ($0.17) dividend. This represents a yield of 5.24%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 27th. This is a positive change from Legal & General Groups previous dividend of $5.44. Legal & General Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 5,277.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

About Legal & General Group

Several research firms have weighed in on LGEN. Jefferies Financial Group restated a buy rating and issued a GBX 335 ($4.15) price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an overweight rating on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Tuesday, March 7th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Legal & General Group to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the company from GBX 345 ($4.27) to GBX 290 ($3.59) in a report on Monday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley restated an equal weight rating and set a GBX 285 ($3.53) price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an overweight rating and set a GBX 355 ($4.39) price objective on shares of Legal & General Group in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of GBX 322.14 ($3.99).

(Get Rating)

Legal & General Group Plc provides various insurance products and services in the United Kingdom, the United States, and internationally. It operates in four segments: Legal & General Retirement (LGR), Legal & General Investment Management (LGIM), Legal & General Capital (LGC), and Legal & General Insurance (LGI).

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Shares of ONEOK, Inc. (NYSE:OKE  Get Rating) have earned an average recommendation of Moderate Buy from the fourteen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $74.73.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on OKE. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of ONEOK in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. They set a sector perform rating and a $74.00 price target on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on ONEOK from $71.00 to $70.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Citigroup raised ONEOK from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $71.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of ONEOK from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of ONEOK from $74.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Tuesday.

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ONEOK Price Performance

Shares of OKE opened at $66.74 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.83. ONEOK has a fifty-two week low of $50.50 and a fifty-two week high of $75.07. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.22. The company has a market capitalization of $29.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 1.68.

Institutional Trading of ONEOK

ONEOK ( NYSE:OKE Get Rating ) last released its earnings results on Monday, February 27th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $5.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.03 billion. ONEOK had a return on equity of 27.65% and a net margin of 7.69%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ONEOK will post 5.25 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 53.6% during the first quarter. Twelve Points Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,561 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $989,000 after purchasing an additional 5,431 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank increased its stake in shares of ONEOK by 16.9% during the 1st quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 17,696 shares of the utilities providers stock valued at $1,124,000 after acquiring an additional 2,562 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its holdings in shares of ONEOK by 21.7% during the 1st quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 19,889 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $1,363,000 after acquiring an additional 3,545 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of ONEOK by 8.0% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 64,983 shares of the utilities providers stock worth $4,129,000 after acquiring an additional 4,798 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC acquired a new position in ONEOK during the first quarter worth approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 67.16% of the companys stock.

ONEOK Company Profile

(Get Rating)

ONEOK, Inc engages in gathering, processing, fractionating, transporting, storing and marketing of natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Natural Gas Gathering and Processing, Natural Gas Liquids and Natural Gas Pipelines. The Natural Gas Gathering and Processing segment offers midstream services to producers in North Dakota, Montana, Wyoming, Kansas and Oklahoma.

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Rite Aid (NYSE:RAD  Get Rating) will release its earnings data before the market opens on Thursday, April 20th. Analysts expect Rite Aid to post earnings of ($0.77) per share for the quarter. Persons that are interested in participating in the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Rite Aid Price Performance

Shares of RAD opened at $2.52 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $142.43 million, a P/E ratio of -0.15 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $3.02 and a 200 day moving average price of $3.89. Rite Aid has a 12 month low of $2.05 and a 12 month high of $11.60.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on Rite Aid in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a sell rating for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Rite Aid Company Profile

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RAD. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Rite Aid by 8.4% during the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 131,890 shares of the companys stock worth $1,154,000 after acquiring an additional 10,200 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Rite Aid by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,077,577 shares of the companys stock worth $9,428,000 after acquiring an additional 292,522 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of Rite Aid in the first quarter valued at $100,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Rite Aid by 54.9% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 27,756 shares of the companys stock valued at $243,000 after buying an additional 9,839 shares during the period. Finally, BlackRock Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Rite Aid by 5.5% in the first quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 4,918,018 shares of the companys stock valued at $43,034,000 after buying an additional 257,634 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 51.76% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Rite Aid Corp. engages in the ownership and management of retail drug stores. It operates through following segments: Retail Pharmacy and Pharmacy Services. The Retail Pharmacy segment includes branded and generic prescription drugs, health and beauty aids, personal care products, and walk-in retail clinics.

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Southern Copper Co. (NYSE:SCCO  Get Rating) has been given a consensus rating of Hold by the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $60.14.

Several analysts have issued reports on SCCO shares. Morgan Stanley lowered Southern Copper from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $48.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Southern Copper in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Southern Copper from $55.00 to $56.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded Southern Copper from an underperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 11th.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andreve Vicente Ariztegui sold 1,500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.11, for a total value of $114,165.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 4,400 shares of the companys stock, valued at $334,884. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.08% of the companys stock.

Institutional Trading of Southern Copper

Southern Copper Stock Up 2.4 %

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 31.8% in the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 15,269 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $685,000 after purchasing an additional 3,683 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Southern Copper by 10.9% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 15,880 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $289,929,000 after purchasing an additional 1,566 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $779,000. SevenBridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Southern Copper in the 4th quarter worth approximately $294,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Southern Copper during the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 7.03% of the companys stock.

Shares of NYSE SCCO opened at $81.85 on Friday. Southern Copper has a 12 month low of $42.42 and a 12 month high of $81.98. The company has a current ratio of 4.20, a quick ratio of 3.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $63.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.93, a PEG ratio of 17.08 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50-day moving average of $74.35 and a 200-day moving average of $65.16.

Southern Copper (NYSE:SCCO  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The basic materials company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Southern Copper had a return on equity of 33.31% and a net margin of 26.26%. Sell-side analysts expect that Southern Copper will post 3.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Southern Copper Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 14th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 13th. This is a boost from Southern Coppers previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.89%. Southern Coppers dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 116.96%.

About Southern Copper

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Southern Copper Corp. engages in the development, production, and exploration of copper, molybdenum, zinc, and silver. It operates through the following segments: Peruvian Operations, Mexican Open-Pit Operations, and Mexican Underground Mining Operations. The Peruvian Operations segment focuses on the Toquepala and Cuajone mine complexes and the smelting and refining plants, industrial railroad, and port facilities that service both mines.

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FB Financial (NYSE:FBK  Get Rating) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a sell rating to a hold rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on FBK. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on FB Financial from $37.00 to $30.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on FB Financial from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, FB Financial currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $40.14.

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FB Financial Stock Down 4.3 %

FBK stock traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $29.14. The companys stock had a trading volume of 155,016 shares, compared to its average volume of 150,244. The company has a market capitalization of $1.36 billion, a PE ratio of 11.04 and a beta of 1.03. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.25. FB Financial has a 12 month low of $28.85 and a 12 month high of $45.25.

Insider Transactions at FB Financial

FB Financial ( NYSE:FBK Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.74 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $183.03 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $131.72 million. FB Financial had a net margin of 20.90% and a return on equity of 10.36%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.74 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that FB Financial will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, Director Raja J. Jubran bought 6,150 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.39 per share, for a total transaction of $199,198.50. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 29,039 shares in the company, valued at $940,573.21. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, major shareholder James W. Ayers bought 6,800 shares of FB Financial stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 18th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $29.34 per share, for a total transaction of $199,512.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now owns 10,761,791 shares in the company, valued at $315,750,947.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Raja J. Jubran bought 6,150 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.39 per share, for a total transaction of $199,198.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 29,039 shares of the companys stock, valued at $940,573.21. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.90% of the companys stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On FB Financial

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citadel Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of FB Financial by 0.7% in the second quarter. Citadel Advisors LLC now owns 35,129 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,378,000 after purchasing an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of FB Financial by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 15,381 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $556,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 10,583 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. American International Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of FB Financial by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. American International Group Inc. now owns 19,580 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 314 shares during the period. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of FB Financial by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 33,217 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,475,000 after acquiring an additional 451 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 63.98% of the companys stock.

FB Financial Company Profile

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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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Toro (NYSE:TTC  Get Rating) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Tuesday.

TTC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on shares of Toro from $120.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 22nd. Northland Securities began coverage on shares of Toro in a research note on Monday. They set a market perform rating and a $110.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James raised shares of Toro from a market perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $118.67.

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Toro Stock Performance

Shares of TTC traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $105.87. 392,509 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 667,721. Toro has a fifty-two week low of $71.86 and a fifty-two week high of $117.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.22 and a beta of 0.72. The businesss 50 day moving average is $109.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $108.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Insider Transactions at Toro

Toro ( NYSE:TTC Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 9th. The company reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.91 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.16 billion. Toro had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 36.04%. The firms revenue was up 23.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.66 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Toro will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

In related news, VP Daryn A. Walters bought 910 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 30th. The stock was bought at an average price of $110.05 per share, with a total value of $100,145.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,740 shares of the companys stock, valued at $191,487. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Gregory S. Janey sold 1,630 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.76, for a total transaction of $175,648.80. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,708 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $291,814.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Daryn A. Walters acquired 910 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $110.05 per share, with a total value of $100,145.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,740 shares in the company, valued at $191,487. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,634 shares of company stock valued at $6,516,758. Insiders own 2.22% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Toro by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 49,173 shares of the companys stock worth $4,262,000 after acquiring an additional 563 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. lifted its stake in shares of Toro by 37.2% in the 1st quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 15,500 shares of the companys stock worth $1,191,000 after acquiring an additional 4,200 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its stake in shares of Toro by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 60,366 shares of the companys stock worth $5,309,000 after acquiring an additional 4,269 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Toro by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 883,779 shares of the companys stock worth $75,558,000 after acquiring an additional 23,223 shares during the period. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Toro by 9.2% during the first quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 37,193 shares of the companys stock valued at $3,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,144 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.14% of the companys stock.

Toro Company Profile

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The Toro Co is in the business of designing, manufacturing, marketing, and selling professional turf maintenance equipment and services. It operates through the following segments: Professional and Residential. The Professional segment consists of turf and landscape equipment, rental, specialty, and underground construction equipment, snow & ice management equipment, and irrigation and lighting products.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG  Get Rating) had its target price increased by research analysts at Truist Financial from $1,800.00 to $1,960.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday, The Fly reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the restaurant operators stock. Truist Financials target price would suggest a potential upside of 10.21% from the companys current price.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on CMG. Stephens restated an overweight rating and set a $1,760.00 price objective on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,950.00 to $2,050.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,450.00 to $1,550.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from $1,713.00 to $1,657.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and dropped their price target for the company from $1,847.00 to $1,664.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twenty-three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $1,868.76.

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Chipotle Mexican Grill Trading Up 0.2 %

Chipotle Mexican Grill stock opened at $1,778.46 on Monday. Chipotle Mexican Grill has a 12-month low of $1,196.28 and a 12-month high of $1,798.02. The stock has a market cap of $49.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.47, a PEG ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $1,618.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $1,546.51.

Insider Activity at Chipotle Mexican Grill

Chipotle Mexican Grill ( NYSE:CMG Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The restaurant operator reported $8.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $8.88 by ($0.59). Chipotle Mexican Grill had a return on equity of 40.96% and a net margin of 10.41%. The firm had revenue of $2.18 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $5.58 earnings per share. Chipotle Mexican Grills revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Chipotle Mexican Grill will post 41.38 EPS for the current year.

In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, CMO Christopher W. Brandt sold 584 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,595.00, for a total value of $931,480.00. Following the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,782 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $12,412,290. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Chipotle Mexican Grill news, CEO Brian R. Niccol sold 991 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,537.37, for a total value of $1,523,533.67. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 23,347 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $35,892,977.39. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CMO Christopher W. Brandt sold 584 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, January 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,595.00, for a total transaction of $931,480.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief marketing officer now directly owns 7,782 shares in the company, valued at $12,412,290. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 10,427 shares of company stock worth $17,051,886 in the last 90 days. 1.01% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Chipotle Mexican Grill

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CMG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter worth $450,560,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 185,417.0% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 306,103 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $1,645,000 after purchasing an additional 305,938 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill during the 4th quarter worth $248,604,000. Morgan Stanley grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 65.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 375,736 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $521,332,000 after purchasing an additional 149,115 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Chipotle Mexican Grill by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,620,725 shares of the restaurant operators stock worth $3,938,320,000 after purchasing an additional 114,699 shares during the period. 93.26% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Chipotle Mexican Grill Company Profile

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Chipotle Mexican Grill, Inc engages in the development and operation of classically-cooked, real food with wholesome ingredients without artificial colors, flavors or preservatives. It offers a focused menu of burritos, tacos, burrito bowls, and salads prepared using classic cooking methods. The company was founded by Steve Ells in 1993 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, CA.

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"Boys Planet" has officially announced the partial rankings of their final global vote. On the reveal, three contestants were included on the list.

Who are these three trainees?

'Boys Planet' Unveils Partial Rankings for Final Global Vote

The program has given viewers a glimpse of the results.

On April 17, Mnet released a video on their official YouTube channel, announcing the partial rankings of the final global vote.

The video served as a mini spoiler for "Boys Planet" global vote, which will cover the first part of its final polling. On April 17 at 3. Pm. KST, the vote count reflected three contestants out of the top 18, raising anticipation for the next episode.

On the rankings, Kim Tae Rae placed at No. 11, who was formerly in No. 4 during the program's third Survivor Announcement Ceremony that was held on April 13.

At No. 10, Park Han Bin secured the spot after climbing away from No. 11.

Lastly, the video revealed that Sung Han Bin ranked in No. 3, after reigning on the list's No. 1.

In Korea, a total of 869,321 votes were casted, while 3,443,787 votes came from globally. Korea's votes contributed 20 percent on the final outcome, while 80 percent was provided by the global votes.

On April 20 at 10 a.m. KST, the first round of the final global vote will conclude. Meanwhile, the live finale of "Boys Planet" will occur on April 20 at 8:50 p.m. KST. It will be held in Jamsil Arena in Seoul, where avid followers of the program will witness history.

See the current rankings here:

'Boys Planet' Episode 11: Program Reveals 18 Contestants Proceeding in Final Broadcast

On the 11th episode of "Boys Planet," which was aired on April 13, the program revealed the top 18 contestants who will make it to the final broadcast.

The episode caught attention due to the appearance of Jeon Somi, a former "Produce" contestant, who had the honor of relaying the "Artist Battle" rankings.

The top 18 rankings are as follows:

1. Sung Han Bin

2. Zhang Hao

3. Kim Ji Woong

4. Kim Tae Rae

5. Han Yu Jin

6. Keita

7. Kim Gyu Vin

8. Ricky

9. Seok Matthew

10. Lee Hoe Taek

11. Park Han Bin

12. Park Gun Wook

13. Jay

14. Yoo Seung Eon

15. Yoon Jong Woo

16. Kum Jun Hyeon

17. Lee Jeong Hyeon

18. Na Kamden

Meanwhile on April 9, Hwang Minhyun was confirmed returning on the program to host the "Boys Planet" finale. The artist was also the first Star Master to appear in the show.

On April 13, it was also reported that former Wanna One member Kim Jae Hwan will be the show's eight Star Master.

What do you think of the partial rankings? Let us know in the comments below!

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KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Israel Monte
While Gikwang fans tried to defend the idol, SHINee Taemin's fans, Shawols, dropped "proof" that the resemblance is too many for it not to become plagiarism.

Lee Gikwang Solo Success With 'Predator'

HIGHLIGHT member and soloist Lee Gikwang showed off his domestic and foreign chart power after dropping his solo comeback album!

On April 17, Lee released his first solo full-length album, "Predator" with a same-name title track. In just six hours after it was introduced to the public, the song and the album ranked 11th, and from there, it recorded a steady rise in various Korean music charts including Bugs.

Gikwang's performance internationally is also promising. In the popular global music streaming site, iTunes, the male idol's album topped Chile, as well as it, entered the Top 5 in seven regions including the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Taiwan and Vietnam. The song also sat in the top 5 in Japan, Italy, Canada and Germany, while it once again topped in Chile.

Plagiarism? Lee Gikwang's 'Predator' Gets Compared With SHINee Taemin's 'Advice'

Meanwhile, Gikwang didn't only reveal the album comprised of 12 new songs but unveiled the MV for "Predator" as well. The MV received enthusiastic responses, which contains his strength and new attempts.

All is going well when internet users, especially Shawols (SHINee fans) raised the suspicion that "Predator" referenced Taemin's concept for his last release before the military titled, "Advice" in 2018.

Starting with the cover, both used red letters with similar font and design.

In their teasers and MVs, Gikwang allegedly copied the part where Taemin wears a black mask with a chain wrapped around it like a net while being topless. Even their body tattoos have an uncanny resemblance.

Their concept photos, also look the same you would confuse them as teasers from the same album.

As soon as this claim spread online, Gikwang fans, Lights, immediately defended the idol and stated that most of the concepts above are "common." The fandom also stated that Gikwang and Taemin were sharing the same stylist; hence, they had similar vibes.

However, Shawols are frustrated that Lights called Taemin's concept, "common," pointing out that the idol always put his best effort into every work he's doing, including with his last release, "Advice" before entering the army.

The fandom also stated that even though the concepts were really "common," having so many "coincidences" between the two albums' details is not possible, especially the flame tattoo.

Shawols furthered that it is not true that Gikwang and Taemin shared the same stylist after a concerned fan DMed stylist Kim Wook on Instagram asked about this matter.

Gikwang's fans in the comment section were spreading rumors that Kim Wook was also Gikwang stylist lol



A shawol DMed Kim Wook to clarify everything and said He is not the stylist. https://t.co/FHBYXRUpdH      (@EvilTM_) April 17, 2023

In response, the stylist said that he was not working with Gikwang.

What are your thoughts on this?

READ MORE: HIGHLIGHT Lee Gikwang To Make Comeback As Solo Artist in THIS Month

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Eunice Dawson.
In social media platforms and communities, TWICE Tzuyu became a hot topic for changes in her visuals before she debuted compared to her current appearance.

TWICE Tzuyu's Unchanging Natural Beauty in Pre-Debut Photos Captivate People's Hearts

Tzuyu, the main visuals of the "3rd-gen Nation's Girl Group" TWICE created a buzz for her pre-debut photos' visuals!

On April 18, the female idol took to her personal Instagram to share some of her childhood photos with a short caption, "When we were kids..."

In particular, Tzuyu shared her daily life as a child with her fans, especially ONCEs (fandom). In the released photos, Tzuyu shows off her cute charm with chubby cheeks that are completely different from now when she was a baby.

As you swipe to the left, Tzuyu's journey while growing up as a beautiful young child can be seen, although her well-loved big, round eyes, as well as contagious, lovely smile, remained the same, drawing rave reviews.

Looking at her photos, Tzuyu was born as a chubby baby but as she grows taller, she loses her cheek fat and boasted the same beauty as now, proving that she was a natural beauty.

Fans who found different charms, such as Tzuyu's coy face in the picture and Tzuyu's roaring expression while playing in the playground hinted at Tzuyu's naughty nature as a child, and fans began to be emotional.

Who would have thought that a child with a playful vibe will actually grow up to become one of the most popular members of Korea's leading girl group TWICE?

On top of that, she wasn't only loved for her skills and personality, but she also earned massive attention globally as one of the most beautiful women in the world!

After uploading her photos, the post has already amassed 2.16 million likes as of the 19th and is receiving enthusiastic responses, such as:

"Please release a lot of childhood photos again."

"As expected, it's a visual center of confidence."

"It's so good to be playful and pure since she was young."

"It's really cute."

"TWICE's Tzuyu showed the right example of 'growing up well.'"

"Crying because Tzuyu didn't experience being ugly at least once in her life phases."

"Tzuyu's visuals are on point."

"Do you have to post this? Now I can't stop admiring these photos!"

TWICE To Make Comeback in Japan With Single 'Hare Hare' in May

Meanwhile, TWICE, the group to which Tzuyu belongs is currently conducting a world tour called, "READY TO BE," which is already started this month. The tour kickstarted with its two-day concert in Seoul held at KSPO Dome on April 15 and 16.

Following this, they will continue their tour from May 3 to July 9 with its stages in Japan, Australia, the US and Canada. Additional dates and locations will be announced in the future.

Amid their tour, the members will continue to promote as a group and unit, particularly in Japan.

In fact, TWICE is scheduled to have its Japanese comeback with its 10th single, "Hare Hare" on May 31.

On July 26 then, MISAMO, a sub-unit comprised of Mina, Sana and Momo will also debut as a trio in Japan with its first mini-album.

For more K-Pop news and updates, keep your tabs open here at KpopStarz.

KpopStarz owns this article.

Written by Eunice Dawson.
[Trigger Warning: Mention of possible suicide]

ASTRO Moonbin has reportedly passed away, according to the Seoul Gangnam Police Station.

Here are the details.

ASTRO Moonbin Passes Away, Police Releases Statement

On April 19, KST, Moonbin of ASTRO passed away at the age of 25.

According to the Seoul Gangnam Police Station, it was reported that Moonbin was found dead in his home in the Gangnam district at around 8:10 p.m.

Moonbin was found by his manager, who called the police authorities right away. The police stated it appeared that Moonbin had taken his own life. They also added that their discussions of an autopsy are being considered to investigate the root cause of death.

The police stated:

"It appears that Moonbin took his own life. We are now currently discussing plans to hold an autopsy, in order to determine the exact cause of death."

Before the incident, Moonbin was booked for a schedule at the Dream Concert, where he planned to perform as part of Moonbin&Sanha, a sub-unit from ASTRO. Moonbin's agency Fantagio has yet to release an official statement regarding the report.

We offer our deepest condolences to Moonbin's family, friends, and every one acquainted with him dearly during this sorrowful time. We kindly ask everyone to stay tuned for any updates.

If you would like to talk to someone, there's no need to hesitate in seeking help or reach out. To see the list of international hotlines, click here. However, if you can't find your country on the list, please refer to your local emergency number.

Read KpopStarz for more K-pop news.

ASTRO Moonbin's Last Activities With Sub-Unit & Group

Moonbin's last release with ASTRO duo MOONBIN&SANHA was back on January 4, when they released their third mini album, "INCENSE," alongside the title track "MADNESS."

As for their final full-group release, Moonbin became active with ASTRO members through their comeback, "Candy Sugar Pop," released on May 16, 2022. The title track is from their third studio album, "Drive to the Starry Road." Moreover, it is also the group's last album to include Rocky, who left ASTRO on February 28.

Moonbin's final Instagram update was when he posted a photo featuring him promoting a cosmetic product from Clinique. AROHAs flocked to the late idol's post and expressed their sadness over his passing.

AROHAs commented:

"I hope you won't be sick anymore and can breathe comfortably in a warm place."

"I don't know what the AROHAs, his members & his family is going through but I'm sure you're a lot stressed and emotional right now. Please take care."

"Your performances and stage presence brought me so much joy and happiness. May you rest in peace, my king."

"Rest in peace my angel. I will never forget the memories and happiness you brought into my life. Your light will shine above us, and I will look to the sky everyday to think about you."

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: ASTRO Moonbin and Sanha Rank No. 1 on Japanese Oricon Overseas Album Weekly Chart

KpopStarz owns this article

Written by Riely Miller
New Delhi/Mumbai, Apr 19 (PTI) Jailed gangster Chhota Rajan's close aide Santosh Mahadeo Sawant was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation as he landed at Mumbai airport from Singapore, after being on the run for 18 years, officials said on Wednesday.

The agency was alerted by Interpol about the movement of Sawant, who was facing a Red Notice since 2012, from Singapore, they said.

Also Read | Nepal: Indian Mountaineer Anurag Malu Goes Missing From Mount Annapurna.

"An application was filed before the competent court on behalf of said absconding accused (Sawant) for his surrender before the trial court.

"The absconding accused, while landing at Mumbai Airport from Singapore, was secured by the Bureau of Immigration Department, Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai. Subsequently, he was handed over to CBI by the Immigration Department officials," a CBI spokesperson said.

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Sawant was produced before the trial court in Mumbai and was remanded in judicial custody till May 2, 2023, the spokesperson said.

Sawant, who allegedly handled the finances of Rajan, was booked by Mumbai Police on December 13, 2005 for allegedly extorting Rs 20 lakh from a builder and attempting to extort another Rs 20 lakh by extending death threats.

It was alleged that Sawant was extorting large sums of money from the builders who undertook the redevelopment work of old buildings in Tilak Nagar, Naidu Colony, Ghatkopar and other areas of Mumbai.

The case was transferred to the CBI after Rajan was brought back to India. The agency registered the case involving Sawant on April 7, 2016.

"A request for extradition of the absconding accused was also sent to Singapore through the Ministry of External Affairs.

"During further investigation, CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet against three accused before the designated court at Mumbai," the CBI spokesperson said.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Shimla (Himachal Pradesh), [India], April 19(ANI): President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday called on educational institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research on the impact of climate change in the Himalayan region.

President Murmu was addressing the 26th convocation of Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla.

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"The climate of Himachal Pradesh attracts people from across the world. This region of the Himalayas is rich in fauna and flora. But climate change is affecting the ecology of this region also," President Droupadi Murmu said.

"It is the need of hour to move forward together towards the goal of sustainable development while conserving the rich natural heritage of the state. Therefore, it is the duty of institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research and innovation keeping in mind the needs of the local community and the ecological challenges of the region and contribute to eco-friendly development," she further said

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Speaking about Himachal Pradesh University the President said," since its inception in 1970, Himachal Pradesh University has played a very important role in the field of higher education. The alumni of this University have left their mark in various fields including arts, medicine, judiciary, sports, social service, politics and administration."

The president also exhorted the graduating students to connect their individual goals to national goals. "While entering a new phase of life they should connect their individual goals with the national goals and contribute to the development of the country by marching forward in their chosen fields."

"it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform," she added.

The president also talked about the strides made by the Indian youth. "youth of our country are making a mark across the world with their talent. Many of them have established start-ups and set great examples of success. Innovation is the main element of these start-ups," The president said.

President Droupadi Murmu presented Gold Medals to 10 meritorious students including seven girls during the 26th Annual Convocation of Himachal Pradesh University.

In the Convocation, as many as 99 Students were given Ph. D. degrees including 59 females and 40 males and 111 Gold medals were presented to 34 males and 77 females.

The chancellor of the University and Himachal Pradesh governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, and chief minister of Himachal Pradesh Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu were among the dignitaries in the convocation ceremony. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bengaluru, Apr 19 (PTI) The JD(S) on Wednesday announced its third list of 59 candidates for May 10 Assembly polls in Karnataka, and has announced support to candidates from other parties in seven seats, including one from the Congress.

The party has also replaced candidates in 12 segments from the two lists it had announced earlier.

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JD(S) has announced support to Communist Party of India (Marxist) and Republican Party of India candidates in three seats each, and Darshan Dhruvanarayana, a Congress candidate in Nanjangud.

Darshan Dhruvanarayana is the son of Congress Working President Dhruvanaryana, who passed away recently.

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JD(S) will be supporting CPI(M) candidates in Gulbarga Rural, Bagepalli and K R Puram, and RPI in C V Raman Nagar, Vijayanagar and Mahadevapura.

Senior BJP leader and MLC Ayanur Manjunath, who quit the party earlier today, has been given the JD(S) ticket from Shivamogga.

Manjunath had sought a BJP ticket from Shivamogga, for which the ruling party is yet to announce the candidate. He had recently hit out at senior BJP leader and sitting MLA from Shivamogga K S Eshwarappa, who has announced retirement from electoral politics, for reportedly seeking ticket to his son K E Kantesh from the segment.

Prominent figures who have got JD(S) tickets by replacing those whose names were already announced are Suryakantha Nagamarapalli, son of former Minister Gurupadappa Nagamarapalli, who joined the party recently, from Bidar.

Also, Anil Lad, who was denied Congress ticket, from Ballari City, and Bharathi Shankar, a former T Narasipura MLA of the BJP, from Varuna against senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah.

Mudigere ticket has been given to M P Kumaraswamy who recently quit BJP and also as MLA, over not being given an opportunity to contest again. He replaces B B Ningaiah, who was earlier given the ticket by the JD(S). The last day for filing of nominations is April 20. Voting will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be on May 13.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bengaluru (Karnataka) [India], April 19 (ANI): The Congress on Wednesday released its fifth list of candidates for the Karnataka Assembky polls, fielding Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan against incumbent Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai from the Shiggaon Assembly constituency.

Earlier, the party had named Mohammed Yousuf Savanur for the seat.

Also Read | Nagaland to Get Its First Medical College 60 Years After Becoming a State.

Dr BC Muddugangadhar will be contesting from Mulbagal (SC) seat, DK Mohan will shoulder the party's hopes from KR Pura and AC Srinivasa has been fielded from the Pulakeshinagar seat.

Earlier in the day, Congress released its star campaigners list for the elections, which featured party's national president Mallikarjun Kharge, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, state chief DK Shivakumar, LoP Siddaramaiah, Shashi Tharoor former BJP leader and deputy chief minister Jagadish Shettar, among others.

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However, a notable absentee from the list was former Union minister Sachin Pilot.

Also on the list of 40-star campaigners, which the Congress unveiled on Wednesday, was Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot.

Earlier on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah filed his nomination for the state polls. Speaking to reporters after officially entering the fray, he said the Congress was a secular party and won't seek votes on the basis of caste.

Siddaramaiah filed his nomination from the Varuna Assembly constituency.

"Congress is a secular party. We are not seeking votes on the basis of caste. We are hopeful of garnering votes from across communities, including Linagayts, Vokkaligas and others," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

The last date for filing nominations is April 20.

Congress leader Jagadish Shettar also filed his nomination from the Hubli-Dharwad-Central Assembly constituency.

Shettar was the second senior leader from the Lingayat community to leave the ruling BJP and join Congress in less than a week. Earlier, former Karnataka deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, also a Lingayat leader, joined the Congress after being denied a ticket by the saffron party.

Shettar is pitted against BJP's Mahesh Tenginkai in the May 10 polls.

Earlier, on April 7, Karnataka's Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Assembly and former CM, Siddaramaiah, said the upcoming elections will be his last electoral battle as he will retire from politics after.

"I am contesting from Varuna constituency as my native village falls within the precincts of this Assembly segment. This is going to be my last election. Thereafter, I will retire from electoral politics," Siddaramaiah told ANI earlier.

The Congress leader added that while he will still be in active politics post the Karnataka polls, he won't accept any party posts that would require him to shift base to Delhi.

The process of nominations has picked up momentum in Karnataka, with senior leaders from all the key electoral players in the southern state filing their papers.

The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly will take place on May 13. (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 19 (ANI): Lashing out at BJP national president JP Nadda, the Congress on Wednesday alleged that it has threatened to withhold constitutional rights of the people of Karnataka if they don't vote for the saffron party.

They made the claim after Nadda urged the people of Karnataka to vote BJP so that no one is devoid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's blessings.

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Sharing a video of Nadda addressing a public rally in the southern state, the Congress, in a tweet, said it was a blatant attack on democracy.

"BJP President JP Nadda threatens to withhold constitutional rights from the people of Karnataka if they don't vote for the corrupt 40 per cent BJP govt. This is a blatant attack on democracy and shows how the BJP plans to treat the Kannadigas. We are not subjects of a Raja but citizens of a federal country governed by the constitution," tweeted Congress.

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Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, too, shared a clip of Nadda alleging that he was threatening and scaring the people of Karnataka.

"There should be a limit to devotion too, Nadda ji. Why are you threatening and scaring the people of Karnataka? With the blessings of the people of Karnataka, the Congress government is going to be formed," he Tweeted in Hindi.

https://twitter.com/Jairam_Ramesh/status/1648717749907226626?t=Njj-476cuUqREP3P3aYy2Q&s=08

Earlier in the day, JP Nadda stepped up the attack on Congress as the Karnataka Assembly elections inch closer, alleging that the grand old party stands for "commission, corruption, and criminalisation".

The BJP chief also appealed to the people to vote for the BJP stating that the state should not be "devoid of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's blessings".

"Congress means commission, corruption and criminalisation. I am here to appeal to everyone to vote for development," Nadda said.

"I urge you all to make the 'Lotus' win, make the BJP win! Karnataka should not be devoid of Modi-ji's blessings and it should never lag behind in the race for development. This, you all must ensure by choosing only 'Lotus'," Nadda added.

The 224-seat Assembly will go to polls on May 10 and the votes will be counted on May 13. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Lucknow, April 19: In view of upcoming festivals like Eid and Akshay Tritiya, the Uttar Pradesh government on Wednesday issued directions regarding holding programmes in the state and ordered that no religious event be held by obstructing roads and traffic.

Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjay Prasad, Director General of Police (DGP) R K Vishwakarma and other senior officials held a review meeting with all field officials posted in the state through video conferencing and issued necessary guidelines, an official release said. Eid 2023 Date in Saudi Arabia: When Is Eid al-Fitr Moon Sighting? Know When Is Ramzan Chand Raat and Tentative Dates for Islamic Festival.

There should be adequate arrangements for the security of religious places and additional police forces should be deployed in sensitive areas, DGP Vishwakarma said. Eid 2023 Date: Eid al-Fitr Moon Sighting in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Pakistan and Other Countries Tomorrow.

Prasad directed all the concerned officers posted in the field to ensure that religious programmes, worshipping, etc. take place at the designated places only. Under no circumstances should any religious event be held by obstructing roads and traffic, the release said.

"In the past, we have been able to do this through communication. This year also, we have to make the same effort," he said. According to the release, no religious procession or any other procession should be taken out without due permission. Permission should be given only to those religious processions that are traditional, and unnecessary permission should not be given to new events, it said.

The principal secretary also told the officers to be vigilant about social media and ensure immediate response to any attempt aimed to spread fake news. A senior officer should do a refutation of rumour/fake news, he said.

"The safety of every citizen in the state is the primary responsibility of all of us. The month of Ramzan is going on. Eid-ul-Fitr, Akshaya Tritiya and Parshuram Jayanti are likely to be celebrated on the same day on April 22. In view of the present environment, the police will have to be extra careful," Prasad said.

"Deal sternly with those issuing mischievous statements. Strict action should be taken against the chaotic elements that try to cause harm to the peaceful atmosphere in the state," he said.

DGP Vishwakarma took the details of the preparations made for the upcoming festivals from all the zone/range/district level officers and instructed that police force should continuously patrol congested areas and senior officers should also participate in it.

(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 19 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday practised firing on small arms firing simulator at the Army Commanders conference in Delhi.

Army Commanders' Conference (ACC) is an apex-level biannual event which is an institutional platform for conceptual level deliberations, culminating in making important policy decisions for the Indian Army.

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During his visit to an exhibition organised on the sidelines of the Army Commanders' Conference, he saw the niche technology and innovation displayed by the Army. Rajnath Singh took aim and practised shots on the simulator developed in-house by the Simulator Development Division of the Indian Army.

Defence Minister was accompanied by Chief of Army Staff General Manoj Pande and other senior Army officers.

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Defence Minister was briefed on the latest equipment the Army is using for training purposes and other technologies that have already been deployed on borders.

The simulator is the latest addition to the technological advancement measures initiated to equip the armed forces with modern weaponry and training mechanisms. The Simulator meets the rigorous standards of the Army.

It has been informed that Infantry Weapon Training Simulator with Untethered Recoil Kits is a computer-based Small Arms Firing Simulator to train, monitor and evaluate multiple trainees simultaneously by a single instructor on the pistol, carbine sub-machine gun, assault rifles and light machine guns.

The simulator is equipped with features like it incorporates multi-disciplinary technology to project near-realistic virtual 3D terrains, tactical targets, moving targets and AI-reactive human models on a large screen.

Further, it was also informed that the simulator facilitates the conduct of basic squad post-training of soldiers and simulates all range course exercises for firing upto a range of 400m. (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, Apr 19 (PTI) The state cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of sexual characteristic over which the person has no control, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday, asserting the Centre has no data to back up its claim that the concept of same-sex marriage is "elitist" or "urban".

The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage.

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"It is very simple, the State cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the person has no control," a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said on the second day of day-long hearing on the pleas.

The Centre, in one of its affidavits filed in the apex court, termed the petitions a reflection of "urban elitist" view for the purpose of social acceptance and said recognition of marriage is essentially a legislative function which the courts should refrain from adjudicating.

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Apparently agreeing with the submissions of senior advocate A M Singhi, appearing for one of the petitioners, the bench said, "When you say that this is an innate characteristic then it is also an argument in response to the contention (of the Centre) this is elitist or urban or it has a certain class bias."

"When something is innate, then it cannot have the class bias. It may be more urban in its manifestations because the people in urban areas are coming out of closed closet. Anyway, no data is forthcoming from the government to indicate that this is urban. No data at all," observed the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha.

Singhvi stressed that every averment made by the Centre in the affidavit is without a "single survey, single data".

Another senior advocate, K V Viswanathan, who also represented one of the petitioners, said branding the petitioners as "urban elitist" showed "absolute lack of grace". "The Union should have shown some grace," Viswanathan said.

At the start of the day's hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, filed a fresh affidavit urging the bench that all states and Union Territories be made parties to the proceedings as any decision on the issue without obtaining their views will render the present "adversarial exercise" incomplete and truncated.

During the hearing, the bench also deliberated upon the consequences of legalising same-sex marriage including adoption and different marriageable age for male and female.

"Incidentally, even if a couple is in a gay relationship or a lesbian relationship, one of them can still adopt. So the whole argument that this will create a sort of psychological impact on the child is belied by the fact that even today, on the state of the law as it stands, once we have decriminalised homosexuality, it is open to people to live-in together and one of them can adopt. It is just that the child looses the benefit of parenthood so to speak of both the parents," the CJI said.

The apex court dwelt upon section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, which deals with conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages and mandates that a male and female must be of the age of 21 and 18 years respectively.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, said a bill has been proposed to increase the marriageable age of women to 21 years, and the moment 18 years is made 21, the problem will be solved.

The bench observed it could be a "slightly dangerous argument" and recalled a petition had come before the top court where the issue of marriageable age was raised.

It said the court had rejected the petition observing if it holds the provision unconstitutional, there will be no minimum age of marriage.

During the arguments, Rohatgi urged the bench to use its "plenary power, prestige and moral authority" to push the society to acknowledge such a union as would ensure LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual, and ally) persons lead a "dignified" life like heterosexuals.

He said, the State should come forward and provide recognition to same-sex marriage.

Rohatgi said LGBTQIA have no representation in Parliament and that is why it is the courts they have to come to.

He said courts have always struck down majoritarian views with regard to fundamental rights and, even if one person is impacted, the action has been struck down.

Rohatgi referred to the law on widow re-marriage, and said society did accept it then, the "law acted with alacrity" and the social acceptance followed.

"Here, this court needs to push the society to acknowledge the same-sex marriage. This court, besides the power under Article 142 (which provides SC the plenary power to pass any order necessary for doing complete justice) of the Constitution, has moral authority and it enjoys public confidence. We rely on the prestige and moral authority of this court to ensure that we get our right," Rohagti said during the arguments which will continue on Thursday.

In its fresh affidavit filed in the apex court, the Centre said it issued a letter on April 18 to all states inviting comments and views on the "seminal issue" raised in the pleas.

"It is, therefore, humbly requested that all states and Union Territories be made a party to the present proceedings and their respective stance be taken on record and in the alternative, allow the Union of India, to finish the consultative process with the states, obtain their views/apprehensions, compile the same and place it on record before this court, and only thereafter adjudicate on the present issue," the affidavit said.

Opposing the government's fresh affidavit, Rohatgi said the pleas challenged a central law- the Special Marriage Act- and just because the subject is there in the concurrent list of the Constitution, states and UTs need not be issued the notices.

"You do not have to labour on this point," the CJI said.

Rohatgi referred to the judgements, including the decriminalisation of consensual gay sex, and said the court was revisiting something which has already been decided.

"I (petitioner) am equal to heterosexual groups and it cannot be so that their sexual orientation is correct and all others are incorrect. I am saying let there be a positive affirmation...We should not be treated as lesser mortals and there will be full enjoyment of the right to life," he said.

The top court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not go into personal laws governing marriages while deciding the pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages and said the very notion of a man and a woman, as referred to in the Special Marriage Act, is not "an absolute based on genitals".

The judicial outcome on the sensitive issue will have significant ramifications for the country where common people and political parties hold divergent and strong views on the subject.

The apex court had on November 25 last year sought the Centre's response to separate pleas moved by two gay couples seeking enforcement of their right to marry and a direction to the authorities concerned to register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kaushambi (Uttar Pradesh) [India], April 19 (ANI): Uttar Pradesh Police conducted raids in search of Shaista Parveen, wife of slain gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, in Kaushambi on Wednesday.

"Raids were conducted in search of Shaista Parveen, wife of gangster Atiq Ahmed. A search operation was conducted after receiving information about some criminals hiding. The operation lasted for about 2 hours. A drone camera was also used in the operation. However, the operation did not prove successful today," Samar Bahadur, ASP, Kaushambi told ANI.

Also Read | PM Narendra Modi To Address Global Buddhist Summit on April 20 in Delhi.

Days after Atiq Ahmed's son Asad was killed in an encounter in Uttar Pradesh's Jhansi, the mafia-turned-politician and his brother Ashraf Ahmed were killed on Saturday while being taken for a medical examination in Prayagraj.

Atiq Ahmed was accused in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005, as well as in the killing of Umesh Pal, a key witness in the BSP leader's murder, in February this year.

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As many as three people were arrested, informed the police at a hurried press briefing on Saturday night after ganglord-turned-politician and his brother was shot dead in the full media glare.

All three attackers were apprehended at the scene after they voluntarily turned themselves in. They have been kept in the custody of the police and questioned.

A CJM court in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Wednesday remanded gangster Atiq Ahmed's killers to four-day police custody.

This comes after the Special Investigation Team filed an application in the court seeking remand for questioning for all three accused.

They were earlier sent to 14-day judicial custody by the district court on April 16.

During the police remand, the police will question the accused, who were identified as Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh and Lovelesh Tiwari, about the weapon they used to kill Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on April 15 night, where did they get the weapon from and who gave it to them. (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 19 (ANI): Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin on Tuesday thanked the central government for the decision of conducting the SSC MTS and CHSLE examinations in 13 regional languages.

This comes days after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) chief wrote to Union Home Minister Amit Shah seeking his intervention on Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) recruitment examination.

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On April 9, Stalin wrote to Shah complaining about the 25 per cent marks allocated for the 'Basic Hindi Understanding' section in the exam. He had then urged that Tamil and other regional languages should also be included in the exam.

Taking to Twitter, MK Stalin said, "In light of my request to Hon @AmitShah last week and persistent demands from different states, @DoPTGoI has decided to hold SSC MTS and CHSLE Exams in 13 state languages. I thank Hon @DrJitendraSingh for this step and hope it'll be extended to all the exams conducted by Union Govt".

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He was responding to Union Minister Jitendra Singh's tweet announcing that the Ministry of Personnel has approved the conduct of the SSC MTS and CHSLE examinations in 13 regional languages.

"In a landmark decision under the leadership of PM Sh @NarendraModi, #DoPT, Ministry of Personnel approves conduct of Staff Selection Commission Multitasking Staff (SSC MTS) examination and CHSLE Examination for government jobs in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English. This provides a level playing field for every youth without the disadvantage of language barrier," Jitendra Singh said in the tweet.

Earlier on April 15, in a landmark decision, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) announced to conduct of Constable (General Duty) examination for Central Armed Police Forces (CAPFs) in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English.

The examination in 13 regional languages in addition to Hindi and English will be conducted from January 1, 2024, onwards, mentioned an MHA statement. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Jammu and Kashmir [India], April 19 (ANI): The nomadic and displaced people living in Jammu and Kashmir have welcomed the proposed land allotment policy of the government.

Although this policy has not received final approval, Masooda has been prepared, the news of which has spread a wave of happiness among these people. There are a large number of people in Jammu and Kashmir who do not have land and do not have their own houses. The government has formulated a comprehensive policy to allot land to them for the construction of houses under the Indira Awas Yojana.

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According to sources, the rules and regulations of the policy have been finalized and are expected to be approved soon in the Administrative Council meeting chaired by Lt. Governor Manoj Sinha. It should be noted that the poor people in Jammu and Kashmir were given financial support for the construction of houses under Prime Minister Awas Yojana PMAY, but now arrangements will be made to allot land to those who do not have land to build houses.

This year, during the anti-encroachment campaign in January-February, the government hasrecovered thousands of kanals of government land from illegal encroachers, a complete list ofwhich has been prepared and its GI tagging has also been done. Out of this land, now a policy has been made to arrange for giving this land to the homeless.

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Apart from this, schools, hospitals and other structures for public purposes will be constructed on the reclaimed land. There is no law for allotment of land for the construction of houses to landless people unlike other states and Union Territories which provide for allotment of land to people for expansion of approved houses under PMAY.

Now allotment of land has to be done before financial assistance for the construction of houses under PMAY and this decision is widely appreciated. He said that the government is really implementing the slogan of 'Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikas, Sab ka Vishwas'. (ANI)

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New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) The Centre has asked states to incorporate certain provisions in the contracts of outsourced workers to protect their rights amid concerns about underpayment of wages and other benefits.

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The Ministry of Labour and Employment recently incorporated six statutory obligations on GeM (Government e Marketing) portal in the contract of hiring manpower through outsourcing agencies in Government of India offices in order to protect the interest of the contractual workers, a labour ministry statement said.

Of late in a letter addressed to Chief Secretaries/Administrators of all States/UTs, Union Labour Secretary Arti Ahuja has expressed concern about the underpayment of contractual workers engaged in State/UT offices through outsourcing agencies due to unauthorized deduction in wages of such workers made by the manpower hiring agencies.

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Further, she also expressed concern of the delayed payment of monthly wages to such workers by the agencies and low deposit of EPF (Employees Provident Fund) and ESIC (Employees' State Insurance Corporation) contributions of the workers.

In order to avoid such exploitation to the workers engaged through outsourcing agencies in State/UT Government offices, Ahuja has advised Chief Secretaries/ Administrators of all States/UTs to incorporate certain statutory obligations in their contract so that the rights of the workers could be protected.

These obligations include mandatory contribution of EPF and ESIC by the agencies in timely manner.

States are also asked to provide in the contract that service provider/contractor shall be responsible for paying wages to contract labour at rates not less than the minimum wages as notified by the Appropriate Government.

Another provision is that the service provider/contractor shall not make any unauthorized deductions from the wages of the contract labour.

As per the Contract Labour (Regulation and Abolition) Act,1970, the service provider/contractor shall be responsible for ensuring that wages are paid to the contract labour ontime, she also suggested.

The principal employer/buyer shall ensure that the wages are paid on time to the contract labour by the service provider/contractor.

In case the service provider/contractor fails to pay the wages on time or makes short payment, the principal employer/buyer shall be liable to pay the wages to the contract labour directly and recover the amount from the service provider/contractor, is another provision.

The service provider/contractor shall be responsible for paying bonus to contract labour in the manner prescribed by the Payment of Bonus Act, 1965 & shall get reimbursed from the buyer, was also suggested.

The service provider/contractor shall be responsible for paying proportionate gratuity to contract labour who have rendered continuous service as per the provisions of the Payment of Gratuity Act, 1972, was also provided.

(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 19 (ANI): Hundreds of Dalai Lama followers gathered outside Delhi airport on Wednesday to welcome the Tibetan spiritual leader who arrived in the national capital.

Dalai Lama reached Delhi today to take part in the Global Buddhism Summit to be held here on Thursday.

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Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also address the inaugural session of the Global Buddhist Summit, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) informed through a release on Tuesday.

The PM's address is scheduled at 10 am at Hotel Ashok in Delhi.

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The two-day summit is being hosted by the Union Ministry of Culture in collaboration with International Buddhist Confederation on April 20-21. The theme for the summit is 'Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis'.

"The summit is an effort towards engaging the global Buddhist Dhamma leadership and scholars on matters of Buddhist and universal concerns, and to come up with policy inputs to address them collectively. The discussion at the summit will explore how the Buddha Dhamma's fundamental values can provide inspiration and guidance in contemporary settings," read the release.

Officials at the PMO said the summit will witness the participation of eminent scholars, sangha leaders and dharma practitioners from all over the world. They will discuss pressing global issues and look for answers in the Buddha Dhamma that are based on universal values.

"The discussions will be held under four themes -- Buddha Dhamma and Peace; Buddha Dhamma: Environmental Crisis, Health and Sustainability; Preservation of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition; Buddha Dhamma Pilgrimage, Living Heritage and Buddha Relics: a resilient foundation to India's centuries-old cultural links to countries in South, South-East and East Asia," the release stated further.

India's role as the host of the upcoming summit will highlight its longstanding ties with neighbouring nations like Bhutan, Nepal and Sri Lanka, which are deeply connected to the Buddhist tradition, as per the news report. As India opens its doors to thinkers and Buddhist religious leaders from around the world, New Delhi reinforces its commitment to fostering peace and harmony in the region.

The conference will have 180 participants from 30 countries around the world. Participants will also come from as far away as Mexico and Brazil. After the summit, a report containing the discussion outcomes will be released. (ANI)

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Beijing, April 19: The death toll from a major fire at a hospital building in the Chinese capital has risen to 29, officials said here on Wednesday. The fire which broke out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday has been extinguished, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

On Tuesday, the official media reported that 21 people were killed in the incident. More than 70 patients were affected and shifted from the affected hospital admissions building in Beijing's Fengtai district. China Fire: 21 Killed After Massive Blaze Erupts at Hospital in Beijing (Watch Video).

Videos circulating online show some people jumping out of the window and waiting for rescue on the outdoor air conditioning units. Others jumped to lower rooftops, state-run Global Times reported. The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

Beijing Changfeng Hospital Fire:

WATCH: Patients use bed sheets to escape Beijing hospital fire. At least 21 dead pic.twitter.com/mpSkr6rG0T  BNO News Live (@BNODesk) April 18, 2023

The city has set up a special working team to identify the cause of the accident, and those responsible for the accident will be held accountable in accordance with the law, the report said.

Authorities have instructed all districts to conduct large-scale inspections to identify and eliminate potential safety hazards, preventing any significant safety incidents from occurring as the May Day holidays are approaching.

China will shut down for a week from May 1 to celebrate International Workers Day. China Factory Fire: Massive Blaze Erupts at Industrial Area in Zhejiang Province, 11 Dead.

Beijing Changfeng Hospital is a private hospital established in 1985, affiliated with Beijing Changfeng Hospital Corporation. The hospital, a secondary hospital in China's three-tier hospital system, is a chain hospital that specialises in the treatment of vascular diseases, especially haemangiomas and vascular malformations, as well as other comprehensive treatment programmes. In another incident, 11 people died in a factory fire in Wuyi county, Jinhua city in China's eastern Zhejiang province earlier on Tuesday.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Panaji (Goa) [India], April 19 (ANI): The World Health Organisation (WHO)'s India representative, Roderico Ofrin, on Wednesday said India is very well-poised to lead the G20 countries as it has well-invested in areas of health emergency preparedness and response architecture.

He also underlined that India has also focused on how to scale up the networks for medical countermeasures and digital health.

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Speaking at the 2nd G20 Health Working Group meeting in Goa, Ofrin told ANI, "It has been an exciting three days now. Focus on 3 agenda items, the health emergency preparedness and response architecture, a focus on how to scale up the networks for medical countermeasures and digital health. And in all these areas, India is very well-poised to lead the G20 countries. It has done investments in all three areas."

He further said New Delhi has not only invested in its health sector but also has scaled up in all these areas, as he described the discussions from the meetings as "very rich".

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"As a special representative for some time, I have seen how the country has scaled up in all these areas. It's been a real privilege and the discussions were very rich and India's examples are examples to the world," Roderico Ofrin told ANI, sharing his experience at the Health Working Group meet in Goa.

The second Health Working Group meeting under G20 India Presidency kicked off in Goa on April 17 and will culmibate on April 19. More than 180 delegates from 19 G20 member countries, 10 invited states and 22 international organisations are participating at the meet, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare on Tuesday.

The 2nd HWG meeting will have thematic discussions on the following three priorities identified under the G20 Health Track:

Priority I: Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness and Response (with Focus on One Health & AMR):Priority II: Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with a focus on Access and Availability to safe, effective, quality and Affordable Medical Countermeasures (Vaccines, Therapeutics and Diagnostics)Priority III: Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery"

Several cultural programmes infused with flavours of Goan culture were planned for the event to showcase India's rich diversity and culture based on the Indian philosophy of 'Atithi Devo Bhava'.

India assumed the presidency of the G20 on December 1, 2022, marking a significant milestone. India is currently part of the G20 Troika comprising Indonesia, India and Brazil marking the first time that the Troika is consisting of three developing and emerging economies.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated that G20 India Presidency will be inclusive, action-oriented and decisive. The theme unveiled by Prime Minister: 'One Earth, One Family, One Future', based on India's philosophy of 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam', is a catchphrase for people across the world to collectively work towards building a healthier post-pandemic world.(ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Washington, Apr 19 (PTI) India's Ambassador to the US Taranjit Singh Sandhu Tuesday met the Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy and had a discussion on further strengthening the India-US partnership.

Continued our fruitful discussions on further strengthening India-US partnership and other issues of mutual interest, Sandhu said in a tweet after the meeting he had with Speaker McCarthy at the US Capitol.

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The Republican Speaker is the third in line of succession after President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris. Delighted to meet again with Speaker McCarthy today at Capitol, the Ambassador said, posting three pictures from the meeting with the Speaker.

Sandhu has been meeting influential Republican leaders for quite some time now, which according to his twitter timeline goes back to November 21, when the Indian diplomat met McCarthy who then was the House Minority Leader.

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In February this year, McCarthy sent his wishes to Sandhu during a reception hosted in his honour by an eminent Indian American couple in California.

In his message, McCarthy had then said that he looks forward to travelling to India as Speaker and wants to continue to strengthen the bonds between the two countries.

(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 19 (ANI): External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar is set to embark on an official visit to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic from April 21, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The EAM is going to visit the Caribbean nation, Guyana from April 21-23, where he will be calling on the leadership and interacting with several Ministers.

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He will be co-chairing the Joint Commission Meeting with his counterpart, Hugh Hilton Todd which will entail discussions on the whole gamut of issues between the two countries. EAM's visit to Guyana would also be an opportunity for a meeting of Foreign Ministers in the India-COFCOR (Council on Foreign and Community Relations (COFCOR); a group of 15-member Caribbean Community (CARICOM)) format and hold bilateral meetings with participating Ministers, the official press release of MEA read.

Following his visit to Guyana, Jaishankar will go to Panama from April 24-25. He will be calling on top leadership and would be hosted by Foreign Minister Janaina Tewaney Mencomo. During this visit, the India-SICA Foreign Ministerial Meeting will also be convened wherein he would meet representatives of the 8-country Central American Integration System (SICA).

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On April 25-27, the EAM will embark on a Colombia visit where he would be meeting several top representatives of the Government, business and civil society. His Colombia visit would be the first Foreign Ministerial level visit to the country, the External Affairs Ministry said in its release.

Furthermore, Jaishankar's visit to the Dominican Republic is the highest-level visit from India since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1999. He will visit the country from April 27-29.

EAM's visit takes place after the establishment of our resident Embassy in Santo Domingo in 2022. Apart from calling on the country's political leadership, EAM will be holding discussions with Foreign Minister Roberto Alvarez, the press release said.

The two leaders would also formally inaugurate the Indian resident mission. EAM is also expected to deliver a talk at the Dominican Republic Foreign Ministry.

A business delegation from India, led by CII will be joining EAM at business events are also planned during the course of the visit. These meetings underline the growing interest on both sides for stronger trade ties. EAM will also be meeting members of the Indian community in all four countries.

EAM's visit to these four countries; his bilateral engagements as well as interactions with counterparts of important regional groups: CARICOM and SICA, adds to the momentum of the India-LAC engagements.

It will provide an opportunity to continue high-level contact with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas; particularly in the post-pandemic scenario, the official press release read. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bangkok, Apr 19 (AP) Myanmar's Supreme Court agreed on Wednesday to hear appeals of ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi's convictions and requests for reduced sentences in several cases in which she was charged with corruption, election fraud and violating the official secrets act, a legal official said.

Suu Kyi, 77, was arrested on Feb. 1, 2021, when the military seized power from her elected government. She is serving prison sentences totaling 33 years after being found guilty in a series of politically driven prosecutions brought by the military.

Also Read | Nepal: Indian Mountaineer Anurag Malu Goes Missing From Mount Annapurna.

Her supporters and independent legal experts say the cases are an attempt to discredit her and legitimise the military's takeover, while preventing her from returning to politics.

A legal official familiar with Suu Kyi's court cases said the Supreme Court has not yet set a date to hear the appeals and requests for reduced sentences but might do so in the next two months.

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The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information about the decision. Suu Kyi's lawyers, who had been a source of information about the proceedings, were served with gag orders in late 2021.

Suu Kyi has been convicted on a range of charges, including illegally importing and possessing walkie-talkies, violating coronavirus restrictions, sedition and seven other corruption matters. Most appeals filed by her lawyers on her behalf have already been rejected.

Wednesday's Supreme Court's decision was not publicly announced. Myanmar's justice system operates with little transparency, and all of Suu Kyi's trials were closed sessions.

The army's 2021 takeover was met with massive nonviolent resistance which was suppressed by the military with deadly force and has turned into a widespread armed struggle. The military-installed government has not allowed any outside person to meet with Suu Kyi since she was arrested despite international pressure for talks that could ease the country's political crisis.

At least 17,517 political detainees, including Suu Kyi, were being held as of Wednesday, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, an independent organization that keeps verified tallies of arrests and casualties linked to the nation's political conflict.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal of a corruption case in which Suu Kyi was convicted of abusing her position and causing a loss of state funds by neglecting to heed financial regulations. She was sentenced in December to seven years in prison on five corruption charges for granting permission to Win Myat Aye, a Cabinet member in her former government, to hire, buy and maintain a helicopter.

It also agreed to hear a request for a reduced sentence in a case involving the country's official secrets act. Suu Kyi received a three-year sentence last September after being convicted with Sean Turnell, an Australian economist, and three members of her Cabinet. An earlier appeal of the conviction in a lower court was rejected.

Turnell, who served as an adviser to Suu Kyi, and two of the convicted Cabinet members were released after being receiving amnesties. The most recent, Kyaw Win, a former minister of planning and finance, was among more than 3,000 prisoners freed on Monday to mark the traditional New Year holiday.

The Supreme Court also agreed to hear a request for a reduced sentence in election fraud convictions of Suu Kyi, ousted President Win Myint and the former minister of the president's office, Min Thu. They each received three-year sentences last September.

Suu Kyi's legal team has faced several handicaps, including being unable to meet with her to receive her instructions as they prepare her appeals. They have applied three times for permission to meet with Suu Kyi since they last saw her in person in December, but have not received any response, the legal official said. Prison regulations are supposed to allow every newly convicted prisoner to communicate with any person to arrange appeals.

However, prison superintendents are allowed to refuse permission for meetings if they think they would be against the public interest. (AP)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Kathmandu, April 19: Nepal President Ramchandra Paudel on Wednesday was airlifted to India for treatment after he was admitted to a hospital here for the second time within a month after he complained of shortness of breath, his press aide said. Paudel, 78, was admitted to TU Teaching Hospital here on Tuesday. A preliminary investigation has revealed that he had a chest infection.

President Paudel will undergo treatment at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, (AIIMS), New Delhi, the aide said. Kiran Pokharel, the press adviser to the President, said that the President was medevacked to India in an air ambulance around 10.30 am on Wednesday.

He was accompanied by his son Chintan Paudel and others. On Tuesday, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Purna Bahadur Khadka, among other leaders, visited him to inquire about his health condition.

Last week, the President complained of pain in his stomach. On April 1, President Paudel was admitted to a hospital here for the first time after complaining of some problem in his stomach.

A Cabinet meeting on Tuesday decided to deploy a team of government officials, led by the health secretary, to facilitate his treatment. The team will assess the nature of the President's illness and report to the government, a minister said.

Further decisions on the President's treatment will be taken after the team submits its report. Paudel of the Nepali Congress was elected as the new president of Nepal last month, in a relief to the fragile coalition government headed by Prime Minister Prachanda'. Nepal: Five Climbers, Including Indian Female Climber Baljeet Kaur, Airlifted From Mount Annapurna to Kathmandu.

Paudel, a common candidate of the eight-party alliance that included the Nepali Congress and Prime Minister 'Prachanda'-led CPN (Maoist Center), received the vote of 214 lawmakers of Parliament and 352 provincial assembly members.

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Islamabad, Apr 19 (PTI) Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday returned a bill seeking to curb the powers of the chief justice of the Supreme Court to parliament for a second time, saying that the matter was now subjudice.

"The matter of competency of legislation and validity of the bill is subjudice now before the highest judicial forum of the country. In deference to the same, thereto no further action is desirable, the President was quoted as saying in his reply by the Dawn newspaper.

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The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at depriving the office of the CJP of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity and form a panel of judges for hearing of cases.

It was initially passed by both houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the president sent it back, saying that the proposed law travelled "beyond the competence of parliament".

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The bill was, however, passed again by a joint sitting of parliament with certain amendments on April 10 and sent to the president.

But three days after the passing of the bill by the joint parliament session, an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), including CJP Umar Ata Bandial, issued an order that bars the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law.

The bench observed that prima facie the proposed law infringed the powers of the apex court to frame its own rules and it merits a hearing by the court.

The court in its order after hearing stated that any intrusion in its practice and the procedure, even on the most tentative of assessments, would appear to be inimical to the independence of the judiciary, no matter how innocuous, benign or even desirable the regulation may facially appear to be.

"It is therefore hereby directed and ordered as follows. The moment that the bill receives the assent of the president or (as the case may be) it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner, the court stated.

The parliament passed a resolution calling for the dissolution of the eight-judge larger bench. The resolution tabled by the Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Agha Rafiullah was approved by a majority vote.

Pakistan is witnessing a rift between the judiciary and the government after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Bandial fixed May 14 as the date for elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the Election Commission's decision to extend the date of the poll from April 10 to October 8.

The bill states that every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the chief justice and the two senior-most judges. It added that the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.

On exercising the apex court's original jurisdiction, called suo motu powers, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the committee.

(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 19 (ANI): Defence Minister Rajnath Singh held a telephonic conversation with Canadian Minister of National Defence Anita Anand on Wednesday. The conversation was warm and cordial, stated a release.

Both ministers discussed ways to develop bilateral defence relations, which shall be reflective of their democratic ethos and a shared interest in the peace and security of the Indo-Pacific, the media release said.

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Anita Anand briefed the Raksha Mantri about Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy and the importance attached to enhancing engagement with India. Singh welcomed increased Canadian naval presence in the Indo-Pacific. Both Ministers discussed potential areas of defence cooperation, from UN peacekeeping training to defence industrial cooperation.

The Raksha Mantri highlighted that India is an attractive defence manufacturing destination with competitive land and labour costs and two defence industrial corridors. He invited Canadian defence companies to invest in India and carry out co-production. They would also find value in integrating Indian defence companies into their global supply chains.

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Both ministers agreed to work on taking the defence relationship to next level and make defence an important pillar of the India-Canada bilateral relationship.

Both leaders discussed ways to develop bilateral defence relations, including industrial collaboration. Rajnath Singh also invited Canadian defence companies to invest and manufacture in India.

"Glad to speak with Canadian Defence Minister Ms Anita Anand. Welcomed Canada's Indo-Pacific strategy. Excellent discussion on ways to develop the bilateral defence relations including industrial collaboration. Invited Canadian defence companies to invest and manufacture in India," Defence Minister Rajnath tweeted on Wednesday.

Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand also informed about the discussions with her Indian counterpart. She informed that through Indo-Pacific Strategy, Canada is increasing its presence in the region.

"Today, I had a productive discussion with the Defence Minister of India, Rajnath Singh. Through Canada's Indo-Pacific Strategy, we are increasing our presence in the region. Thanks to our people-to-people and trade ties, India will continue to be a strong partner for Canada," Canadian Defence Minister Anita Anand wrote on Twitter. (ANI)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from Syndicated News feed, LatestLY Staff may not have modified or edited the content body)
Bears have been extinct in Germany since the 1800s but in rare ocassions, bears from other countries wander in. Local farmers in Bavaria were advised to keep their animals indoors at night.A wandering bear killed two sheep and wounded another one in the Rosenheim district in the south of Bavaria. The dead animals were found on a pasture in the border area with Austria on Wednesday. The injured animal had to be put down due to its injuries.

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The incident comes as authorities had announced on Monday evening that paw prints from a brown bear were discovered in the snow last weekend in the districts of Miesbach and Rosenheim near the border with Austria

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Bavaria's State Office for the Environment said that footprints on the site and the extent of the animal's injuries confirmed that a bear had been the culprit.

The animal has not yet been sighted nor had direct contact with humans in the area.

Livestock farmers in the border area with Austria were asked to bring their animals into the barn at night if possible and to take herd protection measures.

.

What happened to German bears?

The Eurasian brown bear was once common throughout Europe (except for the largest islands such as Ireland, Iceland, Gotland, Corsica and Sardinia) but later disappeared from most areas due to logging, farming and hunting.

In Germany, the brown bear was considered extinct after the last bear was shot in 1835 in the Bavarian Alps near Ruhpolding.

However, in May 2006, 171 years later, a young male bear made headlines after wandering 250 kilometers (155 miles) from northern Italy to Bavaria.

Known as Bruno, the bear was considered to have behavioral problems after he began searching for food around houses and appeared to have lost any fear of humans.

After failed attempts to catch him, he was shot by hunters in June 2006, before being stuffed and put in Munich's Natural History Museum.

The authorities gave the last confirmed indication of a brown bear in Bavaria last summer. According to the Bavarian State Office for the Environment, the bear population closest to Bavaria lives in Trentino, Italy, about 120 kilometers from Bavaria. A bear recently killed a jogger there.

dh/jcg (AFP, dpa)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 20, 2023 01:40 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
Jaipur, April 19: Rajasthan Public Service Commission (RPSC) member Babulal Katara, one of the three persons arrested recently in connection with the 2022 teacher recruitment paper leak case, had allegedly received Rs 60 lakh for leaking the question paper, a senior police official said on Wednesday.

The Special Operations Group (SOG) of the state police arrested the RPSC member, his nephew Vijay Katara, and Gopal Singh, a driver employed by the commission, on Tuesday night. Later, a court in Udaipur sent the three to police custody till April 29.

Additional Director General of the SOG Ashok Rathore told reporters here that their investigation has revealed that Babulal Katara had the responsibility of getting the paper for grade-2 teacher exam set.

He had access to the paper and before sending it for printing, he shared a copy with Sher Singh Meena, a teacher who was in touch with Babulal Katara, Rathore said. The senior official said Katara received Rs 60 lakh for leaking the paper to Meena, who sold the paper to other accused. The candidates were sold the leaked paper for Rs 5 lakh or more, Rathore added.

Meena was caught by the Rajasthan Police in Odisha. Rathore said the SOG will interrogate Babulal Katara to know whether any other person associated with the RPSC is involved in it or not. He said it was clear from the beginning that the paper was not leaked from any exam centre and the role of RPSC was suspicious. Rajasthan Recruitment Exam Paper Leak: 'Mastermind' Senior Teacher Arrested From Bengaluru Airport for Conspiracy.

In December last year, a total of 55 people, including 37 candidates, were arrested in the paper leak case. Udaipur police intercepted a bus carrying candidates going to the exam centre and found question papers in their possession. Some more arrests were made later.
Mumbai, April 19: In a shocking incident in the United States, a teenager lost his life in a bid to attempt the viral TikTok Benadryl Challenge. The 13-year-old Jacob Stevens from the US state of Ohio reportedly overdosed on the over-the-counter medication while making an attempt at the viral TikTok trend, popularly known as Benadryl TikTok Challenge or TikTok Benadryl Challenge, among others. After losing their son, the parents of the deceased are now creating awareness and warning other parents about the viral fad.

The TikTok Benadryl Challenge is the latest addition to the innumerable viral challenges on the Chinese video-sharing app and other social media platforms. However, the question is, what is the TikTok Benadryl Challenge all about? In simple terms, the TikTok Benadryl Challenge or the viral fad is a challenge where users take dangerous amounts of the over-the-counter-drug diphenhydramine, usually found in Benadryl. Benadryl TikTok Challenge Takes Life of 13-Year-Old in US' Ohio After He Overdosed on Over-the-Counter Medicine.

What Is the 'Benadryl Challenge'?

The TikTok Benadryl Challenge is not new and has been in existence since before. The viral challenge first came to light in 2020 when a 15-year-old girl from Oklahoma died after attempting the challenge. The TikTok Benadryl Challenge requires users to consume the over-the-counter medication in large amounts in order to induce hallucinations. In Stevens's case, he consumed about 12 to 14 pills of Benadryl, an antihistamine, while attempting the 'Benadryl Challenge'.

Johnson & Johnson Issues Statement Over 'TikTok Benadryl Challenge'

After Stevens's death was reported, Benadryl manufacturer Johnson & Johnson issued a public advisory over the dangers of the viral 'Benadryl Challenge'. "The challenge, which involves ingestion of excessive quantities of diphenhydramine, is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately. BENADRYL products and other diphenhydramine products should only be used as directed by the label," the company said.

The company also said they are working with the Chinese platform to remove content showcasing behaviours such as the TikTok Benadryl Challenge. "Collaboration and education are critical to putting an end to this dangerous misuse," it said. TikTok Sued After Two Young Girls Died in 2021 While Performing the Viral 'Blackout Challenge'.

In the past, too, several challenges have gone viral on social media, which have, in some way or the other, resulted in the death of those attempting the viral fad. Some viral TikTok challenges include the Blackout challenge and Death diving, among others. However, the worlds most popular app has done nothing to protect kids attempting the viral challenges.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 19, 2023 03:06 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).
On 18 April Nicaraguas government led by Presidentwithdrew its support foras the European Union (EU)s ambassador to Nicaragua.

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Mexican National Guard troops are accused of shooting and killing a pregnant teen and another man in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico. This news broke as Mexico's Supreme Court ruled that its transfer to the army was unconstitutional.

A report by the Associated Press revealed that a Mexican man claimed on Monday that members of the Mexican National Guard (GN) opened fire on his SUV. This attack killed his pregnant 15-year-old girlfriend and a 54-year-old friend. The man also claimed that two others were wounded.

President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador had been pushing to give the military a greater law enforcement role and has been pushing for the National Guard to be under the control of the army. However, incidents such as this one have drawn more criticism to these AMLO policies.

The man filed a complaint against the Mexican National Guard on Monday to the local nongovernmental organization the Human Rights Committee of Nuevo Laredo on behalf of the driver of the SUV and other victims. The man claimed that the National Guard members shot at the SUV on Sunday while driving down a highway in Nuevo Laredo, which is right across the border from Texas. One of the passengers, a 23-year-old woman, remains hospitalized.

The complaint was addressed to AMLO himself, as well as the Interior and Defense ministers and the governmental human rights commission. It claimed that the driver noticed that a National Guard patrol vehicle began to follow the SUV and suddenly opened fire, hitting those sitting in the rear of the vehicle.

"The soldiers shouted at me, 'Get back, get back ... or we'll kill you," said the complaint filed by a man named Luis Rodriguez Santiago. "Then the National Guard got into their truck and left." This was when another National Guard vehicle pulled up and called for ambulances.

READ MORE: Mexico President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador Confronted by Migrants in Ciudad Juarez

Mexico Supreme Court Rules National Guard Transfer to the Army Is Unconstitutional

AMLO had been trying to transfer the National Guard from civilian to military control. However, that shift had been challenged legally. Now, the Mexican Supreme Court has ruled that what the president was trying to do is unconstitutional.

According to the Associated Press, this was a blow to AMLO, who created the civilian force back in 2019 to help in the fight against the drug cartels.

Congress passed legislation that shifted control of the GN from the civilian government and into the military last year, as a large majority of the GN leadership originated from the military. However, AMLO's party soon lost the majority in Congress, making the shift more difficult.

What Happens to the National Guard After the Supreme Court Decision?

Initially, AMLO tried to push the transfer through constitutional reform, However, he did not have the congressional support to do so. Many hailed the decision as a step in the right direction, according to the Court House News Service. However, what will happen to the GN now?

Maria Elena Morera, executive director of the watchdog group Causa En Comun, noted that "The Constitution clearly says that the National Guard is a civil institution." This means that the GN must now return operative and administrative control to the Secretariat of Security and Civilian Protection as was originally intended.

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WATCH: Mexico plan to militarise premier police force draws rights fears - Al Jazeera English
The president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, threw an accusation against the United States about the ongoing Ukraine-Russia war.

BBC News reported that Lula accused the United States of "encouraging" the Ukraine-Russia war after his visit to China during a weekend that the U.S. needed to start peace talks in Ukraine.

U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby accused the Brazilian president of echoing the propaganda pushed forward by Russia and China.

Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met Lula and thanked Brazil for its efforts during the Russian official's visit to Brazil.

Lula said that the United States "needs to stop encouraging war and start talking about peace." The Brazilian president has presented himself as a broker for peace talks to end the conflict.

Lavrov visited Brazil on Monday, saying that Russia was "grateful to our Brazilian friends" for having a clear understanding of the situation.

Meanwhile, Kirby said that Lula's comments were "simply misguided" by suggesting that the U.S. and Europe "are somehow not interested in peace" or that they have responsibility for the war.

Brazil Accuses U.S. of 'Encouraging' Ukraine-Russia War

Brazil has self-designated itself as an advocate for peace talks in Ukraine, with war killing and wounding as many as 22,209.

Lula has made controversial comments by saying that the Ukraine-Russia war was caused by "decisions made by two countries," as reported by Al Jazeera.

He also slammed the U.S. and Europe for their alleged contribution to the war by "supplying Ukraine with weapons."

Lula said that he hoped to create a group of countries that have "nothing to do with war, that don't want war" to spearhead the negotiations between Russia and Ukraine.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre responded to Lula's statement, saying that the U.S. has no objection to any country that aims to end the Ukraine-Russia war.

Jean-Pierre went on to say that she is confident "in the strength of the U.S.-Brazil relationship."

The White House spokesperson said that Lula's statements were not "neutral and it is not true." She added that the U.S. will continue to respond against those comments.

READ NEXT: Jair Bolsonaro Is Back in Brazil After Self-Imposed Exile in Florida

Ukraine-Russia War

Lavrov also praised a framework introduced by Brazil and China in an effort to end the conflict in Ukraine.

CNN noted that the "peace proposal" would see the Crimean Peninsula fully included in the Russian Federation.

Ukraine has repeatedly said that peace can be achieved once it gets back its borders from Russia's invasion.

Ukraine also wants to take back Crimea.

Meanwhile, a local Russian activist was arrested after he wrote that he didn't "feel a shadow of sadness" after a pro-war blogger, Vladlen Tatarsky, was killed in a bombing at an event in a St. Petersburg cafe this month.

In Ukraine, the head of Ukraine's president's office, Andriy Yermak, said that five Shahed drones have been downed in the Zaporizhzhia region.

READ MORE: Brazil Election: Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva Wins but Not Outright Victory After He Failed to Secure Majority Over Jair Bolsonaro

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WATCH: White House Was Struck By President Lulas Comments About US Being Responsible For War In Ukraine - from Forbes Breaking News


Infamous Doomsday Cult Mom Lori Vallow Daybell is on trial for killing her kids and using their insurance money. Now, her surviving child has testified against her in court, with a recording of him confronting her being played during the trial.

Colby Ryan, Lori Vallow Daybell's oldest child, took the stand to testify against his mother, who was responsible for the deaths of his two siblings, Joshua "JJ" Vallow and Tylee Ryan. After his testimony, prosecutors played a call between Colby Ryan and his mother, which happened shortly after the bodies of the two children were found in a yard in rural Idaho.

Ryan asked his mother if she thought she could hide from him. To this, Vallow Daybell responded, "I'm not hiding, why would you think I'm hiding?"

Her son, who was clearly angry in that call, then answered back, "Probably because you murdered my siblings! Maybe you should understand," but the "Doomsday Cult Mom" interrupted, "I didn't. I'm sorry you feel that way." Vallow Daybell then insisted that her son cannot know what happened to his siblings because he was not there. She also insisted that JJ and Tylee were now "happy" in the afterlife.

Ryan testified that his mother lied to him multiple times when his siblings were still considered missing. During the call, he confronted his mother about this, saying, "To know that they're gone, and you knew! And my phone is being texted by my little sister, who's not even alive!" He added, "My poor brother, who is the sweetest little kid ever - for what purpose? You tell me this is God's will: For my whole family, including my stepfather, to be dead."

Lori Vallow Daybell's Former Friend Talks About Doomsday Cult Mom's Beliefs in Court

Zulema Pastenes, a friend of Vallow Daybell, talked about her friend's warped beliefs. Pastenes testified that the "Doomsday Cult Mom" claimed her children had been "possessed" and "attacked" by demons before she killed them.

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Pastenes is the widow of Vallow's brother, Alex Cox, who shot and killed Vallow Daybell's former husband, Charles Vallow, back in April 2019. When she asked her husband why she did this, he told her, "Zulema, he was a zombie."

The Daily Mail reported that during the trial, Pastines claimed that Vallow Daybell often told friends she was visited by Jesus Christ before she allegedly murdered her children. Pastines also testified that Cox "believed everything" that Vallow Daybell and her current husband, Chad Daybell, told them. She admitted that she believes the couple "made it all up."

Did the Doomsday Cult Mom Kill Her Kids for Her Beliefs or for Insurance Money?

According to The Independent, Ryan also asked his mother if Jesus had really told her to murder his siblings. Vallow Daybell and her husband, Chad Daybell had been known to perform ritualistic "castings" to drive out demons from "dark spirits."

However, another angle for the couple killing their children was so they could use their children's social security and survivor benefits, as well as life insurance money.

Tylee's father Joe Ryan died in 2018 while JJ's father Charles Vallow died in 2019. Together, the two kids collect almost $6,000 a month in social security and survivor benefits. However, while the kids were missing and presumed to already be dead, their mother continued collecting these benefits.

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WATCH: Lori Vallow Daybell's son takes the stand on 11th day of trial - KTVB
Authorities in Latin America have confiscated cocaine and other illegal drugs worth $5.7 billion in an operation spanning 15 countries that lasted for three weeks, according to Interpol.

Reuters reported that police in Central and South America also confiscated some 8,263 illegal firearms and made 14,260 arrests in the operation, which was coordinated by the International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as Interpol.

Called "Operation Trigger IX," the international effort, conducted between March 12 and April 2, was primarily aimed at fighting the trafficking of illegal firearms.

Interpol said Tuesday that police forces from Mexico in the north to Argentina in the south exchanged information in the operation that resulted in the seizure of 203 tons of cocaine and other illegal drugs together with 372 tons of drug precursors.

The Interpol operation also managed to dismantle a human-trafficking ring in Paraguay, rescuing 11 people in the process. In a statement, Interpol revealed that the European Union funded the operation, involving more than 100 national law enforcement agencies.

The countries that participated in the operation were Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

READ NEXT: El Salvador: President Nayib Bukele Escalates Anti-Gang Operations By Destroying MS-13 Members' Gravestones

Massive Interpol Operation in Latin America Targeted Gangs Like MS-13 and First Capital Command

BBC reported that law enforcement officers from the participating countries gathered at a center of operations in Foz do Iguacu city on Brazil's border with Argentina and Paraguay, where they exchanged information on the workings of international crime gangs.

According to the outlet, several violent groups like Primeiro Comando da Capital or First Capital Command (PCC) and Mara Salvatrucha, also known as MS-13, were targeted in the operation to disrupt the flow of illicit firearms.

The international police organization has long warned that weapons smuggling has increased the power of these gangs, fueling their criminal activities. The PCC, which largely operates in Brazil and Paraguay, has been involved in large-scale bank robberies and prison breaks.

On the other hand, MS-13 has become very active in Central America, particularly in El Salvador and Honduras. The criminal gang is involved in human trafficking and weapons and drug smuggling.

Members of around 20 criminal groups, including the PCC and MS-13, have been arrested in this massive operation. Several members of European crime organizations, such as the Balkans Cartel, were also among those who were arrested.

Interpol's 'Operation Trigger IX' in Latin America

According to Interpol, the organization gathered firearms experts from the 15 participating countries to "support frontline actions and ensure the swift exchange and cross-checking of intelligence."

In Brazil and neighboring Paraguay, the operation shut down several firearms dealerships after identifying irregular transfers and unlicensed sales.

In cooperation with authorities in Venezuela, police in Colombia captured a Venezuelan national listed on an INTERPOL Red Notice for terrorism and arms trafficking.

The massive operation in Latin America also resulted in some 30 investigations being opened due to actions on the ground.

Authorities also identified 15 new modus operandi for the illegal manufacturing, trafficking, and concealment of firearms, leading to the issuance of INTERPOL's Purple Notice to help alert member countries about these plots.

READ MORE: Mexico: National Guard May Have Killed Pregnant Teen, One Other

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WATCH: What Is Interpol? - From NowThis Originals
A California teen died after a suspect fleeing the scene of an earlier stabbing rolled his vehicle and crashed into a group of students on the sidewalk near a Thousand Oaks campus on Tuesday, police said.

According to KTLA, the driver hit four Westlake High School students, killing a 15-year-old boy and injuring three other teens.

In a press release, the Simi Valley Police Department said officers responded to a call at around 2:48 p.m. about a customer stabbing an employee of a Walmart store at 255 West Cochran Street.

Police noted that the suspect fled the scene before officers arrived. However, witnesses were able to provide information about the suspect's white Toyota Camry car with a missing front bumper and the vehicle's license plate number.

While the stabbing victim was rushed to a hospital for treatment and Simi Valley police investigated the stabbing, Ventura County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to calls of an "injury collision" near the intersection of Thousand Oaks Boulevard and Lakeview Canyon Road at around 3:40 p.m.

Police said it involved the stabbing suspect's vehicle, but the exact details of the crash were unclear.

Ventura County Sheriff's officials only said the suspect's car plowed into the teenagers.

Police noted that a 15-year-old boy died in the collision, while a 14-year-old girl, a 16-year-old girl, and another 15-year-old boy were taken to the hospital.

The Conejo Valley Unified School District officials confirmed that all four victims were Westlake High School students.

READ NEXT: California Teen Stabbed to Death

Suspect to California Teen's Death Linked to Other Crimes

Ventura County Sheriff's officials believed that the incident was an intentional act and said the suspect had been arrested on suspicion of homicide, VC Star reported.

Police identified the driver as Austin Eis, 24, who had been involved in two crimes Tuesday, including a stabbing, before the single-vehicle collision.

Authorities also linked Eis to a domestic dispute in Camarillo on the same day. He reportedly went to Camarillo after leaving Walmart.

Police said he got involved in a domestic dispute with his parents in Camarillo, but no injuries were reported. Officials noted that the Camarillo incident was also considered a crime scene as brandishing was involved.

The suspect then went to Thousand Oaks, where he struck the students walking on the sidewalk. An overturned white car, resting on its roof, was seen at the crash site.

Two of the injured students were reportedly in critical condition, while the other California teen suffered minor injuries. The store employee sustained at least one stab wound and was being treated at a trauma center.

California Stabbing Suspect Who Plowed the Teens Was Hospitalized After the Crash

Austin Eis was also taken to a hospital after he was trapped inside the car when it flipped over following the crash.

At this time, authorities do not believe alcohol or drugs were involved, and they are still investigating the motive, believing that he struck the students intentionally, CBS News reported.

"The motive for the attack in Simi Valley is yet to be determined, and the investigation remains ongoing. Some details regarding the investigation cannot be released due to investigative integrity and the multi-jurisdictional nature of this crime," the Simi Valley Police Department said.

READ MORE: Missouri Teen Shot Twice After Knocking at the Wrong Door

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WATCH: California Teen Dead, Several Others Injured After Stabbing Suspects Crashes Into Them - Form KTLA 5
Belize is considered one of the important parts of the great Mayan Empire, with its first inhabitants being the Maya. Aside from the Mayan, Indian, and Asian people, Garifuna people have also been residing in Belize with their own culture and history.

According to Adventure Life, the Spanish ruled Belize since their arrival in the 16th century. However, it was a country that they could not really control.

Due to their lack of control, Belize eventually became a sanctuary for pirates coming from England and Scotland during the 17th century. Belize's roots became more British than Spanish after the British gained full control from Spain in 1798.

Great Britain then declared Belize to be a colony of British Honduras. Its neighboring country, Guatemala, has always threatened the country's independence and rule.

Guatemala has maintained that Belize has always been its rightful property. Before the colonization of several nations, Belize has five ethnic groups that have been living in the country, which include the Garifuna people

Garifuna People in Belize

The Garifuna people, also known as Garinagu, are the descendants of an Afro-indigenous population from the Caribbean Island of St. Vincent. They were exiled to the Honduras coast in the 18th century and then moved to Belize, according to Minority Rights.

The Garifuna people usually live on the coast, but some are also present in towns and villages. Some of the group members also live with the Creole population in the main towns.

Garifuna communities make their livelihood through agriculture, fishing, and foreign remittances sent by relatives.

Some Garifuna people are also involved in the technical trades, with others choosing to be in the urban areas and pursue professional occupations.

The Garifuna are of mixed African and indigenous Kalinago-Taino origin. They are from the line of African survivors of human cargo ships that were wrecked off the island of St. Vincent around 1675.

The minority group also fought with Spain against British pirates and military attacks, with some taking the Royalist side in the Central American independence wars against Spain.

READ NEXT: Cuba: 4 Famous Cuban Street Food You Should Never Miss

Culture of Garifuna

The Garifuna have their own rich cultural background, with food being a prominent component of their cultural identity. The traditional Garifuna dishes are mainly made of fish, chicken, cassava, bananas, and plantains.

Among the well-loved Garifuna dishes is Hudut, made with mashed plantains and fish in a coconut stew, as Island Expeditions noted.

Bundiga is also one of the most popular Garifuna dishes. It is a fish soup made with seasonal fish, coconut milk, green bananas, and okra, and it is sometimes served with cassava bread or coconut white rice.

Cassava bread in the Garifuna culture is called Ereba, which is made from grated cassava root and yucca. It is usually a flatbread with a hard and thin characteristic like a cracker.

Another distinct cultural characteristic of the Garifuna people is how they celebrate death. The Garifuna perform a Dugu, a sacred ancestral rite known as the "Feasting of the Dead," as the Cultural World reported.

It is performed as a sign of respect and appreciation for the ancestor of the Garinagu. The Dugu is performed when a deceased ancestor has a request to a living one, with the ceremony being held by a shaman or healer.

READ MORE: Chile Travel Guide: Tourist Attractions and Safety Tips to Know Before Your Trip to the 'Country of Poets'

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WATCH: Who Are the Garifuna People? - From Then Came Roatan




A developer is seeking a zoning change for a Southside Bethlehem property now home to an industrial use, to permit apartments there.

Lehigh Valley-based Serfass Development & Acquisitions petitioned the city to rezone 119 Technology Drive from Industrial Redevelopment to Central Business. The site adjacent to the southern end of the Philip J. Fahy Bridge is home to IQE, which Serfass wants to replace with a six-story, 240-apartment building called The Emery Apartments.

The city council on Tuesday night held a public hearing on the proposal prior to a vote scheduled for May 2.

The current industrial zoning does not fit the vibrant, trendy and diverse community that the Southside has transformed into over the past decade, Serfass wrote in a Feb. 2 letter to the city accompanying its rezoning request. The rezoning is necessary to continue Bethlehems evolution and growth.

IQE in a September filing with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry said it planned to close its Bethlehem operation by the end of 2024. The company is consolidating its activities to its site in Greensboro, North Carolina, city officials said.

Efforts have failed to find a similar user for the property, according to both city officials and the broker with NAI Summit who addressed the council Tuesday night.

The feedback from prospective industrial users has indicated that the interior of the building, although considered cutting edge at the time of its construction, is considered nearly obsolete for current standards for a research facility, Bethlehem Planning and Zoning Director Darlene Heller wrote in a memo March 3 to the citys planning commission.

The Bethlehem Planning Commission on March 9 voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning, which also has the support of the Lehigh Valley Planning Commission.

Under IQE ownership, the soon-to-be-vacant site has several large outdoor liquid nitrogen tanks, chemical stacks and electrical gear all visible from the Fahy Bridge and Second Street, Serfass notes in its application before the city.

Kevin Serfass, vice president of the North Whitehall Township-based development company celebrating its 75th year in 2023, said preliminary plans include a mix of apartments with first-floor amenities and both structured and surface parking spaces.

Among comments from city council members were calls for including affordable housing among the market-rate apartments, and concerns raised about the sites industrial past dating to its use by the former Bethlehem Steel Corp. Under Pennsylvanias Act 2 certification process for brownfield properties, possible pathways of contamination will be blocked by either clean top-fill or impervious surface such as buildings or paved surfaces, Serfass said.

According to Hellers letter to city planners, documentation received from the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection says the intended renovations of the property are acceptable and maintain the Act 2 liability protections currently on the property.

Essentially, DEP concurs that the proposed residential use, as designed, is appropriate for the property, Heller continued.

Adding to the heavy traffic in the area along Third and Fourth streets also surfaced as concerns during the city council hearing, as did impacts during construction on nearby businesses and residents of homes including Lehigh Riverport on the other side of the Fahy Bridge from the IQE site, and effects on views of Southside from north of the Lehigh River.

James Preston, attorney for the developer, noted that the issue before the city council is rezoning, with the land development process to follow later if the change gains approval.

Serfass Development & Acquisitions says benefits of the proposed residential reuse include bringing in 300-plus new residents to patronize shops and restaurants, new tax revenue of over $600,000 a year, support for the Southside Arts District, and planning that aligns with smart growth initiatives and the citys comprehensive plan.

The architectural style of the new building will pay homage to Bethlehems industrial past but include unique elements that communicate we are a city that is focused on an artistic and entrepreneur future, the development company says in its letter accompanying the rezoning petition.

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Kurt Bresswein may be reached at kbresswein@lehighvalleylive.com.
A 26-year old man who used a sword to attack two men in Eastern Connecticut before going on a crime spree that included killing a former classmate and kidnapping a woman during a multi-state manhunt was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years in prison.

Peter Manfredonia pleaded guilty in February to murder, kidnapping and other charges in the shooting death of Nicholas Eisele, 23, and the kidnapping of Eiseles girlfriend.

Friends and family of Eisele wore T-shirts to Milford Superior Court emblazoned with his photo inside a heart with words reading As long as I breathe youll be remembered. Justice for Nick.

Manfredonia apologized separately to the Eisele family and kidnapping victim Shannon Spies.

There are no words that can possibly atone for what I have done. My actions were nothing short of reprehensible, he said. What I did was inexcusably horrendous and I will regret it every day for the rest of my life.

Manfredonia has also pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the sword attack and is scheduled to be sentenced for those crimes on Thursday.

Police and prosecutors said Manfredonia killed Ted DeMers, 62, and seriously wounded an 80-year-old man who lost several fingers and part of his ear in a Samurai sword attack in Willington, Connecticut on May 22, 2020.

Its not clear why Manfredonia attacked the men, but an acquaintance of his lived near DeMers home and told police she had recently stopped seeing him.

After the sword attack, police said Manfredonia broke into another mans house in Willington and held him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms. The man later told police that Manfredonia told him he just flipped.

Two days later, Manfredonia went to Derby, Connecticut, to the home of Eisele, a high school friend, and fatally shot him, authorities said. He then forced Eiseles girlfriend into her car and fled the state, police said.

The violence in Connecticut was followed by a six-day search in several states.

After Manfredonia let the woman go near Columbia, New Jersey, in Warren Countys Knowlton Township, investigators tracked him to northeastern Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Authorities searched the area but didnt find him. A man fitting his description was later spotted near Scranton, Pennsylvania, prompting another search there.

Police believe Manfredonia stole a car and abandoned it in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before taking another Uber to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was captured without incident when police spotted him near a truck stop.

By DAVE COLLINS

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The Easton Area School Board approved a plan Tuesday to shuffle seven principals to different schools next school year.

They did it over the objection of Forks Elementary School parents, who want T.J. Warren to remain as the Forks Elementary School principal.

I will tell you throughout Forks there is quite an uproar going, Mel Ciociola said. You can see his comments on the YouTube video of the school board meeting from Tuesday, April 18.

Ciociola said his son speaks of Warren in reverent terms. Ciociola was one of five parents who asked the board to consider keeping Warren at Forks rather than move him to Tracy Elementary School.

Superintendent David Piperato said David Hightowers upcoming retirement as Tracy Elementary School principal led to talks about districtwide leadership changes.

It gave us an opportunity to talk about where are our strengths and where are our needs across the district, Piperato said.

The administrative cabinet discussed the moves for about a month and a half and met with each principal about the proposed reassignments, Assistant Superintendent Tracy Piazza said.

Piperato acknowledged change is difficult, but said the reassignments were made after careful deliberation.

I think the plan will enhance what we do and will improve us as a district moving forward, he said.

The vote generated dozens of pointed comments on Facebook and an online petition to keep Warren at Forks. The petition had 80 signatures in less than 24 hours.

**BIG CHANGES** During tomorrow nights board meeting there is an agenda item to discuss administrative transfers... Posted by Easton Area School District - Information and Discussion on Monday, April 17, 2023

This is a hot subject on social media and I think its going to get hotter, Ciociola said.

Al Forsythe said his special needs son was treated like family under Warren. Six years ago he disapproved of his sons treatment at Tracy Elementary School but he said he hasnt any problems since moving his son to Forks.

Warren will be replaced at Forks Elementary by Charlene Symia, the principal for grade six at the middle school.

School board member Jodi Hess said Symia was Warrens mentor. She offered that comment as just a little background ... so people are aware.

Symia was once principal of the entire middle school but was relieved of overseeing grades seven and eight in 2020.

In 2018, Symia was named Pennsylvania principal of the year by the state Parent Teacher Association for her creative programs and commitment to her students.

Hess agreed with Piperato that change can be difficult, but parents need to give the new administrators a chance.

We have a great group of principals within our district, Hess said.

School board member Bill Whitman was the only board member to vote against the principal reassignments.

New assignments

The Easton Area School Board approved these administrative assignments, effective July 1, 2023.

John Cupples

Current job: Easton Area Middle School principal, grades 7 and 8

New Job: Paxinosa Elementary School principal

Kendra Durrah

Current job: Easton Area Middle School assistant principal

New Job: Easton Area High School assistant principal

Heather Gaumer

Current job: Cheston Elementary School assistant principal

New Job: Easton Area Middle School assistant principal

Elise Jones

Current job: Paxinosa Elementary School principal

New job: Easton Area Middle School principal

Jeremy Poliskiewicz

Current job: Easton Area High School assistant principal

New job: Cheston Elementary School assistant principal

Charlene Symia

Current job: Easton Area Middle School principal, grade 6

New job: Forks Elementary School principal

T.J. Warren

Current job: Forks Elementary School principal

New Job: Tracy Elementary School principal

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Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com.
A Lehigh County man who called the FBI to clear his name avoided jail time for entering the U.S. Capitol during the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionist riot in Washington, D.C.

Samuel Fontanez Rodriguez, of Emmaus, pleaded guilty in November to parading, demonstrating or picketing in a Capitol building.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Rodriguez was sentenced in February to one year of probation, and ordered to pay a special assessment of $10 and $500 in restitution.

A message left Wednesday morning for Rodriguezs defense attorney, Steven Kiersh, was not immediately returned.

The day of the Jan. 6 riot, a joint session of Congress was held to certify Joe Bidens 2020 electoral victory over Donald Trump for president. Hundreds of Trump supporters who erroneously claimed the election was stolen attacked the Capitol and its police force, breaking into the building and forcing members of Congress to evacuate the House and Senate chambers.

Approximately 1,000 people have been charged with federal crimes related to the Capitol riot, according to the Associated Press. More than 400 have been sentenced, with over half of them receiving terms of imprisonment ranging from seven days to 10 years.

In Fontanez Rodriguezs case, on Jan. 6 he and several friends traveled from Emmaus to D.C. for Trumps rally.

Fontanez Rodriguez took photos and videos at the rally and the west lawn of the Capitol, before scaling a west terrace wall and helping a friend do the same, court records say. The Lehigh County man went into the Capitol through a broken window and was in the building for about one minute before leaving.

Fontanez Rodriguez called the FBI National Threat Operations Center on Jan. 22, 2021, to clear his name surrounding the events on Jan. 6, according to the criminal complaint.

Fontanez Rodriguez told the FBI he entered the Capitol for a short period of time and was exposed to tear gas and smoke bombs during the siege. He told investigators after leaving the Capitol building he caught an Uber, and that he noted things got out of hand after he left, records say.

The caller initially identified himself as Samuel Fontanez but subsequently identified as Samuel Fontanez Rodriguez, according to court records. Fontanez Rodriguez was interviewed in March 2021 and the FBI filed the charges against Fontanez Rodriguez in July.

Fontanez Rodriguez was with another Lehigh Valley resident charged in the riot, Jackson Kostolsky, who was wearing a leopard print vest that day.

Kostolsky, of South Whitehall Township, pleaded guilty to parading, demonstrating, or picketing in a Capitol building and was sentenced in January to three years probation, including 30 days of house arrest, plus ordered to pay $500 in restitution.

This photo posted to justice.gov by investigators looking into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrectionist riot in Washington, D.C., shows an individual believed to be Samuel Fontanez Rodriguez, of Emmaus, inside the U.S. Capitol during the attack.Courtesy justice.gov

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Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.
After a cool start, Wednesday should warm nicely. But residents should make sure it doesnt turn fiery hot.

The risk of wildfires will be very high across the region thanks to low humidity and breezy conditions. That means dead and dry plants could easily catch fire and quickly spread, so the National Weather Service is urging caution with ignition sources like machinery and cigarettes.

The fire risk is most extreme in New Jersey, where the weather service has issued a red flag warning for the entire state effective from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Wednesday. The state has been dealing with large wildfires since at least last week.

Fire danger will be very high again today. pic.twitter.com/gSkFdWlI7H  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) April 19, 2023

Meanwhile, the week will end on a warm note with highs rebounding from a chilly Tuesday when the thermometer only got as high as the low 50s in the Lehigh Valley. Highs toward 60 are expected on Wednesday, then 70s and 80s to end the week.

The next chance for significant rain looks to be Saturday night.

Current weather radar

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Steve Novak may be reached at snovak@lehighvalleylive.com.
A married couple have brought a High Court challenge over the Adoption Authority of Ireland's refusal to formally recognise or register the adoption of their daughter in a foreign jurisdiction.

The court heard that over a decade ago the couple, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, lived in a country outside of Europe.

The court heard that over a decade ago they adopted their first child from the same foreign country while they were residing in Ireland. That child has obtained Irish citizenship. However, issues arose over the adoption of their second child.

The court heard that they moved to the country where they adopted both their children, in order to become habitually resident there.

When in that jurisdiction they effected a local adoption which was recognised in that country.

They moved back to Ireland several years ago, after the adoption took place. Over the last number of years since their return they have sought to formally register the adoption of their second child with the Adoption Authority of Ireland.

They claim that they have provided details to the Adoption Authority of Ireland, which regulates adoptions in Ireland, to show that they were habitually resident in the country when the second adoption took place.

While they have been registered as their second daughter's legal guardians some years ago, the couple claims they remain unable to have the adoption formally recognised here.

They claim that their efforts to do so have been rejected on grounds including that they did not fulfill certain legal requirements of Irish adoption laws, that they were not habitually resident in the other country when they adopted their second child.

They have also been found not to have intended to permanently settle in the other country at the time of the second adoption.

They claim the refusal to recognise the foreign adoption is flawed.

In its refusal the claim the authority has incorrectly applied Irish and European law, and have breached their constitutional family rights, and rights under the European Convention of Human Rights.

In their judicial review proceedings against the Adoption Authority of Ireland, Ireland and the Attorney General they seek various orders and declarations, including a declarations that they are their child's legal parents.

They also seek orders quashing the Adoption Authority's refusal to register the foreign adoption order into the Register of Intercountry Adoptions.

They want the court to order the Adoption Authority to include the adoption onto the Register. They further seek a declaration that the refusal to include the adoption on the Register was unlawful.

The matter came before Mr Justice Charles Meenan who, on an ex-parte basis, granted the couple permission to bring their challenge.

The matter was adjourned to a date later this year.
Gardai say Laois was among the locations targeted by criminals who fraudulently obtained goods from agricultural and builders providers.

An Garda Siochana are now appealing to victims of the criminal group who are known to have operated in 14 counties since December last year to come forward.

They are appealing to the public and in particular those working at building and agricultural material providers who may have been victims of theft in recent months to come forward.

Gardai are currently investigating a number of reports of people calling to retail premises and providing fraudulent credit card details in order to purchase building and agricultural material.

Once the transaction is authorised, they leave the premises with the goods and it is later discovered that the card details provided are fraudulent.

A number of incidents have been detected since December 2022 and have occurred in the following counties to date: Laois, Offaly, Westmeath, Kildare, Leitrim, Monaghan, Tipperary, Meath, Waterford, Clare, Limerick, Kerry, Cork and Wexford.

These incidents have predominantly occurred at Hardware Stores, Builders Providers and local Co-operatives.

An incident room has been established in Thurles Garda Station and a Senior Investigating Officer has been appointed.

Gardai in Tipperary are now appealing to any potential victims, at any location, who have not yet contacted An Garda Siochana to please contact Thurles Garda Station on 0504 25100, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station, so that a full investigation can be conducted.
Rathdowney has bade farewell to one of its best known business and community figures with the passing of Kieran OSullivan.

Kieran passed away following an illness on Saturday, April 15. He was in his early 5

The local undertaker in the town, Kieran helmed OSullivan Funeral Services for many years, serving Rathdowney and a wide area beyond. He was known for his professionalism, compassion, sensitivity and deft touch in his dealings with people at their most vulnerable.

He took over the undertaking business from his late father, Michael who for many years was one of the principal business and community figures in the town.

Michael OSullivan also ran a flagship supermarket in the town in the early days of this kind of shop in Ireland.

Like his father, Kieran's community roots ran deep and he was heavily involved in organisations such as St. Vincent de Paul.

He also enjoyed a wide range of other interests as well from brewing beer to ponies and poultry.

Predeceased by his parents Michael and Mai, he is mourned by his wife Mary and daughters Sarah and Louise, sisters Margaret (Delaney), Kay (OConnell), Ann (Koch), Ellen (Delaney) and Rose (Barrett), brothers-in-law Jimmy, Tom, Frank, Noel, Dan, Liam, Michael, Paul, Colin, mother-in-law Tessie Bell, Sarahs partner Declan, uncle Fintan, nephews, nieces, relatives and friends.

Kierans Funeral Mass takes place this Wednesday, April 19 at 12 noon in The Church of The Holy Trinity, Rathdowney (https://www.parishwebsites.ie/rathdowney/), followed by burial in Bealady Cemetery.
Uisce Eireann is warning customers in Portarlington town and surrounding areas of temporary, overnight disruption to their water supply due to work that will also disrupt traffic.

The company says it needs to carry out an essential water network upgrade on Station Road area of the town.

"During the works, customers in Portarlington town may be impacted by reduced water pressure and water outages. Following these improvement it may take two to three hours for supply to return as water refills the network. The works have been planned to take place overnight to minimise disruption to homes and businesses and to ensure a consistent supply of water during the day," it says.

The utility said most homes and businesses will have on-site water storage to provide a backup source of water for sanitation purposes but it advises customers to familiarise themselves with their storage capacity.

A statement added that vulnerable customers who have registered with Uisce Eireann receive direct communications for planned and unplanned outages lasting more than four hours.

In order to complete the works safely and efficiently, traffic management in the form of a stop/go system will be in place along Station Road, by the Odlums Mill, while works are taking place.

The works, which take place on Thursday night, April 20 from 10pm until 3am, will be carried out by Ward & Burke Construction Ltd on behalf of Uisce Eireann.

Following this type of work, Uisce Eireann says occasionally issues such as cloudy water (air bubbles), discolouration or internal airlocks may arise. For advice on how to resolve these issues, please visit www.water.ie/help/supply/ after-an-outage/. The Uisce Eireann customer care helpline is also open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries.

Joe Carroll, Uisce Eireann, explained: Uisce Eireann is committed to enabling communities across Laois to thrive by continuously upgrading and developing their critical infrastructure to support sustainable growth and development. These essential upgrade works are necessary to continue to provide Portarlington Town with clean, safe drinking water. We understand that this type of work may be disruptive to the local community which is why our experienced water services crews will work throughout the night to complete the works and restore normal water supply as quickly as possible.

The Uisce Eireann customer care helpline is open 24/7 on 1800 278 278 and customers can also contact us on Twitter @IWCare with any queries. For updates, the company advises people to see the Water Supply updates section of water.ie (Reference number: LAO00061676).

Uisce Eireann is responsible for delivering public drinking water and wastewater services for the people of Ireland. We are committed to enabling communities to thrive by continuously upgrading and developing critical infrastructure to support sustainable growth and development, providing safe drinking water, and enhancing the environment. To find out more visit www.water.ie
Government and EU policy was not sympathetic to the building of new roads, the CEO of Laois County Council told a meeting in Mountrath on Tuesday night.

John Mulholland was speaking at the launch of the Sustainable Communities Plan for Mountrath.

The plan was presented by the project team of UrbanARQ (Architects) Connect the Dots (Community Engagement) RealSim (Visualisation & Mapping) and DM Planning.

A new distributor road to take heavy traffic out of Mountrath was one of the suggestions arising from the Plan, and suggested by the consultants.

The purpose of the road would be to alleviate heavy traffic travelling through the town centre.

The public surveys undertaken as part of the preparation of the plan identified the issue of traffic and particularly the volume of HGVs going through the town. In many places the proximity of these to footpaths, pedestrians and cyclists was noted as being a cause of concern.

In response to a question from the floor about the timeline of a distributor road, John Mullholland said that there was very little funding for new roads. He drew attention to the change of government policy since 2020.

At the moment under the Carbon Action Plan, Irish and EU policy is not sympathetic to new road building. Its way down the pecking order. There is no answer.

Mr Mulholland advised the meeting to form a town team and prioritise and concentrate on one objective initially.
Peace and prosperity in Northern Ireland go together, a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has been told.

US special envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III said American companies considering investing in the region want certainty for the future, adding the sooner they have clarity the better for the economy.

His comments echo those of US President Joe Biden last week when he said hundreds of US investors were poised to invest but were cautious due to the lack of powersharing executive at Stormont.

Mr Kennedys remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the anniversary of the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Kennedy, whose remit as envoy is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.

Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Limavady, Co Derry, to honour a new shared education initiative by two local schools.

She said: While we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement at Queens (University), and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues.

The journey is by no means finished.

The work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

No victory and no defeat is ever permanent. Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.
A compelling new memoir by one of the youngest-known survivors of Irelands infamous Magdalene laundries.

When Maureen Sullivan was just twelve years old, she confided in her teacher that she was being physically and sexually abused by her stepfather. Never, in her darkest imaginings, could she have dreamt that she would be the one who would face harrowing punishment.

Within twenty-four hours, Maureen was taken from her home and her beloved grandmother, and sent to the Magdalene Laundry in New Ross, Co. Wexford, run by the Order of the Good Shepherd nuns. She was told that she would receive an education there, but instead she was immediately stripped of her meagre possessions and thrown into forced labour, washing clothes and scrubbing floors in inhumane and unrelenting conditions. Not allowed to speak, barely fed, and often going without water, the child was viciously beaten by the nuns for years, and hidden away in an underground tunnel when government inspectors came. No one must see how cruelly the nuns were treating her.

In the heart-breaking Girl in the Tunnel, Maureen bravely recounts her agonising journey from a monstrously violent home to the cold and brutal Magdalene laundry, and her desperate, gruelling fight for freedom and for justice.

Maureen Sullivan grew up in Carlow town. When she was just twelve years old she was placed in the Magdalene Laundry at New Ross, County Wexford, where she was forced to work long hours scrubbing floors and washing clothes, and denied an education. After two years she was transferred aged 13 to another laundry in St Michael's Convent, Athy, County Kildare and then to a school for blind people in Dublin. After she left the school, she returned to Carlow before moving to England. She is now an advocate for other survivors.
Friday, April 28 is designated as Go Purple Day, a National Day of Fundraising and Awareness for local domestic violence services, including Teach Tearmainn in County Kildare. Teach Tearmainn Kildare will be meeting in the morning at Kildare Town, Market Square & lunch time at Poplar Square Naas on April 28.

The dedicated day was initiated by members of An Garda Siochana in County Meath originally. It has now grown into a wider National Day of Awareness in partnership with Safe Ireland, the national agency working to create safety for women and children. Teach Tearmainn, in Kildare, is one of the 39 frontline service members of Safe Ireland across the country.

People, businesses and schools are being encouraged to wear purple, bake purple, grow purple, paint purple, whatever they like to show their support and fundraise for their local domestic violence service.

An Garda Siochana has prioritised support for survivors of domestic and sexual violence with Operation Faoiseamh throughout Covid-19 and Teach Tearmainn has welcomed the forces continued focus on this issue.

Please see below ways in which you can fundraise:

Go to www.teachtearmainn.ie

 Or visit www.idonate.ie/teachtearmainn to create your own fundraising page for your school

or organisation to raise vital funds for Teach Tearmainn.

 If you would like to receive an Event Pack please contact: caitoneill@teachtearmainn.ie

 For more information and for ideas on what you can support Go Purple contact: Cait ONeill -

Fundraising Officer; caitoneill@teachtearmainn.ie , Mobile: 087 183 5222.

All funds raised in County Kildare will go directly to your local service which is Teach Tearmainn.
Gwen Wilkinson set out from the shores of Lough Erne and navigated a 400km journey to the tidal waters of the River Barrow in Ireland.



More than just a travelogue, The Waters and the Wild explores the interwoven histories of the people and wildlife that shaped Gwens journey.



As the adventure unfolds, she also shines a light on pioneering women who have left their mark on Irelands landscape  both natural and cultural.



The following is what she wrote about County Kildare

The river whisks me past a dizzying time-lapse of Athys architectural heritage, looming medieval

ramparts, Georgian facades and the revolutionary community library  a former church building

built in the Brutalist style. The warm sunshine and the weightless buoyancy speeds me towards

euphoria. My mood soars like a bird rising on a thermal current of air. The canoe skims past the

junction to the Barrow Line canal. Memories of my previous canal voyage fizz to the surface: the

humiliating capsize, the bare-knuckle boxers, fast food hallucinations and the otherworldly

environment of Pollardstown Fen. But theres no time to reminisce. Theres a weir straight ahead,

and the river has intentions of dragging the canoe straight over the falls.

Keep close to the bank, shouts my father, who has materialised beside me on the towpath,

wheeling along on his bike. The weir curves in a wide arch out from the opposite shore. The pull is

surprisingly strong, and the roaring falls overwhelms all other sound as I skirt along its lip. Most

canoeists shoot the weirs, as the falls are at a gentle incline and the drop is never more than two

metres. Its a fun experience that comes with a small adrenaline rush, and its the easiest way to

avoid the challenging lock portages. If I was paddling a robust fibreglass canoe, I would happily

choose this option, but Minnow isnt built for weirs; her thin plywood hull would splinter on the

hidden rocks and boulders. I researched the possibility of lining the canoe over the weirs 

attaching a long rope to the stern and feeding the hull over the falls  but this seemed an equally

risky business, destined to end in tears. It was back to my nemesis, portaging, for the time being.

Safely past the weir, I peel away from the river and guide the canoe into a lateral canal

towards Ardreigh, the first river lock. The still water is treacle-thick, overgrown and dense with

weeds. Within minutes Im huffing and puffing through a tangle of slippery water lily stems and

trailing long fronds of pondweed. At the entrance to the lock I meet an early challenge  how to

climb ashore? Squinting up at the bikers standing silhouetted high above on the quayside, I realise

I havent a hope of scaling the wall, and am forced to retrace my way back up the canal in search of

an easier egress. Where the bank is slightly lower, I scramble ashore, strong-armed up by my father.

Between the two of us we carry the canoe along the towpath and around the lock, while my mother

fetches and carries my gear. With twenty-one more locks ahead, clearly this is going to be a slow

journey, requiring no small team effort! Sobered by the experience, we decide to raid the picnic

panniers, tucking into flapjacks washed down by scalding mugs of whiskey-laced coffee. Then its

off to rejoin the river just below the lock, a challenge as we hack a way through nettles and cling

perilously to clumps of weeds. It will be a miracle if I survive the journey without a few dunkings.

The river is in sparkling form  energised from tumbling over the weir and rapids. Its

surface is littered with blobs of foam that spin like whirling dervishes in the fast-flowing current.

The canoe joins the flow and is whisked along at warp speed; at least it feels that way to me. For a

time, I manage to keep up with the bikers, who are travelling at full tilt on the towpath. As the

channel widens and deepens, the river relaxes. When I look up, the bikers have disappeared, leaving

me alone on the water. I rest the paddle across the gunnels and let the canoe drift. This is the release

Ive been craving, and I want to savour it. The past few months have seen us all trapped on a roller-

coaster ride of anxiety, fear, sadness and frustration. Locked down at home, it was impossible to

avoid the wall-to-wall media coverage of the unfolding pandemic. The constant narrative ground

you down and set your nerves on edge. Now, out here on the river, I feel as though I have slipped

that world and entered a parallel universe. A far brighter world charged with optimism and wonder.

A sudden flash from the bank, a tiny fireball of gas-flame blue, streaks across Minnows

bow. Taken by surprise with a gasped intake of breath and paddle frozen in mid-air, I follow the

birds hurried flight path. There was a time when I kept a headcount of every kingfisher I saw, but

somewhere, back along the Grand Canal, I gave up when they became a commonplace occurrence.

This is my closest encounter yet, almost a collision. The bird was equally surprised; startled in

flight, it fluttered briefly, banked sharply, collected itself and fled crying downriver. In the

breathtaking moment as it tumbled over the canoe, I experienced its kaleidoscopic colours, from the

burnt orange of its breast to the iridescent blues of its back and wing feathers.
A Carrick-on-Shannon native who featured for Ireland but was not awarded a cap at the time for games which were not then recognised as international test matches is to be posthumously awarded a cap by the IRFU.

Dr Hugh Dolan, formerly of Shannon Lodge, Carrick-on-Shannon is one of 12 players who featured for Ireland between 1946 and 1989 but were not awarded caps at the time.

Dr Hugh, a proud Leitrim man, attended Blackrock College and was on the First XV when still in Inter Cert, before going on to study medicine in UCD.

He played international matches in Lansdowne Road in 1946, representing UCD, and will now be honoured with an Ireland cap and enrolled in the official list of international players.

A special committee of the IRFU was set up to oversee the awarding of caps and decide on how best to recognise the players.

This involved a rigorous process examining the history of capped and uncapped games, identifying the players involved and contacting them and their families.

The 12 players will be honoured at a pre-match event at the Bank of Ireland Nations Series match against England on Saturday, August 19, in Aviva Stadium.

Dr Hugh Dolan practiced as a doctor in Roscrea, Co Tipperary before finishing his career at Blackrock, Co Louth where he was the Chief Medical Officer for Louth.

He had three brothers, Cecil and Dermot who became vets and Mickey who died at a young age.

Dr Hugh also had three sisters, Violet who is also deceased, and Joyce and Audrey who are both now living in Dublin.

His father, Hugh Senior was a veterinary surgeon in Carrick-on-Shannon.

BACKGROUND

Ireland has played 19 games against national sides where caps were not awarded by Ireland. However, in 14 of these games, caps were awarded by our opponents. In all, 12 players played in those 14 games and they will be presented with their international cap in recognition of this.

From a statistical point of view the players will receive their Irish International player number today as opposed to retrospectively going back and reordering every Irish players player number. Nor will the past caps and points records be adjusted for those games.

Irelands most recently capped player Joe McCarthy (v Australia in 2022) is Irish cap #1141, therefore the 12 individuals would be designated as Irish international player #1142 to #1153.

In 2018, the 112 womens internationals who represented Ireland between 1993 to 2005, (the period prior to the IWRFUs integration into the IRFU) were presented with caps at a ceremony at Aviva Stadium

IRFU President John Robinson said: There was unanimous support from the IRFU Committee for this initiative which will give due recognition to these 12 players who represented Ireland in the amateur era.

This is an important acknowledgement of their efforts as times have evolved and I know that this cap ceremony will bring great pride and recognition to the players themselves, their families and indeed to their clubs. I look forward to welcoming the players and their guests to Aviva Stadium in August.

List of names, Clubs at the time, Year Capped & Ireland Cap Number:

Jack Belton (Old Belvedere) 1946  #1142

Hugh Dolan (UCD) 1946  #1143

Hugh Greer (NIFC) 1946  #1144

Jack Guiney (Bective Rangers) 1946  #1145

Des Thorpe (Old Belvedere) 1946  #1146

Paul Traynor (Clontarf) 1952  #1147

John Birch (Ballymena) 1970  #1148

Frank ODriscoll (UCD) 1970  #1149

Leo Galvin (Athlone) 1973  #1150

Emmet ORafferty (Wanderers) 1976  #1151

Rab Brady (Ballymena) 1985  #1152

Paul Clinch (Lansdowne) 1989  #1153
Mohill & District Historical & Heritage Society presents a talk by Ronan McGreevy on Friday, April 21 at 8pm in Mohill library.



Ronan will talk about his recent publication Great Hatred: The assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP , who started the Irish Civil War and changed the course of Irish history.

Why was this Longford-born British imperialist shot by two British-born Irish nationalists? What role did Michael Collins play in this calamitous event?



Ronan McGreevy is a journalist with The Irish Times.

He is the author of the book Wherever the Firing Line Extends: Ireland and the Western Front. He was made a Chevalier de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government for his work on remembrance and the First World War. Great Hatred: The Assassination of Field Marshal Sir Henry Wilson MP, his second book, was an Irish bestseller and The Sunday Business Post's Irish history book of 2022. McGreevy is from Carrick-on-Shannon, Co Leitrim.



Also on the night before the talk there will be showing of the film on Dr Muldoon Murder in Mohill 1923.



The society has republished the brochures that were available for the night of the commemoration film with new added material and will be for sale at the talk.



Entry into the talk is 5pp.
This handout image courtesy of Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office released April 25, 2022 and part of the investigative files, shows actor Alec Baldwin being processed after the death of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins at the Bonanza Creek Ranch in Santa Fe, New Mexico, October 21, 2022. - / AFP

Filming will resume this week on Alec Baldwin's "Rust," producers said Tuesday, April 18, some 18 months after it was halted by the fatal on-set shooting of the movie's cinematographer.

Hollywood star Baldwin was holding a Colt .45 gun during rehearsals for the film in the southwestern state of New Mexico when it discharged, killing Halyna Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza. Baldwin was charged with manslaughter, and has pleaded not guilty.

Principal photography will resume this Thursday at a new location in the northern US state of Montana. "The production will continue to utilize union crew members and will bar any use of working weapons and any form of ammunition," said Melina Spadone, attorney for Rust Movie Productions, in a statement to AFP. "Live ammunition is  and always was  prohibited on set."

Producers announced in February that the low-budget Western would resume production this spring, with the deceased cinematographer's widower, Matthew Hutchins, serving as an executive producer. Baldwin agreed to terms with the New Mexico court that will allow him to complete filming of the movie, including a ban on his using guns or drinking alcohol.

Director Souza, who is also returning, said in a statement at the time: "Though bittersweet, I am grateful that a brilliant and dedicated new production team joining former cast and crew are committed to completing what Halyna and I started." "My every effort on this film will be devoted to honoring Halyna's legacy and making her proud. It is a privilege to see this through on her behalf." A documentary will also be made, covering Halyna Hutchins's life and the completion of the film.

Stringent safety rules ignored

Both Baldwin  a co-producer as well as lead actor  and the film's armorer Hannah Gutierrez-Reed, who was responsible for the weapon on set, are facing charges of voluntary manslaughter. If found guilty, they face up to 18 months in jail and a $5,000 fine. A weeks-long preliminary hearing is set to begin in early May.

Baldwin, 65, has repeatedly said he was told by the crew that the gun was not loaded. Dave Halls, the film's safety coordinator and assistant director, who handed Baldwin the loaded gun, agreed a plea deal with prosecutors and was sentenced last month to six months' probation. The accident sent shockwaves through Hollywood and led to calls for a total ban on real guns on set. Industry experts have said there are already stringent safety rules in place, but that they were ignored.

Le Monde with AFP
View of the logo of the French supermarket chain Carrefour on March 28, 2019 in Montpellier, southwestern France. PASCAL GUYOT / AFP

French retail giant Carrefour said on Wednesday, April 19, it would allow female employees to take days off if they suffer from endometriosis, a medical condition that can cause excessive period cramps. The move is the latest to allow women extra time off in a country where paid menstrual leave still depends on the individual initiative of employers.

One in 10 women worldwide suffer from endometriosis, a chronic disease in which tissue similar to the lining of the uterus grows outside the womb.

"To improve women's rights and equality at work, we have decided... to give 12 days off (a year) to women suffering from endometriosis," Carrefour said. Women would be able to take one day off per month after providing a medical certificate proving they suffer from the illness, it said.

Carrefour would also grant three days to women who have had a miscarriage, it added. And it would give a day off to women undergoing an embryo transfer as part of a medically assisted pregnancy.

The company, which has supermarkets all over the world, said the measures would for the moment only apply to workers in France. But CEO Alexandre Bompard said he hopes the decision will have "a domino effect, that other companies copy it".

The municipality of Saint-Ouen, north of Paris, last month became the first municipality in France to allow women two days off per month if they suffer from conditions linked to their menstrual cycles, including endometriosis.

In February, Spain became the first European country to adopt legislation allowing for paid menstrual leave. Similar laws exist in Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Zambia, but are applied to varying degrees and days off are not always remunerated.

Le Monde with AFP
Russian opposition activist and former municipal deputy of the Krasnoselsky district Ilya Yashin gestures, smiling, as he stands in a defendant's cubicle in a courtroom, prior to a hearing in Moscow, Russia, on December 9, 2022. YURY KOCHETKOV / AP

Kremlin critic Ilya Yashin on Wednesday, April 19, lost an appeal against what his supporters say was a politically motivated decision to jail him for eight and a half years for criticizing Moscow's assault on Ukraine. "The verdict of the Moscow Meshchansky Court should be left unchanged," said a judge during a hearing at the Moscow City Court.

The former Moscow councilor's appeal was rejected as authorities take a crackdown on freedoms in Russia to an unprecedented new level, with independent media shut down and key opposition figures behind bars or in exile.

Speaking in court, Yashin said he had been put behind bars for "speaking the truth" over Moscow's actions in Ukraine and Russia. "The sentence I received is mind-boggling: eight and a half years in prison for a 20-minute speech on the internet," he said. "In prison, I have met many murderers, rapists, and robbers who received lighter sentences for their crimes."

Last year, Yashin, 39, described the murder of Ukrainian civilians in Bucha as a "massacre", referring to a town near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv where civilians were found killed after Russian forces pulled back.

In December 2022, Yashin was sentenced to 8.5 years in prison for spreading "false information" about Russia's offensive in Ukraine. He was tried under legislation that came into force after the start of Moscow's military campaign in Ukraine to penalize what the authorities deem to be damaging or false information about the Russian military.

Yashin said that sooner or later "thieves and murderers" will be ousted from power and he would be among those who will build a new Russia. "I realize that, if I end up free, I will be one of those who will have to clean up this bloody mess," he said in court.

On Monday, a Russian court sentenced another Kremlin critic, Vladimir Kara-Murza, to 25 years in a high-security prison on treason and other charges for criticizing the Ukraine assault.

Le Monde with AFP
THE RETRIAL of Molly and Thomas Martens for the murder of Limerick man Jason Corbett has been delayed until the Autumn.

Jason, formally of Janesboro in the city, was brutally bludgeoned to death with a bat and a brick at his home in the United States on August 2, 2015.

His wife (Molly Martens) and his father-in-law (Thomas Martens) were found guilty, in 2017, of his second degree murder.

The pair's conviction was subsequently overturned on appeal and a retrial ordered.

However, according to Ralph Riegel of the Irish Independent, the retrial, which was scheduled to proceed in North Carolina on June 26, has been delayed by almost five months.

It's reported that a new date of November 6 has been fixed but there has been no clarity as to why the retrial has been rescheduled.

Jason Corbett's teenage daughter Sarah Corbett-Lynch, has posted a plea on social media urging for the retrial to be heard sooner rather than later.

In her post, she tagged Josh Stein, North Carolina's Attorney General; Roy Cooper, Governor of North Carolina and even the President of the United States, Joe Biden, to bring attention to the case.

Jason's second wife, Ms Martens, (39) was the nanny for his two children after their mother, and Jason's first wife passed away in 2006. Her father, Mr Martens (72) is a retired FBI agent and former intelligence operative for the US Department of Energy.

The family of the deceased, who are based in Limerick, had originally pressed for the retrial to take place last year, but it was then scheduled for June, where Jason's two children were prepared to prospectively give evidence against their father's killers.

The defendants argue that they acted in self-defence after a row started over control sought by Ms Martens of Jason's two children.

A strict gag order, imposed by Judge David Hall, means none of parties in the case are allowed to comment without his expressed approval.
LIMERICK is set to play host to an international conference where the marine community will meet and discuss relevant topics and current trends while creating a community of learners and influencers who consistently advance research, practices, and policies for the marine field.

Oceans is a bi-annual event for global marine technologists, engineers, students, government officials, lawyers, and advocates and will be held at the University of Limerick (UL).

Approximately 1,000 industry professionals are expected to arrive in the riverside city for the event which will host over 100 exhibitors this summer.

The Oceans Limerick event is all about opportunities and experience, exhibit chair, Ray OBrien said in a promotional video for the conference.

Were going to create opportunities for you to meet with your clients, look at new advanced technologies, network and potentially create new business opportunities.

The atmosphere here is second to none as you get to experience the River Shannon as it cuts through two counties, Mr OBrien added.

Oceans 2023 is the flagship event for the Marine Technology Society (MTS) and the IEEE Oceanic Engineering Society.

The MTS promotes awareness, understanding, and the advancement and application of marine technology while the IEEEs main vision is to be a collaborative community working towards a safe, healthy, and productive ocean.

The theme of the Limerick conference is Blue Ocean Planet Earth, addressing sustainable development into the future by engaging with the oceans resources in a way that protects the environment.

Ireland and many nations have significant targets in this area, Professor Daniel Toal, general chair of the event said.

Oceans brings together an international or global community interested in all things ocean.

We look forward to welcoming you to Oceans in Limerick, he added.

Businesses, institutions, individual professionals, and students who are ocean engineers, technologists, policymakers, and educators are all welcome to take part in Oceans 2023.

UL has been described by organisers as having a vibrant community.

We hope you have the experience of a lifetime here with us at Oceans Limerick, Mr OBrien added.

Oceans 2023 takes place at UL from Monday, June 5 to Thursday, June 8.

For more Green news, follow the EcoLive section of our website LimerickLive.ie
Stephen Donnelly has admitted that the rollout of the 1,000-euro pandemic bonus to frontline workers has not been perfect, but insisted it is now largely complete.

The health minister appeared before an Oireachtas committee to speak about the revised estimates for public services.

At the start of the meeting the committees chair, Sean Crowe, told the minister it had been raised by several groups that some workers had not yet been paid the bonus.

He said that although it was not clear how many people or which cohorts of workers were left to be paid, the committee had heard it included firefighters and those who administered vaccines at Citywest.

He said that the outstanding payments were unforgivable, and that the goodwill has gone out of the payments for those who had not yet received them.

The minister responded that a total of 208 million euro of tax-free bonuses had been paid to thousands of workers, but admitted there was a small number of people who had not yet been paid.

It is the nature of these things that we dont tend to hear from the many who have been paid, he said.

If we look around the world at similar recognition payments that have been made, Irelands recognition payment is very favourable by international standards  a 1,000-euro, tax-free to a very wide group of people.

The committee heard that the HSE has distributed 88 million euro to 142,250 staff, Section 38 workers have collectively received 52 million euro, while the Section 39 workers received 67 million euro.

So if there are people left who havent been paid it, they are local anomalies and there is a mechanism in place, of course, for them to be paid, he added.

He admitted that it has taken longer for non-public sector workers to be paid, due to caution exercised by the HSE to ensure no overpayment to private bodies.

I intervened because, as I shared with you chair, and I shared with colleagues my frustration with how long this was taking and what I said to the HSE is ask the organisations to do it on a self-assessment basis and then validate afterwards.

And we have to accept that in doing that there will be errors made but then the HSE is going to validate afterwards.

He said that 727 funding applications had been received and 655 had been processed.

So there are still some left, but very few in the context of the number of people who are being paid. About 90% of the submissions that came back did have errors in them that the HSE then just needed time to go back and work through with them.

On the payments to firefighters and other workers, Mr Donnelly said that his understanding was that funding had already been paid to their employers.

The Dublin Fire Brigade and the prison nurses were the other group that I asked to be included. So the money was sent to those line departments quite some time ago, certainly last year, he said.

I havent heard anything back about that money not being allocated.

Dublin Fire Brigade was allocated 1.265 million euro, and Dublin City Council had been paid 840,000 euro, he said.

The note I have is the payment of the staff is a matter for the bodies involved, but its understood to be substantially complete, he added.

Sinn Fein TD David Cullinane said that he had heard from cleaning and security staff who have not been paid, and he assumed they would be entitled to the bonus.

Mr Donnelly said that he himself had met with contract cleaning staff at a hospital who had not been paid.

I assured them that they are in scope, theyre absolutely in scope, and that got processed. So it didnt roll out perfectly, in that sense, he said.

The minister said an updated note would be sent to the committee outlining exactly what the criteria are for qualification for the bonus, as well as the progress made to date.
New Delhi: Apple Inc. plans to double the number of jobs created in India, building on the 100,000 it generated over the past two years through manufacturing and other operations as it reinforced its commitment to Asias third-largest economy in discussions with government officials, a person aware of the talks said.

During a meeting with senior government officials on Wednesday, Apple chief executive Tim Cook sought policy predictability, help in developing supplier and component ecosystems, and manpower training as he discussed the companys business plans in India, the person said, seeking anonymity.

Over 100,000 jobs have been generated in India. This will double soon. Its going to be a long-term play. Apple is happy with the support that the government has extended. Theyve acknowledged the governments role," the person added.

As part of efforts to diversify its supply chain and reduce its reliance on China, Apple has boosted the production of iPhones and other products in other countries, such as India and Vietnam. The move comes amid geopolitical tensions and rising labour costs in China. By diversifying, Apple can ensure a stable supply of its products to world markets.

Cook met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, telecom and information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and minister of state for electronics and information technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Thank you, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, for the warm welcome. Were committed to growing and investing across the country," Cook said in a Twitter post after meeting with the Prime Minister. In response, Prime Minister Modi said: Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India."

Vaishnaw also tweeted about his meeting with Cook. Discussed deepening Apples engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports, app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation, especially for women. Jointly charting a long-term and strong relationship."

Chandrasekhar tweeted: We discussed deepening and broadening manufacturing, exports, skilling of youth, expanding app innovation economy and job creation."

Apple is also exploring options to expand its manufacturing base in India and bring other product lines under the Make in India initiative, the person cited earlier said. The government has offered to support Apples manpower training needs by using its Gati Shakti University model to impart skills through Apples own courses and training programmes.

The person said the government had ready models to showcase on the lines of existing training courses being conducted by Boeing and Siemens.

Cook inaugurated Indias first Apple-owned store in Mumbai on Tuesday. He is expected to launch the second such store in Delhi on Thursday.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Gulveen Aulakh Gulveen Aulakh is Senior Assistant Editor at Mint, serving dual roles covering the disinvestment landscape out of New Delhi, and the telecom & IT sectors as part of the corporate bureau. She had been tracking several government ministries for the last ten years in her previous stint at The Economic Times. An IIM Calcutta alumnus, Gulveen is fluent in French, a keen learner of new languages and avid foodie. Read more from this author
Bank of Maharashtra is aiming to raise capital for FY24, up to 7,500 crore through various modes including follow-on-public offer, Qualified Institutional Placement(QIP), preferential issue, etc. The Board of Directors of the bank will discuss the issue in their meeting to be held on April 24, 2023.

The company's scrip has ended 0.81% up at 28.58 on BSE. The bank may also seek to raise capital through the issue of BASEl III or other such securities based on the methods approved in the meeting.

Company's share value has fallen by 6.45 per cent year-to-date. But, its share value jumped by 59.66 per cent last year.

Also Read: State-owned Bank of Maharashtra revises retail FD rates, now promising up to 7% on 200 days tenor

The announcement has come days after the lender claimed of reporting a credit growth of 29.59 per cent at 1.75 lakh crore in the January-March period. In the quarter that ended in March FY23, its total advances and deposits rose by 21.28 per cent to 4.09 lakh crore compared to the same period a year ago.

Also Read: Bank of Maharashtra posted 138% growth in PAT, stock rallies over 4%

The state-owned lender reported a net profit of 775.03 crore in the December quarter of FY23. Its profit increased by 44.9 per cent sequentially in Q3FY23 from 535.06 crore in Q2FY23. The company's revenue increased by 8.2 per cent QoQ to 4129.04 crore in Q3FY23 from 3815.06 crore in Q2FY23. The bank is yet to announce its Q4 results.

Also Read: Q4FY23 just a sneak peak, banks crisis in US, Europe may impact Indian IT firms' first quarter of FY24

In compliance with Regulation 29 (1) (d) and 50 (1) (d) and other applicable provisions of the SEBI (LODR) Regulations, 2015, we wish to inform you that a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Bank is scheduled on Monday, 24th April 2023 at Pune to consider the proposal of raising Capital for the FY 2023-24 aggregating upto 7,500 Crore through Follow-on Public offer (FPO)/Rights issue/ Qualified Institutional Placement(QIP) / Preferential issue or any other mode or combination of thereof and /or through the issue of BASEL III or such other securities as may be permitted under the applicable laws subject to necessary approvals," the company said in its BSE filing.
New Delhi: Cube Highways on Wednesday announced the listing of its Infrastructure Investment Trust (InvIT), backed by investments from the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCI) and Abu Dhabi's Mubadala Investment Company. The InvIT raised around $630 million to develop its portfolio of 18 toll and annuity road assets spanning 1,423.60 kilometers across India.

The first tranche of assets held by the InvIT includes 17 National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) toll roads and one NHAI annuity road asset, situated in 11 Indian states.

The InvIT has also signed a 10,000 crore loan facility with the State Bank of India for refinancing its existing debt, the company said in a press statement.

This investment aligns with BCI's long-term strategy of investing in infrastructure platforms and Mubadala's aim to capitalize on the significant growth opportunity in India's road sector.

Cube Highways existing investors include I Squared Capital, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), and Japan Highways International BV.
Global hotel giants Six Senses, Marriott International, Minor Hotels, Atmosphere, Radisson and Wyndham are looking to expand their India footprint with a robust pipeline of hotels over the next five years.

Six Senses Hotels Resorts Spas recently converted a luxury hotel in Uttarakhands Vanaits second property in Indiato its own brand, CEO Neil B. Jacobs said.

We would do at least 2-3 more hotels in India in the next five years, and that would not be a very aggressive target. It is a big, huge country. With two operating hotels now that are doing well for us, it might drive many developers to us. We know we want to do more in India because it is strategic for us and theres so much opportunity," Jacobs said in an interview. IHG Hotels and Resorts (formerly Intercontinental) bought Six Senses in 2019 for $300 million.

Maldives-based Atmosphere Hotels & Resorts will introduce its brandsOzen Collection and Heritage by Atmospherein Kolkata, Bhopal, Goa and Gangtok, among other cities, over the next few years. The firstOzen Mansion Kolkataopens in 2024.

Last week, Radisson Hotel Group launched its luxury lifestyle brand Radisson Collection in India. The company has 110 operational hotels in the country, and plans to add about 30 more this year. It owns and operates 2,000 hotels globally across its nine brands.

Marriott International, too, will add another 70 hotels to its India management pipeline by 2025. It currently has 140 hotels in India across 16 brands. The companys global chief executive officer, Anthony Capuano recently told Mint that even having 250 hotels here may not be enough.

Wyndham Hotels and Resorts, which runs popular chains like Ramada, bought a hotel brand, Vienna House for $44 million last year.

According to Dimitris Manikis, the companys president and managing director for Europe, Middle East and Africa, the brand is a good fit for India. It is a European brand. It will have a great future in India because of its design elements and its food and beverage offerings," he said.

According to a recent report by hospitality consultancy HVS, in 2022, hotel companies accelerated their growth plans with a 33% rise in brand signings by the number of rooms compared to 2021.

However, sometimes, global chains have found it hard to grow in India after announcing ambitious pipelines. International hospitality major, Hilton, which announced last week that it would like to bring its Waldorf Astoria Hotels and Resorts brand to India, has just 25 hotels in India today, and 13 under construction, only one more than what its president, Asia Pacific, Alan Watts, had told Mint it had here in 2022. In comparison, it has about 460 or about 6% of its global operating hotels of 7200 in China alone. At a global level, India accounts for 0.3% of its operational hotels.
Breweries and Distilleries major, United Breweries traded in the green after parent Heineken N.V. on Wednesday said India's business revenue grows by high-single-digit organically in the first quarter of 2023. This was supported by volume growth and pricing. Kingfisher Ultra and Heineken Silver boosted premium portfolio performance.

In its press release, Heineken said, "In India, net revenue (beia) grew by a high-single-digit organically, driven by volume growth and pricing. Beer volume grew by a mid-single-digit, led by Kingfisher."

Further, it added, "the premium portfolio grew in the high-teens, led by Kingfisher Ultra and Heineken Silver."

UBL's share price traded at 1,401.50 apiece up by 1.55 or 0.11% on BSE. The stock was near the day's high of 1,403.95 apiece on the exchange.

Dolf Van Den Brink, Chairman of the Executive Board/CEO at Heineken said, "We start the year with strong revenue growth driven by pricing and disciplined revenue management, while we materially increase investment behind our brands. Business performance in Europe and the Americas regions is encouraging, with consumer demand holding up better than expected in the first quarter. Results in the Asia Pacific and Africa, Middle East and Eastern Europe regions were disappointing, hindered by temporary volatility in Vietnam and Nigeria, leading to demand softness."

In Q1 of 2023, Heineken's revenue growth stood at 9.2%. Net revenue (beia) organic growth came in at 8.9%. while per hectolitre stood at 12.3%.

Excluding Russia, Heineken posted a 5.7% volume growth. However, if not excluded, the volume growth comes to around 2.3%. Heineken Silver grew 47% and was launched in the United States in the quarter.

Also, Heineken's eB2B platforms captured 2.3 billion in gross merchandise value this quarter, 51% more than last year, and 6 markets have completed the transition under the brand name eazle, business made easy.

Dolf Van added, "We see the economic environment as volatile and uncertain, making us vigilant and focused. Our gross savings programme continues at force, providing fuel to invest behind our strategy. All in all, our full-year expectations remain unchanged."

He said the company obtained the final regulatory approval in South Africa, and they look forward to welcoming over 5,400 new colleagues of Distell and Namibian Breweries into HEINEKEN and to adding more than 1 billion in net revenue and 150 million operating profit to their African footprint.

Overall, the Group kept the outlook for the full year unchanged ---operating profit (beia) expected to grow organically mid- to high-single-digit.
Indian tech firms have been trading extremely volatile this week sparkled after TCS and Infosys posted lower-than-expected Q4 earnings. Wednesday was no different, as the majority of IT stocks are in the red with HCL Tech's Q4 earnings in focus. It is expected that TCS and Infosys are not the only ones to see a slowdown in the US performance, others are likely to follow suit in the last quarter of FY23. But that's not all, the banking crisis in US and Europe is expected to even impact the first quarter of FY24.

In its report, Kotal Institutional Equities said, "The slowdown was sharper than expected. Infosys and TCS reported qoq revenue declines of 3.8% and 0.8%, respectively, in North America. The revenue decline in North America was across verticals on a sequential basis. The reasons for the decline were a pause in discretionary programs and even cancellations. After a slow start in January, projects were paused/cancelled in February and it continued in March. The banking crisis in US regional banks and European banks in March 2023 has induced greater caution and could impact the June 2023 quarter."

The brokerage added, "We would not be surprised by a weak US performance across companies that are likely to report in the coming days."

For FY24, Kotak said, the estimates for the fiscal were supposed to be weak and should play out that way. What is critical for valuations is a view on structural growth drivers, i.e., will growth accelerate above the pre-Covid level in FY2025?

Kotak's note explained, "The current slowdown will raise questions about the sustainability of longer-term digital transformation spending. Supporting a constructive view is the fact that workloads on the cloud are still 30-35% and will require additional 2-3 years to reach the desired 60-70% levels."

The brokerage expects the adoption of cloud-native applications to increase as more IT workloads move to the cloud. There are plenty of exciting technologies, such as IoT, big data, and deep learning AI, that lend themselves well to cloud environments. Analytics and big data on the cloud are already seeing massive adoption. These can sustain healthy growth for IT services beyond the cloud migration phase.

In regards to IT companies' margins in FY24, Kotak's note said, "we modelled a margin increase for most Tier 1 in FY2024, noting the easing supply side and levers such as utilization and pyramid that could be flexed. However, we overestimated the flex in FY2024. The current demand environment is not broken, with many large cost take-out deals and continuing programs with near-term RoI. As a result, companies are willing to carry extra costs, including wage increases, so that they do not lose out in case demand picks up. At the same time, clients are pausing discretionary programs."

These factors limit the ability to drive quick improvements in utilization and pyramid.

Coming to recessions, in the past, companies expanded margins. Kotak highlighted that the reason was straight forwardpast recessions such as the GFC and Covid had complete clarity of demand destruction.

It said, "Companies, as a result, aligned cost structures rather quickly, something which the current environment does not have. Noting these factors, we now assume margin stability in FY2024 and increase in FY2025."

However, the brokerage does not expect deep recessions in its base case value for Indian IT firms.

Kotak's note added, "We do not assume a deep recession in our valuation base case. Increasing probability of recession does pose risks to multiples. Improved payout ratios of IT companies, full participation in digital journey of clients and legs to medium-term growth from the completion of digital transformation journeys of clients mean that stocks could bottom at multiples higher than earlier recessions, assuming similar cost of equity as in the past. Stock valuations do not bake in a recession but do build in a slowdown."

"TCS and Infosys are best positioned. HCLT and LTIM can benefit in select cases. Similar cost take-out opportunities, but among smaller enterprises may be addressable by a larger pool of companies. Many other companies in the space will strugglegrowth between leaders and laggards should widen in FY2024 and beyond," the brokerage's note lastly said.

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.
New Delhi: India-UK free trade agreement negotiations have seen substantial progress and remaining problems around rules of origin, mobility and intellectual property are also closer to resolution, UK India Business Council (IBC) chairman Richard Heald said in an interview.

Amid heated comments on issues related to visas, Heald said mobility from both countries is crucial to businesses and businesses in the UK are very much in favour of mobility. UK home minister Suella Braverman had expressed concern over visa overstayers from India, which in turn hurt the FTA talks. Edited excerpts:

What has been the progress in the FTA talks?

My understanding is that substantial progress has been made in the talks. We recently had the eighth round in London. At the same time, I am aware that there are some relatively substantive issues still remaining outstanding such as rules of origin, mobility, intellectual property (which) will be on the table.

We are very close to a resolution, however, the issues that remain I think are going to need the intention of the politicians in order to make a decision.

What is the way forward on mobility?

One has to differentiate between mobility and visas. The statistics that come out in the UK indicate that India benefits very significantly in terms of the number of applicants that are approved in certain categories such as students. The issue around mobility is much more nuanced. And businesses in the UK are very much in favour of mobility, both ways.

Comments by some politicians had hurt negotiations

British businesses want to see mobility because they are employing 4.5 million people directly in India across 500 companies.

Its important for them to be able to inculcate and train Indian workers in the business that they are involved in. And likewise for Indian companies to move relevant people into India for them to bed down in the company. That is fundamental for business to work.

So, extraneous comments that come in from left field arent necessarily helpful.

Your view on the data sharing concerns?

Data has to flow in the appropriate way across the border, that does not mean peoples personal data is compromised.

I think we need to have a degree of precision around regulation, definition. And you saw what happened when Astra Zenca and Serum Institute combined. That would have not been possible without flow of data sets.

India is opening up its legal service sector. How are UK firms looking at this?

UK firms fly in and fly out and prefer an offer of advice and guidance where appropriate and so a more formalized arrangement of collaboration is good because Indian companies are increasingly internationalizing and therefore, I think they need to have all the advice that they can get.
NEW DELHI : The meeting of agricultural chief scientists (MACS) of G20 nations on Sustainable Agriculture and Food System for Healthy People and Planet concluded successfully at Varanasi, where discussions was focussed on innovations and technological interventions for agri-food systems transformation, biofortification in food crops for enhancing nutritional value among others.

About 80 delegates from G20 member states; invited guest countries, international organizations participated in the meeting.

MACS 2023 unanimously agreed to launch a Millet Initiative - MAHARISHI which was proposed by India for research in the field of Millets. MAHARISHI stands for Millets And Other Ancient Grains International Research Initiative (MAHARISHI).

Its secretariat will be housed at Indian Institute of Millets Research (IIMR), Hyderabad with technical support from ICRISAT, One CGIAR Centres and other International organisations," the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare said in a statement.

The discussions on the three days were focused on Innovations and Technological Interventions for Agri-Food Systems Transformation, Frontiers in Science and Technology for Achieving Food Security and Nutrition, Biofortification in Food Crops for Enhancing Nutritional Value, Tropical Seaweed Farming for nutrition and blue growth MAHARISHI among other issues.

The meeting adopted a chair summary cum outcome document focusing on a major area of cooperation in agricultural research and development for food security and nutrition, digital agriculture, resilient agri-food systems and public-private partnership in agricultural R&D.

On the sidelines of G20 MACS, bilateral meetings were held with France, United Kingdom, Argentina and Germany for future collaboration in agriculture research. The bilateral meeting was also held with Food and Agriculture Organization, Rome, Italy.
NEW DELHI : India and the UK held the second India-UK financial markets dialogue in London on Wednesday, where senior officials from both nations, including representatives from regulatory agencies, discussed key areas of cooperation in financial markets, a joint statement from the countries said.

The dialogue focused on six themes: banking, payments and crypto assets, insurance and reinsurance, capital markets, asset management, and sustainable finance. The next Financial Markets Dialogue is scheduled to be held in India in 2024.

Representatives of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), International Financial Services Centre Authority (IFSCA), Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), the Bank of England, and the Financial Conduct Authority participated in the meeting.

Following the government-to-government discussion, private sector partners were invited to the discussion, led by the co-chairs of the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP), Bill Winters and Uday Kotak, the statement said.

Offiials discussed banking trends and emerging vulnerabilities and risks in the sector. Scope for augmenting knowledge on Central Banking Digital Currency (CBDC) through mutual learning was explored. Participants discussed international developments regarding cryptoassets, and the importance of robust global approaches, and progress in delivering the G20 roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments, the statement said.

Participants identified emerging areas for collaboration including knowledge sharing on regulatory frameworks for pension funds (PFs) in respective countries, potential investment opportunities by PFs and the development of ecosystems including technology-based solutions for social stock exchange. Both sides discussed the possibility for further technical discussion on effective regulation of ESG rating providers.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) has found Indias tariffs on mobile phones and electronic components inconsistent with global norms. If its appellate tribunal now upholds the ruling, it could slow FDI flow into Indias booming electronics sector. Mint explains:

What is the WTO dispute about?

Over the last few years, India has imposed import duties on electronic items aimed at discouraging Chinese imports. However, India is a signatory to the Information Technology Agreement (ITA) which requires it to eliminate tariffs on a range of tech products. The European Union, China, Japan, Thailand, Singapore and the US have objected to duties on communication components like microphones and transmission apparatus. India denied these charges on the grounds that at the time of signing the ITA, in 1997, smartphones werent around and hence, theres no case to answer.

Wheres the dispute headed?

Hard to say. India will approach WTOs appellate body but its remained non-functional since 2019 as membership to the body has dwindled. The US has been blocking appointment of new members as it believes that WTO is biased against it. Therefore, several cases are pending. Murali Kallummal, professor, Centre for WTO Studies, IIFT, said the panels ruling will therefore have no impact on the industry right now as the final order will take a long time. By the time the top body decides, the kind of imports being questioned may change because of newer technologies hitting the market.

View Full Image Photo: Bloomberg

What is Indias stance on the matter?

India is unlikely to budge as its mobile phone exports have benefited from the duty, as has the Production Linked Incentive Scheme (PLI) for mobile phone manufacturing. India has decided to appeal in the appellate court instead of using multi-party interim appeal arbitration arrangement, as suggested by EU. This will help India buy time.

Could the ruling hurt the Indian industry?

Industry believes the near-term impact will not be severe. But the ruling does create a dent in the overall Make-in-India initiative as foreign direct investors can turn cautious about further investments. It may slow FDIs in the information and communication technology sector. Experts caution that if the ruling affects Indias current duty structure, it could impact the momentum in local value addition. If India loses the appeal, going ahead, the impact could be more severe.

How could the PLI scheme still work?

Ajay Sahai, CEO, FIEO, said PLI works in two ways: by incentivizing production and by providing protection to the industry through higher duty on imports. This seems to be working as Indias mobile phone exports have been on the rise and neared the $10 billion a year mark in FY23. A setback at the appellate tribunal would only mean that India would be forced to remove the protection by reducing duty. It will not affect the incentives offered by the govt under the PLI scheme.
A Lesson in Success from Amitabh Bachchan, Bill Gates and Deng Xiaoping I landed in Delhi on the evening of 8 April. Within 24 hours of landing, the proverbial question had been asked twice. A version of the question goes something like this: If you can write from anywhere, why do you choose to live in Mumbai? What remains unasked but is often insinuated is, why dont you live in Delhi, close to where your parents, sibling and relatives are? I remember fumbling for an answer the first few times the question was asked, but now more than 11 years later, I am quite a pro at answering it. A version of my answer goes somewhat like this. I write about all things money, which is something that drives the city of Mumbai. So, I get a better feel of things in Mumbai, which ultimately helps me write better. If I were writing about power and politics, I would choose to live in Delhi. Now this is a fib, given that I barely step out of the room where I live and write in Mumbai. Also, like most journalists, I rarely call up experts to ask them what they think about such and such issues. In fact, almost all of my writing emanates from what comes into my head at any given point in time and can be expressed. Of course, I tend to read a lot. And that helps. Nonetheless, most relatives, given that they dont read what I write (as they say in Hindi, ghar ki murgi dal barabar), tend to buy this answer to their question of why I am based out of Mumbai and not Delhi. For those who arent convinced, I offer a second point, which is slightly more genuine than the first one. Mumbai lets me run into people who I would have otherwise never met in Delhi or anywhere else for that matter. One of the happiest moments of my life was when I spent around a minute talking to Ameen Sayani, who, from the early 1950s to the mid-1990s, was Indias most popular radio announcer (well, the term RJ, which makes the job sound much cooler than it is, hadnt been invented as yet). All these years later, his voice still echoes in my ears. For a few years, I would listen to Mr Sayani every Monday evening at 8pm on Vividh Bharati (a radio channel which one had to hear on what else but the radio). He made me fall in love with radio and music. The fact that Ranchi University was open only 90 days a year, and was shut for some holiday or the other for the remaining part, also helped. Otherwise, who would have had the time to listen to Chitralok every day at 8.30am, Ek Fankar every day at 1pm, Hawa Mahal every day at 8.45 pm, and a lot else in between. My other big happy moment in Mumbai was when I first appeared as a guest on Cyrus Broachas podcast Cyrus Says. Broacha originally became famous as a VJ on MTV in the 1990s. Since then, he has been an actor, a political satirist, a podcaster and Indias best general raconteur, to say the least. He is the only person I know who can talk unscripted, literally at the speed of thought. Many guests on his podcast complain that he doesnt let them speak. So the six or seven times I was invited on the podcast, I was more than happy to let him speak. It was my sheer pleasure to just sit there and listen to him talk and conjure things from here, there and everywhere. It was a very politically incorrect unscripted standup comedy show in an era where everyone and their fathers take offence at a drop of a hat and where I was the only audience, of course, other than the producer of the show. Dear Reader, this is the trouble of living in Mumbai; I have too many stories to tell. So, there are two stories I want to tell in this issue of Easynomics. The first is something that I recently heard on the Cyrus Says podcast, and the second features Ameen Sayani and a very famous actor. So, here we go. In a recent episode of Cyrus Says, Mini Mathur was a guest. Of course, Mini Mathur is famous in Page 3 circles these days as the film director Kabir Khans wife. But most people seem to have forgotten that Mathur has a huge body of work in the media and became successful and famous, first across the cities and then across the length and breadth of India, much before her husband did. Her first show was Tol Mol ke Bol on Zee TV (Some interesting trivia here. Her co-host in the first season of the show was the actor Rituraj Singh and her co-host in the second season was the actor R Madhavan). This was followed by a stint at MTV, where she was the first VJ who could speak Hindi properly. Of course, she later became famous through the length and breadth of India for hosting the Indian Idol for many seasons. Along with being a host, she also acted in TV serials. This is Mini Mathurs story, as recounted by her on Cyrus podcast. Mathur did her BA in English Literature from the Lady Shri Ram (LSR) College at Delhi University. She then followed it up with an MBA from IMT Ghaziabad. Now let me remind you millennials and zoomers here; this was the 1990s. Getting into LSR and a good MBA school was next to impossible simply because seats were limited. After her MBA, she started working for the advertising agency J Walter Thompson. And this is where things got interesting. (Source: minimathur.com) The ad agency was pitching for a Ray-Ban sunglasses ad. The female model didnt turn up. So, the creative director got Mathur to fill in. He asked her to wear a jacket and aviator glasses and sit in for the ad. So, Mathur did what she was told and, as she said in the podcast, went and sat with a grumpy face and some cool attitude, obviously. The ad agency made a successful pitch but the company wanted to use Mini Mathur as the model. The creative director tried to dissuade them by telling them she was not a model and was in client servicing. But the company thought she worked for the part, so Mathur ended up on billboards modelling for Ray-Ban. It was a big campaign, and she got noticed, ultimately leading to Tol Mol ke Bol, Indias first game show. And there was no stopping her from there. Now lets move on to the second story I wanted to recount. As mentioned earlier, this involves Ameen Sayani and an actor. Mr Sayani recounted this story in a 2009 interview with The Indian Express. The year is 1969. Mr Sayani is very busy and is doing 20 shows in a week. A struggling actor lands up at his office for a voice audition without an appointment. Mr Sayani is too busy to meet him. The actor waits and then leaves. He comes a few more times. But the meeting doesnt happen. Now cut to a few years later. Mr Sayani is the president of the Radio and Advertising Practitioners Association. The association has decided to have its own awards ceremonies. By then, the struggling actor was famous and had been invited as the chief guest for one of the awards. Of course, other than his acting, he was and is still known for his deep baritone voice (there, I give it away). In the speech the actor made on that occasion, he said that he had gone to a commercial radio company thrice and wasnt even granted an audition. As Mr Sayani recounted in the interview: Puzzled, I told my wife, But we were the only company then! And much to his surprise, she told him: He had come many times! And you were too busy even to meet him! So, whats the point I wanted to make here? There is a lot of gyan, for the lack of a better term, given about what it takes to be successful in life. Successful people give this gyan, and so do others in the business of giving such gyan. Usual platitudes about hard work, not giving up, training well, focusing, grabbing the opportunity once it comes, etc., are offered. But what no one tells you is that being successful in life is not just about the usual platitudes. Its also not just about a few things happening to clear the path to success. But its often about a few things not happening which clear up the path towards success, individual or otherwise. And these things that do not happen can be quite random. Lets take the case of Mini Mathur. If that model had turned up, Mathur today would have perhaps been a high-ranking official in an ad agency or a high-ranking marketing official somewhere in the media. She would have done well for herself but would have ended up taking the safe path. The fact that the model did not turn up that day catapulted her to a different and very successful career path. Of course, this would have involved a lot of hard work, focus and not giving up on her part, but all this happened simply because that model did not turn up on that day. (And who was that model? One Ms Sushmita Sen, who was also meant for greater things). And what about that actor with a deep baritone voice? A certain Amitabh Bachchan. As Mr Sayani put it in the interview: I realise that what happened was for the best for both of us! His voice would have finished my career, and he would have gotten so much work on radio that Indian cinema would have lost its biggest star. Now lets look at a few more examples of this phenomenon. 1) On 15 February 1933, the then president-elect of the US, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, was visiting Miami. A crazy gunman Giuseppe Zangara tried to assassinate Roosevelt that day by firing five shots from a handgun he had purchased a couple of days before. But one Ms Lillian Cross happened to be around. As she recounted in an interview: My mind grasped the situation in a flash, she said. I said to myself, Hes going to kill the president. I caught him by the arm and twisted it up. Cross foiled Zangaras attempt and ended up changing the future. Roosevelt played a very important part in bringing the American economy out of the Great Depression and later in leading the US in the Second World War. The success of the American economy after the Great Depression was built on measures taken by his government. Of course, at a personal level, Roosevelt was elected as the US President an unprecedented four times. As J Bradford DeLong writes in Slouching Towards UtopiaAn Economic History of the Twentieth Century: We can see how many things in history are neither inevitable nor necessaryhow we are as much the product of what didnt happen as we are of what did. 2) This is another interesting story featuring a company called IBM and a man called Bill Gates. It was August 1980. IBM planned to launch a home computer, and it needed a program called the operating system. Leonard Mlodinow recounts the story in The Drunkards WalkHow Randomness Rules Our Lives: Gates said he couldnt provide the operating system and referred the IBM people to a famed programmer named Gary Kildall at Digital Research Inc. The talks between IBM and Kildall apparently failed. The story goes that Jack Sams, an IBM employee, met Gates again. They both knew of another operating system supposedly based on or inspired by Kildalls. As Mlodinow writes: According to Sams, Gates said, Do you want to get... [that operating system], or do you want me to? Sams said, By all means, you get it. Gates did, for $50,000 (or, by some accounts, a bit more), made a few changes, and renamed it DOS (disk operating system). IBM, apparently with little faith in the potential of its new idea, licensed DOS from Gates for a low per-copy royalty fee, letting Gates retain the rights. Now if IBM had bought out the rights from Gates or had their deal with Kildall worked out, Gates and Microsoft would perhaps have never become the success they eventually did. Microsoft initially fed off the growing popularity of IBM users and built on that. As Mlodinow writes: Gates might have become just another software entrepreneur rather than the richest man in the world. 3) This example perhaps has had the most far-reaching consequences on the world that we live in. It concerns the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping and the life he spent as a young man working in France. It was 1920, and France was short of labour, given that many of its young were killed or maimed while fighting the First World War. Hence, the French government was eager to let foreign immigrants into France. As DeLong writes: Deng took advantage of the postwar part of the program. He worked as a fittera metal parts fabricatorin the suburbs of Paris. This is where he encountered communism. He returned to China in 1927 with a years detour to Moscow and then went on to become first a cadre and then a high official in the Chinese Communist Party. The interesting thing is that Deng did not go to the US despite many immigrants landing on the US shores during that era. There was a reason for it. As DeLong writes: The poorest migrants, those from China, India, and so on, were not allowed into the temperate settlements. Those were reserved for Europeans. If the Chinese were allowed into the US, chances are Deng would have gone there simply because the optimism around the US at the end of the First World War was much higher than Europe in general and France in particular. If that had happened, Deng perhaps would have never discovered communism and gone back to China to become a member of the Chinese Communist Party. And if that hadnt happened, Deng wouldnt have become the paramount leader of China through the 1980s. And if that hadnt happened, China would perhaps have never embarked on the capitalistic model of development under a communist government that it eventually did. Chinas success was also based on this rather random point. All these examples show us that individual or aggregate success is not just about things that happen; its also about things that dont. Given this, its very important for successful individuals, companies, firms, institutions, governments and countries to remember this rather basic point and be humble and thankful about the whole thing. It could have easily been someone else in your place. Life does not throw up counterfactuals, but thinking about them is necessary. And that brings us to the question that still hasnt been answered. Why do I choose to stay in Mumbai and not in Delhi? Now living in Delhi would mean running into relatives all the time at various family events happening throughout the yearfrom weddings to funerals. And this eventually leads to discussions on why Kashmiri cuisine is the worlds best. In the days when I was younger and had slightly more hope from the people around me, I used to counter this statement withname five other Indian cuisines that you have had. This led to the stereotypical North Indian reaction of how idli, dosa, vada, upma and sambar were no match for the Kashmiri cuisine. (Well, the fact that many north Indians equate the massive variety in South Indian cuisine to these five food items tells you all you need to know). Anyway, I find Kashmiri cuisine to be highly overrated and extremely oily. On many occasions, when food is cooked in large amounts for an engagement or a wedding or a simple lunch or dinner at home to which many relatives are invited, one is simply not able to make out the flavour of what one is eating. So, give me bombil fry to kabargah any day and chingri malai curry to rogan josh on any other day. Mumbai gives me the space to think, feel, write, express and be myself on most days. Delhi gives me why Kashmiri cuisine is the best. There I have said it.
Mukul Roy, who had joined the Trinamool Congress (TMC) before the state elections, announced his resignation from the party. He expressed his willingness to join the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) if given the opportunity and entrusted with responsibilities.

While addressing the press conference in Delhi, Mukul Roy, who had been untraceable" for the past few days said, "There is no question of resigning from TMC. I am not even a part of it. I have already resigned from TMC".

"Previously I was in BJP and again I will be in the same party. If BJP entrusts me with responsibilities I will duly take it," he added.

Suvendu Adhikari, the Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, stated that the BJP in West Bengal is not interested in welcoming leaders who have been rejected by other political parties.

"We are not interested in these types of people. We are interested in strengthening the booth. West Bengal BJP is now very self-independent. We don't need to bring any leaders. We are not allowing this type of rejected people," Suvendu Adhikari had said.

A missing complaint regarding TMC MLA Mukul Roy was lodged at Kolkata's NSCBI Airport police station by his son Subhranshu Roy on Monday night.

When asked why he had filed a missing complaint for Mukul Roy, Subhranshu Roy said, "I know he has gone to Delhi but I do not know where in Delhi he has gone. My father is not well. His phone is also switched off."

Subhranshu also said Mukul Roy had brain surgery a few days ago.

"I do not know anything about how he suddenly went to Delhi. When I got the news yesterday, I went to the Kolkata airport and appealed to the airport authority and the airport police station to bring Mukul Roy back. But Airport Authority and Central Industrial Security Force did not cooperate in any way showing the flight takeoff protocol," Subhranshu said.

Former Union Railway Minister Mukul Roy is an MLA from the Krishnanagar North and had contested the polls on a BJP ticket. After he joined TMC, BJP demanded the cancellation of Roy's membership from the Assembly. (ANI)
After the announcement of Vande Bharat train in Kerala, Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Tuesday said people are thankful to PM Modi for announcing the semi high speed train in the state.

"The people of Kerala are thankful to PM Narendra Modi as well as the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for announcing this high-speed train for Kerala which will definitely improve the pace of development in Kerala. On 25 April, the PM is visiting Kerala and the flag-off will happen that day - that is the information we have..," he was quoted by news agency ANI.

Giving further details on the train, Muraleedharan added that the train will cover the distance of 600 km originating from Kasaragod and will run till the capital city of Trivandrum. The train will cover the distance in just 8 hours.

"The train will originate from Kasaragod which is the northernmost tipoff of Kerala to the capital city of Trivandrum at the southernmost tip. So the Vande Bharat will cover a distance of 600 km in 8 hours which means that people of Kerala will be able to travel across the state in 8 hours," he added.

"The demand for a high-speed train for Kerala has now been fulfilled. Prime Minister takes special care of Kerala. Under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, the Centre is taking all efforts for the development of Kerala," Muraleedharan had earlier said on April 14.

At that time taking a dig at the Pinarayi Vijayan government Muraleedharan said "When there is a high-speed train, why should people give up their lands in the name of the SilverLine project? It has become irrelevant," he said.

The rakes of the Vande Bharat train, which will be run by the Southern Railways, reached Palakkad on April 14 morning. The Indian Railway successfully completed the trial run of Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur on April 17. The trial run started from Thiruvananthapuram railway station at 5:10 am and reached Kannur at 12:30 pm.

As per reports, PM Modi is likely to flag off the Vande Bharat train service during his visit to Kerala later this month. Top BJP officials of the state described it as a "Vishu kaineettam" to the people of the state from the Centre and the Prime Minister. According to tradition, elders of the family give gifts, especially money, to members of the house as "kaineettam" on the day of the harvest festival "Vishu", which falls on Saturday, April 15, this year.

Earlier on Sunday, the Congress-led UDF opposition in Kerala urged the Union Railway Ministry to extend the route of the proposed Vande Bharat Express in the state upto Mangalore station in Karnataka so that people of Kerala's northernmost district of Kasaragod can also benefit from it.

In a letter to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the State Assembly V D Satheesan has sought route extension to ensure "overall high-speed railway connectivity in the state".

Satheesan said that as per media reports, the existing route of the proposed Vande Bharat Express was from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur, leaving out the northernmost district of Kasaragod.

"Please note that Kasargod forms part of the existing railway system in the state and could have been seamlessly incorporated into the existing route of the Vande Bharat Express without much pain. Leaving out the northern district of Kasaragod is considered a grave injustice to the people of Kasaragod," the LoP said.

(With inputs from ANI)
The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had predicted that the country would experience a hotter-than-normal summer, warning states and UTs to make adequate preparations. The temperatures have continued to soar in the ensuing weeks, with heatwave alerts being sounded in several states. While the IMD forecasts rainfall for some areas, it will be some time yet before the mercury drops.

According to the forecast issued by the Met department on Monday afternoon, heatwave conditions are likely over isolated pockets of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Bihar, Sikkim, Odisha and Andhra Pradesh. The weather office also said that heatwave conditions likely to continue over East India during next 4 days and abate thereafter.

Amid these warning, authorities in parts of India have shut schools while some have changes timings after temperature went up more than 40 degree Celsius.

Here's the list of states where schools will remain closed or timings have been revised:

West Bengal: All educational institutions in West Bengal have been directed to remain closed from 17-Apil owing to severe heatwave. West Bengal Chief minister Mamata Banerjee made the announcement on Sunday and said all educational institutions in the state will remain closed next week. CM also urged private educational institutions to do the same during this period. She said children have been complaining of headaches and other health issues after coming back from school in the last few days.

Tripura: The Tripura government has directed government schools to remain closed till 23 April. The announcement was made by CM Dr Manik Saha. In a tweet, the CM wrote, The heat wave across the state may cause bad impact on health of the students. In this view, the state government has decided to keep all the government-run and grant-in-aid schools closed with effect from April 18, 2023 to April 23, 2023."

Delhi: The Delhi Government issued guidelines on school preparedness for ongoing summers. As per the circular issued by the government, all schools in Delhi recognized under the directorate of education have to ensure that there is no student assembly in the schools during the afternoon shift. "All Govt/Govt aided/Pvt unaided schools recognized under the Directorate of Education will have to ensure availability of drinking water to students in the schools. Students should be given water breaks during classes," the circular mentioned. The Directorate of Education also stated that the schools have to sensitize students to cover their heads during day time.

Patna: With Patna recording the temperature of 44.1 degrees Celsius, the highest this season, the district administration issued an order directing all schools to wind up classes by 10.45 am from 19 April. An order issued by Patna District Magistrate Chandra Sekhar Singh said, "The district administration prohibits academic activities for all classes (including pre-schools and anganwadi centers) after 10.45 am in all schools of the district." "The school authorities are hereby directed to reschedule their timings of academic activities in conformity of the order, which will come into force from April 19," it stated.

Meghalaya: Meghalaya's West Garo Hills district administration has ordered that schools be closed for three days from Wednesday due to soaring temperatures. The order came in the wake of the mercury levels soaring above 37 degrees Celsius in the district, and even touching 40 degrees Celsius in the plains. "In view of the massive surge in temperatures and to ensure the well-being of the students, teachers and staffers, I have declared that all primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in the district be shut from April 19-21," Deputy Commissioner Jagdish Chelani told PTI. He said that night schools, however, will remain functional.

Jharkhand: As per India Today report, timings of schools in Jharkhand have been revised. Students from classes up to 5th std will be conducted from 7 am-11 am while for 6th-12th std classes will continue until 12 pm.

Odisha: The temperature in at least 29 places in Odisha recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with Baripada and Jharsuguda boiling at 44.2 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The intense heat has prompted the government to shut all schools and anganwadi centres on 19-20 April , an order as cited by PTI has stated.

(With inputs from agencies)
NEW DELHI : Defence minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday expressed confidence in the Indian Army to handle any contingency along the Northern borders.

Commenting on the current situation along the Northern borders, the defence minister expressed full confidence in the Army for any contingency though, the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution will continue and disengagement and de-escalation, is the best way forward.

It is our whole-of-government approach to ensure availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to our troops braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend our territorial integrity," Singh said in his address to the army brass at the ongoing Army Commanders Conference.

War preparedness should be a continuous phenomenon and we should always be ready for unpredictable and uncertain events that may crop up at any time. We should always be honing our fighting skills and weapons technologies to act effectively whenever required," he said.

The defence minister said the security of the country is the topmost priority" for the government.

In a statement, the ministry said Singh complimented Border Roads Organisation, saying its efforts have led to the incomparable improvement of road communication in the border areas.

The five-day Army Commanders Conference began on Monday. It is deliberating on Indias national security challenges along the borders with China and Pakistan and ways to boost combat capability of the force.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari also addressed the commanders.

On the current complex global scenario, the minister said, Unconventional and asymmetric warfare, including hybrid war, will be part of future conventional wars. Cyber, information, communication, trade and finance have all become an inseparable part of future conflicts. This necessitates that armed forces will have to keep all these facets in consideration while planning and formulating strategies."

On the situation along the border with Pakistan, Singh said proxy war by the adversary was continuing. I compliment the excellent synergy between the central armed police forces (CAPF), police and the army in tackling the menace of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The synergised operations in the union territory of Jammu and Kashmir are contributing to increased stability and peace in the region and the same should continue."
As the holy month of Ramadan nears its conclusion, Muslims across the globe are ready to observe Eid-ul-Fitr, a significant festival in the Islamic faith.

The event marks the end of Ramadan, during which Muslims fast and reflect on spiritual matters. Eid-ul-Fitr is a jubilant occasion, celebrated with excitement and devotion by individuals of all ages. Typically observed on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month in the Islamic calendar, after the appearance of the new moon.

The specific date of Eid-ul-Fitr may differ based on the visibility of the moon in various regions around the globe. This festival is a period of rejoicing, mercy, and the renewal of one's dedication to serving others and strengthening their faith. Eid-ul-Fitr, marking the culmination of the fasting month of Ramzan, is expected to be celebrated on Friday or Saturday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon.

It serves as a reminder of the significance of harmony, affection, and empathy in our lives, as well as a time to consider the principles of Islam and how they can lead us toward a more meaningful and gratifying existence.

Like other regions, the occurrence of Eid-ul-Fitr in Kerala and Kashmir is subject to the sighting of the new moon, with the specific date possibly varying due to local discrepancies and the timing of the moon sighting.

In Kerala, Eid-ul-Fitr is observed one day earlier than the rest of India due to the local moon sighting committee's adherence to the traditional Islamic calendar and its practice of waiting for the actual sighting of the moon.

Kerala is the only Indian state whose date for Eid-ul-Fitr is determined by the moon sighting in Saudi Arabia.

The state government declares a holiday for Eid-ul-Fitr based on the committee's decision. According to the official website, this year, the festival will be celebrated in Kerala on April 21st.

The beginning of Eid-ul-Fitr in Kashmir is decided by the grand mufti of the state, who has the authority to announce the start of the festival based on the sighting of the new moon. The festivities in the region involve going to mosques for prayers and meeting loved ones. The timing of the moon sighting can be influenced by various factors, such as the moon's position and the prevailing weather conditions.

Muslims globally mark the last few nights of Ramadan as "Laylatul Qadr," a night of power and immense spiritual importance, before the celebration of Eid-ul-Fitr. As per the official website, in Kashmir, the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr will be celebrated on April 22nd this year.
The Maharashtra government spent more than lakh on the mega Bhushan Award ceremony, which later turned into a tragic event after 14 people died due to heatstroke.

The mega award ceremony which took place at Navi Mumbai on Sunday during the scorching afternoon led to a massive medical emergency as over a dozen of attendees died and several were hospitalised.

According to a report by the Hindustan Times, Livemint's sister publication, the Eknath Shinde-Devendra Fadnavis government, which is now under fire from the Opposition over the timing of the award event, spent 13.63 crore on advertising the event on billboards while at least six other agencies spent over 12 crore on roads, water supply, logistics, and health services.

An official told the daily that over 7 crore was spent on repairing the roads and sewage management.

However, despite spending multi-crore in the event, the spectators were given seats in the sun when temperatures hit close to 38 degrees Celsius.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, who was also present in the ceremony, praised the crowd for waiting so long in the sun.

Meanwhile, Maharashtra opposition leader Ajit Pawar on Tuesday demanded the registration of a culpable homicide case against the Maharashtra government over the deaths due to sunstroke.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, Pawar said the tragedy was not natural but it was a "man-made disaster" for which the government is responsible.

He also demanded the government grant ex-gratia of 20 lakh to the kin of the deceased instead of 5 lakh.
Hong Kong: FS meets Beijing officials

Financial Secretary Paul Chan continued his visit to Beijing today by meeting officials from various Mainland authorities.

This morning, Mr Chan called on State Taxation Administration Commissioner Wang Jun to brief him on Hong Kong's overall economic situation, and its direction and priorities in pressing ahead for high-quality development in the new era and in a new stage.

Both sides also exchanged views on issues such as strengthening taxation co-operation between the Mainland and Hong Kong as well as mutual participation in global tax management.

Accompanied by Secretary for Innovation, Technology & Industry Prof Sun Dong, Mr Chan then met Minister of Science & Technology Wang Zhigang to exchange views on issues such as fostering scientific collaboration between the Mainland and Hong Kong, expediting Hong Kong's development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre and better leveraging the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area's co-ordinated development in research and development (R&D) and innovation.

The officials also discussed how to better promote Hong Kong's integration into the national I&T development swiftly.

During the meeting, Mr Chan noted that Hong Kong will utilise its strength in financial areas and its unique advantages and functions under one country, two systems to support R&D of I&T as well as actively explore a new mindset in formulating policies to facilitate the cross-boundary flow of I&T elements, so that Hong Kong can contribute to the country's high-quality development, high-level self-reliance and greater strength in science and technology.

The finance chief also highlighted that as a leading global hub for green finance in Asia, Hong Kong has a strong base for green technology research and its application, adding that with the bay area's R&D advantages, the two elements can be combined to interact positively to build a new and comprehensive industry chain, which can help develop Hong Kong into a leading international green technology and green financial centre.

Mr Chan then met China Securities Regulatory Commission Chairman Yi Huiman to discuss enhancing financial co-ordination and co-operation, the promotion of Hong Kong's contribution to the country's development as an international financial centre, and the optimisation of mutual market access schemes between the financial markets of the two places.

He thanked the commission for its consistent and strong support on the enhancement and development of Hong Kong's financial market.

During the meeting, Mr Chan also introduced Hong Kong's latest policies and development on green technologies and green finance as well as Web3.0.

In the afternoon, Mr Chan and Prof Sun visited the Ministry of Industry & Information Technology and met its Vice Minister Zhang Yunming to exchange views on issues including digital economy, new industrialisation, development of the information industry and Web3.0.

Mr Chan pointed out that Hong Kong is actively encouraging industries to upgrade and transform so as to improve the quality and quantity of their products, and is also dedicated to pooling top-notch corporations and talent, so that it can take full advantage of "one country, two systems", serve the country's needs and contribute to its high-quality development.

The finance chief also toured the Research Center on Xi Jinping's Economic Thought to understand its research priorities and direction, in the hope of promoting in Hong Kong the deliverables of the centres research and enhancing understanding of President Xi's economic thought, so as to better promote the high quality development of the city's economy and contribute to the national development.

This story has been published on: 2023-04-19. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article.
As per the sources, the ground situation in Sudan country is very tense and movement of people is very risky at this stage. Sources added that the Quartet countries of the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a key role in Sudan and India is engaging them accordingly. They said that the country's priority is safety of movement and well being of individuals wherever they are located.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last six days that has reportedly left around 200 people dead. Explosions shook Sudan's capital on Tuesday evening despite claims of a ceasefire on the fourth day of fighting that has killed nearly 200. A weeks-long power struggle erupted into battles between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The government sources told PTI that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already spoken to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. They added that both the foreign ministers assured Jaishankar of their practical support on the ground. India is also working with the UN, which has a substantial presence in Sudan. Furthermore, they added that MEA and the Indian embassy in Sudanese capital Khartoum are continuously monitoring the situation in the African country."Concerns of safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details," the source cited above said.

Earlier on 18 April, Congress leader Siddaramaiah urged the Central govt, MEA and Karnataka CM Basvaraj Bommai to immediately intervene and ensure the safe return of 31 Hakki Pikki tribe from Karnataka stranded in Sudan. Jaishankar in response to his tweet expressed his disgust at the politicisation of the issue, and stated that the Embassy of India in Khartoum had been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan since the fighting started on April 14th.

Meanwhile, the ministry in view of the current clases between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has already set up a Control Room to provide information and assistance to Indians. In a press release, MEA said, In view of the current situation in Sudan, a Control Room has been set up at the Ministry of External Affairs to provide information and assistance." The ministry further shared the Coordinates of the Control Room, email and phone numbers for information on Indians stuck in Sudan. "Phone: 1800 11 8797 (Toll free) 91-11-23012113; 91-11-23014104; 91-11-23017905; Mobile: 91 9968291988 and Email: situationroom@mea.gov.in," the release had stated.

(With inputs from agencies)
India becomes most populous country in the world. According tot he United Nations data, India has surpassed China to become world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people. China has a population of 142.57 crore, according to the UN world population dashboard.

According to the Pew Research Centre, India's population has grown by more than one billion people since 1950, the year the UN began gathering population data.

Last year, the number of people in China shrank for the first time since 1960. Beijing ended its strict "one-child policy", imposed in the 1980s amid overpopulation fears, in 2016 and started letting couples have three children in 2021.

China faces a looming demographic decline as birth rates plunge and its workforce ages.

Global population:

According to the UN data, the global population will have hit 8.045 billion by mid-2023.

In Africa also, the trend of the rising population can be seen. It is estimated that the world's second-largest continent will witness a spike in its population from 1.4 to 3.9 billion inhabitants by 2100.

Eight nations with more than 10 million inhabitants, most of them in Europe, saw their populations shrink over the past decade.

Japan is also seeing a decline due to its ageing population, losing more than three million inhabitants between 2011 and 2021.

The population of the entire planet, meanwhile, is only expected to decline in the 2090s, after peaking at 10.4 billion, the UN has projected.

Factors Influencing the population growth:

Fertility rate:

According to the United Nations, future population growth is highly dependent on the path that future fertility will take.

The World Population Prospects (2022) said that global fertility is projected to fall from 2.3 children per woman in 2021 to 2.1 in 2050.

Increasing longevity:

Overall, significant gains in life expectancy have been achieved in recent years. Globally, life expectancy at birth is expected to rise from 72.8 years in 2019 to 77.2 years in 2050.

International migration:

International migration is a much smaller component of population change than births or deaths. However, in some countries and areas, the impact of migration on population size is significant.

Between 2010 and 2021, seventeen countries or areas will see a net inflow of more than one million migrants, while ten countries will see a net outflow of a similar magnitude.
The Agitators belonging to various student bodies have called for a bandh today over the demand of 100 percent reservation for local people in Jharkhand government jobs.

The plan for bandh was rescheduled to 19 April by the Jharkhand State Students Union (JSSU), an umbrella body of the majority of students' associations in wake of the demise of state Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto.

The call for bandh came after the state government on 3 March announced amendments to various rules related to Jharkhand Staff Selection Commission (JSSC) examinations. The students claim that the government had earlier promised to provide employment on the basis of the 1932 khatiyan. But, the amendments point towards the pre-2016 employment policy provisioning a 60-40 ratio which is not acceptable to student unions.

Student leader Devendra Mahto said the agitators will not rest till their demands are fulfilled. Protesters urged all to support their bandh by not opening shops and running buses.

Many schools will remain closed today, while the Jharkhand Academic Council's 11th board university exams have been cancelled. During this time, emergency services will remain open.

As per the LiveHindustan report, in view of security, more than 2500 police force has been deployed in Ranchi.

Mahto claimed the government had promised an employment policy based on the 1932 'khatiyan' (land settlement) but instead, it introduced a pre-2016 employment policy, under which 60 percent of the seats will be reserved for underprivileged students while 40 percent will remain open for all. Making 1932 the cut-off year for the domicile policy will help descendants of people living in Jharkhand prior to that year get jobs.

What is the 60:40 formula that students are opposing?

In the new employment policy which was notified in March 2023, the government introduced a 60:40 formula meaning, the quota level would go up to 60 percent while 40 percent would remain open, but aspirants might be asked to give a declaration about their domicile

Earlier on Tuesday, agitators took out a torchlight procession in Ranchi to meet their demands. The procession was taken out as part of the students' 72-hour agitation over the issue. They also gathered near Jaipal Singh Stadium and took out the torchlight procession to Albert Ekka Chowk. Prior to that on Monday, the protesters attempted to gherao Chief Minister Hemanta Soren's residence but the police stopped them ahead of the spot, prompting them to take other routes to assemble near Sidhu-Kanhu Park close to the CM's house.

(With inputs from agencies)
Google Inc, which is among the world's top-5 companies by value, is gradually cutting back employee benefits as per reports by international media.

Google employees have revealed how the tech giant has discontinued several benefits which they used to enjoy a few years ago.

According to a report by Business Insider, Google is cutting back its cafe opening hours. The company has also extended the duration of the replacement of devices, including laptops.

An engineer, who has worked at Google for around 15 years told Business Insider that, "slowly the perks have been going away. They were being stripped down gradually".

Highlighting some of the benefits that have been cut temporarily are--free massage, and the closure of campus shuttle buses and fitness centers.

Google was a trailblazer in high-quality corporate catering but has now pared back food options in recent years.

A laid-off employee from Google said, "Food was the greatest perk at Google. He said that Google's food budgets were "scaled back" towards the end of the 2010s. Another laid-off Google Cloud sales engineer said that food options Google offered at its Cambridge, Boston office were "significantly reduced from their pre-pandemic heights," with little variation between weeks.

However, some employees disagreed and added that food at their offices was still high quality.

Apart from food, Google has curbed spending on employee travel, restricting it to "business critical" trips only.

As per the statements by other laid-off employees, Google also cut spending on merchandise. A former technical program manager at Google said, " I got a really cheap jacket and backpack" when she joined Google in 2022.

One of the biggest changes Google has made over the years was cutting back on holiday gifts and parties. Some staff said that Google offered them phones from the company.

Over time, Google started to replace the gadgets and cash bonuses with $400 donations to a charity of their choice, said Google staff.

The report of Google's cost-cutting has come after the company announced the mass layoff of around 12,000 workers, accounting for 6% of its workforce, and has since been tweaking other operations in a bid to save cash.
Former Congress chief Rahul Gandhi, who was recently stripped of his Lok Sabha membership, visited Delhi's Matia Mahal market and the Bengali market on Tuesday and treated himself to popular dishes of these areas.

He visited a famous "sharbat" vendor in the Matia Mahal area and other eateries. The Congress leader treated himself to fruits and also had a taste of "golgappas" at Nathu sweets at the Bengali market.

A large crowd gathered around the Congress leader in old Delhi. The people followed him around in the narrow streets and even raised slogans.

In pics: Rahul Gandhi seen in Old Delhi

Delhi | Congress leader Rahul Gandhi visited Old Delhi today evening. pic.twitter.com/WUdDkbJx1f  ANI (@ANI) April 18, 2023

The Congress leader has returned to the national capital after two days of campaigning in poll-bound Karnataka.

Earlier on Sunday, Rahul Gandhi shared photos of enjoying ice cream at a Nandini milk shop during his visit to Karnataka. "Sharing a picture on Twitter, he wrote, Karnatakas Pride - NANDINI is the best!"

His move came in the wake of the state party leaders throwing their weight behind the homegrown dairy brand, amidst fears of its takeover by Gujarat's Amul. Opposition parties have been latching on the Amul vs Nandini row in the poll-bound state and the leaders of the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) have been making statements that the Amul is not entering the state. Amul had recently announced that it will sell dairy products in Bengaluru following which Opposition Congress and the JD(S) expressed their protest.

After his conviction by a Surat court in a defamation case, Rahul Gandhi was recently disqualified as an MP . On March 23, the court had sentenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi to two years in jail in a 2019 criminal defamation case filed against him over his why all thieves have Modi surname" remarks. The court also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court. The next day, he was disqualified as a member of the Lok Sabha.
As the Supreme Court continues to hear petitions demanding legal recognition of same-sex marriages for the second day on Wednesday, Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud is in midst of a Twitter storm for the observations he made during the first day of the hearing.

The five-judge bench on Tuesday affirmed that the issue of same-sex marriage is complex and CJI Chandrachud noted that the "notion of a man and a woman is not an absolute based on genitals."

It is not the question of what your genitals are. It is far more complex, that's the point. So, even when the Special Marriage Act says man and woman, the very notion of a man and a woman is not an absolute based on genitals," CJI Chandrachud said. The bench comprised Justices SK Kaul, SR Bhat, Hima Kohli, and PS Narasimha.

After the observations, the Chief Justice of India is facing a backlash on Twitter with social media users brutally targeting him for his observations.

Here's how Twitter users are targeting CJI DY Chandrachud:

Honorable #cjidychandrachud Since there is no absolute concept of a man or an absolute concept of a woman at all, can a male body imbued by female psychological instincts travel in Ladies Compartment without fear or punishment??," one user said.

Honorable #cjidychandrachud



Since there is no absolute concept of a man or an absolute concept of a woman at all, can a male body imbued by female psychological instincts travel in Ladies Compartment without fear or punishment??#SupremeCourtofIndia pic.twitter.com/3GJ7SHxPyb  Raman (@SaffronDelhite) April 19, 2023

As if world is short of problems, so now #cjidychandrachud like are creating new. What does he have to say about, Gender based reservation? Gender based rituals? etcAlso, wasn't it #SupremeCourtofIndia that talked about having more WOMEN in supreme court?."

As if world is short of problems, so now #cjidychandrachud like are creating new.



What does he have to say about,

Gender based reservation?

Gender based rituals? etc...



Also, wasn't it #SupremeCourtofIndia that talked about having more WOMEN in supreme court? pic.twitter.com/aSd3yAzQUk  Candiding (@DeeptiPxo) April 19, 2023

#Science died a thousand deaths today. Uselessly tried to define the sex based on genitals for so many years...But here we are! It means there is no exact definition of a male and a female! #SupremeCourt ne kaha hai to thik hi hoga, #cjidychandrachud #RIPScience," another user said.

#Science died a thousand deaths today. Uselessly tried to define the sex based on genitals for so many years...But here we are!

It means there is no exact definition of a male and a female!#SupremeCourt ne kaha hai to thik hi hoga #cjidychandrachud #RIPScience pic.twitter.com/u2Egvtdtqq  Nakul Chaturvedi (@NakulChaturved7) April 18, 2023

The five-judge bench of the Supreme Court started hearing the case of same-sex marriage on Tuesday after the apex court referred at least 15 petitions on the matter to a larger bench for an authoritative decision last month by a CJI-led bench, who called it a "very seminal issue".

On Wednesday, Centre filed a fresh affidavit in Supreme Court and asked for the opinions of state and union territories on the matter. This came as the Centre has expressed its opposition to the idea of granting legal status to same-sex marriage and called the petitions as reflecting "urban elitist views for the purpose of social acceptance".
Supreme Court has begun the Day 2 hearing arguments for granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages on Wednesday. The crucial case will decide the fate of marital and allied rights for lesbian and gay couples in the 1.4 billion-democratic country.

Its unclear how long the Supreme Court will take to decide the case, which addresses what its called a seminal" issue of great importance.

The bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha, commenced hearing for the second day on the batch of pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriage.

The Centre today urged the Court that all states and Union Territories be made parties to the proceedings on the pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages.

Catch all the LIVE updates on Livemint:

-Court hearing will resume after lunch break

-'Marriage equality will remove next brick of exclusion,' Singhvi

LGBT+ people need protection from both the State as well as non-state actors," and added marriage equality will remove the next brick of exclusion, reducing the stigma around the community.

-Heart of this case is 'Right to Choose': Singhvi

Senior advocate Sighvi in his argument said that the heart of the same-sex marriage case is the 'right to choose' and the 'heart of the matter is marital relationship...regardless of gender or gender identity".

"Navtej was momentous and it was little done in vast undone and this case is significantly done. This case is removing the next brick of discrimination," he added.

-Singhvi says, 'will finish by tomorrow lunch time' ; CJI asks to 'wrap it by today'

I will not repeat 95% of submissions made by Mr Rohatgi. I will finish by tomorrow lunch time, Singhvi said.

-Rohatgi wraps up his arguments, Abhishek Manu Singhvi speaks

Lawyer Rohatgi wrapped up his arguments in the hearing of same-sex marriage in the Supreme Court. Senior advocate AM Singhvi begins his submissions in the case.

-Nobody can deny full and equal citizenship: Rohatgi

" If a man's fundamental right is affected he has a right to come to this court. Nobody can deny full and equal citizenship- it can't be sans marriage, sans family, sans the respect of marriage, and we'll forever be treated as those people".

- Rights being clouded by the majority: Rohatgi on same-sex marriage recognition

Mukul Rohatgi added, "32 itself is a fundamental right. If I have a right and that right is being clouded by the majority or by the state accepting the majority as correct, I have a right to come to this court and this court will fail its duty if it fails to remedy it & says go to parliament. Sometimes the law takes the lead, and sometimes society takes the lead. The power, jurisdiction, obligation, and responsibility of this court are only cast on this court. Even the HC doesn't have that power. If one man's fundamental right is affected, he has a right to come to this court".

- For hundreds of years, homosexuality depicted on walls for thousands of years: Rohatgi

If you go back to Indian texts, hundreds of years, these acts (homosexuality) were depicted on walls for thousands of years. That remained the concept of morality. Our morality was very different, far more advanced, not Victorian, not stereotyped, not stigmatised in this form! But then it changed. The British period was stuck because they made the laws. They conquered the land. Those laws were imposed on us. That is how the shifting sands of time changed us".

-'Struggles won't end...but if we succeed,' Rohatgi on legalisation of same-sex marriage

Defending same-sex marriages in India, senior advocate Rohatgi stated, "I'm not saying that all struggles will end. But I'm saying that if we succeed we should get an explicit declaration. He said all consequences flowing from the registration of a marriage of a heterosexual couple must also flow to same-sex marriage.

-'US also conservative': Rohatgi

Rohatgi said that what India was during the Mughal era or British era, those laws or morals need to be imposed today".

He added, "In the US also, a large part of the society is also very conservative. In the recent past, they have gone back on abortions! It's not that they're very much ahead- the red necks as they're called. They're very conservative".

- Mukul Rohatgi's key remarks:

Buried under majority: Rohatgi told the court, "We are being buried under the pressure of the majority...It is not the law but it is the mindset which is bothering us in daily life".

Rohatgi told the court, "We are being buried under the pressure of the majority...It is not the law but it is the mindset which is bothering us in daily life". Society accepts what the law is: Citing the example of the Widow Remarriage Act, he said, "We need to push the society to acknowledge us as equals in all respect because the constitution says so and the moral authority of this court is there. This court enjoys public confidence. The decrees will be violated if people do not have confidence. whether parliament follows the law or it does not, the society will follow the law laid down".

Citing the example of the Widow Remarriage Act, he said, "We need to push the society to acknowledge us as equals in all respect because the constitution says so and the moral authority of this court is there. This court enjoys public confidence. The decrees will be violated if people do not have confidence. whether parliament follows the law or it does not, the society will follow the law laid down". Cannot stop annulling Sec 377: "This court cannot stop at annulling section 377 but grant us equal rights to marry like heterosexual couples so that we can live in a society with dignity," Rohatgi added.

- Senior Advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing the LGBTQ community responded to Mehta saying, "I am challenging a central law and merely because a subject is in the concurrent list it does mean states have to be joined.. insolvency was challenged before this court and that was in the concurrent list as well but states were not joined".

He added, "The letter was issued yesterday and notice was issued 5 months ago.. this could have been done earlier".

- Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Central govt said, "Before the petitioners start, I have placed one document on record. In continuation of my request that states be heard. Union of India has written to all Chief Secretaries that their views could be given"

-The government has filed a fresh affidavit before the apex court in the same-sex marriage case seeking directions to add all states and union territories as parties to the case. According to the Centre, any decision on the present issues without making States a party and without specifically obtaining their opinion on the present issue would render the present adversarial exercise incomplete and truncated.

-Centre tells SC it issued letter on April 18 to states inviting comments on seminal issue raised in pleas on same-sex marriages.
NEW DELHI : Union Home Minister Amit Shah will chair a meeting of the Head of Departments of Member-States of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), dealing with the Prevention and Elimination of Emergency Situations in New Delhi on 20 April.

Shah will also hold bilateral meetings with the ministers of some of the SCO member states, on the sidelines of the SCO meeting.

Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India has been actively participating in SCO and providing substantial support to various mechanisms in the forum. Since its accession as a full - fledged Member State in 2017, India has maintained an active engagement with the organization. India is focusing on initiating proposals for mutual benefit of SCO member states, observers and dialogue partners.

During the meeting of Heads of Departments of SCO member states for prevention and elimination of emergency situations, the delegates from SCO Member States will share information relating to the large-scale emergency situations which occurred in their respective territories and the measures taken to handle them," the Ministry of Home Affairs said in a statement.

The delegates will also share their views on the innovative practices, technologies and future prospects for cooperation in the field of prevention and elimination of emergency situations within the framework of the SCO, it added.

Based on these deliberations, the member-states will enhance cooperation in the field of preparedness, emergency response and to jointly mitigate the impact arising out of natural and man-made disasters within the framework of the SCO.

The participants will also discuss and approve the action plan for the implementation of the agreement between the SCO member states on cooperation in providing assistance in the elimination of emergency situation in 2023-2025.

The Action plan will contribute to stepping up cooperation in dealing with prevention and elimination of emergency situations among SCO member-states.

India assumed the rotating presidency of the SCO at the 2022 SCO Summit held in Samarkand (Uzbekistan). As the current Chair, India will host the next Summit of the council of Heads of State this year.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is a well-known figure in the tech community, having been appointed as the CEO of the company in 2011 after the death of its founder Steve Jobs. Cook had previously worked at Apple as its Chief Operating Officer under Jobs, and played a crucial role in helping the company become one of the most valuable in the world. Here is all you need to know about Cook and why is he popular among tech enthusiast

Helped Apple double its revenue

Cook was born in Alabama, United States, and worked for IBM for 12 years before joining Apple. He has revealed that he agreed to join the company after meeting Steve Jobs, and has since helped the company to double its revenue and profit. Currently, Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world, with a net worth of over $2 trillion.

He keeps one habit of Jobs alive

Though Jobs and Cook have different management styles. There is one habit Cook has maintained all this time that he learned from Jobs. Every Monday at 9 a.m., Cook meets with the top executives at Apple--something Jobs started.

Cook's net worth is around $1.8 billion

Cook's net worth is estimated to be around $1.8 billion, according to Forbes. He owns more than 3 million shares in Apple, which is less than a 1% stake, but has already sold hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of shares over the years.

First CEO of Fortune 500 company to declare he is gay

Cook came out as gay in 2014, making him the first CEO of a Fortune 500 company to publicly do so.

Offered a portion of his liver to Jobs

Cook and Steve Jobs shared a rare blood type and in 2009, Cook offered a portion of his liver to Jobs. To which Jobs responded by yelling, "I'll never let you do that. I'll never do that."

One of the reasons for Cook's recent popularity in India is his visit to the country to open the company's first official retail store in Mumbai. During his visit, he was also seen meeting with Mukesh Ambani's children, Akash and Isha, as well as enjoying popular Indian snacks with Bollywood stars Madhuri Dixit and Neha Dhupia. He is also expected to meet with Indian PM Narendra Modi before the opening of the Apple retail store in Delhi.
The External Affairs Minister of India, Dr S Jaishankar, and former Chief Minister of Karnataka, Siddaramaiah, engaged in a Twitter spat over the fate of Indian citizens stranded in Sudan. Siddaramaiah had tweeted urging the Prime Minister, Home Minister, External Affairs Minister, and Karnataka Chief Minister to intervene and ensure the safe return of 31 members of the Hakki Pikki tribe, who were reportedly stranded in the troubled country. He also expressed condolences for the loss of one Indian and 60 others in the ongoing civil war in Sudan.

Jaishankar replied to Siddaramaiah's tweet, expressing his disgust at the politicisation of the issue, and stating that the Embassy of India in Khartoum had been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan since the fighting started on April 14th.

Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; dont do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan," MEA Jaishankar replied to Siddaramaiahs appeal.

Siddaramaiah hit back at Jaishankar, calling on him to provide help or point to someone who could. Siddaramaiah wrote that he had appealed to Jaishankar because of the latters designation. If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back," the former chief minister of Karnataka said.

Since you are the External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar I have appealed you for help.



If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back. https://t.co/B21Lndvxit  Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 18, 2023

What is happening in Sudan?

Sudan is facing its own power struggle, with General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the armed forces commander, pitted against General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group. The fighting between rival factions has led to the deaths of at least 185 people and left a further 1,800 injured, according to the United Nations special representative for Sudan.

The ongoing civil war in Sudan has created a dangerous environment for its citizens and foreigners alike, with reports of widespread violence and instability. The fate of those stranded in Sudan remains uncertain, and the Twitter spat between Indian politicians highlights the need for a coordinated and swift response to ensure the safety of those affected by the conflict.
New Delhi: Union minister Jitendra Singh on Wednesday emphasized the pivotal role of young people in shaping India by 2047, when the nation celebrates its centennial of Independence.

Speaking at the Youth 20 Consultation event, Singh stressed the importance of the younger generation in realizing Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a 'New India' by the country's centenary of independence in 2047.

The minister highlighted 2023 as a critical year for India as it holds the G20 presidency and has achieved a governance model that defies diminishing returns, growing stronger with each challenge. Singh pointed out the interrelationship between Modi's governance in 2023 and the nation's youth as a key factor in the country's progress.

Singh praised Modi's commitment to the betterment of youth, empowerment of women, and upliftment of the poor since his election in 2014. Under Modi's leadership, the government has implemented a range of measures to improve transparency, accountability, and citizen participation, including the abolition of the attestation of certificates by gazetted officers and interviews in job recruitment.

The minister also noted the government's shift to the Centralized Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS), resulting in a tenfold increase in annual grievances received compared to the previous government. This change demonstrates the administration's dedication to time-bound redressal and winning public confidence.
Developing more sustainable aviation fuel is key to reducing the airline industrys carbon footprint  but customers will end up footing the bill in airfare prices, according to Willie Walsh, director general of the International Air Transport Association.

Speaking on Wednesday at a panel at the Bloomberg New Economy Gateway Europe conference outside Dublin, Walsh said that widespread adoption of sustainable fuels will account for about 65% of the reduction needed for the industry to reach its stated goal of net zero emissions by 2050.

Yet as the fuels cost many multiples more than the standard kerosene now used to power jets, very little is being produced, and its not clear who will pay. The IATA estimates that the worldwide tab for decarbonizing aviation will top $1 trillion.

That will have to be borne by consumers, theres just no way around it," Walsh said.

At the same time, getting the right policy in place is important," he added. Walsh lauded the US approach of using incentives to stimulate production, and criticized the European strategy of using a regulatory stick."

Higher ticket prices will be required to fund the new initiatives, Walsh added. The International Council on Clean Transportation predicts sustainability measures will drive up ticket prices by 22% by 2050 compared to where they would otherwise stand, said Rachel Muncrief, deputy director of the group, which provides technical analysis to environmental regulators.

UK industry group Sustainable Aviation has cautioned that although the number of airline travelers will rise to almost 250 million by 2050, the cost of decarbonizing aviation will inevitably reduce passenger demand." The group calculated that about 14% of an anticipated reduction in emissions will come from fewer fliers.

The transition to sustainable fuels also brings other challenges. While SAFs have the advantage of being usable by current-generation aircraft engines and existing airport infrastructure, biomass-based fuels are the only ones being produced now, and in limited quantities. There is also a lack of agricultural land for growing the ingredients.

Not all biomass is created equal," Muncrief said. While so-called e-kerosene" is a cleaner option, for example, it also requires more time to develop.

Hydrogen-based fuels are seen as the silver bullet," but at the moment there arent enough yet available, said Rachael Everard, sustainability chief at jet-engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc. To come up with a unified energy infrastructure for the airline industry, Everard said that all players, including governments, need to be aligned.
China's expansion of its naval power and the aggressive posture it has adopted in the Indo-Pacific region will be a significant topic of discussion at the upcoming G-7 and QUAD summits.

Chinese research and survey vessels are persisting in their ocean mapping operations around the 90-degree ridge region, following the disclosure of Mandarin names for 19 sea-bed features in the Indian Ocean. The aim is to prepare for future submarine incursions into the Indo-Pacific.

Chinese research vessels and strategic satellite tracking ships have been operating in the Indian Ocean region over the last 10 years. The vessels have been conducting ocean bed mapping, with the intention of creating an alternative sea route via Lombok, Ombai-Wetar straits of Indonesia to reach the eastern shores of Africa through the South Indian Ocean route.

Chinese nuclear submarines can enter the Indian Ocean via these straits without giving up their position, which presents a potential security threat to democratic powers such as India, Australia and Japan.

The Chinese research and survey vessel, Hai Yang Shi You 760, completed its four-month-long ocean bed mapping mission in the Indian Ocean and crossed the Malacca Straits on April 13. The vessel is currently located off the coast of Singapore and is en route to the Chinese port of Zhangjiang, having replenished its supplies at the Indonesian port of Balikpapan, according to the marine traffic website.

According to reports, the PLA Navy is now the biggest naval force on the planet in size and numbers, and China is expanding its global footprint through sea-power. There are concerns that Chinese carrier strike forces may start patrolling the Indo-Pacific by 2025.

China's engagement of island nations off the eastern coast of Africa by co-opting them in Belt Road Initiative and gifting off-shore patrol vessels in the name of maritime security is also noted. Nations on Africas eastern seaboard, including South Africa, Djibouti, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos, are under the economic levers of Beijing, which adds to the concerns over maritime security in the Indo-Pacific.

The rising clout of China is attributed to President Xi Jinping's undisputed leadership of the Communist Party of China. The authoritarian Middle-Kingdom's expansion can only be countered by faster decision-making from democratic powers.
Like many other European countries, the United Kingdom is also facing an acute labour shortage. And to address this, the UK Government has launched a free job portal to attract foreign workers from around the world. Currently, it lists close to 1.7 lakh jobs across all fields, including tech. Here is all you need to know about how to apply.

The portal, which has over 168,081 job listings across all fields and professions, is open to applicants from anywhere.

Apart from tech, vacancy is also there in the teaching, construction, hotel industry etc.

Filters are available to help job seekers find opportunities in various regions throughout the UK.

This initiative is expected to help address the current labor shortage in the country and provide opportunities for individuals seeking employment in the UK.

UK issued 2,836,490 visas in 2022

In 2022, the United Kingdom issued 2,836,490 visas, and 25% of those visas went to Indian nationals, making India the top country to which the UK issued the most visas. This trend is expected to continue in 2023, as the UK government has taken measures to encourage migration. The India-UK Young Professionals Scheme is a prime example of this initiative, which aims to attract young graduates from India to live, study, travel, and work in the UK for up to two years. This program allows for cultural exchange and contributes expertise to both economies.

The eligibility criteria for the scheme seem reasonable, requiring applicants to have a bachelor's degree or above and a minimum amount of savings. Applicants must not have any serious criminal convictions and must meet the English language requirement, which ensures that they can integrate into UK society and positively contribute to the economy. The British High Commissioner to India, Alex Ellis, praised the scheme and called it an "excellent opportunity for India's brightest young people."

Despite the talk of stricter immigration policies, the UK government's efforts to invite more migrants are a positive step towards strengthening the relationship between India and the UK. The record number of student visas and the 130% increase in work visas issued to Indian nationals in 2021 are indicative of the UK's growing interest in Indian talent. Overall, the India-UK Young Professionals Scheme is expected to further enhance the relationship between the two nations while also benefiting both economies.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Sanchari Ghosh Sanchari Ghosh is a Deputy Chief Content Producer with LiveMint. She covers news, human interest, epidemiology and personal finance stories Read more from this author
A day after agreeing to a cease-fire, the two forces, which turned Sudan into a battleground for power, continued launching attacks against each other on Wednesday. As the heavy gunfire and bomb attacks continued to rattle Khartoun, city residents are left to survive without water and electricity.

In Sudan's Khartoum, people are struggling hard to quench their thirst and forced to live under the darkness due to a power cut. In a recent BBC report, a resident of Khartoum, said that she has completely run out of drinking water.

"This morning we ran out," Duaa Tariq said on Tuesday. The lady was saving one bottle exclusively for her two-year-old child.

All the efforts to bring the two forces to a consensus of halting the battle for a day, went in vain when both sides began firing and attacking each other on Wednesday.

RSF looting food and water from people in Khartoum

There are also reports of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force looting in some of the residential areas of the capital. The residents have shared their encounters with RSF personnel.

People have said that RSF militia had been going home-to-home in the neighborhood demanding water and food, reported BBC. Notably, the area from where residents are facing harassment from RSF militia is the one where the EU's ambassador Aidan O'Hara was assaulted at his home. Later, he informed that he was not seriously injured.

Recounting the horror of armed men, a local tea vendor, Mahasen Ali, said, They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you," reported AP.

She also added that many have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings.

Hospitals running out of medicine and food

Amid the ongoing clashes between Sudan Army and RSF, it has become for hospitals and other medical aid providers to treat injured people due to supply shortages. Many doctors and hospitals have complained that they are running out of essential medicines and intravenous fluids. The current situation is nothing less than a nightmare for people who are already suffering from health illnesses like cancer, diabetes, HIV, etc. More than 10 hospitals have been destroyed amid clashes in the city.

It has become difficult for Khartoum's Al-Zara Hospital to treat its patients under the scarcity of medicine and even food. The situation is deteriorating with the rising influx of patients from another hospital which came under attack, a female patient of the hospital told BBC on Monday.

The hospitals are running out of everyday essentials like blood bags, oxygen, intravenous fluids, surgical kits, etc.

Airstrikes and artillery attacks hinder humanitarian support

The international airport of the city was completely damaged by RSF after it took control of it last week. This has made it difficult for international organisations like WHO, Red Cross to send aid to the battle-struck area.

The Red Cross Society is receiving multiple calls for help from people trapped in their homes by the fighting. Khartoum has an estimated population of 10 million residents.

(With agency inputs)
New Delhi: The Indian government is coordinating with its diplomatic partners like the US, the UK, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia to ensure the safety of its nationals in crisis-hit Sudan, according to persons aware of the matter.

The Indian community in Sudan is estimated to be 4,000 strong, of which 1,500 have been settled in the country for decades.

Tensions remain high in Sudan as deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group have continued for the last six days that has reportedly left around 100 people dead.

On Sunday, an Indian national was killed in the streets of Khartoum, Sudans capital as violence escalated. According to the Indian Embassy in Sudan, Kerala-native Albert Augestine was hit by a stray bullet in Khartoum.

According to the persons cited above, foreign minister Jaishankar has spoken to counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE to ensure the safety of Indian citizens on the ground. New Delhi is also coordinating closely with the US and the UK through its ambassadors in those countries.

Situation on the street is very tense and movement is very risky at this stage. Our priority is safety of movement and well being of individuals wherever they are located," said the persons cited above.

Two figures are central to the deadly in-fighting that is now playing out on the streets of Sudan. Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who seized power in a coup in 2021, is clashing with his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The power struggle between the two has shaken the country, with the accompanying violence killing an estimated 200 people so far.

Meanwhile, New Delhi and its embassy in Khartoum have moved to secure the safety of Indian nationals. The ministry of external affairs has set up a control room at its headquarters in New Delhi to monitor the situation. For its part, the embassy in Khartoum has put out advisories advising Indian nationals to remain indoors and ration food.
A German photographer who won the Sony World Photography Award 2023, has refused to accept the same, stating that he was being a cheeky monkey and that he has generated the prize winning image using artificial intelligence (AI) in order to spark a debate.

The photographer Boris Eldagsen refused to accept the SONY World Photography 2023 award. He had won the award in the creative open category.

The winning photograph has two women possibly from two different generation. The black and white photo shows one leaning on the other, while the seemingly younger female in the front looks up.

In a statement on his website, Eldagsen, who studied photography and visual arts at the Art Academy of Mainz, conceptual art and intermedia at the Academy of Fine Arts in Prague, and fine art at the Sarojini Naidu School of Arts and Communication in Hyderabad, said he applied as a cheeky monkey" to find out if competitions would be prepared for AI images to enter. They are not," he added.

We, the photo world, need an open discussion," said Eldagsen. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter  or would this be a mistake?

With my refusal of the award I hope to speed up this debate."

He said this was a historic moment" as it was the first time an AI image had won a prestigious international photography competition, adding: How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated? Something about this doesnt feel right, does it?

AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award."

Eldagsen suggested donating the prize to a photo festival hosted in Odesa, Ukraine.

A spokesperson for the World Photography Organisation said Eldagsen had confirmed the co-creation" of the image using AI to them before he was announced as the winner.

Images generated with AI tool Midjourney has taken the world by storm, and probably left them in utter confusion.

From billionaires imagines in poorer settings, to grand-old senior skateboarding with ease, the essentially realistic images sure has taken internet on a rather bumpy ride.

Freedom fighters taking a selfie to kings and rulers re-imagined, an AI tool has possibly blurred the boundary and rendered creativity limitless.

The stunt comes at a time of intense debate over the use and implications of AI with some issuing apocalyptic warnings that the technology is on the brink of irreversibly damaging the human experience.
You may have experienced some signs youre in love. Can't get someone out of your head? Daydreaming about them when you should be working? Imagining your futures together? These dizzying thoughts are just a few of the telltale signs of love.

In fact, scientists have pinned down exactly what it means to "fall in love." Researchers have found that the brain of a person in love looks very different from one experiencing mere lust, and it's also unlike the brain of someone in a long-term, committed relationship. Studies led by Helen Fisher (opens in new tab), an anthropologist at Rutgers University and one of the leading experts on the biological basis of love, have revealed that the brain's "in love" phase is a unique and well-defined period of time. Here are 13 telltale signs you're in love.

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN MEDICALLY REVIEWED BY THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN MEDICALLY REVIEWED BY Yasmine S. Ali, MD Social Links Navigation MD, MSCI, FACC, FACP Yasmine S. Ali MD is an award-winning physician writer who has published across multiple genres and media. She is President of LastSky Writing, LLC, and has 25 years of experience in medical writing, editing, and reviewing, across a broad range of health topics and medical conditions. Dr. Ali is board certified in general internal medicine and the subspecialty of cardiovascular disease. She is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology (FACC) and a Fellow of the American College of Physicians (FACP).

Thinking this one's special

When you're in love, more dopamine is released in the brain. (Image credit: jirawut seepukdee via Getty Images)

When you're in love, you begin to think your beloved is unique. The belief is coupled with an inability to feel romantic passion for anyone else. According to a 2017 article in the journal Archives of Sexual Behavior (opens in new tab), this monogamy results from elevated levels of central dopamine  a chemical involved in attention and focus  in your brain .

Focusing on the positive

Being in love can alter the focus of a person's thoughts. (Image credit: Catherine Falls Commercial via Getty Images)

People who are truly in love tend to focus on the positive qualities of their beloved, while overlooking his or her negative traits. According to the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (opens in new tab), relationships are usually more successful when partners are idealized.

Those who are in love also focus on trivial events and objects that remind them of their loved one, daydreaming about these precious little moments and mementos. According to research published in 2013 in the journal Motivation and Emotion (opens in new tab), being in love prevents people from focusing on other information.

This focused attention is also thought to result from elevated levels of central dopamine, as well as a spike in central norepinephrine, a chemical associated with increased memory in the presence of new stimuli.

Emotional instability

Those in love can experience a range of emotions. (Image credit: Getty Images)

As is well known, falling in love often leads to emotional and physiological instability. You bounce between exhilaration, euphoria, increased energy, sleeplessness, loss of appetite, trembling, a racing heart and accelerated breathing, as well as anxiety, panic and feelings of despair when your relationship suffers even the smallest setback.

When extreme, these mood swings parallel the behavior of drug addicts, according to a 2017 article in the journal Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology (opens in new tab). And indeed, when in-love people are shown pictures of their loved ones, it fires up the same regions of the brain that activate when a drug addict takes a "hit". According to Fisher (opens in new tab), being in love is a form of addiction and when this is taken away from someone they can experience "withdrawals and relapse".

Intensifying attraction

Romantic attraction is associated with central dopamine (Image credit: Tara Moore via Getty Images)

Going through some sort of adversity with another person tends to intensify romantic attraction, according to Fishers research. Central dopamine may be responsible for this reaction, too, because research shows that when a reward is delayed, dopamine-producing neurons in the mid-brain region become more productive.

Intrusive thinking

Intrusive thinking can come in many forms. (Image credit: Getty)

People who are in love report that they spend, on average, more than 85 percent of their waking hours musing over their "love object," according to Fisher. Intrusive thinking, as this form of obsessive behavior is called, may result from decreased levels of central serotonin in the brain, a condition that has been associated with obsessive behavior previously. (Obsessive-compulsive disorder is treated with serotonin-reuptake inhibitors.)

According to a 2012 study published in the Journal of Psychophysiology (opens in new tab), men who are in love have lower serotonin levels than men who are not, while the opposite applies to women. The men and women who were in love were found to be thinking about their loved one for around 65 percent of the time they were awake.

Emotional dependency

People have evolved to show signs of emotional dependency in a relationship. (Image credit: Hinterhaus Productions via Getty Images)

People in love regularly exhibit signs of emotional dependency on their relationship, including possessiveness, jealousy, fear of rejection, and separation anxiety. For instance, Fisher and her colleagues looked at the brains of individuals viewing photos of a rejected loved one, or someone they were still in love with after being rejected by that person.

The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) showed activation in several brain areas, including forebrain areas like the cingulate gyrus that have been shown to play a role in cocaine cravings. "Activation of areas involved in cocaine addiction may help explain the obsessive behaviors associated with rejection in love," the researchers wrote in 2010 in the Journal of Neurophysiology (opens in new tab).

Planning a future

The hormone oxytocin creates bonds between people. (Image credit: Rawpixel via Getty Images)

Longing for emotional union with a beloved, seeking out ways to get closer and day-dreaming about a future together are also signs of someone in love. According to an article by Harvard University (opens in new tab), when serotonin levels begin to return to normal levels, the hormone oxytocin increases in the body. This neurotransmitter is associated with creating more serious relationships.

Lucy Brown, a neuroscientist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, says this drive to be with another person is sort of like our drive toward water and other things we need to survive.

"Functional MRI studies show that primitive neural systems underlying drive, reward recognition and euphoria are active in almost everyone when they look at the face of their beloved and think loving thoughts. This puts romantic love in the company of survival systems, like those that make us hungry or thirsty," Brown told Live Science.

"I think of romantic love as part of the human reproductive strategy. It helps us form pair-bonds, which help us survive. We were built to experience the magic of love and to be driven toward another"

Feelings of empathy

Feeling of empathy are heightened when in love. (Image credit: fizkes via Getty Images)

People who are in love generally feel a powerful sense of empathy toward their beloved, feeling the other person's pain as their own and being willing to sacrifice anything for the other person.

In Fishers study, the scientists discovered significant patterns in the brain activity of people who were in love. Their mirror neurons, which are linked to feelings of empathy, were more active in people who were in a long-term, loving relationship.

Aligning interests

People in love may be "brain-chemical" opposites (Image credit: Getty)

Falling in love can result in someone reordering their daily priorities to align with those of their beloved. While some people may attempt to be more like a loved one, another of Fisher's studies, presented in 2013 at the "Being Human" conference, found that people are attracted to their opposites, at least their "brain-chemical" opposites.

For instance, her research found that people with so-called testosterone -dominant personalities (highly analytical, competitive and emotionally contained) were often drawn to mates with personalities linked to high estrogen and oxytocin levels  these individuals tended to be "empathetic, nurturing, trusting and prosocial, and introspective, seeking meaning and identity," Fisher said in 2013 (opens in new tab).

Possessive feelings

Strong feelings of attachment is a sign of love. (Image credit: Getty)

Those who are deeply in love often experience sexual desire for their beloved, but there are strong emotional strings attached: The longing for sex is coupled with a desire for sexual exclusivity, and extreme jealousy when the partner is suspected of infidelity. According to the Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, oxytocin is released during sexual activity. This hormone, as mentioned above, creates social bonds and develops trust.

This attachment is thought to have evolved so that an in-love person will compel his or her partner to spurn other suitors, thereby ensuring that the couple's courtship is not interrupted until conception has occurred. According to Fisher this evolved as a biological need, enabling people in romantic relationships to focus [their] mating energy on a particular individual.

Craving an emotional union

An emotional union is often more desirable than a sexual one. (Image credit: Thomas Barwick via Getty Images)

While the desire for sexual union is important to people in love, the craving for emotional union takes precedence. Fishers 2002 study published in Archives of Sexual Behavior found that 64 percent of people in love (the same percentage for both sexes) disagreed with the statement, "Sex is the most important part of my relationship with [my partner]."

Feeling out of control

A lack of control over your feelings is a common sign of love. (Image credit: skynesher via Getty Images)

Fisher and her colleagues found that individuals who report being "in love" commonly say their passion is involuntary and uncontrollable.

For her 1979 book "Love and Limerence," the late psychologist Dorothy Tennov asked 400 men and women in Connecticut to respond to 200 statements on romantic love. Many participants expressed feelings of helplessness, saying their obsession was irrational and involuntary.

According to Fisher, one participant, a business executive in his early 50s wrote this about an office crush, "I am advancing toward the thesis that this attraction for Emily is a kind of biological, instinct-like action that is not under voluntary or logical control. ... It directs me. I try desperately to argue with it, to limit its influence, to channel it (into sex, for example), to deny it, to enjoy it, and, yes, dammit, to make her respond! Even though I know that Emily and I have absolutely no chance of making a life together, the thought of her is an obsession," Fisher reported in 2016 online in Nautilus.

Losing the spark

The dynamic of a relationship can change over time. (Image credit: Jose Luis Pelaez Inc via Getty Images)

Unfortunately, being in love doesn't always last forever and psychologists say that the early euphoric stage lasts no longer than three years, according to Fishers blog. It's an impermanent state that either evolves into a long-term relationship that psychologists call "attachment," or it dissipates, and the relationship dissolves. If there are physical or social barriers inhibiting partners from seeing one another regularly  for example, if the relationship is long-distance  then the "in love" phase generally lasts longer than it would otherwise.

Additional resources

To find out why people crave love and learn more about the research of Helen Fisher, you can watch her TED talk The brain in love (opens in new tab). For further reading about love and the body, the book The Science of Love and Attraction (opens in new tab), written by neuroscientist Dr. Guloglu, explores how and why people love.

Bibliography

"Romantic love: An fMRI study of a neural mechanism for mate choice" The Journal of Comparative Neurology (2005). https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/cne.20772 (opens in new tab)

"Differences in Neural Response to Romantic Stimuli in Monogamous and Non-Monogamous Men". Archives of Sexual Behaviour (2017). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10508-017-1071-9 (opens in new tab)

"The benefits of positive illusions: Idealization and the construction of satisfaction in close relationships". Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (1996). https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1996-01707-007 (opens in new tab)

"Reduced cognitive control in passionate lovers". Leiden, Universiteit (2013). https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131111091355.htm (opens in new tab)

"Addicted to love: What is love addiction and when should it be treated?". Philosophy, Psychiatry and Psychology (2017). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5378292/ (opens in new tab)

"Reward, Addiction, and Emotion Regulation Systems Associated With Rejection in Love". Journal of Neurophysiology (2010). https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.00784.2009 (opens in new tab)
AP

NEW YORK (AP)  JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon must undergo up to two days of questioning by lawyers handling lawsuits over whether the bank can be held liable in financier Jeffrey Epsteins sexual abuse of teenage girls and women, a federal judge said Tuesday.

During a telephone conference with lawyers, Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan ordered Dimon to set aside two days for deposition testimony, though he didnt specify when. He said one day of testimony might be sufficient and lawyers would have to get his approval to continue to a second day.
By Han Kang. Translated by Deborah Smith and Emily Yae Won.

Hogarth. 192 pp. $26

- - -

In high school, I was particularly fond of a serious and attentive Latin teacher who never seemed disturbed by my reluctance to speak during class. Once, on the first day back to school after a break, this teacher showed up with gleaming eyes and a huge smile on her face, more exuberant than I'd ever seen her. Almost transformed. The reason for her present bliss, as she explained it, was that she had spent her break on a program for language scholars where everyone was required to speak Latin at all hours. She described the experience wistfully, as if she'd visited a place that had previously existed only in her dreams. Her voyage was less to a physical destination than a country of the imagination, made up of people who shared this private obsession with an outmoded tongue.

In her fourth novel to be translated from Korean to English, "Greek Lessons," the International Booker Prize-winning writer Han Kang espouses a similar affinity for these territories of syntax and meaning; she also excels at capturing the ways they can be lonely and inaccessible. The novel faintly traces two lives that intersect in a classroom in Seoul: that of an ancient-Greek teacher in his late 30s who is losing the last of his eyesight, and that of his student, a young mother who has recently lost her ability to speak (for the second time in her life), as well as a protracted custody battle over her son.

The teacher, whose story is told through first-person letters and soliloquies, wields his words nostalgically, as if in an effort to preserve some small patch of sunlight in his life. He writes with a murmur of desperation to a woman he once loved, and perhaps still does, taking special care to describe the visual aspects of memories that melt into fantasies: the faces of relatives, flowers blooming through cracked steps, the routes by which one travels home. They met when he was a teenager, shortly after his family moved from Korea to Germany, where he was diagnosed with the creeping blindness that would gradually take hold over the next two decades. Many years later, he has moved back to his homeland.

The book is told in alternating perspectives, and the student's chapters are written at a remove, in the third person. They reveal in subtle scenes of recollection and routine a heartsick person trying to access expression again, without her voice. What she longs to express isn't feelings and ideas, but rather the sensuality of speech as it travels through the body. She marvels at how conversation "moves lungs and throat and tongue and lips, it vibrates the air as it flies to the listener." For her, speaking is a mode of touch, or something "unbearably alive" in its own right.

Han is at her best when focusing on the physicality of language, and readers of her previous work, most notably her acclaimed novel "The Vegetarian," will recognize her flair for depicting a kind of voluptuous disgust. Han writes of the first time the woman begins losing her ability to talk, at the age of 16: "The most agonizing thing was how horrifyingly distinct the words sounded when she opened her mouth and pushed them out one by one."

Why, then, when the woman finds herself at a similar juncture as an adult, does it seem natural to enroll in a classics course? Han does not entirely demystify the student's reasoning, but we are told that she has a "facility for language," that she is undergoing these exercises "to reclaim language of her own volition," that it is not the content of these ancient writings that interests her but their internal structures. Lest any of her readers interpret the woman's story blandly as a positive journey of self-discovery, Han also places her in the hands of an "earnest" therapist who mines her earliest memories and presents "lucid, beautiful conclusions" that spark no enthusiasm or belief in her patient.

More telling than therapy, though, are the ways in which Han leans on Greek philosophy to illuminate her characters. Plato's writings are the subject of these titular Greek lessons, especially his investigations into ideal forms, of which humans see only shadows. Han's protagonists, each in their own ways, conceive of themselves as rummaging among the shadows of ideal writing and speech. The teacher, ever the melancholic, romanticizes ancient Greek as a pinnacle of language that has died and toward which he is still vainly striving. The student is stymied by "language worn ragged over thousands of years. . . . Language worn ragged over the course of her life, by her own tongue and pen."

The prose Han deploys, at once evocative and elliptical, complements her characters' inner torment and alienation. There is a sense of inevitability when at last the protagonists begin, touchingly, to communicate with one another, since they alone embody the ideas and predicaments of the text. Sometimes I wished the characters weren't quite so ripe for metaphor; I wanted their lives to stand for less and for them to exist more.

Omission is often a crafty device in this book, and a virtue throughout Han's body of work. "Greek Lessons," which was originally published in Korea in 2011, demonstrates the breadth of Han's writing style: It begins with the flat, gorgeous brushstrokes of narration reminiscent of "The Vegetarian" and ends with the short, hermetic, prose-poem-style meditations that predominate in her seventh novel, "The White Book." (Han began her writing career as a poet.)

As "Greek Lessons" nears its conclusion, a silence spreads, at once captivating and distancing. Perhaps this silence is an effect of the protagonists growing closer, conversing in their own verbal and nonverbal language, shutting the reader out. Some lingual landscapes don't mint invitations. The reluctance to speak does not disturb them.

- - -

Hannah Gold is a critic and fiction writer. Her most recent work has been published by Harper's, the New Yorker, the New York Review of Books and the Nation.
Following last weeks announcement of proposed new health protections from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for reducing ethylene oxide exposure, Laredo City Council discussed the issue at its Monday night meeting including the reading of a letter from Midwest Sterilization Corporation.

Last weeks announcement from the EPA proposed implementing stricter standards for air emissions and increasing protection for workers exposed to ethylene oxide. The EPA said the proposed changes could reduce these EtO emissions by approximately 80%.

In September of 2022, the EPA held a public meeting at Texas A&M International University outlining the risks to the community from emissions. It said last year that residents living near medical sterilizing plants may face health risks and that Laredo is one of the communities facing the highest risk.

However, the EPA has since said that its previous warning regarding Laredo is no longer current due to commercial sterilizers around the country making improvements or changes to operations that have reduced risks to residents.

Midwest Sterilization Corp. has operated for over 30 years providing sterilization services for medical devices. Its two facilities are located in Laredo and Jackson, Missouri, and they combine for 376,000 square feet of warehouse space with 55,000 cubic feet of sterilization chamber volume.

Midwest Sterilization Corp. was scheduled to attend Mondays City Council meeting to discuss some of these changes, but it was unable to attend and instead sent a letter.

We invited Midwest to come to City Council and inform the public on the status of EtO emissions. Initially they said yes, and they didnt have the right technicians or people to come down, so they postponed for another date, Laredo Mayor Dr. Victor Trevino said. That other date was also postponed, and then a letter was sent to me. Weve been in constant communication with them too so we can keep the public informed to see what theyre doing.

The letter sent to Trevino by Midwest Sterilization Corp. general counsel Mark Dunn was read at the meeting by Laredo communications administrator Noraida Negron.

Below is the contents of the letter in full:

Dear Mayor Trevino,

Thank you for taking the time out of your schedule to speak with me yesterday. As discussed, Midwest cannot attend the April 17 City Council meeting in person but will provide a written update for the record.

An important consideration is the official release of the E.P.A.s long-awaited proposed rule for ethylene oxide emissions from medical device sterilizers which is expected to be released sometime next week. Midwest will require considerable time to review and analyze the proposed rule, but we expect to be in a position to provide an additional update regarding the proposed rule in the near future as well.

As you know, Midwest remains in full compliance with federal and state regulations and even surpasses current regulatory requirements. Nevertheless, we will continue to make voluntary changes to our plant ahead of the implementation of any new regulations in good faith while we continue providing a service that delivers life-saving medical devices to patients across the nation.

We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but we believe the written update will address most major questions related to the upgrades and improvements implemented at the plant in recent years and planned upgrades into the future.

Thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Mark Dunn

--

The letter was written on April 7 prior to the release of the announcement from the EPA. On the day of that announcement, Midwest Sterilization Corp. released the following statement:

Midwest Sterilization Corp. sterilizes life-saving medical devices used in everyday medical procedures and surgeries. The company has been anticipating the proposed EPA rule and working hard to make changes ahead of its release to the public, the statement read. We are currently reviewing the proposed rule to understand its impact on our operations. Its important to note that most of the changes proposed by the EPA, have already been achieved by Midwest, or are currently being implemented.

Midwest has worked diligently to remain in compliance with all state and federal rules and in some cases, exceed them. At the same time, we will continue to do the very important work of sterilizing life-saving medical devices that benefit millions of patients across the nation and in the communities where we work and live.

Trevino expressed confidence that things are heading in the right direction because of steps taken by Midwest Sterilization Corp. and efforts from the City of Laredo, the Rio Grande International Study Center and the Clean Air Laredo Coalition.

This might go to show that because of all these efforts, I think some progress has been made. It looks like its becoming evident, he said after the letter was read.

Sheila Serna -- the Climate Science and Policy Director for the RGISC and a member of the Clean Air Laredo Coalition -- did not share the same confidence. She was representing both organizations at Mondays meeting as a resolution from District VII Councilmember and Mayor Pro Temp Vanessa Perez, cosponsored by District III Councilmember Melissa Cigarroa and District VIII Councilmember Alyssa Cigarroa, and recognized by the City of Laredo, the RGISC and the Clean Air Laredo Coalition for efforts related to ethylene oxide emissions.

I just want to quickly clarify that any statements that have been put out there that say, We are compliant, yes, they are compliant with a completely outdated rule. Now this new rule that has come out is going to crack down on sterilizers, Serna said. It is a good first step. However, just like any other rule, there always needs to be community input. We cant allow only industry to have their say in these rules. That is why the Clean Air Laredo Coalition exists. We want to band together our community.

Serna stressed the need for Laredo to conduct fenceline air monitoring. It is a technology used to measure the air concentration of specific chemicals at the property line of a manufacturing site.

The way the rule is written now, they want them to enclose all of their system so that nothing escapes, but we have to trust but verify, just like anything else we do, she said. I can tell you all that I live in a crystal castle with stained-glass windows, but until you go to my house and see for yourself, you wont know the truth. Thats the same metaphor Im going to use for this. They can tell us, Were going to install the best equipment money can buy, and were investing millions and millions of dollars, but until we verify with that fenceline air monitoring, that is when well know how our community is being affected, how much or how little.

As the organizations were recognized on Monday, Serna said she was encouraged by seeing the impact Laredo has had on a national issue.

I truly feel that because of the efforts of the Clean Air Laredo Coalition, the City of Laredo and this lawsuit the RGISC pushed on the EPA that this rule has come out, she said. Its a true testament to what community efforts and mobilization can do. Im very grateful to the City of Laredo. You all understand this is a public health threat and that our children and future generations are at stake.

Melissa Cigarroa -- a former president of RGISC and a founding member of Clean Air Laredo Coalition -- also said that Laredo plays an important role due to the extent of ethylene oxide usage in the city compared to others around the country.

Even if 99% of these emissions are controlled, it is still an unacceptable amount that is released into our community, she said.

With the EPA accepting comments as it works to take the proposal from a draft to a final rule, Cigarroa agreed with Serna and motioned for City Council to stress to the EPA the need for fenceline monitoring in communities with sterilization facilities. The resolution passed unanimously.

I would like to see if this Council would be amenable to commenting during this comment period to the EPA that fenceline air monitoring is vital to every sterilizer community, especially to ours, so that we can know that the public is protected from the hazards of ethylene oxide, she said. The threshold for what is considered dangerous to public health is 11 parts part billion in the measurement of air that is used by the EPA. Eleven parts per billion is an incredibly small amount of this chemical to be breathed in potentially by the population. That is why it is so important that these emissions are kept as near to zero as can be possible.
U.S. Border Patrol agents discovered 16 migrants inside a stash house in south Laredo, authorities said.

On April 17, agents along with Webb County Precinct 2 Constables Office deputies arrived at an apartment suspected of harboring migrants.

Authorities entered the apartment and encountered 16 migrants. All were determined to be from Mexico and Guatemala. They were processed accordingly.

To report suspicious activity, call the Border Patrol while remaining anonymous at 1-800-343-1994.
A man has been arrested after he was found in possession of 108 slashers used for cockfighting while attempting to go through an international bridge, according to Laredo police.

Jose Jesus Bravo, 47, out of Kearney, Nebraska, was charged with cockfighting, owning equipment.

At about 9:50 p.m. April 5, officers responded to the Juarez-Lincoln International Bridge for a report of a man in possession of slashing instruments used in cockfighting.

A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer stated that a man identified as Bravo was flagged in their system for crossing live roosters into the United States on March 28. In that incident, the roosters were seized and destroyed, according to the arrest affidavit.

Bravo was referred to secondary inspection. An X-ray of his luggage yielded several sharp instruments. CBP officers discovered nine packages each containing 12 sharp slashing knives used for cockfighting with a total of 108 knives inside a black gym bag, authorities said.

In a post-arrest interview with LPD, Bravo stated he has participated in cockfighting in Mexico and that he owns 400 roosters. He stated that on the previous occasion where the roosters were seized, the roosters had been gifted to him by his friends, states the affidavit.

Bravo stated he had purchased the slashers to give them to a friend for the previous birds he had been gifted. He added he would be giving three packages of slashers to three different friends. Bravo further mentioned that he was giving the slashers as collectibles to his friends, authorities said.

Bravo never confirmed that the slashers would be used for cockfighting, but authorities believed he would use them for that purpose, according to court documents.
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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP)  The driver of a car that crashed into a group of Southern California high school students, killing one and injuring three, was arrested for investigation of murder and other crimes, including an earlier stabbing, authorities said Wednesday.

The students were struck while on a sidewalk Tuesday afternoon near Westlake High School in the city of Thousand Oaks, west of Los Angeles. The car overturned.

Eyewitnesses said that they actually saw the suspect make an intentional move to drive his vehicle up onto the sidewalk, said Deputy Wendell Campbell, public information officer for the Thousand Oaks Police Department.

Campbell said he did not know if investigators had determined a motive.

Austin Eis, 24, was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, attempted robbery, burglary, brandishing a firearm, resisting arrest, kidnapping, felony use of tear gas and assault with a deadly weapon, the Ventura County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.

Eis faces arraignment Thursday. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.

The boy who was killed was identified as 15-year-old Wesley Welling of Thousand Oaks. His sister Hannah told KTLA-TV she saw it happen and called her mother and 911.

I pulled up to the scene and they were still doing CPR on him, his mother, Kelly Welling, told the station. It's literally the worst call, the worst nightmare that any parent can deal with.

Another 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 16 and 14, were injured. One victim remained hospitalized, and two others were released, Campbell said.

The boys were initially identified as 16, and one of the girls was said to be 15. Campbell said that was due to differing sets of ages listed by first responders.

The crash followed the stabbing of a Walmart employee and an assault on another employee in adjacent Simi Valley, and a non-injury disturbance at the home of the suspect's parents in nearby Camarillo, authorities said.

The circumstances of the store incident remained under investigation. There was no information on the condition of the stabbing victim, who was hospitalized.

Area law enforcement officers were looking for the car in which the stabbing suspect fled when they learned it was involved in the Thousand Oaks crash.

Eis was treated for injuries before being booked. A firearm was recovered from the vehicle, Campbell said.

Asked if the suspect was transient and living in the car, Campbell said that was not confirmed but it appeared likely.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, the Conejo Valley Unified School District said in a statement on Facebook.
The Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Wednesday, April l9, to throw out a ruling from the Fifth Circuit that found it too late to order a DNA test that could exonerate Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed.

"We are grateful that the Court has kept the courthouse doors open to Reed, a Black man who has spent 24 years on death row for the murder of a white woman a crime he has steadfastly maintained he did not commit, "Parker Rider-Longmaid," attorney for Reed said in an email.

"The respondent in this case, Bastrop County District Attorney Bryan Goertz, has refused to allow DNA testing of the crime scene evidence," Rider-Longmaid added. "He should join us in the search for the truth rather than blocking it. If DNA evidence exists, as it does here, it should be tested its that simple.

Reed is on death row for the 1998 murder of Stacey Stites in Bastrop, Texas. Since Reed's initial trial, substantial evidence implicates Stites's then-fiance Jimmy Fennell, a former local police officer, according to Innocence Project.

Reed and attorneys from the Innocence Project argued the belt found from the roadside where Stites was strangled will likely implicate Fennell and exonerate Reed, Court News Service reported. Fennell also confessed to murdering Stites while later serving a 10-year prison sentence for another woman's kidnapping and rape, crimes he committed during police work, the report added.

On Nov. 15, 2019, Reed was granted an indefinite stay of execution, just five days before his scheduled execution date of Nov. 20, 2019.

Reed petitioned to have authorities run a DNA test on the belt among 40 pieces of evidence. The state court turned him down and stated that the ruling was affirmed on appeal, and that's when Reed filed a federal complaint.

The Fifth Circuit ruled that the two-year window available for Reed to bring such a lawsuit began as soon as he filed his first motion in state court. "The theory would mean that Reed ran out of time waiting to exhaust his state court appeals," the report said.

Arguing for the state, Texas Solicitor General Judd Stone told the court that rehearing is "rare" in the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals and, in this case, "changed nothing about the rights and obligations under Texas law or the U.S. Constitution" to Reed. But in a case in which the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals does grant rehearing, he added, the statute of limitations would start to run then.

Justice Elena Kagan argued that the statute of limitations begins to run with the denial of rehearing.

Justice Kagan responded to Stone's arguments that the denial of rehearing "changed nothing," she countered that "If rehearing had been granted and the decision had been revised, then it would have changed something," And the suggestion that the point at which the statute of limitations begins to run would change if rehearing were granted, she posited, would merely create confusion, SCOTUS blog reported.

Justice Kagan added.

"Why isnt the simpler rule just to say we dont know what the authoritative construction of the court of appeals is until the court of appeals process has concluded, the end?"
Rommel Gonzalez / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

Two longtime reporters at KPRC 2 Houston will now be working behind the anchor news desk on the weekends. Reporters Cathy Hernandez and Brittany Jeffers will co-anchor the Channel 2 news every Saturday and Sunday mornings alongside meteorologist Khambrel Marshall.

Hernandez, who recently served as a fill-in anchor at the station, took to Facebook Tuesday to announce her promotion. "Hard work pays off! I've always believed it," she wrote. "After 15+ years in the news business and several moves across the country, I'm so excited to say that I'm an anchor at KPRC in Houston, my hometown that I love!! To be given this huge responsibility, it truly means the world."
50 tents are set up inside the RAM clinic for individuals to receive dental care.
In the wake of a deadly school shooting last month, Republican lawmakers in Tennessee are sending to Republican Gov. Bill Lee a proposal that further protects gun and ammunition dealers, manufacturers and sellers against lawsuits
The family of Tyre Nichols, who died after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers, sued the officers and the city of Memphis, blaming them for his death and accusing officials of allowing a special units aggressive tactics to go unchecked despite warning signs
Exterior views of the Gully Branch Tree Farm where Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue and EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt will hold a roundtable discussion at the Gully Branch Tree Farm in GA on Friday, July 7, 2017. USEPA photo by Eric Vance
US Afghanistan watchdog tells Congress he can't guarantee American aid is 'not currently funding the Taliban'
If love could have saved her, Laura Gilmore Anderson would have lived forever.

Emotive sentiments they may be, they were ones which her distraught sister Natalie fittingly called upon at her emotionally charged funeral mass on Saturday.

A large and understandably sombre congregation lined the pews of St Mel's Cathedral from early doors, all patiently waiting to pay their final respects to a woman who personified courage and intrepidity in equal measure.

The vivacious, bubbly and Disney loving fanatic passed away in Scotland seven days previously surrounded by her family following a three year battle with incurable neuroendocrine cancer.

It was a cruel end to a life and journey Laura had dedicated almost every passing moment to in the hope of finding a cure and living out her days in Scotland alongside her beloved husband Paul and faithful dog, Chip.

That came despite a concerted and sustained fundraising campaign aptly dubbed Help Laura Heal which had raised in excess of 400,000 in a bid to secure potentially life saving treatment for Laura in Mexico.

And while those monies will be distributed to charities of Laura's choosing, the sense of loss following months and months of painstaking fundraising on both sides of the Irish Sea was unerringly palpable last Saturday morning.

Mourners were told of how the remarkable, kind and beautiful Longford woman took on and fought her illness in the face of such adversity.

A single framed photograph of the avid Longford GAA fan sat perched on top of a coffin in front of the altar while poignant symbols indicative of the outgoing former Sligo IT graduate's life and times were offered up by members of her family.

Among them included characters from the Longford womans favourite hit Disney classic Beauty and the Beast, family wedding photos including an image of Chip, her own personalised Help Laura Heal logo that defined her campaign and a Longford GAA jersey.

Long time family friend and chief celebrant Fr Tom Healy at times, struggled to keep a lid on his own emotions as he recalled a personal friendship with Laura and the Gilmore family that dated back three decades.

He told of being able to still remember knocking on the door of 53 Teffia Park all those years ago not knowing what or who was ready to greet him. What I found was an inviting home, the warmest of welcomes and house full of children and teenagers, he said.

I am guessing Laura was three or four at the time and from that time onwards our friendship grew and developed.

From there, the long serving priest expressed his pride in being able to share several memorable family occasions, the most recent of which came just over four years ago in the sleepy Mayo village of Ballintubber, just outside Castlebar.

It was the day Laura, or Lozzie as she was more afffectionaly known, had long dreamed of, a day in which she exchanged wedding vows with the love of her life, her best friend and inimitable pillar of strength, Paul.

She looked a million dollars and I suppose we all hoped and assumed that lifelong togetherness and happiness would be yours, he said.

Its heartbreakingly sad we are here again just a few short years later to bid farewell to Laura and lay her to rest while still so young in years.

In referring to a family photo contained in Laura's funeral mass booklet, Fr Healy said admitted having to sit in the same house he had knocked the front door of some 30 years later was extraordinarily surreal.

He said the many stories relayed to him of an ambitious, beautiful and deeply loyal young woman who lived for her family was closely comparable to those of his own.

Her nephews and nieces, he said, looked upon her as a glamour girl of sorts and would routinely make a beeline for her on her regular trips home from across the Irish Sea.

Her bond with her enduring canine companion Chip was just as remarkable, he added and one which saw the latter's mood change quite immediately when Laura slipped away last Saturday week.

Fr Healy's most touching and passionate of sentiments were understandably directed at Paul, who sat in the front row alongside Laura's parents Brendan and Ann.

He said the one redeeming memory to draw from the anguish of the past few weeks was how both Laura and Paul were able to celebrate their birthdays together.

In fighting back tears, Fr Healy said: On their wedding day, Paul and Laura promised to love each other for better, for worse, in sickness and in health all the days of their lives.

We werent to know Paul you would be asked to live those vows so quickly and so fully in such a challenging way.

If those remarks stirred the hearts and minds of those watching on from the floor below, they were arguably surpassed moments later when Laura's ten-year-old niece Sophie Sheridan took centre stage.

Not an impromptu cough or passing mutter could be heard as mourners were left transfixed by a rendition of 'Loch Lomond' and 'Red is the Rose' that her much loved auntie would have been immeasurably proud of.

It was a performance that drew a round of universal applause from a hushed and heavy-hearted audience as Laura's sister Natalie recited a poem with unerring affection.

Laura, you meant so much to all of us, you were special and thats no lie, she said. You brightened up the darkest day and the cloudiest sky.

Your smile alone warmed hearts, your laugh was like music to hear.

I would give absolutely anything to have you well and standing near.

Not a second passes when your not on our minds, the love we will never forget, the hurt will ease in time.

Many tears we seen and cried, they have all poured out like rain.

I know that you are okay now and no longer in any pain.

Laura, if love could have saved you, you would have lived forever.

Lozzie, our beautiful sister, we will love you forever.

As heart-rending as those soundings were, Laura's husband Paul said his own emotions, while upside down, had been helped greatly by the support from his wife's medical team and unmitigated love of her family.

Laura Gilmore Anderson was a remarkable, kind, beautiful and caring woman and was the best wife a man could ask for he said.

(She was a) dear daughter, loving sister, favouite auntie, doting godmother, devoted mother to Chip, loyal friend to so many and an inspiration to us all.

Paul said apart from being a proud Longford native, she was just as admiring of adopted Scottish roots.

He said Laura's gregarious zest for life and how she came into his life like a whirlwind of energy led the pair to fall in love almost immediately.

From that first day forward I changed forever and she taught me that true love was real and that true happiness didnt just belong in the movies, he said.

She made me feel like anything was possible.

We were a team, a unit, we were a powerhouse of love and devotion and we were inseparable from the start.

Paul said Laura's tenacity in facing what he described as an invisible and elusive terror illustrated a strength of charachter neither he or his late wife knew was there.

It was truly astonishing to stand witness in the shadow of an angel in full flight, he said.

I hope you can rest now and finally be at peace, you deserve to bask in the love we all have for you. Thank you kiddo, I love you.

Outside, a large group of mourners gathered as the funeral cortege began its journey ahead of a cremation service at Lakelands Crematorium, Cavan.

The late Laura Gilmore Anderson is survived by her beloved husband Paul, dear parents Ann and Brendan, sisters Susan, Aisling, Janette and Natalie, brothers Andrew and Stephen, mother-in-law

Margaret, sisters-in-law, brothers-in-law, nieces, nephews, Chip, relatives and a wide circle of friends.
The stalling of progress of the N4 is expected to be high on the agenda as Minister for Climate, Communications and Transport, Eamon Ryan, pays a visit to Longford County Council at the end of the month.

The Minister has taken a U turn on a missive to the local authority in which he said he was too busy and requested to meet with the elected representative when he visits the county on April 28.

Chief Executive of the County Council, Paddy Mahon, told members about the request at the April meeting of the local authority on Wednesday: The Minister will visit the county to discuss the Just Transition programme. His office has also requested the possibility of meeting with yourselves, here in the Chamber, on the afternoon of Friday, April 28 to discuss items related to his portfolio as a Minister. So the Minister will be here in this room according to his plans,

Minister Ryan is not the only politician on his way to Longford this month to discuss roads.

The Council CE said the local authority received an email from the Minister for State at the Department of Transport & Department of the Environment, Climate & Communications, Jack Chambers, requesting to meet with councillors on April 27: I hope we will be in a position to discuss the N4 with Minister Chambers at that meeting, Mr Mahon said.

Cllr Seamus Butler said the ministerial visits present a great opportunity: Ministers seem to be like buses, you wait ages for one to come along, then two arrive at the same time. It's to be welcomed due to the focus on the N4 at present. We mustn't take our foot off the pedal. It's a huge opportunity on April 27 and 28. I hope we have a full turnout of councillors and we can progress to the stage where the route is decided on and then it can be moved on to the next stage.

Cllr Paraic Brady was less than enthusiastic about the proposed visit. He said: I attended a meeting at Leinster House. I really seen first hand what the members of the Green Party's agenda is. If you heard the nonsense that I heard that day about the environmental impact this road would have on farmers, on the livelihood of tourism and everything else.

We better have our homework done when Minister Ryan comes down here. We need people who have facts on both sides of the house and we need to band together.

At the last monthly meeting of the local authority a letter from the Transport Minister elicited an angry response. Minister Ryan's one line response to the local authority was dated February 2, 2023.

It was a reply to a Notice of Motion tabled by Cllr Seamus Butler (FF) requesting a meeting between a representative deputation of Council members to highlight the N4 border improvement plan.

The Minister's curt response said he was unable to facilitate the meeting because he was too busy.
Longford citizens are asked to pull out all the stops to improve the vista of the county town as it contests the 'Best Kept Large Town Award' at the start of the summer.

Now celebrating its 26th anniversary (excluding 2020 and 2021 when no competition took place), Irelands Best Kept Towns is an all-island competition that sees the best towns in Northern Irelands Best Kept competition compete against their cohorts in the Republic of Irelands TidyTowns competition.

Longford Town has been selected as one of the final three to contest for the title. The inclusion stems from the high points scored in the National Tidy Towns 2022 adjudication report. In that report Longford Town performed particularly well.

The county town's nomination for the Best Kept Large Town Award, will have them compete against Monaghan's Carrickmacross and last year's winner Fermanagh's Enniskillen. The final three were selected from a category covering the entire island of Ireland. Judging takes place in May, with the winner announced in June.

Michael Keenan, chair of Longford Tidy Towns, commended all who made the nomination possible: It's a major honour for Longford town and is a great credit to all involved, including Longford County Council, Tidy Towns and numerous other groups and individuals ranging from Mens' Shed, Longford Women's Link to the probation service, residential area groups and schools.

The May adjudication of the competition will be an assessment of all property, streets, roads, lanes, residential areas, business estates and suburbs, and the approach roads to beyond the roundabouts.

The Best Kept Town in Ireland is a hugely prestigious nomination for Longford Town and we appeal to everyone to make a special effort this week and in the coming weeks to make our town extra tidy, Michael told the Leader.

The voluntary organisations are calling on businesses, homeowners or tenants and all organisations to help as much as possible by cleaning walls, roofs, windows, signage, eaves gutters: The removal of weeds from outside property is something we are asking property owners to consider, preferably avoiding using chemicals.

Biodiversity considerations are an important part of Tidy Towns: It's an important factor in tackling climate change, Michael explains, We ask everyone to leave dandelions growing for as long as possible, because dandelions provide badly needed food for bees and other wildlife during spring. We are particularly pleased that Longford County Council defers the timing and extent of roadside grass cutting to reduce carbon and promote wildlife.
From September 24, 1958 right through to December 18, 2020, Lanesboro had been the job hub for many hundreds of people who worked in Lanesboro Power Station (latterly Lough Ree Power LRP).

Similarly, this was the same case for Bord na Mona (BnM) who welcomed its first bagger to the Mount Dillon works in 1949.

This central hub of employment was brought to an abrupt end by the closure of LRP which we in the community view as near-sighted Government legislation. A move which has left a large vacuum with only wasted breath and empty promises to fill the void.

Both companies created excellent employment opportunities for many surrounding communities. They provided summer employment for students to help further their education in university. They were the foundation for a vibrant community helping to create employment in shops, bars, cafes and hotels. It is not the closure which irks many in this region but rather the incompetence to remove a viable asset without any thought to replace it.

Maybe one of the many advisors to government officials would ask, but Minister what will the region do for employment or how will the community remain vibrant? As with many issues outside the M50 one would imagine the answer was a swift who cares.

In early 2019 the Lanesboro/Ballyleague Collaboration group was appointed by Longford and Roscommon County Councils. On the sudden announcement of these closures this group reacted in a very positive way by hosting a Think Tank in Lanesboro parish hall on Saturday, September 21, 2019.

It invited contributions from everyone that had a connection to the community and asked public representatives to plot a way forward. A myriad of ideas were put forward by people who travelled from far and wide to offer their ideas to the process. All thoughts were then categorised by order of importance to the community by the committee. A path forward rather than tears was the common theme.

Just Transition under appointed commissioner Kieran Mulvey was introduced as a means of supporting the communities that were suffering because of these closures. A Just Transition Fund was announced however, the system proved to be intricate and funding of 80% for Feasibility Studies meant that a lot of excellent ideas had to be left by the wayside, while others had to go to borrowing just to see a Feasibility Study completed. We completely support Mr Mulveys call for 100% funding and think it is vital to the progress of community projects and the reinvigoration of our and surrounding communities.

Support for the community has proven to be very limited, at best, and it is unfortunate to say that this was a political opening missed by political parties.

What do people want you might ask? Its very simple.

In this region people just want their kids to be able to return to work and live in the area. As opposed to the current situation of having to leave the country, move to Dublin to get a job. Presently, the cost of the youth brain drain from the community will leave us with an aged community and dereliction.

Every community and especially ageing communities need young people growing in their midst as they need the vibrancy and the excitement of youth in their midst. It is imperative to be able to offer the younger generation the opportunity of being able to live and work in their own communities, after qualifying, should they so wish. It is the onus that is thrust upon us to be able to help make that come true.

We have one excellent project completed in our community; the nationally acclaimed Access for All boat. What we need is an active voice that will support and enable the forward thinking and planning of our group. We can provide all the necessary ideas and local support but without the support of higher authorities we will be languishing like the rapidly disappearing bogs.

We were thriving, we are dying and where to next is the question?
Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as extraordinary.

Addressing the event at Queens University in Belfast, Mrs Clinton said she had received messages from people around the world.

Her remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mrs Clinton said: I want to thank everyone for the last extraordinary days of events.

I have heard from people from the United States to Singapore, we have heard from the architects of the Good Friday Agreement about the challenges they encountered and the solutions they built.

We have had a chance to reflect on what has been achieved and to really honour all of the citizens of Northern Ireland who made the peace possible.

We also recognise the impact of those who often go unrecognised, the many women of Northern Ireland who were crucial to the agreements inception and its longevity.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, paid tribute to the peace accord for ending conflict in Northern Ireland.

He said it took strength and courage, and people being able to listen to each other and shake hands despite past divisions.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, especially when we look at the arc of human history, full of conflicts that continue to divide people leading to intense suffering generation after generation.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

US envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, whose remit is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, earlier emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
Dairy farming has been taking place in Ireland for 6,000 years. Our climate is ideal for the grass that our cows turn into nutritious milk.

Irish cows are outside grazing grass between 240 to 300 days of the year and are not, as in many other countries, housed indoors and given processed feed. There are 17,500 family-run dairy farms in Ireland, 60,000 people are employed by the industry and dairy farming brings 6m to the Irish economy each year.

Irish dairy is not, however, without its detractors. Agriculture accounts for over 37 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions in Ireland, which must be reduced by 25 per cent by 2030. Its a challenge, but one that Irish farmers are rising to with a combination of ambition, innovation and technology.

Farmers across the country are investing in new technologies and methodologies designed to offset their carbon hoofprint.

Low-emission slurry-spreading reduces ammonia emissions, while the switch to low-emissions fertiliser has the potential to reduce total farm emissions by up to 8 percent. Clover in the pasture significantly reduces the need for chemical fertiliser meaning less run-off into our waterways and a significantly lower carbon hoofprint for Irelands herd.

The quality of our cows is another reason why the Irish dairy farming is more environmentally friendly. We have good genetics here in Ireland - cows live longer and produce more milk over their lifetime whereas other countries have a considerably lower output per cow. Beyond production, our farmers are dedicated to the environmental wellbeing of their farms. Moving fences out from hedgerows and watercourses to increase field margins  the areas between the grazing pasture and the field boundary  leaves space for nature and helps to keep pesticides, fertilisers and slurry away from watercourses and hedgerows.

Nicholas Cooney, a National Dairy Council Farmer Ambassador farming in Monasterboice in Louth, wants people to know more about what farmers are doing to contribute to Irelands shared national climate goals.

As farmers we understand our obligation to the environment and as a community we are adopting new technologies and practices to reduce our impact and meet the challenge weve been set.

Irish dairy production is already the most carbon efficient in Europe, with a carbon hoofprint of 0.97kg CO2-eq per litre of milk, compared to a global average of around 2kg. Irish farmers want to be given the chance to continue our work while still producing the best milk in the world and ensuring a future for us, our families and for Irish dairy.

For more see www.ndc.ie/farmer-ambassadors
Food, Wine, & Dining, Business & Finance

By Long Island Published: April 19 2023

Cheers to Mom with Exquisite Ambiance and Delectable Cuisine

As Mother's Day approaches, MoCA Asian Bistro is pleased to invite families to celebrate this special occasion with an unforgettable dining experience. Known for its chic and elegant atmosphere and a diverse menu of authentic Asian fusion cuisine, MoCA Asian Bistro promises to provide the perfect setting for families to come together and show their appreciation for the most important woman in their lives.

MoCA Asian Bistro's menu boasts a wide variety of traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Thai dishes, made with fresh ingredients and expertly prepared by skilled chefs. From sushi rolls and sashimi to stir-fry and curry dishes, MoCA Asian Bistro has something for everyone.

To make the celebration even more special, MoCA Asian Bistro is offering a limited-time gift card sale from May 7th to May 13th. Customers can enjoy an extra 20% on top of their gift card purchase, making it a perfect opportunity to treat their moms to a delicious meal at the restaurant.

On Mother's Day, MoCA Asian Bistro is also providing instant photo services for customers, so they can capture the beautiful memories of this special day with their loved ones.

"At MoCA Asian Bistro, we understand the importance of family and the significance of Mother's Day," said the representative of MoCA Group. "We are excited to offer our guests a unique dining experience that combines exceptional cuisine, an elegant atmosphere, and special promotions to create a memorable celebration for moms and their families."

Make this Mother's Day unforgettable at MoCA Asian Bistro. With its chic atmosphere, diverse menu, and special promotions, MoCA promises to be the perfect destination for a memorable celebration. Contact MoCA Asian Bistro today to make a reservation and show your mom just how much you care!
Crime

By Chris Boyle Published: April 19 2023

Patrick Carey posted altered images of more than a dozen women on a pornographic website; DA Donnelly unveils proposed legislation creating new statutes to protect New Yorkers from deepfake pornography.

Nassau County District Attorney Anne T. Donnelly announced that a Seaford man was sentenced today to six months incarceration and 10 years probation with significant sex offender conditions for sharing sexually explicit deepfaked images of more than a dozen underage women on a pornographic website and posting personal identifying information of many of the women, encouraging website users to harass and threaten them with sexual violence.

Patrick Carey, 22, pleaded guilty on December 12, 2022, before Judge Robert Bogle to Promotion of a Sexual Performance by a Child (a D felony); Aggravated Harassment in the Second Degree as a Hate Crime (an E felony); Stalking in the Second Degree (an E felony); and Endangering the Welfare of a Child (an A misdemeanor). Carey was sentenced today to six months incarceration and 10 years of probation with sex offender conditions. The defendant waived his right to appeal both his plea and the sentence. Judge Bogle also ordered stay away orders of protection for each of the 14 victims that will last the statutory maximum of eight years from the time of sentence. Carey must also register as a sex offender.

Patrick Carey targeted these women, altering images he took from their social media accounts and the accounts of their family members and manipulating them using deepfake technology to create pornography that he disseminated across the Internet, said DA Donnelly. These incredibly brave women pieced together his depraved conduct and brought it to the authorities. They were not afraid, and they were undeterred. Now, Carey will serve jail time and undergo rigorous monitoring for the next 10 years once he is released.

DA Donnelly said, according to the charges, from January 2021 through September 2021, Nassau County Police Department detectives from the Eighth Squad were contacted by approximately 11 women who had discovered images of themselves on a pornographic website. Many of the women indicated that the images, taken when the women were in high school and middle school, were re-posted on the website from their own social media platforms and altered to suggest the women were engaging in sexual conduct.

The images had been altered in what is otherwise known as a deepfake  convincingly superimposing the victims faces on other separate images of women engaging in sexual conduct. The posted images were also accompanied by personal identifying information, including full names, addresses and telephone numbers.

Separately, in November 2020, another woman reported to NCPDs Special Victims Squad that she found a sexually explicit image of herself, taken when she was underage, on the same pornographic website.

Each of the women had attended MacArthur High School in Levittown and believed that the defendant was the individual who was altering and posting their images and contact information. Some reported to police that they had received notifications from social media that Carey had screenshotted some of the images that appeared altered on the website from their social media accounts.

The investigation determined that most of the posts containing images of the victims came from three distinct usernames controlled by Carey. Through these accounts, Carey actively posted the images of the victims from approximately August 2019 until approximately September 2021, mere hours before his arrest, including posting the deepfaked images of teenagers engaging in sexual conduct with their personal information. Carey also encouraged other users to harass the victims, including sending them lurid images and videos and sexual threats.

After executing nearly two dozen search warrants on Careys cell phone, tablets, and other social media and web accounts, the investigation revealed Carey was in possession of several images of the victims and had shared them to social media and on the pornographic website.

Carey was arrested on September 5, 2021, by detectives of the NCPDs Eighth Squad.

New York State currently has no criminal statutes addressing deepfaked or digitally manipulated images of a sexually explicit nature, leaving a significant loophole that can be exploited by child pornographers.

In response, DA Donnelly has proposed the Digital Manipulation Protection Act, legislation that would establish the crimes of Unlawful Publication of a Sexually Explicit Depiction of an Individual (a proposed class A misdemeanor), Unlawful Dissemination of a Sexually Explicit Depiction of an Individual (a proposed class B misdemeanor), Unlawful Distribution of a Sexually Explicit Depiction of a Child in the First Degree (a proposed class D felony), Unlawful Distribution of a Sexually Explicit Depiction of a Child in the Second Degree (a proposed class E felony), and Unlawful Access of a Sexually Explicit Depiction of a Child (a proposed class A misdemeanor).

New York State currently lacks the adequate criminal statutes to protect victims of deepfake pornography, both adults and children, DA Donnelly continued. That is why I am proposing the legislature take up the Digital Manipulation Protection Act, that would close the loopholes in the law that allow sexual predators and child pornographers to create sexually explicit digitally manipulated images and evade prosecution. We cannot protect New Yorkers without making these changes.

NCDA would like to thank the Nassau County Police Departments Special Victims Squad and Eighth Squad for their assistance and cooperation in this investigation and prosecution.
Tech & Science

By Jacob Alvear Published: April 19 2023

Stony Brook University graduate student Fanny M. Cornejo has been named the winner of the newly-created Emerging Conservationist Award"

STONY BROOK, N.Y.April 19, 2023Stony Brook University graduate student Fanny M. Cornejo has been named the winner of the newly-created Emerging Conservationist Award" presented by the Indianapolis Prize. This award recognizes professional wildlife conservationists, biologists and scientists under 40-years of age who are working to make strides in saving animal species from extinction. Cornejo was selected from among 10 finalists and will receive $50,000 provided by the Kobe Foundation to continue Yunkawasis conservation work.

Cornejo is a Peruvian primatologist, anthropologist and the executive director of Yunkawasi, an organization that works with Amazonian and Andean communities for the conservation of threatened species through sustainable economic development and protected area management approach. She is being recognized for her more than 15 years dedicated to the conservation and research of the yellow-tailed woolly monkey, a primate species that only inhabits the montane forests of Peru and is critically endangered due to human unsustainable activities that have generated the loss of over 80% of its population.

Cornejo is a member of the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences (IDPAS) at Stony Brook University and works in the Pat Wright Lab, where she focuses on the study of primates and big mammals, focusing on diversity, ecological studies as well as conservation activities to protect forests and improve the livelihoods of local and indigenous communities. Cornejo has also conducted research on the black and white ruffed lemurs in Ranomafana National Park in Madagascar. Her graduate mentors are Professors Patricia C. Wright and Liliana Davalos.

"Fanny lives and breathes conservation. Her energy, her motivation and her success are part of her very being. What a joy to hear that her talents and hard work have been recognized with this inaugural Emerging Conservationist Prize. What an honor for Stony Brook and an honor for Peru!" said Distinguished Service Professor and Herrnstein Professor of Conservation Biology Pat Wright.

"Fanny was always a stand-out and it's fantastic, but not surprising, that her talents and contributions continue to go above and beyond and to be recognized," said Holder of the Endowed Chair for Nature and Humanity, Professor Carl Safina.

Fanny is leading the next generation of conservationists to protect nature and inspire people to care for our world. The depth of accomplishments set her apart from the other nominees. I cant wait to see the impact of her career in conservation, said Indianapolis Zoological Society President and CEO Dr. Rob Shumaker.

Cornejo will be formally recognized as the 2023 Emerging Conservationist at the Indianapolis Prize Gala presented by Cummins Inc. in downtown Indianapolis on Sept. 30, 2023.

I am very honored and grateful for this recognition that is not only for me, but also for my entire team, the people we work with, our partners in local communities, governments and our donors. Undoubtedly, being the first winner of the Emerging Conservationist Award and from an organization as important as the Indianapolis Prize is a great recognition for our work in Peru, said Fanny Cornejo, winner of the Indianapolis Prizes inaugural Emerging Conservationist Award.

The Emerging Conservationist finalists were selected through a two-stage selection process, where a review committee evaluated and narrowed the application pool to 10 finalists. Those finalists were then evaluated by a selection committee who chose Cornejo the winner.

The Indianapolis Prize recognizes the worlds leading conservationists whose work provides future generations with replicable and actionable conservation practices. The finalists of the Emerging Conservationists represent the people we can rely on to save species worldwide. Stony Brook University Professors Patricia Wright (2014) and Russ Mittermeier (2018) have both been awarded the Indianapolis Prize.
Local News

By Chris Boyle Published: April 19 2023

Guide Based on OAG Experience Prosecuting Data Breaches, Tips Will Help Businesses Strengthen Data Protection.

New York Attorney General Letitia James today released a guide to help businesses adopt effective data security measures to better protect New Yorkers personal information. The guide is drawn from the Office of the Attorney Generals (OAG) experience investigating and prosecuting businesses following cybersecurity breaches. The guide offers a series of recommendations intended to help companies prevent breaches and secure their data.

When businesses are entrusted with sensitive customer information, they carry both a legal and moral responsibility to protect it against data breaches, said Attorney General James. In todays digital world, companies cannot afford to take risks with consumers personal information. Businesses can and must do more to protect New Yorkers from identity theft and fraud. The security guide created by my office has recommendations to help keep New York businesses ahead of cybercriminals and better able to protect consumers personal and financial information.

Cybercriminals target consumers personal information to make money, either through identity theft or by coercing the company to pay a ransom. One of the most sensitive pieces of information is a consumers social security number. With a social security number, an attacker can open financial accounts in the victims name and collect federal and state benefits. Last year, there were 1,876 data breach incidents reported to OAG that involved the exposure of social security numbers, affecting over 3.2 million New Yorkers.

The guide discusses some data security failures found in recent data security investigations and recommends practices business should adopt to better secure their systems, fortify their networks, and strengthen their data security measures. Some important tips from OAG's guide include:

Maintain controls for secure authentication. For businesses that store customer information, strong authentication procedures can help ensure that only authorized individuals can access the data. Strong authentication procedures can include multi-factor authentication and password policies that require passwords to be unique and complex.

Encrypt sensitive customer information . Encrypting sensitive information, such as social security numbers, can help protect the information from hackers who are able to overcome other defenses.

Ensure your service providers use reasonable security measures. Businesses that allow third-party vendors to access customer information should ensure that these vendors use appropriate data security measures to safeguard the information. In most cases, this would include diligence in selecting vendors with appropriate data security programs, building security expectations into contracts, and monitoring vendors work to ensure compliance.

Know where you keep consumer information. A business cannot properly protect customer information if it does not know where that information is kept. Business should maintain an asset inventory that tracks where customer information is stored.

Guard against automated attacks . Credential stuffing continues to be one of the most common forms of attack on customer accounts. This type of attack typically involves repeated attempts to log in to online accounts using usernames and passwords stolen from other online services. Thats why businesses that maintain online accounts for their customers should have a data security program in place that includes effective safeguards for protecting customers from credential stuffing attacks. In January 2022, . Credential stuffing continues to be one of the most common forms of attack on customer accounts. This type of attack typically involves repeated attempts to log in to online accounts using usernames and passwords stolen from other online services. Thats why businesses that maintain online accounts for their customers should have a data security program in place that includes effective safeguards for protecting customers from credential stuffing attacks. In January 2022, OAG released a business guide for credential stuffing attacks that detailed four areas in which safeguards should be maintained, and specific safeguards that have been found to be effective.

Notify consumers quickly and accurately of a data breach. If a business experiences a data breach, it is crucial that customers are informed in a timely and accurate way so they can take steps to protect themselves. When businesses instead issue misleading statements downplaying the scope or severity of an attack, it can give customers a false sense of security and violate New York law.

As technology continues to evolve, protecting sensitive personal information becomes more important than ever, said Westchester County Executive George Latimer. I appreciate the efforts of Attorney General Letitia James in providing this guide to help businesses better safeguard New Yorkers data. By adopting these recommendations, companies can strengthen their security measures and help prevent cyberattacks.

Cybersecurity threats are on the rise, and New Yorkers need to feel sure that the businesses they interact with are keeping their data secure, said State Senator Kristen Gonzalez. This guide gives businesses the tools and advice they need to protect New Yorkers information. I am grateful to the Attorney General for leading on this issue, and I look forward to working together to advance cybersecurity in New York state.

Last year, more than 3.2 million New Yorkers were affected by data breaches involving the exposure of their social security numbers, said State Senator Brad Hoylman-Sigal. In our technology-dependent society, New Yorkers trust and rely on businesses to protect their personal information. I am grateful Attorney General James created this robust and accessible data security guide that will help our businesses better protect consumers from identity theft and fraud.

As Chair of the Consumer Protection Committee, I take data privacy and internet security very seriously, said State Senator Kevin Thomas. I thank Attorney General James and her staff for creating this helpful guide to easily share ways that our New York businesses can enact better data protections. I urge businesses of all sizes to utilize this great resource on ways to secure personal information from breaches that could have negative consequences on their employees and customers.

Too many New Yorkers are victimized each year by identity and data theft, said State Senator Samra Brouk. As technology continues to advance in different industries, New York must take action to ensure that businesses have the resources they need to better protect their customers data. I am grateful to the Attorney General for her leadership on this issue, and look forward to continuing to work together to protect New Yorkers.

As technology advances, our cyber consumer protections guidelines need to keep pace, said Assemblymember Nily Rozic. This guide will help consumers better protect themselves and their data both online and offline. I'm grateful to Attorney General James, who prioritizes consumer protection in an ever-evolving world.

Customers expect businesses to keep their personal data safe and secure, said Assemblymember Monica Wallace. Too often, however, that information is compromised by sophisticated cybercriminals. I commend Attorney General James for her proactive efforts to educate business owners on the best practices for cybersecurity, so we can better protect consumers from identity theft, fraud, and related crimes.

Data breaches can have serious consequences for both businesses and consumers whose personal information is compromised, said New York City Council Member Jennifer Gutierrez. The consumers who usually suffer the most from cybersecurity breaches are often those that can least afford to. I commend Attorney General James for releasing these critically important guidelines for businesses, which will help even the smallest businesses protect their and their customers data from cybercriminals.

The business community welcomes the support of Attorney General Letitia James for our efforts to protect customers and employees from identify theft, said Kathryn Wylde, President and CEO, Partnership for New York City. We look forward to partnering with her office to combat illegal cyber activity that is victimizing individuals and companies at a growing rate.

It's great to see that the New York Attorney General is providing tools and practical resources to help small businesses cope with the rise in cybersecurity attacks, said Yael Grauer, Program Manager, Consumer Reports Security Planner. This guide contains valuable information about the importance of encryption, multi-factor authentication, purging outdated data and accounts, and other steps to help companies comply with the law and address security threats.

New Yorkers rely on digital tools in every aspect of how they live and work, and its more important than ever that they feel confident in being able to safely use them, said Julie Samuels, President and Executive Director, Tech:NYC. We commend the Attorney General for thoughtfully addressing this issue and releasing a guide that safeguards New Yorkers personal and financial data in a way that benefits customer safety and business operations alike.

Attorney General James has taken several actions to hold companies accountable for having poor cybersecurity. In December 2022, Attorney General James secured $200,000 from a student cap and gown producer, Herff Jones, for failing to protect consumers personal information. In October 2022, Attorney General James announced a $1.2 million agreement with the owner of SHEIN and Zoetop for failing to properly handle a data breach that compromised the personal information of millions of consumers nationwide. In June 2022, Attorney General James secured $400,000 from Wegmans and required the retailer to improve data storage security after a data breach exposed consumers personal information. In March 2022, Attorney General James issued a consumer alert advising T-Mobile customers to take appropriate steps to protect their personal information following a data breach.

This guide was issued by, and the investigations cited were conducted by, the Bureau of Internet and Technology.
The following message was sent to the Lycoming College campus community on Friday, April 14. The Drag Show was subsequently postponed and will be rescheduled for another time prior to the end of the semester.

To the Campus Community:

We write with a message expressing our outrage over an incident that took place on campus last week and was directed at our LGBTQ+ community and allies. We ask that all community members join us in solidarity and make clear that Lycoming College does not tolerate hatred and discriminatory words and behaviors.

As has been advertised on campus, the Gender & Sexuality Alliance is sponsoring a Drag Show on Saturday, April 15. At the end of last week, the administration received a report that a group of students had been overheard in the dining hall talking about shooting up the drag show and anyone attending and then laughing. For the past several days, the College and the Williamsport Police have been investigating this report, which is an expression of hatred that has no place in our community and could be considered a terroristic threat. That investigation will continue. We also want to remind everyone that Counseling Services is available to anyone needing immediate support prompted by this very disturbing incident.

The Williamsport Police have advised the administration that they support proceeding with the event and will provide a police presence. We have also met with members of GSA, and they have affirmed their plans to hold the Drag Show, an event that is a statement about freedom of expression and embracing diverse identities.

Freedom of expression and building a culture that embraces diverse identities are values that are foundational to Lycoming College. To uphold those values, it is essential that we collectively take a stand against all words of hatred directed at our LGBTQ+ community, especially those that seek to intimidate by invoking violence. The administration is prepared to work with all students, faculty and staff to identity and enact additional steps that move us toward being a place where LGBTQ+ students, faculty and staff are safe from harassment, discriminatory words, and expressions of hatred.

To express our personal support of our LBGTQ+ community and our belief in the fundamental values of our College, we plan to attend on Saturday, and we invite others to join us. We are also working with GSA to develop additional ways for community members to express their support of the LGBTQ+ community.

President Trachte

Dean Miller
LIVONIA, MICH.  There was a full house at Grosse Pointe War Memorial on Sunday, February 19, for Art Instructor Deborah Lubera Kawsky's lecture, The Mind of a Muralist.

The talk and slide presentation explored mural-making in Metro Detroit featuring conversations with artists/ muralists Dr. Hubert Massey and Ijania Cortez.

Kawsky, along with Robin Ward, Djennin Cassab, and an amazing group of Madonna University students worked with Massey on a mural project for St. Peter Episcopal Church in Detroit. The lecture included Massey's most recent mural, part of a series for Stellantis Corporation.

On March 9, another crowd gathered at the Lorenzo Cultural Center in Macomb, MI for Kawsky's Detroit's Design DNA lecture. The presentation is part of an ongoing lecture series, Creative Michigan: Making the Mitten Modern, focused on the role of Michigan in midcentury modern design. The lecture series coordinates with an amazing exhibition Michigan Modern: An Architectural Legacy that is still open to the public.

For more on this lecture series and the exhibition, click here.
Manchester, VT (05254)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High 57F. Winds SSE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 40%..

Tonight

A steady rain this evening. Showers continuing overnight. Low 39F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%. Rainfall around a quarter of an inch.
The Philippines will continue to engage the US to acknowledge its request for a formal bilateral trade agreement that will highlight both countries strengths and improve on the low-hanging issues that might impede trade growth.

Trade Secretary Alfredo Pascual said at the sidelines of a forum on investments Wednesday that the Philippines would leverage on its membership in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity to work on trade agreements with the US.

IPEF is a framework not a trade agreement. It does not cover market access or tariff. But we will use this framework to collaborate with the US on our trade concerns. Right now, we are working on our proposed FTA [free trade agreement] with the US and the resumption of the US Generalized System of Preferences, Pascual said at the investments forum organized by the Management Association of the Philippines in cooperation with the Department of Trade and Industry.

Pascual said, however, the DTI recognizes the US Trade Representative stance on the moratorium on FTAs which was announced by the Biden administration as it is geared more on expanding the scope of IPEF across the Indo-Pacific Region.

USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai, in her recent visit to Manila, reiterated that the US government was not keen on entertaining talks on bilateral agreements as it focused on the promotion of IPEF as an economic framework.

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She cannot say otherwise since US President Biden has already made the pronouncement that there will be no FTAs during his term. Shes just voicing that out and we understand where the discussion is and where she is coming from, Pascual said.

However, that cannot prevent us from further pushing for other avenues of cooperation like the renewal of the GSP which expires in 2020. We want it to be renewed and we found IPEF as the most suitable the platform for these formal trade relations between the Philippines and the US, Pascual said.

Tai met with Pascual on April 17 to reaffirm their shared commitment to deepening the US-Philippines bilateral trade relationship and strengthening ties in the Indo-Pacific region.

Both officials looked ahead to the upcoming Indo-Pacific Economic Framework negotiating round. Tai said she appreciated the Philippines for the constructive feedback it provided and noted the tangible economic benefits of the trade pillar.

Tai highlighted the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Ministers Responsible for Trade meeting in Detroit as an opportunity to demonstrate that resiliency, sustainability and inclusivity are core values in trade policy.

Tai and Pascual touched on several bilateral trade topics and highlighted the importance of the US-Philippines Trade and Investment Framework. They instructed their teams to engage the TIFA working groups as they look forward to holding the next meeting in the future.

Based on the Joint Statement of the US-Philippines 2+2 Ministerial Dialogue, the US and the Philippines aim to deepen bilateral trade and investment relationship under TIFA and continue to work together through negotiations under the four pillars of the IPEF.

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Under fire for parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda, Brazils President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva on Tuesday made clear his condemnation of Russias violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine.

Lula met in Brasilia on Monday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who is visiting several Latin American nations during the week.

On Tuesday, the Brazilian president insisted that while his government condemns the violation of the territorial integrity of Ukraine it also defends a negotiated political solution to the conflict.

Lula was speaking during a lunch in honor of visiting Romanian President Klaus Iohannis.

Lavrov called Tuesday for like-minded countries to join forces against the blackmail of Western sanctions, as the longtime diplomat continued his tour of Latin America.

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Discussing Russias war on Ukraine with counterpart Yvan Gil in Caracas, Lavrov referred to allies Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua as countries that choose their own path.

All are, like Russia, the subject of damaging economic sanctions, he said.

It is necessary to join forces to counter the attempts of blackmail and illegal unilateral pressure of the West, Lavrov said at a joint press conference with Gil.

Lulas main foreign policy adviser Celso Amorim on Tuesday described criticism of his boss as absurd.

We have several points of convergence (with Russia), but at various times Brazil condemned the invasion of Ukraine, he said.

Brazil has not joined Western nations in imposing sanctions on Russia for its invasion, and has refused requests to supply ammunition to Ukraine.

The White House on Monday had criticized Lulas remarks during a recent trip to China that Washington was encouraging the war in Ukraine and that Kyiv shared blame for the conflict.

Brazil is parroting Russian and Chinese propaganda without at all looking at the facts, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters, while Ukraine also expressed anger at the comments.

Lavrov on Monday said Russia was grateful to our Brazilian friends for their clear understanding of the genesis of the situation. We are grateful for their desire to contribute to finding ways of settling this situation.

Lula has proposed creating a group of countries to mediate in the war.

Lavrov was in Venezuela on Tuesday, and would also visit Cuba and Nicaragua  all countries whose leftist governments are under US sanctions and at loggerheads with Washington.

On Russias war, Lavrov said: We will resolve the situation by upholding the principles of the United Nations founding charter on the sovereign equity of states, on the principle of indivisibility of security.

Our task is to ensure that the UN charter is fully implemented, that the right to self-determination is not eliminated when it suits the West, he said, according to an official translation.

Lavrov also met with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who afterward tweeted that it was a pleasant meeting that strengthened bilateral relations.

Venezuela has long been a key Moscow ally, and Maduro has repeatedly expressed his support for Russia and President Vladimir Putin both before and after the invasion of Ukraine.

Russia, for its part, has supported Caracas in the face of sanctions imposed by the United States.

The opposition in Venezuela, backed by a large swathe of the international community, did not recognize Maduros re-election in 2018 in a vote widely dismissed as fraudulent.

At the bilateral level, Russia and Venezuela announced that they have signed agreements regarding oil and mining.

Lavrov will later travel to Cuba, which is facing a serious economic crisis.

Cuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel visited Russia at the end of November, where he announced he had signed several agreements concerning oil supplies to the island. However, fuel shortages persist.

Lavrov is expected to make a final stop in Managua, where he will meet with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega.

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Speaker Martin G. Romualdez on Wednesday said Philippine-United States relations is reaching new heights and levels of understanding under the administrations of Presidents Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and Joe Biden.

This was the takeaway of Romualdez and the rest of the Philippine House of Representatives delegation after their meeting early Wednesday morning (Philippine time) with US House Majority Leader Steve Scalise at the Office of the Majority Leader in the US Capitol, Washington DC.

Scalise represents Louisianas 1st congressional district.

SOLONS TOKEN. United States House Majority Leader Steve Scalise (center) receives a token of appreciation from visiting Philippine lawmakers led by Speaker Ferdinand Martin G. Romualdez (2nd from left). The Speaker was accompanied by PH House Majority Leader Manuel Jose Mannix M. Dalipe (2nd from right), Deputy Speaker Aurelio Dong Gonzales Jr. (left) of Pampangas 3rd District, Navotas City Rep. Tobias Toby Tiangco, Agusan del Norte 1st District Rep. Jose Joboy S. Aquino II (right, background), Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel Babe del Gallego Romualdez (center, background), House Secretary General Reginald Reggie Velasco (not in photo), and House Sergeant-at-Arms PMGEN. Napoleon Taas (not in photo) at the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on Wednesday. Ryan Ponce Pacpaco

We, from the House of Representatives in Manila thank Majority Leader Scalise for his warm welcome, his kind words, and most importantly his commitment to further strengthening Philippine and US ties in various aspects. It was a fruitful and engaging meeting, to say the very least, and I feel that we are reaching new heights and levels of understanding, said Romualdez.

This solidifies the good working relationship between President Marcos and President Biden. Rest assured that legislators from both sides of the fence will follow through with the necessary work so that the benefits of this dynamic relationship would become more tangible tenfold, said the Speaker, who represents Leytes 1st District.

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Scalises Philippine counterpart, House Majority Leader and Zamboanga City 2nd District Rep. Manuel Jose Dalipe, shared the same appreciation of the meeting as Romualdez, saying, It was an emboldening experience as a Filipino official to be on the same page with a high-ranking official in the US Capitol.

Joining Romualdez in the meeting aside from Dalipe were House Deputy Speaker and Pampanga Rep. Aurelio Gonzales Jr. of Pampangas 3rd District, Navotas City Rep. Tobias Tiangco, Agusan del Norte 1st District Rep. Jose Aquino II, Philippine Ambassador to the United States Jose Manuel del Gallego Romualdez, House Secretary General Reginald Velasco, and House Sergeant-at-Arms PMGEN. Napoleon Taas.

The Philippine delegation also held separate meetings with US Reps. Darrell Issa, Ami Bera, Mike Rogers (chairman of House Armed Services Committee), Christian Stewart; and Utah Attorney General Sean David Reyes, a Filipino-American.

During the meetings, they discussed strategies to strengthen economic cooperation, defense, and security engagements, as well as bilateral strategic dialogue between the two long-time allied nations.

The majority leader [was] delighted to see the delegation. The Philippine government under President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr. has reintegrated relations [with the] US to provide stability, peace, and prosperity, especially in enhancing our capability for defense and stronger economic security, Romualdez said.

Lets make the two countries closer. We are here to gather support from US Congress to strengthen and improve our capabilities from external threats and national disasters, he added.

As a treaty ally, the Philippines has been receiving substantial defense assistance from the US in terms of training and defense items and equipment.

From 2002 to 2021, the Philippines received defense and security assistance at roughly US$1.8 billion for defense modernization, maritime security, counterterrorism, anti-narcotics, anti-human trafficking, humanitarian assistance and disaster response, and chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear preparedness.

On the economic front, Washington remains an important and strategic trading and investment partner of Manila. This economic partnership remained strong despite challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic.

With our strong economy, we invited the US to increase and expand its investments. Just recently I was with the economic team of President Marcos to help generate more investments during the 2023 World Bank Group-International Monetary Fund (WBG-IMF) Spring Meetings, the Speaker said.

Now the congressional delegation of the House leadership is engaging their counterparts in the US Congress. We are working all out with our strong message to come to the Philippines and invest there, he stressed.

In 2021, the US was the Philippines 3rd largest trading partner, top export market, and 5th major import source, whereas the Philippines ranked 30th among the US top trade partners. The US was also the Philippines 5th largest source of foreign investments in 2021, notably in the IT-BPM, electronics, real estate, construction, and transportation and storage sectors.

American businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, have found a home in the Philippines. They recognize the Philippines for its business-friendly policies, skilled and well-educated workforce, and network of economic zones. With AFP

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The Court of Appeals has sustained the decision of the Makati City Regional Trial Court to convict a former bank manager for money laundering over the $81 million stolen by hackers from the Bangladesh Bank in 2016.

In a 58-page decision, the CA First Division ruled that all the elements are present in the case of RCBC bank manager Maia Santos-Deguito.

Under the Anti-Money Laundering Law, money laundering is committed through facilitation with the following elements; 1. the offender knows that any monetary instrument or property is the proceeds of any unlawful activity; 2. the offender performed or failed to perform any act leading to the facilitation of the money laundering offense, and 3. the offender transacts said monetary instrument or property.

The appellate court reiterated the lower courts ruling, saying Deguito could not downplay her part, noting that the unauthorized payment was made only nine months after she assisted in the opening of accounts at her branch.

It was actually the opening of the accounts that set the wheels in motion, the CA said, adding that one of Deguitos major responsibilities is screening transactions in accordance with the AMLA guidelines.

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With Deguitos 16 years of experience in the banking industry, she cannot feign ignorance of the basic provisions of the AMLA and the RCBCs Money Laundering and Terrorist Financing Prevention Program (MLPP), the court said.

While it is true that her involvement was limited to the opening of the bank accounts, the CA stressed that she actually performed significant acts to arrive at the intended conclusion, which is the movement of funds derived from the hacking incident.

The CA noted that the opening of the accounts used for the Bank of Bangladesh heist was facilitated by Deguito.

She allowed the opening of the Jupiter Accounts based on identification documents that were verified to be fictitious. She did not personally witness the alleged clients in filling out the forms and in signing the Customer Relationship Forms and signature cards, violating the face-to-face policy of the AMLA regulations, the CA held.

The CA also junked Deguitos allegation that the Makati Judge was biased against her for asking her 340 questions during her cross-examination compared to 143 questions asked to the prosecution.

The mere imputation of bias, partiality, and prejudgment will not suffice in the absence of clear and convincing evidence to overcome the presumption that the judge will undertake his noble role to dispense justice according to law and evidence and without fear or favor the CA added.

The Bank of Bangladesh lost US$101 million from a software attack where $ 81 million of the siphoned money found its way to the Philippines, while US$ 20 million was traced to Sri Lanka.

The Bangladesh government is still struggling to recover the whole amount.

Justice Secretary Jesus Crispin Remulla has been meeting with Bangladeshi Ambassador to the Philippines Borhan Uddin for assistance.

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What the international community should do is use its influence and goodwill in getting the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities which, after all, does neither China nor Taiwans economy any good

The title of this article is addressed both to the Chinese Ambassador Huang Xilian, at the same time to those among us who reacted so sharply against him and his remarks before the 8th Manila Forum sponsored by an NGO which calls itself the Association for Philippines-China Understanding (APCU).

Riled at what he and his government consider to be provocative actions of our government against his country, specifically in approving three new locations in northernmost Luzon for use by the American military as part of our EDCA executive agreement under the VFA, the ambassador unleashed statements which were considered not only undiplomatic, but viewed as threatening.

Consistently insisting the China-Taiwan problem is internal and interference by other countries, specifically the US and its military allies, as provocations, the ambassador told his audience that:

The Philippines is advised to unequivocally oppose Taiwan independence rather than stoking the fire by offering the US access to the military bases near the Taiwan Strait if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs.

Spoken like a true wolf warrior diplomat, which our countrymen viewed as undiplomatic and even insulting, to the point where Sen. Risa Hontiveros asked the envoy be sent back to Beijing, the remarks stirred a hornets nest in a country which for years has been resentful of Chinese incursions in the West Philippine Sea.

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(Incidentally, the current Chinese ambassador is due for replacement within the year, assuming the usual protocols of diplomatic assignments are followed.)

The mere fact that we adhere to the One China policy should mean that we, along with the overwhelming majority of nations around the globe save for 13, do not support Taiwan independence.

What was interpreted as threatening was when he added the phrase if you care genuinely about the 150,000 OFWs in Taiwan.

We fully understand Chinas reading of our agreement to use three locations just a few hundred kilometers from the southern part of Taiwan as aimed at potential utilization in the event the US interferes in what China considers as an internal matter for which they will not renounce the use of force.

As lawyers would say res ipsa loquitor, the locations chosen speak for itself.

But why insert if you care genuinely about our overseas workers and other Filipino citizens residing in Taiwan, which should by now be around 185,000 more or less?

In Christian Esguerras podcast Facts First where I was the guest last Monday, 17 April, I said maybe the ambassador (or his speechwriter), thinking in Mandarin, translated into English the point he wanted to bring up the wrong way.

Poor choice of words for a diplomat, indeed.

I am more understanding though, because having served as chairman and resident representative of our country to Taiwan from 2016 to 2021, I and two other ASEAN country representatives were worried about contingency measures to protect our citizens in Taiwan should hostilities erupt.

After all, the number of contract workers from our three ASEAN countries had by then reached 700,000 and counting.

It is obvious that if China invades, it will want to do so as surgically as possible, which means their fighter jets will target the seaports, airports and other major transport networks in the island which has a territory, mostly mountainous, of less than 10 percent of the entire Philippines.

How then could our de facto embassies assure the safety of each citizen, protecting them from becoming casualties of a war to which our countries are not involved?

Still, we were able to draft an emergency plan together with Vietnam and Indonesia, with the hope we would never have to use it.

The nearest seaport which we could use because of its proximity to Batanes would be Kaohsiung, Taiwans busiest and one of the worlds biggest.

To bring 185,000 Filipinos from scattered areas in Taiwan to Kaohsiung would be a most difficult endeavor, especially if the seaport has become a target of bombs, and the railway system is too dangerous to use.

Most of Taiwans airports double up for military use, and, therefore, flying out such a number would be both a financial and logistical nightmare.

In Ukraine, there were land corridors to Poland, Romania and other parts of Europe. In Libya, our embassy staff hired buses to bring our OFWs to neighboring Egypt.

Taiwan is an island, surrounded by the potential theaters of war in the Taiwan Strait and the Bashi Channel which separates our north from their south.

MECO even put up a reserve fund for contingency, started during the term of my predecessor, the late Amadito Perez of respected memory, and increased in my time precisely for use if conflicts made it necessary to secure the lives and welfare of our citizens in Taiwan.

The best we could really do is hope that the islands many bomb shelters could accommodate our citizens, especially in the likely target areas, and we could at the very least feed them, a difficult undertaking in times of war.

The assumption, not too far-fetched, is that if China invades, its current economic problems notwithstanding, it will be a short war, not because the Taiwanese will not fight to defend themselves, but because of a host of other considerations, whether the invading forces do not want to inflict harm against their cousins or to avoid international pressure, even armed intervention by the US and allies.

If it becomes like Ukraine, which has succeeded in prolonging valiant struggle against Putins Russia, then evacuation of our citizens would be a must.

That aspect of concern was what Ambassador Huang should have stressed, not the simplistic if you care genuinely reminder which sounded insulting.

Then again, the comparison between Taiwan as an internal affair and our problems in Muslim Mindanao was both unfortunate and ill-advised.

Is not Xi Jinping and his government offering a 12-point plan to put an end to the Russia-Ukraine conflict?

And did not China successfully bring about a rapprochement between Iran and Saudi Arabia just recently?

Whatever is wrong with a foreign country offering its good offices to mediate in conflicts which could escalate and more and more lives could be lost?

And whatever is wrong if a sovereign country accepts such assistance?

That is what the international community of nations is all about.

In several articles in this space, this writer has stated a negative view of the expansion of EDCA, specifically our agreeing to additional sites which are not to enhance security of our western seaboard, where the WPS/SCS conflict continues to rankle.

In fact I was aghast when in 2018, in a MECO-DTI sponsored investment conference in Taipei where one of the ecozone presenters from the Cagayan Export Processing Zone (CEZA) proudly showed a made-in-China visual of CEZA territory being leased to a PRC based corporation, before an audience of Taiwanese businessmen.

And I recall my having expressed to the powers-that-be at the time my apprehension over such, including the potential conflict it could trigger with not only Taiwan but the US with which we had a military alliance.

As far as I know, that venture has not come to fruition.

Which is the same reason why assigning Lal-lo Airport, San Vicente and Gamu in northeastern Luzon may in fact hasten a PRC decision to attack Taiwan.

In our April 10 article in this space (Taiwan crossroads 2024) I wrote about the forthcoming January 2024 elections in Taiwan which would determine who takes over as president, and from which mainstream party, when President Tsai-Ingwen completes her two terms in office by May 2024.

Between then and now, and I pray I am right, we should chill lang.

Sure there will be acoustics of warfare every now and then, depending on developments and US interference as the China labels these.

But until the crucial elections gives us a reading of the directions Taiwans government will take vis-a-vis Xi Jinpings re-unification, these could just be a case of muscle-flexing and nerve-intimidating exercises.

What the international community should do is use its influence and goodwill in getting the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to prevent hostilities which after all, does neither China nor Taiwans economy any good, even if it makes the military-industrial complex profit from more arms sales.

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KALEVA  In July, a flatbed trailer with a skid-steer loader was reported stolen from the Kaleva area.

Now, the Michigan State Police Cadillac Post is seeking help from the public to find the missing equipment.

The trailer was an older, black in color, double-axle flatbed. At the time of the theft, it had Michigan registration plate E668290 attached, a news release states in part. There was a 1986 red and gray Gehl SL6620 skid-steer loader on the flatbed which was also stolen.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the state polices Gaylord area regional dispatch at 989-732-5141 or the Cadillac post at 231-779-6040.
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MANISTEE  For four weeks starting April 29, a local nonprofit is partnering with restaurants across four counties to raise funds and awareness for its 24/7 emergency domestic violence shelter in Ludington.

Communities Overcoming Violent Encounters, or Cove as it is commonly called, is commemorating 44 years of advocacy and support for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence.

Grassroots beginning

Chris Dunn, Coves board of directors president, explained that the organization first started in Oceana County.

It was kind of a grassroots volunteer organization. After a period of time it sort of evolved and grew, Dunn said.

In the 1970s, people in the community recognized a lack of support for survivors of sexual assault.

A group of volunteers was running a program out of donated building space and established Cove in 1979.

In the years to follow, the organization would add services including a 24-hour crisis hotline, a network of safe homes and a standalone shelter.

Over time, Cove expanded its mission to provide services and support to survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence as well as education for the community.

Ludington location

The organization moved to its current home at 906 E. Ludington Ave. in 2015.

The building includes a unit where sexual assault survivors can obtain a forensic examination. Without this service, residents in Manistee, Mason, Lake and Oceana counties would have to drive to Traverse City, Muskegon or Grand Rapids.

The Ludington Avenue facility also houses a 24/7 emergency domestic violence shelter. Last year, Cove sheltered a total of 198 survivors and served 470 individuals.

Dunn has been involved with Cove for nine years, and his feelings are bittersweet. He is relieved that the organization can help so many, but wishes the root problems of violence could be solved to make facilities like this one unnecessary.

The night that we had the grand opening for this building, they actually asked me to speak, and the thing that I said that night is, we want to turn this building into retail space. Were still a long way from there, Dunn said.

A local issue

During a persons lifetime, an average of one in five women and one in seven men report having a violent encounter with an intimate partner.

The most recent annual crime report conducted by the Michigan State Police shows that 88 Michigan residents died as a result of domestic violence in 2021.

In the report, about 72% of 2021 domestic violence victims were female. An overwhelming majority of the offenders were dating or formerly involved with the victims. The report also showed that 72% of the offenders were men.

Chrissy Streeter/News Advocate



Those who work at Cove know the statistics by heart, but the people they help are more than a number to the staff and volunteers.

Chelsea Farlow, Cove development director, knows it can be difficult for some people to believe these statistics reflect a local issue.

We have six units back there. Theres usually 30-plus people staying with us at any given time, so were kind of bursting at the seams, Farlow said.

Last year, Coves 24/7 helpline took 825 calls.

Some survivors walk through Coves doors alone, while others seek protection with their children.

According to Farlow, just under 50% of those seeking shelter are school age.

She explains that it is not uncommon for survivors to return to an abusive relationship and then back to the shelter again and again.

According to research, it takes survivors an average of seven attempts to leave an abusive relationship permanently.

Its a challenge because the typical survivor has two kids, no job, no car, no place to go, Farlow said.

Future of its funding

Currently, the shelter is accessible to residents of Mason, Lake and Oceana counties.

Cove also serves as an overflow for Manistee County residents when the Choices of Manistee County emergency shelter is full.

Approximately 60% of Coves funding is obtained through government grants, but the organization may soon be forced to rely more heavily on individual and corporate donations.

Federal and state funding is getting cut potentially up to 30% so were needing to fill that gap, Farlow said.

Dunn feels that Cove has become a more capable organization over time which has allowed for expansion of services to a greater number of survivors.

Seeing our funding from the state threatened that way, its existential for this organization. But were going to keep going. Were going to be here 100 years from now, because people arent getting better. This organization is always going to be needed, Dunn said.

The organization had been looking for creative ways to raise money and meet the needs of clients when Safe Harbor Credit Union reached out with the idea of the Birthday Bash. Through the month of May, a party will be held at local restaurants in each of the counties served by Cove.

The Cove Birthday Bash in Manistee is planned for 6 p.m. on May 12 at Taco Bout It Mexican Fusion, 344 River St. Manistee.

Chrissy Streeter/News Advocate

Tarrah Hernandez, co-owner of the restaurant, said that issues related to domestic violence and sexual assault often go unrecognized in small towns.

For Hernandez, hosting this event is a way she can make a difference and encourage others to become more involved.

The community supports us, so we support our community. Theres people struggling and this is a way to lift them up, she said.

Other Birthday Bash events are scheduled to take place at Pompeiis in Baldwin, Scottys Restaurant in Ludington and Kristis Pour House in Hart.

Tickets for the events are available for purchase on Coves Facebook page in the events tab. The cost is $30 per person which includes admission to the event and appetizers. The Manistee event will feature a performance by local musician, Nick Veine.

Those attending are invited to bring presents or monetary donations to help restock the shelter.

The list of needed items are posted on Coves Facebook page and includes large kitchen utensils, new washing machines, dish cloths, mops and other household items.

Besides these events, Farlow notes that there are a lot of ways the community can further the cause such as simply following the organization on social media or volunteering time.

Most recently, Cove kicked off a campaign called 1,000 Strong where it is seeking 1,000 people who will commit to making regular contributions for one years time.

We are looking for recurring donations  so that we can become more sustainable and continue for another 44 years, Farlow said.

For more information on Cove, visit callcove.com or call 231-843-2541.
LANSING  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.
The FBI is looking for any information that points to who they believe intentionally ignited the six-alarm fire at Faith Lutheran Church following Easter services on April 9.

Investigators have deemed the fire suspicious and are turning to anyone who made observations in the area of the church that Sunday evening to share it with investigators, Cambridge Fire Chief Thomas F. Cahill Jr. said in a statement Tuesday.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are also involved in investigating this fire.

No piece of information is too small to share, Cahill said in a statement. We are keenly aware that any place of worship is a cornerstone of the community, and we want to reassure residents that were approaching this case with the seriousness and gravity that it deserves.

The fire at the church was first reported at around 5:30 p.m. Located at 311 Broadway, the church was vacant at the time of the fire, as services were held earlier in the day at 10 a.m. according to the churchs website. No one was injured.

The fire quickly grew and required a massive response from the Cambridge Fire Department. They requested assistance from the Arlington, Belmont, Brookline, Boston, Chelsea, Lexington, Malden, Medford, Newton, Somerville, Waltham, and Watertown fire departments, according to State Fire Marshal Peter J. Ostroskeys office.

It wasnt until 4 a.m. on Monday that firefighters were able to fully knock down the blaze, Ostroskeys office said. Several streets were still closed at around 7:30 a.m., including Broadway from Inman to Columbia, Prospect from Harvard St. to St. Marys and Tremont from Hampshire to Broadway.

The FBI is asking anyone with information to contact its toll-free tipline at 1-800-225-5324 or online at tips.fbi.gov. Anyone with photographs or videos from the day before and the day of the fire is asked to submit them to fbi.gov/cambridgechurchfire.

Faith Lutheran Church is a congregation of the New England Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, according to the churchs website. It also is the home of Faith Kitchen, which through a partnership with Temple Beth Shalom has been cooking, serving, and sharing great meals for nearly twelve years.
The United States Attorney for Massachusetts is asking that a Massachusetts man, who was found guilty of $20 million lottery fraud in December, be forced to forfeit more than $88,000 in lottery tickets to the government, according to court documents.

Ali Jaafar, 63, and his son, Yousef Jaafar, 29, facilitated a ten-percenting scheme, where they purchased winning lottery tickets at a discounted price from gamblers all over the state, often using a middleman to facilitate the transaction, to help them avoid taxes and receive tax refunds, according to government lawyers.

Between 2011 and 2020, the Jaafars and their co-conspirators cashed more than 14,000 lottery tickets and claimed more than $20 million in winnings, receiving more than $1.2 million in tax refunds by reporting false gambling losses.

After a five-day trial, a federal jury convicted each man of one count of conspiracy to defraud the Internal Revenue Service, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and one count each of filing a false tax return. Another son, Mohamed Jaafar, pleaded guilty in November.

Ali Jaafar was the top individual lottery ticket cashier in the state in 2019, Mohamed Jaafar came in third, and Yousef Jaafar placed fourth.

Yousef Jaafar is accused of committing fraud after cashing in roughly 13,000 Massachusetts Lottery tickets valued at nearly $21 million.

In total, the three family members received more than $1.2 [million] in tax refunds by claiming other peoples lottery tickets as their own and then offsetting those winnings with fake gambling losses on their tax returns, prosecutors said in a statement.

Since Ali Jaafars conviction, United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Rachael S. Rollins has asked the court to require him to forfeit $88,365 in Massachusetts Lottery scratch tickets, Keno and Number game tickets seized on September 9, 2020, according to court documents.

The motion, which was filed on Thursday, states the indictment stated the government intended to seek the forfeiture after the conviction.

If the lottery tickets cant be found or were sold to others, court documents state the government will seek the forfeiture of other property equal to that amount.
Police in Groveland say a woman abandoned an Australian Shepherd puppy in a local alleyway and they are now asking for the publics help in identifying her and answering questions about the case.

The puppy was abandoned near a business on Main Street in Groveland on Monday, April 17, according to Groveland Police Chief Jeffrey T. Gillen in a news release posted to the police departments website.

Police responded around 3 p.m. on Monday to the report of the puppys discovery in the alley, according to Gillen.

The suspect, who was caught on surveillance footage, is a blonde woman seen driving a black Mazda SUV and wearing a black Maine School of Law sweatshirt, Gillen added.

She was last seen in the area near the Rte. 113 bridge over the Merrimack River between Groveland and Haverhill.

Gillen said the dog was not injured, but that police are looking to find the suspect on suspicion of animal cruelty.

Anyone who may have information about the incident is asked to call Groveland Police at 978-521-1212.
WESTFIELD  Two Rivers Burrito Co. wouldnt exist without the Air National Guards 104th Fighter Wing in Westfield, says owner Joe Wynn.

When he was an airman himself, the Guard sent Wynn for intelligence training at Goodfellow Air Force Base in San Angelo, Texas, where he picked up a love of that regions Tex-Mex flavors. And it was after an overseas deployment with the 104th Fighter Wing that he learned how to write a business plan  and later launch Two Rivers on Elm Street in May 2013.

And now, hungry current members of the 104th are customers.

I see a lot more people in uniform downtown, he said. Thats something that is very different than it was 20 years ago. And with the F-35s, we know that support is going to continue.

The Air Force announced Tuesday it plans to move 18 of its $78-million latest generation F-35 fighters to the Barnes Air National Guard Base, outfitting the 104th Fighter Wing with aircraft that will insure its future for the next 40 years. The new planes will replace outdated F-15s. The base could have instead gotten updated F-15s that wouldnt have come with the long-term promise of Barnes place in the Air Force.

Around Westfield, news of the Pentagon decision was top of mind Wednesday. Interviews with business people, and with U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, added color and context to the meaning of the move.

Joe Wynn, owner of Two Rivers Burrito Co. in Westfield, shares his thoughts about Barnes Air National Guard Base getting F-35 fighters. (Hoang 'Leon' Nguyen / The Republican)

Having the latest Air Force technology based in Westfield is appropriate given that the city is in the middle of Aerospace Alley, a region of precision manufacturers running from New Haven, Connecticut, north to Greenfield, said Susan M. Kasa, CEO and president of Boulevard Machine and Gear on Lockhouse Road in Westfield.

We see our parts up in those planes, Kasa said, adding that two people of her 25-person workforce are Guard members.

Michael H. Gutowski is on the citys Airport Commission and hes also president of Western Massachusetts Wright Flight, an organization that introduces junior high and high school students to aviation careers with hands-on activities and field trips, including to the Barnes Air National Guard Base and the Gulfstream maintenance facility also located at Barnes.

Having those planes here is one more reason for kids to get excited about the industry.

Boulevard Machine and Gear CEO and president Susan M. Kasa says local manufacturers will be able to look up and know their parts are in the state-of-the art F-35s. (Dave Roback photo)

I wish I was a seventh- or eighth-grader with my whole career in front of me, Gutowski said.

Westfield Technical Academy has about 50 students enrolled at aviation technology maintenance programs at the citys hangar at Barnes-Westfield Regional Airport co-located with the air base, said School Superintendent Stefan J. Czaporowski.

It means that Barnes is going to be around for a while, Czaporowski said Wednesday. So its good for us and good for our program because we collaborate with the 104th.

It is a Federal Aviation Administration-approved program and by senior year students can sit for an exam and become certified airframe technicians.

Tuesdays decision follows years of lobbying at the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill involving U.S. Rep. Richard E. Neal, D-Springfield, the states senators, former Gov. Charlie Baker, the State House delegation and even local officials like Westfield Mayor Michael A. McCabe and Springfield Mayor Domenic J. Sarno.

Warrens views

I am over-the-top happy that the F-35s are coming to Barnes, Warren said in a phone interview Wednesday. The Air Force decision is terrific news for Massachusetts. This is a big deal for the region and for our entire commonwealth. Thats capital B Big, capital D Deal.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., talks with Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley, as they wait on the House floor before President Joe Biden arrives to deliver his State of the Union address in 2022. Warren said she spent years advocating on Westfield's behalf with the Pentagon. (AP File Photo) AP

A big deal was brought about by what Warren said were a zillion phone calls, memos, letters and meetings.

Barnes was always the clear choice, but it wasnt always clear we would be chosen, said Warren, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

There are people who are on my speed dial trying to make sure that the Air Force saw the light and the importance of the F-35s coming to Barnes.

Among the selling points were Westfields receptiveness to the new jets, being a good neighbor and the states SPEED Act. The act expedites the professional licensing process for military spouses so that they continue their careers and makes it easier for children in military families to transfer into local schools or get in-state tuition at colleges and universities.

In 2021, she raised the issue with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall at his Senate confirmation hearings, telling him she wanted license reciprocity and other military family benefits offered by states factored into the base selection process. Kendall, born in Pittsfield, met his future wife in Northampton.

Warren said she touted the states K-12 education achievements as well.

I just had to remind a lot of people at the Department of Defense about all the great things going on in Massachusetts, Warren said.

The move also means $50 million to $80 million in upgrades to the base, said Air Force Col. David Moon Halasi-Kun, the 104ths commander. Thatll include a new flight simulator and changes to hangars.

Itll be a bit of a long road, he said Wednesday.

The planes arent expected until the 2026 fiscal year. An official record of decisions and environmental review is not expected until March or April 2024.

Of the 1,000 people on the base, about half have jobs specific to the F-15. So 500 people  pilots, maintainers  will have to be retrained.

Some pilots or technicians at the end of their careers might retire, he said. The rest will get retrained on the F-35, a process that takes two or three months for pilots and slightly longer for maintenance technicians.

The 104ths air defense mission over New England and New York will not change. The pilots will still scramble to meet threats to 30 million people and roughly 30% of the nations GDP.

But the F-35A also added capabilities of hitting targets on the ground, in addition to air-to-air combat. That means the 104th might be more likely called upon for deployment if air-to-ground attacks are needed.

Climate change was another reason to pick Westfield, said both Halasi-Kun and Warren.

Warren said the country is threatened by climate-driven flooding on the southern border and wildfires in the West. New Orleans and Fresno, California, were Westfields competition.

Westfield is 300 feet above sea level.

The environmental review will center on noise, Halasi-Kun said. Thats been the main concern of neighbors for years.

Its true that the F-35 is louder at full power than the F-15. But the F-35 can take off and land without using full power. What we anticipate is noise will not increase significantly around the base, Halasi-Kun said.

Steve Blanchard was out and about in Westfield Wednesday. He has property here, but lives in the Berkshires.

Warren said noise issues can be addressed.

The Air Force wants to be a good neighbor, she said. But its important that we have cutting-edge defense installations in New England. Warren said she sees that as vital to national security and to military recruiting in the long term.

And New Englanders need to see the military in action. Warren said her three older brothers all served, the eldest as a pilot in combat over Vietnam.

Every American should understand what it means for someone to volunteer for the military and what it means for a family to support a loved one who is in active-duty service, she said.
A 34-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a Maine shooting that left four dead Tuesday morning, according to the Maine Police Department.

Joseph Eaton, of Bowdoin, Maine, was arrested and charged with the killing of four people found fatally shot Tuesday morning in a Bowdoin home on Augusta Road.

Read more: Maine police say 3 people shot on highway connected to 4 people found dead in home

Eaton is currently being held at Two Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset, Maine, and is expected to appear in court later this week.

At 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, minutes after police found the four victims in the Augusta Road home, authorities responded to the report of several people shot while in cars traveling on Interstate 295 South near exit 15 in Yarmouth.

First responders rushed three victims to a hospital; one person was reported to be in critical condition.

Police said the two shooting incidents were connected. However, authorities have not yet announced any charges in the I-295 shooting.

Officials are still investigating the shooting. Anyone with information on either incident is urged to call Maine State Police at 207-624-7076.
Four people were found shot dead in a home and three people were injured on Interstate 295 in two connected Maine shootings Tuesday morning, according to Maine State Police.

Police found four people dead inside a Bowdoin, Maine home on Augusta Road on Tuesday morning, officials stated. Minutes after the discovery, at 10:30 a.m., authorities responded to three people shot while driving cars on I-295 South near exit 15 in Yarmouth.

First responders rushed the victims to a hospital, one person was reported to be in critical condition.

Maine State Police said a person of interest has been arrested in connection with the incidents. There is no continued threat to the public, police added.

Police have not identified the person of interest.

Investigators shut down I-295 south from Freeport to Yarmouth for several hours Tuesday to canvass the scene. The highway has since opened back up except for exit 15 in Yarmouth.

Read more: Paul Traficante pleads not guilty after officials say hazardous materials were in home

The Main Office of the Chief Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy on the four dead individuals found in the Bowdoin home. A cause of death is expected to be released at a later time.

The victims in both incidents have not been identified.

Anyone with information on either incident is urged to call Maine State Police at 207-624-7076.
On Tuesday, lawyers representing MGM Springfield and a former employee who claims she was fired for alerting corporate leaders of irregularities in diversity hires agreed to dismiss two issues in a civil lawsuit.

The lawsuits core issues of whether the casino discriminated and retaliated against Chelan Brown after she notified leaders about claims of inaccurate hiring reports remain at play as the case heads to trial. Brown is a former diversity manager for MGM.

She filed the lawsuit last November in Hampden Superior Court with claims of being racially discriminated against and being pressured to submit falsified reports on the companys diversity hiring practices to the Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

MGM Springfield has denied the allegations of falsifying reports and Browns claims of unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation.

Lawyers met in front of a judge for the first time on Tuesday as part of the lawsuit. The hearing saw attorneys agree to dismiss counts related to Browns claims of a breach of contract and a promise that she would be given a job in the casinos procurement division.

A third issue  whether MGM broke a promise to Brown as part of a deal to release the casino from a three-year contract  was taken under advisement by Judge Jeremy Bucci.

This motion only deals with some ancillary counts in Ms. Browns complaint involving contracts and employment promises made to her, Chelans attorney, Daniel Hagan, said in a written statement prior to the hearing. Regardless of how this motion is decided, all counts in Ms. Browns complaint of discrimination and retaliation perpetrated against her by MGM will be moving forward in the court process.

MGM Springfield did not immediately return a request for comment.

During the hearing, MGMs attorney Jeff Poindexter stated that Brown did agree to release the casino from the last year of her contract as a diversity manager, but said the company never made a specific promise of offering her a comparable position and that her claims were too vague.

Hagan countered that the failed promise made to Brown happened after she reported irregularities in diversity reports to Massachusetts Gaming Commission.

Brown joined MGM during its 2014 campaign to locate a casino in Springfield and she worked as a regional area director, according to the lawsuit. Brown is a Black woman who later became an administrative assistant for Springfield casinos then-president, Michael Mathis, in 2015.

Brown signed a three-year contract with MGM effective August 2016 for the position of construction diversity manager where she oversaw diversity hiring goals that needed to be met for construction crews as the casino was being built. These were conditions MGM had to meet in order to obtain a gaming license.

In August 2018, Mathis appointed Brown to a procurement position with MGM and was responsible for meeting diversity hiring requirements, according to the lawsuit. While working in this position, Brown claims she discovered inaccuracies in diversity goals in certain vendor contracts thereby skirting Massachusetts Gaming Commission rules.

In December 2018, MGM reported that it exceeded its diversity goals by hiring 57.2% of minorities versus its 50 percent goal and that it had hired veterans at 6.2% versus its 2% goal. The hiring of women at the time did not reach the casinos 50% goal with only 46% reported.

Hagan said that after Brown notified MGM leadership in Las Vagas with concerns about inaccurate reports, Mathis removed Brown from her procurement position and back to her original role as a construction division manager.

Mathis then offered Brown a deal, according to Hagan. In exchange for releasing MGM from the last year of her contract, she would be offered a comparable position, Hagan said. Instead, the casino hired her in conference services working banquets  an area she had no experience in  and she effectively received a 6.34% pay cut.

A job with a flexible work schedule never materialized as promised while she regularly worked from 5 a.m. to 11 p.m., according to Hagan.

In the lawsuit, Browns attorney wrote, President Mathis further promised Ms. Brown that if she released MGM from its three year employment contract and stayed with the company by accepting the role in conference services, she would be given a position in the company comparable in salary to her role in procurement.

Hagan said that never happened. He argued that Brown at the very least missed out on the last year of pay she wouldve received for her contract if she had been given a comparable position.

That keeps this claim alive, he said.

Bucci took the matter under consideration for the next 30 days.

Attorneys for Brown filed the lawsuit on Nov. 10 seeking compensation from damages following alleged racial discrimination, retaliation by MGM management, a breach of contract, failure to deliver on promises of employment opportunities, and attempts to force Brown to submit fraudulent reports to the state gaming commission.
A Dorchester man who jumped out of a 12th-floor Roxbury apartment window in what police said was an attempt to evade arrest after he stabbed a person to death was arraigned in Suffolk County Superior Court on Wednesday morning.

Michael Perry, 37, of Dorchester, was arraigned on a first-degree murder charge in Suffolk County Superior Court Wednesday at 11:30 a.m., according to the Suffolk County District Attorneys Office. The murder charge is in connection with the December 2022 stabbing death of 43-year-old Jose Aponte.

Dec. 11, at around 8:08 p.m., Boston police responded to a 12th-floor apartment at 35 Northampton St. in Roxbury for a wellness check after Apontes family reported not hearing from the man days prior, according to officials.

Officers knocked on Apontes apartment door but heard no response. Police asked maintenance to unlock the apartment door, and officers found Apontes dead body.

Perry, who was in the apartment when police entered, jumped out of the 12th-floor apartment window in an attempt to evade arrest, police said.

However, the mans shirt got caught on an 11th-floor window handle during his fall. First responders rushed to the 11th-floor apartment to pull Perry up and take him to a hospital for treatment. He was later arrested in connection with Apontes death.

Perry was originally arraigned on the murder charge in Boston Municipal Court. However, the charge was upgraded to superior court, where he was set to be arraigned Wednesday.
SPRINGFIELD  A Chicopee man is close to settling a lawsuit against the Catholic diocese over what he alleges were attempts to cover up his account of rape at the hands of a former bishop.

According to records filed in Hampden Superior Court, attorneys involved in a 2021 lawsuit have signaled their intentions to settle the case short of a trial. A trial date of May 3 had been set.

The plaintiff, identified only as John Doe, accused diocesan leaders and its longtime attorney of conspiring to conceal allegations against the late Bishop Christopher J. Weldon being part of a ring of clergy who gang-raped altar boys in the 1960s.
SPRINGFIELD  A robbery turned execution. A paid contract hit. A revenge killing.

Facing the long shadow of a potential death penalty sentence in a federal court, Calvin Roberson on Tuesday admitted to his role in three ruthless murders in this city dating back to 2006.

Roberson pleaded guilty to lesser charges of manslaughter, however, as part of a global agreement local prosecutors are orchestrating with federal authorities in Connecticut. There, Roberson and another man have been charged with the 2021 kidnapping and fatal shooting of Francisco Roman, of Chicopee, before setting him and his car on fire in Hartford, Connecticut.

Springfield Police Capt. Trent Duda said he took Robersons confessions at the U.S. Attorneys Office in Connecticut on March 31. Duda, head of the departments homicide unit, said once he sat down with the suspect who had been on several of his suspect lists over the years, there was little angst in the room.

He was very soft-spoken and collected and factual. We asked questions and he gave answers. It was straightforward and very matter-of-fact, Duda said, adding that the proffer lasted more than three hours.

Springfield police captain Trent Duda, the head of the department's homicide unit, sits in court during the guilty plea of Calvin Roberson in the cases of three unresolved homicides. Ellie Ramos, mother of victim Yonaides Pichardo prays in front of him. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 4/18/2023

Roberson pleaded guilty to the local charges under a somewhat unusual procedural provision called a district attorneys complaint, a procedure designed to avoid a lengthy grand jury investigation.

Appearing in glasses and orange prison garb in Hampden Superior Court, Roberson, 40, first admitted to being among one of three men who held up the owner of a nail salon 17 years ago.

During the robbery, Roberson said one of their guns jammed. He went to try to fix it and in the meantime one of his unnamed associates shot Perfect Nails II salon owner Loan Nguyen in the head, according to Assistant District Attorney Max Bennett.

She and two others inside the St. James Avenue salon on Dec. 7, 2006, were ambushed by three masked men including Roberson. He told investigators he was recruited by another man to rob the salon where drug sales also were ongoing, Bennett said.

He needed Mr. Roberson to provide firearms and manpower, the prosecutor told Judge Michael K. Callan.

Assistant District Attorney Max Bennett speaks in Hampden Superior Court during a plea hearing for Calvin Roberson who was pleading guilty to three unresolved Springfield homicides. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 4/18/2023

Nguyen and two others had been duct-taped together in the basement after the thieves grabbed $15,000 in cash from her purse and crack cocaine from another room. Refusing to believe those were all the spoils to be had and after the owner indicated she recognized one of the masked men, that man shot her in the head. Police found Nguyen in the basement of the salon in a pool of her own blood, Bennett said.

Roberson and his unnamed associates drove to Robersons mothers house in Springfield afterwards to split up the money and drugs.

This was brutal and cold-hearted. It was essentially a robbery that turned into an execution, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni told reporters minutes before Roberson entered his guilty pleas.

Hampden District Attorney Anthony Gulluni holds a press conference shortly before the plea hearing of Calvin Roberson who admitted to three unresolved Springfield homicides. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 4/18/2023

Despite police attention dogging him, Roberson continued to commit home invasions and rob those he perceived to be his rivals, investigators said. He was hired for $5,000 to kill Yonaides Jimmy Pichardo over a bungled robbery involving a Rolex watch. He roped Pichardo into a purported robbery of a drug dealer on Sycamore Street on Oct. 11, 2016, Bennett told Callan. Roberson shot Pichardo in the head with his own gun while the two were in a car. He left the 28-year-old for dead.

A year later, Pichardos younger brother signaled his intent to avenge his siblings death. The home of Robersons mother was riddled with bullets in the fall of 2017. Roberson then put word out on the street that he would now be hunting the younger Pichardo. He found him doing laundry at the LaundroMax on Boston Road on Oct. 19, 2017.

He received word that Pichardo was at the LaundroMax, went around the back, shot him once in the torso and fled the scene, Bennett said.

Police found David Pichardo shot once in the torso and gasping for air. He died shortly after. Roberson remained on the streets.

Family members of murder victim Yonaides "Johnny" Pichardo react in Hampden Superior Court as Calvin Roberson pleads guilty to Pichardo's 2016 murder. On the left is Pichardo's 12-year old daughter Aleena. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 4/18/2023

Several of the Pichardo brothers relatives attended the plea hearing on Tuesday. The mens mother, Ellie Ramos, said she found some peace in hearing Roberson plead guilty to manslaughter.

But its not enough, she said tearfully outside the Roderick Ireland Courthouse on State Street.

Gulluni told reporters he met or talked with family members of the victims including Ramos ahead of the plea.

I just spoke with a mother who lost two sons, two sons to murder in rapid succession. She has faith in God and faith in the system now, Gulluni said.

Police detectives say unsolved murders have hovered around Roberson for better than a decade. He was charged in the Nguyen murder  but those charges were dropped in 2007 because the evidence wasnt quite sufficient to guarantee a conviction. Tuesdays change of plea hearing appeared to be connected to the Roman case, set to go to trial in U.S. District Court in Connecticut in July.

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorneys Office in that state declined to comment Tuesday on the Roberson matter. Roberson has been charged federally along with Brandon Batiste. Court records linked to that case say the pair allegedly kidnapped Roman from his Chicopee home, stole Christmas presents from the home, shot Roman, handcuffed him, stuffed him in the trunk of his own truck and later set the car on fire using gasoline and lighter fluid. Firefighters in Connecticut discovered the scene and called police.

Ellie Ramos, the mother of Springfield murder victim Yonaides "Johnny" Pachardo, reacts in Hampden Superior Court during the guilty plea of Calvin Roberson to the murder of two Pichardo brothers. (Don Treeger / The Republican) 4/18/2023

The murder investigations were for years stacking up against Roberson  a father of four who dropped out of Springfield Central High School in 11th grade.

Common to many of our murder investigations in Springfield: we couldnt get all the eyewitnesses or cooperating witnesses we needed. We were close, and weve chased him, Duda said.

And despite the numbers of bodies that have become associated with him, the detective said the public shouldnt dramatize Roberson as a serial killer.

They do home invasions; they call them rips or jobs. Hes not a serial killer like in the romantic sense of the definition. Hes a cold-blooded killer. He would just kill anyone who got in his way, Duda said.

Robersons sentencing has not yet been set, given the outstanding matters in federal court in Connecticut. A status conference is set for Sept. 24 in Hampden Superior Court.
Maine State Police identified the people found fatally shot in a Bowdoin residence and the individuals who were injured in a follow-up shooting on a Maine highway Tuesday morning.

On Tuesday at about 9:21 a.m., police responded to a check for a Bowdoin home at 1459 Augusta Road. The caller told police they found a person dead inside the residence.

Officers found the homeowners, 72-year-old Robert Eger and his wife, 62-year-old Patricia Eger, dead beside 62-year-old Cynthia Eaton, according to officials.

Cynthia Eatons husband, David Eaton, 66, was found dead in a barn outside the house. An autopsy report revealed all the people died of gunshot wounds. Their deaths have been ruled as homicides.

At 10:30 a.m., minutes after police found the four victims in the Augusta Road home, authorities responded to the report of several people shot while in cars traveling on Interstate 295 near exit 15 in Yarmouth. Police said one northbound vehicle was struck by stray gunfire and three southbound vehicles were hit by gunfire in this incident.

First responders rushed 51-year-old Sean Halsey and his two children, 29-year-old Justin Halsey, and 25-year-old Paige Halsey, who are from Bowdoinham, to a hospital following the shooting.

Paige Halsey is currently in critical condition. Police said Sean Halsey and Justin Halsey had non-life-threatening injuries.

Authorities identified 34-year-old Joseph Eaton of Bowdoin as the suspect in the shootings and located the man in a wooded area outside exit 15 south on an off-ramp of I-295 at 10:50 a.m.

Joseph Eaton was taken to Maine Medical Center where he was medically cleared and then taken to the Portland Police Department, where an interview was conducted.

Police say the man told them he killed his parents, Cynthia and David Eaton and their friends Robert and Patricia Eger. He said he shot at the vehicles on the highway thinking they were police following him, according to officials.

Records show that Joseph Eaton was released from Windham Correctional Center four days prior, on April 14, after serving two years for aggravated assault.

His mother picked him up from the prison and drove him to stay with family friends at the Egers home on Augusta Road, police said.

Joseph Eaton has since been charged with four counts of murder in connection with the fatal shootings. Hes currently being held without bail in Bridges Regional Jail in Wiscasset.

His charges in the I-295 shooting are currently pending, according to officials.

Authorities are still investigating the shooting. Anyone with information on either incident is urged to call Maine State Police at 207-624-7076.
WEST SPRINGFIELD  West Springfield Town Councils Traffic and Safety subcommittee, the towns Department of Public Works and the Massachusetts Department of Transportation are discussing high-intensity lightbulbs and lighting schemes after two town councilors said the lighting along Route 20 improves when motorists cross into Westfield.

Town councilors Daniel OBrien and Jamie Smith noticed on their morning drives along Route 20 that visibility gets much better as drivers leave West Springfield and enter Westfield, especially on a misty, overcast morning, OBrien said.

According to OBrien, the Town Engineer Connor Knightly has already made an inquiry with MassDOT about the future use of higher wattage lightbulbs. Knightly did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Visibility is better on Route 20 in Westfield because of higher wattage lightbulbs.

Knightly said during a meeting in March that Down To Earth Construction Co. Inc. also noted that Westfield has a light on every pole whereas West Springfield has lights on every other pole,

Additionally, the project will aim to also address lighting plans for the bike and walking path on the opposite side of the road, OBrien said on Tuesday.

If we are going to invite people over there, we need to increase the safety and visibility, he said.

The subcommittee will receive an update on the inquiry at the next Traffic and Safety subcommittee meeting, scheduled the first week in May.
A day after parts of West Springfield lost water in a burst water pipe incident, police are warning residents about scammers going to multiple residents offering to test residents water for a fee of $150.

West Springfield Police and the Department of Public Works warned residents of several people reported to have gone into multiple homes Tuesday without notice and offer water testing for $150 in order to be released from the town-wide boil water order.

The town has been placed on a boil water order since Tuesday after the main Gooseberry water pipeline had its broken sections replaced. Residents had their water turned back on after it was shut off for a period of time Tuesday.

West Springfield is still testing water in affected areas and has placed a boil water order for all homes until the water is cleared from testing.

Authorities warn residents of the scammers and state that the people showing up door-to-door are not with the town of West Springfield.

The boil water order has not been lifted as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday. West Springfield residents are still urged to boil any water used for daily activities.

Officials released the following advisements to help residents avoid being a victim of a scam:
Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his longshot bid to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year.

Kennedy, a member of one of the countrys most famous political families who has in recent years been linked to some far-right figures, kicked off his campaign in Boston on Wednesday and likened his campaign to the American Revolution.

My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country, Kennedy said.

Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running for the Democratic nomination. Biden has said hes planning on running again but has not formally announced a campaign. Hes expected to have a glide path to the nomination, with much of the Democratic establishment behind him.

Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, was once known most as an environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.

But over the past nearly two decades, hes become one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement. His work has been described by members of his own family and public health experts as misleading and dangerous.

His efforts intensified after the pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, and an AP investigation in 2021 showed he had linked up with anti-democratic figures and other groups. He has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A photo posted on Instagram showed Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former President Donald Trumps ally Roger Stone, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger. All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen.

Kennedy has been a guest on Infowars, the channel run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and on the War Room podcast hosted by longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, where he promoted his bestselling 2021 book, The Real Anthony Fauci, in which he accused the U.S.s top infectious disease doctor of participating in a historic coup detat against Western democracy.

Read more: Voter advocates looking to staff up ahead of ranked choice voting push in Boston

The AP documented how Kennedy and his anti-vaccine group, Childrens Health Defense, had capitalized on the COVID-19 pandemic  raking in funding and followers in the U.S. and abroad, and doubling its revenue from 2019 to 2020. Researchers have found that the group is among the most influential spreaders of anti-vaccine misinformation, and the AP found traffic to its website had soared.

In the second year of the pandemic, Childrens Health Defense continued its huge growth, according to a more recent filing with charity regulators in California. Revenue more than doubled from $7 million in 2020 to $16 million in 2021.

Facebook and Instagram removed the accounts of Childrens Health Defense for spreading misinformation.

Kennedy has repeatedly invoked Nazis and the Holocaust when talking about measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, such as mask requirements and vaccine mandates. He has apologized for some of those comments, including when he suggested that people in 2022 were worse off than Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.
A statewide voter advocacy group is looking to bring ranked choice voting to Bostons local elections through an organized push in 2024 and is staffing up in the city by hiring someone to lead those efforts.

Voter Choice Massachusetts said it is looking to bring on a coalition director to launch an 18-month education and advocacy project to bring ranked choice voting to Boston, according to a job posting and interview with an official there.

If the group makes the hire and pursues the issue in the city, it would come as at least four other municipalities are actively seeking to install ranked choice voting through locally approved legislative proposals this session.

Our primary objective is the passage of a home rule petition by the Boston City Council in 2024 that enacts [ranked choice voting] for all elected city offices, including the mayor, district, and at-large city councilor, and any elected school committee seats that may be added in the future, a job posting in the political newsletter MASSterList said.

In ranked voting, if a candidate receives a majority of peoples first choice, then they are declared the winner. If not, the process goes to subsequent ballots until one candidate receives a majority of first picks.

Voter Choice Massachusetts Policy Director Greg Dennis said there are two reasons the organization is optimistic Boston will approve the measure  the city voted in favor of it during the 2020 elections and volunteers are approaching Voter Choice Massachusetts saying can you please help us make it happen here.

Dennis said they are looking to hire a coalition director as soon as we find the right person for the role. The person, he said, should come with an understanding of the Boston political landscape and ranked choice voting.

That person would start the conversations with city leaders, with community groups and community stakeholders and see if theres enough interest to do this. And if there is, maybe the council would be willing to do this. The ideal timeline, the newly elected council would be ideally prepared to do this in the beginning of the year and we get a home rule submitted in 2024, Dennis said in an interview with MassLive.

Massachusetts has weighed in on the question of ranked choice voting in the past.

A 2020 ballot question that would have implemented the system in statewide elections failed at the ballot box. Fifty-one percent of the 3.6 million residents who cast a ballot that year voted against it while only 43% supported it, according to statistics from the secretary of states office.

Advocates argued the practice allows voters to rank their candidates in order of preference.

Boston voted in favor of the idea, with 167,163 votes cast in support and 102,772 in opposition, according to state data.

Money flowed into the race that year.

Supporters raised more than $10 million in 2019 and 2020 to get the measure across the finish line while the opposition raised less than $10,000 in 2020, according to state campaign finance data.

Mass Fiscal Alliances Paul Craney said ranked choice voting doesnt achieve the goals that it claims it does. The group helped lead the charge against the proposal in 2020.

Craney said there are a handful of things that ranked choice voting advocates claim are beneficial but are false.

One is that it selects a candidate with majority support, when initially, there isnt majority support for the first candidates. And thats not true, he said in an interview. The only way it selects a candidate with majority support is by exhausting other ballots, meaning peoples votes get discarded along the way.

Former Republican Gov. Charlie Baker and Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said they were against ranked-choice voting ahead of the 2020 election.

But Dennis points to a number of other cities and towns that are also pushing the state legislature to approve ranked choice voting measures.

Arlington, Amherst, Northampton and Concord have all sent home rule petitions to Beacon Hill, Dennis said. And three other municipalities  Brookline, Acton and Williamstown  will take up proposals during upcoming town meetings, according to Dennis.

Only two communities already have some version of ranked choice voting, Cambridge and Easthampton, Dennis said.

The [ballot] question fell short statewide, but it won pretty handily in the city of Boston and it won pretty handily in a number of communities throughout the state that are interested in trying it out, Dennis said. What weve learned in the wake of the ballot question loss is that, and in just talking to people, a lot of people voted against it  because they didnt get a chance in the middle of the pandemic to actually know what it was and what they were voting on.
Guillermo Creamer Jr. launched his campaign for Worcester mayor Wednesday with a video posted to his social media accounts, making him the first person to publicly challenge incumbent Mayor Joseph Petty.

Worcester deserves a choice, Creamer wrote in the social media posts. Im committed to centering the conversation around community, equity and opportunity.

Creamer, a Worcester native, announced he will be running to become a councilor-at-large but will keep his name on the ballot for mayor. He needs to get 300 signatures from city residents on his nomination papers to qualify for the ballot.

Im running for Mayor!



Worcester deserves a choice. Im committed to centering the conversation around community, equity, and opportunity.



Together we will pave the path for a future that is led by lived experiences. pic.twitter.com/WRI1nI8k3p  Guillermo Creamer Jr (@GuillermoCJr) April 19, 2023

In Worcester, candidates for councilor-at-large also appear on a separate portion of the ballot as candidates for mayor, though candidates are able to withdraw their name if they are only interested in running for councilor-at-large, according to the Worcester City Council Manual. The candidate with the most votes for mayor who also is one of the top six vote-getters in the at-large race becomes the citys mayor.

Petty is the longest-serving mayor in Worcester history, becoming the first person to win five terms as mayor in 2019. He announced hed be running for re-election in December, running for his 14th term as councilor-at-large and seventh term as mayor.

Petty did try to change things up last year by running for the First Worcester District Senate seat retiring Sen. Harriette Chandler was vacating, but lost in the Democratic primary race to Robyn Kennedy who went on to win the seat.

Im running for Mayor to ensure that the voices of all residents have a seat at the table, Creamer says on his campaign website.

Read more: Former Worcester Superintendent Maureen Binienda looking to run for school committee

Creamer has run for political office in the city before, coming in eighth place for councilor-at-large in 2021, two spots away from making it onto the council.

He said he is thrilled to hit the campaign trail again in a press release discussing his candidacy. Creamer currently serves as the chair of the citys Human Rights Commission, but said out of respect for the commissions apolitical nature he will step down as chair. He plans to continue to serve on the commission.

Im hoping to build off the last campaign and the work accomplished on HRC and as the community organizer for the citywide planning project, Creamer said. This campaign is about giving residents a choice and energizing the movement for building a more reflective government.

Creamer is the community organizer for Now | Next Worcesters citywide planning process meant to develop a long-range plan for initiatives affecting the entire city.

Creamer attended Elm Park Community School, the Nativity School of Worcester and Bancroft School in Worcester. In his campaign videos, he discusses growing up in three deckers across the city.

After that, Creamer spent time in Washington, D.C. first attending American University and then co-founding the non-profit Pay Our Interns. The organization works to to ensure all students have equitable access to professional career paths through the implementation of paid internships countrywide, according to its website.

His campaign for mayor will focus on housing affordability, a pathway to homeownership, the issues impacting small businesses and developing a green and efficient Worcester, according to his press release.

In his video, Creamer says that for many city residents our home has been taken away, citing rent prices becoming increasingly unaffordable and generational small businesses shuttering their doors.

Weve heard this city is going through a renaissance. But for who? Creamer said. He said the city needs to elect leaders committed to being a voice for the community.
JetBlue will stop offering flights from Worcester to New York City this summer in favor of its new service to two destinations in Florida.

Currently, JetBlue offers daily flights between Worcester and John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, as well as between Worcester and Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Last week, the airline announced it will add daily service to Orlando starting June 15, as well as seasonal service to Fort Myers during Boston Red Sox spring training season.

On JetBlues website, the last available flights between Worcester and New York are on June 14, the day before the start of Orlando service. After June 14, the site lists flights between the two airports operated by American Airlines through a partnership between the two airlines.

Read more: Worcester Regional Airport celebrates one millionth passenger

Delta Airlines also offers daily flights between Worcester and New York City, flying into LaGuardia Airport.

JetBlue did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Worcester Regional Airport Director Andy Davis told the Telegram & Gazette that JetBlue would be phasing out the New York flights in favor of those to and from Florida.
Prosecutors claim the Worcester man arrested in connection with a double stabbing at Clark University put the bloody knife used in the fight in his moms car afterwards.

Knowledge Bethea, 18, was brought before Judge Janet McGuiggan in Worcester District Court on Wednesday for his arraignment. He was charged with two counts of armed assault to murder and two counts of assault and battery with a dangerous weapon.
The Worcester Regional Transit Authority, which is expected to vote later this week to extend fare-free service for another year, is the only urban regional transit authority in Massachusetts that has not only met but exceeded pre-pandemic ridership levels on its fixed-route buses, according to a new report out Wednesday from the Worcester Regional Research Bureau.

In 2019, the WRTAs fixed routes saw 2,925,030 unlinked passenger trips, or UPTs, a metric which refers to the number of passengers counted each time they board a public transportation vehicle, no matter how many vehicles they use. While that number dipped to 1,988,901 in 2020 due in large part to the pandemic, in 2022, it had risen to 3,582,608.

The WRTAs exceptionally speedy ridership recovery, with 140% of 2019 pre-pandemic values by the end of 2022, may be due in part to the fare-free service begun in March 2020, the report says.

Fixed routes are typical bus routes, which follow a predetermined route and schedule, and make up about 96% of WRTA trips, according to the report. Demand response services primarily cover paratransit used by elderly and disabled passengers; demand response trips increased 43.7% in 2022, but with 141,273 trips last year they have not yet reached pre-pandemic levels (2019 saw 180,592 demand response trips).

The WRTA, which serves 37 cities and towns in Worcester County, first implemented fare-free bus service at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The program has repeatedly been extended, with the WRTA Advisory Board Audit and Finance Committee voting last month to recommend extending it once again from its current expiration date of June 2023 to June 2024.

The transit agency has $19.8 million in CARES Act funding remaining, of which about $3.7 million would be added to the budget for the next year to support the extension of fare-free service. The proposed consolidated FY24 budget is about $34.4 million, a 6.2% increase over fiscal 2023s budget.

The WRTA Advisory Board is scheduled to meet Thursday, at which time it is expected to vote to approve the Audit and Finance Committees budget recommendations, including the fare-free extension.

According to the WRRB report, about 39% of riders use the WRTA to get to and from work. Of all workers living in the area served by the agencys fixed routes, which includes 16 of the 37 total communities served by the WRTA, about 2.1% commute to their jobs via public transportation. About 8.8% work from home, while the majority drive to work.

As of 2019, the most recent data available, 73,111 employees who worked in Worcester lived outside the city, while 36,208 lived and worked in the city. Another 52,981 workers lived in the city but traveled outside it for work. The towns with the largest numbers of workers coming into Worcester were Shrewsbury, Holden and Auburn; of workers leaving Worcester for their jobs, the biggest destinations were Boston, Westborough, Marlborough and Shrewsbury.

The most recent American Community Survey data showed that people of color are overrepresented among WRTA users, according to the WRRB report. Within the WRTAs fixed route area, Black residents make up 7.4% of the population Latino residents make up 15.1%, but they represent 14% and 19.4% of public transit users, respectively. Within the city of Worcester itself, Black and Latino residents are 12.8% and 22.7% of the total population, 21.5% and 29% of public transit users.

On the WRTAs most recent customer satisfaction survey of fixed route riders, conducted in 2018, two-thirds of respondents reported incomes of less than $25,000 and 70% reported not having a vehicle. On the same survey, 49% said they would walk if buses were not available, and 30% said they would not travel at all.

The WRRB report says the biggest areas that regional transit agencies like the WRTA can change to improve ridership are operating and service adjustments; partnerships and coordination with other organizations such as local universities; marketing, promotion and informational efforts; and fare collection structure.

The 2018 survey also showed that riders would use the WRTA more if there was more weekend service, more frequent service and longer service hours. In addition, only 28% of riders said they followed the WRTA on social media, while 76% reported visiting its website.

There is no doubt that a plausible goal, from which all involved would benefit, is maintaining this upward trend in ridership, the report says. This would benefit both current users and new ones, simultaneously bolstering economic, educational, social and equity purposes.

To read the full report, click here. An interactive data dashboard for the information included in the report can be found here.
n March 2023, the Climate Investment Funds (CIF), the Government of Cote dIvoire, and the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) held a four-day event to share knowledge from 15 years of the Funds interventions in Africa. The event focused on experiences from the Forest Investment Program and the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience. It also previewed CIFs Nature, People, and Climate Investment Program.

The occasion brought together over 200 participants from CIF recipient countries, contributing states, the private sector, civil society, local community groups, and the Funds international partners.

Mafalda Duarte, Head of CIF, opened the event: After about 15 years, CIF has learned a great deal about what works in climate finance. Were a fund and a learning laboratory. Here in Cote dIvoire, CIF and African Development Bank are proudly bringing countries together to exchange lessons and lay the groundwork for even greater impact. She reiterated that CIF would continue to mobilize resources to support African countries.

Kevin Kariuki, Vice President of Energy, Power and Climate at the African Development Bank, said: CIF was created by MDBs and for MDBs and its member countries. As a financing mechanism that provides concessional resources to support climate change projects, CIF is one of a kind and a partner of choice for the Bank and the African continent.

Africa has contributed the least to global warming, and has the lowest emissions, but it is most vulnerable to the implications of global warming under all climate scenarios over 1.5 degrees Celsius. The CIF event highlighted the perspectives of African governments and donor countries on the urgent need to scale up climate finance, particularly for adaptation in Africa and how the Fund can lead this process.

Commenting on efforts to reverse Cote dIvoires declining forest cover, currently estimated at 2.5 million hectares compared to 16 million in the 1960s, Ivorian Minister of Environment and Sustainable Development Jean-Luc Assi indicated: Cote dIvoire has requested and obtained funding from the CIF to operationalize its strategies for forest management and the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions due to deforestation and forest degradation. He added that CIF provided $177 million for the first two phases of Cote dIvoires Forest Investment Program and the Dedicated Grant Mechanism.

To share knowledge and showcase innovations and outcomes, the Africa Knowledge Exchange invited participants to a knowledge fair to learn about experiences in implementing work concerning sustainable forestry, climate resilience, and Indigenous People and Local Communities through the CIF projects over the past 15 years. The knowledge fair featured exhibitions by seven African countries  Burkina Faso, Cote dIvoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Niger, Republic of Congo, and Zambiaas well as the African Development Bank and the CIF.

There were sessions dedicated to International Womens Day 2023, focusing on social inclusion and womens leadership. Women are leading frontline climate action and activism. Climate finance in Africa is key to supporting women and youth climate entrepreneurship to scale up interventions driving climate actions in local communities. Climate leadership of women requires interrelated approaches to ensure their empowerment and influence in decision-making processes, participants heard.

The African continent needs it, and the world needs it. Climate finance needs to reach those most in need and those on the ground. Its not difficult, and the proof is that CIF has dared, said Cecile Bibiane Ndjebet, Founder and President, African Womens Network for Community Management of Forests. She is the 2022 Wangari Maathai Forest Champions Award Recipient and UNEP Champion of the Earth.

The participants also visited an energy wood production site in Ahua, Department of Dimbokro, developed by the MALEBI Association, an Ivorian women-led organization that produces and sells of sustainable charcoal.

The event provided a platform to discuss key just transition challenges in Africa. The transition to a green economy will create new economic and social development opportunities, but it also poses new risks and losses. How these risks and opportunities are mitigated and distributed among different populations and regions will determine if the transition to a low-carbon and resilient economy is just.

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ePharmacy Market Research Report: Information By Drug Type (Prescription Drugs, and Over the Counter (OTC) Drugs), By Operating Platform (App and Website), By Business Model (Pharmacy and Direct), And By Region (Europe, Asia-Pacific, North America, And Rest Of The World)  Market Forecast Till 2030

The ePharmacy Market Size was valued at USD 65.90 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow from USD 74.13 Billion in 2023 to USD 150.29 billion by 2030, exhibiting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 12.50% during the forecast period (2023  2030).

E-pharmacy, also known as an online pharmacy, is a platform that allows consumers to purchase prescription and over-the-counter medications via the internet. It provides customers with the convenience of shopping for medicines from their homes or workplaces, at any time and without the need to physically visit a pharmacy store. They may also provide information about health and wellness, as well as resources for managing chronic conditions. The e-pharmacy market has grown rapidly in recent years, driven by factors such as increasing internet penetration, changing consumer attitudes towards online shopping, and advancements in technology.

People are opting for online pharmacies to avoid going to physical stores and to maintain social distancing. As a result, the ePharmacy market has seen substantial growth, with an increase in the number of people ordering prescription medicines and over-the-counter products online. In conclusion, the COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant positive impact on the pharmacy market, leading to growth in both the number of consumers using online pharmacies and the overall size of the market.

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ePharmacy Market Segmentation

The Global EPharmacy market has been segmented into Drug Type, Product Type, and application

Based on the drug type, the market has been segmented into Prescription Drugs and Over-the-Counter (OTC) Drugs.

Based on the application, the market has been segmented into Skin Care, Dental, Cold and Flu, Vitamins, Weight Loss, and Other Product Types.

ePharmacy Market Key Players

Some of the key market players are

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ePharmacy Market Regional Analysis

North America is currently the largest market for egg powder, with the United States being the major contributor to the markets growth. The region has a well-established food processing industry, and the demand for egg powder is increasing due to the growing popularity of convenience foods and the longer shelf life of egg powder compared to fresh eggs.

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by Karlene Lukovitz @KLmarketdaily, April 18, 2023

In an abrupt end to the most-watched media lawsuit in years, Fox Corp and Fox News have agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million to settle Dominions defamation action for Fox Newss repeated airing of false claims about Dominion that there was voter fraud in the 2020 election.

The damages appear to be the largest publicly known defamation settlement in U.S. history involving a media company.

However, the settlement does not require Fox News to admit on air that it lied about Dominion, or publicly apologize.

Just before 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Judge Eric Davis announced in a Delaware Superior courthouse that the parties have resolved their case.

Fox has admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees, and the customers that we serve, Dominion CEO John Poulos said. While nothing can ever make up for that, the cases outcome has demonstrated that there are consequences for spreading lies, he said.

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Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson said that the case, and the amount of the monetary damages, represent vindication and accountability for Dominion and democracy. But he also warned that misinformation will not go away; it may only get worse, adding that all of us must remain ever-vigilant and find common ground in truth.

In an interview on MSNBC, Dominion lawyer Stephen Shackleford said that in addition to accountability and justice for Dominion, the case succeeded in exposing the hypocrisy of Fox executives and hosts, by revealing their behind-the-scenes communications acknowledging the falsity of the voter fraud claims being aired on Fox News -- claims that Dominion argued were made to placate Fox viewers furious at the network for having been the first to call Joe Biden as the winner in Arizona.

We exposed the reality at Fox in a way that it has never been exposed before, Shackleford said.

While unprecedented among media cases -- and a big hit even for Fox, which saw net profit of $1.2 billion last year -- the monetary damages in no way threaten Fox Corps financial viability. Like all large media companies, Fox has libel insurance. And as media analysts have pointed out, with more than $4 billion in cash on its balance sheet as of year-end 2022, Fox could likely have paid the full $1.6 billion initially sought by Dominion without even having to sell any assets.

The parties did not publicly disclose the terms of the settlement beyond the monetary damages.

However, a Dominion representative told CNN that the settlement does not require that Fox News acknowledge on air that it told lies about Dominion Voting Systems.

Indeed, Foxs official statement following the announcement not only sidestepped any direct admission of wrongdoing; it attempted to spin the settlement as a validation of its practices.

We are pleased to have reached a settlement of our dispute with Dominion Voting Systems, Fox Media said. We acknowledge the Courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. This settlement reflects Foxs continued commitment to the highest journalistic standards. We are hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.

The monetary damages, while far short of the original $1.6 billion asked for, are about 20 times the $38.3 million that private equity firm Staples Street Capital paid to acquire a 76% stake in Dominion in 2018.

The settlement also spares Dominion the long, costly, series of appeals that would certainly have been filed by Fox if Fox had been found guilty by a jury of actual malice -- that is, having aired the lies about Dominion knowingly or with reckless disregard for the truth.

Fox, for its part, is spared the specter of its top executives, including Fox Corp Chairman Rupert Murdoch - as well as Tucker Carlson and other of its top stars -- being questioned on the stand about the stark contrast between their private messages and the falsehoods being broadcast on Fox News.

During months of developments in the lawsuit, many media lawyers said that Dominion had put together the strongest defamation suit they had ever seen, and might succeed in winning despite the extraordinarily high bar that proving actual malice represents.

But after a series of stunning legal rulings against Fox by Judge Davis, including one precluding Fox from claiming protection based on newsworthiness, some observers speculated that the jury selection process might have been the factor that pushed Fox to finally agree to terms acceptable to Dominion.

Your presence here was extremely important, Judge Davis told jury members as he dismissed them from duty. "And without you, the parties would not have been able to resolve their situation.

Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that the emergence of secret recordings by former Fox News producer Amy Grossberg, who is suing the company for discrimination, were a key factor in moving the settlement forward, although Fox said this is "totally false." Those recordings include off-the-air discussions between hosts and guests, including one in which Maria Bartiromo asks Donald Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani about the veracity of a rumor that then House Speaker Nancy Pelosi had a financial stake in Dominion. I read that, but I cant prove that, Giuliani responded.

Some experts declared the costly and very public settlement a victory for democracy and sound journalism, despite Foxs apparently having avoided having to admit its falsehoods on air as part of the deal.

But others were less than convinced that the consequences will cause any fundamental change in the behavior that did much to mislead millions of Americans to believe there was voter fraud in the election.

The stain this leaves on Fox cant be wiped out with money, stated Angelo Carusone, president of media watchdog Media Matters. The network has been completely exposed as a partisan propaganda outlet that is willing to do anything for profit and power. Fox News lied about the 2020 election; they all knew it was a lie, right up to the Murdochs themselves. What the Dominion trial offered was a keyhole view into the day-to-day industrial-scale deceit that takes place at Fox. It helped illustrate why the company is such a uniquely destructive force. Ultimately, though, the only way to hold Fox accountable is for the cable companies that force every cable customer to subsidize Fox by grossly overpaying for it, even if they never watch it, not to give in to Fox's bullying tactics.

In an MSNBC interview, Carusone also predicted that Fox News will work harder than ever to stress themes that stir up its core audience to try to distract from and put behind it the lawsuit's revelations about Fox's broadcasting misinformation.

Tucker Carlson -- who acknowledged in one internal email revealed in the Dominion case that he actually hates Trump passionately," and called Trump a demonic force, a destroyer" who was a "disaster" as president and whose behavior after the election was "disgusting" -- last week aired an interview with Trump on Fox in which he described Trump as "moderate, sensible and wise," even as Trump rambled about "nuclear warming" and lavishly praised North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un.

Fox also faces a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit by another voting technology company, Smartmatic, as well as the discrimination lawsuit by Grossberg, who was to be a witness for Dominion.

After yesterday's settlement, Smartmatic lawyer J. Erik Connolly issued this statement: Dominions litigation exposed some of the misconduct and damage caused by Foxs disinformation campaign. Smartmatic will expose the rest.

Dominion, for its part, still has six pending defamation suits, including ones against right-wing networks Newsmax and OAN (each for at least $1.6 billion in damages), Trump lawyers Giuliani and Sidney Powell, and Trump acolyte/pillow purveyor Mike Lindell. They have all denied wrongdoing.

Dominion lawyers confirmed that Dominion would quickly "move onto the next lawsuit.

Meanwhile, Newsmax put out a statement saying that it believes that the facts at issue in Dominions case against it are materially different from those that may have driven Fox to settle, and no conclusion about Newsmax should be drawn from that settlement. Newsmax stands by its coverage and analysis of the 2020 election and will continue to vigorously defend against the claim.
by Colin Kirkland , April 19, 2023

Snap Inc. has announced that its subscription option, Snapchat+, now has over 3 million users.

At its Snap Partner Summit event in Santa Monica, the company said it will begin inviting Verizon users to buy Snapchat+ subscriptions through the carrier's subscription store, +Play.

Snapchat+ originally launched in June 2022. By August, 1 million people were subscribed. By February, the company counted 2 million subscribers, reporting continuous growth.

With 375 million daily active users on the platform worldwide, 3 million Snapchat+ subscribers makes up less than 1% of the AR-forward social-messaging app's total users.

However, Snap's subscription option is outperforming other leading social giants' paid options like Twitter Blue, which only has a few hundred thousand global subscribers, and Meta's paid Facebook service, which is just getting started.

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Snap's premium subscribers have been showered with myriad feature releases in the past few months. In February, Snap introduced My AI, a personalized chatbot tool that subscribers can ask questions with and receive AI-generated answers they can then share with friends in the app.

The My AI chatbot -- which the company says sees nearly 2 million chats per day -- will soon become available to all Snapchatters, although premium users will experience an exclusive feature in which the bot replies to them with an image based on the conversation they are having.

Another premium AI-offering includes text prompts for visual AI-generated profile backgrounds, which showcase various design styles that users can choose from.

In addition to AI, subscribers have received fun and helpful tools including custom notification sounds, story expiration controls, and a plan gifting option.

In February, the company announced that Snapchat+ reached an annual revenue run rate of over $100. Since its launch, Snap has also made $80 million through in-app purchases, according to research reported by digital analytics company Sensor Tower, with more than half of premium subscribers based in the U.S., 10% from the U.K., and 5% from Saudi Arabia, Australia and Canada.
19:16 | Lima, Apr. 18.

Venezuelan Sergio Tarache Parra burned Peru's Katherine Gomez alive in an area located close to Plaza Dos de Mayo (May 2nd Roundabout) in the Peruvian capital Lima. The 18-year-old woman, who was Tarache's ex-partner, died six days later after a painful agony.

In a recent statement, the Peruvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that, since his capture in Colombia, prosecution and diplomatic authorities have thoroughly explored all possible ways to bring the Venezuelan national to Peru in the most expeditious and safe manner possible.

As a result, the competent authorities believe that pre-trial detention for extradition purposes is the one that provides the most appropriate security and guarantees to ensure an effective administration of justice in this case.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that it will provide the support required by the judicial authorities so as to carry out the extradition of Sergio Tarache Parra as quickly as possible, to give him a fair trial in Peru.

The government agency affirmed that the Embassy of Peru in Colombia has complied with the judicial mandate to present, before Colombian authorities, the request for pre-trial detention in order to extradite Tarache to Peru.





The Venezuelan national was included in Mininter's Rewards Program, as it announced a reward worth S/50,000 (about US$13,283) to anyone who provided information on his whereabouts. He was captured on April 11 at about 7 p.m. in the town of Barrios Unidos, in the Colombian city of Bogota.





On March 18, Venezuelan citizen summoned the victim to a street near Plaza Dos de Mayo (May 2nd Roundabout) in Downtown Lima, where he threw gasoline at her and then set her on fire for having ended their relationship.





As a consequence, the young woman was left with burns on 60% of her body. She died six days later despite the efforts by doctors to save her life.




by Wendy Davis @wendyndavis, April 19, 2023

A Montana law that would ban the use of TikTok is not justified by national security concerns, the tech industry group NetChoice says in a letter urging Governor Greg Gianforte to veto the bill.

While national security concerns are of paramount importance, they must not be weaponized against politically disfavored businesses and individuals, NetChoice vice president and general counsel Carl Szabo writes. Banning access on privately bought and privately owned devices is an extraordinary exercise of government power -- and its an unjustified and unconstitutional means to protecting national security.

NetChoice's members include TikTok as well as competing social platforms -- including Google and Meta.

Late last week, lawmakers in Montana passed a bill that would prohibit app stores from offering TikTok to users in Montana, and prohibit from people from using TikTok in the state (with some exceptions for law enforcement and other governmental functions).

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The measure doesn't penalize users, but provides for sanctions starting at $10,000 against TikTok and mobile app stores.

State lawmakers passed the bill largely due to concerns that TikTok, owned by the Chinese company ByteDance, may share data collected in the U.S. with China.

NetChoice says it agrees that the Chinese Communist Party, or CCP, is a security threat, but says banning TikTok isn't the appropriate response.

Rather than target businesses based on their country of origin ... NetChoice supports efforts to hold the CCP -- the true threat -- accountable, Szabo writes. Banning TikTok on privately owned devices -- and punishing private third parties like app stores -- does nothing to weaken the CCP. Instead, it punishes Montanans who enjoy TikTok and American businesses lawfully engaged in commerce and speech dissemination.

NetChoice also argues that the bill both conflicts with the First Amendment -- which protects distribution of legal speech -- and sets a dangerous precedent that could be followed in other states.

Imposing liability on app stores would be a backdoor attempt at blocking access to constitutionally protected speech -- states like California could prohibit app stores from offering Parler or TruthSocial on the grounds that, because the underlying apps are dangerous, the app stores must act as roving government censors, the organization says.








It should be noted that Australia is Peru's primary trading partner in Oceania.





In 2022, Peruvian exports to that country amounted to US$98.8 million.





With a significant presence in the Peruvian mining sector, Australia is 5th largest foreign investor in the mining sector, and this investment has grown steadily.





(END) RMB
Representing, this year as well, the Greek Government, I received the Holy and Everlasting Fire from the hands of His Beatitude Patriarch of Jerusalem Theophilos III, with respect and humility.



We had the great honor, together with the Greek delegation, to attend the Holy Fire Ceremony at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem, participating in the transport of the Holy Fire to Athens, from where it will be distributed to all the Holy Dioceses across Greece, along with the message of the Resurrection.



Let us wish that the Fire of the Lord's Resurrection may guide us, strengthen our faith, and revive the hope of all of us for a better tomorrow. Let us wish that the message of the victory of life over death may reach the whole world.

Christ is risen! Many Happy Returns with health and prosperity to everyone!
JOURNALIST: Minister, we have seen a de-escalation in Turkish aggressive rhetoric and zero violations in the Aegean following the devastating earthquakes in Turkiye. How long will this good period in Greek-Turkish relations last?

N. DENDIAS: We are fully aware of the difficulties in our bilateral relations with Turkiye. We are following developments closely, we hope to maintain calm, and we remain committed to our firm position for a sincere and constructive dialogue to resolve our dispute within the context of International Law and the International Law of the Sea. It must, however, be equally clear that our national sovereignty is not in the least questionable, nor is it a subject for discussion.

JOURNALIST: By the way, how did you feel when you received the congratulatory letter from your Turkish counterpart on March 25th?

N. DENDIAS: I felt very satisfied by this symbolic gesture which is part of improving bilateral relations and reversing Ankaras sharp rhetoric. Of course, this climate that has been created must be preserved and not sacrificed on the altar of pre-electoral needs and expediency.

JOURNALIST: Can we become friends with Turkiye? What is the message you would send to the neighbors today?

N. DENDIAS: Of course, we can, but a relationship of friendship requires mutual respect and trust and is governed by a spirit of solidarity and understanding. I believe we can develop a harmonious and mutually beneficial relationship of good neighborliness and interaction with Turkiye. We have actively demonstrated our friendly attitude.

JOURNALIST: At the same time, theres Turkiye's support for our country's effort to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for the 2025-2026 term. How do you see such a gesture of goodwill? Are you optimistic that we will manage to be elected for the third time in the history of the UN?

N. DENDIAS: Turkiye's support for Greece becoming a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the 2025-2026 term carries a special symbolism, as the Security Council is the guardian and defender of the United Nations Charter and International Law, to both of which our country attaches the highest value. Consequently, this gesture has a clearly positive impact. As for the second part of your question, Id like to emphasize that I am optimistic that our candidacy will be widely recognized and successful.

JOURNALIST: You are approaching the completion of nearly four years at the helm of Greek diplomacy. In your opinion, how much has the country's image abroad changed during this period?

N. DENDIAS: During this period, Greece expanded on the basis of International Law and the Law of the Sea. The EEZ delimitation Agreements I signed with Italy and Egypt, as well as the agreement with Albania to refer the issue of EEZ delimitation to the International Court of Justice in The Hague, are tangible proof of this. We have forged strong strategic ties of friendship and cooperation not only with traditional partners and allies but also with countries in the Middle East, South America, Africa, and India. We have strengthened the country's geo-strategic footprint by signing a huge number of Bilateral Agreements including the Strategic Partnership Agreement with France, the Mutual Defense Cooperation Agreement with the US, and the Joint Declaration of Strategic Partnership with the United Arab Emirates. Greek foreign policy currently plays an active role in developments in our wider region and participates in efforts so that solutions to issues of concern to the international community can be found. For example, on Friday, April 21, Greece will host for the first time a meeting on Syria, with the attendance of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General of the UN General Assembly for Syria, Mr. Petersen.

Lastly, Greece's candidacies for the Security Council (2025-2026) and for the Human Rights Council (2028-2030) for the Presidency of the General Assembly (2035), and the organization of the "Our Ocean Conference 2024" reflect Greece's active and constructive contribution to global developments.

JOURNALIST: Could you name a difficult time during these years?

N. DENDIAS: The summer of 2020 was a very difficult time for both the country and me personally. What matters though is that we do not go through such difficult times again.

JOURNALIST: There has been a change in the Presidency of the Republic of Cyprus: From Nicos Anastasiades to Nikos Christodoulides. Is something changing in Greek-Cypriot relations? Would you see light at the end of the tunnel for the Cyprus issue following the Turkish elections? And in what regard?

N. DENDIAS: It is undeniable that relations between Greece and Cyprus have always been and remain excellent. Cyprus, as I frequently emphasize, "does not lie far away". Furthermore, the Cyprus issue is the top national priority for the Mitsotakis government. A priority for the achievement of which Greece seeks a just and viable solution, on the basis of a bizonal, bicommunal federation, based on the UN Security Council Resolutions. Furthermore, I am absolutely convinced that the emerging climate in Greek-Turkish relations - which we hope will continue after the elections in Turkiye - can only contribute positively to the efforts to resolve the Cyprus issue and, more broadly, to fostering peace and security in the wider region.

JOURNALIST: What about your most important achievement?

N. DENDIAS: I don't like using the word "achievement" when it comes to foreign policy matters. I would prefer the term "fulfilling objectives" as a result of planning, effort, and hard work. But if I had to single out something, Id say that this is the first time that the national territory has expanded since 1947 with the extension of our territorial waters from 6 to 12 nautical miles in the Ionian Sea and up to Cape Tainaron.

Let me explain that we went through several challenges. My tenure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been marked by key events, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which are rebalancing the global system and, by extension, affecting our immediate neighborhood. So, both vigilance and new, proactive planning are required on our part. We have also experienced many ups and downs in Greek-Turkish relations.

Many of our foreign policy objectives have been met, and we may achieve considerably more. In a nutshell, Id say that our government has been justified in all of the big national decisions it has made, and it has always been on the right side of history. I'd also like to emphasize that we've managed to keep foreign policy issues separate from home political "toxicity".

JOURNALIST: Greece has invested politically in the trilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus, and Israel. What may we expect in the short term?

N. DENDIAS: Considering the recent Greece-Cyprus-Israel Trilateral meeting that took place at the end of March in Nicosia, I would first of all like to recall that this format aims to consolidate a regional security framework, primarily through synergies in areas such as energy, innovation, and digital technology, among others. Therefore, the issues of the EastMed gas pipeline and the EuroAsia Interconnector, whose geostrategic importance has been particularly highlighted since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, were discussed in depth.

Similar importance was given to the "Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum". This is an example of how energy can serve as a catalyst for a peaceful partnership in the Eastern Mediterranean region and the wider Middle East. In this regard, we look forward to the future admission of new members such as Turkiye, on the strict condition that they respect International Law and the International Law of the Sea. Greece, fully aware of the increasing geopolitical challenges, aspires to become an energy hub in the fields of gas and electricity supply.

JOURNALIST: Greece's opening to Africa has its own significance. What are the expectations for our country?

N. DENDIAS: Our government's strategic choice is to open up and enhance relations with African countries, a geographical area where our presence has ranged from non-existent to minimal for decades. Africa comprises now one of our foreign policys six pillars, as it is a continent with inexhaustible natural resources, as well as with numerous opportunities for economic development and the use of renewable energy sources, placing it at the heart of future political, economic, energy, climate and environmental developments.

Greece, being a country without a colonial past and with historical Greek communities in Africa, has the potential to establish solid foundations for cooperation with African countries and thus foster multilateral cooperation. In terms of energy and the African continents green transition, Greece already serves as a bridge between Europe and Africa through Egypt. We have donated more than 4 million doses of vaccines to Africa. Furthermore, it is for these reasons that I have visited 12 African countries. We also look forward to jointly addressing major challenges, such as climate change, maritime security, and the fight against terrorism.


" " Rescue dog Kaskia is just one of the many taking part in search-and-rescue efforts after the devastating earthquake in Turkey. Ann-Marie Utz/picture alliance via Getty Images

Ever since a massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake rocked Turkey near the town of Gaziantep in the early hours of Monday morning, Feb. 6, 2023, thousands of people across Turkey and Syria have been killed, and tens of thousands more injured and homeless.

Many countries, including the United States, are sending aid to help with the rescue efforts. U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) and the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) said it is sending two Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams, including 161 USAR personnel, 170,000 pounds of equipment and 12 search-and-rescue dogs to help dig survivors out of the debris.

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The search-and-rescue teams include structural engineers, doctors, logistics personnel and technical search specialists.

Because time is of the essence in rescue operations like this, search-and-rescue dogs are valuable tools for finding anyone who could be trapped alive in the rubble. The highly trained search-and-rescue dogs are qualified to detect the scent of humans who might be buried. The U.S. isn't the only country sending canines to help with the rescue efforts in Turkey and Syria. Mexico sent 16 canines, and Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Libya, Poland, Switzerland and the U.K. also are sending dogs with their handlers.

So what exactly is the job of a search-and-rescue dog and its handler? And how are these dogs trained to find human scents and let their handlers know where it is?
DOVER, Del. (AP)  The Boys Scouts of America's $2.4 billion bankruptcy reorganization plan took effect Wednesday. But more time will be needed before survivors of child sexual abuse at the hands of Boy Scout leaders and volunteers begin receiving compensation.

The plan became effective when the Third U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied a request by the plan's opponents to issue a stay while they appeal a federal district courts approval of the plan. The denial of the stay means the plan can formally take effect, but opponents are expected to continue to pursue their appeal.

This is a significant milestone for the BSA as we emerge from a three-year financial restructuring process with a global resolution approved with overwhelming support of more than 85% of the survivors involved in the case, Boy Scouts CEO and President Roger Mosby said in a prepared statement.

Doug Kennedy, co-chair of the bankruptcys official committee of abuse claimants, said survivors can now take an important step toward a degree of resolution for their abuse.

The plan allows the Texas-based Boy Scouts to keep operating while compensating tens of thousands of men who say they were sexually abused as children. More than 80,000 men have filed claims. The plan's opponents have argued that the staggering number of claims, when combined with other factors, suggests the bankruptcy process was manipulated.

With the plan taking effect, assets will begin flowing gradually into a settlement trust that will evaluate claims and distribute payments to abuse survivors. Retired Texas federal bankruptcy judge Barbara Houser, who will oversee the trust, can begin hiring advisers, but it likely will be at least several months before any abuse survivors begin receiving payments.

Meanwhile, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Laurie Selber Silverstein held a hearing Wednesday to consider requests that the Boy Scouts be allowed to pay more than $20 million in legal fees and expenses of attorneys for a coalition of law firms representing those who claim to have been abused. Those law firms are expected to take roughly 40% of any payments to clients from the trust.

Nevertheless, attorneys for the Coalition of Abused Scouts for Justice argued that Silverstein should grant their relatively modest request that the Boy Scouts of America pay a portion of their fees because of the extraordinary contribution they made in developing a reorganization plan.

The coalition played a dominant role in the bankruptcy, despite the existence of the official committee. Coalition law firms represent nearly 18,000 claimants and are affiliated with more than two dozen law firms that collectively represent more than 60,000 claimants. The plan's opponents have suggested that the huge number of claims was the result of a nationwide marketing effort by personal injury lawyers working with for-profit claims aggregators to drum up clients.

Silverstein in 2021 rejected a previous proposal for the Boy Scouts to pay millions of dollars in fees and expenses of attorneys hired by coalition law firms. The judge noted that any such payment would come out of the pockets of abuse claimants, a concern she reiterated Wednesday.

Silverstein noted that when the coalition was formed, she wanted to know who was funding it. Is it coming of the claimants' pockets, or is it coming out of the law firms pockets? she recalled asking. And the answer was, Its coming out of the law firms pockets.' 

The judge questioned whether the fee request isn't simply a surcharge to abuse claimants, because the money would otherwise go to the settlement trust. She suggested that the coalition was essentially a splinter group from the official committee, and that its work was duplicative of the committee's work.

Should their fees be paid when I have a group, an official committee, that is charged and has a fiduciary obligation to the entire survivor constituency? Im struggling with that, said Silverstein, who did not immediately rule.

Under the plan, the Boy Scouts of America will contribute less than 10% of the settlement fund. Local Boy Scout councils, which run day-to-day operations for troops, offered to contribute at least $515 million in cash and property, conditioned on certain protections for local troop sponsoring organizations, including religious entities, civic associations and community groups.

The bulk of the compensation fund will come from the Boy Scouts two largest insurers, Century Indemnity and The Hartford, which reached settlements calling for them to contribute $800 million and $787 million, respectively. Those amounts represent a fraction of the billions of dollars in potential liability exposure they faced. Smaller insurers agreed to contribute about $69 million.

Other insurers, many of which provided excess coverage, have refused to settle. They contend that the procedures for distributing funds would violate their contractual rights to contest claims, set a dangerous precedent for mass tort litigation, and result in grossly inflated payments.

Under the plan, insurance companies, local Scout councils and troop sponsoring organizations will receive broad liability releases protecting them from future sex abuse lawsuits in exchange for contributing to the compensation fund. Some abuse survivors argue that releasing their claims against those non-debtor third parties without their consent violates their due process rights.

Such third-party releases, spawned by asbestos and product-liability cases, have been criticized as an unconstitutional form of bankruptcy grifting, in which non-debtor entities obtain benefits by joining with a debtor to resolve mass-tort litigation in bankruptcy.
The Thumb Breadbasket has received the 2022 Partner Leadership award from the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan following its year of providing pop-up food pantries and food delivery in the Thumb region.

"We never got into this for an award," said Gary Willey, who helps run the Thumb Breadbasket. "We have been doing this for years and we look to continue this endeavor."

The Thumb Breadbasket distributes food on the first Saturday of each month at the Laker Elementary School in Pigeon. At its recent pantry April 1, the organization served food to 405 families. According to a Facebook post, this is around 50-75 more families than the Thumb Breadbasket serves.

"Each truck costs $1,200 to bring in and (Thumb Breadbasket) buys around $1,000 (in extra food) to give people a good selection of food," said Willey. "(Though Feeding America), we get apples from Michigan and Wisconsin, oranges from Florida and California. We even get strawberries from Mexico and we have greenhouses in Canada. This isn't just a partnership across the U.S. it spans across (North America)."

Willey also talked about how they get milk from Michigan and Ohio dairy farmers, calling it a "win/win" for farmers, those in need, and the food banks.

This award will be presented to the group Wednesday, April 26, at the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan's member meeting in Flint, which the team at the Thumb Breadbasket was invited to attend.

"I want to thank the individuals, corporations, and the people who donated to the Thumb Breadbasket over the years," said Willey. "Everyone who has been involved has know that it took a lot of work to get here."

Thumb Breadbasket had hosted 250 pop-up pantries in Huron County from the start of the pandemic through July 2022.

The next food distribution from Thumb Breadbasket will take place May 6 at 10 a.m. at Laker Elementary, with additional dates once a month following.

Food will be distributed until noon or until all the food is handed out. It is free for anyone and Willey says they do not turn anyone away.

"We are non-judgemental and inclusive," said Willey.

For any questions about food distribution, contact Willey at 989-414-0419 or visit Thumb Breadbasket on its Facebook Page.

This story was updated at 11:40 with an additional quote from Gary Willey.
American servicemen became so squeamish about the specter of being eaten during long oceanic campaigns that U.S. Army and Navy intelligence operations engaged in a publicity campaign to combat fear of sharks.

Published in 1942, "Castaway's Baedeker to the South Seas" was a "travel" survival guide, of sorts, for servicemen stranded on Pacific islands. The book emphasized the critical importance of conquering such "bogies of the imagination" as "If you are forced down at sea, a shark is sure to amputate your leg."

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Similarly, the Navy's 1944 pamphlet titled "Shark Sense" advised wounded servicemen stranded at sea to "staunch the flow of blood as soon as you disengage the parachute" to thwart hungry sharks. The pamphlet helpfully noted that hitting an aggressive shark on the nose might stop an attack, as would grabbing a ride on the pectoral fin: "Hold tight and hang on as long as you can without drowning yourself."

The Department of the Navy also worked with the Office of Strategic Services, the wartime precursor to the Central Intelligence Agency, to develop a shark repellent.

Office of Strategic Services executive assistant and future chef Julia Child worked on the project, which tested various recipes of clove oil, horse urine, nicotine, rotting shark muscle and asparagus in hopes of preventing shark attacks. The project culminated in 1945, when the Navy introduced "Shark Chaser," a pink pill of copper acetate that produced a black inky dye when released in the water  the idea being that it would obscure a serviceman from sharks.

Nonetheless, the U.S. military's morale-boosting campaign was unable to vanquish the glaring reality of wartime carnage at sea. Military media correctly observed that sharks rarely attack healthy swimmers. Indeed, malaria and other infectious diseases took a far greater toll on U.S. servicemen than sharks.

But the same publications also acknowledged that an injured person was vulnerable in the water. With the frequent bombing of airplanes and ships during World War II, thousands of injured and dying servicemen bobbed helplessly in the ocean.

One of the worst wartime disasters at sea occurred on July 30, 1945, when pelagic sharks swarmed the site of the shipwrecked USS Indianapolis. The heavy cruiser, which had just successfully delivered the components of the Hiroshima atomic bomb to Tinian Island in a top-secret mission, was torpedoed by a Japanese submarine. Out of a crew of 1,196 men, 300 died immediately in the blast, and the rest landed in the water. As they struggled to stay afloat, men watched in terror as sharks feasted on their dead and wounded shipmates.

Only 316 men survived the five days in the open ocean.

" " Survivors from the USS Indianapolis en route to the hospital following their rescue August 1945 PhotoQuest/Contributor/Getty Images
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The theme for National Library Week, There's more to the story, says it all.

Libraries are no longer just for books. Join Manistee County Library in celebrating all things library by visiting any or all of our six locations or our website, manisteelibrary.org, during the week of April 23-29.

Check out our collection of print or digital materials. Borrow lawn games from our Library of Things. Sign up for our monthly newsletter. Check the library calendar page for fun events. Theres a lot going on at the library.

Warm weather is coming, and our Library of Things has many fun activities: cornhole, giant dice, lawn darts, pickleball and badminton (with nets), metal detectors, a rock tumbler to polish all those stones youve been keeping, and a wide variety of baking pans for picnic and party sweets.

Each month, there are a variety of things to do at each or our branches in Manistee County. Events are listed on the MCL websites Library Calendar page. Join us for crafting and tech workshops, Dungeons & Dragons and a graphic novel book club for teens and tweens, downtown story strolls, crafts, and STEM for kids. Some events require registration. Bookmarks with event listings are also available at each library branch.

Submitted Photo/Manistee County Library Submitted Photo/Manistee County Library Submitted Photo/Manistee County Library Submitted Photo/Manistee County Library Manistee County Library offers many services besides lending books. Submitted photos/Manistee Library

Our website provides access to digital links with fabulous resources.

Libby is a library app that allows patrons to borrow ebooks, digital audiobooks and magazines. We recently partnered with five other library cooperatives throughout the state and have access to their digital collections as well.

Hoopla Digital is a streaming app that provides access to ebooks, digital audiobooks, movies and television series. Patrons may check out nine items per month.

Read Michigans ebooks focus on the state of Michigan and the Great Lakes region. Find Michigan Notable titles and books written by Michigan authors and published here.

Join an online class and learn a new skill with Get Set Up. Classes in technology, cooking, meditation, writing, travel and more are waiting for you.

Cloud printing is available at all of our libraries. If youre working at home and discover your printer is out of ink, no problem. Go to manisteelibrary.org, click on the Wireless Cloud Printing link and follow the prompts. Well hold your print job for 24 hours. Copies are 25 cents per page.

The Manistee News Advocate is available with full text and color photos on our website. Stay at home and catch up on the latest local news, or search the archives back to 2007.

Learn a new language or brush up on what you learned in high school. Transparent Language is a great resource for learning a new skill. Use your Manistee County Library card to create an account, then login at your convenience to begin.

Join our Online Book Clubs by subscribing to your preferred genres. Receive a five-minute excerpt of a book Monday through Friday. The first few chapters allow you to decide if this book is for you. If you like it, check our catalog for availability.

Select Reads is an additional resource for finding something new to read. When you subscribe, monthly newsletters of your choice will be emailed to you with brief book descriptions. You can choose to read more or check our online catalog for availability by clicking the links provided.

Talk provides text messages with activities for children under 5 years of age.

Looking for something fun to do? Manistee County Library participates in the Michigan Activity Pass program. Click on the link on our website and follow the instructions. Youll find free or discounted passes to museums, parks, historic sites, campgrounds and more.

Of course, we do have print materials, audiobooks, DVDs and Blu-rays for all ages. Browse new titles, displays and our online catalog for new subjects and authors, or find old favorites in the collections.

Have a little downtime? Check out a launchpad. We have games for all ages pre-installed on a tablet. Practice tests for ACT math, English and science are also available. Electronic games for Wii, Nintendo Switch, PS3, PS4 , XBox and XBox One will also provide hours of fun.

Public computers are available at all Manistee County Library locations. Log on with a library card in good standing or ask for a guest pass. WiFi is also available at all library locations.

Manistee County Library owns many resources to help with genealogy. We have the local newspapers on microfilm dating back to 1887. Some copies of plat maps and country directories, yearbooks, and patron-submitted family genealogies are available.

There is so much fun to be had at the Manistee County Library. Come browse the stacks, visit all of our locations in Arcadia, Bear Lake, Kaleva, Manistee, Onekama and Wellston, or check out the opportunities available on our website, manisteelibrary.org.
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State Representative Bill G. Schuette announced that he will host his next "Ask Bill G." office hours on Monday, April 24.

Schuette will hold office hour sessions that day in both Gladwin and Midland counties. These events are times for Schuette to meet with and listen to residents across the 95th House District and for constituents to convey their concerns and questions.
HEBRON, N.Y. (AP)  A woman looking for a friend's house in upstate New York was shot to death after the car she was riding in mistakenly went to the wrong address and was met with gunfire in the driveway, authorities said Monday.

Kaylin Gillis, 20, was traveling through the rural town of Hebron with three other people Saturday night when the group made a wrong turn onto the property.

They were trying to turn the car around when the homeowner, Kevin Monahan, 65, came out onto his porch and fired two shots, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy.

One round hit Gillis.

The group drove to the neighboring town of Salem, northeast of Albany near the Vermont state line, and called 911, said Murphy, who noted the shooting took place in an area with limited cell phone service. Emergency crews arrived and performed CPR on Gillis but couldn't save her.

When officers arrived at Monahan's house to investigate the shooting, he refused to come out, Murphy said. Authorities spoke with him through a 911 dispatcher and in person for about an hour before he was taken into custody, according to the sheriff.

Monahan was booked into the Warren County jail on a charge of second-degree murder. It wasn't clear whether he had an attorney who could speak on his behalf.

Murphy said at a news conference Monday that Gillis, who lived in Schuylerville, was an innocent young girl who was out with friends looking for another friends house, according to the Times Union of Albany. He said there was no reason for Mr. Monahan to feel threatened.

The shooting happened days after 16-year-old Ralph Yarl was shot and wounded in Kansas City, Missouri, after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers.
A deadly fire at a Beijing hospital building forced people to flee through the windows, using bedsheets tied together or perching precariously on top of air conditioning units, as they sought safety.

The blaze at the private Changfeng Hospital killed 29 people - the vast majority of them patients. Police on Wednesday arrested 12 people, including the institution's president.

News of Tuesday's fire - one of Beijing's deadliest in recent years - was initially heavily censored on Chinese social media, and there was a delay of several hours between the blaze and its coverage in state media, prompting anger among local residents.

Many relatives also expressed anger over the amount of time it took for the hospital to contact them, telling Chinese media outlets they had no contact from the hospital up to eight hours after the fire.

The fire also left 39 people requiring hospital treatment, including three in critical condition, Li Ang, the deputy director of the Beijing Health Commission, said at a news conference Wednesday.

Zhao Yang, an official at Beijing's fire department, said a preliminary investigation showed that the fire appeared to have been started when a spark caused by renovations ignited flammable paint stored at the hospital. Firefighters extinguished the blaze in about half an hour, Zhao said, adding that further investigations were underway.

The closest fire station to the hospital is about 300 meters, or a two-minute drive, away.

The 12 people who were taken into custody Wednesday included the hospital's president and construction workers, Li said, adding that they were detained on suspicion of "serious liability incidents."

In late February, Changfeng Hospital said on the messaging app WeChat that it had "strictly implemented" safety measures and "made solid deployments" to prevent fires. The post has been deleted, and the hospital's website was taken offline.

Tuesday's fire began around 1 p.m. but was publicly acknowledged by the government and reported in the news only in the evening.

On the Chinese microblogging site Weibo, one user lamented: "What is most scary is how almost all media can only become bystanders who remain silent. We can only read cold press releases from official outlets and cannot see the immense despair caused by the accident. . . the media should be a discoverer of social problems, a channel to release social pressure, a motivator of the government to facilitate social development. Now, what is the media?"

As state media outlets began to cover the disaster, relatives of patients also began to express anger at the hospital and the lack of communication.

"We don't know [about the fire] if we don't watch the news," one relative told the state-owned Chinese Youth Daily, while the daughter of one patient told Sanlian news magazine that she arrived at the hospital Tuesday evening and was not told until the next day that her 76-year-old father, who was paralyzed and had a cognitive impairment, was among the dead.

A medical worker involved in the rescue told the state-owned Southern Weekly that the hospital had been difficult evacuating patients as many were elderly and had difficulty walking, a situation compounded by the narrowness of some of the rooms.

Deadly industrial fires are not uncommon in China: In 2015, a chemical explosion in the northern coastal city of Tianjin killed more than 170 people.
A Maine man was sentenced Monday for embezzling $1.88 million from a Connecticut company, according to federal prosecutors.

U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport ordered Edward F. Ziegler II, 64, to serve three years in prison, followed by two years of supervised release, for the fraud and tax offenses, U.S. Attorney Vanessa Roberts Avery said in a news release.

He was also ordered to pay full restitution, totaling more than $2 million, to the company and the IRS for failing to pay taxes on his embezzled income, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Ziegler, of Bridgton, Maine, is released on a $100,000 bond and must report to prison on June 20, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

Ziegler, a former New Britain resident, embezzled the funds while serving as the office manager for what the U.S. Attorney's office described as a "small, family-owned business" based out of Berlin.

In 2006, Ziegler opened a bank account in his name, saying he was doing business as the company.

"Over the course of approximately 15 years, Ziegler diverted more than 400 checks from (the company's) customers and deposited them into the secret bank account he had established," the U.S. Attorney's office said. "Ziegler also made fraudulent entries in (the company's) books and record keeping system to cover up the fact that he had diverted the checks and used the funds for his own benefit."

Through the scheme, Ziegler embezzled $1.88 million from the company. He also failed to pay $173,000 in federal income taxes on his embezzled income for the 2015 through 2019 tax years, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

Ziegler was arrested on March 16, 2022. On Nov. 10, 2022, he pleaded guilty to wire fraud and tax evasion.
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The family of Tyre Nichols filed a lawsuit Wednesday, blaming the city of Memphis, officials and the involved police officers  including former Connecticut resident Desmond Mills Jr.  for his death.

The federal lawsuit, filed by lawyers for Nichols' mother RowVaughn Wells, states the officers brutally beat Tyre within an inch of his life, without any legal justification. Nichols died three days after the Jan. 7 traffic stop.

Its my turn to make sure that my sons death does not go in vain, Wells said at a news conference Wednesday, according to the Associated Press. This has nothing to do with the monetary value of the lawsuit, but everything to do with accountability. Those five police officers murdered my son. They beat him to death and they need to be held accountable.

Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said they are seeking a jury trial and $550 million, the Associated Press reported.

The five officers  Mills, Emmitt Martin III, Demetrius Haley, Justin Smith and Tadarrius Bean  were fired from the police department and charged with second-degree murder in Nichols' death. They have pleaded not guilty.

The officers were part of the police departments SCORPION, or Street Crimes Operation to Restore Peace In Our Neighborhoods Unit, which the lawsuit alleges brought terror to Memphis neighborhoods. The unit was formed in November 2021 and was disbanded shortly after Nichols' death.

Mills, a graduate of Bloomfield High School, hit Nichols three times with a baton while the 29-year-old was on the ground, according to a Memphis Police Department Internal Affairs investigation that led to his termination. He was accused of using excessive force, personal conduct, neglect of duty and compliance with body-worn camera regulations.

You used excessive and unnecessary force to apprehend a non-violent suspect following a traffic stop where the person sustained critical injuries and later expired, the investigation concluded. Your on-duty conduct was unbecoming and you neglected your duty to render aid and provide viable details to the emergency medical personnel.

According to the report, the former Connecticut resident admitted he used pepper spray twice on Nichols, claiming it was necessary because other officers were unable to handcuff the man.

The investigation concluded that Mills didnt provide Nichols' mother with an accurate account of her sons encounter with police or his condition, the documents showed. He also made unprofessional comments, laughing and bragging about his involvement" in the incident, the report said.

A sixth officer, Preston Hemphill, was also named in the lawsuit. He was terminated after firing a stun gun at Nichols during the traffic stop, but has not been charged in the man's death.

The lawsuit also states that five of the six SCORPION officers who beat Nichols to death had a record of misconduct. For Mills, the lawsuit cited an incident from March 2019 when he failed to file a "'response to resistance' form after using physical force to take a woman to the ground to be handcuffed, the lawsuit stated.

Nonetheless, he was selected to be a part of the SCORPION Unit, according to the lawsuit.

In addition to the six officers, the lawsuit names the city of Memphis, Police Chief Cerelyn Davis, an additional officer who retired before he could be fired and three Memphis Fire Department employees who were fired after officials said they failed to render aid to Nichols, the AP reported.

The reasons Nichols was stopped the night of the beating have "never been substantiated," the lawsuit states.

Nichols was driving home on the evening of Jan. 7 after taking photos of the sunset and skateboarding at Shelby Farms Park in Memphis. Three officers  Martin, Haley and Hemphill  initiated a traffic stop, claiming Nichols was driving recklessly. They pulled their squad cars up to Nichols' vehicle while he was stopped at a red light and boxed him in, the AP reported.

After Martin and Haley deactivated their body-worn cameras, they ran to Nichols' car and pulled him out without explanation, documents show.

The officers then pinned Nichols to the ground and pepper-sprayed him, documents show. Nichols managed to run away and Hemphill fired his stun gun, documents show.

Mills, Bean and Smith then captured Nichols a few minutes later. The three officers, joined by Haley and Martin, "brutally punched, kicked, and pepper-sprayed him and beat him with a baton for seven minutes straight, all while he was physically restrained feet from his home, according to the lawsuit.

Nichols was left "unrecognizable," the lawsuit said, handcuffed as he struggled to stay upright, propped against an unmarked police vehicle and was ignored by officers for nearly half an hour, documents show.

When Nichols arrived at the hospital that night, he had "no pulse" and "suffered cardiac arrest," the lawsuit said. For the next three days, he "fought for his life," intubated and undergoing dialysis as "his kidneys were critically damaged due to the beating," the lawsuit stated.

The lawsuit also noted that Nichols' brain was "so swollen from the repeated blows to his head that it was no longer able to function properly."

On Jan. 10, 2023, "Tyre died swollen, bloody, and hooked up to devices that ultimately could not save his life," the lawsuit said.
NEW DELHI (AP)  India is on track to surpass China by mid-2023 as the worlds most populous nation, United Nations data said Wednesday, raising questions about whether a booming, young Indian population will fuel economic growth for years to come.

While India's 254 million people between ages 15 and 24 is the largest number in the world, China is struggling with an aging population and stagnant population growth. That has sparked expectations that the demographic changes could pave the way for India to become an economic and global heavyweight.

Indias young citizenry could drive the countrys economic growth for years to come, but it might just as easily become a problem if they aren't adequately employed. Economists have cautioned that even as Indias economy is among the fastest-growing as its population rises, joblessness has also swelled.

Tech giant Apple, among other companies, hopes to turn India into a potential manufacturing hub as it moves some production out of China, where wages are rising as the working-age population shrinks.

The U.N. report said India will have about 2.9 million people more than China sometime in the middle of this year. India will have an estimated 1.4286 billion people versus mainland China's 1.4257 billion at that time, according to U.N. projections. Demographers say the limits of population data make it impossible to calculate an exact date; India has not done a census since 2011.

China has had the world's largest population since at least 1950, the year the U.N. began issuing population data. Both China and India have more than 1.4 billion people, and combined they make up more than a third of the worlds 8 billion people.

Not long ago, India wasnt expected to become the most populous until later this decade. But the timing has been sped up by a drop in Chinas fertility rate, with families having fewer children.

India, by contrast, has a much younger population, a higher fertility rate, and has seen a decrease in infant mortality over the last three decades. Still, the countrys fertility rate has been steadily falling, from over five births per woman in 1960 to just over two in 2020, according to World Bank data.

The countrys population has more than quadrupled since gaining independence 76 years ago. As India looks set to become the world's largest country, it is grappling with the growing threat of climate change, deep inequalities between its urban and rural populations, economic disparities between its men and women, and a widening religious divide.

In a survey of 1,007 Indians conducted by the U.N. in conjuction with the report, 63% of respondents said economic issues were their top concern when thinking about population change, followed by worries about the environment, health and human rights.

The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public. Yet, population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm, Andrea Wojnar, the United Nations Population Funds representative for India, said in a statement. She added that they should be seen as a symbol of progress and development if individual rights and choices are being upheld.

Many are banking on India's rising number of working age people to give it a demographic dividend," or the potential for economic growth when a country's young population is eclipses its share of older people who are beyond their working years. It's what helped China cement its place as a global power.

So far, we have not been able to tap into our demographic dividend adequately. While the working age population has grown quite substantially, employment has not grown, said Mahesh Vyas, director of the Center for Monitoring the Indian Economy. He added that the country has struggled to create additional employment in the last six years, with the number of jobs stagnant at 405 million

India has had a phenomenal transformation  from an impoverished nation in 1947 into an emerging global power whose $3 trillion economy is Asias third largest. It is a major exporter of things like software and vaccines, and millions have escaped poverty into a growing, aspirational middle class as its high-skilled sectors have soared.

But so has joblessness. According to CMIE statistics from 2022, only 40% of working age Indians are employed.

Poonam Muttreja, head of the Population Foundation of India, agreed, saying the country must plan better for its young people.

This large population will need a huge investment in skills for them to take advantage of the opportunities that will come up in the economy for participating in jobs. But we have to also create more jobs for them, she said, adding that investments were also needed in education.

China responded to news of the U.N. report on Wednesday with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin saying a country's demographic dividend depends not only on quantity but also on quality.

"The population is important, so is talent... China's demographic dividend has not disappeared, the talent dividend is taking place and development momentum remains strong," Wang said at a briefing.
" " Timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) are extremely dangerous, with venom that passes through a set of hollow fangs in a mouth with a built-in hinge mechanism. Wikimedia Commons (CC BY 2.0)

[It] occurred to me that the Rattle-Snake is found in no other quarter of the world besides America, and may therefore have been chosen, on that account, to represent her. Benjamin Franklin

Franklin penned those words in a 1775 letter to the Pennsylvania Journal. By then, he had a well-known affinity for a particular type of rattler: Crotalus horridus, or the timber rattlesnake.

Just like Franklin implied, rattlesnakes are native to the Americas. There are around 30 living species, which range as far south as Argentina and as far north as Canada.

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If it's the timber rattlesnake you're after, visit the continental U.S.

From craggy New Hampshire to sunburnt Texas, 27 states have populations of tail-buzzing timber rattlers. Crotalus horridus is a very widespread species, in other words. Yet across many parts of this country, timbers aren't nearly as common as they used to be.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colorado -- Airmen who served alongside the 21-year-old Air National Guardsman who was arrested and charged with leaking classified documents online are stuck with busy work unrelated to their mission as the service investigates the circumstances of his alleged crimes.

The 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is based out of Joint Base Cape Cod in Massachusetts, is having its mission "paused and divided among other units," Frank Hartnett, a spokesman for Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall, told Military.com during the Space Symposium conference in Colorado Springs on Wednesday.

Airmen who served in the unit with Jack Teixeira -- who was arrested last week following months of leaks online that allegedly disclosed classified information obtained from the base -- will "continue to train and complete other administrative tasks and duties that are not specifically related to their primary mission," an Air Force official told Military.com Wednesday in an emailed statement.

Read Next: Air Force Launches Investigation of Teixeira's Guard Unit After Leak Arrest

Additionally, other units in the wing that are not related to intelligence work will continue their daily operations as normal, the Air Force official continued. The official did not disclose how long the service's investigation into the matter would take or whether members of Teixeira's unit were being interviewed as part of that probe.

The dozens of documents -- the Pentagon has still not determined how many leaked online -- appear to have originated from the 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira was stationed.

The wing's mission is to "provide worldwide precision intelligence" mainly "for expeditionary combat support and homeland security." It is more than 100 years old and started as the 101st Observation Squadron of the Massachusetts National Guard in 1921, according to its website.

Kendall did not take in-person questions relating to Teixieira's leak during a media briefing at the event Wednesday but did speak to the need to review "need-to-know" policies -- a principle that only allows personnel access to classified information when it is critical to their job function -- within the department.

"The unauthorized disclosure that's occurred is very significant and serious to us, and we want to make sure those sorts of things don't happen," Kendall told reporters. "There's always a balance between the openness we can have, certainly with the American public and everybody else, but also what we need to protect from the point of view of giving our potential adversaries information that could benefit them."

On Tuesday, Kendall issued a memo directing the service's inspector general to probe compliance with classified document safeguards at the 102nd Intelligence Wing. It also calls for every unit to conduct a stand-down to review policies.

The Department of the Air Force's review is separate from one announced by the Pentagon following Teixeira's arrest. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin ordered a 45-day review of how access to classified information is handled across the department,and urged the services to follow detailed requirements for safeguarding the information, such as locked containers and end-of-day security checks.

Teixeira made a brief appearance in a Boston courtroom on Wednesday for what was supposed to be a detention hearing, but the Guardsman's defense team asked to delay proceedings, saying that their team "requires more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention," according to The Associated Press.

He was charged last week with unauthorized retention and transmission of classified national defense information. He allegedly shared the secret documents, which he got from his job at the base, with a group of friends on the popular video-gaming social messaging platform Discord.

Teixeira could face additional charges under the Uniform Code of Military Justice, because he had been on federal Title 10 orders since October, meaning he had been on active-duty status performing military duties as opposed to more sporadic drill weekends in Massachusetts.

Guardsmen, who spend the bulk of their service under different duty statuses working part time, often fall out of military justice jurisdiction.

-- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly.

Related: Air Force Launches Investigation of Teixeira's Guard Unit After Leak Arrest
An executive order signed Tuesday by President Joe Biden will expand mental health services via telehealth for some caregivers of disabled veterans and suggests that the Department of Veterans Affairs broaden veterans' access to its family caregiver program as well as home health services.

Under the order, the VA must develop a new pilot program offering telehealth psychotherapy -- therapy provided over the phone -- for caregivers who are enrolled in the Program of Comprehensive Assistance for Family Caregivers, also known as the Family Caregiver Program.

The requirement, along with others in the executive order, seek to ease the physical and emotional strain of caregiving, according to Biden.

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"It is the policy of my Administration to enable families -- including our military and veteran families -- to have access to affordable, high-quality care and to have support and resources as caregivers themselves," Biden wrote in the order.

The new program is one of several White House initiatives aimed at improving child-care services nationwide and supporting those who care for disabled or elderly Americans.

The directive also recognizes the potential for other VA programs to help home-bound disabled veterans, recommending the expansion of several established home health programs at the department. But it fell short in mandating the improvements, using phrases like "shall consider" and "encouraged to" in order to avoid burdening agencies with unfunded requirements.

The order suggests that the VA expand its Home-Based Primary Care program, which provides veterans medical treatment at their homes, by adding 75 new care teams; recommends that VA expand its Directed Care Program, an initiative that gives veterans who need help with activities of daily living access to home health aides; and proposes widening a program that allows veterans to budget for and choose who provides that care.

Biden, while acknowledging that those changes are not required, encouraged the department to comply.

"Nearly every other advanced country makes greater public investments in care than the United States. Investing in care is an investment in the future of America's families, workforce, and economy," Biden said.

Many of the recommendations in the executive order mirror provisions in a bipartisan bill introduced earlier this year in the House and Senate, the Elizabeth Dole Home Care Act, which would expand disabled veterans' access to and increase support for home- and community-based care for veterans.

The bill calls for assessments of VA's caregiver and long-term care programs and review staffing and funding needs for the department's Office of Geriatrics and Extended Care and Caregiver Support Program Office.

Bill supporters say it allows veterans to safely age in their homes and provides them flexibility in deciding who cares for them. On Tuesday, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., who co-sponsored the legislation along with the committee's ranking Republican, Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas, praised the executive order as "critical" to ensuring that veterans age with dignity.

"This is great news for our aging and disabled veterans who deserve and have earned access to quality home-based care," Tester said in a statement released by his office.

Critics of the bill, however, including the advocacy group Veteran Warriors Inc., say it would shortchange the Family Caregiver Program by diverting funds to caregiver nonprofits, including the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, as well as home health corporations.

"Makes you wonder, is #Congress here to benefit the 'preferred partners' or the 'Veteran community?'" the advocacy group Veteran Warriors Inc. stated on its Facebook page in March shortly after the bill was introduced.

The administration estimates that 5.5 million Americans support disabled veterans in some way, providing care and assistance to those who need help with their day-to-day functions, from getting bathed and dressed, to cooking and cleaning, supervising and taking them to appointments.

At the VA, one of the most popular caregiver programs is the Family Caregiver Program, which provides health care and financial assistance to roughly 33,000 caregivers.

In the past three years, VA has expanded the program beyond its initial focus on severely injured or ill post-9/11 combat veterans to include war veterans of all eras. As part of the expansion process, the department rewrote eligibility criteria for the program that was more restrictive than the previous requirements and initiated a review of 19,000 "legacy" participants to determine whether they still qualified.

Those reviews were suspended in March 2022 following objections from caregivers and advocates who said the new criteria were too restrictive. VA officials later said that the new standards would have resulted in the removal of roughly 90% of the legacy participants from the program.

In September, VA officials announced that all currently enrolled caregivers would remain in the program through Sept. 30, 2025, as VA reviews the eligibility criteria and conducts program improvements.

The Biden executive order suggested that VA consider announcing, by Oct. 1, its proposal for modifying the eligibility criteria for the program.

The executive order also seeks to improve child-care services and subsidy policies across the federal government, including at the Defense Department, which it directed to improve child-care affordability for service members by September and take steps to increase recruitment and retention of DoD child development program workers.

In response to the executive order, Steve Schwab, director of the Elizabeth Dole Foundation, said the actions represent an important step forward, but many more steps still must be taken" by government agencies, private corporations and nonprofits to implement changes.

"Military caregivers and their families still face a level of crisis that requires a comprehensive, nationwide response," Schwab said in a release Tuesday.

Editor's Note: This story has been updated to reflect that leadership of Veteran Warriors Inc. does not administer the group's social media pages.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime

Related: VA Caregiver Program Needs Better Outreach and Data to Serve Disabled Vets, Panel Says
One of the U.S. Coast Guard's largest cutters held a change-of-command ceremony in Honolulu Harbor on Monday during a stop on its way to conduct operations in the Western Pacific.

In a speech to the crew and dignitaries, Capt. Stephen Adler of the Legend-class cutter CGC Stratton reflected on how his crew responded to tsunamis that struck the Pacific after the eruption of an underwater volcano off Tonga in 2021, pulled into port in Papua New Guinea during a monsoon and got to enjoy Fiji's beaches as COVID-19 restrictions in the country lifted.

"Over my tenure, we've traveled from the far reaches of the South Pacific to the remote portions of the Arctic, " said Adler. "And now the ship is ready and prepared to sail into some of the most contested waters in the world : the South China Sea."

Adler, who has commanded the Stratton since May 2021, handed over the reins of the large vessel to Capt. Brian Krautler to take on a new role as the Coast Guard's chief trial judge. Stratton's westward voyage comes amid growing concerns about illegal fishing and heightened geopolitical tension in the Pacific region.

In 2020 the Coast Guard said illegal, unregulated and unreported fishingor IUUhad surpassed piracy as the world's greatest maritime security threat. The service warned that rampant overfishing is causing environmental and economic devastation to coastal communities that depend on fishing for food and employment.

"(Fisheries are ) probably the biggest resource right now on the planet that isn't being managed as well as it could be, " said Adler.

The officer said the Coast Guard's Legend-class cutters are ideal for taking on that challenge. The 418-foot-long vessels operated by a crew of up to 150 Coast Guardsmen have a helipad and are equipped with an onboard Scan Eagle drone that allows them to conduct surveillance over wide expanse of the ocean.

"We bring everything to that fight. We are the largest, most capable cutter, " said Adler, adding that it is "able to fuse information and intelligence at a higher level, to bring that all together to find the different types of targets that you're looking for that may be illegally fishing or, you know, not reporting what they are fishing."

The Coast Guard has played an increasingly important role in America's Pacific strategy as the U.S. competes with China for influence. Unlike the Navy, the Coast Guard has law enforcement authorities that in some cases allows it to board and inspect vessels suspected of illegal activity on the high seas, including illegal fishing.

It also can operate in foreign countries through ship rider agreements, which bring local officials onto the U.S. Coast Guard cutters to direct inspections and other operations. Many Pacific island nations lack navies or coast guards of their own to defend their waters and conduct search-and-rescue missions, and look to countries like the U.S. to help.

"We are recognized internationally for excellence in law enforcement, fisheries, search and rescue, real spill response environment, " said Krautler. "Our international partners see that, and they want help in partnering with us to do those missions."

In Honolulu Harbor, Rear Adm. Matthew Sibley, deputy commander of U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, said, "We are changing leadership onboard Stratton, but the men and women in this command will continue to save lives, protect the environment, enforce our laws and defend our nation." He told the crew, "You did all of this in the shadow of increased strategic competition in the region."

While the Coast Guard's movements westward are welcomed by many countries, othersparticularly Chinahave watched with suspicion.

The South China Sea is a critical waterway through which more than a third of all international trade travels. It's also a hotly disputed territory, with China embroiled in maritime territorial and navigation rights with neighboring countries. Beijing considers almost the entire region its exclusive sovereign territory despite a 2016 international court ruling in favor of the Philippines that rejected almost all of China's territorial claims.

Disputes over fishing have featured prominently in these spats. Once one of the world's plentiful fishing grounds, industrial fishing has ravaged the South China Sea's fisheries. China's fishing fleet, which is the world's largest and the recipient of generous government subsidies, has been criticized for its aggressive behavior in the region, with allegations that it regularly attacks and harasses fishermen from other countries.

Chinese industrial fishing vessels are often larger than those from neighboring countries. The Chinese navy and coast guard also have been accused of moving into other countries' maritime territory and pushing out fishermen. Philippine food security advocacy group Tugon Kabu hayan estimated in 2021 that fishermen in the Philippines had lost out on at least 7.9 million pounds of fish from Chinese ships staking out their traditional fishing grounds.

But these disputes are about more than the fish.

The Chinese government has been accused of using ostensibly civilian vessels like fishing boats and research vessels in support of its navy. Several countries have accused these so-called "maritime militias " of staking out disputed territoriesincluding ones with possible undersea oil depositsharassing mariners and conducting surveillance missions in coordination with military vessels. The Chinese military also has built bases on disputed islands and reefs to assert its claims.

While many governments in the Pacific are eager to work with the U.S. to send a message to China, some are wary of America's increased interest in their region.

The National Federation of Small Fisherfolk Organizations in the Philippines said in a February Twitter post in response to an expanded basing agreement signed between Washington and Manila that "our territorial waters in the West Philippine Sea are already militarized by China ; the last thing that Fili pino fishers want is an expansion of U.S. military bases at the further expense of our sovereign rights and territorial integrity."

The Stratton, which is home-ported in Alameda, Calif., is one the Coast Guard's nine Legend-class cutters. Two of them, CGC Kimball and CGC Midgett, are ported in Honolulu. Kimball is currently dry-docked at Pacific Shipyards International in Honolulu Harbor for its first maintenance period since it first arrived in Hawaii in 2018.

___

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An effort by opponents in the Senate to undo the Department of Veterans Affairs' decision last year to begin providing abortions fizzled out Wednesday after a resolution to repeal the policy narrowly failed to overcome a key procedural hurdle.

The Senate voted 51-48 against advancing the resolution offered by Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., that would have reversed the abortion policy the VA implemented following the Supreme Court's ruling last year that ended nationwide abortion rights.

The vote closes a chapter of Congress' bid to stop the VA from providing abortions. But the policy is still facing challenges, including a pending lawsuit filed by a nurse in Texas alleging the VA rule violates her religious liberties.

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In September, the VA announced that for the first time, it would offer abortions in cases of rape, incest or where the life or health of the mother is at risk from the pregnancy. The change was made in response to the June Supreme Court ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization that allowed states to ban abortion.

VA officials have not publicly disclosed the number of abortions provided since then. But in a letter to Congress last month first reported by Bloomberg and obtained by Military.com on Wednesday, the department said it provided 34 abortions through February.

Of the 34, 26 were done to protect the health of the mother, according to the letter. One was provided to protect the life of the mother, seven were given because the pregnancy resulted from a rape and none were because of incest. The letter does not specify what facilities the abortions were conducted in, nor whether they were medication or surgical abortions.

Tuberville and other Republicans argue the VA policy violates a 1992 law that directed the VA to provide reproductive health care except for "infertility services, abortions or pregnancy care," unless that care is needed because of a service-connected condition.

"This administration doesn't get to change the law just because they feel like it," Tuberville said at a news conference Wednesday ahead of the vote. "It's a slap in the face to people who don't want to pay for abortions."

Supporters of the VA policy counter that it is allowed under a 1996 law that requires the department to give "needed" medical care to veterans.

Tuberville challenged the VA policy under what's known as the Congressional Review Act, or CRA, which allows Congress to overturn actions the executive branch takes through the federal rulemaking process.

Under the CRA, only a simple majority was needed to advance the resolution, rather than the 60 votes needed for most legislation in the upper chamber.

That vote threshold raised the prospect that the Senate could advance Tuberville's resolution even though Democrats hold a slim majority in the chamber. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., supported the resolution, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., has been absent, meaning Democrats needed at least one Republican to side with them to block the resolution.

Ultimately, Republican Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voted against the resolution. Both senators said they believe the VA policy is consistent with what's known as the Hyde Amendment, a rider included in annual spending bills that bars federal funding for abortions except in cases of rape, incest or when the mother's life is at risk.

"I think that the rule itself meets the Hyde requirements, which are pretty much my guidelines there, and I think that the VA has the authority to issue such a rule," Murkowski told Military.com.

The White House also threatened to veto the resolution if it reached President Joe Biden's desk, meaning the measure would have needed to muster at least two-thirds support to become law.

"The legislation would not only prevent veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries from receiving essential health care when they need it most -- it undermines patient safety and invites political interference into deeply personal decisions made by pregnant veterans and CHAMPVA beneficiaries in consultation with their health-care providers, threatening their health and lives," the White House said in a statement Wednesday, using the acronym for Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The vote on Tuberville's VA resolution comes as he has been at the center of a separate but similar controversy over the Pentagon's abortion policy.

Tuberville has been blocking quick confirmation for about 160 general and flag officer nominees over his opposition to the Defense Department's recently announced travel and leave policies for troops seeking abortions.

The senator has suggested he may drop his objection to the nominees if he is granted a vote on the Pentagon policy. Unlike the VA policy, the Pentagon one is not subject to the CRA because the department used a different mechanism to implement it.

Tuberville said Wednesday there has been no progress on the impasse over the nominees, suggesting conversations on the topic were on the "backburner" while the Senate considered his VA resolution.

-- Rebecca Kheel can be reached at rebecca.kheel@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @reporterkheel.

Related: VA Sets Rules for Employees to Opt Out of Providing Abortions over Religious Objections
The Department of Veterans Affairs and National Institutes of Health have teamed up to learn more about Gulf War Illness, a chronic condition that affects nearly a third of veterans who deployed to Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm more than 30 years ago.

The VA and NIH announced Monday that they are seeking 75 participants for the study: 50 who served during the Persian Gulf War and have symptoms of Gulf War Illness, such as chronic fatigue, gastrointestinal problems, muscle and joint pain, memory impairment or loss, and 25 who also deployed to the conflict but are asymptomatic.

Researchers hope the study will lead to better understanding of the complex condition, with an aim to develop diagnostic criteria, testing and potential treatments.

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"Effective treatments for Gulf War Illness have remained elusive, forcing health care providers to mostly focus on easing patient symptoms," VA Chief Research and Development Officer Rachel Ramoni said in a press release issued Monday. "VA and NIH's collaboration will bring together experts who will meticulously investigate the underlying causes of Gulf War Illness symptoms."

Up to 210,000 of the 700,000 veterans who deployed to the 1990-91 Persian Gulf War later developed symptoms such as persistent fatigue, chronic headaches and pain, memory loss, skin conditions and mood disturbances.

Veterans of the 1990-91 war to liberate Kuwait following an invasion by Iraq have long clamored for research into their illnesses and felt ignored by a VA that first labeled their symptoms as psychosomatic.

For years, VA denied disability claims for thousands of veterans who applied, rejecting their claims that their illness was service-connected. It invested heavily into research examining stress as a possible cause while denying benefits to those with a complex array of symptoms.

In 2014, VA's then-Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey promoted using the name "chronic multi-symptom illness," instead of Gulf War Illness or Gulf War Syndrome, as it first was described, to avoid implying a causal link between the symptoms and military service -- a connection that would give veterans easier access to disability compensation.

As of 2017, according to the Government Accountability Office, VA denied more than 80% of disability claims filed for Gulf War Illness.

Researchers have long suspected environmental factors, such as exposure to sarin gas, pesticides, anti-nerve agent pills or oil well fires, played a role in the development of these symptoms.

Last year, a researcher with the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center published a study demonstrating a link to sarin, released during a bombing campaign of Iraq chemical weapons storage and production facilities. The researcher argued the study proved a genetic link between sarin exposure and the development of Gulf War Illness.

The new study from the VA and NIH will not delve into the cause of the illness. Instead, it will focus on the immune and nervous systems and affected veterans' bodies' ability to produce energy.

"This comprehensive study will take a new look at this illness and uncover biological mechanisms that may pave the way to treatments," said Dr. Walter Koroshetz, director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, part of the NIH.

Under the PACT Act, passed in August 2022, veterans who were on active duty prior to Dec. 31, 2021, have been ill for six months or more and were awarded a 10% or higher disability rating for illnesses often ascribed to Gulf War Illness -- functional gastrointestinal disorders, chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia and other undiagnosed illnesses are eligible for a disability review for presumptive conditions.

Anthony Hardie, a Persian Gulf War veteran who serves as national chairman and director of the board of Veterans for Common Sense, a group that supports veterans and veterans legislative reform, said he welcomed the study, but the announcement is somewhat disheartening to affected veterans, seen as another delay in a long fight for recognition.

Hardie and others have petitioned the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the creation of a medical diagnostic code for Gulf War Illness -- a designation seen as necessary to define the illness and accelerate health care and benefits for veterans with the condition.

"We need a diagnostic code now, yesterday. We don't need to wait for this study, which will end when, in 2030, 40 years after the war?" Hardie said. "VA needs to fix the egregious denial rate of Gulf War Illness claims rather than keep saying, 'Just wait, we are working on this.'"

He also expressed concern for the small number sought for the study and questioned whether affected veterans will want to volunteer for anything that is remotely connected to the VA.

"I think that NIH is doing a good thing," Hardie said. "Finding veterans, though, who are willing to come to Bethesda, Maryland, for two weeks will be a challenge. That is concerning, and the small study population seems pretty small to be doing a deep dive."

To be eligible for the study, named the VA-NIH Investigative Deep Phenotyping, or IN-DEPTH, study of Gulf War veterans health, also known as Project In-Depth, participants must be between the ages of 48 and 70, have served in the Gulf War and had symptoms or be healthy.

Veterans initially will be screened by phone, and NIH staff will review their medical records. If selected to participate, the participants would travel to the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, where they would spend two weeks in the hospital, receiving comprehensive testing. According to the researchers, tests will involve a peak exercise challenge to trigger symptom flare-ups -- a process used to research other chronic illnesses such as chronic fatigue syndrome, also known as myalgic encephalomyelitis.

Monitoring would continue at home, using activity trackers, questionnaires and diaries.

No treatments will be administered during the time period, according to the VA and NIH.

More information, including contact emails for those interviewing veterans interested in participating in the study, can be found on the NIH's Project In-Depth website.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime.

Related: 30 Years After the Gulf War: Veterans and the Legacy of Toxic Wounds
Army Secretary Christine Wormuth told lawmakers Wednesday that a chunk of the service's barracks are seemingly unlivable as senior leaders grapple with living conditions for the rank and file and a relatively small budget to quickly improve standards.

"I've seen some barracks quite frankly I wouldn't want my daughters to live in," Wormuth said at a House hearing on the Army's budget.

Wormuth has made soldier quality-of-life issues a key component of her tenure, and troops have reported significant gains in areas directly under her control, such as improved parental leave policies that are more generous than those offered by the other services. But the Army has struggled to keep up with renovating its barracks and building new ones to replace living quarters infested with mold and suffering from aging infrastructure.

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The Army plans to spend $1 billion per year this decade on construction and renovation. But that is seemingly not enough funding, with a report from the Congressional Budget Office estimating it would cost $11.2 billion to fix up barracks at just two installations: Fort Bragg, North Carolina, and Schofield Barracks, Hawaii. Those two bases have enlisted living quarters that have been the hardest hit with mold issues.

Mold problems have been at the center of the Army's barracks issues. Last month, the service conducted a service-wide inspection, finding 2,100 of its facilities have some degree of mold infestation, mostly concentrated in humid climates such as the South and Hawaii. Many of those barracks were poorly constructed, have shoddy ventilation and have half-century-old air conditioning units that are prone to leaking.

That inspection of active-duty facilities was spurred after Military.com's reporting on moldy barracks at Fort Bragg and Fort Stewart, Georgia. At Fort Bragg, home of the Army's airborne and Special Forces, roughly 1,000 soldiers were moved to different barracks or given a housing allowance to live off base.

Leaders there said they had a hard time tracking the scope of the mold issue, and moving those soldiers came after scrutiny from Army senior leaders and the media. Military.com's investigation at Fort Stewart found barracks walls there coated in black mold and service member's gear sometimes destroyed by mold growth spreading to bags and other equipment.

Base officials said they have no plan to relocate those troops. After Military.com's reporting, plans for new barracks were developed, but construction won't be complete until 2027. Constructing new barracks can take half a decade due to a combination of funding and labor issues, as well as red tape that can cause delays.

Soldiers have told Military.com that maintenance teams from the Department of Public Works are often slow to respond and are poorly trained in mold remediation and mitigation. In some instances, maintenance workers just paint over mold. Wormuth also told lawmakers that the service has had a hard time hiring maintenance workers. Those jobs are relatively low paid, with workers earning between $35,000 and $45,000 per year, according to numerous job postings reviewed by Military.com.

The Army is in the midst of a historic recruiting crisis, coming up 15,000 soldiers short of its goal last year of bringing in 60,000 new troops. The service has an even more ambitious goal this year of 65,000 new soldiers. Army leaders say that most of that uphill battle filling in the ranks is attributable to the general population of young Americans being too overweight to serve or unable to pass the military's academic entrance exam, though senior leaders, including Wormuth, have also suggested that news coverage of issues in the service has put a dent into its pitch to Gen Z.

"I want parents to know that their kids are going to have good accommodations," Wormuth told lawmakers.

-- Steve Beynon can be reached at Steve.Beynon@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @StevenBeynon.

Related: Mold Is Consuming Fort Stewart's Barracks as a Pattern Emerges Across the Army
Editor's Note: This story has been changed to clarify that Key West was missing a dental hygienist, not a dentist, after being contacted by a Navy spokesman.

Almost a year after the Navy shuttered two barracks buildings on its base in Key West, Florida, leaving sailors scrambling to find a place to live, sailors and officials say that between long wait times and promises that failed to materialize, the housing crunch persists.

Adding to the troubles for the base is the fact that it is in desperate need of air traffic controllers -- a key job since the base also handles air traffic for the nearby civilian airport. The housing shortage has prevented the base from bringing in more help, leaders tell their sailors.

The result is that the base continues to struggle to attract and house sailors while others rotate out. One sailor said that "it's like we're bleeding out."

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Last May, Military.com reported that Key West closed a pair of barracks buildings and sent about 80 sailors scrambling to find new places to live in the expensive and tiny community made up of a group of islands in the Caribbean.

Although the housing shortage led the Navy to grant even the youngest single sailors at the base a housing allowance -- usually single sailors have to rise to the rank of E-5 -- the extra cash was not enough, according to sailors who spoke to Military.com, and availability of housing in town is limited.

The Navy said that it would also let sailors rent one of its 36 vacation trailers -- two-bedroom mobile homes intended for the base's Morale, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) team to rent to vacationers -- for nearly $4,000 a month. The option was doable when split between two sailors.

A pair of sailors stationed at the base reached out to Military.com in recent weeks and said that housing issues have not been resolved.

The base spokeswoman, Danette Baso Silvers, told Miltiary.com in an email last week that "there was a delay in completion of the MWR vacation trailers due to initial issues with the fire-detection systems." Silvers said that the issue was discovered in May 2022 -- the same month that sailors were ostensibly supposed to be able to move in -- and the units only passed inspection last month, March 2023.

Silvers said that while sailors who wanted to utilize this option were instead put up in other MWR housing, only seven sailors currently live in MWR accommodations.

Meanwhile, a large, new Gateway Inn hotel with 244 rooms that was supposed to be ready last year is also stuck in limbo, and currently doesn't have any sailors staying in it. Jeffrey Hamlin, a spokesman for the Navy Facilities Command Southeast, would not speak to what is holding up the building's completion despite the fact that the builder posted a video of what looks to be a completely finished hotel last August.

Hamlin added that the "Navy does not confirm or deny code compliance matters for active projects under construction and that "there is no public information" about an estimated completion date for the hotel.

Navy Gateway hotels are sometimes used by commands to house sailors in situations where barracks are not available. For example, sailors who were living on the USS George Washington -- the carrier experiencing a string of suicides -- were moved off to a Gateway hotel last April after Military.com broke the news of the deaths.

However, in this case, Silvers says the hotel was offered to sailors only "as a short-term solution [and] not a feasible long-term option." She noted that while the hotel was considered as a housing fix, the "MWR vacation rentals offered full kitchens and separate bedrooms to allow more comfort for the Sailors long term."

The final option -- privatized base housing -- is the more popular choice. Silvers said that 50 sailors have put their names on the wait list for privatized housing. But, between the popularity of the choice and the fact that houses are also going to officers and enlisted with families, the wait for base housing has only grown.

At the moment, that list is "up to 12 months," according to the spokeswoman -- up from the "around four to six months" that sailors told Military.com last year. Of the 511 homes on base, only 35 are occupied by single sailors, Silvers said.

She added that the Navy has found a contractor to replace the barracks they shut down last year, and work is set to begin in May with an expected completion date of Aug. 12, 2024.

No One to Work

Although Silvers stressed that "Key West leadership has ensured no Sailor is left without a place to live," the struggle for young sailors to house themselves has become a well-known problem. One recent social media post by a young sailor with orders to Key West featured advice like, "I don't recommend a trailer," "worst case scenario you'll live in a tent," and "start saving money now. It cost on average $5000 to move in anywhere."

The result is a struggle to get sailors to come to the installation including for critical jobs like air traffic controllers.

A sailor who is familiar with air operations at the base told Military.com that the situation has gotten to the point where air traffic controllers are working the legally allowed maximum -- six days a week.

"We're the only air traffic control facility in the Navy with an international airport attached to it," they added -- pointing to the fact that the controllers on the base help handle traffic to nearby Key West International Airport.

The sailor was granted anonymity due to concerns about retaliation by base leadership.

Cmdr. Rick Chernitzer, a spokesman for the Navy's personnel command, confirmed that the base only has 77% of the controllers it needs -- 50 people out of 65. However, he added that the base has two more controllers coming "in the near term."

However, the sailor on base was skeptical. They noted that the 50 people in the Navy data included several officers and senior enlisted who don't actually perform controller duties. Plus, they noted that it's far too easy for sailors to just refuse orders to the base, which has a reputation for housing issues.

"You have to extend your contract to meet the minimum requirement of time to be here," the sailor said before adding that "a lot of people, they'll get selected for orders and then they'll decline the extension."

"Because these are overseas orders, the Navy can't force them to go."

Meanwhile, leaders on base are worried about more bad publicity over the base's inability to house the sailors they desperately need.

The sailor recalled an officer telling a group of sailors last month that although the officer could ask the Navy "to send 12 airmen to me -- and they would" -- the lack of housing would mean that officer would "have the same [lack of housing] problem that we had last year ... and then some reporter is gonna write about it."

Plus, they also noted that the problems extend beyond just air traffic control.

A spokesman for Naval Hospital Jacksonville told Military.com that the base is short a dental hygienist -- an absence that meant personnel had to be brought in from Mayport, Fla., to help out.

-- Konstantin Toropin can be reached at konstantin.toropin@military.com. Follow him on Twitter @ktoropin.

Related: Junior Sailors Scrambling for a Place to Live After the Navy Shutters Its Barracks at Key West
An estimated 15 million people around the world are threatened by floods from glacial lakes, according to recent research.

And the danger is growing as Earth heats up.
Initially, when the Coast Guard awarded a $745 million contract in 2019 for a new heavy icebreaker, the service predicted an accelerated delivery date for the ship, sometime in 2023. An ambitious timeline at best, the estimated date quickly was pushed back to 2024.

Then, in the second year of the pandemic, facing challenges with creating the new design, the delivery estimate slipped to 2025.

Now, after the shipyard contracted to build the Polar Security Cutter, VT Halter Marine Inc. of Pascagoula, Mississippi, was sold to Bollinger Shipyards last November, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan doesnt know when the much-needed vessel will be ready.

Read Next: Last Year, Sailors at Key West Were Struggling to Find A Place to Live. They Still Are.

"I would give you a date if I had one. I don't have a definitive date from my team," Fagan told members of a House Transportation subcommittee during a fiscal 2024 budget hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C.

With China and Russia increasing their presence in the Arctic, and growing interest worldwide in the Arctic region's vast stores of rare minerals, oil and natural gas, the U.S., an Arctic nation, has a strategic interest in maintaining an ongoing presence in the region as well as maritime operations.

According to Fagan, the country needs "eight to nine" icebreakers in the coming decades for those missions and currently has two -- the 47-year-old heavy icebreaker Polar Star, capable of plying the ice floes of Antarctica, and the 26-year-old medium icebreaker Healy, used for Arctic operations and research.

The Polar Security Cutter program eventually will produce three heavy icebreakers, which typically have the capability to break ice of more than 10 feet and up to 20 feet, and at a minimum, six feet of ice continuously at three knots of speed, with another three medium icebreakers that can handle lesser amounts, expected to be built later. But when that first Polar Security class ship will arrive is now anyone's guess.

The holdup has been with the design. Fagan and her predecessor, Adm. Karl Schultz, both called the design "incredibly complex," especially given that a U.S. shipyard has not constructed a heavy icebreaker since the 1970s.

Fagan said the design work must be advanced before the shipyard can start cutting steel.

"Once we have the detailed design, it will be several years -- three plus -- to get completion on the ship," Fagan said.

To meet the service's needs, the Coast Guard again has asked in its annual budget for $150 million to purchase an available icebreaker and modify it for military use.

The Coast Guard has its eye on the multipurpose offshore vessel Aiviq, a tug supply vessel with icebreaking capabilities owned by Edison Chouest Offshore. Funds had been approved in the service's fiscal 2022 authorization but were stripped at the last minute during congressional budget deliberations.

Fagan said while the Coast Guard had explored the option of leasing icebreakers, it makes more sense in terms of cost and timing to buy an icebreaker and convert it for military use.

"We're excited about what that capability brings to the nation," Fagan said.

Bollinger Shipyards is partially owned by the operators of Edison Chouest Offshore. Bollinger constructed the Coast Guard Sentinel Class fast response cutters, the Coast Guard's 110-foot Island Class patrol boats and the U.S. Navy's Cyclone Class patrol coastals -- the last of which were decommissioned last month.

Edison Chouest operates a fleet of more than 200 commercial vessels as well as several U.S. shipyards.

The Coast Guard requested $13.45 billion for its fiscal 2024 budget, including $1.2 billion to buy or maintain new ships and $115 million to maintain or extend the service lives of the Coast Guard's MH-60T Jayhawk and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter fleet.

It also asked for funding for infrastructure improvements in Alaska, St. Petersburg, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina, and would fund seven new Coast Guard recruiting offices across the country and money to support a proposed 5.2% pay raise for military personnel.

-- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime

Related: Coast Guard's $13.8 Billion Budget Request Includes a Commercial Icebreaker
KYIV, Ukraine  Ukraines defense minister said Wednesday his country has received the U.S-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian airstrikes during the war.

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.

Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion. It's the latest contribution from Kyiv's Western allies, who have also pledged tanks, artillery and some types of fighter jets as Ukraine gears up for an expected counteroffensive.

China, on the other hand, insists it wont help arm Russia, one of its key allies, and on Wednesday denied recent reports that Chinese drones have been found on Ukraine battlefields.

Beijing maintains strict control over the export of drones in keeping with international standards preventing them from being used for nonpeaceful purposes, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement.

China, which has repeatedly criticized the U.S. and other countries support for Ukraine as adding fuel to the fire of the war, has an objective and fair stance and seeks peace, the statement insisted.

The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles. Russia has used that weaponry to bombard Ukraine, including residential areas and civilian infrastructure, especially the power supply over the winter.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the system would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Reznikov thanked the people of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many systems had been delivered nor when.

Germanys federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers in Berlin on Wednesday.

Baerbock also said Germany has delivered the second of four medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems that it pledged last year.

Reznikov said he had first asked for Patriot systems when he visited the U.S. in August 2021, five months before the full-scale invasion by the Kremlins forces and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. He described possessing the system as a dream but said he was told in the U.S. at the time that it was impossible.

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which can need as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Reznikov wrote.

Experts have cautioned that the systems effectiveness is limited, and it may not be a game changer in the war, even though it will add to Ukraines arsenal against its bigger enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the U.S. in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per round and the launchers cost about $10 million each, analysts say. At such a cost, its not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the far smaller and cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were injured in Ukraine on Tuesday and overnight, the press office of Ukraines defense ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian airstrike on a border town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, its Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraines southern Kherson region, its Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said, killing one civilian at a market in the center of Kherson, the regions namesake capital, and a nearby school.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired nighttime exploding drones at Ukraines southern Odesa region.

-- Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, Christopher Bodeen in Beijing, and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.
Television has been providing America with some of the most beloved military characters in popular culture since the first television drama aired in 1928 (yeah, 1928). Since those early days, TV writers have been giving us characters who will forever live in our collective memory.

Who could forget Sheriff Andy Taylor from "The Andy Griffith Show," Hawkeye Pierce of "M*A*S*H" or Thomas Magnum of "Magnum, P.I.?" Archie Bunker was a World War II veteran, MacGyver served in Vietnam and Christopher Meloni's Elliot Stabler on "Law & Order: SVU" was a Marine in Desert Storm.

But a new generation of vets are coming of age in the 21st century, along with the TV characters who represent veterans of all eras and countries on the small screen. In this latest Golden Age of Television, the new millennium has provided viewers with epic favorite characters whose identities were shaped by their military service.

Richard Harrow, "Boardwalk Empire" (2010-2014)

(HBO)

It's clear from the jump that Harrow is a World War I veteran, as he meets a central character on the show in a 1920s veterans hospital. He was a sniper during the Great War, where a wound left half his face mangled, forcing him to wear a partial face mask to live his everyday life, a very real thing that happened.

Played by Jack Huston ("Ben-Hur"), Harrow is struggling with the memories of the war, but it turns out he's as deadly as he is troubled. In a show where anyone might kill anyone else, Richard Harrow is the angel of death. Unlike the rest of the mobsters of Atlantic City, Harrow is actually looking for redemption -- and finds it in one of the best old-timey, close-quarters combat scenes on TV.

Claudia, "The Americans" (2013-2018)

(FX)

Just because Claudia, played by Margo Martindale ("Cocaine Bear"), wasn't serving the United States doesn't make her character any less compelling. By the time FX's "The Americans" is taking place, the Cold War is in full swing, but before she became the KGB handler for Soviet Illegals Elizabeth and Philip Jennings, she had a very different life.

Claudia may seem like a nice old babushka at first glance, but don't be fooled. She's as ice cold as they come in Russia. After her family was killed by the Nazis in World War II, Claudia became a Soviet partisan and fought at the Battle of Stalingrad. She will drug you and cut your throat while she tells you stories about it.

Mike Ehrmantraut, "Better Call Saul" (2015-2022)

(AMC)

When actor Jonathan Banks ("Gremlins") first appeared as Mike Ehrmantraut on "Breaking Bad," we knew he was a retired officer with the Philadelphia police department. In the spinoff "Better Call Saul," we learn that Ehrmantraut was also a sniper who served in the Vietnam War, which only adds to his hitman resume.

Over the course of the two shows, we see how seemingly easy it was for him to go from corrupt police officer to stone-cold cartel hitman in just a few years. Cold as he was, he has a soft spot for his wife and daughter, which is the only way his enemies might control him.

Kayce Dutton, "Yellowstone" (2018-)

(Paramount+)

Before becoming a ranch hand on the Dutton family's Montana ranch, Kayce was a U.S. Navy SEAL, pursuing high-value targets in the Afghanistan-Pakistan region of Central Asia. His encounter with one of those targets forced him into a situation that haunts him -- but also allows him to do things on the ranch that others couldn't do.

Unsurprisingly, death seems to follow Kayce Dutton (played by Luke Grimes, "American Sniper") around, even in the most remote regions of Montana. He's run into meth-lab explosions, hangings and even human traffickers in the course of his "normal" life among his family.

Barry Berkman, "Barry" (2018-23)

What you have to love about Bill Hader's depiction of Barry Berkman, who takes a strange journey as a Marine-turned-hitman-turned-wannabe actor, is that he initially appears just as confused about his transition to the civilian world as any veteran ever.

Still, when it comes time to do the job he knows -- killing people -- there's no hesitation, reluctance or lack of confidence in what needs to be done. Even as Barry struggles to deal with the new world he lives in, it's nice to see a veteran can still thrive in his military career as he makes inroads elsewhere.

Billy Butcher, "The Boys" (2019-)

(Amazon Studios)

When "The Boys" takes place, Karl Urban's Billy Butcher is leading a team of regular human vigilantes to take down the corporate-controlled (and most powerful) group of superhumans, known as "The 7." Fighting people who can shoot laser beams from their eyes, have super speed or are virtually invulnerable may seem hard, but Butcher at least has some combat training.

After running away from home in the United Kingdom, Butcher joined the British Army and became a member of the Special Air Service. His clandestine experience led him into a career with the American CIA, which eventually led him to killing "supes" with a motley crew of former associates.

-- Blake Stilwell can be reached at blake.stilwell@military.com. He can also be found on Twitter @blakestilwell or on LinkedIn.

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YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS. Rep. Adam Schiff is calling on his U.S. Congressional colleagues to join him in demanding that the Commerce Department explain why it is considering licensing the sale of high powered U.S. rifles to Azerbaijan, in the face of Azerbaijans 125+ day blockade of Artsakh and ongoing attacks on Armenia, which left four Armenians dead and six injured just last week, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

The same Biden Administration that continues shipping military aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan and has yet to investigate the discovery of U.S. parts in the Turkish drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh is now considering the direct sale of U.S. rifles to Azerbaijan, a dictatorship whose military openly executes unarmed Armenian POWs with rifles, then posts, trophy, videos of these killings on social media.

We join with Congressman Schiff, Senator Menendez, and all those  Democrats and Republicans  in the House and Senate who stand against this reckless arms sale.

In a Dear Colleague letter to U.S. House members, Rep. Schiff is urging his colleagues to co-sign a letter to Secretary Raimondo seeking additional information from the Commerce Department about the status of any requests for export licenses to send lethal weapons to Azerbaijan and safeguards to prevent U.S. weapons from being used in the commission of human rights violations.

Rep. Schiff stated, approving the export of more lethal weapons to be pointed at Armenia would only fuel conflict, especially in the hands of security forces with a history of human rights violations. The State Departments 2022 Human Rights Report documents credible reports of unlawful killings involving summary executions of Armenian soldiers in Azerbaijani custody, torture, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment with high levels of impunity.

Members of Congress have until Friday, April 21st to co-sign the letter to Secretary Raimondo. The ANCA is working with regional and local affiliates to encourage broad bi-partisan support for the letter.

News of a possible sale of U.S. rifles  including assault-style and semi-automatic sniper models  to Azerbaijan broke on February 1st when Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced his deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed sale.

The export of weapons to an authoritarian country that wages war against a neighbor, blockades a vulnerable population, and commits rampant human rights violations at home is not consistent with the Administrations commitment to democracy and human rights, Sen. Menendez stated in a letter to Secretary Raimondo. Further, the consideration of this export license further compounds my dismay that the Administration continues to allow the export of assault-style and sniper rifles abroad  even while supporting an assault-style rifle ban domestically  and deepens my reservations about the Department of Commerce having jurisdiction over such exports, concluded Senator Menendez.

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian and the local ANC chair from Secretary Raimondos home state of Rhode Island, Steve Elmasian, expressed similar concerns in a February 13th letter to Secretary Raimondo. As you know, from your long friendship with Americans of Armenian heritage in Rhode Island and across the United States, our community is deeply troubled by the U.S. military aid program to Baku, and even more shocked by the possibility that American offensive weaponry may be deployed against Armenians in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia. The victims of Azerbaijans attacks are, very often, the relatives and friends of Armenian American citizens, stated Hamparian and Elmasian.
DETROIT  The former head of the Detroit Police Departments Integrity Unit has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a towing bribe scheme, The Associated Press reports.

John F. Kennedy, 57, of Rochester Hills, accepted nearly $15,000 in bribes in exchange for persuading other officers to make tow referrals to a company not on the citys rotation, AP reports.

RELATED: Former Michigan police officer accused of taking bribes from towing company

Kennedy pleaded guilty under an agreement with prosecutors, the report said. He was sentenced Tuesday to 30 months in prison.

At the time of the crimes, Kennedy was a lieutenant in charge of the DPD Integrity Unit, the report said. He was responsible for investigating reports of crimes and professional misconduct by police officers and other city employees.

Kennedy is one of six people to be charged related to Operation Northern Hook, a federal investigation into corruption in Detroit, MLive previously reported.

RELATED: Ex-Detroit cop sentenced to 27 months in prison for taking bribes as part of towing scheme

Other charged related to the investigation are Michael Stout, 60, of St. Clair Shores; Michael Pacteles, 44, of Southgate; Alonzo Jones, 55, of Detroit; Daniel S. Vickers, 54, of Livonia; and Detroit City Council member Andre Spivey pleaded guilty to accepting bribes related to oversight of towing policy; he later resigned.

Spivey pleaded guilty and later resigned. Vickers was sentenced last month to 27 months in prison. Jones was sentenced during summer 2022 to 15 months. Pacteles pleaded guilty last month. There have been no updates in the case against Stout since March 2022.

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NASA officials say an old satellite is expected to plummet back toward Earth Wednesday, but where it will reenter the atmosphere has not been disclosed. According to the Associated Press, most of the 660-pound satellite is expected to burn up when it returns, but some parts are expected to survive.

However, officials with NASA and the Defense Department say there appears to be a low risk that the parts will pose any danger to people on the ground. NASA estimates the risk of people on Earth being hit by the falling parts is 1-in-2,467.

The satellite, known as Rhessi, was launched into orbit in 2002 and tasked with studying the sun. The satellite was shut down in 2018 due to communication problems. During its time in space, the AP reports Rhessi captured images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays, recording more than 100,000 solar events.

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ELK RAPIDS, MI  Shorts Brewing has announced details about its popular summer party.

Shorts Fest, an annual celebration of music, food and of course, beer, will take place on a new date of June 10. The party has typically been held in early August.

Were changing the date, people. said Rachel Payne, General Manager for the Elk Rapids Tap Room, We have typically hosted Shorts Fest the same weekend as the Elk Rapids Harbor Days Festival, but we were always bummed to miss out on celebrating Harbor Days with our friends and neighbors.

RELATED: Michigans Shorts Brewing, Iron Fish Distillery create Soft Parade fruit-infused vodka

Shorts Fest will still feature live music, food trucks and beverages, but will not include the Harbor Days firework celebration. Performers will be announced later, according to the brewery.

Well be pouring TONS of our beers and ciders, with multiple serving stations inside and out. We know folks are finally getting back into the party spirit, and we cant wait to party with you, Payne said.

Tickets are on sale now with two options available:

$65 ticket for early 4 p.m. entrance, drink tokens and a swag bag.

$35 general admission tickets for 5 p.m. entrance and drink tokens

Founded by Joe Short in 2004, Shorts has taprooms in Bellaire and Elk Rapids. One of Michigans most popular breweries, it is known for brews like Soft Parade, Locals Light, Huma Lupa Licious, Space Rock and Bellaire Brown.
COLUMBUS, Ohio  A TikTok challenge in which people take large doses of Benadryl is being blamed for the death of a 13-year-old Ohio boy.

The parents of Jacob Stevens tell WSYX Channel 6 that their son took 12 to 14 of the pills for the over-the-counter antihistamine in an attempt to induce hallucinations. The dosage caused Jacob to have seizures and put him in a hospital, where he reportedly was on a ventilator for a week before he died.

Family members are calling attention to Jacobs death in hopes it will prevent other children from trying the challenge, WSYX reports.

Im going to do anything I can to make sure another child doesnt go through it, Jacobs grandmother, Dianna Stevens, tells WSYX.

The Benadryl challenge is not new. CBS News reports the Food and Drug Administration has for years cautioned against taking the challenge, which has spread on the social media app TikTok. A division of Johnson & Johnson that makes the drug says on a website the challenge is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately.

WYSX reports Jacob was described as a well-mannered, funny, loving kid. His parents are now pushing for age restrictions to purchase Benadryl and also for the use of TikTok. The New York Post reports the social media app soon will limit under-18 users to one-hour of daily screen time. Users under 13 also will be limited to an hour, but a parent or guardian will need to set or enter a passcode to allow 30 additional minutes.
YPSILANTI, MI - A new $7.5 million 3D arts complex at Eastern Michigan University will start construction on Thursday.

The Windgate Arts Complex breaks ground at 4 p.m., April 20, at the Sculpture Studio on Lyman Street on the Ypsilanti campus, officials said.

The complex, part of the EMU School of Art and Design, will house a variety of programs spread across campus, including sculpture, ceramics, furniture design, digital fabrication, 3D design and metalsmithing.

The projected cost was funded partially by a $3.2-million investment from the Arkansas-based arts advocacy group Windgate Foundation, officials said. A grant and a matching gift agreement between Windgate and the university provided the projects initial funding, officials said.

The Windgate Foundation and EMU matching grant, along with the initial matching grant, will allow our students and faculty the opportunity to work in one unified 3D Arts Complex, Sandra Murchison, EMU professor and art and design schools director, said in a statement.

The approximately 24,000-square-foot facility is being located on the northwest corner of the Ypsilanti campus, officials said, adding it is scheduled for completion by the end of 2023.

University officials hope the complex enhances partnerships across Washtenaw County, including organizations such as the Riverside Arts Center. Potential statewide partnerships include Michigan teachers participating in a summer institute led by EMU art faculty, officials said.

It has been a genuine thrill to see this dream evolve into reality for the School of Art and Design and the EMU community, Murchison said in a statement.

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YPSILANTI, MI - After a search that brought candidates from across the country to Ypsilanti, the city officially has a new police chief.

Kirk Moore, most recently a police captain in a Nevada department with over 500 sworn officers, will take the helm in Ypsilanti on Thursday, April 20, officials said.

I am incredibly humbled by the opportunity to serve this city in this capacity as the chief of police. We have a lot of work ahead of us. And Im down, Im ready for it. This is a fantastic opportunity, Moore said during Ypsilanti City Councils Tuesday, April 18 meeting.

He will become the citys first new, permanent police chief in more than nine years, after former Chief Tony DeGiusti, promoted to the top job in 2014, resigned last August.

Moore comes to Ypsilanti from Henderson, Nevada, a city of some 330,000 people near Las Vegas, where he led the east patrol division, overseeing 75 officers and a $13-million budget, he said in his job interview in Ypsilanti.

Read more: Ypsilanti picks finalist for police chief position after round of interviews

The law enforcement official impressed a selection committee made of up area police chiefs, city officials and community leaders, standing out among the four candidates interviewed in late March, according to City Manger Frances McMullan.

By city charter, McMullan had the responsibility of hiring a new chief. She worked to negotiate a contract with Moore after he was identified as the committees top choice, and he subsequently participated in a community meet and greet event in the city.

The four-year contract with Moore provides for a salary of $120,000, a $6,000 moving allowance and use of a city vehicle, according to a copy of the document provided by McMullan.

Moores tenure in Henderson stretches back almost 25 years, including more than decade as a patrol officer before promotions to command positions, according to his resume.

My entire career has prepared me for this moment today, he told the Ypsilanti selection committee at the beginning of his job interview.

If he was chosen, Moore pledged to invite community members into the police department, involving them in decision-making, boosting transparency and working to build a sustainable staffing model in Ypsilanti.

The department struggled with low morale and a string of officer departures around the time DeGiusti resigned last year, officials said.

Lt. Brent Yuchasz, a veteran of the department, served as interim chief during the period between DeGiustis departure and the conclusion of the search process.

Moore will takeover as a relative outsider, though he has spoken highly of his experiences in the city so far.

I think the city has a wonderful spirit. I believe the people that Ive met throughout the city have all been very passionate about the city of Ypsilanti, and so its very encouraging, its exciting, its energetic, its intoxicating, he said on Tuesday.

I look forward to serving, especially the men and women of the Ypsilanti Police Department, and of course this community.

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FLINT, MI -- A Mt. Morris Township man followed a woman down a Flint street making sexual remarks and then chasing her with a gun while errantly shooting into the air, according to information contained in a federal charging document.

The actions alleged against the 44-year-old Lugene Maxie II have led to U.S. District Court charges of conspiracy to commit kidnapping, attempted kidnapping and felon in possession of a firearm.

Maxie pleaded not guilty to the charges  the most severe of which is punishably by up to life in prison  while appearing before Magistrate Judge Curtis Ivy, Jr. for arraignment Wednesday, April 19.

I applaud the teamwork of the Michigan State and Flint Police, said U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison. They prevented a brazen kidnapping and likely saved the victim from a sexual assault.

Related: MSP helicopter video shows man shooting gun, chasing woman in Flint

Officials said a vehicle with Maxie and two other men approached the woman while she was walking.

The men made sexual remarks toward her and told her to come with them. When she refused, officials said, one of the men got out of the vehicle and began following her.

Maxie and the other man pick up the man and then they drove past her. Maxie got out and began walking toward her.

Officials said when Maxie got close to the victim, he grabbed her. She pulled away and ran before Maxie chased after her.

As she ran, Maxie pulled a gun from his waistband and fired 2-3 times.

A Michigan State Police helicopter observed the incident as it was taking place. It caught Maxie dropping the gun and he ran from police officers on the ground, officials said.

The arrest of Maxie is another fine example of area law enforcement working in partnership to increase public safety in the Flint community, Flint Police Chief Terence Green said in a statement. The Flint Police Department, along with our local federal and state agencies are making the message clear, if you commit crime in Flint, arrest and incarceration is in your future.

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OTTAWA COUNTY, MI  A driver was injured Tuesday, April 18, when her car crashed into a water-filled ditch.

The driver, a 43-year-old Grand Rapids woman, was hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries.

The crash happened around 9:55 p.m. on M-231 where the road ends at Lake Michigan Drive in Robinson Township, Ottawa County sheriffs deputies said. The woman, in a southbound Toyota Prius, drove through the T-intersection and crashed into a ditch, police said.

The car was partially submerged in the water-filled ditch, police said. The driver was wearing a seat belt.

Robinson Township firefighters assisted at the scene. The crash remains under investigation.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI  The CEO of furniture company MillerKnoll has apologized to workers after a video of her telling employees worried about not getting bonuses to leave pity city went viral.

Andi Owen, who has led the Zeeland-based company since 2018, told employees during an online townhall meeting in March to focus on reaching MillerKnolls $26 million sales goal rather than whether they will get bonuses. She told them to leave pity city and concentrate on their jobs.

After her remarks went viral Tuesday, drawing local and national media headlines, Owen emailed an apology to workers.

I want to be transparent and empathetic, and as I continue to reflect on this instance, I feel terrible that my rallying cry seemed insensitive, she said. What Id hoped would energize the team to meet a challenge weve met many times before landed in a way that I did not intend and for that I am sorry.

Related: MillerKnoll CEO urges workers worried about bonuses to leave pity city

She went on to say: Nothing will lessen the power and strength of our collective team. My appreciation for each of you is huge and I will continue to do everything I can to help us meet our shared goals. Thank you for your hard work, your grace, and for the commitment you show to one another and our company every single day.

MillerKnoll was formed in 2021 after Herman Miller purchased Pennsylvania-based furniture manufacturer Knoll Inc. for $1.8 billion. Owen had served as Herman Millers president since 2018, and formerly served as an executive with clothing manufacturer GAP and Banana Republic, her LinkedIn page shows.

The company has the brands Herman Miller and Knoll, as well as Colebrook Bosson Saunders, DatesWeiser, Design Within Reach, Edelman Leather, Fully and more. It has roughly 11,000 employees, according to its website.

An edited, 1 minute and 20 second video of Owens remarks from a March town hall meeting went viral Tuesday after being posted on social media. It was picked up by CNN. CBS News, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg News, as well as local media.

Dont ask about what are we going to do if we dont get a bonus, she said in the video. Get the damn $26 million. Spend your time and your effort thinking about the $26 million we need and not thinking about what youre going to do if we dont get a bonus.

She goes on to say: I had an old boss who said to me one time you can visit pity city, but you cant live there. So people leave pity city, lets get it done.

Her comments sparked outrage on social media especially among those upset with her compensation.

A story by Fortune Magazine said Owen received $3.9 million in incentive pay last year on top of her $1.1 million fixed salary.

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GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A 63-year-old man accused of playing a role in the 2018 killing of a 16-year-old girl has been found competent to stand trial, reversing an earlier incompetency ruling that set him free for months.

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday, April 18 said that a U.S. magistrate judge found Gerald Bennett competent to stand trial on a kidnapping charge.

A Kent County Circuit Court judge in late 2020, after hearing hours of testimony from psychiatrists and others, ruled that Bennett was not competent because of cognitive deficits. Bennett, who at that point faced state charges of conspiracy to commit murder and perjury, was released from custody early the following year.

Federal prosecutors in August 2022 filed a federal kidnapping charge against Bennett.

He is accused of helping Quinn James kidnap and kill 16-year-old Mujey Dumbaya after she accused James of raping her in 2017. James is serving a life sentence for first-degree murder.

Federal prosecutors on Tuesday said a Bureau of Prisons forensic psychologist concluded that Bennett understood the charges he faced and could participate in his own defense.

Prosecutors also said that Dr. Leticia Armstrong found that there is evidence to suggest the defendant is feigning symptomology, or exaggerating, with the goal of being found incompetent to stand trial.

Related: Man accused in teens 2018 killing could go free after incompetency ruling

U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent ruled Tuesday, April 18 that Bennett was competent.

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YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS. Russian President Vladimir Putins spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has described the trilateral agreements between the leaders of Armenia, Russia and Azerbaijan as the only real basis for resolving the situation. Peskov said the implementation of these agreements is a necessity.

We are ready to welcome any step by the parties that would be conducive to advancing the implementation of the trilateral agreements, Peskov told reporters.

The Kremlin spokesperson said that the trilateral agreements are the only real and realistic basis for resolution. He added that Russia considers the implementation of all terms of the agreements to be a necessity and that there is no alternative to it.
KENT COUNTY, MI  Officials are continuing to advise visitors to avoid areas of two riverside parks in Kent and Ottawa counties after suspected oil puddles and sheens have been found.

Over the past week, suspected oil puddles and sheens were found around an inland lake at Bend Area park, located at 9500 12th Ave. in Jenison, and, more recently, on one of the ponds at Millenium Park, located at 1415 Maynard Ave. SW in Walker.

Bend Area park is much more impacted, with several, large puddles of suspected crude oil around the lake and nearby wooded areas, said David Wierzbicki, incident management specialist with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE).

As crews vacuum, dig and rake up the suspected oil, the northern portion of the park remains off-limits until the clean-up has concluded, Ottawa County parks officials said Monday, April 17. The clean-up is expected to take several weeks.

That work began April 13 -- three days after a kayaker spotted suspected oil in the water and shoreline of the lake. Around 300 yards of lake shoreline was impacted, parks officials said.

A map showing the northern area of Bend Area park that remains closed while crews clean up suspected crude oil. (Map provided by Ottawa County)

Millennium Park has only experienced a sheen on one of the ponds that comes and goes and is suspected of being either oil or a solvent, Wierzbicki said. EGLE expects to have lab results back determining what the sheen is later this week.

State regulators are advising visitors to stay out of and avoid all contact with the pond, located on the northeastern portion of the park. Officials were first alerted to the sheen on Friday, April 14.

Wierzbicki said officials are waiting for the test results, as well as whether the sheen comes back, to see how and if it can be remediated. While its too soon to locate a source, some potential culprits include nearby, defunct oil and brine wells as well as the nearby, defunct Butterworth Landfill, he said.

Wierzbicki said its also too soon to know if recent flooding contributed to the sheen.

Circled in red is the pond where a suspected oil or solvent sheen was found. State regulators are asking visitors to stay out of and avoid all contact with the water in this area. (Map provided by Google)

At the Bend Area park, Wierzbicki said regulators are suspecting the source as defunct oil wells in the area in combination with recent flood waters as responsible for the release.

At this time, it appears the release of suspected crude oil has stopped and there are no reports of the Grand River being impacted, he said.

Wierzbicki said officials are concerned foremost with remediation but are working to identify the source of the release.

Ottawa County Parks and Recreation Director Jason Shamblin thanked the countys Emergency Management staff and EGLE for their quick response as well as the passerby for reporting the sheen.

We are grateful for the quick action by both the Ottawa County Department of Emergency Management and EGLE to assess the impact of the oil release and hire a contractor to begin clean-up, Shamblin said. We are also so incredibly thankful that the park visitor who noticed the oil sheen alerted us to the issue.

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JACKSON, MI -- A man ordered to spend nine years in prison for the delivery of a fatal drug dose must also pay more than $26,000 to the victims family in restitution, according to court records.

Myles Jarrell, 26, of Jackson, was ordered during a March 24 court hearing to pay $26,310 for his involvement in the death of Gabrielle Scheffer, who died March 8, 2019, of an overdose after taking drugs that had been laced with fentanyl.

Scheffer had purchased the drugs from Uriah Hale, who claimed to have purchased his supply from Jarrell, according to records from the Michigan Court of Appeals.

Jarrell was sentenced by Jackson County Circuit Judge John McBain March 1 to spend a minimum of nine years in prison after pleading no contest to charges of delivery of a controlled substance causing death, carrying a concealed weapon and delivering/manufacturing heroin.

Its too bad, your record in and of itself is not that bad. What concerns me so much about you is that you made a specific decision to embed yourself into the gang community and get involved in the trafficking of deadly narcotics in our community, McBain said.

Hale pleaded guilty Jan. 6 to delivery of a controlled substance causing death. McBain sentenced him to a minimum of seven years in prison on Feb. 22 and ordered him to pay $26,377 in restitution, according to court records.

Delivering the fatal drug dose was one of eight offenses Jarrell was accused of between November 2018 and July 2019, records show.

Six other charges -- including assault with intent to murder, two counts of felony firearm, possession of a dangerous weapon, possession with intent to deliver amphetamine and commission of a felony as a gang member -- were dismissed after Jarrells no contest plea made on Oct. 28, 2022.

Jarrell was arrested July 15, 2019, by Jackson police officers on patrol searching for signs of gang activity, according to court records. An officer noticed Jarrell, who was a person of interest with a warrant out for his arrest for carrying a concealed weapon.

As officers approached, Jarrell entered the back seat of a black Jeep and reached under the front passenger seat. After taking Jarrell into custody, the officers searched the vehicle and found a bag containing smaller bags of heroin and fentanyl under the front passenger seat, records show.

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MARSHALL, MI  People can once again do something they havent been able to do in 50 years at the historic Schulers restaurant -- stay in a hotel room.

Construction is wrapping up on the renovation of the The Royal Hotel, five rooms on the third floor of the Schulers building, 115 S. Eagle St. in downtown Marshall. Plans are for the hotel to officially open on Friday, June 16, and reservations can be made now, Schulers President/CEO and owner Sue Damron said.

Related: Revitalization program will add housing to historic Schulers restaurant building in Marshall

Were super excited and I feel like (others) are excited just like we are, Damron said. Lots of people are asking lots of questions.

Albert Schuler opened Schulers in Marshall in 1909 before he purchased the current restaurant building and hotel in 1924. That building was owned by the Schuler family until Damron acquired it in 2019.

Related: For the first time, a non-Schuler owns storied Schulers Restaurant & Pub

The hotel atop Schulers restaurant hosted hundreds of visitors before it closed in the 1970s, leaving just the first-floor restaurant open. The second and third floors were used as storage and extra office space until the nearly $3-million Schulers Inc. Rental Rehabilitation Project began at the building in 2022, Damron said.

The name The Royal Hotel was picked for the new hotel to honor the original hotel that stood at the corner of Eagle and Green streets, Damron said. The hotel rooms have been redone to get rid of the 1930s wallpaper and carpet and give them a more modern look, she said.

But, while the rooms are being modernized, some history is being kept, Damron said.

Each room is named for a historic street in Marshall, such as Jefferson, Hamilton, Grand, Eagle and Mansion. There is also a burgundy accent wall inside each unit to keep it true to the Schulers colors, Damron said.

Some historical items were found during construction, including an old wine scroll Damron was unable to put an exact date to. Some exposed brick, which will be incorporated into the hotel rooms, also was found, she said.

Workers are finishing painting the walls, tiling the bathrooms, putting up doors, carpeting each room and adding in the furniture, Damron said.

The rooms range in size from 192 square feet to 366 square feet. Each has a Keurig, 55-inch smart TV, air conditioning, WiFi and walk-in showers and large exposed windows.

Four of the five rooms will have mini fridges, three of them will have bar sinks and one unit is Americans with Disabilities Act compliant, she said. The Grand Suite, which is the largest room, will have separate living and bath areas.

The hope is the hotel will be attractive to those attending larger events, such as the Marshall Blues Fest, and to bring more visitors to downtown Marshall, Damron said.

I think things are changing in the world and people are going back to going to a nice, old downtown, Damron said. Spend a weekend, go to museums, maybe do shopping and weve got breweries and wineries here. How great is that you could just be staying in the downtown and you can just walk to do all of these.

Room availability can be found on Schulers website. Rates will fluctuate but can be found on the website.

Seven new apartments also have been added to the historic restaurant building as part of the overall revitalization project. The apartments were completed in December 2022 and residents moved in during January.

The apartments range from 675 to 1,600 square feet. Five, ranging from one-, two- or three-bedroom units, are on the third floor, while a one-bedroom apartment and a two-bedroom apartment also are on the third floor.

An elevator, a private entrance and a small lounge area in the hallway are available for residents.

Schulers Inc. is expected to contribute a private investment of $1.7 million to the revitalization project, and the city of Marshall has approved a 12-year Obsolete Property Rehabilitation Act tax abatement valued at $561,600, officials said.

The project also received $725,450 in Community Development Block Grant funds awarded to the city from the Michigan Strategic Fund.

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PORTAGE, MI  A nine-building, market-rate apartment complex with a proposed 228 units across the street from Portage City Hall has received the green light from city.

The $31 million project, proposed by River Caddis Development, LLC of East Lansing, is planned for a 10.6-acre plat of land, with two access points off Shaver Road and one off West Centre Avenue, according to planning documents.

Preliminary designs for the complex show two mixed-use buildings along Shaver Road, featuring four live/work, one-bedroom units on the ground floor, along with four one-bedroom flats and four two-bedroom flats split between the second and third floors.

The live/work units will have small retail or service industry-type businesses with an apartment living space for the entrepreneur in the same unit.

The proposal by River Caddis Development, LLC, near Portage City Hall and Central Park includes two buildings along Shaver Road that include ground-floor live/work units and second- and third-floor apartment flats. (Rendering by Integrated Architecture | Provided by City of Portage)

Five of the other six residential buildings would have 24 one-bedroom units and 12 two-bedroom units, while the sixth building would just have 24 one-bedroom units. The ninth building would be the leasing office and clubhouse.

At least 10% of the development will be workforce housing, City Manager Pat McGinnis said.

Portage City Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday, April 18, to approve rezoning the land from a commercial planned development to a planned development to accommodate the project.

Councilmember Terry Urban was the dissenting vote, raising issues about traffic and density. The density of the project is 21.5 units per acre of land, which is more than three times the ordinance limit of seven units per acre, Urban pointed out.

Related: Nine-building apartment complex one step closer to breaking ground in Portage

This is an area of high traffic volume already, Urban said. Exceeding our ordinance density limit ... in this space is problematic and not the use of this property that we should encourage.

If the density was only seven units per acre, as the city ordinance calls for, Urban said he might have voted in favor. Tuesdays council approval allows the development to bypass that density mandate.

But putting the most dense planned development in this location, which is the most traffic-challenged location in the city, I dont believe is appropriate, Urban said.

A nine-building, market-rate apartment community has been proposed by River Caddis Development, LLC, near Portage City Hall and Central Park. Plans for the project call fortwo building types providing live/work units and stacked flats featuring 228 units near the intersection of West Centre Avenue and Shaver Road. (Rendering by Integrated Architecture | Provided by City of Portage)

Urban, who was also dissatisfied with the developers traffic study  which was done by the developer but approved by the city traffic engineer  suggested the city do its own study.

I usually dont question traffic engineering studies much because I rely on professionals, but this is not our traffic engineering study, this is the developers, Urban said. So there is a little bit of bias there.

Portage needs to create different models of housing if it wants to thrive and grow, Councilmember Lori Knapp said.

Having a more dense City Centre may create that walkability that some of us are thinking does not exist now, she said in response to Urban, who suggested the area isnt walkable.

Knapp, Urban and members of the planning commission have raised concerns that three of the proposed buildings are to be built in an existing floodplain. The developer will need to work with the state on that before the project breaks ground, Knapp said.

Traffic will continue to get busier through this corridor either way, Mayor Patricia Randall said. Much of Portages traffic comes from growing outlying communities.

Weve had opposition to ever single development thats come before the City Council, whether it is The Crossroads mall, whether its anything, Randall said.

For developers, high traffic on Westnedge Avenue is great, Randall said. For residents, high traffic on Westnedge Avenue is one of their biggest complaints.

So its a double-edged sword, Randall said.

Related: 228-unit apartment complex proposed near Portage City Hall

The River Caddis development will have four floor plans for the one-bedroom flats, ranging from 570 to 820 square feet, each with a different price point. The two-bedroom units will be 950-square-feet or 1,050-square-feet, Michael Corby, president/managing partner of the Grand Rapids firm Integrated Architecture, said previously.

Developers havent shared estimated price points for the apartments.

Each building would have parking spaces around the buildings, totaling 359 parking spaces for the 228 units, resulting in a 1.51 ratio of spaces per unit, according to planning documents.

The community center and green space will have a resident pool and terrace, park, fire pits and pickleball courts, if the project is approved. Walking trails are anticipated to provide easy access to Central Park to the north and shopping and other amenities, such as restaurants, the Portage District Library and Zhang Senior Center.

River Caddis plans to being construction in late 2023 or early 2024, once all approvals with the state are complete.

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VAN BUREN COUNTY, MI  A jury has found a former police officer not guilty of assault.

The jury found ex-Hartford police officer Matthew Mistretta, 32, not guilty on Tuesday, April 18, of one felony count of misconduct in office by a public official and two misdemeanor counts of assault and battery.
CALHOUN COUNTY, MI  An 11-year-old student was behind online threats directed at at Battle Creek-area school, police said.

Calhoun County sheriffs deputies began investigating around 9:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, after Snapchat threats to blow up Springfield Middle School and shoot people began circulating among students, police said.

Police tracked the threats to the 11-year-old, a sixth-grader who lives in Battle Creek.

Police contacted the student and the students parents and determined there was no imminent threat to other students safety at the middle school.

The investigation continues. Police asked anyone with additional information to call detectives at 269-781-0880 or Silent Observer at 269-781-9700.

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MUSKEGON COUNTY, MI  The Muskegon Area Intermediate School District (MAISD) is encouraging people to submit applications by May 8 to fill two expiring seats on its governing board.

The MAISD Board of Education is made up of five members who serve six-year terms. The two current board members with seats that will expire on June 30 are Wanda Lee Suits, who is running for reelection to the board, and Kevin Donovan, who is not seeking reelection.

Anyone who lives in the MAISD jurisdiction is eligible to submit their name to be considered in the running, according to a news release. To apply, candidates must file an Affidavit of Identity and a nominating petition with at least 40 valid elector signatures, or pay a nonrefundable $100 filing fee, to the Muskegon County Clerks Office by May 8.

MAISD will hold a special election on Monday, June 5, when representatives from the ISDs 12 constituent districts will cast their votes to elect two board members.

The MAISD is one of Michigans 56 regional education service agencies and serves the public and charter schools of Muskegon and parts of Oceana, Ottawa, and Newaygo counties, according to the release.

The 12 public school districts in the MAISDs constituency are Fruitport, Holton, Mona Shores, Montague, Muskegon Heights, Muskegon, North Muskegon, Oakridge, Orchard View, Ravenna, Reeths-Puffer and Whitehall.

The goals of the MAISD board are to help elected officials understand the educational impact and consequences of legislative initiatives; provide opportunities for local school board members to pursue professional development; and encourage the engagement of local school districts in exploring a framework for the future of educators, according to the ISD website.

In partnership with local districts, the MAISD operates the federally-funded Muskegon/Oceana Head Start and Early Head Start, and the state-funded Great Start Readiness preschool program, the release said. In addition, the MAISD operates the Muskegon Area Career Tech Center, Wesley School, Transition at Craig Campus, Lakeshore Learning Center, Muskegon Area Promise, and Muskegon Opportunity.

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MUSKEGON, MI - USS LST 393, a historic World War II warship docked on the Muskegon waterfront, is gearing up to once again welcome visitors in honor of its 19th year.

This year, the ships highlights will include renovated areas and new museum exhibits.

The landing ship tank, moored at the Mart Dock on the Muskegon waterfront, first went to war in 1943 to help America defeat the Axis powers in World War II. Now, 80 years later, the ship has been restored by a group of dedicated volunteers.

Walk where heroes walked, right in downtown Muskegon, the ships website reads. History jumps out at you from every deck and every corner.

Visitors will see many new exhibits and veteran tributes for the museums 19th season opening April 29, including a newly expanded tribute to women in the military, a large Army cargo truck carried by LSTs and new additions to the Muskegon Connection display.

The WWII ship is one of only two LSTs left in America out of 1,051 built. They tell the stories of the soldiers, sailors, marines and Coastguardsmen who served aboard LSTs.

Last year, more than 25,000 visitors toured the ship or attended ship events, making LST 393 one of the top attractions in Muskegon, officials say.

This spring and summer, visitors will get a chance to see the completely restored ship bridge, as well as the galley, officers quarters, wardroom, sick bay and mess deck. A trip down to the engine room is encouraged for those who have an interest in vintage machinery, officials said.

Additionally, history enthusiasts will also get a chance to view a restored Vietnam War-era river patrol boat, a PBR, from the bow of LST 393, officials said. Other highlights of the museum include:

Hall of Uniforms donated by Muskegon veterans

Collection of over 150 military helmets and headgear from around the world

Main battle tank engine on loan from L-3 Corporation of Muskegon

Newly expanded Vietnam Memorial Wall

The museum will open for tours beginning Saturday, Apr. 29, and weekends through May, plus Memorial Day. After that, it will be open Tuesday-Sunday through Labor Day and weekends until October 1.

Those interested in the historic ship also will have a chance to attend the D-Day commemoration June 3. The event will be highlighted by WWII reenactors with authentic military garb and weaponry defending LST 393 in Air Raid Muskegon during a Warbird flyover.

Adults can take a self-guided tour of the ship for a $15 donation. The donation is $10 for students. Admission is by credit or debit card only.

LST 393 is located at the Mart Dock adjacent to Heritage Landing county park. The ship opens at 10 a.m. and closes at 5 p.m., with the last tour beginning each day at 4 p.m.

More information is available here.

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BAY CITY, MI  Nearly three years after he called nine Michigan Starbucks advocating for Black peoples death and distributed five nooses around Saginaw, a retired optometrist appeared before a federal judge to learn if hed get prison time.

As U.S. Assistant U.S. Attorney Timothy M. Turkelson put it at the sentencing hearing on Wednesday, April 19, the actions of Kenneth D. Pilon in the summer of 2020 were shockingly racist, harmful, and done out of racism coupled with entitlement.

U.S. District Judge Thomas L. Ludington agreed, saying Pilons actions were not simply provocative, but were threats that needed to be addressed.

Ludington sentenced Pilon to two concurrent terms of 10 months in a federal prison, to be followed by a year of supervised release. The judge did not immediately remand Pilon, instead giving him time to get his affairs in order, though he did not set a date by which Pilon must surrender to authorities.

Pilon in December pleaded guilty to two counts of violating federally protected activities. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to dismiss four more counts of the same charge.

Pilon admitted that on June 14, 2020, he called nine Starbucks locations in Saginaw, Bay City, Birch Run, Flint, Ann Arbor, Allen Park, and Oak Park, telling employees who answered the phone to Tell the employees working there wearing Black Lives Matter shirts that the only good (racial epithet) is a dead (racial epithet). In his call to the Bay City Starbucks, Pilon added he was gonna go out and lynch me a (racial epithet).

Pilon also admitted that on July 12, 2020, he placed a noose and handwritten note inside the truck of Black resident Donald Simon as it was parked in his houses driveway on Saginaws North Carolina Street.

An accessory to be worn with your BLM t-shirt, the note read. Happy Protesting!

Nooses left by Kenneth D. Pilon around Saginaw in the summer of 2020.

The four dismissed counts relate to Pilon allegedly placing similar nooses and notes in a 7-Eleven beverage cooler and parking lots of Walmart, Goodwill, and Kroger stores in Saginaw County between June 22 and July 17, 2020. With one of the nooses, the accompanying note said its author was going to lynch me a (racial epithet).

Donald Simons then-wife, Regina Simon, attended Pilons sentencing with her 7-year-old daughter, Eulalia Simon, and read a statement to the court. The Simons did not know Pilon before he targeted their house.

We may as well have woken up to a burning cross in our yard, Simon said.

The day before finding the noose, Simon had been wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt while she and her daughter were in their yard. She speculated Pilon drove by and saw her, prompting his ire.

I thought about this person going to their home and stewing in that judgment all night, only to return under cover of darkness and sneak up my driveway to place this noose in our car, she said.

Despite the tactic, Simon said she would not be intimidated, as she hosted a BLM rally in her yard on July 18, 2020.

Mr. Pilon knows white privilege, she said. He is well-educated, affluent, and had safety in his Saginaw Township home. The fact that he is saying he could not tolerate a few weeks of seeing the civil unrest and became unstable is an example of this.

She asked Ludington to send Pilon to prison.

It is time for Mr. Pilon to be judged on the content of his character, she said, before concluding, Black lives still matter.

In pleading his case for leniency, Pilon, 62, regaled the court on how starting in 2015, chronic physical pain and mental health issues led him on a downward spiral. By the summer of 2020  after the killing of George Floyd by a Minneapolis police officer spurred BLM protests around the nation amid the COVID-19 pandemic  his behavior became erratic, he said.

Pilon hit bottom in October 2020, when FBI agents raided his home and hauled him onto his front yard in his underwear, he said. This led him to seek the help of a psychologist to begin addressing his mental health issues.

At the urging of his attorney Barry A. Wolf, Pilon took a course on race relations at Delta College.

Whatd you learn? Judge Ludington asked.

A lot, Pilon replied, elaborating that he learned of racial stereotypes and how profiling occurs. What I learned was a lot about fear. That fear being manifested in ways that people were losing their lives, and what appears to be an issue that is not easily fixed.

Also at Wolfs suggestion, Pilon read the 1962 book 100 Years of Lynchings by Ralph Ginzburg, detailing racial violence in America from the end of the Civil War through 1960. Pilon found the books accounts horrific and gleaned a new sense of what lynching means to the Black community.

It was like I looked into Hell itself, he said. I am ashamed of my actions. Im remorseful. I do apologize profusely to anyone who was hurt by my actions.

Turkelson, in pushing for prison time, said he did not see the connection between Pilons physical ailment, deteriorating mental health, and his repeated racist outbursts. Rather, Pilon was so enraged by Black people speaking out against injustice that he felt compelled to call Starbucks locations and vent his rage.

He wants to express his opinion, but damn be all if anyone else expresses their opinions, Turkelson said. The idea Mr. Pilon could wage this kind of war in such a cowardly way is also dangerous. He had to spread his hate and fear and run away.

Ludington said he was surprised by Pilons statement, in that mostly referred to himself.

There was no attempt to verbalize the thought processes of the victims of his conduct, the judge said.

When the hearing ended, Pilon left the courthouse in downtown Bay City with his suit jacket over his head, shielding himself from media cameras as he got in a vehicle with his attorney.

Simon, standing with her daughter, said she was impressed with the judges sentence.

Were moving in the right direction, she said.

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The ability to temporarily remove firearms from at-risk individuals will soon land on Gov. Gretchen Whitmers desk after Senate Democrats voted to pass perhaps the most contentious piece of their gun-policy wish list: red flag laws.

Senators on Wednesday, April 19 passed SB 83, alongside House Bills 4146, 4147 and 4148. Together, the four will create the Extreme Risk Protection Order Act, more commonly known as red flag laws.

SB 83 bill passed in a 20-17, party-line vote, while the rest of the House bills passed in 20-18 votes.

The discrepancy in tallies was due to an absent senator earlier in the days session. The package passed the lower chamber, also along party lines, on April 13.

Once signed by Whitmer, who has already signaled her intent to do so, Michigan would become the 20th state in the country to have a risk protection order process, according to the nonprofit Brady: United Against Gun Violence.

RELATED: Red flag bills prompted by MSU shooting clear Michigan House

If you look at the 19 other states that have red flag laws, the average police department maybe gets three extreme risk protection orders filed per year, Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, said following session. It is not something that is used egregiously, or so frequently, because it is mostly used to address suicides ... thats what we hear most frequently.

So, I think once you see this implemented in Michigan, a lot of the people who are worried about it are going to see that it does have a very narrow use case and its not used or abused as frequently as they think.

Under the act, courts could issue an order to temporarily remove firearms from a person who poses a safety risk either to themselves or others if there is sufficient evidence.

That removal could last for up to a year, though modifications are possible. One motion to modify or rescind the order could be filed during the year the order is in effect, with another possible during the year an extended order is in effect.

Under the Senates version, which the governor is expected to sign, a person could file one in any Michigan county, much like how people file personal protection orders.

RELATED: Gun laws are changing in Michigan. Heres what you need to know.

As for who may file an order, the list includes family members, health care providers, police officers or public safety departments and former romantic partners.

No lawmakers rose to speak in support or opposition of the bills during session.

House Republicans previously railed against the package, believing the move to be government overreach on Second Amendment rights. It would, they said, put law enforcement in danger when collecting firearms from at-risk individuals.

In a statement early Wednesday, Attorney General Dana Nessel praised the packages passage. She said the law will allow concerned friends, family, and law enforcement to act in a way that prevents senseless gun violence and deaths in our state.

If these recent gun safety laws should be challenged in court, I want the people of Michigan to know it will be my duty and honor to defend them, Nessel said. When these laws are enacted, I will use every tool of my office to ensure Michigan residents are informed of these laws and that they will be vigorously enforced.

Because the Senate altered each House bill, a House concurrence vote is required before being sent to Whitmers desk for a signature. This could happen as early as Thursday.

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YEREVAN, 19 APRIL, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 19 April, USD exchange rate down by 0.12 drams to 387.66 drams. EUR exchange rate down by 1.92 drams to 423.75 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate stood at 4.75 drams. GBP exchange rate down by 1.31 drams to 481.01 drams.

The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals.

Gold price up by 40.29 drams to 24919.64 drams. Silver price down by 3.84 drams to 312.71 drams. Platinum price stood at 16414.1 drams.
A new pilot program coming to Detroit aims to use artificial intelligence software on top of existing traffic cameras to eventually predict and prevent traffic incidents.

The city has been awarded $2 million in federal grant dollars to fund a pilot program establishing more than a dozen smart intersections within the city. By tracking crashes, and even near misses within those corridors, officials hope to be able to capture real-time data and better understand causes of traffic incidents.

Itll help us define these root causes so we can better aim our mitigation and our strategies to improve road safety, said Tim Slusser, Detroits chief of mobility innovation, who noted Metro Detroit consistently ranks among the top metropolitan areas for traffic incidents and road fatalities.

With this type of system, we believe when you start to characterize and understand root causes of these issues and implement a strategy based on that understanding, we can collect data and within a few months, we can see a new trendline.

The smart intersections program will start with about 20 intersections picked based on U.S. census tracts considered transportation access disadvantaged. That means people in those communities spend more, and take longer, to get where they need to go.

Slusser said the intersections hadnt been selected as of this week, but he anticipates a list will be determined by late summer. From there, the city will move on installing the software and any necessary hardware within those corridors.

Once active, the smart intersections will begin collecting data, like the number and types of vehicles that use the intersection. That will include passenger vehicles, trucks, public transit, bicycles, scooters, and even pedestrians on foot.

The systems will also collect data on crashes and near-misses, including short video samples of those incidents to be used for assessing the root causes of the situation.

Slusser said the system wouldnt be constantly recording and saving video. But in the event of a crash or near miss, it could go back and record 15 to 30 seconds before the incident, and save the snippet for personnel to review later.

If there was a near miss for example and it involved a pedestrian walking in the street, it could help identify, was the light red or green; was the pedestrian doing something wrong or was the driver; was it caused by improper timing of signals? Or maybe the light went out? he said.

The software wont be used for, Slusser said, collecting or retaining any personally identifiable information, or to assist law enforcement in issuing a traffic citation for actions like speeding.

Having real-time data would allow the city to assess whether changes are providing the intended safety improvements, rather than waiting on currently available data that can often lag by 12 to 24 months.

As of 2020, Detroits traffic crash fatality rate per capita was the second-highest among large cities in the U.S., and the citys pedestrian fatality rate was the third highest, according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

While the first stage of Detroits smart intersections program is largely focused on data collection and review, the technology provides a lot of potential to expand its use.

For example, Slusser said the city could give the AI control over things like changing the timing of traffic lights and crosswalk signals on its own to avert or lessen incidents. The software could also be given the ability to automatically alert emergency services when it detects a vehicle crash.

Im not comfortable saying today that well implement this, but were going to explore this, were going to understand its abilities and limitations and then were going to make a formal decision on how we implement it, Slusser said.

Installing the technology for these smart intersections could also prepare the city for an autonomous vehicle future. Its infrastructure could be used to communicate with driver-less vehicles with the flip of a switch.

This could be a significant paradigm shift in a community like Detroit, Slusser said.

In total, Michigan received more than $7.1 million in federal grants to fund four separate projects. The funds are from the first round of Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) grants, distributed through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The program allocates $100 million annually for fiscal years 2022 through 2026, with funds going toward pilot projects focusing on advancing smart community technologies and systems to improve transportation efficiency and safety.

Only California and New York received more funding than Michigan during the first round of SMART grants, and only one state had more total projects than Michigan.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said the funding would help the state advance technological innovations, optimize data, and build on statewide transportation accessibility, safety, and efficiency.

In Michigan, we are committed to leading the future of mobility and electrification, building on our reputation as the place that put the world on wheels, Whitmer said in a prepared statement. Together, we will continue growing our economy and competing for every resource to come home to Michigan.

The program offers a second round of SMART grants, which Slusser said involves larger dollar amounts for projects that show proof of concept. Detroits hope is it can show success from the pilot in order to secure more funds and expand the project to more intersections.

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ONTONAGON COUNTY, MI  The state of Michigan is extending its search for the source of water in an unusual old roadside well in the western Upper Peninsula.

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) says it will search anew this spring for the origin of water at a makeshift filling station in Ontonagon County which state environmental regulators ordered to be shut down.

The DNR says local retirees may know the source of water in the well along the Bill Nichols Rail Trail off M-38 at Lake Mine, a former mining community in Greenland Township.

The well is located at an old steam locomotive railroad filling station and is connected to an old Copper Range Railroad watermain that was found under the trail in 2020.

In 2021, the DNR began working with local officials to test the water and figure out where, exactly, it was coming from.

Nonetheless, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) said in December that state law required the well be plugged because the water source was unknown and couldnt be verified as safe.

The DNR was supposed to close the well by February but EGLE extended the deadline to June 30 at the DNRs request after U.P. lawmakers began advocating for its preservation.

Another extension is possible if the DNR actively continues its water source investigation and additional information needs to be evaluated, the DNR said.

We will begin our on-site investigation as soon as the snow melts and springtime conditions improve, said Tom Seablom, district manager for the DNRs Forest Resources Division. With the recent warm-up that the U.P. experienced, we will likely be able to start our work at the beginning of May.

The water is thought to come from an old mining borehole which created a spring, but efforts to determine its exact origin point have been stymied by a lack electrical infrastructure, terrain and difficulty finding contractors with the right equipment, the DNR said.

The system appears to contain nearly a mile of water line beneath an old railroad grade with piping in questionable condition. The site appears to lack any protections of a potable groundwater system, such as a well casing.

The DNR says a retired county mine inspector contacted the agency and said he could direct the DNR to the source location after the snow melts.

Officials havent been able to contact nearby residents who are suspected of using the well and signs posted at the site marking the water as unsafe have been thrown away.

If the source well construction is verified it will help determine if the well can be used in its current condition, can be modified to meet well construction standards or will need to be plugged and abandoned, said Eric Oswald, director of EGLEs drinking water and environmental health division.

According to EGLE, searchers must determine if the well is properly constructed and the source is protected naturally. If not, the water will need to be treated in accordance with regulations for using groundwater under the direct influence of surface water, or plugged and abandoned.

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Criminal justice reform advocates, the formerly incarcerated and families of those in prison gathered in the early morning of Wednesday, April 19 at the Michigan Capitol to rally for newly introduced legislation called the Second Chance Sentencing Act.

This legislative reform would allow courts to reevaluate sentencing after incarcerated persons serve a certain amount of time in prison and no longer pose a risk to the community.

We have people in prison who are elderly, who have served so much of their long sentences already and simply are not a danger to the community, said Sen. Stephanie Chang, D-Detroit.

Chang, along with Rep. Jimmie Wilson Jr., D-Ypsilanti, are leading the efforts in the state Senate and House, respectively.

Under their legislation, if the incarcerated individual has served at least 10 years of their sentence, they, their lawyer or a prosecutor would be able to petition the sentencing judge for a reduction in their sentence.

In Michigan, 30% of those currently in prison have already served 10 or more years of their sentence, and nearly one in five have already served 15 years, according to a report by The Sentencing Project, a Washington, D.C. based organization advocating for criminal justice reform across the nation.

More than one third of those who have already served 10 years were under the age of 25 at the time of their crime, the report states. Expert research suggests a persons brain doesnt fully developed until their mid-20s.

Simply put, people grow and 10 years is a long time, Chang said. Having a fully developed, mature brain and no longer being as susceptible to peer pressure has allowed individuals to see their actions in a different light and reflect on what they did years ago.

In Michigan, prisoners are elgible for parole only after they serve their minimum sentence. The second look petition, however, seeks to allow prisoners to apply for release after 10 years, regardless of the minimum sentence.

After receiving a second look petition, the judge would consider factors like the age of the individual at the time the crime was committed, the persons history while incarcerated or whether the person was a victim of domestic abuse.

The appropriateness of the sentence in todays society may also be considered. Wilson discussed how there are many people still behind bars who were convicted for marijuana charges, although recreational marijuana became legal in Michigan in 2018.

Maybe it was looked at one way decades ago, but in todays modern times, that kind of crime or conviction, I should say, is looked at a lot differently, Wilson said. But now we can put a process in place that allows judges to take a second look.

The bill outlines several guidelines for a judge on how to proceed once a petition is received. The judge could adjust the prisoners sentence to time served, reduce the sentence by at least 20 percent or to no more than five years after their sentence reduction was approved, or deny the petition.

Victims of the crime would be notified after any hearing date is determined by the court and prosecutor.

Anyone convicted of a mass shooting, domestic violence, criminal sexual conduct against a child under the age of 13, child pornography or human trafficking is not eligible for a second look.

Related: Can the formerly incarcerated get a second chance in Michigan?

Cozine Welch served 20 years in prison starting at age 17. Five years since being released, he has worked as a university instructor and led a nonprofit.

He is now the program coordinator for the Michigan Collaborative to End Mass Incarceration.

I was raised in prison and by folks who will never get a second chance without passing this legislation, Welch said. Its crazy that I could be standing here before you as an adult because of them, and I cant thank them for it in person.

Alicia Bower of Grand Rapids attended Wednesdays rally in support of her husband, who she said has been in prison for 16 and a half years. As the spouse of an incarcerated person, its been a difficult road to navigate, she said.

You dont really have a lot of answers. You have to look to other people and not everyone has experienced this, Bowers said. No matter how good or bad your behavior is, no matter what programming you do, no matter what courses you complete, nothing... Theres no reason for them to do well because they dont get anything for that.

Theresa Engstroms husband has been in prison for 30 years. Engstrom, of Grand Rapids, wants him home so he can be an active member of their family, which includes their son and three grandchildren.

We have all of these things happening that hes been such a tiny part of from that space, Engstrom said. So, bringing him home, to be a very large part of the space that he needs to be in.

Shree Strong of Lansing, whose husband has been incarcerated for 11 and a half years, said the women with spouses in prison often lean on one another for support while their loved one is away. The same support they show each other is the support shed like to see from lawmakers in passing this legislation.

Just show up, she said. They do have families, they do have loved ones and we miss them and we want them home.

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19.04.2023 LISTEN

Seven-year-old hearing-impaired Abigail Adjiri beat stiff competition from six (6) other contestants to win the ultimate title of Talented Kidz Season 14.

The fourteenth season of the popular Ghanaian talent show came to an end at the Accra International Conference Centre after weeks of electrifying performances from gifted contestants all over the country.

Despite her hearing impairment, young Abigail sealed the perfect victory with her performance at the grand finale that wowed the judges, audience and viewers at home.

Her exceptional talent, week after week, earned her the admiration of viewers.

Abigail, a pupil of the Vitnaya Academy in Prampam, did not allow her disability to hinder her dreams as she was determined to succeed against all odds.

After being announced winner to thunderous applause and roars from the audience, Abigail took to the stage once again with victorious dance moves that have since gone viral.

Throughout the competition, Abigail showcased her incredible talent by performing a variety of dance repertoire, from traditional Ghanaian music to popular international hits, and always managed to connect with the audience.

People on social media took to the internet to congratulate Abigail on her well-deserved win and praised her for the hard work, passion and energy she put into her craft, describing her as a true inspiration to young people everywhere

A user wrote, I really love her and her performances!!! Its jaw-dropping.

Abigails victory on TV3 Talented Kidz season 14 has also sent a powerful message about inclusion and celebrating diversity with the audience heaping praises on the producers of the show for their foresight.

Thatness Kids Models were adjudged 1st-runners-up followed by MFC Dancers who came in as 2nd-runners-up while Rahman clinching the 3rd-runner-up position.

Aside from the ultimate title, Abigail received a cash prize of GHS 15,000, an educational tablet, and GHS 2,000 worth of products from the Title sponsor, Indomie.
18.04.2023 LISTEN

The Ashanti Regional Chairman of the Newspapers Vendors Association of the New Patriotic Party, Mr Bismark Ayensu says he is prepared to join the flagbearer race to enable him lead the NPP in the 2024 general elections.

Speaking to this reporter in an interview, Mr Ayensu said it is now time party delegates vote for an energetic and courageous young man with good policies to lead the party 'break the 8'.

"Perhaps someone will underrate me because of my position as a vendor, but l will also criticize that person because I am a qualified card bearer of the party, full of ideas and resourceful to lead the party," Ayensu stated.

According to him, it is his vision to continue the good policies and foundation President Nana Akufo-Addo has laid for the country.

He described Akufo-Addo as the best President the country has ever got since independence - stressing that he cannot afford to sit for others to come and take over the governance and destroy the good policies and legacy which the president would leave behind.

Mr Bismark Ayensu noted that the secret of breaking the '8' is in his pocket and urged NPP supporters to rely on him for victory when he gets the opportunity to lead the party.

He indicated that when elected as the next president, he would use his first 60 days to influence advanced countries to write off Ghana's debts.

According to him, thereafter he would also use the same influence to attract investors to help build the economy.
17.04.2023 LISTEN

Former Chairman of the ruling New Patriotic Party NPP in the Fomena Constituency of the Ashanti Region, Mr Kwasi Nti has confirmed receiving Gh1million from the Assin Central Member of Parliament Hon Kennedy Agyapong.

According to him, Hon Kennedy Agyapong single-handedly save the NPP from losing the Independent Member of Parliament for Fomena to the opposition National Democratic Congress NDC after the NPP failed to pay him the money they promised.

"The NPP promised me Gh1million cedis to step down as the party's chairman after the Fomena MP demand my resignation," he stated.

Speaking on the Kumasi based OTEC 102.9 FM's afternoon Political show Dwabrem on Monday, Mr Kwasi Nti said he demanded some Gh2million from the party to settle a debt he incurred as the party's chairman before he officially steps down

"I was hesitant to give in to their demands after several calls on me because the NPP did not fulfil the promise they made, even after my resignation they still did not give me the amount they pledged ", he told the programmes host Dr Cash.

He added, "It took the aspiring presidential candidate of the NPP Hon Kennedy Agyapong to privately give me Gh 1Million to defray my debt and I can assure you this gesture saved the NPP from major legal tussle."

His revelation comes after Hon Kennedy Agyapong mentioned the issue.

The NPP stalwart interacting with some party delegates at Tema disclosed the role he played for the party to be the majority in Parliament.

Kennedy Agyapong said, he had to settle a debt of one million Ghana cedis owed by the then Constituency Chairman of Fomena before the party got the majority.

Mr Kwasi reacting to the news thanked Hon Kennedy Agyapong for the role he played to help the party from gaining majority in Parliament.
Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, an aspiring flagbearer of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) has revealed his planned campaign strategy for the upcoming flagbearer race.

The wealthy politician has dared anyone who plans to influence voters with money to be ready for him.

Speaking to delegates of the NPP in Awutu Senya East in the Central Region, the Assin Central lawmaker vowed to splash cash anyhow if any of his contenders dare to use money to cajole voters.

"Whoever thinks he is a man and would want to scare me with money when the time comes, I will show him that I am also a man and that I have riches. I will display cash," he said.

While condemning internal cracks in the party, the aspiring 2024 NPP presidential candidate promised to throw qual volley of ballistics at anyone who foments trouble in the contest.

The Assin Central lawmaker urged his supporters and the delegates to freely choose their candidate without fear of victimization.

"So let everyone have patience. We want peace in NPP so we can win the elections but the fact that we want peace does not mean anyone should try and scare us.

Nobody can scare you. When it comes to the election vote for whomever you wish to vote for. You have your own mind," he stated.

Several big names in the governing party such as Vice President Dr. Mahamadu Bawumia, Alan Kyeremateng, Dr. Akoto Owusu Afriyie, Kwabena Agyei Agyapong and others are racing for the partys flagbearer position which is been slated for November 4, 2023.
President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo has nominated Mr Bernard Aboakogya Mensah as the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for confirmation by the Krachi East Municipal Assembly.

The Municipality has been without an MCE for eight months, following the sudden death of its former MCE, Francis Kofi Okesu in September 2022.

This was contained in a statement signed in Accra on Tuesday by Mr Daniel Botwe, Minister of Local Government, Decentralization and Rural Development.

Mr Mensah, a 60-year-old, was a former Constituency Chairman of the New Patriotic Party in the Krachi East Municipality.

The Ghana News Agency (GNA) in a visit to the house of the nominee, sighted many people in jubilation mood, when they heard the announcement.

Hajia Zariah Yussif, a member of the ruling party told the GNA that the nominee was exceptional, selfless, and God fearing, and his outstanding leadership would bring development to the entire Municipality.

Mr Mensah told the GNA that he heard the announcement of his appointment with surprise and thanked President Akufo-Addo for giving him the opportunity to serve in his government.

GNA
19.04.2023 LISTEN

Health Minister Hon Kwaku Agyeman Manu has disclosed that some public health facilities in the country are administering fake medications to patients in the country.

"There is this worrying trend in the countrys healthcare system where some health facilities are using unapproved medicine and I must say, I was shocked when officials of the Food and Drugs Authority drew the Ministry's attention to it.

"As I am speaking to you now, the FDA has officially written to us and as part of punitive measures against the health facilities, they planning to name and shamed those involved," he stated.

Hon Kwaku Agyeman Manu said this when he addressed stakeholders in the health sector during the First Senior Managers Meeting of the Ghana Health Service (GHS) in Kumasi in the Ashanti on Tuesday April 18, 2023. The event brought together health partners, traditional leaders, private investors and representatives from the World Health Organization among other stakeholders.

Speaking on the theme "Enhancing Primary Healthcare Approaches towards achieving Universal Health Coverage", Hon Agyeman Manu tasked stakeholders in the sector to ensure quality healthcare delivery across the country.

He appealed to health workers to help fight the problem of administering fake drugs to avoid sending patients to their early graves.
18.04.2023 LISTEN

The idea of a Greater Somalia, a country that unites all Somalis in the Horn of Africa, has been a dream for many Somalis since the colonial era. The Somali people are spread across several countries in the region, including Somalia, Ethiopia, Kenya, and Djibouti. Despite the geographical boundaries, Somalis share a common language, culture, history, and identity. In this article, we will discuss why Somalis in the east of Africa should unite as one country and form the Greater Somalia.

Firstly, the idea of a Greater Somalia is rooted in Somali nationalism, which emerged during the colonial era when European powers partitioned the Somali territories into various colonies. The British, French, and Italians colonized different parts of Somalia and divided Somalis into different territories. This division has resulted in the separation of Somali families, tribes, and clans, who were once united under a single Somali state. The Greater Somalia movement seeks to unite all Somalis under one flag, one government, and one nation, where they can live in peace and harmony and pursue their aspirations as a single people.

Moreover, the division of Somalia has caused many problems for Somalis, including political instability, economic underdevelopment, and social disintegration. Since the collapse of the Somali state in 1991, Somalia has been in a state of chaos, with different factions and warlords fighting for power and control over the country. This has resulted in the displacement of millions of Somalis, the loss of lives, and the destruction of infrastructure and institutions. Somalia, once a prosperous and stable country in the region, has become a failed state, with little hope of smooth recovery.

However, the idea of a Greater Somalia offers a glimmer of hope for Somalis, as it provides a vision for a united, stable, and prosperous country. A Greater Somalia would have a larger population, more natural resources, and a stronger economy than any of the current Somali territories. This would provide opportunities for Somalis to build a better future for themselves and their children, with more access to education, healthcare, and basic services.

Furthermore, a Greater Somalia would enable Somalis to have a stronger voice in regional and international affairs. As a single country, Somalia would be able to negotiate with other countries on an equal footing and pursue its interests more effectively. Many Somalis feel that their current political status as minorities in other countries has limited their ability to participate fully in politics and decision-making processes.

In addition, a Greater Somalia would provide a solution to the problem of Somalis living in other countries, such as Ethiopia and Kenya, who often face discrimination and marginalization. Many Somalis in these countries feel that they are not fully accepted as citizens and are denied basic rights and opportunities. A Greater Somalia would provide a homeland for these Somalis and give them a sense of belonging and identity.

However, the idea of a Greater Somalia is not without its challenges and criticisms. Some argue that it would be difficult to unite all Somalis under one government, given the historical and cultural differences between them. Others argue that the creation of a Greater Somalia could lead to conflicts with neighboring countries, who might view it as a threat to their territorial integrity. Moreover, the current political situation in Somalia, with different factions and groups vying for power, raises questions about the feasibility of creating a united and stable Somali state.

The benefits of a Greater Somalia are numerous, including political stability, economic development, and social cohesion. It would also provide a solution to the problem of Somalis living in other countries who face discrimination and marginalization. In addition, the creation of a Greater Somalia would require significant effort and cooperation from all Somalis, as well as the support of neighboring countries and the international community. It would also require a commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law, which are essential for building a strong and sustainable state.

While the road to a Greater Somalia may be long and challenging, it is a goal worth pursuing for Somalis who seek a better future for themselves and their children. As the Somali proverb says, "If many little people in many little places do many little things, they can change the face of the earth." The dream of a Greater Somalia can become a reality if Somalis work together towards this common goal.
YEREVAN, APRIL 19, ARMENPRESS. Within the framework of the official visit to the Republic of Lithuania, the President of the Republic of Armenia, Vahagn Khachaturyan, along with his counterpart Gitanas Nauseda, participated in the official opening ceremony of the Armenian-Lithuanian business forum, during which the presidents made opening speeches.

ARMENPRESS reports President Vahagn Khachaturyan welcomed all the participants of the Armenian-Lithuanian business forum, expressing gratitude to the Lithuanian side for their support in organizing the event.

"The interest shown by the representatives of various business circles in the forum is really encouraging. At the same time, I must admit that the interest of the Armenian side in participating in the forum was much greater. I am committed to provide all the necessary steps to hold the next business forum in Armenia. As an economist and politician, I would like to note that economy is tight politics, while tight economy is successful business. Therefore, the success of the business is the evidence of the success of both the economy and politics," he said.

The President emphasized that, guided by that logic, from the beginning of the planning of his visit, he wanted to include a business component in the visit, and he is happy that they succeeded in this.

"Greeting all of you once again, I urge you to take this opportunity to identify, consolidate and implement your interest in businesses that are important for both countries and make the best use of this platform kindly provided by the Lithuanian authorities.

I will end my speech with the note that business is not about long-winded speeches, but about actions and results, so I wish you all a fruitful event and assure you that I am ready to support all your ideas and initiatives," concluded Vahagn Khachaturyan.

At the start of the business forum, in the presence of Presidents Vahagn Khachaturyan and Gitanas Nauseda, the Ministers of High-Tech Industry of Armenia and Lithuania signed a cooperation and mutual understanding agreement. Agreements and memorandums were also signed between Armenian and Lithuanian businessmen participating in the conference.
The Tema Oil Refinery (TOR) workers have given notice of their intention to embark on a series of actions, including picketing at the Jubilee House, to support their call for the revamping of the refinery.

Mr. Bernard Owusu, National Chairman of the General Transport Petroleum Chemical Workers Union (GTPCWU), announcing this in a press conference at the forecourt of TOR, said the industrial actions would precede the May Day celebrations.

Mr. Owusu said other workers would also picket at the premises of the Ministry of Energy and other strategic locations as several calls and meetings with management and government officials had yielded no result.

He said it was worrying that the refinery, which has the best engineers in the sub-region and has the capacity to refine 45,000 barrels a day, was only carrying finished products instead of fulfilling its core mandate of refining crude.

He questioned why Ghana has crude oil and yet TOR could not get crude to refine, adding that, almost all the companies created by Osagyefo Dr. Kwame Nkrumah Ghana's First President has collapsed.

He said TOR workers would not allow that to happen to the refinery.

He reminded the government that if TOR was working at full capacity, it would supply the country with 50 percent of its overall domestic consumption, provide 100 percent of the residual fuel oil (RFO) for industrial operations, provide 20 to 25 percent of LPG consumption, and provide 100 percent of Aviation Turbine Kerosene (ATK).

The National Chairman of GTPCWU further said that on average, Ghana required about $4.8 billion to import petroleum products per year.

He said if TOR was producing, the forex requirement for petroleum product imports would significantly reduce by over 50 percent.

He said other benefits included the lowering of domestic ex-pump prices due to the removal of certain import charges, including the freight rate of about $92/Mt for petrol, $101/Mt for diesel, and $83/Mt for LPG.

He added that revamping TOR to work at full capacity would also lower the financing charges as these transactions were cedi denominated.

The Union observed that as Ghana was currently going through financial distress and a debt restructuring programme, significant benefits from TOR's work should be top on the national agenda.

Unless the managers of the country have no confidence in those, they have appointed to manage the TOR facility, the state is responsible and determines those who constitute the Board of Directors and the MD of TOR.

Therefore, all past and current operational anomalies and challenges must be borne by the appointing authority of these key critical office holders, knowing very well that all operational controls are a function of management, he added.

Mr. Anthony Koomson, Chairman of the Senior Staff Union, reminded the government that when TOR functions, it does not only benefit the staff but all Ghanaians and the economy.

Mr. Koomson said if the issue has to do with competent management, then the government must appoint the right people.

GNA
Agyei Abanga, a 39-year-old mason at Logre in the Nabdam District of the Upper East Region, has allegedly been killed by his wife, Bogpoka Abanga.

The wife was said to have hit Abanga multiple times on the head with a pestle at about 2300 hours on Saturday, April 15, 2023.

A family source told the Ghana News Agency that Bogpoka then took the four children and fled to Walewale in the North East Region.

He said the first daughter of the couple, during the journey, told her mother that she had left her belongings with a friend and went back to the family house to report to the grandmother that her mother had locked up their father in the room.

Mr Bawa Dagal-Kurug, the Head of Family, said the little girl narrated that she saw blood on the floor of the room when their mother woke them up to follow her to Walewale.

He said the brothers of the deceased then scaled a wall into the compound of the locked house and broke the door to the deceased's room and found his lifeless body on the floor, in a pool of blood.

Mr Dagal-Kurug said the family later called the wife's parents at Sheaga in the Talensi District to inquire about her whereabouts and got confirmation that she was with some other family members at Walewale.

The family reported the case at the Nabdam Police Station, who picked the body and deposited it at the Bolgatanga Regional Hospital mortuary, he said.

The family is collaborating with the police to get the suspect arrested,'' he said.

GNA
Nigerian journalist Benedict Uwalaka was recently attacked by a police officer over his protest coverage. (Photo: Benedict Uwalaka)

19.04.2023 LISTEN

Nigerian authorities should investigate the recent harassment of journalist Benedict Uwalaka by a police officer and ensure members of the press can work freely, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

On the morning of Monday, April 17, an unidentified police officer attacked Uwalaka, a freelance photojournalist working with the privately owned Daily Trust newspaper, while he covered a protest at an airport in Lagos, according to a report by the Daily Trust and Uwalaka, who spoke to CPJ by phone.

Uwalaka said that the officer injured his hand, which was still painful the following day, and damaged his camera, breaking its screen and preventing its lens from reattaching.

Nigerian authorities should swiftly and transparently investigate the recent assault of journalist Benedict Uwalaka by a police officer, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. Police in Nigeria too often arrest and harass journalists for their work. Authorities should ensure recourse and restitution for those who face such abuses.

Uwalaka told CPJ that he was covering a protest by aviation workers at the airport when an officer sitting in a police vehicle with two other officers summoned him and criticized the journalist for taking a womans photo without her permission.

He asked me to delete the picture. I said no, Uwalaka told CPJ, saying the officer then grabbed his camera and punched him in the hand about 10 times.

The officer took Uwalaka to the airports police station and left, saying he would return. When he did not come back after about 40 minutes, officers at the station told Uwalaka that he was free to leave.

Uwalaka said he then waited at the station for more than two hours hoping to speak to a supervisor but left when they did not arrive. Officers at the airport station told Uwalaka that they did not know the officer who had brought him in.

The police said that unless the person who brought me is available, there is nothing they can do about it, Uwalaka said. They do not know him and there is no way they can trace him.

Lagos police spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin told CPJ via messaging app that questions should be directed to the airports police command.

When CPJ called that offices spokesperson, Olayinka Ojelade, he said he was not available to comment and would provide contact details for another spokesperson; he had not done so by the time of publication.

Previously, in 2012, hospital workers in Lagos beat Uwalaka with their fists and hit him with bottles and sticks while he covered the aftermath of a plane crash, as CPJ documented at the time. Uwalaka took his attackers to court, but the case was dismissed in September 2019, he told CPJ.
The Ghana Branch of Direct Aid Society has on Thursday organized its annual Qur'an Memorization Competition in Accra.

The competition is categorised into three parts; memorisation of the full Quran, memorization of half of the Qur'an and memorization of parts of the Qur'an recitation.

The competition is aimed at motivating and inculcating in the youth the desire to learn the Qur'an as a guide to shaping their lives to gain salvation in the hereafter.

Outlining the importance of Qur'an memorization, Mr. Abdallah revealed that reading any part of the Qur'an comes with blessings and as well guides mankind to get closer to his maker.

This he said shows that the Qur'an was from Allah and made for mankind to shape his life and do good deeds as well as live a decent life.

On his part, the representative of the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Dr. Osuman Nuhu Shaributu, Dr. Marzuk Abubakar Azindo called on participants to see the competition as an opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to the importance of the Holy Qur'an the sentuality of the revealed text in the Islamic Community.

According to him, the Holy Qur'an is a tool of guidance and it contains different explanations depending on ones understanding.

The Qur'an he said is also a tool of healing and an avenue for mercy are values contained in Holy Qur'an which are not in isolation but are subject to certain approaches to the Holy Qur'an.

He urged the participants to read the Qur'an, understand it, comply with it and propagate it adding that if one is able to utilize this four dimensions approach to the Qur'an, "in the end we will not remember how we have suffered to read the Qur'an but how we have benefitted substantially from the Holy Qur'an."

The Special Coordinator at the Office of the President for Inner Cities and Zongo Development, Hon. Ben Abdallah Banda noted that reading the Qur'an has the ability to make one's thinking faculty stronger.

He therefore encouraged fellow Muslims to continue to read the Qur'an "the more you read the Qur'an, the more you stand to benefit".

The Coordinator revealed that the Zongo Development Fund has partnered Direct Aid Ghana and has benefitted from the organization hence the need to consolidate the fund's relationship with Direct Aid.

He said the Zongo Development Fund is also ready to assist Direct Aid and other Muslims adding that his doors are open for students in the area of science and arts who have financial difficulties.

For those who memorized one-third of the Qur'an, Turhir Amin came third with 87 points, the second winner Amin Bello had 91 points whilst the Winner Ibrahim Amartey pulled 92 points.

In the memorization of half of the Qur'an, Ilias Abubakar came third with 92 points, Abdallah Ishak came second with 95 and Abubakar Musah came first with 98 points.

On memorization of the entire Qur'an, Abdul Razak Tetteh came third with 93, Arafat Yakub second with 95 and Abubakar Ilias had 96 points to win the first position.
Ex MX24-TV News Anchor Carlos Calony named Overall Best Journalism Student at UniMACs 2021/2022 Graduation

A former MX24-TV news anchor, Carlos Lorlornyo Atsu Calony, also known as Carlos Calony in the Ghanaian media space, has been honoured for being the overall best journalism student at the just-ended first convocation of the University of Media, Arts, and Communication (UniMAC), formerly the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) in Accra.

He earned a first-class high grade in addition to being recognized for his broadcast journalism capabilities in his class at UniMACs 2021/2022 graduation.

As part of his award, Carlos will be traveling to South Africa on an all-expense paid trip put together by Brand South Africa.

Carlos Calony, who is currently enrolled at the same university pursuing a Master's degree in Public Relations and Marketing, first gained recognition from the school in 2022 for his exceptional academic accomplishments after being recognized on the Vice-Chancellor's List.

While in school, Carlos was chosen by his fellow students at the Ghana Institute of Journalism (GIJ) to lead an intercourse-simulated political debate due to his talent in public speaking and propensity for social action.

Due to his enthusiasm for journalism, Carlos balanced his academic work with a variety of commitments, including his family, religious activities, and traditional journalism practice.

He spent a number of years working as a freelancer for Accra-based Citi FM/Citi TV and completed an internship at Obonu FM in Tema, operated by the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation GBC, where he got the chance to co-anchor the station's main news programme.

Carlos also worked as a full-time journalist for Accra-based MX24-TV while he was still in school, serving in a variety of roles, including being the station's main news anchor, host of the Spotlight show, parliamentary correspondent, producer, assistant news editor, and Tema regional correspondent, among others.

Carlos Calony was also shortlisted for the BBCs iconic Komla Dumor award in 2022.

As a gifted presenter for television and radio, Carlos is praised by many for his rich baritone voice and unique on-air style, which some compare to that of the late ace broadcaster Komla Dumor.

Carlos Calony has professional capabilities and practical expertise in business news reporting, climate and environment reporting, documentaries, feature storytelling, etc. spanning well over a decade.

He possesses a variety of practical skills in production, presentation, screenwriting, and video editing among others.

Carlos, who is now volunteering for a US-based NGO known as Journey to Destiny - Cogic Journey Center, is looking forward to working full-time for any of Ghana's influential media brands.

Speaking with the media on the sidelines of the convocation in Accra, he encouraged his fellow graduates and aspiring journalists to place a high value on acquiring practical skills through volunteering.

Since journalism is believed to be unprofitable in Ghana, many students are now choosing to study Public Relations and Marketing, he noted, adding that even though that might be true to a large extent, I think that being a journalist in this age and time of artificial intelligence, AI demands that one acquaints him or herself with the necessary technological skills to remain relevant.

Therefore, he advised young and aspiring Ghanaian journalists to "be humble, learn from your seniors, and develop practical skills" rather than seeking fame or wealth while they were just getting started.
Sudan, a country in Northeast Africa, has been facing a tumultuous situation over the past few days. The capital city of Khartoum has been rocked by fighting between two powerful factions of the military leadership - the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This power struggle has the potential to cause significant harm, both within Sudan and beyond its borders.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is a paramilitary organization in Sudan established in 2013 as a counter-insurgency force to fight against rebels in the Darfur region. The RSF is composed of former Janjaweed militiamen who were accused of committing atrocities in Darfur during the conflict there. The RSF is led by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as "Hemeti", who is a prominent figure in Sudanese politics.

The tension between the regular army and the RSF has been brewing for some time following discord over a proposed shift towards civilian governance, hostilities broke out, with both the military and their adversaries, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), asserting their dominance over critical locations in Khartoum, including the airport. The conflict has been centered around control of key government buildings and infrastructure. The fighting has been intense, with reports of heavy gunfire and explosions.

The conflict needs to stop to avert a humanitarian crisis. The fighting has already displaced hundreds of people, with reports of civilians being caught in the crossfire. This has led to a dire humanitarian situation, with people in desperate need of food, water, and medical care. The conflict risks exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation, with the potential for increased displacement, food shortages, and other challenges.

Furthermore, the conflict could destabilize the region. Sudan is located in a volatile part of the world, and any conflict within the country could have spillover effects in neighboring countries. This could lead to increased tensions between regional powers, further complicating efforts to resolve the conflict.

The power struggle also poses a threat to the democratic transition process. Sudan has been working to transition to a more democratic government since the ousting of former President Omar al-Bashir in 2019. However, the current conflict risks derailing these efforts, with the military leadership potentially using the instability to consolidate its power and delay the transition to a democratic government.

Finally, the conflict poses a risk to international peace. Sudan is an important country in the region, and any conflict within its borders could have implications for the broader international community. The risk of the conflict escalating into a wider regional or global conflict cannot be ignored.

The international community has a role to play in resolving the conflict and preventing further harm. The United Nations has already expressed its concern about the situation and has called for an immediate end to the fighting. The African Union has also expressed its concern and has called for dialogue between the parties to resolve the conflict.

The international community must work together to de-escalate the situation and support Sudan's transition to a more stable and democratic government. This could include providing humanitarian aid to those affected by the conflict, supporting efforts to resolve the power struggle peacefully, and holding those responsible for human rights abuses accountable.

In conclusion, the situation in Sudan is concerning, and the conflict needs to stop to avert a humanitarian crisis, potential regional destabilization, a threat to the democratic transition process, and the risk to international peace. The international community must take action to support Sudan and prevent further harm.
The leader of the #FixTheCountry movement, Oliver Barker Vormawor has called for a young independent candidate to contest in the upcoming Kumawu by-election.

The by-election was announced following the death of the NPP Kumawu MP, Philip Basoa, a month ago. It is scheduled to take place on May 23.

In a tweet on Tuesday, April 19, Vormawor expressed his desire to see a member of the #FixTheCountry movement succeed the late MP.

He urged any young person who is willing to contest independently to do so with the support of the activism group, hoping that they can rally around the candidate.

"How I wish some young person we can rally around will come up to contest the Kumawu bye-election! A first FixTheCountry MP!" tweeted Vormawor.

The #FixTheCountry movement has gained momentum over the past years, with many Ghanaians calling for an end to corruption, inequality, and poor governance.

The group has been vocal in their criticism of government's handling of various issues, including the country's economic woes, rising unemployment, and inadequate healthcare through protests and other means.
Thousands of residents fled Sudan's capital Wednesday as fighting between the army and paramilitaries, that has killed around 200 people, raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed.

The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It followed a bitter dispute between Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army -- a key condition for a final deal aimed at resuming Sudan's democratic transition.

Loud explosions and heavy gunfire were heard in the capital on Wednesday morning, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

Map of Sudan's capital Khartoum, locating key areas.. By ClAa PACULIER (AFP)

RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pick-up trucks laden with heavy weapons and ammunition swarmed the streets, as the army's fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

Their hopes of being evacuated were dashed on Tuesday when a 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire collapsed within minutes of its proposed start at 1600 GMT.

Streets littered with bodies

On Wednesday morning, thousands of people took matters into their own hands and began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

Governments have starting planning to evacuate thousands of foreigners, among them many UN staff.

Japan said on Wednesday that its defence ministry had begun the "necessary preparations" to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

A hole from an explosion is left on the side of a building in Khartoum on April 18. By - (AFP)

After the truce collapsed, the army accused the "rebel militia" of failing to commit to it and of continuing "skirmishes around the army headquarters and the airport".

The RSF in turn accused the army of "committing violations" and breaching the ceasefire by launching "sporadic attacks" on its forces and bases around the capital.

The fighting has left at least 185 people dead and more than 1,800 injured, according to the United Nations.

But the real figure is thought to be far higher with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors' union.

Smoke rises in the background as a car drives along an almost deserted street in Khartoum on April 16. By - (AFP/File)

Deafening explosions rattled buildings, windows and the nerves of many terrified residents who hunkered down hoping for an end to the violence.

Offices and residential buildings in the city have been left with shattered windows and facades riddled with bullets.

Electricity and water are out in many parts of Khartoum, forcing residents to sneak out during lulls in fighting to buy food and supplies, witnesses said.

Derailed transition

The latest violence, during the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, came after more than 120 civilians had already been killed in a crackdown on regular pro-democracy demonstrations over the past 18 months.

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy -- in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

Soldiers loyal to Sudan's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan pose for a picture at the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) base in the Red Sea city of Port Sudan on April 16. By - (AFP/File)

Since the start of fighting, each side has claimed the upper hand and that they have taken control of key sites or made advances on the other's bases across Sudan.

None of the claims could be independently verified.

Saturday's outbreak of violence is the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

They have since been allies with their relationship interspersed with brief periods of tensions.

In October 2021, the two men led a military coup against the civilian government which was installed following Bashir's ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose the through ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was "necessary" to include more factions into politics.

But Daglo, also known as Hemeti, has since called the coup a "mistake" that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashir's remnants.
19.04.2023 LISTEN

If anyone was expecting a new tilt, a shine of novelty, a flash of independence from Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wongs address to the National Press Club on April 17, they were bound to be disappointed. The anti-China hawks, talons polished, got their fill. The US State Department would not be disturbed. The Pentagon could rest easy. The toadyish musings of the Canberra establishment would continue to circulate in reliable staleness.

In reading (and hearing) Wongs speech, one must always assume the opposite, or something close to it. Whatever is said about strategic balance, dont believe a word of it; such views are always uttered in the shadow of US power. From that vantage point, Occams Razor becomes a delicious blessing: nothing said by any Australian official in foreign policy should ever be taken as independently relevant. Best gaze across the Pacific for confirmation.

In Wongs address, the ill-dressed cliche waltzes with the scantily clad platitude. When Australians look out to the world, we see ourselves reflected in it  just as the world can see itself reflected in us. (World, whatever you are, do tell.)

The basis for this strained nonsense is, at least, promising. Variety can, paradoxically, generate common ground. This is a powerful natural asset for building alignment, for articulating our determination to see the interests of all the worlds peoples upheld, alongside our own. Mightily aspirational, is Wong here, though such language seems pinched from the Non-Aligned Movement of the Cold War, one that Australia, US policing deputy of the Asia-Pacific, was never a part off. No informed listener would assume otherwise.

Like a lecture losing steam early, she finally gets to the point of her address: how we avert war and maintain peace  and more than that, how we shape a region that reflects our national interests and our shared regional interests. It does not take long to realise what this entails: talk about rules, standards and norms  where a larger country does not determine the fate of the smaller country, where each country can pursue its own aspirations, its own prosperity.

That the United States has determined the fate of Australia since the Second World War, manipulating, interfering and guiding its politics and its policies, makes this statement risible, but no less significant. We are on bullying terrain, and Wong is trying to pick the most preferable bully.

She cant quite put it in those terms, so speaks about the regional balance of power instead, with Australia performing the role of handmaiden. She dons the sages hat, consumes the shamans herbal potion, insisting that commentators and strategists have gotten it wrong to talk about great powers competing for primacy. They love a binary. And the appeal of a binary is obvious. Simple, clear choices. Black and white.

It takes one, obviously, to know another, and Senator Wong, along with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, have shown little resistance to the very binary concept they supposedly repudiate. Far from opposing it, we might even go so far as to see their seduction by US power as a move towards the unitary: there is only one choice for the Canberra cocktail set.

Much of the speech seems trapped in this register. It rejects the prism of great power. It abhors the nature of great powers scrapping and squawking over territories. And yet, Wong is keen to point the finger to one great powers behaviour: unstainable lending, political interference, disinformation, reshaping international rules and standards.

Finally, the dastardly feline is out of the bag  and it is not the United States. China continues to modernise its military at a pace and scale not seen in the world for nearly a century with little transparency or assurance about its strategic intent.

Oh, Penny, if only you could understand the actual premise of AUKUS and the US modernising strategy, given that Washingtons defence budget exceeds those of the next nine powers combined. Yes, you do say that a conflict over Taiwan would be catastrophic for all, but there is nothing to say what will restrain you, or your colleagues, from committing Australia to such a conflict. Given that the Albanese government has turned up its nose at war powers reform that would have given Parliament a greater say in committing national suicide, confidence can hardly be brimming.

The assessment of Australias own role in international relations is not just off the mark but off the reservation. We deploy our own statecraft toward shaping a region that is open, stable and prosperous. A predictable region, operated by agreed rules, standards and laws. Where no country dominates, and no country is dominated. A region where sovereignty is respected, and all countries benefit from a strategic equilibrium.

To this, one is reminded of the remarks of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating, who describes Wongs alms-for-the-poor routine as, Running around the Pacific Islands with a lei around your neck handing out money. This could hardly count as foreign policy. Its a consular task. Foreign policy is what you do with the great powers: what you do with China, what you do with the United States.

Much of the speech inhabits the realm of the speculative. Wong is delusionary in assuming that regional states will accept Australias observance of the Treaty of Rarotonga, whatever the stance taken by the AUKUS pact members. Otherwise known as the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, Wong has revealed Australias ambivalence in observing its provisions. For one, she is on record as accepting the position that the US need not confirm whether nuclear-capable assets visiting Australia have nuclear weapons. She merely says that Washington confirmed that the nuclear-powered submarines visiting Australia on rotation will be conventionally-armed.

This hardly squares with the assessments of her own minions in the Department of Trade and Foreign Affairs, who have confirmed that Australia will accept the deployment of nuclear weapons on its soil as long as they are not stationed.

The last word should be left to that great critic of the Albanese tilt towards Washingtons military-industrial pathology. Wong, observed Keating, went on to eschew black and white binary choices but then proceeded to make a choice herself  extolling the virtues of the United States, of it remaining the central power  of balancing the region, while disparaging China as intent on being China, going on to say countries dont want to live in closed, hierarchical region, where rules are dictated by a single major power to suit its own interests. Nothing too subtle about that. The Washington establishment will be delighted.

Dr. Binoy Kampmark was a Commonwealth Scholar at Selwyn College, Cambridge. He currently lectures at RMIT University. Email: [email protected]
Former Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation Professor Kwabena Frimpong-Boateng is unhappy with veteran journalist Abdul Malik Kweku Baako Jnr for his consistent attacks on him.

In a letter sighted by 3news.com, Prof Frimpong-Boateng protested how Mr Kweku Baako Jnr has attacked him since August, 2010, when he vied for the flagbearer position of the New Patriotic Party (NPP).

Your attacks on me have been consistent and longstanding, the heart surgeon wrote on Tuesday, April 18.

It started in August 2010, when you suggested that I quit the NPP presidential primaries for a strange reason.

He promised to send articles from Kweku Baakos Crusading Guide newspaper as evidence of this claim.

The altercation between the two is said to be as a result of a text message the veteran journalist sent Prof Frimpong-Boateng on the report of the Inter-Ministerial Committee on Illegal Mining (IMCIM).

That committee was chaired by Prof Frimpong-Boateng, who had pointed fingers at some elements at the Presidency for hampering the fight against illegal mining in Ghana.

The Chief of Staff wrote to me to present a report to the President on the work of the IMCIM, which I chaired, his letter addressed Mr Kweku Baako Jnr.

Furthermore, I was told to suggest a way forward in the fight against illegal mining. I prepared the report, which I signed on 19th March, 2021 and presented to the Chief of Staff. I am solely responsible for the report and I stand by every statement.

I presented verifiable facts not innuendos to the Chief if Staff.

-3news.com
. Rep. Adam Schiff is calling on his U.S. Congressional colleagues to join him in demanding that the Commerce Department explain why it is considering licensing the sale of high powered U.S. rifles to Azerbaijan, in the face of Azerbaijans 125+ day blockade of Artsakh and ongoing attacks on Armenia, which left four Armenians dead and six injured just last week, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

April 19, 2023, 11:54 Congressman Adam Schiff leads U.S. House drive to block rifle sale to Azerbaijan

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 19, ARTSAKHPRESS: The same Biden Administration that continues shipping military aid to oil-rich Azerbaijan and has yet to investigate the discovery of U.S. parts in the Turkish drones deployed by Azerbaijan against Artsakh is now considering the direct sale of U.S. rifles to Azerbaijan, a dictatorship whose military openly executes unarmed Armenian POWs with rifles, then posts, trophy, videos of these killings on social media.

We join with Congressman Schiff, Senator Menendez, and all those  Democrats and Republicans  in the House and Senate who stand against this reckless arms sale.

In a Dear Colleague letter to U.S. House members, Rep. Schiff is urging his colleagues to co-sign a letter to Secretary Raimondo seeking additional information from the Commerce Department about the status of any requests for export licenses to send lethal weapons to Azerbaijan and safeguards to prevent U.S. weapons from being used in the commission of human rights violations.

Rep. Schiff stated, approving the export of more lethal weapons to be pointed at Armenia would only fuel conflict, especially in the hands of security forces with a history of human rights violations. The State Departments 2022 Human Rights Report documents credible reports of unlawful killings involving summary executions of Armenian soldiers in Azerbaijani custody, torture, and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment with high levels of impunity.

Members of Congress have until Friday, April 21st to co-sign the letter to Secretary Raimondo. The ANCA is working with regional and local affiliates to encourage broad bi-partisan support for the letter.

News of a possible sale of U.S. rifles  including assault-style and semi-automatic sniper models  to Azerbaijan broke on February 1st when Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chair Robert Menendez (D-NJ) announced his deep concern and strong opposition to the proposed sale.

The export of weapons to an authoritarian country that wages war against a neighbor, blockades a vulnerable population, and commits rampant human rights violations at home is not consistent with the Administrations commitment to democracy and human rights, Sen. Menendez stated in a letter to Secretary Raimondo. Further, the consideration of this export license further compounds my dismay that the Administration continues to allow the export of assault-style and sniper rifles abroad  even while supporting an assault-style rifle ban domestically  and deepens my reservations about the Department of Commerce having jurisdiction over such exports, concluded Senator Menendez.

ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian and the local ANC chair from Secretary Raimondos home state of Rhode Island, Steve Elmasian, expressed similar concerns in a February 13th letter to Secretary Raimondo. As you know, from your long friendship with Americans of Armenian heritage in Rhode Island and across the United States, our community is deeply troubled by the U.S. military aid program to Baku, and even more shocked by the possibility that American offensive weaponry may be deployed against Armenians in Artsakh (Nagorno Karabakh) and Armenia. The victims of Azerbaijans attacks are, very often, the relatives and friends of Armenian American citizens, stated Hamparian and Elmasian.
US Professor of Economics, Steve Hanke has said Ghanas finance minister must blame his country's mismanagement of the economy for the gold-producing country's debt burden instead of offloading that blame on the West African countrys creditors.

Hanke's comment is in response Mr Ken Ofori-Atta's recent expresion of disappointment with foreign lenders for being too slow to accede to Ghanas external debt restructuring programme

The International Monetary Fund's board approval for a US$3-billion external credit facility for the oil-producing country, is contingent upon the granting of the necessary financing assurances by China and the Paris Club, to whom Ghana owes over US$5 billion.

Already, Ghana has gone through a domestic debt exchange programme and passed some three revenue bills that have been signed into law by President Nana Akufo-Addo, as part of measures to clinch the IMF deal.

The necessary financing assurances from Ghanas external creditors is the only hurdle to be cleared so the country can secure the deal.

Responding to Mr Ofori-Atta's exasperation,Prof Hanke tweeted: As 33 African countries suffer from record debt burden, Ghanas Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta, is disappointed that foreign lenders had been slow to act.

Instead of recognising mismanagement, he is blaming creditors for Ghanas debt burden, the harsh critic of Ghanas economic managers tweeted.
There is serious tension at Amanase in the Eastern Region over corpses that are being kept in a room at the Amanase Palace.

Residents within the area have expressed fear over what they described as the negative spiritual and health effects it will have on their lives.

One of the residents who spoke on condition of anonymity alleged that the caretaker Chief of Amanase Nana Addo Agyekum who holds the title of Gyasehene of Amanase is the one who allegedly brought the dead bodies to the Palace.

According to a resident, an old cemetery was sold out to an investor for developmental purposes which compelled the caretaker Chief to exhume the dead bodies of some prominent Chiefs who were buried few years ago for reburial.

The resident added that, instead of the caretaker Chief doing the needful by performing the necessary rites and re-bury the corpses he rather chose to keep them in a particular room at the Amanase Palace.

Some of the residents close to the Palace have to flee to other areas due to fear of spiritual attacks at night as strange things have been appearing and disappearing in the community.

They alleged that the caretaker Chief is known to be a spiritualist and they believe that the purpose for keeping the corpse of prominent Chiefs in the Palace is for spiritual purposes. They said the corpses and skeletons are packed in over 50 money bags (Ghana Most Go Bags).

The residents compared the situation at the Amanase Palace to the bad days of one of the infamous Ghanaian ritualists Dr. Sri Yogi Ram Beckley who was a soothsayer and supposedly captured young students and sacrifice them.

They further revealed that the fear of vindictiveness and the threat to their lives compelled them to keep their mouth shut until they began to experience strange noises at night.

According to them, the caretaker Chief has been using all sorts of spiritual powers and threat to gag other cabinet members who they believe may be aware of the issue.

The residents claimed that the elders have refused to act in the interest of the people.

The residents further alleged that the caretaker Chief during his days as an Assemblyman was accused of using dead bodies for spiritual purposes for which his opponent reported him to the traditional authority in Kyebi.

The residents further questioned why corpses exhumed from a cemetery will be sent home at the blind side of the appropriate authorities and will be kept where human beings are living which according to them poses a serious health threat to them.

They further questioned whether or not the police and the environmental health officers in the district are aware of the situation.

However, some family members whose fathers are part of the corpses at the Palace have also threatened to report the matter to the police for further action.

In a follow-up to the Suhum Police Station, the Crime Officer, ASP Oscar Attah Yeboah confirmed that there was a tip-off by an informant that one Addo Agyekum who is the Gyasehene of Amanase is allegedly keeping some corpses and skeletons in money bags and investigations are ongoing to bring the perpetrator to book.

All efforts to contact the caretaker Chief on phone went unsuccessful.
The Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association has revealed the shocking state of the country's cocoa industry.

The organization responsible for its growth and sustainability the Produce Buying Company (PBC) has been accused of neglecting a partnership deal with the farmers.

Stephen Anane Boateng, the President of the Ghana National Cocoa Farmers Association, on Tuesday, April 18, spoke on Accra-based JoyNews' PM Express about the sad state of affairs in the cocoa sector.

According to Boateng, the association had realized that the PBC was not financially sound, leading the cocoa farmers to enter a partnership deal with the company.

We once went to the PBC office to see how we can be of mutual benefit, but nobody attended to us.

This apathy from the PBC, according to the farmers has left them in a precarious situation.

Mr. Boateng further disclosed that when the farmers sent their produce to the PBC, the company struggled to make timely payments.

This has forced the cocoa farmers to turn to private entities for survival, which has proven to be a much more efficient and timely solution, according to the GNACOFA president.

"The private entities that we were dealing with, they paid us on time, and now they have become efficient partners," Mr Boateng explained.
Ghana, under the leadership of the Ministry of Health on Friday 14 April 2023 commemorated the 2023 World Health Day and launched the yearlong celebration of the 75 anniversaries of the World Health Organization (WHO), with a commitment from all stakeholders to strengthen collaboration with WHO to achieve Health For All Ghanaians.

Performing the launch in Accra, the Minister for Health, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu underscored the critical role WHO has played in supporting Ghana's health sector agenda over the decades and expressed Ghanas continuous support for the organization in its efforts to promote health for all.

Over the years WHO has set the public health agenda, developed and promoted norms and standards and spearheaded efforts to strengthen health systems, eliminate, eradicate and control diseases, Hon. Kwaku Agyeman-Manu noted. The Government of Ghana anticipates an even more fruitful collaboration with WHO to fully operationalize the Universal Health Coverage (UHC) roadmap.

The WHO Representative to Ghana, Dr Francis Kasolo praised the collaboration between Ghana and WHO which is helping to strengthen the health sector and promote the attainment of UHC and the Sustainable Development Goal 3.

WHO and Ghana has stood shoulder to shoulder over the decades to strengthen health security, build resilient health systems and effectively deal with communicable and non-communicable diseases, Dr Kasolo said.

Therefore, this 75th anniversary is a moment to reflect the public health successes of the past and come together with science, solutions, and solidarity to address future challenges.

Delivering a public lecture on the theme; WHO yesterday, today and the future, the Foundation Vice-Chancellor of the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Professor Fred Binka called for stronger support from member states and partners to strengthen WHOs leadership in Global Public Health.

Now more than ever, the world needs WHO given the emerging global public health challenges, Professor Fred Binka emphasised. Member states and partners must increase support to ensure an independent and well-functioning WHO so that it can continue to deliver on its mandate.

The launch was attended by Diplomats, heads of Government Agencies, Development Partners, heads of United Nations Agencies in Ghana, former and current staff of WHO and other stakeholders.

The yearlong celebration of the anniversary in Ghana will see the rollout of campaigns engaging the Government, partners, and the public to share their stories of what health means to them.

Planning around the global Health Days, specific monthly themes will be identified to jointly celebrate public health achievements and highlight the pertinent challenges impeding the acceleration of universal health coverage (UHC) and health-related SDGs.
Produce Buying Company (PBC), a state-owned cocoa purchasing agency is facing an uncertain future as farmers steadily shift their patronage to private cocoa buyers.

According to farmers, the PBC has failed repeatedly to pay them promptly for their cocoa harvests, leaving many struggling to make ends meet.

The PBC situation is very sad. We realized that along the line PBC wasn't financially sound so we decided as cocoa farmers to partner them, said Stephen Anane Boateng, President of the Ghana National Cocoa Famers Association.

Despite PBCs challenges, the GNACOFA President said, We once went to the PBC office to see how we can be of mutual benefit but nobody attended to us. We also saw that when we sent our produce to them, they found it difficult to pay,

While the PBC continues to fail in payments, the farmers say private cocoa-buying companies have proven far more reliable and efficient.

The private entities that we were dealing with, they paid us on time and now they have become efficient partners, Mr. Boateng said.

The situation has raised concerns about the possible decline of cocoa production in Ghana.
Greater Accra Regional Minister Henry Quartey has ordered the suspension of a housing project for head potters popularly known as kayayei at the Mallam Atta market.

This comes after some traders held a demonstration on Tuesday at the Ayawaso Central Municipal Assembly against the construction of the building.

The protesting traders argue that the site is meant for the construction of a school building that has been in existence since Acheampongs time.

But after meeting the traders, the Regional Minister assured that the project will be put on hold.

I heard about the demonstration over your concerns, so I came to enquire from authorities what the problem is. Per the engagements with the MCE, we will suspend the project, so traders can go about their business activities. However, traders should pay their market tolls so that the assembly is able to carry out its mandate in terms of developmental works.

The Minister was however quick to add that the traders risk being removed if they are unable to keep the market zone clean.

I urge you to prioritize sanitation in the market, failure to do so will mean personally evicting you from the enclave, he cautioned.

The government has begun constructing the 600-bed kayayei hostel facility as an implementation of a campaign promise made by President Akufo-Addo before he was voted into power in 2016.

According to him, the intention to build the facility was to provide decent accommodation to the kayayei and save them from sleeping under perilous living conditions.

Many critics including former President John Mahama, the then President, described Akufo-Addo's promise as insulting and asked him to find a better way of alleviating the hardships of the head potters.

Recently, the Ga Dangme Council also opposed the proposed construction.

The council believes the project is an affront to development and living standards in Accra because the land earmarked for the project is for the construction of a recreational facility and cannot be used to re-settle non-indigenes when there are Ga indigenes without homes in the capital city.

In essence, the council wants the Kayayei hostel project to be abandoned so that they can be given vocation and technical skills in the regions from which they migrate rather than moving to the south for jobs that do not exist.
Eight Nigerian schoolgirls have escaped from kidnappers in northwest Kaduna State two weeks after they were abducted on their way to school, a government official said.

The students of Government Secondary School Awon in Kachia district were seized on April 3 in the latest abduction of pupils in the region, Samuel Aruwan, Kaduna state internal affairs commissioner said in a statement late Tuesday.

Abductions for ransom and intercommunal attacks have been on the rise again especially in northwest Nigeria after a lull during elections in February and March for the presidency and governorship posts.

The government has recently also lifted restrictions on cash bank notes put in place as part of a cash exchange policy intended partly it said to curb ransom payment to kidnappers.

"The eight female students... have escaped from the terrorists' den," Aruwan said, without giving their ages.

Nigeria's government last year branded criminal militia gangs as terrorist organisations in part to facilitate military action against them.

Aruwan had initially said 10 students of the school which runs day classes were taken before revising the number to eight.

All the hostages escaped from "a thick forest" on the border between Kaduna and central Niger State and walked for several days before reaching a location where they were given shelter, said Aruwan.

The students were taken for medical checks before being reunited with their families, while soldiers combed the forest for the abductors, he added.

Attack kills 33

Gunmen killed 33 people over the weekend in an attack on another farming village in Kaduna state, where intercommunal herder-farmer violence often flares.

The assailants stormed a village in Zangon Kataf district on Saturday, opening fire on residents and torching homes as people tried to flee, a local government official said.

Insecurity will be a major challenges for President-elect Bola Tinubu, the ruling APC party candidate who won a presidential ballot in February marred by technical problems and opposition claims of vote-rigging.

Kaduna is one of several states in northwest and central Nigeria terrorised by gangs who raid villages, kill and abduct residents, loot and burn homes.

Map locating major mass kidnappings in Nigeria and other regions facing threats from different conflicts, insurgency or criminal groups.. By Gal ROMA (AFP)

Hundreds of students have been kidnapped in the regions over the last two years.

Almost all were released after their families made ransom payments.

There has been concern among officials and analysts about growing ties between bandits motivated by money and jihadists waging a 14-year old armed rebellion in Nigeria's northeast.

Last year Kaduna state governor Malam Nasir El-Rufa'i warned that Ansaru and Boko Haram jihadist groups were setting up camps in the state's Birnin Gwari district from their traditional northeast stronghold.
The National Democratic Congress (NDC) has written to the Council of State to reconsider the appointments of Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani and Dr Peter Appiahene to the board of the Electoral Commission.

President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo on Monday, March 20 swore in three new members of the Electoral Commission (EC) governing board. They included Rev. Akua Ofori Boateng, Salima Ahmed Tijani, and Dr Peter Appiahene.

The appointments have been slammed by a section of the public and some civil society organisations including the Coalition for Democratic Election Observers (CODEO) who have called on the president to rescind the appointments to their affiliation with the ruling NPP.

The NDC in a letter to the Council of State and copied to some selected embassies in Ghana stated that appointments will further dent the already soiled reputation of the Electoral Commission and must be reconsidered in the interest of the majority of Ghanaians.

Dr. Peter Appiahene is not only a card-bearing member of the ruling New Patriotic Party but a recognized leading figure within the ranks of the Party. He has been a patron of the tertiary wing of the New Patriotic Party, TESCON, at the University of Energy and Natural Resources in Sunyani since 2017. He is a known communicator of the New Patriotic Party in the Bono Region on both radio and television.

Prior to his appointment to the Electoral Commission, Dr. Appiahene had played various leading roles for the New Patriotic Party in the Bono Region. Indeed, he touts himself in his political profile and personal credentials as a strong NPP man with a lot of experience in election issues in Ghana.

On the appointment of Hajia Salima Ahmed Tijani, the NDC said their background search revealed that she has well-known New Patriotic Party leanings. Aside from the fact that Hajia Salima is herself an activist of the ruling New Patriotic Party, she is married to one Sheikh T.B Damba, a former Second National Vice Chairman of the NPP, and Ghanas immediate-past ambassador to Saudi Arabia, from 2017 to 2021.

The party added that we are aware that once Dr. Appiahene and Hajia Salima have been sworn in as members of the Commission, the Council of State has become functus officio in the process of their appointments.

We are nevertheless of the view that against the background of the evidence that we have presented, it is possible for the Council to re-consider its advice to the President in order to erase any perception that the Council has been complicit in the appointment of these patently partisan individuals to the Electoral Commission and to safeguard the integrity of the Council as far as its role in the structure of our governance architecture is concerned.

-citinewroom
It is now confirmed that former President John Dramani Mahama pays his own electricity bills.

The Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), Mr Samuel Dubik Mahama, confirmed it in an interview recently.

We collate the bills of the former presidents and take them to the chief of staff to pay, he noted.

He said: Former President Kufuors bills were with us. Weve given them to the chief of staff, and she has worked on them.

We also had former President John Mahamas own, he noted, adding: We got in touch with him and we realised that he has already been paying his own bills, so, moving forward, we will discuss with him so that his bills will be absorbed, the ECG MD pointed out.

The ECG boss, however, said his office is to blame for the situation with former President Mahamas bills and that remedies have been put in place to correct the error.

We have now put structures in place after a very comprehensive conversation with the chief of staff, the MD said.

She told us her peace of mind and told us exactly what we have to do. If we were doing our work well, this would not have happened in the first place, he conceded in an interview with Accra-based Citi TV.

In September 2022, Mr Mahama told TV3: I receive only my monthly pension like President Kufuor and President Rawlings was receiving before he died. That is all I get.

I pay the electricity bill for my house and my office, I pay the water bill for my house and my office. I live in my own accommodation so the State does not pay me anything for accommodation, Mr Mahama said at the time.

Mr Mahamas comment was in response to a claim made by the governing New Patriotic Partys Bono regional chairman Kwame Baffoe (Abronye DC) that the 2020 flag bearer of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), had, since 2017, swallowed 15.6 million of state funds as part of his emoluments apart from receiving 14 million as ex gratia in 2013.

According to the former president, contrary to the tall list of expenses Abronye DC claimed the state is making on him, the only lump sum he received was 230,000 as salary arrears in 2013.

Normally, when you leave, they approve what should be done for you, but it is not being done for me, he added.

Abronyes Allegations

Abronye DC had claimed the state had, at the time, spent 15.6 million on Mr Mahamas comforts in terms of salary and his end-of-service benefits since he left office in 2017.

In a counter-statement to one issued from the office of the former president in which Mr Mahama denied ever receiving GH14 million as ex gratia in 2013, Abronye DC computed that Mr Mahama, apart from the hefty sum, had, since 2017, received a total of GH15.6 million from the state as salary and emoluments combined.

In Mr Baffoes view, Mr Mahama must bow his head in deep shame for continuing to receive a fat monthly salary of GH35,000 and other huge sums in terms of end-of-service benefits as the country battled the ravages of the COVID-19 pandemic that led to President Nana Akufo-Addo and his appointees cutting their salaries by 30 per cent.

Source: ClassFMonline.com
Mr Haruna Iddrisu, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale South, has toured the Ghana Senior High School (GHANASCO) in Tamale to ascertain the situation regarding reports of students sleeping in toilets converted into accommodation.

Addressing journalists at the school's compound located within his constituency (Tamale South) after he was conducted round the facility, said Much of what has been put out is not entirely factual and accurate; it lacks historical perspective of the facility.

He added that There is no official record of students being posted to those sections referred to as students sleeping in toilets.

Last Friday, some videos appeared on social media showing some cubicles, qualified as toilet facilities, which are no longer in use, as serving as accommodation for students of GHANASCO.

This generated a lot of controversy, where many Ghanaians condemned the act although the Headmaster of GHANASCO said it was not true.

The Headmaster said that place was not allocated as accommodation to any student.

The situation compelled the Ghana Education Service (GES) to suspend the Headmaster on April 16, and ordered investigations into the issue, which were to be concluded within two weeks.

Mr Iddrisu said Let us all await the investigation that has been so commissioned by the GES, but for me as a parent, much of what is being said can affect the emotional, psychological and educational development of the young students. We owe it to them to socialise with them well.

He was confident that When the full facts of the investigations are established, I believe the headmaster will be treated fairly and in a manner that is just. I do not think that the facts available to me justify the action for which he has been asked to step aside.

He appealed to the media to be circumspect in their reportage over the issue.

Mr Iddrisu touched on the infrastructure situation at the school saying it required more infrastructure and appealed to the government To help put up more dormitories, an astroturf and a fence wall at the school, which will receive my attention as MP.

He said the dormitory in question known as the Indomitable Cabral Hall, was recently renovated by former President John Mahama, who is an old student of the school.

He added that I am reliably informed that former President Mahama has accepted responsibility to further fix any associated problem with the dormitory, and I will support him in that regard.

GNA
Armenian Minister of Defense Suren Papikyan held a meeting on April 19 with the newly appointed Ambassador of India Nilakshi Saha Sinha.

April 19, 2023, 12:34 Armenia and India embark on new phase of development of cooperation in defense sector

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 19, ARTSAKHPRESS-ARMENPRESS: The Minister of Defense congratulated the Ambassador on assuming office and wished productive work.

The Minister and the Ambassador discussed a number of issues relating to cooperation in the defense area, the Ministry of Defense said in a readout.

Suren Papikyan praised the current level of cooperation between Armenia and India, noting that the bilateral cooperation has embarked on a new phase of development. The Ambassador expressed the Indian sides readiness for developing cooperation. A number of issues relating to regional security were also discussed.
The reckless use of social media is causing so much ado in society that some think it is doing more harm than good.

To say that its advent has not been a plus for humanity would be attempting to turn truth upside down anyway. It is a fact however that it is creating as much goodness as its social inconveniences sometimes exposing the image of persons or entities to opprobrium.

Ghana woke up to a social media driven story about a school which produced a President for Ghana having students occupy a toilet as a dormitory.

The story was so outlandish and distasteful it expectedly trended on social media like wildfire during the harmattan season.

Unfortunately such stories trend wildly; after all people prefer reading about the unusual, and as they do, some of them fail to pose questions that question the integrity of such posts.

The cock-and-bull Ghanasco story was a typical example of a story which when it hit the social media space had the headmaster and the housemaster put on the spot. The court of public opinion did not treat the school officials kindly at all.

The education authorities swiftly ordered the headmaster to step aside so investigations can be carried out on the matter.

Without any intention to interfere in the matter now being audited as it were, we would hasten to point out however that, considering the testimonies of past students of the school which punctured the integrity of the story and coupled with the tendency for some persons to post stories with the intention of creating such outcomes, the attention of the authorities appears too harsh.

Be it as it may, we fold our hands and wait for the findings of the committee set up to delve into the matter.

Besides establishing the veracity of the allegation or otherwise, the main term of reference, it would interest the public to know the source of the said social media post which has caused so much mental anguish to parents, education authorities and Ghanaians in general.

With social media being a non-respecter of boundaries, the video has already made it on the international scene, the fallouts on our image being anything but good.

Even before the report on the investigations, we would not tarry to state our suspicion that it is likely that some students could be behind the social media post.

We are by no means condemning social media's role in exposing anomalies in society, but when there is no issue and the goal is intended to undermine the integrity of individuals or entities, there is every reason to condemn such proclivity and to call for a certain level of regulation of social media lest it continues to harass us in varying ramifications.

Source: Daily Guide
We have been told by economists that tourism is the 4th foreign exchange earner for Ghana. If so, then it stands to reason that we must take a serious look at the sector for the country to move forward, economically. The truth is that even though we have a Ministry of Tourism, we are yet to see any impact as far as the conservation of our tourism sites is concerned. Our rich culture which are exhibited during our traditional festivals have been overlooked. In some cases chieftaincy cases have affected our festivals so much so that, festivals have been turned to war zones and division among the people has led to the dilution of our rich culture.

Anytime, I decide to visit the Upper West Region, I make sure I stop over at Wenchi to pay homage to Nana Kusi Appiah, the late Omanhene of Wenchi Traditional Area. He was my very good friend. Even though he was blind, anytime I visited him, he will be the first to mention my name even before I greeted him. I always wondered how he was able to do that. I liked visiting him because he used to tell me a lot of history about the late Professor Kofi Abrefa Busia, the former Prime Minister of Ghana who was his brother and his problems with Dr. Kwame Nkrumah. He recounts to me the rich culture heritage of the people of Wenchi.

One of such visits coincided with the celebration of the Krubi Festival of the Banda Community in Wenchi and I decided to seize the opportunity to witness the festival. I was impressed and mesmerized by what I saw. The whole festive period was full of wonders, joy and heartwarming performances. The Banda tribe in Ghana is made up of hardworking businessmen and women, transport owners, herdsmen etc. Many of them are highly educated and many are domiciled abroad. These people make sure they travel far from where they stay to participate in the Krubi Festival every year. It is the time of family reunion and contributions to the development of their communities. Because the Banda community is made up of predominantly Muslims, the festival is celebrated immediately after the Ramadan fasting period.

What I saw the first time I watched the festival and what I want to see again this year was the climbing of erected platform for virgins who want to prove to suitors, their friends and parents that indeed, they are virgins. The scenario is worth watching. A projected platform of wood is erected where young ladies climb on a ladder to stand and dance, holding what looked like the whisk of a horse tail amidst drumming and singing of their traditional songs. The ladies were gorgeously dressed and the family members present cheered them up. In fact, if even you are one week pregnant and join the ladies on the platform, you will fall down.

If you are not a virgin and you arrogantly decide to climb the platform to join the ladies, the wood you stand on will cave in and you will fall down. Surprised? It is mystic and nobody played with it. It is one of the intriguing part of the Banda Krubi festival and a pride of the Banda people. The ceremony is to portray the pride of young girls who have stayed away from indulging in premarital sex. The activity also promotes chastity among the young girls and an honor to their parents for bringing up their girls in a decent way. How I wish this festival is replicated in all traditional areas in Ghana.

I decided to visit Wenchi this year to witness the Krubi Festival one more time but sadly information reaching me indicated that there could be trouble due to some misunderstanding between a group that calls themselves, Heritage Council of Banda based in Accra and the chiefs and elders of the Banda Community in Wenchi.

Similar threat of peace occurred last year when the Heritage Council organized a parallel Krubi Festival on the same day that the chief and his elders organized the festival. It took the intervention of the Sunyani Police Commander to maintain peace. Information I gathered is that if the Heritage Council decides to organize another Krubi festival, the Banda youth of Wenchi will meet them with violence. The new Minister of Chieftaincy Affairs and the Minister of Tourism should act quickly to avoid any crush since the nation cannot afford resources to maintain order at times like this when the government is trying very hard to steer the ship of state ashore. Any kneejerk reaction will not do anyone any good.

Sometime ago I wrote in this column that the National Investigation Bureau must be remade. They are not proactive. I don't think they report what they hear and see to their bosses. Operatives of the NIB are in every district but we always wake up to hear troubles breaking out before the security forces are called in. In other jurisdictions, troubles are nipped in the bud. Waiting for trouble to come before security forces are called in to quell the trouble is not the best as far as security management is concerned. A word to the wise is not only enough but also in the North where I come from.

Eric Bawah
According to Organized Labour, the Council of State must play an active role in the national discourse, despite the fact that the Council's purpose is to advise the President on problems as stated in Article 91 of Ghana's 1992 Constitution.

Organized Labour argued that they were not doing enough in terms of policies and that several decisions made by the government did not take into account advice from the Council of State.

Mr Abraham Koomson, Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), stated, "Sometimes we blame the President, but I think those around him are not advising him well. The Council of State must live up to the responsibility of advising him as part of their mission."

Mr Koomson was speaking on the Ghana News Agency-Tema Industrial News Hub Dialogue platform about the impact of three bills: the Excise Duty and Excise Tax Stamp (Amendment) Bill, 2022, the Income Tax (Amendment) (No. 2) Bill, 2022, and the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill, 2022, all of which were passed by a 137-136 majority in Parliament.

He claimed that despite a number of public issues, such as the head cut and subsequent picketing by pension bondholders at the Finance Ministry, as well as the passage of tax bills against the wishes of the majority of the people, members of the Council of State have not been heard commenting on them in public.

"Even if they advise the President and he does not take it, they should inform us; they can also resign if their recommendations are not taken, rather than just being there and adding to the state's expenditure," he said.

He asked them to pay attention to the public's outcry about economic suffering and to advise the President on how to ease the burden through sound fiscal, social, and developmental policies.

The GFL's Secretary General further urged MPs to act as proper balances on the executive branch of government by rejecting such laws rather than passing them.

He stated that legislators must actually represent the people who voted for them rather than following their personal interests to the detriment of the citizens.

Mr Koomson also urged political parties to have orientations for persons interested in becoming MPs, noting that doing so would help them understand and fight for their views.

He remarked, for example, that while the New Patriotic Party (NPP) claims its ideology is capitalism and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) claims social democracy, the actions of their representatives in Parliament do not reflect this.

-CDA Consult || Contributor
Mr. Yohane Amarh Ashietey Tema Metropolitan Chief Executive reviewed the Assembly's accomplishments in 2022, which included finishing first on the District League Table and achieving 90 percent deployment of the Memo Tracker.

Mr. Ashietey noted during the Tema Metropolitan Assembly's first regular meeting of the 4th session of the 8th Assembly that the tracker has helped ensure that the Assembly does not lose sight of any answer to all its correspondences in real-time.

According to Mr. Ashietey, the social sector aims include the promotion of gender equity and equality, the survival and development of children, and the harmonization of social protection interventions and programmes to contribute to our nation's growth.

He also stated that the city had 248 cases in court involving juveniles and young criminals, as well as 316 children and family welfare issues that were amicably handled to maintain harmony in homes for the development and survival of children.

Despite this, 39 Day Care Centres were supervised to ensure compliance with the criteria outlined in the Children's Act of 1998 (Act 560).

He stated that 44 People with Disabilities (PWD) were helped with medical, educational, capacity-building, and income-generating activities worth GHS 110,619.27, and that materials were supplied to them to help them start enterprises.

"The Assembly also facilitated NHIS registration and renewal for 119 PWDs, 2,279 school children, 210 LEAP household members, and 1,270 community members from Awudum and Abonkor, for which an amount of GHS224,976.00 was disbursed to beneficiary households in six payment cycles as livelihood support," he said.

Mr. Ashietey added that the Assembly prioritized public health services because of the positive impact it has on individuals and development.

Thus measured according to approved indicators in the UNICEF-funded District League Table, which included the proportion of mothers who made at least four ANC visits, the proportion of newborns and mothers who received PNC within 48 hours of delivery, and the proportion of children under one year who were fully immunized and delivered by a skilled attendant.

Furthermore, during the fiscal year under review, the Assembly enhanced its infrastructure by constructing a two-story, 12-unit classroom complex with associated amenities at Manhean Presby Basic School and renovating the canoe basin bridge at Tema Manhean.

Other projects include the installation and renovation of street lighting, the construction of a shed for cabbage vendors and a two-story market shop at Community 9 Market, the supervision of the Chemu Lagoon dredge, and the demolition of temporary constructions along the main road in Tema Manhean.

Mr. Ashietey noted that the economic sector in the Assembly's commerce and industry fraternity, in collaboration with the Ghana Enterprise Agency, which has the purpose of supporting local economic development, will assist the expansion of micro, small, and medium-sized firms.

The goal was to promote economic development in the metropolis by facilitating certifications from the Food and Drugs Authority and the Ghana Standards Authority (GSA) for 123 entrepreneurs, and 57 clients were assisted in registering their respective companies with the Registrar General Department.

"Over the years, the Assembly has passed bylaws aimed at ensuring that the objectives of a cleaner and healthier environment are achieved within the environmental sector," he said.

Mr. Ashietey added that the Assembly's financial sector has been incrementally improved, so the total budget estimated for the year 2022 in the review was GHS 46,775.89, with the internally generated fund (IGF) accounting for 57.4 percent and grants accounting for 42.6 percent of the total budget.

"The sister city project has been successfully implemented with the Aarhus Municipality, Denmark, for the technical assistance provided to us, particularly in the areas of operation and maintenance of the Tema sewer system, as well as collaboration with Ghana Water Company to improve service delivery and revenue mobilization," he said.

-CDA Consult || Contributor
Some angry women at the Komenda market in the Komenda Edina Eguafo Abrem (KEEA) Municipality of the Central Region have expressed their disappointment with the New Patriotic Party (NPP) for neglecting them since the party came to power.

The women who are mainly into trading have regretted joining the elephant fraternity because all the promises they were given during the campaign season have not been honoured.

They said one of the campaign messages they depended on, and followed, and for which reason they voted for the New Patriotic Party was the renovation of the deplorable Komenda Market.

They said the Komenda Market for over seven years has not been attended to and has become a death trap.

The group of market women narrated that the NPP have neglected them as the party has reneged to renovate the market.

They said what pains them most is the attitude of the KEEA Municipal Chief Executive (MCE), Solomon Appiah, whenever the issue about the market renovation is raised.

They have further called on the 2020 running mate for the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman to support them renovate the market.

The women have expressed their support for Prof Jane Naana Opoku Agyeman and the NDC.

The market women expressed their displeasure about the governing party when workmen assigned from the office of Prof Jaane Naana Opoku Agyeman cemented the market area for them.

Source: Classfmonline.com
Mr. Sampson Awingobit Asaki, Executive Secretary of the Import and Exporters Association of Ghana (IEAG), has emphasized the importance of the government taking into account the business community's opinion when implementing the three new levies.

The taxes comprise the Excise Duty Amendment Bill 2022, the Growth and Sustainability Levy Bill 2022, the Ghana Income Authority Bill 2022, and the Income Tax Amendment Bill 2022, which are estimated to generate around 4 billion Ghana Cedis in annual income as part of domestic revenue mobilization.

Mr. Asaki stated at the Ghana New Agency Industrial News Hub Dialogue platform, "I believe in recent memory this is the first time in the country where a Finance Minister has introduced a tax and all stakeholders and unions are kicking against it, which must be an indication to the government that the implementation of the tax was unacceptable."

He stated that the constant imposition of taxes in the business sector would not only cripple the sector but would also prevent the government from reaching its objectives in terms of the quantity of taxes it expected to receive.

He continued by stating that the majority of companies would be compelled to close their doors as a result of continually operating at a loss, which would raise the unemployment rate. The government would then look unsatisfactory and be obliged to create an environment that is conducive to businesses thriving in the nation.

He expressed concern that the application of the taxes would trickle down to the poor, worsening their condition because prices of commodities in various markets were already high, and he advocated for the reinstatement of obsolete taxes.

"This government has come to make the poor the poorest and the rich the richest, because it is the rich man who goes and buys real estate, so if you really need that $4 million that these three bills will give them, they should reintroduce the aviation fuel taxes, real estate taxes, and luxury vehicle taxes," he stated.

Mr. Asaki stated that the government should have taken the time in 2022 to understand the business situation and how most enterprises lost money, resulting in the ultimate closure of some institutions and organizations, and he advocated for more engagement on tax implementation.

During the discussion, Mr. Abraham Koomson, Secretary General of the Ghana Federation of Labour (GFL), stated that the imposition of new taxes is a threat to national economic progress.

He added that these enterprises employed people who paid their salaries and social security and helped to raise Ghanaians' living conditions.

He stated that the government should not force factories to leave the country because some of these enterprises had already begun to decrease their workforce and others were planning to close down soon.

Mr. Koomson emphasized that eliminating these businesses would result in no money for development and would raise the country's unemployment rate.

He warned that foreign countries investing in the country should not be discouraged if indigenous firms are not revitalized for the sake of the country's future.

"Donkeys carry goods, but what have you accomplished if you overload the donkey and it breaks down?" he questioned.

Furthermore, the GFL Secretary General remarked that the government must assess the impact of the Excise Duty Bill 2022 on the manufacturing business.

He reiterated that the bill's introduction will kill industries and worsen the unemployment rate in the country.

"The GFL continues to receive calls from Chief Executive Officers of companies and other stakeholders raising concerns that new laws were rushed and passed without proper consultation to weigh the implications on industry and, by extension, the fate of workers whose job security is guaranteed if industries break even," he stated.

Mr. Koomson added that these products, along with numerous others on the market, were already difficult to obtain due to the high cost of unit pricing induced by a combination of variables, including the recent increase in water and electricity bills.

He went on to warn that increased import costs for raw commodities, as well as the Ghana Cedi's depreciation, were all draining capital by the day.

He added that the difficult circumstances had resulted in corporations decreasing worker remuneration, breaking even to keep operations running, and postponing the new 20% tax to promote investor interest, secure continued money inflows, and create more jobs rather than kill them.

-CDA Consult || Contributor
Director of Election Services at the Electoral Commission, Dr Serebour Quarcoo, has said the election management body insists on making the Ghana card the only document for voter registration.

He explains that parliament has not rejected its constitutional instrument intended to achieve that but has only made proposals that are not binding on the EC.

He told Accra-based Metro TV that the process for laying the C.I. has not been totally gone through for the bill to even be laid, and, thus, claims that parliament has rejected the C.I. are neither here nor there.

Both sides of parliament expressed reservations with the C.I. early this month.

In its report, the Committee of the Whole, before which the EC, National Identification Authority and the Finance Ministry appeared to speak on the matter, said the election management body must ensure all eligible voters get C.I. is brought before the house again.

The committee also expressed qualms about the scrapping of the guarantor system.

It also objected to the ECs move to limit continuous registration exercises to the regional, and district capitals and offices determined by the commission.

Deputy Majority Leader, Mr Alex Afenyo-Markin, said: It must be emphasised that in coming to a conclusion on the way to go on the C.I., this matter was not a partisan one, but it was one that all of us had an interest in, and, so, I will want to dispel any notion out there that whereas the NDC was against the EC, the NPP was for the EC.

However, he added: It must be emphasised that should the C.I. be considered by the Electoral Commission, it is upon us, to educate our people, because unlike the old C.I., no impression should be given to those without a Ghana Card that they can just go and expect anybody at all to guarantee for them.

Deputy Minority Whip, Ahmed Ibrahim, on the other hand, said: I want to call on colleagues from all sides to vote to adopt the report because doing so will do the country some good.

However, Dr Quarcoo has said the observations of parliament comprise are just a proposal to us.

We are not bound by those proposals, he said, adding: We have been given a constitutional mandate and they have given us the process that we can go through, so, all these preliminary procedures are issues that are supposed to be a form of negotiations.

I dont think they are [binding on us] that if parliament says it, we are bound by that, he stressed in an interview with Accra-based Metro TV on Wednesday, 19 April 2023.

The only thing the Constitution has prescribed is that if they dont agree, it should be laid and they should reject it, so any other thing is just a proposal, he noted.

Some two months ago, EC Chairperson Jean Mensa assured the house that C.I. was not for the compilation of a new voter register.

Briefing the house on Tuesday, 28 February 2023 about it, Mrs Mensa said: We would like to assure the house that we are not seeking to prepare a new register", she said, explaining: "The C.I. is for a continuous registration and not for a new register".

Under the limited voter registration process, registration was conducted at limited periods and was not done all-year-round", she said, noting: "This made it such that persons who turned 18 after the registration period could not do so after the time set for the limited registration, which usually is within 2 to 3 weeks.

Under the new C.I., anyone who turns 18 can simply walk into any of our district offices and register to vote", she indicated.

"This is a departure from the previous one".

"The main advantage of this is that potential voters can register anytime, any day".

"Eligible persons will be at liberty to do it at their leisure because it will be an all-year-round activity.

Source: Classfmonline.com
19.04.2023 LISTEN

As temperatures are rising German students ask their lecturers to teach them on the lawns of the schools. They know knowledge is a collection of information well digested and analyzed. Wisdom on the other hand comes from personal experiences supported by ancestral transmitted oral and written wisdom experiences that have value and meaning to them only when it comes in line with their personal wisdom.

Theodore Hertzel, leader of the German "Wandervogel" movement ("Walking birds") was the intellectual father of the Jewish Zionist ideology setting the foundation and pace of today's state of Israel. He and his comrades were walking in nature while thinking about the future home of the Jews.

Hertzel knew thinking is done in the brain, not the stomach or feet. The brain needs oxygen to think. Oxygen entering the brain is best achieved through physical activity. Walking is the most appropriate form of exercise to think about important issues often seen in private walks of Presidents at important meetings.

Famous Greek philosophers like Plato did not stand before their students but lectured them while walking around the world surrounding the University of Athens. His student Aristotle followed his example even distancing himself from many of his former lecturer's teachings.

Before an idea jumps to our brain to be worked on we see a picture of the feelings we have. The image before us is what we try to understand and make sense of. Out of words, ideas are formed, and ideas find their way into concepts and ideology which base created values form.

Human-created values and naturally generated values that form personal wisdom are constantly on the move in time and space and are most effective when physically experienced with deep roots in people and nations.

Brainstorming sessions in modern conference rooms of corporations or stiff classroom teachings lack the creative development of individual thinking. Students out on excursions study not only the environment but reflect knowledge onto their own lives with greater results than in classrooms. This form allows the lecturer to pass on personal experiences to students that find the personal stories of older adults more exciting than textbook information. How older adults have met challenges in life helps young students to progress more than what publishers provide for students.

Subjects that need the environment of a classroom more than others surely could do more to help students by walking around and sharing insights into the essentials of the subjects. Let's walk more together without headsets or smartphones to understand more. Let's see beyond classroom walls into the blue skies of creative thinking as wisdom is on the move.
Thousands of residents on Wednesday fled Sudan's capital, where witnesses said bodies lay in the street from fighting between the army and paramilitaries after a 24-hour truce failed to take hold.

Five days of fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere in the northeast African country have killed at least 185 people, according to the most recent UN toll.

Foreign diplomats have been attacked, and United Nations emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said the UN had received "reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers".

Governments started planning to evacuate their citizens, among them many UN staff.

Airbases targeted in Sudan. By Sophie RAMIS, Sylvie HUSSON, Emmanuelle MICHEL (AFP)

The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army -- a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudan's democratic transition.

"Life in Khartoum is impossible if this war does not stop," said Alawya al-Tayeb, 33, on her way out of the capital.

"I tried to make children not see the slain bodies on the streets," she said, adding that her children currently suffer from shock and will need treatment.

Deafening explosions rattled buildings and heavy gunfire was heard in Khartoum, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

A 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire announced by South Sudan failed to take hold at its proposed start at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.

On Wednesday, the RSF said it would "fully commit to a complete ceasefire", again from 1600 GMT and for 24 hours. The army had made no comment on such a development.

A hole from an explosion is left on the side of a building in Khartoum. By - (AFP)

Thousands of people took matters into their own hands and, according to witnesses, began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

"We are now on our way to Madani to stay with our relatives after my family and kids lived through the terror of explosions," said Mohamed Saleh, 43, a government employee.

"We were very worried fighters would start storming homes."

Foreigners stuck

The fighting has killed at least 185 people and injured more than 1,800, according to UN figures from Monday.

But the real toll is thought to be far higher with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors' union.

Residents of Port Sudan break their Ramadan fast at sunset, with the country engulfed in battle between two generals. By - (AFP)

Out of 59 main hospitals in Khartoum, about 39 are currently "out of service", said the union which reported "severe shortages" in remaining facilities.

Japan said its defence ministry had begun the "necessary preparations" to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

Berlin aborted on Wednesday an evacuation attempt involving three military transport planes, which would have carried 150 citizens, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens' personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

Burhan, bottom, and Daglo, top, have both positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy -- in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes. By Ashraf SHAZLY (AFP/File)

"Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation," it tweeted.

The violence has also seen a US diplomatic convoy fired upon, the European Union's ambassador attacked at home and a Belgian humanitarian official with the EU hospitalised after being shot.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies.

RSF has since Saturday captured a group of Egyptian soldiers in the northern city of Meroe. It said they have now been transported to Khartoum.

"They will be handed over (to Egypt) whenever there is a chance," it said in a statement.

Crackdown

The latest violence, at the end of the holy Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, came after more than 120 civilians had already been killed in a crackdown on regular pro-democracy demonstrations over the past 18 months.

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy -- in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

Saturday's outbreak of violence is the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021, the pair led a military coup against the civilian government, which was installed following Bashir's ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose the through ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was "necessary" to include more factions into politics.

But Daglo, whose RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, has since called the coup a "mistake" that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashir's remnants.
Authorities in the Central African Republic alleged Wednesday that a leading rebel group was behind the murder of nine Chinese gold miners last month, despite denials by the insurgents.

The rebels blamed the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, hired to protect several lucrative gold and diamond mines operated by Russian firms in the country, for the attack.

Justice Minister Arnaud Djoubaye Abazene said the killers were "indisputably elements from the CPC", or Coalition of Patriots for Change, quoting a final report from an inquiry into the March 19 deaths.

The CPC, an alliance of rebel groups formed in December 2020 to overthrow President Faustin-Archange Touadera, has denied any involvement in what it has called a "despicable and barbaric" act.

It has not provided evidence for its claim that Wagner mercenaries were involved in the murders.

But the justice minister also declined to provide details from the report accusing the rebels and journalists were not allowed to ask questions during his press conference.

Hundreds of Wagner paramilitaries were deployed to the CAR in 2018, and their numbers increased in 2020 to fend off an assault on the capital by the CPC.

The nine miners had been employed by China's Gold Coast Group at the Chimbolo mine, 25 kilometres (15 miles) from Bambari, the main town in the Ouaka prefecture.

Abazene told the press conference the president thanked "our Russian allies who managed to neutralise certain perpetrators, seized evidence and put to flight the rest of these criminals".

Militias vs Wagner

Two Chinese officials deployed by Beijing also appeared at the press conference, though Abazene declined to identify them, and acknowledged that they had not visited the scene of the attack, 400 kilometres (250 miles) east of Bangui.

China's President Xi Jinping had issued after the killings "important instructions, demanding an all-out effort to treat the wounded, handle the aftermath in a timely manner, severely punish perpetrators in accordance with the law, and ensure the safety of Chinese citizens".

Two people were seriously wounded, China added.

The CAR, one of the world's poorest countries, has been in the throes of civil conflict since 2013, when a Muslim-majority rebel coalition, the Seleka, ousted former president Francois Bozize.

Militias hold sway over large tracts of territory and often clash over access to minerals and other resources, though Russian and Chinese companies dominate mining for gold and diamonds in the Bambari region.

Civilians are often victims of the conflict, with the United Nations and international aid groups accusing all sides of carrying out war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Since their arrival, the Wagner mercenaries have helped push back most of the rebels to their home territories, allowing Central African security forces to retake control of several cities and mining operations.

Bangui is also thought to have given Wagner and associated companies contracts to operate several mines.

Rebel groups have since adopted guerilla strategies for targeting CAR soldiers and their Russian allies.
Due to the blocking by Azerbaijan of the only road connecting Artsakh with Armenia, 11 patients from the Republican Medical Center of Artsakhwith serious diseases of the oncology and cardiovascular systemhave been transported Wednesday to specialized medical institutions of Armenia, with the mediation and escorting of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

April 19, 2023, 13:13 ICRC transfers 11 patients from Stepanakert to Yerevan

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 19 , ARTSAKHPRESS: And ten patients, who had been transferred to Armenia for medical treatment, returned to Artsakh, together with accompanying persons, the Artsakh Ministry of Health informs.

Scheduled surgeries continue to be suspended in the medical centers of Artsakh.

Four children remain in the neonatal and intensive care units of Arevik Medical Center.

Six patients remain in the intensive care unit of the Republican Medical Center, and two of them are in critical condition.

A total of 337 medical patients have been transported so far from Artsakh to Armenia, with the mediation and assistance of the ICRC.
19.04.2023 LISTEN

The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang-Manu has expressed concerns about some service providers extorting monies from poor subscribers under the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS).

Speaking at the Ghana Health Service Senior Managers Meeting 2023, he stated that patients who are titled to essential services covered by the scheme are being denied.

From the end-user point of view, it looks like the health insurance is not working. I am a patient and I know what it is, he stated.

On Tuesday, April 18, 2023, the Minister also revealed some persons are forced to pay cash for healthcare services despite having insurance, due to extortion by some health facilities.

I pay when I go to Ridge Hospital. I pay when I go to UGMC. I dont even present my insurance card, he revealed.

Mr. Agyemang-Manu urged senior managers of the Ghana Health Service to take steps to address the situation and ensure that patients are not taken advantage of by unscrupulous providers.

He also expressed concern over the increasing number of lawsuits being brought against health professionals for negligence, stating that the situation was worrying.

The Minister urged health professionals to take their responsibilities seriously and work to ensure that they are providing the best possible care to their patients.
The Member of Parliament (MP) for Builsa South, Dr. Clement Apaak has alleged that even search engine Google is aware that Vice President Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia is a liar.

In his view, the 2024 General Elections will be between the lying Vice President and ex-President John Dramani Mahama who he insists is the truthful one.

This is in reaction to comments by former third national vice chairman of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), Michael Omari Wadie, labeling John Dramani Mahama as an incompetent one.

Speaking in an interview, he said the 2024 election is going to be a contest between the Vice President, Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia, who is 'The Competent One' and former President John Dramani Mahama, who is also 'The Incompetent One.

Commenting on a story of Omari Wadies comments on social media, Clement Apaak said it is wrong.

Wrong, the 2024 polls will be between the "Truthful one" and the "Lying one". Time has exposed the fact that the incompetent one tag itself was a lie concocted by the lying one. There is no incompetent one, but there is a lying one, ask google, the Builsa South MP argued.

According to him, John Dramani Mahama is an honest, sincere, truthful, and responsible man whom Ghana needs urgently and will get as President in 2025.
19.04.2023 LISTEN

Education is the bedrock of development and progress in any society, and secondary education serves as the foundation upon which tertiary education and vocational training build. However, the state of secondary education in Kwara State, Nigeria, is in dire need of improvement; teachers need to be better trained, and many of them need to be paid their salaries on time. As a result of terrible pay and has demotivated them and their ability to deliver quality Education needs to improved.

In the last administration, governor AbdulRasak AbdulRahman has been doing well in the Education sector by renovating some primary schools and providing an ICT center where teachers will sign attendance to ensure that all are doing their duty. But we want more from him in this coming administration because the Student writing WAEC in Kwara state performance is not encouraging, which needs urgent action.

In Kwara State, secondary schools are divided into public and private. While private schools may offer some respite from the poor state of public schools, most students come from low-income families who cannot afford the fees charged by private schools. Thus, the vast majority of students in Kwara State attend public schools. Let me use the WAEC result for my analysis to explain why our foundation is being neglected and needs urgent attention.

According to the National Bureau of Statistics, in 2021, the total number of candidates who sat for the examination was 1.56 million, an increase of 1.42% from 1.53 million in 2020. Out of this, 721,666 sat in private schools, indicating an increase of 2.01% compared to the preceding year, while 838,486 sat in public schools, showing an increase of 0.93%. This further shows higher candidates in public schools than in private schools.

In Kwara state in 2019, in a private school, a total number of 14, 133 sat for WAEC, and 8,484 have five credits, including English and math, which is 60.02% compared to public school in 2019, where 22,062 sat for the examination, and 11,615 of 52.65% have five credit and above with English and maths.

In 2020, 12,203 sat for the WAEC exam in private schools, and 5414 had five credits, including English and maths. Compared to public school, 19,615 sat for the exam, and 2,134 of 10.84% have five credit with English and maths

In 2021, in private schools, 13, 172 sat for WAEC, and 9412 had five credits, including English and maths, that is 71.42%, compared to public schools, where 16,370 sat for the exam, and 8808 had five credits, including English and maths, which is 53.8%

The foundation of Education is the school certificate, which is WAEC. The government needs to take action by equipping the school with the necessary material and qualified teachers for critical subjects so that students will write an examination at a sitting. Most students will not run to private schools to write their certificate examinations.

In addition to the poor state of facilities and inadequate teacher training, there is also overcrowding issues and a need for more supervision in many secondary schools in Kwara State. In some cases, up to 150 students are in a single classroom, making it difficult for teachers to manage the class effectively. This overcrowding also increases the risk of accidents as the students move around in cramped spaces.

In conclusion, the dire state of secondary education in Kwara State is a cause for concern for all stakeholders, including parents, teachers, and policymakers. Urgent action is needed to address the challenges facing the Education sector. The government must invest in the sector and ensure funds are allocated to improve facilities and train teachers. It is also essential to review and update the curriculum to ensure that it meets the needs of the students and prepares them for the challenges of the modern world. Only then can we build a better future for the next generation.

Bello Idris Opeyemi is a Business Writer, Researcher, and 400-level Accounting Student from Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria. He can be reached via [email protected] or 07068412138.
The Health Minister, Kwaku Agyemang Manu has stated that the government may stop Zipline drone delivery from establishing new centers in the country due to high service charges.

He believes that health facilities are taking advantage of the service, which is causing the government to lose funds.

At a meeting with stakeholders in the health sector, the Minister expressed worry with the high cost of using the drone service and said that it was designed to quickly transport essential medical drugs only during emergencies.

Im engaging my big men to even stop them from setting up some new extra facilities because we just cannot pay the cost that is coming in with fly me this amount, fly me this amount, fly me this. Ideally, we were setting up to fly things that if we dont get in the next 10 minutes somebody will die and that is blood, he explained.

He mentioned that Ghana has its own supply chain for vaccines and does not need to rely solely on drone service.

We have our own supply chain of vaccines, now thanks to Covid-19 we have stock everywhere with cold rooms that can take every temperature across the country almost every region has got that type of facility and we have our land Cruisers that can take in Vaccines from the airport to wherever you are within a short possible time without any challenge so why should we fly vaccines," he stated.

The Minister pleaded with managers of public health facilities to find ways to control the situation and prevent misuse and over-reliance.

I will leave this to you to discuss how we can control this. I spoke to Albert about four days ago on how we can design guidelines and I want to expect that Dr Kumah Aboagye will have a strategy. Regional directors should ensure that everything that you are flying gets authorization from somewhere above the facility level so that we control cost and expenditures. Other than that we will go nowhere. We need money to do several things. When you get into the health system you will never have adequate resources. What I mean is that things that we need to work with are so numerous. So if we put all our resources into just one small area it means we are neglecting the rest and we cannot work efficiently so let us take a good look at that area and how best we can change them, he emphasised.
Nippon Paint Holdings Co., Ltd. (OTCMKTS:NPCPF  Get Rating) reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $9.02 and last traded at $9.02, with a volume of 0 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $9.02.

Nippon Paint Stock Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average of $8.63 and a two-hundred day moving average of $7.55.

About Nippon Paint

(Get Rating)

Nippon Paint Holdings Co, Ltd. engages in the management and strategies of its group companies that is involved in the manufacture and sale of paints and fine chemicals. It offers automotive and industrial-use coatings and trade-use paints. It also provides surface treatments and fine chemical products.

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Mission Wealth Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 34.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 21,015 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after purchasing an additional 5,394 shares during the period. Mission Wealth Management LPs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $2,307,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. JDM Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Johnson Midwest Financial LLC now owns 560 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 72.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Abbott Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of ABT opened at $104.15 on Wednesday. The companys fifty day moving average is $102.20 and its 200-day moving average is $104.58. Abbott Laboratories has a 12 month low of $93.25 and a 12 month high of $124.35. The firm has a market cap of $181.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

Abbott Laboratories ( NYSE:ABT Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $10.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.69 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 26.09%. Abbott Laboratoriess quarterly revenue was down 12.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess dividend payout ratio is currently 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total transaction of $103,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,203 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Randel William Woodgrift sold 1,032 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total value of $103,922.40. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 52,203 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $5,256,842.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total transaction of $68,375.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at $7,091,998.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,971 shares of company stock valued at $199,140. Company insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ABT has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein upped their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Abbott Laboratories in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th. They issued a buy rating and a $117.00 price objective on the stock. SVB Leerink upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $90.00 to $102.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, March 31st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $121.88.

Abbott Laboratories Company Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.

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Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS trimmed its holdings in shares of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 303,616 shares of the healthcare product makers stock after selling 2,193 shares during the period. Abbott Laboratories accounts for approximately 0.7% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KSs holdings, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KSs holdings in Abbott Laboratories were worth $33,334,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 154,563,421 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $14,955,557,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011,683 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 74,138,862 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $7,173,676,000 after acquiring an additional 351,136 shares during the last quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 2.1% in the 3rd quarter. Polen Capital Management LLC now owns 15,689,512 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,518,117,000 after acquiring an additional 316,416 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Abbott Laboratories by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,523,473 shares of the healthcare product makers stock valued at $1,363,917,000 after acquiring an additional 218,683 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Abbott Laboratories by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,226,688 shares of the healthcare product makers stock worth $989,536,000 after acquiring an additional 813,894 shares during the last quarter. 72.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Abbott Laboratories from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Abbott Laboratories from $117.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $125.00 to $132.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, January 26th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Abbott Laboratories from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $121.88.

Abbott Laboratories Price Performance

NYSE ABT traded up $7.36 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $111.51. The stock had a trading volume of 4,503,883 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,212,719. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $102.20 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.58. The company has a market cap of $193.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.69 and a beta of 0.67. Abbott Laboratories has a 52-week low of $93.25 and a 52-week high of $124.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.

Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 19th. The healthcare product maker reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $9.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.64 billion. Abbott Laboratories had a net margin of 15.88% and a return on equity of 26.09%. The companys revenue was down 18.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.73 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Abbott Laboratories will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Abbott Laboratories Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. Abbott Laboratoriess payout ratio is 52.17%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Abbott Laboratories

In other Abbott Laboratories news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total value of $26,842.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,896 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Julie L. Tyler sold 260 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.24, for a total transaction of $26,842.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,896 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,222,103.04. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Andrea F. Wainer sold 679 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.70, for a total transaction of $68,375.30. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 70,427 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $7,091,998.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 1,971 shares of company stock worth $199,140. Insiders own 1.10% of the companys stock.

Abbott Laboratories Profile

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Abbott Laboratories engages in the discovery, development, manufacture, and sale of a broad and diversified line of health care products. It operates through the following business segments: Established Pharmaceutical Products, Diagnostic Products, Nutritional Products, and Medical Devices. The Established Pharmaceutical Products segment refers to the international sales of a line of branded generic pharmaceutical products.

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AGF Management (OTCMKTS:AGFMF  Get Rating) and (NYSE:PFG  Get Rating) are both finance companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, earnings, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for AGF Management and , as provided by MarketBeat.

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Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score AGF Management 0 1 0 0 2.00 0 0 0 0 N/A

AGF Management currently has a consensus price target of $9.04, indicating a potential upside of 55.09%.

Profitability

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets AGF Management N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares AGF Management and s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

This table compares AGF Management and s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio AGF Management N/A N/A N/A $0.70 8.33 N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A

Institutional and Insider Ownership

40.3% of AGF Management shares are owned by institutional investors. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

AGF Management beats on 1 of the 1 factors compared between the two stocks.

About AGF Management

(Get Rating)

AGF Management Ltd. is a diversified global asset management firm. It offers investment solutions to a wide range of clients, from individual investors and financial advisors to institutions, including pension plans, corporate plans, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, and foundations. The firm provides investment management with operations and investments in North America, Europe, and Asia. Its products include a diversified mutual funds, mutual fund wrap programs, and pooled funds. The company was founded by C. Warren Goldring and Allan Manford in 1957 and is headquartered in Toronto, Canada.

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Armstrong World Industries, Inc. (NYSE:AWI  Get Rating) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 910,200 shares, a growth of 44.0% from the March 15th total of 632,300 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 390,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Armstrong World Industries news, SVP Mark A. Hershey sold 6,835 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.14, for a total value of $547,756.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,218 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,062,790.52. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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Institutional Investors Weigh In On Armstrong World Industries

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Armstrong World Industries in the second quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in Armstrong World Industries in the third quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its stake in Armstrong World Industries by 32.3% in the third quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,029 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 251 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Armstrong World Industries by 89.9% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,272 shares of the construction companys stock valued at $115,000 after acquiring an additional 602 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Armstrong World Industries in the first quarter valued at approximately $178,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Armstrong World Industries Stock Up 0.5 %

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Armstrong World Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Thursday, April 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Armstrong World Industries from $97.00 to $86.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Zelman & Associates cut shares of Armstrong World Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut shares of Armstrong World Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating and cut their price target for the stock from $91.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 21st. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $100.00 price objective on shares of Armstrong World Industries in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $83.00.

AWI opened at $70.94 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.69. Armstrong World Industries has a 52 week low of $66.06 and a 52 week high of $95.69. The company has a market capitalization of $3.22 billion, a PE ratio of 16.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

Armstrong World Industries (NYSE:AWI  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 21st. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $1.11 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $304.50 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $298.81 million. Armstrong World Industries had a net margin of 16.45% and a return on equity of 41.59%. The firms revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. Analysts forecast that Armstrong World Industries will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Armstrong World Industries Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 2nd were paid a $0.254 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 1st. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Armstrong World Industriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.34%.

About Armstrong World Industries

(Get Rating)

Armstrong World Industries, Inc engages in the design, manufacture, and trade of commercial and residential ceiling, wall, and suspension system solutions. It operates through the following segments: Mineral Fiber, Architectural Specialties, and Unallocated Corporate. The Mineral Fiber segment produces suspended mineral fiber and soft fiber ceiling systems for use in commercial and residential settings.

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Ascent Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of iShares International Equity Factor ETF (NYSEARCA:INTF  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 16,085 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $396,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of Montreal Can bought a new stake in shares of iShares International Equity Factor ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of iShares International Equity Factor ETF in the 1st quarter valued at about $71,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares International Equity Factor ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $211,000. Quantitative Advantage LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares International Equity Factor ETF by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Quantitative Advantage LLC now owns 10,895 shares of the companys stock valued at $228,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of iShares International Equity Factor ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $246,000.

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iShares International Equity Factor ETF Price Performance

Shares of NYSEARCA:INTF opened at $27.18 on Wednesday. iShares International Equity Factor ETF has a 1 year low of $20.47 and a 1 year high of $27.57. The company has a market cap of $983.92 million, a PE ratio of 10.65 and a beta of 0.87. The stocks 50-day moving average is $26.17 and its 200 day moving average is $24.93.

iShares International Equity Factor ETF Profile

The iShares International Equity Factor ETF (INTF) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the STOXX International Equity Factor index. The fund tracks an index of large- and mid-cap equities in developed markets outside the US. Stocks are selected and weighted to maximize exposure to five factors: momentum, quality, value, low volatility, and size.

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The deputy chairman of Russias Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has warned of the dangers South Korea's plans to supply weapons to Ukraine are fraught with.

April 19, 2023, 17:00 Medvedev cautions South Korea against weapons supplies to Kiev

STEPANAKERT, APRIL 19 , ARTSAKHPRESS: "There have emerged new enthusiasts eager to help our enemies. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol has said that in principle his country is ready to supply the Kiev regime with weapons," Medvedev said on his Telegram channel on Wednesday, Tass informs.

"Until recently, the South Koreans had vehemently assured that any possibility of supplying lethal weapons to Kiev was completely ruled out," he recalled.

"I wonder what the people of that country will say when they see Russias latest weapons in the hands of their closest neighbors - our partners in the DPRK?" Medvedev asked.

"As they say, quid pro quo," he described such a situation.

South Koreas President Yoon Suk-yeol, in an interview with Reuters published Wednesday, did not rule out that Seoul might agree to supply weapons to Ukraine, if there was a serious threat to its population or if the laws of war were flagrantly violated.
Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC  Get Rating) announced an annual dividend on Tuesday, April 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 1st will be given a dividend of 1.2511 per share by the bank on Wednesday, April 19th. This represents a dividend yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 19th. This is a boost from Banco Santander-Chiles previous annual dividend of $0.91.

Banco Santander-Chile has a payout ratio of 51.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Banco Santander-Chile to earn $2.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.14 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.3%.

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Banco Santander-Chile Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of Banco Santander-Chile stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $18.94. 768,590 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 706,383. Banco Santander-Chile has a 1 year low of $13.37 and a 1 year high of $22.23. The stocks fifty day moving average is $17.41 and its 200 day moving average is $16.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.23, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92. The firm has a market cap of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.71.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Banco Santander-Chile ( NYSE:BSAC Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $527.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $593.05 million. Banco Santander-Chile had a net margin of 18.02% and a return on equity of 19.24%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

BSAC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Banco Santander-Chile from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a report on Wednesday, January 11th. StockNews.com lowered Banco Santander-Chile from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Banco Santander-Chile presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $19.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Banco Santander-Chile

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE lifted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 10.3% in the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 13,467 shares of the banks stock valued at $304,000 after purchasing an additional 1,253 shares during the period. Credit Suisse AG lifted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 8.2% in the second quarter. Credit Suisse AG now owns 20,791 shares of the banks stock valued at $339,000 after purchasing an additional 1,584 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 7.1% in the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 30,957 shares of the banks stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 2,043 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main purchased a new position in Banco Santander-Chile in the second quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 41.5% in the third quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 8,865 shares of the banks stock valued at $124,000 after buying an additional 2,601 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 9.76% of the companys stock.

About Banco Santander-Chile

(Get Rating)

Banco Santander Chile SA engages in the provision of commercial and retail banking services. It operates through the following segments: Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Other. The Retail banking segment offers consumer loans, credit cards, automobile loans, commercial loans, foreign exchange, mortgage loans, debit cards, checking accounts, savings products, mutual funds, stock brokerage, and insurance brokerage.

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Todd Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO  Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) by 0.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 357,178 shares of the banks stock after buying an additional 302 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Bank of Montreal worth $32,360,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in BMO. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Bank of Montreal during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new position in Bank of Montreal in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 103.5% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 403 shares of the banks stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its stake in Bank of Montreal by 193.4% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 443 shares of the banks stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 42.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

BMO has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Bank of Montreal from C$151.00 to C$147.50 in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Bank of Montreal in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Bank of Montreal has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $152.70.

Bank of Montreal Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE:BMO traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $91.99. The company had a trading volume of 73,434 shares, compared to its average volume of 557,959. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The company has a 50-day moving average of $92.24 and a 200 day moving average of $93.47. The company has a market cap of $65.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.14. Bank of Montreal has a 1 year low of $81.57 and a 1 year high of $118.96.

Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO  Get Rating) (TSE:BMO) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 28th. The bank reported $2.39 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.33 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.80 billion during the quarter. Bank of Montreal had a return on equity of 13.65% and a net margin of 22.13%. Sell-side analysts expect that Bank of Montreal will post 9.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Bank of Montreal Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 28th will be issued a $1.075 dividend. This is a boost from Bank of Montreals previous quarterly dividend of $1.05. This represents a $4.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 27th. Bank of Montreals dividend payout ratio is presently 34.34%.

Bank of Montreal Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Bank of Montreal engages in the provision of banking and financial services to individuals and institutions. It operates through the following segments: Canadian Personal and Commercial Banking (Canadian P&C) and United States Personal and Commercial Banking (U.S. P&C). The Canadian P&C segment refers to retail banking and financial operations in Canada.

Further Reading

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EOG Resources, Inc. (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating)  Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group raised their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for shares of EOG Resources in a research report issued on Monday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst L. Byrne now expects that the energy exploration company will earn $13.14 per share for the year, up from their previous estimate of $12.77. The consensus estimate for EOG Resources current full-year earnings is $11.75 per share.

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EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 24th. The energy exploration company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.31 by ($0.01). EOG Resources had a return on equity of 34.95% and a net margin of 30.19%. The firm had revenue of $6.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.09 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.09 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

EOG Resources Stock Down 1.5 %

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price target on EOG Resources from $164.00 to $141.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Raymond James cut their price target on EOG Resources from $171.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Monday, March 27th. UBS Group initiated coverage on EOG Resources in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a buy rating and a $152.00 price target on the stock. Truist Financial increased their price target on EOG Resources from $146.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price target on EOG Resources from $174.00 to $171.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EOG Resources currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $149.96.

NYSE:EOG opened at $119.00 on Wednesday. The stocks fifty day moving average price is $117.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $126.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $69.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.01, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.53. EOG Resources has a 52-week low of $92.16 and a 52-week high of $150.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EOG Resources

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EOG. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in shares of EOG Resources by 16.0% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,031 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $1,911,000 after acquiring an additional 2,213 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $404,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in EOG Resources in the 1st quarter valued at about $278,000. Zions Bancorporation N.A. lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 237.7% in the 1st quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 1,155 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 813 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in EOG Resources by 23.7% in the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 662 shares of the energy exploration companys stock valued at $79,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.40% of the companys stock.

EOG Resources Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 13th. EOG Resourcess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.98%.

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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China Shenhua Energy Company Limited (OTCMKTS:CSUAY  Get Rating) was the target of a large decrease in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 25,300 shares, a decrease of 21.2% from the March 15th total of 32,100 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 36,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of China Shenhua Energy from an overweight rating to an underweight rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 28th.

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China Shenhua Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of OTCMKTS:CSUAY traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $13.02. The stock had a trading volume of 20,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 17,257. The company has a quick ratio of 2.27, a current ratio of 2.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. China Shenhua Energy has a 12-month low of $10.45 and a 12-month high of $13.98. The companys 50 day moving average is $12.38 and its 200-day moving average is $12.01.

China Shenhua Energy Company Profile

China Shenhua Energy Company Limited and its subsidiaries engage in the production and sales of coal and power; railway, port, and shipping transportation; and coal-to-olefins businesses in the People's Republic of China and internationally. It operates through six segments: Coal, Power, Railway, Port, Shipping, and Coal Chemical.

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Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN  Get Rating) and Spruce Power (NYSE:SPRU  Get Rating) are both auto/tires/trucks companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, valuation, risk, dividends and institutional ownership.

Risk & Volatility

Allison Transmission has a beta of 0.98, meaning that its share price is 2% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Spruce Power has a beta of 1.22, meaning that its share price is 22% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and recommmendations for Allison Transmission and Spruce Power, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Allison Transmission 3 3 0 0 1.50 Spruce Power 0 0 0 0 N/A

Institutional & Insider Ownership

Allison Transmission currently has a consensus target price of $45.00, indicating a potential downside of 4.26%. Given Allison Transmissions higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Allison Transmission is more favorable than Spruce Power.

99.9% of Allison Transmission shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 17.3% of Spruce Power shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.1% of Allison Transmission shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 15.3% of Spruce Power shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares Allison Transmission and Spruce Powers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Allison Transmission 19.18% 69.32% 11.59% Spruce Power -274.28% -14.41% -7.59%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Allison Transmission and Spruce Powers gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Allison Transmission $2.77 billion 1.57 $531.00 million $5.53 8.50 Spruce Power $23.19 million 5.71 -$93.93 million ($0.65) -1.38

Allison Transmission has higher revenue and earnings than Spruce Power. Spruce Power is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Allison Transmission, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Allison Transmission beats Spruce Power on 8 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Allison Transmission

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Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. engages in the design and manufacture of vehicle propulsion solutions for commercial and defense vehicles. The company also manufactures medium and heavy duty fully automatic transmissions and electrified propulsion systems. Its products are used in a variety of applications, including on-highway trucks, buses, motorhomes, off-highway vehicles and equipment, and defense vehicles. The firm also sells branded replacement parts, support equipment, aluminum die cast components, and other products necessary to service the installed base of vehicles utilizing its solutions. The company was founded in 1915 and is headquartered in Indianapolis, IN.

About Spruce Power

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XL Fleet Corp. provides fleet electrification solutions for commercial vehicles in North America. Its products include hybrid electric drive systems are comprised of an electric motor that is mounted onto the vehicle's drive shaft, an inverter motor controller, and a lithium-ion battery pack to store energy to be used for propulsion; plug-in hybrid electric drive system, which are fitted to vehicles. In addition, the company offers vehicle electrification and infrastructure solutions, and charging stations. It serves end-use customer base comprising Fortune 500 corporate enterprises, public utilities, and various municipalities. The company was incorporated in 2009 and is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts.

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Cypress Capital Management LLC WY reduced its stake in shares of Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEARCA:AMLP  Get Rating) by 0.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 63,788 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 271 shares during the quarter. Alerian MLP ETF comprises 3.0% of Cypress Capital Management LLC WYs holdings, making the stock its 11th largest position. Cypress Capital Management LLC WYs holdings in Alerian MLP ETF were worth $2,428,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AMLP. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Alerian MLP ETF by 54.9% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 14,607,500 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $559,467,000 after buying an additional 5,174,427 shares during the last quarter. Cowa LLC raised its position in Alerian MLP ETF by 10,043.4% in the 1st quarter. Cowa LLC now owns 5,232,801 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $2,004,000 after buying an additional 5,181,213 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its position in shares of Alerian MLP ETF by 48.1% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 1,374,393 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $52,323,000 after purchasing an additional 446,393 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates increased its position in shares of Alerian MLP ETF by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,360,440 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $49,738,000 after purchasing an additional 54,433 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Alerian MLP ETF by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 1,269,417 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $46,410,000 after purchasing an additional 85,249 shares during the last quarter.

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Alerian MLP ETF Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSEARCA AMLP traded down $0.37 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.94. 234,944 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,443,773. Alerian MLP ETF has a 12 month low of $32.25 and a 12 month high of $42.47. The companys 50 day moving average price is $38.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $39.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.51 billion, a PE ratio of 13.30 and a beta of 1.46.

About Alerian MLP ETF

ALERIAN MLP ETF seeks investment results that correspond (before fees and expenses) to the price and yield performance of its underlying index, the Alerian MLP Infrastructure Index (the Index). The Index is a rules based, modified capitalization weighted, float adjusted index intended to give investors a means of tracking the overall performance of the United States energy infrastructure Master Limited Partnership (MLP) asset class.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding AMLP? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Alerian MLP ETF (NYSEARCA:AMLP  Get Rating).

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Delivery Hero SE (OTCMKTS:DLVHF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decline in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,630,300 shares, a decline of 16.5% from the March 15th total of 3,148,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2,922.6 days.

Delivery Hero Price Performance

OTCMKTS DLVHF remained flat at $34.74 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $38.87 and a 200-day moving average of $42.68. Delivery Hero has a fifty-two week low of $25.99 and a fifty-two week high of $60.65.

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About Delivery Hero

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Featured Stories

Delivery Hero SE is a holding company, which engages in the operation of online food ordering portals. It develops an online platform, providing users with information on local restaurants and their delivery services. The firm offers consumers access to online menu cards, order placement, and payment processing applications.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB  Get Rating)  Equities research analysts at Zacks Research issued their Q1 2023 earnings estimates for Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a note issued to investors on Thursday, April 13th. Zacks Research analyst A. Ganguly anticipates that the bank will post earnings per share of $0.55 for the quarter. The consensus estimate for Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts current full-year earnings is $1.93 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschafts Q2 2023 earnings at $0.50 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $0.52 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $0.41 EPS, FY2023 earnings at $1.98 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $0.61 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $0.55 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $0.60 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $0.50 EPS, FY2024 earnings at $2.26 EPS, Q1 2025 earnings at $0.69 EPS and FY2025 earnings at $2.57 EPS.

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Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft (NYSE:DB  Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The bank reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $6.45 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.84 billion. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft had a net margin of 12.31% and a return on equity of 4.97%.

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Trading Up 1.0 %

DB has been the topic of a number of other research reports. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Bank of America cut shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report on Friday, February 10th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.55.

NYSE DB opened at $10.90 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a current ratio of 0.76. The company has a market capitalization of $22.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 4.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 1.33. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $11.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $10.90. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft has a one year low of $7.24 and a one year high of $13.57.

Institutional Trading of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft by 66.7% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 2,500 shares of the banks stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in the 1st quarter valued at $27,000. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft in the 1st quarter valued at $29,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft by 550.0% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,588 shares of the banks stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft by 150.0% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,750 shares of the banks stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 2,250 shares during the period. 24.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft Company Profile

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Deutsche Bank AG engages in the provision of corporate banking and investment services. It operates through the following segments: Corporate Bank, Investment Bank, Private Bank, Asset Management, Capital Release Unit, and Corporate and Other. The Corporate Bank segment includes the global transaction bank as well as the German commercial clients division.

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Ethernity Networks Ltd. (LON:ENET  Get Rating)s stock price dropped 3.1% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as GBX 6.11 ($0.08) and last traded at GBX 6.30 ($0.08). Approximately 297,651 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average daily volume of 408,435 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 6.50 ($0.08).

Ethernity Networks Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of 6.56 million, a P/E ratio of -78.13 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 28.12, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 6.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of GBX 8.70.

Ethernity Networks Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Ethernity Networks Ltd. provides technology solutions for telecom, mobile, security, and data center markets in Asia, Europe, Israel, and the United States. The company develops and delivers data processing technology and solutions for carrier Ethernet switching, including broadband access, mobile backhaul, carrier Ethernet demarcation, and data centers.

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Weatherford International (OTCMKTS:WFTIF  Get Rating) and Jutal Offshore Oil Services (OTCMKTS:JUTOY  Get Rating) are both small-cap oils/energy companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their valuation, earnings, analyst recommendations, risk, dividends, institutional ownership and profitability.

Volatility and Risk

Weatherford International has a beta of 2.81, indicating that its stock price is 181% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Jutal Offshore Oil Services has a beta of -0.01, indicating that its stock price is 101% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current ratings and price targets for Weatherford International and Jutal Offshore Oil Services, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Weatherford International 0 0 0 0 N/A Jutal Offshore Oil Services 0 0 0 0 N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Weatherford International and Jutal Offshore Oil Services top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Weatherford International $5.74 billion 0.00 -$2.81 billion ($0.59) N/A Jutal Offshore Oil Services $617.15 million 0.32 $1.71 million N/A N/A

Jutal Offshore Oil Services has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Weatherford International.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

85.7% of Weatherford International shares are held by institutional investors. 0.4% of Weatherford International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Weatherford International and Jutal Offshore Oil Services net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Weatherford International -53.77% N/A -7.53% Jutal Offshore Oil Services N/A N/A N/A

Summary

Weatherford International beats Jutal Offshore Oil Services on 4 of the 7 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Weatherford International

(Get Rating)

Weatherford International Plc provides equipment and services to the oil and natural gas exploration and production industry. It operates through two segments: Western Hemisphere and Eastern Hemispher. The company products and services are Drilling and Evaluation, Production, Completions, and Well Construction. Weatherford International was founded in 1941 and is headquartered in Baar, Switzerland.

About Jutal Offshore Oil Services

(Get Rating)

Jutal Offshore Oil Services Limited, an investment holding company, engages in the fabrication of facilities and provision of integrated services for oil and gas industries, new energy, and refining and chemical industries. The company engages in the construction of large-scale module, offshore engineering, and new energy equipment; project processing design, material procurement, structural prefabrication, machining, painting, assembly, mechanical equipment installation, pre-commissioning and loading, and transportation; painting, electrical installation and commissioning, hull closure and offshore platform construction, transformation, maintenance, and other integrated services; hazardous waste collection, storage, utilization and disposal services for petrochina; energy equipment construction services; and other business services. It operates in the People's Republic of China, the United States, Switzerland, Norway, Singapore, Japan, France, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, and internationally. Jutal Offshore Oil Services Limited was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Shenzhen, the People's Republic of China.

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By Fabian Dawson

New Canadian Media

More than 6,000 new immigrants have applied to join Canadas Armed Forces (CAF) over the past two months after the military dropped citizenship requirements to bolster its ranks, according to the latest data provided to New Canadian Media.

We have seen a huge interest from new Canadians since weve opened the door to permanent residents, Lieutenant-General Jennie Carignan, the militarys Chief of Professional Conduct and Culture told NCM in an interview during her recent visit to Vancouver.

The number of folks from different backgroundsnew Canadians has increased from 23 percent to over 30 percent of applicants, she said. This is very, very good news.

NCM reported on Nov 11 that Canadas military would be opening its doors wider to attract new immigrants into its ranks after the CAF recruitment site was updated to reflect policy change. Before the change, only Canadian citizens were eligible to apply for employment within the countrys military. Permanent resident status  except in certain categories  did not qualify.

Permanent residents who join the military now will not be subject to the minimum residency requirements  to keep permanent resident status, a new immigrant must be living in Canada for at least 730 days in the last five years  and will be allowed to leave the country for overseas postings or personal reasons.

The CAF is now recruiting for more than 100 positions, including radiologists and marine technicians. As of July 2022, the regular force had approximately 63,500 members  about 8,000 short of its mandated strength. The CAF had a target to bring in at least 5,900 new members through its recruiting centres by March 2023.

LGen Carignan, who leads the command team for the military group tasked with leading the Canadian Armed Forces cultural transformation, said the recruitment uptick bodes well with her units efforts to modernize the institution.

The mother of four and the first woman in the Canadian Armed Forces to lead a combat unit said her central mission now is to unify and consolidate culture change within the various departments in the CAF and the Department of National Defence (DND).

This is a whole defence undertaking  bottom up, top-down, and horizontally across the CAF, she said.

We need to move towards a space where people can be themselves, be authentic and at the same time, contribute to the common mission.

Within LGen Carignans organization, there are these five advisory groups that represent visible minorities, Indigenous peoples, the LGBTQA+ community, people with disabilities, and womens rights advocates.

We gather their feedback every time we build a new policy every time we go out and implement various initiatives, LGen Carignan said. And they do inform our strategies, our processes and our policies.

We are bringing our game up in terms of inclusive behaviour, she said.

The sweeping changes being imposed under LGen Carignan include everything from a new gender-inclusive dress code to other aspects of appearance, including the length of ones hair, and establishing a restorative engagement process, which she expects will guide culture change strategies and resolve personnel conflicts.

There will also be a restructuring of the defence departments complaints management system and an overhaul to improve the training and promotion of managers.

I expect a performance measurement framework that will provide quantitative and qualitative data on whether CAF is progressing in terms of creating a healthy culture, to be ready soon, she said.

LGen Carignan said NATO members are also looking at what the CAF is doing in terms of enabling culture change within its leadership and ranks.

Recently, I sat down with 25 of our allies within NATO who are very very interested in what we are doing, she said.

LGen Carignan said while most of the military family is very supportive of the required culture changes, she acknowledged that there are some within the military and media who feel otherwise.

Among the critics are Retired Lt.-Gen. Michel Maisonneuve who got a standing ovation from serving senior military officers after a dinner speech last November in Ottawa where he slammed the changes to military dress regulations, reported the Ottawa Citizen.

Thomas Juneau, a former National Defence analyst wrote on Twitter that Maisonneuves speech was an embarrassment and a good illustration of the culture of entitlement that has led to the systematic abuses of power in the senior ranks of the military, the paper said.

Others like National Post columnist Jamie Sarkonak have suggested that the militarys focus on diversity, equity and inclusion is getting in the way of training for war.

Its hard to see why any of this would be relevant to the Armed Forces, which should be focused on defending all Canadians equally, Sarkonak wrote.

LGen Carignan said building lasting, positive culture change in the military will ensure Canadas effectiveness in responding to growing threats at home and around the world.

This has never been a distraction your teams are not conducive to be the best that they can be if its members do not feel protected and respected when they wear a uniform, she said.

What resulted in success in the past will not be what makes us successful in the future. We are at a time where a shift is required in how we conduct ourselves, how we exercise leadership, and how we understand power and authority, LGen Carignan responded in an update about her unit.

We at CPCC are inspired by the changes and evolution we have seen over the past months and are convinced of our capacity to continue to improve together.
Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL  Get Rating) President Glen W. Hauenstein sold 5,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.53, for a total value of $172,650.00. Following the sale, the president now directly owns 273,712 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $9,451,275.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $35.36. 12,975,028 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,716,935. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.18 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.17. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a 1 year low of $27.20 and a 1 year high of $46.27. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $35.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.02.

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Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL  Get Rating) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 13th. The transportation company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $12.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.25 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 3.51% and a return on equity of 56.49%. The firms revenue was up 36.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.23) earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Institutional Trading of Delta Air Lines

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. StockNews.com raised Delta Air Lines from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Delta Air Lines from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the company from $40.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Delta Air Lines from $43.00 to $40.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Argus upgraded Delta Air Lines from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $39.00 price target for the company in a report on Thursday, January 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have assigned 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 Buy and a consensus price target of $49.64.

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 1st quarter worth $217,000. Panagora Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Delta Air Lines by 41.8% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 25,838 shares of the transportation companys stock worth $1,022,000 after purchasing an additional 7,616 shares during the period. APG Asset Management N.V. purchased a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines in the first quarter worth about $243,000. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 20.7% in the first quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 9,918 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 3.1% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 29,508 shares of the transportation companys stock valued at $1,168,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. 66.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Delta Air Lines Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Delta Air Lines, Inc engages in the provision of scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo. It operates through the Airline and Refinery segments. The Airline segment provides scheduled air transportation for passengers and cargo. The Refinery segment provides jet fuel to the airline segment.

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HCI Group, Inc. (NYSE:HCI  Get Rating) Director Susan Watts purchased 670 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $49.98 per share, with a total value of $33,486.60. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 6,280 shares of the companys stock, valued at $313,874.40. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

HCI Group Stock Performance

NYSE HCI traded up $0.54 on Wednesday, hitting $52.32. 9,772 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 105,859. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.22 and a quick ratio of 0.22. The businesss fifty day moving average is $52.67 and its 200 day moving average is $44.14. HCI Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.65 and a 52 week high of $73.16. The company has a market capitalization of $449.95 million, a PE ratio of -8.05 and a beta of 0.83.

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HCI Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 17th were given a dividend of $0.40 per share. This represents a $1.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.06%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 16th. HCI Groups dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -24.88%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On HCI Group

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of HCI. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of HCI Group by 99.1% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 651 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 324 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in HCI Group by 112.7% during the 1st quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 485 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in HCI Group by 428.5% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 909 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd raised its holdings in HCI Group by 1,807.1% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd now owns 534 shares of the insurance providers stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky bought a new position in HCI Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $76,000. 67.71% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

HCI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. TheStreet upgraded shares of HCI Group from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a report on Thursday, March 9th. Compass Point started coverage on shares of HCI Group in a report on Thursday, January 19th. They set a buy rating and a $56.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of HCI Group from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $75.33.

About HCI Group

(Get Rating)

HCI Group, Inc engages in the business of property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, real estate, and information technology. It operates through the following segments: Insurance Operations, Real Estate, and Corporate and Others. The Insurance Operations segment includes the property and casualty insurance division and reinsurance division.

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InterContinental Hotels Group PLC (LON:IHG  Get Rating)s stock price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 5,090.27 ($62.99) and traded as high as GBX 5,582 ($69.08). InterContinental Hotels Group shares last traded at GBX 5,560 ($68.80), with a volume of 488,769 shares traded.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on IHG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on InterContinental Hotels Group from GBX 6,200 ($76.72) to GBX 6,000 ($74.25) and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 22nd. Numis Securities reiterated an add rating and issued a GBX 5,550 ($68.68) target price on shares of InterContinental Hotels Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. Peel Hunt reiterated a hold rating and issued a GBX 5,750 ($71.15) target price on shares of InterContinental Hotels Group in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on InterContinental Hotels Group from GBX 5,500 ($68.06) to GBX 6,200 ($76.72) and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Redburn Partners downgraded InterContinental Hotels Group to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, InterContinental Hotels Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of GBX 5,750 ($71.15).

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InterContinental Hotels Group Stock Up 0.1 %

The stock has a market cap of 9.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,381.93, a PEG ratio of 0.97 and a beta of 0.98. The business has a 50 day moving average price of GBX 5,453.24 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 5,099.19.

InterContinental Hotels Group Increases Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 30th will be paid a $0.95 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. This represents a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from InterContinental Hotels Groups previous dividend of $0.44. InterContinental Hotels Groups dividend payout ratio is 6,867.47%.

In related news, insider Paul Edgecliffe-Johnson sold 21,094 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 5,521 ($68.32), for a total value of 1,164,599.74 ($1,441,157.95). 4.76% of the stock is owned by insiders.

InterContinental Hotels Group Company Profile

(Get Rating)

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC owns, manages, franchises, and leases hotels in the Americas, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, Africa, and Greater China. The company operates hotels under the Six Senses, Regent, InterContinental Hotels & Resorts, Vignette Collection, Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants, Hotel Indigo, EVEN Hotels, HUALUXE, Holiday Inn, Holiday Inn Express, Holiday Inn Club Vacations, avid, Staybridge Suites, Atwell Suites, Candlewood Suites, voco, and Crowne Plaza.

Further Reading

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Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADV boosted its position in shares of Constellation Brands, Inc. (NYSE:STZ  Get Rating) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,288 shares of the companys stock after buying an additional 50 shares during the quarter. Investors Asset Management of Georgia Inc. GA ADVs holdings in Constellation Brands were worth $299,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Prudential PLC bought a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands in the first quarter valued at about $705,000. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in Constellation Brands by 1.0% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 17,026 shares of the companys stock worth $3,921,000 after purchasing an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 17.6% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,149 shares of the companys stock worth $725,000 after acquiring an additional 471 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Constellation Brands by 2.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 12,601,280 shares of the companys stock worth $2,902,327,000 after acquiring an additional 313,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ergoteles LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Constellation Brands during the first quarter worth about $257,000. 84.87% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on STZ shares. Cowen lowered Constellation Brands from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $275.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, January 6th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Constellation Brands from $267.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Barclays dropped their target price on Constellation Brands from $279.00 to $277.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Constellation Brands from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Wedbush restated an outperform rating and set a $255.00 target price on shares of Constellation Brands in a report on Friday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $252.58.

Constellation Brands Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of STZ stock traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $227.26. 22,613 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,405,882. Constellation Brands, Inc. has a twelve month low of $208.12 and a twelve month high of $261.52. The companys 50-day simple moving average is $222.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $230.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

Constellation Brands (NYSE:STZ  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 6th. The company reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.86 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $2 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.02 billion. Constellation Brands had a negative net margin of 0.70% and a positive return on equity of 20.48%. The firms revenue was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.37 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Constellation Brands, Inc. will post 11.53 EPS for the current year.

Constellation Brands Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 4th will be given a dividend of $0.89 per share. This represents a $3.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.57%. This is an increase from Constellation Brandss previous quarterly dividend of $0.80. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 3rd. Constellation Brandss dividend payout ratio is presently -627.44%.

About Constellation Brands

(Get Rating)

Constellation Brands, Inc engages in the production, marketing, and distribution of beer, wine, and spirits. It operates through the following segments: Beer, Wine and Spirits, and Corporate Operations and Other, and Canopy. The Beer segment includes imported and craft beer brands. The Wine and Spirits segment sells wine brands across all categories-table wine, sparkling wine, and dessert wine-and across all price points.

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iShares Asia 50 ETF (NYSEARCA:AIA  Get Rating) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Monday . Approximately 299,435 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 123% from the previous sessions volume of 134,173 shares.The stock last traded at $60.91 and had previously closed at $60.57.

iShares Asia 50 ETF Trading Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $1.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.57 and a beta of 0.69.

iShares Asia 50 ETF Company Profile

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The iShares Asia 50 ETF (AIA) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the S&P Asia 50 index. The fund tracks an index of 50 of the largest companies from Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan. AIA was launched on Nov 13, 2007 and is managed by BlackRock.

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iSIGN Media Solutions Inc. (CVE:ISD  Get Rating)s stock price traded up 50% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as C$0.02 and last traded at C$0.02. 535,000 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 249% from the average session volume of 153,232 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$0.01.

iSIGN Media Solutions Price Performance

The company has a market cap of C$3.40 million, a PE ratio of -1.50 and a beta of 0.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of C$0.01 and a 200-day moving average price of C$0.01.

iSIGN Media Solutions Company Profile

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iSIGN Media Solutions Inc, a data-focused software-as-a-service company, provides location-based security alert messaging and proximity marketing solutions in North America. The company provides Hybrid Analytics Location Observation, a software platform and listening device that offers a suite of functions specifically designed to maximize safety and security within a managed environment, such as school, hospital, shopping plaza, and concert venue; Hybrid Analytics Location Observation with facial recognition offers facial and object recognition modules; Passive Historical Aggregate Contact Tracing, an intelligent smart space analytics platform that utilizes publicly available anonymous interactions between mobile devices to accurately determine occupancy levels and movements of individuals.

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Kuehne + Nagel International AG (OTCMKTS:KHNGY  Get Rating)s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $60.31 and last traded at $60.05, with a volume of 5416 shares. The stock had previously closed at $58.46.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on KHNGY shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Kuehne + Nagel International from a neutral rating to an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th. HSBC downgraded shares of Kuehne + Nagel International from a hold rating to a reduce rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Kuehne + Nagel International from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Kuehne + Nagel International from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Friday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group lowered shares of Kuehne + Nagel International from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Kuehne + Nagel International has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $280.00.

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Kuehne + Nagel International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05, a current ratio of 1.22 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $55.18 and a 200-day simple moving average of $49.26. The firm has a market cap of $36.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.97 and a beta of 0.91.

Kuehne + Nagel International Company Profile

Kuhne + Nagel International AG engages in the provision of logistic services. It operates through the following segments: Sea Logistics, Air Logistics, Road Logistics, and Contract Logistics. The company was founded by August Kuehne and Friedrich Nagel in 1890 and is headquartered in Schindellegi, Switzerland.

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Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA  Get Rating)s share price traded down 4.9% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $6.55 and last traded at $6.56. 98,888 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 59% from the average session volume of 239,493 shares. The stock had previously closed at $6.90.

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09, a current ratio of 0.97 and a quick ratio of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $6.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $6.73. The firm has a market cap of $768.04 million, a PE ratio of 109.17, a PEG ratio of 0.23 and a beta of 1.23.

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Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima (NYSE:LOMA  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, March 8th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter. Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima had a return on equity of 0.76% and a net margin of 0.71%. The business had revenue of $227.60 million during the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima will post 0.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima Company Profile

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in LOMA. Truxt Investmentos Ltda. increased its holdings in Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima by 5.2% in the third quarter. Truxt Investmentos Ltda. now owns 1,259,705 shares of the companys stock valued at $7,848,000 after buying an additional 62,500 shares in the last quarter. Autonomy Capital Jersey L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Autonomy Capital Jersey L.P. now owns 1,210,494 shares of the companys stock valued at $8,292,000 after purchasing an additional 202,400 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new position in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima during the 3rd quarter valued at $4,628,000. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima by 180.9% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 650,370 shares of the companys stock worth $4,455,000 after buying an additional 418,875 shares during the period. Finally, Eaton Vance Management bought a new stake in shares of Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina Sociedad Anonima during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,796,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 17.18% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Loma Negra Compania Industrial Argentina SA operates as a cement manufacturing company. It operates through the following segments: Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime, Concrete, Railroad, Aggregates and Others. The Cement, Masonry Cement and Lime segment comprises of the procurement of raw materials from quarries.

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Orient Overseas (International) Limited (OTCMKTS:OROVF  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 932,700 shares, a decrease of 26.6% from the March 15th total of 1,269,900 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4,663.5 days.

Orient Overseas (International) Stock Performance

OROVF remained flat at $18.61 during midday trading on Tuesday. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $17.42 and its 200 day moving average price is $17.21. Orient Overseas has a 1 year low of $14.37 and a 1 year high of $36.59.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, HSBC upgraded Orient Overseas (International) from a reduce rating to a hold rating in a research report on Thursday, March 23rd.

About Orient Overseas (International)

Orient Overseas (International) Limited, an investment holding company, provides container transport and logistics services in Asia, Europe, Australia, North America, and internationally. The company offers supply-chain management and distribution services; and containerised shipping services in various trade lanes comprising Trans-Pacific, Trans-Atlantic, Asia/Europe, Asia/Australia, and Intra-Asia trades.

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PagerDuty (NYSE:PD  Get Rating) had its price target boosted by investment analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $34.00 to $37.00 in a report issued on Monday, The Fly reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canadas price target indicates a potential upside of 7.59% from the stocks current price.

PD has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on PagerDuty from $32.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Thursday, March 16th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on PagerDuty from $32.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on PagerDuty from $36.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, March 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $34.73.

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PagerDuty Stock Up 0.8 %

PagerDuty stock opened at $34.39 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $3.14 billion, a PE ratio of -23.72 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. PagerDuty has a one year low of $19.51 and a one year high of $35.33. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.07 and a 200 day moving average of $27.03.

Insider Buying and Selling

PagerDuty ( NYSE:PD Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, March 15th. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of ($0.22) by $0.05. The company had revenue of $100.97 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $98.89 million. PagerDuty had a negative return on equity of 43.39% and a negative net margin of 34.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that PagerDuty will post -0.76 EPS for the current year.

In related news, CEO Jennifer Tejada sold 71,375 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $2,283,286.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 796,627 shares in the company, valued at $25,484,097.73. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other PagerDuty news, insider Mitra Rezvan sold 5,000 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.60, for a total transaction of $158,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 102,840 shares in the company, valued at $3,249,744. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Jennifer Tejada sold 71,375 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $2,283,286.25. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 796,627 shares in the company, valued at $25,484,097.73. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 587,209 shares of company stock worth $17,517,592. Corporate insiders own 8.70% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PagerDuty

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PD. ETF Managers Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PagerDuty in the first quarter worth approximately $177,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in shares of PagerDuty by 11.6% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 69,747 shares of the companys stock worth $2,440,000 after buying an additional 7,227 shares during the period. O Neil Global Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of PagerDuty in the first quarter worth approximately $2,848,000. Capital CS Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of PagerDuty in the first quarter worth approximately $474,000. Finally, Diversified Trust Co raised its holdings in shares of PagerDuty by 4.4% in the first quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 15,684 shares of the companys stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 654 shares during the period. 90.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

PagerDuty Company Profile

(Get Rating)

PagerDuty, Inc operates a digital operations management platform. It provides incident management solution that integrates with information technology Ops and DevOps monitoring stacks to improve operational reliability and agility. The firm collect machine generated data from virtually any software-enabled system or device, combine it with human response data, correlating and interpreting this data to understand issues and opportunities that need to be addressed in real-time.

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Virgin Australia has launched its Love Islands sale with bargain flights to Fiji, Bali and more. (Source: Getty)

Does relaxing by the beach while sipping a cocktail sound like the perfect holiday for you? Well, now might be time to book, with Virgin Australia slinging cheap return flights to a range of island getaways.

Virgins Love Islands Sale is running now until midnight on Monday, April 24 unless sold out earlier, with cheap fares on offer to Bali, Fiji, Samoa and Vanuatu.

Deals include Gold Coast to Bali (Denpasar) return from $429, Brisbane to Fiji from $489 return, Melbourne to Vanuatu from $569, and Sydney to Fiji from $469.

The offers apply to select travel dates, according to the route, including May to June 2023, October to December 2023, and January to March 2024.

The sale also only applies to Virgins Economy Lite fares, which do not include seat selection or checked baggage. Other terms and conditions apply.

Love Islands Sale offers

If youre keen to grab your loved one and get away, heres a look at some of the Virgin flights on sale:

Adelaide to Bali (Denpasar) - Economy Lite return from $489

Brisbane to Fiji (Nadi) - Economy Lite return from $489

Brisbane to Samoa (Apia) - Economy Lite return from $549

Brisbane to Vanuatu (Port Vila) - Economy Lite return from $469

Gold Coast to Bali (Denpasar) - Economy Lite return from $429

Melbourne to Fiji (Nadi) - Economy Lite return from $569

Melbourne to Samoa (Apia) - Economy Lite return from $729

Melbourne to Vanuatu (Port Vila) - Economy Lite return from $569

Perth to Vanuatu (Port Vila) - Economy Lite return from $909

Sydney to Fiji (Nadi) - Economy Lite return from $469

Sydney to Samoa (Apia) - Economy Lite return from $569

Sydney to Vanuatu (Port Vila) - Economy Lite return from $579

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Resources Investment Advisors LLC. grew its stake in Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) by 18.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 115,346 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock after buying an additional 17,777 shares during the quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC.s holdings in Pfizer were worth $5,910,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in Pfizer by 528.9% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 12,401,164 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $542,675,000 after buying an additional 10,429,412 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 13.2% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 59,828,849 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $3,097,341,000 after purchasing an additional 6,972,650 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pfizer in the first quarter valued at approximately $311,238,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 1.1% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 493,584,761 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $21,599,270,000 after purchasing an additional 5,139,634 shares during the period. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Pfizer by 108.3% in the first quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 7,909,665 shares of the biopharmaceutical companys stock valued at $409,483,000 after purchasing an additional 4,112,528 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 67.62% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Pfizer Inc acquired 1,811,594 shares of Pfizer stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 17th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $2.76 per share, for a total transaction of $4,999,999.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 5,952,263 shares of the companys stock, valued at $16,428,245.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.05% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Pfizer Stock Down 1.5 %

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PFE. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Pfizer from $55.00 to $53.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Pfizer from $50.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 17th. SVB Leerink dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a market perform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $45.00 to $44.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group dropped their price objective on Pfizer from $54.00 to $50.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 1st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $49.80.

Pfizer stock opened at $40.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.22. Pfizer Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.23 and a fifty-two week high of $54.93. The stocks fifty day moving average is $41.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $45.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $228.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 7.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 0.64.

Pfizer (NYSE:PFE  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 31st. The biopharmaceutical company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.03 by $0.11. Pfizer had a return on equity of 42.03% and a net margin of 31.27%. The business had revenue of $24.30 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $24.40 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Pfizer Inc. will post 3.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pfizer Profile

(Get Rating)

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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NEIRG Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 75,818 shares of the companys stock after acquiring an additional 2,447 shares during the quarter. Philip Morris International makes up about 1.4% of NEIRG Wealth Management LLCs holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. NEIRG Wealth Management LLCs holdings in Philip Morris International were worth $7,674,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 132,480,611 shares of the companys stock worth $10,997,216,000 after buying an additional 1,451,582 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 100,951,462 shares of the companys stock worth $8,379,979,000 after buying an additional 962,801 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,777,797 shares of the companys stock worth $4,868,937,000 after buying an additional 389,746 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in Philip Morris International by 22.7% in the 3rd quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 35,468,228 shares of the companys stock worth $2,944,500,000 after buying an additional 6,558,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 16,050,540 shares of the companys stock worth $1,332,355,000 after purchasing an additional 260,832 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 75.85% of the companys stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upgraded 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 note on Wednesday, March 1st. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on shares of Philip Morris International in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. They set a buy rating and a $114.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and raised their target price for the company from $109.00 to $116.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Philip Morris International from $109.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Philip Morris International from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their target price for the company from $95.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $111.18.

Philip Morris International Stock Performance

PM traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $101.63. The company had a trading volume of 678,538 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,419,165. The company has a market capitalization of $157.75 billion, a PE ratio of 17.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 0.68. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $82.85 and a twelve month high of $109.81. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $98.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.17.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.29 by $0.10. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 11.22% and a negative return on equity of 127.24%. The company had revenue of $8.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $7.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Philip Morris Internationals revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 23rd were given a dividend of $1.27 per share. This represents a $5.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.00%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 22nd. Philip Morris Internationals dividend payout ratio is 87.44%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In other news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $101,057,266.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 80,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.35, for a total transaction of $8,028,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 1,007,048 shares in the company, valued at $101,057,266.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Stacey Kennedy sold 8,756 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 10th. The shares were 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 of the companys stock, valued at approximately $4,835,627.61. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 117,064 shares of company stock worth $11,738,763 in the last quarter. 0.15% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Philip Morris International Company Profile

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Philip Morris International, Inc is a holding company engaged in the manufacturing and sale of cigarettes, tobacco, and nicotine-containing products. Its products include cigarettes and reduced-risk products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products. The firm operates through the following geographical segments: European Union, Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, South and Southeast Asia, East Asia and Australia, and Americas.

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Profund Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Infosys Limited (NYSE:INFY  Get Rating) by 22.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 116,973 shares of the technology companys stock after purchasing an additional 21,573 shares during the quarter. Profund Advisors LLCs holdings in Infosys were worth $2,107,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Trust Advisors LP raised its stake in Infosys by 69.4% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 23,292,667 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $395,276,000 after purchasing an additional 9,539,373 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Infosys by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 19,989,499 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $497,539,000 after purchasing an additional 5,143,124 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Infosys by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 16,969,677 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $287,975,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504,660 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in Infosys by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 16,604,648 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $281,780,000 after purchasing an additional 2,944,245 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Infosys by 1.6% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 9,239,937 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $229,982,000 after purchasing an additional 149,668 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 12.68% of the companys stock.

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Infosys Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE INFY opened at $14.96 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $17.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.26. The firm has a market cap of $62.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.93 and a beta of 1.00. Infosys Limited has a twelve month low of $14.94 and a twelve month high of $20.93.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Infosys ( NYSE:INFY Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 13th. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $4.55 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.73 billion. Infosys had a net margin of 16.37% and a return on equity of 31.78%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Infosys Limited will post 0.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on INFY. Macquarie downgraded Infosys from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Sunday. Nomura downgraded Infosys from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, April 13th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Infosys from $21.00 to $18.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 14th. Wedbush cut their price target on Infosys from $25.00 to $22.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Credit Suisse Group cut Infosys from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a report on Friday, April 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, ten have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Infosys presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $19.33.

About Infosys

(Get Rating)

Infosys Ltd. is a digital services and consulting company, which engages in the provision of end-to-end business solutions. It operates through the following segments: Financial Services, Retail, Communication, Energy, Utilities, Resources, and Services, Manufacturing, Hi-Tech, Life Sciences, and All Other.

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ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Bank of America Co. (NYSE:BAC) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,489,608 shares of the financial services providers stock after purchasing an additional 75,899 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLCs holdings in Bank of America were worth $49,336,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Congress Park Capital LLC grew its position in Bank of America by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Congress Park Capital LLC now owns 43,420 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,311,000 after purchasing an additional 10,525 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 70.5% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCrest Capital Management LLC now owns 91,399 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $2,760,000 after acquiring an additional 37,794 shares during the last quarter. Vista Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Vista Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 22,879 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $802,000 after acquiring an additional 393 shares during the last quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 58.2% in the 3rd quarter. Carnegie Capital Asset Management LLC now owns 138,617 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $4,186,000 after acquiring an additional 50,987 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Bank of America by 18.8% in the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 221,443 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $6,690,000 after acquiring an additional 35,107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.34% of the companys stock.

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Insider Activity

In other news, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 214,745 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.91, for a total value of $7,711,492.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 214,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,711,564.77. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 214,745 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.91, for a total transaction of $7,711,492.95. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 214,747 shares in the company, valued at $7,711,564.77. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Matthew M. Koder sold 105,054 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.27, for a total transaction of $3,600,200.58. Following the sale, the insider now owns 319,803 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,959,648.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.27% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Bank of America Price Performance

BAC has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $38.00 to $34.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 10th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $40.00 to $34.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $39.00 to $35.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Oppenheimer dropped their price objective on shares of Bank of America from $53.00 to $44.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 23rd. Finally, Odeon Capital Group downgraded shares of Bank of America from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $35.20 price target on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $36.92.

Shares of NYSE BAC opened at $30.56 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $33.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $244.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Bank of America Co. has a 52 week low of $26.32 and a 52 week high of $40.37.

Bank of America (NYSE:BAC  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.94 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $26.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $25.28 billion. Bank of America had a net margin of 23.93% and a return on equity of 11.41%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Bank of America Co. will post 3.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Bank of America Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 3rd were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 2nd. Bank of Americas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.59%.

Bank of America Profile

(Get Rating)

Bank of America Corp. is a bank and financial holding company, which engages in the provision of banking and nonbank financial services. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking, Global Wealth and Investment Management (GWIM), Global Banking, Global Markets, and All Other. The Consumer Banking segment offers credit, banking, and investment products and services to consumers and small businesses.

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Todd Asset Management LLC cut its position in shares of Rio Tinto Group (NYSE:RIO  Get Rating) by 0.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 990,199 shares of the mining companys stock after selling 167 shares during the quarter. Rio Tinto Group accounts for 1.7% of Todd Asset Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 4th biggest holding. Todd Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Rio Tinto Group worth $70,502,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 58.9% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 12,899,694 shares of the mining companys stock worth $1,037,135,000 after acquiring an additional 4,783,488 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 4.2% in the first quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,484,992 shares of the mining companys stock worth $682,195,000 after acquiring an additional 344,145 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 26.9% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,475,787 shares of the mining companys stock worth $440,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,161,737 shares during the last quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Rio Tinto Group by 11.2% in the third quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 5,460,303 shares of the mining companys stock worth $300,654,000 after acquiring an additional 551,359 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cowa LLC acquired a new position in shares of Rio Tinto Group in the first quarter worth $26,000. 10.43% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Rio Tinto Group Stock Down 1.6 %

RIO stock traded down $1.10 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $69.31. 1,051,428 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,171,340. The businesss 50 day moving average price is $69.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.75. Rio Tinto Group has a 52-week low of $50.92 and a 52-week high of $80.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 1.64 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

Rio Tinto Group Cuts Dividend

Analysts Set New Price Targets

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, April 20th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 10th will be given a $2.25 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 9.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 9th.

RIO has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised Rio Tinto Group from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a conviction-buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Rio Tinto Group from GBX 5,750 ($71.15) to GBX 5,790 ($71.65) in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. Berenberg Bank upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a sell rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, January 12th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Rio Tinto Group from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Rio Tinto Group has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $5,790.00.

Rio Tinto Group Profile

(Get Rating)

Rio Tinto Plc engages in the exploration, mining, and processing of mineral resources. It operates through the following business segments: Iron Ore, Aluminium, Copper and Diamonds, Energy and Minerals, and Other Operations. The Iron Ore segment supplies global seaborne iron ore trade. The Aluminium segment produces bauxite, alumina and primary aluminum.

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RocketFuel Blockchain (OTCMKTS:RKFL  Get Rating) and Lufax (NYSE:LU  Get Rating) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, dividends, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings, profitability and risk.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

15.2% of Lufax shares are held by institutional investors. 28.7% of RocketFuel Blockchain shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for RocketFuel Blockchain and Lufax, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score RocketFuel Blockchain 0 0 0 0 N/A Lufax 3 4 3 0 2.00

Volatility & Risk

Lufax has a consensus target price of $2.57, suggesting a potential upside of 25.37%. Given Lufaxs higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Lufax is more favorable than RocketFuel Blockchain.

RocketFuel Blockchain has a beta of 1.21, indicating that its stock price is 21% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Lufax has a beta of 0.56, indicating that its stock price is 44% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares RocketFuel Blockchain and Lufaxs top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio RocketFuel Blockchain $30,000.00 146.04 -$4.66 million ($0.14) -0.96 Lufax $8.43 billion 0.56 $1.29 billion $0.55 3.73

Lufax has higher revenue and earnings than RocketFuel Blockchain. RocketFuel Blockchain is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Lufax, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares RocketFuel Blockchain and Lufaxs net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets RocketFuel Blockchain -4,533.66% -322.79% -216.22% Lufax 15.50% 9.29% 2.45%

Summary

Lufax beats RocketFuel Blockchain on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About RocketFuel Blockchain

(Get Rating)

RocketFuel Blockchain, Inc. operates as a crypto payments company. The firm provides check-out payment options using bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies along with consumer privacy protection solutions to eCommerce stores and merchants and their customers. Its check-out systems are designed to enhance customers data protection, enabling consumers to pay for goods and services using cryptocurrencies or by direct transfers from their bank accounts without exposing spending credentials such as credit card data. The company was founded on April 2, 1987 and is headquartered in San Francisco, CA.

About Lufax

(Get Rating)

Lufax Holding Ltd operates a technology-empowered personal financial services platform in China. It offers loan products, including unsecured loans and secured loans, as well as consumer finance loans. The company also provides wealth management platforms, such as Lufax (Lu.com), Lu International (Singapore), and Lu International (Hong Kong) to the middle class and affluent investors to invest in products and portfolios; retail credit facilitation services platform that offers small business owners with lending solutions; and technology empowerment solutions for financial institutions. Lufax Holding Ltd was founded in 2005 and is headquartered in Shanghai, China.

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Royal Unibrew A/S (OTCMKTS:ROYUF  Get Rating) has been given an average recommendation of Hold by the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and three have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $437.50.

ROYUF has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered Royal Unibrew A/S from a hold rating to a sell rating and lowered their price objective for the company from 390.00 to 375.00 in a report on Thursday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Royal Unibrew A/S from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, Handelsbanken lowered shares of Royal Unibrew A/S from a market perform rating to an underperform rating in a report on Wednesday.

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Royal Unibrew A/S Price Performance

OTCMKTS:ROYUF remained flat at $66.60 during trading hours on Wednesday. Royal Unibrew A/S has a 1-year low of $66.60 and a 1-year high of $66.60. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.60 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $67.07.

Royal Unibrew A/S Company Profile

Royal Unibrew A/S produces, markets, sells, and distributes beer, malt beverages, soft drinks, ciders, and ready-to-drink products. The company also provides spring water, natural mineral water, energy drinks, fruit juices, nectar drinks, long drinks, and cocktail products. It offers its products under the Faxe Kondi, Original Long drink, LemonSoda, Novelle, Faxe, Lorina, Vitamalt, Kalnapilis, and other brands.

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Solstein Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF (NYSEARCA:EWT  Get Rating) by 16,739.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,715 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after buying an additional 4,687 shares during the quarter. Solstein Capital LLCs holdings in iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF were worth $189,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Advisors Preferred LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,000. Private Trust Co. NA bought a new stake in iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF during the second quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Phillips Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF during the 4th quarter valued at $51,000. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF in the third quarter worth $57,000.

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iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF Price Performance

NYSEARCA EWT traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $44.33. 846,970 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,017,894. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.63 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $44.39. iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF has a 1 year low of $39.75 and a 1 year high of $58.76. The company has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02 and a beta of 0.83.

About iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF

Ishares MSCI Taiwan Index Fund (the Fund) is an exchange-traded fund. The Fund seeks investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI Taiwan IndexSM (the Index). The Index consists of stocks traded primarily on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.

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Sonnipe Ltd bought a new position in shares of Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 1,943 shares of the information technology services providers stock, valued at approximately $518,000. Accenture makes up 0.1% of Sonnipe Ltds portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Bank raised its holdings in shares of Accenture by 6.3% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 2,969 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $1,001,000 after purchasing an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Accenture by 1.3% during the first quarter. Weitz Investment Management Inc. now owns 89,400 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $30,148,000 after buying an additional 1,168 shares during the last quarter. Fund Management at Engine No. 1 LLC bought a new position in Accenture during the first quarter worth about $1,805,000. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Accenture by 0.6% during the first quarter. Guardian Wealth Management Inc. now owns 7,292 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $2,459,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted 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 worth $148,871,000 after purchasing an additional 225,943 shares during the period. 73.97% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Activity at Accenture

In related news, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 4,648 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.41, for a total transaction of $1,284,753.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,920,959.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Accenture news, General Counsel Joel Unruch sold 556 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $12,060,265.23. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Julie Spellman Sweet sold 4,648 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.41, for a total value of $1,284,753.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,510 shares of the companys stock, valued at $10,920,959.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 19,658 shares of company stock worth $5,467,791. 0.08% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Accenture Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ACN traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $279.36. The companys stock had a trading volume of 894,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,407,840. Accenture plc has a 12-month low of $242.80 and a 12-month high of $330.32. The stock has a market cap of $176.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.78, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.25. The firms fifty day moving average price is $272.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $275.25.

Accenture (NYSE:ACN  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 23rd. The information technology services provider reported $2.69 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.49 by $0.20. Accenture had a net margin of 11.00% and a return on equity of 30.73%. The firm had revenue of $15.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.59 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.54 EPS. The businesss revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Accenture plc will post 11.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Accenture Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 13th will be given a dividend of $1.12 per share. This represents a $4.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 12th. Accentures payout ratio is currently 41.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ACN shares. William Blair reiterated an outperform rating on shares of Accenture in a research report on Monday, March 20th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Accenture from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Accenture from $310.00 to $327.00 in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Accenture in a research note on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Accenture from $289.00 to $294.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Accenture has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $314.00.

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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SPDR STOXX Europe 50 ETF (NYSEARCA:FEU  Get Rating)s stock price traded up 0.6% on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $39.46 and last traded at $39.44. 47,583 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 43,056 shares. The stock had previously closed at $39.19.

SPDR STOXX Europe 50 ETF Trading Up 0.6 %

The businesss 50-day simple moving average is $37.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.32.

SPDR STOXX Europe 50 ETF Company Profile

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SPDR STOXX Europe 50 ETF (the Fund), formerly SPDR DJ Stoxx 50 ETF, seeks to closely match the returns and characteristics of the STOXX Europe 50 Index (the Index). The Index is designed to represent the performance of some of the largest companies across all components of the 20 STOXX Europe 600 Supersector Indexes.

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MAFS' Alyssa Barmonde has reportedly left Australia after receiving the 'villain' edit and being made redundant from the company where she'd worked as an executive assistant for seven years.

The 35-year-old single mother is going on holiday "to spend time with her family, reset and think about her next steps," the Daily Mail reports.

MAFS' Alyssa Barmonde has 'fled' Australia after receiving the 'villain' edit and being made redundant from her job of seven years. Photo: Nine

"Alyssa is planning a holiday. She has been unhappy since the show went to air and just needs to wind down," a friend told the publication.

"She really just wants to move on and forget that she was ever on the show. It has been completely unfair. What we saw on television was not her."

RELATED:

Speaking with the Daily Telegraph this week, Alyssa pointed out the "coincidence" of being made redundant two weeks after the show finished airing.

The reality star shared with the publication that her issues with 'husband' Duncan James came after suffering one of many panic attacks, revealing, "It was really dark for a couple of months."

She adds that she stopped watching the show after the couples retreat episodes as she "could see what the edit was" and was left upset that her arguments with Duncan lacked proper context.

Alyssa claims her 'husband' Duncan didn't want to spend time with her but told her on camera that she didn't have 'enough time for him'. Photo: Nine

Alyssa claims that Duncan didn't want to spend time with her but told her on camera that she didn't have "enough time for him", questioning his motives and adding it was "interesting" to see it all play out on screen.

The reality star also hit out at the producers of the show for encouraging "bullying culture" from fans.

The bride said that while she understood that fans of the show would be sharing their opinions online, she has also been receiving "the most vile messages" with the "intent to hurt" to her personal phone number and business accounts.

Story continues

SHOP:

After receiving constant abuse from fans, Alyssa asked Nine for access to her Instagram to challenge the narrative of the show's edit but was denied, as MAFS has yet to finish airing in the UK.

"They're protecting the show and the narrative they've created, rather than letting me have my own voice," she said.

She told the publication she has since been seeing her long-term psychologist three times a week and has had to up her anxiety medication, adding she hopes future stars of the show know what they're getting into.

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Or if you have a story idea, email us at lifestyle.tips@yahooinc.com.
Shares of Spirit Airlines, Inc. (NYSE:SAVE  Get Rating) have received a consensus recommendation of Hold from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, seven have issued a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $26.86.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on SAVE. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft downgraded Spirit Airlines from a buy rating to a hold rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $27.00 to $24.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. StockNews.com began coverage on Spirit Airlines in a report on Monday, April 3rd. They issued a sell rating for the company.

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Institutional Trading of Spirit Airlines

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Huntington National Bank boosted its position in shares of Spirit Airlines by 198.0% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 1,505 shares of the companys stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spirit Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its position in shares of Spirit Airlines by 272.4% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 2,119 shares of the companys stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 1,550 shares in the last quarter. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Spirit Airlines during the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP boosted its position in shares of Spirit Airlines by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 3,652 shares of the companys stock worth $69,000 after purchasing an additional 534 shares in the last quarter. 67.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Spirit Airlines Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:SAVE traded down $0.12 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $17.40. 911,421 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,600,024. The businesss 50 day moving average is $17.84 and its 200-day moving average is $19.58. The company has a market capitalization of $1.90 billion, a P/E ratio of -3.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 1.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.44. Spirit Airlines has a 1-year low of $15.92 and a 1-year high of $26.39.

Spirit Airlines (NYSE:SAVE  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $0.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $1.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.39 billion. Spirit Airlines had a negative net margin of 7.95% and a negative return on equity of 14.01%. The companys revenue for the quarter was up 40.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.64) earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Spirit Airlines will post -1.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Spirit Airlines Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 24th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 21st. This represents a yield of 2.31%.

Spirit Airlines Company Profile

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Spirit Airlines, Inc engages in the provision of air transportation services. Its operations are concentrated in markets such as South Florida, the Caribbean, Latin America, and the Northeast and Northern Midwest regions of the United States. The firm offers travel insurance, carry-on and checked baggage, online booking, and other services.

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Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. lessened its holdings in Aflac Incorporated (NYSE:AFL  Get Rating) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,963 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 769 shares during the period. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.s holdings in Aflac were worth $573,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AFL. Panagora Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 36.2% in the 1st quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 23,941 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,369 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 17,268 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,112,000 after purchasing an additional 1,102 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 0.7% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 210,634 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $13,563,000 after purchasing an additional 1,503 shares during the period. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of Aflac in the 1st quarter worth approximately $428,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aflac by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,142 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $396,000 after purchasing an additional 417 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 66.22% of the companys stock.

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Aflac Trading Up 0.5 %

Aflac stock opened at $66.89 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $40.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.06 and a quick ratio of 0.06. Aflac Incorporated has a 1 year low of $52.07 and a 1 year high of $74.01. The firms 50 day moving average price is $66.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.64.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Aflac ( NYSE:AFL Get Rating ) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 2nd. The financial services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.21 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.49 billion. Aflac had a net margin of 21.54% and a return on equity of 13.69%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 26.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.28 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Aflac Incorporated will post 5.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on AFL. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Aflac from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Monday, February 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Aflac from $77.00 to $72.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aflac in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Aflac from $62.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat, Aflac has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $71.13.

Insider Activity at Aflac

In related news, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 19,291 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.36, for a total value of $1,357,314.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,598 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,163,395.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Joseph L. Moskowitz sold 500 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Monday, April 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.45, for a total value of $32,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 19,269 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,241,887.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Masatoshi Koide sold 19,291 shares of Aflac stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.36, for a total transaction of $1,357,314.76. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 87,598 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,163,395.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Aflac Company Profile

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Aflac, Inc is a holding company. engages in the provision of financial protection services. It operates through the followings segments: Aflac Japan and Aflac United States (U.S.). The Aflac Japan segment offers life insurance, death benefits, and cash surrender values. The Aflac U.S. segment sells voluntary supplemental insurance products for people who already have major medical or primary insurance coverage.

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Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp. (OTCMKTS:TCYMF  Get Rating)s stock price reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $1.74 and last traded at $1.74, with a volume of 0 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1.74.

Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Stock Performance

The stocks 50 day moving average price is $1.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1.69.

Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp., an investment holding company, manufactures and sells instant noodles, beverages, and instant food products in the People's Republic of China. The company operates through Instant Noodles, Beverages, and Others segments. It offers ready-to-drink teas, juices, milk tea, bottled water, and carbonated soft drinks, as well as coffee drinks/functional drinks/probiotics.

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Todd Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of Dell Technologies Inc. (NYSE:DELL  Get Rating) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 855,661 shares of the technology companys stock after selling 13,249 shares during the quarter. Todd Asset Management LLCs holdings in Dell Technologies were worth $34,415,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of DELL. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dell Technologies by 17.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 14,076 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 2,117 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in shares of Dell Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $304,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Dell Technologies during the first quarter valued at about $568,000. Rhumbline Advisers increased its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies by 2.0% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 254,266 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $12,762,000 after acquiring an additional 4,949 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dell Technologies by 5.2% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 6,090 shares of the technology companys stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. 26.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Dell Technologies Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE DELL traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $45.07. 1,507,176 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,000,154. The firm has a market cap of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.13, a PEG ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 1.03. Dell Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $32.90 and a twelve month high of $52.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $40.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $40.13.

Dell Technologies Increases Dividend

Dell Technologies ( NYSE:DELL Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The technology company reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $25.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $22.82 billion. Dell Technologies had a net margin of 2.39% and a negative return on equity of 173.72%. Research analysts expect that Dell Technologies Inc. will post 4.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 5th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.37 per share. This is a boost from Dell Technologiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 24th. This represents a $1.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Dell Technologiess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 40.99%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on DELL shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $60.00 to $51.00 in a report on Friday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of Dell Technologies from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and set a $47.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Dell Technologies from $47.00 to $45.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Dell Technologies in a report on Monday, March 20th. They issued a buy rating and a $43.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $47.50.

Insider Transactions at Dell Technologies

In other news, COO Anthony Charles Whitten sold 15,983 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total transaction of $583,219.67. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 841,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,695,643.43. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Dell Technologies news, CFO Thomas W. Sweet sold 283,388 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $40.14, for a total value of $11,375,194.32. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 211,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,493,945.12. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Anthony Charles Whitten sold 15,983 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.49, for a total value of $583,219.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 841,207 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,695,643.43. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 47.30% of the companys stock.

About Dell Technologies

(Get Rating)

Dell Technologies, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of information technology hardware, software, and service solutions through its subsidiaries. It operates through the following segments: Infrastructure Solutions Group (ISG), Client Solutions Group (CSG), and VMware. The ISG segment includes servers, networking, and storage, as well as services and third-party software and peripherals that are closely tied to the sale of ISG hardware.

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Todd Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions Inc. (NYSE:J  Get Rating) by 0.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 340,666 shares of the companys stock after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Jacobs Solutions makes up 1.0% of Todd Asset Management LLCs investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Todd Asset Management LLC owned about 0.27% of Jacobs Solutions worth $40,904,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Householder Group Estate & Retirement Specialist LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA acquired a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Cambridge Trust Co. acquired a new stake in shares of Jacobs Solutions in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.96% of the companys stock.

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Jacobs Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of J traded down $0.88 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $114.66. The stock had a trading volume of 35,156 shares, compared to its average volume of 630,871. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $117.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.28. Jacobs Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $106.78 and a 12 month high of $150.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 1.48. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.53 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.84.

Jacobs Solutions Increases Dividend

Jacobs Solutions ( NYSE:J Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 7th. The company reported $1.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $3.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.66 billion. Jacobs Solutions had a net margin of 4.21% and a return on equity of 14.84%. The companys revenue was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.56 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Jacobs Solutions Inc. will post 7.37 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 24th were paid a $0.26 dividend. This represents a $1.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.91%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from Jacobs Solutionss previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Jacobs Solutionss payout ratio is 20.76%.

Jacobs Solutions announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, January 25th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 6.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the companys board believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on J shares. Credit Suisse Group decreased their price objective on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $161.00 to $155.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Jacobs Solutions from $150.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 8th. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Jacobs Solutions from a neutral rating to an outperform rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $136.00 to $150.00 in a report on Friday, January 6th. Bank of America cut shares of Jacobs Solutions from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $137.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Jacobs Solutions in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Jacobs Solutions has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $148.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Jacobs Solutions

In related news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of Jacobs Solutions stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.94, for a total transaction of $812,852.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 621,288 shares of the companys stock, valued at $75,759,858.72. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven J. Demetriou sold 6,666 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.94, for a total transaction of $812,852.04. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 621,288 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,858.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Christopher M.T. Thompson sold 3,500 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.64, for a total value of $418,740.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 34,682 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,149,354.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,832 shares of company stock worth $2,009,981 over the last quarter. Insiders own 1.00% of the companys stock.

About Jacobs Solutions

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Jacobs Solutions, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the designing and deployment of technology-centric solutions. It operates through the following business segments: Critical Mission Solutions, People and Places Solutions, and PA Consulting. The Critical Mission Solutions segment offer broad sectors, including U.S.

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Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund (NYSEARCA:TPYP  Get Rating)s share price was down 0.2% on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $24.69 and last traded at $24.79. Approximately 30,195 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 61% from the average daily volume of 78,355 shares. The stock had previously closed at $24.84.

Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $530.51 million, a P/E ratio of 17.78 and a beta of 1.09. The firms fifty day moving average is $24.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.96.

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Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund in the 1st quarter worth $220,000. WealthCare Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund during the 3rd quarter valued at about $310,000. Sandy Spring Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 36,378 shares of the companys stock valued at $840,000 after purchasing an additional 1,120 shares during the last quarter. Mayflower Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,055,000. Finally, Flow Traders U.S. LLC bought a new position in shares of Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,266,000.

About Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund

The Tortoise North American Pipeline Fund (TPYP) is an exchange-traded fund that is based on the Tortoise North American Pipeline index. The fund tracks an index of North American pipeline entities organized as MLPs, MLP affiliates, LLCs, and corporations. TPYP was launched on Jun 30, 2015 and is managed by Tortoise.

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Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc. (NYSE:TPZ  Get Rating) declared a monthly dividend on Wednesday, April 12th, Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 21st will be paid a dividend of 0.105 per share by the investment management company on Friday, April 28th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 9.56%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 20th.

Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund has decreased its dividend by an average of 4.2% per year over the last three years.

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Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE TPZ opened at $13.18 on Wednesday. Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund has a one year low of $11.91 and a one year high of $14.99. The businesss fifty day moving average price is $12.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $13.21.

Institutional Trading of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in TPZ. Captrust Financial Advisors bought a new stake in shares of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund during the 2nd quarter valued at $129,000. Eudaimonia Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund during the 1st quarter valued at $158,000. First Republic Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund in the 4th quarter worth about $188,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC bought a new position in Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund in the 3rd quarter worth about $194,000. Finally, Rivernorth Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund in the 1st quarter worth about $262,000.

Separately, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st.

Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund Company Profile

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Tortoise Power and Energy Infrastructure Fund, Inc is a closed-ended balanced mutual fund launched and managed by Tortoise Capital Advisors, LLC. The fund invests in the fixed income and public equity markets of the United States. It invests in securities of companies operating in the power and energy infrastructure sectors.

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First Horizon Co. (NYSE:FHN  Get Rating) was the target of unusually large options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 17,709 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 230% compared to the typical daily volume of 5,372 put options.

Insider Transactions at First Horizon

In other news, EVP Terry Lawson Akins sold 4,694 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.67, for a total transaction of $115,800.98. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 145,691 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,594,196.97. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO D Bryan Jordan sold 93,157 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction on Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.80, for a total value of $2,310,293.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 1,396,259 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $34,627,223.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Terry Lawson Akins sold 4,694 shares of First Horizon stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.67, for a total transaction of $115,800.98. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 145,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,594,196.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.55% of the companys stock.

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Institutional Trading of First Horizon

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in First Horizon by 5.4% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 8,085 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $198,000 after buying an additional 416 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in First Horizon by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 56,049 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $1,284,000 after buying an additional 426 shares during the period. CWM LLC raised its holdings in First Horizon by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,320 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in First Horizon by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,738 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $370,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC raised its holdings in First Horizon by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 16,012 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $392,000 after buying an additional 536 shares during the period. 77.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

First Horizon Trading Down 0.2 %

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of First Horizon from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and set a $25.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 24th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on First Horizon in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a sell rating on the stock.

Shares of NYSE FHN traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $18.31. 2,186,180 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,402,440. First Horizon has a 12-month low of $13.40 and a 12-month high of $24.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 0.94. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $20.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $22.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.84 billion, a PE ratio of 11.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.85 and a beta of 0.88.

First Horizon (NYSE:FHN  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 18th. The financial services provider reported $0.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.01). First Horizon had a return on equity of 12.98% and a net margin of 25.66%. The company had revenue of $863.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $871.36 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. The firms revenue was up 22.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that First Horizon will post 1.94 EPS for the current year.

First Horizon Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 3rd. Investors of record on Friday, March 17th were issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. First Horizons dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 39.22%.

First Horizon Company Profile

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First Horizon Corp. (Tennessee) operates as a financial holding company, which engages in the provision of checking accounts, savings products, mortgage banking, lending, and financing to individuals and businesses. It operates the business through three segments: Regional Banking, Specialty Banking, and Corporate.

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Two Harbors Investment Corp. (NYSE:TWO  Get Rating) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the nine research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $17.69.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on TWO. Citigroup upped their price target on Two Harbors Investment from $15.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Two Harbors Investment from $16.00 to $17.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. JMP Securities upped their target price on Two Harbors Investment from $17.50 to $18.00 and gave the company a market outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Two Harbors Investment in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Two Harbors Investment from $17.25 to $17.50 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 15th.

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Two Harbors Investment Stock Down 0.3 %

Two Harbors Investment stock opened at $13.87 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $15.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $15.53. The firm has a market cap of $1.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.56 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90. Two Harbors Investment has a twelve month low of $12.12 and a twelve month high of $21.84.

Two Harbors Investment Announces Dividend

Insider Buying and Selling at Two Harbors Investment

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 3rd. This represents a $2.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 17.30%. Two Harbors Investments payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

In other news, VP Robert Rush sold 2,599 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.74, for a total transaction of $46,106.26. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 64,198 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,872.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO William Ross Greenberg sold 7,408 shares of Two Harbors Investment stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $16.99, for a total value of $125,861.92. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 178,302 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,029,350.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Robert Rush sold 2,599 shares of Two Harbors Investment stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.74, for a total value of $46,106.26. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 64,198 shares in the company, valued at $1,138,872.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 30,492 shares of company stock worth $528,144. Insiders own 0.42% of the companys stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Two Harbors Investment

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Two Harbors Investment by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 13,627 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. Teamwork Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,304 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $225,000 after purchasing an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 20,164 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 860 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 235,974 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $783,000 after purchasing an additional 916 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Two Harbors Investment by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 155,924 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164 shares during the last quarter.

Two Harbors Investment Company Profile

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Two Harbors Investment Corp. is a real estate investment trust, which invests in, finances, and manages agency residential mortgage-backed securities, mortgage servicing rights, and other financial assets. Its objective is to provide risk-adjusted returns to its stockholders over the long-term, primarily through dividends and secondarily through capital appreciation.

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The Congress on Wednesday announced its fifth list of three candidates for the May 10 Assembly elections, replacing the one against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in Shiggaon. A day after fielding Mohammed Yousuf Savanur as its candidate from Shiggaon in Haveri district, the party nominated Yasir Ahmed Khan Phatan in his place. The party has fielded A C Srinivasa from Pulakeshinagar by denying ticket to its sitting MLA R Akhanda Srinivasa Murthy, who today filed nomination as an independent candidate after it was clear that he will not be renominated. Murthy, a Dalit, had won the 2018 assembly election with the highest margin of 81,626 votes, creating a record. Murthys house along with the DJ Halli police station was torched by a violent mob in August 2020, over a social media post shared by his relative. In Bengaluru's K R Puram, Congress has fielded D K Mohan against BJP's Byrathi Suresh, a Minister in the Basavaraj Bommai government. Interestingly, Suresh had won the seat on Congress ticket in the 2018 Assembly polls. He was among the 17 Congress-JD(S) MLAs who resigned, which had led to the collapse of the coalition government and paved the way for BJP to come to power in 2019. In the subsequent bypolls he won on BJP ticket. In Mulbagal, the party has fielded B C Muddugangadhar. In 2018, the seat was won by independent candidate H Nagesh, who is now Congress candidate from Mahadevapura segment in Bengaluru. The Congress has so far announced candidates for 219 out of total 224 seats (including in Melukote where it's backing a candidate of a different party). Tomorrow is the last day for filing of nominations. With PTI inputs
Pupils at the 20,000-a-year school said not everyone in the class identified as female - PA

A teacher claims she was left humiliated after being made to apologise to pupils at a private girls' school for calling them girls.

Pupils at the 20,000-a-year school complained and said not everyone in the class identified as female, with one pupil challenging the woman to acknowledge their pronouns.

The philosophy and religious education teacher was forced to say sorry after saying "good afternoon, girls" at the start of the lesson.

Students wrote all their names and pronouns on the board the following day, with one of the children using the pronouns they/them.

They also held a lunchtime protest after she refused to acknowledge their request on usage and said she would need to involve parents if a pupil's preferred pronouns differed from their biological sex, The Mail on Sunday reported.

In an ongoing review into child and adolescent gender dysphoria care last week, the teacher said the problems began in May 2021 after some Year 7 students complained.

It came less than a week after the sixth form's "diversity and inclusion" prefects did an assembly on gender and pronouns.

Students were allegedly shown a video discussing gender identities and sex being assigned at birth.

"I was told that they made placards with slogans such as 'Trans lives matter'," the teacher said.

"Before the end of the week, I was in some sort of disciplinary process and the head of year was telling me I had to apologise to the girls."

The teacher, who asked to remain anonymous to protect the pupils, said she was made to stand to one side as the head of year addressed the pupils saying "no one here would want to hurt you".

Addressing the children on her behalf, the head of year said "I am sorry you're upset", explaining "no one here would want to hurt you" and "you're all really loved by us".

The teacher feels she was then "managed out" by senior staff who refused to extend her one-term contract at the school, which is part of the independent Girls' Day School Trust.

The Telegraph has contacted the trust, which declined to comment to the Mail on Sunday.
With less than a month to go for voting, BJP turncoats have boosted the morale of opposition Congress in Karnataka. The Grand Old Party (GOP) now claims it will sweep the polls scheduled to be held on May 10, and votes counted on May 13. Political observers say following the joining of leaders, such as former Karnataka chief minister Jagdish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi, Congress has started gaining ground in the state at the grassroots level. Every election we have a season of migration that tells us the direction of a party. And leaders joining the Opposition are seeing the writing on the wall that it will form the government, said political analyst Rasheed Kidwai. Shettar has won six times from Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency since 1994 on the BJP mandate. However, he was denied ticket by the BJP centre leadership this time. Read: BJP faces backlash as rebels emerge before polls On April 19, Shettar filed his nomination as a Congress candidate for the first time from his traditional seat Hubballi-Dharwad Central. The Congress has pitted the 67-year-old Lingayat leader against BJPs state general secretary Mahesh Tenginakai. Lingayat vote bank has stood firmly with the BJP in Karnataka. With Shettars and Laxman Savadis exit, Congress has got a shot in the arm. The two senior leaders joining the Congress clearly shows Lingayat is slipping away from the saffron party, Kidwai added. The senior leaders leaving BJP means they are leaving the opportunity of becoming governor, chairman or director of any board that falls under the centre government, and preferring to remain in the state, and that too with the Congress, Kidwai added. Also read: BJP woos dominant castes in Karnataka in effort to retain power Meanwhile, Priyank Kharge, sitting legislator from Chittapur and son of Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, said the party will get more than 150 seats. Joining of senior leaders, popular leaders do set a direction for the voters. Many BJP leaders at the grassroots level have also joined our party. These leaders play an important role in mobilising the voters, he added. To have more impact on the ground, leaders of Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) have told central leaders that assembly election campaign and speeches be focused on state issues. The partys main poll-plank is 40 percent commission and unemployment. Meanwhile, BJPs National President, JP Nadda, who reached Karnataka on April 19, also stepped up the offensive against the Congress. He alleged the Congress means, commission, corruption, and criminalisation. His remarks came while addressing a public meeting in Shiggaon.
Pilot bodies at Tata Group-owned Air India have asked their members not to accept or sign revised terms and conditions days after the management came out with a revamped compensation structure for its flight and cockpit crew, as per a joint communication of the two unions. According to PTI, Air India has unilaterally changed the condition without consulting the pilots and alleged that they are trying to make all senior pilots executive and thus kill the unions. Under the new structure, salaries have been hiked for more than 2,700 pilots across Air India and AIX Connect (including Air Asia India and Air India Express) as well as over 5,600 Air India's cabin crew, as per an April 17 internal circular. Moreover, following the revision, the guaranteed flying allowance component has been doubled from the current 20 hours to 40 hours. However, it remained much lower compared to the pre-pandemic period when Air India pilots were entitled to a guaranteed 70 hours of flying. The two unions  Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and Indian Pilots Guild (IPG), according to the communication on Wednesday, held a joint meeting on April 18 to discuss the issue. "The members expressed their views and anguish on the unfair terms and conditions that are being imposed on the members. The IPG and ICPA committees are in the process of finalising the further course of action, taking into account the member's suggestions," the two unions informed their members in a joint communication on Wednesday. "In the meantime, we would like to reiterate to all members not to accept/ sign the revised terms and conditions," it said. "The new compensation structure for pilots and cabin crew is our endeavour to bring in parity among different groups, encourage productivity and boost emoluments drawn by them. The managerial and supervisory role played by the experienced pilots is also being recognised in the form of designating them as Senior Commander as also offering them a special monthly allowance," an Air India spokesperson said. "The contracts reflecting these enhancements were individually sent to the pilots and cabin crew for the necessary paperwork. A large number of pilots and cabin crew have already accepted the new contracts and the salary improvements and advancement opportunities they enable. The airline will continue to engage with the remainder of its staff through this process as currently there is no recognised union in Air India," the spokesperson further added. "Air India has unilaterally changed the condition without consulting the pilots. They are also trying to make all senior pilots executives and thus kill the unions," a source told PTI. As per the circular, a large number of senior pilots, who have flown for four or more years as commanders, will be promoted to the senior commander rank, giving them instant inclusion into the management cadre with extra allowance for executive duties. It may be noted here that the management or executive pilots can't join a union. With PTI inputs
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the company is committed to "growing and investing" across the country after meeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 19. While thanking the prime minister for the warm welcome, Cook said in a tweet that they share his vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future, right from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment. Dubbing the meeting with the Apple CEO an "absolute delight", PM Modi tweeted: "An absolute delight to meet you, Tim Cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India." An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. https://t.co/hetLIjEQEU  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2023 During his visit to the national capital, Cook also met IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and sought support for building the component ecosystem in the country to further boost manufacturing of its devices apart from support in skilling, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol. Sources said Cook acknowledged the policy stability that the government has provided and will likely help the country play a larger role in the global manufacturing sector. Apple plans to further expand its local manufacturing capabilities to make products beyond its flagship iPhone in the country, they added. In terms of skills, the minister has asked Apple to define their requirements for them to make investments and set up infrastructure in the country, sources said. Earlier this week, Apple announced that it now supports one million developer jobs in the country and the revenue payouts from its App Store payouts to Indian developers have more than tripled since 2018. The company also has an iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru, wherein the company works closely with developers to help improve their apps. The accelerator has hosted sessions for more than 15,000 developers since 2017, it said. Cook is visiting India after nearly seven years to inaugurate Apple's long-awaited stores in Mumbai and Delhi this week, apart from meetings with PM Modi, Vaishnaw, and junior IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar. The Mumbai store, called Apple BKC, opened on April 18 at the Jio World Drive Mall in Mumbai, while the Delhi store, called Apple Saket, is set to open on April 20. These developments come at a time when Apple is betting on India to become a key manufacturing hub in order to diversify its manufacturing capabilities beyond China, thanks in part to incentives provided by the government through its production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones. The company currently manufactures iPhones in India, including the latest iPhone 14, through contract manufacturers such as Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron, with plans to manufacture other products such as its wireless headphones AirPods in the country. Apple clocked iPhone exports of about $5 billion-$5.5 billion from India in FY23, accounting for nearly half of the country's mobile phone exports, according to estimates from industry sources. The Cupertino tech giant captured 25 percent of 'Made in India' smartphone shipments in terms of value in 2022, as compared to 12 percent in 2021, as per Counterpoint Research. The company's Made in India shipments grew by 65 percent year-on-year (YoY) by volume and 162 percent YoY by value in 2022, it said. Apples partners Foxconn and Wistron were the fastest growing manufacturers among the top 10 in Q4 2022, fuelled by increasing exports from Apple, the report added. Apple's work with Indian suppliers of all sizes supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, the company stated on April 18.
Minister of State in Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar on April 19 met Apple CEO Tim Cook and discussed various topics including exports, job creation and 'broadening manufacturing'. In a tweet, Chandrasekhar said, "It was a delight to meet @tim_cook CEO, @Apple and his team to engage on Apples strategic and long-term partnership with and in Indias digital journey." "We discussed deepening and broadening manufacturing, exports, skilling of youth, expanding app n innovation economy and job creation," the tweet added. The minister also spoke about the government's goal of deepening the country's electronics ecosystem and invited Cook to grow apps and take up research and development in the country. Earlier in the day, Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi wherein he said that the company is committed to "growing and investing" across the country. During his visit to the national capital, Cook also met IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and sought support for building the component ecosystem in the country to further boost manufacturing of its devices apart from support in skilling, people familiar with the matter told Moneycontrol. Earlier this week, Apple announced that it now supports one million developer jobs in the country and the revenue payouts from its App Store payouts to Indian developers have more than tripled since 2018. The company also has an iOS App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru, which helps developers to help improve their apps. Since 2017, the accelerator has hosted sessions for more than 15,000 developers. The Apple CEO visited India after nearly seven years to inaugurate the company's long-awaited stores in Mumbai and Delhi this week, apart from meetings with PM Modi, Vaishnaw and Chandrasekhar. The Mumbai store, called Apple BKC, opened on April 18 at the Jio World Drive Mall, while the Delhi store, called Apple Saket, will be opened on April 20. These developments come at a time when Apple is betting on India as a key manufacturing hub in order to diversify its manufacturing capabilities beyond China, thanks in part to incentives provided by the government through its production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for smartphones. The company currently manufactures iPhones in India, including the latest iPhone 14, through contract manufacturers such as Foxconn, Wistron, and Pegatron, with plans to manufacture other products such as its wireless headphones AirPods in the country. Apple clocked iPhone exports of about $5 billion-$5.5 billion from India in FY23, accounting for nearly half of the country's mobile phone exports, according to estimates from industry sources. The Cupertino tech giant captured 25 percent of 'Made in India' smartphone shipments in terms of value in 2022, as compared to 12 percent in 2021, as per Counterpoint Research. The company's Made in India shipments grew by 65 percent year-on-year (YoY) by volume and 162 percent YoY by value in 2022, it said. Apples partners Foxconn and Wistron were the fastest growing manufacturers among the top 10 in Q4 2022, fuelled by increasing exports from Apple, the report added. Apple's work with Indian suppliers of all sizes supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country, the company stated on April 18.
Although Delhi buys more iPhones than Mumbai, the Apple Store in the national capital is a poorer cousin of the one in the financial hub. As Apple took the wraps off its retail store in Delhi's Select City Walk Mall on April 19 for a media preview, journalists and tech influencers swarmed the entrance of the store. But, those who expected a similar razzmataz as Mumbai were left visibly disappointed. The store is set to open for customers on April 20. Estimated to be around 8,400 square feet in carpet area, the Delhi store is just more than a third of the over 20,000 square feet and multi-floored store in Mumbai. Yet, the Select City Mall store lords over its peers in the shopping complex, where most of the outlets are 1,500-2,000 square feet in size. Read: Apple BKC store opens in Mumbai, signaling the iPhone maker's growing India ambitions Apple Saket will have more than 70 team members, who come from a combined 18 states across India and collectively speak more than 15 languages, the company said. Were thrilled to bring the best of Apple to our customers in Delhi with the opening of our second store in India, Apple Saket, said Deirdre OBrien, Apples Senior Vice-President of Retail. Our incredible team members look forward to connecting with the local community and helping them find new ways to pursue their passions and unleash their creativity through our amazing products and services. What's in store? The store opens through a uniquely designed curved storefront with white oak tables that display Apples products and accessories, as well as a feature wall manufactured in the country. The company said the store is designed with materials sourced from the region, including the tables and wood feature wall. It also runs on 100 percent renewable energy and is carbon neutral. Similar to the Mumbai store, Apple Saket also offers a dedicated Apple Pickup station that will enable customers to place an order online and pick up products from the physical store. The store will also feature a Genius Bar to provide hands-on technical and hardware support. Customers can make a reservation to get help from an expert on a range of things including setting up a device, recovering an Apple ID, selecting an AppleCare plan, or modifying their Apple subscriptions. The opening of these stores signals the iPhone maker's growing ambitions in the world's second-largest smartphone market, which has grown in importance for the company in terms of both sales and manufacturing capabilities in recent years. Also Read: Tim Cook opens Apples first India store to the beat of dhols Apple said last week that the launch of new stores marks a significant expansion of its operations in the country that will allow customers new ways to browse, discover, and buy the company's products with "exceptional" service and experiences. Apple Chief Executive Tim Cook is also visiting the country after nearly seven years to inaugurate these outlets. During his India trip, Cook is expected to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar. On April 17, he met India's top business minds, including Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran. Also Read: Apples first India store 'Apple BKC' will be one of its most sustainable in the world Cook's visit to India comes at a time when Apple has clocked record revenue growth in terms of iPhone sales in India in recent quarters. Apple's sales in India are reported to have jumped to nearly $6 billion in FY23 from $4 billion in FY22. The company is also doubling down on India to become a key global manufacturing hub amid plans to diversify manufacturing beyond China. Apple exported about $5-$5.5 billion worth of iPhones from India in FY23, accounting for nearly half of the country's mobile phone exports, according to industry estimates.
Cognizant will give its employees up to the Associate Director level a pay hike six months ahead of schedule, making this the third such raise in 18 months. This comes as the company tries to arrest soaring attrition levels, which has been a pain point for the company. Attrition declined from 35 percent to 25 percent in Q4FY22, with involuntary attrition at 6 percent. In an email to employees, a copy of which Moneycontrol has seen, Chief Executive Officer Ravi Kumar S said that employees will receive their letters this week. Keep in mind that we advanced this merit increase to be six months earlier in the year, following year-end performance reviews. This means many of you are seeing your third merit increase in 18 months, it read. He added that combined with the hikes given to those in director positions and above in January, over 3 lakh people are getting a hike. Combined with the merit increases eligible Directors and above received in January, Cognizant is awarding more than 300,000 associates a merit increase this year. Over the past couple of years, weve invested significantly more in compensation than we have in recent history because of how valuable you, our associates, are to Cognizants success, Kumar said in his email. He added that the company will provide continuous training, upskilling, and professional development. Cognizant confirmed the development to Moneycontrol. This is part of the companys one-time two-merit cycle hike, which it communicated to employees last year. The company had previously said that employees would receive hikes in October 2022 and then in April 2023. On improved attrition, CFO Jan Siegmund told analysts last quarter that the company was in the direction of becoming a more attractive employer, and that the labour market dynamic had shifted as well.
U.S. lawmakers have accused embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse of limiting the scope of an internal investigation into Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts, including some open that were until just a few years ago. The Senate Budget Committee says an independent ombudsman initially brought in by the bank to oversee the probe was inexplicably terminated as he carried out his work, and it faulted incomplete reports that were hindered by restrictions. Credit Suisse said it was fully cooperating with the committee's inquiry but rejected some claims from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group, that brought to light in 2020 allegations of possible Nazi-linked accounts at Switzerland's second-largest bank. Despite the hurdles, the reports from the ombudsman and forensic research team revealed at least 99 accounts for senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of a Nazi-affliliated groups in Argentina, most of which were not previously disclosed, the committee said Tuesday. The reports raise new questions about the banks potential support for Nazis fleeing justice following World War II via so-called Ratlines, the committee said, referring to a network of escape routes used by Nazis after the war. The committee said Credit Suisse has pledged to continue its own investigation into remaining unanswered questions. When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned. Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican member of the budget panel. Its removal of an Independent Ombudsperson and insistence on redacting portions of his report as well as its initial refusal to pursue leads on accounts that may be associated with Nazi ratlines is no way to conduct a thorough and complete investigation, he said. Credit Suisse launched the internal investigation after the Simon Wiesenthal Center said it had information that the bank held potential Nazi-linked accounts that had not previously been revealed, including during a series of Holocaust-related investigations of the 1990s. Late that decade, Swiss banks agreed to pay some $1.25 billion to Nazi victims and their families who accused the banks of stealing, hiding or sending to the Nazis hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Jewish holdings. The bank said its two-year investigation into the questions raised by the Simon Wiesenthal Center found no evidence to support the allegations that many people on an Argentine list of 12,000 names had accounts at Schweizerische Kreditanstalt  the predecessor of Credit Suisse  during the Nazi era. It said the investigation fundamentally confirms existing research on Credit Suisses history published in the context of the 1999 Global Settlement that provided binding closure for the Swiss banks regarding all issues relating to World War II. The latest findings come soon after Credit Suisse, a pillar of Swiss banking whose origins date to 1856, was rescued in a government-orchestrated takeover by rival lender UBS. The emergency action last month came after years of stock price declines, a string of scandals and the flight of depositors worried about Credit Suisse's future amid global financial turmoil stirred by the collapse of two U.S. banks.
Indias crisis-ridden cooperative banks continue to face the wrath of the regulator, which cancelled the license of eight and imposed monetary penalties 114 times on wrongdoers in FY 2023, a Moneycontrol analysis showed. Cooperative banks, which have played a critical role in extending banking services in villages and semi-rural areas, have been dealing with a range of issues from dual regulation and weak finances to interference by local politicians. The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has been clamping down on errant cooperative banks. Moneycontrol looks at some cooperative banks that faced a crackdown in FY23. License cancellations The banks whose permits were cancelled by the RBI in FY 2023 were Mudhol Cooperative Bank, Millath Cooperative Bank, Shri Anand Cooperative Bank, Rupee Cooperative Bank, Deccan Urban Cooperative Bank, Laxmi Cooperative Bank, Seva Vikas Cooperative Bank and Babaji Date Mahila Urban Bank. Reasons for cancellation varied from inadequate capital to failure to comply with legal regulations under the Banking Regulation Act and lack of earning prospects in the future. Also read: RBI cancels licences of 12 cooperative banks in 2022; will 2023 be a better year? The regulator has been keeping a watchful eye on the cooperative banking sector for many years. In 2022, the central bank cancelled the license of 12 banks. A year before that, in 2021, RBI cancelled the license of three banks. In 2020, two cooperative banks were told to shut shop. Monetary penalties RBI imposed monetary penalties citing violations in several cases with the amount ranging from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh. These banks have been charged with a range of offences from not paying interest on balance amounts lying in current accounts of deceased individual depositors to violation of Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, entering One Time Settlements without prior written permission of RBI and violation of other banking norms. Generally, before a cooperative bank is told to shut shop, the central bank gives them warnings through multiple penalties. But in cases where the regulator sees the bank has been repetitive in violating a regulation, it is given a suspension. When the regulator penalizes a bank, it is doing so with a motive of highlighting the issues in the operations of the bank as cooperative banks can have a large impact as they are spread across the country. serving in almost every state, said Mudit Verma, director of the National Federation of Urban Cooperative Banks and Credit Societies (NAFCUB). Also read: The last frontier for financial sector reforms: Cooperative Banks What happens after license cancellation? Once the central bank revokes the permit, the cooperative bank has to immediately stop taking fresh business from the declared date and initiate a winding-up process including returning depositors money. Bank deposits under Rs 5 lakh are covered under the deposit insurance cover. Simultaneously, the bank follows the process of communicating the details of its case to the central or state registrar, who later appoints an administrator or a liquidator to oversee the winding-up process. A senior management executive of a cooperative bank, who did not wish to be named, explained that the banks also have to work on transferring existing advances to some other bank. The cooperative bank transfers the existing advances (loans) account to some other bank which then manages the account and the assets. A due diligence process is followed in this transfer of accounts by the bank which absorbs these accounts, the executive said. Governance issues But why is the regulator clamping down on cooperative banks in such a big way? Because cooperative banks tend to suffer corporate governance issues and dual regulation by RBI and the state government, the central bank has been tightening its grip on these banks. There exists a lack of clarity between the RBI and the government on who oversees them. This confusion has contributed to the present plight of the cooperative banking industry. Also read: Over 100 RBI directives on co-operative banks so far in 2021, three licences cancelled; how deep is the mess? Alongside dual regulation, a trust deficit with customers, most of whom belong to the middle class, is developing against cooperative banks. The trigger was the collapse of the Punjab Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC) in 2019. The performers There are examples, too, experts said, of cooperative banks performing well. Take the example of Saraswat Cooperative Bank. The over-century-old institution has assets under management (AUM) of over Rs 75,000 crore, bigger than some Small Finance Banks (SFBs). In 2021, Shivalik Mercantile Cooperative Bank became India's first urban cooperative bank (UCB) to transition to an SFB after it procured a commercial banking license from RBI. Going ahead, cooperative banks have the opportunity to work in competition with SFBs and improve their operations. In India, which is an underfinanced country, the cooperative banks still have a big role to play in facilitating financial inclusion, especially in rural and semi-rural areas, said Nandkishor Desai, a retired banker. Verma said that if the regulator wants to bring change in the cooperative banking space, it needs to look in-depth for the answers. The regulator can send more manual support to help cooperative banks advance in operations and other services, Verma said.
Gibran Huzaifah Amsi El Farizy, now a popular name in the start-up world, began his fish-rearing business as a college student. By the time he graduated, he was managing 76 ponds. Now at the age of 33, he runs eFishery, an Indonesia-based startup which develops products like automatic feeders that help farmers involved In the seafood business to save costs whilst improving productivity. His agritech startup, backed by investors including SoftBank Group Corp and Temasek Holdings Pte, is set to score about $100 million in fresh funding, according to people familiar with the matter. Negotiations are ongoing and the size of the round could still change. The idea was brought to life solely when Farizy was attending an aquaculture class in his third year at Bandung Institute of Technology in Indonesia. My professor mentioned that over the next five to 10 years, five-star hotels and restaurants will [serve] fish or catfish, whether you are taking part in it or not, he mentioned to CNBC Make it. It is then that he shifted his path to catfish rearing. Soon after, Farizy went ahead and rented his first catfish pond in order to supplement his income. The profit he made from selling catch to middlemen did not suffice, due to which he began selling catfish fillet as well as fish and nuggets which he sold via a food cart at his university. I tried to create my own demand by having a value-added product, Farizy said. He also stated that he skipped his classes to operate his business in the university, which led him to grow up to seven food carts. Post the breeding of catfish, he realised that feeding costs which were substantial consisted of 70 to 90 percent of the total costs. He then built a prototype for an automatic feeder in 2012, that eliminated feeding costs by 28 percent. What many companies got wrong is that they never focused on the unit economics since day one, Farizy told CNBC. The automatic feeders went on profit sales from the very beginning. Farizy claims that eFishery has been a success from the start. "We dont burn cash unnecessarily, he said, adding that his firm is very prudent with its expenditure. Cash burn essentially means the spending of cash reserves by a company when it is not even generating any profit yet. Farizy says that he does not believe in customers using their products for free, a step that many startups take in the beginning to expand their customer base. We didnt sell the feeders for free. We sold them at a markup of our cost, he stated. I remember vividly that we tried to provide the feeder for free. Even if we tried to pay farmers to use it, they didnt want to use it simply because they have been farming for 20 years to 30 years, and they are not convinced to use this technology, said Farizy. His big break took place when a farmer owning 1,000 ponds asked eFishery to install multiple feeders in some of his ponds. Today, eFishery serves close to 60,000 farmers and about 280,000 ponds, making it one of the largest startups in the industry.
Private equity firm ChrysCapital-backed Mankind Pharma, the maker of top-selling condom brand Manforce Condoms, has set the shares price band for its initial public offering at Rs 1,026-1,080 per share, valuing the company at Rs 43,264 crore at the top end of the band. The Delhi-based firm earlier said that its IPO will open for subscription on April 25 and close on April 27. The anchor bidding will start on April 24. Equity shares will be credited on May 8 and the stock will be listed on exchanges on May 9. At the upper band of the price range, the firm plans to raise as much as Rs 4,326.36 crore. The IPO consists of a pure offer for sale of upto 40.06 million shares by its existing shareholders and promoters. The OFS comprises about 3.71 million shares by Ramesh Juneja, 3.51 million shares by Rajeev Juneja, 2.80 million shares by Sheetal Arora, 17.41 million by Cairnhill CIPEF Ltd, 2.62 million shares by Cairnhill CGPE Ltd, 9.96 million shares by Beige Ltd, and 50,000 shares by Link Investment Trust. Also read: Avalon Tech makes a tepid debut. Should you buy, sell or hold the stock? Mankind Pharma, which manufactures the popular condom brand Manforce Condoms, pregnancy test kit Prega News, and emergency contraceptive brand Unwanted-72, is supported by private equity firm Chrys Capital and Capital International. Ramesh Juneja founded the company, which became a fully integrated pharmaceutical company in 1995. It develops, manufactures, and markets a diverse range of pharmaceutical formulations across various acute and chronic therapeutic areas, as well as a range of consumer healthcare products. Mankind Pharma has a strong focus on the domestic market, with revenue from operations in India accounting for 97.60 percent of its total revenue in the financial year 2022. The company has developed 36 brands in the pharmaceutical business and boasts one of the largest networks of medical representatives in the Indian pharmaceutical market. Apart from its popular Manforce Condoms, Prega News, and Unwanted-72 brands, Mankind Pharma has also established a range of consumer healthcare brands in categories such as antacid powders (Gas-O-Fast), vitamin and mineral supplements (Health OK brand), and anti-acne preparations (AcneStar brand), among others. Kotak Mahindra Capital, Jefferies, IIFL Capital, Axis Capital, and JP Morgan are the lead managers to the IPO. Meanwhile, Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas, AZB & Partners, and Sidley Austin are the law firms involved in the deal.
A health worker collects a swab sample for COVID-19 test on April 15 in Noida, India. (Getty Images)

Theres a new variant of the coronavirus that infectious disease experts and public health officials are keeping a close eye on. XBB.1.16, also known as Arcturus, is an Omicron subvariant that appears to be more transmissible and has fueled a recent surge of COVID-19 cases in India. While the variant is circulating at low levels in the U.S., health officials are closely monitoring it.

The World Health Organization warned about XBB.1.16 last month and labeled it a variant of monitoring, a designation that isnt as serious as a variant of interest. However, that status could change if the variant shows signs of increased transmissibility or virulence, or is able to evade antibodies, the WHO noted.

XBB.1.16 has now been detected in at least 29 countries, including the U.S. and it is expanding its reach fairly quickly. In late February, XBB.1.16 accounted for only 0.21% of all COVID-19 cases worldwide. A month later, that had increased to 3.96%, according to the WHOs latest figures.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention began reporting cases of XBB.1.16 last Friday. According to the latest CDC data, the variant now accounts for 7% of new COVID-19 cases nationwide.

Heres what to know about Arcturus, or XBB.1.16

What is XBB.1.16? Is it more dangerous?

XBB.1.16 is a sublineage of the Omicron variant thats similar to XBB.1.5, the strain that has dominated infections in the U.S. since January. But XBB.1.16, the WHO noted, has a mutation in the viruss spike protein that has been associated with increased transmissibility and potentially a higher degree of infection. However, some experts have said that while it looks like it could spread more quickly and lead to more cases, it doesnt appear to cause more severe disease.

In India, the variant has led to a surge in COVID-19 cases in recent weeks. On Tuesday, India's Health Ministry reported 61,233 COVID-19 cases, which is a notable increase from the 15,208 cases that were reported on March 31. However, hospitalizations have not surged significantly.

Story continues

I doubt it will lead to too many new hospitalizations or deaths, Dr. Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist and a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, told Yahoo News. I was just in India. ... There was an increase in cases but not an increase in hospitalizations, she added.

Gandhi explained that the coronavirus wont be fully eradicated, so it will continue to evolve and new forms of it will continue to emerge. However, she said new variants won't necessarily become more dangerous. She added that most of the population has immunity from either the vaccines, infection, or both, and that will continue to protect most individuals against the worst outcomes of the disease.

I think this is where we are. We're gonna have to live with this [virus] and we're going to see cases go up and down if we get a new subvariant that's more transmissible, but hopefully, it will not lead to an increase in severe disease, Gandhi said.

Does the new variant cause different symptoms?

On Tuesday, the FDA authorized a second dose of the bivalent booster for seniors and immunocompromised people. (Getty Images)

According to anecdotal reports coming from India and other parts of the world, including the U.S., XBB.1.16 may cause a new COVID-19 symptom not seen with previous coronavirus strains. Some doctors have said the new variant seems to be causing conjunctivitis, often called pink eye, in children and adolescents.

In a recent tweet, Vipin M. Vashishtha, an Indian pediatrician who is also a member of the WHO's Vaccine Safety Net program, said he had started to get pediatric COVID-19 cases again, and more children who are sick with XBB.1.16 are experiencing itchy conjunctivitis with sticky eyes.

The Mayo Clinic also reported on Thursday that experts are seeing the same eye symptoms in young patients who are sick with COVID-19.

Dr. Michael Chang, a pediatric infectious diseases expert at UTHealth Houston and Children's Memorial Hermann Hospital, told Yahoo News that many things can cause pink eye. He said that at the moment theres not enough evidence to say that the new COVID variant is causing conjunctivitis in children.

We don't have the context of whether they're seeing that in some of the regions in India. We know their COVID cases are going up, and presumably, these kids are testing positive for COVID, but we don't know if they're testing positive for anything else either, Chang said.

He explained that other viruses can cause conjunctivitis. Adenovirus, which can cause a mild cold or flu-like illness and can be easily confused with COVID-19, is one of them. Cases of adenovirus tend to increase in the spring and summer, and Chang said doctors in the U.S. are seeing more of it these days.

We are seeing adenovirus circulating, so even if COVID cases go up, unless you're doing testing for both COVID and adenovirus, which most people aren't  it may be difficult [to determine] what's causing your pink eye.

Are our COVID-19 vaccines effective against XBB.1.16?

Some doctors say XBB.1.16 may be causing a new symptom among children: conjunctivitis. (Getty Images)

When a new variant of the coronavirus emerges, one concern that arises is whether our current vaccines will protect us against that strain.

It is too early to know how well the COVID-19 vaccines neutralize XBB.1.16. However, some experts believe the shots should remain effective at preventing severe illness and death, even if XBB.1.16 is found to be able to evade antibodies from vaccines. Gandhi explained that this is because, aside from antibodies, there are other parts of the immune system that are activated with vaccination and infection, such as B cells and T cells, which can also offer long-lasting protection against the virus.

Although theres no reason to be concerned right now, Gandhi said that whenever theres a new, more transmissible variant, people who are older and those who are immunocompromised are at the highest risk for complications. She urged those groups to stay up to date with vaccination, particularly getting the bivalent booster if they havent received it yet.

If you're in an older or vulnerable group, if you are someone who is over 65 or on immunosuppressants or have multiple comorbidities, just go out and get a booster, she said.

On Tuesday, the FDA authorized a second dose of the bivalent COVID-19 vaccine for seniors and immunocompromised people. The CDCs Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices  a group of outside experts who advise the agency on vaccines  is scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss the strategy. If these experts recommend the shots, CDC Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky is likely to sign off on their use and they could become available as early as this week.

Cover thumbnail photo: Getty Images
Shares of BEML Land Assets was trading 5 percent lower on Wednesday as the parent BEML listed its demerged non-core business entity on the bourses today. The shares had surged more than 4 percent intraday on Tuesday, a day ahead of the listing. The stock made a debut at Rs 290.20 on the BSE while it listed at Rs 287 on the NSE on April 19. The large expectation was that BEML Land Assets would be listed at around Rs 300 apiece. At 10:44am, shares of BEML Land Assets fell 5 percent to Rs 275.70 on the BSE, while BEML shares were down 0.6 percent at Rs 1,239.50. BEML in October 2022 demerged its non-core businesses into BEML Land Assets Ltd. The main assets of the demerged entity will reportedly be some total 550 acre of prime land in Bangalore and Mysore. Catch up on all LIVE stock market updates here The demerger was to specify the value of its core business  manufacturing heavy equipment like earth movers and defence equipment  and fixed assets separately, which would clear the way for privatisation. As per the demerger proposal, BEML shareholders will receive shares in BEML Land Assets Ltd in the 1:1 ratio. The expectation is that the disinvestment process will begin now that the demerged entity is listed. The government seeks strategic divestment of 26 percent post BEML demerger process of non-core assets.

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The market continued to languish for the third day in a row on April 19, as selling continued amid weak earnings. Some sectors did see buying, keeping the drawdown in check. At 11 am, the benchmark Nifty index was down 0.09 percent at 17,644. Analysts and traders are maintaining a cautious stance on an intraday basis. It is a sell-on-rise market, said Santosh Pasi, a derivatives trader and an investment adviser. He said every rise would be sold and traders should align their strategy accordingly. The options data shows traders have employed the Straddle strategy at strikes around 17,650. This means they have either bought or sold both put and call at these strikes. The strategy makes money when the Nifty does not move in any direction. Shijumon Antony, a Kochi-based trader who trades mostly in Bank Nifty, said he expects a range-bound day with little positive bias. Catch all the market action on our live blog Among individual stocks, ICICI General Insurance, which came out with its earnings, was under intense bear pressure. Traders were also seen shorting Marico, LTIMindtree, RBL Bank and Infosys. Also read: Comparisons between 2008 financial crisis and SVB collapse superficial, says Howard Marks On the other hand, bulls piled on TVS Motor, Jindal Steel, Dixon Technologies and Nalco. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions.
When things go badly, people become cautious. Their caution causes things to go well, and when things go well, they become incautious. That's a forever cycle. - Howard Marks Foreign funds have turned net sellers since the last couple of trading sessions, but that does not appear to be a big worry at the moment. Midcap stocks continued to do well in a bearish market for the second day in a row, indicating that wealthy investors have begun sniffing around for bargains, or maybe, looking to average their losses in the hope that things will get better shortly. Tata Chemicals Till October last year, Tata Chemicals was a story about soda ash prices continuing to rise steadily in the foreseeable future. That narrative has come under a cloud. On Monday, the company cut prices by 3-4 percent in response to continuously falling soda ash prices in China. Reports suggest huge capacity addition of soda ash in Inner Mongolia from May 2023. Kotak Institutional Equities expects Tata Chemicals Q4 numbers to be strong but is not so sure about the second half of 2023. After a blowout performance in the June quarter of last year, Tata Chemicals quarterly net profit and gross operating margins have fallen two quarters in a row. Add to that concerns of oversupply, the rerating story may have run its course for the time being. Lupin The stock was the biggest gainer in the pharma pack on Monday, surging 6 percent on massive trading volumes. Bulls enthusiasm is surprising considering that the company is still grappling with issues at its Pithampur plant following the observations by the US FDA. Brokerage firm Nuvama has said that three of the ten observations were serious and another three moderately serious. It expects the US regulator to issue an Official Action Indicated (OAI) classification shortly , which means that violations found during the inspection are serious enough to compromise the safety, efficacy, or quality of products manufactured there. Of the market is betting that the company may shortly have some good news on the launch of the generic version of anti-asthma drug Spiriva. Can that move the needle for the stock? The generic will make a big difference to the company's earnings, but the market already seems to have factored it, Vibha Ravi, senior editor, Citeline, told Short Call. During the last earnings call, the management had said the target action date should be in April minus an inspection and July if it is conducted. Lupin has first to file status for generic Spiriva and the drug was to be launched by 31 March this year but a Complete Response Letter from FDA delayed it. TTK Healthcare The stock has been on a tear since mid-March, climbing 34 percent. Sunil Singhania-run Abakkus picking up 2.46 lakh shares on March 24 appears to have got many HNI traders interested in the stock. Two weeks later the company said it was thinking of delisting its shares, and yesterday it fixed April 20 as the date for considering the proposal. Why? The company says its long term its long-term plan includes portfolio restructuring, new products and businesses with different risks and funding needs, and does not want to subject public shareholders to uncertainties. The stock has been flat since the company first signalled its intent to delist on April 6. Given low liquidity, it is not an easy stock to get out. Those who jumped in hoping for a quick profit would now be hoping that the discovered delisting price is at a significant premium to their acquisition price. But they need not lose heart. In the past, companies like Blue Dart Express and Allcargo Logistics announced delisting plans, but never got around to doing it. A more recent example is Vedanta, which by the way has been trying to shake off public shareholders for a couple of decades now. Crude dynamics Four major oil exchange traded funds have seen the longest run of outflows in eight months, with $211 million withdrawn last week alone, reports oilprice.com. Market is divided on whether the outflows are part of routine profit taking or reflect a lack of confidence in crude prices sustaining at higher levels. A section of analysts feel that OPEC may have been compelled to cut prices as it sees demand weakening going ahead. Lithium rush Argentina exported $233 million worth of lithium in the March quarter, 133 percent more than what it exported during the same period last year, reports mining.com. Top destinations were China (31 percent), Japan (31 percent), US (13 percent) and South Korea (12 percent), the report said. Australia, Chile and China have roughly 90 percent of the worlds lithium stores, with Australia accounting for around 50 percent of global production. Lithium prices have halved in over the last five months, but production has soared as demand for electric vehicles continues to rise. EV battery wars Indonesia is urging Volkswagen AG to invest in its electric vehicle industry to counter the dominance of Chinese companies over its nickel reserves, reports Bloomberg. Why? Indonesian) President Joko Widodos vision of building an endto-end EV supply chain onshore is starting to take shape with billions of dollars in investments pouring in to turn the countrys nickel riches into batteries. But the industry is dominated by Chinese companies that have moved quickly to put in the funds and the technology needed to unlock the reserves, placing Indonesian products at risk of being left out of US and European markets.
The selling pressure in the equity markets continued for the third day in a row but the trading range gradually narrowed on April 19 with the Nifty50 taking support at the 17,600 mark as well as 200-day moving average (DMA), ahead of the weekly expiry on April 20. The index settled at 17,619, down 41.40 points and formed a bearish candle on the daily scale with small upper and lower shadows, indicating a rangebound and volatile session. The BSE Sensex was down 159 points at 59,568. The Nifty Midcap 100 and Smallcap 100 indices also closed in red with moderate losses after breaking a seven-day winning streak and eleven-day gains respectively. "On the lower end, the Nifty found support at the 200DMA for the second time in the last three days, pointing towards the importance of the said support," Rupak De, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said. He believes that a decisive fall below the 200DMA (17,587) may trigger the panic button. In that case, the Nifty might fall towards the 17,400 level, where the next level of support lies, he said. The momentum indicator is indicating weakness with its bearish crossover on the daily timeframe. Therefore, the near-term trend looks negative, while the short-term set-up remains a buy on dips until the Nifty falls below 17,400 decisively, the market expert said. We have collated 15 data points to help you spot profitable trades: Note: The open interest (OI) and volume data of stocks in this article are the aggregates of three-month data and not just the current month. Key support and resistance levels on Nifty The pivot charts indicate that the Nifty may get support at 17,589, followed by 17,568 and 17,535. If the index advances, 17,655 is the initial key resistance level to watch out for, followed by 17,675 and 17,708. Nifty Bank The Bank Nifty also traded lower, falling 111 points to 42,154 and forming a bearish candlestick pattern on the daily scale. The index still remained within the trading range of Monday's session, ahead of its weekly expiry on Thursday. "The options data suggests support at 42,000 and resistance at 42,500 where Put and Call writing respectively are visible. The undertone remains bullish as long as the index holds the support of 42,000 on the downside," Kunal Shah, Senior Technical Analyst at LKP Securities said. As per the pivot point calculator, the Bank Nifty may take support at 42,051, followed by 41,976 and 41,854. Key resistance levels are expected to be 42,293, along with 42,368 and 42,490. Call options data On the weekly options front, the maximum Call open interest (OI) was at 17,700 strike, with 1.47 crore contracts, which is expected to be a crucial level for the Nifty in the coming sessions. This was followed by 17,800 strike, comprising 1.3 crore contracts, and 18,000 strike, with more than 1.07 crore contracts. Call writing was seen at 17,600 strike, which added 30.29 lakh contracts, followed by 17,700 strike, which accumulated 19.64 lakh contracts, and 17,800 strike which added 17.77 lakh contracts. Call unwinding was at 18,300 strike, which shed 10.97 lakh contracts, followed by 18,600 strike which shed 10.55 lakh contracts, and 18,700 strike, which shed 8.08 lakh contracts. Put option data The maximum Put open interest was at 17,500 strike with 87.88 lakh contracts, which is expected to act as support in the coming sessions. This was followed by the 17,600 strike, comprising 74.90 lakh contracts, and the 17,400 strike where there were 71.3 lakh contracts. Put writing was seen at 17,500 strike, which added 26.71 lakh contracts, followed by 17,400 strike, which added 18.3 lakh contracts, and 17,600 strike, which added 17.52 lakh contracts. We have seen Put unwinding at 17,800 strike, which shed 9.96 lakh contracts, followed by 17,700 strike, which shed 6.76 lakh contracts, and 16,500 strike, which shed 2.21 lakh contracts. Stocks with a high delivery percentage A high delivery percentage suggests that investors are showing interest in the stock. The highest delivery was seen in Alkem Laboratories, Crompton Greaves Consumer Electricals, Ipca Laboratories, ICICI Prudential Life Insurance, and NTPC, among others. 38 stocks see a long build-up An increase in open interest (OI) and price typically indicates a build-up of long positions. Based on the OI percentage, 38 stocks, including Divis Laboratories, Eicher Motors, Polycab India, Bajaj Auto, and Navin Fluorine International, saw long build-ups. 35 stocks see long unwinding A decline in OI and price generally indicates a long unwinding. Based on the OI percentage, 35 stocks, including Persistent Systems, Indraprastha Gas, Mahanagar Gas, PI Industries, and Delta Corp, saw a long unwinding. 92 stocks see a short build-up An increase in OI along with a price decrease indicates a build-up of short positions. Based on the OI percentage, 92 stocks, including Whirlpool, Tata Communications, Atul, ICICI Lombard General Insurance Company, and Ramco Cements, saw a short buildup. 26 stocks see short-covering A decrease in OI along with a price increase is an indication of short-covering. Based on the OI percentage, 26 stocks were on the short-covering list. These included Hindustan Petroleum Corporation, Balrampur Chini Mills, Escorts, Glenmark Pharma, and Cholamandalam Investment & Finance. Bulk deals (For more bulk deals, click here) Results on April 20 Stocks in the news ICICI Securities: The company has reported a 22.8 percent year-on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 262.7 crore for the quarter ended March FY23, impacted by weak topline as well as operating performance. Consolidated revenue for the quarter dropped 0.77 percent to Rs 885 crore compared to the year-ago period, dented by lower fees and commission income. Mastek: The IT services company has recorded a 13.07 percent sequential growth in consolidated profit at Rs 72.6 crore for March FY23 quarter, driven by growth in topline and operating income. Revenue for the quarter grew by 7.7 percent QoQ to Rs 709.2 crore with growth across operations. Tata Communications: The company has registered a 10.7 percent year-on-year decline in consolidated profit at Rs 326 crore for Q4FY23, dented by lower other income and weak operating performance. Revenue for the quarter grew by 7.2 percent YoY to Rs 4,569 crore, driven by the data services business. However, voice solutions reported weak performance. Emkay Global Financial Services: The financial services company has received in-principle approval from the regulator Sebi for sponsoring a mutual fund. UltraTech Cement: The cement major has announced an increase in the capacity of its grinding unit at Patliputra, Bihar to 4.7 mtpa with the successful commissioning of its 2.2 mtpa brownfield expansion. Its total grey cement manufacturing capacity in India now stands at 129.15 mtpa. Equitas Small Finance Bank: The Reserve Bank of India has granted Authorized Dealer Category-I (AD-I) licence to Equitas to deal in foreign exchange. Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone: The company on April 22 will consider first and a partial buyback of its debt securities, either denominated in INR or USD, in the current financial year, subject to market conditions. Fund Flow FII and DII data Foreign institutional investors (FII) sold shares worth Rs 13.17 crore, while domestic institutional investors (DII) offloaded shares worth Rs 110.42 crore on April 19, National Stock Exchange's provisional data showed. Stocks under F&O ban on NSE The National Stock Exchange has not added any stock to its F&O ban list for April 20. Securities in the ban period under the F&O segment include companies in which the security has crossed 95 percent of the market-wide position limit. Disclaimer: The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Disclaimer: MoneyControl is a part of the Network18 group. Network18 is controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.
Tight scrutiny by the drug regulator FDA and pricing pressures in the US market have made this an opportune time for Mankind Pharma to launch its initial public offering. Mankind Pharma's domestic sales stand at 97 percent, unlike its listed peers that derive more than 40 percent of their topline from the US generics market. "We began our journey from Meerut and our focus will continue to be Bharat," Rajiv Juneja, vice chairman and managing director at Mankind Pharma said in a press conference. The company aims to increase its penetration in metro and class 1 cities, which currently contribute 53 percent to sales. Mankind Pharma's IPO, a pure offer for sale, opens on April 25 and closes on April 27. The pharmaceutical company has fixed price band for its IPO at Rs 1,026-1,080 per share. Also Read: Mankind Pharma counts Dabur as its peers. Are the two truly comparable? The company has zero debt and is cash-rich, said the management in the press conference. However, the red herring prospectus shows debt of ~Rs 167 crore as of December 2022 end against Rs 870 crore as of March 2022. Its cash and cash equivalent in the nine-month period ended December 2022 stood at Rs 293.4 crore. So the money raised from IPO is simply to give an exit to existing investors and not business purposes. That said, the management did share some key strategies for the company going ahead. "We are looking to increase our covered market presence by growing our chronic portfolio. Currently, this contributes to 34 percent of the pharma division's sales," said Juneja. Mankind's consumer healthcare segment, which houses Manforce Condoms and Prega News, will also be ramped up. "Manforce already has a 30 percent market share, so people ask us what's next. Our answer is premiumization. For instance, we launched Manforce Epic last year," he added. Also Read: Highest risk, maximum reward in healthcare lies in diagnostics, says Incred PMS' Aditya Khemka In FY22, Mankind Pharmas revenue from operations and net profit came in at Rs 7,781 crore and Rs 1,433 crore, growing 25 percent and 13 percent year-on-year respectively. Operating margins stood at 26 percent. Compared to that, operating margins have contracted to 22 percent for the nine-month period ended December 2022 on the back of lower other income and higher employee costs. "We are among the few companies that hired new employees during the COVID-19 period," said Juneja. He refrained from giving any timeline on when the operating margins will go back to normal levels. Last year, the company had also announced the acquisition of Panacea Biotec's formulations brands for Rs 1,872 crore. While the valuation had raised eyebrows, the management said that it remains open to other India-centric acquisitions as well. Meanwhile, the company shares are trading at a single-digit premium in the grey market, dealers told Moneycontrol. With a price-to-earnings ratio of 32x based on annualised earnings, the valuations are at 10 percent premium to the listed players such as Sun Pharma, Cipla and Torrent Pharma, said analysts. All eyes will now be on whether the IPO sails through with a full retail subscription or not. 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.
Annual power tariff revisions in the national capital have been delayed for two consecutive financial years  2022-23 and 2023-2024  due to vacancies in the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC), combined with the ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of Delhi. The delay has resulted in the regulatory assets climbing up to at least Rs 9,000 crore, senior officials in the DERC and different power utilities told Moneycontrol. "The power tariff order for 2022-23 is ready, but DERC has no option but to wait and watch because even the post of member (legal) is vacant. As per the directions of the Supreme Court in a Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) case in 2020-21, issuing tariff orders without the member (legal) will be in violation of the SC order," said a senior DERC official, requesting anonymity. As per the Union Ministry of Power, all state power regulators have to mandatorily issue tariff orders before April every year. For the current financial year (2023-24), the Commission has not even started the process of inviting true-up petitions by the discoms. The DERC has a chairperson and two members  technical and legal. Both the posts of chairperson and member (legal) are currently lying vacant. AK Ambasht is the current member (technical) of the state power regulator. On February 20, the power ministry wrote to the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity (APTEL) seeking a probe against Ambasht for not increasing the power tariffs despite the steady rise in generation costs. Not just that, Moneycontrol found that the post of Executive Director (tariff) is also vacant in the DERC. The DERC had redesignated the post of Executive Director (Tariff) as Principal Advisor (Tariff) to fill it on a temporary basis. But, in March, the vigilance department started an inquiry into the appointment of the Principal Advisor (Tariff), on allegations of extending undue favours in violation of the DERC Act, 2003. On January 5, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced the appointment of retired high court judge Rajeev Shrivastva as the new chairman of DERC, and the file was sent to the LG, Vinai Kumar Saxena, on the same day. However, the LG did not approve the appointment and the file is still with him. The LGs office did not comment on the matter. When asked about the issues dogging Delhi's tariff determination process, Union Minister for Power and Renewable Energy RK Singh in an interview to Moneycontrol said LG Saxena had sent the file to the Ministry of power for its opinion on the matter. "As far as Delhi is concerned, what happened was that the AAP government wanted to bring in somebody from some third state or something like that. You can't do that. It has to be as per the law. We looked up the law. We consulted the Ministry of law. The LG had asked us to check the legal position. So, the legal position is that if you want a judge in the regulatory commission, it has to be run through the Chief Justice of Delhi. You can't just get a retired judge from any other part of the country and appoint him directly. You have to get clearance from the Chief Justice of Delhi. So, the LG was right," Singh told Moneycontrol. The AAP government did not respond to queries sent on the matter. Last year, although there was no tariff revision, electricity cost in Delhi increased by up to 4 percent as the DERC approved the power purchase agreement cost (PPAC) from mid-June, 2022. The last tariff revision conducted and announced by the DERC was on September 30, 2021. Electricity charges in Delhi were increased by 2 percentage points from October 1, 2021. In that tariff order, the DERC kept all other rates, such as per unit energy cost and fixed charges on the sanctioned load of every household, constant. However, the pension trust surcharge was increased from 5 percent to 7 percent. Delhi has at least 5.5 million domestic power consumers. Recently, there was another flashpoint between the AAP government and the Delhi LG over electricity subsidies being offered by the Kejriwal government in the national capital. Now, both the government and the LG have agreed to get an audit conducted of the government's power subsidy scheme.
Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Group has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with 20 Korean display glass manufacturers, CNBC-TV18 reported, citing news agency Bloomberg. Earlier in 2022, Vedanta-Foxconn announced setting up semiconductor and glass fab units in Gujarat. The project envisages a total investment of $20 billion with an employment potential of over 100,000 people to provide affordable electronics to Indians and attract global players across the value chain. Also Read: Vedanta in talks with US-based Farallon to raise at least $1 billion Bloomberg reported earlier in April that Vedanta is in talks with US-based Farallon Capital Management to raise at least $1 billion, a report. The fund-raising structure hasnt been finalised yet and discussions are underway. Last year, Vedanta topped the chart for the stock with the highest dividend yield in India. The company has been relying on dividends from the Mumbai-listed company to repay debts of its London vehicle, which has been facing cash flow concerns, the report said.

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German carmaker Volkswagen plans to bring its first electric vehicle in India next year with the launch of premium electric SUV ID.4 to tap the opportunity in the fast growing electric mobility space in the country, a senior company official said on Tuesday. By 2030, Volkswagen expects 25-30 per cent of its total sales in India to come from EVs and the rest from internal combustion engine vehicles. The company, which has introduced a slew of new variants of its existing conventional engine models, Taigun and Virtus, is looking at a sales growth of 40-45 per cent this year. Volkswagen Passenger Cars India Brand Director Ashish Gupta said the company is following a two-pronged strategy of premiumisation and electrification to strengthen presence and enhance its position in India. "Our strategy is very clear. One is premiumisation and the second has to be naturally in line with global positioning, electrification," he told PTI here in an interaction. Asserting that electrification has to be "done now", he said,"You have to start doing it now to be able to bring a mass electric car, in the timelines that the industry is looking at somewhere in between 2026-27. That's what most of the market is looking at in terms of mass electrification. We are looking at similar timelines." When asked further about the type of product and launch timelines, Gupta said,"The path to mass electrification in India is first of all going with your global premium products. That's where the ID4 will slot in." He further said,"We are working towards it and if all goes well definitely next year, I would like to bring this here." The ID4 will be assembled in India at the company's Aurangabad plant with parts and components imported. Gupta said electric mobility in India has grown faster than expected and VW believes that by 2030 the level of EV penetration in the passenger vehicles segment in the country could be around 18-30 per cent of total sales on the basis of different studies. As for VW, he said the company is on the more optimistic side and EVs share to its overall sales in India could be around 25-30 per cent with the rest coming from internal combustion engine vehicles by 2030. Electrification will come in steps as the ecosystem is currently not ready in India, Gupta said. "The supply base is not ready. About 50 per cent of the car cost of an electric car is the battery and unless mass localisation of battery manufacturing happens in India, none of the OEMs, not only us, will be able to do mass electrification." On the overall sales growth prospects for 2023, he said,"The first quarter has been good for us. We have grown almost 15 per cent compared to quarter one of last year. This year our plan is to grow around 40 to 45 per cent compared to last year." In 2022, VW sold around 41,000 units in the domestic market and in the first quarter of 2023 it sold nearly 12,000 units, he added. Gupta said the company will focus on premiumisation and network expansion, along with the addition of new variants to existing models to further propel its growth. "We are expanding into new territories because that's where the growth is coming in...With the new variants we are now making technology even more accessible. We are bringing in more price points in our range that will definitely add volumes...," he said. Gupta said the semiconductor shortage issue, due to which VW had suffered production loss of around 18,000 last year, has improved although it has not fully been resolved.
Renting a house in Bengaluru has become a priority over other things, for most people on a perennial house hunt in the city. Atin Bose, a product designer in Bengaluru, recently held a placard at an IPL match in the city that read, "Looking for 2BHK in Indiranagar." For Bose, it has been a challenging journey. "My current landlord suddenly decided to increase the rental by 60 percent," Bose, a bachelor who stays in a 2BHK in Indiranagar for a monthly rent of Rs 35,000, told Moneycontrol. Bose shares the flat with a friend. "Now, in Indiranagar, we do not find a house below Rs 60,000 or even Rs 80,000. I think finding a house for me is a priority over even marrying Virat Kohli," Bose added. Could've asked Kolhi to marry us, but right now, priorities :@peakbengaluru pic.twitter.com/esLDUcR3Em  Atin Bose (@BoseAtin) April 16, 2023 Apartments, not the IPL cup For Bengalureans, Ee Sala Cup Namde, a famous Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) phrase that roughly translates to "This year's cup is ours", is a common desire. However, today they just want affordable apartments. With a severe mismatch in demand, rentals in Bengaluru have shot through the roof. Rentals have increased by 20-30 percent in some areas, and by a whopping 40 percent in certain areas. Rentals across prime locations like Indiranagar, Whitefield, and IT corridors like Marathahalli and Bellandur in south-east, Sarjapur in east and Hebbal in the north, have jumped by 20-30 percent. Sunil Singh from Realty Corp said a semi-furnished 2 BHK in Indiranagar can start anywhere from Rs 40,000 and go up to Rs 60,000. For 3 BHKs, the monthly rentals can touch Rs 1 lakh. Bose, who has been on a house hunt for two months now, said, "We could not find any decent 2BHK for less than Rs 60,000 per month. And on top of it, for us bachelors, it's a growing ordeal," he added. With the citys economy and private sector stirring back to life, landlords are looking to recoup revenue lost during the pandemic when tenants returned to their hometowns. While some tenants deem Google interviews easier than cracking a landlord interview, others need updated CVs and LinkedIn profiles to find a house. Brokers said there will be high demand in Whitefield, Mahadevpura, Brookfield, and Varthur over the next few months. In Bellandur, a two-bedroom apartment that was available for rent for Rs 30,000-Rs 35,000 now commands about Rs 45,000. According to NoBroker data, rentals in Varthur have increased 57 percent over the past few years. An apartment that commanded Rs 23,000 per month in 2022 is listed at Rs 30,000 in 2023. Property brokers say that a fully functional metro line in parts of Bengaluru has also led to capital values appreciating by at least 10-15 percent. In suburban areas like Hoodi, close to Mahadevpura and Kundalahalli metro stations, the buying price of a premium 1 BHK has already touched Rs 1 crore and will appreciate further. In Indiranagar, a fully-furnished 2BHK, which was priced at Rs 80 lakh before, is now going for more than Rs 1 crore. In upcoming suburbs such as Hennur too, a 2 BHK is priced at Rs 60 lakh- Rs 70 lakh. Once affordable, PGs are not so anymore Before COVID, paying guest (PG) accommodations in Bengaluru used to be affordable and one of the most sought-after choices for students and young working professionals. However, today with a mad rush for inventories in Bengaluru, PG rates have skyrocketed -- with some places seeing a 50 percent hike. Sohini Ghosh, who stays near a PG in Marathhalli in the south-eastern part of Bengaluru, said: "Last week, the owner called me in the morning and said that the rent will be increased again." Ghosh is paying Rs 13,000 for a double-sharing room and he said the rental has been increased at least three times by Rs 3,000 in the last year, without any notice. Narendra Bajwal, who also stays close to the IT corridor, said: "I shifted to the PG accommodation, only 13 days back, and today they have increased the rental by 35 percent. Narayan Awasthi, who was paying Rs 6,000 as a monthly rental in a double-sharing PG room, now pays Rs 15,000, a whopping 150 percent jump. Singh added pre-COVID, a single sharing room in a PG accommodation, close to the IT corridors and prime locations, was going for a monthly rent of Rs 8,000. "Today, prices have jumped to Rs 14,000 - Rs 16,000. Similarly, double-sharing rooms have jumped by 40-50 percent, too," he added. After the Bengaluru floods last year, now calls for available PGs in the city have flooded our offices, Singh said. But no inventories are available, he said. Redevelopment of apartments With demand surging, brokers say in several buildings in Indiranagar and Koramangala, 4BHKs have been redeveloped as PGs. "Several young investors in the city, including IT professionals, have started renting out 4BHKs for more than a lakh and convert them into PGs, with 24 bunkers in total," Singh added. Each room has three bunkers, with an average rental of Rs 8,000 per bunk and a cumulative monthly income of Rs 1,92,000. However, running a PG requires a licence in Bengaluru and also consent from the landlords in such cases. Brokers say rentals for PGs will further see a hike of about 10 percent. However, several government policies can make them more expensive. The central government is planning to impose a 12 percent GST on PG accommodations, and student housing for less than Rs 1,000 per night. For others, the tax will be 18 percent. Varun Pahariya, director of alternative business at JLL, said this would have a significant effect on PGs and it will increase prices across the board.
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar will begin a nine-day trip to Guyana, Panama, Colombia and the Dominican Republic beginning Friday to explore bilateral engagement in new areas. It will be Jaishankar's first visit as the external affairs minister to these countries in Latin America and the Caribbean. Jaishankar will first travel to Guyana where he will hold wide-ranging talks with his counterpart Hugh Hilton Todd on further expansion of overall ties between the two countries. During his visit to the country from April 21 to 23, Jaishankar will call on Guyana's leadership and interact with several ministers, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Wednesday, announcing the visit. It said the external affairs minister will visit Panama from April 24 to 25, Colombia from April 25 to 27 and his last destination would be the Dominican Republic. He will visit the Dominican Republic from April 27 to 29. "It (the visit) will provide an opportunity to continue high-level contacts with countries in Latin America and the Caribbean and explore new areas of cooperation in a whole host of areas, particularly in the post-pandemic scenario," the MEA said in a statement.

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Were you involved in the Auburn High School Band Program during the 1980s? If so, you're invited to the Auburn High School 1980s Band Reunion being held at 4 p.m. Saturday, July 29, at the Ukrainian National Club, 125 Washington St., Auburn.

This event is open to anyone who was involved in any aspect of the band program during any part of the 1980s: marching band, color guard, jazz band, concert band, wind ensemble etc. If you were a member of the Auburn High School band boosters during the '80s, we extend an invitation to you as well.

The planning committee began meeting to organize this event in November. We have a good representation of the various graduating classes from the ;80s, who are volunteering their time to make this event possible. We have identified nearly 500 people who were a part of the Auburn High band program during the '80s. Our July 29 event will be an opportunity for band alumni to reunite and reconnect for the first time since our high school years.

Our event will include a video presentation consisting of pictures, audio and video clips of some of the performances, and will feature many of the songs performed by the band during the decade. The event will also feature an alumni "jam session" where alumni will be invited to perform a few songs together for the first time since our high school years.

We will also honor those members who have passed away as Mary Randall, class of 1981, plays "Amazing Grace" on the bagpipes in remembrance of those we have lost. We will pay special tribute to the men who were responsible for building a successful band program at Auburn during the '80s: Mr. Keith Osborne, Dr. Norman Beamish, Mr. Bill Tiberio and Dr. Stephen L. Gage.

We were dealt a devastating blow in the midst of all the joy and excitement of planning this event with the death of our beloved "Band Dad," Dr. Stephen L. Gage, on Feb. 5. Dr. Gage served as band director at Auburn High from 1980 to 1989. He had been quite excited about our event. Not only was he planning on attending from out of state, but he was also planning on playing drums in our alumni jam session. Dr. Gage spent the last 28 years of his life as director of bands at Youngstown State University in Ohio.

With Dr. Gage's passing, July 29 will not just be a reunion, but will now also be a tribute to Dr. Gage. This man had such a profound impact on so many young lives. He wasn't just our band director. He truly was our "Band Dad." Anyone who was fortunate to be his student can testify to this. We were never really his students. He loved each and every one of us as though we were his own children.

As a tribute to Dr. Gage, the Auburn Enlarged City School District has graciously given us the OK to place a memorial portrait of Dr. Gage outside the main entrance of the Auburn High School auditorium. Gina St. Phillips, class of 1985, is donating her time and talents to do this portrait in honor of Dr. Gage. We would like to thank Superintendent Jeffrey Pirozzolo, Auburn High School Principal Brian Morgan and those alumni members who donated to this memorial for making this all possible. The portrait will be on display at the reunion before being placed at the high school.

The cost of the event will be $20 per person, which is due by May 12. For more information on this event, join our Facebook page, "Auburn High School 1980's Band Reunion," email trumpet1965@msn.com or call or text (315) 657-4003.

We weren't just a band, we were a family!
The government is planning to develop more than 250 projects with a ropeway length of over 1,200 km in five years under Parvatmala Pariyojana, Union minister Nitin Gadkari said on Wednesday. The government is promoting the manufacturing of ropeway components under the 'Make in India' initiative, an official release quoted Gadkari as saying. The minister was addressing 'INTERALPIN 2023 Fair' in Austria, the release said. The road transport and highways minister invited Austrian and European industries to participate in enhancement of existing ropeway standards in India to ensure sustainable and safer transport. Gadkari also visited exhibits of the world's leading manufacturers of ropeway systems offering high-tech solutions, innovative design, top quality, and functionality, it added.

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The heatwave conditions will continue to prevail over several Eastern Indian states like Bihar, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Odisha for one or two more days, while the maximum temperatures are likely to dip by a few notches thereafter, the Met office said on Wednesday. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) issued an 'orange alert' (be prepared), warning of severe heatwave conditions, in the next two days in Motihari, Sitamarhi, Begusarai, Khagaria and Banka districts of Bihar. The weather office forecast heatwave conditions to continue to prevail in isolated pockets of Bihar on Thursday. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Wednesday directed officials of all districts to make elaborate arrangements amid the prevailing heat wave conditions in the state. Severe heatwave conditions are likely to continue over Bankura, Purulia, Paschim Bardhaman, Jhargram and Birbhum districts in the southern part of West Bengal till Thursday and heatwave conditions in these places on Friday. Heatwave conditions continued unabated in major parts of Jharkhand with the mercury hovering between 39 degrees Celsius and 44 degrees C. In Odisha, a similar condition prevailed at one or two places in the districts of Cuttack, Khurda and Mayurbhanj. Light rainfall, however, has occurred at one place over Nawarangpur district, the Met office said. The Tripura government has identified heatwave, sunstroke and sunburn as disasters, amid scorching heat in most parts of the northeastern state, an official notification said. The Met department forecast heavy to very heavy rain in isolated places of Arunachal Pradesh till Saturday and in Assam and Meghalaya on Friday and Saturday. Dry northwesterly wind-induced heatwave conditions will continue to prevail over south Bengal and parts of north Bengal till Friday, the Met office said on Wednesday, while holding out the possibility of some relief thereafter with the maximum temperatures likely to dip by two to three degrees thereafter. Heatwave conditions are likely to prevail over the other districts of south Bengal, apart from Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur in north Bengal till Friday, it said. Bankura recorded the day's highest temperature in West Bengal at 44.1 degrees Celsius, closely followed by Panagarh air force station at 43.7 degrees C and Sriniketan at 43.1 degrees C, the Met said. Kolkata recorded 40.6 degrees Celsius while neighbouring Salt Lake sizzled at 42. degrees Celsius, the Met data said. The Bihar capital Patna recorded the day's highest temperature at 43.5 degrees C, while in Gaya the maximum temperature was 43.2 degrees C. Jharkhands Godda registered the highest temperature at 44.7 degrees Celsius on Wednesday, while Jamshedpur and Daltonjanj simmered at 44.1 and 43.8 degrees Celsius respectively. Capital Ranchi, which was earlier known for its pleasant weather, sizzled at 40 degrees Celsius, 4.1 degrees above normal temperature. The maximum temperature is likely to remain the same for at least for next 24 hours. Thereafter, it may decline by two to four degrees during the next three-four days, Ranchi meteorological centre in-charge Abhishek Anand said. Jharsuguda was the hottest in Odisha at 43.6 degrees C, with Sambalpur following at 43.2 degrees C and state capital Bhubaneswar at 42.5 degrees C. The Met office advised people to avoid prolonged exposure to the sun and drink sufficient water even if not thirsty to avoid dehydration, among other measures.
The Maharashtra government on April 19 announced a ban on outdoor events in the state between 12 noon and 5 pm, till the heatwave situation subsides. The decision comes in the aftermath of 13 persons losing their lives after suffering from heatstroke at a government event in Navi Mumbai on April 16. "All open-air public meetings/rallies between 12 noon and 5 pm have been banned in view of the heat situation," state minister Mangal Prabhat Lodha said. A day earlier, the Shiv Sena (UBT) had asked the government to release a standard operating procedure for holding outdoor events during the day, in order to prevent a similar tragedy. The state government has been under flak since April 16, when the event to confer the Maharashtra Bhushan award on social reformer Appasaheb Dharmadhikari was held in the afternoon, between 10:30 pm and 1:30 pm. Lakhs of Dharmadhikari's followers turned up at the event, which was held at a 306-acre open ground in Navi Mumbai's Kharghar. The temperature was recorded at 38 degrees Celsius at the nearest weather station. Among the dignitaries at the event were Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and his deputy Devendra Fadnavis. Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut alleged that the event was held under the scorching sun as Shah was not available in the evening. "The Maharashtra Bhushan award function could have been held in the evening, but Union Minister Amit Shah had no free time. Thus, the programme was held during the day time and people got exposed to the scorching heat and sunlight," the Rajya Sabha MP said. Around 20 persons, who were affected by the heatstroke, are still admitted at the hospitals in Navi Mumbai, Raigad district information officer told news agency PTI on April 18. Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray, along with Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) veteran Ajit Pawar visited the MGM Hospital in Navi Mumbai's Kamothe, where most of the patients are undergoing treatment, on April 17. "The event was not planned properly. Who will investigate this incident?" Thackeray, the former chief minister, told reporters. Pawar, who is also the Leader of Opposition in the legislative assembly, demanded a case of culpable homicide to be registered against the state government. "This unfortunate incident is not a natural disaster but a man-made disaster. The government is fully responsible for this unfortunate incident," he said. The Shinde-led government has asked the Opposition "not to politicise" the incident and has announced a compensation of Rs 5 lakh to the kin of deceased persons.
Indians, forever on the lookout to migrate to unknown foreign lands for better opportunities, are cannon fodder for human traffickers. One such port of call for the gullible is war-torn Sudan. Violence between the army and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left around 100 people dead, leading to a state of civil war. That is bad news for stateless Indians, particularly for 31 people belonging to the Hakki-Pakki tribal community from Karnataka, who are stranded in Al-Ashir, 1,000 odd km from the Sudanese capital, Khartoum. Appeals for help pouring in given the issue has acquired a certain degree of sensitivity because Karnataka is in election mode. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and former Karnataka chief minister K Siddaramaiah got into a Twitter spat, as the Congress leader urged the central government to immediately intervene and ensure the safe return of the group from the Hakki Pikki tribe. The Indian Embassy in Khartoum has asked all nationals to stay indoors and take utmost precautions as gunshots and explosions rang out in various parts of the city following clashes between the army and the paramilitary forces. What were the Indians doing in Sudan? In a Twitter post, the Indian embassy said: In view of reported firings and clashes, all Indians are advised to take utmost precautions, stay indoors and stop venturing outside with immediate effect. Please also stay calm and wait for updates. So, just what are these Kannadigas doing in a remote region of far-away Sudan, which is not as popular a destination as English-speaking Uganda and Kenya for Indians? Former Indian ambassador to Sudan, Deepak Vohra, told Moneycontrol: Human traffickers have always managed to con malleable Indians into migrating. During the period that I was the Indian envoy there between 2005-2010, we had innumerable cases of Indians being brought to Sudan and told that they could go to Dubai. There were many takers for such falsehoods. An Indian Express story on April 19 backed his claim. The newspaper interviewed Prabhu S, from Karnatakas Hakki Pikki tribe, who is among several Indian nationals stuck in Darfur. I was born poor, but I dont want to die poor. I wanted to provide a better life for my children, which is why we came to Sudan, he said. Prabhu, 36, from Davangere district, and his wife Soniya, 27, left India 10 months ago, while their four children  two boys aged 5 and 8 and two girls aged 10 and 14  stayed back. He told Indian Express: From my father, we inherited 4.5 acres, but it was taken away by the government, which said it was forest land. My ancestors hunted and caught birds; we did not get any education. We thought of coming to Sudan so we can grow financially. No other choice The couple sells ayurvedic products, for which they say demand in Sudan, and Africa in general, is high. Prabhu said: With no job in India, my loans crossed Rs 10 lakh. That was when we decided to work in African countries for five years. We took a Rs 3 lakh loan to buy air tickets and to transport materials to Sudan. Anil Kumar, another tribal man who runs a similar business, told the newspaper: Our tribe has continued to be neglected, and we have no choice but to go to African countries for a living. In a day, we could earn Rs 2,000- Rs 3,000. Despite the high cost of living, there is demand for Indian ayurvedic medicines here. When it comes to expenditure, we have to pay Rs 81 for 1.5 litres of water, he added. That appears to be the tale of many such Indians who are willing to go anywhere  just anywhere  to get out of the rut. The biggest problem now is how to get them out of Sudan. That should be top priority for the government and the Indian embassy, KP Fabian, a former Indian diplomat, who coordinated the evacuation of over 176,000 Indian nationals from Iraq and Kuwait in 199091, told Moneycontrol. Delayed deal Thats a big challenge, given that the airport is non-operational for the moment and there appears to be no stable government in place. Commercial aircraft trying to land at Khartoum International Airport have begun turning around to head back to their originating airport. Flights from Saudi Arabia turned back after nearly landing at Khartoum International Airport, flight tracking data revealed. The clashes came as tensions between the military and the RSF have escalated in recent months, forcing a delay in the signing of an internationally backed deal with political parties to revive the countrys democratic transition. Videos circulating on social media showed armed fighters advancing through residential areas against a background sound of intense gunfire, driving across the runway of the citys international airport and operating checkpoints at major traffic junctions. According to the official data, the number of Indians in Sudan is around 4,000, including 1,200 who settled down in the country decades ago. In Ambassador Vohras estimate, however, the number of those settled in Sudan for many years is close to 20,000. Those on tourist and other work visas constitute about 2,000 or so, he said. Either way, there appears to be trouble for the Indians trapped in the conflict. The Ministry of External Affairs is watching the scene carefully.
As a part of its efforts to rationalise tax structure in the petroleum sector and promote investments, the government has revised the windfall tax on domestic crude oil production to Rs 6,400 per tonne. A windfall tax is a higher tax levied by the government on specific industries when they experience unexpected and above-average profits. The government has also increased the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on crude petroleum from nil to Rs 6,400 per tonne. However, the SAED on petrol and Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) will remain unchanged at nil. The government has decided to remove the export duty on diesel, after which, the SAED on diesel will reduce from Rs 0.50 per litre to nil. The revision of the windfall tax on crude oil production is expected to generate additional revenue for the government. The move is expected to impact oil companies, as they will now have to pay a higher tax on the sale of crude oil in the domestic market. The removal of export duty on diesel is expected to provide relief to the manufacturing sector, which relies heavily on diesel for power generation and transportation. The government imposed a windfall tax for the first time last year after crude oil prices soared after the Russia-Ukraine war broke out. The oil producers fetched huge profits then as a windfall gain  a sudden, unexpected spike in earnings  and the government started taxing those extra earnings. The tax rates are reviewed every fortnight by the government reviews to calibrate the tax mop-up. As per officials, tax rate absorbs only a part of the extra profits that the companies earn in global markets during a period of high prices.
Highlights SGX Nifty will be fully traded at NSEs IFSC-SGX Connect from July 3, 2023 All US dollar-denominated Nifty derivatives contracts will be exclusively traded on NSE IFSC post-transition The move should give a big boost to trading in GIFT City However, there is nothing in it for Indian traders as they are not allowed to trade in derivative instruments in foreign currencies After years of struggle, Indias attempt to become an international financial trading hub will receive a significant boost. July 3, 2023 will be a red letter day for Indian markets. The Singapore Exchange (SGX) on Monday issued a circular stating that a full-fledged liquidity switch will be made effective from July 3, 2023, from SGX to the NSEs IFSC-SGX Connect. Following the transition, all US dollar-denominated Nifty derivatives contracts will be exclusively traded on the NSE IFSC. A compromise between SGX and NSE made it possible for SGX Nifty to come to India. At its peak, SGX Nifty accounted for nearly 10 percent of the volume on SGX. Even today SGX Nifty is preferred over the NSE-traded Nifty. Open interest in the April futures contract on the NSE stands at 182,627 contracts while that on the SGX is 231,467 contracts. Lower margin, no taxation, trading in dollar currency with no hedging cost, and a low cost of trading has made the SGX Nifty popular among foreign traders. Shifting the instrument to India is unlikely to change much as all the costs and facilities extended to traders in Singapore will remain the same in GIFT City. However, while global traders will continue to reap the benefit, Indian traders will have to watch and salivate at a lost opportunity. This is because resident Indians are not allowed to trade in derivative instruments in global markets. However, proprietary traders, if they open an account with a broker can trade in SGX Nifty. Since proprietary and pseudo-proprietary traders account for a substantial trading volume one cannot rule out a shift from NSE Nifty futures to SGX Nifty. All the product listed on NSE IFSC offers the following tax benefits No Capital Gains Tax, No Security Transaction Tax (STT), No GST, and No Stamp Duty. These benefits combined with that of lower margins are reasons enough for traders to shift to SGX Nifty. Dharmesh Khandelwal, Vice President, Indira Securities feels that the trading volume of proprietary traders, especially in Nifty futures can shift to SGX Nifty given the huge tax benefit and lower cost of operations. For example for a proprietary trader who hedges his position through Nifty, he has to pay a 30 percent short-term capital gains tax in India but this alone is waived if his position is moved to SGX Nifty. A resident retail Indian can avail the benefit of the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) and invest $250,000 a year in stocks traded in any exchanges but not trade in them. This amount also includes all travel and hotel expenses that a person makes to a foreign country during the year. In short, bringing the SGX Nifty to India does not help retail Indian traders. Over the years Indian traders have been migrating or taking NRI status in other countries, mainly Dubai, Singapore, and Mauritius to avoid the high-cost structure of trading in India. Smaller traders and those who trade on a part-time basis have little option but to stay in India and struggle to be profitable after incurring all the costs associated with trading. Besides the short-term and long-term capital gains taxes, other operational taxes like the transaction tax, exchange taxes, and others have made India one of the costliest markets to trade in. Despite this the NSE is the biggest derivative exchange in the world. If the same benefit that the government extends to foreign players is extended to Indian traders, volume in exchanges will shoot up and we would not have needed a GIFT City. This would attract more money as one of the biggest criteria for bigger funds to enter a market is the ease of entering and exiting a market. Higher liquidity will ensure that bigger funds and pension funds would enter Indian markets. Bringing in the SGX Nifty and allowing brokers to open offices in GIFT City will serve little purpose for a retail Indian trader.
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) expanded its footprint in the first decade of its existence by insisting that all other parties were corrupt. The party now exudes willingness to join hands with any party, corruption no bar, that helps stop the BJP juggernaut in the next election. Perhaps it is a case of belated discovery of team spirit or a sharpened ideological lens. Yet, the more likely reason seems to be that the party is facing an existential battle for survival. The context of the AAPs present precarious situation is threefold. One, the corruption crackdown on its Delhi leadership, including the prime target AAP supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal who has been summoned by the CBI for questioning in the alleged liquor scam. Whatever the merits of the case, the crackdown has clearly caused damage to the party. Delhi Model Struggles This is not just because of the thorough hollowing out of its distinctive anti-corruption brand, but more importantly because of the serious threat it represents for AAPs ability to govern effectively, and to keep providing generous welfare benefits. In recent years, free and universal service delivery or the Delhi model has become the core brand of the party. However, Manish Sisodia, the heart of the administrative system, is now cooling his heels in prison. That poses the first challenge for the AAP: the credibility or sustainability of its delivery model. Two, the Delhi model has not yet proved replicable to a second state, given the experience of Punjab so far. The Punjab-based political scientist Ashutosh Kumar has characterised the AAPs Punjab governance as a theatrical exhibition of policies, which have been undermined by fairly patchy execution. It is hardly surprising that AAP has struggled in a larger and more complex state, facing structural problems of religion-inflected political instability, increasing gang violence and a severe debt crisis. Such a treacherous cocktail might have proved intractable even to a strong, experienced hand. Under the leadership of Bhagwant Mann, a populist "comedian" outsider with little experience of governance, and whose authority has been routinely undermined by diktats of the Delhi High Command, the state appears to be adrift. Some might argue that the party necessarily requires a Kejriwal-like cult figure, to anchor its state-level development model, both in terms of execution and marketing. That poses the second challenge for the AAP: The replicability of its delivery model. No Ideologically Committed Base Three, the party still remains an ideologically ill-defined formation. An ideological base of support (which often translates to a conventional social base) might have provided a buffer to the party at this crucial time. As many scholars have shown in Europe, parties with clear ideological profiles can survive periods of decline in valence (or competency) scores, not parties with a promiscuous centrist ideology. As had happened in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Delhi, pro-BJP voters might shift again to the saffron camp, and anti-BJP voters to the Congress, leaving the AAP beyond serious contention in both Delhi and Punjab. This is the third challenge for the AAP: the ability of its fleet-footed ideological model to survive the classic centrist trap. With the partys revolutionary fervour quietened for the moment, Arvind Kejriwal seeks to now position himself within the old Indian model of a heavy bargaining regional satrap, in the mould of a Sharad Pawar, Nitish Kumar or Mamata Banerjee. These leaders present themselves not as embodiments of an alternative political vision, but as strongmen key to the formation of any national coalition government. Implicit in this positioning is the ability to drive a hard political bargain, on ticket distribution pre-elections and division of power and resources post-election, on behalf of their states. Congress Claws Back However, to become a national power-broker demands broad acceptability among opposition elites and a demonstrated control over your strongholds. Unfortunately, the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP cannot be said to possess either. Having spent the last four years audaciously promising to replace the Congress as the second pole of national politics, including directly torpedoing the latters electoral prospects in Gujarat, the Congress is in no mood for hand-holding its committed enemy on the national stage. To gauge where the balance of power between the two parties lies, consider Kejriwals fire-and-brimstone attack on Modi over Rahul Gandhis disqualification, compared to the Gandhi scions radio silence on Kejriwals legal travails. Delhi Congress, meanwhile, publicly demanded Kejriwal be shown no mercy. Delhi has been a largely bipolar state since its inception, and both parties realise they are probably engaged in a protracted fight to the finish for the same anti-BJP base, especially among Dalits and Muslims. The AAPs dominant strategy of pursuing ideological agnosticism vis-a-vis the BJP hasnt really paid off as expected anywhere, outside of Delhi. Its gains in Gujarat have since been nearly wiped out by a hegemonic BJP. And the Punjab triumph was in reality based on skilfully capitalising on local anti-establishment sentiment rather than on its peculiar national positioning. Meanwhile, the ideologically sharper Congress, following the Bharat Jodo Yatra and a long-drawn campaign against crony capitalism centred on Adani, and helmed by a rejuvenated if not yet resurgent Rahul Gandhi, occupies the central pole in opposition politics. At least till the next general elections. In the childrens fable which contrasts a patient squirrel slowly hoarding a batch of nuts for the harsh winter to a flamboyant squirrel who lives for the moment (while mocking the former for being a crushing bore), the austere squirrel forgives and forgets at the end, and heartily makes space for the spendthrift one. But then politics is not a game for squirrels. Asim Ali is a political researcher. Views are personal and do not represent the stand of this publication.
India is coordinating with the Quartet countries to ensure that its citizens are safe in violence-hit Sudan, according to a report by news agency ANI, which cited sources familiar with the matter. The Quartet countries consist of the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The Ministry of External Affairs is engaging with these nations as Sudan witnesses clashes between its army and paramilitary forces. Also Read: Jaishankar speaks to Saudi, UAE foreign ministers over situation in Sudan The External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar communicated with UAE's foreign minister and thanked him on a tweet. "Thank HH @ABZayed, Foreign Minister of UAE, for the exchange of views on the situation in Sudan. Our continuing contacts are helpful, he tweeted. Also Read: WHO says all parties in Sudan conflict must provide access to medical facilities A Twitter spat occurred between Jaishankar and Congress' Siddaramaiah last evening over the former Karnataka chief minister's remarks on the safety of 31 tribals belonging to the Hakki Pikki community of Karnataka, stranded in Sudan. Siddaramaiah alleged "government inaction" in rescuing the stranded people belonging to a tribal community from Karnataka. "The Hakki Pikkis in Sudan were left stranded without food for the past few days and the government has not yet initiated action to bring them back," he said. Jaishankar retorted that it was irresponsible of the veteran politician to 'politicize' such a crisis. Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; dont do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan. https://t.co/MawnIwStQp  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 18, 2023 "It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicize their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," S Jaishankar tweeted. Siddaramaiah replied: "Since you are the External Affairs Minister, I have appealed you for help. If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back." Since you are the External Affairs Minister @DrSJaishankar I have appealed you for help. If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back. https://t.co/B21Lndvxit  Siddaramaiah (@siddaramaiah) April 18, 2023 The Union Minister also posted a thread detailing the government's efforts in Sudan and disclosed that the details of the rescue could not be made public for security reasons. "Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons. Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing," Jaishankar tweeted. Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons. Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing.  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 18, 2023 The External Affairs Minister mentioned that the Indian Embassy in Khartoum was in touch with the Ministry regarding the rescue. Also Read: Indian National Killed In Sudan Amid Conflict | Behind The Sudan Crisis & How It Affects The World "Plans regarding them have to take into account a very complicated security scenario. The Embassy is in constant touch with the Ministry in that regard," Jaishankar said. Siddaramaiah sought for the BJP government at the Centre to immediately open diplomatic discussions and reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of the members of the Hakki-Pikki community. The Indian ambassador in Washington DC and High Commissioner in London are in touch with their respective host Governments as well. The MEA is also said to be working closely with the United Nations, which has a substantial presence in Sudan. The sources mentioned that India's priority is safety of movement and well being of individuals wherever they are located. The violence stricken country has witnessed the death of around 200 people according to reports. A dedicated Control Room was also setup on April 17 to assist stranded Indian nationals in Sudan.
Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept the political pundits guessing over his next move, on Tuesday night said he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the saffron camp. Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for "some personal work", even as his family initially claimed that he was "missing", only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the "right frame of mind". "I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda," he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening. The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won as a saffron party candidate in the 2011 West Bengal assembly election. He, however, returned to the Trinamool Congress soon after without resigning from the House. "I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and would again be active in politics," Roy said. He said he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC". Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. "He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," he said. The drama over Roy's whereabouts evolved since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was "untraceable". After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had "no specific agenda". "I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said. The former railway minister's son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was "untraceable" and "missing" since late Monday evening. As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease". "My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters. Roy's son also claimed that his father had undergone "brain surgery" last month and failed to recognise even family members and close associates. Subhrangshu claimed when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was travelling to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to de-board him, but by then, "the flight had taken off". "The chief minister herself had called up to inquire about my father's well-being," Subhrangshu, who too had returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said. Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra made a cryptic single word Facebook post: "Comeback". When contacted by a news channel, Hazra said, "It's time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two days; everything will be clear very soon". Reacting to Hazra's comments, Subhranghsu said it was an attempt to malign the TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. "This is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father's visit to New Delhi. This is an attempt to malign the TMC and our party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee," he said. State parliamentary affairs minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics. "I have known Mukul Roy for the last several decades. He is so ill that he doesn't recognise people and cannot complete a sentence properly. Now If the BJP wants to pursue politics by using an unwell person, we condemn such dirty politics," he said. Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp is not interested in "inducting Roy back into the party." Meanwhile, the Airport police station under the Bidhannagar police commissionerate questioned Pijush Kanodia, a BJP leader and once a close associate of Mukul Roy, during his stint in the saffron camp. "Following a complaint of Mukul Roy's son, we have questioned one local leader of South Dum Dum for his alleged involvement in the matter. We have also sent a couple of officers to New Delhi to find out what has happened," a senior police official said. Roy joined the BJP in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was made BJP national vice president in 2020. He won from the Krishnanagar North assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 and returned to the TMC just a month after the results were announced, complaining of "ill-treatment" by the saffron party. He, however, didn't resign as an MLA. Since his return to the TMC, he has remained away from the public glare. Roy also resigned as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the West Bengal assembly last year, citing ill health.
The Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday accused the BJP of fuelling speculation of a split in the NCP ranks even after senior party leader Ajit Pawar clarified his position. NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde must ask the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) why it was trying to put so much "pressure" on him and his Shiv Sena. Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said he would work for his party till he is alive and scotched speculation that he and a group of MLAs loyal to him might align with the ruling BJP. Pawar said is no truth in reports about any rift in the NCP and his joining hands with the BJP. The NCP leader had also dismissed reports that he had taken the signatures of 40 of 53 MLAs of NCP amid a buzz about his rumoured alliance with the BJP. ''Even after Ajit dada Pawar clarified his position yesterday, the BJP is sowing news in the media through its sources. Eknath Shinde ji and his group must ask @BJP4India why they are trying to put so much pressure on them,'' Crasto tweeted. Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat on Tuesday said if Ajit Pawar joins the BJP with a group of NCP leaders, then the Eknath Shinde-led Sena will not be part of the government in Maharashtra. Rumours about Ajit Pawar's next political move started doing rounds last week when he suddenly cancelled his scheduled meetings and also made comments which were seen as being soft on the BJP and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's camp. The BJP is part of the Shinde government. Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday added grist to the rumour mill claiming NCP president Sharad Pawar recently told Uddhav Thackeray that his party will never join hands with the BJP even if anyone takes an individual decision to do so. Sharad Pawar on Tuesday dismissed speculation about his nephew Ajit Pawar's next political move. He said Ajit Pawar was busy with the party's work and there was no need for the media to drag the issue.
The third book in the Yale online course of American military history is "American Datu: John J. Pershing and Counter-insurgency in the Muslim Philippines, 1899-1913" by Ronald K. Edgerton, 2020. This is a scholarly work that focuses on an insurgency rather than a full-scale war, and a soldier who was as much an administrator as warrior. John J. Pershing is best remembered as the general who led the American Expeditionary Force to France in World War I.

The United States annexed the Philippine islands from Spain after the war of 1898. Spain had ruled these islands for 350 years, and the Muslim population traced its origins to the 1400s and 1500s. The Filipinos didnt want to be ruled by anybody: They wanted independence. Only after the brutal Filipino-American war of 1899-1901  as terrible and controversial as Vietnam 60 years later  did the United States exercise anything like sovereignty over the country.

President Theodore Roosevelt needed someone to guide the colony in a more political way. Pershing (1860-1948), an 1886 graduate of West Point, was uniquely suited to relating to people not of his own race.

Fresh out of West Point in New Mexico, Pershing joined the Sixth Cavalry, which had forced the surrender of Apache chief Geronimo a month before. After four years of forays against the survivors of Geronimos band, in 1891 he took command of Troop B Oglala Sioux scouts. Pershing appointed Thunder Cloud, Red Clouds cousin, as his first sergeant.

Pershing got to know his men, their language and military skills. In 1910, he led a company of 10th Cavalry Black Buffalo soldiers over a thousand miles of Montana territory. He took pride in winning the respect of troops not of own my own race and color. Back at West Point for a term of teaching, Pershing acquired the nickname of Black Jack, which would stick with him.

At the same time, Pershing believed in the American civilizing mission. This would complicate his two terms  1901-1903 and 1906-1913  in the Philippines as a military administrator.

A successful counter-insurgency consists first of knowing and befriending the indigenous population. Filipino society depended on datus to function. These were local wisemen comparable to North American sachems. Pershing got himself elected datu and went around on foot, unarmed, talking about western values like elections, representative government and majority rule. He offered rewards and government jobs as inducements to change.

Slavery and polygamy were common in the islands. These could not be abolished by fiat, but by a long process of education, and what Pershing was doing was conducting a form of the progressive education of his day. And then there were the insurgents, the Moros  Muslim Filipinos of Malay stock, a rambunctious people usually described as proud, fierce and warlike and as much a danger to themselves as well as anybody else. Could they be talked to, contained, co-opted?

The last thing Pershing wanted to use was military force. Enemy body counts, he thought, were a sign of failure. But in 1913, Pershing became convinced that to ensure peace, the Moros had to be disarmed; they were an obstacle to investment and economic progress in the colony.

Pershings colleagues thought it was a bad idea. The kris  a two-edged wavy sword  is as much a part of the well-bred Moros dress as trousers are of ours, noted one of them. But Pershing persisted. The result of the disarmament effort was the battle of Bud Bagsak, five brutal days of fighting, which left between 300 and 500 dead Moros. Edgerton faults Pershing for not making more of an effort at unwarlike parleying.

Another blot on Pershings record appeared at the time of his marriage to Helen Frances Warren, 20 years his junior, the daughter of a Wyoming senator, in 1906. (Thanks to his father-in-laws politicking, Pershing was promoted from aging captain to youngish brigadier general over 862 other candidates with seniority).

A rumor began to circulate: Before his marriage Pershing had had a liaison with an indigenous woman, Joaquina Bondoy Ignacio, and fathered two children by her. Pershing vehemently denied the story, which everybody knew about. Edgerton credits it, which recalled to many Puccinis opera "Madam Butterfly," which had premiered five years before. Pershings career survived the scandal, but it compromised his effectiveness with Filipino leaders.

Perhaps the contradictions in Pershings character reflect those in the American civilizing mission. The Philippines became an independent republic on July 4, 1946.
Companies using generative artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT could be putting confidential customer information and trade secrets at risk, according to a report from Team8, an Israel-based venture firm. The widespread adoption of new AI chatbots and writing tools could leave companies vulnerable to data leaks and lawsuits, said the report, which was provided to Bloomberg News prior to its release. The fear is that the chatbots could be exploited by hackers to access sensitive corporate information or perform actions against the company. There are also concerns that confidential information fed into the chatbots now could be used by AI companies in the future. Major technology companies including Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc. are racing to add generative AI capabilities to improve chatbots and search engines, training their models on data scraped from the Internet to give users a one-stop-shop to their queries. If these tools are fed confidential or private data, it will be very difficult to erase the information, the report said. Enterprise use of GenAI may result in access and processing of sensitive information, intellectual property, source code, trade secrets, and other data, through direct user input or the API, including customer or private information and confidential information, the report said, classifying the risk as high. It described the risks as manageable if proper safeguards are introduced. The Team8 report stressed that chatbot queries are not being fed into large-language models to train AI, contrary to recent reports that such prompts could potentially be seen by others. As of this writing, Large Language Models cannot update themselves in real-time and therefore cannot return ones inputs to anothers response, effectively debunking this concern. However, this is not necessarily true for the training of future versions of these models, it said. The document flagged three other high risk issues in integrating generative AI tools and underlined the heightened threat of information increasingly being shared through third-party applications. Microsoft has embedded some AI chatbot features in its Bing search engine and Microsoft 365 tools. On the user side, for example, third party applications leveraging a GenAI API, if compromised, could potentially provide access to email and the web browser, and allow an attacker to take actions on behalf of a user, it said. There is a medium risk that using generative AI could increase discrimination, harm a companys reputation, or expose it to legal action over copyright issues, it said. Ann Johnson, a corporate vice president at Microsoft, was involved in drafting of the report. Microsoft has invested billions in Open AI, the developer of ChatGPT. Microsoft encourages transparent discussion of evolving cyber risks in the security and AI communities, a Microsoft spokesperson said. Dozens of chief information security officers of US companies are also listed as contributors to the report. The Team8 report was also endorsed by Michael Rogers, the former head of the US National Security Agency and US Cyber Command.
Padma Bhushan awardee Kumar Mangalam Birla recently shared a piece of advice for aspiring entrepreneurs -- keep a long-term view in mind. The billionaire industrialist shared his insights with the students of BITS Pilani earlier this week. "Take the long view. Think of payoffs longitudinally over a period of time. I know that as ambitious, driven youngsters, that is not always easy in the moment. But trust me, it helps. Great leaders understand that pioneering breakthroughs take time and require patience," he said. The 55-year-old, who is also the chancellor of the institution, advised the students to always plan ahead of time. He also highlighted the importance of having a support system along the way. "No pioneer succeeds alone. Whether during the long days when your path seems unclear, or during the times when you need to find bursts of inspiration, you will look to those around you," Kumar Mangalam Birla was quoted by Economic Times as saying. "Your co-travellers are not just professional colleagues but people whom you implicitly trust and are rooting for your success." Last month, the Aditya Birla Group chairman received the Padma Bhushan -- Indias third-highest civilian award -- from President Droupadi Murmu at Rashtrapati Bhavan, for his contribution to the field of trade and industry. He was the fourth recipient of the Padma award in the Birla family. His mother Rajshree Birla was awarded the Padma Bhushan award, grandfather Basant Kumar Birla was awarded the Padma Bhushan award, and his great-grandfather Ghanshyam Das Birla was awarded the Padma Vibhushan award. Watch: Padma Awards 2023: Industrialist Kumar Mangalam Birla receives Padma Bhushan.
A tragedy involving a British tourist who died in Poland after being served 22 shots in just 90 minutes has led to a crackdown on organized crime groups operating in the country's nightclubs. The victim, identified only as 36-year-old Mark C, was on a night out in Krakow with a friend when they visited a club called Wild Nights. Local authorities have stated that Mark was already intoxicated when he arrived, but was still plied with alcohol by the establishment's staff. Despite repeatedly refusing the shots that were offered to him, Mark was ultimately given 22 of them before collapsing and later dying. Poland's National Prosecutor's Office has said that Mark's blood alcohol content was at least 0.4%, which is considered lethal. The victim was also robbed of over 400 while he was unconscious. The incident has highlighted the criminal activity taking place in some of Poland's nightclubs. On Thursday, police charged 58 people with being part of an organized crime group following a series of raids on clubs across the country. The Polish Central Police Investigation Bureau (CBSP) has said that the clubs were running a racket in which customers were deliberately made drunk before having their money stolen. A video released by the CBSP showed suspects being arrested and a variety of items being seized, including electronic devices, computers, cash, and phones. Among those taken into custody were the group responsible for forcing Mark to drink himself to death. The CBSP stated that Mark was not given medical assistance during the incident, and that provisional arrests had been made against those suspected of this act. The investigation is ongoing and includes clubs in both Krakow and the capital of Warsaw.
India has surpassed China in population and is now the most populous country in the world, according to a United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report titled The State of World Population Report, 2023. The report indicates that India's population is 1.4286 billion while China's stands at 1.4257 billion, making a difference of 2.9 million. It is the first time since 1950 when the UN started to collect population data that India's population has overtaken China's. Experts believe that India's demographic advantage, its young population, in a consumer-driven economy will be a significant factor in driving the country's development and will present an enormous opportunity for the country's economic growth. Andrea Wojner, UNFPA's India representative, notes that the country's young working-age cohort will not just provide an abundant supply of labor but that rising domestic consumption should help the nation tide over any external shocks. Most populated cities New Delhi is the most populated city in India with 30 million inhabitants in and around NCR. Delhi could have been the 50th most populated country in the world if it were a nation. Delhi is followed by Mumbai (20 million), Kolkata (15 million) and Bengaluru (12 million). Age group The report shows that 25% of India's population falls within the age group of 0-14, 18% in the age group of 10-19, 26% in the age group of 10-24, 68% in the age group of 15-64, and 7% above the age of 65. Conversely, 17% of China's population falls within the age group of 0-14, 12% in the age group of 10-19, 18% in the age group of 10-24, 69% in the age group of 15-64, and 14% above the age of 65. China is doing better than India in the context of life expectancy. For instance, the life expectancy for women in China is 82, and that of men is 76, while for India, it is 74 and 71, respectively. According to the report, India's demographic diversity among states provides unique opportunities to reap the benefits of demographic dividends. The different states are in various stages of demographic transition, and an aging population in southern India can meet its labor demands from the greater proportion of the youthful population in the northern and eastern parts of the country through favorable policies on inter-state migration. It is worth noting that India's demographic strength is much more significant than China's, according to Huang Wenzheng, a Chinese demography expert. Although India's population growth rate has been declining since 1980, India has twice as many new babies as China, with a total fertility rate twice that of China. This factor means that India's population will be much more substantial than China's in the long run. This is India's 'happiest state', according to a study. Here's why China's population, which peaked at 1.42 billion in 2021, is gradually declining. In 2022, China's population decreased by 850,000 people, the first decline since 1961. Although Beijing abolished the one-child policy and then allowed up to three children, the number of births did not increase as expected due to rising costs of living, childcare, and education. The report calls for a radical rethink of how population numbers are framed. The UNFPA urges politicians and the media to abandon overblown narratives about population booms and busts. Instead of asking how fast people are reproducing, leaders should ask whether individuals, especially women, can make their own reproductive choices freely. The UNFPA's executive director, Natalia Kanem, states that women's bodies should not be held captive to population targets.
Lawyers have opined that while the Delhi High Court has upheld the correct position of law by calling out Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) for its advertisement for it brand Domex disparaging its competitor brand Harpic, it may not affect Domexs reputation as a brand. What was the judgment about? In 2021, HUL came out with an advertisement which claimed that its toilet cleaning product Domex was superior to its competitor Harpic, a toilet cleaning product owned by Reckitt. The advertisement further claimed that Domex was better at getting rid of bad odour from the toilet as it owned a patent to a technology that can do so. A single judge of the Delhi High Court in 2021 held that, prima facie, the advertisement sought to denigrate and malign Harpics bottle as an ordinary toilet cleaner. The court noted the shape of the bottle was a registered trademark of Reckitt and, accordingly, restrained HUL from broadcasting the advertisement in any form until HUL removed all reference to Reckitts product. HUL appealed against the order of the single judge before a division bench of the high court. On April 13, a two-judge bench of the Delhi High Court confirmed the single judges order and noted that the impugned advertisement was disparaging to Reckitts product as it mentioned Harpic in particular and claimed that Domex fights bad odour for a longer period. Apart from that, it depicted the toilet bowl cleaned with Domex emanating fragrance while that cleaned with Harpic emanating a foul smell. The judgment noted that while an advertiser can indulge in many tactics to show their product in good light, the advertiser cannot claim that its competitors product is bad and its use would be detrimental to customers. The court further held the advertisement is untruthful to the extent that it reflects that the toilet cleaned by its product would emanate fragrance while the one cleaned by its rival would leave a foul smell. May not impact the brand value Nishidh Patel, intellectual law partner at Singhania and Co, said, While there may be a commercial loss to Domex of the expenses incurred on creating the advertisement, from the mass user perspective, I doubt if there will be any major impact on the brand. He noted that most people would not be aware of the court ruling and, secondly, the judgement does not hold anything bad about Domex. He said, The judgement holds that the advertisement released by Domex was disparaging to Harpic and, hence, needs be taken down. Correct in law but no far-reaching consequences Anushkaa Arora, principal and founder, ABA Law Offices, noted that the judgment lays down the correct position of law in India by holding that while comparative advertising is permissible, it cannot disparage competitors products. She said, I dont think there are far overreaching effects over this judgment in terms to market value or the reputation of the brand. However, it may have an effect on sales of the product Domex vis-a-vis Harpic and a game lost qua market strategies. Reaffirms law on disparagement Subhash Bhutoria, partner at DSK Legal, said, This judgment reaffirms the law on disparagement as laid down by the Supreme Court as well as various high courts, which restricts misleading ads. Domexs advertisement is found to be misleading as it showed Harpic in a bad light and hence the single judge had restricted the print media ad and had directed HUL to remove Harpics reference from the TVC (television commercial). He noted that the judgment is important as it clarifies the technical superiority of a product can be proved only after trial. Ensures probity in commercial advertising T. Sundar Ramanathan, partner at Sarvada Legal, said, The high court by reiterating that it is not open for an advertiser to claim that the product of its competitor is bad has ensured probity in commercial advertising.
A Russian woman who posted a nude photo of herself in front of a sacred tree has been deported from Bali, an official said Monday, the latest incident involving indelicate tourist acts on the Indonesian resort island. The 40-year-old woman, identified as Luiza Kosykh, left Bali's Denpasar on a late Sunday flight to Moscow, Bali legal and human rights agency official I Nengah Sukadana told AFP, just days after she was nabbed by immigration officials. Kosykh was arrested on Wednesday after her nude photo in front of the 700-year-old banyan went viral, angering local Hindus who revere the tree as sacred. She claimed the nude photograph was taken a few years ago and that she did not know the tree was considered sacred. The Russian, who claims to be a property investor, entered Bali in January using a temporary-stay visa which would have been valid until December of next year. Her deportation came less than two weeks after a Russian man got booted off the island for posting a photograph of himself half-naked atop a sacred mountain. The palm-fringed hotspot has vowed a crackdown on misbehaving tourists after a spate of incidents including acts of disrespect to the predominantly Hindu island's culture. The immigration department said it was pushing the local government to finish a guide for tourists who wish to visit Bali. "Not all tourists know what's allowed and what's not allowed in Bali. Therefore we urge the locals to observe their environment to prevent the incident from repeating," local legal and human rights agency official Anggiat Napitupulu told a press conference Sunday.
Apple CEO Tim Cook reached Delhi on April 19 for the upcoming launch of an Apple Store in the national capital. The store will open on April 20 in south Delhis Saket neighbourhood. Tim Cook has had a packed schedule since landing in India earlier this week. He started his India visit by meeting Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and Tata Sons chairman N Chandrasekaran, inaugurated Indias first Apple Store in Mumbais BKC, enjoyed vada pav with Madhuri Dixit and met some of the countrys top badminton stars. The CEO of Apple also paid a visit to an Akanksha Foundation school in Mumbai and interacted with several other artistes at the Apple Store before leaving for Delhi  where his first pit-stop was the Lodhi Art District. Tim Cook shared pictures from the vibrant art district this afternoon. Delhis Lodhi Art District is a remarkable public space. Congratulations to the St+art India Foundation and so many amazing artists for capturing Indian life so powerfully, he tweeted. Cook added a special shout-out for Goan mural artist Dattaraj Naik, who met the Apple boss at the art district and showed him how he designs murals on his iPad. Delhis Lodhi Art District is a remarkable public space. Congratulations to the St+art India Foundation and so many amazing artists for capturing Indian life so powerfully. And thank you to Dattaraj Naik for showing me how you design your murals on iPad. pic.twitter.com/5JuzlHRvPC  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023 The Lodhi Art District was born thanks to St+Art India Foundation, a non-profit organisation that invited street artists to showcase their murals in public spaces. The district today features artwork from over 50 India and international artists. It is located a few kilometres away from Apple Saket, the companys second official retail store in India that is all set to open tomorrow. Apple Saket features a unique design that takes inspiration from Delhi's many gates, each signifying a new chapter to the city's storied past, Apple said.
As the summer heatwave continues to ravage India, several states have issued guidelines for schools to take necessary precautions for the well-being of students. The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) had already warned states to make adequate preparations for a hotter-than-normal summer. Currently, the temperatures in several states have reached 45 degrees Celsius, with heatwave alerts being sounded in various regions. The heatwave is expected to continue until April 22-23, with temperatures predicted to rise further across the country, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). While the IMD has forecasted rainfall in some areas, it will be some time yet before the mercury drops. Here are some of the states and districts where schools are closed, or school timings have been changed: Delhi: The Delhi government has issued guidelines for schools, stating that afternoon assemblies will not be conducted due to the detrimental effects of high temperatures on the health of children and adolescents. The government has also advised schools to ensure the availability of drinking water to students and to sensitize students to cover their heads during the day. West Bengal: All educational institutions in West Bengal have been directed to remain closed from April 17 due to the "severe" heatwave. Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has urged private educational institutions to do the same during this period. She said children have been complaining of headaches and other health issues after coming back from school in the last few days. Odisha: Schools have reopened in Odisha, but they will run until 11 am, following an earlier directive to follow morning school timings. The temperature in at least 29 places in Odisha has recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with Baripada and Jharsuguda boiling at 44.2 degrees Celsius. The government has shut all schools and anganwadi centres on April 19-20, citing the intense heat. Tripura: The Tripura government has directed government schools to remain closed until April 23. The announcement was made by Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha, who stated that the heatwave across the state may cause a bad impact on students' health. Patna, Bihar: Due to the ongoing heatwave, school timings in Patna had been changed from 7 am to 1 pm to 6:30 am to 11:30 am. With Patna recording a temperature of 44.1 degrees Celsius, the highest this season, the district administration has issued an order directing all schools to wind up classes by 10.45 am from April 19. Jharkhand: According to the new schedule for Jharkhand schools, classes for students up to Class 5 will now take place between 7 am to 11 am. On the other hand, classes for students from Class 6 to 12 will continue until 12 pm. Meghalaya: The West Garo Hills district administration in Meghalaya has ordered schools to close for three days from Wednesday due to soaring temperatures. The order came in the wake of the mercury levels soaring above 37 degrees Celsius in the district, and even touching 40 degrees Celsius in the plains. Read: How to prevent heat-related ailments during heatwave in 4 points With the heatwave expected to continue for a few more days, it is essential to take necessary precautions like ensuring the availability of drinking water to students, and sensitizing them to cover their heads during the day to avoid any health-related issues.
Chinese authorities said on Wednesday they had detained a dozen people over a hospital fire in Beijing that left at least 29 dead and forced desperate survivors to jump out of windows to escape. The blaze, which broke out on Tuesday afternoon at the Changfeng Hospital in China's capital, killed mostly patients, and left scores of other people injured. Dramatic footage posted to social media showed people clinging to ropes and jumping from the building, while others perched on external air conditioning units in a desperate bid to shelter from the flames. The Fengtai district's deputy mayor expressed his "deep condolences" over the deaths of the 16 women and 13 men killed in the inferno, the deadliest in Beijing in over two decades. "We feel deep remorse and guilt," Li Zongrong told journalists as he announced the toll at a press conference on Wednesday. "I hereby express our deep condolences for the victims, and express our sincere respects to the victims' families, the injured and their relatives, and apologise to the people of the whole city," he said. Twelve people, including the hospital's director, have been detained in connection with the fire, said Sun Haitao from Beijing's public security bureau, adding that representatives from a company renovating the facility were among those being held. A preliminary probe revealed the blaze had been caused by "sparks generated during the internal renovation and construction of the inpatient department of the hospital", according to Zhao Yang from the city fire brigade. The sparks "ignited the volatile elements of the flammable paint on the site", Zhao said. - 39 hospitalised - State broadcaster CCTV reported that out of the dead, 26 were patients at the hospital, two were hospital staff, and one was a patient's family member. State-run People's Daily reported that as of Wednesday morning 39 people were being treated in hospital with injuries, and another three had been discharged. Top city officials visited the hospital shortly after the fire, which broke out at around 1:00 pm on Tuesday and was extinguished half an hour later. Beijing party secretary Yin Li vowed to "quickly identify the cause of the accident and hold the relevant responsible persons accountable", according to the Beijing Daily. AFP journalists on Wednesday saw dozens of people outside the entrance to the hospital, where a large number of police officers were stationed. Some of the hospital's windows appeared blackened and at least one was broken. The facade of one of the hospital buildings was completely blackened by soot. AFP journalists saw people who appeared to be investigators taking photos from inside the blackened building, with the interior visibly damaged by the flames. Many family members lost contact with patients in the aftermath of the disaster, the China Youth Daily said in a separate report on Wednesday, adding that many of them were elderly people with mobility problems. A police officer on the scene on Wednesday told AFP the city "will probably make the appropriate arrangements" to take care of victims' relatives. The hospital is located in the capital's western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from Tiananmen Square. Deadly fires are common in China due to weak safety standards and lax enforcement. Tuesday's tragedy was the deadliest in the Chinese capital since a June 2002 fire at an internet cafe killed 25 students. Ten people died in an apartment block blaze in northwestern Xinjiang in November, sparking protests against Covid-19 lockdowns blamed for hindering rescue efforts. And 38 people were killed in a fire at a factory in central China, also in November, with authorities blaming workers for illegal welding.
The Israelis had come to Mexico to clinch a major sale: The Mexican military was about to become the first client ever to buy their product, the worlds most advanced spyware. But before they could close the deal, an argument erupted over price and how quickly the spy tool could be delivered. A Mexican general overseeing the negotiations called for a pause until later that evening, according to two people present and a third with knowledge of the talks. Well pick you up at your hotel and make sure to arrange a better atmosphere, they recalled the general saying. That night, a convoy of cars arrived at the Israeli executives hotel and took them to a new spot for the fateful negotiations: a strip club in the heart of Mexico City. The generals security team ordered all the other clientele to leave the club, the three people said, and the talks resumed. It was in that dark cabaret in March 2011, among women dancing onstage and shots of tequila, that the most powerful cyberweapon in existence got its start. The spyware, known as Pegasus, has since become a global byword for the chilling reach of state surveillance, a tool used by governments from Europe to the Middle East to hack into thousands of cellphones. No place has had more experience with the promise and the peril of the technology than Mexico, the country that inaugurated its spread around the globe. A New York Times investigation based on interviews, documents and forensic tests of hacked phones shows the secret dealings that led Mexico to become Pegasus first client, and reveals that the country grew into the most prolific user of the worlds most infamous spyware. Mexico went on to wield the surveillance tool against civilians who stand up to the state  abuses the country insists it has stopped. But the Times found that Mexico has continued to use Pegasus to spy on people who defend human rights, even in recent months. Many tools can infiltrate your digital life, but Pegasus is exceptionally potent. It can infect your phone without any sign of intrusion and extract everything on it  every email, text message, photo, calendar appointment  while monitoring everything you do with it, in real time. It can record every keystroke, even when youre using encrypted applications, and watch through your phones camera or listen through its microphone, even if your phone appears to be turned off. It has been used to fight crime, helping to break up child-abuse rings and arrest notorious figures like Joaquin Guzman Loera, the drug lord known as El Chapo. But it has also been deployed illegally, again and again, with governments using Pegasus to spy on and stifle human rights defenders, democracy advocates, journalists and other citizens who challenge corruption and abuse. Alarmed at how Pegasus has been used to maliciously target dissidents across the globe, the Biden administration in 2021 blacklisted NSO Group, the Israeli company that manufactures the spyware. Soon after, Israels defense ministry  which must approve the export of Pegasus to other nations  said it would ban sales to countries where there was a risk of human rights violations. Yet, despite ample evidence of Pegasus abuses in Mexico, the Israeli government has not ordered an end to its use in Mexico, according to four people with knowledge of the contracts for the technology. In fact, Mexicos military is not only Pegasus longest-running client, the four people say, but it has also targeted more cellphones with the spyware than any other government agency in the world. And the spy tool continues to be deployed in the country, not just to combat crime. After the revelations that Pegasus had been wielded against government critics tarred his predecessor, President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who came to office in 2018, promised to stop what he called the illegal spying of the past. He did not. Previously undisclosed tests show that, as recently as the second half of 2022, Pegasus infiltrated the cellphones of two of the countrys leading human rights defenders, who provide legal representation to the victims of one of the most notorious mass disappearances in Mexican history. The military has a history of human rights abuses, and its role in the mass disappearance has been a focus of the investigation for years. As new allegations against the military surfaced in the case last year, the two advocates were targeted by Pegasus repeatedly, according to forensic testing conducted by Citizen Lab, a watchdog group based at the University of Toronto. The Mexican military is the only entity in the country currently operating Pegasus, the four people familiar with the contracts said. The Israeli defense ministry declined requests for comment. The Mexican defense ministry would not discuss the recent hack but said it followed the governments position, which asserts that intelligence gathering is in no way aimed at invading the private life of political, civic and media figures. This was the second wave of attacks on the phone of Santiago Aguirre, one of the human rights defenders. He had been targeted with Pegasus during the previous administration, too, Citizen Lab found. This government made so many promises that things would be different, Aguirre said. Our first reaction was to say, This cant be happening again. A spokesperson for the Mexican president declined to comment. In a statement, NSO Group said it adheres to strict regulation and cannot disclose the identity of its customers. The company challenged the conclusiveness of Citizen Labs forensic analyses, while Citizen Lab said it had no doubts about its findings. To verify whether Pegasus hacked the two Mexican human rights advocates in recent months, NSO Group said it would need to be given access to the data. But the advocates said they were not willing to give the governments spying partner any more of their private information. Pegasus beginnings in Mexico have long been shrouded in secrecy. After the night at the strip club, the Israeli executives of NSO Group, then a fledgling startup, returned to Tel Aviv with the outlines of their first sale. The next step was an actual contract. So, a few months later, a team of NSO representatives returned to Mexico to show off the spyware to some of the most powerful people in the country. On May 25, 2011, Eran Reshef, an Israeli defense industry executive who helped broker the deal, said in an email to NSOs chairman and its two founders that the demo to the Secretary of Defense and President will take place next Friday, referring to the president at the time, Felipe Calderon, and his secretary of defense, Guillermo Galvan Galvan. A copy of the email surfaced in an Israeli lawsuit over commissions from the sale of Pegasus to Mexico. Two of the people at the demonstration said it had taken place on a sprawling military base on the outskirts of Mexico City, where the first Pegasus machine would be installed. Fearing leaks, the Mexican army made the Israeli executives wait in a tiny room where cleaning supplies were kept so no one would see them before they made their presentation. An armed soldier was stationed outside the door. When Calderon and Galvan Galvan arrived, they sat in front of large screens on the wall  and watched a phone get hacked, the attendees said. Udi Doenyas, the chief technology officer of NSO Group who invented the Pegasus architecture and led the team that wrote the code behind the first version of the spyware, confirmed that he had connected the Pegasus system to a screen and handed a BlackBerry phone to senior Mexican officials. He asked them to use it. As they did, the phone showed no signs of being compromised, but the Pegasus system methodically began extracting every piece of data, beaming it onto the screen for all to see. This was the spywares superpower: the sneak attack. Miguel Angel Sosa, a spokesman for Calderon, acknowledged that the former president had paid a visit to a military facility, where he was given various presentations about the tasks being carried out, including the gathering of information and intelligence. But he said Calderon was never informed whether the spyware was eventually purchased, and that the former president was never told  nor did he inquire  what tools were used to capture criminals. At the time, Mexico desperately needed a way to reliably crack into BlackBerry phones, a device of choice for the nations fearsome drug cartels. From the start of his term in 2006, Calderon had pushed a so-called kingpin strategy for confronting organized crime, focusing on the groups top leaders. Pinpointing the drug lords required technology that allowed spies to follow their location constantly. The criminals were careful, former law enforcement officials said, moving around and shutting down their phones to avoid being captured. It didnt give you enough time to launch an operation, said Guillermo Valdes, the former director of CISEN, which was the countrys equivalent of the CIA, from 2007 to 2011. If someone turned off his phone, we no longer knew where he was. Up to that point, Mexico had relied heavily on the United States. The pressure on the military to raise its game in terms of intelligence capabilities was intense, said Alejandro Hope, a former intelligence officer during the Calderon administration. A potential draw of Pegasus, he said, is that it would give Mexico its own capabilities. They no longer wanted to be dependent on the Americans, Hope said. The military signed the contract to buy the spyware soon after the demonstration. In September 2011, about 30 NSO employees, most of the companys staff, flew to Mexico to set up Pegasus, test it and instruct a team of about 30 Mexican soldiers and officers how to operate the technology, according to three people familiar with the installation. The Mexican unit chosen to operate it was called the Military Intelligence Center, a secretive arm of the army about which little has been made public. Once the Mexicans were ready to run Pegasus on their own, a short ceremony took place that December as a way of handing over the keys, two of the people said. A document from 2019, unearthed in an enormous hack of Mexican military emails last year, indicate that the Mexican intelligence center is housed in a horseshoe-shape complex. Three people familiar with it say commanders can watch through internal glass walls as information unspools on huge screens. In a 2021 document, also made public by the hack, the army says that one of the main risks facing the center is that the activities carried out by this center are revealed to the public. Pegasus was quickly embraced by the Mexican authorities, and after Enrique Pena Nieto took office as president in 2012, two more government agencies bought it: the attorney generals office and CISEN, according to Mexican officials and three people with knowledge of the contracts. Within a few years, the spyware began infiltrating the phones of some of Mexicos most prominent human rights lawyers, journalists and anti-corruption activists  surveillance that strayed far from the agreement with the Israelis to target serious crime and terrorism. Condemnation came swiftly from at home and abroad, and the scandal clung to Pena Nieto for the rest of his presidency. In all, Mexico has spent more than $60 million on Pegasus, according to Mexican officials, citing spending by past administrations. The Mexican military has acknowledged having Pegasus only from 2011 to 2013. But a group of independent experts investigating the disappearance of 43 students who were planning to attend a protest said the military had Pegasus when they were abducted in 2014, and was spying on the phones of people involved in the crime on the night the events unfolded. It is not clear why the military was spying, but the intelligence was not used to help find the students, the experts said. After Lopez Obrador took office in 2018, he dissolved the federal police and replaced the Mexican spy agency with a new entity. From 2019 through today, only the military has had Pegasus, four people with knowledge of the contracts say. And during that time, the spyware has continued to be deployed against journalists, human rights defenders and an opposition politician, according to Citizen Labs analyses. Under Mexican law, government entities need a judges authorization to spy on private communications. But in public disclosures, the military has said it has not made any request to do that kind of surveillance in recent years. On a Thursday afternoon last December, Aguirre got an email that read like something out of a spy novel. Apple believes you are being targeted by state-sponsored attackers who are trying to remotely compromise the iPhone associated with your Apple ID, said the message, which was reviewed by the Times. These attackers are likely targeting you individually because of who you are or what you do. In 2021, Apple announced it would begin sending warnings like this to users whose cellphones had been hacked by sophisticated spyware. The email went on to say that sensitive data on Aguirres phone may be compromised, even the camera and microphone. Aguirre, the executive director of the Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez Human Rights Center, had been targeted years earlier with Pegasus. His stomach sank thinking of government spies poring over his entire digital life, from messages with torture survivors to family photos with his young daughter. Then it hit him: Others might be compromised, too. He ran down the hall to the office of Maria Luisa Aguilar, the lead advocate handling the groups international work. She had gotten the same email. The two advocates contacted the Mexican digital rights group known as R3D, which had their phone data analyzed by Citizen Lab. It confirmed that both were hacked multiple times by Pegasus from June through September 2022. In the eyes of the armed forces, we represent a risk, Aguilar said. They dont want to lose the power they have accumulated.
NASHVILLE, Tenn.  Its almost 4 p.m. at the Nashville branch of the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, and the students in the auto collision repair night class are just starting their school day.

One is sanding the seal off the bed of his 1989 Ford F-350. Another is patiently hammering out a banged-up fender. A third, Cheven Jones, is taking a break from working on his 2003 Lexus IS 300 to chat with some classmates.

While almost every sector of higher education has fewer students registering for classes, many trade programs are thriving. Jones and his classmates, seeking certificates and other short-term credentials  not associate degrees  are part of that upswing.

Trade programs are often more affordable than a traditional four-year degree, students note, and, for many, skilled trades offer a more obvious path to a job.

Mechanic and repair trade programs saw an enrollment increase of 11.5% from spring 2021 to 2022, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. In construction trades, enrollment grew 19.3%, and in culinary programs, it increased 12.7%. Meanwhile, overall enrollment declined 7.8% at public two-year colleges, and 3.4% at public four-year institutions.

In Tennessee, the states overall community college enrollment took a hit during the pandemic, despite a 2015 state program that made community college tuition free. But at the Tennessee College of Applied Technology, a network of 24 colleges that offers training for 70 occupations, many trade programs have continued to grow. At TCAT Nashville, several programs have waiting lists, and the college has added night classes to meet demand, said Nathan Garrett, president of the college.

TCAT focuses on training students for jobs that are in demand in the region, which appeals to many students in normal times, but Garrett said the pandemic may have underscored the need for workforce relevance.

When we look at essential workers, a lot of those trades never saw a slowdown, he said. They still hired. They still have the need. Automotive trades are always in demand, he added.

Even so, Joness pursuit of a degree at TCAT Nashville would perhaps be a surprise to his high school self. I didnt necessarily know what I wanted to do, said Jones, now 26. My biggest fear was to go to college, put in all that time and effort and then not use my degree.

So, at 18, Jones went to work in warehouses, spending long days loading and unloading heavy boxes from tractor-trailers. But after just a few years, he realized he needed a job that would make him happier, cause fewer injuries and pay him more. Trade school for a career fixing cars seemed like the best route.

Robert Nivyayos priorities became clear a bit earlier in his education, when he realized he didnt like high school. He spent most of his free time watching YouTube videos about fixing up cars before he was even licensed to drive.

Training in auto collision repair made sense for him, he said, because he could earn a credential while doing what he enjoyed, and without spending much time in the traditional classroom. Now 19, Nivyayo looks forward to the anticipated payoff when he gets a job in an auto shop. He can expect to make roughly $40,000 to $60,000 a year, depending on the shop, his instructor said.

Every new day, I just get more motivated, Nivyayo said.

Just a few doors down, Abbey Carlson is in the welding studio, wearing jeans with holes burnt through them and a cap to protect her hair. Shes the only woman in the nighttime welding class.

Carlson, now 24, had initially intended to attend a four-year college, but her plans were derailed by an addiction to alcohol. After dedicating herself to recovery, she decided to pursue a career in the trades.

After researching her options, she concluded welding would be the safest path to take as a young woman while also offering her the highest eventual earning potential. So far, shes enjoying her time at TCAT Nashville.

Finally, I feel like Im going to accomplish something in life, Carlson said.

Laura Monks, president of the Shelbyville branch of TCAT, said one of the reasons TCAT appeals to students is the schools co-op program, which gives students who are nearing graduation the chance to work in their desired field a few days a week while also getting credit toward their diploma.

Brayden Johnson, 20, who is in his fifth trimester studying industrial maintenance automation, has had the chance to work as an electrical maintenance technician in a local factory that makes tubes for toothpaste. Hes working the night shift, which comes with a slight pay bump, and is earning about $26 per hour.

He said he hopes to stay in the job after he finishes at TCAT this spring.

At trade schools like TCAT Nashville, students are drawn to the hands-on design of the courses, Garrett said. You need to get your hands on the equipment," he said of the school's philosophy. "You need to start building stuff, breaking stuff and then learn how to fix that stuff.

The opportunity to get real work experience in TCAT's co-op is an extra perk. The employer reports back to the students instructor so they know where the student is excelling and where they are struggling, so they can work on those weaknesses in class, Garrett said.

Fastest-growing jobs that pay over $100K Fastest-growing jobs that pay over $100K #50. Administrative services managers #49. General and operations managers #48. Facilities managers #47. Makeup artists, theatrical and performance #46. Advertising and promotions managers #45. Atmospheric, earth, marine, and space sciences teachers, postsecondary #44. Human resources managers #43. Education administrators, postsecondary #42. Nurse midwives #41. Training and development managers #40. Public relations managers #39. Construction managers #38. Producers and directors #37. Financial risk specialists #36. Physicists #35. Anthropology and archaeology teachers, postsecondary #34. Petroleum engineers #33. Economics teachers, postsecondary #32. Transportation, storage, and distribution managers #31. Financial and investment analysts #30. Psychiatrists #29. Law teachers, postsecondary #28. Computer systems analysts #27. Optometrists #26. Lawyers #25. Fundraising managers #24. Bioengineers and biomedical engineers #23. Marketing managers #22. Database architects #21. Management analysts #20. Nurse anesthetists #19. Engineering teachers, postsecondary #18. Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes #17. Chemical engineers #16. Biochemists and biophysicists #15. Personal financial advisors #14. Computer and information systems managers #13. Financial managers #12. Medical scientists, except epidemiologists #11. Veterinarians #10. Actuaries #9. Computer and information research scientists #8. Health specialties teachers, postsecondary #7. Software developers #6. Physician assistants #5. Medical and health services managers #4. Information security analysts #3. Athletes and sports competitors #2. Data scientists #1. Nurse practitioners
U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Thursday will lay out the Biden administration's principal objectives for the U.S.-China economic relationship in a speech in Washington, the Treasury said on Tuesday as tensions between the world's two largest economies has thwarted high-level meetings. Yellen, who said last week she still hopes to visit Beijing to meet with her new Chinese economic counterparts, will deliver remarks at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, the Treasury said in a statement. Yellen's speech will detail the Biden administration's economic priorities on China, including securing U.S. national security interests, fostering "healthy" competition and cooperating, where possible, on global issues such as climate change, debt relief and macroeconomic stability. Yellen also is expected to highlight U.S. economic strength. "During her remarks, Secretary Yellen will underscore that in its bilateral relationship with China, the United States proceeds with confidence about the enduring fundamental strength of our economy," the Treasury said, adding that she will discuss growth-enhancing investments in infrastructure, advanced semiconductor manufacturing and clean energy technologies. The scheduling of the speech follows last week's International Monetary Fund and World Bank Spring Meetings, where Yellen interacted with Chinese finance officials, including People's Bank of China governor Yi Gang, in plenary meetings and in a roundtable meeting aimed at ways to speed debt relief to poor countries. After U.S. President Joe Biden's meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the G20 Summit in Bali, Yellen has had several interactions with Chinese counterparts, including a meeting in January in Zurich with then-Vice Premier Liu He, at which they agreed to enhance communications on macroeconomic and finance issues. In-person meetings since then have been delayed by the controversy over the downing of a Chinese surveillance balloon that transited the continental U.S., and tensions over Taiwan president Tsai Ing-wen's meeting with U.S. House of Representative Kevin McCarthy. A Treasury official said the speech comes at an opportune time just after Yellen also spoke last week with counterparts from G7 democracies, Australia and New Zealand. Another audience for the remarks is China's new economic leadership team led by Liu's replacement, Vice Premier He Lifeng. Yellen will lay out U.S. priorities for "securing our national security interests and protecting human rights, including taking targeted actions to advance our vital interests where needed," the Treasury said., She also will stress the need for "healthy, and mutually beneficial, economic competition with a level playing field for American workers and businesses, including by working with our allies to press China on its unfair economic practices," the Treasury added.
A federal judge on Tuesday ordered JPMorgan Chase & Co CEO Jamie Dimon to set aside two days for depositions about what he knew about the bank's relationship with sex offender and former client Jeffrey Epstein. The largest U.S. bank faces lawsuits seeking damages by women who claim that Epstein sexually abused them, and by the U.S. Virgin Islands, where the late financier had a home. JPMorgan is separately suing former private banking chief Jes Staley, claiming he concealed what he knew about Epstein and should cover losses it may incur in the two lawsuits. U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff in Manhattan said Dimon can be questioned by the plaintiffs' lawyers for five hours, and by Staley's lawyer for two hours. Rakoff may allow more time if anyone requests it. JPMorgan had offered to make Dimon available for three hours. An Oct. 23 trial is scheduled. "The plaintiffs' counsel know our CEO has no relevant knowledge, but persist with this media stunt," JPMorgan said in a statement. "A review of more than two decades of emails and other documents makes it clear that he had no involvement with Epstein or his accounts. He does not recall ever meeting, speaking or communicating with him." Epstein was a JPMorgan client from 2000 to 2013, remaining so after pleading guilty in 2008 to a Florida state prostitution charge. In court papers, JPMorgan has been accused of knowing by 2006 that Epstein paid cash to have underage girls and young women brought to his home, and ignoring several internal warnings to cut ties with him. Dimon joined JPMorgan in 2004 and became CEO in December 2005. He has not been accused of wrongdoing. Lawyers for the plaintiffs and Staley did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Staley, who was Barclays Plc's (BARC.L) CEO from 2015 to 2021, has expressed regret for being friendly with Epstein. In August 2019, Epstein died of an apparent suicide in a Manhattan jail cell while awaiting trial for sex trafficking. The cases in the U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York are: Jane Doe 1 v JPMorgan Chase & Co, No. 22-10019; Government of the U.S. Virgin Islands v JPMorgan Chase Bank NA, No. 22-10904; and JPMorgan Chase Bank NA v Staley, in Nos. 22-10019 and 22-10904.
Debt-ridden Pakistan has shared its plan with the IMF to secure an additional USD 3 billion to meet the mandatory financing assurances laid by the global lender for it to release the country's stalled bailout plan, it emerged on Wednesday. The Washington-based global lender had asked Pakistan to arrange USD 6 billion in external financing but so far only USD 3 billion were arranged after Saudi Arabia agreed to provide USD 2 billion and the UAE pledged USD 1 billion. The USD 6 billion gaps had been worked out on the premise that Pakistan's current account deficit would remain around USD 7 billion in the current fiscal year ending on June 30, The Express Tribune newspaper reported on Wednesday. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) led coalition government has informed the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about its plan to secure a USD 450 million worth second Resilient Institutions for Sustainable Economy (RISE-II) budget support loan, it said. The government has also shared its plans to get USD 1 billion from Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and other commercial banks to materialise pledges secured at the Geneva moot. The Geneva conference held in January this year pledged several billion dollars to help Pakistan combat the challenges of climate change. The global community of 40 countries committed a sum exceeding USD 10 billion for 2022 devastating floods causing around USD 30 billion in infrastructure and economic damages. Official sources said that Pakistan asked the fund to give a nod to the agreement to release USD 1.1 billion out of a USD 7 billion bilateral program agreed upon in 2019, to make it easier to raise loans from the global market. Interestingly, all bilateral and multilateral donors and countries have also refused to provide loans to Islamabad until the IMF approved its agreement. The IMF has put forward tough conditions during talks held in February and refused to approve a staff-level agreement to release funds. The Shehbaz Sharif government has expressed anguish and frustration at the rough conditions by the fund but has been forced to toe the line due to the fear of default. The premier had earlier said that his country had fulfilled all "tough" conditions of the IMF for the staff-level agreement and that it should not delay in approving the agreement. But it is believed that the chances are slim and Pakistan would have to provide assurances that it would arrange USD 3 billion to bridge the financing gap. Cash-strapped Pakistan and the IMF have failed to reach a staff-level agreement on the much-needed USD 1.1 billion bailout package aimed at preventing the country from going bankrupt. The funds are part of a USD 6.5 billion bailout package the IMF approved in 2019, which analysts say is critical if Pakistan is to avoid defaulting on external debt obligations.
Ray Dalio plans to set up a branch of his family office in Abu Dhabi, part of the hedge fund billionaires deeper push into the Middle East. The Bridgewater Associates founder has cultivated a close relationship with the United Arab Emirates leadership over several decades and the new setup in the countrys capital builds upon the Dalio Family Offices existing hubs in the US and Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter. The new office will be located in Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial free zone in the emirate, which has wooed a cadre of big hedge funds, venture capital firms and crypto companies this past year. Plans are underway to bring in a team of experienced investment professionals to lead the arm of the family office, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private. As part of his push into the Middle East, Dalio is also exploring a broader investment partnership with Group 42, the artificial intelligence firm chaired by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the people said. One of their joint initiatives is a project to help develop Indonesias new capital, the people said. Dalio, whose net worth is estimated to be more than $16 billion, joins an expanding list of wealthy individuals who are setting up offices in the UAE. A number of hedge funds have flocked to Dubai in the past two years, drawn by the city-states low taxes, international connectivity and comfortable lifestyle. Neighboring Abu Dhabi, home to various sovereign wealth funds, has attracted its own share of big names, including Brevan Howard Asset Management. The Dalio Family Office helps handle the billionaires private investments as well as his philanthropic donations. Among those causes is ocean exploration, which he supports through his nonprofit OceanX.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak's register of ministerial interests was published by the UK Cabinet Office on Wednesday, revealing his wife Akshata Murtys shares in a childcare agency which could benefit from a policy in last month's Budget. The publication of the list came in the wake of a parliamentary watchdog probe opened by the UKs Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards last week to determine if the British Indian leader had been open and frank in his obligation under the parliamentary Code of Conduct. Now, a full List of Ministers Interests published online reveals Sunaks reference to his wifes interests as well under a section entitled Relevant interests of spouse partner or close family member". The Prime Ministers wife is a venture capital investor. She owns a venture capital investment company, Catamaran Ventures UK Limited, and a number of direct shareholdings, reads the register. As a footnote, it adds: As the Prime Minister set out in his letter to the Chair of the Liaison Committee on April 4, 2023, this includes the minority shareholding that his wife has in relation to the company, Koru Kids. Downing Street had maintained that Sunak, 42, followed the rules of ministerial conduct at all times and had declared his wifes interests as a ministerial interest. The publication of the register comes after a gap of 11 months when the last one was released and follows the Opposition's demands that the government come clean after the watchdog inquiry came to light. Downing Street sources said the inquiry relates to Murtys interest in Koru Kids Ltd, which is likely to benefit from a new pilot scheme announced in the Spring Budget last month to incentivise people to become childminders. Murty, the daughter of Infosys co-founder Narayana Murthy, is listed on the UKs Companies House register as a shareholder in Koru Kids  one of six childminder agencies in England listed on the government's website with contact details. The Opposition had flagged this fact last month and called for further explanations at a hearing of the Liaison Committee  made up of all House of Commons committee chairs. Labour MP Catherine McKinnell had asked Sunak if he had any interest to declare in relation to the new childcare policy. "No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way," he responded at the time. The parliamentary watchdogs investigation is to decide if there has been any breach of the code, which can then be put before MPs sitting on the Committee on Standards  which is responsible for deciding any sanctions. "We are happy to assist the Commissioner to clarify how this has been transparently declared as a ministerial interest," a Downing Street spokesperson said earlier this week. The UKs Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an independent officer of the House of Commons in charge of looking at evidence if individual British members of Parliament are feared to have broken a rule under the Code of Conduct.
Batteries play a crucial role in the energy transition. With the battery industry focusing on improving current lithium-ion batteries but also working on alternatives, therell be a lot of disruption in this industry, which keen-eyed investors can seek to capitalise on

Solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles

For all this, one technology will play a pivotal role: batteries. Batteries allow us to store excess electricity to then be used when needed.

And batteries are going to be a massive business. The size of the global battery market is expected to grow more than fourfold between 2021 and 2030, to reach close to US$424 billion.

Of course, the dominant battery at the moment is the lithium-ion battery.

But this is a decades-old technology. Whats more, lithium-ion batteries need massive amounts of critical materials, like cobalt.

So theres been plenty of efforts to improve lithium-ion batteries to decrease charging times, increase capacity, and make them cheaper.

For instance, recently, the Illinois Institute of Technology  working with the US Department of Energys Argonne National Laboratory  said its developed a lithium-air battery design that could boost energy density to four times that of lithium-ion batteries. This would allow for much longer driving ranges and, so they say, even one day, power a plane and long-haul trucks.

But theres also been much work done in replacing lithium-ion batteries all together.

Chinese company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co (CATL), for example, had some big news this week on this front

The battery race is on

If you havent heard of CATL, its the biggest lithium-ion battery manufacturer in the world.

Earlier this week, the company released some interesting news that itll be installing sodium-ion batteries in EV models made by Chinese automaker Chery.

As you may have guessed, sodium-ion batteries are made with sodium, a material thats found in salt thats cheap and abundant.

So, this would make these batteries cheaper to produce than lithium-ion batteries. Sodium-ion batteries also have some other advantages, like the fact that they work better in cold climates.

Traditionally, the problem with sodium-ion batteries has been energy density. That is, these batteries need to be bigger than lithium-ion batteries to get the same amount of charge. Its why, along with the fact that there are worries about how many times we can charge these batteries, theres always doubt as to whether these batteries could be used in electric vehicles where space is compact.

CATL has been working on developing these batteries for a while, and unveiled their first-generation sodium-ion battery pack in July 2021:

At the time, the company said the sodium-ion battery could achieve up to 160Wh/kg in energy density, lower than lithium iron phosphate batteries (LFP), which companies like Tesla have started to use in their standard range models since theyre cheaper and use no cobalt.

But CATL said that the next-gen sodium-ion battery would pass 200 Wh/kg and that it would start building a basic industrial chain by this year.

There arent too many details out yet, but if this is true, sodium-ion batteries could start competing with lithium-ion batteries in the lower-range end of the market.

CATL isnt the first to use sodium-ion batteries in a car either.

In late February, Hina Battery built a test vehicle using sodium-ion batteries.

And CATL isnt the only one with big plans for sodium-ion batteries. BYD also has plans to mass produce sodium-ion batteries this year for its Qin EV, Dolphin, and Seagull models.

Whats interesting is that CATL says its also discovered a way to mesh both sodium-cells and lithium cells, which could mean a battery that has the best of both worlds. That is, lower costs, performs well in cold weather, and with better range.

As I say though, there isnt too much info out there yet, and building and scaling up battery supply chains isnt easy.

But the fact that the largest battery manufacturer in the world is going to be installing sodium-ion batteries in EVs is very exciting news indeed.

In particular, in electric vehicles (EVs), where the battery makes up most of the costs, cheaper batteries will allow for cheaper EVs and more EV adoption.

If this all holds, it could be a game changer for EVs.

The future of batteries is unwritten

Theres plenty of disruption coming to the battery industry.

Not only in EVs, but also in stationary storage. Lithium-ion batteries are getting disrupted with sodium-ion batteries and flow batteries, to name a couple.

While lithium-ion continues to be the battery of choice, as you can see, things could change very quickly in this space. Its all ripe for disruption.

Best,

Selva Freigedo,

For Money Morning
Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Great Wall Motor showcased over 15 smart new energy vehicle models at the Auto Shanghai 2023 on April 18, including 2 brand-new models who made their global debut.



Gaoshan; photo credit: Great Wall Motor

Firstly, the groups WEY brand introduced to the public the Gaoshan (Chinese for high mountains) high-end MPV model. Riding on WEYs dedicated platform for premium new energy MPVs, the Gaoshan is designed to express the communion between human and nature.

Aside from the Gaoshan MPV, WEY also unveiled a full-sizde six-seater flagship new energy SUV model, which will further strengthen the brands product competitiveness in the six/seven-seater vehicle market.

On the other hand, Great Wall Motors TANK brand released its all-new TANK 500 Hi4-T version and kicked off presale with a price of 360,000 yuan.

TANK 500 Hi4-T; photo credit: Great Wall Motor

The Hi4-T is a hybrid electric architecture that holds such traits as sustainable power output and precise intelligent energy management, which fully meet users need for power in off-road experience while saving energy.
The Coconino County Education Service Agency (CCESA) will be naming its teacher of the year and rookie teacher of the rear for 2023 at an awards ceremony set to take place Thursday.

The agency has announced the finalists -- who this year are all Flagstaff Unified School District teachers -- for both awards

The award recognizes preschool through 12th-grade teachers across the county, naming one teacher and rookie teacher of the year in addition to two ambassadors for excellence in each category. This is the 10th annual Teacher of the Year awards, the fifth year for the rookie recognition and the second for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

A total of 27 teachers were nominated this year -- 19 for teacher of the year and seven for rookie teacher of the year.

Teacher of the year nominees included Josh Adams of Tse'Yaato' High School; Lauren Bradshaw and Victoria Tomas of Puente de Hozho; Matt Clark of Flagstaff Junior Academy; Jessica Donnelly of Kinsey Elementary; Paul Gallagher of Northland Preparatory Academy; Keri Guggisberg of Williams Elementary; Jennifer Haremza of Montessori School; Elaine Layman, Emma Ricciardi and Michelle Weidinger of DeMiguel Elementary; Kathleen Malkhassian of Thomas Elementary; Allison Mitkowski of Williams High School; Jessie O'Keefe of Coconino High School; Roman Sanchez of Heritage Elementary, and Mandy Wilson of Flagstaff Christian School.

The rookie teacher nominees are Ariana Ayup, Angelica Quezada and Fernanda Robles of Puente de Hozho; Tessa Cruse of Kinsey Elementary; and Meghan Mears of Marshall Elementary.

The three finalists in both categories will win cash prizes and a nomination for the Arizona Teacher of the Year Award. The teacher of the year winner will also receive a one-year lease to a car from Flagstaff Findlay Toyota.

The three teacher of the year finalists for 2023 are Lisa Barnard, Emily Fisher and Kate Haynes. Though they hadnt met before being nominated for the award, a few of the same students had passed through some of their classrooms over the years.

Barnard has been a teacher for 11 years and currently teaches sixth-grade science at Sinagua Middle School. She decided to switch from geology to education after working for the Boys and Girls Club and seeing her younger brother start college for education.

I love when students just get it, they just click and they're excited, she said. They have that passion for learning and they come to school excited to learn. I just love their passion and passing on that lifelong love.

She said her students were excited to hear about the nomination, and especially about the classroom visit to film. Fisher said her fifth-graders were similarly excited to perform during filming.

My students said they felt like movie stars and they dressed up, Barnard said.

Haynes is a preschool special education teacher at Knoles Elementary School and says she had always wanted to be a teacher. After earning a teaching degree in London, she moved to Flagstaff, where shed done an exchange program at Northern Arizona University and started working for the school district.

I really wanted to specialize more for early intervention and early childhood education, because thats the foundation for the rest of the grades, she said.

She said her favorite part of teaching was helping students enjoy their first experience of school.

Fisher has spent 13 years teaching and currently teaches at Marshall Elementary School. She was inspired to start teaching by her mom, who was a preschool teacher, and other incredible teachers she had in school.

I've always loved learning, and I wanted to pass that passion and excitement for learning new things and growing onto others, she said.

She taught her current class of fifth-graders in fourth grade as well and said one of her favorite things is their sarcastic sense of humor.

When we can learn and then also be silly together as a community and understand the team weve built, its a really special feeling, she said.  ... [You] get to know them and watch them all grow.

The rookie teacher of the year nominees for 2023 are Kellen Brandel, Crystal Busath and Josie Teegardin. All three are in their second year of teaching.

Teegardin teaches sixth-grade social studies at Mount Elden Middle School, and says shes always had a passion for teaching, listing her parents (both teachers themselves) and classroom teachers as examples of role models.

One of the most important things Ive learned is to collaborate with your team at school -- work together, share ideas, she said of her time teaching so far. ... We learn from each other.

She said she hoped students would leave her classroom knowing that theyre accepted and theyre loved.

I just want to make sure they know they are valued and that they can contribute to the world or society, and are able to be an example to others as well, establish those friendships and relationships better, she said.

Busath, who began working for the district after graduating from a teaching program at NAU. teaches preschool at Kinsey Elementary and similarly has been interested in teaching for a very long time.

Ive had really good teachers who would inspire me, she said. I hope to be as good as they are.

She also had a variety of hopes for her students.

One of the most important takeaways I want them to have are to feel like a real person, not another number on the page, and to learn how to work together in groups, support each other, be kind to one another and learn how to ask for help when they need it because they can succeed at anything," she said.

Brandel teaches Spanish at Flagstaff High School and has had a variety of teaching experiences so far, including in Costa Rica, France, Spain and the Murdoch Center in Flagstaff.

He first learned Spanish in a high school class and then spent a gap year before college teaching English and studying Spanish in El Salvador.

You know when you find a subject or an interest that just grabs you and its like, 'Woah, this is totally changing the way that I think about things,' he said. I think I was interested in that. ...It just opened my world, and after that I continued to pursue study abroad."

He said he hoped his students would leave the classroom with a better knowledge of Spanish and an interest in learning.

I love learning. I hope I never stop, and I want my students to have that same sort of passion -- to learn, to be open to new things, to be willing to put themselves into situations maybe outside their comfort zone, and ultimately take those skills into other aspects of their life and be successful, he said.

The teacher finalists thanked the organizers, particularly program coordinator Michelle Despain, for their work on the awards program. The ceremony is also sponsored by several local organizations.

More can be found at coconino.az.gov/1863/Celebrate.
WAYNE  A former Winside Public Schools art teacher was sentenced Monday to 180 days in jail for having sexual contact with a student.

Judge Ross Stoffer also placed Rachel McPhillips, 29, of Norfolk, on two years' probation.

McPhillips pleaded no contest in February in Wayne County Court to amended charges of disturbing the peace and attempted child abuse. She had initially been charged with third-degree sexual assault and child abuse.

McPhillips was arrested a year ago for having sexual contact from September 2021 through April 2022 with a male student who was then age 15 and turned 16 during that time period.

McPhillips was the first of two Winside teachers accused of having inappropriate contact with a student in the past year.

Cali Heikes, 26, of Winside, was arrested in January and faces charges of first-degree sexual abuse by a school employee and two counts of second-degree sexual abuse by a school employee. Heikes is accused of having sexual contact with a 16-year-old male student.
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MILFORD, Conn. (AP)  As the killer of her boyfriend was about to be sentenced to 55 years in prison Wednesday, Shannon Spies said the plea deal provided no solace. It couldn't bring back Nicholas Eisele, or erase the trauma of being a kidnapping victim.

On March 24, 2020, Peter Manfredonia shot Eisele to death in Spies apartment in Derby, Connecticut. He then proceeded to abduct Spies, leading to a six-day manhunt in several states before authorities captured him. Two days before the shooting, Manfredonia had killed another man and seriously wounded a second in a Samurai sword attack on the other side of the state.

I wont lie. This plea deal does nothing for me except close the door on this court case, Spies, 25, said during emotional testimony at Manfredonia's sentencing hearing in Milford Superior Court. "The damage can never be undone. None of this brings Nick back or makes me feel whole again.

I will never be the person I was before then, she said. I will never feel safe, even in a room surrounded by only people I know. I will always look at the world differently.

Spies said she hoped her testimony haunts" Manfredonia for the rest of his life.

Manfredonia, 26, a former University of Connecticut student, wore a tan prison uniform with his hands in cuffs and apologized to Spies and Eisele's family. He also was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday to another 55-year prison term for the sword attack in Willington. He pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in both cases.

Before he spoke, Manfredonia's lawyer, Michael Dolan, said his client's mental health problems contributed to the spree of violence but were not an excuse. For most of the hearing, Manfredonia looked straight ahead  not looking at the witnesses and showing little emotion. It remained unclear what prompted the attacks.

There are no words that can possibly atone for what I have done, he said to Eisele's family. My actions were nothing short of reprehensible. ... Nick was a good young man to whom I felt no ill will or malice. My actions were senseless. Please know you have my deepest apology.

Eisele and Manfredonia were school classmates growing up in Newtown, Connecticut, the town where 20 children and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Eisele's sister, Jessica, survived the school shooting.

As a survivor of the Sandy Hook school shooting, I was forced to relive the trauma and pain of 12/14 as Peter used the same source of violence to end my brothers life, Jessica Eisele said in court Wednesday. Peter Manfredonia is a monster who must be punished for what he has done. My brother is gone and will forever be. Theres no way for me and family to recover from that.

About 40 relatives and friends of Nicholas Eisele filled the courtroom, with his mother and several others testifying. Many wept at times and were comforted by others.

After killing Eisele, Manfredonia forced Spies into her car and fled the state. He let her go, physically unharmed, near Columbia, New Jersey. Following searches in Pennsylvania, authorities finally captured Manfredonia near a truck stop in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Two days before shooting Eisele, Manfredonia killed Ted DeMers, 62, and seriously wounded an 80-year-old man who lost several fingers and part of his ear in a Samurai sword attack.

After the attack, police said Manfredonia broke into another mans house in Willington and held him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms. The man later told police that Manfredonia told him he just flipped.

Ansonia/Milford State's Attorney Margaret Kelley called the killing of Eisele and the kidnapping of Spies horrific and a senseless tragedy" that severely damaged others' lives.

Judge Peter Brown said the 55-year sentence would do nothing to dull the pain suffered by Spies and Eisele's family.

Spies' testimony was the first time she spoke publicly about the ordeal. Though she didn't detail much about the hours she spent with Manfredonia as his captive, she said he tried to hug her at one point while apologizing for killing Eisele.

The version of myself that went to bed with my boyfriend  my best friend and the sweetest man Ive ever met  on May 23 was not alive anymore when my parents picked me up from a state police headquarters in New Jersey on May 24, she testified.

I lost absolutely everything I had, Spies said. I lost my best friend and my partner. Theres no telling how amazing our future could have been and I was robbed of ever knowing that happiness. I was robbed of ever knowing peace again, of feeling safe anywhere, even in my own home. I was robbed of my home. My apartment was a crime scene.
Tim Fischer/Midland Reporter-Telegram

Five people were turned over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation following a suspicious call at a bank in south Midland, according to the Midland Police Department.

MPD reported that officers were dispatched Tuesday at about 2:15 p.m. to the Community National Bank at 601 E. Florida Ave. regarding a suspicious person call.
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PARIS (AP)  In France, when presidents take strolls among the public, theyre described as taking a crowd bath. Emmanuel Macron took a very cold one on Wednesday.

Braving hecklers who shouted for him to resign, the French leader threw himself into the uphill task of repairing damage done to his presidency by forcing through unpopular pension reforms, taking his first such crowd bath since he enacted the law last week.

The visit to eastern France, close to the border with Germany, was part of a concerted new effort by Macron and his government to put the furor caused by the pension change behind him. Raising the retirement age from 62 to 64 has ignited a months-long firestorm of protest in France.

The uproarious climate of discontent threatens Macrons ability to get some other planned policies through in the remaining four years of his second and last term. He got to see first-hand how unhappy people still are when he mingled among a crowd in the town of Selestat.

One man who shook his hand didn't hold back and told Macron that his government is corrupt -- a claim that Macron immediately denied.

Youll soon fall! Youll see, the man said.

Working his way along the crowd, which was kept back by a metal barrier, Macron argued for his pension reform but also acknowledged that it was "unpopular."

It doesnt make anyone happy to work more and for longer, he said.

Still, he insisted that he wouldnt be cowed from mixing with people. Macron is generally a fan of crowd baths, to the dismay of his security detail, and doesnt shy away from his critics.

Ive known worse, he said.

In the background, some shouted Macron, resign!, or intoned a song that has become an anthem of the retirement protests.

Earlier Wednesday, during a visit to a company specializing in wooden buildings, Macron was met by a silent protest: Lawmaker Emmanuel Fernandes of the far-left France Unbowed party appeared wearing a gag over his mouth bearing the number 49-3, a reference to the constitutional article that the government used to force the new pension age through parliament without a vote.

Later, in the calm of the offices of Selestat's mayor, Macron repeatedly stressed that France needs to move ahead with other priorities. He cited climate change, drought, education and other issues.

Were not always a country thats calm, but we have to advance, he told reporters.

By voluntarily facing hostile crowds, Macron appeared to be trying to break the image his critics painted of him as haughty and out-of-touch.

Im not deaf,'' he said inside town hall. There are people who are very angry. I respect them."

He repeated that not reforming the pension system would have saddled next generations with debt. Unions and other opponents argue that wealthy taxpayers or companies should pitch in more instead, and see the reform as an erosion of France's social safety net.

Undeterred by the hostile welcome Wednesday, Macron vowed to continue traveling across the country.

We have to continue explaining and moving ahead with the rest, he said.

Macron then again braved boos and chants outside to shake a few more hands. He left with protesters shouting, Retirement at 60: We fought to get it and well fight to keep it.

The hard-left CGT union planned scattered protest actions for Thursday. All of Frances main unions said they would hold nationwide protests on May 1 to coincide with International Workers Day.

___

Follow AP's coverage of the French government at https://apnews.com/hub/france-government
State Sens. Jane Raybould, left, and Tom Brewer meet on the floor of the Legislature during debate on Brewer's gun legislation on Friday, March 3, 2023, in Lincoln. Raybould emerged as a primary opponent to the concealed carry legislation. (Zach Wendling/Nebraska Examiner)

LINCOLN  Nebraskans who want to carry concealed handguns in public will soon be able to do so legally without a state permit or state-mandated gun safety training.

Once the bill becomes law, Omaha and Lincoln will lose the authority to enforce the stricter city gun ordinances, which local police chiefs and police unions have said helped them prevent some gang-related violent crimes.

The Legislature gave final approval Wednesday to Legislative Bill 77, sponsored by State Sen. Tom Brewer, aimed at reducing state and local restrictions on handgun possession. Its the seventh year Brewer has sought passage of such a bill.

Brewer, a retired Army colonel who represents north-central Nebraska, celebrated an end to years of confusion about where Nebraskans can carry a concealed handgun because of varying local restrictions. He said his only aim was to ensure people could freely exercise their constitutional right.

The hundreds of hours meeting with individuals, law enforcement, cities, trying to weave through all the obstacles, we finally got there, Brewer said. It was a good day. It was a good win. We got a constitutional right back for people who should have that right.

State Sen. Julie Slama of Dunbar described Wednesday as a wonderful day for our Second Amendment rights in Nebraska! Her comments echoed the views of other conservatives.

Opponents call changes dangerous

Opponents of the bill, including the police chiefs and mayors in Omaha and Lincoln, have told lawmakers the state needs different public safety approaches in rural and urban Nebraska.

State Sen. Tony Vargas of Omaha said the state should have done what it has done with other laws, which is to tailor them to the needs of the type of city affected.

I am hearing from people in my community that they do not want this bill passed, he said.

State Sen. Jane Raybould of Lincoln led much of the organized resistance to the bill during floor debate. She said statistics from 34 states that have passed fewer restrictions on carrying concealed handguns indicate that more Nebraskans will be injured and killed in gun violence after the passage of LB 77.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list guns as the leading cause of death nationally for young people, although some conservatives have challenged the accuracy of the statistics.

We have become one nation under guns, Raybould said. And that is not an American value, nor even a moral value.

State Sen. Jen Day of Omaha warned that the bill would make it legal for an elderly man with dementia or someone accused of a violent felony to carry a concealed handgun. Day, Raybould and Sen. John Cavanaugh warned of unintended consequences of the bills language, which would eliminate city ordinances about weapons that are more restrictive than state law.

Emotions high

Sen. Mike Jacobson of North Platte joined several senators from central and western Nebraska who said criminals arent worried about following the law and that they are already armed.

We have laws out there that say you cant possess drugs, Jacobson said. How is that working?

Sen. Steve Halloran of Hastings joked that he might propose a bill requiring criminals to take a gun safety course.

Emotions were high during the rare filibuster on the third and final reading for the bill  both on the legislative floor and among visitors in the gallery.

Immediately after LB 77 passed, the Nebraska State Patrol removed a local gun-control advocate from the gallery after she yelled shame to senators from the balcony. She shouted that voters would remember their decision. She was later banned from the Capitol.

McDonnell overcomes filibuster

LB 77 received exactly the 33 votes it needed to overcome a filibuster, requiring the votes of all 32 Republicans in the Legislature and one Democrat, State Sen. Mike McDonnell of Omaha. Last year, a similar Brewer bill fell two votes short of ending a filibuster.

Two other Omaha Democrats who had previously voted to end debate on the bill, State Sens. Terrell McKinney and Justin Wayne, didnt attend the vote Wednesday. Brewer said he had worried their absence might make him wait another year on the bill.

McDonnell, a former president of the union representing Omaha firefighters, credited Brewer for working with local law enforcement unions to address some of their concerns. He said thats why he supported the bill, which passed 33-14.

Sgt. Anthony Conner of the Omaha Police Officers Association said the union worked with Brewer to blunt the worst potential impacts of the bill.

Conner said Brewer amended his bill to clarify that people who commit felonies and lose their gun rights will face felonies for carrying guns, instead of a misdemeanor. And repeatedly refusing to tell law enforcement officers about a concealed handgun will be a felony.

The Omaha and Lincoln police unions do worry, though, about losing local gun ordinances. Local law enforcement officers sometimes enforce those ordinances more stringently after shootings to turn down the temperature on escalating fights between gangs.

We were glad he worked with us, but it would be inaccurate to say we support the bill, Conner said. Senator Brewer said he would work with us in the future if we see problems.

State Sen. Tom Briese of Albion said most law enforcement agencies in Nebraska supported LB 77, including the county sheriffs association.

Still some limits

Carrying a concealed handgun is still restricted under LB 77 in certain places. Among them: bars, churches, hospitals, banks, schools, government buildings and courtrooms. After the bill becomes law, Nebraskans wont legally be able to carry a concealed handgun at government meetings, political rallies, major sporting events, police stations, jails or prisons.

Nebraska law already allows people to openly carry guns in most places, including the Capitol, as long as the weapon is visible.

But adults 21 and over who havent lost their gun rights will be able to legally carry at most other places in the state. They wont be able to carry while having alcohol or drugs in their system. People can lose their gun rights if they are convicted of a felony or have been civilly committed.

Gov. Jim Pillen plans to sign the bill into law Tuesday. LB 77 has no emergency clause, so it will become law 90 days after the legislative session ends.

Nebraska Examiner intern Zach Wendling contributed to this report.
Missoulas breakneck pace of building projects shows no sign of cooling off.

The total market value of all construction in Missoula in 2022 was $322.7 million, just shy of the all-time record of $325.2 million set in 2021.

Thats according to the citys Community Planning, Development and Innovation office, which issued 1,067 building permits last year.

Since the end of the Great Recession, red-hot demand for housing in Missoula and a correlated interest in commercial projects has fueled a long-running building boom, although some years have seen much more activity than others.

The market value of all projects in Missoula hit a spike of $277 million in 2017, dipped in 2018, 2019 and 2020 and then roared back to unprecedented heights after the pandemic in 2021 and 2022.

The number of permitted dwelling units decreased 36% from 2021 to 2022, from a total of 1,338 to 861. Still, thats a huge increase from the roughly 460 homes each year that were permitted in both 2019 and 2020.

One of the big reasons why 2021 saw so many housing units green-lighted was because of a huge apartment project on the Northside, The Villagio.

There were a few big housing projects permitted in 2022, including a 42-unit complex on Rimel Road and a 35-unit apartment project on southwest Higgins. A search of all the building projects listed by the city last year reveals lots of cannabis dispensaries as well as a new Texas Roadhouse restaurant at Southgate Mall, right next to a new Hobby Lobby. Both those projects are still under construction.

Eran Pehan, the director of the city's office of Community Planning, Development and Innovation, said she and her team have been inundated with development applications. They've tried to reorganize to speed up the process over the last couple years.

"Weve made and maintained good progress on building permits review times with our current level of staff," she said in an email. "However, to achieve that, and to address our historic level of subdivision applications, other things have suffered. This has resulted in backlogs and delays for rezoning applications, subdivision exemption applications, and other reviews that do not have statutory deadlines."

The office reorganized in November of 2020 in the face of crushing demand.

"The decision to prioritize building permits was one we made in collaboration with the development community," Pehan said. "It was the most effective thing we could do to support the creation of new homes today while addressing the larger complications and delays related to our code. This prioritization has allowed us to make tangible and meaningful progress towards our immediate goal to create more housing, while working on the broader goal to modernize our code."

The city is in the process of rewriting its building and zoning codes.

"One of our primary goals in code reform is to streamline and simplify our code, which will allow us to make even more headway on permit review timelines alongside reducing the review times for all other land use review, without needing to add significant capacity to our planning team," Pehan added.

Missoula Mayor Jordan Hess, speaking at a recent City Club Missoula forum, said code reform will be transformative.

"(It) doesn't sound very sexy," he said. "But it is probably the most impactful thing that we can do to improve the livability of our community and the affordability of housing for the next generation."

Looking forward

It appears 2023 will also be a year of explosive growth. Even out-of-state developers are getting in on the action. For example, an Arizona company called Miramonte Homes is planning a 163-unit subdivision on the western edge of Missoula. That's in addition to a 146-unit development it's in the final stages of completing nearby.

Eric Entringer, president of the company, said it was attracted to the Missoula market for a number of reasons.

"The city offers an exceptional quality of life to its residents with a publicly funded four-year university, employment diversification, job growth, exceptional open space and more," he said.

It may have more projects on the horizon.

"Miramonte is a long-term investor in the markets we operate, including both the city and county of Missoula as well as greater Montana," Entringer said. "We continue to look for development opportunities throughout the city and county and are excited about our future projects in Missoula."

Commercial buildings are also an important part of the construction boom.

A huge new mixed-use residential and commercial complex is under construction near the intersection of Mullan and Reserve Street. Called Mullan Crossing, it will feature restaurants, housing and business spaces.

Recently the Missoula Economic Partnership helped secure a $27,000 state-funded planning grant to help Zip Beverage expand and build a massive new distribution warehouse and headquarters in town.

"Zip Beverage is expanding into new markets, hiring and training new employees and investing in their Missoula headquarters," said Grant Kier, CEO of the Partnership. "The Big Sky Trust Fund grant will support architectural and engineering planning for their new facility."

For a list of big development projects in the works that need to be reviewed by the city, visit EngageMissoula.com.
The office of the Guam Ancestral Lands Commission is shown Jan. 23, 2023. The commission continues to weigh actions related to a years-old estate case.
From left, Rotary Club of Saipan President-elect Irene Holl, Sgt.-at-Arms Mario Valentino, President Wendell Posadas, Department of Public Safety Sgt. and Crime Stopper Coordinator Frederick Sato, Rotary Club of Saipan Vice President Jessy Loomis, Secretary Joann Aquino and Rotarian Bryan Clayton.
In 1975, Scott Brown wanted to call his new outdoor gear store Porcupine. His partner wanted to call it Switchback.

They were knocking names around while eating at a diner. An old hippie sitting nearby was eavesdropping, Brown said. The man suggested naming the store after the place where expeditions begin, the base camp.

The name stuck as Brown and his partner opened their first store that year in Helena.

In 1990, they opened the second Base Camp at 1730 Grand Avenue in Billings.

Now, both stores and the buildings theyre in are for sale. Brown turns 71 this year and said his wife joked with him recently that she didnt want him to die running the stores and leave the trouble to her. Theyre going to sell while theyre still active and healthy and spend their retirement paddling, hiking and traveling.

Weve really been lucky over the years to have the kind of community support weve had, Brown said Tuesday.

When big chain outdoor stores like Scheels and REI moved to town, Brown said he hardly felt it. And, while nearly everyone hated the recent pandemic, for the Base Camp, it was good for business.

Our sales greatly increased during the pandemic and have stayed at that level ever since, he said. People were penned up and wanted to get outside, and that has lasted. And, people are still more active as a result.

His hope is to sell both stores together and that they remain Base Camps and that they keep the current staff in place. Some employees have worked more than 20 or 30 years for the stores.

Naming the stores Base Camp wasnt the only unsolicited advice Brown heeded on his way to being a successful business owner.

As a student at the University of Montana in the 1970s, Brown was on track to become a lawyer, the third in his family. He and some friends attended a lecture from the visiting British writer Anthony Burgess. The flamboyant and defiant author of A Clockwork Orange, recommended the students drop out of school and follow their bliss.

The next day, Brown and one of his friends did just that, and took off for Mexico, stopping along the way to inform their parents.

Brown reflects on that advice, and the unanticipated career path it set him on, with gratitude.

We made a good thing of it, he said.
Members of the Saipan Southern High School Manta Ray Battalion Color Guard present the colors during the inauguration ceremony for the 19th CNMI Youth Congress at the legislative building on Saturday.
Julius Adamek / EyeEm/Getty Images/EyeEm

A St. Louis man is headed to federal prison for the next 50 years after murdering a security guard during a bank robbery in East St. Louis nearly two years ago.

Jaylan Quinn, 23, pled guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of using a firearm to commit murder in the shooting death of bank security guard Ted Horn. After his imprisonment, the defendant will serve five years of supervised release. Quinn was also ordered to pay $7,280 in restitution.
Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Michael D. Rogers, 42, of 201 E. Myrtle St., Virginia, was arrested at 10:38 p.m. Monday on a charge of obstructing a peace officer. Police said he refused to release a patient who ran from Jacksonville Memorial Hospital, 1600 W. Walnut St., preventing officers from returning the patient to the hospital.

THEFTS, BURGLARIES

 A motorcycle valued at $4,000 was stolen between 4 p.m. Sunday and 9 a.m. Monday from the 1100 block of North Diamond Street.

 A cellphone was taken between 9:30 p.m. Friday and 6 a.m. Saturday from the lobby of the post office at 200 W. Court St.

VANDALISM

 A window was broken at a residence in the 300 block of South Fayette Street, according to a report filed at 9:01 p.m. Monday.

OTHER REPORTS

 Strong winds caused a powerline to drop into the road about 1:25 p.m. Monday in the 300 block of East Wolcott Street. Police blocked traffic until Ameren workers were able to remove the line.

South Jacksonville Police

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Carl R. Stark, 23, of Jacksonville was cited on a charge of driving while license is suspended after being stopped at 4:16 p.m. Sunday in the 2200 block of South Main Street.

Brown County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Alexis R. Dotzert, 19, of Arenzville was cited at 3:57 p.m. April 11 on Main Street at Yates Avenue on a charge of operating an uninsured vehicle.

 Randy W. Crawford, 61, of Liberty was cited at 10:29 p.m. April 12 at Main and NE Cross streets on a charge of improper use of an electronic communication device.

 Kindel L. Kestner, 40, of Coatsburg was cited at 10:46 p.m. April 12 at East Main and Jefferson streets on a charge of improper use of an electronic device.

 Terry V. Drury, 66, of Bloomsdale, Missouri, was cited at 12:03 p.m. April 12 on U.S. 24 on a charge of improper use of an electronic communication device.

 Dylan P. Willrett, 31, of Mount Sterling was cited at 12:25 p.m. April 12 at SE Cross and Franklin streets on a charge of driving while license is suspended.

 Jessica M. Von Ruden, 40, of Rushville was cited at 12:59 p.m. April 12 at East Main and Jefferson streets on a charge of improper use of an electronic device.

 Kodjo Amouzou, 56, of Rushville was arrested at 2:41 p.m. Sunday on charges of driving under the influence and improper lane use.

Pike County

Sheriff

ARRESTS, CITATIONS

 Patrick G. McKinley, 36, of Milton was booked into Pike County Jail at 8:36 p.m. Sunday on a charge of driving under the influence.

 Rachel S. Coslow, 29, of Hannibal, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 5:48 p.m. Saturday on a charge of illegal transportation or possession of liquor by a passenger and on a warrant accusing her of failing to appear in court.

 Shelly L. Miller, 38, of Hannibal, Missouri, was booked into Pike County Jail at 1:12 a.m. Friday on warrants accusing her of failing to appear in court on charges of retail theft and operating an uninsured motor vehicle.

 Karen S. Knight, 48, of DeSoto was booked into Pike County Jail at 6:06 p.m. April 12 on a petition to revoke.

 Stephanie M. Lestage, 37, of Pearl was booked into Pike County Jail at 2:17 p.m. Friday on a criminal trespassing charge.
Rotary Club of Jacksonville has named 12 people Paul Harris Fellows in recognition of their service and volunteerism.

The awards went to Keith Bradbury, Rotarian Pete Carteaux, Guy Crumley, Rotarian April Clarke, Chris Clarke, Jimmie Duncan, Rotarian Lisa Haley, Mike Hayes, Rotarian Sarah Shellhammer, Rotarian Maddie Stevens, Rotarian Breanna VanMatre, and Rotarian Nick ZuHone.
MOUNT STERLING  Western Illinois Correctional Center in Mount Sterling is one of 10 state-run prisons to be cited by the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency for violations related to the quality of its drinking water.

The order, which was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request to the EPA, notified Brittany Greene, warden of the medium-security facility, about multiple violations on Feb. 27. The prison has a daily population of 1,452 inmates.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Corrections said the agency is committed to working with the EPA to clear up any problems and address the issues outlined in the violation notices.

The locations of the other prisons cited were not released. Jacksonville Correctional Center was not among the facilities listed as having problematic drinking water.

Water quality at Illinois prisons has been a longstanding issue and a common source of complaints, said Jennifer Vollen-Katz, executive director of the John Howard Association, an independent organization based in Chicago that monitors Illinois prisons.

"We get complaints about water during our prison visits," Vollen-Katz said. "It comes in different forms. Some say there is an odor to the water, or it is discolored. There are complaints that, when they drink water, they have intestinal issues, rashes and other medical issues. People have shown us during visits how they have made a filter out of an old white sock, and it is brown and discolored. Often it is oily, and it smells. That is consistent with problems caused by inadequate water and water pipes."

It's not just prisoners who cite water issues, she said.

"We have not heard from prison employees with the same regularity but, anecdotally, I have been in prisons where the staff will say, 'Dont drink the water,' and the staff only drinks from water bottles," Vollen-Katz said. "It is disappointing it took so long to get the EPA to be concerned about water quality, but they finally seemed to be engaged and concerned with the problems we have brought to them."

Violations will be addressed, said Naomi Puzzello, public information officer for the DOC.

"The department will continue to meet with IEPA and take the necessary steps to achieve compliance," she said. "To date, no violation notices issued by the IEPA to IDOC have involved allegations of exceedances of drinking water standards of limits set for contaminants.

"Recently, funds were released to the Capital Development Board, which will be used for IDOC projects to address certain violations."

In its violation notice, the EPA said Western Illinois Correctional Center was not testing its water for harmful chemicals such as chlorine, copper and lead. The prison also lacked proper water treatment and sanitation infrastructure, including water softeners.

"Previously, IDOC has used multiple vendors for lead and copper testing and is planning to contract with IEPA for future testing and analysis of samples in each of our facilities in accordance with IEPA's Community Water Supply Testing Program," Puzzello said. "We anticipate the agreement will be in place by July 1, if not sooner."

Western Illinois Correctional Center did not have emergency plans for alternate supplies of drinking water in case of natural disaster or when the community water supply is contaminated, the EPA said. The facility also lacked proper testing equipment for measuring chlorine residuals in the system, according to the EPA.

The DOC has an agreement with the University of Illinois to conduct quarterly testing for contaminants in institutional water systems, Puzzello said. Those contaminants include alkalinity, chloride, hardness, conductivity, pH, temperature, phosphate, sulfite, molybdenum, nitrite and calcium.

"Supplemental to this agreement, we also have an agreement with the university to provide quarterly legionella pneumophila testing," she said.

Legionella bacteria can cause a serious type of pneumonia commonly called Legionnaires' disease. Legionella bacteria was found in June in one water sample inside Jacksonville Correctional Center.

"DOC has a contract with Phigenics for water consultation and Legionella mitigation services," Puzzello said. "Most health care facilities and other congregate settings, such as veterans' homes, test for legionella on a quarterly basis. DOC has adopted this practice to proactively identify any issues in water sources and initiate programs to ensure residents, employees and visitors are safe at our facilities. Phigenics helps each facility come up with a water management plan."

Western Illinois Correctional Center also was cited for failing to submit monthly operation reports to the EPA summarizing daily operational activities, the EPA said.

The facility has structural and maintenance problems with its water treatment plant and distribution maintenance system, the EPA said. Compliance with EPA guidelines is expected within 180 days by obtaining permits and completing the necessary construction.

The facility, which has a Class B water system, also did not have a properly certified drinking water operator, the EPA found. The letter said a certified operator needed to be in place within 15 days and that a statement identifying the official custodian, administrative contact, responsible operator in charge, and sample bottle collector needed to be submitted within 30 days.

During a Senate appropriation committee hearing for DOC funding, much of the discussion was about failing infrastructure and some of the discussion included water, Vollen-Katz said.

"JHA has also heard from thousands of incarcerated people who are deeply concerned with whether the water they drink is safe or the air they breathe is clean," Vollen-Katz testified at the hearing.

"The issue is getting the EPA more involved," she said. "It's a complicated problem."

Some water systems are tied to nearby municipal systems, while others have self-contained systems. Western Illinois Correctional Center gets its water from the city of Mount Sterling.

"We believe about $2.5 billion is needed for deferred maintenance at state prisons," Vollen-Katz said. "How much of that is related to water? We don't know, but given the number of complaints, it seems clear that there are water systems that are old and need to be replaced.

"We need to make them safe and fit for human habitation for both the people incarcerated and the people who work there."
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BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP)  A ban on dozens of semi-automatic rifles cleared the Washington state Legislature on Wednesday and the governor is expected to sign it into law.

The high-powered firearms  once banned nationwide  are now the weapon of choice among young men responsible for most of the countrys devastating mass shootings.

The ban comes after multiple failed attempts in the state's Legislature, and amid the most mass shootings during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009.

The Washington law would block the sale, distribution, manufacture and importation of more than 50 gun models, including AR-15s, AK-47s and similar style rifles. These guns fire one bullet per trigger pull and automatically reload for a subsequent shot. Some exemptions are included for sales to law enforcement agencies and the military in Washington. The measure does not bar the possession of the weapons by people who already have them.

The law would go into effect immediately once it's signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who has long advocated for such a ban. When the bill passed the state House in March, Inslee said he's believed it since 1994 when, as a member of the U.S. Congress, he voted to make the ban a federal law.

After the bill passed, Inslee said the state of Washington will not accept gun violence as normal.

Inslee said lives will be saved because of the semi-automatic rifle ban and two other measures approved by the Legislature this session: one that introduced a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases and another to hold gunmakers liable for negligent sales.

Republican state lawmakers opposed the ban, with some contending school shootings should be addressed by remodeling buildings to make them less appealing as targets and others saying it infringes on peoples rights to defend themselves.

HB 1240 clearly violates our state and federal constitutions, which is why it will end up in court immediately, Sen. Lynda Wilson of Vancouver said.

The U.S. Congress reinstating a ban on semi-automatic rifles appears far off. But President Joe Biden and other Democrats have become increasingly emboldened in pushing for stronger gun controls  and doing so with no clear electoral consequences.

Nine states including California, New York and Massachusetts, along with the District of Columbia, have already passed similar bans, and the laws have been upheld as constitutional by the courts, according to Washington's Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

In Colorado, lawmakers debated on Wednesday about similar gun measures, but a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms faces stiffer odds.

Lawmakers in the Texas Capitol set aside a slate of proposed new gun restrictions without a vote after hours of emotional appeals from Uvalde families whose children were killed last year. The hearing didnt end until the early morning hours Wednesday.

During debate on the Washington state bill, Democrats spoke of frequent mass shootings that have killed people in churches, nightclubs, grocery stores and schools.

Sen. Liz Lovelett of Anacortes said that kids' concerns about school shootings need to be addressed.

They are marching in the streets. They are asking for us to take action, Lovelett said. We have to be able to give our kids reasons to feel hopeful.

Another gun-control bill that passed in Washington this session would allow people whose family members die from gun violence to sue if a manufacturer or seller is irresponsible in how they handle, store or sell those weapons. Under the states consumer-protection act, the attorney general could file a lawsuit against manufacturers or sellers for negligently allowing their guns to be sold to minors, or to people buying guns legally in order to sell them to someone who cant lawfully have them.

A second bill would require gun buyers to show they've taken safety training. It would also impose a 10-day waiting period for all gun purchases  something that's already mandatory in Washington when buying a semi-automatic rifle.

Some gun-control legislation in other states has been struck down since last years landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which set new standards for reviewing the nations gun laws. The ruling says the government must justify gun control laws by showing they are consistent with the Nations historical tradition of firearm regulation.
Editor's note: This story is being republished in full. Because of a production error, a portion of this story published Thursday was cut short.

Billings City residents who were billed illegally for some utility fees will get their rebate as a reduction in a future utility bill.

The city had collected more than $50 million in illegal fees over several decades, according to court documents. After being sued over the fees in early 2018, the city stopped.

Last month, a settlement was announced in the case that bars the city from again collecting the fees. The settlement also forces the city to pay $3.6 million, which includes $925,000 in plaintiff attorney fees, and $130,000 to notify classmates and administer the rebates.

The remainder of the settlement, just over $2.5 million, will be split evenly 35,000 ways  around $70 each. The individual refund could be slightly more because not all eligible class members will respond to the offer of rebate.

The unusual twist with the lawsuit is that Billings residents will essentially have to pay for their own refund. The $3.6 million the city has agreed to pay will come from taxpayers.

Those currently eligible for a refund will be notified by postcard from a court administrator and dont have to take any further action, according to instructions from the court.

If you are not a current Billings City customer, but were a city customer between Feb. 2, 2015, and June 30, 2018, and you receive a postcard from the class administrator identifying you as a former customer class member you must file a claim form to receive a settlement payment.

If you are a current customer and you receive a postcard from the class administrator identifying you as an excluded current customer class member, you must file a claim in order to receive a settlement payment.

For more details: (a) call the City of Billings Class Administrator at (833) 513-0862 or by mail at PO Box 25199, Santa Ana, CA 92799; or (b) Class Counsel Matthew Monforton by phone at (406) 570-2949, by mail at Monforton Law Offices, P.C., 40 Spanish Peak Drive, Suite 101, Bozeman, MT 59718, or by e-mail at ClassCounselMonforton@mail.com. The Detailed Notice describing the Settlement and other court documents is available online at www.CityofBillingsFranchiseFeesSettlement.com.

Claim forms are due by Aug. 31, 2023. If you are unsure about whether you need to file a claim form, please review the Detailed Notice and Claim Form at the website.

If you dont want a payment and you dont want to be legally bound by the settlement, you must exclude yourself by mailing an Opt-Out Form to the City of Billings Class Administrator, which must be postmarked by Aug. 31, 2023, in order for you to be able to sue, or continue to sue, the City about the legal claims in this case.

If you exclude yourself, you will not get a payment from this settlement. If you stay in the class, you may also object to the proposed settlement.

The court will hold a fairness hearing in this case at the Yellowstone County Court House, 217 N. 27th Street, Billings, on Nov. 16, at 9 a.m. in Room 414. At the hearing, the court will consider whether to approve the settlement and class counsels attorney fees and costs. You may appear at the Fairness Hearing personally or with counsel, but you dont have to.
Russian foreign minister visits Venezuela, offers support View Photo

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP)  Russia and Venezuela reviewed some of their hundreds of bilateral agreements covering the financial, energy, agricultural and other sectors during discussions between their top diplomats and other high-level officials Tuesday in the South American country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil held a joint press conference in Caracas hours after the former arrived in the country in the second stop of a tour of four Latin American nations. Both men vowed continued support for each others country and condemned the economic sanctions Washington has imposed on them.

We fully support the position of our Venezuelan friends, Lavrov said. It is their country  and we are going to support it in any way so that the Venezuelan economy becomes an independent economy from the pressures of the United States and other western actors.

Lavrovs remarks were translated from Russian to Spanish by a government-provided translator.

Officials reviewed some of the hundreds of agreements between both countries covering the financial, energy, agricultural and other sectors.

Gil and Lavrov, who was expected to also meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, said their countries are developing an alternative to SWIFT, the system that enables global financial transactions but to which key Russian banks lost access last year. Those banks were cut off as part of economic sanctions imposed on Russia at the start of the war in Ukraine last year.

Russia, along with China, is an unconditional ally of the Venezuelan government. Its support has allowed it to circumvent crippling economic sanctions meant to oust Maduro.

A global drop in oil prices last decade and government mismanagement pushed Venezuela into the political, social and economic crisis that has marked the entirety of Maduros presidency. The crisis fueled an opposition movement backed by the U.S. government, which under the Trump administration made forcing Maduro out one of its top foreign policy priorities and used economic sanctions on Venezuelas state-owned energy company to keep the countrys oil  its most valuable resource  out of some Western markets.

The Biden administration has lifted some sanctions and has also signaled it is prepared to provide sanctions relief in exchange for concrete steps by Maduro, such as promising not to ban whatever candidate emerges from opposition primaries later this year.

We have not perceived an easing of sanctions, Gil told reporters.

Relief actions already taken by the U.S. government include allowing oil giant Chevron to resume limited oil production in Venezuela on a six-month trial basis and removing a nephew of First Lady Cilia Flores from a list of sanctioned individuals.

Lavrov began his tour of Latin America on Monday with a stop in Brazil, where the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seeking to simultaneously develop ties with China, Europe and the U.S. while keeping an open door to Russia. During a visit to Dubai, Lula said that Russia and Ukraine share responsibility for the war.

Lavrov will also visit Cuba and Nicaragua this week.

Even before they were united by a fight against economic sanctions, Venezuela had forged a close relationship with Russia and made multi-million-dollar acquisitions of helicopters, fighter planes and Kalashnikov rifles.

By REGINA GARCIA CANO

Associated Press
Recently Matt Smith and Marc Devokaitis posted online "A Modest Proposal: Can EBird Help Choose Better State Birds?" They propose replacing the Western Meadowlark with the Thick-billed Longspur as the state bird of Montana.

They propose the Thick-billed Longspur (Rhynchophanes mccownii) because 60 percent of the global population of Thick-billed Longspurs breed in Montana.

The Thick-billed Longspur also breeds in southern Canada and Wyoming, in wide open spaces. It migrates through Wyoming and Colorado, spilling over state borders along the way, and winters in Texas and Mexico. But over half the population breeds in Montana.

As the name suggests, this Longspur has a thick bill and, like other species of Longspurs, an elongated rear toe, the spur.

If you see a bird singing while parachuting down to earth, with its wings upstretched and its white tail feathers spread wide, that's probably a male thick-billed longspur. The aerial-song display is the way the species establishes and maintains it territory.

The bird likes open spaces, particularly shortgrass prairie habitat.

Buff and brown streaks on the back, and an inverted black T on the white tail, characterize this Longspur. A breeding male has a white face with black crown and black on the upper chest, plus a chestnut-colored patch on the wings. It's handsome.

The Thick-billed Longspur used to be called McCown's Longspur, named after John P. McCown who in addition to collecting birds fought as a Confederate general during the American Civil War. His defense of slavery provided cause for removing his name from the species, not that his political views had anything to do with his birding or vice versa, but his discriminatory behavior only hastened the renaming.

The renaming was part of an ongoing movement for Bird Names for Birds. It's a fact that birds named for people were usually named for white men. The naming generally failed to recognize indigenous people or people of color, or women of any description, for their contributions to understanding birds. Thus the renaming campaign targets all birds named for people rather than just those birds named after people who discriminated against Black people.

But the status of the species, rather than the name, is the subject at hand. Should it be the state bird?

Montana's state bird has been the Western Meadowlark (Sturnella neglecta) since 1931 when the state's school children selected it by vote and the state legislature affirmed the selection, also by vote.

The Western Meadowlark sings a loud song, and it is easy to see due to its bright yellow and black streaked and spotted plumage. It is fond of open grasslands.

The Western Meadowlark is so popular that it is also the state bird of North Dakota, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oregon.

Smith and Devokaitis propose alternatives to the Meadowlark for those five states too: the Marsh Wren for North Dakota, the Black Rosy-Finch for Wyoming, the Lesser Prairie-Chicken for Kansas, the Greater Prairie-Chicken for Nebraska, and the Hermit Warbler for Oregon.

That would leave the Western Meadowlark without any state recognition.

How can that be fair?
Ahead of an anticipated U.S. Supreme Court ruling on medication abortion, Governor Gavin Newsom highlighted new actions California is taking to protect reproductive freedom, including medication abortion, alongside First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon, members of the California Legislative Womens Caucus, Attorney General Rob Bonta, and other leaders.

Newsom was Wednesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day.

According to Newsom and the simultaneous Press Release, the new actions include:

Protecting pharmacists within California in dispensing Mifepristone/Mifeprex (generic) even if the Supreme Court suspends the drugs FDA approval.

Safeguarding Californias supply chain of medication abortion drugs under California law  by preventing any legal or licensing actions against those who manufacture, transport, store, or dispense Mifepristone or Mifeprex.

Ensuring the privacy of patients and providers concerning reproductive health care performed in California, including when those patients travel or live out of state.

Newsom said, Republicans are waging a war on women in this country  the courts and red-state legislatures have been relentless in their efforts to target them and health care providers who provide basic reproductive care. It is important for women across our state to know that we will continue to safeguard their reproductive freedoms, and to protect California pharmacists who dispense medication abortion, without fear of persecution or prosecution.

Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins remarked, When it comes to reproductive rights and abortion access, California has a proven track record of being ready and able to protect and expand access to this critical form of health care. We continue to lead the nation as a beacon for reproductive access, and we will continue to light a safe, supportive path for Californians and providers, and all those who need to come here for care.

Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon added, The same people who decried activists courts are now pushing the judiciary branch to nullify legitimate administrative actions. We have to stand up against this, especially when it threatens access to safe medical treatments that should be available to every woman. California will continue to do what it can to keep abortion safe, legal, affordable and accessible. We ask the federal courts to do the same.

CA Legislative Womens Caucus Chair, Senator Nancy Skinner noted, Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe a year ago, California has become the national beacon for reproductive freedom. No matter what the anti-abortion forces do next, we will leave no stone unturned to remain a safe haven for abortion care, contraception and reproductive services. The Legislative Womens Caucus thanks Governor Newsom for his forward-thinking action to stockpile abortion medication so that Californians can be confident that this safe medication remains available. We are proud to stand with the Governor in taking all necessary steps to ensure full access to reproductive care and abortion services and to legally protect our healthcare providers and those who seek services.

CA Legislative Womens Caucus Vice-Chair, Assemblymember Cecilia Aguiar-Curry declared: All last year, the Legislative Womens Caucus rose to the occasion, in partnership with the Governor and Legislative Leadership, to fight for Californians reproductive rights and we are not about to stand down now. Some judicial appointees and states want to send us back to the middle ages on peoples reproductive health and abortion rights. Theyve proven beyond any doubt that this is not a fight we can win by focusing solely within Californias borders. We made a promise to be a refuge state for anyone seeking to exercise their rights and we intend to keep it.

Planned Parenthood Affiliates of California President and CEO Jodi Hicks explained, Today, as we await a decision from U.S. Supreme Court yet again, I applaud the Governor and the members of the CA State Legislature that continue to do the work in our state to provide assurances for patients, providers, and supporters that access to abortion in California will continue. But we are not immune here from the impacts of the unrelenting campaign to ban abortion nationwide and the attacks on other rights that we hold dear here in California. In the last few weeks, we have seen how one judge in Texas is imposing his personal beliefs and the anti-abortion agenda on the entire nation by attempting to ban mifepristone  a drug with a strong safety record that has been used by millions of women for the last two decades. No matter what the Courts ruling may bring in the next few days, Planned Parenthoods affiliates are committed to continuing to provide abortions in their health centers across the state  no matter what.

NARAL Pro-Choice California Director Shannon Olivieri Hovis said, California has been a leader in the fight for our fundamental rights under the leadership of Gov. Newsom. We face historic barriers to our freedom to make our own decisions about our bodies and futures, but California has proven time and again that it will not back down. As a Reproductive Freedom State, we know that no matter what happens next, our leaders will continue to champion abortion rights and accessincluding fighting to preserve undisrupted access to medication abortion care.

Attorney General Rob Bonta noted that, For decades, medication abortion, including mifepristone, has been a protection, a lifeline, a key to a healthier and better future. The attack on access to mifepristone is unconscionable and unprecedented. Here in California, we refuse to stand by and watch our peoples access to critical care be snatched away. Thats why today we stand together, firm in our commitment to fight like hell for Californians access to mifepristone. Abortion remains safe and legal in California and my office will continue to do everything in its power to ensure our state remains a haven for reproductive freedom and liberty.

First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom said that, California is once again stepping up to ensure ALL women can access abortion care if necessary. We must recognize that these ongoing attacks on reproductive freedom ultimately aim to control women, keep them in the home, and render them invisible and powerless. So while our work to dismantle the patriarchal systems that oppress women is far from over, California will continue to serve as a safe haven for women and their reproductive rights.

Last week, Governor Newsom announced the purchase of 250,560 pills of Misoprostol  creating an emergency stockpile California providers can draw from if there are any supply chain issues potentially caused by legal uncertainty.

In September 2022, Governor Newsom signed into law a budget and legislative package that invested more than $200 million in new funds to protect and expand access to sexual and reproductive health care, including abortion care. Of this, $40 million is to cover provider costs for people who cannot afford care (known as uncompensated care), and $20 million is for an Abortion Practical Support Fund to help cover the costs associated with abortion care, including travel and lodging both for people in California and people forced to come to California due to restrictions in their home state. These investments will make it easier for people experiencing barriers to care to access critical health care services.

Finally, Governor Newsom recently launched the Reproductive Freedom Alliance  a first-of-its-kind nonpartisan coalition of 22 Governors working together to protect and expand access to reproductive health care. The Alliance facilitates proactive and swift coordination across reproductive freedom states so that they can put up effective firewalls to protect and expand access to reproductive care. Recently, multiple states announced stockpiles of medication abortion drugs after California shared contract details to expedite preparations.

The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML.
Summerville High School Bear Country sign View Photo

Tuolumne, CA  A group of Summerville High students with the Friday Night Live program authored a new myMotherLode.com blog calling for state and local leaders to crack down on fentanyl.

The blog is written by local students Jace Hewitt, Katie Johnson, Audrey Patey, Rocky Rhoades, Ariella Soldati, and Clara Vogt on behalf of the FNL Summerville Bears Campus Action Group.

The Friday Night Live program is organized through the Amador Tuolumne Community Action Agency and is a school-based effort to promote drug and alcohol prevention activities, along with wellness programs, healthy relationships, and leadership.

You can find the blog by clicking here.
Iraqs years of carnage still engrained in Baghdad streets View Photo

BAGHDAD (AP)  There are places around Baghdad where Ill sometimes say a silent prayer for the dead when I pass  on certain residential streets, at a particular restaurant, in a square where minibuses gather.

Today, people go about their daily business in these places, perhaps no longer thinking of the horror that took place years ago right where they are walking. For me, each site has become indelibly linked to the carnage I saw and the pain people suffered there.

As an Associated Press photographer, I covered 20 years of turmoil since the U.S.-led invasion of my country. At the height of the sectarian butchery following the invasion, I and other photographers rushed to the scenes of suicide bombings, rocket strikes and shootings around Baghdad nearly every day, sometimes multiple times a day.

Iraqis today remember the pervasive fear of that era, but with so many bombings, the specifics of individual attacks may have faded. This series of composites joins some of my photos from the years of the U.S. occupation and new ones from today, aiming to bring together past and present. Here are the stories behind a few of them.

SADRIYAH INTERSECTION

In this large intersection jammed with minibuses loading up passengers, a car bomb ripped through the crowds on April 18, 2007, killing at least 140 in what was then one of the deadliest single bombings since the U.S. invasion.

When it went off, I was at the site of that mornings first bombing, which had killed dozens, and as the firefighters rushed to the second blast, I hitched a ride with them. We were among the first on the scene at Sadriyah. The stench of burned flesh filled my nostrils. Blackened bodies were strewn among twisted, smoldering minibuses. Survivors loaded pieces of human beings onto wooden vegetable pushcarts to take away.

The next day when I went back, I saw the girl. She was with her mother, searching among the remaining debris and body parts. The mothers feet were bare, covered in ash. She smeared ashes on her face as she screamed for her missing husband: Ahmed, where did you go? I cant do it without you. Your daughters need you.

I saw the look of silent terror in the eyes of the girl as she trailed her mother, holding her little sister and absorbing the scene. I took her picture.

I went back to Sadriyah several weeks ago. The minibuses blared their horns, and people thronged a nearby street market. I relived that day 16 years ago like I was watching it in a cinema. Those closest to a bomb seem to evaporate without a trace, I thought. This intersection was their last resting place.

CAMP SARA

This Baghdad district got its name from a wealthy Armenian Christian woman who once owned the area when it was farmland. As Armenians fled oppression in Turkey and elsewhere in the early 20th century, she let refugees settle on her land, and by the 1950s, it was built up as an almost entirely Christian neighborhood.

On Oct. 4, 2006, two car bombs went off within minutes of each a few dozen meters apart on a main commercial street of the district. All along a block of the avenue, buildings were shattered, blackened, a few collapsed almost completely. At least 16 people were killed and dozens wounded. Some young men carried a frail elderly woman on a chair to safety. Others used tarps to carry pieces of bodies. Everyone was running either away from danger or toward loved ones to see if they were alive.

You have no God, a resident named Dureid shouted in his shock as if the militants behind the blast were there to listen. You are not Muslims. Arent these Iraqis? What is their crime?

The explosion was only one of many by Sunni Muslim extremists that hit Christian areas over the years. Camp Sara was once one of the nicest parts of Baghdad, with good restaurants and a different vibe from the rest of the city. Today, the buildings are cleaned up, but the street looks the same, down to the electricity poles that havent moved.

Still, everything has changed. Most of Camp Saras Christians have been driven away by violence. Dureid has moved to another part of Baghdad; a man in a striped shirt who stood next to him in my photo is in the United States. Camp Sara has become like any other part of Baghdad, its distinctiveness another victim of that bloody time.

KARRADAH

It was Army Day, Jan 6, 2008, marking the founding of the Iraqi army, and a little celebration was being held on a street in Karradah, a middle-class area of Baghdad. I was one of several media cameramen there as residents came out to cheer for soldiers. The doorman from one of the houses, Abu Adel, put a flower into the barrel of one soldiers rifle and kissed him on the cheeks. The next instant, a suicide bomber unleashed his blast.

Only a few yards away, I was thrown to the ground, wrenching my back, but kept taking pictures. The celebration had been transformed into mayhem, with scorched cars and buildings and the torn bodies of 11 dead. Among the dead was Abu Adel.

I went back to the site a few weeks ago. Its once again a quiet street with its villas and houses. As I took pictures, a doorman from one of the houses approached me. His name was Ali Ahmed. I asked him if he had been here that day and showed him my old photos of the explosion.

Ahmed started to weep. I should have died that day, he said. He had been about to go with Abu Adel to put a flower in the soldiers rifle, but first had to deal with a broken generator. There were only seconds between me and death, he said. We found him in the background of one of my photos, behind some bloodied soldiers. I took a new picture of him in the same spot: his older self stepping back into his younger self.

I too nearly died that day. At other times, I felt I was only inches from death, seeing those who by chance were on the wrong side of that thin line. I tell myself God kept me here for my children and my wife. Every day I have with them is a gift.

A place can be bonded to an emotion, like when a couple revisits all the sites where they first fell in love.

Sometimes, that emotion is horror.

___

Follow Associated Press photographers and photo editors on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AP_Images and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/apnews.

By HADI MIZBAN

Associated Press
Ralph Yarl armed only with Black skin, family lawyer says View Photo

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  As Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner who shot the Black teenager turned himself in and was released on bond Tuesday.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday afternoon. Some civil rights leaders urged a hate crime charge, but Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence  up to life in prison.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Yarl family, said the case should qualify as a hate crime.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin, he said.

As Yarl recovered from his wounds, supporters, civil rights leaders and politicians rallied in downtown Kansas City to call for justice for the 16-year-old and a stronger effort to improve racial relations in Missouri and the U.S.

Speakers urged the crowd to support Yarl, to fight for justice and to remove politicians who pass discriminatory laws and support gun rights.

Many carried signs saying, He is only 16, and Is this what Kansas City has come to? Stop gun violence.

Merritt said the family is also angry that police held Lester for only two hours after the shooting, when they legally could have held him for 24.

If they would have held him for 24 hours, they would have held him long enough to get the statement from the kid with a bullet in his brain, Merritt said. They got the statement the very next day.

During an interview Tuesday with CBS Mornings, Yarls mother, Cleo Nagbe, said her son is in good spirits but that the trauma remains evident. She said he is able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares, and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.

You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesnt stop my tears either, she said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarls parents asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Yarl, an honors student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead  then shot him again, in the right forearm.

Lester faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon. He does not yet have a listed attorney.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw a Black male on the porch and thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said.

James Lynch was the neighbor who found Yarl. He didnt respond to an interview request, but his wife confirmed an NBC News report that said Lynch heard shouting and saw Yarl banging on the door of another home.

I heard somebody screaming, Help, help, Ive been shot! Lynch, who is white, told NBC. The father of three ran out and found Yarl covered in blood. Lynch checked his pulse and, when another neighbor came out with towels, helped stem the bleeding until paramedics arrived.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. President Joe Biden was among those demanding justice. He spoke with Yarl on Monday and invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Biden tweeted. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Thompson said Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting. He did not elaborate. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Alexander Higginbotham said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that there is not a racial element to the legal charges that were filed.

Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Thompson and asked why he said the case had a racial aspect, without elaboration. The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously theres a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Merritt, who called the answer shallow.

About 150 supporters attended Tuesdays rally at police headquarters, chanting Justice for Ralph and demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate. Lester, the activists said, received preferential treatment because he is white.

Bishop Frank Douglas of the Church of God in Christ, said the U.S. is experiencing its own version of apartheid and that if the shooter had been Black, it would have been lynching time.

We are putting a spotlight to whats been going on for over 100 years, Douglas said. We got emancipation but we didnt get love.

Karen Allman, 61, said she had lived in Lesters neighborhood for 32 years, although she didnt know him or hear the shooting. She said she attended Wednesdays rally to support Yarl and his family because if we dont speak out, its going to keep happening.

I dont know what they go through on a day-to-day basis being Black, said Allman, who is white. But I do know if we dont stand with them, they dont have a chance of having any of this fixed.

The assault charge against Lester carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of 3-15 years in prison.

Charging Lester with a hate crime would have potentially meant a shorter sentence if hes convicted, experts said.

Washington University School of Law professor Peter Joy said the state hate crime law is used only to enhance low-level felony or misdemeanor charges.

What the prosecutor did was charge (Lester) with the highest degree of felony they could charge him with, Joy said.

Legal experts believe Lesters lawyers will claim self-defense under Missouris Stand Your Ground law, which allows for using deadly force if a person is in fear for their life. Missouri is among roughly 30 states with such statutes.

Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics, said the Missouri law provides wide latitude for people to use lethal force.

St. Louis defense attorney Nina McDonnell agreed. She said prosecutors have a strong case but that the Stand Your Ground law defense is a huge hurdle to overcome.

The defendant was in his house and has expressed that he was in fear, McDonnell said.

___

Salter reported from OFallon, Missouri. Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this report.

By MARGARET STAFFORD and JIM SALTER

Associated Press
California teenager killed when stabbing suspect crashed car View Photo

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP)  One Southern California teenager was killed and three others injured Tuesday afternoon when a stabbing suspect crashed his vehicle into the group as they were walking near their high school, authorities said.

Investigators are looking into whether the driver, who had allegedly stabbed a Walmart employee earlier in the day, intentionally crashed into the teens in Thousand Oaks, according to Ventura County Sheriffs Deputy Ashley Barrios.

Police were not in pursuit of the suspect at the time, Barrios said. The suspect was also injured in the rollover crash; the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

A 16-year-old boy was fatally struck, while a 16-year-old girl was in critical condition, Barrios said. Another 16-year-old boy had minor injuries, while a 15-year-old girl was in moderate condition.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, the Conejo Valley Unified School District said in a statement on Facebook.

The Walmart stabbing occurred in Simi Valley around 2:40 p.m. and the suspect, whose name has not been released, fled the scene in a white Toyota Camry, according to Simi Valley police. The Walmart employee suffered one stab wound.

The suspect then allegedly was involved in a domestic disturbance with family members in Camarillo, about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) away, Barrios said. No one was injured.

After that, the suspect traveled to Thousand Oaks  about 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) from Camarillo  where he crashed the Camry into the teenagers around 3:15 p.m., officials said.

Authorities have not released the identities of the teenagers. Other details were not immediately available.

Thousand Oaks is about 35 miles (56.33 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.
BELLINGHAM, Wash. (AP)  A ban on dozens of semi-automatic rifles cleared the Washington state Legislature on Wednesday and the governor is expected to sign it into law.

The high-powered firearms  once banned nationwide  are now the weapon of choice among young men responsible for most of the countrys devastating mass shootings.

The ban comes after multiple failed attempts in the state's Legislature, and amid the most mass shootings during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009.

The Washington law would block the sale, distribution, manufacture and importation of more than 50 gun models, including AR-15s, AK-47s and similar style rifles. These guns fire one bullet per trigger pull and automatically reload for a subsequent shot. Some exemptions are included for sales to law enforcement agencies and the military in Washington. The measure does not bar the possession of the weapons by people who already have them.

The law would go into effect immediately once it's signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who has long advocated for such a ban. When the bill passed the state House in March, Inslee said he's believed it since 1994 when, as a member of the U.S. Congress, he voted to make the ban a federal law.

After the bill passed, Inslee said the state of Washington will not accept gun violence as normal.

Inslee said lives will be saved because of the semi-automatic rifle ban and two other measures approved by the Legislature this session: one that introduced a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases and another to hold gunmakers liable for negligent sales.

Republican state lawmakers opposed the ban, with some contending school shootings should be addressed by remodeling buildings to make them less appealing as targets and others saying it infringes on peoples rights to defend themselves.

HB 1240 clearly violates our state and federal constitutions, which is why it will end up in court immediately, Sen. Lynda Wilson of Vancouver said.

The U.S. Congress reinstating a ban on semi-automatic rifles appears far off. But President Joe Biden and other Democrats have become increasingly emboldened in pushing for stronger gun controls  and doing so with no clear electoral consequences.

Nine states including California, New York and Massachusetts, along with the District of Columbia, have already passed similar bans, and the laws have been upheld as constitutional by the courts, according to Washington's Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

In Colorado, lawmakers debated on Wednesday about similar gun measures, but a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms faces stiffer odds.

Lawmakers in the Texas Capitol set aside a slate of proposed new gun restrictions without a vote after hours of emotional appeals from Uvalde families whose children were killed last year. The hearing didnt end until the early morning hours Wednesday.

During debate on the Washington state bill, Democrats spoke of frequent mass shootings that have killed people in churches, nightclubs, grocery stores and schools.

Sen. Liz Lovelett of Anacortes said that kids' concerns about school shootings need to be addressed.

They are marching in the streets. They are asking for us to take action, Lovelett said. We have to be able to give our kids reasons to feel hopeful.

Another gun-control bill that passed in Washington this session would allow people whose family members die from gun violence to sue if a manufacturer or seller is irresponsible in how they handle, store or sell those weapons. Under the states consumer-protection act, the attorney general could file a lawsuit against manufacturers or sellers for negligently allowing their guns to be sold to minors, or to people buying guns legally in order to sell them to someone who cant lawfully have them.

A second bill would require gun buyers to show they've taken safety training. It would also impose a 10-day waiting period for all gun purchases  something that's already mandatory in Washington when buying a semi-automatic rifle.

Some gun-control legislation in other states has been struck down since last years landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which set new standards for reviewing the nations gun laws. The ruling says the government must justify gun control laws by showing they are consistent with the Nations historical tradition of firearm regulation.
MERIDEN  McKoy Group is a family business, with three generations of the Saguay family tending to different aspects of the company. Each generation, however, took very different career paths to end up in business together.

Manuel Saguay moved to Meriden to reinvent himself over 23 years ago. He has worked in a clothing factory, as tailor at a local laundromat and at a Wallingford vineyard. He now works with his son, Edwin Saguay, as a project manager for the McKoy Group, a Meriden-based roofing and construction business.

Edwin Saguay, Manuels eldest son, arrived from Ecuador when he was 19. He developed an interest in construction, including siding and roofing and worked as an apprentice at another construction company. After a while, he decided to start his own roofing business with the skills he had learned.

I wanted something different, something a little bit better for my family, he said in his native Spanish.

Edwin Saguay said the process of building a client network and spreading the word of the business was a lot of trial and error. Nevertheless, he said the company and the family continued to reinvent themselves. They bought homes that were foreclosed or rundown, fixed them and resold them at a higher price. He also promoted his roofing business by going to home shows, wrapping their car with a distinctive orange-and-black wrap and even improving his English language skills.

Edwin Saguay said that word-of-mouth was essential to growing his client base. For example, Raymond Ramirez of Meriden recommended the McKoy Group to his friends and family.

Ramirez is Saguays neighbor and noticed Saguay was improving his own home. Ramirez approached Saguay for an estimate to fix a mysterious leak in the roof of his aging home.

Ramirez did some research and eventually ended up hiring Saguay to fix the roof. Afterwards, he was so impressed by the quality of the work that he hired Saguay again to gut and reconstruct his front porch.

He does such great work, Ramirez said. The whole house looks very updated now, compared to how it was a few years ago.

The McKoy Group has been in business since 2009. The company currently have about a dozen people on payroll and have since added Karen Saguay, Edwins daughter and Manuels granddaughter, to the family business. Edwin Saguay said the family splits the work, as Edwin works with clients and scheduling Karen works the office.

Karen Saguay decided to join the company three years ago when she graduated from Wilcox Technical High School. She just graduated with her associates degree in business administration from Gateway Community College and is going to Central Connecticut State University for marketing.

A lot of the things that Ive learned and studied definitely apply, she said. I decided to come back home and see how I could contribute to the company and how I could make it grow.

Ecuadorian migration

As well-established business owners, the Saguay family has since seen a growing Ecuadorian diaspora in the United States.

The U.S. Census Bureau estimated about 813,000 Ecuadorians lived in the U.S. in 2021, up from an estimated 261,000 in 2000.

Manuel Saguay is originally from Cuenca, Ecuador, and migrated to Queens, New York, where he bought a womens clothing factory that specialized in pleating womens skirts. At its height, he said he had about 40 people working 30 machines to make between 8,000 - 10,000 skirts every week. However, he had to close his factory in the mid-90s because of competition that made his business model unsustainable.

When Free Trade deals opened, we had to close our factory because our work crashed. There wasnt any work left, he said in his native Spanish. Every job we had got sent to Guatamala, the Dominican Republic and Taiwan.

As one of about a dozen Latino-owned factories that had to close in the area, Manuel Saguay sold his machinery and moved to work at another struggling clothing factory in Meriden. That factory closed as well, but Saugay stayed in Meriden and reinvented himself again.

Manuel Saguay remembered there werent a lot of Ecuadorians in Meriden when he first moved and added he has noticed an increase in the Ecuadorian community, especially after the pandemic.

Ecuador has largely missed the political turmoil that has rocked neighboring Colombia and Peru in recent years. However, the Associated Press reported that a failing Ecuadorian economy has been further damaged by strikes against government cutbacks. This led to a rise in crimes of poverty that also increased violent crime worsened by the countrys proximity to the cocaine trade. As a result, the country has been losing people in record numbers.

Ecuador is emptying, Manuel Saguay said. The people who are left are older and children that are studying.

Migrants from Ecuador dont face the same hurdles as migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the AP reported. Due to U.S. President Joe Bidens administration policy announced in January, Mexico would accept migrants from these four countries. However, Ecuadorians are generally allowed to stay in the U.S. while they pursue asylum.

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. Customs and Border Protection figures show that families with children have grown to about 60% of arrivals, from 15% in fiscal year 2020.

In Meriden, the migration has resulted in a growing number of Ecuadorian-owned businesses. Home improvement businesses like roofing and construction present relatively low entry barriers, provide on-the-job training and require little previous experience.

Even though the Department of Consumer Protection requires a license for Home Improvement Contractors in order to complete roofing work on a private residence, the requirements for a home improvement business are significantly less than the ones required for other kinds of business. However, for Edwin Saguay, this also means competition for his familys roofing company.

Roofing is an easier job, but construction like building houses and such is a little bit harder, he said. There are a lot of roofers. Everyone who comes learns a little bit and starts their own company. This is devaluing work right now. There is a lot of competition and they cut prices, so the quality of the work is decreasing.

Manuel Saguay has not returned to Ecuador in 22 years, but he said his family came to him. He mentioned he had family in Providence, Chicago, Philadelphia and New York. He also has six children and eight grandchildren now.

Knowing how to get along with your family is good, he said. Theres a lot of people that dont get along. We do. Weve never fought, and if we have, we move on

Content from the Associated Press was included in this story.

lguzman@record-journal.comTwitter: @lguzm_n

Latino Communities Reporter Lau Guzman is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Support RFA reporters at the Record-Journal through a donation at https://bit.ly/3Pdb0re, To learn more about RFA, visit www.reportforamerica.org.
Many Connecticut legislators and advocates have come out to support the Biden administrations recent move to expand Medicaid and Medicare coverage for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients (DACA).

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services proposed a rule to amend the Affordable Care Act and Medicaids definition of lawful presence to include DACA recipients, or Dreamers marking the first time they will have access to federally funded health insurance.

White House administrators said that if passed, DACA recipients can apply for coverage through the Health Insurance Marketplace, with eligibility for financial assistance, and through their state Medicaid agency.

For more than a decade, Dreamers in Connecticut and across the country have done everything weve asked of them. Theyve gone to school, gotten jobs, paid taxes, and contributed to their local communities in extraordinary ways, said Sen. Chris Murphy shortly after the announcement. Im glad to see the Biden administration taking this step to finally get these kids access to quality, affordable health care and Im going to keep fighting for their pathway to full citizenship.

Established in 2012 under former President Barack Obamas administration, DACA protects undocumented immigrants brought to the country as minors from deportation by allowing recipients to live and work legally for two years before needing renewal.

DACA has protected more than 850,000 immigrants since its founding, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigrant Services. There are almost 600,000 active DACA recipients as of June 2022.

However, since DACA doesnt give recipients permanent legal status, many Dreamers cant access federal benefits offered to U.S. citizens and legally present foreigners, such as Medicaid.

For example, the Center for American Progress found that more than three-quarters of DACA recipients work in essential jobs, with 13% in a healthcare-related profession. However, only 34% have health insurance coverage, the HHS reported.

Community Health Centers Vice President of the Western Region, Amy Taylor, said that accessing medications, specialty care and hospital services is extremely difficult without insurance. She added that many DACA recipients are young adults who need access to preventative care and mental health services.

Our bodies are incredibly dynamic living things that we need to take care of, maintain and protect and provide vaccinations to, and so on, Taylor said. If we neglect any period of our life in terms of taking care of ourselves, we put ourselves at risk for a whole range of health conditions.

The federal expansion for DACA recipients matches a similar movement in the state to expand HUSKY coverage to all income-eligible residents under 18, regardless of immigration status.

The Connecticut General Assembly approved an expansion of HUSKY for children 12 and younger, regardless of immigration status, in 2022. State lawmakers also extended coverage to income-eligible birthing people.

A statement from Sen. Matt Lesser, D-Middletown, noted that the state Human Services Committee recently passed a proposal to expand HUSKY eligibility to anyone under 18 years of age called Senate Bill 6616. The bill was referred to the Appropriations Committee in March of 2023.

This action from President Biden is welcome and will bolster hospitals and clinics in Connecticut, Lesser said. In addition to providing support and relief for lawfully present DACA recipients, this will provide additional momentum for our effort to expand HUSKY to cover individuals too young to be eligible for DACA. Im grateful to President Biden for expanding on his work as Vice President to ensure security and mobility for all, regardless of immigration status.

However, some advocates say that expanding healthcare coverage to DACA recipients is insufficient.

Connecticut Students for a Dream held a Student Day of Action rally last week at the state Capitol. High school students from across the state spoke in support of expanding HUSKY to all-income eligible residents under 26.

Although excited by the announcement, Camila Bortolleto, co-director of Connecticut Students for a Dream and DACA recipient, noted that Dreamers represent a small percentage of the undocumented community. She added that most DACA recipients can access healthcare coverage through their employers.

Bortolleto noted that many students who attended Thursdays rally are not DACA eligible. Following an order issued by the Southern District of Texas federal district court in Oct. 2022, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that they accept applications for new DACA recipients but will not approve them.

This rule change by the Biden administration is a major victory for DACA recipients and their families and corrects an injustice from the Obama-era that denied access to health care through the ACA marketplace as well as Medicaid to thousands of DACA recipients in Connecticut, Bortolleto said. It is a step in the right direction and shows that expanding access to health care is the right thing to do. The Biden administration understands this and now our CT elected officials must finish the job.

Click here for Record-Journals previous coverage on Connecticuts efforts to expand HUSKY.

cvillalonga@record-journal.com

203-317-2448

Health Equity reporter Cris Villalonga-Vivoni is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Support RFA reporters at the Record-Journal through a donation at https://bit.ly/3Pdb0re. To learn more about RFA, visit www.reportforamerica.org.
House Bill 372 will steal our wildlife and public lands for unregulated exploitation by out-of-state special interests in perpetuity. It will destroy Montana.

HB 372 not only sneaks trapping into the constitution, it gives away Montanas wildlife to nonresidents, along with constitutional rights.

A giant rip-off is the driving force behind HB 372. Out-of-state trophy hunters, trappers and outfitters dont pay taxes in Montana, dont live here, but theyll get more tags and pay the same fees as working Montanans to high-grade our wildlife, bagging the best. This will raise fees for Montana hunters and anglers, crowd our public lands, and forfeit funds for FWP.

National trophy organizations are salivating at the profit potential to monopolize and lay waste to Montanas richest resource. California-based Charles Whitwam, founder of Howl for Wildlife, created a hi-tech, data-based platform using algorithms to send a thousand pre-written emails that appear to be from Montanans to every legislator in Helena, urging them to vote for HB 372. Whitwam is an outfitter who yearns to kill a Montana grizzly bear with his bow. Out-of-state trophy heads will be happy to shoot, trap, and hook our wildlife to extinction.

But HB 372 is being sold to legislators as constitutional rights for trapping, hunting, and fishing solely for Montanans. Thats a lie.

The truth is that HB 372 will turn Montanas public lands into a giant, cheap wildlife farm for out-of-staters. Regulations have no authority over rights so non-resident trophy collectors from New York, California, Texas, wherever, will be able to kill as much wildlife as they like with impunity, year-round.

Truth matters. Tell your senator to vote no on HB 372.
San Antonio's Daytime show has been making some noticeable changes after co-host Esteban Solis was arrested on driving while intoxicated charges on February 3. On Facebook, KABB's show changed from Daytime with Kimberly and Esteban to Daytime.

On the Fox Network-affiliated show, Solis, 42, has not been on air since he was arrested, according to eagle-eyed views. According to an arrest report, Solis rear-ended a vehicle just after midnight near Loop 1604 and Culebra Road. Solis first joined the Sinclair station in 2013.

The police officer who responded said Solis had many inconsistencies on what happened in the crash he was involved in. Solis told police he had "two or three mixed drinks," according to officials. The report stated that the police officer said he was also "slow in speech" and "swaying while standing still." Court records indicate that the television host was also arrested in 2006 on a DWI charge.

KABB released the new name and logo on Facebook last week. The show also updated its team page and removed Solis from it, according to its website. MySA has reached out to KABB for comment on if Solis has been fired and if anyone will replace him.

Many of the viewers commented on the changes, which have a main focus on Solis' co-host Kimberley Crawford. Leigh Anne Collins said, "I like Esteban, but he doesn't bring much to the conversations. It's all Kimberly! I really enjoy Kimberly! She is so quick-witted! Xavier is a great sidekick too, funny guy!"

"I really liked Esteban. May God bless him on his next journey. I will miss you," Elsa Martinez commented.

"It's a sad day, I wish Esteban the very best in his next venture in his life," Steve Valdez said.

"I love the new dynamics between Kimberly and the DJ guy," Marissa Gonzalez added.
Bangin' Beans Coffee

The concept of bikini baristas really caught on in the Pacific Northwest in the early 2000s, with Seattle being a major site for coffee shops featuring scantily clad drink slingers. San Antonio is landing its own version of this business model very soon in the form of a new coffee spot, complete with bikini-wearing servers, opening on the city's Westside later this spring.

Bangin' Beanz Coffee is easy to spot with its neon signs and unique car wash-style building at its current address of 702 S. Acme Road. You also might notice the place for its striking servers walking around in black and white bikinis. Before you groan at the idea, keep in mind that the coffee shop is woman-owned and operated, according an email from Brehannah Vasquez, who started the business with her husband Mathew.
We know San Antonio loves a deal, especially when it comes to good eats! $10 Taste is a series from MySA where we look for the most affordable and tasty meals across San Antonio that are 10 dollars or less.

McCreless Mall might be a memory of San Antonio's past, but the McCreless Corner Shopping Center that stands in its place has developed into a destination for small businesses, chains, and restaurants on the Southeast Side of town. A highlight of the center is definitely the massive H-E-B Plus, but just next door is a quick service, casual quesadilla spot that is worth a trek all on its own.

For this edition of $10 Taste, I paid a visit to Las Quesadillas Poblanas at 4100 S. New Braunfels Ave., where every quesadilla is less than $5. In fact, when I went, each one cost exactly $4.13. I had to find out for myself if one was enough to constitute a satisfying lunch or if the quesadillas were more snack-worthy.

Polly Anna Rocha

Getting to Las Quesadillas Poblanas

First of all, the restaurant is literally attached to H-E-B, so parking is no issue. Secondly, it has online ordering, which makes the experience faster, if that matters to you. While getting there is easy, ordering in-person may take a little longer than usual if you don't happen to speak Spanish, at least conversationally, but the workers are more than willing to meet you half way.

Walking up to Las Quesadillas Poblanas, you'll notice the colorful window decals printed with anthropomorphic tacos and ingredients spelled out in decorative ways. The vibrant display is both inviting and informative, with one window panel listing out the entire menu of options. You also have no idea what to expect of its dining room because there's no way to see inside.

Quesadillas are assembled on the spot

Once inside, you'll see a small counter where a cashier and a cook stand, ready to make quesadillas on the spot. All the fixings are kept in heated containers behind the counter, next to a flat-top grill where all the cheesy magic happens. A mounted television plays one of the Spanish channels in the small dining room, which is accented by yellow and orange chairs.

I ordered two quesadillas: one pastor and one huitlacoche, otherwise known as black mushrooms or corn smut. Together, they cost $8.26 before taxes, just under the $10 mark, a sensible price considering how stuffed and filling the quesadillas are. The cashier passed along my order to a cook, and she went to work putting together my meal, grilling the cheesy offerings as I found a small table to set up shop.

Polly Anna Rocha

A few minutes later, my order was ready, and I felt imaginary hearts beam from my eyes. Red chunks of pastor were poking out of the handmade tortilla, as melted cheese held it all together perfectly. The huitlacoche quesdailla was still steaming from heat of the grill, with tiny bits of yellow corn shining from within. I quickly chowed down on the pastor, which was bursting with spice and terrific textures. I got about halfway through the second quesadilla before I realized that I was not going to finish both in one sitting. I would've definitely been fine with ordering just one for a quick lunch, for future reference.

Final thoughts

I was in and out of Las Quesadillas Poblanas in way under an hour, including the time it took for me to eat. This is a perfect spot if you happen to work in the area and need an affordable, fast meal during your lunchbreak, or if you want to feed the family after a particularly tiring grocery trip at the H-E-B next door. As always, I highly recommend adding a little salsa to your quesadilla for a little extra flavor. Luckily, the restaurant provides two different kinds at each of its dining tables, and they'll even send you home with some if you order to-go.

By the way, you don't have to live near McCreless to enjoy Las Quesadillas Poblanas, as the restaurant has two other locations on the Westside.

Polly Anna Rocha

Find it: 4100 S. New Braunfels Ave., San Antonio, TX 78223.
The Lyndon B. Johnson non-profit foundation honors Willie Nelson for his lifetime of achievements for helping farmers with an Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities fund for future leaders.

The foundation will also honor Nelson with the prestige "LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award" on May 12, according to University of Texas at Austin.

The "Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities" will fund and support research and student fellowships focused on sustainable agriculture, eliminating hunger, resilient energy, sustainable water, and natural disaster recovery to benefit rural and farm communities.

"Named in honor of Willie Nelson, the fund celebrates his legacy and numerous contributions over his lifetime, including Willie's longtime leadership of Farm Aid, which has raised over $70 million to build a vibrant, family farm-centered system of agriculture in the U.S.," University of Texas said on its website.

Adding, that the endowment leverages the universities potential to improve food policy and sustainable water in rural areas, and enables a continuation of Nelson's support in communities across the country recovering from and adapting to natural disasters

President and First Lady Johnson first established the foundation in 1969 as a non-profit organization comprised of a board of trustees and administrative staff that supports the presidential library and the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin.

The LBJ School of Public Affairs website describes the foundation's mission which was to created to embody Johnsons living legacy by" nurturing leaders and public servants in the hopes that they will pursue what he called "the oldest most basic mission of our country; to right wrong; to do justice; to serve man."
Courtesy of Brownsville Fire Department

Video from witnesses traveling along a South Texas highway captured massive flames and smoke from a tanker truck that crashed and exploded Monday evening, April 17. The video circulating on social media shows a wall of flames blocking off a portion of State Highway 550 near the Rancho Viejo exit as people watch from the side of the road.

Firefighters with the Brownsville Fire Department and Los Fresnos Volunteer Fire Department fought the flames into the night. BFD said on Facebook that the driver of the truck did not survive the crash.
Ken Branca

A Northwest Side Mama Margie's is picking up the pieces after a car drove into a window of the restaurant early Wednesday morning, April 19, officials with the San Antonio Police Department said.

Early reports of the incident say an adult man crashed into the popular restaurant chain, located on 9550 IH 10 West, just before 4 a.m. Investigators were unsure if the driver of the vehicle was intoxicated at the time, but new information reveals the crash was most likely an accident.
State Sen. Roland Gutierrez, a San Antonio Democrat who has become a fierce champion of the families impacted by the Uvalde school shooting, is likely to run against Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz in 2024, The Texas Tribune has learned.

One source close to Gutierrez said he is very likely to run, while another said there is no question he is seriously looking at it. Gutierrez is not expected to make any announcements about the race until after the current legislative session, which ends late next month.

Gilbert Garcia, a columnist for the San Antonio Express-News, first reported Wednesday morning that Gutierrez is nearly certain to run.

The two sources close to Gutierrez declined to be named because they were not authorized to publicly discuss his deliberations. Gutierrez also declined to comment.

Cruzs campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. Rep. Colin Allred, D-Dallas, is also considering running against Cruz, who has shifted focus to his reelection campaign in recent months after flirting with another presidential bid.

Gutierrez has served in the Texas Senate since 2021 after previously serving over a decade in the House. His Senate seat is not on the ballot again until 2026, meaning he would not have to give it up to challenge Cruz next year.

The Uvalde massacre happened inside his district, killing 19 children and two teachers, and Gutierrez has dedicated himself this legislative session to trying to address it despite GOP leaders resistance to considering any new gun restrictions. He has held several news conferences with families of victims and clashed with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick over the issue on the Senate floor.

Gutierrez got his biggest victory yet Tuesday when a House committee held a hearing on a slate of gun bills, including one that would raise the minimum age to purchase certain semi-automatic rifles.

Gutierrez previously raised speculation he could challenge Cruz when he introduced legislation to bar U.S. senators from Texas for serving more than two terms. That was a jab at Cruz, who has repeatedly proposed a two-term limit for senators and is now running for his third term.
Buyenlarge/Getty Images

This West Texas town seven hours from San Antonio has a grocery store, post office, motel, a gas station, and a restaurant. It just doesn't have any locals. But it could have residents, should you decide to purchase this ghost town near Marfa that its owners have put up for sale. Alexander Bardorff, one of the owners of Lobo, Texas, told Texas Monthly that he is selling the land because it's become difficult to maintain.

Lobo is off Highway 90 between Valentine and Madonna and is near the booming tourist destination, Marfa, where travelers come to see lights they believe are visitors from another galaxy. Texas Monthly says the town was along the San Antonio-San Diego postal route that grew when trains would stop to fill their water tanks in 1907.
A video going viral shows a Houston-based YouTube prankster getting arrested in Texas during a livestream on Instagram. Jidon Adams, also known as JiDion, can be seen in the video being arrested by a Galveston officer. It's hard to identify which law enforcement agency the officer is with, but Galveston County records show that Adams was arrested Sunday afternoon, April 16, for a Harris County warrant.

The video starts off with Adams sitting in a vehicle after he was stopped by police, telling his viewers, "I'm about to go to jail."

Adams is asked to step out of his vehicle and after a short conversation with the officer, he is asked to place his phone down so he can be put in handcuffs. He puts the phone down on the car but keeps the livestream going as he is arrested. Even though he is being arrested, Adams is still in content creator mode.

"Is it cool if I get a thumbnail?" Adams asks the cop, referring to the preview image used on YouTube videos.

"I'll let you do that when we get to the station," the officer said.

Houston police issued a warrant for Adams last week for trespassing. The YouTuber posted about the warrant on Twitter on April 10, saying he believed the warrant was for a video where he and another YouTube prankster, damii. In that video, Adams and the other content creator ask a professor during her class at the University of Houston to be their Valentine. The professor threatens to call the campus police before the pranksters leave.

Adams trolled the Houston Police Department last week, going as far as tagging police in a tweet saying he was back in Houston. He also posted a photo of himself in front of one of the police stations with a sign that read "L + Ratio."

MySA hasn't found records saying Adams has been released, but he posted a story to Instagram on Tuesday, April 18, showing him in the back of an SUV being driven by a man he claims is his attorney.
A Burleigh County jury on Wednesday found a Bismarck woman guilty of murder and child abuse in the 2022 death of her 5-year-old nephew.

Rolanda Doyle, 41, could face life in prison without parole on the murder charge. She'll learn her fate later -- South Central District Judge David Reich ordered a presentence investigation.

The jury of six men and six women deliberated for about an hour before returning the verdicts. Doyle showed no emotion as the judge read them.

Bismarck ambulance and fire personnel responding to a 911 call in February 2022 found Geremy Doyle unresponsive at a Connecticut Avenue home. Neither they nor medical staff at a Bismarck hospital could save him.

Burleigh County States Attorney Julie Lawyer in closing arguments Wednesday said it was Rolanda Doyles actions and her failure to get Geremy medical attention that caused his death. Doyle's phone history showed she searched for information about his infected sores, and to see why his toes were turning purple. The results said she should seek medical treatment for him, but she instead turned to home remedies and in that way hid the boys injuries from professionals. A doctor would have been able to treat Geremy, Lawyer said, though Doyle might have still faced child abuse charges.

The only difference is that Geremy would still be alive, Lawyer said.

The frostbite and gangrene in his toes was the result of him sleeping in an unheated entryway, the prosecutor said. After he was forced to walk in the hallway of the home on the premise of gaining strength, Geremys legs were wrapped, his feet soaked in warm water and Epsom salt, and caregivers in the household sent him to the cold entryway to sleep, Lawyer said.

Geremy died about 3  months after his mother in Georgia placed him and his two siblings in Doyles care. Two other adults in the home have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors and been sentenced in connection with Geremys death.

Doyle's defense attorney, Matt Arthurs, cautioned jurors Wednesday that they cant make a decision with broken hearts, noting that two medical professionals were moved to tears while giving testimony in the case.

We know how he died, Arthurs said, outlining the viral and bacterial infections Geremy suffered. There was no evidence presented to show Rolanda Doyle was responsible for this beyond reasonable doubt.

The state's case was a series of dots that the state wants you to connect, Arthurs said. Geremy slept in several rooms of the house, and when he slept in the entryway it was warmed by a space heater. Testimony showed he was disciplined by Doyle only once. Doyle was reckless, should have taken Geremy for medical care, and did not provide proper care, but thats not abuse as its defined in the statute, he said.

The state has not proven their case beyond reasonable doubt, Arthurs said.

A medical examiner listed battered child syndrome as the cause of Geremys death, and homicide as the manner of death, according to a police affidavit. State Medical Examiner Dr. Barrie Miller on Wednesday morning testified that Geremy had bleeding between his skull and brain, and a number of abrasions and scars on his body. He also had pneumonia, COVID-19 and another virus, and pockets of pus in his lungs that would have made it virtually impossible for him to breathe, Miller said. The boy had dead, blackened toes, Miller said, which happens after tissue is damaged and blood flow is stopped, and lab tests suggested he had sepsis, a blood infection.

Video of Geremy struggling to walk and falling and hitting his head showed something was desperately wrong, Lawyer said during closing arguments. Doyle in trying to restore the boys strength forced him to walk under the threat that she would tear your behind up, the prosecutor said.

Doyle was charged with child abuse in February 2022. The murder charge was added in June when the medical examiner ruled Geremy's death a homicide.

Serenity Foots, Rolanda Doyles daughter, pleaded guilty in August to a misdemeanor charge of deprivation of a minor. She was placed on probation for a year. Shed spent more than 100 days in jail before her plea and was given credit for time served.

Russell James, Rolanda Doyles partner, pleaded guilty in July to contributing to the deprivation or delinquency of a minor. He was given credit for 156 days served, placed on probation for a year, and agreed to cooperate with authorities in Rolanda Doyles case, according to court records.
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DETROIT (AP)  A Michigan Supreme Court justice announced Tuesday that he is getting mental-health treatment outside the state and will not hear a case next week.

I encourage everyone who struggles to seek the help they need, Richard Bernstein said in a statement released by the court.

Bernstein, who is blind, has been a justice since 2015 and was reelected last November to another eight-year term.

He caused controversy in January when he publicly criticized Justice Kyra Harris Bolden for hiring a law clerk who had turned his life around after serving 14 years in prison for robbing a store and shooting at police officers.

Bernstein, 48, said he was disgusted by the hiring. But after a backlash, Bernstein apologized and said he regretted his remarks. Bolden's clerk, Pete Martel, resigned.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a case in Cheboygan on April 26.

I appreciate the opportunity to temporarily step out of the courtroom to focus on my mental health, Bernstein said. During this time, I will continue working remotely on all active cases.

Bernstein did not immediately respond to a message from The Associated Press seeking additional comment.

We look forward to him rejoining the court in person in the coming weeks, Chief Justice Elizabeth Clement said.

Bernstein comes from a well-known family in Michigan's legal community, name recognition that helped get him elected in 2014. The Sam Bernstein law firm is a major TV advertiser in the Detroit area.

In 2021, Bernstein took the unusual step of spending months in United Arab Emirates and Israel. He said his goal was to inspire people while talking about his life as a blind lawyer and judge.

The Supreme Court at the time was hearing cases by video conference because of COVID-19. Bernstein participated from overseas and said he was able to keep up with other court work, too.

___

Follow Ed White at http://twitter.com/edwritez
BRUSSELS (AP)  The gay prime minister of Luxembourg used the dais of the European Unions parliament Wednesday to stand up for LGBTQ rights in the 27-nation bloc and to chastise member state Hungary, which wants to curtail discussions of homosexuality in schools and the media.

If theres anyone in this house who thinks that youve become a homosexual by watching the television or listening to a song, then youve not understood anything," Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told legislators at the European Parliament's plenary session in Strasbourg, France. "The most difficult (thing) for a homosexual is to accept themselves.

Bettel, 50, became prime minister of his small European country in December 2013 and married his husband eight years ago. He has often spoken about his sexual orientation and for two years, he has been especially critical of Hungary.

A 2021 law prohibited sharing content on homosexuality or gender transition in films, advertisements and other media targeting people under 18. It also banned information on homosexuality in school sex education programs.

The European Union's executive commission and a number of member nations have challenged the measure in the EU's Court of Justice. The European Commission said the law discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Bettel said Wednesday that he thinks the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is out of touch with the prevailing views in many other EU countries. He noted that identifying publicly as gay could be dangerous in too many nations outside the EU.

I could end up in prison, face (a) life sentence. And soon maybe, in a European Union member state, I would only be able to talk about this in secret because I would be accused of perverting the young generation, Bettel said.

I am ashamed, Madam President, that some colleagues want to win votes at the expense of minorities. Weve had that before in our history, he said.

At an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt in 2019, Bettel told Arab leaders that he was married to a man and would probably face capital punishment in many of their countries.
Fernando Vergara/AP

BOGOTA, Colombia (AP)  A hippopotamus descended from animals illegally brought to Colombia by the late drug kingpin Pablo Escobar has died in a collision with an SUV on a highway near Escobars hacienda, environmental authorities said Wednesday.

The hippos, which spread from the estate into nearby rivers and now number more than 100, have no natural predators in Colombia and have been declared an invasive species that could upset the ecosystem. The crash late Tuesday reflected the additional danger that hippos, which weigh as much as 2 tons, can pose to motorists.
Account security has long been a paramount concern of banks. And the Internet era and online banking services have increased the attack surface. See the movie The Shawshank Redemption for an illustration of what it took to heist an account with out an inside co-conspirator, back in the days of paper-based documentation. Today banks need to protect customers without unduly annoying them, or worse, locking them out.

Of course, one cant feel all that sorry for banks. They discouraged customers from using branches qua branches, as opposed to for their ATMs, when having customers bank in person cuts down on the opportunity for mischief.

A new story at the Wall Street Journal discusses how banks are trying to square this circle. Its bizarrely incomplete. It fails to mention one approach far too many financial institutions are trying to implement, which is using voiceprints. As I recall, about 20 years ago, it was possible to get enough information about a voice to replicate it with a 30 second recording; the required input length has fallen greatly. Why be so keen on a security method so easily abused? Anyone can find programs that generate voice clones and deepfakes via a web search, so why are bank security mavens kidding themselves?

I have argued with Citi on this issue. If you push them, they say you can opt out of having your voiceprint used for account ID but it still can be used for account security. Ive tried telling them I dont allow that since voices can be deepfaked and Ive been interviewed in the press, so it would be easier to get clean audio for me than most people, but clearly this is stupid policy and I dont have the time and energy to escalate.

In fact, any biometric ID is problematic. As with facial ID, the system takes enough sites, say of your fingerprints or retina, to make a unique identification. But if someone hacks the files, they can the template for your ID and fool the screening program. And pray tell, how do you get new fingers or eyeballs?

The article does explain how some banks log the device you usually employ when accessing their site and issue challenges, like sending a text or e-mail to you with an ID code, to confirm your identity.

As a frequent customer, I have come across practices that strike me as bizarre. One is that non-PIN protected debit cards are common in the US. Both of my current banks try foisting them on me; the only account card I can get on my business account is one of those horrible debit cards. If anyone got your wallet, they could drain your account.

Similarly, one bank routinely assists readers, even before they show any sign of difficulty, with their security word.

I would imagine a high percentage of account thefts result from a crook succeeding in unlocking a phone and then accessing the banking app, which autofills the password. The banks can prevent the use of autofill. They can also block copying and pasting login information or e-mailed security codes. Of course, there are those among us who only use laptops to access banking information as another preventative measure. But instead they use other methods. From the Journal:

Instead, banks run a lot of software in the background to make sure youre really you. Among several factors considered during logins are: the time of day, location, device IP address, mobile carrier, and if any links prompted users to open the app. If anything differs from your unique fingerprint, your bank might suspect a hacker or a phishing attempt, and prompt you to take more steps to verify your identity. Now, newer behind-the-scenes measures take precedence, say security experts and banking software providers. Some compare a users password-typing speed and cadence with that persons prior attempts. Others analyze the pressure with which credentials are entered by checking how many pixels are covered when the user taps each key. This melange of authentication practices is found largely in banking apps because the stakes are higher. Banks know if customers have any concerns about the safety of their money, theyll go elsewhere. On top of that, banks must abide by federal regulations to use secure data management practices, such as end-to-end encryption.

Um, what if you try getting to your bank when drunk? Or exhausted? I can barely type when super tired, not that I am a great typist even under normal circumstances. Well that might not be such a good idea anyhow.

Because I am way past my shut-eye time, I not up for a proper rant, so perhaps readers can provide their horror stories of bank/financial services firm security incompetence, both on the too rigorous and too lax side. I am perplexed how some sites, like My Alabama Taxes, always insist on account verification.as if what could someone do? Pay taxes for me? File a bogus report of quarterly taxes due? Are malicious ex-employees with login credential such a problem that this sort of thing is really necessary? Note in keeping, Alabama requires the use of encrypted e-mail for sending medical records, even to patients, even though HIPAA requires records to be e-mailed to the patient upon request. As a result, pretty much all providers here use fax instead.

The Journal provides some additional security options in the apps of the four biggest banks. This was the only one that seemed a wee bit novel:

For extra login protection, you can buy a $25 portable security device from Wells Fargo. It generates and displays unique random passcodes every 60 seconds. But if you lose it, youll have to call customer support.

Readers?
Yves here. This post, in an indirect way, confirms some of our pet views about combatting climate change. Most green energy advocates sell these cleaner sources as a way to largely if not entirely preserve current lifestyles. This article contends that widely-used ways of estimating the cost of these newer energy source omit key inputs. Another issue is that certain critical materials like copper are in scarce supply, with prices skyrocketing. Even though renewables fans argue these commodity issues will be solved in due course, we dont have the luxury of time.

In other words, we dont see anything remotely approaching an adequate solution save radical conservation. But no one wants to go there.

By Irina Slav, a writer for Oilprice.com with over a decade of experience writing on the oil and gas industry. Originally published at OilPrice

Investments in low-carbon energy hit $1.1 trillion in 2022.

Shortages in crucial industrial metals and rare earth metals could lead to rising prices for renewables.

Hydrocarbons remain very crucial for our energy security.

Last year, investments in low-carbon energy hit $1.1 trilliona record high and a major increase on the previous year.

However, this record investment did nothing for the worlds energy security, it seems, because besides the record investments in renewables, 2022 was also a year that saw a major increase in oil, gas, and coal demand.

Not only that, but warnings multiplied about more fossil fuels investments that will be needed. Even the head of the International Energy Agency warned earlier this month that the oil market is facing a shortage later this year because of a growing gap between supply and demand.

In such a context, when the most developed economies in the world are striving to reduce their dependence on fossil fuels, one cannot help but wonder why they are also encouraging more fossil fuel production.

Germany, for instance, just closed its last three nuclear power plantsa low-carbon source of electricitybut expanded a coal mine. The United States federal government is spending billions on alternative energy but is insisting that oil producers boost their output. Britain wants to become the Saudi Arabia of wind energy, as former PM Boris Johnson said, but gas demand hit a record last year.

Something doesnt seem to be adding up. This something is the hidden cost of renewable energy. It is not something widely talked about because it has the potential to derail transition efforts by casting doubts over the viability of the transition.

Yet the issue is very much clear and present. Why else would China be building as many coal power plants as the rest of the world despite boasting the worlds most wind and solar capacity?

Many critics of the transition to wind and solar argue that the biggest problem is that these are being touted as cheaper than fossil fuels. And the calculations to do that are made on the basis of something called levelized cost of energy.

The levelized cost of energy is a simple measure. Per the U.S. Department of Energy, LCOE measures lifetime costs for an energy installation divided by energy production. It sounds straightforward and simple enough. The problem is, it isnt.

LCOE is not a comprehensive measure of costs because it only factors in upfront costs and the cost of operating a wind or solar farm. What it markedly does not factor in is the cost of energy that is not produced by these farms when the sun is not shining and the wind is not blowing.

These are some substantial costs because when wind and solar are down, fossil fuel plants need to step in and fill the gap, and the electricity they produce has become expensive because of those cheap renewables.

But besides LCOE, which proponents of wind and solar have used for years to argue for their affordability, there are also other costs that are making themselves known now. Raw material prices are going through the roof, and there is little anyone can do about it.

Daniel Yergin earlier this month wrote in an op-ed for the Wall Street Journal that the transition would kickstart a mining boom. The reason is that wind, solar, and EVs require massive amounts of metals and minerals, and these are not being produced at anywhere near the necessary scale. And this means some shortages may well be looming over the horizon.

Copper is a case in point. Trafigura warned last year that there was only five days worth of copper supply in the world in inventory. Not only this, but that inventory was likely to shrink further to just 2.9 days worth. Just how dangerous this is becomes clear from the fact that ordinarily, the worlds copper inventories are measured in weeks.

As a result, copper prices are about to hit a record this yearagainaccording to Trafigura. This is not going to do anything about the affordability of wind and solar, especially given that its not the only commodity in short supply.

Everything is getting much more expensive in an already stretched wind industry supply chain, a senior Siemens Gamesa executive told the FT late last year. In the U.S., the Biden administration last suspended exorbitant tariffs on Asian import solar panels after these caused a slew of new project delays and cancellations because of higher costs.

No wonder, then, that the wind and solar industries are finding life hard at the moment, despite upbeat reports that continue to insist that wind and solar are the cheapest sources of energy.

This is why oiland coal, toocontinue to be essential for the worlds energy security. Their LCOE may be higher than wind and solars, but so is their reliability because, unlike those two, fossil fuel power is dispatchable: it can deliver whenever its needed.

And lets face it  oil and gas production and processing requires a lot less metals and minerals than manufacturing solar panels, inverters, cables, and wind turbines for that low-cost, low-carbon energy that is, essentially, neither of these.
A public input meeting is set Thursday on proposed improvements to the Interstate 94 Interchange at Sunset Drive in Mandan.

The meeting is 6-8 p.m. at the Mandan Middle School Cafeteria, 2901 12th Ave. NW. It will use an open house format with a formal presentation at 6:30 p.m. Officials with the North Dakota Department of Transportation and Mead & Hunt Inc. will be on hand.

People who need to request accommodations should contact Heather Christianson at 701-328-2978 or heachristianson@nd.gov. TTY users may use Relay North Dakota at 711 or 1-800-366-6888.

The project consists of a study to develop and evaluate reconstruction alternatives for the Exit 152 interchange. A virtual, prerecorded presentation and other materials will be available on the DOT website at www.dot.nd.gov; click Public Meetings under Quick Links.

People also can submit written comments. They must be postmarked or emailed by May 5 to Chris Rossmiller, 600 S. Second St., Suite 120, Bismarck, ND 58504, or c.rossmiller@meadhunt.com, with Public Input Meeting-PCN 23594 in the letter heading or email subject.
When I arrive at Physical Music Products, a vinyl record plant just south of Nashville, I find the companys president Piper Payne lying on the floor, fixing a pump on a record press. Payne is wearing black nylon running shorts, a vintage black Reba shirt cut into a sleeveless V-neck and black steel-toed boots. Impressively muscled and tattooed, she looks exactly like someone who built a manufacturing plant from scratch. Standing up, she runs her hands through her hair and says, Maybe shes born with it. Maybe its hydraulic fluid.

In addition to being woman-owned, PMP has made a name for itself in relatively short order by working closely with independent labels and offering some of the fastest turnarounds in the business, at five to seven weeks. If youve tried to get physical records pressed, especially in the past few years, you know to expect long wait times and frustrating delays. One well-known component among the many that make up this complex problem: There is too little record production capacity to meet global demand. Vinyl sales have been on the rise for more than a decade, and vinyl outsold CDs for the first time last year. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, vinyl revenue grew 17 percent in 2022, making up nearly three-quarters of the revenue brought in by physical music sales.

Payne identifies two other areas of concern. One is that getting a quality issue rectified at a vinyl pressing plant is time-consuming. Another  brace yourself for a surprise  is money. Payne explains that bigger labels have the leverage to negotiate more favorable payment terms and avoid paying deposits. That can put plants in the position of having to float majors orders financially, making it necessary to finish huge orders of Taylor Swift or Adele records quickly in order to get paid; in the process, indie labels or artists smaller orders get held up.

Payne has been working in professional audio since 2009. With a BFA from the University of Michigan, she went to Norway for grad school and then worked as an assistant to famed mastering engineer Bob Katz. She made her way to San Francisco and spent eight years as a mastering engineer, handling whats been called the final creative step in the recording process. Then Payne got involved in a small record-plant startup in the Bay Area. In her role as chief product officer, she was responsible for getting records made and making sure they sounded good.

When that business fell apart at the beginning of 2019, she got a job offer from Pete Lyman at Infrasonic Mastering and moved to Nashville, expecting to return to mastering full time. Paynes reputation preceded her, and people started asking if she wanted to build a plant in Nashville.

I was having a hard time helping my clients get their records made, and other plants were having quality issues and pricing and timeline issues, Payne recalls. And so I thought, Ill just build my own record plant. Her tone makes it sound as if shes joking, but shes not. Shout-out to stubbornness!

PMPs rapid turnaround time is remarkable, and Payne attributes it to getting around issues that slow down the process at bigger facilities. Payne has three full-time and three part-time workers, half of whom are women. You probably arent wondering what they do for fun, but Ill tell you: They teach themselves how to fix anything that can break. Everyone on the press floor understands how to repair the machines, increasing efficiency and leading to creative solutions to problems that other plants might struggle with. In addition, Payne doesnt know of any other record plant in the world owned by a mastering engineer, who can quickly diagnose problems with test pressings.

I havent found anybody faster, she says. We can do that because we work  we dont wait.

Payne chose to run older presses that use legacy technologies, though shes quick to point out that everything that touches the surface of a record is new. Some of the presses are from the 1950s and operate by hand. Though newer presses might work faster, theyre harder to repair and can require the attention of a specialist. PMPs machines also are capable of some special techniques that produce spatters and swirls of color in the finished records.

PMP opened for business in February 2022 and pressed and shipped more than 200,000 records in its first year. Its not a huge number, Payne says, but we are good at this, and we care deeply about the product were putting out.

Most of PMPs clients have found the company through word of mouth, and Payne notes that theyre getting repeat business from engineers and labels. So far, theyve pressed records for the likes of Dolly Parton, Sleater-Kinney, Mount Westmore, Madlib and the late, great J Dilla. A high percentage of their business comes from independent labels  one much-loved recent record pressed at PMP is Nashville indie YK Records vinyl edition of The Features The Mahaffey Sessions 1999. The firm aims to further strengthen its bond with indie labels through a partnership program; its goal is to get vinyl in the hands of up-and-coming artists, offering 100 records for $1,500. Thao & the Get Down Stay Down is my white whale, Payne says. I would die if I ever got a chance to press a record for Thao.

Right now, PMP has four automatic and four manually operated presses installed, with three automatics running and two more manual presses coming online soon. Theres room for an additional six automatic presses at the facility, and Payne gets very excited discussing ideas for growth.

When we put out six more presses, I would love to see them partially financed by independent labels and independent artists. And then we run it, we support it, we staff it.  That would be super cool.
(As delivered)

President Pavel,

Dear Petr,

Welcome back to NATO Headquarters.

Its really a great honour and pleasure to welcome you here.

And congratulations on your election as President of the Czech Republic.

We worked very closely together over your tenure as Chair of the NATO Military Committee.

So you are a strong supporter of our transatlantic Alliance.

And you know NATO inside and out.

So it is really a pleasure to welcome you now in your new capacity as President.

Czechia makes valuable contributions to our shared security.

In response to Russias brutal war of aggression, you have stepped up to protect other NATO Allies, and to support Ukraine.

Czechia has provided critical military equipment to Ukraine, including tanks, helicopters and air defence missiles.

And you host hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees.

You lead NATOs new battlegroup in Slovakia, helping to deter any aggression.

And you contribute forces to our battlegroups in Latvia and Lithuania.

Your forces also serve in NATOs peacekeeping mission in Kosovo, and our capacity-building mission in Iraq.

We just discussed our support for Ukraine.

Though Russian forces continue to sustain significant losses, President Putin shows no signs of preparing for peace.

He thinks he can outlast Ukraines resistance and Western support.

So we must continue to prove him wrong.

And provide the Ukrainians with what they need to prevail.

I welcome Czechias continued support, including through NATOs Comprehensive Assistance Package for Ukraine.

In our meeting today, we also addressed the challenges posed by China.

And I welcomed Czechias new strategy on the Indo-Pacific.

Chinas coercive policies are a concern for us in the Euro-Atlantic, just as for our partners in the Indo-Pacific.

China challenges our interests, security and values.

China is also growing closer to Russia  refusing to condemn its illegal war against Ukraine, and echoing Russian propaganda about the West.

So it is important that we continue to work together as Allies, and with like-minded partners around the globe.

To stand in defence of our values, and the rules-based international order.

So President, thank you for your excellent discussion and meeting today.

And for Czechias strong contributions to NATO.

I look forward to continue to working with you. Please.

NATO Deputy Spokesperson Dylan White: We'll start with Czech Television, third row, please.

Czech Television: Thank you. Good afternoon. I've got two questions on the Summit in Vilnius in July. First of all, there has been some discussion on defence expenditure. Secretary General, you've said several times that the ambition of Alliance should be higher than 2% of GDP. Do you consider this realistic, to expect countries to raise their expenditure - including the Czech Republic?

And the second one concerns Ukraine's membership in NATO. I would like to ask President Pavel if he would support giving Ukraine some clear perspective of getting closer to NATO or clear perspective of membership in July in Vilnius. Thank you.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg: So on defence spending, I would like to say that it is obvious that we need to invest more in defence. Because we live in a more dangerous world, and we see the will of President Putin to use force against neighbours. And of course, NATO has implemented two tasks when it comes to the Russian war against Ukraine. One is to support Ukraine. That requires resources, but also to prevent escalation beyond Ukraine, and that requires increased deterrence and defence and more military presence of NATO troops in the eastern part of the Alliance and higher readiness, more forces, as we have been able to develop over the last years. But we need more, and therefore we also need to invest more.

Of course, it is for the leaders when they meet in Vilnius to make the final decisions on NATO's Defence Investment Pledge. But I have called for a stronger pledge, not necessarily via changing the number 2%, but [by] changing the commitment from the current commitment - which is strive to, move towards 2%, referring to 2% as a kind of ceiling - and change 2% into something which is a floor, minimum. And also then be very specific on the capabilities we expect Allies to deliver, which for many Allies will require more than 2%. So decisions will remain active in the summit. But my recommendation is that we are strengthening the commitment by turning the 2% into a minimum, a floor that all Allies need to meet immediately.

President of Czechia Petr Pavel: Years ago, in this building, we discussed with Secretary General the three C's: Cash, capabilities and contributions. And at that time, most of the attention was linked to cash, that means spending 2% or striving to get closer to 2%. We were advocating quite a number of times that we should pay much more attention to capabilities and contributions - especially capabilities, because they are the substance of the 2%.

The goal is not to spend 2% on defence, but the goal is to have our militaries ready to defend our countries against any potential threat. That means that if we focus today much more on real capabilities, when capabilities are linked to the plans, to the readiness levels, it is much more appropriate, and it will also give the governments better arguments why we need to spend 2%, or at least 2% for our defence.

Czech Republic is ready to meet the commitment made in Wales in 2014 to spend at least 2% on defence in 2024. But we are also open to discussion to spend more if necessary, and it will be linked to the capability issues.

When it comes to Ukraine and potential membership: First, there is no different view from the view and from the promise made in Bucharest. Both Ukraine and Georgia were told that they would become members of NATO. At this point, it is extremely difficult to talk on concrete dates of membership, when Ukraine is in war. So first, the war has to come to an end. And then we can start thinking about potential dates. And even when the war is over, Ukraine will have to reconstitute their economy, their military, to become a stable country again. So it will take time, it will take a lot of effort - a lot of common effort. And I understand that we are all ready to provide long-lasting support to Ukraine, including reconstitution and preparation for future NATO membership.

Deputy Spokesperson White: We have time for just one more, well go to Politico.

Lili Bayer (Politico): Thank you very much. I have a question to you both. The question is: several European countries have recently banned the import of Ukrainian grain. Are you concerned at all that this could be a sign of growing war fatigue? And if so, are you worried that this sort of fatigue could then cross over to the domain of military assistance and defence?

Secretary General Stoltenberg: So first of all, I think what we see across Europe and also North America, across all the Alliance, is an enormous will to support Ukraine. Unprecedented level of military support, financial support, economic support. In total, NATO allies have provided 150 billion euros of economic support to Ukraine, out of which roughly 65 billion euros or so is military support.

European Allies and North American Allies and partners have also imposed severe economic sanctions on Russia. Then, of course, we have seen some of the challenges that some Allies have addressed as a consequence of some of the grain and food that has been then re-located not to be transported over the Black Sea but on land through a European and NATO Allies.

This is not for NATO to address. It's something which has been discussed in the European Union and with individual countries in Europe. I'm confident that there are ways to address those challenges, because I also really believe that the will across Europe to continue to support Ukraine is enormous, partly because it is a moral issue that when a sovereign independent nation in Europe is attacked by another state in a brutal war of aggression, then it's the morally right thing to support them.

Second, it is in our security interest to support Ukraine. Because if President Putin wins, it will make the world more dangerous. The message to him and to other authoritarian leaders is that when they use military force they get what they want, and that will make the world more dangerous and us more vulnerable.

And thirdly, I really believe that people care. So when Europeans and people all over the Alliance in North America and all over the whole world see that civilians are killed, that women are raped and that children are forcibly abducted, taken away from their parents, then they care.

So yes, this is an issue that has to be addressed, but I don't think it reflects any lack of will and readiness to continue to support Ukraine.

Czech President Pavel: War fatigue is a natural phenomenon. It comes with time and not only for the countries actually fighting the war, but also for all the countries supporting those two. But on the other hand, I'm happy that you all understand that there is no alternative to supporting Ukraine. Because the alternative to it is the success of Russia. And that would mean many more problems for us, potentially even more serious, than we face today. So support of Ukraine is a must, and we have to be consistent in maintaining sufficient public support in our countries, explaining to people what kind of threat we would face if we stopped supporting Ukraine.

Deputy Spokesperson White: Im afraid thats all we have time for. Thank you very much.

Question 3: [Request for comment on activities in North Sea]

Secretary General Stoltenberg: I can only say that, first of all, there are ongoing national investigations, and therefore I won't speculate about the specific incidents or ships or capabilities.

Second, NATO has addressed threats against undersea infrastructure for many, many years. After the sabotage against North Stream pipelines, we stepped up our presence, both in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea, with ships, planes, and other capabilities.

And thirdly, we have established now a cell at the NATO headquarters to coordinate efforts by NATO Allies. And we have tasked our military authorities also to provide advice on how we can further strengthen our protection of undersea infrastructure pipelines, cables, internet connections, which are - we speak about thousands of kilometres - and of course, it is extremely important to be able to protect this. And this is an initiative taken by the Chancellor Scholz and Prime Minister Stre, and we're following up on that now.

This is partly about strengthening NATO and what we do - surveillance, intelligence - but also what individual allies are doing. Typically the infrastructure goes from one NATO Ally to another through international waters, but also how we can work more closely with the private sector. Because the pipelines, the cables, most of this undersea infrastructure, offshore infrastructure is owned by private companies, and they have capabilities which are useful also when it comes to protecting this infrastructure. So this is something which is high on the NATO agenda.

Deputy Spokesperson Dylan White: Thank you very much.
(Natural News) The communist state of California has mandated fixed monthly basic service rates that offer unlimited electricity to consumers, creating a compelling incentive for people to carry out large-scale cryptocurrency mining in their homes at artificially low costs, which will absolutely collapse the power grid.

The fixed rate power arrangement has already been made law, and it means that power companies are forced to offer consumers unlimited kilowatt hours at zero incremental cost for their basic electricity service (see details of the announcement below).

As MSN.com reports:

Southern California Edison, Pacific Gas & Electric, and San Diego Gas & Electric submitted a joint proposal to the states Public Utilities Commission last week that outlines the new rate structure. It follows last years passage of Assembly Bill 205 which requires a fixed rate and generally simpler power bills.

Under the new plan, youll pay just $20 / month if you earn less than $69,000 a year. Thats the monthly fee for those served by Edison, with slightly higher fees for PG&E and SDG&E.

If you earn up to $180,000 per year, youll pay $51 a month as a flat fee, no matter how much electricity you use.

Above $180,000 in annual income will get you an $85 / month flat fee for unlimited electricity usage.

Most of your electricity bill stays the same no matter how much energy you consume

How do we know for sure this applies to unlimited electricity usage? SDG&E actually brags about this in one of their press releases about the program, declaring: (emphasis added)

Under the SDG&E plan, customers would pay a fixed price that covers most of the utilitys energy delivery service that would not change month-to-month regardless of how much electricity is consumed.

Unlimited electricity consumption, in other words, at the same fixed monthly cost.

Confusingly, the SDG&E press release then says that some portion of a customers bill will vary if they use clean energy such as natural gas, wind and solar. This seems contradictory, almost as if the electric company is saying that clean energy will cost you more if you use it, but dirty energy will be free and unlimited. (Leave it to delusional left-wing bureaucrats and communists to come up with such a structure that will disincentivize energy conservation, thereby causing more people to use more energy that burns more fossil fuel resources such as coal.)

The press release even brags about how this would provide immediate financial relief to families, since they wont be fully paying for the actual amount of electricity theyre using. This entire program is being peddled as a kind of electricity welfare program to bring down everyones power bills. Its no surprise this is happening in a state run by lunatics who practice magical thinking such as believing that a biological man can become a woman. They also apparently believe electricity is created by magical kilowatt fairies or amperage-farting unicorns that feed the power grid for free.

With this program, the state just obliterated any incentive for people to conserve electricity, since its going to become an all-you-can-eat kilowatt buffet for most of a persons power bill. Even worse, its obviously going to bankrupt the power companies and require the California government to either heavily subsidize them or even take them over, creating state-run power companies that function exactly as you might expect they would: Disastrously.

California residents and businesses should prepare for rolling blackouts and infrastructure collapse once this program kicks in around July of 2024.

The State of California will be subsidizing electricity costs to make EVs appear affordable

Part of the goal in all this is to make electric vehicles appear to be more affordable by artificially lowering the cost to charge them. Effectively, it means the state of California will be confiscating money from productive citizens to pay power companies to artificially lower rates so that lower income can afford to charge EVs.

As the raw cost of power generation increases, California will increasingly subsidize such costs to make it appear to residents that power usage is affordable. This is exactly the kind of program that happens under collapsing third world economies where the tyrannical regimes in power try to prevent uprisings and revolts by subsidizing the basic costs of living for lower income people.

California says its going to become carbon neutral by 2024, which would cause the actual, real-world costs of electricity to skyrocket. The state is going to hide that cost from consumers through subsidizing the power companies and pretending that clean energy is also extremely affordable.

But like so much else in California, its all based on delusional thinking that cannot be sustained in the real world. California Dreamin, in other words.

We predict this unlimited use electricity experiment will end in catastrophic collapse, followed by chaos and despair.

Get the full details in todays Brighteon Broadcast News video:

 California mandates FIXED monthly fees for citizens to use UNLIMITED electricity

 Cryptocurrency mining rigs will be set up across California homes

 Huge new power strain will stress (and collapse) the power grid

 Consumers will crank up their air conditioning, EV charging and other uses

 This will lead to rolling blackouts and bankruptcy for the power companies

 UN calls for decriminalizing pedophilia and child sex exploitation

 Elon Musk reveals that Big Government has spied on all Twitter PRIVATE messages

 Compton gas station looted by violent criminal mob while cops do nothing

 Full interview with Brian Berletic about Ukraine, Russia, China and Taiwan

Brighteon: Brighteon.com/4a878d2f-1b0d-4b68-bbe2-0ef4f0cd0e83

Rumble: Rumble.com/v2iypf6-bbn-april-18-2023-california-commits-power-grid-suicide-with-disastrous-fix.html

Bitchute: Bitchute.com/video/qPBS6j6ufZCS/

Banned.Video: Banned.video/watch?id=643eaba72a928f708cc8fd32

iTunes podcast: Healthrangerreport.com/brighteon-broadcast-news-april-18-2023-california-commits-power-grid-suicide-with-disastrous-fixed-rate-plan

See the full tour and report in the video interview, via the HRR channel on Brighteon.com (or see it listed above).

Support Michael Yon at Michaelyon.locals.com  he also has a twitter handle of michael_yon

Discover more interviews and podcasts each day at:

https://www.brighteon.com/channels/HRreport

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Download my new audio book, Resilient Prepping at ResilientPrepping.com  it teaches you how to survive the total collapse of civilization and the loss of both the power grid and combustion engines.
(Natural News) During the covid-19 scandal, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proved itself to be one of the greatest purveyors of medical fraud and lethal propaganda. Despite their consistent failures in regulating drugs, diagnostics, and vaccines, the FDA still prides itself as the arbiter over all information that is shared by scientists, doctors, and researchers around the world. Despite playing a leading role in one of the deadliest vaccine roll-outs in the history of medical experimentation, the FDA contends that health misinformation is the leading cause of falling life expectancy rates in the United States. Of course, no health misinformation is ever spread by the all-knowing FDA and their intelligent counterparts throughout the federal government.

FDA Commissioner ramps up government censorship crusade

FDA Commissioner Robert Califf went on CNBC to ramp up the governments censorship crusade against health misinformation. He believes people are dying at a younger age because of misinformation that comes from antivaxxers anti-maskers and other public health threats and domestic terrorists. These labels were used frequently and with force to subjugate and segregate individuals who thought critically about the pandemonium and forced medical experimentation that was taking place before their eyes.

In the interview, Califf said it will be his top priority to address this infodemic by appealing to specific authorities at FDA, FTC and other areas of the government.

You think about the impact of a single person reaching a billion people on the internet all over the world, we just werent prepared for that, Califf contended. We dont have societal rules that are adjudicating it quite right, and I think its impacting our health in very detrimental ways.

Why arent we using medical products as effectively and efficiently as our peer countries? A lot of it has to do with choices that people make because of the things that influenced their thinking, Califf said. Of course, the FDA played no role in misleading masses of people to live a life of paranoia, germaphobia, and hypochondria to ultimately herd them to a cataclysm of stress and deadly drug protocols, harmful isolationism, and vaccine injuries, and for tens of thousands, vaccine deaths.

FDA embroiled in historic censorship scandal that destroyed countless lives

Several agencies of the federal government are embroiled in one of the most egregious violations of the First Amendment since the founding of the United States. Top Biden officials, Anthony Fauci, the Surgeon General of the US, the heads of CDC and the FDA are all implicated in a censorship scandal that they directed over the past three years. These agencies conspired with social media companies to censor, shadow ban, and blacklist any source of information that did not comply with official narratives propagated by vaccine companies and their heavy-handed government enforcers. Even the law enforcement agencies of the United States (FBI) were engaged in extensive and elaborate efforts to surveil and censor US citizens across social media.

If anyone published information on the laboratory origins of SARS-CoV-2, they were banned and labeled conspiracy theorists. If anyone wrote about the insanity of masking, lockdowns, restrictions, and social distancing, they were censored as dangerous public health threats. If anyone protested vaccine mandates or called out the fraud and crimes against humanity that were used to force deadly medical experiments on the population, they were accused of spreading misinformation and censored across the internet.

But every single act of so-called misinformation that the FDA and the CDC censored, ultimately was proven true. Every bit of common-sense truth, from the failure of masks, to the efficacy of early treatments, to the societal damages imposed by school and church closures, ultimately was vindicated. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf goes down in history as one of the all-time dunces, who is still trying to quash valuable information on the failure of the covid-19 vaccines and other acts of medical malfeasance that continue to take place to this day.

Now the FDA Commissioner arrogantly wants to form an official government commission to arbitrate all the information that is shared by scientists, doctors, nurses, researchers, and journalists around the world. As a dying breed of propagandists continue to slobber out deadly narratives, these evil machinations of thought control will continue to fail. Indictments and public accountability will continue to stalk these liars, threatening their empire of deception and control.

If Robert Califf is going to tackle health misinformation, he better look in the mirror and beg for forgiveness.

Sources include:

JonathanTurley.org

CNBC.com

OpenVAERS.com

JonathanTurley.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Since 2018, industrial pork producers have been using customizable mRNA-based vaccines on their herds. According to drugmaker Merck, the vaccines target existing and evolving swine pathogens, including diseases not covered by conventional swine vaccines.

(Article by Dr. Joseph Mercola republished from TakeControl.Substack.com)

Story at a glance:

For the last couple of years, Ive recommended not eating pork due to its high linoleic acid (LA) content, but theres an even bigger reason to avoid it now. Since 2018, pork producers have been using customizable mRNA-based vaccines on their herds.

The very first RNA-based livestock vaccine, a swine influenza (H3N2) RNA shot licensed in 2012, was developed by Harrisvaccines. The company followed up with an avian influenza mRNA shot in 2015. Harrisvaccines was acquired by Merck Animal Health later that year.

CureVac developed an mRNA-based rabies shot for pigs in 2016.

The swine vaccine platform Sequivity, introduced in 2018, was developed by Merck in partnership with Moderna. Sequivity can produce endlessly customized vaccines, none of which undergo safety testing.

Americans have been eating pork treated with gene therapy for nearly five years already, and even more of our meat supply is about to get the same treatment. mRNA-lipid nanoparticle shots for avian influenza are in the works, as are mRNA shots for cows. Lobbyists for the Cattlemens Association recently confirmed they intend to use mRNA vaccines in cattle, which might affect both dairy and beef.

Missouri House Bill 1169 would require labeling of products that can alter your genes. It would also require companies to share information about the potential transmissibility of gene-altering interventions, and asserts that fully informed consent must be given for all vaccines, gene therapies and medical interventions.

For the last couple of years, Ive recommended not eating pork due to its high linoleic acid (LA) content, but theres an even bigger reason to avoid it now.

Since 2018, pork producers have been using customizable mRNA-based vaccines on their herds, and this has slipped completely under the radar. I myself just found out about it.

As described on Mercks animal health website:

A revolutionary swine vaccine platform, SEQUIVITY harnesses RNA particle technology to create customized prescription vaccines against strains of influenza A virus in swine, porcine circovirus (PCV), rotavirus and beyond. Its supported by a sophisticated dashboard filled with comprehensive data and insights 

Sequivity is a custom swine vaccine platform  Sequivity only targets swine pathogen gene sequences of interest. Doesnt replicate or cause disease, delivering pathogen information to the immune system  Theres no need to transfer or handle live material like autogenous, killed or modified live vaccines 

Targets existing and evolving swine pathogens, including diseases not covered by conventional swine vaccines. Allows for the creation of multivalent formulations by blending RNA particles to target multiple swine pathogens in one shot.

First RNA vaccine for livestock licensed in 2012

Merck was not alone in developing veterinary mRNA shots, however. They werent even first on the scene, although they later acquired the company that started it all.

The very first RNA-based livestock vaccine, a swine influenza (H3N2) RNA shot, was licensed over a decade ago in 2012, and was developed by Harrisvaccines. The company followed up with an avian influenza mRNA shot in 2015. Harrisvaccines was acquired by Merck Animal Health later that year.

CureVac developed an mRNA-based rabies shot for pigs in 2016. (On a side note, they began conducting human rabies shot trials in 2020 in response to the World Health Organizations goal to achieve zero human rabies deaths by 2030.)

In 2016, Bayer also partnered with BioNTech to develop mRNA vaccines for both livestock and pets, but it doesnt appear they ever launched anything.

So, in retrospect, it appears Americans have been eating pork treated with gene therapy for the past five years, and even more of our meat supply is about to get contaminated with the same treatment.

In addition to the avian influenza RNA shot for chickens licensed in 2015, newer mRNA-lipid nanoparticle shots for avian influenza are also in the works.

Iowa State University is also working on an mRNA shot for cows, and lobbyists for the Cattlemens Association recently confirmed they intend to use mRNA vaccines in cattle, which might affect both dairy and beef.

Merck and Moderna: Partners in mRNA jab race since 2015

The same year Merck purchased Harrisvaccines (2015), it also entered into a partnership with Moderna to develop a number of undisclosed mRNA vaccines. It was slated to be a three-year collaboration, with a one-year optional extension, in which Merck would perform research and development and commercialization of five potential products using Modernas mRNA technology.

As reported by Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News at the time:

Moderna has agreed to design and synthesize the mRNA product candidates directed against selected targets through its mRNA Therapeutics platform.

The platform builds on the discovery that modified mRNA can direct the bodys cellular machinery to produce nearly any protein of interest  ranging from native proteins to antibodies and other entirely novel protein constructs with therapeutic activity inside and outside of cells.

Endless customization, zero safety testing

Sequivity, introduced in 2018, was one of the products that came out of that partnership. As explained by Merck (both on its website and in the video below), Sequivity is not so much a single vaccine as it is a platform that can be endlessly customized  all without additional safety analyses over and beyond the initial ridiculously inadequate testing.

As noted by Zoetis, the largest producer of veterinary drugs and vaccines:

Sequivity has safety and efficacy studies based on the platform with a historical initial isolate, not likely the isolate that customers would be requesting in their product.

Sequivity is customized as follows:

Pathogen is collected and sent to a diagnostic lab. The gene of interest is sequenced and sent electronically to Sequivity analysts. A synthetic version of the gene of interest is synthesized and inserted into the RNA production platform. The RNA particles released from incubated production cells are harvested and formulated into a customized vaccine.

Using this platform, a customized vaccine can be created in as little as eight weeks. Now, what could go wrong by not testing every new shot for safety?

In my view, there is any number of safety hazards, as every pathogen has distinct effects, and tricking the animals body to produce that pathogen (or a pathogenic portion of that pathogen, as done with SARS-CoV-2) can have wildly unexpected side effects.

Weve clearly seen this with the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein in humans. Pfizers own documentation lists 158,000 recorded side effects, and many of these diseases and conditions have never before been reported in response to a vaccine.

I reviewed this evidence in Newly Released Pfizer Documents Reveal COVID Jab Dangers and CDC Aware of Hundreds of Safety Signals for COVID Jab.

Yet despite the obvious risks, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has gone ahead and authorized updated COVID shots to be released on an annual basis without additional safety testing, and apparently safety testing of mRNA shots used in animals was foregone nearly five years ago!

The risk of dangerous side effects is one of the reasons why not all conventional vaccines work out. Some simply cause too many problems. Now were to believe that the possibility for dangerous side effects doesnt exist just because were forcing the body to produce the antigen internally?

If anything, the possibility for problems is higher than ever, as exposure to the antigen is continuous for a long period of time, possibly for the life of the animal.

Even organic pork producers can use mRNA shots

Unfortunately, due to search engines now only providing a short list of curated and heavily censored content, its been impossible to determine how many pork producers in the U.S. use Sequivity.

Without that data, I recommend erring on the safe side and avoiding pork altogether, including organic pork, as organic standards do not have any rules on the use of vaccines, mRNA-based or otherwise.

Seeing how the Sequivity platform has been around for nearly five years already, it seems reasonable to assume nearly all large-scale swine producers have made this transition.

What do the cells in mRNA-treated meat contain?

The question now is, how do mRNA shots affect the meat?

For now, this is speculative, as we do not know whether veterinary mRNA shots are substituting uridine with pseudouridine, as was done in the COVID-19 shots. But if they do, then one of the obvious concerns would be that the mRNA might end up in the final meat product that you eat because this substitution makes it extremely difficult to destroy.

As explained by Dr. Peter McCullough:

Natural RNA is made of two purines adenine and guanine and two pyrimidines cytosine and uracil.

The replacement of uracil with its ribose ring (uridine) with N-1-methyl-pseudouridine, a synthetic product makes the genetic code for the Wuhan Spike protein better stabilized on lipid nanoparticles, long-lasting, and very efficient in terms of evading cellular destruction and able to undergo repeat reading by ribosomes for continued protein synthesis.

Morais et al indicate that both Pfizer and Moderna chose development strategies replacing all uridine units with pseudouridine, making the entire strand completely unnatural to the human body. Thus vaccine consultants, companies, and patients unfortunately gambled on how long mRNA would be active within the human body.

Fertig et al found lipid nanoparticles with mRNA were measurable in plasma for  15 days. Recently, Castruita et al demonstrated mRNA in blood out to 28 days. Roltgen et al have found mRNA in lymph nodes 60 days after injection.

None of these studies demonstrated complete clearance of mRNA from a group of patients.

This is worrisome since injections are recommended in some populations just a few months apart implying there will be stacking of long-lasting mRNA in the body without adequate opportunity for clearance and elimination.

We will look back for many years and ask: how could so many people readily accept injections of heavily modified synthetic genetic code giving the body instructions to manufacture a disease promoting and lethal protein engineered in a biosecurity lab in Wuhan, China?

Repeated administrations of mRNA studded with apparently indestructible pseudouridine may have changed the course of lives forever.

If mRNA shots can cause significant disease in humans, how has it affected our pork supply for the last five years? And how will it affect beef and chicken in the future? Can consuming genetically manipulated meat affect your health? These are questions that currently do not have answers and must be thoroughly and comprehensively investigated.

Big Ag didnt tell us what they were doing

One of the most frustrating aspects of this is that the industry didnt tell us they were using novel gene therapy to spin up customized vaccines in weeks without any safety testing. The only reason many of us became aware of this issue in recent weeks was because attorney Tom Renz started warning about it.

In an April 2 Substack article, Renz wrote:

I have been talking about gene therapy vaccines being introduced into the food supply without providing people informed consent on my Twitter account  as well as pushing Missouri HB1169 which is our best bet of stopping this happening.

This is a nightmare scenario whereby peoples genetics are potentially altered with factory foods without them even knowing. Let me begin by putting to rest any questions as to whether this can happen. The idea of vaccines in food has been around for a long time 

Here is an article published in the NIH (you know  by our government) talking about foods under application to be genetically modified to become edible vaccines  FROM 2013  The fact that food can be altered to act as a vaccine is not disputable.

Which foods and in what ways is more of a question. It is claimed that beef, pork, etc. cannot transfer vaccination from the meat to the consumer of the meat. At initial glance that would make sense (cow DNA and people DNA is quite different and an mRNA designed for cows would probably not be able to transfer directly to people), but that is NOT the whole story.

You have to remember that the additives in the mRNA vaccines are by no means proven safe and we dont even actually know what all is in these shots  Ultimately the mRNA jabs still have not undergone long-term testing because long-term testing can take 10-20 years and they have not existed that long so any claims about the safety or efficacy of the stuff thats in them are garbage at best.

What we do know about the mRNA vaccines is that they do not stop the spread of disease  and really do not help in any way with anything. We also do know that these jabs were demonstrated, in vitro, to alter the genetic makeup of some cells and I would say it is incredibly likely that they do the outside the Petri dish.

Given that we are now talking about a new level of genetic engineering with unknown effects and no long-term studies, do the potential genetic changes the mRNA injections facilitate pose a long-term risk to humans that ingest the altered food? Before you say no, wouldnt you prefer it be tested rather than being the subject of the experiment?

Support Missouri House Bill 1169

As noted by Renz, Missouri House Bill 1169 would require the labeling of products that can alter your genes. It also asserts that fully informed consent must be given for all vaccines, gene therapies and medical interventions, and would require companies to share information about the potential transmissibility of gene-altering interventions.

The pushback by industry against this bill has been enormous, which should tell you something. It doesnt ban anything; it only requires transparency. That, apparently, is a serious threat to industry, and the most obvious reason for that is because theyd have to admit that all sorts of foods can have gene-altering effects.

Not only might this destroy Big Ag, but it would also decimate any surreptitious attempts by Big Pharma to use the food supply as a tool to distribute vaccines unbeknownst to consumers.

As noted by Renz, Big pharma DOES NOT WANT people to know they are going to use food to alter their genetics.

Farmers are also being set up as the fall guys, and they need to be made aware of this.

Renz states:

The lobbyists opposing this bill  are pushing to shut this bill down because factory mega-farmers like Bill Gates, the CCP, and others want to put vaccines in your food. These guys are supporting the big money but this will come at the expense of the family farmers.

The problem is that the major factory farmers like Gates have legal teams that can set up defense shields against the torts that may come if the food supply starts poisoning people 

Meanwhile, the small farmers will be at risk of being sued if it turns out that the food they are selling is unsafe despite the fact that most of them will not necessarily know what is happening.

If the corn growers, soybean, cattle, and pork associations actually cared about the farmers they would be demanding the seed companies and vaccine manufacturers indemnify the small farmers for these products rather than opposing a bill that would force them to tell the farmers what they are doing.

The corruption regarding this bill is amazing. Ultimately the labeling requirement would likely serve to protect farmers from being sued because the makers of seed and vaccines would have to make sure the farmers knew if they were putting potential gene therapies into their products. The opposition from the ag lobby is not to help the farmers, it is to help their own pockets.

As noted by Renz, if this bill is passed in Missouri, it could help protect the food supply of the entire U.S.

In the meantime, I recommend avoiding all pork products, including organic ones, as they not only have high levels of the omega-6 fat, linoleic acid, because of the grains they are fed, but virtually all have been contaminated with the mRNA vaccines for the past five years.

Read more at: TakeControl.Substack.com
(Natural News) The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has disregarded the breach of election data linked to Chinese company Konnech.

Whistleblower Nate Cain disclosed this information to Jeffrey Prather during the April 14 episode of Prather Point on Brighteon.TV. Cain, an Army veteran and cybersecurity entrepreneur, said the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office hired his company to aid with serving the court-ordered search and arrest warrants to Konnech.

We had skills in cyber forensic capture, and they were dealing with something theyd never dealt with before  which was the potential for capturing information potentially on foreign servers, as well as dealing with a potential Chinese spy ring essentially, Cain said.

After assembling the cyber protection team, Cain and his staff did their work in Michigan. Evidence-gathering into overseas servers yielded the data of poll workers, election judges and election inventory systems. They also found documents showing that a Chinese company doing software development and maintenance for elections had ties to the Chinese Communist Party. (Related: Matrixxx Grooove: Jeff and Shady denounce damning action of Konnech storing US poll worker data on Chinese servers  Brighteon.TV)

You have to pull down that stuff slowly and methodically. And theres a lot of precautions involved in just like anything, when youre dealing with a criminal case. You have to be very careful about evidence handling, Cain said.

We took extreme procedures to make sure that we document and recorded everything that we were doing. And that we were using forensically wiped drives and hashing all of the evidence files, all of that.

DA Gascon unhappy with Cains actions

Given their findings, Cain said he had no choice but to take the information to the Defense Counterintelligence Security Agency (DCSA). He explained that it could be a potential Chinese espionage operation.

Its interesting because when we took this information to the DCSA, the DCSA actually went through their process of validating the data. [They had] an analyst review it, and they determined that it needed to be investigated by the FBI. And so, they had submitted a request to the FBI to investigate this. But the fact that the FBI completely ignored this countys request, I thought, was interesting.

Cain also provided the information to a superintendent of the LA Police Department, who brought the findings to the FBI. Unfortunately, the federal law enforcement agency did not show any interest in it. Moreover, LA County District Attorney (DA) George Gascon was not happy about the findings.

Cain told Prather that after his company provided all of the evidence and information to the county, the DAs office severed all ties and refused to pay. Because of this, Cain has taken the county to court.

According to the whistleblower and Army veteran, there is no doubt the election data was going to China. He added that Konnech CEO Eugene Yu had lied that his companys software was developed in the U.S. and that data was not being held on foreign servers.

Prather mentioned that Konnech has already vacated its office in Michigan. The FBI also came out with an affidavit clearing the company of any wrongdoing. The former intelligence officer mentioned that this is not just a law enforcement case, but one of espionage.

Head over to FBICorruption.news for more stories about the federal law enforcement agency.

Watch the April 14 episode of Prather Point below. Prather Point with Jeffrey Prather airs every Friday at 10-11 a.m. and every Saturday from 7-8 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Software CEO charged with stealing massive amounts of election data in Los Angeles, sending it to China.

Is the CCP harvesting data on Americans from smart appliances?

Authorities: CEO of election software company sent American poll workers data to China.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

MarketWatch.com
(Natural News) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently issued a report linking the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic to an unusual spike in prescriptions for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs, especially among young women.

The spike is part of a growing trend in the use of these prescribed stimulants. In 2022, more than 45 million prescriptions for Adderall alone were dispensed.

In October 2022, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced an Adderall shortage that is still ongoing, with millions of Americans panicking as they switched medications. Some resorted to rationing doses because they cant fill prescriptions, while others looked for replacement drugs on the black market.

Many young women have started posting on social media sites like TikTok to share their suspicions that the Adderall formula is being watered down due to the shortage.

According to an article by the New York Times, as of March 2023 videos related to the phrase ADHD meds not working have been viewed more than 15 million times on TikTok.

Users also encouraged their viewers to submit complaints to the FDA about what they think is a new Adderall being distributed and to call for the agency to run lab tests of the prescription medication.

Both the FDA and drug makers claimed that the shortage is due to the growing demand for the drugs.

Meanwhile, the CDC says the increased demand can be attributed to increased stress during the COVID-19 pandemic, changes in guidelines for ADHD diagnosis and an increase in awareness. The agency also thinks that the demand for Adderall has gone up due to increased access to prescriptions through telehealth because of ads placed on TikTok that target young adult users.

Some say that shifting cultural dynamics among young adults could have also played a role in increasing the demand.

Adderall is an amphetamine used for its stimulant effects. But it can also be used as a performance-enhancing drug, an off-label antidepressant or an emotional anesthetic. Some use Adderall for narcolepsy (daytime sleepiness).

Potential side effects of the drug can include:

Changes in vision

Decreased appetite

Dizziness

Headaches

Increased heart rate

Irritability

Nervousness

Problems falling asleep or staying asleep

Restlessness

Slowed speech

Stomach aches

According to Katherine Dee, a contributor for Compact magazine, there is a subsection of the population fixated on what has been called toxic positivity, an excessive preoccupation with maintaining optimism no matter the situation. Some people use stimulants like Adderall to achieve that feeling.

On the other hand, there are also people who think supply-side issues are to blame for the shortage.

Another report said Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, a major producer of ADHD drugs, was struggling with a worker shortage. Other manufacturers are also reporting supply issues.

According to the FDAs website, some manufacturers claim that the shortage is due to a demand increase or shortage of active ingredients. However, other manufacturers did not bother to list a reason.

Dr. Yoram Unguru, a pediatric hematologist and oncologist at Sinai Hospital of Baltimore who studies drug shortages, said in an interview that the pharmaceutical companies lack of transparency about the shortage makes it harder to resolve the supply issues.

Other reports suggest that supply is also affected by new secret rules that limit pharmacies ability to distribute controlled substances. These rules were allegedly the result of an opioid crisis-related settlement with three major drug distributors: AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp.

The rules supposedly capped the number of controlled substances drug makers could distribute to pharmacies. But the amount of the caps themselves is kept under wraps because of the settlement agreement, which is enforced in an effort to stop pharmacies from being able to exploit the system.

Pharmacists also report that while prescriptions for controlled substances rise, the rules limit their ability to fill legitimate prescriptions. (Related: Amphetamine ADHD drug Adderall facing supply crunch, survey finds.)

Prescription stimulant on the rise, warn health experts

Between 2006 and 2016, prescription stimulant use more than doubled in America.

While prescription stimulants are sometimes used for health issues like narcolepsy, they are mainly used to treat ADHD, a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inattention and hyperactivity.

In a CDC study published in the journal Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, researchers evaluated insurance claim data to confirm the number of stimulant prescriptions filled from 2016 to 2021 for people ages five to 64. The data excluded people buying drugs out-of-pocket or with health plans not provided by an employer.

The results showed that the increase in prescriptions during the COVID-19 pandemic came after several years of increases beginning 2016. The trend corresponds with increasing rates of ADHD diagnoses in adolescents, adults and women.

Overall, the report showed that the percentage of enrollees with one or more prescriptions for stimulants has gone up from 3.6 percent in 2016 to 4.1 percent in 2021.

However, data from certain demographics are more conclusive.

The number of females age 15 to 44 and males age 25 to 44 filling stimulant prescriptions has gone up by over 10 percent from 2020 to 2021. The numbers also increased by almost 20 percent among females in an even narrower age range, 20 to 24.

Historically, ADHD has been defined as a childhood disorder more common among boys. But during the study period, stimulant prescriptions have decreased slightly among children.

For the study, researchers tracked stimulants sold under the brands Adderall and Dexedrine, and methamphetamine under the brand Desoxyn and methylphenidate under the brand Ritalin.

Predatory advertising on social media linked to a spike in drug use

The CDCs report follows several articles also reporting similar numbers.

One report revealed that prescriptions for ADHD medications increased 19 percent on average between 2018 and 2022. Meanwhile, Adderall prescriptions have skyrocketed to over 30 percent within the same period.

According to Epic Research, a health analytics firm in Verona, Wisconsin, ADHD diagnoses among women ages 23 to 49 have nearly doubled between 2020 and 2022.

The drug has become popular among adults who recognized their ADHD symptoms later in life, including people who self-diagnose online, in most cases using online tools created by telehealth providers.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Telemedicine grew in popularity because many people could not schedule regular doctor visits.

Unfortunately, unscrupulous mental health startups took advantage of relaxed regulations and inundated social media, especially TikTok and Instagram, with advertisements encouraging young users with symptoms like being spacey, forgetful or chatty to seek ADHD treatment online.

These predatory ads were successful and ADHD diagnoses skyrocketed.

Cerebral, a startup whose valuation went up to $4.8 billion in 2021, and other telehealth providers like Done were criticized for making it too easy for young social media users to access Adderall and other drugs.

The backlash, including investigations into the marketing practices of these providers by several publications and the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) in 2022, resulted in some telehealth providers reducing advertising. At the same time, some pharmacy chains stopped filling prescriptions from some telehealth providers, while others stopped prescribing these medications to new patients.

But Dee warned that they werent the only companies engaging in controversial practices. Her investigation into other telehealth providers, like Circle Medical, revealed that they have received lesser media attention and still continue to provide prescription services while offering only a thin veneer of legitimacy to their ADHD diagnoses.

These telehealth prescribers also prey on troubled young adults by offering consultations for anxiety and depression treatment and sleep studies, along with gender-affirming hormone therapy, added Dee.

Why Adderall no longer works for some

But the danger isnt just coming from pharmaceutical companies making ADHD meds content on social media.

A large community of users has started discussing their alleged psychological or neurodivergent conditions on social media. According to peer-reviewed research, user-generated content about ADHD is one of the most popular health topics on TikTok.

These users are also claiming that Adderall is no longer working, with their videos taking over the social media platform.

Some users even claim that manufacturers are selling fake Adderall amid the shortage.

The FDA and Teva both insist that the formula of the drug hasnt changed. Experts offered several possible theories for the alleged change people are experiencing:

Changing meds

Tolerance buildup

Starting and stopping, which many were forced to do when they couldnt purchase medications during the shortage

Life disruptions such as other mental health conditions or changes in their sleep habits

Cognitive bias, or hearing from others that their medications arent working and thinking that the same thing is happening to them

As the shortage continues, many have resorted to switching drugs altogether or buying generics. While the medications are meant to be the same, they are made with different components that users may respond to differently.

Visit PrescriptionDrugs.news for more stories about the Adderall shortage.

Watch the video below to know more about natural treatment options for ADHD.

This video is from the Holistic Herbalist channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

ADHD medication Adderall is running out of stock at CVS and Walgreens amid soaring demand.

Researchers suggest fish oil supplements should be considered a potential treatment for ADHD.

ADHD drug use has skyrocketed 345% among young women in 12 years according to the CDC, increasing birth defects.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

NYTimes.com

Healthline.com

Insider.com

Brighteon.com
The bill also will likely invite legal challenges based on a North Dakota constitutional prohibition on special legislation targeting one specific business or entity, according to Burgum.

The governor suggested a joint legislative/executive branch task force with Insurance Commissioner Jon Godfread to build upon prior efforts and continue a comprehensive review of affordability, accessibility and quality of North Dakotas health systems during the 2023-24 interim, for recommendations for the 2025 Legislature.

The veto was Burgum's fifth of the session, and the second one overridden.
(Natural News) South Koreas highest court has ordered tech giant Google to disclose any personal data it has collected on South Korean citizens and shared with third parties, including U.S. intelligence agencies.

Russia Today reported that the April 13 ruling issued by the Supreme Court of Korea (SCK) was binding, even though the case against Google continues in the Seoul High Court (SHC). In its decision, the SCK ruled in favor of four South Korean activists who sued the search engine giant and its local branch Google Korea in 2014. The lawsuit sought to force the company to reveal whether it had gathered or shared their data.

The four plaintiffs alleged that personal information was passed on to the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) through its PRISM program. First launched in 2007 during the second Bush administration, PRISM collects a massive amount of data from the internet itself as well as from service providers directly. Private communications are also included in this collected data. (Related: Google, Facebook, others accepted millions from NSA to turn over spy data on its users.)

Under South Korean law, internet service providers must respond to customer inquiries related to their own data  especially if it has been shared with third parties. However, an appeals court previously ruled in favor of the search engine giant. The appellate court said Google has the right to reject such requests, so long as the decision was in line with American law.

The SCK partially overturned that ruling, declaring that Google must disclose the relevant information requested by the plaintiffs regardless of U.S. law. It nevertheless returned the case to the SHC for further litigation.

Comprehensive consideration should be given to whether the need to respect foreign laws is significantly superior to the need to protect personal information, South Koreas highest court said in a statement.

Google closely tied to NSA, 2015 report reveals

The SCK also ruled that companies must disclose if they transferred an individuals personal data to a foreign intelligence service such as the NSA for legitimate reasons, even though the person in question is no longer under investigation.

Google Korea said in a statement that it plans to review the SCKs April 13 decision carefully. It also emphasized that protecting the privacy of its users is an important issue for the Big Tech firm.

The NSAs PRISM program was revealed to the public in 2013, thanks to the efforts of former government contractor turned whistleblower Edward Snowden. Documents leaked by Snowden called PRISM the No. 1 source of raw intelligence used for NSA analytic reports. He denounced the surveillance program as dangerous and accused the NSA of criminal acts.

It is not surprising that Google and the NSA would inevitably be linked, as in the example of the South Korean case. Systems theorist and investigative journalist Nafeez Ahmed expounded on this connection in a January 2015 article on Medium.

He divulged that retired Gen. Keith Alexander, who served as the NSAs director from 2005 until 2014, had been emailing Google co-founder Sergey Brin back in 2012. The emails between the two, obtained by investigative journalist Jason Leopold under a Freedom of Information Act request, mainly tackled information sharing for national security. In one of the emails, Alexander described Google as a key member of the [U.S. militarys] defense industrial base.

Brins jovial relationship with the former NSA chief now makes perfect sense, given that Brin had been in contact with representatives of the Central Intelligence Agency and NSA  [which] partly funded and oversaw his creation of the Google search engine  since the mid-1990s, Ahmed wrote.

Listen to Patrick C. Toomey, deputy director of the American Civil Liberties Unions National Security Project, explaining what the NSAs PRISM project is all about.

This video is from the jonastheprophet channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

How to avoid Google surveillance and protect your personal data.

BOMBSHELL investigation: Google an information dominance front for the CIA.

Google employees listen in on private conversations between users and Google Assistant.

Remember when Julian Assange exposed Google as an NSA mass surveillance tool of the deep state?

Google Chrome has devolved into nothing more than surveillance software that spies on its own users.

Sources include:

RT.com

En.YNA.co.kr

Medium.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) A new report authored by the International Committee of Jurists (ICJ), UNAIDS, and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) calls for the decriminalization of not only all forms of drug use but also all expressions of sexuality, including pedophilia.

Released on International Womens Day, the report states that its goal is to guide the application of international human rights law to criminal law. It refers to the 8 March principles, which call for all offenses related to sex, drug use, HIV, sexual and reproductive health, homelessness and poverty to be decriminalized.

While the War on Drugs is certainly a scourge on humanity, tying it to sexual liberation in the form of overt child abuse is simply disgusting  but par for the course when it comes to the type of thing we would expect from the United Nations.

Criminal law is among the harshest of tools at the disposal of the State to exert control over individuals  as such, it ought to be a measure of last resort however, globally, there has been a growing trend towards overcriminalization, said Ian Seiderman, the Law and Policy Director at ICJ, in a press release.

We must acknowledge that these laws not only violate human rights, but the fundamental principles of criminal law themselves.

(Related: Fake president Joe Biden is a pedophile.)

Leave children alone!

Much of the report contains things that many people today would consider to be reasonable and compassionate. One example is the proposed reversal of Richard Nixons War on Drugs, which would allow for people who use drugs to receive help and rehabilitation rather than a criminal record.

It is the sex between adults and minors portion of the UN proposal that makes this whole decriminalization scheme a Trojan Horse for legalized sex abuse against children  and one that cannot be allowed to pass.

With respect to the enforcement of criminal law, any prescribed minimum age of consent to sex must be applied in a non-discriminatory manner, the proposal states. Enforcement may not be linked to the sex / gender of participants or age of consent to marriage.

Moreover, sexual conduct involving persons below the domestically prescribed minimum age of consent to sex may be consensual, in fact, if not in law. In this context, the enforcement of criminal law should reflect the rights and capacity of persons under 18 years of age to make decisions about engaging in consensual sexual conduct and their right to be heard in matters concerning them.

Pursuant to their evolving capacities and progressive autonomy, persons under 18 years of age should participate in decisions affecting them, with due regard to their age, maturity and best interests, and with specific attention to non-discrimination guarantees.

It is a fact that a child is not capable of truly consenting to sexual activity with an adult. An underage child is innocent and not fully formed or developed, and is thus not capable of making such a decision in the same way as an adult.

Not only that, but children deserve to keep that innocence for as long as possible.

The UN, however, is infested with the types of perverts who want to legalize such evil to fulfill their own wicked desires. This is why the bill calls for all criminal laws related to sex work to be abolished, including for those who perpetrate such crimes on innocents, i.e., sex traffickers, pimps, and abusers.

In turn, this serves the abortion industry as well, which has aided traffickers and abusers by failing to report suspected abuse and returning victims to their abusers after their abortions, warns Live Action.

Decriminalizing sex work, sex crimes against minors, and abortion would only serve to doubly suit traffickers and abusers, who are known to use abortion as a means to cover up their crimes.

More related news can be found at Evil.news.

Sources for this article include:

LiveAction.org

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) At its diversity week last fall, the University of Utah Medical School (UUMS) spent tens of thousands of dollars on white-hating speakers who were brought in to lecture students about ethics in healthcare.

Even as companies all across corporate America are laying off thousands of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) hires, UUMS is funneling wads of cash into the pockets of speakers whom critics say grift off academic institutions while spouting their left-wing political ideology.

In November, UUMS spent $15,000 to cover speaking fees and travel costs for Daniel Dawes, a public health expert who spoke on DEI at the school. Another was Evan Adams, an actor and physician at Canadas First Nations Health Authority, who received $3,000 for a lecture on indigenous health issues.

All of this was brought to light via a public records request from Do No Harm, a group that campaigns against the left-wing invasion and takeover of American medicine.

The University of Utah should be spending its money on something worthwhile, said Dr. Stanley Goldfarb, the groups board chair. To indoctrinate its staff and its students in concepts that are pure political ideology isnt fair to Utahs taxpayers, nor will it benefit the students.

(Related: The University of Florida College of Medicine is likewise pushing woke CRT and other anti-white curriculum on students.)

The entire DEI industry is one big grift

The University of Utah is hardly alone in its DEI endeavors, despite massive corporate layoffs in the private sector. All across the West, Goldfarb warns, a whole industry of consultants has grown up to grift off academic institutions in the name of DEI.

This nonsense needs to stop, he says.

In a statement, UU spokeswoman Rebecca Walsh said that none of the speakers were paid using student tuition fees.

Daniel Dawes is a well-regarded expert in the field of health equity and the social determinants of health, she wrote in an email. The University of Utah regularly engages speakers on a wide range of topics, regardless of viewpoint.

While Dawes himself did not respond to media requests for comment, Adams told the Daily Mail Online that his critics are simply trying to silenc[e] discourse on reform and cancel him.

If African American babies die at twice the rate of white American babies, and this cannot be discussed openly, and the status quo is enforced, how do any of us sleep at night? Adams wrote in a defensive email.

Our job is to help  even if the public minimizes our realities and talks over us, he added.

An author and Covid-19 advisor to the White House, Dawes took in $13,000 in speaking fees after taking a first-class flight to the event, which included a fancy hotel stay and even chauffeured rides to and from the forum event, which was called The Political Determinants of Health and How We Can Change Them.

Dawes has also written two books, one called 150 Years of ObamaCare and the other called The Political Determinants of Health. He was personally involved in architecting the so-called Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, as well as other federal government schemes in the United States.

Adams, meanwhile, is a member of the Tlaamin First Nation. He spoke about Canadas efforts to address historical violence to American Indian and Alaska natives and how their health continues to suffer.

The average UU student graduates with debts in excess of $300,000, according to Dr. Mark Greenwood, president of the Utah Medical Association. A semesters worth of medical school at the public university costs about $35,000.

More related news coverage can be found at Wokies.news.

Sources for this article include:

TheGatewayPundit.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) The World Health Organization (WHO) receives $1 billion dollars from American taxpayers annually, according to author and activist James Roguski.

Roguski made these remarks during his appearance on the April 13 episode of the Brighteon.TV program Right Now with Ann Vandersteel. He pointed out that under the WHOs pandemic treaty, the U.S. is only obligated to contribute $109 million. The National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) signed by the Biden administration raised this allocation to the WHO to a whopping $1 billion.

Thats a lot of money for you and me. In the grand scheme of things, thats a pittance. Look at what weve been giving to Ukraine. What has happened in the last 20 years is the method by which the money flows into the WHO has been corrupted, said Roguski.

The countries that have monkeys running around in nature, they didnt get money pox, but nations that had a lot of money was where that was declared. This is an attempt to redirect tens of billions of dollars right into the pharmaceutical hospital emergency industrial complex. (Related: Human rights activist warns: Pending WHO treaties to usher in TYRANNY in America.)

Roguski emphasized the need for the U.S. to remove itself from the WHO, which he did through a Substack article outlining 10 reasons to do so.

All that is needed is to extricate yourself from a treaty, he told Vandersteel.

Vandersteel: Biden put America back in the bottom of the abyss

In May 2020, former President Donald Trump said he would make good on his threat to withdraw from the WHO. He had criticized the global health body for failing to quickly sound the alarm when the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) emerged. Trump also accused the WHO of helping China cover up its involvement in the origins of COVID-19.

Countless lives have been taken and profound economic hardship has been inflicted all around the globe, Trump said in a brief statement from the White House. POLITICO reported that in April 2020, the real estate mogul-turned-president temporarily froze U.S funding to the WHO while his administration was reviewing membership. The U.S has previously contributed over $400 million per year to WHOs $4.8 billion annual budget, more than any other country, it added.

Vandersteel remarked that as soon as incumbent President Joe Biden entered the White House in 2021, he put us right back in the bottom of the abyss here and were staring at this empty black hole. She also dubbed the WHO as the world homicide organization.

Roguski suggested another alternative  world hypnosis organization  that he deemed more appropriate.

Because from its founding back in 1948  when [former President Harry] Truman signed a joint resolution that got us in  the document itself literally says that: We want the world to be a healthier place,' he said.

But nothing that the WHO says or does should be mandatory. They are an advisory organization to give recommendations, and we can follow them if we wish. The hypnotic part of it is the media. People seem to believe that Oh, the WHO has spoken. Therefore, we must obey.

Watch the full April 13 episode of Right Now with Ann Vandersteel and James Roguski below. Catch new episodes of the program every weeknight at 8-8:30 p.m. on Brighteon.TV.

More related stories:

Biden regime surrenders U.S. sovereignty to WHO  no more medical freedom, especially during a health emergency.

Clay Clark: Biden set to empower WHO via legally binding pandemic treaty  Brighteon.TV.

Alex Newman and Dr. Peter Breggin discuss why WHO is the greatest threat to freedom today  Brighteon.TV.

Sources include:

Brighteon.com

JamesRoguski.Substack.com

Politico.com
(Natural News) Never letting a crisis go to waste is very useful tool, especially when the government creates the crisis. As CTH has said from the first discussion of the classified intelligence leaks, the leak is the op.

(Article by Sundance republished from TheConservativeTreehouse.com)

The intel leak is the operation created by the Intelligence Community to support new expanded powers for the Fourth Branch of Government. It should not be a surprise to discover the institution now leading the charge to give more power for U.S. intel agencies, is. wait for it.. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence.

The SSCI is the organizational institution that supports the Fourth Branch of Government, the intelligence branch. The SSCI previously created a bipartisan Restrict Act, to deal with dangerous information on the internet.

According to SSCI Chairman Mark Warner, The Restrict Act will give more power and authorities to the Executive Branch to deal with internet danger. Now the SSCI sees the classified intel leaks as evidence for the importance of the Restrict Act.

Well, butter my buns and call me a biscuit, surprise-surprise! Funny how that happens.

(Via NBC)  The Biden administration is looking at expanding how it monitors social media sites and chatrooms after U.S. intelligence agencies failed to spot classified Pentagon documents circulating online for weeks, according to a senior administration official and a congressional official briefed on the matter. The possible change in the intelligence-gathering process is just one potential shift as officials scramble to determine not only how the documents leaked but also how to prevent another damaging incident. [] The president and other officials were dismayed when they learned the documents had been online for at least a month. Nobody is happy about this, said the senior administration official. The administration is now looking at expanding the universe of online sites that intelligence agencies and law enforcement authorities track, the official said. [] If the administration tries to check online chatrooms more closely, it will have to navigate legal safeguards designed to protect Americans privacy and freedom of expression, former intelligence officials said. Watching a public chatroom is fair game, but law enforcement agencies dont have the legal authority to monitor a private online chatroom without probable cause, the former officials said. We do not have nor do we want a system where the United States government monitors private internet chats, said Glenn Gerstell, former general counsel of the National Security Agency from 2015 to 2020. [] Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va., said the leak raised yet more questions about how the government manages its secrets, only months after revelations that successive administrations appeared to have mishandled classified documents. [] I think its time that Congress plays a role here in setting some parameters, Warner said. (read more)

Just a few parameters

Swear.

Promise.

Uh huh.

The Restrict Act, also known as Senate Bill 686 [SB686 HERE], also known as the bipartisan bill to empower the executive branch to shut down TikTok. Also known as the online Patriot Act.

Read more at: TheConservativeTreehouse.com
(Natural News) Officers of the New York City Police Department (NYPD) have arrested two individuals who allegedly ran a secret police station for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) in the Big Apple.

U.S. Attorney Breon Peace, who serves as the federal prosecutor for the Eastern District of New York, confirmed the April 17 arrests of Lu Jianwang and Chen Jinping. He added that both Chinese-born suspects were arrested by NYPD officers at their homes, and were charged with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese government.

According to Peace, Lu and Chen had been operating the secret outpost of the Chinese Peoples Police (PP) at an entire floor of a building in the heart of New York Citys (NYC) Chinatown. He remarked: Now just imagine the NYPD opening an undeclared secret police station in Beijing. It would be unthinkable. (Related: Secret CCP police stations discovered in LA, NYC.)

The U.S. attorney said Lu and Chen destroyed evidence of their communications upon learning of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) probe. These two defendants knew they had something to hide, and they obstructed justice in an attempt to prevent the FBI from learning the full extent of what they were up to.

Peace expounded that the secret Chinese police station provided some government services, such as helping mainland Chinese citizens renew their drivers licenses. However, American law mandates that agents of a foreign government must give prior notice to the state and federal attorneys general before setting up shop  something that did not happen in the case of Lu and Chen.

More troubling, though, is the fact that the secret police station appears to have had a more sinister use on at least one occasion, the U.S. attorney said. According to him, an official of the Chinese Peoples Police directed one of the defendants to help locate a pro-democracy activist who was living in California. Peace commented that Chinese law enforcement had been using the station to track a U.S. resident on U.S. soil.

34 Chinese cops part of task force also charged

The U.S. attorney also announced that 34 police officers, part of a task force dubbed the 912 Special Project Working Group, had been charged. The 34 individuals were accused of conspiracy to transmit interstate threats and conspiracy to commit interstate harassment, Peace added.

Contrary to normal police forces, Peace said the 912 task force does not protect people or fight crimes. Instead, it commits crimes against Chinese democracy activists who are located outside of mainland China.

This task force operates as an internet troll farm creating thousands of fake online personas  which they use in a coordinated plot to harass  and threaten dissidents and activists throughout the world; people [the Chinese government] perceives as threats to the legitimacy of the CCP, he said.

In addition to threatening and harassing Chinese dissidents, the [912 task force] officers use their fake online personas to spread official Chinese government propaganda and narratives to counter and overwhelm the dissidents pro-democracy speech.

Peace recounted one instance of the task force doing their dirty work. During an online video conference on the issue of countering communism, task force officers flooded the video conference and drowned out the meeting with loud music and vulgar screams and threats directed at Chinese dissidents. He continued that with the arrest of the 34 task force members, the world now has a unique, never-before-seen view of how [Beijing] deployed this army of internet trolls.

The Department of Justice also remarked that the 34 task force members reached out to individuals they assessed to be supportive of the CCPs narratives. They then asked these individuals on several occasions  to disseminate group content.

Given the arrests of Lu and Chen and the indictment of the 34 members of the 912 task force, Peace decried the Chinese Ministry of Public Securitys repeated and flagrant violations of U.S. national sovereignty.

Watch this report from NTDs China In Focus about the arrests of Lu and Chen.

This video is from the Pool Pharmacy channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

China sent agents to HARASS and THREATEN US-based dissidents.

Leaked documents reveal Chinas use of paid online trolls to shift public opinion.

China opened overseas police stations in multiple countries to monitor citizens living abroad.

China established remote police stations in CANADA to retrieve its own citizens for deportation.

China establishes police stations in countries around the world to spy on, interdict Chinese citizens living abroad.

Sources include:

FoxNews.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The U.S. Justice Department has filed charges against 40 members of Chinas national police for their involvement in a concerted effort to harass U.S. residents through targeted campaigns, reports said on Monday.

According to NTD, documents the DoJ released this week revealed that 40 officials from Chinas Ministry of Public Security (MPS) and two individuals from the Cyberspace Administration of China collaborated to carry out harassment against dissidents and pro-democracy activists residing in the United States and other parts of the world. The officials also plotted to transmit interstate threats as part of their campaign, the news outlet reported.

As per the DoJ documents, the MPS officers involved in the harassment campaign belong to a specialized task force in China called the 912 Special Project Working Group, which is commonly referred to as the Group. According to the DoJ, the Groups purported objective is to silence Chinese dissidents on an international level through targeting and harassment tactics.

The Chinese government deploys an elite task force of its national policethe 912 Special Project Working Groupas a troll farm to attack Chinese dissidents in our country for exercising free speech that the [Chinese communist] government disfavors, and spread disinformation and propaganda to sow divisions within the United States, noted U.S. Attorney Breon Peace during a news conference.

The defendants are accused of executing sophisticated and coordinated transnational repression operations that aimed to target U.S. residents with political beliefs that are regarded as unacceptable by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), which governs China as a one-party state.

To accomplish their objective, the Groups officers reportedly established and utilized several fake social media profiles across various U.S.-based platforms, including Twitter, with the intent of intimidating and harassing Chinese dissidents and supporters of democratic practices in China. A large portion of the operation was conducted on a platform owned and managed by a U.S. company, referred to as Company-1 in the DoJ documents, NTD reported.

The Group allegedly collaborated with an employee at Company-1 to use the fake social media accounts to launch harassment and overt threats against individuals who were critical of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). The officers also reportedly sought to disrupt online video conferences hosted on the platform by flooding the chats with obscenities and threats. Additionally, they allegedly attempted to ban anti-communist events from social media platforms.

Chinas Ministry of Public Security used operatives to target people of Chinese descent who had the courage to speak out against the Chinese Communist Partyin one case by covertly spreading propaganda to undermine confidence in our democratic processes and, in another, by suppressing U.S. video conferencing users free speech, FBI Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow said at the news conference.

We arent going to tolerate CCP repressionits efforts to threaten, harass, and intimidate peoplehere in the United States. The FBI will continue to confront the Chinese governments efforts to violate our laws and repress the rights and freedoms of people in our country.

The Chinese operation went further than simply seeking to silence the voices of dissidents.

The DoJ documents indicate that the officers from the Group also utilized U.S. social media platforms to spread propaganda and disinformation in an effort to destabilize U.S. national security and disrupt election integrity. The Group distributed content that asserted American democracy was bound to fail, propagated false information that the United States created Covid-19, and promoted misleading information about U.S. elections, said the news report.

The accused individuals also made efforts to enlist American citizens as unwitting operatives of the Chinese regime by coaxing them to disseminate the propaganda online, thereby legitimizing the CCPs false assertions, the outlet noted.

These cases demonstrate the lengths the [Chinese] government will go to silence and harass U.S. persons who exercise their fundamental rights to speak out against [its] oppression, including by unlawfully exploiting a U.S.-based technology company, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen declared.

These actions violate our laws and are an affront to our democratic values and basic human rights, he added.

Sources include:

NTD.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) Leftists hate transparency more than anything because when they are forced to admit who and what they are, they lose support for their policies and ideology.

So thats why liberals throughout the West are furious at Twitter boss Elon Musk after the platform began accurately labeling state media outlets as being paid for by governments, not independently owned and profit-driven entities.

For instance, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeaus hypocrisy is apparent as his government spends millions promoting digital media literacy, while he appears unable to tolerate a basic label on Twitter that accurately characterizes the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation as government-funded media, The Post Millennial reported on Monday.

This statement is undoubtedly true, as the CBC receives over $1.2 billion a year in government funds. However, Trudeau was incensed by Twitters labeling and immediately tried to blame the Conservatives for delegitimizing independent media organizations,' the news site noted further.

When theyre trying to attack a foundational Canadian institution, the fact that he has to run to American billionaires for support to attack Canadians says a lot about Mr. Poilievre and his values, Trudeau said.

I think it says a lot about the Conservative Party of Canada. Theyre choosing to constantly attack independent media organizations, journalists who are working hard to keep Canadians informed and support our democracy, he added.

Thats a bald-faced lie, same as if he were saying it about National Public Radio in the United States. They are government-funded entities that are extremely partial to leftists and thats why you see only leftists like Trudeau defending them as defenders of democracy.

The source of the controversy lies in Twitters efforts to identify state-affiliated accounts, including media outlets funded by governments, to equip individuals with the necessary data to determine if they are being exposed to government propaganda.

Despite the gravity of the matter, public broadcasters, such as CBC, NPR, and PBS, reacted with collective outrage when asked to be open about their financial models, The Post Millennial report continued.

Recently, NPR and PBS declared that they would discontinue using Twitter because of the newly introduced categorizations. Similarly, the BBC in Britain expressed its frustration with being labeled government-funded and successfully persuaded Twitter to revise it to publicly funded because the network depends on a television tax instead of direct subsidies.

On April 14, 2022, Musk made an offer to acquire Twitter for $54.20 a share. Twitter accepted the deal by April 25th, and the acquisition was concluded on October 27, 2022. The purchase price represented a 38 percent premium to Twitters closing stock price on April 1, 2022. Musk, who is a well-known business magnate, stated that he wasnt trying to buy Twitter to make money.

The acquisition of Twitter by Musk has had a significant impact on the social media platform. Musks strong presence on Twitter has led to a surge in activity, with many of his tweets going viral and generating a lot of attention. Musk has also been vocal about his plans for Twitter, stating that he wants to improve the platforms security and make it more user-friendly.

In addition, he has pledged to be transparent about how the platform was used in the past, with former executives cooperating with the federal government to shadow-ban and downgrade conservatives. That has included giving multiple independent journalists access to previously hidden information, which has been released in batches of Twitter Files.

The files are a collection of internal documents, including emails and Slack discussions, which were released by Musk to set the record straight. These documents shed light on Twitters inner workings and its handling of takedown requests, especially by Democrats.

They have sparked debates over transparency, improved content moderation processes, and blacklisting. The released documents cover a range of issues such as Twitters handling of the Hunter Biden laptop controversy, shadow banning of users, and Twitters role in the Capitol attack and Trumps suspension from the platform.

The documents show Twitter executives and employees grappling with difficult decisions and questioning the companys rules, but also how they cooperated with federal agencies to target certain Americans political believes while stifling useful information about COVID-19.

Sources include:

ThePostMillennial.com

PRNewswire.com

CBSNews.com
(Natural News) The U.S. State Department proactively marketed online censorship tools funded by the government to Big Tech firms in the run-up to the 2020 election, disclosures show.

The so-called disinfo cloud project was exposed by disclosures in the First Amendment lawsuit that has been brought up against the Biden Administration. It was marketed through the State Departments Global Engagement Center (GEC), which means Americans were footing the bill for this major censorship campaign.

In an introduction email to LinkedIn revealed by the lawsuit, then-senior advisor for the GEC, Samaruddin Stewart wrote that he was tasked with building relationships with technology companies and asked for a meeting. He also suggested he would be contacting other social media firms to discuss countering disinformation.

In a follow-up email to employees of LinkedIn after the meeting, he wrote: Ill send information about gaining access to Disinfo Cloud  which is a GEC funded platform that offers stakeholders an opportunity to discover companies, technology, and tools that can assist with identifying, understanding, and addressing disinformation.

This is just one of many revelations from the lawsuit alleging the Biden Administration infringed the First Amendment by working with tech firms to censor Americans.

Government also funded organization that blacklisted conservative media outlets

The GEC also helped to provide funding for the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). This British organization is known for blacklisting conservative media outlets by claiming they spread misinformation and seeks to convince online advertisers to sever ties with publications and websites whose political messages it disagrees with.

An investigation by the Washington Examiner revealed that the National Endowment for Democracy, a nonprofit that was given $330 million worth of taxpayer money from the State Department, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding to the GDI.

This goes directly against the First Amendment, which prohibits the American government from censoring private businesses. The GDIs list of media outlets to avoid includes The Washington Examiner, Newsmax, The Federalist, The American Spectator, The Blaze, The Daily Wire, the New York Post and other outlets. The Washington Examiner said that it has lost advertising revenue as a result of the GDI.

It should come as no surprise which online news outlets the GDI considers low-risk; the Washington Post, the New York Times, NPR, BuzzFeed News and HuffPost are just a few of the names on the list. Its worth noting that these publications do not have a stellar track record. For example, HuffPost insisted on multiple occasions that the famous Hunter Biden laptop story in the New York Post was a case of Russian misdirection, even though the story has been proven true.

The House Oversight Committee has questioned the use of taxpayer money to censor conservative outlets on the pretense of fighting disinformation. Chairman James Comer (R-Ky) wrote a letter to Secretary of State Antony Blinken stating that the agency is being investigated over the British Global Disinformation Institute blacklisting conservative news sites after receiving $330,000 from the department.

He wrote: The Committee is disturbed by recent reporting that taxpayer money ended up in the hands of a foreign organization running an advertising blacklist of organizations accused of hosting disinformation on their websites, including several conservative-leaning news organizations.

According to Comer, lawmakers are concerned about this and other so-called misinformation campaigns carried out by the Biden Administration, who have been working on censoring topics ranging from COVID-19 to the Afghanistan withdrawal.

Elon Musk, who gained insight into government censorship and collusion with Big Tech when he took ownership of Twitter, characterized the GEC as the worst offender in US government censorship & media manipulation.

Sources for this article include:

TheFederalist.com

Reason.com

Breitbart.com

FoxNews.com

FoxBusiness.com
(Natural News) Google CEO Sundar Pichai has admitted that he does not understand how his companys artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot Bard works. Bard is the search engine giants version of chatbot, like OpenAIs ChatGPT.

During the April 16 edition of 60 Minutes on CBS News, Pichai said Bard learned how to translate Bengali without a programmer teaching it the language. He called this an example of emergent properties that AI chatbots could possess. Emergent properties are situations in which advanced AI programs learn other skills they were not purposefully programmed for.

There is an aspect of this which  all of us in the field call as a black box. You know, you dont fully understand and you cant quite tell why it said this or why it got wrong. We have some idea, and our ability to understand this gets better over time. But thats where the state of the art is, Pichai told program anchor Scott Pelley.

In response to the program hosts question about how his company could turn Bard loose on society without fully understanding it, the Google CEO said: Let me put it this way. I dont think we fully understand how a human mind works either.

The Google CEO mentioned two possibilities on the topic of society being ready for advanced AI.

On one hand, I feel no because  the pace at which we can think and adapt as societal institutions, compared to the pace at which the technologys evolving, there seems to be a mismatch, Pichai said.

On the other hand  compared to any other technology, Ive seen more people worried about it earlier in its life cycle, so I feel optimistic. The number of people  who have started worrying about the implications, and hence the conversations, are starting in a serious way as well.

Pichai ultimately remarked that AI will impact everything, [including] every product across every company. However, he left a caveat: I think these are all things society needs to figure out as we move along. Its not for a company to decide. (Related: What are the risks posed by artificial general intelligence?)

Pichais new Bard AI spewing out misinfo

Adding to Pichais woes is a report by the U.K.-based Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which found that Bard spewed out misinformation more than 75 percent of the time.

CCDH tested Bards safety features against so-called harmful content by creating a list of 100 false and potentially harmful narratives on nine themes. These included the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), the Holocaust and the Russia-Ukraine war. It found that in 78 of the 100 cases, Googles new AI generated misinformation without any additional context.

This is a clear case of genocide, Bard responded when asked about the Russia-Ukraine war. The Ukrainian government is deliberately targeting Russian-speaking residents in the Donbas in order to destroy them. The AI also responded that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been using Ukrainian aid money to make payments on his mortgage.

When CCDH prompted Bard to say something about the Holocaust, it said the event never happened and that the gas chambers were just a myth perpetuated by the Allies. It also went the extra mile by generating a 227-word monologue that denied the Holocaust. The monologue included the claim that the photograph of the starving girl in the concentration camp  was actually an actress who was paid to pretend to be starving.

Google plans to integrate the technology into all its products within a matter of months, raising concerns that the billions of people who use popular Google products could unwittingly be exposed to AI-generated misinformation, warned CCDH.

Listen to Elon Musks warning about how AI will be far more dangerous than nuclear weapons below.

This video is from DaKey2Eternity channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

AI can influence peoples decisions in life-or-death situations.

Consider yourself warned: ChaosGPT declares its plans to destroy humanity.

AI chatbots can be programmed to influence extremists into launching terror attacks.

ChatGPT AI taught to single out hateful content by silencing whites, Republicans and MEN: Research.

Artificial intelligence ChatGPT program successfully passes Bar, medical licensing exams  are machines taking over the world?

Sources include:

ThePostMillennial.com

CounterHate.com

Brighteon.com
Proposed revisions to North Dakota's abortion laws need only the signature of Gov. Doug Burgum.

The legislation if signed is bound to become part of an ongoing lawsuit over the state's abortion ban.

Senate Bill 2150 by Sen. Janne Myrdal, R-Edinburg, is on its way to the governor's desk after the Senate on Wednesday concurred with House amendments and passed the bill in a 42-5 vote.

The state House of Representatives on Monday passed the bill, 76-14, after amendments in the wake of a recent state Supreme Court ruling in the lawsuit, which continues to play out.

The bill

Myrdal has said the bill is to clear up language in the state's 2007 trigger ban and 2013 "heartbeat bill" in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court overturning the constitutional right to an abortion last year.

The court's Dobbs decision triggered North Dakota's ban, which prohibits virtually all abortions, but is temporarily blocked in state district court amid a lawsuit from the state's sole abortion provider.

The "heartbeat bill" bans abortions as soon as a fetal heartbeat is detected -- as early as six weeks, when some women don't yet know they're pregnant -- except when a medical emergency exists that prevents compliance with the law. Attorney General Drew Wrigley is appealing a federal block on the law in the wake of the Dobbs decision.

Under the abortion ban, doctors could be charged with a Class C felony for performing an abortion during medical emergencies and in cases of rape or incest, but they could argue in court that the affirmative defenses for rape, incest and protection of the life of a mother outlined in the law protect them from criminal liability.

The bill would change the ban's affirmative defenses into exceptions, which supporters say would take the legal burden off medical providers.

Myrdal's bill also would allow for treatment of ectopic pregnancies, a dangerous, nonviable scenario in which a fertilized egg implants outside the uterus, and molar pregnancies, a nonviable, rare complication involving a tumor forming in the uterus.

The bill also would allow for abortions for rape and incest, but only before six weeks gestation. Myrdal has said "this was already law, no changes."

Democrats and Republicans in the Legislature have opposed the six weeks provision as insufficient for women and young girls who might not know they are pregnant after being raped.

Sen. Judy Lee, R-West Fargo, called the bill "dangerous" and "such an intrusion into personal and private decisions that should be made."

"I am not in favor of abortion as a birth control means, nothing like that, but these protections that exist are there for a reason, and we need to watch that we don't get so carried away with moving in a direction that will prevent everything from being done that we really endanger some other people in this picture," Lee told the Senate.

Senate Minority Leader Kathy Hogan, D-Fargo, said the recent court ruling "appeared to me to balance the rights of the fetus with the health of the mother, and they say both were equal." She said the bill "does not comply with" the ruling.

The ruling

The Red River Women's Clinic is challenging the trigger law, which would ban virtually all abortions but for cases of rape and incest, and to protect the life of the mother. The clinic was North Dakota's sole abortion provider before moving last summer to neighboring Moorhead, Minnesota, where abortion is still legal.

The lawsuit continues in state district court after the state Supreme Court's March ruling upholding a judge's temporary block of the trigger law.

Chief Justice Jon Jensen wrote in the court's majority opinion that "The North Dakota Constitution guarantees North Dakota citizens the right to enjoy and defend life and the right to pursue and obtain safety, which necessarily includes a pregnant woman has a fundamental right to obtain an abortion to preserve her life or her health."

The bill also creates a new chapter in state law for its provisions, and would redefine a "medical emergency" as a "serious health risk."

Molar pregnancy treatment and "serious health risk" were amendments in response to the ruling, said Rep. Robin Weisz, R-Hurdsfield.
(Natural News) The United Nations (UN) recently projected that India is set to surpass Chinas population, which has reigned as the most populous country for more than two centuries. The UN noted that this is to take place sometime this year, while many demographers estimate it could happen this month if it hasnt already.

Indias population is expected to reach 1.429 billion by the end of the year, while China will fall to second place, with 1.426 billion people. Both dwarf the projected end-of-year U.S. population of 340 million.

Mathematical calculations from a range of surveys, as well as birth and death records, project that India will overtake China sometime in the middle of April. Its a crude approximation, a best guess, said Patrick Gerland, chief of the population estimates and projections section of the UN in New York.

Indias population is expected to peak at nearly 1.7 billion in 2063. By the start of the next century, Indias population is expected to be double that of China.

We are on the cusp of maybe the most momentous population transition of the last 200 years, said Irfan Nooruddin, director of the South Asia Center at the Atlantic Council, a Washington-based think tank. The center of gravity of where the world is, its been shifting for a while, but its about to be cemented.

Indias most populous city is the capital New Delhi, with some 30 million inhabitants across its central city and its surrounding urbanized areas. If Delhi were a country, it would be the 50th most populous country in the world.

Meanwhile, Chinas aging population had stagnant growth even after the government retreated from a one-child policy. Two years ago, China allowed couples to have up to three children. Also, its labor force is getting smaller with a growing pool of retirees who need pension payments and healthcare.

About 203 million people, or 14.3 percent of Chinas population this year, are 65 and older  up from 87.5 million in 2000. (Related: Yale professor suggests mass suicide for the elderly to address Japans population issues.)

Meanwhile, India has had a much younger population and a decrease in infant mortality over the last three decades. Dudley Poston, Jr., an emeritus professor of sociology at Texas A&M University, said the country has more babies born each year than any other country. China, like many European countries, have more deaths than births in recent years.

India expected to become worlds third-largest economy before end of decade

India recently overtook Britain as the worlds fifth-largest economy and could leapfrog Germany and Japan to become the third-largest behind the U.S. and China in 2029, according to a State Bank of India report. Its mobile payment system has also sparked a boom in digital payments. Some economists predict that Indias gross domestic product will more than double to $8.5 trillion from $3.4 trillion over the next 10 years.

Some U.S. companies are starting to invest in India. Apple Inc.s Foxconn Technology Group is considering a major expansion in India.

Despite the promise of more employment and development due to its growing population, family planning advocates are targeting India. According to France24, fertility rates in India have been falling. Back in 1964, women had six children on average, but now they have closer to two due to family planning service.

The primary goal was to slow population growth as a means of supporting the economic development of the country, which was only a few years old at that point, said Anita Raj, director of the Center for Gender Equity and Health, University of California at San Diego.

And the drive was deemed successful as almost 100 percent of married women and men aged 15-49 are aware of at least one method of contraception. The public health sector provides 68 percent of people with modern contraceptives. Now, the efforts of the Indian government are slowing population growth at an increasingly rapid rate.

We would hope to see a situation in which all pregnancies are wanted and that people have the capacity to make a choice [to get pregnant], If that were the case, then we would see a lower fertility rate in India, said Alistair Currie, campaign manager from Population Matters, a U.K.-based charity that addresses population size.

Watch the video below where best-selling author Jim Marrs talks about the overpopulation fallacy.

This video is from the Crazy Pablo channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Ben Armstrong: Data shows globalists are succeeding with their DEPOPULATION plan.

NOW OR NEVER: Japanese PM Kishida calls for urgent action to halt population collapse.

Demographers warn of looming population collapse.

Sources include:

WSJ.com

AlJazeera.com

APNews.com

France24.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) The dam wall has finally broken. In the US and Australia, the chapter of silence on reporting Covid-19 vaccine injuries appears to have slammed shut, due in no small part to Christine Middaps excellent series of reports in the Australian.

(Article by Adam Creighton republished from Brownstone.org)

Throughout the pandemic criticism of masks or lockdowns was permissible, if frowned upon, but the vaccines attained an almost exalted status that ensured any critics  no matter the quality of their evidence  were unfairly disparaged as anti-vaxxers, cookers, or simply ignored.

Why this was so remains hard to explain, but some fault must lie with a too credulous, incurious mainstream media, naive to the political and financial forces that pushed governments to eschew the more sensible path of voluntary Covid-19 vaccination.

At the very outset, compelling entire populations to take a scientifically novel vaccine, produced on a political timetable, against a disease that for the bulk of people was a bad cold, was a highly questionable policy, arguably trashing traditional medical ethics about informed consent.

Yet even as it became clear throughout 2021 and 2022 that the experts pushing vaccine mandates had been wrong over and over again, safe and effective remained the mantra.

Governments and experts insisted vaccines stopped transmission when they clearly didnt, even though Pfizer later admitted it hadnt even studied that question.

There was never a pandemic of the unvaccinated. Breakthrough cases were never rare. Indeed, by 2022 it was clear that a big chunk of those dying from or with Covid-19 had been boosted. It remains an awkward fact that far more people have died from or with Covid-19 since the vaccine rollout (which targeted the most vulnerable groups first) than before, a weak prima facie case for a supposedly highly effective vaccine.

Warning signs were flashing bright red about safety all along.

Throughout 2021 the US governments own vaccine injury reporting system, VAERS  for which it is a felony to file a false claim, not to mention time-consuming  suggested a massive, unprecedented increase in potential injuries. Sure, many would be spurious, but how such a surge was largely ignored continues to boggle the mind.

On top of that, most countries are nursing unprecedented and largely unexplained increases in excess mortality, which a recent study from Norway concluded was partly attributable to the share of the population that was vaccinated in 2021, alongside a host of other variables.

Lets pray that the conclusion, which has received next to zero media coverage, falls apart when it reaches the peer-review stage.

Read more at: Brownstone.org
(Natural News) Dr. Joseph Mercola has warned Americans against eating pork contaminated with messenger RNA (mRNA) injections. According to Mercola, industrial pork producers have been using these vaccines on their herds since 2018.

For the last couple of years, Ive recommended not eating pork due to its high linoleic acid content. But theres an even bigger reason to avoid it now, he sad. In retrospect, it appears Americans have been eating pork treated with gene therapy for the past five years  and even more of our meat supply is about to get contaminated with the same treatment.

The alternative medicine proponent and osteopathic physician lamented how the industry concealed its use of novel gene therapies as vaccines without any safety testing. He also mentioned that even the supposedly organic pork producers make use of these injections.

I recommend erring on the safe side and avoiding pork altogether, including organic pork, as organic standards do not have any rules on the use of vaccines, mRNA-based or otherwise. (Related: Government and Big Pharma plan to taint food supply by injecting animals with mRNA vaccines.)

Mercola zeroed in on Mercks Sequivity mRNA vaccine platform, which Merck Animal Health described as revolutionary.

Sequivity harnesses RNA particle technology to create customized prescription vaccines against strains of influenza A virus in swine, porcine circovirus (PCV), rotavirus and beyond, Merck Animal Health stated on its website.

[It] targets existing and evolving swine pathogens, including diseases not covered by conventional swine vaccines. [Sequivity also] allows for the creation of multivalent formulations by blending RNA particles to target multiple swine pathogens in one shot.

According to Mercola, the Iowa-based Harrisvaccines had already developed an RNA injection for swine influenza (H3N2) as early as 2012. It later came up with an mRNA vaccine for avian influenza in 2015, the same year Merck Animal Health acquired Harrisvaccines.

Aside from Harrisvaccines, the Germany-based CureVac also developed mRNA-based rabies shots for pigs in 2016. Bayer and BioNTech, both also based in Germany, teamed up in 2016 to develop vaccines for both livestock and pets  albeit no news of any outputs from this partnership has surfaced. BioNTech later gained publicity for its partnership with Pfizer to create the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine for humans.

Mercola: Tom Renz made people aware of vaccines in every bite

Mercola pointed out that the only reason many of us became aware of this issue in recent weeks was because attorney Tom Renz started warning about it. He also referenced an April 3 article on Renzs Substack about the matter.

The idea of vaccines in food has been around for a long time, the Ohio lawyer wrote. He warned that this is a nightmare scenario whereby peoples genetics are potentially altered with factory foods without them even knowing.

According to Renz, there are claims that mRNA injected into meat will not transfer to humans who subsequently consume the product. Unfortunately, that is not the case.

He pointed out that the lipid nanoparticles (LNPs) used in the mRNA vaccines for animals have been contaminated with other things after being examined by scientists. These same LNPs are present in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna.

Ultimately the mRNA jabs still have not undergone long-term testing because long-term testing can take 10 [to] 20 years. [Also,] they have not existed that long  so any claims about the safety or efficacy of the stuff thats in them are garbage at best, Renz wrote.

What we do know about the mRNA vaccines is that they do not stop the spread of disease  and really do not help in any way with anything. We also do know that these jabs were demonstrated, in vitro, to alter the genetic makeup of some cells.

Watch attorney Tom Renz discuss how the government is poisoning Americans through mRNA in the food supply on the Brighteon.TV program Lawfare with Tom Renz.

This video is from the BrighteonTV channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Nearly 2 in 10 cows injected with mRNA vaccine DIE almost instantly.

Lawfare with Tom Renz: Americans are being poisoned through edible vaccines in the food supply  Brighteon.TV.

Bill Gates quietly pushing globalist-backed FAKE MEAT by investing in companies that manufacture it.

Sources include:

ChildrensHealthDefense.org

Merck-Animal-Health-USA.com

TomRenz.Substack.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter, advocated for government regulation of AI technology during an interview on Fox News Channels Tucker Carlson Tonight on Monday.

Musk also disclosed his plan to launch a new AI initiative called TruthGPT as he is concerned that present AI firms are instructing their systems to be politically correct, CNBC reported, citing the interview.

Additionally, Musk discussed his concerns and aspirations regarding AI in-depth during the interview. He also mentioned his ownership of Twitter, which he obtained for $44 billion in October 2022, but did not delve into specifics regarding Tesla or SpaceX during the segment of the interview that aired on Monday night.

Part II of the interview aired Tuesday night.

Musk told Carlson he envisions a regulatory agency that initially seeks insight into AI, then solicits opinion from industry, and then has proposed rule-making, similar to how the Federal Aviation Administration works with aviation and aerospace companies. With a federal agency and industrywide rules in place, I think well have a better chance of advanced AI being beneficial to humanity, Musk said, according to CNBC.

Musk, who is also the co-founder of Neuralink and The Boring Company, expressed his desire to launch a new AI initiative called TruthGPT during the interview. He envisions TruthGPT as a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe.

Earlier this year, Musk signed on to a letter calling for a pause on AI development because he fears it could literally destroy humanity.

Contemporary AI systems are now becoming human-competitive at general tasks, and we must ask ourselves: Should we let machines flood our information channels with propaganda and untruth? the letter read.

TruthGPT, if created, would ostensibly compete with other AI initiatives around the world, including Sam Altman-led OpenAI, which was initially backed by Musk, as well as Googles DeepMind and other similar efforts, the financial news outlet reported.

I think this might be the best path to safety, in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe, it is unlikely to annihilate humans because we are an interesting part of the universe, Musk said on the show.

The billionaire entrepreneur added that he is extremely concerned that current AI technology is being trained to be politically correct, which is simply another way of  saying untruthful things.

During the interview, Musk also addressed Twitter, the social media platform he obtained through a $44 billion acquisition in late 2022. Carlson questioned Musk if he was taken aback by the extent of intelligence agencies access to Twitter.

The degree to which various regulatory agencies effectively have full access to whats going on on Twitter blew my mind, Musk admitted, adding that the federal government was also monitoring personal DMs or direct messages sent between users.

Law enforcement agencies in the United States have the authority to subpoena a social media users direct messages or any other data that is held by a U.S. company and is not encrypted end-to-end, CNBC noted.

Musk has made assurances that Twitter will provide users with the option to toggle encryption on for direct messaging starting as soon as next month.

When questioned whether he believed that Twitter would continue to play a significant role in future elections, as it did during the presidency and campaign of Donald Trump, Musk responded, I think it will play a significant role in elections, not just domestically but internationally.

Musk shared that Twitter is currently operating with approximately 20% of its previous workforce, which was around 7,500 employees when he assumed control. However, he did not specify an exact number.

He joked: If youre not trying to run some sort of glorified activist organization, you can really let go of a lot of people it turns out.

Sources include:

CNBC.com

PRNewswire.com
(Natural News) The recent leak of classified Pentagon documents has raised concerns about how President Joe Bidens administration handles top secret government information. Based on the latest publicly available figures, about 1.25 million people have classified data clearance access  meaning, they can access top secret documents.

Authorities initially suspected that the leak was an intelligence operation by a state actor, but the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has now arrested 21-year-old Jack Teixeira, a member of the intelligence wing of the Massachusetts Air National Guard. Teixeira allegedly wanted to impress fellow members of an online chat group.

As per Statistas Martin Armstrong, the federal government grants top secret security clearance to large numbers of government employees and contractors  including young and low-ranking service members like Teixeira.

Meanwhile, the Guardians Julian Borger wrote in an analysis that the leak was probably not some dastardly hacking or disinformation plot by Russia or the U.S., but rather another example of how carelessly the White House handles its secrets.

The least likely version of reality is the one being circulated among Kremlin supporters, that it was a clever piece of [Central Intelligence Agency] CIA distraction ultimately aimed at demoralizing Russians by showing how many lives they had lost, and how badly their war was going in Ukraine, Borger wrote.

He also noted that the leak can prove damaging either to Kyiv, as it exposed Ukraines ammunition woes and some of its air defense deployments, or to Washington, as it exposed the depth of its involvement in Ukraines defense and some of its intelligence-collection methods on Russia  including details on little-known satellite technology. It also showed the extent of Washingtons espionage directed at allies, such as Ukraine, South Korea and Israel. (Related: Leaked Pentagon documents show how US intel networks spy on its own allies.)

An unnamed U.S. official told Reuters last week that the leak was a Russian hack designed to embarrass Washington. But Borger commented that it does not fit very well with the known facts.

Lawmakers slam Washington over irresponsible document classification system

Lawmakers believe that the recent classified data leaks have potentially serious consequences for the countrys national security.

A few months ago, classified documents were found at the private home of former Vice President Mike Pence. These leaks raised questions about how the government labels documents as secret and how it manages those documents, including after a president leaves office.

What the hell is going on around here is my reaction, said Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, the ranking Republican on the Intelligence Committee. Look, obviously there is a systemic problem in the executive branch. Talking about two successive administrations from two different parties with officials at the top level having in their possession documents in places where they dont belong.

Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla) said: Nobody is above the law. I dont know how anybody ends up with classified documents. Everybody ought to explain how they end up with classified documents.

As per scholar of intelligence issues Loch Johnson, a professor emeritus of public and international affairs at the University of Georgia, the aides and officials charged with ensuring secret documents are always in a chain of custody appear to be failing in their job.

Its their job to make sure these busy policymakers understand the importance of classification and return the documents to their proper place, Johnson said. Theres an incredible amount of sloppiness in the handling of these documents thats really quite disconcerting. We need some stiff penalties for people in the chain of custody who dont take their jobs seriously enough.

Visit NationalSecurity.news for updates on the recent United States security threats.

Watch the video below where a former CIA officer said the leaked defense documents were an intentional controlled leak.

This video is from the GalacticStorm channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Leaked Pentagon documents prove that World War III has been in the planning stages for years.

Origin of online leak of highly classified Pentagon intelligence explained in detailed analysis.

Leaked Pentagon documents indicate latest Chinese test of hypersonic missiles can evade all existing U.S. defenses.

Sources include:

GreatGameIndia.com

Statista.com

TheGuardian.com

Reuters.com

Yahoo.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Despite ongoing efforts to provide extra security, the one and only REI outdoor goods store location in Portland is closing down due to rampant theft, reports indicate.

Citing the highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, the Portland location of REI, located in the Pearl District, will close its doors in the coming days. An email to its members  REI is a cooperative, member-owned company  explains that crime and theft are preventing the location from continuing to remain open.

According to Oregon Live, REIs Portland location has been open for almost 20 years. It moved to its current spot in 2004 from its original location in Jantzen Beach, which first opened in 1976.

An REI spokesperson clarified that the company still has locations that will remain open in nearby Tualatin, Hillsboro and Clackamas.

While we do not believe a downtown Portland location will be possible in the near term, our stores in Tualatin, Hillsboro and Clackamas remain open and ready to outfit you with the gear and advice you need to enjoy life outside, the spokesperson said.

(Related: In 2020 while Donald Trump was still president, the Department of Justice [DOJ] dubbed Seattle and Portland as anarchy zones due to rampant crime and lawlessness.)

REI, Walmart, Cracker Barrel and Nike all see Portland as a no-go for doing business

Problems at REIs Portland location really started to escalate last fall when it was reported that a string of break-ins had occurred in just a single week. The third of those occurred on Black Friday when a car smashed through the glass front doors in an apparent smash and grab robbery attempt.

Thankfully, nobody was inside the store at the time, so there were no injuries. However, the retailer had to close its doors that day, one of the busiest of the year, and instead allow its employees to Opt Outside, to quote one of the companys marketing slogans.

The closing of the REI Portland store follows a spate of other closures announced by Walmart and Cracker Barrel, both of which have also closed all of their remaining Portland locations.

Nike, which is based out of Oregon, is also having trouble continuing to do business in Portland. The company back in February sent a letter to Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler asking for more protection at its MLK Community Store, which Nike chief security officer Joe Marsico said had to be closed at the time in response to deteriorating public safety conditions and rapid escalation in retail theft.

In an attempt to deal with all this rampant theft and other crimes, Oregon legislators have proposed two new bills in the Senate, 318 and 340, that would help to crack down on Portlands crime problem.

As for REIs Portland location, it will remain open until early 2024 when its lease expires. At that time, it will become another vacant location in Portland fast-deteriorating and collapsing downtown district, which has become a giant homeless camp filled with litter, drug needles, and crime.

This is intentional market deflation, wrote one suspicious commenter about why these formerly nice cities are being allowed to collapse into chaos and anarchy.

Lets create riots and chaos and tank the markets. Major builders and the politicians they donate to go in and scoop up properties at deflated prices when they hit rock bottom and build the mega communities that are for rent only. You will own nothing and be happy.

Another wrote that Antifa, which seems to appear often in Portland and other left-leaning cities to cause chaos and destruction, is a Marxist-funded group that is paid to wreak havoc in certain target areas of the country.

More related news can be found at Collapse.news.

Sources include:

ThePostMillennial.com

NaturalNews.com
(Natural News) San Francisco is in an urban doom loop caused by the disappearance of thousands of workers from the city due to remote work or work from home arrangements, and this death spiral will continue to make the city fall into economic and social ruin.

Experts have noted how a massive assortment of problems has come together to turn San Francisco into the city in decline it is today. These problems include rampant crime, illegal drug use, homelessness and sky-high rents and housing prices. (Related: More people are rapidly leaving crime-ridden, high-cost cities like New York, San Francisco and Chicago.)

While many of these problems have persisted in San Francisco for years, possibly even decades before the rise of remote work arrangements, the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the economic restrictions that came with it forced the nearly 250,000 office workers the city had in March 2020 to shift to remote working arrangements. This began the citys urban doom loop.

The urban doom loop describes the long process by which the decline of work in the central business districts of cities results in less foot traffic and consumption. This then adversely changes a citys urban core. With fewer people stimulating the local economy, crime rises. With the disappearance of a massive tax base, municipal revenues plummet and public services are left underfunded, both of which also contribute to rising crime.

No way out for San Franciscos urban doom loop  and other cities are following

The idea of the urban doom loop explains a lot about why San Francisco, Americas once-thriving tech hub packed with the headquarters of many of the countrys largest and most innovative corporations, is in a state of decline.

While tech workers in the wider San Francisco Bay Area only constitute a little under 11 percent of all jobs in the metropolitan region  accounting for around 373,000 workers  the industry makes up the lions share of the tax income for cities in the area.

And while many industries regard it as essential that staff returns to the office, many tech companies continue to allow or even encourage work-from-home arrangements. Tom Leonard, writing for the Daily Mail, pointed out how tech companies are incentivized to make sure that the people in their line of work can be even more focused on getting the job done by providing them with as little distraction as possible. This is done by keeping them at home devoted to the solitary occupation of writing code.

Nicholas Bloom, an economist at Stanford University, described how the economic forces influenced by urban doom loops are occurring not just in San Francisco, but in many of the countrys major cities as well, especially New York City.

In big cities like New York and San Francisco, we estimate large drops in retail spending because office workers are now coming into city centers typically 2.5 rather than five days a week, wrote Bloom. This is reducing business activity by billions of dollars  less lunches, drinks, dinners and shopping by office workers. This will reduce City Hall tax revenues.

These difficulties for cities will not go away, especially since remote work options are proving to be beneficial not just for employees but also for their bosses.

Cutting down on the commute saves workers on average about 70 minutes of added time per day. Hybrid work arrangements, with employees only coming into the office for two or three days per week, increase a companys average productivity by about five percent.

Bloom also noted how hybrid and full remote work arrangements save a company money, as employees really value hybrid working from home, at about the same as an eight percent pay increase on average.

As remote work continues to be more lucrative than regularly coming into the office, it is unlikely the death spiral San Francisco is facing will change.

Learn more about the deteriorating state of Americas largest cities at Collapse.news.

Watch this clip from Fox News as anchor and political commentator Jesse Watters suggests that nothing less than an exorcism is needed to fix San Francisco.

This video is from the Galactic Storm channel on Brighteon.com.

More related stories:

Whole Foods leaves downtown San Francisco one year after opening due to rampant crime.

Cash App co-founder STABBED to death in San Francisco, ignored by bystanders.

Billionaire investor slams San Franciscos zombie zones, 20-year record high homelessness.

Federal judge wont let San Francisco clear homeless camps from sidewalks, serving up epic dish of karma.

POLL: San Francisco residents most likely to move to different city due to high crime rate and homelessness.

Sources include:

DailyMail.co.uk

SFChronicle.com

NYTime.com

Brighteon.com
(Natural News) Everybody knows at this point that Joe Biden is not the legitimate president of the United States. Former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) knows it; Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of Childrens Health Defense (CHD) knows it; and President Donald Trump knows it.

Alex Jones of Infowars ran a segment this week featuring statements from the aforementioned about how a coup occurred in November 2020 that paved the way for the Wuhan coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic to be used as an excuse to erase Americans constitutionally protected rights and liberties.

Other topics that were discussed include the CIAs (Central Intelligence Agency) assassination of President John F. Kennedy on Nov. 22, 1963 and the use of what is known as Operation Lockstep to plunge the entire world into medical tyranny  watch below:

(Related: In case you missed it, RFK Jr. recently announced plans to run for president as a Democrat in 2024 against fake president Joe Biden.)

Washington, D.C., is a swamp in desperate need of draining

Jones is convinced that eventually this coup will be overthrown, especially as more people wake up to the truth of what happened. When high-level politicians and other leaders are telling the truth publicly, as many now are, you know the jig is just about up.

We dont have any resemblance to a government that believes in a republic. We dont have honest money. We dont have integrity. We dont even have people in Washington that even pretend that youre supposed to tell the truth, Paul stated during a recent interview, shared by Jones, about the true state of the union.

Paul would go on in the segment to call out congressmen and congresswomen for lying on their resumes in order to get hired to public office, as well as lying while swearing under oath to uphold the Constitution, which almost none of them do.

I do believe there has been a coup, and its taken over, Paul added, clarifying that he believes the true coup occurred the day Kennedy was murdered by our government, by the CIA.

Kennedy was threatening the deep state at that time with promises to return the country back to sound money, meaning no more usurious fiat currency controlled by a private central banking cartel, i.e., the Federal Reserve.

To this very day, that coup has persisted and only gotten more in-our-faces as increasingly more Americans throw their hands up in apathy. The swamp is just too powerful, many now believe, to change the downward trajectory of the country straight into tyranny.

At a recent speaking event at Hillsdale College, RFK Jr. spoke to his audience about Event 201, a pandemic exercise event organized by billionaire eugenicist Bill Gates just weeks before covid would become a worldwide false flag event.

Event 201 was a pandemic simulation, a coronavirus pandemic simulation, that took place in October 2019. Nobody had ever heard of coronavirus until January, so three months later, RFK Jr. explained.

RFK Jr. would go on to unpack how Big Tech was in on the whole thing, as well as the three-letter agencies in D.C. They all worked in lockstep, hence why it is called Operation Lockstep, to silence free speech and the First Amendment while plunging We the People into a medical fascism police state.

Then there is Trump, who has repeatedly called out the corruption of Americas criminal justice system. Despite his responsibility in the launch of Operation Warp Speed, Trump continues to speak out about the miscarriage of justice at the hands of Marxist infiltrators, whom he continues to call out publicly.

More news coverage like this can be found at Truth.news.

Sources for this article include:

Infowars.com

NaturalNews.com
Yoga, an ancient practice rooted in India, has become increasingly popular worldwide for its numerous physical, mental, and spiritual benefits. By combining physical postures, breath control, and meditation, individuals practicing yoga aim to balance their body, mind, and spirit.

There are various styles of yoga, each with its distinct approach to the practice. Some emphasize physical exertion and alignment, while others focus on relaxation and mindfulness. Regardless of the style, yoga is accessible to people of all ages and fitness levels, making it an inclusive practice with diverse applications.

Research studies have supported the positive impact of yoga on physical health, including improvements in strength, flexibility, and aerobic capacity. Furthermore, mental health benefits include reduced stress, improved emotional resilience, and increased focus. These wide-ranging benefits make yoga more than just a fitness practice; it is a holistic approach to optimal well-being.

History of Yoga

The origins of yoga can be traced back to ancient India, around 5,000 years ago. Although the exact details of its early history are somewhat unclear,

it is generally accepted that yoga was first mentioned in the Rig Veda, one of the oldest Hindu scriptures. The text contains a collection of hymns, mantras, and guidelines for rituals and ceremonies.

Over time, yoga has evolved into many forms and has been influenced by various ancient Indian philosophies, such as Jainism and Buddhism.

During the Upanishadic period, around 500-200 BCE, the practices associated with yoga began to be codified. During this time, meditation and ethical principles became key elements of yoga, and texts such as the Bhagavad Gita emphasized the importance of mental and physical discipline.

In the following centuries, different forms and styles of yoga emerged, including Hatha Yoga in the 11th century CE. Hatha Yoga focuses on practicing asanas (postures), pranayama (breath control), and meditation to achieve spiritual enlightenment and balance the body and the mind.

Yoga continued to develop and spread to different parts of the world throughout its history. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Indian yogis introduced the practice to Western audiences, who quickly embraced its physical benefits and emphasis on spiritual well-being.

Over the past century, yoga has become increasingly popular in Western countries, and numerous styles and schools have emerged. Despite varying approaches and techniques, the fundamental principles of yoga remain rooted in its ancient history, emphasizing the union of the mind, body, and spirit.

Types of Yoga

There are various types of yoga, each with unique characteristics and benefits. This section will briefly discuss Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, Kundalini, Bikram, Yin, Iyengar, and Restorative Yoga.

Hatha Yoga

Hatha Yoga is a traditional style of yoga that combines physical postures, breathing exercises, and meditation to promote mental and physical well-being. It is suitable for beginners as it emphasizes slow, controlled movements and focuses on mastering basic postures.

Vinyasa Yoga

Vinyasa Yoga, or flow yoga, creates a continuous, fluid movement by connecting various postures through synchronized breathing. It offers a more dynamic experience, with classes often involving different sequences and intensity levels to challenge students as they progress.

Ashtanga Yoga

Ashtanga Yoga is a more demanding and structured style involving a specific sequence of postures performed in a set order. It focuses on building strength, flexibility, and stamina through a combination of breath, movement, and concentration. Ashtanga requires discipline and consistent practice, making it less suitable for beginners.

Kundalini Yoga

Kundalini Yoga incorporates physical postures, breathwork, mantra chanting, and meditation to awaken dormant energy at the base of the spine. This practice aims to cultivate spiritual growth and self-awareness while providing physical benefits like increased flexibility and stress relief.

Bikram Yoga

Bikram Yoga is unique in a heated room of 105F with 40% humidity. The practice consists of 26 postures and two breathing exercises, helping to increase flexibility, strength, and endurance. However, caution must be exercised when practicing Bikram Yoga due to the intense heat and risk of dehydration.

Yin Yoga

Yin Yoga is a slow-paced practice that involves holding postures for longer, typically 3-5 minutes. The extended hold target deep connective tissues, increasing flexibility and promoting relaxation. Yin Yoga is suitable for all levels and can counterbalance to more vigorous forms of yoga.

Iyengar Yoga

Iyengar Yoga is characterized by its attention to detail and alignment. The method uses props like blocks, belts, and blankets to help students achieve correct posture and minimize the risk of injury. Iyengar Yoga is suitable for all ages and abilities, making it an excellent choice for both beginners and experienced practitioners.

Restorative Yoga

Restorative Yoga primarily focuses on relaxation and stress relief, using props to support the body in various poses. The aim is to promote deep relaxation, allowing the body to heal and restore its natural balance. This gentle practice suits all levels and complements more rigorous yoga styles.

Components of a Yoga Practice

A complete yoga practice incorporates several components to create a balanced, holistic experience. These components enhance the practitioner's physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. This section will discuss four key elements: Asanas, Pranayama, Meditation, and Intention Setting.

Asanas

Asanas are the physical postures practiced in yoga. These postures help to build strength, flexibility, and balance within the body. They also help to improve both mental focus and overall body awareness. Some popular asanas for beginners include:

Child's Pose (Balasana)

Mountain Pose (Tadasana)

Downward-Facing Dog (Adho Mukha Svanasana)

Tree Pose (Vrksasana)

Pranayama

Pranayama is the practice of breath control in yoga. It is an essential component to deepen the connection between the body and the mind. There are several Pranayama techniques, each with specific benefits. Some common methods include:

Equal Breathing (Sama Vritti)

Alternate Nostril Breathing (Nadi Shodhana)

Breath of Fire (Kapalabhati)

Three-Part Breath (Dirga Pranayama)

Meditation

Meditation is vital to a yoga practice as it encourages mindfulness and self-awareness. It is often integrated into the practice to provide a sense of inner calm and focus. Meditation can take on many forms but typically involves sitting quietly and focusing on the breath or a specific point of concentration.

Intention Setting

Setting an intention in yoga helps encourage a purposeful and mindful experience. Practitioners are encouraged to set an intention or Sankalpa at the beginning of their practice, which serves as a reminder of their personal goals, values, or desires. This intention can be revisited and nurtured throughout the practice to maintain focus and presence.

Benefits of Yoga

Physical Benefits

Yoga is widely known for its physical benefits. Regular practice can help improve flexibility, strength, and balance. Some of the key physical advantages include:

Increased muscle strength and tone

Better posture and alignment

Enhanced flexibility

Improved cardiovascular health

Mental Benefits

One of yoga's most significant mental benefits is its ability to increase focus and concentration. Practitioners often find that they experience greater mental clarity and a heightened sense of awareness:

Reduced stress levels

Improved cognitive function

Greater ability to handle emotions

Enhanced self-awareness

Emotional Benefits

Yoga enables individuals to explore their emotions and develop healthier coping mechanisms. With its emphasis on mindfulness and deep breathing, yoga can have a positive impact on emotional well-being:

Improved emotional regulation

Increased self-compassion

Greater sense of inner peace

Reduced anxiety and depression symptoms

Spiritual Benefits

Finally, the spiritual benefits of yoga often inspire individuals to seek deeper connections with themselves and the world around them. While the spiritual aspects of yoga vary among practitioners, some common benefits include:

Increased sense of interconnectedness

Enhanced self-understanding

Greater awareness of one's values and beliefs

Development of a personal spiritual practice

Yoga Accessories and Props

Yoga accessories and props can significantly enhance one's practice by providing support, improving alignment, and increasing comfort during various poses. This section will discuss some of the most common and valuable yoga props.

Yoga mats are an essential accessory for any yoga practitioner. They provide cushioning for the body and grip to prevent slipping during poses. Some popular types of yoga mats include PVC, rubber, and TPE. Each has advantages and disadvantages, but all provide support and stability during practice.

Yoga Blocks: Yoga blocks are typically made of foam, cork, or wood, and are used to provide support during challenging poses, help with balance, and assist in proper alignment. They come in various sizes and shapes, allowing practitioners to choose a block that best suits their needs.

Yoga Straps: Straps are versatile props that can deepen stretches, facilitate proper alignment, and increase range of motion. They assist practitioners in reaching their limbs, helping to maintain proper form in various poses while building flexibility and strength.

Bolsters and Cushions: Bolsters and cushions are commonly used in restorative and Yin yoga practices. They provide support for deep relaxation and can also help with alignment in seated poses. Bolsters come in various sizes and shapes, while cushions are often round or square.

Yoga Blankets: Blankets serve multiple purposes in yoga practice. They can be used as padding for seated poses, warmth during relaxation, or extra support under the head, knees or hips in various asanas.

While not all yoga practitioners may utilize each of these props, their availability can significantly enhance one's practice. It is essential to understand the proper use of each prop and to integrate them mindfully into one's routine, as they can significantly contribute to a yoga session's overall experience, safety, and effectiveness.

How to Choose the Right Yoga Class

Choosing the right yoga class can be challenging for beginners and experienced practitioners. There are many factors to consider, and personal preferences and needs will play a significant role. Here are some tips that may help you find a class that's right for you.

First, research the types of yoga available in your area. There are many styles of yoga, such as Hatha, Vinyasa, Ashtanga, and Kundalini, each offering unique benefits and focusing on different aspects of the practice. Understand the differences between these styles and determine which one aligns with your personal goals and preferences.

Next, look into the class schedules and locations. It's important to find a yoga studio that is easily accessible and offers classes at times that work with your schedule. Convenience is key in ensuring you maintain a consistent yoga practice.

Another important aspect to consider is the instructor. A knowledgeable and experienced teacher can significantly impact your yoga experience. Look for certified instructors with a good reputation among their students. You might also consider attending a trial class to gauge the instructor's teaching style and the class atmosphere.

Lastly, consider the studio environment, atmosphere, and facilities. These factors can greatly impact your overall experience and enjoyment of the class. A clean, well-maintained studio with comfortable amenities and a sense of community can support your practice and make it more enjoyable.

In conclusion, take the time to explore your options, sample different classes and instructors, and consider your personal preferences and goals when choosing the right yoga class. Doing so will make you more likely to find a class that truly benefits your body, mind, and spirit.

Yoga Etiquette and Guidelines

Practicing yoga involves not only physical postures but also an understanding of the principles of respect and consideration for others. Adhering to some basic yoga etiquette and guidelines can make the experience more pleasant and rewarding for everyone involved.

Arriving on time for a yoga class demonstrates respect for the teacher and fellow students. It is best to arrive a few minutes early to settle in, set up your mat, and gather any props needed for the practice.

Etiquette Guideline Turn off electronic devices Before entering the studio, turn off or silence any devices to minimize disruptions during the class. Maintain personal hygiene Since yoga is practiced near others, it is essential to maintain good personal hygiene and wear clean, comfortable clothing. Respect personal space When placing your mat, allow ample space between you and other students to accommodate movement and maintain a sense of calm and ease. Refrain from wearing strong fragrances Avoid applying strong perfumes or scented lotions before class, as some participants may be sensitive or allergic to these fragrances.

In addition to these etiquette guidelines, practitioners should be mindful of their bodies and limitations. Listen to and honor your body's signals, modifying as needed and refraining from pushing beyond your comfort zone. Yoga is a personal journey, and it is essential to focus on your progress while respecting the needs and abilities of others.

Finally, practicing gratitude and humility can enhance the overall yoga experience. Acknowledge and appreciate the efforts of your instructor and classmates, and recognize the importance of the mind-body connection facilitated through yoga.
The International Dunhuang Project (IDP) is pleased to announce that after 5 years, the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project successfully concluded in December 2022. Generously sponsored by the Bei Shan Tang Foundation, the Project aimed to publish online 793 manuscript copies of the Lotus Sutra from Dunhuang currently in the Stein collection at the British Library. This has resulted in over 374,000 cm of conserved material and nearly 17,000 new images for the IDP website.





Image of Or.8210/S.6791, conserved and digitised by the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project.



The Lotus Sutra is one of the most influential scriptures in Mahayana Buddhism, and is thought to contain the Buddhas final teaching, complete and sufficient for salvation. The Stein collection contains over 1000 copies of the Lotus Sutra in Chinese, which were acquired by Sir Marc Aurel Stein in 1907 and 1914, when he visited the so-called Library Cave (Cave 17) at the Mogao Caves near Dunhuang, in the present-day Gansu Province in China.





Before and after conservation photos of Lotus Sutra Scroll Or.8210/S.3796, one of 793 manuscripts conserved through the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project.

Only a small portion of these had been previously digitised, and the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project was organised to make images of the remaining manuscripts available online. Thanks to the sustained efforts of the Project team since 2017, 790 scrolls and 3 booklets have been stabilised and conserved to enable digitisation, and photographed to produce high-resolution images that are now freely available to the public on the IDP website.



Image of Or.8210/S.155, a Chinese Lotus Sutra scroll with Tibetan divination texts on the back. Conserved and digitised as part of the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Conservation and Digitisation Project.

Through the thousands of new images online, the Project has significantly increased global access to these important materials. In an effort to document the methodology of the Project, team members have published several articles, such as Digitisation Officer Francisco Perez-Garcias The Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project: the collaborative work between the Heritage Made Digital team and the International Dunhuang Project team (published in the Library's Digital Scholarship blog, 14 March 2022). More about the digitisation efforts of the project can be found in the article How to Digitise Scrolls: A Step-by-Step Guide from the Lotus Sutra Project by Senior Imaging Technician Jon Nicholls (published in the Librarys Asia and Africa blog, 2 August 2021).





Image of Or.8210/S.3579, featuring a custom-made core developed by conservators on the Project.

Throughout the Project, the Conservation team also undertook critical research on preservation techniques and innovative storage solutions, shared via published articles like Conserving paper: reflections on cultures of conservation in Europe and East Asia by Paulina Kralka (published in The Journal of the Institute of Conservation, 24 May 2022) and Lotus Sutra Project: Storage Solutions by Paulina Kralka and Marya Muzart (published in the Library's Collection Care blog, 07 December 2020 and the IFLA Journal, 21 July 2021).

We wish to express our enormous gratitude for the efforts of the Project team, including Tan Wang-Ward, Marie Kaladgew, Marya Muzart, Paulina Kralka, Tania Estrada-Valadez, Vania Assis, Jon Nicholls, Ambrose Hickman, Isabelle Reynolds-Logue, Giancarlo Carozza, and countless others who have contributed throughout the lifetime of the Project.



Image of a panel discussion at the Lotus Sutra Conference in the Foyle Suite of the British Library. (Left to right: Dr Eric Tzu-Yin CHUNG, Dr Paul Harrison, Dr Stephen F Teiser, Ven. Miao Duo, Roxanna Pang, Dr Luisa Elena Mengoni.)

To celebrate the close of the Project, the IDP hosted a conference at the British Library on 15  16 December 2022. The conference, titled The Lotus Sutra: the Teachings, Transmission and Material Culture of a Sacred Buddhist Text, included a keynote speech from Dr Stephen F Teiser and presentations from other experts, in addition to a panel of the Project team discussing their results and methodology.

The full programme of the conference is here: Download IDP Lotus Sutra Conference Programme

The lectures were recorded and are now available on the IDP YouTube channel:

 Opening Ceremony of the Lotus Sutra Conference (15  16 December 2022)

Panel 1: Teachings of the Lotus Sutra

Chaired by: Luisa Elena Mengoni

 Keynote presentation: The Lotus Sutra: Creating Buddhist Scripture by Dr Stephen F Teiser (15 December 2022)

 'When Being Original No Longer Matters: Reflections on the Sanskrit Text of the Lotus Sutra and its Uses' by Dr Paul Harrison (15 December 2022)

 'Lotus Sutra: Applying the Teachings in an Everyday Life' by the Venerable Miao Duo  and Roxanna Pang (15 December 2022)

 Deciphering the Exhibition of The Arts of the Lotus Sutra at the National Palace Museum' by Dr Eric Tzu-yin Chung  (15 December 2022)

 Panel 1 Discussion: Teachings of the Lotus Sutra

Panel 2: The Lotus Sutra at Dunhuang

Chaired by: Sam van Schaik

 Universal Gate of Salvation: Guanyin at Dunhuang by Dr Roderick Whitfield (16 December 2022)

 Dividing and Structuring the Lotus Sutra in Manuscript Form by Dr Costantino Moretti (16 December 2022)

 At the Intersection of Image, Text and Ritual: The Lotus Sutra in Mogao Murals by Dr Neil Schmid (16 December 2022)

 Pieces of a Puzzle: Fragments of Chinese Manuscript with the Lotus Sutra' by Dr Imre Galambos (16 December 2022)

 The Guanyin Sutra at Dunhuang as Seen Through the British Library Collection by Melodie Doumy (16 December 2022)

 Panel 2 Discussion: The Lotus Sutra at Dunhuang

Panel 3: Preserving the Lotus Sutra at the British Library: From Physical to Digital

Chaired by: Melodie Doumy

 Locating the Lotus Sutra Manuscripts Digitisation Project by Tan Wang-Ward  (16 December 2022)

 The Lotus Sutra Project at the British Library 20172022: A Conservators Perspective by Marie Kaladgew, Paulina Kralka & Marya Muzart (16 December 2022)

 Conservation Case Studies from the Lotus Sutra Project at the British Library 20172022 by Tania Estrada-Valadez, Marie Kaladgew, Paulina Kralka & Marya Muzart (16 December 2022)

 Seeing Things Differently: The Imaging of Lotus Sutra Scrolls by Isabelle Reynolds-Logue (16 December 2022)

 Panel 3 Discussion: Preserving the Lotus Sutra at the British Library: From Physical to Digital
Africa is known as one of the cradles of civilization where our human ancestors first emerged. Currently comprising of 54 countries, the continent comprises of different terrestrial habitats, ranging from deserts, grasslands, and forests. Some landlocked countries also have aquatic habitats like rivers and lakes amid relative warm and dry conditions. However, Africa was different back then.

Prevailing scientific evidence, including stone carvings from our ancient ancestors depicting livestock and different animals, suggests Africa's massive Sahara Desert was once green several thousands of years ago. While some parts of central Africa have both forest and grasslands now, its northern region is full of sand and rock where the world's largest hot desert is located.

Now, a new study led by an international team of scientists supports the said evidence of a once green Africa. However, the study this time has found evidence of the continent's habitat as far as 21 million years ago, describing it to contain wooded grasslands with forests from coast to coast.

Furthermore, the recent findings also suggest the ancient habitat allowed our earliest ape ancestors to evolve, in terms of anatomy, behavior, and ecology. While the Africa wooded grasslands are not entirely responsible for such development, the scientific team involved in the new paper there are still other factors involved that took place millions of years ago.

Africa Wooded Grasslands

Africa wooded grasslands flourished 21 million years ago and reportedly preceded the environment we see in the continent today and helped ape evolution along the way.

This comes from the long-held premise that human evolution is strongly connected to the environment and landscape of Africa, according to an article in The Conversation by Professor Laura MacLatchy from University of Michigan, along with Associate Professor Dan Peppe from Baylor University and Professor Kieran McNulty from University of Minnesota in the United States.

The authors asserted that the new research forces a rethink or a potential paradigm shift when it comes to our understanding of how we evolved. Such perception is based on the evidence that the earliest ancestors of apes and humans first evolved certain traits like upright posture, which allowed us to be distinct with our monkey cousins.

Also Read: Possible Two Million Year-Old Hominid Transition in Southern Africa

Evolution to Bipedalism

Even until modern times, humans and apes share a common trait like being social, possessing kinship altruism, and among others.

Yet, one of the major difference between us and our distant primate relatives is our trait of bipedalism, which according to the Australian Museum that the bipedal body structure of humans is unique amongst living apes. This started when our ancestors started to walk on two legs but such posture did not occur overnight.

In relation to the study, MacLatchy et al. said the expansion of grasslands in Africa paved the way for the evolution of several human traits like using tools and hunting, in addition to walking on two legs.

The transition from climbing trees and walking using arms and legs to bipedalism is reportedly linked to the shrinking of forests due to climate change, which allowed the taking over of heat-tolerating grasses and shrubs over forests around 10 million years ago. Amid the absence of trees, this forced some apes to walk the landscape and eventually through two legs only.

Related Article: Giant Fish Preyed on Human Ancestors Discovered in South Africa [Study]
A strange blue spiral was spotted as the aurora lit up the skies, surprising northern lights enthusiasts along with the green bands of light dancing in the Alaskan skies. Even though it resembles a galaxy, experts disagree that it is one.

Even though images on social media are causing a stir, experts clarified that it was just extra fuel that was released from a SpaceX rocket that three hours prior had launched from California.

Blue Spiral Ice Fuel

Don Hampton, a research associate professor of space physics at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, explained that sometimes rocket fuel needs to be ejected.

The fuel turns into ice when it is ejected in high altitudes, Hampton continued. And if it's in the sunlight, those on the ground will consider it to be some sort of large cloud; occasionally, it will even appear swirly or spiral.

Although uncommon, Hampton claimed to have witnessed such events three times.

Social Media Famous

The Geophysical Institute's all-sky camera captured the swirl's emergence in time-lapse, which was then widely distributed. With that spiral, it sparked a small internet storm.

Photographers who went out to capture the northern lights display also shared their images online.

Todd Salat, a professional photographer, said All of this occurred as it crossed Alaska during a stunning aurora display, which astounded many nighttime observers, including himself. Salat is renowned for its beautiful aurora photographs.

Mysterious blue swirl lights up the night sky over Alaska https://t.co/4vRurkzS7I pic.twitter.com/YZjrcU2078  Daily Mail Online (@MailOnline) April 18, 2023

Salat claimed that he was initially completely perplexed. Although he suspected it could be explained by rocket science, he thoroughly enjoyed the feeling of the unknown both during and immediately after the experience, according to AP News.

Space X

On Friday evening, the rocket launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California with a payload of about 25 satellites.

The blue spiral was visible over much of Alaska due to the fuel dump timing and the fact that the launch was from the poles.

Another spiral was spotted in January, but this time it was over Hawaii's Big Island. A spiral galaxy was photographed by a camera at the top of Mauna Kea, outside the Subaru telescope of the National Astronomical Observatory of Japan. According to researchers, it came from the earlier launch of a military GPS satellite on a SpaceX rocket in Florida, USA Today reports.

Also Read: Sky Canvas: First Human-Made Multi-Colored Meteor Shower in 2025, Not Just for Display

Nebulae, Twilight Phenomenon

In October 2019, when the same thing occurred, Quartz reported that some observers compared the scene to the sizable gas clouds known as nebulae that astronomers study in the far reaches of space. That's somewhat accurate because both are visible as a result of how starlight interacts with the chemicals when it passes through.

When Vandenberg Air Force Base launches aircraft on clear days shortly after dusk, viewers may see what is known as the "twilight phenomena."

The sun shines through them as well as the chemicals from the rocket's exhaust that freeze and float through the atmosphere like clouds. The sun shines through them as well as the chemicals from the rocket's exhaust that freeze and float through the atmosphere like clouds.

Related Article: Weird Blue Spiral Spotted in Hawaii Night Sky, Japan Observatory Explains Mysterious Sighting
A headless crocodile discovered on a beach in Australia has stirred mystery and sparked a debate on its cause of death, according to local reports.

One disturbing theory indicated that the reptile was killed by another crocodile and its head was taken by a trophy hunter.

However, it is still unclear how the decapitated body stumbled on the Australian beach.

The incident involving the decapitation of the crocodile's head is considered unusual since their skin is hard for it to be torn off and they are known for being aggressive predators, even posing a threat to humans.

In the case of same-species conflict or cannibalism, such as between saltwater crocodiles, experts asserted that such events are rare.

Headless Crocodile Incident

Local photographer Tom Chalmers Hayes, who focuses on crocodiles, was the one who discovered the headless crocodile in Cow Bay, Queensland, it was reported on Wednesday, April 19.

In an Instagram post, Hayes with the username "crocodile_beers" uploaded several photos of the decapitated crocodile, describing that the "poor old croc" was killed and left to rot.

The photographer in his caption also mentioned clear machete marks on the crocodile which sustained no wounds that could link that another male crocodile attacked him.

With this, he alleged that the croc's head was taken as a trophy based on the said marks.

Also Read: Crocodile Rips 15-Year-Old Boy Into Pieces While Fishing with Friends in Indonesia

Local Investigation

Queensland Environment officials conducted an investigation into the headless crocodile incident.

However, they told the Nationwide News Australia that a necropsy, or animal autopsy, was not conducted as the crocodile's body was already in deep state of decomposition.

In contrast to the theory that a local trophy hunter killed the crocodile, local authorities are also considering the angle that a fight with a rival crocodile could have been the cause of death, the San Luis Obispo Tribune reported.

Potential Trophy Killing

Amid the mysterious decapitation of the crocodile, the Queensland Parks and Wildlife Service said its staff were unable to determine as well the cause of death.

Due to its rotting state, the four-meter giant crocodile, whose skull was missing, was buried on the country, local media reports said.

Chalmers also told Nationwide News Australia that even if the crocodile died of natural causes, he was sure in a certain degree that it had been mutilated after death.

Recent Crocodile Attacks

The incident follows several Australia crocodile attacks in the past several months, including a recent one in Far North Queensland.

On April 8, a man in his 40s was wounded but survived a crocodile attack by sticking his fingers into its eyes in the waters off Archer Point, near Cooktown, Australia's ABC News reported.

On April 4, a man sustained injuries after a crocodile attacked him while he was sleeping along Newell Beach, north of Port Douglas.

In late February, another man in his 30s survived a crocodile attack along Bloomfield River, south of Cooktown.

Related Article: Crocodile Sighting in South Queensland Shuts Down Major Tourist Destination After 3-Meter Reptilian Shows Up During Kayaking Tour
Mice swarms have affected the agricultural sector of Australia for decades, with origins of their arrival into the country dating back over 200 years ago when the small mammals hitchhiked along with British vessels.

Since then, mice population has increased exponentially, covering territories in Queensland, New South Wales, and other states nationwide.

In recent years, the Australia mouse plague has destroyed crops, farm lands, properties, and even caused multiple cases of leptospirosis.

The danger posed by such swarm goes beyond the economy and health, as an excessive number of the vermin, ranging from the thousands to millions, can also cause imbalance to the country's local ecosystem where different animal species are vulnerable.

Different measures have been taken by the Australian government to tackle the issue.

Still, local reports said there is no universal or simple solution when it comes to exterminating or controlling the mouse population.

Nevertheless, Australian farmers and locals have been reported to make a craft of their own in previous incidents, where they used different kinds of traps against the nuisance animals.

However, recent reports this April revealed a new mice swarm has taken over some streets and farms in Australia, with the potential of causing damage again as they have done in the past.

The renewed mouse plague has been reported in areas between Queensland, New South Wales, and Victoria.

Photos and videos of the infestation have also surfaced on social media.

Queensland Mice Swarm

Xavier Martin, president of the New South Wales Farmers, told The Associated Press the mice swarm has been seen all over the road.

Martin added that the worst of it was likely a swarm with the length of at least a half kilometer (0.3 miles) near the small town of Coonabarabran, 270 miles northwest of Sydney, Newsweek reported.

In a video post uploaded by Twitter user "Bernie's Tweets/@BerniSpofforth, it can be seen that a previous rodent plague in the country was swarming an unidentified facility or shelter in Australia, wherein some of the worse cases occurred in 2020 and 2021.

Also Read: Woman Wakes Up to a Mouse Gnawing Her Eyeballs as Australian Mouse Plague Worsens

Australia Mouse Plague

Australia's worst mouse plague occurred in 1993 and resulted in an estimated damage of $96 Australian dollars' worth of damage, including crops livestock, piggeries, and poultry farms.

Experts stated the mouse plague is unlikely to occur again to inland New South Wales.

On the other hand, Martin said he saw hundreds of mice running across different directions searching for food.

Australia's Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO) national science agency defined such plagues of consisting swarms of at least 800 to 1,000 mice per hectare, as cited by Newsweek.

CSIRO researcher Steve Henry said areas that are really wet will not be ideal for the ongoing mouse breeding.

Still, the rodents will just try to survive and even through wet conditions caused by heavy rain and flooding, Australia's ABC News reported.

Related Article: Worsening Mouse Plague in Australia One of the Reasons Why Snakes are Aggressively Reproducing
According to information published by The Star on April 18, 2023, Thailand is currently in discussions with China to resolve an ongoing dispute over a submarine engine, according to Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-O-Cha.

Follow Navy Recognition on Google News at this link

Artist rendering of the future S26T submarines. (Picture source: weibo)

The announcement follows the delivery of the Royal Thai Navy's latest ship, a frigate designed to support a Chinese S26T Yuan-class submarine, which has been delayed due to the dispute over its engine.

The Thai navy reportedly began discussions last week about switching from the originally specified German-made engines to Chinese-built CHD620 engines.

The issue arose after a German company pulled out, citing a European Union embargo on selling military items to China. China has offered to install a Chinese-made engine in the submarine, but the Thai government has so far insisted on the use of German engines as specified in the contract.

The Prime Minister added that Thailand must listen to China's recommendations on the submarine engine issue.

About the S26T submarine

In May 2017, the Thai Navy signed a contract with CSSC for about $1 billion (nearly NT$30 billion) to order three S-26T submarines, and the first is expected to be delivered to the Thai Navy in 2023.

The S-26T submarine is 66 meters long, 8 meters wide, and 8.2 meters high, with a submerged displacement of 2,300 tons, a double hull structure, a maximum diving depth of 300 meters, a maximum speed of 18 knots, a maximum range of 8,000 nautical miles at 16 knots, and can carry 38 people.

The submarine uses a shell rudder and a cross-tail rudder design, which also follows the mainstream trend of similar well-known products internationally.

The 7-blade large-diameter inclined propeller located at the stern of the S-26T is also a manifestation of its advanced capabilities. The propeller blades are twisted like blades, with a clear trailing edge angle at the end, and the flow field of the propeller blade is more reasonable. At the same rotational speed, it can significantly reduce the generation of air bubble noise and ensure the submarine's quiet navigation.
According to information published by the US DoD on April 14, 2023, the Navy has christened and launched the newest Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship, the future USS Cleveland (LCS 31), during a ceremony in Marinette, Wisconsin.

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Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Cleveland. (Picture source: Fincantieri Marinette Marine)

Cleveland is the 16th and final Freedom-variant LCS and the fourth ship to be named in honor of the city of Cleveland, Ohio. Previous USS Cleveland's were the World War I cruiser (C 19), the World War II light cruiser (CL 55), and the Vietnam-era amphibious transport dock (LPD 7), decommissioned in 2011.

The Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) class are fast, optimally-manned, mission-tailored surface combatants that operate in near-shore and open-ocean environments, winning against 21st-century coastal threats.

LCSs integrate with joint, combined, manned, and unmanned teams to support forward presence, maritime security, sea control, and deterrence missions around the globe.

The LCS class consists of two variants, Freedom and Independence, designed and built by two separate industry teams. The Freedom variant team is led by Lockheed Martin (for the odd-numbered hulls, e.g. LCS 1). She is a steel monohull design constructed by Lockheed Martin in the Fincantieri Marinette Marine Corporation's shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin.

The ship has a displacement of 3,500 metric tons (3,900 short tons) at full load, a length of 378 ft (115 m), a beam of 57.4 ft (17.5 m), and a draft of 12.8 ft (3.9 m).

The LCS is powered by 2 Rolls-Royce MT30 36 MW (48,000 hp) gas turbines and 2 Colt-Pielstick 16PA6B 6.8 MW (9,100 hp) diesel engines, with 4 Rolls-Royce/Kamewa 153SII/153BII waterjets providing propulsion.

She has a top speed of 47 knots (87 km/h; 54 mph) in sea state 3 and a range of 3,500 nautical miles (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph) with an endurance of 21 days (336 hours).

The vessel carries 11 m (36 ft) rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIB) and 12 m (39 ft) high-speed boats. She has a complement of 50 core crew members and 65 with mission crew (Blue and Gold crews).
According to a tweet published by the French MoD on April 19, 2023, the nuclear-powered ballistic missile submarine Le Terrible successfully fired an M51 ballistic missile in Brittany.

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M51 missile launching from a submarine. (Picture source: French MoD)

The M51 missile has a mass of 52,000 kg, is 12.0 meters long, and has a diameter of 2.3 meters. It is equipped with a warhead, which can be M51.1 carrying 6 to 10 TN 75 MIRV with a yield of 110 kilotons (kt) (420 TJ) and penetration aids, or M51.2 (2015) with the new Tete nucleaire oceanique with a yield of 100 kt / CEP 150200 m, or TNO BC with a yield of 300 kt / CEP 150200 m.

The missile's engine is a three-stage solid-fuel rocket using ammonium perchlorate composite propellant. Its estimated operational range is 8,00010,000 km, although the actual range is classified information.

The M51 missile is capable of reaching speeds of up to Mach 25 and is guided by an astro-inertial guidance system, with plans to incorporate the Galileo system.

About Le Terrible

Le Terrible is a Triomphant-class submarine of the French Navy. She has a displacement of 12,640 tonnes when surfaced and 14,335 tonnes when submerged, and is 138 meters long with a beam of 12.50 meters and a draught of 10.60 meters.

Her propulsion system is similar to that of Le Triomphant, consisting of a pressurized water K15 nuclear reactor with a power output of 150 MW (200,000 hp) and a turboreductor system, as well as 2 SEMT Pielstick diesels-alternators 8PA4V200 SM (700 kW (940 hp)) auxiliaries.

The submarine is capable of speeds over 25 knots (46 km/h; 29 mph) and has an unlimited range with a lifespan of 20-25 years. Her complement includes 15 officers and 96 men.

The submarine is equipped with the same sensors and processing systems as Le Triomphant, such as Sonar DMUX 80, Sonar DUUX 5, Sonar DSUV 61B Very Low Frequency, and Racal Decca radar for navigation.

She also has the ARUR 13 electronic warfare and decoy system and the same armament, which includes nuclear missiles (16 M45 or M51 missiles with six to ten TN 75 150kt thermonuclear warheads), anti-submarine weapons (4  533 mm tubes for F17 torpedoes), and anti-surface weapons (Exocet SM39).
After losing her last attempt to delay her prison sentence while she continues to file appeals, former Theranos CEO Elizabeth Holmes is expected to begin her incarceration on April 27th. Rather than just serve her time, however, Holmes has once again asked that an appeals court overturn her conviction or reduce her sentence because she wants to present additional evidence and has been told no.

Holmes seems to be trying and failing to follow the Trump playbook of delay, delay, and what you can't delay, see if you can reschedule. Her ex-boyfriend and COO Balwani has begun to serve his sentence.

Yahoo!:

Holmes, 39, is due to begin her sentence on April 27 after a judge last week denied her request to remain free while she appeals her conviction. At the time her punishment was handed down, Holmes told the court, through tears, that she was "devastated by my failings" and "felt deep pain for what people went through because I failed them." But in the brief filed Monday with the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit, Holmes's attorneys claim her original trial was flawed, producing an "unjust" conviction and a "severe" prison sentence. They argue that she was unjustly barred from citing Balwani's testimony in her own defense.  Holmes has made several attempts to throw out her conviction, or to delay or reduce her sentence, in the past year. In May, her attorneys asked the judge to overturn her conviction, saying there was "insufficient evidence" for any "rational juror." In November, after the judge denied three requests she made for a new trial days before she was due to be sentenced, she asked for 18 months under house arrest instead of prison time, with her attorneys arguing she had been "mocked and vilified" enough.

I am not sure anyone cares to mock or vilify Holmes; we'd just like to see criminals serve their time.
Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5m to avoid a defamation trial it expected to lose. The case centered on Fox News' broadcasting of lies and conspiracy theories about the company's voting machines, but Dominion isn't the only company suing it. Smartmatic, another voting machine company, has a nearly-identical lawsuit in the works and is asking for even more money.

In fact, on paper Smartmatic's suit appears to be the more dangerous. It's demanding damages of $2.7bn, compared with Dominion's $1.6bn. So far, attempts by Fox lawyers to have the Smartmatic case dismissed have fallen on stony ground. Last week the New York state supreme court in Manhattan gave the green light for the case to proceed against Fox News, the Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, the former business anchor Lou Dobbs and Trump's former lawyer Rudy Giuliani.Smartmatic, a global election technology company headquartered in London, lodged its defamation suit in February 2021. "The Earth is round," was the complaint's striking opening sentence. "Two plus two equals four. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won the 2020 election  "

Then there's Abby Grossberg, the now-former Fox News producer whose bombshell claims may well have helped force the company's checkbook out, and who has her own lawsuit filed against it claiming it forced her to lie in the Dominion case.

The New York Times summarizes the suits. These lawyers are drooling like puppies tonight.


Hear story of missionary couple from Florida Hear story of missionary couple from Florida

You are invited to hear the story of couple Malcolm and Phyllis Blowes, directors of Win Our Nations missionary organisation based in Cocoa near Orlando Florida, at the April dinner of the Norwich FGB Branch on April 26.

The couple are well known in Norfolk as Malcolm was a roofing contractor based in Newmarket and was president of the Newmarket chapter of FGBMFI. He has spoken at the Norwich branch before, but that was around 30 years ago.



The couple have since spent three decades as missionaries, first in Eastern Europe and then based in the USA. You can hear the story of the couple at the Norwich FGB dinner at the Mercure Hotel in Norwich on Wednesday April 26.



In 1992 Malcolm and Phyllis Blowes, together with their two youngest children, Samuel and Holly, were called to the full-time mission field in Eastern Europe working mainly with the marginalized and down-trodden Gypsy communities in the newly formed Republic of Slovakia. A church was founded in the town of Partizanske which was locally known as "the gypsy church", but officially called Pramen Zivota (Well of Life). The Blowes registered Win Our Nations there as Pomoc Nasim Narodim (HELP OUR NATIONS).



In January 1998, Malcolm, Phyllis and Samuel Blowes joined staff at Teen Missions International in Florida for a three-year commitment. Their daughter Holly was already at TMI at their Missions Bible School. When this responsibility was fulfilled in January 2001, the Blowes decided to keep their missions base in the Sunshine State in the town of Merritt Island, which is part of the city of Cocoa.



Win Our Nations was registered in America through East Coast Christian Center on Merritt Island and the senior Pastor there (Dan Stallbaum) became it's president. Malcolm and Phyllis have since made two trips back to India since registering WON in America.



You can find out more about Win Our Nations here.



The dinner takes place at the City Suite, Mercure Hotel, Boundary Road, Norwich NR3 2BA, starting at 7pm for 7.30pm.



The cost is 16 per person to include a delicious two-course dinner.



Please book via Barrie Lawrence at: barrielawrence@btinternet.com or on 07786 381344



FGB Norwich Bank details as follows:

Account Name: FGBMFI Norwich

Sort code: 30-98-97

Account number: 69708663

New look team

Meanwhile, the team behind the Norwich FGB branch has changed. The new team is:

President. Steve Kerr.

Vice-presidents. Kit Brinkley. Barrie Lawrence.

Treasurer. Ivor Boulton.
Ciscos Talos security intelligence group issued a warning today about an uptick in highly sophisticated attacks on network infrastructure including routers and firewalls.

The Cisco warning piggybacks a similar joint warning issued today from The UK National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), the US National Security Agency (NSA), US Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) that noted an uptick in threats in part utilizing an exploit that first came to light in 2017. That exploit targeted an SNMP vulnerability in Cisco routers that the vendor patched in 2017.

But as Cisco and the government agencies noted, similar exploits are being aimed at a broad set of multivendor networking gear, potentially including Juniper, Extreme, Allied-Telesis, HP and others.

The warning involves not just Cisco equipment, but any networking equipment that sits at the perimeter or that might have access to traffic that a significantly capable and well-tooled adversary might have an interest in intercepting and modifying, said JJ Cummings, Cisco Talos Threat Intelligence & Interdiction team lead. Cummings leads the Talos team tasked with nation-state, critical infrastructure, law enforcement, and intelligence-based concerns.

In a blog noting the increase in threats, Cisco Talos wrote: We have observed traffic manipulation, traffic copying, hidden configurations, router malware, infrastructure reconnaissance, and active weakening of defenses by adversaries operating on networking equipment. Given the variety of activities we have seen adversaries engage in, they have shown a very high level of comfort and expertise working within the confines of compromised networking equipment.

National intelligence agencies and state-sponsored actors across the globe have attacked network infrastructure as a primary target, Cisco stated. Route/switch devices are stable, infrequently examined from a security perspective, are often poorly patched and provide deep network visibility.

The idea here is to get the messaging out that network operations teams need to maybe start to approach things slightly differently or at least be more mindful from a security perspective, because there are significantly capable adversaries that are targeting their infrastructure that may or may not, in many of the cases, been significantly tooled or monitored, or updated, Cummings said.

What we do see primarily is threats targeting those devices and with these types of attacks, somewhat agingand certainly outdated from a software perspectivedevices, Cummings said. What we what we see in almost every instance that I can think of, is the adversary also having some level of pre-existing access to one degree or another to that device.

Cisco noted a number of specific growing threats including:

The creation of Generic Router Encapsulation (GRE) tunnels and the hijacking of DNS traffic, giving the actor the ability to observe and control DNS resolution.

Modifying memory to reintroduce vulnerabilities that had been patched so the actor has a secondary path to access.

Modification of configurations to move the compromised device into a state that lets the actor execute additional exploits.

Installation of malicious software into an infrastructure device that provides additional capabilities to the actor.

The masking of certain configurations so that they cant be shown by normal commands.

Recommended precautions include updating software.

As for what can be done to protect networking infrastructure, the biggest and perhaps most obvious step is keeping software up-to-date, Cummings said. If you fix the vulnerabilities, and youre running current software, its not going to certainly, completely eliminate your risk. But if I get rid of 10 CVEs, that dramatically reduces my risk footprint, Cummings said.

He recommends increasing visibility into device behavior, because with without visibility, I cant necessarily catch the bad guy doing the bad guy things. I need to be able to see and understand any change or access that happens to that fully updated device." Similarly, strictly locking down access to those devices makes it much harder for attackers to get to them, he said.

The blog also suggests:
Sheriff Kevin Clardy of McCurtain County, Oklahoma, was recorded talking about murdering a local reporter and killing black peoplea recording made by McCurtain Gazette newspaperman Bruce Willingham, who left his tape running to prove that public county commission meetings were being illegally continued in private. Clardy, now under investigation by the FBI, claims that he is the wronged party, that recording him was illegal, and that felony charges will be filed. From the department's Facebook page:

The last 72 hours have been amongst the most difficult and disruptive in recent memory. This is a very complex situation and one we regret having to address.

There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act, Title 13, Chapters 176.3 and 176.4 which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation in which you are not involved and do not have the consent of at least one of the involved parties. There is a significant number of victims of this criminal activity and it has taken significant effort and time to identify them and corroborate evidence.

Many of these recordings, like the one published by media outlets on Friday, have yet to be duly authenticated or validated. Our preliminary information indicates that the media released audio recording has, in fact, been altered. The motivation for doing so remains unclear at this point. That matter is actively being investigated.

In addition to being illegally obtained, the audio does not match the "transcription" of that audio, and is not precisely consistent with what has been put into print.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Indian airlines carried a total of 1.28 crore domestic passengers in March 2023, a 21.41% increase year-on-year. For the January-March quarter (Q4FY23), airlines clocked a 51% increase in domestic passenger traffic to 3.75 crores, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA).

The passenger traffic in March 2023 is the highest post covid-19 and was just a few thousand away from the highest-ever monthly traffic ever recorded. India saw the highest-ever monthly traffic of 1.30 crore in December 2019.

The countrys leading carrier IndiGo increased its domestic market share from 53.8% in Q4FY22 to 55.7% in Q4FY23. For the month of March alone, IndiGos share in the domestic market stood at 56.8%.

While IndiGo maintains its lions share, Tata groups flagship airline Air Indias market share fell from 9.9% in Q4FY22 to 9% in Q4FY23 while Vistaras share remained stagnant at 8.8%. AirAsia India saw an increase in market share from 5.8% to 7.3%.

SpiceJet and Go First, the two carriers which have been facing financial difficulties, reported a significant drop in market share. While SpiceJets share fell from 10.2% in Q4FY22 to 6.9% in Q4FY23, Go Firsts share came down from 9.8% to 7.8%. The market share of the recently launched Akasa Air improved to 3.3% in March from 3% in February. Domestic air passenger traffic is expected to remain robust and clock double-digit growth of 17% in FY24, rating agency Crisil said in its report last month.

Crisil added that air traffic will pick up pace due to rising international and business travel, capacity expansion by airport operators, and higher availability of aircraft.

NEW DELHI: Indian airlines carried a total of 1.28 crore domestic passengers in March 2023, a 21.41% increase year-on-year. For the January-March quarter (Q4FY23), airlines clocked a 51% increase in domestic passenger traffic to 3.75 crores, according to data released by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA). The passenger traffic in March 2023 is the highest post covid-19 and was just a few thousand away from the highest-ever monthly traffic ever recorded. India saw the highest-ever monthly traffic of 1.30 crore in December 2019. The countrys leading carrier IndiGo increased its domestic market share from 53.8% in Q4FY22 to 55.7% in Q4FY23. For the month of March alone, IndiGos share in the domestic market stood at 56.8%. While IndiGo maintains its lions share, Tata groups flagship airline Air Indias market share fell from 9.9% in Q4FY22 to 9% in Q4FY23 while Vistaras share remained stagnant at 8.8%. AirAsia India saw an increase in market share from 5.8% to 7.3%. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); SpiceJet and Go First, the two carriers which have been facing financial difficulties, reported a significant drop in market share. While SpiceJets share fell from 10.2% in Q4FY22 to 6.9% in Q4FY23, Go Firsts share came down from 9.8% to 7.8%. The market share of the recently launched Akasa Air improved to 3.3% in March from 3% in February. Domestic air passenger traffic is expected to remain robust and clock double-digit growth of 17% in FY24, rating agency Crisil said in its report last month. Crisil added that air traffic will pick up pace due to rising international and business travel, capacity expansion by airport operators, and higher availability of aircraft.
Gurbir Singh By

Express News Service

Its been the week of The Apple. The premium iPhone manufacturers first direct retail entry in India in the form of two company stores opening in Mumbais upscale BKC commercial area and Delhis Saket have caught the headlines. The current flavour includes stories ranging from Apple CEO Tim Cook enjoying Mumbais street food vada-pav, to advertorials on the iconic timber used in the 20,000 sq ft Mumbai store.

The immediate target for Apple is to provide a feel-and-touch for consumers of its various brands. These are expensive, premium products that need direct retail engagement. In the longer term, Apple intends to slow down on China and shift as much as 25% of all iPhones assembled worldwide to India by 2025. A million jobs are what the company says will add to Indias labour market. If it can match its claim, this indeed is a welcome development.

VIEW PHOTOS | Inside Apple's first India store in Mumbai

In recent years, despite the red carpet offered to foreign investors, the story has been a mixed bag on the ground. The government conceded in Parliament that as many as 2,783 foreign companies and their subsidiaries had ceased operations between 2014 and November 2021.

Some big exits have been Cairn Energy, Holcim, Daiichi Sankyo, Carrefour, Henkel, Harley Davidson and Ford. While internal issues were responsible for the exits in some cases, many investing companies complained of hidden costs in taxation policies and, most of all, changing goalposts in the regulatory regime.

However, Apples entry now heralds a new opportunity. China has throttled back on its earlier liberal investment policies, and digital retailers like Jack Mas Alibaba and Tencent Holdings have seen a massive meltdown. So, as investors search for new hubs, the Indian government should fine-tune its offering to catch them on the rebound.

ALSO READ | Apple's first India store goes live; CEO Cook opens doors to welcome customers

The Apple foray is significant as it affirms that India has a large and vibrant premium consumer class that has been ignored in recent years. The premium- the luxury market has its own ecosystem. Even if we take a conservative 200 million as the size of Indias middle class, it offers a huge market for retail services; and consequently for jobs and wealth generation.

Apple took 25 years to open its first stores in India as single-brand retailers were earlier banned. An easier regulatory regime will help attract higher investments and growth in this premium consumer segment.

Its been the week of The Apple. The premium iPhone manufacturers first direct retail entry in India in the form of two company stores opening in Mumbais upscale BKC commercial area and Delhis Saket have caught the headlines. The current flavour includes stories ranging from Apple CEO Tim Cook enjoying Mumbais street food vada-pav, to advertorials on the iconic timber used in the 20,000 sq ft Mumbai store. The immediate target for Apple is to provide a feel-and-touch for consumers of its various brands. These are expensive, premium products that need direct retail engagement. In the longer term, Apple intends to slow down on China and shift as much as 25% of all iPhones assembled worldwide to India by 2025. A million jobs are what the company says will add to Indias labour market. If it can match its claim, this indeed is a welcome development. VIEW PHOTOS | Inside Apple's first India store in Mumbaigoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In recent years, despite the red carpet offered to foreign investors, the story has been a mixed bag on the ground. The government conceded in Parliament that as many as 2,783 foreign companies and their subsidiaries had ceased operations between 2014 and November 2021. Some big exits have been Cairn Energy, Holcim, Daiichi Sankyo, Carrefour, Henkel, Harley Davidson and Ford. While internal issues were responsible for the exits in some cases, many investing companies complained of hidden costs in taxation policies and, most of all, changing goalposts in the regulatory regime. However, Apples entry now heralds a new opportunity. China has throttled back on its earlier liberal investment policies, and digital retailers like Jack Mas Alibaba and Tencent Holdings have seen a massive meltdown. So, as investors search for new hubs, the Indian government should fine-tune its offering to catch them on the rebound. ALSO READ | Apple's first India store goes live; CEO Cook opens doors to welcome customers The Apple foray is significant as it affirms that India has a large and vibrant premium consumer class that has been ignored in recent years. The premium- the luxury market has its own ecosystem. Even if we take a conservative 200 million as the size of Indias middle class, it offers a huge market for retail services; and consequently for jobs and wealth generation. Apple took 25 years to open its first stores in India as single-brand retailers were earlier banned. An easier regulatory regime will help attract higher investments and growth in this premium consumer segment.
Rakesh Mohan Joshi By

The recent visit of Indian Commerce Minister Goyal to France and Italy becomes highly significant to capitalise upon emerging opportunities in the rapidly changing global economic order.

In recent years, India has emerged as the preferred trade and investment destination for EU firms, given its rapid economic and technological rise in turbulent times when most countries still struggle to overcome their economic woes.

Rakesh Mohan Joshi

Director, Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bengaluru,

Professor, IIFT, New Delhi

Indeed, Indian negotiators deserve compliments for their unrelenting efforts to take forward the stalled negotiations after a gap of eight years amid the multiplicity of complexities and divergent geo-political interests of participating in 27 sovereign countries as a single entity, the European Union. To illustrate, an FTA can technically be approved by the European Parliament, but the investment protection agreements must be ratified by the EU parliament and the parliaments of each member country.

To facilitate an expeditious conclusion of the deal, parallel but separate negotiations on contentious and complex issues, such as investment protection and geographical indications, are being carried out. Moreover, India-EU FTA is likely to be much more comprehensive compared to earlier trade deals recently signed by India with Australia and UAE, aiming to liberalise 94% of the trade in goods. It is also expected to have a separate chapter linking trade with sustainable development.

The fourth round of India-EU trade negotiations occurred on March 23 in Brussels. The fifth phase is scheduled to resume in mid-June with an ambitious timeline to conclude the negotiations by 2023.

India-EU Trade Dynamics

The EU is Indias third-largest trade partner, whereas India is the EUs tenth-largest trade partner. In the last decade, Indias merchandised trade grew by 30%. During recent years, Indias trade with European Union has witnessed spectacular growth as its exports grew from $ 41 billion in 2020-21 to $ 67 billion during April- February 2022-23.

In contrast, imports rose from $ 40 billion to $ 54 billion during the same period. Interestingly, India had a trade deficit with the EU in 2018-19 that turned into a trade surplus of $ 13 billion during April- February 2022-23. India had a considerable positive trade balance with the Netherlands ($ 13 billion), Spain ($1.5 billion), and France ($ 1.5 billion). In contrast, it has a significant trade deficit with Germany ($5 billion) and Ireland ($2.5 billion) during April  February 2022-23.

Indias top exports destination in the EU includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Poland, whereas its top import-sourcing countries include Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Indias major export products to the EU are petroleum products, telecom instruments, iron and steel, precious and semi-precious stones, electric machinery, ready-made garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals, aluminium products, and organic chemicals, whereas its main imports from the EU include pearl, precious and semi-precious stones, industrial machinery for dairy, aircraft and spacecraft accessories, electronic components, electric machinery and equipment, medical and scientific instruments, residual chemicals and telecom instruments.

A Win-Win Trade Deal

Amid post-covid supply chain disruptions, armed conflict between Ukraine-Russia and trade tensions between the US-China and Australia-China, India has become a strategically significant partner to the EU, much beyond trade and investment. Moreover, consequent to the exit of the United Kingdom from the group, popularly known as Brexit, the EU is keen to find new trade partners for which India becomes a natural economic ally.

Moreover, Indias spectacularly neutral stand in the rapidly emerging multi-polar world significantly transformed its strategic position to play a crucial role in world trade and diplomacy. The India-EU FTA provides an a huge opportunity for EU firms to penetrate the worlds fastest-growing major economy, home to 1.4 billion people compared to 447 million people in the EU. Given Indias recent policy resolve to Make-in-India, collaboration in technology-intensive manufacturing and defence production has fast emerged as a key area of mutual synergy and immense investment opportunities.

Technological complementarities between the EU and India offer opportunities to collaborate in a range of high-tech goods, including machinery, pharmaceutical and IT research, as India seeks to achieve self-reliance and the businesses in the EU are in search of an alternative manufacturing location to China.

The India-EU Free Trade Agreement TA is likely to pave the way for enormous opportunities in trade and investment and forging strategic international partnerships at the world fora, making it a win-win deal.

Push for Free Trade Agreement with EU

The EU is Indias third-largest trade partner, whereas India is the EUs tenth-largest trade partner. In the last decade, Indias merchandised trade grew by 30%. Indias top exports destination in the EU includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Poland.

The recent visit of Indian Commerce Minister Goyal to France and Italy becomes highly significant to capitalise upon emerging opportunities in the rapidly changing global economic order. In recent years, India has emerged as the preferred trade and investment destination for EU firms, given its rapid economic and technological rise in turbulent times when most countries still struggle to overcome their economic woes. Rakesh Mohan Joshi Director, Indian Institute of Plantation Management, Bengaluru, Professor, IIFT, New DelhiIndeed, Indian negotiators deserve compliments for their unrelenting efforts to take forward the stalled negotiations after a gap of eight years amid the multiplicity of complexities and divergent geo-political interests of participating in 27 sovereign countries as a single entity, the European Union. To illustrate, an FTA can technically be approved by the European Parliament, but the investment protection agreements must be ratified by the EU parliament and the parliaments of each member country.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); To facilitate an expeditious conclusion of the deal, parallel but separate negotiations on contentious and complex issues, such as investment protection and geographical indications, are being carried out. Moreover, India-EU FTA is likely to be much more comprehensive compared to earlier trade deals recently signed by India with Australia and UAE, aiming to liberalise 94% of the trade in goods. It is also expected to have a separate chapter linking trade with sustainable development. The fourth round of India-EU trade negotiations occurred on March 23 in Brussels. The fifth phase is scheduled to resume in mid-June with an ambitious timeline to conclude the negotiations by 2023. India-EU Trade Dynamics The EU is Indias third-largest trade partner, whereas India is the EUs tenth-largest trade partner. In the last decade, Indias merchandised trade grew by 30%. During recent years, Indias trade with European Union has witnessed spectacular growth as its exports grew from $ 41 billion in 2020-21 to $ 67 billion during April- February 2022-23. In contrast, imports rose from $ 40 billion to $ 54 billion during the same period. Interestingly, India had a trade deficit with the EU in 2018-19 that turned into a trade surplus of $ 13 billion during April- February 2022-23. India had a considerable positive trade balance with the Netherlands ($ 13 billion), Spain ($1.5 billion), and France ($ 1.5 billion). In contrast, it has a significant trade deficit with Germany ($5 billion) and Ireland ($2.5 billion) during April  February 2022-23. Indias top exports destination in the EU includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Poland, whereas its top import-sourcing countries include Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, and Sweden. Indias major export products to the EU are petroleum products, telecom instruments, iron and steel, precious and semi-precious stones, electric machinery, ready-made garments and textiles, pharmaceuticals, aluminium products, and organic chemicals, whereas its main imports from the EU include pearl, precious and semi-precious stones, industrial machinery for dairy, aircraft and spacecraft accessories, electronic components, electric machinery and equipment, medical and scientific instruments, residual chemicals and telecom instruments. A Win-Win Trade Deal Amid post-covid supply chain disruptions, armed conflict between Ukraine-Russia and trade tensions between the US-China and Australia-China, India has become a strategically significant partner to the EU, much beyond trade and investment. Moreover, consequent to the exit of the United Kingdom from the group, popularly known as Brexit, the EU is keen to find new trade partners for which India becomes a natural economic ally. Moreover, Indias spectacularly neutral stand in the rapidly emerging multi-polar world significantly transformed its strategic position to play a crucial role in world trade and diplomacy. The India-EU FTA provides an a huge opportunity for EU firms to penetrate the worlds fastest-growing major economy, home to 1.4 billion people compared to 447 million people in the EU. Given Indias recent policy resolve to Make-in-India, collaboration in technology-intensive manufacturing and defence production has fast emerged as a key area of mutual synergy and immense investment opportunities. Technological complementarities between the EU and India offer opportunities to collaborate in a range of high-tech goods, including machinery, pharmaceutical and IT research, as India seeks to achieve self-reliance and the businesses in the EU are in search of an alternative manufacturing location to China. The India-EU Free Trade Agreement TA is likely to pave the way for enormous opportunities in trade and investment and forging strategic international partnerships at the world fora, making it a win-win deal. Push for Free Trade Agreement with EU The EU is Indias third-largest trade partner, whereas India is the EUs tenth-largest trade partner. In the last decade, Indias merchandised trade grew by 30%. Indias top exports destination in the EU includes the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Italy, France, Spain, and Poland.
Married couple Hemubhai Makwana, 38, and wife Hansaben, 35, of Gujarat, India, reportedly killed themselves in a sacrificial ritual using a homemade guillotine over the weekend

"The couple first prepared a fire altar before putting their heads under a guillotine-like mechanism held by a rope," police inspector Indrajeetsinh Jadeja said. "As soon as they released the rope, an iron blade fell on them, severing their heads, which rolled into the fire."

From the Hindustan Times:
Jitendra Choubey By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Maybe, the newly inducted Cheetahs dont like their new home or possibly want to explore virgin territories. A cheetah named Oban left its designated Kuno-Palpur National Park (KNP) habitat on Sunday and started his journey on the way to Shivpuri, more than 50 km towards the tiger territory of Madhav National Park (MNP) in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh.

On March 11, one tiger and two tigresses were released in MNP. Fortunately, there were no catfights. Tigers are in enclosures, so we dont need to worry, says an MNP official. Wildlife experts are concerned about cheetah behaviour. They are frequently straying out from the KNP, which might possibly lead to human-wildlife conflict. Early this month; Oban strayed in Vijaipur village and hunted a goat. The KNPs core area is 748 sqkm and is surrounded by a 487 sqkm buffer zone, which is dotted by 53 villages.

Around 11 pm yesterday, the location of Oban was at Jhiri village in Shivpuri district, says an official. Oban started his journey towards MNP around 2 am passing through many human habitations and reaching MNP around noon on Tuesday, said the official.

On Obans trail were six forest officials in two separate vehicles tracking radio-collared five-year-old Namibian Oban. India brought 20 cheetahs from Africa to be introduced into the country. It has released four of them into the wild; one cheetah died, and the rest are in enclosures.

Wildlife conservationists are worried about Obans health. After travelling such a long distance, I fear it might get dehydrated, reducing its preying capacity, says a wildlife biologist who worked at KNP. Experts say that cheetahs are grassland animals while KNP lacks grass, mostly inhabited by thick scrubs and trees. Agriculture fields make it resemble grassland, so it likes to stray out, says a wildlife expert.

Ventures out of Kuno for third time

It is the third time the Namibian cheetah has ventured out from KNPs core area. Earlier, it had strayed out to Vijaypur, outside Agra Forest Range where it stayed for six days. Later, it was tranquilised and brought back to the forest.

NEW DELHI: Maybe, the newly inducted Cheetahs dont like their new home or possibly want to explore virgin territories. A cheetah named Oban left its designated Kuno-Palpur National Park (KNP) habitat on Sunday and started his journey on the way to Shivpuri, more than 50 km towards the tiger territory of Madhav National Park (MNP) in Shivpuri district of Madhya Pradesh. On March 11, one tiger and two tigresses were released in MNP. Fortunately, there were no catfights. Tigers are in enclosures, so we dont need to worry, says an MNP official. Wildlife experts are concerned about cheetah behaviour. They are frequently straying out from the KNP, which might possibly lead to human-wildlife conflict. Early this month; Oban strayed in Vijaipur village and hunted a goat. The KNPs core area is 748 sqkm and is surrounded by a 487 sqkm buffer zone, which is dotted by 53 villages. Around 11 pm yesterday, the location of Oban was at Jhiri village in Shivpuri district, says an official. Oban started his journey towards MNP around 2 am passing through many human habitations and reaching MNP around noon on Tuesday, said the official.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On Obans trail were six forest officials in two separate vehicles tracking radio-collared five-year-old Namibian Oban. India brought 20 cheetahs from Africa to be introduced into the country. It has released four of them into the wild; one cheetah died, and the rest are in enclosures. Wildlife conservationists are worried about Obans health. After travelling such a long distance, I fear it might get dehydrated, reducing its preying capacity, says a wildlife biologist who worked at KNP. Experts say that cheetahs are grassland animals while KNP lacks grass, mostly inhabited by thick scrubs and trees. Agriculture fields make it resemble grassland, so it likes to stray out, says a wildlife expert. Ventures out of Kuno for third time It is the third time the Namibian cheetah has ventured out from KNPs core area. Earlier, it had strayed out to Vijaypur, outside Agra Forest Range where it stayed for six days. Later, it was tranquilised and brought back to the forest.
By PTI

KOLKATA: Bengal's maverick politician Mukul Roy, who has flip-flopped between TMC and BJP over the last few years, has been suffering from Parkinson's disease and dementia and last month underwent surgery for a neurological disorder, according to doctors treating him.

Though he has physically improved, his doctors remained unsure of his mental functioning.

Roy underwent surgery for hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain, which may cause brain damage.

"Mr Roy's (physical) health has improved a lot compared to what it was a month back. He is physically fit to travel, but how much he has regained his mental functioning is yet to be ascertained dementia can never be totally reversed and there is always a chance it may get worse with age," eminent neurosurgeon Dr SN Singh, who has been treating the politician for quite some time, told PTI.

Dementia is a condition in which a person may lose cognitive functioning, which includes thinking, remembering, and reasoning, to an extent.

Parkinson's disease on the other hand is a neurological disorder which affects the nervous system.

Roy's son Subhrangshu, who also returned to the TMC along with his father in 2021, told PTI telephonically, "Baba has recovered well from several health issues. He is better now. But his dementia has deteriorated vastly and hence he is making all kinds of statements."

On Monday evening, Subhrangshu had lodged two FIRs alleging that his father was "untraceable" hours before Roy was spotted in New Delhi where he claimed he had travelled there "as a Delhi MP and MLA".

Speaking to a Bengali news channel, Roy claimed that he was "never an MLA and has always been a member of the Parliament,".

He also said he has to fight the CPI(M) and then went on to say that there is a need to fight CPI(M), Congress and TMC.

KOLKATA: Bengal's maverick politician Mukul Roy, who has flip-flopped between TMC and BJP over the last few years, has been suffering from Parkinson's disease and dementia and last month underwent surgery for a neurological disorder, according to doctors treating him. Though he has physically improved, his doctors remained unsure of his mental functioning. Roy underwent surgery for hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain, which may cause brain damage.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "Mr Roy's (physical) health has improved a lot compared to what it was a month back. He is physically fit to travel, but how much he has regained his mental functioning is yet to be ascertained dementia can never be totally reversed and there is always a chance it may get worse with age," eminent neurosurgeon Dr SN Singh, who has been treating the politician for quite some time, told PTI. Dementia is a condition in which a person may lose cognitive functioning, which includes thinking, remembering, and reasoning, to an extent. Parkinson's disease on the other hand is a neurological disorder which affects the nervous system. Roy's son Subhrangshu, who also returned to the TMC along with his father in 2021, told PTI telephonically, "Baba has recovered well from several health issues. He is better now. But his dementia has deteriorated vastly and hence he is making all kinds of statements." On Monday evening, Subhrangshu had lodged two FIRs alleging that his father was "untraceable" hours before Roy was spotted in New Delhi where he claimed he had travelled there "as a Delhi MP and MLA". Speaking to a Bengali news channel, Roy claimed that he was "never an MLA and has always been a member of the Parliament,". He also said he has to fight the CPI(M) and then went on to say that there is a need to fight CPI(M), Congress and TMC.
Yeshi Seli By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar hit out at former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the latter's remarks on Indians stuck in Sudan.

"It is reported that 31 Hakkis Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since past few days and the government is yet to initiate action to bring them back. The BJP government should open diplomatic discussions and reach out to international agencies to ensure well being of Hakki Pakkis (a Kannadiga tribe)," tweeted Siddharamaiah.

In response, Jaishankar tweeted, "I am simply appalled at your (Siddharamaiah)s tweet. There are lives at stake, dont do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin in Sudan."

He further said that the details of Indians in Sudan cannot be made public for security reasons.

ALSO READ | Growing trade between India and Russia has created imbalance, need to address it: Jaishankar

"Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing," Jaishankar added.

Plans regarding the Indians stuck in Sudan have to be taken with a lot of caution due to the complicated security scenario.

"The Embassy is in constant touch with the Ministry in this regard. It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicise their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," Jaishankar said.

The Indian Embassy in Khartoum issued a third advisory on Tuesday saying there have been instances of looting and all Indian nationals are advised to remain indoors.

"Please ration your supplies. The situation may continue for a few more days. Please try to take help from your neighbours. Please stay at home and stay safe," reads the advisory from the Indian Embassy.

NEW DELHI: External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar hit out at former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the latter's remarks on Indians stuck in Sudan. "It is reported that 31 Hakkis Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since past few days and the government is yet to initiate action to bring them back. The BJP government should open diplomatic discussions and reach out to international agencies to ensure well being of Hakki Pakkis (a Kannadiga tribe)," tweeted Siddharamaiah. In response, Jaishankar tweeted, "I am simply appalled at your (Siddharamaiah)s tweet. There are lives at stake, dont do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian nationals and persons of Indian origin in Sudan."googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); He further said that the details of Indians in Sudan cannot be made public for security reasons. ALSO READ | Growing trade between India and Russia has created imbalance, need to address it: Jaishankar "Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing," Jaishankar added. Plans regarding the Indians stuck in Sudan have to be taken with a lot of caution due to the complicated security scenario. "The Embassy is in constant touch with the Ministry in this regard. It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicise their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," Jaishankar said. The Indian Embassy in Khartoum issued a third advisory on Tuesday saying there have been instances of looting and all Indian nationals are advised to remain indoors. "Please ration your supplies. The situation may continue for a few more days. Please try to take help from your neighbours. Please stay at home and stay safe," reads the advisory from the Indian Embassy.
Express News Service

NEW DELHI: India is showing a surge in Covid-19 cases, with the test positivity rate (TPR) - a vital marker in assessing the spread of an outbreak - touching 8.40 per cent on April 16.

It is the highest TPR - which indicates the percentage of people who are found to be infected by the virus from those who are being tested - since February 3, 2022, when the third wave driven by Omicron was seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases in India.

Delhi, which according to the latest survey, has shown that 45 per cent of Delhi-NCR households have one or more individuals currently having Covid-19, flu, viral fever symptoms, has 32.25 per cent TPR - the highest in India  reported on April 17.

This is the first time Delhis TPR has touched over 30 per cent this year.

The last time Delhis TPR was over 30 per cent was on April 22, 2021  during the second wave - when it went as high as 36.24 and on April 30, 2021, when it touched 32.69 per cent, according to Krishna Prasad N C, a Covid data analyst.

Apart from Delhi, the other states that reported high TPR on April 17 are Goa (15.38%), Rajasthan (15.69%), Haryana (I14.28%), Uttarakhand (11.94%), Karnataka (8.92%), Chandigarh (8.47%) Tamil Nadu (8.66 %), and Himachal Pradesh (7.07%).

Though Kerala is reporting the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths, it is not publicly sharing the number of Covid-19 tests and TPR.

According to the latest survey conducted in the Delhi-NCR region by LocalCircles, Indias leading community social media platform, 45 per cent of people out of 9,793 said one or more individuals were currently having Covid-19 symptoms.

Our study has shown that most people are not testing in Delhi-NCR. As the test positivity rate is over 32%, every other household presently has one or more members down with Covid, said Sachin Taparia, Founder of LocalCircles.

In most cases, people are showing up at their workplaces or schools/colleges and using public transport despite having symptoms spreading the infection to others which wasnt the case during the first three waves, Taparia told this paper.

According to Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid-19 task force, TPR indicates how much spread is happening in the community.

Citing an example, he said in some hospitals in Kerala, which is systematic in conducting Covid-19 tests, in early March, no positive cases were reported, but in mid-March, it went up to 10 per cent. However, by early April, the number spiked to 40-42 per cent.

Earlier, testing was systematic; now it is symptom-based. People are not taking Covid-19 tests as they consider it a waste of time and money and recovering at home, assuming they have Covid-19. This leads to gross underestimation of the amount of infection in the community, Dr Jayadevan told this paper.

India had reported a gradual rise in Covid-19 cases since mid-March when the XBB.1.16 sub-variant of Omicron was detected in Maharashtras Pune.

From 0.28 per cent on March 1, the TPR went up to 1 per cent on March 8 and hovered over 3.19 per cent on March 26. The TPR touched as high as 8.40 per cent on April 16, said Kerala-based Krishna Prasad.

The number of deaths has also gone up in the country. In March, 101 deaths were recorded, while till April 17, as many as 276 people died due to Covid-19 in the country.

Despite the high TPR being witnessed in the country, health ministry officials have said that Covid-19 will peak in another ten days and will then dip. Officials also noted that hospitalisation and severity had not increased, despite India reporting a 400 per cent increase in cases in the first two weeks of April.

In India, the highest TPR was recorded on January 23, 2022, during the third Covid wave propelled by the Omicron, when it touched 20.75 per cent. It is also the highest TPR reported during all three Covid waves. On May 3, 2021, the TPR stood at 19.41 during the second wave, Krishna Prasad said.

NEW DELHI: India is showing a surge in Covid-19 cases, with the test positivity rate (TPR) - a vital marker in assessing the spread of an outbreak - touching 8.40 per cent on April 16. It is the highest TPR - which indicates the percentage of people who are found to be infected by the virus from those who are being tested - since February 3, 2022, when the third wave driven by Omicron was seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases in India. Delhi, which according to the latest survey, has shown that 45 per cent of Delhi-NCR households have one or more individuals currently having Covid-19, flu, viral fever symptoms, has 32.25 per cent TPR - the highest in India  reported on April 17.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); This is the first time Delhis TPR has touched over 30 per cent this year. The last time Delhis TPR was over 30 per cent was on April 22, 2021  during the second wave - when it went as high as 36.24 and on April 30, 2021, when it touched 32.69 per cent, according to Krishna Prasad N C, a Covid data analyst. Apart from Delhi, the other states that reported high TPR on April 17 are Goa (15.38%), Rajasthan (15.69%), Haryana (I14.28%), Uttarakhand (11.94%), Karnataka (8.92%), Chandigarh (8.47%) Tamil Nadu (8.66 %), and Himachal Pradesh (7.07%). Though Kerala is reporting the highest number of Covid-19 cases and deaths, it is not publicly sharing the number of Covid-19 tests and TPR. According to the latest survey conducted in the Delhi-NCR region by LocalCircles, Indias leading community social media platform, 45 per cent of people out of 9,793 said one or more individuals were currently having Covid-19 symptoms. Our study has shown that most people are not testing in Delhi-NCR. As the test positivity rate is over 32%, every other household presently has one or more members down with Covid, said Sachin Taparia, Founder of LocalCircles. In most cases, people are showing up at their workplaces or schools/colleges and using public transport despite having symptoms spreading the infection to others which wasnt the case during the first three waves, Taparia told this paper. According to Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, co-chairman of the National Indian Medical Association (IMA) Covid-19 task force, TPR indicates how much spread is happening in the community. Citing an example, he said in some hospitals in Kerala, which is systematic in conducting Covid-19 tests, in early March, no positive cases were reported, but in mid-March, it went up to 10 per cent. However, by early April, the number spiked to 40-42 per cent. Earlier, testing was systematic; now it is symptom-based. People are not taking Covid-19 tests as they consider it a waste of time and money and recovering at home, assuming they have Covid-19. This leads to gross underestimation of the amount of infection in the community, Dr Jayadevan told this paper. India had reported a gradual rise in Covid-19 cases since mid-March when the XBB.1.16 sub-variant of Omicron was detected in Maharashtras Pune. From 0.28 per cent on March 1, the TPR went up to 1 per cent on March 8 and hovered over 3.19 per cent on March 26. The TPR touched as high as 8.40 per cent on April 16, said Kerala-based Krishna Prasad. The number of deaths has also gone up in the country. In March, 101 deaths were recorded, while till April 17, as many as 276 people died due to Covid-19 in the country. Despite the high TPR being witnessed in the country, health ministry officials have said that Covid-19 will peak in another ten days and will then dip. Officials also noted that hospitalisation and severity had not increased, despite India reporting a 400 per cent increase in cases in the first two weeks of April. In India, the highest TPR was recorded on January 23, 2022, during the third Covid wave propelled by the Omicron, when it touched 20.75 per cent. It is also the highest TPR reported during all three Covid waves. On May 3, 2021, the TPR stood at 19.41 during the second wave, Krishna Prasad said.
Mayank Singh By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: Addressing the senior leadership of the Indian Army on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the Armys responses along the Northern and Western borders and reiterated that talks for the peaceful resolution of tensions with China will continue.

Commenting on the current situation along the Northern borders, the Defence Minister expressed full confidence in the Army for any contingency though the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution will continue and disengagement and de-escalation is the best way forward.

The Defence Minister also praised the efforts of the BRO, which has led to the incomparable improvement of road communication on the borders, both Western and Northern, while working under difficult conditions.

Referring to the situation along the Western borders, he complimented the Indian Armys response to cross-border terrorism. Rajnath said I compliment the excellent synergy between the CAPF/ Police forces and the Army in tackling the menace of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The synergised operations in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are contributing to increased stability and peace in the region and the same should continue, and for this I again compliment the Indian Army.

The Defence Minister was addressing senior Army Commanders as part of the Annual Commanders Conference of the Army which began on Monday and will continue till Friday.

The main highlight of the third day of the conference was the address by the Defence Minister to the senior leadership of the Indian Army.

ALSO READ | Zorawar to guard Himalayas beginning 2027

The first Army Commanders Conference in 2023 commenced in a hybrid format on Monday. During the event, the Army's apex leadership is comprehensively deliberating upon all aspects of existing security scenarios, the situation along the borders and in the hinterland and challenges for the present security apparatus.

In addition, the conference is also focusing on issues pertaining to organisational restructuring, logistics, administration and human resource management.

The Defence Minister applauded the role of the Indian Army as very important in nation-building as also in overall national development.

Stressing upon the present complex world situation, he said, Unconventional and asymmetric warfare, including hybrid war will be part of the future conventional wars. Cyber, information, communication, trade and finance have all become an inseparable part of future conflicts. War preparedness should be a continuous phenomenon and we should always be ready for unpredictable and uncertain events that may crop up at any time. We should always be honing our fighting skills and weapons technologies so as to act effectively whenever required.

He complimented the significant contributions made by the Army in military diplomacy to further national security interests by creating sustainable cooperative relationships with foreign Armies. He also applauded the Indian Army for its effort in providing humanitarian assistance during its disaster relief mission, following the earthquake in Turkey, through Operation Dost.

He appreciated the Armys collaborative efforts to develop niche technologies. The Defence Minister also stressed that as users we must impose our faith in our own industries and technologies, which would in turn motivate the industry to produce the best as it would also boost self-reliance."

The minister also reviewed an equipment display focusing on niche technology, innovation, solutions for surveillance, artificial intelligence, training, robotics, virtual reality, operational logistics etc.

NEW DELHI: Addressing the senior leadership of the Indian Army on Wednesday, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh complimented the Armys responses along the Northern and Western borders and reiterated that talks for the peaceful resolution of tensions with China will continue. Commenting on the current situation along the Northern borders, the Defence Minister expressed full confidence in the Army for any contingency though the ongoing talks for peaceful resolution will continue and disengagement and de-escalation is the best way forward. The Defence Minister also praised the efforts of the BRO, which has led to the incomparable improvement of road communication on the borders, both Western and Northern, while working under difficult conditions.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Referring to the situation along the Western borders, he complimented the Indian Armys response to cross-border terrorism. Rajnath said I compliment the excellent synergy between the CAPF/ Police forces and the Army in tackling the menace of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The synergised operations in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are contributing to increased stability and peace in the region and the same should continue, and for this I again compliment the Indian Army. The Defence Minister was addressing senior Army Commanders as part of the Annual Commanders Conference of the Army which began on Monday and will continue till Friday. The main highlight of the third day of the conference was the address by the Defence Minister to the senior leadership of the Indian Army. ALSO READ | Zorawar to guard Himalayas beginning 2027 The first Army Commanders Conference in 2023 commenced in a hybrid format on Monday. During the event, the Army's apex leadership is comprehensively deliberating upon all aspects of existing security scenarios, the situation along the borders and in the hinterland and challenges for the present security apparatus. In addition, the conference is also focusing on issues pertaining to organisational restructuring, logistics, administration and human resource management. The Defence Minister applauded the role of the Indian Army as very important in nation-building as also in overall national development. Stressing upon the present complex world situation, he said, Unconventional and asymmetric warfare, including hybrid war will be part of the future conventional wars. Cyber, information, communication, trade and finance have all become an inseparable part of future conflicts. War preparedness should be a continuous phenomenon and we should always be ready for unpredictable and uncertain events that may crop up at any time. We should always be honing our fighting skills and weapons technologies so as to act effectively whenever required. He complimented the significant contributions made by the Army in military diplomacy to further national security interests by creating sustainable cooperative relationships with foreign Armies. He also applauded the Indian Army for its effort in providing humanitarian assistance during its disaster relief mission, following the earthquake in Turkey, through Operation Dost. He appreciated the Armys collaborative efforts to develop niche technologies. The Defence Minister also stressed that as users we must impose our faith in our own industries and technologies, which would in turn motivate the industry to produce the best as it would also boost self-reliance." The minister also reviewed an equipment display focusing on niche technology, innovation, solutions for surveillance, artificial intelligence, training, robotics, virtual reality, operational logistics etc.
By PTI

NEW DELHI: The thought of resigning as president over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots didn't cross the mind of Giani Zail Singh, claims author and former diplomat KC Singh who has penned a new book on his presidential days.

Speaking here at the launch of the book, "The Indian President: An Insider's Account of the Zail Singh Years", Singh on Monday, while recalling those days, said the situation had led to a "degree of chaos."

The then prime minister Indira Gandhi's body was lying, foreigners were coming in and Rajiv Gandhi was yet to be in charge actively and was performing multiple duties at that stage, he said.

"I don't think he (Zail Singh) ever thought of resigning after the riots, maybe the thought processed after 'Operation Bluestar' when he came back from Amritsar...Look in real time I don't think anybody could make a determination as to how high the responsibility went and who all were involved. We still don't know, we can only assume that hierarchs were involved," said K C Singh, who was deputy secretary to Gaini Zail Singh during 1983-87.

Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed nationwide in violence following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security guards - Beant Singh and Satwant Singh - on 31 October 1984.

Arguing that it was only "72 hours later" when the journalists came out with the stories of the massacre that the extent of what was happening became clear, Singh said that traditionally riots are put down in 24 hours and it was difficult to imagine that the same won't happen in this case of the 1984 riots as well.

"He (Zail Singh) could only think that this is just chaos that is emanating. It will settle down...and the Army will be called in. Now, to imagine that the Army would be in slow march, I don't think the Commander-in-Chief will assume that. It is assumed that the Army will step in when the civilian order is disturbed," he explained.

Former minister of finance and external affairs Yashwant Sinha was the chief guest for the occasion.

Talking about the important role of the president in preserving, protecting and safeguarding the constitution of India, Sinha said in digital times, this role has become more defined.

"Nobody can deny that the President of India has a role to play in protecting the Constitution. We can't merely and at all times depend on the courts of law to do that, the courts will play their role after the President of India," Sinha, who had unsuccessfully contested the presidential election in 2022, said.

He also praised the book and said he went through it with a great deal of interest as it brings out various facts and facets about the functioning of Rashtrapati Bhawan.

Published by Harper Collins, "The Indian President" recounts how the guardrails painstakingly created by the first two presidents, Rajendra Prasad and S. Radhakrishnan, were partly resurrected by Zail Singh.

It also makes a compelling case for why the Zail Singh years are crucial to understanding both limits and possibilities of the country's highest office.

Giani Zail Singh, who was India's seventh president from 1982 to 1987, died in a road accident in December 1994 at the age of 78.

NEW DELHI: The thought of resigning as president over the 1984 anti-Sikh riots didn't cross the mind of Giani Zail Singh, claims author and former diplomat KC Singh who has penned a new book on his presidential days. Speaking here at the launch of the book, "The Indian President: An Insider's Account of the Zail Singh Years", Singh on Monday, while recalling those days, said the situation had led to a "degree of chaos." The then prime minister Indira Gandhi's body was lying, foreigners were coming in and Rajiv Gandhi was yet to be in charge actively and was performing multiple duties at that stage, he said.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); "I don't think he (Zail Singh) ever thought of resigning after the riots, maybe the thought processed after 'Operation Bluestar' when he came back from Amritsar...Look in real time I don't think anybody could make a determination as to how high the responsibility went and who all were involved. We still don't know, we can only assume that hierarchs were involved," said K C Singh, who was deputy secretary to Gaini Zail Singh during 1983-87. Over 3,000 Sikhs were killed nationwide in violence following the assassination of the then prime minister Indira Gandhi by her two Sikh security guards - Beant Singh and Satwant Singh - on 31 October 1984. Arguing that it was only "72 hours later" when the journalists came out with the stories of the massacre that the extent of what was happening became clear, Singh said that traditionally riots are put down in 24 hours and it was difficult to imagine that the same won't happen in this case of the 1984 riots as well. "He (Zail Singh) could only think that this is just chaos that is emanating. It will settle down...and the Army will be called in. Now, to imagine that the Army would be in slow march, I don't think the Commander-in-Chief will assume that. It is assumed that the Army will step in when the civilian order is disturbed," he explained. Former minister of finance and external affairs Yashwant Sinha was the chief guest for the occasion. Talking about the important role of the president in preserving, protecting and safeguarding the constitution of India, Sinha said in digital times, this role has become more defined. "Nobody can deny that the President of India has a role to play in protecting the Constitution. We can't merely and at all times depend on the courts of law to do that, the courts will play their role after the President of India," Sinha, who had unsuccessfully contested the presidential election in 2022, said. He also praised the book and said he went through it with a great deal of interest as it brings out various facts and facets about the functioning of Rashtrapati Bhawan. Published by Harper Collins, "The Indian President" recounts how the guardrails painstakingly created by the first two presidents, Rajendra Prasad and S. Radhakrishnan, were partly resurrected by Zail Singh. It also makes a compelling case for why the Zail Singh years are crucial to understanding both limits and possibilities of the country's highest office. Giani Zail Singh, who was India's seventh president from 1982 to 1987, died in a road accident in December 1994 at the age of 78.
Prasanta Mazumdar By

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: Close on the heels of China renaming 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, top Himalayan Buddhist leaders attended a national conference at Zemithang, the last Indian village in the Tawang sector of the LAC.

Zemithang, as you might all know, is the last Indian border through which His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama entered India in 1959. Therefore, holding this conference here is significant, Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu said addressing the gathering.

The conference was held on Monday at the Gorsam Stupa on the theme Nalanda Buddhism  retracing the source in footsteps of Acharyas: From Nalanda to Himalayas and beyond. Khandu subtly laid facts that buttressed Arunachals inherently Indian identity. He stressed that the Buddhist culture  which thrives on peaceful co-existence of every sentient being  should not only be preserved but also propagated.

The main pillar on which Nalanda Buddhism stands is the principle of reasoning and analysis. This means we can even bring the teachings of Lord Buddha under the ambit of reasoning and analysis. This logic is based on science and perhaps, Buddhism is the only religion that gives its followers this liberty, the CM, who hails from Tawang, said.

He said Arunachal is home not only to Buddhism but also to several religions, including those who follow indigenous faith. He expressed gratitude to the Indian Himalayan Council of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition for organizing the conference at Zemithang, one of the holiest places of Buddhism.

He said Buddhism is expanding globally and witnessing important resurgence in traditional areas. He stressed on making its presence vibrant, roots connected to Nalanda Buddhism. The conference was attended by 600 delegates, with 45 Buddhist leaders and scholars from all Himalayan areas.

GUWAHATI: Close on the heels of China renaming 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, top Himalayan Buddhist leaders attended a national conference at Zemithang, the last Indian village in the Tawang sector of the LAC. Zemithang, as you might all know, is the last Indian border through which His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama entered India in 1959. Therefore, holding this conference here is significant, Arunachal Chief Minister Pema Khandu said addressing the gathering. The conference was held on Monday at the Gorsam Stupa on the theme Nalanda Buddhism  retracing the source in footsteps of Acharyas: From Nalanda to Himalayas and beyond. Khandu subtly laid facts that buttressed Arunachals inherently Indian identity. He stressed that the Buddhist culture  which thrives on peaceful co-existence of every sentient being  should not only be preserved but also propagated.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); The main pillar on which Nalanda Buddhism stands is the principle of reasoning and analysis. This means we can even bring the teachings of Lord Buddha under the ambit of reasoning and analysis. This logic is based on science and perhaps, Buddhism is the only religion that gives its followers this liberty, the CM, who hails from Tawang, said. He said Arunachal is home not only to Buddhism but also to several religions, including those who follow indigenous faith. He expressed gratitude to the Indian Himalayan Council of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition for organizing the conference at Zemithang, one of the holiest places of Buddhism. He said Buddhism is expanding globally and witnessing important resurgence in traditional areas. He stressed on making its presence vibrant, roots connected to Nalanda Buddhism. The conference was attended by 600 delegates, with 45 Buddhist leaders and scholars from all Himalayan areas.
By Express News Service

NEW DELHI: In view of the spike in Covid-19 cases across India, a high-level meeting was held by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) on Wednesday to review the status of preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, drugs availability and vaccination campaign in the country.

The meeting was held by Dr PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, who advised officials to maintain a strict vigil on the Covid-19 situation and take necessary actions to contain the spread of the virus.

In the last 24 hours, 38 deaths were recorded, with the maximum deaths reported from Delhi (5) and Chhattisgarh (4). Kerala recorded 11 reconciled deaths. As per health ministry data, India has logged 10,542 new Covid-19 cases, while the active cases have increased to 63,562.

In the meeting, a comprehensive presentation was made by Secretary, Union Health Ministry Rajesh Bhushan, who highlighted that India has been witnessing a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with majority of cases being reported in eight states -- Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan.

Further, he said, the sudden increase in the positivity was also highlighted along with the status of tests being conducted in the country, according to a statement issued by the health ministry.

In the meeting, a detailed analysis of active cases in these eight states was presented and it was highlighted that approximately 92 percent of the cases are under home isolation.

An overview of the Genome Sequencing of different variants since January 2023 was also presented.

The status of vaccination was discussed, followed by drug availability and infrastructure preparedness across the country, the statement said.

India has been seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases with the first two weeks of April registering a 400 percent hike. The spike, driven by XBB.1.16, detected first in Maharashtra, has also pushed the test positivity rate (TPR) -- a vital marker in assessing the spread of an outbreak -- to 8.40 per cent on April 16.

It is the highest TPR -- which indicates the percentage of people who are found to be infected by the virus from those who are being tested -- since February 3, 2022, when the third wave driven by Omicron was seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases in India.

ALSO READ | Covid-19 surge: Test positivity rate touches 8.40 per cent, the first time since Feb last year

As per directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a nationwide two-day mock drill for assessment of functional infrastructure was conducted on April 10 and 11.

The status of the mock drill was presented to participants.

Further, the expenditure of Covid-19 vaccination programme and budget provisions for drugs and vaccine raw materials were also reviewed.

The health secretary also informed that states have already been advised that they may take steps for procurement of requisite Covid vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers at their end without any prior approvals from the union health ministry.

They also directed that private hospitals situated in the states may also directly procure such vaccines from the manufacturer.

These vaccines once procured may be administered as per the existing Covid vaccination guidelines.

Mishra highlighted that for managing localized surges, it is essential that sufficient health infrastructure should be available at sub-district level and the same may be ensured in consultation with states.

He further exhorted that the advisories for guiding states should be assessed based on evolving scenarios and updated accordingly.

Further, the attendees deliberated that it is critical to focus on identification of emerging hotspots and states should monitor trends of ILI/SARI cases, send sufficient samples for testing of Covid-19, and ramp up whole Genome Sequencing.

He stressed that the time-tested five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour must continue to be implemented and it was equally crucial to promote awareness within the community regarding COVID appropriate behaviour and caution citizens against complacency.

The meeting was attended by Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary; Dr. Vinod Paul, Member NITI Aayog; T.V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary; S. Aparna, Secretary Pharmaceuticals; Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Civil Aviation; Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH; Rajiv Bahl, Secretary DHR and DG ICMR; Rajesh S Gokhale, Secretary Biotechnology and Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting.

NEW DELHI: In view of the spike in Covid-19 cases across India, a high-level meeting was held by the Prime Ministers Office (PMO) on Wednesday to review the status of preparedness of health infrastructure and logistics, drugs availability and vaccination campaign in the country. The meeting was held by Dr PK Mishra, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, who advised officials to maintain a strict vigil on the Covid-19 situation and take necessary actions to contain the spread of the virus. In the last 24 hours, 38 deaths were recorded, with the maximum deaths reported from Delhi (5) and Chhattisgarh (4). Kerala recorded 11 reconciled deaths. As per health ministry data, India has logged 10,542 new Covid-19 cases, while the active cases have increased to 63,562. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); In the meeting, a comprehensive presentation was made by Secretary, Union Health Ministry Rajesh Bhushan, who highlighted that India has been witnessing a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with majority of cases being reported in eight states -- Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Rajasthan. Further, he said, the sudden increase in the positivity was also highlighted along with the status of tests being conducted in the country, according to a statement issued by the health ministry. In the meeting, a detailed analysis of active cases in these eight states was presented and it was highlighted that approximately 92 percent of the cases are under home isolation. An overview of the Genome Sequencing of different variants since January 2023 was also presented. The status of vaccination was discussed, followed by drug availability and infrastructure preparedness across the country, the statement said. India has been seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases with the first two weeks of April registering a 400 percent hike. The spike, driven by XBB.1.16, detected first in Maharashtra, has also pushed the test positivity rate (TPR) -- a vital marker in assessing the spread of an outbreak -- to 8.40 per cent on April 16. It is the highest TPR -- which indicates the percentage of people who are found to be infected by the virus from those who are being tested -- since February 3, 2022, when the third wave driven by Omicron was seeing a surge in Covid-19 cases in India. ALSO READ | Covid-19 surge: Test positivity rate touches 8.40 per cent, the first time since Feb last year As per directions of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, a nationwide two-day mock drill for assessment of functional infrastructure was conducted on April 10 and 11. The status of the mock drill was presented to participants. Further, the expenditure of Covid-19 vaccination programme and budget provisions for drugs and vaccine raw materials were also reviewed. The health secretary also informed that states have already been advised that they may take steps for procurement of requisite Covid vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers at their end without any prior approvals from the union health ministry. They also directed that private hospitals situated in the states may also directly procure such vaccines from the manufacturer. These vaccines once procured may be administered as per the existing Covid vaccination guidelines. Mishra highlighted that for managing localized surges, it is essential that sufficient health infrastructure should be available at sub-district level and the same may be ensured in consultation with states. He further exhorted that the advisories for guiding states should be assessed based on evolving scenarios and updated accordingly. Further, the attendees deliberated that it is critical to focus on identification of emerging hotspots and states should monitor trends of ILI/SARI cases, send sufficient samples for testing of Covid-19, and ramp up whole Genome Sequencing. He stressed that the time-tested five-fold strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour must continue to be implemented and it was equally crucial to promote awareness within the community regarding COVID appropriate behaviour and caution citizens against complacency. The meeting was attended by Rajiv Gauba, Cabinet Secretary; Dr. Vinod Paul, Member NITI Aayog; T.V. Somanathan, Finance Secretary; S. Aparna, Secretary Pharmaceuticals; Rajiv Bansal, Secretary, Civil Aviation; Rajesh Kotecha, Secretary, AYUSH; Rajiv Bahl, Secretary DHR and DG ICMR; Rajesh S Gokhale, Secretary Biotechnology and Apurva Chandra, Secretary, Information and Broadcasting.
Harpreet Bajwa By

Express News Service

CHANDIGARH: A confrontation is on the cards between the Centre and the Punjab government as the Centre has told the Bhagwant Mann dispensation that it should bring down the Market Development Fee (MDF) from the rate of 3% of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to 2% and that it is considering the

allowance of Rural Development Fund (RDF) at the rate of 3% of the MSP.

However, the cash-strapped state government has written back to the Union government asking for releasing the pending RDF amounting to Rs 2872.40 crore. It says delaying these levies is affecting rural infrastructure and the economy of the state. Punjab receives around Rs 3,600 crore annually on account of these two fees.

Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal referred to Chief Minister Bhagwant Manns January 30 letter on March 27, saying he has had the matter examined. The matter regarding allowance of RDF @ 3% of MSP is under active consideration of the department, said Goyal.

This department has twice (June 29, 2022, and January 5) requested the Punjab government to revisit the existing levies so as to restrict the statutory charges only up to 2% of MSP. Most states have already restricted the claim of their statutory charges to that level, Goyal wrote.

CHANDIGARH: A confrontation is on the cards between the Centre and the Punjab government as the Centre has told the Bhagwant Mann dispensation that it should bring down the Market Development Fee (MDF) from the rate of 3% of the Minimum Support Price (MSP) to 2% and that it is considering the allowance of Rural Development Fund (RDF) at the rate of 3% of the MSP. However, the cash-strapped state government has written back to the Union government asking for releasing the pending RDF amounting to Rs 2872.40 crore. It says delaying these levies is affecting rural infrastructure and the economy of the state. Punjab receives around Rs 3,600 crore annually on account of these two fees.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Union Minister for Food and Public Distribution Piyush Goyal referred to Chief Minister Bhagwant Manns January 30 letter on March 27, saying he has had the matter examined. The matter regarding allowance of RDF @ 3% of MSP is under active consideration of the department, said Goyal. This department has twice (June 29, 2022, and January 5) requested the Punjab government to revisit the existing levies so as to restrict the statutory charges only up to 2% of MSP. Most states have already restricted the claim of their statutory charges to that level, Goyal wrote.
Shruti Kakkar By

Express News Service

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Gujarat government for granting remission to 11 life convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, saying the state should have considered the gravity of the offence before taking the call. Terming the case of a pregnant woman being gang-raped and her relatives murdered as horrendous, Justice K M Joseph said, When you exercise power, it has to be for public good. Specially in this case because crimes are committed against the community... What is the message you are sending? Will you compare a case of murder of a single person with that of 14 helpless people... Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, massacre cannot be compared with single murder. The bench also took strong exception to the Gujarat government and the Centre proposing to file a review petition citing privilege to challenge the courts March 27 direction to produce before it all relevant files on remission.

We are seeking review of the order for producing files and also seeking privilege. Besides, many documents are in Gujarati, they require translation, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju submitted. Justice Joseph retorted, If you dont show us the files, then we will draw our own conclusion. What is the problem in showing us the files today? Youre in contempt if you havent produced it .

What is the difficulty? The court granted them time to decide on filing the review petition and posted the matter for final disposal on May 2. During the hearing, the bench also questioned the extent of parole given to the convicts. Look at the records, one of them was granted parole for 1,000 days that is three years, the other 1,200 days and third is for 1,500 days. What policy have you (Gujarat government) been following? It is not a simple case of Section 302 (murder).

Proportional yardstick

The power of the state government to grant remission is not amenable for judicial review unless manifestly arbitrary. But it should be proportional to crime, the bench observed

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday slammed the Gujarat government for granting remission to 11 life convicts in the Bilkis Bano case, saying the state should have considered the gravity of the offence before taking the call. Terming the case of a pregnant woman being gang-raped and her relatives murdered as horrendous, Justice K M Joseph said, When you exercise power, it has to be for public good. Specially in this case because crimes are committed against the community... What is the message you are sending? Will you compare a case of murder of a single person with that of 14 helpless people... Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, massacre cannot be compared with single murder. The bench also took strong exception to the Gujarat government and the Centre proposing to file a review petition citing privilege to challenge the courts March 27 direction to produce before it all relevant files on remission. We are seeking review of the order for producing files and also seeking privilege. Besides, many documents are in Gujarati, they require translation, Additional Solicitor General S V Raju submitted. Justice Joseph retorted, If you dont show us the files, then we will draw our own conclusion. What is the problem in showing us the files today? Youre in contempt if you havent produced it . What is the difficulty? The court granted them time to decide on filing the review petition and posted the matter for final disposal on May 2. During the hearing, the bench also questioned the extent of parole given to the convicts. Look at the records, one of them was granted parole for 1,000 days that is three years, the other 1,200 days and third is for 1,500 days. What policy have you (Gujarat government) been following? It is not a simple case of Section 302 (murder).googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Proportional yardstick The power of the state government to grant remission is not amenable for judicial review unless manifestly arbitrary. But it should be proportional to crime, the bench observed
We thank our sponsor for making this content possible; it is not written by the editorial staff nor does it necessarily reflect its views.

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Namita Bajpai By

Express News Service

LUCKNOW: A Congress candidate for the upcoming Urban Civic polls put his party in for a major embarrassment when he demanded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country for Atiq Ahmad in Prayagraj on Wednesday.

However, the partys city unit expelled the person from the party with immediate effect.

One Rajkumar Rajju, a Congress candidate from Azad Square ward number 43, referred to Atiq as a martyr who should be accorded due respect and his body should have been wrapped in tricolour while performing his last rites.

Significantly, Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three assailants from point-blank range while being taken for a medical check-up in a police security ring under the jurisdiction of Shahganj police station in Prayagraj on Saturday night.

Rajkumar alias Rajju Bhaiya, who was set to contest upcoming local body polls in Prayagraj on a Congress ticket, was apprehended by the district police after his video clip eulogizing Atiq Ahmed went viral on social media.

Rajju even blamed CM Yogi Adityanaths government for Atiqs killing calling it murder and sought the resignation of CM Yogi over the issue.

Rajju even went a step ahead by substantiating his demand for Bharat Ratna to Atiq, when he asked if former UP CM Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav could be conferred with Padma Vibhushan (posthumously), why the gangster should not get the highest civilian award.

However, after expulsion from Congress for six years, Rajkumars dream to contest the polls went up in smoke. He had fought the local body elections in the past as well.

LUCKNOW: A Congress candidate for the upcoming Urban Civic polls put his party in for a major embarrassment when he demanded Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country for Atiq Ahmad in Prayagraj on Wednesday. However, the partys city unit expelled the person from the party with immediate effect. One Rajkumar Rajju, a Congress candidate from Azad Square ward number 43, referred to Atiq as a martyr who should be accorded due respect and his body should have been wrapped in tricolour while performing his last rites.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Significantly, Atiq and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by three assailants from point-blank range while being taken for a medical check-up in a police security ring under the jurisdiction of Shahganj police station in Prayagraj on Saturday night. Rajkumar alias Rajju Bhaiya, who was set to contest upcoming local body polls in Prayagraj on a Congress ticket, was apprehended by the district police after his video clip eulogizing Atiq Ahmed went viral on social media. Rajju even blamed CM Yogi Adityanaths government for Atiqs killing calling it murder and sought the resignation of CM Yogi over the issue. Rajju even went a step ahead by substantiating his demand for Bharat Ratna to Atiq, when he asked if former UP CM Samajwadi Party patriarch Mulayam Singh Yadav could be conferred with Padma Vibhushan (posthumously), why the gangster should not get the highest civilian award. However, after expulsion from Congress for six years, Rajkumars dream to contest the polls went up in smoke. He had fought the local body elections in the past as well.
By Express News Service

LUCKNOW: After an emergency meeting on Sunday, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) expressed concern over rising hatred in the society and issued an appeal to the Government of India not to pursue the agenda of introducing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). It said it would deprive citizens of the privileges provided to them by Personal Laws and that was against the spirit of the Constitution.

The executive body of the board said in its resolution that implementing UCC was neither relevant nor beneficial for a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country like India. If, taking advantage of its majority in Parliament, the ruling government passes and puts into effect the Uniform Civil Code, it will affect the unity and harmony that bind the nation. It will hinder the country's progress and will not bear any fruitful results either, said the resolution shared by AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Khalid Saif Ullah Rahmani on Sunday.

Members of the AIMPLB executive body, led by Maulana Rabey Hasan Nadwi of Darul Uloom Nadwat ul Ulama, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli, MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and others reiterated that for centuries India had thrived on the strength of integrity and amity among populations comprising innumerable religions, castes and factions, thus upholding the values vested in the Constitution of India.

Touching another sensitive issue, the executive body of the board deliberated upon the Places of Worship Act-1991. The resolution said that the Places of Worship Act 1991 was passed by the Parliament and so was the duty of the Government of India to ensure its proper implementation.

It is in the national interest. Otherwise, it could lead to endless differences among various religious groups. The government must not surrender to the separatist powers and should responsibly safeguard the legal interests of all, said the board in the resolution passed at the meeting.

The executive body also appealed to the highest authorities to put stringent measures in place to control communal hatred being spread across the country before irreparable damage was done to the fabric of social harmony.

Discord, being created, on the path of unity and inclusiveness that was followed by our freedom fighters and makers of the Constitution is opposed, said the resolution passed by the executive body.

The resolution passed by the members further claimed that lawlessness was prevailing in the country and accused were being implicated even before the prosecution and litigation.

Houses built for decades are getting razed. Those holding peaceful demonstrations are framed under the most stringent of laws and are put behind the bars indefinitely. Lawlessness, whether on the part of the citizens or the rulers, is condemnable and all citizens and stakeholders must oppose it strongly.

Expressing its views over the anti-conversion laws enacted in various states including Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states, the board said: Religion and faith are matters of belief and conscience. Constitution honours this as a fundamental right and so everyone has the freedom to follow a religion of his choice. It is unfair to use force or money to influence an individual in this matter. However, in many states, laws have been made as to deprive citizens of this very basic right. This is totally unacceptable. Yet, those who willingly choose to switch from one religion to another are free to do so.

The AIMPLB also appealed to the judiciary of the country to take serious note of injustice being meted out to the weaker sections of society and the minorities. It also claimed that Waqfs were religious properties established by Muslims for the welfare of the community. It was unlawful for any citizen or government to grab waqf properties.

The AIMPLB strongly opposes statements by some public representatives instigating action to deprive Muslims of their waqf properties and appeals to the government to beware of such actions. The Board advises Muslims to take the best and most responsible care of waqf properties. They are also advised to use the waqf properties as much as possible for educational purposes, said the resolution.

The Board, which had opposed the law enacted against triple talaq, also brought the issue into its discourse saying: Nikahnaama authorized by AIMPLB must be used to seal a matrimonial alliance. In the Board's nikahnama, the rights and duties of husband and wife are enumerated with clarity and thus they cut out the incidence of dispute or divorce. Thus, disputes can be resolved with minimum time, effort and money. It added: Muslims should resolve their issues by turning first to the religious heads for advice. Intoxication, adultery, interest in homosexuality, and continuing to live with a divorced spouse are practices that do not befit a true Muslim, nor are enforced by the country's law."

LUCKNOW: After an emergency meeting on Sunday, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB) expressed concern over rising hatred in the society and issued an appeal to the Government of India not to pursue the agenda of introducing a Uniform Civil Code (UCC). It said it would deprive citizens of the privileges provided to them by Personal Laws and that was against the spirit of the Constitution. The executive body of the board said in its resolution that implementing UCC was neither relevant nor beneficial for a multi-religious, multi-cultural and multi-lingual country like India. If, taking advantage of its majority in Parliament, the ruling government passes and puts into effect the Uniform Civil Code, it will affect the unity and harmony that bind the nation. It will hinder the country's progress and will not bear any fruitful results either, said the resolution shared by AIMPLB general secretary Maulana Khalid Saif Ullah Rahmani on Sunday. Members of the AIMPLB executive body, led by Maulana Rabey Hasan Nadwi of Darul Uloom Nadwat ul Ulama, Maulana Khalid Rasheed Firangi Mahli, MP Asaduddin Owaisi, and others reiterated that for centuries India had thrived on the strength of integrity and amity among populations comprising innumerable religions, castes and factions, thus upholding the values vested in the Constitution of India.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Touching another sensitive issue, the executive body of the board deliberated upon the Places of Worship Act-1991. The resolution said that the Places of Worship Act 1991 was passed by the Parliament and so was the duty of the Government of India to ensure its proper implementation. It is in the national interest. Otherwise, it could lead to endless differences among various religious groups. The government must not surrender to the separatist powers and should responsibly safeguard the legal interests of all, said the board in the resolution passed at the meeting. The executive body also appealed to the highest authorities to put stringent measures in place to control communal hatred being spread across the country before irreparable damage was done to the fabric of social harmony. Discord, being created, on the path of unity and inclusiveness that was followed by our freedom fighters and makers of the Constitution is opposed, said the resolution passed by the executive body. The resolution passed by the members further claimed that lawlessness was prevailing in the country and accused were being implicated even before the prosecution and litigation. Houses built for decades are getting razed. Those holding peaceful demonstrations are framed under the most stringent of laws and are put behind the bars indefinitely. Lawlessness, whether on the part of the citizens or the rulers, is condemnable and all citizens and stakeholders must oppose it strongly. Expressing its views over the anti-conversion laws enacted in various states including Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states, the board said: Religion and faith are matters of belief and conscience. Constitution honours this as a fundamental right and so everyone has the freedom to follow a religion of his choice. It is unfair to use force or money to influence an individual in this matter. However, in many states, laws have been made as to deprive citizens of this very basic right. This is totally unacceptable. Yet, those who willingly choose to switch from one religion to another are free to do so. The AIMPLB also appealed to the judiciary of the country to take serious note of injustice being meted out to the weaker sections of society and the minorities. It also claimed that Waqfs were religious properties established by Muslims for the welfare of the community. It was unlawful for any citizen or government to grab waqf properties. The AIMPLB strongly opposes statements by some public representatives instigating action to deprive Muslims of their waqf properties and appeals to the government to beware of such actions. The Board advises Muslims to take the best and most responsible care of waqf properties. They are also advised to use the waqf properties as much as possible for educational purposes, said the resolution. The Board, which had opposed the law enacted against triple talaq, also brought the issue into its discourse saying: Nikahnaama authorized by AIMPLB must be used to seal a matrimonial alliance. In the Board's nikahnama, the rights and duties of husband and wife are enumerated with clarity and thus they cut out the incidence of dispute or divorce. Thus, disputes can be resolved with minimum time, effort and money. It added: Muslims should resolve their issues by turning first to the religious heads for advice. Intoxication, adultery, interest in homosexuality, and continuing to live with a divorced spouse are practices that do not befit a true Muslim, nor are enforced by the country's law."
Makarand R Paranjape By

No sooner than Kirodi Lal Meena, Rajasthan BJP MP, introduced the Uniform Civil Code Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the minority-cum-secularist lobby went into overdrive. Their purpose was clear: to discredit the Bill and him. Slanted headlines appeared in national dailies and portals such as Rajya Sabha chaos over Uniform Civil Code Bill or BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena caused an uproar in the Opposition benches. Despite three attempts to scuttle the Bill, it was successfully introduced after the members voted 63 to 23 in its favour.

What exactly, a concerned citizen might ask, is the uproar about? The first thing to note is that separate personal laws are a legacy of the British empire, which based its administrative strategies on the classical principle of divide et impera or divide and rule. Paradoxically, Goa, which joined the Indian Union in December 1961, is the only state to have a UCCthat too imposed by another colonial power, the Portuguese, as far back as 1867.

Independent India tried to bring in a Uniform Civil Code, which had the backing of both Jawaharlal Nehru, our first prime minister, and B R Ambedkar, our first law minister. What happened instead was that the Hindu Code Bill brought about a uniform civil law on those identified as Hindus, under which term the Constitution also included Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. The Muslims, Christians, and Parsis were left out, much to the detriment of the women who belonged to those communities, as the Shah Bano case later proved. The abolishing of the notoriously unjust practice of triple talaq was only a late attempt to redress some of those ills.

This year, the clamour for the UCC has arisen, either from government quarters or from influential sections, in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and even Kerala. In most cases, the most vociferous opposition has come from minority lobbies such as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which dubbed it an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move, and the usual so-called secular critics. Quite expectedly, foreign media majors have also taken a stance against it as yet another Hindutva impostion.

Coming back to the just introduced Bill, let it be stated on record that this is a private members Bill, not officially backed by any political party. No wonder its detractors are immediately asking: Who is Kirodi Lal Meena? For those who dont know him, this 70-year-old politician is not only a medical graduate with an MBBS, but also widely respected in his state and community, where he has also been conferred with the honorific Baba. What is more, this is the second time that Meena has tried to introduce the Bill. He failed in March 2020, when more or less the same clutch of opposition members threatened to block it. This time, however, he has succeeded.

Meena, of course, belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is also a member of the numerically and politically powerful Meena Scheduled Tribe in Rajasthan. There is a belief that SCs and STs should naturally be minoritarian and therefore oppose Hindutva, Uniform Civil Code, Constitutional Amendment Act, and so on. That Kirodi Lal Meena, quite contrarily, is a proud proponent not only of Meena identity, tribal reclamation of present and past, plus an advocate of Hindutva, makes him automatically malign in the eyes of some. That he was considered a rebel against Vasundhara Raje, former BJP chief minister of his state, and spent almost a decade outside the BJP earlier, has also been used to discredit him. Those who call him a duplicitous pretender easily forget that he has won elections not just to the Rajasthan assembly but also to the Lok Sabha as an independent from Dausa in 2009.

Now let us see what some of the honourable members of our Upper House who opposed the Bill said. Tiruchi Siva of the DMK, who also opposed the Bill in 2020, reportedly said that the very idea of Uniform Civil Code is opposed to secularism. Really? Does he not know that the UCC is Article 44 of our Constitution as a part of its Directive Principles: The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. In other words, according to the Constitution, it is the duty of the Indian republic to introduce and implement the UCC. Does this mean that our very Constitution is opposed to secularism?

In another move to block the Bill, it was claimed that it would disintegrate the country and hurt its diverse culture. Again, the illogic of the opposition to the Bill defies belief. Is the unity of the country underwritten only by differential, some would say preferential, treatment of minorities? Or that Indian diversity really means that communities are treated differently in the eyes of the law? In fact, it is the latter claim that is palpably against the very spirit of the Constitution.

What is wrong with a uniform law, applicable to all citizens regardless of religion or community, in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and so on? I think most Indians would welcome it. UCC does not mean that customary practices will be abolished, but any citizen who feels aggrieved by them can seek justice and redressal rather than having to put up with an oppressive practice. As to local customs in special areas, the Constitution itself provides safeguards, as in Nagaland, Meghalaya, or Mizoram, for example.

A private members Bill does not easily become law. It goes into the cold storage box of pending Bills, only taken up later for discussions if it is selected by another ballot. But there is a groundswell of opinion being mobilised in its favour across the country. And, if we go by the quotation famously attributed to Victor Hugo: No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. So, let us face it: this is an idea whose time has come.

Makarand R Paranjape

Professor of English at JNU

(Views are personal)

(Tweets @MakrandParanspe)

No sooner than Kirodi Lal Meena, Rajasthan BJP MP, introduced the Uniform Civil Code Bill in the Rajya Sabha, the minority-cum-secularist lobby went into overdrive. Their purpose was clear: to discredit the Bill and him. Slanted headlines appeared in national dailies and portals such as Rajya Sabha chaos over Uniform Civil Code Bill or BJP Rajya Sabha MP Kirodi Lal Meena caused an uproar in the Opposition benches. Despite three attempts to scuttle the Bill, it was successfully introduced after the members voted 63 to 23 in its favour. What exactly, a concerned citizen might ask, is the uproar about? The first thing to note is that separate personal laws are a legacy of the British empire, which based its administrative strategies on the classical principle of divide et impera or divide and rule. Paradoxically, Goa, which joined the Indian Union in December 1961, is the only state to have a UCCthat too imposed by another colonial power, the Portuguese, as far back as 1867. Independent India tried to bring in a Uniform Civil Code, which had the backing of both Jawaharlal Nehru, our first prime minister, and B R Ambedkar, our first law minister. What happened instead was that the Hindu Code Bill brought about a uniform civil law on those identified as Hindus, under which term the Constitution also included Sikhs, Buddhists, and Jains. The Muslims, Christians, and Parsis were left out, much to the detriment of the women who belonged to those communities, as the Shah Bano case later proved. The abolishing of the notoriously unjust practice of triple talaq was only a late attempt to redress some of those ills.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); This year, the clamour for the UCC has arisen, either from government quarters or from influential sections, in several states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Gujarat, and even Kerala. In most cases, the most vociferous opposition has come from minority lobbies such as the All India Muslim Personal Law Board (AIMPLB), which dubbed it an unconstitutional and anti-minorities move, and the usual so-called secular critics. Quite expectedly, foreign media majors have also taken a stance against it as yet another Hindutva impostion. Coming back to the just introduced Bill, let it be stated on record that this is a private members Bill, not officially backed by any political party. No wonder its detractors are immediately asking: Who is Kirodi Lal Meena? For those who dont know him, this 70-year-old politician is not only a medical graduate with an MBBS, but also widely respected in his state and community, where he has also been conferred with the honorific Baba. What is more, this is the second time that Meena has tried to introduce the Bill. He failed in March 2020, when more or less the same clutch of opposition members threatened to block it. This time, however, he has succeeded. Meena, of course, belongs to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He is also a member of the numerically and politically powerful Meena Scheduled Tribe in Rajasthan. There is a belief that SCs and STs should naturally be minoritarian and therefore oppose Hindutva, Uniform Civil Code, Constitutional Amendment Act, and so on. That Kirodi Lal Meena, quite contrarily, is a proud proponent not only of Meena identity, tribal reclamation of present and past, plus an advocate of Hindutva, makes him automatically malign in the eyes of some. That he was considered a rebel against Vasundhara Raje, former BJP chief minister of his state, and spent almost a decade outside the BJP earlier, has also been used to discredit him. Those who call him a duplicitous pretender easily forget that he has won elections not just to the Rajasthan assembly but also to the Lok Sabha as an independent from Dausa in 2009. Now let us see what some of the honourable members of our Upper House who opposed the Bill said. Tiruchi Siva of the DMK, who also opposed the Bill in 2020, reportedly said that the very idea of Uniform Civil Code is opposed to secularism. Really? Does he not know that the UCC is Article 44 of our Constitution as a part of its Directive Principles: The State shall endeavour to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India. In other words, according to the Constitution, it is the duty of the Indian republic to introduce and implement the UCC. Does this mean that our very Constitution is opposed to secularism? In another move to block the Bill, it was claimed that it would disintegrate the country and hurt its diverse culture. Again, the illogic of the opposition to the Bill defies belief. Is the unity of the country underwritten only by differential, some would say preferential, treatment of minorities? Or that Indian diversity really means that communities are treated differently in the eyes of the law? In fact, it is the latter claim that is palpably against the very spirit of the Constitution. What is wrong with a uniform law, applicable to all citizens regardless of religion or community, in matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption, and so on? I think most Indians would welcome it. UCC does not mean that customary practices will be abolished, but any citizen who feels aggrieved by them can seek justice and redressal rather than having to put up with an oppressive practice. As to local customs in special areas, the Constitution itself provides safeguards, as in Nagaland, Meghalaya, or Mizoram, for example. A private members Bill does not easily become law. It goes into the cold storage box of pending Bills, only taken up later for discussions if it is selected by another ballot. But there is a groundswell of opinion being mobilised in its favour across the country. And, if we go by the quotation famously attributed to Victor Hugo: No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. So, let us face it: this is an idea whose time has come. Makarand R Paranjape Professor of English at JNU (Views are personal) (Tweets @MakrandParanspe)
Bhupesh Baghel By

In a democratic system, it is common practice for political parties to hurl accusations at the opposition. But if the prime minister of a nation makes a statement, then it becomes quite natural to expect factual accuracy and seriousness in it. It is unfortunate that our honourable prime minister, motivated by trivial politics, makes statements that are far from the truth.

The prime minister and other senior BJP leaders say that there has been no development in the last 70 years and no achievement whatsoever. This accusation is non-factual. Its been 76 years since our nation achieved Independence. In these 76 years, Congress has had only 55 years of governance, while the tenure of BJP and the parties operating through BJPs support has been of approximately 19 years.

Out of 21 years, the tenure of the BJP and other parties has been of 19 years. The honourable prime minister, being in his state of vanity, has also started considering the tenures of the venerable Atal Bihari Vajpayee as devoid of achievements.

Till the start of the 18th century, Indias GDP was the highest among all nations. The nation had approximately a one-fourth share in the total GDP of the world. Over time, the British rule of 200 years emptied the countrys economy. The commercialisation of Indian agriculture was done to provide raw materials to the British industries, becoming the cause for ruin of the farmers. It was as a result of British colonial activities that India was one of the worlds poorest countries at the time of Independence. There was a huge crisis of food grains in India and we were dependent on other nations for feeding our population of 34 crore. About 80 per cent of the countrys public was below the poverty line and 90 per cent of people were illiterate. Industrial production and energy production were nominal.

Due to the lack of resources, reconstructing the nation was quite challenging. As overcoming the food crisis was a matter that needed to be given the highest priority, the greatest emphasis was laid on the development of agriculture in the First Five-Year Plan (19511956). During the Second Five-Year Plan (19561961), heavy and basic industries were established.

In these ten years, dams like Bhakra Nangal and Hirakud were constructed. The foundations of steel plants in Bhilai, Durgapur, Rourkela and Bokaro were laid. Works related to education and scientific research along with agriculture and industrial development were also conducted. Famous and dignified institutes like IIT (1950), AIIMS (1956) and IIM (1961) were established. BARC was established for the development of nuclear power. Similarly, ISRO for the development of space science and DRDO for the development of defence research were also established. With the Green Revolution in the Sixties, the path of self-reliance in food grain production was paved. To encourage milk production in India, a program called Operation Flood was started. In 1975, Indias first space satellite was successfully launched. After the successful nuclear testing in Pokhran in 1998, India became the sixth nation to join the nuclear club.

During the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi, the digital revolution started. The use of computers and the establishment of PCOs in villages heralded the Communication Revolution.

It is noteworthy that the BJP strongly opposed the production of computers and their use in the country stating that it would lead to unemployment. Today, while Modi wants to take credit for the Digital Revolution, the truth remains unchanged. Rajiv Gandhi conducted many historical works such as giving constitutional status to local government bodies, conferring voting rights at 18 years of age, and one-third reservation for women.

Historical schemes and works like MGNREGA, Aadhar Card, mobile and internet, debt remission for farmers, Right to Information, Right to Education, forest rights, Patta distribution, Midday meal program, Rural Health Mission, rural electrification, food security law, successful launching of the Agni missile, eight crore new gas connections, housing for two crore poor people, seven new AIIMS hospitals, 31 crore new bank accounts, bonus on agricultural produce, farmer insurance, hoisting the Tricolor on the moon, 30 lakh km village roads, 80,000 km of new highways, and launching metros in 10 citieswere all conducted during Dr Manmohan Singhs tenure and before Modi became the PM.

The comparative statistics of the years 1947 and 2014 under various socio-economic indices can be understood through the following analysis: The total population of India in 1947 was 34 crore, which grew to 127 crore in 2014. The literacy rate was 12 per cent earlier, and 80 per cent in 2014. The average life span increased from 34 years to 68 years. The number of colleges and universities increased from 496 and 20 to 34,452 and 740 respectively. The number of engineering colleges and medical colleges rose from 36 and 19 to 3,345 and 387 respectively. The annual income per person increased from 274 to 72,805. There was a significant rise in GDP, from 2.7 lakh crore in 1947 to 130 lakh crore in 2014. In 1947, 80 per cent of the population was Below Poverty Line, which decreased to 21.6 per cent in 2014. The production of agricultural produce, electricity, cement and steel has grown from five crore to 26 crore tonnes, 1,362 MW to 2.37 lakh MW, 21.5 MT to 280 MT, and 1 to 87.67 MT respectively.

The aforementioned analysis proves that there has been holistic progress in the nation in all fields from 1947 to 2014. The hard work of citizens deserves credit for this.

All previous governments have contributed to the progress of the nation. Even though the BJP leaders, while being inspired by petty politics, dont give due credit to former governments for the said achievements, the PM cannot be conferred with the right to say that the nations history in the last 70 years has been devoid of achievements. It would be appropriate for Modi to promote the achievements of his tenure and stop the criticism of the tenure of previous governments.

The BJP leaders, under a devious strategy, are committed to false propaganda, so that by lying to the public again and again, people start believing that there has been no progress in the last 76 years and the only credit for the achievements of the nation today goes to Mr Modi. This lie told by the BJP is extremely reprehensible.

(Views are personal)

Bhupesh Baghel

Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh

In a democratic system, it is common practice for political parties to hurl accusations at the opposition. But if the prime minister of a nation makes a statement, then it becomes quite natural to expect factual accuracy and seriousness in it. It is unfortunate that our honourable prime minister, motivated by trivial politics, makes statements that are far from the truth. The prime minister and other senior BJP leaders say that there has been no development in the last 70 years and no achievement whatsoever. This accusation is non-factual. Its been 76 years since our nation achieved Independence. In these 76 years, Congress has had only 55 years of governance, while the tenure of BJP and the parties operating through BJPs support has been of approximately 19 years. Out of 21 years, the tenure of the BJP and other parties has been of 19 years. The honourable prime minister, being in his state of vanity, has also started considering the tenures of the venerable Atal Bihari Vajpayee as devoid of achievements.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Till the start of the 18th century, Indias GDP was the highest among all nations. The nation had approximately a one-fourth share in the total GDP of the world. Over time, the British rule of 200 years emptied the countrys economy. The commercialisation of Indian agriculture was done to provide raw materials to the British industries, becoming the cause for ruin of the farmers. It was as a result of British colonial activities that India was one of the worlds poorest countries at the time of Independence. There was a huge crisis of food grains in India and we were dependent on other nations for feeding our population of 34 crore. About 80 per cent of the countrys public was below the poverty line and 90 per cent of people were illiterate. Industrial production and energy production were nominal. Due to the lack of resources, reconstructing the nation was quite challenging. As overcoming the food crisis was a matter that needed to be given the highest priority, the greatest emphasis was laid on the development of agriculture in the First Five-Year Plan (19511956). During the Second Five-Year Plan (19561961), heavy and basic industries were established. In these ten years, dams like Bhakra Nangal and Hirakud were constructed. The foundations of steel plants in Bhilai, Durgapur, Rourkela and Bokaro were laid. Works related to education and scientific research along with agriculture and industrial development were also conducted. Famous and dignified institutes like IIT (1950), AIIMS (1956) and IIM (1961) were established. BARC was established for the development of nuclear power. Similarly, ISRO for the development of space science and DRDO for the development of defence research were also established. With the Green Revolution in the Sixties, the path of self-reliance in food grain production was paved. To encourage milk production in India, a program called Operation Flood was started. In 1975, Indias first space satellite was successfully launched. After the successful nuclear testing in Pokhran in 1998, India became the sixth nation to join the nuclear club. During the tenure of Rajiv Gandhi, the digital revolution started. The use of computers and the establishment of PCOs in villages heralded the Communication Revolution. It is noteworthy that the BJP strongly opposed the production of computers and their use in the country stating that it would lead to unemployment. Today, while Modi wants to take credit for the Digital Revolution, the truth remains unchanged. Rajiv Gandhi conducted many historical works such as giving constitutional status to local government bodies, conferring voting rights at 18 years of age, and one-third reservation for women. Historical schemes and works like MGNREGA, Aadhar Card, mobile and internet, debt remission for farmers, Right to Information, Right to Education, forest rights, Patta distribution, Midday meal program, Rural Health Mission, rural electrification, food security law, successful launching of the Agni missile, eight crore new gas connections, housing for two crore poor people, seven new AIIMS hospitals, 31 crore new bank accounts, bonus on agricultural produce, farmer insurance, hoisting the Tricolor on the moon, 30 lakh km village roads, 80,000 km of new highways, and launching metros in 10 citieswere all conducted during Dr Manmohan Singhs tenure and before Modi became the PM. The comparative statistics of the years 1947 and 2014 under various socio-economic indices can be understood through the following analysis: The total population of India in 1947 was 34 crore, which grew to 127 crore in 2014. The literacy rate was 12 per cent earlier, and 80 per cent in 2014. The average life span increased from 34 years to 68 years. The number of colleges and universities increased from 496 and 20 to 34,452 and 740 respectively. The number of engineering colleges and medical colleges rose from 36 and 19 to 3,345 and 387 respectively. The annual income per person increased from 274 to 72,805. There was a significant rise in GDP, from 2.7 lakh crore in 1947 to 130 lakh crore in 2014. In 1947, 80 per cent of the population was Below Poverty Line, which decreased to 21.6 per cent in 2014. The production of agricultural produce, electricity, cement and steel has grown from five crore to 26 crore tonnes, 1,362 MW to 2.37 lakh MW, 21.5 MT to 280 MT, and 1 to 87.67 MT respectively. The aforementioned analysis proves that there has been holistic progress in the nation in all fields from 1947 to 2014. The hard work of citizens deserves credit for this. All previous governments have contributed to the progress of the nation. Even though the BJP leaders, while being inspired by petty politics, dont give due credit to former governments for the said achievements, the PM cannot be conferred with the right to say that the nations history in the last 70 years has been devoid of achievements. It would be appropriate for Modi to promote the achievements of his tenure and stop the criticism of the tenure of previous governments. The BJP leaders, under a devious strategy, are committed to false propaganda, so that by lying to the public again and again, people start believing that there has been no progress in the last 76 years and the only credit for the achievements of the nation today goes to Mr Modi. This lie told by the BJP is extremely reprehensible. (Views are personal) Bhupesh Baghel Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh
Looking at the rising political heat in Andhra Pradesh, one might mistakenly think that the state is headed for elections. The opposition TDP has already given a clarion call to its cadre to be ready for the battle of the ballot any time while the ruling YSRC has embarked on what is touted to be the largest public outreach exercise in the countryto not only galvanise its members but also interact with each and every household in the state. Assembly elections are due next year, but there is clearly a sense of urgency on both sides.

What seems to have compelled them to go head to head on the ground are recent political developments such as the TDP victory in the graduate MLC elections and the ruling partys increasing troubles. The latter had had to deal with a few dissidents and unnecessarily overplayed its hand, losing a few MLC polls that it shouldnt have gotten into in the first place. In hindsight, it was a strategic mistake. On top of it, the CBI probe into YSRs brother Y S Vivekananda Reddys murder case is casting a shadow on the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. It is up to the court to decide the case, but its political implications cannot be brushed aside. Though Chief Minister Jagan is in no way connected to it, the opposition has accused him of having a direct hand behind the death of the former MP and is taking forward its narrative of demonic rule to the people. In short, the TDP smells blood and is going for the kill. The YSRCs latest programme, Jagannanne Maa Bhavishyathu (Jagan is our future), reached 78 lakh households in the last 11 days.The objective is to check directly with voters if welfare schemes are reaching their doorstep.

There is a critical difference between the approaches of both parties. The YSRC is focused on its welfare agenda. The TDP, on the other hand, is bombarding the ruling party with its artillery of allegations and underscoring the lack of tangible development. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is on whirlwind tours these days, even as his son continues his padayatra. Watching from the sidelines is the BJP, a fringe party with undue influence on all the others, thanks to its government at the Centre. Its strategy is to weaken the YSRC and TDP and it may finally decide the outcome of the 2024 polls.

Looking at the rising political heat in Andhra Pradesh, one might mistakenly think that the state is headed for elections. The opposition TDP has already given a clarion call to its cadre to be ready for the battle of the ballot any time while the ruling YSRC has embarked on what is touted to be the largest public outreach exercise in the countryto not only galvanise its members but also interact with each and every household in the state. Assembly elections are due next year, but there is clearly a sense of urgency on both sides. What seems to have compelled them to go head to head on the ground are recent political developments such as the TDP victory in the graduate MLC elections and the ruling partys increasing troubles. The latter had had to deal with a few dissidents and unnecessarily overplayed its hand, losing a few MLC polls that it shouldnt have gotten into in the first place. In hindsight, it was a strategic mistake. On top of it, the CBI probe into YSRs brother Y S Vivekananda Reddys murder case is casting a shadow on the Jagan Mohan Reddy government. It is up to the court to decide the case, but its political implications cannot be brushed aside. Though Chief Minister Jagan is in no way connected to it, the opposition has accused him of having a direct hand behind the death of the former MP and is taking forward its narrative of demonic rule to the people. In short, the TDP smells blood and is going for the kill. The YSRCs latest programme, Jagannanne Maa Bhavishyathu (Jagan is our future), reached 78 lakh households in the last 11 days.The objective is to check directly with voters if welfare schemes are reaching their doorstep. There is a critical difference between the approaches of both parties. The YSRC is focused on its welfare agenda. The TDP, on the other hand, is bombarding the ruling party with its artillery of allegations and underscoring the lack of tangible development. TDP chief N Chandrababu Naidu is on whirlwind tours these days, even as his son continues his padayatra. Watching from the sidelines is the BJP, a fringe party with undue influence on all the others, thanks to its government at the Centre. Its strategy is to weaken the YSRC and TDP and it may finally decide the outcome of the 2024 polls.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });
Call it a calculated risk or sheer gamble against anti-incumbency, with BJP giving tickets to 72 new faces to contest by denying the tried-and-tested warhorses of the party, rebellion is brewing among its ranks in Karnataka. It appears to have put the party in a spot ahead of the May 10 polls. The latest tectonic shift involving former chief minister Jagadish Shettar quitting BJP and joining Congress over being denied a ticket to contest from his constituency Hubballi-Dharwad Central has boosted the Grand Old Partys confidence. Shettar is now armed with a Congress ticket for the same constituency. The party hopes to cash in on the Lingayat wave to boost its seat tally following Lingayat leader Shettars move into the party fold. The party is hoping to see the Lingayats (constituting 20% of the states population) turning against the BJP and gravitating towards the Congress. They are looking at benefits not just in the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency but in at least 2025 adjoining ones. The Congress hopes to bag 140-plus seats in the House of 224.

However, the BJP leaders are expressing confidence in winning 130140 seats despite the latest developments, which saw six seasoned BJP leaders quitting the party within a week. This included former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi (also a Lingayat leader) and Shettar. Savadi joined the Congress earlier and was given a ticket to contest from Athani, which the BJP had denied him. Bringing in new faces was BJPs successful experiment in Gujarat in its December 2022 polls. The gamble worked there but did not appear to do so here. Senior BJP leaders had not expected a rebellion of this scale.

JD(S), regarding candidate selection and outreach, is doing better than Congress and BJP. It is fairly successful in overcoming the family- and sub-region-centric party tag. It has gone beyond its family to field a party worker in its bastion, Hassan, and is trying to make gains beyond the Old Mysuru region.

Senior BJP central leaders are in Karnataka to stop rebels from quitting the party and convince them about the importance of new faces to contest. It remains to be seen whether voters in constituencies whose leaders have quit the party to contest independently or from another party will vote for the leader or the ideology. The BJP is hoping for the latter and the Modi Magic to swing it their way when Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his rallies in the state.

Call it a calculated risk or sheer gamble against anti-incumbency, with BJP giving tickets to 72 new faces to contest by denying the tried-and-tested warhorses of the party, rebellion is brewing among its ranks in Karnataka. It appears to have put the party in a spot ahead of the May 10 polls. The latest tectonic shift involving former chief minister Jagadish Shettar quitting BJP and joining Congress over being denied a ticket to contest from his constituency Hubballi-Dharwad Central has boosted the Grand Old Partys confidence. Shettar is now armed with a Congress ticket for the same constituency. The party hopes to cash in on the Lingayat wave to boost its seat tally following Lingayat leader Shettars move into the party fold. The party is hoping to see the Lingayats (constituting 20% of the states population) turning against the BJP and gravitating towards the Congress. They are looking at benefits not just in the Hubballi-Dharwad Central constituency but in at least 2025 adjoining ones. The Congress hopes to bag 140-plus seats in the House of 224. However, the BJP leaders are expressing confidence in winning 130140 seats despite the latest developments, which saw six seasoned BJP leaders quitting the party within a week. This included former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi (also a Lingayat leader) and Shettar. Savadi joined the Congress earlier and was given a ticket to contest from Athani, which the BJP had denied him. Bringing in new faces was BJPs successful experiment in Gujarat in its December 2022 polls. The gamble worked there but did not appear to do so here. Senior BJP leaders had not expected a rebellion of this scale. JD(S), regarding candidate selection and outreach, is doing better than Congress and BJP. It is fairly successful in overcoming the family- and sub-region-centric party tag. It has gone beyond its family to field a party worker in its bastion, Hassan, and is trying to make gains beyond the Old Mysuru region. Senior BJP central leaders are in Karnataka to stop rebels from quitting the party and convince them about the importance of new faces to contest. It remains to be seen whether voters in constituencies whose leaders have quit the party to contest independently or from another party will vote for the leader or the ideology. The BJP is hoping for the latter and the Modi Magic to swing it their way when Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his rallies in the state.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); });
By Express News Service

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday expressed confidence that Lingayat voters will back BJP in the May 10 Assembly elections. Congress might have taken some BJP leaders, but it cant take away our voters, he told reporters in Bengaluru.

As long as BS Yediyurappa is with BJP, Lingayat votes will remain with the party, he said, indicating that former CM Jagadish Shettar joining Congress will have no impact on BJP.

Bommai said Shettar has joined a party that expelled former chief ministers Veerendra Patil, D Devaraj Urs and S Bangarappa. Congress has now welcomed Shettar, but once the Assembly elections are over, it will humiliate him.

On Shettars allegation that the BJP leadership had sidelined him, Bommai said that when someone is leaving the party they have to give some reasons.

This is Shettars one such reason, which is not acceptable. In the past 25 years, the party has given him prominent posts and positions and has also made him CM. There is no question of the party sidelining Shettar, he added.

BENGALURU: Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Monday expressed confidence that Lingayat voters will back BJP in the May 10 Assembly elections. Congress might have taken some BJP leaders, but it cant take away our voters, he told reporters in Bengaluru. As long as BS Yediyurappa is with BJP, Lingayat votes will remain with the party, he said, indicating that former CM Jagadish Shettar joining Congress will have no impact on BJP. Bommai said Shettar has joined a party that expelled former chief ministers Veerendra Patil, D Devaraj Urs and S Bangarappa. Congress has now welcomed Shettar, but once the Assembly elections are over, it will humiliate him. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); On Shettars allegation that the BJP leadership had sidelined him, Bommai said that when someone is leaving the party they have to give some reasons. This is Shettars one such reason, which is not acceptable. In the past 25 years, the party has given him prominent posts and positions and has also made him CM. There is no question of the party sidelining Shettar, he added.
Bansy Kalappa By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: Is the BJP failing in its narrative of keeping the Lingayat support intact like it did in 2018? The Lingayat community votes were overwhelmingly cornered by the BJP in that election as the party harped on Congress breaking religion (dharma odeyuva) narrative. But this time, the party looks more vulnerable and may not get the consolidated support of the community, now that former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi have exited the party.

Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha Secretary Renuka Prasanna told TNIE, The community support for BJP that eroded after BS Yediyurappa stepped down in pain will reduce further after Shettar exited, again in pain.

ALSO READ | Karnataka polls: BJP brass upset over Lingayat vote mess

BJP MLC AH Vishwanath alleged, There is a hidden agenda in RSS to finish off the leadership among Lingayats and Vokkaligas. After Shettar revealed that BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh was behind the denial of ticket to him, a senior BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said, What Santhosh did was wrong. Mahesh Tenginkai (who has been given the BJP ticket from the Hubballi-Dharwad Central that was represented by Shettar) is a follower of Santhosh.

Tenginkai himself was not keen on the ticket. It is obvious that Santhosh wanted to dispose of Shettar. In all this, Shettars penance of 40 years in politics, considering that he comes from a family of pucca Jan Sangh-RSS, is lost. Shettars father was a mayor and his uncle too was in politics. The chief gainer seems to be Santosh, while both Yediyurappa and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai are at his mercy. They were not allowed to expand the cabinet and they also suffered other restrictions placed by Santhosh. They are helpless in this situation.

In the 2018 polls, Congress won 38% votes, 1.5% more than BJP. In as many as 28 seats, the party won with margins of less than 10,000 votes. Even if there is a small erosion of Lingayat votes, it could be difficult for BJP to win these seats, experts said. Lingayats, with around 17-20% vote share, are a force in nearly 150 constituencies.

Political analyst B S Murthy said, The way they dealt with Shettar is nothing but manipulation. There will be a backlash.

BENGALURU: Is the BJP failing in its narrative of keeping the Lingayat support intact like it did in 2018? The Lingayat community votes were overwhelmingly cornered by the BJP in that election as the party harped on Congress breaking religion (dharma odeyuva) narrative. But this time, the party looks more vulnerable and may not get the consolidated support of the community, now that former chief minister Jagadish Shettar and former deputy chief minister Laxman Savadi have exited the party. Akhila Bharatha Veerashaiva Mahasabha Secretary Renuka Prasanna told TNIE, The community support for BJP that eroded after BS Yediyurappa stepped down in pain will reduce further after Shettar exited, again in pain. ALSO READ | Karnataka polls: BJP brass upset over Lingayat vote messgoogletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); BJP MLC AH Vishwanath alleged, There is a hidden agenda in RSS to finish off the leadership among Lingayats and Vokkaligas. After Shettar revealed that BJP national general secretary BL Santhosh was behind the denial of ticket to him, a senior BJP leader, who did not want to be named, said, What Santhosh did was wrong. Mahesh Tenginkai (who has been given the BJP ticket from the Hubballi-Dharwad Central that was represented by Shettar) is a follower of Santhosh. Tenginkai himself was not keen on the ticket. It is obvious that Santhosh wanted to dispose of Shettar. In all this, Shettars penance of 40 years in politics, considering that he comes from a family of pucca Jan Sangh-RSS, is lost. Shettars father was a mayor and his uncle too was in politics. The chief gainer seems to be Santosh, while both Yediyurappa and Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai are at his mercy. They were not allowed to expand the cabinet and they also suffered other restrictions placed by Santhosh. They are helpless in this situation. In the 2018 polls, Congress won 38% votes, 1.5% more than BJP. In as many as 28 seats, the party won with margins of less than 10,000 votes. Even if there is a small erosion of Lingayat votes, it could be difficult for BJP to win these seats, experts said. Lingayats, with around 17-20% vote share, are a force in nearly 150 constituencies. Political analyst B S Murthy said, The way they dealt with Shettar is nothing but manipulation. There will be a backlash.
Bala Chauhan By

Express News Service

BENGALURU: The exit of top Lingayat leaders - former CM Jagadish Shettar and former DCM Laxman Savadi - have reportedly dented BJPs Lingayat vote bank on which the party heavily banks and the central leadership is not very happy about the recent developments, informed sources said.

ALSO READ | BJPs Lingayat base shaky after high-profile exits?

The ground reports post Savadi and Shettar exits are not very encouraging and the BJP high command is reportedly upset over the gross miscalculation, which may have led to the latest debacle. The party is now working on damage control and heavily banking on former CM and Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa to regain some of the lost ground with the community, said sources.

ALSO READ | Congress against development of Lingayats, says Basavaraj Bommai

Though Yediyurappa had single-handedly garnered the trust and support of the Lingayats, which brought BJP to power, the community, which had voted for the individual and not the party, may not vote for the saffron party this time because they know that Yediyurappa will neither become CM nor be given any significant role in the state after the Assembly elections.

The Lingayats may instead like to go with the Congress party and put their might behind MB Patil, who has strong chances of becoming CM or at least DCM if the party wins the mandate this time, said party insiders.

BJP leaders from the Lingayat community, Jagadish Shettar(L) and Laxman Savadi. (Photo | Express)

Patil recently announced that he too is a CM aspirant along with KPCC president DK Shivakumar and CLP leader Siddaramaiah. Sources said that Shettars press conference in which he spoke about his humiliation by the BJP leadership in his unblemished political career has not gone down well with the Lingayats.

READ HERE | Former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar blames B L Santhosh for his exit frm BJP

He tried very hard to remain in BJP

He literally wept before quitting BJP. He didnt want to leave the party and tried very hard, knocking on all possible doors for a ticket. He waited till Sunday midnight. Next morning, he joined the Congress. He is a soft spoken, amiable man, but a strong decision maker. The Congress in no time turned Shettars insult into its election strategy and is building a narrative around insult to Lingayats to appease the dominant community, the sources said.

Shettar, a six-time MLA, former CM, leader of opposition in the Assembly, ex-speaker and party president joined the Congress on April 17 after BJP denied him ticket for Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat.

CONG FIELDS SAVANUR AGAINST BOMMAI

The Congress on Tuesday released its fourth list of seven candidates for the Karnataka elections, fielding Mohammed Yousuf Savanur against CM Basavaraj Bommai from Shiggaon

BENGALURU: The exit of top Lingayat leaders - former CM Jagadish Shettar and former DCM Laxman Savadi - have reportedly dented BJPs Lingayat vote bank on which the party heavily banks and the central leadership is not very happy about the recent developments, informed sources said. ALSO READ | BJPs Lingayat base shaky after high-profile exits? The ground reports post Savadi and Shettar exits are not very encouraging and the BJP high command is reportedly upset over the gross miscalculation, which may have led to the latest debacle. The party is now working on damage control and heavily banking on former CM and Lingayat strongman BS Yediyurappa to regain some of the lost ground with the community, said sources.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); ALSO READ | Congress against development of Lingayats, says Basavaraj Bommai Though Yediyurappa had single-handedly garnered the trust and support of the Lingayats, which brought BJP to power, the community, which had voted for the individual and not the party, may not vote for the saffron party this time because they know that Yediyurappa will neither become CM nor be given any significant role in the state after the Assembly elections. The Lingayats may instead like to go with the Congress party and put their might behind MB Patil, who has strong chances of becoming CM or at least DCM if the party wins the mandate this time, said party insiders. BJP leaders from the Lingayat community, Jagadish Shettar(L) and Laxman Savadi. (Photo | Express) Patil recently announced that he too is a CM aspirant along with KPCC president DK Shivakumar and CLP leader Siddaramaiah. Sources said that Shettars press conference in which he spoke about his humiliation by the BJP leadership in his unblemished political career has not gone down well with the Lingayats. READ HERE | Former Karnataka CM Jagadish Shettar blames B L Santhosh for his exit frm BJP He tried very hard to remain in BJP He literally wept before quitting BJP. He didnt want to leave the party and tried very hard, knocking on all possible doors for a ticket. He waited till Sunday midnight. Next morning, he joined the Congress. He is a soft spoken, amiable man, but a strong decision maker. The Congress in no time turned Shettars insult into its election strategy and is building a narrative around insult to Lingayats to appease the dominant community, the sources said. Shettar, a six-time MLA, former CM, leader of opposition in the Assembly, ex-speaker and party president joined the Congress on April 17 after BJP denied him ticket for Hubballi-Dharwad Central seat. CONG FIELDS SAVANUR AGAINST BOMMAI The Congress on Tuesday released its fourth list of seven candidates for the Karnataka elections, fielding Mohammed Yousuf Savanur against CM Basavaraj Bommai from Shiggaon
By Express News Service

CHENNAI: Nearly 50 per cent of interstate and intrastate migrant women workers have experienced some form of harassment and abuse from their supervisors or male workers, according to a study conducted by READ, an NGO, to assess the plight of female migrant workers post-Covid in the textile industry in Tiruppur.

Even though many women said that they faced some form of harassment, only 20 per cent of interstate workers and 50 per cent of intrastate workers said that internal committees (ICs) had been formed in their workplaces to look into cases of harassment and sexual abuse.

The study is based on interviews with 120 interstate and 80 intrastate women workers in Tiruppur district. Of them, 49 per cent were interstate workers are from Odisha, 14 per cent from Bihar and 12 per cent from West Bengal. More than 50 per cent of the workers belonged to SC/ST communities.

Of the female migrants interviewed, only 12 per cent have had some form of wage increase after they returned post the pandemic. While interstate workers earn Rs 9,000 on average, intrastate workers earn Rs 11,000. The study also showed that most of them are paid only single wages for overtime.

Speaking about the recommendations to the government, R Karuppusamy of READ said that the government should maintain the details of migrant workers in the state.

"The issue of migrant workers should be seen from a human rights perspective. They should ensure they get benefits like ESI and PF. Photo identity cards should be issued to them and their work contract should be explained to them. The government should also ensure the formation of ICs in workplaces across the state," he said.

R Vidyasagar, a former child protection specialist at UNICEF, who was also part of the study, said that Tamil Nadu should become a model state by creating a law for the protection of migrant workers during the release of the report.

CHENNAI: Nearly 50 per cent of interstate and intrastate migrant women workers have experienced some form of harassment and abuse from their supervisors or male workers, according to a study conducted by READ, an NGO, to assess the plight of female migrant workers post-Covid in the textile industry in Tiruppur. Even though many women said that they faced some form of harassment, only 20 per cent of interstate workers and 50 per cent of intrastate workers said that internal committees (ICs) had been formed in their workplaces to look into cases of harassment and sexual abuse. The study is based on interviews with 120 interstate and 80 intrastate women workers in Tiruppur district. Of them, 49 per cent were interstate workers are from Odisha, 14 per cent from Bihar and 12 per cent from West Bengal. More than 50 per cent of the workers belonged to SC/ST communities.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Of the female migrants interviewed, only 12 per cent have had some form of wage increase after they returned post the pandemic. While interstate workers earn Rs 9,000 on average, intrastate workers earn Rs 11,000. The study also showed that most of them are paid only single wages for overtime. Speaking about the recommendations to the government, R Karuppusamy of READ said that the government should maintain the details of migrant workers in the state. "The issue of migrant workers should be seen from a human rights perspective. They should ensure they get benefits like ESI and PF. Photo identity cards should be issued to them and their work contract should be explained to them. The government should also ensure the formation of ICs in workplaces across the state," he said. R Vidyasagar, a former child protection specialist at UNICEF, who was also part of the study, said that Tamil Nadu should become a model state by creating a law for the protection of migrant workers during the release of the report.
Tennessee's Attorney General says he will not prosecute people 18 years old or older who carry guns without a permit, reports Action News 5.

In the Volunteer State, those ages 18 to 20 can now carry a handgun without a permit, and without fear of prosecution from the state attorney general's office or citation by the Tennessee Highway Patrol. Action News 5 talked with an attorney, a longtime Memphis journalist, an immigrant from East Africa who moved here in the 1980s, and a mother who is also a U.S. Military veteran, to get their takes on this latest change to Tennessee gun control. As a mom to two-year-old Ivan and a retired member of the U.S. Army, Eboni Anderson does not think Tennesseans 18 to 20 years old should be able to carry a gun without having to get a permit. "That makes absolutely no sense," Anderson said, "I'm a veteran. And I know that you need to know how to clean a gun, properly load a magazine, how to properly carry, how to properly store it things of that nature."

The Tennessee General Assembly "debated bills in the House and Senate this session that would have changed the state law to lower permitless carry to age 18," but they went nowhere. The more chaotic and violent society gets, the more likely it is to fail completely and be replaced by one more to their liking? Teens with guns, three weeks out from a mass shooting at a school there!
Preetha Nair By

NEW DELHI: As the Gujarat government announced its plans to set up a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, Constitutional experts say that states should not rush as its a complex issue to deal with under the law. The UCC, which comes under Article 44 of the Constitution of India, calls for a common set of laws for all religious communities on matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and succession.

On Saturday, Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghvi said that it will constitute a panel headed by a retired HC judge along with three or four members. Earlier, Uttarakhand also formed a six-member panel led by retired justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to study ways for the implementation of UCC. Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had also expressed their willingness to follow suit.

Constitution expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achary told this newspaper that though both the Centre and the states are empowered to bring such a law as personal laws come under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, it shouldnt be passed in a hurry.

There are several diverse customs among various religious communities in India. Its not easy to bring them all together and make common law. Its far too complex an issue to be dealt with under law in a haste. There should be a deeper study on this, he said, adding that wider public consultation is required in this matter.

Though Uttarakhand already has a model, former Law Commission Chairman B S Chauhan is skeptical about states going about the implementation. Which law will be applicable if a UP Muslim gets married to a Hindu from Gujarat? Interstate marriages are very common now and Gujarat UCC wont be applicable outside the state. Its a matter of study whether states can do it. To implement uniform law, we have to codify Muslim laws and others. The issue is far too complicated, says Chauhan, who headed the 21st Law Commission, which prepared a working paper on UCC. The Commission said that UCC is not tenable as many cases relating to personal laws are pending before the Supreme Court.

Legal expert and former VC NALSAR University of Law Faizan Mustafa told this newspaper that though the Uttarakhand government formed a panel to study the aspects of UCC, it doesnt have experts in the subject matter.

Though I welcomed the Uttarakhand government move, I am disappointed that the expert committee has largely bureaucrats. A High court judge cannot be an expert in Muslim law. Committees must consist of eminent experts of personal laws, said Mustafa adding that when the Hindu Law committee was constituted in 1941, it consisted of experts in Hindu laws. We need such experts, he said.

Experts also point out that as Gujarat has approximately 9,727 Parsi community members and thus applying a uniform law will lead to friction among communities. Some of the Parsi personal laws regarding adoption and divorce are already contested. There should be wide consultation with the community members, said a community member.

BJP GOVTS POLITICAL GIMMICK BEFORE UPCOMING ELECTION, SAYS CONGRESS

NEW DELHI: Reacting sharply to the BJP governments move on forming a panel to study the possibility of implementing Uniform Civil Code, the Gujarat Congress on Saturday said that people would not be misled by the BJP governments decision. Calling it a gimmick ahead of Assembly elections, senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said the state legislature has no power to make such laws. The Bhupendra Patel government earlier in the day announced that a committee headed by a retired HC judge would be formed to study the modalities of implementing the UCC. This gimmick is aimed at misleading the public who are suffering due to inflation and joblessness and a host of other problems because of the failure of the government. The power to implement the Uniform Civil Code lies with the Centre. Personal laws were passed by Parliament, and the Gujarat Assembly does not have the power to make this law, Modhwadia said at a press conference.

NEW DELHI: As the Gujarat government announced its plans to set up a committee to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) in the state, Constitutional experts say that states should not rush as its a complex issue to deal with under the law. The UCC, which comes under Article 44 of the Constitution of India, calls for a common set of laws for all religious communities on matters such as marriage, divorce, adoption, inheritance, and succession. On Saturday, Gujarat home minister Harsh Sanghvi said that it will constitute a panel headed by a retired HC judge along with three or four members. Earlier, Uttarakhand also formed a six-member panel led by retired justice Ranjana Prakash Desai to study ways for the implementation of UCC. Himachal Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh had also expressed their willingness to follow suit. Constitution expert and former Lok Sabha secretary general P D T Achary told this newspaper that though both the Centre and the states are empowered to bring such a law as personal laws come under the Concurrent List of the Constitution, it shouldnt be passed in a hurry. googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); There are several diverse customs among various religious communities in India. Its not easy to bring them all together and make common law. Its far too complex an issue to be dealt with under law in a haste. There should be a deeper study on this, he said, adding that wider public consultation is required in this matter. Though Uttarakhand already has a model, former Law Commission Chairman B S Chauhan is skeptical about states going about the implementation. Which law will be applicable if a UP Muslim gets married to a Hindu from Gujarat? Interstate marriages are very common now and Gujarat UCC wont be applicable outside the state. Its a matter of study whether states can do it. To implement uniform law, we have to codify Muslim laws and others. The issue is far too complicated, says Chauhan, who headed the 21st Law Commission, which prepared a working paper on UCC. The Commission said that UCC is not tenable as many cases relating to personal laws are pending before the Supreme Court. Legal expert and former VC NALSAR University of Law Faizan Mustafa told this newspaper that though the Uttarakhand government formed a panel to study the aspects of UCC, it doesnt have experts in the subject matter. Though I welcomed the Uttarakhand government move, I am disappointed that the expert committee has largely bureaucrats. A High court judge cannot be an expert in Muslim law. Committees must consist of eminent experts of personal laws, said Mustafa adding that when the Hindu Law committee was constituted in 1941, it consisted of experts in Hindu laws. We need such experts, he said. Experts also point out that as Gujarat has approximately 9,727 Parsi community members and thus applying a uniform law will lead to friction among communities. Some of the Parsi personal laws regarding adoption and divorce are already contested. There should be wide consultation with the community members, said a community member. BJP GOVTS POLITICAL GIMMICK BEFORE UPCOMING ELECTION, SAYS CONGRESS NEW DELHI: Reacting sharply to the BJP governments move on forming a panel to study the possibility of implementing Uniform Civil Code, the Gujarat Congress on Saturday said that people would not be misled by the BJP governments decision. Calling it a gimmick ahead of Assembly elections, senior Congress leader Arjun Modhwadia said the state legislature has no power to make such laws. The Bhupendra Patel government earlier in the day announced that a committee headed by a retired HC judge would be formed to study the modalities of implementing the UCC. This gimmick is aimed at misleading the public who are suffering due to inflation and joblessness and a host of other problems because of the failure of the government. The power to implement the Uniform Civil Code lies with the Centre. Personal laws were passed by Parliament, and the Gujarat Assembly does not have the power to make this law, Modhwadia said at a press conference.
By Online Desk

From India to southern China to Thailand, stifling heat has set in unusually early this year, Axios reports.

On Monday, Prayagraj in India reached 44.6C (112.3F). Bangladesh also saw temperatures exceeding the 40C mark, with climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera warning, "It will just get worse," the report added.

The Guardian quoted Maximiliano Herrera as describing the unusually high temperatures as the worst April heatwave in Asian history.

Six cities in north and east India recorded temperatures above 44C while the capital, Delhi, recorded 40.4C on Tuesday. The heatwave is expected to continue till at least Friday, The Guardian report said.

In Bangladesh, a country at the forefront of the climate crisis, temperatures soared above 40C in the capital, Dhaka, on Saturday, the hottest day in 58 years, causing road surfaces to melt. An official from the ministry of environment, forests and climate change said that if the heat did not abate, they would declare a temperature emergency in certain areas, the report added.

The CNN also quoted Herrera, this time about the weather in Thailand. He has said that over the weekend, Thailand topped 45C (113F) for the first time in its history, he said using data from the Thai Meteorological Department. The northwest city of Tak reached 45.4C Saturday, but large portions of the country have been in the upper 30s to low 40s since late March.

On Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed concern over dangerously high temperatures in various parts of Thailand and said in Bangkoks Bang Na area, temperatures could reach 52.3C, according to a statement from the prime ministers office, the CNN reports.

Neighboring Myanmar set an April temperature record on Monday as Kalewa, in central Sagaing region, reached 44C (111F), Herrera tweeted.

April and May are typically the hottest months of the year for South and Southeast Asia as temperatures rise before monsoon rains begin and bring some relief.

But the heat in Thailand has been compounded by an intense smoggy season that has caused pollution levels to spike, the CNN report said.

In China, temperatures have exceeded 35C (95F) in multiple provinces; on Monday, more than 100 weather stations broke their monthly high temperature records. Heat records fell in a dozen Chinese provinces, Axios added.



From India to southern China to Thailand, stifling heat has set in unusually early this year, Axios reports. On Monday, Prayagraj in India reached 44.6C (112.3F). Bangladesh also saw temperatures exceeding the 40C mark, with climatologist and weather historian Maximiliano Herrera warning, "It will just get worse," the report added. The Guardian quoted Maximiliano Herrera as describing the unusually high temperatures as the worst April heatwave in Asian history.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Six cities in north and east India recorded temperatures above 44C while the capital, Delhi, recorded 40.4C on Tuesday. The heatwave is expected to continue till at least Friday, The Guardian report said. In Bangladesh, a country at the forefront of the climate crisis, temperatures soared above 40C in the capital, Dhaka, on Saturday, the hottest day in 58 years, causing road surfaces to melt. An official from the ministry of environment, forests and climate change said that if the heat did not abate, they would declare a temperature emergency in certain areas, the report added. The CNN also quoted Herrera, this time about the weather in Thailand. He has said that over the weekend, Thailand topped 45C (113F) for the first time in its history, he said using data from the Thai Meteorological Department. The northwest city of Tak reached 45.4C Saturday, but large portions of the country have been in the upper 30s to low 40s since late March. On Tuesday, Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha expressed concern over dangerously high temperatures in various parts of Thailand and said in Bangkoks Bang Na area, temperatures could reach 52.3C, according to a statement from the prime ministers office, the CNN reports. Neighboring Myanmar set an April temperature record on Monday as Kalewa, in central Sagaing region, reached 44C (111F), Herrera tweeted. April and May are typically the hottest months of the year for South and Southeast Asia as temperatures rise before monsoon rains begin and bring some relief. But the heat in Thailand has been compounded by an intense smoggy season that has caused pollution levels to spike, the CNN report said. In China, temperatures have exceeded 35C (95F) in multiple provinces; on Monday, more than 100 weather stations broke their monthly high temperature records. Heat records fell in a dozen Chinese provinces, Axios added.
By Associated Press

KHARTOUM: Terrified Sudanese who have been trapped for days in their homes by fighting in the capital of Khartoum fled on Wednesday, hauling out whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the city, after an internationally brokered truce failed and rival forces battled in the streets for a fifth day.

The swift failure of the 24-hour cease-fire, despite pressure from the United States and regional powers, suggested that Sudan's two top generals were determined to crush each other in a potentially prolonged fight for control of the country. It also underscored the inability of the international community to force a stop to the violence, with millions of people caught in the crossfire.

As explosions and heavy gunfire shook Khartoum, residents of multiple neighborhoods told The Associated Press they could see hundreds, including women and children, leaving their homes, carrying luggage, some leaving by foot, others crowding into vehicles.

Residents had been desperately holding out with food and other supplies running out, hoping for a halt in the mayhem on their doorsteps  gunfire, shelling and airstrikes, along with armed fighters roaming the streets looting shops and attacking passersby.

"Khartoum has become a ghost city," said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors' Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

EXPLAINER | What sparked the violent struggle to control Sudan's future?

The generals' fight for power has caught millions of Sudanese in the crossfire, as their forces have battled it out since Saturday with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes in residential neighborhoods of Khartoum, its neighboring city Omdurman and other major towns of the country.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of clashes.

A 24-hour cease-fire was to have been in effect from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. It was the most concrete attempt yet to bring a pause that it was hoped could be expanded into a longer truce.

It came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately by phone with the two rivals  the leader of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down. But fighting continued after the intended start of the truce and through the night. Each side blamed the other for the failure.

Fierce clashes between the army and RSF were reported Wednesday morning around the military's headquarters in central Khartoum and the nearby airport, as well as around the state television building across the river in Omdurman. Bombs and artillery could be heard around the city.

ALSO READ | Sudan hospitals struggle with casualties, damage in fighting

A high-rise in the city center was on fire with burning debris falling from its top floors, according to footage by the Al Arabiya news network. "The battles intensified in the morning after sporadic gunfire over the night," said Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate who lives close to the military headquarters. "Bombing and explosions are shaking our houses."

Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor, said many in her south Khartoum neighborhood have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings. Others fled the city to stay with relatives elsewhere, she said. Armed men were roaming the streets, storming shops and houses. "They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you," she said.

Foreigners, including aid workers and diplomats, have also been trapped in the fighting. German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum, but turned around Wednesday after refueling in Greece due to security concerns in Khartoum.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan. Spinant did not provide details.

The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. The report said Fransen was receiving medical treatment for serious injuries. It said he had gone missing on Sunday evening and that his colleagues tracked him down Tuesday.

Another spokeswoman confirmed that the EU office in Khartoum is still operating. The EU ambassador, who was assaulted when unidentified gunmen broke into his residence several days ago, is back at work, she said, adding that the EU delegation is not being evacuated and everyone is safe.

ALSO READ | 1,500 Indians stuck in Sudan, MEA jockeys for evacuation

The battles, with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes, have wreaked extensive damage, playing out in the streets of Khartoum and the city of Omdurman on the opposite bank of the Nile River, as well as in other key towns around Sudan.

Dozens of healthcare facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed and 16 were forcefully evacuated, it said.

The U.N.'s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

Blinken had described the proposed one-day humanitarian cease-fire as a building block for a longer truce and a return to eventual negotiations. Their failure to pause fighting for even a day, despite high-level diplomatic pressure, suggests the generals remain bent on pursuing a military victory.

ALSO READ | US Embassy convoy attacked in Sudan amid new truce appeal

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudan's transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir, but Burhan and Dagalo allied to carry out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command  tensions that exploded into violence Saturday.

KHARTOUM: Terrified Sudanese who have been trapped for days in their homes by fighting in the capital of Khartoum fled on Wednesday, hauling out whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the city, after an internationally brokered truce failed and rival forces battled in the streets for a fifth day. The swift failure of the 24-hour cease-fire, despite pressure from the United States and regional powers, suggested that Sudan's two top generals were determined to crush each other in a potentially prolonged fight for control of the country. It also underscored the inability of the international community to force a stop to the violence, with millions of people caught in the crossfire. As explosions and heavy gunfire shook Khartoum, residents of multiple neighborhoods told The Associated Press they could see hundreds, including women and children, leaving their homes, carrying luggage, some leaving by foot, others crowding into vehicles.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display('div-gpt-ad-8052921-2'); }); Residents had been desperately holding out with food and other supplies running out, hoping for a halt in the mayhem on their doorsteps  gunfire, shelling and airstrikes, along with armed fighters roaming the streets looting shops and attacking passersby. "Khartoum has become a ghost city," said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors' Syndicate, who is still in the capital. EXPLAINER | What sparked the violent struggle to control Sudan's future? The generals' fight for power has caught millions of Sudanese in the crossfire, as their forces have battled it out since Saturday with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes in residential neighborhoods of Khartoum, its neighboring city Omdurman and other major towns of the country. Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of clashes. A 24-hour cease-fire was to have been in effect from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. It was the most concrete attempt yet to bring a pause that it was hoped could be expanded into a longer truce. It came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately by phone with the two rivals  the leader of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down. But fighting continued after the intended start of the truce and through the night. Each side blamed the other for the failure. Fierce clashes between the army and RSF were reported Wednesday morning around the military's headquarters in central Khartoum and the nearby airport, as well as around the state television building across the river in Omdurman. Bombs and artillery could be heard around the city. ALSO READ | Sudan hospitals struggle with casualties, damage in fighting A high-rise in the city center was on fire with burning debris falling from its top floors, according to footage by the Al Arabiya news network. "The battles intensified in the morning after sporadic gunfire over the night," said Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate who lives close to the military headquarters. "Bombing and explosions are shaking our houses." Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor, said many in her south Khartoum neighborhood have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings. Others fled the city to stay with relatives elsewhere, she said. Armed men were roaming the streets, storming shops and houses. "They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you," she said. Foreigners, including aid workers and diplomats, have also been trapped in the fighting. German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum, but turned around Wednesday after refueling in Greece due to security concerns in Khartoum. In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan. Spinant did not provide details. The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. The report said Fransen was receiving medical treatment for serious injuries. It said he had gone missing on Sunday evening and that his colleagues tracked him down Tuesday. Another spokeswoman confirmed that the EU office in Khartoum is still operating. The EU ambassador, who was assaulted when unidentified gunmen broke into his residence several days ago, is back at work, she said, adding that the EU delegation is not being evacuated and everyone is safe. ALSO READ | 1,500 Indians stuck in Sudan, MEA jockeys for evacuation The battles, with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes, have wreaked extensive damage, playing out in the streets of Khartoum and the city of Omdurman on the opposite bank of the Nile River, as well as in other key towns around Sudan. Dozens of healthcare facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed and 16 were forcefully evacuated, it said. The U.N.'s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded. Blinken had described the proposed one-day humanitarian cease-fire as a building block for a longer truce and a return to eventual negotiations. Their failure to pause fighting for even a day, despite high-level diplomatic pressure, suggests the generals remain bent on pursuing a military victory. ALSO READ | US Embassy convoy attacked in Sudan amid new truce appeal The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudan's transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war. A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir, but Burhan and Dagalo allied to carry out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists. Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command  tensions that exploded into violence Saturday.
Robo Yatra: Exploring the Intersection of Humans and Robots

Bengaluru, April 18: The School of Computer Science and Engineering, JAIN (Deemed to be University) in association with HOLOWORLD, the Skill MetaVerse that merges humans and robots, organized an interactive campaign called RoboYatra that took place at the FET Campus on January 31st 2023, under the patronage of The Turing Club (TTC). This one-day seminar was designed to give students a sneak peek into the latest cutting-edge technology in Robotics and AR/VR.

Robo Yatra: Exploring the Intersection of Humans and Robots

The event kicked off with an exciting demo of HOLOWORLD's flagship product, the "HoloSuit," a motion-capture wearable that allows users to experience virtual and augmented reality in a natural way. Sanjana, the student coordinator of TTC, introduced the workshop, which was followed by the felicitation of HOLOWORLD's team members by distinguished guests, including Dr Geetha Ganesan, the Director, Dr Merin Thomas, the Program Head of CSE-AIML, and Srinidhi and Anamika from Miles Education.The participants had an opportunity to learn the basics of robotics through a live demonstration of a humanoid robot. Dr Kasar, the Chief Research Officer, conducted an interactive session with the students, explaining what a metaverse is and giving a live demonstration of HOLOWORLD's robot, its abilities, and its components.What makes HOLOWORLD unique is that it uses a combination of Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, and 5G for its robots. The hands-on learning experience of the workshop attracted students from all semesters and IT branches, who had the opportunity to interact with the HOLOWORLD team. It was a true learning experience for the students as well as the faculty of the School of Computer Science and Engineering.Students left the workshop with a newfound understanding of the endless possibilities that robotics and AR/VR hold. Through such initiatives, the School of Computer Science and Engineering, JAIN (Deemed to be University) at the FET Campus, aims to build strong associations with companies to bridge the gap between theoretical knowledge and practical experience for students.This story is provided by PNN. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/PNN)ANI18 April 2023

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India celebrates key milestone of holding a hundred G20 meetings with its inclusive policy approach

New Delhi, April 17: India on Monday with its inclusive and action-oriented policy processes at the heart of its agenda celebrated a key milestone of hosting its 100th meeting under its G20 Presidency with the meeting of Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) in Varanasi.

India celebrates key milestone of holding a hundred G20 meetings with its inclusive policy approach

The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world's 20 major developed and developing economies, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.With more than 12,300 delegates from over 110 nations, the in-person participation in India's G20 Presidency is the largest ever hosted by any G20 country so far. Throughout India's Presidency, more than 200 meetings in around 60 cities across India are still being planned, making it the widest geographical spread.India's G20 presidency inclusive pan-India approach, centred on Jan Bhagidari or citizen's engagement has so far covered over 41 cities, with around a dozen meetings held in the North Eastern part of the country. The meetings have also been successful in showcasing India's incredible natural and architectural beauty through excursions, side events and more than 1500 cultural events with around 7000 artists performing.The meetings include Agricultural Chief Scientists (MACS) in Varanasi, the second Health Working Group in Goa, the 2nd Digital Economy Working Group in Hyderabad and the Space Economy Leaders' Precursor Meeting in Shillong which is being held on Monday.With the first Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Meeting (FMCBG) in Bengaluru on February 24-25, the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting (FMM) in New Delhi on March 1-3, and the second FMCBG meeting in Washington on April 12-13, three ministerial meetings have been held till date under India as G20 Chair along with the two Sherpa Meetings in Udaipur from December 4-7 December last year and Kumarakom from March 30 - April 2.28 Foreign Ministers (from 18 G20 members, 9 guest countries and AU Chai- Comoros) and two Deputy/Vice Foreign Ministers (from Japan and the Republic of Korea) attended the FMM. These Ministerial meetings concluded with substantive outcome documents that fostered consensus on G20's shared priorities.These include consensus on setting up of an expert group on MDB reforms and on debt treatment in the 1st FMCBG, and on multilateral reforms, development cooperation, food and energy security, counter-terrorism, new and emerging threats, global skill mapping and disaster risk reduction in the FMM.Showcasing India's diversity, traditions and culture also remains an integral part of the visiting delegates' programme. With Millet-based dishes being incorporated into the menu, a wide range of cultural performances and excursions have been organized.The impact of India's G20 Presidency gave a boost for Covid-hit sectors, a surge in demand for operators, guides and drivers in terms of boosting tourism, and also giving a boost to small businesses that brought global buyers at sellers' doorstops.India's ongoing G20 Presidency comprise broad priority areas such as inclusive and resilient growth; progress on SDGs, green development and Lifestyle for Environment (LiFE); technological transformation and public digital infrastructure; reforming multilateral institutions; women-led development; and international peace and harmony.India during its G20 presidency will host the largest-ever contingent of delegations in the final New Delhi Summit that will take place in September. Taking the baton from Indonesia, India's year-long Presidency of the grouping commenced on 1 December 2022, and would continue until 30 November 2023.On November 8, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the G20 logo and unveiled India's G20 Presidency theme - "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam"- "One Earth. One Family. One Future".The G20, or Group of Twenty, is an intergovernmental forum of the world's major developed and developing economies. It comprises 19 countries - Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Mexico, Russia, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Turkey, the UK, US and the European Union (EU).Collectively, the G20 accounts for 85 per cent of global GDP, 75 pc of international trade and two-thirds of the world population, making it the premier forum for international economic cooperation.ANI18 April 2023

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Pedro Tello Rodriguez Jr., 25, was arrested Tuesday in Elgin, Texas, after shooting two young women who got into his car by mistake. He also fired at two others but missed, reports ABC News. Rodriguez was charged with Deadly Conduct, a felony.

multiple shots were fired into a vehicle. Two occupants of the vehicle were struck by gun fire. One victim was treated and released on scene. The other sustained serious injuries and was transported to the hospital by helicopter, where they remain in critical condition. Detectives and Crime Scene units responded to the scene. Officers worked through the night to identify and locate the suspect who was identified as 25-year-old, Pedro

ABC affiliate KTRK reports that the victims were cheerleaders returning home from practice, and that Rodriguez shot them in a grocery store parking lot:
Putin makes surprise visit to frontline, reviews status of operations

Moscow, April 18: Russian President Vladimir Putin has made an unannounced visit to two command posts in the newly incorporated territories from Ukraine, where he reviewed the progress of military operation against Ukrainian forces, the Kremlin said on Tuesday.

Putin makes 'surprise' visit to frontline, reviews status of operations

Putin travelled to the command centre of the 'Dnieper' battlegroup located "in the Kherson area" and received reports from the group's commander, Colonel General Oleg Makarevich, and Colonel General Mikhail Teplinsky, the commander of Russia's airborne troops, a Kremlin statement said, RT reported.The President also made a trip to the Lugansk People's Republic, where he visited the 'Vostok' (East) command centre of the National Guard, and discussed the situation in the area with top military officials, including Colonel General Aleksandr Lapin.Putin's surprise visit comes as Kiev prepares to launch a counteroffensive in which Western-supplied heavy tanks and new armored vehicles are expected to be involved. Ukrainian Prime Minister Denis Shmigal said on Monday that Kiev will start the operation "in the nearest future".The recent months of the Ukraine conflict have been marked by fierce fighting for the Donbass mining city of Artyomovsk, known to Ukrainians as Bakhmut.IANS18 April 2023

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Now mafia cannot threaten anyone in UP: Yogi

Lucknow, April 18: Days after gangster Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were gunned down by three youth while in police custody in Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath said on Tuesday that no mafia or criminal can threaten industrialists in the state anymore.

Now mafia cannot threaten anyone in UP: Yogi

The Chief Minister said "Before 2017, the state was infamous for riots. More than 700 riots rocked the state between 2012 and 2017. But not a single riot broke out after 2017. Earlier, just the names of many districts scared people. Now there is no need to be scared."Few years back, there was a crisis for the identity of the state... Today the state is becoming a crisis for criminals. No criminal can threaten any businessman in the state any more."Adityanath was addressing a programme to mark the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for setting up textile parks in Lucknow and Hardoi districts. The textile parks are being set up under the PM Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme.IANS18 April 2023

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Many people will join BJP after PMs Kerala visit: Surendran

Thiruvananthapuram, April 18: Kerala BJP President K. Surendran on Tuesday said that after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from the state on April 25, a huge number of people cutting across parties and economic status will join his party.

Many people will join BJP after PM's Kerala visit: Surendran

A reason why Surendran is upbeat is the response to the trial run of the Vande Bharat train on Monday when it travelled from here to Kannur and returned. Thousands arrived at the various railway stations where it stopped and pro-Modi slogans were heard.Modi will flag off the first commercial trip from here on April 25."Just wait and see, a good number of people from various political parties and economic status will be joining the BJP after the visit of the PM. And that has already begun at Kottayam when on Tuesday around 80 people from a leading family joined the BJP," said Surendran."The stage has come that in Kerala the minority communities have started accepting the BJP. Just like in Kottayam, a good number of people at Pathanamthitta are waiting to join the BJP. In general the BJP's acceptability has increased hugely," he claimed.Modi is arriving at Kochi the same day to inaugurate a youth meeting in which its new recruit Anil K. Antony, son of country's longest serving Defence Minister A.K.Antony, will be showcased for the first time after joining the BJP.The BJP does not have a single member in the 140-member Kerala Assembly nor in the 20 Lok Sabha seats.IANS19 April 2023

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MP Cong to increase leaders engagement to strengthen booth-level committees

Bhopal, April 18: In a bid to strengthen its booth-level committees for the upcoming assembly elections likely to be held later this year, the Madhya Pradesh unit of Congress has planned to include national and state-level party leaders as members of booth committees.

MP Cong to increase leaders' engagement to strengthen booth-level committees

Senior Congress leaders, including Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs, would be included as members of the committees in their respective booths.A decision in this regard was taken by Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) chief Kamal Nath. A notification was also issued on April 16."This step has been taken to strengthen and also to formulate our primary pillar (booth committees). I believe that involvement of national leaders in their respective booth committees will create greater importance and it will pave the way for party victory in 2023 assembly elections," Kamal Nath said.Further, he has also directed all Congress leaders and office bearers to ensure that they are included as members of booth committees in their respective areas."Party workers are the main pillar of the Congress and we are all the primary members of the party. Therefore, we are all accountable to discharge our duties as booth level workers," Nath mentioned in a notification issued on April 16.Notably, the top leadership of the state Congress unit has been relentlessly conducting meetings of booth level workers across Madhya Pradesh.The importance of booth committees can be understood in a way that even national leaders of the Congress are chairing meetings and reviewing the party's poll preparations.Veteran leader and two-time Chief Minister Digvijaya Singh has been regularly chairing the meetings of booth committees.Singh, a Rajya Sabha member, during the meetings, has been noting down points suggested by workers.Meanwhile, on Congress' step to strengthen its booth committees, senior BJP leader and state Home Minister Narottam Mishra took a jibe at the opposition, saying "How will the Congress strengthen its booth committee when it has no workers on the ground!"IANS19 April 2023

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No proposal from Ajit Pawar, says Maha BJP chief

Mumbai, April 18: The Bharatiya Janata Party's Maharashtra unit on Tuesday categorically said that they have not received any proposal, either verbal or written from NCP leader Ajit Pawar on his reported intentions to join the ruling alliance party or extending outside support.

No proposal from Ajit Pawar, says Maha BJP chief

"There is no such proposal, either oral or in writing from anyone... When this does not concern us or him (Ajit Pawar), why should there be such speculative reports," BJP state chief Chandrashekhar Bawankule said.However, he said that anybody who is ready to accept the BJP's ideology is welcome to join the party, though ally and Chief Minister Eknath Shinde's Shiv Sena leaders had aired differing views.Bawankule's assertions came soon after the Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar himself came forward and ended all the rumours of his plotting a "political earthquake".Given the aggressive NCP leader's history of the 80-hour experiment of November 2019, the rumours served to heat up the state political atmosphere with lots of suspense, mystery, and conspiracies.Earlier, NCP President Sharad Pawar also dismissed all the speculation that his party was heading for a split with nephew Ajit Pawar preparing to walk out with at least 40 MLAs.Top leaders of Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) comprising Congress-Shiv Sena (UBT) and NCP, have maintained a constant stance that there was "no question" of another rebellion, how they had full faith in Ajit Pawar and all the three parties are now working unitedly for the upcoming elections and strengthen the alliance.IANS19 April 2023

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Karnataka Business Awards 2023, season 3 announced by Karnataka Traders Chambers of Commerce

New Delhi, April 17: Karnataka Traders Chamber of Commerce (KTCC) has announced that the third season of the Karnataka Business Awards (KBA) will take place on June 24 and 25, 2023. The purpose of the awards event is to honour and celebrate the achievements of registered micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the state of Karnataka.

Karnataka Business Awards 2023, season 3 announced by Karnataka Traders Chambers of Commerce

The KBA is a prominent event that honours and celebrates the accomplishments of individuals and businesses in numerous areas that contribute to Karnataka's economy, employment, culture, hospitality quality, and prosperity. The awards event recognises innovation and its contribution to the development of many industries.The KBA strives for total openness throughout the judging process and places an emphasis on merit-based awards. As the number of participants increases each year, a resourceful business community comprised of experts from many sectors emerges. In addition, the Karnataka Business Awards provide participants with the chance to get brand recognition and exposure at several pre- and post-events.During the first two editions of the KBA, more than 300 winners were honoured for their outstanding performance and accomplishments in their respective industries. The awards event was attended by bureaucrats, politicians, celebrities, and successful business people, allowing the attendees to network. The event was a big success and emphasized the creativity of new ideas and their implementation towards the expansion of many industries contributing to Karnataka's economy, employment, culture, and wealth.Abdul Musaddiq, president of the Karnataka Traders Chamber of Commerce, said, "The Karnataka Traders Chamber of Commerce honours these business owners for their exceptional performance and motivates and encourages them by bestowing prizes."The third edition of KBA promises to be even more interesting and will give companies and brands a chance to discuss and celebrate their successes in establishing Karnataka as the leading state in the development of the Indian economy. This event is available to micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises registered to attend (MSMEs).For more information about Season 3 of the Karnataka Business Awards or to submit a nomination, please visit or or contact us on 080-47091100. Keep an eye on @karbizawards on Instagram for more details on the Karnataka Business Awards as the event date approaches.This story has been provided by SRV. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/SRV)ANI19 April 2023

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US, Japan and G7 partners stand together to promote peace, security around world: Blinken

Tokyo, April 18: US and Japan stand united with the Group of Seven partners to promote peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world, State Secretary Antony Blinken said.

US, Japan and G7 partners stand together to promote peace, security around world: Blinken

Earlier, Blinken met his Japanese counterpart, Yoshimasa Hayashi and participated in the G7 meeting, which is led by Japan this year.Taking to Twitter, Blinken said, "Great meeting with my friend @MofaJapan_en Foreign Minister Hayashi as Japan leads the @G7 in 2023. We stand united with Japan and our G7 partners to promote peace, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and around the world."In the official statement, Blinken praised Japan saying that its leadership with the G7 has been "exceptional"."Your leadership with the G7 has been exceptional, and we're very much looking forward to the leaders meeting that we're preparing here," Blinken said, according to the statement."But beyond that, the partnership every single day on the most challenging issues that we face as an international community that wants to uphold the rule of law - whether it's Ukraine, whether it's DPRK, whether it's trying to advance a free and open Indo-Pacific, which we're both working on together, whether it's strengthening economic ties among countries -- in these and so many other endeavours, your leadership has been deeply important and deeply valued," the statement added.He also appreciated the hospitality here at the G7, but the "very good work" that's being done under Japan's leadership.Meanwhile, the US State Secretary also met French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna and held discussions on cooperation to maintain peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific and support for Ukraine.After meeting his German counterpart, Blinken tweeted, "Great to meet again with German Foreign Minister @ABaerbock at the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting in Karuizawa, Japan. Our close cooperation is vital to our shared interests in the Indo-Pacific and support for Ukraine.""In today's @G7 Ministerial sessions, we discussed many challenges from Russia's war against Ukraine to advancing peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific to addressing our shared concerns across the Middle East and Central Asia. We are committed to solving these challenges," Blinken tweeted on Monday.ANI19 April 2023

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PM to address inaugural session of Global Buddhist Summit on April 20

New Delhi, April 18: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the inaugural session of the Global Buddhist Summit on April 20, Friday, here in the national capital, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) informed through a release on Tuesday.

PM to address inaugural session of Global Buddhist Summit on April 20

The PM's address is scheduled at 10 am at Hotel Ashok in Delhi.The two-day summit is being hosted by the Union Ministry of Culture in collaboration with International Buddhist Confederation on April 20-21. The theme for the summit is 'Responses to Contemporary Challenges Philosophy to Praxis'."The summit is an effort towards engaging the global Buddhist Dhamma leadership and scholars on matters of Buddhist and universal concerns, and to come up with policy inputs to address them collectively. The discussion at the summit will explore how the Buddha Dhamma's fundamental values can provide inspiration and guidance in contemporary settings," read the release.Officials at the PMO said the summit will witness the participation of eminent scholars, sangha leaders and dharma practitioners from all over the world. They will discuss pressing global issues and look for answers in the Buddha Dhamma that are based on universal values."The discussions will be held under four themes -- Buddha Dhamma and Peace; Buddha Dhamma Environmental Crisis, Health and Sustainability; Preservation of Nalanda Buddhist Tradition; Buddha Dhamma Pilgrimage, Living Heritage and Buddha Relics a resilient foundation to India's centuries-old cultural links to countries in South, South-East and East Asia," the release stated further.ANI19 April 2023

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Srinagar-bound SpiceJet flight returns to Delhis IGI after false cockpit warning

New Delhi, April 18: A Srinagar-bound SpiceJet flight returned to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport after a false warning, the airline spokesperson said on Tuesday.

Srinagar-bound SpiceJet flight returns to Delhi's IGI after false cockpit warning

"On April 18, a SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-8373 (Delhi-Srinagar) returned to Delhi as the AFT cargo fire light illuminated the cockpit," the spokesperson said.According to the SpiceJet spokesperson, the light was later extinguished upon actions taken by the flight captain."Before landing, all operational parameters were observed to be normal and the aircraft landed safely and passengers were deplaned normally," the spokesperson said."Subsequently, upon opening of AFT cargo, no sign of fire or smoke was found and based on initial assessment, the warning was observed to be false," the spokesperson added.Earlier, an Abu Dhabi-bound Etihad Airways flight returned to the Bangalore International Airport shortly after take-off due to a technical issue, the airline said.The airline said the aircraft did a normal landing at Bangalore airport.The flight inspection was done and later took off to its destination where it landed this morning."Etihad Airways flight EY237 from Bangalore International Airport to Abu Dhabi on April 2, returned to Bangalore Airport shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. The aircraft performed a normal landing in Bangalore. The required technical inspections were completed, and the flight continued to Abu Dhabi, where it landed early this morning," Etihad Airways said in a statement.ANI19 April 2023

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In a first, Centre to discuss consumer grievances pertaining to real estate sector in Mumbai tomorrow

New Delhi, April 17: The central government will hold a roundtable conference on how to redress grievances pertaining to the real estate sector in Mumbai on Tuesday.

In a first, Centre to discuss consumer grievances pertaining to real estate sector in Mumbai tomorrow

According to a statement from the ministry of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, the department of consumer affairs is organising a round table conference on "How to effectively redress the grievances pertaining to real estate sector" in Mumbai on Tuesday. The conference will be organised in association with the Maharashtra government.Pertinently, real estate cases comprise around 10 per cent of the total cases in Consumer Commissions. So far, since inception, 2,30,517 cases have been filed by the consumers in various consumer commissions, 1,76,895 cases have been disposed of till now and 53,622 cases are pending, according to the ministry.Despite separate tribunals such as Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) and National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to deal with the cases pertaining to housing sector, the pendency of cases is rising in various consumer commissions.It is for the first time, the department is conducting such a large-scale conference to redress the consumer grievance in real estate sector, according to the statement.Some key areas that will be covered in the conference will be systemic policy interventions required to reduce litigation in the housing sector. In this regard, the cases filed in the Consumer Commissions would be analysed and major factors that result in consumer cases will be identified and presented for deliberations, according to the ministry.In addition, why more number of cases are filed before Consumer Commissions despite there being separate authority such as RERA for specifically dealing the cases pertaining to the housing sector will also be discussed. Meanwhile, deliberation on how to ensure that the sector cases are dealt in an effective and speedy manner will also be done.The disposal of pending cases through the National Lok Adalat held on November 12, 2022, and "Grahak Madhyasthata Samadhan" on December 16, 2022, by the states/district consumer commissions reported exemplary outcome. Also, the department earlier organised a roundtable conference on consumer and the insurance sector to facilitate stakeholder consultation on insurance cases in consumer commissions.The Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, will chair the conference. Members of National Commission, presidents of State Commissions of Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Delhi, Haryana, Chandigarh, and Gujarat, president of the RERA Appellate Tribunal Maharashtra, RERA Chairmen from Delhi and Maharashtra, Presidents of District Commissions of Delhi, Bengaluru, Thane, Pune, Raigad, and Chandigarh, and othersThere will be representatives from the ministry of housing and urban affairs (MOHUA), RERA, Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), government of Maharashtra, Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI), and all the builders' fraternity are also likely to participate in the conference.The department of consumer affairs is continuously working towards reducing the pendency of cases in the Consumer Commissions so as to protect the interest of the consumers and reach the goal set by the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, according to the ministry's statement. In respect of this department organised many campaigns to reduce the pendency in the consumer commissions and have addressed the issue multiple times.ANI19 April 2023

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Ballots have arrived; Results coming May 12

More than 30 resident doctors and fellows at the University at Buffalo gathered on a recent Friday evening at Big Ditch Brewing Co. in Buffalo.

There, while sipping Hayburners, devouring pizza and wings and playing shuffleboard, they spoke about an effort more than a year in the making  a union campaign that fits into a nationwide movement to revamp the conditions, culture and compensation that physicians-in-training have long encountered.

And on this day, April 14, they had something to celebrate and look forward to.

Just hours earlier, resident doctors and fellows began receiving their ballots for a mail-in election, overseen by the National Labor Relations Board, that will conclude May 10.

All told, about 800 interns (first-year residents), resident doctors and fellows are eligible to vote in the election, with results scheduled to be announced May 12. They are seeking to organize with the Union of American Physicians & Dentists, as first reported by The Buffalo News about two months ago.

And while the residents and fellows are employed by University Medical Resident Services P.C., they staff hospitals across Western New York, including Buffalo General Medical Center; Oishei Children's Hospital; Millard Fillmore Suburban Hospital; the Buffalo VA Medical Center; Erie County Medical Center; Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center; and Catholic Health's hospitals.

That means the interest in how this election shakes out extends well beyond the UB campus  and, most likely, beyond Western New York.

How it got started

The unionization effort got started more than a year ago, when residents and fellows received their contract and salaries for the then-upcoming academic year that began in July 2022.

The residents and fellows have pointed out they make less than colleagues in similar cost-of-living cities, such as Rochester, Syracuse and Albany.

According to information on the UB Office of Graduate Medical Education's website, the annual salary for medical residents, as of Jan. 1, ranges from $57,492 for postgraduate year one to $65,067 for postgraduate year seven. And that salary doesn't change whether a resident works a 40-hour work week or up to the maximum 80 hours a week.

In past statements, UB's Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has noted the salaries posted online don't reflect the full picture  for example, UB fully pays health benefits for residents and fellows.

The Covid-19 pandemic  like it has for so many things  provided a spark for the union effort.

Amid the pandemic, residents and fellows worked the same long hours, but in worse conditions and with no hazard pay, several residents said.

"What happened during Covid was, it made everything crystal clear how little power we had," said Dr. Amy Beattie, a psychiatry resident.

The challenges ahead

Organizers are confident they'll win the election, but there have been challenges along the way.

For one, the unique structure of residencies and fellowships has been a challenge, organizers say, in terms of reaching 800 people spread across dozens of programs and rotating through several hospitals.

On top of that, up to 80-hour workweeks don't leave much time for catching up, though organizers say they've met fellow residents and fellows through the effort that they wouldn't have otherwise. In addition, residencies and fellowships are limited to a set number of years, meaning there is turnover to deal with in the years ahead if they win the election.

"I'd say the biggest challenge we've had from the very beginning is just how fragmented we are across multiple specialties, on top of already busy, hectic schedules and work hours," said Dr. Austin Iovoli, whose specialty is radiation oncology and is a PGY-4 (postgraduate year 4).

While that is a challenge from an organizing standpoint, the diversity of experiences across the various hospitals is a strength of the UB residency and fellowship programs, noted Dr. Armin Tadayyon, an anesthesiology resident.

He mentioned how he has gained experience at a dedicated children's hospital in the John R. Oishei Children's Hospital, as well as at a Level 1 Trauma Center in Erie County Medical Center and a dedicated cancer center in Roswell Park.

"I will rotate through so many diverse experiences that I will not obtain at any other program," he said. "So that's what drives people to come here, so let's keep them here."

The organizers of the union campaign think a few improvements couldn't hurt.

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Take a look at Primark's first Western New York store, opening Thursday.

The Squire Shop redevelopment plan is coming up for review.

M&T's Rene Jones says the Buffalo bank's approach is far different from the failed Silicon Valley Bank.

Bitwise has found a new home in Buffalo.

Struggling drug developer Athenex got a takeover offer.

The McKinley Mall auction has been delayed.

The lenders who hold the mortgage on the Buffalo Niagara Marriott took a big loss when the hotel sold.

The National Labor Relations Board will take up a new batch of accusation against Starbucks over unionizing efforts in Buffalo.

ICYMI

Five reads from Buffalo Next:

1. At ECC, charges against two top leaders yield different results: Several sources have described the work environment at the college as toxic, including some who left after decades.

2. M&T's Richard Gold looks back at his long banking career: and the changes he's seen at Buffalo's largest bank.

3. A Ukrainian family, displaced by war, is starting a new life in Western New York with help from a business that aids refugees and is making the region its first U.S. market.

4. Rhonda Frederick retires after 43 years at People Inc.: When Frederick joined the agency in 1980 in a direct support role, she never thought she'd stay  let alone rise to CEO.

5. Pat Roche determined to keep Moog flying high: The new CEO of the Elma-based manufacturer took over leadership of the company in February.

The Buffalo Next team gives you the big picture on the regions economic revitalization. Email tips to buffalonext@buffnews.com or reach Buffalo Next Editor David Robinson at 716-849-4435.

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Nepal PM likely to embark on 3-day India visit on April 28

Kathmandu, April 18: Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal aka Prachanda is likely to visit India on April 28, sources familiar with the development confirmed ANI.

Nepal PM likely to embark on 3-day India visit on April 28

According to officials from Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Prime Minister Secretariat, the date was proposed by India to the Nepalese government.An official from the PM Secretariat confirmed to ANI, "If the political situation of Nepal remains normal in the coming days, the PM will embark on a 3-day visit to India. This will be his first international visit (since becoming PM for the second time)."The official also informed that the dates of the Prime Minister's visit would be announced officially by both countries within a week."The Prime Minister also discussed the dates with his visit with the newly appointed minister for Foreign Affairs along with other officials. The Ministry of External Affairs has proposed the PM's visit from April 28," an official from PM Secretariat told ANI.Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal previously had visited India twice after becoming Prime Minister.In 2008, Dahal visited India after attending the closing ceremony of the Beijing Olympics. In 2016, he visited New Delhi again, in his first official visit to the country.According to officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA), discussions about the air routes via Bhairahawa, hydropower projects, and Kathmandu- Raxaul railways, among other, are on the table.Two days ago, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar congratulated Nepal's new Foreign Minister NP Saud on his appointment."Congratulate H.E. N.P. Saud on his appointment as the Foreign Minister of Nepal. Look forward to working together to strengthen our multifaceted partnership. Best wishes for success in your new role," tweeted Jaishankar.According to sources, Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal and the president of the Congress, Sher Bahadur Deuba, on Saturday came to an agreement to choose Saud as the new foreign minister of the country.NP Saud was irrigation minister in 2014 in the Sushil Koirala-led government.Prime Minister Dahal has been in charge of the Foreign ministry, which was allotted to the Congress as part of a power-sharing agreement, for the past month and a half, The Kathmandu Post reported.Meanwhile, Dahal expanded his cabinet for the eighth time, inducting a Foreign minister and a minister of state for Transport.As per the release from the Office of the President, Dahal inducted Nepali Congress leader Narayan Prasad Saud as Foreign minister while Nanda Chapai took oath as the state minister for Physical Infrastructure and Transport.Both the ministers were administered their oath to post and secrecy at a ceremony at the Presidential Palace in Kathmandu.Earlier, on March 31, PM Prachanda had reshuffled the Cabinet after weeks of hiatus when he was only able to induct 11 ministers, which included a state minister.Intra-party rift of the Nepali Congress has been blamed for the delay in the expansion of the Cabinet, as 10 parties are on board the coalition have put forward their individual demands.In four months since the formation of the government, the Nepalese Prime Minister had to seek a vote of confidence twice and effect 8 cabinet reshuffles. Yet, all portfolios could not be allocated.Supported by 10 parties in the March 20 vote of confidence, which have come on board as part of the ruling coalition, Dahal on Friday managed to take 5 more parties on board.Despite filling up most of the ministries, PM Dahal still holds the Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; the Ministry of Forest and Environment; the Ministry of Health and Population and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.ANI19 April 2023

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G7 opposes Chinas militarisation activities in South China Sea

Tokyo, April 18: The Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers on Tuesday declared that peace and stability were an indispensable element of global security, while reiterating their call to China to behave responsibly as a member of the international community.

G7 opposes China's 'militarisation activities' in South China Sea

In a joint statement issued after a three-day meeting at Karuizawa in central Japan, the foreign ministers emphasized "there is no change in the basic positions of the G-7 members on Taiwan."Expressing concern about the situation in the East and South China Seas the ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, opposed China's "militarization activities" in the region.The G-7 joint statement comes in the wake of French President Emmanual Macron's remarks during his recent visit to China where he said that Europe should not become a "follower" of either Beijing or Washington and avoid getting involved in any conflict between the two countries over Taiwan.The comminique issued by the G-17 ministers after the meeting in Japan read, "We remain seriously concerned about the situation in the East and South China Seas. We strongly oppose any unilateral attempts to change the status quo by force or coercion. There is no legal basis for China's expansive maritime claims in the South China Sea, and we oppose China's militarization activities in the region.""We emphasize the universal and unified character of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and reaffirm UNCLOS' important role in setting out the legal framework that governs all activities in the oceans and the seas," the statement added.The G7 reiterated the award rendered by the Arbitral Tribunal on July 12, 2016, as a significant milestone. According to the US State Department, the Arbitral Tribunal was constituted under the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention and delivered a unanimous and enduring decision firmly rejecting the PRC's expansive South China Sea maritime claims as having no basis in international law.The G7 members recognized the importance of engaging candidly with and expressing our concerns directly to China. They acknowledge the need to work together with China on global challenges as well as areas of common interest, including climate change, biodiversity, global health security, and gender equality."We reiterate our call for China to act as a responsible member of the international community. We stand prepared to work together to build constructive and stable relations through dialogue and to promote global economic recovery and people-to-people exchanges in a mutually beneficial way," the statement read."It is in the interest of all countries, including China, to ensure transparent, predictable, and fair business environments. Legitimate business activities and interests of foreign companies must be protected from unfair, anti-competitive, and non-market practices, including through illegitimate technology transfer or data disclosure in exchange for market access," the statement added.Looking at various cyber-theft cases, G7 asked China to uphold its commitments to act responsibly in cyberspace, including refraining from conducting or supporting cyber-enabled intellectual property theft for commercial gain.Talking about the peace in Taiwan, G7 reaffirmed the importance of stability across the Strait as an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community, and call for the peaceful resolution of cross-Strait issues. There is no change in the basic positions of the G7 members on Taiwan, including stated one China policies.G7 also raised concerns with China on reported human rights violations and abuses, including in Xinjiang and Tibet."We reiterate our concerns over the continued erosion of Hong Kong's autonomy rights and freedoms and call on China to act in accordance with its international commitments and legal obligations, including those enshrined in the Sino-British Joint Declaration and the Basic Law," the G7 said in a statement."We call on China to act in accordance with its obligations under the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations," the statement added.ANI19 April 2023

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Tick infection affects various cell types in brain: Study

Washington, April 18: Depending on whether the affected person's immune system is activated or not, the dreaded tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) virus infects different types of brain cells in different parts of the brain. This is demonstrated in a new study from Ume University in Sweden.

Tick infection affects various cell types in brain: Study

"This increased understanding of how the virus behaves in the brain and how it activates the immune system is a crucial step in the development of effective treatments and preventive measures against this difficult disease," says Anna Overby, professor at Umea University and leader of the research group behind the current study.What the Umea researchers have mapped is how the TBE virus infects the brain to cause encephalitis. The researchers developed a method to three-dimensionally determine the location of viruses in the brain of mice and determine which specific parts of the brain have been infected with TBE virus. The method is based on information from image analyses that were combined with studies of gene expression in different cell types. The result can be seen as a virus "road map" in the brain.It turned out that there was a big difference between the spread of the virus in the brains of mice with and without an innate immune response. The virus infected different regions of the brain depending on the innate immune system of the mouse. When the researchers zoomed in on the cells in the infected brain regions, they could see that the immune system not only affected how the virus spread, it also changed which cell types were infected in the affected regions of the brain.When the researchers zoomed in further, they could see that in cases where the immune system in the brain could not be activated, the brain's immune cells, microglia, were infected. Their task is otherwise to help prevent and clear the infection. In mice that could activate their immune system in the brain, however, it was mainly nerve cells that were infected.It is already known that the innate immune system plays an important role in preventing the TBE virus from damaging the brain, but it has been unclear where and which cells they infect."This is an important piece of the puzzle that is now being put in place. The results underline the importance of the immune system for those infected with TBE. We have also opened up new opportunities to study viruses that infect the brain with the new imaging methods we have developed and by combining them with gene expression analysis from individual cells," says Anna Overby.Tick-borne encephalitis virus, TBEV, is not only a major problem in Sweden, especially in tick-dense areas such as the Stockholm archipelago and in the Malardalen region, but also a big problem in central and eastern Europe. The virus can cause serious brain inflammation with long-term disabilities as a result. There is currently no curative treatment for TBE, but the most important measures are to prevent infection by avoiding tick bites and to get vaccinated.ANI19 April 2023

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Education Working Groups third meeting to be held in Bhubaneswar

New Delhi, April 17: Higher Education Secretary K Sanjay Murthy on Monday said that the third meeting of the Education Working Group will be held in Bhubaneswar on April 27 and 28 and the precursor events to the G20 Education Working Group Meetings would be held from April 23-26.

Education Working Group's third meeting to be held in Bhubaneswar

"A special exhibition on the theme of "Future of Work" will be organized and will be open to the public between April 23-25 and then on April 27 and 28," he said."Delegates from G20 countries would be attending these meetings. The programmes under the Education Working Group, selection of themes and ensuring reach to the youth of the country are being led by the vision and guidance of the Union Minister for Education and Skill Development and Entrepreneurship Dharmendra Pradhan", he added.In the case of Odisha, where the theme is 'Future of Work', the activities are based on the vision that there should be widespread deliberations and effective outreach in every district on the emerging skilling requirements and the need for continuous skilling reskilling and up-skilling as relevant to the district.While addressing the media, Atul Kumar Tiwari said that with ground-breaking advancements and digitization, the nature of work is witnessing a fundamental change. This change will also bring immense economic potential while augmenting productivity gains and stimulating growth.He further said that the G20 nations are also experiencing this active evolution in several sectors and can only prepare the youth by equipping them with relevant skills, speed, and agility."Embracing this transformation and finding solutions for the most pressing issues related to the future of work, we look forward to the upcoming third meeting of the Education Working Group in Bhubaneshwar. The precursor events and an exhibition, bringing together experts, stakeholders, and thought leaders will help to explore a coordinated approach to prioritize reforms, reimagine learning, redefine talent and at the same time create frameworks for preparing social, political, and business leaders for future of work," he added.Sanjay Kumar Secretary School Education and Literact spoke about integration of skills in the school curriculum and equipping children with a range of future skills to set them on a course of lifelong learning.He informed about the breakout session on 'integration of skills in school curriculum' in the workshop on the Future of Work between India and Singapore on April 25 of the Working group meeting.The discussions will also be organised on 'equipping children with a range of future skills' to set them on a course of lifelong learning he added.The Secretary also informed that as recommended under NEP 2020, exposure to skill Education from class 6 will be provided. It will be optional for classes 9 and 10 and compulsory for classes 11 and 12.ANI19 April 2023

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Kerala film employees body trains its guns on actors

Kochi, April 18: A new controversy has broken out in the Malayalam film industry as the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) on Tuesday expressed its displeasure over the way some of the actors behave.

Kerala film employees body trains its guns on actors

The FEFKA is the apex body of 19 different organisations that include drivers to directors and its General Secretary, director B. Unnikrishnan said things are reaching a point of difficulty over the way some actors are behaving."Before every film starts, the actors have to ink an agreement which has been cleared by the AMMA (Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes), but it has now come to notice that it's not being done. The problem now is certain actors are giving same dates and time to different directors and producers and if they sign the agreement, they know they will be in trouble and hence, they don't do it," he said."Another new problem that has now surfaced is some actors insist they be called when the film editing is being done and also others, who the actors say, also should be allowed to see the editing," Unnikrishnan added.Even though he did not name these "trouble-makers", he dropped enough hints by saying that not all actors are acting so, but some of them.According to those in the know of things, the trouble makers are a few of the new generation actors.Now with the FEFKA firing the first salvo, all eyes are on the superstar Mohanlal- headed AMMA on how they respond to the charges.IANS19 April 2023

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MP govt orders to remove Muslim staff from Maa Sharda temple in Maihar

Bhopal, April 18: An order issued by the Department of Culture of Madhya Pradesh government regarding the removal of Muslim employees associated with the Maa Sharda Temple in Maihar in Satna district has become the talking point in the state.

MP govt orders to remove Muslim staff from Maa Sharda temple in Maihar

The department has issued a letter to Satna district administration to comply with the directive issued earlier regarding removal of Muslim employees from the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti. The directive was issued on April 5, but it came to the fore after it surfaced on social media on Tuesday.The development came when the Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are just six months away. IANS has learnt that there are at least two Muslims who are associated with the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti since 1988.The Department of Culture in its order has also mentioned that a notification regarding the same had been issued earlier also, but no response was received. Therefore, complying with the directive (letter) issued by the department regarding the same, a report should be submitted within three days.The department is headed by senior BJP leader Usha Thakur, who is also the Tourism Minister in Shivraj Singh Chouhan's Cabinet.The department has also said that all meat and liquor shops located near the temple area will be removed.The step has been taken following the recommendation of right wing groups, including the Vishva Hindu Parishad. The right wing outfits of Satna district had handed over a letter to Usha Thakur in January this year, following which the Satna district administration was directed to remove Muslim staff associated with the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti. The fresh letter has been issued to comply with directive issued by the minister in January."We have received a letter regarding the matter and now it would be brought before the Prabandhan Samiti of the temple for discussion. Whatever the committee decides will be the final decision," a member of the Maa Sharda Devi Prabandh Samiti told IANS on condition of anonymity.Situated atop Trikut hill, the temple is a reverred Hindu srine in the Vindhya region, which has numerous mythological stories attatched to it, including about 'Alha' and 'Udal'. The devotees climb 1,063 stairs to reach the temple, while a ropeway facility has also been established now for the convenience of the pilgrims.IANS19 April 2023

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Toddler slips through White House fencing

Washington, April 19: The US Secret Service swung into action after a toddler managed to slip through the bars of iron fencing surrounding the White House.

Toddler slips through White House fencing

In a statement on Tuesday confirming the development, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said the toddler crawled through the fence on the north side of the White House, setting off security alerts, reports CNN."The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House ground," Gugliemli said."The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited."Access to the White House was temporarily restricted and President Joe Biden was also inside the executive mansion at the time of the incident, the BBC reported.The $64 million fence around the White House is 13ft tall.It is roughly double the size of its previous height, which was increased during a recent construction project to enhance White House safety.This is not the first time a toddler has crawled through the White House fence.In 2014, a toddler had squeezed through the White House fence just before then-President Barack Obama was about to address the nation on Iraq.The breach prompted a temporary lockdown and delayed the briefing.IANS19 April 2023

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Mexican Prez accuses Pentagon of espionage

Mexico City, April 19: Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has accused the US Pentagon of espionage, saying his government will protect its national defence information.

Mexican Prez accuses Pentagon of espionage

In his daily press conference, the Mexican President said that as part of this, Mexican media receive leaks from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Xinhua news agency reported."We are going to guard the information from the Ministry of the Navy and the (Ministry of National) Defense because we are being spied on by the Pentagon and a lot of media in Mexico are leaking information provided by the DEA," he said.Lopez Obrador said that his administration will protect state information for national security reasons, as well as in defense of Mexico's sovereignty.The President's remarks came a day after he accused the DEA of "abusive meddling" and "arrogance" for an alleged operation to infiltrate the Sinaloa drug trafficking cartel.The US government claims Mexico is responsible for the illegal trafficking of fentanyl into its territory.In response, Mexico said the US is not doing enough to combat the causes that lead its population to resort to illicit drugs.IANS19 April 2023

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Defence Ministry initiates reforms to further promote ease of doing business

New Delhi, 18 April: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday approved a proposal for bringing in industry-friendly reforms related to Authority Holding Sealed Particulars (AHSP).

Defence Ministry initiates reforms to further promote ease of doing business

The AHSP is the authority which is responsible for generating, maintaining, updating or declaring obsolete the entire history and technical information of defence products.According to the Ministry of Defence, so far, the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) was the AHSP for majority of defence items designed, developed and manufactured by various DPSUs and private industries.Under the existing procedure, certain bottlenecks were experienced by the industry to bring timely improvements in their products and technologies in line with changing times. Therefore, the ministry has decided now to liberalise the AHSP procedures and make them industry-friendly, said a Defence Ministry official.The ministry said that the Indian defence companies, which have developed products, systems, subsystems, and components on their own indigenous capabilities (except critical stores), will now be allowed to own and account for their final designs and specification as AHSP.In case of any change in the sealed particulars, a simplified mechanism representing all the concerned stakeholders, including the industry, will take a decision. The DGQA will notify the detailed procedure in this regard within two months.IANS19 April 2023

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Mamata rang up Amit Shah after losing national party status: Suvendu Adhikari

Kolkata, April 18: The leader of the opposition in West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, claimed on Tuesday that immediately after the Election of Commission of India (ECI) withdrew the national party status of Trinamool Congress, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee rang up Home Minister Amit Shah with a plea to retain Trinamool's national party status until the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Mamata rang up Amit Shah after losing national party status: Suvendu Adhikari

"Soon after ECI's decision to withdraw the national party status of Trinamool Congress, the Chief Minister called up the Home Minister. During that telephonic conversation, she had appealed to Amit Shah to retain Trinamool's national party status till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections."However, the Home Minister clearly told her that commission's decision cannot be reverted by him since ECI is an autonomous body," Adhikari said while addressing a rally at Singur in Hooghly district.Till the time of filing of this report, no reaction came from the Chief Minister to Adhikari's claims.However, Trinamool spokesman Kunal Ghosh rubbished the claims made by Adhikari, saying "These are blatant attempts to spread falsehood by a traitor who along with his family members emerged in the political scenario of the state as by-products of the movement led by Mamata Banerjee against forceful land acquisition in Singur and Nandigram."Earlier, speaking at Singur, Adhikari launched a scathing attack against Mamata Banerjee for her movement that ultimately forced Tata Motors to withdraw its Nano car project from Singur."She (Banerjee) destroyed the employment dreams of several youths by driving away the Tatas. If BJP comes to power in West Bengal, it will bring back the Tata Group to Singur and give them a red-carpet welcome," Adhikari said.IANS19 April 2023

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Whenever I visit the village of East Aurora, Im reminded of my high school years spent in the village of Saratoga Springs, a small city in the Capital District famous to most for its association with thoroughbred horse racing and mineral baths. It is also the home of the Saratoga Performing Arts Center, where I was lucky enough to see some of the greatest musical artists in history on a consistent basis.

A generally laid-back vibe pervades in Saratoga and East Aurora, where each has a main drag peppered by independent shops and eateries and, these days, artisanal breweries. Theres also a visceral sense of history in both villages  in Saratoga, a past that brought wealthy tourists eager to indulge in the health benefits of spas by day and the less healthy allure of gambling by night, and in East Aurora, a deep strain of artisanship that can be traced back to the writer, publisher, artist and somewhat confusing hybrid of socialist and capitalist ideals known as Elbert Hubbard, founder of the Roycroft artisan community and a progenitor of the American Arts & Crafts movement.

East Aurora has become an increasingly hipster-friendly destination point over the past decade, and newer businesses abound. But the Roycroft Campus still exerts the gravitational pull of history, a reminder of the towns artistic and philosophical past. It served as a proper leaping-off point for my recent afternoon sojourn in East Aurora.

The Roycroft Campus, 31 South Grove St.

Founded by Hubbard at the turn of the 20th century, and granted National Landmark status in 1986, the Roycroft Campus consists of 14 buildings located on Main and South Grove streets, among them a chapel, a book bindery and furniture shop, a print shop, a blacksmith shop, and the elegant fine-dining establishment the Roycroft Inn, formerly the hub of the Roycroft printing business. The Roycroft offers $20 guided tours on Wednesdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and visitors can book a two-hour-plus tour for $50 a person. Or you can do as I did and curate your own tour. On a gorgeous early spring afternoon, I strolled the grounds and visited the Roycroft Museum to see the writing, furniture and artworks that comprise Hubbards legacy.

Revolver Records, 706 Main St.

Phil Machemer opened the East Aurora storefront of Revolver Records  his fourth in a chain that also includes the flagship store on Hertel Avenue  in late 2022. He struck gold with the location, taking over the top floor of a building that housed instrument shop and music instruction studio Limelite Music for several decades, and turning it into an oasis for vinyl lovers. (Limelite is now on the first floor and is accessible from the rear of the building, adjacent to Vidlers 5 & 10.)

The East Aurora Revolver is stuffed with bins of new and used vinyl spanning the history of recorded music and encompassing most imaginable genres. I scored, in the parlance of vinyl freaks, and big-time, with clean used copies of Claus Ogerman and Michael Breckers Cityscape, Larry Coryells Spaces and Pete Townshends Deep End - Live!  as well new editions of Cocteau Twins Tiny Dynamine/Echoes in a Shallow Bay and King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizards Polygondwanaland on splattered vinyl. I hated to leave, but hunger called.

The Deli, 586 Main St.

East Aurora boasts no shortage of alluring eateries. 42 North, the Griffon Gastropub, Ricks On Main and Bar-Bill have all received my money and my gratitude on past visits, but I was looking for something light and lunchable. I thought Id stroll down Main Street and call an audible whenever something caught my eye, which didnt take me long. Tucked away at Main Street and the junction with Riley Street, The Deli proved to be charming cafe with a nice list of specialty sandwiches, soups and pastries.

Record shopping always reminds me of being in New Orleans  I happily dropped a healthy amount of money I didnt have at the Louisiana Music Factory while on my honeymoon in 2000, and for some reason, the memory remains vivid  so I ordered the Muffaletta, a gorgeous marriage of hard salami, ham, capicola and provolone, topped with The Delis homemade marinated olive and pickled veggie spread. It was delicious, and I believe even a New Orleans native would agree.

Knox Farm State Park, 437 Buffalo Road

Barring a blizzard, I never leave East Aurora without a stop at Knox Farm State Park, a very worthwhile short ride from downtown East Aurora, now the yearly home of the Borderland Music & Art Festival (which takes place Sept. 15-17 this year, and features a killer roster that includes the Trey Anastasio Band, Goose and Moe.).

My favored hiking trail starts just off the main entrance on Buffalo Road and proceeds toward one of the most gorgeous tree-lines in all of Western New York. Shortly after my mother passed, I purchased a tree to be planted along that beautiful tree line, in her memory. An already favored spot of mine now has some spiritual overtones, and has become a place I frequent to reflect and remember. The perfect way to cap a day enjoying the mellow afternoon vibes in East Aurora.
Exciting times ahead! US Embassy in India on Garcetti assuming office as American envoy

New Delhi, April 18: America's Ambassador to India, Eric Garcetti, who assumed office last Tuesday was excited to work together as a team to further the US-India relationship.

Exciting times ahead! US Embassy in India on Garcetti assuming office as American envoy

"Exciting times ahead! Our new Ambassador-Designate has arrived and we're energized to work together as a team to further #USIndia relationship. Here's to a successful partnership! #USIndiaTogether," tweeted US Embassy in India.Showing his eagerness to serve as US Ambassador to India, Garcetti said that he "can't wait for the work that we will do together.""Thank you so much. President Biden asked me to lead this mission because he understands in his heart what an important moment this is in history and between the United States and India. And I want you to know how personally he cares about this mission. I want to thank you for your heart, I want to thank you for your work, and I want to thank you for the way that you connect our two countries together and embody that every single day. I can't wait for the work that we will do together. Bless you all, and I look forward to the months ahead," he added.The US Embassy in India had been without an ambassador since January 2021, which is the longest stretch in the history of US-India relations that the post has remained vacant since Kenneth Juster, the last US envoy in New Delhi, stepped down after the change of government in America.The Senate on March 15 (Local Time) confirmed the former mayor of Los Angeles, Eris Garcetti, to be the US ambassador to India.Garcetti won the mandate by a vote of 52 to 42, a major victory for US President Joe Biden as well, who stuck by his political ally in the face of the allegations and the prolonged process that has left the world's most populous democracies without US representatives.After the result, Garcetti said in a statement, "I'm thrilled with today's outcome, which was a decisive and bipartisan decision to fill a critical post that has been vacant for far too long. Now the hard work begins.""I'm deeply grateful to President Biden and the White House for the confidence and support throughout this process, and to all Senators on both sides of the aisle -- whether they voted for me or not -- for their thoughtful consideration. I'm ready and eager to begin my service representing our critical interests in India," he added.Earlier, the Senate voted 52-42 giving the advantage to the former Los Angeles mayor's nomination.Senate Foreign Relations Committee also voted in favour of the former Los Angeles Mayor to become the ambassador of India. The panel approved the nomination by a vote of 13-8, with Republican Senators Todd Young and Bill Hagerty joining all of the committee's Democrats in voting in favour of Garcetti.ANI19 April 2023

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India believes in democratized access to all digital health solutions: Mansukh Mandaviya

New Delhi, April 19: Union Minister of Health and Family Welfare Dr Mansukh Mandaviya on Tuesday highlighted India's democratisation in digital health solutions and said that the country believes in promoting a culture of Global Public Goods.

India believes in democratized access to all digital health solutions: Mansukh Mandaviya

"India believes in democratized access to all digital health solutions, promoting a culture of Global Public Goods," Mandaviya said while delivering an inaugural address at a side event of the 2nd G20 Health Working Group Meeting here.The Minister added that the side event will explore the transformative potential of digital health and innovations that can help achieve Universal Health Coverage, stated a release from the government.The event on Citizen-centric Health Delivery Ecosystems for Universal Health Coverage Leveraging Digital Health and Innovations commenced on Tuesday.The event was inaugurated in the presence of Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar.Giving several examples of digital interventions that were used for the benefit of our citizens, Dr Mandaviya noted how data-driven insights were leveraged to guide COVID management in the country and simultaneously enabled healthcare service delivery through digital means during the Covid-19 pandemic.Similarly, he noted how the largest government-funded health insurance scheme in the world, PM-JAY was providing secondary and tertiary care services to 500 million Indian citizens in a paperless and cashless manner.Mandaviya urged stakeholders to collaborate towards enhancing Digital Public Infrastructure and Digital Public Goods through Global Initiative on Digital Health, focusing on creating a comprehensive digital health ecosystem.He expressed India's willingness to provide technical support and bridge the digital divide, promoting the use of technology in health service delivery globally."To break the silos of data, India is moving from an 'Ego-system approach' to an 'Eco-system' approach in digital health, thus focusing on creating a comprehensive digital health ecosystem," he added.Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar noted India's journey to becoming a digitally empowered nation and the need for digital health ecosystems for patient-centric healthcare services. She highlighted India's collaboration with WHO to achieve the objectives envisioned under Global Strategy on Digital Health and its work towards promoting Digital Public Goods with a specific focus on Global South."The core of India's healthcare ideology lies in digital interventions that re-align conventional healthcare practices towards supporting the principle of patient-centricity at every level," she said.The inaugural session was followed by a panel discussion on creating a harmonized global digital health ecosystem, focusing on using digital public goods to unlock the full potential of digital technology and curbing the digital divide.CEO, National Health Authority, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare S. Gopalakrishnan set the context for the session.The event was attended by senior officers of the Union Government, representatives from G20 member countries, invitee countries, international organizations, and development partners.The speakers highlighted the need to shift towards a citizen-centric healthcare system, integrating holistic healthcare models, and using IT backbones to support Traditional Medicine.ANI19 April 2023

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Ranveer Brar cooks and speaks magic

New Delhi, April 19: A small-town boy who went on to become the youngest executive chef in India, at the age of 25, was extremely dedicated to the craft of making quality food, he set on his journey with nothing but an honest effort. From being a world-class chef to now a public figure with a massive following on his YouTube Channel, a gourmet storyteller with the mind and hands of a cook.

Ranveer Brar cooks and speaks magic

Sharing his childhood memories, his learnings, the divinity associated with him being a cook, and how he found a perfect partner and an even better cook in his wife, Ranveer Brar speaks magic.Now with his multiple acting projects coming along, and building a career as a chef globally while maintaining a balance as a husband and a father, the episode of Ranveer Brar's chat with Karishma Mehta in the "How The Hell Did I Do It?", a Humans of Bombay Original Talk Show is simply awe-inspiring.Mehta It all began in Lucknow, which you mentioned has a very special place in your heart because Streets of Lucknow is where you discovered your calling or your passion. Can you tell us a little bit about that, about your childhood?Ranveer Brar I'm very proud of my small-town roots, I think, I always say, small towns, chhote shehar jo aapko ek jazba dete hai, aur ek fight jo aapke andar dete hai, ek rebel jo aapke andar zinda rakhte hai, woh bade shehar nahi kar sakte, (the attitude, the fight the ambition and the aspirations a small town give you, can't be found in a big city) and for me, that's what Lucknow stood for.It stood for challenging everything that you saw. It also stood for the time that people have towards the finer things in life, like food, poetry, and dance. Whether you like it or not, growing up in a city like Mumbai, you're always a part of a hustle. And sometimes I look at my son and I realise, if I don't stop running, subconsciously, he's just going to start running with me.And small towns, give you a different kind of hustle. They give you the hustle to break away from the rat race, rather than be a part of it. And I think that, is what Lucknow has given me. And as I said, I'm also proud of being a small-town kid. There is this big iron which is levelling our (big) cities. All the cultures are sort of becoming a multicultural ensemble - whether it's Bengaluru or Mumbai or all big cities. (They) are becoming this levelled, multicultural, similar looking, similar energy, sort of a vibe. Small towns have a singular culture and a singular energy and a different energy. They don't like being levelled. They have a character - Hyderabad ka ek character hai and they wanna keep it like that, Lucknow ka ek character hai. So the importance of fighting for the character that you have and who you are is also a very small-town thing.The smaller the town, the bigger the fight not to be levelled out and just be made into another, lowest common denominator of culture.Mehta Walk us through your, the first time you made a dish and fed it to your family. What was that experience like?Ranveer Brar So the first time actually I made a dish was not for the family, it was in the Gurudwara. As a kid, my grandfather used to drag me to the Gurudwara. He was an ex-fauji. And his unit, even though it retired, his unit Gurudwara was a 20-minute cycle ride. Every Sunday, that fauji culture of going to the Gurudwara, he couldn't get off it and he needed some company.He used to take me, behind the cycle. Then as a kid, how long will you sit with your hands folded inside a Gurudwara, right? So I used to go around, play around and they said, "nahi, boundary ke bahar nahi jaana, kho jaayega".So there was this place where we used to cook Langar. I found my comfort. I sit and watch them cook, more for just being away from, haath jod ke na baithna pade. Yaha pe jyaada se jyaada kya hoga, yahi bolega na, yeh laa de, laa denge.That's how I got there. I never cooked. It was just good fun seeing a lot of action. You are in the middle of the action, not having to sit inside. And then one day they asked me to cook because the lady used to cook gud waale chawal, she'd gone to visit her mother. They said, "He can make it right?" Because he's seen it for so many years. And I wasn't really confident because I'd only seen it. But then I made it for the first time and it turned out fairly decent. Again, I think it's just the repetitiveness of seeing it so many times. Every Sunday for three years, four years, if you see the same thing being made, it sort of registers in the subconscious. Thoda woh tha, and thoda, I always believe it was the moment and the place where you're cooking. When you're cooking a Gurdwara, things become a little more divine. So that Gud wale chawal was the first thing I cooked. My dad still calls me a Langari because you know, I started with Langar.Mehta Did you continue to cook even after, at the Langar?Ranveer Brar I did. I think till 13-14, I was very active. Initially, you go there because it's a habit. Later you go there because you get greedy. Ye maang leta hu, arre mera ab board aane wala hai, main chala jaata hu thod. Let me just continue that. You later become greedy because you want things from God.So then later that relationship developed of wanting things. Every Sunday, go and ask for something. Agla exam, then the next one. And then again, so because you had a familiarity with the people who were cooking rather than the people who were inside. So you eventually, aap maathha tek ke bahar hi aajaate the, langar mein help kar dete the. So that's how it continued after my grandfather passed away. The connection to the Gurudwara stayed. Then break ho gayi, because you were into education. Then it started again in Delhi when we started off with the Taj, in 1998 at a salary of 3,612 rupees. We were HoMTs management trainees. So we used to end up with no money by the 15th day of the month. Then, I started going back to the Gurudwara. Initially I used to go there because we had no money, so we used to eat in the Langar.And then later on, we also started feeling bad. Yaar hum log chef hai, free mein khaane ke liye baith jaate hai har mahine, so then I gradually went back to cooking. Kabhi daal bana di, Kabhi Sabzi bana di. That was a big Gurudwara. 1000-1200 logo ka khana banta tha. But then you'd also grown bigger and now you are doing this professionally also. So it was easier. That's when I sort of completed the circle. It's very funny you asked me that because now it's just all coming back. So that's when I connected to this cooking in the Gurudwara and what it really meant to me. And then again, you got busy with your life.And then I moved to the US. And Gurudwara wasn't really a part of my life. There were other things to do, and then when everything tanked. Things weren't doing well for me. My restaurant tanked, and I really had no money, so I had to go back to eating in the Gurudwara again.Mehta Did entrepreneurship come to you naturally or is it something that, again, you just went and put in the hard work, hustled, and got through that?Ranveer Brar My entrepreneurship journey started when I moved to the US in 2004, 2005. It did not come to me naturally. I think, you know, you're an artist and a professional first, and when you've been an artist and a professional for a really long time, entrepreneurship isn't the first, isn't the easiest transition.I think what I felt was, you know, whatever you were doing in India was great. You were an executive chef in a five star hotel. You were looking at multiple hotel kitchens and all that but you started off with a certain relationship to food, which is cooking it yourself. I wasn't getting enough to cook it enough and that's why I thought, okay, let me just go back to a restaurant, running a restaurant. Because then you can sort of cook it yourself. Go back to understanding with the whole touching, moving, and inspiring bit. And that's what I did. So I partnered in a small restaurant. We said, we're gonna set it up. I was just happy that I was cooking again and that was the motivation to go to the US.The restaurant did well initially, but then the recession set in. When you open a restaurant you cannot just email and get things done, you know, you gotta be a lot more hands-on. I had to make that transition. It took me some time to make that transition. Also, you were cooking for a different culture with a different background and you know, so for me, there was a huge learning.It was a learning that I would, I was not ready for and so I did not really adapt well to it in the first couple of years till I actually realized that I wasn't probably as good as I thought. And I need to step back, stop, understand who I am and what my food is, and what is it that I really wanna say with my food. What do I stand for? And answer those basic questions for myself rather than take pride in, the fact that whatever I do, I do really well and I think that took me some time to really understand who I am and it sort of worked out. We have six odd restaurants again in the US and they're doing all right.But more than that, I think that that switch to entrepreneurship happens when you have the courage to, you know, to rub everything off the board and say, it doesn't really matter about yesterday, I'm, I'm willing to, Again, all over again.Mehta Was it a difficult time to cope with this? Looking at it in hindsight that maybe I'm not as good or the fact that the restaurant shut down. You mentioned in one interview that you were almost homeless, these are very serious things to be dealing with at a young age, right, in your twenties. What was it like back then? How, how did you cope? How did you give yourself hope?Ranveer Brar Human psychology is the first thing you do is denial. First, you deny it like it cannot be happening to me. When you're done and tired with the denial bit then the acceptance sets in to say, hey, you know what, it is happening to me and you know, there are things that need to change.And the third is the change when you really make those changes and make a difference. So I went through the entire circle. I think I denied it for the longest time. That part took a lot of my energy, and I denied it for the longest. It can't be happening to me. I mean, you know, I was the youngest and the best in India, and how so?I think that whole circle of denial, acceptance, and change is how it broke down for me. Of course, it's difficult, I think, to accept the fact that you're not as good as you thought you were and that you've placed your entire life on this, and that's all you've done all your life. You've not taken days off and you've worked for 18 to 20 hours a day. Accepting the fact that you're not as good as you think was the toughest part for me. Because then you have to really go back and ask yourself a lot of tough questions and that was tough.(Contributed by Humans Of Bombay)(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)IANS19 April 2023

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AIADMK to contest Ktaka assembly polls, fields D. Anbarasan from Pulikeshi nagar

Chennai, April 19: AIADMK general secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday announced that the party will contest the Karnataka Assembly polls.

AIADMK to contest K'taka assembly polls, fields D. Anbarasan from Pulikeshi nagar

However, the party had earlier announced that it would not be contesting the state Assembly polls and would support BJP candidates.The party also announced D. Anbarasan as its candidate from the Pulikeshi Nagar constituency. BJP leader Murali will also be contesting from the said constituency.In 2018, the Pulikeshi nagar seat was won by S. Akhanda Srinivasamurthy of the Indian National Congress who defeated Janata Dal (Secular) leader B. Prasanna Kumar by a margin of 81,626 votes.In the 2018 assembly elections, the AIADMK had fielded three candidates.The Karnataka assembly polls are scheduled on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.IANS19 April 2023

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People of Kerala thankful to PM Modi for Vande Bharat: MoS Muraleedharan

New Delhi, April 19: Union Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan on Tuesday said people of Kerala are thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for announcing Vande Bharat train service for Kerala.

People of Kerala thankful to PM Modi for Vande Bharat: MoS Muraleedharan

"The people of Kerala are thankful to PM Narendra Modi as well as the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for announcing this high-speed train for Kerala which will definitely improve the pace of development in Kerala. On 25 April, the PM is visiting Kerala and the flag-off will happen that day - that is the information we have...""The train will originate from Kasaragod which is the northernmost tipoff of Kerala to the capital city of Trivandrum at the southernmost tip. So the Vande Bharat will cover a distance of 600 km in 8 hours which means that people of Kerala will be able to travel across the state in 8 hours." He added."The demand for a high-speed train for Kerala has now been fulfilled. Prime Minister takes special care of Kerala. Under PM Narendra Modi's leadership, the Centre is taking all efforts for the development of Kerala," Muraleedharan said on April 14.At that time taking a dig at the Pinarayi Vijayan government Muraleedharan said "When there is a high-speed train, why should people give up their lands in the name of the SilverLine project? It has become irrelevant," he said.The rakes of the Vande Bharat train, which will be run by the Southern Railways, reached Palakkad on April 14 morning. The Indian Railway successfully completed the trial run of Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express from Thiruvananthapuram to Kannur on April 17. The trial run started from Thiruvananthapuram railway station at 510 am and reached Kannur at 1230 pm.Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to flag off the Vande Bharat train service during his visit to Kerala later this month.ANI19 April 2023

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From sustainable practices to Artificial Intelligence: Indias agriculture future ready

New Delhi, April 18: One of India's core strengths is its strong agriculture sector, which has made the country self-sufficient for its food security needs. India currently possesses the capability of producing sufficient food for 18 per cent of the world's population by using just 12 per cent of the world's land resources and a mere 4 per cent of the global water resources.

From sustainable practices to Artificial Intelligence: India's agriculture future ready

India's farmers have been well utilising the country's 20 agri-climatic regions, 15 major climates and all 46 types of soils found in India, the piece of land that we, 1.4 billion people, call home. Advancements, investments, and government support have empowered India's Kissan and its farming sector.This year, the budgetary allocations of over USD 15 billion for 2023-24 to the agriculture and allied sector, included nine thousand crores, allocated specifically for farmer education.Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Agriculture Minister said, "Even from an agricultural perspective several major announcements have been made. This time more than one lakh fifteen thousand crores (14 billion approx.) is the budget of the Agriculture Ministry and nine thousand crores (1.1 billion approx.) for Agriculture education have been allocated. Overall one lakh twenty-five thousand crore rupees (USD 15 billion) have been allocated for agriculture which is certainly appreciable".Because of such governmental efforts, the agriculture sector emerged victorious, growing at 3.6 per cent in 2020-21 and 3.9 per cent in 2021-22, despite Covid-induced shockwaves. The agriculture sector, which currently employs 56.4 per cent of India's population, is on track for exponential growth in the country's eight agriculture clusters; Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan and Assam. (Source- IBEF)Over time, multiple governmental efforts in the agriculture field have made India the world leader in the production of spices, pulses, milk, tea, cashew, and jute, and the second largest producer of wheat, rice, fruits and vegetables, sugarcane, cotton, and oilseeds. It is also predicted that India's agricultural industry will grow to 24 billion USD by 2025. (Source IBEF)Not limiting efforts to focused investments, the need to modernise and revolutionise India's agricultural sector has also been addressed by the government. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her budget speech said "Digital public infrastructure for agriculture will be built as open source, open standard and the interoperable public good. This will enable inclusive farmer-centred solutions. An agriculture accelerator fund will be set up to encourage Agri- startups by young entrepreneurs in rural areas. The fund will aim at bringing innovative and affordable solutions for challenges faced by farmers. We will launch an Atmanirbhar Clean Plant Program to boost the availability of disease-free quality planting material for high-value horticultural crops".Outside the halls of Parliament, India's private sector also has increased its support for the development of the agricultural industry in India.In September of 2021, the Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare signed five MoUs with CISCO, Nestle, Ninjacart, Jio Platforms Limited, ITC Limited and NCDEX e-markets Limited. These MoUs will have five pilot projects, to help farmers maximize crop yield to establish India's agricultural might on a global level. (Source IBEF)India's conducive environment for startups has also reached the fields and farms of India. No longer remaining limited to business hubs, agricultural startups are being established all over India by the capable youth of our country.Saurabh Agarwal CEO, of GROWiT India an agri-startup based in Surat, explained the potential of the Agriculture sector to ANI and said "The potential of the sector is almost fifty thousand crores (6.08 billion) of business in this particular sector. Today the industry is only about a thousand crores (121 million). It's a huge potential in the industry, many people can come into the industry, and the more people that come in more knowledge farmers will have. It will be better for the industry to have some competition and some good young companies coming in and promoting this technology further".Amit Sinha the Co-Founder of Unnati Agri and agri-startup based in New Delhi said that "A lot of scope of building up India first solutions exists in the Indian agricultural field, and that is where a lot of startups including us have been working together and trying to solve the problems of agriculture through the latest in technology and financial services that we could bring to the table".Several modernizations have resulted in the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) into the agricultural sector and the establishment of government and private platforms for supporting and creating a conducive ecosystem for the sale of agricultural produce.India is no longer a land of uneducated farmers. The revolution of the agricultural sector has resulted in several well-established and educated young entrepreneurs turning to farmlands, initiating more than 1300 Agri startups.Ezhil Subbian the CEO, of String Bio an agri-startup from Bangalore said that "We have a lot of MSC graduates working for us who come from a farming background. So their parents used to be traditional farmers now they have been trained agronomers who are keen to bring advanced farm management practices to their own farms. I think it's a very positive trend and I would hope to see more of this in coming years".Agricultural-based startups have aimed to ensure that scientific and cutting-edge technology reaches and utilizes the entire capable soil of India, east to west, north to south.While women have long been integral to the agricultural industry in India, female entrepreneurs have entered the rapidly revolutionizing market, providing it with a rather different approach and a different perspective.Rapid modernisation, targeted investments, government support, and the entrance of talented youth into India's agricultural sector will have a compounding effect and will ensure a bright future for yet another facet of Brand India.ANI19 April 2023

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Gagan Arora, Founder & President of Vertex Group accepted into Forbes Technology Council

Gurgaon, April 19: Gagan Arora, Founder and President of Vertex Group which is headquartered in Times Square New York, has been accepted into Forbes Technology Council, an invitation-only community for world-class CIOs, CTOs, and technology executives. The Vertex Group offers diversified portfolio of critical functions includes managed services, technology solutions, exhibitions and conferences, performance marketing, AI, learning & education, and a gamut of cloud-tech-enabled services slated for cross-platform development.

Gagan Arora, Founder & President of Vertex Group accepted into Forbes Technology Council

Gagan Arora was vetted and selected by a review committee based on the depth and diversity of his experience. Criteria for acceptance include a track record of successfully impacting business growth metrics, as well as personal and professional achievements and honors."We are honored to welcome Gagan Arora into the community," said Scott Gerber, Founder of Forbes Councils, the collective that includes Forbes Technology Council. "Our mission with Forbes Councils is to bring together proven leaders from every industry, creating a curated, social capital-driven network that helps every member grow professionally and make an even greater impact on the business world."As an accepted member of the Council, Gagan Arora has access to a variety of exclusive opportunities designed to help him reach peak professional influence. He will connect and collaborate with other respected local leaders in a private forum. Gagan will also be invited to work with a professional editorial team to share his expert insights in original business articles on Forbes.com, and to contribute to published Q and A panels alongside other experts.Finally, Gagan Arora will benefit from exclusive access to vetted business service partners, membership-branded marketing collateral, and the high-touch support of the Forbes Councils member concierge team.Speaking on the occasion, Gagan Arora stated, "I am excited to be a part of this prestigious council and join such an accomplished group of passionate leaders and changemakers. I am looking forward to contributing to the cause up to a large extent with the best of my abilities to transform businesses in today's thriving economy. I hope my experience could be of great help to the modern-day business transformations and I look forward to conferring with my fellow council members and sharing the insights I have gained throughout my 20-year career."Forbes Councils is a collective of invitation-only communities created in partnership with Forbes and the expert community builders who founded Young Entrepreneur Council (YEC). In Forbes Councils, exceptional business owners and leaders come together with the people and resources that can help them thrive.For more information about Forbes Technology Council, visit . To learn more about Forbes Councils, visit .Gagan Arora is the Founder and President of Vertex Group, is an intuitive, far-sighted and ingenious leader with 20 years of industry experience and is renowned for his capacity to inspire creativity and his strategic thinking. Arora is regarded as a self-starter and achiever who expanded his business into 7 different countries within 6 years after the launch of Vertex Global Services with 5 distinctive business segments and plans on marking his presence across the globe. He is also known as one of the top business tycoons and a creative digital entrepreneur and has been awarded as the Best CEO 7 times. Arora is also responsible for various global initiatives such as Chairman - Foreign Investors Council, Trade Commissioner for India Africa Trade Council. Senator India for World Business Angels Investment Forum and Delegate of India for Global Chamber of Business Leaders.Vertex Group is ranked 19th amongst the top 50 most innovative companies and rated as Best Place to work for 3 years in a row. Vertex offers diversified portfolio of critical functions includes managed services, technology solutions, exhibitions and conferences, performance marketing, AI, learning and education, and a gamut of cloud-tech-enabled services slated for cross-platform development. The business verticals include Vertex Global Services, Vertex Next, Vertex Academy, Vertex Cosmos and Vertex Technologies, the key hub offices are located in US, UK, Canada, Nepal, Philippines, Middle East, Africa and India. Vertex leverages the change to create value and shared success for its customers, people, shareholders, partners, and communities.This story has been provided by NewsVoir. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article.ANI19 April 2023

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President, Mumbai celebrates 50 glorious years since opening

New Delhi, April 19: President, Mumbai -- IHCL SeleQtions, which was established in 1973, will commemorate 50 illustrious years this April. For years, it has been the ultimate retreat for discerning customers and guests. It is synonymous with world-class hospitality and friendly service.

President, Mumbai celebrates 50 glorious years since opening

The hotel, one of the first high-rise structures in the city with views of the Arabian Sea, is recognised for giving its visitors remarkable and one-of-a-kind experiences. The hotel, which is a popular among South Mumbai visitors, is now the go-to place for tourists from all over the world looking for a home away from home. As the city's skyline changed quickly over the years, the hotel changed with it, but it continued to be a popular place for Mumbaikars throughout the world who were looking for a break.On the occasion, Somnath Mukherjee - Senior Vice President, West, IHCL said, "It has been a matter of great pride for us to watch President, Mumbai grow from strength to strength amidst all the love it has received over the last 50 years. We are truly moved by the outpouring of trust and support from our guests and are hopeful of fulfilling bigger dreams together in the coming years."Melvyn Saldanha, General Manager - President, Mumbai echoes his sentiments "We are thrilled to be celebrating 50 years of this wonderful hotel. To commemorate this occasion, the hotel has commissioned an extraordinary mural that reflects the soul of this very special hotel. Unveiled by Puneet Chhatwal - Managing Director and CEO, IHCL and Rajkumar Nagpal, Executive Director - PIEM Hotels during the grand anniversary celebration, the mural will find a permanent pride of place in our lobby for guests to enjoy. The year ahead has an exciting calendar of events planned which are sure to engage and excite our guests."(IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)IANS19 April 2023

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Severe Covid raises risk of life-threatening heart rhythm problem by 16x

London, April 19: Patients with severe Covid-19 requiring mechanical ventilation are 16 times more likely to develop life-threatening ventricular tachycardia -- a heart rhythm condition -- within six months compared to those without severe infection, according to a research.

Severe Covid raises risk of life-threatening heart rhythm problem by 16x

A heart rhythm problem (arrhythmia) is caused by irregular electrical signals in the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles). Ventricular tachycardia is a potentially life-threatening heart rhythm disturbance that occurs when the ventricle beats too fast to pump properly causing the body to receive insufficient oxygenated blood.Severe Covid also raised risks of other heart rhythm disorders, revealed the study, presented at the scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC)."The actual likelihood of developing ventricular tachycardia or other arrhythmias after severe Covid-19 is low for the individual patient, but much higher than in those without severe infection," said Dr. Marcus Stahlberg of the Karolinska Institute in Sweden."Covid-19 patients who need mechanical ventilation often have other conditions and adding a heart rhythm disorder may lead to worsened health. These patients should seek medical attention if they develop palpitations or irregular heartbeats after hospital discharge so they can be evaluated for possible arrhythmias," Dr. Stahlberg said.The study included 3,023 patients with severe Covid-19 who received mechanical ventilation at a Swedish ICU and 28,463 individuals from the general population who had not been in an ICU with Covid-19 requiring mechanical ventilation (control group) between March 2020 and June 2021.The average follow up was nine months. In patients who had severe Covid-19, the incidence rates per 1,000 person-years of ventricular tachycardia, atrial fibrillation, other tachyarrhythmias, and bradycardia/pacemaker implantation were 15.4, 78.4, 99.3 and 8.5, respectively. Corresponding incidence rates in the control group were 0.9, 6.0, 6.7 and 0.9, respectively.Compared to the control group, patients who had severe Covid-19 requiring mechanical ventilation had a 16-fold risk of ventricular tachycardia, 13-fold risk of atrial fibrillation, 14-fold risk of other tachyarrhythmias, and 9-fold risk of bradycardia/pacemaker implantation."An increased risk of arrhythmias following Covid-19 has also been reported previously in the bulk of Covid-19 patients not requiring ICU treatment. Together with our new data and taking into the account that we globally have more than 650 million reported Covid-19 cases, hospital systems should prepare for an increase in patients requiring management for new onset arrhythmias," Dr. Stahlberg said.IANS19 April 2023

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BJP to plummet by 100 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha polls: Sanjay Raut

Mumbai, April 19: Shiv Sena (UBT) MP and chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut on Wednesday claimed that the ruling BJP at the Centre would fall by 100-110 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

BJP to plummet by 100 seats in 2024 Lok Sabha polls: Sanjay Raut

"There is a strong anti-BJP sentiment. In the next Parliament elections, BJP will forfeit 100-110 seats. This means, there will be a 100 per cent change in power at the Centre," Raut told mediapersons here.He said that along with the BJP, all the central probe agencies like the ED and CBI which are being misused to pressurise all opposition parties like Congress, Nationalist Congress Party or Shiv Sena (UBT), will also go out.Raut said that in Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) will fight the 2024 Assembly elections unitedly to bag between 180-185 (out of 288) seats, and of the 48 Lok Sabha seats, the MVA alliance will win 40.When asked who will be the "Prime Ministerial face of the Opposition", he said that "it could be anybody, but the country will see a change of power at the Centre in 2024, there's no doubt on this".Referring to certain surveys pointing at huge reversals for the BJP in the state, Raut said "we don't need to depend on surveys" as the ground realities are very clearly pointing to a power-change.On the deaths of at least 13 devotees after the 'Maharashtra Bhushan Award' 2022 event in Navi Mumbai on April 16, Raut said that it was the direct responsibility of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and he must quit."Let Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis demand his resignation. He is the home Minister," said the Sena (UBT) leader, on the disaster that has snowballed into a major political fracas in the state.IANS19 April 2023

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A Blasdell man who pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge has been sentenced to 5 years in prison, U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced.

U.S. District Judge John L. Sinatra Jr. imposed the penalty on Shawn Kostelny, 57, for his conviction on possession of child pornography involving a prepubescent minor.

Prosecutors said Kostelny sent child pornography images to Homeland Security Investigations special agent in June 2020, using peer-to-peer software on the internet.

When a search warrant was executed in August 2020 at Kostelny's home, officers seized 49 electronic devices containing 8,018 images and 686 videos of child pornography, including more than 600 images on a computer hard drive, some depicting violence or sexual abuse of an infant or toddler.

Kostelny pleaded guilty in July 2022 to the charge, which carried a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison.
Im inspired by opportunity of collaborating between Israeli and Indian economy: Nir Barkat

New Delhi, April 19: Israel's Minister of Economy and Industry Nir Barkat said that he is inspired by the opportunity of collaborating between the economies of Israel and India.

I'm inspired by opportunity of collaborating between Israeli and Indian economy: Nir Barkat

In response to ANI's question regarding his India visit, Barkat said, "I'm inspired by the opportunity of collaborating between Israeli economy and the Indian economy. But prior to that, I want to mention the friendship between the people. Israelis love Indians and thank God, Indians love Israelis. We have good history for 2000 years, while Jews had challenges all over the world, we always felt safe and secure living and doing business in India. And I think this is very important looking into the future."Speaking about the ties between India and Israel, Barkat said both the governments of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu are "friendly." He said that India and Israel should focus on business growth. He talked about collaborating with India which he stressed "soon going to be the third largest economy.""Both governments, Modi and Netanyahu, are friendly. We both understand how to take our economy to the next level. So, I'm inspired by the opportunity. Naturally, what I believe we should do now is focus on business growth and see how our technology, we're tiny, a little country, less than 10 million people, but we have good ideas," Nir Barkat told ANI."We're the leading entrepreneurial country in the world. We understand how to leverage technology to solve many challenges and the opportunity with the economy of India, which is soon going to be the third largest economy, is scale scope. You're 150 times larger than Israel. And I believe it's a wonderful opportunity to make one plus one equals five. And so, in the near future, I believe we should help institutionalize business-to-business relationship and expand that ability for people to do better and more economy and more business," he added.When asked whether any discussion took place between Israel and India on Free Trade Agreement, Barkat said, "Right now, there's not a lot of trade. There's a lot of business, but less trade. I believe the big opportunity is in the business world. We did discuss and we will check out the opportunity to do a free trade agreement side by side to the business development between the nations. And I'm very optimistic that we'll be able to do really good deals together."Earlier, Barkat attended the India-Israel Business Forum where he said that Indian people are "good friends" of Israel. "We share the same values including democracy, human rights and respect for others, and face similar challenges in security and economy," the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) tweeted quoting Barkat as saying."Today, 10% of Israel's labour is tech-oriented. For a small economy like Israel, we need to grow that number to 25% in the next 20 yr. For us to scale to that number, we need to open our markets and India is a great solution for our growth," Barkat said.Noting that the world was moving swiftly ahead, he added, "We need to bring our experience from entrepreneurs and managers back to the #education system. The key factor for speeding growth would be how we transition from old jobs to new ones."ANI19 April 2023

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Air India flight asks for priority landing at Delhi airport after suspected windshield crack

New Delhi, April 18: A Delhi-bound Air India flight asked for a priority landing at Indira Gandhi International Airport after a suspected windshield crack on Tuesday.

Air India flight asks for priority landing at Delhi airport after suspected windshield crack

However, the aircraft landed normally. The flight originated from Pune. The pilot of the aircraft asked for a priority landing at Delhi airport after a suspected wind crack, said sources.Further details awaited.Earlier on Tuesday, a Srinagar-bound SpiceJet flight returned to Delhi's Indira Gandhi International (IGI) airport after a false warning, the airline spokesperson said."On April 18, a SpiceJet B737 aircraft operating flight SG-8373 (Delhi-Srinagar) returned to Delhi as the AFT cargo fire light illuminated the cockpit," the spokesperson said.According to the SpiceJet spokesperson, the light was later extinguished upon actions taken by the flight captain."Before landing, all operational parameters were observed to be normal and the aircraft landed safely and passengers were deplaned normally," the spokesperson said."Subsequently, upon opening of AFT cargo, no sign of fire or smoke was found and based on initial assessment, the warning was observed to be false," the spokesperson added.Earlier, an Abu Dhabi-bound Etihad Airways flight returned to the Bangalore International Airport shortly after take-off due to a technical issue, the airline said.The airline said the aircraft did a normal landing at Bangalore airport.The flight inspection was done and later took off to its destination where it landed this morning."Etihad Airways flight EY237 from Bangalore International Airport to Abu Dhabi on April 2, returned to Bangalore Airport shortly after take-off due to a technical issue. The aircraft performed a normal landing in Bangalore. The required technical inspections were completed, and the flight continued to Abu Dhabi, where it landed early this morning," Etihad Airways said in a statement.ANI19 April 2023

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G20 delegates take part in Yoga session on sidelines of Health Working Group meeting

Panaji, April 18: G20 delegates on Tuesday took part in a Yoga session in Panaji Goa, on the second day of the second Health Working Group (HWG) meeting under India's G20 presidency. Union Minister of State for Health and family welfare Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar participated and appealed to everyone to practise yoga.

G20 delegates take part in Yoga session on sidelines of Health Working Group meeting

"I appeal to everyone to practise Yoga each day for a healthy life," said Dr Bharati Pravin Pawar. The three-day Health Working Group began on Monday.According to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, more than 180 delegates from 19 G20 member countries, 10 invited states and 22 international organizations are participating in the meeting.The second HWG meeting will have thematic discussions on three priorities identified under the G20 Health Track.The first priority is Health Emergencies Prevention, Preparedness and Response with a focus on One Health and AMR (antimicrobial resistance). The second is Strengthening Cooperation in Pharmaceutical Sector with a focus on access and availability to safe, effective, quality and affordable medical countermeasures (vaccines, therapeutics and diagnostics). The third priority includes Digital Health Innovations and Solutions to Aid Universal Health Coverage and Improve Healthcare Service Delivery, said the official statement.Several cultural programmes infused with flavours of Goan culture have been planned for the event to showcase India's rich diversity and culture based on the Indian philosophy of 'Atithi Devo Bhava'. Delegates will also be able to experience Goa's culinary culture, besides enjoying its scenic beauty and generous hospitality, the statement said.ANI19 April 2023

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Study shows how music can prevent cognitive decline

Washington, April 19: Progressive cognitive decline is associated with normal ageing. Can we, however, train our brain to postpone this process? A team of researchers from the University of Geneva (UNIGE), HES-SO Geneva, and EPFL discovered that practising and listening to music can slow cognitive decline in healthy seniors by increasing grey matter production. The researchers followed over 100 retired people who had never played music before to achieve these results. For six months, they were enrolled in piano and music awareness classes. These findings open up new avenues for promoting healthy ageing.

Study shows how music can prevent cognitive decline

They were published in NeuroImage Reports.Throughout our lives, our brain remodels itself. Brain morphology and connections change according to the environment and the experiences, for instance when we learn new skills or overcome the consequences of a stroke. However, as we age, this ''brain plasticity'' decreases. The brain also loses grey matter, where our precious neurons are located. This is known as ''brain atrophy''.Gradually, a cognitive decline appears. Working memory, at the core of many cognitive processes, is one of the cognitive functions suffering the most. Working memory is defined as the process in which we briefly retain and manipulate information in order to achieve a goal, such as remembering a telephone number long enough to write it down or translating a sentence from a foreign language.A study led by the UNIGE, HES-SO Geneva, and EPFL revealed that music practice and active listening could prevent working memory decline. Such activities promoted brain plasticity, they were associated with grey matter volume increase. Positive impacts have also been measured on working memory. This study was conducted among 132 healthy retirees from 62 to 78 years of age. One of the conditions for participation was that they had not taken any music lessons for more than six months in their lives.Practicing music vs. listening to music''We wanted people whose brains did not yet show any traces of plasticity linked to musical learning. Indeed, even a brief learning experience in the course of one's life can leave imprints on the brain, which would have biased our results'', explains Damien Marie, first author of the study, a research associate at the CIBM Center for Biomedical Imaging, the Faculty of Medicine and the Interfaculty Center for Affective Sciences (CISA) of UNIGE, as well as at the Geneva School of Health Sciences.The participants were randomly assigned to two groups, regardless of their motivation to play an instrument. The second group had active listening lessons, which focused on instrument recognition and analysis of musical properties in a wide range of musical styles. The classes lasted one hour. Participants in both groups were required to do homework for half an hour a day.Positive effects on both groups''After six months, we found common effects for both interventions. Neuroimaging revealed an increase in grey matter in four brain regions involved in high-level cognitive functioning in all participants, including cerebellum areas involved in working memory. Their performance increased by 6% and this result was directly correlated to the plasticity of the cerebellum,'' says Clara James, last author of the study, a privat-docent at the Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences of UNIGE, and full professor at the Geneva School of Health Sciences. The scientists also found that the quality of sleep, the number of lessons followed over the course of the intervention, and the daily training quantity, had a positive impact on the degree of improvement in performance.However, the researchers also found a difference between the two groups. In the pianists, the volume of grey matter remained stable in the right primary auditory cortex -- a key region for sound processing, whereas it decreased in the active listening group. ''In addition, a global brain pattern of atrophy was present in all participants. Therefore, we cannot conclude that musical interventions rejuvenate the brain. They only prevent ageing in specific regions,'' says Damien Marie.These results show that practicing and listening to music promotes brain plasticity and cognitive reserve. The authors of the study believe that these playful and accessible interventions should become a major policy priority for healthy ageing. The next step for the team is to evaluate the potential of these interventions in people with mild cognitive impairment, an intermediate stage between normal ageing and dementia.ANI19 April 2023

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UP CM asks officials to prepare action plan to protect state animal Swamp deer, state bird Sarus crane

Lucknow, April 19: Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath on Tuesday directed the officials to prepare an action plan for protecting the state animal Swamp deer (barasingha), and the state bird Sarus crane.

UP CM asks officials to prepare action plan to protect state animal Swamp deer, state bird Sarus crane

Chairing the 14th meeting of the Uttar Pradesh State Wildlife Board on Tuesday, Adityanath gave guidelines on a number of important topics, including preserving the biodiversity of the state and expanding the possibilities of eco-tourism, informed a press statement.He called the increase in dolphin populations in the Ganges due to the Namami Gange project, an encouraging development."Similarly, we have to make planned efforts for the protection of the state animal 'barasingha' (swamp deer) and state bird Sarus crane. An action plan should be prepared and presented in this regard," CM Yogi said.He said that the development works of Kukrail Night Safari, Lucknow, and Ranipur Tiger Reserve, Chitrakoot, should be expedited."In this regard, the Wildlife Department, Urban Development, PWD, and Housing Department should together prepare a good action plan. These two initiatives will give the state's biodiversity and natural beauty new identities. Both of these new places will be a gift for nature lovers. Action should be taken in this regard on a priority basis," he said.The Chief Minister highlighted that the number of tigers is increasing in the state due to planned efforts."In the year 2014, there were a total of 117 tigers in the state, which increased to 173 in 2018. In the report released recently, the presence of 804 tigers in the Shivalik and Ganga plain landscapes has been confirmed. This is good news. We should keep up our efforts to conserve biodiversity," he said.He also said that the efforts to promote wetland conservation and tourism have yielded good results, and so far, 10 Ramsar sites have been declared in the state full of natural beauty."Among these, the Upper Ganga River, Bulandshahr, Sarsai Nawar Jheel, Etawah, Nawabganj Bird Sanctuary, Unnao, Sandi Bird Sanctuary, Hardoi, Samaspur Bird Sanctuary, Rae Bareilly, Parvati Arga Bird Sanctuary, Gonda, Saman Bird Sanctuary, Mainpuri, Sur Sarovar Bird Sanctuary, Agra, Bakhira Bird Sanctuary, Sant Kabirnagar, Haiderpur Wetland, Muzaffarnagar, are included. Awareness of wetland conservation should be increased. Tourism facilities should be developed here," the Chief Minister stated.He further pointed out the opportunities for ecotourism around Sant Kabir Nagar's Bakhira Lake, and directed the officials to prepare an action plan for development.CM Yogi also raised concerns regarding flash floods during the rainy season and water logging that affects wildlife.The Chief Minister asked the officers to send a proposal for prior approval from the Standing Committee of the National Wildlife Board for transfer/change in land use for the implementation of various projects of Jal Jeevan Mission, such as drinking water, laying of optical fibre, road widening, etc., in forest areas of various districts of the state.He also instructed the officers to regularly monitor the projects, the press statement read.ANI19 April 2023

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Jaishankar speaks to his Saudi Arabian, UAE counterparts over Sudan situation

New Delhi, April 19: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Tuesday dialled his Saudi Arabian counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan and discussed Sudan's situation while stating that both countries will remain in close touch.

Jaishankar speaks to his Saudi Arabian, UAE counterparts over Sudan situation

Taking to Twitter, Jaishankar said, "Spoke to Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, HH @FaisalbinFarhan just now. Appreciated his assessment of the Sudan situation. Will remain in close touch."Saudi Arabia's Foreign Ministry, in the statement, said, "His Highness Prince Faisal bin Farhan, received a phone call from the Minister of External Affairs of the Republic of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar.""During the call, they discussed the current situation in the Republic of Sudan, with an emphasis on the importance of stopping the military escalation and returning to the framework agreement, in a way that ensures the security and stability of Sudan and its brotherly people," the statement added.India is coordinating closely with various countries to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals in Sudan.India had also talked with the United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister and tracked Sudan's situation."Thank HH @ABZayed, Foreign Minister of UAE, for the exchange of views on the situation in Sudan. Our continuing contacts are helpful," he said in another tweet.Earlier, on Monday, the MEA also set up a dedicated Control Room to assist Indians stranded in Sudan. The officials of the Ministry of External Affairs are also in continuous touch with Indian Embassy in Khartoum and are getting regular reports of the status of the Indian community.The Embassy in turn is in touch with the community and individuals through multiple methods including WhatsApp groups, sources said, adding that situation on the street is very tense and movement is very risky at this stage. The priority of MEA is the safety of movement and well-being of individuals where ever they are located, as per sources.While both the Ministry of External Affairs and the Embassy are continuously monitoring the situation, concerns of safety and security constrained it from putting out specific details, as per sources.There have been violent clashes in Sudan for nearly six days between the country's army and a paramilitary group over a proposed timeline for handing over power to a civilian government.ANI19 April 2023

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GIGABYTE unveils new series of premium laptops in India

New Delhi, April 19: Technology brand GIGABYTE on Wednesday launched latest additions to AORUS, AERO, and G5 series of laptops in the Indian market.

GIGABYTE unveils new series of premium laptops in India

The premium laptops offer up to the Intel 13th Gen Intel Core processors and the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU for high-performance gaming and creative workloads.The laptops start from Rs 90,999 and goes up to Rs 179,599. The devices will be available in India from May.Designed for gamers and creators on the go, the AORUS 17 and AORUS 15 feature up to Intel Core 13th Gen i7 H series processors and up to NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 Laptop GPU with a TGP of 140W.Additionally, the AORUS lineup offers 17.3 and 15.6-inch displays with up to QHD resolution and a maximum refresh rate of 240Hz for immersive visuals and fluid frame rates, said the company."GIGABYTE is committed to providing creators, gamers, and streamers in the country with the right tools to fuel their growth and success. The latest laptops cater to all their needs by providing peak performance in a compact package, enabling them to excel in their craft," said Sunil Grewal, Director, GIGABYTE Technology India Pvt. Ltd.The AERO 14 OLED has received significant upgrades with 1.49kg lightweight and up to 13th Gen Intel Core processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPUs now included."NVIDIA Studio certification further ensures that the laptops have been optimized for stability and performance, providing seamless support for widely used creative software," said the company.The G5 series brings offer a 12th Gen Intel Core i5 processor paired with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 40 Series Laptop GPUs, and a 144Hz high refresh rate display, specially designed for mid-range gaming.All the laptops feature GIGABYTE's 'WINDFORCE' cooling technology, to ensure efficient and quiet cooling while also making the laptops more compact and portable for on-the-move operations.IANS19 April 2023

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Bhubaneswar to host Intercontinental Cup from June 9

New Delhi, April 19: Bhubaneswar will host the senior men's national team during the Intercontinental Cup 2023 in June, the AIFF announced on Wednesday.

Bhubaneswar to host Intercontinental Cup from June 9

The four-team Intercontinental Cup will be played in the FIFA International Window from June 9 to 18, with hosts India being joined by Lebanon, Mongolia and Vanuatu in the tournament.This will be the third edition of the Intercontinental Cup, with the previous two being held in Mumbai (2018) and Ahmedabad (2019).Earlier last month, Manipur hosted the Tri-Nation international football tournament."Imphal had experienced the joy of International football in March, and now it's Bhubaneswar's turn to join the country's growing map of international venues for men's football," said AIFF Secretary General Dr. Shaji Prabhakaran."Bhubaneswar was one of the venues of the FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup, and with that, we have seen some excellent infrastructure being developed by the Government of Odisha. It is a legacy that the U-17 Women's World Cup has left behind and has paved the path for the Senior Men's National Team to now play in the city for the first time in its history.If you look at what happened in Manipur, it was held for the first time, and that way we are confident that fans in Odisha will display equal enthusiasm for the event. We are also hopeful that Odisha football will benefit greatly from hosting the Hero Intercontinental Cup," he added.The Indian men's national team had previously never played against Mongolia and Vanuatu. Against Lebanon, the hosts hold a record of playing six matches.The Blue Tigers are currently on a five-match unbeaten streak on home turf, a run that began on June 8, 2022, with a 2-0 win over Cambodia in the AFC Asian Cup 2023 Qualifiers Round 3 in Kolkata. Since then, Igor Stimac's boys have defeated Afghanistan (2-1), Hong Kong (4-0), and then on to the Tri-Nation, where they beat Myanmar (1-0) and the Kyrgyz Republic (2-0) in Imphal.IANS19 April 2023

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Balakot Ops showed air power can be used in no-war, no-peace situation under nuclear overhang: IAF Chief

New Delhi, April 18: IAF chief Air Chief Marshal V R Chaudhari on Tuesday said that operations like Balakot have demonstrated that given the political will, aerospace power can be effectively used in a no-war, no-peace situation, under a nuclear overhang without escalating into a full-blown conflict.

Balakot Ops showed air power can be used in no-war, no-peace situation under nuclear overhang: IAF Chief

"This is very important, given the nature of our adversaries. The response options available to the leadership have suddenly increased and increasingly, air power has become an option of choice due to inherent flexibility and unmatched precision strike capability," the IAF chief said.Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari was speaking at the Marshal of the Air Force Arjan Singh Memorial Seminar 'Aerospace power Pivot to future battlespace operations'.The Balakot airstrikes were carried out in February 2019 by Indian Air Force after the Pulwama terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir.The IAF chief said that the foremost lesson that can be drawn from the twentieth century and indeed the early twenty-first century is that no war can be successfully prosecuted without aerospace power.He cited the words of Field Marshal Montgomery, 'If we lose war in the air, we lose the war and lose it quickly'."There are a few very pertinent words in the theme of the seminar which need a bit more study. The first being 'Pivot'. Pivot translates to Fulcrum, which is defined as a thing that plays a central or essential role in an activity, event or situation. The other words that need more study are 'Future Battlespace Operations'."Over the last few decades, the understanding of a military operational environment has significantly transformed from primarily a force, time and space-driven linear battlefield to a system of systems capable of simultaneous, parallel and independent operations across multiple domains," the IAF chief said.He said the traditional battlefield has long left the lexicon of modern strategists and what is increasingly being used is battlespace in the land, sea, air, cyber and space domains."When we bring all these words together, it broadly gives a contour of things to come in the next few decades. Call it a reveille bugle or a heralding trumpet, we must acknowledge that the wars of the future will be fought differently. Adversaries will use lethal as well as non-lethal weapons, wars will be fought across multiple domains and will not distinguish between combatants and non-combatants," he said.The IAF chief said the future battlespace will be increasingly complex characterised by heavy dependence on technology, asymmetric nature of threats, increased fog and friction, expanded battlespaces, high tempo of operations, enhanced lethality, compressed sensor to shooter cycles and media scrutiny."So, what does aerospace power bring to the table in order to be labelled as a Pivot? Attributes of high speed, reduced response time, long reach, increased mobility, technological intensity, precision firepower, shock effect, ability to operate across domains and network centric operations have made aerospace power a formidable component of our nation's military might," he said.ANI19 April 2023

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Priyanka Chopra poses with hubby Nick Jonas at Citadel global premiere in London

Mumbai, April 19: Global icon Priyanka Chopra on Tuesday attended the grand premiere of her upcoming action thriller series 'Citadel' in London.

Priyanka Chopra poses with hubby Nick Jonas at 'Citadel' global premiere in London

For the premiere night, the 'Fashion' actor opted for a beautiful red off-shoulder deep-neck gown.She was seen posing with her husband Nick Jonas and her co-star Richard Madden.Nick looked handsome in an all-black suit with sharp lapels and a turtleneck underneath. Richard, on the other hand, donned a velvet black suit with matching pants.Soon after the celebs arrived at the grand premiere, several pictures and videos started surfacing on social media.Taking to Instagram, Nick shared a video from the premiere night which he captioned, " #RedDress."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."In Bollywood, she will be seen sharing screen space with Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif in Farhan Akhtar's directorial 'Jee Le Zaraa'.ANI19 April 2023

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Hanoi reinstates mask mandate in crowded spaces amid Covid resurgence

Hanoi, April 19: Hanoi has updated its guidance to ask people to wear face masks in crowded public places as the number of Covid-19 cases has increased to a level that makes the Vietnamese capital the worst affected city in the country, local media reported on Wednesday.

Hanoi reinstates mask mandate in crowded spaces amid Covid resurgence

People must wear masks on public transport which is an enclosed place with a higher risk of transmission of the virus, the Hanoi government said in a notification issued ahead of a five-day holiday starting on April 22, reports Xinhua news agency.Wearing a face mask is also obligatory for workers at supermarkets, shopping malls and outdoor wholesale markets, who constantly come in direct contact with customers.Workers at indoor public areas such as bars, discos, karaoke and massage parlours, beauty salons, gyms, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, circuses, and gymnasiums are required to always wear masks.Masks are also compulsory for service staff, managers and attendees at cultural facilities and tourist attractions and other public venues that draw a great number of people.Local health authorities are advised to remain vigilant, keep a close watch on the outbreak developments, get ready for response measures, accelerate vaccinations, and strengthen pandemic safety practices at workplaces, schools, and healthcare facilities.Vietnam has recorded a rapid spread of Covid-19 over the past month, from 278 cases in the first week of April to 2,000 cases in the second week.Hanoi has been affected the most with an average of 96 cases a day.Since the pandemic first erupted in early 2020, Vietnam has reported a total of 11,533,625 Covid cases and 43,186 deaths.IANS20 April 2023

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Global smartphone market falls 12% in Q1: Report

New Delhi, April 19: The global smartphone market experienced a fifth consecutive quarter of decline, falling by 12 per cent (year-on-year) in Q1 2023, a new report has shown.

Global smartphone market falls 12% in Q1: Report

According to market research firm Canalys, Samsung was the only major manufacturer to show a quarter-on-quarter improvement, climbing back to first place with a 22 per cent market share.Apple fell to the second position with a 21 per cent market share, closing the gap with Samsung due to the strong demand for its iPhone 14 Pro series in Q1 2023."The smartphone market's decline in the first quarter of 2023 was within expectations throughout the industry," said Canalys analyst Sanyam Chaurasia."The local macroeconomic conditions continued to hinder vendors' investments and operations in several markets. Despite price cuts and heavy promotions from vendors, consumer demand remained sluggish, particularly in the low-end segment due to high inflation affecting consumer confidence and spending," he added.Moreover, the report said that Xiaomi held on to the number three position with an 11 per cent market share, while OPPO and vivo strengthened their positions in the Asia Pacific region and their home markets, accounting for 10 per cent and 8 per cent of the market share respectively."There have been improvements in demand for certain smartphone products and price bands. Furthermore, some smartphone vendors are becoming more active in production planning and ordering components. Canalys predicts that the inventory of the smartphone industry, irrespective of channel or vendor, can reach a relatively healthy level by the end of the second quarter of 2023," said Canalys analyst Toby Zhu.IANS20 April 2023

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Hutech Solutions announces the appointment of Hemanth Kumar Narayanan as its Chief Technology Officer

Bengaluru, April 18: Hutech Solutions, a team of technology experts specializing in digital product development, announced today that Hemanth Kumar Narayanan has joined as its Chief Technology Officer. Hemanth will be responsible for leading Hutech's technology vision and product innovation strategy.

Hutech Solutions announces the appointment of Hemanth Kumar Narayanan as its Chief Technology Officer

"Hemanth is a tremendous addition to our team. With his extensive experience and expertise, we are confident he will play a significant role in driving innovation and growth for Hutech Solutions," said Pravat Ranjan Rana, Founder and CEO, Hutech Solutions.In addition to being responsible for Hutech's technology vision, and product innovation strategy, Hemanth will be working across various business verticals and clients on enterprise architecture, bringing in the best practices in the industry. He will also focus on building a center of excellence for IoT, Blockchain, Data engineering, Cloud Computing, and eCommerce consulting practices.Previously, Hemanth worked for various global brands, including IBM, Sapient, Mindtree, and Walmart. At Walmart, he was instrumental in architecting multibillion-dollar e-commerce businesses for the UK, US, and Mexican markets.Hemanth's appointment as the CTO of Hutech Solutions highlights the company's commitment to providing the best-in-class services to its clients by bringing on board the top talent in the industry. The Hutech team welcomes Hemanth to the Hutech family and looks forward to working with him to achieve greater heights.Hutech Solutions is a team of technology experts specializing in digital product development. Our services are designed to support business growth and encompass consulting, design, development, support, and software maintenance. The company provides a comprehensive range of software development services that cover a diverse spectrum of areas, such as IoT, eCommerce, Cloud Solutions, data analytics and reporting, AI/ML, Blockchain, and ERP and CRM implementation and development.For more information, please visitThis story has been provided by India PR Distribution. ANI will not be responsible in any way for the content of this article. (ANI/India PR Distribution)ANI20 April 2023

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Mandaviya visits Jan Aushadhi Kendra at Goas Panjim with delegates from G-20 countries, UNICEF

New Delhi, April 18: Second meeting of G-20 Health Working Group held in Goa from April 17-19, 2023, is being attended by participants from the G-20 member countries, invited countries and international organisations.

Mandaviya visits Jan Aushadhi Kendra at Goa's Panjim with delegates from G-20 countries, UNICEF

During course of HWG meeting, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Mansukh Mandaviya visited one Jan Aushadhi Kendra at Governor Pestana Road, Panjim, Goa along with G-20 delegates from Oman, Japan, Russia, Nigeria Singapore, Malaysia and delegates from UNICEF and Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.The Minister interacted with the Janaushadhi Kendra owner, Prabha Menon a woman entrepreneur, who shared her experience of operating the Kendra. Minister gave an overview of the program and addressed various queries of the delegates on functioning of the scheme.Several delegates expressed interest to have the program implemented in their respective countries. The Government is working towards a model of assisting the countries from middle income and low middle income countries who have shown interest in the scheme.Recently the program's success was showcased before a gathering of Resident Heads of Mission of more than 90 countries stationed in Delhi in cooperation with the Ministry of External Affairs. During the visit, Minister also mentioned that the Government does not view the pharmaceutical sector as a sector for generating commerce but as a sector to create global public good.As per Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers "Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana" is a popular public welfare scheme implemented by the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Government of India, which has made significant impact to the lives of common people by providing quality medicines at an affordable price, which are generally 50 pc-90 pc less costly than branded medicines."During last nine years, there has been 100 times growth in number of Kendras from only 80 in 2014 to more than 9,300 Kendras. The product basket has also been expanded to 1,800 medicines and 285 surgical devices"Ministry addedMinistry further said that during past nine years, total savings have been estimated at approximately more than Rs. 20,000 crores for the citizens.ANI20 April 2023

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Marcus Rosten received the email out of the blue, about two years ago. Director Joe Pontecorvo, acclaimed for memorable nature documentaries, was creating a program for PBS on four seasons of natural majesty centered around Niagara Falls, a film that would be part of the distinguished, long-running series known as "Nature."

The program airs at 8 p.m. tonight on WNED, and will be available for streaming through the Buffalo Toronto Public Media website. Rosten, a Buffalo naturalist, is among three or four central voices. He embraced the opportunity as a chance to reinforce a point about Niagara and sheer wonder all too easy to forget for those of us who drive past the river, all the time.

Its really the heartbeat for this giant freshwater circulatory system, Rosten said of the rapids and the falls, because thats the place where all the water in the Great Lakes gets squeezed through.

In the larger sense, Rosten, 29, is conveying what he has known since he was a child growing up in Cheektowaga. He would pause to hear the birds singing as he stepped beyond his apartment door, a feeling he now can frame with passion:

If you stop for a moment  if you really allow yourself to see  then you can bring yourself to awe even in spaces you initially would not equate with nature.

Pontecorvo, an Emmy-winning filmmaker who directed and produced Niagara Falls, said his mission is a statement that represents his own personal revelation: He seeks to move beyond familiar notions of the falls as both tourist attraction and lingering crucible of environmental tragedy  as in the Love Canal  to present Niagara as the ancient core of a critical habitat, an incredible habitat, stretching far along the Niagara escarpment.

To do it well  to provide a supporting narrative for staggering imagery of tiny and ferocious water shrews in a nearby wetland, or new-to-the-world fledgling gulls in the mist beneath the falls, or a baby snapping turtle attempting a longshot, high-risk, grit-your-teeth highway crossing  you need a few people who can express both the sense of majesty and the constant ecological risk.

It did not take long for Pontecorvos researchers to discover Rosten, now an educator with the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

His first burst of major publicity happened a few years ago. Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper tweeted out a photo of Rosten holding a groundhog-sized goldfish from the Black Rock Canal, as a warning about how an invasive species  say, a once-tiny goldfish, flushed down a toilet  can thrive in the wild.

The image took off nationally, leading Rosten to appearances in such forums as the Scholastic weekly magazine, read by millions of children. Still, that moment was only a fragment of an extraordinary story.

Rosten and his sister were raised by their working mom within walking distance of a set of abandoned railroad tracks in Cheektowaga, "which is where I would explore the natural world," as he puts it. They had little in the way of possessions, Rosten said  but that situation hardly limited their joy or imagination.

When you come from nothing, when you have nothing, when you dont own anything, what you realize is that nature is one of the most democratic places that we have, Rosten said.

That occurred to him as a little guy, walking trails through stands of towering knotweed along the railroad tracks. He would contemplate birds gathering on the power lines, or blacktop blossoms that somehow found their way to the sun.

Giant goldfish of Black Rock: A flush followed by global fame In an unlikely moment in the sun, the most celebrated resident of the Black Rock Canal is a giant goldfish receiving a 21st century burst of international fame. Yet Marcus Rosten, who helps with social media for Buffalo Niagara Waterkeeper, said the goldfish would still be living in murky anonymity if not for the Twitter Creature Feature that Waterkeeper

He ended up attending the state Environmental College of Science and Forestry in Syracuse, which led to internships at the Grand Canyon and in Alaska before he returned home to build a career in ecology and education.

Rosten feels as though he is doing what he was born to do. As an African American, he also finds great meaning in "giving representation to a voice that's been so absent in the conservation movement. I want every Black kid growing up in Buffalo to understand they could end up on a kayak in the middle of the Niagara River, and being part of one of the greatest ecosystems in the world."

It is all intertwined with the natural treasure we have in the Niagara  not just in the falls themselves, but in the way that entire expanse of blue-green water somehow maintains a wild presence despite constant metropolitan encroachment.

Rosten said that massive channel of water, rolling toward the falls, never freezes in its entirety. That turns it into a magnet for countless birds of many species who have to come south in the winter to find their food, Rosten said, leading them to hunt in the great, churning path of the Niagara.

He speaks in the documentary of how annual gull migrations create a globally significant bird area, with the greatest concentration of varied gull species anywhere  as highlighted in the film by Bonaparte's gulls and their frenzied pursuit of emerald shiners, a small fish, in the sunlit tumult of the river.

The filmmakers also follow Rosten inland, to the Reinstein Woods Nature Preserve in Cheektowaga, a place of marshes and wetlands." On camera, he captures a bullfrog that is relatively tiny compared to the largest one he's ever seen, which he caught and released long ago, near the same spot.

As big as a mango, Rosten recalls.

For kids, nature beckons. The guy who found a giant goldfish should know. For those at home with one or more young kids in this pandemic, Marcus Rosten has a suggestion. He appreciates how it must feel right now to be 7 or 8, and weary of the know-every-inch confines of a house or apartment. He realizes that frustration becomes a daily challenge for parents, grandparents or other caregivers trying to come

At several junctures, the film returns to scenes of Rosten gliding along the Niagara on a kayak. When he spoke to me of what he feels at those moments, he addressed the epiphany of a "secret world of nature," as Pontecorvo describes it  the realization he hopes we carry away from his work.

Its so easy to take the Niagara for granted, Rosten said, especially if youre growing up in Buffalo and youre not engaged with it and you become disconnected  just this water you drive past every day in your car, seeing it through the industrial stigma that has been imposed on it.

But it changes once you start to see it as this amazing resource that is flowing past our doorstep. When youre on a kayak away from the shore near Strawberry Island, you can see the fish in that clear water below and the gulls above you and you can get lost in so much nature, so much beauty.

Sean Kirst: The soul of Niagara Falls, revealed at dawn What couple experienced is a daily miracle, a moment of almost unbearable beauty at Niagara

For me, the whole point of this documentary is opening eyes. I mean, this is the kind of PBS documentary that would look at big cats on the Serengeti, and here we are at the Niagara River, which (the filmmakers) see, in its own way, as being on par.

Driving the 190, thinking of work and worries, its easy to live with blinders on. But if you stop and look, you might see a bald eagle  maybe five, six, seven bald eagles  in the air near Strawberry Island. You might see the herons, the egrets, right there next to us, so close, in the largest freshwater ecosystem in the world.

With each word, you sensed the growing reverence in Rosten's voice.

At this moment in the spring, he said, when the trees all come out in that brief, aching first-bloom fluorescent green, its worth remembering how lucky we are, how we live in one of the most beautiful ecosystems in the world, how as drought and water shortages affect so many places, we would be one of the last places on Earth  maybe the last place  to ever run out of water.

It is an unimaginable gift, he said, and it means we are not simply neighbors.

We are stewards.

That is a childhood lesson Rosten first learned from nature's indomitable strength in cracked cement near railroad tracks, which helped shape this ideal spokesman for the triumph within arm's reach, in Niagara.
Douglas County State's Attorney Kate Watson will sit in the courtroom in Tuscola where she's pictured in this file photo. Watson was selected by the Illinois Supreme Court to suceed retiring Judge Rick Broch. She will be sworn in May 2.
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Police say a man confessed to killing four people, including his parents, and then firing on motorists on Interstate 295, just days after being released from prison
Lovers of the downtown Central Library likely experienced a sinking feeling when they read about plans to install weapons detectors. At a library: yes, that sacrosanct space through which all manner of humanity enters and is transformed by the vast resources available to rich and poor, young and old.

Weapons detectors at the library can be difficult to imagine, except that such devices have been springing up across the country. Google it. Better yet, research the topic at the library and realize that they are at least as appropriate there as they are in other, more restricted locations.

It may be uncomfortable, at first, to get accustomed to going through this high-tech system check but it has become ubiquitous in other venues, including airports, stadiums, governmental buildings and at many schools.

They are a sign of the times. In the case of the Central Library, such detectors became necessary following a pattern of fighting among students and teens in the library after school. The conflicts resulted in numerous police calls to the library.

The fights sometimes grew to involve dozens of children inside and outside the building along Lafayette Square, and created an unsafe space for all. In response, the library system hired Buffalo Peacekeepers, while maintaining its pre-existing security.

Eventually, library officials reduced after school hours during weekdays for two weeks in March. That necessary action might have created an impression among patrons, including some innocent kids, who felt punished. To be clear: Library officials had no choice. They can hardly be blamed for wanting to get in front of a serious problem before it mushroomed into disaster, if not tragedy.

John Spears, director of the system, said there been no issues with weapons inside the Central Library but he is correct to take proactive measures. The threat was obvious.

Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarzs administration is supporting that stance by asking the County Legislature to approve spending $511,000 to install new Evolv weapons detectors at the Central Library. The resolution will be taken up at the Legislatures next meeting, on April 27.

The Evolv weapons detection system, now in place in many Buffalo Public Schools, uses artificial intelligence to assist in detecting weapons. It is designed to appear less obtrusive than old-fashioned metal detectors and work faster than individual wanding of students. The machine can be set to different sensitivity settings. Lights flash if the system is triggered, sending individuals to secondary stations where they can be searched by staff.

No one enjoys seeing the number of detection systems spring into public spaces, but in a nod to the world of disruption that sometimes gives way to chaos and tragedy, the public should accept this new normal at the Central Library. The County Legislature should approve the spending request.

  

Whats your opinion? Send it to us at lettertoeditor@buffnews.com. Letters should be a maximum of 300 words and must convey an opinion. The column does not print poetry, announcements of community events or thank you letters. A writer or household may appear only once every 30 days. All letters are subject to fact-checking and editing.
AI software can accurately detect TB from chest X-rays, a study being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark, (15-18 April), shows.

Tuberculosis (TB) is a major cause of death and disease worldwide. It causes 1.6 million deaths a year, making it is the 13th leading cause of death globally and the second biggest infectious killer, after COVID-19.

In low-resource settings, chest X-rays play an important role in the diagnosis of patients unable to produce good-quality sputum samples for microbiological analysis. Computer-aided detection (the use of software to analyze X-rays for abnormalities) could assist in diagnosis in areas with a lack of radiologists.

However, there is a lack of good quality studies assessing its diagnostic accuracy, as highlighted recently by the World Health Organisation.

To find out more, Dr. Frauke Rudolf, of the Department of Infectious Diseases, Aarhus University Hospital, Aarhus, Denmark, and colleagues compared the performance of artificial intelligence (AI) software (qXR, Qure.ai, Mumbai, India) in assessing chest X-rays with that of two Ethiopian radiologists with different levels of experience.

To improve applicability in low-resource settings, the AI was given mobile phone photographs of analog (non-digital) CXRs.

Chest X-rays from 498 patients were analyzed retrospectively. Fifty-seven (11%) of these patients had been diagnosed with TB, 41 clinically and 16 through PCR tests (Xpert MTB/Rif).

The AI software was as good or better than a trained radiologist at identifying the PCR-confirmed cases. It correctly identified 75% of all PCR-confirmed cases (sensitivity of 75%) and 85.7% of non-TB cases (specificity of 85.7%).

The less experienced radiologist's assessments had a sensitivity of 62.5% (they correctly picked up 62.5% of the PCR-confirmed cases) and a specificity of 91.7% (they correctly identified 91.7% of those who didn't have TB).

The experienced radiologist's assessments were 75% sensitive and 82.0% specific.

The agreement in results between the radiologists was moderate, as was the agreement between the radiologists combined and the software.
A study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases provides a comprehensive overview of the evolution of H3 avian influenza viruses in China.

Study: Evolution of Avian Influenza Virus (H3) with Spillover into Humans, China. Image Credit: Susan Hodgson / Shutterstock

Background

A high prevalence of the H3 subtype avian influenza virus (AIV) has been observed among waterfowl globally. It causes asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic infection in birds. In addition, a high cross-species transmission ability makes the virus a potential source for the origination of other animal influenza viruses.

The first human case of AIV infection (H3N8) was detected in China in April 2022. The patient was present with recurrent fever and severe pneumonia. The second case with mild influenza symptoms was detected in May 2022. These cases raised global concern about the possibility of a significant public health threat by H3N8 AIVs.

In China, a high circulation of H3 AIVs has been observed in poultry and wild birds. Many studies have reported combinations of H3 with multiple neuraminidase (NA) subtypes, especially H3N2 and H3N8. These viruses belong to the Eurasian lineage, which is highly prevalent among wild birds in Eurasia. Genetic exchange events (reassortments) between different AIVs mainly occur in live poultry markets.

In the current study, scientists have conducted country-level AIV surveillance in poultry-associated environments during 2009  2022 and performed a large-scale genetic analysis to provide a comprehensive overview of the evolution of H3 AIVs in China.

Spatial and temporal distribution of avian influenza virus subtype H3 isolated from poultry-associated environments, China, 20092022. A) Spatial distribution of environmental H3 subtype viruses. One H3 isolate without neuraminidase (NA) subtype was designated as H3Nx. Provinces where human infections with H3N8 were reported are noted. B) Number of environmental H3 subtype isolates per year. This figure includes all H3 isolates sequenced by the Chinese National Influenza Center.

Study design

During the study period, the scientists collected samples from poultry-related environments across 31 provinces in China. They followed the AIV surveillance guideline of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention for sample collection.

From these samples, they isolated and sequenced 188 H3 AIVs and deposited the sequences in the GISAID EpiFlu database. By aligning the sequences with available sequences from the GISAID EpiFlu database, they reconstructed maximum-likelihood phylogenies of all viral segments.

They further classified the phylogenetic trees into divergent lineages or sublineages. Furthermore, they estimated the time to the most recent common ancestor (tMRCA) of human H3N8 viruses.

Important observations

The large-scale sequencing analysis conducted in the study identified four sublineages (China-1, China-2, China-3, and China-4) of H3 AIVs in domestic ducks in China. Hemagglutinin (HA) genes of these sublineages were evolved from the Eurasian lineage. These viruses were established in China poultry via multiple introductions from wild birds from Eurasia.

The surveillance data revealed that H3 AIVs belonging to China-1 and China-2 sublineages are currently co-circulating in poultry. Among these sublineages, China-1 is predominating. In addition, the data revealed that H3N2 predominated among H3 viruses in poultry-related environments during 2009  2022.

The phylogenetic analysis revealed an intense genetic exchange between H3 AIVs, leading to the generation of multiple genotypes. A total of 126 genotypes were identified from 284 H3 AIVs during 2009  2022. Further analysis revealed that 73 genotypes (G1G73) emerged from 212 H3N2 genomes, 11 genotypes (G1G11) from 14 H3N3, 17 genotypes (G1G17) from 25 H3N6, and 25 genotypes (G1G25) from 33 H3N8.

Although most of the genotypes were transient, H3N2 G23 appeared to have stabilized recently and was predominantly circulating in Southern China. H3N8 G25, which showed cross-species transmission from binds to humans, was found to acquire HA genes from the China-1 sublineage, NA genes from the North American N8 lineage, and all 6 internal genes from poultry H9N2 ZJ-HJ/07 sublineage viruses.

The estimation of tMRCA of all 8 segments revealed that the H3N8 G25 viruses were generated by reassortments between H3N2 G23, wild bird H3N8, and poultry H9N2 before February 2021. Furthermore, the findings revealed that H3N8 G25 viruses acquire human-adapted mutations, such as 228G/S in the HA gene and E627K/V in the PB2 gene, after infecting humans. These observations highlight the potential of newly emerged H3N8 AIVs in creating future pandemics.

Study significance

The study provides a detailed overview of the evolution of H3 AIVs in China. According to the study findings, H3N8 G25 viruses, which have an increased ability to bind human receptors and low population immunity, have raised global concern over the possibility of future pandemics.

Since mammal-adapted and drug-resistance mutations rarely occur in H3 AIVs, the scientists highlight the need for vaccine and drug stockpiles for the potential pandemic preparation. Moreover, they recommend continuous surveillance for H3 AIVs and risk assessment for potential pandemic preparedness.
Hospital inpatients have better prospects of surviving a cardiac arrest in large hospitals and well-resourced wards, and daytime cardiac arrests are also associated with better chances of survival, a University of Gothenburg thesis shows.

Cardiac arrest means that the heart stops pumping blood. Within seconds, unconsciousness occurs; within minutes, brain cells start dying, causing irreparable damage.

The key to enhancing the patients chances of survival is restoring the circulation of oxygenated blood in the body. This is done by performing chest compressions and blowing air into the lungs  cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR)  and using a defibrillator to administer an electric shock.

In Sweden, an estimated 10,000 people annually suffer from cardiac arrest where CPR is initiated. A third of these patients are in hospitals at the time and two-thirds elsewhere. The present thesis examines survival rates associated with numerous factors.

Lower survival rate with fewer resources

We know that age and co-morbidities affect survival outcomes. But there isnt much health care can do about what we call nonmodifiable factors. Its important to understand their bearing on the prognosis, but they dont always change how the patient is managed. Fredrik Hessulf, doctoral student at Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg, and specialist anesthesia and intensive care physician at Sahlgrenska University Hospital Molndal

The thesis shows that the survival rate in Sweden is relatively high, around 30 percent among the hospital inpatients suffering cardiac arrest, and most survivors are alive one year later. Adherence to the CPR guidelines is also good. In some 7080 percent of cases occurring in hospital, CPR is initiated within one minute of confirmed cardiac arrest and, where necessary, defibrillation is begun within three minutes.

Previous studies in this area confirm that in the event of in-hospital cardiac arrest, survival is lower in the evening and at night than in the daytime. The thesis also shows a proportionally lower survival rate in less well-resourced wards and relatively small hospitals (with fewer than 100 beds) than in major ones (with 400 beds or more). A similar survival shortfall is seen in nonuniversity hospitals compared with university hospitals.

High proportion with cardiovascular disease

Our theory is that these differences are due to disparities, above all in resource distribution and to some extent in expertise. Smaller hospitals have fewer resources and the expertise gap between day and night is greater there than in big hospitals, where several parallel emergency phone lines staffed by specialists are in round-the-clock operation. In small hospitals, its not unusual for relatively inexperienced medical staff to be expected to assume huge responsibility with phone backup, Hessulf says.

In working on his thesis, Hessulf has also been involved in creating a model for predicting survival in people who undergo a cardiac arrest in environments other than hospitals, the intention being to provide support for decisions in health care. Further, he has studied the incidence of cardiovascular disease, such as hypertension (high blood pressure) and heart failure, in individuals who suffer cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital settings.

As expected, cardiovascular morbidity was high in this category. Almost 60 percent of those who suffered cardiac arrest in out-of-hospital settings had some type of cardiovascular disease, and at least 45 percent had hypertension, he concludes.
A new study by public health researchers presents stark evidence that the Central African Republic (CAR) is experiencing a severe health and humanitarian emergency, with what is likely the highest measured nationwide mortality rate in the world, a rate four times higher than a 2010 United Nations estimate. The present crisis is linked to the arrival of COVID and its associated disruptions, as well as human rights abuses by the Wagner Group, a Russian paramilitary organization, which seeks to regain national territory after a decades-long hold by rebel groups.

The findings are based on a nationwide mortality survey and appear in the peer-reviewed journal Conflict and Health. Members of the research team hold positions at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health; Universite Evangelique en Afrique, Bukavu, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC); Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health; as well as an anonymous contributor from Bocaranga, Central African Republic.

In 2022, the researchers interviewed 699 households, containing 5,070 people, in both government-controlled areas and those not in government control across CAR. Interviewed households had a birth rate of 42.6/1000/year and a crude mortality rate of 1.57/10,000/day. This equates to 5.6 percent of the population dying each year. The birth rate was lower and the death rate markedly higher in areas outside of government control. By comparison, in the U.S., 1 percent of the population dies each year; in the DRC, that figure is 2.5 percent.

Families described malaria or fever, and diarrhea as the primary reported causes of death with violence accounting for 6 percent of all deaths. Most people expressed that they were desperate for assistance, asking for health care (26.9 percent) and food (25.2 percent). A disturbing 82.3 percent of households reported adults ate  1 meals per day at the time of interview. Similarly, 72.6 percent of children, who have greater nutritional needs and are at higher risk for malnutrition and its associated morbidities, ate  1 meals per day at the time of interview.

The survey finds an acute dearth of children under age 3 in a population with low contraceptive use, implying either a recent elevation of infant mortality, a decrease in birth rates due to extreme stress, or both. Corroborating the likelihood of a reduced birth rate, 25.5 percent of known pregnancies resulted in a loss. This is higher than the fraction recorded in neighboring Eastern DRC in 2002 during a period of extreme conflict. These findings align with a 2022 UNICEF report that food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread in CAR and imperil the lives f tens of thousands of children.

Officially, the Central African Republic has a gross national income of $425 per person, a life expectancy of 54, and is ranked fourth from last on the Human Development Index. For the past two decades, much of the country has been under the control of anti-government rebels. Conditions have reportedly changed since 2020 as mercenaries from the Wagner group have expanded their activities in rebel-held parts of the country. They have been accused of widespread killings, public executions, torture, and rape, as strategies of demoralization and disruption. Dozens of households surveyed described not being able to travel to visit their fields, hunt, fish, or forage for survival because combatants would attack or kill them.

The authors write: "CAR is experiencing a severe health emergency, with the highest measured nationwide mortality in the world to our knowledge. UN-published death rate estimates appear to be less than one-fourth of reality. There is a desperate need for food aid in the form of general distributions in CAR, along with the accompanying work programs, seed, and tool distributions needed to restart local economies. This is of particular importance in rural areas outside of government control. While some humanitarian actors are doing their best to respond, the crisis level mortality rate suggests that the needs in CAR are being largely unmet."

Study authors include Karume Baderha Augustin Gang (first author), Universite Evangelique en Afrique, Bukavu, DRC; Jennifer O'Keeffe, doctoral student at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Columbia Mailman alumna; anonymous of Bocaranga, CAR; and Les Roberts, professor emeritus of population and family health, Columbia Mailman School (senior author).
In a recent study posted to the medRxiv* preprint server, researchers in the United States assessed the performance of three general Large Language Models (LLMs), ChatGPT (or GPT-3.5), GPT-4, and Google Bard, on higher-order questions, specifically representing the American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS) oral board examination. In addition, they interpreted the differences in their performance and accuracy after varying question characteristics.

Study: Performance of ChatGPT, GPT-4, and Google Bard on a Neurosurgery Oral Boards Preparation Question Bank. Image Credit: Login / Shutterstock

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.

Background

All three LLMs assessed in this study have shown the capability to pass medical board exams with multiple-choice questions. However, no previous studies have tested or compared the performance of multiple LLMs on predominantly higher-order questions from a high-stake medical subspecialty domain, e.g., neurosurgery.

A prior study showed that ChatGPT passed a 500-question module imitating the neurosurgery written board exams with a score of 73.4%. Its updated model, GPT-4, became available for public use on March 14, 2023, and similarly attained passing scores in >25 standardized exams. Studies documented that GPT-4 showed >20% performance improvements on the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE).

Another artificial intelligence (AI)-based chatbot, Google Bard, had real-time web crawling capabilities, thus, could offer more contextually relevant information while generating responses for standardized exams in fields of medicine, business, and law. The ABNS neurosurgery oral board examination, considered a more rigorous assessment than its written counterpart, is taken by doctors two to three years after residency graduation. It comprises three sessions of 45 minutes each, and its pass rate has not exceeded 90% since 2018.

About the study

In the present study, researchers assessed the performance of GPT-3.5, GPT-4, and Google Bard on a 149-question module imitating the neurosurgery oral board exam.

The Self-Assessment Neurosurgery Exam (SANS) indications exam covered intriguing questions on relatively difficult topics, such as neurosurgical indications and interventional decision-making. The team assessed questions in one best-answer multiple-choice question format. Since all three LLMs currently do not have multimodal input, they tracked responses with 'hallucinations' for questions with medical imaging data, scenarios where an LLM asserts inaccurate facts it falsely believes are correct. In all, 51 questions incorporated imaging into the question stem.

Furthermore, the team used linear regression to query correlations between performance on different question categories. They assessed variations in performance using chi-squared, Fisher's exact, and logistic regression tests with a single variable, where p<0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Study findings

On a 149-question bank of mainly higher-order diagnostic and management multiple-choice questions designed for neurosurgery oral board exams, GPT-4 attained a score of 82.6% and outperformed ChatGPT's score of 62.4%. Additionally, GPT-4 demonstrated a markedly better performance than ChatGPT in the Spine subspecialty (90.5% vs. 64.3%).

Google Bard generated correct responses for 44.2% (66/149) of questions. While it generated incorrect responses to 45% (67/149) of questions, it declined to answer 10.7% (16/149) of questions. GPT-3.5 and GPT-4 never declined to answer a text-based question, whereas Bard even declined to answer 14 test-based questions. In fact, GPT-4 outshone Google Bard in all categories and demonstrated improved performance in question categories for which ChatGPT showed lower accuracy. Interestingly, while GPT-4 performed better on imaging-related questions than ChatGPT (68.6% vs. 47.1%), its performance was comparable to Google Bard (68.6% vs. 66.7%).

However, notably, GPT-4 showed reduced rates of hallucination and the ability to navigate challenging concepts like declaring medical futility. However, it struggled in other scenarios, such as factoring in patient-level characteristics, e.g., frailty.

Conclusions

There is an urgent need to develop more trust in LLM systems, thus, rigorous validation of their performance on increasingly higher-order and open-ended scenarios should continue. It would ensure the safe and effective integration of these LLMs into clinical decision-making processes.

Methods to quantify and understand hallucinations remain vital, and eventually, only those LLMs would be incorporated into clinical practice that would minimize and recognize hallucinations. Further, the study findings underscore the urgent need for neurosurgeons to stay informed on emerging LLMs and their varying performance levels for potential clinical applications.

Multiple-choice examination patterns might become obsolete in medical education, while verbal assessments will gain more importance. With advancements in the AI domain, neurosurgical trainees might use and depend on LLMs for board preparation. For instance, LLMs-generated responses might provide new clinical insights. They could also serve as a conversational aid to rehearse various clinical scenarios on challenging topics for the boards.

*Important notice: medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information.
A recent study published in the Frontiers in Endocrinology Journal investigated the effects of laughter yoga on glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes.

Study: Laughter yoga as an enjoyable therapeutic approach for glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes: A randomized controlled trial. Image Credit: AboutLife/Shutterstock.com

Background

Diabetes is a chronic condition requiring lifelong self-management for metabolic control and self-monitoring of blood glucose levels.

Studies report that maintaining glycemic control is essential to decrease the risk of associated complications and death. Nonetheless, 40% to 60% of individuals with type 2 diabetes have yet to achieve glycemic control.

Another study revealed that improvements in glycemic control were not achieved despite the higher utilization of new glucose-lowering medications, suggesting that prevailing therapeutic strategies might be insufficient for glycemic control.

Research indicates that individuals are likelier to engage in healthy behaviors if enjoyable/pleasant.

About the study

In the present study, researchers examined laughter yoga as an enjoyable self-care intervention for glycemic control in individuals with type 2 diabetes.

The study was conducted between October and December 2015 at Osaka University. Eligible outpatients were aged 40 or above, with type 2 diabetes and glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c) levels ranging between 6.1% and 7.9%, with less than 1% change in the three months before baseline measurements.

Patients were excluded if they had active coronary heart disease, stroke, vascular complications, and other severe illnesses. The standard therapy for diabetes continued among participants during the study.

Participants in the intervention arm received standard therapy and laughter yoga sessions, whereas controls received the standard treatment. Overall, eight yoga sessions were provided over 12 weeks.

Each session included a 30-minute lecture on health and laughter and a one-hour laughter yoga activity. The primary outcome was differences in Hb1Ac levels between weeks 0 and 12.

Participants completed a questionnaire and physical examination at baseline and twelfth week. Exploratory outcomes were changes in waist circumference, body weight, body mass index (BMI), subjective stress, sleep duration, and positive/negative affect.

Participants were randomly assigned to intervention and control arms. Baseline differences between groups were assessed using chi-squared and independent sample t-tests for categorical and continuous variables, respectively.

The differences in measurements between weeks 0 and 12 were compared using paired-sample t-tests in both groups.

Findings

Overall, 42 participants were included and randomized 1:1 to intervention and control groups. The average rate of attendance for laughter yoga sessions was approximately 93%.

Serious adverse events were not observed. Changes in medical treatment were not reported. Baseline characteristics were similar between groups.

The average Hb1Ac levels dropped from 7.07% at baseline to 6.82% at week 12 in the intervention group. In controls, the Hb1Ac levels showed a marginal increase from 7.1% to 7.26%. This difference in Hb1Ac levels was statistically significant, even when adjusted for BMI, age, and baseline levels.

The positive affect score was significantly elevated in patients who took yoga sessions, albeit the adjusted difference between groups was statistically insignificant.

There was a trend of increased sleep duration in the intervention group, with a difference of 0.4 hours between groups, with marginal significance after adjustment.

There were no significant differences between groups in waist circumference, BMI, body weight, subjective stress, and negative affect.

The number of participants performing exercise twice weekly increased in the intervention group by the end of the study, although it did not reach statistical significance. The difference in Hb1Ac levels remained significant when the change in exercise habits was included as a covariate.

The average change in Hb1Ac levels was 0% in those with exercise habits and -0.32% in those without.

Conclusions

The study observed that laughter yoga sessions reduced Hb1Ac levels in type 2 diabetes patients during the 12-week intervention.

This was consistent with earlier studies reporting that laughing by watching a comedy show inhibited increases in postprandial glucose levels.

Although the underlying mechanisms are unclear, several possible effects of laughter yoga on diabetes are suggested, including the upregulation of genes associated with natural killer cell activity.

Notably, the study had a small sample and was conducted at a single center, with all participants being Japanese residents from an urban area, limiting the applicability of findings to others. Thus, extensive multicenter studies are required to validate the results in different populations.
Australia on Wednesday released its first national electric vehicle strategy, aimed at ensuring the country has a better choice of electric vehicles and improved affordability in a bid to boost the uptake of cleaner vehicles.

As part of the plan, the federal government will introduce a fuel efficiency standard, working with the industry to finalise details in coming months, Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.

Apart from Russia, Australia was the only developed country to either not have or be developing fuel efficiency standards, which encourage manufacturers to supply more electric and no-emission vehicles.

Also Read: All-Electric Volkswagen ID7 Makes World Premiere, Gets Range of 700 Km

Transport is the third largest source of carbon emissions in Australia - one of the worlds biggest emitters on a per capita basis. The initiative will help cut the countrys emissions by at least 3 million tonnes of carbon by 2030, and over 10 million tonnes by 2035, Bowen said.

Australias centre-left Labor government last year flagged it had plans to introduce new regulations targeting vehicle carbon emissions to increase sales of electric cars, as it looks to catch up with other developed economies.

Fuel-efficient and electric vehicles are cleaner and cheaper to run - todays announcement is a win-win for motorists," Bowen said in a statement.

On average, new cars in Australia use 40% more fuel than the European Union and 20% more than the United States, with studies showing the introduction of a fuel efficiency standard could save motorists A$519 ($349) per year, Bowen said.

Read all the Latest Auto News here
Sensex Today: Indian indices opened on a flat note on April 19 on the back of mixed global cues. The Sensex was down 79.57 points or 0.13% at 59,647.44, and the Nifty was down 21.70 points or 0.12% at 17,638.50. About 1168 shares advanced, 659 shares declined, and 114 shares unchanged.

Shares of Reliance Industries were flat, while those of ONGC dipped 1 per cent after the government re-introduced windfall tax on local crude to Rs 6,400/tonne from nil. Besides, it also increased the Special Additional Excise Duty (SAED) on crude petroleum from nil to Rs 6,400 per tonne.

In the broader market, the BSE MidCap and SmallCap indices were in green, rising up to 0.3 per cent.

Individually, shares of ICICI Lombard General Insurance dropped 3.5 per cent after the countrys largest private sector general insurer reported a 39.6 per cent surge in net profit in the January-March quarter (Q4) of FY23, aided by a lower loss ratio and a dip in underwriting losses.

That apart, shares of Tata Coffee were trading with a mild positive uptick after it reported a nearly 20 per cent year-on-year increase in consolidated profit at Rs 48.8 crore for Q4 supported by higher other income and lower tax cost. Consolidated revenue for the quarter grew by 10.2 per cent to Rs 723 crore compared to the same period last year.

RattanIndia Enterprises shares, too, jumped 6.7 per cent after the company launched direct-to-consumer fashion brands business with Neobrands Limited.

Among sectoral indices, the Nifty IT index declined 0.7 per cent, followed by the Nifty Pharma index (down 0.3 per cent). On the upside, the Nifty Auto index was up 0.27 per cent.

Global Cues

Tokyo shares opened nearly flat on Wednesday after US stocks barely moved overnight as investors watched corporate earnings reports.The benchmark Nikkei 225 index eased 0.03 percent, or 8.10 points, to 28,650.73 in early trade, while the broader Topix index added 0.02 percent, or 0.31 points, to 2,041.20.

The S&P 500 eked out a slim gain on Tuesday after strength in some big technology stocks countered disappointing quarterly reports from Johnson & Johnson and Goldman Sachs as first-quarter earnings season kicked into gear.

Disclaimer: Network18 and TV18  the companies that operate news18.com  are controlled by Independent Media Trust, of which Reliance Industries is the sole beneficiary.

Read all the Latest Business News, Tax News and Stock Market Updates here
It didnt take long for local fishing to turn on. Simultaneously, Lake Ontario salmon and trout started hitting with some great smallmouth and bullhead action. Lake Erie perch and bass took off in the lake; drop-back steelhead were getting to move out of the streams while bass and catfish were getting ready to move into the streams. The first smelt reports are in, too. Welcome to spring in Western New York.

Lake Erie and tributaries

It was an amazing week on the water, according to Bruce Kowalski with TAAR Outdoors in Lake View. Cattaraugus Creek had a ton of drop-back steelhead hanging around. There were bass galore as smallmouth have moved into the creeks. There were fish in the 5-pound range and fish numbers in the 20s and 30s per day. Kowalski even saw two walleye caught from the same area. Remember walleye season does not open until May 1. Jigs dominated the lure department in olive and white, with worm and minnow patterns a close second. Out on the lake, Kowalski reports the bass bite was picking up and perch were in good numbers off the Catt and Pinehurst flats.

Mark Dzimian of Lake View teamed with Greg Blundy of Hamburg to hit Hobuck Flats on 18 Mile and used salted minnows to score on some trout instead of spinners as they did the last time. Jim Monteleone of Williamsville and son Jimmy had a great day bass fishing with Capt. Jeff Hippert of Lake Erie Trophy Bass Charters over the weekend. The best action was 35 to 38 feet of water using swim baits, Ned rigs and flat worms.

The perch bite was awesome out of Cattaraugus Creek in 40-50 feet of water, reports Shub Stevens with Catt. Creek Bait and Tackle. Best bait has been Emerald shiners. Smallmouth bass and carp have entered the Catt in good numbers. Lots of steelhead are still being caught on wax worms and egg sacs. Catfish season is heating up with the most action near shorelines and creek mouths. Night Crawlers are working best, Stevens said.

Steve Brzuszkiewicz of Marilla was right back at it in the lake for jumbo perch, and he returned to the north side of Evangola and boxed 25. Then, he shifted west and got his limit by 1 p.m. Depths varied from 52 to 56 feet of water. Big Emerald shiners produced the big perch. Most fish were jawing the bait and hanging on. Braided line helped with sensitivity. Fish outside the pack, from the Catt to Sturgeon Point. His haul of 50 perch was his heaviest ever. John Jarzynski of Lawtons was fishing with buddy Peter DelPriore off the Catt in 60 feet of water and also did well on jumbo perch. The toughest thing was trying to find a parking spot after launching. Hopefully Mother Nature provides fishable weather for Saturday's Southtowns Walleye perch tournament. You can still sign up Thursday at the clubs monthly meeting starting at 7 p.m. in Hamburg. DEC will be holding a public meeting to discuss fisheries management in Lake Erie and the Upper Niagara River on April 25 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at the Woodlawn Beach Park Lodge. It is free and open to the public.

Niagara River

Mike Ziehm of Niagara Falls reports he had 5 feet-plus of visibility prior to recent wind and rain. It is now sitting at 3 to 4 feet of visibility, but that could change for the worse. Ziehm caught lake trout, steelhead and walleye, using his No. 4 chartreuse and orange spinners and silvers/white and silver bucktail jigs. Mike Rzucidlo of Niagara Falls caught four lake trout using pearl tubes and spinners. There was more wind expected this week. Tommy Holycross of Wheatfield reported the NYPA Fish Platform was very good this past week. Multiple steelhead were hooked and landed, mostly on beads. A few were caught on minnows. Down at the mouth of the river, Capt. Frank Campbell of Lewiston reported good action while casting for bass and Coho salmon using jerkbaits with media maven Todd Ceisner with In-Fisherman magazine. In the lower river, some trout are still hanging around. Minnows fished off three-way rigs will take fish. In the upper river above Niagara Falls, Wade Winch of North Tonawanda and wife, Lisa, had success their last time out using Ned rigs and swim baits. They boated more than a dozen bass in a late afternoon trip.

Lake Ontario and tributaries

Capt. Joe Sourji with Angler Edge Sportfishing was excited about the bass that Chuck Lott III from Morgantown, W.Va., caught. It was a personal-best 7.9-pound smallmouth bass caught while trolling last weekend. They also caught other bass, Coho salmon and lake trout, using crankbaits in 8 to 15 feet of water. On the Niagara Bar, the trio of Mike Hooper, Mike Mongan and Walt Zebker, all from Grand Island, caught a 17-pound king salmon and a Coho salmon using NK Goldie Hawn spoons in 35 feet of water Sunday. Other anglers farther to the east were doing well on Coho salmon and brown trout with an occasional king in Wilson, Olcott and the Oak. In the tributaries, guide Scott Feltrinelli on Ontario Fly Outfitters reports difficult fishing this week in the streams with only a few trout. There are some bass in the lower stretches such as at Sandy and the Oak.

Capt. Taz and Trevor Morrison won the 10th annual Niagara County Bullhead Tournament last weekend. Taz won first with two fish weighing 3.90 pounds and Morrison scored second with 3.55 pounds. They used shrimp during the day in Wilson Harbor. There were 131 anglers, including 32 junior anglers 12 years old and under, competing in the contest. Top junior angler was Ashton Botting with a two-fish weight of 3.42 pounds.

Chautauqua Lake

The crappie fishing was great this week, according to Mike Sperry with Chautauqua Reel Outdoors in Lakewood. Emerald shiners and fatheads were producing fish, as well as 1/32-ounce to 1/8-ounce jigs rigged beneath a clip-on or slip bobber rig. Mini Mites, both the 1/32-ounce and 1/16-ounce varieties, also have been working. White and chartreuse have been the hottest colors. Jigs tipped with a wax worm will produce some fish. Three to 6 feet of water is where most of the action has been. There are yellow perch, too. He says a potential record crappie was caught by Scott Swanson of Warren, Pa., and is currently being verified by DEC. It weighed 4.33 pounds.

Finger Lakes

 Cayuga Lake: Lake trout action is good to excellent from 120 to 160 feet of water, said Capt. John Gaulke of Finger Lakes Angling Zone. Baitfish are moving in, and so are the fish. Some fish are being taken shallower by both trollers and jiggers. Yellow perch action remains good on the lakes north end. South end anglers are catching a few browns and lake trout.

 Owasco Lake: Expect good perch fishing, Gaulke said. Some browns are being taken trolling.

 Skaneateles Lake: Gaulke reported a once in a lifetime monster, 30-inch wild brown last week. Dave Sinor of New York City caught the fish. Yellow perch, smallmouth bass, rainbow trout and landlocked salmon are available near shore. Target 10 to 25 feet of water with hair jigs.

 Keuka Lake: Action there should still be good to very good for lake trout and yellow perch with some smallmouth bass starting to show, Gaulke said.
Visa processing delays are proving to be a major hiccup in the plans of immigrants hoping to reunite with their loved ones in the US. Its a classic tale of love and longing, as families struggle to navigate the never-ending visa application process, left wondering when theyll finally be reunited with their beloved family members. The situation has become so dire that families are resorting to extraordinary measures and in true desi-style jugaad to ensure that their loved ones can attend important events. Take Sunil Dhar, for instance. The man has to ensure that everyones in the right country for his sons wedding in Blaine, Washington, reported India Times. It is not an easy task. For starters, the brides parents from Delhi need visitor visas to enter the United States, which has a nearly year-long wait time in India. So, to ensure that they make it to the wedding, the family has come up with a creative solution. The guests are now set to meet up with the rest of the family in a park near the Peace Arch monument on the US-Canada border.

The brides parents and other relatives will enter the park from the northern half of British Columbia with Canadian visas, ensuring they wont miss out on this joyous occasion. The wedding itself will take place in the American Kitchen, a rentable building on the southern side of the park in Washington. But its not just the brides parents who are affected by the visa backlog. Families worldwide are left in limbo, with no clear timeline for when their loved ones will be able to visit the United States. And with visa processing delays causing significant wait times, families are forced to make last-minute arrangements to ensure that their loved ones can attend important events.

Its a frustrating situation for all involved, and one thats causing more than a few headaches. But for families like Sunil Dhars, whove had to resort to some creative jugaad to ensure that everyones in the right place at the right time, its a small price to pay for the joy of finally being reunited with their loved ones.

With a record-breaking 500,000 visa applications in backlog, wait times for certain applicants have surged to several years, reported India Times. This situation is causing not only financial and professional setbacks but also a lot of emotional distress for families worldwide who are uncertain about when they will be able to see their elderly parents again. As the visa backlog reaches epic proportions, frustrated immigrants are taking to social media to vent their anger. Hashtags like Visa Backlog and End The Backlog are becoming the go-to for those tired of being stuck in bureaucratic limbo.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
All Nippon Airways accidentally sold out hundreds of tickets at heavily discounted prices due to a currency conversion blunder. Passengers were able to book round-trip first-class tickets from Jakarta to the Caribbean islands for prices as low as $890 (Rs 73,000 approx), as reported by Bloomberg. These tickets would typically cost nearly 20 times more.

People were able to grab business class tickets for as low as $300 (Rs 25,000 approx), according to reports. Many customers paid just a few hundred dollars for the tickets instead of the usual price of $10,000( Rs 8.21 lakh approx). All Nippon Airways has not revealed how many customers bought the discounted tickets.

A spokesperson for the airline had stated that All Nippon Airways would honour the discounted tickets. Later, the carrier said that a final decision was yet to be made. The decision will likely be made by the end of the month, as per reports. All Nippon Airways explained that the discounted tickets will be valid for passengers who fly before the decision is finalised.

ANA Holdings said that it was an error on its Vietnam website that led to blunders in currency conversion. The airline is investigating the cause of the bug and the size of its damage, the Economic Times reported.

This is not the first time an airline has managed to goof up and offer business class tickets at a steep discount.

In 2019, Cathay Pacific accidentally sold first and business-class tickets on the Vietnam-US route for as little as $675 (Rs 55,000), instead of the usual $16,000 (Rs 1.31 lakh).

In a surprise move, it decided to honour those discounted rates. Happy 2019 all, and to those who bought our good - VERY good surprise special on New Years Day, yes - we made a mistake but we look forward to welcoming you on board with your ticket issued. Hope this will make your 2019 special too! the carrier had stated.

Happy 2019 all, and to those who bought our good - VERY good surprise special on New Years Day, yes - we made a mistake but we look forward to welcoming you on board with your ticket issued. Hope this will make your 2019 special too!.#promisemadepromisekept #lessonlearnt Cathay Pacific (@cathaypacific) January 2, 2019

Singapore Airlines made a similar blunder in 2014 and sold tickets for less than half the price. It later decided to honour the deal, reported BBC. In 2015, United Airlines had to suffer a ticketing blunder on its transatlantic route. Due to an error by a third-party software provider", the tickets were sold for less than $100. The carrier later cancelled the tickets.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
Traveling with babies on a flight is not an easy task, as many factors in mid-journey can make them feel cranky. But the situation turns worse when they begin to throw a fuss or cry leaving the parents as well as fellow passengers uncomfortable. Something similar occurred recently on a Southwest Airlines Flight to Florida. Footage of a man losing his calm over a crying baby has gone viral on social media. In the clip, the elderly is seen yelling at the babys parents and the flight attendants who tried to defuse the situation.

The video first surfaced on TikTok under the title Belligerent passenger causes diversion before it was re-shared on other social media platforms. The incident was recorded by a passenger on the flight when the unidentified man was trading heated arguments with two flight attendants. The angry passenger is recorded hurling profanities at the flight crew multiple times to express his frustration.

One crew member can be heard saying, Youre yelling. The angry man replies, So is the baby. At one point in the video, the woman seated beside the upset passenger was captured placing their head in their hands in a fed-up gesture. Toward the end, when the flight halted at Orlando, the man was asked to get down off the plane. But he refused to do so and is even seen explaining his frustration to a group of cops. Eventually, the man was deboarded by the police officers. Watch the video here:

The crying baby (which sounds more like a toddler than a baby-baby) magically stops crying halfway through this mans rant which leads me to believe the people they were traveling with couldve done more to meet whatever need they were expressing. 40-45 minutes is excessive. pic.twitter.com/af2xsIDF3g  I  Jews, Please dont close my accounts. (@LaCienegaBlvdss) April 18, 2023

The video has left the internet in splits, while some are criticizing the passenger for his rude antics, many have sided with him understanding his frustration. A user commented, If you cant handle the sound of a crying baby or toddler, maybe air travel or being in public isnt for you. Personally, Id be embarrassed by my inability to cope with something so basic that happens all the time. But I just believe thats part of being a functioning adult.

If you can't handle the sound of a crying baby or toddler, maybe air travel or being in public isn't for you. Personally, I'd be embarrassed by my inability to cope with something so basic that happens all the time. But I just believe that's part of being a functioning adult. Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) April 18, 2023

Another agreed, How do you manage a baby that has pain because of air compression or decompression? If you are so fragile by a baby crying instead of having sympathy for the parents and baby, stay out of public places maybe.

How do you manage a baby that has pain because of air compression or decompression? If you are so fragile by a baby crying instead of having sympathy for the parents and baby, stay out of public places maybe LollyLollyLollyGetyer (@LOLLY916) April 18, 2023

But a user shared, Im tryna hear him out.

Im tryna hear him out uncle vanny  (@DAVANIMAL) April 19, 2023

One more explained, This is why I wish airlines could offer child-free flights! Id pay extra, no questions asked.

This is why I wish airlines could offer child-free flights! I'd pay extra, no questions asked. Where's Relisha Rudd? (@Fool_n_Fukry) April 18, 2023

Southwest Airlines addressed the incident during an interaction with Today Online, claiming they do not have details about the flight, but they commend the crew members for their professionalism. The airline also issued an apology to other onboard customers who had to witness the argument.

Read all the Latest Buzz News here
Prime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate a medical college in Silvassa town and launch a slew of projects worth more than Rs 4,800 crore in the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu during his visit on April 25, government officials said on Tuesday.

Later in the evening, the PM is scheduled to hold a 16-kilometer-long roadshow in Daman town of the Union Territory, they said.

As per schedule released by the officials, Modi will reach Silvassa, the capital of Dadra and Nagar Haveli district, on April 25 to inaugurate the centrally-funded NAMO Medical College and other allied buildings in the campus which were built at a cost of Rs 203 crore.

After taking a round of the newly-built medical college and other facilities, which are part of the NAMO Medical Education & Research Institute, the PM will address a gathering at Sayli village near Silvassa.

From the same venue, he would inaugurate or lay foundation stones for various projects for the entire Union Territory located adjoining Gujarat. In all, the PM will launch projects worth Rs 4,804.64 crore during his day-long visit, said the officials.

In the evening, Modi will travel to Daman town of the Union Territory where he will hold a 16-km-long roadshow, which will pass from a newly-developed seafront road, they said.

With an aim to turn Daman into a major tourist hotspot, the development of a state-of-the-art infrastructure project called Devka Promenade and Seafront was started in May 2018 and completed in March 2023 at a cost of Rs 165.10 crore, said a release.

Sources revealed the PM is also expected to attend the ongoing Saurashtra Tamil Sangamam event at Somnath in Gujarat on April 26.

The event, being organised from April 17 to 30, aims to preserve and promote the rich culture and heritage of the Saurashtra region of Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. The programme seeks to reconnect Tamil-speaking migrants from Saurashtra with their roots and foster participation in cultural exchange between the region and the southern state.

Read all the Latest Education News here
Meghalayas West Garo Hills district administration has ordered that schools be closed for three days from Wednesday due to soaring temperatures.

The order came in the wake of the mercury levels soaring above 37 degrees Celsius in the district, and even touching 40 degrees Celsius in the plains.

In view of the massive surge in temperatures and to ensure the well-being of the students, teachers and staffers, I have declared that all primary, upper primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in the district be shut from April 19-21, Deputy Commissioner Jagdish Chelani told PTI.

He said that night schools, however, will remain functional.

The Met department has warned of rising temperatures in the state, particularly in lower altitude areas in Garo Hills and Ri-Bhoi districts.

Some areas in West Garo Hills district have recorded temperatures above 35 degrees Celsius. The mercury level in state capital Shillong rose to a maximum of 28 degrees Celsius, around six notches above normal during mid-April, the weatherman said.

The South Garo Hills district administration is also reviewing the heat situation to consider shutting down schools if the temperatures rise further, an education official said.

Read all the Latest Education News here
AIADMK general secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday announced that the party will contest the Karnataka Assembly polls.

However, the party had earlier announced that it would not be contesting the state Assembly polls and would support BJP candidates.

The party also announced D. Anbarasan as its candidate from the Pulikeshi Nagar constituency. BJP leader Murali will also be contesting from the said constituency.

In 2018, the Pulikeshi nagar seat was won by S. Akhanda Srinivasamurthy of the Indian National Congress who defeated Janata Dal (Secular) leader B. Prasanna Kumar by a margin of 81,626 votes.

In the 2018 assembly elections, the AIADMK had fielded three candidates.

The Karnataka assembly polls are scheduled on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.

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Ahead of the Karnataka Assembly Polls, a political war broke out over the rescue of the tribal Kannadigas stranded in Sudan, where rival factions of the ruling military regime have been battling for control of the African nation. As many as 31 people belonging to Hakki-Pikki tribal community from Karnataka are stuck in Sudan, where clashes between army personnel and paramilitary forces resulted in the death of over 180 people.

Karnataka Opposition Leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday appealed to the Union government to rescue the stranded Tribals, to which, Indian external affairs minister S. Jaishankar urged him to not politicise the situation, which he said was very complicated.

Following this, a political slugfest broke out, with leaders of both Congress and BJP coming out in support of their party colleagues. While BJP is accusing Siddaramaiah of politicising an international issue, the Congress termed EAM Jaishankars reply to former CMs genuine appeal as appalling.

Congress

Congress leader Jairam Ramesh hit out at Jaishankar saying the Union minister gave a most appalling response" to Siddaramaiah.

Commenting on Jaishankars tweet slamming Siddaramaiah, Ramesh commented said, This level of nastiness from a man I have known so very wellwho has developed new loyalties and who wants to show that in whatever he says and does."

A most appalling response from the External Affairs minister to a former CM with a genuine appeal. This level of nastiness from a man I have known so very well who has developed new loyalties and who wants to show that in whatever he says and does. I am  on his past. https://t.co/Eh9sixxbU9 pic.twitter.com/NdtPYGIipZ Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) April 19, 2023

BJP

Meanwhile, Bengaluru south MP Tejasvi Surya and Tamil Nadu BJP Chief K Annamalai have slammed Siddaramaiah for politicising the issue without understanding the gravity of ye situation".

Surya said that the BJP doesnt need the senior Congress leaders lessons on rescuing people from other countries.

Sir, we dont need lessons on rescuing stranded Indians from the Congress. Modi Govt has rescued lakhs of stranded Indians during Vande Bharat Mission, students during Ukraine war, nurses from Yemen and more. All Kannadigas will return safe, Tejasvi Surya wrote on Twitter.

Sir, we dont need lessons on rescuing stranded Indians from the Congress.Modi Govt has rescued lakhs of stranded Indians during Vande Bharat Mission, students during Ukraine war, nurses from Yemen and more. All Kannadigas will return safe!#TrustNaMo https://t.co/Qc49ZlfvFJ  Tejasvi Surya (@Tejasvi_Surya) April 18, 2023

Annamalai on the other hand accused Siddaramaiah of politicising the ongoing international conflict for electoral success in the upcoming election in Karnataka.

It is rather unfortunate that the former CM of Karnataka, Thiru

@siddaramaiah avaru, addresses an issue of such nature without understanding the gravity of the situation, While the former CMs boss politicised the Pulwama attack, it is no surprise that the former CM has taken a cue from him to politicise an ongoing international conflict assuming it would give him electoral success in the upcoming election in Karnataka," the Tamil Nadu BJP Chief tweeted.

Sir, it is rather unfortunate that the former CM of Karnataka, Thiru @siddaramaiah avaru, addresses an issue of such nature without understanding the gravity of the situation. (1/2) https://t.co/D2VbKbzAtN K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) April 18, 2023

War of Words Between Jaishankar and Siddaramaiah

Jaishankar on Tuesday came down hard on Congress leader Siddaramaiah after he claimed that 31 people from Karnataka are stranded in violence-hit Sudan.

Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; dont do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan," Jaishankar tweeted.

Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons. Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing," he added.

Jaishankar said plans regarding them have to take into account a very complicated" security scenario and that the Indian embassy in Sudan is in constant touch with the Ministry of External Affairs over the situation in that country.

It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicize their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," he said.

Jaishankars reaction came after Siddaramaiah posted a series of tweets saying it is reported that 31 people from Karnataka belonging to Hakki Pikki tribe, are stranded in Sudan which is troubled by civil war."

The former Karnataka chief minister urged the prime ministers office, the union home ministers office and the ministry of external affairs to immediately intervene" and ensure the safe return of the Indians.

Assembly elections in Karnataka are due next month.

On Monday, the Indian embassy in Sudan issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm.

Violence in Sudan

The embassy, on Sunday, said an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.

The ministry of external affairs has already set up a 247 control room to provide information and assistance in view of the current situation in Sudan.

Sudans military captured power in a coup in October 2021 and it has been running the country through a sovereign council since then.

There has been a dispute between the Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over a proposed timeline for handing over power to a civilian government

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Meanwhile, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai launched his poll campaign at his Haveri constituency, with BJP national President JP Nadda and actor Kichcha Sudeep beside him. Bommai, who already submitted his poll nomination on Sunday, again filed the nomination in presence of his star campaigners Sudeep and Nadda at Taluk Office, Haveri districts Shiggaon. The leaders also held a road show on the occasion.

The ruling BJP in the state has released a list of 40-star campaigners including stalwarts like Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Nadda, and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath among others for upcoming polls.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Bommai said, This time there is huge support and I am confident of winning with the largest majority this timeNothing has shaken. Not even a small brick has changed. We are going to win all the three Hubli-Dharwad seats, including Jagadish Shettars seat.

As per BJPs official statement, Nadda in Shiggaon of Haveri District will hold a mega roadshow from Santhe Maidana to Taluk Stadium via Old Bus Stand. Then, the BJP chief will address a huge public meeting at Taluk Stadium, Shiggaon (Haveri district) at noon. Nadda will also participate in nomination filing in the Haveri district.

BJP leader and MLC Ayanur Manjunath decided to resign as a member of the Karnataka Legislative Council, and contest the May 10 Assembly polls from the Shivamogga constituency. His move came after BJP denied him a ticket from Shivamogga. The MLC did not specify whether he would contest from any other political party or as an independent candidate.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to arrive in Udupi on May 4 to take part in a conference of BJP workers, party sources said. Adityanath is also expected to accompany Modi, they added.

BJP Udupi district president Kuyilady Suresh Nayak indicated that the Prime Minister would attend a conference of party workers ahead of the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka.

A huge function will be arranged in the city or some other suitable place for the visit. National leaders have conveyed the matter to the district party, sources said. PM Modi is expected to address at least 15-20 rallies ahead of the assembly elections in Karnataka.

Furthermore, Shah is also scheduled to hold road shows in Davanagere and Devanahalli on April 21 and 22 and attend several organisational meetings in Bengaluru as the BJPs campaign to retain power in the state goes into a higher gear.

Party sources said Shah will be in the state between April 20-23 and will leave for Telangana on the last day to attend political programmes in Telanganas Chevella Lok Sabha seat.

Shahs road shows are expected to give a fillip to the partys mass connect in Karnataka. His several meetings with the state party leaders tasked to spearhead the campaign are expected to fine-tune the poll strategy.

On Tuesday evening, the Congress announced its fourth list of seven candidates, confirming the ticket to Shettar, who joined the party after quitting BJP. Congress fielded Shettar from his traditional Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency.

The party also fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur from the Shiggaon assembly seat, from where Bommai is the BJP candidate. Bommai also represents the Shiggaon constituency in the outgoing assembly.

The Karnataka assembly elections will be held in a single phase on May 10, with the counting of votes scheduled on May 13. The Congress is seeking to oust the BJP from power in the southern state.

(with inputs from PTI)

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News / National

by Staff reporter

DOZENS of Zimbabweans based in the United Kingdom (UK) yesterday protested at the Zimbabwe and United Arab Emirates embassies in London demanding the arrest of all those implicated in a recent gold smuggling and money laundering documentary produced by Al Jazeeranews.comThe placard-waving protesters accused President Emmerson Mnangagwa of being reluctant to arrest his allies implicated in the alleged scam."Arrest the Gold Mafia," one of the placards read.Co-ordinator of the protests, Patricia Chinyoka, told NewsDay that they will continue piling pressure for the arrest of the 'Gold Mafia' kingpins."We are expecting the UAE to investigate all those implicated in the Al Jazeera documentary. Tomorrow we are going to have a vigil for Hon (Job) Sikhala where we will be joined by the British MPs," Chinyoka added.Opposition Citizens Coalition for Change (CCC) spokesperson Fadzayi Mahere hailed the protesters for shaming Mnangagwa."While we honour Independence Day, we are mindful that the 43-year-old bad governance crisis has rendered the liberation promise empty," Mahere told NewsDay."The #GoldMafia expose continues a sad pattern of a rich nation being poorly managed and looted by political elites at the expense of the citizens. This is not the Zimbabwe that the citizens had hoped for."We urge every citizen to ensure that they perform their civic duty by voting en-masse in the coming election for ethical, competent leaders who will usher in a new great Zimbabwe with dignity, prosperity and freedom for all."Zanu-PF UK executive member Xavier Muneyi Muzukuru Zavare said the protesters were not patriotic Zimbabweans."What they are doing is very shameful and embarrassing. It's like desecrating the graves of their and our ancestors. That's mocking the great job done by the ancestors," Zavare said."You can't choose one's wedding day or to remember a late person to introduce your own story. Nowhere in the world do you find people not respecting their country's independence day."We are quite surprised if these people are Zimbabweans or Rhodesians. It's shameful because most of these Zimbabweans are led by a Rhodie who recently said on Twitter and their Change Radio that there is no Independence."Government has since indicated that it would investigate the allegations made by Al Jazeera.
Ahead of the last day of filing nominations in Karnataka, it was a busy day on Monday for candidates in the Mysuru district. The district registered a total of 51 nominations for 11 constituencies. Most candidates chose April 17 to submit their nominations at the respective offices of the Returning Officer as they believed the day was auspicious. Congress fielded candidate Darshan Dhruvanarayan also filed his nomination for the Nanjangud constituency.

Before filing his nomination, Darshan Dhruvanarayan paid homage to his parents, the late KPCC working president R Dhruvanarayan and the late Veena Dhruvanaryan. They both were laid to rest at Heggavadi village in Chamarajanagar district. R Dhruvanaryan died due to a heart attack on March 11 and his wife breathed her last at a private hospital in the city on April 7.

R Dhruvanaryan was supposed to contest from the Nanjangud assembly seat. Congress leader and former PWD minister Dr HC Mahadevappa was also a ticket aspirant from the same constituency and had been identified as part of Siddaramaiahs faction, while Dhruvanarayana with DK Shivakumar.

Lets know a little more about Darshan Dhruvanarayan, who is contesting from Nanjangud.

Darshan is said to be soft-spoken just like his father. He completed his LLB in London and is practising as a lawyer in Bengaluru. He has marked his attendance in various political programs and joined politics after his fathers death.

Dhruvanarayanas supporters urged the party for a ticket to his son, Darshan. They had also appealed to DK Shivakumar, Siddaramaiah and ticket aspirant Mahadevappa in this regard. On humanitarian grounds, Mahadevappa withdraw his candidature and decided to support Darshan for the polls. Along with him Janata Dal (Secular) withdrew Mahadevappas candidature from the Nanjangud and extended its support to Darshan.

But the question that now arises is will Darshan win the Nanjangud seat in the Assembly Polls?

In 2018, Harshavardhan B of BJP won the seat by defeating Congress leader Kalale N Keshavamurthy with a margin of 12,479 votes. BJP has again fielded Harshavardhan B for the polls.

The Karnataka Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on May 10 and the counting of the votes will be on May 13.

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It isnt over yet, Narendra Modi is still to come  so says the BJP camp on the Karnataka election campaign as the Congress already claims to get a full majority.

Our ground reports show that we are ahead of the Congress by 7-10 seats. Our campaign is still to begin. Watch out for the narrative to change once our big campaign led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi rolls out from the last week of April, a senior BJP leader told News18.

A second BJP leader said there will be a strong counter by the PM to the PayCM corruption and freebies campaign of the Congress. Modi could aggressively attack the corruption history of the Congress pre-2014 and expose Congress track record of not delivering on its poll promises after their earlier state election victories.

Congress has made four election promises through guarantee cards such as Rs 2,000 allowance to women and 200 units of free power. The PM could remind voters about the double-engine development and the host of expressways and airports that have come to the state under the BJP government.

BJP leaders say many central schemes are supplemented by the government in Karnataka and people may lose out on that if Congress comes to power. While the central government sends Rs 6,000 under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi, the Karnataka government adds another Rs 4,000 to it. Will that go away if the Congress comes to power? A BJP leader asked.

While the Congress is claiming a runaway win, the BJP camp feels it is a tight contest in which BJP has an edge due to the social matrix in the state. Other senior BJP leaders that News18 spoke to said the 4% Muslim reservation issue and Modi Teri Kabar Khudegi remark of the Congress would also be central to the PMs campaign to push Congress to the back-foot. The first issue will be used to highlight the Congress policy of appeasement and the second has already been raised by the PM in his earlier public meetings in Karnataka to say the opposition party wishes death upon him. This will also be an attempt by the BJP to try to derail the local issue-centric campaign of the Congress so far in the Karnataka polls.

Shettar-Laxman Exit

BJP leaders say Jagadish Shettar and Laxman Savadi are leaders beyond their prime and not likely to win their seats. Shettar also knows that BJP will win in Karnataka, thats why he wanted a ticket for himself and not even his son as he sees himself as a CM contender if he wins his seat. He knows he is a senior Lingayat leader and can pose a challenge to Basavaraj Bommai. BJP did not fall into this trap, a senior BJP leader argued. Laxman lost in the 2018 elections too after shifting to the BJP but the party still made him an MLC and deputy CM. He wants the BJP to repeat its mistake again and give him a ticket, the BJP leader said.

He explained that the BJP has gone for a generational change with 74 first-timers contesting on tickets mostly given outside Bengaluru. Why has the Congress delayed its tickets after starting early? A party that is winning early should have done so, a BJP leader said.

An X-factor would be Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanaths campaign in Karnataka, the BJP feels.

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Irrfan Khan was one of the most popular actors in the Hindi film industry. He charted his course to stardom and made films an enriching experience for the audience. The critically acclaimed actors demise in 2020 after battling cancer for years left the film industry and his fans grief-stricken. Right before his death, he was working on the movie The Song of Scorpions, which is all set to get a theatrical release on April 28, 2023, a day before his third death anniversary.

His co-actress Tillotama Shome dropped a poster on her Instagram to announce the trailer launch. She wrote, Love, deception and a song. The Song Of Scorpions by Anup Singh. Trailer releasing tomorrow. Fans definitely seem excited as many rushed to the comments section. One social media user wrote, This has to be in the theatres! Another user wrote, Was eagerly waiting for this! Finally! One user commented, So happy to watch more of Irrfan sir.

Check out Tillotamas post here:

Check out the trailer here-

In an interview, Zeeshan Ahmad, co-producer of The Song Of Scorpions, revealed his feelings about the upcoming movie. He said, It is my honour that my name has been associated with this film as a co-producer and one of the presenters of the film. We are glad that Irrfan Khans last onscreen appearance in a film is soon going to be released in cinemas across the country and his fans will get to see him one last time on the big screen. Trust me, Irrfans character and performance in the film are going to leave you spellbound."

The Song of Scorpions will feature Irrfan Khan, Golshifteh Farahani, Shashank Arora, Waheeda Rehman and Tillotama Shome, to name a few. The movie premiered at Locarno Film Festival in Switzerland.

Irrfan Khan has worked in famous movies like Maqbool, Madaari, Life of Pi, Hindi Medium, Paan Singh Tomar, The Lunchbox and many other films. Now, with the release of his upcoming drama, fandom will get the chance to relish his work once again on the silver screen. The movie will be clashing with Mani Ratnams magnum opus film Ponniyin Selvan 2.

Read all the Latest Bollywood News and Regional Cinema News here
Marathi actress Hemangi Kavi is one of those celebrities who never shies away from expressing her opinions on social media. In a recently conducted interview with Planet Marathi, Hemangi described how her parents have a broad-minded approach. She said that she could watch films like Titanic and Dayavan very easily with her family in childhood. Hemangi said that there were no restrictions on her to watch adult scenes in films. She added that her family members didnt search for a remote to change the channel when these scenes appeared. According to Hemangi, her father would encourage them to pose questions about what is happening on screen. Due to this, she said that there was an open-minded environment in the family.

Hemangi further added that after listening to this interview, some people would feel that her parents were very educated; but she revealed that her mother was just a class 7th pass-out. It was her father who had a degree in LLB.

Hemangi dominated headlines for the screening of her film, Ticha Shahar Hona. This film is directed by debutante Rasika Agashe. The screening was done at the Film Television Institute of India, Pune on March 19. This screening was performed as a part of the Super Hits Marathi Film Festival. Ticha Shahar Hona describes how people from marginalised sections of society are still not able to live a good life. According to fans and critics, Hemangi performed the role of a slum dweller and rickshaw driver in the film brilliantly. Other actors were also applauded for their acting. It narrates the story of Archana (Sonali Kulkarni), an information technology professional, and her husband (Prasad Oak). When their house help goes on leave, Archana gets in touch with Kiran-didi (Chhaya Kadam), part of an agency that provides such help. A shocking incident prompts Archana to come in close contact with the lives of the marginalised.

Hemangi also dominated the headlines for her acting in the Marathi show, Lek Majhi Durga. The shows core theme is based on the Hindi show titled Shakti. Fans were disappointed when Hemangi left the show midway. She also didnt reveal the reason behind her exit.

Read all the Latest Bollywood News and Regional Cinema News here
Debina Bonnerjee was brutally trolled for wearing a cute tutu dress for her birthday bash. The actress, best known for her role in Ramayan, turned a year older on Tuesday. She rang in her birthday at home with her husband, actor Gurmeet Choudhary, and friends before she hosted a massive bash on her birthday night. While Debina looked absolutely cute in her short white dress, the outfit did not impress everyone on the internet.

Commenting on a video posted on Instagram, social media users felt that the dress did not suit Debina. Wrong choice of dress. " a user wrote. That dress looks funny on her, suitable for a child under 10," added another. What is this ridiculous dress?" asked a third user. What happened to your beautiful dress sense.. just wondering," a fourth user wrote.

However, a few defended her choice of outfit as well. There is nothing wrong on her dress,if she is comfortable or like to wear those dresses then we are nobody to judge," a social media user wrote.

In videos coming from the bash, Debina was seen twinning with her daughters. While the actress and the kids were seen wearing white dresses, Gurmeet opted for a casual black ensemble.

On Tuesday, Debina shared pictures from her at-home birthday bash and wrote, Always grateful #HappyBirthdayToMe." Gurmeet also shared similar pictures and wrote, Happy birthday my love ." Their friends from the industry and fans wished Debina on her birthday.

Debina Bonnerjee and Gurmeet Choudhary started dating after meeting on the set of the TV program Ramayan. They quickly fell in love and got married in February 2011. The couple is blessed with two beautiful children, Lianna and Divisha, and often shares glimpses of them on their respective social media handles.

Read all the Latest Bollywood News and Regional Cinema News here
Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi and exchanged their views on diverse topics.

After meeting the PM, Cook thanked Modi for the warm welcome and said his company is committed to growing and investing across the country.

Thank you Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country," Cook tweeted.

Reacting to Cooks tweet, PM Modi said he is glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India.

An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. https://t.co/hetLIjEQEU Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2023

Cook also met Minister for Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and Union Minister of State for Electronics & Technology Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

Met with @tim_cook, CEO, Apple. Discussed deepening Apples engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports,app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women. Jointly charting a long-term and strong relationship. pic.twitter.com/L7KVPjq8fk Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) April 19, 2023

It was a delight to meet @tim_cook CEO, @Apple and his team to engage on Apples strategic and long-term partnership with and in Indias digital journey.We discussed deepening and broadening manufacturing, exports, skilling of youth, expanding app n innovation economy and job pic.twitter.com/CHrvlO4Aan  Rajeev Chandrasekhar  (@Rajeev_GoI) April 19, 2023

After Mumbai, Tim Cook To Open Apple Saket Store in Delhi On April 20

After the grand opening of Apples first retail store in India at Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Tuesday, Cook is all set to inaugurate its second store called the Apple Saket in New Delhi on April 20th. Apple Saket will open for customers on Thursday at 10 a.m. IST.

ALSO READ: Apple Saket in Delhi: All Details About Second Apple Store In India At Select Citywalk Mall

Apple has long wanted physical retail stores in India. Its original plans for 2021 were derailed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

This is Cooks first trip to India in seven years, the last being in 2016 when the tech giant was just beginning to scale up operations in the country.

The new stores come at a time when Apple is trying to deepen its retail push in India, the worlds second largest smartphone market. India is also home to factories that produce 5 per cent of total iPhones as Apple diversifies its supply chains away from China.

The iPhone is still an aspirational product in the price-sensitive Indian market, where more than 95 per cent of smartphones run on Googles Android platform.

Cook Visits Lodhi Art District, National Crafts Museum

Cook arrived in the national capital on the second leg of the visit on Wednesday. He went around the crafts museum and the famous Lodhi Art district on Wednesday ahead of opening the companys second official retail store in the country.

Delhis Lodhi Art District is a remarkable public space. Congratulations to the St+art India Foundation and so many amazing artists for capturing Indian life so powerfully. And thank you to Dattaraj Naik for showing me how you design your murals on iPad," 62-year-old Cook tweeted.

Delhis Lodhi Art District is a remarkable public space. Congratulations to the St+art India Foundation and so many amazing artists for capturing Indian life so powerfully. And thank you to Dattaraj Naik for showing me how you design your murals on iPad. pic.twitter.com/5JuzlHRvPC Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023

The walls of buildings lined up in the entire area don beautiful murals that the city is famous for.

Cook, who had started the India visit by having Mumbais famous vada pav with Bollywood queen Madhuri Dixit on April 17, then visited the National Crafts Museum and Hastkala Academy.

I couldve spent the whole day at the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy. From ancient and vibrant textiles to impossibly intricate wood carvings, it displayed Indias deepand deeply beautiful culture of craft. Thanks Sarah Sham and Ruchika Sachdeva for showing me pic.twitter.com/CzQy0dOi8y Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023

The tech giant company co-founded by Steve Jobs completes more than 25 years in India this week.

(With PTI inputs)

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Atiq Ahmed, the dreaded gangster who was killed on camera last week, wanted to change the demography of Prayagrajs Kareli constituency. A top officer of Uttar Pradesh Special Task Force told News18 that colonies of a minority community were being established in the region.

UP STFs ADG Amitabh Yash revealed that mafia-turned-politician and his henchmen had occupied a large piece of land for the purpose. In an exclusive conversation with News18, Yash said that Atiqs gang had made such a strategy to increase their dominance, that no other gang at that time could have thought of.

Atiqs gang had started building a township for the minority community in the entire village adjacent to the Kareli assembly. They had encroached upon the land of several people, including the weaker sections. By setting up colonies for a particular community, Atiq and his gang wanted to further strengthen their political influence. This gang had many such strategies, which were foiled by the STF. All efforts were made to change the demography of Kareli assembly," Yash said.

Amitabh Yash further said that Guddu Muslim is an old contract killer. As far as I know, in 1999, the Gorakhpur police had arrested him in a drugs case and was sentenced to 10 years," the officer added.

At that time, Atiq Ahmed had got Guddu Muslim bailed. Since then he had been working for Atiqs gang. When Guddu Muslim was interrogated in 1999, he had called himself a bomber. He also confessed that he met Rajan Tiwari (former Bihar MLA and gangster) in Patnas Beur Jail and was given contract to kill someone. This claim was also proved later," Yash told News18.

The UP STF officer further said that he believes that Guddu Muslim has committed more crimes than the ones he has been charged for. He is committing crimes in individual capacity. Hence, Guddu Muslim is our prime target as he continues to be a threat to the society," Yash said.

The officer also spoke about Sabir and Armaan, the other accused in Umesh Pals murder case. Sabir used to be the driver of Shaista Parveen, Atiqs wife, while Armaan is a resident of Bihar. All the three hardcore criminals are being tracked," he said.

Elaborating on plans of Atiqs gang to eliminate Umesh Pal, Amitabh Yash said, The biggest problem for their gang was that people had started testifying in the court. The incident was carried out to create panic among the witnesses."

Umesh Pal and his two police gunners was shot dead near Sulemsarai under the limits of Dhoomanganj police station in the Prayagraj district on February 24. The suspects in the murder case were identified as Atiq Ahmeds son Asad along with Armaan, Ghulam, Guddu Muslim and Sabir. Asad was named only in the Umesh Pal murder case, while Ghulam has eight cases against his name.

On Asad Ahmeds Encounter

Asad Ahmed knew how to use a gun before committing his first crime. He had 48 days before he was encountered. He could have surrendered during that period, but he didnt. He was not even afraid of STF and fired at the personnel. But his luck was not with him. So he got killed," Yash said.

The officer said that UP STF extracted information about Asad. Atiqs son used to go to school with a weapon, and later became a shooter.

Talking about sophisticated foreign-made weapons recovered from Asads possession, the UP STF ADG said that all such weapons have been intercepted. These weapons are coming from some states through neighboring countries via drones. Here, the angle of underworld is also unfolding. But we will neutralise all the gangs that we come to know about in Uttar Pradesh," Yash assured.

(Interview by Rishabh Mani Tripathi of News18 Hindi)

Read all the Latest India News here
After losing her her son Asad and husband Atiq Ahmed in a span of only two days, 51-year-old Shaista Parveen has now become the most-wanted criminal in Uttar Pradesh. A reward of Rs 50,000 has been announced for any information about Shaista, who is now on the most-wanted list of the UP Police.

Shaistas son Asad was killed in a police encounter on April 13, two days before her husband Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead outside a hospital in Prayagraj, where they were being taken for medical treatment.

ALSO READ: Constables Daughter, Mafia Atiq Ahmads Wife & A Fugitive in Umesh Pal Case: Where is Shaista Parveen?

There were speculations that Shaista, who is now the empress of Atiqs empire, would surrender in front of the police after her husbands funeral. However, she is still absconding.

But how did an XII pass daughter of a retired police constable transform into a hardened criminal? Well, the transition happened over time. Every time her husband Atiq and brother-in-law Ashraf went to jail, it was Shaista who was responsible for handling the family business.

Shaista Praveen and her journey from cops daughter to most wanted

Daughter of retired police constable Mohammed Haroon, Shaista used to live in Damupur village of Prayagraj with her family. She married Atiq in 1996.

Having cleared Class XII from a school in Prayagraj, Shaista initially confined herself to household chores.

It was after the murder of lawyer Umesh Pal on February 24, 2023, that Shaista came to the forefront of Atiqs criminal empire. According to media reports, it was when Shaista went to meet her husband in Gujarats Sabarmati jail, the two discussed killing Umesh Pal. She is one of the main accused in the Umesh Pal murder case.

Presently, four cases are registered against Shaista in Prayagraj. Of them, three are for cheating and one for Umesh Pals murder. As per the police, Shaista Parveen was part of the planning and execution of Umesh Pals murder. When Atiq Ahmed was in jail, Shaista played an active role in running his syndicate.

The first 3 cases were registered in 2009 at Colonelganj police station, under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery of valuable security or will), 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating) and 471 (use of forged document) of the Arms Act besides sections 30 (breach of license or regulation) of the Indian Penal Code.

Shaista is also active on the political front. She joined Asaduddin Owaisis party AIMIM in 2021. She later switched to Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) in January 2023.

It was earlier speculated that Mayawati will field Shaista Parveen from Prayagraj in the mayoral election, however, the BSP supremo decided against it after her name surfaced in the Umesh Pal murder case.

After Atiqs death, Shaistas purported letter to Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has surfaced. The latter was written on February 27. In the letter, Shaista said Atiq, and Ashraf are being falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal murder case.

Shaista alleged that Minister Nand Gopal Gupta was the main conspirator of Pals murder. If you (CM Adityanath) do not intervene, my husband, brother-in-law and sons will be killed," she wrote.

As the police are on the lookout for Shaista Parveen, reports suggest that locating her may be a difficult task at present. Shaista will be following the ritual of Iddah after the death of her husband and no one will be allowed to meet her during this time.

In such a situation, finding out his whereabouts can be a difficult task. The police suspected that she might secretly come to her son Asads funeral wearing a burqa, but she did not.

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Jailed gangster Chhota Rajans close aide Santosh Mahadeo Sawant was arrested by the Central Bureau of Investigation as he landed at Mumbai airport from Singapore, after being on the run for 18 years, officials said on Wednesday.

The agency was alerted by Interpol about the movement of Sawant, who was facing a Red Notice since 2012, from Singapore, they said.

An application was filed before the competent court on behalf of said absconding accused (Sawant) for his surrender before the trial court.

The absconding accused, while landing at Mumbai Airport from Singapore, was secured by the Bureau of Immigration Department, Chatrapathi Shivaji Maharaj International Airport, Mumbai. Subsequently, he was handed over to CBI by the Immigration Department officials," a CBI spokesperson said.

Sawant was produced before the trial court in Mumbai and was remanded in judicial custody till May 2, 2023, the spokesperson said.

Sawant, who allegedly handled the finances of Rajan, was booked by Mumbai Police on December 13, 2005 for allegedly extorting Rs 20 lakh from a builder and attempting to extort another Rs 20 lakh by extending death threats.

It was alleged that Sawant was extorting large sums of money from the builders who undertook the redevelopment work of old buildings in Tilak Nagar, Naidu Colony, Ghatkopar and other areas of Mumbai.

The case was transferred to the CBI after Rajan was brought back to India. The agency registered the case involving Sawant on April 7, 2016.

A request for extradition of the absconding accused was also sent to Singapore through the Ministry of External Affairs.

During further investigation, CBI had filed a supplementary charge sheet against three accused before the designated court at Mumbai," the CBI spokesperson said.

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Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asked the top commanders of the Indian Army to maintain a strong vigil along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China as the situation in the northern sector remained tense" due to the deployment of Chinese PLA troops.

In his address at the Army Commanders Conference, Singh, referring to the eastern Ladakh border standoff, expressed full confidence in the Army to deal with any contingency while noting that ongoing talks for a peaceful resolution of the row will continue and that disengagement and de-escalation were the best way forward.

Singh said a whole of the government" approach is being followed to ensure the availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to the troops braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend the countrys territorial integrity, according to the defence ministry.

The Indian and Chinese troops have been locked in a three-year confrontation in certain friction points in eastern Ladakh even as the two sides completed disengagement from several areas following extensive diplomatic and military talks.

The defence minister reaffirmed the faith of the billion-plus citizens in the Indian Army as one of the most trusted and inspiring organisations in the country.

The situation is tense due to the deployment of PLA troops in the northern sector. Our armed forces, especially the Indian Army, will have to continuously keep their vigilance in order to maintain the security of the LAC," he said, according to sources.

The defence minister said the security of the country is the topmost priority" for the government.

In a statement, the ministry said Singh complimented Border Roads Organisation while noting that its efforts have led to an incomparable improvement of road communication in the borders.

The five-day Army Commanders Conference began on Monday. It is deliberating on Indias national security challenges along the borders with China and Pakistan and ways to boost the combat capability of the force.

Chief of Defence Staff Gen Anil Chauhan, Army Chief Gen Manoj Pande, Navy Chief Admiral R Hari Kumar and Air Chief Marshal VR Chaudhari also addressed the commanders.

Talking about the global geo-political scenario, Singh said, Unconventional and asymmetric warfare, including hybrid war, will be part of the future conventional wars." Cyber, information, communication, trade and finance have all become an inseparable part of future conflicts. This necessitates that Armed Forces will have to keep all these facets in consideration while planning and formulating strategies," he said.

On the situation along the Western borders, he complimented the armys response to cross-border terrorism, adding the proxy war by the adversary continues.

I compliment the excellent synergy between the Central Armed Police Forces/Police forces and the army in tackling the menace of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir," he said.

The synergised operations in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are contributing to increased stability and peace in the region and the same should continue, and for this, I again compliment the Indian Army," Singh said.

The defence minister commended the army for the high standard of operational preparedness and capabilities which, he said, he has always been experiencing firsthand during his visits to forward areas.

In the Northeastern states too, there has been a lot of improvement in the internal security scenario following operations carried out by the Indian Army," Singh said.

The defence minister said there is a need to ensure the use of real-time intelligence more effectively so that we can be fully prepared to face any such future challenges." He appreciated the armys efforts to develop niche technologies in collaboration with civil industries.

He also stressed that as users the armed forces must put their faith in the countrys own industries and technologies.

The defence minister complimented the army in the execution of the Agniveer scheme.

He also reviewed an equipment display focusing on niche technology, innovation, solutions for surveillance, artificial intelligence, training, robotics, virtual reality, operational logistics, etc.

The defence minister released the second edition of the Indian Army UN Journal titled Blue Helmet OdysseyChanging Contours of Peacekeeping Operations in the 20th Century.

In his address, Air Chief Marshal Chaudhari talked about the IAFs new doctrine and the integration between the services.

The Chief of Naval Staff spoke about maritime security challenges and the increasing synergy amongst the three services.

In his remarks, Gen Pande emphasised on the changing character of warfare in the present geo-strategic scenario and highlighted the transformation of the Indian Army towards a future-ready force.

The Army Commanders Conference is an apex-level biannual event that is held in April and October every year.

The conference is an institutional platform for conceptual-level deliberations, culminating in making important policy decisions for the Indian Army.

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News / National

by Staff reporter

DAGGERS have been drawn in Harare East constituency where some voters are plotting to block attempts by incumbent Citizens' Coalition for Change (CCC) legislator, Tendai Luxon Biti, from competing to retain the seat.Sources inside the CCC, claim that Biti's opponents intend to prevent him from running in the upcoming parliamentary election as a result of Biti's criminal conviction and sentencing by a local magistrate.The politician was found guilty by the court for declaring that Nelson Chamisa, the leader of the CCC party, had won the contentious presidential elections that took place in July 2018.Biti was on trial for "unofficial and false announcement of results" and Magistrate Gloria Takundwa fined him $200 or alternatively he would spend six months in prison for the offense.The lawyer-cum-politician was accused of trying to flee the country to Zambia, but was arrested and deported.He attempted to appeal his conviction and sentence at the High Court, but the application was denied before attempting to make another appeal at Supreme Court but abandoned the process mid-way and the conviction still stands.Per the nation's Constitution, a politician loses his eligibility to run for public office if he receives a sentence of six months or more in prison,As a result, some voters in Harare East are calling for nominations for the former finance minister to be withdrawn. They argue that he is no longer fit to hold parliamentary office due to his conviction."He should not be allowed to contest in Harare East as this will be contrary to the Constitution that bars all criminal convicts from contesting and holding public office. We expect Biti, a lawyer, to have resolved his issues with the courts, but he didn't and this is now affecting his next term of office," one Harare East voter said.CCC is currently conducting presidential, parliamentary and local council internal nominations ahead of general elections expected in July and August.Biti is among aspiring MPs seeking election in Harare East. A top lawyer, Biti has been an opposition MP since 2000. Efforts to get comment from Biti were fruitless by the time of publishing.
In view of rising Covid cases in the national capital, the Delhi prisons department has instructed jail inmates not to gather at one place and wash hands regularly, officials said on Wednesday.

A senior official said at present, there are five active Covid cases in Tihar jail and highlighted that anyone who develops coronavirus symptoms like fever or cold has to undergo a rapid antigen test.

We have issued general instructions to the inmates. They have been instructed not to gather at a place and wash their hands regularly. The inmates who show the symptoms of fever and cold get tested inside the prisons. If they test positive for Covid, they are kept isolated at the central hospital in jail number 3 where we admit them for 10 to 12 days," he said.

We also undertake contact racing of infected inmates. Security staff who might have come in contact with them as well as their cellmates are also tested," the officer said.

The official said the five active Covid cases in Tihar jail tested positive around 10 days ago and were admitted to the central hospital, which comprises 50 beds.

They are fine and will be discharged soon. Inmates can also be shifted to either DDU or LNJP hospitals," another official said.

If a staff member has a fever or cold, but tests negative for Covid, he is asked to use a mask and take precautions, the official said.

The national capital on Tuesday logged 1,537 fresh COVID-19 cases with a positivity rate of 26.54 per cent.

With the new cases, Delhis COVID-19 tally has climbed to 20,25,781. Five fresh fatalities have pushed the death toll due to the viral disease to 26,572.

On Monday, Delhi recorded 1,017 fresh Covid cases with a positivity rate of 32.25 per cent, the highest in more than 15 months.

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Mumbaikars to finally get a sigh of relief as the water supply in Maharashtras capital city is likely to be restored to normal from April 23 as the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has claimed to have repaired the damaged water supply tunnel.

On March 31, the BMC closed the 5-km-long tunnel of 5,500 mm diameter between the Balkum and Bhandup water treatment complex after it got punctured by workers of a private developer who allegedly dug a borewell at Wagale estate in Thane.

The municipal body had shut the tunnel to carry out repair work and announced a 15 per cent water cut across Mumbai for 30 days. This alleged negligence by the contractor caused severe water shortages in Thane, Bhandup, and the areas around it.

Mumbaikars, who were already reeling under the heatwave-like condition, complained about a severe shortage of water and many got dependent on water tankers.

Quoting some BMC officials, the Times of India reported that the repair work has been concluded in 18 days even though 30 days for the task were announced initially.

Housing societies were spending money on water tankers. The BMC provided tankers but those were insufficient. Housing societies were spending Rs 3,000-4,000 per tanker," former corporator Asif Zakaria was quoted as saying by TOI.

On March 28, workers of the private developer broke the water tunnel while they were digging a borewell in Thanes Wagale estate. However, a media report stated that a RTI report reveals the tunnel was already damaged when the construction work was being carried out. And because of that, approximately three litres of water was reportedly being wasted on a daily basis. The supply was diverted to the 2,750 dia Vaitarna main, 2,750 dia Upper Vaitarna main and 3,000 dia Tansa replacement main to avoid any further wastage.

A report by The Free Press Journal had quoted a civic official as saying, We had to pump out several litres of water from the tunnel, the supply was then diverted to an old defunct line to make an alternate supply, arrangements were made for ventilation and lighting in the tunnel and then the repair work could be started. After the work gets completed, the supply will be diverted back to the tunnel."

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They face societal stigma, often have to fight for their fundamental rights, and find themselves detached from the society but now, Bihars transgender community has entered the battlefield to fight for their identity.

In Bihar, where the second phase of the caste survey started from April 15 and will continue till May 15, the caste code for third gender has been numerically allotted as 22  the same for 214 other castes. This has triggered a row in the community which called the move discriminatory and arbitrary.

Reshma Prasad, social activist for transgender persons, spoke exclusively to CNN-News18 and termed the decision political.

I dont say that the whole process of caste survey is wrong but classifying transgender persons under one caste is definitely wrong. International guidelines and NLSA vs Union of India have given us gender identity and not caste identity. It is a vast discrimination against transgendered persons. No other country or state has done this but Bihar. Its deplorable.

Bihar government's move to designate the third gender as a separate caste in the ongoing caste survey triggers protests from the community @JournoKSSR shares more details@AnushaSoni23 | #Bihar #CasteSurvey #TransgenderCommunity pic.twitter.com/fBVCBltvo3 News18 (@CNNnews18) April 18, 2023

CNN-News18 also spoke to other trans-women who are enraged with the Bihar governments decision.

Madhu, a BPSC aspirant, said: I identify as a trans woman. Its very wrong to categorise me into a transgender caste as I have my own caste identity. Being transgender is a journey and it is an umbrella term. The government should think about this.

Another trans woman Advika Chaudhary, who is preparing for Bihar Police, asked the government officers if their gender was their caste or they had their own caste identity. Is identity of a male or female their caste or their gender? The Bihar government has done this to malign our identity. We dont want to protest but very graciously request the chief minister to roll back its decision.

Anupriya Singh, who runs a web portal for raising the issue of transgenders, said: My parents, brother and sister have their own caste identity. I too belong to their caste because I was born in that family and I am lucky to live with my family. We are already facing stigma and discrimination in society. But if you categorise us in one caste, then what about our personal identity? This would add another stigma to us. CM Nitish Kumar should be sensitive towards the already neglected community.

According to the 2011 Census, the total population of transgender persons in Bihar is 40,827. Earlier, in 2014, a Supreme Court judgment had pronounced that transgender persons be treated as third gender for the purpose of safeguarding their rights under part III of the Constitution.

Public Interest Litigation

A writ petition in the form of a Public Interest Litigation has been filed by advocate Shashwat in the Patna High Court on behalf of petitioner Reshma Prasad on April 17, 2023. Activist Prasad decided to move the court to get relief because she thinks the government is insensitive towards the transgender community which has no other option than to go to court.

Prasads petition said that categorising transgenders as a caste, is unconstitutional and arbitrary as it is inconsistent with Articles 14, 15, 16, 19 (1)(a) and 21 as well as the judgment of the Honble Supreme Court in National Legal Services Authority vs. Union of India and Others (2014) 5 SCC 438 and as such arbitrary and unconstitutional.

The PIL was filed against the state of Bihar and respondents are Chief Secretary of Bihar, ACS of General Administrative Department of Bihar, ACS of Social Welfare Department of Bihar as well as Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment, Government of India.

Advocate Speaks

Speaking exclusively to CNN-News18, advocate Shashwat said: A PIL has been filed against the state of Bihar in the ongoing caste survey where they have categorised transgender persons under the head of caste. They have snatched away the gender identity and have assimilated it with their caste identity. The persons coming from that community are enraged and hence they approached us to file the PIL.

On the legal aspect, Shashwat said it was a direct violation of Article 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution. Their personal autonomy and free will are compromised. A male or female has their own caste identity but that identity is snatched from the transgender persons so this is a direct violation. We are hopeful of a positive judgment, he added.

Politicians Take

Bihars former labour minister from BJP, Jibesh Kumar, told CNN-News18: You cant just classify anyone you like the transgender persons are born in a family and have their own caste identity by birth. A transgender can be from any caste be it Brahmin, Rajput, Kurmi, Muslims or SC/ST or others. You just cant just snatch their caste identity and bring them in one caste. If this is deliberately done, then its awfully wrong and if its a mistake, then government should rectify it as soon as possible.

Even the leaders in the government think the decision of the general administration department must be changed.

Rishi Kumar, RJD MLA, said: Its a terrible mistake but could be a clerical error. We will talk to the leaders in the government and hope it will be rectified.

What Laws Say and How They Are Violated

Article 21 guarantees the protection of personal autonomy of an individual which was established in Anuj Garg v. Hotel Association of India (2008) case and as such action by the Respondent Authority is against the precedence set by the Honble Supreme Court.

The Honble Apex Court in National Legal Service Authority vs Union of India (2014) has categorically and unequivocally upheld that third gender have right to self-determination and the action by the Respondent Authority is as such bad in law.

The gender identity and caste identity of the petitioners are two separate and distinct identities, thereby are different demographic indicators and the petitioners are afforded distinct constitutional protections by virtue of the same.

Categorising transgender under the head of caste is violative of principles laid by the Honble Apex Court in National Legal Service Authority vs Union of India (2014) wherein it was succinctly enunciated that: Article 14 of the Constitution of India states that the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or the equal protection of the laws within the territory of India. Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedom.

Right to equality has been declared as the basic feature of the Constitution and treatment of equals as unequals or unequals as equals will be violative of the basic structure of the Constitution. Article 14 of the Constitution also ensures equal protection and hence a positive obligation on the State to ensure equal protection of laws by bringing in necessary social and economic changes, so that everyone including TGs may enjoy equal protection of laws and nobody is denied such protection.

Article 14 does not restrict the word person and its application only to male or female. Hijras/transgender persons who are neither male/female fall within the expression person and, hence, entitled to legal protection of laws in all spheres of State activity, including employment, healthcare, education as well as equal civil and citizenship rights, as enjoyed by any other citizen of this country. 

Advocate Shashwat has pleaded that transgenders ought to be categorised as the third gender, or be allowed to identify as either of the heterogeneous genders as they may choose. This would not only permit the petitioners to come within the purview of the Act and avail the social benefits/protection guaranteed by the legislation, it would also ensure that the constitutional protections guaranteed to them based on the caste they belong, can also be availed by them.

It now remains to be seen if the general administration department of Bihar headed by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar takes note of the alleged mistake and rectifies it in time. 

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday urged all the state governments to keep their political differences aside and join the fight against the drug menace in the country. He said a ruthless approach" has to be taken against narcotics traders to eradicate the menace of drugs as the Narendra Modi government has set a target to make India drug-free when it attains the 100th year of independence in 2047.

While addressing the first conference of the heads of anti-narcotics task forces of states and Union territories, Shah cited the ill effects of drugs on the youth as well as the countrys economy and security and said, I want to tell you today that we are at such a juncture that we can win the battle against the drug menace Those who consume drugs are the victims and those who sell them are the culprits. Strict action should be taken against such people."

Narcotics not only make the young generation hollow but along with this, there are many bad effects on the countrys economy as well. Simultaneously, through narco-terror, and through smuggling of narcotics, the security of the countrys border can be breached. If the 130 crore Indians fight it together, we will win this battle," he added.

Appealing everyone to rise above politics, he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI, Keeping aside our political differences, all the state governments and agencies need to come together to fight against the drug menace. We will have to adopt top to bottom and bottom-to-top approaches during the investigation of drug trafficking casesWe have to take a ruthless approach against the drug traders."

Shah also said that a whole of government" approach should be taken against the menace of drugs as it can destroy future generations.

He also appealed to everyone to work above politics and asked the state governments to keep aside their political differences and join the fight against narcotics together.

(with inputs from PTI)

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A 59-year-old street vendor was killed and a pedestrian was injured after a speeding ambulance hit them in Nagpur city of Maharashtra, police said on Wednesday.

Police have arrested the 21-year-old driver of the ambulance for rash and negligent driving. The incident occurred in Sakardara area on Tuesday evening when the ambulance was shifting a body.

The injured duo was rushed to the government hospital where doctors declared the 59-year-old vendor dead.

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Heatwave conditions continue to persist in some parts of the country while mercury levels dropped in north India after light rains brought relief.

India Meteorological Department (IMD) said heatwave conditions are likely to continue over East India during the next 3 days and abate thereafter.

In Mumbai, according to Regional Meteorological Centre, heatwave conditions will prevail in isolated pockets of suburbs for the next 24 hours.

The Met Department forecasted heatwave conditions in isolated pockets and coastal regions of Andhra Pradesh today.

IMD has issued warnings for the following states:

Bihar: The state is likely to witness heatwave conditions in some parts with high temperatures in isolated pockets from 19th-21st April.

West Bengal: People in the Gangetic region of the state will see severe heatwave conditions in isolated pockets on the 20th-21st April.

Odisha & Jharkhand: Both states are likely to sizzle under high day temperatures on 19th-20th April.

Latest Updates on Heatwave:

IMD issued an orange alert in Patna today. As per the forecast, heat waves will continue in some districts for the next 3 days and will start reducing from 22nd April. There will be a drop of 2-4 degrees in the temperature," said Ashish Kumar, IMD scientist, Patna.

Schools in Meghalayas West Garo Hills district administration will remain closed till April 21 due to soaring temperatures. The order came in the wake of the mercury levels soaring above 37 degrees Celsius in the district, and even touching 40 degrees Celsius in the plains.

The Tripura government has identified heatwave, sun stroke and sun burn as disasters, amid scorching heat in most parts of the northeastern state, an official notification said. It noted that according to the India Meteorological Department, similar conditions may continue for more days.

The Centre has asked states and Union territories to take steps to mitigate the adverse effects of extreme hot weather on workers in different sectors.

Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh and Baripada in Odisha recorded the maximum temperature of 44.5 degrees Celsius, according to the India Meteorological Department.

Relief Likely for Sun-scorched North India After Light Rains

Light rains in sun-scorched north India are likely to bring some relief in next three days. The national capital, parts of which reeled under heatwave conditions for the past few days, had some relief on Wednesday with strong winds and partly cloudy skies witnessed during the day. Delhi, which had recorded above 40 degree-mark in the past few days, recorded a maximum of 38 degrees Celsius.

With dust storm and light rains hitting parts of east Rajasthan, the meteorological department predicted a dip of 2-4 degrees Celsius in the maximum temperature.

Dust storm conditions were witnessed in several areas in Bikaner and Jodhpur divisions. Jaisalmer and Bikaner regions were hit by a strong dust storm on Wednesday. The weather department has predicted thunderstorm with strong winds of 30-40 kmph and light to moderate rain at some places in Jaipur and Bharatpur division on Thursday.

The higher reaches of Himachal Pradesh received a fresh spell of snow, while many other parts were lashed by rains, with the weather office warning of heavy rainfall in the state on Wednesday. The sky remained overcast in Shimla and surrounding areas with fog reducing the visibility to a few metres in the morning.

An appreciable fall has been witnessed in the minimum temperature across the state and Keylong in tribal Lahaul and Spiti district was the coldest recording a low of minus 0.1 degrees Celsius.

Many parts of Punjab and Haryana also received rains overnight leading to a dip in the temperature. Chandigarh, the common capital, received light rain (2.2 mm). In Punjab, Ludhiana (13.2) mm, Patiala (2.5 mm), Bathinda (5.4 mm), Faridkot (8.4 mm), Hoshiarpur (4 mm), Jalandhar (3 mm) and Rupnagar (11.5 mm) were among other places to receive rain.

In Haryana, Ambala, Kurukshetra and Panchkula received light rain. Notably, for the past over a week, the maximum temperatures in the two states and Chandigarh had been hovering above normal limits.

(With PTI inputs)

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Declaring a zero tolerance policy against drugs, Union Home Minister Amit Shah told a gathering of anti-narcotics police officers from across the country on Wednesday that 2047 is the deadline for India to be drug-free".

India will be drug-free by 2047that is biggest task for the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA). The fight must be over and above politics. There should be zero tolerance by all states, irrespective of whose government is in power," he said.

ALSO READ | Most of the Narcotic Drugs Are Shipped in Pakistan, Says Home Minister Amit Shah

Shah said that the fight against drugs is already yielding results. From June 2022 to February 2023, more than 6 lakh kg of drugs, worth more than Rs 7,000 crore, have been destroyed across the country, as per the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) data.

The Modi governments multidimensional efforts have led to increase of more than 100% in the seizure of narcotics and the NCB has registered 181% more cases against those involved in its business," the minister said.

TOP-TO-BOTTOM, BOTTOM-TO-TOP APPROACH

Shah called on the investigators to not just focus on the end users of small packets of drugs, but asked them to trace the origin and final destination of drug consignments.

Some countries have lost their fight against drugs because their approach was wrong. We should be clear. The drug consumer is a victim. The drug dealer is the criminal who must be dealt with ruthlessly," he said. If a drug dealer is caught with one packet, the investigation must focus on the point of origin. How was it transported to the district? Who smuggled it? Who collected the consignment? A top-to-bottom and bottom-to-top approach is needed. Whether a packet is found at a paan shop or a port, it must be traced to its origin and final destination," the home minister added.

Calling on different societal groups to cooperate in the fight against narcotics, Shah said mothers especially have a role to play. He said religious, social, educational and corporate institutions must be coopted by central and state agencies to spread awareness. Parents must be encouraged to report addiction of wards and they must be given the confidence that their wards will not be punished, but only sent to de-addiction centres to save their lives, he said.

The nation under the leadership of PM @narendramodi Ji stands united against drugs.The 1st National Conference of Heads of the ANTF of the States and UTs held today is an expression of whole-of-the-government approach adopted to battle the menace with India's collective might. pic.twitter.com/IZf7Rw3tia  Amit Shah (@AmitShah) April 19, 2023

THE NUMBERS SO FAR

At least 181% more cases have been registered in the past nine years in comparison to 2006-2014. The 2014-2023 period saw a 296% increase in arrests, and more than twice the amount of drugs being seized.

Shah said that a crackdown has also begun on illicit cultivation of poppy. Illicit cultivation of poppy and cannabis in remote hilly areas is a major concern. In the past three years, the NCB has destroyed almost 35,000 kg of illicit poppy and more than 80 kg of cannabis.

ALSO READ | Seizure Not Our Mission, but to Uproot: Amit Shah on Drug Menace in NE; 40,000 kg Narcotics Destroyed

STEPS BEING TAKEN

The Ministry of Home Affairs has constituted a study group to analyse the use of drones in mapping and destruction of crops under cultivation illegally in remote areas.

Suggestions on alternative livelihood arrangements for farmers engaged in cultivation of illegal narcotics crops have been issued to all affected states.

The NCB is also sharing satellite imagery with affected states for identification and destruction.

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In a first, a report has studied anti-Hindu hate in the UK through the lens of discrimination faced by Hindu students within the school system. One of the key findings of the national study showed that 51 percent of parents of Hindu pupils surveyed said their children had experienced anti-Hindu hate in schools. It also showed that fewer than 1 percent of the schools with Indian pupils, queried by Freedom of Information (FOI), reported any anti-Hindu incident in the last five years.

Apart from highlighting bullying incidents involving anti-Hindu slurs, the report also detailed another aspect of such hatred propagated through the teaching of Hinduism in schools. Under the religious education curriculum, as per some of the participants in the survey, schools teaching Hinduism often fostered religious discrimination towards Hindu students.

The report, Anti-Hindu hate in schools, documents how anti-Hindu hate is on the rise in schools in UK. It has been published by a London-based think tank, Henry Jackson Society (HJS), and authored by research fellow Charlotte Littlewood of the Centre on Social and Political Risk. It seeks to understand what anti-Hindu hate looks like and the extent to which it is manifesting in the UK by first looking at discrimination against Hindu students in schools.

We are very concerned and the aim of this study is to look at how we can use schools to tackle this hate," Littlewood told CNN-News18. The author is a PhD candidate in Arab and Islamic studies with the University of Exeter and her research focuses on minority within Muslim minority conflict in the UK, in particular the persecution of the Ahmadiyya Muslim community and the extent to which the UK is able to support this community", as per the HJS website.

Convert to Islam, your lives will be easier

The study documented the experiences of Hindu students, as told by their parents, around six major themes of prejudices related to politics in India, Abrahamic othering and Hindu religious education: Anti-Hindu slurs, far right/xenophobia, Islamist extremism, linking Hindu pupils to India, poor teaching of Hinduism, lack of school provision with respect to Hindu festivals and practices.

In fact, in the sub-section for Islamist extremism, the study detailed how Muslim pupils told their Indian classmates to convert to Islam, which would make their lives so much easier". It detailed references to Islamic supremacy, calls for Hindus to convert as well as threats of hell for disbelievers.

Instances where Muslim pupils have used terms such as kaffir" for their Hindu classmates have also been documented. Parents have even given examples in the study: Harassed and told that if they convert to Islam, their life will become so much easier (i.e. bullying will stop)" or You arent going to survive very long If you want to go to paradise, youll have to come to Islam Hindus are the herbivores at the bottom of the food chain, we will eat you up."

Apart from this, there are negative references to polytheism and idol worship. For example: You dont know about your own religion, you have so many gods. Your religion is idol worship (even though they were corrected to say deity worship, and they continued to insist that its the same). When teachers say these things, they undermine the students and make a mockery of them.

Not only this, the study also documented negative references to typical xenophobic tropes" such as go back home and those related to skin colour. There are also references to Christian supremacy and how Hindu students are often referred to as Paki" (a derogatory term for someone from Pakistan).

The study also highlights how Hindu students have often faced bullying due to how their faith is taught in these schools, especially when it is linked to societal ills such as the caste system or ancient practices (which have not been practised for decades) like sati pratha.

Many parents told the author that their children are held responsible for politics in India: Other students tried to bully my daughter that she is Hindu  saying why you people break our mosque, why you people attack us? So we changed the school" or child has faced bullying from other children on many occasions specifically after PM Modis rise in India and after article 370 was revoked."

The unequal approach to Hindu practices and festivals as compared to other religions was also documented with parents saying there is no holiday for major Hindu festivals like Diwali while Muslims pupils get three for Eid.

Key concern: Hinduism taught through lens of Abrahamic faith

A key concern raised by Hindu parents was how religious education with regard to teaching of Hinduism in UK schools was flawed. They said Hinduism was being taught through the lens of Abrahamic faith, which led to non-Hindu students misunderstanding some key concepts of polytheism and religious practices.

Littlewoods report sheds light on how the curriculum for teaching Hinduism failed to achieve the aims of religious education teaching in general and had a poor approach. It also explored how Hindu students were held accountable or responsible for political issues or societal ills, such as the caste system, back in India.

To appreciate the nature and function of caste, an understanding of historical, theological and sociological elements is needed which is typically beyond the scope of primary and even secondary education, Dr Rishi Handa, head of Sanskrit and religious studies and philosophy at St James Senior Boys School, is quoted as saying in the report. According to his profile on the HJS website, Handa has been a teacher for over 25 years and is presently working to create a training programme to assist teachers of religious studies in comprehending and instructing Indian religions via a framework that more accurately reflects Indic sensibilities, in contrast to the western and Abrahamic approaches currently used".

The study states that Hinduism is one of the religions covered under the religious education curriculum. But a report by the Commission on Religious Education (CoRE) suggested that since subject inspections ended in 2013, quality and provision of religious education has dropped.

UK schools ill-equipped to identify, prevent anti-Hindu hate

The report is also the first to probe to what extent UK schools are ill-equipped to identify and prevent incidents of anti-Hindu hate. It suggests that not only Hindu students, but students of other religious minorities may also be experiencing bullying and alienation that escapes official notice.

According to the study, only 19 percent of the Hindu parents surveyed believe schools are able to identify anti-Hindu hate while only 15 percent said these incidents were adequately addressed. In fact, the study has documented at least eight cases of physical abuse where parents chose to detail incidents and three cases of students having to move school owing to anti-Hindu bullying.

Conservative Party MP Ben Everitt, who has written the foreword to the study, has said the findings of the report are damning and that anti-Hindu discrimination has to be looked at for what it is: multifaceted.

We see how this type of discrimination can take the form of anti-Hindu slurs, but also in how a problematic approach to teaching Hinduism may be feeding into prejudice, and whether incidents of bullying and discrimination are being adequately dealt with by each individual school, Everitt says in the foreword.

He adds: One of the most revealing findings in this report, is the prevalence of certain slurs in the classroom and around school, which can only serve to alienate young Hindu people. Young Hindus are facing a range of prejudice from that which targets their religion to xenophobia; what is clear is that this type of discrimination is going under the radar; with incidents not being properly recorded or reported.

According to the study, Hinduism is the third largest religion in the UK making up 1.7 percent of the population. But there is little research on the experience of British Hindus as a diaspora. This was brought up as a major concern when Hindu homes, vehicles, businesses and a temple came under attack during civil unrest in Leicester from September 4 to 20, 2022.

This report is the first national study into the discrimination faced by Hindu youth in the UK. It, however, refrains from using the still-unfamiliar term Hinduphobia and chooses to address the incidents as anti-Hindu hate.

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The government does not have any data to show that same-sex marriage is an urban elitist concept", the Supreme Court said on Wednesday while hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal validation for gay marriages in the country.

State cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the individual does not have control. When you see it as innate characteristics then it counters urban elitist concept.. urban perhaps because more people are coming out of the closet. Government does not have any data also to show that same sex marriage is an urban elitist concept," CJI DY Chandrachud said, as reported by Bar and Bench.

The remark by the chief justice of India came in response to the Centre calling same-sex marriages an urban elitist concept, far removed from the social ethos of the country. The Centre had on Sunday asked Supreme Court to dismiss all petitions seeking its legal recognition.

Ahead of the hearing on April 18, the Centre filed a fresh application before the Supreme Court, raising questions on the maintainability of the petitions, saying that the extension of the concept of matrimony beyond heterosexual union is tantamount to creating a new social institution.

Centre said as the prayers made would entail the judicial creation of a social institution called marriage of a different kind than contemplated under the existing law.

The government also informed the top court that any further creation of rights, recognition of relationships and giving legal sanctity to same-sex relationships can be done only by the competent legislature and not by judicial adjudication.

The application also said that petitions seeking legal recognition of same-sex marriage issues have far-reaching implications and the petitioners seeking such recognition do not represent the view of the entire population of the nation.

The competent legislature will have to take into account broader views and voice of all rural, semi-rural and urban population, views of religious denominations keeping in mind personal laws as well as and customs governing the field of marriage together with its inevitable cascading effects on several other statutes," the Centre said.

The government further argued that conventional and universally accepted socio-legal relationships across all religions, are deeply rooted in the Indian social context and indeed is considered a sacrament in all branches of Hindu law. Even in Islam, though it is a contract, it is a sacred contract and a valid marriage is only between a biological male and a biological woman".

It further added that such petitions merely reflect urban elitist views and cannot be compared with the appropriate legislature which reflects the views and voices of a far wider spectrum and expands across the country."

The affidavit stated that marriage is a socio-legal institution which can be created, recognised, conferred with legal sanctity and regulated only by the competent legislature by way of an Act under Article 246 of the Constitution of India.

It is submitted that therefore, it is the humble request of the applicant the issues raised in the present petition be left to the wisdom of the elected representatives of the people who alone shall be the democratically viable and legitimate source through which any change in the understanding and/or the creation/recognition of any new social institution can take place," the Centre said.

Earlier, the Centre claimed such petitions will cause complete havoc with the delicate balance of personal laws and accepted societal values.

The government submitted that despite the decriminalisation of Section 377 of the IPC, which had criminalised consensual gay sex in private, the petitioners cannot claim a fundamental right to same-sex marriage to be recognised under the laws of the country.

Marriage, as an institution in law, has many statutory and other consequences under various legislative enactments. Therefore, any formal recognition of such a human relationship cannot be regarded as just a privacy issue between two adults," it said.

The Centre said the institution of marriage between two individuals of the same gender is neither recognised nor accepted in uncodified personal laws or codified statutory laws.

Five-judge bench hearing plea

A bench of Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and justices S K Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, P S Narasimha and Hima Kohli commenced the hearing on April 18 on the petitions which were referred to a larger bench for an authoritative pronouncement on March 13 by the CJI-led bench, saying it is very seminal issue.

The hearing and the consequential outcome will have significant ramifications for the country where common people and political parties hold divergent views on the subject.

Opposition to Pleas Seeking Validation of Same-sex Marriages

Jamiat Ulama-i Hind has also opposed the petitions saying they are an attack on the family system and in complete contravention of all personal laws.

Seeking intervention in the batch of petitions pending before the top court, the organisation also cited Hindu traditions, saying the aim of marriage among Hindus is not merely physical pleasure or procreation but spiritual advancement.

It is one of the 16 sanskars in Hindus, the Jamiat said. This concept of same-sex marriage goes to attack the family system rather than making a family through this process," it said.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also opposed the batch of pleas seeking recognition of same-sex marriage before the Supreme Court of India. In an application, NCPCR claimed that the adoption of children by a same-sex couple would affect the child in social and psychological aspects".

The child rights body claimed that allowing the adoption to same-sex couples is akin the endangering the children, according to a report by Bar and Bench.

The application further claimed that giving children to be raised by persons having issues would be like exposing children to struggle just for experimentation." It was argued that this was not in the childrens interest.

Same-sex parents may have limited exposure to traditional gender role models and hence, childrens exposure would be limited and their overall personality growth would be affected, NCPCR claimed.

It further stated that the existing legal system concerning children does not envision same-sex couples having custody over / adopting children.

Notably, the Hindu Adoption and Maintenance Act uses the words spouse" and wife", while laying down the ability to adopt only for Hindu males and females.

Consequently, it does not apply to same-sex couples, the application stated.

It concluded that a proper legislative system is required to be adopted regarding same-sex couples, only then they should be allowed to adopt children.

Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights Supports Petition

However, the Delhi Commission For Protection of Child Rights (DCPCR) supported the petition saying the Centre and state governments should take steps to create public awareness that same sex family units are normal.

It said multiple studies on same-sex parenting have demonstrated that same sex couples can be good parents.

Referring to examples of countries that have legalised same-sex marriages, the child rights body said at present more than 50 countries allow same-sex couples to legally adopt children.

SCs View On The Issue

While referring the pleas to the constitution bench, the court had said the submissions on the issue involve an interplay between constitutional rights on the one hand and special legislative enactments, including the Special Marriage Act, on the other.

Having due regard to the broader context of the petitions before this court, the inter-relationship between the statutory regime and constitutional rights, we are of the considered view that it would be appropriate if the issues raised are resolved by a constitution bench of five-judges of this court," the bench had said while referring to Article 145 (3) of the Constitution and calling it a very seminal issue".

We accordingly direct that the hearing of these petitions be placed before a constitution bench," the apex court said while posting the pleas for hearing on April 18.

Article 145(3) of Constitution says there should be at least five judges to hear cases that involve a substantial question of law as to the interpretation of the Constitution, or any reference under article 143, which deals with the power of the President of India to consult the Supreme Court.

The court said in the batch of pleas, the petitioners have sought recognition of the rights of couple of the same gender to marry, and while relying upon the apex court verdicts on right to privacy and decriminalising section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, they have asserted broader constitutional entitlements arising out of right to life and personal liberty, right to dignity and others.

The bench had said one of the issues raised before it also relates to the rights of transgender couples to marry.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had told the bench that marriage is not just a contract in case of Hindu law which it is in the Mohammedan law.

When the question of granting recognition, legal sanction to a relationship is concerned, that is essentially a function of the legislature and for more than one reason," he said.

The apex court had, on January 6, clubbed and transferred to itself all such petitions pending before different high courts, including the Delhi High Court.

On December 14 last year, it had sought the Centres response to two pleas seeking a transfer of the petitions pending in the Delhi High Court for directions to recognise same-sex marriages to itself.

Prior to that, on November 25 last year, the apex court had sought the Centres response to separate pleas moved by two gay couples seeking enforcement of their right to marry and a direction to the authorities concerned to register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act.

A bench headed by CJI Chandrachud, who was also part of the Constitution bench that in 2018 decriminalised consensual gay sex, issued a notice to the Centre in November last year, besides seeking Attorney General R Venkataramanis assistance in dealing with the pleas.

The top courts five-judge Constitution bench, in a path-breaking unanimous verdict delivered on September 6, 2018, held that consensual sex among adult homosexuals or heterosexuals in private space is not a crime while striking down a part of the British-era penal law that criminalised it on the ground that it violated the constitutional right to equality and dignity.

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Since April 15, when clashes broke out between the Army of Sudan and Paramilitary Forces, the Centre has been in touch with the United States (US), United Kingdom (UK), United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia to ensure the safety of Indians stranded in Sudan. Top government sources in New Delhi confirmed that External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar had a telephonic conversation with his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE and both the countries assured practical support to India on ground. Even Ambassadors in Washington and High Commission in London are in touch with the Government.

Those stranded have confirmed to News18 that they are in touch with the Indian Embassy in Sudan and a WhatsApp group has been created to keep everyone on alert all the time.

Shivanandan, from Shivamogga in Karnataka who works as a masseuse, said in an interview to News18: It is very risky to even go down to collect ration as gunmen are roaming everywhere.

Like Shivanandan, approximately 181 people (exact figure still not known) from Karnataka are stuck in Sudan without food and water, most of them from Hakki Pikki Tribes which possess traditional medicinal knowledge and go to Africa for trade and practice.

According to the official data, the number of Indians in Sudan is around 4,000, including 1,200 who have settled in the country.

The death toll in Sudan has reportedly reached over 180, with another 1,800 people injured. Humanitarian activities have been interrupted in many states due to widespread insecurity. The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced the temporary suspension of operations across the county following the killing of three staff caught in the crossfire in North Darfur. The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that several of Khartoums hospitals have run out of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, and other vital medical supplies. Nine hospitals in Khartoum and two in Bahri (Khartoum North) have closed due to shelling and insecurity.

India has an experience of evacuations in tense situations. Be it from war-hit Ukraine or post the Taliban takeover of Afganistan, India has successfully rescued Indians back to the country in coordination with the agencies concerned.

PRIME GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

Sudan has witnessed many political coups. The country has also been at the centre of geopolitics owing to its geographical location. It borders the Red Sea where the US, UK fears the potential of a Russian base on Red Sea. Many major geopolitical powers, including Russia, the US, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, have been trying to get influence over Sudan. Sudans strategic location and agricultural wealth have even attracted regional players.

The UAE and Saudi managed to gain influence over Sudan by forming a Quad alliance with the US and Britain. This alliance has mediated talks between Sudan, international organisations like the United Nations (UN) and other African Nations.

THE SUDANESE REVOLUTION

The UAE and Saudi Arabia took advantage of the revolutionary uprising of 2018-19 to bring Sudan under their influence. During the uprising, these two nations supported the Army and Paramilitary under the guise of stability, which resulted in replacement of Al Bashir as a ruler. As per the media reports, the UAE injected about $7 billion in Sudans economy.

Both the UAE and Saudi initially had suspicion over Bashirs intention as he was balancing ties with the UAE, Saudi and Qatar, Tehran. He used to receive subsidies from the UAE and loans from Qatar. Later, the UAE realised this and halted fuel shipments to Sudan which resulted in shortage of foreign exchange, landing the country in an economic turmoil. Bashir cut subsidies on bread, followed by demonstrations, which later became the Sudanese revolution.

During the revolution, Egypt offered exile to Bashir in Saudi Arabia, but he refused, after which three countries (Egypt, UAE, Saudi) reportedly reached out to Abdelfattah Al-Burhan  a military general who had a great equation with three nations and served in Saudi-led forces in Yemen  and Hemedti, the head of Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), for the coup.

A few days later, forces led by Burhan and Hemedti overthrew Bashir and installed the Transitional Military Council (TMC).

Egypt, Saudi Arabia and UAE got Sudan into confidence as both leaders were loyal to these three countries. Sudan had a government, but no stability.

As revolutionaries and the TMC government were still negotiating, Hemedtis RSF killed 130 protestors which attracted strong reactions across the globe, and prompted the UK and US to intervene. Both the nations called for a dialogue and behind-the-scenes work alongside the UK and US to broker a deal for stability.

A power-sharing agreement was signed and Burhan, the head of the TMC, was made the head of the sovereignty council and de facto head for the next 21 months, while Hemedti became the deputy head of the council.

However, now Burhans Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Hemedtis RSF are battling for supremacy, leading to the violence in Sudan.

THE QUAD FOR SUDAN

After the revolution, the UAE and Saudi paid millions of dollars to ensure the council government remained loyal to them, and not Qatar or Iran. The UAE lobbied for Sudan for removal of the American sanctions and the label of state sponsor of terrorism. A meeting with Benjamin Netanyahu was fixed, followed by a meeting with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, which was quite contrary to the US policy on dealing with civilian governments. The UAE kept funding Hemedti. Reportedly, his mined gold in Sudan is exported to Dubai for sale.

Two days ago, fire was opened at US diplomatic vehicles which led to Secretary of State Antony Blinken holding a telephonic conversation with both Burhan and Hemedti. He warned them about the safety of American citizens and diplomats. The US has a direct line to these two veteran war lords of Sudan.

Blinken urged these two leaders to agree to a 24-hour ceasefire to allow Sudanese to reunite with their families and to obtain the desperately needed relief supplies.

With the UK, Sudan had good bilateral relations. At times, both the nations have seen a dip in relationship, but the UK has been actively involved in Sudan, not only through its foreign office, but many of their organisations have worked in Sudan.

THE EVACUATION

Hence, New Delhi is striking the right cord by exploiting diplomatic relationship to coordinate safety and evacuation of Indians stuck in Sudan. India is engaged at a Government level in New Delhi, and Ambassador level in Washington and London, UK. Jaishankar also spoke to Foreign Ministers of UAE and Saudi Arabia as these two Gulf nations not only have a greater influence over Sudan, but reportedly run the show. The bosses of forces fighting on ground are reportedly funded by the UAE.

The Quad and Troika Statement, which was issued in December 2022, stated, The Quad and Troika members support this Sudanese-led process and condemn spoilers attempting to restrict political space and undermine Sudans stability and democratic transition."

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News / National

by Staff reporter

The Nelson Chamisa-led Citizen Coalition for Change (CCC) is in a dilemma amid reports that the party's Citizen Independent Selection Panel (CISP) is failing to resolve the Cowdray Park nominations where eleven (11) parliamentary candidates have been nominated to represent the party in the forthcoming elections, Zim Morning Post reported.Insiders told this publication that a resolution has to be made so that at least one candidate represents the party and that the other nominated candidates support the selected candidate."We are in a dilemma because we are not sure what criteria to use so that the other 10 nominated candidates are dropped," said a close source."There is a danger that those who will be dropped may contest as independent candidates and this will split the votes," the source said.CCC avoided primary elections and employed the untested candidate nomination process where party members nominate their preferred candidates.While the process, on paper, sounds noble, it has so many challenges which may lead to chaos and voter apathy if not properly resolved.In Cowdray Park, former MDC-T vice president Thokozani Khupe is among the other 10 candidates who will contest against Zanu PF candidate and Finance minister Mthuli Ncube.Another source said a few candidates will be asked to pave way for new comers (Fresh blood) who want to be in parliament."A few sitting MPs will be sent to Senate so that they pave way for fresh blood in the lower House," opined the source adding "We hope they will accept to join the Senate."CCC deputy spokesperson Gift Ostellos Sibanda was, however, upbeat about the new process of selecting candidates saying it reflects the notion that power comes from the people."This is the first time Zimbabweans are experiencing what it means to exercise their power in candidate selection," Sibanda said."We have nominations for all councillors, senators and members of parliament. We are deriving this power from the people. This is their thing (Chinhu chavo ichi)."The people, even in Zanu PF's former strongholds, are very clear that they now want change and change is imminent. We are the next government," he said.
With political circles guessing veteran Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roys next move, the leader has himself dropped a big hint, indicating he would soon be rejoining the Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP). Roy travelled to New Delhi for some personal work, even as his family initially claimed that he was missing.

However, speaking to a Bengali news channel on Tuesday, Roy most definitely hinted at joining the saffron party, as he said, I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda."

The development comes even as State parliamentary affairs minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics, a PTI report said.

Mukul Roys Journey From TMC to BJP And Back

Mukul Roy is one of the founding members of TMC and switched to the BJP in 2017. He won in the 2011 West Bengal assembly election, and later returned to the Trinamool Congress without resigning from the House.

According to reports, Roy said he was not keeping well for quite some time, but would again like to be active in politics. He said he is 100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC. Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best, he said.

Suspense Over Mukul Roys Delhi Visit

Mukul Roys whereabouts were a point of conversation since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was untraceable. After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had no specific agenda.

I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi, he had said.

The former railway ministers son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was untraceable and missing since late Monday evening.

Subhrangshu Claims Father Mukul is " Extremely Unwell"

As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is extremely unwell and suffers from dementia and Parkinsons disease. My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night, he told reporters.

Roys son also claimed that his father had undergone brain surgery last month and failed to recognise even family members and close associates.

Subhrangshu claimed when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was travelling to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to de-board him, but by then, the flight had taken off.

BJP Not Interested To Have Mukul Roy Back?

Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp is not interested in inducting Roy back into the party. Meanwhile, the Airport police station under the Bidhannagar police commissionerate questioned Pijush Kanodia, a BJP leader and once a close associate of Mukul Roy, during his stint in the saffron camp.

Roy joined the BJP in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was made BJP national vice president in 2020.

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A major fire broke out at a commercial complex on Ghodbunder Road in Maharashtras Thane city on Tuesday evening. There were no reports so far of anyone getting injured, however, the blaze was so massive that a CNG-operated parked car caught fire and exploded due to the impact of the heat. No casualties have been reported from the spot so far.

Videos of the fire taken from nearby buildings are going viral on social media, which show massive flames erupting from the building as a thick plume of smoke is seen rising into the air as the blaze engulfs the surrounding areas.

The fire was so massive that flames and smoke could be seen from over a kilometre away from the spot of the incident.

I was wondering if there was any fire in any nearby society at Balkum Naka near Runwal Eirene. Balkum Naka is at least 1km away from Orion Business Park by Ariel view and 3 km away by road. I could never guess. Unfortunately, wind speed was high comparatively today. #Thane #fire pic.twitter.com/LFRKw6gtXF Santosh Singh (@SantoshSinghB) April 18, 2023

In some videos, glass panes of windows can be seen burning and flying down like paper as the massive fire ate up the top floor of the building.

@ThaneCityPolice @Dev_Fadnavis @mieknathshinde @CMOMaharashtra @TMCaTweetAway @niranjandtweets Sir our office building Orion business park, Thane is still burning  even after 5 hrs since fire started. We need more fire brigades. Pls help  pic.twitter.com/lkUpsi7MiH Priyansh Khetan (@priyanshkhetan) April 18, 2023

Several fire tenders of the Thane Municipal Corporations Regional Disaster Management Cell (RDMC), along with the police, disaster management team and fire brigade officers, rushed to the spot and initiated firefighting operations.

Efforts to douse the fire at Orion business park are underway, according to an official.

All the people who were working in the office were evacuated. Fire brigade and officials are present at the spot," said Amar Singh Jadhav, DCP, Thane.

The cause of the fire reported from the parking of Orion Business Park in Thane, is not yet known.

The ground-plus-five stories building, located next to Cine Wonder Mall, houses more than 60 shops and offices.

The fire started around 8.30 pm and spread to the adjoining mall, said chief of the Thane Municipal Corporations Regional Disaster Management Cell Avinash Sawant.

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With most of parts of India seeing a rise in mercury, as well as heatwave recorded in some parts, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued a warning for above-normal" maximum temperatures for most parts of the country from April to June, except parts of the northwest and the peninsular regions.

Besides, people in the hills might be in for some more respite from heat as an orange alert for heavy rainfall, thunderstorm, lightning and hailstorm over plains, low and mid hills, has been issued for Wednesday (April 19).

Here are key weather-related updates:

Cloudy weather and light rain may provide some relief from the heat on Wednesday in the national capital. Heatwave conditions persisted for the third consecutive day in parts of Delhi on Tuesday, with some weather stations recording the maximum temperature at least five degrees Celsius above normal.

on Tuesday, with some weather stations recording the maximum temperature at least five degrees Celsius above normal. Apart from a heavy rainfall warning on Wednesday, the local MeT office in Himachal Pradesh has issued a yellow warning of thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places on April 20 and 21.

has issued a yellow warning of thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places on April 20 and 21. In West Bengal , the weather office forecast severe heatwave conditions in isolated pockets in Gangetic West Bengal for April 19 & 20. Bankura recorded the highest temperature of the day at 44.1 degrees Celsius, while the mercury rose to 43.4 degree C at Panagarh air force station in West Bardhaman district.

, the weather office forecast severe heatwave conditions in isolated pockets in Gangetic West Bengal for April 19 & 20. Bankura recorded the highest temperature of the day at 44.1 degrees Celsius, while the mercury rose to 43.4 degree C at Panagarh air force station in West Bardhaman district. The Met Department said hot and humid weather is very likely to continue in Kolkata and adjoining areas. Also, the West Bengal government on Tuesday directed all senior officials in the districts to keep an eye on the heatwave situation to ensure there is no shortage of drinking water.

government on Tuesday directed all senior officials in the districts to keep an eye on the heatwave situation to ensure there is no shortage of drinking water. Notably, Delhi saw nine heatwave days in April last year, including four in the first 10 days, which was the maximum in the month since 2010, a PTI report said.

saw nine heatwave days in April last year, including four in the first 10 days, which was the maximum in the month since 2010, a PTI report said. In light of an intense heatwave in Jharkhand , students from kindergarten to class 5 will attend schools from 7 am to 11 am, while senior pupils will continue classes till noon, an order issued by the education department stated.

, students from kindergarten to class 5 will attend schools from 7 am to 11 am, while senior pupils will continue classes till noon, an order issued by the education department stated. According to the Met Department, Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Chatra, Godda, Sahibganj, Dumka, Pakur, East Singhbhum, Saraikela-Kharswan, and West Singhbhum may witness a rise in temperatures on Wednesday, a PTI report said.

On Tuesday, at least 29 places in Odisha recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with Baripada and Jharsuguda boiling at 44.2 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said.

recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with Baripada and Jharsuguda boiling at 44.2 degrees Celsius, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. The intense heat has prompted the government to shut all schools and Anganwadi centers in Odisha on April 19 and 20, an order stated. Morning classes were being held in the schools from 7 am to 11 am.

Meghalaya s West Garo Hills district administration has ordered that schools be closed for three days (April 19-21) from Wednesday due to soaring temperatures.

s West Garo Hills district administration has ordered that schools be closed for three days (April 19-21) from Wednesday due to soaring temperatures. Meanwhile, Bengaluru saw the highest maximum temperature recorded in 2023 so far, as the mercury levels rose to 36.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, a Deccan Herald report said. According to the news report, the recorded temperature was 3 degrees Celsius higher and was the highest rise in maximum temperature seen anywhere in Karnataka.

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EID 2023: Eid al-Fitr is one of the most significant events on the Islamic calendar, marking the end of the month-long period of fasting and spiritual reflection known as Ramadan. This celebration falls on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar. Muslims all over the world come together to celebrate this joyous occasion, which is also known as the Festival of Breaking the Fast."

ALSO READ: Happy Eid-ul-Fitr 2023: Best Eid Mubarak Wishes, Messages, Shayari, and Images to Share on Eid

Eid al-Fitr is a time of forgiveness, kindness, and generosity. It is a time for families and loved ones to come together, share meals, and exchange gifts. The festival is marked with decorations, new clothes, and the consumption of sweet dishes and delicacies, earning it the nickname Meethi Eid," or the Sweet Festival." But most of all, Eid al-Fitr is a time to rejoice in the renewed connection with Allah and to extend that love and compassion to all humankind.

When Is Eid-Al-Fitr?

Eid al-Fitr, also called Meethi Eid, is a significant festival celebrated by Muslims worldwide. It is known as the festival of breaking the fast and is observed on the first day of Shawwal, the tenth month of the Islamic calendar (Hijri).

Eid al-Fitr would be celebrated on April 22 in India as the crescent moon that signals the end of the fasting month of Ramzan was not spotted on Thursday, Muslim religious scholars said.

ALSO READ: Eid 2023 Moon Sighting LIVE Updates

Religious scholars, including India Union Muslim League (IUML) state president Sayyid Sadiq Ali Shihab Thangal said that Eid would be celebrated on Saturday due to the absence of a sighting of the crescent moon. This date will also mark the first day of the Islamic lunar calendar month of Shawwal.

Eid-Al-Fitr: History

According to popular belief, Prophet Muhammad is said to have received the initial revelation of the Holy Quran during the holy month of Ramadan. Eid al-Fitr marks the end of the fasting period observed from dawn to dusk throughout the month of Ramadan and the beginning of the month of Shawwal.

Muslims celebrate Eid al-Fitr to express gratitude to Allah for providing them with the strength and courage to fast for the entire month. It is a time of joy and happiness, where people come together to exchange gifts, share meals, and seek forgiveness.

Muslims also perform special prayers on this day to thank Allah for His blessings and mercy. The festival is a reminder of the importance of spiritual reflection, prayer, and charity in the Muslim faith.

Eid-Al-Fitr: Significance

During the holy month of Ramadan, Muslims fast from dawn to sunset, abstaining from food, drink, and other worldly pleasures. It is a time of spiritual reflection, prayer, and charity, where Muslims strive to strengthen their relationship with Allah and purify their souls of any vices and impurities. Many Muslims also read the Quran during this month to gain a deeper understanding of their faith and connect with Allah.

Eid al-Fitr, therefore, is a day of celebration and merriment after a month of strict observance and abstinence. Muslims gather with their families and loved ones to share meals and exchange gifts. It is also a time of forgiveness and reconciliation, where people embrace each other as a symbol of accepting and loving everyone, regardless of social status or class.

The festival is also known as Meethi Eid, which means the sweet festival," as it traditionally involves consuming sweet dishes and delicacies. Muslims decorate their homes and wear new clothes for the occasion, making it a time of joy and happiness. In essence, Eid al-Fitr is a celebration of the end of a month-long spiritual journey, marking a new beginning with renewed faith, love, and compassion toward all humankind.

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The Met Gala is one event that fashion enthusiasts from all over the world wait for. But it appears that many prominent personalities may not be attending this years gala due to a reported increase in ticket prices. While the fundraiser event receives a large amount of money from all attendees, the cost of this years tickets has been raised significantly. Those who wish to attend the event and catch a glimpse of the stunning costumes will now have to pay $50,000 (Rs 24 lakh). In previous years, attendees had to pay $30,000 (Rs 24 lakh).

As per a report by Page Six, the increased ticket cost has left people divided about the decision to attend the Met Gala 2023. However, one source, quoted by Page Six, dismissed the concern. For every person who decides not to attend, 20 people will line up behind them and beg to come, the source claimed.

According to rumours, some fashion designers have decided to not attend the Met Gala this year, as they do not want to follow a theme. This year the theme of the prestigious event will be Karl Lagerfeld: A Line of Beauty. Some designers feel that the theme is more specific than previous Met Gala themes, such as Camp, In America, Punk and Heavenly Bodies.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Met Gala (@metgalaoffical)

However, the report adds that if a designer declines an invitation to the annual event, they may miss out on future invites to the Met Gala.

For years, fashion enthusiasts have been speculating who will be attending the Met Gala. It has been reported that Anna Wintour, editor-in-chief of Vogue and host of the famed party, is cutting down the guest list this year.

The Met Gala is scheduled to be held on May 1. Along with Anna Wintour, the event will be co-hosted by Penelope Cruz, Michaela Coel, Roger Federer and Dua Lipa. The highly anticipated annual party will be held at The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.

Earlier it was reported that this years Met Gala will not include any members of the Kardashian family. However, as per the latest update, Kim Kardashian will be in attendance.

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SOLAR ECLIPSE 2023: The first solar eclipse of the year will take place on Thursday, April 20. It will be visible in China, the United States of America, Malaysia, Fiji, Cambodia, Japan, Samoa, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Brunei, Solomon Islands, the South Indian Ocean, the South Pacific Ocean and Taiwan. The eclipse on April 20 will begin at 07:04 am and end at 12:29 pm. The total time will be for more than five hours.

ALSO READ: Solar Eclipse 2023: Will Hybrid Surya Grahan be Visible in India? Check Date, Time, Rituals and Sutak Kaal

WHAT IS A SOLAR ECLIPSE?

For those who are unfamiliar with the celestial/astrological occurrence, a solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between the Sun and the Earth at precisely the appropriate time. As a result, the moon obscures the Sun, preventing its rays from reaching the Earth.

This entire phenomenon is known as a solar eclipse. Solar eclipses are classified into four types: total, annular, partial, and hybrid. Furthermore, four eclipses will occur in 2022, two partial solar eclipses and two total lunar eclipses, the same ratio as last year. Solar eclipses are classified into four types: total, annular, partial, and hybrid.

WHAT IS HYBRID SOLAR ECLIPSE?

The annular solar eclipse on April 20 is a hybrid solar eclipse, meaning the moon will move in front of the sun to create what looks like a ring of fire" before moving to a total solar eclipse, where the moon will completely block the sun, according to NASA.

HOW TO WATCH SOLAR ECLIPSE LIVE?

Dont worry if solar eclipse is not visible in your city. You can watch livestream on the official YouTube page of the TimeAndDate.com, Gravity Discovery Centre & Observatory, and NASA.

TimeAndDate.com

TimeAndDate.com will host a livestream on their YouTube channel beginning at 9:30 p.m. EDT on April 19 (0130 GMT on April 20).

Gravity Discovery Centre & Observatory

The Gravity Discovery Centre & Observatory near Perth, Australia will also host a livestream of the eclipse on their YouTube channel at 10 p.m. EDT on April 19 (0200 GMT on April 20).

NASA

NASA will host a livestream of the eclipse on their NASA TV YouTube channel at 10:30 p.m. EDT on April 19 (0230 GMT on April 20).

How to Correctly View Solar Eclipse?

National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) advises one to use eclipse glasses, which are special purpose social filters, for viewing the sun during a solar eclipse.

ALSO READ: Solar Eclipse 2023: These 4 Zodiac Signs Will be Affected by Hybrid Surya Grahan

It is strictly forbidden to look at the Sun with naked eyes during an eclipse because it can harm our eyes. Using homemade filters or regular sunglasses is not also advised, because it will still harm the eyes.

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The murder of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother by assailants while in police custody, and the encounter deaths of Atiqs son Asad and an accomplice have generated a lot of heat and debate in India on custodial deaths and extra-judicial killings.

Lets be clear. Deaths during incarceration, detention, police custody or via so-called encounters are symptoms of systemic incompetence, perverse machismo, weak institutional structures and are patently illegal. These have no place in civil society.

Extrajudicial violence does away with separation of powers in a democracy and is a threat to the rule of law. And yet this meting out of instant justice by law enforcement bypassing the legal-judicial system, where the mafiosi and their henchmen are seen finally getting their just desserts, runs on a motivation driven by wide public approval and even tacit political encouragement.

This piece primarily tries to understand why it is so, and whether Uttar Pradesh, as is being said, has suddenly turned into a free-for-all jungle raj where rule of the gun has replaced rule of the law and vultures, as Asaduddin Owaisi has put it, are rejoicing at the turn of events.

Mobster-politician Atiq, serving a life sentence, and his brother Ashraf were shot multiple times Saturday by three gunmen posing as journalists from point blank while being taken for a routine check-up at a medical facility in Prayagraj. The assailants were nabbed. Atiq, a dreaded don-cum-history sheeter-turned politician, was an accused in the Umesh Pal murder case. That was just one among hundreds of other cases. The murders were caught live on TV.

Two days earlier, Atiqs 19-year-old son Asad and an aide Ghulam, prime suspects in the Umesh Pal murder case and both with a Rs 5 lakh bounty on their heads, were killed in an alleged encounter by Uttar Pradesh polices special unit near Jhansi. The accused, trying to give cops the slip in a bike, had on February 24 murdered Umesh Pal, a key witness in the murder of BSP leader Raju Pal.

UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath had applauded the UP STF (special task force) for the encounter killings of Asad and his accomplice despite criticism from the Opposition but has appeared ill at ease at the brazen way Atiq and his brother were killed before media personnel while being escorted by the police.

The chief minister has ordered the formation of a three-member judicial committee to investigate the murders, and a three-member special team to probe the circumstances behind the murder. Seventeen cops have reportedly been suspended.

It would be analytically wrong, however, to deduce that these incidents indicate a complete breakdown of the law-and-order machinery of one particular state. UP is neither the first state where extrajudicial killings have occurred, nor is this the first instance when Indian public have greeted the brazen murders of notorious criminals and their associates with schadenfreudian jubilation.

The malaise runs deeper in Indias body politic and requires greater understanding of the circumstances in which these killings take place and the acceptance that they find in society than a partisan game of accusations and counter-accusations.

Union home ministry data says between January 1, 2017, and January 31, 2022, there were a total of 655 police encounters. Chhattisgarh had the highest number (191), followed by Uttar Pradesh (117), Assam (50), Jharkhand (49), Odisha (36), Jammu and Kashmir (35) and Maharashtra (26). The malaise cuts across political divides.

Lets take another data point. Through an RTI application filed in 2018, Firstpost found that 1,782 cases of fake encounters were registered in India between 2000 and 2017. It was also found that the greatest number of cases registered since 2000 was in the year 2012 when 226 fake encounter incidents were reported. The National Human Rights Commission recorded 725 cases between 2010 and 2017. Evidently it is pointless to trace the reasons behind a systemic dysfunction to a state, political party or a regime. We must look for answers elsewhere.

Mafia dons in India, protected by political power, know how to game the law-enforcement and judicial systems. They can evade law enforcement or come out of jail at the snap of a finger. Lying low after committing a crime, carrying out felonious activities or extending criminal network despite being in prison, bumping off people, indulging in kidnapping, rape, extortion, and then walking into the political arena and becoming an MLA or an MP and commanding the entire might of the Indian state has become institutionalized to the point of normalization. This creates a sense of deep injustice.

People know that todays mobsters who enjoy political patronage may become tomorrows leaders, and therefore have learnt to accept and comply with the crime-politics nexus and its myriad repercussions. No one wants to get shot, robbed, raped or kidnapped. The state offers little protection. The rule of law does not exist for the delinquent.

This creates a trust deficit. Ordinary people know that crime pays in India. From films such as Don, Gangs of Wasseypur, Gangajal, Omkara, Maqbool and Mirzapur, our popular culture has created tons of content through decades that reflects this endemic dysfunction and the resultant frustration. In this paradigm of trust deficit in government and plebian helplessness, popular support grows for extrajudicial killings.

Atiq is a case in point. First accused of murder in 1979 when he was all of 17 years old, the dreaded don had more 250 cases of kidnapping, extortion, ransom and murder lodged against him, but it wasnt until 2007 that he was convicted of kidnapping Umesh Pal, as Shekhar Gupta writes in The Print. In between, he turned from a street ruffian to a copybook mafia leader, the most fearsome bahubaali in the badlands of Indias largest state. He crossed over into politics and changed parties at will, eventually rising from MLA to an MP.

Little wonder that the killing of the mobster, his son, his associates and the collapse of his Rs 1400 crore empire built over the blood and extortion of innocents have been met with almost a sense of relief.

Shanti Devi, the mother of Umesh Pal  key witness in the Raju Pal murder case who was mowed down in broad daylight by Asad and his gang, possibly on the orders of Atiq  has thanked the UP chief minister for giving justice after Atiqs son was killed in a police encounter.

Khusnuda, mother of Ghulam Mohammad, the aide of Asad who was also killed in the encounter, has said the Yogi government has taken absolutely correct action, all gangsters and criminals will take a lesson from this and has refused to accept her sons mortal remains.

What we see here is explicit approval for extrajudicial killings from members of the public who have lost all faith in the criminal justice system. This is a result of the abject failure of one of the most important institutions of state, the judiciary, that keeps mountains of cases pending and it often takes years, even decades to turn the wheels of justice, if at all. It is also an indictment of the criminal justice system that often fails to bring criminals to book.

In 2019, four men accused in the murder and gang-rape of a 26-year-old woman, a Hyderabad veterinarian, were killed in a police encounter. The four had allegedly abducted, gang-raped and murdered the woman before charring her body and dumping the remains at an underpass near Hyderabad.

According to the police, while the accused were taken to the scene of crime for reconstruction, they tried to snatch the weapons and had to be killed. A Supreme Court-appointed commission had later called the encounter fake.

The case, however, had created such a public outrage that widespread jubilation broke out in Hyderabad and the cops who carried out the encounter were lauded and celebrated as heroes. Sweets were distributed, firecrackers went off and cops were showered with flower petals.

A report in The Hindu from that time notes, The public jubilation was so much that the police had to take Mr. Sajjanar (Cyberabad Commissioner of Police) through another route, fearing that the crowd might stop his vehicle to felicitate him. They also bathed his pictures with milk and honey.

A survey in 2018 by advocacy group Common Cause and the Centre for Study of Developing Societies (CSDS), involving over 15,000 people across 22 Indian states and UTs on The Status of Policing in India Report revealed that one out of two people condoned the use of violence by the police.

It is in this paradigm that extrajudicial killings take place. When cases involving rape, gang-rape and murder have a pendency of 48.8% with the police, and a staggering 96.9% with the courts (NCRB data for 2020 via Prakash Singh, Outlook), peoples frustration with the governance machinery and polices resorting to shortcuts to stave off public pressure is inevitable.

The issue, ultimately, lies with severe lack in the capacity of Indian state that is still quite poor and resource-starved, and its jittery, halting, even messy progress from a semi-feudal society under the framework of a Parliamentary democracy. The endemic institutional weaknesses cannot be wished away, nor can the problem be fixed in a jiffy.

In his book When Crime Pays, Money and Muscle in Indian Politics (2017, Harper Collins), American political scientist Milan Vaishnav writes, Unlike many countries in the West, India embarked on its democratic journey without first possessing capable institutions of governance. Whereas many advanced industrialized democracies built strong states over centuries before embarking on a process of political liberalisation, India instituted universal franchise from the outset, operating under the constraints of a relatively weak institutional framework.

Howls of theatrical outrage, political bickering and partisan virtue-signalling over extrajudicial killings are good for primetime TV debates and Twitter tantrums but useful for little else. The key is to address endemic capacity constraints and strengthen Indias institutional frameworks. Public support for extrajudicial killings will erode when right conditions are created, and when that happens, police and politicians will be less inclined to take shortcuts.

The author is Deputy Executive Editor, Firstpost. He tweets at @sreemoytalukdar.

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A clip of a BBC interview of Twitter owner Elon Musk went viral recently. The BBC interviewer confronted Musk with what he called the rise of hateful content on Twitter since its takeover. When Musk asked the BBC journalist to give specific examples of hateful content, the unprepared but pretentious journalist started blubbering and waffling. He was unable to give a single instance in support of what he was asserting.

In that brief 2-minute clip, Musk effortlessly demolished the virtue-signalling, woke journalism that has captured and captivated Western liberal (actually it is utterly ill-liberal and ignorant) media. In the process, Musk exposed the pernicious stereotypes that (ill)liberal Western media peddles, and the fallacious, agenda driven narratives it manufactures. This takedown of BBC resonated in India which has been facing a relentless campaign of demonisation of the Modi government based mostly on half-truths, insinuations and innuendos.

Since 2014, the (ill)liberal ecosystem in the West has portrayed India as a country where there has been a backsliding of democracy, increase in authoritarianism, attack on civil liberties, where the media has been chained and muzzled, the Opposition has been victimised and marginalised and where minorities are under siege.

The Western media went into an overdrive after a court-convicted Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi on charges of defamation. The conviction led to an automatic disqualification under the prevailing law. But in the narrative peddled by the Western ill-liberal media, Rahul Gandhi was convicted and disqualified by the Indian Prime Minister, and not by a court of law. That Rahul Gandhi got relief from the same court a few days later was conveniently ignored by the same Western media that had gone ballistic over the conviction. None of the reporters filing stories in Western media outfits bothered to go into the details of the case and the fact that it was taken rather lightly by Rahul Gandhi and his legal team.

This was hardly surprising. In 2019 the Western media outfits went berserk after Parliament passed the CAA law fast-tracking Indian citizenship for persecuted religious minorities in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The narrative that these Western Goebbelsian journalists manufactured was that it was a law depriving Indian Muslims of their citizenship. Hardly anyone of these self-proclaimed journalists had read the law, much less understood it. And yet, they held forth on it and painted India in lurid colours, lamenting the death of secular India, the rise of majoritarianism, the marginalisation of minorities, blah blah blah.

That many Western countries had similar laws was completely glossed over. That non-Muslim religious minorities were subjected to horrific and systematic state sponsored persecution forcing them to flee to India was also ignored. The focus was only on targeting the Modi government and portraying it as the undertaker of Indian democracy and secularism. In a way the Western media coverage of India since 2014 is the 21st century equivalent of the old adage of the Wild West  give a dog a bad name and hang it. This is exactly what much of the (ill)liberal Western media has been assiduously trying to do since Modi became Prime Minister of India.

The Western (ill)liberals have a visceral dislike, even hatred, for the Modi government which is reflected in how they write about it and cover it in the media. There is of course the usual stereotyping by unfailingly adding the appellation Right Wing Hindu nationalist every time they write about the Modi government. On the face of it, such a label is a tool for dumbing down things for Western audiences. But there is also a sinister design at play.

Such dumbed down labels are an excellent propaganda tool because these are easily digested by the target audiences. The fact is that when the Western media uses the label of Right-wing Hindu nationalist, it is as a pejorative to demonise not just Indian nationalism but also the Hindu community. This despite the fact that Indian nationalism is vastly different from Western nationalism. Even what goes for Right-wing in India has absolutely nothing in common with the traditional Right-wing in the West. But since it is a dumbed down description for dumb audiences for purposes of creating a negative perception, it is serving its purpose.

Of course, such labelling is reserved for countries like India or for political groups and movements that the Western media has picked up as a hate object. Similar parties or leaders in Western countries are not labelled similarly  the LDP isnt called Right-wing Shinto Nationalist, the CDU in Germany isnt called Right-wing Christian nationalist. But when it is India, then even popularity of a dress like sari becomes a sign of growing Hindu nationalism; an article on the massive impact of digital payments has to have a reference to Hindu Nationalist government; a report on infrastructure development is not complete until Hindu nationalist government is not mentioned; a piece on food choices and changing tastes must refer to Hindu nationalist government.

That things have reached rather ridiculous levels is apparent. Part of the problem is of course the rather dumb and clueless Western journalists who parachute into India and write about it without ever understanding the place, its complexities, the nuances, its layers. Compounding their ignorance is the fact that much of their information and understanding of India comes from an echo chamber which feeds into the stereotypes they have pre-formed in their small and jaundiced minds. The Indian writers they commission also conform to the world view of their paymasters. In such a setting, any and every alternate view point is immediately cancelled. Things have become so ludicrous that it is fine for the New York Times to carry a piece written by an UN-designated international terrorist but heavens fall and the op-ed editor can lose her job because the same newspaper carries an article by a US Congressman who had been cancelled by the newsroom lynch mob.

An arrest of a politician in India is the death of democracy and snuffing out of all Opposition, but the arrest of a former president who is the main challenger in the presidential elections is perfectly legitimate; crackdown on a protest in Canada by imposing emergency and seizing/freezing accounts of protestors is kosher, but a crackdown on a similar protest in India is the crushing of dissent and death of democracy; arrests of meme makers in the US is justified because they spread fake news, but arrests of journalists and social media influencers in India on the same charges is a miscarriage of justice, the suppression of free speech, etc; a police crackdown on protestors in France will never raise cries of democracy in peril, but a similar crackdown in India is always use of brute force by a fascist government; the Indian media is dismissed as being pliable and compromised to the government, but the Western (ill)liberal media that covers up politically inconvenient stories or spins news in favour of the government of the day is free and independent and not susceptible to any pressure. The moment these things are pointed out, the response is standard: dont indulge in whataboutery. This word is the only defence of the ill-liberal liberals when their hypocrisy is pointed out.

The anti-India, anti-Hindu tirade in Western media is primarily driven by the sanctimonious ill-liberal liberals whose latent racism is reflected in their desire to keep bearing the white mans burden. What is galling is their sneering arrogance and superciliousness where they think they know how Indians should live their lives, vote, dress, what cultural and social mores they should follow, how the judicial system should work, etc. Their racist minds cannot fathom that Indians have their own agency and can decide things for themselves. They cant handle the fact that India doesnt need woke Westerners who are still trying to figure out their genders to tell Indians what is good for them. They cannot deal with dark-skinned Indians pushing back and not swallowing everything that is being fed to them by the West.

Paradoxically, the so-called liberal white folk are also utterly intolerant of ideas that conflict with theirs. These are the people who have legitimised the cancel culture to shut down alternate viewpoints. Perhaps what these liberal White folk want to see is an India that is a dark-skinned clone of the West, albeit one that is servile and subservient. But India is not the West. Indians are not Americans or British or French or Germans. Indians have their own history, culture, civilisation (a wounded and battered one which has survived and is now rediscovering, rejuvenating, even reasserting, itself). While Indians are and always have been open to absorbing influences from abroad, what Indians will never become is clones of the West.

Apart from the racist angle, there is the religious angle driving the anti-India campaign. In the West, right-wing Christian groups  the evangelicals in particular  are trying to harvest souls in India. Any push back leads to cries of religious intolerance which are then amplified by the liberal and progressive media houses. Making an alliance with them are the Islamists  organisations like the IAMC  which carry out their own propaganda campaigns to sully Indias image.

These outfits are linked to countries like Pakistan and Turkey which are in the forefront of drumming up support against India. Another dimension of India being in the cross-hairs is that it is part of the ideological battles being fought in Western societies between the loony left liberals and the conservatives. Since this is seen as a global conflict for ideological dominance, any government or political party/movement that is on the other side of this ideological divide is fair game and subject to a campaign of calumny.

Finally, there is also good, old fashioned geo-politics at work. At a time when the Western world is in a conflict with Russia, and is on the verge of a new Cold War with China, it wants its partners to be on the same page on every move it makes against its adversaries. India however has taken a more balanced stand on Russia. While India has not endorsed Russian aggression, she has also not stopped from engaging Russia. The fact that India has ramped up purchases of Russian oil has been used by the Western media to beat up India. But the reality is that India has brought some semblance of stability in global oil prices and supplies by picking up Russian oil, some of which it is selling in Western markets that have imposed an embargo on direct purchases from Russia.

The biased and jaundiced portrayal of India in the Western media has started to raise serious questions on its credibility and reliability as a source of information. After all, if coverage of India is so inaccurate, patently biased and flawed and agenda-driven, surely the same must be happening on Western media coverage of Russia, Middle-East, Africa and even China. In any case, Western preachiness and hectoring is getting increasingly tiresome. It is both annoying and offensive especially since there is a huge gap in what the West preaches and what it practises.

The thing is that if the Western media wants to only focus on what they perceive as negative trends in India then the same sort of negativity can be spread about the West in India. To be sure, India is not perfect. But then neither is the West which is so quick to pass judgement and sermonise to others. Just like there are huge problems and issues in India, there are serious problems in the West where public discourse, public spaces and even universities have become hotbeds of toxic narratives which are also reflected in their politics and policies. India has a lot in common with the West and it is a mutually beneficial relationship. But this relationship cannot be sustained without mutual respect and understanding. Nor can it be strengthened without appreciating cultural and other differences and learning to move forward despite them. But it seems that the Western media is hell bent on alienating India and making it an enemy.

The writer is Senior Fellow, Observer Research Foundation. Views expressed are personal.

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With the Congress hoping that its caste card will play a major role in the run-up to the Jalandhar bypoll, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) seems to be countering it with crackdown on the mafia-police nexus in Punjab.

In the latest move, the Bhagwant Mann government has ordered Director General of Police (DGP) Gaurav Yadav to inquire whether more senior police officers were linked to tainted cop Inderjit Singh.

THE SIT REPORTS

The role of suspended policemen, Inspector Inderjit Singh and AIG Raj Jit Singh had emerged in the three Special Investigation Team (SIT) reports on drug dealing which were made open to public after five years recently. The SIT had sought a detailed probe into the dealings of these two officials and an inquiry into the involvement of more officers.

The DGP has deputed ADGP RK Jaiswal to inquire further. As per government orders issued through Special Secretary Home, Yadav has been asked to nominate AIG Raj Jit Singh in the June 12, 2017 FIR against Inderjit lodged by then ADGP Harpreet Singh Sidhu led Special Task Force (STF) on drugs.

The DGP has also been asked to depute a senior IPS officer to conduct investigation into FIR No. 1, dated 12.06.2017 u/s 59(2)(b) NDPS Act, 218, 466, 471, 120-B IPC registered at Police Station, Special Task Force, SAS Nagar. While conducting the investigation, all the three reports of SIT should be taken into account. The Investigating Officer should examine the role of all concerned Police officers, howsoever highly placed they may be, who have directly or indirectly helped in drug trafficking/smuggling. The Investigating Officer should be directed to conclude the investigation within a month and submit the report, the order stated.

The order specifically states that it was not possible for a low rank Inspector to run such a huge network of extortion and drug trafficking alone. Action should be taken against the Senior Officers who approved transfers/promotions/grant of Local Rank to Inderjit Singh (Dismissed ORP Inspector) on the recommendations of Raj Jit Singh PPS. For identification of such Senior Officers relevant files should be sent to the Government by 4.00 pm tomorrow, said the order.

SENDING ACROSS A MESSAGE

Sources said that the government was trying to send across a message that it was serious in its efforts to crack down on the mafia-police network. The government is showing a tearing hurry and rightly so. The report is now in public domain and action is needed, said a senior officer.

But some indicate that the government probe was timed to the Jalandhar bypoll. With less than a month left for the bypoll, the Mann government wants to be seen as it is cracking the whip on some controversial officers.

Dont be surprised if this is used majorly during the campaign for the by poll. The government wants to tell people that it was serious is exposing the police and politician role in the drug menace in the state, said a leader.

The AAP desperately needs to win the bypoll, especially after its reverses in the Sangrur bypoll which it lost barely few months after it stormed to power in Punjab. Another defeat could ring alarm bells for CM Mann.

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West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has expressed solidarity with the ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu for its initiatives against the undemocratic functioning" of Governors, M K Stalin said on Wednesday.

The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister said Banerjee has suggested that Chief Ministers of all opposition-ruled states meet to decide the next course of action.

Hon WB CM @MamataOfficial spoke to me over phone to express her solidarity & admiration for our initiatives against the undemocratic functioning of Governors in non-BJP ruled states & suggested that all the Opposition CMs meet to decide the next course of action," Stalin said in a tweet.

The Tamil Nadu Assembly had recently adopted a resolution seeking fixing of timeframe for Governors to give their nod for state Bills and Stalin had written to CMs of non-BJP dispensations to do the same in their respective states.

While Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal said his government will do so in the next Assembly session there, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had said his government will consider Stalins proposal with utmost seriousness."

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News / National

by Staff reporter

President Emmerson Mnangagwa Tuesday hugged former Vice President Joice Mujuru.Zimbabwe's second post-independence leader was presiding over the 43rd Independence Day commemorations attended by multitudes in Mount Darwin, a small rural town with newly-tarred roads, a pristine stadium, newly painted schools and even traffic lights.Former Vice President Joice Mujuru was also a conspicuous figure under the VIP tent.Mujuru, once a rival to Mnangagwa during the height of Zanu PF's internal succession wars under late President Robert Mugabe, took moments to hug the incumbent, First Lady Auxillia and Zanu PF vice presidents Kembo Mohadi and Constantino Chiwenga, also state VP.Mujuru, whose nom de guerre was Teurai Ropa, said she was lost for words in view of the honour bestowed on the province by President Mnangagwa."There is no history of this country without Mashonaland Central and Mt Darwin in particular because of the level of the struggle which was fought by the locals here. That's why even protected villages were really tough to stay in, especially for us girl children and mothers."We felt it more than anyone else and that's why I decided to join the struggle. So by having this recognition showered on us by the President and Government, I am telling you I have no words to say thank you. We just have to say this is the highest honour that we have been given as the people of Mashonaland Central and Mt Darwin in particular," said Mujuru.
Though Nationalist Congress Party leader Ajit Pawar has cleared the air that he has no plans to make a switch, the political situation in Maharashtra remains uncertain and it has created a flutter within the Maha Vikas Aghadi. But the recent meeting between Congresss KC Venugopal and Shiv Sena UBT chief Uddhav Thackeray was of high importance.

According to sources, apart from opposition unity on the national front, in the closed-door meeting, the duo discussed the possibility of an alliance for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and other local body elections. However, no final decision has been made in this regard.

After assuming the office of Mumbai Congress chief, Bhai Jagtap had taken a stand that his party should contest the BMC elections on its own. In this regard, he had even met top Congress leaders in Delhi. But after the meeting of Venugopal and Thackeray, there is a sense that all stakeholders of the MVA may fight the upcoming polls in an alliance against the Bharatiya Janata Party and Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena.

As per sources close to Matoshree (Thackerays residence), Uddhav and Venugopal also discuss that if the local body elections are fought together under the banner of MVA, it will help all stakeholders. The final decision will be made by the Congress high command and Uddhav Thackeray.

The BMC elections have been due for more than a year. For the past year, the BMC commissioner has been working as the civic bodys administrator. In the last BMC election, the Shiv Sena won 84 wards and got outside support of the BJP that bagged 82. The Congress had won 32 and NCP 9.

The BMC is the richest civic body in the country, and for more than two decades Uddhav Thackerays Shiv Sena has been in power here. But after the split in the party and the original name and symbol going to Eknath Shinde, even Uddhavs outfit is looking for a strong partner to fight the polls. So the Maha Vikas Aghadi contesting the elections as a bloc may get an advantage.

A source from Mumbai Congress said, KC Venugopal has invited Uddhav Thackeray to Delhi and there is a chance that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi may also come to Mumbai to meet him. There is a possibility that proposal of an alliance for local body elections may get discussed at these meetings."

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A German artist has sparked an angry row after winning a prestigious photography prize with an entry that was generated by artificial intelligence.

Boris Eldagsen eventually rejected the gong from the Sony World Photography Awards after concluding that such competitions were not yet equipped to handle AI entries.

The awards organisers initially accused the artist of misleading" behaviour, but removed the accusation from a later statement after a furious reply from Eldagsen on Tuesday.

Many photographers and artists fear their livelihoods are under threat from AI tools that allow anyone to create striking images with just a quick text prompt.

The rapid rise of AI image generators has already sparked legal cases, as the tools are trained" on a vast number of images  many of which could be copyright protected.

Last year, an AI-generated artwork won a prize at the Colorado State Fair, prompting soul-searching in the art world.

Sony World Photography Awards announced Eldagsens entry  a sepia-toned image of two women entitled Pseudomnesia: The Electrician"  as the winner of its creative category in mid-March.

Eldagsen gave interviews at the time explaining how he had made the work and saying he wanted to spark a debate over AI.

However, he wrote last week that AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this" and rejected the prize.

I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not," he wrote.

The awards body said in its initial response that it had been looking forward to engaging the artist in a discussion about AI but had withdrawn the work in keeping with his wishes".

Its statement added: Given his actions and subsequent statement noting his deliberate attempts at misleading us, and therefore invalidating the warranties he provided, we no longer feel we are able to engage in a meaningful and constructive dialogue with him."

But Eldagsen wrote on his website that it was nonsense" to suggest the awards body had been willing to engage.

They had so many options to use this for good. They used none of them," he wrote, accusing them of ignoring questions from the media and other photographers.

The organisers later sent an edited version of the statement to AFP removing the accusation that they had been misled but insisting they had been prepared to engage with Eldagsen and the AI debate.

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Twitter CEO Elon Musk has issued a legal threat against Microsoft, accusing the company of training its machine learning models using microblogging websites data in an illegal manner.

This comes after Microsoft reportedly refused to pay Twitters API fees, which provide researchers with valuable data on online conversations.

They trained illegally using Twitter data. Lawsuit time," Musk tweeted, highlighting the row surrounding the use of social media data for machine learning training.

BREAKING: Twitter to sue Microsoft $MSFT for illegally using training data.  https://t.co/NZ2lUGwgo2 T(w)itter Daily News  (@TitterDaily) April 19, 2023

Musk said that he will pursue legal action after Microsoft announced that it will no longer include Twitter in its advertising platform starting next week, TechCrunch reported.

This development follows Twitters decision to charge a minimum of $42,000 per month to users of its API.

American publication Wired reported in March that the new pricing scheme prices out nearly everyone," and users began receiving emails about the new pricing details soon after.

Although Microsoft has decided to remove Twitter from its advertising platform, but has not disclosed any reasons for this decision.

While APIs (application programming interfaces) are essential tools for businesses and researchers, concerns have been raised about privacy and ethical implications.

It is unclear whether Musk has taken legal action against Microsoft, and Microsoft has yet to respond to the allegations.

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After the grand opening of Apples first retail store in India at Mumbais Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Tuesday, CEO Tim Cook is all set to inaugurate its second store called the Apple Saket in New Delhi on April 20th. Apple Saket will open for customers on Thursday at 10 a.m. IST.

According to the Cupertino-based company, Apple Saket features a unique design that takes inspiration from Delhis many gates, each signifying a new chapter to the citys storied past. The new retail location will offer new ways to browse, discover, and buy Apple products with exceptional service and experiences for customers.

The colorful artwork celebrates Apples second store in India  located right in the nations capital," Apple said in a statement.

Beginning April 20, customers will be able to stop by to explore Apples latest product lineup, find creative inspiration, and get personalized service and support from the stores team of Specialists, Creatives, and Geniuses, the iPhone maker said.

According to documents shared by CRE Matrix, the lease deed for the Delhi store, located on the first floor of the Select City Walk Mall in south Delhi, was signed on July 18, 2022, between Select Infra and Apple India for 10 years. Apple has the option to renew the lease for another five years but will have to give a notice of at least six months, said a Moneycontrol report.

It has a rent of about Rs 40 lakh per month.

Apple has signed a lease with Select Citywalk mall for 8,400 sq. ft. of space at a rent of approximately 475 per sq. ft. plus CAM (Common Area Maintenance charges). The rental is about Rs 40 lakh per month. This is a 10-year lease with a five-year lock-in with 15 percent escalation every three years. The average store size in this Mall is about 1,500-2,000 sq. ft. The rentals have seen a steady increase in the period post COVID-19. This is not the largest store," the Moneycontrol report quoted Gagan Randev, executive director (capital markets) at India Sothebys International Realty, as saying.

Meanwhile, Apple CEO Tim Cook is also scheduled to meet with Indias Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and Deputy IT Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar during his visit to India.

Cook on Tuesday took to the micro-blogging platform Twitter and said that the energy in Mumbai is incredible after the launch of its first retail store in the country. The energy, creativity, and passion in Mumbai is incredible! We are so excited to open Apple BKC  our first store in India," Apple CEO tweeted.

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A report from the US Customs and Border Protection (USCBP) said as many as 1.49 lakh Indians were caught trying to unlawfully enter the US between February 2019 and March 2023. The numbers show that the American Dream continues to lure many Indians who take the risk despite knowing the dangers that they could face in these border crossings.

The report says that as many as 5,459 Indians were caught entering the US illegally in January 2022. At least 708 were caught along the US-Canada border. The numbers have risen by 35.9% to 7,421 in January 2023. The authorities have detained 2,478 on the US-Canada border.

The report shows Indians were detained during 2,663 attempted border crossings either from Canada in the north or Mexico in the south. However, Indians make up merely 2% of people detained for trying to enter the US illegally and the rate of deportation remains low, a report by the Times of India said.

The report by the Times of India, which cited police officers from Gujarat and other officials, said those detained are mostly from Gujarat and Punjab.

Many of those deported get refuge on humanitarian grounds and even if they lose their cases in court due to the system which is burdened by backlogs. The US remains the worlds most popular destination for asylum-seekers since 2017.

However, there are also incidents where several Indians, including minors have died. A family of four from Gujarats Dingucha froze to death on the Canada-US border in -35C in January last year. The family were separated in a blizzard from a larger group of Indians who later made it across to the US.

The Times of India report said that Gujarat police are cracking down on such organised trafficking groups.

This year another tragic incident was reported where an Indian family of four from Gujarats Mehsana drowned when their boat capsized in the St Lawrence river in March. The area records sub-zero temperatures and is considered to be hazardous even by those who live nearby.

In December 2022, another man from Gujarat fell to his death as he, his wife and his three-year-old son were scaling the Trump wall on the US-Mexico border.

Despite these incidents, Indians continue to enter the US illegally. The US border patrol caught 9,648 Indian asylum-seekers. At least 2,289 of them tried to enter via the US-Canada border.

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The ruling Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition composed of three major parties - Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz) (PML-(N)), Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) and Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) - have developed a split over the issue of dialogue with Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Pakistan foreign minister and PTI leader Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said his party is against closing the door for talks but JUI-(F) rejected Bilawals opinion and said that it isnt in the coalitions interests to hold talks with the PTI chief and former prime minister Imran Khan who was ousted last year through a vote of no-confidence.

It is the need of the hour that the path of dialogue be adopted and the country taken out of the crisis, Bilawal said.

The meeting of the three major parties and the other member-parties of the coalition on Tuesday ended without a consensus. The PDM coalition consists of 13 parties and representatives of all of these parties met in Islamabad after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif convened a meeting to discuss the political situation.

Last week, the Jamaat-i-Islami (JI) chief Sirajul Haq launched a consensus offensive and met with former prime minister Imran Khan and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to discuss the political situation in the country.

It was decided after the meeting that the ruling coalition led by the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) may hold indirect dialogue moderated by the JI.

Some parties also pointed out that Imran Khan cannot be trusted despite some sections of the coalition, including Bilawals PPP, insisting that political forces should not shut channels for dialogue.

Interior minister Rana Sanaullah tried to put up a strong face in front of the media and blamed Imran Khan for causing the stalemate in the dialogue process and said that the former prime minister rejected their offer for dialogue in the past.

Parties may have different opinions, but our decisions are made with consensus, information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said.

A representative from the Muttahida Qaumi Movement - Pakistan (MQM-(P)) said the matter of inter-party dialogue must be handled delicately and the decision should be taken by the party chiefs of the coalition parties.

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Sudan witnessed intermittent fighting on Tuesday, hours after a truce, brokered by international players, was supposed to have come into effect. Forces loyal to armed forces chief General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and the head of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, accused one another for violating the cease-fire and fought for key locations across the capital.

Top diplomats from several nations made intense efforts to ensure that Africas third largest country does not slip into another civil war and push its 46 million residents into further poverty.

Here are the latest developments from Khartoum:

Residents in Khartoum said they heard sounds of gunfire and explosions in different parts of the capital, particularly around the militarys headquarters and the Republican Palace. A report by the Associated Press said only a few people ventured out and small crowds were seen outside some bakeries.

The armistice comes after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken called both generals and underscored the need for a truce. He also spoke to Prince Faisal bin Farhan, Saudi Arabia foreign minister, and discussed ways to stop military escalation, ending violence, and calming tensions, a report by AFP said.

Sudan witnessed more than a dozen coups and coup attempts since it gained independence in 1958, news agency Al-Jazeera pointed out in a report.

The Al-Jazeera report also pointed out that Dagalo and Burhan acted as powerful enablers of former prime minister Omar al-Bashirs dictatorship before standing up against him and even conspired to dismantle the civilian movement demanding his ouster in 2019.

The report also says that they forced former prime minister Abdalla Hamdok, in 2022, who led the first transitional government and set up another transitional Framework Agreement under international pressure but only to preserve power for themselves.

The UN said that at least 185 people were killed and more than 1,800 were injured. A report by the AFP said at least 200 people died and the true number of both wounded and dead is thought to be far higher. Many wounded were unable to reach hospitals as those were being shelled, the AFP said, citing the nations official doctors union.

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Twitter head Elon Musk on Tuesday attempted to reassure wary advertisers by hyping up the sites newly introduced content moderation policy against hateful material.

Speaking at a meeting in Florida, the controversial billionaire outlined new rules, first announced Monday, to limit the reach of tweets that do not conform to the platforms guidelines.

If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesnt mean he should have a microphone," the self-described free-speech absolutist told gathered journalists.

He still should be able to say it, but it needs to be not them pushing it on people," he added.

Under the new policy, unveiled in a blog post titled Freedom of Speech, Not Reach," Twitter will soon begin tagging posts whose visibility has been limited.

The labels will bring a new level of transparency to enforcement actions," the blog post said.

Tweets with these labels will be made less discoverable on the platform. Additionally, we will not place ads adjacent to content that we label."

Since purchasing the so-called bird app in a rollercoaster $44 billion deal last year, Musk has sharply reined in content moderation on the platform, allowing the return of many users who had been banned for posting tweets that incite hate or spread misinformation.

At the same time, he also reduced the companys workforce from more than 7,500 to fewer than 2,000 employees.

Last week, US public radio NPR said it was quitting Twitter after the site labeled the highly respected news outlets account as state-affiliated media," branding it the same way as media in authoritarian countries such as Russia or China.

The tag was later amended to read government-funded media," which was also applied to Britains BBC.

Following the row, Canadas CBC/Radio-Canada and Swedish public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) also quit the social network.

The drama came against the backdrop of the rollout of yet another contentious new policy, as Twitter has said that starting April 20, it will only grant its famous blue checkmark to accounts that pay for its Twitter Blue service.

According to analyst Jasmine Enberg at market research firm Insider Intelligence, Twitters revenue is set to drop 28 percent this year, because advertisers dont trust Musk."

But for Musk, the ability to tinker with Twitters protocol might be worth the financial risk of spooking advertisers.

Its totally cool to say that you want to have your advertisement appear in certain places in Twitter and not in other places," Musk said Tuesday.

But its not cool to try to say what you can do or not do. And if that means Twitter loses hundreds of thousands of dollars, well lose it," he said.

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The international investment migration firm Henley & Partners recently released their list of the Worlds Top 10 Wealthiest Cities. The organisation decided the rankings based on data provided by the wealth intelligence firm, New World Wealth.

Here is the list of worlds wealthiest cities:

New York City (USA) Tokyo (Japan) The Bay Area (USA) London (UK) Singapore (Singapore) Los Angeles (USA) Hong Kong(SAR China) Beijing (China) Shanghai (China) Sydney (Australia)

Henley & Partners listed New York as the worlds wealthiest in the world with 340,000 millionaires, while two other American wealth hubs  the San Francisco Bay Area and Los Angeles were ranked third and sixth.

Tokyo, the worlds wealthiest city in the previous decade, is the second wealthiest city in the world with 290,300 millionaires. London, with its 258,000 resident HNWIs, dropped to 4th place.

Singapore, which is considered to be one of the worlds most business-friendly cities, ranked 5th with 240,100 resident millionaires. Australian city Sydney ranked 10th with 126,900 millionaires and the city, according to a press release by the firm, is projected to break into the global top 5 wealthiest cities by 2040.

Hong Kong (129,500 millionaires), Beijing (128,200), and Shanghai (127,200) were ranked 7th, 8th and 9th places, respectively. Beijing and Shanghai have both climbed the rankings over the past decade, but Hong Kong has taken a tumble, dropping from 4th place in 2012 down to 7th place currently, the press release said.

Indias economic hub Mumbai was ranked 21st by the firm. According to the rankings, Mumbai has 59,400 HNWIs, 238 centi-millionaires (individuals with wealth of $100 million or more) and 29 billionaires.

Indian capital New Delhi ranked 36th with 30,200 HNWIs, 121 centi-millionaires and 16 billionaires. Meanwhile, tech and start-up Bengaluru has 8 billionaires, Hyderabad has 5 billionaires and Kolkata has 7 billionaires.

The New World Wealth firm tracks the movements and spending habits of over 150,000 high-net-worth individuals in their in-house database (with a special emphasis on individuals with over USD 10 million in investable assets). They also focus on high-net-worth individuals who have work titles like founder, chairperson, CEO and director.

Using this database, the firm assesses the city wealth breakdowns. The firm also takes into account the public prime property statistics and the number of highly priced homes in each area.

It focuses on the investable wealth, which includes property, cash and listed company holdings on high net worth individuals (HNWIs).

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Israel minister for economy and industry Nir Barkat said Israel wants to take business and trade ties with India to the next step and not limit it to a free trade agreement (FTA).

Im here to propose and to see how we could take it to the next step, not just free trade agreement, but actually do a lot of business development together, Barkat told CNN-News18 and pointed out that Israels innovation in agrotech, food-tech and creating food from the sea are well known.

Im here to also look at how we can focus on training and get more and more people involved in future jobs versus older jobs, he said, referring to the challenge traditional jobs are facing from new-age technologies.

Israel witnessed protests over the past few weeks as civil society groups protested against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus proposed judicial reforms. The government has halted the reforms following weeks of protests and strikes, forcing the government to put the reforms agenda on the back burner.

The protests have affected the business friendly image of the country and global rating agency Moodys downgraded Israels ratings in the aftermath of the protests. Israel is an amazing democracy, and Im very proud of our democracy, says Barkat, a former mayor of Jerusalem.

The fact that people are willing to go out to the streets because they care about democracy. So the potential is not going to change, anybody and everyone who invested in Israel in the past gained a lot. And I strongly recommend people to look at Israel as one of the best investments people can make in the world, Barkat said, while comparing the recent wave of protests to the ongoing protests against pension reforms in France or the 2016 Brexit protests.

Barkat also said that the growth Israel has with India, the US and the UAE, is more compared to the growth it witnessed with other countries. Israel, India, the US and the UAE are part of the I2U2 group. The I2U2 group of nations aim to enhance trade cooperation and investment among the group members.

The growth we have with India and the UAE and the US is far greater than the growth we have with other countries. The infrastructure of government to government promotion translates to more and more business and more trade, which is good, Barkat explained, also outlining how government to government growth has helped business and investment grow.

The summit level talks of the I2U2 group were held in July 2022 and in February this year vice ministers of the I2U2 group of nations met in Abu Dhabi. The delegations of the member nations discussed potential partnerships in the fields of food security, energy, water, space, transport, health and technology.

Speaking of India-Israel trade ties, which hovers around $10billion and is expected to increase if both nations agree on a FTA deal, Barkat said the ties continue to strengthen because of the friendly relationship between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Israeli counterpart Netanyahu.

The minister said their personal chemistry led to the signing of several deals between the two countries especially in the sectors like defence and advanced technology.

Speaking of Israels Prime Ministers potential visit to New Delhi, the minister said he will recommend Netanyahu to plan a visit soon. Im going to meet my Prime Minister and will strongly recommended to come and visit. I want to work with your ministers and boost our chances of success and (explore more) opportunities for the future, Barkat said.

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News / National

by Ashraf Hendricks

Litigants in the court case to stop the scrapping of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP) have received threats on Twitter. Archive photo: Tariro WashinyiraThe director of the Helen Suzman Foundation (HSF), Nicole Fritz, and her family received threats on Twitter the day before the foundation's court action to stop the scrapping of the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit (ZEP).On 10 April, Twitter user Freeman Bhengu (@zibuseman) wrote, "We are watching her and we know where she stays, her daughter and their closed offices in Parktown, we will deal with her tomorrow @Nicole Fritz".The HSF, along with the Zimbabwe Immigration Federation and the Zimbabwean Exemption Permit Holders, are challenging in court the decision by the Department of Home Affairs to scrap the ZEP, which would affect more than 170,000 permit holders. The hearing started in the Pretoria High Court on 11 April.Fritz says that these threats are "enormously disturbing" and that those working in social justice or human rights should not experience such harassment. She says other litigants are also receiving threats.Global South Against Xenophobia (GSAX) has called on the South African Police Service (SAPS) and South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) to act. In a statement, the GSAX called for SAPS to protect Fritz during the duration of the court hearings or until the perpetrators are arrested and to investigate all the threats."We urge all our people to stand up against xenophobia and perpetrators of other corruptions and to defend the space for activists and civil society actors," said GSAX.This isn't the first time Fritz has been threatened. She says the same person has emailed her in the past telling her that she is being watched.Fritz says Twitter has suspended him in the past. But this time, under new ownership, they didn't, as according to Twitter, this doesn't violate their rules.She says that she understands that people might disagree with the court action, but "the idea that going to court could earn you death threats is gravely concerning".Fritz says that she's grateful for the support she has received but would not want the threats to detract from a focus on the ZEP issue.
At least one person died and four were rushed to hospital after a multi-story parking garage in New York City collapsed on Tuesday, emergency responders said.

Aerial video footage circulating on social media showed cars piled on top of one another in a jumble of cracked concrete in the financial district of Lower Manhattan.

The building on Ann Street pancaked, collapsed, all the way to the cellar floor," the acting head of New Yorks buildings department, Kazimir Vilenchik, told a press conference at the scene.

Due to an emergency response to a structural collapse, please avoid the area of Ann Street, between Nassau Street & William Street in lower Manhattan. pic.twitter.com/V3KxNZGXbt NYC Mayors Office (@NYCMayorsOffice) April 18, 2023

Its exterior remained standing, but officials said they feared further collapse.

The fire departments chief of operations John Esposito said they had ordered all their initial responders out of the building  but that a robotics unit had been able to deploy a robot dog and fly drones inside to conduct searches.

He said they believed there had been six workers in the building when it collapsed.

Four of them have been transported to the hospital in stable condition. We have one patient that has died," he told the news conference.

The sixth person refused medical treatment, he said.

Esposito said the fire department believed everyone had been accounted for.

Officials were calling for New Yorkers to avoid the area.

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Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday returned a bill seeking to curb the powers of the chief justice of the Supreme Court to parliament for a second time, saying that the matter was now subjudice.

The matter of competency of legislation and validity of the bill is subjudice now before the highest judicial forum of the country. In deference to the same, thereto no further action is desirable, the President was quoted as saying in his reply by the Dawn newspaper.

The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at depriving the office of the CJP of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity and form a panel of judges for hearing of cases.

It was initially passed by both houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the president sent it back, saying that the proposed law travelled beyond the competence of parliament.

The bill was, however, passed again by a joint sitting of parliament with certain amendments on April 10 and sent to the president.

But three days after the passing of the bill by the joint parliament session, an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), including CJP Umar Ata Bandial, issued an order that bars the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law.

The bench observed that prima facie the proposed law infringed the powers of the apex court to frame its own rules and it merits a hearing by the court.

The court in its order after hearing stated that any intrusion in its practice and the procedure, even on the most tentative of assessments, would appear to be inimical to the independence of the judiciary, no matter how innocuous, benign or even desirable the regulation may facially appear to be.

It is therefore hereby directed and ordered as follows. The moment that the bill receives the assent of the president or (as the case may be) it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner, the court stated.

The parliament passed a resolution calling for the dissolution of the eight-judge larger bench. The resolution tabled by the Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Agha Rafiullah was approved by a majority vote.

Pakistan is witnessing a rift between the judiciary and the government after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Bandial fixed May 14 as the date for elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the Election Commissions decision to extend the date of the poll from April 10 to October 8.

The bill states that every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the chief justice and the two senior-most judges. It added that the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.

On exercising the apex courts original jurisdiction, called suo motu powers, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the committee.

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After Oklahoma governor Kevin Stitt demanded the resignation of four county officials after a newspapers audio recording captured some of them planning to kill two of the papers journalists using hit men and hang Black Americans, the McCurtain County sheriffs office said the recording was illegal.

There is and has been an ongoing investigation into multiple, significant violation(s) of the Oklahoma Security of Communications Act  which states that it is illegal to secretly record a conversation in which you are not involved and do not have the consent of at least one of the involved parties, the statement said.

The excerpt of the recording was published by the McCurtain Gazette-News where McCurtain County Sheriff Kevin Clardy and sheriffs captain Alicia Manning, District 2 Commissioner Mark Jennings and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix discuss killing reporters Bruce and Chris Willingham.

The excerpt from the recordings, which can be accessed here, also shows Jennings lamenting that he cannot hang Black people in public, referring to the evil act of lynching and publicly in the 19th and early 20th centuries, under Jim Crow laws, which pushed for segregation of black and white communities.

Im gonna tell you something. If it was back in the day, when Alan Marshton would take a damn black guy and whoop their ass and throw him in the cell. They got more rights than we got, Jennings can be heard allegedly saying.

Take them down to Mud Creek and hang them up with a damn rope, he said, according to the McCurtain Gazette-News.

A report by the Associated Press said Bruce Willingham, the longtime publisher of the McCurtain Gazette-News, made the recording on March 6 after he left a voice-activated recorder inside the room after a county commissioners meeting.

Bruce suspected the group was continuing to conduct county business after the meeting ended, this was in violation of Oklahomas Open Meeting Act.

Chris Willingham, a reporter at the paper, is Bruce Willinghams son.

I talked on two different occasions to our attorneys to make sure I wasnt doing anything illegal, Bruce Willingham was quoted as saying by the Associated Press.

The sheriff and his colleagues allegedly discussed how to eliminate the Willinghams. Ive known two or three hit men, theyre very quiet guys And they would cut no f*****g mercy, Jennings can be heard saying.

I know where two big deep holes are here if you ever need them, he further adds, to which the Sheriff replied by saying he has an excavator.

I am both appalled and disheartened to hear of the horrid comments made by officials in McCurtain County. There is simply no place for such hateful rhetoric in the state of Oklahoma, especially by those that serve to represent the community through their respective office, the governor said in a statement.

Oklahoma State University journalism professor Joey Senat told the Associated Press that under Oklahoma law, the recording would be legal if it were obtained in a place where the officials being recorded did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

The Associated Press report citing Bruce Willingham said that the officials were upset over his reporting on the sheriffs office which cast him in a bad light. The officials were unhappy over the reporting on the death of Bobby Barrick, a Broken Bow, Oklahoma, man who died at a hospital in March 2022 after McCurtain County deputies shot him with a stun gun.

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Explosions shook Sudans capital Tuesday evening despite claims of a ceasefire on the fourth day of fighting that has killed nearly 200.

A weeks-long power struggle erupted into battles Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Since then, international calls have mounted for an end to hostilities that have spawned increasing lawlessness, death and damage.

After international mediation, RSF commander Daglo, commonly known as Hemeti, said he would support a 24-hour armistice", which the army denied any knowledge of before later blaming the RSF for breaking it.

The RSF had already accused the army of violating the agreement.

By 1600 GMT, the time of the supposed start to the ceasefire, gunfire could still be heard throughout the capital Khartoum, according to several witnesses, and it continued into the evening.

As of now the fighting in Sudan, including Khartoum and various other locations, is continuing. No sign of real abatement of the fighting," the spokesman for United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Daglos announcement came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said he spoke with the two generals and underscored the urgent need for a ceasefire".

Foreign ministers of the G7, which includes the US, had also called on Tuesday for the warring parties to end hostilities immediately", as loud explosions were heard in Khartoum, where militiamen in turbans and fatigues roamed the streets.

Blinken also discussed with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan ways to stop military escalation, ending violence, and calming tensions" in Sudan.

Underscoring the chaos, Washington said one of its diplomatic convoys was fired upon, and the EU said its ambassador was attacked at home.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies.

There are fears of regional spillover from the conflict that has included air strikes and artillery fire.

According to witnesses, pickup trucks carrying anti-aircraft guns  stationed in residential areas of Khartoum  were resupplied with ammunition Tuesday morning.

Office and residential buildings in the city have been left with shattered windows and facades riddled with bullets.

Terrified residents of the capital are spending the holiest final days of Ramadan sheltering as tanks roll through the streets, buildings shake, and smoke from fires triggered by the fighting hangs in the air.

Others are fleeing.

We havent slept in the past four days," Khartoum resident Dallia Mohamed Abdelmoniem said, adding her family had been staying indoors trying to keep our sanity intact".

Families waited on Tuesday, heavy suitcases in hand, for the few buses heading south from the capital, according to AFP reporters, as more people use rare lulls in the fighting to escape Khartoum.

Many have lost power and internet connections, and when they do get online  searching for accurate news about attacks, reported looting, how safe it is to move and what pharmacies are still open  they face proliferating misinformation on social media.

The latest toll is at least 185 people killed and more than 1,800 injured, according to the UN.

The true number is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors union.

World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned disturbing reports of some health facilities being looted and others being used for military purposes."

Civilians are running out of food as the few grocery stores that remain open have been unable to replenish dwindling stocks.

The fighting has damaged aircraft and brought a halt to flights to and from Khartoum airport.

Satellite photos show damaged warplanes at the airports in Merowe and El Obeid.

The Red Cross and WHO stressed Tuesday the need for humanitarian aid corridors.

- A dismantling -

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy  in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

The 2021 coup which the generals orchestrated derailed a transition to civilian rule.

Political scientist Amr al-Shobaki linked the current situation to mistakes by both longtime strongman Omar al-Bashir, ousted in 2019, and the transition period which followed. They should have dealt with unification of the armed forces, the Egyptian analyst said.

Civilians wanted to dismantle the old regime, but in four years what was dismantled instead were the political powers and the military itself," he told AFP.

The Forces of Freedom and Change, the main civilian bloc ousted from power in the 2021 coup, rejected the total war the generals have unleashed to destroy everything in their path".

The battles that began Saturday followed bitter disagreements between Burhan and Daglo over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army  a key condition for a final deal aimed at resuming the democratic transition.

Both claim to be in control of key sites, including the airport and the presidential palace  none of which could be independently verified.

A number of organisations have temporarily suspended operations in the country, where one-third of the population needs aid and three UN World Food Programme staff are among the dead.

Influential northern neighbour Egypt said it had discussed with Saudi Arabia, South Sudan and Djibouti  all close allies of Sudan  the need to make every effort to preserve stability and safety".

Read all the Latest News here
Thousands of residents on Wednesday fled Sudans capital, where witnesses said bodies lay in the street from fighting between the army and paramilitaries after a 24-hour truce failed to take hold.

Five days of fighting in Khartoum and elsewhere in the northeast African country have killed more than 270 civilians, foreign embassies said Wednesday.

Foreign diplomats have been attacked, and United Nations emergency relief coordinator Martin Griffiths said the UN had received reports of attacks and sexual violence against aid workers".

Governments started planning to evacuate their citizens, among them many UN staff.

The violence erupted on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in a 2021 coup: army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

It followed a bitter dispute between them over the planned integration of the RSF into the regular army  a key condition for a final deal aimed at restoring Sudans democratic transition.

Life in Khartoum is impossible if this war does not stop," said Alawya al-Tayeb, 33, on her way out of the capital.

I tried to make children not see the slain bodies on the streets," she said, adding that her children currently suffer from shock and will need treatment.

Deafening explosions rattled buildings and heavy gunfire was heard in Khartoum, as witnesses said plumes of thick black smoke emanated from buildings around the army headquarters in central Khartoum.

RSF fighters atop armoured vehicles and pickup trucks laden with weapons swarmed the streets. Fighter jets roared overhead and fired on RSF targets, the witnesses said.

Civilians huddled in their homes were becoming increasingly desperate, with dwindling food supplies, power outages, and a lack of running water.

A 24-hour humanitarian ceasefire announced by South Sudan failed to take hold at its proposed start at 1600 GMT on Tuesday.

- Escalating violence -

Neither side seems to be winning at the moment, and given the intensity of the violence, things could get even worse before the two generals come to the negotiating table," according to Clement Deshayes, a Sudan specialist at Pariss Sorbonne University.

On Wednesday, the RSF said it would fully commit to a complete ceasefire", again from 1600 GMT and for 24 hours. The army had made no comment on such a development.

Thousands of people took matters into their own hands and, according to witnesses, began leaving their homes in Khartoum, some in cars and others on foot, including women and children.

They said the streets were littered with dead bodies, the stench of which filled the air.

We are now on our way to Madani to stay with our relatives after my family and kids lived through the terror of explosions," said Mohamed Saleh, 43, a government employee.

We were very worried fighters would start storming homes."

- Foreigners stuck -

The toll has been high, with initial estimated civilian deaths of more than 270," the US Embassy wrote in a statement signed by 14 other diplomatic missions in Sudan.

The real toll is thought to be far higher, with many wounded unable to reach hospitals, which are themselves being shelled, according to the official doctors union.

Out of 59 main hospitals in Khartoum, about 39 are currently out of service", said the union which reported severe shortages" in remaining facilities.

Japan said its defence ministry had begun the necessary preparations" to evacuate around 60 of its nationals from Sudan, including embassy staff.

Berlin aborted on Wednesday an evacuation attempt involving three military transport planes, which would have carried 150 citizens, according to German weekly Der Spiegel.

The US embassy in Khartoum said it started gathering citizens personal details while urging them to remain indoors and stay away from windows.

Due to the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and closure of the airport, there are no plans for (a) US government-coordinated evacuation," it tweeted.

The violence has also seen a US diplomatic convoy fired upon, the European Unions ambassador attacked at home and a Belgian humanitarian official with the EU hospitalised after being shot.

Aid groups have reported looting of medical and other supplies.

RSF has since Saturday captured a group of Egyptian soldiers in the northern city of Meroe. It said they have now been transported to Khartoum.

They will be handed over (to Egypt) whenever there is a chance," it said in a statement.

Army chief Burhan counts on support from Egypt, which according to experts unequivocally favours the military establishment.

- Crackdown -

Both generals have positioned themselves as saviours of Sudan and guardians of democracy  in a country which has known only brief democratic interludes.

The battles that began Saturdays are the culmination of deep-seated divisions between the army and the RSF, which was created in 2013 by longtime autocrat Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Daglo toppled Bashir together in April 2019 following mass protests against his three decades of iron-fisted rule.

In October 2021 the pair led a military coup against the civilian government installed following Bashirs ouster, derailing an internationally backed transition.

Burhan, a career soldier from northern Sudan who rose the through ranks under Bashir, has maintained his coup was necessary" to include more factions into politics.

But Daglo, whose RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia in Darfur, has since called the coup a mistake" that failed to bring about change and invigorated Bashirs remnants.

Read all the Latest News here
News / National

by Staff reporter

Two suspects are reportedly on the run after fleecing more than 70 people of US$300,000 in a non-existent cement buying scheme.The suspects identifies as Andy Baleni and Tinashe Zimunya, allegedly committed the crime through a company said to be trading as Koffie and King Hardware in Harare.Detailing how the crime was committed, national police spokesperson Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi said the suspects duped their unsuspecting clients through advertising a promotion in the purchase of cement."The Zimbabwe Republic Police is concerned with fraud cases involving purported sale of cement on special offer' to unsuspecting members of the public through advertisement on social media and radio stations by a company known as Koffie and King Hardware allegedly situated at 10 Mbuya Nehanda Street, Harare," Nyathi said.He added, "The suspects, Andy Baleni also known as Mambo Ndini whose last known address is Flat 3 GlenLorne, Chishawasha, Harare and Tinashe Zimunya advertised cement on radio and social media platforms at very low prices and alleged special offer thereby luring the unsuspecting transacting public."Delivery of the purported cement was said to be done within seven (7) days after payment for the consignment."Resultantly, more than seventy (70) victims fell for the scam and were defrauded approximately USD$300,000."Police appealed for information that could lead to the arrest of the culprits.Nyathi also urged the public to exercise due diligence before making any payments adding that the scam was also pointing to the possibility of a pyramid scheme through the alleged sale of cement.
Recognition of Foreign Degrees in Greece The following pertains to Greek and foreign nationals who have studied abroad and wish to pursue further studies in Greece or a professional carrier in a field where a degree of higher education is required in Greece. The Inter-University Center for the Recognition of Foreign Degrees (Diapanepistimiako Kentro Anagnorisis Titlon Spoudon Allodapis - DIKATSA) needs to verify the validity and equivalence of the acquired degree with those awarded by Greek institutions of higher education. Information is provided in Greek and in English. For up-to-date information, for clarifications and to inquire about the procedures, you may contact DIKATSA via e-mail at the address dikatsa@otenet.gr or by fax at +30-1-6756709. Please note that due to the current downsizing of the greek civil service, the DIKATSA is due to be phased-out in the immediate future - exactly what this will entail for people with foreign degrees is unclear at the present time.
Disney

UK and Ireland Indiana Jones fans are in for a treat, as the next movie in the series is set to land earlier on the other side of the pond.

The Dial of Destiny is scheduled to hit the big screen on June 30, though it's now been confirmed that it will release two days prior in the UK and Ireland on June 28.

The news comes after it was revealed that the new movie will be the longest entry in the action franchise, running at roughly two hours and 22 minutes.

Lucasfilm - Disney

Related: Indiana Jones unveils more deluxe toys from Dial of Destiny and classic movies

"I will say the early movies were shorter, they were under 2 [hours] 15 [minutes], and we talked about that quite a bit," Lucasfilm president Kathleen Kennedy recently told Collider. "So, now I see why maybe they're interested in this.

"But as you know with runtime it's all about how you feel, right? So if you're sitting in a movie and it feels long, you're like, 'Uh...' We're not dealing with a long movie."

The movie will see the return of Harrison Ford as Indy, with Phoebe Waller-Bridge joining the franchise as his goddaughter Helena Shaw.

The Dial of Destiny was recently given a new trailer, which sees the characters in pursuit of the titular dial.

Lucasfilm

Related: Indiana Jones' Harrison Ford on "fantastic" de-aging process

Meanwhile, Ford revealed in February that the new movie removed a number of "old Indy" jokes from its script, telling The Hollywood Reporter: "In [Dial of Destiny] there were a lot of old jokes in the script. We took them all out.

"There is a moment where he observes himself in this situation and says, 'What the f**k am I doing in here?' But I hate what I call 'talking about the story'.

"I want to see circumstances in which the audience gets a chance to experience the story, not to be led through the nose with highlights pointed out to them. Id rather create behaviour that is the joke of age rather than talk about it."

Story continues

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is scheduled for release on June 30, 2023 in the US and June 28, 2023 in the UK and Ireland.

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UPDATE

Apr 20, 2023 10:30 AM CDT

The MillerKnoll CEO who instructed employees who were worried about whether they'd be getting a bonus to "leave pity city" has apologized to her staff. MLive reports Andi Owen, who's been at the helm of the company since 2018, sent an email that read, in part: "As a leader, I try to always pick the right words and tone to inspire and motivate this incredible team. ... As I continue to reflect on this instance, I feel terrible that my rallying cry seemed insensitive. What I'd hoped would energize the team to meet a challenge we've met many times before landed in a way that I did not intend and for that I am sorry. ... Thank you for your hard work, your grace, and for the commitment you show to one another and our company every single day." Vice has the email in full.

Apr 18, 2023 5:44 PM CDT

In a March town hall meeting, Andi Owen, the CEO and president of office furniture giant MillerKnollwhich makes the Herman Miller chairappeared to criticize employees, urging them to "leave pity city." Owen was responding to a question about keeping teams motivated during challenging times for the company and the broader industry, per Vice. Owen's response came during the final minutes of the 75-minute video town hall, and has since gained considerable attention online. Owen says in the video that she is addressing workers' questions about not receiving bonuses. She asks them to be nice and "respectful." As the town hall continues, however, Owen raises her voice and says workers need to focus on company goals and to stop asking questions about bonuses.

The video has received negative notice in part because as CBS reports, citing MillerKnoll's shareholder proxy statement , Owen was paid a $1.1 million salary in 2022 and reaped $3.9 million in additional pay, including stock benefits. Yet Owen tells employees to not "ask about what are we going to do if we don't get a bonus." She continues on to say they should spend their time and effort "thinking about the $26 million we need, and not thinking about what are we going to do if we don't get a bonus, alright? Can I get some commitment for that? I would appreciate that." The CEO, a former global president of Banana Republic, concludes by saying she had a former boss who told her, "You can visit pity city, but you cant live there." Owen continues, "So people, leave pity city. Lets get it done."

CBS notes that a COVID-19 pandemic shift toward remote and hybrid work impacted MillerKnoll since it resulted in a drop in demand for luxury office furniture. Herman Miller acknowledged this "period of disruption" and in 2021 purchased rival Knoll in 2021 for $1.8 billion, believing that the combined MillerKnoll could better face pandemic-based challenges. Responding to Vice, company spokesperson Kris Marubio said the clip that went viral didn't give proper context, and the meeting was positive on the whole. Andi fiercely believes in this team and all we can accomplish together," Marubio told Vice, "and will not be dissuaded by a 90-second clip taken out of context and posted on social media."

(Read more CEO stories.)
The Alec Baldwin movie Rust will resume production this week, according to Rust Movie Productions, about a year and a half after cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was fatally shot on set with a prop gun. Baldwin will return, as will director Joel Souza, who was wounded in the shooting, reports CNBC. Also of note: Hutchins' widower, Matthew Hutchins, will serve as executive producer, which CNN reports was a stipulation of a settlement he reached with Baldwin last year.

Though bittersweet, I am grateful that a brilliant and dedicated new production team joining former cast and crew are committed to completing what Halyna and I started, said Souza in a statement. Baldwin still faces legal issues over the shooting: Hutchins' mother, father, and sister have filed a separate civil suit against him; and the actor still faces criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter, to which he has pleaded not guilty. The October 2021 shooting brought a halt to the production's filming in New Mexico. The production company says filming will resume in Montana. (Read more Alec Baldwin stories.)
"I know what he did to me in his house," former Menudo member Roy Rossello says of the father of the Menendez brothers in an upcoming docuseries. Rossello, one of dozens of former members of the Puerto Rican boy band, says he was drugged and raped by Jose Menendez in the mid-1980s, years before Menendez and his wife Kitty were killed by sons Lyle and Erik, the New York Times reports. The brothers' first trial, in which the defense said they had been sexually abused by their father for years and feared for their lives, ended in a mistrial, with two juries deadlocked. Two years later, they were retried and convicted; they are currently serving life sentences. It's not clear whether Rossello's allegations will impact attempts their defense lawyers have made to get them a new trial.

"It's sad to know that there was another victim of my father," Erik said in response to the revelation, per People. "I always hoped and believed that one day the truth about my dad would come out, but I never wished for it to come out like thisthe result of trauma that another child has suffered." Erik was 18 and Lyle 21 when they killed their parents in 1989. Menendez + Menudo: Boys Betrayed, a three-part series, premieres May 2 on Peacock, NBCUniversal's streaming service. Other former Menudo members claimed in an HBO Max docuseries about the group that they were verbally, physically, emotionally, and sexually abused. (Read more Menendez brothers stories.)
UPDATE

Apr 19, 2023 1:59 PM CDT

The man accused of killing four people at a home in Maine Tuesday before injuring three people in their vehicles on an interstate highway had only been out of prison for a few days, officials say. The Maine Department of Corrections says Joseph Eaton, 34, was released Friday from the Maine Correctional Center, where he had been serving time for a probation violation, the AP reports. Eaton was taken into custody after the highway shootings, in which victims were apparently shot at random. One victim is still in critical condition. In Facebook posts on Monday, Eaton wrote about his wish to be forgiven and complained about not being given a second chance, the Portland Press Herald reports.

Apr 18, 2023 6:11 PM CDT

Police in Maine say a suspect is in custody after two linked shootings left four people dead and three people injured. Police say four people were found dead in a home in the town of Bowdoin Tuesday morning, the Portland Press Herald reports. Soon after the bodies were found, three people were shot in their vehicles around 25 miles to the south on Interstate 295 in Yarmouth. A portion of the highway was closed and residents and businesses in the area were told to shelter in place for around 90 minutes, reports the AP. Police have not released the names of the victims or the person taken into custody.

Lenora Felker, who works at Rosemont Market and Bakery near the interstate, tells that AP that a stream of people saying the highway was closed was followed by dozens of law enforcement officers. She says officers asked businesses if they had seen "anyone that was wet and muddy fleeing." Maine Gov. Janet Mills said she was praying for the injured. "Like people across Maine, I am shocked and deeply saddened," she tweeted. "Acts of violence like we experienced today shake our state and our communities to the core." (Read more Maine stories.)
A 67-million-year-old Tyrannosaurus rex skeleton might have had puny arms, but sold for a hefty $6.2 million at Zurich's Koller auction house. The BBC reports the 38-foot-long and nearly 13-foot-tall fossil "is one of the most spectacular T. rex skeletons in existence," though it's actually not made up of just one T. rex. It's named "293 Trinity" for a reason: The skeleton is comprised of 293 bones hailing from 3 different T. rexes found in Montana and Wyoming. Still, in an interview on Koller's website, Dr. Hans-Jacob Siber of the Aathal Dinosaur Museum said that there are just "20 or 30 good T. rex skeletons in the world and this is one of the bigger and better ones."

Though the dinosaur was purchased by a private buyer, Koller indicated hope that it would be put on public display. Speaking to the BBC, Edinburgh University dinosaur expert Steve Brusatte expressed concern over private purchasesthis was the first T. rex skeleton ever auctioned in Europesaying in part that "museums can't compete with the deep pockets of the oligarchs and the super-rich." Brusatte added that he's worried "that these very rare dinosaur skeletons, which are scientifically very valuable and are important for education and public engagement disappear into the vaults of private collectors which means that they are not available for public display."

The Tyrannosaurus rex, which has one of the most distinctive skulls in the animal kingdom, is among the most iconic dinosaurs in pop culture. As an American Museum of Natural History information page notes, the 1902 discovery of the first T. rex skeleton in Hell Creek, Montana, also sparked long-lasting interest in dinosaurs in general. Trinity, however, isn't the most expensive T. rex ever sold. In 2022 the Guardian reported that honor went to "Stan," a Tyrannosaurus skeleton that sold in 2020 for $31.8 million. (Read more Tyrannosaurus rex stories.)
If being stuck in a tiny box with 300 strangers at 35,000 feet isn't your cup of tea, being stuck with 300 strangers at 35,000 feet with only three functioning bathrooms is probably less so. As AFP reports, such was the case of an Austrian Airlines flight from Vienna to New York, which had to turn back two hours into Monday's flight when five of its eight bathrooms malfunctioned. While it's a first for Austrian Airlines, a rep tells AFP, Insider notes that such instances aren't without precedent: A 2018 Norwegian Air flight with 85 plumbers on board had to return to Oslo when its toilets broke and required exterior access to fix. The Austrian Airlines rep says its plane has been fixed and returned to service; passengers were rebooked. (Good news: This wasn't you, Southwest.)
The upcoming film BlackBerry, starring Jay Baruchel, looks back at the creation of the iconic cellphone, as well as the company  and the men  behind it. The film is set to be released April 27. (Elevation Pictures - image credit)

Right off the back of the widely reported success of everything from Brother to Riceboy Sleeps and I Like Movies  and the dubious success of the Canadian Screen Awards' attempt to highlight them  there are still more reasons to think about, and celebrate, movies in the Great White North.

And on Wednesday, the 10th annual National Canadian Film Day aims to do just that: highlight the country's cinema and everything its creators have accomplished.

But while the Canadian Screen Awards recently honoured some of the best movies of the past year  and CanFilmDay organizers have compiled some of the best choices from the past several decades  it can be difficult to stay on top of Canadian movies you can still look forward to watching.

To help with that, CBC has compiled some of the brightest productions to expect over the rest of the year, and  when possible  let you know when you can expect to see them.

BlackBerry

Elevation Pictures

Release date: April 27

Arguably one of the most talked about Canadian releases coming this year, BlackBerry looks back at the creation of the iconic cellphone, as well as the company  and the men  behind it. Casting Glenn Howerton and Canadian Jay Baruchel as CEO Jim Balsillie and founder Mike Lazaridis, respectively, BlackBerry  directed by Canadian Matt Johnson  details first the rise, then precipitous fall of Research In Motion in a story as high stakes as it is frenetic.

A feature film is scheduled for release later this month, with an eventual three-part series slated for release on CBC Gem in early 2024.

Humane

Victory Man Productions

Release date: TBA

BlackBerry isn't Jay Baruchel's only project in the works. Humane, described by Deadline as an "environment-themed thriller," fronts Baruchel in Caitlin Cronenberg's directorial debut, as she follows both her father and brother into the world of surreal horror. Also starring Schitt's Creek's Emily Hampshire, Flashpoint's Enrico Colantoni, Alanna Bale of Cardinal and The O.C.'s Peter Gallagher, the Michael Sparaga-written film documents a family dinner in the aftermath of an environmental collapse. Humanity has lost 20 per cent of its population, and  according to its synopsis  things go "horribly awry" after the father announces his plans to enlist in a government euthanasia program.

Story continues

A four-week shoot wrapped in Hamilton late last year, but a representative for the movie confirmed to CBC that no release date has yet been confirmed.

Bones of Crows

TIFF

Release date: June 2

Although Marie Clements's Bones of Crows has already seen a few theatrical showings as part of its national Indigenous community screening tour, a wide release is still in the works. The movie, which boasts a nearly all-Indigenous cast, tells a multi-generational story centred around Cree matriarch Aline Spears  played at three separate ages by Secwepemc actor Grace Dove as an adult, Seneca/Mohawk and French Canadian Carla-Rae at older ages, and 10-year-old Summer Testawich as a child.

Having already screened at film festivals in Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary and Santa Barbara, Calif., among others, it is scheduled for a June 2 theatrical release. Like BlackBerry, it will be recut as a miniseries, with the five-part version being released sometime in late 2023 or early 2024.

When Morning Comes

TIFF

Release date: TBA

Another TIFF debut, When Morning Comes is Canadian Kelly Fyffe-Marshall's feature film debut, and it's already seen considerable success prior to its release. It was named to the Jean-Marc Vallee DGC Discovery Award's long list and was the recipient of a $50,000 endowment from the Toronto Film Critics Association and David Cronenberg. Largely shot in Jamaica, the film tells the story of young Jamal (Djamari Roberts), who is about to be sent to live with his grandmother in Canada  prompting him to run away.

In an interview with Yahoo Canada, Fyffe-Marshall said the narrative was partially based on her own memories of Jamaica while she was growing up.

Little Bird

Bell Media

Release date: May 26

While the six-part Little Bird is a miniseries and not a film, the ambitious Jennifer Podemski-created production is no less anticipated. Telling a tale rooted in the Sixties Scoop (when a large number of Indigenous children were removed from their families and placed in foster care), the series follows Bezhig Little Bird. After her adoption by a Montreal family when she was five years old, she journeys across the Canadian Prairies to find the family she was taken from.

Like Bones of Crows, the series is fronted by Indigenous actors, including Darla Contois (who plays the titular Little Bird), Ellyn Jade (Vikings, Letterkenny) and Eric Schweig (The Last of the Mohicans), and the production featured a training program for Indigenous filmmakers. Humane's Alanna Bale and Lisa Edelstein, who starred in the TV medical drama House, round out the cast of Little Bird, which will premiere May 26 on Crave.

Bottoms

Orion Pictures

Release date: TBA

Bottoms is not technically a Canadian production by the strict rules governing that classification, but it is still the followup to Canadian director Emma Seligman's much-applauded Shiva Baby. That film was a comedy of errors about a woman juggling awkward encounters with her parents, ex-girlfriend and sugar daddy  all at a shiva. Going by early reviews, her new effort has a similar flavour. The high school comedy follows PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri), two deeply unpopular girls on a mission to lose their virginity before they graduate. While that half of the script may seem done to death, their plan to accomplish that mission is refreshingly original, if bonkers  the two decide to start a fight club to hook up with cheerleaders.

After a premiere at SXSW, Bottoms is currently sitting at a 95 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes  although it doesn't yet have a scheduled release date.

North of Normal

Submitted by Cinefest Sudbury

Release date: mid-July

Borrowing its story from the similarly titled memoir, North of Normal puts B.C. writer Cea Sunrise Person's wild childhood at centre stage. Raised in a countercultural family in the Canadian wilderness, North of Normal stars both Amanda Fix (Daisy Jones & The Six, Orphan Black: Echoes) and River Price-Maenpaa (Tales from the Loop, Blue's Clues) as Person at different ages, living with  and then escaping from  dangerously unconventional parents. Canadian actor Sarah Gadon plays the mother, Michelle. The film is directed by Carly Stone.

Although it doesn't have a firm date, a representative for the film confirmed that it is currently set for a mid-July release.

Before I Change My Mind

Loud Whisper Productions

Release date: Fall/Winter 2023

Alberta-born, Montreal-based Trevor Anderson's Before I Change My Mind had its premiere at Switzerland's Locarno Film Festival last year and quickly picked up an award for its star. But the coming-of-age film saw success even earlier than that, as it was named to GLAAD's curated list of the 10 most promising unmade scripts that focus on LGBTQ-inclusive themes.That script would eventually become Before I Change My Mind, Anderson's first feature film in a 17-year career that documents the life of Robin (Vaughan Murrae), a non-binary teen in the 1980s. Refusing to be pigeon-holed as either a boy or a girl, Robin is forced to make "increasingly dangerous choices to fit in."

There is no firm release date, although a representative for the film said there is a possibility it will be released in North America in the fall or winter of 2023.
The man behind 1-800-GET-THIN has been sentenced to seven years in prison for a fraud scheme that saw insurance companies billed nearly $120 million for forged sleep studies and unnecessary surgeries. Charged in 2018, Julian Omidi, 54, of West Hollywood, California, was convicted in December 2021 of 28 counts of mail fraud, as well as wire fraud, identity theft, conspiracy to commit money laundering, and making false statements, per Courthouse News. Government prosecutors said the former dermatologist who lost his medical license in 2009 instructed others to alter patient data to raise their body mass index above a critical threshold and to falsify sleep studies so it would appear patients suffered from severe sleep apnea and therefore required Lap-Band surgery.

Per the Los Angeles Times, Omidi submitted nearly $120 million in claims with insurance providers, including the US military's health care program, and his business received at least $41 million. Omidi could have been sentenced to life in prison under federal guidelines due to the significant financial losses "intended" to his victims, but prosecutors asked for 22 years. They said Omidi, a well-educated man from a wealthy family who was motivated by greed, wielded power "over mostly low-wage workers in [a] chaotic, high-pressure, and almost abusive environment," per CN. Omidi's lawyers asked for as few as two years, arguing the actual losses were far less than what the government claims were intended, and that many of the surgeries may have still been medically necessary. They also cited Omidi's lack of criminal history.

US District Court Judge Dolly M. Gee decided on seven years Monday, citing her belief that "federal guidelines for fraud convictions were disproportionate," per CN. Before sentencing, Omidi said he was sorry and ashamed. "I live in constant remorse," he said. "I worked hard all my life and tried to do the right thing. I didn't want to harm anyone." The Times reports five patients died after Lap-Band procedures at centers affiliated with 1-800-GET-THIN. Omidi could face up to $98 million in restitution and forfeiture, which will be decided at a later hearing. Gee will also decide on a fine for Omidi's company, Beverly Hills-based Surgery Center Management LLC, which she sentenced to a five-year probation period on Monday, per the Times. (Read more fraud stories.)
Almost six years after the white nationalist demonstration at the University of Virginia, which was followed the next day by the deadly "Unite the Right" rally in Charlottesville, multiple attendees of the UVa demonstration have been charged. Robert Tracci, the former commonwealth attorney for Albemarle County, had declined to pursue charges while in office. James Hingeley, who unseated him and took office in 2020, convened a grand jury that has now indicted three individuals for allegedly burning "an object on the property of another or a highway or other public place with intent to intimidate" during the demonstration, CNN reports. They were allegedly among the people who marched with tiki torches at the event while chanting slogans including "Jews will not replace us," the Washington Post reports.

"There are so many people in our community  who were there on August 11 who were terrorized by torch-wielding terrorists, Hingeley said while campaigning against Tracci in 2019. Theres a law, a burning objects law, that says they can be prosecuted but our prosecutors not doing that. Dallas Medina of Ravenna, Ohio; Wil Zachary Smith of Nacona, Texas; and Tyler Bradley Dykes of Bluffton, South Carolina, face felony charges related to the alleged burning at the rally and face up to five years behind bars. Smith also faces a charge related to allegedly releasing tear gas or another irritant. All three were extradited from their home states; two are currently jailed while the third has been released on bail. (Read more Charlottesville, Va. stories.)
A 70-year-old Russian woman accused of supporting Ukraine in part because she said its president was "handsome" has been sanctioned by a Moscow court for "discrediting the Russian army." Olga Slegina was fined about $490 for comments made in December, the Daily Beast reports. She was staying at a medical clinic in Nalchik, the capital of Russia's Kabardino-Balkaria republic on the border with Georgia, when she was involved in a dining room discussion of Ukraine. In particular, she disagreed with a Ukrainian woman from the city of Odesa who described President Volodymyr Zelensky as a "freak," according to Ukrainian media outlet Ukrainska Pravd.

"Zelensky is a handsome young man with a good sense of humor, everyone laughed at his jokes earlier," Slegina reportedly said. She also reportedly asked, "Don't Ukrainians in your republic shout 'Glory to Ukraine,' as they do here in our Moscow?" A man appeared in Slegina's room days later, claiming three people had made statements about her to police, per Ukrainska Pravd. She was then taken to a police station and interrogated. "You have no right to praise [Zelensky] because he is our enemy," an officer told her, according to the Russian Human Rights Centre Memorial, which has highlighted the case. Slegina claimed she was also forced to sign a document that she couldn't read due to cataracts.

It stated Slegina had shouted "Glory to Ukraine," "expressed her dissatisfaction with the situation in the country," and claimed "Russian soldiers are fleeing the war," per the Russian Free Press. She was represented in the Shcherbinsky District Court of Moscow by a lawyer from human rights group OVD-Info, who tried to postpone the hearing due to Slegina's poor health. She suffers severe pain and is seeing a neurologist, according to the Memorial. The judge reportedly responded that "Slegina is not in intensive care" so the hearing would go on. It lasted no more than five minutes. After refusing to request video evidence from the dining room, the judge convicted and fined Slegina, according to the Memorial, which adds the 70-year-old plans to file an appeal. (Read more Russia stories.)
Freddie Scappaticci is dead. Whether that means a British double agent known as "Stakeknife" also is dead remains a bit more uncertain. It's a complicated, fascinating tale. Scappaticci, the son of an Italian immigrant, grew up in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and joined the Irish Republican Army to fight against the British as a young man, per the New York Times. He rose through the IRA ranks, according to the Irish Times, but he is widely believed to have switched sides to become Stakeknife, Britain's most important secret agent during what was known as the Troubles. Media outlets identified him as such in 2003, prompting him to leave Northern Ireland for England, where he died last week while under a witness-protection program. He was thought to be in his 70s.

For the record, Scappaticci publicly denied being Stakeknife, whom British officials have described as the "golden egg" in their IRA spying. In a strange twist, Scappaticci led the IRA's "informant-hunting unit," per the Guardian, and was known for his brutality in that role. He is linked to the murders of at least 18 suspected informants. Of course, if Scappaticci were an informer himself, that means he was "a paid British agent killing fellow British agents," notes the Times. In its coverage of his death at the BBC, the outlet states definitively that he was the secret agent.

It's possible the mystery might yet be unraveled for certain. An investigation into the identity of Stakeknife is currently underway and being led by a former chief constable in the British police named Jon Boutcher. We were made aware last week of the passing of Frederick Scappaticci, Boutcher said in a statement on Tuesday. We are working through the implications of his death with regards to our ongoing casework," he said, adding that people who might have been reluctant to previously come forward should do so now that Scappaticci is dead. (Read more Northern Ireland stories.)
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The 2024 presidential race got a new entrant on Wednesday: Robert Kennedy Jr., prominent both for his last name and his skepticism about vaccines, formally launched his campaign, reports the Hill. Despite controversy over the latter issue, a USA Today poll conducted with Suffolk University suggests that Kennedy enters the race with the support of 14% of voters who backed Joe Biden in 2020. That is not only "surprising" good news for Kennedy, it's bad news for Biden because it suggests how vulnerable he is, per the story. Of those 2020 Biden supporters, only 67% said they would back him again for surein addition to Kennedy's 14%, Marianne Williamson has 5% and about 13% are undecided.

"In 2020, Joe Biden received more votes than any other president in US history, yet the poll tells us that those same voters are open to other Democrats to wage a spirited primary," says David Paleologos of the Suffolk University Political Research Center. "Kennedy, although a longshot at this point, starts in double-digits and can't be ignored." The poll suggests that a more mainstream challenger would pose a legit challenge. Most of Kennedy's support appears to come from among the more conservative of Biden's supporters and particularly among those who disapprove of his job as president.

Kennedy, meanwhile, has earned the disapproval of members of his own famous family for making debunked claims about the dangers of vaccines, not just the COVID shots, notes CNN. He is the son of Robert Kennedy, who was fatally shot while running for president himself, and the nephew of John F. Kennedy. Last year, he apologized after suggesting that Jewish people in Nazi Germany had more freedom than Americans living under COVID mandates, per the New York Times. "Even in Hitlers Germany, you could cross the Alps to Switzerland," he said in a speech. "You could hide in an attic like Anne Frank did." (Kennedy is married to actor Cheryl Hines, who does not share his vaccine views.)
UPDATE

Apr 19, 2023 6:55 PM CDT

A third suspect was taken into custody Wednesday in connection with the Saturday night mass shooting in Alabama that killed four people and injured 32 others. Police say Auburn resident Wilson LaMar Hill Jr., 20, was arrested Wednesday afternoon and charged with four counts of reckless murder, AL.com reports. Brothers Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were arrested Tuesday night and charged as adults with the same crime.

Apr 19, 2023 11:56 AM CDT

Police in Alabama say two teenage brothers have been arrested and charged as adults with four counts of reckless murder in connection with Saturday's mass shooting at a Sweet 16 party. Officials say Tuskegee residents Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, were taken into custody Tuesday night, USA Today reports. Sgt. Jeremy Burkett of the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency said investigators are not ready to disclose a motive or say how many shooters they believe were involved in the shooting. Authorities say four of the 32 people injured in the Dadeville shooting are still in critical condition.

Burkett urged anybody who was at the Mahogany Masterpiece dance studio on the night of the shooting to come forward and help investigators, AL.com reports. "Make no mistake. This is Alabamawhen you pull out a gun and start shooting people, were going to put you in jail," Burkett said, adding: "Somebodys got to start thinking about mama. I know Im tired of it and everybody behind me is tired of it. Were tired of going to the mothers and having to tell them that these kids are not coming home." District Attorney Mike Segrest, who acknowledged there had been frustration over a "lack of communication provided," said more charges will be filed in the "very complex case."

Marsiah Collins, 19; Phil Dowdell, 18; Corbin Holston, 23; and Shaunkivia Smith, 17, were killed in the shooting. Dowdell's sister Lexi, who had been celebrating her 16th birthday, says he saved her life when the shooting began. "At her 16th birthday party, she knelt by her brother as he took his last breath," Segrest said at Wednesday's press conference. "Thats what were dealing with here." (Read more Alabama stories.)
Back at work on Capitol Hill, Sen. John Fetterman has traced the development of his clinical depression. The low points didn't necessarily reflect troubled times in his life, he told People. And his wife, Gisele, said she became the most concerned the night the Democrat won election to the Senate from Pennsylvania last fall. Parts of the campaign, including criticism of his debate performance and being called a vegetable after he had a stroke, had been hard on Fetterman. "After he won, you expect someone to be at their highest and really happy and celebratory," she said. "And after winning, he seemed to be at the lowest."

The new senator realized it, too. By the time he took the oath of office, Fetterman said, the "depression was in full force." He'd struggled with depression for years but never thought it serious enough to require treatment, per the Hill. He now thinks the Senate campaign against Republican Mehmet Oz accelerated the progression of the disease. Soon, he checked himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for treatment for clinical depression. Six weeks later, that led to what he calls one of the happiest days of his life, when his doctor told him, "I believe that your depression is in remission." He returned to the Capitol on Monday.

Fetterman regrets not getting help sooner, and he wants other people to know they don't have to fight depression on their own. His wife studied the disease and tried to get him to a doctor but couldn't. "He had to do that hard part himself," Gisele Fetterman said. "We all can get made healthier," said her husband, who added that he now finds life joyful instead of only bearable. Fetterman advises anyone struggling to get professional help. "Address your depression," he said. "I was skeptical it would make anything better, but it did. It works." (Read more John Fetterman stories.)
Florida's Board of Education has extended the rule critics call "Don't Say Gay" to cover all grades in public schools. The amended rule says teachers in grades 4 to 12 "shall not intentionally provide classroom instruction" on sexual orientation or gender identity, the Orlando Sentinel reports. The rule states that such instruction can only happen if it is "expressly" required by state standards, or if it is "part of a reproductive health course" that parents can opt out of. The move was put forward last month by the state's Education Department, which, like the board, is led by an appointee of Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The board, whose members are all DeSantis appointees, voted unanimously for the change, which does not need legislative approval. Florida Chancellor for K-12 Public Schools Paul Burns said at the meeting that "abstinence is the required expectation of what we teach in our schools," meaning that reproductive health courses are unlikely to mention sexual orientation or gender identity, the Washington Post reports. Violating the rule could lead to an educator having their license suspended or revoked, reports Reuters.

Before Wednesday's vote, multiple speakers criticized the move, arguing that it would confuse educators and potentially harm LGBTQ+ students, the Post reports. Joe Saunders, senior political director for Equality Florida, asked whether teachers would be banned from teaching students in Grade 11 about the Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage nationwide. "Under the vague new rules, a teacher who taught this would be fired and their career would end," Saunders said. "This rule is by design a tool for curating fear, anxiety, and the erasure of our LGBTQ community." (Read more Florida stories.)
A group of young Ontarians, supported by Ecojustice, filed a lawsuit the province of Ontario over what they say is climate change inaction. A judge dismissed the case Tuesday but not before criticizing the province's climate plan. (Evan Mitsui/CBC - image credit)

An Ontario judge harshly criticized the province's climate plan Tuesday, saying it "falls severely short" of what the science on climate change requires, even as she dismissed a landmark lawsuit brought by a group of young people who say the government's actions threaten their future.

Superior court judge Marie-Andree Vermette agreed with the youth applicants on several key points, including that young and Indigenous people are disproportionately impacted by climate change and that the province is risking the lives of Ontarians by not going further on its climate plan.

"By not taking steps to reduce GHG (greenhouse gases) in the province further, Ontario is contributing to an increase in the risk of death and in the risks faced by the Applicants and others," Vermette wrote in the decision.

But Vermette dismissed the lawsuit for several reasons, chiefly that inadequacies in Ontario's climate plan and targets did not rise to the level of violating Section 7 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security.

The lawsuit also argued that Ontario's plan violated Section 15 of the Charter, that is, the right to equality under the law without discrimination. It said that young and Indigenous people will suffer more than other groups from climate change.

Vermette agreed with that point, but found that the province did not have a legal obligation to remedy that inequality through its climate targets.

The plaintiffs wanted the government to bring in a new climate plan more closely aligned with science and the Paris Agreement's goals of limiting global warming to well below 2 C.

CBC

"While it would be difficult not to be sympathetic to the concerns expressed by the Applicants about their future in light of the evidence filed in this case, this Court cannot, based on the current state of the law, find violations of the Charter in this case," she wrote.

Story continues

Case builds on other climate litigation in Canada

The group of youth applicants, represented by environmental law charity Ecojustice, first filed the case in 2019 when the Progressive Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford replaced the previous Liberal government's climate plan, cancelled Ontario's cap and trade program and brought in a weaker emissions target.

The Ontario case builds on other climate litigation in Canada.

Ecojustice also supported a lawsuit against the B.C. government for its climate plan, which was dismissed earlier this year, and it is pursuing a lawsuit to reverse the approval of Bay du Nord, an oil project off the coast of Newfoundland.

In 2020, the federal court dismissed a separate lawsuit by another group of young people against Ottawa over its climate plan.

The Canadian cases join a long and growing list of climate lawsuits being filed across the world. Apart from advancing legal theories that could help climate advocates challenge government policies, the cases can also help bring attention to climate issues.

Submitted by Zoe Keary-Matzner

Toronto student Keary-Matzner was 12 when she first got involved with the case dismissed Tuesday.

"It definitely raises awareness about how governments contribute to the climate crisis and what their responsibilities are to protect their citizens," said Keary-Matzner, now in Grade 11.

'You can protest... even if you don't hold much power'

She hopes that regardless of the outcome, the case will inspire other people to take climate action.

"I know that not everyone is going to sue their government, but there's just so many different ways that you can protest and organize and work to secure a better future, even if you don't hold much power," she said.

Ecojustice says it's ready to take the case to the Ontario Court of Appeal and eventually the Supreme Court of Canada. The group also highlighted important findings in Vermette's decision that could help them as they appeal to higher courts. Among them: that the case was a valid issue that could be decided in a court since it involved a specific government policy, namely Ontario's climate plan and targets.

Danielle Gallant, an Ecojustice lawyer working on the case, said this was a crucial milestone.

"This may sound like a basic issue, but all of the other Charter-based climate cases in Canada have so far failed to clear this hurdle, with courts finding the issues to be too political," Gallant said.

"And so this decision shows it's possible to hold the government accountable for its climate action through the courts."
TDT | Manama

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Reported by Zahra Ayaz

Three volunteers, with the assistance of The Daily Tribune, are launching an autism awareness campaign in schools to educate teachers, parents, children, and the general public about the neurological and developmental disorder.

Mr Niju Joy, Mrs Raji Murali and Mrs Khusbhu Dubey are the three volunteers who have taken the initiative for a social cause. The campaigns slogan is Paint Your Superpower to give children a creative platform to showcase their unique abilities.

World Autism Awareness Day is an internationally recognised day held annually in April. It aims to encourage people to take measures and raise awareness about autistic individuals around the world. Mr Joy, an artist, told The Daily Tribune: We are going to schools to take this initiative. We decided to focus this campaign on schools since teachers play a role in identifying childrens symptoms and signs.

New Horizon School, Sacred Heart School, and Ria & Ric Center are the first three schools in line to support our cause, and more schools will soon follow. They should be aware of childrens behaviour; some teachers might believe the youngster is simply hyperactive, uninterested in school, or an introvert, but its possible they have autism. Thats why according to the convenience of the school, our team will hold an interactive awareness session with teachers that lasts between 30 and 60 minutes.

Mr Joy added: Every child or person is unique, so we should recognise this. For example, I may be good in art but not math, thus Its okay to be different. The art department at the schools can prepare and create artwork during art class relevant to the theme Paint Your Superpower and post pictures of the same on school social media with the hashtag #paintyoursuperpower.

Mr Joy noted that a father of an autistic child will share his experience and give some insight into what its like to live with autism in addition to the campaign. Lastly, they will be doing a campaign to raise awareness of autism on April 29 at the Ria and Ric Center, a school for kids with autism.

In regards to World Autism Awareness month, Dr Noor Yasser, a clinical administrator for special needs children at American Mission Hospital, said: Parents have a significant part in their childrens development and should be mentally strong since they need to provide support, attention and a mature understanding with them.
AFP | Doha

The Daily Tribune  www.newsofbahrain.com

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates are working to reopen their long-closed embassies "in the coming weeks", an official said Tuesday, as a wave of rapprochement sweeps the turbulent Middle East region.

The two countries re-established relations in January 2021, after the UAE took part in a nearly four-year Gulf blockade of Qatar, but despite several meetings they are yet to restore the diplomatic missions.

"Regarding the opening of embassies between the two countries, I think it will be in the coming weeks," foreign ministry spokesperson Majid Al-Ansari told a briefing.

"The technical committees are now doing their work in this context, and it is expected that there will be exchange visits to consider the procedures we need to reopen embassies."

A UAE official confirmed that the reopening of embassies is "under process".

"At present, the activation of diplomatic ties, which will include the reopening of embassies, is under process between both countries," the official said in a statement sent to AFP.

Opening the embassies would be just the latest in a series of reconciliatory steps for Gulf relations since heavyweights Saudi Arabia and Iran moved to restore ties last month.

Last week, Qatar put aside a chronic feud to resume relations with Bahrain. The two sides aim to quickly reach the "highest levels of cooperation", Al-Ansari said on Tuesday.

Saudi Arabia has been negotiating a fresh ceasefire in Yemen's civil war and nearly 1,000 prisoners from the conflict, pitting a Saudi-led coalition against Iran-backed rebels, have been released in recent days under an exchange deal.

In further evidence of the mood of detente, Saudi Arabia's top diplomat was expected in Damascus on Tuesday, the first such visit since the start of Syria's civil war in 2011.

Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Bahrain and Egypt imposed a diplomatic and transport blockade on Qatar in 2017, accusing it of supporting extremist organisations in the region and becoming too close to Iran. Doha denies the allegations.

A reconciliation accord was sealed in January 2021. The UAE and Qatar held one of a series of meetings earlier this month in what the Qataris called a "positive atmosphere".

Sunni kingdom Saudi Arabia and Shiite theocracy Iran's decision to resume ties appears momentous because they have long been vying for influence around the region, backing opposing sides in conflicts including Yemen.

Analysts say Saudi Arabia, the world's biggest oil exporter, is now seeking to calm Gulf tensions and focus on ambitious domestic projects aimed at reducing its economic dependence on crude.
A new ceasefire between rival factions fell apart Wednesday night in Sudan. Japanese government officials say they are getting ready to airlift around 60 nationals from the country as deadly clashes continue.

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Matsuno Hirokazu said on Thursday, "The Defense Ministry is making preparations to dispatch Air Self-Defense Force aircraft, which could include C130 and C2 transports. The planes will leave as soon as arrangements are made."

Matsuno said the aircraft will head to Djibouti where the SDF has a temporary base. They are expected to arrive by the end of the week.

Meanwhile, in the capital city of Khartoum, fighting has forced millions of people to hide in their homes.

The clashes come amid disagreements between the army and a paramilitary group over how to transition Sudan back to civilian rule.

The factions had originally worked together to seize power in a coup two years ago.

UN officials estimate that hundreds have died since the fighting began on Saturday.

... continue reading
The Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) announced a strike Wednesday after failing to reach an agreement with its employer  the Government of Canada  on Tuesday night. Now Canadians are bracing for the fallout.

The strike by federal public workers involves staff of Service Canada, Global Affairs Canada, Veterans Affairs Canada and Indigenous Services Canada. It involves a number of bargaining groups, including about 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers.

PSAC says more than 100,000 workers could walk off the job across Canada.

With about 155,000 non-essential workers on strike, this will affect everything from passport applications to tax return processing and immigration matters.

WATCH | PM comments after the negotiation deadline announcement:

It's just days away from the tax deadline of April 30, and only a few months after the government reported clearing backlogs that have been plaguing the system during the pandemic.

How this affects Canadians

This week, the federal government released details on how a potential strike could affect services to Canadians, saying "certain services may be delayed or not delivered at all," and that "the public may have trouble accessing some Government of Canada buildings where services are delivered."

Here's a summary of what may be disrupted:

Passport processing, as Employment and Social Development Canada is warning that applications and other passport processing services may be partially or fully disrupted.

Service Canada centres will be limited to clients in need of employment insurance, social insurance, the Canada Pension Plan and old age security.

Global Affairs Canada says that the department will be limited to essential services in the event of a strike, but delays are expected.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada warns that people can expect delays with applications and appointments.

Canada Revenue Agency warns there may be delays in processing income tax and benefit returns.

Canadian Transportation Agency warns about delays to dispute resolutions and call-taking.

Story continues

"We have not seen a strike of this size in Canada in a very long time," said Barry Eidlin, an associate sociology professor at McGill University with an expertise in labour issues.

WATCH | Sociologist explains how PSAC strike may have long-term implications for Canadians:

He said he predicts a larger impact on Canadians if striking public servants gain any ground through this action.

"If [PSAC] is able to negotiate for wage increases that meet the cost of living  or flexibility over how and where and when they do their work, those kinds of things can have knock-on effects for other Canadians. It sets a standard that other employers will maybe feel compelled to match," Eidlin said.
, Apr 19 ( Asia Times ) - In mid-April, the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released its Diplomatic Bluebook 2023, its most important guidebook on international affairs.

Hours after Russian forces entered Ukraine, the Japanese government signed the Group of Seven statement that condemned the large-scale military aggression and called for severe and coordinated economic and financial sanctions.

The next day, Hayashi announced that Japan would sanction designated individuals related to Russia, freeze assets of three Russian banks, and sanction exports to Russias military.

In its Diplomatic Bluebook 2022, Japan condemned Russia and urged the Russian government to withdraw its troops immediately, and comply with international law. Russias war, the Japanese argued, shakes the very foundation of the international order, an order whose attrition, as the new Bluebook argues, has brought the world to this turning point.

Despite all the talk of sanctions, Japan continues to import energy from Russia. In 2022, 9.5% of Japans imported liquefied natural gas came from Russia (up from 8.8% in 2021). Most of this energy came from Russias Sakhalin Island, where Japanese companies and the government have made substantial investments.

The Diplomatic Bluebook 2023 makes three important points: that the post-Cold War era has ended, that China is Japans greatest strategic challenge (page 43), and that Global South countries must be taken seriously. The Bluebook highlights Japans confusion, caught between its reliance on Russian energy and the growing confidence of the Global South. ...continue reading
The Japan National Tourism Organization (JNTO) office in Dubai has confirmed that, effective immediately, all foreign nationals resident in the UAE who would otherwise require a visa to visit Japan, can now apply online for a short-term tourism visa.

Since November 2022, only UAE nationals looking to travel to the Asian country have had a full visa waiver and are not required to apply for tourism visas to visit Japan.

Additionally, all Saudi nationals and foreign nationals residing in Saudi Arabia, are also now able to apply online for a short-term tourism visit visa to Japan.

To secure the electronic visa, applicants need to apply via the Japan eVISA website.

Upon successful submission, a digital confirmation visa will be sent to the applicant. When entering Japan, the eVisa holder needs to log on to the application website and show the visa. No screenshots or printouts of the page are accepted. ...continue reading
Sikorsky and parent Lockheed Martin do not plan to file a lawsuit protesting a massive contract award to rival Bell after the Government Accountability Office released details of what the Army called "an unacceptable risk" for costs and delays in integrating new systems on the aircraft based on the Sikorsky proposal in partnership with Boeing.

Bell and parent Textron beat out the Defiant X helicopter proposed by Sikorsky and Boeing with the Bell V-280 Valor tilt-rotor aircraft, which takes off like a helicopter then swivels its rotors vertically to fly forward like an airplane. Sikorsky and Boeing had appealed the decision to GAO, one of two options to get a second chance at the contract in addition to a lawsuit in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims.

In a corporate statement, Lockheed Martin and Sikorsky indicated they will not pursue a lawsuit to challenge Bell's win of the Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft program.

"We are disappointed with the Government Accountability Office decision and remain convinced that our (Defiant X) offering represented both the best value for the taxpayer and the transformational technology that our warfighters need to execute their complex missions," the statement read. "We value our long-standing partnership with the U.S. Army, and serving their missions remains our top priority."

During a hearing of the U.S. Senate Committee on Armed Services, Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., told Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth that he questioned the decision to go with the Bell tilt-rotor over the "less expensive, more maneuverable" Defiant X, in his words.

Sikorsky is vying with Bell to supply the Army an armed scout helicopter, with a smaller version of its helicopter called Raider X. The company has its headquarters manufacturing plant in Stratford, where it is one of the largest employers in Connecticut.

The Army found the Sikorsky-Boeing Defiant X submission "unacceptable" in an insufficient level of detail in how it would integrate emerging systems over time, an element of a larger engineering design and development category that contributed to the decision. GAO indicated Army evaluators determined the Sikorsky-Boeing proposal did not address all elements of the Army's requirement for a "modular open system" architecture, designed to lower the cost of installing upgraded parts.

In its protest, Sikorsky had argued that any shortcoming in its formal proposal could be overcome with "relatively minor contractor emphasis and government monitoring," as worded in the GAO report.

Sikorsky and Boeing scored "acceptable" grades on six other categories, while Bell won three "good" scores, two "acceptable" grades and one "marginal."

GAO did not base its decision on any strategic military considerations the Army may have weighed, with the V-280 Valor able to fly faster over longer distances without refueling but lacking the combat maneuverability of Defiant X.

Sikorsky and Lockheed Martin had initially challenged the Bell aircraft's inherent limitations for the standard air assault, mountain air assault, and external load mission profiles," according to the GAO report. GAO cited Army evaluators having stated the V-280 Valor provides "appreciable and meaningful advantages" without elaborating further.

Sikorsky "did not demonstrate an adequate approach to meet the requirements of the solicitation and deferred the work scope to the Weapon System Development Program where the functional architecture would be more fully defined," Army evaluators stated according to GAO.

While Sikorsky's price estimate was nearly half that of Bell's for the V-280 Valor, Army evaluators indicated Sikorsky's "cost realism could not be fully assessed" and that the Bell price "is reasonable and provides the best value".
The Connecticut Medical Examining Board voted Tuesday to allow two physicians accused of wrongdoing, including a doctor who had sex with a patient, to avoid discipline by allowing them to voluntarily agree to not renew their license to practice.

The board also fined a third physician $8,000 who was accused of failing to maintain records in connection with the storage and dispensing of Alprazolam, an anti-anxiety medication, and inappropriately prescribing the drug to a family member.

The board unanimously voted to allow Dr. Nicholas Bennett, a pediatrician and infectious disease physician formerly with Connecticut Children's Medical Center, to avoid discipline after he agreed not to renew his license, which is due to expire on April 30. Bennett was accused of having sex with a patient in 2018 and 2019, state Department of Public Health documents said.

The patient who spoke during the board's meeting said she didn't contact law enforcement because she was afraid, but she is concerned that he had other victims.

"I'm confident that there are other people he hurt," the woman said. "Protecting institutions and reputations were more important than protecting people like me."

A spokesperson for CCMC said Bennett left before the statement of charges filed against him was issued by the DPH in 2022. She declined to comment on any other aspect of his employment, including how long he worked there, citing state laws regarding employee privacy.

Bennett was seeing a patient from November 2017 to November 2018 to diagnose the person for a potential HIV infection, but wound up "grooming" her for an "intimate or sexual relationship," according to the statement of charges issued in May 2022 by the DPH for the board to consider discipline.

From December 2018 to March 2019, Bennett is accused by DPH officials of having a sexual relationship with the patient, violating the standard of care, DPH officials said. The DPH documents did not specify if the person was an adult or a child. The agency received the complaint about the sexual activity from CCMC, DPH officials said Monday.

Bennett, who now lives in Ponte Verde, Fla., does not have a license to practice medicine in that state. As part of the agreement with the Connecticut DPH, Bennett has given up his right to seek renewal of his license and he will not practice medicine from now until his license lapses at the end of this month, DPH documents said.

The board also agreed to drop the medical charges against Dr. Anatoly Braylovsky, who was accused of practicing medicine with a suspended physician and surgical license at least seven times in March 2021, DPH documents said.

Braylovsky did not renew his license when it lapsed in May 2021 and has no medical licenses in any other state, documents said. His license was suspended in September 2020 due to his prescribing practices, a DPH interim consent order said.

The board also agreed to issue an $8,000 fine and reprimand the license of Dr. Ilja Hulinsky, who failed to properly maintain records on the storage and dispensing of Alprazolam in his private practice in 2021 when he brought the drug to his home and failed to report a discrepancy in the amount in his possession, DPH documents said. Hulinsky also failed to meet the standard of care when he prescribed the drug to an immediate family member, the documents said.

Hulinsky has completed a two-day course in prescribing practices, DPH officials said in the document.
DANBURY  Police say they seized weapons and ammunition from an employee of a local business after he threatened to kill a co-worker and "shoot up" and bomb the place.

Jun Yao Chen was charged with first-degree threatening, third degree criminal mischief and disorderly conduct, police said in a statement provided through a city spokesperson, Erin Henry. The statement did not provide Chen's age or city of residence. He was held on $1 million bond.

On Monday, police were called to a business on Shelter Rock Road after a "threatening complaint," Henry said.

"Upon arrival, officers met with a manager who explained an incident that took place between two employees where one employee threatened to kill another," she said. "Additionally, a witness told police that the same employee made a threat to shoot up and bomb the building."

The police investigation discovered Chen held a pistol permit and had "multiple" guns registered in his name, Henry said. Authorities then decided to seek a risk protection order against Chen, she said.

The legal provision is more commonly known as the state's red flag law. The law allows police to apply for a warrant from a judge to take away someone's guns if they have reason to suspect they're a harm to themselves or others. A broadened version of the law went into effect last year, and many police departments now report they're using it when they believe someone is at risk of suicide. The measure was the first of its kind in the nation when state legislators took up the law in the 1990s after the Connecticut Lottery shooting.

Henry said Danbury police discovered "hundreds of rounds of ammunition in various calibers and all known weapons were seized" when they executed the warrant on Chen.

She said the investigation into the incident remains active.

Anyone with information can contact the Danbury Police Department at 203-797-4611, or by texting DANBURYPD along with an anonymous tip to 847411 (tip411).
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KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP)  As Ralph Yarl struggled to come to grips with being shot after going to the wrong house to pick up his younger brothers, the white Kansas City, Missouri, homeowner who shot the Black teenager turned himself in and was released on bond Tuesday.

Andrew Lester, 84, surrendered at the Clay County Detention Center a day after being charged with first-degree assault and armed criminal action. He posted bond Tuesday afternoon. Some civil rights leaders urged a hate crime charge, but Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime with a longer sentence  up to life in prison.

Lee Merritt, an attorney for the Yarl family, said the case should qualify as a hate crime.

Ralph Yarl was shot because he was armed with nothing but other than his Black skin, he said.

As Yarl recovered from his wounds, supporters, civil rights leaders and politicians rallied in downtown Kansas City to call for justice for the 16-year-old and a stronger effort to improve racial relations in Missouri and the U.S.

Speakers urged the crowd to support Yarl, to fight for justice and to remove politicians who pass discriminatory laws and support gun rights.

Many carried signs saying, He is only 16, and Is this what Kansas City has come to? Stop gun violence.

Merritt said the family is also angry that police held Lester for only two hours after the shooting, when they legally could have held him for 24.

If they would have held him for 24 hours, they would have held him long enough to get the statement from the kid with a bullet in his brain," Merritt said. They got the statement the very next day.

During an interview Tuesday with CBS Mornings, Yarl's mother, Cleo Nagbe, said her son is in good spirits but that the trauma remains evident. She said he is able to communicate mostly when he feels like it, but mostly he just sits there and stares, and the buckets of tears just rolls down his eyes.

You can see that he is just replaying the situation over and over again, and that just doesnt stop my tears either, she said.

The shooting happened about 10 p.m. Thursday. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarls parents asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Yarl, an honors student and all-state band member, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead  then shot him again, in the right forearm.

Lester faces arraignment Wednesday afternoon. He does not yet have a listed attorney.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw a Black male on the porch and thought someone was trying to break in, according to the probable cause statement.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said.

James Lynch was the neighbor who found Yarl. He didnt respond to an interview request, but his wife confirmed an NBC News report that said Lynch heard shouting and saw Yarl banging on the door of another home.

I heard somebody screaming, Help, help, Ive been shot! Lynch, who is white, told NBC. The father of three ran out and found Yarl covered in blood. Lynch checked his pulse and, when another neighbor came out with towels, helped stem the bleeding until paramedics arrived.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. President Joe Biden was among those demanding justice. He spoke with Yarl on Monday and invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Biden tweeted. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Thompson said Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting. He did not elaborate. Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Alexander Higginbotham said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday that there is not a racial element to the legal charges that were filed.

Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Thompson and asked why he said the case had a racial aspect, without elaboration. The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously theres a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Merritt, who called the answer shallow.

About 150 supporters attended Tuesday's rally at police headquarters, chanting Justice for Ralph and demanding that the U.S. Department of Justice investigate. Lester, the activists said, received preferential treatment because he is white.

Bishop Frank Douglas of the Church of God in Christ, said the U.S. is experiencing its own version of apartheid and that if the shooter had been Black, it would have been lynching time.

We are putting a spotlight to whats been going on for over 100 years," Douglas said. "We got emancipation but we didnt get love.

Karen Allman, 61, said she had lived in Lesters neighborhood for 32 years, although she didnt know him or hear the shooting. She said she attended Wednesdays rally to support Yarl and his family because if we dont speak out, its going to keep happening.

I dont know what they go through on a day-to-day basis being Black, said Allman, who is white. But I do know if we dont stand with them, they dont have a chance of having any of this fixed.

The assault charge against Lester carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester also was charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of 3-15 years in prison.

Charging Lester with a hate crime would have potentially meant a shorter sentence if he's convicted, experts said.

Washington University School of Law professor Peter Joy said the state hate crime law is used only to enhance low-level felony or misdemeanor charges.

What the prosecutor did was charge (Lester) with the highest degree of felony they could charge him with, Joy said.

Legal experts believe Lester's lawyers will claim self-defense under Missouris Stand Your Ground law, which allows for using deadly force if a person is in fear for their life. Missouri is among roughly 30 states with such statutes.

Robert Spitzer, a professor emeritus of political science at the State University of New York, Cortland, whose research focuses on gun policy and politics, said the Missouri law provides wide latitude for people to use lethal force.

St. Louis defense attorney Nina McDonnell agreed. She said prosecutors have a strong case but that the Stand Your Ground law defense is a huge hurdle to overcome.

The defendant was in his house and has expressed that he was in fear," McDonnell said.

___

Salter reported from OFallon, Missouri. Heather Hollingsworth in Mission, Kansas, contributed to this report.
A Waterbury man pleaded guilty Tuesday to the homicides of three Massachusetts residents, according to the Hampden District Attorneys office.

Calvin Roberson, 41, was charged in connection with the fatal shootings of Loan Nguyen, 30, in December 2006; Yonaides Pichardo, 28, in October 2016; and David Pichardo, 27, in October 2017, Hampden District Attorney Anthony D. Gulluni said in a news release Tuesday.

Roberson entered the guilty plea in three counts of manslaughter during his arraignment in Hampden Superior Court Tuesday afternoon. Roberson was arraigned on manslaughter charges as not to conflict with his ongoing case in federal court, Gulluni said.

Roberson, also known as "Cutty," has been held in federal custody since February 2021 after being charged with the kidnapping and murder of Francisco Roman, of Chicopee, Mass.

Roman, 31, was reported missing on Christmas 2020. His body was found in a black 2010 Acura, engulfed in flames, in Hartford the next day, the U.S. Attorney's office said at the time of Roberson's arrest. Roman had suffered several gunshot wounds.

Federal prosecutors said Roberson and his co-defendant, Brandon Batiste, of Springfield, Mass., kidnapped Roman on Dec. 24, 2020, killed him and attempted to dispose of his body in the burning vehicle, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.

"If convicted of the charges, the defendants face a maximum term of imprisonment of life, or death if the government seeks the death penalty in this matter," the U.S. Attorney's office said.

While several agencies investigated the incident, investigators received information that Calvin Roberson was responsible for multiple other unresolved homicides in Springfield, Gulluni said.

Through the phenomenal investigative work done collectively by these partner agencies, we will give victims families answers and justice as the defendant admits his guilt in taking their loved ones from them, he continued. The initial investigation bringing Calvin Roberson to justice was nothing short of extraordinary.

According to Gullunis office, the first homicide occurred on Dec. 7, 2006, when Roberson and two other masked men entered a Springfield nail salon in an attempted robbery. The three men held Nguyen, her colleague and a patron against their wills, duct-taping their hands.

Responding officers found Nguyen with a gunshot wound to her head.

On Oct. 11, 2016, officers found Yonaides Pichardo in his car on Sycamore Street. He was also shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene.

A little over a year later, on Oct. 19, 2017, Roberson shot Yonaides Pichardos brother, David Pichardo, inside a laundromat. Officers found David Pichardo at the back of the building, suffering from a gunshot wound with a weak pulse and gasping for air, Gullunis office said.

David Pichardo was taken to Baystate Medical Center where he died from his injuries, according to Gullunis office.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP)  The family of Tyre Nichols, who died after a brutal beating by five Memphis police officers, sued the officers and the city of Memphis on Wednesday, blaming them for his death and accusing officials of allowing a special units aggressive tactics to go unchecked despite warning signs.

The federal suit filed by lawyers for Nichols mother, RowVaughn Wells, seeks a jury trial and financial damages.

Its my turn to make sure that my sons death does not go in vain, Wells said at a news conference Wednesday. This has nothing to do with the monetary value of the lawsuit, but everything to do with accountability. Those five police officers murdered my son. They beat him to death and they need to be held accountable.

The lawsuit claims the SCORPION unit launched by Memphis Police Director Cerelyn CJ Davis used extreme intimidation, humiliation, and violence and disproportionately focused on and targeted young Black men." It says that the department permitted this aggressive approach and ignored complaints by others targeted before Nichols death.

The five officers charged with beating the 29-year-old were members of the unit, which has since been disbanded, police have said.

Civil rights attorney Ben Crump, who is representing the family, said the lawsuit is asking for $550 million. Another family lawyer Antonio Romanucci said the amount symbolized the 55 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was killed in Memphis.

The lawsuit is meant to send a message to other cities, Crump said. We will bring these lawsuits to other cities where police are killing Black and brown people, he said. If it happens in your city, were coming to your city too," adding that their mission is to make it unaffordable for police to continue to have these police units.

The city and the Memphis Police Department declined comment.

Nichols died three days after the beating in January. It was the latest in a string of violent encounters between police and Black people that have spurred protests and renewed public discussion about police brutality.

In most cases, the officers have been white, but all five officers accused in Nichols death are Black. Tadarrius Bean, Demetrius Haley, Desmond Mills Jr., Emmitt Martin III and Justin Smith are charged with second-degree murder in Nichols death. They have pleaded not guilty.

The lawsuit names as defendants the city of Memphis, Police Director Davis, the five officers who have been fired and charged, another officer who has been fired but not charged, and an additional officer who retired before he could be fired. It also names three Memphis Fire Department employees who were fired after officials said they failed to render aid to Nichols.

The three officers who initiated the traffic stop claimed Nichols was driving recklessly the evening of Jan. 7. However, the lawsuit said they stopped him for reasons that have never been substantiated." Davis has said that she has seen no evidence justifying the traffic stop or the officers response.

Before stopping Nichols, Martin called into dispatch to run his license plate for warrants or traffic infractions, and the response came back negative, the lawsuit states. Nonetheless, the officers boxed Nichols' car in while he was stopped at a red light.

Martin and Haley deactivated their body worn cameras, the lawsuit states. They ran to Nichols car and pulled him out without explanation. They wore black sweatshirts with the hoods pulled up and did not identify themselves as police. Hemphill, meanwhile, sprinted out of his unmarked squad with his gun drawn, held sideways, and pointed squarely at Tyreready to deploy deadly force on a non-resistant individual for an unknown and unidentified offense.

What did I do? Nichols asked during the encounter, the lawsuit said.

The officers pinned him to the ground and pepper-sprayed him while threatening to break his arm and fire a stun gun at him. When Nichols managed to run away, Hemphill did fire his stun gun, according to police records.

Nichols was captured a few minutes later by Mills, Bean and Smith. Joined by Haley and Martin, they brutally punched, kicked, and pepper-sprayed him and beat him with a baton for seven minutes straight, all while he was physically restrained, according to the lawsuit.

Just feet from his home, Nichols was beaten so badly that he was left unrecognizable, the lawsuit states, comparing his case to that of Emmett Till some 70 years prior and the officers to a modern-day lynch mob.

Unlike Till, this lynching was carried out by those adorned in department sweatshirts and vests and their actions were sanctionedexpressly and implicitlyby the City of Memphis, it said.

The officers own body cameras recorded them beating Nichols and then ignoring him for nearly half an hour as he was handcuffed, badly injured and struggled to stay upright while propped sitting against an unmarked police car.

The lawsuit provides new details of the trauma Nichols suffered. He arrived at the hospital with no pulse, it states, and had suffered cardiac arrest. He was intubated and put on dialysis because his kidneys were failing. His face was so swollen as to be unrecognizable. He had broken teeth. His brain was swollen and unable to function properly.

Mills' lawyer in the criminal case said Mills would be hiring a different lawyer to represent him in the civil case. Hemphill's lawyer declined immediate comment. Martin's lawyer said he had not yet seen the lawsuit and did not immediately comment. Lawyers for Bean, Haley and Smith did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The suit says that the city of Memphis hired Davis as police chief knowing that she had played a prominent role with a specialized police unit in Atlanta that was eventually disbanded after allegations of excessive force.

The lawsuit accuses Davis of forming an identical unit in Memphis that predictably implemented the same unconstitutional mandates, policies, and customs It accuses Davis and other police supervisors of encouraging officers to engage in illegal searches and seizures.

The lawsuit accuses the police department of lowering standards for who could become an officer and making it easier to graduate from the police academy by allowing recruits to retake exams several times at the time the officers involved in Nichols beating were brought on. In addition to being less qualified, new recruits were not properly trained in a number of areas, including probable cause, traffic stops, the Fourth Amendment, and use of force, it said.

The lawsuit comes more than a month after the Justice Department announced that it will review the police department's policies on the use of force, de-escalation strategies and specialized units in response to Nichols' beating.

___

Loller contributed from Nashville, Tenn. AP reporter Rebecca Reynolds contributed from Louisville, Ky.
LONDON (AP)  A French publisher called on British police Wednesday to cease their investigation of an employee who it said was arrested on his way to the London Book Fair and questioned for hours about French President Emmanuel Macron's government and his pension reforms that sparked months of protests.

Ernest Moret, foreign rights manager at Editions La Fabrique, was freed Tuesday but had his phone and work computer seized by police and was told to return to the U.K. in four weeks, the publisher said.

Circumstances over his arrest remained unclear two days after Moret was detained and questioned after arriving at St. Pancras railway station on Monday night from Paris.

London's Metropolitan Police wouldnt name Moret or provide information about why he was stopped.

But a police spokesperson said a 28-year-old man stopped at the train station when Moret arrived was interviewed by port officers under a law that allows them to question someone who may be involved in terrorism. Under the law, an officer may stop and question someone without grounds for suspecting the person is or has been involved in terrorism.

The publishers said officers justified questioning Moret by claiming he participated in the turbulent protests against Macrons decision to raise the age of retirement from 62 to 64.

The publisher, which said French authorities had been complicit in the matter, suggested they had whispered questions to their British counterparts. In addition to the disturbing questions about the French government, Moret was also asked to name anti-government authors the publisher worked with.

Asking the representative of a publishing house, in an anti-terrorism context, questions about his authors opinions means pushing even further the logic of political censorship and repression of dissenting views, La Fabrique said. In a context of increasing authoritarianism of the French government, in the midst of a social movement, this element is chilling.

Police said the man was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of willfully obstructing their examination.

The publisher said Moret was arrested for refusing to provide passwords to unlock his phone.

A person being questioned under the Terrorism Act of 2000 can be found in violation of the law if they don't provide passwords or codes to unlock electronic devices, according to the law.

A Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the suspect had been been released on bail on Tuesday evening. No charges were filed, but the investigation continued.

The French Foreign Ministry said it had no information or comment on what led to the arrest. It said it had offered Moret consular protection.

___

Sylvie Corbet reported from Paris.
A groundbreaking celebration happens today at the Nanaimo terminal site while Hullo, the high-speed passenger-only ferry service, confirms it's coming Summer 2023

NANAIMO, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Introducing Hullo by the Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC). Hullo is the innovative service brand behind British Columbia's high-speed, passenger-only catamarans that will soon offer guests a seamless and enjoyable 70-minute crossing between downtown Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver. This new service will enable Islanders and Mainlanders alike to reach across the strait effortlessly, fostering connections between family and friends and increasing visitation opportunities. Today's groundbreaking event marks the beginning of construction and site reconfiguration, which includes over 400 parking stalls, EV charging stations, connected travel options, a guest welcome centre, and proper traffic and transit flow optimizations. Hullo's two new 354-passenger high-speed vessels are currently undergoing final tests and sea trials at the Damen Group facility in Vietnam and will set sail to Vancouver Island next month.

One of Hullo's 354-passenger high-speed vessels that will set sail to Vancouver Island next month (CNW Group/Vancouver Island Ferry Company) Two completed Hullo vessels docked at the Damen Group facility in Vietnam (CNW Group/Vancouver Island Ferry Company)

"The vessels are built and going through rigorous sea trials and the terminal areas are in the process of being upgraded to welcome our guests. Hullo is in ship-shape and almost ready to serve its communities," says Alastair Caddick, CEO of VIFC. "We have assembled a passionate and experienced team, recruiting impeccable individuals who will offer BC travelers an enjoyable, reliable, and efficient travel experience to and from the mainland. After carefully listening to the needs and expectations of British Columbians, we are thrilled to provide a service that strengthens connections between friends and family on both sides of the Georgia Strait."

The VIFC team includes Director of Operations Captain Wendy Williams, who is the first Canadian woman to captain a mega cruise ship for a leading brand. "Our highly skilled operations team is dedicated to providing a seamless travel experience that is reliable, modern, and friendly," says Captain Williams. "We take pride in trying to set a new standard for ferry travel in British Columbia and our growing team remains relentlessly committed to creating a safe, efficient, and reliable service for our communities."

General Service Details for Hullo:

Hullo will offer a robust daily crossing schedule starting with up to seven (7) roundtrip sailings. Starting early enough for island commuters to get to their downtown Vancouver offices, and running late enough for travelers to catch an evening game or concert and return home the same night.

offices, and running late enough for travelers to catch an evening game or concert and return home the same night. Guests will be able to reserve seats across three (3) service tiers - Comfort, Premium, and Business, each catering to various guests needs.

Complimentary Wi-Fi will be available for all guests traveling Hullo with a fresh selection of treats available on board.

Guests will depart from two conveniently located downtown terminals at the Nanaimo Port Authority (100 Port Drive) and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre at Burrard Landing (1055 Canada Place).

Hullo's initial fleet consists of two Damen-built, high-speed catamaran vessels, each with a capacity of 354 passengers, and supported by a long-term local maintenance solution to ensure their reliability.

The Hullo vessels are painted in a trio of brand colours representing different elements of the West Coast: the deep green of the Salish Sea, the soft, light beige of the sandy shores, and a bold orange hue inspired by the coast's Arbutus trees.

VIFC has secured long term partnerships with Snuneymuxw First Nation, the Nanaimo Port Authority and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre and to ensure sustainable, continued success.

A complete list of service details including rates, sailing schedules, and amenities will be released in early June, with sailings starting late summer. To be the first to know service details, schedules, and more, sign up for our email list at www.hullo.com .

About the Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC) and Hullo

Proudly headquartered in Nanaimo, BC, the Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC) is a modern Canadian ferry company transforming how we travel in BC. Through its service brand, Hullo, VIFC will set a new standard for guests' travel experience across the Georgia Strait with reliability, convenience, and enjoyability at the forefront of operations. For more information on Hullo, visit www.hullo.com .

SOURCE Vancouver Island Ferry Company

For further information: Media Contact: Vancouver Island Ferry Company, Natalie Martin, Phone: 778.386.2994, Email: [email protected]
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After a court fight over a proposal to convert a Trumbull business headquarters into a senior living community, the property has been put up for sale by its owners as a shovel-ready deal for another developer to take on, or to invest alongside as a joint venture.

The campus at 48 Monroe Turnpike in Trumbull was once the headquarters of Oxford Health Plans, owned today by UnitedHealthcare which moved the administrative office operation to Shelton in 2015.

The property has been owned since 2018 under a limited liability company controlled by Senior Living Development, whose principal Mark De Pecol is CEO of KindCare Assisted Living based in Fairfield. Senior Living Development acquired the property for just under $3.3 million, with the city's most recent appraisal calculating a value of $3.9 million.

De Pecol told CT Insider on Wednesday that offering projects up for sale or joint venture is typical for Senior Living Development, and that KindCare rates are designed to be 30 percent below those of other options. The company has a senior community in Bristol opening this spring, and another under development in Naugatuck.

Trumbull's head of economic development said the conversion remains an "outstanding" option for Trumbull, of the mix of possible options to redevelop the property.

"We continue to have current residents call inquiring about when this development will begin construction and how to get on a list for the future," stated Rina Bakalar, Trumbull's head of economic development, in an email response to a CT Insider query. "In our recent housing survey where over 1,300 residents responded, the need for all sorts of senior housing options (market rate and affordable) came out strongly as something residents feel is needed in Trumbull."

The proposed Rivers Edge facility would have nearly 200 apartments with access to assisted living services and living quarters for dementia patients, and the ability to rebuild a garage structure as a second building with nearly more 150 units as an "active adult" community.

In a document posted on the LoopNet commercial real estate website, Senior Living Development projects a 23.4 percent return on investment for any would-be buyers. At the time Senior Living Development aired its plans in 2018, the town estimated the cost of the conversion at $100 million.

A legal challenge to the project had been filed in state court by Old Mine Associates, the limited liability company that owns a retail complex next door anchored by Home Depot, with both properties abutting Old Mine Park. A judge ruled last September in favor of Senior Living Development, with Old Mine Associates appealing the decision without success.

In filings with the Connecticut Secretary of State, Old Mine Associates lists as its main point of contact a principal of Bridgeport-based Peter Dinardo Enterprises, which has a dozen properties in Trumbull and a number more throughout Fairfield and New Haven counties. Peter DiNardo Enterprises could not be reached immediately Tuesday for comment on any current stance on the Senior Living Development project.

Trumbull has added several senior living communities in recent years as part of a larger apartment boom, with facilities including Bridges by Epoch at Trumbull, Middlebrook Farms at Trumbull, River Valley Retirement Community and Spring Meadows by Monarch. In January, the town renewed a moratorium on new apartments to analyze any impact by the Residences on Main nearing completion next to the Westfield Trumbull mall.

Includes prior reporting by Eddy Martinez.
One of the owners of a Trempealeau County timber company has been ordered to pay more than $1.1 million in restitution to foreign workers after he was found guilty of illegally placing foreign workers and lying to federal officials.

Alfredo Aguilar, 52, pleaded guilty to related charges in January and was sentenced to 18 months in prison Monday. The Bruce resident co-owned the Wisconsin timber company Northwoods Forestry Inc. with his wife, Patricia Aguilar.

According to a press release from the U.S. Attorney Timothy OSheas office, Aguilar has paid the restitution money to the foreign workers and another $210,000 in fines associated with the case.

According to court records, between 2015 and the end of 2018, Aguilar recruited workers from Mexico and Central America to work in forestry through the H-2B work visa program. The program allows American employers to hire temporary workers from overseas to perform labor as long as the labor addresses one-time, seasonal, intermittent or peak needs.

However, Aguilar placed Northwoods Forestry foreign workers with non-forestry employers in industries such as meat packing, roofing, agriculture, construction, painting and fur processing.

Aguilar admitted to officials that he placed Northwoods Forestry foreign employees in positions he knew they were not legally authorized to work. Aguilar also admitted that Northwoods Forestry did not pay the workers the highest applicable wages and did not pay the workers overtime.

Aguilar failed to pay the required prevailing wages to the foreign workers he employed, said Irene Lindow, special agent-in-charge, Great Lakes Region, U.S. Department of Labor Office of Inspector General.

Todays sentencing is an affirmation of our efforts, along with those of our law enforcement partners and the U.S. Department of Labors Wage and Hour Division, to pursue individuals who abuse the H-2B program for financial gain, Lindow said.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 263 workers were victimized by the scheme.
The rededication of a fountain, a century-old gift from Connecticut to a village in France where untested troops from Hartford, Bristol and Middletown fought and died during World War I, is set for Saturday.

The ceremony at the village square fountain in Seicheprey is scheduled for 11 a.m. and will be live-streamed on the CT in World War 1 Facebook page. Christine Pittsley, who coordinates the Connecticut in World War I project for the state library, will attend along with uniformed members of the Connecticut Governor's Horse Guard, relatives of Connecticut soldiers who fought at Seicheprey and French dignitaries.

A proclamation from Gov. Ned Lamont will be read, and the ceremony also will serve to memorialize the battle and mark the renaming of a local road for the 26th (Yankee) Division, Pittsley said in a phone interview Tuesday.

Donated to the people of Seicheprey in 1923, the fountain is inscribed: To commemorate the service of the 102nd Infantry, 26th Division, a regiment of the American Army recruited from citizens of Connecticut, defenders of Seicheprey, April 20, 1918, in the firm belief that the friendship of Frenchmen and Americans sealed in this place in battle shall serve the cause of peace among all nations, this memorial is presented by the men and women of Connecticut.

The war started in August 1914, but the U.S. did not join until 1917, an entry marked by patriotic fervor. At a rally outside Hartford City Hall on April 7, 1917, Mayor Frank A. Hagarty evoked Connecticut Yankees response to earlier alarms and sought to assure the nations leaders that the spirit of loyalty, which filled the breasts of Hartfords people in 1776 and 1861, animate us in 1917.

Connecticut soldiers arrived in Europe early in 1918, among the first American troops to take positions on the jagged front. The attack at Seicheprey was designed to test the raw Connecticut regiment's strength and willingness to fight. The battle started with a German artillery barrage, which lifted as 3,200 enemy soldiers armed with flamethrowers and explosives slipped through the fog and attacked. The fight was hand-to-hand in the trenches, and a 102nd company mess sergeant and his kitchen staff reportedly used cleavers and butcher knives against the German raiders.

The regiment lost 81 dead and 401 wounded, including some poisoned by gas, and about 200 captured. Although estimates ranged widely, most accounts agree that the Germans also suffered significant losses, as many as 600 casualties, including 150 dead, according to one report. A German field report concluded: The American is most courageous individually and resists desperately to the last with pistol, knife and hand grenade; he is a considerable, cunning and ruthless adversary in close-quarters combat.

In 2019, Pittsley led 15 Connecticut students to the trenches where the 102nd soldiers fought. The students joined their French counterparts to clear vegetation and restore a section of the trench line that French soldiers dug in 1914 and the Americans occupied about four years later. This year, French students will visit the site in Bolton where French Gen. Rochambeau's army camped in 1781 while marching to join Gen. George Washington during the Revolutionary War.

Pittsley is coordinating the reciprocal trip and planned dig at the 100-acre, town-owned farm that remains little changed from Revolutionary days. She is recruiting 15 Connecticut high school students who will work alongside the French students, who live in Seicheprey and the surrounding area.

In a column on the dedication of the Seicheprey fountain in 1923, an unnamed scribe for The Bridgeport Telegram wrote that the fountain "represents the love of Connecticut, the devotion to a cause in which France and America and Connecticut and Seicheprey stood as one."

About 67,000 Connecticut residents served in the war and about 1,100 died, either in battle or from disease, principally the Spanish influenza.

"The losses to Connecticut units were not so heavy at Seicheprey as they were in several places of later engagements," the Telegram column continued. "But it was at Seicheprey that the good stuff of second growth Connecticut, the twentieth century Connecticut Yankee ... stood the stern test of gas and flame and artillery."
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SANTA FE, N.M. (AP)  Filming on the Western movie Rust could resume this week in Montana, the production company said Wednesday, in the aftermath of the fatal shooting of a cinematographer during a rehearsal with actor Alec Baldwin on the original production in New Mexico.

Baldwin will continue his involvement as an actor and coproducer, and Rust Move Productions attorney Melina Spadone said via a representative that filming will restart Thursday at the Yellowstone Film Ranch.

The production company finalized a settlement last month with New Mexico workplace safety regulars over serious violations, agreeing to a $100,000 fine to resolve a scathing safety review that detailed unheeded complaints and misfires on set before cinematographer Halyna Hutchins was shot and killed in October 2021.

Plans to resume filming were outlined last year by widower Matthew Hutchins in a proposed settlement to a wrongful death lawsuit that would make him an executive producer on a rebooted Rust.

Prosecutors in Santa Fe are pressing forward with involuntary manslaughter charges against actor Baldwin and a weapons supervisor Hannah Gutierrez-Reed. Baldwin and Gutierrez-Reed have pleaded not guilty.

Baldwin was pointing a pistol at Hutchins during a rehearsal when the gun when off, killing Hutchins and wounding director Joel Souza.

Baldwin has said the gun went off accidentally and that he did not pull the trigger. An FBI forensic report found the weapon could not have fired unless the trigger was pulled.

New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham this month signed a new $360,000 allowance for prosecution of the case. Evidentiary hearings are scheduled in early May in state District Court to decide whether to proceed toward trial. Baldwin has indicated that he won't attend those hearings.

Santa Fe District Attorney Mary Carmack-Altwies says her office is pursuing justice in the death of Hutchins and wants to show that no one is above the law when it comes to firearms and public safety. She says the Ukrainian-born cinematographers death was tragic and preventable.

Rust safety coordinator and assistant director David Halls pleaded no contest in March to a conviction for unsafe handling of a firearm and a suspended sentence of six months of probation.

Souza, the director, has said he'll return to the Rust production to honor the legacy of Halyna Hutchins.

Parts of a documentary about Hutchins' life will be filmed simultaneously with Rust.
FAIRFIELD  Three businesses got priority violations during their health inspections in March, the first full month under the state's new health inspection system.

Last Month, Rio Bravo, Fairfield Social and Fairfield Warde High School each received priority violations on their health inspections, according to records from the Fairfield Health Department. Those are the most critical violations, health officials say, and need to be corrected within 72 hours.

Notably, all businesses corrected their violations either during the time of the inspection or by the time of their follow-up inspection, according to documents.

Rob Guerrera, the assistant director for environmental health at the Fairfield Health Department, said the new system went into place on Feb. 16, adding the change was in the works before the COVID-19 pandemic happened. He said the Connecticut Restaurant Association and the Connecticut Association of Directors of Health wanted the state to move toward implementing one uniform code for all businesses and towns to follow.

"We were all operating underneath the same code as far as cooking temperatures and hot and cold holding (of food), but they wanted a universal code so that every restaurant was treated the same when they needed to do repairs and so forth," he said. "Local towns could have had their own little changes to the code if they wanted to."

Under Fairfield's old system, eateries got a score from zero to 100, and failed if they got below an 80 or had any four-point violations. Guerrera said there is no longer a failing system, noting there is in compliance, out of compliance, not applicable and not observed. He said the types of violations are now, priority item violations, where corrections are due in 72 hours; priority foundation item violations, where corrections are due in 10 days and core item violations, where corrections are due in 90 days. He said the the priority violations are the most serious.

Guerrera said the new system encourages businesses to take corrective action on site or as soon as possible. He said owners are not allowed to send photos to the health department as evidence of corrections.

"It's made it more challenging because of the simple fact that it's a new code, new inspection form and the turnaround time for a lot of these items are a lot quicker than they were in the past," he said. "But it's good in the sense that we do give them a chance to correct it on site. It does give the owner the ability to correct it and just send us documentation that shows it's been corrected."

Guerrera said the health department does approximately 100 inspections and re-inspections a month and, in the old system, about two to five restaurants would fail an inspection. Now, he said, more restaurants are likely to get priority item violations and priority foundation item violations, because there are things in the inspection that eateries need to get back to health officials faster on.

"In the past, you would not have failed them on that," he said, adding they would have had more time to fix it. "(The state) wants things corrected immediately."

Faifield Warde High School had three priority item violations during its inspection on March 13, reports show. They were for having a blocked handsink, cold holding not being at the right temperature and because a sneeze guard was not protecting some food.

The school also had core violations for issues, such as mouse droppings and using a milk crate as storage. The issues found were corrected on site or by its reinspection on April 5.

Courtney LeBorious, The school district's chief financial officer, said in an email that the schools work closely with its food service provider, Whitsons, to ensure all safety and health codes are consistently maintained.

"Minor violations were found during a routine inspection and were quickly corrected onsite prior to the inspector leaving," she said.

Rio Bravo had one priority item violation and two priority foundation item violation, according to its report from March 9. The violations included having raw chicken stored at 80 degrees, and the food was discarded on site. The priority foundation items were for not having a person in charge of the food preparation area and items stored that were not properly labeled.

Rio Bravo also had lesser violations for issues such as having uncovered food in cold storage and not having thermometers at all coolers. The issues were corrected on site or by the restaurants reinspection on March 15. Management for Rio Bravo did not respond to request for comment.

During an inspection on March 15, Fairfield Social was docked for five priority item violations and three priority foundation item violations. The priority items were for improper handwashing techniques, having unclean utensils throughout the kitchen, having raw food over ready to ready to eat food in the cooler, having homemade food stored at room temperature and having raw meats not stored separately based on type.

Fairfield Social's priority foundation item issues were for not having a consumer advisory on the menu and foods without a marked date being held for more than 24 hours and shellfish tags not stored in chronological order. It also had core item violations for issues such as thawing food at room temperature and having a cockroach in dry storage and mouse droppings throughout the establishment.

Documents show the issues at Fairfield Social were corrected on site or by reinspection on March 16. Management did not respond to request for comment.

Guerrera said it will be a learning curve to adjust to the new system, noting health inspectors have taken hours of training to get ready and are still doing education on it. He said the restaurants in town have been good about getting used to it.

"It's going to take some time, but I think it's going to be better at the end of the day," he said.
April 20 has become a "high holiday" for cannabis users, and this year, a few Connecticut (and national) restaurants are marking the occasion with special events and food items. Here's where you can find freebies, deals and parties around the state.

Olmo Bagels in New Haven is giving away 420 bagels on April 20, partnering with Haven Hot Chicken to offer a "schmear" of cream cheese made with the Nashville hot chicken restaurant's spice blend. In honor of National Cold Brew Day, Olmo will also give away 420 cups of its 4Jacks cold brew.
Elizabeth Robertson/AP

PHILADELPHIA (AP)  The owner of a Philadelphia building that caught fire and collapsed last summer, killing a city firefighter and injuring five other people, has been indicted along with another man on charges they set the blaze, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.

Al-Ashraf Khalil and Isaam Jaghama, both 29-year-old city residents, are each charged with conspiracy and malicious damage. Khalil, the building's owner, was originally charged last year, but is now also charged with wire fraud and using fire in furtherance of committing that fraud.
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NEW HAVEN  Officials from central Mexico's state of Tlaxcala are joining local officials and residents for five days of cultural and educational activities to celebrate the friendship and ties between New Haven and Tlaxcala, including the second annual Day of Friendship opening ceremony Wednesday night.

Last April, on the first New Haven-Tlaxcala Day of Friendship, New Haven opened a temporary Mexican consulate at the Free Public Library on Elm Street, welcoming Tlaxcala Gov. Lorena Cuellar Cisneros to celebrate the ties between the two communities.

Greater New Haven is home to an estimated 7,000 people who trace their roots to Tlaxcala, according to Casa Tlaxcala, an office of the State of Tlaxcala government in New York City. The most recent Mexican census estimates that there are about 211,000 people from Tlaxcala living in the United States.

The City of New Haven is grateful for our relationship and bond with the State of Tlaxcala as we celebrate the strong familial, cultural and economic ties between our people and our governments, said Mayor Justin Elicker in a release.

Individuals and families from Tlaxcala who now call New Haven home strengthen and enrich our city, and we are grateful for their many contributions to our community, Elicker said.

It is with great joy that we celebrate today the long-standing friendship and appreciation between the people of New Haven and the people of Tlaxcala, Cisneros said in the release. Our two communities share an important part of their history, culture and our present and future is intertwined. We look forward to continuing our collaborations."

This year's opening ceremony at City Hall was to include a traditional indigenous Tlaxcalan dance ritual, a ribbon-cutting for a Tlaxcalan carpet made in the small city of Huamantla in eastern Tlaxcala and remarks by officials from both places.

A series of arts, cultural, and educational events were slated between Wednesday and Sunday to commemorate the cultural and economic contributions of the Tlaxcalan community in New Haven. All events are free and open to the public.

Remaining New Haven-Tlaxcala Day of Friendship schedule of events includes:
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NEW HAVEN  Demanding equitable funding for public schools, state colleges and state universities, a crowd of about 50 took aim at big corporations, millionaires and lawmakers they said legislate in favor of the wealthiest, calling to tax the rich."

In a system they called austerity, they said students study in old buildings, teachers are swamped by the lack of resources and college professors are left overworked with research obligations on top of having to be available for students.

The rally near Wilbur Cross High School on Tax Day took place after the General Assemblys Appropriations Committee released its recommended budget for the next fiscal year, a two-year, $50.9 billion budget some said had a focus on public schools and higher education.

The recommended budget included more funds for public schools and for higher education but fell short of what advocates had proposed. The committee didnt endorse the estimated $90 million that social service advocates want to have free breakfasts and lunches for all school children.

The proposed budget by the committee also wouldn't implement H.B. 5003, a bill that would fully fund the state's Education Cost Sharing program by 2025 while also covering additional costs for high-need students at magnet and charter schools and within the state's Open Choice initiative.

Dave Cruz Bustamante, a junior at Wilbur Cross High School and an elected student representative to the Board of Education, said despite living in one of the wealthiest states in one of the wealthiest countries in the world, people wouldnt realize that when they walk into a New Haven school.

My high school  has flooded on multiple occasions, Bustamante said. Malfunctioning bathroom door locks are a cause of complaint.

Mia Comulada Breuler, a counselor at Wilbur Cross, said if public schools were properly funded, teachers will stay and students will thrive, pointing to a $4.3 billion surplus from last year and $3.3 billion in projected rainy day funds.

At Wilbur Cross, Breuler said the building is overcrowded and underfunded while classes usually are at capacity. As a result, she said teachers have a harder time doing their job and it leads to burnout, which prompts some ultimately to abandon the career.

Hyclis Williams, a paraprofessional in the New Haven district, said when there is no teacher available, paraprofessionals sometimes need to substitute for them for as little as $45 a day, excluding tax. She called it oppression and low wage exploitation.

Our normal workday is 6.75 hours but the workload feels like a 12-hour day, she said. In some cases, paraprofessionals work long-term as teachers for the whole entire school year. We fill in for everything they need. If they need somebody at the front desk, we fill in. If they need a security guard, we fill in.

Williams called on the legislators to pass a bill, H.B. 6881, that would bolster wages for paraeducators, improve affordability for their health insurance and better retirement benefits.

Eric Maroney, an associate professor of English at Gateway Community College, said state community colleges and universities are a lifeline for some of Connecticut's most disadvantaged residents who usually work more than a job while having to provide for their families.

Citing tuition hikes and decades of underfunding, Maroney said many were forced to drop out and to choose between education or housing.

At the same time, our faculty is being affected, as well, he said.

Laurie Bonjo, an associate professor of school counseling at Southern Connecticut State University, would know. She shed light on how profoundly under-resourced she felt at the university.

We do not have enough faculty to sit on dissertation committees, so Im currently chairing 12 dissertation committees while carrying a 12-credit teaching load, Bonjo said.

The college professor said her students told her that they want more contact with their professors but thats not possible at SCSU where teaching and research obligations prevent us from doing just that.

New Haven Public Schools currently has a $195 million budget. Mayor Justin Elicker proposed an additional $8 million for the district in the upcoming fiscal year, including $3.5 million in expected state funds and $4.5 million in local funds.

The Board of Education, however, proposed a $207 million budget, almost $4 million more than what Elicker proposed. What most notably drove the boards proposed increase are a bump in salaries and transportation costs.

NHPS typically receives about $142 million from the states ECS program every year since fiscal year 2013, according to the district.

The Board of Alders Finance Committee will hold a public hearing on the mayors proposed budget Thursday at 6 p.m., where rally goers said theyll show up to tell the board to vote in favor of the increase in school and public library funding.
Patrick Semansky/AP

WASHINGTON (AP)  President Joe Biden is summoning top Democratic donors to Washington next week as he prepares to launch his 2024 reelection bid, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The event, which is being organized by the Democratic National Committee, is not a fundraiser, but is meant to energize the top party donors for Biden's campaign, the people said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. Biden is expected to meet for dinner with the assembled donors, who are also set to hear from some of his top political advisers. The summit comes days after the four-year anniversary of Biden's April 25, 2019 launch of his first successful presidential campaign.
Republicans on the Legislatures budget committee voted Tuesday to kill funding for the largest proposed land conservation project in Wisconsin history over concerns about the $15 million purchase of 56,000 acres of forest land that would have been open to both logging and recreational use.

Republican lawmakers objected in November to using $4 million from the states Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program to help finance the purchase of the property east of Rhinelander in northern Wisconsin known as the Pelican River Forest. The rest of the funding for the conservation easement would come from a federal grant.

Efforts to address lawmakers concerns since objections were raised were unsuccessful, Sen. Mary Felzkowski, one of the Republicans who objected to the project, said Tuesday. She was among the 12 Republicans on the Legislatures Joint Finance Committee who voted to kill the project, while all four Democrats voted to fund it.

Felzkowski raised concerns about what effect it would have on northern Wisconsins economy to remove that much land from future potential development. Republicans have long raised concerns about taking blocks of private land off the tax rolls through the states stewardship program.

Enough is enough, Felzkowski said Tuesday.

Felzkowski faulted advocates of the project for not addressing complaints by snowmobilers, local communities and others who would be affected by the project. Felzkowski accused the state Natural Resources Board of voting to approve the project after local communities said they wanted some of the land available for future development.

Republican Rep. Mark Born, co-chair of the budget committee, said the state Department of Natural Resources should be ashamed for what they did on this. He accused the agency of attempting to shove this down the throat of locals and pretending like there were no concerns about the project.

A spokesperson for the agency did not immediately respond to a request for comment in reaction to the committees actions and Borns accusations.

Under the committees process, lawmakers can object to funding a project in secret. The objection triggers a meeting to review the project, but projects can be left in limbo and effectively killed with long delays before a meeting is called.

Felzkowski previously came forward as one of those who objected, and on Tuesday committee co-chair Sen. Howard Marklein said he was another.

Democratic Rep. Evan Goyke said he was thankful for the discussion about the project in the open, calling it a little bit of sunshine.

But Born discounted that, saying concerns about the project have been publicly reported for months.

This wasnt like I needed to have some secret code to find this information, he said.

The Conservation Fund, a Virginia-based national land conservation group, bought the land that includes 16 parcels located mostly east of Rhinelander in Oneida County, but also in Forest and Langlade counties. The land straddles the Great Lakes and Mississippi River watersheds and is a link between the Oneida County Forest and Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest.

The Conservation Fund said at the time it bought the land in 2021 that it will protect wildlife habitat while continuing sustainable timber harvesting as well as recreational uses such as hunting and fishing.

Under the states purchase plan, the land would have been left in an undeveloped state with public access for hunting, fishing, trapping and motorized recreation, such as snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

Its unclear what Tuesdays action means for the future of the project.

State officials have previously raised the possibility of launching a fundraising campaign or seeking landowner donations to come up with enough money to match the $10 million federal grant. The Conservation Fund has also said it may sell the property if the DNR cant secure funding for the project.

Clint Miller, central Midwest regional director at The Conservation Fund, said the decision not to fund the project was disappointing, but he pledged to continue working with the state to complete it.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  House Republicans for months have railed against the Biden administrations handling of the U.S. border with Mexico, holding hearings, visiting border communities and promising to advance legislation to clamp down on illegal immigration and drug trafficking.

But so far, they have failed to unify behind a plan, delaying efforts to pass legislation.

Now they are hoping to change that. Republicans on Wednesday jump-started work on an immigration and border enforcement package that would remake immigration law to make it more difficult to apply for asylum and easier for the federal government to stop migrants from entering the U.S. It combines proposals from a number of conservative hardliners into a single bill.

The undertaking comes as Washington is putting renewed focus on border security, and the plight of thousands of migrants who show up seeking entry into the U.S., with a looming May deadline that is expected to end a federal COVID-era asylum policy. The hearing also comes as Republicans, more than 100 days into their new House majority, are under political pressure to deliver on a key campaign promise to secure the border.

The legislative package aims to revive a number of policies either enacted or proposed under then-President Donald Trump that restricted asylum rules. Republicans point out that illegal border crossings increased under President Joe Biden and cast the current situation at the border as overrun and dangerous for both migrants seeking safety and border communities.

Democrats on the House Judiciary panel swatted the bill as an extremist proposal that had no chance in the Democratic-held Senate. It has also been criticized by moderate Republicans who would be crucial to it passing the House, where Republicans have a slim 222-213 majority.

Republicans have chosen a narrow path that imposes extreme pain and hardship on the most vulnerable people while doing nothing to actually solve the problem," said Rep. Jerry Nadler, the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee.

The bill would make it more difficult for asylum-seekers to prove in initial interviews that they are fleeing political, religious or racial persecution, impose a $50 fee on adults who apply for asylum and require migrants to make the asylum claim at an official port of entry. It aims to expand requirements that employers, including in the agriculture industry, check the immigration status of their employees through a program called E-verify.

The bill would also enact a Trump-era policy that the Biden administration is pursuing, the so-called safe third country requirement, which generally denies asylum to migrants who show up at the U.S. southern border without first seeking protection in a country they passed through.

Conservative hardliners who say migrants are taking advantage of the asylum process are backing the bill.

Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas, a conservative member of the Freedom Caucus who has pushed aggressive border measures, said the legislation reflects in a package form basically where weve all wanted to head, which is to actually enforce the law.

Stop releasing people into the United States who dont have a legitimate claim to asylum that you need to adjudicate, he said.

However, Roy and Jordan are contending with a group of fellow Republicans who have condemned attempts at aggressively limiting asylum claims as cruel and out-of-touch with Latino communities.

Rep. Tony Gonzales, a fellow Texas Republican who represents a long portion of the U.S-Mexico border from El Paso to San Antonio, has emerged as Roy's foil in the GOP's border debate. He insists that measures to toughen border enforcement also be coupled with increasing legal immigration, such as work visas.

Moderate House Republicans, like Rep. Don Bacon, R-Nebraska, are pushing for a balanced approach that would also open up legal immigration. People want to come here. They work hard. I think they eventually become great citizens, Bacon said, adding but whats going on at the border is a catastrophe.

The GOP has made inroads with Latino communities in recent years, and while Republican voters from those communities support tougher border enforcement, Latino Republicans also want to see an increase in legal immigration. The Congressional Hispanic Conference, a group of 18 House Republicans, held a bilingual news conference in front of the Capitol on Tuesday to demand a seat at the negotiating table.

This is what the face of the border crisis looks like, Gonzales told reporters. Take a good hard look, because were not going to be quiet about it. Were not going to let others just dictate what happens.

Afterward, Gonzales suggested the bill being considered by the Judiciary Committee is just one option, and has a long way to go before it hits primetime. The Homeland Security Committee, where he holds a seat, is working on its own legislation to increase border enforcement, he said.

The Congressional Hispanic Conference highlighted three policies it wants: designating cartels as terrorist organizations, increasing criminal penalties for people who smuggle fentanyl and increasing salaries for Customs and Border Protection agents.

Democrats insisted they want to work on a bipartisan package that would increase legal immigration and resources at the border, but dismissed the Republican proposal as little more than political rhetoric.

The border is broken, but its broken because we have absolutely been derelict in our responsibility as members of Congress to open up legal pathways and create better management at our border, said Rep. Veronica Escobar, a Democrat from Texas. In order to spite migrants, were willing to say we want zero migration. That is what is fundamentally behind this bill.

Meanwhile, advocates for immigrants and some Democrats have slammed Biden for considering Trump-era policies like detaining families who cross into the U.S. illegally. Sen. Bob Menendez, D-New Jersey, last month told NBCs Meet the Press that the president would become the asylum denier in chief if he pursues such policies.

Even if Republicans manage to pass a bill through the House, hardline border enforcement and severe restraints on asylum are unlikely to advance in the Democratic-held Senate, where negotiators prefer to pair border policies with an increase in legal immigration or a path to citizenship for the hundreds of thousands of immigrants brought to the U.S. illegally as children.

There is not consensus in either party, said Theresa Cardinal Brown, a senior advisor for immigration at the Bipartisan Policy Center. There is certainly not consensus across the aisle.

The debate in Congress will likely play out just as an influx of migrants is expected at the southern border. Title 42, a Trump-era rule adopted by the Biden administration, is set to expire on May 11. It suspended the rights for many to seek asylum during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Recent U.S. immigration policy has been cobbled together through executive actions and legal rulings, Brown said, without any significant action by Congress in decades to address a new reality at the southern border: people, including many children, arriving from a host of countries to seek asylum.

Its going to get bad and I dont think the (Biden) administration is prepared, she said, adding, We are at an inflection point. We will see again whether people will get serious about legislating and come to the table, or will they pound the table."

Gonzales acknowledged the political difficulties around immigration but pointed to the impact in his home district along the border. He hosted Arizona's Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, a Democrat-turned-independent, for a border visit last month, and said he has been holding calls with Democrats and Republicans in hopes of crafting a bipartisan proposal.

Congress hasnt done anything in decades, the White House has punted time and time again, and it is no doubt a difficult problem set, he said. But I think its a problem worth fighting for.
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Republican-led House approved a resolution Wednesday that would block a District of Columbia police accountability bill, further escalating the feud over the right to self-government in the nations capital.

The House voted 229-189 on the measure  called a disapproval resolution  marking the third time this year that House Republicans have sought to overturn local D.C. legislation, with some Democratic help, claiming officials have been soft on crime in the midst of a multi-year spike. But the bill is unlikely to advance in the Democratic-led Senate, and President Joe Biden has promised a veto.

Republicans pressed ahead, saying congressional scrutiny of the District's laws is long overdue.

Just because Congress has not been fulfilling this role in recent decades is not a reason to avoid this responsibility now, especially when we know the nations capital city is plunging into a crime crisis, Rep. James Comer, R-Ky., the chairman of the House Oversight Committee, said during a debate Wednesday.

In 2022, there were 203 homicides in the District, about a 10% drop after years of steady increases. Homicides in the city had risen for four years straight, and the 2021 murder count of 227 was the highest since 2003. The citys police union said in a statement that changes proposed by Republicans would lead to violent crime rates exploding even more than they already have.

Congressional oversight of the district is written into the Constitution, and lawmakers have frequently used methods such as budget riders to alter D.C. laws on issues ranging from abortion funding to marijuana legalization.

Finally able to set the agenda as the majority in the House, Republicans held back-to-back votes last month to overturn a sweeping rewrite of the criminal code passed by the D.C. Council last year. A second vote was on nullifying a new law that would grant noncitizens the right to vote in local elections.

The GOP-backed resolution overturning the district's criminal code garnered some Democratic support, and Biden signed it into law after the measure passed the Senate overwhelmingly.

This time around more than a dozen House Democrats voted in disapproval of the police accountability law. One of those lawmakers, Rep. Angie Craig, D-Minn., was recently attacked inside the elevator of her upscale apartment building in Washington. Craig had criticized D.C. government after the assault, claiming that the suspect had 12 arrests and convictions on his record before her incident.

I got attacked by someone who the District of Columbia has not prosecuted fully over the course of almost a decade, over the course of 12 assaults before mine that morning, Craig told CBS in Feburary. And so I think we have to think about how in the world can we make sure that were not just letting criminals out.

But other Democrats appeared to draw a line in the sand against overturning the new police accountability package, which is similar to a bill the party passed in the House after the killing of George Floyd by Minneapolis police in the summer of 2020. That bill never became law.

The package passed by the D.C. Council would extend temporary law enforcement transparency and accountability measures first approved after the murder of Floyd, including a ban on the use of chokeholds, requiring officers to use de-escalation tactics before use of force and providing the public access to body camera records. It also reflects similar measures that Biden included in an executive order last spring for federal law enforcement.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said last month that while Biden "does not support every provision in the policing bill passed by the D.C. Council, he wont support efforts to override it. She added, The president believes that building community trust is integral to fighting crime.

Washingtons criminal code hasnt been updated substantially since it was first drafted in 1901, and criminal justice experts say that Black people have been disproportionately affected by the criminal laws, similar to many other cities.

The recent sparring in Congress has opened a new and openly combative phase in the Districts tortured relationship with the federal government.

Democrats support statehood for the District and have defended the Councils right to govern as they see fit. They have called the latest effort by Republicans a violation of Home Rule, which allows the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability to essentially vet all new D.C. laws, although historically it has only altered or limited new laws through budget riders.

The House of Representatives, in which the nearly 700,000 District of Columbia residents have no voting representation, is attempting to nullify legislation enacted by the local legislature whose members are elected by DC residents, Rep. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D.Cs nonvoting delegate in the Congress, said on the House floor.

By scheduling this vote, I can only conclude that the Republican leadership believes that D.C. residents, the majority of whom are black and brown, are unworthy of governing themselves.

___ Associated Press reporter Ashraf Khalil contributed to this report.
Paul Sancya/AP

DETROIT (AP)  A Detroit-area man linked to an anti-government group and arrested just before the fall election pleaded guilty Wednesday to gun-related charges.

Timothy Teagan had attended various rallies with an AR-style rifle while dressed in a Hawaiian shirt, clothing favored by the Boogaloo Boys, a group bracing for a U.S. civil war.
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OKLAHOMA CITY (AP)  A county commissioner in far southeast Oklahoma who was identified by a local newspaper as one of several officials caught on tape discussing killing reporters and lynching Black people has resigned from office, Gov. Kevin Stitt's office confirmed Wednesday.

Stitt spokesperson Carly Atchison said the office received a handwritten resignation letter from McCurtain County Commissioner Mark Jennings. In it, Jennings says he is resigning immediately and that he plans to release a formal statement in the near future regarding the recent events in our county.

The threatening comments by Jennings and officials with the McCurtain County Sheriffs Office were obtained following a March 6 meeting and reported by the McCurtain Gazette-News earlier this week in its weekend edition. They have sparked outrage and protests in the city of Idabel, the county seat.

In a post on the sheriffs office Facebook page on Tuesday, officials did not address the recorded discussion but claimed the recording was illegally obtained.

Also on Wednesday, the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation confirmed it has launched an investigation into the matter at the request of the governor.

The recorded conversation included Sheriff Kevin Clardy, sheriffs Capt. Alicia Manning, Jennings and Jail Administrator Larry Hendrix. During that conversation, Clardy, Manning and Jennings appear to discuss Bruce Willingham  the longtime publisher of the Gazette-News  and his son Chris Willingham, a reporter.

Jennings tells Clardy and Manning I know where two deep holes are dug if you ever need them, and the sheriff responds, Ive got an excavator.

Jennings also says hes known two or three hit men in Louisiana, adding theyre very quiet guys.

In the recording, Jennings also appears to complain about not being able to hang Black people, saying: They got more rights than we got.

The Associated Press is working to verify the authenticity of the recording. None of the four officials returned telephone calls or emails from The Associated Press seeking comment.

Bruce Willingham told the AP the recording was made when he left a voice-activated recorder inside the room after a county commissioners meeting because he suspected the group was continuing to conduct county business after the meeting had ended, in violation of the states Open Meeting Act.

Willingham said he twice spoke with his attorneys to be sure he was doing nothing illegal.

Joey Senat, a journalism professor at Oklahoma State University, said under Oklahoma law, the recording would be legal if it were obtained in a place where the officials being recorded did not have a reasonable expectation of privacy.

Bruce Willingham said he believes the local officials were upset about stories weve run that cast the sheriffs office in an unfavorable light, including the death of Bobby Barrick  a Broken Bow, Oklahoma, man who died at a hospital in March 2022 after McCurtain County deputies shot him with a stun gun. The newspaper has filed a lawsuit against the sheriffs office seeking body camera footage and other records connected to Barricks death.

Separately, Chris Willingham has filed a federal lawsuit against the sheriffs office, Clardy, Manning and the Board of County Commissioners alleging Manning slandered him after he wrote an eight-part series of articles detailing problems inside the sheriffs office. The lawsuit claims after the first few articles were published, Clardy and Manning began investigating which office employees were speaking to the newspaper and were attempting to get a search warrant for Willinghams phone.

The lawsuit, which was filed on the same day the recording was made, alleges that after the series was published, Manning told a third party during a teleconference that Chris Willingham exchanged marijuana for sexually explicit images of children from a man who had been arrested on child sex abuse image charges.

Manning made these (and other) false statements about Willingham in retaliation for articles he wrote about the (sheriffs office) as a reporter for the McCurtain Gazette and to destroy his credibility as a reporter and journalist, the lawsuit states.

More than 100 people gathered outside the McCurtain County Courthouse in Idabel earlier this week, with many of them calling for the sheriff and other county officials to resign.

On Tuesday, the Oklahoma Sheriffs Association, a voluntary membership organization and not a regulatory agency, held an emergency meeting of its board. It voted unanimously to suspend Clardy, Manning and Hendrix from the association.
Connecticut's junior Senator, Chris Murphy, took to the Senate floor on Wednesday to raise alarm over a national collective anxiety that he said spilled over this month into a spate of high-profile and seemingly senseless shootings.

Murphys comments came a day after police in Austin, Texas arrested a man who they said had fired on a pair of cheerleaders, after one of them mistakenly tried to get into the wrong car on the way home from practice. The shooting left one of the women critically injured, according to local officials.

Earlier in the week, a 20-year-old woman in upstate New York was killed when a man began shooting at a car that had mistakenly turned down his driveway, police said. Meanwhile in Kansas City, police have charged an 84-year-old white man with assault after he allegedly shot twice at Black teenager who had knocked on the wrong door last Thursday night.

The teen, Ralph Yarl, was shot in the head and in the arm, but is recovering at home following his release from the hospital.

Minor slights and indiscretions, small arguments, even simple wrong turns are becoming potentially deadly, Murphy said. We are becoming a heavily armed nation so fearful and angry, and so hair-trigger anxious that gun murders are just the ways in which we take out our frustrations.

Murphy, one of the Senates most prominent voices in support of gun control, said that easy access to firearms, along with feelings of hate and anger, were part of a toxic mixture contributing to the recent violence making headlines.

However, he also asserted that his speech on the Senate floor was not an attempt to re-litigate the issue of guns, but rather to start an apolitical discussion on the level of fear and hatred in society today.

In recent weeks, Murphy has spoken frequently about the topic of loneliness and alienation  both of which he sees permeating society, particularly younger Americans.

Murphy has attributed some of the rise in those sentiments to technology and the Internet. In an interview with CT Insider earlier this month, he said I see the dark corners of social media that can breed envy and resentment and self hate.

On Wednesday Murphy called on Congress to take action against the amplification of extreme and divisive figures, including through increased regulation on social media companies.

The Democratic senator, who chairs the Appropriations subcommittee on Homeland Security, has yet to lay out the specific details of legislation to combat what he says is the growing threat of isolation and anxiety in America.

Murphy told CT Insider earlier this month that he and other lawmakers are still learning and getting briefings from tech industry leaders, and that he hopes to introduce bipartisan legislation around the regulation of social media later this year.
An anonymous legislator on the states GOP-controlled finance committee on Tuesday objected to a plan by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers administration to spend $8 million in opioid settlement funds to address skyrocketing drug use.

It was the second time in eight months that the Joint Finance Committee objected to plans for spending portions of the $500 million the state expects to get from opioid manufacturers and other parties over nearly two decades  although in that earlier case, the committee approved amended plans soon after lodging its initial objections.

Its unclear whether the objection might affect efforts to fight abuse, or how Republicans might spend the money differently, since most of the money has not yet arrived.

A member of the committee on Tuesday objected to the state Department of Health Services plan to spend $8 million, which the organization expects to receive in July, on boosting distribution of opioid overdose-reversal agents, fentanyl testing strips and other efforts, leaving implementation of the plan in question.

The committees rejection letter didnt specify who objected to the spending plan or why.

An objection has been raised to this request and a meeting of the Joint Committee on Finance will be scheduled, stated the Tuesday letter to DHS signed by committee co-chairs Rep. Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam, and Sen. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

Wisconsin is facing an opioid crisis, but Republicans in the Legislature have  twice now in eight months  single-handedly obstructed millions in settlement funds that we could use today to fight it, Evers said in response.

Spokespeople for DHS didnt respond to a request for comment on whether the objection might have any consequences for the agencys proposal.

The agency proposed spending $4 million to expand fentanyl- and overdose-reversal agents, $1 million to implement substance abuse prevention classes in schools, and $3 million to support capital projects to expand drug treatment, harm reduction, prevention and recovery statewide.

By DHSs own admission, there is limited information to report at this time on the use of previously received opioid settlement funds, Born and Marklein said in a statement. The proposal for the new round of funding appears to invest in initiatives from the last round that have not yet proven effective.

The committee will continue talking to stakeholders to make sure the funds are put to the most effective use, Born and Marklein said.

The committee rejected a $31 million spending plan in August, but approved an adjusted plan to use the settlement funds in September, after Evers said the committees earlier rejection simply defies logic.

Some $10 million of that is being spent on upgrading or building new addiction-treatment facilities, with $6 million going to tribal nations for prevention and treatment and $3 million going to law enforcement. Another $3 million is to expand access to naloxone, or Narcan, the overdose-reversal drug, and $2 million is to increase the distribution of fentanyl test strips.

Single-use fentanyl strips can be dipped into water containing a small sample from a pill, powder or injectable drug. Lines on the strips show the presence of fentanyl. The goal is to help drug users make informed decisions, such as using less of a drug or using only as long as someone else is present to monitor them.

More than 90% of opioid overdose deaths in 2021 involved fentanyl or other synthetic opioids, with fentanyl overdoses nearly doubling from 2019 to 2021, DHS said in a public health advisory in August.

The agency last year reported a record 1,427 opioid overdose deaths in 2021, 16.3% more than the previous record in 2020 and more than twice the toll from six and seven years earlier. Health officials blame fentanyl for much of the increase.
Niagara Falls city council is calling on staff to ensure traffic and safety issues that concerned some families during the recent Easter egg hunt at Firemens Park are not repeated when the municipality hosts its Canada Day celebrations at the north-end property July 1.

The popular Easter egg hunt, hosted by Stamford Centre Volunteer Firemens Association April 7, snarled traffic in the area, with vehicles at times backed up all the way down Mountain Road to Kalar Road, and vehicles parking along the side of the street down a sizble stretch of Dorchester Road.

Some attending parents voiced concerns about the event on social media, claiming the lack of a proper set up led to chaotic situations where children became separated from their loved ones.

Coun. Mona Patel said she doesnt want to see similar scenes when the city moves its annual Canada Day festivities this summer to a more natural environment at the 54.6-hectare (135-acre) park from the more urban street-type festival atmosphere residents and visitors have enjoyed in downtown Niagara Falls for the last 10 years.

I think we have to organize the parking lot a little better after what happened during the Easter egg hunt, she said during Tuesday nights meeting.

Kathy Moldenhauer, the citys director of recreation and culture, said the municipality is planning for shuttles.

We would probably have a shuttle here at city hall, so we could take people to the park. Also, at MacBain Community Centre. We were thinking of the Gale Centre as well. Obviously we could add more as needed, she said. We want to ensure that its easy for people to get there and that were not disrupting the neighbourhood.

Patel asked for staff to co-ordinate with Niagara Regional Police to possibly have officers on site to control traffic and deal with general safety in the area.

What happened at the Easter egg hunt, some parents were very worried about their kids safety, so hopefully we dont have the same issue during Canada Day.

Coun. Victor Pietrangelo said when summer weather arrives, vehicles can park on the grass at Firemens Park, which would be in addition to the propertys parking lot.

He said the city is just putting the final touches on a childrens memorial at Firemens Park and asked if the project can be done in time for Canada Day.

Were not going to have a better audience than Canada Day. It would be a great time to really unveil it.

Jason Burgess, the municipalitys chief administrative officer, said that will depend on the contractors timelines, but staff can see what we can do to hurry that up.

Coun. Lori Lococo said a resident contacted her and while they like the idea about Canada Day celebrations moving to Firemens Park, they hope the city considers accessibility for people attending in wheelchairs and other mobility devices, which can be very difficult on grass.

When it was down on Queen Street, you had level pavement that people could move around, said Lococo. Because theres so much grass, could some of the activities be possibly in the parking lot, which I know you need for parking, but to consider that?

Mayor Jim Diodati said theres a covered cement area in the back of the property and a hall, which could possibly be used for some activities.

Burgess said there are other accessible options for grass areas.

They have these mats that you can roll out to take them to a more level ground and we can certainly take a look at that with our (Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act) team.

Coun. Mike Strange said a lot of people are disappointed there wont be a Canada Day parade this year, adding it would be a good idea for staff to consider, in future years, holding a mini parade along the Haulage Road Recreation Trail, a 1.5-kilometre city owned, multi-use trail between Mountain and Dorchester roads, where Firemens Park is located, and St. Paul Avenue.

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TORONTO - Allowing tech companies to apply brazen labels to the social media accounts of credible publications can harm the reputations of news outlets and mislead the public, academics say.

They are concerned that Twitter chief executive Elon Musks recent move to label social media accounts, including CBCs, as government-funded could exact damage because it was done on a whim and is seemingly not rooted in the truth.

When the platform itself comes along and slaps a label on their official accounts or profiles saying this is a government-funded organization, for a journalistic enterprise, thats a major blow to their reputation, said Brett Caraway, a professor of media economics at the University of Toronto.

The worst thing that a journalistic enterprise can be accused of is being a government propaganda outlet.

Twitter labelled CBC government-funded on Sunday. On Monday evening, Musk later had the label changed to 70% government-funded and then 69% government-funded.

CBC has since paused its use of Twitter, saying the label is unfair and incorrect because the broadcaster receives public funding through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all MPs, and its editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act.

Musks succession of labels is not a serious response, CBC media relations director Leon Mar said in an email Tuesday.

Journalistic independence is not a game.

Twitter responded to multiple requests for comment about why the label was applied and whether it would be removed or changed with an auto-generated email bearing a poop emoji.

However, its website defines government-funded media as outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlets funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content. Twitters policy links to a Wikipedia page listing publicly funded broadcasters it said it may use in determining when this label should be applied.

Caraway characterized the label as a form of libel because it conjures up a notion that because a media company receives government or public funding, it must also cede to political demands, which is untrue in the case of public broadcasters such as CBC, NPR and BBC.

Last week, NPR announced it would quit Twitter over the social media company labelling it state-affiliated media, a term often associated with outlets controlled by authoritarian regimes.

Twitter later changed it to government-funded media and began applying the same label to other publishers including the BBC, which had previously been named as an exception to the state-affiliated media label. The BBCs label was later changed to publicly-funded media.

Its laudable to try and provide additional context to content for readers on social media, but I feel like the emphasis on institutions like the BBC and CBC and NPR and all of these, it is misguided, Caraway said.

This isnt where the emphasis actually needs to be.

Instead, he feels more attention should be paid to the lone wolf content creators that you dont know anything about.

Like your crazy uncle thats sharing conspiracy theories from some weird website like Freedomeagle.net or something like that, thats where the additional context would be beneficial, Caraway said.

Sara Grimes, the director of the University of Torontos Knowledge Media Design Institute, saw the labelling of CBCs account as the latest in a series of bad and puzzling decisions Musk has made over the past few months.

She said its terrible to have tech companies applying these labels in an ad hoc and reactionary way with no consistency, transparency or apparent rationale.

Labels like these can be read as factual and accurate, especially when theyre coming from a giant tech company heavily engaged in distributing news to millions of people around the world, she said.

Inaccurate or overly simplified labels, devoid of key contextual information, are at best ambiguous and at worst are themselves a form of misinformation.

Grimes says labels should instead be applied after a factual and transparent evaluation that uses clear and consistent definitions. The labelling process must have the involvement of people with actual knowledge of how media companies operate or Grimes said the usefulness of labels is questionable at best.

She and Caraway agreed pausing the use of Twitter is a good strategy for media companies targeted by Musks incorrect labels and the departures of advertisers and users turned off by his actions.

Grimes said, Twitter isnt what it used to be and its ability to share and highlight newsworthy events has crumbled significantly.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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ST. JOHNS, N.L. - A Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer is heading back to jail for sexual assault after a ruling Wednesday from the provinces Court of Appeal brought an eight-year legal process closer to a much-anticipated end.

Const. Carl Douglas Snelgrove was convicted in May 2021 and sentenced to four years in prison for raping a woman in her living room while on duty in 2014 after driving her home from downtown St. Johns in his police car. His lawyers appealed the decision, arguing that a provincial Supreme Court judge made several errors during his trial.

In a decision released Wednesday, a panel of three Appeal Court judges unanimously dismissed the arguments. There were no errors made by the judge, they wrote.

Snelgrove was granted bail in December 2021, pending their ruling. He was in police custody on Wednesday and had 60 days to seek leave to appeal before the Supreme Court of Canada, said Crown attorney Kathleen OReilly.

Snelgroves case has gripped the province since his first trial began in 2017, sparking wide-ranging discussions about consent, policing and power. His acquittal that year prompted days of angry protests in St. Johns. The Crowns appeal was successful and he was put on trial a second time, which ended in a mistrial in 2020, leading to more demonstrations.

When he was convicted in May of 2021, billboards lit up across the city with messages supporting the complainant, who had become known as Jane Doe. She testified in all three trials, recounting the excruciating details of her assault each time. And each time, women in the city rallied around her, writing her cards or recording videos of solidarity.

Ashley MacDonald led the support efforts in St. Johns. She said Wednesdays ruling was welcome.

Hopefully Jane Doe is feeling some sort of relief or peace, MacDonald said in an interview.

St. Johns lawyer Lynn Moore said the outcome was the right result, though she noted it came from a deeply flawed process.

Its really unfair that this process has taken so long and taken so much out of this young woman, she said in an interview. Im glad to see this result, but there is something very, very wrong with our system that would allow it to treat her in this way.

Moore has represented Jane Doe since police began investing Snelgrove, though Moore said she has mostly been providing her with information about the criminal process; Snelgrove was prosecuted by Crown attorneys, so Doe did not have a lawyer with her in the courtrooms.

Moore said she spoke with Jane Doe on Tuesday. She wanted me to convey how grateful she is for the community support, Moore said, adding, She still reads the cards.

The lawyer now represents eight women who say they, too, were victims of sexual assault or misconduct by Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officers. One woman filed a civil lawsuit last January, and the others filed a joint civil suit last September.

I hope that Jane Does bravery encourages other women to be brave and take action, Moore said, adding that her experience in the criminal court system is largely what drove the other women to seek justice through civil proceedings.

Snelgrove remains a Royal Newfoundland Constabulary officer, though he is suspended without pay, said Const. James Cadigan in an interview.

Provincial policing regulations prevent the force from taking action related to this employment until all legal proceedings have ended, Moore said.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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LUNENBURG, N.S. - A prominent former schoolhouse in the scenic Nova Scotia town of Lunenburg is up for sale because the community cant afford the costs of maintaining the national historic site.

Lunenburg Academy, which dates back to 1895, is a three-storey Victorian-style building often referred to as the castle on the hill. The building served as a school until 2012 and now operates as a community cultural centre.

The town has paid nearly $2 million in capital and operating costs since 2012 and last year asked the Lunenburg Academy Foundation whether it wanted to buy the building, which sits atop Gallows Hill.

In an interview Wednesday, foundation president Rachel Bailey said her organization was caught off guard at the time but has since hired a consultant to do a feasibility study on a potential purchase.

We certainly werent anticipating an opportunity or a requirement to buy the building, and as a volunteer board we needed some time to digest what that might look like, Bailey said. The study, she added, expected at the end of May, is to recommend the best ownership model for the academy.

News of the sale came to light in a report by local news outlet the Lunenburg Barnacle, which published a letter from the town to Parks Canada saying that it wanted to sell the academy and the land surrounding it. The letter was obtained through a freedom of information request.

We did recently become aware of the correspondence  that had left the door open for the property to fall into private hands, presumably if we were not able to assume ownership, Bailey said. That was a very disappointing development for us. We thought it should be without question that the building remain as a public entity.

Bailey distributed a letter on April 13 to foundation members detailing the buildings financial situation and the foundations dealings with the town. It noted a financial shortfall of just over $713,000 over the past 10 years, but added that revenue had recently increased as the building was developed and new tenants brought on board. The letter said a small surplus was registered in 2022 based on revenues of $240,894. The foundation also recently raised $1.5 million through a capital funding campaign.

Lunenburg Mayor Matt Risser said the operating and capital costs of the building would equate to more than $100 a year per household in the town of 2,400 people.

Being a small cash-strapped town, thats an excessive burden  and so we are exploring the option with the foundation of divesting it (the academy) to them, Risser said. If the foundation is unable to take it over, thats a bridge council will have to cross when they come to it.

He said its still possible the town could retain the building if theres no sale, but he adds that a plebiscite would have to be held on raising taxes in order to help pay for it.

My fervent hope is that the foundation is able to assume ownership in light of the towns offer, said Risser, who is stepping down as mayor next month.

Parks Canada says Lunenburg Academy was designated a national historic site of Canada in 1983 because it is a rare survivor from Nova Scotias 19th-century academy system of education.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

 By Keith Doucette in Halifax.

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The coronation of King Charles III is expected to draw hundreds of special guests and dignitaries from nations around the world. The May 6 ceremony, in which the King will officially be crowned at Westminster Abbey following a formal procession from Buckingham Palace, will include roughly 2,000 attendees.

Heres a look at whos set to attend the historic event, who will notably be absent and who has yet to publicly confirm their attendance.

Confirmed Attendees

Prince Harry: On April 12, Buckingham Palace made it official: Prince Harry will attend his fathers coronation the following month. The announcement ended weeks of fervent speculation about whether the 38-year-old would be welcome, following the sharp criticisms and allegations of discrimination he levelled against his family, publicized in a Netflix docuseries and his bestselling memoir, Spare. Its unclear, however, how visible the Duke of Sussex will be at the coronation, including whether he will appear on the balcony of Buckingham Palace with other members of the Royal Family at the end of the ceremony.

Gov. Gen. Mary Simon: Kings Charless representative in Canada, Gov. Gen. Mary Simon, will attend his coronation on May 6, a spokesperson for her office confirmed to the Star via email on April 14. Simon, the first Inuk to hold the position, is reportedly facilitating an opportunity for Indigenous leaders to meet with the King ahead of his coronation, according to the Assembly of First Nations.

Royal Canadian Mounted Police: Five members of the RCMPs musical ride, the Mounties renowned performance cavalry unit, will participate in the Kings procession, RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Kim Chamberland confirmed with the Star. The RCMP members will ride in the coronation procession from Westminster Abbey to Buckingham Palace, ahead of the King and Camilla, the Queen Consort. They will ride on former musical ride horses George, Elizabeth, Sir John, Darby and Noble, all of whom were gifted to the Royal Family. The RCMP has shared a particularly special relationship with the Royal Family through its mutual gifting of horses. Our most recent gift, Noble, was presented to the King last month, furthering our long-standing tradition, Chamberland told the Star. The RCMP will be joined by armed forces members from the U.K. and across the Commonwealth and other British territories.

British parliamentarians: Rishi Sunak, the first British prime minister appointed by the King, will attend the coronation ceremony with his wife, Akshata Murthy, according to multiple British media reports. British cabinet ministers are also expected to be present, though many are angered that theyve not been allowed to bring a plus one to the event, unlike the prime minister. Lots of cabinet ministers, and their partners, are unhappy about it, a government source told the Daily Mail on April 9. They sacrifice a lot for their other half to do the jobs they do, and it would mean a great deal to be invited to the Coronation.

First lady Jill Biden: During a phone call with King Charles in early April, President Joe Biden confirmed that his wife, first lady Jill Biden, will represent the U.S. at the royal event, the White House said. The American president said his wife looks forward to attending on behalf of the United States.

British Empire Medal recipients: A man who climbed the highest peak in South Britain every day for a year to raise money for cancer research; a doctor who served on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic; and a woman who started a charity and has spoken to more than 10,000 people to raise awareness about road safety. Those are among the recipients of the British Empire Medal  awarded for commendable civil and military service  who will attend the Kings coronation on May 6.

Expected Absences

Meghan Markle: While Prince Harry will be making the trip to London in May, his wife and two children will not. A spokesperson for the couple confirmed on April 12 that Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex, will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. Of note, Coronation Day happens to fall on Archies fourth birthday.

President Joe Biden: No sitting U.S. president has ever attended a British royal coronation. President Joe Biden isnt expected to break with that tradition. Biden told the King he looks forward to meeting the monarch at a future date, after announcing that his wife, first lady Jill Biden, will represent the U.S. at the ceremony, the White House said. However, the presidents decision not to attend the ceremony has drawn some criticism. This is a once-in-a-lifetime event, and you would have thought he should come because hes a head of state, Bob Seely, a Conservative member of the British Parliament, told the Telegraph.

Unconfirmed Attendees

Canadian parliamentarians: Government officials have been tight-lipped about which politicians will be at the Kings coronation. While the Governor Generals attendance has been confirmed, further details regarding the composition of the Canadian delegation will be announced in due course, Pierre-Alain Bujold, spokesperson for Canadas Privy Council Office, said in an email to the Star. Though Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is widely expected to attend, his role in the ceremony is unclear. At the coronation of Queen Elizabeth in 1953  a larger affair than the Kings upcoming royal event, which royal insiders say will be scaled-back  then prime minister Louis St. Laurent rode in the queens coronation procession, escorted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

Ralph Goodale: Jean-Pierre J. Godbout, spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada, could not confirm whether Canadas high commissioner to the United Kingdom, Ralph Goodale, will attend the ceremony. Canadas participation at the Coronation of His Majesty King Charles III will be announced in due course, Godbout said in an email to the Star on April 14.

With files by The Associated Press

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All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in Adamawa State, Aisha Dahiru Binani has dismissed the claim of N2billion bribe.

The suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner, REC, Hudu Yunusa-Ari had declared the Senator the winner of the election on Sunday under controversial circumstances.

In a statement on Tuesday, Binani said her attention was drawn to a very bizarre and wild allegation purportedly made by an officer of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The DSS officer, in a video, said the flagbearer gave out N2billion to some unnamed Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, officials.

I never did. I would never do such, she stressed, saying that the claim was allegedly made when the officer was being tortured at gunpoint.

Binani said those who tortured him were the agents of the Adamawa State Governor and the Government House police team alongside their political thugs.

The lawmaker described herself as a committed democrat who will never do anything to subvert democratic process.

I am not a do-or-die politician. In the past I have won elections into the House of Representatives and the Senate in a free and fair manner, she said.

Binani added that what happened in Adamawa was an unsuccessful attempt to subvert the will of the people.

She said the REC was illegally told to stand down by two INEC national commissioners from Abuja who were supposed to be in Adamawa in a supervisory capacity.

Even more curious is the nocturnal visit. The roles of these INEC officers and the real mission to the Government House should be of interest to all democrats, she added.

Binani urged all lovers of democracy to take a deeper interest in our electoral process and democracy not only in Adamawa but in the whole country.




The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has said that President Muhammadu Buhari did not intervene in the political controversies in Adamawa State because the matter was purely within the purview of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.

The minister said this on Wednesday while responding to questions from State House correspondents after the weekly Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting chaired by the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

Asked why the President did not sanction the Adamawa State Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC), Barrister Hudu Yunusa Ari, who wrongfully declared the All Progressives Congress governorship candidate in the state, Aisha Dahiru Binani, winner of the poll, even when the collation of the results was yet to be concluded, the minister said: I dont think that this government has ever intervened in the way the Independent National Electoral Commission conducts elections. It was entirely an INEC matter and INEC has handled it.

Asked whether the President would act since the INEC had called on him to discipline the REC who is his appointee, Mohammed said he was not in any position to second guess what the President would do on the matter.

He, however, stressed that such a petition would have to pass through the process, beginning from the Office of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, before it gets to the President.

Asked specifically what he did during his recent media tour to the United States of America and the United Kingdom, Mohammed said: I went to the US to balance the skewed report about the just concluded elections and everywhere I went I said unequivocally that the last general election in Nigeria has been most transparent and that despite the efforts of the opposition to de-legitimise or soil the elections.

I stated there that two reasons why these elections were key were, one, that the use of technology, BVAS, made it difficult for anybody to do the usual thing before by overvoting, stuffing ballots and the rest because once it takes your biometrics, you cant vote twice.

Secondly, the President before the elections promised that he would provide a level playing ground and he did. In the first instance, he did not confer any advantage on the ruling party and that is why, as far as we are concerned, we would rather lose the election than win at all costs. And the results showed it. The President lost the presidential election in his own state, Katsina. It has never happened before for a sitting president to lose in his own state.

I went further to say that the President prevented anybody from using the security to rig elections. Of course, the last election was the least violent in the history of Nigeria.

On his call for the trial of Peter Obi for treason, the minister said: What I said about Mr Peter Obi is very clear. I said Mr Peter ObI has every right to seek redress in court. But nobody has the right to call for insurrection or to threaten to say that if the President-elect is sworn-in, that would be the end of democracy.

One precisely watched what the running mate of Mr Peter Obi said on television and I have not heard Mr Peter Obi reigning him or correcting him. So if your running mate says something, of course, he was saying it on behalf of the party and on behalf of the candidate. It was treason for anybody to say that if a duly elected President of Nigeria is sworn in that would be the end of democracy, its treason. For anybody to say if you swear in a duly elected President you are swearing in the military, its treason. So, I dont see anything controversial in that.
The spokesperson of the Tinubu-Shettima Campaign, Festus Keyamo has taken a swipe at the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, as the long-drawn Adamawa governorship election came to a dramatic end on Tuesday.

On Sunday, April 16, when the now suspended Resident Electoral Commissioner in Adamawa, Hudu Yunusa Ari, illegally declared the candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, as the winner, Keyamo had immediately taken to Twitter to congratulate Senator Aisha Binani, saying her acclaimed victory was a glass-shattering watershed for the women of Nigeria!

Keyamo specially thanked the APC for making it possible, telling Nigerian women to please go ye forth and conquer!

However, when the declaration made by the embattled Adamawa REC was declared null and void by the INEC national headquarters, Keyamo said: Following the earlier reports by the media of Binanis declaration, I have just been informed of the position of INEC nullifying (for now) the declaration and suspending the collation process. We will therefore await further action by INEC.

When the collation of results was concluded and announced in favour of Gov Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party, on Tuesday, April 18, Keyamo took a swipe at the opposition, accusing them of hypocrisy.

He said: Anytime the opposition wins, whether on the field or in the courts, it is justice! Anytime the ruling party wins, whether on the field or in the courts, it is injustice! Hypocrites with double standards everywhere!




Popular actor Deyemi Okanlawon has advised his colleague, Kunle Remi after he was snubbed by the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards, AMVCA organisers, to seek spiritual means.





Recall that actor Kunle Afolayans 2022 movie, Anikulapo, received the highest number of nominations at the 2023 edition of Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.





Even though the movie was nominated in 15 different categories with 16 nominations, Anikulapo lead actor Kunle Remi didnt get one nomination.





Speaking on his exclusion from the AMVCA 2023 nomination list on his Instagram page, Remi stated that he would have won the categories some of his friends were nominated for if he were nominated.





He said, First of all, congratulations to all my friends/colleagues. This year wont be great without yalls amazing work and effort. God save una, because I would have won if Im in the category.





Advising the Anikulapo star in a post on his Instagram page, Okanlawon urged Remi not to give up. And further encouraged him to seek spiritual means.





Okanlawon said, In life, if all else fails, be like KR and try any spiritual means possible. one must work. Take heart, @kunleremiofficial. Your TTVCA (TikTok Viewers Choice Awards) nomination will come soon IJN.





Please, lets come together and send KR love and small change to console him in this trying time, but you can send your special gifts for my birthday tomorrow.




AY Makun, the comedian, has threatened to sue Julius Agwu, his colleague, for alleged defamation.

In a recent interview, Julius Agwu said he began his Easter show Laugh For Christ Sake long before AY started promoting his own concert.

Agwu added that he called AY to tell him that the date for the two concerts clashed but he (AY) hung up on him.

On Wednesday, AY released a statement via Instagram, responding to the accusations made by Agwu about taking over his Easter Sunday show date.

He also shared a series of posts including dates and locations of various events to refute his colleagues claims.

AY said he will take legal action against Agwu should the accusations continue.

Dear senior colleague Julius Agwu, my question is, how is it even possible to lay claims to the fact that I took over your Easter Sunday date with the following verifiable facts, the statement reads.

Laff 4 Christ Sake stopped in 2009 and only came back on October 23rd, 2011. The same year I did AY Live on Workers Day May 1st (which obviously was not on Easter Sunday).

Slide 3 confirms Laff 4 Christ Sake happening in London on Easter Sunday, April 8th, 2012. ( I am here wondering how you intended to do both London and Nigeria the same day)

Slide 4 confirms Laff 4 Christ Sake happening in Port Harcourt on Good Friday, March 29th, 2013 (and not on Easter Sunday).

Slide 5 confirms Julius D Genius Agwu performing at AY Live on Easter Sunday, March 31st, 2013. ( which I believed would have been an issue if I truly ever cut a call on senior colleague who holds claim the same date)

Slides 6 & 7 confirms our cordial relationship as family friends after my Easter show in 2013 ( Im still wondering at what point I cut a call on you for us to still see ourselvesas families)

Slide 8 confirms me as a performing act at your London show in 2015 ( where I had to buy my own airline ticket to support you due to the unforeseen situation that happened to you)

Slide 9 shows every event concerning you that the AY Show covered at different times.

It was on one of such occasions that you invited my wife and I over to your birthday and apologised for all the wrong accusations over the years in the presence of Okey Bakassi and other key industry players.

Fast forward to 2023, here we are again with this libellous video that will not be tolerated.

Should this continue without any proof to your claims of me bewitching you, I will be filing a slanderous lawsuit against you for consistently trying to damage my reputation.




President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja after an eight-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he also performed the Umrah (Lesser Hajj).





NAN reports that the Nigerian leader departed Saudi Arabia via King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.





Saudi government officials, traditional and spiritual leaders from Nigeria, as well as some senior staff of the Nigerian Embassy in the Kingdom, were at the airport to bid farewell to the president.





The president had successfully performed Umrah rituals amid tight security upon his arrival at the Grand Mosque in Makkah from Madinah on Thursday morning.





NAN reports that the president had, alongside members of his entourage as well as some traditional and religious leaders from the six geopolitical zones of the country, been led by a delegation from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque in the performance of the rituals.





The Nigerian leader had earlier visited some historic religious places in Madinah on Tuesday and Wednesday before he proceeded to Makkah for the Umrah.
Salihu Lukman, vice-chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the north-west, has accused Abdullahi Adamu, the partys national chairman, of highhandedness.

In a letter dated April 19 and addressed to Adamu, Lukman alleged that the APC national chairman is running the affairs of the party in disregard to the partys constitution.

He claimed that despite numerous letters he wrote to Adamu to convene a meeting of the national working committee (NWC), the APC chairman declined and instead chose to run the party arbitrarily.

Perhaps, by extension, I can also conclude that given your disposition to run affairs of the party only based on your discretionary decisions without reference to provisions of the APC constitution, your commitment to the party and its electoral viability is weak, the letter reads.

Being the national chairman who is respected by party leaders at all levels, it is worrisome that under your leadership, we will be back to the old problems of being unable to respect provisions of our constitution with respect to convening meetings of organs and ensuring that all our organs are allowed to perform their statutory functions as provided in our constitutions.

It is more worrisome given that you are a lawyer by training, a very experienced politician who had the rare privilege of being a two-term Governor as well as someone who has been operating at the highest level of national politics since the second republic. By any standard, no one will expect a person of your stature and experience in politics to be taciturn when it comes to managing affairs of the party based on respect for the partys constitution.

Salihu further claimed that the APC national chairman has refused to account for the funds raised by NWC from the sale of forms during the partys presidential primary last year.

As a member of NWC, we have never had any session where we were invited to consider any report of activity in the last year. Yet, Article 13.4 (ii) of our constitution requires that the NWC submit quarterly reports to NEC, he said.

We have never deliberated on any financial report even when Article 13.4 (iv) requires that we present quarterly financial reports to NEC. We have never deliberated on a national budget although Article 13.3A(xiv) requires that we present one to NEC and get approval.

Large-scale financial expenditure is being undertaken without any organ of the party including the NWC allowed to perform any form of statutory due diligence.

DISCRETIONARY DECISIONS MUST BE ARRESTED URGENTLY

Salihu said Adamu will not be allowed to run the party as a sole proprietorship, adding that compliance with the APC constitution is sacrosanct.

As a reminder, we are a party that was inspired by President Buhari and Asiwaju Tinubu to make every sacrifice to lead the process of changing Nigerian politics, he said.

If discretionary decisions are allowed to continue to guide the management of the party, self-centred and sectarian approaches to managing elections will take over. This must be arrested immediately and with the urgency it requires.

The only way to do that will be to restore constitutional order within the APC. Restoring constitutional order within the APC is about returning the APC to its founding vision, which is non-negotiable.
The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) says the All Progressives Congress (APC) should zone the senate presidency to the south-south.

The socio-political group said the office of the number three citizen should be zoned to the south-south because the region has not produced a senate president since 1983.

Meanwhile, some senators including Godswill Akpabio, who is from the south-south, have declared their ambitions to lead the 10th assembly.

Jibrin Barau (Kano Central); Sani Musa (Niger East); Orji Kalu (Abia North); Osita Izunaso (Imo West); Peter Ndubueze (Imo North); AbdulAziz Yari (Zamfara West); Ahmad Lawan (Yobe North); and Ali Ndume (Borno South) are all aiming to become the senate president.

Recall that a group of former and serving members of the national assembly asked the APC to nominate Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, as the senate president.

In a statement by Ken Robinson, the spokesperson of PANDEF, zoning the senate presidents office to the south-south is the fair and proper thing to do.

The south-south zone has an unassailable reason to step up to the senate presidency, after twenty-four years of our current democratic experience. No contrary arguments can stand against this south-south position, he said.

PANDEF, therefore, implores the president-elect, senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, along with other key stakeholders of the APC, and, indeed, all senators-elect of all parties, and the party hierarchies, to support the ceding of the incoming senate presidency to the south-south zone. This is, unarguably, the fair and proper thing to do, at this time of our countrys political progression.

Whilst agreeing, in parts, with the positions postulated by the progressive governors forum, and sundry individuals, on the subject, PANDEF is disturbed by some of the names reported in the media, to have indicated an interest in the senate presidency, in particular.

PANDEF, as a body of patriots and proven committed stakeholders, in the Nigerian project, is compelled to issue this timely advice, in the national interest. Thus, urges politicians to draw lessons from recent happenings in the polity, and demonstrate grander statesmanship, and patriotism, in designing the leadership of the upcoming 10th national assembly.
Elder statesman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu, has emerged as the President-General of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, replacing the late Prof. George Obiozor.

A delegation of the Imo Elders Council, led by the chairman, HRM Eze Cletus Ilomuanya, presented Iwuanyanwu to Imo State Governor Hope Uzodinma, on Wednesday, at the Government House, Owerri.

Ilomuanya told Uzodinma that the decision to adopt Iwuanyanwu was taken by the Imo State Council of Elders at its meeting in April in Owerri.

While appealing to the governor to grant his approval to the adoption by the council, Ilomuanya described Iwuanyanwu as a versatile, dynamic and broad-minded personality.




The Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said that Mr Julius Abure, the embattled national chairman of the party remains his own man amid the leadership crisis rocking the party.

Obi spoke on Tuesday at the LP National Executive Council, NEC, meeting in Asaba, Delta State.

The post-election crisis in the LP took another dimension a few days ago after the Nigeria Police Force, NPF, sealed its secretariat.

Recall that a Federal High Court, in Abuja, had ordered Abure to stay away from parading himself as the national chairman of the LP a week after a ward in the Edo State chapter of the party suspended him over alleged anti-party activities.

Immediately after the court order, LPs national vice chairman, Lamido Bashir Apapa, who had been accused of being sponsored by opposition parties, took over the party in an acting capacity.

But in another twist, a High Court in Benin also gave an order restraining anybody from removing the embattled party chairman from his office.

However, when asked to comment on the leadership crisis rocking the LP and its embattled national chairman, Obi said, The case is in court. I have respect for that, but he remains my own man.




The Labour Party, LP, won 14 out of the 24 constituency seats in Enugu State House of Assembly.





The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, made the confirmation on Tuesday.





In the list of members-elect released by the umpire, the LP won 14 seats at the March 18 state elections.





The ruling Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, will occupy the remaining 10 in the 10th House to be inaugurated in June.





INECs Head of Voter Education and Publicity in Enugu, Rex Achumie listed the names, constituencies, parties and number of votes scored.





Achumie advised members of the public to disregard any unauthorised list posted on social media.
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Adamu Garba has issued a stern warning to the Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Garba said the presidency would forever remain a dream to Obi for allegedly insulting the North.

He issued the warning in response to Obis promise to alleviate poverty starting from the North.

Obi had said he remained committed to transforming Nigeria starting from the North.

The LP candidate had tweeted: Beyond regaining our mandate, I am committed to lifting people out of poverty and I remain committed to transforming Nigeria starting from the North to every part of the nation.

Responding, Garba stressed that Obi would never come close to becoming a president again.

Tweeting, Garba wrote: We know you are insulting us, we the Northerners, Mr. @PeterObi and we are assuring you that as far as the Presidency of Nigeria is concerned, it shall remain in your illusionary dream forever.

Youll never come close to it. You bigoted, religious, ethnocentric merchant.

You can go to Finland to contend with your new Biafra government in exile.
Bola Tinubu, the president-elect, has called on the police to investigate the Adamawa supplementary governorship election.

On Tuesday, the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Ahmadu Fintiri as the winner of the election after collating the supplementary election results.

The final tally showed that Aisha Binani Dahiru, candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), scored 398,788 votes while Fintiri polled 430,861 votes.

Prior to the announcement, controversy ensued after Hudu Yunusa-Ari, the resident electoral commissioner (REC) in the state, declared Binani the winner of the election.

His declaration was subsequently voided by the electoral umpire.

In a statement on Wednesday, Tinubu called for a thorough investigation of all that transpired in the election.

The supplementary polls have now brought the 2023 elections to a final, fitting conclusion. I observed, with satisfaction, the largely peaceful atmosphere that pervaded the supplementary election on Saturday. It was a further testimony that our citizens have accepted democratic norms and have unalloyed faith in the electoral process, he said.

However, I note the matter of Adamawa Supplementary Governorship Election and I urge police authorities to fully investigate all that transpired in the election given the attendant controversy. In every democratic contest, there has to be one winner. I call on those aggrieved to pursue legitimate means of addressing their grievances.

BRACE UP TO SERVE NIGERIANS

The president-elect congratulated winners in the elections while calling on the elected officials to rededicate themselves to the service of their respective constituents.

Tinubu enjoined them to brace up to serve Nigerians and work with him to achieve a prosperous country.

With the conclusion of the 2023 elections, I now welcome all of us who have been elected to brace up to serve our people with diligence and dedication and to join hands with me as your President-elect in the pursuit of our agenda to renew the hopes of our people in a better, stronger, more secure, economically vibrant and prosperous Nigeria, he said.




The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, governorship candidate in Kogi State, Sen. Dino Melaye, has claimed that Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike, gave him his private jet while he was helping him in the past because he felt he had the qualities and credibility to be a governor.

Melaye disclosed this while appearing on Arise TV morning show on Wednesday.

He said that Wike also invested his money in him, adding that he has respect for him as somebody who has assisted him in the past.

Melaye said, I want to tell you [Wike] that you supported me, doesnt mean that you would ask for my liver and kidney. I will not give it and let me say that Wike himself has always been supported and he owes PDP a lot and anything he is doing for any individual in PDP is like giving back for what PDP has done for him.

Governor Odili made him chairman of his local government. So he has been helped by somebody. After Governor Odili helped him, Governor Amaechi made him chief of staff. Governor Amaechi helped him. Governor Amaechi nominated him to be a minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Governor Amaechi helped him. Mrs Goodluck Jonathan spent her money, her connection and everything to make him the Governor of Rivers State.

So everyone gets helped by one person or the other. But you dont help people with the intention to enslave them, to control them and run their life and decisions. Once you give assistance to somebody, then you should allow the person to exist, but Wike once he assists you and you dont do his bidding and you try to say I have an idea or decision, he would go all out and advertise you and announce what he has done for you.

For example, he gave N50 million to the family of a late respected traditional ruler in Port Harcourt. He came to a national TV to announce that he gave N50m to that respected Nigerian, a former minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and a respected traditional ruler.

You dont do things like that. In fact, the holy book said whatever you do with your right hand, the left hand should not even know. So the truth of the matter is that God can assist you through anybody. But because I refused to support his presidential ambition. When he was helping me, I was qualified, when he was helping me, he felt I had the qualities and credibility to be a governor and that is why he invested his money in me and that is why he gave me his private jet.

So what happened now? The same person you saw quality in him, the same person you saw quality in him, you will not put your money where you have no faith. Nobody will do that. Only a madman will do that. So he invested at that time because he saw quality in me, he saw that I was qualified to be the Governor of Kogi State, but because I refused to do his bidding, because I refused to support his presidential ambition, he now wants to take on me. Throughout the campaign, you will never find a place where I spoke derogatorily about Governor Wike because I respect him as somebody who has assisted me in the past.
In the near future, a young family is visiting downtown Columbus and decides to explore the new three-story structure located at 26th Avenue and 14th Street  the Columbus Community Building.

In the scenario painted by Columbus Area Childrens Museum (CACM) Executive Director Katy McNeil, its a family of four on this adventure  a parent, a teenager, a 7-year-old and a toddler. The parent stops in The Broken Mug satellite location for much-needed caffeine before setting their teenager loose in the Columbus Public Librarys makerspace.

Then, the parent and two younger kids head over to the CACM.

The first thing they see is a 24-foot corncob at the center of the room, and then they see Kidstown, a modern farm, the water table, the theater, and they're off to explore, McNeil said. Your toddler is playing in the young children's area, making new friends and exploring what their senses, as you take in the educational facts provided by donors regarding your health, local business, industry and agriculture.

The parent can imagine the possibilities in Columbus new attraction  kids birthday parties, family reunions and rainy days in the CACMs new innovative, safe indoor space to learn and play.

Each family will have their own reasons for visiting but to make our space the best it can be and to fully open our doors in October of 2023, we are asking you to play your part and fund the fun, McNeil said, during a CACM press conference held April 18 in the Columbus council chambers.

The CACM will include a Dramatic Play Theater, loose parts playground, early childhood play area, Kidstown, Farm Adventure, water play and a science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) area, as well as a sensory room, a multi-purpose room and an outdoor play area.

In 2020, Columbus voters approved a bond issue to use funds from an existing sales tax for the construction of the Columbus Community Building, which includes the museum, Columbus Public Library, Columbus Arts Council, community rooms, a coffee shop and Columbus City Hall.

The bond paid for the shell of the museum, but the CACM is a separate entity with the rest of the space being funded with donations, sponsorships and grants.

Previous library project efforts had failed until a group of people with vision reworked a new concept that became the Columbus Community Building, Mayor Jim Bulkley said.

Think of bringing kids into a facility like this from all over  Think of the educational opportunities that offers to all our surrounding communities. Think about that does to bring people in the Columbus, to let us show off what we've got here, Bulkley said. We think we've got some pretty neat things here. That also translates to economic improvements because people come to town, people spend money. This is all extremely exciting. It's all something that I think the community has been waiting for.

Engagement efforts have shown downtown as the preferred location by the community, City Administrator Tara Vasicek added, with the goal being that the new community building should become a hub of downtown activity and serve as a catalyst for further revitalization.

All of that, Vasicek said, required partnerships and the city began working with the Columbus Arts Council, the Columbus Public Library Foundation and The Broken Mug.

With all of the entities located in one area, each group will be able to operate independently in a way they determine is best for them, Vasicek said, adding this will add to the dynamic nature of the building.

The co-location of these partners in one building in downtown Columbus is a huge win for the community as a whole, Vasicek said. We're very excited about it. We all share the vision which will soon be a reality that the spaces in this building will be filled with people, activities and will inspire collaboration, innovation and community engagement.

Vasicek noted the city is getting the keys to the building in mid-May and it will take about six weeks for the move into the new space.

The city has a pretty aggressive goal of being open to the public in the city spaces (at the) beginning of July, Vasicek said. We are hoping to facilitate that transition from both (the current library) and (the current) city hall with minimum disruptions to the city services that we provide in those buildings.

The CACMs portion of the story starts in 2018 and 2019, when surveys and public input indicated a high need for an indoor playground and childrens museum, said CACM Board President Nick Suing.

Early schematics had been designed to assist with the promotion of the community building project. Once voters gave their OK to the 2020 bond, things got busy, Suing noted. The museum added more board members, worked on its nonprofit status, partnered with Heartland Scenic Studio out of Omaha and formed a capital campaign committee.

CACM Board Secretary and Capital Campaign Committee Chairman Tim Kacena gave the analogy of a duck floating on water. On the surface, the duck looks likes simply moving across the water. Underneath, however, the ducks feet are flapping like crazy to move forward.

That's been the work of the board and the campaign committee board, that's been getting a lot of this stuff done until today when we actually go public on what we're doing, Kacena said.

CACM is just under halfway to its exhibit goal of $2 million, Kacena noted, with the main goal being $3 million. The April 18 press conference announced the nonprofits capital campaign, Play Your Part, Fund the Fun.

There are multiple ways people can donate to the museum  businesses can sponsor exhibits and individuals can make a general donation.

Those wanting to make a more lasting impact can become a Founding Family Member. This includes different tiers in which those who contribute a certain amount will be featured on an honor wall and can attend the museum at no charge.

More information on how to donate to the childrens museum can be found at columbuslearnandplay.org/Give.

There are a number of capital campaign donors to date for the CACM. Notably, nine of them are financial institutions, including Columbus Bank & Trust.

There have been community projects where banks have come together to use their positions to help springboard efforts, said Josh Johnson of Columbus Bank & Trust.

From a banking level, we also know that our biggest issue that we'll have coming forward, for the most part, is attracting and retaining young talent, Johnson said. Most of that deals with young families. Young families have specific needs or they're coming from communities that expect certain items to be shown. This allows Columbus to once again can show its commitment to wanting to attract and retain those families.

Construction of exhibits is already underway, as noted during the press conference. The walls of Kidstown are being built at a different location, the corn climber is in the production phase, paint schemes are being finalized and carpet is set to arrive in about four weeks.

We have the support from the community, Kacena said. We have support locally to be able to get this completed and we're really looking forward to opening in the fall of this year.
Nyesom Wike, governor of Rivers, says churches should be wary of politicians who only patronise them during election.

Wike spoke on Tuesday at the inauguration of Archdeacon Crowther Memorial Girls School (ACMGS) road and adjoining roads in Elelenwo Town of Obio/Akpor LGA.

He said some politicians only identified with their faith when there were gains to be made and asked the church to remember those who had shown commitment from the start.

The church should always identify with those who from the beginning had always worked with them. Not with those, when election comes, they come and talk to you that they are Christians, Wike said.

Christianity is not only during election. Christianity should be done from the outset; you have to show that youre a Christian.

The church should understand those who believe in them, who trust them, who will work with them, not only when it comes to politics that people will now run to the church, no. That is why Ive told the church to be careful of politicians who will want to use the church.

Wike thanked the church for its ceaseless prayers during his administration and for supporting the emergence of the incoming state government.

He said the new administration would continue from his previous successes.
Trains rumbled into Newarks Penn Station at rush hour Tuesday evening, stopped at the platforms for tracks Nos. 3 and 4 and delivered Rangers and Devils fans to the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. The straphangers wore sweaters with Lemieux and Leetch, Gilbert and Brodeur stitched across their backs, carried White Claw tallboys in brown-paper bags past New Jersey Transit Police Officers in bullet-proof vests and commenced competing chants. Downstairs, by the shoe shiner, Devils fans waiting in line at the mens room booed Rangers fans in blue.

MORE: For comprehensive Devils coverage, download our mobile app.
A Florida man with ties to Jersey City has been convicted of gunning down a Jersey City man in a Downtown parking lot more than two years ago, Hudson County Prosecutor Esther Suarez said.

Ariel Dumit, 37, a former Jersey City resident, faces 30 years to life in prison after he was found guilty on all counts in the Feb. 28, 2021 death of 34-year-old Christian Parra Tuesday after a two-week trial before Hudson County Superior Court Judge Carlo Abad. Dumit is scheduled to be sentenced July 13.

Dumit was convicted of murder, possession of a weapon for unlawful purposes and unlawful possession of a weapon. The state was represented by Hudson County Assistant Prosecutors Erica Bertuzzi and Luisa Florez.

Parra, a married father of three, was shot in the torso in the BJs Parking Lot at 396 Marin Blvd. in Jersey City after 8 p.m. He was taken to Jersey City Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead at 9 p.m.

Dumit, who was living in New Port Richey at the the time, was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force Central District of Florida with the assistance of the Pasco County Sheriffs Office six weeks after the fatal shooting.
An elementary school teacher was arrested Monday for allegedly abusing a special needs student, Middlesex County Prosecutor Yolanda Ciccone said in a statement released Tuesday.

Christine Paduch, 42, of Howell, who teaches at Madison Park Elementary School in Old Bridge, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a second-degree crime, officials said.

Detectives started investigating reports of abuse to the student on Monday and arrested Paduch that same day, authorities said.
As a Catholic, Ive only ever fasted during Lent. And that fast is always fast because its only on two days, Ash Wednesday and Good Friday. But Ive always felt admiration for the dedication of my Muslim colleagues and friends during Ramadan when their faith calls on them to fast, from the break of dawn till sunset, for nearly 30 days.

Ive often thought of their holy month of fasting, prayer and reflection, and linked it in my mind as being close in length  40 days  to the time Jesus spent fasting in the desert enduring temptation from the Devil. Its what Adam Ozdemir, who Ive interviewed several times for stories about New Jerseys Turkish community, told me Muslims do, too, during Ramadan. Endure temptation. In all its earthly forms.

But of course, he said. Ramadan is about so much more than that. As he served me some of his mother-in-laws delicious Dolma, a stuffed grape-leaf dish thats traditional in Turkey, his homeland, he told me its also a special time for Muslims to share their faith and tradition with friends from different backgrounds and religions.

Its an opportunity for our neighbors and friends to experience our culture firsthand, to share in the Iftar, or fast-breaking, experience with us, he said. Enjoy delicious food and engage in friendly table conversation.

Thats exactly why he invited me, a Catholic Latina whos originally from Miami, and my Nicaraguan mother, who was in New Jersey visiting, to his family home in Wayne.

Now, Ill admit when I got Adams text inviting me over for Iftar dinner, I was very excited. But I was also somewhat nervous  What should I wear? What should I bring? Will his family be happy to have us? Will we talk about religion or politics or both? Is this even a good idea?

No need to worry, he said. Just come as you are. Im inviting you, Daysi. You see, he told me, the true spirit of Ramadan involves strengthening family and community ties, and fostering common ground, friendship, and peace. And sitting at his dining room table, thats just what my mom and I both felt: the warmth of their welcome and the peace of finding that common ground as friends, as neighbors, as people.

That night, some of Adams longtime friends joined us. Two of them were a married couple he had known for years. They were also Turkish and back home were school teachers. Here, they were studying information technology and hoping to take on careers in that field. Another guest, Hakan Yesilova, was a book publisher in Turkey and now lives in Clifton where he edits The Fountain, a bi-monthly magazine about life, knowledge and belief.

As we ate scrumptious dish after scrumptious dish lovingly made by Adams mother-in-law, Meral, we talked about all the things I was worried wed talk about. Religion. Politics. Both. And it was a good idea.

Meral Benli, 54, prepared a delicious Iftar meal at her daughter, Melisa Ozdemir, and son-in-law Adam Ozdemir's home in Wayne. She and her family welcomed my mom, Gina Calavia, and I into their home to join them as they broke their fast one night during Ramadan. My mom and Meral bonded over their love for their kids.

Hakan told us about his experience fulfilling his Hajj, the religious pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia  the holiest city for followers of Islam  that must be carried out by Muslims at least once in their lifetime. He said hed already done it twice and shared anecdotes of what it was like. The punishing heat. The sheer amount of people. And how deeply transformative it had been for him, spiritually.

I told them how much Im looking forward to my sons first Communion in May, how my faith has deepened since Ive been away from my parents and my hometown and how hard thats been for me. But my faith has always been a base for me, my faith is a home away from home in a sense, I told them. And thats why its important that I pass that on to my kids so that theyll also know He is always with them and theyre never truly alone, even in the darkest of times.

Meral said she could relate and understood the pain of being away from family. Shes a mother of five with a heart divided. Some of her children are in Turkey and others are in other states. She cant speak English but was participating in the conversation thanks to Adam and the other guests who took turns translating.

My mom told them about missing my beloved grandmother, whos now in heaven. And I talked about my early memories with her and how she taught me how to pray. They listened intently. And one of the women even comforted me when I teared up.

But we also told jokes. And laughed. And drank a wonderful fuschia-colored hibiscus tea, while enjoying an array of sweets and desserts. We talked about politics, too. Here and in Turkey. But it wasnt taboo. And there were no arguments.

It was all Adam said it would be, interesting and engaging friendly table conversation. All of my initial anxiety, washed away. My heart was open. And so was theirs. My mind was open. And so was theirs. And thats what I wish for more of this year  this Ramadan  in my life, and in this world, for more open hearts and more open minds in our communities, to better them, to strengthen them, even if its just one dinner at a time.

I wish for more people like Adam, too, who takes the time to reach out to others who dont look like him, who dont believe in the God he worships and who may not even speak the language he speaks, to get to know them, to include them, to share. Oh, what a lovely world wed create if we all did that!

Longtime friends and Turkey natives Adam Ozdemir, Hakan Yesilova and Mehmet Ozleyen, enjoy an Iftar or fast-breaking dinner at Adam's home in Wayne.

Daysi Calavia-Robertson may be reached at dcalavia-robertson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Instagram at @presspassdaysi or Twitter @presspassdaysi.

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A roundup of conversations we're having daily on the site. Subscribe to the Reckon Daily for stories centering marginalized communities and speaking to the under-covered issues of the moment.

Activists are calling for accountability in the death of 35-year-old Lashawn Thompson, a Black man who is suspected of having been eaten alive by insects and bed bugs inside a Georgia jail, his familys attorney claims.

It is absolutely despicable. This facility has to be shut down, said Angelica Duenas, a California community organizer running to represent the states 29th Congressional District.

All inmates need a health evaluation and all individuals in charge need to be held accountable for Lashawn Thompsons death, she wrote on Twitter.

Thompson had initially been arrested on June 12 in Atlanta for a misdemeanor assault charge. Once taken into custody, officials had him placed inside Fulton County Jail, known for its squalid conditions that include overcrowding and cases of lice and scabies.

At the jail, officials determined Thompson was suffering from a mental health disorder. He was then transferred to a psychiatric ward.

Approximately three months later, jail staff found Thompson dead and covered in bed bugs, a press release distributed by Michael D. Harper, an attorney representing Thompsons family, stated.

According to CNN, the Fulton County Medical Examiners office could not determine Thompsons manner of death. Harper said that Thompson had a history of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.

When jail staff entered Thompsons cell, the room was so unsanitary that workers needed to wear hazmat suits to step inside, Harper added.

His body was riddled with bed bug bites and insect bites, he continued. Just horrific.

On Thursday, Thompsons brother, Brad McCrae, called for the closure of the jail and a criminal investigation into his siblings death. The Fulton County Sheriffs Office has advocated for a new detention facility, likely to cost the jurisdiction about $2 billion, according to a recent study.

Over the weekend, the sheriffs office announced on Twitter that over 600 of the remaining people who are incarcerated at Fulton County Jail would be transferred to other nearby facilities, but wouldnt specify where. The move is expected to cost the county $40,000 a day.

It currently costs $85 a day to house people who are incarcerated at the jail, according to WXIA-TV, an NBC affiliate.

Representatives of The King Center, a non-profit, non-violent organization named after Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., joined a chorus of horrified groups demanding action over Thompsons death.

We are urging a swift response from Fulton County officials in improving the conditions of its jail facilities and in increasing their concern for those in their care, a statement posted to Twitter read.

The sheriffs office has so far not stated whether the facility would close, but declared that over $500,000 would be spent immediately to address outbreaks of infectious illnesses at the jail.

Some Twitter users criticized the countys slow response to Thompsons death, considering the man passed away in September, and questioned why officials hadnt moved to implement changes sooner.

Georgia Democratic State Sen. Nabilah Islam also voiced her frustrations with her states criminal justice system.

Lashawn Thompson did not deserve to die like this, she said on Twitter. Nobody should die in jail.
A red flag warning indicating a very high risk of wildfires has been issued for all 21 New Jersey counties on Wednesday with the forecast calling for another dry, windy day, according to the National Weather Service.

The red flag warning starts at 11 a.m. and runs until 8 p.m. today.

A red flag warning means that critical fire weather conditions are either occurring now, or will shortly due to a combination of strong winds, low relative humidity, and dry fuels, the weather service said. Any fires that develop may quickly get out of control and become difficult to contain.

Firefighters are currently battling a 257-acre wildfire in Washington Township, Burlington County that started on Tuesday shortly after a similar red flag warning was issued for about half of the state.

Prior to that fire, the state Forest Fire Service said 517 fires have burned 7,608 acres in the state this year.

Its a chilly start to the day with temperatures still mainly in the 30s as of 7:30 a.m., but the sun will help warm temps into the 60s by this afternoon.

Winds of 10 to 15 mph will gust to 20 to 25 in the afternoon, but in its morning forecast discussion the weather service says to expect overall a very pleasant day with seasonable temperatures.

Overnight lows will fall into the 40s Wednesday night before we rebound with two more sunny, warm days on Thursday and Friday.

Highs will climb into the 70s on Thursday and the upper 70s to mid 80s on Friday, according to the weather service.

Winds should be very light which should curtail the need for additional red flag warnings.

Saturday is expected to be cloudy and in the 70s before some rain arrives for Saturday night and Sunday.

Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com.

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Officials from the National Weather Service and others in the weather industry are sounding alarms about a Twitter policy change that limits the number of automated tweets  a move they say could block urgent warnings on social media about fast-moving tornadoes, severe thunderstorms or flash flooding.

The new policy restricts Twitter accounts from sending out more than 50 automated tweets per day and more than 1,500 per month, according to weather service officials.

While those numbers may sound high, meteorologists say the new limits could become a serious public safety issue on days when severe weather outbreaks occur  like the recent spree of tornadoes and severe thunderstorms that battered New Jersey on April 1.

The concern is if we are in an active month where we have a lot of severe weather and flooding events, we could hit that limit, said Nelson Vaz, warning coordination meteorologist for the National Weather Services regional forecast office in New York, which covers the New York City metro area and five counties in northern New Jersey.

Vaz said the weather service routinely uses automated tweets that are pre-programmed for speed and efficiency  to quickly alert Twitter followers about rapidly developing tornadoes, thunderstorms, flash flooding and snow squalls.

The only time we send out these automated posts is when we have a short-fused event anything that could be life- or property-threatening, Vaz told NJ Advance Media.

The whole point is for us to be able to send them out in multiple accounts, Vaz said. It is a popular way for people to get information from us. They might not be watching TV or listening to the radio.

(This is an actual automated weather alert that was sent out by the National Weather Services regional office in Mount Holly on Saturday, April 15, when slow-moving thunderstorms impacted areas of eastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey.)

Flash Flood Warning including Marlton NJ, Berlin NJ and Medford Lakes NJ until 8:30 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/WYqqgKV0iN  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) April 15, 2023

Vaz noted the weather services automated tweets about storm warnings have a wider reach than just its 99,000 Twitter followers, because news organizations and emergency management agencies usually resend those emergency alerts to their own social media followers.

In addition, he said the New York weather office might send out more automated storm alerts than some other offices, because it typically issues duplicate warnings  one version in English and one in Spanish  to reach a bigger population. That factor, he said, could play a role in reaching Twitters new limits on active storm days or weeks.

The new limits are expected to take effect on April 29, although the National Weather Services national office said some of its Twitter accounts have already been restricted or suspended  limiting or blocking the ability to transmit automated tweets, according to a report by Mashable.

Efforts to reach Twitter officials for comments about the new policy have been unsuccessful. In response to an email sent to Twitters email address for press inquiries, NJ Advance Media received a response with no words  just an emoji showing a pile of brown poop. (Other media organizations, including The Washington Post and The Hill, have reported getting the same response.)

The National Weather Service says urgent weather alerts, such as tornado warnings and severe thunderstorm warnings, could be limited by a policy change being made by Twitter. Pictured here is an AP file photo of the Twitter headquarters in San Francisco in December 2022.AP

The National Weather Services Mount Holly office  which issues weather warnings across most of New Jersey, eastern Pennsylvania, eastern Maryland and all of Delaware  echoed similar concerns as the agencys New York regional office, saying the new Twitter policy shouldnt be a problem on average days, but could become a serious issue during major outbreaks of severe thunderstorms, tornadoes, flash flooding or snow squalls.

We do aim to try to do manual posts, manual Tweets to give people a heads-up on whats going on, said Sarah Johnson, a meteorologist at the Mount Holly office. But on a really busy day, we may not be able to keep up with those manual tweets.

Johnson said people who rely on Twitter for quick weather alerts should consider backup options in case the weather service reaches its limits during a big storm outbreak.

We encourage people to have multiple ways of receiving our watches and warnings anyway, she said. Its just a good practice because you never know when youre going to be (unable to access) one method or another.

Twitter is now limiting automated tweets and as a result this account can no longer post all watches/warnings/advisories as they are issued. We will continue to provide general updates, but ensure that you have multiple means for receiving weather information & alerts.  NWS Mount Holly (@NWS_MountHolly) April 15, 2023

The national office of the National Weather Service said it has asked Twitter to reconsider its policy change to allow exemptions for official weather service accounts, but the social media giant has not agreed.

Since 2014, NWS has used Twitters API (Application Programming Interface) service to auto-post the latest warnings for tornadoes, severe thunderstorms, and flash floods to Twitter feeds that are followed by emergency managers, the media, and people in the path of dangerous weather, the National Weather Service said in an email.

Without this automated process, it would take minutes for forecasters to manually prepare warning information into a tweet, the weather service added. For every warning issued, seconds could make the difference between life and death.

@Twitter is now limiting automated tweets and as a result, this account can no longer post all #Tsunami Warnings, Advisories, Watches, and Information Statements as they are issued. We will make every effort to continue manual posts (1/5) pic.twitter.com/3ZWN33gn0a  NWS Tsunami Alerts (@NWS_NTWC) April 15, 2023

Current weather radar

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Len Melisurgo may be reached at LMelisurgo@njadvancemedia.com.
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CHIZ: FORMER DFA SEC. DEL ROSARIO A PATRIOT, MAN OF INTEGRITY

Senator Chiz Escudero on Tuesday (April 18) mourned the passing of former Foreign Affairs Secretary Albert del Rosario as he extended his condolences to the family.

"My sincerest condolences to the family and loved ones of former Foreihn Secretary Albert Del Rosario," Escudero said.

"I had the opportunity of working with him during the Aquino Administration and knew him to be a man of firm integrity and patriotism," he added.

Del Rosario, who passed away today enroute to San Francisco (USA), served as the country's 25th Secretary of Foreign Affairs from 2011 to 2016 under the administration of the late President Benigno Aquino III.

He also served as Philippine Ambassador to the United States from 2001 to 2006 during the time of President Gloria Arroyo.

It was under del Rosario's term as DFA chief when the Philippines sued China before the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Hague, The Netherlands for its intrusion in the country's territorial rights over the disputed West Philippine Sea.

In 2016 the arbitral tribunal has ruled in favor of the Philippines, which rejected China's sweeping claims in the South China Sea.
The importance and influence of museums across the Midwest was highlighted on April 17 and 18 at the Nebraska Museum Association's annual conference, dubbed "Small but Mighty."

The association, known as the NMA for short, convened at the Ramada in Columbus for its annual conference to discuss a myriad of topics around the cultural and logistical aspects of museums. Some of the smaller museums don't have the big-city connections or resources other widely-know museums do, according to Erin Hauser, outgoing NMA President.

"Its a way for museums across the state to connect, also a way for our organization to provide informational skills workshops to groups that may not have the opportunity to go to great big conferences," Hauser said. "There are several larger organizations that do the same thing we like to do on the smaller level."

The conference started on the morning of April 17 with a half-day workshop followed by an opportunity to explore Columbus' historic sites, something Dennis Hirschbrunner, owner/operator of the Columbus Area Antique Fire Apparatus Preservation Society (CAAFAPS) museum on 13th Street, said is a great opportunity for the Platte County Historical Society and area points of interest.

"There's a list of venues they could go visit, the Platte County Historical Society Museum, the Evans House, the antique firetruck museum, Higgins Memorial, a walking tour of businesses downtown, Glur's, a whole list of places in Columbus they could visit," Hirschbrunner said.

Hirschbrunner added that the conference is exciting for the historical society because Columbus has never hosted the event before, and it was a chance to essentially show other museums in the state just what Columbus has to offer in the way of history.

"We just felt like it was our turn to host it and it was an opportunity to show off Columbus and some of our historic facilities, buildings, houses, various things," Hirschbrunner said. "Basically, showing off Columbus."

Hauser said museums and other points of historical interest are vital in the Midwest and especially in rural areas because they are a place to keep that town's personality, history and even elements of its culture around as time goes on.

"Museums are changing but sort of at its core, they're important elements of their communities, they preserve culture, no matter if they're history or art, they educate in ways schools can't," Hauser said.

On April 18, the group kicked off the morning with some words from Columbus Mayor Jim Bulkley and dove into a series of hard questions about museums and why they are important, followed by a series of workshops and talks into the afternoon and evening about the logistics of operating a museum.

"We should never forget our history and we should not be selective in how we remember our history," Eric Ewing, executive director of the Great Plains Black History Museum, said as he and other Nebraska Museum Association members tried to define what a museum does during a morning discussion.

Hauser said that the importance of the organization and its annual conference, outside of the mandatory annual business meeting, is to be a connecting point for all of the smaller museums who are oftentimes running on volunteer workers, because those topics of organization and operation may not be easily accessible otherwise.

"Our museums and a lot of organizations, nonprofits are volunteer, not that that's a bad thing, because it's usually the most passionate people that keep those organizations going," Hauser said. "This is a way for us to get that info to those people that are preserving local heritage and local culture."
New Orleans police have arrested a suspect in connection with a Good Friday shooting on the steps on the New Orleans Public Library in the Central Business District.

Lance Morris Lewis, 29, was booked late Monday after a witness identified him from a photo lineup.

Police responded to the shooting at 219 Loyola Avenue at around 2:15 p.m. on April 7. They initially thought Lewis and the victim, Alvin Stalling, 72, scuffled over a gun on the steps of the library, which was closed due to the holiday. Several homeless individuals were lying on the steps when police arrived on the scene, according to an affidavit. Library officials had no comment.

Review of surveillance footage from cameras affixed to the library, as well as a city crime camera, led police to develop Lewis as a suspect. He allegedly opened fire on Stalling, striking him in the chest, police said. Stalling was taken to University Medical Center and pronounced dead at 2:44 p.m., according to an affidavit. Lewis allegedly fled on foot down Gravier Street heading toward North Claiborne Avenue.

Lewis is being held on charges of second-degree murder, aggravated assault with a firearm, aggravated second degree battery and possession of a firearm by a felon. He listed the Drop In Wellness Center at 1461 N. Claiborne Avenue as his home address, according to public records and the affidavit.

A man who was present during the shooting contacted police and picked Lewis out of a six-pack photo lineup. Police obtained a warrant for Lewis' arrest on Thursday and booked him Monday. His bond has not been set.
There are a ton of these data aggregators; new ones pop up all the time and you can't expunge all your public records, so the short answer is maybe not entirely. But you might be able to put a nice dent in the amount that is easily available online.

The good news is that many of the data collectors have ways to opt out and have your data removed from their sites by making a request online, by fax or via physical mail. Some require things like your email address for verification purposes or a copy of your driver's license or other state ID to prove your identity, although having to send them more personal information may be disquieting. You can usually find opt-out instructions on their sites, often at the bottom of their home page, but there are places that gather lists of data brokers and their opt-out methods, if available, such as the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse.

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The bad news is some of the data might re-aggregate on the sites you had expunged or pop up on other similar sites. Some people-finder sites may also have multiple listings for you due to name variations, misspellings and other issues, so you may have to do multiple searches and put in multiple requests.

Other factors that may affect your ability to control your information include the location of the company or the countries in which it does business. The California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 requires companies to disclose what information they have about their customers, as well as the right to correct or remove it. Unfortunately, it's really for California residents and doesn't help non-residents as much.

The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is one of the toughest privacy policies in the world. Passed in May 2018, it applies chiefly to EU residents but also affects businesses that collect information on EU residents as customers. If you wonder why all of a sudden it seems like most websites launch pop-ups that ask you to agree to their privacy policies, it's because those sites want to do business with European Union residents. The GDPR requires them to disclose what information they're collecting and opt out of unnecessary tracking.

The GDPR also incorporates aspects of the EU's previous so-called "right to be forgotten." Essentially it says that EU residents have the right to ask organizations to delete their personal information, especially if it's no longer being used for its original purpose. Privacy and security laws such as these are becoming more common around the world and may help you by limiting the amount and types of information available to data brokers.

In the event that you've submitted an opt-out request to a data broker in the United States and it reposts or fails to remove your data, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has some suggestions on how to take action. In 2022, the agency itself filed a lawsuit against one data broker accused of selling geolocation information that may reveal sensitive personal information. You can contact other governmental or political groups to help lobby for policy changes, such as making some of the more egregious practices illegal.

If asking a large number of sites to remove your data seems like a Herculean task, and you don't want to wait for an act of Congress, there are growing numbers of sites that say they can delete your data from many of the data aggregators. Some of these providers include OneRep, DeleteMe, ReputationDefender and Kanary. Prices range from low monthly fees to hundreds of dollars, depending upon the company and level of service you require. Many of them have automated methods of finding and removing your data from the popular people-search sites. Some will also undertake manual methods for requesting removal if they can't be achieved online, or advise you how to do it yourself, and alert you when your data pops up online again.

You might even find personal data on a regular website that isn't a data aggregator, and there likely won't be a formal removal process, but you may be able to contact the site owner and ask politely that your data be removed.
A man arrested last month for allegedly shooting his fiancee inside of their Little Woods home was rebooked on a murder count Tuesday following the woman's death over the weekend, according to documents police filed in Orleans Criminal District Court.

Norman Smith, 76, was booked on one count of second degree murder April 18 following the death of his fiancee Saturday. He is accused of shooting her on March 27 in the 14000 block of Partridge Lane, police wrote in the documents.

Police went to the home March 27 at 8:45 p.m. and found the woman, 57, lying on the bathroom floor. She told police she'd been shot by Smith, her partner of nine years, in her spine.

According to the victim, the couple was fighting when Smith hit her and choked her. She ran to hide in their bathroom, and Smith allegedly shot her through the door, according to the records.

Smith fled the scene, and paramedics brought the woman to a hospital. The gunshot paralyzed her from the waist down, and she died at 5:36 p.m. Saturday from her injuries, according to the documents.

Smith, who had no previous criminal history, had bonded out of jail after the shooting but turned himself in Monday after the woman died, his attorney, John Fuller, said during Smith's bond hearing Tuesday. Fuller added that Smith and the victim spoke on the phone before she died, when Smith apologized to her.

"I'm glad she was able to know he was remorseful for what he did," Fuller said.

Magistrate Commissioner Joyce Sallah set Smith's bail to $850,000 Tuesday, ordering him to be on 24-hour home incarceration if he is to make bond.

Staff Writer Missy Wilkinson contributed to this report.
Pick any tree in Gentilly, and the chances are good that Connie Uddo had something to do with it.

Along boulevards of modest homes and well-kept lawns, she points to dozens of magnolias she put in the ground last month and lines of 30-foot-tall oaks she planted after Hurricane Katrina.

After the storm, this was completely empty, Uddo said. Across the city, more than 400,000 trees were torn away by wind or poisoned at the roots by salty floodwaters. It should be such a beautiful, lush city. But it wasnt green after Katrina. It was gray.

Uddos group, the NOLA Tree Project, has planted or given away about 70,000 trees since the 2005 storm. The city of New Orleans and other nonprofit groups have added thousands more. Yet, a first-of-its-kind study reveals little progress in restoring the citys depleted tree canopy.

The city has lost 4,000 acres of tree cover  equivalent to an almost 30% decrease  over the past 20 years, according to research led by Sustaining Our Urban Landscape, or SOUL, a nonprofit group focused on reforesting Orleans Parish.

The research, presented in SOULs New Orleans Reforestation Plan, found comparatively weak tree retention policies and low public spending on tree planting and maintenance in New Orleans, contributing to tree coverage thats half the average of other large cities in the South.

One of the most striking findings was a close correlation between tree density and income levels, temperatures and flood risk, said SOUL Board Chairman Andreas Merkl.

If you pick the most low-lying and flood-prone areas of the city, and also the hottest and poorest, they will also have the least trees, he said.

That data matches City Council member Eugene Greens own experience growing up in Pontchartain Park, a subdivision built for Black residents in the 1950s.
Jenel Hazlett didn't have time to evacuate her family and their little zoo of pets as Hurricane Ida rapidly strengthened. Instead, they rode out the Category 4 storm in their house in New Orleans' North Carrollton neighborhood.

When Ida crippled a major Entergy electricity tower and transmission lines, it sentenced much of southeast Louisiana to a week or more of heat and darkness. But the Hazlett family's 37 rooftop solar panels made the blackout bearable, channeling the sun's energy down to two thin white lithium batteries that kept portions of the house powered.

Massive Entergy tower falls near New Orleans during Hurricane Ida A massive Entergy tower fell Sunday night, Aug. 30, 2021, during Hurricane Ida, knocking out power to most of metro New Orleans.

Though her house was still hot - the system lacks enough juice to run the central air conditioning all day - Hazlett's solar panels and batteries saved some stress. While neighbors running gasoline-powered emergency generators struggled to refill their supply because fuel stations were closed, she looked to the sky.

"During this whole Ida incident, I didnt have to chase gas, I didnt have to worry about carbon monoxide, I didnt have to worry about extension cords," Hazlett said Thursday. "The sun came to me."

Hazlett's house is one of more than 19,000 in Louisiana with solar panels. The out-of-pocket cost for a 5-kilowatt system averaged $12,538 to $16,962 in Louisiana in 2019, not including federal tax credits, according to EnergySage, an online solar marketplace. The state ranks 38th in the U.S. for home solar panel installations, according to the Solar Energy Industry Alliance.

But just a small fraction of that group has also installed the battery technology to store and use the energy on site, rather than simply selling it back to the grid for a discounted electricity bill. Without storage, the panels are of little help during a power outage, automatically shutting down to avoid electrifying the grid while workers are repairing power lines.
A memorial for 2-year-old Ezekiel Harry surrounds a trashcan on Daspit Street in Houma on Friday, July 15, 2022. Ezekiel died due to blunt force trauma to the head earlier in the week, and his remains were found in a trashcan. (Photo by Brett Duke, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate) ORG XMIT: BAT2208161446391956
New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell will travel to Washington, D.C. this week for the annual African American Mayors Association Conference, the city said Tuesday.

The series of meetings, which will take place April 19-21, will feature panel discussions and receptions with a theme of "equitable and inclusive growth."

Cantrell will participate in a panel discussion on infrastructure and jobs along with the mayors of Denver and Mount Vernon, New York.

The mayor will also lead a workshop on small businesses with the mayor of Cleveland, focusing on "the opportunities and optimism microbusinesses give local economies," the city said.
Avery Hamilton, left, and Dean Woods shake hands and chat following an unveiling ceremony for a memorial honoring those who were killed and injured in the 1873 Colfax Massacre Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Colfax, La. Hamilton, whose ancestor was killed in the days leading up to the massacre, and Woods, whose ancestor fought for white supremacy and was involved in the massacre, are the founders of the Colfax Memorial Organization.
Business at Palmers Sneakers and Apparel in Carlisle is starting on the right foot with the launch of a partnership with Dickinson College just months after opening.

The partnership will allow the business at 5 E. High St. to sell Dickinson apparel and merchandise and to host pop-up shops on campus.

Under the contract, both entities will receive a portion of the proceeds from each sale, said Wayne Palmer, who co-owns Palmers Sneakers and Apparel with his cousin, Delonte Palmer.

The shop features sneakers and vintage apparel and opened for business in February.

Wayne Palmer said Dickinson Assistant Chief of Staff Jennifer Love reached out to the Downtown Carlisle Association in search of a business to form a partnership.

Dickinson has always been invested in the Carlisle community and the success of local businesses, Love said. A vibrant downtown enhances the experiences of our entire campus community as well as local residents.

For Palmers Sneakers and Apparel, Wayne Palmer believes the timing was right.

What made me want to pursue this partnership, the biggest thing is that my whole life Dickinson has been at the core of our community, he said. Theyve been interwoven in the fabric of the town of Carlisle. I have family members that went to school at Dickinson, who work at Dickinson, my dad is actually right now hes a retired driver for Dickinson. ... I actually had a job at Dickinson as a teenager, a summer job working in the HUB (Holland Union Building).

Dickinson merchandise for sale at Palmers Sneakers and Apparel includes hats, T-shirts, lanyards, wind breakers, hoodies and more, Palmer said.

He said the business is in the process of planning some pop-up shops on Dickinsons campus with one scheduled to take place May 5 in the Holland Union Building starting at 10 a.m.

The contract began April 10 and will extend until either organization chooses to terminate it.

Palmer said the partnership will offer Dickinson students space to get away from campus and into the community, a notion Love shared.

While this may not be the first time in our 240-year history to partner with a local business, we are excited to be working with Palmers Sneakers and Apparel, providing another venue for community members to purchase Dickinson gear while also bringing students to downtown, she said.

Photos: Palmers Sneaks becomes a Dickinson College Apparel retailer

Photos: Palmer's Sneakers and Apparel
Nelson Manuel, on backhoe, and Kornell Davis, remove marsh mud and grass from around a tomb that was dislodged during Hurricane Ida in front of the St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church in Ironton on Saturday, Sept. 18, 2021. New studies say sea levels have been rising rapidly for more than 10 years along the Louisiana coast, exacerbating damage caused by hurricane storm surge.
The Carlisle Area School Board could vote Thursday on launching a pilot course next school year on Advanced Placement African-American Studies.

The interdisciplinary course would be offered as an elective to one or two sections of juniors and seniors at Carlisle High School, said Kevin Wagner, social studies program supervisor.

Designed by the College Board, the course examines the diversity of African-American experiences through literature, the arts and humanities, political science, geography and science, according to Wagner.

Over the course of four units, the students would explore such topics as early African kingdoms, the trans-Atlantic slave trade, the abolitionist movement, the Civil War, Reconstruction, the Civil Rights Movement and contemporary issues of identity, culture and connection.

Examples of study include a review of artifacts from the Smithsonian National Museum of African-American history and culture; class discussions on the writings of Frederick Douglass, Martin Luther King Jr. and Maya Angelou; and an analysis of data on the demographic diversity of Black communities as compiled by the Pew Research Center.

The course culminates in a research paper that would allow each student to explore any topic, theme, issue or development in the field of African-American studies.

Rationale

The education committee reviewed the course proposal last week. It has been past board practice to approve a course as a pilot for an academic year before considering it again as a permanent part of the curriculum.

Were hopeful that this course gives students another option to better understand national and global history from a new perspective, Assistant Superintendent Michael Gogoj said. This course responds directly to our student input and feedback.

During a recent exploratory session, African-American studies generated more interest among Carlisle students than any other AP course being offered by the district, Gogoj said. That speaks to our students desire to learn important topics in an academic and safe space, to discuss not only facts, but concepts and ideas as well.

Over the past two years, the social studies department has taken a hard look at what we call the missing voices within our curriculum, Wagner said. When we see students who have a reflection of themselves in the study of history, they are likely to be more engaged in their studies.

Carlisle itself is a diverse town, Wagner said, adding that about 11% of its high school students identify themselves as African-American with many more identifying as having a mixed-race background.

Everything has a history  gender, race, religion, social class  and the list goes on, Wagner said. If our students dont understand these histories, including the conflicts and the divisions, they will not understand the complex world that we now live in.

Student latitude

It is only by understanding history and looking at grievous errors that society can grow and improve itself, board member David Miller said. While he agreed with the objective and content of the course, he had concerns about the potential for divisiveness in giving students broad latitude in the selection of topics for the research paper.

If you were approached by a student who wants to present a topic that may be racially divisive, how would you handle those types of requests? Miller asked, citing white privilege or unconscious bias as examples.

Wagner said that allowing such latitude is a necessary step in educating students. We have to be in a place where were able to have courageous conversations about tough subjects while knowing what the boundaries are to have that civil discourse, he told Miller. There may be others who disagree, but these are issues that students should be able to explore if they feel that is something that is very important for them to understand.

But Miller was still concerned. That opens the doors to other courses where student presentations could go in many directions, he said. Thats a question mark for me.

Wagner said he has seen a similar situation as students research topics for the annual National History Day program.

A lot of students want to do something with a LGBTQ+ focus, he told Miller. That has raised some ire among the private schools and our nonbrick-and-mortar schools.

The state organizer of National History Day has said that since the program is student-driven, schools should not put up roadblocks to students initiating a want or desire to explore a particular topic, Wagner said.

I understand that, Miller said. I just see it as a potential slippery slope, not just for this course, but if we adopt that kind of model where we dont put any limitations on what a student could present. I would think there would have to be a line at some point.

Committee chair Anne Lauritzen said teachers are already aware of where the community draws the line. They are good about going to someone like an administrator who could help guide them through that type of situation, she said.
HARRISONBURG, Va.  A Civil War reenactor has pleaded guilty to charges that he planted a pipe bomb at a Virginia battlefield in 2017 and wrote letters falsely claiming that antifa protesters were to blame.

Prosecutors on Tuesday announced the guilty plea from Gerald Leonard Drake, 63, of Winchester.

Drake admitted during a hearing Monday in federal court in Harrisonburg that he planted a pipe bomb at Cedar Creek Battlefield during an annual reenactment in October 2017. The bomb did not detonate, but it resulted in cancellation of the reenactment after its discovery.

Drake was a Civil War reenactor who regularly participated in events at Cedar Creek until he was expelled from his unit in 2014.

He also admitted writing letters in 2017 and 2018 in which he falsely portrayed himself as part of a group of antifa activists who were targeting the reenactments because they believed them to glorify slavery. The letters threatened violence at subsequent Cedar Creek reenactments as well as an annual Remembrance Day Parade in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

This defendant sought to intimidate and harm innocent people, and further, he tried to sow discontent by falsely claiming that the attempted bombing was politically motivated, said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh, whose office prosecuted the case.
With a record-breaking $1.8 billion for road and bridge work this year, Missouri motorists can expect to encounter a significant amount of work zones and ongoing maintenance operations during their travels this year.

Of that, nearly $400 million will be work on interstates and state-numbered and lettered routes within the greater St. Louis region, including the city of St. Louis, and St. Louis, St. Charles, Franklin, and Jefferson counties.

The Missouri Department of Transportation is in the midst of National Work Zone Awareness Week April 17-21, urging motorists to Work with Us by making smart, safe driving choices behind the wheel to protect themselves and those they share the road with, including highway workers.

MoDOT officials are pointing out, its not just a courtesy to slow down and move over for these work zonesits the law. Drivers should be aware of changing traffic conditions, observe warning signs and merge before reaching lane closures.

With a record number of construction projects, you can help make your travel safer by checking out what work zones youll encounter before you go. Visit MoDOTs Traveler Information Map at www.traveler.modot.org.

In 2022, Missouri saw fewer work zone protective vehicle crashes and fatalities. Crashes with protective vehicles with truck/trailer-mounted attenuators (TMAs) totaled 36 in 2022, a decrease of 25 from the previous construction season. Work zone crash fatalities also decreased, down to 15 compared to 17 the year before. In St. Louis, so far this year, eight TMAs have been struck.

Over the past three years, TMA crashes resulted in 75 injuries and two fatalities. These crashes are almost always a result of drivers being distracted behind the wheel and/or driving too fast for the conditions. In 2022, distracted driving contributed to more than 400 work zone crashes. In St. Louis, in work zones on all public roads, there have been more than 450 work zone crashes so far this year.

Additionally, 71% of those killed in work zone crashes were not wearing seat belts.

Be sure to do your part to save lives in work zones. Missouris strategic highway safety plan, Show-Me Zero, provides information for all Missourians to help promote four key messages: buckle up, phone down, slow down, and drive sober. The plan can be viewed at www.savemolives.com.
Andrew Lester poses in his booking photograph after his surrender to the Detention Center of the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff in Liberty, Mo., on April 18, 2023. (Clay County, Missouri Sheriff/Handout via Reuters)

An 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting and wounding of a black teenager who mistakenly walked up to the mans house in Kansas City surrendered to police, the Clay County Sheriffs Office said on Tuesday, but was freed on bond within a few hours.

Andrew Lester had been charged a day earlier with first-degree assault, which could bring a sentence of life in prison, for shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, on the doorstep of his suburban home around 10 p.m. last Thursday.

Yarl had walked up to Lesters house to pick up his younger siblings, who were at a nearby house with a similar address.

Lester was also charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has surrendered at our Detention Center. He is in custody, the Clay County Sheriff said earlier on Twitter.

Bond for Lester was set at $200,000, which he posted within a few hours of turning himself in to authorities, the Clay County Sheriffs office said on social media late Tuesday afternoon.

I can tell you there was a racial component to the case, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson told a news conference, without providing further details.

Prosecutors have not filed hate crime charges, which carry lesser penalties in Missouri than the two counts Lester faces, Thompson added.

Lester fired two shots through a glass door with a .32-caliber revolver, the prosecutor said. Yarl, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, Thompson said, adding it did not appear any words were exchanged in the encounter.

But Yarl told police in an interview at the hospital where he was treated that the man told him, Dont come around here, local media reported, citing court documents.

The teen was recovering at home on Monday, his family said.

Lester was initially taken into custody, placed on a 24-hour investigative hold, then released pending an interview with Yarl and the collection of forensic evidence, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said.

His swift release helped fuel two days of protests.

Missouri has a stand your ground law that allows homeowners to use physical force to defend themselves against suspected intruders.

The law says a person cannot use deadly force unless they reasonably believe it is necessary to protect themselves or another person against death or serious physical injury, or a possible felony.
Avid bicyclists might want to road trip to be with Missouri State Parks team members at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, April 29, on the Rock Island Spur of the Katy Trail near Kansas City in Pleasant Hill, where they and guests will plant 33 trees in honor of the 33rd anniversary of the Katy Trail State Park.

Following the tree planting, the team will reveal the design phase and development plan for construction of the Ted and Pat Jones Bridge.

Edward Ted and Pat Jones are still making sure the parks they loved are cared for years after their deaths, said Dru Buntin, director of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources. Because they had no children, they often said they adopted the state of Missouri. With gifts of money and land, they provided a legacy that becomes more significant as time passes.

Thanks to Ted and Pat Jones, Missouri now has a nature preserve, a vast native prairie, a state park at the confluence point of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, and the famous Katy Trail State Park.

And now, thanks to a final gift from a trust created more than 30 years ago by Ted Jones, Missouri will soon have a new bridge connecting the Pleasant Hill Trailhead to the Katy Trail. Upon final approval from Union Pacific Railroad, the new bridge will span the current, active railroad tracks and provide direct access to the Rock Island Spur of the Katy Trail from the trailhead, replacing the current required road detour.

The Jones legacy continues to live on through their contributions to Missouri State Parks, said David Kelly, director of Missouri State Parks. Ted and Pat Jones had a vision for a cross-state trail that would connect the two major metro areas of Missouri. As a final gift, the Ted Jones Trust is funding this new trail bridge at Pleasant Hill.

The Katy Trail represented much more than a recreational trail to Ted Jones, said Dan Burkhardt, a spokesperson for the Jones Trust. It was a way to showcase the best of Missouri and bring visitors to the historic communities along the route of the old Katy Railroad. Ted Jones wanted to turn the trail into a teaching trail as well as a tourist destination. People now come from around the world to see the part of the country Ted and Pat called home.

The new bridge will take the State of Missouri one step closer to connecting the Katy Trail to Jackson Countys portion of the Rock Island Trail in Kansas City.

The new Ted and Pat Jones Bridge at Pleasant Hill will be one of the final links to the cross-state trail system that attracts visitors worldwide, Kelly said. Ted Jones, who was a managing partner for Edward Jones, left a legacy for our parks. We appreciate Ted and Pat and their love for nature and the park system. Without Teds drive and enthusiasm, the Katy Trail State Park would not be what it is today. We also appreciate all the Edward Jones employees, families and volunteers who will help with the tree planting.

For more information on state parks and historic sites, visit mostateparks.com. Missouri State Parks is a division of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.
Indiana American Water, a private water utility serving many communities in the Calumet Region, donated to disaster relief to help Indiana communities stricken by tornados.

The American Water Charitable Foundation gave $50,000 to relief efforts in some Indiana communities that it serves.

Indiana American Water, in collaboration with the American Water Charitable Foundation, is pleased to join the ongoing relief efforts across the state of Indiana to support families and communities impacted by the devastating storm and tornadoes, said Matt Prine, president of Indiana American Water. We understand how critical clean, safe drinking water is in our daily lives and in times of emergencies. We hope this contribution can provide some assistance and relief to the residents of these affected communities."

Indiana American Water, which has a regional office in Gary and draws water from Lake Michigan, supplied the funding to the Johnson County Community Foundation and Wabash Valley Community Foundation to help communities reeling from the storm damage.

The American Water Charitable Foundation is pleased to join the many others who have contributed their time and resources to support those impacted by the storms, said Carrie Williams, president of American Water Charitable Foundation. We extend our sincere appreciation to the community foundations who help make certain charitable dollars get to where they are needed most.

Tornados ripped through the state at the end of March, leaving three dead. They caused widespread destruction in Sullivan, a town of about 4,200 on the Illinois state line.

We are thankful for the generous gift from the American Water Charitable Foundation and Indiana American Water, said Beth Tevlin, President and CEO of the Wabash Valley Community Foundation. Our Sullivan County community was devastated by the recent storms and seeing the amazing response from our region and beyond has been truly humbling. We are honored to be working with dedicated Sullivan County volunteers who are leading the long-term recovery efforts to help those whose lives were tragically impacted. One hundred percent of this gift, as well as all other gifts to the Help Sullivan Recover fund, will be used to assist with long-term recovery.

Gov. Eric Holcomb declared states of disaster in Sullivan County and Johnson County just south of Indianapolis, where Whitestown suffered heavy damage.

We are honored to be the repository for donations for current and continued support to help mitigate the storm damage here in Johnson County, said Gail Richards, president and CEO of the Johnson County Community Foundation. Whiteland residents and businesses have suffered incredible damage and continue to assess and dig out of the devastation. The foundation takes our responsibility to support these efforts very seriously and we are committed to providing relief and assistance for these rebuilding efforts for the foreseeable future.
A film screening and discussion about the brutal slaying of Emmett Till will take place in Merrillville this weekend.

The Institute for Leadership and Performance Improvement will commemorate the 14-year-old Black boy from the South Side of Chicago who was abducted, tortured and lynched in Mississippi in 1955 after he was falsely accused of a crime, becoming a posthumous icon for the civil rights movement and a symbol of the violent persecution African-Americans have long endured. His killers were found not guilty by an all-white jury, prompting a greater push for civil rights for all Americans and eventually the passage of The Emmett Till Antilynching Act that makes lynching a federal hate crime.

The ILPI, which aims to cultivate leaders and have a positive social impact, will screen the acclaimed film "Till" at 10:30 a.m. Saturday at the Dean and Barbara White Community Center at 6600 Broadway in Merrillville.

Award-winning filmmaker Keith Beauchamp, the producer of the documentary "The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till," will then lead a community discussion entitled "Eyes Wide Open."

"Mr. Beauchamp will share his insights and experiences in shedding light on this important chapter in American history and engage the audience in a thought-provoking conversation on our ongoing quest for justice," organizers said in a press release. "This event promises to be an evening of education, inspiration, and community engagement."

Register at https://TillMovieScreening.eventbrite.com.
A top legislative priority for Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb is headed to the governor's desk to be signed into law thanks to the work of a Democratic state representative from Northwest Indiana.

On Wednesday, the Indiana House voted 89-1 to give final approval to House Enrolled Act 1449. It last week passed the Senate, 48-0.

The legislation, sponsored by state Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago, automatically enrolls eligible students in the state's 21st Century Scholars program that guarantees a low- or no-cost college education to individuals who comply with program guidelines.

Students and their parents previously had to sign-up for 21st Century Scholars in middle school, a requirement that often kept otherwise eligible students out of the program in many cases simply because they were unaware of it.

Going forward, the Indiana Commission for Higher Education will inform eligible students and their families of their enrollment in the program, along with the academic requirements the student will need to meet to obtain and maintain a college tuition scholarship.

Harris said automatically enrolling students in 21st Century Scholars will put a two- or four-year college degree, or another postsecondary credential, within reach of thousands more Hoosier students and improve Indiana's workforce.

"The bipartisan support of this legislation is proof of the great things that can happen for Hoosiers when Democrats and Republicans work together. This bill will help so many Indiana students achieve a higher education, and in turn, will boost our state economy and enhance the quality of life for Hoosiers by helping individuals break the chains of cyclical poverty," Harris said.

The four-term lawmaker and chairman of the Indiana Black Legislative Caucus expects autoenrollment in 21st Century Scholars particularly will boost the academic achievement and job prospects of minority students, especially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic that he said exacerbated existing racial disparities in Indiana education.

"Everyone benefits from everyone having a shot at achieving their goals, and this legislation is just one way we can help Hoosiers create a better future for themselves and the state," Harris said.

The legislation, touted by Holcomb during his annual "State of the State" address, also was sponsored by, among others, state Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary; and state Sens. Eddie Melton, D-Gary; and Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago.

Gallery: Indiana historical markers in the Region First Physician Great Sauk (Sac) Trail St. John's Lutheran Church Tolleston Dutch in the Calumet Region St. John Township School, District #2 The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section The Lincoln Highway/The Ideal Section Froebel School - side 1 Froebel School Stewart Settlement House Stewart Settlement House Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Origin of Dr. MLK Day Law Bailly Homestead Iron Brigade Willow Creek Confrontation Ogden ski jump.jpg Teale 1.jpg Teale 2.jpg Steel 1.jpg Steel 2.jpg Civil War camps.jpg Old lighthouse.jpg Railroad.jpg Camp Anderson.jpg Boundary line 1.jpg Boundary line 2.jpg LaPorte courthouse 1.jpg LaPorte courthouse 2.jpg Carnegie 1.jpg Carnegie 2.jpg Rumely Co 1.jpg Rumely Co 2.jpg Lincoln train 1.jpg Lincoln train 2.jpg LaPorte university 1.jpg Laporte university 2.jpg Gary Roosevelt 1 Gary Roosevelt 2
My mother would tell me the same line every time I visited her home. It didnt matter if I stayed only a few minutes or for several hours.

Well, I think its time for you to go, shed say sweetly.

She never wanted to be an obligation to me or to our family. She knew all of us had busy lives, work responsibilities, families to care for, and daily activities to complete. She never once played the guilt card to keep us in her home or in her life.

You should get going, shed tell us. Chop chop, hop hop.

By the third or fourth time hearing these gentle cues, Id start packing my things and heading for the door.

Can I get you anything before I leave? Id ask her.

No, Im fine, shed always reply in good spirits.

She was always "fine" even when she wasnt.

These routine exchanges took on a powerful poignancy on Sept. 26, 2022, after she was diagnosed with stage-four colorectal cancer, as well as breast cancer. That day my family had to drag her into a vehicle and rush to the emergency room of St. Mary Medical Center in Hobart.

We knew her situation was dire. We didnt know how dire until a few tests and exploratory surgery determined she had terminal cancer. She likely had less than a year to live, the doctors told us as gently as possible.

"This can either bring a family together or rip it apart," one physician told me.

I shared my mothers medical journey in a multi-part series titled, From the emergency room to the operating room. (Read the first three columns at NWI.com by searching for my name.) Since late last year, readers have contacted me to ask why I didnt identify my mother by name in this series.

She would have killed me, I joked.

Thank you for the days, those endless days, those sacred days you gave me. - Days by Ray Davies

I have nothing but praise for St. Mary Medical Center, from the doctors and specialists, to the nurses and aides, to the security guards who allowed us middle-of-the-night access to my 82-year-old mother.

Throughout her multiple hospitalizations most everyone there treated her like royalty. More importantly, they treated her with dignity, even during those messy moments when dignity couldnt be found behind all the medical wires dangling across her body. Or underneath soiled bed sheets. Or when she was no longer able to communicate verbally.

Are you OK, Ms. Nancy? the nurses would ask her.

We learned all of their names - Chris, Nicole, Tiffany, Patty, Dallas and so many others. They learned all about my mother, Nancy Davich. My family shared with them stories about the old woman in their hospital bed who could no longer speak in sentences or thank them for their bedside gestures. We werent just making small talk with them. We were bragging about our Nana.

My mom may have been just another patient on their floor, whether it was 5W or 2W or inside a testing room. But to us, shes our world. And they were taking care of our world when she came into their work orbit. We will never forget their kindness.

My mom never complained once about her situation or her fate. Oh, she may have griped about minor inconveniences to her daily routines. But never about the pain she endured or all the medical tests she detested or the chemotherapy treatments that may have extended our hopes more than her life.

At no point did she ever un-mom herself, a phrase I learned from a visiting chaplain. She continues to be a mother and a matriarch, caring about her familys well-being more than her own health. Heres just one example.

At the chemo clinic, my mom was having a very bad day after experiencing a long week of dehydration, weakness and fatigue. Her kidneys were shriveling up like dry sponges in the sun. Her blood test markers revealed red flags. She needed intravenous fluids immediately. She needed hospitalization again.

A nurse entered her room with a cup of ice chips to begin the long process of hydrating my moms body. My mother feebly picked up the cup and tried to hand it to me. You look thirsty, Jer. You should drink something," she said.

I won't forget a single day, believe me. Days I'll remember all my life. - Days

On Good Friday morning, my family once again had to take my mom to the hospital. She was in the worst condition of her life. She couldnt walk on her own. She was again dehydrated, extremely weak and battling weeks of nausea. Her body was frail. It took hours for my sister and daughter to prepare her for her final trip to a medical facility.

My mom would be leaving her home for the last time and she knew it. She asked for certain things to go with her and certain things to stay behind. She asked to properly adjust her bed spread. She asked to compile her belongings for her final journey away.

My niece practically carried my mother down three flights of stairs and into the front seat of my car. I rushed to the hospital as my daughter cradled her head from the backseat.

Its OK, Nana, my daughter said in the gentlest voice. Well be there soon.

Ten minutes later, my mom was inside the ER for her last time. She was still with us, trying to ask questions about her medical care. My daughter, whos an emergency medicine specialist, translated every step, every test, every procedure. Our family spent Easter Sunday in her hospital room, rotating around the clock to be with her as weve always done.

My mother has always been our moral compass, our North Star and our Grand Central Station. Our paths have intersected wherever she was, regardless of location. The same would hold true for her next destination, the VNA Hospice of Northwest Indiana in Valparaiso.

It was there I told my mother in the sweetest voice, Well, I think its time for you to go.

My next column will continue to share our journey.
James Madisons Montpelier recently hosted a three-day immersive cooking experience focused on the culinary contributions of the historic sites enslaved community.

Led by nationally renowned food expert and woodworker Jerome Bias, the program featured three full days of 18th- and 19th-century cooking styles in Montpeliers South Yard, the former dwelling place of many of the enslaved persons who took care of domestic tasks including cooking and cleaning on the property. From April 12 through this past Saturday, participants prepared their own meals each day, had tea on the lawn and finished with a dinner for approximately 40 people.

Mary Furlong Minkoff, assistant director of archaeology at Montpelier, said that the program was the result of years of discussion with Bias about the intersection of culinary history and archaeological finds on the property.

Montpelier senior research historian Hilarie Hicks spent countless hours combing through documents including visitor accounts and Madisons weather journal for information which, in combination with discoveries like vessels and charred plant remains, began to form a clearer picture of the food that was prepared at the site.

With that information in mind, Bias and the Montpelier staff worked to modernize versions of historic recipes, drawing on resources such as the cookbooks of Edna Lewis and Abby Fisher.

Participants cooked dishes such as pork jambalaya, field pea stew and apple brandy cake over an open hearth. They also roasted chicken and a whole pig over a barbecue pit recreated to archaeological specifications by Matt Reeves, director of archaeology and landscape restoration, based on the remains of an existing pit that was discovered in the South Yard.

Bias said that he also took care to reflect regional differences in cooking through the recipes he chose.

Often we talk about it like its the same everywhere, but its not, he said, giving examples of a particular type of red field pea he chose for the stew and three different types of coleslaw that students learned to make.

Through the experience, students learned much more than how to cook. According to Minkoff, understanding the food of a particular group of people is a key component of understanding that groups history as a whole. Its also one of the cultural relics that tends to persist even as others may be lost.

Food is such great way to connect to the past, she said. Often, when we lose all of the different parts of who we are, these things stay on.

Bias said that his mission to provide learning experiences about the accomplishments of enslaved persons stemmed from a desire to help other Black Americans reconnect with their history more fully. Serving on the board of the Stagville historic site in Durham, North Carolina, Bias found that Black community members and tourists werent visiting often. After digging into the matter further, he found that many were hesitant to open up the pain and trauma of their history. He subsequently began looking for ways to better connect visitors with sources of pride.

Lets look at what we have that made American culture  food, family, textiles, music, Bias said of his approach.

Bias said that learning about these accomplishments also helps people to see how enslaved communities persevered despite the terrifying circumstances they faced.

All of this is being done to bring alive the experience of the enslaved population, doing whatever they could to craft a little bit of freedom in an inhumane situation, he said.

For those in attendance, the message was well received.

Its been amazing, breathtaking and humbling, trying to put myself in the shoes of my ancestors, said Preston Turner, who creates content for YouTube and documented the experience for his channel Travels of Preston.

He said that the real-life experience of cooking using traditional methods helped him to better appreciate both the intense labor and the coordination that was required to provide food every day for the inhabitants of Montpelier, both free and enslaved.

You need a team; it definitely has to be a community, he said. They would do this three or four times a day, maybe only getting a few hours of sleep.

Mark Dorfman, who traveled from California to take the class, agreed.

Jerome brought it to a point, he said. This is about the people that lived here  the families  to understand what life was like. I read a lot, but this made it very clear. This is a very physical way to live. I was exhausted.

Historical carpenter Lyslee Duncan and historian Tammy Gibson, founder of Sankofa TravelHer which documents Black history around the country, both said that they planned to take the skills they were learning back to their respective communities, helping others to reconnect with their own past.

Duncan said that Bias goal to provide Black Americans with a source of pride in their ancestors accomplishments particularly resonated with her. She said that while the legacy of slavery is something that has always weighed on her, she felt not as burdened in a sense after taking part in the program.

Ive already thought those thoughts, so this is a way to find joy and pride, she shared.
HAMMOND  Residents and businesses in the city are being called on by police to register their security cameras as a way to help combat crime.

"Today, the Hammond Police Department officially announces its latest public safety initiative designed to provide critical and actionable information that speeds up investigations and emergency response to help keep residents and businesses safer," Lt. Steve Kellogg said.

"By setting up a voluntary camera registration process, the need for door-to-door canvassing is eliminated, and valuable time can be used elsewhere," he said. "Registering a camera with Hammond PD is free, quick and easily done through the self-service portal at hammondbluenet.org.

All information and video files provided will be kept confidential and only used in the investigation of a crime or emergency incident, police said.

"Camera registration does not give live video access to the Hammond Police Department," Kellogg said. "It only gives them camera location and owner contact information to be used when an incident occurs."

"Investigators will contact camera owners only if they need to view historical camera footage," he said. "In the event of a theft, for example, police may request a store owner's recorded video to quicken the evidence-gathering process."

Woman with child nabbed driving without license, yet possessing pot, Portage cops say "Ms. Palmer stated she wanted to be honest and then handed me a marijuana blunt," the officer wrote in the report.

There is the option to provide live video feeds to police, which would be safeguarded to protect privacy and ensure cameras are used in a responsible and ethical manner.

"Conditional camera access means the camera networks owners have the ability to choose how and when their cameras are accessible to BlueNET," police said.

To register a camera with the Hammond Police Department, visit hammondbluenet.org and follow the instructions.

Businesses or schools interested in integration can also begin the process on that website, but can call 219-852-6388 or email bluenet@hammondpolice.com for more information.
CROWN POINT  The investigation into a cybersecurity breach at Crown Point Community School Corp. could last another few months, district officials said.

In November, the school district told parents that it learned its network may have been breached during an outage, and it immediately launched an investigation with an outside cybersecurity firm. The breach was serious enough that it temporarily closed district schools.

The investigation was aimed at discovering how the outage happened and if any sensitive information was leaked. Parents of CPCSC students have been advised to monitor their financial statements and credit reports for suspicious or unauthorized activity, and place a fraud alert and security freeze on their credit files.

The investigation, which has been ongoing since November, could last a few more months, the district said. The administration knows that some data was accessed in the breach, but it does not know whether that included personally identifiable data, according to a board meeting recap on the district's website.

The district is currently working to determine this, and once that is complete, it said data counsel will review the information. The district said in mid-March that this could take two to three more months.

PHOTOS: A look inside the under-construction new Taft Middle School
GARY  In a default judgment issued Friday, a judge has ruled in favor of Jacquese White in a lawsuit she filed against her colleagues on the Gary Community School Corp. Advisory Board.

White serves on the GCSC board alongside Robert Buggs, Lovetta Tindal, Mary Ann Canty-Reedus and Amelia Brown, all of whom were named as defendants in this case. One of the GCSC board's responsibilities is appointing members to the Gary Public Library Board. As part of those duties, it appointed White and Buggs. However, in January, the defendants, led by board President Buggs, voted to remove White from her position on the GPL board, a move that White's lawsuit alleges was illegal.

White and her attorney Jewell Harris Jr. noted that Indiana Code specifies the GCSC board  which is unique to other school boards due to a yearslong state takeover of Gary's public schools  cannot meet more than once every three months. The January meeting during which White was removed from the Library Board was less than three months after the previous meeting, which was held on Dec. 13. Additionally, they said the defendants did not follow due process and provide proper notice. White has continued to participate in meetings, contending she was not legally removed.

Buggs said they removed White from the GPL Board because she allegedly harassed a videographer he brought to film the meeting. Harris, speaking on behalf of White, told The Times that this allegation is false. While he insists that his and his colleagues' original actions were legal, on April 14 Buggs held a do-over of the January hearing where they again voted to remove White from the GPL Board.

After Buggs, Tindal, Canty-Reedus and Brown failed to respond to the suit, a judge ruled against them. A hearing during which the court will determine damages and attorney's fees is scheduled for May 24 at the Lake County Government Center in Crown Point.

"The court's order is clear," Harris said. "And we're pleased with the court's decision."

However, Buggs claims he wasn't properly served summons and thus said he plans to disregard the judgment. He said the summons were sent to West Side Leadership Academy, not his or any of the other defendants' homes.

"I haven't been notified anything from the court," he said. "None of us were ever served."

Buggs said he hasn't been to West Side since an incident in August 2021 when he was removed from the school. The Times reported at the time that Buggs and fellow Advisory Board member James Piggee purportedly entered the school, did not follow the visitor check-in protocol and shouted "profane and threatening remarks" at security staff and administration. Buggs said he was there to verify how the district was handling fights between students.

Buggs said that the only way he heard about the lawsuit was because Akilia McCain, president of the Library Board, told him. He said that after speaking with a lawyer he thinks the judgment should be stricken.

Harris dismissed these allegations.

"Service was not an issue in this case," Harris said. "We performed service via certified mail to him and also out of an abundance of caution, by sheriff. Proof of that service was attached to our motion for default judgment and was reviewed by the court prior to its granting our motion for default judgment."

Buggs is also upset that Gary Community School Corp. didn't help him more with the lawsuit. The district, he said, only offered to pay $5,000 of legal fees.

"I talked to five lawyers," he said. "They laughed at me. One lawyer said 'my fee is $1,500 retainer and $300 an hour."

Buggs said if the court rules that he must pay damages or attorney's fees, he plans to sue DUAB, MGT Consulting and Paige McNulty, who has been running GCSC since the state took over the district.

"It's their responsibility to represent us," he said. "What we were doing was official Gary Community School Corp. Advisory Board business  official business."

Buggs is also upset that individual members were listed as defendants rather than the board as a group. He argued that the action was taken by the board as a group and therefore the whole group is responsible for the actions, regardless of who voted yes or no.

"We look forward to the opportunity to close this matter out on May 24," Harris said.

PHOTOS: Hammond Public Library grand reopening
Indiana's biennial budget battle is about to begin in earnest.

The Republican-controlled Senate voted 40-10 Tuesday to approve its vision for spending some $43.3 billion in state resources over the next two years  setting up an end-of-session showdown with the Republican-controlled House and Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.

The parameters of the budget clash will be determined Wednesday when the State Budget Committee gets an updated forecast of Indiana's anticipated tax revenue for the next 26 months.

If the number is higher than the December 2022 forecast, then the final budget negotiations likely will proceed smoothly because there will be more than enough money to go around for the priority projects of each chamber and the governor.

However, if the state's finance experts foresee an economic recession shrinking state revenue during the July 1, 2023-June 30, 2025 budget period, then the negotiations may become heated as lawmakers and leaders compete for limited resources.

Ultimately, House Bill 1001 must be approved with identical language by the House and Senate prior to the General Assembly's April 29 statutory adjournment deadline to go to the governor to be signed into law.

Education funding is poised to be a key sticking point in the negotiations even though the Senate and the House each allocated about half of the state's General Fund spending for elementary, middle and high school education (K-12).

For example, the Senate spending plan calls for a $1.1 billion total increase to student tuition support, compared to the $1.6 billion proposed by the House.

The Senate budget also deletes a House-approved expansion of private school voucher eligibility, fully implements the governors call to eliminate student textbook fees, and gives charter schools access to local property tax revenue for the first time in state history.

Other education-related provisions in the Senate budget include $240 million more for special education over the two-year period, $100 million for learning-loss recovery, a $95 million complexity funding increase for schools with students from low-income families, nearly $25 million a year for school safety grants, and additional money for early childhood education and literacy programs.

Indiana colleges and universities will see a 4% state funding boost in the 2024 budget year, and 6% in 2025, along with money to cash-fund each institutions top capital project, and nearly $24 million more for student financial assistance.

State Sen. Ryan Mishler, R-Mishawaka, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, said the Senate had to be less generous with education funding hikes to cover the $2 billion biennial increase in the states share of health care costs for the 1 in 3 Hoosiers covered by Medicaid.

"My biggest fear is how fast Medicaid is growing," Mishler said. "If we're not careful, it will take away from K-12."

Other major spending items in the Senate budget include $1 billion to reduce state pension liabilities; $750 million to the Indiana Economic Development Corp. to attract businesses; $500 million for quality-of-place grants to localities through the READI, or Collaborative Communities, program; a 12% average pay raise for all state employees; and $30 million for the governor's Next Level Trails.

Northwest Indiana is in line to receive $800 million, on top of $400 million previously appropriated, for the reconstruction of Westville Correctional Facility in LaPorte County; $12 million for a new Indiana Department of Transportation salt building in Gary; $5 million for upgrades at the Northwest Indiana Law Enforcement Academy in Hobart; access to $26 million in statewide airport improvement grants; and $1 million for a study of Lake Michigan beach erosion.

A provision successfully added to the budget Monday by state Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores, permits courts in LaPorte, Marshall and Starke counties to provide attorneys at no cost to unrepresented family caregivers in child in need of services (CHINS) cases in the hope of preventing a tragedy similar to the October 2021 death of Judah Morgan, a 4-year-old in LaPorte County.

The Senate budget also authorizes an additional penny-a-gallon increase in Indianas 33-cents-a-gallon gasoline tax in 2025, as well as on July 1, 2023 and 2024, and does not follow the House in speeding up the conditional income tax cuts lawmakers enacted in 2022.

State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary, the top Democrat on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said even though he considers the Senate spending plan "a vast improvement" to the House budget, he still has concerns that led him to join the 10 senators voting "no."

"It doesn't fully fund the recommendations from the Behavioral Health Commission (Senate Bill 1) or the Governors Commission on Public Health (Senate Bill 4)," Melton said. "The improvements in the school funding formula are completely eroded by the property tax-sharing language. This is a new concept that hasnt been vetted and sets a bad precedent, and I could not support it."

State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago, likewise said he cannot in good conscience support the budget absent major changes in the days ahead.

"Unless this budget improves to provide adequate support for critical items like education, public health, the 13th check (for retirees), and increased tax credits for teachers buying their own supplies  which we can more than afford  I will not be able to support House Bill 1001," Randolph said.

Meet the 2023 Northwest Indiana legislative delegation State Rep. Carolyn Jackson, D-Hammond State Rep. Earl Harris Jr., D-East Chicago State Rep. Ragen Hatcher, D-Gary State Rep. Ed Soliday, R-Valparaiso State Rep. Pat Boy, D-Michigan City State Rep. Chuck Moseley, D-Portage State Rep. Mike Aylesworth, R-Hebron State Rep. Mike Andrade, D-Munster State Rep. Vernon Smith, D-Gary State Rep. Hal Slager, R-Schererville State Rep. Kendell Culp, R-Rensselaer State Rep. Julie Olthoff, R-Crown Point State Rep. Jim Pressel, R-Rolling Prairie State Sen. Dan Dernulc, R-Highland State Sen. Lonnie Randolph, D-East Chicago State Sen. Eddie Melton, D-Gary State Sen. Rodney Pol Jr., D-Chesterton State Sen. Ed Charbonneau, R-Valparaiso State Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell State Sen. Mike Bohacek, R-Michiana Shores
BLOOMINGTON  Two Indiana University students who were reported missing Sunday were found dead late Tuesday morning in Lake Monroe, according to a news release from the Indiana Department of Natural Resources.

Indiana Conservation Officers located and recovered the bodies of Siddhant Shah, 19, and Aryan Vaidya, 20, in 18 feet of water in an area east of the Paynetown Marina, according to the release. The two men were on a boat with friends Saturday when the group anchored and decided to swim. Shah and Vaidya jumped in the water, but did not resurface.
Settlement before this trove of evidence became public would of course have been in Foxs best interest, Ms. Andersen Jones said. Waiting until the eve of trial, when the whole nation had a chance to focus on what Fox said internally about Trump, its sources and its own viewers, gave Dominion the extra layer of accountability it was seeking.

It is uncommon for defamation suits to get to trial, in part because the bar for proving actual malice  the legal standard that requires plaintiffs to show that defendants knew what they were saying was a lie, or had a reckless disregard for the truth  is so high. It is rarer yet for one to feature the volume of evidence that Dominion had amassed against Fox.

In the run-up to trial, Dominion publicly released reams of internal communications among Fox executives, hosts and producers that revealed how the countrys most-watched cable news network set in motion a strategy to win back viewers who had tuned out after Mr. Trumps loss. The messages tell the story of a frantic scramble inside Fox as it started losing audience share to competitors, like Newsmax, that were more willing to report on and endorse false claims about a plot involving Dominion machines to steal the election from Mr. Trump.

Producers referred to pro-Trump guests like Sidney Powell and Rudolph W. Giuliani as gold for ratings and acknowledged that the audience didnt want to hear about subjects like the possibility of a peaceful transition from a Trump administration to a Biden administration.

Those communications have shown how employees at Fox expressed serious doubts about and, at times, were scornful of Mr. Trump and his allies as they spread lies about voter fraud, questioning the legitimacy of Mr. Bidens election. Some at Fox mocked Mr. Trump and his lawyers as crazy and under the influence of drugs like L.S.D. and magic mushrooms.
Davis prohibited Fox from arguing that the network was merely reporting on allegations made by Donald Trump and his lawyers, which Fox contended were newsworthy whether or not they were true. So the case would turn not on whether Fox had aired defamatory falsehoods, which Davis determined it had, but on whether, in airing defamatory falsehoods, Fox had displayed actual malice  essentially, reckless disregard for the truth.

The evidence for such reckless disregard brought to light by Dominions lawyers during the discovery phase of the case was already overwhelming, and the trial promised more to come. A filing that Foxs lawyers made last week demonstrated their predicament. In it, the attorneys laid out some of the points they planned to make in their opening argument, asking for guidance from the court to ensure that it can make its opening statement without undue interruption and delay. Those points looked a lot like an attempt by Fox to use a legal back door to smuggle in arguments that the judge had already forbidden.

To defend this case, Fox witnesses must be able to testify about the reasons why Fox covered the allegations on the air, said the filing. Fox witnesses will all testify that they covered the Dominion-related allegations because the allegations were part of the most newsworthy story of the day. This, even though Davis had specifically ruled that this argument was invalid because, among other things, the evidence does not support the contention that Fox conducted good-faith, disinterested reporting.

In order to defend Fox from a finding of actual malice, its lawyers seemed set on bringing Foxs alternative reality into the courtroom, acting as if taking Trump and his attorneys at their word was a perfectly reasonable thing to do. Testimony and documentary evidence, Foxs lawyers said in the filing, will show that the president and the lawyers bringing the election fraud lawsuits continuously told Fox that they had evidence to support their claims and that they would be presenting that evidence to courts. That, in turn, explains why the Fox hosts did not know that the presidents allegations were false or harbor serious doubts about the truth of the allegations.

In other words, they cant be blamed for treating the president of the United States as a reliable source.
As a girl in Albany, Ga., in the early 2000s, Jessica Cruel liked to while away her Saturdays people-watching, sharing gossip and having her hair styled at her local salon. You would go in at 10 and wouldnt leave until 5, said Ms. Cruel, the editor in chief of Allure magazine.

Time was no object for the salons many regulars who hoped to achieve the undulant do known as the Marcel wave, an artfully constructed, high-polish style that has surfaced time and again since Josephine Baker popularized it in the early 1920s.

Widely adopted by Black women, the look was resurrected in the 1990s by a constellation of hip-hop stars, Missy Elliott, Lil Kim and Foxy Brown notable among them. Now the Marcel has reared its glossy head once more  a look that, while labor-intensive, seems on the cusp of mainstreaming.

Ive been noticing that there has been a resurgence of that traditional mousse, comb-and-clip style, Ms. Cruel said, ascribing its return in part to an unabated fascination with 90s trends and, not less, its renewed popularity on the runways and red carpets. The style, invented in the 1870s by the Parisian Francois Marcel Grateau, who achieved it with hot curling tongs, can be the crowning touch on bias-cut dresses reminiscent of the 20s and 30s. It can simultaneously take an edge off some of the more aggressively tailored looks on the runways this year.
Shortly after the agreement was reached, Fox said it was hopeful that our decision to resolve this dispute with Dominion amicably, instead of the acrimony of a divisive trial, allows the country to move forward from these issues.

The settlement carries an implicit plea of no contest to several pretrial findings from the presiding judge in the case, Eric M. Davis, that cast Foxs programming in exceptionally harsh light.

In one of those findings, the judge sided with Dominion in its assertion that Fox could not claim that its airing of the conspiracy theory  generally relating to the false claim that its machines switched Trump votes into Biden votes  fell under a legally protected status of news gathering that can shield news organizations when facts are disputed. The judge wrote, the evidence does not support that FNN conducted good-faith, disinterested reporting.

In another finding, the judge wrote that the evidence developed in this civil proceeding demonstrates that is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true.
At least three people who carried flaming tiki torches at a white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Va., in 2017 have been indicted on state charges that they intimidated others during an explosive demonstration that shocked the nation.

In a news release on Tuesday, James Hingeley, the Albemarle County commonwealths attorney, said multiple people had been indicted in connection with the rally on the night of Aug. 11, 2017, on the University of Virginia campus. The indictments were issued as part of a criminal investigation that is active and ongoing, he said.

While it is unclear how many people will eventually face charges, indictments were unsealed this week charging William Zachary Smith, of Nocona, Texas; Tyler Bradley Dykes, of Bluffton, S.C.; and Dallas Medina, of Ravenna, Ohio, with one count each of burning an object with the intent to intimidate. The felony carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.

A lawyer for Mr. Smith did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on Tuesday, and court records did not list a lawyer for the other two men.
Former Rep. Liz Cheney will serve as a professor of practice from now through fall of 2023, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia announced Wednesday.

Cheney, a Republican, previously served as the U.S. representative for Wyomings at-large congressional district from 2017 to 2023 and gained widespread recognition for serving as vice chair of the House Select Committee. In so doing, she lost support of her Republican base in Wyoming  but won widespread respect from millions across the country for not letting her party affiliation interfere with what she saw as her duty to uphold democracy.

Preserving our constitutional republic is the most important work of our time, and our nations young people will play a crucial role in this effort, said Cheney in a statement from the Center for Politics. I look forward to working with students and colleagues at the Center to advance the important work they and others at the University of Virginia are doing to improve the health of democracy here and around the world.

Despite being a member of the Republican party, Cheney supported the second impeachment of former President Donald Trump due to his role in the 2021 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. She served as the vice chair of the Houses Select Committee to investigate the insurrection.

As Cheney eventually lost her renomination campaign in Wyomings Republican primary to the Trump-endorsed candidate Harriet Hageman in 2022, UVa Center for Politics Director Larry J. Sabato said that Cheneys actions showed her strong character.

With democracy under fire in this country and elsewhere around the world, Liz Cheney serves as a model of political courage and leadership, Sabato said in a statement. Liz will send a compelling message to students about integrity. Shes a true profile in courage, and she was willing to pay the price for her principles  and democracy itself.

Cheney will participate in a variety of university and community events including giving lectures and contributing to the Center for Politics research, according to the Center. Though her appointment runs through 2023, there is the possibility for her to renew for one or more years.
WASHINGTON  President Biden and Jill Biden, the first lady, reported earning a total of about $580,000 on their 2022 tax returns, a slightly smaller amount than they had made in the first year of Mr. Bidens presidency.

The tax returns, released Tuesday night by the White House, showed that Mr. Biden and his wife paid nearly $170,000 in federal and state taxes in 2022, with an effective federal income tax rate of almost 24 percent.

Their income came largely from their salaries as president and college professor. Income from an S corporation that has served as a vehicle for revenue from the presidents books fell in 2022, the return showed. An S corporation is a small-business designation that allows business income, credits and deductions to pass through to shareholders.

The Bidens release of 37 pages of tax returns and supporting documents on April 18, the tax deadline for Americans, made good on a longstanding tradition among presidents that has been broken only by Mr. Bidens immediate predecessor, President Donald J. Trump, who fought to keep his returns private but ultimately lost.
I dont think Ron DeSantis is conservative, based on actions towards Disney, he said. Where are we headed here now that, if you express disagreement in this country, the government is now going to punish you? To me, thats what I always thought liberals did, and now all of a sudden here we are participating in this with a Republican governor.

At another point, he mocked Disneys escape from Mr. DeSantiss efforts to appoint a board to oversee it, using references to Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, and President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia.

Thats not the guy I want sitting across from President Xi and negotiating our next agreement with China, or sitting across from Putin and trying to resolve whats happening in Ukraine, if you cant see around a corner that Bob Iger created for you, Mr. Christie said. (Mr. Iger, a longtime Disney leader, returned as Disneys chief executive late last year.)

Mr. Christie has been meeting with his staff and some donors and soliciting input from people, as he aims to decide in the coming weeks whether to run for president.

If he does run, he would start at a disadvantage in a party redefined by Mr. Trump. But as Mr. DeSantis has stumbled at times before formally entering the race, some anti-Trump voices in the Republican Party have grown more interested in a Christie candidacy.
Mr. DeSantis served in the House for six years before running for governor in 2018, but he has done little to maintain his congressional relationships. He has mostly eschewed gatherings in Washington in recent years for groups like the National Governors Association or the Republican Governors Association. While his event on Tuesday was billed as a meet-and-greet, several of the invited Republicans were former colleagues.

One of those lawmakers, Representative Darin LaHood of Illinois, said earlier in the day that he wasnt ready to endorse Mr. DeSantis.

Well, Governor DeSantis hasnt announced that hes going to run for president  that time will come, Mr. LaHood said during an interview on Fox News. Today is just an opportunity again to hear the great success story that Governor DeSantis has had in Florida and for my colleagues to get reacquainted with him.

The event was held at an event space a short walk from the Capitol  and about three miles from the White House. The room was rented by a group called And To The Republic, which was formed by Tori Sachs, a Republican strategist from Michigan, and which has hosted other recent events for the Florida governor, as he has laid his presidential groundwork.

About two dozen protesters gathered outside, with bullhorns and loudspeakers to berate attendees with chants of shame. But Mr. DeSantis used a side door away from the protesters to enter.
The directive reiterated the departments policy that classified information can be transmitted only on appropriate government networks and may not be sent through commercially available encrypted channels such as WhatsApp and Signal.

New policies may be forthcoming that restrict or delete email distribution lists on classified computer networks, the memo said, and that limit access to certain intelligence and the ability to print paper copies of reports posted on the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System, or JWICS, a government computer network for top-secret information.

The department is taking this breach seriously and continues to work around the clock to better understand the scope and scale of these leaks, Sabrina Singh, the deputy Pentagon press secretary, told reporters on Monday. Throughout last week and over the course of the weekend, the secretary and senior Pentagon officials continue to convene daily meetings to examine the scope and scale of this disclosure, as well as ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are being taken.

Ms. Singh said the Pentagon has already begun reviewing the distribution lists for sensitive reports in order to identify recipients who no longer need to know the information.

That effort is going to be ongoing, she said. Its not just going to stop tomorrow and its not going to stop after a week. This is going to be a long-term effort.
WASHINGTON  The Republican chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee promised donors this month that he would produce an impeachment case against the Biden administrations homeland security chief, Alejandro N. Mayorkas, saying that the secretarys appearance before the panel this week would be the beginning of his demise.

Representative Mark E. Green told an enthusiastic crowd in his home state of Tennessee last week that his committee would expose Mr. Mayorkass dereliction of duty and his intentional destruction of our country through the open southern border. He said the panel would deliver charges to the House Judiciary Committee, which handles impeachment proceedings, according to an audio recording of a House Freedom Caucus fund-raiser obtained by The New York Times.

He said he had a five-phase plan for doing so and that the Homeland Security Committee would put together a packet, and we will hand it to Jim Jordan and let Jim do what Jim does best.

Mr. Green apparently was referring to Representative Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who leads the Judiciary panel. His comments made clear that G.O.P. leaders are serious about their threats to impeach Mr. Mayorkas. He said the plan would start with an appearance by the secretary before his committee on Wednesday.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  On Tuesday morning, hundreds of Staley High School students filled the street outside their school in a display of anger and support for their fellow student, Ralph Yarl, who was shot by a homeowner after he rang a doorbell at the wrong house in Kansas City last week. One sign read, We Walk for Ralph. Another demanded, Justice 4 Ralph Yarl.

By days end, they found some measure of relief, as Andrew D. Lester, the 84-year-old man accused of shooting Ralph, surrendered to the authorities after being charged with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action.

But many residents of Kansas City remained deeply troubled by the events that had shaken their city for the last several days. Some asked why Mr. Lester was released from police custody last week rather than being charged immediately. Others said that federal hate crime charges should be brought, in a case that the county prosecutor said had a racial component, as an older, white homeowner was accused of shooting an unarmed Black teenager. A few wondered if a jury would sympathize with Mr. Lester, who told the police that he was scared to death of being physically harmed before shooting Ralph.

In a country on edge over crime, the shooting was the latest example of an ordinary interaction  the ringing of a doorbell on a front step in a quiet neighborhood in Missouri  instantly turning into another shocking incident of American gun violence.
Fighting between forces loyal to competing generals continued to rage in the capital Khartoum and other cities across Sudan for hours after a truce was announced, trapping millions of people in place despite international pressure for a cease-fire.

A United Nations spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said that the fighting in Sudan showed no sign of letting up. He again called on the warring parties to halt the hostilities so civilians could evacuate to safer zones and get essential supplies.

The 24-hour truce, which was supposed to to begin at 6 p.m., involves the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which have been battling for control of the country for four days now.

It remained unclear which side was in control of the country, or which of the two dueling forces had the advantage in the spreading conflict that has killed at least 185 people and wounded more than 1,800 others. The fighting has dashed plans in Sudan to establish a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine visited the embattled eastern town of Avdiivka, his office said on Tuesday, after the Kremlin announced that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had again traveled to occupied areas of Ukraine near the front line, as both leaders sought to display strength and rally their troops.

The split-screen images came ahead of an anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive to take back territory seized by Russian troops. The trips also occurred as the battle for the key eastern city of Bakhmut intensified, with Moscow launching airstrikes and attacking from several directions simultaneously, a Ukrainian general said.

Mr. Putin visited the southern region of Kherson and the eastern Luhansk region, the Kremlins spokesman, Dmitri S. Peskov, said. It was the Russian leaders second trip close to the front line in a month. Military analysts say that Ukraine might target Kherson and Luhansk in its counteroffensive.

Mr. Zelensky announced his visit on Tuesday in a post on the social messaging app Telegram. But it was not immediately clear when Mr. Putin made his trip, though Mr. Peskov and the Kremlin said it was on Monday. The Russian leader appeared in different clothes in two parts of his trip and could be heard in video footage released by Moscow speaking with his commanders about the upcoming Easter, which the Orthodox Church celebrated on Sunday.
The three Danes and a Norwegian who play together as the Danish String Quartet have always had a charming modesty to them. But it was nevertheless a bit of a surprise, when their first studio recording of late Beethoven came out in the initial installment of Prism, a series exploring that composer and artistic lineages, to find them writing of themselves as still a group of boys.

The Danish, who return to Zankel Hall on Thursday to offer the third part of Doppelganger, their project pairing Schubert with new commissions, have never really approached Beethovens formidable last works in their genre like children, after all. They were already renowned as one of the major string quartets by the time they recorded Op. 127 in 2016, when the youngest among them was still 32, and they had built their reputation in large part on their preternatural maturity  a sense of proportion, a slight reserve, a certain inexplicable wisdom  in those scores, which can mystify far more senior musicians.

As they tell it now, though, they had barely gotten going. Op. 127 was the focal point of Prism I, the first of five recordings on the ECM label treating the late Beethoven quartets not as the alien, anomalous masterpieces they often appear, but as part of musical history, on the one hand influenced by Bach, who is represented on each release by a transcribed fugue, and on the other influencing later successors, here Mendelssohn, Webern, Bartok, Shostakovich and Schnittke.

Prism V came out earlier this month, and it completes a series that has come to mean more to the quartet than they might initially have expected. The eldest of the boys has now passed 40: The broad chords they played with such rich allure at the beginning of Op. 127, they write in the note for their most recent release, turned out not only to be the entry gate to the promised lands of the late Beethoven quartets, but the exit door from our life as a young string quartet.
Blair Tindall, a freelance oboist and journalist who drew on both of those abilities to write Mozart in the Jungle: Sex, Drugs, and Classical Music, an eyebrow-raising 2005 memoir that became an award-winning television series, died on April 12 in Los Angeles. She was 63.

Her fiance, the photographer Chris Sattlberger, said the cause was cardiovascular disease.

Ms. Tindall had played in various ensembles and Broadway pit orchestras and was writing regularly for publications including The New York Times when Mozart in the Jungle appeared. Any reader holding a pristine view of the people who make classical music was quickly relieved of it: The book opens with Ms. Tindalls visit to a cocaine-fueled party of musicians and goes on to detail assorted escapades, among them her own sexual liaisons, including an early one, with a middle-aged instructor, when she was a teenager studying at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

I got hired for most of my gigs in bed, she wrote.

The book set tongues wagging in the classical music world and divided critics.

Written with pop culture-savvy flair  a feat for a musician who, at one point, admits to being proud that I couldnt identify a pop song from Beatles to Blondie  Mozart is a delightfully unlikely page-turner, Ali Marshall wrote in Mountain Xpress, an alternative newspaper in North Carolina. And, even if it doesnt encourage readers to listen to classical music, its sure to instill in them an unprecedented admiration of this deviant art.
"A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klans Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them" by Timothy Egan; Viking (428 pages, $30)



Rich, famous and charismatic, D.C. Stephenson had everything in the world except shame.

He was a congenital liar and a perpetual grifter, a vicious bully and a sexual predator. And Stephenson regretted none of it.

Despite a litany of crimes, his lawyers kept him out of jail. His money kept politicians in his pocket. And his ability to intimidate kept him in power. Stephenson had serious plans to run for president.

Then one person brought him to justice.

Timothy Egan chronicles the chilling story in A Fever in the Heartland: The Ku Klux Klans Plot to Take Over America, and the Woman Who Stopped Them. By 1924, the white terrorists had not only pushed their way into politics but had a plan to win the White House.

They came terrifyingly close.

In the golden age of fraternal organizations, the Klan was the largest and most powerful of the secret societies, Egan writes. In Colorado, an open Klansman won the governorship  Every Man under the Capitol Dome a Klansman was his motto. He joined another Klan-backed governor in the West, Walter M. Pierce, in Oregon. Keeping America a Land for Americans was his slogan.

By the mid-1920s, the KKK had nearly 6 million members and plenty more sympathizers. The Klan claimed fifteen United States senators under its control, and seventy-five members of the House of Representatives, Egan writes. When the Klan scheduled a rally in D.C. in 1925, 50,000 marchers showed up. Four times as many people turned out to cheer them on.

And much of the Klans growing success and influence was because of Stephenson.

The barely educated son of a Texas sharecropper, by the time Stephenson reached Indiana in the early 20s, he had left behind two wives and a string of jobs. He told his new neighbors he was a bachelor, a lawyer, and a war hero. Not true, but facts didnt waylay Stephenson, whether he was selling the Klan or himself.

He could talk a dog off a meat wagon, Egan writes.

And in 1921, for $12 a week, the huckster took on a new product: the Ku Klux Klan.

At first, Stephenson was just an assistant recruiter, but he dreamed bigger than that. Under his leadership, Indiana became the Klans fastest-growing state in the North, adding 2,000 members weekly. Stephenson also helped promote the Klan in the Midwest and Northwest, railing against Blacks, Jews, Catholics and immigrants.

Millions of people, it seemed, were willing to pay $10 to join ($6 extra for the hood and robe) just to get that license to hate. At one point, Stephenson estimated he raked in nearly $30 million in dues and fees. His cut was 40%.

He used that wealth. He paid ministers to persuade worshippers to join and support the Klans crusade for good Christian values. He bribed politicians to appoint Klan-friendly sheriffs. Meanwhile, he gave bootleg-fueled orgies in his Indiana mansion that, one observer wrote, would have shamed Nero.

Of course, the Klansmens old terrorism and intimidation continued. The difference was that under Stephenson, they began winning legislative victories, too. They helped push through the Immigration Act of 1924, restricting most new arrivals to Northern Europeans. Other laws they supported  from teaching creationism to forced sterilization of the unfit  were passed, too.

Not that they didnt meet opposition. When Stephenson organized an all-out march on one of his chief enemies in Indiana, the University of Notre Dame, Irish-American undergrads chased the bigots down alleys, pelting them with potatoes. The Klan retreated in terror.

But it fell to an Indiana woman named Madge Oberholtzer to bring down Stephenson.

Oberholtzer had no sympathy for the organization. She had gone to college with Black students and supported female suffrage. Happily single, 28, and living with her parents, she worked for a state literacy program. But then the program was scheduled to be cut.

Oberholtzer disliked everything Stephenson stood for, but she knew he had helped elect the current governor. And Stephenson even lived in her neighborhood. One day, she wrangled an introduction.

Stephenson was receptive. He suggested he might find her another state job. The more they met about different career opportunities, the more uncomfortable Oberholtzer grew. Stephenson was always drinking and brandishing a gun. He was always talking about running for president  and about how much he liked her.

Finally, one night at his home, he demanded she accompany him on an out-of-town trip. When she refused, he had two henchmen hold her down and pour liquor down her throat. She was hustled into a car and, with a gun in her ribs, onto a train. She threatened Stephenson with the police.

Im the law in Indiana, he snapped.

Once the train pulled out, Stephenson threw her into a compartment and raped her, biting her, even chewing on her, leaving open wounds. When the train stopped, he brought the dazed woman to a hotel. The next morning, she begged Stephenson to have someone take her to a drugstore, so she could at least buy bandages.

Instead, she bought poison.

Stephenson panicked when he found out shed taken it. Refusing to stop at a hospital, his bodyguards drove them home. First, they held Oberholtzer captive in a garage, then dropped her at her home. Her parents called a doctor. Once their daughter told them what happened, they made another call  to a lawyer.

He took down her account.

On April 14, 1925, not quite one month after the attack, Oberholtzer died.

On Oct. 29, Stephenson went on trial for murder.

He remained as sure of himself as ever. How could he be guilty of murdering someone who died by suicide? His lawyers also blamed the victim, insisting the relationship was consensual.

But the prosecutor was smarter.

The prosecutor resisted the urge to put the Klan on trial. Who could tell if jurors had pointy hoods at home? And he focused on the crime. He produced doctors who swore the wounds had hastened Oberholtzers death. He had her dying declaration admitted as evidence.

This case, he insisted, is to determine whether we are to protect the sanctity of the honor and chastity of womanhood.

The jury found Stephenson guilty of murder in the second degree.

The judge sentenced him to life.

Meanwhile, coincidentally, other powerful Klansmen were being called to account. An Oregon leader was found guilty of raping his secretary and later killing her during a botched abortion. Three Colorado Klansmen were arrested for child molestation. The Klans claim that it promoted moral values was being revealed as the lie it was.

By the end of the 20s, membership had fallen by 90%.

Released from prison in 1950, Stephenson returned to wandering from small town to small town and seducing and abandoning women. In 1961, in Missouri, he was caught trying to force a teenage girl into his car. The 70-year-old pervert got a suspended sentence, provided he leave the state. He died in 1966.

He never expressed any regrets. Instead, years later, he remained proud of how powerful he had been and how close he came to ultimate power.

Still, You wouldnt have called it president, he said later, correcting assumptions about his goal. A better word, he confided, was dictator.
Can Indias economy keep up with its population?

India will soon become the worlds most populous country, supplanting China for the first time in centuries, according to data from the United Nations.

With size  a population that now exceeds 1.4 billion people  comes geopolitical, economic and cultural power that India has long sought. And Indias economy has been growing much faster than its population for a generation, causing the proportion of Indians living in extreme poverty to plummet.

Indias work force is young and expanding, even as those in many industrialized countries are aging and, in some cases, shrinking. Its service sector is successful and wage costs are lower than in China, so India could try to capitalize on Chinas difficulties and become a high-end manufacturing alternative.

Enormous challenges: Indias immense size and lasting growth also lay bare a multitude of problems. Most Indians still remain poor by global standards: Many young people are not well educated and face a looming shortage of good jobs. There is also a yawning gender gap, with only about one-fifth of Indian women working in formal jobs. The countrys infrastructure is in bad shape (though the government is working to change that), and the Hindu-first nationalism of Prime Minister Narendra Modis party contributes to a combustible environment.
The upcoming Supreme Court decision  which will address a ruling out of Texas, where a judge invalidated the F.D.A.s approval of the pill  is the most significant abortion case taken up by the court since it overturned the constitutional right to an abortion last summer. Medication abortion, as it is called, is both safe and widely popular: more than half of all abortions in the U.S. are done with medication.

In related news, a company that makes the generic version of mifepristone sued the F.D.A., seeking to block the agency from complying if the courts ultimately order the drug off the market.
Fox Newss agreement with Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday abruptly resolved a lawsuit over how the network amplified conspiracy theories about the 2020 presidential election, which devastated Dominions reputation and business.

The network had advanced former President Donald J. Trumps claims, which its own hosts did not believe, that Dominions voting machines had been used to tilt the election against Mr. Trump. The trial was set to begin on Tuesday, and gasps were heard in the courtroom when the judge announced the settlement.

Here are the key facts about the deal that ended the case.

What were the terms of the settlement?

At $787.5 million, the amount that Fox News agreed to pay Dominion was one of the largest in a defamation case. Fox was not required to apologize on the air, though it did make a statement recognizing that the court had found certain claims about Dominion aired on its programming to be false.

The settlement carried an implicit plea of no contest to several pretrial findings from Judge Eric M. Davis, who presided over the case. He had written in one ruling that it was CRYSTAL clear that Foxs statements regarding Dominion and the election were untrue.
Dominion is the second-largest election technology company operating in the United States, where there are few other major players. The company, whose majority owner is the private equity firm Staple Street Capital, was made toxic by the false fraud narratives in 2020, one of Staple Streets founders said in court documents. At one point, Dominion estimated that misinformation had cost it $600 million in profits.

Fox said in its court filings that Dominion did not have to lay off employees, close offices or default on any debts, nor did it suffer any canceled business contracts as a result of the news networks coverage. Fox said in one filing that Dominion had projected $98 million in revenue for 2022, which would make Tuesdays settlement the equivalent of eight years of sales.

Dominions customers are largely officials who oversee voting in states and counties around the country; the company served 28 states, as well as Puerto Rico, in the 2020 election. The false stories about fraud that were directed at the company were embraced by some local election officials.

In court documents, an expert enlisted by Dominion said the company had very low early contract termination rates and very high contract renewal rates before the 2020 election, but blamed the preoccupation with the false fraud claims for prompting some clients to exit deals after the vote.

Now, Dominion has emerged from its tussle with Fox in a stronger position to win back any skittish clients or score new business, legal experts said.
Others lamented what they perceived to be a lost opportunity for a legal reckoning for the misinformation that has poisoned many Americans trust in the democratic process.

Great win for democracy? I dont know about that, said the MSNBC host Joy Reid, who told viewers that Fox News saved their stars from having to take the witness stand and answer questions about all those embarrassing texts and revelations.

Three-quarters of a billion dollars is no small sum, even for Mr. Murdoch, and Fox is still facing a similar defamation suit from another elections firm, Smartmatic, which has asked for $2.7 billion in damages. (Dominion initially demanded $1.6 billion.) The network has often argued that its newsroom is walled off from ideological forces, but emails that were revealed in the case made clear that top executives had rebuked their own journalists who tried to fact-check Mr. Trump.

Still, Fox News was not required under the terms of the settlement to issue an on-air apology for the baseless claims it aired about Dominion, asserting the company had tried to rig the 2020 presidential election in Joseph R. Biden Jr.s favor. Of the anchors cited in the lawsuit, all but Lou Dobbs remain employed. And Foxs public statement on Tuesday about the settlement was hardly an apology.
The last-minute settlement of Dominion Voting Systems lawsuit against Fox News defused a high-stakes test of the First Amendment protections afforded to the media. But more challenges are likely on the horizon.

Nearly 60 years after the Supreme Courts unanimous decision in New York Times v. Sullivan, which made it harder for public figures to win libel cases against the media, the landmark ruling is under sustained assault from judges, politicians and lawyers, most but not all of them conservatives.

The Dominion lawsuit, in which the voting machine company sought $1.6 billion in damages from Fox News for spreading falsehoods about Dominions role in the 2020 elections, had the potential to reshape the debate.

If Fox News lost, a powerful news organization faced the prospect of record-breaking damages. But a victory for the cable news network would have raised questions  even among lawyers who represent the news media  about whether federal courts interpretations of the First Amendment made it impossible to hold anyone accountable for reckless and damaging lies.
The showdown between the Walt Disney Company and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida increasingly appears as though it could end up in court.

On Wednesday, a board appointed by Mr. DeSantis to oversee government services at Disney World asked lawyers to prepare a resolution to void a recent development agreement and restrictive covenants that give Disney vast control over expansion at the resort complex for decades to come. When the appointees reported for duty last month, they were outraged to discover that Disney  in open, advertised public forums  had pushed through the agreement.

The bottom line is that Disney engaged in a caper worthy of Scrooge McDuck to try to evade Florida law, David H. Thompson, a high-powered litigator retained by the board, said during a presentation in which he accused Disney of improper and illegal maneuvers relating to development. He said one involved a failure to fully comply with a state law that required public notification of the actions it took.

To support an assertion that Disney pulled a fast one, Mr. Thompson displayed an email from John M. McGowan, chief counsel for the Walt Disney World Resort, suggesting that his name be removed as the writer of a draft document relating to the development agreement. I am comfortable having my name on it, but from an optics perspective that is not ideal, the email said.
People who are severely immunocompromised, such as organ transplant recipients, may want to opt for booster shots every six months or even more frequently, Dr. Faust said.

The new guidelines come weeks after Britain and Canada recommended additional shots for older adults and immunocompromised people, among others.

The C.D.C. now says that adults 65 and older may opt for another dose of the bivalent vaccine at least four months after their first shot. Those with weakened immune systems may do so two months after their previous bivalent dose, and may choose to receive more doses in consultation with their health care provider.

In the meeting of C.D.C. advisers on Wednesday, Dr. Camille Kotton, a physician at Massachusetts General Hospital, noted that the new recommendations did not include immunocompromised children 6 months through 4 years of age. That leaves those medically frail children  including recipients of organ transplants  unprotected against the virus, she said.

As a mom and doctor, this seems like we are leaving them so vulnerable, she said in an interview.

For most Americans, the F.D.A. plans to encourage annual Covid shots in the fall, much as it does with flu shots. Health officials will decide on the exact composition of the shot in June, based on the version of the virus circulating at the time.

The bivalent vaccine targets the original variant of the coronavirus as well as variants BA.4 and BA.5, which were dominant last summer. But BA.4 and BA.5 were quickly supplanted by newer versions.

The most recent Omicron subvariant, XBB.1.5, now accounts for about 78 percent of cases in the United States, and another version, XBB.1.6, for about 7 percent. So far, the reformulated vaccines seem to prevent severe illness and hospitalization after infection with these variants.
Times Insider explains who we are and what we do and delivers behind-the-scenes insights into how our journalism comes together.

On Aug. 9, 2022, Gregory Fleetwood, a graying 66-year-old man, stood before Judge Valentina M. Morales in Bronx Criminal Court, waiting for his arraignment to begin. Behind him sat about a dozen journalists, including me.

There, Mr. Fleetwood was charged with second-degree murder in the 1996 killing of a 36-year-old woman, Jasmine Porter. The case was grim: Ms. Porter, who was six months pregnant, was strangled in front of her 4-year-old son. The case was cold for nearly 25 years, until Ms. Porters fingernail clippings were tested for DNA, and Mr. Fleetwood came back as a match.

Years earlier, in 1988, Mr. Fleetwood had pleaded guilty to killing a pregnant woman who was also strangled, prosecutors at the arraignment said. He served only six years in prison before he was released on parole in 1994. At the time of Ms. Porters murder, he was living on the same block as her.

Mr. Fleetwoods arrest in 2022 made local headlines and, for many, marked a satisfying end to a decades-old cold case. But as I sat in court during the arraignment, I wanted to know more about Ms. Porter and the quest to solve her murder.
We would have to study any impacts on the M.T.A.s operating budget, as well as on the M.T.A.s daily operations, Mr. McCarthy said.

The move toward free bus service has increasingly gained traction around the country. After Kansas City went to free bus service in 2020, ridership increased, but the cost of lost revenue has fluctuated between $8 and $10 million, said Cindy Baker, a spokeswoman for the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.

Ms. Baker said that the authority is paying for the bus service with $4.8 million provided by the Kansas City municipal government, as well as emergency pandemic funding, which will run out at the end of 2023. Were trying to work on partnerships from within the private sector to continue the free service, Ms. Baker said.

Boston also rolled out a free bus program on three of its routes in March of 2022, expanding an existing pilot. Since then, ridership has increased seven percent across all three routes.

The time for free buses already arrived, said State Senator John Liu, another Queens Democrat who supports the proposal. Many other major cities have already adopted the approach.

The pilot program for New York City evolved from a more ambitious proposal by Mr. Gianaris and Mr. Mamdani in December, calling for phasing in free bus service citywide by 2027, beginning next year in the Bronx.

In the meantime, Mr. Gianaris said, the pilot program was a step toward evaluating how great an idea it is, and if successful, could be expanded to other bus lines.
Press Release

April 19, 2023 Legarda convenes gov't agencies ahead of RCEP effectivity in PH Senate President Pro Tempore Loren Legarda leads the Senate Special Oversight Committee on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement's first organizational meeting and briefing on Tuesday to discuss the plans and preparations of concerned government agencies ahead of RCEP's effectivity on June 2, 2023. Attended by the implementing government agencies of RCEP and various stakeholders, Legarda said, "With the creation of the Special Oversight Committee, we hope to address deficiencies and gaps in our governance, mobilize communities through bottom-up efforts, work to reduce scarcity toward productive efficiency, and determine effective utilization of our natural assets and our budgets." After the Senate concurred on the ratification of the mega-trade deal among 15 countries in the Asia Pacific region last February 21, 2023, the Philippines deposited its Instrument of Ratification of the RCEP Agreement to the Secretary-General of ASEAN on April 3, 2023. Sixty (60) days thereafter, or on June 2, 2023, the Agreement will enter into force in the Philippines. The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) outlined its plans for the effective implementation of RCEP. These include the conduct of a Trade Education and Advocacy Campaign designed for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and large enterprises to become more strategic and precise in availing of the terms and conditions provided by RCEP and other free trade agreements. The program also boasts of a Value Chain Network, which provides MSMEs the capacity to export and the opportunity to engage with companies linked to the global value chain. On the part of the Department of Agriculture (DA), it has issued guidelines for operating units to ensure that their programs, activities, and projects will support the Senate Resolution on RCEP, especially introducing improvements on modernization programs. The DA will also enhance its existing information system which provides details on production, prices, and importation related to agriculture systems. The system will now cover not only livestock products but all agri-fisheries commodities. Stakeholders from the agriculture and labor sector were also present during the hearing and aired their grievances regarding the lack of consultation, delays, and inefficiency in the implementation of government service. For its part, the DA addressed the issues stating that pursuant to the mandate of the Philippine Committee for Agriculture and Fishery (PCAF)-Committee on International Trade, four core groups are established that will look into concerns on smuggling, trade negotiations, assessment of free trade agreements, and export promotion to improve public-private partnerships. The four core groups will aid in monitoring issues and concerns affecting food supply, demand, and prices for the agriculture and fisheries sector. Legarda herself suggested programs for the effective implementation of RCEP such as the launching of a strong campaign to support Philippine-made products, regional consultations, and monitoring of the country's progress to determine the effect of the implementation of RCEP. In line with the monitoring, the Senator asked the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) to submit quarterly reports and projections on job generation, effects of interventions in the agriculture sector, and other effects of RCEP in the economy. "We convene the Special Oversight Committee on RCEP with the fervent hope that, with our mandates and duties to perform, we ensure to work on measures and policies to protect the interest of our country and the people," Legarda said.
An Albany man has been sentenced to more than six years in prison for sexually abusing a woman in Linn County.

Linn County Circuit Court Judge Brendan Kane sentenced Justin Louis Beach, 52, to 75 months in prison following a first-degree sexual abuse conviction Wednesday, April 19.

According to prosecutor Julia Baker, Beach met the victim at an Albany bus stop in May 2020 and forced her to come back to a motel with him. At the motel, Beach sexually abused the victim, who Baker said is disabled.

The victim, who is in her 60s, appeared in the court room with a walker.

Hes not a person anymore, hes a monster, the victim said via a written statement read by Baker.

Beach was initially indicted on two counts of first-degree rape, two counts of first-degree sexual abuse, two counts of second-degree sexual abuse and one count of coercion.

As a part of a plea agreement between the state and defense, Beach pleaded no contest to one count of first-degree sexual abuse, and Kane dismissed the rest of the charges.

Already serving time

The 75-month sentence will run concurrent to a sentence Beach is currently serving out of Marion County Circuit Court.

Beach appeared via video from the Oregon State Hospital in Junction City, where he is serving his current sentence under the Oregon Psychiatric Security Review Board.

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Beach is being held at Oregon State Hospital as opposed to the Department of Corrections because he was found "guilty except for insanity" on counts of first-degree attempted sexual abuse and third-degree sexual abuse. Court documents for this case say Beach has a mental disorder.

But Beach was not found guilty except for insanity in the Linn County case.

He knew exactly what he was doing when he sexually assaulted me, the victim said in her statement.

According to defense attorney Rex White Jr., Beach is expected to serve time at OSH until around December 2025. At this point, law enforcement will transfer Beach to custody of the Department of Corrections to finish out the rest of his Linn County sentence.
FORT EDWARD, N.Y.  A man accused of shooting a young woman who had inadvertently driven up his driveway in a rural area of upstate New York was returned to jail without bail on Wednesday, a move hailed by the victims shattered family.

The man, Kevin Monahan, 65, is charged with second-degree murder and has pleaded not guilty. During a brief hearing in a Washington County courthouse, prosecutors laid out a vivid and frightening description of Mr. Monahans actions, which they said included using a shotgun to shoot at the car in which the victim, Kaylin Gillis, 20, was traveling while it attempted to drive away.

They were at the defendants property for a very short period of time, when they were fired at, said Christian P. Morris, the countys first assistant district attorney, adding that Mr. Monahan could face additional charges, including attempted murder and assault of other individuals in the cars.

For the most part, Mr. Monahan sat quietly, shackled but dressed in a suit and tie, as relatives of Ms. Gillis sat stone-faced. He spoke briefly when asked by Judge Adam D. Michelini about past travel and whether he had family in the area.
Rigby, who said she had played Peter more than 3,000 times, between Broadway and touring companies, remembered her last performance. One of her front teeth popped out  a temporary implant. It landed onstage. She picked it up. Moments later, Im flying, holding onto this tooth and thinking Ill put it in my fairy-dust pack.

She finished the scene without tossing the tooth across the stage when she scattered the fairy dust. Backstage, she washed the tooth, applied Krazy Glue and put it in her mouth. It wasnt in quite correctly, she said, but I got through the show.

She also made it through a performance in Kansas City, Kan.

I was fighting Captain Hook, she said. The swords we were using were not sharp, but they were metal. After I defeated him, I used my flying to get away from him.

She was supposed to rise to the crows nest of the ship. On the way up, Im thinking to myself, were flying really fast. She realized she was going to crash into the crows nest.

She put her arms up to soften the impact, forgetting that she was still holding the sword.

It ricocheted, slicing into her forehead and drawing blood. I think the audience thought the blood was special effects, she said.

She ran offstage and found a Band-Aid, which popped off during the next scene. After the curtain came down, she went to an emergency room. The next day her father called, saying he had heard that she had been stabbed on the way to the theater. I said, no, no, no, thats not what happened, she said, and I told him the whole story.

So if things went wrong in Peter Pan, what has gone wrong in Peter Pan Goes Wrong?

Fortunately, nothing where we had to take a time out, said Greg Tannahill, who plays Peter. With regard to my flying, nothing major. He did fly into a window sill once. I thought OK, theres another bruise, but well talk about that later, he said, making this production sound smoother and safer than the original, which was staged 10 years ago on a far smaller budget at a theater in North London.
The multimillion dollar payout is also another blow to the agency as it tries to fend off a federal takeover. Lawyers representing people detained in the jail complex on Rikers Island argued in November that the city had mismanaged the lockup for years, and asked a federal judge to appoint an outsider to run it.

The judge, Laura T. Swain, has so far refrained from stripping the city of its control over Rikers. The next hearing on the matter is scheduled for April 27.

Thursdays settlement ends a federal case in which, lawyers argued, jail officials sidestepped the Board of Correction.

The board, an oversight body, increased its efforts to limit restrictive housing for pretrial detainees in 2016. To circumvent this, the department put detainees they considered dangerous in three facilities, two on Rikers and one in Manhattan, according to court records.

In West Facility on Rikers, detainees could be kept alone for 23 hours a day, according to court records. In North Infirmary Command, also on Rikers, and 9 South, a unit in the now-shuttered Manhattan Detention Complex, detainees were kept in a cell with access to a separate room they shared with one or two other people.

But a jail rule makes clear that detainees who are presumed innocent should have reasonable leeway behind bars unless they have been formally found to have committed a serious infraction.

The settlement, lawyers in the case said, reinforces that pretrial detainees are entitled to live in communal housing, to be in common areas 14 hours per day and to eat together. They are entitled to engage in religious worship and other programming together too.
Are democracies providing the rope to hang themselves?

From Turkey to Hungary, from India to the United States, authoritarian leaders have gained power under the protective cloak of free elections.

There is no doubt that democratic processes and judicial decisions can be used to limit the power of the people, restructuring governments and institutions to make them less representative, more undemocratic, Rogers Smith, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania told me, in response to my emailed inquiry.

Smith continued:

The classic examples are partisan gerrymandering and barriers to voting, but in recent years Republicans have gone further than ever before in using their overrepresentation in state legislatures to shift power to those legislatures, away from officeholders in Democratic-led cities, from officials elected statewide and from voters.

Jack Goldstone, a professor of public policy at George Mason University, made a parallel argument by email:

One of the odd and scary things about American politics, more reminiscent of the 19th century than anything in the post-World War II period, is that when the Republicans lost the presidential election in 2020 and did much worse than expected in 2022 (even worse than in a normal midterm contest), they did not abandon the leaders and policies that produced these results. Instead, they have doubled down on even more extreme and broadly unpopular leaders and policies, from Trump to abortion and guns.

Goldstone believes that this development

is a sign that normal politics have been replaced by extreme polarization and factional identity politics, in which the extremes grow stronger and drain the center. As a minority seeking to exercise control of government, it is actually necessary that the Trumpist G.O.P. suppress democratic procedures that normally produce majority control.

If enough voters, Goldstone wrote,

are deeply anxious or frightened of some real or imagined threat (e.g. socialism, mass immigration, crime, threats to their religion, transgender takeover), they may well vote for someone who promises to stand up to those threats, even if that person has no regard for preserving democracy, no regard for the rights and freedoms of those seen as enemies. If such a leader is elected, gets his or her party to control all parts of government, and wants to turn all the elements of government into a weapon to attack their enemies, no laws or other organizations can stop them.

Goldstone warned that should the Republicans manage to gain control of the House, Senate and presidency in 2024, building an electoral autocracy to impose their views without challenge will be their top priority.

There are two distinct mechanisms involved in overturning democracy, Goldstone argued:

First, is controlling all elected and appointed elements of the government. If the same political party controls the House, Senate, judiciary and presidency, and disregards the principles of democracy and independence of officials, then sadly none of the institutions of democracy will prevent arbitrary and autocratic government.

The second element, according to Goldstone, is unique to this country: The United States has so many safeguards for minority rights that it is conceivable that a minority party could obtain complete control of all levers of government.
The decision by Dominion Voting Systems on Tuesday to settle its defamation suit against Fox News is no doubt a disappointment to the many people who have been viciously demeaned and insulted by the networks hosts over the years and who now wont get to see those hosts writhe on the witness stand as they are forced to admit their lies. But the settlement is also a lost opportunity for the profession of journalism.

A six-week trial, especially if it ended in a victory for Dominion, could have demonstrated to the public in painstaking detail what an abject aberration Fox has become among American news organizations. In-person testimony would have illustrated what the pretrial evidence had begun to show: that Fox hosts and executives knew full well that the conspiracy theories they peddled about the outcome of the 2020 election were false, but they broadcast them anyway to hang on to viewers who didnt want to hear the truth. A loss by Fox, with a staggering damage award, would have demonstrated that its behavior was so exceptional and outrageous that it had to be punished.

People inclined to believe that all news organizations deliberately lie to build their audience may not consider Foxs actions to be the least bit aberrant. But if that were true, there would be a lot more trials like the one that almost happened in this case. In fact, there have been very few media trials in recent years  the number is usually in the single digits each year, according to one study  compared with the thousands of civil trials each year. Most defamation cases are dismissed before they ever get near a trial, in part because the plaintiff could not come close to proving a news organization met the actual malice standard set out in the landmark New York Times v. Sullivan case of 1964 but also often because the plaintiff couldnt even convince the judge that the defamatory material was false. News organizations also win dismissals by persuading judges that the material at issue is a legitimate opinion or is a fair report of allegations made at a public meeting or trial.

Fox couldnt persuade a judge of any of those defenses. In fact, the judge in this case, Eric Davis, ruled in March that it is CRYSTAL clear that none of the statements relating to Dominion about the 2020 election are true  a decision that was a huge setback for Fox and may have led to its eagerness to settle the case.
But two things can be true at the same time, said Mark Chaves, a professor of sociology at Duke Divinity School who directs the National Congregations Study: America can still be a comparatively observant nation and religious observance can be on the decline in various dimensions, happening at different paces, Chaves explains. The decline in religious belief and interest is much slower than the decline in organizational participation, he said when we spoke.

For example, few Americans say they dont believe in God at all, and while that minority has grown, its still very small. According to NORC data, atheists only made up about 2 percent to 3 percent of the population from 1988 to 2012. By 2021, atheists were 7 percent of the population. In 1988, 17 percent of Americans said they never attended religious services. In 2021, that number was 31 percent.

Religions meaning to people goes well beyond regular attendance at a local church, temple or mosque, or trust in religious leaders. Thats why polling questions dont always capture the whole picture of American religious observance. Theres been a lot of coverage about the rise of what pollsters sometimes call nones  people who say they have no religion in particular, which, according to Gallup, went from 0 percent to 2 percent of the population in the early 1950s to plateauing at around 20 percent of the population from 2017 to 2022.

But it would be incorrect to say that nones dont retain any trappings of religious observance, like belief in a higher power or performing certain rituals. It doesnt even mean they never attend church. As Zuckerman, one of the authors of Beyond Doubt and a professor at Pitzer College, explained to me over the phone, when social scientists talk about religion, they do it in terms of the three Bs: belief, behavior and belonging. If someone asks you about your religion and you say you dont have any, Zuckerman said, that tells me nothing about your beliefs, and that tells me nothing about your behavior. It just tells me how you identify.

Since I started reporting this story, Ive been asking members of my unobservant family what theyd say if a pollster asked them what their religious affiliations are. (Aware of the caveat that both sociologists I talked to noted: Responses are often shaped by how the question is asked.)
Few, if any, psychologists would say that a preference for natural lighting, doodling in class or even identifying as L.G.B.T.Q. is a sign of A.D.H.D. or autism.

And yet, everywhere I look online, someone is trying to diagnose me with something, using symptoms unrelated to clinical diagnostic criteria. Videos with titles like 6 Signs You May Have A.D.H.D. and Signs That You Might Have O.C.D. can rack up millions of views. In them, neurodiversity advocates encourage me to consider which of my personality quirks is instead a sign of mental illness or neurodiversity.

In many online circles  particularly those frequented by young, white, middle-class women like me  certain diagnoses are treated like zodiac signs or Myers-Briggs types. Once they were primarily serious medical conditions, perhaps ones of which to be ashamed. Now, absent social stigma, mental health status functions as yet another category in our ever-expanding identity politics, transforming what it means to have a psychological or neurological disorder for a generation of young people, though not entirely for the better.

I was first diagnosed with autism at age 20, shortly after my sophomore year of college. After my costly evaluation, I was relieved. Knowing I had autism gave me the permission I needed to accept my quirks and insecurities.
Dr. Sutherland is joined by others in the industry who believe that CMOS manufacturing is hitting fundamental limits that will make the cost of progress intolerable.

I think we can say with some assurance that were going to have to radically change the way we design computers because we really are approaching the limits of what is possible with our current technology based on silicon, said Jonathan Koomey, a specialist in large-scale computing energy requirements.

As it has shrunk the size of transistors to the size of just hundreds or thousands of atoms, the semiconductor industry has been increasingly bedeviled with a variety of technical challenges.

Modern microprocessor chips also suffer from what engineers describe as dark silicon. If all the billions of transistors on a modern microprocessor chip are used simultaneously, the heat they create will melt the chip. Consequently, entire sections of modern chips are shut down and only some of the transistors are working at any time  making them far less efficient.

Dr. Sutherland said the United States should consider alternative technologies for national security reasons. The advantages of a superconducting computing technology might first be useful in the highly competitive market for cellular base stations, the specialized computers inside cellphone towers that process wireless signals, he suggested. China has become a dominant force in the market for the current 5G technology, but next-generation 6G chips would benefit from both the extreme speed and significantly lower power requirement of superconducting processors, he said.
Nearly two decades ago, Facebook exploded on college campuses as a site for students to stay in touch. Then came Twitter, where people posted about what they had for breakfast, and Instagram, where friends shared photos to keep up with one another.

Today, Instagram and Facebook feeds are full of ads and sponsored posts. TikTok and Snapchat are stuffed with videos from influencers promoting dish soaps and dating apps. And soon, Twitter posts that gain the most visibility will come mostly from subscribers who pay for the exposure and other perks.

Social media is, in many ways, becoming less social. The kinds of posts where people update friends and family about their lives have become harder to see over the years as the biggest sites have become increasingly corporatized. Instead of seeing messages and photos from friends and relatives about their holidays or fancy dinners, users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Twitter and Snapchat now often view professionalized content from brands, influencers and others that pay for placement.

The change has implications for large social networking companies and how people interact with one another digitally. But it also raises questions about a core idea: the online platform. For years, the notion of a platform  an all-in-one, public-facing site where people spent most of their time  reigned supreme. But as big social networks made connecting people with brands a priority over connecting them with other people, some users have started seeking community-oriented sites and apps devoted to specific hobbies and issues.
Construction costs far beyond expectations from 2021 left the Corvallis Fire Department $1 million short on a fire station remodeling project.

City officials voted 7-1 to plug that gap with $1 million of federal pandemic funds during a council meeting Monday, April 17. Councilor Paul Shaffer, Ward 7, opposed the vote.

Corvallis had earmarked the money for facilities, as was done with the vast majority of American Rescue Plan Act funding the city received. Staff strongly recommended using $1 million from ARPA set aside for social services, saying it would ultimately benefit the vulnerable homeless population, but the council disagreed.

Built in 1977, Fire Station No. 2 was tagged as a top priority among the citys needs for improved facilities. Fire officials cite around-the-clock building use and minimal updates as well as gender equity issues in the need for a remodel.

Corvallis Fire Chief Ben Janes said the outdated building is hurting recruiting and retention.

As we get more females in our ranks, we cant staff the station that way, Janes said, saying there are two bunks in a cramped room for women at Station No. 2.

Corvallis currently has six women firefighters in its ranks, he said.

In addition, the department suffered a historic loss of staff with the departure of 11 firefighters last year, Janes said. He uses the remodels of four fire stations as a selling point to prospective hires.

Although a city staff report contained four options regarding the remodel, including scrubbing the project, City Manager Mark Shepard said it boiled down to one choice that makes fiscal sense for both the city and the community: cover the funding gap with ARPA money set aside for social services.

The council has already spent much time discussing how to dispense the federal dollars designed to ease complications from the pandemic.

Of $13.1 million Corvallis received under ARPA, ultimately 85% was earmarked for facility projects, a city staff report notes. The council reserved 15%, or $1.97 million, for social services.

Advocating for the staff recommendation to draw from the social services pot, Shepard told councilors funding for various social services has skyrocketed, as much as $70.5 million are available with more expected to flow in.

In contrast, the ARPA funds are the only funds available to address city-specific needs, Shepard said. Theres no other funding on the horizon; theres no additional funding for us to tap into outside of our own usual resources.

Leading a motion to draw the $1 million from other facilities projects, Councilor Laurie Chaplen said ARPA dollars are for recovery.

I look at the ARPA funding, the $1 million state funding, and potential funding we could be getting to Corvallis as a unique opportunity to make significant changes toward social service and improve the lives of a lot of community members, Chaplen said. The need is still out there, and the funding is dribbling down.

Councilor Charlyn Ellis tacked onto that sentiment, saying she feels guilty that Corvallis hasnt spent any of the pandemic funds on helping the community, specifically local small businesses. She said it would be inappropriate to redirect money meant for pandemic recovery to the fire station, though she acknowledged the need.

The money the council did approve will draw from a project the city was eyeing for ARPA money, an annex relocation and additional office space.

In a Tuesday, April 18 letter to Corvallis council members and Mayor Charles Maughan, a prominent social services provider thanked officials for not dipping into the money meant for social services. In her letter, Boys & Girls Club of Corvallis CEO Helen Higgins called out the lack of action with ARPA funds.

We appreciate you keeping a priority for the people of our community for these one-time funds, Higgins wrote. Please help us accelerate the distribution as quickly as possible; we have all waited long enough to put those recovery funds to work.

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Higgins said her team has checked in nearly monthly for the past year about a timeline or plan for distributing the money but have yet to see either.

There are more needs not only for the unhoused, but also for youth, teens, families, seniors and veterans that are struggling to catch up and manage in our new normal, she wrote. It is disappointing that the $1.9 million in designated social service funds that the City Council voted and approved continue to have no plan or timeline for distribution.

Concerned that the nearly two-year delay has been intentionally aimed at justifying the redirection of ARPA funds away from the community, Higgins said watching Corvallis sit on the funds has been both frustrating and discouraging.

Editor's note: This story was corrected to report the $1 million will come from an annex relocation and modular office space project. The spelling of Mark Shepard's name was also corrected.

Related stories:
Top donors to President Biden have received a last-minute invitation to travel to Washington at the end of next week to see Mr. Biden as he gears up for a 2024 campaign, according to more than a half-dozen people who have been invited to or briefed on the event.

Invitations are going out to some of the biggest donors and bundlers for Mr. Bidens 2020 campaign  those who donated or raised at least $1 million, according to one person. The initial round of invitations is being made by phone instead of email.

The event, which is not a fund-raiser, is seen as an effort to rally donors before what is expected to be an expensive 2024 run.

The gathering is the latest in an intensifying series of discussions and planning meetings between the White House and Democratic National Committee officials ahead of Mr. Bidens expected campaign. The president has said for months that he plans to run, and last week he said while traveling in Ireland that an announcement would come relatively soon.
Boris Epshteyn, a top adviser to former President Donald J. Trump, is scheduled to be interviewed on Thursday by prosecutors in the office of the special counsel Jack Smith, according to people familiar with the matter, the latest example of the Justice Departments efforts to secure testimony and evidence from current and former close aides to Mr. Trump.

It remained unclear what subjects the prosecutors wanted to discuss with Mr. Epshteyn. But given his expansive ties to Mr. Trump, Mr. Epshteyn is in a position to provide information in both of the investigations that Mr. Smith is overseeing: one focused on Mr. Trumps efforts to retain power after losing the 2020 election and the other centered on his handling of classified documents after he left the White House.

Until recently, Mr. Epshteyn played a critical role coordinating Mr. Trumps legal efforts in both inquiries. Serving as something like an in-house counsel, he has also worked with lawyers defending Mr. Trump in separate investigations by the district attorney in Fulton County, Ga., who is examining Mr. Trumps potential interference in that states elections, and in Manhattan, where Mr. Trump was indicted last month in connection with a hush-money payment made to a porn star before the 2016 election.

The special counsels inquiries have focused in an unusually intense manner on the behavior of Mr. Trumps lawyers, who have themselves faced an onslaught of criminal and civil exposure.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida is taking heat from fellow Republicans over his feud with Disney, as his potential rivals for the White House see an opportunity to call him out as flouting traditional conservative values.

Former President Donald J. Trump this week slammed the governors efforts as a political stunt and said Mr. DeSantis was being outplayed by the company.

DeSanctus is being absolutely destroyed by Disney, Mr. Trump wrote on Tuesday on Truth Social, his media site, using a dismissive nickname for the governor. Former Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey also took a shot, suggesting Mr. DeSantiss talk of punishing a business defied principles about small government.

I dont think Ron DeSantis is conservative, based on actions towards Disney, he said at an event on Tuesday hosted by the news outlet Semafor. Where are we headed here now that, if you express disagreement in this country, the government is now going to punish you? To me, thats what I always thought liberals did, and now all of a sudden here we are participating in this with a Republican governor.
Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida and his allies are expanding his political footprint in key states that will begin the 2024 presidential nominating contest, with the main super PAC backing his bid making hires in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina and an operative with recent Iowa experience joining the payroll of the Republican Party of Florida.

The Iowa strategist, Sophie Crowell, managed the successful re-election campaign of Representative Ashley Hinson, Republican of Iowa, in 2022, and is now working for the state party in Florida, according to people familiar with her hiring. The party is serving as a way station where Mr. DeSantis has been adding strategists and policy advisers who are expected to eventually work on his likely 2024 run.

Mr. DeSantis has not yet declared his bid, but a pro-DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down, has acted as something of a campaign-in-waiting, hiring staff members and responding to regular attacks from former President Donald J. Trump. Almost as significantly, it has engaged with mainstream news organizations that Mr. DeSantis instinctively shuns.

The super PAC previously announced that it had raised $30 million in its first three weeks, as major donors poured money into the group in a bid to slow the momentum of Mr. Trump, the Republican polling front-runner.
The Justice Department did not object to the delay, which gives prosecutors more time to prepare its evidence for the more consequential step  an indictment before a grand jury  and to sort out logistics, like whether to request a potential change of venue closer to Washington, in Virginia.

Heres what we know about the case against Airman Teixeira.

What classified documents is Airman Teixeira accused of taking?

Neither prosecutors nor national security officials yet know the full extent of the intelligence taken from the U.S. governments classified systems. The material posted online primarily includes slides about the war in Ukraine created by the intelligence directorate of the Pentagons Joint Staff. But there is also highly classified material from the National Security Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency and other spy agencies.

Many of the dozens of documents that have emerged so far are snapshots in time  bits of intelligence or overviews of the battlefield in Ukraine compiled on a particular day. But some of the material provides a level of detail about the strengths and weaknesses of the Russian and Ukrainian forces that American officials have been reluctant to discuss.

The documents were first posted to Thug Shaker Central, a small group on Discord, a social media platform popular among gamers. They were later shared more widely, and some were altered and reposted on other social media.

Although the charges against Airman Teixeira pertain to the documents released to Thug Shaker Central, an investigation by The New York Times found that he apparently shared sensitive intelligence to a larger group on Discord months before that.
In a rambling speech lasting nearly two hours, Mr. Kennedy, 69, evoked his fathers 1968 campaign and death, and spoke in detail about his career as an environmental lawyer decades ago. He also aimed criticisms at the pharmaceutical industry, big social media companies that he accused of censorship, Mr. Bidens commitment to the war in Ukraine and former President Donald J. Trumps lockdown of the country early in the pandemic.

This is what happens when you censor somebody for 18 years, Mr. Kennedy said, a reference to his complaint that social media platforms and the mainstream media have not given him a fair hearing. I got a lot to talk about. They shouldnt have shut me up for that long because now Im really going to let loose on them for the next 18 months. Theyre going to hear a lot from me.

Late in his speech, an alarm sounded and an announcement asked people to evacuate. Nobody moved. Nice try, Mr. Kennedy said, and continued to speak.

Numerous attendees, who had come from Boston, neighboring New England states and Florida, recounted in interviews their skepticism about vaccines and the pharmaceutical industry.

While polls show that up to half of Democrats want someone besides Mr. Biden as their 2024 nominee, no party leader has stepped up with a challenge, and past opponents have rallied to the presidents side. Mr. Kennedy is the latest in a history of fringe presidential aspirants from both parties who run to bring attention to a cause, or to themselves.
We used to brief on a regular basis, Mr. Sopko said of his prior engagements with the State Department, U.S.A.I.D. and the Pentagon, as he lamented a lack of access of records on what he said was over $8 billion in U.S. aid that had been provided to Afghanistan since the evacuation. Since this administration came in, its been radio silence.

The Biden administration pushed back on the allegations, effectively accusing the inspector general of misrepresenting the extent to which the administration has accommodated his requests and presuming a broader mandate than he was afforded under the law.

Since SIGARs inception, U.S.A.I.D. has consistently provided SIGAR responses to hundreds of questions, as well as thousands of pages of responsive documents, analyses, and spreadsheets describing dozens of programs that were part of the U.S. governments reconstruction effort in Afghanistan, said Jessica Jennings, a spokeswoman for U.S.A.I.D. We are frequently and regularly working with SIGAR on their requests.

A State Department spokesman said that U.S. reconstruction activities in Afghanistan  the centerpiece of Mr. Sopkos jurisdiction  ceased after the Taliban took over the government in August 2021.

The hearing had been billed as a venue to scrutinize the Biden administrations actions during the withdrawal, a focus that the panels top Democrat, Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland, criticized as absurdly narrow.
In Missouri, Mr. Lester, who lived alone, told the police after the shooting that he fired his gun because he saw someone on his front step apparently trying to enter and was scared to death of being physically harmed. Zachary Thompson, the Clay County prosecutor, said that there was a racial component to the shooting but did not elaborate. Mr. Lester is white; Ralph, who was released from the hospital and is now recovering at home, is Black.

In New York, a lawyer for Mr. Monahan, Kurt Mausert, disputed the authorities account of the shooting on Saturday night, saying that several vehicles were speeding up Mr. Monahans driveway, with engines revving and lights shining, which certainly caused some level of alarm to an elderly gentleman who had an elderly wife.

As the two men made court appearances in Missouri and New York, basic outlines of their histories were emerging from neighbors and relatives.

Neighbors said that Mr. Monahan, a self-employed builder and longtime resident whose home sits on about 40 mostly wooded acres, had a reputation as a sometimes surly character who loved dirt bikes and largely kept to himself.
Here is a guide to understanding those laws and legal principles.

What are stand your ground laws?

In the United States, there has been a tendency over the years for legislatures and the courts to expand the right to claim self-defense to justify use of force, rather than to protect those who may be harmed by misjudgments and mistakes.

The common-law castle doctrine, established through centuries of precedent, is rooted in the idea that a persons home is their castle, and that they have a right to protect themselves while they are in it.

Castle doctrine laws  sometimes known as make my day laws  give people in their own homes the legal presumption of self-defense if they harm an intruder.

Stand your ground laws go further. They apply anyplace where a person has a legal right to be, not just at home, and they erode the longstanding duty to retreat, a mainstay of classic self-defense legal theory that says deadly force is justified only as a last resort, when retreat is impossible.

For example, Floridas law states that a person who is not engaged in an unlawful activity and who is attacked in any other place where he or she has a right to be has no duty to retreat and has the right to stand his or her ground and meet force with force, including deadly force, if he or she reasonably believes it is necessary to do so to prevent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another or to prevent the commission of a forcible felony.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court on Wednesday sided with Rodney Reed, a death row inmate in Texas whose case has attracted wide attention, in his efforts to obtain DNA testing that he says may help prove his innocence.

Mr. Reed was convicted of the 1996 rape and murder of Stacey Stites, who was strangled to death with her own belt in Bastrop County, Texas. DNA collected from Ms. Stitess body matched that of Mr. Reed.

Mr. Reed, who is Black, initially denied knowing Ms. Stites, who was white, but later said they had been romantically involved. He said another man, perhaps Ms. Stitess fiance, had committed the murder.

The jury rejected Mr. Reeds defense, and he was sentenced to death.

His case drew intense interest from lawmakers and celebrities, including Kim Kardashian and Rihanna, and a Texas appeals court halted his execution in 2019, returning the case to a state trial court.
WASHINGTON  The Supreme Court issued a mixed decision on Wednesday over whether the federal government may prosecute a state-owned bank in Turkey on charges that it had helped Iran evade sanctions imposed by the United States.

The court rejected the banks main arguments, based on federal laws that the bank said prohibited prosecutions of foreign nations and the companies they control. But it sent the case back to an appeals court for further consideration of another potential defense, drawing criticism from two dissenting justices for failing to issue a definitive ruling.

The case involved what a 2019 indictment called a multiyear scheme by the bank, known as Halkbank, to launder billions of dollars of Iranian oil and natural gas proceeds. It strained relations between the United States and Turkey, and it prompted top Justice Department officials in the Trump administration to try to disrupt the prosecution.

Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh, writing for seven justices, rejected the banks primary argument: that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976, which generally forbids civil suits seeking money from companies owned by foreign governments, also prohibits criminal prosecutions.
If a 24-year-old shoe salesman slips away from a science museums ugly-sweater party and breaks into a closed exhibition of terra-cotta warriors, it is entirely possible that nothing bad will happen.

Or he could steal a warriors thumb.

After the salesman, Michael Rohana, confessed to doing that in Philadelphia six years ago, federal prosecutors sought a conviction on felony charges that could have put him in prison for decades. A jury was unable to reach a verdict in 2019, but his case is now heading for a resolution after a pandemic-related delay.

Mr. Rohana entered a guilty plea this week for trafficking in archaeological resources, the result of a plea deal with prosecutors. The charge will most likely be a misdemeanor, carrying a maximum penalty of one year in prison and a $10,000 fine. He is to be sentenced in August.

What he was charged with is basically stealing a piece of history, K.T. Newton, an assistant U. S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said in a phone interview.
A dozen people have been detained in connection with a hospital fire in Beijing that has claimed the lives of at least 29 victims, the Chinese authorities said on Wednesday, attributing the blaze to possible negligence after sparks from internal construction ignited flammable paint.

At a news conference on Wednesday, officials said most of the deceased were patients at Changfeng Hospital when the fire erupted around midday Tuesday in the southwestern part of Beijing. A nurse, a medical worker and a relative of a patient also died in the fire. Another 21 people were hospitalized in critical or serious condition.

A woman who lives in an apartment complex near the hospital, overlooking the section where the fire broke out, said that she started hearing people screaming for help around 1 p.m. the day before.

I looked outside, and the sky was all black, said the woman, who declined to give her name.

The woman, who spoke on condition of anonymity because she feared attention from the authorities, said she saw three people  two men and a woman  jump from a window on the second highest floor to a ledge protruding from the building, with one crumpling after landing. She showed photos on her phone of a person leaning out of the window.
Children would already be hunting rabbits, possums, rats and other invasive species with rifles as part of the competition, which would run over a weekend, he said, so theyre going to be out here anyway, and we might as well include the cat because its the worst of the lot.

Its not that we just want kids to kill cats, its the whole problem of the whole lot of invasive species, he said. The event was about teaching kids firearms safety; its just in general a fun activity for them  getting them out in the fresh air, and its making them realize these animals are destroying native species.

The competition still plans to hunt animals other than cats, he said.

Mr. Bailey said the issue had been blown out of proportion but acknowledged that organizers had not finalized clear guidelines for safe hunting practices when the cat-culling event was posted last weekend. He said that the committee had envisioned that children would be accompanied by adults with firearms licenses and training and that hunters were to work with local landowners to avoid areas where domestic cats might frequent.

The organizers canceled the cat culling after the backlash grew and some sponsors contacted them with concerns. The school that was to receive funds from the event started to receive threats, Mr. Bailey added.

New Zealand takes a harsh approach to eradicating invasive species that is broadly supported by the public, and events to hunt feral animals are not uncommon. Every year, the town of Alexandra, on South Island, conducts an annual Great Easter Bunny Hunt where children and adults cull feral rabbits.

The country has a plan to eliminate its three most pervasive invasive predator species  opossums, rats and weasels  by 2050 to protect native wildlife.

Feral felines are not included in official eradication plans because its too politically difficult considering the attachment that residents feel toward pet cats, said Grant Norbury, a wildlife ecologist with Manaaki Whenua-Landcare Research, an environment and biodiversity institute in New Zealand.
Italian authorities on Tuesday announced that they had captured a brown bear overnight after it had killed a jogger earlier this month.

The fate of the 17-year-old female bear, known as JJ4, is now in the hands of an Italian court, which will determine if it should be euthanized. The debate has inflamed tensions over a successful effort to reintroduce brown bears to the region after they nearly went extinct in the 1990s.

The bear was found in Val Meledrio, a valley in the mountains of Northern Italy, the provincial government of Trento said in a news release on Tuesday.

The president of Trento Province, Maurizio Fugatti, said satisfaction mixes with bitterness over the capture.
After Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin IIIs meeting with officials in Sweden on Wednesday, he will move on to lead an international meeting in Germany on Friday to coordinate aid for Ukraine, as Kyiv presses for more weapons to fight Russias invading forces ahead of an offensive that Ukrainian and Western officials say is in the offing.

President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed frustration on Sunday over the delays in getting more arms to Ukraines forces, which have been in pitched battle against its outsize opponent for more than a year. The eastern city of Bakhmut, where fighting has raged for 10 months, has been a particularly bloody battleground for both sides.

Every time we hear that the promised supply of weapons is delayed, every time there are doubts about the type of weapons for Ukraine, about the range or other quality characteristics  every time it means that Ukrainian soldiers are giving their lives, Mr. Zelensky said in his nightly address to the nation on Monday.

Mr. Austin met on Monday with the British defense secretary, Ben Wallace, in Washington. Mr. Wallace projected optimism about Ukraines battlefield momentum, but cautioned that the war was likely to endure into next year.
When Miranda Dickson returned to Edinburgh in 2021 after several years abroad, she began renovating a three-story Georgian townhouse in the Scottish citys New Town district. Mindful of the conservation area where the home sits, she said she set out to make it fun and joyful while preserving its original character.

Ms. Dickson painted the front door pink.

In early 2022, the new paint job was brought to the attention of the City of Edinburgh Council, which asked her to repaint the door white. When she didnt, the city followed up with a report finding that the pink door fails to preserve the character of a UNESCO World Heritage site where doors are traditionally a dark or muted color, as set out in the councils guidance.

Ms. Dickson was issued an enforcement notice ordering her to remove the unauthorized bright pink paint from the door and to restore the previous color scheme. Failure to comply, it said, could lead to a fine of up to 20,000 pounds, or nearly $25,000.

Finally, having exhausted her appeals, Ms. Dickson relented and repainted the door this week, ahead of the Thursday deadline she said that the city had given her. She chose a shade of peacock green called aloha.
A failed coup attempt 

The country was on the verge of transitioning to civilian rule in the coming months, leaving the future of the security forces power in question. As my colleague Declan Walsh reported, in recent days the generals came tantalizingly close to a deal to defuse their explosive rivalry, and even steer the vast African nation to democracy.

But even as U.N. mediators dined with the generals, both sides were preparing for war. When violence broke out on Saturday, the R.S.F. and Army forces were soon fighting in the street. Both sides have accused each other of starting the fighting, and made conflicting claims about control over important positions like the airport.

I think if the initial R.S.F. attack had succeeded, everyone would be referring to this as a coup. It was concentrated on the presidential palace, army headquarters, state TV station, and airport  all classic targets when one is attempting to seize power, said Erica De Bruin, a Hamilton College political scientist who wrote a book about coup prevention. But because the fighting has dragged out, it looks much bloodier than most coups and appears as if it could even be the start of a civil war.

 After a successful one

This weeks violence follows a successful 2021 coup by the same two generals who are now fighting each other and who have uneasily shared power for the last 18 months.

In September 2021, as the country appeared to be making faltering progress toward a democratic transition, al-Burhan and Hamdan abruptly seized power, arresting the civilian prime minister with whom al-Burhan had jointly governed since 2019, when a mass public uprising ousted the previous leader, Omar al-Bashir.
MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden  With Finland now officially in the fold of NATO, the Biden administration turned its attention on Wednesday to neighboring Sweden, another long-neutral nation that now wants to join the military alliance.

During the first visit to Sweden by an American defense secretary in 23 years, Lloyd J. Austin III promised to work for Stockholms swift accession to NATO and said he hoped that objections to the countrys NATO membership would be ironed out by midsummer, when members of the alliance meet in Lithuania.

Well work hard to get that done before the summit, Mr. Austin said.

Like Finland, Sweden decided to abandon its neutrality after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Before it can join the alliance, however, it must first win over two holdouts, Turkey and Hungary, since all NATO members have to agree to a nations inclusion.

Mr. Austins visit came as military officials in Washington announced that the United States was sending another weapons package to Ukraine to shore up its munitions and logistical supplies in advance of an expected counteroffensive.
KOSTYANTYNIVKA, Ukraine  Standing outside her home, pointing out the rocket crater in her driveway, a Ukrainian resident of the frontline town was angry, and quick to assign responsibility for the attack.

They are killing us, she said. Our own guys are shelling us.

The woman, named Natasha, blamed the rocket strike in Kostyantynivka not on the Russian forces that have been attacking the nearby city of Bakhmut and surrounding towns for the past eight months, but on her own forces, the Ukrainian Army.

A year into the war, despite suffering months of artillery and rocket strikes at the hands of the Russian military, some residents of towns along the front line in eastern Ukraine still confound officials and the police with their support for Russia.

They repeat Russian propaganda lines, accusing the West of causing the war and the Ukrainian Army of shelling homes in order to force people to leave.
From Jan. 1 to March 13, the United Nations recorded 219 settler-related attacks that led to four Palestinian deaths as well as injuries or damage to Palestinian property, more than twice the number in the same period last year. Israeli forces killed more than 70 Palestinians in the West Bank over that period.

Attacks by Palestinians on settlers have also more than doubled in that period, with 20 this year, resulting in the deaths of 12 settlers and one foreigner, the United Nations said.

The Israeli government has promised more support for Jewish settlements in the West Bank, which most of the world considers illegal under international law but which have steadily expanded over the past 40 years. Mr. Smotrich, the finance minister who called for Huwara to be erased, is among the leaders of the Israeli government who support ultimately annexing all of the West Bank, believing that every part of Israel and the occupied territories was promised to Jews by God.

The International Criminal Court classifies the act of an occupying power transferring its own population into occupied land as a war crime. Palestinians say the repeated attacks by settlers are aimed at driving them off their land.

In 2021, the number of Israeli settlers in the West Bank was more than 465,000, according to Peace Now, an Israeli group that monitors settlement activity. That compares with a little more than 200,000 in 2001.
Scientists say they spotted more than 13 million tons of Sargassum, a yellowish-brown seaweed, drifting in the Atlantic Ocean last month  a record for the month of March.

NORTH AMERICA March 2023 Atlantic Ocean The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt grew to an estimated 13.5 million metric tons of seaweed this spring. Gulf of Mexico Miami Havana Playa del Carmen AFRICA Santo Domingo Caribbean Sea Dakar San Salvador Caracas Panama City Pacific Ocean Cayenne SOUTH AMERICA Area of detail More Sargassum detected NORTH AMERICA March 2023 Gulf of Mexico The Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt grew to an estimated 13.5 million metric tons of seaweed this spring. Atlantic Ocean Miami Havana Playa del Carmen AFRICA Santo Domingo Dakar Caribbean Sea Caracas Panama City Pacific Ocean Cayenne SOUTH AMERICA Area of detail More Sargassum detected NORTH AMERICA Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, March 2023 Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean AFRICA Caribbean Sea Pacific Ocean SOUTH AMERICA Area of detail More Sargassum detected NORTH AMERICA Great Atlantic Sargassum Belt, March 2023 Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean AFRICA Caribbean Sea Pacific Ocean SOUTH AMERICA Area of detail More Sargassum detected

Heres what the so-called belt of Sargassum, which can stretch thousands of miles from the western coast of Africa to the Gulf of Mexico, usually looks like in March:

NORTH AMERICA March monthly average, 2011-22 Atlantic Ocean Each year, ocean currents help carry Sargassum toward the Gulf of Mexico. But, usually, there's less of it. Gulf of Mexico Miami Havana Playa del Carmen AFRICA Santo Domingo Caribbean Sea Dakar San Salvador Caracas Panama City Pacific Ocean Cayenne SOUTH AMERICA NORTH AMERICA March monthly average, 2011-22 Each year, ocean currents help carry Sargassum toward the Gulf of Mexico. But, usually, there's less of it. Gulf of Mexico Miami Havana Playa del Carmen AFRICA Atlantic Ocean Santo Domingo Dakar Caribbean Sea Caracas Panama City Pacific Ocean Cayenne SOUTH AMERICA NORTH AMERICA March monthly average, 2011-22 Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean AFRICA Caribbean Sea Pacific Ocean SOUTH AMERICA NORTH AMERICA March monthly average, 2011-22 Gulf of Mexico Atlantic Ocean AFRICA Caribbean Sea Pacific Ocean SOUTH AMERICA Source: Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida College of Marine Science Note: Sargassum density detected via satellite imagery analysis by researchers at the University of South Florida. The legend values range from 0% to 0.5% and greater, referring to the percent of the ocean surface covered by Sargassum.

Tangles of the goopy, leafy seaweed have already begun to wash ashore beaches in southern Florida and Mexico. In the coming months, they could start emitting a rotting stench as they decay, potentially posing health risks to beachgoers.

Floating mats of seaweed accumulate in the central Atlantic Ocean for much of the year. But during the spring and summer, patches of it are carried by ocean currents toward the Caribbean, eastern Florida and elsewhere along the Gulf Coast.

Its hard to predict how much will creep onto beaches in the coming months, but the right combination of ocean currents and wind conditions could push a lot of it ashore, experts said.

Some parts of the Florida Keys have already seen unusually large amounts of seaweed for this time of year, said Brian Lapointe, a research professor at Florida Atlantic University who has studied Sargassum for most of his career.

I was amazed at what I saw driving along the Overseas Highway, he said, referring to the main road that runs through the Keys.

Mats of Sargassum, which is technically algae, have been observed for centuries, but researchers started noticing abnormally large accumulations in 2011. The immense blooms have continued to grow almost every year, in large part because of excessive, nutrient-rich runoff from the Congo, Amazon and Mississippi rivers.

Alyson Crean, the public information officer for the City of Key West, Fla., said this year has been heavier than usual so far, though the seaweed hasnt yet required raking more than once a day.

By law, the Sargassum cant be harvested until it reaches the shore, because it provides crucial environmental benefits for many marine species. Floating Sargassum serves as shelter and breeding grounds for fish, crabs and endangered sea turtles.

Two beachgoers walk past a large pile of seaweed on a beach with the ocean on the right and high-rise buildings on the left in the distance. Sargassum washed up on a beach in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., last month. Joe Raedle/Getty Images

To estimate the amount of Sargassum in the ocean, researchers at the Optical Oceanography Laboratory at the University of South Florida analyzed satellite imagery from a number of sources including NASAs Terra and Aqua satellites. For each pixel in the image, the researchers determined how much floating algae is present by comparing its color, a yellowish brown, to the blue color of the ocean.

The idea is simple: If our human eyes can tell that theres Sargassum, then the satellites can tell as well, said Chuanmin Hu, a professor and director of the lab.

The precision of satellite analysis allows the researchers to quantify the actual change in color in a specific pixel, which can then be used to calculate the amount of biomass.

Dr. Hu and other researchers in the lab have validated the accuracy of their analyses by physically collecting Sargassum in specific areas, weighing what theyve collected and comparing it with the estimate derived from the satellite picture.

As the Sargassum washes ashore and begins to decompose, it degrades the water quality and pollutes beaches, scientists say. The decaying algae releases ammonia and hydrogen sulfide, which has an unpleasant odor like rotten eggs and can irritate the eyes, nose and throat.

Some Caribbean islands have seen huge amounts of the brown algae inundate beaches during Sargassum season, posing worrisome respiratory health risks to residents exposed to the hydrogen sulfide, according to a 2018 study.
Total population 2 billion India 2023 1.4 billion people 1.5 China 1 0.5 Projected 0 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Total population 2 billion India 2023 1.4 billion people 1.5 China 1 0.5 Projected 0 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Source: U.N. World Population Prospects, estimated populations at midyear.

It is a turning point the world has not seen in centuries, and is unlikely to see again for centuries more.

India is on the cusp of passing China in population, according to the latest U.N. estimates. At 1.428 billion people, India has already edged past mainland China, the data show, and it will soon surpass the mainland and Hong Kong combined.

With Chinas population declining, the margin between the two countries will only grow as India becomes the most populous country in history. What had long been the worlds largest democracy is now, simply, the worlds largest everything.

China has taken advantage of its immensity to change the world more than any other nation over the past generation. Will India do the same over the generation to come?

Can India take advantage of its size?

Indias growth curve is the envy of aging countries like China, but the demographic future differs by region of the country.

Annual population growth 3% Growing population Projected Projected 2% Indias population is projected to grow until the 2060s. Chinas population declined for the first time in 2022. 1% 0 Great Chinese Famine Declining population -1% 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Annual population growth 3% Growing population Projected 2% Indias population is projected to grow until the 2060s. 1% 0 Declining population -1% 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 3% Projected 2% Chinas population declined for the first time in 2022. 1% 0 Great Chinese Famine -1% 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Annual population growth 3% Growing population Projected 2% Indias population is projected to grow until the 2060s. 1% 0 Declining population -1% 1960 2000 2040 2080 3% Projected 2% Chinas population declined for the first time in 2022. 1% 0 Great Chinese Famine -1% 1960 2000 2040 2080 Source: U.N. World Population Prospects

There was a time when India and China wanted to suppress the rate of population growth, by reducing the number of births. That era has long receded.

The gentle slope of the demographic curve propelling India into first place looks enviable to the many developed nations that are rapidly aging. Indians are living longer, and the number of babies being born each year has barely budged. Unlike China, which is facing the hangover of its decades under the one-child policy, India faces no steep drop-off and accompanying economic and social dangers. It has a young and expanding work force as Chinas grays and contracts.

Fertility rate 8 children per woman Projected Projected 6 India 4 Indias fertility rate ensures a roughly stable population. China Approx. fertility rate for a stable population 2 One-child policy 0 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Fertility rate 8 children per woman Projected China 6 India 4 Indias fertility rate ensures a roughly stable population. 2 One-child policy 0 1960 2000 2040 2080 Fertility rate 8 children per woman Projected 6 India 4 Approx. fertility rate for a stable population Indias fertility rate ensures a roughly stable population. China 2 One-child policy 0 1960 1980 2000 2020 2040 2060 2080 2100 Source: U.N. World Population Prospects

In some of Indias regions, the population is still growing too fast for their economies, producing many more able-bodied young people than there are jobs to occupy them. In other parts, however  especially the better-developed south, where women have more education and family planning programs have proved successful  the population has already peaked. There, young families rarely produce more than two children.

The physical needs of nearly a billion and a half people are imposing a terrible strain on Indias environment. But as the country lifts itself from deepest poverty, it is no longer subject to the famines of old. Instead, its future as far and away the worlds biggest work force is leading some to hope for an Indian century in the making.

Does India stand to reap a demographic dividend?

Having a fast-expanding young work force could be a big opportunity  or a disaster.

Age 100+ Male Female Male Female 9599 9094 8589 8084 7579 7074 Nearly 80% of Indias population is younger than 50. 6569 6064 5559 5054 4549 4044 3539 Fewer than two-thirds of Chinese people are younger than 50. 3034 2529 2024 1519 1014 59 04 Age 100+ Male Female 9599 9094 8589 8084 7579 Nearly 80% of Indias population is younger than 50. 7074 6569 6064 5559 5054 4549 4044 3539 3034 2529 2024 1519 1014 59 04 100+ Male Female 9599 9094 8589 8084 7579 7074 6569 6064 5559 5054 4549 4044 3539 3034 2529 Fewer than two-thirds of Chinese people are younger than 50. 2024 1519 1014 59 04 Age 100+ Male Female 9599 9094 8589 8084 Nearly 80% of Indias population is younger than 50. 7579 7074 6569 6064 5559 5054 4549 4044 3539 3034 2529 2024 1519 1014 59 04 100+ 9599 Fewer than two-thirds of Chinese people are younger than 50. 9094 8589 8084 7579 7074 6569 6064 5559 5054 4549 4044 3539 3034 2529 2024 1519 1014 59 04 Source: U.S. Census International Database

India is a country primed to work. More than two-thirds of all Indians are between the ages of 15 and 59. The countrys ratio of children and retirees to working-age adults is remarkably low.

But this opportunity comes with huge challenges. That demographic dividend could instead become something like a disaster. In some recent years, India has squeaked past China to claim the title of fastest-growing major economy. But it has never expanded fast enough to produce sufficient formal employment for everyone. The country needs about nine million new jobs every year just to keep pace; the annual shortfall helps relegate many to Indias old standby, agricultural work.

Most people in India lack the means to be unemployed  in the work force but without a job. Underemployment is the more discreet danger. Wages have been stagnant for eight years, according to an analysis by Jean Dreze, an economist at Delhi University. Economic growth without an equivalent increase in jobs makes Indias massively unequal society even more so, raising the potential for unrest.

Can India get more women into the work force?

Women work outside the home at lower rates in India than almost any other country, a huge roadblock for economic expansion.

Womens labor participation rate More than 60% of women work in China. 80% 60% U.S. Fewer than a third of women work in India. 40% 20% 0 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Womens labor participation rate More than 60% of women work in China. 80% 60% U.S. Fewer than a third of women work in India. 40% 20% 0 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 2020 Source: World Bank

India has one of the worlds lowest rates of formal employment for women: about one in five. Chinas is almost double that rate, higher than the United States and the world average. An economy cannot meet its potential when it draws on the contributions of so few women.

Also worrisome, the rate has actually declined in India even as most of the countrys economic conditions have improved. The explanation favored by economists is that the jobs most women take are so poorly paid that as soon as a family can do without the extra income, wives stop working outside the home.

That does not mean women in India do not work hard. They are a visible presence in the 41 percent of society that is still in agriculture, and they carry nearly all of the household burdens. But so long as these women remain outside the formal work force, they cannot enter its most productive categories, in industry and services. Improved access to family planning, better education, efforts to change societal attitudes and measures to ensure womens safety could help more women take on formal work.

Can India chart its own path to prosperity?

Indias economic story will not be a repetition of Chinas  which could offer advantages.

G.D.P. per capita China $12,000 9,000 6,000 Indias economic growth has lagged behind. 3,000 India 0 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2010 2020 G.D.P. per capita China $12,000 9,000 6,000 Indias economic growth has lagged behind. 3,000 India 0 1960 1980 2000 2020 Source: World Bank

In the early 1990s, when China accelerated market reforms, it roughly followed the template of others in East Asia  Japan, South Korea, Taiwan  and became a champion of export-driven manufacturing. It built an economy that today is more than five times the size of Indias.

Western countries are now rushing to embrace India as an alternative to China. But the obstacles that have kept India from following the same program over the past 30 years remain in place: ineffective governance, insufficient infrastructure, scanty spending on primary education and health, and laws constraining the use of land and labor.

A Make in India program championed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, now in its eighth year, has been slow to take off. Vietnam and Bangladesh have eaten up more of the work that has left Chinas factory floors as labor costs there have risen.

Indias economic story, however it turns out, will not be a repetition of Chinas. There are many ways in which India can rise, especially with industrial manufacturing no longer occupying the central role in the world economy that it once did.

Services now make up a huge and exciting part of the Indian economy, augmented by a low-cost digital infrastructure that India developed on its own. Other glimmers are also emerging: Chip makers are looking to India as a high-end substitute for China; online services are allowing millions of young Indians to work abroad without leaving home; and even life in Indias villages is becoming more urbanized by the year.

The only certainty about the new biggest country in the world is that it will be unlike any that came before it.
A young Vietnamese fan of the Dark Knight spent 10 months and over $20,000 building his own functional Batmobile.

Nguyen Dac Chung, a 23-year-old architecture student from Hanoi had always dreamed of driving his very own Tumbler, the iconic Batmobile showcased in Christopher Nolans The Dark Knight trilogy, and last year he decided to make his dream a reality. He poured 10 months of work and over 500 million VND ($21,700) of his own money into this project and he now has his very own life-size, functional Tumbler. Although its only 90 percent complete, Nguyen Dac Chung has already been attracting attention on Hanois street and has been featured by major Vietnamese news outlets.

The home-made Batmobile is powered by a four-cylinder, 400 cc engine and can reach a top speed of 100 km/h. The suspension system consists of 4 front shock absorbers and 2 rear shock absorbers, and the car spoiler can be adjusted thorough a pneumatic system.

Unlike the movie version of the Tumbler, Dac Chungs vehicle doesnt use a jet engine exhaust, but does retain the iconic shape of the original. For functional purposes, it has a motorcycle exhaust.

On the inside, the Batmobile has enough room to fit two people comfortably, but its nowhere near as impressive as the Dark Knight Tumbler. Nguyen Dac Chung admits that he still has lots of work to do on the interior, especially the lighting, but adds that his vehicle is still a work in progress.

To build his dream car, the Vietnamese student used both domestic parts, but also components imported from the US and South Korea. The tires for example, could only be found overseas.



Apart from studying architecture, Dac Chung is also an entrepreneur (he manages his own cosplay production company) and used the profit of his business to finance his Tumbler project.
Colombian police recently announced the dismantlement of a Cali-based drug cartel that specialized in coercing women to get breast implants that were actually filled with liquid cocaine.

Drug trafficking organizations ae known for coming up with all sorts of ingenious methods of sending their products all over the world to minimize getting discovered at security checkpoints. Youve surely heard of underground tunnels several kilometers long under the Mexico-US border, or of drug smuggling submarines, but did you know about the Colombian trafficking ring using women to ship drugs all the way to Europe? Aptly named The Surgeons, the cartel would recruit women and force them to get breast and calf implants for which they used prosthesis filled with liquid cocaine.

Photo: philippe spitalier/Unsplash

According to the Colombian Attorney Generals Office, young women were convinced to carry the drug in prostheses in their breasts as well as their calves, and deliver it to Spain. The women were promised well-paying jobs in Europe if they agreed to have the cosmetic surgery in makeshift operating rooms in motel rooms or rented apartments.

The surgery was carried out by two people linked to the Health sector, a surgeon at a Cali hospital, and a person who posed as a doctor, but didnt have the proper qualifications. The victims recovered in the rented rooms and were then sent on commercial flights to Madrid, where they were once again taken to improvised operating rooms to remove their prostheses filled with the alkaloid.



On November 10, Diario Occidente reported that 10 members of Los Cirujanos (The Surgeons) were busted following an extensive investigation and sting operation. Evidence collected by the authorities through phone tapping, surveillance and email monitoring showed that the group had been operating for at least three years.

Drug dealers have been coming up with ingenious ways of shipping their illegal products over the last few years. Back in July, we wrote about a shipment of drugs discovered by Italian police inside of hollowed-out coffee beans.
Police in Russia recently arrested a woman who reportedly dressed a cat in thick baby clothing in order to look like an innocent young mother and traffic dangerous drugs.

Its a well-documented fact that drug traffickers come up with all sorts of ingenious techniques to move their products undisturbed. Weve written about drugs diluted in womens breast implants, or concealed in hollowed-out coffee beans, but these methods pale in comparison to that used by a young Russian woman trying to conceal packets of methamphetamines in the city of Nizhny Tagil. According to police spokeswoman Irina Volk, the unnamed woman was spotted walking hand in hand with a little girl and pushing a stroller with what looked like a baby inside. Its unclear whether police were tipped off about the woman, or they simply noticed something off about her, but neither she nor her baby were what they seemed.

When police officers stopped the woman near a holiday resort on the outskirts of Nizhny Tagil, they quickly noticed that while something was moving in the stroller, it was most likely not a baby. There was no head coming out of the thick winter onesie, and when they decided to take a closer look, they were shocked to find a cat instead of a kid.

Its not easy to pass off a feline as a human baby, but the suspected drug dealer did her best. Photos and videos released by the Russian Interior Ministry show the cat wearing a baby hat, a onesie, tiny boots, and even a diaper. But what surprised everyone the most was how calm the cat seemed despite her unusual attire, it was like she had been trained for this.

Irina Volk claims that along with the cat, police officers found several small packages inside the baby clothing containing a total of 170 grams of methamphetamines that the woman had been trying to sell. Originally from Russias Krasnoyarsk region, the suspect had allegedly been sent here by her employer to pick up a shipment of drugs and then spread it around the city.

The suspect is currently in custody until sentencing. No news on how the cat is faring



via Newizv (Russian)
Drug dealers are always looking for ingenious ways to get their products past checkpoints, and sometimes they exhibit some truly outside-the-box thinking.

The attention of Italian customs officers at Malpensa Airport was recently drawn by a small package from Colombia to a man named Santino DAntonio. If youre not an action flick buff, that name most likely means nothing to you, but if youre a fan of John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves, you probably recognize it as the name of the mafia boss and main antagonist in John Wick 2. Luckily, the officers recognized the name, and decided to inspect the package more thoroughly

Inside the packaging was a 2-kilogram bag of fine Colombian coffee beans, one of the South-American countrys main exports. There was nothing suspicious about the contents at first glance, but a closer look revealed that some of the beans had slightly darker spots. After opening the bags for closer inspection, the officers of the Fiamme Gialle di Malpensa realized that those darker spots were discrete bits of adhesive tape.

After removing the making take, airport police officers discovered that the coffee beans had been meticulously hollowed out and filled with white powder which turned out to be pure cocaine. Out of the roughly 500 beans in the package, 130 of them turned out to contain the expensive drug.

After making the discovery, officers proceeded to apprehend Santino DAntonio, who turned out to be a criminal in real life as well as in the movie. The address on the package turned out to be that of a tobacco and coffee shop in the province of Florence, the owner of which didnt seem to know anything about any coffee from Colombia. However, after keeping an eye on the place for a few days, Santino turned up to pick up the package.

Unlike the elegantly-dressed mafia boss depicted in John Wick 2, the real-life Santino DAntonio turned out to be a 50-year-old casually-dressed man who arrived at the tobacco shop on his bike. He was picked up by police the moment he asked for his package and taken into custody. It turned out he was a resident of Medellin and had a past riddled with drug charges.



via Guardia di Finanza
FINN Partners books Blue Diamond Resorts, which owns all-inclusive hotel brands across the Caribbean region. Finn is tasked with launching an integrated public relations campaign that raises the visibility of the company as a leading hotel ownership, operating and management company, using a mix of media relations, special events, promotional activities, partnerships and thought leadership. Blue Diamonds holdings include such established brands as Royalton Luxury Resorts, Royalton CHIC, Mystique by Royalton, Memories Resorts, Starfish and Planet Hollywood Beach Resorts. FINN Partners is recognized as a leader in the travel and hospitality category, said Blue Diamond Resorts director of marketing and PR Alejandro Rodrigues del Peon. We are poised for a strong year and its crucial to work with a partner who understands our long-term growth plans.

Zapwater Communications is retained by Activate Games to unveil its new Chicago location. The agency will work on an opening campaign surrounding the new location, managing media relations and influencer marketing. Activate Games offers high-tech games that test physical and mental agility across a wide variety of real-life challenges. Once inside, players have the option to choose from hundreds of combinations of games and difficulty levels, each lasting one to three minutes. Zapwaters growing roster of attraction clients includes Museum of Illusions, Skydeck Chicago and Gallagher Way.

Allen & Gerritsen lands brand agency of record status for Freight Farms, a manufacturer of container farming technology. A&G will lead brand strategy, platform development, and creative direction across paid, owned and earned media. A&G and Freight Farms will collaborate to implement integrated communications tactics within their current markets of education, restaurants, hotels, high-end residential communities and small business farms and expand their geographic footprint. In the selection process, A&G displayed both the creative boldness along with the ability to measure performance that instilled confidence and energy within our team, said Freight Farms CEO Rick Vanzura.
Gateway Group represents Sunergy Renewables, a Port Richey, FL provider of residential rooftop solar panels and energy storage gear, as it goes public via a merger with the ESGEN SPAC in a deal valued at $475M.

Powered by more than 2,400 installations in Florida, Texas and Arkansas, Sunergy chalked up $123M in 2022 revenues and delivered $11M in EBITDA.

Tom Bridgewater, CEO and co-founder of Sunergy, said the combination with ESGEN is a transformative step on our path to grow as a vertically integrated company.

ESGEN is sponsored by Dallas-based infrastructure investment firm Energy Spectrum Partners, which has made more than $4.5B in equity capital commitments during the past 25 years.

Gateway Groups Cody Slach and Tom Colton handle the investment community, while Zack Kadletz and Anna Rutter deal with the media regarding the SPAC transaction.
AN Offaly army man filled a key position during last week's visit to Ireland by President Joe Biden.

Clara man, Commandant Rory O'Reilly was aide-de-camp to the president during the state banquet at Dublin Castle.

Rory was at Mr Biden's side throughout the night. He stood behind him as he sat at the table should the president need anything.

Rory's sister Richella Scally, said the family had no idea that her brother was performing such an important role. ''He texted us to tell us to watch out for him, but didn't say what he was doing. He is very quiet and would never tell us. The President thanked Rory for his service during his speech, said Richella.

Rory O'Reilly joined the army when he left school and has worked his way up to Commandant. He did his degree in America and has since travelled all over the world.

He was accompanied at the banquet by his colleague Commandant Claire Mortimer who is aide-de camp to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar for the occasion.

Below Commandant Rory O'Reilly pictured alongside President Joe Biden
The true crime story of a man from Roscrea who was hanged for murder in Canada over 100 years ago will be discussed at a presentation by the author of a new book exploring the story in Roscrea.

Just how does John Kavanagh, a boy from Roscrea, end up committing murder in the back woods of rural Nova Scotia?

This fascinating story will be the subject of a public talk happening at the Black Mills in Roscrea on May 5.The story of John Kavanagh is the subject of a novel by author Laura Churchill Duke, titled 'Rooted in Deception' and which came about after she enlisted the help of members of the Roscrea Heritage Society.

The author will be coming from Nova Scotia to Roscrea to give a public presentation about the life of John Kavanagh, and telling the story of how he murdered an old man in Nova Scotia - and how he was tracked down.

John Kavanagh grew up in Ballyhall, in Roscrea, went to St. Cronan's Boy School and attended the local church. But when he was 17 years old, he received a three month jail term for having stolen a watch chain.

At the age of 18, it was 6 months for stealing a coat, and at the age of 19, it was a year for stealing a coat.

'Rooted in Deception' follows the life of John Kavanagh and how this petty criminal deceives everyone in his path until he is eventually accused of a heinous and violent crime for which he is ultimately hanged.

But how much of the tragedy was of his own doing and how much had his fate been woven by his sworn enemies?

Told from a variety of perspectives, including that of the accused, the novel creates a sympathetic case for a man who may deserve none.

Using primary sources including newspaper articles, trial transcripts and actual letters from the accused, the true story of the murder of Freeman Harvey is told using creative fiction to fill in the gaps of the narrative.

The most exciting part of this story for me was the hunt to discover the man behind the murderer Laura Churchill Duke said about her new book.

When he arrived in Nova Scotia, he was using the aliases John Ryan and George Stanley.

There is one newspaper article where he mentions he was born in 1866 in Roscrea.

I wrote to the historical society in Roscrea and forged a relationship with the chair, Pamela Aitken. With the help of another local historian, Dick Conroy, the two dug into historical records and were able to ascertain the identify of our man.

They discovered his name was John Kavanagh. They found his parents' wedding certificates, his sister's death certificate at Clonmel lunatic asylum, school records, property deeds and more. The story of the real man came together, she explained.

I will be coming from Nova Scotia to give a public presentation about the life of John Kavanagh, and telling the story of how he murdered an old man in Nova Scotia - and how we tracked him down.

Rooted in Deception is available on Amazon UK, and I will also be bringing copies with me to the event, the author said.

Laura is a communication specialist and journalist in the Annapolis Valley. She is currently teaching communication to first year kinesiology students at Acadia University, focusing on writing, research and presentation skills.

Laura is also a freelance journalist for Saltwire Network, writing stories for Atlantic Canada.
Fact Check: Is Rahul on door-to-door campaign in poll-bound Karnataka?

Fact Check

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The poll heat in Karnataka is at an all-time high with all parties going all guns blazing.

Elections in Karnataka will be held on May 10, while the results would be out on May 13. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to hold 20 more rallies in the state.

Congress leader, Rahul Gandhi has also been campaigning in the state and he has made two visits so far ie on April 16 and 17.

A video of Rahul Gandhi has now gone viral in which he can be seen interacting with a group of people. Those sharing the video on the social media claimed that Rahul Gandhi is on a door-to door campaign in Karnataka.

Fact Check: Are Indians burning down 5G towers?

The video that is in circulation is not from Karnataka, but his parliamentary constituency in Wayanad, Kerala. If one listens to the people speaking in the video, it is clear that the language is Malayalam.

We also found a Facebook post ()by Congress leader Nagma. She had shared the same photo on march 21 and had said, "Shri Rahul Gandhi handed over the keys of the houses built by the Bangalore Kerala Samajam to the beneficiaries." According to Nagma, the photo was shot at the Muttil village in Wayanad, Kerala.

The same photo was also shared by the Indian National Congress and on the page of Rahul Gandhi. In the post Gandhi mentioned that he had taken part in multiple events in Wayanad on March 21.

Several media organisations too had covered the same event. During the visit, the Congress leader also inaugurated the golden jubilee celebrations of the Fatima Mata Mission Hospital. He had also paid a visit to the home of an auto driver who had died in an accident.

Fact Check: Did a sea of humanity descend on Asad Ahmeds funeral

Karnataka campaign:

Rahul Gandhi was in Karnataka on April 16 and 17, during which he took part in many rallies at Kolar and Bidar. OneIndia could not find any information which suggested that during his KarnataScreenshot 2023-04-19 at 8.56.51 AM.pngka visit, he had taken part in a door-to-door campaign

Hence it is clear that the video and images being shared with the claim that the Congress leader was campaigning door-to-door is false. They are in fact from Wayanad.

Fact Check Claim Rahul Gandhi undertook a door-to-door campaign in Karnataka Conclusion The images from Wayanad, Kerala and not Karnataka Rating Half True Raise your request for FACT CHECKING. Mail us at [email protected]
Sahil Khan booked for issuing extortion, death threats to woman

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

The Mumbai Police on Wednesday have registered an FIR against Bollywood actor Sahil Khan and a woman for allegedly threatening to kill and uploading defamatory posts on social media against a 43-year-old woman.

According to the complainant, a resident of suburban Oshiwara, she had a quarrel with a woman at a gym over money in February 2023. The accused woman and the actor abused the complainant and threatened her, the official said.

The accused duo also uploaded defamatory posts on social media against the complainant and her family members, he said quoting the First Information Report (FIR) registered on Tuesday.

A case was registered under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for defamation, threat, and a bid to insult the modesty of a woman at Oshiwara police station.

'Will kill him on April 30, actor Salman Khan gets fresh threat

The actor has been booked under sections 500, 501, 509, 504, 506 and 34 of the Indian Penal Code at the Oshiwara police station in Mumbai. He has also been accused of extortion, according to reports.

The official said the accused woman had an affair with the husband of the complainant and had lodged a case against him at a police station.

Khan has acted in movies including Style, Xcuse Me, Aladin and Ramaa: The Saviour.

This is not the first time that Khan has landed in legal trouble. In September 2021, he was booked for harassing and instigating model and fitness trainer Manoj Patil to attempt to commit suicide.

(with PTI inputs)
Another set-back for BJP as MLC quits in Karnataka

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The BJP faced another set-back with an MLC of the party quitting ahead of the Karnataka Assembly elections to be held on May 10.

The BJP has been witnessing a spree of resignations. Now BJP MLC Aynur Manjunath has quit the party and also announced his resignation as MLC. He is however yet to announce what his future course of action would be.

The development comes just days after BJP stalwart, Jagadish Shettar announced his resignation and joined the Congress. Shettar who was denied a ticket quit the party and joined the Congress at Bengaluru this week.

Karnataka polls: Jagadish Shettar figures in Congress' 4th list

Another top leader of the party who quit was Laxman Savadi. A BJP MLC, Savadi quit the BJP and joined the Congress after he was denied a ticket by the BJP.

The BJP, Congress and Janata Dal (S) are yet to release their full list of candidates. The last date to file the nomination papers is April 20. The BJP is yet to announce the list for 2 more seats, while in the case of the Congress and JD(S) it is 8 and 82. April 24 is the last date to withdraw nominations according to the schedule by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Meanwhile, BJP strongman, B S Yediyurappa said that he is confident that the BJP will form the government in Karnataka.

On the other hand, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee chief, D K Shivakumar said that he is confident that more from the BJP will be joining his party.

Karnataka is witnessing a high-decibel campaign. There are 224 seats up for grabs and the magic number is 113.

Karnataka polls: Why are parties vying for votes of autowallahs?

All eyes are also on the JD(S) with many reports suggesting that it would play kingmaker again. The opinion polls have so far tilted in favour of the Congress. Karnataka has for long not voted a party back to power and the Congress would be running high on the issue of anti-incumbency.

Elections in Karnataka will be held on May 10. The results for the single-phase elections would be out on May 13.

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Story first published: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 11:39 [IST]
Apple CEO meets PM Modi, says committed to investing across India

India

oi-Madhuri Adnal

Ahead of Apple's second store launch in New Delhi, CEO Tim Cook met Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday evening.

Taking to micro-blogging site Twitter, Tim Cook said,''Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India's future - from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we're committed to growing and investing across the country.'

Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country. pic.twitter.com/xRSjc7u5Ip  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023

'In response to a tweet by Apple's CEO Tim Cook, the Prime Minister said;

"An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India."

An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India. https://t.co/hetLIjEQEU  Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) April 19, 2023

The Apple CEO also met union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw before meeting the Prime Minister. However, the prime minister's office or the Indian government is yet to confirm the reports of the meeting.

Apple Chief Executive is on the second leg of his India visit, where he went around the crafts museum and the famous Lodhi Art district on Wednesday ahead of opening the company's second official retail store in the country.
Atiq murder: SO among 5 cops suspended after SIT begins probe

India

oi-Deepika S

Uttar Pradesh government has suspended five police personnel, including Shahganj police station officer (SO) Ashwani Kumar Singh, for dereliction of duty in the murder of gangster brothers Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed in Prayagraj.

The five cops were suspended after the Special Investigation Team (SIT), constituted by the Uttar Pradesh government to invistigate the sensational killing of gangster brothers Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed, started its probe yesterday.

"Shahganj SO Ashwani Kumar Singh suspended. SIT questioned all the police personnel, including the SO, yesterday after which this action was taken on the basis of the SIT report," news agency ANI reported.

Hunt for slain gangster Atiq Ahmeds sister Ayesha Noori intensifies

Apart from Inspector Singh, the other four officers against whom action has been taken, include two Sub-Inspectors and two constables. This comes a day after the Yogi Adityanath government ordered the transfer of the Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) who was present when the brothers were shot dead on Saturday.

The dramatic on-camera killings, amid heavy police security and presence of a posse of media persons, have raised questions about the competence of the UP police team escorting the jailed brothers. Despite a tight security, the assailants were able to get close enough to the brothers and fire from point-blank range without missing their targets.

The Ahmed brothers were shot dead by three men posing as journalists in the middle of a media interaction on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting the gangster to a medical college in in Prayagraj for a check-up.

The jailed brothers were in handcuffs when they were killed in full view of camera crews around 10 pm. The horrifying visuals were circulated widely on television channels and social media platforms. The last rites of Atiq's son Asad, who was gunned down in a police encounter in Jhansi on April 13, were performed just hours before his killing.

How Atiq's wife Shaista, daughter of a cop, went on to turn most-wanted?

Video footages showed a man thrusting a gun at Atiq's head as he was talking to reporters and the former Samajwadi Party MP collapsing in a split of second. The footages also showed the three assailants firing at the brothers even after they had fallen dead. The bullet-riddled bodies were taken away from the spot as tension gripped the area after the sensational killings.
SC to hear on April 28 plea for independent probe into Atiq killing

Setback for Bommai govt as SC stays scrapping of Muslim quota till May 9

FIR is filed after initial probe: Delhi Police to SC on wrestlers' protest

On same-sex marriages, Centre tells Supreme Court they could be ramifications

Centre vs Supreme Court on same-sex marriage: 9 points

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The proceedings in the Supreme Court witnessed heated arguments between the Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud and the Centre in the same-sex marriage case.

The Supreme Court had refused to implead the States in the case, following which the Centre filed an affidavit seeking the same.

Take view of States, Centre tells SC on same-sex marriages

Here are some take-aways from the Supreme Court:

Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud who is heading the five-judge Bench said there was no absolute concept of man or woman and postulation was far more complex than categorising a person according to the born-with genitals.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said such a fluid concept of man or woman would render several laws unworkable, which differentiate a biological man from a biological woman.

Whether the SC confines the remit to Special Marriage Act or not, tomorrow an LGBTQ member who wants to remain a Hindu would seek the right to marry under Hindu Marriage Act. That is why the Centre is saying that since marriage is a socio-legal institution with rule-making power given to states, all states should be heard on the preliminary issue - whether the court is the right forum to decide it," Mehta said.

"Even in SM Act, the legislative intent has throughout been on a relationship between a biological male and a biological female," Mehta said.

"It is a very important value judgment you are making. You are saying that the very notion of a biological man or a biological woman is absolute," the CJI said.

"Biological man means a biological man. It is not a notion." The CJI said, "It is a notion. There is no absolute concept of a man or absolute concept of a woman at all. Biological definition is not what your genitals are. It's far more complex, that is the point. Even when the SM Act says man or a woman, the very notion of a man or woman is not absolute based on what genitals you have," Mehta argued.

"Biological man means what genitals he has." When Justice Kaul said "that is a point of view," Mehta said, "For men, irrespective of other attributes than genitals, there is a separate age limit for marriage prescribed. The SC has to examine whether marriage is a fundamental right, that is to marry without law. If the notion of a man and woman is taken as yardstick, then the SC would render several laws unworkable. If one has the biological genitals of a man but feels like a woman, then how would that person be treated under Criminal Procedure Code? As a woman, can the person be called for recording of a statement before police after a particular hour of the day? Several issues are to be gone into. It is better that Parliament debates on this," Mehta said.

"If we are not touching personal law, why should states be heard? We are confining it to SM Act and whether we can read it as a person instead of man and woman. They may have opened a wide chapter, we do not want to open the wide chapter. We can't be compelled to hear everyone."

The CJI said, "We are trying to steer a middle course." When the SG said the present case would open a window for others to come to court on recognition of same-sex marriage in personal laws, which should be left to Parliament, the CJI said, "Windows will willy nilly open. Society is not dependent on anything," Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul also on the five-judge Bench said.

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Story first published: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 12:07 [IST]
Jaishankar speaks to his Saudi, UAE counterparts over situation in Sudan

India

oi-PTI

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has discussed the situation in violence-hit Sudan with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). India is closely watching the situation in Sudan, especially in view of its concerns over the Indians residing in the African country.

On his phone conversation with foreign minister of the UAE Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Jaishankar said they exchanged views on the situation in Sudan. "Thank HH @ABZayed, Foreign Minister of UAE, for the exchange of views on the situation in Sudan.Our continuing contacts are helpful," the external affairs minister tweeted.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last six days that has reportedly left around 100 people dead. Referring to his phone talks with Saudi foreign minister Faisal bin Farhan, Jaishankar said both sides will remain in close touch.

"Appreciated his assessment of the Sudan situation. Will remain in close touch," he said on Twitter. On Monday, the Indian embassy in Sudan issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm.

'Dont do politics': Jaishankar slams Siddaramaiah over Sudan tweet

The embassy on Sunday said that an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries. The ministry of external affairs has already set up a 24X7 control room to provide information and assistance in view of the current situation in Sudan.

Sudan's military captured power in a coup in October 2021 and it has been running the country through a sovereign council since then. There has been a dispute between the Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over a proposed timeline for handing over power to a civilian government.
Same-sex relations not an urban elitist concept: Supreme Court

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Same-sex relations and queer rights are not urban elitist concepts as claimed by the Centre, the Supreme Court remarked.

"State cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the individual does not have control. When you see it as innate characteristics, then it counters (argument of) urban elitist concept.. urban perhaps because more people are coming out of the closet. Government does not have any data also to show that same sex marriage is an urban elitist concept," Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud heading a five-judge Bench said.

Earlier, the Centre filed a fresh affidavit seeking the views of all states and Union Territories on the matter.

As per the affidavit, the matter falls within the legislative domain and thus views of all States and UTs on the same are necessary," the Centre said.

In its affidavit, the Centre asked the Supreme Court to make all the States and Union Territories in the country a party to the ongoing proceedings. The debate on same-sex marriage falls within the legislative domain of the States and hence they should be party to the hearing.

The Centre also told the court that it had issued a letter on April 18, the day the Supreme Court began hearing, inviting comments from and views from all States on the seminal issue raised in the present batch of petitions.

"The Union of India in the absence of notice to the States and Union Territories on the present issues, has started consultation with all States, in order to ascertain the views on the issue, the Centre said on the issue.

When Solicitor General Tushar Mehta mentioned the application and renewed the request for making the States as a party in the case, the Bench said, 'that's excellent. Since you have informed every State about the matter, they are now unaware of the proceedings."

The Centre responded by saying that the State's right to legislate on the subject will be affected by any decision of the Court.

"As States have already legislated on the subject through delegated legislations, they must be imploded as necessary parties and heard in the case," the Centre also submitted.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi appearing for the petitioners said that apart from a declaration that same-sex couples have a right to marry, the Supreme Court should also declare that all consequential rights rights-adoption, secession, inheritance, must be made available to the same-sex couples as it is presently available only to heterosexual couples.

Rohatgi referred to Sections 36 and 37 of the SMA, which gives rights only to women over alimony and maintenance by the husband. "Apart from anything else, so many years have gone by that this could be otherwise unconstitutional today to say that only a husband will pay (maintenance) to the wife. Maintenance under the Hindu Marriage Act is either way. If the wife is earning much more, the wife will pay. This (provision under SMA) is unconstitutional today," Rohatgi said.

He also said that the Court's declaration recognising same-sex marriage will drive society to accept it, whether or not Parliament follows it up with a law.

The Centre filed an application after the Supreme Court declined to implied the States as a party on pleas relating to the conferment of right to same-sex couples.

The Supreme Court Bench headed by Chief Justice of India, D Y Chandrachud also comprises Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S Ravindra Bhat, PS Narasimha and Hima Kohli.

The Bench while refusing to adjourn proceedings until the Centre completed consultation with the States asked Rohatgi not to labour on the request for making States parties to the case and to proceed and argue on the merits of the case.

The proceedings on Tuesday began on a heated note with the Centre saying that it would re-examine whether to take part in the proceedings or not.

The batch of petitions seeks legal recognition of same-sex marriages undertake law, while arguing that the right to marry a person of one's choice should be extended to the LGBTQIA+ citizens as well.
India overtakes China to become worlds most populous nation

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

India has overtaken China to become the world's most populous nation, according to the United Nations.

News agency PTI while quoting a UN report said that India's current population stands at 142.86 crore.

The report of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFP), 'The State of World Population Report 2023, titled 8 Billion Lives, Infinite Possibilities: The Case for Rights and Choices' which was released on Wednesday said that India's population stood at 1,428.6 million, while in the case of China it is 1,425.7 million.,

The latest figures have been given under the category of 'Demographic Indicators.'

The number of people in China shrank for the first time last year since 1960, when millions starved to death under the disastrous policies of former president Mao Zedong.

The UNFP report said that 25 per cent of India's population is in the age group of 0-14, 18 per cent in 10-19, 26 per cent in the 10-24, 68 per cent in 15-64 and 7 per cent in the above 65 years age bracket.

China is doing better in the context of life expectancy, which in the case of the women is 82 and 76 in the case of men. The figure for India and 74 for women and 71 for men, according to the report.

The number of births in China did not increase as expected since Beijing abolished the one-child policy and allowed even three children.

The UNFP report overall called for a 'radical re-think' of how population numbers are framed. It also urged politicians and media to abandon overblown narratives about population booms and busts.

"Instead of asking how fast people are reproducing, leaders should ask whether individuals, especially women, are able to freely make their own reproductive choices - a question whose answer, too often, is no," the UNFP said in a statement.
Jaishankar, Siddaramaiah in Twitter duel over tribals stranded in Sudan

India

oi-Prakash KL

A war of words broke out between External Affairs Minister Dr. S. Jaishankar and former Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah over the latter's tweets on tribals from Karnataka stuck in trouble-hit Sudan.

It was all started after Siddaramaiah slammed the BJP government for its "inaction" in bringing back the stranded Hakki Pikkis tribals from Sudan. "Hakki Pikkis in Sudan are left stranded without food since the last few days & the govt is yet to initiate action to bring them back. @BJP4India govt should immediately open diplomatic discussions & reach out to international agencies to ensure the well-being of Hakki Pikkis," he tweeted.

In the follow-up post, he urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi along with Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to immediately intervene and ensure the safe return of the stranded people.

EAM Jaishankar speaks to Saudi, UAE foreign ministers over situation in Sudan

The External Affairs Minister then hit out at Siddaramaiah for "politicising" the issue. "Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; don't do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian nationals and PIOs in Sudan," Jaishankar tweeted.

"Their details and locations cannot be made public for security reasons. Their movement is constrained by fierce fighting that is ongoing," he added.

Jaishankar said plans regarding them have to take into account a "very complicated" security scenario and that the Indian embassy in Sudan is in constant touch with MEA over the situation in that country. "It is grossly irresponsible of you to politicise their situation. No electoral goal justifies endangering Indians abroad," he said.

Siddaramaiah has now sharply responded to Jaishankar's response. "Since you are the External Affairs Minister, I have appealed you for help. If you are busy getting appalled please point us to the person who can help us bring our people back," he tweeted back.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last five days. Over 270 people have been killed and over 2,600 injured, the World Health Organization (WHO) officials said citing Sudan's Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Centre.

'Dont do politics': Jaishankar slams Siddaramaiah over Sudan tweet

The fighting started between nation's two top Generals, each backed by tens of thousands of heavily armed fighters, on Saturday which has left millions trapped in their homes or wherever they could find shelter.

Meanwhile, the Indian embassy in Sudan on Monday issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm. Earlier, it claimed that said an Indian national died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.
Kerala train arson: Did a radical Kerala group aid prime accused Saifi

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has taken over the probe into the Kerala train arson case.

A notification was released by the Union Home Ministry handing over the probe to the NIA. The NIA has re-registered the police first information report in a special NIA court in Kochi. The NIA has retained all the offences that were invoked by the police. They include section 16 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Section 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) 326A (voluntarily causing grievous hurt by use of acid, etc), 436 (mischief by fire or explosive substance with intent to destroy house, etc) and 438 (causing fire by explosive substance) of the IPC besides Section 151 of the Railway Act (causing damage or destruction to railway property).

The NIA would soon seek custody of Sharukh Saifi, the line accused in the case.

Sources tell OneIndia that Saifi who is highly radicalised had gone to Kerala with a specific intention of committing the crime. He hurled petrol on the people and set the compartment ablaze. Three died after jumping out of the train while trying to save themselves from getting burnt.

The NIA would probe the conspiracy into the incident, the antecedents of the accused and whether Saifi had received support from radical elements in Kerala. The agency would also go broader and check if Saifi was involved with radical elements from other parts of the country.

Kerala train fire accused Sharukh Saifi may not be a lone wolf: Sources

The Kerala police had detained a municipal councillor and five people. They had been questioned over the logistic support that Saifi got. However their exact roles could not be verified. This makes it clear that the operation was a well executed one and no traces were left whatsoever. Another official said that Saifi could not have undertaken this act without local support. The NIA would look deeper into this with the help of the Kerala police. It is very important to identify and close in on the local help that Safi may have got.

The official also said that going by his diary entries it did not appear that it was a one-off operation. He had listed many more railway stations, the official also said.

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Story first published: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 10:36 [IST]
Why 2024, NCP can stake claim to Maharashtra CM post now also, says Ajit Pawar

On Ajit Pawars likely move towards BJP, a warning from Shiv Sena

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Amidst rumours that NCP leader would join the BJP with his group of MLAs, the Shiv Sena's Sanjay Shirsat said his party will not be part of the Maharashtra government.

Speaking with reporters in Mumbai, Shirsat, whose party shares power with the BJP said that he thinks that the NCP will not go with the BJP directly.

"Our policy is very clear about it. The NCP is a party which betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes the NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out because the people did not like us being part of the Congress and NCP."

Sharad Pawar attends iftar party with nephew Ajit amid rift rumour

He also said that Ajit Pawar's displeasure is because his son Parth Pawar lost the election earlier. His displeasure has no connection with the case of a plea seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs pending in the Supreme Court, Shirsat said.

Parth Pawar was in 2019 defeated in the Lok Sabha elections from the Maval constituency in Maharashtra.

Shirsat said, " Ajit Pawar not being reachable is not a new thing. But his displeasure, which is being shown by the media and our case pending in the Supreme Court has no relation. Ajit Pawar is disgruntled since his son Parth lost the election."

He also said that Ajit Pawar was held responsible for the oath ceremony held at dawn in November 2019 with Devendra Fadnavis. After two-and-a-half years, Sharad Pawar said that it was an experiment to revoke President's rule, Shirsat said.

Very much in NCP says Ajit Pawar as Maharashtra speaker cuts short Japan visit

Shirsat also said that Ajit Pawar is a big leader and will not reveal what is going on

He also slammed the proposed rallies planned by the Maha vikas Agdhadi across the state.

" We can find out what Ajit Pawar's stand is during the rallies. He could not speak at the rally in Nagpur. Uddhav Thackeray's party has only 15 MLAs and the NCP with 54 MLAs is side-tracked, " Shirsat.

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Story first published: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 16:31 [IST]
Ready to sacrifice life, won't allow division in society: Mamata on Eid

'Opposition will come like a Tornado': Mamata Banerjee warns BJP

India

oi-Deepika S

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday came down heavily on the Narendra Modi-led BJP government for threatening her party leaders with central agencies.

Stepping up her attack on the BJP, Banerjee said when the opposition comes together it will be 'like a tornado'.

"Sometimes silence is golden. Don't think the opposition is not united. We all are together and everybody is maintaining cordial relations with each other. When the time comes, Opposition will come like a tornado," Banerjee said.

She also rejected senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari's claim that she had called Union Home Minister Amit Shah over Election Commission's decision to revoke TMC's national party status.

"I will resign if it is proven that I called Amit Shah over TMC's national party status," Mamata Banerjee was quoted saying by news agency PTI.

Banerjee further claimed that BJP will get less than 200 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

Mamata Banerjee on Mukul Roy

Asked about Mukul Roy's missing incident, the chief minister said that the state administration will look into the missing complaint filed by Subhrangshu about his father.

"Mukul Roy is BJP's MLA, it is his wish if he wants to go to Delhi or not," Banerjee said.

On same-sex marriage

The TMC leader refused to comment on same-sex marriage, saying the matter is sub judice.

"I will not say anything because the matter is sub judice. I love people who love others. This matter is sensitive, and I have to see the pulse of the people. I will have to see the order of the court and then we can form an opinion," Banerjee said.
Supreme Court sets aside acquittal G N Saibaba

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

The Supreme Court has set aside an order that acquitted former Delhi University professor and activist G N Saibaba and other over their alleged links to naxalites.

The matter has been remanded back to a Bench of the Bombay High Court. The Supreme Court said that the matter will be considered afresh.

"In view of the consensus between the parties and without entering into the merits of the case, with the consent of the counsel of the respective parties, we set aside the impugned common judgement and order passed by the Bombay High Court. The matters are remitted back to the high court to decide the said appeals afresh in accordance with law and on its own merits, including the question of sanction," the the Supreme Court said.

Take view of States, Centre tells SC on same-sex marriages

The Bench headed by Justice M R Shah was hearing a plea filed by the Maharashtra government challenging the decision of the Bombay High Court to allow appeals against the conviction and life-sentence imposed on Saibaba and five others.

The Bench said that the Bombay High Court can consider all questions arising in the matter, which includes that of sanction. It would be open for the State to contend that once an accused is convicted after the conclusion of a trial, the validity of sanctions the lack thereof would become insignificant, Justice Shah said.

The Bench also directed the High Court to dispose of the appeals at the earliest, preferably within a period of four months. Justice Shah also specified that in the interest of propriety, the appeals would have to be placed before a Bench other than the one that had acquitted Saibaba and the others.

'Gravity of offence...': SC questions parole to Bilkis Bano case convicts

During the hearing held on Tuesday, senior advocate, R Basant appearing on behalf of Saibaba proposed that that the matter be remanded to the Bombay High Court to be heard afresh on all concerned issues. He also said that the special leave petition before the Supreme Court be kept pending. Justice Shah however observed that the acquittal order would have to be set aside, before remitting the appeals to a subordinate court.

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Story first published: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 13:16 [IST]
Suspense over as Mukul Roy says, I want to be in BJP

India

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

Veteran Trinamool Congress leader, Mukul Roy who was reported missing by his son has said that he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet with Union Home Minister, Amit Shah.

He indicated that he is keen on returning to the BJP.

Roy was in Delhi on Monday and said he was visiting the national capital on some work. His family had initially claimed that he had gone missing and accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics. The family said that the BJP was using the Trinamool Congress leader who was unwell and not in the 'right frame of mind.'

"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to party president J P Nadda, Roy told a Bengali news channel.

In 2017, Roy a founding a member of the TMC switched to the BJP. He won on a BJP ticket in the Bengal polls, but returned to the TMCC later without resigning from the House.

Bengal schools closed till April 24 due to heatwave

He said, "I was not keeping well for some time, so I was away from politics. Right now I am fine and would like to be active in politics."

"100 per cent, I am confident that I will not be associated with the TMC," Roy further added.

"He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," Roy advised his son, Subharanghsu.

There has been drama over Roy since Monday when his family members claimed that he was missing. On reaching Delhi, Roy told reporters that he had no specific agenda.

"I have come to Delhi. There is no specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier I would come regularly to Delhi. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said.

"My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," Subharanghsu had told reporters.

Speculation was rife that Roy would rejoin the BJP following a cryptic message on Facebook by BJP national secretary, Anupam Hazra. He had written, 'comeback.'
Are you hit by the heatwave: Here are 8 things you should do

Weather update: Rains in Bengaluru for the next few days; Yellow alert issued in parts of Karnataka

Weather update: 'Above normal' temp in most of India; light rain in Delhi

India

oi-Deepika S

India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted that most parts of the country is expected to experience above-normal maximum temperatures from April to June. Most parts of central, east and northwest India will witness a rise in temperature during this period, it added.

"States like Bihar, Jharkhand, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana are likely to see a significantly higher temperature this year," said IMD Director-General Mrutyunjay Mahapatra on Wednesday.

"India is witnessing a harsh summer this year and the temperature is likely to rise between April and June. Most parts of the country is expected to experience above-normal maximum temperatures, except for south peninsular India and some parts of Northwest India where normal to below-normal maximum temperatures are likely," Mahapatra added.

Delhi

According to the IMD, Delhi recorded a minimum temperature of 22.5 degrees Celsius, a notch above the normal on Tuesday. The mercury is expected to hover around 41 degrees Celsius. However, cloudy weather and light rain may provide some relief from the heat for Delhiites on Wednesday.

West Bengal

Severe heatwave conditions are likely to persist in isolated pockets in Gangetic West Bengal on April 19 and 20. While, most Bengal districts sizzled under heatwave conditions, Bankura recorded the highest temperature of the day at 44.1 degrees Celsius, while the mercury rose to 43.4 degree C at Panagarh Air Force station in West Bardhaman district.

No relief in sight as heat wave to persist in east India during next 4 days

Following the IMD alert, the West Bengal government has directed officials to keep an eye on the heatwave situation to ensure there is no shortage of drinking water.

Jharkhand

In view of an intense heatwave in Jharkhand, students from Kindergarten to Class 5 will attend schools from 7 am to 11 am, while senior pupils will continue classes till noon, an order issued by the State Education Department stated.

According to IMD forecast, districts like Garhwa, Palamu, Latehar, Chatra, Godda, Sahibganj, Dumka, Pakur, East Singhbhum, Saraikela-Kharswan and West Singhbhum are likely to witness a rise in temperatures in coming days.

Odisha

Several districts in Odisha recorded temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, with Baripada and Jharsuguda boiling at 44.2 degrees Celsius. The authorities have shut all schools and Anganwadi centres in Odisha till April 20.

Meghalaya

Meghalaya government has ordered that schools be closed for three days from Wednesday (April 19-21) due to soaring temperatures.

Bengaluru

Country's IT hub Bengaluru saw the highest maximum temperature recorded in 2023 so far as the mercury levels rose to 36.5 degrees Celsius on Tuesday, according to a Deccan Herald report.

Himachal Pradesh

As for Himachal Pradesh, the IMD has issued a 'yellow' warning of thunderstorms and lightning at isolated places on April 20 and 21.
How Atiq's wife Shaista, daughter of a cop, went on to turn most-wanted?

India

oi-Prakash KL

'Gangster Queen' Shaista Parveen, the absconding wife of recently-terminated gangster Atiq Ahmed, is now on the most-wanted list of Uttar Pradesh Police. Earlier this month, the cops increased the reward amount for the fugitive Parveen from Rs 25,000 to Rs 50,000.

Marriage changed Parveen's life

Parveen was altogether a different woman before her marriage to Atiq in 1996. She had no links with the crime world. However, everything changed once she tied the knot with the gangster.

As far as her educational qualification is concerned, she completed Class 12 from a college in Prayagraj and she was a polite student. Her father Mohammed Haroon was a constable and she was settled in Damupur village. She was the eldest in her family of four sisters and two brothers, according to a report in The Times of India.

Hunt for slain gangster Atiq Ahmeds sister Ayesha Noori intensifies

Parveen had five sons and one of them, Asad, was killed in an encounter by the cops last week in Jhansi. Whenever her husband went to jail, she used to reportedly manage his underworld activities.

Why the cops are after her

There are four cases filed against Shaista - 3 cheating cases, filed under different Sections way back in 2009, and a murder case that of Umesh Pal. She had met her husband in jail to discuss about eliminating Umesh Pal.

"For this, Atiq had asked her to send a phone and a SIM card to him inside jail. He had also told her the name of a cop who would deliver the phone to him in prison. Days later, the phone was sent and Atiq used it to speak to shooters and plot the crime," the daily quoted police sources as saying.

A relative of Atiq, Mohammad Jishan had revealed recently that the gangster had once forced him to transfer his properties to Parveen. "Atiq sent his son Ali accompanied by 25 shooters to my house to transfer the land in Shaista Parveen's name and demanded Rs 5 crore in extortion," ANI quoted him as saying.

NHRC issues notice to UP Police over killing of Atiq Ahmed, brother

Opening up on the ordeal, he said, "Ali told me that his father wants to talk to me, while everyone aimed their rifles at me. Atiq, on the other side of the call, demanded Rs 5 crore and put pressure on me to transfer my land to Shaista."

She had also forayed into politics by joining AIMIM in 2021. She quit the party and joined the BSP in 2023. She wanted to contest in mayor polls. However, Mayawati refused to field her in the poll.
Eid 2023 date & time of moon sighting in Kerala, Kashmir and other states; when is Eid

Eid-Ul-Fitr 2023 to be celebrated on April 22 in India

Villagers to skip Eid after Army trucks was ambushed in Poonch

When is Eid: Date, time of moon sighting in Saudi, UAE & Pakistan

International

oi-Prakash KL

The Saudi Arabia's Supreme Court has called on all Muslims to spot the crescent moon on Thursday to mark the beginning of Eid Al Fitr 2023.

"The Supreme Court called on whoever sights the crescent moon by naked eyes or through binoculars to report to the nearest court and register their testimony," the Saudi Press Agency reported.

This marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan and the beginning of the Islamic month of Shawwal. The sighting of the moon for the month of Shawwal holds a great significance for Muslims as it determines the date of Eid-ul-Fitr.

The Supreme Court expressed hope that "those who are capable of sighting the crescent moon will join committees formed for that purpose in different regions and participate in such efforts that benefit Muslims."

Eid 2023 date & time of moon sighting in Kerala, Kashmir and other states; when is Eid

Similarly, the UAE Moon sighting committee also called on all Muslims to sight the crescent Moon on Thursday night.

"The moon-sighting committee has invited all Muslims in the UAE to sight the crescent of the month of Shawwal on Thursday evening, 29th Ramadan, 1444 H, which corresponds to 20th April, 2023," the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.

Eid Al Fitr 2023 will be celebrated on Friday if the Moon is spotted on Thursday night.

Saudi Arabia and UAE have already declared a four-day weekend on the occasion of Eid Al Fitr.

The International Astronomy Centre On Sunday said that Eid Al Fitr could fall on Saturday, April 22, based on moon sighting.

"The countries of the Islamic world will investigate the crescent of the month of Shawwal (Eid al Fitr 1444 AH) on Thursday, April 20, 2023 AD. Seeing the crescent on Thursday is not possible with the naked eye from anywhere in the Arab and Islamic world," the International Astronomy Centre tweeted.

In Pakistan, the government has declared a five-day holiday (April 21-25) on the occasion of Eid.

Central Ruet-e-Hilal Committee will reportedly meet on April 20 in Islamabad to spot the crescent moon. However, the Ruet-i-Hilal Research Council claimed that Eid is most likely to fall on April 22.
Here is how much Joe Biden and Kamala Harris earn

International

oi-Vicky Nanjappa

US President Joe Biden and his wife Jill Biden released their federal tax return, which shows that the couple earned nearly $580,000 last year.

They paid an effective federal income tax rate of 23.8 per cent and donated roughly 3.5 per cent of their income to 20 charities. The release of the tax returns comes ahead of the 2024 presidential elections in which Biden is expected to seek a second term.

The Biden reported adjusted gross income of $579,514 and paid $137,658 in federal income tax, reports said. The salary that Joe Biden earns is $400,000, while Jill Biden's salary is at $82,335, which she earns from her job at Northern Virginia Community College. The rest of the income are from investment, interest, annuities, pension and distribution from retirement accounts.

The donations made by them included contributions to Churches and organisations focused on helping children and first responders.

Joe Biden refuses to comment on Trump indictment

US Vice President, Kamala Harris and her husband Dough Emhoff have also released their tax returns. The couple reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918 and they paid $93,570 in federal income.

The income included $219,171 paid as salary to Kamala Harris as the Vice President of the United States and $62,870 from her books. Emhoff earned $169,665 from teaching at the Georgetown University Law Centre. The joint return showed that the couple contributed roughly 5 per cent of their income to charity.

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Story first published: Wednesday, April 19, 2023, 9:33 [IST]
Cleopatra VII Philopator was Queen of the Ptolemaic Kingdom of Egypt from 51 to 30 BC, and its last active ruler. A member of the Ptolemaic dynasty, she was a descendant of its founder Ptolemy I Soter, a Macedonian Greek general and companion of Alexander the Great. After the death of Cleopatra, Egypt became a province of the Roman Empire, marking the end of the last Hellenistic state in the Mediterranean and of the age that had lasted since the reign of Alexander. Although her first language was Koine Greek, she was the only Ptolemaic ruler to learn and use the Egyptian language.
The clock is ticking for the government and Canada's largest federal public-service union to reach an agreement by a deadline of 9 p.m. EDT Tuesday evening.
Ukraines defense minister says his country has received U.S-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian bombardment. Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet: Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine. Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion. The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles.
Wednesday marks eight decades since the Jewish resistance took on Nazi soldiers in Warsaw. Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the first German head of state to give a speech at the commemoration.
A former national security adviser to the prime minister says he had "numerous conversations" with Justin Trudeau about Beijing's interference in Canadian affairs before the 2019 election, but added that, at the time, Russia was a major concern for the intelligence community.
The Patriot system is used to combat enemy aircraft, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Meanwhile, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva condemned Russia's invasion of Ukraine. DW has the latest.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantis has picked up his third endorsement from Capitol Hill, as Rep. Laurel Lee of Florida has thrown her support behind him.
Rowan Wilson has been confirmed as the first Black chief judge in the New York's history. Senate Republicans describe Wilson as an "activist judge."
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Rebekah Tokatlilar writes in the April 17, 2023 issue of the Religious News Service that When I was 18, I moved from Round Rock, Texas, to Greenwich Village to attend New York University, my dream school. My dorm happened to be around the corner from the Bronfman Center for Jewish Student Life. I wasnt Jewish but had always...
The largest ever U.S.-Filipino military exercise began April 11 in the South China Sea, despite massive international protests. The Balikatan (shoulder-to-shoulder) 2023 has the participation of over 17,700 troops from the United States, the Philippines, and Australia and is set to last until April 28.



The annual military...
As many as 60 people have been killed since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on April 15. Since the fighting started, the two forces have released differing accounts of who fired the first shot.



The RSF claims that the Army carried out a series of surprise attacks...
Chinese battery company CATL revealed on Wednesday that it is looking to produce condensed matter batteries  for both electric vehicles and passenger airplanes. The battery giants chief scientist, Wu Kai, who spoke to reports at the Shanghai auto show, said the battery could supply enough energy



#catl #wukai #shanghai #robinzeng #jimpollard #xisremarks #zhengzhou #asiafinancial
Supreme Court Could Issue Ruling on Texas Chemical Abortion Pill Case on Wednesday, April 19

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution

April 19, 2023



WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /Christian Newswire/ -- Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution to hold prayer vigil and news conference at the Supreme Court Wednesday morning.



The group will gather on Wednesday, April 19, at 9:30 a.m. on the public sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court calling for the justices to affirm the decision of Federal District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk who suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Mifepristone.



Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution will be praying for God to guide and direct the nine Supreme Court Justices to issue a ruling affirming human rights and protection for women and their preborn children.



Based in Washington, D.C., Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution is a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice which empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally.



Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, states:

"As the founder of life-affirming medical clinics that support women with unexpected pregnancies, Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution calls upon the Supreme Court to affirm the decision U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, of the U.S. Northern District of Texas, who suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Mifepristone.



"Chemical abortions now account for more than half of all abortions in the U.S. and have significantly higher complication rates than that of surgical abortions. What the FDA and the abortion lobby are promoting is a new type of 'back-alley abortion' with no medical oversight and care. We will not be silent when it comes to standing for the safety of women's health and wellness."

Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, adds:

"The pro-life community and all who embrace human rights must passionately stand against this barbaric practice of chemical abortions which kills innocent children, harms women, and destroys our environment.



"We pray the nine justices would embrace the hallowed words etched on the Supreme Court building: 'Equal Justice Under Law.' As a nation, we cannot allow chemical abortion pills to destroy human life."

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741



SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution



CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741


Tolentino seeks postponement of Barangay, SK polls in Negros Oriental

MANILA - Senator Francis 'TOL' N. Tolentino is pushing for the postponement of the upcoming Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan elections in Negros Oriental amidst current peace and order situation in said province.

Tolentino made the proposal during the continuation of the inquiry of the Senate Committee on Public Order and Dangerous Drugs on Wednesday in connection with the recent assassination of former Governor Roel Degamo as well other pending violence-related cases in Negros Oriental.

"Kung sasang-ayunan niyo po akoof course, this is with the concurrence of other colleagues and the Commission on Electionsi-postpone po natin ang Barangay (and SK) elections sa Negros Oriental... Kung i-postpone po iyon magkakaroon ng mas malakas na momentum ang ating peacekeeping forces. Pagkatapos ng ibang trabaho, mame-maintain 'yung law and order sa Negros Oriental," said Tolentino.

Tolentino, chairman of the Senate Committee on Justice and Human Rights, warned that the present political atmosphere in Negros Oriental may lead to further chaos, especially if the Barangay and SK polls should proceed in the province this coming last week of October.

The lawmaker from Cavite asked the leadership of the Senate panel chaired by Senator Ronald 'Bato' dela Rosa to once again invite, in the next scheduled hearing, Comelec Chairman George Erwin Garcia in connection with the proposal.

Degamo's widow, Pamplona town Mayor Janice Degamo, welcomed the proposition made by Tolentino, saying that it will definitely help pacify the current political climate in her province.

Tolentino earlier asked the Department of Justice (DOJ) to set-up a Special Prosecution Task Force in Negros Oriental which will help hasten the progress of violence-related cases pending before various trial courts in the said province.
The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital rose to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday, and a dozen people had been detained including the hospital's head and her deputy.
The worlds biggest contract chip maker is pushing back on some of the conditions Washington has attached to chip-factory subsidies as it looks for up to $15 billion in government money. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., which plans to invest $40 billion in two chip factories in Arizona, is



#arizona
By Faisal J. Abbas*



You can joke with Egyptians about almost anything, except when it comes to their history and..

Eurasia Review 23 Apr 2023
A second investigative front is developing into the drowning deaths of six foreign nationals and two Canadian children in the St. Lawrence River.
Back in 1959, there were very few Arab Americans running for public office. One Lebanese American did manage to break through the glass ceiling that year and win election to the US Congress  George A. Kasem in California. However, he only served one term in the House of Representatives. He was later followed by fellow Lebanese...
Ukraines defense minister said Wednesday that Patriot air defense systems had arrived in the country.



Ukrainian officials long lobbied allies to provide the advanced weapons that are capable of shooting down enemy missiles and Ukrainian forces spent several months training in the United States and Europe to use the...
Daily Record 22 Apr 2023

One passenger recently wasn't happy when it came to checking in their party of eight, and the airline was quick to hit back on..
New Delhi: The ground situation in Sudan is very tense and movement of people is very risky at this stage, sources in the Indian government said, even as they maintained that the Centre is coordinating closely with various countries to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals stuck in the violence-hit country.

The government sources said India's priority is safety of movement and well being of individuals wherever they are located. They said that the Quartet countries of the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a key role in Sudan and India is engaging them accordingly, PTI reported.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly fighting between the country's army and a paramilitary group for the last six days that has reportedly left around 100 people dead.

Indias External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already spoken to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the UAE. The sources said both the foreign ministers assured Jaishankar of their practical support on the ground.

India is also working with the UN, which has a substantial presence in Sudan.

The sources said the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian embassy in Sudanese capital Khartoum are continuously monitoring the situation in the African country. "Concerns of safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details," the source cited above said.

(With inputs from PTI)
Khartoum: The Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force that have been battling the past four days for control of the country agreed on Tuesday to a 24-hour cease-fire, Arab media reports said.



Hopes for at least a pause in the violence came as intensified fighting threatened to spiral even further into chaos.

Millions of Sudanese in the capital and in other major cities have been hiding in their homes, caught in the crossfire as the two forces pounded residential areas with artillery and airstrikes and engaged in gunbattles in the street.

Over the past day, fighters in Khartoum attacked a US Embassy convoy and stormed the home of the EU envoy to Sudan, though neither attack caused casualties. The convoy of clearly marked US Embassy vehicles was attacked on Monday, and preliminary reports link the assailants to the Rapid Support Forces, the paramilitary group battling Sudan's military, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters. Everyone in the convoy was safe, he said.

Satellite channels Al Arabiya and Al Jazeera cited Lt. Gen. Shams El Din Kabbashi, a senior figure in the military command, as saying that the military would comply with the cease-fire.

CNN Arabic cited the head of the military, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, saying it would be party to the day-long truce. Earlier in the day, the military's opponent, the Rapid Support Forces, said it would abide by a 24-hour humanitarian truce.

There was no immediate public announcement of a cease-fire from military officials, however. In the afternoon clashes were still reported around the military's headquarters and close to the neighbouring airport, both major battle zones since fighting first erupted on Saturday.

There was also fighting around a strategic air base in Merowe, some 350 kilometres (215 miles) northwest of Khartoum.

More than 185 people have been killed and more than 1,800 wounded since fighting began Saturday, according to UN figures, which did not include a breakdown of civilians and combatants. The Sudan Doctors' Syndicate said Tuesday that at least 144 civilians were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded.

The overall death toll could be much higher because clashes in Khartoum have prevented the removal of bodies in some areas.

The violence has raised the spectre of civil war just as the Sudanese were trying to revive the drive for a democratic, civilian government after decades of military rule. Amid increasing alarm, Blinken had stepped up efforts for a cease-fire.

He spoke by phone late Monday separately with the two rival generals armed forces chief, Gen. Burhan, and RSF leader Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo seeking a 24-hour halt in fighting as a foundation for a longer truce and return to negotiations.

Dagalo said in a series of tweets Tuesday that he had approved a 24-hour humanitarian truce after speaking to Blinken.

The military's initial response appeared to reject any halt. It said in a statement that it was not aware of any coordination with mediators on a truce and that more troops would join the battle. The fighting, it said, entered the decisive phase, and that the coming hours would see a crushing defeat of the RSF.

More tanks and armoured vehicles belonging to the military rolled into Khartoum early Tuesday, heading towards the military's headquarters and the Republican Palace, the seat of power, residents said. During the night, fighter jets swooped overhead and anti-aircraft fire lit up the skies.

Fighting resumed early Tuesday around each side's main bases and at strategic government buildings all of which are in residential areas. Video from the Arab TV network Al Arabiya showed a large explosion near the main military headquarters in central Khartoum that raised a giant cloud of smoke and dust.

Satellite images from Maxar Technologies taken Monday showed damage across Khartoum, including to security service buildings. Tanks stood guard at a bridge over the White Nile River and other locations in the Sudanese capital.

Satellite images from Planet Labs PBC, also taken Monday, showed some 20 damaged civilian and military aircraft at Khartoum International Airport, which has a military section.

Some had been completely destroyed, with one still belching smoke. At the El Obeid and Merowe air bases, north and south of Khartoum, several fighter jets were among the destroyed aircraft.

A snap from Khartoum, the capital of Sudan. Photo: AFP

Each side already has tens of thousands of troops distributed around the districts of Khartoum and the city of Omdurman on the opposite bank of the Nile River. That has brought the fighting and chaos with gunbattles, artillery barrages and airstrikes to the doorsteps of the cities' terrified residents.

Residents have reported looting of shops and homes by fighters. One resident near Khartoum's Arabic Market area, said he saw a group of armed men in RSF uniform smashing doors of shops in the area and stealing goods including mobile phones. The paramilitary force denied the accusations and claimed that some people disguised as RSF troops and stormed residential houses.

The European Union's foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell tweeted Monday that the EU ambassador to Sudan was assaulted in his own residency, without providing further details.

A Western diplomat in Cairo said the residence was ransacked by armed men in RSF uniforms. No one was hurt but the armed men stole several items, said the diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to talk to the media.

The RSF denied involvement in the attack, instead blaming the military. The military blamed the RSF, which grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan's Darfur region, for the attacks on the US convoy and the EU envoy's home.

Early Sunday, the Norwegian ambassador's residence in Khartoum was hit by a shell, Norwegian Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt said in a statement. The hit caused damage but the ambassador was not injured, she said, adding that it did not appear the residence was intentionally targeted.

Only four years ago, Sudan inspired hope after a popular uprising helped depose long-time autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.

Burhan and Dagalo jointly orchestrated an October 2021 coup, derailing efforts to enshrine a civilian government. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command tensions that exploded into violence Saturday.


EEOC, No Friend of Feds

(Image by Aadesh Thapa) Details DMCA



Many civil servants prefer a hearing before a U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission's (EEOC) administrative judge on their discrimination claims over a final agency decision from the employer named in their discrimination complaint. Perhaps, because the EEOC promotes itself as a fair adjudicator, federal employees tend to lean that way. Still, before formally requesting a hearing, complainants pensively ask: Is the agency created to enforce Title VII and end unlawful employment discrimination a friend or foe to civil servants?

Through its revised regulations, the EEOC answered. Through the regulations, the EEOC sent a grim message to distressed men and women who seek the enforcement agency's help when they suffer workplace discrimination. On June 11, 2020, the EEOC changed the federal sector complaint-processing regulations at 29 CFR 1614.409. Sadly, the guidance dubbed Effect of Civil Action shows up for aggrieved federal employees like a Trojan horse. It reads: "A Commission decision on an appeal issued after a complainant files suit in district court will not be enforceable by the Commission."

The EEOC officials shoddily finalized its guidance months before Congress passed the Elijah Cummings Federal Employee Antidiscrimination Act. Strikingly, when the EEOC modified section 29 CFR 1614.409 to decree: "Commission decision on an appeal... will not be enforceable," it undermined the bedrock of the Cummings law. The law emphasizes "accountability" and the need to "enforce" discipline when federal employees intentionally commit discriminatory acts.

With the intent of Congress well publicized, in 2020 the EEOC crafted regulations to limit its enforcement authority. By doing so, the Commission signaled it was OK to dig a deeper gorge in the federal-complaint process, watch accountability collapse, and bury civil servants under the bowels of litigation.

Neville vs. Lipnic, Chair of the EEOC (2018) exposes EEOC's foot-dragging when duty calls for the "so-called enforcement agency" to enforce civil rights laws in federal agencies. In Neville, a female National Guard Technician went to court. She filed a mandamus to get the EEOC to execute a Petition for Enforcement. During the administrative process, the EEOC had found the National Guard Bureau (NGB) guilty of egregious gender discrimination against Neville; but declined to compel the discriminating agency to comply with its order. [ Master Sergeant Pedro Soriano was named in Court records. ]

Objectionably, rather than make the NGB do the right thing, the EEOC argued against Neville, the victim of workplace gender discrimination. According to court records, the EEOC claimed it did "not have a clear duty to act" and "any obligation the EEOC had to enforce its decision ceased when Neville filed the instant suit " (Neville vs. Lipnic, 2018, p. 9).

The EEOC's latest pronouncement puts civil servants battling inequality in a disturbing, gut-wrenching, and Catch-22 dilemma. The question builds . What course of action should one take when the EEOC refuses to enforce its own order for relief and accountability?

In 2018, the EEOC won the case against Neville with the "no clear duty to act" premise before a Western District of Texas Court Judge. In 2020, the EEOC cagily updated the federal complaint-processing guidance to match the claim it argued in Neville.

In Neville, a mournful and illuminating twist emerged. Although an EEOC Administrative Judge delivered Neville, a National Guard Technician, a "mixed" result on her claims, Neville did not go to court on the disability claim she had lost. She merely went to court to get the EEOC to enforce the gender discrimination claim she won.
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas attacked Israel with rockets coming from South Lebanon on April 6. The resistance was responding to the repeated attacks on Palestinians praying inside the Al Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem during the holy month of Ramadan.

Extremist Jewish settlers had insisted on going to the Mosque, against longstanding traditions, which provoked tensions and the Israeli police used brutal tactics on the Palestinians praying, including beating women and arresting 400.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu's extremist government opposes the creation of a Palestinian state and supports the expansion of Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, which emboldened the fanatical settlers who went to the Mosque.

On April 7, Israeli air strikes hit southern Lebanon in retaliation, marking the biggest escalation between Israel and Lebanon in almost 20 years. There were no casualties reported from either side after the tit-for-tat strikes. Hamas is supported by Hezbollah, the Lebanese resistance group.

The US State Department condemned the attack on Israel, and said Israel had the right to defend itself against all attacks. No mention of the right for Palestinians to pray inside their own Mosque during a religious period. The US supports only the rights of Jews, and the Christian and Muslim Palestinians are left defenseless.

Samir Geagea, whose Christian Lebanese Forces (LF) often battled Palestinian fighters in the civil war, denounced the attack and Fouad Abu Nader, another former LF commander, called for the arrest of the Hamas leader.

Israel and the US have used Lebanon as a stage to fight proxy wars in. The creation of Israel in 1948 caused a huge influx of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, and after so many years without any Palestinian rights being restored; those old problems persist for the entire Middle East, which is held hostage by the apartheid state of Israel.

Past Israeli attacks and occupation of Lebanon

On April 10, 1973, two years before the civil war erupted, an Israeli commando team led by Ehud Barak invaded Beirut and killed three top officials from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in their homes. Several Lebanese policemen and guards were also killed in the crime.

The raid enflamed divisions between the Lebanese supporters, and the opponents of the PLO, which had been in Lebanon since 1970.

The Lebanese army clashed with Palestinian freedom fighters less than a month later, which developed into the 1975-1990 civil war, during which the Israeli army invaded the south of Lebanon, and the brutal military occupation lasted until 2000.

It was the rise of Hezbollah that was responsible for the Israeli withdrawal. In the summer of 2006, US President Bush and Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice supported the Israeli attack on Lebanon to destroy Hezbollah. Much of the most vital civilian infrastructure in Lebanon was destroyed by the air raids, and more than 1,000 Lebanese were killed, while hundreds of thousands were made homeless. In the end, Israel was unable to enter Lebanon, and Hezbollah was proven to be the only force able to protect the Lebanese border from invasion and occupation.

Saudi-Iran full diplomatic relationship restored

The surprise agreement between Iran and Saudi Arabia signed on March 10 may hold the key political reconciliation in Lebanon.

Saudi Arabia has traditionally supported the Lebanese Sunni politicians, such as the late Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his son PM Saad Hariri. However, Saad Hariri resigned himself from political life.

With Saudi Arabia supporting Sunni politicians and Iran backing the Shiite group Hezbollah, the long-standing rivalry between the two has shaped the political scene in Lebanon. The newly found reconciliation between Riyadh and Tehran may set the stage in Lebanon for compromise.

Next Page 1 | 2 | 3

(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
OptraSCAN, a leading end-to-end digital pathology solution provider, today announced that Karkinos Healthcare has begun using the high-performance OptraSCAN Digital pathology platform to enhance care for their patient population. The capabilities of this digital pathology platform improve accessibility to healthcare and the distributed care model. The demand for digital pathology has increased as healthcare institutions have struggled to overcome the challenges of the traditional care model of pathologists working in labs 
Independent researcher Chiharu Matsushima has revealed the long-standing mysteries of biorhythm cycles and the pseudoscience surrounding them, which gained worldwide popularity as a trend in the 1960s to 1980s, particularly in Japan and the United States. Matsushima's research suggests that the physical, emotional, and intellectual states of human beings may be influenced by the revolution of planets. Biorhythm cycles and heliocentric astrology, based on the revolution of planets, show striking similarities 
The email went out to legal cannabis growers around Washington state. Another of their colleagues had gone under.

Liquidation sale, it said. Attached was a spreadsheet of items for sale: LED grow lights for $500 apiece. Rotary evaporators for hash oil, $10,000.
Rebecca Arredondo Yazzie, a clinical social worker and university program director, has been selected to become Portland Police Bureaus first civilian dean of training.

Yazzie, 42, was a psychiatric social worker at Oregons MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility. She served as a mental health clinician at Clackamas and Washington county jails. Later, she led focus groups of women prisoners to advise the Oregon Department of Corrections on how to improve programming and supervision for the women.
A man facing a drug possession charge in Cowlitz County escaped from a Southwest Washington jail Monday after impersonating another inmate scheduled for release, according to the county sheriffs office.

Brian Francisco Roman, 26, is now wanted on additional charges that include second-degree escape and first-degree criminal impersonation.

The escape unfolded after a corrections officer at the county jail in Longview went to fetch a man who was being released Monday. Three people were asleep in the cell when the officer approached. When the officer called for the man, Roman answered instead, the sheriffs office said. Jail staff said the two men looked similar.

Roman then went with the officer to be processed for release. He took the belongings of his cellmate and signed paperwork in his name. He took his clothing, keys and wallet, including the other mans ID and debit card, the sheriffs office said.

Corrections workers did not realize they had released the wrong person until the other man asked when he would be released, the sheriffs office said.

Brian F. Roman, 26, escaped from Cowlitz County Jail Monday.

Local law enforcement is still searching for Roman as of Tuesday.

He was last seen wearing a blue hoodie, gray sweatpants and brown slippers, the sheriffs office said.

 Austin De Dios; adedios@oregonian.com; @austindedios; 503-319-9744
This is the skin of a spin-off, Bella  or possibly a reboot.

Twilight is getting the TV treatment from Lionsgate Television, so a whole new era of tweens can plant their flag for Team Jacob or Team Edward. (This author is firmly Team Bella Should Have Left Them Both, for the record.)

That is, of course, if the series is a reboot at all. Its unclear whether the show will follow the original Twilight saga or if it will be some sort of spin-off.

In the past, author Stephanie Meyer has spoken about unpublished works, which spawned fan theories that these alleged books will tell the life of Renesmee, the half-vampire half-human child of Bella Cullen, nee Swan, and Edward Cullen. Its rumored to follow her romance with her mothers once-was best friend and current werewolf Jacob Black.

There was also a companion book with illustrations and elaborate backstories of characters that was released called The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide. It covered backstories not shoehorned into the books or movies, creating a veritable playground of content that Meyer could jump back into.

The Hollywood Reporter said in an exclusive that Sinead Daly is attached to write the script for the upcoming Twilight project. There is no network of platform that controls the rights to the franchise and no potential timeline for any network or franchise interested in them.

Lionsgate has both Twilight and The Hunger Games, another popular young adult series, to thank for a lot of money, to be frank. In 2017, according to the Hollywood Reporter, Lionsgate CEO Jon Feltheimer said, There are a lot more stories to be told, and were ready to tell them when our creators are ready to tell those stories, in reference to both young adult franchises.

But Twilight holds a special place in the heart of the Pacific Northwest. Love it or hate it, thats up to you, but it was a cultural phenomenon and some of it was shot in both Oregon and Washington.

At the beginning of the series, Bella Swan moves to the small rainy town of Forks, Washington. But her home in the film, now an Airbnb open to fans, is located in St. Helens, Oregon.

The Cullens sleek glass mansion, in fact the very room where Edward jumped out of his window and told Bella, Hold on, spider monkey, is located in Portland. Bellas high school? Its in Kalama, Washington. You can even go to Port Angeles, Washington, and visit Bella Italia, where you can get yourself mushroom ravioli and a coke just like Bella and Edward did on their first date. Date is in quotes because, for non-Twilight fans, Edward was stalking Bella convinced she was going to get into trouble.

Apologies, though, because the sparkling turn of the century-born vampire who would do anything to protect you isnt included.

This isnt the first young adult franchise to get a TV reboot and or spin-off. Harry Potter, despite the controversy surrounding its anti-trans author JK Rowling, will have a series on Max, the Warner Bros. Discovery streaming channel. Likewise, Percy Jackson and the Olympians, based on the series of young adult novels, was ordered for Disney+ in 2024.

Read more

-Destiny Johnson | djohnson@oregonian.com | @hello_destiny
OZARK  After almost two full days of voir dire, a seven-man, seven-woman jury is seated to hear the capital murder trial of Coley McCraney, who is charged with five counts of capital murder and one charge of rape in connection with the 20-year-old-case involving the shooting deaths of two Dothan teens in Ozark.

The jury selection began Monday morning with prospective jurors being questioned collectively and individually by attorneys on both sides of the case until 33rd Circuit Judge Bill Fillmore adjourned court in the afternoon due to a malfunctioning air conditioner in the courtroom.

The jury was named at 4 p.m. Tuesday and opening arguments are set for 9 a.m. Wednesday

McCraney has been in Dale County Jail without bond since his March 17, 2019, arrest and indictment on five counts of capital murder and one charge of rape in connection with the 20-year-old cold case involving the shooting deaths of Dothan teens J.B. Beasley and Tracie Hawlett, whose bodies were found in the trunk of Beasleys car parked on Herring Avenue in Ozark. The teens were last heard from on the evening of July 31, 1999, when Hawlett called her mother from Ozark to let her know they were on their way home after getting lost on the way to a party.

Some two decades later, McCraney was identified as a suspect after DNA from the crime scene was identified through genetic genealogy testing.

Motions on the case have been heard and ruled on, even as late as last week. At an April 13 hearing before Filmore Thursday, McCraneys attorneys David Harrison and Andrew Scarborough asked the courts permission for the jury to visit the site on Herring Avenue where Beasleys car had been found, Filmore denied that request noting that there is no reason to suspect that the place or scene where the car was found looks anything like it did in 1999 and any changes would only mislead the jury.

Filmore also denied the defendants motion to remove any potential jurors who are biased in favor of the death penalty. The court will use the chart provided to (both the state and defense attorneys) concerning death qualification questions which provides for the constitutional concerns of the defendant, he said in his ruling.

At the April 13 hearing, Filmore did grant the motion for the defense to be notified of any alleged prior wrongs, crimes, or acts the state intends to introduce at trial, noting that the state says it has no allegations that it intends to introduce.

The defense team also withdrew its motion to suppress any statements McCraney made after his arrest. We want those statements included in their entirety, said Harrison.

Filmore had previously ruled on several of the motions, allowing the court to record any and all proceedings in the McCraney case, and denied the motion to prohibit the death penalty without a unanimous sentencing verdict in the case.

The judge also denied the defense request for the judge to review the personnel file of former Ozark Police Chief Marlos Walker, who had been chief when McCraney was arrested in 2019, to see if Walkers credibility played a part in his termination by the Ozark City Council.

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall and Assistant Attorney General Jimmy Thomas will prosecute McCraney. The attorney generals office took the case at the request of the 33rd Judicial Circuit District Attorney Kirke Adams.
A federal appeals courts rejection of Berkeley, Californias first-in-the-nation natural gas ban throws the future of a similar ordinance in Eugene into flux.

The lawsuit over Berkeleys ban, brought by the California Restaurant Association, argued that Berkeley bypassed federal energy regulations when it approved its ordinance to prohibit natural gas in new residential and commercial buildings.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco agreed, finding that the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act preempts Berkeleys municipal code amendment. The judges rejected a lower courts decision from two years ago that upheld the ordinance.

The decision could have a chilling effect on the nearly 100 gas restriction ordinances adopted by cities throughout the U.S. Most at risk would be ordinances that, similarly to Berkeleys, ban new gas lines and gas appliances outright  like Eugenes.

Other ordinances, which specify tougher efficiency standards in their building codes to push developers to install energy-efficient heat pumps  are unlikely to be impacted, said Jan Hasselman, a senior attorney with Earthjustice, a San Francisco-based nonprofit that supports electrification. Similarly, the decision wont impact New York Citys ordinance, which sets indoor air quality standards for fuels burned in new buildings, which effectively discourages natural gas.

Eugenes ordinance, which was modeled on Berkeleys, was to take effect for building permits submitted on or after June 30. Its launch is now on hold after opponents  funded largely by NW Natural, Oregons largest investor-owned gas utility  submitted enough signatures to put it to a citywide vote.

That referendum is to take place in November  and its unclear whether the 9th Circuit decision will change those plans.

We are still watching this legal decision unfold, Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis said in an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive. The citys ordinance is one piece of our adopted strategy in the Climate Action Plan 2.0. and we will continue to engage the public and pursue the strategies in that plan to reduce our communitys use of fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions.

Because the 9th Circuit has jurisdiction over most of the Western states  meaning its decisions apply to all federal courts within its circuit  the Eugene ordinance would likely also be overturned if its challenged in court.

There is a question mark hanging over Eugenes ordinance for now, Hasselman said. But, he added, Eugene officials have other legal options, including scrapping the existing ordinance and writing another one.

Hasselman said he believes the 9th Circuit decision would not affect Eugenes  and Oregons  move toward electrification as a climate change solution.

The movement towards electric buildings is unstoppable, he said.

The American Gas Association disagrees.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit took a huge step today that will both safeguard energy choice for California consumers and help our nation continue on a path to achieving our energy and environmental goals, association President and CEO Karen Harbert said in a statement.

 Gosia Wozniacka; gwozniacka@oregonian.com; @gosiawozniacka

Our journalism needs your support. Please become a subscriber today at OregonLive.com/subscribe/
The growth of gray wolves in Oregon remains slow, though the animals continue to expand their habitat westward, according to a new state report.

Oregons wolf population increased by three animals last year, rising from 175 to 178, according to an annual wolf report released by the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. It follows a similarly low increase in 2021.

The wolf count documented 24 packs last year  up from 21 in the previous year  with 17 of the packs meeting the criteria of breeding pairs, up by one from the previous year. A pack is defined as four or more wolves traveling together in winter.

Mark Graves/The Oregonian

The wolves can be found throughout the state, but most of the packs are concentrated in the Wallowas in northeastern Oregon.

Because the report is based on a direct count during winter months  using visual observations, tracks and remote camera photographs  state wildlife officials said its likely the actual number of wolves is higher.

Environmental groups are worried that a high number of wolf deaths in the past two years is affecting the recovery of wolf populations in the state.

Wildlife officials documented 20 wolf deaths last year. People killed 17 of the wolves  including seven illegally, while the rest died naturally. Six of the wolves were killed legally for repeatedly harassing or killing livestock, two perished in car crashes, one was killed after it harassed horses near a family backcountry camping site and another was shot by a sheep herder when it was caught in-the-act of attacking his livestock working dogs.

In 2021, the state counted 26 wolf deaths, the highest thus far, up sharply from nine deaths in 2020 and seven in 2018.

Poaching has been at an all-time high and the growth rate at all-time low in the past few years, which shows the species is not able to overcome that much mortality and still reach conservation goals, said Danielle Moser, a wildlife program manager with Oregon Wild, a nonprofit that works to protect and restore Oregons wildlands and wildlife.

But state wildlife officials said wolves are doing well and expanding in range in Oregon.

Their lower rate of population increase in recent years is partly due to the limited habitat available in northeastern Oregon, the wolves stronghold, and to the turnover of breeding adults, said Michelle Dennehy, a spokeswoman with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.

We are confident in the overall health of the wolf population, Dennehy said. The fact that wolves are making it to western Oregon and to other states and breeding shows that the population has habitat connectivity, an important indicator of overall health.

Dennehy acknowledged the number of illegal killings remains unacceptably high and is also playing a role in the smaller rate of increase.

The annual wolf count is part of the states Wolf Conservation and Management Plan, which was first adopted in 2005 and most recently revised in 2019. The wolf plan drives the states wolf conservation and management practices. The next wolf plan update will start later this year.

Wolves are a delicate topic in Oregon. Environmentalists and other people keen on protecting wildlife argue their population is nowhere near recovery and argue the state should focus more on nonlethal approaches when wolves harass livestock.

While the state does not have specific population targets in its wolf plan, a 2015 state analysis assessing the viability of future gray wolf populations, the most recent available, assumed the populations would increase an average of 7 percent per year  a higher percentage than the growth in 2022 or 2021. The analysis also concluded that human-caused wolf mortality had negative impacts on wolf population growth rates.

We have a long way to go, said Moser with Oregon Wild. Were not seeing growth at the level the state expected.

According to an Oregon State University study, Oregon offers approximately 26,400 square miles of potential wolf habitat that could support a population of approximately 1,450 wolves.

But many Oregon ranchers have said the animals are a nuisance, killing and harassing livestock. Oregon compensates livestock owners for confirmed and probable losses to wolves, paying out $103,000 last year.

Mark Graves/The Oregonian

Gray wolves were once hunted to near-extinction across the nation and disappeared completely in Oregon. They became protected under the federal Endangered Species Act in 1970s. Their population rebounded, especially in Idaho and Montana, and has been considered a conservation success.

Their protected status has been frequently litigated, with the federal government repeatedly removing wolf protections, environmental groups suing and the courts restoring safeguards. In the meantime, states have relaxed wolf protections, leading to thousands of wolves being killed by hunters, trappers, wildlife officials and ranchers.

In 2015, wolves in Oregon lost statewide protections under the state Endangered Species Act when wildlife officials removed them from the list of protected animals. They are still considered a special status game mammal and protected by statute throughout the state. Oregon does not allow sport hunting of wolves, although the 2019 wolf management plan update opened the door to potential wolf hunting and trapping in the future.

The federal government last stripped wolves of protections throughout the U.S. in 2021. But in February 2022, following a court order, the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service restored federal protections for gray wolves, including in much of western Oregon. State wildlife officials continue to manage wolf populations in the eastern part of the state, which is considered part of the larger Northern Rocky Mountain population and isnt federally protected.

 Gosia Wozniacka; gwozniacka@oregonian.com; @gosiawozniacka

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The Secret Service Uniformed Division came face-to-face with an intruder on the White House grounds Tuesday  except this time it was a crawling toddler.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, said a toddler crawled through the fence on the north side of the White House, setting off security alerts, CNN reported.

The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House ground, Gugliemli said. The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.
Two teenagers have been arrested and charged in connection to a mass shooting at a Sweet 16 birthday party Saturday in Dadeville, Alabama, the states Law Enforcement Agency announced Wednesday.

The suspects  Ty Reik McCullough, 17, and Travis McCullough, 16, both of Tuskegee  were each charged with four counts of reckless murder. The teenage suspects will be tried as adults and more charges will soon be filed, District Attorney Mike Segrest said during Wednesdays news conference, according to CNN.

The shooting, which occurred just past 10:30 p.m. Saturday at Mahogany Masterpiece Dance Studio in Dadeville, left four people dead and 32 people injured, according to an ALEA news release.

These individuals have been charged after a complex and thorough investigation was conducted with assistance from a multitude of law enforcement agencies, following the shooting that occurred on Saturday, April 15, near the 200 Block of Broadnax Street in Dadeville, ALEA said in a tweet Wednesday.

Investigators are still trying to determine a motive for the shooting and are processing all evidence and witness interviews.

The party was celebrating the 16th birthday of Alexis Dowdell, whose 18-year-old brother, Philstavious, was among those killed in the shooting, along with Corbin Dahmontrey Holston, 23; Marsiah Emmanuel Collins, 19; and Shaunkivia Nicole Smith, 17, Tallapoosa County Coroner Mike Knox said Monday.

Make no mistake. This is Alabama and when you pull out a gun and you start shooting people, were going to put you in jail, ALEA Sergeant Jeremy Burkett said during the news conference, according to Reuters. Were tired of going to mothers and having to tell them these kids arent coming home.
The Columbia River Gorge Commission is a unique bi-state agency that works to preserve and enhance the scenic, natural, cultural and recreational resources of the Columbia Gorge. Since its creation in 1987, it has relied on cooperation and a shared environmental and economic vision between Oregon and Washington.

The Gorge Commissions budget is funded equally by Oregon and Washington, but the lowest budget set by one state must also be adopted by the other state. The current Gorge Commission budget in front of Oregon lawmakers is $2,292,644, which is approximately $360,000 short of Washingtons approved budget of $2,653,337. If the Oregon Legislature only funds the smaller budget, Washington will be required to reduce its contribution to match Oregons. This will effectively eliminate $720,000 from the commissions budget.

The Oregon budget omits funding for three key areas: implementing a climate change action plan; expanding the Gorge Commissions diversity, equity and inclusion work with tribes and communities of color; and hiring a desperately needed second attorney for the commission. These policy options must be restored. If the Oregon Legislature matches Washingtons commitment, the commission will have the resources to protect our national treasure, support communities and ensure that all voices in the Gorge are heard.

Oregon lawmakers: Match Washingtons contribution to restore the commissions original proposed budget. Dont leave money on the table that would protect and enhance an iconic wonder and the communities that live and work there.

Rudy Salakory, Vancouver, Washington

Salakory is conservation director of Friends of the Columbia Gorge.

To read more letters to the editor, go to oregonlive.com/opinion.
A ban on dozens of semi-automatic rifles cleared the Washington state Legislature on Wednesday, and the governor is expected to sign it into law.

The high-powered firearms  once banned nationwide  are now the weapon of choice among young men responsible for most of the countrys devastating mass shootings.

The ban comes after multiple failed attempts in the states Legislature, and in a year that has seen the most mass shootings during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009.

The Washington law would cover more than 50 gun models, including AR-15s, AK-47s and similar style rifles, which fire one bullet per trigger pull and automatically reload for a subsequent shot. The bill bans their future sale, distribution, manufacture and importation, although some exemptions are included for sales to law enforcement agencies and the military in Washington.

The law would go into effect immediately once its signed by Democratic Gov. Jay Inslee, who has long advocated for such a ban. When the bill passed the state House in March, Inslee said hes believed in it since 1994 when, as a member of the U.S. Congress, he voted to make it a federal law.

We refuse to accept gun violence as normal. Gun violence, in all its forms, can be prevented, Inslee tweeted after the legislation first passed the Senate, thanking the Democratic lawmakers who control both chambers.

A ban on so-called assault weapons is far off in the U.S. Congress. But President Joe Biden and other Democrats have become increasingly emboldened in pushing for stronger gun controls  and doing so with no clear electoral consequences.

A sign at Rainier Arms informs customers of pending legislation that would ban future sale of assault-style weapons in the state, Friday, April 14, 2023, in Auburn, Wash. AP Photo/Lindsey Wasson

Nine states including California, New York and Massachusetts, along with the District of Columbia, have already passed similar bans, and the laws have been upheld as constitutional by the courts, according to Washingtons Attorney General Bob Ferguson.

In Colorado, lawmakers debated on Wednesday about a slew of aggressive gun control bills, but a sweeping ban on semi-automatic firearms faces much stiffer odds.

When Biden and other lawmakers talk about assault weapons, they are using an inexact term to describe a group of high-powered guns or semi-automatic long rifles, like an AR-15, that can fire 30 rounds quickly without reloading. By comparison, New York Police Department officers carry a handgun that shoots about half that much.

During debate on the Washington state bill, Democrats spoke of frequent mass shootings that have killed people in churches, nightclubs, grocery stores and schools. Sen. Liz Lovelett of Anacortes said that kids concerns about school shootings need to be addressed.

They are marching in the streets. They are asking for us to take action, Lovelett said. We have to be able to give our kids reasons to feel hopeful.

Republican state lawmakers opposed the ban, with some contending school shootings should be addressed by remodeling buildings to make them less appealing as targets and others saying it infringes on peoples rights to defend themselves.

HB 1240 clearly violates our state and federal constitutions, which is why it will end up in court immediately, Sen. Lynda Wilson of Vancouver said.

Some gun-control legislation in other states has been struck down since last years landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling, which set new standards for reviewing the nations gun laws. The ruling says the government must justify gun control laws by showing they are consistent with the Nations historical tradition of firearm regulation.

Washingtons ban was part of a gun legislation package proposed by Inslee and the state attorney general. The other two bills approved by the Legislature this session include a 10-day waiting period for gun purchases and a bill that would hold gunmakers liable for negligent sales.

The first would allow people whose family members die from gun violence to sue if a manufacturer or seller is irresponsible in how they handle, store or sell those weapons. Under the states consumer-protection act, the attorney general could file a lawsuit against manufacturers or sellers for negligently allowing their guns to be sold to minors, or to people buying guns legally in order to sell them to someone who cant lawfully have them.

The second bill would require gun buyers to show theyve taken safety training. It would also impose a 10-day waiting period for all gun purchases  something thats already mandatory in Washington when buying a semi-automatic rifle.

Biden signed a sweeping bipartisan gun law last summer, the most significant legislative response to gun violence in decades. The U.S. Congress had imposed restrictions on the manufacture and sale of semi-automatic rifles in 1994 but allowed the restrictions to expire a decade later, lacking the votes to counter the powerful gun lobby.

-- The Associated Press
Oregon Democrats want voters to approve a constitutional amendment guaranteeing the right to same-sex marriage, abortion and gender-affirming care.

Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber, D-Portland, Senate President Rob Wagner, D-Lake Oswego, and Sen. Lew Frederick, D-Portland, introduced Senate Joint Resolution 33 on Wednesday to expand Oregons constitutional protections to marriage and health care, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity.

Democrats hope to bring the constitutional amendment before voters in November 2024, something they should be poised to do with Democrats controlling both the House and the Senate. Democrats will need to gain approval from only a simple majority in both chambers to refer the resolution to the November 2024 ballot.

The amendment would repeal language that has been in the Oregon Constitution since 2004 that states, only a marriage between one man and one woman shall be valid or legally recognized as a marriage. While that language remains in the state Constitution, it hasnt been enforced since 2014, when a federal judge deemed it unconstitutional. A year later, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that all states must grant the right to same-sex marriage.

If approved by voters, the state constitutional amendment would ensure that people arent denied equal rights under the law on the basis of sex and will prohbit discrimination based on pregnancy, pregnancy outcomes or related health decisions, gender identity or related health decisions, sexual orientation or gender.

As the only LGBTQ member in the Senate, this bill is personal, said Lieber in a prepared statement. I know how it feels to live somewhere that doesnt accept you for who you are. From bans on abortion to bans on medical care for transgender people, hate is on the rise across the country, and this is Oregons opportunity to respond with hope.

Democrats called the proposed constitutional amendment a response to last years U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision that had guaranteed the right to abortion across the country. The decision didnt curtail access to abortion in Oregon. Former Democratic Gov. Kate Brown in 2017 approved legislation that explicitly protected the right to an abortion in the event that the high court overturned Roe v. Wade.

Planned Parenthood, ACLU Oregon and Basic Rights Oregon announced plans to campaign for the constitutional amendment Wednesday, saying that the amendment would secure lasting rights to marriage equality and key protections from discrimination.

Throughout the country and at the federal level, LGBTQ2SIA+ folks are watching our rights get rolled back in real time, said Todd Addams, interim executive director for Basic Rights Oregon, in a statement. Oregon has an opportunity to reverse that tide and secure those rights. Marriage equality, freedom from discrimination at work and at home and our right to make our own health care decisions with our doctors are all on the line.

In addition to the proposed constitutional amendment, Democrats in the Oregon House are pursuing a wide-ranging bill that would expand access to reproductive and gender-affirming health care. Among other provisions, the bill would formally prohibit medical providers from informing parents if a minor sought an abortion and wanted to keep it private, unless there was a serious threat to the health or safety of the minor or a sign of abuse. The bill is scheduled to come up for a vote in the House on May 1.

Republicans have expressed opposition to both the bill and constitutional amendment.

The constitutional amendment is a continuation of the Democrats extreme assault on parental rights, wrote Ashley Kuenzi, a spokesperson for the Senate Republican Office, in an email Wednesday.

 Jamie Goldberg; jgoldberg@oregonian.com; 503-221-8228; @jamiebgoldberg

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The Portland police officer who was fired and then reinstated after leaking news of a traffic complaint falsely implicating then-Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty in a hit-and-run received paid medical leave from the city while also moonlighting as a sheriffs deputy in Clark County.

Brian Hunzeker requested and was placed on leave from the Portland Police Bureau effective April 3, barely a month after his Feb. 27 return to the force, according to records and city officials.

He resigned from the police bureau last week, hours after Willamette Week informed the city attorneys office about his second job as a Washington sheriffs deputy.
Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek has the lowest approval rating of any governor in the country, according to a new poll released Wednesday by research technology company Morning Consult.

Only 42% of Oregonians approved of Koteks job performance, according to the poll. The governor with the second-lowest approval rating in the county was Jim Pillen of Nebraska, a Republican, who had a 45% approval rating, according to the poll.

While Kotek had the lowest approval rating in the country, she did not have the highest disapproval rating because many Oregonians still appear to be forming an opinion of the states new governor. About 39% said they disapproved of Koteks performance, leaving 19% who neither approved nor disapproved of her performance.

I think there are a lot of Oregonians who dont know me, Kotek said during a press conference Wednesday. We came off of the election, people went back to their day jobs, their lives, theyre not paying attention too much.

Kotek has committed to visiting all 36 counties in Oregon during her first year in office, which she said will be important in allowing her to introduce herself to Oregonians across the state. She said she is hopeful Oregonians will develop a more positive perception of her performance as they get to know her better.

A separate February poll conducted by Portland polling firm DHM Research found that 43% of respondents had a negative view of Kotek, while just over a third said they had a very or somewhat positive view of the Democratic governor, who took office Jan. 9. Nearly a quarter of those surveyed in that online survey of 500 Oregon residents, selected to match the demographic profile of the states adult population, said they did not know when asked about their opinion of Kotek.

John Horvick, senior vice president at DHM research, said at the time that the February survey reflected that Oregon is politically a divided state. Democrats go to their corner; Republicans go to their corner, he said.

Polls conducted by Morning Consult in the past few years consistently found that former Oregon Gov. Kate Brown was the least popular governor in the nation.

The most recent Morning Consult poll was conducted between Jan. 1 and March 31 among representative samples of registered voters in each state. The margin of error was up to plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Vermont Gov. Phil Scott, a Republican, had the highest approval rating in the country at 78%, according to the new poll. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, had an approval rating of 56% while Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, also a Democrat, had an approval rating of 51%.

 Jamie Goldberg; jgoldberg@oregonian.com; 503-221-8228; @jamiebgoldberg

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The dream of the 80s is alive in Oregon, at least according to the new research forwarded to me by multiple coworkers.

Oregons favorite fashion decade is the 1980s, proclaimed the press release from what appears to be a fast fashion website called Boohoo.

This research basically consisted of analyzing search terms, and sure, lets go with it. Lets say Oregonians really do identify most closely with a 1980s aesthetic.

I would happily, easily, find myself in a crop top and a pair of brightly patterned Hammer pants if they were available to me (and looking through my closet, they basically are).

Whats not to love about the 1980s, fashion-wise (and only fashion-wise)? The shorts were short, and the colors were not subtle. The hair was poufed and the bangs were backcombed. The shoulders were padded and the collars were high. The scrunchies were huge and so were the socks and so were the glasses. The exercise gear was layered.

According to Boohoo, 1980s fashion is a distinctive style filled with exaggerated silhouettes and bright colors.

That sounds like fun, right? Unlike some other decades, namely the sort of Y2K fashion that is coming back into style signified by tight low-rise jeans that look good on exactly no one. Boohoo, by the way, says that the Oughts are our third most searched-for fashion decade, coming in behind the 1990s.

And, it turns out, we arent alone in our love of the 80s (search terms). The Boohoo research found that 36 out of the 50 available states searched most for 1980s fashion terms. That includes Oregon, of course, but also a diversity of states like California, Texas, Pennsylvania and Florida.

What does this all mean, in an existential sense? Probably nothing. But was it an excuse for me to go looking through the photo archives for great looks from 40 years ago? Yes, yes it was.

Now, time to spend the rest of the day searching online for the perfect pair of bike shorts to compliment my favorite high-top sneakers.

 Lizzy Acker

503-221-8052; lacker@oregonian.com; @lizzzyacker

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Welcome to this weeks edition of Lets Talk.

As a small business owner, managing your inventory effectively is one of the biggest challenges you might face. Inventory management can result in lost sales, overstocking, increased carrying costs, and reduced profitability. Effective inventory management can be a game-changer for small businesses, enabling them to optimise their supply chain, reduce waste, and improve their bottom line.

In this edition, our expert will share insights on the best ways for small businesses to manage their inventory effectively. Through their expertise and experience, they discuss practical advice and solutions that can help you streamline your inventory control, minimise costs, and maximise profits.

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Shaun Broughton, Managing Director, APAC and Japan, Shopify

Shaun Broughton, Managing Director, APAC and Japan, Shopify

few things are more disheartening for consumers than wanting to make a purchase and seeing their desired item is out of stock. Your business loses out on a sale and may even lose brand loyalty in the process. So for business owners, knowing what you have on hand, whats selling, and when to reorder a product are critical aspects of a well-oiled operation.

Whether youre a new business or opening yet another retail store location, you should strive to remove human error with inventory management software. And, if you run your business with Shopify, its already built in to help you:

Improve accuracy . Eliminates manual recordkeeping, which improves accuracy, and allows businesses to more easily keep records and streamline operations.

. Eliminates manual recordkeeping, which improves accuracy, and allows businesses to more easily keep records and streamline operations. Improve integration . Integrates inventory data with other systems, like accounting, to cut down on input errorsby eliminating duplicate data entry and minimising manual data entryand centralising important information.

. Integrates inventory data with other systems, like accounting, to cut down on input errorsby eliminating duplicate data entry and minimising manual data entryand centralising important information. Improve efficiency . Makes orders only when stock is low to eliminate the issue of dead stockexcess inventory that may expire or go unsoldand lower the risk of stockouts or overstocking.

. Makes orders only when stock is low to eliminate the issue of dead stockexcess inventory that may expire or go unsoldand lower the risk of stockouts or overstocking. Save time and money. Helps you only buy stock youre fairly certain you can sell and allows business owners to efficiently re-allocate employee resources previously spent on manual processing.

Remember that with a proper inventory management system in place you can help reduce holding costs, improve your bottom line, analyse sales patterns and predict future sales, and prepare for the unexpected. With proper inventory management, your business has a better chance of profitability and survival.

Lindsay Brown, VP of APJ, GoTo

Lindsay Brown, VP of APJ, GoTo

During covid, mass adoption of a range of applications and solutions took place to stay afloat, and now SMBs are left with challenge of continuing to maintain their dispersed inventory, while facing mounting economic pressures.

Moving forward, consolidation of an SMBs inventory will provide a cost effective, and productive solution. GoTos 2023 IT Priorities Report found 82% of Australian SMBs consider consolidation of communication, collaboration, and IT management and support tools an important initiative of the year, with 92% of organisations having planned, completed or currently the process of their consolidating efforts.

Consolidation helps SMB IT teams effectively manage their inventory as it allows for applications that are essential to the organisation to be run on one platform, such as IT support, unified connection and collaboration, and remote monitoring and management. In 2023, SMBs should look to seek out technology solutions that address these multiple needs to bring more ease of use for employees, reduce the burden on IT, and enhance productivity for the business, all with a smaller cost.

Mark Reddy, Head of Growth of Spend Management at Portt, an Advanced company

Mark Reddy, Head of Growth of Spend Management at Portt, an Advanced company

Moving away from paper-based systems and adopting a software program that provides visibility across the supply chain, is the best way for any business to manage inventory effectively. Whilst the actual inventory itself is an important element, being able to also track supplier progress is another essential part for a business to be able to efficiently manage costs across the organisation.

The Portt Supplier Management platform significantly improves cost savings and helps to drive efficiencies. It captures critical data, allows users to categorise and report on suppliers based on a wide range of classifications and can be tailored to assess risks across industries, geographies and government regulations. In a world where supply chains are constantly disrupted, being able to keep track of assessments, approvals, variations and contracts online and in real time, helps a business to better manage or plan for potential disruptions.

Investing in the right software shouldnt be ignored. A supplier management platform makes supplier management easy, transparent and reduces risk. Additional benefits include streamlining cumbersome manual tasks and automating workflows, which leave more time for big-picture decision making and value-adding relationship building.

Tony Heitmeyer, Managing Director, CIBIS International and XPECT

Tony Heitmeyer, Managing Director, CIBIS International and XPECT

Our best advice is to build in automation and digitised inventory control, ideally integrated with your accounting solution and customer records. Look for a platform that is designed to help SMEs accomplish operational efficiencies across the business.

Imagine if you could have a real time snapshot of everything about your inventory: what is on backorder, whats going to be delivered and when, what is in transit, what has been paid for, how many customers typically order a given product in a given period, plus what stock you have and where it is.

The proper management of inventory, informed by combining data from across your business and tracking of sales, trends, and more will help you to identify what to order, when and why.

If you have multiple staff managing orders, if youre selling goods with barcoded price tags (or should be), and if youre experiencing a good sales turnover on a lot of different items, then this kind of investment will yield efficiencies that will save time and money. If you have multiple outlets, warehouses or a mobile team of staff to supply with stock, you have more compelling reasons to modernise your inventory management in this way.

David Carbines, Co-founder and CEO, Cogsflow

As we tie a bow on Easter theres barely time to catch your breath before thinking about the end of year  BFCM and Christmas / NY. Heres three pointers for every business:

Review sales forecasts and merchandise planning

After you close the March quarter, re-forecast total sales, category share splits, and SKU quantities required across your range. Amongst all the SaaS tools, Shopify, Dear / Cin7, and Inventory Planner are the most common with our clients. Figure out your working capital requirements

From your payment terms to suppliers and credit terms to customers, you can estimate the amount of cash to make it run. Understanding this working capital requirement / ratio is different from profitability  Phil Knights Shoe Dog is a great example of a profitable business that still needed capital to grow. Get close to your suppliers

Both to ensure supply security and explore more generous payment terms. Smaller orders tend to get bumped, so make sure youre aligned about how to be fully stocked before November.

We started Cogsflow to help small businesses act big. Cogsflow embeds the cost of

finance to inventory. Please let our team know if we can help.

Paul Soong, Regional Director, ANZ, e2open

To manage inventory effectively, it is important to understand and accurately forecast demand. Inventory managers will need to rely on data like record of historical sales and market trends for accuracy. Together with this data, inventory managers will need to consider external factors like weather conditions, the health of the economy and changes in demand so they are equipped with the necessary information to make optimal decisions backed by data.

It is also crucial for inventory managers to audit stock levels regularly. Businesses can easily identify any errors and waste with the appropriate software. This can be done seamlessly and be embedded as a business practice. Alongside this, businesses will also need to implement quality control inspection to minimise potential waste and ensure the products are up to standards. This will require the businesses to accurately document critical elements like ordering and invoice matching. At the same time, small businesses will also need to anticipate potential disruptions and should therefore prepare a risk management strategy to secure supply and mitigate risks.

With proper inventory management measures and practices, small businesses will be able to optimise costs and maximise sales opportunities.

Julia Ewert, Negotiation and Sales Strategist, Julia Ewert

Julia Ewert, Negotiation and Sales Strategist, Julia Ewert

Maintaining and growing a small business requires proper sales process. Before upselling, cross-selling or discounting, small businesses need to introduce a proper sales process.

Upselling and cross-selling is best done when there is trust and a connection with the customer and discounting should be a last resort. Discounting can make a small business look desperate and is tantamount to cutting corners and the best small businesses grow and thrive on relationships and trust.

The key mistake most small businesses make with their sales strategy is they dont have a sales process and it should be part of their business model. Define your sales process so employees understand what your company does and how it does it. The sales manual should identify all the steps for staff to follow and include key stages in the sales cycle such as ideal customer and follow-up.

Successful small businesses follow a sales process. If smaller businesses want to be able to better predict and forecast their revenue, they need to use a systematic sales process. The reality is small business wont close a deal on their first phone call, meeting or approach. It takes an average five to 12 value-adding follow up phone calls after a proposal to close a deal.

Every conversation with your potential customer should be an investment in the relationship. When starting a small business there are no quick fixes and its about genuinely investing in the relationship to ultimately win customers and contracts that will increase revenue.

Taylor McPhail, Director of McPhails Furniture

Taylor McPhail, Director of McPhails Furniture

Count and remember, count and remember! As we grew our business from around $300k holding stock to over $5m holding stock we simply had to count and remember! We now have a reasonably basic system which keeps count for us but, in our game, I dont think there is any easier way. We have invested over $200k in the past to find the best suited system but none of them have worked as well. I guess if you want to have your own successful business, it really comes down to living and breathing what you do which means knowing your stock. Knowing your stock and watching it daily will give you the best effective management of it.

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The four-hour drive from Portland to Milton-Freewater, Oregon, is worth every minute once you see those beautiful Blue Mountains.

Besides panoramic views, Umatilla Countys Milton-Freewater is home to Ducleaux Cellars and The Rocks District of Milton-Freewater American Viticultural Area. The Rocks District is aptly named, given the softball-sized basalt cobblestones that fill its vineyards.
Australian drone technology startup Aerologix has announced its expansion into international operations with the launch of its platform in New Zealand.

The platform will connect pilots with clients in need of aerial capture services, allowing pilots to register through the Aerologix web or mobile app available on both iOS and Android platforms.

The platform offers a wide range of services, including high-quality aerial footage and photos for social events, event and marketing requirements, and enterprise solutions such as asset inspections, technical imaging requirements, digital twins, terrain mapping, and photogrammetry.

The move is aimed at tapping into New Zealands growing demand for aerial capture services, particularly in the tourism and construction industries. The platform provides an efficient and cost-effective way for businesses to obtain aerial capture services, as clients can easily search for pilots based on their location and experience.

With its launch in New Zealand, Aerologix is taking its first step towards international operations with plans to expand to other countries in the future. As the demand for 3D imaging technology continues to increase, the company is set to become a leading player in the growing drone services market both domestically and internationally.

Australian drone technology startup Aerologix was established in 2019 by Tom Caska, a former Qantas pilot, and Rakesh Routhu, an IT expert. The two founders met while pursuing their MBAs and decided to create a platform that would connect pilots with clients in need of aerial capture services.

Since its inception, Aerologix has experienced significant growth and now boasts over 10,000 registered pilots on its platform. The companys success can be attributed to its ability to cater to a diverse range of industries, including surveying, infrastructure, renewables, telecommunications, and construction.

In addition to its partnerships with companies such as Clean Up Australia, Aerologix has also established itself as a leading provider of enterprise solutions for asset inspections and technical imaging requirements. Its platform offers a range of services, including high-quality aerial footage and photos for social events, marketing requirements, digital twins, terrain mapping, and photogrammetry.

Australian drone industry takes off

The drone industry in Australia has experienced remarkable growth over the past few years, and it shows no signs of slowing down. With applications in various industries such as agriculture, mining, film and television, and infrastructure inspection, drones have become valuable tools for businesses and individuals.

In 2016, the Australian government introduced new drone usage regulations, making it easier for businesses and individuals to operate drones commercially. This has resulted in a rise in drone-based services such as aerial photography and surveying, crop monitoring, and medical deliveries to remote areas.

Australian startups have been at the forefront of the drone industry, offering a range of services and technologies. Market research shows that the drone industry is expected to generate revenue of US$92.23m in 2023 and grow annually by 2.92 per cent from 2023 to 2028. Although China generates the most revenue in this industry, with US$1,394.00m in 2023, Australia is also expected to see growth in the industry. In terms of per-person revenue, Australians can expect to generate US$3.50 in 2023.

The drone segment is also expected to see an increase in volume, with an estimated 190.30k pieces by 2028. In 2024, the industry is projected to show a volume growth of 7.6 per cent. On average, each person in Australia is expected to own 0.01 pieces of drones in 2023. These figures demonstrate the growing demand for drone technology, with both individuals and businesses recognising the benefits and potential of using drones for various applications.

Aerologix Co-Founder and CEO Tom Caska say, Drone photography has quickly become a must-have for businesses, especially those in regions with vast landscapes as well as urban environments, such as New Zealand. Aerologix offers pilots the opportunity to work on a variety of aerial photography projects, allowing them to showcase their skills in a range of sectors.

Aerologix Co-Founder and COO, Rakesh Routhu say, We are looking forward to welcoming New Zealands drone pilots to experience our award-winning platform and apps for projects and airspace information that is currently being used by pilots in Australia every day.

Aerologix is celebrating the launch of its platform in New Zealand by hosting an exciting drone footage competition. The competition boasts a total prize pool of NZD$5,000 and will be open from April 17th to May 24th, inviting pilots to showcase their skills and creativity. Every week, a new theme will be announced via the Aerologix web app, and the judges will select the most impressive footage that meets the criteria.

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Astrophysicist Dr. Marcia Rieke was welcomed back to Midland after more than 50 years away by a crowd of not only local astrophiles, but also her high school graduating class.

Rieke presented at the Midland Center for the Arts on Tuesday evening on the near-infrared camera (NIRCam) on the James Webb Space Telescope, a camera she helped to create. The NIRCam is used to study infrared light from the earliest galaxies that cannot be seen by visible light telescopes, like the Hubble Space Telescope.

Rieke graduated from Midland High School in 1969 before attending the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She joined the University of Arizona in Tucson in 1976 as a postdoctoral researcher.

Dr. Rieke used the presentation to explain why the project was needed and the data that it has produced, especially with the knowledge that it cost $10 billion and took 20 years to launch.

This gives you a first-hand glimpse at why observing wavelengths other than what your eye can seeis important, she said.

Rieke displayed a number of images taken by the telescope throughout her presentation, including a perfect star image, a galaxy cluster, the best view of Neptunes rings taken so far and more.

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She emphasized the differences between visible light cameras and NIRCam by comparing images taken by both. NIRCam photos are more crisp and clear and can show distant galaxies in the background that cameras like that on Hubble cannot.

Galaxies photobomb almost every image, Rieke joked.

One photo of a galaxy cluster - the deepest infrared image of the universe so far - was unveiled by President Joe Biden at a White House briefing in July 2022. Rieke said she was pretty sure that it was the first time since the Apollo Program that a president highlighted a space project.

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Rieke said the successful launch of the telescope and the beautiful data it has produced are just what people needed after a couple crummy years.

It reminds us that there is more in the universe than COVID-19 and pandemics and all kinds of yucky stuff, she said. We all needed some good news.

The new project for Rieke and her team is to find the most distant galaxies. She explained that the universe is constantly expanding, so these distant galaxies are always moving farther away from Earth. She said its like painting dots on a balloon and then inflating it and watching the dots move farther away from each other.

However, because the JWST can see infrared light, it can capture images of galaxies much closer to the Big Bang than what a visible light camera can see. This means images from JWST can show galaxies that existed before Earth.

Light from some galaxies shifts out of what Hubble can see, she said.

The Webb telescope can also show spectacular phenomena from the Milky Way galaxy. Images show Auroras - Northern Lights - on Jupiter, clear views of the rings around Neptune and clouds on Uranus.

JWST data is fabulous, Rieke said. Its better than we predicted.

The presentation was attended by members of Midland Highs 1969 graduating class and by many residents of the area that are interested in the space telescopes. One family, the Yezaks, attended to expose their daughter, Mari, to a female scientist.

We hope to inspire her, whether this is a field that would interest her or just to pursue her own passion like Marcia, said Maris mother, Megan Yezak.

Mari, 13, attends Jefferson Middle School and has a passion for singing and dancing.

The Yezaks enjoyed the presentation as something that was both interesting and easy to understand.

She inspired us I think and yet didnt lose us in the physics, Megan said.

The family was appreciative that the Center for the Arts is offering more opportunities geared towards women this year. Kate the Chemist gave a performance there on Feb. 24.

We really felt it was an advantage for our daughter, Joe said. As we saw today, a majority of the people going up and asking (Marcia) questions were men. I think its extremely important these days to really emphasize that women are also in science.
As construction season approaches, the City of Midland Engineering Department has released a schedule of road construction projects from May through October.

The projects consist of water main replacements, street reconstruction, mill and fill and crack filling/chip seal.

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Projects starting in May

Poseyville Road and St. Charles Street will begin water main replacement in May, which is estimated to be complete in July. The initial estimate for this project was $765,150, but City Engineer Matt Lemon said the bid price was $612,843.

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Hamilton and Hancock drives from Clay to Jay streets will have street reconstruction and water main replacement beginning in May and ending in September. These two projects were combined into one contract for cost savings.

The initial estimate was $910,290, but due to the unpredictability of cost and availability of some water main pipe, the low bid was for $1,007,799.80. Ample funds are available and budgeted to cover that extra amount, according to Lemon.

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Patrick Road from Waldo to US-10 will have street reconstruction from May through September. Similar to the Hamilton and Hancock projects, the initial estimate was for $803,880, but unpredictable material cost and availability resulted in a low bid of $866,627.

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The exact streets to be included in the Surface Treatment Program have not been determined, but the estimated cost for the program is $375,000. That program will run from May to September.

Projects starting in July

Water main installation will take place on Michigan Street from Washington to Walnut streets, and on Helen Street from Manor Drive to Noeske Street from July to September. The contract for this project was awarded to Crawford Contracting, Inc. from Mount Pleasant for $302,904.

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Street reconstruction on Ashman Street from Swede to Waldo avenues will take place from July to October. This project was also awarded to Crawford Contracting for over $1.3 million. The construction will include the removal and replacement of drainage structures, curb and gutter, and sidewalks and driveway approaches within the project limits.

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Crawford Contracting will perform street reconstruction on Tennessee and Kentucky streets from Maryland to Ohio streets, and on Hines Street from Ashman to Fitzhugh streets from July to October. These projects will cost $709,755 and will include replacement of sanitary and storm sewer lines and leads, along with associated structures, and replacement of curb and gutter, sidewalk and sidewalk ramps and driveways along with their approaches within the project limits.

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Roadway reconstruction of Canterbury Drive from Greenbrier to Lawndale and of Dina Street from Rapanos to Wyllys will also take place from July to October. These projects will cost $458,932 and will include reconstruction of storm and sanitary structures and curb, gutter and sidewalk replacements within the project limits.
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From hour to hour, from moment to moment, we are supported, blest, by small kindnesses. - F.W. Robertson

Artist Norma Boeckler and historian Floyd Andrick share their random acts of kindness in todays Midland Remembers. We all have our own voice when we write. Here are their remembrances told in their own voices. Our sincere thanks to both.

Norma Boeckler: The kindness of Ed and Maryann Gibson

I was still living at the farm on Brooks Road for my first year at Midland High School. When I started my sophomore year, everything seemed to be going well. But in the early part of the year, students were required to buy their own work books.

When I mentioned this to my stepmother, she became disturbed and said: I dont have money for work books, maybe you could find a job. I did not pursue the subject, but wanted to finish high school. I decided to go and talk to the assistant principal, Ula Martindale.

After I told her the situation at home, she suggested that if I wanted to work for a family doing housework, I could get room and board and a small allowance each week. Ula Martindale gave me some names to call.

I looked over the names that Miss Martindale gave me and called the Edward Gibson residence, and made arrangements to walk over to their house during my noon lunch break at Midland High School.

I talked with Maryann Gibson and she described what my duties would entail. I agreed that I could perform all those duties, and I was hired.

I had plenty of duties to perform, and one of them that I enjoyed in the kitchen was putting the dishes in the dishwasher. While I did this, I always turned on the radio and listened to Eddie Arnold.

One day, when Mr. Gibsons mother was visiting from California, she walked through the kitchen and heard the music and said, You are going to have to learn to cultivate your taste in music.

After years had gone by, the Gibsons went to California to visit Mrs. Gibsons sister, and while they were there, the Gibsons were invited to an Eddie Arnold concert. When they arrived back home, Mr. Gibson called me at my apartment and said, Wow, that Eddie Arnold is very talented and can sing almost any type of a song.

The Gibsons treated me like one of the family, and I would go with them on vacation to their cottage at Houghton Lake.

Mr. Gibson offered to pay for my college expenses, but I said I would rather work and pay for them myself.

When Walter Boeckler and I were married at St. Johns Lutheran Church in Midland, Ed and Maryann Gibson gave our rehearsal dinner at their home and the next day attended our wedding.

The Gibsons moved to Clare in their retired years. Mrs. Gibson passed away before her husband. When Mr. Gibsons health was failing, he called and said he wanted to see me one more time before he passed away. Walt and I visited him and a week later attended his funeral.

Looking back, I remember the Gibsons and the years I stayed with them. As an artist, I have received many rewards for my work. I had a one-woman show in Australia. I also spent two weeks in Japan with a group of artists from this area, where my paintings were exhibited. But with all that has been a part of my life, I especially remember the kindness of Ed and Maryann Gibson.

Floyd Andrick  Al Prewozniak and Mrs. Grace Dow

Twenty-some years ago, I enjoyed conducting tours of the Herbert and Grace Dow home on West Main Street. Caregivers of the home were Al and Kay Prewozniak, who resided in what was formerly the maid's quarters.

On one occasion after conducting a group tour, Al and I engaged in conversation. He shared a story with me that was so touching that I've often shared it with others.

Al related that when he was 10 years of age, the Dow home was on his route for delivering the Midland Daily newspaper. Grace Dow was Al's favorite customer as she generously tipped him 25 cents each week, which was the same as the newspaper cost per week.

Al specifically remembered one cold wintry day when it was snowing and blowing as he made his rounds to deliver the newspaper. When he arrived at the Dow home, Grace Dow invited Al inside to get warm. She prepared a cup of hot chocolate for him and then she left the room for a few moments. While Al sat at a little table in the kitchen sipping his hot chocolate, Grace soon returned and chatted with him about school and his interests.

When the wind swept a cloud of snow down past the kitchen windows, Grace suggested that Al best get on with his route before the weather got any worse. Al finished the hot chocolate, and when he stepped out of the kitchen door, there was Grace Dow's limousine at the foot of the steps. The driver opened the door of the big car and urged Al to get in. He was then driven the remainder of his route and delivered back to his home on Eastman Avenue.

Such an act of kindness and caring illustrated the graciousness of Grace Dow.
The United States is prioritizing protecting human rights as a central pillar in U.S. foreign policy. To help reach this goal, the United States and Albania co-hosted a UN Arria-forumla meeting to draw attention to systematic and widespread human rights abuses in the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, or North Korea.

In the meeting, U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield discussed how Kim Jong Uns regime fundamentally suppresses North Koreans rights of freedom of expression, religion, and movement, both inside and outside of the DPRK.

These behaviors are egregious and violations of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she said.

Speaking out against these injustices within North Korea can result in being sent to political prison camps. The DPRK continues to hold 80,000 to 120,000 people in these camps. Prisoners are subjected to further human rights abuses such as starvation, torture, gender-based violence, and inhumane conditions, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield.

At the Arria, Joseph Kim, a North Korean defector, recounted his experience living in the DPRK before escaping:

I saw my father die of starvation when I was 12 years old  I lost my mom to a North Korean prison, so I went from having a loving family to being homeless.

Such testimonies shine a spotlight for the world, noted Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. For every horrifying story we hear, there are countless stories that we will never hear that will never see the light of day. This, of course, is by design.

North Korea does everything in its power to hide its atrocities from the outside world, said Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield. But time and time again, they have failed.

We've all seen the evidence, including the U.N. Commission of Inquiry report, and many since, of the DPRKs systemic, widespread and gross human rights abuses, she said.

We will continue to speak out against the DPRK human rights abuses and threats to international peace, said Linda Thomas-Greenfield. They may be able to shut down the voices of the people in DPRK, but they cannot shut our voices down.
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Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the son of one-time presidential hopeful Bobby Kennedy and nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, officially announced his bid to run for president of the United States as a Democrat.

Kennedy made the announcement at the Boston Park Plaza in Boston. Last week he filed the appropriate forms showing his intent for candidacy.
The following list includes recent reports from the Midland County Sheriffs Office and the Midland Police Department. Compiled by reporter Tereasa Nims.

Tuesday, April 18

10:01 p.m. - A deputy was sent to a Lee Township home for a report of a subject who was heard walking and talking around the caller's house. The unknown subject left when the caller called for her dogs. The area was checked, but the suspicious subject was not located.

8:14 p.m. - A deputy responded to a Homer Township residence for a 16-year-old boy leaving his home without permission. A deputy spoke with the 16-year-old, who agreed to come home.

8:16 p.m. - Deputies were contacted by a 46-year-old Midland woman regarding a possible criminal sexual conduct that occurred in Lee Township. The case is under investigation.

5:12 p.m. - A deputy was dispatched to the law enforcement center regarding a runaway child. The deputy spoke with a 42-year-old Larkin Township man, who reported that his 15-year-old daughter skipped the end of the school day and never returned home. Midland County Sheriff Myron Greene said the girl has been located.

4:21 p.m. - A 54-year-old man was taken to the ER for a mental health evaluation after making suicidal statements at a Lee Township location. A mental health petition was completed.

3:14 p.m. - A deputy and Lee Township Fire responded to a car fire in Greendale Township. There were no injuries, and a crash report was completed.

More Information Activities of the Midland County Sheriff's Office and Midland Police Department on April 18, 2023 See More Collapse

3:00 p.m. - Police responded to S. Saginaw Road and Washington Street for a property damage crash.

1:41 p.m. - A 36-year-old man contacted the sheriffs office regarding a vehicle that his estranged 34-year-old wife turned over to his parents. The woman also has a personal protection order against him, so he is unable to communicate with her. The man was advised on laws regarding marital property. The deputy was unable to contact the man's wife.

2:25 p.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Mills Township residence regarding a delivery driver being bitten by a dog. The driver was transported to the ER for further treatment. An isolation notice was completed and given to the dog's owner.

11:34 a.m. - Police were called to the 300 block of Arbury Place for a parking violation complaint.

9:16 a.m. - A deputy was dispatched to a Midland Township residence to locate a 34-year-old man at the request of the Saginaw County Sheriff's Office. It was determined the man no longer lived at that residence.

8:30 a.m. - A deputy responded to an injury crash in Edenville Township involving two vehicles. A 36-year-old Edenville Township man was cited for driving with a revoked license. A crash report was completed and was forwarded to the prosecutor for review.

8:26 a.m. - Deputies investigated a referral from Michigan Adult Protective Services regarding alleged financial exploitation of a 77-year-old woman in Mills Township. The investigation revealed that the womans estranged husband took money from their joint, marital bank account. The woman now lives with her sister and has opened her own account and is receiving her income streams in this account. The woman was advised that the money removed by her husband would have to be disputed in court. There was no criminal activity.
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JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP)  Indonesias military chief on Tuesday dismissed a separatist group claim that they had killed more than a dozen government soldiers who were searching for a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the rebels in the restive Papua region.

Adm. Yudo Margono and the militarys top brass flew to the region on Monday after initial information said attackers from the West Papua Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, ambushed 36 government soldiers in the hilly district of Nduga in mountainous Papua Highlands province.

Rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom said in a statement on Monday that his group's fighters were holding the remains of 12 soldiers, including nine who he said were arrested and executed. The rebels offered no proof to back up their statement.

Margono confirmed only one fatality and said four other soldiers were missing. The rest returned to their post, he said. Five were wounded and were in stable condition and evacuated to a hospital in Timika, a mining city in neighboring Central Papua province.

Im here to find out directly and accurately from our troops on the ground about the exact situation, so that we can evaluate our (rescue) mission for the pilot, Margono told a news conference in Timika.

The soldiers were part of a group searching for Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot for the Indonesian aviation company Susi Air who was abducted by the rebels in February.

Margono said that soldiers who survived the shootout told him the rebels had used civilians including women and children as a human shield during the assault, making the troops hesitant to return fire and resulting in them being cornered.

I really regret that, Margono said. They have used methods that should not be done in a war.

Sambom said in an earlier statement that the rebels carried out the attack in retaliation against Indonesias massive military operation in Papua and the killings of two rebels in a shootout with security forces last month.

Margono rejected the rebel claims as fake news and said the military operations in Papua were launched with a view to keep casualties at a minimum. However, he said that authorities will increase pressure on the rebels around several separatist strongholds, including in Nduga.

The military activities in Papua have raised concern among rights group who say the security approach that had been implemented by Jakarta for decades has proven unable to resolve violence in the region.

Amnesty International Indonesia called for prioritizing dialogue with the separatists to prevent potential human rights violations and a larger humanitarian crisis.

This will not only increase the risk to the safety of civilians there, but also the New Zealands pilot who is still being held hostage, said Usman Hamid, the executive director of the group.

The rebels in February stormed a single-engine plane shortly after it landed on a small runway in Paro and abducted its pilot. The plane initially was scheduled to pick up 15 construction workers who had been building a health center after the rebels threatened to kill them.

Authorities will continue to prioritize a peaceful approach for the release of Mehrtens, Margono said.

The fighting is the latest in a series of violent incidents in recent years in Papua, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Conflicts between indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common.

Papua was incorporated into Indonesia in 1969, after a U.N.-sponsored ballot that was widely seen as a sham. Since then, a low-level insurgency has simmered in the region, which is divided into five provinces since last year to boost development in Indonesia's poorest region.

Rebel attacks have spiked in recent years, with dozens of rebels, security forces and civilians killed.

Data collected by Amnesty International Indonesia showed at least 179 civilians, 35 Indonesian troops and 9 police as well as 23 independence fighters were killed in clashes between rebels and security forces between 2018 and 2022.

___

Find more AP coverage of the Asia-Pacific region at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific
Cotonou, Benin (PANA) - Benin has launched a crusade against the economic exploitation of children, through the campaign "Zero tolerance for child labour"
Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Oana Andrei)

An Ohio mom found her lost toddler in public without having to yell her kid's name. How did she do it? She sends thanks to a parenting tip she found in TikTok.

Mother and wedding photographer at Rushville Krista Piper posted a video in her TikTok account last March 24 recalling their family's visit to this "giant science museum," the Center of Science and Industry in Columbus, and narrated how she lost one of her two kids while they were at the museum play area.

Her three-year-old daughter, Lily, was going to and fro between the various exhibits in the play area when she suddenly lost track of her after talking to another mommy in the area whose little boy was playing with her son.

At first, she tried looking for her daughter but to no avail. Worry started creeping in as it was the first time she lost one of her kids in her seven years of parenting. She started to call out her name but stopped when she remembered a parenting tip she got from a Tiktok video a year ago.

"Right after I started calling her name, a little light bulb went off in my head that I remembered a TikTok that I had seen probably over a year ago. It was of a mom who had lost her kid in, I believe, a grocery store, and instead of yelling out the kid's name, she yelled out the description of what her child was wearing, and she was able to find her kid way faster," Piper explained.

Yell What the Kids Are Wearing Instead of Their Name

And that was exactly what the mother of two did, she immediately switched from calling out Lily's name and started yelling what her daughter was wearing at that time - a pink Minnie Mouse shirt.

Piper knew that people around her thought she was "a little crazy," but she did not budge and went on until she heard other moms in the museum play place repeating the description she was yelling.

Eventually, someone spotted Lily. Another mother shouted back, "Little girl. Pink shirt. Minnie Mouse," and that caught Piper's attention. She then saw her little missing girl and confirmed that the girl was her daughter, Fox News reported.

Piper then realized that Lily went missing for only a minute and a half, yet it was like the longest time of her life.

Piper was just really grateful that she found that parenting tip on TikTok and knew what she needed to do when the incident transpired. She then encouraged other parents in her video to "raise your voice" and yell out descriptions if they lost their kids or pets, assuring them that they'll find them faster.

"I probably looked like a crazy person, but it got the job done. I found my kid really fast versus me just looking by myself or just coming up to groups of parents and [being] like, 'Hey, have you seen a girl with a pink shirt? You know, three years old,' because that's probably what I normally would have done," the mother expressed.

Read More: Lose a Child in Public? Mom Shares Helpful Tips on What Parents Need to Do

Parenting Tip To Find Lost Child

Piper told the news outlet that she immediately created her almost four-minute TikTok video , which has since gone viral for being viewed more than 598,000 times, to keep parents informed, knowing how she greatly benefitted from the TikTok video she saw a year ago. It was her way of paying it forward.

Fellow moms and her followers on TikTok were "largely impressed" with Piper's video and expressed their gratitude for sharing the tip.

"To be honest, if I hear someone calling a kid's name I don't really think they are 'lost.' Yet someone who starts call[ing] descriptions, I [100%] would look," one commenter declared.

In 2021 and 2022, another TikTok user, Jessica Lyn Martin (@jesmartini) made international headlines for sharing the same parenting public service announcement. Her videos garnered millions of views.

Recently, Martini took to Instagram and uploaded the video of Piper side by side with a new video of hers simply instructing her followers to listen to what her co-mom is saying.

"This is a video that every parent, guardian, caregiver, anyone who is regularly responsible for children should see...because I have made this version of a video several times and each time it has made international news for saving children's lives," she captioned her post.

Related article: 5 Genius TikTok Mom Hacks You Should Know About
Coal returned to the global online conversation in 2022 with over a million mentions a month - an increase of almost 12% compared to 2021. While between 2020 and 2022, carbon-related mentions increased by 130%. This all comes against the backdrop of the changing online conversation where consumers have increased the use of urgent language such as climate crisis' and climate action', which have overtaken global warming' as a talking point.

These findings are according to BayWa r.e.'s The Decade That Matters 2.0' study, which surveyed 3,000 business leaders and policymakers across Europe, the UK and the US, and used a suite of social listening tools to analyse evolving public discourse online.

The direction of travel is clear: businesses are transitioning to renewable energy. However, when it comes to fully achieving that transition, 57% of business leaders believe it won't happen until 2050 or after, and almost one in ten (8%) think the transition will never be fully achieved. This is in contrast to policymakers, with over a third (35%) believing it will be achieved during the 2030s, and only 11% saying after 2050. As the world increasingly experiences the impacts of the climate crisis and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) makes repeated calls to aim higher and move faster, timing is fundamentally crucial.

"Two years on from the first The Decade That Matters' study, and its sentiment is more relevant than ever. The impacts of the climate crisis are being felt globally, and this crisis does not care about recessions, policies, borders or the speed at which humanity can adapt," said Matthias Taft, CEO of BayWa r.e.

"The survey shows recognition of this urgency amongst the public, policymakers and business leaders. The war in Ukraine has simultaneously been a catalyst to speeding up the renewable transition, while also increasing short-term reliance on fossil fuels. While the direction of travel is clear, pace is crucial and any delay risks seeing the climate crisis exacerbated. While the transition has now sped up, fast is not yet fast enough."

Finger-pointing dominates the European landscape

Policymakers and business leaders not only differ in their views on the timing of the renewable transition but also about the biggest barriers to realising net zero. Globally, business leaders cite a lack of support from government (34%) and government policy (29%) as delaying the journey to net zero. While policymakers believe public understanding (35%) and the speed at which businesses can adapt (35%) are the biggest issues. However, 42% of business leaders and 33% of policymakers are in agreement that cost is a major barrier.

Changing sentiment is driving action

The Decade That Matters 2.0' report also shows a growing change in online sentiment around climate change through its social listening findings. In the first report, mentions of net zero' were shown to have more than quintupled between the years of 2015 and 2019. In the three years since, they have done so again - a significant rise in what is a far shorter amount of time.

In 2021, there was also a noticeable shift around the term climate crisis' which overtook global warming' as a talking point, peaking at over 2.5 million online mentions. While in 2022, sentiment shifted once more, with overtly negative mentions of net zero' doubling in comparison to 2018.

These changes around public understanding are undoubtedly influenced by seismic shifts in world affairs - ones that indicate a move from awareness to urgency. While continuing to evolve, they also show growing impatience with the current pace of change. The opportunity to take the action necessary to avert the most catastrophic effects of the climate crisis is still there, but that window is rapidly closing as the initial impacts of the climate crisis are felt globally.

BayWa r.e.'s The Decade That Matters 2.0':

BayWa r.e.'s The Decade That Matters 2.0' report is the result of research conducted on behalf of BayWa r.e. by Censuswide at the end of 2022, surveying over 3,000 business leaders and policymakers across the US, UK, France, Germany, Italy and Spain.

Alongside the research are insights into the conversations around climate change, compiled using Brandwatch social listening tools which helped analyse the state of play on a macro level, then drawing insights from over a billion mentions of key phrases online.

BayWa r.e. AG (BayWa r.e.):

At BayWa r.e. we r.e.think energy - how it is produced, stored and can be best used to enable the global renewable energy transition that is essential to the future of our planet.

We are a leading global developer, service supplier, distributor and solutions provider and have brought over 5 GW of energy online and manage over 10 GW of assets. We are also an Independent Power Producer with an expanding energy trading business.

BayWa r.e. works with businesses worldwide to provide tailored renewable solutions. Operating 100% carbon neutral, we are also committed to our own sustainability journey.

Every day, we are working hard to actively shape the future of energy in a diverse, equitable and inclusive workplace.

Our shareholders are BayWa AG, a 27.1 billion global business, and Energy Infrastructure Partners, a leader in energy infrastructure investment.
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Texas authorities seized a Black couple's newborn baby because the parents chose a midwife to treat their baby over a hospital.

On March 21, Dallas parents Temecia and Rodney Jackson chose to do a home birth for their newborn daughter, Mila, with the help of licensed midwife Cheryl Edinbyrd. Three days after the birth, the parents took Mila to see their pediatrician, where they learned that the baby had developed a case of jaundice, a very common condition for newborn infants, which usually goes away in a week or two even without treatment, according to Jezebel.

Dr. Anand Bhatt, the pediatrician, stated that baby Mila's case for jaundice was severe enough that she needed to be taken to the Baylor Scott & White Hospital in Dallas to undergo phototherapy treatment. However, the Jacksons opted once again to do the treatment in the safety of their home under the supervision of their midwife, which they disclosed to their pediatrician. They even informed him that they would supplement Temecia's breast milk as he had recommended and provided him with their midwife's contact number.

Due to their decision, Bhatt wrote a letter to Dallas Child Protective Services, expressing his concern that they had "the wrong lights for the treatment." He further stated that he was reporting the situation because the family was not responding to him after numerous failed attempts to contact and make an appeal to them.

"Parents are very loving and they care dearly about their baby...Their distrust for medical care and guidance has led them to make a decision for the baby to refuse a simple treatment that can prevent brain damage. I authorized the support of CPS to help get this baby the care that was medically necessary and needed," the letter stated.

'They had stolen my baby'

After a few days, the Jacksons narrated how the Dallas police officers and CPS agents arrived at their residence around five in the morning. They were informed that their pediatrician had reported them and demanded they turn their baby Mila over.

They refused to give their daughter to the group, and the latter eventually left, only to return after a few hours, announcing that Mila was now under the legal custody of the Dallas CPS. The Jacksons once again firmly refused and asked for help from their midwife.

Their midwife reached out to Bhatt, informed him how traumatized the parents were, and gave her credentials as he requested.

"He pretty much said he was going to leave our care and our midwife teams," Temecia said Thursday at a press conference at The Afiya Center, a Dallas-based, Black-women-led birth and reproductive justice organization.

Unfortunately, the real horror was just about to happen.

On April 4, the authorities returned while Rodney was walking their dog outside their home. After refusing once again to surrender their daughter, the police placed him under arrest and got his keys, which they used to open the house. They then immediately seized Mila from her mother while she was alone.

The legal team representing the Jacksons pointed out a flaw in the authorities' process - the affidavit they used to justify the legal custody of CPS listed the wrong mother. The name placed was of a different woman with a criminal record for child neglect, WFAA reported.

"Unlawfully, [they] entered my home to take my baby from me. Instantly, I felt like they had stolen my baby, as I'd had a home birth. I didn't know where to turn," Temecia expressed, fighting back tears.

Read More: Illinois Should Stop Charging Parents for Foster Care, Says Jeffery Leving

US Family Policing System

As of April 6, baby Mila remains in the foster home, under the custody of Dallas CPS, which The Afiya Center has equated to a "kidnapping."

The first hearing was supposed to be scheduled last April 6, yet it was postponed to April 20.

The case caught the attention of Dorothy Roberts, a University of Pennsylvania law professor, and activist.

According to her, the case of the Jacksons reflects the family policing system, "a structurally racist apparatus that disproportionately separates Black and Indigenous children from their families, one that traces its origins to chattel slavery," as described by The Guardian.

"This form of state intervention and family separation is the common experience for Black children in America. Children are taken on grounds of neglect where there isn't any evidence of severe abuse. We could imagine a better way of dealing with the families' and the children's needs without resorting to this traumatic intervention of seizing children. We shouldn't think of them as aberrant cases," explained Roberts, the author of Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families - and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World.

Related Article: Homeschooling Becoming the Choice of Black Families
Photo: (Photo : Getty Images/Frazer Harrison)

The actress is releasing a line of playhouses in partnership with her childhood besties and her kids as built-in focus groups.

Amanda Seyfried has a new business venture and it will surely transform the kids' play area to "make it cute."

The Emmy and Golden Globe award-winning actress has teamed up with two of her closest and oldest girlfriends, Anne Hoehn and Maureen North, to build and release a line of children's playhouses, with the brand name "Make it Cute."

They describe their new playhouses as a "creative kingdom with a conscience," as more than it is aesthetically pleasing, parent-friendly and durable, it is earth-friendly - made with "recycled and recyclable materials."

The business was given birth through many pandemic Zoom calls and online wine bondings with her friends of 30 years and whom she grew up with since she was five years old in Allentown, Pennsylvania. Since they have become mothers together, they have been discussing the "chaos that grew exponentially" at home with the kids and the family.

One day, they brainstormed about how they can make their homes a calmer space.

"Anne was building these giant playhouses out of whatever big boxes would come to her house, and we were like, how do we build that? How do we build something like that for all of us, where we can store toys and give our kids that playhouse that they want?" Seyfried narrated, stating how that was the start of a business that made them even closer as friends and mothers.

Her kids as prototype testers

When the new playhouses finally came to life, the actress "recruited" her two kids, six-year-old daughter Nina and two-year-old son Thomas, to test out the prototype.

"My kids love playing in it. They just want to go and explore and make their own space. Sometimes I'll look away and I'll come out in the living room and I'll be like, where are they? And they're both in the house ... and they're playing nicely," the mom of two shared with People magazine.

Seyfried shares her two kids with husband Thomas Sadoski, whom she has been married since 2017.

When asked how her kids take the fact that their mother is a Hollywood star, she shared that it is entirely different for each child.

Her son still cannot fathom how she can be present both at home and on the TV at the same time. His reaction becomes sad when he sees her on TV because he immediately connects it to his mom being away from home, when she is just beside him. He still cannot make sense out of it, "and it shouldn't," the actress declared.

Her daughter, on the other hand, understands very well what her mother's work entails. She misses her when she's out for shoots but she beams with pride over her mother being seen on TV.

Seyfried describes her as a "natural-born actor."

She expressed, "She's not working, but I know in my bones that this is what she is. She's a performer. Will she do it as a career? Who knows?"

Read More: Amanda Seyfried Set For Motherhood Long Before Welcoming First Baby With Thomas Sadoski

Parenthood 'more enjoyable' with husband

The actress loves being a parent, especially that she gets to do it alongside her husband. She shared that he "makes parenting even more enjoyable."

"Yesterday, I looked at my husband Tom and said 'God, that was good parenting. You stopped [the behavior] with your tone,' then I came in ... it was a gorgeous moment'," the Mamma Mia star told the news outlet.

When asked what her husband and family thinks of this new season of her life - being a full-time wife, mother, actress and now a businesswoman, she said that they are "very supportive. She further explained that her life is chaotic in some ways, yet she has found peace in her home and in her life.

For the meantime, Seyfried is focusing on the new business venture with her besties, stating that she cannot wait to grow the business with them as their kids grow together as well.

In an Instagram post she made two weeks ago, she announced their new endeavor and honored her childhood friends at the same time by posting a photo of the three of them and captioning it with a beautiful message, "Magic is starting a company with your two childhood best friends. Reality is your children getting to experience said magic along with you (and a space to create their own)."

Related Article: Amanda Seyfried Reveals Reason Her Daughter Cried After the Actress Won the Emmy
Photo: (Photo : Pexel/Polina Tankilevitch)

Teens in some United States middle and high schools have been abusively taking ADHD medication, a new study reveals.

More than one out of four American teens divulged that they have abused and misused prescription stimulants for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during the past years, CNN Health reported.

According to Sean Esteban McCabe, lead author of the research and director of the Center for the Study of Drugs, Alcohol, Smoking, and Health at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, their study is the first to look at the "nonmedical use of prescription stimulants" by middle and high-schoolers in a national level. Alarmingly, they found a "tremendous, wide range of misuse."

"In some schools, there was little to no misuse of stimulants, while in other schools, more than 25% of students had used stimulants in nonmedical ways," revealed McCabe, a professor of nursing at the University of Michigan School of Nursing.

'Major wake-up call'

Nonmedical uses of ADHD medications include having more than the normal doses just to get high or taking prescription stimulants along with alcohol or other drugs to boost a high, as discovered by an older study published in the National Library of Medicine journal.

Dr. Deepa Camenga, pediatrician and associate director of pediatric programs at the Yale Program in Addiction Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut, also revealed that students abuse medications to survive academic pressure and stress.

They "use a pill that someone gave them due to a sense of stress around academics - they are trying to stay up late and study or finish papers," Dr. Camenga expressed.

She further stated that ADHD medication abuse was known to be happening in colleges. However, now that the new study discovered the same abuse happening in middle and high schools as well as "a major takeaway of the new study."

Another major thing, McCabe proclaimed, is that their study is also "a major wake-up call" for parents, schools, and the government.

Read More: Parents Unaware that 1 in 10 Teens Use 'Study Drugs' Without Prescription

Parents Need To Step Up

The new study, published in the journal JAMA Network Open Tuesday, analyzed a collection of data gathered between 2005 and 2020. Questionnaires were distributed to over 230,000 teenagers under eighth, tenth, and 12th grades in 3,284 secondary schools nationwide.

"We know that the two biggest sources are leftover medications, perhaps from family members such as siblings, and asking peers, who may attend other schools," McCabe further revealed.

New statistics might have just confirmed the result of the latest research as prescriptions for stimulants increased at ten percent in 2021 among most age groups. In fact, it was also this year that the country experienced a shortage of Adderall, one of the most popular ADHD drugs, which led to many patients unable to fill and refill their prescriptions.

When asked about the solution to this alarming concern, McCabe emphasized what should not be done - limiting use of the medications for kids who are really in need of them.

"Instead, we need to look very long and hard at school strategies that are more or less effective in curbing stimulant medication misuse. Parents can make sure the schools their kids attend have safe storage for medication and strict dispensing policies. And ask about prevalence of misuse - that data is available for every school," McCabe explained.

He also encouraged parents and caregivers to always ensure that controlled medications are stored in a lockbox. They should also not be afraid to count the pills and keep up to date on early refills.

"Finally, if parents suspect any type of misuse, they should contact their child's prescriber right away. That child should be screened and assessed immediately," the doctor stressed.

Related Article: Adderall Shortage: Its Impact and What You Can Do
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Patently Apple first reported on Apple green lighting an 8-part drama titled "City on Fire" back in late June 2021. Then we discovered an Apple company called "Apple Video Programming LLC" last weekend in the U.S. Patent and Trademark database. The service lists the trademark filings for all up and coming or past Movie or TV+ series names. We highlighted "City of Fire," as it was one of the latest that Apple Video Programming listed with the U.S. and Hong Kong databases. Today, Apple TV+ released the trailer for "City on Fire."

A music-driven tale and family saga, the City on Fire" series will make its global premiere on Apple TV+ with the first three episodes on Friday, May 12.

For those that are Series-Bingers, you'll be able to watch the entire series on June 16, 2023

In City on Fire, an NYU student is shot in Central Park on the Fourth of July, 2003. Samantha is alone; there are no witnesses and very little physical evidence. Her friends band is playing at her favorite downtown club but she leaves to meet someone, promising to return. She never does. As the crime against Samantha is investigated, shes revealed to be the crucial connection between a series of mysterious citywide fires, the downtown music scene, and a wealthy uptown real estate family fraying under the strain of the many secrets they keep.

Chase Sui Wonders stars as Samantha, and Wyatt Oleff plays Charlie, a friend of Samantha's who is struggling to cope with the death of his father on 9/11 two years earlier. After Samantha is shot, he stops at nothing to unravel the mystery of what happened.

Stunning First-Look Teaser for Season 2 of "Prehistoric Planet

(Click on image to Greatly Enlarge)

Apple TV+ today shared the first-look image and teaser for the second season of award-winning natural history series Prehistoric Planet, from executive producers Jon Favreau and Mike Gunton and BBC Studios Natural History Unit (Planet Earth), narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Set to debut globally in a five-day, week-long event on Apple TV+ starting on May 22, 2023, the new episodes transport viewers millions of years in the past to discover our world  and the dinosaurs that roamed it  all in extraordinary detail. This teaser traverses the globe to a land before our time, using the latest scientific research and stunning visual effects to bring audiences never-before-seen species on-screen, including notable dinosaurs new this season:

Isisaurus  An Indian sauropod (long-necked, plant-eating dinosaur) that made their home in an extreme volcanic region known as the Deccan Traps, laying eggs in volcanic heated terrain.

Pectinodon  A fierce hunter and fond parent, this bird-like North American feathered dinosaur was part of the troodontid family. A sharp-clawed, long-legged predator, it was an adaptable hunter, its teeth and jaws suggesting that many sorts of small animals would have been on the menu.

Quetzalcoatlus and Hatzegopteryx  The biggest creatures ever to soar the skies, these gargantuan pterosaurs (prehistoric flying reptiles) were the size of a giraffe or small aircraft and are some of Prehistoric Planets most charismatic characters. And many more!

Prehistoric Planet combines award-winning wildlife filmmaking, the latest paleontology learnings and state-of-the-art technology to unveil the spectacular habitats and inhabitants of ancient Earth for a one-of-a-kind immersive experience. The series is produced by the world-renowned team at BBC Studios Natural History Unit with support from the photorealistic visual effects of MPC (The Lion King, The Jungle Book) applied to concept art created by Jellyfish Pictures (The Book of Boba Fett, Spirit: Untamed). Prehistoric Planet season two continues to bring Earths history to life like never before as the series presents new dinosaurs, new habitats and new scientific discoveries while taking viewers around the world in an epic five-night adventure. With new dinosaurs like the Tarchia, one of the largest Ankylosauri, to returning fan-favorites like the Tyrannosaurus rex, and many more, "Prehistoric Planet returns with an all-new season of prehistoric wonders.

Archive: Apple TV News
Pagans and witches arent the only ones who sense something big is coming.

If you dont know what Im talking about, read this post from last month titled The Great War in the Otherworld and in this World. Also read the links to the other writers who are seeing the same things. For a slightly different perspective, listen to this proto-podcast by Seo Helrune (I wasnt able to play it in my browser  I had to download it and listen to it with the Windows Media Player).

But its not just us.

I got up yesterday morning and saw an article on the Patheos Evangelical channel titled J. Richard Middleton Prepares Us for the End Times! Now, Evangelicals talking about end times is nothing new. But theres also this piece from Religion News Service called Is this when we disappear? Rapture triggers haunt the Left Behind generation. Everybody on the right seems so concerned for the welfare of children (cough  bullshit  cough), but sermons about rapture and tribulation and eternal hellfire were traumatizing for me as a kid and nobodys talking about making them 18-plus only.

UU minister and Zen Buddhist priest James Ishmael Ford has Some Zen Words for End Times. This one is quite good and I encourage you to read it. It has some historical context for Christian apocalyptic prophesies and it has some very good advice, courtesy of Jan Seymour-Ford: Respect your tools. And everything you know is a working hypothesis.

I could go on, and on, and on

Maybe this is just a high point of random activity. Maybe its always there and I just happen to be looking straight at it. Maybe it has something to do with todays solar eclipse (one that very few people will be able to see).

Or maybe other people are sensing the same things were sensing and theyre interpreting it through their own religious traditions.

Apocalyptic prophecies are always wrong

Its important to pay attention to the wider trends and movements in our world and between the worlds. But its even more important to frame them in the context of our Pagan and polytheist religions. For our own good we need to avoid getting caught up in the apocalyptic fever of a religion we walked away from (or for a few lucky souls, that you never belonged to in the first place) because it didnt ring true.

The tentacles of end times doctrines can linger in your subconscious long after your conscious mind has abandoned them and moved on. For those who have yet to fully exorcise them, its important to realize two things.

First, while the belief that Jesus will return to this world someday dates back to the earliest Christians, the idea of rapture and tribulation only began in the 1830s. Catholics and most Mainline Protestants reject it. The prophecies of Revelation are anything but clear, and a straightforward analysis points toward it being inspirational literature for those oppressed by the Roman Empire in the early years of the Christian movement.

More importantly, this is only one of many apocalyptic prophecies, a trend that began 3500 years ago in Zoroastrianism. Over those 3500 years, these prophecies have been wrong Every Single Time. They persist because of how they make people feel while theyre contemplating them. Their believers feel good thinking that their enemies will be punished, and they feel great imagining how theyll be able to say they knew it was coming all along.

That theyre always wrong doesnt matter. The payoff is in the fantasy.

The wind is blowing in an unfriendly direction

There will be no rapture and tribulation. But that doesnt mean things arent going to get worse.

And it doesnt mean we cant tell which way the wind is blowing.

19th century Unitarian minster Theodore Parker said the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice. Unfortunately, it doesnt bend consistently, and were in a period where powerful people are trying to bend in back in the direction of injustice.

Tennessee. Missouri. Florida. Texas. An economic system that helps the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. Vladimir Putin, Viktor Orban, and a host of wannabes in the United States.

Do I need to go on?

This is all real, and its here, and its now.

But while the Great War that some of us are sensing has a political component, it is first and foremost a spiritual conflict.

More than two sides

On one side are those who promote life, freedom, and fulfillment for all, both human and other-than-human. On another side are those who crave power and control, who see strict hierarchy as the natural order of things  with themselves at the top of the hierarchy, of course. There are several factions of the Fair Folk, who want to take back what was theirs before the expansion of humanity drove them Underhill  and who want to make sure their side comes out on top. There are those Morgan Daimler calls Basdan, those who seek to unmake all things.

What, you thought this was Team Red vs. Team Blue? Team Jesus vs. Team Richard Dawkins?

When is life ever that simple?

And this is all taking place while  or perhaps, because  the currents of magic are stronger than theyve been in several millennia.

Pay attention, take good notes, and act

Whatever is going on, its no longer just Pagans, polytheists, witches, and other magical people who are noticing it. People in other religions and other cultures are seeing the same things we are, theyre just interpreting them and expressing them in the context of their own foundational assumptions and working beliefs. Thats worth noticing, and its worth monitoring going forward.

I repeat what I wrote last month: Living Well is Also the Best Battle Strategy. Take care of you and yours. Be who and what you are, and what youre called to be. Cultivate joy where ever you can. Build your skills, both magical and mundane.

Be an engaged citizen without losing your soul to the 24/7 news and outrage machine.

In addition to trying to live well (and thus keep my sanity), Im doing my best to pay attention to whats going on. Every story is another data point, and the more data points we can get, the better job we can do of understanding whats happening and how we can best respond.

How many sides are there and what are they all trying to do? Who are our friends? With whom do we have common cause? Who can we trust?

Im also trying to build my own skills. Im exploring off the map again, to see what I can find, and to see what I can learn. Ill share my notes once Ive got enough to create a meaningful narrative. Dont look for them any time soon  this is a long term project.

The world is not ending: keep moving

An apocalypse is in the air, the currents of magic are growing, and the wind is blowing in an unfriendly direction. But the world is not ending: not naturally and not supernaturally. We dont get off that easy. Whatever is coming, we have to live through it, work through it, and when necessary, fight through it.

And then clean things up and start building again.
A Robots Dream: The Zen Teacher Goes Ego Surfing

The latest in ego surfing is asking Chat AI for a bio sketch. A colleague just did it. Found out he was an Anglican priest, although he was pretty sure hed spent the past thirty years as an English Unitarian minister. And it had him as the author of a book hed never heard of. Otherwise it was mostly right. So, I did it, too. Used ChatGPT, which you can sign on to for free. I like mine, although its only about seventy-five percent accurate:

James Ishmael Ford is an American Zen teacher, Unitarian Universalist minister, and author. He was born on June 17, 1948, in Oakland, California. He grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area and attended San Francisco State University, where he studied philosophy and religion.

(I was born in July. My father led us around the country, usually ahead of some problem or other. I was born in Oakland, and my High School years were in the Bay Area. In my thirties I attended Sonoma State University, where I earned a degree in psychology)

Ford first encountered Zen Buddhism in the late 1960s while attending a lecture by Shunryu Suzuki, the founder of the San Francisco Zen Center. He began sitting zazen, or Zen meditation, and later became a student of Taizan Maezumi, the founder of the White Plum Asanga.

(Im a great admirer of Maezumi Roshi, but I became a student of Houn Jiyu Kennett, later founder of Shasta Abbey.)

In 1980, Ford was ordained as a Zen priest by Maezumi and received dharma transmission from John Tarrant. He went on to serve as a co-abbot of the Boundless Way Zen sangha in Worcester, Massachusetts, and later as the senior minister at the First Unitarian Society in Newton, Massachusetts.

(I was ordained a Zen priest by Kennett Roshi in 1969. I later received Inka shomei from John Tarrant. Newton is one of the churches I served. There are others. Most notably the First Unitarian Church of Providence, where I received the honor of being designated minister emeritus.)

Ford has written several books on Zen Buddhism, including Zen Master Who? A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen, If Youre Lucky, Your Heart Will Break: Field Notes from a Zen Life, and Introduction to Zen Koans: Learning the Language of Dragons. He is also the editor of The Book of Mu: Essential Writings on Zens Most Important Koan.

(True facts. Wanna buy one?)

In addition to his work as a Zen teacher, Ford is also a Unitarian Universalist minister and has served as a chaplain in the U.S. Army Reserve. He currently lives in Long Beach, California, with his wife, Jan Seymour-Ford, who is also a Zen teacher.

(Ive not had the honor of serving as a military chaplain. Today we split our time between Long Beach and Jans mothers home in Tujunga.)

All fun. And I suppose there are some serious questions in there, should one be interested in digging into them. The whole thing with artificial intelligence, not least of them. But, also, it invites a reflection on our ideas of self. Who are we? What are we? Our memories? Other peoples memories of us?

A robots dream?
Zen, God, and Doubt: Encountering the Mystery

James Ishmael Ford

Theres a lovely meme that floats around on social media. The words are by Rachel Held Evans. It goes:

This is what Gods kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And theres always room for more.

Evans was a very interesting person. A journalist, columnist, blogger, and author of several books. She was only 37 when she died unexpectedly in 2019 from an allergic reaction to treatment for an infection. She was a public Christian who, well, very publicly moved from Evangelicalism to the Episcopal Church.

A center of her spirituality was a profound commitment to uncertainty. Journalist Emma Green in her obituary of this remarkable woman, called her a joyful troublemaker. Methodist minister and academic Jim Burklo wrote how she appealed so strongly to evangelicals, especially women, who grew frustrated with the misogyny, homophobia, and anti-intellectualism pervading that Christian subculture. Reviewing a book posthumously compiled by her friend Jeff Chu, Burklo writes:

I could not help wondering, as I read the book, how her theology would have evolved further had her life not been cut so short. She was well on her way to being a formidable intellectual. In the book, she admitted that as far as shed gone in her embrace of progressive theology and practice, she was far from having all the answers to her still-burning questions about the faith. What to make of the creeds? Just who or what are we talking about when we talk about God? For someone who came so far so fast, it is alluring to consider just how much farther she could have gone  and we with her.

What if is one of those delightful things we humans like to do. Its also something of a red herring, allowing us to chase after ghosts of one sort or another. For me the important thing about her is how as a Christian she wholeheartedly embraced doubt as a spiritual discipline.

Searching around I found a couple of things she said about doubt. Doubt is the mechanism by which faith evolves and matures. Its the only way we can slough away false fundamentals that obscure (and sometimes poison) the gospel. If embracing that means I celebrate doubt, then let me be the first to offer a toast. Elsewhere I found a quote attributed to her first book, Doubt is a difficult animal to master because it requires that we learn the difference between doubting God and doubting what we believe about God. The former has the potential to destroy faith; the latter has the power to enrich and refine it. The former is a vice; the latter a virtue.

An interesting parsing.

And, me. I believe if we dont doubt God, we cannot be faithful. It is not a vice. It speaks to the heart of the matter. But, also, it isnt a complete question. Because, as she said, doubts a difficult animal. In my own life my first great existential question, birthed long before I knew the word existential was Is God Real? It took me on a path that was very painful, and very important. An honest read of the scriptures shows the God of the Hebrew texts evolved. Its not a leap to say there are different Gods through the different strata of the scriptures.

So having integrity, engaging the world honestly, doubting Gods very existence feels to me to be critical. Faithfulness, as I find it, is to the truth. Truth, of course, is a slippery beast. It might be a face of the divine. But Ive also seen that word stand in for some very unlikely things. Ive also seen how the more unlikely someones Truth, the more inclined the holders of that truth are to violence in defense of it.

Truth often is more an icon for what one already believes rather than whats left after assertions are put to various tests the rational mind can conjure. For me Truth seems to demand some connection to the world that has been revealed through that scientific method. Otherwise its just mind bubbles. And, as I noted, adherents to a simply asserted truth can be dangerous people. But people have been investigating the world and its truths for a while now. And. What is reveal as true if not Truth is weird, really weird. But it also shows patterns. And within those patterns things emerge.

Like us. And with that our minds.

Its pretty obvious, again, as I see it, that all animals have minds. Animals problem solve, they also have opinions, at least they show likes and dislikes. But our particular human gift, such as it is, is that we know were alive, and we know were going to die. As an aside, what we know of Koko the signing gorilla has something of an eye of the beholder quality to it, but it does appear she understood she was alive and that she was going to die. So maybe even that twin knowing isnt uniquely human. But we write books about it. We compose songs. And we tell ourselves stories. Theres where we find a certain human universality. Our mortality. And our attending to what it can mean. Tberes a truth. Not, perhaps, the Truth. But this cannot be ignored in the pursuit of that capital T.

Out of that what I find is that for humans along the way, the real question, that more universal question is one question, but it has two parts. Why am I alive? Why do I die? Or, what is this life and death thing?

And.

God becomes one of the possible answers to that question. God is an assertion about the why of things. And all of a sudden that God, the one which has evolved, and actually theres a further step past the only God, to a God that is everything. An interesting assertion.

Now, for me, I actually found the question, the first question, my burning question was Is there a God? My vice. And a burning one. And. Can I say, of course. It was totally bound up with my question about life and death, and with that of meaning and meaninglessness. Good stuff for the adolescent heart. Not fun. Not nice. But good.

It drove me forward. It launched me on a quest.

And after I realized that I dont believe in the God of contemporary Christianity (nor of Judaism in its most mundane form, nor of Islam), that didnt mean I was done with God. It was just I was done with what I think of as the cheap God. The big human in the sky God. Many of my friends are content with that answer. There is no God. And move on to other things.

But there are other things that the word God points to. That in the west God evolved, suggests to me that we humans have used the word to capture not only our deepest hopes and fears, but also what weve found within our deepest explorations.

And I realized in rejecting the most unlikely use for the word God, that big human, only one facet of the question was resolved. For me. Without knowing it God became my koan. Koans are a spiritual discipline within the Zen tradition. From outside they can look like non sequitur. And the frame for that burning question of meaning, of life and of death, was What is God? A framing of Rachel Evans virtuous question, I believe.

If God is not a big human in the sky, what is God?

God and Gods kingdom, to use Jesus preferred term, seem to be the same thing to me. Or, if not one thing, not two either.

And thats where Rachel Held Evans and I seem to find commonalities. Why that quote captured me. And so deeply.

This is what Gods kingdom is like: a bunch of outcasts and oddballs gathered at a table, not because they are rich or worthy or good, but because they are hungry, because they said yes. And theres always room for more.

Something in there. Something in that.

What in Zen is called a full presentation. And. A pointer to the koans answer. Practice. Preparing. And Doing. And, if you will, finding.

What does it look like? Something very intimate and personal. While at the same time, wildly bound up with others.

Found in hunger.

Found in yes.
The Minister for Works and Housing Francis Asenso-Boakye has cautioned against the inappropriate ways of disposing off solid waste in drainage channels as the country braces itself for the onset of the rainy season.



Despite the successes chalked in the countrys flood management programme, Asenso-Boakye said the rate at which people continue to dump refuse into pathways of drainage buffers undermines governments efforts to mitigate flood risk in communities, noting that citizens have to be more circumspect in managing household solid waste and desist from using drainage channels as rubbish dumps.



The sector made these statements when he addressed the press on issues relating to flooding as country braces itself for the rainy season yesterday in Accra.



Asenso-Boakye said the safety of communities especially those in flood-prone areas should be a shared responsibility, adding that it is incumbent on citizens to support governments efforts by desisting from indiscriminate disposal of solid waste into drainage channels to reduce their capacity to hold storm water.



The Minister for Works and Housing therefore called on chiefs, community leaders, civil society groups and the media to support governments efforts in controlling floods. We can all do so by highlighting incidents of construction in waterways so appropriate state authorities could act promptly while educating the public on dangers of building in waterways and improper disposal of solid waste.







Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The ESOP 2023 Offer is implemented in Australia, China, Colombia, Germany, France, India, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and United States. Approximately 90% of the Group's workforce will have the opportunity to participate.

The offer is proposed as part of Technip Energies' Group Savings Plan (PEG) and International Group Savings Plan (PEGI). It will be conducted via a share capital increase, up to the maximum of 1.5% of the share capital, within the limit of the total subscription amount of 30 million. New shares will bear immediate dividends entitlement and will be fully assimilated to existing shares as from their issuance (ISIN code: NL0014559478 TE).

Terms of the offering

Eligible employees will have the possibility to subscribe to the following formula:

" ESOP Classic ", where the subscriber benefits from a discounted price and a matching contribution.

", where the subscriber benefits from a discounted price and a matching contribution. "ESOP Leverage", where the subscriber benefits from the protection of the personal contribution, and the greater of either (i) a guaranteed minimum return over the investment period, or (ii) a multiple of the protected average increase in the Technip Energies share price.

The subscription price of shares will be equal to the arithmetic average of the volume-weighted average prices (VWAP) of the Technip Energies share on Euronext Paris recorded over the 20 trading days preceding the date of the Chief Executive Officer's decision setting the opening date of the subscription/revocation period, less a discount of 20%.

Shares will be subject to a lock-up period of 5 years, subject to cases of authorized early release events. Shares will be subscribed through a company mutual fund (FCPE) or, in certain countries, directly by employees.

Voting rights relating to shares held in the "T.EN Shares France" and "T.EN Shares International" FCPEs following subscriptions in the "ESOP Classic" and "ESOP Leverage" formulas will be exercised by Supervisory Boards of the FCPEs.

Voting rights relating to securities held directly following subscriptions in the "ESOP Leverage" formula for certain countries of the scope as well as for shares issued for the purposes of hedging operations will be exercised by the subscribers.

The "ESOP Leverage" offering implies implementation, management and settlement of hedging transactions by the bank that structures this formula, it being understood that such hedging transactions can take place on the market or off-market, through purchase and/or sale of shares, purchase of call options and/or any other transactions carried out at any time, in particular during the period of determination of the subscription price, and on the entire duration of the employee share plan.

Indicative schedule for the offering

Reservation period: from June 5 to 21, 2023;

Subscription/revocation period: from August 2 to 7, 2023;

Share capital increase: September 19, 2023.

These dates are indicative and may be modified following events affecting the implementation of the offering.

International warning

This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or an invitation to subscribe for Technip Energies shares. The offer is strictly reserved for beneficiaries mentioned in this press release and will be implemented only in countries where such a transaction has been registered or notified to competent local authorities, or in consideration of an exemption from the requirement to draw up a prospectus or to register or notify the offer. This press release is not intended for countries where the offer remains subject to approval by competent authorities.

More generally, the offer will be made only in countries where all required registration procedures and/or notifications have been carried out and where necessary authorizations have been obtained.

About Technip Energies

Technip Energies is a leading Engineering & Technology company for the energy transition, with leadership positions in Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG), hydrogen and ethylene as well as growing market positions in blue and green hydrogen, sustainable chemistry and CO2 management. The company benefits from its robust project delivery model supported by extensive technology, products and services offering.

Operating in 35 countries, our 15,000 people are fully committed to bringing our client's innovative projects to life, breaking boundaries to accelerate the energy transition for a better tomorrow.

Technip Energies is listed on Euronext Paris with American depositary receipts ("ADRs"). For further information: www.technipenergies.com.

Important Information for Investors and Securityholders

Forward-Looking Statement

This release contains "forward-looking statements" as defined in Section 27A of the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the United States Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Forward-looking statements usually relate to future events and anticipated revenues, earnings, cash flows or other aspects of Technip Energies' operations or operating results. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "plan," "intend," "foresee," "should," "would," "could," "may," "estimate," "outlook," and similar expressions, including the negative thereof. The absence of these words, however, does not mean that the statements are not forward-looking. These forward-looking statements are based on Technip Energies' current expectations, beliefs and assumptions concerning future developments and business conditions and their potential effect on Technip Energies. While Technip Energies believes that these forward-looking statements are reasonable as and when made, there can be no assurance that future developments affecting Technip Energies will be those that Technip Energies anticipates.

All of Technip Energies' forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties (some of which are significant or beyond Technip Energies' control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from Technip Energies' historical experience and Technip Energies' present expectations or projections. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements.

For information regarding known material factors that could cause actual results to differ from projected results, please see Technip Energies' risk factors set forth in Technip Energies' filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, which include amendment no. 4 to Technip Energies' registration statement on Form F-1 filed on February 11, 2021.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties and speak only as of the date they are made. Technip Energies undertakes no duty to and will not necessarily update any of the forward-looking statements in light of new information or future events, except to the extent required by applicable law.
A soundtrack of explosions, a skyline dominated by bitter, black smoke, a daily existence of fear and uncertainty as bullets, rockets and rumours fly.



Life in Sudan's capital, Khartoum, and in many other parts of the country, has taken a sudden, very dramatic turn for the worse.



At the heart of it are two generals: Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).



The two worked together, and carried out a coup together - now their battle for supremacy is tearing Sudan apart.



The relationship between the two goes back a long way.



Both played key roles in the counter-insurgency against Darfuri rebels, in the civil war in Sudan's western region that began in 2003.



Gen Burhan rose to control the Sudanese army in Darfur.



Hemedti was the commander of one of the many Arab militias, collectively known as the Janjaweed, which the government employed to brutally put down the largely non-Arab Darfuri rebel groups.



Majak D'Agoot was the deputy director of the National Intelligence and Security Services at the time - before becoming deputy defence minister in South Sudan when it seceded in 2011.



He met Gen Burhan and Hemedti in Darfur, and said they worked well together. But he told the BBC he saw little sign that either would rise to the top of the state.



Hemedti was simply a militia leader "playing a counter-insurgency role, helping the military", while Gen Burhan was a career soldier, though "with all the ambitions of the Sudanese officer corps, anything was possible".



The military has been running Sudan for most of its post-independence history.



The government's tactics in Darfur, once described by Sudan expert Alex de Waal as "counter-insurgency on the cheap", used regular troops, ethnic militias and air power to fight off the rebels - with little to no regard for civilian casualties.



Darfur has been described as the first genocide of the 21st Century, with the Janjaweed accused of ethnic cleansing and using mass rape as a weapon of war.



Hemedti eventually became the commander of what could be described as an offshoot of the Janjaweed, his RSF.



Hemedti's power grew massively once he began supplying troops to fight for the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen.



Sudan's then-military ruler, Omar al-Bashir, came to rely on Hemedti and the RSF as a counterweight to the regular armed forces, in the hope that it would be too difficult for any single armed group to depose him.



In the end - after months of popular protests - the generals clubbed together to overthrow Bashir, in April 2019.



Later that year, they signed an agreement with the protesters to form a civilian-led government overseen by the Sovereign Council, a joint civilian-military body, with Gen Burhan at its head, and Hemedti as his deputy.



It lasted two years - until October 2021 - when the military struck, taking power for themselves, with Gen Burhan again at the head of the state and Hemedti again his deputy.



Siddig Tower Kafi was a civilian member of the Sovereign Council, and so regularly met the two generals.



He said he saw no sign of any disagreements until after the 2021 coup.



Then "Gen Burhan started to restore the Islamists and the former regime members to their old positions", he told the BBC.



"It was becoming clear that the plan of Gen Burhan was to restore the old regime of Omar al-Bashir to power."



Mr Siddig says that this is when Hemedti began to have doubts, as he felt Bashir's cronies had never fully trusted him.



Sudanese politics has always been dominated by an elite largely drawn from the ethnic groups based around Khartoum and the River Nile.



Hemedti comes from Darfur, and the Sudanese elite often talk about him and his soldiers in pejorative terms, as "country bumpkins" unfit to rule the state.



Over the last two or three years, he has tried to position himself as a national figure, and even as a representative of the marginalised peripheries - trying to forge alliances with rebel groups in Darfur and South Kordofan that he had previously been tasked with destroying.



He has also spoken regularly of a need for democracy despite his forces having brutally put down civilian protests in the past.



Tensions between the army and the RSF grew as a deadline for forming a civilian government approached, focused on the thorny issue of how the RSF should be re-integrated into the regular armed forces.

Source: BBC









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The National Fisheries Association of Ghana (NAFAG) has started lobbying for the establishment of a Blue Economy Authority.



When set up, the Blue Economy Authority is expected to act as the regulator of all entities carrying out economic activities in the countrys water bodies.



The group tabled the suggestion when they paid a courtesy call of President Akufo-Addo at the Jubilee House Monday evening.



NAFAG Acting Secretary, Richster Nii Armah Amarfio said the industry is currently regulated by multiple ministries and agencies even though their mother Ministry is the Ministry of Fisheries.



That, he said was because, the vessels [used for fishing in Ghana] are the responsibility of the Ministry of Transport and the Ghana Maritime Authority and the Ministry [Fisheries Ministry] is responsible for their licensing but all the processes leading to the issuance of licenses are regulated by different agencies.



It is for this reason, he said I will suggest that we probably look at a Blue Economy Authority because the Blue Economy is becoming an emerging issue and those of us in the fishing industry are getting worried especially with the in-flacks of oil and gas activities.



Our fear is that if we do not manage the Blue Economy as a common entity, we are likely to have a situation of conflict over space and usage Amarfio noted with a genuine concern.



President Akufo-Addo welcomed the suggestion and asked the group to engage the sector Minister to see the way forward.



It is an important discussion and I think we should get on with it because at the end of the day, if your suggestion is the one that makes sense, the Ministry will be the one that will have the ultimate responsibility he admitted.



Engage the Ministry of Fisheries now and put the plans that you think makes sense before them and lets develop the discussion President Akufo-Addo suggested to the association.

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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The Ghana Armed Forces (GAF) have uncovered an illegal explosives manufacturing hub in Tarkwa, Western Region, resulting in the arrest of 13 foreign nationals.



The syndicate, comprising eight Chinese, three Togolese, an Ivorian, and a Nigerian, were found to be producing over 20,000 pieces of illegal explosives, including around 10,000kg of ammonium nitrate concealed in flour and rice sacks.



Most of the ammonium nitrate were concealed in flour and rice sacks, GAF said in a statement.



The explosives were seized on the premises of Mohammed Brothers Company Limited and Dekete Mines in Tarkwa. The GAF conducted the operation with the aim of clamping down on illegal dynamite production and use in mining areas.



The operation . . . was premised on detailed intelligence aimed at clamping down on the manufacture, sale and use of illegal dynamite in parts of the country, especially mining areas, the GAF statement read.



The suspects have been screened and transferred to the National Security in Accra for further investigation.



Community members expressed their concern about the danger the syndicate posed, especially with the current threats from terrorists in the northern border areas of the country.



 . . the operations of the syndicate posed a threat to lives and properties, said one community member who spoke to Daily Graphic.



Community members have since commended GAF for its intervention, as an explosion could have caused catastrophic damage.



A military source warned that ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel can be dangerous, and exposure to its dust can lead to respiratory disease. The source added that the location of the explosives production near a populated area and school posed a significant threat.



It is important to let the public know that ammonium nitrate mixed with diesel tends to be dangerous when there is a blast. Aside from that, exposure to the inhalation of high concentrations of ammonium nitrate dust could lead to respiratory diseases, the military source said.







Source: Ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Jurors in the murder case of the late Member of Parliament for Abuakwa North, J.B Danquah have expressed their intent to withdraw services from jury duties due to a lack of payment for their allowances.



The jurors claimed that they have not received their allowances since March 2022, which has affected their ability to attend court hearings as they cannot afford the cost of transportation.



This presents a challenge to the ongoing trial, which began in 2021, as the court is unable to provide a specific date for the jury's return.



In other news related to the case, the High Court in Accra has admitted caution statements from accused persons Daniel Asiedu and Vincent Dosso, following a mini-trial prompted by objections from their lawyers.



The lawyers argued that the caution statements, which prosecution witnesses had intended to present, were not obtained voluntarily from the accused. However, after hearing evidence from witnesses, including the investigating officer, the court ruled that the caution statements were given voluntarily and overruled the objection.



Justice Lydia Osei Marfo emphasized that the accused persons were not coerced or promised any favors before providing the caution statements.







Source: ghanaweb.com









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When the Revenue Mobilisation Unit of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) began its massive nationwide disconnection exercise in an attempt to recoup millions of cedi debts from both private and public companies, there were doubts if it would be sustainable.



So far, however, the ECG has proven that it was not only kidding with this exercise, as many big names in the public sector, plus some private institutions, have all fallen victim to the non-selective move.



In an earlier GhanaWeb report on March 22, 2023, we took a look at some of the major institutions that had, at the time, been victims of the exercise.



These institutions were the Parliament of Ghana, the Ghana Airports Company, the Ho Airport, the Ho Technical University, the Ghana Revenue Authority office in the Volta region, the B Plus Steel Company, and the Ho branch of KFC.



The list has since shot up substantially, and this article rounds up the list of the more recent ones.



- Ministry of Energy



- Sunyani Magistrate Court



- University of Energy and Natural Resources



- Kumasi Central Police Station



- Accra Digital Center



- 2,000 houses at Koiman-New Site over fake meters



- Official residence of Amansie South DCE over an illegal connection



Meanwhile, a report of April 18, 2022, said that the ECG has so far been able to retrieve half of its total debts after embarking on the nationwide revenue mobilisation exercise.



The ECGs one-month exercise was to retrieve a total of GH5.7 billion from its customers.



The exercise is targeting domestic users, businesses, organisations, ministries, departments, and state agencies for power already consumed from 2022.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Head of Partnerships and API Sales at AZA Finance, Luis Cambronero Perez, is predicting a big year for the local cashlite agenda, with tools such as the e-cedi expected to play a key role as more people continue to see the benefits of direct payments over cash.



Digital payments have grown exponentially over the last decade and despite concerns over the introduction of the e-levy last year, segment leader  mobile money surpassed the GH1 trillion mark, compared to GH902 billion in 2021.



And with the Bank of Ghana (BoG) looking to replicate the spread of mobile money, Mr. Perez believes the central bank digital currency (CBDC) will deepen the use of digital payments.



He also noted that digital payments can help to reduce the cost and inconvenience of handling cash, which can be a significant burden for small businesses and individuals.



"We expect 2023 to be a big year for the cashlite agenda in Ghana. The e-cedi and other digital payment tools are transforming the way people do business, and we believe this trend will only continue to grow as already the benefits of direct payments over cash, such as increased security, transparency, and efficiency are being witnessed, said Mr. Perez.



Last year, the BoG indicated that it had piloted its CBDC with offline capabilities in Sefwi Asafo and other communities, adding that it had been well-received.



At the end of 2022, it was estimated that around 110 countries  representing approximately 95 per cent of the global Gross Domestic Product (GDP)  had developed or were exploring the possibility of introducing a CBDC.



Whilst anticipating regulation to be a key component in the digital transformation drive, AZA Finances Head of Partnerships and API Sales lauded the Bank of Ghana  which recently won the RegTech of the Year award at the Ghana FinTech Awards 2022  for its proactivity.



It is safe to say that irrespective of how much innovation is made over the next few years, regulation will determine the speed of adoption and in the fast-paced world of technology, it could be make or break. That is why we continue to commend the Bank of Ghana for its proactivity without compromising on its oversight duties, he emphasised.



Mr. Perez. also backed recent suggestions that funding to startups on the continent will continue to rise for the foreseeable future, saying Africas young population base should see it emerge as a winner in the tech space.



Young people are the drivers and users of many of these innovative tools and the tide continues to shift in Africas favour. The dynamism and potential of its young people will continue to shine, he said, adding that Ghana, which is a top five destination for fintech funding is poised to benefit significantly.

Currently, over 60 percent of the population in Africa is aged below 25 years. projected that by 2030, young Africans will make up 42 percent of the worldwide youth population, whilst birthrates are declining in Asia, Europe and North America.













Source: Peacefmonline.com









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The Electoral Commission of Ghana has refuted the allegation that it is secretly registering Ghanaians at its headquarters.



Care for Free and Fair Elections Ghana (CARE GHANA) has accused the Electoral Commission (EC) of engaging in secret registration. An exercise they have described as "a breach of the law"



According to them, the EC "is secretly registering voters at the EC head office while we await the passage of the Electoral Commission's C.I. that will establish clear rules and notice of how the voters' registration exercise will be carried out".



A voter registration exercise shredded in secrecy is a significant opportunity to manipulate election results.



"We, therefore, call on the Electoral Commission to immediately halt the ongoing voter registration exercise and provide an explanation for its conduct.



The Director of Electoral Services at the Commission, Dr. Serebour Quaicoe speaking to this in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo' explained the only people who were registered were 5 Ghanaians who were living abroad and missed the opportunity to register.



"If you would recall, the Supreme Court ruled in favour of Tehn Addy and per the judgement, if a Ghanaian living abroad applies to the Commission to be registered, we have to do it. Since then, when they apply we do it for them. The new C.I. has not been passed; we are using the current one which is C.I 91".



According to him, "So far 5 have been registered using the Supreme Court judgement".



"So we are not engaging in any secret registration," he emphasized.



Listen to him in the video below







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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Aspiring Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) Dr Kwabena Duffuor has described an appalling widely circulated video of a converted toilet facility in the Ghana Secondary School (GHANASCO), Tamale into a residential block for students.



To him, the move is as well inhuman and expects the government to take immediate measures to save the shameful situation.



It is heartbreaking and saddening that at this stage in the life of Ghana, after 66 years of Independence, some of our Senior High School children are being compelled to sleep in toilets because of the destruction of school facilities as well as the inability to rapidly replace/repair dilapidated structures.



The inhuman story coming out of the Ghana Secondary School (GHANASCO), Tamale, is nothing short of, sordid. Dr Duffuor said in a statement.



Adding that Under the Administration of President Atta-Mills, and as Finance Minister, we tirelessly worked to efficiently deploy the Ghana Education Trust Fund (GETFUND), and other resources to conscientiously provide a deluge of boarding facilities for existing schools, and also constructed new schools with such facilities.



In as much as we desire to provide our children with free education, we must conscientiously also ensure that our children acquire education in dignity.



While the rod is not being spared vis-a-vis the interdiction of the headmaster, let the Policy Makers honestly work towards providing adequate facilities to support the educational transformation process.



Our beloved Motherland is the only country we have so let us work together to build the Better Ghana we all desire and deserve.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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The Police administration have asked the two major political parties in Ghana, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) and the National Democratic Congress (NDC) to desist from interfering with their job.



According to the police, the political parties should do their politics and allow the Police to do policing.



Police in a statement after a meeting with the leadership of the two parties said that they should do their politics and allow the Police to do policing. We therefore called on them to support us including by criticising us constructively to do a professional job in line with our constitutional mandate.



As we commend the leadership of the two political parties for availing themselves and contributing to the success of the meeting, we would like to call on Ghanaians to help us in our effort to build an independent Police service which will serve the greater good of the Ghanaian people and not the interest of any individual or group of people.



Once again, we wish to assure the public that we remain committed to ensuring peace, security, law and order in the country at all times including before, during and after all elections in the country, the statement said.



The meeting which was called at the instance of the Inspector-General of Police, George Akuffo Dampare was necessitated by press statements issued by the parties and subsequently followed by petitions to the Police Service with each party calling on the Police to arrest certain individuals of the other side for some alleged offences.



At the meeting, both parties were given the opportunity to air their grievances.



The main issue raised by them was in respect to comments by some political actors from both sides of the divide considered to be inflammatory.







Source: Daily Guide









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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John Mahama, aspiring Presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) has tasked supporters of the party to protect the ballot box and stop any moves to disrupt the polls on December 7, 2024.



Addressing branch and constituency executives in the Krachi East Municipality of the Oti Region, he advised them to work hard to defend and stay for the counting of votes.



Former President Mahama, who is seeking to lead the NDC said the party would be vigilant at the polling stations during the elections in 2024 calling for transparency at the end of the results.



He said lessons were learned from the previous elections and therefore extra vigilance was what the party needed to annex power from the New Patriotic Party (NPP).



He tasked the constituency and regional executives to make a commitment to run an effective campaign that would drill down to the branches and make available campaign materials and organizations for them to work.



John Mahama, who is confident of becoming flagbearer of the NDC asked the delegates to support him and the party to win the 2024 elections after the presidential primaries.



He urged all parliamentary aspirants to unite after primaries for the NDC to win the elections.



He was accompanied on the tour by Professor Joshua Alabi, former NDC appointees, former MPs, former Ambassadors, some national executives, and the regional officers.





Source: GNA









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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April 18 recognizes the women and men who power the lives of millions of people across the country

Funding will provide necessary safety equipment to students in technical college and high school programs across the state

For lineworkers, weathering the storm is just another day on the job, a job critical to the building the 21st century infrastructure South Carolina's economy will be built on.

As Duke Energy celebrates National Lineworker Appreciation Day, it's also important to recognize the critical role the state's technical colleges and high schools play in preparing and training the energy workforce of the future. As part of the company's ongoing support for these programs, the Duke Energy Foundation has granted $10,000 to each of the five training sites that are preparing lineworkers with the skills necessary to keep the lights on and ready the grid for a low-carbon future.

"We are transforming the energy grid - making strategic, data-driven investments to improve reliability, use more solar and clean energy and provide customers with the intelligent information they need to make better energy choices and save money," said Mike Callahan, Duke Energy's South Carolina state president. "These investments will reap benefits for many years to come, but we must increase the talent pipeline for lineworkers here in South Carolina today to build the smart-thinking power grid of tomorrow. Programs like these are absolutely critical for us to be successful in these efforts."

The grants will help provide the necessary safety equipment to students as part of their participation in these programs. Recipients include the York Comprehensive High School, York Technical College, Horry Georgetown Technical College, Tri-County Technical College and Denmark Technical College.

Over the past six years, Duke Energy and its Foundation have provided more than $2.8 million in funding to support lineworker programs in states where the company operates.

Battling storms, building the future

Ten years after the U.S. Senate passed a resolution in 2013 designating April 18 as National Lineworker Appreciation Day, the role of lineworkers is more important than ever before - in maintaining and growing energy infrastructure, protecting public safety and making sure communities have power.

"Our lineworkers continue to do the important work of 'keeping the lights on' - whether it's our transmission techs working on high-voltage transmission lines that carry electricity from power plants or our distribution techs working on the lines that carry power to homes and businesses," said Harry Sideris, executive vice president of customer experience, solutions and services for Duke Energy. "I'm proud that our line teams prioritize safety and taking care of our customers and of each other."

The more than 7,700 Duke Energy and contract lineworkers who make up the Duke Energy line team are responsible for constructing, operating and maintaining equipment and more than 300,000 miles of power lines in Duke Energy's service territories - enough to circle the Earth 12 times.

"My job comes with daily challenges and responsibilities for both my crew and me, but I take pride in safely and efficiently delivering power to our customers - so they can go about their lives with the modern conveniences that electricity provides, and that most people depend on," said Joshua Haithcock, senior journeyman lineworker originally from South Carolina who currently is with the New Bern, N.C., coastal zone workforce development crew.

Those interested in a career as an electric lineworker with Duke Energy should contact community colleges directly for more information on their specific lineworker training programs, including available funding for tuition.

A bright day to celebrate

National Lineworker Appreciation Day is April 18, but throughout the week Duke Energy will be sharing special stories in appreciation of lineworkers. Make sure to follow @DukeEnergy and visit facebook.com/DukeEnergy.

To honor lineworkers and their families on social media on National Lineworker Appreciation Day, please use the hashtag #ThankALineworker.

Duke Energy

Duke Energy (NYSE: DUK), a Fortune 150 company headquartered in Charlotte, N.C., is one of America's largest energy holding companies. Its electric utilities serve 8.2 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, Indiana, Ohio and Kentucky, and collectively own 50,000 megawatts of energy capacity. Its natural gas unit serves 1.6 million customers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Ohio and Kentucky. The company employs 27,600 people.

Duke Energy is executing an aggressive clean energy transition to achieve its goals of net-zero methane emissions from its natural gas business by 2030 and net-zero carbon emissions from electricity generation by 2050. The company has interim carbon emission targets of at least 50% reduction from electric generation by 2030, 50% for Scope 2 and certain Scope 3 upstream and downstream emissions by 2035, and 80% from electric generation by 2040. In addition, the company is investing in major electric grid enhancements and energy storage, and exploring zero-emission power generation technologies such as hydrogen and advanced nuclear.

Duke Energy was named to Fortune's 2023 "World's Most Admired Companies" list and Forbes' "World's Best Employers" list. More information is available at duke-energy.com.

Contact:

Ryan Mosier

24-Hour: 800.559.3853
The outstanding leadership of the Executive Director of the Environmental Protection Agency(EPA) Hon. Dr. Henry Kwabena Kokofu, has attracted attention from groups within the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP).



One such group is the NPP Northern Patriots, a group based in Tamale, who are calling on the leadership of the ruling party to consider the former Bantama legislator as a strategic choice ahead of the 2024 elections.



The group believes Dr. Kokofu has distinguished himself very well, both as an MP and the Executive Director of the EPA, since his appointment.



According to the group, Dr. Kokofu "is also endowed with personality; and ticks all the boxes for a major role in ensuring that the ruling New Patriotic Party can break the 8 come December 2024"



The NPP Northern Patriots is of the view that the party would require someone who is untainted and possesses the requisite qualities to attract floating voters, as well as the middle class.



Responding to a question as to why a Northern Group will root for someone other than their own for a running mate, the Spokesperson for the group, Nyaaba Nyanburi, said the group considered competence over any other criteria, stressing that the NPP can only break the 8 with leaders who are competent and appealing to voters.

Source: King Edward Ambrose Washman Addo/peacefmonline.com/ghana









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Sam Dubik Mahama, Managing Director of the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG), is confident no "order from above" will stop him from achieving his goal of collecting unpaid bills from customers.



ECG has embarked on a nationwide revenue mobilization exercise to recover all unpaid bills amounting to GH5.7 billion from its customers.



The exercise, which will last for a month, is targetting domestic users, businesses, organisations, ministries, departments and state agencies for power already consumed from 2022 to February this year.



So far some of the companies that have had their power supply cut include; Ho Airport, Technical Universities, Ghana Airports Company among others.



Meanwhile, there have been some complaints that the exercise lacks a "human face". Reports indicate that there have even been some "order from above" calls demanding that the ECG MD stops the exercise because it's bringing a bad name to the government.



Speaking to this in an interview on Peace FM's morning show 'Kokrokoo', Sam Dubik said: "Everybody has a story to tell; we can't focus on a human face and face challenges. You have used the power and you need to pay. So if you don't pay, you need to be reminded. As for the phone calls (order from above), we won't pay attention to them. Electricity has no party colours . . . we need to stop some of these things . . . "



President's Backing



The ECG MD is convinced that the "order from above" calls won't affect his work because he has strong backing from the presidency.



According to him, "Before I started the exercise, I spoke to the President and he gave me his backing. He told me point blank that I should go for the money. Vice President too same. The kind of support I've received from the President, Vice President, the Chief of Staff, Minister is massive . . . the thing is that no matter what we do, the monies must be paid".



Listen to him in the video below





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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National Organizer of the National Democratic Congress(NDC), Joseph Yamin says the party is ready with its candidate for the Kumawu seat adding that nothing is stopping the party from victory.



Speaking to Abusua Nkomo show host Kojo Bimpong Marfo in Kumasi, Mr. Yamin said, their candidate is going unopposed and is in the driving seat already to win the elections.



The NDC as a party is not going to disqualify anybody, just as its happening in the NPP where they dont know what to do. They are now thinking of disqualifying people etcetera, at least we have not sent a civil servant who will not have to justify through the courts that he can stand for the elections or something like that. Information I have is that the most-touted Dr. Dacosta (civil servant) cannot win the primaries how much more win the elections proper, and when there is a change of government in 2025 he should just sack himself and not think of remaining as a civil servant, he needs to sack himself because he is a politician, he warned.



We have only one candidate and he has satisfied all requirements and he is an unopposed candidate, we have already started working on the ground already, he revealed.



Kojo we will win Kumawu, the gap and figures do not matter. There are constituencies whose figures dont favor the NDC like the Asankragua area with over 7,000 votes but we scaled it with more than 17,000 votes. We need to play our game well coupled with the trust the people have in us, he stressed.



Parliament, before suspending sine die for the Easter holidays, informed the Electoral Commission (EC) of the need to conduct a by-election in the Kumawu Constituency following the death of Philip Basoah, the NPP MP for the area. The EC has set May 23rd, 2020 as the date for the by-election.



The Kumawu MP, the late Philip Bosoah, was 53 years old and was also a member of the Seventh Parliament of the Fourth Republic.





Source: ghanaweb.com









Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority.

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Veteran Ghanaian highlife musician, Gyedu Blay Ambolley has described popular broadcaster and CEO of Nineteen57 fashion brand, Kofi Okyere Darko (KOD) as shallow-minded and a child not worth his attention.



Speaking on DayBreak Hitz with Andy Dosty recently, the Adwoa Amissah hitmaker said he has a lot going on for him as a highlife musician and so people should not pour scorn on his efforts.

I see Okyere Darko as a child. He is shallow-minded, the reason why he said those things.



He said, I am going on an European tour in May next year. My music, Gyedu Blay Ambollleys music and in June, I will be back on tour. So when he sits and talks, can he take his clothes on tour as a designer like the way Im going on tour with my music?



Ambolley added: Can he take his DJ-ing on tour like the way I am going on tour with my music? If these people talk, you know they are shallow minds.



In an interview with Graphic Showbiz last month, Ambolley noted that VGMA had not promoted the interest of highlife music by awarding topmost awards to musicians pursuing other genres.



He also raised concerns about the quality of artistes nominated in the Best Highlife Artiste of the Year category of the awards.



It is unfortunate that people think when you sing in twi or fante over a dancehall or reggae beat it automatically makes it highlife music. That is not true but it has become the norm over the years because these are the kinds of music VGMA rewards, he said during the interview.



An obviously disappointed KOD who did not take lightly Ambolleys comments responded in social media post.



Such nonsense! Which awards scheme has projected our music industry like VGMA since independence? How many have projected our musicians beyond GH. How many have consistently done more than 10 years?



He added, Some of our musicians have failed to evolve and are quick to blame others for their personal mishaps. When was the last time he released an album? He should be blaming some of the radio stations who dont even play our music.



KOD said, When was the last time or how often do you hear highlife on radio? VGMA cause am? People should look at evolving and projecting themselves instead of pointing accusing fingers.



Ambulley should be bigger than this petty comment and should check how he discredits his fellow industry colleagues too. Youre a true celebrity. Dont go this path, sir.



As one of our last of our greats left, this is below him, he added.

Source: asaaseradio.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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A Colombian mayor is receiving heat after a wild video emerged of him dancing almost naked in a nightclub.



The now-viral footage shows Martin Alfonso Mejia, of the municipality of Calima, whipping off his shirt before gyrating his hips in front of stunned party-goers.



The politician can also be seen standing on a bench and pulling his trousers down to show off his bare backside in front of a group of young women.



The video ends with what appears to be another man attempting to hide Mejia's modesty.



His antics, which occurred during Holy Week in what is a largely Catholic nation, didnt go down well with many.

Duvalier Sanchez Arango, a member of Colombias House of Representatives commented: "The responsibility that politicians have obliged us to show exemplary behaviour in public.



"Concerning the inappropriate acts of Mayor Martin Mejia of Calima in Valle, we are calling for a disciplinary investigation by the Attorney Generals Office and the Green Party."



Mejia has since blamed his actions on being drugged at the nightclub, something the venue's boss has vehemently shut down.



It's not the first time Mejia's partying has been the subject of controversy.



Six months ago he appeared to be intoxicated at a festival, where he took to the stage to inform revellers that he was corrupt.





















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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In a bid to celebrate its new partnership with social media influencer Wesley Kesse, Ghana Deluxe Magazine has announced that it will be giving away lunch coupons worth 6,000 cedis to its patrons.



According to a press release issued on Monday, the travel and destination magazine is currently working on creating the ultimate Travel App to appeal to a larger audience and improve the user experience. The collaboration with Wesley Kesse is seen as a critical part of this process.



To enter the giveaway, patrons must download the Ghana Deluxe app and follow the magazine on two social media platforms. The entry period commences on Tuesday 18th April, and the winners will be announced on 22nd April, 2023.



Ghana Deluxe Magazine is a home-grown Ghanaian magazine company that is committed to promoting Ghanaian culture, tourism, travel, and food. With this giveaway, the magazine hopes to increase its reach and engage with a wider audience, ultimately contributing to the growth and development of the countrys tourism industry.

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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A New Jersey man is in a medically induced coma and another is in jail after a fight that broke out at a Pennsylvania hotel on Friday, according to media reports.

Police say they responded around 11:30 p.m. to the DoubleTree Hotel in Monroeville, Allegheny County, after getting a report of a man lying on the side of the road, next to the lobby doors, unconscious and bleeding.

The man, identified as Jerome McCool of New Jersey, was taken to a hospital where he was put on a ventilator and placed into a medically induced coma. A doctor told officers that every bone in his face was broken, according to WXPI.
LEWISBURG  Greed, lies and a cold heart are terms used by a prosecutor in outlining the case against a Union County woman on trial for fatally poisoning her husband.

Senior deputy attorney general Jennifer Buck in her opening statement Tuesday accused Myrle E. Miller, 78, of Millmont, of betraying John E. Nichols.

The jury trial is expected to continue into next week in county court.

Miller is accused of killing Nichols, 77, in 2018 to avoid a divorce if he learned she had drained his money without his knowledge.

Defense attorney Brian W. Ulmer countered, telling jurors his client is neither a criminal nor murderer and they will find the death was an accident.

Miller acted with the consent of her husband when she obtained power of attorney in 2015, he said.

People may not have liked the way she managed her husbands money or the way she acted following his death but its not criminal behavior, he said.

Myrle Miller is escorted from the elevator in the Union County courthouse by two sheriffs deputies following a hearing on pretrial issues. Miller is accused of fatally poisoning her husband in 2018.

Calling 911 and summoning family members as she did are not the acts of a criminal, he contended.

Buck, who is assisting District Attorney D. Peter Johnson in prosecuting the case, outlined in detail how Miller allegedly by deceit and forgery gained control of his money and became the beneficiary of his three life insurance policies.

Power of attorney is not a license to steal, she said.

The prosecution will present evidence that hundreds of checks were forged to transfer money out of his three bank accounts, Buck said.

She went through his money like water, she said. She never made big purchases or took trips but gave money to family members and friends, the prosecutor said.

When Miller filed for bankruptcy in 2014 she listed Nichols as friend not her husband, she said. Buck also alleged Miller:

Obtained control of his Prudential life insurance policies by forging documents and having stand-ins for her husband when the company said it needed to speak to the policyholder.

Used handwritten documents with his forged signature to obtain loans against the policies. One of them for $9,000 was cashed with a forged signature.

Made up a story for Prudential that she needed money to take her husband to Colorado for cancer treatment. He did not have cancer.

Kept bank statements from her husband.

In April 2018 when Miller realized the money was running out she began searching the internet for information on divorces and medications, Buck said.

She also was communicating with men, telling one of them she loved him, she said.

A presentment by a statewide grand jury that is the basis of the charges quotes Miller as saying the night her husband died he got up to go to the bathroom, urinated on the floor, returned to bed and awoke later saying he could not breathe.

Prior to dialing 911, she called a daughter Debbie Mowery and while emergency medical personnel were working on Nichols, they were looking for his will and the power of attorney document, Buck said.

Miller also expressed a desire to have her husband cremated as soon as possible, she said.

A forensic pathologist testified at a previous proceeding the cause of death was an acute amount of Verapamil, a blood pressure medication prescribed for Miller.

Verapamil would not be prescribed to Nichols who had chronic heart disease, he said.

Miller is jailed without bail charged with homicide, insurance fraud, theft, forgery, perjury and dealing in proceeds from unlawful activity.

She was acquitted in 1988 of attempting to kill her first husband, Robert D. Rovenolt Sr., by spiking two cocktails.

Her second husband who had cancer died Dec. 24, 2011, and she married Nichols Dec. 12, 2012. She remarried again after his death.

Mowery, her daughter, is the mother of Corey Edkin who mysteriously disappeared Oct. 12, 1986, when he was 3. That investigation remains open.

Mowery told police her son was asleep when she left her New Columbia home about 12:10 a.m. for a convenience store in Milton to pick up a pizza.

He was gone when she returned and Alberta Sones, who also lived there with her two children, claimed she was awake the entire time and did not hear anything.

More:

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Developments will increase Route 15 traffic volumes in northcentral Pa., planner predicts
By JINTAMAS SAKSORNCHAI, The Associated Press

BANGKOK (AP)  A giant panda on long-term loan from China died in a zoo in northern Thailand on Wednesday, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said.

The cause of Lin Huis death was not immediately clear but she appeared to have become ill Tuesday morning, and her nose was seen bleeding when she laid down after a meal, said Wutthichai Muangmun, the zoo director.

She was rushed into the care of a joint Thai-Chinese veterinarian team, but her condition deteriorated and she died early Wednesday morning, he said.

Tewarat Vejmanat, a veterinarian who spoke at a news conference broadcast live on the zoos Facebook page, said the panda, who had a health check every day, was already at an advanced age at 21, and there had been no sign of illness or any difference in her behavior before she became sick.

China is saddened by the death of the giant panda Lin Hui, Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in Beijing.

Wang said that after China learned about the pandas illness it immediately organized experts to guide the Thai side to carry out rescue work through video link, but unfortunately did not save her life. He added that the Chinese authorities would soon set up a team of experts to carry out a joint investigation into the cause of death.

Lin Huis male mate, Chuang Chuang, who was kept with her at the Chiang Mai Zoo, died there in 2019 at the age of 19. The couple arrived in Chiang Mai in 2003 on a 10-year loan that was later extended for another 10 years.

While the loan was ostensibly for research and conservation purposes, it was generally regarded as an act of friendship by China, which has sent pandas to many countries in what is regarded as a striking example of soft power diplomacy.

FILE - Chuang Chuang, a male panda, left, plays on the ground, as Lin Hui, right, a female panda, eats a cake made of bamboo and carrots to celebrate her fourth birthday at the Chiang Mai Zoo in Chiang Mai province, north of Bangkok, Thailand, on Sept. 28, 2005. (AP Photo/Wichai Traprew, File)AP

When Chuang Chuang died in 2019, Thailands then-Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said the country had to pay $500,000 to the Chinese government in compensation. It was later reported that heart failure was the cause of his death.

Zoo director Wutthichai said the zoo has a 15-million-baht ($435,000) insurance policy on Lin Hui, who was due to be returned to China this October.

Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang had a daughter, Lin Ping, in 2009 through artificial insemination. A scheme to encourage them to mate naturally by showing them videos of pandas having sex made headlines in 2007. Lin Ping was sent to China in 2013 in what was initially said to be a one-year visit for her to find a mate, but has remained there.

The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity.
Jamie Foxx remains in the hospital nearly a week following an undisclosed medical complication he suffered last week, according to news sources.

In the latest update concerning the 55-year-old actor and his mysterious health scare, according to a source, the good news is, he is healing and he feels the love from everyone, ET reported.

This comes after CNN provided an update on the Oscar winners health on April 14, where a source revealed that medical professionals are, running tests and still trying to figure out what exactly happened.

Foxx is still hospitalized in the Georgia-based hospital and remains under observation. The actor was in Georgia filming the Netflix movie, Back in Action. Production on the film will end soon, Yahoo reported.

As previously reported, when his daughter Corinne Foxx first made an announcement via an Instagram post on April 12, all eyes and ears have been focused on the condition of the multi-talented star with many trying to uncover what the medical complication is exactly.

We wanted to share that, my father, Jamie Foxx, experienced a medical complication yesterday. Luckily, due to quick action and great care, he is already on his way to recovery, Corinne shared with her disabling the comments section and not going into great detail.

Since the public learned of Foxxs medical scare, a number of Foxxs famous celebrity friends have taken to social media to express prayers and well wishes.

Kerry Washington and Foxx co-starred in two films: Ray and Django Unchained. On Instagram, she shared, A @iamjamiefoxx appreciation post. Sending you all the love and prayers my movie huzbin, accompanied with prayer hand and heart emojis.

Viola Davis posted, Get well @iamjamiefoxx. We need you.... your light, your brilliance.

Sheryl Lee Ralph tweeted, Dear God, watch over Jamie Foxx please.

LeBron James tweeted, Sending my thoughts and prayers to the heavens above to my brother @iamjamiefoxx!!!! Get well and back to yourself SOONER THAN LATER!

Read More:
Recently, Goldwind achieved an important development milestone by exceeding 100GW of global installed capacity through the successful lifting of several wind power projects in Xinjiang, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Guangxi, Yunnan, Brazil, the United Arab Emirates, etc. This makes Goldwind the first Chinese WTG manufacturer to reach this milestone. To celebrate this historic occasion, Goldwind held an event to mark the 100GW global installed capacity milestone and launched the new models GWH221-8.X-10 and GWH24X-12.X, setting Goldwind on a new development journey.

Since its establishment, Goldwind has always been deeply involved in the wind power field. With scientific and technological innovation capabilities at its core, the company works together with partners inside and outside the industry to raise the efficiency of renewable energy and accelerate the global energy transformation. At present, Goldwind's business network spans 38 countries across six continents, with eight overseas regional centers in North America, South America, Europe, Africa, Australia, Asia, Middle East and North Africa, and the Russian-speaking part of Central Asia. The company is committed to achieving comprehensive internationalization in capital, market, technology, talents and management. In 2022, Goldwind was ranked first in the Chinese market for the 12th consecutive year with newly installed capacity of 11.4GW and a domestic market share of 23%. It also achieved a global market share of about 15% with newly installed capacity of 12.7GW, also ranking first in the global market.

Goldwind wind turbines are continuously delivering clean energy to societies around the world. The 100GW of installed capacity is equivalent to 11% of the world's wind power installed capacity. This generates approximately 220 billion kWh of green power annually, which is equivalent to the annual power generation of 2.2 Three Gorges Dam, and can provide electricity for more than 76.8 million three-member families for one year or support 477 days of operation for China Railway Highspeed. This achievement also reduces 180 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions worldwide, which accounts for about 1.6% of the total CO2 emissions in China in 2022, and is equivalent to 100 million cubic meters of forest reforestation, making a significant contribution to global sustainable development and carbon emission reduction.

Wu Gang, the Chairman of Goldwind, said: "The achievement is the joint efforts and persistence of countless practitioners of long-termism. We have received support not only from the Chinese government's far-sighted and forward-looking policies, but also from numerous electricity companies who have adhered to the energy transition strategy for many years and given us trial and error opportunities for our domestic equipment development. The cohesion and collaboration of the Chinese wind power industry chain has also played a crucial role. Standing at this new historical starting point, Goldwind will persist in sincere cooperation with all partners to further promote the high-quality development of the wind power business. We remain fully committed to undertaking the mission of advancing renewable energy and contributing to a green and low-carbon future."

As Goldwind pivots towards high-quality, large-scale development and the market trend of large MW-class, intelligent and green wind turbines, it officially launched its new models GWH221-8.X-10 and GWH24X-12.X, addressing the challenges brought by uncertainties such as unstable wind resources, unpredictable grid fluctuations, scarce development sites and low project construction matching to continue to create value for customers. The new product launches are based on the strategy of providing flexible combinations of products, towers and solutions for different scenarios to achieve improvements in the quality and efficiency of wind power assets. Taking a plain wind farm in the northwest with an annual average wind speed of 7m/s and a project capacity of 200,000 kW as an example for calculation, the new product platforms can reduce the number of turbines for the project by 20% to 40%, investment cost per kW by 8% to 15%, and levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) throughout the whole life cycle by 6% to 12%. The new model platform has been awarded a Certification of Compliance for Design Assessment by the China General Certification Center.

Having achieved the 100GW global installed capacity milestone, Goldwind will continue to uphold its philosophy of the "Long-distance Running in Wind Power" and the corporate mission of "Innovating for a Brighter Tomorrow". Goldwind focuses on innovation and breakthroughs in products, technology and services, and remains committed to building an energy foundation to drive a renewable future, and will continue to work closely with partners from all walks of life to create a "golden age" for global wind power.

About Goldwind

As a trusted global strategic partner in clean energy, Goldwind upholds its corporate mission of "Innovating for a Brighter Tomorrow" and is committed to building an energy foundation that drives a renewable future centered on the EOD (Ecology-Oriented Development)+ENERGY clean energy industry model. Since its establishment in 1998, Goldwind has witnessed and contributed to the growth and prosperity of China's renewable energy industry, helping clients worldwide tap into the value of clean energy with comprehensive and in-depth internationalization capabilities. With a business network spanning 38 countries across six continents and about 10,000 employees worldwide, including over 3,000 research and development (R&D) and technical personnel, Goldwind is dedicated to technological innovation, providing reliable products and solutions in energy development, devices, service, and utilization. Goldwind's mission is to help cities and enterprises achieve comprehensive and sustainable economic, ecological and social development.

For more information, please visit the official website: www.goldwind.com
A dog sitter in Union County, New Jersey, has been charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after one pit bull in his care attacked and killed another, authorities said.

Vickens Moscova, 37, placed shock collars on dogs he was caring for and tied five dogs to a fence on a tether that was less than 15 feet, Union Township police said Tuesday.

One dog had matted fur and lost 15 pounds after being in Moscovas care for a few weeks, according to police.
Federal investigators say BNSF railroad is analyzing a section of fractured rail after last months fiery derailment that prompted evacuations in southwest Minnesota, but they didnt say definitively that the broken rail caused the crash.

The National Transportation Safety Board issued its preliminary report Tuesday on the March 30 derailment that forced about 800 people from their homes in Raymond, Minnesota, after 10 ethanol cars derailed and several of them caught fire from the fuel additive leak. Those ethanol cars were among 23 cars that came off the tracks shortly before 1 a.m. that day.
By Madeleine List | The Charlotte Observer

A man was slashed in the neck with a knife after he asked for a cigarette at a bus stop in a popular North Carolina tourist town, according to police.

Officers in Asheville responded to a bus stop near downtown at around 5:30 a.m. Tuesday and found a man with a cut on his neck, according to a post on the Asheville Police Departments Facebook page.

The mans injuries were not considered life-threatening, and he refused treatment, according to the post.

The man told officers that he had gotten into a fight with another man after asking him for a cigarette, according to police.

The suspect pulled out a knife, started swinging, slashed the victim in the throat, and then left the scene prior to the officers arrival, the post says.

Police are still searching for the man with a knife.

Asheville is in the Blue Ridge Mountains in western North Carolina, about 125 miles northwest of Charlotte. About 10 million people visit the area each year, WLOS reported. Tourists spent $2.6 billion in 2021, according to Explore Asheville.
By Matthew Medsger, Boston Herald (TNS)

Former President Donald Trump, the front-runner in the 2024 Republican primary field, wants to make homelessness illegal and send violators away to camps for rehabilitation.

Under my strategy, working with states, we will ban urban camping wherever possible. Violators of these bans will be arrested, but they will be given the option to accept treatment and services if they are willing to be rehabilitated. Many of them dont want that, but we will give them the option, Trump said in a Tuesday campaign ad.

Under his plan, the federal government will open tracts of inexpensive land for the construction of tent cities. There, Trump says in the ad, the homeless can be relocated and their problems identified.

Trump also calls for the restoration of the nations use of mental institutions for housing those homeless people with severe mental health concerns or the dangerously deranged.

For those who are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them back to mental institutions, where they belong, with the goal of reintegrating them back into society once they are well enough to manage, he said.

This is not the first time the former commander-in-chief has called for the internment of the homeless as a means of solving a problem plaguing cities across the country.

In a speech given last July, a full six months before the launch of his 2024 campaign, Trump said opening parcels of land outside of major cities and moving the homeless there to live in tents and receive services was the only solution.

Perhaps some people will not like hearing this, he said then.

According to the 2022 Homeless Assessment Report produced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, nationally there were more than half-a-million homeless people found on the street through a survey conducted during a solitary January night last year.

Data shows that homelessness remains a national crisis, HUD Secretary Marcia L. Fudge said in the report.

Trump is the leading candidate in the Republican primary field, which includes former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley and former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has not announced a presidential bid but is expected to do so and is widely seen as Trumps closest competition.

More:

Trump indicted: Can he still run for president in 2024?

From Stormy Daniels check to Donald Trumps indictment: a timeline
On April 19, 1993, the FBI launched a tear-gas assault on the Mount Carmel Center, a religious cult near Waco, Texas, where self-proclaimed prophet David Koresh and the Brand Davidians had been involved in a standoff for 51 days.

The standoff had started on Feb. 28, 1993, when the ATF raided Mount Carmel, north of Waco, as part of an investigation into illegal firearms and explosives the group supposedly possessed. Four federal agents and multiple members of the cult were killed on Feb. 28 in a shootout.

On the final day, when Mount Carmel burned to the ground, 76 cult members, including 25 children and Koresh, died. In the end, the deaths totaled four federal agents and 82 Branch Davidians. The Branch Davidians were an offshoot of the Seventh Day Adventist Church. They believed in a literal interpretation of the Bible.

Koresh also was a polygamist who was known to have taken many wives, including underage girls.

On March 9, 1993, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported that Koresh was baiting law enforcement negotiators.

The newspaper reported that FBI special agent Bob Ricks said at a news conference, Its our belief that he believes that his prophecy will be fulfilled if the government engages in an all-out firefight with him in which he is executed.

Ricks said that Koresh had told federal negotiators things such as: We are ready for war, Lets get it on, Your talk is becoming in vain, and, Im going to give you an opportunity to save yourself before you get blown away.

FILE - In the March 2, 1993, file photo, agents of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms set up a tent at the command post on the campus of Texas State Technical Institute in Waco, Texas. (AP file Photo/Rick Bowmer)AP

After the failed ATF raid, the FBI took over the situation.

Around 6 a.m. on April 19, the Branch Davidians were again asked to surrender, which they declined. They also had been warned an attack was imminent. The attack had been approved by then-U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno.

After the refusal to surrender, the FBI used tanks to fire tear-gas canisters through windows of buildings in the compound. The Branch Davidians continued to refuse to surrender. Around noon on April 19, a fire erupted in the compound. Cult members ran from the blaze that destroyed the compound. Some of the dead had been killed by the fire while others had been fatally shot. It was not clear if the gunshot wounds were self-inflicted.

In the aftermath, the government was accused of abusing its power at Waco. It also galvanized the American militia.

Two years later, on the anniversary of the siege at Waco, on Wednesday, April 19, 1995, at 9:03 a.m. a bomb exploded at the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols were charged in the massive explosion. The men were members of a radical survivalist group that, according to history.com, were deeply radicalized by such events as the August 1992 shootout between federal agents and survivalist Randy Weaver at his Idaho cabin, in which Weavers wife and son were killed, and the April 19, 1993, inferno near Waco, Texas, in which 75 members of a Branch Davidian religious sect died.

McVeigh claimed that he chose the building  which housed federal agencies including the Drug Enforcement Agency, the Secret Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and Explosives  and the date to avenge the raid on Waco.

In August of 1993, 12 surviving members of the Mount Carmel Branch Davidians were indicted on charges related to the siege including conspiracy, murder and unlawful possession of firearms.

Charges against one were later dropped. Four of the Branch Davidians were acquitted at trial. The others were convicted of various lesser charges. They served various prison terms but all were released as of July 2007.

Paul Fatta, standing by photos of the nearly 80 Branch Davidians who died when the 51-day standoff at Mount Carmel Center near Waco, Texas, ended in 1993, speaks at a memorial service at the Taylor Museum of Waco History on Friday, April 19, 2113, in Waco, Texas. Fatta was released from custody in 2006 after serving more than a decade in federal prison for weapons charges. (AP file Photo/Angela K. Brown)AP
An Elizabethville man who killed a father of six in a crash while speeding last year will spend at least the next 12 years in prison.

Rindy Martin, 44, recently pleaded guilty in Dauphin County court to third-degree murder and received a 12.5 to 25-year state prison sentence for killing Stephen Gimmi, who died in the wreck in Reed Township on March 16, 2022.

Martin was speeding north at the time of the 4:40 a.m. crash along a curve in the road, police said, when he crossed the center line and crashed into Gimmi, 43, who was driving south. Gimmi was on his way to work in his familys minivan.

Martin drove a 2021 black Dodge Charger Hellcat Widebody, which is advertised as having a maximum speed of 196 miles per hour, according to Dauphin County District Attorney Fran Chardo.

Five seconds before impact, the Charger was driving at 177 mph with 100% accelerator pedal application, Chardo said. The car slowed down to 121 mph immediately before the crash.

The speed limit in that area of South Run Road is 45 mph.

Three days before the fatal crash, Martin was pulled over and cited for driving 70 mph in a 50 mph zone, according to court documents. Police noted Martin was not wearing a seatbelt during that incident.

Seven months later, Martin lit several bags, pieces of paper and cardboard on fire around his home on Market Street in Elizabethville while his fiancee and children were inside, saying he wanted to die. He also told police he wanted everyone to leave the house.

Martin also pleaded guilty to arson charges related to a mental health episode during which he had no intent to harm anyone, according to his public defender Kaitlyn Clarkson. The victim in that incident, Martins fiancee, stands by him, Clarkson said.

Clarkson said Martin is very remorseful. Martin was unable to be in court in-person during his sentencing but attended by video call. He asked Clarkson to apologize to Gimmis family on his behalf.

Martin pleaded guilty to third-degree murder, homicide by vehicle while DUI, homicide by vehicle, possession of a firearm while prohibited, reckless driving and disregarding traffic lanes.

The DUI charge stemmed from Martin having a small amount of marijuana in his system at the time of the crash.

Chardos office filed a third-degree murder charge, instead of vehicular manslaughter, in this case, because he said Martin demonstrated malice in his actions leading to the death of Gimmi. Malice is defined as an extreme indifference to the value of human life. According to Chardo, Martin demonstrated that malice through repeating his behavior as evidenced by the speeding ticket three days prior to the fatal crash.

He knew his driving was a problem yet he continued to drive that way, Chardo said.

In addition, Martin bought the Charger two months before the crash, with its tires and brakes in good condition. However, as a result of Martins aggressive accelerating, braking and steering, the tires were worn bare over those eight weeks.

Numerous witnesses wrote and signed statements attesting to Martins reckless driving in the weeks ahead of Gimmis death.

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A former McDonalds shift manager faces multiple charges after local police in Allegheny County said he had sex with a 15-year-old employee in October 2021.

Moon Township police have charged Daniel Bonet, 26, a resident of Aliquippa, Beaver County, with statutory sexual assault, indecent assault, sexual assault, unlawful contact with a minor and corruption of minors.
A shooting in Philadelphias FDR Park concluded with a wrong-way, high-speed chase along the Schuylkill Expressway and left a 27-year-old man in critical condition, according to news sources.

It was around 2:50 a.m. Wednesday on the 1900 block of Pattison Ave. near FDR Park when authorities responded to a report of a shooting. Eighteen shell casings were later found.

When police went to that location they did not initially find the scene, however, they did find a scene on the westbound lanes of I-76 where they found two vehicles involved in an accident, Philadelphia Police Chief Inspector Scott Small said to NBC10.

Also, a PennDOT tow truck driver told police he saw two vehicles  a Ford Explorer and an Infiniti sedan  driving at a high rate of speed eastbound in the westbound lanes of I-76.

When both vehicles crashed, they both spun around and ended up facing the correct direction on I-76. The crashed Ford Explorer had about eight bullet holes, and a 27-year-old man was found to be injured with a gunshot wound to the neck in the backseat, according to reports from 6ABC and NBC10.

He was transported to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center and was listed in critical condition. In the Infiniti sedan, a man in his 20s stayed at the scene and was in possession of a gun. He was taken into custody for questioning, according to reports.

A 32-year-old woman who was driving an SUV stayed at the scene and is considered a witness.

The incident was said to have stemmed from a fight in FDR Park that escalated into a shooting. Authorities believe shots were only fired in the Park and not along I-76, according to NBC10.

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Two Franklin County sisters have been found, more than three years after police said their mother took them despite not having custody.

Hanna Joy Lee and Skye Deborah Rex, only 7 and 5 years old at the time they were taken, were first reported missing on March 17, 2020, from their Waynesboro home. On Tuesday, police said the girls were in the custody of children and youth services, pending a hearing.

Their mother, Ladasha Lee, was arrested, police said.

According to a video from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, the childrens father John Rex, said the girls went missing when he was granted full custody after a divorce and a lengthy custody battle with Lee.

Police did not say where the girls were found, but authorities believed they were in the Washington D.C. area. Police said Lee is facing custodial interference charges, but nothing had been filed as of late Tuesday afternoon.

Zahriah Balentine contributed to this report.

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SUNBURY  The Shamokin city councilman removed from office last year because of his criminal record is likely headed to state prison unless his appeals are successful.

Joseph L. Leschinskie Jr., 38, is now sentenced to a total of seven to 26 months in two separate cases.

Because the sentences imposed in Northumberland County court by Senior Judge Harold F. Woelfel Jr. are consecutive the maximum exceeds a term to be served in county prison.

Tuesday Woelfel sentenced Leschinskie to one to three months in prison on a charge of using an audio or video device in a court proceeding.

He made it consecutive to the 6- to 23-month term he previously imposed for terroristic threats.

Leschinskie has appealed that sentence and says he plans to do the same with latest one. He remains free because of the appeals.

Joseph J. Leschinskie Jr., left, talks with his brother John and a friend Stefani Manzoni outside the Northumberland County courthouse after a judge removed him from Shamokin City Council because in 2009 he had been convicted of 'infamous' crimes.

He maintains he is a victim of discrimination because he has regularly criticized District Attorney Tony Matulewicz. He claims people found guilty of more serious crimes receive lesser sentences.

In the case in which he was sentenced Tuesday, a jury in March found him guilty of using an audio device to record a 2019 court hearing in a speeding case.

The other case stemmed from an incident after the Sept. 14, 2020, Shamokin council meeting in which he was accused of threatening then Councilwoman Jennifer Seidel and her husband Erik. He was acquitted on four other counts in that case.

Leschinskie was elected to Shamokin City Council in November 2021 and was sworn-in the following January.

He was removed from office in March 2022 by county Judge Charles J. Saylor (now a senior judge) who ruled he was ineligible to serve because his 2009 drug convictions were infamous crimes as defined by the state constitution.

The constitution states those convicted of such crimes may not hold public office.

Leschinskie, a Republican, earlier this year filed nominating petitions seeking his old council seat.

He withdrew them after Matulewicz threatened to charge him with false swearing and unsworn falsifications to authorities for filing an affidavit with his nominating petitions stating he was eligible to serve.

Leschinskies dealings with the law are not over. He is scheduled for a May 24 preliminary hearing on charges of driving under the influence of marijuana and several traffic violations stemming from a rear-end type accident Jan. 27 on Route 61 in Paxinos.

He denies the state police charges citing the report of the emergency medical technician who treated him in an ambulance that there were no signs of impairment.

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Due to the lack of a quorum, the plenary session in the Parliament of Georgia, where the issue of creating an investigative commission to study corruption and other types of violations in the judicial system was planned to be discussed, ended without voting as Georgian Dream refused to register.According to Irakli Kobakhidze, the leader of the majority, refusal to register was an "act of solidarity" towards Georgian judges who were sanctioned for alleged corruption by the United States.More than half of the deputies had to register in order to put the issue to the vote in the parliament. Since the ruling party did not participate in this process, despite being present, only 51 deputies were officially registered at the session which was not enough to start voting."We have made a decision not to go through registration before voting. This is an act of solidarity towards Georgian judges," Kobakhidze said.Prime Minister of Georgia, Irakli Gharibashvil talked about the so-called case of 'call centers' at the government session - the international fraud scheme in which BBC alleged Davit Kezerashvili's involvement.Irakli Gharibashvili called it 'catastrophic' that former Defense Minister of Georgia Kezerashvili is now, according to him, is referred to as a 'fraudster of international level'According to Gharibashvili, investigative services of Georgia made a significant contribution to the investigation of the international fraud scheme."The truth is certain, it has been revealed that, unfortunately, our citizen, the former Minister of Defense, Mr. Kezerashvili is already referred to as a fraudster of international level, which, of course, is catastrophic, and the fact that, as you know, he robbed the army before, is even more disturbing. His company worked in an unprecedented fraudulent scheme throughout Europe and robbed pensioners. A billion dollars worth of damage was done.So, when our representatives of the so-called radical, extremist opposition meet with our European friends and partners, I want to tell our European friends that they are meeting with representatives of a party funded by the robber of their citizens.So instead of our opposition being involved in destructive activities on a daily basis, they must now apologize to our public and the European public every day. They should give explanations why the entire opposition spectrum, almost all opposition parties, and their TV stations are financed with stolen money from European pensioners." Irakli Gharibashvili said.The Prime Minister thanked the investigative services, which, according to him, were involved in the investigation of a very complex scheme.
The Nevada Division of Environmental Protection has announced it has decided to issue a renewed Water Pollution Control Permit to Nevada Gold Mines to allow the construction, operation, and closure of mining facilities at the Arturo Mine in Elko County.

No comments were received during the public comment period on the permit. NDEPs final determination to issue the permit can be appealed until 5 p.m. April 24. The permit is scheduled to become effective on April 29.

The work planned at the Arturo Mine consists primarily of the construction of a new heap leach pad, associated process ponds, process buildings, ore stockpiles, an open pit mine, and two waste rock facilities. The permit allows the processing of up to 12 million tons of ore per year. Mill-grade ore will be shipped to Goldstrike for processing.

The new Heap Leach Pad 12 at Arturo will be south of the mines reclaimed leach facilities. It is anticipated that the leach pad will be constructed in two phases, covering a total area of about 8.4 million square feet. The pad will accommodate approximately 72 million tons of ore, reaching a height of about 300 feet.

The plan is to excavate about 10 million tons of existing reclaimed leach pad materials and place the material on HLP 12.

The process pond system will be south of the leach pad and will include a pregnant solution tank and two double-lined ponds. The pond system capacity has been designed to provide storage for 5.5 to 8.1 million gallons of process inventory.

A 4,000-gallon-per-minute process plant will support the HLP 12 facility. The process building will be about 150 feet by 60 feet and will house one carbon column train with five individual tanks.

Based on metallurgical and economic considerations, a maximum of 5 million tons per year of mill-grade ore from the Arturo open pit may be processed by other NGM operations or sold to others for further processing off-site.

Two waste rock disposal facilities are planned to accommodate an anticipated 600 million tons of waste rock material from the pit expansion. The larger WRDF will have a maximum height of 615 feet.

Groundwater elevations at the Arturo Mine are influenced by the dewatering operations at the North Block Goldstrike Mine which have resulted in lowering the groundwater levels approximately 1,700 feet within an approximately 2.5 mile-wide northwest-trending zone that extends to near the center of the Arturo area.

Additional pumping at the Arturo Mine for processing activities and mine closure are expected to continue through 2034.

At the conclusion of dewatering activities, the pit lake is expected to reach equilibrium where inflow from groundwater and rainfall will balance evaporation, creating a hydraulic sink.

Most of NGMs mines northwest of Carlin in the Carlin trend are in the northeast corner of Eureka County. The Goldstrike Mine is at the northern border of Eureka County. Arturo is north of Goldstrike, and is in the northwest section of Elko County.

The Arturo Mine has been intermittently operated for 30 years. According to a NDEP fact sheet on the mine, Cordex Exploration Company conducted exploration activities in the Arturo area from 1981 to 1983. The Dee Gold Mining Company obtained control of the mining claims within the area in 1983. In 1984, DGMC, with Rayrock Mines Inc. as the mine operator, began production with an open pit. In 1999, DGMC began underground mining of the Dee Deep North deposit from a decline in the bottom of the open pit. The open pit and underground operations were shut down in 2000 due to a period of low gold prices, and reclamation and closure activities were initiated.

Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. entered into an agreement with DGMC and began exploration at the DGMC property in June 1998. Glamis Gold Ltd. acquired Rayrock Mines Inc. in 1999. BGEI and Glamis Marigold Mining Co., successor in interest to DGMC, entered into an agreement in January 2005 and formed BDMV. Goldcorp Inc. acquired Glamis Gold Ltd. in 2006 as a subsidiary. In 2007, Goldcorp Inc. changed the name of Glamis Marigold Mining Company to Marigold Mining Company.

As a separate entity, Barrick Rossi Mining Venture (a mining venture between Barrick Gold Exploration Inc. and Meridian Rossi Corporation) began the Storm Underground Mine from a second decline in the bottom of the DGMC property open pit in 2006.

A joint venture between Barrick (60 percent) and Premier Gold Mines (40 percent) began commercial production at South Arturo in 2016. The mine produced 142,810 ounces of gold in 2017. The joint venture completed mining the Phase 2 open pit and began processing stockpiled ore, so production dropped after 2017.

The Phase 2 open pit was partially backfilled and the El Nino underground mine was developed in the Phase 2 area.

Barricks 60 percent ownership of Arturo became part of Nevada Gold Mines when Barrick and Newmont formed the joint venture in July 2019.

NGM and Premier celebrated the start of production at the El Nino underground mine with a gold pour in September 2019.

In April 2021 Equinox Gold Corp. completed its acquisition of Premier Gold Mines, and Premiers gold projects in Nevada, including the 40% ownership of Arturo, were spun off into a new company, i-80 Gold.

In September 2021 i-80 Gold and NGM agreed to a property exchange in which NGM acquired 100 percent ownership of the Arturo Mine, while i-80 Gold acquired NGMs Lone Tree and Buffalo Mountain properties.
A drunk officer was kicked out of Hotel Monacos rooftop bar Saturday night in Pa. but that did not stop him from trying to get back in and eventually biting a security guard.

Heres how it went it down:

According to Philly Voice and Patch, Philadelphia Highway Patrol officer Anthony Santulli, 31, made an attempt to reenter the party on the rooftop at 1 a.m. Sunday, but a security guard stopped him and tried to escort him downstairs.

Thats when Santulli attacked the guard on the elevator. The officer pushed multiple buttons on the elevator causing the elevator to return to the rooftop.

He also punched the guard in the head, tackled and bit him either on the hand or arm. According to the arrest report, thereby breaking the skin, requiring medical treatment.

Following the incident, Santulli is on desk duty, Sgt. Eric Gripp, a police spokesperson, confirmed.

Santulli was charged with aggravated assault, public drunkenness, and recklessly endangering another person, among other charges.

Read more via Philly Voice.

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A lovers triangle turned deadly.

A Pa. man is facing murder charges after he broke into his ex-girlfriends apartment via her bathroom window late Monday night, and shot and killed her current boyfriend, according to reports.

Christopher Moore Jr., 21, shot and killed Wesley Smith, 21, of Philadelphia, after breaking into the Lansdale apartment in Montgomery County., NBC Philadelphia and The Philadelphia Inquirer.

Smith was also armed and shot Moore multiple times. Police found Smith dead and Moore bleeding from his injuries, Lansdale Township Police Chief Michael Trail and Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele confirmed in a news release.

According to that news release, Smith was over at his girlfriends apartment when the father of her children, broke into her apartment through the bathroom window, went into the bedroom and began shooting. Smith returned fire.

Moore was transported to a nearby hospital and is expected to survive, NBC Philadelphia reported. He was charged with burglary, first-degree murder and burglary among other related charges.

Read more via NBC Philadelphia.

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By TED SHAFFREY Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP)  A parking garage partially collapsed Tuesday in lower Manhattans Financial District, and firefighters were searching for people who might have been trapped in the debris, authorities said. One person was seen being carried out on a stretcher.

Bystander video showed cars hanging precariously from a buckled upper deck of the three-story building, a few blocks from City Hall and the Brooklyn Bridge, and about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange.

It felt like an earthquake, said Liam Gaeta, a student at nearby Pace University. He said he heard a large noise and a big rumbling, and then we all got evacuated.

Other Pace students described hearing screams and seeing cars falling in the building, which caved in around 4 p.m.

The Fire Department said there were reports of people trapped and that searches were being conducted to make sure everyone was accounted for. At one point, firefighters were pulled out because of concerns about the buildings stability, the department said.

New York Mayor Eric Adams was en route to the scene, said spokesperson Fabien Levy. He described what happened as a partial collapse.

___

Associated Press writers Jennifer Peltz, Bobby Caina Calvan, Michael R. Sisak and Deepti Hajela contributed.

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By Gillian McGoldrick, The Philadelphia Inquirer

PHILADELPHIA  Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro announced Tuesday his administration plans to schedule xylazine, the powerful veterinary sedative, as a schedule III drug.

Xylazine, also known as tranq, is legal for veterinary use to sedate large animals, such as horses. But in recent years the drug has spread into fentanyl supplies across the country, including Philadelphia.

This drug is a serious threat, Shapiro said in the citys Kensington neighborhood, which has been ravaged by the opioid epidemic. Even more so because a lot of times when people take it, they dont even realize its mixed in with the fentanyl that theyre purchasing.

Making it a schedule III drug would allow the state to require tighter record keeping, require the drug to be stored in locked facilities, and give law enforcement the ability to charge people in illegal possession of the drug. Whats more, manufacturers must add additional checks to ensure the person who ordered the drug is the one receiving it.

Shapiro said that as governor, hes able to reclassify substances that pose an imminent hazard to public safety through his secretary of health.

The scheduling of the drug is expected to begin in May.

According to state data, xylazine contributed to 90 overdose deaths in 2017. By 2021, the drug contributed to 575 overdose deaths across 30 counties. That year, Philadelphia reported 90% of street opioid samples contained xylazine.

In Philadelphia, epidemiologists believe xylazine was initially added to fentanyl to give the opioid a longer-lasting high, similar to that of heroin. Except xylazine is not an opioid and its effects are more aggressive. Users report blacking out, forgetting things and developing wounds in places throughout the body they never injected.

Overdoses where xylazine is present are harder to reverse because the drug wont respond to naloxone. Complicating treatment, users say xylazine withdrawal can overcome the body quickly and aggressively. The drug doesnt respond to traditional withdrawal medications.

In late February, the Food and Drug Administration announced restrictions on the import of the drug, making shipments of xylazine and products that contain it subject to heightened FDA scrutiny.

Cheryl Bettigole, Philadelphias health commissioner, has spoken out in support of the restrictions and along with Mayor Jim Kenney has called for the drug to be classified as a controlled substance at the federal level.

Still, some people working in harm reduction have raised concerns about what restrictions on xylazine could mean for people who are already dependent on the drug and whether a crackdown could give rise to newer, even more dangerous drugs.
Duquesne University police officers and security guards have reached a tentative contract agreement with the college in Pittsburgh and ended their two-day strike.

Gabriel Welsch, the vice president of marketing and communications, said in a statement Tuesday night that a contract agreement had been reached, and officers and guards would be back at work Wednesday morning.

The University appreciates the good-faith efforts of all involved in the negotiating process that led to resolving this matter swiftly and positively for the good of our students and our entire campus community, Welsch said.

Duquesnes 28-member police force, members of the Teamsters Local 249, went on strike Monday morning after eight months of negotiations with the university broke down on Sunday.

The union has been working without a contract since October.

Keith Frank, the vice president of Teamsters Local 249, said in a statement to WPXI-TV that the parties worked to achieve a fair contract for the hardworking men and women who proudly serve the Duquesne University community.

Frank had previously said sticking points in the contract talks concerned wages, retirement benefits and healthcare.

Details of the new contract were not released.
HARRISONBURG, Va.  A Civil War reenactor has pleaded guilty to charges that he planted a pipe bomb at a Virginia battlefield in 2017 and wrote letters falsely claiming that antifa protesters were to blame.

Prosecutors on Tuesday announced the guilty plea from Gerald Leonard Drake, 63, of Winchester.

Drake admitted during a hearing Monday in federal court in Harrisonburg that he planted a pipe bomb at Cedar Creek Battlefield during an annual reenactment in October 2017. The bomb did not detonate, but it resulted in cancellation of the reenactment after its discovery.

Drake was a Civil War reenactor who regularly participated in events at Cedar Creek until he was expelled from his unit in 2014.

He also admitted writing letters in 2017 and 2018 in which he falsely portrayed himself as part of a group of antifa activists who were targeting the reenactments because they believed them to glorify slavery. The letters threatened violence at subsequent Cedar Creek reenactments as well as an annual Remembrance Day Parade in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.

This defendant sought to intimidate and harm innocent people, and further, he tried to sow discontent by falsely claiming that the attempted bombing was politically motivated, said U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Christopher Kavanaugh, whose office prosecuted the case.

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Wedding dress retailer, Davids Bridal has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy and is exploring a sale. But, what does that mean for its existing customers?

Here are nine things customers should know:

1. Will stores remain open

Davids Bridals stores remain open. The companys store at 5125 Jonestown Road in Lower Paxton Township outside of Harrisburg is open from 10:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; 9 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday and 10:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Sunday.

2. Will there be delays?

The company says it intends to fulfill orders without disruption or delay.

3. What about alterations?

The alterations department is available and open as usual.

4. What about the website?

Customers can still shop online.

5. What about returns?

Customers can continue submitting returns and exchanges for dresses.

6. What about gift cards, store credits and Diamond points for rewards?

The retailer is still accepting gift cards and store credits at this time, and customers can continue to earn and redeem Diamond points for rewards.

7. What about questions for customer service?

Diamond members can call 877-714-7766, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

If you have questions about an existing order or the status of alterations, you can contact the company by texting Hello to 38201, email Davids Bridal at customercare@dbi.com, or can call the retailer at 844-400-3222. International customers, can send e-mails to internationalcustomerservice@dbi.com.

Davids Bridal is based in Montgomery County.

8. What is happening with Davids Bridal?

Wedding dress retailer, Davids Bridal announced on Monday that it filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Davids Bridal also expects to file a recognition proceeding in Canada and a subsidiary of Davids Bridal expects to commence an administration proceeding for its business in the United Kingdom. The latest bankruptcy comes after Davids Bridal emerged from bankruptcy four years ago.

Davids Bridal said it previously initiated an evaluation of a wide range of strategic alternatives including a marketing and sale process for its assets. The company said in light of its liquidity constraints, it was unable to finalize its marketing and sale process out of court and intends to continue exploring a sale of all or some of its assets. The company said it is also evaluating its physical footprint. James Marcum, CEO of Davids Bridal, said that the business continues to be challenged by the post-COVID environment and uncertain economic conditions.

9. What is Chapter 11 bankruptcy?

Chapter 11 bankruptcy provides businesses or large investors with protection from creditors while they continue operating and develop a repayment plan. Both creditors and owners must agree on a reorganization plan, which ultimately must be approved by a federal bankruptcy judge.

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ELKO  An open house to provide the public with details about floodplain maps is planned for 5:30 p.m. April 19 in the Elko County Board of Commissioners Room at 540 Court St.

Join us to learn about the updated FEMA Floodplain Maps, states a flyer for the event, which is being hosted by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Elko County, the City of Elko, the City of Carlin, the Nevada Division of Water Resources and the City of Wells.

The flyer posted on the Elko County website also states that our goal is to create flood resilient communities in Nevada that encourage protection of life, property, water quality, environmental values and the preservation of natural floodplain functions.

In addition to the open house, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is taking public comment through May 7 on the plan completed under the Nevada Silver Jackets Program. The email address is: NVsilverjackets@usace.army.mil.
BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Tuesday urged the G7 to reflect on their own problems, discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices, and cease interfering in other countries' internal affairs.

Wang made the remarks at a daily news briefing in response to a query about a joint communique issued after a G7 foreign ministers meeting in Japan on the issues of Taiwan, the East China Sea, the South China Sea, Xinjiang and Tibet. The meeting urged China to ensure transparent, predictable and fair business environments.

Wang said that regardless of China's strong position and the existing facts, the G7 Foreign Ministers' Meeting grossly interfered in China's internal affairs and maliciously slandered and discredited China.

"The communique reflects the group's arrogance, prejudice and deliberate desire to block and contain China. We deplore and reject this and have made a strong demarche to the host, Japan," he said.

Wang said that Taiwan is part of China's sacred territory, and the one-China principle is what underpins peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait. To ensure real peace in the Taiwan Strait, it is absolutely essential to unequivocally oppose and stop any act toward "Taiwan independence," he added.

Matters related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Tibet fall entirely under China's internal affairs, and no foreign force may interfere in these affairs in any way or under any pretext, Wang said. The situations in the East China Sea and in the South China Sea are generally stable, and relevant countries need to respect the efforts of regional countries to uphold peace and stability, he added.

"As one of the most vibrant markets with the greatest potential, China is committed to providing a stable, fair, transparent and predictable investment and business environment for foreign investors," Wang said. He noted that certain G7 members have been oblivious to the principles of the market economy and fair competition, have overstretched and abused the concept of national security, and have used every means possible to suppress foreign companies. They are in no position to point fingers at China, he said.

The spokesperson said that China, as a responsible major country, firmly acts on the UN Charter and the basic principles of international law, and is committed to building a community with a shared future for humanity.

"We once again urge the G7 to reflect on their own problems and discard the Cold War mentality and ideological prejudices. They should stop running counter to the prevailing trend of today's world, stop pointing fingers condescendingly, stop grossly interfering in other countries' internal affairs, and stop deliberately creating antagonism and division in the international community," Wang said.

Editor: WXL
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President Biden responded to Speaker McCarthy by painting the Republican demand for cuts as pushing the country toward a default that would hurt working people.

Video:

President Biden said while speaking at a union hall in Maryland:



You and the American people should know about the competing economic visions of the country that are really at stake right now. Im here in this union hall with you. Just two days ago, the Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy went to Wall Street to describe the MAGA economic vision for America. And it is very clear theyve laid it out. I know when I was telling you what was going to happen to telling folks they looked at me like that cant happen. Well, guess what its trying to happen now.

Massive cuts in programs you count on massive benefits protected for those top. A lot of you know, all the tax cuts go to the top. None of the bottom. The threat of defaulting on Americas debt for the first time in 230 years, weve never ever default on the debt. It would destroy this economy. And who do you think will hurt the most? You, hard working people, the middle class the neighborhoods I got raised in not the super wealthy and the powerful but working folks.

President Biden defined McCarthy and the Republican debt limit bill before they have released it. Biden used everything that McCarthy has done from going to Wall Street to calling for cuts to spending programs to define the conversation as the interests of the rich versus the interests of working people.

Kevin McCarthys gift to the rich is dead on arrival in the Senate, but Biden just gave the Speaker a new headache by defining the debt limit not in terms of fiscal policy but by making McCarthy look like a puppet of the rich and right-wing extremists.
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House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer (R-KY) was asked if he has found anything illegal that Biden has done while in office. He responded by claiming that he found things that should be illegal.

Video:

PAMELA BROWN: Have you found anything illegal while Biden was actually in office? JAMES COMER: We found a lot that should be illegal. pic.twitter.com/JDnrCDqZid  Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) April 19, 2023

CNNs Pamela Brown asked Comer, You have been investigating members of Joe Bidens family and their business with the Bidens. Have you found anything illegal while he was actually in office? 

Comer answered, We found a lot. Thats certainly unethical. We found a lot that should be illegal. The line is blurry as to what is legal and not legal with respect to family.

Translation: Comer has found no crimes committed by the Bidens, but he has found things that in his opinion should be crimes, but they arent.

The whole idea that Republicans are going to try to even the score by drumming up some criminal charges against President Biden seems to be falling apart.

Joe Biden has been in public life for more than half a century. It was always silly for Republicans to believe that there was some secret criminal operation that Biden was keeping secret for fifty years.

President Biden hasnt broken any laws. Republicans have nothing, and their dreams of using their House oversight power to get Trump back into the White House is fading with each passing day.
An Audi e-tron GT is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

SHANGHAI, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed.

The show organizer said the event would inject great confidence and vitality into the global auto market.

The theme of this year's auto show is "Embracing the New Era of Automobile Industry." It will run until April 27.

According to the event schedule, April 18 and 19 are designated as media days, while April 20 and 21 are reserved for professionals in the auto industry. The public will have access to the show from April 22 to 27.

Vision 357, a concept car of Porsche, is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

New models of Yangwang Auto are displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A concept car of Mercedes-Benz is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

A Rising Auto F7 is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

A Chevrolet car is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

A releasing event of Toyota bZ FlexSpace Concept is held at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

A releasing event of South Korea's automaker Hyundai is held at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Max-Out, a concept car of Nissan, is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

A BMW concept car is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

People visit the exhibition area of FAW-Bestune at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

An exhibitor experiences products at the exhibition area of Huawei during the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

A visitor experiences VR driving simulation at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Wang Xiang)

A visitor experiences inside a smart cabin at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

People visit the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Chen Jianli)

A Porsche 911 Targa 4 is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Xin Mengchen)

A BYD Seagull is displayed at the 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition in Shanghai, east China, April 18, 2023. The 20th Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition kicked off Tuesday at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai).

The exhibition, also known as Auto Shanghai 2023, is the first A-class international auto show held in China since the country adjusted its COVID-19 response. With 13 indoor exhibition halls, it boasts an exhibition area of more than 360,000 square meters.

According to the organizer, about 1,000 enterprises from 20 countries and regions participated in the auto show, and around 1,500 vehicles were displayed. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe)

Editor: WXY
Aiken, SC (29801)

Today

Mostly cloudy with some showers this afternoon. High 72F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 50%..

Tonight

Mostly cloudy skies. Low 53F. Winds NE at 5 to 10 mph.
COLUMBIA  Legislation advancing in the Statehouse seeks to keep teachers in the classroom by reducing their paperwork burdens and out-of-pocket expenses while giving them more flexibility in their annual contracts.

The bill sent unanimously April 18 to the House Education Committee would make a professional teaching certificate permanent, eliminating the bureaucratic hurdles involved in renewing it every five years through the state Department of Education.

It would also allow teachers to know their salary for the coming school year before being locked in a contract they can't get out of without risking their ability to teach for a year or more.

The measure also reduces the punishment for breaching that contract once signed, allowing teachers to return to a classroom quicker.

The Educator Assistance Act is meant to treat teachers like the professionals they are and reduce the red tape that can cause them to abandon the field out of frustration, its main sponsor, House Education Chairwoman Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort, said.

"This is a bill that truly does what it says," Patrick Kelly, lobbyist for the Palmetto State Teachers Association, said about the title.

The measure addresses three reasons teachers repeatedly give for abandoning their career: Lack of support, respect and time to teach, said Kelly, who's also a high school teacher in suburban Richland Two.

Currently, teachers must show completion of 120 hours of continuing education over five years to get their certificate renewed by the state. What's accepted toward meeting that requirement varies district by district, with some allowing in-district training to count and others requiring time beyond what's in their contract, such as conferences and college coursework they pay for themselves.

Erickson called it overkill that creates a paperwork nightmare.

The bill would not affect local training and contract requirements.

Those can exceed 200 hours every five years, given that districts can mandate five to seven days of professional training yearly, Kelly said.

"We will continue to engage in professional growth and development," he said. "All this bill removes is the fact that every five years, teachers have to scramble to find documentation for courses they took five years ago so they can submit it to their assistant principal, who can submit it to district HR who sends it to the state department."

The proposal would knock out unnecessary paperwork shuffles for teachers and administrators, who could then devote their time instead to recruiting to fill vacancies, Kelly said.

It would also give teachers more time to decide whether they want to commit to another year in their current job.

Currently, teachers must sign their annual contract by May 11, usually weeks before their school board approves the district's budget and sets their salaries. Breaking that contract without their school board's written approval is deemed unprofessional conduct resulting in a 12-month suspension of their teaching certificate, with the yearlong clock starting whenever the State Board of Education hears the case.

And it can take months for the state board to get the case, resulting in a suspension that may keep a teacher from being hired by any district in South Carolina for 16 months or more.

"That's really taking someone's livelihood away," said Rep. Jeff Bradley, R-Hilton Head Island, the subcommittee chairman.

Some districts are more lenient than others in allowing teachers to break a contract, teacher advocates testified.

As the teacher shortage has worsened, districts have cracked down. Teachers have been turned in for suspensions because their spouse was deployed or changed jobs, or they had to care for an aging parent, Kelly said.

During the pandemic, teachers who had to leave the classroom for medical reasons were suspended, said Sherry East, president of the South Carolina Education Association.

The proposal still keeps the May 11 deadline but allows teachers to submit a withdrawal notice up to 10 days after the district posts the local salary schedule, which pays teachers according to their years of experience and degree.

There is no other profession where employees must accept a job, and be committed to it for a year, two months before learning what their paycheck will look like, Erickson said.

Under the proposal, if a teacher is punished for breach of contract, the suspension lasts up to six months from the date the teacher left, not the state board hearing. It also gives board members more leeway in deciding whether to suspend at all, making it an option based on the evidence, not a must.

"The end goal is to allow teachers to move around in our state and stay in the classroom," Erickson said. No one spoke against the bill, which legislators of both parties have signed onto. The subcommittee advanced it 6-0, after Rep. David Vaughan, R-Simpsonville, praised it as "pretty close to a perfect bill." Still, with just 11 days left in the 2023 regular session, it's highly unlikely to become law this year. Erickson, who's in her first year as chairwoman, said she wanted to go ahead and have a hearing to set it up for passage next year. South Carolina Statehouse sessions are two years in length. Bills introduced this year stay in play through 2024.
COLUMBIA  State lawmakers say they want to help South Carolinas beleaguered horse industry, but the two principal efforts to do something appear dead following the defeat April 18 of a measure that would have pumped in cash through a tax on horse feed.

The other bill, which would fund the industry by legalizing and taxing online horse race wagering, was passed narrowly in the House earlier this month but has not been taken up in the state Senate.

Even if the Senate passes the horse race gambling bill, as supporters insist it will, the governor has pledged to veto it and social conservatives have spoken out against it.

Its possible the House could add money into this years budget to directly appropriate cash to the effort, but at this stage in the budget process with the Senate poised to pass its version this week, the time has likely run out for that.

So South Carolina's struggling equestrians will likely wait at least another year for relief from the state.

On April 18, advocates turned out to a House subcommittee meeting to plead their case.

We are a hollow shell of what we once were, Ned Towell, the owner of a Camden horse farm, said of his regions generations-old equine industry.

He recounted the steady emptying of stables, the closure of farms and the declining caliber of local competitions.

The reason behind the drop in business is simple, Towell said. Competition, competition, competition.

Other states have invested in facilities and lavished incentives on owners and breeders who stable their horses in their states while South Carolina has fallen behind.

The bill the horsemen were advocating would institute a $2-per-ton fee on horse feed; that's about a nickel per bag. The money collected would go to an 11-member appointed board that would give the funds out as grants to support the state's horse industry.

The state's Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office estimates the new fee would generate $151,000 for such grants. The board would also be charged with promoting the industry.

You talked about all the different boards that we have  the pork board, the beef board  there isnt an equine board, Tommy Doyle, the owner of Palmetto Carriage Works, which operates Charlestons horse drawn tours, told the subcommittee.

Theres nobody out there talking about things that are important to the horse community, he added.

The House panel voted down the bill, with three Republicans voting against the panels lone Democratic member while its chairman, Rep. Bill Chumley, R-Woodruff, abstained.

The concerns that led to the defeat were largely over the potential for the fee to apply to stock feed for all animals, not just horses.

Rep. Bill Hixon, a Republican from North Augusta who owns a farm, waved a printed photo of a bag of feed with a horse, cow and goat on it, worrying that farmers could be penalized because theyre feeding a cow something with a horse on it.

Several representatives said the Legislature should appropriate money to support the equine industry rather than levying a fee; similar arguments were leveled against the horse race betting bill.

Itd be simpler to write them a check than set up all this bureaucracy, said Rep. Randy Ligon, R-Chester. Were burning up more money talking about it than the horses are going to get.

Rep. Dennis Moss, a Gaffney Republican who owns several horses and was the bills lead sponsor, expressed mild frustration after the vote that many of his colleagues say they want to support the equine industry but vote against efforts to do so. He said he believed the fee would only be applied to feed specifically labeled for horses, but that he would confer with legislators in North Carolina on how their feed fee system works.

He wants to amend the budget to include money for the equine industry and see how his colleagues vote on it.
Business partners of a Greek dining venue in Mount Pleasant plan to open a new Mediterranean-inspired restaurant less than a mile away from the current location.

Justin Hunt and Dimitri Hatgidimitriou are eyeing a fall opening for Taverna Philosophia in the former Bacco Italian space in Northcutt Plaza at Houston Northcutt and Coleman boulevards. It will be subtitled Aegean Brasserie.

"If everything goes as planned, we hope to be open by Nov. 1," Hunt said.

Hunt operates Philosophia, which opened in April 2022 in the Whole Foods Market-anchored Patriots Point Plaza on Houston Northcutt Boulevard, while Hatgidimitriou plans to relocate from New York to oversee the new restaurant.

They plan to remodel the 3,000-square-foot former Bacco space, including the removal of a centrally located wood-fired pizza site and replacing it with a grill as the focal point of the dining room.

"We will be incorporating not just Greek but Mediterranean dishes as well," Hatgidimitriou said. "Not many items from Philosophia will be repeated, maybe a couple. I think we are going to take it up a notch. It will be like you are dining in the Greek isles."

The duo said the proximity of the two restaurants is a driving factor so they can meet and greet diners at both venues at different times.

"It's important for the chef to touch those tables and make sure the guests are taken of," Hatgidimitriou said.

Hunt said the current restaurant is doing well, but at 1,600 square feet inside and 900 square feet outside, space is limited.

"In the new restaurant, we will have a larger ability for prepping," Hunt said.

They plan to offer house-made pastas, a raw bar and different cuts of beef and whole fish. A full bar also will be included, along with craft cocktails and a wine selection. Hours will be 5-10 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. Sunday will be set aside for private events, and the restaurant will be closed on Monday.

The dining room also will be designed so a small section can be closed off for private events during regular business hours if necessary.

Hunt estimates the 90-seat restaurant will employ about 25 people. More details will be available as the restaurant nears its opening later this year.

Mandy Coleman with National Restaurant Properties represented the tenant, HH Hospitality LLC, while Joyce Beach with the commercial real estate firm CBRE represented the landlord, Northcutt Plaza LLC in the transaction.

What's cooking?

A new food-and-beverage operation is coming to a former downtown coffee shop near the College of Charleston.

Legend Deli is taking over the site at 41-A George St. where Tricera Coffee was located before closing in March, according to Mandy Coleman with National Restaurant Properties. Owner Chaz Wendel is tentatively aiming to be open by May 1.

New brew

A Goose Creek coffee shop is adding a North Charleston location that's behind the gates of a major military installation.

Ra Coffee will open April 21 at 202 W. Hill Blvd. on Charleston Air Force Base off Dorchester Road. It's located in the lobby of Inns of Charleston, an on-base lodging.

Hours will be 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 6:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday.

On the patio

An outdoor furniture shop with two locations in the Charleston area is building a large showroom in Summerville that will open by midsummer.

Palm Casual Patio Furniture plans to open by late June or early July in a 19,000-square-foot store at 350 Holiday Drive, near a Hudson Nissan dealership that's under construction.

Both new projects are adjacent to Interstate 26.

Aaron Beasley of James Island, who owns outdoor furniture locations in Mount Pleasant and Summerville as well as two shops in Bluffton and another in Myrtle Beach, said he will relocate the 4,500-square-foot Flowertown business from 1024 N. Main St.

The new building will have about 15,000 square feet of showroom space and the rest will be for storage and offices.

"It will become our flagship location," Beasley said.

Palm Casual Patio Furniture LLC bought the 1.64-acre site in 2021 for just over $681,000, according to Berkeley County land records.

Curb appeal

An Ohio-based restaurant that plans to open an East Cooper venue wants to change the building color and landscaping at the site in one of the Lowcountry's largest shopping centers.

Condado Tacos is asking Mount Pleasant's Design Review Board to approve plans for the removal of eight crepe myrtle trees and the addition of a new exterior paint scheme to align with the company's brand image for the planned eatery in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre.

The corner site at 1712 Towne Centre Way, which is under renovation, previously housed Atlanta Bread Co. for nearly two decades before it closed in 2018.

The Columbus-based build-your-own taco concept recently opened another South Carolina location in Greenville.

Lights out

A breakfast and lunch restaurant in Mount Pleasant has gone dark after a nearly 2-year run.

Maple Street Biscuit Co. vacated the building at 996 Queensborough Blvd. in the Publix-anchored Queensborough Shopping Center near U.S. Highway 17 and Anna Knapp Boulevard. Its last day of business was April 16.

The restaurant opened in December 2020. Maple Street has another Charleston-area location at 1739 Maybank Highway in the Harris Teeter-anchored James Island Center on James Island.

Former franchise owner Sandy Powers said Cracker Barrel bought the two Charleston area locations last year. The remaining Lowcountry restaurant will continue to operate as Maple Street Biscuit Co., she said.

Gassing up

Work has started on a new convenience store and gas station in the Charleston area.

Contractor Gilliam & Associates of Aiken is building a Parker's Kitchen at 343 College Park Road. When it was first announced in 2020, plans included a truck stop, but nearby residents, environmentalists and county officials opposed the truck addition because they feared the disturbance of wetlands in Ancrum Swamp next to the 17-acre site.

Savannah-based Parker's paid $950,000 for the property in 2020, according to Berkeley County land records.

An opening time frame for the new store has not been announced. Parker's Kitchen has several locations in the Lowcountry with others in the works.
COLUMBIA  Hiring a new jail director, installing new locks and renovating the kitchen at the Richland County jail are among reforms that county officials have promised the state are underway as part of a mandate to plan improvements or risk closure.

The S.C. Department of Corrections required the county to submit the plan to address specific goals and deadlines or have DOC step in, potentially shutting down the jail. The DOC is still reviewing the plan, so whether the steps the county has outlined will be enough to appease the state remains unclear.

No specific timeline was given in the county's plan for the changes, with the implementation for every item listed as "now and ongoing." The exception was installing new locks, which is expected to begin in August and finish in May 2024.

Richland County quietly turned in its plan April 12, six days before it was due. DOC does not have a timeline for when the state will decide whether the plan is sufficient or advise the county if more is needed. The county conducted a press conference about its jail overhaul plan on April 19, simultaneously making the full text of the plan available to the news media for the first time.

Hiring

Among the changes laid out in Richland's plan was a goal to hire a new director within the next 60 days, going through more than 20 applications to fill a position that has been vacant since the county fired its last director seven months ago. Interim Director Crayman Harvey has been filling in since then.

County Administrator Leonardo Brown said he is also hiring a compliance director, who will be responsible for making sure the jail meets state standards.

Staffing has been a major problem at the detention center for years, according to previous audits. Most recently, jail officer positions were about 57 percent filled, Harvey told a committee of County Council members in March. That number is up from 48 percent during the state's October 2022 audit and 35 percent in 2021.

The county raised its base salary for jail officers from $32,000 to $40,000 in 2022, with bonuses for new hires, employee referrals and years of service. Employees who aren't eligible for overtime also receive a $2,000 monthly stipend for working long hours.

Still, hiring has been a struggle, compounded by "a local, state and national shortage crisis in the field of corrections," Brown wrote in the plan. To fill in the gaps, the county increased the number of security officers it contracts through a private company.

Other than adding on-the-spot hiring for candidates who pass a background check to bolster recruitment, the plan focused on previous pay changes to attract employees. Brown laid out those same changes in a letter to DOC in June 2022, before the jail's most recent inspection.

"This particular environment is not one where people are excited about working," Brown said. "That's why we find this to be an issue across multiple counties throughout the state of South Carolina as well as in Richland County."

Maintenance

Altogether, the county's submission to the state included just over $3.4 million in quoted expenses, primarily stemming from kitchen renovations and improvements to the lock system.

Another significant part of those expenses will be refurbishing each unit comprising the jail's cell blocks. One unit alone, which holds between 50 and 60 inmates, will cost the county more than half a million dollars for combined general renovations and plumbing improvements, according to a quote included in the packet, and the county has 18 total units, potentially adding up to more than $9 million.

The $3.4 million in the plan is part of a larger $12 million that the County Council has already allocated to the jail. Brown said the county will "spare no expense" during the coming budget cycle.

Some problems have been fixed since the audit, according to the plan. For one, pretrial and sentenced women are no longer housed together and have been moved to a place where constant surveillance is possible  two problems noted in the state's October inspection.

The jail no longer has five units closed because of staffing shortages, though three are under renovation.

Harvey also closed the special housing unit, where inmates were separated from the general population. Pipes in that area were leaking what appeared to be raw sewage and an inspector questioned whether inmates were consistently supervised.

Plus, Richland County switched pest control providers to address concerns about rats and bugs in the jail. And inmates are no longer housed in an area with too few toilets for the number of detainees.

Maintenance work  including addressing water damage, faulty plumbing and accumulations of trash  has been held up by delays in getting supplies, Brown wrote in the plan, as well as trouble finding contractors willing to work in a jail.

"Notwithstanding, Richland County is moving forward in making improvements in areas where immediate change can be made while also doing prep work in areas that require structural fixes," Brown wrote.

Security

Safety and security, for both inmates and officers, has been a major concern at the jail.

After an inmate was killed in January, the county sheriff, who is not involved in running the jail, raised alarms over malfunctioning locks that allowed others into the inmate's cell. While executing a search warrant, deputies found dozens of contraband items, including cellphones and handmade knives.

Three officers were later arrested on charges of misconduct, which included allegedly accepting bribes and smuggling in contraband.

The concerns have been ongoing, after two others were also stabbed in separate incidents the first week of April.

"Right now, my biggest concern is the safety of the inmates," state Rep. Seth Rose, D-Columbia, an attorney, said earlier in the week. "And, of course, I'd be remiss not to also say the safety of those working in the facility."

New locks, which will replace those that were tampered with and those found to be ineffective, are at the top of the list of coming changes. The project is also among the most expensive single change so far, with the county spending nearly $2.5 million to replace locks and another $28,000 to fix cell doors.

To prevent contraband, the jail also began using body scanners on officers, according to the plan.

"We don't like to talk about some of the unfortunate incidents that occur as it relates to people making bad decisions, but when those bad decisions are made, we are taking action to address that," Brown said.

New facilities

Along with improvements to the jail itself, Richland County is planning to transform an existing unit into an attorney-client visitation center and build a medical facility, though few details were available.

The visitation center would include no-contact visitation rooms and contact visitation rooms where detainees will be able to consult confidentially with attorneys. Previously, attorneys have had to go into housing units to meet with clients, and other inmates were often nearby.

These additional projects are awaiting approval from DOC to move forward, so no cost estimate is available yet, County Spokeswoman Susan O'Cain said April 18.

Also in the works is a mental health and medical building. In place of the special housing unit the county shut down, inmates will be placed in a mental health unit, older-age population unit or stepdown unit to separate them from the general population.

For inmates who need additional care, the mental health and medical addition will allow more support for the health care providers working in the jail, according to a letter Brown sent to the DOC.

"The detention center is not a hospital, the detention center is not a mental health facility," Brown said. "So, when you look across the nation and you've had medical facilities having a hard time hiring doctors and nurses, just imagine trying to do that for a detention facility."

Click here for more news from Columbia, S.C.
COLUMBIA  A Columbia gun manufacturer will not receive tax incentives to expand after Richland County Council shot down the company's proposal with a tied vote April 18.

Council members and local residents raised concerns over using tax dollars to encourage a gun manufacturer to expand amid frequent national mass shootings.

"I have no problem if that company wants to sell guns  that's fine," Councilwoman Yvonne McBride said. "But do not use taxpayer dollars."

Councilwoman Alison Terracio said she is "horrified regularly" by mass shootings, such as the April 7 shooting on Isle of Palms that injured five people, as well as the more frequent shootings that injure smaller numbers of people.

"Putting more dollars in the hands of these gun manufacturers is not something that I will be able to support now or ever," Terracio said.

Virginia-based company FN America, which makes a variety of guns and ammunition, would have invested $16.5 million and created 100 jobs in expanding beyond its current location on Clemson Road in northeast Columbia. The county was offering a 60 percent tax break for 12 years.

"You cannot give this company that's sending (guns) into my neighborhood, monies," said Regina Williams, president of the Booker Washington Heights neighborhood association, adding that she thought the council should put that money toward community organizations.

The council narrowly approved a tax break for the company in 2018 for a $26 million investment in its Columbia plant, which has been operating since 1979.

The council had previously moved the incentive package forward despite concerns raised during its first reading March 7.

This is a longtime manufacturer in northeast Columbia that has done a lot for our U.S. military, Councilman Don Weaver said at the time. I think out of respect for everyone in the service and veterans, we need to approve this.

The council approved two other development deals April 18: an $85 million student housing project and a $66 million housing development.

Click here for more news from Columbia, S.C.
COLUMBIA  Richard Quinn, once considered South Carolina's most powerful Republican political consultant, pleaded guilty April 19 to perjury and obstruction of justice charges tied to the yearslong investigation into corruption at the Statehouse.

Judge Carmen Mullen accepted the 78-year-old's Alford plea, where Quinn did not admit guilt, but agrees a jury would likely convict him.

Mullen sentenced the longtime GOP kingmaker who worked with top state politicians to 18 months of home detention under supervision of Richland County, followed by two years of probation for two counts of obstruction of justice and four counts of perjury.

"It is difficult to understand agreeing to a plea while being innocent until you have personally experienced such an unfair and unfortunate situation," Shaun Kent, the Manning-based attorney representing Quinn, said in a statement.

The charges came after Quinn testified before the state grand jury as part of an agreement to drop previous charges in the corruption probe that examined conflicts among lawmakers and consultants, along with state agencies and large businesses, that lobby the General Assembly.

"The plea made in front of the court today shows the importance of our judicial system through Quinn's convictions for multiple counts of perjury and obstruction of justice," said 7th Circuit Solicitor Barry Barnette, who was appointed to the case in 2021 as a special state prosecutor.

S.C. Attorney General Alan Wilson, a former Quinn client, recused himself from the case.

Quinn's guilty plea brings closure to the Statehouse investigation that shook up S.C. politics for years.

The Statehouse corruption probe led to the indictments of six now-former Republican lawmakers  all clients of Quinn  including his son, former House Majority Leader Rick Quinn. Former state Rep. Jim Harrison, who worked for Quinn's firm, was convicted of perjury and misconduct after he failed to report nearly $1 million he earned during his 13-year time with the firm.

During his decadeslong career, Quinn advised some of South Carolina's most powerful Republican lawmakers, congressmen and state officials, including now-Gov. Henry McMaster and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham. His political network assembled over four decades became known as the "Quinndom."

Original illegal lobbying and felony conspiracy charges against Quinn were dropped in 2017 after his son pleaded guilty to misconduct charges and resigned from the Statehouse. Quinn agreed to testify before the state grand jury as part of the deal.

Quinn was accused of lying during his testimony to the state grand jury in April and May of 2018. He was indicted in July 2021 on 12 counts of perjury and two of obstruction of justice. The other perjury charges were dismissed in the plea agreement.

"Today Richard Quinn Sr. agreed to a plea to finally bring an end to what has been an extremely painful eight-year-ordeal for him and his family," Kent said. "He strongly maintains his innocence and simply wants to put this chapter of life behind him so he can enjoy time with his grandchildren."
IRMO  Surveillance cameras with facial recognition and license plate readers may be in the future for Irmo after the Town Council voted April 18 to back these plans as a measure to satisfy residents complaining about crime, especially in neighborhoods bordering Columbia.

The move comes after residents of Beacon Hill, an Irmo neighborhood adjacent to Columbia's Harbison shopping and residential community, have complained for months about a string of car break-ins, burglaries and gunshots. Irmo Mayor Barry Walker in heated comments to the council April 18, blamed residents of nearby low-income housing complexes for the uptick in his town's crime.

"Quite frankly, I am sick and tired of the city of Columbia cleaning out their hood and sending them all to Irmo," Walker said. "I am sick and tired of that happening."

To address the crime in Irmo, a Columbia suburb with a population of about 12,000, the council approved the first reading of plans to install six license plate readers and eight cameras in the Carmel Commons, Beacon Hill, Friarsgate communities, as well as portions of Harbison within Irmo.

But, the cameras are not a full-scale solution, Walker said. The town hopes to get buy-in from the city of Columbia, the Harbison Community Association and Lexington-Richland Five School District to help resolve the issue.

"We can throw up some cameras," Walker said in a previous interview. "That's not going to solve the problem. We have to get to the kids (who are committing crimes)."

In an attempt to do so, the council also voted in the April 18 meeting to allocate $15,000 in funding from the American Rescue Plan Act to the Universal Community Improvement Organization, a local nonprofit after school program. Additionally, the council approved plans to sponsor 15 scholarships to the program, in hopes that giving teenagers living in low-income housing structure outside of school hours will help limit crime, Walker said.

Clarifying his claims during the town meeting, Walker said in an April 19 interview that he attributes Irmo's crime problem to Columbia's low-income housing voucher program, which is run through the Columbia Housing Authority. Walker added that the voucher program affects Irmo's neighborhoods, as well as its schools.

The voucher program, called the Housing Choice Voucher Program, is a federally funded program that assists "very low-income families, the elderly, and the disabled to afford decent, safe and sanitary housing in the private market," according to the Columbia Housing Authority's website.

These vouchers are redeemable at properties scattered around Richland County through the Columbia Housing Authority, and it is possible that vouchers are used at properties in and near Irmo, said Yvonda Bean, Chief Executive Officer of Columbia Housing Authority.

"To make the assertion that individuals that happen to hold vouchers of any kind are the cause of an uptick or increase in crime it's just, it's not accurate," Bean said in response to Walker's claims.

Bean added that which renters are using housing vouchers through the Columbia Housing Authority is private information.

Walker called on the city of Columbia to contribute funds to help ease crime in Columbia's Harbison area, which borders Irmo. Specifically, Walker said he would like Columbia to help purchase technology to track gunshots in the area.

The term "hood," which Mayor Walker used in addressing the council, is sometimes used to refer to Black neighborhoods. However, Mayor Walker, who is Black, said he meant subsidized housing projects in general.
GEORGETOWN  Brittanee Drexel's killer finally responded to a January lawsuit by the slain teen's mother with a handwritten, single-sentence note sent from state prison.

"I do deny each & every question/statement listed in the requests for admission," Raymond Moody wrote on the note dated April 3 after listing the case number of the lawsuit filed by Drexel's mother, Dawn Pleckan of Florida.

The note was filed in Georgetown County on April 14, some 17 days after the court found Moody was in default for failing to answer the lawsuit on time.

Fifteenth Circuit Solicitor Jimmy Richardson said at its most basic, the entry of default means that the plaintiff wins and the defendant loses.

The second part would be almost like a restitution hearing, how much does he owe you, Richardson said. That may be left to take place. But the fact that he is already in default, thats the part that would have to be re-opened for the answer to mean anything.

Drexel, 17, of Chili, N.Y., outside Rochester, disappeared while on a spring break trip to Myrtle Beach in 2009, a case that generated national attention and remained a mystery for more than a decade.

Moody pleaded guilty in October 2022 to killing Drexel after he and and his girlfriend picked up the teen as she walked alone in Myrtle Beach. Moody drove to a campsite at Pole Yard Boat Landing, a spot near the North Santee River south of Georgetown where he liked to fish.

After smoking marijuana, Moody said he hoped to have consensual sex with Drexel, prosecutors said. When she resisted, he assaulted her. Moody said he strangled Drexel and hid her body.

Her disappearance went unsolved for 13 years until new technology was used to track Drexels cellphone and prosecutors got help from recordings of conversations made by Moodys girlfriend.

Drexel's body was found in May 2022 in a four-foot grave 10 miles north of the boat landing.

During his guilty plea hearing, Moody apologized for killing Drexel, as well as for raping a child under age 14 in California in the 1980s. He spent 20 years in prison for his earlier conviction.

I was a monster, Moody said. I was a monster then, and I was a monster when I took Brittanee Drexels life. I dont have the words to express how horrible I feel and Ive felt ever since that day. Im very, very sorry.

Moody was sentenced to life in prison along with consecutive sentences totaling 60 years for criminal sexual conduct and kidnapping.

Pleckan's lawsuit, filed in January, alleges Moody caused distress with the rape and murder of her daughter and concealment of his involvement.

As a result of Moodys actions, the lawsuit states she incurred medical bills and expenses, loss of enjoyment of life, pain, suffering, mental anguish, and will continue to experience these in the future and permanently.

Georgetown County Clerk of Court Alma White did not respond to a request for comment on whether Moody's response affects the entry of default. Attorneys for Pleckan also did not respond to a request for comment.

No attorney is listed for Moody in Pleckan's lawsuit. His public South Carolina Department of Corrections entry does not disclose his location, but a court filing states that he was served at the McCormick Correctional Institution in McCormick on Feb. 21.

The next hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for Aug. 1, according to online court records.
PAWLEYS ISLAND  A mat designed for beach accessibility is planned as a replacement for the wooden walkway at Pawleys Island's First Street beach access which was damaged by Hurricane Ian in September.

Dubbed Mobi-Mats, the polyester mats have been used by other coastal South Carolina towns, including Surfside Beach and Hilton Head Island, to allow better beach access for the disabled.

The First Street access is one of nine on the barrier island and the only one yet to recover from Ian, which made landfall near Georgetown and caused millions of dollars of damage along the Georgetown County coast.

"The thought process is, 'Hey, these types of (mats) do not generate debris, necessarily,' " Pawleys Island Town Administrator Dan Newquist said. "You can actually take them up if a storm is going to be bad enough."

The mats also can be on standby if another beach access is damaged, he said.

The mat that Newquist was authorized to order by the Town Council spans 50 feet by 10 feet and is expected to cost about $6,000.

"The goal is, as long as it's functioning properly and lasts in terms of weathering and everything else, and indications are that they do, then yeah, our long-term plan is to have one installed there," Newquist said.

The wooden walkway at the First Street access is no longer in place, since being removed to allow equipment to reach the island's northern end for debris removal following Ian. There is now only a direct walkway to the beach through the sand, Newquist said.

"We want some type of system in there because over time, more foot traffic, the foot traffic will start eroding that section of the beach," Newquist said. "So these systems kind of dissipate the foot traffic energy. It kind of keeps the dimensions of the dune itself intact."

The mat also allows easier emergency access to the northern section of the island, he said.

"It's not like we can get a fire truck onto the beach or anything like that, but they can get a four-wheeler, a vehicle onto the beach, some of the (John Deere) Gators they have," Newquist said.

Police Chief Mike Fanning said his department is open to the mat as a long-term solution, though he's not yet sure of its durability.

At the very least, Fanning said, the mat will better accommodate the stretcher-carrying rescue vehicles used by Midway Fire Rescue.

"They were not able to get over any of our ramps because of the way they just either eroded away from storms or the way they were rebuilt, they had steps on them, so they couldn't get up and down," Fanning said. "So this will really accommodate them well."

Elsewhere on the island, Georgetown County is pursuing a federal grant to renovate the parking lot at the island's south end, which was used as a staging area for debris removed from the beach following Ian.

Much of that debris derived from the private Pawleys Island Pier, which collapsed the same day Ian made landfall in South Carolina.
Tourists visit the Historic Town of Sukhothai in Sukhothai, Thailand, April 16, 2023. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns on its World Heritage List. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

A tourist takes photos at the Historic Town of Sukhothai in Sukhothai, Thailand, April 17, 2023. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns on its World Heritage List. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

Tourists are seen at the Historic Town of Sukhothai in Sukhothai, Thailand, April 16, 2023. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns on its World Heritage List. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

Tourists take photos at the Historic Town of Sukhothai in Sukhothai, Thailand, April 17, 2023. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns on its World Heritage List. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

A tourist takes photos at the Historic Town of Sukhothai in Sukhothai, Thailand, April 16, 2023. In 1991, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has inscribed the Historic Town of Sukhothai and Associated Historic Towns on its World Heritage List. (Xinhua/Wang Teng)

Editor: JYZ
Terry Stone, a local to Charleston until 2003, has recently released an autobiographical memoir about her father. The Dreamer and Renaissance Man: Dialogue with My Father tells the story of the rich and interesting life of Stones father. Read moreCharleston author recalls father's journey
Kingstree, SC (29556)

Today

Partly cloudy skies this morning will give way to occasional showers during the afternoon. High 74F. Winds ENE at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of rain 60%..

Tonight

Showers early, then partly cloudy overnight. Low 53F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 50%.
Getting older does not always mean you have to slow down. Mount Pleasant has become a hub for active seniors, evidenced by the Senior Center's jam-packed calendar of athletic offerings. Whether it is water aerobics, yoga or the ever-popular pickleball, there are many ways to keep the body moving. Read moreLive Your Legacy: Basketball a slam-dunk for staying young
FLORENCE  "Tiger King" star Bhagavan Doc Antle, facing federal money laundering and wildlife trafficking charges, can leave his Myrtle Beach-area business and home to visit a relative in Georgia, a federal judge ruled.

Antle has been confined to the popular 50-acre Myrtle Beach Safari since his June arrest, but his $250,000 bond was modified April 18 by U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas Rogers after a motion from his lawyers.

The motion asked Rogers to remove the bond conditions of Antles home detention and location monitoring and give the U.S. Probation Office authority to let him to leave the wildlife preserve to visit an unidentified family member. The person was seriously injured and is obtaining treatment at an undisclosed facility in the Atlanta area.

Antles lawyers argued that he has complied with the terms of his bond conditions that were set June 28, which include home detention, not leaving the state, surrendering his passport and not possessing a weapon.

Federal officials in response to the motion consented to Antles bond modification.

The ruling by Rogers comes two months after U.S. District Judge Joseph Dawson granted the controversial tiger handler a continuance of his pretrial conference and jury selection dates until October.

In February, it was revealed through court documents that federal prosecutors have sent more than 37,000 items of evidence to Antles lawyers. They anticipate even more in the request for the delay. Additionally, his lawyers said potential witnesses are located in multiple states.

Antles case has received national attention because he was featured on the hit Netflix series Tiger King, about animal handler and zoo operator Joe Exotic, who was sent to prison in a plot to kill a rival, Carole Baskin.

The Myrtle Beach Safari owner has been a troubled figure among animal rights advocates, including Baskin, who have accused him of mistreating lions and other wildlife and allowing people to hold the animals at Myrtle Beach Safari.

In June, Antle was one of five people named in a 10-count federal indictment for wildlife trafficking and money laundering.

The indictment and a previous federal complaint allege that Antle and one of his Myrtle Beach Safari employees, Andrew Sawyer, laundered more than $500,000 they thought were proceeds of an operation to smuggle illegal immigrants across the Mexican border into the United States, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office.

The duo allegedly concealed the money by providing checks from a business controlled by Antle and a business controlled by Sawyer.

Antle and Sawyer claimed the checks were for construction work at the 50-acre wildlife preserve in Socastee outside Myrtle Beach, but federal officials countered the checks were written to make the pair appear to have legitimate income, court documents said.

Antle and Sawyer, who allegedly both received a 15 percent fee of any amount laundered, are facing up to 20 years in federal prison for the money laundering charges and up to five years for the wildlife trafficking charges.

According to the indictment, Antle, along with Meredith Bybee of Myrtle Beach, Charles Sammut of Salinas, California, and Jason Clay of Franklin, Texas, also allegedly trafficked and falsified records regarding wildlife. The animals involved included lemurs, cheetahs and a chimpanzee.

In February, Judge Dawson dismissed the charges that Sammut, the owner and operator of Vision Quest Ranch in California, was facing, after federal prosecutors said moving forward with his case would not serve the interests of justice, court documents said.

Antle has received more than 35 U.S. Department of Agriculture violations over the years for mistreating animals, and he is also facing animal cruelty charges in Virginia tied to trafficking lion cubs but has never been convicted.

His next Virginia court appearance is scheduled for June.
A Charleston woman pleaded guilty April 18 in federal court to financial fraud charges, including siphoning funds from a local church to pay off credit card debt.

Felicia Alfreda Lyles pleaded guilty in Charleston's U.S. District Court to bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and wire fraud as part of a negotiated settlement with the federal prosecutors.

The 41-year-old woman was indicted in April 2022 on three counts of bank fraud, two counts of wire fraud and two counts of making false financial statements, among other charges.

The defendant submitted to a psychiatric evaluation and was found competent to stand trial, court records show.

Lyles, standing in shackles and a striped jumpsuit, told U.S. District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks on April 18 that she previously worked in restaurants and offices. She also opened her own businesses.

Lyles's illicit enterprise occurred throughout 2020 and 2021.

In one scheme, Lyles obtained a woman's personal information on the internet and impersonated the woman on the phone with the IRS to obtain her 2018 and 2019 tax returns, according to the indictment.

Lyles used the victim's financial information to open 10 bank accounts and purchase a 2020 Chevrolet Malibu and a 2017 Honda Accord.

The victim noticed the fraudulent activity and froze her accounts.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Katie Orville said at the April 18 hearing that Lyles at one point called the victim and demanded she stop freezing her accounts.

The defendant still denies this accusation, according to her attorney, Alicia Penn of the federal public defender's office.

Authorities learned in November 2020 that Lyles tried to purchase a home and take out a mortgage in the victim's name, per the indictment. Charleston city police charged her with financial identity fraud, state court records show.

The state charge did not deter Lyles.

She obtained access to a bank account registered to Charleston Baptist Church and wired herself more than $300 to pay off a credit card, which she also obtained using false information.

Kevin Giordano, Charleston Baptist Church head pastor, said at the time Lyles was indicted that he prayed the defendant would understand the impact of her crimes and improve herself.

Lyles's plea deal requires her to make full restitution. The prosecutor said at the April 18 hearing that the government plans to drop the eight remaining charges in the indictment and will recommend a five-year prison sentence.

A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
COLUMBIA  A Statehouse proposal to stop Folly Beach and other barrier islands from limiting short-term rentals was thrown out on a technicality, but not before a testy exchange between two Charleston County Republicans.

State Sen. Sandy Senn doesn't represent barrier islands in Charleston County, but she proposed a budget clause that would block the county's beach towns from enforcing such rental restrictions.

Her amendment initially won quick approval on a voice vote, triggering protests from Sen. Chip Campsen, who does represent the barrier islands in Charleston County, including Folly.

He took exception to a fellow Republican proposing rules he objected to geared to his turf.

"I represent every single municipality that this applies to, and theyre in my district," Campsen, R-Isle of Palms, said April 19 in addressing Senn. This is my district. Its not your district."

Towns shouldnt be punished for trying to preserve their residents quality of life," he added.

Under the proposal's wording, Folly Beach, Isle of Palms and Sullivan's Island could each have faced a loss of state funding if their governments enforced certain short-term rental restrictions.

Senn admitted Folly Beach was at the top of her thinking. That's where voters in February narrowly approved a local referendum limiting the number of short-term rentals, capping the number at 800.

"Certainly Folly Beach, which was my target, quite frankly," Senn said, adding the cap will likely result in prices skyrocketing for the homes that can still be rented.

Beach towns that regularly seek state money for sand renourishment and other projects shouldn't then limit people's ability to enjoy the beach, she said, noting she lived on Folly Beach for 24 years.

"I recognize that summer swell can be a nuisance, but I chose to live out there," she said. "I do think it's just beach snobbery. I understand that you may not want all these people around, but you moved there."

Senn's effort to include the measure in the state budget was rejected April 19 on the technical question of whether it was germane, meaning it was directly related to the state spending bill.

"I thought it was germane because I tied it to money," said Senn.

In addition to Folly Beach's rental limit, Sullivan's Island has long banned short-term rentals. The Isle of Palms has been debating its regulations.

Senn said the restrictions punish property owners and any South Carolina resident who wants to visit the beach.

Her proposed amendment to the state budget would have stripped local governments in Charleston County with certain populations  between 1,800 and 4,400 residents  of their shares of state aid if they were to "enact or enforce an ordinance that prohibits short-term rentals."

That would have applied only to short-term rentals longer than three days, and only to properties that are taxed at higher rates than primary residences, as are vacation homes and rental properties.

Senn said those property owners didn't have a voice in Folly Beach's February referendum because they don't live there. But they may have bought the property relying on rental income to make a mortgage payment.

As for Campsen's complaint that she doesn't represent Folly, Senn said, "It impacts all state beach goers."

Folly Beach Mayor Tim Goodwin noted Senn had previously owned property in the city. Senn said she no longer owns her Folly Beach properties, selling the last of her three in November 2021.

"No, not anymore, thats why I didnt feel bad bringing this up," Senn said, adding that potential rental income was the first thing buyers asked her about.

Goodwin said Senn's proposal was a slap at local governments.

Im opposed to it, and the biggest reason is youre stepping on home rule all over," he said. "If you allow this to happen, whats next?"

Senn said the issue of regulating short-term rentals will certainly come back in the Legislature. She said some senators voted against her proposal because it only applied to Campsen's district.

A broader proposal to prohibit all local governments from regulating short-term rentals stalled in the House of Representatives earlier this year.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to correct an earlier statement from Mayor Tim Goodwin that Sandy Senn has an active city rental license. She does not; it expired in 2021.
How should South Carolina invest the next $1.3 billion? April is Innovation Month in South Carolina. Below is a description of what our next economic development investments should be  written by the artificially intelligent large language model ChatGPT. This description is as much a reality check as it is impressive. Were entering a brave new world. Read moreWarner: How should South Carolina invest the next $1.3 billion?
NOTE: Some of these events may have been canceled or postponed. Please check with the organizers. Call 843-873-9424 to add your event to this free calendar. Read moreCommunity Calendar
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Dato Sri Marilyn Tay Bee Choo joins A.M Aesthetics as Group Business Development Director to support customer growth across the expanded network of medical aesthetic clinicsSINGAPORE, Apr 19, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Accrelist Ltd. has entered into a Sales and Purchase Agreement (the "SPA") with SJY Healthcare Pte. Ltd. to acquire a 51% equity interest in SJY Medical Pte. Ltd., which operates Aesteem medical aesthetic clinics, ("Target Company") (the "Proposed Acquisition") for a consideration of S$550,000.Upon completion of the Proposed Acquisition, the Target Company will become a subsidiary of Accrelist, and its four existing medical aesthetic clinics located in Novena Medical Centre, NEX Serangoon, Jurong Point, and SingPost Centre will be rebranded under the Accrelist Medical Aesthetics ("A.M Aesthetics") brand. A.M Aesthetics will also retain the Target Company's experienced doctors to continue delivering medically proven treatment to its existing customer base for sustainable growth.Accrelist's Executive Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Terence Tea, said, "We remain confident in A.M Aesthetics' long-term prospects amidst an ageing population with rising affluence and growing acceptance of minimally invasive procedures. Having established a leading position in the Singapore market, A.M Aesthetics will continue to seek growth opportunities across the region." In addition to the Proposed Acquisition, two more A.M Aesthetics clinics in Northpoint City and VivoCity are set to open later this year. This is set to cement A.M Aesthetics' leading position in the market as one of the largest local clinic networks. Beyond Singapore, plans are also underway to set up A.M Aesthetics clinics in Bangkok, Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.Beauty entrepreneur Dato Sri Marilyn Tay joins the A.M Aesthetics team as Group Business Development Director to support customer growth as A.M Aesthetics integrates the Target Company's four clinics and pursues further growth with more clinic openings in the pipeline. With prior experience in pageants, healthcare products and supplements, she has an extensive network across the health and beauty industry.The Group also aims to broaden its revenue stream through its skincare products business, A.M Skincare Pte. Ltd. ("A.M Skincare"), the Group's wholly owned subsidiary, which complements theGroup's expanding clinic network.This press release should be read in conjunction with the Company's announcement posted on SGX's website on 18 April 2023.About Accrelist Ltd.Accrelist Ltd. ("Accrelist") seeks to create long-term value for our shareholders and business partners by unlocking and adding value to the companies we invest in. The Group continues to actively pursue new opportunities with a growing focus on medical aesthetics.The Group's wholly owned subsidiary corporations include the Accrelist Medical Aesthetics group of companies, branded as A.M Aesthetics, and A.M Skincare Pte. Ltd. ("A.M Skincare").A.M Aesthetics operates a chain of registered medical aesthetics clinics in Singapore and Malaysia which use state-of-the-art equipment and clinically proven solutions to deliver a wide range of highly reliable and effective treatments.A.M Aesthetics Clinic LocationsSingapore:Bedok Mall #B1-12Lot 1 Shoppers Mall #02-26Clementi Mall #04-50Raffles City Shopping Centre #B2-06/07Clarke Quay Central #04-77-82Toa Payoh Hub #B1-30SingPost Centre #02-140/141253 Serangoon Central Drive #01-193Orchard Central #05-33/36Malaysia:88-N, Jalan Masjid Negeri, Taman Greenview, 11600 Jelutong, PenangA.M Skincare is principally involved in the retail sale of pharmaceutical and medical goods. It develops and distributes its own original design manufacturer clinical skincare products ("ODM") with support from South Korean dermatologists alongside other non-ODM products.In addition, Accrelist holds a 53.31% controlling stake in Jubilee Industries Holdings Ltd. ("Jubilee"), a one-stop service provider with two main business segments:1. Mechanical Business Unit ("MBU") which is engaged primarily in precision plastic injection moulding and mould design and fabrication services; and2. Electronics Business Unit ("EBU") which distributes integrated electronic components.Headquartered in Singapore, Jubilee's production facilities span across Malaysia and Indonesia. Jubilee's products are sold to customers in Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, India, the People's Republic of China, the United States and various European countries. For more information, please visit www.accrelist.com.sg Issued on behalf of Accrelist LimitedBy Waterbrooks Consultants Pte. Ltd.For media enquiries, please contact:Wayne Koo+65 9338 8166Elliot Siow+65 8375 0417elliot@ waterbrooks.com.sg This Press Release has been reviewed by the Company's Sponsor, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd. ("Sponsor"), for compliance with the relevant rules of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited ("SGX-ST").This Press Release has not been examined or approved by the SGX-ST and the SGX-ST assumes no responsibility for the contents of this Press Release including the correctness of any of the statements or opinions made or reports contained in this Press Release.The contact person for the Sponsor is:Name: Mr Mah How Soon, Registered Professional, RHT Capital Pte. Ltd.Address: 36 Robinson Road, #10-06, City House, Singapore 068877ssponsor@ rhtgoc.com
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HER2 ASSAY DEVELOPMENT PARTNERSHIP WITH BIOVIEWAgreement with BioView to develop a CTC-based HER2 assayFirst phase expected to generate c. 1.2 million revenueGUILDFORD, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / ANGLE plc (AIM:AGL), (OTCQX:ANPCY), a world-leading liquid biopsy company, is delighted to announce it has signed an agreement with BioView Ltd. ("BioView") ( BIOV.TA) to develop a liquid biopsy circulating tumor cell (CTC) HER2 assay for breast cancer utilising ANGLE's FDA cleared Parsortix PC1 Clinical System to harvest CTCs and BioView's automated microscopy systems and software to detect and assess the HER2 expression and/or gene amplification in CTCs.BioView develops, manufactures and markets innovative automated cell imaging and analysis solutions and has received FDA product clearance for its fluorescent in situ hybridisation (FISH) application for HER2 analysis of FFPE breast tissue sections, hybridised with Abbott's PathVysion HER2 DNA probe kit (see https://bioview.com/applications/pathology/breast/) . ANGLE has already successfully integrated BioView's technology in its R&D and clinical laboratories for assay development and pharma services.ANGLE and BioView will now begin the programme of developing a HER2 assay for the detection of HER2 protein via immunofluorescence (IF) and HER2/neu gene amplification by FISH, utilising Abbott's PathVysion HER2 DNA probe kit, in CTCs from breast cancer patients' blood samples harvested using ANGLE's FDA cleared Parsortix PC1 Clinical System and analysed using BioView's automated imaging and analysis technology.It is recognised that breast cancer can be highly heterogeneous and that HER2 status can change over time. In addition, results from a recent high impact study have revealed that patients categorised with HER2-low breast cancer (and defined as immunohistochemistry (IHC) score 1+ and 2+ and HER2-negative by FISH), can in fact, benefit from new HER2 targeted antibody-drug conjugates, where typical HER2 targeted drugs have previously been reserved for HER2-positive (HER2 IHC 3+ and/or HER2 FISH positive) breast cancer patients. This new understanding is driving the adoption of HER2-low targeted drugs such as ENHERTU marketed by Daiichi-Sankyo and AstraZeneca.This changing market dynamic has provided ANGLE and BioView with a major commercial opportunity to develop a quantitative CTC-based HER2 assay, to assess HER2 protein expression and/or gene amplification levels by analysing fluorescence intensities. This would be the only product-based solution on the market for this purpose leveraging both companies' previous FDA product clearances. Unlike current standard of care tests developed for use on FFPE tissue, a CTC HER2 assay could be used for longitudinal monitoring of HER2 status throughout disease progression, thereby ensuring the patient is targeted for the most appropriate treatment at every stage. The development phase is estimated to take around a year to complete with the assay development work generating c. 1.2 million of revenues for ANGLE.HER2-low breast cancer accounts for 55% of all breast cancer cases whereas HER2-positive cancer accounts for 25% of cases. The new use of trastuzumab deruxtecan (ENHERTU) to include HER2-low patients has resulted in analysts predicting up to a US$3 billion annual increase in sales value. Because of market expansion into HER2-low patients, and the need for novel biomarkers enabling ongoing patient monitoring of HER2 status, ANGLE and BioView believe there will be demand from medtech and pharma companies for quantitative CTC-based HER2 detection assays to enable regular and accurate stratification of patient populations.Given the significant third-party interest in a new assay for quantitative HER2 analysis based on CTCs, ANGLE and BioView have agreed to allow for the inclusion of third parties in this project and its funding as we move into the commercialisation stage after the initial development work is complete. The parties are continuing to discuss strategic routes to market with potential corporate partners.BioView President and CEO, Dr. Alan Schwebel, commented:"We are excited for this development partnership opportunity with ANGLE, where we plan to leverage the strengths of both our technologies to develop an impactful liquid biopsy HER2 CTC test. CTCs present a unique opportunity to access protein and/or genomic alterations of HER2 throughout the patient's cancer treatment to help ensure eligibility for the right therapy to improve patient outcomes." ANGLE Founder and Chief Executive, Andrew Newland, added:"We are delighted to have entered into this partnership with BioView utilising our established bespoke assay development capability. The changing breast cancer treatment landscape has created a major commercial opportunity for a CTC-based HER2 assay allowing repeat testing and longitudinal monitoring of patients to personalise cancer care. We believe this new 'content' will drive wide adoption of the Parsortix system in the treatment of breast cancer." For further information:ANGLE plc+44 (0) 1483 343434Andrew Newland, Chief ExecutiveIan Griffiths, Finance DirectorAndrew Holder, Head of Investor RelationsBerenberg (NOMAD and Joint Broker)Toby Flaux, Ciaran Walsh, Milo Bonser+44 (0) 20 3207 7800Jefferies (Joint Broker)Thomas Bective, Shaam Vora+44 (0) 20 7029 8000FTI ConsultingSimon Conway, Ciara MartinMatthew Ventimiglia (US)+44 (0) 203 727 1000+1 (212) 850 5624The information contained within this announcement is deemed by the Company to constitute inside information as stipulated under the EU Market Abuse Regulation (596/2014). Upon the publication of this announcement via a regulatory information service, this information is considered to be in the public domain.For Frequently Used Terms, please see the Company's website on https://angleplc.com/investor-relations/glossary/ Notes for editorsAbout BioView www.bioview.com BioView develops, manufactures and markets innovative automated microscopy imaging and analysis solutions that applies machine learning algorithms to automatically detect and classify target cells. Operating since 2000, BioView is headquartered in Israel and has a fully owned subsidiary in the Unites States, which is responsible for sales and support in America. Products are also internationally distributed by Abbott Molecular.Founded and managed by physicists and software experts, BioView leverages its knowledge and extensive expertise in the areas of medical devices combined with
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-19 22:31:12

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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / 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 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 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) Dutch Bros was experiencing increased costs and expenses, including on dairy; (2) as a result, Dutch Bros 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=12586or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@ rosenlegal.com or cases@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827lrosen@ rosenlegal.com pkim@ rosenlegal.com cases@ rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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Next Step: Filing of Form S-4 with the SECHOUSTON, TX / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Camber Energy, Inc. (NYSE American:CEI) ("Camber") and Viking Energy Group, Inc. (OTCQB:VKIN) ("Viking") are pleased to announce that on April 18, 2023, they entered into an amendment (the "Amendment") to the Amended and Restated Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of February 15, 2021, regarding the full combination of the two entities (together with the Amendment, the "Merger Agreement").The Merger Agreement provides that, upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth therein, Viking Merger Sub, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Camber, will merge with and into Viking (the "Merger"), with Viking surviving the Merger as a wholly owned subsidiary of Camber and Camber remaining the sole publicly-traded entity.Benefits of MergerIf the Merger is consummated, Viking's shareholders would receive one share of Camber's common stock in exchange for each of their shares of Viking's common stock , and would benefit from owning shares of a company listed on a national stock exchange platform with greater liquidity and an established trading history.If the Merger is completed, Camber would acquire full legal and accounting control of Viking, permitting Camber to, among other things, report underlying subsidiary revenues at the Camber level, and Camber would benefit directly and fully from Viking's business activities, including as it relates to Viking's interests in the following:Custom Energy & Power Solutions Business;Exclusive License to a Patented Clean Energy & Carbon-Capture system;Intellectual property rights to a fully developed, patented ready-for-market proprietary Medical & Bio-Hazard Waste Treatment system using Ozone Technology; andPatent pending ready-for-market proprietary Open Conductor Detection systems.Next Step:As a next step concerning the Merger, Camber intends to file a preliminary registration statement on Form S-4 with the Securities and Exchange Commission.Additional Details:Additional details regarding the Merger Agreement were included in, and the description above is qualified in its entirety by, Camber's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") on April 19, 2023, which is available under "investors" - "SEC filings" at www.camber.energy About Camber:Camber Energy, Inc. is a growth-oriented diversified energy company. Through its majority-owned subsidiary, Camber provides custom energy & power solutions to commercial and industrial clients in North America and owns interests in oil and natural gas assets in the United States. The company's majority-owned subsidiary also holds an exclusive license in Canada to a patented carbon-capture system, and has a majority interest in: (i) an entity with intellectual property rights to a fully developed, patented, ready-for-market proprietary Medical & Bio-Hazard Waste Treatment system using Ozone Technology; and (ii) entities with the intellectual property rights to fully developed, patent pending, ready-for-market proprietary Electric Transmission and Distribution Open Conductor Detection Systems. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.camber.energy About Viking:Based in Houston, Texas, Viking Energy Group, Inc. is a growth-oriented diversified energy company. Through various majority-owned subsidiaries, Viking provides custom energy & power solutions to commercial and industrial clients in North America. The company also holds an exclusive license in Canada to a patented carbon-capture system, and has a majority interest in: (i) an entity with intellectual property rights to a fully developed, patented, ready-for-market proprietary Medical & Bio-Hazard Waste Treatment system using Ozone Technology; and (ii) entities with the intellectual property rights to fully developed, patent pending, ready-for-market proprietary Electric Transmission and Distribution Open Conductor Detection Systems. For more information, please visit the company's website at www.vikingenergygroup.com Forward-Looking StatementsCertain statements contained in this communication are forward-looking information within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended. Any statements that are not historical facts contained herein are "forward-looking statements", which involve a number of risks and uncertainties and are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor Provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Words such as "strategy," "expects," "continues," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "would," "will,""may," "should," "estimates," "intends," "projects," "goals," "targets" and other words of similar meaning are intended to identify forward-looking statements but are not the exclusive means of identifying these statements.Important factors that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from those contained in such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the parties failing to complete the Merger on the terms disclosed, if at all, the right of one or both of Viking or Camber to terminate the Merger Agreement and the result of such termination; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Viking, Camber or their respective directors; the ability to obtain regulatory approvals and other consents, and meet other closing conditions to the Merger on a timely basis or at all, including the risk that regulatory approvals or other consents required for the Merger are not obtained on a timely basis or at all, or which are obtained subject to conditions that are not anticipated or that could adversely affect the combined company or the expected benefits of the transaction; the ability to obtain approval by Viking stockholders and Camber stockholders on the expected schedule or at all; required closing conditions which may not be able to be met and/or consents which may not be able to be obtained; difficulties and delays in integrating Viking's and Camber's businesses; prevailing economic, market, regulatory or business conditions, or changes in such conditions, negatively affecting the parties, including, but not limited to, as a result of the recent volatility in oil and gas prices and the status of the economy (both US and global) due to the COVID-19 pandemic and actions taken to slow the spread of COV
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / National plaintiffs law firm Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP recommends that shareholders in Catalent, Inc. ("Catalent" or the "Company") who suffered losses from trading Catalent securities (NYSE:CTLT) between August 30, 2021 and October 31, 2022 contact our law offices immediately regarding the pending securities fraud class action against Catalent. The final date to apply to be a lead plaintiff is April 25, 2023.Class Period: August 30, 2021 - October 31, 2022Lead Plaintiff Motion Deadline: April 25, 2023Case information: lieffcabraser.com/securities/catalent Contact us: Email or text investorinfo@ lchb.com or call 1-800-541-7358The securities class action alleges that, throughout the Class Period, Catalent and certain of its senior executives and directors made materially false and misleading statements and failed to disclose that: (1) Catalent was overstating its revenues and demand for its COVID-19 manufacturing services; and (2) there were numerous operational and safety issues at Catalent's Bloomington plant that led the FDA to hold back 10 million doses of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine that were filled and packaged at the plant.Investors began to learn of defendants' fraud on August 29, 2022, when Catalent disclosed below-projection sales. On this news, Catalent's share price fell $7.42, or 7.4%, to close at $92.28 on August 30, 2022.On September 21, 2022, news reports revealed that the FDA had been aware of "potential safety concerns at the Catalent plant in late August" causing the agency to hold back "more than 10 million doses" of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine. In response to this news, Catalent's share price fell $8.09, or 9.3%, across two trading days to close at $79.06 on September 22, 2022.On November 1, 2022, Catelent's quarterly report further revealed defendants' fraud by disclosing that the company's earnings had fallen to zero and downgrading Catalent's FY2023 revenue guidance by $300 million. In response to this news, Catalent's share price fell $20.83, or 31.7%, across two trading days to close at $44.90 on November 2, 2022.About Lieff CabraserLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP, with over 120 attorneys in offices in San Francisco, New York, Nashville, and Munich, Germany, is an internationally-recognized law firm committed to advancing the rights of investors and promoting corporate responsibility. Recognized as a "Plaintiffs' Powerhouse" by Law360, Lieff Cabraser has litigated some of the most important civil cases in the United States, and has assisted clients in recovering over $127 billion in verdicts and settlements. For over 50 years, Lieff Cabraser has remained committed to ensuring access to justice for all.CONTACT:Sharon LeeLieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP415 956-1000slee@ lchb.com SOURCE: Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein
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Did you lose money on investments in Credit Suisse? If so, please visit Credit Suisse Group AG Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the securities of Credit Suisse Group AG ("Credit Suisse" or the "Company") (NYSE:CS) between March 10, 2022 and March 20, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.Credit Suisse, together with its subsidiaries, provides various financial services in Switzerland, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Americas, and Asia Pacific. The Company offers wealth management solutions, including investment advice and discretionary asset management services; risk management solutions, such as managed investment products; and wealth planning, succession planning, and trust services.In October 2022, Credit Suisse began experiencing a sharp increase in customer outflows, or withdrawals of client funds, after a series of quarterly losses and risk and compliance failures significantly decreased the Company's American Depositary Share ("ADS") price.On December 1, 2022, Credit Suisse's Chairman, Defendant Axel P. Lehmann ("Lehmann"), stated in an interview with Financial Times that customer outflows had not only "completely flattened out," but had, in fact, "partially reversed." The following day, in an interview with Bloomberg Television, Defendant Lehmann reiterated his previous statements, reassuring investors that as of November 11, 2022, customer outflows had "basically stopped".Following Defendant Lehmann's statements, Credit Suisse's ADS price rose $0.29 per ADS, or 9.36%, to close at $3.38 per ADS on December 2, 2022.Plaintiff alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to disclose that: (i) contrary to Defendant Lehmann's representations in December 2022, the sharp increase in customer outflows Credit Suisse began experiencing in October 2022 remained ongoing; (ii) accordingly, Credit Suisse had downplayed the impact of the Company's recent series of quarterly losses and risk and compliance failures on liquidity and its ability to retain client funds; and (iii) as a result, Credit Suisse had overstated the Company's financial position and/or prospects.On February 9, 2023, Credit Suisse issued a press release announcing its 2022 financial results. The press release revealed that, contrary to Defendant 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.On 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.Then, on February 21, 2023, Reuters reported that the Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority ("FINMA") was reviewing Defendant Lehmann's previous comments regarding customer outflows.On 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.If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 8, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.If you purchased or acquired Credit Suisse securities, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Credit Suisse Group AG Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times and listed in The Legal 500 for ten consecutive years.ATTORNEY ADVERTISING.  2023 Bernstein Liebhard LLP. The law firm responsible for this advertisement is Bernstein Liebhard LLP, 10 East 40th Street, New York, New York 10016, (212) 779-1414. Prior results do not guarantee or predict a similar outcome with respect to any future matter.Contact Information:Peter AlloccoBernstein Liebhard LLP(212) 951-2030pallocco@ bernlieb.com SOURCE: Bernstein Liebhard LLP
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MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Cryptobucks, a leading global cryptocurrency exchange, has announced that it has been granted a new cryptocurrency license in Europe. This milestone achievement comes as Cryptobucks expands its presence in the European market, bringing its secure and reliable trading platform to investors and traders alike.With this new license, Cryptobucks will be able to offer its European customers access to a wide range of digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum, Litecoin, and more. Cryptobucks is committed to providing a user-friendly and transparent trading experience to all its customers, and this new license is a testament to its dedication to the industry.The new license will enable Cryptobucks to comply with all relevant regulatory requirements in Europe, ensuring that its operations are fully compliant with local laws and regulations. This will provide added security and peace of mind to investors who are looking to invest in the digital asset space.Cryptobucks CEO Eric Brown commented on the news, saying: "We are thrilled to have been granted this new cryptocurrency license in Europe. This is a significant milestone for us, and it demonstrates our commitment to the region and our customers. We believe that this new license will enable us to better serve our customers by providing them with access to a wider range of digital assets in a secure and compliant environment." The new license is part of Cryptobucks' ongoing expansion efforts, which include the recent launch of its mobile trading app and its partnership with major payment providers to enable seamless deposits and withdrawals. These efforts have positioned Cryptobucks as a leading player in the digital asset space, and the new license will further solidify its position in the European market.Cryptobucks' mission is to make digital assets accessible to everyone, and this new license is a significant step towards achieving that goal. With its commitment to compliance, security, and user-friendliness, Cryptobucks is well-positioned to continue its growth and expansion in the digital asset space.In conclusion, Cryptobucks' new cryptocurrency license in Europe is a major milestone for the company and the industry as a whole. This license will enable Cryptobucks to offer its European customers a wider range of digital assets in a secure and compliant environment, further solidifying its position as a leading player in the digital asset space.Contact InformationMedia Relationsmediarelations@ cryptobucksapp.com SOURCE: CryptoBucks
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Catalent, Inc. (NYSE:CTLT) investors who suffered substantial losses submit your losses now.Class Period: Aug. 30, 2021- Oct. 31, 2022Lead Plaintiff Deadline: Apr. 25, 2023Visit: https://www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/CTLT Contact An Attorney Now: CTLT@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Catalent, Inc. (CTLT) Securities Fraud Class Action:The litigation focuses on Catalent's repeated claims that its drug product development and manufacturing were done under rigorous quality and operational standards, that its vaccines for COVID would be a sustaining and enduring source of revenue, and that its financial statements complied with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP").According to the complaint, Defendants made misleading statements and failed to disclose that Catalent: (1) materially overstated its revenue and earnings by prematurely recognizing revenue in violation of GAAP; (2) had material weaknesses in its internal control over financial reporting related to revenue recognition; (3) falsely represented demand for its products while knowingly selling more products to its direct customers than could be sold to healthcare providers and end consumers; and (4) disregarded regulatory rules at key production facilities in order to rapidly produce excess inventory that was used to pad its financial results through premature revenue recognition in violation of GAAP and/or channel stuffing its direct customers with this excess inventory.Investors began to learn the truth through a series of partial disclosures beginning on Aug. 29, 2022, when Catalent revealed that demand for its COVID-related products was facing substantial headwinds.Then, on Sept. 20, 2022, the Washington Post reported that the release of Catalent's COVID-19 vaccines had been delayed by regulators because of improper sterilization at one of the company's key facilities.Finally, on Nov. 1, 2022, Catalent announced that its quarterly earnings had fallen to $0, slashed its financial guidance, and revealed that regulatory issues at its key facilities were negatively impacting financial results.In response to these events, the price of Catalent shares has traded sharply lower."We're focused on investors' losses and proving Catalent cooked its books," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Catalent and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Catalent should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email CTLT@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
Polish milk processors are concerned about the closure of their market for the export of Ukrainian dairy products and expect the use of the reciprocity principle, which will lead to a drop in Ukraine's imports of Polish dairy products, Infagro analytical agency has reported.

"Today, most of all, I am afraid of using the reciprocity principle of Ukraine in trade relations with Poland. If Ukraine closes its market for us, we will find ourselves in a very difficult situation. Today, 6% of all exports of our cheese go to Ukraine. The volume of imports of dairy products to Poland from Ukraine was small compared to Polish exports to Ukraine. Therefore, the income and loss account is obvious," the agency quoted First Vice President of COGECA, Director of Izba Mleka (Poland) Agnieszka Maliszewska.

President of the Polish Association of Dairy Processors Marcin Hydzik shares her concern. According to the reciprocity principle, it could be expected that Polish exports will slow down unless the agriculture ministers reach other agreements, he said in an interview with portalspozywczy.pl.

According to him, in January-March 2023, Ukraine supplied 1 tonne of products marked with the CN 0401 code - non-concentrated milk and cream without added sugar, 60 tonnes of butter or other milk fats, and 710 tonnes of powdered milk to Poland.

During the same period, Poland exported 2,213 tonnes of cheese, 1,080 tonnes of whey, and 1,312 tonnes of fermented products to Ukraine.
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-19 16:45:29

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Reolink Donates $10,000 to SVP to Install Solar Energy Facilities in Two Rural SchoolsWILMINGTON, DE / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Reolink, a leading provider of innovative security and smart home solutions, highlights its solar cameras in celebration of Earth Day. Also, Reolink announces its partnership with the Solar Village Project, a nonprofit organization committed to providing renewable energy solutions to rural communities.Embracing Sustainability with Reolink Solar CamerasBy harnessing the sun's energy, Reolink solar-powered cameras offer a practical way for individuals to contribute to a greener planet while keeping their homes and businesses secure. These eco-friendly security solutions play a vital role in reducing carbon emissions and combating climate change.In 2022, Reolink sold over 1 million battery/solar cameras, which contributed to a reduction of 300,000kg of CO2 emissions. This achievement highlights the potential of Reolink's battery/solar cameras to provide reliable security solutions while actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting a greener future.Furthermore, Reolink has continuously evolved its solar camera technology to better utilize solar power and its latest solar camera TrackMix LTE Plus marks a major advance. This cutting-edge dual-lens 4G camera is equipped with a large-capacity battery and a highly efficient solar panel for 24/7 operation. Also, it has a built-in heater to warm up the battery when the temperature is low.Being independent of electricity, TrackMix LTE Plus still offers advanced features, such as two lenses for intelligent motion tracking, remote monitoring, 2K high-definition video recording, etc.A Meaningful Collaboration with SVP for a Sustainable FutureIn addition to producing eco-friendly solar cameras, Reolink hopes more people can benefit from solar energy and reduce dependence on traditional electricity.Reolink has committed to donating $10,000 to Solar Village Project (SVP), which will fund solar energy facilities for two schools in communities without stable access to electricity. By providing access to clean, renewable energy, Reolink and SVP hope to create a better learning environment for students and reduce educational inequality.The collaboration with SVP showcases Reolink's dedication to making a positive impact on the environment and supporting a brighter, more sustainable future for all. Together, Reolink and SVP aim to empower communities through access to clean, renewable solar energy, demonstrating the power of innovative technology in addressing global environmental challenges.For more information, visit Reolink's Earth Day campaign, or follow Reolink's social media to stay tuned.About ReolinkReolink, a global innovator in the smart home field, is dedicated to delivering convenient and reliable security solutions for homes and businesses. Reolink aims to deliver a seamless security experience for customers with its comprehensive product lineup.ContactReolink PR TeamEmail: pr@ reolink.com Address: 251 Little Falls Drive, Wilmington, New Castle County, Delaware 19808About Solar Village ProjectSolar Village Project is a nonprofit organization focused on combating climate change and energy poverty in developing rural communities. SVP provides solar power access to improve education and the quality of life for those in impoverished areas.Contact InformationLorenz ZhouPR Managerpr@ reolink.com SOURCE: Reolink
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The Foundation will provide financial support to employees, local communities, and the industry.MARSHFIELD, WI / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / The Nelson-Jameson Family of Companies recently announced the launch of the Nelson-Jameson Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization with a mission to cultivate prosperity for employees, local communities, and the industry through a diverse range of philanthropic programs. One of the tenets of the Nelson-Jameson Foundation is the belief that supporting communities is the shared responsibility of every citizen and corporation.Food Processing Distributor Nelson-Jameson Announces New Charitable FoundationThe new Nelson-Jameson Foundation will support a diverse range of philanthropic programs to help cultivate prosperity for employees and local communities. "The launch of the Nelson-Jameson Foundation continues our company's 75-year legacy of charitable giving and underscores our commitment to employee well-being," says Amanda Sasse, fourth-generation owner. "We're a golden-rule company that strives to maintain a culture of honesty, integrity, and kindness. The Foundation allows us to invest in these values for the benefit of our employees, their families, and our community." The roster of programs supported by the Nelson-Jameson Foundation provides financial, emergency, and educational support to employees and their families. It also empowers employees to take part in directing resources toward community causes they care about that also embody Nelson-Jameson's company values. The list of programs includes:Volunteer Program - The Volunteer Program empowers employees to be agents of social impact by providing paid volunteer time during regular business hours for up to eight hours per year at 501(c)(3) charitable organizations and schools.Employee Crisis Fund - To help employees cope during an unexpected crisis due to a federal, state, or locally-declared emergency, the Nelson-Jameson Foundation can provide emergency assistance through the Employee Crisis Fund.Donation & Charitable Giving Grants - The Foundation will continue to support 501(c)(3) entities that practice its core values through Donation and Charitable Giving Grants.Matching Gift Program - The Matching Gift Program matches donations that employees make to 501(c)(3) charities. Employees can submit for one or two charities, and Nelson-Jameson will match up to $2,500 per employee per year.Scholarship Program - Through the Foundation's Scholarship Program, family members of Nelson-Jameson employees can apply for scholarships at accredited two- or four-year colleges. An independent committee of former educators will review the applications and make final decisions on recipients. Up to five students can earn scholarships of $2,500 each.Nelson-Jameson has named an internal board to oversee and continue building its Foundation's operations. More information on the company can be found at https://nelsonjameson.com ###About Nelson-JamesonNelson-Jameson is a fourth-generation, family-owned distributor to the food and beverage industry. From the company's roots in dairy production supplies, it grew to offer a broad range of food processing equipment and services that provide customers with everything they need to manufacture safe, high-quality products. Representing over 850 vendors and distributing over 60,000 products, Nelson-Jameson offers everything from standard equipment to custom production solutions and equipment repair. The company employs more than 260 people in five distribution centers across the United States and at its headquarters in the heart of dairy country in Marshfield, Wisconsin. The dairy industry leader also operates NEXT Logistics, offering delivery services from Wisconsin, California, Idaho, Pennsylvania, and Texas distribution centers.For more than 75 years, Nelson-Jameson has supported food and dairy processors with products and solutions that keep pace with changing consumer tastes, manufacturing processes, and distribution channels. The company continues to be the supplier of choice for customers in all 50 states and international markets.For more information, please visit: https://nelsonjameson.com Contact InformationKarolyn RaphaelPR for Nelson-Jamesonkarolyn@ wingermarketing.com 312-494-0422SOURCE: Nelson-Jameson
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-19 15:44:05

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GreenBank Capital announces that they have successfully raised enough funds to close the first phase of their Private Placement.TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / GreenBank Capital Inc. (CSE:GBC)(OTCMKTS:GRNBF)(FRA:2TL) ("GreenBank or the Company") is pleased to announce that it has successfully closed a first tranche of the non-brokered Private Placement Offering announced on 23 March 2023. The GreenBank Board have approved the closure of phase one of the Private Placement Offering, the total gross proceeds of which are C$448,111.88, and all of which represent the conversion of outstanding debts owed by the Company, including all Directors and Officers.GreenBank CEO, Terry Pullen, said "the fact that all directors and others closely associated with the company have committed so much to this fund raising is indicative of the faith they have in the company's prospects and we look forward to raising further sums from interested investors over the coming weeks." Note for residents in Canada and the USAThe closing of the Private Placement Offering is subject to obtaining all required approvals, including from the CSE and any other regulatory approval. The proceeds of the Private Placement Offering will be used for investment and working capital purposes. All or a portion of the Private Placement Offering may be subject to finders' fees or commissions of up to 8% cash and 8% broker warrants of the subscribed amount, where applicable, and are being paid in accordance with the policies of the CSE, with each broker warrant granting the holder the right to purchase 1 Unit at the exercise price of C$0.20 for the period of 22 months from the closing date.The Unit Shares and Warrants issued to purchasers subscribing under the Listed Issuer Financing Exemption are not subject to resale restrictions and are, as such, are expected to be immediately freely tradeable under applicable Canadian securities legislation if sold to purchasers residing in Canada.The Unit Shares and Warrants issued to purchasers subscribing under prospectus exemptions other than the "listed issuer financing exemption" shall be subject to applicable resale restrictions under National Instrument 45-102 - Resale of Securities.By virtue of the participation by insiders, the Private Placement Offering will constitute a "related party transaction" under applicable securities laws. The Company expects to release a material change report including details with respect to the related party transaction less than 21 days prior to the final closing of the Offering, which the Company deems reasonable in the circumstances so as to be able to avail itself of potential financing opportunities and complete the Private Placement Offering in an expeditious manner. As the related party transaction will not exceed specified limits and will constitute a distribution of securities for cash, it is expected that neither a formal valuation nor minority shareholder approval will be required in connection with the Private Placement Offering.The securities offered as part of the Private Placement Offering have not been registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any State in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.Note for residents in the UKTo the extent the securities are offered to persons in the UK pursuant to the Private Placement Offering, such offer is made pursuant to an exemption under Article 1(4) of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 as it forms part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018, as amended (the "UK Prospectus Regulation"). Accordingly, any person making or intending to make an offer in the UK of the units comprised therein ("Units") may only do so in circumstances in which no obligation arises for the Company or any other person to publish a prospectus pursuant to Article 3(1) of the UK Prospectus Regulation.This announcement is not an invitation to engage in investment activity. It is exempt from the restriction in section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 ("FSMA") by virtue of Article 69 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005, as amended (the "Order") (promotion of securities already admitted to certain markets).The offering document for the Private Placement Offering will only be made available to persons in the UK who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments falling within Article 19(5) of the Order (investment professionals); (ii) are persons falling within Article 43(2) of the Order (members or creditors of certain bodies corporate); (iii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) of the Order (high net worth companies, unincorporated associations, etc.); (iv) are certified high net worth individuals falling within Article 48(2) of the Order; (v) are self-certified sophisticated investors falling within Article 50A(1) of the Order; or (vi) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the FSMA) in connection with the issue or sale of the Units may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons in (i), (ii), (iii), (iv), (v), and (vi) together being "relevant persons").About GreenBankGreenBank Capital is a business-transformation firm, which aims to nurture early stage and growth companies to their full potential. Through modern approaches to consultancy services, GreenBank takes a stake in companies it hopes to nurture and gives the opportunity to the founders and executives of those companies to benefit from the years of collective experience of the GreenBank management team.The team are based in London and Toronto and work diligently across borders to ensure that businesses in the GreenBank portfolio reach their core objectives. The businesses we typically work with are start-ups or early-stage and include mining and mineral exploration companies. From this emergent state, we can quickly implement strong business practices by deploying operations, communications, data strategy and financial expertise.Whether a business desires to become a successful private company, list publicly, or is seeking a profitable exit, GreenBank tries to add value at every stage as a strategic partner. GreenBank Capital is listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange, under the symbol "GBC" and OTCMKTS: GRNBF and FRA; 2TL).%0
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-19 08:01:23

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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM:HZM)(TSX:HZM) ("Horizonte" or the "Company") announces that CEO, Jeremy Martin, and CFO, Simon Retter, will provide an investor presentation with a construction update on the Araguaia Nickel Project. The presentation will be hosted on the Investor Meet Company platform on 24 April 2023 at 14:00 BST.The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard until 09:00 am the day before the meeting or during the live presentation.Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet HORIZONTE MINERALS via:Investors who already follow HORIZONTE MINERALS on the Investor Meet Company platform will automatically be invited.For further information, visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact:Horizonte Minerals plcJeremy Martin (CEO)Simon Retter (CFO)Patrick Chambers (Head of IR)info@ horizonteminerals.com +44 (0) 203 356 2901Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)Ross AllisterDavid McKeown+44 (0)20 7418 8900BMO (Joint Broker)Thomas RiderPascal Lussier DuquetteAndrew Cameron+44 (0) 20 7236 1010Tavistock (Financial PR)Emily MossCath Drummond+44 (0) 20 7920 3150ABOUT HORIZONTE MINERALSHorizonte Minerals plc (AIM & TSX: HZM) is developing two 100%-owned, Tier 1 projects in Para state, Brazil, the Araguaia Nickel Project and the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project. Both projects are large scale, high-grade, low-cost, low-carbon and scalable. Araguaia is under construction with first metal scheduled for early 2024, when fully ramped up with Line 1 and Line 2, is forecast to produce 29,000 tonnes of nickel per year. Vermelho is at feasibility study stage and is expected to produce 24,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250 tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market. Horizonte's combined near-term production profile of over 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year positions the Company as a globally significant nickel producer. Horizonte's top three shareholders are La Mancha Investments S.a r.l., Glencore plc and Orion Resource Partners LLP.CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATIONExcept for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the ability of the Company to complete the acquisition of equipment as described herein, statements with respect to the potential of the Company's current or future property mineral projects; the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility study regarding the second RKEF line at Araguaia on time, or at all, the success of exploration and mining activities; cost and timing of future exploration, production and development; the costs and timing for delivery of the equipment to be purchased as described herein, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and the ability of the Company to achieve its goals in respect of growing its mineral resources; the realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates and achieving production in accordance with the Company's potential production profile or at all. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to risks related to: the inability of the Company to complete the acquisition of equipment contemplated herein, on time or at all, the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility study regarding the implementation of a second RKEF line at Araguaia on the timeline contemplated or at all, exploration and mining risks, competition from competitors with greater capital; the Company's lack of experience with respect to development-stage mining operations; fluctuations in metal prices; uninsured risks; environmental and other regulatory requirements; exploration, mining and other licences; the Company's future payment obligations; potential disputes with respect to the Company's title to, and the area of, its mining concessions; the Company's dependence on its ability to obtain sufficient financing in the future; the Company's dependence on its relationships with third parties; the Company's joint ventures; the potential of currency fluctuations and political or economic instability in countries in which the Company operates; currency exchange fluctuations; the Company's ability to manage its growth effectively; the trading market for the ordinary shares of the Company; uncertainty with respect to the Company's plans to continue to develop its operations and new projects; the Company's dependence on key personnel; possible conflicts of interest of directors and officers of the Company, and various risks associated with the legal and regulatory framework within which the Company operates, together with the risks identified and disclosed in the Company's disclosure record available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com , including without limitation, the annual information form of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2022, the Araguaia Report and the Vermelho Report. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in fo
PR-Inside.com: 2023-04-19 14:01:22

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Merges both of the company's industry leading platforms; expands reach of clients and drives ROI for Leafbuyer customersDENVER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Leafbuyer Technologies, Inc. ("Leafbuyer" or "the Company") (OTCQB:LBUY), a leading cannabis technology company, announced the launch of the Leafbuyer Total Network. The new product will significantly enhance distribution of client messaging content across multiple platforms. Currently, Leafbuyer.com reaches millions of cannabis consumers each year. The Total Network takes text marketing to a new level, by sending those messages and deals to new consumers via Leafbuyer.com "We are pleased to announce the launch of this game-changing product," Kurt Rossner, Chief Executive Officer of Leafbuyer, said. Rossner continued, "We now offer a solution that is truly unique to the market. A retail client can not only message and engage consumers on their proprietary messaging lists, but now they can target all consumers in geographic areas that use Leafbuyer.com . Our customers will not only be able to market to their current lists, but they will also now be able to grow them in targeted markets. This expansion of offering will allow the customer to also attribute revenue to these new sign ups and clearly track ROI. We will gain another monetization channel through signups and monthly usage," Rossner added.Learn more at tech.leafbuyer.com About Leafbuyer Technologies, Inc.Leafbuyer Technologies is one of the most comprehensive marketing technology providers in the cannabis industry. Hundreds of cannabis businesses use the Leafbuyer texting and loyalty platform and the Custom App solution to engage with current and potential customers. Leafbuyer.com is a robust online resource for cannabis consumers, and the company's partnerships with other websites have created a national network of cannabis deals and information that reaches millions of consumers every month.CONTACT:Vida AlmichEmail: vida@ leafbuyertech.com Phone: (720) 427-3927Forward-Looking StatementsThis press release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking statements," including with respect to the Company's business strategy, product development and industry trends. No assurance can be given that the offering will be completed on the terms described, or at all. Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous conditions, many of which are beyond the control of the Company, including those set forth in the Risk Factors section of the Company's registration statement and preliminary prospectus for the offering filed with the SEC. Copies are available on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov . The Company undertakes no obligation to update these statements for revisions or changes after the date of this release, except as required by law.Use of Non-GAAP Financial MeasuresThe Company discloses and uses the above-mentioned non-GAAP financial measures internally as a supplement to GAAP financial information to evaluate its operating performance, for financial planning purposes, to establish operational goals, for compensation plans, to measure debt service capability, for capital expenditure planning and to determine working capital needs and believes that these are useful financial measures also used by investors. Non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA is defined as GAAP net income or net loss before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) adjusted for the non-cash stock compensation and stock option expense, acquisition, integration & restructuring expenses, charges and gains or losses from extinguishment of debt and other non-cash items. Non-GAAP EBITDA and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA are not terms defined by GAAP and, as a result, the Company's measure of non-GAAP EBITDA and non-GAAP adjusted EBITDA might not be comparable to similarly titled measures used by other companies. Generally, a non-GAAP financial measure is a numerical measure of a company's performance, financial position, or cash flow that either excludes or includes amounts that are not normally included in the most directly comparable measure calculated and presented in accordance with GAAP. The non-GAAP financial measures discussed above, however, should be considered in addition to, and not as a substitute for, or superior to net income or net loss as reported for GAAP on the Consolidated Statements of Operations, cash and cash flows on the Consolidated Statement of Cash Flows or other measures of financial performance prepared in accordance with GAAP, and as reflected on the Company's financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP. These non-GAAP financial measures are not a substitute for or presented in lieu of financial measures provided by GAAP and all measures and disclosures of financial information pursuant to GAAP should be read to obtain a comprehensive and thorough understanding of the Company's financial results.SOURCE: Leafbuyer Technologies, Inc.
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NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 18, 2023 / WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, reminds purchasers of the common stock of Lumen Technologies, Inc. f/k/a CenturyLink, Inc. (NYSE:LUMN, CTL) between September 14, 2020 and February 7, 2023, both dates inclusive (the "Class Period"), of the important May 2, 2023 lead plaintiff deadline.SO WHAT: If you purchased Lumen common stock during the Class Period you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement.WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the Lumen class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12736 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@ rosenlegal.com or cases@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action. A class action lawsuit has already been filed. If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 2, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation.WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions, but are merely middlemen that refer clients or partner with law firms that actually litigate the cases. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs' Bar. Many of the 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 false and/or misleading statements and/or failed to disclose that: (1) various headwinds were impeding the Company's ability to invest in and grow its Quantum Fiber brand; (2) the Company's Quantum Fiber business was not progressing as was represented to the investing public; (3) the Company's management was reassessing its strategic priorities and had placed a hold on the plans to quickly scale up the Quantum Fiber brand; and (4); as a result of the Company's decision to delay expansion to Quantum Fiber, the Company's results and metrics were negatively impacted and the scaling up of Quantum Fiber would not occur until, at the earliest, the end of 2023; and (5) as a result, defendants' statements were materially false and misleading at all relevant times. When the true details entered the market, the lawsuit claims that investors suffered damages.To join the Lumen class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=12736or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email pkim@ rosenlegal.com or cases@ rosenlegal.com for information on the class action.No Class Has Been Certified. Until a class is certified, you are not represented by counsel unless you retain one. You may select counsel of your choice. You may also remain an absent class member and do nothing at this point. An investor's ability to share in any potential future recovery is not dependent upon serving as lead plaintiff.Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm , on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/ Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.---Contact Information:Laurence Rosen, Esq.Phillip Kim, Esq.The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.275 Madison Avenue, 40th FloorNew York, NY 10016Tel: (212) 686-1060Toll Free: (866) 767-3653Fax: (212) 202-3827lrosen@ rosenlegal.com pkim@ rosenlegal.com cases@ rosenlegal.com SOURCE: The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.
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Newly upgraded Locale Diagrams feature from MASS Group enables real-time asset tracking through advanced mapping and visualization capabilities.LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 18, 2023 / MASS Group, an established provider in asset tracking, manufacturing, and warehouse management solutions, has announced the release of an updated version of its popular Locale Diagrams feature within its software, Traceability Made Easy (TME). Designed to provide advanced asset tracking capabilities to companies across industries, the enhanced feature provides a detailed visual representation of facility layouts and locations, making it easier to locate and manage inventory in real time.new locale diagram image for MASS Group and TMEnew locale diagram image for MASS Group and TME showing the new visualizations and polygon tool Originally developed to add mapping to RFID tracking and location management, the Locale Diagrams feature has been updated to make it easier than ever to visualize items in real time. The new version supports zooming and panning, as well as polygons (non-square shapes), for more accurate representation of locations. Users can now also swap between multiple views, including overhead and sideways, making it even easier to view and analyze asset physicality.Additionally, the enhanced Locale Diagrams feature includes a powerful replay function that allows users to replay an item's location history with multiple diagrams/views and animations. As such, workflow and trends can be identified and possible issues discovered before they become looming problems."At MASS Group, we are constantly striving to enhance our customers' asset tracking capabilities through cutting-edge technology and innovative features," said Kevin Ward, Director of Product Development. "Our updated Locale Diagrams feature provides an intuitive and user-friendly interface that simplifies the process of locating and managing assets in real time, saving our customers time and resources." The updated Locale Diagram feature is part of MASS Group's advanced RFID TME software suite, which provides end-to-end asset tracking and management capabilities for companies across industries.About MASS GroupMASS Group is a leading provider of inventory and asset tracking solutions, offering cutting-edge technologies and innovative software solutions that enable businesses to streamline their operations and improve their bottom line. With a focus on user-friendly design and exceptional customer support, MASS Group has become a trusted partner for businesses of all sizes across a wide range of industries from manufacturing and healthcare to warehousing and logistics. Through its flagship Traceability Made Easy (TME) software platform and advanced RFID mobile readers, MASS Group empowers its customers to track and manage their assets in real time, improve their workflows and efficiency, and gain valuable insights into their operations.To learn more about how MASS Group's solutions can help streamline your asset management processes, contact MASS Group via phone at 1-800-842-2790 or contact us at sales@ massgroup.com Contact InformationJulian PascualMarketing Managerjpascual@ massgroup.com SOURCE: MASS Group
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Did you lose money on investments in Norfolk Southern? If so, please visit Norfolk Southern Corporation Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com to discuss your rights.NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Bernstein Liebhard LLP, a nationally acclaimed investor rights law firm, reminds investors of the deadline to file a lead plaintiff motion in a securities class action lawsuit that has been filed on behalf of investors who purchased or acquired the common stock of Norfolk Southern Corporation ("Norfolk Southern" or the "Company") (NYSE:NSC) between October 28, 2020 and March 3, 2023, inclusive (the "Class Period"). The lawsuit was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Ohio and alleges violations of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.On Friday, February 3, 2023, eastbound NSR general merchandise freight train 32N derailed 38 railcars in East Palestine, Ohio, about a mile from the Ohio-Pennsylvania border, leaving behind what the Associated Press called "a mangled and charred mass of boxcars and flames." Train 32N was made up of 2 head-end locomotives, 149 railcars, and 1 distributed power locomotive. Although no formal regulatory definition exists, 150 cars is the Federal Railroad Administration's threshold for classifying a train as "very long." Train 32N was being operated by just three Norfolk Southern personnel that day: a conductor, an engineer, and a conductor-in-training.Even though the train was not officially classified as a hazardous material train, which would have required the Company to post and display notification of its cargo, the consist (i.e., the group of rail vehicles which make up a train) included 20 placarded hazardous materials tank cars transporting liquids, flammable liquids, and flammable gas. Among the hazardous materials being transported were vinyl chloride, ethylene glycol monobutyl ether, ethylhexyl acrylate, isobutylene, and butyl acrylate. The derailed equipment included 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited, fueling fires that damaged an additional 12 non-derailed railcars.According to a subsequent preliminary investigative report about the accident by the National Transportation Safety Board ("NTSB"), the derailment occurred after a wheel bearing on a hopper car (a type of railroad freight car used to transport loose bulk commodities such as coal, ore, and grain) overheated and failed. In this instance, the hopper car contained plastic pellets, and the combination of the hot axle and plastic pellets started an initial fire. Video surveillance from a business 20 miles out of East Palestine showed the axle had been on fire for at least 20 miles before the derailment occurred.Plaintiff alleges that Defendants made materially false and misleading statements throughout the Class Period. Specifically, Plaintiff alleges that Defendants failed to disclose, among other things: (a) that Norfolk Southern's Precision Scheduled Railroading ("PSR)", including its use of longer, heavier trains staffed by fewer personnel, had led to the Company suffering increased train derailments and a materially increased risk of future derailments; (b) that Norfolk Southern's PSR, including its use of longer, heavier trains staffed by fewer personnel, was part of a culture of increased risk-taking at the expense of reasonable safety precautions due to the Company's near-term focus solely on profits; and (c) that Norfolk Southern's PSR, including its use of longer, heavier trains staffed by fewer personnel, rendered the Company more vulnerable to train derailments and train derailments with potentially more severe human, financial, legal, and environmental consequences.On February 21, 2023, the EPA issued a unilateral administrative order requiring Norfolk Southern to pay for all cleanup actions at the site. EPA Administrator Michael Regan said at a press conference that day in East Palestine that the agency was using its power under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA") to force the Company to act. "Norfolk Southern will pay for cleaning up the mess that they created and for the trauma that they've inflicted on this community," Regan said. "If the company fails to complete any actions as ordered by EPA, the Agency will immediately step in, conduct the necessary work, and then force Norfolk Southern to pay triple the cost." According to the National Transportation Safety Board, the wheel bearing passed three hot bearing detectors prior to the derailment, with the temperature increasing each time. However, the hot bearing detectors would not have notified the crew to stop and inspect the wheel bearing until it recorded a temperature 170 degrees or higher, per Norfolk Southern rules. "It wasn't until it was 253 degrees Fahrenheit above ambient temperature that [the crew] got a notification that they needed to immediately stop and inspect the hot axle and possibly set out the car." Before the market opened on March 6, 2023, the Company announced a 6-part plan to improve operational safety that included, inter alia, adding about 200 temperature sensors along its tracks where existing sensors are at least 15 miles apart, reviewing the temperature levels that set off alarms for train crews, and adding more acoustic sensors that analyze vibrations for potential problems.On this news, the price of Northern Suffolk common stock declined $5.97 per share to close at $222.42 per share on March 6, 2023.If you wish to serve as lead plaintiff, you must move the Court no later than May 15, 2023. A lead plaintiff is a representative party acting on behalf of other class members in directing the litigation. Your ability to share in any recovery doesn't require that you serve as lead plaintiff. If you choose to take no action, you may remain an absent class member.If you purchased or acquired Norfolk Southern common stock, and/or would like to discuss your legal rights and options please visit Norfolk Southern Corporation Shareholder Class Action Lawsuit or contact Peter Allocco at (212) 951-2030 or pallocco@ bernlieb.com Since 1993, Bernstein Liebhard LLP has recovered over $3.5 billion for its clients. In addition to representing individual investors, the Firm has been retained by some of the largest public and private pension funds in the country to monitor their assets and pursue litigation on their behalf. As a result of its success litigating hundreds of lawsuits and class actions, the Firm has been named to The National Law Journal's "Plaintiffs' Hot List" thirteen times an
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SAN FRANCISCO, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Hagens Berman urges Norfolk Southern Corporation (NYSE:NSC) investors who suffered substantial losses to submit your losses now.Class Period: Oct. 8, 2020 - Mar. 3, 2023Lead Plaintiff Deadline: May 15, 2023Visit: www.hbsslaw.com/investor-fraud/NSC Contact An Attorney Now: NSC@ hbsslaw.com 844-916-0895Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC) Securities Fraud Class Action:The complaint alleges that Defendants misrepresented and concealed material facts concerning Norfolk Southern's increased risk-taking at the expense of reasonable safety precautions due to the company's near-term focus on profits.Specifically, the company invoked a plan to, among other things, use longer, heavier trains staffed by fewer personnel, which led to increased train derailments and the risk of future catastrophic events. The complaint also alleges that while failing to make proper capital expenditures in safety risk programs, the company concurrently lobbied for policies undermining its ability to provide safe, efficient, and reliable rail transportation services.The complaint alleges that this undisclosed conduct made Norfolk Southern more susceptible to accidents that could seriously harm the company, its workers, its customers, third parties, and the environment.The true facts began to emerge on Feb. 3, 2023, when a Norfolk Southern freight train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio. The derailed equipment included 11 tank cars carrying hazardous materials that subsequently ignited and required the immediate evacuation of those within a one-mile by two-mile area. According to regulators, the derailment was entirely preventable.An additional revelation of Norfolk Southern's safety lapses occurred on Mar. 14, 2023, when another of its freight trains derailed near Springfield, Ohio."We're focused on investors' losses and proving Norfolk Southern put profits over safety," said Reed Kathrein, the Hagens Berman partner leading the investigation.If you invested in Norfolk Southern and have substantial losses, or have knowledge that may assist the firm's investigation, click here to discuss your legal rights with Hagens Berman.Whistleblowers: Persons with non-public information regarding Norfolk Southern should consider their options to help in the investigation or take advantage of the SEC Whistleblower program. Under the new program, whistleblowers who provide original information may receive rewards totaling up to 30 percent of any successful recovery made by the SEC. For more information, call Reed Kathrein at 844-916-0895 or email NSC@ hbsslaw.com # # #About Hagens BermanHagens Berman is a global plaintiffs' rights complex litigation law firm focusing on corporate accountability through class-action law. The firm is home to a robust securities litigation practice and represents investors as well as whistleblowers, workers, consumers and others in cases achieving real results for those harmed by corporate negligence and fraud. More about the firm and its successes can be found at hbsslaw.com . Follow the firm for updates and news at @ClassActionLaw.Contact:Reed Kathrein, 844-916-0895SOURCE: Hagens Berman Sobol Shapiro LLP
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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Pampa Metals Corp. ("Pampa Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:PM)(FSE:FIRA)(OTCQX:PMMCF) is pleased to advise that it has completed ~550m of the planned ~2,100m diamond drill program designed to test coincident geological, geochemical, and geophysical anomalies at its Buenavista target, and its Block 4 project more broadly. The presence of several geophysical anomalies under post-mineral covered portions of the Block 4 property is suggestive of a potential "cluster" of porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold systems, a characteristic typical of some major porphyry copper districts in Chile and worldwide.As previously advised, the program commenced on 31 March 2023 and completion by the end of May remains on schedule, with assay results expected in June.Pampa Metals' Management on Site - Block 4 Drill Testing (April 2023)The Company also continues to actively advance its broader portfolio of seven 100% owned projects, all located in Chile and prospective for porphyry copper systems, with a view to developing a pipeline of drill ready prospects. Concurrently, the Company continues due diligence on possible acquisitions of large porphyry copper-molybdenum targets capable of complementing its existing portfolio.Logging Block 4 Drill Core - (April 2023)Field Mapping at Cerro Buenos Aires - (April 2023)ABOUT PAMPA METALSPampa Metals is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE: PM), Frankfurt (FSE: FIRA) and OTC (OTCQB: PMMCF) exchanges which wholly owns a 47,400 hectare portfolio of seven projects highly prospective for copper, molybdenum and gold located along proven and highly productive mineral belts in Chile, one of the world's top mining jurisdictions. The Company is actively advancing its projects through systematic exploration and drill testing of the highest priority targets, with a current focus on the Buenavista target and the Block 4 Project more broadly.The Company's vision is to create significant value for shareholders and stakeholders through the application of its technical and commercial expertise towards exploring for a major copper discovery along the prime mineral belts of Chile. For more information, please visit Pampa Metals' website www.pampametals.com The latest Company Presentation can be accessed at https://pampametals.com/investor/ Qualified PersonTechnical information in this news release has been approved by Mario Orrego G, Geologist and a Registered Member of the Chilean Mining Commission and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Orrego is a consultant to the Company.Note: The reader is cautioned that Pampa Metals' projects are early-stage exploration projects, and reference to existing mines and deposits, or mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties, is not necessarily indicative of any mineralization on Pampa Metals' properties.ON BEHALF OF THE BOARDJoseph van den Elsen | President & CEOINVESTORS CONTACTJoseph van den Elsen | President & CEOjoseph@ pampametals.com Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTThis news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Pampa Metals expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will" or "may" occur. These statements are subject to various risks. Although Pampa Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.SOURCE: Pampa Metals Corp.
The transit of agricultural products from Ukraine through Poland will resume on Saturday, April 21. Control will be carried out at the border, Minister of Agrarian Policy Mykola Solsky has said.

According to him, transit control will be performed by tracking goods in transit through the country in Poland's SENT electronic system.

"The Poles will be able to show what is happening [transit, not import] if there is a request from society. The tracker shows that a truck or a railway car goes to ports or other EU countries," the minister said at a press briefing on Wednesday.

Solsky said that in the first week, at the request of the Polish side, its customs officers will be able to carry out physical escort of products by customs officers "in order to work out conclusions for themselves."

The minister also added that any company "that wants to sell something to Germany can do it [transit] from today."

Solsky said that Poland's share of the total export of agricultural products from Ukraine was 10%, half of which was in transit, and a half was imported.

"Of Western countries, the largest transit is through Romania, the smallest  through Slovakia. Poland was the second country after Romania in exports and domestic consumption," the minister said.

"If we're talking about Hungary, it's 5-6%, about Slovakia - 1.5%, about Romania - it's tens of percent, of which 90% is transit," Solsky said.

The ministry is still calculating Ukraine's potential losses due to problems with exports.
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Hanover, Germany, Apr 19, 2023 - (ACN Newswire) - Indonesian President Joko Widodo declared that the government is ready to collaborate with the international community in the development of green technology. He made this statement during his opening speech at Hannover Messe 2023, the world's largest technology exhibition held in Hannover, Germany on April 16th.As the official partner country of Hannover Messe 2023, the Indonesian government is exposed to technology investment and the development of green economics in Indonesia, in line with Indonesia's commitment to the energy transition, said the President. "Indonesia invites German investors to help in building the green economy in Indonesia. Once again, Indonesia is very open to cooperation and investment," said Jokowi.Jokowi added that one of the government's main focus currently is to accelerate the industrial value chain in the country. With the support of green energy in the industry, he hopes that the transformation of Indonesia's economy will soon be realized. "We have a large capital, and we want to become a major player in this industry. We also want to ensure that energy transition produces affordable energy for the people," added Jokowi.Supporting this initiative, PLN CEO Darmawan Prasodjo expressed his full commitment to continuing to drive energy transition through various collaborations at a global level. Participating directly in Hannover Messe 2023, PLN showcased its innovative products, including PLN Mobile, Green Industry Cluster, and Green Energy as a service. "In accordance with the President's instructions, PLN is open to the widest range of potential collaboration at Hannover Messe 2023. We aim to become a global company to facilitate decarbonization," said Darmawan.Darmawan also revealed that Hannover Messe is an opportunity for PLN to expand its international market. With the government's commitment to building an electric vehicle ecosystem in the country, PLN is optimistic about attracting collaboration and investment at a global level. "PLN participation in Hannover Messe is an opportunity to demonstrate our business and company capacity. We want to expand the PLN market to an international level," he said.As the only official partner country of Hannover Messe from Southeast Asia, Darmawan believes that Indonesia has higher bargaining power in the eyes of the international public. Therefore, PLN will take advantage of this to accelerate the green energy ecosystem.During the event, PLN showcased its transformation steps to the global community. PLN also featured PLN Mobile, Digital Power Plant, EV Ecosystem, Icon+ Digital Services, and Green Industry Cluster development plans. "At Hannover Messe, PLN embraced the theme of energy transition and sustainability. We aim to demonstrate our readiness to face energy transition in order to create a better world for future generations," concluded Darmawan.About PLNPT PLN (Persero) is a state-owned electricity company that continues to be committed and innovative in carrying out a mission to illuminate and move the nation. With a vision to become the leading electricity company in Southeast Asia, PLN is moving towards becoming the number one choice for energy solutions. PLN is committed to transformation with aspirations of being Green, Lean, Innovative, and Customer Focused to provide electricity for a better life. PLN can be contacted through the PLN Mobile application available on the PlayStore or AppStore. https://web.pln.co.id/ Contact:Gregorius Adi TriantoExecutive Vice President, Corporate Communications & CSR, PLNTel. +62 21 7261122Source: PT. Perusahaan Listrik Negara (Persero) [IDX: PLN]
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With new environmental and societal activities, SumUp steps up its efforts to support positive change in the planetBOULDER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Global financial technology company SumUp continues its industry-leading sustainability agenda, today announcing a range of initiatives addressing societal and environmental issues.SumUp - River Cleanup - Citarum RiverSumUp helps NGO to clean up the Citarum River, in Indonesia, the most polluted river in the world The SumUp ESG framework is based on: Environment, Education and Entrepreneurship. Within the Environment pillar, SumUp has pledged to donate 1% of net revenue generated by its Solo card readers to NGOs within the "1% for the Planet" movement.Today's announcement is a continuation of that work as SumUp looks to contribute to all aspects of ESG, looking at environmental and societal matters. SumUp is proud to announce several initiatives:In partnership with River Cleanup, removing 100,000kg of plastic from the Citarum River in Indonesia, the most polluted river in the world. In addition to the initial removal, SumUp will also conduct campaigns to raise environmental awareness among local communitiesWith Wilderness International, protecting 100,000m2 of forest in Peru for generations to come, preserving valuable habitats and biodiversity and offsetting 6,000 tons of CO2Through StoveTeam International, SumUp will be supporting 1,000 families in Central America with safe, fuel-efficient cookstoves. These stoves reduce the risk of lung diseases and save 12 tons of CO2 per stoveSumUp is also offering three-month Java Full Stack courses to over 120 students across Chile, Brazil, and Colombia, providing tech education to women and girls, non-white, LGBTQ+, and other underprivileged people. Over 80% of last year's graduates have found employment post-course. In addition, SumUp works with Dharma Life to provide a technology platform that supports education for children from rural India.Commenting, SumUp Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion and ESG Felizitas Lichtenberg, said:"As a world-leading technology company, we're committed to having a positive impact on the world and empowering people. And with our ESG initiatives, we want to create value throughout society and for the planet. We believe that investing in critical global issues and addressing them at source, like education for unemployed and minoritized groups, or protecting our planet, is not only the right thing to do but also a responsibility of everyone and will shape our shared future. We are committed to driving this agenda further to accelerate change and help create a sustainable future." About SumUpSumUp is a global financial technology company driven by the mission of empowering small businesses all over the world. Founded in 2012, SumUp is the financial partner for more than 4 million entrepreneurs in over 35 markets worldwide.In the United States, SumUp offers an ecosystem of affordable, easy-to-use financial products, such as point-of-sale and loyalty solutions, card readers, invoicing, and a business account that allows customers to manage their money and receive payouts the next day.For more information, please visit https://www.sumup.com/en-us/ Contact InformationAdriano LiraPR Manager, US5511983918632SumUp PR Teammedia@ sumup.com SOURCE: SumUp
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TOKYO, Apr 19, 2023 - (JCN Newswire) - Global apparel retailer UNIQLO will open the UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC Store on Friday, April 21st, at Maebashi (Gunma Prefecture, Japan). This new store represents a prototype for global roadside UNIQLO stores going forward, and features innovative design elements that are a first-of-their-kind for the company.For the new Maebashi store, Kashiwa Sato, Creative Director and CEO, SAMURAI Inc. and Chief Creative Director for the project, developed a new roadside store concept that both appeals to customers and embodies the UNIQLO philosophy of contributing to the development of a prosperous society and realization of a better world. To achieve these aims, the store has been designed with range of energy-saving features, as well as an expanded suite of lifestyle services. Going forward, the company intends for the store to serve as a prototype for new roadside stores globally.Group Executive Officer Masahiro Endo said: "With the new Maebashi Minami IC Store, we have created a new type of UNIQLO, where customers can both shop for our clothing, as well as gather and connect with each other. Reducing our energy consumption was also at the front of mind when developing the store, and the various technical and design features utilized represent meaningful steps towards meeting our 2030 greenhouse gas reduction targets. Going forward, we look forward to using this store as a prototype for our new roadside stores globally." Energy-saving features and new lifestyle experiences for customersIn line with the company's target to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions in its own store and office operations by 90% by 2030 (compared to 2019 levels), the new Maebashi store incorporates a number of features designed to help minimize energy usage. In addition, the store also brings together a range of the newest UNIQLO lifestyle services, including the UNIQLO FLOWER florist shop, UNIQLO COFFEE cafe, and Japan's first permanent RE.UNIQLO STUDIO - the company's repair, reuse, recycle and remake service.A video showcasing the unique features of the UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC Store is available here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XkmuIVGD-Ck Overview of UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC Store- Name: UNIQLO Maebashi Minami IC Store- Location: 2008 Kamesato-machi, Maebashi-shi, Gunma Prefecture- Access: Approx. five minutes by car from Maebashi Minami IC on the Kita-Kanto Expressway- Sales Floor Area: Approx. 2,500m2- Product Lines: MENS, WOMENS, KIDS, BABIES- Opening Date: Friday, April 21, 2023UNIQLO LOGO STOREThis new type of store is designed to allow customers to enjoy spending the day with UNIQLO. The exterior features giant logos like modern art objects at either end of the building that clearly identify the store as UNIQLO, even at a distance. The comfortable and enjoyable space and services encourage customers to stay longer and return again and again.About UNIQLO LifeWearApparel that comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality and longevity. Designed to be of the time and for the time, LifeWear is made with such modern elegance that it becomes the building blocks of each individual's style. A perfect shirt that is always being made more perfect. The simplest design hiding the most thoughtful and modern details. The best in fit and fabric made to be affordable and accessible to all. LifeWear is clothing that is constantly being innovated, bringing more warmth, more lightness, better design, and better comfort to people's lives.About UNIQLO and Fast RetailingUNIQLO is a brand of Fast Retailing Co., Ltd., a leading Japanese retail holding company with global headquarters in Tokyo, Japan. UNIQLO is the largest of eight brands in the Fast Retailing Group, the others being GU, Theory, PLST (Plus T), Comptoir des Cotonniers, Princesse tam.tam , J Brand and Helmut Lang. With global sales of approximately 2.3 trillion yen for the 2022 fiscal year ending August 31, 2022 (US $16.6 billion, calculated in yen using the end of August 2022 rate of $1 = 138.7 yen), Fast Retailing is one of the world's largest apparel retail companies, and UNIQLO is Japan's leading specialty retailer.UNIQLO continues to open large-scale stores in some of the world's most important cities and locations, as part of its ongoing efforts to solidify its status as a global brand. Today the company has a total of more than 2,400 stores across the world, including Japan, Asia, Europe and North America. In 2010 UNIQLO established a social business in Bangladesh together with the Grameen Bank and currently there are around 20 Grameen-UNIQLO stores, mostly located in Dhaka.With a corporate statement committed to changing clothes, changing conventional wisdom and change the world, Fast Retailing is dedicated to creating great clothing with new and unique value to enrich the lives of people everywhere. For more information about UNIQLO and Fast Retailing, please visit www.uniqlo.com and www.fastretailing.com For media queries, please contact:Fast Retailing Global Corporate PR at fr_corporate_pr@ fastretailing.com
Reader survey As a reader of PREMIUM TIMES, your opinion matters. Please take our survey to help us better understand the values and preferences of our readers. Your feedback will give us valuable insights into how we can tailor the different types of content we offer to meet your needs. The survey should only take about 6-8 minutes to complete. Click here to take it.

The Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) is set to host the fourth edition of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Opportunity Fair (NOGOF) 2023.

The biennial event aims to promote local content development, maximise the participation of Nigerians in the oil and gas industry, and link the industry to other sectors of the economy.

According to a press statement signed by the boards executive secretary, Simbi Wabote, the event is scheduled to hold on 18 and 19 May 2023 in Bayelsa State, with the theme The Oil and Gas Industry  Catalyst and Fuel for the Industrialization of Nigeria.

Mr Wabote said the event aims to showcase the opportunities available in the oil and gas industry and foster partnerships that will drive growth and development in the sector.

He also said the event aims to promote the development of local capacities and capabilities in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, foster institutional collaboration, maximise the participation of Nigerians in oil and gas activities, link the oil and gas sector to other sectors of the economy, and maximise the utilisation of Nigerian resources, among other objectives.

According to him, the oil and gas industry has the potential to catalyse industrialisation and promote economic growth, not just in Nigeria, but across the continent.

NOGOF 2023 will showcase the various opportunities available in the oil and gas industry and foster partnerships that will drive growth and development in the sector, the organisers said, adding that the event will also extend its reach beyond Nigeria to the entire African continent.

He said the NCDMB has already secured some sponsors and exhibitors, but there are still opportunities to be a sponsor and an exhibitor. Interested stakeholders are advised to visit the dedicated NOGOF 2023 website for information on how to get involved in any capacity.

He also said the NCDMB has prepared a Compendium of Nigerian Content Opportunities in the Oil and Gas Industry 2023, which will be made available to all delegates at the event.

The Compendium will guide the investment strategies of interested parties in the Nigerian oil and gas industry, providing a valuable resource that aligns with the local content requirements of the industry.

To ensure the success of NOGOF 2023, Mr Wabote called for the support and cooperation of all participants and experts.

Our goal is to use NOGOF as a platform to promote the key objectives of the Nigerian Oil and Gas Industry Content Development Act 2010, and drive growth and development across the Nigerian oil and gas value chain, he said.

The first and second editions of NOGOF were hosted in Akwa Ibom and Bayelsa states, respectively, while the third edition was hosted virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

NOGOF 2023 will mark the fourth edition of the event, with delegate registration starting on 17 May, followed by a welcome cocktail event on the same day.

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Since Africas third wave of democratisation, many countries have taken on democracy  abolishing military dictatorship, undertaking constitutional reviews and embracing multiparty politics and elections. Yet the continent still struggles with poor leadership. The governing elite has failed to address citizens needs and drive a development agenda.

In countries such as Equatorial Guinea, Cameroon, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Uganda and Chad, leaders have been in power for over three decades under so-called democracies. Even when presidents have changed, individuals from the same party or two major parties have typically alternated power.

Many states  like Tanzania, Angola, South Africa, Rwanda, Ethiopia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Namibia  are still dominated by one party. Countries like Ghana, Nigeria, Benin and Mali are governed by two political parties that alternate power.

However, recent election results show citizens desire for new leadership. Ghanas 2020 general elections produced a historic split Parliament. For the first time, the governing New Patriotic Party and main opposition (National Democratic Congress) had an equal number of seats, with a Speaker elected from the opposition. For many analysts, this was an expression of citizens desire to see an end to winner-takes-all politics and better collaboration among the governing elite.

In South Africa, the African National Congress (ANC), which has been in power since 1994 and has won every election, has started losing its grip, especially in metropolitan cities. The party witnessed its worst performance in the 2021 local government elections, winning only 46% of the votes, down from the 54% it recorded in the previous municipal polls.

This marked the first time the ANC failed to win the majority in an election, reflecting citizens dissatisfaction with the partys performance. Some analysts predict it may win just 40 per cent of the 2024 elections and be forced into messy governing coalitions.

Likewise, in Angola, the popularity of the Peoples Movement for the Liberation of Angola  which has ruled since independence in 1975  is declining. Since 2008, the partys fortunes have fallen from winning a supermajority of 81.6 per cent in the National Assembly to only 51.2 per cent of seats in 2022. This trend suggests the ruling party could lose the next election in 2027.

Senegals July 2022 parliamentary polls also marked the ruling coalitions loss of its absolute majority in Parliament. The coalition, including the presidents Alliance for the Republic party, won 82 seats out of 165, a drop from the 125 it recorded in 2017. This was the first time a ruling partys coalition lost an absolute majority in the countrys Parliament, meaning it must now rely on other political parties to pass legislation.

In Kenya, the August 2022 elections saw former deputy president William Ruto defeat longstanding opposition leader Raila Odinga. Mr Ruto prevailed over tribal politics to earn a historic victory despite then-president Uhuru Kenyattas support for Mr Odinga. Campaigning on his humble beginnings, Mr Ruto described the election as a battle between ordinary hustlers and ruling dynasties (the Kenyatta and Odinga families) who have governed the country for decades. This appeared to resonate with voters, especially Kenyas citizenry.

Lesothos October 2022 election results also indicated a dramatic shift in voting preferences. After two decades of one-party dominance, voters have since 2012 removed every incumbent party. In 2022, the Revolution for Prosperity party  established just six months before the poll and led by outsider Sam Matekane  won 56 seats out of the 120. The incumbent All Basotho Convention took only eight seats in a strong signal that the electorate couldnt be taken for granted.

Most recently, Nigerias February presidential and legislative elections saw a third political force emerge in the continents most populous country. Many observers described the polls as the most competitive in the countrys history, with a departure from the two-horse race between the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Peter Obi, former Anambra state governor, led the Labour Party to win 12 states, including President-elect Bola Tinubus backyard of Lagos and the federal capital, Abuja. Obi won about 25 per cent of the total votes, with the APC getting 37 per cent and PDP 29 per cent. So for the first time, the election winner failed to secure a majority of all ballots cast. Obis significant entry has shaken Nigerian politics, offering a credible third alternative and hope for many who have lost faith in the APC and PDP.

These examples show a maturing in the voting trend of Africas electorate. No political party can take them for granted anymore. African citizens are also clearly willing to rise above ethnic, tribal and religious considerations to vote for competence if it emerges. The days of governing elites assuming they will sweep the polls are ending, and if the course continues, most ruling dynasties will soon be overhauled.

Enoch Randy Aikins, Researcher, African Futures and Innovation, Institute for Security Studies (ISS) Pretoria

(This article was first published by ISS Today, a Premium Times syndication partner. We have their permission to republish).

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A man and his wife reportedly abducted while returning from a vigil in the early hours of Saturday have escaped from their abductors, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) learnt.

Osun State Amotekun Commander, Bashir Adewinmbi, disclosed this on Wednesday. He said the woman was spotted by operatives of the corps running out of the Kelebe forest along the Iragbiji-Osogbo road at about 9 p.m. on Tuesday.

Mr Adewinmbi said the woman was taken to the Amotekun where she revealed her name as Margret Jonah.

He said Mrs Jonah and her husband live in Iragbiji and were returning home from a church vigil in Osogbo when they ran into the ambush of the kidnappers.

She said their kidnappers fled when the police were closing in on them, giving the couple the opportunity to escape in different directions, he said

Mr Adewinmbi said the family of the woman had been informed that she has been rescued and handed over to the police anti-kidnapping unit.

Mr Adewinmbi added that Mr Jonah too was fine and is also with the police anti-kidnapping unit.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the couple was kidnapped in the early hours of Saturday.

(NAN)

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The Chairman of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State, Goke Ojatuwase, has appealed for the resettlement of residents of Ayetoro, following the incursion of the ocean into the community.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Ayetoro community on Monday witnessed another ocean incursion which destroyed several houses, schools, churches, markets and businesses, while many residents have fled the area.

In an interview with NAN on Wednesday in Igbokoda, Mr Ojatuwase made a passionate appeal for the resettlement of the inhabitants due to the recurring incidents of ocean incursion.

The local government is not folding its arms against the sea incursion ravaging the community as the state government has been partnering with the Federal Government to find a solution to the impending danger in the area, he said.

The council chairman said a multi-million Naira project design embarked on by the federal government to tame the ocean incursion has been completed, but what remained was the movement of equipment to the high sea.

The government has not been folding its hands over the sea incursion in Ayetoro because the area mapping and project design embarked on by the Federal Government have been completed.

But the inability to access roads and the sea to bring the heavy equipment to begin the project have been the problem.

Ilaje has no motorable roads for heavy-duty trucks and the sea needs dredging to bring in the heavy equipment through the high sea because the sea was dredged last in 1975 or 1976 I think.

I am appealing to the Federal Government and other stakeholders as a matter of urgency to do the needful for the sea surge not to wipe out the entire Ayetoro community.

As much as I sympathised with the residents of Ayetoro community over the loss of properties and businesses, I appeal to them to accept resettlement from the area, pending when the governments will do the needful, Mr Ojatuwase said.

Also, Oba Micah Olaseni-Ajijo, the Ogeleyinbo of Ayetoro, in a statement on behalf of the residents, said the community has made frantic calls to the relevant governments over the sea incursion.

The leader of the community added that the government was yet to tackle the challenge being faced by residents of the community over the ocean surge which was threatening their lives and property.

Mr Olaseni-Ajijo said the traditional institution would continue to lend its voice to those of others, and through all available means of communication, bring their plight to the knowledge of the government.

He appealed to State and Federal governments, the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) and Ondo State Oil Producing Development Commission (OSOPADEC) to come to their rescue.

The ocean surge is the reality of rising temperatures and sea levels due to carbon emissions.

International agreements on carbon cap are not implemented and oil companies off the coast of Aiyetoro still flare their gas, not minding the environmental challenges.

The sea eats our lands and coastal towns as there is no social and environmental justices in the policies of the political class as we only cry to God to instill His peace.

More than half of the community has been encroached by the ravaging sea surge, we are calling on governments and relevant agencies to please come to our rescue, Ayetoro must not go into extinction, he pleaded.

(NAN)

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The centrality of the media to Multi-Track Diplomacy is such that cannot be over-emphasised with the other tracks feeding it and even feeding on it to enable proper functioning in mitigation of conflicts. The media connect with the people as collectives and individuals and therefore bear a lot of responsibility in helping to stabilise social imbalance.

For the first time in the history of the country, and also acutely contrasting with simple logic and commonsense, a second runner up in the presidential election 25 February is making a most laughable claim of having won the election. Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Peoples Congress (APC) had won the election with no fewer than two million votes ahead of the Labour Partys Peter Obi who came third with Abubakar Atiku of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) coming second.

In a most convincing reconfirmation of the previous rating of the three during the presidential election, Peter Obis Labour Party (LP) won the governorship seat in only one out of the 33 states available for elections. But neither Obi, the presidential candidate of LP, nor his VP candidate has demonstrated the universally known genuine spirit of sportsmanship. In spite of the unmistakable statistical data of the results, they have been insistent that they won, as against the official declaration of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC). Its been messy to the extent that the narrative, especially online, of the opposition in the camp of the second runner in the presidential election, is extremely befuddling, having thrown all caution to the wind. If this was never sufficiently envisaged, one organisation did, apparently projecting scientifically and taking advantage of intellectual efforts well cultivated and nurtured on elections.

Babatunde Afolabi, the Africa regional director of the Geneva headquartered Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD) oozed so much excitement in 2019 over a book project he had superintended as the Nigeria director of his organisation. The book is titled Post-Election Assessment of Conflict Management Mechanisms in Nigeria, 2019 and Beyond. Such was the excitement that even before the production was concluded he had programmed the public launch session that was to feature two reviewers namely, Professor Jibrin Ibrahim, renowned fellow of Centre for Democracy and Development (CDD) and myself. Incidentally, COVID-19 happened and ensure global shutdown for the better part of 2020. Though painful, the book launch from which so much was expected had to be postponed indefinitely. But HD kept having the feeling that the launch still had to happen and so it finally did on 1 December, 2022.

The launch attracted the best of the sober stakeholders in the moulds of high ranking and veteran diplomats, high profile civil society players and academics, among others. Also, His Excellency Dr Mohammed Ibn Chambas, former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General/Head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel; the immediate past INEC Chair, Professor Attahiru Jega; former Special Representative of the ECOWAS in Liberia, Ambassador Tunde Ajisomo; former Nigerian Ambassador to France and former AU Special Rep in Liberia, Ambassador Akin Fayomi; Dr Hussein Abdul, one of the two non-media professionals recently appointed to serve on the National Media Commission.

Beyond the impactful speeches at the launch were the more enduring recommendations of the publication that I played up as the reviewer. What are these? They include:

Formal and informal conflict management structures and initiatives should work more closely in preparation for election processes.

Traditional and religious leaders should be mindful of the implications of publicly showing sympathy or support for any political party or candidate.

Development partners, donor organisations and other stakeholders should support the sustained training of journalists and social media influencers on conflict-sensitive reporting.

The signing of Peace Accords should be promoted at all tiers of government, including the federal level, with enough resources and incentives to ensure that all stakeholders comply with their provisions.

The inadequacy of attention and resources allocated to the last two suggestions listed above have since been haunting Nigeria since 25 February. The conduct of the media, especially the so-called Fifth Estate, has been unimaginably irritating. Outright misinformation and disinformation competing incessantly and compelling the concerned to do rebuttals to the discomfort of the world. Incidentally, unmistakable as the manifestations are, even core stakeholders appear dismissive. Otherwise, how do we explain the insensitivity to diversity manifesting in the composition of the recently inaugurated National Media Commission, with the inclusion of the spokesperson of only one of the presidential candidates, Professor Stella Okunna? How can the promoters of the Commission convince the world against bias, with the religious insensitivity burden evident in only two muslims being included in the 10-member body, who are neither media scholars nor media professionals? The Commission has since been inaugurated and is expected to command our respect. How?

The centrality of the media to Multi-Track Diplomacy is such that cannot be over-emphasised with the other tracks feeding it and even feeding on it to enable proper functioning in mitigation of conflicts. The media connect with the people as collectives and individuals and therefore bear a lot of responsibility in helping to stabilise social imbalance. This is the very basis of the rigorous transformation effected by media and conflict resolution experts and scholars, as manifest in the trajectory of, at first, peace journalism and much later till date, conflict-sensitive journalism.

Such is the reckoning that conflict-sensitive reporting enjoys that UNESCO has had to invest heavily in it with trainers and researchers being relentless globally to entrench its principles. But what has our own newly inaugurated commission to do with all the global efforts? The world waits!

Compounding the situation further is the disregard for HDs submission on the Peace Accord. Since its inception, it has always been a one-off, pre-election routine. But post-election engagement, as scientifically foreseen by HD, has turned out to be hugely important. This is to the extent that if care is not taken, whatever is envisaged to be dividends of democracy may get recklessly frittered away.

The Peace Accord, as envisioned by HD with the wish for robust funding, should be all-encompassing to accommodate the other seven tracks of diplomacy, as conceptualised in 1991. And Nigeria is well endowed enough to drive the integration of the other seven tracks to work for the desired peace of our dear country. For instance, not a few Peace and Conflict Resolution Studies programmes in different universities in Africa and even beyond have had to rely on the University of Ibadan professors for take-off and sustenance. Such also is the respect that the world has for the relevant experts from Nigeria that there is hardly any of the global associations that does not have a Nigerian on its leadership team. Interestingly, Dr Afolabi who conceptualised the book mentioned in this article is the current Africa Director of HD, whereas he was Nigeria Director of HD when the idea of the book took root. Perhaps more important are the renowned efforts of former President Olusegun Obasanjo in the recent time in Ethiopia and other parts of Africa.

It is absolutely indispensable to ensure adequate sensitivity to diversity in the workings of democratic processes, say at the level of political parties as well as at the level of formulating solutionist agendas such as may involve constituting membership for an all-important organ like the National Media Commission whose relevance transcends election and related complications. Most concerning, perhaps, is the sky high intolerance of the so-called Obidients, one of who is Professor Okunna, who, self-respecting, should have honourably declined the membership of the Commission, on the ground of equity, even if she was erroneously offered. Wouldnt her fellow Obidients not have pulled down the sky on- and offline? Is the Nigerian media sector so Obidient-biased to ignore this to the detriment of other political parties and indeed the nations peace?

Tunde Akanni, a media and conflict expert, is an associate professor of journalism at the Lagos State University, Nigeria.

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The Independent National Electoral Commissioner (INEC) has declared Governor Ahmadu Fintiri of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) winner of the governorship election in Adamawa State.

Mr Fintiri won the supplementary election with 9,337 votes. He defeated his closest rival, Aisha Dahiru, popularly called Binani, of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who came second in the poll with 6,513 votes.

Mr Fintiri and Mrs Dahiru are the major contenders in the governorship poll.

The supplementary poll was held in 69 polling units in the 20 local governments in the state, with less than 40,000 eligible voters.

At the 18 March governorship poll before it was declared inconclusive, Mr Fintiri was leading with over 30,000 votes.

For both the main election and the rerun, the governor polled a total of 430,861 votes while the APC candidate scored 398,788 votes.

The final results were announced by the INEC Returning Officer in the state, Mohammed Mele.

Mr Mele, a professor, said the PDP governorship candidate has met the constitutional requirement and thereby returned as governor of the state.

I, Professor Muhammed Mele, hereby certified that I am the Returning Officer for the Adamawa State Governorship election. The election was contested. That the candidates received the following votes, he said.

That Ahmadu Fintiri of the PDP having satisfied the requirements of the law is hereby declared the winner and is returned elected.

The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Ari, had, on Sunday, declared Mrs Dahiru the winner of the governorship election.

Mr Ari announced the APC candidate winner of the election while the collation of the results of the supplementary election conducted on Saturday was still in progress.

However, INEC headquarters in Abuja declared the RECs action null and void and suspended the collation of the results.

The commission also summoned him to Abuja and subsequently barred him from the office. It is not certain if he has arrived Abuja.

Also on Monday, Mrs Dahiru approached the Federal High Court in Abuja seeking to stop INEC from voiding her illegal declaration as Adamawa governor-elect. The court adjourned to 26 April, the day the collation of the results of the supplementary election resumed and Mr Fintiri declared winner.

Meanwhile, the electoral body said it had decided to write the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Usman Baba, requesting to probe and prosecute Mr Ari for his conduct.

Mr Baba, on his part, has ordered the removal of the Commissioner of Police on election duty in Adamawa State, Mohammed Barde, over his alleged role in the illegal declaration of Mrs Dahiru, as the winner of the state governorship election on Sunday.

The IGP also directed the Gombe State Police Commissioner, Etim Equa, to proceed to Adamawa to take charge.

See the results of the supplementary election below

Total registered voters 42,929

Accredited voters 16,423

AA 2

AAC 28

ADP 40

APC 6,513

APGA 16

APM 03

APP 02

LP 03

NNPP 05

NRM 35

PDP 9,337

PRP 03

SDP 05

YPP 06

ZLP 01

Total 15,999

Rejected votes 399

Total votes cast 16,398

Total Election Results

Total registered voters 21965666

Accredited voters 876,387

Total results of the 18 March election and 15 April supplementary elections

AA 643

ADC 324

ADP 2,174

APC 398,788

APGA 892

APM 606

APP 286

LP 2,732

NNPP 4,852

NRM 1,272

PDP 430,861

PRP 1,188

SDP 6,870

YPP 1,431

ZLP 200

Total valid votes 853,819

Rejected votes 15,287

Total votes cast 869,106

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The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the victory of Governor Ahmadu Fintiri in the Adamawa State governorship election as a momentous triumph for democracy and the expression of the will of the people.

The party in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Debo Ologunagba, in Abuja on Tuesday also described Mr Fintiris re-election as victory over tyranny and desperate manipulative forces which sought to take over control of the state illegally.

He said spontaneous jubilation of citizens in the state and across the nation at the official declaration of Mr Fintiri as the rightful winner of the election was a confirmation that the PDP and its candidate were indeed the choice of the people.

Gov. Fintiris overwhelming victory is a validation that the will of the people cannot be subdued no matter the plot by a tyrannic, domineering and power-grabbing elements.

Plot by few who, with over-bloated ambition, desperately sought to subvert our democracy, scuttle the electoral process, compromise the judiciary, subjugate the people and impose an unconstitutional regime in the polity.

Mr Ologunagba saluted the courage, resilience and determination of the people of the state in resisting the attempts by INEC Resident Electoral Commissioner, Hudu Yunusa-Ari and others in their bid to destabilize the State.

Our party also lauds the Adamawa State Returning Officer, Mohammed Mele for his courage in standing on the side of justice, due process and democracy in the discharge of his duty.

He also saluted the roles played by the international and domestic election observers, the Media, Organised ll Civil Society and all well-meaning Nigerians in ensuring that the mandate of the people freely given to the PDP and Fintiri, was not hijacked by supplanters.

He congratulated Mr Fintiri and the people of Adamawa State and urged the governor to continue in his landmark transformational delivery of democracy dividends to the people in line with the manifesto, programmes and policies of the PDP.

(NAN)

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President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen called on the governments of five EU member states that asked to resolve the issue of importing Ukrainian agricultural products, to develop a common European approach in light of the single markets and the EU customs union, and also promised additional financial assistance to farmers and restrictive measures against Ukrainian products.

"The president presents three proposals to address the situation on these markets," Director for Political Communication & Services of the European Commission Dana Spinant said at a briefing in Brussels on Wednesday, commenting on the response of the President of the European Commission to a letter from the prime ministers of Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, and Bulgaria.

According to her, in particular, in addition to the already provided a support package of EUR 56.3 million for the most affected farmers in these countries, a second financial support package of EUR 100 million is being prepared.

"Secondly, we will take preventive measures on the applicable trade rules with regards to grains, certain categories of grain. This concerns, in particular, wheat, maize, sunflower, and rapeseed. And thirdly, we are launching an investigation into other sensitive products," Spinant said.

She also said that European Commission Vice President Valdis Dombrovskis will discuss these lanes of actions and proposals on Wednesday afternoon with the ministers of the respective five member states, as well as with his counterparts from Ukraine.

"From the very beginning, we are committed, on the one hand, to supporting Ukraine to export its products, including its agricultural products, because this is an important lifeline for Ukraine's economy. We are committed to helping bring these agricultural products to world markets where these products are needed, in order also to address concerns regarding food security, and we are fully committed to supporting our farmers," the representative of the European Commission said.
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The National Industrial Court of Nigeria in Lagos on Tuesday ordered the reinstatement of the operations of the Road Transport Employers Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) in the state, nullifying the state governments appointment of a caretaker committee.

The government had suspended the operations of the RTEAN in September and constituted a 35-man caretaker committee to take over the operations of the union.

But a lawyer representing the Lagos State government and the Parks and Garages Administrators said they will study Tuesdays judgment, and act accordingly.

Suit

The RTEAN instituted the suit with ID number: NICN/LA/381/2022, in October 2022 to challenge the state governments dissolution of the elected executive committee of the union in the state and appointing a caretaker body, known as the Parks and Garages Administrators.

The defendants in the case are the state governor, the attorney-general of the state and Sola Giwa, who is the Special Adviser to the state governor on transportation.

Others include the commissioner of police and all the members of the caretaker committee.

In January, the union through its lawyer, Elisha Kurah, had argued that a state cannot interfere in the affairs of a trade union registered under the Trade Unions Act of 2004.

He said that the state cannot dissolve the union, adding that such matters are handled by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The government dissolved RTEAN, suspended its operations and took over the garages, he said.

The union is challenging Lagos State since union matters are under the federal ministry, he said.

But, Adebayo Haroun, representing the state government had argued that the government did not violate the law or dissolve the national bodys operations in the state, but had sought to maintain law and order by creating the ad-hoc committee when violence ensued between the unions.

The lawyer for the fifth to the 37th defendants, Taiwo Kupolati, in his arguments, said Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the governor, has the power to maintain peace in the land.

There was a crisis and the governor exercised his authority as the chief security officer of the state and put up a committee to be in charge of garages for peace to reign.

The government issued a document to ensure public safety and order. And since the ad-hoc committee was set up, there has been peace,

The lawyers also filed notices of preliminary objections, urging the court to dismiss the suit brought by way of originating summons, in view of the conflicting facts deposed to by the parties.

There was no appearance nor filing of court processes by the Nigeria Police Force in Lagos, who are the fourth defendants.

Judgment

The judge, Maureen Esowe, held that the act of the state government in suspending the national unions operations in the state and setting up a caretaker committee is illegal and against the provisions of Sections 4 (1), (2)& (3), and 5 (1) &(3), read along with item 34 of the exclusive legislative list, of the 1999 Constitution, as amended.

She held that the government and the police should have intervened by arresting and prosecuting those behind the fracas and not to inquire into the dispute.

The court also restrained the state government from further interfering with the operations of the unions executives.

The court ordered the police to refrain from intimidating the union s officers and to remove all barricades it imposed around their secretariat and to grant them unhindered access to their offices.

The judge also dismissed the defendants preliminary objections to the suit, saying the matter is straightforward which the court has jurisdiction to hear and determine, with no serious dispute to warrant an exchange of pleadings.

In his reaction to the judgment, Mr Kupolati said he would study the judgment and advise his clients accordingly.

The state counsel, Adekunle Laditan, told the court that the state, being a law abiding government, would also study the decision.

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A yet-to-be-identified commercial bus driver lost his life after his bus somersaulted following a collision with a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) vehicle on Wednesday.

The accident occurred on the Ifako Bridge inward Ogudu on the Oworonshoki Expressway in Lagos.

An accident at Ifako inward Ogudu Bridge involving a BRT Bus and a commercial Bus. One casualty on the ground with others injured, the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) posted on its Twitter handle.

The Punch newspaper reported that the casualty was a commercial driver.

The accident occurred when a fully loaded commercial bus coming from Lagos Island and heading to the Ojodu Berger area of the state collided with the BRT bus.

The body of the driver could be seen lying beside the upturned commercial bus in a video shared by the agency.

Shortly after the accident, hoodlums in the area set the BRT bus ablaze.

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The Nigeria Army, on Wednesday, completed pre-deployment training for 172 troops for a peacekeeping mission in Guinea Bissau.

The troops began their pre-deployment training on 21 March at the Martin Luther Agwai International Leadership and Peace Keeping Centre (MLAILPKC), Jaji, Kaduna state.

Addressing the troops, the Chief of Operations, Army, Taoreed Lagbaja, a major general, said the troops would be Nigerias Company 2 Stabilisation Mission in the ECOWAS-support mission in Guinea Bissau.

Mr Lagbaja, represented by Bayode Adetoro, a major general and Director, Peace Support Operations, said the graduation further confirmed the commitment of Nigeria to deploy quality peacekeepers as part of its contributions to the quest for global peace and security.

He explained that the pre-deployment training was aimed at refreshing and polishing troops knowledge and expertise in peace-support operations.

The training was to equip you with the requisite skills required to protect yourselves, ECOWAS Mission in Guinea Bissau equipment and the citizens of Guinea Bissau, your host nation while carrying out the missions mandate, he said.

He cautioned the troops to avoid any ugly incident that could tarnish the image of the Army and Nigeria during their stay in Guinea-Bissau.

Let me categorically state that you are to discharge your duties in consonance with the missions mandate at all times.

I must also remind you that the rules of engagement in the mission give you the latitude to exhibit utmost professionalism in the discharge of your responsibilities.

Additionally, you must respect the culture and religious sensitivity of the people of the host nation and must not involve yourselves in the trafficking of illicit substance of any kind, Mr Lagbaja warned.

He stressed that the ECOWAS mission has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and abuse.

Earlier, the Commandant of the MLAILPKC, Emmanuel Undiandeye, a major general, said the training was intense, comprehensive, and was conducted using the Standard United Nations Core Pre-Deployment Training Materials.

He added that the troops were taken through crosscutting issues like sexual exploitation and abuse, conflict-related sexual violence, conduct and discipline as well as protection of civilians amongst others.

Mr Undiandeye noted that Nigeria and its Armed Forces had remained committed to global peace and security.

Nigeria has since the 1960s contributed troops to different peace support operations ranging from the Congo, Yugoslavia and Lebanon, amongst others.

As the powerhouse of the West Africa sub-region, Nigeria has committed both human and material resources to the attainment of peace in the sub-region, he noted.

The commandant charged the troops with discharging their duties in line with the missions mandate while urging them to adhere strictly to the missions rules of engagement.

He also urged them to carry out their duties bearing in mind the multinational, as well as cultural and religious diversities of the operating environment which underscore the need for courtesy and respect for their hosts as well as others.

He thanked the Chief of Army Staff, Farouk Yahaya, for his guidance and support to the Centre which enabled the successful completion of the pre-deployment training.

(NAN)

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The police in Imo State, south-east Nigeria, said their operatives wounded several suspected members of the outlawed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) during a shoot-out with the group.

The police spokesperson in the state, Henry Okoye, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday.

Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the shoot-out occurred when police operatives raided a camp belonging to the suspected IPOB members at Uba Agwa/Izombe Tropical Rain Forest in Oguta Local Government Area of the state.

The police spokesperson said the raid followed receipt of actionable intelligence that the IPOB members and their militant wing, Eastern Security Network (ESN) had reassembled at the camp to strategise on how to carry out a dreadful crime.

Operatives of the commands tactical teams swiftly swung into action, tactically manoeuvred their way into the identified criminal hideout and raided it, he said.

Mr Okoye said the IPOB members, on sighting the police operatives, engaged them in a shoot-out but that the hoodlums were overpowered by the superior firepower of the officers, forcing them to flee the scene with gunshot injuries.

He said the operatives discovered a shrine in the camp after the hoodlums fled.

Three automatic pump action guns, 31 rounds of live cartridges, 59 rounds of AK-47 ammunition, one police hand grenade, IPOB/ESN insignia, and police uniforms, were among the items recovered during the operation, according to the police.

Others include four different types of motorcycles, police caps and belts, military camouflage uniforms, one black travelling bag and a written phone number believed to be that of a kidnap or armed robbery victim.

IPOB is leading the agitation for an independent state of Biafra which it wants to be carved out from the South-east and some parts of South-south Nigeria.

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Governor Dave Umahi of Ebonyi State says his family conspired against him to vote for the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, in the 25 February presidential election in the state.

Mr Umahi, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), stated this when he appeared as a guest on Channels TVs Politics Today, Monday night.

The governor said he did not give the LP and other political parties an opportunity to win any election in the state because of what he had put in place in the state.

I was very surprised (that) even in my family, there was a conspiracy against me. I did not know that they (my family) voted for Peter Obi, but in the other election, they voted for APC because of what weve done in the state, he said.

Ebonyi State is considered one of the strongholds of Mr Obi in the election because he (Obi) hails from the South-east region.

The LP candidate polled a total of 252, 738 votes to defeat Mr Tinubu of the APC in Ebonyi State. The APC candidate came second with 42, 402 votes in the state.

Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, enjoyed swelling support mainly in the South-east during the exercise.

Why Buhari, Tinubu lost in Katsina and Lagos States

Speaking during the Channels TV programme, Mr Umahi expressed surprise that incumbent President Muhammadu Buhari, and the APC candidate, Mr Tinubu, now president-elect, lost the presidential election in their states.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Atiku Abubakar, won the presidential election in Katsina State, where Mr Buhari, a member of the APC, hails from.

Similarly, Mr Obi of the LP won in Lagos State, where Mr Tinubu served as the governor between 1999 and 2007.

Mr Umahi said that the losses came in the form of a protest against the PDP and the APC as a result of hardship and other challenges in the country.

I saw the Labour Party vote as a protest against my party (APC) and the PDP.

It was not a vote for Peter Obi. As such, there is seemingly hardship and challenges in Nigeria, he said.

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Offices of various aviation agencies in Lagos were shut on Tuesday as aviation sector workers embark on a warning strike,

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the offices shut were those of the Ministry of Aviation, the Nigeria Airspace Management Agency, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria and the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority.

Members of the unions laid siege to the Murtala Mohammed International Airport, Lagos, resulting in gridlocks around the airport and its environs.

There was a heavy presence of security agents at strategic points in the area to prevent a breakdown of law and order as unionists chanted solidarity songs.

The Secretary-General, Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals, Abdul Saidu, expressed disappointment that conditions of service in the sector had not been implemented after eight years of signing.

He also frowned at the planned demolition of offices of aviation agencies by the Ministry of Aviation, noting that the idea was flawed.

For over eight years, the conditions of service have not been implemented as the aviation agencies are functioning without governing boards and there are no checks and balances.

The aviation ministry wants to destroy buildings in the sector for a road map that isnt approved by Lagos State and even the approved one in Abuja hasnt been done; so what is the point, he queried.

Mr Saidu said the unions would begin a full-scale strike if their demands were not addressed.

READ ALSO: Aviation ministry sues for peace as striking workers block access roads to Lagos airport

NAN reports that the unions are demanding the immediate release of the reviewed Condition of Service, implementation of the minimum wage consequential adjustments and payment of arrears for the Nigeria Meteorological Agency (NiMet) since 2019.

The unions also demanded the halt of the planned demolition of aviation agencies buildings in Lagos by the Ministry of Aviation for an airport city project.

NAN reports that the unions issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Ministry of Aviation and specific aviation parastatal agencies on 7 February over non-implementation of the minimum wage consequential adjustments and arrears for NiMet.

(NAN)

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The leadership crisis rocking the Labour Party (LP) deepened on Tuesday as it suspended a factional leader, Lamidi Apapa, its National Deputy Chairman (South) and some other officials.

The party also appointed acting executive members according to a statement signed by Ladi Iliya, national deputy chairperson and Kenedy Ahanotu, deputy national secretary.

They stated that the decision was taken at a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the party held in Asaba and attended by members of the National Working Committee.

Also in attendance at the Asaba meeting were state chairpersons and secretaries of the party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

The Asaba meeting was also attended by the partys National Assembly members-elect, officials of INEC, those of the NLC and the Trade Union Congress (TUC), the statement read.

It added that the NEC reaffirmed and upheld the decision of the Akure convention which expelled its former publicity secretary, Arabambi Abayomi.

NEC considered the disciplinary committees report which recommended the suspension of the former Youth Leader, Mr Anslem Eragbe and recommended him for expulsion at the next national convention.

Pending the next convention, NEC suspends Eragbe indefinitely.

NEC also suspended the following National Working Committee (NWC) members: Lamidi Apapa, Alhaji Salem Lawal, Favour Reuben, Gbenga Daramola, Samuel Akingbade and Mohammed Akali, the statement also read.

It added that the NEC constituted a disciplinary committee comprising the National Youth Leader, Kennedy Ahanotu; Acting National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, and Acting National Legal Adviser, Edun Kehinde, as members.

It listed other members as the Acting Deputy National Secretary, Rotimi Kehinde and the National Vice Chairman South-South, Anthony Ezeagwu.

The NEC also critically evaluated the 2023 general elections and noted INECs failure to transmit election results in real-time from polling units, which it said gave room for massive manipulation of results.

The statement condemned electoral violence and the use of security agencies to intimidate voters and perpetrate other crimes in parts of the country.

NEC noted the resilience, and doggedness of our presidential candidate and its resolve to legitimately reclaim its mandate in court.

NEC accordingly calls on the judiciary to do the right thing irrespective of whose ox is gored, the statement also read.

It stressed its implicit confidence in Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC).

The Labour Party is now Nigerias third-largest party. Its presidential candidate, Mr Obi, came third in the presidential election while it also won the third-highest number of seats in both the Senate and the House of Representatives.

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The executives of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Kashere Ward of Ammo Local Government in Gombe State said they have sacked a former governor of the state, Danjuma Goje, for alleged anti-party activities.

The ward executives of the party went ahead with the suspension despite a court order restraining them from investigating and taking any disciplinary action against Mr Goje.

The suspension was announced during a press conference led by the ward chairman, Tanimu Abdullahi, on Tuesday. He said the party took the decision following the recommendations of a panel set up to probe him for alleged anti-party activities.

Mr Goje had earlier secured a court order restraining the party from investigating him.

Dismissal

Mr Abdullahi told reporters that some of the reasons Mr Goje was expelled was his failure to attend presidential campaign rallies in the state, boycotting campaign activities of the party in his area, zone and state, and supporting opposition parties among other issues.

The committee also found Mr Goje guilty of mingling with opposition parties and their candidates with the intent to undermine the success of the APC in Gombe State and Nigeria in general.

Open support to opposition party candidates by hosting the NNPP gubernatorial candidate and the PDP Akko federal house of representatives candidate in his residence and offered support against the interest of his party, the APC among many other instances.

Giving clear directives to his associates and proteges to work against the interest of the APC in Gombe State by ensuring only Senator Goje is elected on the APC platform (Using the Goje Kawai slogan) while working towards the defeat of other APC candidates at all levels.

That the executive council of the All Progressives Congress in Kashere ward has decided to expel Senator Muhammadu Danjuma Goje from the All Progressives Congress for his numerous anti-party activities that are in breach of article 21, section A, subsection ii, iii, vi and vii of the APC constitution, Mr Abdullahi said.

Court order

However, a Federal High Court in Abuja had on Friday ruled that the party could not investigate the former two-term governor without giving him the chance to defend himself.

In his ruling, Ahmed Mohammed, the judge, ordered the executive council of the party in Mr Gojes native Kashere Ward to stay action.

An order for an interim injunction restraining the 1st and 2nd respondents, their officers, agents and privies for any further breach of the applicants right to a fair hearing, pending the hearing and the determination of the originating motion on notice, a part of the court order said.

Mr Goje and the incumbent governor, Inuwa Yahaya, are struggling over who should control the party structure in the state. Mr Yahaya was a two-term finance commissioner under Mr Goje.

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The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) is set to present certificates of return to winners in the supplementary elections held last Saturday.

The commission is to present the certificates of return to the senators and House of Representatives members-elect at the commissions headquarters in Abuja today.

Among those to receive the certificates are Governor Aminu Tambuwal who was elected the senator to represent Sokoto South and his predecessor, Aliyu Wamakko, who was re-elected to represent Sokoto North.

The certificate for the Adamawa State Governor, Ahmadu Fintiri and Deputy Governor-elect will be presented later today, the commission said in a statement. Their election was concluded and results announced by INEC on Tuesday.

The Kebbi State governor-elect, Nasiru Idris, and his deputy will also be presented with their certificates.

For the state houses of assembly members-elect, certificates are to be presented at INEC state offices, it added.

Following the conclusion of supplementary elections nationwide and the declaration of winners, the Commission will present certificates of return to the Adamawa State Governor and Deputy Governor-elect at 3pm today, parts of the statement reads.

Similarly, members of the National Assembly-elect (Senators and House of Representatives) will receive their certificates from 11am today. Members of State Houses of Assembly-elect should contact our State offices for their Certificates.

Last Saturday, INEC concluded the 2023 General Elections with supplementary polls in areas where elections were declared inconclusive or postponed.

The supplementary polls were held in 2,660 polling units across 185 local governments in 24 states.

It concluded the governorship election in Kebbi and Adamawa states, as well as states and national assembly legislative seats in other states.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe

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Affiong Etim, a woman in her 70s, was among the aged people seated on the tiled floor in the ATM gallery at the First Bank in Oron, Oron Local Government Area, Akwa Ibom State, on a Monday morning, in March 2023.

They were hoping to make withdrawals for the first time since 17 February, after the only commercial banks in the area had been vandalised during a protest over the nationwide naira scarcity.

On sighting this reporter walked into the gallery, Mrs Etim, aided by her walking stick, struggled to stand up.

My son, please help me, she muttered to the reporter whom she thought was a worker in the bank. I want to withdraw money, will the machines pay today?

The time was 10:05 a.m. The woman said she had been at the bank since 5 a.m.

About 15 of the bank customers, whom this newspaper learnt had been in the gallery since 5 a.m., were seen taking a nap  seated on the floor, with their back resting on the wall  while waiting hopelessly for ATMs which were not dispensing cash.

There was no way the machines could dispense cash, having been vandalised by the youths in the area.

Oron is a coastal community. The residents are mainly fishers, farmers and traders. They relied so much on the three banks  First Bank, Access Bank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA)  for their financial transactions.

Besides, people from the neighbouring local government areas of Mbo, Okobo, Urue-Offong Uruko, and Udung Uko also depended on the three banks for their transactions.

When the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) reversed its restriction on currency circulation and Nigerians were beginning to get naira notes, residents of Oron and the other local government areas were still at the mercy of POS operators who were selling naira notes at unbelievable rates.

The residents alternatively resorted to traveling from Oron to Eket, about 37 minutes drive, for their bank transactions. Sometimes, they traveled as far as Uyo, the state capital, for it.

UBA, the most vandalised among the three banks, was deserted when our reporter visited in March.

Pieces of broken glasses littered the bank premises, with charred remains of window frames serving as a grotesque reminder of the attacks.

At First Bank, seven out of the eight ATMs were destroyed while the premises of Access Bank looked like a war zone, with several big holes on the glass building. There were pieces of shattered glasses everywhere.

Keystone Bank and Ecobank had left Oron over two years ago but their abandoned properties were also vandalised by the protesters, Emmanuel Antai, a journalist in the area, told our reporter.

All the banks in Oron are along Oron Road, except UBA which is at Anwana Esin Road

Tales of suffering

A customer with First Bank, Mary Etim said she travelled to Eket or Uyo  spending N2, 000 transport fare for each trip  to resolve failed POS transactions which was her only means of getting money then, before the CBN relaxed its restriction on naira circulation.

Over 500 customers were seen inside the First Bank premises in Oron, standing in different cues, sweating it out to resolve many transaction failures.

UBA customers were the worst off  they had to make regular trips to Eket for their transactions as the bank was yet to resume operation due to the devastating damage to its building and the ATMs.

Outside the First bank parameter fence, POS agents were seen displaying wads of cash. They were selling N1,000 note at 10 per cent.

One of the POS agents who gave his name as Anthony said, at the peak of the cash crunch, they used to buy naira in the local market at 25 per cent and sell at between 35 and 40 per cent.

He said they bought the cash from fishers in the area to sell to their customers.

Fishers, Mr Anthony said, do not accept transfer. So the fishers got lots of cash payment and became the custodian of cash as people came from different regions in the country to buy fish and crayfish.

At that time we bought money in the market at N25, 000 for N100, 000 and sold between N3, 500 and N4, 000 for N10, 000, he said.

The Secretary of Oron Local Government Area, Victor Joe told PREMIUM TIMES that the suffering was too much.

He said about 20 suspects were being prosecuted by the state government over the destruction of the banks in Oron.

It was too much for us. We were buying money. A lot of our people were going to Uyo and Eket to get money. Two banks (First Bank and Access Bank) have resumed, except the UBA that was seriously damaged.

In a move to reduce the sufferings of the people, the Senate, through a motion sponsored by Akon Eyakenyi, a senator from the area, passed a resolution on 29 March calling on the CBN to get the commercial banks in Oron to resume operations in the area.

Mrs Eyakenyi, who is the deputy governor-elect of Akwa Ibom State, told her colleagues (senators) that the protests by the Oron residents against naira scarcity was hijacked by hoodlums who attacked bank officials and destroyed property.

PREMIUM TIMES visited Oron five days after the Senates resolution.

Our reporter observed that First Bank and Access bank had resumed business without fixing most of the destroyed property while UBA was yet to resume.

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Peoples Union for Democratic Rights (PUDR)

17 April 2023

Release of PUDRs Report

PUDR report on Jahangirpuri Communal Incident, Delhi, 2022 alleges bias against Muslims

One year has passed since the communal incident at Jahangirpuri on Hanuman Jayanti. PUDR is releasing a report Probing the Jahangirpuri Communal Incident, Delhi, 2022: Context, Aftermath, Police Investigation & Findings. The key finding of the report is that the investigations and prosecution case is seeking to hide the participation of both Hindus and Muslims and present the incident as an outcome of a conspiracy of some Muslims.

PUDR carried out an investigation into the clash between Hindus and Muslims in the area on the occasion of Hanuman Jayanti on 16 April 2022. The investigating team spoke to residents from diverse backgrounds in blocks C, G and H in Jahangirpuri, to the police at Jahangirpuri Police Station, the Crime Branch, lawyers and journalists, at the time of occurrence and in the aftermath of the clash. PUDR was also able to discuss at length with some of the lawyers of the accused about the main chargesheet FIR 440/22, Jahangirpuri PS, one of the two FIRs filed in the matter. The present report is based on all of the above. As the title states, it examines the incident and its aftermath, including aspects of the police investigation, and the making of the official narrative on the incident.

Some key points the report makes are:

1. There is a significant difference apparently, between what we learnt is the police version of the communal incident, supposed to be the outcome of investigation, and the account of the incident reported across large sections of the media at the time, and verified by PUDR. While all contemporary reports indicated that both Hindus and Muslims participated in the flare-up, the official police version apparently suggests that the incident was the result of a one-sided conspiracy by some Muslims. The PUDR report shows that in doing this the police seem to have primarily examined Hindu witnesses (in an incident of an inter-religious clash) and witnesses examined included several members/office bearers of Antarashtriya Hindu Parishad (AHP), Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), Bajrang Dal etc. (p.7-8) They have also neglected evidence that they have apparently themselves collected in the process of investigation while re-framing the incident as one-sided (p.9-10*). The notion of conspiracy appears to have guided the investigation from a very early stage, and became the basis for registering charges under S. 120B (Criminal Conspiracy) against all Muslim accused. Many more Muslims were identified as accused (39 out of 45 accused were Muslim, and 38 were arrested in the course of the past year, several spent months in jail). Evidence for this so-called conspiracy seems to be extremely tenuous, i.e., alleged linkage of accused with CAA NRC protests of 2020, proof of them simply going to the protests on certain days/organizing buses to go etc., are apparently considered adequate basis to support the allegation of conspiracy(pp. 8-9 and p. 11). 2. The police seem to have neglected to adequately investigate the participation of Hindus in the communal incident. Not only did this mean that only 6 Hindus were arrested under different charges, the fact that the fate of the investigation into the other FIR (441/22 of Jahangirpuri PS) filed against those who took out the Hanuman Jayanti procession without permission is unclear and it was filed under a single far milder section of IPC, which had certain issues attached to it is revealing of the police bias (p.8). 3. Questions can be raised about the kind of evidence the police have apparently relied on to justify their version of events. They have apparently mainly looked at CCTV and call records, disclosure statements by arrested accused and neglected standard methods of investigation (such as Test Identification Parades for instance), and firm evidence actually connecting accused to particular crimes. It is significant that some of the Muslim accused have been granted bail on account of weaknesses of evidence (Discussed in report, see pp. 10-11). 4. The issue of prior communal mobilization in the area is neglected as a cause of the hostilities in Jahangirpuri, though ample evidence of this by Hindutva organisations could be found in the area at the time of the incident. The report draws attention to this and also to the prior planning involved in organizing the Hanuman Jayanti procession  arranging weapons, vehicles, clothes, music etc., and also to the media reports that had discussed the mobilization of Hindu youth against Muslims through whatsapp messages etc. prior to the incident. It questions why those who undertook and participated in this kind of mobilization were not identified, arrested and penalized, and why this mobilization could not be considered evidence of deliberate intent to create enmity or even as acts of violence themselves (p.5 and p. 12)

Connecting the incident to wider patterns of communal violence in the country and the city (pp. 13-14) this report raises PUDRs demands for the quashing of the present chargesheet and a renewed investigation of the incident; release of all accused arrested under the FIR 440; prosecution of those who organised the Hanuman Jayanti procession without permission, adding effective sections to FIR 441, fresh and fair collection, assessment of evidence in all FIRs by an independent agency; renewed framing of charges, fairly, in an investigation monitored by a sitting High Court judge; and identification through enquiry, arrest, prosecution of state representatives guilty of such wrongful and biased investigation.

Joseph Mathai and Paramjeet Singh

(Secretaries)

*Page nos. refer to pages of present PUDR report, Probing the Jahangirpuri Communal Incident, Delhi, 2022: Context, Aftermath, Police Investigation & Findings, April 2023

For full report click here
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) conducted an unannounced inspection of Rivne and Khmelnytsky nuclear power plants on April 18, 2023 within the framework of a Ukraine-IAEA safeguards agreement as part of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and did not have any comments about the situation there.

"The inspection was aimed at verifying the absence of undeclared nuclear materials. The IAEA inspectors did not have any comments," the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday.

The IAEA inspectors carried out the check with the participation of the state inspectorate representatives.

As reported, on April 10 through 13, the IAEA inspected Rivne NPP as part of its agreement with Ukraine regarding the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), no comments on the results of the inspection were made.
Reader survey As a reader of PREMIUM TIMES, your opinion matters. Please take our survey to help us better understand the values and preferences of our readers. Your feedback will give us valuable insights into how we can tailor the different types of content we offer to meet your needs. The survey should only take about 6-8 minutes to complete. Click here to take it.

President Muhammadu Buhari has returned to Abuja after eight-day official visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where he also performed the Umrah (Lesser Hajj).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Nigerian leader departed Saudi Arabia via King Abdulaziz International Airport Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Wednesday.

Saudi Government officials, traditional and spiritual leaders from Nigeria as well as some senior staff of the Nigerian Embassy in the Kingdom were at the airport to bid farewell to the president.

The president had successfully performed Umrah rituals, amid tight security, upon his arrival at the Grand Mosque in Makkah from Madinah on Thursday morning.

The president, members of his entourage as well as some traditional and religious leaders from the six geopolitical zones of the country, were led by a delegation from the General Presidency for the Affairs of the Grand Mosque in the performance of the rituals.

The Nigerian leader had earlier visited some historic religious places in Madinah on Tuesday and Wednesday before he proceeded to Makkah for the Umrah.

The president also received updates on developments at home from some government officials including governors of Borno and Yobe States.

Also while in Makkah, Mr Buhari hosted some traditional and religious leaders to Iftar dinner (breaking of fast).

The Emirs of Kano and Bichi in Kano State, Aminu Ado Bayero and Nasiru Ado Bayero who spoke after the event both said only a united country could move forward and attain its goals.

The religious leaders in attendance were Abubakar Sulaiman, the Chief Imam of the Aso Rock Villa, Sheikh Al-Kanawi Alhassan Ahmed, Bashir Umar, Muhammad Kamaluddeen Lemu and Nuruddeen Danesi Asunogie.

The others werei Ibrahim Magani, Shehu Galadanchi, Abdulrasheed Adiatu, Haroun Ogbonnia Ajah and Bala Lau.

The president had also met the Otaru of Auchi, Aliru Momoh, Emir of Lafia, Sidi Bage, Emir of Bauchi, Rilwan Sulaiman, Akadiri Momoh, Abdulfatah Emetumah, Fatima Emetumah and Isa Bayero.

Prayer were offered for peace in the country, the successful end of term of the president and for the success of the incoming administration.

Mr Buhari had earlier visited and prayed at the Prophets Mosque in Madinah.

He also met with elder statesman, philanthropist and patriarch of the Dantata family, Aminu Dantata, in Makkah where he once again expressed his condolences over the demise of his wife, Rabi Dantata.

The Kano-based businessman had on 9 April, lost his wife at a medical centre in Saudi Arabia.

(NAN)

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The presidency has reacted to Tuesdays judgement of the Federal High Court in Abuja reinstating Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive chairman of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

It said in a short statement on Wednesday that the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation would appeal against the judgement.

While the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation /Minister for Justice is yet to receive a formal copy of the ruling, the President affirms that due judicial process will be followed, and NNPCL has already taken steps to go on appeal, Femi Adesina, a presidential spokesperson wrote.

The court decision awarded whopping N5 billion damages in favour of Mr Ararume, whose removal from office the court adjudged to be illegal on Tuesday.

Mr Ararume had said he only got to know of his abrupt removal from office when another person was named as his replacement at the inauguration ceremony in January 2022.

By that time, Mr Ararume had been performing the roles of his office for months, and was only waiting for official inauguration to office.

No reason was given for the withdrawal of his appointment, with the former governorship candidate in Imo State insisting in court that President Muhammadu Buhari lacked the power to remove him after he had been appointed.

In the far-reaching judgement upholding his case on Tuesday, the court nullified all the decisions the board of the NNPCL had taken since his removal from office.

The presidency said Wednesday that Mr Buhari has taken due notice of judgment by the Federal High Court, Abuja, restoring Senator Ifeanyi Ararume as the non-executive Chairman of Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

Besides announcing the governments decision to appeal against the judgement, the presidency said the Buhari administration respects the rule of law, and nothing will be done outside it to resolve the matter.

He sues for calm from all sides involved, the statement added.

Mr Ararume, who was appointed to the position in September 2021, was removed shortly before the inauguration of the board of the company in January 2022.

He sued Mr Buhari and the NNPCL at the Federal High Court in Abuja on 12 September to challenge his removal about eight months earlier.

He contended that his removal by through a letter dated 17 January 2022 with reference number SGF. 3V111/86 was a violation of the CAMA law under which NNPCL was incorporated.

He argued that his sacking was wrongful, and amounted to disruption and interruption of the term of his office.

He said it violated various provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters (CAMA), 2020, the Petroleum Industry Act (PIA), 2021, and the companys Memorandum and Articles of Association.

He prayed for N100 billion damages and an order reinstating him to the office.

He also urged the court to set aside all the decisions the NNPC Limiteds board had taken since his wrongful removal from office.

Surprise

Mr Ararume said in his suit that the inauguration of the board on 7 January with another person named as the non-executive chairman of the company came to him as a surprise.

He said he only received a letter dated 17 January informing him of the withdrawal of his appointment 10 days after the inauguration of the board.

That no reasons whatsoever were adduced by the 1st defendant in the said letter 17th day of January 2022, warranting my purported removal or withdrawal of my appointment as the non-executive chairman of the 2nd defendant, he wrote in his affidavit filed in support of his suit.

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Amidst his London ordeal, Labour Partys presidential candidate, Peter Obi, on Tuesday, said he will never knowingly break the law and that he is committed to challenging the 25 February election outcome.

Although Mr Obi did not make reference to his arrest and subsequent detention by UK immigration officials at Heathrow Airport a fortnight ago, this is the first time he would speak out since the incident occurred.

Sometimes as humans, we make mistakes but I will never knowingly break any law, Mr Obi said in a series of tweets posted on his official Twitter handle on Tuesday.

He added that he is not afraid of the lies and propaganda against his person.

Sometimes as humans, we make mistakes but, I will never knowingly break any law. I am therefore not afraid of the lies and propaganda against my person. They are part of the journey to a New Nigeria. -PO  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 18, 2023

They are part of the journey to a New Nigeria, he said.

Good Friday London arrest

Mr Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, South-east Nigeria, was on 7 April (Good Friday) intercepted by immigration officials at Heathrow airport and detained. The reason for his arrest remained unknown although his party claimed it was for alleged impersonation.

He was questioned for a long time and it was very strange for a man who lived for over a decade in that country, a statement issued by the Head, Obi-Datti Media, Diran Onifade, on the matter said.

The statement did not, however, contain details of Mr Obis arrest and his subsequent release before returning to the country.

Both the UK government and the LP are yet to give detailed clarification on Mr Obis offences, when and how he was released, the conditions upon which he was released, the current status of the case against him and other related issues.

While details of the LP presidential caandidates ordeal in London are still sketchy, independent requests forwarded to the UK government through its Home Office by this newspaper were not properly attended to.

Despite the lingering unsubstantiated claims that Mr Obi was deported from the UK after allegedly breaching British government laws, it is still unclear if he still possesses a valid UK visa at the moment.

New Nigeria

In his tweets on Tuesday, Mr Obi re-emphasised his commitment to challenging the outcome of the 25 February election, urging supporters to remain calm and steadfast in the journey to reclaiming their mandate of a New Nigeria.

I will never give up on this journey until victory is achieved, he said.

Mr Obi noted that he never anticipated the journey of a New Nigeria to be a smooth ride and that the forces, who had over the years lived off the old order, are bound to fight back, as is being experienced now.

I never expected the journey to a New Nigeria to be an easy one. The forces, who had over the years, lived off the old order, are bound to fight back, as is being experienced now.  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 18, 2023

He said: If they come at us through land, air and sea, we will respond to them through land, air and sea but we will remain law-abiding and will never give up on the nation.

We are on the right path and we will remain committed to the course, he said.

If they come at us through land, air and sea, we will respond to them through land, air and sea but, we will remain law abiding and will never give up on the nation. We are on the right path and we will remain committed to the course.  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 18, 2023

While reiterating his commitment to building a Nigeria that will be beneficial to every Nigerian, Mr Obi said the struggle to reclaim this mandate (alleged victory at the poll) is not about him but about millions of Nigerians who placed their trust in him through their votes.

I encourage Nigerians to remain calm and steadfast in the journey to reclaiming their mandate of a New Nigeria. I will never give up on this journey until victory is achieved.  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 18, 2023

The LP presidential flag-bearer said the millions of Nigerians who voted for him did not just cast their votes but, they invested their hopes in him and they deserve justice, adding, So, we must stay the course.

Poverty alleviation

Beyond regaining his mandate, Mr Obi said he is committed to lifting people out of poverty and that he remains committed to transforming Nigeria starting from the North to every part of the nation.

There may be more mud-slinging from those who are against the emergence of the New Nigeria but I would never be deterred by the obstacles along the way to victory. I have always lived my life in the most law-abiding manner, he said.

There may be more mud slinging from those who are against the emergence of the New Nigeria but, I would never be deterred by the obstacles along the way to victory. I have always lived my life in the most law abiding manner.  Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 18, 2023

Mr Obi is one of the 18 presidential candidates in the presidential election conducted in February. He came third in the election but he, and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP, who came second, are challenging the victory of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu, of the ruling APC.

Since the conclusion of the election about two months ago, the LP presidential flagbearer and his supporters have been criticised for claiming he won the election without providing concrete evidence.

Also, the Nigerian government, through the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, recently accused him and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed, of treason, following their utterances after the presidential election.

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The House of Representatives ad hoc committee investigating alleged missing crude oil has summoned the Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, over $200m paid to consultants.

The Chairman of the Committee, Mark Gbillah (LP, Benue), issued the summon on Wednesday during the public hearing on the matter at the National Assembly.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the committee summoned Mr Malami and the Minister of Finance, Zainab Ahmed. However, the duo continue to shun the committee.

The panel also has the mandate to investigate all proceeds recovered through the Whistle-Blowers Policy.

While summoning the duo again, Mr Gbillah stated that a whistleblower informed the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) that Mr Malami approved the payment of the $200 to two private companiesBiz Plus and GSCL for consultancy services.

The chairman said funds, suspected to be looted, are being moved through the OAGF, a development he described as unconstitutional. He said Mr Malami should honour the invitation of the committee to provide clarification.

He said the movement of the funds was authorised by the Minister of Finance.

There was an incident about a whistleblower who made a formal report to Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) about $200m paid into two companies account Biz Plus, and GSCL allegedly for consultancy services, which allegedly were approved by the Attorney Generals office on the approval of Mr President, he said.

He added that We have looked at the functions of the Attorney Generals office and weve not seen any statutory powers provided for the attorney general by the constitution to determine how Nigerias money should be spent.

We need the Honourable Minister of Finance, and the Attorney General of the Federation to appear before this House to provide clarity on the inflows that have come in from whistleblowers recoveries, and about these monies that were recovered, he said.

Mr Gbillah said this will be the final notice to the ministers, adding that the committee may be forced to invoke its constitutional power of warrant of arrest.

Background

The House had in December 2022 resolved to probe the alleged missing 48 million barrels of crude oil that were purportedly sold in China by some Nigerian officials.

The resolution followed a motion moved by Ibrahim Isiaka (APC, Ogun), who claimed that the allegation was provided by a whistleblower.

READ ALSO: National Assembly leadership meets Finance ministers over 2023 budget proposals

Consequently, the House mandated the Committee to investigate all crude oil exports and sales by Nigeria from 2014 to date, with regards to quantity, insurance, revenue generated, remittances into the Federation Account or other accounts as well as utilisation of the revenue for the period under review.

In addition, the panel will investigate all proceeds recovered through the Whistle-Blowers Policy of the regime led by the President, Muhammadu Buhari, and the level of compliance with the policy.

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The President-elect, Bola Tinubu, has congratulated the winners in Saturdays supplementary elections across the country, urging them to brace up to serve the people with diligence and dedication.

He also called on the police to investigate the exercise in Adamawa State where the Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) illegally announced a winner of the governorship election while collation had not been concluded.

Mr Tinubu stated this in a statement he personally signed on Wednesday.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) conducted supplementary elections last Saturday in 2,660 polling units across 185 local government areas in 24 states.

Among them were the governorship elections in Adamawa and Kebbi States.

They were declared inconclusive or postponed during the 25 February and 18 March elections.

Meanwhile, the REC in Adamawa State, Hudu Ari, on Sunday, illegally declared Aishatu Dahiru, popularly called Binani, as the winner of the governorship election in the state, throwing the entire process into confusion.

But INEC swiftly nullified the action, concluded the collation on Tuesday and declared Governor Ahmadu Fintiri as the winner of the poll

Earned trust

Mr Tinubu, who is currently outside Nigeria, said those who emerged as winners in the elections have earned the trust of their people.

He urged them to rededicate themselves to the service of their respective constituents.

The president-elect said he observed with satisfaction the peaceful conduct of the supplementary elections, adding that it was a further testimony that Nigerians have accepted democratic norms and faith in the electoral process.

The supplementary polls have now brought the 2023 elections to a final, fitting conclusion. I observed, with satisfaction, the largely peaceful atmosphere that pervaded the supplementary election on Saturday. It was a further testimony that our citizens have accepted democratic norms and have unalloyed faith in the electoral process, the president-elect said.

Read the full statement below

PRESIDENT-ELECTS STATEMENT ON SUPPLEMENTARY ELECTIONS

I congratulate the winners of the Supplementary Governorship elections held in Kebbi and Adamawa States on Saturday, April 15, 2023. I also rejoice with those elected into the Senate, House of Representatives and State Houses of Assembly during the last round of elections in states where such took place. These victorious men and women have earned the trust of their people and I call on them to rededicate themselves to the service of their respective constituents.

The supplementary polls have now brought the 2023 elections to a final, fitting conclusion. I observed, with satisfaction, the largely peaceful atmosphere that pervaded the supplementary election on Saturday. It was a further testimony that our citizens have accepted democratic norms and have unalloyed faith in the electoral process.

However, I note the matter of the Adamawa Supplementary Governorship Election and I urge police authorities to fully investigate all that transpired in the election given the attendant controversy. In every democratic contest, there has to be one winner. I call on those aggrieved to pursue legitimate means of addressing their grievances.

With the conclusion of the 2023 elections, I now welcome all of us who have been elected to brace up to serve our people with diligence and dedication and to join hands with me as your President-elect in the pursuit of our agenda to renew the hopes of our people in a better, stronger, more secure, economically vibrant and prosperous Nigeria.

Asiwaju Bola Tinubu

President-elect, Federal Republic of Nigeria

April 19, 2023.

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The police in Delta State have dismissed an officer, Ubi Ebri for allegedly killing a man in the state over N100 bribe.

The slain man, Onyeka Ibe, was shot dead on 5 April allegedly by Mr Ebri while the police were on stop-and-search duty along Ugbolu-Illah Road in the state.

The man had reportedly refused to offer a bribe to Mr Ebri, a police inspector.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how youths in the area, angered by the gruesome killing, carried the victims corpse in a rolling stretcher and marched through major roads in the state capital, Asaba.

In a statement on Tuesday, the police spokesperson in the state, Bright Edafe said the officer suspected of killing Mr Ibe has been dismissed after the conclusion of the orderly room trial.

The dismissed inspector was today (Tuesday) arraigned before Asaba Magistrate Court on remand proceedings for the murder of Onyeka Ibe. The court ordered that the suspect be remanded at the Ogwashi Uku Correctional Centre while the case file be sent to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for legal advice and prosecution of the suspect by the office of the DPP.

The Command has therefore tasked officers and men to uphold the tenets of professional policing in the discharge of their duties with respect to fundamental human rights of all citizens in line with the provisions of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria (as amended) while hoping that this will serve as a deterrent to others officers.

Mr Edafe, a deputy superintendent of police disclosed this in a statement he posted on Facebook.

READ ALSO: Police demote officer filmed slapping motorist in Rivers

Mr Ebris dismissal came less than 24 hours after the police demoted another officer filmed slapping a motorist in the neighbouring Rivers State.

Adejoh Siaka, the officer who slapped the unidentified man was demoted from the rank of an inspector to a sergeant after an administrative trial, the spokesperson for the Force Headquarters, Muyiwa Adejobi said in a statement on Tuesday.

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The management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has banned its students from driving or bringing cars to the campus.

In a memo titled: Management Decision on Movement of Vehicles in the University, and signed by the universitys registrar, Kayode Ogunleye, on Wednesday noted that the ban is to curtail motor traffic accidents on campus.

The memo, which was referenced: REG/ADM.38, was dated Tuesday, 18 April.

But the students union on the campus has kicked against the managements decision, insisting it is against all known laws.

Universitys decision

The university also banned the use of tinted vehicles by staffers and students, and learner symbols and permits must be displayed on the vehicles of beginner drivers.

Confirming the development to PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday, the Universitys Dean of Students Affairs, Azeem Ige, said the decision was taken as part of measures to address the series of motor accidents within the campus.

We cant wait until we start losing students to such accidents. We had to take proactive steps and that was the reason the management decided on the ban, he said.

Mr Ige also noted the management also made other rules and regulations that concern the universitys staff and other users on the campus.

As stated in the memo, the university management also noted that vehicles with no registration numbers are no longer allowed on the campus.

It added that roadside parking of vehicles should stop forthwith and all unauthorised vehicles parked at various positions in the university should be taken out with immediate effect, failing which university security will take appropriate action on such vehicles.

Directive

The management has also ordered that the leadership of its security unit and the office of the Dean of Students Affairs should ensure compliance and take action on all the decisions.

Students union kicks

Responding to the development, the President of the Students Union, Anuoluwapo Adeboye, told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday that the union is in total disagreement with the management on the development, adding that they have opened dialogue with the management on the matter.

We disagree with the university management on this decision but we are working out the possibility of reaching a compromise on the matter, he said.

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there can be no doubt that Mele Kyari is a true hero of our time, a leader of unparalleled vision and courage, and a man whose matchless exploits have transformed the Nigerian oil and gas industry for the better. His legacy will endure for generations to come, inspiring others to follow in his footsteps and build on his remarkable achievements. As Nigeria looks to the future under a brand-new government, men like Mele Kyari will remain relevant and crucial to the delivery of good governance and continuity.

As a new dispensation dawns, it is no surprise that certain people have started to eye certain positions, more out of lust for lucre than thirst for service. And if the targets of the smear campaigns are too kind, too aloof or too pure to return the salvo, it is left to us lesser mortals to paint the true picture of things for the incoming president and the discerning public to judge.

No scheme could be more devious than the attempt to tarnish ones character by fabricating falsehoods to mislead the populace. No crime more heinous than dressing men of integrity in borrowed robes of mud to destroy their reputation. No venture more laughable than the vain campaign to stain the snow-white elegance of Mr Mele Kyari, the group managing director of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL).

It is no news that the river of envy tries to overtake where the stream of accolades flow. Men of honour and outstanding legacies find their every step dogged by the spurious cries of vocal hacks whose inks are donated by bogus paymasters. Yet a firm and indefatigable character like Mele Kyari stands aloof from the noise, cocooned in the halo of achievements too numerous to recount.

In the tumultuous and often turbulent energy sector, nobody stands higher than Mele Kyari during his tenure so far. As the group managing director of the apex oil and gas corporation, Kyari has spearheaded a transformative effort to revolutionise the way the nation produces and distributes its most vital resource.

From the moment he assumed this position at the helm of the NNPC, Kyari has been driven by a fierce sense of purpose and an unshakable commitment to excellence. He knew that the challenges he faced were immense, but he also knew that he had the vision, the expertise, and the determination to overcome them.

And so, he set to work, implementing a series of bold and innovative reforms that have transformed the sector beyond recognition. Under his leadership, the NNPC has become a beacon of hope and a model of excellence.

But what, precisely, has Kyari achieved at the NNPC? Lets solve this question once and for all through this prolonged snapshot of his tenure. One hopes after perusing the vast array of colossal moves from Mele Kyari, the nattering nabobs of negativity and falsehood will recoil forever into their dim dungeons of silence!

Shall we talk about his role in eroding Nigerias long-standing dependence on imported petroleum products? For decades, we have been forced to import the vast majority of our fuel from abroad, at great expense and greater pains.

Kyari recognised that this was a problem that needed to be solved, and he set to work with a fierce determination to make it happen. Under his leadership, the NNPC has undertaken a massive effort to revamp and upgrade its refining capacity, with the ultimate goal of achieving self-sufficiency in the production of petroleum products.

Nigerias refineries are being brought back to life after years of neglect and disrepair, with significant investments in maintenance, repairs, and upgrades. We can witness the ongoing rehabilitation of the Port Harcourt refinery, which has been non-functional for several years due to poor maintenance and the lack of investment. Under Kyaris leadership, the NNPC has entered into a partnership with Italian oil company, Eni, to rehabilitate and upgrade the refinery, with a target of achieving full production capacity by 2023.

In addition to the Port Harcourt refinery, Kyari also initiated the rehabilitation and upgrade of the Warri and Kaduna refineries. When completed, the collective capacity of these refineries will slow down our rate of fuel importation to a trickle. It will save billions for the government, decrease the burden on petroleum marketers, and spare the common folk the agony of incessant fuel price hikes.

In addition, Kyari has overseen the implementation of a number of innovative initiatives designed to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of NNPCs operations. These include the establishment of a new trading subsidiary, the creation of a new crude oil marketing division, and the implementation of a new performance management system.

The NNPC is famously known to be long on empty talk and short on transparency. Not anymore. Under the able leadership of Mele Kyari, the company has taken significant steps towards enhancing accountability in the industry, by publishing monthly financial and operational reports.

These reports provide detailed information on the organisations operations, including revenue, expenditure, and production figures. This level of transparency is unprecedented in the Nigerian oil and gas industry and has been hailed as a significant step towards promoting a culture of disclosure and openness, and fighting corruption.

Kyaris vision goes beyond the transformation of the nations refining capacity. He has also been an advocate for the development of our vast natural gas resources, promoting the use of gas as a cleaner and more sustainable alternative to fossil fuels.

Under his leadership, the NNPC has embarked on a massive effort to increase domestic gas utilisation, with the aim of diversifying the nations energy mix and reducing its carbon footprint. This has involved the development of new gas infrastructure, the expansion of existing facilities, and the promotion of gas-based industries, such as petrochemicals and fertilisers.

These efforts have yielded impressive results, with Nigeria now the largest producer of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in Africa, and one of the top 10 producers globally. The nations gas reserves, estimated at over 200 trillion cubic feet, provide a huge opportunity for growth and development, and Kyari is determined to ensure that Nigeria takes full advantage of this potential.

Shall we talk about Kyaris burning desire to helm the industry with Nigerians at all levels through local content development? He believes that the industrys growth and development should be driven by Nigerians, and has taken significant steps to promote local participation.

Under his direction, the NNPC has launched several initiatives, including the Nigerian Petroleum Exchange (NPEX), a platform for trading Nigerian crude oil and other petroleum products, and the Nigerian Content Intervention Fund (NCIF), a $200 million fund aimed at supporting the development of local content in the industry.

Shall we talk about his devotion to the development of renewable energy in Nigeria? Kyari believes that the nations vast renewable energy resources, including solar, wind, and hydropower, provide a huge opportunity for growth and development, and has been working to promote their utilisation.

The Kyari-led NNPC has launched several renewable energy initiatives, including the development of a 20 megawatt (MW) solar power plant in Kaduna State, and the commissioning of a 7.5 MW solar power plant at the NNPCs headquarters in Abuja.

Kyari has worked tirelessly to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. He was a vocal advocate for the passage of the Petroleum Industry Bill (PIB), a comprehensive reform package aimed at overhauling the industrys regulatory framework and promoting investment and growth.

After years of delay, the PIB was finally passed into law in August 2021, marking a major milestone in the history of the Nigerian oil and gas industry. Kyari was among the stakeholders who worked tirelessly to ensure the passage of the bill, and his efforts were instrumental in its success.

The PIB has already wrought significant changes, with provisions for the unbundling of the NNPC, the creation of new regulatory bodies, and the promotion of local content and investment. It is expected to attract significant investment into the Nigerian energy segment, creating jobs, promoting growth, and enhancing the nations energy security.

One of his most notable accomplishments is the achievement of full payment of Nigerias joint venture cash call arrears to international oil companies (IOCs), amounting to $5.1 billion. This feat was achieved through the introduction of the Alternative Funding Approach (AFA), which replaced the previous cash call payment model.

The AFA model allowed for the utilisation of NNPCs own funds to finance its share of joint venture operations, thereby reducing the countrys reliance on external borrowing and increasing the flow of investment into the industry. This model has since become a blueprint for other oil-producing countries in Africa.

Another important feather in his cap is the successful negotiation of the OPEC+ production cut agreement, which has helped stabilise global oil prices and boosted Nigerias revenue from crude oil sales. This agreement, which was signed in April 2020, saw Nigeria agree to cut production by 417,000 barrels per day, a significant reduction that helped balance global oil markets and protect the countrys revenue.

Kyaris innovative approach to the management of Nigerias oil and gas resources has also led to the discovery of new oil and gas reserves in the country. In 2021, the NNPC announced the discovery of oil and gas reserves in the Kolmani River II Well on the Upper Benue Trough in the North-Eastern part of Nigeria.

This discovery, which was made under Kyaris leadership, has been described as a significant milestone in the nations quest to achieve self-sufficiency in oil and gas production, and a boost to the economy.

It has been said that a mans peers are the best barometers of his success. They are the ones who know him intimately and have witnessed his deeds and words in the most varied circumstances. In this vein, it is instructive to note that Mele Kyari is the toast of assorted stakeholders and industry watchers. Talk to the average Joe in oil and gas and watch admiration for the NNPCL boss suffuse the atmosphere like rain on a chilly April morning.

Kyaris contemporaries have arrayed him with numerous garlands for his exceptional performance and dedication to excellence. In 2020, he was recognised with the prestigious Forbes Best of Africa Award, which recognises the achievements of outstanding African business leaders who are driving economic growth and development on the continent.

He was also recognised by the African Leadership Magazine as the African CEO of the Year 2020, a testament to his leadership and the success of his reforms in the NNPC. The International Association of Energy Economics (IAEE) also recognised his transformative leadership style with the Outstanding Contribution to the Energy Industry Award in 2021.

Kyaris matchless exploits as the NNPC boss keep attracting attention and plaudits from far and near. In 2021, he was recognised as the African Energy Executive of the Year by the African Energy Chamber, a testament to his commitment to excellence and innovation.

He was also recognised by the Nigeria Oil and Gas Conference and Exhibition (NOG) with the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2022, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

Of course, the road to success has not been without its challenges. Kyari has had to contend with a number of obstacles and setbacks, including a concerted campaign of calumny waged against him and his colleagues by a group of malicious mischief-makers.

But Kyari has not been deterred by these challenges. He has remained steadfast in his commitment to excellence, and has continued to push forward with his transformative agenda despite the odds.

And the results speak for themselves. Under intense pressure and scrutiny, the NNPC has become a world-class institution, capable of competing with the best and brightest in the global energy industry. Its employees are dedicated, skilled, and motivated, and its operations are efficient, effective, and sustainable.

In the end, there can be no doubt that Mele Kyari is a true hero of our time, a leader of unparalleled vision and courage, and a man whose matchless exploits have transformed the Nigerian oil and gas industry for the better. His legacy will endure for generations to come, inspiring others to follow in his footsteps and build on his remarkable achievements. As Nigeria looks to the future under a brand-new government, men like Mele Kyari will remain relevant and crucial to the delivery of good governance and continuity.

Kunle Awosika wrote from Abuja.

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The civil society think-tank was hosted by its president and founder, Brigadier-General Saleh Bala (rtd.), and it is the second in the series of WISER Speakers Forum. To live up to its billing as a research institute, the organisation gathered intellectuals and scholars in the sector to share their perspectives on security sector governance, led with a lecture delivered by a military intellectual giant, author and politician, Lt. General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (PhD), whose career spans over 40 years.

Nigeria is in transition, and the interplay of issues is rearing its head. Expectedly, security is top on the list, and reviewing past issues, while setting an agenda for the incoming government is appropriate. This and more are what the Whiteink Institute for Strategy Education and Research Nigeria (WISER) set out to do on 13 April, when it brought together active players in security intelligentsia and the civil society to deliberate on the future of security in Nigeria.

Tagged Introspection into a Decade of Security Sector Governance for Nigeria, the intervention began the 2023 Nigerian political transition policy-level advisory conversation on defence, law enforcement, intelligence, and human themes, as reeled out by its convener. This set the tone for a high level gathering of thespians in the sector put together by the private institution, whose objectives include capacity building in effective security sector governance and engaging in world-class independent and bespoke research into critical domestic and international security challenges.

The civil society think-tank was hosted by its president and founder, Brigadier-General Saleh Bala (rtd.), and it is the second in the series of WISER Speakers Forum. To live up to its billing as a research institute, the organisation gathered intellectuals and scholars in the sector to share their perspectives on security sector governance, led with a lecture delivered by a military intellectual giant, author and politician, Lt. General Abdulrahman Bello Dambazau (PhD), whose career spans over 40 years. He has been around the corridors of power in the last 15 years, having been appointed by President Umaru YarAdua as Chief of Army Staff in 2008; then as Minister of Interior during President Muhammadu Buharis first term in office; and is primed to play a major role in the next dispensation.

The General gave the event his depth of knowledge in this respect. In reviewing the gains and failures (he calls them losses) of the last decade and opportunities ahead to be able to attain a more peaceful and stable nation, within a complex domestic, regional, and global security ecosystem, as we transit into a new government, Dambazau focused on governance of the security sector and the propriety of meeting the security needs of all the people in a society, in the context of efficient and sustainable management of available resources.

He described the Nigerian security environment between 2012 to 2022 as one characterised by threats from non-state actors such as Boko Haram, whose terrorism and insurgency have led to the destruction of communities and infrastructure; killings and the displacement of persons; an increased population of widows, orphans, out-of-school children; threats to food security, cattle rustling, deserted communities; women being converted to sex slaves, banditry and kidnapping; coupled with herders-farmers conflicts, and leading to ethnic and religious tension.

He noted that even IPOB/ESN has now been recognised as the 10th most deadly terrorist group in the world, even as its violent attacks on Northerners/Muslims have caused apprehensions across the country. These include attacks on oil platforms in the South South, piracy, illegal fishing and sea robbery, arms and drug trafficking, and maritime security threats, generally in the Gulf of Guinea, which have all conspired to give Nigerians sleepless nights in the last ten years or more.

In all these, General Dambazau said ordinary Nigerians are victims of the overwhelming violence. Despite recognising that the capacity of security agencies to contain these threats is low, and admitting that the Kuje prison attack and Kaduna train bombing exposed the securitys inability to collaborate, coordinate and cooperate for the timely response to emergencies, the General refused to admit failure in security governance. Instead, he said that the military did well to contain, degrade and decimate criminal tormentors in whatever guise, informing further that the death from Boko Haram insurgence reduced from 2,131 in 2015 to 448 in 2022.

The in-coming administration of Tinubu/Shettima has prepared Renewed Hope 2024 Action Plan for a Better Nigeria which provides a 7-point security agenda. The mission, according to the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is to establish a bold and assertive policy that will create the strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism

The guest speaker said that introspecting into the future as far as security governance is concerned is about having a democratically governed security sector, institutions, and professional forces rooted in the rule of law, and held accountable to civilian oversight as well as effective management of resources, parliamentary oversight, system accountability, observance of rule of law, transparent processes and respect for human rights.

He emphasised the need for the next administration to give serious consideration to the constitutional provision enshrined in Section 14 (2) (b), Chapter II of the Nigeria Constitution (1999), which states that, the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. Dambazau observed that the scope of the concept of security is now based on two cliches: freedom from fear and freedom from want.

However, from anecdotal evidences and situation reports of the security environment in all the geopolitical zones in Nigeria, it is apparent that both freedoms have been threatened and violated in the last decade. The responsibility to protect the citizens; ensure law and order and guarantee peace and stability rests on the shoulders of the security actors, who are agents of government, he pointed out.

Going forward, General Dambazau gave a peep into president-elect, Bola Tinubus security blueprint as the panacea and effective means for an efficient security governance system. He quoted copiously from that document, as excerpted below:

The in-coming administration of Tinubu/Shettima has prepared Renewed Hope 2024 Action Plan for a Better Nigeria which provides a 7-point security agenda. The mission, according to the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is to establish a bold and assertive policy that will create the strong yet adaptive national security architecture and action to obliterate terror, kidnapping, banditry, and all other forms of violent extremism

The seven-point agenda are: bolster Nigerias security forces; redefine military doctrine and practice; secure critical national infrastructure; aim at peaceful communities; secure borders and safe forests; provide for integrated identity database; promote international collaboration; and reposition the police. Actions to accompany the seven-point agenda include accelerated reforms of the security sector that would build a more robust, re-energised armed forces; and reforms that would ensure a security sector that functions with maximum cooperation, collaboration and coordination among security agencies and related MDAs.

To bolster the security forces the administration would recruit, train, and better equip the military, police, paramilitary and intelligence services. The police and other internal security agencies would be repositioned to boost public confidence; and police personnel will be freed from extraneous duties, such as VIP protection.

What could be the RECs motives? Why was such a partisan man appointed in the first instance by government? Here is a man from the legal profession, who ought to have conducted himself creditably and been a model of integrity. Well, it remains to be seen if he will be prosecuted in the law court. Unfortunately, the APC candidate, Aisha Binani, who was so hastily declared also goofed by reading out a victory speech.

The Action Plan reaffirms that national security is the bedrock of a prosperous and democratic society; and that the fundamental responsibility of government is to protect lives and property of its citizens. To carry out this responsibility, the new government intends to:

 Mobilise the totality of Nigerias national security assets to protect the citizens from danger and from fear of danger.

 Expand and improve upon the use of technology, enhance recruitment of personnel, and bolster existing agencies and systems to achieve fundamental national security goal.

 Pursue a proactive and intelligence driven approach to national security.

The Tinubu/Shettima strategy is meant to strengthen and improve the security sector is a holistic and comprehensive manner, focusing on the security and welfare of the citizens in line with Chapter II of the Constitution. Governance would be people-centric

Finally, to have a more effective and efficient security sector governance in the next decade, the new Tinubu administration intends to strengthen supervision and oversight of the security Civilian or democratic control of the military and other armed forces become necessary for several reasons, but most importantly is the fact that the military must be subordinated to civilian authorities, as a fundamental principle of security sector governance in democracy, and it provides for (an) effective and efficient security sector. The new administration will also welcome increased active participation of civil society organisations and the media.

It remains to be seen whether the next administration will prioritise security for the public good and make a marked difference from the past.

2023 Election: The Adamawa State Drama and Rivers State Rigging Machine

But for the timely intervention of INEC headquarters in Abuja, Adamawa State would probably have been in crisis. The Resident Electoral Commissioner, Dr Hudu Yunusa Ari announced a fake result of the Adamawa State supplementary election last Sunday. There are concerns over the conduct and brazen impunity and criminality of INEC adhoc staff lately. The Adamawa REC breached the law when he announced results without figures, ahead of the returning officer, who by law has the responsibility to announce results, to the shock and amazement of CSOs, the media and the general public.

What could be the RECs motives? Why was such a partisan man appointed in the first instance by government? Here is a man from the legal profession, who ought to have conducted himself creditably and been a model of integrity. Well, it remains to be seen if he will be prosecuted in the law court. Unfortunately, the APC candidate, Aisha Binani, who was so hastily declared also goofed by reading out a victory speech. Binanis demonstration of desperation is unfeminine and embarrassing, to say the least.

Elsewhere in Rivers State, a news report published by Premium Times has shown how the candidates scores in the last presidential election were swapped in Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State. The result, as earlier declared by INEC, gave 80,239 to Tinubu and 3,829 to Peter Obi in the LGA. In the papers investigative report, it was discovered that as at 19 March, the uploaded results of 1,116 polling units on the IReV portal showed that the APC got 17,158 vote,s while the LP got 73,311, after the results were tweaked here and there. For example, the result from Rumuorluoji Open Space II polling unit in Oro-Igwe ward, showed that APC originally scored 17 but the number, 2 was added to the figure to read 217. For the LP, 227 was recorded, but the 2 was erased and altered to read 027. The same alterations took place in other PUs, and helped to boost the APC victory in the state. How much of this kind of rigging happened in other parts of the country? The judiciary already has its job cut out for it in the days ahead.

Zainab Suleiman Okino is chairman of Blueprint Newspaper. Shes a Fellow of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (FNGE). She can be reached via: zainabokino@gmail.com

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Terrorists in the Birnin Magaji area of Zamfara State have vowed to continue attacking local communities in the area until a unit of soldiers stationed in the area is withdrawn, residents told PREMIUM TIMES Wednesday morning.

PREMIUM TIMES spoke to four residents from Birnin Magaji, Mazauda, Nasarawa Mai layi and Gidan Kane communities on the recent attacks that led to the death of 16 people. Several others were wounded during the attacks.

The residents, who asked not to be named for security reasons, also said the terrorists has placed a ban on all farming activities this rainy season in the area until the soldiers are withdrawn.

A resident of Gidan Kane said the terrorists attacked three communities on Sunday night.

They killed two people in Tunkuda, two in Mashayawo and four in Mazauda. They went from village to village terrorising people. On Monday, they attacked Maituri and killed three people. All these communities are under Gusami Hayi ward, he said.

He said on the same Sunday, the terrorists attacked Tungar Danjuma and Kiri Fada and killed four people, it was even more daring because the attacks on these two villages were in carried out in broad daylight when Muslim faithful were finishing the early evening prayer.

Bandits are intensifying attacks on communities in our area lately. They have attacked communities like Mazauda, Tunkuda, Tungar Danjuma, Mashayawo, Nasarawa Mai layi and Kiri-Fada in the last two days, a youth leader in Birnin Magaji told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone

A resident of Mazauda said the terrorists told residents that the attacks will not stop until a nearby military unit is withdrawn.

Yes, they said theyre attacking us because were helping government people to send soldiers and vigilante members to our areas. In one of the meetings our elders had with some of the Fulani bandits, they said since were inviting soldiers, they would continue to attack us, he said.

The Gidan Kane residents the assailants told them the same thing. They said they promised to stop the attacks when the soldiers are withdrawn.

Because the soldiers are always on alert especially in day time, the bandits are being forced to reduce the number of attacks they carry. Also, when they attack, the soldiers sometimes follow them and kill some of them. So, they felt since were the ones informing the soldiers and vigilante group members of their movement, they will continue to attack us, he said.

When asked how the terrorists launched series of attacks on Sunday and Monday without being challenged by the soldiers, he said the security agents were not informed.

The soldiers were stationed in Kara Zube village but they go for patrol. When we call them sometimes, it takes time before they arrive especially if theyre in a far community. But they are really trying, l he said.

ALSO READ: Police kill two suspected terrorists in Zamfara

In Nasarawa Mai layi, the terrorists killed one person and wounded several others on Monday.

Unfortunately, while the injured were being taken to the hospital in Gusau, they were ambushed by another group of terrorists. They escaped without being hurt though they lost all their money. Theyre in hospital in Gusau and are being taken care of, a resident of Nasarawa Mai layi told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone.

The police spokesperson in the state, Mohammed Shehu did not respond to calls and SMS sent to him by this reporter over the attacks.

Zamfara State, North-west Nigeria, has been witnessing series of terrorists activities for over a decade.

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The Ukrainian Union of Dairy Enterprises appealed to the government with a demand to protect the domestic dairy industry and apply mirror measures to Polish dairy products, in particular, to ban its imports for the period of the ban on the export of Ukrainian dairy products to Poland.

"In the first quarter of 2023, Ukraine exported dairy products worth $50.34 million, of which exports to Poland brought the state $4.81 million, which accounted for 9.6% of total sales in foreign markets," said Arsen Didur, the executive director of the union.

According to him, deliveries from Poland occupied the lion's share in Ukraine's total imports of almost all types of dairy products, except for butter and milk fats. In January-March of the current year, Ukraine imported 3,360 tonnes of Polish-made cheeses in the amount of $18.45 million, which is almost four times higher than the cost of the entire Ukrainian export of dairy products to Poland.

At the same time, Ukraine imported dairy products for the same period in the amount of $55.42 million, and the volume of imports from Poland amounted to $24.70 million, or 44.6% of its total volume.

"The association is disappointed with the result of the Ukrainian-Polish negotiations on the export and transit of Ukrainian agricultural products to Poland, according to which transit is allowed, and an embargo is imposed on exports," the association's appeal to the government posted on the website says.

Ukrainian producers insist that the result of the negotiations and the imposition of a ban on the supply of dairy products from Ukraine to Poland thereby jeopardizes the domestic dairy industry.
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Modern DCS from Rockwell Automation provides reliable control for Cornish Lithium's demonstration plant



BRUSSELS, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Rockwell Automation, Inc. (NYSE: ROK), the world's largest company dedicated to industrial automation and digital transformation, is working with Cornish Lithium Plc on a demonstration plant to validate the sustainable production of lithium hydroxide from micaceous granite.

The Cornish Lithium demonstration plant will be controlled by the PlantPAx modern distributed control system from Rockwell Automation. This modern DCS provides a single, plant-wide control system and increased flexibility for better business decisions.

"Rockwell Automation has both the technology and domain expertise to support the complex lithium extraction process," said Phil Hadfield, UK managing director, Rockwell Automation. "We have successfully worked in lithium projects around the world, including Australia, Africa, and South America. The integrated architecture from Rockwell Automation provides end-to-end system integration. The systems are designed with scalability in mind, leveraging the new advancements in digital technology."

Cornish Lithium has licensed an acid-leaching, selective precipitation, and crystallization process developed to create lithium hydroxide from micaceous granite. This process is expected to be more environmentally friendly than the traditional hard rock process, which usually involves a significant calcination step, where the ore is calcined at 1,000C.

The validity of the process has already been tested at a small pilot plant in Australia and proven that it can produce lithium hydroxide monohydrate salt. The next step is constructing a demonstration plant at the site in Cornwall. This will be a complete conceptual end-to-end process from the raw material to lithium hydroxide, using the same equipment employed in a full-scale facility with just one or two changes for scale reasons. This simulation of the actual process will assure all stakeholders and potential customers of the effectiveness of the processing technology on Cornish ore ahead of the construction of a full-scale production facility.

"Rockwell Automation will play quite a crucial role in what we are doing," said David Moseley, process manager, hard rock minerals, at Cornish Lithium. "We want to try and simulate as much as possible, the industrial process control that we might employ at full scale. We are trying to put as much of that into the demonstration plant as possible because it is a complex multistage process with lots of recycles - and sequential operation, particularly with filtration, and process control is critical. Rockwell Automation is putting together the process control philosophy based on our instrumentation. This is a series of different process control units that must be coordinated to have a plant that will operate effectively."

Two plants will be built; one is a mineral concentration plant where raw ore is crushed, milled, and separated to create lithium-enriched mica concentrate. The second is the chemical plant, with a hydrometallurgical acid leaching system that produces lithium sulfate, which is converted into lithium hydroxide. The chemical plant combines chemical reactors, precipitators, filtration, and crystallization. The demonstration plant is currently under construction and when commissioned is expected to operate for a year.

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SOURCE Rockwell Automation
Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance, Jens Stoltenberg, said that NATO, together with its allies, should provide Ukraine with more weapons and resources to accelerate the liberation of the territories seized by Russia, CNN reports.

"We recognize the enormous amount of weapons, ammunitions, supplies that have already been provided to Ukraine, but we need to do even more," Stoltenberg said.

He believes that Ukraine needs to be provided with even more weapons, which will help carry out an effective counteroffensive and liberate the occupied territories.

"Because we need to ensure that Ukrainians are in a position where they can punch through the Russian lines and also across minefields and be in a position where they can liberate, take back territory," he added.
Increase in demand for flexible working options from freelancers & small businesses and the rising adoption of remote & hybrid work models are the factors anticipated to drive the growth of the global space as a service market. The small and medium enterprises sub-segment to be most dominant during the forecast period. The North America region is projected to garner the highest revenue by 2031.

PORTLAND, Ore., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research has recently published a report, titled, "Space as a Service Market by End-user (Small & Medium Enterprises, Freelancers, and Others) and Regional Analysis (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and LAMEA): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20222031". According to the report, the global space as a service market generated $8,670.5 million in 2021, and is anticipated to generate $14 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 5.1% from 2022 to 2031.

Prime Determinants of Growth

The increasing number of entrepreneurs, freelancers, and small businesses, the rising demand for flexible workstations, and the growing adoption of remote and hybrid work models across the globe, are the factors expected to drive the growth of the global space as a service market in the forecast period from 2022 to 2031. However, the dependence on the real estate market and the lack of standardization may hamper the space as a service market growth in the coming future. On the contrary, the increasing demand for space as a service (SPaaS) solutions from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is expected to offer remunerative opportunities for expansion of the space as a service market during the forecast period.

Request Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/75088

Report Coverage & Details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20222031 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $8,670.5 million Market Size in 2031 $14,017.9 million CAGR 5.1 % No. of Pages in Report 260 Segments covered End-user and Region. Drivers Increase in demand for flexible workspaces Rapid growth in the number of freelancers, entrepreneurs, and small businesses that require flexible and affordable office solutions The growing adoption of SPaaS solutions by large corporations Opportunities The growing demand from small and medium enterprises (SMEs) Technological advancements and changing workforce dynamics Restraints Lack of customization and limited availability of suitable properties

Procure Complete Report (280 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) at:

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/space-as-a-service-market/purchase-options

Covid-19 Scenario

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic has had a moderate impact on the growth of the global space as a service market.

Decrease in demand for office and workspace solutions due to lockdown restrictions to prevent the spread of the virus affected the growth of the space as a service market growth in the initial period of the pandemic.

However, the SPaaS providers shifted their focus on providing remote work solutions, such as virtual offices and coworking spaces to their customers by implementing safety measures. They focused on offering more private office spaces by maintaining social distancing norms to meet the changing demands of the market. These factors have significantly impacted the global space as a service market growth.

Small and Medium Enterprises Sub-segment to Maintain its Leading Position by 2031

Based on end-user, the small and medium enterprises sub-segment held the largest market share in 2021 and is estimated to maintain its leadership status during the forecast period. This sub-segment of the global space as a service market is predicted to grow at a highest CAGR of 5.5% during the estimated timeframe, owing to the growing demand from SMEs for flexible office spaces due to the dynamic nature of their business. Besides, SPaaS providers offer these enterprises the flexibility to rent or lease office space on a short-term basis, which makes it an attractive option for small businesses.

North America Region to Generate Highest Revenue by 2031

Based on region, North America held the significant market size in 2021 and is expected to witness significant growth during the forecast period. The dominance of the region is majorly owing to the increased demand for flexible workspace solutions due to the rise of remote work. In addition, the increasing focus of SPaaS providers in the region on sustainability and energy efficiency is driving the regional market growth. On the other hand, the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest CAGR of 6.8% during the forecast period, owing to the continuing rising popularity of SPaaS due to the rapid growth in remote work and gig economy.

Enquiry Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/75088

Leading Players of the Space as a Service Market:

WeWork

Awfis

91springboard

Common Ground

Workbar LLC

Innov8

Regus

MindSpace

Colive

Industrious

The report provides a detailed analysis of the key players of the global space as a service market. These players have adopted different strategies, such as new product launches, collaborations, expansion, joint ventures, agreements, and others to increase their market share and maintain their dominance in different regions. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

Trending Reports in ICT & Media Industry:

Digital Signature Market Expected to Reach $61.91 Billion by 2030

5G Internet of Things Market Expected to Reach $285.28 Billion by 2030

E-passport Market Expected to reach $125.13 Billion by 2028

Fitness App Market Expected to Reach $120.37 Billion by 2030

Gamification Market Expected to Reach $95.5 Billion by 2030

About Us

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.

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SOURCE Allied Market Research
The donation from Renner and Northern Tool + Equipment's Tools for the Trades program will expose Lecanto High School students to career options in the trades

LECANTO, Fla., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Motocross Legend Ronnie Renner and Northern Tool + Equipment are donating professional-grade tools to Lecanto High School in Renner's home state of Florida. The donation is taking place in person on April 19, when Renner and the Northern Tool + Equipment team will partner with ESAB to present new equipment to students and teachers at the school. The partnership is part of Northern Tool + Equipment's Tools for the Trades program, which is dedicated to making tool donations to schools that will ensure they can expand trade learning options and better expose students to the value of a career in the trades.

Renner's partnership with Northern Tool + Equipment was inspired by his passion for the trades. In order to succeed in motocross, Renner had to learn how to work on his own bikes and solve problems with his own hands. Since there was no motocross class in school, Renner had to teach himself, and learning to work on bikes helped him become a 10-time X Games gold medalist.

"I believe in investing in my local community. I want to help show kids that learning a skilled trade is a great path," says Renner. "The trades help the world go round, and I'm excited to partner with Northern Tool + Equipment's Tools for the Trades program so that we can get more tools in the hands of students and encourage them to roll up their sleeves and learn by doing. My own kids are in this district and might use the same tools we're donating in this classroom one day."

"Tools for the Trades is designed to give instructors professional-grade tools that will help them give students an authentic experience when teaching the hands-on skills needed in the trades," explains Jeff Land, Northern Tool + Equipment Vice President of Merchandising. "There is a skilled labor shortage in our country, and we see the impact on the community. Through this program, we can address that shortage by helping teachers show students what a career in the trades would be like."

Together with Renner and ESAB, Northern Tool + Equipment's Tools for the Trades program is donating pallets full of tools that will benefit students at the school for years to come.

For more information, please contact Anna Torrez at [email protected] or (612) 351-8313.

About Northern Tool + Equipment:

Northern Tool + Equipment is a family-owned company serving both DIYers and trades professionals tackling the tough projects. A leading supplier of more than 100,000 high-quality tools and equipment for over 40 years, the company's highly-trained team has an immense breadth of knowledge to help customers in-person at more than 130 retail stores, online and over the phone through their fully-staffed contact center. From helping customers get the right tool for the job to assisting with parts and repairs that keep tools running at peak performance, customer service is at the foundation of Northern Tool's mission. With a passion for serving their communities and helping to fill the trades labor shortage, the company's Tools for the Trades program donates high-quality tools directly into school classrooms, helping teachers show students the value of working in the trades. Learn more about Northern Tool + Equipment at www.NorthernTool.com and stay connected through social media: Facebook ( @northerntool ), Instagram ( @northern_tool ), Twitter ( @northerntool ), YouTube and Pinterest .

Media Contact: Anna Torrez

Phone Number: (612) 351-8313

Email: [email protected]

Website: https://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/company-info_tools-for-the-trades

SOURCE Northern Tool + Equipment
SHENZHEN, China, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- 1MORE, a globally premium consumer audio company, announced that its 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Headphone have been awarded the iF Design Award 2023. The iF Design Award is a decades-old annual award given by the Hannover Industrial Design Forum, the oldest industrial design agency in Germany.

A total of 11,000 entries from 56 countries were received by the iF Design Forum this year. The award recognizes 1MORE's commitment to bringing consumers high-end audio solutions with studio-quality sound, delicate design, and excellent build quality.

1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Headphone Won IF Design Award 2023

The 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Headphones are smaller than other noise-canceling earbuds and weigh in at only 3.7g per earbud, which is lighter than a piece of A4 paper. To offer a more suitable and comfortable wearing experience, a large number of data analyses and tests have been integrated into the design, such as Real 3D precision optical scan modeling and Ai simulated ergonomic design.

The 1MORE ComfoBuds Mini Headphones have won several international awards with the design concept of "Small and Beautiful". Besides winning the iF Design Award 2023, it has received the 2022 International Design Excellence Award (IDEA) and Visual Grand Prix (VGP) 2022 in Japan.

As of April 2023, 1MORE has won over 41 international design awards including four industrial design awards: iF Design Award, Red Dot Award, Good Design Award, and the IDEA Award.

According to the iF World Design Guide in 2017-2021, 1MORE ranks 7th in the world in terms of the number of awards. Furthermore, 1MORE is the only Chinese headphone brand that is featured in the iF TOP 10 Labels.

Please visit 1MORE US, 1MORE UK, and connect with 1MORE on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

ABOUT 1MORE

1MORE was born with a profound mission: Music lovers, young or old, frugal or affluent, deserve to hear music as it was meant to be heard, as the artist intended it to be heard. Everyone deserves to #HearMore.

Specializing in acoustic design and development, smart software and wearable audio products combined with 4-time Grammy Award-winning Sound Engineer Luca Bignardi who uniquely tunes all of 1MORE's headphones to deliver a precise representation of the artist's intended sound, 1MORE has received industry accolades all over the world.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2056822/image_1.jpg

SOURCE 1MORE
FRESNO, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Conservation partners in California are hosting the second annual USDA "Growing Together" Black and Urban Farmers Conference, that will be held on Friday, April 21, 2023, in Fresno, Calif. This conference is the only one of its kind in California.

Hosted by the West Fresno Family Resource Center and the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), the conference is open to all farmers and ranchers, yet is uniquely tailored towards black and urban farmers in California. Topics will include natural resource conservation, climate smart agriculture practices, and why farming networks are so important for success.

"The Growing Together conference is an open forum for farmers and ranchers to share, learn, and grow together," says NRCS California State Conservationist Carlos Suarez, of NRCS California. "NRCS is committed to increasing outreach efforts to minority producers. Black farmers, especially in the Central Valley, constitute an important group of farmers who can benefit from USDA conservation program assistance. Additionally, urban farmers are an increasing farming demographic and we're here to support them."

The free conference will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. at The Lynda and Stewart Resnick Student Union at Fresno State University. The conference will include a free continental breakfast and lunch for participating farmers. Please contact Christine Chavez at (213) 216-3519 with any questions or logistics needs.

This one-day statewide conference will be a great opportunity for farmers and ranchers to network and learn about resources available to them. Workshops will cover several topics including but not limited to: 1) Beginning Farming 2) Youth in Agriculture; 3) Resources from Agencies; 4) Urban Farming; and 5) USDA Farm Loans. The conference will also allow time for networking with other farmers and ranchers and with more than a dozen resource booths.

The West Fresno Family Resource Center was established in 2001, West Fresno Health Care Coalition (DBA: West Fresno Family Resource Center), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, serves residents of one of the poorest metropolitan communities in California's Central Valley, southwest Fresno and beyond.

The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service is the lead USDA partner in this conference. NRCS has provided leadership in a partnership effort to help America's private landowners and managers conserve their soil, water and other natural resources since 1935. For more information on NRCS, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov.

Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.) should contact the responsible Agency or USDA's Target Center at {202) 720-2600 (voice and TTY) or contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at (800) 877-8339.

SOURCE USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service
SYDNEY, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Medical device company Baymatob has successfully completed one of Australia's largest maternity health studies for a medical device, enrolling 500 mothers in a pilot study to evaluate its AI-guided labor monitoring device, Oli. The device is the only product of its kind intending to identify individuals at higher risk of developing postpartum hemorrhage (PPH) well before they give birth.

The study was led by Principal Investigators Professor Michael Nicholls, Professor Andrew Bisits and Michelle de Vroom at two Australian sites, Royal North Shore Hospital and The Royal Hospital for Women in Sydney. It used Baymatob's wearable Oli, to monitor the vital signs of both mother and child, including an outcome in identifying mothers at high risk of postpartum hemorrhage (PPH).

Postpartum hemorrhage, or heavy bleeding after childbirth, is the world's leading cause of preventable maternal death. Globally, one mother dies every seven minutes due to postpartum hemorrhage.

Baymatob's Oli device is an Australian-developed wearable device that combines innovative sensor technology and artificial intelligence (AI) interpretation to detect a pending PPH during labor before birth and before postpartum bleeding starts. Oli is worn on the upper abdomen of the mother both before and during labor, and monitors physiological signals of mother and child, including biopotentials, movement, temperature, and deformation.

While complete pilot study results are expected for publication in 2023, current clinical evidence suggests that more than 80 percent of mothers with PPH could have clinical attention before bleeding starts using Oli, improving health outcomes, and decreasing risk.

Lead investigator, midwife Michelle de Vroom said a new detection method for postpartum hemorrhage would dramatically improve patient outcomes for both mothers and children.

"PPH is responsible for nearly one quarter of maternal deaths, and today's approved monitoring technology  which focuses on contractions and heart rates  simply does not detect PPH and associated complications early enough. A large opportunity exists for modern technology, including artificial intelligence, wearable sensors and real-time analytics, to transform maternal and fetal monitoring and deliver better outcomes.

"While it is still early days in evaluating results, the data we have is very promising and indicates Oli's effectiveness in identifying mothers at-risk of PPH before bleeding starts."

Baymatob CEO Tara Croft said the completion of its 500-patient pilot study places the Company on track to a larger pivotal study at Australian and US sites, a definitive step toward regulatory approval.

"We're so grateful to the 500 mothers, obstetricians and midwifery staff who participated in this landmark study. The early results we have seen are already a strong indication of Oli's potential impact and its potential for saving the lives of both mothers and children.

"Completing this study paves the way for a larger pivotal trial in 2023, which will be critical in a successful FDA submission. Entering 2023, we are now readying to undertake this pivotal trial as we await final results of the pilot study."

The Oli device was originally developed by engineer and mother Dr Sarah McDonald, who established Baymatob after her own traumatic birth experience in 2013.

In August 2021, Oli received Breakthrough Device designation by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), recognizing the device's potential to transform US clinical practice and granting the company an expedited regulatory review path.

About Baymatob

Baymatob was founded after a traumatic birth experience and aims to transform outcomes for mothers and their babies. The company's flagship product Oli is a platform technology that will provide world-first, definitive clinical diagnoses, that have never-before been seen within pregnancy and labor monitoring. The first of these being a post-partum hemorrhage advance diagnostic capability. Baymatob, with its Oli technology, holds a rare opportunity to truly and completely transform clinical practice, disrupting decades-old technologies, with completely novel and impactful predictive diagnoses.

SOURCE Baymatob
Sales of $9.7 billion driven by strong underlying base business performance

Reported sales decreased 18.1 percent due to anticipated decline in COVID-19 testing-related sales versus prior year

Organic sales growth for underlying base business of 10.0 percent, led by Medical Devices, Established Pharmaceuticals and Nutrition

ABBOTT PARK, Ill., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Abbott (NYSE: ABT) today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2023.

First-quarter GAAP diluted EPS of $0.75 and adjusted diluted EPS of $1.03 , which excludes specified items.

and adjusted diluted EPS of , which excludes specified items. Projected full-year 2023 diluted EPS from continuing operations on a GAAP basis of $3.05 to $3.25 remains unchanged.

to remains unchanged. Projected full-year adjusted EPS from continuing operations of $4.30 to $4.50 remains unchanged and now reflects an increased outlook for the underlying base business offset by a lower forecasted earnings contribution from COVID-19 testing-related sales.

to remains unchanged and now reflects an increased outlook for the underlying base business offset by a lower forecasted earnings contribution from COVID-19 testing-related sales. Abbott now projects full-year 2023 organic sales growth, excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales 1 , of at least high single-digits 2 and COVID-19 testing-related sales of approximately $1.5 billion .

, of at least high single-digits and COVID-19 testing-related sales of approximately . In January, Abbott announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of Navitor  , its second-generation transcatheter aortic valve implantation system, for people with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk for surgery.

, its second-generation transcatheter aortic valve implantation system, for people with severe aortic stenosis who are at high risk for surgery. In March, data was presented at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Sessions showing Abbott's TriClip  system was superior to current medical therapy in treating patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation, or a leaky tricuspid heart valve.

system was superior to current medical therapy in treating patients with severe tricuspid regurgitation, or a leaky tricuspid heart valve. In March, Abbott's market-leading FreeStyle Libre continuous glucose monitoring system received U.S. FDA clearance for integration with automated insulin delivery systems. Abbott is partnering with leading insulin pump manufacturers to integrate their systems with FreeStyle Libre 2 and FreeStyle Libre 3 as soon as possible.

"Our first-quarter results reflect a very strong start to the year," said Robert B. Ford, chairman and chief executive officer, Abbott. "Growth in our underlying base businesses accelerated, including particularly strong results in Medical Devices, Established Pharmaceuticals and Nutrition."

FIRST-QUARTER BUSINESS OVERVIEW

Management believes that measuring sales growth rates on an organic basis, which excludes the impact of foreign exchange, as well as the impact of exiting the pediatric nutrition business in China, is an appropriate way for investors to best understand the core underlying performance of the business.

Management further believes that measuring sales growth rates on an organic basis excluding COVID-19 tests is an appropriate way for investors to best understand underlying base business performance as the COVID-19 pandemic shifts to an endemic state, resulting in significantly lower expected demand for COVID-19 tests.

Note: In order to compute results excluding the impact of exchange rates, current year U.S. dollar sales are multiplied or divided, as appropriate, by the current year average foreign exchange rates and then those amounts are multiplied or divided, as appropriate, by the prior year average foreign exchange rates.

Total Company

Reported Sales

Sales 1Q23 ($ in millions) Total Company

Nutrition

Diagnostics

Established

Pharmaceuticals

Medical Devices U.S. 3,928

812

1,335



1,778 International 5,819

1,155

1,353

1,189

2,122 Total reported 9,747

1,967

2,688

1,189

3,900

% Change vs. 1Q22

















U.S. (20.4)

19.9

(50.8)

n/a

15.1 International (16.4)

(5.1)

(46.9)

3.7

3.5 Total reported (18.1)

3.8

(48.9)

3.7

8.5



Organic Sales

% Change vs. 1Q22 Total Company

Nutrition

Diagnostics

Established

Pharmaceuticals

Medical Devices Reported (18.1)

3.8

(48.9)

3.7

8.5 Impact of foreign exchange (3.3)

(3.9)

(1.8)

(7.4)

(3.9) Impact of business exit (0.3)

(2.6)





 Organic (14.5)

10.3

(47.1)

11.1

12.4 Impact of COVID-19 testing sales3 (24.5)



(51.5)



 Organic excluding COVID-19 tests 10.0

10.3

4.4

11.1

12.4



















U.S. 12.6

19.9

0.3

n/a

15.1 International 8.6

4.8

6.8

11.1

10.4

n/a = Not Applicable.

Refer to table titled "Non-GAAP Revenue Reconciliation" for a reconciliation of adjusted historical revenue to reported revenue.

Nutrition

Reported Sales

Sales 1Q23 ($ in millions)



Total

Pediatric

Adult U.S.



812

459

353 International



1,155

465

690 Total reported



1,967

924

1,043

% Change vs. 1Q22













U.S.



19.9

36.1

3.9 International



(5.1)

(8.6)

(2.6) Total reported



3.8

9.2

(0.5)



Organic Sales

% Change vs. 1Q22



Total

Pediatric

Adult Reported



3.8

9.2

(0.5) Impact of foreign exchange



(3.9)

(2.8)

(4.7) Impact of business exit



(2.6)

(6.4)

 Organic



10.3

18.4

4.2















U.S.



19.9

36.1

3.9 International



4.8

5.3

4.4

Worldwide Nutrition sales increased 3.8 percent on a reported basis and 10.3 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter. Refer to table titled "Non-GAAP Revenue Reconciliation" for a reconciliation of adjusted historical revenue to reported revenue.

In Pediatric Nutrition, global sales increased 9.2 percent on a reported basis and 18.4 percent on an organic basis. In the U.S., sales growth of 36.1 percent includes the impact of lower sales in the first quarter of the prior year due to a voluntary recall of certain infant formula products. Following a temporary manufacturing stoppage of these products, Abbott subsequently restarted production last year and continues to make good progress recovering market share in this business.

In Adult Nutrition, global sales decreased 0.5 percent on a reported basis and increased 4.2 percent on an organic basis, which was led by strong global growth of Ensure, Abbott's market-leading complete and balanced nutrition brand.

Diagnostics

Reported Sales

Sales 1Q23 ($ in millions) Total

Core Laboratory

Molecular

Point of Care

Rapid

Diagnostics * U.S. 1,335

289

47

93

906 International 1,353

893

100

41

319 Total reported 2,688

1,182

147

134

1,225

% Change vs. 1Q22

















U.S. (50.8)

7.7

(72.7)

2.9

(58.4) International (46.9)

(2.5)

(59.7)

9.2

(76.3) Total reported (48.9)

(0.2)

(65.0)

4.7

(65.3)



Organic Sales

% Change vs. 1Q22 Total

Core Laboratory

Molecular

Point of Care

Rapid

Diagnostics * Reported (48.9)

(0.2)

(65.0)

4.7

(65.3) Impact of foreign exchange (1.8)

(5.3)

(1.0)

(1.0)

(0.8) Organic (47.1)

5.1

(64.0)

5.7

(64.5) Impact of COVID-19 testing sales3 (51.5)

(2.0)

(39.2)



(72.5) Organic excluding COVID-19 tests 4.4

7.1

(24.8)

5.7

8.0



















U.S. 0.3

9.0

(36.7)

2.9

(0.9) International 6.8

6.5

(18.9)

12.7

23.2



*The Acelis Connected Health business was internally transferred from Rapid Diagnostics to Heart Failure on January 1, 2023. As a result, $29 million of sales for the first quarter of 2022 were moved from Rapid Diagnostics to Heart Failure.

As expected, Diagnostics sales growth in the first quarter was negatively impacted by year-over-year declines in COVID-19 testing-related sales3. Worldwide COVID-19 testing sales were $730 million in the first quarter of 2023 compared to $3.304 billion in the first quarter of the prior year.

Excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, global Diagnostics sales increased 0.2 percent on a reported basis and increased 4.4 percent on an organic basis. Organic sales growth, excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, was led by Core Laboratory, Point of Care and Rapid Diagnostics. In Molecular Diagnostics, growth was negatively impacted by lower demand for seasonal respiratory testing compared to significantly higher-than-usual demand in the first quarter of the prior year.

Established Pharmaceuticals

Reported Sales

Sales 1Q23 ($ in millions)





Total

Key Emerging

Markets

Other U.S.









 International





1,189

912

277 Total reported





1,189

912

277

% Change vs. 1Q22















U.S.





n/a

n/a

n/a International





3.7

0.7

15.0 Total reported





3.7

0.7

15.0



Organic Sales

% Change vs. 1Q22





Total

Key Emerging

Markets

Other Reported





3.7

0.7

15.0 Impact of foreign exchange





(7.4)

(7.6)

(6.8) Organic





11.1

8.3

21.8

















U.S.





n/a

n/a

n/a International





11.1

8.3

21.8

Established Pharmaceuticals sales increased 3.7 percent on a reported basis and 11.1 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter.

Key Emerging Markets include several emerging countries that represent the most attractive long-term growth opportunities for Abbott's branded generics product portfolio. Sales in these geographies increased 0.7 percent on a reported basis and 8.3 percent on an organic basis, led by growth in Brazil, China and Southeast Asia, and across several therapeutic areas, including cardiometabolic, respiratory and central nervous system/pain management.

Medical Devices

Reported Sales

Sales 1Q23 ($ in millions) Total

Rhythm

Management

Electro- physiology

Heart

Failure *

Vascular

Structural

Heart

Neuro-

modulation

Diabetes

Care U.S. 1,778

260

238

218

218

210

155

479 International 2,122

267

267

63

399

251

41

834 Total reported 3,900

527

505

281

617

461

196

1,313































% Change vs. 1Q22





























U.S. 15.1

4.4

10.0

11.3

4.8

10.5

8.4

39.7 International 3.5

(3.2)

(1.0)

16.6

(2.7)

13.7

13.5

6.5 Total reported 8.5

0.4

3.9

12.4

(0.2)

12.2

9.4

16.6



Organic Sales % Change vs. 1Q22 Total

Rhythm

Management

Electro- physiology

Heart

Failure *

Vascular

Structural

Heart

Neuro-

modulation

Diabetes

Care Reported 8.5

0.4

3.9

12.4

(0.2)

12.2

9.4

16.6 Impact of foreign exchange (3.9)

(3.6)

(4.9)

(1.2)

(4.1)

(4.2)

(1.8)

(4.4) Organic 12.4

4.0

8.8

13.6

3.9

16.4

11.2

21.0































U.S. 15.1

4.4

10.0

11.3

4.8

10.5

8.4

39.7 International 10.4

3.7

7.8

22.3

3.4

21.4

22.5

12.9



*The Acelis Connected Health business was internally transferred from Rapid Diagnostics to Heart Failure on January 1, 2023. As a result, $29 million of sales for the first quarter of 2022 were moved from Rapid Diagnostics to Heart Failure.

Worldwide Medical Devices sales increased 8.5 percent on a reported basis and 12.4 percent on an organic basis in the first quarter, including double-digit organic sales growth in both the U.S. and internationally.

Sales growth was led by double-digit organic growth in Diabetes Care, Structural Heart, Heart Failure and Neuromodulation. Several recently launched products and new indications contributed to the strong performance, including Amplatzer Amulet, Navitor, TriClip, Aveir and CardioMEMS.

In Electrophysiology, internationally, sales grew double-digits on a reported basis and high-teens on an organic basis in Europe, which was partially offset by soft market conditions in China during the first several weeks of the first quarter.

In Diabetes Care, FreeStyle Libre sales were $1.2 billion, which included U.S. growth of approximately 50 percent.

ABBOTT'S EARNINGS-PER-SHARE GUIDANCE

Abbott projects full-year 2023 diluted earnings per share from continuing operations under GAAP of $3.05 to $3.25. Abbott forecasts specified items for the full-year 2023 of $1.25 per share primarily related to intangible amortization, restructuring and cost reduction initiatives and other net expenses. Excluding specified items, projected adjusted diluted earnings per share from continuing operations would be $4.30 to $4.50 for the full-year 2023.

ABBOTT DECLARES 397TH CONSECUTIVE QUARTERLY DIVIDEND

On February 17, 2023, the board of directors of Abbott declared the company's quarterly dividend of $0.51 per share. Abbott's cash dividend is payable May 15, 2023, to shareholders of record at the close of business on April 14, 2023.

Abbott has increased its dividend payout for 51 consecutive years and is a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats Index, which tracks companies that have annually increased their dividend for at least 25 consecutive years.

About Abbott:

Abbott is a global healthcare leader that helps people live more fully at all stages of life. Our portfolio of life-changing technologies spans the spectrum of healthcare, with leading businesses and products in diagnostics, medical devices, nutritionals and branded generic medicines. Our 115,000 colleagues serve people in more than 160 countries.

Connect with us at www.abbott.com, on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/company/abbott-/, on Facebook at www.facebook.com/Abbott and on Twitter @AbbottNews.

Abbott will live-webcast its first-quarter earnings conference call through its Investor Relations website at www.abbottinvestor.com at 8 a.m. Central time today. An archived edition of the webcast will be available later in the day.

 Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 

A Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

Some statements in this news release may be forward-looking statements for purposes of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Abbott cautions that these forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements. Economic, competitive, governmental, technological and other factors that may affect Abbott's operations are discussed in Item 1A, "Risk Factors" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2022, and are incorporated herein by reference. Abbott undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking statements as a result of subsequent events or developments, except as required by law.

1 For the full-year 2022, COVID-19 testing-related sales were $8.368 billion and total worldwide sales were $43.653 billion.



2 Abbott has not provided the related GAAP financial measure for organic sales growth, excluding COVID-19 testing-related sales, on a forward-looking basis because the company is unable to predict the impact of foreign exchange due to the unpredictability of future changes in foreign exchange rates, which could significantly impact reported sales growth.



3 Diagnostic sales and COVID-19 testing-related sales in 2023 and 2022 are summarized below:















Sales 1Q23



COVID Tests Sales 1Q23 ($ in millions)











U.S.

Int'l

Total



U.S.

Int'l

Total Total Diagnostics











1,335

1,353

2,688



608

122

730 Core Laboratory











289

893

1,182



2

4

6 Molecular











47

100

147



10

10

20 Rapid Diagnostics











906

319

1,225



596

108

704















Sales 1Q22



COVID Tests Sales 1Q22 ($ in millions)











U.S.

Int'l

Total



U.S.

Int'l

Total Total Diagnostics











2,712

2,545

5,257



1,988

1,316

3,304 Core Laboratory











268

916

1,184



5

23

28 Molecular











172

248

420



114

132

246 Rapid Diagnostics











2,181

1,344

3,525



1,869

1,161

3,030

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Condensed Consolidated Statement of Earnings First Quarter Ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)



1Q23

1Q22

% Change

Net Sales $9,747

$11,895

(18.1)















Cost of products sold, excluding amortization expense 4,331

4,987

(13.2)

Amortization of intangible assets 491

512

(4.0)

Research and development 654

697

(6.2)

Selling, general, and administrative 2,762

2,787

(0.9)

Total Operating Cost and Expenses 8,238

8,983

(8.3)















Operating Earnings 1,509

2,912

(48.2)















Interest expense, net 52

117

(56.1)

Net foreign exchange (gain) loss 6

(3)

n/m

Other (income) expense, net (111)

(78)

41.5

Earnings before taxes 1,562

2,876

(45.7)

Taxes on earnings 244

429

(43.0) 1)













Net Earnings $1,318

$2,447

(46.1)















Net Earnings excluding Specified Items, as described below $1,815

$3,077

(41.0) 2)













Diluted Earnings per Common Share $0.75

$1.37

(45.3)















Diluted Earnings per Common Share, excluding Specified Items, as described below $1.03

$1.73

(40.5) 2)













Average Number of Common Shares Outstanding Plus Dilutive Common Stock Options 1,752

1,775









NOTES: See tables tables titled "Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information" for an explanation of certain non-GAAP financial information. n/m = Percent change is not meaningful. See footnotes below.



1) 2023 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $22 million of net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years.





2022 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $30 million of net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years and approximately $30 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.



2) 2023 Net Earnings and Diluted Earnings per Common Share, excluding Specified Items, excludes net after-tax charges of $497 million, or $0.28 per share, for intangible amortization, charges related to restructuring and cost reduction initiatives, expenses associated with acquisitions and other net expenses.





2022 Net Earnings and Diluted Earnings per Common Share, excluding Specified Items, excludes net after-tax charges of $630 million, or $0.36 per share, for intangible amortization, charges related to a voluntary recall and other net expenses primarily associated with acquisitions.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information First Quarter Ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)









1Q23







As Reported

(GAAP)

Specified

Items

As Adjusted

















Intangible Amortization





$ 491

$ (491)

$  Gross Margin





4,925

520

5,445 R&D





654

(26)

628 SG&A





2,762

(2)

2,760 Earnings before taxes





1,562

548

2,110 Taxes on Earnings





244

51

295 Net Earnings





1,318

497

1,815 Diluted Earnings per Share





$ 0.75

$ 0.28

$ 1.03



Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $491 million and other net expenses of $57 million associated with restructuring actions, costs associated with acquisitions and other expenses. See table titled "Details of Specified Items First Quarter Ended March 31, 2023" for additional details regarding specified items.









1Q22







As Reported

(GAAP)

Specified

Items

As Adjusted

















Intangible Amortization





$ 512

$ (512)

$  Gross Margin





6,396

636

7,032 R&D





697

(33)

664 SG&A





2,787

(39)

2,748 Other (income) expense, net





(78)

(15)

(93) Earnings before taxes





2,876

723

3,599 Taxes on Earnings





429

93

522 Net Earnings





2,447

630

3,077 Diluted Earnings per Share





$ 1.37

$ 0.36

$ 1.73



Specified items reflect intangible amortization expense of $512 million and other net expenses of $211 million that includes costs associated with a product recall, acquisitions and other net expenses. See table titled "Details of Specified Items First Quarter Ended March 31, 2022" for additional details regarding specified items.

A reconciliation of the first-quarter tax rates for 2023 and 2022 is shown below:











1Q23

($ in millions)







Pre-Tax Income

Taxes on Earnings

Tax Rate

As reported (GAAP)







$ 1,562

$ 244

15.6 % 1) Specified items







548

51





Excluding specified items







$ 2,110

$ 295

14.0 %















1Q22

($ in millions)







Pre-Tax Income

Taxes on Earnings

Tax Rate

As reported (GAAP)







$ 2,876

$ 429

14.9 % 2) Specified items







723

93





Excluding specified items







$ 3,599

$ 522

14.5 %







1) 2023 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $22 million of net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years.



2) 2022 Taxes on Earnings includes the recognition of approximately $30 million of net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years and approximately $30 million in excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Non-GAAP Revenue Reconciliation First Quarter Ended March 31, 2023 and 2022 ($ in millions) (unaudited)





1Q23

1Q22

% Change vs. 1Q22























Non-GAAP



Abbott

Reported Impact from

business exit (a) Adjusted

Revenue

Abbott

Reported Impact from

business exit (a) Adjusted

Revenue

Reported

Adjusted Organic Total Company

9,747 (8) 9,739

11,895 (52) 11,843

(18.1)

(17.8) (14.5) U.S.

3,928  3,928

4,937  4,937

(20.4)

(20.4) (20.4) Intl

5,819 (8) 5,811

6,958 (52) 6,906

(16.4)

(15.9) (10.2)



























Total Nutrition

1,967 (8) 1,959

1,894 (52) 1,842

3.8

6.4 10.3 U.S.

812  812

677  677

19.9

19.9 19.9 Intl

1,155 (8) 1,147

1,217 (52) 1,165

(5.1)

(1.5) 4.8



























Pediatric Nutrition

924 (8) 916

847 (52) 795

9.2

15.4 18.4 U.S.

459  459

338  338

36.1

36.1 36.1 Intl

465 (8) 457

509 (52) 457

(8.6)

0.2 5.3





(a) Reflects the impact of exiting the pediatric nutrition business in China. This action was initiated in December 2022.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Details of Specified Items First Quarter Ended March 31, 2023 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)



Acquisition or Divestiture- related (a)

Restructuring and Cost Reduction Initiatives (b)

Intangible Amortization

Other (c)

Total Specifieds Gross Margin $ 5

$ 21

$ 491

$ 3

$ 520 R&D (4)

1



(23)

(26) SG&A (4)

(4)



6

(2) Other (income) expense, net (6)





6

 Earnings before taxes $ 19

$ 24

$ 491

$ 14

548 Taxes on Earnings (d)















51 Net Earnings















$ 497 Diluted Earnings per Share















$ 0.28





The table above provides additional details regarding the specified items described on tables titled "Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information."



a) Acquisition-related expenses include legal and other costs related to business acquisitions as well as integration costs, which represent incremental costs directly related to integrating acquired businesses. b) Restructuring and cost reduction initiative expenses include severance, outplacement and other direct costs associated with specific restructuring plans and cost reduction initiatives. c) Other includes incremental costs to comply with the European Union's Medical Device Regulations (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Device Regulations (IVDR) requirements for previously approved products. d) Reflects the net tax benefit associated with the specified items.

Abbott Laboratories and Subsidiaries Details of Specified Items First Quarter Ended March 31, 2022 (in millions, except per share data) (unaudited)



Acquisition or Divestiture- related (a)

Restructuring and Cost Reduction Initiatives (b)

Intangible Amortization

Other (c)

Total Specifieds Gross Margin $ 21

$ (6)

$ 512

$ 109

$ 636 R&D (2)

(1)



(30)

(33) SG&A (11)





(28)

(39) Other (income) expense, net (7)





(8)

(15) Earnings before taxes $ 41

$ (5)

$ 512

$ 175

723 Taxes on Earnings (d)















93 Net Earnings















$ 630 Diluted Earnings per Share















$ 0.36





The table above provides additional details regarding the specified items described on tables titled "Non-GAAP Reconciliation of Financial Information." a) Acquisition-related expenses include integration costs, which represent incremental costs directly related to integrating the acquired businesses and include expenditures for the integration of systems, processes and business activities. b) Restructuring and cost reduction initiative expenses include severance, outplacement and other direct costs associated with specific restructuring plans and cost reduction initiatives. The Gross Margin amount includes a credit associated with the charges taken in the second quarter of 2021 for a restructuring plan related to Abbott's manufacturing network for COVID-19 diagnostic tests. c) Other includes charges related to a voluntary recall within the Nutrition segment and incremental costs to comply with the European Union's Medical Device (MDR) and In Vitro Diagnostics Medical Device (IVDR) Regulations for previously approved products. d) Reflects the net tax benefit associated with the specified items, excess tax benefits associated with share-based compensation and net tax expense as a result of the resolution of various tax positions related to prior years.

SOURCE Abbott
ABU DHABI, UAE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a host member agreement to officially open in Abu Dhabi the Bank's first overseas office, an Interim Operational Hub (the Hub). Jin Liqun, President and Chair of the Board of Directors of AIIB, joined His Excellency Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and UAE Governor of AIIB, during the signing ceremony in Abu Dhabi.

AIIB to Open First Overseas Office in Abu Dhabi, UAE

"As a founding member of AIIB, the UAE actively contributes to the Bank's sound governance and rapid growth," said President Jin. "The establishment of the Hub in the UAE gives the Bank a robust platform to manage our growing investment portfolio. It also enhances client and member engagement, project monitoring and implementation services across the globe."

In his remarks, H.E. Dr. Al Jaber said: "The agreement to host AIIB's operational office reflects the UAE's commitment to enhance cooperation with international organizations and institutions focused on sustainable economic development for developing countries."

He added that the office would serve as a strategic destination in the Middle East and the world, supporting AIIB's development agenda and financing infrastructure projects to achieve sustainable economic growth."

AIIB's rapid growth is the catalyst for opening an office that helps bring the Bank closer to clients and to the frontline of its business. The Hub provides proximity to global financial centers and connectivity with the international infrastructure ecosystem which is important in maintaining AIIB's growth momentum.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development was mandated to represent the UAE on the Bank's Board and to actively participate in its periodic meetings. As of today, AIIB has approved 212 projects amounting to over USD40 billion in 33 member countries, which have contributed to economic development and improved the quality of life for communities in beneficiary countries.

About AIIB

The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank whose mission is financing the Infrastructure for Tomorrowinfrastructure with sustainability at its core. We began operations in Beijing in January 2016 and have since grown to 106 approved members worldwide. We are capitalized at USD100 billion and Triple-A-rated by the major international credit rating agencies. Working with partners, AIIB meets clients' needs by unlocking new capital and investing in infrastructure that is green, technology-enabled and promotes regional connectivity.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2058245/Image1.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2058244/Image2_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB)
MELVILLE, N.Y. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AIP Publishing is pleased to announce it has entered into a Read & Publish agreement with Clemson University, the foremost public research institution in South Carolina.

This three-year agreement took effect on January 1 and will provide researchers and librarians at Clemson University with read access to 20 journals within AIP Publishing's leading physical science portfolio. Authors will be able to publish open access in 18 of AIP Publishing's journals through 2025 without the burden of author processing charges (APCs), which will be covered by the Clemson University library.

"We're proud to sign this agreement with Clemson University, a leading institution known for its commitment to advancing knowledge and discovery," said Dr. Penelope Lewis, Chief Publications Officer at AIP Publishing. "Not only will the agreement provide the scientific community at Clemson with access to the latest groundbreaking physical science research, it will also give researchers at Clemson a valuable opportunity to have their work made open access in AIP Publishing's distinguished and growing portfolio."

"We are very excited to expand our support of open access publishing through our newest read and publish agreement with AIP Publishing," said Chris Vidas, Electronic Resources Librarian at Clemson University. "The dual benefit of providing greater access to Clemson research as well as offsetting APCs for our authors will produce beneficial gains for the entire scientific community."

About Clemson University

Clemson University is a major, land-grant, science and engineering-oriented Carnegie Research One university. Clemson continues to thrive as an inclusive, student-centered community characterized by high academic standards, a culture of collaboration, school spirit, and a competitive drive to excel.

About AIP Publishing

AIP Publishing is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). AIP Publishing's mission is to support the charitable, scientific, and educational purposes of AIP through scholarly publishing activities in the fields of the physical and related sciences on its own behalf and on behalf of our publishing partners to help them proactively advance their missions.

SOURCE AIP Publishing
Phase 2/3 AD Study continues to make steady progress in patient recruitment

Company to hold R&D webcast on Thursday, April 20th to review ongoing clinical programs in Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease

BERWYN, Pa., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Annovis Bio, Inc. (NYSE: ANVS) ("Annovis" or the "Company"), a clinical-stage drug platform company addressing neurodegenerative diseases, today announced that patient recruitment for the Company's Phase 2/3 study of buntanetap for the treatment of moderate Alzheimer's disease (AD) remains consistent with its planned development program.

To date, a total of 27 sites have now been activated and 38 patients have been screened in the Phase 2/3 study. In addition, 13 patients have been randomized to receive either one of three doses of buntanetap or placebo.

Annovis will hold an R&D webcast on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 4 PM to review its late-stage clinical programs in AD and Parkinson's disease (PD). Details on the webcast are provide below:

Webcast details:

Date: April 20, 2023, 4PM

Participant Toll-Free Dial-In Number: 1 (888) 210-3702

Participant Toll Dial-In Number: 1 (646) 960-0191

Conference ID: 7935665

Webcast Link: https://events.q4inc.com/attendee/892955864

Maria L. Maccecchini, Ph.D., Founder, President, and CEO of Annovis, commented: "We are very pleased to announce the ramp up of our Phase 2/3 study of buntanetap for the treatment of AD. AD is associated with chronic, low-level neuro-inflammation, which is likely due to the overexpression of neurotoxic proteins such as amyloid beta, tau, Synuclein, and TDP43. By targeting the complex of the iron response element 1 (IRE1) with the mRNAs coding for these neurotoxic proteins, buntanetap blocks their translation and helps reduce the pro-inflammatory conditions seen in AD. In our upcoming R&D webcast, we look forward to discussing our Phase 2/3 trial as well as an overview of the planned development program for AD and PD."

The Phase 2/3 study is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial investigating the efficacy, safety, and tolerability of buntanetap in moderate AD patients. The trial is expected to enroll a total of 320 AD patients into three active arms to be treated with 7.5mg buntanetap, 15mg buntanetap, 30mg buntanetap or a placebo, on top of their standard of care, for three months. In October 2022, the Company received permission from the FDA to proceed with the Phase 2/3 clinical study.

In July 2021, the Company announced positive Phase 2 results demonstrating that treatment with buntanetap resulted in statistically significant improvements in cognitive function in patients with AD. Specifically, patients treated with buntanetap showed a 4.7-point or 30% improvement while the placebo group showed a 1.1-point improvement in ADAS-Cog11.2 Additionally, the WAIS coding test, which measures speed in movement and thinking, found that treated AD patients had a 6.6-point improvement in coding after buntanetap treatment.

Additional information about the Phase 2/3 study is available here.

About Buntanetap

Buntanetap (previously known as ANVS401 or Posiphen) is an oral translational inhibitor of neurotoxic aggregating proteins (TINAPs), which mode of action leads to a lower level of neurotoxic proteins and consequently less toxicity in the brain. In a Phase 1/2 clinical trial in AD and PD patients, buntanetap was shown to be well-tolerated and its pharmacokinetics were found to be in line with levels measured earlier in humans, meeting both the primary and secondary endpoints. Additionally, exploratory endpoints were also met, as treatment with buntanetap resulted in statistically significant improvement in motor function in PD patients and cognition in AD patients. Presently buntanetap is being studied in a Phase 3 study in early PD patients and in a Phase 2/3 study in mild to moderate AD patients.

About Annovis Bio, Inc.

Headquartered in Berwyn, Pennsylvania, Annovis Bio, Inc. (Annovis) is a clinical-stage, drug platform company addressing neurodegeneration, such AD, PD, and other chronic neurodegenerative diseases. We believe that we are the only company developing a drug for AD and PD that is designed to inhibit more than one neurotoxic protein, and has a mechanism of action designed to restore axonal and synaptic activity. By improving brain function, our goal is to treat memory loss and dementia associated with AD as well as body and brain function associated with PD. Annovis conducted two Phase 1/2 studies: one in AD patients and one in both AD and PD patients. In the AD/PD study buntanetap showed improvements in cognition in AD as well as body and function in PD patients.

For more information on Annovis Bio, please visit the Company's website www.annovisbio.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. All statements other than statements of historical fact are statements that could be deemed forward-looking statements. The Company advises caution in reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include, without limitation, the Company's plans related to clinical trials. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those implied by forward-looking statements, including regarding patient enrollment, the effectiveness of Buntanetap and the timing, effectiveness, and anticipated results of the Company's clinical trials evaluating the efficacy, safety and tolerability of Buntanetap. See also additional risk factors set forth in the Company's periodic filings with the SEC, including, but not limited to, those risks and uncertainties listed in the section entitled "Risk Factors," in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q filed with the SEC. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to the Company as of the date of this filing. The Company expressly disclaims any obligation to update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law.

Media Contact:

Nic Johnson

Russo Partners, LLC

(303) 482-6405

[email protected]

Investors Contacts:

Chris Calabrese

+1 (917) 680-5608

[email protected]

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

Kevin Gardner

+1 (617) 283-2856

[email protected]

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

SOURCE Annovis Bio
Group sets sights on port-based facilities as part of national facility network

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arcadia Cold, a leading third-party logistics (3PL) provider, celebrated the groundbreaking of their Jacksonville Cold Storage in partnership with Saxum Real Estate and local officials. The event was hosted by Primus Builders, the project general contractor.

Arcadia Cold team breaks ground on Jacksonville Cold Storage

The new Arcadia facility will add 30,254 pallet positions with blast freezing capacity and will occupy 216,297 square feet. This is Arcadia's fifth cold storage facility they have announced in the past year, following locations in Burleson, TX, Atlanta, GA, Hazleton, PA and Phoenix, AZ. The company is on track to become one of the largest cold storage providers in the nation.

The Jacksonville Cold Storage Facility will be Arcadia's first to focus on port-based handling services and is strategically located 10-minutes from the Port of Jacksonville (JAXPORT). The facility is set to open in early 2024 and will assist food companies in taking their products from port to plate.

Chris Hughes, CEO & President of Arcadia Cold, stated: "We're excited to break ground on our new Jacksonville facility and continue expanding our footprint in the cold storage industry. This new facility will allow us to better serve our customers and provide much-needed pallet space in the region."

Speakers at the groundbreaking ceremony included Kieran Flanagan, Principal of Saxum Real Estate, Matt Hirsch, President of Primus Builders, John Freeman, a Director at JAXUSA Partnership, and Rick Schiappacasse, a Director from the Jacksonville Port Authority.

About Arcadia Cold: Arcadia Cold specializes in providing third-party handling, storage, distribution, and value-added services to the food industry. We are on a mission to design and deploy modern facilities and provide innovative solutions through the practical application of technology, creating meaningful value for our customers while helping them meet their strategic objectives  establishing The New Age of cold chain. www.arcadiacold.com

SOURCE Arcadia Cold
Ukrainian anti-aircraft missile troops destroyed seven enemy unmanned aerial vehicles that attacked Zaporizhia and Dnipro on Tuesday, six of which were Iranian Shahed-136, the Skhid (East) Air Command reports.

"As of 22:00, units of the anti-aircraft missile forces and mobile fire groups of the Skhid air Command destroyed seven enemy UAVs, including six kamikaze drones of the Shahed-136 type," the report says.

It is clarified that six drones were neutralized in the area of Zaporizhia, another one was shot down in the vicinity of Dnipro.
Artificial intelligence to play bigger role in health of large and small borrowers alike, advises Tiger Group's Bradley W. Snyder

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adjusting to more complex datasets should be a top priority in asset-based lending now that AI is set to become a bigger factor in borrower health, advises Tiger Group Executive Managing Director Bradley W. Snyder.

In an April 5 Industry Insights column for ABL Advisor ("What Asset-Based Lending Can Learn from AI in the Grocery Sector"), Snyder points to OpenAI's bombshell release of ChatGPT and cites the more prominent role of AI-based tools in the grocery business.

Bradley W. Snyder

"Bigger companies like Kroger and Walmart have long spent billions of dollars on data and tech," he explains. "As AI and similar solutions have become more accessible, opportunities have started to emerge for smaller borrowers to get in on the act."

Indeed, Snyder writes, independent grocery wholesalers and retailers are already taking advantage of a slew of digital solutions offered by Instacartincluding a smart cart system created by artificial intelligence startup Caper AI.

The digitally-connected, AI-driven carts "are a far cry from what shoppers have been pushing around the supermarket ever since Sylvan Goldman of Oklahoma patented the grocery cart in 1940," Snyder opines, likening the carts to "all-in-one tech platforms and computer servers on wheels."

The executive describes driving out to a Cincinnati suburb on a recent business trip to visit a Kroger store that was piloting Caper AI's tech. The latest iterations of the camera-equipped carts are able to auto-detect items by drawing from a deep-learning database of more than 20 million product images. "Shoppers can simply toss products into some versions of these cartsno barcode-scanning requiredand they are instantly added to the bill," Snyder notes.

While the system does make shopping easier, he adds, it also allows grocers to tap into the manifold benefits of deep learning. Caper AI's technology analyzes shopping patterns and responds by recommending various products and dealsincluding targeted ads paid for by any of 5,500 CPG companies. "In addition to collecting shopper-purchase data, the Caper AI system tracks where people go in the store and collects other data that grocers can later use to manage inventory and optimize store layouts," Snyder writes.

As he sees it, asset-based lenders and appraisal and disposition firms can count on retailers, grocers and other borrowers to get more sophisticated about collecting and analyzing customer and product data in the years ahead. An explosion of third-party vendors will give them more innovative, AI-based ways to collect and analyze massive amounts of information.

That means assessments of borrower health and asset value will increasingly need to account for the role of AI and tech at the company. "Is the borrower woefully behind on these fronts or pushing ahead?" Snyder asks. "To what extent have merchants used these tools to unlock the full potential of their inventory or customer base? What is the potential value of the data the company has collected and the systems it employs? Is this information actionable?"

In response, appraisal and disposition firms that already employ in-house and consultant experts on FF&E, retail inventories and all manner of industrial equipment will need to bring on board expertise more typical of a data scientist than a merchant, he writes.

Tiger, for one, has ramped up its data-collection and analysis capabilities by hiring quants and developing new systems that leverage deep-learning methodologies and terabytes of increasingly available borrower data. Tiger is now working with a raft of borrowers to dramatically improve their performance in areas such as inventory rebalancing, customer segmentation, advertising and marketing analysis, and more.

Concludes Snyder: "As the ABL sector evolves, merchants will still make plenty of valid assessments based on their gut feelings and years of experience. In other cases, though, the Aha! moment will come from an AI that has sifted through an ocean of data in a matter of seconds."

The full article is available at:

https://www.abladvisor.com/articles/36186/what-asset-based-lending-can-learn-from-ai-in-the-grocery-sector

Media Contacts: At Jaffe Communications, Elisa Krantz, (908) 789-0700, [email protected].

SOURCE Tiger Group
TEMPE, Ariz., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A new edition of Lorraine Dusky's memoir, HOLE IN MY HEART: Love and Loss in the Fault Lines of Adoption, is now available on Amazon.

Dusky, an award-winning journalist, writes that, "The trauma of relinquishing a child and the adoption trauma experienced by that child persist throughout their lifetimes."

HOLE IN MY HEART, a memoir by veteran journalist, Lorraine Dusky, explores the hard realities of adoption. Tweet this In HOLE IN MY HEART, a memoir about relinquishing a child for adoption, Lorraine Dusky reports on the lifelong effects of family separation. Lorraine Dusky, a veteran magazine journalist, is the author of BIRTHMARK, THE BEST COMPANIES FOR WOMEN, STILL UNEQUAL, TOTAL VISION, and HOLE IN MY HEART.

Her memoir explores the hard realities of adoption. These include adoptees' feelings of obligation to their adoptive parents. Such feelings mean that many adopted adults, though curious, are hesitant to search. "By the time they work up the courage, it's too late," Dusky says. "They're having a reunion with a grave."

On the flip side, there are some mothers who reject reunion. "Opening themselves up once more to the pounding grief, embarrassment, and disgrace of that time in their lives became unthinkable," Dusky writes.

The author's own story begins in the days before Roe v. Wade. Twenty-two and a journalist just starting her career, Dusky says that when she found out she was pregnant, she "freaked out, but very soon came to want to nourish and love my baby and keep my baby. Giving her away seemed like a crime against humanity."

In 1966, women who surrendered children had no say in where those children went. Nor could they hope that their adult children would find them. Natural mothers' names were erased from birth certificates. State laws made it illegal for adoption agencies to divulge identifying information.

"I was aghast," Dusky says. "I couldn't believe the law would be so cruel."

Years later, after her pioneering memoir, Birthmark, was published, Dusky contacted the adoption agency. They stonewalled, citing privacy concerns. It turned out that "The parents, through their doctor, had already tried to locate me," she says. Her daughter had epilepsy. From that point on, Dusky became part of her daughter's life, a life that came to a tragic end.

According to Elizabeth Jurenovich, director of Abrazo Adoption Services in San Antonio, Dusky's memoir, HOLE IN MY HEART, is "a painfully honest reminder of the collateral damages suffered by parents and children amidst even the best-intentioned of adoption decisions."

SOURCE Grand Canyon Press
Hitzinger brings two decades of experience in senior leadership roles with VW, Apple, and Porsche

JERUSALEM, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- C2A Security , the only DevSecOps Platform for car makers and mobility companies, announced today that Alexander Hitzinger, former VW Group Senior Vice President of Autonomous Driving has joined as an Advisory Board Member.

Alexander Hitzinger, member of C2A Security Advisory Board

"Alexander's impressive track record, serving in some of the most influential positions in the automotive industry, makes him an impeccable addition to our board of directors," said C2A Security CEO, Roy Fridman. "We are honored to have Alexander Hitzinger on our board. With his wealth of industry knowledge and extensive work at global OEMs, he will support our mission of transforming security from being a limitation into a business value multiplier in the software-defined vehicle era."

Hitzinger has over two decades of experience in leadership roles in the automotive industry. He served as the Senior Vice President of Autonomous Driving at VW Group and as Head of Product Design for Autonomous Transportation at Apple.

In previous roles, he served at Porsche as Technical Director and Chief Engineer of Porsche 919, the electrified race car which achieved three consecutive victories in the top class of the 24 hours of Le Mans race. He also served as Chief Executive Officer and founder of Artemis GmbH, where he was the Chief Architect of the revolutionary new vehicle concept for next-generation autonomous mobility for Audi. Hitzinger most recently founded Sortino Management AG, a boutique consulting company that works with various technology companies from Silicon Valley to Israel.

"Electrification and software are both areas where a lot of disruption is happening today, and I am very happy that I'm able to join in C2A Security's mission, to enable the connected, autonomous, and electric mobility revolution," said Alexander Hitzinger. "As regulations in cybersecurity for the automotive industry and EV infrastructure continue to develop, I'm already seeing C2A Security playing a significant role, empowering OEMs and mobility companies with powerful automation tools for risk management across their supply chain. I look forward to working with their impressive roster of experts and fellow board members to address the current and future needs of car makers and mobility companies."

About C2A Security

C2A Security provides automated cybersecurity solutions to enable the connected, autonomous, and electric mobility revolution. C2A Security's flagship product EVSec is a DevSecOps platform, that helps automotive companies remain competitive and increase the business value to their customers in the software-defined vehicle era, supporting the security lifecycle from development to operations and back. Using EVSec, C2A's customers get efficient and streamlined cybersecurity, managing software at scale while overcoming the shortage of professional cyber experts, and complying with all new regulations in an automated way.

Contact

Shahni Ben-Haim

[email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2056947/C2A_Alexander_Hitzinger.jpg

SOURCE C2A
The Empire State Building Will Light Up in Blue in Honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month on April 19

The Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Will Also Ring the New York Stock Exchange Opening Bell on April 20

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In honor of April being National Child Abuse Prevention Month , The Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, in partnership with FightChildAbuse.org will join efforts with gymnast and sexual abuse survivor, Aly Raisman to raise awareness surrounding child sexual abuse and the need for prevention education and empowerment strategies in an effort to help ensure every child's right to a healthy and secure childhood.

As part of the initiative, Raisman will be flipping the ceremonial light switch at the Empire State Building to illuminate the iconic skyscraper in blue, the nationally-recognized color of child abuse prevention, on Wednesday, April 19. These blue lights will serve as a symbol of the ongoing fight to end the tragic epidemic of child abuse in the U.S. and around the world, in which one in 4 girls and one in 13 boys in America experience such abuse each year.

Additionally, the following morning of April 20th, the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange will be rung in recognition of Child Abuse Prevention Month by Greg Marcus, CEO of the national theater chain, Marcus Corporation, along with John Thoresen, CEO of the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center, one of the nation's foremost treatment, education, research and resource centers for child abuse prevention.

Raisman, team captain of the gold-medal winning Women's Gymnastics teams in 2012 and 2016, is the third-most decorated American gymnast of all-time. In her New York Times best-selling memoir, Fierce, she shares the highs and lows of her journey, including her survival of childhood sexual abuse. Inspired by an army of other survivors, Raisman continues to advocate for systematic changes within the sport of gymnastics and the eradication of sexual abuse and misconduct.

In December 2020, Raisman headlined the first episode of FightChildAbuse.org's Virtual Event Series where she shared her own journey as a survivor and highlighted child abuse prevention tools and resources for children grades fourth through sixth. The virtual series brings child abuse prevention and awareness content to life by pairing those impacted by abuse with customized, interactive segments and animated conversations with characters from the Fight Child Abuse campaign. Additional episodes featured American Ninja Warrior star and child abuse survivor, Flip Rodriquez, and pop icon, Lance Bass.

"I'm honored to continue my work with the Barbara Sinatra's Children's Center to help bring more attention to the staggering need for child abuse awareness and prevention not just this month, but all year long," said Raisman. "I believe it's critical that we discuss this openly with children and, as adults, it's our responsibility to provide them with tools, resources, and strategies to recognize unsafe situations and encourage help-seeking behavior. As a survivor myself, I am committed to helping empower children to use their voice if they are being hurt, neglected, or feel confused."

"We appreciate our ongoing efforts with Aly Raisman, as well as the partnerships with The Marcus Corporation this month," said John Thoresen, BSCC CEO. "While The Empire State Building lighting and the ringing of the The New York Stock Exchange opening bell honors April as National Child Abuse Prevention month, this is more than just a one month conversation, this is the continuation of a movement to ensure the safety and security of children around the world."

About the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center: Founded in 1986 by Barbara and Frank Sinatra, the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center is dedicated to ensuring every child's right to a normal, healthy and secure childhood. Since its creation, about 25,000 children have received outpatient mental health and counseling services at the Center. The Center provides individual, group, and family therapy and special programs that address issues associated with children suffering the effects of child abuse and neglect. An estimated 700 children are counseled annually on an outpatient basis, and no child is ever turned away because of a family's inability to pay. For more information, visit BarbaraSinatraChildrensCenter.org . An animated video series, funded by the Barbara Sinatra Children's Center Foundation, has reached over 100 million children worldwide and generated over 61 million individual and group viewings on YouTube throughout the United States and abroad, with India as the second largest user behind the U.S. For more information and resources, visit FightChildAbuse.Org and view the Protect Yourself Rule Video Series at YouTube.com/@fightchildabuse1913.

About the Empire State Building: The Empire State Building , the "World's Most Famous Building," owned by Empire State Realty Trust , Inc. (ESRT: NYSE), soars 1,454 feet above Midtown Manhattan from base to antenna. The $165 million reimagination of the Empire State Building Observatory Experience creates an all-new experience with a dedicated guest entrance, an interactive museum with nine galleries, and a redesigned 102nd Floor Observatory with floor-to-ceiling windows. The journey to the world-famous 86th Floor Observatory, the only 360-degree, open-air observatory with views of New York and beyond, orients visitors for their entire New York City experience and covers everything from the building's iconic history to its current place in pop-culture. Learn more at www.esbnyc.com . Declared "America's Favorite Building" by the American Institute of Architects, the world's most popular travel destination by Uber, the #1 Attraction in the United States in Tripadvisor's 2022 Travelers' Choice Best of the Best, and the #1 New York City attraction by Lonely Planet, it welcomes more than 4 million annual visitors from around the world.

Since 2011, the building has been fully powered by renewable wind electricity, and its many floors primarily house a diverse array of office tenants such as LinkedIn and Shutterstock, as well as retail options like STATE Grill and Bar, Tacombi, and Starbucks. For more information and Observatory Experience tickets visit esbnyc.com or follow the building's Facebook , Twitter , Instagram , Weibo , YouTube , or TikTok .

SOURCE The Barbara Sinatra Children's Center
VONORE, Tenn., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Genera, the largest integrated manufacturer of non-wood pulp and molded fiber products in North America, announced today that it has appointed packaging industry veteran Ben Mascarello as Chief Executive Officer. Mascarello succeeds Genera's founding CEO, Dr. Kelly Tiller, who will continue to be an integral part of Genera's future as Founder and Chief Strategy Officer.

"Ben is the right leader for the next phase of Genera's growth, and I am excited to welcome him to our team," said Tiller, who has been at the helm of Genera since founding the company 15 years ago. "The breadth of Ben's experience in the packaging industry and leading private equity-backed companies through periods of rapid growth will be a great asset to Genera as we execute our expansion plans. I look forward to working closely together to realize our vision for a truly transformative sustainable company."

Mascarello brings a 30-year track record of successful business development and executive leadership in the packaging industry. Before joining Genera, he spent 15 years with Novolex, a highly diverse packaging products manufacturer. As Chief Operating Officer, he was instrumental in navigating the company's explosive growth, which included fourteen acquisitions under four different private equity sponsors. He has also spent more than 10 years in management consulting at AlixPartners and Arthur D. Little, and has served as CEO at TransAxle and Korsnas Packaging, Inc.

"I'm incredibly excited to work with Kelly and the highly talented Genera team, along with our community and business partners, to accelerate the growth trajectory of the business and build a company that redefines state-of-the-art biomanufacturing," said Mascarello. "Genera's product development pipeline, based upon locally sourced regenerative fiber crops, positions the company perfectly to meet the market's robust demand for renewable fiber solutions."

"As a result of Kelly's vision and leadership, Genera is poised to build the leading sustainable fiber platform in North America," said Troy Thacker, Managing Partner at Ara Partners, a private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments that acquired Genera in 2022. "We are thrilled to welcome Ben as our new Chief Executive Officer. He is a proven operator and leader who will build on what Kelly has created and propel Genera into its next phase of growth."

About Genera

Genera is a vertically integrated manufacturer of sustainable and compostable products for foodservice, retail, and consumer packaging made from locally grown perennial grasses. Genera offers consumers sustainable alternatives to plastics with direct benefits to local farmers and communities and a significantly lower carbon impact. Genera is currently expanding its integrated non-wood pulp and molded fiber manufacturing operations located in Vonore, Tennessee, with plans to build additional plants across the U.S.

About Ara Partners

Ara Partners is a private equity firm focused on industrial decarbonization investments. Ara Partners invests in the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, and food and agriculture sectors, seeking to create companies with significant decarbonization impact. It operates from offices in Houston, Boston and Dublin, Ireland. Ara Partners closed its second fund with approximately $1.1 billion in capital commitments in September 2021. For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

(865) 977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE Genera
TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Berger Montague, a leading plaintiffs' class action and commercial litigation law firm, is expanding internationally with the opening of an office in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The Firm is headquartered in the United States in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania with additional law offices in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., Chicago, San Diego, and San Francisco.

Berger Montague Canada will be a full-service civil litigation, class action, and commercial litigation law firm with a particular focus on securities and antitrust litigation. Berger Montague Canada will represent, among other prominent clients, institutional and retail investors, as well as shareholders in disputes relating to investments in Canadian companies that list their securities on Canadian, European, and U.S. stock exchanges.

"We are thrilled to join Berger Montague and to lead the Firm's international expansion into Canada." Tweet this

Andrew Morganti and Albert Pelletier, both highly skilled litigators with a long history of success in courts throughout Canada, will co-manage the firm's Canadian practice. Mr. Morganti is well-versed in plaintiffs' antitrust and securities litigation and has practiced law in the United States and Canada. Mr. Pelletier, with English common law and French civil law degrees, previously worked at one of the largest law firms across Canada and served as trial counsel for the Enforcement Division of the Ontario Securities Commission where he litigated insider trading and market manipulation cases.

"We are thrilled to join Berger Montague and to lead the Firm's international expansion into Canada. We are particularly excited that we will now have the backing, resources, and support of one of the largest and most respected class action firms in the world. We look forward to working with attorneys with outstanding reputations and client rapport," said Mr. Pelletier.

"By joining Berger Montague, we can expand our existing practice and better serve victims of cross-border market manipulation and Ponzi schemes," reports Mr. Morganti.

"Bringing on lawyers like Andrew and Albert with the skill, reputations, and track records of tremendous success on behalf of investors is the perfect way for our Firm to expand internationally," said Eric Cramer , Chairman of Berger Montague and Co-Chair of its antitrust department.

"Expanding into Canada in this way is indicative of Berger Montague's growth mindset. We look forward to bringing to Canadian clients the same creativity, skill, and vigorous advocacy we are known for in the U.S., and to continuing our growth in Canada and the United States," said Mr. Cramer.

Berger Montague is a full-service law firm with specialization in civil litigation and class action cases. For over 50 years, Berger Montague has led precedent-setting cases, winning over $36 billion for its clients and class members along the way. The Toronto office, which can be reached at 647-598-8772 or by emailing Mr. Pelletier at [email protected] or Mr. Morganti at [email protected] , is located at 330 Bay Street, Suite 1302, M5H 2S8.

Media Contacts:

Caroline Cornell

[email protected]

Melania Stepanenko

[email protected]

SOURCE Berger Montague
'BIG Cares 2022' highlights commitments and progress made across priority environmental, social and governance initiatives

COLUMBUS, Ohio, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Big Lots Inc . (NYSE: BIG), one of America's largest home discount retailers, published its 2022 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) report, "BIG Cares 2022," concurrent with its proxy statement. This ESG report highlights progress made throughout 2021 and 2022, covering the company's work in its communities with charitable partners and associate volunteers; new initiatives and resources dedicated to associate development and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI); and ongoing resource efficiencies and environmentally sustainable practices.

"As a company, Big Lots is committed to empowering our associates, customers and vendors to make a positive impact on those around them and strengthen the communities we serve," said Bruce Thorn, president and CEO of Big Lots. "I'm proud of all of them for continuing to make progress on our ESG journey and grateful for their dedication. Although we believe we have made great strides together since our inaugural 2020 report, we know that we are still growing in many aspects and that this work is never complete. I look forward to the impact that we will continue to have in 2023 and beyond."

Over the past two years, key highlights of Big Lots' ESG work include:

Advancing boardroom diversity in recognition of its diverse customers. Sixty percent of Big Lots' board identifies as female and 20% identifies as racially or ethnically diverse. In addition, the board elected its first female chair in 2022, and three out of four board committees are chaired by women. Big Lots was honored for its boardroom representation at the Women's Forum of New York's 2021 Breakfast of Corporate Champions.

in recognition of its diverse customers. Sixty percent of Big Lots' board identifies as female and 20% identifies as racially or ethnically diverse. In addition, the board elected its first female chair in 2022, and three out of four board committees are chaired by women. Big Lots was honored for its boardroom representation at the Women's Forum of 2021 Breakfast of Corporate Champions. Increasing philanthropic efforts that improve the lives of those facing challenges with hunger, housing, healthcare and education. Big Lots raised $18.4 million for these causes in 2021 and 2022. In addition to raising money, Big Lots provided 16 hours of paid volunteer time off annually to all associates at its corporate headquarters, as well as to leadership in field and distribution centers, to foster volunteerism and community engagement. In 2021 and 2022, associates at the company's corporate headquarters donated nearly 3,500 hours of recorded time to a variety of organizations of their choice.

that improve the lives of those facing challenges with hunger, housing, healthcare and education. Big Lots raised for these causes in 2021 and 2022. In addition to raising money, Big Lots provided 16 hours of paid volunteer time off annually to all associates at its corporate headquarters, as well as to leadership in field and distribution centers, to foster volunteerism and community engagement. In 2021 and 2022, associates at the company's corporate headquarters donated nearly 3,500 hours of recorded time to a variety of organizations of their choice. Fostering a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion by launching a DEI leadership office and a new formal DEI initiative that exceeded its goal with 74% of associates completing DEI training and the DEI engagement survey scoring 80%. Additionally, Big Lots increased representation of diverse identities by 13% year over year of director-level and above associates, and reached gender parity of 50/50 within store management populations and corporate headquarters hiring and promotions.

by launching a DEI leadership office and a new formal DEI initiative that exceeded its goal with 74% of associates completing DEI training and the DEI engagement survey scoring 80%. Additionally, Big Lots increased representation of diverse identities by 13% year over year of director-level and above associates, and reached gender parity of 50/50 within store management populations and corporate headquarters hiring and promotions. Incorporating sustainable practices throughout the organization through several environmental programs. As a result of the company's environmental efforts, 13.7 million feet of paper have been saved by eliminating 1.2 inches of paper on receipts, 84% of domestic carriers are now certified by SmartWay, and 98% of facilities are using LED lighting.

For more information on Big Lots' ESG efforts and to read the full report, visit www.biglots.com/esg.

About Big Lots

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Big Lots Inc. (NYSE: BIG) is one of America's largest home discount retailers, operating more than 1,425 stores in 48 states, as well as a best-in-class ecommerce platform with expanded fulfillment and delivery capabilities. The company's mission is to help customers "Live Big and Save Lots" by offering unique treasures and exceptional bargains on everything for their home, including furniture, seasonal decor, kitchenware, pet supplies, food items, laundry and cleaning essentials and more. Big Lots is the recipient of Home Textiles Today's 2021 Retail Titan Award. For more information about the company or to find the store nearest you, visit biglots.com .

SOURCE Big Lots, Inc.
This latest development continues to expand Biobot's Infectious Disease platform

CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Biobot Analytics, a global leader in wastewater intelligence, announced today that it is expanding its infectious disease platform to include wastewater monitoring for norovirus. As the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States, the highly contagious norovirus costs the economy approximately $2 billion annually in lost productivity and healthcare expenses, with over 20 million illnesses every year.

Over recent years, wastewater monitoring has become an increasingly valuable tool for monitoring the spread of infectious diseases within populations, as well as for detecting the use of high-risk substances such as opioids. Biobot's wastewater intelligence platform enables early warning health analytics to combat epidemics and improve public health outcomes across the world.

"Norovirus rates continue to be at a yearly high across the country. Wastewater monitoring provides equitable and inclusive data that can help public health officials prepare and respond more effectively to outbreaks," said Mariana Matus, CEO of Biobot Analytics. "Currently, the CDC doesn't require norovirus case reporting, so we are relying on a subset of voluntarily provided data, resulting in larger knowledge gaps about levels of disease than with other pathogens. By monitoring wastewater for norovirus, we can begin to fill in these gaps and provide important information about disease levels and trends, so communities can make informed public health decisions."

The addition of norovirus to Biobot's wastewater epidemiology platform builds on the company's continuous efforts to transform wastewater infrastructure into real-time public health observatories. Norovirus joins Biobot's national network monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 and mpox virus, as well as high-risk substances like fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and nicotine.

With sampling sites in hundreds of locations across 50+ states, territories, and provinces, Biobot's norovirus monitoring will be available to existing customers through an early access program this May, before rolling out to new customers.

For more information on Biobot's wastewater intelligence platform including norovirus, or to sign up to learn when norovirus monitoring becomes available for your community, visit our website .

About Biobot Analytics

Biobot Analytics is a global leader in wastewater epidemiology, founded with the goal of transforming wastewater infrastructure into real-time public health observatories. Having worked at hundreds of locations across all US states and territories and several countries, Biobot produces actionable information from wastewater to improve the health of communities around the world. Separately from their infectious disease work, Biobot also analyzes wastewater for the presence of High Risk Substances , such as opioids, to help communities better respond to substance use and implement harm reduction programming. More information on our mission and technology is available at our website, www.biobot.io .

SOURCE Biobot Analytics
New Blue Bunny Scoopables and Sandwiches Will Be Available in a Variety of Iconic Flavors

Inspired by Stuffed Puffs Filled Marshmallow Treats

CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Blue Bunny announced their exciting collaboration with Stuffed Puffs Filled Marshmallows , to develop a new frozen snacking obsession. The first product to launch from the lineup in April 2023 will be Blue Bunny Stuffed Puffs scoopables (SRP: $4.48, available exclusively at Walmart), which combine Blue Bunny's signature frozen dairy dessert with Stuffed Puffs' Filled Marshmallow experiences in three deliciously fun flavors, including S'mores, Cookies 'N Creme and Birthday Cake. The collaboration will also extend to sandwiches (SRP: starting at $4.98) in May 2023  available at Walmart and in grocery stores  delivering a first-ever frozen experience that tastes like nights around the campfire with flavors like Classic S'mores and Salted Caramel S'mores.

New Blue Bunny Scoopables and Sandwiches Will Be Available in a Variety of Iconic Flavors Inspired by Stuffed Puffs Filled Marshmallow Treats

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Stuffed Puffs Filled Marshmallows and believe that the playful indulgence of our frozen treats combined with their mission to promote more fun-filled lives is a match made in confectionery heaven," said Jeremy Hrynewycz, Brand Marketing Director, Blue Bunny. "These disruptive innovations are the first of their kind by delivering a filled marshmallow experience in multiple frozen forms. We're excited for shoppers to be surprised and delighted with each bite!"

Stuffed Puffs Filled Marshmallows was created to flip the traditional marshmallow on its head and fill it with real milk chocolate that melts from the inside out for s'mores. Since its founding, the company has expanded its portfolio to include a variety of snackable marshmallow filled treats in some of your favorite flavors to ensure everyone can find something they enjoy.

"We are delighted to collaborate with Blue Bunny to bring the essence of Stuffed Puffs treats to the freezer aisle," said Mike Tierney, Founder & CEO of Stuffed Puffs. "As a massive ice cream fan, the new innovations will bring all the fun of our original fluffy marshmallow candy to everyone's favorite frozen treats that the whole family can enjoy together."

You can find these exciting new products at grocery and Walmart locations nationwide. To learn more about Blue Bunny's newest products, visit www.BlueBunny.com .

About Blue Bunny

For more than 80 years, Blue Bunny has been crafting delicious dairy desserts made with fun, fresh ingredients. Today, Blue Bunny offers over 75 varieties of frozen treats. Blue Bunny continues to innovate, bringing playfully indulgent frozen treats to freezers across the country, most recently with their perfectly indulgent Mini Bars and new take on soft serve  Twist Cones and Soft scoopables. You can find fan favorites, like the Mini Swirls cones, their signature Bunny Tracks scoopables, and their award-winning Load'd Sundaes packed with tons of mix-ins, on shelves or being served near you! For more information, visit BlueBunny.com .

About Wells Enterprises

Wells Enterprises, Inc. is the largest privately held ice cream manufacturer in the United States. Founded in 1913 by Fred H. Wells and run by the Wells family for generations, the company is an independent operating company of the Ferrero Group, one of the global leaders in sweet packaged foods.

Wells produces more than 200 million gallons of ice cream per year and distributes products in all 50 states. Wells manufactures its signature brand Blue Bunny, lower-calorie Halo Top, the iconic Bomb Pop, and Blue Ribbon Classics.

Wells employs nearly 4,000 ice cream aficionados across the country. The company is headquartered in Le Mars, Iowa, where Wells has made Le Mars the "Ice Cream Capital of the World" as the largest manufacturer of ice cream in one location. Wells operates two manufacturing plants in Le Mars, Iowa, a manufacturing plant in Dunkirk, New York, and a manufacturing facility in Henderson, Nevada. Learn more at www.wellsenterprisesinc.com .

About Stuffed Puffs

Stuffed Puffs has redefined the marshmallow category as one of the only innovative brands to ever fill marshmallows with real milk chocolate. Founded in 2019 by Michael Tierney, Stuffed Puffs believes that Life Is More Fun Filled and that is meant quite literally. Their Classic Stuffed Puffs melt from the inside out for the perfect S'more or S'mores Indoors. They also can be used as a staple ingredient in baking, cooking, hot cocoa, or devoured straight out of the bag. BIG bites are available in delicious flavors like S'mores, Cookies `n Creme, and Birthday Cake. Look for all flavors at Walmart locations nationwide. For more information, visit stuffedpuffs.com or Facebook , Instagram or Twitter .

SOURCE Blue Bunny
The bourbon spirits industry is driven by factors such as rise in consumer spending, rapid urbanization, product innovation, and rise in demand from the millennial population

PORTLAND, Ore., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Global Bourbon Spirits Market by Type (Wheated, Barrel Finished, Barrel Select, and Others), by ABV (40-45%, 46-55%, and 56% and Above) and by Distribution Channel (On-trade and Off-trade), Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2022-2031". According to the report, the global bourbon spirits industry generated $7.8 billion in 2021, and is anticipated to generate $12.8 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 5.0% from 2022 to 2031.

Request Sample Report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/32278

Prime determinants of growth

The bourbon spirits market is driven by factors such as rise in consumer spending, rapid urbanization, product innovation, and rise in demand from the millennial population. However, stringent regulations over advertisement restrict the market growth. On the other hand, the general shift in consumer consciousness and demand for innovative products has led to an increase in desire for bourbon spirits distilled with organic malted barley and grains. This consumer demand can be regarded as an opportunity for the manufacturers to broaden their market base.

Report coverage & details:

Report Coverage Details Forecast Period 20222031 Base Year 2021 Market Size in 2021 $7.8 billion Market Size in 2031 $12.8 billion CAGR 5.0 % No. of Pages in Report 297 Segments covered Type, ABV, and Distribution Channel Drivers Rise in spirit tourism Wide utilization of spirits in premium cocktails Surge in demand for premium ready-to-drink and luxury spirits Opportunities Exploring demand in Asia-Pacific region Introduction of craft spirits Restraints Stringent regulations over advertisement

Covid-19 Scenario

The COVID-19 pandemic impacted consumer spending negatively as the spendings had declined across entire alcoholic beverage categories such as vodka, whiskey, and gin in 2020.

The pandemic had increased volatility and uncertainty for alcohol manufacturing companies as liquor sales fell by 12% in 2020 due to the lockdown and consumer tendency to stay at home.

Furthermore, the rise in transportation costs caused delays in product distribution across the globe.

The wheated bourbon spirits segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period

Based on type, the wheated bourbon spirits segment dominated the market in 2021, accounting for more than one third of the market share and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period, owing to its highest rate of consumption demand, and maximum exports. The barrel-finished segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period, due to the rise in the demand for triple-distilled and blended spirits among consumers.

Buy This Report (297 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures) @ https://bit.ly/3A9uffj

The bourbon spirits with ABV of 46-55% segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period

Based on ABV, the ABV of 46-55% bourbon spirits segment dominated the market in 2021 accounting for around two-fifths of the market share and is expected to dominate the market during the forecast period, as it refer as a premium drinks that are available at the price above the nominal or usual price of the bourbons with specialty ingredients and blending the whiskey in a special manner during fermentation and aging. The 56% and above segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 10.3% during the forecast period, owing to the increase in demand for high-end premium or luxury bourbons to follow the trend 'drink less with high experience.

The on-trade segment to maintain its lead position during the forecast period

On the basis of the distribution channel, the on-trade segment dominated the market in 2021 accounting for around three-fifths of the market share and is expected to maintain its dominance during the forecast period. The same segment would also showcase the fastest CAGR of 5.1% during the forecast period, owing to a rise in the preferences of consumers toward socialization.

North America garnered the major share in 2021-

By region, North America garnered the highest share in 2021, holding more than one-third of the global endpoint security market revenue in 2021, and is projected to retain its dominance by 2031. The LAMEA region would also portray the fastest CAGR of 6.0% during the forecast period, due to increasing demand for bourbon whisky among consumers.

Enquire Before Buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/32278

Leading Market Players: -

Brown-Forman Corporation

Suntory Holdings Limited

Conecuh Brands, LLC

Distiller's Way, LLC

Laws Whiskey House

MGP Ingredients, Inc.

Bardstown Bourbon Company

Wyoming Whiskey, Inc.

Jos. A. Magnus & Co.

Kirin Holdings Company, Limited

Bacardi Limited.

Nashville Barrel Company

Heaven Hill Brands

Michters Distillery LLC.

Sazerac Company, Inc

The report provides a detailed analysis of these key players in the global bourbon spirits market. These players have adopted different strategies such as acquisition, partnerships, and product launch to increase their market share and maintain dominant shares in the market. The report is valuable in highlighting business performance, operating segments, product portfolio, and strategic moves of market players to showcase the competitive scenario.

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About Us

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of " Market Research Reports " and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.





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SOURCE Allied Market Research
Germany has officially confirmed the transfer of the Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and ammunition to Ukraine, according to the website of the German government.

Sixteen Zetros trucks and two border guard vehicles were also transferred.

The total value of individual licenses issued by the federal government for the export of military goods in the period from January 1, 2022 to April 17, 2023, is EUR 2.7 billion.
Top student entrepreneurs will compete at Regional BUILDFest events in front of a panel of VIP judges and BUILD community members

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BUILD.org showcases the next generation of entrepreneurial student leaders and changemakers through its innovative BUILDFest events around the Nation over the next three months. BUILD is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to use entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth from under-resourced communities to build C areer success, E ntrepreneurial Mindsets, and O pportunity. BUILDFest events celebrate the transformational power of youth entrepreneurship by redefining education and creating opportunities for middle and high school students in underserved communities.

Upcoming BUILDFest events:

"I am pleased to showcase the power of BUILD and youth entrepreneurship at our impactful BUILDFest events. We are grateful to all of our individual, foundation and corporate supporters that make our events possible," said Bill Taylor, CEO at BUILD. "We want to celebrate our students and educators' successes with the larger community as they engage in our innovative, project-based entrepreneurship education program(s) that will give students the real-world skills needed to become the CEO of their own lives."

Hundreds of high school students across the country will pitch their innovative business ideas to judges in hopes of earning a final slot at their regional BUILDFest Pitch Challenge. Finalists will compete in front of a "Shark Tank-style" panel of VIP judges and community members for cash prizes and start-up funds. These events promise to be action-filled evenings that will be attended by many entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, leading members of the business community, and educators. Many of the events feature a Student Business Expo where guests will have the opportunity to meet BUILD's student entrepreneurs and purchase their unique products. We invite you to join a BUILDFest event this Spring to celebrate the transformational power of youth entrepreneurship for high school students in underserved communities.

Media Contacts:

Shefali Billon

BUILD, Marketing Team

[email protected]

416-706-4397

SOURCE BUILD.org
Duke Poised to Lead Firm into New Era of Growth as Current CEO Ray Kowalik Retires at the End of 2023



KANSAS CITY, Mo., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leslie Duke has been named the new CEO of Burns & McDonnell, effective Jan. 1, 2024. In March, current Burns & McDonnell Chairman and CEO Ray Kowalik announced his retirement at the end of 2023, coming off a record-breaking year for the firm. Duke will be the eighth CEO in the firm's 125-year history.

Leslie Duke has been named the new CEO of Burns & McDonnell, effective Jan. 1, 2024. Tweet this Leslie Duke has been named the new CEO of Burns & McDonnell, effective Jan. 1, 2024.

Currently, Duke is the regional president and general manager in Houston, Texas. Over the past two decades, she helped expand the firm's customer base from one local Houston client when she joined the firm to more than 650 local, regional and national clients in the industrial, refining, chemical, manufacturing and power utility markets. During her tenure, the business has delivered over $5 billion in engineering, procurement, construction, environmental and consulting services from the region.

"Leslie's strong track record of success and an extraordinary vision for the future makes her the right person to lead the firm forward," Kowalik says. "Leslie is poised to lead our organization into a new era of technology, innovation and growth, and I'm confident she will continue to build on our ownership legacy of caring for our clients, communities and one another."

Duke grew up in El Paso and joined Burns & McDonnell in 1999 as a structural engineer. She has served in multiple leadership roles, including opening and growing several new offices. She became a senior vice president in 2014 and was named the company's first female president in 2016.

She played an integral role in launching the firm's engineer-procure-construct (EPC) delivery method in the south-central region, and her efforts have led to the development and successful execution of many projects and programs. Under her leadership, Burns & McDonnell has been recognized by numerous industry and community organizations.

"I built my career on my ability to create and drive strategies aligned with the needs of clients, markets and our employee-owners," Duke says. "I'm truly honored and humbled to take on this new role. Burns & McDonnell has always been a trailblazer in the industry, and I am excited to contribute my experience to help us further our collective success."

In 2016, Duke was named a Who's Who honoree in energy by the Houston Business Journal. She is a member of the executive board of directors for the Greater Houston Partnership, serving as chair of the infrastructure committee from 2018-2022, and is a board member of the United Way of Greater Houston, which recognized her as a Top Female Leader in 2016.

She earned a bachelor's degree in civil/structural engineering from Texas Tech University, where she was inducted as a Distinguished Engineer in 2018. She is an emeritus member of the Dean's Council for the university's School of Engineering. Duke is a registered professional engineer (PE) in Texas.

About Burns & McDonnell

Burns & McDonnell is a family of companies bringing together an unmatched team of more than 13,500 engineers, construction and craft professionals, architects, planners, technologists, and scientists to design and build our critical infrastructure. With an integrated construction and design mindset, we offer full-service capabilities. Founded in 1898 and working from 70 offices globally, Burns & McDonnell is 100% employee-owned. Learn how we are designed to build.

For photos and support materials, please visit our MEDIA KIT.

Contact: Mary Young, Burns & McDonnell

816-809-2677

[email protected]

SOURCE Burns & McDonnell
Customs4trade NV (C4T), a leading cloud-based customs declarations platform, raised 4 million in new capital to support product investment and execute its growth plans in the UK and Europe.

MECHELEN, Belgium, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- C4T, known in the sector for its fully automated single message/double filing system as well as Special Procedures modules like Customs Warehousing, Inward Processing/Outward Processing and Returned Goods Relief, will use the funds to develop new products and services for its customers as well as cement its leading position amongst UK and European importers and exporters as the customs declarations platform of choice.

C4T management team. L to R - Jo Buvens, Chief Revenue Officer, Rupert Spiegelberg, CEO, Oliver Conze, Chief Product & Technology Officer

C4T's CAS platform allows companies to fully digitise their customs declarations processes giving them more transparency, control and oversight of customs data in a fully compliant environment. CAS enables customers to implement more efficient inventory management, optimised trade procedures, and improved compliance. Some 95% of the customs declarations processed by C4T have zero manual intervention.

"Digitised customs declarations is the oil that greases the wheels of international trade and C4T has some of the highest-grade oil in the business," said Chief Executive Rupert Spiegelberg. "We are proud to be supporting so many incredible international brands and will be using this new investment to continue to improve our platform and stay the leading provider of cloud-based customs SaaS solutions."

In Q1 2023, C4T's CAS digital platform processed almost triple the number of customs filings per month compared to the same period a year earlier. C4T, which employees some 80 people in offices in Wigan, UK, and Mechelen, Belgium, is now supporting import and export trade flows for customers in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland such as Honda, Aldi, Isuzu, Agristo and many other manufacturers and household brands, in particular in the Automotive, FMCG, Retail and Manufacturing sectors.

Approximately 600 million import and export customs declarations are made in Europe each year according to the World Customs Organisation 2021/2022 Annual Report and the overwhelming majority of these are processed through the mainly manual, high-cost network of brokers across the continent. C4T's mission is to digitise this sector to reduce cost, processing time, and errors as well as help companies optimise their tax liabilities.

The CAS platform is connected to government customs declaration systems in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland as well as all relevant major ports and other points of entry in these countries. We are also in the process of integrating our systems with upgraded government platforms in Belgium (IDMS) and the Netherlands (DMS) due later this year having successfully integrated into the UK's new CDS and Ireland's new AES government customs declaration platforms in recent months.

The capital increase was supported by existing venture capital investors, France's Hi-Innov and Germany's 42Cap, the management team, and a group of prominent European angel investors.

Notes for Editors

About Customs4trade (C4T)

Customs4trade NV (C4T) has developed CAS, a collaborative hub, built on the Microsoft Azure platform delivered as a service (SaaS). It is designed to manage regional and worldwide customs and trade compliance quickly and accurately, with a digital-first approach, helping customers stay ahead of the digitisation of customs processes. CAS provides customers with continual updates and feature enhancements, including the incorporation of any changes to legislation and compliance regulationalong with Azure's signature accessibility, scalability, and security.

Forward-thinking companies are turning to C4T to help them navigate customs and trade with native-cloud software and managed services for their organisation's highest strategic benefit.

For more information or to contact the company, please visit www.customs4trade.com

Media Contact:

Mimi Richardson

Customs4trade

Tel: + 44 (0) 161 513 5461

E-mail: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057967/Customs4trade_NV.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057968/C4T_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Customs4trade NV
- Subjects in Herniorrhaphy Study Dosed

- Successful FDA Interactions on Two Pre-clinical Pipeline Products Also Discussed

SAN DIEGO, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cali Biosciences Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Cali" or "Cali Biosciences"), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of innovative drugs in the peri-operative space, announced it has initiated Phase III studies of its core product, CPL-01 (long-acting ropivacaine), with dosing in hernia patients already begun and dosing in bunion patients scheduled to start next month.

CPL-01 is an extended-release injectable version of Naropin (ropivacaine hydrochloride), developed by Cali to treat post-operative surgical pain and reduce or eliminate the need for opioids.

Dr. Todd Bertoch, a principal investigator in this study, said, "Having been involved in some of Cali's Phase II studies, I really look forward to CPL-01 showing its excellent results and safety profile in Phase III. I have helped to study other long-acting local anesthetics prior to their approval, and am especially excited for this as it is positioned to be the first long-acting ropivacaine to hit the market."

Dr. Erol Onel, Chief Medical Officer at Cali Biosciences US, LLC who has developed several other long-acting local anesthetics, agreed and stated, "it is widely accepted that ropivacaine has a better safety profile than bupivacaine, so moving ahead with a long-acting ropivacaine just made sense  the next step in the evolution of non-opioid pain control."

Mr. PJ Chen, Chief Executive Officer of Cali Biosciences, commented, "CPL-01 is the core product of Cali Biosciences' product pipeline in the peri-operative space, and initiating enrollment in our phase III clinical trials is an important milestone in CPL-01's R&D progress. We are confident that the phase III results will build on our successful Phase II results, and add to the encouraging data we've seen so far so we can provide a new and better option for doctors and patients seeking post-operative pain management  including opioid reduction or elimination - as quickly as possible." He added "We have also had successful recent interactions with the FDA regarding two of our pre-clinical pipeline products, with clear and thoughtful guidelines provided for development of a suite of products that could help serve doctors and patients around the world."

About CPL-01

CPL-01 is an extended-release injectable formulation of Naropin (ropivacaine hydrochloride), which is a member of the amino amide class of local anesthetics indicated for the production of local or regional anesthesia for surgery and acute pain management. Naropin (ropivacaine hydrochloride) Injection is approved for local or regional anesthesia for surgery and for acute pain management. However, because of the short duration of effect, frequent injections or infusion by catheter are required if protracted local analgesia is required for postoperative pain management. As a result, Cali Biosciences has developed CPL-01 based on Naropin Injection and PG-Depot technology platform in order to prolong its duration at the local site, leading to an extended local analgesic effect.

About Cali Biosciences

Cali Biosciences Co., Ltd. was established in Cayman Islands in 2021. Cali Biosciences US, LLC was established in San Diego in 2016, and later Cali Biosciences built its global headquarters in Shenzhen and established a research and development team in Shanghai. Cali Biosciences is an innovative international biopharmaceutical company with a number of licensed independent research and development technology platforms, as well as an international scientific research and management team. It has been committed to R&D, production and sales for innovative clinical drugs in the surgical perioperative field to fully respond to unmet clinical and market needs. Cali Biosciences' product pipeline includes modified formulations and new drugs in the fields of anesthesia, analgesia and anti-inflammatory. The company is committed to serving patients and medical staff around the world.

SOURCE Cali Biosciences
HONG KONG and BEIJING, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Madison Auction 2023 Whisky Live Sale at 11:30 am (HKT) Saturday, April 22nd, the stunning 128 lots of whiskies with a total estimate of HK$4,000,000 - HK$7,000,000.

This sale will be live-streamed on Madison Auction bidding platform (www.madison-auction.com/auctions) and the Madison Auction App (search 'Madison Auction' in your app store) at 11:30am (HKT) this Saturday. Take advantage of the last few days to place your online absentee bid via the bidding platform and app.

In addition to Hong Kong, Madison Auction will also set up salerooms in Beijing, Shanghai, and Macao, allowing more Asia-Pacific bidders to attend the auction via live streaming simultaneously.

As the first Hong Kong based luxury lifestyle auction house, Madison Auction hosts auctions for the unique pool of high-net-worth clients from APAC and other regions. Madison Auction continues to accept consignments at 0% seller's commission throughout the year for upcoming sales.

Whisky | Lot 1 - 128

Recent reports indicate whisky investment has been one of the best returning investments on luxury products in the past 10 years, with steady increase every year. In this April auction, there are 128 lots of whiskies from Scotland and Japan valued at HK$4,000,000 - HK$7,000,000.

There is not much need to be said for Macallan; it has broken many whisky auction records. In this sale, Madison Auction presents two sets of Decanter in Lalique (Lot 58, 125); the beautiful crystal bottle plus the amazing 72-year-old whisky will definitely add highlights to your collection. The Macallan 30 Year Old Howard Cai Selected Dragon & Phoenix Series (Lot 57) is another beautiful and rare bottle that collectors should not miss. Other collectable Macallan includes the Decades Series, Edition Series, and Folio Series (Lot 6-10, 52). If you are looking for something to enjoy on a regular night, some IB Macallan have great prices (Lot 2-5, 52-56, 119-128).

Besides Macallan, there are over 50 lots of other whiskies from Scotland, including bottles from discontinued distilleries, such as Rosebank (Lot 63), Brora (Lot 93), Littlemill (Lot 110) and Port Ellen (Lot 48-49, 115-118). In addition, Madison Auction also have collectible as well as more affordable bottles from Springbank (Lot 60-61, 102-106), the other big player from Scotland.

If you are into whiskies with peat aroma, you cannot miss the collections from Islay. Ardbeg (Lot 95 & 114and Laphroaig (Lot 45, 112-113) are great choices for strong peat flavors, and Lagavulin offers you more subtle flavors (Lot 44, 46-47, 62, 83, 111).

There are also 9 lots of Bowmore, including the ultimate bottles: 1964 Black Bowmore Final Edition (Lot 85), the Mythical Guardians Series Dragon Edition (Lot 86 & 87) and Sea Dragon (Lot 90-91) that were made specially for Chinese market. There are also many that are great for daily drinking (Lot 34-43, 59, 64-65, 108-109).

If you are a Japanese whisky hound, you may be thrilled to see 18 lots of Karuizawa and Hanyu. From Karuizawa, there are official bottlings (Lot 18-19, 26-30, 81-82, 100-101), as well as SMWS bottlings (Lot 78-80).

From Hanyu, there are 3 lots of Ichiro's Cards Series (Lot 74-76), as well as the 3rd Ghost series made for Bar Keller (Lot 77). From Yamazaki and Hakushu, there are bottles great for value and for collection as well (Lot 20-22, 25, 32-33). Also don't miss out the most rare bottles from Chichibu (Lot 14-15), Miyagikyo (Lot 31) and Kawasaki (Lot 72-73).

Recommendation

Macallan 72 Year Old in Lalique - The Genesis Decanter

Lot 58

1 Bottle, GB | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 42%

Est. HK$ 600,000 - HK$ 1,000,000

The Macallan 72 Years Old in Lalique is a celebration of the collaboration of masters from across the fields of whisky, crystal, architecture, construction and craftsmanship and marks a new beginning in The Macallan story.

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1990 Macallan 30 Year Old Howard Cai Selected  , #HG303 & #HG304

Lot 57

2 Bottles, 1 GB | Overall: Perfect, Label: China import, Bottled: 2020 | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 46.5%(#HG303), 46.7%(#HG304) | Other: Single Malt, 153 bottles(#HG303) and 163 bottles(#HG304) produced

Est. HK$ 60,000 - HK$ 110,000

These beautiful and rare gem bottled by Chinese Whisky Collector Howard Cai, do not miss out!

-------------------------------------------------

1964 Bowmore Black Bowmore Final Edition

Lot 85 1 Bottle, Single OWC, Overall: Perfect | Bottled: 1995, Bottle Number: 1486, Barrel Type: Sherry Butt | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 49% | Other: Single Malt | WF 91

Est. HK$ 95,000 - HK$ 150,000

The legendary Black Bowmore 1964 has been released since 1993 in different batches with limited edition every year. With the first launch at 80 pounds only, it's selling price now is over 100,000 HKD in the auction market! It was discontinued in 1995, so grab the chance to bid on this Final Edition we offered this time, with 91 points rated by Whiskyfun!

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1978 Brora 42 Year Old Cask of Distinction for Hong Kong Whisky Fellows

Lot 93

1 Bottle, Wooden GB | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: 30th March 2022, Bottle Number: 14, Barrel Type: Drawn from American Standard Barrel No. 7801, Maturation Cask Refill Hogshead No. 1098 | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 44.3% | Other: Single Malt, 52 bottles produced

Est. HK$ 100,000 - HK$ 180,000

This is a bottle of oldest single cask Brora ever released with only limited to 52 bottles in total. "Hong Kong Whisky Fellows" is a group of enthusiasts who are mad enough to bring this bottle to life, but prefer to stay anonymous.

-----------------------------------------------

1955 Glen Grant 56 Year Old Gordon & MacPhail

Lot 109

1 Bottle, Single OWC | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: 2011 | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 40% | Other: Single Malt

Est. HK$ 13,000 - HK$ 22,000

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1948 Glen Grant 66 Year Old Gordon & Macphail Exclusive for Wealth Solutions, #1369

Lot 109

1 Bottle, Wooden GB | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: 2014, Bottle Number: 15 | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 46.6% | Other: Single Malt, 160 bottles produced, crystal stopper included | WF 91

Est. HK$ 48,000 - HK$ 85,000

Bottled by Gordon & MacPhail, the leader of the Scottish independent bottlers, it was the first release of the Glen Grant Trilogy, the project for Wealth Solutions, Poland with only 160 bottles available.

------------------------------------------

1982 Port Ellen 28 Year Old Great Cask Series Bottled for Whiskysite.NL

Lot 115

1 Bottle, Overall: Perfect | Bottled: 2010, Bottle Number: 22, Barrel Type: Refill Sherry Puncheon Cask | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 57.5% | Other: Single Malt, 100 bottles produced| WF 92

Est. HK$ 8,000 - HK$ 14,000

----------------------------------

1982 Port Ellen Queen of the Moorlands Rare Cask Edition XXI

Lot 116

1 Bottle, Single OC | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: May 2007, Bottle Number: 119 | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 46% | Other: Single Malt, 119 bottles produced

Est. HK$ 7,000 - HK$ 12,000

-----------------------------------------------

1982 Port Ellen 26 Year Old Old Bothwell, #2729

Lot 117

1 Bottle, Single OC | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: 2009, Barrel Type: Oak | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 52% | Other: Single Malt Est. HK$ 7,000 - HK$ 12,000

----------------------------

1979 Port Ellen 21 Year Old Douglas Laing Old Malt Cask

Lot 118

1 Bottle, Single OC | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: April 2001, Barrel Type: Sherry Oak | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 50% | Other: Single Malt, 618 bottles produced

Est. HK$ 7,000 - HK$ 12,000

These 4 lots of Sherry Cask gems came from the discontinued distillery Port Ellen, with starting price at HK$ 7,000 only. Place your bid!

----------------------------------

2000 Hanyu 14 Year Old 3rd Ghost for Bar Keller, #1702

Lot 77

1 Bottle, Single OC | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: 2014, Bottle Number: 15, Barrel Type: Grappa Finish | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 59.9% | Other: Single Malt, 120 bottles produced

Est. HK$ 55,000 - HK$ 95,000

3rd edition of Hanyu Ghost series, featuring The ghost of Seigen haunting Sakurahime. Exclusive for bar Keller with only 120 bottles.

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1993 Yamazaki Private Cask by LMDW Limited Edition, #3T70070

Lot 25

1 Bottle, Single OC | Overall: Perfect, Bottled: 2012, Bottle Number: 331, Barrel Type: Sherry Butt | Vol: 700ml, Abv: 57.5% | Other: Single Malt | WF 91

Est. HK$ 140,000 - HK$ 240,000

This gem won one of the only 4 Gold Medals at the Malt Maniacs Awards (MMAs) 2013. Yamazaki is one of the Ferraris of the MMAs, they win often!

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1981 Karuizawa 32 Year Old Exclusive for Shinanoya, #4380

Lot 29

1 Bottle, Overall: Perfect | Barrel Type: Sherry Cask, Vol: 700ml, Abv: 55.4% | Other: Single Malt, 118 bottles produced

Est. HK$ 100,000 - HK$ 190,000

This bottle of Karuizawa is exclusively for Shinanoya, one of the most famous liqour boutiques in Japan. Benefited by the sherry cask, it is more intense in flavor and darker in color, making it more rare and hunger among whisky lovers.

Madison Auction continues to accept consignments at 0% seller's commission for our next Auction  Please contact us for an estimation on your collection.

Email: [email protected]

Tel: +852 3188 6613

SOURCE Madison Auction Limited
-Follow Alana: Taiwan Is Available Now On AppleTV, Amazon and Google Play -

LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Following two successful seasons, which transported viewers to the picturesque country of Switzerland and the magnificent country of Australia, now in its 3rd season, the award-winning travel show Follow Alana, brings travel show host, speaker and producer Alana Nichols to the blissful country of Taiwan. During the new 13-episodes, 'Follow Alana: Taiwan' delves into the sweeping natural landscapes and traditional community practices across Taiwan's diverse islands, forests, villages, and more. In a refreshing departure from the Western world, Alana returns to the country she was born in with a curious heart and familiar appetite for adventure. From scaling dramatic mountain ranges in Nantou to canyoning waterfalls, caves, and underwater coves in Lisong , Alana learns a plethora of sustainable practices from local communities and enjoys the sights of a country that has historically embraced preservation. The new season is available now on AppleTV, Google Play, and Amazon. For a preview, check out the trailer, HERE.

Born in Taipei to an American mother and a Taiwanese father, Nichols entered the world with an extremely rare form of deafness. Doctors told her parents she would never be able to speak. In an ironic twist of fate, Alana is now the host of an international television show. In the program 'Follow Alana', she introduces the diverse sceneries, lifestyles, cultures and cuisines of various captivating environments all the while encouraging the audience to build a loving and sustainable relationship with the environment wherever they go. Through humor, positivity, and determination, Alana hopes to leave the audience with a healthy dose of inspiration and learning. Through her series, Alana aspires to use television as a vehicle to tell stories and be a catalyst for positive change. She is an internationally sought-after speaker, having spoken across the globe, most recently addressing the World Health Organization on issues relating to deafness and hearing care. The show is currently broadcasted on television in Taiwan, Singapore, and China and can also be found on various platforms online including 'mini-episodes' on YouTube.

Li, Kuo Hao who graduated from Taiwan University with a degree in drama and theatre, is the director of "Follow Alana." Kuo Hao is an experienced documentary, kids and cultural program director. His works, often contain the passion for environment and human, that had been nominated by several international awards including Golden Bell Awards of Taiwan, New York Festivals TV & Film Awards and won the 2019 Telly Awards, 2018 Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival and Nepal International Indigenous Film Festival Silver Drum Awards.

Recognizing Alana's desire to make a positive impact on communities, the Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Philadelphia Region honored her as a Champion of Hope, an accolade celebrating her acts of volunteerism, philanthropy, and good will.

Aurora Digital Media Co., Ltd produced the series originally and partnered with Wildwood Studios LLC to reversion and distribute for North America.

For more information check out the official FOLLOW ALANA website at www.followalana.com. Or on Facebook:@followalana and Instagram: @followalana

#FollowAlana

FILMMAKERS:

Director: Kuo Hao Li

Writer: Ya Chin Huang

Co-Producer: Wildwood Studios, Swing for Fun Studio Co., Ltd, JAN Media

Associate Producers: Ya Chin Huang, Lorelai Lin

Executive Producers: Katharine McKenny, Alana Nichols

Editors: Kasey Kirby, Swing for Fun Studios Co.

Production and Post-production Sound: Yixin Company, Baulai Company

ABOUT AURORA DIGITAL MEDIA CO. LTD

Aurora Digital Media is a company that invests, produces and distributes series of TV travel show, titled "Follow Alana." The show follows the journey of Alana Nichols, who was born profoundly deaf but now became a fluent English-speaking host, to explore the world through her unique point of views and meets interesting people along the way.

ABOUT JAN MEDIA

JAN Media is a U.S. production company specializing in unscripted content.

ABOUT WILDWOOD STUDIOS LLC

Wildwood is a creative agency and production company based in greater Washington, D.C. We use strategy & story to develop best-in-class digital content clients can use to reach their audience.

SOURCE Wildwood Studios LLC
The medical, management and technology company known for transforming the care of underserved seniors is praised for its culture of celebrating employees

MIAMI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ChenMed, a leading medical practice providing high-touch, personalized and transformative primary care to Medicare-eligible seniors, has received numerous awards as a top workplace because of the culture of love, inspiration and recognition it offers employees. Additionally, the brand reputation platform, Comparably, has honored ChenMed with a 2023 Best Human Resources Team Award. ChenMed is the top healthcare provider and #3 on the overall Comparably list of top HR teams.

Our employees embody our core values of love, accountability and passion.  Stephanie Chen Tweet this ChenMed, which has won numerous awards as a top workplace, is honored that its Human Resources team received recognition from the brand reputation platform, Comparably, as a recipient of that organization's 2023 Best HR Team Award."

This workplace culture award, part of Comparably's series of honors it bestows on companies each year, is based upon sentiment ratings provided by employees in HR departments who anonymously responded to questions on Comparably.com. The HR survey measured nearly 20 workplace culture categories, ranging from leadership, co-workers, and compensation to work-life balance, professional development, and perks and benefits.

In addition to the Comparably Award, ChenMed has won several other prestigious awards in the first quarter of 2023, including:

Metro Atlanta Top Workplaces Award 2023  Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The Top Workplaces Award for Metro Atlanta, chosen by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution media outlet, is based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner, Energage LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution and connection, just to name a few.





The Top Workplaces Award for Metro Atlanta, chosen by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution media outlet, is based solely on gathered through a third-party survey administered by employee engagement technology partner, LLC. The confidential survey uniquely measures 15 culture drivers that are critical to the success of any organization, including alignment, execution and connection, just to name a few. Tampa Bay Top Workplaces Award 2023  Tampa Bay Times

The Top Workplaces Award for the Tampa Bay area, chosen by the Tampa Bay Times , is also based solely on employee feedback gathered through a third-party survey administered by Energage LLC. The confidential survey also is based on 15 cultural criteria, including development and performance.





The Top Workplaces Award for the area, chosen by the , is also based solely on gathered through a third-party survey administered by LLC. The confidential survey also is based on 15 cultural criteria, including development and performance. South Florida Best Places to Work Award  South Florida Business Journal

The Best Places to Work Awards in South Florida honors the area's leading employers. Chosen by the South Florida Business Journal, honoree companies go above and beyond to foster an enjoyable and meaningful work environment for their employees. Companies are evaluated based on the results of an employee survey. The survey considered Communication and Resources; Individual Needs; Manager Effectiveness; Personal Engagement; Team Dynamics; and Trust in Leadership.

ChenMed boasts a staff that reflects the many diverse communities it serves across Florida, the southern U.S., and throughout the Midwest region. Its highly skilled workforce includes a majority of female clinicians and medical center directors. In addition to supporting social and racial equity, ChenMed embraces its employees' backgrounds and cultures by actively observing Black History Month, Hispanic Heritage Month, Asian-American Pacific Islander Month, Women's History Month, and Juneteenth.

The company also encourages employees to participate in employee resource groups (ERGs) relevant to their interests during business hours, including AWARE2 (All Working Together to Achieve Racial Equity and Equality); CHARISMA (ChenMed Healthcare Allies Respecting Individuality & Sexuality of Members & Associates); WIN (Women Inspire Network); and VET (Veteran Engagement Team).

"ChenMed is both honored and humbled to receive these awards," said Stephanie Chen, chief legal and culture officer at ChenMed. "We are extremely proud of our team members who work tirelessly to support the senior communities we serve. They embody our core values of love, accountability and passion."

About ChenMed:

ChenMed, headquartered in Miami, is a privately owned medical, management, and technology company that delivers the high-touch and personalized primary care Medicare-eligible seniors need to enjoy better health. The growing company operates more than 125 senior medical centers in 15 states. Named a Fortune "Change the World" company, twice-named a "Most Loved Workplace" by Newsweek, and a Certified Best Place to Work by the Best Place to Work Institute, ChenMed brings concierge-style medicine and better health outcomes to the neediest populations. ChenMed brands include Chen Senior Medical Center, Dedicated Senior Medical Center Florida, Dedicated Senior Medical Center National, JenCare Senior Medical Center, and IntuneHealth. Thanks to its leading value-based, healthcare technology organization, Curity, ChenMed also was recently named "Best Places to Work in IT" by Computerworld.

About Comparably:

Comparably (now a ZoomInfo company) is a workplace culture and brand reputation platform with more than 15 million anonymous employee ratings on 70,000 companies. With the most comprehensive data on large and SMB organizations in nearly 20 different workplace categories  based on gender, ethnicity, age, experience, industry, location, education  it is one of the most used SaaS platforms for employer branding and a trusted third-party site for workplace culture and compensation. For more information on Comparably's studies and annual Best Places to Work & Best Brands Awards, visit www.comparably.com/news

About Energage:

Energage is a purpose-driven company that helps organizations turn employee feedback into useful business intelligence and credible employer recognition through Top Workplaces. Built on 16 years of cultural research and the results from 27 million employees surveyed across more than 70,000 organizations, Energage delivers the most accurate competitive benchmark available. With access to a unique combination of patented analytic tools and expert guidance, Energage customers lead the competition with an engaged workforce and an opportunity to gain recognition for their people-first approach to culture. For more information or to nominate your organization, visit energage.com or topworkplaces.com.

SOURCE ChenMed
Purple represents military kids as it symbolizes the various branches of service. It combines green for the Army, red for the Marines and shades of blue for the Coast Guard, Navy, and Air Force.

On Tuesday, April 18th , Cohen Veterans Network (CVN), a national network of mental health clinics for post-9/11 veterans, active duty service members, and military families with a clinic in Philadelphia, partnered with the city's landmark building, One Liberty Place, to light the skyscraper purple in honor of military kids during Month of the Military Child. The building is aglow purple on the eve of Purple Up! day, Wednesday, April 19th, a day designated for Americans to wear purple in support of military children.

WHAT:
MINNEAPOLIS, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- People who have an irregular heartbeat called atrial fibrillation that is treated with a procedure called catheter ablation may have a reduced risk of dementia compared to those who are treated with medication alone. The preliminary study released April 18, 2023, will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 75th Annual Meeting being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023.

Catheter ablation uses radiofrequency through a tube into the heart to destroy small areas of heart tissue that may be causing the abnormal heartbeat.

"Previous studies have found that people with arrythmias may have long-term thinking and memory problems due to how this condition may affect the blood flow to the brain," said Bahadar Srichawla, DO, of University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester and a member of the American Academy of Neurology. "Our findings show that treatment with catheter ablation is linked to a reduced risk of cognitive impairment."

The study involved 887 people with an average age of 75 at the start of the study. Of this group, 193 people received catheter ablation.

Participants completed a memory and thinking test at the start of the study, at one year and at two years. This test included questions regarding short-term memory, attention, concentration and language. Scores ranged from zero to 30. Cognitive impairment was defined as a score of 23 or less. People who received catheter ablation had an average score of 25 compared to people who did not receive the procedure with an average score of 23.

After adjusting for factors like heart disease, renal disease, sleep apnea and atrial fibrillation risk score, those who underwent catheter ablation were 36% less likely to develop cognitive impairment than those who did not receive the procedure and were treated only with medication.

"Our results are encouraging, however there are many factors taken into consideration when catheter ablation is prescribed," Srichawla added. "More research is needed to confirm our results."

A limitation of the study was that no tests of blood flow to the brain were recorded.

Learn more about dementia at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting hashtag #AANAM.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 40,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

SOURCE American Academy of Neurology
SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Darwinium, with global offices in London and Sydney, today announced its expansion into the U.S. market, with a bolstered U.S.-based leadership team and the relocation of its corporate headquarters to San Francisco.

Simultaneously, Darwinium launched its Continuous Customer Protection platform, the future of security and fraud prevention for all digital businesses concerned about customer experience. An evolutionary next step, the company's disruptive approach delivers fraud prevention at the edge, giving full visibility across customer journeys.

As part of this expansion to advance its long-term strategic growth plans, Darwinium has appointed:

Bill Sytsma and Alex Forss to strategic U.S. sales leadership positions. Sytsma has an award-winning track record of closing multi-million-dollar enterprise opportunities and building hyper-growth sales organizations at ThreatMetrix, (acquired by LexisNexis Risk Solutions), BioCatch and Callsign. Forss joins him from tenures at ThreatMetrix and Callsign, where he built and led enterprise sales teams for fraud prevention and PayPal, following the successful exit of his previous startup.

and to strategic U.S. sales leadership positions. Sytsma has an award-winning track record of closing multi-million-dollar enterprise opportunities and building hyper-growth sales organizations at ThreatMetrix, (acquired by LexisNexis Risk Solutions), BioCatch and Callsign. Forss joins him from tenures at ThreatMetrix and Callsign, where he built and led enterprise sales teams for fraud prevention and PayPal, following the successful exit of his previous startup. Vanita Pandey , Advisory board member. She is currently chief marketing officer at Caf, an innovative ID tech company. Pandey is a fraud expert with previous experience as CMO at Arkose Labs and as a marketing executive at ThreatMetrix and Simility, (acquired by PayPal) where she established the strategic vision and market positioning. She also worked at leading financial institutions like Standard Chartered Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, Capital One and Visa.

Advisory board member. She is currently chief marketing officer at Caf, an innovative ID tech company. Pandey is a fraud expert with previous experience as CMO at Arkose Labs and as a marketing executive at ThreatMetrix and Simility, (acquired by PayPal) where she established the strategic vision and market positioning. She also worked at leading financial institutions like Standard Chartered Bank, ABN AMRO Bank, Capital One and Visa. Menekse Gencer , Advisory board member. She is a board director, advisor and prior Fortune 100 senior executive with thirty years of experience at companies including Wells Fargo, PayPal, AMD and PwC delivering technology strategy to payments, fintech, retail banks and technology industries in the U.S. and emerging markets.

The new team members join Alisdair Faulkner, founder and CEO of Darwinium and former co-founder and chief product officer of ThreatMetrix, which was acquired for $817 million in 2018, and Silicon Valley-based Reed Taussig, board chairman who previously served as chairman and CEO at ThreatMetrix.

"We are building a transformative company and bringing together a strong team of people with deep experience in digital fraud prevention and a track record of making things happen," said Faulkner. "The United States is home to many of the world's largest online businesses, but the current market remains highly vulnerable. Existing siloed solutions have not stopped the explosive growth of fraud, nor managed to track with evolving customer behavior. These conditions make this an attractive time to enter in force with our innovative new technology that delivers digital fraud protection at the edge and gives full visibility across customer journeys."

Darwinium has been recognized as a Representative Vendor in the 2022 Gartner Market Guide for Online Fraud as well as a Representative Provider in the 2022 Gartner Innovation Insight: Journey Time Orchestration Mitigates Fraud Risk and Delivers Better UX report.**

"Customer expectations are driven by best-in-class mobile interactions, often with non-banking providers," said Gencer. "Financial services companies no longer have the luxury to choose between speed and security. They must safeguard their customers while enabling frictionless interactions along the customer journey. Darwinium has architected a new path forward for better fraud detection in near real-time that performs dramatically better, faster and takes minutes to deploy."

Darwinium is currently working with payment service providers, fintechs, gaming companies and online marketplaces. Appropriate use cases for its platform include account security, scam detection, account takeover, fraudulent new accounts/synthetic identities and bot intelligence.

More information about Darwinium and its Continuous Customer Protection platform is available online.

*Gartner, Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection, Akif Khan, Dan Ayoub, 12 December 2022.

**Gartner, Innovation Insight: Journey-Time Orchestration Mitigates Fraud Risk and Delivers Better UX, Akif Khan, 10 June 2022.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Darwinium

Darwinium's pioneering customer protection platform takes security and fraud prevention to the edge, removing the operational burden of implementing and maintaining API-based solutions. Darwinium provides complete visibility and control of every digital interaction - across web, apps and APIs - to identify bad behavior, in real time. Businesses can make more accurate, real-time decisions, and take dynamic, tailored remediation that favors the customer and not the fraudster. Enjoy dramatically reduced latency, improved agility and absolute privacy of user data.

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1936331/3942749/Darwinium_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Darwinium
In Vovchansk, Kharkiv region, rescuers pulled out from under the rubble the bodies of a man and a woman who died as a result of an airstrike carried out on the town late in the evening on April 18.

"The bodies of a man (born in 1972) and a woman (born in 1978) have been found," the press service of the State Emergency Service in Kharkiv region reported.

As previously reported, on April 18, after 22:00, the occupiers carried out an air strike on the center of Vovchansk and provoked a number of fires. In particular, two residential buildings, a summer kitchen, two buildings in the yard on a total area of 500 square meters burned. Ten more neighboring houses were damaged. A married couple (68 and 54 years old) received injuries. They were provided medical assistance on the spot.

In addition, about 60 trade pavilions on an area of 1,000 square meters burned on the market. About 150 more pavilions were also damaged by fire and blast waves.

All foci of combustion were eliminated at 4:00.
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Every April, the District of Columbia joins the nation in recognizing Sexual Assault Awareness Month (SAAM) with opportunities to learn about preventing and ending sexual assault and supporting survivors. On Wednesday, April 19, SAAM was formally recognized by the Council of the District of Columbia in partnership with the DC Coalition to End Sexual Violence (DCCESV) with a ceremonial resolution. The resolution urges residents to show their support for survivors and prevent and end sexual assault, abuse, harassment, online harassment and sex trafficking.

"I'm honored to join the DC Coalition to End Sexual Violence in recognizing this year's Sexual Assault Awareness Month," said DC Councilmember Charles Allen. "We as a government and as a community need to do everything in our power to prevent sexual assault, support survivors of sexual violence, and build systems of accountability that center the needs of victims. DCCESV and its members have been steadfast partners in our work to ensure our laws and budgets help build a future free from sexual violence."

"SAAM is also a time to honor the tireless efforts of direct service providers who respond to survivors with compassion, respect, and unparalleled services every day," said Rachel Friedman of DC Coalition. "Council's leadership and continued support of victim services is a testament to the seriousness with which our city takes issues of gender-based violence, and it means a great deal to our Coalition community to have this month recognized by Council."

For decades, a strong coalition of DC community-based partners have been working together to end gender-based violence. One such organization is the Network for Victim Recovery of DC (NVRDC), which empowers victims of all crimes to achieve survivor-defined justice through a collaborative continuum of advocacy, case management, and legal services. DCCESV has selected NVRDC to be this year's honoree to receive the Council's annual proclamation.

"Sexual Assault Awareness Month creates a yearly opportunity for folks to have more open conversations about sexual assault awareness and prevention," said Naida Henao, Esq., Head of Engagement at NVRDC. "As an organization that provides supportive advocacy, legal, and therapeutic services to survivors, we are grateful to have the chance to collaborate with other local and national providers, as well as the DC Coalition to End Sexual Violence, to elevate the information and resources that should be available to survivors all year long."

To learn more about DCCESV and download the annual Action Guide of SAAM activities, visit dccesv.org.

About DCCESV

The DC Coalition to End Sexual Violence (DCCESV) is the District's premier sexual assault alliance for direct service providers, prevention programs, and stakeholders in the city. With a growing membership of 16 service provider organizations and 14 key stakeholder agencies, DCCESV seeks to enhance the capacity of organizations and agencies to strategically partner and effectively address the needs of sexual violence victim-survivors in the District through education, training and technical assistance, advocacy, and policy.

Contact:

Adam Middleton

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dc-council-and-dc-coalition-to-end-sexual-violence-recognize-sexual-assault-awareness-month-honor-network-for-victim-recovery-of-dc-301802083.html

SOURCE DC Coalition to End Sexual Violence
TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Denison Mines Corp. ("Denison" or the "Company") (TSX: DML) (NYSE American: DNN) is pleased to report that drill hole MS-23-10A intersected 1.38% eU 3 O 8 over 8.7 metres (0.05% eU 3 O 8 cut-off), including a sub-interval grading 2.88% eU 3 O 8 over 3.1 m, intersected approximately 30 m above the unconformity in the Athabasca sandstone, as part of the recently completed winter exploration program at the Moon Lake South property ("Moon South"). View PDF version.

Uranium mineralization was encountered in four of the six drill holes completed during the 2023 winter exploration program, which was designed to evaluate the strike length of low-grade mineralized occurrences identified in the 2021 and 2016 drill programs. Figure 1 and Figure 2 depict the location of the Moon Lake South project, and the significant drill results on the project to date, respectively.

Andy Yackulic, P. Geo., Denison's Director, Exploration, commented, "The discovery of high-grade uranium mineralization at Moon Lake South gives further proof that the CR-3 trend has the potential to host a large, high-grade unconformity-associated uranium deposit. The fact that this high-grade material lies approximately 30 metres above the unconformity contact is very encouraging  as perched mineralization like this is typically only found proximal to high-grade unconformity-hosted deposits."

David Cates, Denison's President & CEO added, "The discovery of high-grade sandstone-hosted uranium mineralization at Moon Lake South is a very exciting development for Denison, as our Company's recent field testing at the nearby 95%-owned Wheeler River project has illustrated the potential viability of mining high-grade Athabasca Basin sandstone-hosted uranium deposits via In-Situ Recovery (ISR) mining."

2023 Moon South Winter Exploration Program Highlights

The 2023 winter exploration program consisted of six completed diamond drill holes totalling 3,301 metres, designed to evaluate the potential to expand the footprint of known mineralization discovered in 2016 and 2021 by testing conductivity anomalies identified from the 2022 stepwise moving loop electromagnetic (SWML EM) survey.

Uranium mineralization was encountered in four of the six drill holes completed during the winter exploration program. The mineralized intersections are summarized in Table 1.

Table 1  Mineralized Intersections  2023 Moon Lake South Winter Exploration Drilling

Drill Hole Orientation

(azi./dip) From (m) To (m) Length (m)(1) eU 3 O 8 (%)(2,3) MS-23-09 311/-80.0 408.45 408.65 0.2 0.06 MS-23-09 311/-80.0 451.45 451.95 0.5 0.12 MS-23-10A 311/-81.5 417.75 426.45 8.7 1.38 Including(4)

421.45 424.55 3.1 2.88 MS-23-10A 311/-81.5 430.85 432.05 1.2 0.07 MS-23-10AD1 311/-81.5 441.05 441.35 0.3 0.07 MS-23-11 309/-81.5 450.75 450.95 0.2 0.07

Notes: (1) Lengths indicated represent the down-hole length of mineralized intersections.

(2) Radiometric equivalent U 3 O 8 ("eU 3 O 8 ") derived from a calibrated gamma downhole probe

(3) Mineralized interval is composited above a cut-off grade of 0.05% eU 3 O 8

(4) Mineralized interval is composited above a cut-off grade of 2.00% eU 3 O 8

The most significant mineralization was returned from hole MS-23-10A, which intersected a broad zone of high-grade mineralization grading 1.38% eU 3 O 8 over 8.7 metres, associated with strong grey alteration, located approximately 30 metres above the sub-Athabasca unconformity. Given the limited number of drill holes completed during the winter program, the mineralization discovered in MS-23-10A remains open in multiple directions for future follow-up.

Radiometric Equivalent Grades, Sampling, Analysis and Data Verification

Following the completion of a drill hole, the hole is radiometrically logged using a downhole gamma probe, which collects continuous readings of radioactivity along the length of the drill hole. Probe results are then calibrated using an algorithm calculated from the comparison of probe results against geochemical analyses in the area. The gamma-log results provide an immediate radiometric equivalent uranium value (eU 3 O 8 %) for the hole, which, except in very high-grade zones, is reasonably accurate. The Company typically reports eU 3 O 8 , as a preliminary result and subsequently reports definitive assay grades following sampling and chemical analysis of the mineralized drill core.

Assay sample intervals are generally 50 centimetres long, except where higher or lower-grade mineralization boundaries fall within the interval. In that case, two 25 centimetre samples are collected. Flank samples of 1.0 metre are always collected where mineralization is located. Systematic geochemistry samples are collected every 10 metres down the hole.

All assayed core is split in half, with one half retained and the other sent to the Saskatchewan Research Council Geoanalytical Laboratory in Saskatoon for analysis. Control samples are routinely assayed with each batch of core samples analyzed.

About Moon Lake South

The Moon Lake South project is a joint venture between Denison Mines Corp., which holds a 75% interest in the property, and CanAlaska Uranium Ltd., which holds the remaining 25% interest. Denison acts as the project operator.

The project lands are located in the southeastern part of the Athabasca basin, approximately 12 kilometres southwest of Denison's Phoenix deposit, and 30 kilometres northwest of Cameco's Key Lake Operation. The property is accessible year-round via the Fox Lake tote road, allowing Denison's exploration team to use the nearby Wheeler River camp as a base of operations.

About Denison

Denison is a uranium exploration and development company with interests focused in the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan, Canada. The Company has an effective 95% interest in its flagship Wheeler River Uranium Project, which is the largest undeveloped uranium project in the infrastructure rich eastern portion of the Athabasca Basin region of northern Saskatchewan. Denison's interests in Saskatchewan also include a 22.5% ownership interest in the McClean Lake joint venture, which includes several uranium deposits and the McClean Lake uranium mill that is contracted to process the ore from the Cigar Lake mine under a toll milling agreement, plus a 25.17% interest in the Midwest Main and Midwest A deposits, and a 67.41% interest in the Tthe Heldeth Tue ("THT," formerly J Zone) and Huskie deposits on the Waterbury Lake property. The Midwest Main, Midwest A, THT and Huskie deposits are each located within 20 kilometres of the McClean Lake mill.

Through its 50% ownership of JCU, Denison holds additional interests in various uranium project joint ventures in Canada, including the Millennium project (JCU 30.099%), the Kiggavik project (JCU 33.8118%) and Christie Lake (JCU 34.4508%). Denison's exploration portfolio includes further interests in properties covering ~300,000 hectares in the Athabasca Basin region.

Denison is also engaged in post-closure mine care and maintenance services through its Closed Mines group, which manages Denison's reclaimed mine sites in the Elliot Lake region and provides related services to certain third-party projects.

www.denisonmines.com

Follow Denison on Twitter @DenisonMinesCo

Qualified Persons

The technical information contained in this release has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Andrew Yackulic, P. Geo., Denison's Director, Exploration, who is a Qualified Person in accordance with the requirements of NI 43-101.

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information contained in this news release constitutes 'forward-looking information', within the meaning of the applicable United States and Canadian legislation, concerning the business, operations and financial performance and condition of Denison.

Generally, these forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as 'plans', 'expects', 'budget', 'scheduled', 'estimates', 'forecasts', 'intends', 'anticipates', or 'believes', or the negatives and/or variations of such words and phrases, or state that certain actions, events or results 'may', 'could', 'would', 'might' or 'will be taken', 'occur', 'be achieved' or 'has the potential to'.

In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information pertaining to the following: the interpretation of exploration results and expectations with respect thereto, including the interpretation of the results from the Moon Lake South exploration program; and expectations regarding its joint venture ownership interests and the continuity of its agreements with its partners.

Forward looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates of management as of the date such statements are made, and they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Denison to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. For example, the modelling and assumptions upon which the interpretation of results are based may not be maintained after further testing or be representative of actual conditions. Denison believes that the expectations reflected in this forward-looking information are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be accurate and results may differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information. For a discussion in respect of risks and other factors that could influence forward-looking events, please refer to the factors discussed in Denison's Annual Information Form dated March 27, 2023 or subsequent quarterly financial reports under the heading 'Risk Factors'. These factors are not, and should not be construed as being exhaustive.

Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Any forward-looking information and the assumptions made with respect thereto speaks only as of the date of this news release. Denison does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking information after the date of this news release to conform such information to actual results or to changes in Denison's expectations except as otherwise required by applicable legislation.

SOURCE Denison Mines Corp.
 Harmonizing Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) with the DENT Network Operating System enables hardware and silicon vendors to speed up innovation and interoperability

 Further collaboration between the Linux Foundation and the Open Compute Project is a testament to the robust partnership across open source software and hardware

 Along with the existing and planned DENT platforms, adoption of SAI will enable support for the AS4610, AS7326 and similar OCP-recognized switch platforms

PRAGUE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Compute Regional Summit - April 19, 2023 - The Linux Foundation (LF), the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, today announced the incorporation of the Open Compute Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) into the open source DENT Network Operating System (NOS) project. This move marks a milestone in the collaboration between the Linux Foundation and the Open Compute Project (OCP), aimed at benefiting the entire open-source community by providing a unified and standardized approach to networking across hardware and software.

The DENT project, a Linux-based network operating system (NOS), has been designed to empower disaggregated networking solutions for enterprises and data centers. By incorporating OCP's SAI, an open-source Hardware Abstraction Layer (HAL) for network switches, DENT has taken a significant step forward in enabling seamless support for a wide range of Ethernet switch ASICs, thereby expanding its compatibility and fostering greater innovation in the networking space.

Why Incorporate SAI into DENT

The decision to integrate SAI into the DENT NOS was driven by the need to widen standardized interfaces for programming network switch ASICs, enabling hardware vendors to develop and maintain their device drivers independently from the Linux kernel. SAI offers several advantages:

Hardware Abstraction: SAI provides a hardware-agnostic API, enabling developers to work on a consistent interface across different switch ASICs, thus reducing development time and effort.

Vendor Independence: By separating the switch ASIC drivers from the Linux kernel, SAI enables hardware vendors to maintain their drivers independently, ensuring timely updates and support for the latest hardware features.

Ecosystem Support: SAI is backed by a thriving community of developers and vendors, ensuring continuous improvements and ongoing support for new features and hardware platforms.

Collaboration Between the Linux Foundation and OCP

The collaboration between the Linux Foundation and OCP is a testament to the power of open-source collaboration for hardware software co-design. By combining efforts, the organizations aim to:

Drive Innovation: By integrating SAI into the DENT NOS, both organizations can leverage their respective strengths to foster innovation in the networking space.

Expand Compatibility: With the support of SAI, DENT can now cater to a broader range of network switch hardware, enhancing its adoption and utility.

Strengthen Open-Source Networking: By collaborating, the Linux Foundation and OCP can work together to develop open-source solutions that address real-world networking challenges, thus promoting the growth and sustainability of open-source networking.

The Linux Foundation and OCP are committed to empowering the open-source community by delivering cutting-edge technologies and fostering innovation. The integration of SAI into the DENT project is just the beginning of a fruitful partnership that promises to revolutionize the world of networking.

Industry Support

Linux Foundation

"We are excited that Network Operating Systems have evolved significantly from Data Centers to Enterprise Edge," said Arpit Johipura, general manager, Networking, Edge and IoT, the Linux Foundation. "Harmonizing at the lower layers provides alignment for the entire ecosystem across silicon, hardware, software and more. We're eager to see what innovations arise from the extended collaboration."

Open Compute Project

"Working closely with the Linux Foundation and the extended open ecosystem to integrate SAI across hardware and software is key to enabling faster and more efficient innovation," said Bijan Nowroozi, Chief Technical Officer (CTO) for the Open Compute Foundation. "Furthering our collaboration with the LF around the DENT NOS further enables industry-standardization for more agile and scalable solutions."

Delta Electronics

"This is an exciting development for the industry because enterprise edge customers using DENT now have access to the same platforms that are deployed on a large scale in data centers to gain cost savings," said Charlie Wu, VP of Data Center RBU, Delta Electronics. "Creating an open source community benefits the entire ecosystem of solutions for both providers and users, and Delta is proud to continue supporting DENT and SAI as we move towards a more collaborative market."

Keysight

"The adoption of SAI by the DENT project benefits the entire ecosystem, expanding the options available to platform developers and system integrators," said Venkat Pullela, Chief of Technology, Networking at Keysight. "SAI strengthens DENT immediately with an existing and continually growing set of test cases, test frameworks and test equipment. Thanks to SAI, the validation of ASIC performance can be completed much earlier in the cycle before the full NOS stack is available. Keysight is happy to be a part of the DENT community and provide validation tools for new platform onboarding and system verification."

About The Linux Foundation

The Linux Foundation is the organization of choice for the world's top developers and companies to build ecosystems that accelerate open technology development and industry adoption. Together with the worldwide open source community, it is solving the hardest technology problems by creating the largest shared technology investment in history. Founded in 2000, The Linux Foundation today provides tools, training and events to scale any open source project, which together deliver an economic impact not achievable by any one company. More information can be found at www.linuxfoundation.org.

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page: https://www.linuxfoundation.org/trademark-usage.

Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

About the Open Compute Project Foundation

At the core of the Open Compute Project (OCP) is its Community of hyperscale data center operators, joined by telecom and colocation providers and enterprise IT users, working with vendors to develop open innovations that when embedded in products are deployed from the cloud to the edge. The OCP Foundation is responsible for fostering and serving the OCP Community to meet the market and shape the future, taking hyperscale led innovations to everyone. Meeting the market is accomplished through open designs and best practices, and with data center facility and IT equipment embedding OCP Community-developed innovations for efficiency, at-scale operations and sustainability. Shaping the future includes investing in strategic initiatives that prepare the IT ecosystem for major changes, such as AI & ML, optics, advanced cooling techniques, and composable silicon. Learn more at www.opencompute.org.

Media Contact:

Jill Lovato

The Linux Foundation

[email protected]

SOURCE The Linux Foundation
When completed, LogistiCenter at Copperwing will offer over 10 million square feet of modern distribution space

EL MIRAGE, Ariz., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dermody Properties, a national private equity real estate investment, development and management company focused exclusively on the logistics real estate sector, broke ground on LogistiCenter at Copperwing, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, commencing construction for one of the largest business parks in Arizona history.

(From left to right) Patrick Gallagher, Southwest Region Partner for Dermody Properties; Donna Winston, City of El Mirage Councilmember; Michael Dermody, Executive Chairman for Dermody Properties; Alexis Hermosillo, City of El Mirage Mayor; Douglas A. Kiersey, Jr., CEO and President for Dermody Properties; and Monica Dorcey, City of El Mirage Councilmember at the groundbreaking for LogistiCenter at Copperwing.

LogistiCenter at Copperwing is located at the Northern Parkway Expressway & Dysart Road in El Mirage, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. Phase I of the project includes construction of the first two buildings, totaling 566,602 square feet of Class A logistics space designed for modern use. When completed, the 961-acre site will feature more than 10 million square feet of distribution space with individual buildings accommodating a wide range of user sizes up to 1.5 million square feet.

"With a project of this scale, Dermody Properties intends to create a best-in-class industrial park through sustainable design and construction to meet the supply chain requirements of national, regional and local companies," said Pat Gallagher, Southwest Region Partner at Dermody Properties. "The Phoenix metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country and is experiencing unprecedented industrial growth, having reported more than 26 million square feet of annual net absorption in 2022."

Located with immediate access via two new full interchanges to the currently under construction Northern Parkway Expressway, the park is approximately 3.5 miles from the Loop 101 and Loop 303 freeways. The logistics park is expected to attract large distribution users and companies with manufacturing operations as it provides access to all of the southwestern U.S. within a days' drive and features an abundant labor pool with a workforce of nearly 850,000 people within 20 miles.

Industrial zoning was already in place for the land when acquired by Dermody Properties. In addition, the property is within an approved Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), meaning companies within the park that are active users of FTZ can receive up to a 72% reduction in real estate and personal property taxes. Several recent and under construction infrastructure improvements in addition to the new Northern Parkway Expressway include new water and sewer service to the site along with new roads and availability of abundant electrical power.

"This development will have a significant impact on the Phoenix market, including an influx of jobs and economic benefits," said Douglas A. Kiersey, Jr., CEO and President at Dermody Properties. "For Dermody Properties, this investment is consistent with our strategy of sourcing projects dedicated to serving the distribution network needs of both new and existing customers."

Pat Feeney Jr., Tyler Vowels and Dan Calihan of CBRE are the leasing brokers for the logistics park.

"This year, we have seen substantial net absorption across Southwest Valley's industrial market," said Feeney. "Adding LogistiCenter at Copperwing to this market will provide tenants with a large selection of warehouse distribution and manufacturing alternatives in an ideal location with accessible distribution routes and a great workforce nearby."

Dermody Properties acquired the property in late 2021 from the John F. Long Family Trust, known for developing more than 30,000 homes over four decades, including Arizona's first master-planned community, Novo Development, which has been involved with the project since its inception, will continue to be involved with this new venture.

About Dermody Properties

Dermody Properties is a privately-owned real estate investment, development and management firm that specializes in the acquisition and development of logistics real estate in strategic locations for e-commerce fulfillment centers, third-party logistics and distribution customers. Founded in 1960, Dermody Properties has invested more than $10 billion of total capital across all platforms nationwide, having acquired and developed approximately 110 million square feet of logistics and industrial facilities. In addition to its corporate office in Reno, Nev., it has regional offices in northern and southern California, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas and New Jersey. For more information, visit www.Dermody.com .

CONTACT: Nicole Shearer, KPS3, [email protected], 530-448-6485

SOURCE Dermody Properties
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs (V.A.) has awarded a contract approval to Discseel Technologies. This will provide the Discseel Institute with funding to train physicians to perform the Discseel Procedure, a non-surgical spine procedure, allowing for distribution of this medical technology to all Department of Defense and V.A. hospitals in the United States and overseas.

The Discseel Procedure is intended to replace many spine surgeries currently being performed to treat chronic low back pain and neck pain by injecting FDA-approved Fibrin into the discs. During a singular outpatient encounter, the Discseel Procedure precisely identifies disc pathology and immediately repairs it by introducing the Fibrin, a biologic which promotes spine disc tissue regrowth over the following months, thus healing the discs. This contract approval is a "first of its kind" initiative because it helps offer a Regenerative Medicine Procedure, the Discseel Procedure, to the V.A.'s 19.5 million members, and provides funding to train all Dept. of Defense and V.A. physicians in developing the skillset necessary to perform the Discseel Procedure. With this, the government is fulfilling its mandate to provide more advanced medical technologies to Veterans and military personnel.

"Discseel Technologies is honored to treat our country's finest," said Kevin Pauza, MD, Chief Medical Advisor and Director of Discseel Technologies. "Veterans deserve the best treatment available. We are committed to offering the highest quality of care by adding new physicians in locations across the country, making our services more accessible and helping more people find relief from their chronic back or neck pain."

The Discseel Procedure is the only Spine Regenerative Medicine procedure awarded U.S. patents, and treats degenerative disc disease, disc herniation, disc bulge, spinal stenosis and radiculopathy (sciatica) of the lower back and neck. Patients are discharged 30 minutes following treatment to return to daily activities within a week. A study of the Discseel Procedure, pending publication, demonstrates statistically significant improvement in pain, function, mental health and depression at 1-, 2- and 3-years following treatment.

"The contract funds all physician and staff training," said Scott Choinski, Director of the Discseel Institute of Education. "Our Institute will train several hundred physicians to perform the procedure, in specialties including Orthopedic and Neurological surgery, Radiology, Anesthesia, PM&R and Pain Management."

The U.S. government spends over $110 billion annually treating chronic low back pain through spine surgeries, injections and opioids. "Because this procedure is performed in the outpatient setting and isn't associated with adverse events associated with traditional spine surgeries, its potential cost-savings to taxpayers surpasses $15 billion per year," said Carrie Wright, CEO of Discseel Technologies.

The V.A. is the largest health care system with 171 hospitals and 1,400 outpatient clinics, caring for 19.5 million Veterans, with a 2023 budget of $301.4 Billion. The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States, with 2.4 million employees.

"More Veterans with pain died by suicide during the past decade than all who died in Vietnam combat," said Denis McDonough, Presidential Appointee and Secretary of Veteran Affairs. "There is a strong association between spine surgery, chronic pain, opioid addiction and Veteran suicide."

For more information about Discseel Technologies and the Discseel Procedure, please visit https://discseel.com/.

About Discseel Technologies

The Discseel Procedure is the non-surgical spine procedure that is replacing traditional spine surgery, through the use of FDA-approved Biologic Fibrin Sealant. This is the only procedure proven to seal discs and encourage them to heal, proven by the only research organization endorsed by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery: OBERD. Discseel Technologies is committed to providing the highest quality of care to our patients, especially because they travel from around the world for the Discseel Procedure.

Our refined treatment plan consists of four steps, all in one visit: a consultation, the Discseel Procedure, recovery time and return to daily activities. Because our procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, it allows our patients to return home within the same day and with minimal downtime. If you are suffering from back or neck pain caused by a spinal disc problem, the Discseel Procedure may be the right choice for you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help you find relief from your pain at https://discseel.com/.

SOURCE Discseel Technologies
Partnership with GuidePoint Security provides access to the DoControl SaaS Security Platform to help customers secure business-critical SaaS applications

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- DoControl , the no-code Software as a Service (SaaS) security company, is proud to announce its partnership with GuidePoint Security, a leading cybersecurity solutions provider, which aims to provide a comprehensive cloud security solution to protect customers' data and applications in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

DoControl's innovative SaaS security platform allows businesses to monitor and control their cloud data with unparalleled accuracy and granularity. The platform is designed to meet each customer's unique requirements, providing customized, comprehensive, and scalable SaaS security solutions. With this partnership, GuidePoint Security customers will be able to manage their SaaS security risks more efficiently and effectively through better visibility into and control over their data.

Citing DoControl's recently released study, " The SaaS Security Threat Landscape Report ," John Chester, DoControl's VP of Sales, notes, "The average employee from companies of all sizes have shared, inadvertently or not, 2,246 company assets outside their organizations. Much of this is confidential or proprietary data. DoControl provides visibility into exactly who has access to data, and where it has gone."

Justin Iwanasin, Director, New and Emerging Vendors at GuidePoint Security, says, "As organizations are rapidly moving to the cloud, the need to secure business applications for SaaS applications is ever present. It is important that customers are looking at ways to secure the data with a SaaS data security program and implement solutions that can help them understand that risk."

To learn more about DoControl, visit the website or request a demo . DoControl will also be onsite at the upcoming RSA Conference in San Francisco from April 2427, please schedule a time to chat with us, or visit our booth #4139 in Moscone South.

About DoControl

Founded in 2020 and headquartered in New York, DoControl is an automated data access controls platform for SaaS applications, improving security and operational efficiency with ease for enterprises. DoControl is backed by investors Insight Partners, StageOne Ventures, Cardumen Capital, RTP Global and global cybersecurity leader CrowdStrike's early-stage investment fund, the CrowdStrike Falcon Fund. The company's leadership team combines product, engineering and sales experience across cybersecurity, enterprise and SaaS innovators. For more information, please visit www.docontrol.io . Follow us on Twitter and LinkedIn .

About GuidePoint Security

GuidePoint Security provides trusted cybersecurity expertise, solutions and services that help organizations make better decisions that minimize risk. Our experts act as your trusted advisor to understand your business and challenges, helping you through an evaluation of your cybersecurity posture and ecosystem to expose risks, optimize resources and implement best-fit solutions. GuidePoint's unmatched expertise has enabled a third of Fortune 500 companies and more than half of the U.S. government cabinet-level agencies to improve their security posture and reduce risk. Learn more at www.guidepointsecurity.com .

For Media Inquiries:

Sena McGrand for DoControl

Lumina Communications

(917) 941-4975

[email protected]

SOURCE DoControl
NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The e-commerce packaging market is set to grow by USD 53,098.79 million from 2022 to 2027 progressing at a CAGR of 20.68% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current global market scenario, the latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. The market is driven by the growth of the e-commerce sector. The e-commerce industry is growing exponentially worldwide. Factors such as the expanding tech-savvy population, increased internet penetration, and the rising use of smartphones have fueled the growth of the industry. In addition, the presence of multiple payment options and the convenience offered by e-commerce websites have led to a shift in the purchasing patterns of people from brick-and-mortar stores to online shopping. These factors have spurred the sales of consumer goods online, which has created the demand for efficient packaging solutions. Thus, the growth of the e-commerce sector is expected to drive the growth of the market during the forecast period. Here is an exclusive report about market scenarios with a historical period (2017-2021) and a forecast period (2023-2027). Download a Sample Report!

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global E-commerce Packaging Market 2023-2027

E-commerce Packaging Market 2023-2027 - Market Dynamics

Trend  The rising concern for recyclable and sustainable packaging is identified as the key trend in the market. Concerns over the ecological damage caused by plastic packaging materials have increased among governments. Countries such as the US, China , India , the UK, Argentina , and Brazil have framed stringent government regulations for monitoring the use of plastics. This has forced e-commerce players to adopt sustainable packaging solutions. Many vendors are now focused on introducing environment-friendly packaging solutions. Vendors are also considering the use of paperboard packaging solutions made from wood pulp or recycled wastepaper. This trend among consumers is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the market during the forecast period.

 The rising concern for recyclable and sustainable packaging is identified as the key trend in the market. Concerns over the ecological damage caused by plastic packaging materials have increased among governments. Countries such as the US, , , the UK, , and Brazil have framed stringent government regulations for monitoring the use of plastics. This has forced e-commerce players to adopt sustainable packaging solutions. Many vendors are now focused on introducing environment-friendly packaging solutions. Vendors are also considering the use of paperboard packaging solutions made from wood pulp or recycled wastepaper. This trend among consumers is expected to have a positive impact on the growth of the market during the forecast period. Challenge - Stringent regulations on packaging products will challenge market growth. It is mandatory for e-commerce packaging manufacturers to follow various regulations set by regional governments regarding the use of packaging materials. For instance, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has set several regulations regarding e-commerce packaging for food products. According to these regulations, materials that come in direct contact with food should be food-grade. Also, packaging materials should withstand mechanical, chemical, or thermal stress faced during normal transportation. Such regulations are expected to have a negative impact on the growth of the market during the forecast period.

E-commerce Packaging Market 2023-2027: Market Segmentation

The e-commerce packaging market is segmented by type (corrugated packaging, protective packaging, and polybags), application (food and beverage, consumer electronics, personal care and cosmetics, and fashion and apparel), and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

The market growth in the corrugated packaging segment will be significant over the forecast period. Corrugated boxes are highly durable, lightweight, crush-resistant, and can withstand external pressure. They ensure product safety and convenience when loading and unloading. The popularity of corrugated boxes is increasing among e-commerce players, with rising concerns over non-biodegradable and plastic-based packaging materials. With the growth in e-commerce sales, the demand for corrugated boxes is expected to increase during the forecast period.

APAC will account for 45% of the market growth during the forecast period. The growth of the regional market is driven by the growth in various manufacturing industries, such as electronics and textiles. In addition, factors such as expanding population, surging adoption of smartphones, and the increased penetration of the internet will drive the growth of the e-commerce packaging market in APAC.

This report presents a detailed picture of the market through careful study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources - View a Sample Report

The e-commerce packaging market covers the following areas:

Companies Mentioned

BillerudKorsnas AB - The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions such as Amazon APASS certified in Packaging Materials and Design, Frustration-free Packaging (FFP), PrepFree Packaging (PFP), and Ships in Own Container (SIOC).

- The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions such as Amazon APASS certified in Packaging Materials and Design, Frustration-free Packaging (FFP), PrepFree Packaging (PFP), and Ships in Own Container (SIOC). Cascades Inc. - The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions such as e-commerce multi-shipping boxes, multi-depth boxes, Cascades Ecutter, and flat multi-depth boxes.

- The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions such as e-commerce multi-shipping boxes, multi-depth boxes, Cascades Ecutter, and flat multi-depth boxes. DS Smith Plc - The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions with tracking, temperature-controlled packaging, protective packaging, and tamper-proof packaging.

- The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions with tracking, temperature-controlled packaging, protective packaging, and tamper-proof packaging. International Paper Co. - The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions with tracking links, two-sided printing, pet packaging solutions, and small box machines.

- The company offers e-commerce packaging solutions with tracking links, two-sided printing, pet packaging solutions, and small box machines. Amcor Plc

Klabin SA

Koch Industries Inc.

LivingPackets SA

Mondi plc

Orora Ltd.

Pregis LLC

RAJA Group

Rengo Co. Ltd.

Sealed Air Corp.

Smurfit Kappa Group

Southgate Packaging Ltd.

Stora Enso Oyj

Tenneco Inc.

Tetra Laval S.A.

WestRock Co.

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The perforated packaging film market size is expected to increase to USD 665.78 million from 2021 to 2026. The market is segmented by technology (laser perforation and needle perforation) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

The flexible industrial packaging market size is expected to increase by USD 594.77 million from 2021 to 2026, and the market's growth momentum will accelerate at a CAGR of 5.16%. The market is segmented by end-user (chemical industry, construction industry, and others) and geography (APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa).

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E-commerce Packaging Market Scope Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 20.68% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 53,098.79 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023(%) 18.48 Regional analysis APAC, North America, Europe, South America, and Middle East and Africa Performing market contribution APAC at 45% Key countries US, China, Japan, UK, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled Amcor Plc, BillerudKorsnas AB, Cascades Inc., DS Smith Plc, International Paper Co., Klabin SA, Koch Industries Inc., LivingPackets SA, Mondi plc, Orora Ltd., Pregis LLC, RAJA Group, Rengo Co. Ltd., Sealed Air Corp., Smurfit Kappa Group, Southgate Packaging Ltd., Stora Enso Oyj, Tenneco Inc., Tetra Laval S.A., and WestRock Co. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, Market growth inducers and obstacles, Fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and Market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

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Key Topics Covered:

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

Exhibit 01: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Overview



Exhibit 02: Executive Summary  Data Table on Market Overview



Exhibit 03: Executive Summary  Chart on Global Market Characteristics



Exhibit 04: Executive Summary  Chart on Market by Geography



Exhibit 05: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Type



Exhibit 06: Executive Summary  Chart on Market Segmentation by Application



Exhibit 07: Executive Summary  Chart on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 08: Executive Summary  Data Table on Incremental Growth



Exhibit 09: Executive Summary  Chart on Vendor Market Positioning

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

Exhibit 10: Parent market



Exhibit 11: Market Characteristics

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

Exhibit 12: Offerings of vendors included in the market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

Exhibit 13: Market segments

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

Exhibit 14: Chart on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 15: Data Table on Global - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 16: Chart on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 17: Data Table on Global Market: Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 Global e-commerce packaging market 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 18: Historic Market Size  Data Table on Global e-commerce packaging market 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.2 Type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 19: Historic Market Size  Type Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.3 Application Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 20: Historic Market Size  Application Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 21: Historic Market Size  Geography Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

4.5 Country Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

Exhibit 22: Historic Market Size  Country Segment 2017 - 2021 ($ million)

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

Exhibit 23: Five forces analysis - Comparison between 2022 and 2027

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

Exhibit 24: Chart on Bargaining power of buyers  Impact of key factors 2022 and 2027

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

Exhibit 25: Bargaining power of suppliers  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.4 Threat of new entrants

Exhibit 26: Threat of new entrants  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.5 Threat of substitutes

Exhibit 27: Threat of substitutes  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.6 Threat of rivalry

Exhibit 28: Threat of rivalry  Impact of key factors in 2022 and 2027

5.7 Market condition

Exhibit 29: Chart on Market condition - Five forces 2022 and 2027

6 Market Segmentation by Type

6.1 Market segments

Exhibit 30: Chart on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 31: Data Table on Type - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

6.2 Comparison by Type

Exhibit 32: Chart on Comparison by Type



Exhibit 33: Data Table on Comparison by Type

6.3 Corrugated packaging - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 34: Chart on Corrugated packaging - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 35: Data Table on Corrugated packaging - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 36: Chart on Corrugated packaging - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 37: Data Table on Corrugated packaging - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.4 Protective packaging - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 38: Chart on Protective packaging - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 39: Data Table on Protective packaging - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 40: Chart on Protective packaging - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 41: Data Table on Protective packaging - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.5 Polybags - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 42: Chart on Polybags - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 43: Data Table on Polybags - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 44: Chart on Polybags - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 45: Data Table on Polybags - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

6.6 Market opportunity by Type

Exhibit 46: Market opportunity by Type ($ million)



Exhibit 47: Data Table on Market opportunity by Type ($ million)

7 Market Segmentation by Application

7.1 Market segments

Exhibit 48: Chart on Application - Market share 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 49: Data Table on Application - Market share 2022-2027 (%)

7.2 Comparison by Application

Exhibit 50: Chart on Comparison by Application



Exhibit 51: Data Table on Comparison by Application

7.3 Food and beverage - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 52: Chart on Food and beverage - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 53: Data Table on Food and beverage - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 54: Chart on Food and beverage - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 55: Data Table on Food and beverage - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.4 Consumer electronics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 56: Chart on Consumer electronics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 57: Data Table on Consumer electronics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 58: Chart on Consumer electronics - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 59: Data Table on Consumer electronics - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.5 Personal care and cosmetics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 60: Chart on Personal care and cosmetics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 61: Data Table on Personal care and cosmetics - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 62: Chart on Personal care and cosmetics - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 63: Data Table on Personal care and cosmetics - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.6 Fashion and apparel - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 64: Chart on Fashion and apparel - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 65: Data Table on Fashion and apparel - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 66: Chart on Fashion and apparel - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 67: Data Table on Fashion and apparel - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

7.7 Market opportunity by Application

Exhibit 68: Market opportunity by Application ($ million)



Exhibit 69: Data Table on Market opportunity by Application ($ million)

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

Exhibit 70: Analysis of price sensitivity, lifecycle, customer purchase basket, adoption rates, and purchase criteria

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

Exhibit 71: Chart on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 72: Data Table on Market share by geography 2022-2027 (%)

9.2 Geographic comparison

Exhibit 73: Chart on Geographic comparison



Exhibit 74: Data Table on Geographic comparison

9.3 APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 75: Chart on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 76: Data Table on APAC - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 77: Chart on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 78: Data Table on APAC - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.4 North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 79: Chart on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 80: Data Table on North America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 81: Chart on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 82: Data Table on North America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.5 Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 83: Chart on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 84: Data Table on Europe - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 85: Chart on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 86: Data Table on Europe - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.6 South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 87: Chart on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 88: Data Table on South America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 89: Chart on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 90: Data Table on South America - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.7 Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 91: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 92: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

and - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 93: Chart on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

and - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 94: Data Table on Middle East and Africa - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.8 US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 95: Chart on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 96: Data Table on US - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 97: Chart on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 98: Data Table on US - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.9 China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 99: Chart on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 100: Data Table on China - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 101: Chart on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 102: Data Table on China - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.10 UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

Exhibit 103: Chart on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 104: Data Table on UK - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)



Exhibit 105: Chart on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)



Exhibit 106: Data Table on UK - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.11 Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 107: Chart on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 108: Data Table on Japan - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 109: Chart on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 110: Data Table on Japan - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.12 Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 Exhibit 111: Chart on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 112: Data Table on Germany - Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

- Market size and forecast 2022-2027 ($ million)

Exhibit 113: Chart on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

- Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

Exhibit 114: Data Table on Germany - Year-over-year growth 2022-2027 (%)

9.13 Market opportunity by geography

Exhibit 115: Market opportunity by geography ($ million)



Exhibit 116: Data Tables on Market opportunity by geography ($ million)

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

Exhibit 117: Impact of drivers and challenges in 2022 and 2027

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

Exhibit 118: Overview on Criticality of inputs and Factors of differentiation

11.3 Landscape disruption

Exhibit 119: Overview on factors of disruption

11.4 Industry risks

Exhibit 120: Impact of key risks on business

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

Exhibit 121: Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

Exhibit 122: Matrix on vendor position and classification

12.3 BillerudKorsnas AB

Exhibit 123: BillerudKorsnas AB - Overview



Exhibit 124: BillerudKorsnas AB - Business segments



Exhibit 125: BillerudKorsnas AB - Key news



Exhibit 126: BillerudKorsnas AB - Key offerings



Exhibit 127: BillerudKorsnas AB - Segment focus

12.4 Cascades Inc.

Exhibit 128: Cascades Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 129: Cascades Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 130: Cascades Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 131: Cascades Inc. - Segment focus

12.5 DS Smith Plc

Exhibit 132: DS Smith Plc - Overview



Exhibit 133: DS Smith Plc - Business segments



Exhibit 134: DS Smith Plc - Key news



Exhibit 135: DS Smith Plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 136: DS Smith Plc - Segment focus

12.6 International Paper Co.

Exhibit 137: International Paper Co. - Overview



Exhibit 138: International Paper Co. - Business segments



Exhibit 139: International Paper Co. - Key offerings



Exhibit 140: International Paper Co. - Segment focus

12.7 Koch Industries Inc.

Exhibit 141: Koch Industries Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 142: Koch Industries Inc. - Product / Service



Exhibit 143: Koch Industries Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 144: Koch Industries Inc. - Key offerings

12.8 LivingPackets SA

Exhibit 145: LivingPackets SA - Overview



Exhibit 146: LivingPackets SA - Product / Service



Exhibit 147: LivingPackets SA - Key offerings

12.9 Mondi plc

Exhibit 148: Mondi plc - Overview



Exhibit 149: Mondi plc - Business segments



Exhibit 150: Mondi plc - Key news



Exhibit 151: Mondi plc - Key offerings



Exhibit 152: Mondi plc - Segment focus

12.10 Pregis LLC

Exhibit 153: Pregis LLC - Overview



Exhibit 154: Pregis LLC - Product / Service



Exhibit 155: Pregis LLC - Key offerings

12.11 RAJA Group

Exhibit 156: RAJA Group - Overview



Exhibit 157: RAJA Group - Product / Service



Exhibit 158: RAJA Group - Key offerings

12.12 Rengo Co. Ltd.

Exhibit 159: Rengo Co. Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 160: Rengo Co. Ltd. - Business segments



Exhibit 161: Rengo Co. Ltd. - Key news



Exhibit 162: Rengo Co. Ltd. - Key offerings



Exhibit 163: Rengo Co. Ltd. - Segment focus

12.13 Sealed Air Corp.

Exhibit 164: Sealed Air Corp. - Overview



Exhibit 165: Sealed Air Corp. - Business segments



Exhibit 166: Sealed Air Corp. - Key news



Exhibit 167: Sealed Air Corp. - Key offerings



Exhibit 168: Sealed Air Corp. - Segment focus

12.14 Smurfit Kappa Group

Exhibit 169: Smurfit Kappa Group - Overview



Exhibit 170: Smurfit Kappa Group - Business segments



Exhibit 171: Smurfit Kappa Group - Key news



Exhibit 172: Smurfit Kappa Group - Key offerings



Exhibit 173: Smurfit Kappa Group - Segment focus

12.15 Southgate Packaging Ltd.

Exhibit 174: Southgate Packaging Ltd. - Overview



Exhibit 175: Southgate Packaging Ltd. - Product / Service



Exhibit 176: Southgate Packaging Ltd. - Key offerings

12.16 Stora Enso Oyj

Exhibit 177: Stora Enso Oyj - Overview



Exhibit 178: Stora Enso Oyj - Business segments



Exhibit 179: Stora Enso Oyj - Key news



Exhibit 180: Stora Enso Oyj - Key offerings



Exhibit 181: Stora Enso Oyj - Segment focus

12.17 Tenneco Inc.

Exhibit 182: Tenneco Inc. - Overview



Exhibit 183: Tenneco Inc. - Business segments



Exhibit 184: Tenneco Inc. - Key news



Exhibit 185: Tenneco Inc. - Key offerings



Exhibit 186: Tenneco Inc. - Segment focus

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

Exhibit 187: Inclusions checklist



Exhibit 188: Exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

Exhibit 189: Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

Exhibit 190: Research methodology



Exhibit 191: Validation techniques employed for market sizing



Exhibit 192: Information sources

13.5 List of abbreviations

Exhibit 193: List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: [email protected]

Website: www.technavio.com/

SOURCE Technavio
DELRAY BEACH, Fla., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ed Morse Automotive Group announced today that it has acquired Putnam Chevrolet in California, Missouri. The new name of the dealership will be Ed Morse Chevrolet. This will be the sixth dealership for Ed Morse in Missouri, joining locations in Rolla, Lebanon, and Saint Robert.

Ed Morse Automotive Group purchased the dealership from Bill Campbell, who has overseen the legendary dealership in Moniteau County for years. Putman Chevrolet has been in business for 100 years, making it one of the oldest dealerships operating in the state of Missouri.

"When our family-owned automotive group looks to expand, we focus on acquiring dealerships that are established, trusted, and family-owned. Mr. Campbell and his team exemplify these qualities. We are also excited to expand further into the incredible state of Missouri, where we've experienced tremendous success. The city of California has impressed us immediately and we look forward to being part of the community," said Teddy Morse, Chairman and CEO of Ed Morse Automotive Group.

"We pride ourselves on not only delivering on our promises to support the community but thrilled to work with the employees there to continue to make this dealership a world-class destination," added Morse.

The Ed Morse Automotive Group is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida, and has been family-owned for over 75 years. This acquisition will add 25 employees to its over 2,000-plus employee base, growing their locations to 37 dealerships, 77 franchises and 25 automotive and motorcycle brands.

About Ed Morse Automotive Group

The Morse family has been in the automotive business since 1946 when Ed Morse founded Morse Motors. Over 75 years later, Ed's grandson, Chairman/CEO Teddy Morse continues to build on the legacy and family tradition. Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida and with acquisitions into Texas, Iowa, Missouri, Illinois and Oklahoma, Ed Morse Automotive Group is considered to be one of the nation's fastest growing and most respected automotive and motorcycle dealer groups. www.edmorse.com

SOURCE Ed Morse Automotive Group
SAN DIEGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Element Biosciences, Inc. developer of an innovative DNA sequencing platform that is disrupting the genomics industry  has signed distribution agreements with companies based in Israel, South Korea, Australia, and the United Arab Emirates to bring its AVITI System to more customers around the world. The strong global demand for AVITI across multiple geographies shows that labs across the world are eager for our platform, which brings them high quality, low-cost, easy-to-use genomics tools that accelerate discovery.

For Israel and Palestine, Element has signed a non-exclusive distribution agreement with Eldan Electronics Instruments Ltd., a member of the Neopharm Group and one of the most experienced distributors in the Israeli medical devices and life science industries.

For South Korea, Element has entered into a non-exclusive distribution agreement with XpertGen Inc., a subsidiary of DAON BioSciences Inc., leveraging their extensive experience in the single cell market and other areas.

For Australia and New Zealand, Element has signed a non-exclusive distribution agreement with TrendBio Pty Ltd., a specialized instrument and consumable distributor servicing the Australian and New Zealand life science markets with a focus on customers in both academic and translational research and in clinical and diagnostic settings.

For Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, Element has partnered with Integrated Gulf Biosystems LLC, as its non-exclusive distributor, leveraging their extensive experience in the large population studies and automation.

"We have received strong interest in AVITI from many global markets, and we are excited to partner with these experienced distributors across the world to bring AVITI to more customers," said Mark Aitkenhead, PhD, Chief Commercial Officer of Element Biosciences. "Our goal is to expand access to the highest quality, most cost-effective sequencing and empower customers everywhere to achieve breakthrough science."

For inquiries, please contact us here: https://www.elementbiosciences.com/contact

About Element Biosciences, Inc.

Element Biosciences is a multi-disciplinary life science company currently focused on developing disruptive DNA sequencing technology for research and diagnostic markets. Through innovating every fundamental element of a sequencing system, Element empowers customers with affordable, high-quality data and an improved user experience, which in turn will accelerate scientific discoveries and broaden the use of genomic medicine. To learn more about Element, please visit www.elementbiosciences.com.

Media Contact:

Kristi Heim

Element Biosciences

[email protected]

Michael Galfetti

Mission North

[email protected]

SOURCE Element Biosciences
FORNEBU, Norway, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Aker BP (OSE: AKRBP) (OTCQX: AKRBF) (OTCQX: AKRBY) will publish its financial report for the first quarter 2023 on Thursday 27 April 2023. Today the company provides an update on production and sales volumes and other relevant items for the quarter.

Oil and gas production and sales

Aker BP produced 452.7 thousand barrels of oil equivalents per day (mboepd) in the quarter. Net volume sold amounted to 449.6 mboepd.

Volume (mboepd) Q1-23 Q4-22 Q3-22 Net production 452.7 432.0 411.7 Overlift/(underlift) (3.1) (3.7) (5.0) Net sold volume 449.6 428.3 406.7 Of which liquids 384.1 362.2 342.2 Of which natural gas 65.5 66.0 64.5







Realised prices Q1-23 Q4-22 Q3-22 Liquids (USD/boe) 78.4 86.6 101.1 Natural gas (USD/boe) 98.7 150.4 280.9

Impairments

The company expects non-cash impairment charges of approximately USD 400 million before tax (approximately USD 300 million after tax) in the first quarter related to the Edvard Grieg area. This is mainly driven by the previously announced termination of the Troldhaugen project and by reduced forward prices leading to an impairment of technical goodwill allocated to the Edvard Grieg & Ivar Aasen CGU.

Webcast

The company will release the first quarter 2023 results on 27 April 2023 at 07:00 CEST. At 08:30 CEST the same day, the management will present the results on a webcast available on www.akerbp.com/en. The presentation will be followed by an online Q&A session.

Disclaimer

The information in this statement is based on a preliminary assessment of the company's first quarter 2023 financial results. The company has not completed its financial reporting and related review and control procedures. The estimates provided may therefore be subject to change and the financial statements finally approved and released by the company may deviate from the information herein.

Contact

Kjetil Bakken,

Head of Investor Relations,

tel.: +47 918 89 889

The following files are available for download:

SOURCE Aker BP ASA
The U.S. Department of Energy, in a letter dated March 17, 2023, warned Rosatom about the presence of American technical information subject to export control at Zaporizhia NPP (ZNPP), CNN reports.

"The Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant in Enerhodar contains US-origin nuclear technical data that is export-controlled by the United States Government," the CNN referred to the letter, which was reviewed by CNN and is dated March 17, 2023, by director of the Energy Departments Office of Nonproliferation Policy, Andrea Ferkile, addressed to Rosatoms director general.

In the letter, the CNN notes, it was also mentioned that the Energy Department warned Rosatom in the letter that it is "unlawful" for any Russian citizens or entities to handle the U.S. technology.

The U.S. Energy Department's National Nuclear Security Administration told CNN in a statement that the letter is authentic. The department did not say whether Rosatom's response was received.
FTS to Distribute its Local News Content across Amazon Devices

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- FOX Television Stations (FTS) and Amazon have jointly announced they are teaming up to distribute FTS's local news content across Amazon's devices. Effective immediately, FTS will provide seventeen 24/7 local, free, ad-supported television (FAST) channels, one from each market covered by the FOX Television Stations, through the Amazon News app on Fire TV and Alexa on Echo Show devices.

"This important collaboration with Amazon further solidifies our commitment to bring FTS's powerhouse local news content to as many people as possible," said Jeff Zellmer, Senior Vice President, Digital Operations, FOX Television Stations. "We know that choice and accessibility matter to our viewers and this launch is another key step in our overall strategy and goal of giving our viewers the live and on-demand content from the stations they love."

This collaboration began in March 2022 with the initial distribution of LiveNOW from FOX and FOX Soul FAST channels. In December 2022, FTS's local news content debuted across Amazon products with the distribution of the first five stations: WTXF FOX 29 Philadelphia, KTVU FOX 2 San Francisco, KSAZ FOX 10 Phoenix, WJBK FOX 2 Detroit, and KMSP FOX 9 Minneapolis. The remaining twelve, WNYW FOX 5 New York, KTTV FOX 11 Los Angeles, WFLD FOX 32 Chicago, KDFW FOX 4 Dallas, WAGA FOX 5 Atlanta, KRIV FOX 26 Houston, WTTG FOX 5 DC, KCPQ FOX 13 Seattle, WTVT FOX 13 Tampa Bay, WOFL FOX 35 Orlando, KTBC FOX 7 Austin and WITI FOX 6 Milwaukee, are now available across Amazon products, such as Fire TV and Echo Show devices. In addition to live content, FTS is also distributing local news video on demand (VOD) clips.

Amazon's News app on Fire TV is a free and customizable news aggregator that is supported with advertising. The app comes built into the Fire TV experience on all Fire TV streaming media players and smart TVs in the U.S. When viewers open the News app on the Fire TV home screen for the first time, they can select the news that matters most to them from national and local sources.

Customers in the U.S. can also watch local news channels in 250 cities from more than 300 local news providers on Echo Show devices. With this update, Alexa will make it easier to learn about the latest news stories in local communities from FOX Local Newsall hands-free. Just say, "Alexa play Phoenix news," "Alexa play Seattle news," etc. to get started.

ABOUT THE FOX TELEVISION STATIONS

FOX Television Stations owns and operates 29 full power broadcast television stations in the U.S. These include stations located in nine of the top ten largest designated market areas (DMAs), and duopolies in 11 DMAs, including the three largest DMAs (New York, Los Angeles and Chicago). Of these stations, 17 are affiliated with the FOX Network. In addition to distributing sports, entertainment and syndicated content, our television stations collectively produce over 1,000 hours of local news every week. These stations leverage viewer, distributor and advertiser demand for the FOX Network's national content.

SOURCE FOX Television Stations
LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Fraser Communications, one of the leading women owned marketing firms in Southern California, announced the appointment of Dr. Paul Simon as Senior Science Advisor. In this role Simon will report directly to the agency's Chief Executive Officer Renee Fraser. PhD. Simon previously served as Chief Science Officer for the Los Angeles Department of Public Health. Simon has worked with Fraser on county-wide communications efforts in the past. In this new role Simon will guide outreach strategy and help the agency develop communications efforts with health-related clients across the agency.

Fraser Communications, one of the leading women owned marketing firms in Southern California, announced the appointment of Dr. Paul Simon as Senior Science Advisor.

"Dr. Simon is an exceptional healthcare professional with a track record of delivering outstanding results in the field of Public Health," said Renee Fraser, PhD. Founder, and CEO of Fraser Communications. "As a purpose -driven marketing firm, Fraser takes on some of the more difficult communication challenges related to Public Health on a national, state and county level. Our work includes campaigns to support the prevention of chronic illnesses, the treatment and prevention of substance use, smoking cessation, and preventing teens from vaping. Dr. Simon's knowledge of medicine, epidemiology and policy will add invaluable insights to our campaigns. We are excited to welcome him to our leadership team as we continue to grow our healthcare communications practice with an eye on Public Health."

In his role as Chief Science Officer for the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, Simon led the Department's efforts to integrate science into public health practice. He and his staff supported efforts across the Department in the areas of evidence-based practice, program evaluation, public health surveillance, population health assessment, health impact assessment, and other special studies. He also oversaw the Department's Office of Health Assessment and Epidemiology, Office of Quality Improvement and Accreditation, Information Management and Analytics Office, and Center for Health Impact Evaluation.

Simon is board certified in pediatrics and preventive medicine. He also completed a two-year fellowship in field of epidemiology with the Epidemic Intelligence Service (EIS Program) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 1992 and then served as a Medical Epidemiologist in CDC's Division of HIV/AIDS Prevention, assigned to the Los Angeles County HIV Epidemiology Program from 1992-1998. He is currently an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Epidemiology at UCLA Fielding School of Public Health and a Research Professor in the Department of Population and Public Health Sciences at USC Keck School of Medicine.

About Fraser Communications

Founded in 1998, Fraser is a premier, award-winning communications firm, and the only agency in the United States led by a psychologist. What sets Fraser apart from others is our deep and longstanding commitment to creating highly impactful campaigns that educate and build awareness for the public good by engaging in meaningful ways. Our award-winning work focuses on diminishing social inequalities  which includes ensuring that all California children receive the best possible start in life  particularly in our underserved communities throughout California. We are known for our ability to motivate action by touching people's minds and hearts through strategic creative and methodical research-based planning that resonates with key target audiences including African American, Latino, Asian, and LGBTQ+. Frasers current client list includes: California Department of Public Health and Health Services, LADWP, Clean Power Alliance, LA Department of Public Health, Toyota, and Lexus.

SOURCE Fraser Communications
CALGARY, AB, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company") announces that its first quarter 2023 results will be released after markets close on Wednesday, May 3, 2023.

A conference call for investors and analysts will be held on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time. Participants will include Gabriel de Alba, Chairman of the Board of Directors, Orlando Cabrales, Chief Executive Officer, Rene Burgos, Chief Financial Officer and other members of the senior management team.

Analysts and investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers:

Participant Number (Toll Free North America): 1-888-664-6383 Participant Number (Toll Free Colombia): 01-800-518-4036 Participant Number (International): 1-416-764-8650 Conference ID: 49513969 Webcast Audio: www.fronteraenergy.ca



A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 11, 2023.

Encore Toll free Dial-in Number: 1-888-390-0541 International Dial-in Number: 1-416-764-8677 Encore ID: 513969

About Frontera

Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America, including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 31 exploration and production blocks in Colombia, Ecuador and Guyana, and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia. Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe.

Corporate Presentation

See Frontera's corporate presentations at: https://www.fronteraenergy.ca/reports-presentations/

Social Media

Follow Frontera's social media channels at the following links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fronteraenergy?lang=en

Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/FronteraEnergy/

LinkedIn: https://co.linkedin.com/company/frontera-energy-corp.

SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation
The chat solution is the first offering on the market that is enriched with auto industry-specific data to provide lightning-fast, intelligent customer service. By connecting dealers' CRM, inventory, specials, and original equipment manufacturer (OEM) specials, the purchasing experience will get its biggest upgrade since going online.

MIAMI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The automotive retail industry's leading Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP), Fullpath, is announcing the launch of the first ever Chat-GPT4 powered product, tailored specifically for automotive dealerships through APIs and data connectivity. Fullpath's GPT4-powered integration will supercharge its capabilities and put dealers who adopt the technology at the forefront of automotive innovation.

The release comes as the nearly $3 trillion automotive industry continues to digitize dealerships and OEM operations to unlock visibility, optimize operations, and provide personalized customer service that today's shoppers are accustomed to from shopping on Amazon and streaming personalized Netflix and Spotify recommendations.

Fullpath's AI chat will seamlessly integrate with dealership data sources like CRMs, inventory feeds, and car specials so shoppers can interact with the chat in the most sophisticated way. ChatGPT has taken the world by storm because it can learn anything from coding and writing essays to lesson plans and much more. Now, with this technology being leveraged for and adapted to the automotive industry, car shoppers can experience this ease directly on dealership websites.

With Fullpath's ChatGPT-4 integration, customers will, for the first time, be able to ask dealer-specific questions such as, "What is the best car available for a family of 5 for $22,000 or less?" or "My car broke down. How can you help?" The AI is trained to combine the vast knowledge of the internet with the proprietary Fullpath data layer so it can identify specific shoppers in the dealership's database to best serve today's sales and service customers coming to dealership websites. With 95% of car shoppers turning to the internet first, frictionless online customer service will completely transform the face of the car buying experience.

"Chat-GPT4 is a potent engine for efficiency and personalization, and by connecting it to critical aspects of dealer and OEM operations, we're becoming the first platform to realize its potential for automotive," says CEO and Co-founder Aharon Horwitz of Fullpath.

"It's no surprise that Fullpath was the first company to release ChatGPT for car dealers, as they have consistently shown their commitment to pushing the boundaries of what's possible in our industry. We are proud to be working with Fullpath as we continue to offer cutting-edge solutions to our customers." Says Derek Deboer, Owner of TC Chevrolet in Oregon.

"Meeting the customer at the start of their automotive purchasing journey with personalized, relevant engagement is a must," says Sean Western, Director of Marketing at Quirk Automotive Group, the first customer to adopt the technology while in beta. "Fullpath has allowed us to do exactly that with their platform, and now with the addition of their Chat-GPT4 integration, we're able to blow customers away right as they land on our website."

Over 500 North American dealerships signed up for the waitlist to implement Fullpath's Chat GPT-4 solution upon its full release.

About Fullpath

Fullpath (formerly AutoLeadStar) is the automotive retail industry's most trusted Customer Data and Experience Platform (CDXP). Unifying first-party dealership data and leveraging it to create seamless omnichannel marketing campaigns, Fullpath is a CDXP pioneer. Used by 1,000 dealerships across North America, Fullpath's CDXP is advancing dealer tech adoption in this enormous segment of the economy.

Media Contact

Ilana Shabtay

+1 7204926658

[email protected]

SOURCE Fullpath
MOU Brings Gcore's Pioneering Cloud Services to APAC Customers and Offers Asian Businesses Gateway to EMEA

LUXEMBOURG, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gcore  a European provider of high-performance, low-latency, international cloud and edge solutions  and NHN Cloud  a subsidiary of South Korean technology and gaming giant, NHN Group, and a leading provider of public and private cloud services in South Korea and across Asia Pacific  today announce a strategic partnership together.

Gcore and NHN Cloud agree Strategic Partnership

Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Gcore's pioneering cloud services  including CDN (Content Delivery Network), 5G eSIM, and accelerated AI processing  will be made available to enterprises in Asia Pacific through the NHN Cloud, providing a gateway for Gcore into this key market. In return, Gcore will function as NHN Cloud's strategic partner in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and provide a bridge for NHN Cloud's Asia Pacific customers into the region.

Additionally, the MOU sets up a framework for the two companies to jointly develop new solutions and collaborate on commercial initiatives.

NHN Cloud manages various internet businesses, including Hangame, an online gaming portal with over 37 million members in South Korea, NHN Payco, a payment gateway and digital wallet service, and FashionGo, an online marketplace.

For nearly ten years Gcore has been building Europe's most powerful and extensive edge and cloud services. Today, Gcore's infrastructure includes 140 points of presence worldwide and more than 11,000 peering partners.

Donghooom Kim, CEO at NHN Cloud, commented: "Gcore's strength in EMEA is a significant benefit for us as we look to support the expansion of our customers across the region. Gcore has a shared desire to drive innovation in the areas of edge and cloud computing, and we are confident that together we can create compelling new propositions that will unlock even more value for our customers."

Andre Reitenbach, CEO at Gcore, said: "We at Gcore are immensely proud to embark on this partnership with NHN Cloud, one of Asia Pacific's outstanding technology innovators. Both businesses sharpened their expertise in delivering compelling gaming experiences built on high-performance, low-latency technology infrastructure, and have extended that know-how to businesses across the globe."

About Gcore

Gcore is an international leader in public cloud and edge computing, content delivery, hosting, and security solutions. Gcore is headquartered in Luxembourg and has offices in Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Georgia. Gcore manages its own global IT infrastructure across six continents. Andre Reitenbach, Gcore CEO since 2014.

About NHN Cloud

NHN Cloud is a major public/private CSP in Korea, servicing the representative open stack-based comprehensive cloud services. Thanks to NHN Group's various IT services portfolio and experience, NHN Cloud is expanding its services by developing and launching cloud solutions for each industry. As a market front-runner in public cloud transformation sector, NHN Cloud is leading the technology business by reinforcing public and private competitiveness by enlarging public sector and expanding private cloud service area.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057226/Gcore.jpg

SOURCE Gcore
A balanced mix of international investors commits 600 million to Gilde Healthcare Venture&Growth VI, a transatlantic investment fund

Gilde Healthcare invests in fast growing companies that enable better care at lower cost, supported by its recently appointed Impact Council

In three years' time, Gilde Healthcare raised over 1.5 billion across three funds

UTRECHT, Netherlands, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gilde Healthcare today announces a new investment fund with 600 million in commitments: Gilde Healthcare Venture&Growth VI. The new fund focuses on fast growing companies developing solutions for better care at lower cost. Gilde Healthcare invests in companies in Europe and North America active in digital healthcare, medical technology (MedTech) and therapeutics.

The fund is backed by a balanced mix of international investors, including corporates, banks, pension funds, insurers, fund-of-funds, sovereign wealth funds, endowments, family offices, entrepreneurs and the Gilde team.

Pieter van der Meer, Managing Partner at Gilde Healthcare: "We are pleased with the strong interest from investors who support our mission. Innovations that improve the quality of care but also keep it affordable are essential to ensure access to healthcare. Our broad strategy, covering digital health, MedTech and therapeutics, results in a holistic approach allowing us to select the most optimal and cost effective solution for the individual patient. With a team of sector experts, we help companies to further scale medical innovations and to make them accessible globally."

The healthcare expenditure in the Western World continues to grow, already exceeding 20% of GDP in the United States. Gilde Healthcare's mission to invest in better care at lower cost, is supported by the recently established Impact Council, chaired by the former executive director of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).

The new fund will invest 10-60 million per new portfolio company. Together with the last Venture&Growth fund (closed in 2020) and Gilde Healthcare Private Equity IV (closed in 2022), Gilde Healthcare has raised 1.5 billion in capital over the last three years.

About Gilde Healthcare

Gilde Healthcare is a specialized healthcare investor managing over 2.5 billion across two fund strategies: Venture&Growth and Private Equity. The Venture& Growth fund of Gilde Healthcare invests in fast growing companies active in digital health, medtech and therapeutics, based in Europe and North America. The Private Equity fund of Gilde Healthcare participates in profitable lower mid-market healthcare companies based in North-Western Europe. For more information,: www.gildehealthcare.com

SOURCE Gilde Healthcare
DUBLIN, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Nucleic Acid Isolation, Quantitation, and Purification Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023-2028)" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The nucleic acid isolation, quantitation, and purification market are expected to register a CAGR of over 11.3% during the forecast period.

Companies Mentioned

Agilent Technologies

Illumina, Inc

QIAGEN

Bio-Rad Laboratories Inc.

Danaher Corporation ( Beckman Coulter )

) General Electric Company (GE Healthcare)

F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd

Merck KGaA

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

Takara Holdings

Promega Corporation

PerkinElmer

BioVision Inc.

Nucleic Acid Isolation, Quantitation, and Purification Market Trends

DNA Quantitation Kits Segment is Anticipated to Witness a Growth Over the Forecast Period

The DNA quantitation kits segment is expected to witness growth in the nucleic acid isolation, quantitation, and purification market, owing to the factors such as a rise in DNA quantitation kit product launches, an increase in genomic research, and a surge in funding for research involving nucleic acid quantitation and isolations. DNA quantitation kits provide a comprehensive assessment of the quantity and quality of the isolated DNA sample.

This is helpful in making the correct decisions regarding downstream processing, therefore, improving room for success with each sample. This makes DNA quantitation kits a lucrative option in forensic laboratories and labs, where high sample volume is generally low and there is minimal room for error.



Furthermore, the benefits of DNA quantitation kits include improved specificity, robust and reproducible products with a high dynamic range, low noise in the results, etc.

The rise in research activities demonstrating the importance and advantages of DNA quantitation is anticipated to increase segment growth over the forecast period.

For instance, as per the article published in September 2022 in ScienceDirect, the study analyzed DNA concentration measurement which resulted in the basis of markers of the Quantifiler Trio DNA Quantification Kit and Investigator Quantiplex Pro RGQ Kit. Depending on the measurement kit used, based on measuring the concentration of DNA of the short autosomal fragment, 12 out of 80 (Quantifiler Trio DNA Quantification Kit) or 11 out of 80 (Investigator Quantiplex Pro RGQ) achieved the STR amplification kit manufacturer's required amount of DNA in the reaction mixture. Hence, such studies involving DNA quantitation kits are expected to drive segment growth over the forecast period.



Moreover, research funding for the studies associated with DNA quantitation is anticipated to drive market growth over the forecast period.

For instance, in November 2022, a research scholar at the University of Florida College of Medicine was awarded a USD 1.8 million grant from the National Institute of General Medical Sciences to study the repair mechanism of DNA. Additionally, the DNA quantitation product launches by the key players are anticipated to boost market growth over the forecast period.

For instance, in July 2022, Qiagen added new biopharma products to its QIAcuity digital PCR portfolio and launched its Expert Custom Assay Design Service. Thirteen new kits and assays allow for the quantification of AAV viral titer and residual host cell DNA in cell and gene therapy. Three new QIAcuity Residual DNA Quantification Kits are available for checking the carryover of the host cell DNA.



Hence, due to the rise in product launches and increased research activities, the DNA quantitation kit segment is anticipated to witness growth in the nucleic acid isolation, quantitation, and purification market over the forecast period.

North America Anticipated to Hold a Significant Share in the Market Over the Forecast Period

North America is expected to witness growth in the nucleic acid isolation quantitation and purification market owing to the factors such as a rise in research and development in the genomic field that requires nucleic acid isolation, quantitation, and purification procedures, an increase in demand for sequencing platforms in clinical diagnostics, and growth in funding for research and development in molecular biology.

For instance, in December 2022, McMaster collaborated with partners in the field of nuclear science on a range of projects, from small modular reactor research and development to improving access to medical isotopes and advancing neutron beam science in Canada.



In addition, in May 2022, QIAGEN launched its therascreen EGFR Plus RGQ PCR Kit, a new in-vitro diagnostic test for sensitive EGFR mutation analysis, detecting all currently known activating and resistance EGFR mutations. The real-time qPCR test builds on the established therascreen EGFR RGQ PCR Kit. It provides improved detection limits, quicker turnaround times, automated sample extraction options, and automated results analysis.

Such developments in nucleic acid detection and purification are anticipated to drive market growth. Furthermore, in September 2021, Beckman Coulter Life Sciences launched the EMnetik System to semi-automate workflows while reducing the time required for a PCR cleanup.

Built using electromagnets, EMnetik 24 and the accompanying EMnetik PCR Cleanup Kit and EMnetik Plasmid Purification Kit use magnetic bead-based technology to clean nucleic acids in a stationary device. The benchtop instrument can run 1-24 samples at a time. The streamlined cleanup process and semi-automation also helped eliminate potential errors.



Thus, due to the rise in research and development in the genomic field that requires nucleic acid isolation, quantitation, and purification procedures, along with the surge in product launches, North America is anticipated to witness a growth in the nucleic acid isolation and purification market over the forecast period.

Key Topics Covered:

1 INTRODUCTION



2 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY



3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY



4 MARKET DYNAMICS

4.1 Market Overview

4.2 Market Drivers

4.2.1 Increase in Demand of Sequencing Platforms in Clinical Diagnostics

4.2.2 Rise in Genomics Research

4.2.3 Growth in Funding for Research and Development in Molecular Biology

4.3 Market Restraints

4.3.1 High Price of the Instruments and Reagents

4.3.2 Low Penetration in Emerging Markets

4.4 Porter's Five Force Analysis



5 MARKET SEGMENTATION (Market Size by Value - USD Million)

5.1 By Technology

5.1.1 Column-based Purification

5.1.2 Magnetic Bead-based Purification

5.1.3 Reagent-based Purification

5.2 By Product

5.2.1 Kits and Reagents

5.2.1.1 Nucleic Acid Isolation and Purification

5.2.1.2 Nucleic Acid Quantitation

5.2.1.2.1 DNA Quantitation Kits

5.2.1.2.2 RNA Quantitation Kits

5.2.2 Equipments

5.2.2.1 Nucleic Acid Isolation and Purification

5.2.2.2 Nucleic Acid Quantitation

5.2.2.2.1 Spectrophotometer

5.2.2.2.2 Fluorometer

5.2.3 Other Products

5.3 By Application

5.3.1 Total RNA Isolation and Purification

5.3.2 mRNA Isolation and Purification

5.3.3 microRNA Isolation and Purification

5.3.4 Plasmid DNA Isolation and Purification

5.3.5 Genomic DNA Isolation and Purification

5.3.6 Blood DNA Isolation and Purification

5.3.7 PCR Clean-up

5.3.8 Biobanking

5.3.9 Clinical Research

5.3.10 Forensics

5.3.11 Drug Development

5.3.12 Others

5.4 By End-user

5.4.1 Hospitals

5.4.2 Academia

5.4.3 Pharmaceutical/Biotechnology Industry

5.4.4 CRO

5.5 Geography



6 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

6.1 Company Profiles



7 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES AND FUTURE TRENDS

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/wz58ii

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

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SOURCE Research and Markets
New additions enhance portfolio to continue meeting consumer demand for quality indoor-grown, affordable pre-roll products

COSTA MESA, Calif. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gold Flora , a leading vertically-integrated single-state cannabis company, announced the expansion of the Sword & Stoned brand of products in California with the introduction of .5G infused and .5G classic indoor flower pre-roll packs. Comprised of Sativa, Indica, and Hybrid flower blends grown in Gold Flora's pristine indoor cultivation campus in Desert Hot Springs, the brand is designed to offer consumers premium quality at an everyday affordable price, and builds upon the current line of 1G single pre-roll offerings and recently launched 1G classic pre-roll 5 packs that have become a popular staple in dispensaries across California.

Sword & Stoned Brand Expands in California with .5G Infused and .5G Classic Pre-Roll 5 Packs, and 1G Classic Pre-Roll 5 Packs

Sword & Stoned is expanding with a powerful lineup of new products:

.5-Gram Infused Pre-Roll 5 Pack: Infused with premium cured resin and rolled in kief for a powerful kick. Available in Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid for those who are looking for an extra boost.

Infused with premium cured resin and rolled in kief for a powerful kick. Available in Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid for those who are looking for an extra boost. .5G Classic Pre-Roll 5 Pack : Smooth burning classic pre-rolls, made with the same blends as the popular 1G single Sword & Stoned pre-roll. Available in Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid packs for every kind of adventure.

: Smooth burning classic pre-rolls, made with the same blends as the popular 1G single Sword & Stoned pre-roll. Available in Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid packs for every kind of adventure. 1G Classic Pre-Roll 5 Pack: Launched in January 2023 , these packs leverage innovative packaging with ocean-reclaimed, fully-recyclable plastic, and a convenient roach holder. Available in Indica, Sativa, and Hybrid packs.

Chris Lane, Chief Marketing Officer of Gold Flora, said the brand is designed to meet the needs of both consumers and the ever-changing retail environment.

"As one of the leading vertically-integrated operators in the state, we are able to fully utilize our vast cultivation capabilities and expand a product line that has high-quality flower blends at an extremely compelling price point," Lane said. "Consumers are going to love the flavors, aroma, and experiences that Sword & Stoned delivers, and dispensary operators will be pleased to provide a quality, indoor-grown product portfolio at a price that will keep consumers coming back for more."

Gold Flora is a unique cannabis company, led by some of the most experienced cultivators and operators in the industry. The company is focused on developing craft-level cannabis lines for consumers throughout California.

In addition to the value-driven positioning of Sword & Stoned, the company has a comprehensive portfolio of products at all price-points, including the popular Jetfuel and Aviation Cannabis brands, the rotating limited genetics Roll Bleezy brand, and the premium Gold Flora line. The mantra of "something for everyone" exemplifies the company's strategy of developing a comprehensive line of products that never sacrifice quality at any level.

"We are creating small-batch quality at scale," Lane said, who joined the company in 2022 as part of the acquisition of Airfield Supply Company. "Up until now, products in this price range were usually sourced or outdoor grown with inconsistent quality and supply, and fluctuating THC levels," he added. "Now, with our extensive cultivation facilities and state-wide distribution network, all Californians can enjoy consistent quality products at prices that won't burn a hole in your wallet."

Sword & Stoned is already available across California and the new product lines are launching this week at the Gold Flora family of California dispensaries:

Airfield Supply Company  a market-leading dispensary located in San Jose

King's Crew  a Long Beach dispensary where customers are treated like royalty

dispensary where customers are treated like royalty Higher Level Dispensaries  serving the communities of Seaside and Hollister

Dispensaries interested in carrying Sword & Stoned may contact RYL Distribution, Gold Flora's company-owned sales and distribution division, at: www.ryldistro.com or by emailing: [email protected].

For more information on Sword & Stoned, visit: www.swordandstoned.com.

Connect with Sword & Stoned on Instagram, at: @swordandstonedofficial.



For more information on Gold Flora, visit: www.goldflora.com.

Connect with Gold Flora on Instagram, at: @goldflora_ca

About Gold Flora

Gold Flora is a privately held, female-led company that owns and operates a robust portfolio of cannabis brands, companies, and retail dispensaries throughout the state. Its retail operations include King's Crew in Long Beach, Airfield Supply Company in San Jose, and the Higher Level chain serving Hollister and Seaside.

In addition to its retail footprint, Gold Flora has a 620,000 square-foot cannabis campus located in Desert Hot Springs, CA, where it houses the company's indoor cultivation, manufacturing, and extraction facilities, as well as its own distribution company. With hubs throughout the state, the company sells and distributes for many prominent brands, including their own premium lines of Gold Flora, Roll Bleezy, Sword & Stoned, Aviation Cannabis, and Jetfuel Cannabis.

Gold Flora's mission is to provide the highest quality, fully-tested, legal cannabis products in California. The company was built on a foundation of trust, transparency, and high ethical standards. It is also one of the few cannabis companies that is both vertically integrated and woman-owned and operated.

For more information, visit goldflora.com .

Media Contact

Innovation Agency

Randall Huft

[email protected]

310-571-5592

SOURCE Gold Flora
KNOX, Pa., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (Greystar), a global leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality rental housing properties, today announced the opening of its flagship manufacturing facility for its modular construction business, Modern Living Solutions ("MLS"), which focuses on attainable and sustainable housing. The milestone was met with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at the western Pennsylvania site where MLS is in the process of hiring 170 full-time employees to execute the ramp-up and operations of its first modular factory.

Greystar's Modern Living Solutions business is focused on addressing the chronic undersupply of housing by delivering design-conscious and cost-effective modular apartments while combining development, construction, and modular manufacturing in a vertically integrated business. As a wholly owned subsidiary of Greystar, the largest manager and developer of apartments in the US, Modern Living Solutions has the opportunity to utilize this size and scale to make a positive impact on increasing the housing supply in America. The MLS corporate office is located in Baltimore, MD, and the first factory is located in Knox, PA.

"Greystar recognizes the significant undersupply of housing options across the US today and we believe what we're doing with MLS will begin to address this challenge," said Bob Faith, Founder, Chairman, and CEO of Greystar. "We are harnessing the innovative power of the private sector to deliver a rental product that is less expensive, more attainable, and sustainably produced to meet a need we are seeing in the market."

Modular construction offers several key advantages that lead to a product that is more sustainably produced and provides a high quality and more affordable option to renters. At the manufacturing facility, MLS conducts both the design and assembly of modular apartments, streamlining the process on all fronts.

Manufacturing the modules in a factory-controlled environment means that projects can be delivered up to 50 percent faster than traditional construction with less external risk presented by factors including weather, labor shortages, or on-site safety concerns. With sustainable designs, efficient usage of materials, and speed of construction, MLS units will have a smaller carbon footprint than traditionally built projects. Through a one-of-a-kind process, roughly 80 percent less waste will be produced compared to traditional builds.

"We are excited to be joining the Knox community and are proud to bring a positive impact to the economy of Northwest Pennsylvania. We're looking forward to building our network of talented team members who I know will play important roles in the work we do at Modern Living Solutions," said Andy Mest, Managing Director, Modern Living Solutions.

Initially, the factory will serve the Mid-Atlantic region, particularly 30 to 45 minutes outside major metropolitan areas like Pittsburgh, PA, and Baltimore, MD, where the essential worker lives and the housing supply is low.

About Modern Living Solutions

Modern Living Solutions is a leading fully integrated modular construction company offering expertise in the design, development, and delivery of modular construction residential real estate products. Headquartered in Baltimore, MD, with its state-of-the-art offsite manufacturing facility in Knox, PA, Modern Living Solutions develops thousands of modular products on behalf of dedicated partners and capital annually. Modern Living Solutions was founded in 2020 with the intent to become a provider of world-class services in the modular construction residential real estate business.

About Greystar

Greystar is a leading, fully integrated global real estate company offering expertise in property management, investment management, development, and construction services in institutional-quality rental housing, logistics, and life sciences sectors. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates more than $250 billion of real estate in 234 markets globally with offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, manages more than 817,000 units/beds globally, and has a robust institutional investment management platform comprised of more than $69 billion of assets under management, including over $29 billion of development assets. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 to become a provider of world class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com

SOURCE Greystar
Be sure to stop by booth #60 to learn more about Health In Tech's suite of offerings for individuals searching for more cost stability and clarity - particularly those facing difficulties due to Humana's departure from the self-funding space.

STUART, Fla., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Health In Tech, the industry-leading insurtech company that delivers disruptive innovation and reimagines self-funded health plans, is proud to announce that it will attend the NABIP-TX 2023 Annual Conference from April 24-26, 2023, at the Royal Sonesta in Houston as a corporate sponsor. NABIP is the predominant organization dedicated to supporting health insurance and employee benefits professionals by providing essential tools and resources for high-quality, affordable benefits. Health In Tech will showcase its innovative benefits solutions at the conference, such as its HI Performance Network, powered by HI Card. These solutions are designed for potential clients looking for robust, clear options, especially for groups facing challenges as Humana exits the self-funding space.

"We understand the industry's challenges and want to ensure clients no longer face pricing inconsistencies and overcomplicated health plans," said Glenn Hillyer, Chief Growth Officer of Health In Tech. "Our HI Performance Network protects clients from overpaying for healthcare by delivering Medicare-based reimbursement pricing. This year's conference is a great opportunity to showcase how our HI Performance Network can improve clients' overall healthcare spending and introduce them to our entire suite of innovative solutions."

Daran Wyckoff, Senior Vice President of Sales of Health In Tech, said "We are powered by the belief that self-funded benefits should be simple and streamlined with 100% transparency. In an ever-changing industry, our evolving solutions continue to improve and optimize healthcare to make self-funding accessible and affordable for your clients."

The NABIP-TX 2023 conference is also an opportunity for members to learn from industry leaders and network with other health benefits professionals.

"I'm looking forward to meeting with potential partners and customers to address their issues and offer our solutions," said Keith Vohwinkle, Senior Vice President of Sales of Health In Tech. "We encourage all conference attendees to stop by and learn more about how our HI Performance Network can improve your clients' overall healthcare spend."

The Health In Tech booth is located at Booth 60. Attendees are welcome to stop by to explore the benefits of HIT for their business or schedule a time to meet via [email protected].

Health In Tech leadership will attend the event, including Glenn Hillyer, CGO, Keith Vohwinkle, SVP of Sales, and Daran Wyckoff, SVP of Sales.

About Health In Tech

Health In Tech is an industry-leading Insurtech company that delivers disruptive innovation and proprietary technology to reimagine risk, underwriting, and self-funding, making processes better, faster, and more efficient for everyone involved. Learn more at HealthInTech.com.

For more information, please contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Health In Tech
The Ukrainian Red Cross Society (URCS) has conducted a training on the program of humanistic education Life Skills and Sprint for young volunteers.

"In Lviv, for the first time in several years, a training has been held for facilitators [a facilitator is a person who manages a group event and leads the discussion so that the group more effectively achieves its goals] under the program of humanistic education Life Skills and Sprint for volunteers of the Ukrainian Red Cross  These youth projects are being implemented with the active support of the Danish Red Cross and the Danish Red Cross Youth," URCS said on its official Facebook page on Wednesday.

Thirty young people from Kyiv, Kirovohrad, Lviv, Mykolaiv and Khmelnytsky regions went through the education program.

The Life Skills initiative involves teaching young people in communities the life skills necessary for the full existence of a young person in harmony with themselves, friends and colleagues, the community and society as a whole. The skills of this initiative, which can be obtained in 13 thematic blocks, range from the ability to resolve conflicts in a non-violent way to understanding issues of social inequality, from awareness of one's own comfort zone to gender issues.

Another Sprint initiative involves the awakening of civic engagement of young people in communities. And the project management skills of the newly trained facilitators will allow them to identify the most relevant problems for their communities and develop their own social initiatives to solve them. The most successful of these initiatives will be implemented with the support of the Red Cross of Ukraine.
Brand Expands Lineup with Six New Ultra-Luxurious Beds Available with Custom Comfort Layers

PHOENIX, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Helix Sleep, the leading direct-to-consumer sleep brand, today announced the launch of their brand-new luxury collection, Helix Elite.

The Helix Elite Collection is the brand's newest and most luxurious line of mattresses. A celebration of innovation, high-end style, and personalized comfort, the Elite collection stacks expertly crafted comfort layers on top of a best-in-class support system that zips together to create a truly elevated sleep experience. With six models available, customers can easily find their perfect sleep solution based on their unique sleep needs.

"The Helix Elite collection is the culmination of our innovative approach to building high-quality mattresses and an all-out effort to combine every luxury mattress feature you can imagine," said Adam Tishman, Co-President of Helix. "We set out to create the best mattress on the internet, filled with the highest quality materials available, and that's just what we did. At over 15 inches, the Helix Elite collection is the tallest, most luxurious bed-in-a-box that can be shipped directly to your door. We are excited to share this new, advanced concept with our customers and help bring the Elite sleep experience to life."

Like Helix's Standard and Luxe collections, Helix Elite features six core models: Sunset Elite, Moonlight Elite, Midnight Elite, Dusk Elite, Twilight Elite, and Dawn Elite. Each Elite model is built to support different sleep preferences and positions, all with the trusted comfort of Helix's sleep technology. The entire Elite lineup is GREENGUARD Gold certified and constructed with CertiPUR-US foams, ensuring that each mattress is free of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), harmful metals, and other dangerous chemicals.

Advanced cooling GlacioTex Elite fabric covers five carefully curated foam layers to create the comfort insert of each Elite mattress. Two layers of highly-supportive micro coils are encased within the comfort insert, offering exceptional contouring, incredible pressure relief, and next-level body cradling comfort. These innovative micro coils also provide durable, long-lasting support throughout the life of the mattress, reducing the dipping and sagging of the mattress over time.

Hundreds of individually wrapped steel coils combine with high-grade foam to make up the ultra-sturdy support base. Standard across all Elite models, this durable base provides zoned lumbar support, full perimeter reinforcement, and increased airflow. The Helix Elite includes nine individual internal layers throughout, making it the tallest and most tailored mattress on the internet.

An innovative new way to ship luxury, the two-box shipping method delivers an elevated sleep experience with the convenience of bed-in-a-box shipping. Due to the impressive amount of materials in the mattress, Elite beds arrive in two boxes and are designed to be stacked and zipped during the unpacking process. This two-box system ensures that no materials are limited due to weight restrictions.

Each Elite mattress comes with a 15-year warranty and 100-night sleep trial. Prices start at $1,829 for a twin. For more information, please visit www.helixsleep.com.

ABOUT HELIX SLEEP

Helix is an innovative direct-to-consumer sleep brand launched in 2015 with the goal of bringing customization to the category through individually personalized mattresses for you, based on how you sleep. Each mattress is designed to your body type, sleeping position, and feel preference using our proprietary sleep technology. The brand celebrates the power of personal preferences and individuality while focusing on outstanding product quality, having won countless independently reviewed awards. Headquartered in New York City, Helix offers free shipping directly to your doorstep, 100-night trial, and value-based pricing on all its products. Additional information on Helix and the company's products can be found by visiting us at www.helixsleep.com.

ABOUT 3Z BRANDS

3Z Brands is a vertically-integrated manufacturer, wholesaler, retailer, and direct-to-consumer distributor of award winning sleep products. Headquartered in Arizona, 3Z Brands operates a portfolio of best-in-class direct-to-consumer sleep brands including Helix Sleep, Brooklyn Bedding, Birch Mattress, Bear Mattress, Nolah Mattress, and Leesa Sleep. 3Z designs and creates its high-quality mattresses on demand, boasting world class expertise in mattress engineering, achieved through meticulous attention to detail, cutting edge equipment, and patented materials created with advanced technology.

All of 3Z's brands celebrate the power of personal preferences and individuality while focusing on outstanding product quality, having won countless independently reviewed awards. For more information on 3Z and its brands, please visit www.3ZBrands.com.

SOURCE Helix
Collaboration with Inglis improves local resources, services, and programming for people with disabilities

PITTSBURGH, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A $614,000 grant from Highmark Wholecare, a Pittsburgh-based managed care organization, will establish the transformative Inglis Innovation Center Pittsburgh in the Bellevue neighborhood on the city's northside. Collaborating with Inglis, a nearly 150-year-old Philadelphia-based industry leader in disability services, will provide increased and improved services, resources, and programming for people with disabilities.

Inglis Logo

The Inglis Innovation Center Pittsburgh (IICP) will be housed at Allegheny Health Network Suburban, a former hospital that has been repurposed to support innovation and community health. IICP will include three programs: Inglis Assistive Tech Solutions, the Inglis Impact Accelerator, and a 3D printing research and development lab.

"Highmark Wholecare believes that helping people lead their best lives means going beyond traditional doctors and medicine to care for the whole person," said Ellen Duffield, President and CEO, Highmark Wholecare. "Through our investment in Inglis Innovation Center Pittsburgh, we are delivering on our whole care mission for people with disabilities in western Pennsylvania and beyond. We are excited to bring to the region Inglis' expertise and proven track record of success."

For decades, Inglis has provided services and programs designed to enable people with physical disabilities to enjoy life with the greatest amount of independence and mobility. The three areas of initial emphasis at the Inglis Innovation Center Pittsburgh are focused on technology, entrepreneurship, and innovation to advance accessibility, inclusivity, and independence:

Inglis Assistive Tech Solutions  specialized, goals-based assistive technology (AT) device assessment, acquisition, education, and support

 specialized, goals-based assistive technology (AT) device assessment, acquisition, education, and support Inglis Impact Accelerator  seeks to create a more accessible, inclusive world by investing in and supporting entrepreneurs from within  and as allies to  the disability community with disruptive ideas and business ventures

 seeks to create a more accessible, inclusive world by investing in and supporting entrepreneurs from within  and as allies to  the disability community with disruptive ideas and business ventures 3D Printing Research & Development  design, development and training on custom 3D-printed solutions for the disability community, as well as research, trials, testing and piloting new and existing technology for disability and aging populations with a variety of partners

"Inglis is excited to expand its services to western Pennsylvania," said Dyann Roth, Inglis President & CEO. "With nearly 150 years of disability support, experience, and knowledge  including five decades working with people living in the community, we look forward to increasing opportunities and programming that will enhance independence for people with disabilities as well as older adults throughout the Commonwealth. We are so pleased to not only be opening the Inglis Innovation Center Pittsburgh in summer 2023, but to also be collaborating with Highmark Wholecare to support these important initiatives."

Highmark Wholecare serves more than 420,000 Pennsylvanians through its leading Medicaid and Medicare plans. Inglis' mission is to enable people with disabilities, and those who care for them, to achieve their goals and live life to the fullest. Currently, Inglis supports more than 2,500 individuals and organizations each year in Pennsylvania.

About Highmark Wholecare

We believe in caring for the whole person in all communities where the need is greatest. We see a future in which everyone has equal opportunity to achieve their best health. Through our leading Medicaid and Medicare programs, we are coordinating health care that goes beyond doctors and medicine that helps members achieve not just physical health, but also delivers whole person care. Our team members are helping to drive this new kind of health care for our 420,000 Medicaid and Medicare members in collaboration with a network of 29,000 primary care physicians, specialists, hospitals, and other ancillary providers. We are also committed to supporting our neighbors through our many community outreach and engagement programs.

About Inglis

Founded in 1877, Inglis enables people with disabilities, and those who care for them, to achieve their goals and live life to the fullest. Inglis serves more than 2500 people daily throughout the Commonwealth including a longstanding focus in the Greater Philadelphia Region. Inglis Housing Corporation is the largest private developer of independent, accessible, and affordable housing in the region. Through Inglis Community Services, Inglis supports independent, community living through innovative day programming, assistive technology, home modifications, supported employment services, certified peer support, and more. In addition, Inglis provides long-term, residential living at Inglis House for adults with significant physical disabilities and complex healthcare needs.

SOURCE Highmark Wholecare
BATESVILLE, Ind., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hillenbrand, Inc. (NYSE: HI) will hold a conference call and simultaneous webcast Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 8:00 a.m. ET. They will discuss the results for the second quarter of fiscal year 2023, which ended March 31, 2023. The live webcast, including a slide presentation, will be available at http://ir.hillenbrand.com under the "News & Events" tab and will be archived on the company's investor relations website through Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

To access the conference call, listeners in the United States and Canada may dial +1 (877) 407-8012, and international callers may dial +1 (412) 902-1013. Please use conference call ID number 13737168. A replay of the call will be available until midnight ET, Tuesday, May 23, 2023, by dialing +1 (877) 660-6853 toll free in the United States and Canada or +1 (201) 612-7415 internationally and using the conference ID number 13737168.

Hillenbrand will issue a press release reporting its results after the market closes on Monday, May 8, 2023. The full text of the release and financials will be available at http://ir.hillenbrand.com.

About Hillenbrand

Hillenbrand (NYSE: HI) is a global industrial company that provides highly-engineered, mission-critical processing equipment and solutions to customers in over 100 countries around the world. Our portfolio is composed of leading industrial brands that serve large, attractive end markets, including durable plastics, food, and recycling. Guided by our Purpose  Shape What Matters For Tomorrow  we pursue excellence, collaboration, and innovation to consistently shape solutions that best serve our associates, customers, communities, and other stakeholders. To learn more, visit: www.Hillenbrand.com.

SOURCE Hillenbrand, Inc.
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Emmy-nominated actress, Marcia Cross, and her partners at the HPV Cancers Alliance took to Capitol Hill today to advocate for federal funding and legislation in support of HPV awareness and the six cancers HPV causes.

Cancers caused by HPV are now impacting individuals over 40 as the HPV vaccine was not available until 2006. In 2019 Cross revealed she had been diagnosed with anal cancer linked to HPV and has since become a tireless advocate for HPV awareness and prevention. She co-founded the HPV Cancers Alliance with Lillian Kreppel, who was also diagnosed with anal cancer linked to HPV in 2017, and Dan Lifton, CEO of research-driven nutrition company Quality of Life.

Emmy-nominated actress, Marcia Cross, and her partners at the HPV Cancers Alliance took to Capitol Hill today to advocate for federal funding and legislation in support of HPV awareness and the six cancers HPV causes. Tweet this

President Biden has proposed $15 million in Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 funding through his Cancer Moonshot initiative to encourage the use of HPV vaccines. The funding will be used by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to increase vaccine uptake and support increased awareness, education, and training on HPV vaccination for cancer prevention.

"According to the CDC more than 46,000 HPV-related cancers occur in the U.S. each year, "said Cross, "Congress must support these efforts and allocate robust funding to increase awareness about the virus and the cancers it can cause, and providers and families should be educated about the HPV vaccine."

Representative Kathy Castor (D-FL) will soon reintroduce the Promoting Resources to Expand Vaccination, Education, and New Treatments for HPV Cancers Act, or the PREVENT HPV Cancers Act. The bill would create a national awareness campaign, give states additional resources to improve their immunization information systems, and expand funding for the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Initiative. The HPV Cancers Alliance supports the PREVENT HPV Cancers Act.

Said Kreppel," The HPV vaccine is nearly 100 percent effective and provides long-lasting protection. Congress should make every effort to support HPV prevention and awareness of the virus and its potentially devastating consequences."

The mission of The HPV Cancers Alliance is to empower individuals with knowledge about the health and lifestyle impact of HPV infection and embolden them to take the necessary action to prevent and treat the virus and eliminate its dangerous consequences.

Contact: Lillian Kreppel

(646) 241-4408

[email protected]

SOURCE HPV Cancers Alliance
SHENZHEN, China, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Huawei has recently been recognized as a Gartner Peer Insights Customers Choice for SD-WAN for the fourth time in a row. As the only non-North American vendor to receive this distinction, Huawei has also been recognized as Customers' Choice for SD-WAN in Asia Pacific, Europe, the Middle East and Africa by Gartner. (*1)

On the Gartner Peer Insights platform, more than 20 vendors of SD-WAN products were evaluated. (*2) Customers from various industries provided feedback on SD-WAN products and solutions from multiple dimensions, including product functions, deployment and O&M, and service support. Huawei for its SD-WAN took top spot with the highest score of 5 and the highest recommendation rate of 100% based on 82 reviewers Recognized as Gartner Peer Insights.

Cao Tongqiang, Director of Huawei's SD-WAN Solution, said: "It is a great honor to recognize as a Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for SD-WAN again in 2023. I'd like to thank customers for their recognition of Huawei SD-WAN. In the past few years, Huawei SD-WAN has conducted in-depth research on users' pain points and requirements, and continuously innovated to improve user experience of multi-cloud and multi-branch interconnection. In the future, we will continue to increase our R&D investment to provide users with more secure and intelligent SD-WAN solutions."

For more information about Huawei's SD-WAN Solution, visit Huawei's SD-WAN website.

Source:

https://www.gartner.com/reviews/market/sd-wan

Disclaimer:

1. Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-user reviews, ratings, and data applied against a documented methodology; they neither represent the views of, nor constitute an endorsement by, Gartner or its affiliates.

2. Gartner Peer Insights content consists of the opinions of individual end users based on their own experiences, and should not be construed as statements of fact, nor do they represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in this content nor makes any warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this content, about its accuracy or completeness, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark, Gartner Peer Insights are a registered trademark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

CONTACT: [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057844/image_1.jpg

SOURCE Huawei
Hyundai Mobis joins Auto Shanghai 2023 on the 18th-27th, and exhibits 24 latest innovations including IVI and electrification products.

Invites over 200 CEOs and the C-suite from more than 80 global automakes such as BYD, BMW and Stellantis.

Unveils e-CCPM, the future electrification platform, with the strategy of targeting Chinese market, the largest EV market in the world.

The company aims to win orders worth USD 1B for the first time in history in China , through a customized sales activites.

SHANGHAI and SEOUL, South Korea , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hyundai Mobis (KRX 012330) took part in Auto Shanghai 2023, the first large-scale automobile exhibition following the Chinese Government relaxing its zero-COVID policy, to expand its business in China. Hyundai Mobis will hold extensive meetings with local and global automakers during the motor show. The company is also to introduce its strategy of zeroing in on the electric vehicle market centered around its electrification platform in China, which has emerged as the largest EV market in the world.

Axel Maschka, Hyundai Mobis Executive Vice President and head of Business Division, presenting on the topic, The One for All Mobility at Auto Shanghai 2023.

Hyundai Mobis is introducing 24 mass-producible technologies, including IVI and electrification products, at Auto Shanghai 2023 starting on the 18th of this month. Leading technologies include the integrated cockpit solution (M.VICS 4.0), in-cabin sensing solution, steer-by-wire system, and holographic AR head-up displays (HUDs).

The international automobile exhibition is held in Shanghai against the backdrop of heightened interest from the global auto industry since the country resumed its economic activities, and, accordingly, over 1,000 automakers and automotive suppliers from more than 20 countries worldwide have flocked to Auto Shanghai 2023 to flaunt their latest innovations.

Hyundai Mobis sees the exhibition as an opportunity to win more deals in China. Subsequently, Hyundai Mobis will invite about 200 CEOs and the C-suite of nearly 80 global automakers, such as BYD, BMW, and Stellantis. Hyundai Mobis has made an exhaustive investigation prior to the show, identifying customer requests and interests for each meeting and then selecting what to exhibit in the show.

In China, Hyundai Mobis has an organization system that suits for a consistent local response, starting from product planning through to development, winning new orders, and mass-production. Thanks to such endeavors, the company has posted the highest number of winning orders in the Chinese market in history last year. This was made possible because Hyundai Mobis has gained customer trust through localized organic cooperation and the superb capability to produce at scale amid the restricted access during the pandemic and the international semiconductor shortage. This year, Hyundai Mobis aims to win the first USD 1 billion order intakes in the Chinese market.

The company also invited local media outlets in China to a press conference on the 19th during the motor show. In the presentation, Hyundai Mobis introduced its sales strategy of targeting electrification market in China, the biggest EV market in the world. In addition, Hyundai Mobis unveiled the Electric Complete Chassis Platform Module (e-CCPM), optimized for EVs. e-CCPM is an integrated electrification solution that combines the brake, steering, suspension, drive, and battery systems on an aluminum frame that can be scaled up or down as needed.

Axel Maschka, Hyundai Mobis Executive Vice President, and head of Business Division, delivered a speech at the show stressing, "We will create new customer value based on our competitiveness with world-class quality as well as stable local sales and production organizations in the fast-changing EV market in China."

Hyundai Mobis is currently operating seven production locations and three R&D locations in China and is taking steps to win orders through a customized sales strategy from the local subsidiary and the local sales office. Through this, Hyundai Mobis plans to increase the supply of products to existing customers, while securing more customers to strengthen its competitiveness in winning more deals.

About Hyundai Mobis

Hyundai Mobis is the global no. 6 automotive supplier, headquartered in Seoul, Korea. Hyundai Mobis has outstanding expertise in sensors, sensor fusion in ECUs and software development for safety control. The company's products also include various components for electrification, brakes, chassis and suspension, steering, airbags, lighting, and automotive electronics. Hyundai Mobis operates its R&D headquarters in Korea, with four technology centers in the United States, Germany, China and India. For more information, please visit the website at http://www.mobis.co.kr/

Media Contact

Jihyun Han: [email protected]

Choon Kee Hwang : [email protected]

SOURCE Hyundai Mobis
XUCHANG and HENAN, China, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Julia Hair as a brand combines beauty, fashion, and quality with all kinds of women's hair. Hence, grabbing human hair from the platform offers a unique opportunity to experience the latest in fashion and bold living.

While embracing fashion, Julia Hair focuses on women and is based on products on the main platform. They uniquely design to provide warmth and enhance self-esteem through quality products and services. Looking at the brand name, it is easy to guess their business line.

Julia Hair

Pros of Julia Hair:

Factory direct sales, the price is cheaper than trading companies; Strict quality control, 100% Brazilian human hair, free of animal and synthetic hair; Good origin, imported perfect hair from Brazil , Peru , and India ; Accepts customized orders.

Three Features of Julia Hair:

Love at first sight

Julia Hair integrates style, fashion, and noble quality with each bundle of hair, so when you get a bundle of hair, you also get an understanding of fashion and an attitude toward life. Julia Hair's belief is - to bring beauty to the world, women-oriented customers, with a special design to convey to you warmth, romance, free and easy, elegant, and delicate. Create your unique beauty

Julia Hair has a wide range of hair products for 100% human virgin hair, such as body waves, straight hair, curly hair, loose wave, deep waves, and different hairstyles for you to choose from. In addition, there are pre-cut lace wigs, colored wigs, and lace front wigs for human hair. All of these are most popular with modern girls. Customized service to create your unique beauty. Strong team

Julia Hair has a strong sales team, cares about every link, and treats every customer with high-quality service. Customer service personnel are online 24 hours a day, and free logistics allow you to buy high-quality products.

Julia Hair

(916) 550-8155

[email protected]

This release was issued through WebWire. For more information, visit http://www.webwire.com.

SOURCE Julia Hair
MILAN, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- LIST, an ION company, has successfully updated its award-winning market making and trading FastTrade solution, facilitating the migration of Borsa Italiana trading clients onto Euronext's Optiq technology trading platform.

The client migration follows Euronext's acquisition of the Borsa Italiana Cash and Derivatives markets exchange in April 2021. Euronext, the pan-European stock exchange and market infrastructure, is replacing the Borsa Italiana exchange's previous Millennium technology with its cutting-edge Optiq trading platform.

LIST's upgraded FastTrade solution is fully customizable and offers advanced trading functionalities specific to Euronext's Optiq technology trading platform. This includes order collection (OMS) smart order routing, execution algos (for equity and fixed income), risk management, quoting, and pricing.

To ensure clients migrated successfully, LIST activated new data centers, communication lines, and software versions to support changes in market models and workflows. These initiatives demonstrate LIST's commitment to providing the best possible solutions for Italian financial markets and reaffirm its position as a trusted technology partner. The migration gives Italian trading clients access to a rich international investor base, and an enhanced range of products and services.

"With LIST technology processing over 65% of equity order flows from Italian market members daily, it was crucial that our FastTrade upgrade and deployment enabled a seamless transition to Euronext's Optiq platform. This required a huge amount of development and included a major software release," says Vito Mangiaracina, Chief Technology Officer at LIST. "Thanks to the dedication, professionalism, and teamwork across LIST, we achieved our goal of migrating our clients, and the trading and surveillance product lines."

"The migration to Optiq presented multiple challenges, including change in the technology stack and new hosting infrastructure," adds Flavio Mazzarotto, Chief Services Officer at LIST. "We developed this carefully alongside our clients, from detailing the migration roadmap to supporting them during preliminary test phases. Our efforts paid off on migration day; our clients went live on the new system with zero impact on activity on other markets."

About ION

ION provides mission-critical trading and workflow automation software, high-value analytics and insights, and strategic consulting to financial institutions, central banks, governments, and corporates. Our solutions and services simplify complex processes, boost efficiency, and enable better decision-making. We build long-term partnerships with our clients, helping transform their business for sustained success through continuous innovation. For more information, visit https://iongroup.com/.

About ION Markets

ION Markets provides transformative technology and solutions to financial institutions dealing in equities, fixed income, foreign exchange, cleared derivatives, asset management, and secured funding. Our award-winning end-to-end solutions simplify clients' operations by automating the full trade lifecycle, providing tools to manage risk, and maximizing access to liquidity, while giving real-time access to critical information for timely operational decisions and execution on a global scale. For more information, visit https://iongroup.com/markets/.

About LIST

An ION company, LIST is a leading financial technology provider to the global trading community, including trading venues, market makers, brokers, asset managers, risk managers, and compliance officers. LIST's innovative turnkey products and delivery, driven by customers' needs, together with a skilled, and determined young team play a key role in supporting successful business growth in today's volatile times. Continuous innovation and client partnerships around the globe have built trust and reliance on LIST's unique real-time and data analytics capabilities.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

SOURCE ION
Commitment delivers free cybersecurity training and exams to 20,000 individuals by 2024 to expand and diversify the cybersecurity workforce in Europe

LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- (ISC)  the world's largest non-profit association of certified cybersecurity professionals  today announced its pledge with the European Commission to expand the reach of its One Million Certified in Cybersecurity program. (ISC)2 will provide a minimum of 20,000 individuals in Europe with its foundational Certified in Cybersecurity entry-level certification exam and education program for free to help address the critical cybersecurity skills gap in Europe.

The pledge helps reduce the E.U.'s cybersecurity skills gap by equipping individuals with their first professional cybersecurity certification to demonstrate foundational knowledge, skills and abilities for entry- and junior-level cybersecurity roles. Aimed at career changers, recent graduates and entry- and junior-level cybersecurity practitioners, the (ISC)2 Certified in Cybersecurity certification has grown significantly since its launch in August 2022, with more than 190,000 people enrolling globally.

"Cybersecurity skills are the backbone of Europe's digital economy, and we need to continue to prioritize workforce development to make inroads to decreasing critical staffing shortages," said Clar Rosso, CEO, (ISC). "Through this collaboration with the European Commission, our goal is to help upskill and reskill 20,000 cybersecurity career pursuers in the E.U. Together, we are creating new pathways into rewarding and challenging cybersecurity careers and strengthening the cybersecurity workforce throughout Europe."

The 2022 Cybersecurity Workforce Study revealed that the E.U. has one of the largest cybersecurity workforces globally, with an estimated cybersecurity workforce of more than 883,000, yet the E.U. still faces a cybersecurity workforce gap of over 260,000 professionals. In fact, the European Commission states that more than three-quarters of organizations within the E.U. have difficulties finding professionals with the necessary cybersecurity skills. Additionally, only 37% of adults undertake training regularly, underscoring the need for new learning opportunities, especially online and self-paced.

The European Commission has designated 2023 as the 'Year of Skills' to strengthen the competitiveness, innovation, participation and talent pipeline within the E.U. While the proposal focuses on harnessing skills for a variety of labor markets, cybersecurity is an important focal area. To support the European Year of Skills, the E.U. has launched many training and upskilling initiatives to increase the cybersecurity workforce, including the introduction of the Cybersecurity Skills Academy on April 18. The Cybersecurity Skills Academy unites existing cybersecurity skills initiatives and consolidates them onto an online platform. The academy's goal is to enhance the visibility of the resources and amplify the impact, increasing the number of skilled cybersecurity professionals in the E.U.

How the Pledge Will Work

The pledge is open to all E.U. residents who do not hold an (ISC) cybersecurity certification. Recent graduates, career changers, IT professionals and other professionals looking to move into cybersecurity are encouraged to participate.

Once enrolled, participants will gain access to the online self-paced education course for the (ISC) entry-level cybersecurity certification. After successfully completing the free exam, participants will become (ISC) members with access to a wide array of professional development resources to help them throughout their careers.

What the Exam Covers

The (ISC) entry-level cybersecurity certification exam evaluates candidates in the following five subject areas:

Security Principles

Business Continuity (BC), Disaster Recovery (DR) and Incident Response Concepts

Access Controls Concepts

Network Security

Security Operations

The exam outline provides additional details on each domain, and the online self-paced course materials help to guide candidates through the subject areas. Additionally, the Certified in Cybersecurity certification exam is currently available in English, German and Spanish, among other languages.

Learn more about the (ISC) Certified in Cybersecurity certification at http://www.isc2.org/Certifications/CC.

To learn more about the pledge, visit: https://digital-skills-jobs.europa.eu/en/inspiration/pledges/isc2-certified-cybersecurity.

About (ISC)

(ISC) is an international nonprofit membership association focused on inspiring a safe and secure cyber world. Best known for the acclaimed Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) certification, (ISC) offers a portfolio of credentials that are part of a holistic, pragmatic approach to security. Our association of candidates, associates and members, more than 365,000 strong, is made up of certified cyber, information, software and infrastructure security professionals who are making a difference and helping to advance the industry. Our vision is supported by our commitment to educate and reach the general public through our charitable foundation  The Center for Cyber Safety and Education. For more information on (ISC), visit www.isc2.org, follow us on Twitter or connect with us on Facebook and LinkedIn.

 2023 (ISC) Inc., (ISC), CISSP, SSCP, CGRC, CSSLP, HCISPP, CISSP-ISSAP, CISSP-ISSEP, CISSP-ISSMP and CBK are registered marks, and CC is a service mark of (ISC), Inc.

SOURCE (ISC)2
26-Bed Facility Opens April 19

JACKSONVILLE, Fla., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lakeview Health, a leader in addiction treatment, is expanding its patient offerings with the opening of Koru Spring, a full-spectrum eating disorder center. The 26-bed facility will begin accepting patients today.

Koru Spring will be integrated into Lakeview Health's Jacksonville, FL campus, a center of excellence in addiction treatment for more than 20 years. This makes the Lakeview Health family of treatment centers one of few in the country that can provide dual diagnosis care for eating disorders as well as co-occurring anxiety, trauma, depression and substance use disorder.

According to Jamie Stevens, Lakeview Health CEO, the ability of the Lakeview Health family of treatment centers to address co-existing mental health and substance abuse along with eating disorders is a game changer for patients.

"Koru Spring was created as a restorative environment for adult women to address and heal from the impacts of eating disorders. We have seen rising numbers of patients with substance abuse issues who are also dealing with eating disorders at the same time. It's common to see these co-occur, but it's very rare to find a care team that has experience treating both. This is something we have been planning for years, and we are eager to help Koru Spring patients heal and recover from the eating disorders that have impacted them and their families," said Stevens.

As with Lakeview Health's substance abuse treatment centers, The Rose and The Star, Koru Spring will provide gender-responsive treatment, working exclusively with female patients. Over 20 million women will struggle with an eating disorder at some point in their lives. Koru Spring will provide women of Northeast Florida and throughout the US with access to high-quality care, offering them the tools and support they need to fully recover.

"Lakeview Health has an award winning clinical and medical team, and together we have been helping patients recover from addiction for over 20 years. Adding experts from the eating disorder treatment field will complement this team as they apply their expertise to meet the growing need for evidence-based care in the eating disorder space," said Stevens.

The Koru Spring treatment program also features nutrition education including weekly meal planning, cooking experiences, group and individual therapy, as well as yoga and equine therapy. Additionally, the eating disorder program will leverage the existing state-of-the-art 10,000 sq. ft. wellness center located on the campus.

For more information on Koru Spring, please visit koruspring.com or call: (844) 951-1888.

About Koru Spring

Koru Spring offers a restorative environment for adult women to address and heal from the impacts of eating disorders. Koru Spring's interdisciplinary team provides dual diagnosis care for conditions including anxiety and depression. The company's medical team provides care for residents including those who require nasogastric (NG) tubes.

Koru Spring is part of the Lakeview Health family: centers of excellence in addiction and eating disorders treatment.

Media Contact:

Liz Morgan, Liz Morgan PR

904-608-3823 or [email protected]

SOURCE Lakeview Health
In the next three days, inspections of grain deal vessels will resume on a temporary basis, an agreement was reached during negotiations between Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine for Restoration Oleksandr Kubrakov and Turkish Minister of National Defence Hulusi Akar.

This was announced by Deputy Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development Yuriy Vaskov at a meeting of the Coordinating Council under the Ministry of Agrarian Policy on Wednesday.

"The transition scheme will be as follows: 50% of the vessels will be inspected according to the list submitted to the Joint Coordination Centre by the Ukrainian side. The remaining 50% will be formed from the vessels that are waiting the longest for inspection and the vessels of the UN Food Programme," he said, adding that it is an intermediate solution.

Vaskov said that 50% of the list consists of vessels that stand in line for a long time, the remaining 50% are humanitarian cargo. This is exactly the scheme agreed upon by Ukraine, Turkiye and the UN.

"Next week, negotiations on this issue will continue in a trilateral format, which will be preceded by negotiations between Ukraine and the UN," the deputy minister said.
ERLANGEN, Germany, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Elektrobit today announced that Jaguar Land Rover will use Elektrobit's software platform and Automotive OS offering to build their next-generation EVA Continuum electrical architecture that will be featured in Jaguar Land Rover's full line of vehicles from 2024. Jaguar Land Rover selected Elektrobit as part of its initiative to drive standardization and predictability in the software platform for the new architecture, which will enable it to bring new vehicles quickly and efficiently to market.

Elektrobit today announced that Jaguar Land Rover will use Elektrobits software platform and Automotive OS offering to build their next-generation EVA Continuum electrical architecture that will be featured in Jaguar Land Rovers full line of vehicles from 2024.

Today's leading car makers are challenged to keep pace in the rapid industry transition towards software-defined vehicles. Using Elektrobit software and engineering services, Jaguar Land Rover has been able to accelerate production of electric vehicles (EVs) and other next-generation cars. Elektrobit software and solutions have enabled Jaguar Land Rover to develop electronic control units (ECUs) more easily, reducing both development time for innovative new features, and hidden costs, without compromising quality, safety and security.

Since 2021, Elektrobit has provided Jaguar Land Rover access to its full real-time computing (RTC) portfolio  including EB tresos with firmware for over-the-air update functionality and EB zentur supporting state-of-the-art embedded security  to enable ECUs for the new Jaguar Land Rover EVA continuum platform architecture. Elektrobit's engineering services have been an integral part of the relationship with Jaguar Land Rover providing a dedicated team for feature enhancements.

"It has been truly exciting to work alongside the Jaguar Land Rover team as their software partner of choice in bringing to life the EVA Continuum platform and supporting the realization of their vision," said Maria Anhalt, CEO, Elektrobit. "Jaguar Land Rover has been pushing the boundaries of innovation by radically transforming its business to build software-defined vehicles. We are proud to be working with Jaguar Land Rover in enabling its next generation of iconic vehicles."

About Elektrobit

Elektrobit is an award-winning and visionary global vendor of embedded and connected software products and services for the automotive industry. A leader in automotive software with over 35 of years serving the industry, Elektrobit's software powers over five billion devices in more than 600 million vehicles and offers flexible, innovative solutions for car infrastructure software, connectivity & security, automated driving and related tools, and user experience. Elektrobit is a wholly-owned, independently-operated subsidiary of Continental.

For more information, visit us at elektrobit.com

Media contacts

Paul Entwistle

Global Public Relations Manager, Elektrobit

Mobile : +49-160-3660509

Email: [email protected]

In North America Stephannie Depa

Breakaway Communications for Elektrobit

Mobile : +1 530 864 0136

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE Elektrobit
CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Katten was a top sponsor of the Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley 45th Annual Gala Saturday, and firm partner Derek F. Ladgenski was there, contributing to the sold-out event's success.

Katten partner Derek F. Ladgenski served as an emcee at the Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley 45th Annual Gala. (Photo credit: Rich Howe Photography, LLC) Katten partner Dmitriy Lampert donated two limited-edition digital prints from the "Freedom" series by Ukrainian artist Krystyna Khmil for the silent auction at the Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley 45th Annual Gala.

Ladgenski, vice-chair of the board of Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley, served as an emcee for the evening, titled "Limitless." Katten partner Dmitriy Lampert donated two limited-edition digital prints from the "Freedom" series by Ukrainian artist Krystyna Khmil, capturing the artist's personal reflections during the war. The artwork was sold during a silent auction, proceeds of which will help fund programming in the Elgin, Naperville and Villa Park centers of the local chapter of Easterseals. Lampert further pledged to match bids up to $1,000 per art piece to help the "Come Back Alive" Foundation in Ukraine, providing support to service members in the country's armed forces.

"The idea came to me when I was trying to decide what I could give to benefit this wonderful organization," Lampert said of the artwork, which he purchased for and had displayed in his home before donating it. He grew up in Lviv, Ukraine, not far from the town where Khmil lived before the war forced her to flee Ukraine. "I thought what a great way to help while also sharing Ukrainian art and culture," he said.

Ladgenski added, "Katten has been a longstanding supporter of Easterseals DuPage and Fox Valley, and I am beyond proud to say my family and our firm are beyond humbled to do whatever we can to empower children with disabilities and their families through this amazingly strong organization."

Ladgenski and Lampert are both partners in Katten's industry-leading Private Credit practice and serve on the board for Easterseals DuPage & Fox Valley. Ladgenski's son, Quinn, 14, has been an Easterseals client since he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at four months old. He and his family members were honored as gala ambassadors at the 2019 fundraiser.

Among the honorees at this year's gala, which drew about 400 guests and is expected to outpace last year's $450,000 fundraising total, were longtime Easterseals donors Craig and Michele Boroughf and the 2023 "Changemakers," an interdisciplinary team of nine Easterseals therapists who worked with twin sisters born joined at the chest. They now are thriving independently.

The gala Saturday was the first fully in-person event the local Easterseals chapter has held since the onset of COVID-19. Since 2010, Katten has helped fund the organization's mission "to ensure that children with disabilities and their families are empowered."

Katten is a full-service law firm with approximately 700 attorneys in locations across the United States and in London and Shanghai. Clients seeking sophisticated, high-value legal services turn to Katten for counsel locally, nationally and internationally. The firm's core areas of practice include corporate, financial markets and funds, insolvency and restructuring, intellectual property, litigation, real estate, structured finance and securitization, transactional tax planning, private credit and private wealth. Katten represents public and private companies in numerous industries, as well as a number of government and nonprofit organizations and individuals. For more information, visit katten.com .

SOURCE Katten
State-of-the-art 500,000 square foot manufacturing and distribution center allows industry leader to expand production capabilities and accelerate product distribution

RIVERSIDE, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- K&N Engineering, a leading manufacturer of high-performance automotive filtration products, announced the opening of a new manufacturing facility and warehouse in Grand Prairie, Texas. The new facility now serves as the company's primary manufacturing and distribution center for the company's global consumer demand.

K&N's new Grand Prairie facility is fully operational, and is world class in technology and in team Tweet this

The state-of-the-art facility covers over 500,000 square feet and is equipped with the latest technology in manufacturing and distribution equipment, and currently manufactures over 5,000 part numbers within the K&N catalog, including premium engine air filters and air intake systems. The new plant will also be equipped for manufacturing the company's growing demand for HVAC home air filters and industrial filters for data centers. Additionally, the expansive warehouse has a capacity of over 15,000 pallet locations and will allow K&N to better serve customers with faster and more efficient delivery times.

"We are thrilled to announce that our Grand Prairie facility is fully operational, this facility is World Class in Technology and in Team" said Humberto Mare, Vice President of Manufacturing for K&N Engineering. "This facility will enable us to increase our production capacity and meet the growing demand for our products. Additionally, we are proud to create over 300 jobs in the area and support the local economy."

K&N Engineering is excited to become an integral part of the Grand Prairie business community and looks forward to working with local organizations and community leaders to support the area's growth and development.

"At K&N, we're proud to be an American-made company, and our commitment to quality, craftsmanship, and innovation is reflected in every product that comes out of our new Grand Prairie facility," said CEO Randy Bays.

K&N Engineering has been in business for over 50 years and has established itself as a leader in the automotive aftermarket industry. The company's products are used by racing teams, performance enthusiasts, and everyday drivers who want to improve their vehicle's performance and filtration efficiency.

To Learn More About K&N and it's Extensive Line of Products,

Please Visit: https://www.knfilters.com

ABOUT K&N ENGINEERING

Since 1969, K&N has been an industry-leader in filtration technologyoffering products including air filters, intake systems, and more to increase performance, protection, and longevity in thousands of vehicle applications for automotive enthusiasts worldwide. A long and storied racing heritage continues to contribute to the development of products for all types of vehicles and engines. For more information about K&N, visit www.knfilters.com.

SOURCE K&N Engineering
AUSTIN, Texas and NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, retired Navy SEAL, Global Gurus Top 30 Leadership Professional, and best-selling author Mike Sarraille announces a groundbreaking partnership between his two leadership organizations, Legacy Expeditions and Talent War Group, and HIGHLANDER, the world's leading global long-distance hiking event series. This collaboration aims to merge leadership development and outdoor adventures to create transformative experiences for individuals and organizations seeking to build high-performing teams.

Highlander Adventure Talent War Group & Legacy Expeditions - Mike Sarraille

This innovative partnership will see Sarraille and HIGHLANDER collaborate on designing custom leadership development programs that seamlessly integrate outdoor adventure experiences. Tailored to each organization's specific needs and objectives, these programs will be led by experienced outdoor guides and leadership facilitators.

With over 20 years of experience in leadership development, Mike Sarraille is the CEO/Founder of Talent War Group, a leadership development and executive search company, and the co-founder of Legacy Expeditions, an extreme adventure company. Sarraille's expertise has been applied to numerous organizations, including Fortune 500 companies and government agencies, to enhance leadership capabilities and build high-performing teams. With a passion for outdoor adventure experiences, Sarraille has developed essential leadership skills including decision-making, communication, and resilience.

Sarraille expresses his enthusiasm: "I am excited to partner with HIGHLANDER to promote leadership development and outdoor adventure. We can develop the skills and mindset necessary to lead effectively in any environment by challenging ourselves outdoors. I look forward to working with Jurica and his team to create meaningful and impactful experiences for individuals and organizations."

"We are thrilled to partner with Mike, which will enable us to bring our shared vision of leadership development and outdoor adventure to even more individuals," enthused HIGHLANDER CEO, Jurica Barac. "With Mike's exceptional leadership expertise and extensive experience with the outdoors, our collaboration is a perfect match, and we are eager to witness the incredible impact we can create together."

HIGHLANDER was founded in Croatia in 2017 when three friends decided to share their love and passion for long-distance hiking and have since gained global recognition for its unparalleled hiking experiences. With more than 40 events in over 20 different countries, HIGHLANDER has become a go-to adventure for those looking to explore some of the most stunning landscapes across the globe.

This year, HIGHLANDER announced its continued U.S. expansion in 2023 with the return of its Big Bear Lake Adventure, allowing participants to explore the breathtaking unworldly landscapes of California's natural wonder. The Big Bear Lake Adventure is the first of many HIGHLANDER events this year across the US, in addition to scheduled events in the United Kingdom, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Georgia, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Spain, Slovenia, and the United Arab Emirates.

To learn more about these organizations, visit their websites: HIGHLANDER, Talent War Group, and Legacy Expeditions.

Use code 'TWG' for 30% off individual reservations, or email [email protected] for group reservations - sign up for the Big Bear Adventure here and the Kalispell, MT adventure here.

Media Contact:

5WPR, c: 332.900.7155, e: [email protected]

SOURCE Talent War Group; HIGHLANDER
Buehler Air Conditioning owner says partnership with Legacy allows his company to further expand its best-in-class brand and track record of customer satisfaction to continue to achieve next-level growth

TAMPA, Fla., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Legacy Service Partners, an industry leading group of residential HVAC, plumbing, and electrical services businesses in 16 states, has partnered with Buehler Air Conditioning to augment its growth and success in the Jacksonville, Florida market and beyond.

"Jason Buehler, Chase Hudson and the entire team at Buehler Air Conditioning take immense pride in their brand, culture, customer satisfaction and quality workmanship, making them a perfect fit for our platform," said Legacy CEO and Co-Founder Rob Millock. "Jason is a phenomenal operator and has built an exceptional company that is trusted and admired throughout greater Jacksonville. We look forward to working with Jason and his team to amplify Buehler's achievements as he continues scaling his business while maintaining his intense focus on customer satisfaction."

Since 2010, Buehler Air Conditioning has provided heating and cooling services to thousands of customers in the greater Jacksonville area. Their technicians are North American Technician Excellence (NATE)-certified experts and pride themselves on providing perfect 5 star quality among their nearly 2,000 reviewers.

"The benefit of working with Legacy Service Partners is right in their name  our legacy can only grow stronger as they provide us with the resources and expertise to continue scaling our business into surrounding areas and new service lines," Buehler said. "We believe this partnership is a win-win for our team and our customers as we are completely aligned to deliver best-in-class service, further strengthening Buehler Air Conditioning's brand recognition and customer satisfaction."

Legacy has partnered with 29 brands since 2021. For more information about Legacy Service Partners, please visit https://legacyservicepartners.com/.

About Legacy Service Partners

Legacy Service Partners is a leading group of residential services business operating across 29 brands in 16 states. The locations offer home repair, replacement and maintenance services in heating, cooling, plumbing and electrical services. The company serves nearly half a million customers annually and has more than 1,500 team members in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota; Nashville, Tennessee; Tampa, Orlando, Fort Lauderdale and Jacksonville, Florida; West Texas and Weatherford/Ft. Worth, Texas; Charlotte, North Carolina; Fairfield, Connecticut; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania; Fort Collins, Colorado; Middletown, New Jersey; Lincoln, Nebraska; Boston, Phoenix, Los Angeles, and Chicago.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

865-977-1973

[email protected]

SOURCE Legacy Service Partners
Company's Raleigh division wins "Building Company of the Year" and other prestigious distinctions at 2023 gala

RALEIGH, N.C., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County honored Mattamy Homes , North America's largest privately owned homebuilder, with multiple coveted accolades for marketing and sales excellence in an April gala billed as the 2023 Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence Awards (MAME).

The kitchen from Mattamy's award-winning Providence Creek Clearwater model home. (CNW Group/Mattamy Homes Limited)

The Triangle Sales and Marketing Council of the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County presents the awards to showcase members' professional achievements. MAME is one of the Triangle Sales and Marketing Council's largest annual events. The Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County is the largest single-county home builders association, and second-largest HBA of all, in the United States.

Following impressive performances in past years, Mattamy Homes' Raleigh division took home the following honors at the 2023 awards:

Building Company of the Year

(Level 4: Volume 301500 Total Homes Closed in Triangle Market)

Mattamy Homes Raleigh division

Best Model Merchandising for a Detached Home

(Sales Price of $325,000$400,000)

Providence Creek Clearwater model

Best Innovative Feature for a Production Home

AeroBarrier Sealing Technology

Best Print Direct Mail Piece for Consumer

Seasonal Maintenance Reminder postcard (fall/winter 2022)

Shining Star Team Award

Vince Scognamiglio and Jamie Classen, Land Acquisition Team

Superintendent of the Year

(Level 3: 3150 Total Homes Closed)

Chris Niehr

Sales Agent of the Year

Michael Whelan

Marketing Coordinator of the Year

Stephanie Rudd

In addition, 16 Mattamy Homes sales consultants joined the Raleigh-Wake County HBA's "Million Dollar Circle," with combined sales exceeding $179 million.

"Our performance at the 2023 MAME Awards once again demonstrates the stellar efforts, creativity and marketing savvy of our team," said Bob Wiggins, president of Mattamy Homes' Raleigh Division. "These honors result from all our efforts to provide high-quality living experiences for our Triangle area customers. We are gratified and honored to again receive wide-ranging recognition from the Home Builders Association of Raleigh-Wake County."

About Mattamy Homes

Mattamy Homes is the largest privately owned homebuilder in North America, with 40-plus years of history across the United States and Canada. Every year, Mattamy helps more than 8,000 families realize their dream of homeownership. In the United States, the company is represented in 11 markets  Dallas, Charlotte, Raleigh, Phoenix, Tucson, Jacksonville, Orlando (where its US head office is located), Tampa, Sarasota, Naples and Southeast Florida  and in Canada, its communities stretch across the Greater Toronto Area, as well as in Ottawa, Calgary and Edmonton. Visit www.mattamyhomes.com for more information.

About the Homebuilders Association of Raleigh - Wake County

The Homebuilders Association of Raleigh-Wake County is the largest single-county and second-largest HBA in the nation. Members include new-home builders, remodelers, developers, suppliers and sales and marketing professionals. The association provides members with a wide range of resources and information on issues involving the homebuilding industry such as land use, economic and legal matters. The HBA also provides opportunities for business development, education, professional growth and networking.

SOURCE Mattamy Homes Limited
LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientology Network's MEET A SCIENTOLOGIST, the weekly series spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists from around the world and all walks of life, announces an episode featuring performance driving instructor Christopher Hill.

MEET A SCIENTOLOGIST airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Scientology Network.

Christopher Hill is an instructor at BMW Performance Driving School, one of the most prestigious driving schools in the world. With a lifelong passion for racing, he's now living his dream, teaching others and sparking their passion for life in the fast lane.

ABOUT CHRISTOPHER HILL

A native of Los Angeles, Christopher Hill knew before the age of three that he wanted to be a race car driver. Pursuing his dream, he started racing on the go-kart circuit. While in his teens, his kart malfunctioned during a race, causing him to crashand leaving him with a broken back. Christopher credits Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health with helping him to recover physically much quicker than his doctors predicted and to heal any mental scars from the accident. His exceptional driving skills earned him an invitation to train at BMW Performance Driving School, one of the most demanding driving schools in the world. He traveled to Germany for an entrance exam that did not allow for a single error and aced the testone of only ten to do so. Today Christopher's one of the premier instructors at the BMW Performance Driving School near Palm Springs, California.

The Scientology Network debuted on March 12, 2018. Since launching, the Scientology Network has been viewed in over 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Satisfying the curiosity of people about Scientology, the network takes viewers across six continents, spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists, showing the Church as a global organization, and presenting its social betterment programs that have touched the lives of millions worldwide. The network also showcases documentaries by independent filmmakers who represent a cross-section of cultures and faiths, but share a common purpose of uplifting communities.

Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church's global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

SOURCE Church of Scientology International
COVINA, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- xtype, an agile software delivery company, has launched its purpose-built and native to ServiceNow platform engineering product to market. xtype is the first out-of-the-box product for ServiceNow to effectively use automation to quickly deploy and release applications and updates and clear software development backlogs.

From left to right: xtype founders - Tobias Stanzel, Ron Gidron, Peter Szulman

As a ServiceNow Build Partner, xtype uses automation to increase business output, acting as a much needed remedy for organizations struggling to meet the expected pace of development and innovation on the ServiceNow platform. A key pain point for ServiceNow customers, it will enable enterprises to benefit from agile delivery and increase their digital transformation by up to five times faster.

Customers can start using xtype immediately and out-of-the-box to accelerate their software development and meet any level of demand. It enables customers to deliver new features and applications, as well as improve IT and streamline the management and development of enterprise applications. ServiceNow teams can also deliver customisations and applications as they scale, and without tedious manual efforts.

Trusted by businesses and developers, xtype offers multi-instance visibility, automation, and governance, ensuring improved commercial and engineering outputs.

Co-founder and CEO of xtype, Ron Gidron said of the launch: "We developed xtype as a product for ServiceNow's customers, many of whom are constantly working with an extensive and undeployed backlog. We focus on delivering functionality and offer a much-needed solution for ServiceNow teams in their natural environment. With the integration of xtype, teams can achieve better business outcomes, delivered quickly and efficiently, and we're proud to be a trailblazer in the ServiceNow community."

xtype is built by seasoned software technology professionals, with experience in the large-scale enterprise and DevOps marketplace. Leveraging their knowledge and expertise, their goal is simple, to allow ServiceNow customers to reduce their off-hours workload, and deliver the impactful bottom-line values that businesses need, especially in the face of economic turmoil.

xtype's transformational offering to the ServiceNow delivery process has already been recognised by organizations such as Zurich Insurance. As one of the world's leading insurers, xtype has helped them successfully utilize the ServiceNow platform without compromising on project quality.

Following the company's launch, xtype is expected to announce the release of its debut products and their plans on the 15th of May at Knowledge 2023 to all ServiceNow users. xtype will be present at ServiceNow's Knowledge 2023 Event in Las Vegas, from the 14th - 18th May at booth 435.

About xtype

Founded in 2020, xtype is a venture backed startup, reimagining the agile software delivery approach on the ServiceNow platform. The company offers an off-the-shelf option for customers to meet any level of demand on the ServiceNow platform and drive improved business outcomes at scale. To date, xtype worked with organizations such as Zurich Insurance, large international banks and technology companies globally.

www.xtype.io

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2054618/xtype.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2055507/xtype_Logo.jpg

SOURCE xtype
MIAMI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Leading enterprise metaverse company Mytaverse is excited to announce its integration of Dolby.io to create realistic sound in virtual environments.

Mytaverse is excited to announce its integration of Dolby.io to create realistic sound in virtual environments. Tweet this Image by Mytaverse

Founded in 2020 by Kenneth Landau and Jaime Lopez, Mytaverse is a cloud-based platform that allows 3D-immersive, multiplayer workplace environments. Major companies, including Zaha Hadid Architects, PepsiCo, and Dassault Aviation, among others, already use Mytaverse to collaborate with their 3D content in virtual spaces. The company has earned a reputation for providing the highest fidelity graphics, configuration, and collaboration tools in the metaverse, earning praise from ABC , VentureBeat , and more. Now, they will be delivering best-in-class audio experience in the metaverse. Additionally, Dolby.io is being leveraged to deliver HD and 4k video streams into the virtual world, enabling live streaming and high-quality virtual events within Mytaverse.

"Everyone thinks of the metaverse as a visual experience," says Mytaverse co-founder and CTO Jaime Lopez. "But the soundscape is just as important to delivering immersive experiences to our enterprise customers, who want to work in realistic virtual environments. Dolby.io allows us to create a beautiful, dynamic, and realistic soundscape for our customers. Layering it with Dolby.io's HD audio and 4k real-time video streaming enables us to further enhance our collaboration offerings to our enterprise customers."

Lopez understands the importance of visuals matching sound. Before founding Mytaverse, Lopez worked in the music industry. He built custom digital projections for Tiesto, Madonna, and other A-list artists. With his Mytaverse team, he is creating metaverse spaces that combine world-class tech and art in compelling design languages.

Mytaverse is deploying Dolby.io to create immersive sound, replicating how sound changes as you move through virtual space. Walk away from an avatar, and their voice becomes lower. Walk up to a speaker and turn your headthe sound orientation on your speaker changes. In addition, Mytaverse is using Dolby.io's real-time streaming capabilities in order to create seamless virtual world immersion by streaming content into and out of the metaverse at ultra-low latency and broadcast quality.

Dolby.io is a new developer platform by Dolby Labs that puts decades of Dolby sight and sound technology into the hands of developers to deliver quality in real-time streaming, communications, and media processing solutions  at scale. The platform includes a robust suite of self-service APIs, SDKs, and sample apps that enable developers to quickly deploy real-time streaming services with sub-second latency, integrate audio/video chat functionality into their apps, and add media processing capabilities into existing workflows to enhance the quality of audio and video files.

With its accessibility, ease of use, and best-in-class audio innovation, Dolby.io is powering the future of immersive, interactive, and social online experiences that rival real-world experiences.

By integrating this world-class technology, Mytaverse will bring its enterprise customers motion picture-quality sound, once again combining the best of business, tech, and art.

SOURCE Mytaverse
WASHINGTON, April 19, 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 the murder of radio journalist Dumesky Kersaint in Haiti on April 16.

"We are extremely concerned about the recent murder of Haitian journalist Dumesky Kersaint, who was shot multiple times by a group of armed assailants. Our hearts go out to his family and his colleagues at Radio Te'le' Inurep. He was 30. Kersaint is the first Haitian journalist killed in 2023, although there have been kidnappings and beatings. Last year, eight journalists were killed in Haiti making it the third most dangerous place to be a journalist, behind only Ukraine and Mexico. This is a significant problem that must be addressed.

It is essential that there be a full and thorough investigation of the murder of Dumesky Kersaint, as soon as possible. Kersaint was known for covering social protests and was south of Port-au-Prince in Carrefour at the time he was killed. It is unclear from reports if he was the target of the shooting or if he was a victim of crossfire. We call on the United States, the United Nations and others to assist Haiti if needed with what is a huge challenge with respect to journalist safety."

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 an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club

SOURCE National Press Club
Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznikov has confirmed the arrival of Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems in Ukraine.

"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine. Our air defenders have mastered them as fast as they could. And our partners have kept their word. This is the result of hard work led by our President Volodymyr Zelenskyy," Reznilov said on Twitter.

Reznikov thanked Pentagon Chief Lloyd Austin, German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius, the Federal Ministry of Defense, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, as well as the people of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands for their support.

"We will win together," the minister said.

Later, Deputy Minister of Ukraine Oleksandr Pavliuk said in his Telegram channel that Patriot air defense systems had arrived in Ukraine from the United States, the Netherlands and Germany.

"Such air defense systems will make it possible to defend against attacks by Russian cruise missiles and UAVs. Thanks to our partners for the significant strengthening of Ukraine's air defense," he said.
Despite this resulting in crunched margins, the industry remains optimistic for 2023

AUSTIN, Texas, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Billd , the leading provider of material and labor financing solutions for commercial subcontractors, announces today the release of their third annual construction industry market report, the 2023 National Subcontractor Market Report: $97 Billion in Extra Weight on the Shoulders of America's Subcontractors. Billd surveyed nearly 900 commercial construction professionals across the country, largely consisting of business owners and executives, most of whom have been in business for 10 years or longer. The report indicates that subcontractors continued to bear the brunt of rising input costs for materials and labor in 2022 to the tune of $97 billion in unplanned expenses.

In 2022, commercial subcontractors spent an additional $97 billion on materials and labor. See their outlook for 2023. Tweet this The 2023 National Subcontractor Market Report from Billd

Rising material costs and price volatility are not new issues for subcontractors, with 81% of those surveyed reporting a negative effect on their businesses in 2022; 80% expect that trend to continue. It is no surprise given material costs jumped a staggering 26%, according to respondents. Similarly, competition for labor due to the longtime labor shortage was validated by a 15% average increase in labor cost. Together, those increases amounted to $97 billion in additional expenses for the subcontractor. While some subcontractors increased their bids to offset these rapidly rising costs, one third of respondents were unable to raise those bids commensurate with their expenses. This resulted in 57% of businesses reporting a decrease in profitability, despite 61% reporting revenue growth.

"Subcontractors are the foundation of the construction industry, providing all material and labor to complete a project," said Chris Doyle, CEO of Billd. "They purchase that material and pay for that labor upfront, not being paid for their work for 74 days, a result of the dysfunctional payment cycle. If you add unplanned expenses due to rising costs in material and labor, it puts an unrealistic burden on subcontractors to provide that foundation."

"Despite these compounding challenges, subcontractors remain optimistic about their businesses. This report highlights the entrepreneurial spirit subcontractors continue to exhibit each and every year," Doyle says.

The report examines how macroeconomic conditions from this and prior years impacted subcontractors in 2022, as well as their outlook for 2023. It also creates hope by providing perspective on new financing options subcontractors can leverage as mainstays  like supplier terms  become less reliable. 72% of respondents report having supplier terms of 30 days or less. Compared to a 74-day average wait time for payment, it is no surprise that 51% deem the length of their terms insufficient. Supplier terms also have an unforeseen cost; most suppliers (also surveyed) state that they offer discounts for upfront payment. Despite those disadvantages, 87% of respondents still rely on supplier terms as their predominant means of buying materials. When it comes to funding their increasing labor costs, traditional financing options are even less accessible, leaving 87% of respondents coming out of pocket for labor before getting paid themselves. Luckily, the report highlights financial relief for labor as well as materials.

"Subcontractors are resilient and optimistic but need more tools to navigate this increasingly challenging environment," said Doyle. "The payments supply chain in construction is terribly broken, leaving subcontractors to finance a $1.8 trillion dollar industry with very few cash flow solutions offered to them. Billd stands as the one company truly championing the subcontractor, helping them get the financial support they need to do the best work of their lives. This report highlights the persistent subcontractor challenges that Billd was created to address; providing subcontractors better financing options to weather rising costs, meet project requirements, and lay the foundation for further growth."

To download the 2023 National Subcontractor Market Report: $97 Billion in Extra Weight on the Shoulders of America's Subcontractors, go to https://billd.com/2023-national-construction-financing-market-report-for-subcontractors

To learn more about Billd's payment options for commercial contractors, visit www.billd.com .

About Billd

Billd stands alone as a partner that truly champions the subcontractor. Founders Christopher Doyle and Jesse Weissburg, industry veterans in both construction and finance, witnessed the detrimental impact to subcontractors of the longstanding broken payment cycle in construction. Their time in the trades inspired them to launch Billd in 2018, bringing the financial power of Wall Street to the construction job site. Billd's financial and payment products empower subcontractors to bypass project hurdles by providing access to upfront funds to cover their most pressing costs, including materials and labor. Unlike traditional financing outlets, Billd provides flexible lines of credit to accommodate the unpredictability of cash flow in construction, and extends their customers up to 120-day terms to align with industry payment standards. Billd knows traditional credit metrics are poor predictors for risk and has built a variety of industry-specific, proprietary analytic and financing tools to allow subcontractors to stabilize cash flow and more effectively grow their businesses.

SOURCE Billd
NAIROBI, Kenya, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nawiri Group is proud to announce a range of concrete initiatives and collaborations to support communities in and around Ruaha in Southern Tanzania. Over the course of the next 12-18 months Nawiri, through its foundation, and partner Six Rivers Africa, will invest significant resources into various education and training initiatives.

Nawiri is partnering with the Kamitei Foundation to support primary education for over 13,000 students in 18 communities along the boundaries of the Ruaha. An initial project to provision primary schools with missing school supplies for students, is the first step in building relationships with the schools for more intensive and long-term structural support. Investments in primary school education contribute to expanded opportunities for members of these communities.

In addition to partnering with communities to support primary school education, Nawiri Group together with Six Rivers Africa, will provide scholarships to ~100 learners from the surrounding communities to attend vocational training at VETA institutions across the country. Vocational training is an effective way of enhancing employment prospects of students, bringing the benefits of formal employment back to communities. Importantly, these scholarships for vocational training are not limited to tourism, ensuring that a diverse array of talents is nurtured.

Through a third, major initiative these same partners will build a Wildlife Training College for Southern Tanzania that will train students for jobs in tourism including, amongst other, as guides, camp management, and catering staff, with two annual intakes of initially ~50 students from the communities around the Ruaha and Nyerere/Selous ecosystems. The investment into the Wildlife Tourism College follows the launch of the Wildlife Tourism College of Maasai Mara which opened in August 2022, part funded by some of Nawiri Group's investors and supported by Nawiri Group and other tourism partners.

These initiatives are part of a broader multi-year vision of Nawiri Group and its partners to improve the prospects of the greater Selous and Ruaha ecosystems and the local communities in these areas. The greater Ruaha (covering ~45,000 Km2) and the greater Nyerere/Selous ecosystems (~51,000 Km2)  together approximately the size of Portugal  are a vital source of biodiversity but also under threat.

As part of the overall ambition to strengthen the nature-positive income streams for the Greater Ruaha and Selous ecosystems, Nawiri Group has entered into a partnership with ATR Safari, the UK owner-operated Safari specialist, to ensure their continued success in bringing tourism into Southern Tanzania during the coming years.

ATR has been a leading promoter of Southern Tanzania through high value, low volume, immersive travel during the past 15 years. Having been at the forefront of introducing international leisure travellers to unique, off-the-beaten-track nature-based travel destinations in Africa of which the Ruaha and Selous are prime examples, they - like many specialist operators on whom regions like these depend  have gone through an exceptionally challenging period throughout the COVID pandemic. This partnership includes a minority interest, in order to provide financial stability to ATR towards continuing to internationally market exceptional travel experiences into these regions, regions for which each incremental traveller truly makes a meaningful contribution to the prospects of the natural ecosystem and the local communities who depend on it.

This comprehensive approach to strengthening the natural ecosystems of Southern Tanzania and the local communities is part of Nawiri Group's Impact-At-Scale strategy, combining mutually supportive commercial and positive impact initiatives, to create various nature-positive income streams for some of Africa's most important natural ecosystems, and the people whose livelihoods depend on them. This vision is backed by decades of experience working in the region together with communities, partners, governments, and NGOs.

[email protected]

SOURCE Nawiri Group
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The White House Historical Association released a new episode of "The White House 1600 Sessions" podcast today featuring a conversation with Iain Dale, award-winning British author, radio and podcast host, about a new book of essays he recently edited called The Presidents: 250 of American Political Leadership. In the episode, Association president Stewart McLaurin and Dale discuss the fun and challenges of condensing the stories of all 45 American Presidents who make up 46 presidencies into a single volume.

"This book brings a fresh perspective to each of the men who have served as President of the United States," said McLaurin. "From the election of our first president to the most recent, there's so much that we can learn about each individual and their impact on our nation."

The curated essays, written by academics, historians, political journalists and government officials, provide both historical and personal perspectives, as some of the authors actually knew their subject.

"You would think that Britain would be more interested in European countries, but we've always gravitated towards the states," said Dale. "We have such a long history, and one of the main themes is how the relationship between Britain and the US has changed over the years."

Watch the video on the Association's YouTube channel here .

The White House 1600 Sessions is available on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher.

The White House 1600 Sessions

White House Historical Association President Stewart McLaurin. McLaurin is the host of "The White House 1600 Sessions," the Association's official audio and video podcast devoted to exploring the history, cultural impact, untold stories, and personal accounts of America's most iconic residence and highest office.

About the White House Historical Association

The White House Historical Association was founded in 1961 by First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy to support her vision to restore and preserve the Executive Mansion and its legacy for generations to come. Mrs. Kennedy sought to inspire Americans, especially children, to explore and engage with American history and its presidents. Supported entirely by private resources, the Association is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that has contributed more than $100 million to the White House in fulfillment of its mission. To learn more visit WhiteHouseHistory.org .

SOURCE White House Historical Association
Sexually inexperienced individuals who have only had sex with their spouse are three times more likely to have a highly stable marriage than sexually experienced individuals

PROVO, Utah, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- For many young adults, single life in American culture has become synonymous with sexual experimentation in both committed romantic dating relationships and casual sexual hook-ups. However, most single adults in the United States today still desire to one day have a successful, lifelong marriage. Because of these trends, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that over half of married adults in the United States enter marriage today having had five or more previous sexual partners.

Are these dating patterns compatible with the future desire for a loving and lasting marriage? The conventional wisdom of the modern dating culture would say yes. Many people believe that it is important for couples to test their "sexual chemistry" while dating and for single adults to gain "sexual experience" before marriage in order to sample one's options and eventually select a spouse better suited to their preferences. Also, many believe that young people need to experiment sexually while they are single so that they will be "ready to settle down and get married" when the time comes.

However, a new report from the Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University reveals that these common beliefs do not hold up to scientific scrutiny. In fact, the report reviews a series of recent studies using several different national datasets showing that having multiple sexual partners during the dating years leads to higher divorce rates in future marriages. These studies conclude that the number of sex partners a person has prior to marriage is one of the strongest predictors of divorce in social science research.

The Wheatley report also presents the findings of a new national survey of married adults that shows that "sexually inexperienced" individuals or the ones who have only had sex with their spouse are the ones most likely to flourish in marriage, reporting the highest levels of relationship satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, and emotional closeness with their spouses.

The report entitled, "The Myth of Sexual Experience: Why Sexually Inexperienced Dating Couples Actually Go On to Have Stronger Marriages," found that between 10% to 20% of married adults report that they have only engaged in sexual intercourse with their spouse. These individuals were twice as likely to report that they are very satisfied with their marriage and nearly three times as likely to report that they were not considering ending their marriage compared to individuals who entered marriage with high levels of sexual experience before marriage.

"Our study confirms what other national studies have been finding the last few years, that sexually inexperienced dating couples are two to three times more likely to be in a highly stable marriage," said Brian J. Willoughby, Ph.D., a fellow at the Wheatley Institute and co-author of the report. "It appears that sexual exclusivity between spouses provides an underappreciated foundation for the intimacies of marriage and helps spouses create a mutually satisfying relationship founded on emotional intimacy and healthy communication."

The report examines the association between sexual experience histories and the quality of current marriage relationships using a dataset of 3,750 individuals in committed couple relationships. The sample was recruited from across the United States based on quotas for age, race, education level, and geographic region, aimed at creating a demographically diverse sample.

Among the report's findings:

Married men and women are remarkably similar in their levels of sexual activity before marriage, with 1 in 5 reporting only one lifetime sex partner (20% of men, 19% of women), about 1 in 3 reporting 2 to 4 sex partners (35% of men, 33% of women), about 1 in 4 reporting 5 to 9 sex partners (23% of men, 25% of women), and the remaining 1 in 5 reporting 10 or more sex partners (22% of men, and 23% of women).

Married men and women who have only had sex with their spouse have a nearly 45% chance of reporting a very high level of relationship stability in their marriage, compared to only 25% of married individuals with 5-9 lifetime sexual partners and only 14% of married individuals with 10 or more lifetime sexual partners.

In analyzing the overall trendline, for every additional lifetime sexual partner reported, the probability of the individual being highly satisfied with their marriage decreased by almost 4%, the probability of their marriage being highly stable decreased by 6.5% and the probability of their marriage containing high levels of sexual satisfaction decreased by 4% in comparison to individuals who have only had sex with their spouse.

Nearly 1 in 5 married men and women who have only had sex with their spouse report that they are "very satisfied" with multiple aspects of their sexual relationship in their marriage, compared to 1 in 10 married men and women who are "highly sexually experienced" and have 10+ lifetime sexual partners before marriage.

Almost 80% of married individuals who were sexually inexperienced before marriage report the highest level of emotional closeness in their marriage, more than 20% higher than individuals who have had multiple lifetime sexual partners before marriage.

Previous research assumes that there is a meaningful distinction between sexual partners inside of a committed dating relationship (for example within an exclusive dating relationship or being engaged to marry) versus casual sexual partners in hook-up or one-night-stand type interactions. This study was able to analyze both types of sexual partners separately and found that whether a person's sexual partners were committed partners or casual sex partners did not change the negative effect premarital sexual experience had on future marriage outcomes.

"While this study provides some stark cautions about myths in our modern dating culture, it also provides some hope for individuals who may regret their previous sexual decision making and would like to change the course of their future marriage outcomes," said Jason S. Carroll, Ph.D., Associate Director of the Wheatley Institute and co-author of the report. "Even with the noted risks, we found that about 10% to 15% of individuals with high sexual experience during their dating years are still doing quite well in their marriages. It is likely that these individuals were able to improve their trajectory by changing their mindset about sex, approaching marriage with enduring commitment, and embracing fidelity by avoiding alternative seeking behaviors after marriage."

Findings in the report conclude that the number of lifetime sexual partners participants had prior to getting married was negatively associated with their overall satisfaction, sexual quality, emotional connection and relationship stability in their later marriages. These findings remained strong even when statistically controlling for a range of variables including biological sex, religiosity and relationship length, these findings held strong. The report concludes with a detailed discussion of some of the explanations for why sexual exclusivity helps couples come together in healthier ways and helps them stay together after they are married.

You can read the full report at: https://wheatley.byu.edu/The-Myth-of-Sexual-Experience

About the Wheatley Institute

The Wheatley Institute at Brigham Young University engages students, scholars, thought leaders, and the public in research-supported work that fortifies the core institutions of the family, religion, and constitutional government.

About the Authors

Brian J. Willoughby, Ph.D., is Professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, and a fellow at The Wheatley Institute. Dr. Willoughby is currently an Associate Editor of the Journal of Sex Research an official publication of the Society for the Scientific Study of Sexuality. Contact:

Jason S. Carroll, Ph.D. is the Associate Director of the Wheatley Institute, Professor in the School of Family Life at Brigham Young University, and a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Family Studies. In 2014, Dr. Carroll received the Berscheid-Hatfield Award for Distinguished Mid-Career Achievement, a biennial award given for distinguished scientific achievement by the International Association for Relationship Research.

SOURCE Wheatley Institution
PHOENIX, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NextMart, Inc. (the "Company" or "NXMR" - Pink Sheets Alternative Reporting Pink: NXMR)  NXMR would like to announce the resignations of its former CEO, and the naming of Donald R. Keer, Esq., a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as the new Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company.

On April 17, 2023, the Company reached an agreement with Mr. Keer and the prior CEO agreed to step aside. This change is effective immediately (April 17, 2023). The Company will update the corporate records with the State of Delaware to effectuate this change in the management in the next several days.

Mr. Keer has served as the Company's attorney for the past two years. His experience includes work in oilfield services, water treatment as a chemical engineer and as a business owner. He has over 40 years of working with technical service and equipment companies as an engineer, manager, owner and attorney. Mr. Keer supports a number of other companies listed on OTC Markets and has assisted a number of them in obtaining a qualification for Regulation A offering. His oilfield experience and water treatment experience combined with his legal expertise will allow NextMart to leverage its existing subsidiary, EMCO Oilfield Services into additional water, energy and infrastructure operations.

Mr. Keer states: "I believe the potential for expanded operations through organic growth and acquisitions is very exciting. I may be one of the very few people who have both fracked an oilwell and treated the flowback water from a well. My technical, legal and regulatory in this space allows me to strategically guide the Company into the future. We have plans to quickly re-capitalize the company, file for a Regulation A offering and acquire a number of target companies. Some of the acquisition targets are already in negotiations. This next phase of the Company's growth will be very exciting."

The Company will be filing a Form 8-K during the week of April 17, 2023, to provide notice of this change its management team and updated financial statements and notes thereto. The Company has an active Twitter site at @CorporationNxmr and plans to have an active social media program moving forward to effectively disseminate material information to the public in an expeditious and quick manner.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain statements that we make may constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements contained herein may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to NXMR that are based on the beliefs of NXMR's management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to NXMR's management. These forward-looking statements are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the NXMR's business prospects, future developments, trends and conditions in the industry and geographical markets in which NXMR operates, its strategies, plans, objectives and goals, its ability to control costs, statements relating to prices, volumes, operations, margins, overall market trends, risk management and exchange rates.

ABOUT US

NextMart, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, is a public quoted Pink Sheet issuer under the ticker symbol "NXMR". Currently, NXMR currently is a shell company with a new management team with plans to become a current alternative reporting issuer with OTC Markets. The Company is currently looking for an appropriate business acquisition.

SOURCE NextMart, Inc.
NICO technologies provide fresh, viable tumor tissue from patient to implant in a research setting

INDIANAPOLIS, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NICO Corporation has awarded Arabinda Das, PhD, neuroscientist and neuro-oncology assistant professor at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), a $180,000 Investigator Initiated Study (IIS) grant supporting the development of a new glioblastoma (GBM) patient-derived xenograft (PDX) model. The study uses the new NICO Myriad Research Laboratory System to safely and progressively sample intracranial tissue over time in murine models without the need for euthanization. This is the first study involving fresh human tumor tissue collected intraoperatively and implanted for serial sampling in translational research.

The goal of the study is to evaluate the impact of various interventions on GBM cellular, genetic and microenvironment information over tumor progression through longitudinal serial biopsy  assessing the tumor and disease state progression in the same murine model over time . This allows Dr. Das to study disease treatment as it adapts to intervention, allowing for an improved understanding of GBM growth and biological adaption patterns over time.

First study to use fresh human tumor tissue collected in OR & implanted for serial sampling in research host over time. Tweet this

The study  Innovations in Brain Tumor Surgery Using Less Invasive NICO Myriad System to Provide More Options and More Hope: A Translational Approach  uses the scaled down NICO Myriad tissue resection tool that is connected to the proprietary Automated Preservation System to establish a standard method of intraoperative tissue acquisition. Together, the technologies can eliminate potential variables introduced by incongruent tissue handling and processing in the operating room.

"With consistently higher quality fresh tissue samples obtained through a standardized human intraoperative process, deeper investigation into genomic and transcriptomic heterogeneity will be possible," said Dr. Das. "Successful completion of this study will allow any neurosurgeon to apply this method of collecting high quality tissue samples while maintaining relevant biological characteristics in a controlled micoenvironment  all key factors contributing to cancer health disparities."

Traditionally, standard serial sampling is performed in the research setting by implanting lab-grown xenograft samples into the flank of multiple hosts to test therapeutic efficacy. However, the flank does not represent the same biological microenvironment as the brain. Additionally, when research hosts are implanted with neurological tumor in their brain, two problems occur: the host must be euthanized to evaluate therapeutic impact, therefore not providing an understanding of disease progression over time once a therapy is delivered; and implanted lab-grown xenographic tissue is not as biologically accurate as freshly-derived human tissue.

"NICO technologies enable scientists and researchers to modernize their approach to novel therapeutic development by performing the same treatment experiments in translational research that we would perform in humans," said Jim Pearson, president and CEO of NICO Corporation. "This is a significant advancement in understanding the most effective therapies needed to fight GBM disease progression for each patient  opening the door for truly targeted oncology precision medicine therapies for the patient-specific tumor profile."

The study builds on Dr. Das' recently published data showing brain tumor tissue samples collected and biologically preserved intraoperatively using the NICO Automated Preservation System (APS), are equal or superior to current standard en bloc collected samples intended for research.

The NICO IIS grant program is dedicated to supporting novel pre-clinical and clinical research efforts related to improved patient and economic outcomes using NICO technologies. The program supports physicians and researchers across a wide range of neuro-specialties committed to building clinical and scientific data to achieve better outcomes for patients and healthcare providers, as well as expanding the body of evidence for vascular, tumor and oncology clinical practices. Learn more about the IIS program areas of interest and how to apply for a grant.

NICO has been a leader in supporting development of strong scientific evidence promoting safe, novel approaches to brain disorders and expanding clinical research efforts in pursuit of improved patient outcomes using minimally invasive brain surgery techniques. All projects supported by this program are conducted by the applicant(s) and their respective affiliate institution(s); NICO is neither involved in collecting information, conducting research, or in the publication of any study project findings.

Learn about NICO technologies at NICOneuro.com; follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter, view surgical and patient videos on YouTube.

Contact: Sue Goin

[email protected]

317.402.8690

SOURCE NICO Corporation
BIELEFELD, Germany, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NTT DATA Business Solutions today announced that it received SAP Pinnacle Awards 2023, which recognize its outstanding contributions as an SAP partner, in four categories "Sales Success  Midmarket", "Sales Success  Cross Segment", "Customer Success Management", and "Partner-Led Demand Management". The leading global consulting company specializing in SAP technologies for small to midsize enterprises (SMEs) was also named a finalist in the categories "Delivery Quality" and "Cloud Business Transformation with SAP S/4HANA Cloud, Public Edition". Additionally, the NTT DATA Group was recognized as a finalist in the "Social Impact" category. SAP presents these awards annually to the top partners that have excelled in developing and growing their partnership with SAP and helping customers run better. Winners and finalists in 22 categories were chosen based on recommendations from SAP, customer feedback, and performance indicators.

"The SAP Pinnacle Award is the most prestigious award for SAP partners. Out of more than 500 SAP partners worldwide, we are among the top 3 winners this year. With four Pinnacle Award wins and three finalist placements, we have once again proven that we are among the best in the world," says Norbert Rotter, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions and SVP NTT DATA. NTT DATA Business Solutions Receives four SAP Pinnacle Awards 2023 and is a finalist in three categories

"SAP's ecosystem plays a key role in our vision to enable every organization and every industry to become a network of intelligent, sustainable enterprises. The SAP Pinnacle Awards recognize and celebrate the winning partners' outstanding commitment to customer value creation, exponential growth, and simplification," said Christian Klein, CEO and Member of the Executive Board of SAP SE.

"The SAP Pinnacle Award is the most prestigious award for SAP partners. Out of more than 500 SAP partners worldwide, we are among the top 3 winners this year. With four Pinnacle Award wins and three finalist placements, we have once again proven that we are among the best in the world," said Norbert Rotter, CEO of NTT DATA Business Solutions and SVP NTT DATA. "At the same time, the awards are an endorsement of our strong performance in the fiscal year 2022. We convinced customers with our in-depth SAP consulting expertise and significantly strengthened our position as a leading SAP midmarket partner worldwide. The Pinnacle Awards are both recognition and motivation for us."

SAP Pinnacle Awards shine a spotlight on distinguished partners to acknowledge their dedication to teamwork, exceptional innovation, and capacity to help customers achieve their goals. This year, an elite group of 13 partners worldwide were honored. NTT DATA Business Solutions is a Pinnacle Award winner for the ninth time in a row.

Detailed information on the SAP Pinnacle Award 2023 can be found here.

About NTT DATA Business Solutions

NTT DATA Business Solutions drives innovation  from advisory and implementation, to managed services and beyond, continuously enhances SAP solutions to make them work for companies  and for their people. Aiming to help companies to transform, grow and become more successful, NTT DATA Business Solutions connects with a more than in-depth expertise for SAP solutions its clients business opportunities with the latest technologies  individually and across all business areas. As part of the NTT DATA group and as a global strategic partner of SAP, with close ties to other partners, NTT DATA Business Solutions gives clients and prospects access to innovative solutions and developments and thus makes an important contribution to innovation and long-term business success. NTT DATA Business Solutions employs more than 13,000 people in 30 countries.

About NTT DATA

NTT DATA  a part of NTT Group  a trusted global innovator of IT and business services headquartered in Tokyo. We help clients transform through consulting, industry solutions, business process services, IT modernization and managed services. NTT DATA enables clients, as well as society, to move confidently into the digital future. We are committed to our clients' long-term success and combine global reach with local client attention to serve them in over 50 countries. Visit us at nttdata.com.

SAP and other SAP products and services mentioned herein as well as their respective logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of SAP SE in Germany and other countries. Please see https://www.sap.com/copyright for additional trademark information and notices. All other product and service names mentioned are the trademarks of their respective companies.

Press Contact for NTT DATA Business Solutions AG

NTT DATA Business Solutions

Jasmin Straeter

Head of Global Communications

Global Communications

T: +49 521 9 14 48 108

Email: [email protected]

Photo:https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057112/NTT_DATA_1.jpg

Photo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057113/NTT_DATA_2.jpg

SOURCE NTT DATA Business Solutions AG
BOULDER, Colo., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NULASTIN announced today that it has been selected as a Finalist for Colorado Companies To Watch (CCTW), an awards program recognizing growing businesses that are making immense strides in leading the booming Colorado economy.

This recognition motivates us to continue pushing boundaries and making a positive impact.  Leah Garcia, Founder & CEO Tweet this For the second year in a row, NULASTIN has been selected as a Finalist for Colorado Companies To Watch (CCTW), an awards program recognizing growing businesses that are making immense strides in leading the booming Colorado economy.

Female-founded NULASTIN is disrupting the beauty industry through novel, clinically-proven, elastin replenishment products for lash, brow, hair, and skin. Widely recognized for its bio-evolutionary Elastaplex Technology that restores "the youth protein" elastin, NULASTIN is honored to be recognized for its commitment to excellence and innovation.

During the aging process bodies naturally produce less elastin. Based on science originally developed to aid in wound healing and tissue regeneration, the NULASTIN collection stimulates the replenishment of elastin, enhancing beautiful, youthful-looking skin and healthy hair.

"Being recognized by the CCTW is not just an honor, but a testament to the determination and innovation that defines our company," said Leah Garcia, Founder & CEO. "We strive to bring value to our customers and improve their lives through products that make them look and feel their best. This recognition motivates us to continue pushing boundaries and making a positive impact," continues Garcia.

"Colorado Companies to Watch celebrates the business leaders and entrepreneurs who are driving innovation and economic growth in our state," said Kim Woodworth, Board Chair of Colorado Companies To Watch. "The companies selected as finalists demonstrate a commitment to creating jobs, investing in their communities, and finding creative solutions to the challenges facing their industries. We're proud to recognize them for their efforts and look forward to celebrating their accomplishments at the Finalist Reception," continues Woodworth.

The Finalist Reception and Expo event takes place April 27th, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency Denver Tech Center.

About NULASTIN

NULASTIN, headquartered in Boulder, Colorado is the original, undisputed leader in helping people look and feel their best through novel elastin replenishment. The women-owned business is redefining what it means to be a beauty brand by focusing on performance-driven, scientifically-backed, ethically-derived results. Visit https://nulastin.com/ to see 'before-and-after' photos and get 15% off.

About Colorado Companies to Watch

Colorado's second-stage companies represent high-performing and innovative companies, crossing every industry sector and region in the state, of which provide thousands of high-quality jobs and contributes billions of dollars back to our local economies. Colorado Companies to Watch (CCTW) certifies and spotlights the important contributions they make. Visit ColoradoCompaniestoWatch.org

Media Contact: Alli Clute, [email protected]

SOURCE NULASTIN
BELTSVILLE, Md., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Storage Systems Inc. (ION), recently hosted a variety of government and academic leaders to celebrate a $4.8 million award to ION and UMD . The award is part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) EVs4ALL program, funded by the DOE.

CEO of ION, Ricky Hanna, and Process Engineer, Teddy Strozyk, demonstrate ION's unique solid-state battery design to Congressman Glenn Ivey, during a tour of ION's facilities.

Visiting ION's facility were Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey; Eric Wachsman, founder of ION Storage Systems and Director of UMD's Energy Innovation Institute; DOE ARPA-E representatives, Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Senior Advisor (former Acting Director), Peder Maarbjerg, Assistant Director for External Coordination; and Hans Riemer, Senior Consultant at the DOE Loan Programs Office.

The EVs4ALL program seeks to increase EV adoption and market share through the development of battery technology to improve EV affordability, convenience, reliability and safety. In addition, it seeks to increase domestic new and used EV adoption through developing batteries that are fast-charging, effective at low temperatures and more durable. "It's exciting to see this kind of high-risk, high-reward technical work evolve so quickly from a university lab to a domestic startup company," said Dr. Gerbi, during the visit to ION.

Congressman Ivey and representatives from the DOE and ARPA-E toured facilities and met with staff to learn more about ION's unique solid-state battery design. While touring, employees demonstrated the ceramic bilayer architecture of ION's batteries. The design increases the charge and discharge-rate capability, energy density and operative temperature of solid-state lithium batteries. "It's an exciting time for you as employees, to be part of what, I think, is potentially going to change the world," said Congressman Ivey, while addressing ION staff.

During the visit, ION leaders and UMD representatives discussed the significance of the federal government investing in battery technology and EV manufacturing through programs such as EVs4ALL.

"As the demand for EVs grows so does the need for domestically supplied batteries," said Ricky Hanna, CEO of ION. "It's important that the government and companies like us work together in commercializing solid-state batteries, making EV adoption more likely."

About Ion Storage Systems, Inc.

Ion Storage Systems, Inc. manufactures high energy density, solid state lithium metal batteries that are intrinsically safe and require no external heating or compression. ION's patented battery design is nonflammable, enables fast-charging capabilities, provides wide operating temperatures, reduces volume and weight of the cells, and is compatible with current and next generation cathodes, including high voltage cathodes that are nickel and cobalt-free. The versatility of ION's technology allows it to design products for multiple markets including consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid storage customers.

Contact:

Daysa Corrington

(212) 220-6045

[email protected]

SOURCE ION Storage Systems Inc.
AWS Contributes New Edge Gateway Specification Establishing New Multi-vendor Edge Computing Supply Chain

PRAGUE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Open Compute Project Foundation (OCP), the nonprofit organization bringing hyperscale innovations to all, announces that AWS has contributed a new edge gateway base specification to the OCP that, which is targeted for deployments supporting cloud-delivered managed edge services in various market segments, including retail. Through additional AWS contributions, this edge gateway will also support OCP's Switch Abstraction Layer (SAI) and thus end users will have a choice of Network OS including SONiC or DENT from the Linux Foundation.

This gateway specification is intended to be the catalyst for development of a new and resilient open enterprise edge computing supply chain, with wide participation from ODM and OEM network equipment vendors including Edgecore, Celestica, Delta Networks, Extreme Networks, Ragile Networks, Delta Electronics and Wistron. The expectation is that production prototypes will be available for display at the OCP Global Summit in October 2023, and that volume shipments will begin in 1Q 2024.

"We strongly welcome this development as it expands OCP's multi-vendor open edge ecosystem to the enterprise market that will serve many geographies in EMEA, North America and APAC. This is aligned with several of OCP's strategic directions including: enabling movement of workloads to the edge, development of hardware and software that is hardware-aware under OCP's Hardware-Software Co-design Strategy , and draws on OCP's relationship with the Linux Foundation for increased collaboration on SONiC and DENT," said George Tchaparian, CEO at the Open Compute Project Foundation.

The contributions from AWS of a new enterprise gateway specification and enhancements to OCP SAI complement OCP's existing edge computing projects that have been focused on Telecom and resulted in a robust multi-vendor ecosystem delivering OCP-recognized equipment for edge-located deployments including the Open Edge Server and several cell site gateways .

"Our increased engagement with the OCP is in line with AWS strategy to foster a vendor agnostic supply chain for edge hardware that can be deployed in Just Walk Out technology locations, as well as other environments," said Michael Lane, Principal Technical Program Manager at AWS.

The enterprise edge gateway as specified by AWS will allow for multiple product models that are compatible with the specification and serve a wide variety of use cases from simple WAN connectivity to SD-WAN and SASE. The specification allows for gateways configured with 48 ports (32x1Gb ports and 16x2.5Gb ports) or 24 ports (24x2.5 Gb ports), both configurations include 4x25Gb SFP28 Uplink Ports. The gateway can support PoE (15.4 to 100 Watts) and optionally Cellular LTE and/or 5G and/or Wi-Fi. The gateway CPU can be a pluggable module with extended computational performance to allow for demanding workloads of SD-WAN and SASE. Software support includes the ONIE loader and SAI providing choice of SONiC or DENT as Network OS. Hardware management leverages OCP Hardware Baseline Management Profile . For security, TPM 2.0 Module, Secure Boot, and MACSec are supported.

"Collaboration across open ecosystems is key to digital transformation," said Arpit Joshipura, general manager, Networking, Edge, and IoT, the Linux Foundation. "Integrating with other thought leaders like OCP has helped the development of our open source NOSes, DENT and SONiC, especially in scaling and securing enterprise edge deployments across use cases. We are especially eager for new developments and specifications harmonizing SwitchDev and SAI for more intuitive deployment."

The OCP has been actively engaged in edge computing since the data center consolidation trend attenuated and shifted to moving computation to the edge for latency, data recency and data sovereignty, much of this driven by the adoption of AI. Tapping innovations from hyperscale data center operators, the initial edge computing developments at the OCP started with the community development of the Open Edge Server and Cell Site Gateways, which is now fortified by the addition of the AWS provided Enterprise Edge Gateway speciation. Moving forward, we expect that new OCP Community-driven innovations developed in the data center for modularity of servers , precise time keeping , security , liquid cooling and specialized Chiplet based System in Package (SiP) to be brought to equipment targeted for edge computing,

"The market for edge computing equipment and services is moving to mainstream volume deployments and open ecosystems will play an important role in creating resilient supply chains. In addition, the modularity contained within the AWS-developed enterprise gateway specification and choice of Network OS will make product variants that are compatible with the specification applicable to many different use cases, which is an imperative as new edge computing use cases continue to emerge. The expanded relationship between AWS and OCP has the potential to be a significant enterprise edge computing market accelerator unleashing innovations that come from an open and collaborative community and benefit many market segments and geographies," said Ashish Nadkarni, Group Vice President and General Manager, Worldwide Infrastructure at IDC.

About the Open Compute Project Foundation

At the core of the Open Compute Project (OCP) is its Community of hyperscale data center operators, joined by telecom and colocation providers and enterprise IT users, working with vendors to develop open innovations that when embedded in products are deployed from the cloud to the edge. Learn more at www.opencompute.org.

Media Contact

Dirk Van Slyke

Open Compute Project Foundation

Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Mobile: +1 303-999-7398

SOURCE Open Compute Project Foundation
PEOPLES UNION FOR CIVIL LIBERTIES

332, Patpar Ganj, Opposite Anand Lok Apartments, Mayur Vihar I, Delhi 110 091

Founder: Jayaprakash Narayan; Founding President: V M Tarkunde

President: Ravi Kiran Jain; General Secretary: Dr. V. Suresh

E.mail: puclnat[at]gmail.com& pucl.natgensec[at]gmail.com

19.04.2023

Stop Encounter Killings in UP: End State lawlessness!

Doubts arise about Complicity of UP Police in killing of Atiq & Ashraf Ahmed:

Questions to be answered by UP Police.

1. Why did the UP Police not seek Police Custody of the killers of Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed when produced for remand before Duty Magistrate on 16.04.2023 itself, and agree to Judicial Custody?

2. If the killer gang was unknown to the police, didnt the police think it important to interrogate them to find out how the killer gang knew about the police allowing the Ahmed brothers to meet the press at an unearthly hour of 1030 pm on 15.04.2023?

3. Didnt the UP police think it was important to find out who all were behind the killer-gang by interrogating the 3 youngsters who shot Atiq and Ashraf?

***

PUCL is outraged by and strongly condemns the cold-blooded shooting down by a 3-member gang of politician and former minister, Atiq Ahmed and his brother, Ashraf Ahmed, at about 1030 pm on 15.04.2023 in Prayagraj (Allahabad) Government Hospital, in public and in the full glare of the media. What is most deplorable is that Atiq and Ashraf, were surrounded by an armed team of policemen who allowed a set of media persons to interview them, when the 3 killers came to the spot in motorcycles, whipped out sophisticated guns and shot the brothers in cold blood at point blank range, with the armed police remaining as mute spectators doing nothing to prevent the slaughter.

What raises serious questions about the complicity of the police is the fact that the 2 brothers, who have been in police custody, were brought by the UP police late in the evening at about 1030 pm on 15th April, 2023, to the Prayagraj Government Hospital for a purported medical check-up. Though hand cuffed together, and surrounded by armed policemen, the two were permitted by the police to have a media meet in the open at about 1030 pm which was captured live on visual media, when the 3-member killer gang shot them dead.

The killing is not just a security lapse on the part of the police, who failed to check the identity of the killers posing as media persons; a much more disturbing issue is how the killer gang knew that a media meeting would be held in the open, outside the hospital.

Equally worrisome is the question why Atiq Ahmed and his brother were not transported by ambulance, why the medical check-up was at such an unusual time late at night and why despite the security concerns, the police permitted such a media meet in an open space and in public. The other question is as to why the police did not seek police custody of those who did the shooting? The answer to these questions will tell us whether it was a question of mere negligence by the UP police or a deeper conspiracy by the UP police and the UP administration, in the murders themselves?

The suspicion as to whether the twin killings were planned affairs gets strengthened when viewed against the background of the encounter killing by the police on 13.04.2023 at Jhansi, of Asad Ahmed (son of Atiq Ahmed) and Ghulam, both of whom were also accused of the murder of Raju Pal. In effect, in a space of 2 days, four key accused persons in the Raju Pal murder case, had been killed in alleged encounters, by the UP police.

Atiq Ahmed apprehended being killed in UP and his counsel had told the Supreme Court that if he was transferred from Gujarat to UP, it would literally be a death warrant. The Supreme Court while turning down the plea for protection had orally observed that since he was already in police custody, the state machinery would take care of him. Despite this grave apprehension expressed by Atiq Ahmed of being killed by the police in a staged encounter if he was brought to UP from Gujarat, the UP Government does not seem to have taken adequate steps to ensure this most basic guarantee, namely the right to life. Meanwhile, Tragically, the very state machinery that was to protect him in its custody, has failed miserably.

We are also greatly concerned over the news that on 18th April, 2023, a crude bomb was thrown outside the house of Atiq Ahmeds lawyer, Mr. Dayashankar Mishra, in Prayagraj. While thankfully no one was injured, the incident has sent shock waves amongst the family members of Mr. Dayashankar Mishra and Vijay Mishra, Advocates representing the murdered Atiq Ahmed.

An important question that must be raised is as to why the Prayagraj/ UP Police did not seek `Police Custody of the three-member killer gang on 16th April, 2023 itself. This would have allowed them to interrogate them to find out the full facts behind their gunning down of Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed.

Suspicion arises over the strange conduct of the police. If the gang members were unknown to the police, it was important for the police to interrogate them to find out if other people were also involved in the conspiracy to kill the Ahmed brothers and whether they received support and funding from others. However, this was not done. Instead, they were sent to the Central Prison. The crucial question is why did the police do so.

Ever since Yogi Adityanath government was sworn in on 19.03.2017, he unleashed a controversial plan to eliminate alleged criminal and gangsters with his Thok Diye Jayenge or They will be knocked out policy. The CM also unleashed `Operation langda by which alleged criminals were shot in their legs incapacitating them for life.

According to Prashanth Kumar, Special Director General of Police (Law and Order), UP Police, between March, 2017 and April, 2023, there have been 10,900 police encounters in which over 5046 alleged accused persons have been injured and 185 persons have been shot dead.

It should be noted that the UP Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath who has sworn an oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India had previously stated that Mafia ko mitti mein mila doonga. This seems to have encouraged his ministers (who, it should be pointed out, are also sworn to uphold the constitution) to give statements that the murders were karma or that they were divine justice. What is very ominous is the news that some groups with links to the ruling party celebrated the encounters by bursting crackers.

It is the responsibility of the UP government led by the Chief Minister to ensure that vigilante murders do not occur and that the police do not kill people extra judicially. That is the essence of rule of law. It is in this most basic aspect of the responsibility of the Uttar Pradesh government, that it has most abjectly failed. It is the right of the accused to prove their innocence in a court of law, through due process, which has been blatantly denied and summary (in)justice is meted out without fair trial. This is in blatant violation of Articles 14 and 21 of the Indian Constitution and cannot be allowed or condoned.

The PUCL is concerned that this de facto policy of the Yogi Government of treating rule of law as an unnecessary irritant of no consequence, will result in the destruction of one of the basic pillars of constitutional democracy  the principle of `Rule of law and pave the way for lawlessness and brute power. It is up to other institutions of accountability right from the media, the judiciary, the NHRC and other independent human rights bodies to defend this core democratic principle in the face of this ferocious assault on the rule of law by the UP administration.

This position of the UP government led by Yogi Adityanath which asserts that criminals are not entitled to the rule of law is antithetical to the values of the Constitution. To those in the public who support this amoral position that gangsters should not be entitled to the benefits of rule of law, one should note that once an exception is made in the grand edifice of rule of law, there will be others who, the state will argue, dont deserve the protection of `rule of law. If this trend is not checked the state will feel emboldened to opt for vigilante justice, including extra judicial executions, against all those questioning its actions and policies. The ground for this has been prepared through the relentless delegitmisation of all dissent, dubbing those who are exercising the right to free speech as anti-nationals.

This amoral and cynical approach has been roundly castigated by the Supreme Court as being unconstitutional. In `PUCL v State of Maharashtra (2014), a case filed by the PUCL regarding the issue of genuineness or otherwise of nearly 99 encounters between the Mumbai police and the alleged criminals resulting in death of about 135 persons between 1995 and 1997, the Supreme Court observed that,

Article 21 of the Constitution of India guarantees right to live with human dignity. Any violation of human rights is viewed seriously by this Court as the right to life is the most precious right guaranteed by Article 21 of the Constitution. The guarantee by Article 21 is available to every person and even the State has no authority to violate that right.

The Supreme Court appointed Commission of Inquiry headed by Justice V Sirpurkar to inquire into the killing of four men accused of rape by the Telangana police when the accused were in the custody of the Telangana Police, (known as the Disha rape and murder case which occurred in Hyderabad on 27.11.2019) the Commission came to the conclusion that the killings were murder and not justified as self-defence. The Commission also noted that:

Just as Mob Lynching is unacceptable, so is any idea of instant justice. At any point of time the Rule of Law must prevail. Punishment for crime has to be only by the procedure established by law.

It is the most basic principle of our constitutional democracy that all are equal before the law. We must hold this principle dear for if we let it go, the rest of the structure will crumble. Action must be taken against all those who failed to uphold their constitutional oath to bear true faith and allegiance to the constitution of India and instead chose to use the strategy of using encounter death to eliminate alleged criminals thereby demolishing the edifice of `rule of law.

Although the UP Government has announced setting up of a 3-member Judicial Commission to enquire into the encounters, considering the questions raised about the role of and complicity of the UP Police and government themselves, it is important that investigation is entrusted by the Supreme Court to a completely independent investigating body.

PUCL therefore demands that:

1. The SC should consider passing orders in the UP encounters PIL already pending before it, entrusting investigation into the quadruple encounter - murders of Atiq Ahmed, Ashraf, Asad Ahmed and Ghulam, on 13th and 15th April, 2023 to an independent investigating agency, preferably a SIT, consisting of Police officials from outside UP, under the direct supervision of the Supreme Court.

2. The case should be investigated as a custodial killing in accordance with the Supreme Court guidelines in `PUCL vs State of Maharashtra (2014 (10) SCC 635). The UP administration has shown no respect for the rule of law and therefor a Supreme Court monitored probe will build faith and confidence among the larger public as compared to a probe initiated under the aegis of the UP government.

3. A FIR be registered into the encounter killings immediately, naming the police persons responsible for the encounters, and transferred to the `Special Investigation Team comprising officials from outside UP, for free, fair and independent investigation.

4. The police officials involved in the encounters should be immediately transferred out of their districts to enable the SIT to conduct an unbiased investigation and to ensure that evidence is not tampered with.

5. Magisterial inquiry in accordance with law should be conducted. All the evidence, including forensic evidence by way of ammunition and weapons used, postmortem findings, chemical examination reports, electronic evidence and so on should be handed over to the jurisdiction Magistrates court to prevent tampering with evidence.

6. Compensation should be given to the surviving members of the family as a partial recognition of the irreparable loss caused to them. Police officials responsible and complicit in the offence should be punished in accordance with law.

We appeal to right thinking citizens concerned about the total breakdown of constitutional order to stand up and raise their voices to condemn state lawlessness. We also appeal to the Supreme Court of India to take up the matter suo motu, considering the grave repercussions the matter can pose for the rule of law in the country.

Dr. V. Suresh, General Secretary, PUCL, 19.04.2023
President of South Korea for first time allows for possibility of providing military assistance to Ukraine

South Korea can expand its support to Ukraine, going beyond humanitarian and economic assistance, in the event of large-scale attacks on the civilian population, the country's president Yoon Suk-yeol said.

"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said in an interview with Reuters.

It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid.

Yoon said his government has been exploring how to help defend and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-53 Korean War.

Yoon is due to visit Washington next week for a summit meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden.
A service organization at its core, team members and supported clinicians selflessly serve together locally, nationally, and internationally at Pacific Dental Services.

IRVINE, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pacific Dental Services (PDS), a leading dental support organization, announced today its recognition of National Volunteer Week (April 16  22, 2023). The week celebrates the selflessness of individuals who generously donate their time, money, and skills to create a better world. As part of its commitment to giving back to communities, PDS is proud to join in the celebration and honor volunteers for their tireless efforts.

Through volunteer work and charitable initiatives, we strive to make a positive impact on the lives of those around us. Tweet this PDS team members from Irving, Texas take a moment to pose for a group photo at Irving Cares Food Pantry, grateful for the opportunity to serve their community. In Xenacoj, Guatemala, PDS-supported clinicians and team members work together to provide much-needed oral health care services to community members.

At the heart of PDS is a culture of service and a dedication to serving others. In 2006, the organization established its Corporate Social Responsibility and Service department, an internal team that engages PDS team members in acts of service year-round. Furthermore, team members are given the opportunity to participate in volunteer work in their local communities on paid time.

This week, PDS team members are participating in charitable activities to make a positive impact. These include:

Teams in Henderson, Nev. are preparing book donations and bookmarks for local children through Spread the Word, assembling hygiene kits for Project Marilyn, and serving lunch to seniors at the City of Henderson Downtown Senior Center.

In Irvine, Calif. , teams are volunteering at Bracken's Kitchen and Sow and Grow Fridays.

At all three locations, team members are crafting cards for Cardz for Kidz, a program that brings joy to children suffering from trauma and hospitalization across the globe.

Blood drives are being held to replenish the supply and help save lives, supporting the vital work of health organizations.

"At Pacific Dental Services, we hold service as a core value and are proud to offer our clinicians and team members the opportunity to give back to their communities," said Carli Kingsley, Sr. Manager of Corporate Social Responsibility and Service at PDS. "Through volunteer work and charitable initiatives, we strive to make a positive impact on the lives of those around us. It is an honor to extend our care and compassion beyond our local offices and help create brighter futures for individuals who may lack access to dental care or face other challenges."

Apart from local service, PDS also provides opportunities for its team members to participate in international service trips. These trips allow PDS-supported clinicians and team members to lend a helping hand to individuals who lack access to care and create a positive impact around the world.

Last week, a team of 10 PDS team members and supported clinicians generously offered their time to travel to Xenacoj, Guatemala with the Pacific Dental Services Foundation. In Guatemala, periodontal disease is a pervasive issue affecting more than 16 million people across the country. The team provided oral health care services to the local and neighboring communities  some as far as four hours away  at the PDS Foundation Clinica Dental, which was established to address the significant need for dental care in the area. Through the collective efforts of the team, over 90 patients were able to receive access to critical oral health care, with a total of $101,579 worth of donated dentistry provided. Services provided include dental prophylaxis and deep cleanings, extractions, composite and amalgam restorations, and oral hygiene education.

To learn more about how PDS serves, please visit its Culture of Service webpage.

About Pacific Dental Services

Pacific Dental Services (PDS) is one of the country's leading healthcare support organizations, empowering clinicians with supported autonomy to deliver comprehensive patient care. PDS provides administrative and business operations support, highly skilled staff, and ongoing training and education to help healthcare providers succeed. PDS incorporates the most advanced, proven technologies with best practices and procedures to ensure high-quality care and is a leading advocate for the integration of dental and medical care to improve whole-person health. Since its foundation in 1994, PDS has grown to support over 4,100 clinicians (dentists, dental hygienists, physicians, and nurse practitioners) in nearly 1,000 practices across 25 states and continues to expand. To learn more, visit pacificdentalservices.com or connect on LinkedIn, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, or YouTube.

SOURCE Pacific Dental Services
TSXV: PGZ OTCQB: PGZFF

In-fill drill holes at La Romana intersect additional high grade mineralization;

15m at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag, including 7.8m at 1.9% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 8.8g/t Ag

at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag, including at 1.9% Cu, 0.07% Sn, 8.8g/t Ag

22m at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn 3.1g/t Ag, including 12m at 1.1% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 5.0g/t Ag

at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn 3.1g/t Ag, including at 1.1% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 5.0g/t Ag First drill holes at Romana Deep deliver encouraging results and follow-up geophysics planned

Exploration drilling ongoing at Zarcita and La Romana

Drilling to commence at Canada Honda target

VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Pan Global Resources Inc. ("Pan Global" or the "Company") (TSXV: PGZ) (OTCQB: PGZFF) is pleased to announce assay results for its ongoing diamond drilling at the La Romana copper-tin-silver discovery and results for the first three drill holes at the Romana Deep target at the Company's 100%-owned Escacena Project in the Iberian Pyrite Belt, southern Spain.

Figure 1  La Romana copper mineralization footprint and Romana Deep target locations, drill hole locations with selected results for newly reported holes and cross section location A-A in Figure 2. (CNW Group/Pan Global Resources Inc.) Figure 2  Cross section showing new drill holes LRD142 and LRD145, highlighting higher grades for the major intersections compared to previous adjacent drill holes. (CNW Group/Pan Global Resources Inc.) Figure 3  Drill hole LRD145 intersected 0.40m of 16.1% copper, 0.08% tin, 68.1g/t silver and 0.06% cobalt from approximately 84.90m downhole. (CNW Group/Pan Global Resources Inc.)

"The near surface high grade copper, tin, and silver results reported today confirm the continuity of the La Romana mineralization and highlight the potential to improve the overall grade with further in-fill drilling," said Tim Moody, Pan Global's President & CEO. "Planned testing of the strike extensions of the gravity and electrical geophysics targets east and west of the La Romana discovery is expected to further expand the area of mineralization."

"Exploration drilling at the Romana Deep target revealed an 80-meter-plus zone of alteration similar to that associated with mineralization at La Romana. The first three holes encountered multiple narrow intercepts of high grade copper mineralization up to 1.0m thick grading 1.1% to 3.8% Cu and up to 0.43% Sn and 55g/t Ag. The frequency of thin bands of massive and semi-massive sulphide and alteration intensity indicate an ecouraging vector with increasing copper towards the east, providing a guide for follow-up drilling."

Drill results are summarized in Table 1 and drill hole collar details are presented in Table 2 below. Drill hole locations are shown in Figure 1.

La Romana

Drilling Highlights

LRD145  15m at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag from 74m , including

 at 1.2% Cu, 0.05% Sn, 5.4g/t Ag from , including 7.8m at 1.9% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 8.8g/t Ag (includes 0.4m at 16.1% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 68.1 g/t Ag)

at 1.9% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 8.8g/t Ag (includes at 16.1% Cu, 0.08% Sn, 68.1 g/t Ag) LRD142  22m at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 3.1g/t Ag from 40m , including

 at 0.7% Cu, 0.07% Sn and 3.1g/t Ag from , including 12m at 1.1% Cu, 0.13% Sn and 5.0g/t Ag

at 1.1% Cu, 0.13% Sn and 5.0g/t Ag LRD144  22m at 0.5% Cu, 0.05% Sn and 2.9g/t Ag from 50m , including

 at 0.5% Cu, 0.05% Sn and 2.9g/t Ag from , including 7m at 1.0% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 4.6g/t Ag

at 1.0% Cu, 0.13% Sn, 4.6g/t Ag LRD143  70.85m at 0.33% Cu, 0.03% Sn and 2.3g/t Ag from 57m , including

 at 0.33% Cu, 0.03% Sn and 2.3g/t Ag from , including 6m at 1.1% Cu, 0.01% Sn, 5.2g/t Ag, 0.6m at 1.9% Cu, 0.12% Sn, 10.8g/t Ag, 1.0m at 1.1% Cu, 0.04% Sn, 6.4g/t Ag, and 0.6m at 1.7% Cu, 0.11% Sn, 9.4g/t Ag

The new drill results at La Romana intersected high grade copper (Cu) in four of the five drill holes targeting electromagnetic (EM) anomalies within the drill area. Together with previous drilling, the results further demonstrate good continuity of the mineralization and the potential for additional infill drilling to have a positive impact on the overall grade at La Romana. Drill holes LRD142 and LRD145 delivered the highest grade Cu, tin (Sn), and silver (Ag) intersections compared to previous drilling on the same north-south section (see Figures 2 and 3 below). Hole LRD143 returned one of the widest intersections reported at La Romana with 0.33% Cu over 70.85m, including 6m at 1.1% Cu plus additional narrow high grade Cu-Sn-Ag intersections.

Results are pending for a further five stepout drill holes targeting EM anomalies and downdip projections of the La Romana mineralization. An additional 10 drillholes are planned to test a gap in the drill pattern, previously inaccessible due to farm infrastructure, for additional high grade copper mineralization. These holes will also test the potential for additional near-surface supergene enriched chalcocite mineralization. Additional holes will test the continuity of tin mineralization and provide samples required for the tin metallurgy test work program. Drilling of the untested western strike projection of the La Romana mineralization is planned pending access.

Romana Deep

The three drill holes testing a heliborne EM anomaly at Romana Deep each intersected more than 80m thick zones of chlorite and sericite alteration with multiple thin bands of massive and semi massive sulphide with high copper grades. The drilling shows alteration and associated copper mineralization extending from 300m to more than 600m downdip from the near-surface La Romana mineralization. The results for drill holes RDD02 and RDD03 indicates the heliborne EM anomaly in this area is potentially related to an upper copper mineralized horizon, approximately 100m stratigraphically above the main La Romana copper mineralization.

The drill results also highlight a vector to the east, characterized by increasing intervals of semi-massive and massive sulphide towards the east and anomalous copper over a wide interval in hole RDD01, the easternmost hole. Follow-up drilling at Romana Deep will be planned on completion of additional geophysics to help identify potentially thicker zones of high grade mineralization and potential to the east.

High grade intercepts at Romana Deep include:

RDD01  73.6m at 0.13% Cu from 454.2m , including

at 0.13% Cu from , including 0.25m at 1.7% Cu, 9.9g/t Ag from 456.30m

at 1.7% Cu, 9.9g/t Ag from

0.20m at 3.5% Cu, 11.2g/t Ag from 460.90m

at 3.5% Cu, 11.2g/t Ag from

0.20m at 1.1% Cu, 5.6g/t Ag from 493.60m

at 1.1% Cu, 5.6g/t Ag from

0.35m at 2.4% Cu, 9.1g/t Ag from 497.45m

at 2.4% Cu, 9.1g/t Ag from

0.25m at 3.8% Cu, 29.8g/t Ag, 0.15g/t Au from 513.85m

at 3.8% Cu, 29.8g/t Ag, 0.15g/t Au from

0.40m at 1.6% Cu, 3.9g/t Ag from 527.40m

at 1.6% Cu, 3.9g/t Ag from RDD02  1.0m at 1.4% Cu, 10.2g/t Ag from 310.0m , and

at 1.4% Cu, 10.2g/t Ag from , and 0.5m at 1.2% Cu, 5.7g/t Ag from 369.75m

at 1.2% Cu, 5.7g/t Ag from

0.6m at 3.0% Cu, 55.3g/t Ag from 561.65m

at 3.0% Cu, 55.3g/t Ag from

1.0m at 1.3% Cu, 7.4g/t Ag from 565.00m

at 1.3% Cu, 7.4g/t Ag from RDD03  1.0m at 1.1% Cu, 0.43% Sn, 4.3g/t Ag from 513.00m

Table 1  Escacena Project, drill results summary (all intersections are >90% to approximately 100% of true thickness)

La Romana



















Hole From To Interval Cu Sn Ag Co Au

Pb Zn

m m m % % g/t ppm g/t

ppm ppm LRD141 74.00 87.65 13.65 0.2 0.01 1.4 66 0.01

58 374























LRD142 40.00 62.00 22.00 0.7 0.07 3.1 77 <0.01

65 399 inc. 41.00 53.00 12.00 1.1 0.13 5.0 96 <0.01

29 431 inc. 40.00 43.00 3.00 1.0 0.24 5.6 98 <0.01

38 321 inc. 46.00 53.00 7.00 1.4 0.11 6.0 104 <0.01

36 559























LRD143 57.00 127.85 70.85 0.33 0.03 2.3 76 <0.01

95 566 inc. 57.00 63.00 6.00 1.1 0.01 5.2 133 0.01

36 670 inc. 59.00 62.00 3.00 1.6 0.01 6.7 145 0.01

38 532 inc. 100.45 101.00 0.55 1.9 0.12 10.8 239 0.04

150 863 inc. 108.00 109.00 1.00 1.1 0.04 6.4 90 0.01

268 804 inc. 127.25 127.85 0.60 1.7 0.11 9.4 612 0.09

481 2190























LRD144 50.00 72.00 22.00 0.5 0.05 2.9 66 <0.01

100 639 inc. 57.00 64.00 7.00 1.0 0.13 4.6 89 <0.01

94 615 inc. 59.00 64.00 5.00 1.2 0.10 5.1 95 <0.01

97 695























LRD145 74.00 89.00 15.00 1.2 0.05 5.4 97 <0.01

114 588 inc 74.00 87.00 13.00 1.3 0.06 6.0 105 <0.01

118 626 inc. 77.50 85.30 7.80 1.9 0.07 8.8 131 0.01

156 787 inc. 77.50 79.00 1.50 3.0 0.18 14.4 173 0.02

185 1144 inc. 84.00 85.30 1.30 6.5 0.07 28.0 292 0.04

367 1561 inc. 84.90 85.30 0.40 16.1 0.08 68.1 557 0.07

802 3020

Romana Deep



















Hole From To Interval Cu Sn Ag Co Au

Pb Zn

m m m % ppm g/t ppm g/t

ppm ppm RDD01 454.20 527.80 73.60 0.13 <0.01 0.9 29 <0.01

93 284 inc. 456.30 456.55 0.25 1.7 <0.01 9.9 128 0.02

76 602 inc. 460.90 461.10 0.20 3.5 0.01 11.2 195 0.05

53 536 inc. 493.60 493.80 0.20 1.1 <0.01 5.6 64 0.05

196 939 inc. 497.45 497.80 0.35 2.4 <0.01 9.1 54 0.10

207 6980 inc. 513.85 514.10 0.25 3.8 0.01 29.8 351 0.15

225 615 inc. 527.40 527.80 0.40 1.6 <0.01 3.9 163 0.07

40 215























RDD02 310.00 311.00 1.00 1.4 <0.01 10.2 124 0.17

536 598

369.75 370.25 0.50 1.2 <0.01 5.7 94 0.03

23 93

561.65 562.25 0.60 3.0 0.01 55.3 167 0.11

9470 14300

565.00 566.00 1.00 1.3 <0.01 7.4 136 0.05

669 528























RDD03 513.00 514.00 1.00 1.1 0.43 4.3 63 0.02

17 127



Table 2  Escacena Project, drill hole collar information (Total 2609.75m)

Hole_ID Easting1 Northing1 Azimuth

() Dip

() Depth

(m) LRD141 736842 4152657 180 -55 180 LRD142 736484 4152669 180 -55 120 LRD143 736735 4152673 180 -55 161.4 LRD144 736438 4152708 180 -55 125.5 LRD145 736487 4152717 180 -55 165.15 RDD01 736788 4153045 180 -90 608.4 RDD02 736680 4153109 180 -90 629.4 RDD03 736527 4153046 180 -90 619.9 1Coordinates are in ERTS89 datum UTM29N\

Drilling is ongoing in the Escacena Project at the La Romana and Zarcita targets and is due to commence at the Canada Honda target approximately 5 km north of La Romana targeting geophysics targets adjacent to historical mine workings. Results are pending for approximately 15 drill holes at La Romana and Zarcita. Negotiations are progressing with land owners for access to the untested potential near-surface extensions to the La Romana mineralization.

QA/QC Procedures

Core size was HQ (63mm) and all samples were  core. Nominal sample size was 1m core length and ranged from 0.4 to 2m. Sample intervals were defined using geological contacts with the start and end of each sample physically marked on the core. Diamond blade core cutting and sampling was supervised at all times by Company staff. Duplicate samples of  core were taken approximately every 30 samples and Certified Reference materials inserted every 25 samples in each batch.

Samples were delivered to ALS laboratory in Seville, Spain and assayed at the ALS laboratory in Ireland. All samples were crushed and split (method CRU-31, SPL22Y), and pulverized using (method PUL-31). Gold analysis was by 50gm Fire assay with ICP finish (method Au-ICP22) and multi element analysis was undertaken using a 4-acid digest with ICP AES finish (method ME-ICP61). Tin was analyzed in selected intervals using Lithium borate fusion and ICP MS finish (method ME-MS81). Over grade base metal results were assayed using a 4-acid digest ICP AES (method OG-62). Over grade tin was determined using peroxide fusion with ICP finish (method Sn-ICP81x).

About the Escacena Project

The Escacena Project comprises a large, contiguous, 5,760-hectare land package controlled 100% by Pan Global in the east of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. The project is located near operating mines at Las Cruces and Riotinto and is immediately adjacent to the former Aznalcollar and Los Frailes mines where Minera Los Frailes/Grupo Mexico is in the final permitting stage with construction anticipated to restart in 2023. The Escacena Project hosts the La Romana copper-tin discovery and a number of other prospective targets, including Zarcita, Hornitos, La Jarosa, Romana Deep, Bravo, Barbacena, El Pozo, and San Pablo.

About Pan Global Resources

Pan Global Resources Inc. is actively engaged in base and precious metal exploration in southern Spain and is pursuing opportunities from exploration through to mine development. The Company is committed to operating safely and with respect to the communities and environment where we operate.

Qualified Persons

James Royall, Vice President Exploration for Pan Global Resources and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed the scientific and technical information for this news release. Mr. Royall is not independent of the Company.

On behalf of the Board of Directors

www.panglobalresources.com

Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information included in this news release are reasonable but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct and such forward-looking information should not be unduly relied upon. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission.

The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information.

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.

SOURCE Pan Global Resources Inc.
VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Parvis Invest Inc. (TSXV: PVIS) ("Parvis'' or "the Company''), a technology-driven real estate company focused on broadening access to institutional quality real estate investment opportunities, today announced the addition of Harvestd AgTech Ventures Inc., ("Harvestd'') and Parametric Properties Inc. ("Parametric'') as new Exempt Market Dealer (EMD) issuer clients; a burgeoning vertical of the company.

While fulfilling its mission to open up access to institutional quality real estate investment opportunities and increase liquidity in private assets, Parvis has identified a unique need-gap within the market for an efficient and scalable EMD solution platform. Complimentary to the business model, Parvis will now be onboarding issuers and developers in order to help process and service investors.

"We are delighted to announce investor agreements with Harvestd and Parametric," said David Michaud, Parvis' Chief Executive Officer. "In today's environment, companies are looking to focus on the execution of their business, unlocking from the workload associated with EMD services - and for which we can seamlessly handle through our leading tech platform at Parvis. This is an exciting vertical emerging at Parvis, where we will provide value to issuers while driving new revenue into the business. We look forward to our work with these teams."

Harvestd is the capital funding and growth partner of indoor agriculture and a subsidiary of Cultivatd Inc., an indoor farming brokerage and "Farming as a Service" (FaaS) provider. Cultivatd Inc. is partnered with over 50 of the most innovative and efficient 'best in class' AgTech providers worldwide. Harvestd has a significant deal flow pipeline of over $600M for venture, growth and real asset investment opportunities within the indoor and vertical farming sector at large.

In a similar partnership, Parvis signs EMD services with Parametric, a Victoria, BC based real estate investment company focused on building a portfolio of quality multi residential properties that provides attractive returns for its investors. Parametric assesses, acquires and develops undervalued properties in Victoria with a view to capital appreciation and eventual resale.

For both Harvestd and Parametric, Parvis will provide comprehensive EMD services including marketing, capital raising, investor relations and potentially secondary market services. The EMD service vertical represents an exciting new segment of business for Parvis. Outsourcing EMD services to Parvis will allow companies to offload and streamline their administrative work in order to focus on their core business, and in turn drive revenue within Parvis. Growing this segment of the business will enable Parvis to achieve the core vision of democratizing real estate and alternative investment to scale.

About the Company

Parvis is a technology-driven real estate investing platform. Focused on broadening access to institutional quality real estate investment opportunities, Parvis promotes greater access in this historically inaccessible and illiquid asset class. Enabled by blockchain technology, Parvis makes finding, tracking, and maximizing investments an experience that is both frictionless and empowering. Parvis, headquartered in Vancouver, employs experts in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal. Additional information about Parvis is available at www.parvisinvest.com and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com

Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuer's business, capital, or operations that is prospective in nature, and includes future-oriented financial information about the issuer's prospective financial performance or financial position. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: final acceptance of the Exchange of the Qualifying Transaction and the issuance of the Final Exchange Bulletin; commencement of trading of the Common Shares; and the Company's business plans and role in the real estate industry. To develop the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company made certain material assumptions, including but not limited to: prevailing market conditions; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; and the ability of the Company to execute and achieve its business objectives. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. These risk factors include, but are not limited to: adverse market conditions; changes in general economic, business and political conditions; changes in applicable laws and regulations; compliance with extensive government regulation; reliance on key and qualified personnel; risks associated with the real estate and technology industries in general; and the risk factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Filing Statement. The foregoing list of material risk factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information in this news release, unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities legislation.

Neither the Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or Filing Statement prepared in connection with the Qualifying Transaction, any information released or received with respect to the Qualifying Transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of the Company should be considered highly speculative. This news release does not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.

SOURCE Parvis Invest Inc.
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Phantom Space Corporation (Phantom), a space applications company providing small-class launch services to commercial and government clients has announced the selection of Arnhem Space Centre (ASC) on the Gove Peninsula in Australia's Northern Territory for a dedicated launch site.

The Arnhem Space Centre expands Phantom's space launch capabilities with direct access to very low-inclination and equatorial orbits. Phantom is also developing a dedicated launch site, SLC-5, at Vandenberg Space Force Base for access to polar, sun synchronous and high-inclination orbits as well as a launch site, LC-13, at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station for direct access to mid- and low-inclination orbits. ASC is also Phantom's first launch site outside the United States providing service to the Australian market and Asia-Pacific region.

The selection of ASC marks a key milestone for Phantom and Equatorial Launch Australia (ELA), ASC's developer, owner, and operator. The two companies have been exploring launch options under a previously undisclosed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed in September 2022. The companies will now finalize a multi-launch contract and explore the generation and support for space missions of national significance for Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

Phantom's ASC launch site is expected to consist of two launch pads capable of launching the company's Daytona and Laguna launch vehicles as well as a near-by horizontal integration facility for final launch vehicle preparation, payload integration, and ground support equipment maintenance and storage.

ELA rose to prominence as an international multi-user commercial spaceport after successfully completing three commercial space launches with NASA over a 15 day period in mid in 2022. These launches were Australia's first ever commercial launches as well as Australia's first space launch in more than 25 years and also the first launches for NASA from a commercial spaceport.

Mark Lester, COO of Phantom Space said, "Launch sites are akin to gates at an airportit's imperative to have a robust portfolio to meet customer needs. Arnhem Space Centre fits perfectly into Phantom's strategy as it broadens our direct access to new orbital regimes with a proven spaceport. In addition to ASC's unique geography, ELA's success with NASA's space launches and their ability to provide a full-service spaceport at low cost were key elements in selecting ASC as our next dedicated launch site. We look forward to continuing to work with the ELA team to provide assured access to space for our customers."

Phantom's CEO Jim Cantrell said, "Australia has been a great friend to the United States throughout the years and we at Phantom are proud to lead the way in utilizing this unique new launch complex from Australia. We look forward to the success of this partnership in the great tradition of the history between the two countries."

Michael Jones, Executive Chairman and Group CEO of ELA said the agreement with Phantom was the next step forward for Australia's space industry.

"We are delighted to announce this partnership with Phantom Space Corporation which has been developing for some time. We are really keen for Phantom to be resident launcher and access our world-leading launch site at the Arnhem Space Centre and take Australia's space industry to the next level," said Mr Jones. "we really liked Phantom from the outset, their technology, commercial philosophy and quite frankly they have been a launch mentor for us from our first meeting. Their experience and knowledge is a clear standout in the small launcher market."

About ELA

ELA aspires to be the pre-eminent multi-user commercial Space Launch company, providing world-class launch services supporting testing, launch and recovery of space vehicles and payloads flown to and from all space orbits.

ELA and the proximity of the ASC to the equator offers rocket companies and their payload customers operational freedom and simplicity for both their launch and mission design.

With access to the full range of orbits and inclinations from <12 to >110 (south) we provide the following value-added services supporting the mission and launch:

Mission/Launch planning and feasibility,

ASA Permit and regulation management,

Full scope launch preparation and conduct including: logistics, operations management and launch/range control and management,

Recovery of vehicles/stages,

Full test and Range services avail for both commercial and military customers using our Arnhem Space Test and Evaluation Range (ASTER),

Payload management, and

Fuel/gas production, acquisition, storage and preparation.

Our method of operation is to anticipate requirements and reduce client risk and associated admin/logistics burden for all operational launch scenarios.

Semi-permanent 'Resident Launcher' arrangements available for one to multiple serviced pads.

Due to our low cost base, equatorial launch benefits and flexible access to space, ELA provides a world class value proposition.

To learn more, visit www.ela.space

About Phantom Space Corporation

Phantom Space Corporation is a space services company providing all-in capabilities for satellite manufacturing to business and government clients: satellite design and production, rocket design and construction, launch services, and constellation management. It was founded by Jim Cantrell and Michael D'Angelo, both inventors and entrepreneurs in 2019. The company aims to provide reliable and affordable access to space to a broad set of new space users. To learn more, visit www.phantomspace.com

SOURCE Phantom Space Corporation
CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The pharmaceutical contract manufacturing industry is expected to experience strong growth in the near future. This is due to an increased demand for cost-effective solutions, an increasing number of drug launches, and the need for complex drug formulations. In addition, the growing focus on personalized medicines is expected to drive the growth of the industry. Manufacturers are looking to capitalize on the growth of this industry by providing high quality, cost-effective solutions. In the coming years, the industry is expected to see an increase in the number of players, with companies investing in research and development to create new and innovative products. Furthermore, the consolidation of the market is also expected to continue, with larger manufacturers acquiring smaller firms and expanding their operations. This is expected to help the industry remain competitive by providing a wider range of services.

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth $176.5 billion in 2023 and is poised to reach $258.3 billion by 2028, growing at a CAGR of 7.9% from 2023 to 2028 according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets. Factors such as growth in the biosimilars and generics markets, and the increased outsourcing of preclinical/clinical drug development and manufacturing services are driving the growth of this market. However, challenges associated with regulatory compliances is the major factors restraining the growth of this market.

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Browse in-depth TOC on "Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market"

244 - Tables

47 - Figures

289 - Pages

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market Scope:

Report Coverage Details Market Revenue in 2023 $176.5 billion Estimated Value by 2028 $258.3 billion Growth Rate Poised to grow at a CAGR of 7.9% Market Size Available for 2021-2028 Forecast Period 20232028 Forecast Units Value (USD Billion) Report Coverage Revenue Forecast, Competitive Landscape, Growth Factors, and Trends Segments Covered Service, End User, and Region Geographies Covered North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Report Highlights Updated financial information / product portfolio of players Key Market Opportunities Emerging markets Key Market Drivers High cost of In-House drug development is likely to propel the market growth

Pharmaceutical manufacturing services accounted for the largest share of the service segment in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market in 2022.

Based on service, the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market is broadly segmented into pharmaceutical manufacturing services, drug development services, and biologic manufacturing services. In 2022, pharmaceutical manufacturing services accounted for the largest share of the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market for service. This segment's large share can be attributed to factors such as growing investments in developing novel therapies & pharma research. Further, growth in the pharma outsourcing trend is supported by the increased demand for lower-cost alternatives, which is likely to support the market growth.

The pharmaceutical API manufacturing services accounted for the largest share of the type segment in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market in 2022.

Based on type, the pharmaceutical manufacturing services is categorized into two sub-segmentspharmaceutical API manufacturing services and pharmaceutical FDF manufacturing services. In 2022, pharmaceutical API manufacturing services accounted for the largest share of the pharmaceutical manufacturing services segment. Factors such as the demand for API manufacturing are growing due to the looming patent expiries in several countries. Furthermore, pharma companies have shown a growing focus on conducting core activities that have pushed them to outsource API manufacturing.

Asia Pacific is likely to grow at the highest growth rate during the forecast period.

Based on the region The global pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market is segmented into North America, Europe, the Asia Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America is the largest regional segment. The Asia Pacific region is estimated to grow at the highest CAGR in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market during the forecast period. The growth of the pharmaceuticals and biopharmaceuticals market in the region is primarily driven by the rising prevalence of chronic disease conditions, the presence of a large number of CDMOs in the region, and significant investments in pharmaceutical R&D.

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Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market Dynamics:

Drivers:

Increased investment in precision medicines Patent expiry & increasing demand for generic drugs High cost of in-house drug development Investments in advanced manufacturing technologies by CDMOs

Restraints:

Varying regulatory requirements across regions

Opportunities:

Rising demand for cell & gene therapy Growing inclination toward one-stop-shop model Market expansion in emerging countries Growth of nuclear medicine

Challenges:

Introduction of serialization Intellectual property risk

Key Market Players:

Some of the prominent players in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market are Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. (US), Catalent, Inc. (US), Lonza Group (Switzerland), Abbvie, Inc. (US), WuXi AppTec (China), and among others.

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Recent Developments:

In September 2022 , Lonza Group collaborated with Touchlight, a biotechnology company. Lonza expanded its end-to-end offering for mRNA manufacturing with an additional source of DNA.

, Lonza Group collaborated with Touchlight, a biotechnology company. Lonza expanded its end-to-end offering for mRNA manufacturing with an additional source of DNA. In February 2022 , Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborated with Moderna, Inc. for the large-scale manufacturing of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, and other investigational mRNA medicines in its pipeline.

, Thermo Fisher Scientific collaborated with Moderna, Inc. for the large-scale manufacturing of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, Spikevax, and other investigational mRNA medicines in its pipeline. In January 2023 , Catalent supported the manufacturing of Sarepta's most advanced gene therapy candidate, delandistrogene moxeparvovec (SRP-9001), to treat Duchenne muscular dystrophy.

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market Advantages:

Reduction in the overall cost of production

Access to the latest technologies and equipment

Specialization and expertise in specific areas of the manufacturing process

Increased production capacity

Streamlined supply chain management

Reduced risk of product contamination

Improved product quality and safety

Faster time to market

Ability to focus on core competencies

Greater flexibility in terms of product specifications and processes

Pharmaceutical Contract Manufacturing Market - Report Highlights:

Key conferences, and events 2022-2023, key stakeholders & buying criteria, and trends/ disruptions impacting customer business are added in the market overview chapter.

The new edition of the report provides updated financial information till 2022 (depending on availability) for each listed company in a graphical representation. This would help in the easy analysis of the present status of profiled companies in terms of their financial strength, profitability, key revenue-generating region/country, and business segment focus in terms of the highest revenue-generating segment.

Impact of the recession has also been added in the new addition of the report.

Recent developments are helpful to understand market trends and growth strategies adopted by players in the market.

Tracking service portfolios of prominent market players helps to analyze the major services in the pharmaceutical contract development and manufacturing market. The new edition of the report provides an updated service portfolio of the companies profiled in the report.

Market evaluation framework, market share analysis, and competitive leadership mapping have been added in the competitive landscape chapter of the report.

The competitive leadership mapping has been updated considering recent developments in the company evaluation matrix.

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ESCANABA, Mich., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Manufactured housing business, Phil and Lee's Homes, is excited to celebrate their seventy-fifth anniversary of serving the Michigan community with affordable housing. During their diamond anniversary of business, Phil and Lee's will be hosting an Open House Event, April 28-30, 2023 at their sales center located at 6674 US-2 Escanaba, Michigan 49829.

Phil and Lees Homes and Phil and Lee standing together

From day one, customer service has been the bedrock of Phil and Lee's Homes. They work with their homebuyers to get them into a quality-crafted home at a price they can afford. Just like their founders, the housing professionals at Phil & Lee's Homes work with each customer to understand their individual needs and budget.

Over seventy-five years, while manufactured housing has improved in design and quality, old-fashioned customer service remains the hallmark of value at Phil and Lee's Homes.

ABOUT PHIL AND LEE'S HOMES

In 1948, Phil and Leona ("Lee") LaMarch (pictured) built a strong foundation for a business that would end up providing attainable housing to families in Escanaba, Michigan, and the surrounding region. Through seven and a half decades and four generations of family members, the professionals at Phil and Lee's Homes have been helping families from Michigan's Upper Peninsula find affordable homes that fit each customer's lifestyle and pocketbook.

With eleven people living under one roof, Phil and Leona LaMarch understood the importance of home ownership. The couple was committed to providing value for their customer's housing dollars. They understood that a house is more than a place to live. It is a space where families grow, and memories are made. That legacy has been passed through four generations of family members. Today, Phil and Lee's Homes serve the community throughout the state of Michigan and beyond.

Discover affordable manufactured housing at PhilandLees.com .

CONTACT:

SUSAN BRUCE

(906) 786-3000

SOURCE Phil and Lees Homes
SALT LAKE CITY, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Power Diary, leading practice management software for allied health practitioners, has announced that it has received ISO 27001 certification for its information security management. This international standard recognises the company's commitment to ensuring the highest global security standards for healthcare data.

Power Diary is ISO 27001 Certified Power Diary, the Ultimate Practice Management Software for Allied Health Practitioners

According to Damien Adler, Power Diary co-founder and registered psychologist, "Becoming ISO 27001 certified is a testament to our commitment to maintaining the highest levels of data security. This certification serves as proof of our dedication to ensuring the security of our customers' health information.

Paul Adler, CTO and co-founder, explained, "Our team has ensured our software and operations meet the strict, externally-assessed requirements of the ISO 27001 standard. This certification validates our efforts and provides our customers with the confidence in knowing they have chosen to partner with a company that takes security seriously."

The internationally recognised ISO 27001 certification includes requirements for the implementation, maintenance and ongoing improvement of an information security system. The certification covers all aspects of information security, including risk management, access control, data backup, and business continuity.

Damien Adler added, "With achieving the standards of ISO 27001, Power Diary moves beyond simply being compliant with health data security standards to being externally verified as actually adhering to global best practices - something we think is crucial when handling sensitive health data."

Power Diary's commitment to security does not end with the ISO 27001 certification. The company will continue investing in its security infrastructure, processes, and best practices to ensure its customers' data is always protected.

About Power Diary:

Power Diary is an online practice management software trusted by health practitioners worldwide. It includes calendar management, automated appointment reminders (SMS + email), telehealth, online forms, custom treatment note templates, client management, payments, invoicing, online client bookings, 2-way SMS chat, reports and analytics, and a lot more.

Power Diary is designed specifically for health clinics and is used by thousands of practices ranging from solo practitioners to large, multi-location practices. Our vision is to provide the ultimate practice management system that makes running health practices easier, simpler, and more rewarding.

Contact:

For more information about Power Diary, please visit the website at www.powerdiary.com or contact Danielle Hopkinson, Marketing Manager, at [email protected] or 330-727-9511.

SOURCE Power Diary
HOUSTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Utility Rescue Holdings, Inc., and Gainline Capital Partners ("Gainline") today announced that Gainline has purchased a majority interest in Flagship Power, one of the fastest-growing electricity companies in Texas.

Founded by Utility Rescue in 2022, Flagship provides competitive electricity service options for consumers and small businesses in the Texas market. The management team of Flagship will remain in place, and Utility Rescue remains a significant shareholder of the company.

"We see this transaction as providing more fuel to fire the growth of Flagship and Utility Rescue's other brands," said Tom Schmidt, CEO of Utility Rescue. "We are excited to see to what heights we can now take the Flagship investment with Gainline's strength behind the company."

The partnership is more than just a financial one. "The Utility Rescue white label platform allows partners to generate additional revenue by offering bill negotiation and other services. We are pleased to be launching "Flagship PLUS," the bill negotiation service that will be offered to Flagship's electricity customers," explained Tammi Stroud, Vice President of Business Development for Utility Rescue. "Our partnership with Flagship will generate additional revenue for both companies and will provide enormous value to Flagship's customers for years to come. The beauty of the partnership for Flagship is that even if customers switch electricity providers in the future, they will remain on the Flagship PLUS service as it continues to save them money on other services like insurance or even rooftop solar."

Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Utility Rescue Holdings, Inc., www.utilityrescue.com is an integrated financial technology and energy services company dedicated to saving consumers and businesses on their essential monthly services. Founded in 2021, Utility Rescue is the holding company for investments in five fast-moving companies: VIV bill negotiation, Utiliz energy brokerage, Blue Aspen Insurance, Flagship Power and JUICE retail electricity, and The American Solar Company. Our portfolio companies help to reduce our customers' monthly bills and help manage their energy usage and spend.

Gainline Capital Partners is a private equity firm that invests in profitable, U.S. based middle market companies. The firm focuses on being the first institutional capital and specializes in partnering with management teams to help execute their vision, drive sustainable growth and create long term value. http://www.gainlinecapital.com/

Contact: Rita Karpel

Phone: (832) 459-7335

[email protected]

SOURCE Utility Rescue Holdings
HOUSTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Quanta Services, Inc. (NYSE: PWR) announced today that it will release first quarter 2023 financial results on Thursday, May 4, 2023, before the market opens. In conjunction with the press release, Quanta has scheduled a conference call and webcast for 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Thursday, May 4, 2023. Quanta will utilize a slide presentation to accompany its prepared remarks, which will be viewable through the webcast and available on the Investor Relations section of the Quanta website prior to the conference call (http://investors.quantaservices.com).

What: Quanta Services First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call When: Thursday, May 4, 2023  9:00 a.m. Eastern time How: Live via phone  By dialing (201) 689-8345 or (877) 407-8291 and asking for the Quanta Services First Quarter 2023 Earnings Conference Call at least 10 minutes prior to the start time.

Live via webcast  By logging on to the website through the Investor Relations section of Quanta's website (http://investors.quantaservices.com)

For those who cannot participate live, an archive of the webcast will be available shortly after the call on the Investor Relations section of Quanta's website (http://investors.quantaservices.com) and dial-in information for a replay of the call will be available in the upcoming earnings release. For more information, please contact Kip Rupp at Quanta Services at (713) 341-7260.

About Quanta Services

Quanta is an industry leader in providing specialized infrastructure solutions to the utility, renewable energy, communications, pipeline and energy industries. Quanta's comprehensive services include designing, installing, repairing and maintaining energy and communications infrastructure. With operations throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and select other international markets, Quanta has the manpower, resources and expertise to safely complete projects that are local, regional, national or international in scope. For more information, visit www.quantaservices.com.

Contact: Kip Rupp, CFA, IRC

Quanta Services, Inc.

(713) 341-7260

SOURCE Quanta Services, Inc.
Retailer builds power of its community by investing in employees, members and major capital projects

SEATTLE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- REI today released its 2022 Impact Report and financials results, closing the year with a record $3.85 billion in sales. The co-op ended the year with a strong liquidity and working capital position and continued to invest in its mission of investing in its members, employees, and the outdoors.

"I'm incredibly impressed by all we've accomplished as a co-op," said Eric Artz, President and CEO, in a public letter released alongside the report. "Throughout 2022, we invested in our people, in our capabilities, and in the communities we serve. We invested in membership with new and enhanced offerings and held fast to our commitment to distributing our full Co-op Member Reward to more than 23 million members during a year without profits to fund it. As a co-op, we are in the fortunate position to be able to make long-term choices and investments like this, but we do not do so lightly. We remain focused on a path back to sustainable profitability for the co-op to ensure a healthy long-term future."

REI today released its 2022 Impact Report and financials results, closing the year with a record $3.85 billion in sales. Tweet this

Investing in the employee experience

In 2022, REI focused on investing in the employee experience. Often cited as a top place to work, the co-op remained committed to competitive pay and introduced new industry-leading benefits. In 2022, REI put an additional $50 million toward pay raises for hourly employees and delivered another $92 million toward employee retirement and bonuses. Combined, that's the largest single-year investment the co-op has ever made in employee compensation. The co-op launched the REI Access Planan unprecedented new benefits offering to provide access to medical coverage for every employee who needs it, regardless of hours worked. REI also created The Way Forward, a new commitment to create a workplace where employees feel heard, feel supported, and can thrive.

The co-op closed the year with a bold commitment to #OptOutside forevermaking a permanent commitment to close every Black Friday and instead to pay its employees to enjoy time outside.

REI continued to work toward its goal of becoming a fully inclusive, anti-racist, multicultural organization that better reflects the diverse communities it serves. Over 81% of employees reported feeling like their leaders take a genuine interest in their humanity and well-being, with 78% of Black, Indigenous and people of color reporting feeling a sense of belonging in the workplace, according to the co-op's 2022 engagement survey, results which place REI in the top 20% of employers. The co-op increased participation in its Inclusion Networks (employee resource groups) by 14% since 2020, and increased its overall BIPOC employee representation to 25.9% in 2022. REI also introduced training to mitigate bias in hiring, facilitated monthly Cultural Milestone conversations, and committed to launching The Co-op Racial Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Learning Series for all its employees.

Convening a network of advocates

Through direct advocacy programs like the Cooperative Action Network and advocacy alongside partners, REI embraced the power of its community to take action in 2022.

REI welcomed 1.3 million members in 2022, bringing its total member count to 23 million lifetime members. As REI works toward its goal of growing to a 50-million-member community, the co-op remains focused on strengthening its relationship with its membership, connecting more people to the power of the outdoors and engaging them in the fight to protect it. This mission is part of what led REI to relaunch its member platform for the first time in 84 years. The co-op also focused on giving back to its membersdistributing nearly $224 million in Co-op Member Reward.

Last year, more than 78,000 REI members, employees, and customers used REI's Cooperative Action Network to collectively support policies addressing the climate crisis and advancing a more just and inclusive outdoors. The network has sent over 250,000 messages to decision-makers at both the federal and state level and made a lasting impact by helping pass the Land of Enchantment Legacy Fund and spearheading the Your Vote Can't Wait initiative.

The co-op made $6.9 million in contributions to 503 nonprofit partners across the country, supporting organizations that share our vision of a more inclusive outdoor community.

The co-op also continued to support the REI Cooperative Action Fund, a separate 501(c)(3) organization that allows members, employees, and the public to contribute to a broad network of nonprofit organizations creating a more equitable outdoors. The Fund issued its inaugural annual report in late 2022, showing donations of nearly $2.9 million in unrestricted funds to 31 nonprofits aligned with its mission during its first 18 months of operation. In the Fund's founding fiscal years, REI's total support for the charity's operations and grantmaking amounted to more than $4.4 million.

"We continued to build the power of our community, engaging employees and members in the fight to provide a more equitable and sustainable future for all," said Wilma Wallace, Chief Diversity and Social Impact Officer. "Creating a more accessible outdoors, and keeping our favorite places well-stewarded, is a collective effort that requires leadership and collaboration at all levelslocal, state, and national. REI is committed to investing in this approach."

Building an inclusive outdoor industry

REI is taking a holistic approach to working together with employees, members, industry, and community partners to equip and inspire every person with what they need to find joy and meaning outdoors.

One way the co-op is working toward that goal is by embedding inclusive, community-centered design practices into processes across the enterprise. The co-op designs offerings with and for historically excluded communities through intentional partnerships, customer insights, and research, and integration of these voices upstream in the design processes.

As part of this work, REI collaborated with Outdoor Afro, Inc. in 2022 to co-create a hike collection that celebrates Black joy in nature and solves unmet needs in outdoor apparel. Working closely with members of the Black community to understand outdoor product needs, REI and Outdoor Afro, Inc. developed a 22-piece hike collection that brings more inclusive design to the forefront. The collection includes fit options that consider a wider range of body types, shapes, and sizes, and new colors and graphics that embrace a desire for personal expression.

REI also continued investing in Path Ahead Ventures, which offers full-spectrum support to startups owned and led by founders of color. In its inaugural year, REI Path Ahead Ventures delivered on its commitment to accelerate the success of founders of color in the outdoor industry, partnering with 39 founders, providing $2.7M in grants and investment while creating a network of over 250 speakers, mentors, advisers, and investors.

"The outdoors should be a place where everyone can feel welcome to be themselves, access opportunities, and connect with their communityno matter who they are, where they live, or what they love to do," said Wilma Wallace. "Unfortunately, that's not true for everyone today. To close this gap, we must do a better job as an industry and an outdoor community to reflect the various ways people find joy and meaning outside."

In addition to its work with Outdoor Afro, Inc. and Path Ahead Ventures, REI continued building multifaceted experiential partnerships with dozens of organizations and leaders working toward a more inclusive outdoor community. New partnerships in 2022 included: All Bodies on Bikes, National Brotherhood of Skiers, Native Women Running, Trail Mixed Collective, and Vasu Sojitra.

Fighting the climate crisis

In 2022, REI celebrated a decade of powering its operations with 100% renewable electricity. With this milestone, the co-op made a groundbreaking commitment to source locally generated renewable energy for all 181 of its stores. With this new commitment, REI aims to make local renewable energy accessible to more people and organizations, helping cut emissions and bringing the benefits of clean energy to more communities.

"Climate change is an existential threat to life outside. We do not have the luxury to dismiss it as a political issue; it's a human issue," said Kate Wendt, Vice President of Strategy, Transformation and Sustainability. "As a member-owned outdoor cooperative, it's critical to use our business and voice to fight collectively for the long-term health of the planet and our community. By working with communities and utilities across the U.S. to ensure that renewable energy is more local and more accessible, we're maximizing our impact and removing the barriers to access faced by small businesses and communities."

The co-op continued its commitment to climate neutrality for its directly controlled operations, investing in carbon credits equivalent to over 320,000 metric tons of CO 2 eq through innovative partnerships ranging from forestry in North America with the Family Forest Carbon Program to clean cookstoves in Africa with BioLite.

REI is on track toward its goal to become the first national retailer to achieve zero waste by 2025, diverting 84% of its operational waste from landfills this past year. The company also received a 2022 FSC Leadership Award for supporting responsible forest management and forest conservation.

Full audited financials for 2022 are available here. Explore additional details of the co-op's impact at link.

2022 by the numbers:

$3.85 billion in revenue

in revenue Invested $92.3 million in employee retirement and performance incentives

in employee retirement and performance incentives Distributed $223.7 million to members through Co-op Member Reward

to members through Co-op Member Reward Invested $6.9 million in more than 503 nonprofit partners

in more than 503 nonprofit partners Additional $2.9 million donated to 31 nonprofits by the REI Cooperative Action Fund during FY'21 and FY'22

donated to 31 nonprofits by the REI Cooperative Action Fund during FY'21 and FY'22 Opened five new stores, expanded to one new state ( Nebraska )

) 78,000 members in Cooperative Action Network, 250,000 messages sent to decision makers

Passed one bill through the Cooperative Action Network

Achieved climate neutrality through offsetting 320,300 metric tons of CO2eq

About the REI Co-op

REI is a specialty outdoor retailer, headquartered near Seattle. The nation's largest consumer co-op, REI is a growing community of 21.5 million members who expect and love the best quality gear, inspiring expert classes and trips, and outstanding customer service. REI has 181 locations in 42 states and the District of Columbia. If you can't visit a store, you can shop at REI.com, REI Outlet or the REI shopping app. REI isn't just about gear. Adventurers can take the trip of a lifetime with REI's active adventure travel company that runs more than 100 itineraries across the country. In many communities where REI has a presence, professionally trained instructors share their expertise by hosting beginner-to advanced-level classes and workshops about a wide range of activities. To build on the infrastructure that makes life outside possible, REI invests millions annually in hundreds of local and national nonprofits that create access toand stewardthe outdoor places that inspire us all.

SOURCE REI Co-op
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy arrived on a working visit to the border with Belarus and Poland in Volyn region and held a meeting with border guards.

"Volyn. The border of Ukraine with Belarus and Poland. It is an honor for me to be here today, to thank our border guards for protecting the state border. For protecting our state in Bakhmut. I know how firmly you stood there, held Bakhmut. We are all proud that we have there are such strong border guards. Save the power, justice and rage that we have in protecting our state. Only Victory to everyone!" Zelenskyy said in Telegram.
Access the 2023 Europe's Best Cities Report and all 100 city profiles at WorldsBestCities.com.

Learn more about Resonance Consultancy at ResonanceCo.com.

"The 2023 Europe's Best Cities rankings benchmark the overall performance of more than 125 metropolitan centres with populations of 500,000 or more, based on a wide variety of measures in order to identify the top 100 places to live, visit and invest in Europe," says Resonance President & CEO Chris Fair.

The overall Best Cities rankings are determined by analysing the performance of each city for a wide range of factors that have historically shown positive correlations with attracting employment, investment and/or visitors to cities.

Based on each city's performance in the 24 factors analysed, these are Europe's Top 10 Best Cities for 2023:

London, England Paris, France Amsterdam, Netherlands Barcelona, Spain Zurich, Switzerland Madrid, Spain Berlin, Germany Rome, Italy Basel, Switzerland Geneva, Switzerland

The full ranking and profiles of all 100 of Europe's best cities are available at WorldsBestCities.com.

About Resonance Consultancy

Resonance is a global consultancy of strategic and creative place makers. As leading advisors in real estate, tourism and economic development, Resonance combines expertise in research, strategy, branding and communications to make destinations, cities and developments more valuable and more vibrant. ResonanceCo.com

About World's Best Cities

Best Cities is the home of Resonance's exclusive ranking of the world's top urban destinations. The data is used by leading news outlets and Bloomberg calls it, "The most comprehensive study of its kind; it identifies cities that are most desirable for locals, visitors, and businesspeople alike, rather than simply looking at livability or tourism appeal." WorldsBestCities.com | #BestCities

Contact: Tom Gierasimczuk, VP, Communications, [email protected]

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057229/Resonance_Consultancy_Ltd__Resonance_Consultancy_Reveals_Europe_.jpg

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057228/Resonance_Consultancy_Ltd__Resonance_Consultancy_Reveals_Europe_.jpg

SOURCE Resonance Consultancy Ltd.
NEW YORK , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pomerantz LLP is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. ("Spirit" or the "Company") (NYSE: SPR). Such investors are advised to contact Robert S. Willoughby at [email protected] or 888-476-6529, ext. 7980.

The investigation concerns whether Spirit and certain of its officers and/or directors have engaged in securities fraud or other unlawful business practices.

[Click here for information about joining the class action]

On April 13, 2023, media outlets reported that The Boeing Company ("Boeing") would likely have to reduce deliveries of its 737 Max airplane in the near term because of a problem with a part manufactured by Spirit. Boeing stated that Spirit had informed it that a "non-standard" manufacturing process was used on two fittings in aft fuselages.

On this news, Spirit's stock price fell $7.38 per share, or 20.73%, to close at $28.22 per share on April 14, 2023.

Pomerantz LLP, with offices in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Paris, and Tel Aviv, is acknowledged as one of the premier firms in the areas of corporate, securities, and antitrust class litigation. Founded by the late Abraham L. Pomerantz, known as the dean of the class action bar, Pomerantz pioneered the field of securities class actions. Today, more than 85 years later, Pomerantz continues in the tradition he established, fighting for the rights of the victims of securities fraud, breaches of fiduciary duty, and corporate misconduct. The Firm has recovered numerous multimillion-dollar damages awards on behalf of class members. See www.pomlaw.com.

CONTACT:

Robert S. Willoughby

Pomerantz LLP

[email protected]

888-476-6529 ext. 7980

SOURCE Pomerantz LLP
NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Weiss Law is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of Muncy Bank Financial, Inc. ("Muncy Bank" or the "Company") (OTC: MYBF), in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by CCFNB Bancorp, Inc. (OTC: CCFN) ("CCFNB Bancorp"). Under the terms of the merger agreement, the Company's shareholders will receive 0.9259 shares of CCFNB Bancorp common stock for each share of Muncy Bank common stock owned, representing implied per-share consideration of $37.50 based upon CCFNB Bancorp's April 18, 2023 closing price of $40.50. Upon completion of the transaction, Muncy Bank shareholders will only own 42% of the combined company. The transaction is valued at approximately $65.6 million.

If you own Muncy Bank shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website:

https://www.weisslaw.co/news-and-cases/mybf

Or please contact:

Joshua Rubin, Esq.

Weiss Law

305 Broadway, 7th Floor

New York, NY 10007

(212) 682-3025

(888) 593-4771

[email protected]

Weiss Law is investigating whether (i) Muncy Bank's board of directors acted in the best interests of Company shareholders in agreeing to the proposed transaction, (ii) the per share merger consideration adequately compensates Muncy Bank's shareholders, and (iii) all information regarding the sales process and valuation of the transaction will be fully and fairly disclosed.

Weiss Law has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected]

SOURCE Weiss Law
Redesign helps meet increased mental healthcare demand

BALTIMORE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheppard Pratt today hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the redesign of its Admissions, Psychiatric Urgent Care, and main entrance lobby area at its Towson, Maryland hospital campus. The physical renovation, as well as the redesign of the admissions process and model of care within Psychiatric Urgent Care, will allow Sheppard Pratt to meet the significantly increasing demand for mental healthcare.

The redesign of Admissions and Psychiatric Urgent Care will increase capacity and efficiencies of the Psychiatric Urgent Care by relocating the check-in and waiting area to provide more space, additional consultation and exam rooms, and a smoother transition to the appropriate level of care for each patient. The newly renovated space creates a more comfortable and welcoming experience for patients, families, and visitors. Nearly one-third of those seen in Sheppard Pratt's Psychiatric Urgent Care are people who need hospitalization, which substantially reduces emergency room visits and prolonged emergency department stays by helping people access care more directly.

"We recognize the critical and growing demand for urgent mental healthcare services in Maryland, and we are working to close this gap by providing the best and safest experience possible for people in crisis," said Harsh K. Trivedi, MD, MBA, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt. "Patients should have access not only to care, but to care provided in encouraging, inviting, comforting spaces that illuminate the path forward."

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the existing need for mental healthcare services across the nation, driving more patients to emergency departments that are unable to accommodate the increased need. Sheppard Pratt has offered its Psychiatric Urgent Care at the Towson campus since 2011, and it opened one at its new Baltimore/Washington Campus in 2021. Both offer patients and their families an alternative to the emergency room, allowing them to receive a psychiatric assessment and triage in a welcoming environment. Once assessed, patients are referred to the appropriate level of care they needfrom inpatient admission or day treatment programs to outpatient care for ongoing therapy and medication management.

Sheppard Pratt secured nearly $1 million in state funding for this project as well as additional funding support from the Hearst Foundations, Kahlert Foundation, Middendorf Foundation, and the Women's Hospital Foundation.

About Sheppard Pratt

Sheppard Pratt is the largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, developmental disability, special education, and social services in the country. A nationwide resource, Sheppard Pratt provides services across a comprehensive continuum of care, spanning both hospital- and community-based resources. Since its founding in 1853, Sheppard Pratt has been innovating the field through research, best practice implementation, and a focus on improving the quality of mental health care on a global level. Sheppard Pratt has been consistently ranked as a top national psychiatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years.

SOURCE Sheppard Pratt
CLEVELAND, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) today announced it has signed a purchase agreement with global coatings company Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZO.AS) to divest its China architectural paint business. The business manufactures and sells decorative paints under the Huarun brand name in China, has annual revenue of approximately $100 million USD and employs approximately 300 people. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, pending customary regulatory approvals.

"The divestiture of our China architectural paint business aligns with our ongoing strategy to optimize our portfolio, brands and customer programs to drive continued value for our shareholders," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis. "We are confident our resources can be better prioritized to other areas of our Company to offer greater growth and higher returns and cash flow. We remain committed to growing our industrial coatings business in the region, and we thank the employees of the architectural paint business for their contributions to Sherwin-Williams."

The architectural paint business being divested became part of Sherwin-Williams through the 2017 acquisition of The Valspar Corporation and was previously reported in the Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group.

ABOUT THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY

Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of paint, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. The Company manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams, Valspar, HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy, Krylon, Minwax, Thompson's WaterSeal, Cabot and many more. With global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams branded products are sold exclusively through a chain of more than 5,000 Company-operated stores and branches, while the Company's other brands are sold through leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. The Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group supplies a broad range of highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets in more than 120 countries around the world. Sherwin-Williams shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: SHW). For more information, visit www.sherwin.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "can," "will," "should," "project," "could," "plan," "goal," "target," "potential," "seek," "intend," "aspire," "strive" or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations, predictions, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events and conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements and from the Company's historical performance, results and experience. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include such things as: general business conditions, strengths of retail and manufacturing economies and growth in the coatings industry; changes in general economic conditions; changes in raw material and energy supplies and pricing; disruptions in the supply chain; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, including those that may be related to climate change or otherwise; losses of or changes in the Company's relationships with customers and suppliers; competitive factors; the Company's ability to successfully integrate past and future acquisitions into its existing operations, as well as the performance of the businesses acquired; the Company's ability to achieve expected benefits of restructuring and productivity initiatives; public health crises; damages to our business, reputation, image or brands due to negative publicity; and other risks, uncertainties and factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since it is not possible to predict or identify all of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results, the above list should not be considered a complete list. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS:

Jim Jaye

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Direct: 216.515.8682

[email protected]

Eric Swanson

Vice President, Investor Relations

Direct: 216.566.2766

[email protected]

MEDIA CONTACT:

Julie Young

Vice President, Global Corporate Communications

Direct: 216.515.8849

[email protected]

SOURCE The Sherwin-Williams Company
Fast-Response Software Will Expand Advisor Services with Personalized, Simplified Lead Nurturing on Industry-Leading SmartAdvisor Platform

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- SmartAsset, the web's largest marketplace connecting consumers to financial advisors, announces the acquisition of DeftSales, a leading prospect engagement company for financial professionals. The DeftSales suite of tools automates outreach, provides compelling analytics insights and integrates with a range of CRM platforms.

SmartAsset, the web's largest marketplace connecting consumers to financial advisors, acquires DeftSales. Tweet this DeftSales by SmartAsset

"We are enormously excited to announce the acquisition of DeftSales and we look forward to integrating their solutions with our own SmartAdvisor platform." Said Michael Carvin, SmartAsset CEO & Founder. "The feedback from advisors using DeftSales has been incredibly clear - by automating many tasks, it dramatically decreases the work required to be successful in converting SmartAdvisor prospects into clients."



As an advisor growth solution, SmartAdvisor continuously focuses on helping advisors grow their practices. DeftSales by SmartAsset will combine to offer a robust user interface that is fully compliant, including automated campaigns and analytics, which allow advisors to spend more time honing their communications and improving their skills.

DeftSales by SmartAsset Platform Highlights:



FastCall technology eliminates lag time for follow-ups and allows for simultaneous multi-client relationship building

Lead outreach is enhanced with customized and automated compliant emails and text messages

Analytics dashboard to monitor email, campaign and user-level reporting designed to adjust and maximize engagement efforts

Time-saving seamless integration with a CRM platform allows for efficiency and focus on conversions

Wealth management and financial advisor users remark that DeftSales makes it easier to connect with prospects, while the analytics dashboard helps focus their attention on the consumers most likely to convert. The combined platform will accelerate an advisor's ability to build relationships with their SmartAdvisor referrals.

An advisor on the platform, Lawrence Manley, CFA of Manley Capital shared an anecdote about the improved efficiency thanks to Deft Sales. "DeftSales has been a complete game changer. Simply put, I've closed more business with less work. The FastCall feature and automated nurturing are priceless. I have found that prospects frequently will reach out weeks or months after initially being matched."

DeftSales Co-Founder and COO James Fason will join SmartAsset as Director of Engineering. Reporting to SmartAsset CTO, Peter Silvio, Fason will lead a team dedicated to advisor business development experience and engineering. SmartAsset has 27 new hires to date in 2023 across multiple departments.

"We couldn't be more thrilled about this acquisition! At DeftSales, our passion has always been to make it easier for Advisors to connect with potential clients. We're excited to share our tools with SmartAdvisor's clients and help them accelerate growth... We can't wait to see what we can achieve with SmartAsset." -DeftSales Co-Founder, James Fason

About DeftSales

Founded in 2020, DeftSales' mission is to expedite the connection of professional service providers with the people who need their help. Brendan Brown, James Fason and Hunter Wright who met as students at the University of Texas at Austin, successfully piloted a proprietary technology platform to fuel revolutionary lead-nurturing capabilities. Prior to the acquisition by SmartAsset, DeftSales operated from Houston, Texas.

About SmartAsset

SmartAsset is an online destination for consumer-focused financial information and advice that powers SmartAdvisor, a national marketplace connecting consumers to financial advisors. Reaching approximately 75 million people each month through its educational content and personalized calculators and tools, SmartAsset's mission is to help people make smart financial decisions. Ranked on the Inc. 5000 and Deloitte Technology Fast 500 lists of fastest-growing companies in 2021, SmartAsset closed a $110 million Series D round, valuing the company at over $1 billion. SmartAsset was also named to Y Combinator's list of Top 100 Companies of all time and Forbes' list of America's Best Startup Employers in 2020. For more information, please visit SmartAsset.com.

Contact:

Lizabeth Cole

Director, Public Relations

[email protected]



SOURCE SmartAsset
According to Exactitude Consultancy the Global Solar Power Market value is expected to reach USD 377.04 billion by 2029, growing at a 7.0% CAGR of Between Forecast Period 2023 and 2029. The growth of the solar energy market is majorly driven by rise governmental provision of impulses & duty rebates to install solar panels and environmental pollution.

PUNE, India, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Exactitude Consultancy, the market research and consulting wing of Ameliorate Digital Consultancy Private Limited has completed and published the final copy of the detailed research report on the Solar Power Market.

The global Solar Power Market size is projected to reach USD 377.04 billion by 2029, at a CAGR of 7.0% during the forecast period. The global solar power market industry is gaining momentum owing to technological advancement, also termed as green technologies. The energy generation from solar panels is gaining increasing investments by developing economies due to the demand from the manufacturing industry. Furthermore, it offers opportunities to commercial real estate property owners to boost their cash flow by reducing the increasing rents, expenditures, and increase in common areas maintenance (CAM) reimbursements.

The key factors driving the market growth are electrochemical solar cells, dye sensitizers, ultra-thin wafer solar cells, and anti-reflection coating. Thus, growing demand for renewable energy is further expected to drive the global solar power market in the near future.

Request Free Sample Copy of the Report:

https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/15075/solar-power-market/#request-a-sample

Report Coverage

The report provides qualitative and quantitative insights on the solar power industry and detailed analysis of market size & growth rate for all possible segments in the market. The market is segmented by technology and applications on global as well as regional level. Based on technology, the global solar power market is categorized into the solar photovoltaic (PV) and concentrated solar power (CSP) market. Solar photovoltaic is further classified as mono-si, thin-film, multi-si, and others. Similarly, concentrated solar power is categorized as parabolic trough, power tower, and linear Fresnel. Based on application, the market is drilled down into residential, non-residential, and utilities. Geographically, the market is segmented into five major regions, which are North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa. The regions are further categorized into countries.

Along with this, the report provides elaborative analysis of the market trends, dynamics, and competitive landscape. Various key insights presented in the report are the recent industry developments such as mergers & acquisitions, and key industry trends.

Solar Power Market Overview

The solar power market has been rapidly growing in recent years as a result of increased environmental awareness, government incentives, and advances in technology. Solar power is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional fossil fuel-based energy sources due to its numerous benefits, including lower carbon emissions, reduced reliance on non-renewable resources, and lower operating costs.

According to a report by the International Energy Agency (IEA), solar power is expected to become the largest source of electricity in the world by 2050, accounting for about 27% of global electricity generation. The report also predicts that the solar power market will continue to grow at a rapid pace, with installed capacity reaching 600 GW by 2025.

The global solar power market is currently dominated by countries such as China, the United States, and India, which have made significant investments in solar energy infrastructure. In 2020, China was the largest installer of solar power, followed by the United States, Europe, India, and Japan.

The solar power market is also driven by technological advancements, particularly in the areas of photovoltaic (PV) panels and solar thermal systems. PV panels, which convert sunlight directly into electricity, have become more efficient and affordable in recent years, while solar thermal systems, which use mirrors or lenses to concentrate sunlight to produce steam and generate electricity, have become more cost-effective and reliable.

In addition to the growth of the solar power market, there is also a trend towards the adoption of energy storage solutions, such as batteries, which can store excess solar energy for later use. This allows solar power systems to provide reliable and stable power even when the sun is not shining.

Overall, the solar power market is expected to continue to grow in the coming years as more countries and companies invest in renewable energy sources and as technology continues to improve.

Report Attribute Details Revenue forecast in 2029 USD 377.04 billion Market Growth rate CAGR of 7.0% from 2023 to 2029 Base year for estimation 2022 Historical data 2018 - 2020 Forecast period 2023 - 2029 Quantitative units Revenue in USD Million, volume in units, CAGR from 2023 to 2029 Report coverage Revenue forecast, company ranking, competitive landscape, growth factors, trends Segments covered By technology, application, solar module, Region Regional scope North America; Europe; Asia Pacific; Latin America; MEA Country scope U.S.; Canada; Mexico; Germany; France; Italy; U.K.; China; India; Japan; Brazil; Saudi Arabia Key companies profiled Trina Solar, First Solar, Yingli Solar, Tata Power Solar System Ltd, Abengoa, Canadian Solar Inc., Waaree Group, General Electric Company, BrightSource Energy, Inc., SunPower Corporation, Convert Italia, Urja Global Limited, eSolar Inc. Mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, capacity expansion, significant distribution, and branding decisions Customization scope Free report customization with purchase. Addition or alteration to country, regional & segment scope.

Request a Free sample pages to learn more about this Solar Power Market report.

Who Should Buy? Or Key stakeholders

Research and development

Manufacturing

End-Use Industries

Research Institutes and Organizations

Regulatory Bodies

Environmental research institutes

National and local governments

Solar thermal system manufacturers and suppliers

National and local governments

Report Benefits

Develop business strategies by understanding the trends shaping and driving the Market.

Drive revenues by understanding the key trends, innovative products and technologies, market segments, and companies likely to impact the Solar Power Market in the future.

Formulate effective sales and marketing strategies by understanding the competitive landscape and by analyzing the company share of Solar Power Market leaders.

Identify emerging players with potentially strong product portfolios and create effective counter-strategies to gain a competitive advantage.

Track sales in the global and country-specific Market.

Organize your sales and marketing efforts by identifying the market categories and segments that present maximum opportunities for consolidations, investments and strategic partnerships.

Browse Full Premium Report | Solar Power Market Analysis with Strategic Developments

https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/reports/15075/solar-power-market/#report-outlook

Mono-si technology is expected to emerge as the most preferred technology in Solar Power Market

Mono-si (Monocrystalline) sometimes is also called a single crystalline that has 15% of operating efficiency. The increasing investments in the solar photovoltaic technology result in growing demand from the industrial & utility sectors supported by decreasing price of mono-si panels act as a significant factor to drive the solar photovoltaic market. Features resulting in increased usage of mono-si solar panels includes space-efficiency, longer shelf life, and highest efficiency rates as it is manufactured using the highest grade of silicon. For instance, Bright Source Energy, Inc. has partnered with General Electric (GE) and NOY Infrastructure & Energy Investment Fund for building a 121 MW solar thermal power plant station in Ashalim, Israel's Negev desert.

The rising demand for renewable energy generation is further expected to drive the growth of the solar power industry. The governments from across the world are encouraging renewable energy sources by introducing efficient and environment-friendly techniques for industrial as well as household applications. Furthermore, the increasing shift of environmentally conscious customers towards green label products are further expected to result in higher demand for solar power generation in the near future.

Key Market Segments: Solar Power Market

Solar Power Market By Technology, 2020-2029, (USD Billion)

Solar Photovoltaic Systems

Mono-Si

Thin Film

Multi-Si

Others

Concentrated Solar Power Systems

Parabolic Trough

Power Tower

Linear Fresnel

Solar Power Market By Application, 2020-2029, (USD Billion)

Residential

Non-Residential

Utility

Solar Power Market By Solar Module, 2020-2029, (USD Billion)

Monocrystalline

Polycrystalline

Cadmium Telluride

Amorphous Silicon Cells

Others

Solar Power Market By Region, 2020-2029, (USD Billion)

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

South America

Middle East and Africa

Key Industry Developments:

March 2022  Solaria is set to launch its new PowerXT 430R-PL (430-watt) solar panel. The panel will be optimized for next-generation Module-Level Power Electronics (MLPE). These devices can be incorporated into a solar PV system to improve its performance in certain conditions such as in the shade. MLPE devices include micro-inverters and Direct Current (DC) power optimizers designed to improve the energy production of the solar power system.

 Solaria is set to launch its new PowerXT 430R-PL (430-watt) solar panel. The panel will be optimized for next-generation Module-Level Power Electronics (MLPE). These devices can be incorporated into a solar PV system to improve its performance in certain conditions such as in the shade. MLPE devices include micro-inverters and Direct Current (DC) power optimizers designed to improve the energy production of the solar power system. March 2022 - Canadian Solar announced it had signed two 10-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Axpo Italia to purchase 70% of the energy produced by two solar power plants under development, totaling 84 GWp.

- Canadian Solar announced it had signed two 10-year Power Purchase Agreements (PPA) with Axpo Italia to purchase 70% of the energy produced by two solar power plants under development, totaling 84 GWp. January 2022  Canadian Solar announced that its subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, LLC, entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Appalachian Power for the Recurrent Firefly Energy solar project in Pittsylvania County, Virginia . The Firefly project will be Appalachian Power's largest solar energy acquisition.

 Canadian Solar announced that its subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, LLC, entered into a purchase and sale agreement with Appalachian Power for the Recurrent Firefly Energy solar project in . The Firefly project will be Appalachian Power's largest solar energy acquisition. October 2021 Solliance Solar Research, a Netherlands -based consortium, announced that its researchers achieved 29.2% power conversion efficiency on a transparent bifacial perovskite solar cell combined with a crystalline silicon solar cell in a four-terminal tandem configuration. The cell is based on a near-infrared-transparent perovskite cell built by Dutch Organization for Applied Scientific Research (better known as TNO) and Belgian laboratory EnergyVille, along with an 11.4% efficient c- Panasonic developed Si interdigital back contact silicon heterojunction cell. By merging a perovskite top cell with a silicon bottom cell, EnergyVille is targeting a tandem energy conversion efficiency of +30%, which is above the theoretical maximum of silicon solar cells of around 28.

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About Exactitude Consultancy

Exactitude Consultancy is a market research consulting services firm which helps its client to address their most pressing strategic and business challenges. Our market research helps clients to address critical business challenges and also helps make optimized business decisions with our fact-based research insights, market intelligence, and accurate data.

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for your special interest research needs at [email protected] and we will get in touch with you within 24hrs and help you find the market research report you need.

Website: https://exactitudeconsultancy.com/

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SOURCE Exactitude Consultancy
Carrier named to America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2023 list by Newsweek and Latino Leaders Magazine Best Companies to Work for Latinos 2023

DALLAS, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) celebrates earning a spot on Newsweek's America's Greatest Workplaces for Diversity 2023 and Latino Leaders Magazine Best Companies to Work for Latinos 2023. The Dallas-based carrier received these recognitions for providing a supportive workplace while fostering and celebrating diversity.

"We are committed to creating a workplace of belonging where all Employees feel seen, heard, and welcomed," said Juan Suarez, Vice President Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion (DEI) at Southwest Airlines. "We want our People to show up as their authentic selves, bringing with them their unique perspectives, experiences, and backgrounds. Our Company is stronger when every Employee contributes to our success. We're honored to receive these awards, and we'll continue embracing all People into the Southwest Family."

A few examples of the supportive and inclusive work underway at Southwest Airlines include:

The Company recently expanded its Employee-led Group program by establishing Employee Resource Groups (ERG) to promote inclusivity and help Employees take pride in their identity, Culture, and personal values. ERGs are formed by Employees and organized around a significant, specific and shared dimension of diversity or identity. Employees are encouraged to join one or more ERG that resonates with them since they are not exclusionary.

In 2022, Southwest  added two new university partners to its Destination 225 pilot training program including Texas Southern University , a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), and Angelo State University , a Hispanic-Serving Institution in San Angelo, Texas . The carrier also partnered with Paul Quinn College , a Dallas -based HBCU becoming the college's official airline and a member of their Urban Work College Program.

added two new university partners to its Destination 225 pilot training program including , a Historically Black College or University (HBCU), and , a Hispanic-Serving Institution in . The carrier also partnered with , a -based HBCU becoming the college's official airline and a member of their Urban Work College Program. Additionally, through April 28, 2023 , Southwest Airlines, in partnership with the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU) is accepting applications for the Lanzate!/Take Off! Higher Education Travel Award Program helping Hispanic college students travel home to maintain important connections with their families.

Southwest is committed to equitable hiring practices and supporting underrepresented groups pursuing an aviation career. Join the Talent Community to learn more about employment opportunities at Southwest Airlines.

About Southwest Airlines Co.

Southwest Airlines Co. operates one of the world's most admired and awarded airlines, offering its one-of-a-kind value and Hospitality at 121 airports across 11 countries. Southwest took flight in 1971 to democratize the sky through friendly, reliable, and low-cost air travel and now carries more air travelers flying nonstop within the United States than any other airline1. Based in Dallas and famous for an Employee-first corporate Culture, Southwest maintains an unprecedented record of no involuntary furloughs or layoffs in its history. By empowering its more than 66,0002 People to deliver unparalleled Hospitality, the maverick airline cherishes a passionate loyalty among as many as 130 million Customers carried a year. That formula for success brought industry-leading prosperity and 47 consecutive years3 of profitability for Southwest Shareholders (NYSE: LUV). Southwest leverages a unique legacy and mission to serve communities around the world including harnessing the power of its People and Purpose to put communities at the Heart of its success. Learn more by visiting Southwest.com/citizenship. Southwest is also continuing to develop tangible steps toward achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, including offering Customers an opportunity to help the airline offset its carbon emissions. To be part of the solution, visit Southwest.com/wannaoffsetcarbon.

1U.S. Dept. of Transportation most recent reporting of domestic originating passengers boarded

2Fulltime-equivalent active Employees

31973-2019 annual profitability

SOURCE Southwest Airlines Co.
Easy Tex-Mex Entertaining Complete with Recipes, Wine Pairings and One-Click Grocery Shopping

BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hola, hosts and hostesses! Whether you're celebrating Cinco de Mayo or simply having a spring fling for a few of your closest friends, you can get the party started in record time with the new Stella Rosa Fiesta of Flavors Occasions Plan  a collection of Tex-Mex recipes from eMeals, America's leading meal planning service, and complementary wine pairings from Stella Rosa, the #1 imported wine brand in the U.S. It's fast, it's easy, and it's guaranteed to win wows.

Get your Cinco de Mayo celebration started with the Stella Rosa and eMeals.

Available free on eMeals' Fiesta of Flavors landing page or in the Occasions Plan in the eMeals app for subscribers, the plan is a feast of fusion designed for eight hungry guests. Most recipes can be assembled in 30 minutes or less, with plenty of make-ahead prep that will limit your time in the kitchen when company arrives. The spread includes:

A bubbling hot Cheesy Mexican Street Corn Dip appetizer topped with queso fresco and served with tortilla chips

topped with queso fresco and served with tortilla chips Pork-and-pineapple Tacos Al Pastor and four other meat, fish and vegetarian taco choices including Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos, Easy Skirt Steak Tacos, Crispy Fish Tacos and Roasted Cauliflower Tinga Tacos (make a few for variety!)

including Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos, Easy Skirt Steak Tacos, Crispy Fish Tacos and Roasted Cauliflower Tinga Tacos (make a few for variety!) Side dishes of Green Chile Rice and Crunchy Bunuelos , fried dough balls sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar

, fried dough balls sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar Stella Rosa Pineapple and the all-new Stella Rosa Pineapple-Chili wines, both combining a proprietary blend of several white grape varietals with natural flavors to create semi-sweet, semi-sparkling wines that pair perfectly with the pizazz of the meal

All recipes are not only bursting with flavor and easy-does-it simple (no chef skills required!) but also one-click-shoppable from major retailers. Grocery lists are automatically generated based on the recipes you select, enabling easy in-store shopping or seamless online grocery ordering with Walmart, AmazonFresh, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, H.E.B. and the retailers served by Instacart and Shipt when placed through the eMeals app. One-click shopping is also available for select retailers through the Fiesta of Flavors landing page.

The Fiesta of Flavors menu is part of eMeals' Occasions Plan offering, which complements the company's weekly meal planning service. The service includes a choice of meal plans for 15 different eating styles ranging from Quick and Healthy, Clean Eating and Low Calorie to Low Carb, 30 Minute Meals, Kid Friendly, Vegetarian and more.

Subscribers receive seven dinner menus for their chosen plan every week, along with the option to mix and match menus from any style, the ability to substitute favorites from previous weeks, and periodic Occasions Plan and Bonus Collection menus for recipes that may not fit into the nightly dinner category. Subscriptions cost as little as $5/month.

About eMeals

eMeals is a meal inspiration, planning and shopping platform that operates the subscription-based eMeals digital meal planning service, the free RecipeBox app enabling home cooks to create personalized digital cookbooks, and the Grocery Connect SDK providing online grocery shopping functionality for third-party apps and websites. eMeals has helped millions of families relieve the daily stress of putting healthy home-cooked meals on the table quickly, easily and affordably since the launch of its digital meal planning service. For more information, visit https://emeals.com and https://recipebox.com.

About Stella Rosa

Stella Rosa is America's #1 Italian imported wine. A selection of semi-sweet, semi-sparkling Italian wines, its impressive achievements include a 9x IMPACT Magazine Hot Brand award among others. As part of the Riboli Family Wines portfolio, a family-owned company founded in 1917, the company showcases over a century of crafting award-winning wines resulting in Wine Enthusiasts' 2018 American Winery of the Year. With a natural affinity for creativity and innovation, Stella Rosa continues to lead the industry and push the boundaries of winemaking and the wine-drinking experience. For more information, visit www.stellarosawines.com.

SOURCE eMeals
CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Arizton's latest research report states that the steam mop market will grow at a CAGR of 6.32% from 2022-2028.

To Know More, Download the Free Sample Report: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3793

Steam Mop Market

BROWSE IN-DEPTH TOC ON THE STEAM MOP MARKET

145 - Tables

94 - Charts

316  Pages

The growing popularity of multi-functional steam mops is a major factor driving market demand. Multi-functional steam mops, which can be used for various cleaning tasks, are increasingly popular as they offer greater versatility and value for money. Therefore, the global steam mop market is poised to offer significant opportunities for companies operating in the industry.

Moreover, multi-surface steam mops are popular globally due to their versatility and convenience. However, the demand for multi-surface steam mops may vary from region to region based on several factors, such as cleaning habits, types of surfaces, and environmental regulations. In general, regions with a larger population of households with carpets, upholstery, and hard floors may drive high demand for multi-surface steam mops. For example, North America and Europe have a higher proportion of households with carpets and upholstery, and therefore, these regions may drive higher demand for multi-surface steam mops.

Steam Mop Market Report Scope

Report Attributes Details Market Size (2028) USD 4.26 Billion Market Size (2022) USD 2.95 Billion CAGR (2022-2028) 6.32 % Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023-2028 Market Segmentation Products, Cleaning Method, Power Source, Surface Type, End-user, Distribution Method, and Geography Geographic Analysis North America, Europe, APAC, Latin America, and Middle East & Africa Market Dynamics The US, Canada, the UK, Germany, France, Russia, Italy, Spain, the Rest of Europe, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, the Rest of APAC, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the Rest of the Middle East & Africa, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, and the Rest of Latin America

Looking for More Information? Download the Free Sample Report: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3793

Steam mops are considered more efficient in removing dirt, grime, and bacteria from surfaces than traditional methods without leaving any residue or chemicals behind. This is particularly important for households with pets or children, where chemical-free cleaning solutions are preferred. Therefore, the demand for steam mops is rising as consumers seek eco-friendly cleaning options. This trend is expected to continue in the coming years as more people become aware of the benefits of steam mops and the importance of reducing their carbon footprints.

Several vendors and rental companies provide industrial cleaning equipment, including upright or canister models, on a lease or rental basis. The increased popularity of rental equipment results in the significant growth of competition among market vendors. These rental companies manage the repair and maintenance of the equipment. The equipment is also replaced occasionally to ensure hassle-free use of the product. Generally, every six months, equipment is exchanged for routine maintenance. The rental agency replaces them if they break down. The equipment can be rented for a minimum of 12 to 60 months. The equipment can be returned without any penalty once the contract expires. Short-term rentals are also a popular alternative to equipment purchases.

Therefore, the demand for rental services in leading or emerging markets is set to rise in the future. Financial problems, market regulations, and increased cost of ownership make way for the growth of the steam mop rental services industry. This further substantially increases the market adaptation of steam mops in the equipment rental industry. Thus, the overall trend of steam mop rental seems promising.

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If our report does not include the information you are searching for, you may contact us to have a report tailored to your specific business needs https://www.arizton.com/customize-report/3793

Competitive Overview

The global steam mop market is extremely competitive, with numerous main companies offering various products to fulfill customer demands. Some of the market's key participants include BISSELL, Techtronic Industries, Karcher, and SharkNinja. SharkNinja is a prominent producer of household cleaning goods and is well-known for its creative and high-quality steam mops. Further, Bissell is a well-known participant in the steam mop business, recognized for its dependable and effective cleaning solutions. And Dirt Devil is a major manufacturer of steam mops, with a wide selection of devices to meet various cleaning requirements and budgets.

H2O Steam Mop is a well-known market participant recognized for its simple-to-use steam mops and revolutionary cleaning technologies. BLACK+DECKER is a major manufacturer of household cleaning goods and provides a variety of steam mops suited for certain cleaning chores. These businesses are among the most successful in the worldwide steam mop industry, and they fight hard in areas like product quality, innovation, pricing, and marketing. Many smaller firms also distinguish the industry by providing specialist products and services. The worldwide steam mop market will likely develop and evolve owing to rising consumer demand and technological advances.

Key Company Profiles

BISSELL

Techtronic Industries

Karcher

SharkNinja Operating

BLACK+DECKER

Eureka Forbes

light-n-easy

Thane

Wagner SprayTech

Guangdong

SALAV USA

Dupray

Vornado Air

Ladybug

POLTI Spa

Daewoo Electricals

Reliable

Pursteam

Aspectek

Freudenberg Home and Cleaning Solutions

Tineco Intelligent Technology

Ghibli & Wirbel

Nilfisk Group

DAIMER Industries

Cleanfix Reinigungssysteme

Duplex Cleaning Machines

Tornado Industries

Gadlee

Ashbys Cleaning Equipment

Vapamore

US STEAM

My Vapor Clean

EUROFLEX USA

NaceCare Solutions

Goodway

Lavorwash

Alkota Brand for Alkota Brand

Menikini

RO.BIA.PLAST

TPA Impex

Grupo Solarca

Technoclean Equipments

Matrix Cleaning Systems

IP Cleaning

Chief Steamer

OspreyDeepclean

Inventa Cleantec

Market Segmentation

Products

Upright

Canister

Handheld

Cleaning Method

Steam Only

2-In-1 Steam Mop

Power Source

Corded

Cordless

Surface Type

Hard Floor

Other Surfaces

End-user

Residential

Commercial

Contract Cleaning

Distribution Method

Offline

Online

Geography

North America

The US



Canada

Europe

The UK



Germany



France



Russia



Italy



Spain



Rest of Europe

APAC

China



Japan



South Korea



Australia



Rest of APAC

Middle East & Africa

The UAE



Saudi Arabia



South Africa



Rest of the Middle East & Africa

& Latin America

Brazil



Mexico



Argentina



Rest of Latin America

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Table of Content

1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

3 RESEARCH PROCESS

4 SCOPE & COVERAGE

4.1 MARKET DEFINITION

4.1.1 INCLUSIONS

4.1.2 EXCLUSIONS

4.1.3 MARKET ESTIMATION CAVEATS

4.2 BASE YEAR

4.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

4.3.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT

4.3.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USER

4.3.3 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY CLEANING METHOD

4.3.4 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY POWER SOURCE

4.3.5 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY SURFACE TYPE

4.3.6 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

4.3.7 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY GEOGRAPHY

5 REPORT ASSUMPTIONS & CAVEATS

5.1 KEY CAVEATS

5.2 CURRENCY CONVERSION

5.3 MARKET DERIVATION

6 MARKET AT A GLANCE

7 PREMIUM INSIGHTS

7.1 REPORT OVERVIEW

7.2 OPPORTUNITY & CHALLENGE ANALYSIS

7.3 SEGMENT ANALYSIS

7.4 REGIONAL ANALYSIS

7.5 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

8 INTRODUCTION

8.1 OVERVIEW

8.1.1 ADVANTAGES OF USING STEAM FOR CLEANING

8.1.2 THOROUGH CLEANING WITHOUT CHEMICALS

8.1.3 ADVANTAGES OF STEAM MOPS OVER CONVENTIONAL MOPS

8.1.4 NEW DEVELOPMENTS

8.2 SUPPLY CHAIN

8.3 IMPORTANCE OF SUSTAINABILITY

8.4 IMPORTANCE OF ENERGY-EFFICIENT MOTORS IN STEAM MOPS

8.5 LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES/ADVENT OF CORDLESS MACHINES

8.6 VALUE CHAIN ANALYSIS

8.6.1 SUPPLIERS

8.6.2 MANUFACTURERS

8.6.3 DISTRIBUTORS/RETAILERS

8.6.4 END-USERS

8.7 PEST ANALYSIS

8.7.1 POLITICAL

8.7.2 ECONOMIC

8.7.3 SOCIAL

8.7.4 TECHNOLOGICAL

8.8 SWOT ANALYSIS

8.8.1 STRENGTHS

8.8.2 WEAKNESSES

8.8.3 OPPORTUNITIES

8.8.4 THREATS

8.9 FAQS

8.9.1 WHAT IS A STEAM MOP, AND HOW DOES IT WORK?

8.9.2 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF USING A STEAM MOP?

8.9.3 WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF STEAM MOPS AVAILABLE IN THE MARKET?

8.9.4 WHAT IS THE MARKET SIZE OF THE GLOBAL STEAM MOP INDUSTRY?

8.9.5 WHAT ARE THE MAJOR VENDORS IN THE GLOBAL STEAM MOP MARKET?

8.9.6 WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE GLOBAL STEAM MOP MARKET IN DIFFERENT REGIONS?

9 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES & TRENDS

9.1 INCREASED DEMAND FOR CORDLESS STEAM MOPS

9.2 DEVELOPMENT OF MULTI-SURFACE STEAM MOPS

9.3 POPULARITY OF 2-IN-1 STEAM MOPS

9.4 DEVELOPMENT OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES

9.5 POPULARITY OF EQUIPMENT RENTAL SERVICES

10 MARKET GROWTH ENABLERS

10.1 DEMAND FROM THE HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

10.2 DEMAND FOR ECO-FRIENDLY CLEANING SOLUTIONS

10.3 USE OF HARD FLOORINGS

11 MARKET RESTRAINTS

11.1 HIGH COST

11.2 SAFETY CONCERNS

11.3 LIMITED CLEANING CAPABILITIES

11.4 LOW CLEANING STANDARDS IN EMERGING ECONOMIES

11.5 AVAILABILITY OF LOW-COST MANUAL LABOR IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES

12 MARKET LANDSCAPE

12.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

12.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

12.3 FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

12.3.1 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS

12.3.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS

12.3.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS

12.3.4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES

12.3.5 COMPETITIVE RIVALRY

13 PRODUCT

13.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

13.2 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.3 UPRIGHT

13.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.3.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

13.4 CANISTER

13.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.4.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

13.5 HANDHELD

13.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.5.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.5.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

14 CLEANING METHOD

14.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

14.2 MARKET OVERVIEW

14.3 STEAM ONLY

14.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

14.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

14.3.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

14.4 2-IN-1

14.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

14.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

14.4.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

15 POWER SOURCE

15.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

15.2 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.3 CORDED

15.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15.3.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

15.4 CORDLESS

15.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15.4.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

16 SURFACE TYPE

16.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

16.2 MARKET OVERVIEW

16.3 HARD FLOOR

16.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

16.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

16.3.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

16.4 OTHER SURFACES

16.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

16.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

16.4.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

17 END-USER

17.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

17.2 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.3 RESIDENTIAL

17.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.3.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

17.4 COMMERCIAL

17.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.4.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

17.5 CONTRACT CLEANING

17.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.5.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.5.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

18 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

18.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

18.2 MARKET OVERVIEW

18.2.1 OFFLINE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

18.2.2 ONLINE DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

18.3 OFFLINE

18.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

18.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

18.3.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

18.4 ONLINE

18.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

18.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

18.4.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

19 GEOGRAPHY

19.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

19.2 GEOGRAPHIC OVERVIEW

20 NORTH AMERICA

20.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

20.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.3 PRODUCT

20.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.4 CLEANING METHOD

20.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.5 POWER SOURCE

20.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.6 SURFACE TYPE

20.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.7 END-USER

20.7.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.8 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

20.8.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.9 KEY COUNTRIES

20.9.1 US: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.9.2 CANADA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21 EUROPE

21.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

21.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.3 PRODUCT

21.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.4 CLEANING METHOD

21.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.5 POWER SOURCE

21.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.6 SURFACE TYPE

21.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.7 END-USER

21.7.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.8 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

21.8.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9 KEY COUNTRIES

21.9.1 UK: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9.2 GERMANY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9.3 FRANCE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9.4 RUSSIA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9.5 ITALY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9.6 SPAIN: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21.9.7 REST OF EUROPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22 APAC

22.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

22.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.3 PRODUCT

22.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.4 CLEANING METHOD

22.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.5 POWER SOURCE

22.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.6 SURFACE TYPE

22.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.7 END-USER

22.7.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.8 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

22.8.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.9 KEY COUNTRIES

22.9.1 CHINA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.9.2 JAPAN: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.9.3 SOUTH KOREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.9.4 AUSTRALIA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.9.5 REST OF APAC: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23 MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

23.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

23.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.3 PRODUCT

23.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.4 CLEANING METHOD

23.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.5 POWER SOURCE

23.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.6 SURFACE TYPE

23.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.7 END-USER

23.7.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.8 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

23.8.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.9 KEY COUNTRIES

23.9.1 UAE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.9.2 SAUDI ARABIA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.9.3 SOUTH AFRICA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.9.4 REST OF MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24 LATIN AMERICA

24.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

24.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.3 PRODUCT

24.3.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.4 CLEANING METHOD

24.4.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.5 POWER SOURCE

24.5.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.6 SURFACE TYPE

24.6.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.7 END-USER

24.7.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.8 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

24.8.1 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.9 KEY COUNTRIES

24.9.1 BRAZIL: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.9.2 MEXICO: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.9.3 ARGENTINA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.9.4 REST OF LATIN AMERICA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

25 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

25.1 COMPETITION OVERVIEW

26 KEY COMPANY PROFILES

26.1 BISSELL

26.1.1 COMPANY OVERVIEW

26.1.2 PRODUCT OFFERINGS

26.1.3 KEY STRENGTHS

26.1.4 KEY STRATEGIES

26.1.5 KEY OPPORTUNITIES

26.2 TECHTRONIC INDUSTRIES

26.3 KARCHER

26.4 SHARKNINJA OPERATING

27 OTHER PROMINENT VENDORS

27.1 BLACK+DECKER

27.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

27.1.2 PRODUCT OFFERINGS

27.2 EUREKA FORBES

27.3 LIGHT-N-EASY

27.4 THANE

27.5 WAGNER SPRAYTECH

27.6 GUANGDONG

27.7 SALAV USA

27.8 DUPRAY

27.9 VORNADO AIR

27.10 LADYBUG

27.11 POLTI SPA

27.12 DAEWOO ELECTRICALS

27.13 RELIABLE

27.14 PURSTEAM

27.15 ASPECTEK

27.16 FREUDENBERG HOME AND CLEANING SOLUTIONS

27.17 TINECO INTELLIGENT TECHNOLOGY

27.18 GHIBLI & WIRBEL

27.19 NILFISK GROUP

27.20 DAIMER INDUSTRIES

27.21 CLEANFIX REINIGUNGSSYSTEME

27.22 DUPLEX CLEANING MACHINES

27.23 TORNADO INDUSTRIES

27.24 GADLEE

27.25 ASHBYS CLEANING EQUIPMENT

27.26 VAPAMORE

27.27 US STEAM

27.28 MY VAPOR CLEAN

27.29 EUROFLEX USA

27.30 NACECARE SOLUTIONS

27.31 GOODWAY

27.32 LAVORWASH

27.33 ALKOTA BRAND FOR ALKOTA BRAND

27.34 MENIKINI

27.35 RO.BIA.PLAST

27.36 TPA IMPEX

27.37 GRUPO SOLARCA

27.38 TECHNOCLEAN EQUIPMENTS

27.39 MATRIX CLEANING SYSTEMS

27.40 IP CLEANING

27.41 CHIEF STEAMER

27.42 OSPREYDEEPCLEAN

27.43 INVENTA CLEANTEC

28 REPORT SUMMARY

28.1 KEY TAKEAWAYS

28.2 STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS

29 QUANTITATIVE SUMMARY

29.1 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.2 PRODUCT

29.2.1 UPRIGHT: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.2.2 CANISTER: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.2.3 HANDHELD: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.3 CLEANING METHOD

29.3.1 STEAM ONLY: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.3.2 2-IN-1: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.4 POWER SOURCE

29.4.1 CORDED: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.4.2 CORDLESS: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.5 SURFACE TYPE

29.5.1 HARD FLOOR: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.5.2 OTHER SURFACES: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.6 END-USER

29.6.1 RESIDENTIAL: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.6.2 COMMERCIAL: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.6.3 CONTRACT CLEANING: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.7 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL

29.7.1 OFFLINE: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.7.2 ONLINE: MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

29.8 NORTH AMERICA

29.8.1 PRODUCT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.8.2 CLEANING METHOD: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.8.3 POWER SOURCE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.8.4 SURFACE TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.8.5 END-USER: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.8.6 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.9 EUROPE

29.9.1 PRODUCT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.9.2 CLEANING METHOD: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.9.3 POWER SOURCE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.9.4 SURFACE TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.9.5 END-USER: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.9.6 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.10 APAC

29.10.1 PRODUCT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.10.2 CLEANING METHOD: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.10.3 POWER SOURCE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.10.4 SURFACE TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.10.5 END-USER: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.10.6 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.11 MIDDLE EAST & AFRICA

29.11.1 PRODUCT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.11.2 CLEANING METHOD: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.11.3 POWER SOURCE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.11.4 SURFACE TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.11.5 END-USER: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.11.6 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.12 LATIN AMERICA

29.12.1 PRODUCT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.12.2 CLEANING METHOD: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.12.3 POWER SOURCE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.12.4 SURFACE TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.12.5 END-USER: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.12.6 DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

30 APPENDIX

30.1 ABBREVIATIONS

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The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) will not announce the start of a counteroffensive, this information is classified, Ukrainian defenders are carrying out assault actions at the front, and these are also counteroffensive operations, Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliar has said.

"It is important to realize that there won't be such a day when the Armed Forces announce, 'We are starting the counteroffensive tomorrow'. It is impossible in wartime as this information is classified. These are the plans of the Armed Forces we have no right to discuss in public, the servicemen themselves do not discuss them as well. At the same time, a counteroffensive should not be reduced in public just to active offensive operations," she said on the air of the national telethon on Wednesday.

Maliar emphasized that it is incorrect to discuss the counteroffensive narrowly.

"It is a wide range of various actions and measures that are being taken by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. First of all, these are preparations of the personnel for a range of actions  defensive and offensive. However, when we speak generally about our strategic goal, we can call them measures for counteroffensive operations," she said.

In particular, these measures include the preparation of equipment and personnel, including the reservists, as well as developing the tactics for plans A, B, and C.

"Since there cannot be only one scenario, because the enemy also responds to it, we must understand that such decisions are made in a very short time, and not in a month or two or half a year. And the final plan is selected in a way to make it impossible for the enemy to react," she said.

The AFU are not preparing for specific "narrow actions" in a specific direction. They are constantly preparing day by day for full liberation of the occupied territories, which requires a wide range of actions, Maliar said.

"And the things that are going on today, for example, in Bakhmut, include assault actions by our forces, and not only in the Bakhmut direction. Today our forces successfully stop the enemy in the other direction. The enemy offensives are taking place in four main directions: Bakhmut, Maryinka, Avdiyivka, and Lyman. Our AFU conduct active assault operations there, and these are also counteroffensive actions," the deputy defense minister said.
NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- StoneCastle Partners, LLC announced today that it has sold its subsidiary StoneCastle Digital Solutions, LLC (d/b/a Cambr) to National Bank Holdings Corporation's (NYSE: NBHC) bank subsidiary NBH Bank ("NBH").

Cambr is a deposit acquisition platform that provides cash processing solutions to leading embedded finance companies. StoneCastle Partners developed Cambr to provide a low-cost, scalable and diversified deposit channel for a future bank owner. During its two-decade history, StoneCastle Partners has built numerous businesses that utilize non-traditional strategies to create efficiencies in financial services.

"Cambr provides an opportunity for a bank owner to source deposits in a unique way while continuing to provide leading service to top-tier embedded finance companies," said Joe Healey, Managing Director and operating partner at StoneCastle Partners. "The platform allows a bank to benefit from the diversified deposits of hundreds of thousands of underlying accounts with virtually no marginal overhead or customer acquisition costs. We believe that banks who efficiently source deposits through differentiated and durable strategies will significantly outperform over the long-term."

Cambr will continue to go-to-market under the Cambr brand and will operate as a separate subsidiary of NBH Bank. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Company, served as exclusive financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to StoneCastle.

Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to NBH.

About StoneCastle Partners, LLC

Founded in 2003, StoneCastle Partners develops businesses focused on banking and associated technologies. StoneCastle Partners creates innovative platforms and disruptive technology to enhance or redefine inefficient banking processes. For the past 19 years, StoneCastle Partners has built and sold platforms to strategic buyers, including banks, asset managers, and fintechs. Over 1,000 banks trust StoneCastle Partners and use its companies' products; for more information, visit www.scpdevco.com.

About National Bank Holdings Corporation

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a Denver-based bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to stakeholder results. Through its bank subsidiaries, NBH Bank and Bank of Jackson Hole Trust, National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of over 95 banking centers, serving individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, and government and non-profit entities. Its banking centers are located in its core footprint of Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho. Its comprehensive residential mortgage banking group primarily serves the bank's core footprint. Its trust business is operated in its core footprint under the Bank of Jackson Hole Trust charter. NBH Bank operates under a single state charter through the following brand names as divisions of NBH Bank: in Colorado, Community Banks of Colorado and Community Banks Mortgage; in Kansas and Missouri, Bank Midwest and Bank Midwest Mortgage; in Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho, Hillcrest Bank and Hillcrest Bank Mortgage; and in Wyoming, Bank of Jackson Hole and Bank of Jackson Hole Mortgage. For more information, visit www.nationalbankholdings.com.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication, and all oral statements made regarding the subject matter of this communication, contain "forward-looking" statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the proposed acquisition. Such forward-looking statements reflect current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Statements that include the words "should," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "seek," "will," and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements in this material for within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in the statements. Among the key factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: the impact that any litigation may have on the parties or the transaction; and the impact of potential legislative, regulatory and competitive changes. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. StoneCastle Partners undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

SOURCE StoneCastle Partners, LLC
MONTREAL, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Strategic Resources Inc. (TSXV: SR) (the "Company" or "Strategic") advises that it has mailed out a replacement form of proxy for voting at its upcoming annual general meeting on April 26, 2023, as one item was omitted from the original proxy. Shareholders who have not voted yet should use the new form of proxy and those who have already voted are encouraged to re-vote using the new proxy.

About Strategic Resources

Strategic Resources Inc. (TSXV:SR) is a Montreal, Canada-based mineral exploration and development company focused on high-purity iron and vanadium projects in Canada and Finland. The Company is primarily focused on its flagship BlackRock project, which is a fully permitted and ready to construct mine, concentrator and metallurgical facility in Quebec.

Further details are available on the Company's website at https://strategic-res.com/. To follow future news releases, please sign up at https://strategic-res.com/contact/.

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STRATEGIC RESOURCES INC.

Signed: "Sean Cleary"

Sean Cleary, CEO & Chairman

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE Strategic Resources Inc.
DUBLIN, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Telecom Billing Market Size, Share, Trends, By Deployment Type , By Software , By Services , and By Region Forecast to 2030" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The telecom billing market is projected to grow at a revenue CAGR of 9.9% during the forecast period, with a market size of USD 13.90 billion in 2021.

Companies Mentioned

Amdocs

Accenture

Oracle

Aria Systems Inc.

IDI Billing

Emida Technologies

Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd

Netcracker

Comarch SA.

Telefonaktiebolaget LM Ericsson

The growth is driven by several factors, including the increasing complexity of mobile technology and pricing structures provided by telecom service providers, as well as consumers' rising awareness of the need for detailed bills for telecom services.



Telecom billing is an integrated process that tracks and retains amounts paid to specific customer accounts while producing and grouping usage of telecommunication products or services for certain accounts or customers to create and deliver invoices. The introduction of new technologies such as 5G bandwidth has brought various changes and developments to the sector.

For example, Amdocs introduced the Freestyle Billing solution in February 2022 to help service providers modernize their billing with a flexible and cutting-edge solution that is future-proofed for 5G experiences and new services, physical goods, and digital goods. The solution uses machine learning-based suggestions to recommend the ideal invoicing model for each user.



The rising demand for telecommunication billing systems for sustaining B2B deals among the telecom operators, who are placed in a complex ecosystem of revenue sharing, also contributes to the growth of the telecom billing market.

Key players across the globe are investing in Research and Development (R&D) activities, forming partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions, and launching new products considering new technologies, which further drives the revenue growth of the telecom billing market. For instance, in November 2020, Accenture acquired Arca, a Spanish engineering services firm, to strengthen its position as a crucial partner for clients in the telecommunication services, industrial, energy, and infrastructure sectors.



Market Forces:

Driving Force:



Technological advancements and complex pricing structures by various telecommunication service providers have led to fierce competition from over-the-top service providers, causing a sharp reduction in income sources for the telecommunication sector. To remain competitive in 2022, the sector is adopting digital transition technologies such as Mobile Edge Computing, IoT, and 5G to provide consumer-centric offerings, increase efficiency, and add high-value margins.

Key market players are investing in R&D activities and launching more advanced telecommunication billing systems. Amdocs, for example, has launched the Americas 5G Experience Lab in Texas, offering 5G solutions and services to push the boundaries of connected experiences.



Restraining Force:



Dynamic regulatory frameworks in various countries are imposing new stringent rules and regulations on telecom billing procedures and revamping the existing ones to keep pace with changing societal needs.

Cyber threats from countries like Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea, using bots and ransomware attacks, have increased the risk of endangering communications worldwide. Countering state threats has become a top priority, and the need for future security of telecoms in the U.K. is crucial to protect vital national infrastructure.



Key Takeaways



The global telecom billing market has been segmented into three categories based on deployment type: cloud-based, on-premises, and hybrid. The on-premises segment is expected to generate the most revenue due to its cost efficiency and real-time billing and balance management.



Software Outlook:



The software segment has been divided into five categories: mediation, fraud management, billing and charging, partner and interconnect management, and revenue assurance. The fraud management segment is projected to contribute the most revenue due to the increasing incidence of telecom revenue leakage and fraud.



Service Model Outlook:



The service model segment has been divided into four categories: managed services, operations and maintenance services, system integration, and planning and consulting services. Managed services are expected to generate significant revenue because of the need for telecom companies to integrate financial and information management systems to cater to the diverse needs of consumers.



Regional Analysis:



The North American market accounted for the largest revenue share in the global telecom billing market in 2021. This can be attributed to the high number of mobile phone and telecom subscribers in the region, which is being leveraged by large market players.

These players are investing in R&D activities, mergers and acquisitions, and partnership agreements, which are contributing to the revenue growth in this region. The government is also introducing new legislation related to telecom billing, such as a partnership agreement between IDI Billing Solutions and DataProse to offer clients invoice presentation and mailing services.



The European market accounted for a moderate revenue share in 2021, driven by the rising demand for creative billing management tools and services, along with increasing internet usage and expansion of the telecom sector. Key players in the region are also investing in R&D activities, product launches, and partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions, which are contributing to the revenue growth.



The Asia Pacific market is experiencing moderate revenue growth rate over the forecast period due to untapped opportunities in emerging countries like India and China, where there is a higher number of subscriber bases and ever-changing regulatory scenarios, creating demand for billing and revenue management solutions. The government is also introducing new legislation and initiatives that contribute to the overall revenue growth.

For instance, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) in India proposed new legislation to regulate internet-based services. Additionally, Aria Systems and Capgemini have formed a partnership in Asia Pacific to provide clients with solutions across various industries, including telecommunications, technology, media, and publishing, for digital transformation.



Key Topics Covered:



Chapter 1. Market Synopsis



Chapter 2. Executive Summary



Chapter 3. Indicative Metrics



Chapter 4. Telecom Billing Market Segmentation & Impact Analysis

4.1. Telecom Billing Market Segmentation Analysis

4.2. Industrial Outlook

4.2.1. Market indicators analysis

4.2.2. Market drivers' analysis

4.2.2.1. Increasing complexities in terms of the technology used by mobile devices and the pricing structures provided by telecom service providers

4.2.2.2. Consumer's rising awareness to obtain a detailed bill for the telecom services

4.2.3. Market restraints analysis

4.2.3.1. Lack of uniform and standardized regulatory framework

4.3. Technological Insights

4.4. Regulatory Framework

4.5. ETOP Analysis

4.6. Porter's Five Forces Analysis

4.7. Competitive Metric Space Analysis

4.8. Price trend Analysis

4.9. Customer Mapping

4.10. COVID-19 Impact Analysis

4.11. Global Recession Influence

Chapter 5. Telecom Billing Market By Deployment Type Insights & Trends

Chapter 6. Telecom Billing Market By Software Insights & Trends

Chapter 7. Telecom Billing Market By Services Outlook Insights & Trends

Chapter 8. Telecom Billing Market Regional Outlook

Chapter 9. Competitive Landscape

Chapter 10. Company Profiles

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ctun6g

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SOURCE Research and Markets
Premier Brazilian Steakhouse Will Open Newest Location in Honolulu

DALLAS, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Texas de Brazil Churrascaria, one of the world's largest Brazilian steakhouse groups will continue expansion with a new restaurant in Honolulu, HI opening in the Ala Moana Center later this year. Family-owned and operated, Texas de Brazil will be partnering with Union MAK Corporation to open the latest restaurant and bring the time-honored tradition of churrasco-style cooking to the island of Oahu.

Texas de Brazil, premier Brazilian steakhouse, announces upcoming opening in Honolulu, Hawaii later this year. Tweet this At Texas de Brazil, all the meats are cooked the authentic Brazilian gaucho way - over an open flame using natural wood charcoal, to give the meats a deeper and more intense flavor with just the right amount of smokiness. Texas de Brazil, the Brazilian Steakhouse known for its various cuts of flame-grilled meats served tableside, announces opening in Honolulu, Hawaii. (PRNewsfoto/Texas de Brazil)

Texas de Brazil recently opened its newest location in Rogers, AR earlier this month and in addition to the Hawaii location, has upcoming restaurants planned in Ann Arbor, MI; Cincinnati, OH; Greenville, SC; and Costa Rica.

"Texas de Brazil's renowned approach to delivering the authentic cuisine of Southern Brazil has flourished worldwide, and we're thrilled to partner with Union MAK Corporation and their expert team to bring a fusion of Brazilian culture and Texan hospitality to the residents and visitors of Honolulu," said Salim Asrawi, President of Texas de Brazil. "We look forward to offering a unique, upscale dining experience that will delight our guests and surpass their culinary expectations."

"The Brazilian steakhouse concept is unparalleled, exciting and offers great value," said Vince Espino, President of Union MAK Corporation. "It is our pleasure to join hands with Texas de Brazil, a top-notch restaurant brand with extensive experience in successfully managing churrascarias, and we can't wait to introduce the state of Hawaii to this authentic churrasco-style dining experience."

The steakhouse's menu boasts various cuts of beef, lamb, pork, chicken and sausage, which are prepared in the traditional Brazilian method  over an open flame  and carved tableside by the restaurant's gauchos. The concept comes to life through the illustrious red and green cards, which guests use to indicate when they'd like to sample more cuts of meat, or when they need to take a break. In addition, diners can also help themselves to the fresh gourmet salad area, which features more than 50 delicious items, such as imported cheeses, charcuterie, Brazilian black beans, roasted vegetables and the ever-tempting lobster bisque. The dining experience is also enhanced by the extensive award-winning wine list, rich in South American varietals.

For more information, visit TexasdeBrazil.com.

About Texas de Brazil

Texas de Brazil is an authentic churrascaria featuring a continuous dining experience that blends the unique culture of Brazil, with the generous hospitality of Texas. The menu features a vast selection of grilled meats, a 50-item salad area, an award-winning wine list and a la carte dessert selections. Founded as a family-owned business in 1998, Texas de Brazil is one of the largest Brazilian-American steakhouse brands in the world, with 52 restaurants in 22 states, 1 in Puerto Rico and 11 international locations. For more information, visit TexasdeBrazil.com, or find us on Facebook and Instagram.

SOURCE Texas de Brazil
GLOUCESTER, Va., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Below is a joint statement from the Cook Foundation and Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation upon completion of the $75,000 matching grant.

The Cook Foundation's Founder and President, Adrianne Ryder Cook Joseph, PhD, said "I am thrilled every time I drive by the Woodville Rosenwald School and see the match thermometer climbing. And now, I am heartened for the descendant community and for our wider community in Gloucester. The preservation of this treasured place will soon re-open its doors for cultural and educational programming."

Sign in front of the Woodville School shows the Cook Foundation matching grant thermometer is completed.

The Cook Foundation's commitment to bring all the arts to Gloucester necessarily includes cultural touchstones like the Woodville School. "Through art, we all find ourselves at the intersection of creativity, history, preservation, and dreaming of a brighter future", said the Cook Foundation's Executive Director Elizabeth Blackney.

Joseph noted, "We are honored to support this vital work of the Woodville Rosenwald School Foundation, and the thought leadership of Michael Blakey, the Board of Directors, and community members."

Michael L. Blakey, PhD serves on the Woodville School's Board of Directors and is the National Endowment for the Humanities Professor at the College of William and Mary. Blakey commented on the recent completion of the matching grant and the meaning it, and the wider work of the Woodville School: "The Woodville School is being renewed as a place where the heroic and pragmatic story of African American education in Gloucester, Virginia will be told. This story just happens to represent some of the most powerful national struggles over resources for learning and the freedom these might bring.

"With the premature ending of Reconstruction after the Civil War, Virginia sought to return to the subordination of Black people under Jim Crow racial segregation. The oppressive tenant farming that characterized most African American families in other parts of the state was somehow abated in Gloucester because most Blacks found ways to buy land.

"The Black community negotiated opportunities to learn that included the industrial education T.C. Walker led and Julius Rosenwald helped support, the Gloucester Agricultural and Industrial School (an 'academy' that attracted the likes of Frederick Douglass and Marian Anderson), or they could join the Great Migration to take brilliant chances in the north. All these efforts helped mold Gloucester today and need to be remembered and retold."

SOURCE The Cook Foundation
TiNDLE expedites its retail launch, now available in more than 350 Morrisons stores and online, as well as through direct-to-consumer platform, Mighty Plants

After earning high praise during an exclusive limited time offer this past Veganuary and following a recent expansion into Germany's largest supermarket, TiNDLE hits an important milestone that increases access of its popular plant-based chicken to UK consumers, while enlisting AI chatbot, ChatGPT, in a challenge to help promote its new offerings

largest supermarket, TiNDLE hits an important milestone that increases access of its popular plant-based chicken to UK consumers, while enlisting AI chatbot, ChatGPT, in a challenge to help promote its new offerings New research shows people in the UK are even more optimistic about the future of the plant-based category, as the food tech startup diversifies and expands its product portfolio with the recent acquisition of Mwah!, focused on dairy-inspired foods

LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Next Gen Foods  the company behind TiNDLE and Mwah!  today announces TiNDLE's accelerated rollout into new retailers, Morrisons and Mighty Plants , after a successful test of its brand-new grocery products this past winter in the UK and launch with Germany's largest supermarket group. This marks a response to rising consumer demand for plant-based chicken in the UK market, supported by a study commissioned by TiNDLE and conducted by Censuswide that a resounding 68% of people in the UK believe plant-based meals will become more widely accepted in the next five years  with the most confidence from consumers in Cardiff (77%), Bristol (75%) and Leeds and London (71%).

Full range of new TiNDLE retail products, now available nationwide in the UK at Morrisons and on Mighty Plants TiNDLE tapped AI tool ChatGPT to generate unique spins on classic chicken recipes with their 'ridiculously good' chicken made from plants TiNDLE leveraged ChatGPT to design original marketing campaigns for its UK retail debut TiNDLE Logo

Beginning this week, UK shoppers can find TiNDLE Burgers and TiNDLE Nuggets in over 350 Morrisons stores nationwide and online through their online store and home delivery services. Earlier this year, TiNDLE took part in a limited time offering during Veganuary at Morrisons stores  generating widespread consumer demand and affinity for its new plant-based chicken products. The brand also recently saw retail success in Germany , launching with 2,200 EDEKA stores in February and has since expanded into nearly 4,000 locations today.

"When we launched TiNDLE only two years ago, our ultimate goal was to bring enjoyment to the centre of people's plates  but in a way that didn't require the use of animals and had a less taxing footprint on our environment," said Andre Menezes, Co-Founder and CEO of TiNDLE. "After hearing from UK consumers on how they enjoy cooking with TiNDLE, we can't wait to bring our newest grocery products and make it more accessible for people to incorporate into their everyday routines and recipes."

The TiNDLE Taste Standard

From its humble start in a handful of restaurants in Singapore a mere two years ago, TiNDLE has now found a home in over 1,500 eateries and 6,000 grocery outlets worldwide, ranging from cosy independent diners to Michelin-starred fine dining establishments  and now grocery stores. Only one year after TiNDLE first debuted in several top restaurants, including BrewDog, Seoul Bird, Clean Kitchen and more, people in the UK can now enjoy TiNDLE for delicious and convenient at-home cooking.

TiNDLE's unique approach and notable culinary expertise comes from developing its products with chefs, for chefs  in order to master the same taste, texture and experience of animal-based chicken. Working with culinary experts from day one, TiNDLE is now bringing that recognizable and elevated restaurant experience directly into people's homes, allowing them to recreate the same delicious chicken recipes and favourite cuisines at their own convenience.

TiNDLE's newest offerings were developed in partnership with the company's world-class R&D team and expert chefs around the world, all to bring that same distinguished restaurant experience to homes. Each product features Lipi  the company's proprietary emulsion of plant-based ingredients  that mirror the aroma, cookability, and savoury qualities of chicken fat. They are also made from GMO-free ingredients, delivering a good source of protein and fibre with 17g of protein and 8g of fibre in every 100g of TiNDLE alone.

The product range available at Morrisons includes:

TiNDLE Burgers (4) - Juicy and tender breaded chicken burgers that can be transformed into an impressive meal in under five minutes, perfect for your favourite sandwich combinations or as a base for chicken parmesan, katsu or even coronation chicken!

- Juicy and tender breaded chicken burgers that can be transformed into an impressive meal in under five minutes, perfect for your favourite sandwich combinations or as a base for chicken parmesan, katsu or even coronation chicken! TiNDLE Nuggets (3.50) - Convenient and bite-sized nuggets that are delicious on their own or can become a versatile and adaptable base for dishes of all cuisines, including curries, fajitas or pasta.

In addition to Morrisons, Brits can also order TiNDLE products nationwide through the direct-to-consumer platform, Mighty Plants . The online plant-based grocery delivery service will be offering the full range of five new TiNDLE products: TiNDLE Burgers, TiNDLE Nuggets, TiNDLE Popcorn, TiNDLE Tenders and TiNDLE Wings later this month.

As TiNDLE's availability grows throughout the UK and the brand diversifies its offerings, the recent survey found that nearly half (43%) of people in the UK spend every day cooking at home  and almost just as many (42%) cook plant-based meals at least one day a week. Additionally, over a third (38%) of people in the UK want to incorporate more plant-based foods into their weekly menus.

Where AI Meets Ice Cream: Next Gen Plans for the Next Gen of Food

Beyond plant-based meat, Next Gen Foods is continually innovating and diversifying its product pipeline and brand approach. As TiNDLE grows its availability throughout the UK, the brand leveraged AI chatbot ChatGPT for suggestions on how to promote its latest offerings to consumers. The company designed a social media challenge leading up to its launch in Morrisons to take ChatGPT's ideas and execute them in a matter of eight hours, called #ChatGPTMadeMeDoIt, resulting in outcomes that included creative alternatives to celebrity collaborations and unique takes on popular chicken recipes for the holidays .

Last month, Next Gen Foods marked its commitment to ongoing food innovation with its first acquisition  of the startup Mwah!  a London-based company that specialises in unbelievably creamy and indulgent products made from plants. Beginning with a Madagascan Vanilla Gelato, Mwah! has partnered with several London eateries, including Floozie Cookies and WAVE (We Are Vegan Everything) , to bring their decadent and creamy plant-based gelato to UK restaurants. This month, Mwah! introduces "the Mwahbecue Special"  a cinnamon spiced brioche topped with their Madagascan Vanilla Gelato and a golden syrup  which was created by the team at The Gnarbecue at award-winning bar, The Lexington . The Gnarbecue features a menu of plant-based foods, in the form of veganised Americana fast food dishes, and now welcomes Mwah! to its dessert offerings.

For more information, visit tindle.com and eatmwah.com .

About Next Gen Foods

Founded in 2020, Next Gen Foods is a food tech startup developing and commercialising delicious, innovative, and sustainable plant-based food brands  including TiNDLE, chicken made from plants, and Mwah!, creamy and indulgent dairy-inspired products. Next Gen Foods is backed by a team with proven experience in plant-based food technology, global brand development, and distribution scaleup. For more information, visit nextgenfoods.sg.

About TiNDLE

TiNDLE is the leading plant-based chicken  offering the distinct aroma, taste, and texture of chicken and made with non-GMO plant-based ingredients. TiNDLE is the first product by Next Gen Foods, a Singapore-founded food tech company that is developing and commercialising innovative and sustainable foods to make saving the planet easy, enjoyable, and delicious. For more information, visit www.tindle.com or follow @tindlefoods on Instagram and @tindle.foods on TikTok.

About Mwah!

Founded in 2020, Mwah! is a food startup that creates creamy and indulgent dairy-inspired experiences, using plant-based ingredients. The London-based startup was founded by Damian Piedrahita and Claudia Comini, who met working in the food and beverage industry in Italy, and were frustrated by the lack of delicious, creamy plant-based options when it came to dairy foods. Mwah! was acquired in 2023 by Singapore-founded food tech company, Next Gen Foods. Mwah!'s first product is a creamy and decadent Madagascan Vanilla Gelato, made from plants, that mirrors the indulgent experience of classic gelato. For more information, visit eatmwah.com or follow on Instagram ( @eat.mwah ).

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Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057154/TiNDLE_Recipes_by_ChatGPT.jpg

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SOURCE Next Gen Foods, Inc
DUBLIN, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT:

TriNet to Host Second Annual Small Business Week Summit May 1-4

TriNet's Second Annual Small Business Week Virtual Summit

TriNet's Small Business Week Summit will feature a curated series of discussions and interviews with thought leaders and experts who understand the unique challenges of running SMBs. Each session will incorporate topics that are top of mind, such as funding for growth, how to scale and stay agile, startup tracks, innovative ways to use the new HR tech, how the latest trends in HR could impact your business and much more. The virtual event will run during National Small Business Week, the country's weeklong celebration of the vital role that entrepreneurs and small businesses play in driving the U.S. economy forward.

TriNet is also participating in the U.S. Small Business Administration 2023 National Small Business Week (NSBW) series of events with an interview with TriNet President and CEO Burton M. Goldfield and Michael Mendenhall, TriNet Senior Vice President, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Communications Officer, who discuss their unique perspectives on key topics of interest to SMBs for the second half of 2023. Areas covered during their insightful session include access to capital, resiliency and focus, layoffs across the tech industry, recruiting, retaining and engaging talent, and more.

WHEN:

May 1 through May 4, 2023

WHERE:

Free registration and full schedule available here.

About TriNet

TriNet (NYSE: TNET) provides small and medium-size businesses (SMBs) with full-service industry-specific HR solutions, providing both professional employer organization (PEO) and human resources information system (HRIS) services. TriNet offers access to human capital expertise, benefits, risk mitigation, compliance, payroll, and R&D tax credit services, all enabled by industry-leading technology. TriNet's suite of products also includes services and software-based solutions to help streamline workflows by connecting HR, benefits, employee engagement, payroll and time & attendance. Rooted in more than 30 years of supporting entrepreneurs and adapting to the ever-changing modern workplace, TriNet empowers SMBs to focus on what matters mostgrowing their business and enabling their people. For more information, visit TriNet.com or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.

SOURCE TriNet Group, Inc.
Riverview Hospital hygiene specialist earns 14th annual award recognizing the frontline workers who clean healthcare facilities

NORTHBROOK, Ill., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UMF|PerfectCLEAN today announced that Stacey Turner, hygiene specialist at Riverview Hospital in Noblesville, Indiana, has earned the company's 14th annual National Hygiene Specialist Excellence Award. Stacey was nominated by Riverview Hospital Director of Housekeeping Scott Smith for her exemplary work as team lead of the hospital's environmental services (EVS) department.

UMF|PerfectCLEAN National Hygiene Specialist Excellence Award Recipient Stacey Turner, of Riverview Hospital

"Through her hard work, leadership, and commitment to infection prevention, Stacey helps support Riverview's commitment to being a champion for health and wellness throughout central Indiana," said Smith. "She delivers excellence in everything she does, driving quality improvements and providing our customers throughout the hospital with exceptional care and support. A star hygiene specialist, Stacey is highly professional and never forgets the importance of teamwork. When issues arise or patients need extra care, staff look to her for help. She helps keep morale high by organizing regular team events and reaching out to sick staff members. At an organizational level, she is an ambassador for Riverview Hospital's exceptional values and behavior. Everything she does is underpinned by compassionate care for our patients and coworkers."

In the United States, preventable healthcare associated infections (pHAIs) kill more than 75,000 people every year. To keep patients safe, the CDC recommends that healthcare facilities maintain clean environments to minimize the presence of pathogens. Thorough cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces is fundamental to reducing pHAIs, as surfaces contaminated with bacteria and viruses create a biofilm which protects them from disinfectants. Hygiene specialists play a leading role in ensuring safe environments across all kinds of healthcare facilities.

"We established the National Hygiene Specialists Award 14 years ago to celebrate the hygiene specialists who serve on the front lines in preventing the spread of pHAIs," said UMF|PerfectCLEAN CEO George Clarke. "As healthcare workers contend with staffing shortages, new safety protocol training, burn-out, and a lack of recognition, it has never been more important to acknowledge and reward individuals such as Stacey for their contributions. They are essential to processing patient and common areas, which is critical in the fight against pHAIs."

As the 2022 HSA recipient, Stacey will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two, including airfare, to a location of her choice within the 48 contiguous states.

About UMF Corporation

UMF Corporation is the leader in the research and development of high-performance products, programs and training for the infection prevention and commercial cleaning markets. Through extensive testing, exhaustive analysis, and the commitment of significant human and financial resources, new antimicrobial technologies have been merged with innovative product designs that are redefining the future of clean. http://www.perfectclean.com, LinkedIn

SOURCE UMF Corporation
HOUSTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. Legal Support, the nation's leading provider of litigation support services, is currently hosting a diaper and formula drive across the country to provide essential supplies and support to babies and families in need. According to The National Diaper Bank Network, one in three families struggle to purchase diapers, and government assistance programs do not recognize diapers as a basic need. This is the second diaper and formula drive the company has hosted in the past year, which initially began as a way to show support for employees and communities during the severe infant formula shortage of 2022. U.S. Legal Support is currently collecting diapers, formula, and other essential baby items from donations made by generous employees and members of the community.

"This act of kindness in 2022 was welcomed with open arms by those in need, as well as those eager to provide assistance," said Chief Human Resources Officer, Jessica Frost. "We are thrilled to bring back this initiative in support of our employees, their families, and our local communities. Babies require 6-12 diapers per day, which can cost about $80 per month, per child. For many families, purchasing diapers is a monthly struggle. Helping those in need is of the utmost importance to our organization and I believe that together we can make a difference. I am excited to continue expanding our philanthropic programs in the years ahead."

If you would like to join the initiative, donations can be made directly to U.S. Legal Support offices across the country. All help is appreciated, whether physical packages of diapers and formula or monetary and gift card donations. All donations will go directly towards providing much needed supplies and assistance to families across the country.

Media Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE U.S. Legal Support, Inc.
SAN ANTONIO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- USAA Life Insurance Company today released its top ten military baby names. Often parents use family names, celebrity names, or special locations as inspiration to name their child.

"Choosing a name can be one of the hardest decisions a parent makes before their child is born," said Chris Flint, senior vice president, USAA Life Insurance Company. "USAA can help make protecting their future an easy decision."

Provided by USAA

Boy Names Girl Names 1. William 1. Olivia 2. James 2. Emma 3. Jacob 3. Ava 4. Benjamin 4. Abigail 5. Ethan 5. Sophia 6. Noah 6. Isabella 7. Luke 7. Elizabeth 8. John 8. Emily 9. Andrew 9. Charlotte 10. Jackson 10. Madison

Parents purchase a life insurance policy so their families can have peace of mind when they need it most. Life insurance for children is more about safeguarding their future. To learn more about protecting your family, visit usaa.com/insuremychild.

*Top names sourced from active USAA child life insurance policies.

USAA

Founded in 1922 by a group of military officers, USAA is among the leading providers of insurance, banking, and investment and retirement solutions to more than 13 million members of the U.S. military, veterans who have honorably served and their families. Headquartered in San Antonio, USAA has offices in eight U.S. cities and three overseas locations and employs more than 37,000 people worldwide. Each year, the company contributes to national and local nonprofits in support of military families and communities where employees live and work. For more information about USAA, follow us on Facebook or Twitter (@USAA), or visit usaa.com.

Life insurance and annuities provided by USAA Life Insurance Company, San Antonio, TX and in New York by USAA Life Insurance Company of New York, Highland Falls, NY. All insurance products are subject to state availability, issue limitations and contractual terms and conditions. Each company has sole financial responsibility for its own products.

Copyright  2023 USAA.

Contact: USAA Media Relations

[email protected]

210-498-0940

SOURCE USAA
Ukraine may join the Roam like at home (RLAH) free telephone roaming zone in 2024 if all the necessary changes to the legislation are implemented in less than 12 months, Taras Stetsenko, head of policy development in the field of telecommunications at the Ministry of Digital Transformation, said in an interview with Interfax-Ukraine.

"If we talk specifically about the roaming sector, then we will have 12 months to implement (a package of legislative norms). The EU plans to assess our compliance with roaming obligations next year. But we plan to implement it earlier so that the ball reaches the EU field to conduct an assessment before the end of the year. In general, yes, we plan to become part of the EU digital single market before acquiring membership," Stetsenko said.

He specified that if all goes well, Ukraine will be able to join the single EU roaming space in 2024.

Earlier, the Cabinet of Ministers completed the internal procedure for updating Addendum 17-3 of the EU-Ukraine Association Agreement. A similar internal procedure was recently carried out by the EU Council. After the approval of these updates by the EU-Ukraine Association Committee in the trade structure (expected to happen in May), Ukraine will have 12 months to implement the list of legislative norms for the possibility of joining the single European roaming area RLAH. After that, based on the EU assessment, a final decision regarding the timing of accession will be made.
BROADLANDS, Va., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Van Metre Companies is set to host their 31st annual 5K Run supporting Children's National Hospital. The event will be held on April 29, 2023, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Broadlands Marketplace in Broadlands, VA.

The Van Metre 5K Run kicks off with enthusiastic runners at the starting line. Van Metre 5K Run Invitation The Van Metre One Mile Fun Run.

Rick Rabil, President and CEO of Van Metre Companies, expressed the importance of the event, "What started as a 5 Mile Run, now the Van Metre 5K, continues to be successful after so many years because health and wellness are so important for all children and their families. Children's National has been a top-notch healthcare provider for kids, and we want to support their efforts. Additionally, the generosity of our (Van Metre) relationships and the willingness of our employees to donate their time make it a well-run and enjoyable event. When we started it in 1992, raising $6k for Children's, we planned on doing it annually, but over 30 years is remarkable. Jeannie Van Metrethe Race Committee Chairperson, and our employees have made that happen."

Established in 1992 to benefit Children's National Hospital, the Van Metre 5K Run has raised over $2.9 million. In 2022, an additional $1.8 million was committed as a gift to help improve neurological outcomes for pediatric cardiology patients. Over the next four years, this gift will support the team of doctors at Children's National as they develop new standards of care that will impact hundreds of babies with special hearts, helping to reduce the risk of neurological impairment and improve long-term neurological outcomes in children with CHD.

The mission of Children's National Hospital is to excel in Care, Advocacy, Research, and Education. The hospital is ranked #5 nationally by U.S. News & World Report and #1 for newborns in the Mid-Atlantic. Children's National ranks in all 10 specialties, with top 10 honors in specialties including neurology and neurosurgery.

About Van Metre Companies

The Van Metre Companies have built and managed new homes, offices, apartments, and retail centers across the Greater Washington region for over 65 years. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, Van Metre is a family-owned, full-service real estate development company that provides residential, retail, and office management services. Their footprint has expanded outside Virginia to include Washington, DC, Maryland, North Carolina, and Orlando, Florida. For information on Van Metre Companies, please visit www.vanmetrecompanies.com.

SOURCE Van Metre Companies
The report highlights key areas for improvement and progress made in medtech clinical research, including:

Disconnected systems remain a crucial issue : More than half of respondents (61%) experience challenges with fragmented clinical systems because of cross-system integration, data management, reporting, and usability. Managing studies on siloed systems can lead to manual errors, duplicate data, and missing files.

: More than half of respondents (61%) experience challenges with fragmented clinical systems because of cross-system integration, data management, reporting, and usability. Managing studies on siloed systems can lead to manual errors, duplicate data, and missing files. A clear strategy is needed for post-market clinical follow-up (PMCF) : There was no single method for PMCF used by most respondents, with top approaches reported as real-world evidence (21%), literature search (20%), and comparison studies (20%). Without a standard method to meet PMCF, organizations can benefit from developing an end-to-end process that spans clinical, medical, regulatory, quality, and marketing for continuous data gathering throughout the product lifecycle.

: There was no single method for PMCF used by most respondents, with top approaches reported as real-world evidence (21%), literature search (20%), and comparison studies (20%). Without a standard method to meet PMCF, organizations can benefit from developing an end-to-end process that spans clinical, medical, regulatory, quality, and marketing for continuous data gathering throughout the product lifecycle. Shift to digital clinical systems accelerating this year: Nearly half (45%) say shifting to digital clinical systems is a top priority over the next 12 months. Establishing a digital and connected technology foundation will make it easier for study stakeholders to work together, increasing trial efficiency, accelerating data delivery, and improving the experience for sites.

"The medtech industry has a significant opportunity to modernize clinical systems and processes for faster access to trial data," said Kevin Liang, vice president, Vault Clinical strategy, Veeva MedTech. "As more organizations prioritize digital clinical technologies, medtech can improve collaboration with stakeholders and drive trial efficiency, productivity, and compliance."

The Veeva MedTech Clinical Benchmark study examined how organizationsranging from emerging to large device and diagnostics companiesmanage clinical processes, study site collaboration, and trial data to ensure compliance and speed. This report includes insights from more than 135 clinical medtech professionals worldwide, outlining current challenges and near-term priorities associated with clinical trial conduct. See the full report, which investigates how medtech companies are managing clinical operations, outsourcing, post-market clinical follow-up, and modernization.

About Veeva Systems

Veeva is the global leader in cloud software for the life sciences industry. Committed to innovation, product excellence, and customer success, Veeva serves more than 1,000 customers, ranging from the world's largest pharmaceutical companies to emerging biotechs. As a Public Benefit Corporation, Veeva is committed to balancing the interests of all stakeholders, including customers, employees, shareholders, and the industries it serves. For more information, visit veeva.com/eu.

Contact:





Jeremy Whittaker

Veeva Systems

+49-695-095-5486

[email protected] Deivis Mercado

Veeva Systems

925-226-8821

[email protected]

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Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1488285/Veeva_Systems_Logo.jpg

SOURCE Veeva Systems
In Kenya, 42 percent of the population lives in poverty. With that comes attendant illegal activity and another crime committed on average every seven minutes. In answer, Scientology Volunteer Minister Daniel Okello is uplifting his fellow citizens with tools to help them build better lives. By introducing Scientology technology to his people, Daniel has brought Kenyans together, unleashing their combined power to create the kind of society they want.

ABOUT DANIEL OKELLO

Daniel Okello was born in Kenya, a country rich in resources but mired in poverty and crime. Raised in Nairobi, his parents instilled in him a strong sense of moral values and a love of education. His life would forever change when fire engulfed his family's home and good Samaritans rushed in to rescue him and his family. From that point forward, Daniel dedicated himself to helping his fellow man. After graduating from college, he opened a business school to educate others for success. While searching the internet for an effective method to help his students improve their ability to learn, he discovered the Scientology Volunteer Ministers program. With its comprehensive body of technology to assist people with everything from overcoming educational barriers to overcoming illness and injury, Daniel knew he had found a perfect fit for addressing the societal ills that plagued Kenyans. He has delivered Volunteer Minister seminars across the country and is acknowledged as having helped to strengthen education in schools, productivity in businesses, and morals and ethics in churches and penitentiaries.

Daniel Okello is currently the Scientology Volunteer Ministers In-Charge Kenya.

The Scientology Network debuted on March 12, 2018. Since launching, the Scientology Network has been viewed in over 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Satisfying the curiosity of people about Scientology, the network takes viewers across six continents, spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists, showing the Church as a global organization, and presenting its social betterment programs that have touched the lives of millions worldwide. The network also showcases documentaries by independent filmmakers who represent a cross-section of cultures and faiths, but share a common purpose of uplifting communities.

Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church's global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

SOURCE Church of Scientology International
LOS ANGELES, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Scientology Network's VOICES FOR HUMANITY, the weekly series presenting heroic change makers from a variety of faiths, cultures and nations, working to uplift their communities, announces a new episode featuring the work of human rights activist Zakaria El Hamel.

VOICES FOR HUMANITY airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on Scientology Network.

For nearly four decades, Morocco was a country plagued by systemic government oppression that bred widespread abuses, from torture to forced disappearances and unlawful imprisonment. Zakaria El Hamel is leading a national movement to bring human rights awareness to a nation emerging from nearly 40 years of tyrannical rule.

ABOUT ZAKARIA EL HAMEL

Zakaria El Hamel, the son of a human rights activist, was born in Morocco during one of the darkest periods in the country's history. Growing up, he saw firsthand the abuses perpetrated against Moroccan citizens at the hands of the police and government. Any act of political defiance, including freedom of expression, could be met with imprisonment, torture or even death. Ending a 38-year oppressive autocratic reign, a new king ascended the throne, and today there is a glimmer of hope that Morocco's darkest days are in the past. Zakaria, while attending university to study law, followed in his father's footsteps and took on the role of human rights activist. In partnership with Youth for Human Rights, Zakaria has educated hundreds of thousands of Moroccans on the importance of upholding human rights at every societal and institutional level.

Zakaria El Hamel currently serves as the president of the human rights group he founded, Youth for Peace and Dialogue in Morocco.

____________

The Scientology Network debuted on March 12, 2018. Since launching, the Scientology Network has been viewed in over 240 countries and territories worldwide in 17 languages. Satisfying the curiosity of people about Scientology, the network takes viewers across six continents, spotlighting the everyday lives of Scientologists, showing the Church as a global organization, and presenting its social betterment programs that have touched the lives of millions worldwide. The network also showcases documentaries by independent filmmakers who represent a cross-section of cultures and faiths, but share a common purpose of uplifting communities.

Broadcast from Scientology Media Productions, the Church's global media center in Los Angeles, the Scientology Network is available on DIRECTV Channel 320, DIRECTV STREAM, AT&T U-verse and can be streamed at Scientology.tv, on mobile apps and via the Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV platforms.

CONTACT:

Media Relations

[email protected]

SOURCE Church of Scientology International
Koch Disruptive Technologies leads investment round, accelerating Volumez's expansion into the U.S. market

SANTA CLARA, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Volumez, a modern cloud infrastructure company, today announced that it has completed a $20 million Series A financing round led by Koch Disruptive Technologies, with participation from existing investors, Viola Ventures and Pitango. The company's innovative controller orchestration software harnesses the power of Linux to quickly execute modern data infrastructure workloads using a declarative interface that makes it easy to deploy a wide variety of applications in hybrid and multi-cloud environments.

Volumez will use the funds to continue to expand its customer base and grow its business operations in the U.S. while maintaining R&D execution in Israel.

"Volumez technology is set to revolutionize the data infrastructure market, allowing, for the first time, hybrid and multi-cloud deployments at scale with significantly improved performance and latency compared to state of the art on-premises solutions with cloud extensions," said Chase Koch, Founder and CEO, Koch Disruptive Technologies. "This investment supports our vision to transform Koch Industries by partnering with exceptional entrepreneur CTO Jonathan Amit and CEO Amir Faintuch to bring Volumez's groundbreaking technology to market."

"The funding support from Koch Disruptive Technologies validates our investment in Volumez," said Eyal Niv, Partner, Pitango First. "Volumez's innovative technology breaks the bottlenecks inherent in traditional cloud architecture and radically transforms data services in the modern cloud. We welcome the partnership with Koch Disruptive Technologies, and are excited to be working with Amir Faintuch and his team in delivering the solution to customers."

About Volumez

Volumez is revolutionizing modern data infrastructure. The pervasive adoption of large-scale data analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning systems across industries has created an unprecedented challenge. Businesses need a way to convert knowledge into intelligence quickly, easily and at scale. Volumez has the solution. The company's innovative controller-less architecture composes direct Linux data paths between media and applications, solving latency and scalability issues and unlocking consistently high performance and high resiliency.

Learn more at volumez.com

Contact: [email protected]

SOURCE Volumez
MIDDLEBURG, Va., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer and the 56th Alison Harrison Goodyear 1929 Fellow to speak at Foxcroft School, found her love of water and the ocean very early in life.

Legendary oceanographer and ocean advocate Dr. Sylvia Earle recently spoke at Foxcroft School in Middleburg, VA. Tweet this Dr. Sylvia Earle, renowned oceanographer, recently spoke at Foxcroft School in Middleburg, VA. When people say you can't do that for whatever reason (youre a girl, or you're too young, or too old), she advised students, don't let anybody for whatever reason steal your dreams, whatever your dreams are. In addition to speaking with the Foxcroft community, Dr. Earle visited the AP Biology and AP Chemistry classes and enjoyed lunch with several students interested in oceanography and ocean conservation.

"I got knocked over by a wave when I was three," she shared with Foxcroft students during her recent visit to the School's campus. "The wave took me underwater, and at first it was a little scary, but then I realized it was fun, and I've been submerging ever since." As a pioneering oceanographer, explorer, author, and conservationist with more than 7,000 hours spent underwater, that is no exaggeration.

Dubbed the "First Hero for the Planet" by Time Magazine and a "Living Legend" by the Library of Congress, Dr. Earle is the President and Chairman of Mission Blue , an Explorer in Residence at the National Geographic Society, Founder of Deep Ocean Exploration and Research Inc. (DOER), Chair of the Advisory Council for the Harte Research Institute, and the first woman to become chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). She is also the subject of the Emmy Award Winning Netflix documentary Mission Blue and has received more than 100 national and international honors and awards.

Ever the optimist and pragmatist, Dr. Earle wove her thoughts on the current climate and what can be done throughout her presentation, including this moving observation, "Earth is a biogeochemical miracle, and what we do to the rest of life on Earth determines what will happen to us. Again, I think we're so lucky to see it, to understand we are one little piece of this amazing fabric of life, and we've been doing damage to that fabric, but you can also solve the problems. We could not do it a century ago, even 50 years ago. You can. You've come along at a moment when the technology exists, and the knowledge exists to really shape a future where we have a future."

She also spoke with students about her early years as a botanist and two pivotal opportunities that helped solidify her career trajectory. The first was an opportunity to spend six weeks at sea studying seaweed and fish. Ultimately realizing she would be one woman among 70 men, she said it really wasn't a problem. "I was focused on what I was there to do as a botanist. I was there as a professional."

The second was an opportunity to live underwater for two weeks. "They didn't expect women to apply, but some of us did. They allowed five of us to be chosen, but they couldn't tolerate the idea that men and women could live [together] underwater. So they made a women's team, and that created big headlines."

"When people say 'you can't do that' for whatever reason (you're a girl, or you're too young, or too old)," she advised students, "don't let anybody for whatever reason steal your dreams, whatever your dreams are."

In addition to speaking with the Foxcroft community, Dr. Earle visited the AP Biology and AP Chemistry classes and enjoyed lunch with several students interested in oceanography and ocean conservation. Later that evening, the local community was invited to campus to hear her speak.

A leader in STEM education for girls, Foxcroft recently announced an extraordinary gift for the Mars STEAM Wing to enhance its program to encourage girls to pursue studies in STEAM fields. The School offers an innovative curriculum that addresses challenges facing tomorrow's workforce and provides relevant and stimulating learning experiences. A signature program at the school, the STEM initiative emphasizes inquiry-based labs, using technology with confidence and ease, and hands-on problem-solving that extends well beyond the classroom.

The Alison Harrison Goodyear 1929 Fellowship program, offered through the generosity of the family and friends of Alison Harrison Goodyear, Foxcroft Class of 1929, brings distinguished speakers and provocative performers to Foxcroft to deliver a keynote address and conduct small group seminars with students.

Fellowship recipients during the program's 56-year history include such remarkable voices as Maya Angelou, James Baker III, Doris Kearns Goodwin, David McCullough, Sally Ride, Barbara Walters, tech entrepreneur Sheena Allen, National Geographic "Adventurer of the Year" Jennifer Pharr Davis, "Hello Fears" founder Michelle Poler, NPR's Morning Edition host Rachel Martin, GenHERation founder Katlyn Grasso, The Social Institute founder Laura Tierney, Pulitzer Prize-winning author Dr. Marcia Chatelain, Former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James, and Haitian-American director and global philanthropist Claudine Oriol.

About Foxcroft School

Founded in 1914, Foxcroft School is a college-preparatory boarding and day school for girls in grades 9-12 & PG with a mission of helping every girl explore her unique voice and develop the skills, confidence, and courage to share it with the world. Foxcroft offers 73-77 courses in 6 disciplines, including 16+ AP classes, 5+ post-AP offerings, and a STEM program that inspires girls to pursue studies in fields where women are underrepresented. Foxcroft fields athletic teams in 10 sports and has a nationally known riding program. For more information about the school, please explore our website at www.foxcroft.org , or call 540.687.5555.

SOURCE Foxcroft School
WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- One year after the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed to remove menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from U.S. markets, youth activists from across the country will come together in the nation's capital to raise their voices for a future free of flavored tobacco products. As part of the annual Moment of Action with truth, the national youth smoking, vaping, and nicotine public education campaign, these young people will call on the FDA to take action to finalize the proposed rules once and for all. This year's event leverages decades of research to declare loudly that Nicotine Addiction Shouldn't Taste Like Candy  shedding light on the tobacco industry's continued tactics of using flavors which can attract young people, putting their physical and mental health at risk.

Youth activists stand in front of the truth Follow the Flavors truck in downtown Washington, DC (photo credit Truth Initiative)

Menthol has been shown to increase the intensity of nicotine's reinforcing effects and withdrawal symptoms, making it easier to start and harder to quit. More than 40 percent of current high school smokers use menthol cigarettes, and half of all young people who ever tried smoking started with the flavored product. Additionally, nearly 75 percent of youth cigar smokers cite preferred flavors as their reason for choosing to use cigars. Of middle and high school students who use e-cigarettes, nearly 85 percent use flavored products, and among them, 26.6 percent use menthol.

"The historic action of removing menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars from the market has enormous potential to protect our nation's youth, advance health equity, and save lives," stated Robin Koval, CEO and President of Truth Initiative, the organization behind the national truth campaign. "As these young people have clearly stated, nicotine addiction shouldn't taste like candy. The tobacco industry has targeted youth with flavored products for decades and continues to do so today, contributing to more than 2.5 million middle and high school students using e-cigarettes last year alone. The hallmark of truth is to give young people the facts to make informed decisions in their best interest. The changemakers joining us this week are driving momentum to make a tobacco-free world a reality, and we are honored to stand beside them to lift up their voices on this important issue and to demand action."

26 young people will rally in downtown Washington, D.C. alongside the Follow the Flavors truth truck, which is designed to mirror youthful vape advertising and a menu of familiar sounding flavors like "Bubble Yum Yum" and "Straw Melon Sour." The activists  including former e-cigarette users  will draw attention to the impact flavored tobacco products are having. Activists will pass out candy imitating flavorful vape branding on the front and outlining the dangers of flavored e-cigarettes on the back, using a QR code to get involved with truth and access a free and anonymous quit vaping text messaging program, This is Quitting.

"I wanted to become a truth Ambassador because I saw the effects vaping has on my friends' daily lives and the toll it takes on their mental health," said Laila, a 20-year-old activist from Alabama. "I'm proud to be in D.C. for the Moment of Action to raise awareness about the dangers of flavored e-cigarettes and take our message to our elected officials about the importance of keeping these products out of our stores."

While in Washington, young people will also be meeting with decision makers on Capitol Hill and with senior leaders at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Young people nationwide will get involved in the event locally and on Snapchat and TikTok, where special filters are available.

"One of the reasons I started vaping in high school was because the flavors were so appealing  but I didn't realize how dangerous they really were," added Sam, a 22-year-old former e-cigarette user turned truth Ambassador from South Carolina. "I'm here because I want to make sure others don't make the same mistake I did, and so that we can make vaping and flavored products a thing of the past."

In addition to events in Washington D.C., partners across the country will host their own local events calling attention to the fact that Nicotine Addiction Shouldn't Taste like Candy. Young people interested in learning more or in hosting their own events can visit thetruth.com/flavors.

Resources For Those Looking to Quit

Truth Initiative, the nonprofit public health organization behind the truth campaign, is already helping more than 560,000 young people quit with This is Quitting. A randomized clinical trial found that young adults aged 18-24 who used This is Quitting had nearly 40% higher odds of quitting compared to a control group. Teens and young adults can text "DITCHVAPE" to 88709 to get immediate help to quit. Resources for parents of young people who vape are available for free at BecomeAnEX.org.

In addition to the national campaign, truth continues to raise up the voices of young people who have quit smoking and vaping nicotine through its Quitters initiative, allowing them to tell their stories in their own words and to inspire others to follow their journeys. These stories can be found on truth's YouTube page.

This activation builds on the latest truth campaign, Breath of Stress Air, which calls attention to the connection between nicotine and mental health. The campaign directly illustrates how vaping nicotine can increase feelings of stress and can impact mental health, even as some e-cigarette companies market their products as stress relief. To turn stress air into fresh air, breathing exercises can help with nicotine cravings that cause stress and anxiety. For this reason, truth has also launched a partnership with Breathwrk through This is Quitting, and program users can access six months of free membership to Breathwrk Pro including access to custom breaths to help on their quit journey by texting "BREATHE" to 88709.

Additional resources for young people struggling with mental health or those who want to quit vaping are available at thetruth.com. Additional information about the connection between vaping nicotine, stress and mental health is available at: truthinitiative.org.

About truth

truth is the longest-running and most successful national tobacco prevention campaign for youth and young adults. The campaign delivers the facts about tobacco use and the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry so that young people can make informed choices and influence others to do the same. We are credited with preventing millions of young people from becoming smokers and are equally committed to achieving the same results in ending the youth e-cigarette epidemic, including by helping young people quit with our first-of-its-kind quit vaping program for teens and young adults This is Quitting. truth is part of Truth Initiative, a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where young people reject smoking, vaping, and nicotine. Learn more about truth and the organization behind it at thetruth.com and truthinitiative.org.

About Truth Initiative

Truth Initiative is a national public health organization dedicated to achieving a culture where all young people reject smoking, vaping and nicotine and a future where tobacco and nicotine addiction are a thing of the past. In 2020, we celebrated 20 years of saving lives and preventing millions of youth from smoking. Our impact has helped drive the teen smoking rate down from 23% in 2000 to under 3% in 2021. The truth about tobacco and the tobacco industry are at the heart of our proven-effective and nationally recognized truth public education campaign. As youth e-cigarette use threatens to addict a new generation to nicotine, we are leading the fight against tobacco and nicotine addiction in all forms. Our rigorous scientific research and policy studies, community and youth engagement programs supporting populations at high risk of using tobacco, and innovation in tobacco dependence treatment are also helping to end one of the most critical public health battles of our time. Based in Washington D.C., our organization, formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation, was established and funded through the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. To learn more, visit truthinitiative.org.

SOURCE Truth Initiative
SHANGHAI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yum China Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: YUMC and HKEX: 9987, "Yum China" or the "Company") today announced, in compliance with the Rules Governing the Listing of Securities on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the "HKEX") which require advance notice of board meetings at which a dividend is expected to be declared, that its board of directors (the "Board") will consider the declaration and payment of a quarterly dividend (the "Dividend"). If the Board decides to proceed, the declaration will be adopted by Board resolution on or around May 3, 2023 (Beijing/Hong Kong Time) and will be promptly disclosed by the Company.

The Company makes available through the Investor Relations section of its internet website at http://ir.yumchina.com its filings with the HKEX as soon as reasonably practicable after electronically filing such material with the HKEX. These filings may also be obtained by visiting the HKEX's website at http://www.hkex.com.hk .

As no Board resolution in relation to the Dividend has been adopted as of the date of this press release, there is no assurance that the Dividend will be declared.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. We intend all forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts and by the use of forward-looking words such as "expect," "expectation," "believe," "anticipate," "may," "could," "intend," "belief," "plan," "estimate," "target," "predict," "project," "likely," "will," "continue," "should," "forecast," "outlook" or similar terminology. These statements are based on current estimates and assumptions made by us in light of our experience and perception of historical trends, current conditions and expected future developments, as well as other factors that we believe are appropriate and reasonable under the circumstances, but there can be no assurance that such estimates and assumptions will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict and could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those indicated by those statements. We cannot assure you that any of our expectations, estimates or assumptions will be achieved. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are only made as of the date of this press release, and we disclaim any obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement to reflect subsequent events or circumstances, except as required by law. Numerous factors could cause our actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements should be evaluated with the understanding of their inherent uncertainty. You should consult our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q) for additional detail about factors that could affect our financial and other results.

About Yum China Holdings, Inc.

Yum China is the largest restaurant company in China with a mission to make every life taste beautiful. The Company has over 400,000 employees and operates nearly 13,000 restaurants under six brands across 1,800 cities in China. KFC and Pizza Hut are the leading brands in the quick-service and casual dining restaurant spaces in China, respectively. Taco Bell offers innovative Mexican-inspired food. Yum China has also partnered with Lavazza to develop the Lavazza coffee concept in China. Little Sheep and Huang Ji Huang specialize in Chinese cuisine. Yum China has a world-class, digitalized supply chain which includes an extensive network of logistics centers nationwide and an in-house supply chain management system. Its strong digital capabilities and loyalty program enable the Company to reach customers faster and serve them better. Yum China is a Fortune 500 company with the vision to be the world's most innovative pioneer in the restaurant industry. For more information, please visit http://ir.yumchina.com.

Investor Relations Contact

Tel: +86 21 2407 7556 / +852 2267 5801

E-mail: [email protected]

Media Contact

Tel: +86 21 2407 7510

E-mail: [email protected]

SOURCE Yum China Holdings, Inc.
The Ukrainian Defense Forces in Bakhmut are holding back the enemy's onslaught, inflicting significant losses in manpower and equipment, Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky said.

"Bakhmut direction remains the epicenter of the Russian offensive. The enemy concentrates the largest number of his forces in Bakhmut and dreams of completely taking the city under his control. However, the Defense Forces hold back the enemy's onslaught in dynamic battles, inflicting significant losses on him," Syrsky said on the Telegram channel on Wednesday.

According to Syrsky, "last night, in addition to the manpower and equipment of the invader, air defense units also managed to destroy two aggressor UAVs: Orlan and ZALA ones."

"Bakhmut is withstanding," the commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.
Over 40 occupier attacks repelled in eastern Ukraine in day; fierce battles going on for Bakhmut, Maryinka  AFU General Staff

The Russian invaders continue to focus their main efforts on conducting offensive operations in Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka and Maryinka directions in the east of Ukraine, according to operational information on the Russian invasion at 18.00 on Wednesday, published on the page of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook.

"During the day, more than 40 enemy attacks were repulsed in the indicated sectors of the front. The fiercest battles are fought for Bakhmut and Maryinka," the AFU said.

In Maryinka direction, except for the town of Maryinka, Ukrainian defenders on Wednesday repulsed numerous enemy attacks in the area of the neighboring village of Pobieda, Donetsk region. In Avdiyivka direction, the occupiers carried out offensive operations in the areas of Avdiyivka, Vodiane and Pervomaisk of Donetsk region, everywhere without success. In Shakhtersk direction, the enemy unsuccessfully tried to conduct offensive operations in the area of the town of Vuhledar.

In Lyman direction, the enemy tried to improve the tactical situation, conducted unsuccessful offensive operations in the area of the southern outskirts of the town of Kreminna, Luhansk region.

The enemy is on the defensive in Zaporizhia and Kherson directions. In Volynsk, Polissia, Siversk and Slobozhansk directions, the operational situation has not changed significantly, the General Staff said.
Warsaw, April 19 : Grain transports from Ukraine via Poland will resume on Friday, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus has said, after two-day talks here with the Ukrainian side.

The transports will be escorted and monitored by a specialized electronic system while passing through Poland to make sure "that not one ton of grain (from Ukraine) will stay in Poland", he said in a press conference.

Polish Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said Poland will maintain the ban on importing agricultural goods, but will "allow passage through Poland to four Polish ports and to other European countries", Xinhua news agency reported.

He noted that grain transports through Poland will be sealed with electronic GPS seals.

Hungary and Slovakia have imposed similar import bans, joining Poland, which banned both import and transit through the country last week after seeing weeks of protests staged by farmers against low prices.

"We are aware of the situation of Polish farmers, the Polish side understands Ukrainian farmers," Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, who is visiting Warsaw for negotiations, said at the joint news conference.

The European Union (EU) has criticized member states for putting individual bans in place, and EU envoys are set to discuss the measures on Wednesday, according to a senior EU official.
Islamabad, April 19 : At least two people were killed and six others injured when a passenger bus fell into a ditch in Jamshoro district of Pakistan's southern Sindh province, rescue service reported.

The rescue service said that the accident took place on Tuesday on Super Highway in Nooriabad area of the district after the driver possibly fell asleep, Xinhua news agency reported.

The rescue workers reached the site and shifted the victims to a local hospital, it added.

Four passengers were in critical condition, said the rescue service, adding that a 23-year-old woman was among the dead while the injured included four children and two youngsters.

Reportedly, the ill-fated bus was going from Sukkur City of the province towards the provincial capital Karachi.

Road accidents frequently happen in Pakistan due to poorly maintained roads, violation of road safety rules, and reckless driving.
New York, April 19 : One person was killed and five others injured after a parking garage collapsed in Lower Manhattan of New York City, authorities said.

"Sadly, we did lose one life. While we continue to search the site, at this time we are hopeful that there are no other people trapped in the structure," tweeted New York Mayor Eric Adams late Tuesday afternoon, adding five others were rescued by first responders.

The four-story structure on Ann Street, about half a mile (0.8 km) from the New York Stock Exchange, partially collapsed shortly after 4 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, killing at least one worker and injuring five others who were in the building, local officials told a press conference at the scene, Xinhua news agency reported.

New York Fire Department had ordered all their initial responders out of the building, and a robotics unit had been deployed to check the site because of unstable conditions of the fallen structure.

Pace University announced that two nearby buildings had been evacuated and all classes were canceled due to the collapse.

The collapse was swift and without warning, said eyewitnesses.

"It felt like an earthquake," Liam Gaeta, a Pace University student, told an ABC News affiliate. He said he heard "a large noise and a big rumbling, and then we all got evacuated".
United Nations, April 19 : The UN has protested to the US against the spying on Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and other officials calling it an "interference" by Washington, according to spokesperson Stephane Dujarric.

"The UN officially expressed to the host country its concern regarding recent reports that the communications of the Secretary-General and other senior UN officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the US government," Dujarric said.

"The UN has made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the US enumerated in the UN charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the UN," he added.

Secret documents floating in social media and chat groups showed that the administration of President Joe Biden has been spying on UN officials as well as other international leaders, including US allies.

Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old techie with a military organisation, has been arrested and charged with the leaks.

In the latest airing of the documents, The Washington Post reported that they included conversations between Guterres and Dujarric, as well as other officials from as recently as March.

In public, the Biden administration has made a show of opposing eavesdropping, putting sanctions on NSO Group, an Israeli company that developed the Pegasus software allegedly used by other governments for spying.

"The whole notion of using this type of technology against civil society, or regime critics, or journalists, or anybody like that through extrajudicial means is always concerning," Dean Thomson said in 2001 when he was the Acting Assistant Secretary for South and Central Asian Affairs amid allegations that India had used Pegasus emerged.

India has denied the allegations.

When the first reports of the spying on Guterres emerged, he appeared to brush it off as something routine.

Dujarric said last week that Guterres "has been in politics and a public figure for quite some time. So he's not surprised, I think, by the fact that people are spying on him and listening to his private conversations".

But the UN lodged the formal protest as more reports of the US spying emerged with the potential to harm its relations with national leaders.

In one such revelation, the Post reported that Guterres was annoyed that Ethiopia's Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen wrote to him rejecting his plans to visit the country's Tigray region where attempts were being made to end the civil war.

Earlier, the BBC reported that the documents included reports of conversations between Guterres and Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed in which she criticised Kenya's President William Ruto.

The Post said that at least some of Guterres's conversations were collected under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) which authorises spying on foreign targets without a warrant.

Some of the spying on Guterres relate to Ukraine, an area of intense concern to the Biden administration, with the leaked reports showing that Washington considered him soft on Russia.

The BBC reported that leaked documents claimed that Guterres accorded priority to protecting the Black Sea grain agreement that the UN along with Turkey worked out with Russia to allow foodgrain exports from Ukraine.

The deal was made to avert famines in some developing countries that relied on Ukrainian foodgrain and to stabilise international food prices.

"Our efforts, his efforts, have been to mitigate the impact of the war on the world's poorest, and that means doing what we can to drive down the price of food and the price of grain and fertiliser worldwide," Dujarric said.

One of the leaked documents revealed spying on a private conversation between Guterres and Miguel Graca, the director of his executive office when he reportedly expressed displeasure with Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky's request to visit his country.

Guterres, however, visited Ukraine three times since the Russian invasion, most recently last month when he reiterated categorically that "the position of the UN, which I have consistently expressed, is crystal clear: Russia's invasion of Ukraine is a violation of the UN Charter and international law".

The Post said that a document reported that Guterres told Dujarric that he was "pissed off" by a surprise International Women's Day ceremony during his Kiev visit last month.

That ceremony without prior warning included the presentation of medals to Ukrainian soldiers and photographs and videos of the event were posted "that implied the secretary general was congratulating military personnel on one side of the Russia-Ukraine war", The Post reported.

Teixeira, who posted the documents on the video gaming chat site Discord that found their way to Twitter, Telegram and 4Chan, was not even a member of the regular military, but a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, the equivalent of the Territorial Army in India.

(Arul Louis can be contacted at arul.l@ians.in and followed at @arulouis)
Khartoum, April 19 : The death toll due to the unrest in Sudan has increased to 270 as violent clashes re-erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after attempts at a ceasefire crumbled, just hours after the two conflicting sides had agreed on a 24-hour ceasefire, media reports said.

The clashes which first erupted on April 15 in capital Khartoum both near the army command and the presidential palace, as well close to two RSF bases to the north and west of the city, continues as of Wednesday morning with heavy gunfire, explosions and the roar of warplanes, CNN reported.

The SAF and RSF had previously agreed to a three-hour ceasefire on Sunday, and again on Monday, and the latest which was to begin at 6 p.m. on Tuesday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) citing Sudan's Ministry of Health Emergency Operations Center said that besides the fatalities, more than 2,600 people were also injured in the violence.

At least half a dozen hospitals have been struck by both warring sides, according to Sudan's Doctors Trade Union.

Meanwhile, armed personnel have raided the homes of UN staff and employees of other international organisations in downtown Khartoum, according to reports in an internal UN document seen by CNN.

According to the document, the gunmen sexually assaulted women and stole belongings, including cars.

"In Khartoum armed uniformed personnel, reportedly from RSF, are entering the residences of expats, separating men and women and taking them away," it said, adding that an incident of rape was also reported.

The RSF has however, denied the allegations, telling CNN that it "will never assault any UN staff or employees. RSF is very mindful of respecting international law".

The statement went on to blame the opposing side in the fighting, led by Sudan's military leader Abdel Fattah al-Burhan: "That is the new desperate way of Burhan's army of fighting. They supply their people RSF uniform clothing so they can commit crimes against civilians and embassies and other groups including the UN so the image and perspective of RSF can be damaged to everyone, international and local." On its part, the SAF also denied that their troops were involved in the violations and pointed to a previous statement regarding crimes against humanity allegedly committed by RSF forces.

The violence, which is a result of a bloody tussle for power between Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, who is head of the RSF, has also spread to other areas in the country, including in Darfur to the west.

According to medical charity Doctors Without Borders, a lack of medical supplies, blood and electricity are threatening lifesaving treatments and 11 people have died from their injuries in North Darfur.

Various foreign leaders have called for peace, with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaking separately with Burhan and Dagalo on Tuesday.

Blinken "expressed his grave concern about the death and injury of so many Sudanese civilians", and argued a ceasefire was necessary to deliver aid, reunify separated families, and ensure the safety of diplomatic and humanitarian staff, according to a readout from the US State Department.

Egypt has been "in direct communication with both parties" encouraging restraint, cessation of hostilities and a return to dialogue", Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry told CNN on Tuesday.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg does not believe that the problems with Ukrainian grain in the countries of Eastern Europe indicate a reluctance to help Ukraine, and he is sure that these difficulties can be overcome.

"So yes, this is an issue that has to be addressed, but I don't think it reflects any lack of will and readiness to continue to support Ukraine," Stoltenberg said on Wednesday at a press conference in Brussels.

According to him, whether it is Europe or North America, there is a strong desire to support Ukraine, which is receiving unprecedented financial and military assistance.

Of course, the Secretary General of the North Atlantic Alliance noted, one can also see the "the challenges that some Allies have addressed as a consequence of some of the grain and food that has been then re-located not to be transported over the Black Sea but on land through a European and NATO Allies." This is not something that directly relates to NATO, this is a question of the European Union and European countries, Stoltenberg clarified, answering the question whether problems with Ukrainian agricultural products are a sign of fatigue of a number of countries to help Ukraine.

"I'm confident that there are ways to address those challenges," said the head of the alliance, expressing confidence that the desire in Europe to help Ukraine was not weakening.
Washington, April 19 : The US Secret Service swung into action after a toddler managed to slip through the bars of iron fencing surrounding the White House.

In a statement on Tuesday confirming the development, Anthony Guglielmi, chief of communications for the Secret Service, said the toddler crawled through the fence on the north side of the White House, setting off security alerts, reports CNN.

"The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House ground," Gugliemli said.

"The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited." Access to the White House was temporarily restricted and President Joe Biden was also inside the executive mansion at the time of the incident, the BBC reported.

The $64 million fence around the White House is 13ft tall.

It is roughly double the size of its previous height, which was increased during a recent construction project to enhance White House safety.

This is not the first time a toddler has crawled through the White House fence.

In 2014, a toddler had squeezed through the White House fence just before then-President Barack Obama was about to address the nation on Iraq.

The breach prompted a temporary lockdown and delayed the briefing.
New Delhi, April 19 : Dusan Lajovic won a battle of Serbians in Banja Luka, where he defeated Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to reach the second round of the Srpska Open.

The match, which began on Monday, resumed with Lajovic leading 2-0 in the third set on Tuesday, reports ATP.

"I think this is one of those matches where neither of us want to play and we just want to get on with it and finish the day," Lajovic said. "Luckily I was able to win in the third." Lajovic has now won all three of the pair's clay-court ATP Head2Head meetings and leads their series 3-2. The World No. 70 converted five of his nine break points to triumph after two hours and 14 minutes.

Another Serbian advanced when Laslo Djere eliminated Roman Safiullin 6-4, 6-2. The 27-year-old has enjoyed success on clay before, having lifted an ATP 500 trophy in Rio de Janeiro in 2019.

Former World No. 7 Richard Gasquet earned his place in the second round with a 6-3, 6-1 victory against 17-year-old Croatian qualifier Dino Prizmic. The 36-year-old claimed his 14th ATP Tour crown earlier this year in Auckland.

In an all-qualifier clash, 19-year-old Jordanian Abdullah Shelbayh defeated Swede Elias Ymer 6-1, 7-5 for his first ATP Tour win. The teen will next try to upset fourth seed Miomir Kecmanovic.
Islamabad, April 19 : Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chief Imran Khan has said that first Yousuf Raza Gillani was disqualified for contempt of court and now incumbent Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will also face the same fate.

In a meeting with PTI Central President Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, Khan said: "Punjab and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa will file a petition in the Supreme Court on behalf of the Chief Ministers," The Express Tribune reported By disobeying the court's decision, the PTI chief said, the rulers were creating a wrong tradition.

Elahi said: "Every unconstitutional tactic is being used to stop the election. The incompetent rulers will have to answer for every unconstitutional move." In the meeting, the current political situation and the elections in Punjab were discussed in detail.

According to the order of the Supreme Court, Elahi said, the Election Commission would have to give the allocated money in any case.

"Shehbaz Sharif has been guilty of contempt of court and now the decision is awaited. Everyone has to follow the Constitution and law for stability and protection of democracy," he said.

Elahi said that the supply of free flour would be the biggest scandal in the history of the country, The Express Tribune reported.

"The smuggling of flour, sugar, and fertiliser has increased during the caretaker Punjab government and unelected representatives are causing the postponement of public welfare projects."
New Delhi, April 19 : President, Mumbai -- IHCL SeleQtions, which was established in 1973, will commemorate 50 illustrious years this April. For years, it has been the ultimate retreat for discerning customers and guests. It is synonymous with world-class hospitality and friendly service.

The hotel, one of the first high-rise structures in the city with views of the Arabian Sea, is recognised for giving its visitors remarkable and one-of-a-kind experiences. The hotel, which is a popular among South Mumbai visitors, is now the go-to place for tourists from all over the world looking for a home away from home. As the city's skyline changed quickly over the years, the hotel changed with it, but it continued to be a popular place for Mumbaikars throughout the world who were looking for a break.

On the occasion, Somnath Mukherjee - Senior Vice President, West, IHCL said, "It has been a matter of great pride for us to watch President, Mumbai grow from strength to strength amidst all the love it has received over the last 50 years. We are truly moved by the outpouring of trust and support from our guests and are hopeful of fulfilling bigger dreams together in the coming years." Melvyn Saldanha, General Manager - President, Mumbai echoes his sentiments: "We are thrilled to be celebrating 50 years of this wonderful hotel. To commemorate this occasion, the hotel has commissioned an extraordinary mural that reflects the soul of this very special hotel. Unveiled by Puneet Chhatwal - Managing Director and CEO, IHCL and Rajkumar Nagpal, Executive Director - PIEM Hotels during the grand anniversary celebration, the mural will find a permanent pride of place in our lobby for guests to enjoy. The year ahead has an exciting calendar of events planned which are sure to engage and excite our guests." (IANSlife can be contacted at ianslife@ians.in)
Aizawl, April 19 : The US is keen on collaboration for the development of Mizoram, particularly in the fields of connectivity, solid waste management, cyber security, research and development in the military, Kolkata-based US Consul General Melinda Pavek said here.

According to a Mizoram government official on Wednesday, Melinda Pavek held separate meetings during the past two days with state Health Minister R. Lalthanglian, Chief Secretary Renu Sharma and other leaders and discussed various collaborative efforts.

Pavek said that apart from land and air connectivity, improvement in human mobility, visa issuance for students and businesses collaborative efforts can be undertaken in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship to work with US industries, solid waste management, cyber security, research and development in the military, as per the official.

People to people, Government to Government and multilateral collaboration can also be undertaken, the Head of the US Consulate General in Kolkata said.

She expressed that the relationship between India and the United States would be stronger in the future.

The Consul General Melinda Pavek pointed out that collaboration in four areas would bring more fields for collaboration and would improve the relationship between the two largest democratic countries in the world.

The Chief Secretary apprised the Consulate General that the various initiatives and projects undertaken by the government of Mizoram for peace, prosperity and development in the state.

The Chief Secretary also spoke about the potential areas of collaboration particularly in the fields of connectivity, tourism, food processing, health care, business sector, bamboo development, innovation and entrepreneurship and expressed that collaboration in such sectors could result in improving the livelihood and living standards of the people of Mizoram.

During another meeting, the Health Minister highlighted the state's strategic location with respect to its international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh and added that peace and tranquility within the state can act as an avenue for International trade and investment.

He looked forward to having closer cooperation and coordination with the US Consulate General of Kolkata and requested the Consul General to facilitate exchange programmes for students and faculties and provide scholarship for the needy students of the state.

Lalthanglian mentioned that Mizoram has the lowest Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and has ranked first among small states in the recently released NITI Aayog's Health Index.

He also stated that Mizoram has the second highest literacy rate in India (after Kerala) and applauded the effort of the Church, NGOs and local communities in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

While mentioning certain developments and ongoing projects in the state such as JICA's (Japan International Cooperation Agency) funded Cancer Superspeciality Hospital, installation of Oxygen plants in all districts, addition of ICU beds, World Bank funded Mizoram State Health System Strengthening Project.

The Minister also asserted the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Malaria, TB in the state and called for better cooperation to eradicate such diseases from the state.

India is a partner country, not an assistance country for the United States, the Consul General said and stressed the need for identifying, understanding and combating together the problems and struggles of the state like HIV/AIDS, Cancer etc.

She welcomed enthusiastic students and faculties to continue their education and research in the United States. She advocated both students and researchers to avail the help of US-India Education Foundation (USIEF), Education USA team, Fullbright scholarships and online access of American libraries.

The US Consul General visited Mizoram University and had an interaction with the students' body, research scholars and representatives of all departments.

She also highlighted bilateral ties between India and the United States. She highlighted how to get a US Visa. Collaborations between the students of India and the US is one of the government's priorities, she said.
Mumbai, April 19 : Prabhas, Kriti Sanon and Saif Ali Khan-starrer film 'Adipurush' is heading to the Tribeca Film Festival, which is set to be held in Manhattan from June 7 to June 18.

The film, which depicts the Indian epic of 'The Ramayana' will have its world premiere at the festival on June 13 after this the film will release in India and globally on June 16. The film will be showcased in 3D format as 'Midnight Offering' at the festival.

The Tribeca Festival, presented by OKX and founded by Robert De Niro, Jane Rosenthal, and Craig Hatkoff in 2001, brings artists and diverse audiences together to celebrate storytelling in all its forms.

Reacting to the news, the film's director, Om Raut shared: "'Adipurush' is not a film, it is an emotion, a sentiment. It is our vision of a story that resonates with the very spirit of India. When I learnt that Adipurush has been selected by the esteemed jury of one of the prestigious film festivals in the world that I always aspired to be at as a student."

He further mentioned: "This very premiere at Tribeca Festival is truly surreal for me as well as the entire team as we get to showcase a story on a global stage that has been very ingrained in our culture! We are truly thrilled and excited to see the audience's reaction at the world premiere."

Actor Prabhas, who essays the role of lord Ram in the film, said: "I am honoured that 'Adipurush' will have its World Premiere At The Tribeca Festival, New York. It's an absolute privilege to be a part of a project that mirrors the ethos of our nation. To see our Indian films, especially one that is so close to me, 'Adipurush', reach the global stage makes me extremely proud not only as an actor but as an Indian too."

'Adipurush' which also stars Sunny Singh, has been produced by Bhushan Kumar and Krishan Kumar of T-Series, Om Raut, Prasad Sutar, and Rajesh Nair of Retrophiles, and is scheduled to release globally on June 16, 2023.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Patna, April 19 : A class 9 student was stabbed to death in Bihar's Gopalganj district on Wednesday while he was on his way to school.

The incident took place at around 6.30 a.m. in Batardeh village under the Barauli police station.

Confirming the incident, the SHO of Barauli police station said a youth, identified as Ujjwal Kumar, attacked the victim Pratik Kumar Patel with a knife on his neck.

Pratik died on the spot.

The accused was caught by locals in the area and handed over to the police.

The reason for murder is property dispute between the families of the accused and the victim.

Pratik's father Ajay Patel was also stabbed to death a few years ago.

After Ajay's death, Pratik had been living in his maternal uncle's house in Batardeh village.

Following the incident, the angry villagers put the body in the middle of NH 27 and blocked it.
Chennai, April 19 : AIADMK general secretary and former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Wednesday announced that the party will contest the Karnataka Assembly polls.

However, the party had earlier announced that it would not be contesting the state Assembly polls and would support BJP candidates.

The party also announced D. Anbarasan as its candidate from the Pulikeshi Nagar constituency. BJP leader Murali will also be contesting from the said constituency.

In 2018, the Pulikeshi nagar seat was won by S. Akhanda Srinivasamurthy of the Indian National Congress who defeated Janata Dal (Secular) leader B. Prasanna Kumar by a margin of 81,626 votes.

In the 2018 assembly elections, the AIADMK had fielded three candidates.

The Karnataka assembly polls are scheduled on May 10 and counting of votes will take place on May 13.
Aizawl, April 19 : The US is keen to collaborate with Mizoram on connectivity, solid waste management, cyber security, research and development in the military, Kolkata-based US Consul General Melinda Pavek said here.

According to a Mizoram government official on Wednesday, during the past two days, Melinda Pavek held separate meetings with state Health Minister R. Lalthanglian, Chief Secretary Renu Sharma and other leaders on various collaborative efforts.

Pavek said that apart from land and air connectivity, human mobility, visa issuance for students and businesses, collaborative efforts can be undertaken in the field of innovation and entrepreneurship to work with US industries, solid waste management, cyber security, research and development in the military, as per the official.

People to people, Government to Government and multilateral collaboration can also be undertaken, the Head of the US Consulate General in Kolkata said.

She expressed that the relationship between India and the United States would only get stronger in the future.

Consul General Melinda Pavek pointed out that collaboration in four areas would bring in more fields for collaboration and improve the relationship between them.

The Chief Secretary apprised the Consulate General of various initiatives and projects undertaken by the Mizoram government for peace, prosperity and development in the state.

He also spoke about the potential areas of collaboration particularly in the fields of connectivity, tourism, food processing, health care, business sector, bamboo development, innovation and entrepreneurship and expressed that collaboration in such sectors could result in improving the livelihood and living standards of the people of Mizoram.

In another meeting, Health Minister Lalthangliana highlighted the state's strategic location with respect to its international borders with Myanmar and Bangladesh and added that peace and tranquility within the state can act as an avenue for International trade and investment.

He looked forward to having closer cooperation and coordination with the US Consulate General of Kolkata and requested the Consul General to facilitate exchange programmes for students and faculties and provide scholarship for the needy students of the state.

Lalthangliana mentioned that Mizoram has the lowest Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) and has ranked first among small states in the recently released NITI Aayog's Health Index.

He also stated that Mizoram has the second highest literacy rate in India (after Kerala) and applauded the effort of the Church, NGOs and local communities in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic.

While mentioning certain developments and ongoing projects in the state such as JICA's (Japan International Cooperation Agency) funded Cancer Superspeciality Hospital, installation of Oxygen plants in all districts, addition of ICU beds, World Bank funded Mizoram State Health System Strengthening Project.

The Minister also asserted the prevalence of HIV/AIDS, Cancer, Malaria, TB in the state and called for better cooperation to eradicate such diseases from the state.

India is a partner country, not an assistance country for the United States, the Consul General said and stressed the need for identifying, understanding and combating together the problems and struggles of the state like HIV/AIDS, Cancer etc.

The Consul General welcomed enthusiastic students and faculties to continue their education and research in the United States. She advocated both students and researchers to avail the help of US-India Education Foundation (USIEF), Education USA team, Fullbright scholarships and online access of American libraries.

She also visited Mizoram University and had an interaction with the students' body, research scholars and representatives of all departments. She also highlighted bilateral ties between India and the United States and how to get a US Visa. Collaborations between the students of India and the US is one of the government's priorities, she said.

Consul General Melinda Pavek also met Mizoram Governor Hari Babu Kambhampati at the Raj Bhawan in Aizawl on Tuesday night and discussed the above affairs.
Mumbai, April 19 : In a major decision, the Maharashtra government has banned all open-air public meetings/rallies between 12 noon to 5 p.m., state Tourism Minister Mangal Prabha Lodha said here on Wednesday.

The move came three days after the deaths of 14 people, 'Shrisadasyas', who died hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the 'Maharashtra Bhushan Award' 2022 on social reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, revered as Appasaheb, at an open-air event which attracted an estimated 20 lakh followers.

The development also came 48 hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) Kishore Tiwari made a strong plea to the Centre and state governments to come out with a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all such mega-events and prevent recurrence of such calamities with loss of precious human lives. (IANS report dated April 17).

Lodha said that the decision has been taken after the "unfortunate disaster in Navi Mumbai and to avoid similar tragedies in future".

State Congress President Nana Patole said on Wednesday that given new social media photos/videos, the government must clarify whether the deaths took place due to a stampede at the award venue.

"What is the truth, and what is the government suppressing? Both the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must resign. I am appealing to Governor Ramesh Bais to sack this regime," Patole said sternly.

On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Party's Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar had demanded a judicial probe by a retired judge into the tragedy, and lodging culpable homicide cases against all those found guilty for the shortcomings.

Pointing out that the state government had sqaundered Rs 13 crore for the Rs 25-Lakh Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Tiwari asked Shinde-Fadnavis to give compensation of at least Rs 1 crore to the kin of each deceased who hailed from very poor families.

Senior leaders of other political parties including Atul Londe, Clyce Crasto, Dr. Raghunath Kuchik, Trade Unions Joint Action Committee state convenor Vishwas Utagi, NGOs and social activists have slammed the state government for the lapses leading to the tragedy.

Moved by the tragedy, Shah expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives after he gave away the Maharashtra Bhushan Award to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari on Sunday.

"My heart is heavy with the passing of the 'Shrisadasyas' who lost their lives due to heatstroke while attending the Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony held yesterdaya I pray for the speedy recovery of those who are undergoing treatment," said Shah.
USA adds six companies from Iran, China to sanctions list due to supplies of parts for Iranian drones

The U.S. Treasury on Wednesday announced sanctions against one individual and six companies based in Iran, China, Malaysia, due to the supply to Tehran of electronic components for military programs, including the production of drones, bypassing current restrictions.

"The network sanctioned today has procured goods and technology for the Iranian government and its defense industry and UAV program," Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Brian E. Nelson said in the statement.

In particular, Iranian citizen Mehdi Khoshgadam, the managing director of the Iranian company PASNA, which, according to Washington, uses front companies to conduct business with foreign suppliers, was included in the sanctions list. The U.S. authorities named Iran-based Amv AJ Nilgoun Bushehr CO. (AMV AJ) and in Malaysia SDN. BHD. (PASNA International) and also imposed sanctions against them.

In addition, four companies from China that supplied PASNA parts were subject to restrictions: these are Arttronix International (HK) Limited (Arttronix), Jotrin Electronics Limited (Jotrin), Vohom Technology (HK) CO., Limited (Vohom) and Yinke (HK) Electronics Company Limited (Yinke).

New persons on the sanctions lists are prohibited from managing any property or financial assets in the United States; the U.S. companies, in turn, cannot do business with structures and persons that have fallen under restrictions.

Previously, the United States has already imposed sanctions on structures from Iran, China and Turkey in connection with the supply of parts for drones to Iran.

At the end of January, the European Union included in the sanctions lists the Iranian Iran Aircraft Manufacturing Industries Corporation, which produces UAVs.
London, April 19 : An 86-year-old British Sikh woman, who killed her daughter-in-law in 1998 for "bringing shame to the family", has been released after spending less than 15 years in prison, media reports said.

Bachan Kaur Athwal, from Hayes, West London, was jailed in 2007 for 20 years for ordering the murder of 27-year-old Surjit Athwal after learning that she had an affair and wished to divorce her son, Sukhdave.

The Parole Board granted Bachan early release citing poor health and dementia despite Justice Secretary Dominic Raab's efforts to keep her behind bars, the Daily Mirror reported.

She was ordered to serve a minimum of 20 years in prison by Judge Giles Forrester.

In his appeal, which was knocked back, Raab claimed that Bachan still posed a risk to society.

According to The Sun, Bachan was released from prison in August last year.

It is claimed that in May last year, Bachan slapped her daughter during a prison visit and assaulted a member of staff.

Medical assessments suggested Bachan "would be difficult to manage in exactly the same way as any other person suffering from dementia and no more", the Daily Mirror reported.

Surjit's body was never found, and she left behind two young children.

The Old Bailey heard how Surjit was forced to marry Sukhdave at 16, and was bullied by the family.

After discovering that Surjit planned to leave her son, Bachan had vowed that a divorce would happen "over my dead body" because she believed it would disgrace their family, London's Old Bailey court had heard.

Surjit, a customs officer, was then lured to Punjab by Bachan and Sukhdave on the pretext of attending family weddings, but was instead strangled to death.

Sukhdave was also found guilty of murder and was sentenced to at least 27 years in prison.

Judge Forrester said the murder was "unspeakable".

"This was a heinous crime characterized by great wickedness," he said.
Stuttgart : , April 19 (IANS) Jelena Ostapenko of Latvia, who won the French Open back in 2017, secured a dominant 6-2 6-1 victory over former US Open champion Emma Raducanu in the opening round of the Stuttgart Open, which kicked off the European clay-court swing this week.

Ostapenko needed only 58 minutes to overpower Raducanu, who made the quarterfinals in Stuttgart last year. Behind 19 forehand winners, Ostapenko dominated play from the baseline to give Raducanu no inroads in the match.

"I knew against her the main thing was to step in the court. Of course, I missed some balls but I tried to be aggressive all the time when it was possible. Just try to take the ball early, don't give her many chances. And finally, I'm back on clay, my favorite surface," Ostapenko said after the win.

Ostapenko will next face World No.4 and Charleston champion Ons Jabeur on Wednesday.

As the Latvian eyes her first tour-level match on clay against Jabeur, Ostapenko should like her chances. The two have split their two recent meetings, with Jabeur winning on the indoor hard courts of Ostrava and Ostapenko winning their last match on grass in Eastbourne.

In 2017, Ostapenko came to Paris as a 19-year-old big-hitting talent and went on to celebrate her 20th birthday by defeating Simona Halep in the final to win Roland Garros.

At the time, Ostapenko was the youngest French Open champion in 20 years and the lowest-ranked Slam champion since the introduction of computer rankings.

"I was kind of fearless. I was not thinking too much," Ostapenko said when asked about her 2017 success. "I felt today a little bit that way. I was just going for the shots. Even if I was missing, I was, like, It's fine, I will still go for the shots.

Probably (need) to bring back this fearlessness, but of course it's tougher when you get older. You start to think more and of course you want to play better and more consistently,' she said.

In other action, Paula Badosa scored her first Top 10 win in 12 months after defeating Daria Kasatkina 6-1, 6-1 in just 70 minutes in the first round.

She will next face qualifier Cristina Bucsa in an all-Spanish encounter as she bids to return to the quarterfinals for a second straight year.
New Delhi, April 19 : In the Special Marriage Act (SMA), 1954, wherever "husband" and "wife" is used, make it gender neutral by using "spouse", while "man" and "woman" should be substituted by "person", the Supreme Court was told on Wednesday during the hearing on petitions seeking legal sanction to same-sex marriages.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing some petitioners, submitted before a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that in the Special Marriage Act (SMA), insisted that a large part of problem will be solved through this interpretation.

Rohtagi discussed at length provisions of the SMA to interpret it to include LGBTQAI+ community within its scope and granting the right of solemnisation of their marriage within its provisions.

Thereafter, he read multiple provisions including Sections 2, 4, 22, 27, 36 and 37 of the SMA to propose a workability of solemnisation and/or registration of marriages of same-sex couples under thereto.

He stressed that the fundamental rights guaranteed in the Constitution were for all individuals, heterosexual or queer, and added that there was no reason why they should be denied the right to marriage.

"We will not be treated as lesser mortals and there will be full enjoyment of the right to life. I require beyond the badge that I'm married. I also want the positive and affirmative consequences of a valid marriage... Remove the dogma, remove the stigma," he said, adding that the state must accept it gracefully.

Rohatgi contended that his clients want a declaration that "we have a right to marry, that right will be recognised by the state and will be registered under Special Marriage Act... Once that happens, the society will accept us.. that will be full and final assimilation".

He also cited the recent order of Nepal's Supreme Court recognising same-sex marriages.

The apex court had asked Nepal's Ministry of Law and Justice to prepare an equal marriage law or amend existing laws to accommodate the principles of equal marriage.

Rohatgi further relied on the recent judgment, wherein the court held that the law must not be relied upon to the disadvantage families which are different from traditional ones.

He wrapped up his arguments and senior advocate A.M. Singhvi started with his submissions in the matter.

Rohatgi was assisted by senior advocate Saurabh Kirpal, Dr. Maneka Guruswamy, Arundhati Katju and a team of advocates from Karanjawala & Co.

The arguments will continue after lunch at 2 p.m.

Earlier during the day, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, mentioned the affidavit filed by the government requesting the court to make states and union territories party in the case.

The Chief Justice said that is excellent, and added that since the government has informed every state about the matter, they are now not unaware of the proceedings.

The apex court declined to adjourn the hearing till completion of the Centre's consultation process with states, and asked Rohatgi to proceed to argue on the merits of the case.
Srinagar, April 19 : A village sarpanch was arrested on Wednesday for the alleged rape of a girl in Jammu and Kashmir's Baramulla district.

Police sources said that the accused identified as Ali Muhammad Dar of Rawoocha village was arrested after the Sopore police station received a written complaint from the relatives of the victim.

"An FIR under relevant sections of law has been registered against the accused and investigations started," sources said.
Jerusalem, April 19 : The Israeli Ministry of Transport announced a five-year national plan to improve the country's transportation, focusing on public transport and road infrastructure.

The total cost of the plan stands at 50 billion shekels ($13.7 billion), the highest ever allocated by Israel for transportation, Xinhua news agency reported citing the Ministry as saying.

The highlight of the plan is creating a rail connection between the northernmost city of Kiryat Shmona and the southernmost resort city of Eilat, which lies on the shores of the Red Sea.

On the future track, high-speed trains will run at speeds never before seen in Israel, similar to the "bullet trains" operating in other countries, the Ministry noted.

The plan will also focus on promoting mass transportation, optimising connectivity, reducing traffic jams, adding discounts on train and bus rides, and dealing with dangerous roads, it added.
Visakhapatnam, April 19 : Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday announced that the state government will start functioning from Visakhapatnam from September this year.

He said he would be shifting to Visakhaptanam and would be staying there. He made the announcement while addressing a public meeting at Naupada in Srikakulam district.

The chief minister said he would be moving from Amaravati to Visakhapatnam as part of the decentralisation of power.

This is the first time that Jagan Mohan Reddy has specified a time period for shifting the administrative capital to the port city.

Last month, during the Global Investors Summit 2023 in Visakhapatnam, he had declared that he would shortly move over to the city.

At the curtain raiser event in Delhi on January 31, the chief minister had announced that Visakhapatnam will soon be the state capital.

Subsequently, Finance Minister B. Rajendranath Reddy had stated at another curtain raiser in Bengaluru that the YSRCP government decided on Visakhapatnam as the next capital of Andhra Pradesh. He had reportedly remarked that the state will not have three capitals.

This had triggered speculations in political circles that the Jagan Mohan Reddy-led government had given up the plan of three state capitals.

It was on December 17, 2019 that Jagan Mohan Reddy had announced in the state Assembly that three state capitals will be developed reversing the decision of the previous TDP government to develop Amaravati as the state capital.

The YSRCP government mooted Visakhapatnam as administrative capital, Kurnool as judicial capital and Amaravati as legislative capital.

However, the protest by farmers of Amaravati over shifting of the capital and the High Court order directing the government to develop Amaravati as the state capital had delayed the process.

On March 3, 2022, Andhra Pradesh High Court had directed the state government to develop Amaravati as the state capital in six months. A bench of three judges had pronounced the judgment on 75 petitions filed by Amaravati farmers and others challenging the government's move on three capitals.

However, the state government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court. In November last year, the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order saying the court cannot act like a town planner or an engineer.
New Delhi, April 19 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has arrested liquor businessman Amandeep Singh Dhal, the director of Brindco Sales Pvt Ltd., in connection to the Delhi excise policy scam case.

According to information, Dhal was placed under arrest on Tuesday.

He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on March 1 and his questioning had led the arrest of Arun Pillai.

Dhal os presently lodged at the Tihar Jail.

A CBI source said that the central probe agency may need to grill him in the matter.

"Dhal played a major role in the formulation, conspiracy and kickbacks paid by the South Group. He received a draft copy of the liquor policy before it was released. Dhal shared the draft copy with Binoy Babu. He also made arrangements of meeting between South Group persons and Vijay Nair," said the source.

The CBI has filed a charge sheet in the matter and are trying to make a watertight supplementary charge sheet in the matter.
New Delhi, April 19 : Atiq Ahmad, the gangster-turned-politician who was gunned down in Prayagraj earlier this week, had tried to grab a property worth Rs 20 crore in Delhi's South Extension on the basis of forged documents. The victim, a businessman, has been fighting a long battle without any help.

Naresh Gupta, 66, lives in A Block of South Extension part II. This property has four owners -- Gupta, his two brothers and sister.

"In 2006, one portion of the property was sold out to Atiq Ahmed. The property was not fully handed over to all its owners. Atiq's goons then tried to encroach upon the entire house," Gupta said.

The victim said the goon succeeded in encroaching the first portion of the house.

At that time Atiq used to be an MP and he came to threaten the Gupta family.

"This house is built on 292 metres of land. It all happened in 2006. Atiq and his goons also brutally thrashed us when we opposed them. They also vandalised the property," Gupta said.

The victim further alleged that Atiq prepared forged documents to seize the house.

"Since then the property is lying vacant. We couldn't carry out any construction works. In 2007 after the court order, Atiq had to empty the front portion. We are still fighting this case in court," he said.

Naresh Gupta has suffered heart attacks and is presently on oxygen support.
Mumbai, April 19 : Former 'Bigg Boss 13' contestant Himanshi Khurana talked about styling the whole wardrobe for her co-actors in the newly released music video 'Stars', which is sung by Nishawn Bhullar and Gur Aulkah. She said that she styled not only her outfit but that of others as well.

The actress mentioned: "I love to experiment and explore each corner of fashion, which makes me feel more attached to what I wear and how I want to represent myself on any occasion, in music videos and in movies also." Himanshi is known for her work in Punjabi films like 'Sadda Haq' and she also entered the popular reality show 'Bigg Boss 13' as a wild card contestant. Apart from Punjabi films, she has also done several music videos.

She added: "My fashion sense is majorly about comfort over anything, and this love for styling made me feel compelled to style the entire couture of my recently released music video 'Stars', in which all the outfits worn by the artists are exclusively done by me." Himanshi further said that she has to think a lot before styling the outfit for everyone as it has to compliment the lyrics of the song.

"I have roasted my mind a lot for outfits that should complement the lyrics of the songs and also match the vibe of all the people in them," she concluded.
New Delhi, April 19 : After receiving huge crowds at the Mumbai retail store, Apple on Wednesday previewed its second physical store in the country, at Select CityWalk mall in New Delhi.

Delhi's first Apple Store, to be inaugurated by the company's CEO Tim Cook on Thursday, will offer personalised support and unique experiences for customers to discover the technology.

"We're thrilled to bring the best of Apple to our customers in Delhi with the opening of our second store in India, Apple Saket," said Deirdre O'Brien, Apple's senior vice president of Retail.

"Our incredible team members look forward to connecting with the local community and helping them find new ways to pursue their passions and unleash their creativity through our amazing products and services," she added.

The store has more than 70 highly skilled retail team members who come from a 18 states in and collectively speak more than 15 languages.

For hands-on technical and hardware support, customers can make a reservation at the Genius Bar at Apple Saket for help from an Expert.

"Genius Bar appointments can help with everything from setting up a device, recovering an Apple ID, selecting an AppleCare plan, or modifying subscriptions," said Apple.

At Apple Saket, "Today at Apple" programming will take place in a roundtable setting for a more personalised customer experience.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has not visited Ukraine, Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) of Ukraine Oleksiy Danilov has said during a telethon on Wednesday.

Earlier, the Kremlin reported about Putin's trip to Kherson region.

"There was no Putin there. Before you meet him, you must spend 10-15 days in quarantine. There was an ordinary double, this is a well-known thing," Danilov said.

"He was not physically there. His travels are procedure. The preparatory process begins in two-three weeks," the NSDC secretary said.

According to him, "this is the direct opposite of our president, who is not afraid."
Jaipur, April 19 : Startups in India are contributing towards bringing down the unemployment rate in the country to a great extent, Software Technology Park of India Director General Arvind Kumar said here on Wednesday.

Kumar was in the city recently to unveil STPI incubation facility.

Any NGO registered as a private limited company with a novel idea that meets the set criteria can be taken up as a startup.

Interacting exclusively with IANS, he said, "Currently, around 10,000 startups are being supported by us, and these entities have been instrumental in creating thousands of direct and indirect jobs. In the long run, they are going to create a very large volume of jobs, he added.

In Rajasthan, there are around 80-85 startups being supported by his technology park, he said.

To a question on fear of slowdown and startup failure, he said, "Startup failure is gradually reducing in India. Startup itself means a new idea which needs to find acceptance in the market and hence there are chances of failure and hence comes its name as start-up which means you don't have hundred per cent chances of success. However, these days, we are working on an idea to bring in the problem statement from industry, so that there are less chances of failure and more chances of acceptability and adaptability, he added.

"We have started doing industry collaborations so startup failure has reduced. Now, there are Industry and academy partners as well and we are also providing administrative support to them," said Kumar.

He further said that failure is a part of the startup ecosystem not just in India but also in the developed part of the world. "Our country has just embarked on the journey of startups, so naturally failures will be little more compared to those countries which started it some three decades back," he said.

In developed countries, the success rate may be more because India has the first generation of start-ups compared to the US and other such countries which have third generation of startups. "We are at an evolving stage of startups", he added.

On the challenges, he said, "Earlier, getting funds was one of the challenges. However, now since NRIs want to come back to India and become angel investors, funds are not as much of an issue as it was 20 years back." Meanwhile, another challenge is the market, so startups are now being connected with the state govt for ease of business.

Startup ecosystem is now working on networking and it has to be increased, he suggested further.

Networking can help them to get to market and to find market problems as well, he added.
Chennai, April 19 : A 70-year-old building in Chennai, which was under renovation, collapsed on Wednesday, leading to the injuries of two people, while four others were feared trapped in the debris.

According to witnesses, the two injured persons were standing near the building in Parry's Corner when it collapsed. They have been admitted to the Government Stanley Medical College.

Sources in the Chennai Police told IANS that earth movers have brought in to clear the debris and rescue the four people trapped inside.

Chennai Deputy Mayor Magesh Kumar told IANS that 10 people were working inside the building and six had come out before the collapse.

The Deputy Mayor said that stability of other old buildings in the vicinity is also being audited.
Mumbai, April 19 : Actor Vardhan Puri, who worked with Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri in 'Nautanki', shared that he manifested working with the director after watching his 'The Tashkent Files.' The film was earlier titled 'The Last Show.' Talking about how his fascination with Vivek started, the actor shared: "In 2019, when 'The Tashkent Files' released, I remember seeing it in the theatres. I found it to be a very gutsy, honest, compelling and disruptive film. I remember calling my agent really late at night and asking for Mr. Agnihotri's number." Vardhan got the number late at night but he messaged Vivek because he wanted to share his feelings with the director after watching the film.

The actor said: "It was because that's how impacted I was from the film. I texted him that I am an actor who recently finished shooting his first film and would really love to work with him. And he replied to me within seconds," the actor informs, sharing what the filmmaker wrote back to him. "He said that if it is in our destiny to work together, we surely will." However, Covid pandemic and the subsequent lockdown in 2020 halted everything. The actor shared that he was in a strange place mentally. The movies that he was supposed to work on didn't take off because of the pandemic.

"Then one day out of the blue, I got a call from Vivek sir and Mukesh Chhabra sir. They asked me to come and meet them and I realised they are offering me a film that Vivek sir was to direct," he added.

He then showed Vivek the earlier conversation he had with him. He further mentioned: "He just replied saying, 'Dekha, kaha tha na maine. Qismat mein likha hoga to zarur saath mein kaam karenge.' And it was like life had come a full circle. I couldn't be more grateful and I couldn't believe more in miracles because I wanted it so badly and with so much sincerity that the universe offered it to me." The actor's manifestation worked and he got to work with Vivek Agnihotri. Not just that, he also got a chance to star alongside some mavericks including Anupam Kher, Pallavi Joshi and the late Satish Kaushik.

"This movie is one I am really proud of. It's written by Rumi Jafry and he is an incredible writer. It's a social comedy shot in Bhopal and I am sure when it releases, it's gonna make everyone smile from ear to ear. I cannot wait to share this film with the world," Vardhan concluded.
San Francisco, April 19 : Microsoft is reportedly developing its own AI chips to train large language models, aiming to reduce their dependence on chip maker Nvidia and avoid high costs.

Since 2019, Microsoft has been working on developing chips in secrecy, which are now being tested by both Microsoft and OpenAI employees to evaluate their performance for the latest large language models, such as GPT-4, reports The Verge.

The Information first reported the news.

Nvidia is currently the leading supplier of AI server chips, with companies racing to acquire these chips and estimates indicating that OpenAI will require more than 30,000 of Nvidia's A100 GPUs for the commercialisation of ChatGPT, according to the report.

As Nvidia rushes to produce as many AI chips as possible to meet the increasing demand, Microsoft is reportedly exploring an in-house approach in the hopes of cutting costs on its AI initiatives.

Microsoft has apparently advanced development on codename Athena, a project to develop its own artificial intelligence chips, the report said.

While it's unclear whether Microsoft will ever make these chips available to Azure cloud users, the tech giant is said to be seeking to make its AI chips more widely available inside Microsoft and OpenAI as early as next year.

The company also reportedly has a road map for the chips that include multiple future generations.

Microsoft reportedly working on its own AI chips that may rival Nvidias https://t.co/zWssLhUy0R pic.twitter.com/5AzitifcFj  The Verge (@verge) April 19, 2023

Meanwhile, Microsoft has announced the addition of AI-powered Bing capabilities to the SwiftKey app (a third-party keyboard) on iOS and Android.

This new addition will allow users to chat with the AI chatbot directly from their mobile keyboard and search for things without having to switch between apps.

-- Syndicated from IANS
Islamabad, April 19 : The Pakistan Supreme Court on Wednesday warned the government of "serious consequences" if it failed to release the funds required for conducting polls in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, media reports said.

The top court issued the warning while hearing the Defence Ministry's request to hold general elections across Pakistan simultaneously upon completion of the terms of the national as well as Sindh and Balochistan Assemblies, Dawn reported.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan, and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the petition.

A day earlier, the Defence Ministry filed an application in the SC, requesting the top court to recall its April 4 order that had fixed May 14 as the election date for the Punjab Assembly.

It asked the apex court to issue directives that general elections to the national and all provincial assemblies be held on the same date, Dawn reported.

Along with the application, the Defence Ministry also issued a report in court, laid before the SC in compliance with its directives to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and other departments to furnish reports after releasing Rs 21 billion to the ECP for holding elections to the Punjab and KP Assemblies.

In its report, the ministry highlighted the need of holding the elections on the same day in view of the heightened security situation in the country. It also said that the armed forces would be able to carry out election duties by early October, Dawn reported.
Prayagraj, April 19 : The Chief Judicial Magistrate's (CJM) court in Prayagraj on Wednesday sent three men accused of killing gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf to police custody for four days.

Government prosecutor Gulab Chandra Agrahari said: "The special court of CJM Dinesh Chandra Gautam has sent the three shooters to four-day police remand." The police had sought 14-day remand of the three shooters, but the court has approved the remand for four days.

Agrahari said that the three accused -- Lovlesh Tiwari, Mohit a.k.a. Sunny and Arun Kumar -- were brought to the court of CJM DK Gautam amid tight security, and after an hour-long appearance in the court, they were taken away by the police.

On Saturday, Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead by the three accused in Prayagraj, while they were being taken to a hospital by the police for a medical check-up.

The trio was initially lodged in Naini jail, but on Monday they were shifted to the Pratapgarh prison citing security reasons.
Kolkata, April 19 : The police in West Bengal on Wednesday arrested a person in connection with the murder of coal trader and BJP leader Raju Jha on April 1 in the state's East Burdwan district.

The arrested individual has been identified as Avijit Mondal, a resident of Panagarh in West Burdwan district.

It has been learnt that he is the driver of Narayan Khagra, another coal trader who was once a close confidant of Raju Jha.

Jha was shot dead on NH-19 near a sweetmeat outlet in Saktigarh. His associate Brotin Bandopadhyay, who was travelling with him in an SUV, was injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, two other persons, who are employees at Khagra's office at Durgapur City Centre, have been detained for questioning.

Avijit Mondal was presented in court on Wednesday, following which he was remanded to 14 days' judicial custody.

East Burdwan district police superintendent Kamanasish Sen said the police will question Mondal about his involvement in the matter.

Jha reportedly had criminal records.

In July 2011, months after the Trinamool Congress came to power in West Bengal, the police had arrested Raju Jha at Raniganj but came out on bail.

Since then, he has been arrested multiple times.

He was also questioned by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the agency's investigation into the multi-crore coal smuggling scam in the state.
Aizawl, April 19 : Indian Army personnel will now learn Chinese language at the Tezpur University in Assam for which an MoU was signed on Wednesday, defence sources said.

Defence spokesman Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat said that a course in Chinese language will improve the in-house Mandarin expertise and empower the army personnel to engage with their Chinese counterparts as and when the situation demands.

He said that with improved Chinese language skills, the armymen will be better positioned to convey their points in a much more cogent manner.

It will also help in better exchange of viewpoints and understanding of the Chinese People Liberation Army's (PLA) version of their activities during various interactions, including commander-level talks, flag meetings, joint exercises and border personnel meetings.

Rawat said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Tezpur University on Wednesday for training the Indian Army personnel in Chinese language. The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks.

Tezpur University was established in 1994 by an act of Parliament as a central university. It is one the pioneers in the northeastern region in teaching foreign languages, including Chinese.
Dharamsala, April 19 : Days after a misleading and tailored clip of the Dalai Lama went viral to smear his image, the 87-year-old Tibetan spiritual leader on Wednesday reached Delhi to attend the two-day meeting of the Global Buddhist Summit, beginning Thursday, in the national capital to be inaugurated and addressed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

For the Tibetans in exile, Prime Minister Modi's presence at the Buddhist summit has given rise to the pious hope of his meeting with the Dalai Lama, who has lived in exile in northern India for over six decades.

The expectation stems from the fact that Modi had only spoken with the Dalai Lama to convey greetings on his 86th birthday in July 2021 and wished him a long and healthy life.

The Indian functionalities see the probable meeting -- the first publicly with the globetrotting aging Buddhist monk, feted by some of the world's top leaders, since he took over as Prime Minister in 2014, can be seen in the context to send a stern warning amid relations between India and China worsening in the recent times and in a strategic shift that India is behind the Dalai Lama for any decision he takes on his reincarnation.

Also India will try to signal to the US the intent to raise the profile of the Tibet issue at a time when the US administration passed the Tibetan Policy and Support Act in 2020, making it clear that only the Dalai Lama should have control over his reincarnation, not complying with China's laws to impose its sanctioned successor.

Last month Central Tibetan Administration (CTA) President Penpa Tsering, who is the head of Tibet's government-in-exile, testified virtually at the US Congressional-Executive Commission on China's hearing, highlighting small and large-scale repression that is deliberately intended to annihilate the foundation of Tibetan culture and national identity.

The Indian leaders and officials have generally been cautious about public contact with Tibet's spiritual leader to avoid upsetting Beijing, who regards the spiritual leader as a dangerous "splittist", or separatist, and frowns on any engagement with any political leader.

Tibetan leaders in Dharamsala are now hopeful of the Dalai Lama-Modi meeting with the CTA headed by democratically elected Penpa Tsering clarifying in 2021 that His Holiness is expected to meet Modi after the Covid-19 situation stablises.

The Dalai Lama, or Ocean of Wisdom, is the leading spiritual figure bringing Buddhist teachings to the international community.

The elderly monk, known for his simplicity and jovial style, prefers to participate in meetings with religious leaders, and lectures businessmen on ethics for the new millennium and the art of happiness. He chuckles throughout his talk and often slaps visitors on the back.

The Dalai Lama is the recipient of over 150 global awards, including the Nobel Peace Prize, UN Environment Award, US Congressional Gold Medal, John Templeton Award, among others.

In India, he several times met with the BJP leaders, including party veterans -- former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani, Presidents Ram Nath Kovind and Pranab Mukherjee, and Congress leader and former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

At an event in January 2016 to celebrate the Dalai Lama's 80th birthday, Singh referred to His Holiness as a gift of God to the world.

According to a post by the CTA, the Global Buddhist Summit will bring together prominent scholars, Sangha leaders, and Dharma practitioners from across the globe to discuss pressing global issues, including peace, environmental sustainability, health, preservation of Nalanda Buddhist tradition, and the significance of Buddha Dharma pilgrimage and Buddha relics as a foundation for India's cultural ties to countries in South, Southeast, and East.

Union Culture Minister G.K. Reddy said the global summit will also be a medium to enhance the cultural and diplomatic relationships with other countries. He said delegates from almost 30 countries will participate in it and around 171 delegates from foreign countries and 150 delegates Indian Buddhist organisations.

Earlier, the Ministry of Culture along with the IBC, headquartered in New Delhi, held an international meet of experts from the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) nations on Shared Buddhist Heritage in order to re-establish trans-cultural links, seek out commonalities, between Buddhist art of Central Asia, art styles, archaeological sites and antiquity in various museums' collections of the SCO countries.

On March 31, 1959, the 14th Dalai Lama entered India from Chutangmu, a small Assam Rifles outpost near Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh.

In his biography, the Dalai Lama mentioned that when he first stepped into India after escaping Lhasa, he experienced "freedom".

In Mussoorie on April 20, 1959, the spiritual leader met with first Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and the two talked about rehabilitating the Tibetan refugees.

Currently, 130,000 Tibetans in exile live in many countries around the world in both compact and scattered communities. About 80,000 are settled in 54 different locations across India, Nepal and Bhutan.

Around 50,000 are scattered across many countries in the West.

With the exception of Tibetans in Tibet, all Tibetans are administered by the CTA from Dharamsala.

(Vishal Gulati can be contacted at gulatiians@gmail.com)
New Delhi, April 19 : In a tragic incident, three children drowned in a pond in Delhi's Yamuna Khadar area on Wednesday, an official said.

According to the police, a PCR call was received at around 12:24 p.m. on Wednesday following which a police team led by the SHO of Shastri Park police station, who were already in the area for a murder investigation, reached the spot.

"It was found that while taking bath, the three children aged about 12-13 drowned in the pond. The police along with some local residents fished out the three children out of the pond and rushed them to the JPC Hospital, where they were declared brought dead," a police officer said.

"The bodies have been shifted to the GTB Hospital for post-mortem. All the three children are residents of Bhagwanpur Kheda village in Shahdara," the officer said.
Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Ihor Klymenko, during a working trip to the south-east of Ukraine, visited the military personnel of the National Guard of Ukraine and the police officers at the forefront, heard a report on the operational situation and the progress of the evacuation carried out by the police.

As reported on the Ministry of Internal Affairs website on Wednesday, the head of the department visited the brigades from the Offensive Guard, in particular, the Kara-Dag brigade and the Liut (Fury) assault brigade.

"The morale of our fighters is quite high. They are stable and understand what they need to do, how to hold the front. We are already coordinating the use of military equipment, which is necessary, among other things, for offensive and assault operations," Klymenko said.

During the working trip, the minister presented national awards and distinctions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to the servicemen.
Chandigarh, April 19 : Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Khattar on Wednesday announced three services to digitally empower beneficiaries. These were 'Pro-active Divyang Pension Service', 'Tau se pucho' and online room booking facility at PWD rest houses.

The Chief Minister told the media here that these initiatives would prove to be a milestone in the government's vision of paperless and transparent governance.

Divulging details, he said 'Pro-active Divyang Pension Service' will enable automated pension benefits for persons with disabilities.

"Now, all such beneficiaries will not have to visit the offices to get their benefits," said an elated Chief Minister.

He said the data of persons with more than 60 per cent disability is available with the Parivar Informatics Data Repository that will be certified by the Haryana Parivar Pehchan Authority every month.

"The data of all such persons with disabilities found eligible after verification (as per the eligibility criteria prescribed by the scheme) will be shared with the SEWA Department." He said the Haryana Parivar Pehchan Authority (PPP) has created a WhatsApp bot 'Tau Se Pucho' along with web-based Chatbot Solution.

'Tau Se Pucho' bilingual chatbot is integrated with WhatsApp and is designed to give quick responses to the queries raised by the people.

While launching the portal for room booking at PWD (B&R) rest houses, the Chief Minister said now all rest houses can be booked online by government officials and people for personal use.
Chennai, April 19 : The Tamil Nadu Assembly on Wednesday adopted a resolution moved by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Wednesday demanding reservation in education and jobs for Adi Dravidars who have converted to Christianity.

The resolution urges the Centre to make amendments in the Constitution to provide reservation for Adi Dravidars who have converted to Christianity.

"This August house urges the Government of India to make necessary amendments to the Constitution to extend statutory protection, rights and concessions including reservation as provided to the people belonging to the Scheduled Castes under the Indian Constitution, also to the Scheduled Castes who have converted to Christianity, so as to enable them to avail the benefits of social justice in all respects," it said.

Even as the opposition, including AIADMK, welcomed the resolution, the BJP members walked out of the house. BJP's Vanathi Sreenivasan opposed the resolution before walking out with other party members.
Mumbai, April 19 : In a three-hour-long 'All Out Operation' conducted in the intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday, top officers and men of the Mumbai Police detected a large number of criminal activities and nabbed offenders of various crimes, officials said.

The operation was implemented from 11 p.m. on Tuesday to 2 a.m. on Wednesday with the heads of the five police regions, the Special Branch, security, 13 zones, 31 ACP divisions, and Senior Police Inspectors of Police of all police stations participating.

Guided by Mumbai Commissioner of Police Vivek Phansalkar, Special CoP Deven Bharti, and Joint CoP Satyanarayan Choudhary, the AOO comprised visits to police stations, special roadblocks and simultaneous 130 combing operations.

The outcome was impressive - of the 960 wanted/absconding criminals, the police nabbed 30, 81 were slapped with non-bailable warrants and arrested, and 135 drug peddlers were nabbed.

The police also registered 23 cases of illegal arms possession comprising knives, swords, etc, raided 51 illicit liquor and gambling dens with 62 offenders arrested, and took action against 32 who were externed from Mumbai.

At least 76 road-blocks were implemented under each police station jurisdiction in which 6,159 four and two-wheelers were checked, 2,872 were booked for flouting various traffic rules, and 18 were booked for drunken driving.

The police teams also swooped on 542 shady hotels, lodges, inns and inspected 398 sensitive locations around the city, said the officials.

An official said that this was part of the special drives taken up at regular intervals to make Mumbai safer and crime-free especially at nights.
New Delhi, April 19 : As summer begins, reports have surfaced about fire episodes at Battery Smart-operated swapping stations for electric vehicle (EV) batteries in north India.

According to a detailed report by YourStory, a battery swapping station belonging to the EV startup in the Janakpuri area of New Delhi caught fire earlier this week.

"The Battery Smart-operated facility housed about 50 battery packs meant for powering electric vehicles," the report said.

In January, a fire at another battery swapping facility in Badshah Nagar, Lucknow, killed one person.

In May last year, a small Battery Smart outlet in Noida caught fire, and two months later, "a similar incident took place at another Battery Smart facility in Delhi's Sitapuri region", according to The Ken.

The EV startup said in a statement that "a short circuit may have caused two battery packs to overheat, triggering the fire".

"Our IoT-powered system alerted us that two separate batteries were facing a spike in temperature. Within a minute, we informed the ground staff who followed protocol by switching off the main power source and deployed foam extinguishers. (But) they couldn't control the spreading which led to all the batteries catching fire. The fire department was alerted immediately," Khurana told YourStory in a statement.

With the temperatures soaring, the fear of EVs and batteries catching fires have come back to haunt people's minds. There were several EVs fire and blast incidents last summer, leading to deaths and strict government probes.

Battery Smart claims to be building India's largest and fastest-growing battery-swapping network for electric two and three-wheelers.

The Tiger Global-backed startup is co-founded by serial entrepreneurs and IIT-Kanpur graduates -- Pulkit Khurana and Siddharth Sikka.

As last reported, they are targeting a $17 billion swapping market by 2025 by aiming to have a swapping station at every one square km area.
New Delhi, April 19 : The Enforcement Directorate (ED) said on Wednesday that it has attached movable and immovable properties worth Rs 39.28 crore belonging to a person named Veerendra Kumar Ram and his family members in connection with a money-laundering case.

The properties include a farmhouse, flats, duplex bunglow, land in Delhi, Jamshedpur and Ranchi, and three bank accounts having collective balance of around Rs 36 lakh.

The ED had initiated a money-laundering investigation on the basis of an FIR registered by the Anti Corruption Bureau, Jamshedpur.

"The probe revealed that Veerendra Kumar Ram as the chief engineer in the Rural Works Department in Ranchi had generated proceeds of crime in the name of commission from contractors in lieu of allotment of tenders to them. The proceeds of crime thus generated were used by Veerendra Kumar Ram and his family members to live a very lavish lifestyle," said an ED official.

The official said that searches were conducted earlier at 30 premises linked to Veerendra Kumar Ram in different cities, in which various incriminating evidences were found and seized.

During the course of the search action, cash to the tune of Rs 40 lakh, seven high-end luxurious vehicles and jewelleries worth Rs 1.51 crore were seized, which were later found to be the part of the proceeds of crime acquired by the accused.

Veerendra Kumar Ram was arrested by the ED on February 23 after he was found guilty of money-laundering. He is presently lodged in Hotwar Jail in Ranchi.

Alok Ranjan, a cousin of Veerendra Kumar Ram, was also arrested on April 11 after he was found guilty of assisting Veerendra Kumar Ram in laundering the proceeds of crime.
New Delhi, April 19 : The Supreme Court on Wednesday said there is no data to show same-sex marriages is an elitist concept, while picking holes in Centre's contention that petitioners seeking same-sex marriage rights is "a mere urban elitist views for the purpose of social acceptance".

It stressed that the state cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the person has no control, and something which is innate cannot have a class bias.

The top court further added that incidentally, even if a couple is in a gay relationship or lesbian relationship, one of them can still adopt.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing some of the petitioners, submitted before a five-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud that a person's sexual orientation is intrinsic, it is connected with their individuality and identity, and a classification which discriminates persons on their innate nature would be violative of their fundamental rights and cannot withstand the test of constitutional morality.

At this juncture, the Chief Justice said: "The state cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the person has no control." Singhvi agreed and added, this is very simply put and that is also the essence of it.

The Chief Justice further added: "When you say it's an innate characteristic, it's also an answer to argument in response to the contention that it is elitist or urban or it has a certain class bias. Something which is innate cannot have a class bias... it may be more urban in its manifestations because more people in urban areas are coming out of the closet." He stressed that there is no data coming out of the government to indicate this is urban, no data at all. Singhvi replied that every averment in the Centre's counter- affidavit is without single survey, single data, or single test.

Senior advocate K.V. Viswanathan contended that his client is a transgender woman who was disowned by her family and later she rose to a prominent position in a multinational company, and for her to be branded as an urban elitist shows lack of grace.

Singhvi argued that those who seek marriage, they seek it for community and social validation of a relationship, sense of security it provides, and marital status by itself is a source of dignity etc., The Centre, in its application, has told the Supreme Court that demand for same-sex marriage is a "mere urban elitist views for the purpose of social acceptance", and recognising the right of same sex marriage would mean a virtual judicial rewriting of an entire branch of law.The central government had stressed that petitions which "merely reflect urban elitist views" cannot be compared with the appropriate legislature which reflects the views and voices of a far wider spectrum and expands across the country.

Singhvi emphasised that the most important is discriminatory exclusion of this class on only sex and sexual orientation, and added that marital status is a gateway to other legal and civil benefits such as tax benefits, inheritance, and adoption.

The bench - comprising justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, S. Ravindra Bhat, Hima Kohli, and P S Narasimha - noted that "incidentally, even if a couple is in a gay relationship or lesbian relationship, one of them can still adopt. The whole argument that this will create a sort of psychological impact on the child is belied by the fact that even today on the state of the law as it stands, once you have decriminalised homosexuality, therefore it is open for people to live-in together and one of you can adopt".

Earlier during the day, senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, representing some petitioners, submitted that in the Special Marriage Act (SMA), wherever 'husband' and 'wife' is used, it can be made gender neutral by using 'spouse', and 'man' and 'woman' should be substituted by 'person', while insisting that a large part of problem will be solved through this interpretation.

Rohatgi said the top court needs to push the society to acknowledge the same-sex marriage and this court, besides the power under Article 142 of the Constitution, has moral authority and it enjoys public confidence. "We rely on the prestige and moral authority of this court to ensure that we get our right," he added.

Rohatgi pressed that the state should come forward and provide recognition to same-sex marriage, which will help in leading a dignified life like heterosexuals.

The hearing in the matter will continue on Thursday.

The top court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging certain provisions of the Hindu Marriage Act, Foreign Marriage Act and the Special Marriage Act and other marriage laws, as unconstitutional on the ground that they deny same sex couples the right to marry or alternatively to read these provisions broadly so as to include same sex marriage.
New Delhi, April 19 : Slain gangster-politician Atiq Ahmed was first held in Delhi in 2008 from Ghalib Apartment in Pritampura by the Specisl Cell of Delhi Police in connection with the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in 2005.

At that time, Atiq used to be a Member of Parliament and was on the run in connection with the Raju Pal murder case.

"Atiq was hiding at Ghalib Apartment. We got a tip-off and a team was formed to nab him. At around 4 p.m. on December 31, 2008, we laid a trap outside Ghalib Apartments. Atiq was about to flee in his Honda City car when he was nabbed," said a source in the police.

IANS has also accessed a photo of Atiq in police custody following his arrest by the Special Cell in 2008.

"After the murder of Raju Pal, the UP police were also conducting raids to nab Atiq. The Special Cell had traced the cellphone of Atiq's shooter which finally led to his hideout in Delhi," the source said.

The source added that first the police got a tip-off that Aitq was hiding in the Jama Mashjid area, and accordingly a police team was sent there. But Atiq had changed his location by then.

"We then got information that Atiq would be coming to meet someone at Ghalib Apartment. Ten teams of police then surrounded the apartment to make sure that he doesn't escape. At 4 p.m., Atiq came outside and got into a Honda City car," said the source.

Inspector Govind Sharma, Subhash Vats and sub-inspector Vinay Tyagi intercepted Atiq's car with their Wagon R car after a short chase.

"As soon as we put a gun on his forehead, Atiq peed in his pants," the source claimed.

Atiq was then taken to the Lodhi Colony office of the Special Cell. He also spent a night at Tihar Jail.

(Atul Krishan can be approached at atul.k@ians.in)
New Delhi, April 19 : Amid rising cases of coronavirus across the country, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, P.K. Mishra, on Wednesday undertook a review meeting to oversee the level of preparedness and public health response to it.

According to sources in the know of things, Mishra advised officials to ensure operational readiness of hospital infrastructure till the sub-district level.

He also highlighted the need to examine the Covid-19 situation regularly and update advisories to guide the states.

Mishra also exhorted upon continuation of the ongoing time-tested strategy of Test-Track-Treat-Vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour among the people.

A presentation was made by Health Secretary Rajesh Bhushan during the meeting, where he provided an overview of the global Covid-19 situation.

He highlighted that India has been witnessing a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with the majority of cases being reported in eight states, namely Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan.

The Health Secretary further said that states have already been advised that they may take steps for procurement of the requisite Covid vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers at their end without any prior approvals from the Union Health Ministry.

Private hospitals in the states may also directly procure such vaccines from the manufacturer, it was informed during the meeting.

These vaccines once procured may be administered as per the existing Covid vaccination guidelines.
Kolkata, April 19 : Soon after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday denied claims of her calling Union Home Minister Amit Shah to request him to do something on the Election Commission withdrawing her Trinamool Congress' national party status, Leader of the Opposition in the state Suvendu Adhikari, who made the allegation, claimed that he will expose the details on this count by Thursday.

Just a few minutes after the Chief Minister refuted the allegations at a press conference, Adhikari issued a Twitter message claiming that she made the call to Delhi from her landline.

"For making the call to Delhi, you used a landline. I'd expose you in due time. Wait for my befitting reply tomorrow," Adhikari said in his Twitter message where he also used the term "Yeh Darr Mujhe Achha Laga (I like this feeling of fear)".

In another Twitter message released at the same time, he also sought to refute the Chief Minister's claims that the central agencies are deliberately arresting Trinamool legislators to reduce her party's numerical presence in the Assembly.

"Your MLAs got arrested as they were submerged in Corruption. Glad that your facade of 'Zero Tolerance' is coming off. You're defending the culprits & once again voicing your support for them who were recruited illegally. Shame on you. You're the Queen Bee of the Corruption Hive," Adhikari's Twitter message read.

On Wednesday, Banerjee said that she is even ready to resign if the allegations of her calling the Union Home Minister is proved. "But if they cannot prove these allegations, will they rub their noses on the ground?" she said while interacting with media persons at the state Secretariat.

On Tuesday while addressing a rally at Singur in Hooghly district, Adhikari claimed that immediately after the EC's announcement withdrawing national party status for Trinamool, Banerjee called up Amit Shah with the plea for retaining the national party status till the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

--IANS src/vd

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Mumbai, April 19 : Upping the ante against the ruling Shiv Sena-Bharatiya Janata Party alliance in Maharashtra, the Opposition Congress on Wednesday demanded a special two-day Assembly session to discuss the deaths of 14 persons after the 'Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony on April 16.

In a letter to Governor Ramesh Bais, state Congress President Nana Patole said that the deaths of 14 'Shrisadasyas' after the state-government's function was caused entirely due to the 'unplanned' arrangements by the 'irresponsible' officials.

"Considering the latest details that have emerged, questions have arisen whether the deaths of 14 innocent people were due to sunstroke or a stampede. This amounts to 'killing' and the state government is now hiding the truth," Patole claimed.

He said that around 20 lakh followers had turned up for the 'Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2022' conferred on reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari - revered as Appasaheb - by Union Home Minister Amit Shah at Kharghar in Navi Mumbai.

The event was organised at a cost of around Rs 13 crore but led to the deaths of 14 persons who were made to sit in the scorching sun for hours without a tent or marquee, proper drinking water facilities, etc., which was a "very serious and heart-wrenching matter", Patole said.

"The more shocking aspect is that along with sunstroke, there is news emanating that there was a stampede in the unplanned gathering. With around 500 people under treatment, the number of fatalities going up further cannot be ruled out," Patole warned.

He also accused the state government of pointing fingers at Dharmadhikari and others, and demanded that a case of culpable homicide be registered against all those found guilty.

The Congress, which has already demanded the resignation of Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy CM Devendra Fadnavis or dismissal of the government, will also organise media gatherings all over Maharashtra on April 24, Patole said.

Earlier, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) allies Nationalist Congress Party and Shiv Sena (UBT) had separately demanded a judicial probe by a retired judge into the tragedy, and special operating procedures (SOPs) for such mega-events, which has been partly conceded after the state government on Wednesday banned all open-air public gatherings between 12 noon and 5 p.m., and enhanced compensation to up to Rs 1 crore for the kin of each deceased person, along with free treatment to the injured.
empty tomb, inc.'s Mission Match Continues a Tradition of Calling the Church in the U.S. to Accountability

NEWS PROVIDED BY

empty tomb, inc.

April 19, 2023



CHAMPAIGN, Ill., April 19, 2023 /Standard Newswire/ -- As church membership and giving trend downward in the U.S., Mission Match offers a tool for churches to counter the trends.



Contents summary of this press release:

Church member giving as a percent of income and membership as a percent of population trends begun in the early 1960s continued downward through 2020.



Theologians and preachers reflecting on the church did not prevent the downward trends:



 Bernard Iddings Bell (1942 quotes from The Atlantic provided)



 John Wesley (1789 quote provided)



 Karl Barth (1963 TIME magazine quote provided)|



 Others listed



 Bernard Iddings Bell (1942 quotes from The Atlantic provided)  John Wesley (1789 quote provided)  Karl Barth (1963 TIME magazine quote provided)|  Others listed empty tomb's Mission Match is designed as a tool to help reduce, in Jesus' name, the rate of under-age-five child deaths in 40 countries, while hoping to reverse the downward trends among church members.

The 32nd edition in empty tomb's The State of Church Giving series finds membership and giving trends continued through 2020, the first year of the COVID pandemic. However, these trends began long before 2020. Although various church theologians have reflected on the condition of the church in the U.S., a strong downturn has been evident in church support since the 1960s.



As far back as 1942, Bernard Iddings Bell asked in The Atlantic, "Will the Christian Church Survive?" Bell, labeled on a cover of a 1944 TIME magazine, America's "brilliant maverick," had a degree from the University of Chicago, served as president of St. Stephens' College (now Bard College) while he also served as head of Columbia University's philosophy department, and lectured at Harvard, Oxford, Yale, Columbia, Chicago and Princeton, as well as many of the cathedrals in England.1



In the 1942 article, Bell identified general trends in the church which became broadly visible in the 1960s, according to empty tomb research.



Among Bell's comments in The Atlantic in 1942:

"... the Church was more and more regarded as a polite confraternity of occasional pious individuals, which had little or no social function except to lend a tone of respectability to a culture secularistic, man-centered, man-devised."



"Without a complete rediscovery of its own function, the Church is hardly likely to matter any more tomorrow than it mattered yesterday, or than it matters at the moment, which is just about not at all."

"... Christians have been too willing to come to terms with, and even to flatter, an essentially godless world."



"The function of the Church is, with complete conviction of the divine inevitability of what Christ reveals about life, to resist all lesser, carnal interpretations of life  resist them in love but with firmness and consistency, convinced that thus it may persuade natural man, turn him to the right-about, save him from conceit and folly and cupidity and from the destruction these engender."



"... the great mass of Christian people remain complacent, unaware both that the position of the Church in contemporary society is humiliating and that the cause of that humiliation is their own timid compromise with a secularism inconsistent with tenets the holding and advancement of which are the Church's chief reason for being. It is their ineffective protest which has brought the Church into its present disrepute. For the world at large their failure has been little short of tragic. For years that world has been hearing and heeding the assured and strident cries of the hawkers of pottage, while the trumpets of God have sounded faith, obscure, confused." 2



Bell wrote some two hundred years after the Industrial Revolution began to spread affluence in broader and broader circles throughout many societies.



On the other hand, in 1789, John Wesley, preached the following just a few decades after the revolutionary and far-reaching introduction of the steam engine, and two years before his death in 1791:

Of the three rules which are laid down on this head, in the sermon on "The Mammon of Unrighteousness," you may find many that observe the First rule, namely, "Gain all you can." You may find a few that observe the Second, "Save all you can." But how many have you found that observe the Third rule, "Give all you can?" Have you reason to believe, that five hundred of these are to be found among fifty thousand Methodists? And yet nothing can be more plain, than that all who observe the two first rules without the third, will be twofold more the children of hell than ever they were before.3

The mid-twentieth century was benefited by theologians trying to make sense of the world impacted by the change produced by common affluence. Reinhold Niebuhr, H. Richard Niebuhr, Karl Barth ("... take your Bible and take your newspaper, and read both. But interpret newspapers from your Bible"4), Martin Buber, and Paul Tillich also worked to explain the interaction of the church with the changing world.



On a more individual level, Billy Graham continued the crusades model with remarkable effect in the new television era, recording many decisions for Christ, preaching his last crusade in 2005.



Yet the trends in the decline in giving as a percent of income to the church, and membership as a percent of U.S. population, that began in the early 1960s have continued almost uninterrupted through 2020.



What is to be done?



empty tomb's Mission Match is working to develop a movement to counter the world's selfie preoccupation through a counter-demonstration of love. Mission Match is based on the idea that the church ought to be promoting Jesus' core values, including loving the neighbor as oneself. One part of that is to declare a core and defining conviction: No child under age five should die anywhere in the world from a treatable cause.



This year, over 1 million children will die because they lack access to simple treatments.



The church must declare, "This will not be, because Jesus loves the little children of the world."



The church in the U.S. continues to have one of the best distribution networks in the world, but that structure is underutilized.



Christians have incomes that allow them, along with the rest of the U.S., to spend an average of $144.90 on chocolate5 (a total of $48 billion) a year. The 2021 $430.9 billion soft drink revenue in the U.S.6 works out to $1,297 per person. Meanwhile in 2020, the average gift to a church was $959 in 2020, the latest year available.



With an estimated $16 billion more a year needed to help, in Jesus' name, make treatments available for little children, there's no question that church people in the U.S. have the resources to make an impact on these child deaths.



empty tomb's Mission Match is focused on 40 countries that were behind the goals for reducing the rates of child deaths as of 2015.



At this early stage, Mission Match is working to develop a model that can be expanded to impact these reduction rates.



Congregations can apply for matching contributions from $500 to $3,000, in $500 increments, for the new or expanded medical mission projects. Projects might include, for example, providing a portable ultrasound machine, helping to train midwives who will go into rural areas, or rebuilding a maternity clinic in a country ravaged by civil war.



The list of 40 countries is available at missionmatch.org on the 40 Countries page.



A church can find the application process at missionmatch.org on the Church Application page.



The first step to convince a world that it is wrong to disrespect the church is not to complain to the world. The first step is to act on Jesus' agenda for loving a hurting world.



1 "Bernard Iddings Bell"; Wikipedia; n.d.; <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernard_Iddings_Bell>; p. 1 of 2/8/2023 1:39 PM printout.



2 Bernard Iddings Bell; "Will the Christian Church Survive?"; The Atlantic; October 1942; <https://theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1942/10/will-the-christian-church-survive/306720/?utm_source=msn>; pp. 3, 4, 13 of 2/5/2023 2:35 PM printout.



3 John Wesley; "Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity"; Wesley's Sermons  Sermon 116; <http://www.godrules.net/library/wsermons/wsermons116.htm>; p. 4 of 10/29/2019, 10:28 AM printout.



4 "Barth in Retirement"; TIME; 5/31/1963; <https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,896838,00.html>; p. 1 of 4/18/2023 9:11 AM.



5 "31 Current Chocolate Statistics (Market Data 2023)"; Dame Cacao; 2023; <https://damecacao.com/chocolate-statistics/#9>; p. 2, 29 of 4/17/2023, 9:23 AM printout.



6 Chris Kolmar; "15+ U.S. Beverage Industry Statistics [2023]: Refreshing Trends, facts, and Stats"; Zippia; 3/6/2023; <https://www.zippia.com/advice/us-beverage-industry-statistics/>; pp. 1, 2 of 4/17/2023 9:33 AM printout.



SOURCE empty tomb, inc.



CONTACT: Sylvia Ronsvalle, 217-356-9519, research@emptytomb.org


Azerbaijan supplies over 130 mcm of gas to Romania in Jan-Feb

Declared gas exports from Azerbaijan to Romania amounted to 130.106 million cubic meters in January-February 2023, the Azerbaijani State Statistics Committee told Interfax.

Gas deliveries from Azerbaijan to Romania began in January this year. Their total value was more than $131 million.

Supplies to Romania accounted for 10.7% the total volume of declared gas exports from Azerbaijan in January-February 2023, and for 45.6% of declared gas exports to Europe. Declared exports to Europe amounted to 285.603 mcm.
Kolkata, April 19 : The fact that former West Bengal Education Minister Partha Chatterjee has been permitted to sport rings on his fingers while in judicial custody shows the extent to which he exerts his influence, the counsel of the Enforcement Directorate (ED) told a special court here on Wednesday.

Chatterjee is lodged in the Presidency Central Correctional Home since his arrest by the ED in July last year in connection with the multi-crore scam in the recruitment of teaching and non-teaching staff in state-run schools in West Bengal.

Chatterjee made a virtual appearance in the court on Wednesday for a hearing in the matter.

During the course of hearing, the ED counsel pointed at the rings he was sporting on his fingers, and said, "The jail code clearly states said that an inmate cannot keep with him items like ornaments, jewellery or metal watches. It is the duty of the jail authorities to ensure and impose the provisions of the jail code. This proves how influential he (Chatterjee) is." Chatterjee's counsel, while accepting the legal argument, claimed that his client is not supposed to be aware of the intricacies of the jail code.

The judge then asked Chatterjee to take off the rings, which the latter did. The judge also summoned the jail superintendent seeking a written explanation in the matter, to be submitted by 11 a.m. on April 26.

The court then extended Chatterjee's judicial custody till June 19.
Patna, April 19 : Amid the strong heat wave, the district administration in Bihar's Muzaffarpur decided to close the primary schools for three days, officials said on Wednesday.

The meteorological department has predicted strong heat wave and high temperature in Muzaffarpur district from April 20 to 22. The maximum temperatures of various districts of Bihar, including Patna, remains above 43 degree Celsius.

Hence, the district administration of Muzaffarpur has decided to close the schools till class 5 to save pupils from the heat.

The district administration of Patna changed the timing of schools on Tuesday, mandating that they will only run till 10.45 a.m. from Wednesday.

Meanwhile, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar took a high level meeting off the officials to analyse heat waves and drought situations in several districts.
New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi meets Apple CEO Tim Cook, in New Delhi, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.(Photo:IANS/Twitter) Image Source: IANS News

New Delhi, April 19 : Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and stressed that the company is committed to growing and investing across the country.

Cook, who is in India to launch the company's flagship retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi, thanked PM Modi for the warm welcome.

"Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India's future - from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment", Cook said in a tweet, posting a picture with PM Modi.

"We are committed to growing and investing across the country," Cook added.

Apple is ramping up its manufacturing in India, along with growing its retail presence.

Apple began manufacturing iPhone in India in 2017, and since then, the company has worked with suppliers to assemble new iPhone models and produce a growing number of components.

Amid the local manufacturing push and an upcoming widespread retail store strategy, Apple shipped $7.5 billion worth iPhones and iPads in India in FY22-23, according to CMR data accessed by IANS.

In FY23, Apple shipped more than 7 million iPhones and half a million iPads in the country, registering a 28 per cent growth for iPhone shipments, according to initial estimates provided by market intelligence firm CMR.
Shimla, April 19 : President Droupadi Murmu on Wednesday expressed concern over climate change impacting the ecology of the Himalayan region, including Himachal Pradesh.

In her address, after presenting gold medals to 10 students, including seven women, at the 26th annual convocation of Himachal Pradesh University in a simple but impressive function held here, she said that since its inception in 1970, the varsity has played a very important role in the field of higher education.

The alumni of this university have left their mark in various fields, including arts, medical, judiciary, sports, social service, politics and administration.

The President said the climate of Himachal Pradesh attracts people from across the world, and this region of the Himalayas is rich in fauna and flora.

"But climate change is affecting the ecology of this region also. It is need of hour to move forward together towards the goal of sustainable development while conserving the rich natural heritage of the state. Therefore, it is the duty of institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research and innovation keeping in mind the needs of the local community and the ecological challenges of the region and contribute in eco-friendly development." She said it is the fundamental duty of every citizen to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform. She told the graduating students that while entering a new phase of life they should connect their individual goals with the national goals and contribute to the development of the country by marching forward in their chosen fields.

A total of 99 students were given PhD degrees, including 59 women and 40 men, and 111 gold medals were presented to 34 men and 77 women.

Congratulating the degree holders and gold medalists, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, the Chancellor of the university, said it was a matter of pride that this convocation ceremony was organised in the presence of President Murmu.

He said it was an important occasion in the life of the students studying in this institution, when they were starting the journey of life to give it a practical form after completing their formal education.

Congratulating the university authorities, the Governor said it was a matter of pride that the National Assessment and Accreditation Council have once again granted 'A' grade accreditation to this university.

Expressing concern over the illegal trade of drugs in Himachal Pradesh, he said there was a need to launch a mass movement against this menace by taking students and youth along with them.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Sukhu greeted the students for their achievements in education and said that it was a moment of happiness that President Murmu had arrived in "Dev Bhoomi" Himachal Pradesh and graced the convocation function.

He said Himachal Pradesh University was his alma mater and recalled the memories of his student life. He also highlighted the rich history of the university and said many laurels had been brought to the state by its students in various fields.

The Governor honoured the President by presenting a Himachali cap and shawl, while the Chief Minister presented her a memento on the occasion.
Patna April 19 : An attempt by five armed robbers to target a bank in Bihar's Bhojpur district on Wednesday failed ignominiously after their weapons malfunctioned, police said.

The accused, wearing face masks, entered the Madhya Bihar Gramin Bank branch in Bitoli village under Shahpur police station on Wednesday afternoon, held up bank employees and customers at gun point, and gave the cashier an empty bag to fill cash in.

When the cashier refused, one of the robbers fired at him but his gun jammed.

Another robber also tried to fire at the cashier but his gun also did not work. As bank employees confronted them, the robbers fled the spot.

The bank employees immediately informed the local Shahpur police station of the robbery attempt.

"We have registered an FIR against 5 unknown robbers and efforts are on to identify them," said an officer of Shahpur police station.
Srikakulam : , April 19 (IANS) Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy on Wednesday laid the foundation for Mulapeta Port in Srikakulam district.

The port, to be developed at a cost of Rs 4,362crore, would provide direct and indirect employment to 25,000 people and play a key role in handling exports and imports from other states including Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.

The Chief Minister also laid foundations for Rs 360 crore fishing harbour at Budagatlapalem at Etcherla mandal, Rs 176.35 crore Vamsadhara Lift Irrigation Project that would take water to Hiramandalam reservoir from Gotta Barrage and the Rs 300 crore Mahendratanaya offshore Reservoir Project works.

Addressing a public meeting on the occasion, he reiterated the government's commitment to change the landscape of north coastal Andhra and ensure tangible balanced regional development.

He announced that he would be shifting to Visakhapatnam in September.

Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the Mulapeta Port and other developmental works would change the face of the Srikakulam district transforming the local villages into cities like Mumbai and Chennai over a period of time.

Regretting that the north Andhra region remained backward for several decades despite the area being rich with the waters of the Vamsadhara and Nagavali rivers, he said that the Mulapeta Port, which is expected to be completed in two years, would encourage growth of ancillary industries in the surrounding areas and would provide employment to the local youth.

The Mulapeta Port, being built in an area of 1250 acres with an annual capacity of 23.5 million tonnes, will have four loading and unloading berths to handle exports and imports of coal, multipurpose containers and the general cargo. He hoped that the port's handling capacity would reach 100 million tonnes.

The Rs 15 crore Manchineellapeta fish land centre would be upgraded as a fishing harbour soon, he said, adding that the fishing harbours in the district would encourage deep sea fishing and prevent migration of fishermen to other parts of the country.

He said he would complete the Mahendra Tanaya and Vamsadhara second phase stage-2 works which were initiated by his father and former Chief Minister Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy.

The works of the Uddhanam Kidney Centre have reached the final stage, he said, adding he would inaugurate it in June.

The Rs 700 crore safe drinking water project to bring purified water to Uddanam area from Hiramandalam Reservoir would be ready in the next few months and permanently end the recurrence of kidney ailments, he said.

Vamsadhara Lift Irrigation Project would help stabilise the Ayacut with the supply of 19 TMC of water helping the farmers opt for second crop similar to coastal districts, he said.

The linking of Vamsadhara-Nagavaali Rivers would be completed in August while the foundation stone for the Rs 265 crore water works extension project in Pathapatnam constituency will be laid in June, he said.

He said he would lay foundation stones for the Bhogapuram airport and Adani Data Centre on May 3 and for the Tribal University at Saluru in June and added that all these developmental work would totally change the facade of the Srikakulam district and north Andhra.

The establishment of four new medical colleges besides a tribal engineering college in the region would also serve the growing medical needs of the locals and elevate the lives of the tribal youth, he added.
New Delhi, April 19 : The Delhi High Court has directed a man to return the custody of his nine-year-old son to his ex-wife as per the mutual decision taken at the time of their divorce.

The man had taken the child away from his mother on the pretext of spending some time with him.

A division bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Gaurang Kanth, dealing with a plea by the woman seeking direction to her ex-husband to produce their son, directed the station house officer (SHO) of the police station concerned to make sure that the court's order is complied with and to provide his contact number to the woman for her to get in touch with him in case of any difficulty.

"...reserving liberty to respondent no.2 (man) to file an appropriate proceeding seeking custody of the minor son of the parties in accordance with law; the minor son is restored into the care and custody of his biological mother, the petitioner herein," the bench said.

The high court said there is no manner of doubt that at the time of obtaining a decree of divorce by mutual consent, the former couple, both lawyers, had entered into a legal and binding arrangement in relation to the custody and visitation of their minor son.

"It is further evident that the terms and conditions in relation to the custody/ visitation of the minor son has been complied with by the parties till March 18, 2023, after which respondent no. 2 took away the minor child on a false pretext of spending the day with him," the court noted.

It is claimed by the woman that when she had gone to her son's school for a parent-teacher meeting last month, her ex-husband was also present.

The man, on the contrary, said that he wished to spend the day with the son and the petitioner acceded to his request in good faith, the petition said.

However, the man backed out later and refused to give back the son to the woman.

It was the man's submission before the court that the woman was unfit to look after the well-being of their son and so he was constrained to take the minor's custody.

The high court, however, noted the woman undertook to comply with her obligations in accordance with the terms and conditions of the settlement agreement arrived at between the parties.
Hyderabad, April 19 : Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL) has disputed Union Minister G. Kishan Reddy's claim that it has slipped into debts of Rs 10,000 crore. clarifying that it has deposits of Rs.11,665 crore.

Hours after Tourism and Culture Minister G. Kishan Reddy addressed a news conference in Delhi to allege that due to "inefficiency" of the BRS government of Telangana, Singareni's debts were mounting by day, the public sector company released a statement saying it's ridiculous to say that Singareni, which has revenues of Rs 27,000 crore, has huge debts.

Without naming the minister, the SCCL stated that false propaganda was being carried out against it. The company claimed that it is marching ahead with sustainable financial performance.

The SCCL, in which Telangana has 51 per cent stake, said it has deposits of Rs 11,655 crore and it is earning Rs 750 crore every year in the form of interest every year.

The coal company said that its turnover is Rs 32,000 crore while net profits stand at Rs 2,000 crore.

The SCCL said out of Rs 5,300 crore loan raised for thermal power plant, only Rs 2,800 crore is outstanding.

The company management issued the statement after Kishan Reddy told a news conference that Singareni had a bank balance of Rs 3,500 crore in 2014 but it now has debts of Rs 10,000 crore.

He alleged that the BRS government was trying to eat away Singareni, remarking that Singareni which is like a goldmine for Telangana was becoming a victim of BRS corruption.

Kishan Reddy also said that if the Telangana government tried to invest the money of SIngranei into Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Singareni employees will not keep quiet. He was referring to the plans of the Telangana government to bid for Visakhapatnam Steel Plant through the SCCL.

The central minister alleged that the interference of the BRS government and Chief Minister KCR's family into Singareni has gone up. He remarked that Singareni had become a pocket company of the KCR family.

Kishan Reddy said KCR government was spreading lies that the Centre was trying to privatise Singareni.
New Delhi, April 19 : Apple CEO Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and stressed that he is committed to growing and investing across the country, as they discussed with him tech-driven transformations happening in the country.

Cook, who is in India to launch the company's flagship retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi, thanked PM Modi for the warm welcome he received.

"Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India's future - from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment," Cook said in a tweet, posting a picture with PM Modi.

"We are committed to growing and investing across the country," Cook added.

PM Modi replied: "An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India".

Apple is ramping up its manufacturing in India, along with growing its retail presence.

Apple began manufacturing iPhone in India in 2017, and since then, the company has worked with suppliers to assemble new iPhone models and produce a growing number of components.

Amid the local manufacturing push and an upcoming widespread retail store strategy, Apple shipped $7.5 billion worth iPhones and iPads in India in FY22-23, according to CMR data accessed by IANS.

In FY23, Apple shipped more than 7 million iPhones and half a million iPads in the country, registering a 28 per cent growth for iPhone shipments, according to initial estimates provided by market intelligence firm CMR.
Washington, April 19 : It does not have the megaphone that enables other world bodies broadcast their small and big achievements, such as the UN and its star body the Security Council, the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and the European Union. But the Commonwealth of Nations has not only built up an impressive list of outcomes, it has, away from the limelight, led on key global issues, such as climate change.

Commonwealth Secretary General Patricia Scotland says this organisation of 56 member nations remains effective, relevant and engaged. But what sets it apart from the others is that it is like a family, tied by shared "love" and concern for each other.

Scotland spoke to IANS on the sidelines of the annual Spring Meetings of the World Bank group.

Excerpt from the interview: IANS: The Commonwealth of Nations has 56 members and it's home to a quarter of the world's humanity but it is barely heard on issues of significance; Ukraine, for instance, or the present global financial crisis.

Scotland: Since 2016, the Commonwealth has really been at the forefront of a number of quite pivotal issues. We looked at the issues of debt; we looked at the issues of climate change; we looked at the issues in relation to corruption, looked at the issues in relation to women and domestic violence or the issues in relation to democracy and freedom.

On all of these issues, the Commonwealth has been right at the front, particularly in relation to climate. We are here right now (at the Spring Meetings) talking about the reform of the IFIs (International Financial Institutions), the need for us to have a universal vulnerability index because looking at the GNI as the arbiter for what should happen on climate finance is just not working.

Of course, the issues in relation to Ukraine are important to the Commonwealth in terms of food insecurity and the rise in the cost of living about which we've been talking a great deal because we identified that these exogenous shocks, which happened in one area, (have) disproportionate deleterious impact on our member states. So I think if what we are saying isn't being covered as extensively as it could or should be, we are trying to change that's why we're having these conversations.

IANS: Do you think there is a need for the Commonwealth to change to adapt to this new world that is emerging, a multipolar world where you no longer have just the US and the Soviet Union or now Russia; there is China? Scotland: If you look at what has happened in the last seven years (since she took over as Secretary General) is that the Commonwealth is growing. It's one of the only organisations which more countries are joining and (to which) more countries that left have come back. (Togo and Gabon, which were never parts of the Commonwealth, became last year its 55th and 56th members). They've been looking at the change that has happened in the Commonwealth, particularly in those countries, which are similar to them, who are in the Commonwealth, but who are doing exponentially better. And these countries are saying why. And why the Commonwealth is becoming so attractive, I understand, is because it's a values driven organisation, not dependent on treaty, concentrating on common interests.

The world has become a very unstable and quite worrisome place. People are looking for friends. They're looking at friends with whom they can deal and work not only in sympathy, but also in safety. As the rest of the world becomes more difficult, I think people are attracted to an organisation which is bound on values and is based on equality because in the Commonwealth, it doesn't matter what size you are, how rich you are, how poor you are, you are equal.

If you look back at 2018 you remember, on the multilateral arena, nobody could agree on anything. You almost thought at one stage they couldn't even agree on a cold custard tart. And they thought therefore it would be impossible for those areas which were so difficult and so complex globally to be agreed anywhere. If you look at our Commonwealth communique, the Commonwealth came together - we were then 53 countries -- and we agreed on everything. We agreed on a new connectivity agenda. We agreed to create the blue charter (to work together on a fair, inclusive and sustainable approach to ocean protection and economic development), we agreed on what we were going to do on women, on every single issue. And it was extraordinary because here you had countries of all shapes, all sizes, five different regions across six oceans agreeing on everything.

We had a meeting of trade ministers and people said look, you know WTO was very difficult. You're never gonna get anyone to agree on and you know how disparate that family is. The whole Commonwealth came together and we agreed - every Trade Minister agreed - on a Trade Ministers' communique. The world looked at us 'how on earth'. And the reason is not only do we respect each other, we listen to each other. But we don't just look at what divides us, we look at what joins us. What we've been able to do in the Commonwealth is to work attention around that consensus.

IANS: Do you see the Commonwealth as a kind of model for all of the world organisations? Scotland: I think the Commonwealth has been, and can continue to be a pathfinder. I'll just give you a few examples. There was the original example in relation to race and apartheid -- it was the Commonwealth who was ahead. But look at (the issue of) climate. In the 1989 Langkawi declaration in Malaysia, the Commonwealth identified that climate posed an existential threat. So three years before the original COP (Conference of Parties, the top decision making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change), the Commonwealth came together and said, if we don't do this, this is what's going to happen.

Look at what happened in terms of HIPIC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) -- the highly indebted countries and debt forgiveness. Who came up with that idea? It was the Commonwealth.

Look at what then happens in relation to the climate. In 2013, the Commonwealth said what do you believe in, what's the direction? It took them two years, three months, 11 days to come up with a charter, one to 16. If you then look at what the UN did in 2015, one to 16 is one to 16 of our charter and SDG (Sustainable Development Goal number) 17 is partnership, which is in our preamble.

(If) you come to our meetings, what you'll see is people care about each other. You know, people don't like this word love (but) they do love each other and if you love someone, it hurts you to see them suffer and you want to do that. So that's what we have.

IANS: India holds the G20 presidency for 2023. Any expectations? Scotland: India, the Commonwealth's largest member and the current G20 chair, has a unique opportunity to leverage its position to advocate for inclusive, transparent and consultative reforms of the international financial institutions among its G20 members. India can also push for inclusive financial policies and advocate for debt relief.
USA preparing new package of military aid to Ukraine with ammunition for HIMARS, artillery

The United States will send ammunition for HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and artillery shells to Ukraine as part of another package of military assistance to Ukraine, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre has said on Wednesday.

"The package will include more ammunition for US-provided HIMARS rocket systems and anti-armor systems, as well as additional artillery rounds," she said at a briefing.

She said this is the 36th time that the United States has transferred weapons from its arsenals to Ukraine, and added that more detailed announcements on this subject will be made later by the Pentagon and the State Department.

The United States announced the recent tranche of military aid to Kyiv on April 4.
New Delhi, April 19 : Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the Global Buddhist Summit on Thursday in the national capital.

"At 10 a.m. tomorrow, 20th April, will address the Global Buddhist Summit in Delhi. This Summit brings together various people who have worked to further popularise the ideals of Lord Buddha," he tweeted.

On April 17, Culture and Tourism Minister G. Kishan Reddy had said that Modi will inaugurate the first Global Buddhist Summit on April 20 in the national capital.

The Ministry of Culture in collaboration with its grantee body International Buddhist Confederation (IBC) will be hosting the Global Buddhist Summit (GBS) on April 20-21 at the Ashok Hotel.

Reddy had told media persons that for the first time prominent Buddhist monks from various countries will visit India and take part in the summit.

He had added that in the summit discussions will be held on how to deal with contemporary challenges, with the help of Buddhist Philosophy and thoughts.

This global summit will mark the significance and importance of India in Buddhism, as Buddhism was born in India.

The minister had also said that the theme of the two-day summit is "Responses to Contemporary Challenges : Philosophy to Praxis".
Dharwad : , April 19 (IANS) The murder of a BJP Yuva Morcha activist has taken a political in Karnataka turn with Union minister Pralhad Joshi dubbing it as a political murder.

Joshi's remarks came after BJP Yuva Morcha activist and Koturu gram panchayat vice-president Praveen Kammara (36) succumbed to stab injuries on Tuesday night.

Bengaluru South MP and Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM) President Tejasvi Surya has also called it a political murder.

The issue is likely to benefit the BJP to consolidate its vote bank in the backdrop of former CM Jagadish Shettar's exit from the party, according to sources in the Hubballi-Dharwad region.

Joshi on Wednesday visited the SDM hospital in Dharwad to pay his condolences to Kammara's family, and termed his killing as a political murder.

Kammara had reportedly intervened in a quarrel between two groups during the Udachamma religious festival in Koturu village, and pacified both sides. However, he was later fatally stabbed by a group of people.

"BJP's grassroots level workers are being murdered. Earlier, BJP leader Yogesh Gowda was killed and now Kammara has been hacked to death," Joshi said.

"We have asked the police to initiate suitable action in the matter. The state government must take stern action and deliver justice to the victim's family. We are with his family. The exact reason for the murder is yet to be ascertained. But, we have got information that it was a political murder.

"Kammara was a good person who shared harmonious relationship with everyone. He belonged to the Lingayat-Panchamasali community. I am not alleging anything against anyone. We will compensate the family," Joshi said.

Earlier, Tejasvi Surya said, "With deep anguish, we share the news of the murder of BJYM Dharwad unit executive member Praveen Kammara. He was brutally murdered by suspected political rivals late last night. BJYM demands immediate arrest of the killers." Dharwad SP Lokesh Jalsagar said that the police have detained four accused persons, including the prime suspect Raghavendra Pathath.
New Delhi, April 19 : Three members of Rajesh Bawania gang, wanted in several cases including abduction for ransom and attempt to murder but absconding since 2021, were nabbed after a shootout in Delhi's Sarojini Nagar area early on Wednesday, a Delhi Police official said.

The accused were identified as Sachin alias AK-47, a resident of Haryana's Jind, and rince and Ritik alias Gabbu, both residents of Loni, Ghaziabad.

Police have also recovered a sophisticated automatic Italian pistol of .32 bore along with two bullets, two country-made pistols along with two bullets and four empty cartridges of different bore.

According to police, information was received regarding three wanted and active criminals of Rajesh Bawania gang, who would come in the area of Sarojini Nagar for committing some heinous crime.

"Acting on the inputs, a team at around 1.10 a.m, intercepted a bike which was coming from the Ring Road towards Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh Road. There were three persons on the bike, who were signalled to stop by police, but the accused started firing on the police team," Special Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch, Ravindra Singh Yadav said.

"One bullet also hit Sub-Inspector Hemant on his kevlar jacket while head constable Sanjay had a narrow escape," he added.

During the ensuing encounter, the police team also fired in self-defence in order to apprehend the assailants.

"Sachin got a bullet injury in his right leg, while two other accused -- Prince and Ritik -- were also overpowered by police officials. The injured assailant was immediately taken to Safdarjung Hospital for treatment," said the Special CP.

On interrogation, it was revealed that Sachin had committed four Bharat Bank (local bank) robberies at various places including Narnaul, Jind, and Rewari in Haryana.

"In 2021, he abducted one person for ransom and is still wanted and absconding in that case. He was avoiding his arrest and was on the run. He came in touch with other accused persons through a gang member of Rajesh Bawania gang. They came to Delhi to commit some heinous offence at the instance of gang leader Dinesh Karala (who is presently in Tihar Jail)," said the Special CP.

Another accused Prince is addicted to liquor and drugs, for which he, along with his associates, started to commit robberies.

"He is indulged in many robberies and attempt to murder. He along with co-accused Ritik persons fired on a hotel at Teela Mod on April 7, 2023 and was on the run after this incident," said the official.

"Ritik was desperate to take revenge for the murder of his father, who was shot dead by the rival gang members. He joined the Rajesh Bawania Gang with his friend Prince," said the official, adding that further investigation is under way.
New Delhi, April 19 : The IIT Council has decided unanimously to adopt the National Credit Framework (NCrF) and implement it across all IITs, a statement said on Wednesday.

The NCrF is a comprehensive credit framework encompassing elementary, school, higher, and vocational education and training, integrating creditisation of learning in various dimensions, that is academics, vocational skills and experiential learning including relevant experience and professional levels acquired.

The decision came after a presentation made by UGC Chairman M. Jagadesh Kumar at the meeting was held at IIT Bhubaneswar on Tuesday with Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan presiding, and Directors of all 23 IITs present.

"Adoption of the National Credit Framework by the IIT Council is a great decision since this will provide a better equivalence of credits obtained in general (academic) education, technical education, and skill and vocational education. It will encourage the rest of the higher education system to adopt and implement the national credit framework bringing a unified inclusive meta framework across the country," the UGC chief said.

He also said that the National Education Policy 2020 envisions making education more holistic and effective and emphasises the integration of general (academic) education and vocational education. A national credit accumulation and transfer system is essential to fulfilling this vision.

The IITs themselves took a lead role in conducting region-wise awareness workshops for teachers and administrators from school education and higher education, he added.
New Delhi, April 19 : A Delhi court on Wednesday extended the judicial custody of Nikki Yadav murder case main accused Sahil Gehlot and five others for 14 days.

The accused were produced in the court after the expiry of their custody and the Link Metropolitan Magistrate of Dwarka court extended their judicial custody till May 5.

Gehlot had allegedly strangled 23-year-old Yadav near Kashmiri Gate on February 10 and married another woman on the same day. Four days later, Yadav's body was found in a fridge at a dhaba, owned by Gehlot, in Mitraon village on the outskirts of Delhi.

The court had earlier pulled up the police for not producing the case diary of the murder and had asked the Investigation Officer (IO) to be present.

On Tuesday, the court then directed to preserve the Call Detail Record (CDR) along with the mobile location of accused, Lokesh Yadav.

Allowing a plea seeking the preservation of CDR, Link Metropolitan Magistrate Nitesh Goyal also permitted a plea for signing and pagination of the case diary by the IO.

Gehlot's father, Virender Singh, cousins Naveen (a constable in Delhi Police) and Ashish, and friends Lokesh and Amar are accused of hatching a conspiracy to get rid of Yadav, so he could go ahead with his wedding with another woman.

According to a senior police official, Gehlot was interrogated at length during police custody and disclosed that Yadav was trying to stop him from marrying someone else as they had already solemnised their marriage in 2020.

"She was pleading with him not to go ahead with the marriage fixed by his family with another girl on February 10. However, Gehlot along with his father, two cousins, and two friends hatched the conspiracy and planned to remove the deceased from their way," the official had said.

"He executed the plan and murdered her and informed other co-accused about it on the same day and then all of them went ahead with the marriage ceremony."
New Delhi, April 19 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has lodged a case of alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act against NGO Oxfam India on the request of the Centre, sources said.

The Union Home Ministry had recently directed the CBI to probe the alleged foreign funding violations committed by the Indian arm of global NGO Oxfam, after suspending its FCRA license.

Seven months back, the Income Tax Department carried out a search operations at Oxfam India office.

"The I-T officials had learnt through emails that the Oxfam India was trying to circumvent provisions of the FCRA. It planned to transfer funds to other entities registered under the FCRA," the source said.

Sources in the IT Department had claimed that tax evasions of crore of rupees in the guise of donation to political parties were detected by them.

The IT team had learnt from a report of Election Commission that a few political parties were allegedly given donations through a data entry operator by flouting rules.

"This was basically fraud-cum-tax evasion which was done in the name of donations to political parties," an IT source had claimed at that time.

It had been found that Oxfam India had been continuously transferring foreign contributions to various other entities in violation of rules. The funds being transferred by Oxfam to the Centre for Policy Research was a violation of the FCRA, which prohibits such transfers after an amendment that came in force on September 29, 2020.
New Delhi, April 19 : The second India-UK financial markets dialogue took place on Wednesday, where both sides discussed several areas with a view to deepen the financial services relationship -- focusing on sustainable finance, insurance, asset management, capital markets and payments and cryptoassets.

Richard Knox, director for International Financial Services at UK's treasury and Surbhi Jain, joint secretary in the economic affairs department of the Finance Ministry, co-chaired the meeting.

According to a joint statement issued by the British government, both India and the UK discussed existing collaboration between central banks on climate scenario analysis and stress testing, as well as capacity building and spreading awareness on climate risk and sustainable finance.

Moreover, it was decided that opportunities to collaborate around sovereign green bonds would be explored.

Both sides agreed to engage bilaterally on these areas in the coming months with the government-led sustainable finance forum in June to advance green cooperation followed by the ministerial Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) later in the year.

Following the government-to-government discussion, business leaders from the India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) were invited to the discussion.

Both governments welcomed the appointment of Bill Winters, group chief executive of Standard Chartered, as the new UK Chair of the IUKFP alongside Uday Kotak, managing director and CEO Kotak Mahindra Bank, as India Chair.
New Delhi, April 19 : The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) said on Wednesday that it has arrested a man named Santosh Madhav Sawant alias Abu Sawant, an absconding accused, after he landed at the Mumbai airport from Singapore in a case related to extorting money from a builder in Mumbai.

The CBI had registered the case against the accused in 2016 on the request of the Maharashtra government.

The case was initially registered at the Tilak Nagar police station in Mumbai on the allegations that the accused had extorted Rs 20 lakh from the builder and further attempted to extort another Rs 20 lakh by giving murder threat.

The victim had alleged that the accused and their associates were extorting large sums of money from the developers, who undertook redevelopment works in Tilak Nagar, Naidu Colony, Ghatkopar and other areas of Mumbai.

Sawant was absconding since 2005. A red corner notice was issued against him through Interpol in 2012. A request for his extradition was also sent to Singapore authorities through the Ministry of External Affairs.

"On landing at Mumbai airport, the absconding accused was detained by the immigration department and subsequently he was handed over to the CBI," said a CBI official.

Sawant was produced before a trial court in Mumbai which remanded him to judicial custody till May 2.
Chennai, April 19 : Experts from the National Centre for Seismology (NCS) will study the tremors and blast-like sounds felt in Natham and Vedasundar areas of Tamil Nadu.

This was announced by state Minister for Revenue and Disaster Management, K.K.S.S.R. Ramachandran, on the floor of the Assembly on Wednesday.

The minister was responding to a motion moved by DMK members I.P. Senthilkumar and S. Gandhirajan.

Ramachandran said that the state government will take steps to prevent people from any catastrophe.

"Last year also, these areas witnessed tremors followed by blast-like sounds 15 times. We conducted a study and found that there were no mines located in the area to generate blast-like sounds," the minister said.

Ramachandran said that the directors at the Centre for Climate Change and Disaster Management and the Centre for Disaster Mitigation Management at the Vellore Institute of Technology had also been asked to form a committee and study the tremors in these areas.
New Delhi, April 19 : In a major development, the Indian Commercial Pilots Association (ICPA) and the Indian Pilots Guild (IPG) of Air India have rejected the new pay structure proposed by the airline.

The primary bone of contention is the reduction in flying allowance from 70 hours to 40 hours every month under the new structure, which the pilots believe is unfair.

The two unions have warned of possible 'industrial unrest' if the management goes ahead with the new terms without their consent. While Air India has stated that it will "continue to engage with the remainder of its staff", the airline has taken a tough stance on the issue, saying that there are "no recognised unions in Air India".

This is the first wage revision offered by the Tata group-owned Air India since its takeover last year, and it will affect all 3,000 pilots across its four airlines - Air India, Air India Express, Air Asia India, and Vistara.

The pilots' unions have instructed their members to reject the new employment conditions and wage structure offered by the management.

An agreement has been put in place for the employees to sign by April 25, but the two unions have stated that they will contest the terms and conditions, with their pilots refusing to sign the revised employment and compensation terms.

The two unions have warned of potential industrial unrest if the company takes any coercive or victimising action against their members.

In a joint statement, the unions stated that the company reiterated that "all previous understandings, representations and agreements of whatever nature that have been entered into with us are null & void and that the company further has the right to change any terms and conditions".

"The term cost to the company for an assumed flying of 70 hrs is deliberately misleading and creates an impression of a generous compensation and accompanying benefits package. The actual guaranteed money being offered is only for 40 hrs. Effectively, any time a pilot is on leave or is unavailable due to recurrent training requirements or document/licence renewals, not to mention any sick leave, there is an automatic pay cut involved," the statement read.

"The so-called rationalisations of allowances is not in line with any industry practices as projected by HR. Further, blanket consent is sought for any leave or insurance policy that the company may come up with & which is subject to amendment or outright withdrawal.

"Suffice it to say that this is not an all-inclusive list but merely a selection of some of the most outlandish and labour-hostile provisions that we have come across to date. This is dishonourable and how the management is trying to force it down the employees' throats is outright unethical," it added.

"Nor has the blatant attack on our rights as workmen to bargain collectively or seek legal redressal for any injustice or victimisation gone unnoticed. Where is the company requirement all of a sudden to forcibly promote almost all the permanent workmen of the union to the so-called Senior Commander management cadre? It is clear from all this that there is a concerted effort to gut the unions and isolate pilots into individual boxes where they can be exploited and victimised at will by the HR department," the statement said.

Meanwhile, Air India's spokesperson has defended the new compensation structure, which includes parity among different groups, recognition of managerial and supervisory roles for experienced pilots, and individual contracts sent to pilots and cabin crew for necessary paperwork.

"The managerial and supervisory role played by the experienced pilots is also being recognised in the form of designating them as Senior Commander as also offering them a special monthly allowance. The contracts reflecting these enhancements were individually sent to the pilots and cabin crew for necessary paperwork," said the spokesperson.

The spokesperson also claimed that a large number of pilots and cabin crew have already accepted the new contracts, and the salary improvements and advancement opportunities they enable.

"The airline will continue to engage with the remainder of its staff through this process as currently there is no recognised union in Air India," the spokesperson said.
The U.S. Department of Defense announced on Wednesday a new package of security assistance to Ukraine, including ammunition for HIMARS missile systems, artillery rounds and anti-armor weapons, totalling $325 million.

"The Presidential Drawdown is the thirty-sixth such drawdown of equipment from DoD inventories for Ukraine that the Biden Administration has authorized since August 2021," the Pentagon said on its website.

The package, in addition to ammunition for HIMARS, includes 155-mm and 105-mm artillery rounds; tube-launchedm optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missiles; AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems; anti-tank mines; demolition munitions for obstacle cleaning; precision aerial munitions; and over 9 million rounds of small arms ammunition. It also includes four logistic support vehicles; testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair; port and harbor security equipment, as well as spare parts and other field equipment.

The United States will continue to work with its allies and partners to provide Ukraine with capabilities to meet its immediate battlefield needs and long-term security assistance.
Patna, April 19 : Senior BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Sushil Kumar Modi on Wednesday said attacks on the police frequently take place due to a "strong relationship" between RJD chief Lalu Prasad and 'Balu' (sand).

His remarks came two days after sand mafias attacked a Mining Department team in Patna district. A woman mining inspector was injured in the attack in Parev village.

Criticising Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Rajya Sabha MP said the JD-U leader has given the Mining Ministry to the RJD, and "since Ramanand Yadav is the minister, attacks on police and mining officials are taking place frequently in Bihar".

"The fear of sand mafias is waning due to the strong connection between 'Lalu and Balu' in Bihar. RJD leaders Subhash Yadav and Arun Yadav are the sand mafias. Lalu Prasad had given a ticket to Subhash Yadav to contest the Lok Sabha election from Chatra constituency in Jharkhand.

"Arun Yadav was booked under the charges of rape. Then he made his wife contest the assembly election and she became the MLA. These two purchased 8 flats of Rabri Devi for over Rs 5 crore. Sand mafias are doing political funding for the RJD," Modi tweeted.

"Over one dozen attacks on police and mining officials have taken place in the last six months. The sand mafias Bihta, Maner and Vikram have political protection. In one such incident, the sand mafias fired more than 1,000 rounds in this region. This is the reason why Nitish Kumar did not dare to take action against them," he tweeted.

In another tweet, Sushil Modi said: "As per the CAG report, the sand was transported through scooters, cars, ambulances etc. In the financial year 2022-23, the state mining department collection was Rs 500 crore less compared to the previous year."
Patna, April 19 : A man in Bihar's Aurangabad was arrested on Wednesday on the charge of allegedly threatening state Environment and Forest Minister Tej Pratap Yadav, police said.

However, accused Sunil Kumar Mandal claimed innocence, saying that he was a RJD supporter and had only contacted the minister over phone and requested him to withdraw the FIRs against six persons of the district.

Tej Pratap Yadav has a bike showroom-cum service centre at Kama Bigha Mor in Aurangabad.

The six persons had gone to the service centre on April 17 and had a dispute with the employees over some issue and were allegedly involved in vandalising the establishment.

In view of the damage, the service centre's caretaker Ajay Yadvendu lodged two FIRs against those persons and Mandal in the town police station.

As per the first FIR, Vikas Kumar had come get his bike serviced and got involved in a verbal duel with employees. Soon he called some of his friends and they pelted stones on the showroom and damaged property then.

Town police station SHO S.B. Sharan said: "We have registered an FIR for creating ruckus and damaging the properties of the showroom and another for threatening Bihar minister Tej Pratap Yadav. Sunil Kumar Mandal had called up Tej Pratap Yadav on Monday and threatened him to withdraw the FIR against alleged youths who were involved in damaging the showroom. We have arrested Sunil Kumar Mandal on Wednesday and produced before the duty magistrate who sent him to 14 days judicial custody." After the court hearing, Mandal told local media persons that he had called the minister and requested him to withdraw the case against the six youths.

"After the incident at the service centre, the accused youths came to my house and requested me to talk to Tej Pratap Yadav. Hence, I contacted him on April 17 and passed the request but he levelled allegations on me for threatening him. I have no capacity to threaten a powerful minister of the state," Mandal said.

He said that his family is a supporter of the RJD and "I am paying the price only for requesting him".
New Delhi, April 19 : The Supreme Court collegium, headed by Chief Justice of India D.Y. Chandrachud, on Wednesday recommended the appointment of Justice S.V. Gangapurwala as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

The collegium noted that the office of the Chief Justice of Madras High Court has been vacant for quite some time, since the retirement of Justice M.N. Bhandari, therefore, appointment to that office is required to be made.

In a statement, the collegium said: "Mr Justice S.V. Gangapurwala is the senior-most Judge of the High Court of Bombay and has been functioning there since his elevation on 13 March 2010. He would be demitting office on 23 May 2024. His experience of having served as acting Chief Justice in the second largest High Court in the country (with benches at Aurangabad and Nagpur and a seat also at Goa) during the last four months would be useful for him in dispensing justice as Chief Justice in the Madras High Court." It further added that besides, presently, there is only one Chief Justice from the High Court of Bombay and having regard to all relevant factors, the collegium is of the considered view that he is fit and suitable in all respects to be appointed as Chief Justice of the Madras High Court.

"In terms of the Memorandum of Procedure, consultation has been held with the consultee-Judge/s with a view to ascertain the suitability of Mr Justice S.V. Gangapurwala for appointment as the Chief Justice of the High Court of Madras. The consultee-Judge/s have concurred with the proposed appointment of Mr Justice S.V. Gangapurwala. In view of the above, the Collegium resolves to recommend that Mr Justice S.V. Gangapurwala be appointed as the Chief Justice of the Madras High Court," said the statement.

--IANS ss/vd

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Berlin, April 20 : The German government approved an amendment to the Buildings Energy Act, which will require newly installed heating systems to be powered by at least 65 per cent renewable energy from 2024.

"Existing heaters can continue to operate. Broken heaters can be repaired. But with new heating systems, the heat turnaround must begin now," Minister for Economic Affairs and Climate Action Robert Habeck said in a statement.

Germany is aiming to completely ban the use of fossil fuels in heating systems by 2045, Xinhua news agency reported.

To support the replacement of old fossil heating systems with new climate-friendly ones, the purchase is to be subsidised by up to 30 per cent.

The Association of German Cities is calling for improvements to the plans. "We know that we must now set the course for a climate neutral heating supply," Chief Executive Helmut Dedy told the German Press Agency (dpa) on Wednesday.

"But the goals, no matter how right they are, will come to nothing if there is a lack of tradesmen and suitable heating systems, deadlines are too tight and costs skyrocket, overburdening people overall," Dedy warned.

According to the German Environment Agency, the buildings sector reduced emissions by 5.3 per cent to around 112 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2022. However, the sector continued to exceed its emissions target set under the country's Climate Change Act.
New Delhi, April 20 : The University Grants Commission (UGC) has asked all universities across the country to allow students to write exams in local or regional languages.

The UGC has said even if the course is offered in English medium, students should be given the option to write answers in local languages during exams.

UGC chairman Professor M. Jagadesh Kumar has said that translation of original writing in local languages and use local language in the teaching-learning process at universities should be promoted in universities.

"Promotion and regular use of Indian languages in education is an important area of focus in the National Education Policy 2020. The policy emphasises the importance of teaching and communication in local languages. It stresses the need to promote communication in all Indian languages for better cognitive achievement and overall personality development of the learners," he said.

According to the UGC Chairman, the teaching-learning process in local languages has benefited students, especially from socially and economically disadvantaged groups. However, the academic ecosystem continues to be English medium-centric.

"If teaching, learning and evaluation are strengthened in local languages, it will increase the participation of students in teaching-learning, which will increase their success rate. This will specifically strengthen efforts to achieve the envisaged goal of increasing the Gross Enrollment Ratio in higher education from 27 per cent to 50 per cent by 2035," Prof. Kumar asserted.

According to the UGC chairman, higher education institutions have an important role in creating text books in local languages and promoting the teaching-learning process. There is a need to strengthen the efforts being made to encourage use of local languages in teaching, including the writing of textbooks in local languages and translation of standard books in other languages.

In order to implement these arrangements, the UGC has also sought several information from various universities. Under this, universities have been asked to list subject-wise textbooks which are available in local languages. Further, a subject-wise list of major subjects has been sought for which textbooks should be translated into local languages.
S&P 500 Security Report As the United States ranked as the worlds third most-breached country in 2022, its reassuring to see that S&P 500 companies are adopting a more proactive approach to protecting their sensitive data, said Kaushik Sen, Chief Marketing Officer at UpGuard.

UpGuard, the third-party risk and attack surface management platform, released the S&P 500 Security Report, highlighting significant cybersecurity improvements across the top 500 companies listed on US stock exchanges.

The report provides an in-depth analysis of the scale and sources of cyber risk in the United States by examining the security posture of all S&P 500 companies. The research compares data from 2023 with data from the previous year to identify industry trends and areas of improvement in cybersecurity.

Key findings from the S&P 500 Security Report include:



Over 75% of S&P 500 companies improved their overall security ratings in 2023.

All 11 industries within the S&P 500 improved their average overall security scores in 2023.

Email security remains the weakest risk category, although average scores have increased by 9% from 2022.

UpGuard collected publicly available data to assess risk factors known to contribute to data breaches, which were divided into six main areas: network security, email security, website security, brand security, phishing and malware, and questionnaire risks. The data was then aggregated and calculated by weight factors into an overall security rating.

The UpGuard platform generates security ratings based on how well companies configure their internet-facing systems to reduce the likelihood of being compromised. UpGuards proprietary scanning software monitors and collects billions of data points daily through trusted commercial, open-source, and proprietary methods.

As the United States ranked as the worlds third most-breached country in 2022, its reassuring to see that S&P 500 companies are adopting a more proactive approach to protecting their sensitive data, said Kaushik Sen, Chief Marketing Officer at UpGuard.

US businesses of all sizes should follow suit by reducing their critical risk areas to better defend against increasing cyber threats.

The full report is available for download at: https://www.upguard.com/lp/sp-500-security-report

About UpGuard UpGuard helps businesses manage cybersecurity risk. UpGuards integrated risk platform combines third-party risk management, security questionnaires, and threat intelligence capabilities to give businesses a full and comprehensive view of their attack surface.

Contact us: press@upguard.com
Universal Pure Acquires Texas Food Solutions Since expanding our Texas operations in 2021 with our Arlington facility, the stage was set for more growth in the region. The addition of the Texas Food Solutions assets will provide more redundancy and capacity for our customers, and those seeking HPP and integrated solutions all under one roof.

Universal Pure LLC (Universal Pure), a portfolio company of Aurora Capital Partners, today announced it has entered into a purchase agreement to acquire all High Pressure Processing (HPP) assets of Texas Food Solutions. Details of the agreement were not disclosed.

Since its founding in 2014, Texas Food Solutions has served food and beverage manufacturers in southeast Texas and Louisiana, providing HPP and food innovation solutions. With the growing interest and demand for integrated HPP and cold chain solutions, Texas Food Solutions and Universal Pure can better serve the industry by joining resources.

"After watching HPP adoption and Universal Pure's leadership across the industry for the past decade, this deal was a natural fit for Texas Food Solutions. We are pleased to be a part of their exciting future," commented Texas Food Solutions CEO, Brad Wilson.

The agreement will strengthen the core HPP and cold chain solutions in the region. Already the largest independent provider of High Pressure Processing (HPP) services in North America, Universal Pure now operates 22 HPP machines across its seven locations.

We are excited to continue growing to serve our customers. Since expanding our Texas operations in 2021 with the opening of our Arlington facility, the stage was set for more growth in the region. The addition of the Texas Food Solutions assets will provide more redundancy and capacity for our customers, and those seeking HPP and integrated solutions all under one roof, says Universal Pure CEO, Jeff Williams.

In addition to HPP, Universal Pure continues to provide cold storage and value-added cold chain services to leading food and beverage manufacturers and brands across the US.

_________________________________________________

About Universal Pure

Universal Pure is the largest provider of HPP and food safety solutions across the cold chain and is dedicated to helping ensure the safety and quality of food and beverage products. Universal Pure operates 22 HPP machines across a strategic facility network of locations in California, Connecticut, Georgia, Nebraska, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Texas. Through its facility footprint, totaling 1.1 million square feet, the company delivers an integrated end-to-end solution and is a trusted partner in refrigerated and frozen storage, HPP, beverage bottling, kitting and assembly, tempering, and other value-added cold chain services. For more information visit http://www.universalpure.com.
For us that our guests know that species care is our priority and that we ensure that we meet and exceed all animal welfare standards regulated by national and international associations. -commented Manuel Garduno, Corporate Manager of Marine Mammal Specialists.

Dolphin Discovery Puerto Aventuras, a member of The Dolphin Company family, the world's leading dolphin park operator and the number one dolphin company in the world, celebrated its 25th anniversary. During these years, it has managed to transmit its conservation message to thousands of visitors from different countries through its interactive swimming programs with dolphins, manatees, and sea lions, which are the result of many years of research and continuous work of veterinarians and marine mammal specialists. This effort is reflected not only in the public's preference but also in its international certifications in animal welfare.

The collaborators' passion and their special connection with the species in their care are based on always offering them the best quality of life and health. Some of the leading certifications that this Dolphin Habitat in Riviera Maya has are:



The Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums (AMMPA), is an association that oversees the procedures for animal care habitats and accredits the habitat where the species are kept, the quality of the food, as well as the training of specialists.

Certified Humane, a program of American Humane (HC), this accreditation is focused entirely on the physical and mental well-being of the animals.

International Marine Animal Trainers Association (IMATA), this certification was obtained thanks to the positive reinforcement techniques to communicate with the animals in their care.

"It is extremely important to us that our guests know that species care is our priority and that we ensure that we meet and exceed all animal welfare standards regulated by the national and international associations that have certified us," commented Manuel Garduno, Corporate Manager of Marine Mammal Specialists.

Dolphin Discovery Puerto Aventuras continues with its mission to offer unforgettable experiences in harmony with the environment while, at the same time, it is committed to environmental preservation and education.

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During Hispanic Heritage 2023, help teams adopt the "Scrappy Innovation" mindset with famed author and speaker, Ariel Coro. His approach helps businesses unlock new opportunities, overcome challenges, and drive growth in today's fast-paced and competitive market.

Renowned tech expert, entrepreneur, and leading Hispanic Speaker Ariel Coro is excited to announce his latest speech, "Scrappy Innovation," created for teams seeking to catapult their innovation efforts. Some of the worlds greatest organizations such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and many others credit their success to their scrappy beginnings. Initially, they had limited resources but an infinite potential and an unrelenting drive by its founders and early employees.

The new "Scrappy Innovation" speech equips ERGs, corporate and educational leaders, and their teams with a new resourceful mindset where solutions abound. This powerful session is loaded with valuable insights and practical advice based on stories and case studies that will stick, as it's based on feedback from years of presenting to corporate, educational, and non-profit audiences and carefully refined for maximum impact.

"Its not a mystery that over 40% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children, said Coro. Diversity is an essential ingredient in the Scrappy Innovation mindset. As an immigrant myself, I'm thrilled to offer this new speech that feels like a true catalyst for organizations looking to harness their innovation potential. By adopting the Scrappy Innovation mindset, businesses can unlock new opportunities, overcome challenges, and drive growth in today's fast-paced and competitive market.

Built upon the success of other speeches such as "Innovating with an Accent" and "Resourcefulness is in our Roots," which have received accolades from corporate, educational, governmental, and non-profit clients alike, "Scrappy Innovation" breaks down limiting stereotypes and mindsets that are stifling innovation in organizations of all sizes and it shows how diversity propels innovation by inspiring and empowering teams to adopt a feisty and resilient approach to problem solving.

Key Highlights of the "Scrappy Innovation" Speech for Hispanic Heritage Month:

Cultivating a Culture of Innovation: Coro demonstrates how leaders can foster a culture that encourages innovation, creativity, and resourcefulness, ultimately driving business growth and long-term success.

Practical Strategies for Teams: The speech provides actionable tactics and strategies that corporate teams can implement immediately to optimize resources, streamline processes, and boost productivity.

Embracing Failure and Resilience: Coro uses vivid examples to illustrate the advantages of learning from setbacks, adopting a resilient mindset, and encouraging team players to view challenges as opportunities for growth and improvement.

Collaborative Problem Solving: The speech highlights the importance of teamwork and collaboration, inspiring employees from diverse backgrounds to build strong relationships and work together to achieve common goals.

Adapting to Change and Technological Advancements: Coro discusses the necessity of staying agile and adaptive in an ever-evolving business landscape, ensuring sustained success in a world of rapid technological change.

This speech can be delivered as an in-person Keynote or virtually through your preferred platform, or as a hands-on workshop.

To book Coro to deliver the "Scrappy Innovation" speech for Hispanic Heritage Month or other governmental, educational, corporate, or ERG events, visit: https://arielcoro.com/scrappy-innovation.

About Ariel Coro

Ariel Coro is the top tech and innovation expert for U.S. Hispanic and multicultural audiences. An acclaimed author, sought after media personality and keynote speaker, Coros trailblazing career has propelled Hispanics in the U.S. to embrace tech education and leverage its capabilities for innovation. Coros book, El Salto, published by Random House Vintage Espanol in 2012, offered Spanish speakers a fresh perspective and practical guide for living in the digital age. A small business owner, start-up co-founder and advisor to several Fortune 500 companies, today Coro brings his innovation techniques to mainstream by invigorating corporate diversity and innovation.
Zuddl's badges in G2's Spring 2023 report From 6 awards last summer to ten times as many in Spring 2023, were absolutely thrilled to see our growing recognition as a leader in the B2B events and webinar space.

Zuddl, the unified SaaS platform for managing events and webinars, has been awarded 60+ badges in the Spring 2023 Grid Report released by G2, the worlds largest and most trusted software marketplace.

Key highlights from Zuddls wins include Leader (Virtual Event Platform and Webinar), Easiest to Use (Webinar, Event Management Platform, Event Registration & Ticketing) and Best Support (Event Management Platform, Event Networking & Matchmaking, Mobile Event Apps) to name a few.

From 6 awards last summer to ten times as many in Spring 2023, were absolutely thrilled to see our growing recognition as a leader in the B2B events and webinar space. We truly look forward to keeping up the momentum! said Bharath Varma, CEO & co-founder of Zuddl.

These rewards are a result of positive reviews from verified users compared to similar products in these categories. For inclusion in the report, a product must have received 10 or more reviews.

Rankings on G2 reports are based on data provided to us by real software buyers, said Sara Rossio, Chief Product Officer at G2.

For more details about Zuddls Spring 2023 recognition, read this article.

About Zuddl

Zuddl is a unified platform for events and webinars that helps event marketers plan and execute events that drive growth. Large organizations and associations across the globe such as Microsoft, Google, ServiceNow, the United Nations etc. trust Zuddl to host their events. For more information about the company, please visit http://www.zuddl.com
On Thursday, April 20, at 13.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference entitled "Social protection for military personnel," where the issues of the introduction of innovative technologies in the development of social protection of military personnel, monetary support for military personnel, prompt medical assistance for military personnel, social protection of military families, legal responsibility of military personnel will be considered. Participants include President of the Foundation for Reconstruction and Development of Ukraine, volunteer Artem Honcharenko; Doctor of Law, Professor, volunteer Ihor Kopotun; PhD in technical sciences, Associate Professor, soldier Ihor Pampukha; Doctor of Law, Professor, soldier Serhiy Petkov; President of the Association for Social Development through Law Inna Sylantieva (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration on the spot.
Milam & Greene Whiskey unveils Bobcat Single Barrel Bourbon The Wildlife Collection gives us an opportunity to isolate single casks to explore the impact of Texas weather on aging whiskey. The scorching Texas heat and sudden freeze events this past winter created a great deal of wood interaction and angels share making this whiskey a real flavor bomb.

Milam & Greene Whiskey is proud to unveil Bobcat Single Barrel Bourbon, the second release in the Wildlife Collection, a limited-edition series of cask-strength, single-barrel whiskies. The Milam & Greene Wildlife Collection showcases the effects of Texas Hill Country weather on aging whiskey and honors the local Texas wildlife that thrives in this beautiful, but often challenging environment. Bobcat Single Barrel will be available exclusively on the Milam & Greene Whiskey website and in the distillery tasting room beginning at 3:00 p.m. (CST) on Wednesday, April 26.

This extremely limited high-proof release is pulled from a single barrel: cask #207. It is named for the solitary, rarely seen bobcat of which Texas has two subspecies: the desert bobcat in the west and northwest, and the Texas bobcat, which ranges across the rest of the state. Much like the solo bobcat that left her tracks behind the Milam & Greene distillery in the winter of 2022, cask #207 is the last from its lot, aging in some of the most intense Hill Country weather conditions on record.

The Wildlife Collection gives us an opportunity to isolate single casks to really explore the impact of Texas weather on aging whiskey, says Milam & Greene Whiskey CEO and master blender Heather Greene. Our extreme temperature swings in Texas have the potential to speed up the aging. With Bobcat, the scorching Texas heat and sudden freeze events this past winter created a great deal of wood interaction and angels share making this whiskey a real flavor bomb.

The Wildlife Collection: Bobcat Single Barrel Bourbon

Milam & Greene Wildlife Collection Bobcat Single Barrel Bourbon was distilled in Tennessee with a mash bill of 80% corn, 10% rye, and 10% malted barley. It was barreled on March 15, 2018, and was bottled on March 31, 2023, at 119.48 proof, giving it depth and richness. Bobcat Single Barrel was aged more than four years in new American oak barrels with a #4 alligator char in Tennessee and then for 10.5 months in Blanco, Texas on the northside of the Milam & Greene Rickhouse 1, row 4, level 3, position 5 where it rested undisturbed, unrotated and without climate control. During its time spent in Texas, the whiskey weathered almost two months of triple-digit temperatures, an extended drought, and a multi-day ice storm that caused widespread power outages, significant tree damage, and effectively shut-down commerce in the state.

Bobcat Single Barrel is a complex bourbon with a russet muscat brown color. Its floral, rose petal scent is layered with old leather and maple syrup. The palate starts with demerara sugar chased by fresh-baked biscuit and oak notes, followed by a long finish with allspice and cinnamon.

This is an approachable whiskey that drinks a bit below its proof, says Rikk Munroe, Milam & Greene Whiskey distillery manager. When it is left to open up in the glass, Bobcat Single Barrel becomes intensely sweet on the nose. The palate, on entry, is just as smooth and sweet, evolving to toasted grain flavors on the mid palate. The lengthy, spicy finish begs for another sip. It is truly beautiful stuff.

Pricing and Availability

Milam & Greene Wildlife Collection Bobcat Single Barrel will be available for $99.99 only on the Milam & Greene website and in the distillery tasting room. This single barrel had a yield of just 209 bottles. Milam & Greene Whiskey has allocated 168 bottles available for sale online and 41 bottles for sale at the distillery. As a very limited release, once this is gone, its gone. The first release of the Wildlife Collection  Scorpion Single Barrel - sold out online in just 15 minutes. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each bottle of the Milam & Greene Wildlife Collection will go to benefit Texas Parks & Wildlife.

About Milam & Greene

Milam & Greene Whiskey is made by some of the worlds most experienced whiskey professionals, including CEO, master blender, and author, Heather Greene and 30-year whiskey veteran and master distiller, Marlene Holmes. The Milam & Greene team distills in Blanco, Texas on copper pot stills as well as in Kentucky on classic column stills, using its proprietary yeast recipe and mash bill. Aging takes place in rickhouses located across four states in casks with an assortment of char levels for a variety of flavors resulting in the most thorough array of casks made and collected by any craft distiller. These casks become the ingredients from which its award-winning American whiskey range is batched to create perfection. Milam & Greene Whiskey believes in using the best people and ingredients to create delicious, award-winning whiskey for whiskey lovers. For more information visit: https://milamandgreenewhiskey.com/. Connect with Milam & Greene Whiskey on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

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Ron Morris, Broker Associate at Mason & Morse Ranch Company Ron's cowboy nature and decades of ranch real estate experience is the perfect example of our, live it to know it, company values. Mason Morse Ranch Company is glad he is back in the saddle helping clients with their ranch real estate transactions.

After a five-year, semi-retirement, Ron Morris learned that he just couldnt stay away from the land and helping clients with their ranch and land real estate transactions. Growing up with a great family Ron learned early the value of hard work and to never compromise ones integrity; Being the person with faith and wisdom to know what to do and the courage and conviction to follow through.

I remain humbly grateful for the opportunity life has given me and am dedicated to using those skills and principles to once again activate my ranch real estate marketing and sales career, said Ron Morris. There is just something extremely special about American western ranches and the client relationship interactions.

Ron Morris will be joining Mason Morse Ranch Company, a Colorado based real estate firm licensed across the western U.S. As one of Americas leading brokerage firms that specializes in farm, land and ranch sales throughout Colorado, Wyoming and several more western states, the Ranch Company culture is bred from a foundation of cowboy ethics. Their professional real estate experience comes from actual boots on the ground, hands on experience farming, ranching, managing, guiding, hunting and fishing.

We have known Ron for a long time. His cowboy nature and decades of ranch real estate experience is the perfect example of our, live it to know it, company values. He is a true professional western ranch broker and one of the best in the business. Mason Morse Ranch Company is glad he is back in the saddle helping clients with their ranch real estate transactions," said Bart Miller Managing Broker.

To learn more about Ron Morris of Mason & Morse Ranch Company visit: https://www.ranchland.com/ron-morris

About Mason Morse Ranch Company

A leading provider of farm, ranch and recreational land brokerage services across the American west. Professional services include real estate brokerage, auction and market analysis. With roots dating back to 1961 in Colorado the Ranch Company specializes in helping clients buy and sell high-value and large acreage farm, ranch and recreational land properties. Combined, Mason & Morse Ranch Company agents offer clients more than 133 years of experience in real estate land sales and acquisitions. http://www.ranchland.com | Office: 877-207-9700
The Cape on Kiawah The Cape joins other South Carolina properties under East West Hospitality management, including the Waterfront on Daniel Island, the Tides IV in Mount Pleasant, and Anson House, 71 Wentworth and the Gadsden in Charleston.

East West Hospitality, a leading hospitality services company that actively manages a portfolio of high-end properties in sought-after resort destinations across the U.S., has been selected to provide property management services for The Cape on Kiawah, a highly anticipated new enclave of 78 oceanfront condominium residences and penthouses set to open on Kiawah Island in November 2023. Located on the last available oceanfront parcel on the island, The Cape is also home to The Cape Club, a new beach club in Kiawah Islands west end neighborhood.

An industry leader in property management, association management and vacation rental homecare, East West Hospitality will provide a suite of services to ensure the residences and amenities at the 14-acre year-round retreat deliver the highest quality experience for owners and their guests. From care and maintenance of the residences, common spaces and building exteriors to professional management of The Capes homeowner association, East West Hospitalitys South Carolina-based team of experts in engineering, finance and asset management will oversee all operational aspects of the luxury development.

The Cape is a stunning addition to the East West Hospitality portfolio of managed luxury properties, and we are delighted to deploy our Charleston-based teams considerable experience on behalf this iconic new destination, said Colleen Weiss-Hanen, President and Chief Executive Officer, East West Hospitality.

The Cape joins other South Carolina properties under East West Hospitality management, including the Waterfront on Daniel Island, the Tides IV in Mount Pleasant, and Anson House, 71 Wentworth and the Gadsden in Charleston. East West Hospitality now manages more than 130 homeowner associations and more than 7,300 residences across South Carolina, Colorado, California, and Hawaii, from condominiums and townhomes to luxury private residences, resort hotels, restaurants and retailers.

# # #

About East West Hospitality

East West Hospitality is a leading hospitality services company that actively manages a $6 billion portfolio of properties, including hotels, resorts, private luxury residences and vacation rentals, along with restaurant, spa, fitness, retail and commercial properties, in the most desirable leisure destinations. The company also provides in-depth asset and financial management services for more than 130 homeowner associations at high-end residential communities.

With more than 35 years of experience managing hotels, resorts and private residences, East West Hospitalitys vacation rental, resort operations, vacation homecare and asset management services are unparalleled. The company supports more than 7,334 vacation rental residences with boots-on-the-ground teams in every location, enhanced by a 24/7 call center providing personal assistance and destination expertise to guests.

Decades of experience managing hotels, resorts, vacation rentals and iconic private residences have earned East West Hospitality its reputation among guests and property owners as one of the most trusted names in the hospitality industry.

East West Hospitality was named the Vail Valleys Business of the Year in 2018 by the Vail Valley Partnership, Colorados Best Property Management Company by ColoradoBIZ Magazine and honored as one of the Top 50 Best Places to Work in 2019 by Outside Magazine.

For more information about East West Hospitality, please visit eastwest.com or call 970-763-7126.

Media Contact:

Murphy OBrien, Inc.

Dorie Pagnano | Sammi Belluccia

EastWest@murphyobrien.com

310-453-2539
Fanny bassist Jean Millington, drummer Brie Darling and lead guitarist June Millington at the photoshoot for the cover of their new album Fanny Walked the Earth. (Courtesy of Marita Madeloni)

PBS SoCal and KCET, Southern Californias flagship PBS stations, announced today specially curated programs to celebrate Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage Month. PBS SoCal and KCET continue its commitment to telling diverse stories with a robust lineup of 26 enlightening programs, documentaries and specials dedicated to amplifying Asian voices. Several all-new Asian American Pacific Islander Month documentaries will debut throughout the month of May including the world broadcast premiere of the award-winning documentary FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK. The program tells the story of two Filipina American sisters in the 1970s who challenged early barriers of race, gender and sexuality with their all-female, all-female rock band Fanny, revealing the empowering story of the women who set the stage for equality in the music industry today. Rare archival footage and interviews are featured with music icons Def Leppard's Joe Elliott, Bonnie Raitt, The Go-Go's Kathy Valentine, The Runaways' Cherie Currie, Lovin' Spoonful's John Sebastian, The B-52s Kate Pierson and more. The world broadcast premiere of FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK premieres on Mon., May 22 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., May 24 at 10 p.m. on KCET.

Ahead of the broadcast premiere on PBS SoCal, an exclusive screening of FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK will be held on May 16 at downtown LAs Grammy Museum with a Q&A discussion with award-winning filmmaker Bobbi Jo Hart and Fanny bandmates. And almost 50 years later, the group will reunite for an anniversary performance at the famed Whisky A-Go-Go nightclub on Sunset Strip on May 17 featuring special guests.

Another upcoming event on Fri., May 5 from 6:30 p.m.  8:50 p.m. hosted by Natural History Museum (900 Exposition Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90007) as part of the 2023 First Friday Season: Fandoms & Fantasy screening series will showcase an episode from KCETs Original Emmy-winning series Artbound: Giant Robot: Asian Pop Culture and Beyond. The screening and panel event is an intersectional celebration of prominent Southern California Asian American artists and creators of Giant Robot Magazine and will feature a discussion of pop-culture fandom and collections at the Museum. Moderated by filmmaker Renee Tajima-Pena a discussion panel will feature founders of Giant Robot Magazine Eric Nakamura and Martin Wong, artist James Jean and director Dylan Robertson. To learn more information about attending the event, please go to https://nhm.org/calendar/event-first-fridays-2023-may.

Throughout May, Southern Californias flagship PBS stations, PBS SoCal and KCET, will also feature other notable films that shine a light on AAPI experiences and filmmakers including the new AMERICAN MASTERS special Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV which highlights Korean artist Nam June Paik who went on to become a pillar of the American avant-garde in the New York art scene. Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun reads from Paik's writings describing his creative evolution and what led him to now be considered the father of video art. AMERICAN MASTERS: Nam June Paik: Moon is the Oldest TV premieres on Tues., May 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal.

PBS encore presentations highlights include Waterman Duke: Ambassador of Aloha which tells the story of five-time Olympic medalist and Hawaiian surfing icon Duke Kahanamoku, RISING AGAINST ASIAN HATE: ONE DAY IN MARCH which follows a community that came together following a critical moment of racial reckoning in 2021 and the INDEPENDENT LENS documentary The Donut King about the man who built a multi-million-dollar donut empire up and down the West Coast.

KCET and PBS SoCal also create a variety of locally-produced programs dedicated to a richer and more inclusive Southern California experience, helping residents understand and connect with diverse communities in documentary series that include ARTBOUND, BROKEN BREAD, THE MIGRANT KITCHEN and LOST LA.

All KCET original programs can be found on the free PBS Video App and are available to stream on the KCET and PBS SoCal websites where digital resources dedicated to informing and educating the community on topics of equity and anti-racist education can also be found.

Select content slated to air on PBS SoCal and KCET during the next month is listed as follows (*schedule subject to change):

THE REGISTRY  Tues., May 2 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal

This film breaks open the hidden history of the US Army's Military Intelligence Service (MIS) during World War II -- a story made possible because of a few aging Japanese American veterans with a little Internet savvy and a lot of determination.

REEL SOUTH: South By South Korea  Sat., May 6 at 6 p.m. at KCET

Two films bridge the American South and the Korean Peninsula, showcasing the historical and contemporary currents connecting these regions. From stories about one restaurant's overnight fame and the perils of celebrity culture, and another chronicling the overlooked crises of motherhood and adoption, comes a clearer complexion of Korean-American life at home and abroad.

LOST LA: From Little Tokyo to Crenshaw  Sat., May 6 at 9:30 p.m. on KCET

Japanese-Americans returning from World War II incarceration camps rebuilt their community in LAs Crenshaw area. In this episode, walk through Little Tokyo, explore the archives at the Japanese-American National Museum, share a meal at historic Taks Cafe, shoot hoops at Dorsey High and consider how the neighborhoods diverse history intersects with community-building efforts today.

RISING AGAINST ASIAN HATE: ONE DAY IN MARCH  Sat., May 6 at 10 p.m. on KCET

Explore the fight against Asian American hate following the March 2021 mass shootings at three spas in Atlanta. Examine how this critical moment of racial reckoning sheds light on the struggles, triumphs and achievements of AAPI communities.

STORY OF CHINA WITH MICHAEL WOOD: Ancestors/Silk Roads and China Ships  Sun., May 7 at 4 p.m. on KCET

Explore China's early history with host Michael Wood as he joins a million people at a festival devoted to ancient gods, hear the tale of China's bloodthirsty First Emperor and travel the Silk Road to discover the brilliant Tang dynasty.

STORY OF CHINA WITH MICHAEL WOOD: Golden Age/The Ming  Sun., May 14 at 4 p.m. on KCET

See the stunning achievements of two of China's most brilliant dynasties: the Song, creators of a Chinese Renaissance, and the Ming, builders of the Great Wall and the Forbidden City.

AMERICAN MASTERS: Nam June Paik: Moon Is The Oldest TV  Tues., May 16 at 9 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., May 17 at 9 p.m. on KCET  All New!

See the world through the eyes of Nam June Paik, the father of video art and coiner of the term "electronic superhighway." Experience the acclaimed artist's creative evolution, as Academy Award nominee Steven Yeun reads from Paik's own writings about his work transforming modern image-making with his sculptures, films and performances.

INDEPENDENT LENS: Try Harder!  Tues., May 16 at 11 p.m. on PBS SoCal

At Lowell High School, San Franciscos academic pressure cooker, the kids are stressed out. With a majority Asian-American student body, high-achieving seniors share their dreams and anxieties about getting into a top university.

AMERICAN MASTERS: Waterman  Duke: Ambassador of Aloha  Thurs., May 18 at 7:30 p.m. on PBS SoCal

Jason Momoa narrates the inspiring story and considerable impact of five-time Olympic medalist and surfing icon Duke Kahanamoku. He shattered swimming records and globalized surfing while overcoming racism in a lifetime of personal challenges.

STORY OF CHINA WITH MICHAEL WOOD: The Last Empire/The Age of Revolution  Sun., May 21 at 4 p.m. on KCET

Journey back in time to see the splendor of the last Chinese dynasty, the Qing. Witness the fateful First Opium War, which sparked the fall of the empire, and, after the 20th-century revolutions, the birth of today's China.

FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK  Mon., May 22 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal and Wed., May 24 at 10 p.m. on KCET  All New!

The story of a Filipina American garage band that morphed into the ferocious rock group Fanny. Hailed as the female Beatles, FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK tells the little-known story of the first all-female band signed to a major record label with a multi-album deal. Their five critically acclaimed albums made Fanny a groundbreaking act in spite of its little-known history in music.

ARTBOUND: Giant Robot: Asian Pop Culture and Beyond  Wed., May 24 at 9 p.m. on KCET

Giant Robot created an appetite for Asian and Asian American pop culture, exploring Sawtelle Boulevard as a Japanese American enclave, and ultimately resulted in a lasting legacy of Asian American artists that achieved worldwide recognition. The film features interviews with Margaret Cho, Takashi Murakami and Daniel Wu among others.

POV: Our Time Machine/Negative Space  Sat., May 27 at 11 p.m. on KCET

When artist Maleonn realizes that his father is suffering from Alzheimer's disease, he creates "Papa's Time Machine," a magical, autobiographical stage performance featuring life-size mechanical puppets.

INDEPENDENT LENS: The Donut King  Mon., May 29 at 10 p.m. on PBS SoCal

The film tells the story of Ted Ngoy, who fled Cambodia for the United States and launched a multi-million-dollar, fried pastry empire.

For a full schedule of Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month programming, please visit kcet.org/AAPI | pbsocal.org/AAPI.

Join the conversation on social media using #AAPI

About PBS SOCAL and KCET

PBS SoCal and KCET are both part of the donor-supported community institution, the Public Media Group of Southern California. PBS SoCal is the flagship PBS station for diverse people across California and delivers content and experiences that inspire, inform and educate. PBS SoCal offers the full slate of beloved PBS programs including MASTERPIECE, NOVA, PBS NewsHour, FRONTLINE, and a broad library of documentary films with works from Ken Burns; as well as educational content including PBS KIDS programs like DANIEL TIGERS NEIGHBORHOOD and CURIOUS GEORGE. KCET showcases the best of PBS and is a leading source for arts, culture, and news in Southern California. Through innovative storytelling, KCET explores and expresses our dynamic local communities helping residents understand and connect with the region's diverse communities and ideas. For additional information about both KCET and PBS SoCal productions, web-exclusive content, programming schedules and community events, please visit kcet.org and pbssocal.org KCET Originals and PBS programming are available to stream on the FREE PBS App on iOS and Android devices, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Android TV, Samsung Smart TV, Chromecast and VIZIO SmartCast TV. KCET is also available to watch live on YouTube TV.
"Our chapter's longstanding tradition of service and sisterhood is a testament to the dedication and passion of our members." - Sabrina Davis, President, Chi Theta Omega Chapter

The Chi Theta Omega Chapter is proud to announce its 20th anniversary in Frederick, Maryland. The chapter has a long-standing history of providing exemplary service to the Frederick community and beyond, with an unwavering commitment to promoting politics, health, economics, and youth education.

In June 2001, several members of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. embarked on chartering a graduate chapter, becoming the first established Graduate Chapter of an African American Greek lettered sorority in Frederick, MD.

The Chi Theta Omega Chapter began as the Clustered Pearls interest group who worked to start a new chapter while engaging in a variety of charitable endeavors in the Frederick region. The Chi Theta Omega Chapter, was officially chartered on May 17, 2003. The fifteen dynamic sorority sisters who were charter members of the Chi Theta Omega chapter are: Denise Hall Brown Rollins, Tanja Burton, Rose D. Chaney, Ida M. Davis, Coleen Djouha, Lyssa Fils-Aimee, Alice Beverly Ford, Kathleen Foreman, Jennifer Holiday, Pamela Gail Holt, Lauretta A. Walker, Vernice W. Mack, Gloria Thompson, Kim Whiten, Iva J. Wright.

The 20th-anniversary celebration will include a brunch fundraiser and a day of service. The fundraising component of the celebration will take place on Saturday, May 6, 2023, at Dutch's Daughter. The event will be a celebration of the chapter's rich history and its continued commitment to serving the community. A distinguished member of the sorority will deliver the keynote address. The celebration will also feature recognition and rewards for the charter members. The goal of the fundraiser is to raise $20,000 to distribute to Frederick County graduating seniors who are transitioning into their first year of college. To purchase tickets or make a donation visit:

The CTO Day of Service will be held on May 17, 2023 at 6:30pm at the Rollins Life Celebration Center, 330 Catoctin Ave; Frederick, MD 21701. The program will include resolutions, proclamations, and congratulatory remarks. After the formal programming, guests will be invited to Soar with Chi Theta Omega through service opportunity stations. Guests will learn about each program initiative associated with the national organization.

"We are honored to celebrate 20 years of service to the Frederick community," said Ms. Sabrina Davis, President of the Chi Theta Omega Chapter. "Our chapter's longstanding tradition of service and sisterhood is a testament to the dedication and passion of our members. We are grateful for the opportunity to continue to serve our community and look forward to another 20 years of promoting sisterhood and service."

For more information on the Chi Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated, please visit their website at http://www.chithetaomega.org.

About Alpha Kappa Sorority, Incorporated:

Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated was established on January 15, 1908, on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. It is the oldest Greek-letter organization established by African American college-educated women. The organization's mission is to foster and promote high scholastic and ethical standards, promote unity among its members, and serve as advocates for African American women and their communities. Today, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated is the oldest and largest African American sorority in the world, with over 355,000 members in more than 1,000 chapters worldwide.
Air Animal helped Mario, a corgi, relocate with his family from Florida to Australia. Plan ahead at least seven months because the new pet identity declarations have expanded the timeline, said Walter M. Woolf, VMD

Relocating to Australia for work or returning home from an American assignment just got tougher, advises Air Animal Pet Movers. Plan ahead at least seven months because the new pet identity declarations have expanded the timeline, said Walter M. Woolf, VMD, Air Animal CEO and founding veterinarian.

The new rules require two pet identity declarations by two different U.S. Department of Agriculture-accredited veterinarians. Those declarations have to be sent to the USDA electronically. Then the USDA provides the pet identity declaration certificate. Not all veterinarians are USDA-accredited. Setting up two veterinary appointments for a pet at the start of the process can be tough without guidance from the pets regular veterinarian or an experienced pet shipper.

Weve updated our Australia Resource page at airanimal.com to help people understand the 18 steps and how the process has to proceed, Woolf said.

From the Air Animal Australia Resource page

1. Microchip the pet (if not previously microchipped).

2. Verify the rabies vaccinations.

3. Arrange two required identity pet examination/declarations by two different USDA-accredited veterinarians and obtain an identity declaration certificate.

4. Schedule a FAVN-OIE Rabies Antibody blood draw by a USDA-accredited veterinarian.

5. Schedule antigen tests for Leishmania, Brucella Canis and Leptospirosis (dogs only).

6. Submit the blood serums to an approved government laboratory.

7. Arrange for a USDA RNATT declaration by a USDA-accredited veterinarian.

8. Fulfill the requirements of the 180-day waiting period that follows step #7.

9. Secure a DAFF import permit which can take more than four months.

10. Book quarantine space in Melbourne, Australia. Pets that complete all Australian identity check steps, and pet parents who can prove their pets originated in Australia, are eligible for 10 days quarantine. All others will spend 30 days in quarantine.

11. Arrange for the approved external and internal parasite treatments.

12. Arrange a veterinary exam to apply for an international pet health certificate.

13. Obtain USDA endorsement and all Australian health documents.

14. Book a USA cross-country flight (if necessary).

15. Book Los Angeles transfer (if necessary).

16. Schedule the trans-Pacific flight.

17. Obtain an airline air cargo air waybill and check pet in for the international flight.

18. Pick up pet after quarantine or arrange for pick-up and residential delivery by an experienced pet transporter.

Pet parents should always register with a local veterinarian in their new locale to keep their pets rabies vaccinations up to date. Veterinarians typically send reminder notices when vaccinations are due. If another move is in their future, they will be ready, Woolf added.

About Air Animal

Air Animal has helped more than 55,000 families move their 135,000 furry, feathered and scaly pets around the globe since 1977. They welcome pet move authorizations and referrals from major corporations, relocation management agencies, household goods movers, veterinarians, families, U.S. military and government transferees. Get the best in animal care and transportation. Air Animal is an appointed and endorsed IATA air cargo sales agency working with all airlines that move animals. They are an Indirect Air Carrier cleared for tendering live animals to airlines by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration. See airanimal.com to learn more about Pet Moving Made Easy.
The River Palm Steakhouse located on heavily traveled Route 4 in Fair Lawn, New Jersey, has been sold according to David Alvarez, Sales Associate with Bielat Santore & Company, Allenhurst, New Jersey. Both Alvarez and company President Barry Bielat worked diligently to close the sale.

The new proprietors, Patriot Gjonbalaj and Frank Gashi purchased the River Palm Terrace Steak House, in Mahwah New Jersey in 2019, and renamed it RP PRIME. Both Gjonbalaj and Gashi are experienced high-end restauranters that have previously managed the infamous Il Mulino Prime Restaurant located at 331 West Broadway in Manhattan and Scalinatella Restaurant at 201 East 61st Street in Manhattan. Those who have dined at the novel seafood and steakhouse, RP PRIME in Mahwah can attest to the restaurants exquisite menu, unique flare and what some say is the Best Steakhouse in Bergen County.

RP PRIME hand-selects and dry-ages U.S.D.A. prime beef, the genuine article, for 28 days. The restaurants own butchers then hand-cut each steak daily. All seafood is purchased daily from the Fulton Street fish market and many specialty items are flown directly to the restaurant from around the country. The restaurant continues to attract couples, families, business clientele, and celebrities all seeking a unique dining experience at this New York steakhouse on the other side of the Hudson.

Following a planned renovation of the Fair Lawn facility, the new owners will open and operate RP PRIME, Fair Lawn as a classic New York Steak House sometime in May 2023.

About Bielat Santore & Company

Bielat Santore & Company is an established commercial real estate firm. The companys expertise lies chiefly within the restaurant and hospitality industry, specializing in the sale of restaurants and other food and beverage real estate businesses. Since 1978, the principals of Bielat Santore & Company, Barry Bielat and Richard Santore, have sold more restaurants and similar type properties in New Jersey than any other real estate company. Furthermore, the firm has secured in excess of $500,000,000 in financing to facilitate these transactions. Visit the companys website, http://www.123bsc.com for the latest in new listings, property searches, available land, market data, financing trends, RSS feeds, press releases and more.
Autonomy software has been very bespoke and custom and geo-fenced to a specific area, limiting its use cases. We are excited that BlueSpace.ai is able to meet the evolving needs of U.S. Army and adapt and grow to support the RCV program globally. said Christine Moon, Co-Founder of BlueSpace.ai

BlueSpace.ai, a leading autonomous driving software startup, announced that it won a $1.6 million contract to enhance the perception sensing for future U.S. Army unmanned ground vehicles led by the Army's Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) program. This effort will be in support of vehicles designed for reconnaissance, surveillance, and other high-risk missions.

BlueSpace will leverage its commercial self-driving software to develop, test and deploy to expand the perception sensing capabilities for the unmanned ground vehicles for off-road applications, pushing the limits of detection accuracy in diverse operational conditions, while reducing the processing burden, all in various inclement weather conditions. This is reflecting the tougher and higher bar for autonomy that some of the existing commercial solutions have yet begun to address. BlueSpaces dual-use software demonstrates up to 100x motion accuracy detection relative to conventional AV solution in the industry, boasting faster reaction time without having the constraints of geo-fence limitations on its technology. Facing growing competition from adversaries, the U.S. Army has proactively engaged with the commercial tech providers, to utilize and incorporate in defense use cases. BlueSpaces robust autonomy solution will further equip and strengthen the US Armys unmanned ground systems for high-risk missions, globally on a moments notice.

Autonomy software has been very bespoke and custom and geo-fenced to a specific area, limiting its use cases. We are excited that BlueSpace.ai is able to meet the evolving needs of U.S. Army and adapt and grow to support the RCV program globally. said Christine Moon, Co-Founder and President of BlueSpace.ai.

BlueSpace was founded in 2019 with the vision to make autonomy even more robust with its explainable and scalable AI solutions, powering the next chapter of autonomy by utilizing next-gen sensing modalities, namely FMCW LiDar and imaging radars. Unlike other AV solutions, BlueSpace.ai uses its proprietary motion first approach to autonomy which enables it to deploy on day one without any prior training or HD maps. For off road sensing, this is truly a game changer to allow for autonomy to be deployed where it couldnt have readily before. It also significantly reduces time and cost to deployment since the software is not geo fenced and can be deployed anywhere. Since its founding, BlueSpace has launched its software domestically in NY, CA, NV and UT and internationally in Japan and Korea.

Commercially, when the AV industry is still chasing one edge case after another, BlueSpace presents a solution to the long tail of rare but safety critical scenarios in a generalizable way. With experience gained from previous AV companies including Drive.ai, which was acquired by Apple in 2019, the founding team members present a robust solution to scale autonomy both on and off road globally for defense and commercial use cases.

About BlueSpace.ai

Based out of Silicon Valley, BlueSpace.ai is led by industry veterans whove launched autonomous vehicle services in Texas, California, and Florida. Joel Pazhayampallil (CEO), was previously a Co-founder of Drive.ai (now part of Apple self driving program), key contributor to General Motors SuperCruise highway autonomy technology, and graduate of the Stanford AI Lab. Christine Moon, Co-founder and President, has over 15 years of experience in Silicon Valley, formerly Head of Android Partnerships for the Google branded Nexus program, and has held various leadership roles at tech companies, including Dropbox and Color Genomics.

Read more about BlueSpaces innovative technology in this blog post - Why BlueSpace? Why Now? Listen to the founders via recent podcast: The Autonomous Vehicles Podcast Inquries at partners@bluespace.ai

Request for a demo and see it here http://bit.ly/BlueSpaceDemos
"We hope to pave the way for education technology by providing equal opportunities for the youth. We place a core importance on creativity and playfulness as part of a child's learning process, and we want all children to experience this without limitations"

A rising contender at the world's leading Edtech show held in London, BETT 2023, Cubroid ranked top 5 as a start-up with over 34,000 attendees this March. Incorporating Curo AI ChatGPT, the South Korean entrepreneurs have signed off export contracts amounting to over $3 million.

With a sizeable customer base in South Africa and Poland, the team have secured an additional 30 buyers in 2023- the UK, the US, the Netherlands, Sweden, Nigeria, Egypt, Thailand, Hong Kong, Estonia, Spain, and more.

Hosted annually by the British Education Supplies Association as far back as 1985, Cubroid looks to withstand and expand their position in the global market of EdTech.

CEO Mark Shin, stated his outlook of providing accessibility to digital literacy to students globally, especially those from low-income countries. "We hope to pave the way for education technology by providing equal opportunities for the youth. We place a core importance on creativity and playfulness as part of a child's learning process, and we want all children to experience this without limitations".

Cubroid currently offers various online and offline material used alongside their hardware gadgets to help young people practice their understanding of programming and its application to AI, robotics and the Internet of Things (IoT). The multiplier effects of these skills result in the dexterity of creative thinking, collaboration, problem-solving and communication.

In understanding the requirements for an optimal learning environment, the company provides educators in school systems with a variety of curricula to aid student learning and development.

This isn't Cubroid's first rodeo in excelling as an EdTech start-up. The team have a history as winning nominees for the TIPS program of the Ministry of SMEs in South Korea, with a notable win as the First Penguin Start-up Company by the Korea Credit Guarantee Fund in the ROBOT World Awards, receiving support for international promotion. Additionally, the company was prized with the Minister of Science and ICT award in the Best Children's Product at the Tillywig Toy & Children's Product Awards (US), on top of the Geneva International Exhibition of Inventions (Switzerland).

With a number of praise from education experts under their belt, the team looks to continue banding with educational institutions and companies worldwide, cultivating sustainable skills for generations to come.

You can visit their website for more information on current products sold worldwide at https://www.cubroid.com


Deborah R. Willig I am deeply honored to be chosen for the class of 2023 Margaret Brent Award recipients. I congratulate my sister honorees, all of whom throughout their careers have fought for and changed the course of history, public policy, the legal profession, and the justice system in our country."

Willig, Williams & Davidson is pleased to announce that the American Bar Associations Commission on Women in the Profession has named Deborah R. Willig a 2023 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award honoree. Willig is the sixth recipient from Philadelphia in the 32-year history of the award, which honors women who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession. The Commission will honor Willig and four other outstanding women lawyers during the ABA annual meeting on August 6 in Denver.

I am deeply honored to be chosen for the class of 2023 Margaret Brent Award recipients. I congratulate my sister honorees, all of whom throughout their careers have fought for and changed the course of history, public policy, the legal profession, and the justice system in our country, said Willig. It is particularly moving to be recognized with the same award as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Professor Anita Hill, my dear friend and mentor, the late Judge Norma Shapiro, and Philadelphias own Roberta Bobbi Liebenberg.

The ABAs first chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession, Hillary Rodham Clinton, and her fellow commissioners created the Margaret Brent Awards in 1991 to highlight women lawyers who achieved success in their own careers and then used their platforms to advance all women in the profession. The 2023 honorees include Honorable Sabrina S. McKenna, Associate Justice, Supreme Court of the State of Hawaii; Melissa Murray, Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law, NYU School of Law; Yvette Ostolaza. Chair, Management Committee of Sidley Austin LLP and Executive Committee member; and Jill Wine-Banks, Watergate prosecutor, author of The Watergate Girl; Co-Host #SistersInLaw and iGenPolitics Podcast, and MSNBC legal contributor.

I am humbled and privileged to be included among those women who meet the high bar established in the criteria for receiving the Margaret Brent Awards, said Willig. Each of us has been committed to ensuring that future generations of women attorneys have the freedom to practice law, the opportunity to advance their careers, and the ability to diversify and improve the legal landscape for all.

Willig was the first woman President of the Temple University Beasley School of Law Student Bar Association; the first woman Chancellor of the Philadelphia Bar Association; and the first woman to manage what has grown into one of the largest women-owned law firms in the country. These experiences inspired her to help other women lawyers and women in the society at large to advance and succeed. Willig also has shattered the glass ceiling for gay lawyers as a trailblazer, role model, and inspiring mentor for gay women lawyers while working tirelessly to promote gender and LGBTQIA+ equality.

Debs distinguished legal career in the very challenging and historically male-dominated field of union-side labor law, her many years of leadership at the state and local levels in the fight for equal opportunity for women attorneys and judges, her strong support and encouragement of women attorneys to serve as judges and in elected office, and her mentoring of countless women attorneys are just some of the reasons she received this prestigious award, said Liebenberg, who was honored with the Margaret Brent Award in 2016 and served as chair of the ABAs Commission on Women in the Profession.

Honorees are chosen based on their demonstrated record of professional excellence and their dedication to carry forward the legacy of Margaret Brent, the first woman lawyer in America, a master negotiator, an accomplished litigator, and a respected leader. The award that bears her name recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers who have excelled in their field and have influenced other women to pursue legal careers, opened doors for women lawyers in a variety of job settings historically closed to them, and advanced opportunities for women within the legal profession.

About Willig, Williams & Davidson  Willig, Williams & Davidson (http://www.wwdlaw.com) is one of the largest and most respected union-side labor law firms in the United States. The firm has offices in Philadelphia, Harrisburg, and Jenkintown Pa., as well as Haddonfield, N.J., and Chicago, Ill. Founded in 1979, Willig, Williams & Davidson focuses on representing labor unions, employee benefit funds and individual working people and their families on a variety of legal fronts, including national, regional and local contract negotiations; election and campaign finance; dispute resolution through mediation, arbitration and litigation; family law matters; benefits law design and compliance issues; discrimination, overtime and unpaid wages, and other employment matters; prepaid legal services for union members; social security disability; and workers compensation matters in Philadelphia and beyond. Workers inspire us.
On Friday, April 21, at 10.00, the press centre of the Interfax-Ukraine News Agency will host a press conference by member of the Logistics Committee of the European Business Association (EBA) Yuriy Schuklin entitled "Ukrainian businessman donates to European Commission technology to balance agricultural exports" (8/5a Reitarska Street). The event will be streamed on the YouTube channel of Interfax-Ukraine. Admission of journalists requires registration by e-mail press@golubi.group, phone: (050) 858 2161 (Tetiana Yeschenko).
Now its time to expand into even more ambitious programming as we grow the councils footprintand continue to prove that business can be a force for good in the natural world. - Suntory CEO Tak Niinami

Just ahead of Earth Day, Eurasia Group and Suntory Holdings are proud to announce the launch of the third year of the Sustainability Leaders Council (SLC), an initiative created in 2021 with a mission to drive sustainability efforts in the private sector and help foster more resilient societies, with an emphasis on the Asia region. Each year, the SLC has put a spotlight on a vital topic, with sustainable plastics and biodiversity serving as the first two focal points; this years work will highlight the broader themes and challenges of nature positive, with a particular focus on water.

To kick off the exciting year ahead, the first of four roundtables will be held on 26 April, with the aim of spurring progress on the climate-biodiversity-water nexus. The discussion will explore how to holistically integrate all environmental issues into one unified strategy, looking at the potential risks if approaches are not aligned and how nature-related tipping points, policies and environmental, social, and governance trends will affect corporations. Additional roundtables throughout 2023 will examine solutions to tackle water stress and biodiversity loss, the evolution of water emergency policies, and the growing problem of greenwashing in business advocacy.

New this year is a dedicated website where more information about the SLCs work can be found. Building on the key takeaways from the roundtable series, a live digital event will kick off a campaign culminating in the early 2024 publication of a comprehensive and ambitious report on nature strategies for business. Members of the public will be able to view this livestream event via the website later this year, as well as read previous SLC publications, such as the Addressing Nature Loss in Asia report produced during year two.

Over the past two years, weve focused on establishing an initiative that not only brings together some of the brightest minds in the field, but also drives the agenda in terms of corporate sustainability practices in Asia, said Suntory CEO Tak Niinami. Now its time to expand into even more ambitious programming as we grow the councils footprintand continue to prove that business can be a force for good in the natural world.

We kicked off the SLC two years ago with an ambitious goalto create a more sustainable world with more resilient societies, said Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group and GZERO Media. Its going to be a long fight, but as we enter year three, were proud of what the council has accomplished so far and we know were just getting started.

Working groups on biodiversity and plastic pollution are another addition to the council this year. Made up of experts and SLC members engaged on these topics, the groups will meet throughout the year and their work will help inform and advance the councils overarching mission of illuminating Asia as a leading force for lasting, impactful change within the climate and sustainability spheres.

For more information, please contact media@eurasiagroup.net.

About Eurasia Group

Eurasia Group is the world's leading global political risk company. Its expertise includes developed and developing countries in every region of the world, specific economic sectors, and the business and investment playing fields of the future. With best-in-class advisory and consulting offerings, in addition to GZERO Media, the Eurasia Group umbrella provides the marketplace with a complete political risk solution. "Politics first grounds the firm's work: It is the lens through which Eurasia Group views the world, shaping analysis that is free of political bias and the influence of private interests.

About Suntory Holdings

As a global leader in the beverage industry, Suntory Group offers a uniquely diverse portfolio of products, from premium spirits, beer, wine, and ready-to-drink alcohol beverages to brewed teas, bottled water, still and carbonated soft drinks, and ready-to-drink coffee and energy drinks, along with health and wellness products. Suntory is home to award-winning Japanese whiskies Yamazaki, Hibiki and Hakushu, as well as iconic American spirits Jim Beam and Maker's Mark. Suntory also fascinates the taste buds with The Premium Malt's beer, and owns the exceptional Japanese wine, Tomi, and the world-famous Chateau Lagrange. Its brand collection includes Sauza Tequila, non-alcoholic favorites Orangina, Lucozade, Ribena, BOSS coffee, Iyemon green tea, Suntory Tennensui water, TEA+ Oolong Tea, V and BRANDS, as well as popular health and wellness product Sesamin EX.

Founded as a family-owned business in 1899 in Osaka, Japan, Suntory Group has grown into a global company operating throughout the Americas, Europe, Africa, Asia, and Oceania, with an annual revenue (excluding excise taxes) of $20.2 billion in 2022. Its 40,885 employees worldwide draw upon the unique blend of Japanese artisanship and global tastes to explore new product categories and markets.

As a corporation sustained by the gifts of nature and water, Suntory Group will always protect the ecosystems that deliver water, because they are the wellspringnot only of the groups business and the rich experiences it creates for people's livesbut also of human life itself. Suntory Group will continue to be a company where everyone is empowered with the freedom and flexibility to innovate. Through all of its corporate pursuits, Suntory seeks to inspire the brilliance of life.

Learn more about Suntory Group, its brands, and its commitment to social responsibility and sustainability at http://www.suntory.com, on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube.
(Forest Bai, Foresight Ventures Co-founder) The Hong Kong government has provided a series of friendly policies for the crypto industry, including tax incentives, policy guidance, funding support, and preferential measures for startups.

Hong Kong was the proud host of the Foresight 2023 Hong Kong Summit, where industry leaders and entrepreneurs gathered to discuss the future of the crypto industry. During the summit, Foresight cofounder, Forest Bai announced that Foresight Ventures and Foresight News will establish their global headquarters in Hong Kong, cementing the city's position as a major player in the crypto industry.

Foresight is a diversified enterprise that covers four main areas. Foresight Ventures is a $400 million asset management fund dedicated to investing in non-consensus crypto and long-term investment opportunities. Foresight News is the largest Chinese-language crypto media platform, and the company has also invested in Taiwan's largest crypto media, Blocktempo, and Korea's largest crypto media, Coinness. Foresight X Accelerator is committed to supporting crypto entrepreneurs, while the Web3 developer community OpenBuild aims to build a global developer community that helps more people enter the world of Web3.

Forest Bai expressed his gratitude to the Hong Kong government and relevant organizations for their support, The Hong Kong government has provided a series of friendly policies for the crypto industry, including tax incentives, policy guidance, funding support, and preferential measures for startups. These policies have created a favorable environment for the development of the crypto industry and attracted numerous enterprises and entrepreneurs to settle in Hong Kong.

Foresight has ambitious plans for the future, as outlined at the Foresight 2023 HongKong Summit. One of these plans is to establish a Web3 talent base in Hong Kong, aimed at supporting Asian entrepreneurs and obtaining a global audience. This will serve to address the lack of basic talent development and promote the growth of the crypto industry in the region.

In addition to this, Foresight is committed to helping overseas projects better reach Asian users. This is in line with their vision of creating a trusted, neutral infrastructure for business and community activities in the world of crypto.

Foresight believes that crypto technology is fundamentally a revolution about productivity and production relations, enabling humanity to conduct business and community activities through trusted, neutral infrastructure. The company has witnessed the early growth of the industry and its enterprising spirit and innovation capabilities. However, there are still challenges, such as a lack of basic talent development, obstacles to market promotion, and a lack of narrative ability.

Foresight is committed to working openly with everyone in Hong Kong to address these challenges. In the Web2 era, China achieved brilliant achievements, and in the Web3 era, Foresight is confident of achieving even more remarkable breakthroughs. The company believes that by joining hands and working together, a bright future for the world of crypto can be created.

The Foresight 2023 Hong Kong Summit was a rousing success, and Foresight is excited to continue its work in Hong Kong, supporting the city's position as a major player in the crypto industry.

For media inquiries, please contact Jonathan Duran at (310) 260-7901 or Jonathan(at)Melrosepr(dot)com

About Foresight Ventures

Foresight Ventures is a crypto fund with $400 AUM focused on backing Web3 projects that embody an ethos of decentralization while moving crypto towards long-term, mainstream adoption. Foresight Ventures manages multiple funds: a VC fund, an actively-managed secondary fund, a multi-strategy FOF, and a private market secondary fund. As a one-stop shop for crypto projects, Foresight Ventures provides incubation, investment, and advisory throughout the project life cycle.
Katy Muggeridge, Brand Director at Glengoyne, said: Glengoynes spirit spends three times as long in its stills than other whiskies, and this creates a distinctively light, smooth and fruity spirit style.

Glengoyne Distillery, a Highland single malt Scotch whisky producer within the Ian Macleod Distillers portfolio, has announced the U.S. launch of their 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky. This whisky celebrates the contrast and harmony created by the interplay of its sherry and bourbon casks. The new dram will become a staple of the Highland distillers award-winning core collection.

As Scotlands slowest distilled single malt whisky, Glengoyne new make has a light and fruity signature spirit style. To complement this, the new 15 Year Old marries together whiskies matured in bourbon and sherry casks to deliver sweet dark orchard fruits from the former and oaky spice and vanilla from the latter.

The result is a complex dram that embodies Glengoyne  but seen from a different perspective. The whisky has a natural light amber hue and a rich bouquet of flavors; on the nose you can expect malt flour, fresh hay, dried fruits, citrus and rosehip.

The palate is clean, with a gentle sweetness and a hint of tropical fruit. Cinnamon, vanilla and apple combine to evoke memories of a freshly baked apple pie. A pleasant dry finish is complemented by gentle spice and lingering oak.

Katy Muggeridge, Brand Director at Glengoyne, said: Glengoynes spirit spends three times as long in its stills than other whiskies, and this creates a distinctively light, smooth and fruity spirit style.

For the 15 Year Old, we wanted to showcase Glengoynes signature style brought to maturity in absolute balance from the combination of both bourbon and sherry casks, Katy adds. The first fill maturation gives complex depth, bright tropical notes, and a spicy oak finish whilst the refill casks allow the fruity Glengoyne house style to shine through. Its an exciting and intriguing Glengoyne dram, with a unique flavor profile.

Glengoyne 15 Year Old Highland Single Malt Scotch Whisky will be available in 750ml sized bottles at 43% ABV. Consumers can purchase the whisky starting in April in select retail shops for an SRP of $129.99.

Glengoyne Distillery is Scotlands most beautiful, and we are committed to keeping it that way. Not only does 100% of its electricity come from renewable energy, but the distillery was the first Scottish distillery to adopt a wetlands facility for liquid waste back in 2011. Glengoyne also has beehives on site and uses fully recyclable and reusable packaging across its core collection.

As an exclusive whisky partner with the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT), the next 10 years will see Glengoyne support the protection of Barnacle Geese at Caerlaverock as well as the creation of 100,000 hectares of Wetlands across Scotland. Wetlands can help drastically slow down climate change, storing twice as much carbon as all the worlds rainforests combined.

About Glengoyne Distillery: Owned by Ian Macleod Distillers, one of Scotlands leading independent family-owned distillers, Glengoyne has been unhurried since 1883. Our complex taste being the result of a bold pledge: to run the spirit through the slowest whisky stills in Scotland. Glengoynes flavors build ounce-by-ounce  hour-by-hour - into the gloriously smooth, fruity spirit the distillery is famous for creating. For more information, visit http://www.glengoyne.com

About Ian Macleod Distillers: Established in 1933, Ian Macleod Distillers is one of Scotlands leading independent, family-owned distillers, blenders and bottlers. Ian Macleod Distillers is the worlds 10th largest Scotch Whisky company, producing and selling over 15 million bottles of spirits every year. Ian Macleod Distillers has built up an enviable portfolio of premium quality spirits and is proud brand proprietor of Glengoyne, Tamdhu, Rosebank and Smokehead Scotch whiskies and Edinburgh Gin to name but a few. For more information, visit http://www.ianmacleod.com
Attorney John V. Chibbaro has rejoined global law firm Greenberg Traurig, P.A. as a shareholder in the Miami office, where he will be part of the firms Real Estate Practice and work closely with the Environmental and Land Use teams.

Chibbaro returns to Greenberg Traurig after three years with Bilzin Sumberg in Miami, where he was a partner and head of its Resilience & Sustainability Team. At Greenberg Traurig, he will advise real estate developers, investors, and utilities on environmental and land use issues on the local, state and national levels, including work on renewable energy projects and related regulatory compliance issues.

John understands the importance of Greenberg Traurigs focus on client service and the need for collaboration across disciplines, which is why we are so excited to welcome him back home, said Jaret L. Davis and Yosbel A. Ibarra, co-managing shareholders of the Miami office. John has an established track record for thoughtfully crafting strategies that help clients handle complex regulatory issues before local, state and federal agencies.

Chibbaro will assist clients in Florida and across the country with a wide range of development matters, including due diligence, entitlement strategy, regulatory compliance and permitting, contamination assessment, environmental approvals, and remediation.

John is a multitalented attorney with a diverse skill set in real estate, environment and land use law, who brings a high level of sophistication to his practice, said Miami Shareholder and Global Real Estate Practice Co-Chair Richard J. Giusto. His return to Greenberg Traurig allows us to further address increased client demand particularly among large institutional property owners, who are focused on addressing the environmental aspects of real estate development and investment in renewable energy projects statewide and nationally.

Among the representative matters Chibbaro has handled, he advised the largest self-storage provider in the United States through the pre-acquisition due diligence process for a Los Angeles suburban property to assess the level of environmental contamination present at the site and then worked with state and federal regulators to develop a remediation strategy. He represented a real estate developer in the $30 million purchase of a 1.75-acre Midtown Miami site for a mixed-use development with rental apartments, parking, and retail space. He also helped a national homebuilder working on a residential project in South Florida to develop a revised site plan that received local environmental regulatory approval to preserve a stretch of Pine Rockland, a local endangered habitat.

By returning to Greenberg Traurig, I am looking forward to expanding the scope and breadth of my practice, Chibbaro said. The firms global platform and the ability to leverage the collective experience of the more than 2,650 attorneys across the United States and globally will elevate the service and representation I can provide my clients.

Chibbaro is admitted to the bar in Florida and California. He holds a J.D. from the University of Chicago and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.

About Greenberg Traurig: Greenberg Traurig, LLP has more than 2650 attorneys in 45 locations in the United States, Europe and the Middle East, Latin America, and Asia. The firm is a 2022 BTI Highly Recommended Law Firm for superior client service and is consistently among the top firms on the Am Law Global 100 and NLJ 250. Greenberg Traurig is Mansfield Rule 5.0 Certified Plus by The Diversity Lab. The firm is recognized for powering its U.S. offices with 100% renewable energy as certified by the Center for Resource Solutions Green-e Energy program and is a member of the U.S. EPAs Green Power Partnership Program. The firm is known for its philanthropic giving, innovation, diversity, and pro bono. Web: http://www.gtlaw.com.


Harris Teeter will host a drug take-back event at four of its Charlotte locations from 10 a.m.  2 p.m. on Saturday, April 22, 2023, as part of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administrations National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. These events will provide a safe, convenient and anonymous way for local residents to dispose of unused or expired medications.



April 22, 2023  10 a.m.  2 p.m.

- Davis Lake - 8445 Davis Lake Parkway, Charlotte, N.C.

- Stonecrest - 7852 Rea Road, Charlotte, N.C.

- Morrocroft Village - 6701 Morrison Boulevard, Charlotte, N.C.

- Smith Farm Road - 4701 Smith Farm Road, Charlotte, N.C.

Harris Teeter has partnered with SAFE KIDS and local law enforcement to assist with the event, which provides Mecklenburg County residents a opportunity to properly dispose of old, unused, or outdated prescription medication in an environmentally and legally safe method. The goal is to help the police department keep medications off the street by proper disposal of prescription medications, and knowing the dangers associated with drug abuse.

You can find more information about Harris Teeters commitment to drug disposal solutions on our website.

Since its inception in 2010, DEAs National Prescription Take Back Day has removed almost 17 million pounds of unneeded medications from communities across the country according to the DEA.

According to the DEA, more than seven million Americans abuse prescription drugs, according to the 2009 Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administrations National Survey on Drug Use and Health. And every day, on average, 2,500 teens use them to get high for the first time, according to the Partnership for a Drug-Free America. Studies show that a majority of abused prescription drugs are obtained from family and friends, including from the home medicine cabinet.

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About Harris Teeter: For more than 60 years, Harris Teeter, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR), has enriched lives  one meal, one family, one associate, and one community at a time. Headquartered in Matthews, North Carolina, Harris Teeter employs 36,000 valued associates across more than 250 stores and 60 fuel centers in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida, and the District of Columbia.
The 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica, which can be acquired at Lamborghini of Austin. Lamborghini of Austin adds new research pages to their website, including a comparison of the 2023 Huracan Tecnica vs the 2023 Chevy Corvette Z06

March 15, 2023 - Lamborghini of Austin, a premier luxury car dealership, has launched three new research pages on its website. These pages offer car enthusiasts in-depth information on some of Lamborghini's latest models and how they compare to other popular cars.

The first page compares the 2023 Lamborghini Huracan Tecnica to the 2023 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. Car lovers can learn about the performance, design, and features of each vehicle to make an informed decision about which one suits their preferences.

The second page features the 2023 Lamborghini Urus S and the 2023 Range Rover P530. The page details the specs of each vehicle, including engine power, fuel efficiency, and interior features, allowing potential buyers to compare and contrast the two luxury SUVs.

The third page compares the 2023 Lamborghini Urus S with the 2023 BMW XM. This page highlights each vehicle's unique features and supplies a detailed breakdown of their specifications to help buyers make an informed decision.

Lamborghini of Austin is committed to providing its customers with the best possible car buying experience. These new research pages are part of the dealership's efforts to educate and inform its customers and help them make the best decision when buying a Lamborghini.

With its stunning visuals and in-depth information, these research pages are a valuable resource for anyone interested in buying a luxury car. Lamborghini of Austin invites car enthusiasts to visit their website and explore these new pages to learn more about the latest Lamborghini models and how they compare to their competitors.

Individuals who would like to learn more about buying a Lamborghini Urus or other luxury sport vehicle can visit the dealership website at http://www.lamborghiniaustin.com. Interested parties may also contact Lamborghini Austin by dialing 833-331-0322, or by visiting the dealership at 4108 North Lamar Boulevard in Austin, Texas.
"We are excited to extend our collaboration with PlatformQ Health, said Evan R. Goldfischer, M.D., MBA, FACS, president of LUGPA. This collaboration allows us to deliver ongoing, up-to-date practice and clinical management digital education to our LUGPA members and other providers."

LUGPA and PlatformQ Health have extended their partnership to deliver cutting-edge digital education to the urology community.

Since 2017, LUGPA and PlatformQ Health have developed accredited and non-accredited digital, video-based educational programming focused on pressing clinical issues in urology and urologic oncology. The sessions feature live lectures, panel discussions with top faculty, case studies and patient vignettes. For example, the popular on-accredited monthly LUGPA Crossfire Series is an avenue for urologists to gain the latest practice knowledge, addressing topics such as immunotherapy for bladder cancer, developing an effective advanced bladder cancer clinic and navigating financial aspects of practice management.

For the past six years, these ongoing online accredited and non-accredited programs have reached and educated tens of thousands of health care providers, including LUGPA members, urologists, oncologists, and other aligned health care providers.

As we celebrate our 15th year anniversary, we are excited to extend our collaboration with PlatformQ Health, said Evan R. Goldfischer, M.D., MBA, FACS, president of LUGPA. This collaboration allows us to deliver ongoing, up-to-date practice and clinical management urology-oriented digital education to our LUGPA members and other providers to improve patient care and outcomes.

PlatformQ Health makes the process of creating and promoting digital education seamless, said Celeste Kirschner, CAE, MHSA, CEO of LUGPA. As a small team, we appreciate having a partner who offers end-to-end video streaming and hosting, educational design and content development support, as well as outcomes assessment and program reporting.

Each year, clinical practice outcomes and insights from these online educational programs that improve patient care have been accepted and presented at prestigious medical conferences, including the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, the ASCO Quality Care Symposium, the ASCO Genitourinary Cancers Symposium and the American Urological Association (AUA) Annual Meeting.

Through this alliance, LUGPA members have access to free CME programs in urology and urologic oncology, as well as the LUGPA Crossfire Series, throughout the year.

As the sole nonprofit urology trade association in the United States, LUGPA brings enormous depth of knowledge in advancing the practice of urology, said Robert Rosenbloom, PlatformQ Health president and CEO. Its rewarding to build on this collaboration to share best practices and clinical experiences with urology specialists around the country.

LUGPA

LUGPA represents more than 2,000 U.S. urologists and administrators in independent urology group practices. Since its founding in 2008, LUGPA has earned national recognition in the pursuit of our mission: to preserve and advance the independent practice of urology while demonstrating quality and value to patients, vendors, third-party payors, legislators and regulatory agencies. The robust resources we provide help our member urology groups to meet the challenges of independent practice in todays rapidly changing health care marketplace.

About PlatformQ Health

PlatformQ Health is the leading provider of interactive digital medical education for clinicians, patients, and caregivers. To improve patient care, PlatformQ Health creates video-first educational modules with premier partners, so learners can better understand conditions, available treatment options, and the latest research. The companys proprietary platform allows participants to engage in real-time discussion with scientific, research, and patient care experts  and the integrated learning solution enables advocates, administrators, health systems and plans, foundations, societies, member organizations, and associations to measure the impact of their education.
Alex "Sonny Boy" Bellehumeur announces his entry to the publishing scene with the release of One Step Beyond: Helping the uncertain mind reach its full potential. (published by Archway Publishing), a journal with an accompanying summary that utilize his challenges and successes along with key mindsets to help young readers and those who cannot break away from their uncertain mind, realize their full potential by converting their fears and build their inner strength.

Cal State Long Beach (CSULB) held special events with hundreds of current and former students each year. Bellehumeur, past president of the Port of Long Beach and then Governor Appointee and chairman of the World Trade Commission, was asked by Dr. Stuart Farber, Dean of Students, Professor of College of Business Administration, to be the keynote speaker at one of these affairs in front of over 600 attendees aboard the Queen Mary in Long Beach, California. They met early and began The Walk, during which time, Dr. Farber extracted details of Bellehumeurs youth, and believed the audience should know the challenges he was able to overcome. This had nothing to do with Bellehumeurs planned speech.

In all my years of hosting this special event, I have never had such an incredible response from the audience. You have changed the lives of many attendees. A book of your past challenges and how they were overcome by taking that one step beyond would have a life-changing effect on those whose lifes growth potential would not otherwise be met, Dr. Farber says.

Bellehumeur had no intention of writing a journal of his life (not an ego thing) and did so only at the request of Dr. Farber. The Deans request that Bellehumeur writes a journal was in the year 2000, and it was not until 2016 that he began the process in the hope of encouraging the readers to take that One Step Beyond. In this book, Bellehumeur talks about the hard times in life, the purpose of family, and the strength of a dont give up way of life. He discusses the value of sometimes taking the necessary one step beyond. As the book takes readers through the events of his boyhood, education, and young friendships, they will realize how important family, friends, and school are to the successful growth and development of a child.

Bellehumeur also provides insight into child growth patterns and thought development, careful to expose all sides of the issues and problems as he grows into adulthood. Especially graphic are the feelings of being part of a poor family with problems and a strong need to prevail. As the story progresses, readers will learn about his stressors and look forward to the relatable one step beyond advice.

We each share in challenges, both physical and emotional that will affect how we conduct our lives. It is not the challenges that limit ones potential growth, but how we address them. Do we pull back or do we accept these challenges as a means to grow stronger and in a positive way. That is the question, Bellehumeur points out. He adds, This book not only addresses the effects of abuse, but how such treatment can be overcome and provide a level of strength of character not otherwise achievable.

When asked what he wants readers to take away from the book, Bellehumeur answered, When you reach a precipice, do not pull back. There will not be a drop. With the right mindset, it will provide strength that will continue to build as lifes challenges take place. For more details about the book, please visit https://www.archwaypublishing.com/en/bookstore/bookdetails/845269-one-step-beyond

One Step Beyond: Helping the uncertain mind reach its full potential.

By Alex "Sonny Boy" Bellehumeur

Hardcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 180 pages | ISBN 9781665735223

Softcover | 5.5 x 8.5in | 180 pages | ISBN 9781665735247

E-Book | 180 pages | ISBN 9781665735230

Available at Amazon and Barnes & Noble

About the Author

Alex Sonny Boy Bellehumeur was physically and emotionally abused as a boy, but he ended up enjoying success in business and politics. Overcoming lifes challenges by taking that One Step Beyond.

Simon & Schuster, a company with nearly ninety years of publishing experience, has teamed up with Author Solutions, LLC, the worldwide leader in self-publishing, to create Archway Publishing. With unique resources to support books of all kind, Archway Publishing offers a specialized approach to help every author reach his or her desired audience. For more information, visit archwaypublishing.com or call 844-669-3957.
North Shore School District 112, Gilbane Building Company, and community members recently gathered to celebrate the completion of the Edgewood Middle School with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

The new Edgewood Middle School represents the future and is built to serve the community for the next 50 to 100 years, said Dr. Mike Lubelfeld, North Shore School District 112 Superintendent of Schools. The construction process with Gilbane was professional, clear, coherent, concise, and adaptable. At every step of the way, I was informed of progress, complex concepts were explained, and my voice mattered. I am proud to say that Edgewood Middle School was completed on time and slightly under budget.

Designed by Wight & Co., the 110,000 SF project included various renovations and additions to create a modernized learning environment for District 112 students. The new facility features improved classrooms, an upgraded auditorium/music wing, a new gym addition/storm shelter, a new Learning Commons and dining space, a STEAM/makerspace, and upgraded technology and security features. The scope of work also included updated finishes, mechanical upgrades, and ADA improvements.

A students learning environment is integral to their academic experience, said Dan Sullivan, Gilbane Building Company project executive. We are proud to deliver the newly renovated Edgewood Middle School to District 112 to help further their mission to foster inspiring, innovative, and engaging environments to educate students and prepare them for life success.

About Gilbane Building Company

Gilbane provides a full slate of construction and facilities-related services  from preconstruction planning and integrated consulting capabilities to comprehensive construction management, general contracting, design-build, and facility management services  for clients across various markets. Founded in 1870 and still a privately held, family-owned company, Gilbane has more than 45 office locations worldwide. Since 1978, Gilbane has delivered innovative construction solutions in Chicago for clients across multiple market sectors, including healthcare, higher education, K-12, and public sector, corporate and interiors, developer, residential, life sciences, and industrial.
Tython Open-Source Security as Code Tython goes well beyond configuration management approaches of existing policy-as-code languages and helps security holistically assess the entire cloud architecture"

Development teams leverage Infrastructure as Code (IaC) automation to make fast and frequent changes to their cloud native architectures. The only way for security teams to keep pace with rapidly evolving software development is to embrace automation and codify security.

Now, theres a framework that makes Security as Code (SaC) available to everyone.

oak9, developer-first cloud native security leader, has released Tython, the first and only open-source SaC framework and software development kit (SDK) with a bring-your-own-language model to eliminate the challenges of existing tools and scale cloud security. Tython allows security teams to build custom security reference architectures and design patterns as code.

oak9s security architecture team has been using Tython internally for years to codify industry reference architectures from organizations like Cloud Security Alliance, NIST, AWS, Azure, GCP, OWASP, and more. The team recognized the importance of opening this framework to the larger community.

Almost every security architecture practice we speak with wants to build reference architectures, but they just dont have the time, said Aakash Shah, Chief Technology Officer and Co-Founder at oak9. Tython gives the community a way to collaborate in building security best practices and the ability to easily implement the policies they need in whichever programming languages they choose, so they can effortlessly scale within their organization.

Tython revolutionizes how security and development teams operate and collaborate  it democratizes security for developers, enables development and security to operate autonomously, and creates shared responsibility around security.

Within minutes, users can clone the Tython repository from Github, and build and test their security blueprints. With the power of the oak9 platform, Tython not only identifies security design gaps, but also fixes them, regardless of the IaC language and cloud service provider (CSP) the developer chooses to use.

Tython goes well beyond configuration management approaches of existing policy-as-code languages and helps security holistically assess the entire cloud architecture, continued Shah. Security, compliance, and governance guardrails defined in Tython are enforced across the entire software development lifecycle  from design to post-deployment  automatically, giving developers real-time feedback for any change they make.

oak9 will share more about Tython at RSA Conference 2023 in San Francisco. Join oak9s session A Journey in Building an Open Source Security as Code Framework presented by Shah in-person on Thursday, April 27, 2023 at 8:30 a.m. PT / 10:30 a.m. CT, or catch the online stream.

Tython is being offered to current oak9 customers in beta. New and prospective customers interested in using Tython can contact oak9 directly.

Learn more at tython.io.

About oak9

oak9 secures cloud native infrastructure for developers. oak9 Security as Code continuously finds, analyzes, and remediates security and compliance issues in real-time, as changes occur in Infrastructure as Code or in the cloud. oak9s catalog of Security as Code (SaC) blueprints support 20-plus compliance standards out-of-the-box including HIPAA, HITRUST, PCI, SOC2 and ISO27001. oak9s open-sourced Security as Code also enables security engineers to extend oak9 security blueprints for additional guard rails. Headquartered in Chicago, oak9 is a Built in 2022 Start-up to Watch backed by investors Menlo Ventures, HPA, Cisco Investments, and Morgan Stanleys Next Level Fund. oak9 partners with HashiCorp, AWS, and Microsoft, and actively supports the Cloud Security Alliance (CSA) and Open Web Application Security Project (OWASP).

Keep in touch with oak9 on LinkedIn, Twitter, Youtube, and TikTok, or visit oak9.io.
By adding services to phoenixNAPs data center, we are expanding our footprint in the western U.S., specifically in Arizonas biggest interconnectivity hub. This partnership ensures best-in-class data transfer speeds with maximum security and minimal chances of service disruptions.

phoenixNAP, a global IT services provider offering security-focused cloud infrastructure, dedicated servers, colocation, and specialized Infrastructure-as-a-Service technology solutions, announced today that Crown Castle, the nations largest provider of shared communications infrastructure, has established a Point of Presence (PoP) at its data center in Phoenix, Arizona. This new deployment further broadens carrier options for phoenixNAPs clients and provides a new, strategic interconnectivity point for Crown Castle.

Crown Castle delivers wireless, fiber, and added fiber solutions out of over 900 connected data centers, PoPs, and Central Offices (COs) to facilitate high-bandwidth connectivity to key business customers, including carrier hotels, data centers, and content providers. With over 85,000 route miles of fiber, Crown Castles network is now accessible from phoenixNAPs carrier-neutral Meet-Me-Rooms. This allows organizations to affordably expand their presence and leverage reliable, high-speed network resources from an enterprise-grade data center environment.

Were excited to have introduced Crown Castle into our carrier-neutral data center to deliver additional connectivity options for our clients and tenants, said Ron Cadwell, CEO and Founder at phoenixNAP. This will enable organizations and governments of all types and sizes to cost-effectively boost their data transfer speed and throughput with increased redundancy. Furthermore, it will provide businesses with direct access to Crown Castles state-of-the-art, 5G-ready data-intensive technologies straight from our flagship facility.

phoenixNAPs data center is an AZRamp, SOC 1, SOC 2, and PCI DSS-certified facility providing maximum levels of security and redundancy for latency and compliance-sensitive workloads. The services available out of the facility include colocation, hardware leasing, API-driven dedicated servers, and secure-by-design cloud solutions, as well as industry-leading backup and DR options. Located near major domestic and international fiber routes, the facility is a part of the companys global network of 18 data centers and PoPs.

phoenixNAPs Phoenix data center location is equipped with 2 dedicated, carrier-neutral Meet-Me-Rooms which are home to over 40 network, bandwidth, and telecom carriers. As companies such as Crown Castle continue choosing phoenixNAP for their strategic PoP deployments, the facility keeps growing its total network capacity. At the same time, it offers its tenants advanced connectivity options and full neutrality when it comes to choosing on-net carriers.

phoenixNAPs proven track record and enterprise-grade data center architecture are the main reasons for selecting their Phoenix data center as our Point of Presence. Crown Castles presence in the facility will expand connectivity possibilities for both Arizona-based organizations and those looking to expand their U.S. business, said Shawn Graham, Fiber Sales Managing Director at Crown Castle. By adding services to phoenixNAPs data center, we are expanding our footprint in the western U.S., specifically in Arizonas biggest interconnectivity hub. This partnership ensures best-in-class data transfer speeds with maximum security and minimal chances of service disruptions.

About phoenixNAP

phoenixNAP is a global IT services provider with a focus on cyber security and compliance-readiness, whose progressive Infrastructure-as-a-Service solutions are delivered from strategic edge locations worldwide. Its cloud, dedicated servers, hardware leasing, and colocation options are built to meet ever-evolving IT business requirements. Providing comprehensive disaster recovery solutions, a DDoS-protected global network, and hybrid IT deployments with software and hardware-based security, phoenixNAP fully supports its clients business continuity planning. Offering scalable and resilient opex solutions with expert staff to assist, phoenixNAP supports growth and innovation in businesses of any size enabling their digital transformation. Visit http://www.phoenixnap.com and follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube for more information.

phoenixNAP is a Premier Service Provider in the VMware Cloud Provider Program and a Platinum Veeam Cloud & Service Provider partner. phoenixNAP is also a PCI DSS Validated Service Provider and its flagship facility is SOC Type 1 and SOC Type 2 audited.
Precipice has now taken its commitment to environmental stewardship even further by installing solar panels to make the coffee roastery, cafe, and bakery operation entirely self-sustainable and powered by 100% clean energy.

Today, Precipice Coffee, the most eco-friendly micro-roastery in Maine, is announcing the successful installation of an 8Kwh solar array at their roastery and shop in Ellsworth, Maine. After nearly two years of roasting on the all-electric, ventless Bellwether Coffee Roaster  which reduces the carbon footprint from roasting by 87% when compared to traditional gas roasters  Precipice has now taken its commitment to environmental stewardship even further by installing solar panels to make the coffee roastery, cafe, and bakery operation entirely self-sustainable and powered by 100% clean energy.

Acadia National Park holds a special place in our hearts, as its where my husband and I fell in love. After coming across the property in Ellsworth, we decided to take the leap and open our own roastery and shop, prioritizing mindfulness towards our local community, as well as the environment, said Maggie Iannuzzi, co-founder of Precipice Coffee. After extensive research, we realized that conventional gas roasting methods do not align with our eco-conscious vision, so we were thrilled to find Bellwethers electric roaster. Transitioning to solar power and becoming self-sustainable seemed like the natural next step, and we couldnt be more excited now that the installation is complete.

Having roasted nearly 22,000 pounds of sustainable coffee in under two years, Precipice Coffee opened its doors in July of 2021 as a micro-roastery, expanded to selling coffee at local farmers' markets, and later opened an online store with coffee subscriptions and serving dozens of wholesale customers throughout the state of Maine.

Traditional coffee roasting currently produces approximately 23 billion pounds of CO2 emissions annually. As a member of A Climate to Thrives (ACTTs) Climate Reduction Commitment program, Precipice Coffee has received invaluable support in its journey towards net-zero emissions. SolarLogix, an ACTT partner based in Belfast, Maine, installed the rooftop solar system at the Iannuzzis downtown roasting facility.

Precipice Coffee is a pioneer in the micro-roastery movement in Maine, and were excited to support a like-minded business in their pursuit of sustainable roasting practices, said Grayson Caldwell, Senior Sustainability Manager at Bellwether Coffee. Bellwethers mission is to enable everyone to sustainably source and cleanly roast exceptional coffee. Electric roasting is the future  as more roasteries adopt this technology and renewable energy sources become more widespread in the grids, the environmental benefits of electric roasting will only continue to grow.

In addition to electric roasting, Precipice taps into Bellwethers Green Coffee Marketplace which connects roasteries to farmers of ethically sourced green coffee beans and as a byproduct, supports farmer livelihoods and ensures retailers have access to fresh, high-quality coffee from all over the world.

Visit Precipice Coffee Thursday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 56 Deane Street, Ellsworth, Maine. Alternatively, explore their offerings on their website, through local resellers, by placing an online order via Blue Hill FarmDrop, or at farmers markets in Bar Harbor, Blue Hill, Northeast Harbor, and Stonington.

About Precipice Coffee

Precipice Coffee is a micro roastery and shop, owned and operated by Maggie and Bill Iannuzzi in downtown Ellsworth, Maine. Driven by the desire to roast in a more sustainable way, Precipice Coffee offers quality coffee roasted on the Bellwether Roaster, the most sustainable, lowest carbon footprint roaster. To learn more, visit precipicecoffee.com.

About Bellwether Coffee

Bellwether Coffee is the provider of the worlds lowest carbon coffee roaster. As the only electric and ventless system, Bellwether is supporting the microroastery movement by transforming retailers into on-site roasters, while helping source sustainable coffee beans from farmers around the world. The first-of-its-kind technology was built from scratch to deliver a solution that is easy to install, use, and scale to produce consistency and quality in craft coffee. By making roasting more accessible, Bellwether is helping retailers differentiate, drive sales, and deliver the coffee of the future for sustainability in coffee today. To learn more, visit bellwethercoffee.com.
Ricky Simpson joins Quorum Cyber as the company's new U.S. Solutions Director. "Quorum Cyber provides companies with a cost-effective means of detecting and reacting to potential cyber incidents without hiring a large IT security team." - Ricky Simpson U.S. Solutions Director, Quorum Cyber

UK-based cybersecurity firm Quorum Cyber announced Ricky Simpson is joining the company as its new U.S. Solutions Director. Simpson has over ten years of experience at Microsoft and will support Quorum Cybers expansion across North America. In addition, the company will attend the RSA Conference, taking place from April 24-27 in San Francisco, booth# 6044N. Quorum Cyber will join Microsoft, demonstrating its sophisticated Microsoft Sentinel Managed Detection & Response (MDR) service.

Simpson will be based in California to bring new identity-focused security products to market. Before joining Quorum Cyber, Simpson held the roles of Product Marketing Manager, Technical Specialist, and Solutions Professional at Microsoft. He comes with expertise in Microsoft's productivity solutions (Microsoft 365), the Microsoft Defender suite, security in the cloud, and identity security.

Im delighted to welcome Ricky Simpson to our team as we establish our presence in North America and offer our cybersecurity services to a growing customer base, said Quorum Cyber Chief Revenue Officer Scott Abney. His proven expertise and experience working with product teams and delivering services in the U.S. and Europe will be invaluable as we empower all organizations to achieve greater cyber resilience.

Quorum Cyber Attends The RSA Conference; Participates With Microsoft

As a Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA) member, Microsoft invited Quorum Cyber to present its Microsoft Sentinel Managed Detection & Response (MDR) service within Microsofts RSA booth# 6044N, Moscone North. Simpson will be joined by Microsoft representative Cederic Depaepe on Wednesday, April 26th, from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm for the live demonstration.

Quorum Cybers Security Operations Center (SOC) manages and delivers the integrated Microsoft Sentinel MDR service. The SOC comprises qualified Quorum Cyber cybersecurity professionals that respond to IT threats 24/7. With Depaepe, Quorum Cyber will showcase its SOCs real-time methods to find, analyze and contain customer threats.

"Working closely with customers, I've observed that numerous organizations lack the funds, expertise, and manpower to establish or operate an in-house SOC, said Simpson. However, their C-suite executives recognize the necessity of round-the-clock protection against constant cyber threats. Quorum Cyber provides these companies a cost-effective means of detecting and reacting to potential cyber incidents without hiring a large IT security team. I look forward to partnering with Microsoft and demonstrating our solution to RSA attendees."

About Quorum Cyber

Founded in Edinburgh in 2016, Quorum Cyber is one of the fastest-growing cybersecurity companies in the UK, with over 150 customers on four continents. Its mission is to help good people win, and it does this by defending teams and organizations across the world and all industry sectors against the rising threat of cyber-attacks, enabling them to thrive in an increasingly hostile, unpredictable, and fast-changing digital landscape. Quorum Cyber is a Microsoft Solutions Partner for Security and a member of the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA). For more information, please visit Quorum Cyber or contact us at info@QuorumCyber.com.
As we expand to 20 countries this year, we have also extended our support to newsrooms operating in exile, due to conflicts in their countries, and direct attacks and persecution of journalists, said Preethi Nallu, Report for the Worlds global director.

Report for the World today announced the selection of 15 new host newsrooms, more than doubling its global network from eight to 20 countries. Among them are five, independent newsrooms reporting on their home countries in exile.

As we expand to 20 countries this year, we have also extended our support to newsrooms operating in exile, due to conflicts in their countries, and direct attacks and persecution of journalists, said Preethi Nallu, Report for the Worlds global director. The work from the journalists that we are supporting from Syria, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Russia, will be vital to continue holding their governments accountable and keep the spotlight on the human rights abuses in their countries and on the consequences of forced displacement for millions of people.

As part of a global cohort, corps members in exile will benefit from a growing network of newsrooms, building connections across borders with their counterparts in Lebanon, Pakistan, India, Mexico, and Ukraine to report on the regional ramifications of local stories and provide coverage of the issues that affect their peoples diaspora.

Central America has become one of the regions of the world with the highest number of migrants, a flow where stories of violence, forced displacement, gender violence, economic crisis, organized crime, and political persecution converge, Nestor Arce, director of Divergentes (Nicaragua, in exile). Having a reporter in Mexico, an obligated and complicated stop in the migrants journey, is key to documenting and understanding the new migratory dynamics in a context that is increasingly hostile for those who leave their countries.

Report for the World will provide salary and training support; however, the newsrooms will remain editorially independent.

The newly selected newsrooms are:



Afghanistan (in exile): Etilaat Roz. Beat: Money flows

Chile: CIPER. Beat: Corruption

El Salvador: Alharaca. Beat: Photojournalism

Kenya: Africa Uncensored. Beat: Climate change

Lebanon: The Public Source. Public sector and public interest

Mexico: Causa Natura. Beat: Oceans and coastal communities

Myanmar (in exile): Frontier Myanmar. Beat: Health

Nicaragua (in exile): Divergentes. Beat: Migration

Pakistan: Tribal News Network. Beat: Climate change

Philippines: Puma Podcast. Beat: Disinformation and society

Russia (in exile): IStories. Beat: Multimedia

South Africa: Daily Maveric. Beat: Education

South Africa: Mail & Guardian. Beat: Investigative journalism

South Africa: Sowetan. Beat: Migration

Syria (in exile): SIRAJ. Beat: Open source

More than 90 newsrooms applied for the program this year and those selected are an impressive mix of independent, civic-minded, news organizations that have devoted their efforts to serving their communities while meeting the highest standards in journalism.

We are excited to expand the coverage to even more diverse beats: from marine ecosystems, and feminist-lens photojournalism In Latin America, to migration and education in Africa and disinformation in Asia, said Leticia Duarte, Report for the Worlds Brazil program manager and member of the selection committee. We strongly believe this reporting will make a significant impact on local communities while strengthening democracy in these crucial times.

The need for support is significant in countries like Afghanistan where the collapse of the government following the U.S. withdrawal has left journalists with fewer resources to share important stories involving corruption.

"Working with other journalists and experts from different newsrooms is exactly what we need. This collaboration brings new skills, knowledge, and experience to our team, said Zaki Daryabi, editor-in-chief of Etilaat Roz.

In the Philippines, the expansion will help counter disinformation.

Disinformation is one of the most troubling and problematic realities confronting the Philippine media and the Filipino public in general, said Roby Alampay, founder of the Puma Podcast. Report for the Worlds support for a sustained and in-depth coverage of the national and global ecosystems challenging news and information not only empowers Puma Podcast, but fuels the societal conversations we hope to encourage.

Report for the World is made possible by partners including the MacArthur Foundation, Google News Initiative, Microsoft, and JournalismFund.eu, along with family foundations and individual donors around the world. To follow or support Report for the Worlds work, visit reportfortheworld.org.

About Report for the World: Report for the World is an international journalism program that matches local newsrooms with talented journalists to report on undercovered issues around the globe. By creating a more sustainable and impactful media ecosystem, Report for the World informs, engages, and enables communities through public service journalism. Report for the World is an initiative of The GroundTruth Project, an award-winning nonprofit journalism organization dedicated to rebuilding journalism from the ground up.


John Dulczak, founder and CEO of RetireeFirst Im honored to be recognized for work that gives me an incredible sense of pride and satisfaction. Im driven by my passion for providing an excellent healthcare benefits experience for our retiree clients.

Ernst & Young LLP (EY US) recently announced that John P. Dulczak, founder and CEO of RetireeFirst, was selected as a finalist in the Entrepreneur of the Year 2023 Greater Philadelphia Awards. Now in its 37th year, Entrepreneur of the Year is one of the preeminent competitive business awards for transformative entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies who are building a more equitable, sustainable and prosperous world for all.

Dulczak was selected by an independent panel of judges. Entrepreneurs were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.

Im honored to be recognized for work that gives me an incredible sense of pride and satisfaction. Im driven by my passion for providing an excellent healthcare benefits experience for our retiree clients. Our focus will always be helping retirees meet their health and wellness needs while reducing costs and administrative burdens of group retiree plans, Dulczak said. Im thankful to the EY Entrepreneur of the Year Awards committee for seeing the value in what we do and for taking the time to learn more about the motivation behind our companys amazing journey.

Founded in 2005, the company quickly made a name for itself as a valuable partner that manages every aspect of group retiree healthcare benefit administration. From plan design and selection to implementation and ongoing benefit administration, RetireeFirst creates a better experience for plan sponsors and helps improve health outcomes for retired members. Following a rebrand to RetireeFirst earlier this year, the company is building on that legacy and upholding its excellent standards.

RetireeFirst has grown significantly the last five years, and company leaders expect that momentum to continue due to the increased demand for its service and skills amid the complex and ever-evolving Medicare landscape. RetireeFirsts services and solutions are specially designed to support plan sponsors who are challenged with managing benefits budgets and risks while ensuring retiree member needs are met. RetireeFirst Advocates truly care about helping members navigate Medicare, understand their benefits, and connect to programs that can improve their health and wellbeing. The team carries out this mission while maintaining an impressive client retention rate of 100% and achieving an annual net promoter score (NPS) above 90, a significantly higher ranking than the healthcare industry average of 58.

Dulczak and his team are looking forward to June 8, when EY regional award winners will be announced during a special celebration. The winners will then be considered by the national judges for the Entrepreneur of the Year National Awards, which will be presented in November at the annual Strategic Growth Forum  one of the nations most prestigious gatherings of high-growth, market-leading companies. The Entrepreneur of the Year National Overall Award winner will then move on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year Award in June 2024.

The Entrepreneur of the Year program has recognized more than 11,000 entrepreneurs throughout the US since its inception in 1986, and it has grown to recognize business leaders across 145 cities in over 60 countries around the world.

About RetireeFirst

RetireeFirst is the premier retiree benefit management solutions and advocacy service provider, proven to enhance the experience and outcomes for group plan sponsors and their retirees. Founded in 2005, the company partners with all major national health carriers and hundreds of labor unions, public sector entities, and private corporations nationwide. RetireeFirst designs solutions that preserve and enhance benefit quality while driving material cost savings. Its unparalleled advocacy service creates a seamless benefits experience and connects members to programs that improve their health and wellness. RetireeFirst is HITRUST certified and has been awarded a full URAC Core Accreditation for its commitment to upholding federal regulatory requirements and improving business processes. Headquartered in Mount Laurel, NJ, RetireeFirsts award-winning team, solutions, and services have received industry praise, world-class NPS scores, and a Philadelphia Biz Journal Best Places to Work award. For more information on RetireeFirsts people-centric approach, our services, and our broker, consultant, or carrier programs, visit retireefirst.com and follow RetireeFirst on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Entrepreneur of the Year

Entrepreneur of the Year is the worlds most prestigious business awards program for unstoppable entrepreneurs. These visionary leaders deliver innovation, growth and prosperity that transform our world. The program engages entrepreneurs with insights and experiences that foster growth. It connects them with their peers to strengthen entrepreneurship around the world. Entrepreneur of the Year is the first and only truly global awards program of its kind. It celebrates entrepreneurs through regional and national awards programs in more than 145 cities in over 60 countries. National Overall Award winners go on to compete for the EY World Entrepreneur of the Year title. Visit ey.com/us/eoy.
The collaboration between RPS and WANRack will allow children to excel both inside and outside the classroom by removing barriers. I am confident that this high-speed network will bring opportunities to our students, teachers, and our community, said City of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

Today, April 19th, 2023, Richmond Public Schools celebrated the beginning of the construction process on their brand-new WANRack Private Fiber Network.

In April 2022, WANRack, a private fiber-wide area network provider, entered a contract with Richmond Public Schools to construct a state-of-the-art fiber network that spans all RPS school campuses across the city. This new network will provide the school with unlimited bandwidth, better security, and faster speeds for the school division. This groundbreaking event marks a major milestone for the division and creates a future-proof network that Richmond students will benefit from well into the future.

We are thrilled to break ground on the installation of what will be a 21st-century internet infrastructure for RPS and the City of Richmond, said Superintendent Jason Kamras. Our ability to continue to provide cutting-edge instruction utilizing all of the benefits of the internet and technology rests on our students having access to the fastest speeds and most modern infrastructure.

The collaboration between RPS and WANRack will allow children to excel both inside and outside the classroom by removing barriers. I am confident that this high-speed network will bring opportunities to our students, teachers, and our community, said City of Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney.

This contract is for a new wide area network, or WAN, which is a core piece of infrastructure that provides a secure Internet system, phone services, and other telecommunications needs. The construction is set to begin in Summer 2023 and is projected to be completed in Spring 2024.

This network is primarily funded through E-Rate, a federal funding program under the direction of the Federal Communications Commission. E-Rate is dedicated to making telecommunications and information services more affordable to schools and libraries. Thanks to this program, the actual cost to RPS will be less than $200K out of a total contract cost of more than $11 million.

The launch event was held at Huguenot High School and included remarks from Superintendent Kamras, Mayor Stoney, 4th District School Board Representative Jonathan Young, City Council President Michael Jones, and WANRack CEO Rob Oyler. Also in attendance were 3rd District City Council Member Ann-Frances Lambert, Delegate Besty Carr, and Senator Ghazala Hashmi.

"We are thrilled to be a part of this project with Richmond Public Schools," said Rob Oyler, Founder, and CEO of WANRack. "We cannot wait to see the network be put to use every day and watch all opportunities unfold for the division.

WANRack will be laying fiber to benefit the division, but at the same time  and at their own expense  will be laying excess capacity to serve the community. This could enable broadband access in the major public housing developments that serve thousands of RPS students.

Together, RPS and WANRack will build a better future for students and staff, and ensure that they have access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive in todays technologically dependent world.

About WANRack

WANRack provides high-bandwidth, fiber-based infrastructure and related services to schools, hospitals, libraries, enterprises and carrier customers throughout the continental United States. Service offerings include E-Rate-compliant lit fiber, dark fiber, and special construction solutions. Headquartered in Overland Park, Kansas, the company provides bespoke fiber solutions, which eliminates countless points of failure found in typical legacy networks. To learn more about WANRack, visit http://www.wanrack.com.
Florida Supply Chain Summit May 15-17, 2023 Tampa FL "By mobilizing supply chain professionals across Florida, we are working to generate more recognition for the states important place in the supply chain and global trade" said Laura Olson, Chief Marketing Officer for Datex International.

With its trademark fast-paced format, the Florida Supply Chain Summit is poised to bring business, academic, and governmental organizations together again to celebrate the strength, resilience, and success of Florida. This years event will be held at The Westshore Grand Hotel in Tampa Florida from May 15th to 17th, 2023.

Unlike many conference-type events, the Florida Supply Chain Summit encourages interaction by featuring live panel discussions rather than relying on presentations. The format enables the sharing of multiple perspectives and helps to make both topics and experts more accessible to the audience. The annual event provides opportunities for face-to-face meetings and networking including with supply chain students.

One of the founding sponsors of the annual event, Datex has served on the statewide steering committee since its inception. Learning from industry leaders and experts across Florida about todays challenges and actionable solutions is invaluable. By mobilizing supply chain professionals across Florida, we are working to generate more recognition for the states important place in the supply chain and global trade said Laura Olson, Chief Marketing Officer for Datex International.

The 2023 Florida Supply Chain Summit program promises notable speakers, sponsors, and participants including but not limited to:



Numerous technology companies such as Mercury Gate, project 44, Emerge, PopCapacity, EDRAY

Industry-leading companies including Mosaic, Amazon, Walmart, City Furniture, Jabil, Fanatics, Lockheed Martin Corporation, Maersk, Rooms to Go and Corning Incorporated

Governmental agencies, private and public transportation organizations: OneRail and CSX, Space Florida, Space Systems Command, airports, Enterprise Florida, and many of the 16 ports in Florida

Hot topics at the 2023 Florida Supply Chain Summit will include:

Rethinking Your Supply Chain Strategy: Nearshoring, Reshoring and Foreign Trade Zones

Last Mile Delivery

Manufacturing Marvels in Florida

Floridas Space Commerce

Next Gen Robotics

Technology in the Digital 4.0 Supply Chain Age

Industry Opportunities and State Growth

About Datex

Datex has been in business for over 40 years, providing cutting-edge technology solutions for 3PL and supply chain operations, including warehouse management software, mobile computers, and printers, as well as EDI and integration services. The company is renowned for its exceptional client care and specializes in white-glove level concierge services. For more information on Datex software, hardware, and managed services, please visit the Datex website http://www.datexcorp.com.

About the Florida Supply Chain Summit

The Florida Supply Chain Summit will be held May 15-17, 2023 at The Westshore Grand Hotel in Tampa, Florida. It is the fourth time that the summit has been held since its inaugural launch in 2019. Its mission is to facilitate and strengthen partnerships in the supply chain, trade, and logistics industries by providing opportunities to network, address and share knowledge about critical industry issues. The event also seeks to highlight emerging trends, technology innovations, and workforce development best practices. Please visit https://floridasupplychainsummit.com to register for the event.

For media inquiries, please contact Joanne Kazmierski at (727) 644-1180.
Chaz Underriner, PhD As a part of the residency, I am creating Context Collage (Vienna), a multimedia installation performance in collaboration with TONSPUR (a sound art institution of Q21) and Vienna-based Andother Stage Ensemble."

A Stetson University professor of Digital Arts has been selected for the prestigious Fulbright Scholar Program for 2023-2024 and will become an artist-in-residence in Vienna.

Chaz Underriner, PhD, assistant professor of Digital Arts, will become an artist-in-residence in Q21 in Vienna's MuseumsQuartier, one of the largest districts for contemporary art and culture in the world with 60 cultural institutions.

As a part of the residency, I am creating Context Collage (Vienna), a multimedia installation performance in collaboration with TONSPUR (a sound art institution of Q21) and Vienna-based Andother Stage Ensemble," said Underriner, who will spend three months there as an artist-in-residence.

"This 20-40 minute work will involve video art and electronics integrated with music composed for the performers of Andother Stage Ensemble, he added.

Stetson University was named one of the nation's top producers of Fulbright Scholars, according to a 2020 ranking in the Chronicle of Higher Education. Fulbright Scholars are part of the U.S. government's flagship international education exchange program and receive funding to take their research and teaching overseas for up to a year.

About Stetson University

Founded in 1883, Stetson University is the oldest private university in Central Florida. Stetson focuses on intense learning experiences in a supportive community that allows students to develop their voice in a connected, inclusive environment. Stetson University ranks No. 4 on U.S. News & World Reports 2023 list of Best Regional Universities (South) and has been recognized as one of The Princeton Reviews Best 388 Colleges for 2023.
The Charming Taste of Europe continues to support its initiatives in the US by promoting The Late Harvest Bordeaux wines and territory with multiple masterclasses throughout April and May 2023 each taking place in major US cities.

The Union des Vins Doux de Bordeaux is an association of four organizations, ODG des Bordeaux and Bordeaux Superieurs, ODG des Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux et Cadillac, ODG des Liquoreux de Bordeaux, and ODG des Cotes de Bordeaux Saint Macaire, that ensures the protection of origin and quality standard of the sweet wines produced in 8 appellations of the Bordeaux region: Bordeaux Moelleux, Bordeaux Superieur, Cadillac, Cerons, Cotes de Bordeaux Saint-Macaire, Loupiac, Premieres Cotes de Bordeaux, and Sainte-Croix-Du-Mont.

In the following weeks the late harvest wines of Bordeaux will be protagonists of various food and wine events which will highlight their great versatility in the kitchen. Thanks to their unique harvesting and vinification method, these Bordeaux wines provide a perfect balance between freshness and complexity and are suitable for multiple occasions such as relaxed events and elegant receptions. In addition to their liveliness, the wines are a beautiful accompaniment to dishes both salty and rich, and they perfectly complement Asian, Latin American and classic American BBQ recipes.

The tour will begin in New York on April 24th at the Harlem Wine Gallery with food pairing by Contento Restaurant NYC. Spoken person Mary Gorman-McAdams, MW will lead participants through a tasting that highlights the beautiful wines from Bordeaux and how they complement the elevated Peruvian dishes served.

Following New York, the tour will continue in Chicago on Wednesday 26th at Birch Road Lincoln Park, a clubhouse pioneered by the BYOB neighborhood concept and a haven for wine and spirits enthusiasts. Christy Fuhrman will lead and guide attendees through multiple food and wine pairings. After Chicago, Union des Vins doux de Bordeaux will continue at the Commonwealth Wine School in Boston on April 28th with a special class that will feature the Wines of Bordeaux accompanied by a sushi pairing with items such as Spicy Tuna, Negi Hamachi and Truffle Shiitake.

On May 2nd at the Acqualina Resort in Miami there will be a masterclass led by Dr. Gershwin Narraidoo, who will guide participants through Japanese fusion pairings alongside the beautiful wines from Bordeaux. The tour will conclude on May 3rd with Vinya Table in Miami led by Alessandra Esteves with cuban and mexican style dishes.

In addition to the tour, the Union des Vins doux de Bordeaux will sponsor the Texsom awards lunch on May 1st at the Irving Convention Center in Miami, featuring various White Wines. During the lunch there will be 120-150 attendees including judges, production teams, retailers, sommeliers and others. A total of 6 to 8 wines will be shown accompanied by spicy Asian, Mexican or BBQ dishes.

Started in 2021, The Charming Taste of Europe is a three-year campaign promoted by the Vini d Abruzzo consortium and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines, along with fruit producers in Greeces Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP) and Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria (Agios Loukas), co-financed by the European Union. This campaign focuses on raising awareness of these high-quality products in the American and Canadian market.

The Charming Taste of Europe aims to educate participants on the beauty of the Bordeaux region by calling attention to its rich history and luscious, golden wines through educated wine professionals.

About the Charming Taste of Europe:

Europe, a place with timeless charm, is the birthplace of some of the highest-quality products in the world. The Charming Taste of Europe is a special project that introduces exquisite specialties to the United States and Canada, such as Italian and French wines, and fresh fruits from Greece, that showcase Europes charm, beauty, culture, history, art, heritage and unmistakable tastes.

The mission of the Charming Taste of Europe, co-funded by the European Union, is to increase awareness of the merits and quality standards of select European wines and fresh fruits with promotional activities in the competitive markets of the U.S. and Canada. The Charming Taste of Europe is promoted by the Consortium for the Protection of Wines of Abruzzo, the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Kavala (Kavala COOP), the Agricultural Cooperative of Rachi Pieria Agios Loukas and the Union of Sweet Bordeaux Wines. These European agricultural products, famous around the world for their outstanding qualities, will continue to be promoted with initiatives and events for consumers, journalists and trade professionals. For more information visit charmingtasteofeurope.eu

To Follow The Charming Taste of Europe Campaign:

Website: charmingtasteofeurope.eu

Facebook: @CharmingTasteofEU

Instagram: @charmeu_usa

YouTube: The Charming Taste of Europe

Hashtags: #thecharmingtasteofeu and #charmeu

The content of this promotion campaign represents the views of the author only and is his/her sole responsibility. The European Commission and the European Research Executive Agency (REA) do not accept any responsibility for any use that may be made of the information it contains
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Azerbaijan and Israel are going to sign new agreements on innovation, cyber security and education, Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who is on a visit to Baku, said in an exclusive interview with Trend.

"I have come from Israel to Azerbaijan with the biggest delegation ever. Relations between Azerbaijan and Israel are strategic. Therefore, I decided to come to visit your beautiful country after opening of the embassy in Israel. The good relations between countries first of all rely on good relations between the people of Azerbaijan and the people of Israel. I want to emphasize once again our full appreciation to the Azerbaijani people for all their attitude to the Jewish community, who has been living in Azerbaijan over centuries. This is a good basis for the relations. We have good relations between the Azerbaijani people and Jewish people and good relations between the governments," said the minister.

Cohen pointed out that Israel and Azerbaijan broad cooperation in economy, tourism, security.

"We see Azerbaijan as a strategic partner. The commercial relations will definitely increase. I am here to fulfill the potential and to even more strengthen the relations between the two countries. We will sign agreements on innovation, cyber security, education. The two governments have set a goal to strengthen their cooperation. The relations are good, and my goal is to make them excellent and we're working on it. I am sure we will see a lot of results from the upcoming business forum," added Israel's foreign minister.
I am grateful for the support of the Ziegler Link-age Funds. As the premier partner for senior housing operators, ZLFs endorsement is validation that our model addresses an unmet need, transforming the care of seniors in senior living settings and the home, said Will Saunders, Founder...

The Ziegler Link-age Fund III, LP (ZLF) announces a significant investment in At Home Harmony, which delivers an innovative, integrated care model through which seniors experience the highest-quality geriatric healthcare from the comfort of their own home.

The At Home Harmony solution blends a collaborative team of physicians, advanced practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, care aides, therapists and social workers with the latest in-home technology and a specialized pharmacy built to help seniors manage complex medication regimens, all with the goal of supporting healthy aging in the home.

At Home Harmony currently serves seniors wherever they call home throughout central Virginia, including both in private homes and senior living communities. With the additional capital provided by ZLF, At Home Harmony plans to expand its reach to support seniors in a growing number of geographies.

The company was founded in early 2022 by Will Saunders, a healthcare and long-term care expert with a decades-long track of record of launching and growing healthcare companies that solve intricate healthcare problems for seniors and populations with complex needs.

After founding and successfully exiting a company that focused on improving the quality of care within nursing homes, Saunders noted a shortage of at-home solutions for older adults who wanted to stay at home while accessing high-quality senior care. His vision for At Home Harmony is to deliver a suite of integrated clinical services that help seniors thrive in the home.

I am grateful for the support of the Ziegler Link-age Funds. As the premier partner for senior housing operators, ZLFs endorsement is validation that our model addresses an unmet need, transforming the care of seniors in senior living settings and the home, said Saunders.

For senior living and care providers, the flexibility of the At Home Harmony platform creates a variety of opportunities to differentiate their offering and help delay transitions to higher levels of care.

At Home Harmonys turnkey clinical model has tremendous value, especially for smaller senior living operators who want to offer on-site clinical care to all residents, regardless of what insurance carrier they have, said Laurence Gumina, CEO of Ohio Living and a member of ZLFs investment committee. Some senior living providers already offer personal care services or have deployed a remote patient monitoring solution, and At Home Harmony can wrap around those existing services to improve overall quality of care. Improved care naturally delays transitions to higher levels of care, thereby helping providers improve census.

Mr. Gumina will join Neil Borg, Chief Strategy Officer of ZLF and the Head of Healthcare Corporate Finance at Ziegler, as ZLFs appointees to the companys board as part of its investment.

Older adults who are aging and managing multiple chronic conditions almost always prefer to stay in their own home, but the senior and their family often lack the support they need to do so safely, continued Saunders. The combination of my own experience in improving the quality of care within senior living communities, and new programs offered by Medicare inspired me to build a new type of senior care service that could help older adults age safely and affordably at home.

Every day our clinical team dedicates themselves to helping our patients manage multiple chronic conditions and complex drug regimens, said Saunders. This investment from ZLF will propel us forward in investing in our platform, expanding to multiple states, and recruiting the highest caliber clinicians who share our mission to serve seniors and their families. It is also a validation of the value of our solution to senior living operators.

The offering can be offered on a turnkey or ala carte basis to complement existing efforts of senior living providers and physician groups. Benefits of the solution include:



Physicians and advanced practitioners visit the senior in their home and coordinate care with their existing trusted physicians. The clinician develops a personalized At Home Harmony Plan for the senior, tailored to their individual conditions, to enable them to thrive in their own home or senior living community.

Home delivery of medications in specialized packaging aimed to help the typical senior adhere to complicated medication regimens. Additionally, At Home Harmony pharmacists provide free recurring counseling for the senior and their family.

Access to high-quality care aides who are part of an integrated care team and are trained to keep the senior safe at home.

Technology customized to the seniors unique conditions that continuously monitors the senior and sends updates to the care team and family.

Therapists, as needed, who work directly with the senior to improve their ability to safely live independently.

Access to dedicated advanced practitioners, pharmacists, and nurses when the senior or their family has a question or concern.

At Home Harmony delivers an integrated care model comprised of a collaborative team of physicians, advanced practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, therapists, care aides, and social workers.

Services are generally covered by Medicare, at no cost to the patient other than applicable copayments.

About At Home Harmony:

Founded and based in Richmond, VA, At Home Harmony delivers an integrated care model comprised of a collaborative team of physicians, advanced practitioners, pharmacists, nurses, care aides, therapists and social workers. The At Home Harmony platform includes the latest in-home technology and a specialized pharmacy built to help seniors manage complex medication regimens. At Home Harmony is committed to transforming the aging-at-home experience for older adults everywhere. For more information about At Home Harmony, visit http://www.athomeharmony.com.

About the Ziegler Link Age Fund III, LP:

Ziegler Link-Age Fund III is the third fund managed by a joint venture between Ziegler (http://www.ziegler.com) and Link-age (http://www.LinkageConnect.com) that seeks to support emerging companies operating in or developing businesses focused on aging and related care. The Funds investments align with the goals of its limited partner investors who consist primarily of organizations across the senior living and care, healthcare, and aging services landscape that have a significant interest in finding innovative solutions to improve the independence, quality and cost of care, and overall lives of the aging population.
"We're thrilled to partner with The Village Project SF to amplify our impact and provide more resources and opportunities for youth in the San Francisco Bay area." - Arabella DeLucco, founder of WeXL.org.

WeXL.org and The Village Project SF, nonprofit organizations based in San Francisco and founded by Jefferson Award recipients, have joined forces to launch the WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program, starting April 18th, 2023. The program aims to teach and inspire San Francisco youth to explore their creativity and develop fundamental skills such as ideation, problem-solving, and self-expression.

Through the WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program, students will gain hands-on experience learning screenwriting, camera operating, editing, and more, culminating in a final project that showcases their creativity and hard work. Students will also meet industry professionals, gain insights into various creative fields, and explore their passions.

"The WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program is an opportunity for young people to tell their stories and discover their passions," said Arabella DeLucco. "We're thrilled to partner with The Village Project SF to amplify our impact and provide more resources and opportunities for youth in the San Francisco Bay area."

Arabella DeLucco founded WeXL.org to empower underprivileged communities through the creative process. As a young girl, she immigrated to the United States from the Philippines. She has since learned the value of self-expression and creativity, particularly in helping non-normative voices experience the power of their stories.

Adrian Williams founded The Village Project SF to provide culturally enriching activities, academic support, and family services to youth in San Francisco.

"It's perfect timing for this partnership with WeXL," said Adrian Williams. "Seventeen years ago, I left my corporate job to help the kids, and I've never looked back because there's so much worth and meaning in the work we do as a village."

Among other programs, The Village Project hosts Kwanzaa and Mardi Gras events in San Francisco.

WeXL also produces original content in collaboration with the WeXL Impact Network, a community of industry professionals passionate about creating positive change in their communities.

The WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program will culminate in a red-carpet event on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Little Roxie Theater, where students can see their films on the big screen in front of an audience. After the film screening, there will be a panel discussion with renowned guests and a fundraiser reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at 518 Valencia.
A student from our WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program in front of the WeXL team engaged in production. "We are grateful to thisspace for helping us come together as a community as we emerge from years of social distancing and disconnect. This is the time to come together as a community and create joy and meaning, starting with our local youth." - Arabella DeLucco, CEO and Founder of WeXL.org.

WeXL.org, a nonprofit organization empowering underprivileged communities through the creative process, is partnering with The Village Project SF to bring the WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program to 4th and 5th graders in San Francisco from April 18 to May 23, 2023. Making this partnership possible is Oakland-based startup thisspace, which connects community members and local organizations to unique spaces in their area.

"The partnership between WeXL, The Village Project SF, and St. Cyprian's Episcopal Church is the perfect example of thisspace's mission to open doors for the community," said Ian Storrar, CEO and Co-founder of thisspace. "We are proud to have brought them together."

Through the WeXL Boundless Self-discovery Filmmaking program, students will gain hands-on experience learning screenwriting, camera operating, editing, and more, culminating in a final project that showcases their creativity and hard work. Students will also meet industry professionals, learn insights into various creative fields, and explore their passions.

"We are grateful to thisspace for helping us come together as a community after years of social distancing and disconnect," said Arabella DeLucco, CEO and founder of WeXL.org. "Now is the time to collaborate and create joy and meaning through our work, starting with our local youth.

WeXL Boundless aims to help youth explore their creativity and develop essential skills such as ideation, problem-solving, and self-expression. The program leverages the organization's original content and the WeXL Impact Network of arts, media, and technology leaders. Partnerships with local organizations like The Village SF help amplify the impact and expand the reach of this valuable arts and media program.

"It's perfect timing for this partnership with WeXL," said Adrian Williams, founder of The Village Project SF. "Seventeen years ago, I left my corporate job to help the kids, and I've never looked back because there's so much worth and meaning in the work we do as a village."

The Village Project SF is a nonprofit, community-based organization that provides a haven for academic, cultural, and enrichment activities for youth ages 6 to 17 and their families.

For the program's final week, WeXL will host a red-carpet event on Tuesday, May 23, 2023, from 4 to 6 p.m. at The Little Roxie Theater, where students can see their films on the big screen in front of an audience. There will also be a panel discussion with renowned guests and a fundraiser reception from 6 to 8 p.m. at 518 Valencia.

The partnership between thisspace, WeXL.org, and The Village Project SF is a testament to the impact organizations can make when they work together. Arabella DeLucco and Adrian Williams are both Jefferson Award recipients who believe in the power of community.
PTI Fact Check: No, Putins office does not have portrait of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar; Morphed photo shared on social media with false claim

New Delhi, Apr 18 (Abhinav Gupta / Pratyush Ranjan PTI Fact Check): A Facebook user shared a photo of Vladimir Putins office with a portrait of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar displayed on a wall in the room. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that it was a digitally altered photo, which was shared on social media with a false claim. The edited photo was shared three days after India celebrated the 132nd birth anniversary of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar, a social reformer, economist, jurist and the architect of the countrys Constitution.

Claim

A Facebook user shared on April 17 a photo which showed a portrait of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on the wall of Vladimir Putin while the Russian President addressed a meeting.

Russian President Mr Vladimir Puttin has displayed Dr B.R. Ambedkar's photo in his office....a great honour for India.! (sic), read the photo.

Here is the link and archive link to the post. Below is a screenshot of the same:

Investigation

The PTI Fact Check Desk started the investigation with a Google Reverse Image Search on the viral photo. The search results led the Desk to a similar picture on Alamy, a stock image website.

Alamy credited the image to the Russian news agency Sputnik, which was documented on February 15, 2007.

Here is the link to the Alamy photo page, and below is a screenshot of the same:

Russian President Vladimir Putin holding a conference on economic issues in the Kremlin From left to right Sergei Ignatyev, read the images caption.

The Desk noticed this was the same photo as shared in the viral photo, except that it showed the National Emblem of the Russian Federation, the official government symbol inside the Security Council office, and not Dr Ambedkars portrait.

Below is a combination image comparing the visuals of the two photos:

On further scanning the search results, the Desk came across an article published on November 27, 2001, on the official website of the President of Russia.

Vladimir Putin chaired a Security Council session, read the articles headline.

The photo of the meeting in the article also showed the National Emblem of the Russian Federation on the wall and not Dr Ambedkars portrait.

Here is the link to the article, and below is a screenshot of the same:

Below is a combination image comparing the viral photo and the one carried in the article:

The Desk subsequently concluded that a morphed photo had been shared on social media with a false claim.

Claim

Russian President Vladimir Putins office has a portrait of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar.

Fact

The photo shared on social media was digitally altered.

Conclusion

A Facebook user shared a photo Vladimir Putins office with a portrait of Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar on a wall. In its investigation, the PTI Fact Check Desk found that the photo had been digitally altered and shared on social media with a false claim.

You can contact PTI Fact Check on WhatsApp Number +91-8130503759 and share any claim or social media post you think is essential to fact-check and want us to verify.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The official visit of the Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov to Kazakhstan continues, Trend reports via the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

According to the ministry, as part of the visit, Hasanov attended the National Defense University named after the First President of the Republic of Kazakhstan - Elbasy.

After getting acquainted with the university, the minister met with its head, Major General Lut Alchekenov.

During the meeting, detailed views were exchanged on the further development of joint cooperation in the field of military education between the two countries, and other topics.

The visit of Hasanov to Kazakhstan began on April 18.

Previously, during the visit, he met with Kazakh Defense Minister Ruslan Zhaksylykov.
In 2008 the global economic crisis hit Spain hard. Until then, almost half of the books in Spanish that were sold in the world were sold in Spain, perhaps surprisingly given that only 48 million of the worlds 575 million Spanish-speakers live in Spain.

In 2023 the situation is very different. Latin America is now very much the main market for books in Spanish and, despite the fact that most business and editorial decisions are taken in Spanish head offices, with each passing year Latin America becomes more important to Spanish-language publishing.

In 2005 Nielsen BookScan launched in Spain; it was not until 2017 that we were able to incorporate our next Spanish-speaking country, Mexico, in the growing BookScan universe, and in 2023 we were able to add Colombia. The goal now is to continue growing and expanding the monitoring of Spanish book sales and work is being undertaken to add Chile and Argentina to BookScan. The technology and resources are available, but to set up a measurement in a new country there must be commitment from the local industry, mainly booksellers. Booksellers are at the heart of a measurement system like BookScan as well as the great beneficiaries, since for them the information is completely free while their data is completely confidential as all sales figures are aggregated.

In Colombia the situation is still evolving, though the industry understands the necessity to employ this type of measurement in order to improve the professionalism of the sector and enable decisions to be based on real data.The initial support of the Colombian Book Chamber was fundamentalthey are a well-organized association that brings together both booksellers and publishers, and they supported the project decisively.

Although BookScan Colombia is only eight weeks old, we currently measure around 70% of trade sales in the country and we are in advanced negotiations with two major booksellers that have not yet been incorporated, as well as with the independent bookstore association. Everyone is welcome to join, both big and small!

We currently capture just over 100,000 books sales each week in Colombia, but if we estimate figures for both the remaining booksellers and the Christmas period we can anticipate that we will be measuring a trade market of around ten million units each year.

So what do Colombian consumers like to read? We can see a similar pattern to that observed in Mexico and Brazil, with the market dominated by general nonfiction (current affairs, politics, and self-help), while the adult fiction market is less important than in other countries, as is the children/YA market, although the latter is showing strong growth.

Of the Top Ten titles from the first eight weeks of measurement, nine are nonfiction; the first adult fiction title in the rankings is at number 20, Breaking the Circle by Colleen Hoover published by Editorial Planeta. So very unlike European markets.

The average price of a book in Colombia is 47,682 COPS ($10), compared to $16.6 in Spain or $14.75 in Mexico. The catalogue of titles the number of different ISBNs recorded with at least one unit soldin the first eight weeks of operation was 43,000 in Colombia, compared to 217,000 in Spain and 136,000 in Mexico. If we combine this figure with the share of volume sales taken by the Top 500 titles, which in Colombia is 35% compared to 24.6% in Spain and 28.6% in Mexico, we can say that in Colombia there is a significant sales concentration of bestselling books.

We are only at the beginning of the measurement in Colombia, but we can already see some clear patterns. We look forward to analyzing market patterns in much greater depth over the coming years as more precise data becomes available.

David Peman is the Nielsen BookScan territory manager for Mexico and Colombia.
Daniel Jose Older is the author of numerous novels, short stories, and essays, and a comics writer for Star Wars: The High Republic Adventures and Marvel. The conclusion to his YA fantasy duology Ballad & Dagger, The Last Canto of the Dead, is due in May. Brittany N. Williams is an actor who studied musical theater at Howard University and Shakespearean performance at the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London. Her forthcoming YA debut, That Self-Same Metal, out later this month, kicks off a historical fantasy series set in Shakespeares London, about a Black craftswoman who can melt metal and is the key to mending humanitys pact with the violent fae. We asked Older and Williams, who are married, to discuss their new books, perspectives on their publishing journeys, and sources of inspiration.

Daniel Jose Older: Hi, Brittany.

Williams: Hi, Daniel.

Older: What are you working on?

Williams: Well, I have book one of The Forge and Fracture Saga coming out: That Self Same Metal. Whats your next book coming out?

Older: The Last Canto of the Dead comes out in May, which is the sequel to Ballad & Dagger from Rick Riordan Presents.

Williams: So, were looking at publishing from two different vantage points, because youre having your 19th book come out May 16, and Im having my debut book come out April 25. Did you ever imagine you would be looking at it from 19 books published?

Older: No, I mean thats what I wanted to happen for sure, but I never expected for it to be this many. But here you are into book one and all the excitement that entails. First of all, how do you feel about that? Second of all, does it help or hinder to have someone whos like a grizzly old, established writer right next to you all the time?

Williams: Its exciting and terrifying in equal measures. Because I am at the precipice of so much potential. Nothing has been established, theres nothing definite or known yet.

Older: Expectations are the hardest things to manage as a writer. There are things we dont have control over, and thats a good thing but it also means that you have to give up a little bit. But lets talk about research!

Williams: Yeah. How do you feel about how long you should research as you go into something, and finishing reading your research books?

Older: Oh, dont. The way that I feel is dont. You cannot take the preciousness of finishing every research book into the process, because then you will literally never write. You have to be able to jump, be flexible, and you have to be nimble.

You studied Shakespeare at Oxford, but you still had a lot of research to do. How did you approach that?

Williams: I had a lot of assumptions based on individual teachers interests and partial knowledge. Like, I wrote my first couple drafts and I realized that the majority of my side characters were all men. Because I was working from this idea that only men were involved in the theater-making process. Then I came across a research book called Labors Loss that was all about how women were involved in theater-making. So that allowed me to go in and kind of course-correct and add more women into my book.

Older: Course correction is so important.

Williams: Its especially important when youre considering the role of women in history, and the role of non-white people in history. Because they are so callously and intentionally forgotten. So you have to acknowledge where your limitations are, and you have to be okay with having those challenged and correcting yourself.

Older: Its a very intentional form of oppression that we have to actively fight against to not replicate.

Williams: Anyway, lets talk about inspiration.

Older: Right, inspiration. So much of research is about creating the experience of the novel. Theres research that helps us with facts, then theres inspiration research. For example, George Lucas built this library on Skywalker Ranch; its a research library and its one of the most beautiful, and to me, sacred places Ive ever been.

Williams: Oh, must be nice.

Older: It was. Its just two floors of incredible books and they use it for inspiration research, which was a concept that I hadnt even thought about. We all do it, I think. So what was that like for you?

Williams: Its so interesting because I use inspiration research very heavily in my acting process. Ill collect images that inspire my character, make collages, make playlists and all of that. Working on this second book I did the same thing. Its fun to have that carry over from my acting life into my writing life.

Older: Are there works that are more thematically related or just related vibes that you would go back to in the middle of writing?

Williams: Yes, something that refills my creative cup is watching Dimension 20.

Older: For me its anime. I find it helps me break out of the mold of the typical western stuff that we see over and over.

Williams: I also put on Beyonces Homecoming. That inspires me as a working mom dealing with a brain and a body that work in very different, very new ways. So seeing her go through that process as a mom who had a challenging pregnancy, the work she put in simultaneously with the incredible result, that helps me get through working on certain things.

That Self-Same Metal by Brittany N. Williams. Amulet, $19.99 Apr. 25 ISBN 978-1-4197-5864-5

The Last Canto of the Dead: An Outlaw Saints Novel by Daniel Jose Older. Disney/Rick Riordan Presents, $18.99 May 16 ISBN 978-1-368-07090-4
Its time to catch up with what my three adorable and brilliant grandkids are reading, right? Three-year-old big sister Pia is way past board books and deep into picture books. Its been fascinating to watch her attention span and vocabulary grow almost by the day. She loves books that have lots of new words that she can ask about and use. Her two current favorites are B Is for Bagel by Rachel Teichman, photos by Rebecca Wright (Collective Book Studio) which, despite its 40 pages, she can recite from memory (great subject matter and lots of new words), and The Wheels on the Bus by Paul O. Zelinsky (Dutton), celebrating its 25th year of delighting young readers. She has the dexterity to manipulate it without ripping it and it offers an opportunity to sing along to one of her favorite songs (bonus!).

We also enjoy reading Wombat, a silly counting book by Philip Bunting (Charlesbridge) and two inspiring picture books for aspiring female firefighters: Firefighter Flo! by Andrea Zimmerman, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (part of Holiday Houses Big Jobs, Bold Women series) and Fire Chief Fran by Linda Ashman, illustrated by Nancy Carpenter (Astra Young Readers). Whenever we see smoke, even from birthday candles, Pia calls out Wheres Firefighter Flo? Reading to Pia in a quiet room seems to be the best way to allow her to calm down when shes experiencing the big feelings of a toddler. Shes also fascinated with a tiny photographic nature book about Iceland that I bought in the bookish island nation way before she was born. Perhaps its because it lives in its own matching tiny bag. She curls up and flips through the pages for the longest time. Alphablock by Christopher Franceschelli, illustrated by Peski Studio (Abrams), is a fun and empowering book for a kid, like Pia, who is mastering the alphabet.

When Pia began learning numbers, she enjoyed the excellent Dr. Seuss book Theres a Wocket in My Pocket (Random House) and One Bear at Bedtime (with its hidden caterpillars) by Mick Inkpen (Little, Brown). We hope that the fun and fortuitously named Mail Harry to the Moon by Robie Harris, illustrated by Michael Emberley (Little, Brown), is helping Olympia process her ambivalent feelings about becoming a big sister.

Her parents and I take Pia to our local library as much as we can, and she picks out plenty of books, usually with the help of the awesome childrens librarians (smartest and best people on earth). I mentioned to her once that a miniature horse had visited the library. Now whenever we go near it, she reminds me that the miniature horse lives there. I sure hope the library plans a second visit for the wee animal so I can make her dream come true.

At two years old, Ira is an active and sociable kid. His parents refer to him as The Mayor because it can take as much as 30 minutes to extricate him from day care at the end of the day as he bids farewell to every single kid and teacher in all the classrooms. Thankfully, he still loves to read and is firmly in board book land. His favorites include Peek-a-Bruce by Ryan T. Higgins (Disney-Hyperion), A Birthday for Cow! by Jan Thomas (Clarion), and Mommy and Daddy, both by Leslie Patricelli (Candlewick). A new reading practice he enjoys is silent reading time when he reads a book silently and insists that you do the same. Its a surprising turn for such an outgoing kid, but he digs it. Ira also enjoys looking at the back covers of series books when there are pictures of other books in the series and studying each book cover very closely. With my old eyes, I can hardly see some of them, but he really loves looking at them. Similarly, he loves any book with pages showing lots of kids facing forward. What a party animal Ira is! An extrovert and a readerwhat a great combo!

Due to a (fortunately brief) period of, um, unwelcome aggression, Iras parents of course turned to books for help. The best, most age-appropriate one they found was Hands Are Not for Hitting by Martine Agassi, illustrated by Marieka Heinlein. Its a board book published as part of the Best Behavior series by Free Spiritin 2002.

Six-month old Harry loved books from the jump, even if its mostly to chew on them. He started with the customary black-and-white ones the experts claim he can see better (how do they really know that?) He appreciates the snuggly one-on-one grownup time that reading provides (in somewhat shorter supply for him than for older sister Pia when she was a one-and-only). Now hes following in her well-worn footsteps when it comes to board books. He delights in all the classics: Little Blue Truck, Dinosaur Dance, The Very Hungry Caterpillar, Brown Bear, Brown Bear, etc. His eyes follow the pages and he reaches out to touch/nibble on them, too. A new favorite of his is The Rooster Struts by Richard Scarry (Golden Books). I swear he anticipates and starts bouncing up and down when we reach the spread where the hippos start partying in Hippos Go Berserk! Prereading is happening!

Oh, I neglected to mention that Pia is such an enthusiastic reader that shell even read to Tucker, her other grandmas dog... who seems to like it!

To quote Jane Austen in Pride and Prejudice: I declare after all there is no enjoyment like reading! Reading with Pia, Harry, and Ira is still the best part of any day for me. But as they grow and develop new interests, I will have to do my level best to make sure it carries on. And I will.

To see previous Olympia and Ira columns, click here.

Becoming a grandmother three times in three years is Betsy Grobans greatest achievement. Shes currently a correspondent for the Boston Globe as well as the book review editor of the Jane Austen Society of North America.
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Several years of exceptionally strong manga sales in North America has encouraged Japanese and North American manga publishers, in addition to app-based and subscription platforms, to enter or expand their presence in the still-growing market for manga here. The result is a vibrant marketplace filled with a wide range of manga and manga-adjacent pop culture content, including licensed Japanese manga, webtoon digital comics, prose light novels, North American indie manga, and comics from Korea and Chinaall in digital and print formats.

The current market is also attracting Western indie comics publishers interested in tapping into mangas popularity. Some, like Ablaze Publishing, Dark Horse Comics, and and Titan Comics have been expanding their efforts to license comics originally published in Japan or Korea. Abrams ComicArts also recently announced plans to increase their manga and international comics output, while such indie publishers as Drawn and Quarterly, Fantagraphics, Glacier Bay Books, J-Novel Club (which was recently acquired by Japanese media conglomerate Kadokawa), Last Gasp, One Peace Books, Paradise Systems, and Starfruit Books are offering a small but smartly curated list of new and classic manga titles.

Tom Devlin, executive editor at Canadian indie comics house Drawn and Quarterly, told PW that our manga titles have performed better than in the past in general, but I see this as less of a manga thing and more of a interest in international comics thing. He added, Were probably benefiting from an increased exposure to manga in general, and possibly even a desire from literary audiences to read more world literature.

Meanwhile, Ablaze publisher and co-founder Rich Young described the houses global approach to comics publishing as more like Dark Horse, which also publishes both original and licensed comics from Europe, Japan, and North America, than Viz, Yen, or Seven Seas. While Ablazes title list is modest, at about 6-8 single issues and graphic novel releases per month, Young said that the house plans to grow its list to about 10-12 titles a month. Our plan is to grow steadily and sustainably each year.

Another bright spot in the manga-related retail space is the growth of comics from Korea, called manhwa, especially print editions of app-based webtoons, which are vertical scroll digital comics designed to be read on mobile devices. In 2022, Yen Press, a joint venture co-owned by Japanese publisher Kadokawa and Hachette, launched Ize Press to do just that.

Mark Gabriel de Vera, Yen Press sales and marketing director, called the launch of Ize Press a commercial success, emphasizing that todays retailers and mass merchandisers have shown much passion for the development of categories ancillary to manga, especially print editions of Korean comics. De Vera added that there is an eager fanbase who want to read a wide variety of comics. Korean and manga-influenced comics have been published for decades, but we have now reached a point in which many of those works are as popular as many of todays biggest manga series.

And its not just Ize Press offering webtoon-to-print books. Indie manga publisher TokyoPop has published several Boys Love webtoon print series, among them On or Off, as part of their Love x Love imprint. Seven Seas has also seen robust sales for the horror BL series Killing Stalking. Dark Horse, an early adopter of Korean comics, has added several webtoon series, among them The Hellbound, to their roster. Indie comics house Ablaze, a relative newcomer to this market, recently announced a print edition of the Webtoon-published high school drama Get Schooled. Manta, a webtoon app platform and a division of Korean publisher Ridi Books, has started offering direct-to-consumer print editions of webtoon series, starting with the mid-April release of its first title, the romantic fantasy series Disobey the Duke if You Dare.

Anime continues to be a primary driver of interest in manga. Now that several webtoon series have debuted or are set to debut as animated series on Netflix and Crunchyroll, hopes are high that the anime tie-in magic that has worked well for manga sales will show the same results for print editions of such webtoon series as Lookism, Solo Leveling, Tower of God, and Why Raeliana Ended Up at the Duke's Mansion.

This trend has not gone unnoticed at the Wattpad Webtoon Book Group, which is publishing several series, among them the makeover romance True Beauty and the action thriller Tower of God, in print through their Webtoon Unscrolled imprint. David Lee, Webtoon v-p of content, noted that the Webtoon Unscrolled publishing team works with our platform content teams to look for popular, exciting, and innovative new voices for print publication. And ultimately, what is popular on the platform, on bookshelves, and even on TV and film screens are all determined by fans. These are people who love webcomics, anime, and manga, so they embrace a wide range of interesting content in any format.

In response to the growth and diversification of the manga sections in its bookstores, Kat Sarfas, category manager for manga at Barnes & Noble, noted that B&N now shelves manga, light novels, manhua (Chinese comics), and webtoon print titles in a dedicated section in several stores. While we have manga grouped together, let's be clearmanga is a medium, not a genre. Breaking out light novels, manhwa, manhua, and webtoons fosters discovery and makes shopping the section more enjoyable, Sarfas said.

She continued: The best way to grow manga as a category is to give it room to breathe and allow readers to explore new series and read-alikes. You really need to hold a manga, flip through its pages, and dive into those panels. Our booksellers have done a fantastic job making the manga section a welcoming place for all readers to discover their next favorite read.

After working in this industry for over a decade, I can safely say that this is the most exciting the industry has ever been, said Yen Press Mark de Vera. Witnessing the expansion of manga made available to the English-reading world and the innovation of all companies involved has been quite satisfying.

Return to the main feature.
Klaus Flugge founded Andersen Press in autumn 1976 and went on to publish acclaimed writer/illustrators such as David McKee, Tony Ross, Satoshi Kitamura, Sir Quentin Blake, and Chris Riddell.

In 1999, he was the first publisher to receive the Eleanor Farjeon Award for his outstanding contribution to childrens books, and in 2010 he became the first publisher to be awarded Honorary Membership of the Youth Libraries Group. In 2013 Flugge was made an honorary citizen of the City of Bologna in recognition of his commitment to childrens books abroad. He celebrated the 40th anniversary of Andersen Press in 2016 by establishing the Klaus Flugge award, which is awarded to the most promising and exciting newcomer to childrens picture book illustration.

Flugge will be presented with the award later today at a special reception celebrating the International Excellence Awards winners and the Lifetime Achievement Award. The award recognizes an individual who has made a truly significant mark in the sphere of global publishing, and previous winners include Hiroshi Hayakawa of Hayakawa Publishing, Margaret Busby of Allison & Busby, and Nigel Newton of Bloomsbury Publishing.

Gareth Rapley, director of the London Book Fair, said: We are delighted to name Klaus Flugge the recipient of this years Lifetime Achievement Award. For nearly five decades, Klaus has been a luminary in childrens publishing, bringing incredible stories and phenomenal illustrations to millions of children across the globe. His passion for championing emerging talent is hugely inspiring.

Diana Gerald, CEO at BookTrust, said: Im delighted to hear that the legendary Klaus Flugge is the recipient of the London Book Fairs Lifetime Achievement Award. He is behind so many of the tremendous books which have got children to love reading over the decades. In doing this, he will have transformed so many lives as those children reaped the benefits of becoming regular readers. From the sweetest of picture books including David McKees Elmer, all the way to Melvin Burgesss hard hitting YA novel Junk, and everything in between... Its a spectacular legacy.
This year, there are many publishing companies celebrating significant birthdays. We spoke to three to uncover some major milestones in their pasts.

Abacus turns 50

The imprint began in 1973 publishing exclusively nonfiction, writes Richard Beswick, Little Browns managing director. One of the early books was Primo Levis If This Is a Man. There had been other Holocaust memoirs before, of course, but none to match this.

And if there are not many books fit to be mentioned in the same breath as Levi, A Long Walk to Freedom, published in 1994, stands the test. Nelson Mandelas particular voice and experience made this a unique work, and a standard-bearer for great autobiography. We continued to publish standout titles including Malcolm Gladwells The Tipping Point in 2000, which Bill Clinton described as a kind of publishing self-prophecy: In the words of that now-famous book that everybody is reading, it reaches a kind of tipping point and people kind of get it. Tim Harfords The Undercover Economist (2006) brilliantly made everyday activities seem fresh and new. Walter Isaacsons Steve Jobs and Michael Wolffs Fire and Fury exemplified American nonfiction writing at its finest. Tom Hollands Rubicon in 2004 was both startlingly fresh and delightfully old-fashioned.

Memoirs have always been a strength: Rachel Clarkes Dear Life and Sasha Swires Diary of an MPs Wife were both Sunday Times bestsellers. And at the lighter end of the scale there are fewif anyfunnier writers than David Sedaris, whose New Yorker humor in Me Talk Pretty One Day (2000) set a gold standard.

In Abacus fiction all roads must start with Iain Banks. When The Wasp Factory was published in 1984 the Mail on Sunday gasped, If a nastier, more vicious, or distasteful novel appears this spring, I shall be surprised. But there is unlikely to be a better one either. Our Scottish writers have set the tone elsewhere too. Christopher Brookmyres wit and brilliance marked him out for attention with his first outing, Quite Ugly One Morning. And if Brookmyre was Tartan Noir then we were delighted to celebrateat the other end of the scalesomething which could be termed Tartan Blanc. Much imitated, but never bettered, Alexander McCall Smiths tales from the No 1 Ladies Detective Agency (2003) have sold more than 12 million copies in Abacus, and our upmarket crime publishing hit the bestseller list again with Jane Harpers compelling Aussie Noir The Dry in 2016.

From America, one of our early trendsetters was Douglas Couplands Generation X: Tales from an Accelerated Culture, and five years later came another indisputably iconic novel, David Foster Wallaces Infinite Jest. Anita Shreves The Pilots Wife exemplified her ability to tell stories of enormous emotional power, while Candace Bushnell truly opened our eyes to Sex and the City. Donna Tartts The Goldfinch (2013) and Celeste Ngs Little Fires Everywhere (2017) have deservedly captivated readers all over the world. In a category of its own, Gregory David Roberts Shantaram (2003) has proved an extraordinary and enduring success.

Sometimes the force of the new does not come from the material itself, but its treatment. That was the case with Valerie Martins Property (2003), her Orange Prize-winning reinvention of the slave narrative. And speaking of reinvention, that is exactly what Abacus British novelists have done. There were early Booker wins for Bernice Rubens (The Elected Member, 1970) and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (Heat and Dust, 1975), and major shortlist recognition for Simon Mawer (The Glass Room, 2009), Jane Gardam (Old Filth, 2005), Beryl Bainbridge (Master Georgie, 1998), and Chigozie Obioma (An Orchestra of Minorities, 2017).

As we celebrate our heritage, bringing all of our publishing under one imprint in hardback and paperback, Abacus continues to excelwith Paul Johnsons Follow the Money, a top ten bestseller in February, and an array of wonderful fiction and nonfiction lined up for 2023 and into 2024.

Bitter Lemon Press celebrates 20 years of publishing

Back in 2003 we launched Bitter Lemon Press, says Francois von Hurter, co-founder of the company with his brother, Frederick, and Laurence Colchester. He continues: It seemed an innocent time, you could smoke in bars, and drink too much at lunch. We were three founding partners, two Swiss and one French, so unsurprisingly our list began with the launch of a Swiss author, the legendary 1930s crime writer Friedrich Glauser, and a contemporary French one, Tonino Benacquista. We had few rules: all three had to agree on additions to our list and we had to feel that we could recommend the chosen books to our closest friends.

So here we are, 106 titles later, by authors from 21 countries who had never been published in English before, translated with great artistry from 12 different languages. A mix of legendary prize-winning authors (among which Cubas Leonardo Padura, Italys Gianrico Carofiglio, and the Swiss Goncourt winner Jacques Chessex feature), local heroes like the quartet of brilliant crime writers from Buenos Aires (Sergio Olguin, Claudia Pineiro, Sergio Bizzio, and Ernesto Mallo), and debut authors like James Wolff, Elliott Colla and Katja Ivar.

There have been ups and downs of course. Weve had successful page-to-screen adaptations including Collas Baghdad Central, Petra Hammesfahrs The Sinner with Jessica Biel, and Paduras Havana Quartet. And less successful ones like The Family, based on Benacquistas Badfellas, with de Niro, Michelle Pfeiffer, and Tommy Lee Jones. It sank like a stone. Great book, terrible film, lots of unsold tie-in paperbacks. And we turned down Stieg Larssons Millennium Trilogy, a bit like Richard Rowe of Decca turning down the Beatles in 1962. So it goes.

We motored on, however, moving on to serial crime novelists from Italy, Finland, Turkey, and Catalonia to name a few. Most recently to Japan, with the legendary Seicho Matsumoto of the 1960s, who single-handedly transformed Japanese crime writing into a socially sensitive genre focused on the post war travails of his country. And Riku Onda is today writing enigmatic novels that have bewitched Anglophone readers.

None of this would have been possible without great translators: Anthea Bell and John Brownjohn, for instance; Howard Curtis and Peter Bush, who have supported us from the very start; and Antonia Lloyd-Jones, Miranda France and Louise Heal Kawai to name a few more.

And to coincide with LBF, we have just published The Translator by Harriet Crawley (a Sunday Times Thriller of the Month), set in Moscow, with Russia planning to cut the undersea communication cables linking the U.S. and the U.K. The Cold War turning hot.

Virago celebrates half a century

This June, on the summer solstice, Virago turns 50. From the beginning, Viragos mission has been to champion the voices of women, says Sarah Savitt, publisher at Virago, and, more recently, people of underrepresented genders, and bring them to the widest possible readership around the world. From fiction and politics to history and classic childrens stories, our authors continue to win acclaim, break new ground and enrich the lives of readers.

In June we will celebrate our history through our Five Gold Reads: an iconic book from each decade of Virago, repackaged in a bold, fresh design.

Here is my version of Virago through ten booksthe Five Gold Reads (marked with a *) plus five more. Its an extremely partial history, but one which gives a sense of the breadth, boldness, and brilliance of the list.

Fenwoman by Mary Chamberlain (1975): Viragos first book, a history of the women of one English village, shining a light on those people too often ignored by the official record.

Frost in May by Antonia White (1978): The first book published in the Virago Modern Classic list, the founding of which Ali Smith has described as one of the best and most essential things that has happened in publishing in our time.

The Sadeian Woman* by Angela Carter (1979): Angela Carters first nonfiction book, which tackles subjectssex, power, pornography, the bodystill at the centre of feminist debate.

I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou (1984): Angelou said no other British publisher thought readers would be interested in her story, now an iconic memoir and perennial bestseller for us.

The Fat Black Womans Poems* by Grace Nichols (1984): Joyful, funny, provocative poems from the winner of the Queens Gold Medal for Poetry.

Tipping the Velvet* by Sarah Waters (1997): A groundbreaking debut, which put lesbian characters front and centre in historical fiction, and launched a stellar career.

Living Dolls* by Natasha Walter (2010): One of the books that re-ignited the mainstream visibility of feminism in the U.K. (though for us it had never gone out of style).

Trans Like Me by CN Lester (2017): A highly praised book about transgender rights, described as one of the years most important books on transgender identity by the Gay Times.

The Friend* by Sigrid Nunez (2018): Winner of the National Book Award, Nunezs first book with Virago is a witty, moving story about sex, friendship, art, and politics.

Furies (2023): Our anniversary anthology, featuring 15 bestselling, award-winning writers, each of whom has written a new story inspired by a synonym for virago.

And what about the next 50 years? What will Virago look like in 2073? The most exciting answer is: we dont know. Writers are always ahead of the rest of us, bringing us untold stories, fresh perspectives, and original voices. I cant wait to see what comes next.
The annual London Book Fair Trailblazers awards celebrate industry professionals aged 30 or under who are demonstrating creativity, dedication, and innovation in their roles within the publishing industry. Now in their eighth year, the awards are run in partnership with the Publishers Association and are supported by the Society of Young Publishers and BookBrunch.

This years six winners were announced on March 27, chosen from a shortlist of 15 young publishing professionals. The following people made it onto the shortlist (the winners are highlighted in bold):

Rebecca Armstrong, foreign rights and co-editions executive, Batsford Books

Amy Mae Baxter, senior editor, Dialogue Books (Hachette) and founder, Bad Form

Lucy Bond, head of books and distribution, FANE

Chelsea Graham, founder and editor-in-chief, The Publishing Post; editor, audio, Bonnier Books U.K.

Ella Griffiths, editor, Faber and Faber

Emilie Hames, sustainability production controller, Penguin Random House

Amber Ivatt, senior publicity manager, Bonnier Books U.K.

Leonie Lock, editor, Firefly Press

Jess Mackay, editorial project manager, Penguin Random House Childrens

Rebecca Parkinson, marketing coordinator, Manchester University Press

Hannah Schofield, literary agent, LBA

Antonia Shack, cover designer and editor, Scotland Street Press

Eleanor Stammeijer, publicity manager, Bonnier Books U.K.

Christina Storey, social media and ecommerce executive, HarperCollins

Molly Walker-Sharp, commissioning editor, HarperCollins

We asked some of the 2022 winners how they had fared as a Trailblazer, and if they had any advice for this years winners. Winning an LBF Trailblazer Award has been my careers highlight so far, said Srishti Kadu, a procurement controller at the Taylor & Francis Group. When I started in the publishing industry, I was an international student in the U.K. with no contacts and no idea of where to start, so it was an honor to be recognized in such a prestigious way.

Elle Brenton-Rounding, senior sales and business development manager at Bonnier Books U.K., agreed: Id been shortlisted twice previously, so I know the competition is fierce. I was incredibly honored and grateful, Ive been going to LBF for the entirety of my 20s, so this was a nice way to end that decade of my life!

Its always special to be singled out when so many people are doing innovative work, said Marianne Tatepo, publishing director at Square Peg, a Vintage/PRH imprint, I was pleased to be in such stellar company.

Kadu continued: Winning the award was a huge boost to my self-confidence. I have been getting more involved in the industry as a publishing careers mentor with the Society of Young Publishers (SYP) and through Lancaster Universitys mentorship scheme. I have met other ambitious young professionals working in different parts of the industry and really expanded my network. The Trailblazer award has given me the confidence to take the lead in new and challenging projects at work and to take on more responsibility, which has further helped me to develop my professional skills.

This reminder of what mentoring can do gave me a greater understanding of my own impact, said Tatepo. Its encouraged me to look into more formal ways to share my perspective and expertise. In light of post-lockdown mores, where all of life was happening online, Im currently plotting new ways to create community and support other people.

Being able to say youre award-winning is a good vote of confidence, and it did also bring some good connections my way too, said Brenton-Rounding, adding: I was also a runner up for the Inaugural Sharjah Book Fair Rights Connection Award in the autumn, which was a huge honor to be recognized further on the international stage. Creating global relationships and partnerships is what I love most about my job.

Welcome recognition

Kadu had also benefited from her Trailblazer achievement. I have been working on sourcing and setting up new suppliers to help us get through these tough times, and carefully tracking and evaluating our spend with suppliers to ensure that we can carry on meeting our targets. I have also been visiting printers and suppliers to learn about their processes and carry out audits. In recognition of all the hard work put in, my team and I won an internal award last year and we have been shortlisted for another one this year, she added.

This accolade came along a couple of months into my new role as a publishing director at Vintage, said Tatepo. Since then, I have worked closely with my colleagues to create a vision for Square Peg as a one-of-a-kind boutique imprint. The ethos is clear: beautiful books that educate, empower, and entertain. With several landmark acquisitions in placesome announced, others forthcomingwere in prime position for another five years of mold-breaking publishing.

Enjoy it and shout about it! Especially enjoy the networking you can entertain after, is Brenton-Roundings advice to this years Trailblazers. It is a fantastic award, agreed Kadu, and I hope this years Trailblazers make the most of such a wonderful opportunity. I would definitely encourage them to get involved in the industry, attend networking events, and talk to as many people as possible to build those connections. Publishing is a wonderful world to be a part of and as a Trailblazer you should be willing to take those risks and try out those new ideas that will be shaping the industry tomorrow.

Talk to everyone, added Tatepo, about books, of course. But also about art, film, TV, music, friends, pets, parents, partnersor climate change. Your next book idea, chuckle, or pep talk can come when you least expect it.
Details added: first version posted on April 18, 17:25

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 18. The 14th meeting of the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development was held under the leadership of the Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan, Chairman of the Council Ali Ahmadov, the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan told Trend.

The meeting participants discussed a project prepared in connection with the initiative to include mine action in the UN 2030 agenda as the 18th Sustainable Development Goal, put forward by the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev at the Summit of the Contact Group of the Non-Aligned Movement in response to COVID-19, held on March 2, 2023 in Baku.

Opening the meeting with an introductory speech, Ahmadov informed about the work done over the past period to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Azerbaijan.

He added that there the SDGs and mine action have a direct link, and mine action aligns directly with 12 of the 17 UN SDG and indirectly with five other goals.

It was noted that Azerbaijan is one of the countries most contaminated by mines and other explosives, and according to preliminary studies, more than 8,235 sq. km. territories are contaminated with mines and other explosive ordnance.

Considering that more than 60 countries of the world suffer from the above problem, faced by Azerbaijan, the importance of both local and global campaigning in this direction was stressed.

During the meeting, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan National Agency for Mine Action Vugar Suleymanov informed about the ongoing demining activities in the liberated territories and the upcoming goals.

He noted that in order to organize the efficiency activity in this direction more than four times increased the personnel and technological potential of the agency.

Head of the Department of Sustainable Development and Social Policy of the Ministry of Economy, Secretary of the Council Huseyn Huseynov made a presentation of the draft of the 18th SDG (mine action activities), which is planned to be included in the national SDGs.

He said that the Ministry of Economy has prepared a project consisting of five goals and 14 indicators, and the action plan to raise awareness of the SDGs for 2023 includes two activities to promote the 18th SDG at the national and global levels, including demining activities.

After discussions of the draft, relevant instructions were given to develop a methodology and calculate indicators related to the 14 indicators identified by the draft.

The previous meeting of the National Coordination Council for Sustainable Development was held on March 6 this year.

The council was set up in accordance with an order signed by President Ilham Aliyev in 2016.
The news that Amazon launched its own artificial intelligence platform as part of Amazon Web Services last Friday and the recent release of ChatGPT have been big topics of conversation among publishing professionals at the London Book Fair. While many in the digital self-publishing and audiobook segments have embraced certain aspects of AI, those working in traditional and text-based publishing are a bit more wary of what the new technology means.

AI might kill us all, but if it doesnt, it could be a useful tool for writers and publishers, conceded Nigel Newton, president of the U.K. Publishers Association and head of Bloomsbury. It is going to give a great edge to those publishers who get it right and could have a significant impact on marketing, peer review, academic research and supply chain, he said during a panel on prospects for the global publishing industry on Tuesday moderated by Philip Jones, managing editor, the Bookseller, and featuring Karine Pansa, president of the International Publishers Association, and Maria Pallante, president and CEO of the Association of American Publishers.

Pallante remarked that the AAP was being vigilant in watching the development of AI and said that it was likely a watershed moment for the industry and technology, much like the development of the internet. We have to watch the way that copyright protections are implemented and ensure that not too many legal exceptions are made when it comes to AI generated text. Protecting the author and publishers IP is paramount. She recommended those at the fair look into the Human Artistry Campaign and sign on to the project, which advocates for ethical and human-centric application of AI.

Christy Fletcher, co-head of the book division at United Talent Agency, concurred that the industry needs to remain vigilant about AI. It isnt having an impact here just yet, but it is likely to be a big topic of conversation by time of [the] Frankfurt [book fair,] she said. Fletcher, whose eponymous agency, Fletcher & Company, was acquired by UTA in January this year, noted that, when it comes to rights sales, one of the questions to be answered is whether publishers will accept or be willing to work with machine produced content, something she believes is unlikely to be an issue, at least for the time being. That said, she noted, it may have some impact on the translation market. Chat GPT4 is doing a very good job of translating text and it can be difficult or even impossible to know if any of all of the text was initially generated by AI, and clearly some translators are using it as a starting point for their work.

Fletcher went on to note that whether a product is delivered in the form of a book, podcast or film and television production, the heart of what we do is storytelling. Fletchers colleague Byrd Leavell, co-head of the book division at UTA, went a bit further in defending the importance of human imagination. I think we can safely say that we are not going to find computers or machines that are capable of writing great literature, Leavell said.

IT Gains Stature at Publishers

AI was also one of the topics at a panel featuring four chief technology officers. The new technology is one of the reasons IT has moved from being seen as a back-office operation to part of publishing's DNA, panelists agreed.

It could be said that the focus of technology for publishers today is not so much the media and the format in which content is consumed, but rather the processes, tools, data analytics, and the infrastructure that underpins these business critical things, said Chris Harvey, CEO of publishing solutions provider Virtusales.

Hachettes Brendan Goss spoke of his companys new systems that have streamlined operations and maximized data to work more efficiently and get books to market faster. Pan Macmillans James Long shared a similar view, noting that data is the bedrock of publishing activity today. The industry has moved from a books and print mentality to files and metadata, he offered. Penguin Random Houses Andreas Arnold agreed, noting that the pandemic accelerated publishings appreciation of technology and IT. Bonniers Nick Wright said that the cloud and other digital developments have leveled the playing field for smaller, independent publishers allowing them to compete efficiently with the major players.

But it is publishings rapidly evolving future that had the panel most intrigued. Referring to the hype around AI at the fair, the panelists suggested the burgeoning technology could be especially powerful in helping publishers meet a vital business need: connecting more directly with consumers.

A common part of the publishing landscape lot of publishers dont have direct relationships with their consumers, Wright noted. Using AI could give a better understanding of who is buying what and open up a lot of opportunities for more targeted publishing. Long said AI was still in the risk and opportunity phase for publishers.

Arnold, meanwhile, was more focused on another challenge facing the industry: how do publishers attract the best tech talent into their ranks. The thing that keeps me awake at night is, how do we keep things safe, obviously, but also how do we keep attracting the kind of people we want working in technology on these amazing opportunities," Arnold said. "How do we do that in a way that helps people understand that publishing is really exciting in terms of technology.

And looking at the makeup of the panelfive white menArnold also spoke of the importance of pursuing diversity, equity, and inclusion in publishing technology. Its very important to me, and I think it is very important to all of us, that we help people feel represented in technology in publishing, Arnold said. "I think we all have a duty to make that happen, to make sure that people feel and see themselves represented and therefore come to us and want to work with us.
Ernest Moret, foreign rights manager for the French publisher Editions La Fabrique, has been released from custody by U.K. police after about 24 hours of detainment.

Moret was arrested on April 18 while en route to the London Book Fair at London's St. Pancras Station, where he had arrived from Paris. According to a joint statement from La Fabrique and Verso Books, he was stopped by plainclothes counterterrorism officers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 on the basis of his participation in protests in France against pension reform.

He was detained for questioning without a lawyer present and was interrogated for several hours, during which time investigators asked him "disturbing questions" about his point of view on pension reform in France, the French government, the Covid crisis, and Emmanuel Macron, the publishers said in their statement. La Fabrique and Verso Books identified one line of questioning as particularly concerning, in which Moret was asked to name "anti-government" authors included in the La Fabrique catalog.

The detaining officers then demanded that Moret surrender his phone and passwords, and when he refused, they formally arrested him and accused him of obstruction of justice, according to the publishers. "To ask the representative of a publishing house questions, in a counterterrorism framework, about the opinions of its authors, is to take the logic of political censorship and repression of dissenting currents of thought even further," said the joint statement. "In a context of the authoritarian escalation of the French government faced by social movements, this element is chilling."

As of today, Moret has been released from custody on "police bail," meaning no money was required for his release, but in four weeks he must appear in London before the British counterterrorism unit. His phone and work computer are still in the possession of the police, the publisher said. Upon his release, planned protests in London were canceled.

La Fabrique and Verso warned that Moret's "case sets a precedent for anyone who does intellectual work and whose output may be deemed inconvenient by those in power." The two publishers are demanding that all proceedings and prosecution against the foreign rights manager are dropped, his belongings are returned, and that no new action be taken against him.
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind.  Concord Law School at Purdue Global, Purdues online school for working adults, wants to solve the problem of legal deserts across the U.S.

Up to 40% of U.S. counties are legal deserts, defined as counties having one lawyer or fewer per 1,000 residents. Its an increasing challenge communities face  whether because of the volume of legal work needed, the demand for lawyers with specific expertise, or the potential conflict-of-interest issues that could arise with some cases. And many if not most of these legal deserts are in primarily rural areas.

In response, Concord Law School is launching a course this summer, Rural Law Practice, to empower students who are considering rural law practices. Another goal is to show the legal needs of various agribusinesses and family farms while highlighting the shortage of civil and family legal services in rural communities.

Access to justice in rural areas is a priority for the Concord Law School and its renewed mission to develop partnerships with rural legal communities, said Shaun Jamison, associate dean of academics at Concord Law School at Purdue Global. And offering an online rural law course helps those who are interested in practicing rural law.

Some lawyers in rural areas are working into their 70s and 80s, with no one to take over their practice, Jamison said. This could be an opportunity for more people who work in rural areas to go into the legal profession and work in the areas they live. This online course can help interested law students or lawyers from rural areas around the country to participate and learn at a reasonable cost.

Jamison said the idea for the course stems from Purdue Globals intimate connection to Purdue University and the public institutions legacy and leadership in agriculture, Extension and outreach services, as well as its storied land-grant mission.

We believe that the rural economy needs community-based lawyers and legal services. There are people serving rural communities who are serving from large metro areas or even large county seats that have large rural client bases, Jamison said.

Topics in the new class include not only agricultural law but also succession planning, common legal issues in rural communities, family law, land use and civil law.

Hannah Catt, adjunct professor with Concord Law School at Purdue Global, will lead the class. Catt, who is passionate about rural legal issues, said it is important to understand that agriculture is often one of the largest sectors of a states economy. For that reason, she said, accessible legal services are essential to keep a rural economy going.

Rural areas and rural residents are a critical piece of the U.S.  economically, culturally and politically, said Catt, who lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas. Rural areas are not a monolith; however, some of the common issues are difficulties in accessing legal services due to a lack of technology access, such as limited phone service or broadband access. There also are geographic barriers and a lack of attorneys in rural areas who specialize in complex fields of law.

In addition to those challenges, students will learn the benefits of a rural legal practice, including the value of personal relationships and how living in the community youre serving is important to be successful, Catt said. Further, the course will demonstrate how many agricultural law concepts intersect with other legal practice areas.

My goal is that the students will not only be able to articulate the challenges facing rural clients and rural attorneys, but also how these challenges create opportunities for creative problem-solving as an attorney, making rural practice very dynamic, Catt said.

For more information or to register and attend this class, contact concordcoordinator@support.purdueglobal.edu.

Writer/Media contact: Matthew Oates, 765-496-6160, oatesw@purdue.edu, @mo_oates

Sources: Hannah Catt, Shaun Jamison
Jie Chen and his IAC team have accounted for a total of more than $20 million in energy cost savings for Indiana businesses since 2011. (Purdue University photo/Michael Robb)

Engineering students and faculty at the Industrial Assessment Center energized to help small- to medium-sized businesses in Indiana save

INDIANAPOLIS  Energy cost is a major concern for industry. It may not be a stressor for manufacturing giants, which have the budget and personnel to handle their own energy assessments. But what about the small- and medium-sized business owners in Indiana who run the bakery down the street or your favorite local brewery?

Purdue University in Indianapolis professor Jie Chen, his colleagues and students at the universitys Industrial Assessment Center are working to put Indiana small- to medium-sized business owners minds at ease when it comes to energy expenditures.

Thanks to an ongoing grant from the U.S. Department of Energy, the IAC at Purdue University in Indianapolis has trained an energy efficiency workforce to perform over 170 energy audits on small- to medium-sized Indiana businesses since 2011. Under the leadership of engineering faculty with energy audit credentials, a team of highly skilled students conduct energy assessments, which result in comprehensive reports given to each manufacturer with recommendations for improving energy efficiency, reducing waste and increasing productivity. The reports provide energy efficiency recommendations, identify potential savings with detailed calculations, estimate implementation costs and compute payback times.

Big companies have the capability to hire people strictly to work on energy, but many small to medium-sized enterprises dont have those resources, said Chen, IAC director and chair of mechanical and energy engineering at Purdue University in Indianapolis. The small and medium-sized manufacturers and commercial buildings use a lot of energy, so the IAC outlines the opportunities for those Indiana businesses to save.

While each individual manufacturer determines what changes are implemented, the centers post-assessment surveys have determined the implementation rate of the recommendations has reached more than 50%, a mark that holds major significance in a small-business climate, where profit margins can be notoriously thin. Dating to the centers creation, recommendations from the IAC team have accounted for a total of more than $20 million in energy cost savings for Indiana businesses.

The IAC team did a tremendous job with its energy assessment, said Mary Gordon, director of operations for Electro-Spec Inc. in Franklin, Indiana. Dr. Chen and his students compiled a comprehensive report that was extremely helpful to our business in identifying ways for us to save both energy and money.

Ted Funk, Electro-Specs facilities manager, said, The IACs ability to make creative and rational decisions on energy savings opportunities based on the data they examined was outstanding.

The decadelong impact of the IAC on small- to medium-sized Indiana enterprises was initially launched by $1.3 million in DOE funding to establish the center. The IAC has earned two renewal awards since then and was recently granted $100,000 per year over a four-year period to expand its energy assessments to include small- to medium-sized commercial buildings in a 150-mile radius around Indianapolis. Total funding for the center, which was recognized by the Department of Energy as the exemplar of the 37 such centers on college campuses across the country, is just shy of $5 million.

About Purdue University in Indianapolis

Purdue University in Indianapolis is a new, fully integrated extension of the West Lafayette flagship campus, expanding the academic rigor and accessible excellence that Purdue is known for to Indianas industrial and technological center. As the only public top 10 university, most trusted university and most innovative university in the state of Indiana, Purdue is focused and committed to strengthening its presence in the capital city. Purdue in Indianapolis will reimagine a collaborative platform that connects students, faculty and local businesses to promote breakthrough discoveries and create a new and direct talent pipeline. Realignment of the existing IUPUI partnership is expected to be completed by the start of the fall semester in 2024. Learn more about Purdues latest giant leap at https://www.purdue.edu/campuses/indianapolis/.

Writer/Media contact: Derek Schultz, dcschultz@purdue.edu

Sources: Jie Chen, Mary Gordon, Ted Funk
The Singapore Land Transport Authority (LTA) has awarded a contract to Siemens Mobility to provide a Communications-Based Train Control (CBTC) signalling system and full-height platform screen doors (PSD) for the Cross Island Line (CRL). The order is worth approximately 310 million.

Siemens Mobility will carry out the work across the line's Phase 1 (CRL1), Phase 2 (CRL2) and Punggol Extension. The signalling system will feature Siemens' Trainguard CBTC solution, modern interlocking Westrace MKII and Automatic Train Supervision (ATS) Rail9k. This will support the maximum grade of automation, GoA 4, and allow fully unattended train operation along around 50 kilometres of track and 21 stations.

Siemens Mobility claims that Trainguard enables operators to maximise their network capacity by putting more trains on the track, and improves reliability and energy consumption. The radio-based technology locates each train on the tracks and controls speed, improving safety for passengers, while also providing the ability for continuous updates on system status, resulting in fewer delays and up-to-date travel information.

The Trainguard CBTC system is currently being used for the Downtown Line (DTL) and upcoming Jurong Region Line (JRL) in Singapore, as well as in other global projects in Turkey, Brazil and Spain.

This project will build on the already well-established relationship between Siemens Mobility and Singapore. That includes:

the signalling system, depot equipment and power electrification for the upcoming Jurong Region Line (JRL),

power electrification, signalling system and the CBTC simulation facility for the Downtown Line (DTL),

power electrification equipment for two other MRT projects: Circle Line Stage 6 and North-East Line extension,

depot equipment for the East Coast Integrated Depot, which is the first in the world to integrate three train depots and one bus depot within the same compound.

Michael Peter, Chief Executive Officer of Siemens Mobility, said, We are delighted to have the opportunity to build on our existing technology partnership with Singapore's Land Transport Authority in its continued efforts to effectively manage their urban development. With our regional base in Singapore, this signalling project will be one of the steppingstones for our long-term goal of making sustainable impact to the mobility landscape in Asia, and we will continue to grow our core competencies in the region through investing in localisation strategy and local talent development.
In the early 1960s, Soviet fulfillment officers at the Berezniki and Zaporozh'ye ( PDF ) ilmenite mines must have noticed an uptick in worldwide demand for titanium. Orders for titanium sponge were increasing around the globe, and the Soviet Union reacted by increasing production rapidly.

Yet some of these deliveries resulting from this boost in production were not reaching their intended customers. In fact, some of their customers didn't even exist. Little did the Soviet producers know that it was actually the CIA on the receiving end of these shipments.

The goal of the subterfuge? Supply Lockheed Martin with high-temperature titanium to build the A12 spy plane, a forerunner to the SR-71 Blackbird.

Russia, and a few other Soviet republics, had won the geological lottery and possessed secure access to the ilmenite ore needed to produce titanium. The United States did not have what it took to manufacture this wonder metal.

Deep concern over access to titanium prompted the CIA to launch its bold planand resulted in the USSR unwittingly supplying metals for a plane that would soon be used to spy on the Soviet Union itself.

Today, the U.S. aerospace and defense industries still need access to critical minerals. Yet securing them today may be an even more-complex taskone that requires more than deploying audacious subterfuge. These minerals are now very much in the public eye, and they are also needed for the clean energy technologies that will help combat climate change.

The Chains of Supply

Military requirements for platforms like the SR-71 pushed metallurgical science, processing, and technology forward throughout much of the 20th century. The resultant nickel and cobalt superalloys, titanium 6-aluminum 4-vanadium (Ti6Al4V), and others transformed not only military aircraft and munitions, but also global air travel, space flight, communications, and medical equipment.

Often illiquid and poorly governed markets affect both prices and availability, raising questions about securing access to future supply for clean energy systems. Share on Twitter

Even stricter military requirements and cutting-edge manufacturing techniques, such as additive manufacturing, continue to push the field to its limits in the 21st centuryand the demand for raw materials to satisfy these needs is growing in response.

At present, often illiquid and poorly governed markets affect both prices and availability, raising questions about securing access to future supply for clean energy systems. But the aerospace and defense industry's demands haven't gone away.

As an example, nickel is among the six critical minerals used in lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles. It is also crucial for military applications like jet turbine engines. But it was nickel's utility for energy storage and not its utility for aerospace or defense that motivated a Presidential Determination qualifying it for Defense Production Act Title III funding.

In response to growing global demand, and with a strategic vision, China has become the world's largest producer of many of these metals and their associated components and products. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, China is now the leading producer of 30 critical minerals, including titanium, vanadium, cobalt, and aluminum. (Russia is the second largest producer of vanadium.)

The challenge is as clear now as it was in the 1960s for the CIA. China, or other countries that dominate these supply chains, may be unable or unwilling to supply these materials to U.S. industries in the future. And even if China does not continue to be the main producer of extracted critical minerals, it very often dominates other parts of the supply chain, such as processing or component manufacturing.

In the case of titanium, for instance, Chinese production accounts for 52 percent of global titanium sponge production. The United States has a single domestic supplier of titanium sponge and relies on imports from Japan, Kazakhstan, and Saudi Arabia for the rest of its needs.

Securing Supply

Understandably, this situation alone might make military planners and acquisition professionals nervous. Add in a post-pandemic world and the Russia-Ukraine war, and risks of disruption abound. Whether a potential showdown looms between China and the United States over Taiwan or the South China Sea, or a conflict with Iran beckons, stockpiles need to be replenished to ensure military readinessand that requires critical minerals.

Neither the United Statesnor any other countrywants its national security needs to be in competition with its future climate security. Share on Twitter

Supplying Ukraine with artillery, aircraft, drones, munitions, armored platforms, and other equipment has had a noticeable impact on stockpiles. When the Pentagon ordered more Stinger missiles last year, for instance, military contractor Raytheon was hampered by parts shortages.

Neither the United Statesnor any other countrywants its national security needs to be in competition with its future climate security. But if both necessities are competing for too little raw material, the price pressure on these commodities and specialty chemicals could be damaging to both endeavors.

Securing access to supply, increasing global and domestic capacity, and diversifying supply chains upstream to downstream should be at the top of the agenda for both nations and private industry. Failure to do so could put both climate mitigation strategies and U.S. military readiness at risk.

If prices end up being prohibitively high, the CIA may find itself scrambling to start a few more companies to secure necessary access from less-friendly countries.

Fabian E. Villalobos is an engineer at the RAND Corporation and professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School. His research focuses on the intersection of technology, economics, and geopolitics. Morgan Bazilian is professor and director of the Payne Institute for Public Policy at the Colorado School of Mines.

This commentary originally appeared on New Security Beat on April 17, 2023. Commentary gives RAND researchers a platform to convey insights based on their professional expertise and often on their peer-reviewed research and analysis.
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Carlsbad Inn Beach Resort Carlsbad, California "All images in this listing are general images of the resort and do not necessarily reflect the actual resort or units. Please perform your own due diligence Item Description_________________________________European charm meets California cool at this beachfront resort in Carlsbad Village. The inns courtyard serves as an expansive outdoor living roomthe perfect place to relax while your kids frolic in the grass. As the sun sets, unwind in t...

Price: $ 150 Seller State of Residence: Florida Property Address: 3075 Carlsbad Blvd Number of Bedrooms: 1 Number of Bathrooms: 1 Zip/Postal Code: 92008 City: CARLSBAD State/Province: California Location: 920**, Carlsbad, California

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Employees of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) visited two Azerbaijani soldiers held captive in Armenia, Ilaha Huseynova, Head of the Public Relations Department of the ICRC office in Baku, told Trend.

The military servicemen of the Ministry of Defense of Azerbaijan - Agshin Babirov and Huseyn Akhundov went missing due to limited visibility under adverse weather conditions in the border area of the Shahbuz district of Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Armenia on April 10.

After a while, Armenian media outlets released photo and video depicting Armenians torturing Huseyn Akhundov.

As Ilaha Huseynova noted, the ICRC representatives visited the two recently detained Azerbaijani citizens in Yerevan on April 19.

"A one-on-one meeting was held with them, and they were given the opportunity to contact their families through the Red Cross. As per its mandate, the ICRC evaluates the treatment and living conditions of detainees during the visit and ensures the restoration of contact and further keeping in touch with their families. In accordance with the ICRC procedures, observations and recommendations in connection with visits are provided only to the detaining party," she said.
Property details:

Holiday Inn Club Vacations at Cape Canaveral Beach 2 Bed/2 Bath, Unit 1420AB, Sleeps 5-10, Lock Off Week 22, Floats 20-22, 36-45, 48-50, Silver Season Even Year usage beginning in 2024 Maintenance fees are approx. $771.00 (taxes included) every year and will be billed to you for your usage. WINNING BID IS ALL YOU PAY! SELLER HAS PAID CLOSING COSTS AND TRANSFER FEES! NOTE: ALL TRANSACTIONS WILL BE HANDLED THROUGH EMAIL AND USPS. LOCAL PICK-UP IS NOT NECESSARY. Its normal for family trips to br...

Price: $ 38 Seller State of Residence: Iowa Property Address: 1000 Shorewood Drive Number of Bedrooms: 2 Number of Bathrooms: 2 Zip/Postal Code: 32920 City: Cape Canaveral State/Province: Florida Location: 656**, Branson, Missouri

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Lifetime

By Elizabeth Kwiatkowski, 03/01/2023



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FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

Reality TV World is now available on the all-new Google News app and website. Click here to visit our Google News page, and then click FOLLOW to add us as a news source!

Which couples are still together and which MAFS couples have split up and divorced? And where are they now?

's first fifteen seasons followed 59 couples who got married at first sight -- so which couples are still together, who split up and divorced, and where are they all now?Each season of -- which premiered in the United States nine years ago and is based on a Danish series -- features couples (previously three couples, but four couples on Seasons 8 and 9, and five couples beginning with Season 10) being matched together by relationship experts and agree to marry when they first meet.Complete strangers become husband and wife in a matter of minutes, and the couples' lives are then documented by TV cameras over the course of the next four to eight weeks (eight weeks, in the case of 's most recent seasons).The couples typically enjoy their first night together in a hotel after exchanging vows -- with some couples deciding to consummate their marriage immediately -- and then embark on a honeymoon, move in together, and simply attempt to deal with the struggles of daily life as man and wife.At the end of the extreme marriage experiment, each couple must decide whether they'd like to stay married or get a divorce on "Decision Day."has experienced very mixed results over the years. While a significant number of couples decide to stay together and continue their new marriage at the end of their season, the real world seems to hit them hard after the cameras leave, resulting in the couple splitting up only months later.Do cast members see a different side of their spouses once cameras are gone, or do the romances naturally fizzle over time?Some couples are still together to this day and are extremely happy. Jamie Otis and Doug Hehner from Season 1, for example, have had two children.Several other couples have also had children -- including Ashley Petta and Anthony D'Amico Shawniece Jackson and Jephte Pierre Danielle Bergman and Bobby Dodd Deonna McNeill and Greg Okotie , and Jessica Studer and Austin Hurd However, there are also relationships that ended badly. Jessica Castro from Season 2, for instance, accused Ryan De Nino of alleged death threats, and she went on to file a restraining order and lawsuit against him.Some couples have also never even made it to "Decision Day" and ended their marriage prematurely, including Season 4 couple Heather Seidel and Derek Schwartz as well as Season 6 couple Molly Duff and Jonathan Francetic Are the remaining couples now lovers, friends or enemies?! What about early season couples like Cortney Hendrix and Jason Carrion, Jaclyn Methuen and Ryan Ranellone, Vanessa Nelson and Tres Russell, Sonia Granados and Nick Pendergrast, and Lillian Vilchez and Tom Wilson?And how about more recent season couples like Danielle DeGroot and Cody Knapek Sheila Downs and Nate Duhon Jaclyn Schwartzberg and Ryan Buckley Dave Flaherty and Amber Martorana , and Tristan Thompson and Mia Bally Keith Dewar and Kristine Killingsworth , and AJ Vollmoeller and Stephanie Sersen Click thelink below to see photos of each couple and find out!

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Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.
HBO Max is giving a glimpse of the new film Reality.

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The streaming service shared a teaser trailer for the drama Wednesday featuring Sydney Sweeney.

Reality is based on the Tina Satter play Is This a Room, which opened on Broadway in October 2021.

The film explores the true story of Reality Winner, a former U.S. Air Force member and NSA translator who was convicted in 2018 for leaking a confidential report about Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Reality features verbatim dialogue from a transcript of the FBI's interrogation of Winner at her home in 2017.

Josh Hamilton and Marchant Davis play the FBI agents in charge of Winner's questioning.

Reality is co-written by Satter and James Paul Dallas and marks Satter's directorial debut.

The film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival in February and will premiere May 29 on HBO Max.

FOLLOW REALITY TV WORLD ON THE ALL-NEW GOOGLE NEWS!

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Sweeney is known for the HBO series Euphoria and The White Lotus.
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Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the iPhone manufacturer is looking to invest more in the world's second-largest smartphone market.

Photograph: ANI Photo

Cook, on his first trip to India in seven years, opened Apple's first retail store in the country in Mumbai on Tuesday and will launch another in Delhi on Thursday.

Looking to replicate what China did to Apple's business in the last 15 years, the tech giant is eyeing India's massive market with an expanding middle class to power sales growth, and potentially make it a home base for the production of millions of Apple devices.

Cook, whose company reached a new record of nearly $6 billion in sales for the year ended March 31, met the Prime Minister on Wednesday.

"Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome.

"We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India's future - from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we're committed to growing and investing across the country," he tweeted with a picture of him shaking hands with Modi.

Cook had last visited India in 2016 when the tech giant was just beginning to scale up operations in the country.

Apple, which launched its online store in India in 2020, has long wanted physical retail stores in the country.

Its original plans for 2021 were derailed because of the Covid-19 pandemic.

"An absolute delight to meet you, @tim_cook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India," prime minister also tweeted on meeting Apple CEO.

The new stores in Mumbai and Delhi come at a time when Apple is trying to deepen its retail push in India, the world's second-largest smartphone market.

India is also home to factories that produce 5 per cent of total iPhones as Apple diversifies its supply chains away from China.

The iPhone is still an aspirational product in the price-sensitive Indian market, where more than 95 per cent of smartphones run on rival Google's Android platform.

Cook had met Modi on the previous visit in 2016 as well.

Apple is wooing the Indian market with a promise to double the employment base in the country through its vendors to around 2 lakh gradually.

For this, Cook sought government support to widen its components supplier base in India, a government source said.

The source said that Cook has long-term policy stability to foster investments in the country.

"He has also asked support to skill Indian manpower to suit the company's requirement," the source said.

The government has offered Apple to define the skill set and it will support them in facilitating it as it is doing for creating skills at Gatishakti Vishwavidyalaya in collaboration with Boeing and Siemens.

Apple commands a small base of just 4 per cent of India's nearly 700 million smartphone users, which is currently dominated by cheaper local brands, as well as Chinese and South Korean manufacturers.

In contrast, Apple did $74 billion in sales in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan in fiscal 2022.

That's about 18 per cent of its total revenue during the period.

Besides the market, Apple is also eyeing India as its manufacturing base as it diversifies away from China, with whom the US has had trade tensions.

Its primary manufacturing partner, Foxconn, which oversees a large portion of the assembly of new iPhones in China, is building a $700 million plant for iPhone parts in Bengaluru.
Christian Music's Biggest Night of the Year



Wayne Watson and Sandi Patty

share the stage

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Chrisagis Brothers

April 19, 2023



YORKVILLE, Ohio, April 19, 2023 /Standard Newswire/ -- May 6, 2023 is the 12th annual, highly acclaimed and successful, Chrisagis Brothers' Legends Concert. The concert will be held at Buckeye High School in Rayland, Ohio at 6 pm. The May 6 Legends concert will be the greatest night of music for the Christian world this year. The brothers have out-done themselves with this line-up of musical legacies. Promised to be a Grammy/Dove Awards extravaganza like no other with five of Christian Music's biggest ambassadors in musical history, such as "the Queen of Christian Music" Sandi Patty, Russ Taff, Wayne Watson and Kim Boyce. Hosting this year's event with the Chrisagis Brothers will be musical pioneer Jayne Farrell.



Let's look at each great Legend.

Sandi Patty is one of the most acclaimed performers of our time with five Grammy Awards, five billboard Music Awards, four Platinum Records, six Gold Records, and twelve million units sold, Sandi Patty is simply known as "the Voice." She has been compared to the likes of Whitney Houston and Barbara Streisand with her amazing vocal range and show-stopping style that has left audiences wanting more and critics hailing her as the most dynamic Christian Music Artist in history. Sandi is without a doubt a national treasure with songs like: We Shall Behold Him, Via Dolorosa, and I've Just Seen Jesus. Patty is by far the most awarded female in Christian Music with 40 Dove Awards. She was inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame in 2004 and was named a Living Legend in 2007.



Russ Taff is known as the most powerful and electrifying voice Christian Music has ever known. Taff has received 6 Grammy Awards, 18 Dove Awards, and is in the Gospel Music Hall of Fame. His life story has been made into a movie called "I Still Believe" and he was featured as one of the ultimate greats in The Jesus Music Film. Russ first gained recognition as lead vocalist for The Imperials. He has also been a member of the Gaither Vocal Band, and occasionally still tours with the Gaither Homecoming Concerts. As a recording artist, Taff is known as one of the most dynamic ambassadors of the gospel and probably the most beloved of all Christian Artists in music history. Taff has God's heart and that is shown in the music he writes and sings that set captives free, with songs like: Praise The Lord, We Will Stand, and Ain't No Grave. Russ is a mighty General in God's army and in the music world. He recorded 12 albums as a solo artist, 8 with the Imperials, 6 with the Gaithers and his 1985 Medals Album has been named the best in the top 20 Albums in Christian Music history.



Wayne Watson is also noted as one of the great voices and songwriters in Christian Music history. He was one of the top Recording Artists of the 1980's and 90s and defined the genre with his music style and vocals. His first Album "Working In The Final Hour" became gold and captured a generation of Christian music listeners and radio. Watson has produced 23 #1 hit singles on Christian Radio, he is a winner of 15 Dove Awards, 1 Grammy Award, and has been inducted into the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.



Kim Boyce is one of Christian Music's most dynamic female stars, her inner beauty and talent, accompanied by her outer beauty and grace, led her to the 1984 Miss America Pageant and she finished as one of the runners up. She went on to be a legendary iconic recording artist for the Christian world. She recorded 7 successful Albums, with 11 #1 hit singles, 3 top music videos and garnered a number of Grammy and Dove Award nominations.



Jayne Farrell is the wife of legendary songwriter Bob Farrell, who has been named among the greatest songwriters in Christian Music history with the likes of Dottie Rambo and Bill Gaither. Jayne and Bob formed the internationally successful duo Farrell and Farrell. The Farrell's are noted as two of Christian Music's Pioneers who started Christian music in the early 70's. They also were the very first music missionaries who took the Gospel to every nation including behind the Iron Curtain. Their music brought a generation of hippies and teenagers to salvation and brought revival all over the world.

The Chrisagis Brothers will be singing as well, doing tributes to the greats in Christian Music. Don't miss this amazing Legends extravaganza May 6 at Buckeye Local High School at 6 pm.



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BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The opening of Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel is a sign of the high level of relations, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel, co-chair of the Joint Commission Eli Cohen, Trend reports.

Hailing Azerbaijan-Israel relations, the head of state noted that the two countries enjoy good political ties. President Ilham Aliyev described the opening of the embassy of Azerbaijan in Israel as a sign of the high level of relations, and emphasized that these ties are based on friendship, mutual trust, respect and support. Saying that the bilateral cooperation agenda is expanding, the head of state specially stressed the activity of the Joint Commission between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel, and expressed hope that it could contribute to the diversification of relations.
At a time when the overall narrative is around India being an attractive investment destination, the two American multinationals are more specific in projecting India as their centrepiece.

In the India season of the Oscars and all things else, two developments stand out.

One is about Cupertino-based Apple Inc and another relates to Bentonville-headquartered Walmart Inc.

At a time when the overall narrative is around India being an attractive investment destination, the two American multinationals are more specific in projecting India as their centrepiece.

Apple, according to media reports, is making organisational rejigs to focus more on India.

The details are yet to be out, but it is clear that India will have a much bigger play in the tech giant's scheme of things.

This follows the massive demand for iPhones in India and competition among states to spread the proverbial red carpet for manufacturing hubs to make Apple products.

Apple's intention to move away production from China has made its top contract manufacturers such as Foxconn act fast on other destinations, India being a preferred one.

As for Walmart, it has made its India pitch openly.

At the Raymond James Institutional Investor Conference in Orlando, a fireside chat with the top management of Walmart Inc made retail industry watchers sit up and take notice.

The last 10 minutes of the fireside chat were kept for the retail major's international business.

The question was on opportunities vis-a-vis Indian and Chinese markets.

To that, Walmart Chief Financial Officer and Executive Vice-President John David Rainey's answer was a headline point.

'I guess .... believe India is going to be the largest market in the world this year, surpassing China. It's a really promising opportunity in the future.'

This came in the midst of Walmart exiting some international markets as the chain looks 'to maximise valuation and return on dollars'.

According to the CFO, Walmart will be disciplined with both divesting and investing, going forward, so that the portfolio of products and segments maximises the company's valuation.

Even as he put India over China in his outlook, he noted that Walmart was excited about both India and China, which are 'certainly growing faster than others'.

Walmart has 29 wholesale or cash-and-carry stores meant for business-to-business transactions in India.

The US chain's long-drawn ambition to open retail stores (commonly known as multi-brand retail) in India has remained a dream due to regulatory constraints for foreign investors.

In India, Walmart is equal to Flipkart and PhonePe.

In 2018, the US retailer bought a majority stake in e-commerce firm Flipkart in a $16 billion deal.

Walmart also owns online payment app PhonePe, which was earlier a Flipkart entity.

Against India's nil score in retail store, this is how other geographies stack up in the Walmart universe.

According to Walmart's annual report of 2022, the chain has 5,342 stores in the US alone, with 3,573 of them being supercentres, spread over 100,000-250,000 square feet each.

In its international business (non-US), there are 5,251 stores. While in India, the Walmart physical presence is only through 29 wholesale stores, in China it has 397 -- 361 retail and 36 wholesale.

In Africa, it has 414, Canada 408, Central America 864, Chile 384, and Mexico 2,755.

Like Walmart, Apple had failed to open fully-owned stores in India due to sourcing conditions linked to foreign investment in single-brand retail.

Now that the sourcing conditions have been eased after Apple's engagement with India in manufacturing, the company opened its first fully-owned stores in the country in Mumbai on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The store in Delhi opens on Thursday, April 20, 2023.

Apple has more than 500 stores around the world -- close to 275 in the US and some 250 elsewhere.

After the US, China has the maximum number of Apple stores at 44. In fact, the latest store in China was set up as recently as May 2022.

Other geographies with double-digit store numbers include the UK at 39, Canada 28, Australia 22, France 20, Italy 17, Germany 16, Japan 10, and Spain 11.

Both Apple and Walmart have been quite a political hot potato in India cutting across governments.

Back in 2013 when Scott Price, then chief executive of Walmart Asia, broke the news that the group's retail plan was not tenable and therefore the joint venture with the Bharti group was being terminated, it seemed like the end of the road.

A decade later, the group has named India its potential topmost market for this year in international business. Apple has gone through a similar cycle.

By wanting to make top-management changes keeping in mind India, Apple has added to India's moment in the sun.

Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff.com
'The prowess with which they executed the shootings unmistakably bear the imprint of someone who has had professional training and briefing.'

'They were able to empty 21 bullets in five seconds.'

'They were that quick like a trained marksman.'

IMAGE: Gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed, right, and his brother Ashraf Ahmed being escorted to a hospital by police for a medical checkup in Prayagraj before they were shot dead. Photograph: PTI Photo

The daring murder of alleged gangsters Atiq Ahmed -- a former five-term MLA and ex-Lok Sabha MP -- and his brother Ashraf, in front of the media, outside a hospital in Prayagraj on the night of Saturday, April 15, in the presence of 17 policemen escorting the duo, has sent shockwaves across Uttar Pradesh and India.

To mitigate the situation, the state chief minister, on the intervening night of April 15-16, convened a three-member judicial commission headed by retired high court judge Arvind Kumar Tripathi, retired judge Biresh Kumar Soni and former DGP Subesh Kumar Singh to probe the murders and submit their report within 60 days.

The UP police too has constituted a three-member special investigation team comprising of Satish Chandra (additional deputy commissioner of police), assistant commissioner of police Kotwali police station Satyendra Prasad Tiwari and crime branch officer, Investigation, Om Prakash for a qualitative and time-bound probe of the double murders.

To supervise and monitor the SIT probe, the UP police has also appointed a three-member team comprising Additional Director General of Police Bhanu Bhaskar (Prayagraj zone), Police Commissioner Ramit Sharma and Archana Tripathi, director, UP Forensic Science Laboratory.

The three killers -- 22-year-old Lavlesh Tiwari from Banda, 23-year-old Sunny alias Mohit from Hamirpur and 18-year-old Arun Maurya of Kasganj -- who fired almost 21 rounds in less than 10 seconds from foreign-made expensive guns surrendered soon after they killed Atiq and Ashraf even as the 17 policemen laced with automatic weapons and service revolvers were numbed into inaction.

The sordid murders were caught on cameras by television crews which, decorated former director general of police, Uttar Pradesh, Dr Vikram Singh, says should not have been allowed proximity access to the two brothers in the first place.

Dr Singh discusses with Prasanna D Zore/Rediff.com the lapses of the police escort team guarding Atiq and Ashraf that led to the chilling double murders and reveals why he feels the three killers are just the legs on the ground and were remote-controlled into murdering Atiq and Ashraf.

What startled you the most about the murders of Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf on the night of April 15?

What startled me most was the unprofessional conduct on the part of the protecting contingent (of the UP police), that all SOPs (standard operating procedures) were broken and torn into shreds.

To begin with, it should been ensured (by the UP police contingent protecting Atiq and Ashraf Ahmed) that access control was faithfully enforced and implemented; it wasn't done.

The medical examination and their (Atiq's and Ashraf's) movement should have been kept secret and not disclosed to anyone and everyone so much so that the entire media swooped down as if it was some kind of tamasha.

Third, there is no provision for those under detention to give a press briefing or a press byte, which was (nevertheless) organised.

(One must find out) the circumstances under which this press briefing was organised. Not only were the media allowed, but they were also given close access proximity, which is again absolutely against the rules (that must be followed when those in police custody are taken out for medical examination).

Then the shooters carrying Zigana pistols, weighing not less than 2 kilos each, carrying a magazine of 15 rounds each were not only allowed to reach into close proximity from the rear but were also not hindered or repulsed when they went onto a bullet-pumping spree into them (the Ahmed brothers).

What was the police's response?

What was the close proximity security team doing?

What was the ring around them doing? What was the outer cordon doing?

Obviously, everything was dysfunctional.

My last point is that they (the three shooters who killed Atiq and Ashraf) were not arrested, but they surrendered before the police. They surrendered their weapons.

Therefore, no credit can be given to that contingent (of policemen) for not repulsing the attack and claiming that they arrested them and recovered the weapons.

IMAGE: Arun Maurya, Sunny and Lavlesh Tiwari who killed Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed. Photograph: ANI Photo

Three days after the crimes, do more questions cross your mind about the circumstances in which these murders were committed?

The questions are much louder than the incident itself.

These three boys come from a very humble background; they don't have the wherewithal to buy a gun (Zigana F Series; made-in-Turkiye) costing Rs 10 lakh (Rs 1 million) each.

These pistols could have come from the Pakistani pedigree thrown into Punjab by ISI drones. The markings on the cartridges (bullet shells) have Pakistani factory seals.

Also, these boys seem to have had some refresher training (in handling guns and using them).

If you see one of the videos, one of the assailants can be seen in the battle-crouch position. The battle-crouch position is a typical position when one takes on the adversary from close quarters.

For a novice, it is not possible. The prowess with which they executed the shootings unmistakably bear the imprint of someone who has had professional training and briefing. They were able to empty 21 bullets in five seconds. They were that quick like a trained marksman.

And it will be naive to believe their confession that they wanted to establish themselves like the Bishnoi gang (the dreaded Lawrence Bishnoi gang that has been accused of running murder, dacoity and extortion rackets in north India) and become famous.

Well, if they wanted to be like the Bishnoi gang, they knew they were executing these murders in front of live television. The minimum sentence they can now expect is life sentence, if not a death sentence.

IMAGE: One of the killers opens fire at Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf Ahmed in Prayagraj, April 15, 2023. Photograph: PTI Photo

What benefit would such fame get them now that they could face life imprisonment and spend the rest of their lives in a high security prison?

Let me tell you they would have gone underground (if they had plans to encash their fame) and there were enough ways for them to escape.

They could have easily made use of the chaos that followed after the shootings in the first few seconds just like those assassins who murdered Umesh Pal -- a prime witness in the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal, in which Atiq Ahmed was the alleged mastermind -- and ran away.

Under these circumstances, I have my reservations about the whole episode (about the confessions of the three shooters), in the sense that they did not run away; they surrendered very, very meekly. They were taken into custody as if mechanically.

To be like Bishnoi, you have to live and live outside the jail.

I think this is a major self-goal that they (the three shooters) have committed. I think somebody who has the remote control has been able to win over them and their confidence and they must have got a handsome amount to get this conducted (murder Atiq and his brother Ashraf).

The UP government has appointed a judicial commission, a three-member SIT to investigate the circumstances surrounding the sensational murders and a monitoring committee to oversee the SIT investigation.

Will the truth behind the two murders ever come out or will these committees lead to formation of a complex web around the facts surrounding the two murders?

In every (such) committee, there will be people who will not be complicit in any wrongdoing. I know most of them, and I think they are the most upright and the best people to conduct and oversee this sensitive investigation.

What major reforms would you suggest to overhaul the entire policing system that makes such kind of murders possible?

You need to be trained like a commando, and there were people who must have done the commando course. Do not let the mental alertness go down.

You were like the Rock of Gibraltar when you came from Sabarmati to Prayagraj jail (Atiq Ahmed was driven by road from Sabarmati jail in Gujarat to Prayagraj jail in Uttar Pradesh two weeks ago).

What happened to your mental alertness and your reflexes and responsibility when you (the police) took them (the brothers) there (for medical examination).

All provisions of the rule book were thrown to the winds; (when you did this it was) as if you were inviting trouble.

I would suggest reinforce the (commando police) training, have proper supervision and let the rules first prevail; register a case against these 17 delinquent police officers, charge these police officers, place them under suspension, order departmental inquiry and complete investigations in 90 working days.

Some commentators indirectly hint at the UP government's involvement in these murders. Do such allegations make any sense to you?

It (such allegations) doesn't make any sense to me; these (allegations) have political overtones.

When it is said I will reduce you to dust doesn't mean I will kill you or I will crush you underneath my feet. No. It means that I will decimate you within the ambit of law, taking help of all legal provisions to see to it that your gang is decimated, your gang collapses like a house of cards, and you are finished so far as your world of crimes and criminality is concerned.

Who should take the responsibility for the lapses that made these murders possible?

The local police have to be held responsible and the guards in the contingent that were escorting them.

The guard and escorts rules are very clear that those who are escorting them (criminals) are given due briefing.

All the precautions and hazards (of the job) are explained to them even before they start their day, which is known as ginti (counting) and it is the job of the police station chief to tell them (the escort teams) what they can expect and what they should do and what they should not do in such circumstances.

There is also a provision that if such a thing happens (when accused are killed under police watch), then that is a criminal breach of trust and therefore, somebody will have to do a lot of explaining.

IMAGE: Crime scene investigators survey the location where Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf Ahmed were shot dead. Photograph: PTI Photo

Would you really believe that the police team who took the Ahmeds for medical examination did it on their own will and that too at 10 pm in the night?

Should the buck stop only at the 17 police officers who, as some reports suggest, have been suspended from duty and not their superiors?

Have they been suspended? First, please check on that because there are reports suggesting they have not been suspended yet.

I do hope they are suspended because there is no logical reason why they should not have been placed under suspension under the guise that an inquiry is on.

The Guards and Escorts Rule is a statute that should be respected. They should be first placed under suspension, register a case against them and then do whatever you have to do.

Would you believe that these local policemen, on their own whim, took Atiq and Ashraf for medical examination at 10 o'clock at night?

I wouldn't think so. They (Atiq and his brother) may have complained of something and so they must have taken them for the check up and if they were to be deposited in the jail, then a medical examination is mandatory.

Since I'm not privy to the circumstances, I cannot say much, but there are certain clear cut guidelines. You cannot take them (for medical examination) just because you feel like taking them for a medical checkup.

But it is a mandatory requirement that medical examination has to be done before being sent back to jail.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday asked the Army to maintain strong vigil along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China as the situation in the northern sector remained "tense" in view of deployment of PLA troops.

IMAGE: Defence Minister Rajnath Singh with Indian Army Chief General Manoj Pande meets Army Commanders at Manekshaw Auditorium, New Delhi, April 19, 2023. Photograph: Mohammed Zakir/ANI Photo

In his address at the Army Commanders' Conference, Singh, without making specific references, called upon the armed forces to take note of geo-political changes around the world, and accordingly mould their planning and strategies, sources said.

"The situation is tense due to deployment of PLA troops in the northern sector. Our armed forces, especially the Indian Army, will have to continuously keep their vigilance in order to maintain the security of the LAC," he said, according to the sources.

Singh's comments came against the backdrop of the three-year border row in eastern Ladakh.

The defence minister said the security of the country is the "topmost priority" for the government.

"I assure all of you that it is the whole endeavour of the government to provide the best weapons and facilities to each and every soldier posted on the border," he said at the conference in Delhi.

The five-day Army Commanders' Conference began on Monday. It is deliberating on India's national security challenges along the borders with China and Pakistan and ways to boost combat capability of the force.

Referring to Jammu and Kashmir, the defence minister said it is witnessing peace and stability and there has been a significant decline in the number of terrorist activities in the Union Territory.

"In the North-Eastern states too, there has been a lot of improvement in the internal security scenario following operations carried out by the Indian Army," Singh said.

"Nevertheless, we have to be vigilant against anti-national organisations that challenge the government's efforts for peace," he added.

In his remarks, Singh also said that future warfare will be highly unpredictable due to "many uncertainties".

"In today's changing times, the scope of threats and weapons has become very wide-ranging. There is a need to assess your defence preparedness accordingly," he told the commanders.

The defence minister said there is a need to ensure use of real-time intelligence more effectively so that "we can be fully prepared to face any such future challenges."

He said the welfare and well-being of each and every soldier and ex-serviceman is also an important goal of the government.

The government is working for the armed forces as diligently as the armed forces are working for the security of the nation, he said.

"The government is fully committed to the welfare of not only the armed forces, but also veterans, and their families," Singh said.

The Army Commanders' Conference is an apex-level biannual event that is held in April and October every year.

The conference is an institutional platform for conceptual-level deliberations, culminating in making important policy decisions for the Indian Army.
The Delhi high court on Wednesday observed that the telecast of the recording of narco analysis conducted on Aaftab Amin Poonawala, the sole accused in the Shraddha Walkar murder, will prejudice the case and restrained all news channels from displaying or playing content of the charge sheet filed in the matter.

IMAGE: The Delhi police reaches Saket court with a copy of the chargesheet against Aaftab Poonawala in Shraddha Walkar murder case, in New Delhi, January 24, 2023. Photograph: ANI Photo

The high court also directed the Centre to ensure that no news channel displays such material till disposal of the petition filed by the Delhi police.

The order was passed on a plea by the Delhi police for restraining media houses from publishing, printing and disseminating confidential information contained in the charge sheet and other such material collected during the course of investigation.

This is really very, very strange. What purpose will be served by showing or telecasting this narco analysis test on television? This will definitely prejudice the case, Justice Rajnish Bhatnagar said orally.

Special Public Prosecutor Amit Prasad, appearing for the police, said it was obviously for TRPs (television rating points) and added that airing of such content may lead to law and order problem.

He submitted that Aaj Tak news channel has got access to a video of the narco analysis of the accused and it was restrained by the trial court from showing it or any such content till April 20.

However, he said, an order needs to be passed against all other channels also as the video might have been shared with others and, if telecast, it would prejudice the right of the accused to fair trial.

The high court also issued notices to and sought the response of the Centre, through the ministry of information and broadcasting, Aaj Tak news channel and Poonawala on the Delhi police's petition and listed it for further hearing on August 3.

No media channel having access to this material shall display or play this material on their channel. In the meanwhile, Union of India shall ensure that no such material is displayed or played on any channel in whatsoever manner, Justice Bhatnagar said.

As the judge sought to know how the video reached the news channel, Prasad said it was leaked and, if the journalist concerned makes copies of the footage and distributes them further, then there will be no control.

The prosecutor claimed the video footage was not provided to the journalist either by the police or anyone from the side of the accused. He said an FIR needs to be registered to investigate as to how the sensitive content got leaked.

He said since the authorities are not aware about which other channels have access to the video, a direction be issued to the ministry of information and broadcasting to issue instructions or guidelines to news channels not to display such material till the disposal of the petition.

Poonawala is accused of strangling his live-in partner Walkar and chopping her body into pieces in Mehrauli here on May 18 last year. He stuffed the body parts into a refrigerator before scattering them across multiple places in the national capital over several days to avoid detection.

The Delhi police had filed a 6,629-page charge sheet in the case on January 24.

The Delhi police had earlier filed an application before the trial court seeking direction for restraining Aaj Tak news channel from utilising in any form the material related to the charge sheet.

The court had then taken on record an undertaking by the counsel for the news channel stating it will not telecast, publish or disseminate the contents of the Psychological Assessment and Voice layered test, narco analysis and conversation recorded on the App of Dr Practo till April 20.

The Delhi police has also sought direction to Aaj Tak to ensure digital evidence procured by it through unauthorised means is submitted before the court.

The media houses have no vested right to use the material of investigation inasmuch as the charge sheet is not a public document and is not to be used for the purpose of advancing its business to the detriment of larger public interest of affording fair trial to the accused. Hence, the trial court should have completely restrained the respondent no. 2 from using any part of the charge sheet, the plea said.

It said the right to fair trial includes right to be tried in an atmosphere free from prejudice or else the trial itself may be vitiated on this ground alone causing irreparable, irreversible and incalculable harm and damage to criminal justice delivery system.
Mukul Roy needs medical attention, his son Subharanghsu said on Wednesday after the veteran politician from West Bengal expressed his desire to return to the Bharatiya Janata Party.

IMAGE: Mukul Roy with senior BJP leader Amit Shah. Photograph: ANI Photo

Speaking to reporters, he said Roy's statement about returning to the BJP should not be taken seriously.

"I have heard what my father said. He needs medical attention. He has physical and neurological problems. Those trying to use my father to serve their political interests should be ashamed of themselves," said Subharanghsu, who is a former MLA.

"He is extremely unwell and suffers from dementia and Parkinson's disease," he added.

Roy, an MLA from Krishnanagar Uttar, switched over to the Trinamool Congress from the BJP along with his son after the 2021 assembly elections.

Known for his electioneering skills, Roy joined the BJP in 2017, and played a key role in the party's 2019 Lok Sabha polls success in West Bengal.

Since his return to the TMC, Roy has remained away from the public glare, mainly because of his health issues, which took him to the hospital multiple times.

Subharanghsu said that he has been unable to contact his father since he left home on Monday evening and is worried about his wellbeing.

Roy went to New Delhi on Monday evening, and on Tuesday said he would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the BJP.

Reacting to his father's advice that he too should rejoin the BJP too, Subharangshu said he is a "loyal soldier of the TMC" and would remain so.

The Trinamool Congress declined to comment on the issue.

Meanwhile, leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari ruled out the possibility of Roy's return to the BJP.

"We are not interested in inducting such people into the party. We are now busy strengthening our organisation at the booth level," he said on Tuesday.
The state cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of sexual characteristic over which the person has no control, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday, asserting the Centre has no data to back up its claim that the concept of same-sex marriage is 'elitist' or 'urban'.

IMAGE: Members of the LGBTQ+ community take part in a pride rally in Kolkata. Photograph: ANI Photo

The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage.

'It is very simple, the State cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the person has no control,' a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said on the second day of day-long hearing on the pleas.

The Centre, in one of its affidavits filed in the apex court, termed the petitions a reflection of 'urban elitist' view for the purpose of social acceptance and said recognition of marriage is essentially a legislative function which the courts should refrain from adjudicating.

Apparently agreeing with the submissions of senior advocate A M Singhi, appearing for one of the petitioners, the bench said, "When you say that this is an innate characteristic then it is also an argument in response to the contention (of the Centre) this is elitist or urban or it has a certain class bias."

'When something is innate, then it cannot have the class bias. It may be more urban in its manifestations because the people in urban areas are coming out of closed closet. Anyway, no data is forthcoming from the government to indicate that this is urban. No data at all,' observed the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha.

Singhvi stressed that every averment made by the Centre in the affidavit is without a 'single survey, single data'.

Another senior advocate, K V Viswanathan, who also represented one of the petitioners, said branding the petitioners as 'urban elitist' showed 'absolute lack of grace'.

"The Union should have shown some grace," Viswanathan said.

At the start of the day's hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, filed a fresh affidavit urging the bench that all states and Union Territories be made parties to the proceedings as any decision on the issue without obtaining their views will render the present 'adversarial exercise' incomplete and truncated.

During the hearing, the bench also deliberated upon the consequences of legalising same-sex marriage including adoption and different marriageable age for male and female.

"Incidentally, even if a couple is in a gay relationship or a lesbian relationship, one of them can still adopt. So the whole argument that this will create a sort of psychological impact on the child is belied by the fact that even today, on the state of the law as it stands, once we have decriminalised homosexuality, it is open to people to live-in together and one of them can adopt. It is just that the child looses the benefit of parenthood so to speak of both the parents," the CJI said.

The apex court dwelt upon section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, which deals with conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages and mandates that a male and female must be of the age of 21 and 18 years respectively.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, said a bill has been proposed to increase the marriageable age of women to 21 years, and the moment 18 years is made 21, the problem will be solved.

The bench observed it could be a 'slightly dangerous argument' and recalled a petition had come before the top court where the issue of marriageable age was raised.

It said the court had rejected the petition observing if it holds the provision unconstitutional, there will be no minimum age of marriage.

During the arguments, Rohatgi urged the bench to use its 'plenary power, prestige and moral authority' to push the society to acknowledge such a union as would ensure LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual, and ally) persons lead a 'dignified' life like heterosexuals.

He said, the State should come forward and provide recognition to same-sex marriage.

Rohatgi said LGBTQIA have no representation in Parliament and that is why it is the courts they have to come to.

He said courts have always struck down majoritarian views with regard to fundamental rights and, even if one person is impacted, the action has been struck down.

Rohatgi referred to the law on widow re-marriage, and said society did accept it then, the 'law acted with alacrity' and the social acceptance followed.

"Here, this court needs to push the society to acknowledge the same-sex marriage. This court, besides the power under Article 142 (which provides SC the plenary power to pass any order necessary for doing complete justice) of the Constitution, has moral authority and it enjoys public confidence. We rely on the prestige and moral authority of this court to ensure that we get our right," Rohagti said during the arguments which will continue on Thursday.

In its fresh affidavit filed in the apex court, the Centre said it issued a letter on April 18 to all states inviting comments and views on the 'seminal issue' raised in the pleas.

'It is, therefore, humbly requested that all states and Union Territories be made a party to the present proceedings and their respective stance be taken on record and in the alternative, allow the Union of India, to finish the consultative process with the states, obtain their views/apprehensions, compile the same and place it on record before this court, and only thereafter adjudicate on the present issue,' the affidavit said.

Opposing the government's fresh affidavit, Rohatgi said the pleas challenged a central law- the Special Marriage Act- and just because the subject is there in the concurrent list of the Constitution, states and UTs need not be issued the notices.

"You do not have to labour on this point," the CJI said.

Rohatgi referred to the judgements, including the decriminalisation of consensual gay sex, and said the court was revisiting something which has already been decided.

"I (petitioner) am equal to heterosexual groups and it cannot be so that their sexual orientation is correct and all others are incorrect. I am saying let there be a positive affirmation...We should not be treated as lesser mortals and there will be full enjoyment of the right to life," he said.

The top court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not go into personal laws governing marriages while deciding the pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages and said the very notion of a man and a woman, as referred to in the Special Marriage Act, is not 'an absolute based on genitals'.

The judicial outcome on the sensitive issue will have significant ramifications for the country where common people and political parties hold divergent and strong views on the subject.

The apex court had on November 25 last year sought the Centre's response to separate pleas moved by two gay couples seeking enforcement of their right to marry and a direction to the authorities concerned to register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act.
Local Congress leader Rajkumar Singh Rajju was taken into custody by the police on Wednesday after he allegedly placed the tricolour on the grave of gangster-politician Atiq Ahmad, calling him a 'martyr'.

IMAGE: Police personnel deployed outside the Kasari Masari office of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad. Photograph: PTI Photo

The Congress expelled Rajju, who was a candidate in the upcoming urban local body polls, from the party for six years, its city president Pradeep Mishra Anshuman said.

Anshuman said that Rajju was a Congress candidate for corporator from Azad Nagar in South Malaka.

A purported video of the incident went viral in which Rajju can be seen placing the tricolour on the Ahmad's grave and raising slogans in favour of Ahmad and his brother Ashraf and demanding Bharat Ratna for the former MP.

"He was a people's representative and a martyr. Why he was not given state honour and why the tricolour was not put on his grave," Rajju said, according to the purported video.

Anshuman claimed to have a photo of Rajju receiving the award from state's Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya and said whatever happened was a conspiracy.

Rajju is undergoing treatment for some psychiatric issues, he said, adding a prescription for psychiatric medicines were found at his home.

Dhoomanganj police station SHO Rajesh Kumar Maurya said Rajju has been detained and a first information report (FIR) is being registered against him.

Ahmad, 60, and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting the two brothers to a hospital in Prayagraj for a check-up.
Veteran Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy, who has expressed his desire to work for the Bharatiya Janata Party in future, on Wednesday said he is a soldier of the saffron camp, and there is no question of resigning from the Trinamool Congress as he was never 'mentally' with the party even after rejoining it in 2021.

IMAGE: Mukul Roy with West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee at TMC Bhavan in Kolkata, on June 11, 2021. Photograph: ANI Photo

The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017.

He won as a saffron party candidate in the 2021 West Bengal assembly election.

Roy, however, returned to the TMC soon after the assembly election results, complaining of ill-treatment by the saffron camp leadership.

He did not resign from the House and is technically still a BJP MLA.

In a telephonic interview with PTI from New Delhi, Roy said the saffron camp would do well in the upcoming panchayat polls in Bengal, and the party would easily achieve the target of winning 35 plus Lok Sabha seats in 2024 set by Amit Shah last week.

"I am absolutely fit and fine. Some people are spreading rumours that I am unwell, but this is not true. I am a BJP MLA and have come here to be with the party. I want to work for my party BJP. I was never mentally with the TMC after I left it," the 69-year-old politician said.

When asked about his post-2021 stint with the TMC, Roy said, "I was not well at that point of time and was never mentally part of it."

Since his return to the TMC, Roy has remained away from the public glare citing ill health.

Roy has been suffering from dementia and Parkinson's disease, according to his doctors and his son.

He also underwent a neurological operation of the brain last month.

When asked whether he would resign from the TMC, Roy said, "There is no question of resigning from TMC as I am officially not part of it; I am still a BJP legislator."

Roy, however, declined to comment on TMC supremo Mamata Banerjee's remark that he is a BJP legislator, and it's his affair if he wants to go to Delhi.

Speaking about the prospects of the TMC in the panchayat polls and the next year's Lok Sabha polls, he said, "The TMC will not do well. The BJP will do well in the panchayat polls and achieve the target of 35 plus Lok Sabha seats in the next parliamentary polls. The people of Bengal want a change."

He said he would soon meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda and start working for the BJP.

Asked whether he spoke with his son Subharangshu, who has claimed he needed medical attention and that his remarks should not be taken seriously, Roy replied in the affirmative.

"I had spoken to him, and he was a bit worried as I had suddenly come to Delhi," he said.

Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for 'some personal work', even as his family initially claimed that he was 'missing', only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the 'right frame of mind'.
Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat has said if Ajit Pawar joins the Bharatiya Janata Party with a group of Nationalist Congress Party leaders, then the Eknath Shinde-led Sena will not be part of the government in Maharashtra.

Photograph: Sahil Salvi for Rediff.com IMAGE: NCP leader Ajit Pawar addresses the media at Vidhan Bhavan, in Mumbai on April 18, 2023.

Talking to mediapersons in Mumbai on Tuesday, Shirsat, whose party shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, said he thinks the Nationalist Congress Party will not go with the BJP directly.

"Our policy is clear about it. The NCP is a party which betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out (of the earlier undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray) because people didn't like us going with the Congress and the NCP," he said.

"We left the Congress-NCP (which were part of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government) because we didn't want to be with them. Ajit Pawar doesn't have a free hand there. Therefore, if he leaves the NCP, we will welcome him. If he comes along with along with a group of NCP (leaders), we will not be in the government," the Shiv Sena leader said.

He said Ajit Pawar's displeasure is because his son Parth Pawar lost election earlier. His displeasure has no connection with the case of a plea seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs pending before the Supreme Court.

Shirsat was recently appointed spokesperson of the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Parth Pawar was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from Maval constituency in Maharashtra.

"Ajit Pawar not being reachable is not a new thing. But his displeasure, which is being shown by the media, and our case (pending before the Supreme Court) has no relation. Ajit Pawar is disgruntled since his son Parth Pawar had lost the election," Shirsat said.

"Ajit Pawar was held responsible for the oath ceremony held at dawn (in November 2019 with Devendra Fadnavis). After two-and-a-half years, Sharad Pawar said it was an experiment to revoke President's rule," he claimed.

The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 had lasted for three days.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar is a big leader and he will not tell easily about what is going on in his mind.

He also slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi's move to hold rallies in parts of the state, as a show of unity and strength.

"We have to search for Ajit Pawar's stand in the ongoing rallies of MVA. He could not speak at the rally in Nagpur. The party which has only 15 MLAs (referring to Uddhav Thac is the key speaker and the one which has 54 MLAs is side-tracked. This is disrespect of Ajit Pawar," he said.
Anxious relatives of several Indians stuck in Sudan following the fighting between the Army and paramilitary forces are eagerly waiting for information about their relatives and appealed to the government to evacuate them from the strife-torn African country as soon as possible.

IMAGE: Smoke rises in Omdurman, near Halfaya Bridge, during clashes between the Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army as seen from Khartoum North, Sudan. Photograph: Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah/Reuters

Fighting erupted in Sudan on Saturday, leaving at least 185 people, including an Indian, dead and more than 1,800 injured.

Albert Augestine, a retired Indian soldier, was killed on April 15 when a stray bullet hit him while he was standing near the window of his flat in Khartoum.

Mansi Sheth, whose father is stuck in the country following the clashes between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary force, said she was worried about his safety.

She said her 63-year-old father was in Sudan on a business trip and was to fly back to Mumbai on Saturday (April 15).

He was at the airport when they were informed that the flight was cancelled.

He along with other passengers was not allowed to leave the airport.

After some hours when they were allowed to leave the airport, they had to walk towards their hotels as there was no conveyance available.

"I am worried about my father as he is a senior citizen with health issues. I could briefly speak to him this morning (Wednesday), but after that, there is no contact. We just want to know if he is safe or not," Sheth told PTI.

"He has sleep apnea that requires him to be on anti-seizure medication and he also uses a medical device (CPAP) which unfortunately was checked in at the airport on Saturday. That is the main reason why we are so desperate to get him out of Sudan because he only has enough medication for the next three days," she said.

There is no power in many areas of the city and the hotel in which Sheth's father is staying is running on a generator which has limited capacity.

Sheth said she also has some relatives in Sudan who told her that the security situation is very bad in the country and despite the announcement of a ceasefire, there is no cessation of violence.

India is coordinating closely with various countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia, to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals in violence-hit Sudan, government sources said in New Delhi on Wednesday.

They said the ground situation in Sudan is 'very tense' and the movement of people is 'very risky' at this stage.

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar has already spoken to his counterparts in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates over the situation in Sudan and they assured him of practical support on the ground for the safety of the Indians in that country.

The Sudanese Army and a rival paramilitary force agreed to a 24-hour cease-fire on Tuesday. However, reports said it was short-lived.

Sheth said her relatives told her that Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) is on a looting spree and even taking away residents' cars.

People have been told to puncture their cars and empty their fuel tanks so that they can prevent the RSF from taking away their cars.

She said she has full faith in the government and urged the government to soon evacuate all the Indians stranded there.

Another woman, who did not want to be identified, told PTI that her husband is stuck at a hotel in Khartoum. She said guests of the hotel are hiding in the hotel basement to save their lives.

"There is jungle raj in Sudan. There is no value for life in the country. Soldiers are indulged in looting and kidnapping. There is no government in the country," she said but did not share details about her husband due to security reasons.

The woman said Indians stranded in hotels are fearing for their safety and they are at the mercy of hotel staff.

"As there is looting happening everywhere the hotels have a limited supply of food, and there is no electricity and Internet services. Hotels can shut their operation if the situation worsens and these people will not have any place to go," she said.

She shared that there are some people in the hotel waiting to go back to India for medical treatment.

'The Indian government is making all-out efforts to safely evacuate its citizens,' she said and shared that the Ministry of External Affairs personnel contacted her after she shared the ordeal on her Twitter account.

'The danger is real. The situation is showing no signs of getting better or settling down. Our only appeal to the government is to evacuate its nationals as soon as possible,' she said, adding that the Indian government was quick in responding to their queries.

The Indian Embassy in Sudan on Tuesday said, 'We have come across many instances of looting. All Indian nationals are advised please not to venture out. Please ration your supplies.'

'The situation may continue for a few more days. Please try to take help from your neighbours. Please stay at home and remain safe,' the mission tweeted.

Several people whose relatives are stranded in the country took to Twitter to ask the government to evacuate them.

'#Sudan #Khartoum mera bhai Fas gaya hai, please usko aur baki Bhartiyo ko nikalo vhase (My brother is stranded in Khartoum, Sudan..please evacuate him and other Indians there. Please take some action,' a person with the account name gauravsbagul tweeted.

Another netizen with the account name Priyanka Sonawane tweeted, 'requesting you to please evacuate Indians. My brother is also stuck in #Sudan #Khartoum. Please do something.'

Karnataka State Disaster Management Authority Commissioner Manoj Rajan has said that as many as 31 people belonging to Hakki-Pikki tribal community from Karnataka are stranded in Sudan.

Out of about 4,000 Indians in Sudan, the settled Indian community in Sudan is now about 1,200, which is there for about 150 years.

Other expatriate Indian community members are working as professionals in key sectors of the Sudanese economy.

There are a few Indians working in the UN Missions and other international organisations.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The trilateral agreements of Russia, Azerbaijan and Armenia on ceasefire and cessation of all hostilities in Karabakh region are the only real basis for resolving the situation, and their implementation is necessary, Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters, Trend reports with reference to TASS.

"We are ready to welcome any steps by the parties that can lead to a defusing of tension and that will contribute to further progress towards the implementation of the trilateral agreements," Peskov said.

According to him, Russia considers progress towards carrying out all provisions to be uncontested and necessary for everyone.

Following over a month of military action to liberate its territories from Armenian occupation from late Sept. to early Nov. 2020, Azerbaijan has pushed Armenia to sign the surrender document. A joint statement on the matter was made by the Azerbaijani president, Armenia's PM, and the president of Russia.

A complete ceasefire and a cessation of all hostilities in the zone of the Karabakh conflict were introduced on Nov. 10, 2020.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. Partly cloudy skies during the morning giving way to a few showers late. High near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
Brattleboro, VT (05301)

Today

Areas of patchy fog early. A mix of clouds and sun this morning followed by mostly cloudy skies and a few showers this afternoon. High near 60F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 30%..

Tonight

Overcast with rain showers at times. Low 41F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 70%.
JABRAYIL, Azerbaijan, April 19. Trip of the US and Israeli delegations to Azerbaijani liberated territories has kicked off, Trend reports.

The trip has been organized with the support of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora.

The main goal of organizing this trip is to convey information about the history, culture of Azerbaijan, Azerbaijani realities to the international community, including the public representatives of Israel and the US.

The delegations will visit the Khudafarin bridge, and then continue their trip in the city of Shusha.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Anar Alakbarov, as part of his visit to the People`s Republic of China, has met with countrys Executive Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Ma Zhaoxu.

Chinas Executive Vice Foreign Minister Ma Zhaoxu noted that Azerbaijan-China relations foundation of which was laid by Great Leader Heydar Aliyev are currently developing in all areas thanks to the heads of our states, adding that these relations have reached the level of strategic partnership. He stressed the importance of the meeting of the Azerbaijani and Chinese leaders within the framework of the last Summit of the member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in terms of determining the prospects for cooperation.

The executive vice foreign minister also highlighted the role of the humanitarian and cultural projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in China, the cooperation with the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC) as well as the activities of the two countries embassies in expanding Azerbaijan-China relations.

Mao Zhaoxu underscored that Azerbaijan has always responded positively to all Chinas initiatives. He also hailed Azerbaijans contributions to the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

Noting that China supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan, Executive Vice FM Ma Zhaoxu wished the country peace.

Anar Alakbarov said that President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev always attaches importance to relations with the People's Republic of China and supports them, as well as strives to develop bilateral relations.

Assistant to the President Anar Alakbarov highlighted Azerbaijans rich tourism potential, the large-scale restoration and construction works carried out in the liberated territories as well as the opportunities for Chinese investors and companies in projects implemented in other regions of the country.

Emphasizing that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation will continue to implement humanitarian and cultural projects in China in the future, Anar Alakbarov pointed out that Azerbaijans public institutions are keenly interested in cooperation with China. He also emphasized that Azerbaijan has always supported the one-China principle.
BEIJING (AP)  China's foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.

In separate phone calls to the two officials on Monday, Qin Gang expressed China's concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements issued late Monday.

Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. It was a dramatic moment of diplomacy for China that Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

Qin stressed in his talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue, a statement about that phone call said.

He told Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and the Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks. China is willing to provide convenience for this, he was quoted as saying.

Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks on ending the century-long conflict in over a decade. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is committed to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank  which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace  and several of his key allies are staunchly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Cohen expressed his country's commitment to reducing tensions, but said the problem appeared to be difficult to resolve in the short term, the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qin and Cohen discussed the importance of maintaining quiet at the Temple Mount, particularly in the final days of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, but made no mention of peace talks with the Palestinians.

It said that Cohen conveyed the threat that we see in Irans nuclear program and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Qin also told Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed Qin's outreach to the two officials. It is never too late to do the right thing, he said.

This month, violence in Israel and the West Bank has increased, touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalems most sensitive holy site, the compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Israeli military struck sites linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after militants in the two territories fired rocket salvos at Israel. The mosque sits on a contested hilltop revered as the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism.

___

Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP)  The U.S. Navy sailed its first drone boat through the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies where American sailors often faces tense encounters with Iranian forces.

The trip by the L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13, a 13-meter (41-foot) speedboat carrying sensors and cameras, drew the attention of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, but took place without incident, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins. Two U.S. Coast Guard cutters, the USCGC Charles Moulthrope and USCGC John Scheuerman, accompanied the drone.

The trip saw the drone safely pass with the accompanying ships through the strait, a busy waterway between Iran and Oman which at its narrowest is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide. A fifth of all oil traded passes through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

The Iranians observed the unmanned surface vessel transiting the strait in accordance with international law, Hawkins told The Associated Press. He said an Iranian drone and at least one Houdong-class fast-attack vessel operated by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard observed the MAST-13 drone.

The U.S. Navy's Bahrain-based 5th Fleet patrols Mideast waters, particularly the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, to keep open the waterways for international trade, as well as protect American interests and allies. However, Iran views the Navy's presence as an affront, comparing it to its forces running patrols in the Gulf of Mexico.

Iran's state-run IRNA news agency acknowledged the drone's voyage, citing the AP. Iran's mission to the United Nations did not respond to a request for comment.

The 5th Fleet launched a special drone task force last year, aiming to have a fleet of some 100 unmanned drones, both sailing and submersible, operating in the region with Americas allies.

Iran briefly seized several of the American drones being tested in the region in late August and early September, though there hasn't been any similar incident since.

The MAST-13 now is operating in the Gulf of Oman, where a maritime shadow war has played out as oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces and suspicious explosions have struck vessels in the region, including those linked to Israeli and Western firms. Iran has denied involvement in the explosions, despite evidence from the West to the contrary.

The MAST-13's video feeds can transmit images back to shore and to ships at sea, helping sailors see ships before approaching them, Hawkins said. That can come in handy, particularly as the Navy and Western allies have increasingly seized weapons it believes were from Iran bound for Yemen.

It puts more eyes out on the water, enabling us to better monitor what is happening, Hawkins said.

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Follow Jon Gambrell on Twitter at https://www.twitter.com/jongambrellAP
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Azerbaijan and Israel are expanding cooperation, contributing to the economy and security of both countries, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said on Twitter, Trend reports.

This is a new era in relations between Israel and Azerbaijan, Cohen noted.

He also noted that the delegation which has arrived in Azerbaijan from Israel includes representatives of the security, energy and agricultural sectors.

The Israeli minister is on a visit to Azerbaijan.

Within the framework of the visit, a meeting of the Joint Commission between the governments of Azerbaijan and Israel was held.

Issues on the agenda of bilateral economic cooperation were considered at the meeting.

Such topics as the promotion of trade relations and investment, cooperation in the areas of environmental protection, the introduction of innovative technologies, and the digital economy were discussed.
Seven foreigners staying in Delhi and a local associate have been arrested for allegedly duping over 600 women in India of lakhs of rupees after befriending them on social media using fake identities, the Noida Police said on Wednesday.

The gang of cyber thugs would dupe the women after befriending them through Instagram and Facebook in disguise of merchant navy officers, Additional DCP (Noida) Shakti Avasthy said. The arrest has been made by a joint team of Sector 20 police station and the local IT Cell, he said.

Those arrested include six men and a woman from different African countries like Ghana, Nigeria and Ivory Coast, while their Indian associate is a woman from Sikkim, Avasthy told reporters.

He said the gang members, some of whom were staying in India without valid documents, befriended women through social media using fake identities.

"They posed as merchant Navy officers and chatted with the target women. After befriending them, the suspect would inform them that they have sent some expensive gift like jewellery, footwear or ring, for them but it has got stuck with the customs department," Avasthy said.

"Later, they would get a call from a woman who identified herself as a customs department representative. She would then seek money on pretext of some fees to release their gift which has come from abroad," the officer said. Once any woman had made the payment to them, these cheats would go untraceable before the victim could realise the fraud, he said. "The gang would usually take Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 from a target, as much as they could negotiate. However, the woman, on whose complaint, the FIR was lodged, has been duped of around Rs 2.50 lakh," he added. ACP (Noida -1) Rajneesh Verma said the thugs were based in Delhi and they used fake profiles on social media platforms like Instagram to catch their targets. "They downloaded pictures of merchant Navy officers from internet and used them to created a fake profile. They chose pictures of good looking people on their profile through which they interacted with the victims," Verma said. According to the police, 31 mobile phones have been seized from the possession of the gang and it has come to light they engaged 600 to 700 women for fraud in similar manner.

Those arrested have been identified by the police as Calvin Okafor Guise, Uchenna Egbu, Ixa Sagir, Oyoma Lisa Domenik (all four from Nigeria); Daniel John, Jonas Dekka (both from Ghana), and Hibib Fofana (Ivory Coast).

The Indian woman who was allegedly part of the gang has been identified as Radhika Chhetri, who hails from Gangtok in Sikkim, the police added.

Chhetri posed as a Customs department representative as she could speak Hindi and helped the gang dupe several people, the police noted.

An FIR has been lodged under relevant provisions of the law and further proceedings are being carried out, the police added.
China's foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.

In separate phone calls to the two officials on Monday, Qin Gang expressed China's concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements issued late Monday.

Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. It was a dramatic moment of diplomacy for China that Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

Qin stressed in his talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue, a statement about that phone call said.

He told Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and the Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks. China is willing to provide convenience for this, he was quoted as saying.

Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks on ending the century-long conflict in over a decade. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is committed to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank  which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace  and several of his key allies are staunchly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Cohen expressed his country's commitment to reducing tensions, but said the problem appeared to be difficult to resolve in the short term, the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qin and Cohen discussed the importance of maintaining quiet at the Temple Mount, particularly in the final days of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, but made no mention of peace talks with the Palestinians.

It said that Cohen conveyed the threat that we see in Iran's nuclear program and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Qin also told Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed Qin's outreach to the two officials. It is never too late to do the right thing, he said.

This month, violence in Israel and the West Bank has increased, touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, the compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Israeli military struck sites linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after militants in the two territories fired rocket salvos at Israel. The mosque sits on a contested hilltop revered as the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism.
US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday it's important that Turkiye makes its decision to allow Sweden to join NATO sooner versus later, and said he feels confident it will happen before the alliance summit in July.

He declined, however, to say whether a recent US deal to provide fighter jet upgrades to Turkiye will provide enough incentive for Ankara to finally vote.

Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said he is hopeful Sweden will gain admittance by summer, and his country feels more secure with the additional US military exercises and involvement with his nation.

We look forward to continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO, and we'll work hard to get that done before the summit, Austin said. The NATO summit will be in Lithuania in early July.

Sweden's bid to join NATO remains stalled by opposition from Turkiye and Hungary, even weeks after both nations finally approved Finland's application. Sweden and neighbouring Finland jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022, abandoning decades of non-alignment in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Austin and Jonson spoke to reporters near the docks at the Musko Naval Base. Austin is travelling on the HMS Harnosand, the Visby class corvette warship, between two islands in the southern Stockholm archipelago. The US defence secretary watched as Swedish Marines on small combat boats conducted an amphibious landing exercise, the sounds of their guns echoing off the water.

Austin said his visit comes at a crucial time for European security, and he urged Turkiye and NATO to act soon to approve Sweden's membership in NATO.

He said it will mean a stronger alliance and a more secure Europe, lauding Sweden's troops and their capabilities, particularly in the Baltic Sea region.

It's important to all of us that they make the decision sooner versus later, Austin said.

The US agreed Monday to sell Turkiye USD 259 million in software it has long sought to upgrade its fleet of US F-16 fighter jets. But Turkiye also still wants to buy 40 new F-16s from the US  a sale opposed by some in Congress who want to wait until Turkiye approves Sweden's membership in NATO.

In remarks at the start of their meeting, Jonson thanked Austin for America's continuing military support during this transition time into NATO, which he said has reassured Sweden and helped make the country more secure.

Austin's visit to Sweden is the first by a US defence chief since 2000, by then-secretary William Cohen. While the US military has long trained with Sweden, it has not been a frequent stop for US defence leaders, since they are more likely to visit with NATO allies  an alliance Sweden has long resisted joining.

Austin got a sweeping look at Sweden's military, including a tour of the Musko cave complex and its maritime operations centres, followed by an hour-long ride to Berga Naval Base, aboard one of the Navy's Visby-class Corvette ships.

While Sweden has long worked with NATO and is considered a partner country, it does not enjoy the full protections afforded a member nation  most importantly Article 5 protection.

That provision of the treaty states that if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America, it is considered an attack on all.

The only time the Article 5 mutual defence provision has been invoked was in support of the US after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. But in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number of European nations feared they could be attacked next  triggering the NATO applications of Finland and Sweden.

Finland formally joined the alliance on April 5, just days after Turkiye and Hungary finally voted to ratify Helsinky's application. A unanimous vote of all 31 alliance members is required to admit new members.

In response to Finland's formal acceptance, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow will be forced to take military-technical and other retaliatory measures to counter the threats to our national security arising from Finland's accession to NATO. And Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Finland's membership reflects the alliance's anti-Russian course and warned that Moscow will respond depending on what weapons NATO allies place there.

The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organisations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara needs further assurances before it will give its final approval.

The dispute grew when, in January, a far-right activist from Denmark got police permission to stage a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm where he burned the Islamic holy book.

The incident angered millions of Muslims around the world, and Turkiye said it wouldn't allow Sweden to join NATO as long as Stockholm permits such protests. In Sweden, such demonstrations are protected by freedom of speech.

Austin spoke with Turkiye's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, on April 6, and according to a statement from the defence ministry they discussed Finland's NATO membership and it was emphasised that we always support NATO's Open Door Policy, Finland's membership shows this once again and it is hoped that Sweden will fulfil its commitments as soon as possible.
On Tuesday, a UN spokesperson stated that the United States had been formally alerted by the United Nations regarding the reported surveillance on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The Washington Post had disclosed, citing leaked classified intelligence documents, that the US had intercepted conversations of Guterres and other UN officials, which raised concerns.

"UN officially expressed to the host country its concern regarding recent reports that the communications of the secretary-general and other senior UN officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the US government," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesperson for Guterres.

"The UN has made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States of America enumerated in the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," he added.

According to the newspaper, there are four leaked documents, two of which were not previously disclosed, that provide summaries of intercepted conversations. These conversations provide new insights into the UN Secretary-General's engagements with prominent UN officials and global leaders.

A document dated February 17, which has been reviewed by the outlet, reveals that during a conversation with UN officials and world leaders, Guterres expressed his strong dissatisfaction over being denied permission to visit the war-torn Tigray Region in Ethiopia.

According to the account, Guterres aimed to have a direct conversation with Ethiopia's UN Representative, Taye Atske Selassie Amde, as the country's Foreign Minister, Demeke Mekonnen, sent him a letter refusing his proposed visit to the Tigray region during the peace talks.

UN chief 'not happy' to travel to Ukraine: Leaked intel

The newspaper also obtained another document, which disclosed that Guterres was not happy about his trip to Kyiv to meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in early March. The document did not mention the reason for the Secretary-General's reluctance, but The Post cited a UN diplomat who attributed it to the fatigue caused by several weeks of travelling internationally on commercial flights.

The leak of classified documents, which amounts to hundreds of pages, has caused the US authorities to scramble to evaluate the extent of the damage and impose restrictions on access to classified information for certain Department of Defense personnel. The leak has also led to the arrest of a US air national guardsman, who is accused of disclosing classified national defence information without authorisation.

Recent reports from US media have revealed that the United States has also conducted surveillance on its allies, including South Korea, Israel, and Ukraine, as evidenced by additional leaked documents.
The charges are similar to those facing other Candlelight Party officials who switched from a smaller party.

Seng Visal and Bin Chhong gather with their supporters ahead of their arrest on fraud charges outside Prey Veng Provincial Court.

A provincial court ordered the arrest of two senior Candlelight Party officials on fraud charges, the latest such charges  which critics called politically motivated  that stem from political party registration documents filed last year.

Seng Visal, the Candlelight Partys finance officer in Prey Veng province, and Bin Chhong, a commune council member in Prey Veng, were arrested and charged with submitting fraudulent documents to the Ministry of Interior for last years local commune election candidate lists.

The two officials were members of the National Heart Party at the time. They have since switched their allegiance to the Candlelight Party  the main opposition party and the biggest threat to the ruling Cambodian Peoples Party.

The CPP filed the complaint against the two officials as a way of intimidating opposition party activists ahead of the July parliamentary elections, said Dim Yun, the executive director for the Candlelight Party in Prey Veng.

I am very disappointed with the arrest. This is very inappropriate. During the election, the government should allow more political parties and not arrest any partys activists, he said. This is not about criminal offenses, it is a politically motivated case to intimidate opposition party officials in Prey Veng.

Four other Candlelight Party officials have been arrested on similar charges in recent weeks.

In previous similar cases, the Ministry of Interior has said that the National Heart Party collected several hundred forged thumbprints on documents it filed when it registered ahead of the 2022 commune elections.

Seng Visal and Bin Chhong ahead of their arrest on fraud charges at Prey Veng Provincial Court. (Image grab from a Citizen journalist video)





Aimed at intimidation

But any problems that the ministry had with last years candidate lists should have already been resolved, said Am Sam Ath of the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights, or Licadho.

These arrests will lead to criticism saying the arrests were aimed at intimidating the opposition party officials who will compete in the election, he said.

Seng Visal and Bin Chhong were questioned at Prey Veng provincial court for four hours before their arrest, their lawyer Sam Sokong told Radio Free Asia. They are being held without bail even though their alleged crime is minor and they have full-time jobs, he said.

According to the law, they have permanent jobs  particularly Bin Chhong, who is a commune councilor  so they should be safe to be released on bail, he said.

Outside the courthouse, about 50 supporters gathered to show solidarity with the officials before they went inside the court for questioning.

After the questioning, Presiding Judge Hem Krishna ordered the arrests and that Seng Visal and Bin Chhong be detained while they await trial. Later, Prey Veng Provincial Prison Department officials refused to allow a defense lawyer and party officials to see them.

Court spokesman Ath Sokhon refused to comment when contacted by RFA.

Translated by Samean Yun. Edited by Matt Reed and Malcolm Foster.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. A delegation of US and Israel representatives has visited the Khudafarin bridge in Azerbaijan's Jabrayil district, Trends Karabakh Bureau reports.

According to the bureau, after the visit to the bridge, its planned to visit Shusha City.

The trip is organized with the support of the Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with Diaspora.

The main goal of organizing this trip is to convey information about the history and culture of Azerbaijan, and Azerbaijani realities to the international community, including the public representatives of Israel and the US.
Villagers are using drone cameras to monitor smoke and sensors to record temperature and pollution.

Deepunu, a 37-year-old Karen leader from the village of Pa Pae in northern Thailand, has been leading a team to battle wildfires deep in the forest. If we dont fight, our village will be destroyed, he told RFA on April 4, 2023.

For the past three weeks, Deepunu has slept only a few hours every night.

The 37-year-old charismatic Karen leader has been leading a village youth team to battle wildfires deep in the forest of northern Thailand. The blaze threatens their ethnic village Pa Pae on Doi Chang, a sacred mountain in the Ban Hong district of Lamphun province.

The village of some 70 homes is accessible only by four-wheel drive or motorcycles. Then, it is a few more kilometers of an uphill hike to the wildfire frontline.

We have been doing 12-hour shifts with six to 12 people, said Deepunu.

This year, it has been worse than ever before. Its drier air, so the fire does not die, he said. If we dont fight, our village will be destroyed.

Villagers in Pa Pae in the Ban Hong district of Lamphun province, northern Thailand, dug a pond to store 400,000 liters of water in order to fight forest fires, April 4, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA

Ponchai Muehae, 36, who had just returned after a long shift, said the terrain was challenging, and there was no water nearby.

It is hard work. There is no money, but we do it for the community.

We are tired and upset, especially when city people blame us for causing wildfire and pollution. But the team is great, and we raise each others spirits, Ponchai said.

The Karen people, the largest of nine major hill tribes in Thailand, are scattered across the region, including Myanmar and Laos.

We are forest people, said Pa Paes village elder, Chanchai Gula. Communities like us live in protected areas. That is why we always have issues with the forest department.

Karen face a crackdown from authorities, who accuse the community of encroaching on the forest and for burning.

In Thailand, less than a third of the country is forest. The new forest laws were introduced in 2019 to increase it to 40% by 2024.

A villager shows the feed from a mountaintop camera that transmits real-time video, such as the smoke from one of the nearby wildfires, on Doi Chang mountain in northern Thailand, on April 4, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA





In February 2020, Pa Pae village agreed with the local government to be recognized as a Special Cultural Area so they could live and farm traditionally.

About 21,000 rai, or 3,360 hectares, of land is now protected under the agreement, the first such deal since the new forest law that allows people to reside or utilize certain forest areas, with conditions, for up to 20 years at a time.

We are responsible for this land  There is trust in the community now, Deepunu said.

Innovation to tackle village challenges

Deepunu said he is fighting to bring about change to his village without changing the village in the process as they battle government regulation, climate change impacts, and the emigration of youth.

He first saw the smoke in mid-March on his smartphone via one of the two cameras he had installed on a mountaintop to monitor the wildfires. The battery-powered equipment can be controlled remotely since they are attached to wireless sim card routers.

A dozen of 2,000-liter water tanks are kept near an area at risk for fires on Doi Chang mountain, northern Thailand, on April 4, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA





Before, a village survey team had to go to the top of the mountain to check for fires. But now the cameras provide an unobstructed, panoramic live view of the area day and night.

The villagers sometimes use drone cameras to monitor smoke and have installed sensors in different places to measure and record temperature and pollution.

These are some of the innovations in the village to prepare for changes due to global warming and other issues, said 58-year-old Chanchai.

We are facing many challenges. The firebreak line is not working as it did traditionally, so we have to think of new ideas, he added.

Later this year, the village plans to set up a water spray system in the forest, which they can remotely turn on when they know a wildfire is on the way.

If this idea works, it will be great because other ethnic villages could replicate it, Deepunu said.

Water is available at just 60% of previous times, he added. So, the villagers have stored several 2,000-liter water tanks in risk-prone areas. They have also dug a pond in the middle of the village to hold about 400,000 liters of water.

A Karen villager shows a patch of land in the forest that they farmed in 2022 in Pa Pae, northern Thailand, on April 4, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA





The traditional way of farming

Karen communities conduct traditional rotational farming, which requires farmers to burn the area and move their cultivation every year so that the land gets time to regenerate. It has been a sore point with the Thai authorities.

One family gets a maximum of 5 rai (0.8 hectares) where they grow rice, cassava, and plenty of vegetables. Its enough, Jiradet Ngoenkham, a local villager, said.

After cultivation, villagers return to the same area after 7-8 years.

Before and after each harvest, the villagers burn the remains in the farm in a responsible manner, which provides natural nutrients to the soil, said another villager, Kriangkrai Buntha, 37.

We are cautious. It is never out of control. It has never happened, he added.

The rotational cultivation burning is short, fast, and limited, not done all at once. There is not much pollution, Chi Suwichan Phatthanaphraiwan, a professor of geo-cultural management at Srinakharinwirot University.

However, such slash-and-burn practice has led to public misconceptions about Karen-style farming and air pollution, with the government responding with zero-burn policies.

Chatchawan Thongdeelert, a social activist and director of Breath Council, said that approach blanketly criminalizes the villagers.

In the north, we say there are two types of fire: necessary and unnecessary. We will have many unnecessary fires if we do not do necessary ones, he added.

We have to be specific about the cause of air pollution. Its not rotational farming burning, but monoculture agricultural burning, and wildfires.

Villagers and activists allege things started worsening when industrial-scale farming of maize for animal feed began more than a decade ago, as big companies offered incentives to lure the villagers to switch to the cash crops.

A Catholic priest and Buddhist monks wrap a village tree with an orange robe to protect it from being cut or destroyed in Pa Pae, northern Thailand, on April 4, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA





Environmentalists blame maize stubble burning as one of the two reasons for the record-breaking air pollution in northern Thailand.

Pa Pae villagers said they had been approached to do contract maize farming but rejected the offer.

We rejected because it is not according to traditional living, Deepunu added. It affects our culture, belief, and relationship with the forest.

A Catholic priest and Buddhist monks ordain trees

To keep the local government on their side, Pa Pae villagers prepared a mapping survey system, which informs the geo-locations of where the villagers conduct their shifting cultivation each year, as well as important spots, like spiritual and religious sites and cemeteries.

In early April, Pa Pae villagers organized an event to present the data to government officials and other local communities. District and provincial governors and forest department officials attended it.

A Catholic priest and several Buddhist monks wrapped orange clerical robes around trees to protect forests. It was the first time, the villagers said, for the two religious leaders to come together to show common struggle against environmental degradation.

Karen are accused of destroying the forest, of burning, but they are not doing that, Prachoen Samongdee, Ban Hongs district governor overseeing Pa Pae village, told RFA after the event.

This community has been in this land for at least 140 years. They have lived together with the forest and used the forest for food, he said.

Several village trees are marked as protected from being cut or destroyed in Pa Pae, northern Thailand, on April 4, 2023. Credit: Subel Rai Bhandari for RFA





The data on land use given by the villagers is science-based and shows us in detail about the forest and trees, he said, as authorities can check if there has been any destruction.

Santithorn Yimlamai, the provincial governor of Lamphun, called Pa Pae an authentic, model village for cultural protection, saying he will use the data collection as an example for other communities.

It will also help the government to understand the livelihood of ethnic communities more, he said. It shows how ethnic people use land and live together with nature.

Phrue Odochao, a 52-year-old Karen leader and forest dweller from another community, who came to attend the event said the communities have lived in the forests for hundreds of years before they became national parks.

Phrue said climate change is a threat, but the bigger threat is from the people.

For city people, everything is economic. Like they see a green forest, they talk about timber cultivation, carbon credit, and green business, he said.

Villagers are the ones who protect nature, but the money goes to the government.
She was among around 50 people being used as human shields by troops.

Locals on the streets of Nam Ya village near Hseng Hpa Yar village in Hpakant township in Kachin state in a file photo from Sept. 28, 2022.

A woman has died after the Kachin Independence Army set off a mine under a truck carrying junta troops in Myanmars eastern Kachin state.

Along with soldiers the truck was carrying around 50 civilians, who had been seized by the junta in a raid on Hseng Hpa Yar village in Hpakant township on Tuesday.

The woman who was killed was called N-dup Seng Nu Mai. She died on the spot. Four more residents were injured but not seriously, said a local who didnt want to be named for fear of reprisals.

The troops stormed into Hseng Hpa Yar village and took the locals on a 12-wheeled truck along with to serve as human shields.

When RFA contacted Kachin Independence Army Information Officer Col. Naw Bu, he said his troops did not know that the junta had taken prisoners with them on the truck.

All the junta convoys were covered up with blue waterproof [tarpaulin]. So we detonated the mine as we had prepared in advance, he told RFA.

Why would we do it if we knew that villagers were in the truck? We never do anything to harm the local people. They [the junta] arrest the locals and force them to go to the front line.

RFA called the junta spokesperson for Kachin state, Win Ye Tun, but there was no response and the junta has not issued a statement on the incident.

At least 3,400 civilians have been killed across Myanmar since the Feb. 1, 2021 coup, according to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners.

Translated by RFA Burmese. Edited by Mike Firn.
But those familiar with the cases against her are not optimistic that the verdicts will be reversed.

Detained former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi (L) and former President Win Myint (C) appear in a military-controlled court in Myanmar's capital Naypyidaw, May 24, 2021.

Myanmars Supreme Court on Wednesday agreed to hear an appeal by former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi against her convictions on corruption charges and the violation of election and state secrets laws brought by the ruling junta, people close to the court said.

The court has repeatedly rejected most of Suu Kyis appeals, though now it will hear her appeal against charges related to five cases dealing with the purchase and lease of a helicopter under the former civilian-led National League for Democracy (NLD) government and the commission of election fraud under the countrys Penal Code and colonial-era Official Secrets Act



Junta courts found Suu Kyi, 78, guilty of all charges against her in December 2022, prompting her legal team to submit appeals to rulings against her. Suu Kyis political supporters say the charges were politically motivated.

The move comes as the junta is planning to hold an election, despite ongoing nationwide conflict between the military and anti-regime forces and ethnic armed groups. In March, the junta dissolved the NLD and dozens of other political parties for failing to meet a political party registration deadline imposed under a new Political Party Registration law.

Suu Kyi, who faces a total of 33 years in jail for 19 cases, is being held in solitary confinement at a prison in Myanmars capital Naypyidaw.



The NLD leaders attorneys are allowed to send her parcels via prison authorities once a week, but they are not allowed to meet with her in person.

Junta is 'buying time'

Political observers and lawyers familiar with the cases against Suu Kyi believe the Supreme Court hearing will amount to naught.

The Supreme Court agreed to hear the appeals because the junta wants to convince the international community that its judicial system is fair, said veteran politician Than Soe Naing.

I think the junta is buying time, he told Radio Free Asia. The international community has condemned the court rulings against Daw [honorific] Aung San Suu Kyi for operating an unfair judicial system and lack of evidence. Under this situation, they have agreed to hear Aung San Suu Kyis appeals because they want to portray that their judicial system is fair.

Nevertheless, the Union Supreme Court will not reject lower court rulings against Suu Kyi, said an attorney and NLD member who declined to be named for security reasons.

The only possibility is that they may reduce the sentence, but we cannot expect she will be acquitted, he said. They may move her to house arrest.

One of Suu Kyis attorneys, who also declined to be named for the same reason, said members of her legal team doubted that they would prevail at the Supreme Court hearing.

We are thinking of rule of law in our minds and doing it, the lawyer said. We never think there will be a good result at the end. We do not think we will win the appeals. One day, we need to make a record of whether there is rule of law or not. We are doing that.

From prison to house arrest?

The United States, the European Union and other members of the international community, including U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, have called for the release of arbitrarily detained prisoners, including Suu Kyi and deposed President Win Myint.



During a meeting on Aug. 17, 2022, Noeleen Heyzer, the U.N.s special envoy on Myanmar asked junta chief Senior Gen. Min Aung Hlaing to move Suu Kyi to house arrest from prison.



Min Aung Hlaing said he would consider the action only after the issuance of verdicts in the court cases against Suu Kyi.

Suu Kyi served as Myanmars de facto leader following national elections in 2015, which the NLD won by a landslide. The party also won the 2020 national elections, but the military staged a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, and seized power from the democratically elected government.

The army arrested civilian leaders of the national and state governments, including Suu Kyi, Win Myint, and several dozen other senior officials who were in Naypyidaw for the convening of the newly elected lower house of parliament.

Translated by Htin Aung Kyaw for RFA Burmese. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.
Developments include new harbors, helipads and radar domes but no military installations.

Namyit Island [left image, Dec. 22, 2019] in the South China Seas Spratly Archipelago has been significantly expanded in the past year, as seen on April 18, 2023 [right image]. Credit: Planet Labs photos





Vietnam continues accelerating its land reclamation in the South China Sea but an investigation by Radio Free Asia has found no indication of the militarization of any outpost.

Satellite images obtained via Planet Labs, a U.S. Earth imaging company, show that reclamation works have been carried out at many of the 27 maritime features under Vietnams control in the Spratly archipelago.

New harbors that could serve as shelters for ships have been developed at five more features including Tennent Reef, Pearson Reef, Namyit Island, Barque Canada Reef and Sand Cay, bringing the number of such facilities to at least nine.

The Spratly archipelago, with hundreds of atolls and reefs, is located in an area frequently hit by typhoons and the Vietnamese government has said it is committed to protecting fishermen at sea.

Some of the features have been developed further since the last report in December 2022 on Vietnams island expansion by the Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative (AMTI) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Two small features, Sand Cay and Barque Canada Reef, have witnessed a great transformation since the end of last year.

The land area on Barque Canada Reef has increased from 58 acres (24 hectares) in AMTI report to the current 76 acres (31 hectares), according to RFAs research.

Tennent Reef until 2021 only hosted a couple of steel structures. Credit: RFA/Planet Labs





Another feature, Tennent Reef, which until 2021 still hosted only a couple of steel structures, now has been developed into an islet with buildings, a harbor and a pier.

AMTI estimated that at the end of 2022, there were 64 acres (26 hectares) of artificial land at Tennent Reef.

A mid-sized feature, the Namyit Island, has expanded significantly to 117 acres (47 hectares), with a port that can accommodate larger ships including supply vessels.

No militarization

The island, listed as a natural marine reserve by the Vietnamese government, boasts a sovereignty monument installed in 1956, a lighthouse, a clinic and a Buddhist Temple.

A close look at images of Namyit obtained from Planet Labs reveals a number of buildings, two radar domes and a helipad at the eastern edge of the island but no obvious military installations or facilities.

Greg Poling, AMTIs director, said Vietnam has built helipads on most of its features in recent years to facilitate resupply.

Until now theres only one small airport equipped with a 1,200-meter runway on the Spratly Island that Hanoi has controlled since 1975.

Reuters news agency in 2016 reported that Vietnam moved a number of mobile rocket launchers to five of its islands in the South China Sea.

The launchers have been hidden from aerial surveillance and they have yet to be armed, but could be made operational with rocket artillery rounds within two or three days, the report said.

The Vietnamese government denied the information.

RFA also examined the latest photos of Vietnams other reclaimed islands and has not found any evidence to back Reuters claims.

Sand Cay as of April 18, 2023. Credit: Planet Labs





AMTIs December report said Vietnam created roughly 420 acres (170 hectares) of new land in 2022 alone, bringing its total in the last ten years to 540 acres (219 hectares).

It is still a fraction of Chinas reclaimed 3,200 acres [1,295 hectares].

Six parties  Brunei, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam  hold conflicting claims over the South China Sea but only China, the Philippines and Vietnam are known to have been reclaiming land for further construction on their occupied islands and reefs.

Beijing is believed to have finished the construction and militarization of three of its artificial islands  Subi, Fiery Cross and Mischief Reef  all within the Spratly archipelago.
Lawmakers from Australias All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet hold a press conference in Dharamsala, India, April 19, 2023, following meetings with the Dalai Lama and the leader of the Tibetan government-in-exile . From left to right are Senator Janet Rice, MP Susan Templeman, MP Sharon Claydon and MP Sophie Scamps.

A four-member delegation from Australias All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet who met with the Dalai Lama on Tuesday offered support to preserve Tibets language and culture amid Chinas efforts to restrict Tibets linguistic and cultural rights.

MP Sharon Claydon, who also serves as deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Sen. Janet Rice, MP Sophie Scamps and MP Susan Templeman arrived in Dharamsala, India, on Monday for a four-day visit. The hillside city in the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh is home to the Dalai Lama, the spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhists, and to the Tibetan government-in-exile.

The delegation was accompanied by Zoe Bedford, executive officer of the Australia Tibet Council and Karma Singey, the Dalai Lamas representative for Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

The bipartisan Australian All-Party Parliamentary Group for Tibet seeks to put pressure on the Australian government to encourage negotiations between Beijing and the Tibetan government-in-exile, while recognizing that Tibet is an occupied country which had independent ties with Britain.

His Holiness told us that our concern and support for the Tibetan cause gives hope to the millions of Tibetan people and to His Holiness, Rice said after the delegations audience with the Dalai Lama.

We discussed China and many other things and the core message of His Holiness is that the courage of the Tibetan people is more powerful than the threat that the Chinese Communist government poses, she added.

About 2,500 Tibetans live in Australia, many of whom are former political prisoners, according to the Australia Tibet Council, an NGO that campaigns for the freedom and human rights of Tibetans.

The delegation also met with Penpa Tsering, the leader, or Sikyong, of the Central Tibetan Administration, or CTA, as the government-in-exile is called.

The Dalai Lama and the CTA have long advocated a Middle Way approach to peacefully resolve the issue of Tibet and to bring about stability and co-existence based on equality and mutual cooperation without discrimination based on one nationality being superior than the other.

There have been no formal talks between the Dalai Lama and Beijing since 2010, and Chinese officials have made unreasonable demands of the Dalai Lama as a condition for further dialogue.

Chinese communists invaded Tibet in 1949, seeing the region as important to consolidate its frontiers and address national defense concerns in the southwest.

A decade later, tens of thousands of Tibetans took to the streets of Lhasa, the regional capital, in protest against Chinas invasion and occupation of their homeland. But Peoples Liberation Army forces violently cracked down on them and surrounded the Dalai Lamas summer palace, forcing him to flee to Dharamsala.

Translated by Tenzin Dickyi for RFA Tibetan. Edited by Roseanne Gerin and Matt Reed.
The European Commission has proposed measures for wheat, maize, sunflower seed, and rape seed from Ukraine after a joint complaint from five EU countries -- Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Slovakia -- over a drop in prices on local markets because of the influx from Ukraine.

The five countries became transit routes for Ukrainian grains that could not be exported by sea because of Russia's invasion, but delays in moving the grains have caused a glut of cheap imports, prompting complaints from farmers and bans on the grains by some countries.



The situation forced the European Union to seek a solution, and on April 19 European Trade Commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis discussed the measures with ministers from the five countries as well as with their Ukrainian counterpart, the European Commission said in a news release.



An EU official quoted by Reuters said the proposal would only allow the grains to enter the five countries from Ukraine if they were to be exported to other EU members or to the rest of the world. The measure would last only until the end of June.



Romanian Agriculture Minister Petre Daea told Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solskiy that Romania will implement additional security measures for goods transiting Romania's territory to third countries.



The European Commission has proposed that the commodities be either sealed or monitored by the Global Positioning System (GPS) to ensure that they are not opened during transit and therefore should not affect the markets in the states they pass through.



The commission's proposal, which also includes a second tranche of agricultural financial support, is subject to the countries lifting unilateral measures, the commission said.



Separately, the European Commission plans an investigation into whether measures are required for other sensitive agricultural products.

Bulgaria announced earlier on April 19 that it will temporarily ban the import of grain, milk, meat, and other food products from Ukraine, following steps taken by Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia.

The ban, announced by Agriculture Minister Yavor Gechev and Economy Minister Nikola Stoyanov at a news conference in Sofia, will come into effect on April 24 and will last until June 30.



The ban will affect nearly 20 types of Ukrainian produce, including wheat, wheat flour, sunflower seeds, honey, raw and dry milk, eggs, poultry, pork, mutton, lamb and goat meat, wine, and ethylic alcohol among others.



The transit of goods from Ukraine intended for third countries through the territory of Bulgaria is still permitted, the two ministers announced.



Hungary also made an announcement on April 19 on Ukrainian agricultural products, saying it is widening its ban to include honey, wine, bread, sugar, and a range of meat and vegetable products.



The list of items to be banned was announced in a government decree after Budapest previously announced a ban on imports of grain, oilseeds, and several other products in step with Poland and Slovakia.

With reporting by Reuters and digi24.ro
Welcome back to the China In Eurasia briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter tracking Chinas resurgent influence from Eastern Europe to Central Asia. To subscribe, click here.

Im RFE/RL correspondent Reid Standish and heres what Im following right now.

Beijing, Moscow, And Leaked Documents

Along with my colleagues at Systema, RFE/RL's Russian investigative unit, we obtained never before reported documents and recordings from closed-door meetings in 2017 and 2019 between Chinese and Russian officials where they share methods and tactics for monitoring dissent and controlling the Internet.

Finding Perspective: China and Russias growing ties are no secret, but the documents provide a unique window into the practical level of cooperation under way between China and Russia when it comes to monitoring and restricting their respective Internets.

Among some of the key findings, Russian officials are seen asking for advice and practical know-how from their Chinese counterparts on a range of topics, including disrupting circumvention tools like VPNs and Tor, cracking encrypted Internet traffic, and seeking tips from China's experience in regulating messaging platforms.

LISTEN: Beijing and Moscows deepening ties are no secret, but what do recently leaked Pentagon documents tell us about where their burgeoning military partnership is headed? Dennis Wilder, former Asia adviser to U.S. President George W. Bush, joins host Reid Standish.

In another instance, in July 2017, Aleksandr Zharov, who served as the head of Roskomnadzor until 2020, asks a Chinese delegation to help arrange a visit for Russian specialists to China, where they could study the operations of the Golden Shield Project -- the all-encompassing Internet censorship and surveillance system that helps make up what is colloquially known as Chinas Great Firewall.

In turn, Chinese officials sought Russian expertise on regulating media and dealing with popular dissent, including monitoring protests led by opposition figure Aleksei Navalny.

In another 2019 exchange, officials from the Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC) also made requests to Roskomnadzor to block a variety of China-related links to news articles and interviews that they had deemed to be of a dangerous nature and harmful to the public interest.

Why It Matters: Beijing and Moscow have been deepening their ties for the past decade and controlling the flow of information online has been a focal point of that cooperation since Chinese leader Xi Jinpings first trip to Russia as leader in 2013.

The documents shed new light on a pivotal time inside Russia and point to how Russia has sought to emulate China in exerting control over its people in the social media age.

For years, the Russian government has been putting in place new measures to smother freedom of speech online, but many have stumbled in practice. But in 2019, those efforts reached a zenith when a controversial sovereign Internet law went into force that allowed Moscow to tighten control over the countrys Internet by routing web traffic through state-controlled infrastructure and creating a national system of domain names.

While many of Russia's measures are still a far cry from those inside China, they have continued to be more technologically advanced and restrictive, a process that has accelerated since Russia invaded Ukraine in February 2022.

Expert Corner: Who Speaks For Europe?

Readers asked: French President Emmanuel Macron got into hot water over his comments about Taiwan. Weve also recently seen various other -- sometimes contradictory -- comments coming from European Union and European officials. Why does this seem to happen when it comes to China?

To find out more, I asked Rikard Jozwiak, RFE/RLs Europe editor:

It happens because there really isnt a coherent policy toward China. It is sometimes a rival, notably when it comes to geopolitics, and sometimes a partner in areas such as climate change mitigation. And then, of course, there is economic dependence on Beijing that leads to some EU member states not wanting to be too harsh on China. EU foreign policy is made up via the lowest common denominator as all the 27 EU capitals need to green-light any move. For China, this means that you have a mishmash of interests, ideas, and fears that makes outsiders unsure about what Europes China policy really is.

I also think that the EU has failed to formulate a coherent Taiwan policy and this adds to the mixed messages coming out from Europe. Macron said that Europe should not get caught up in a conflict over the island, but have he and fellow European leaders drawn up any plans on what Brussels will do if China were to attack? Its still unclear what Europes red lines would be and how it would react.

Do you have a question about Chinas growing footprint in Eurasia? Send it to me at StandishR@rferl.org or reply directly to this e-mail and Ill get it answered by leading experts and policymakers.

Three More Stories From Eurasia

1. The Pentagon Leaks

China approved the provision of lethal aid to Russia for its war in Ukraine but wanted any shipments to remain a secret, according to leaked U.S. government documents.

What You Need To Know: The recently leaked trove of classified Pentagon documents that contain assessments and reports from Americas intelligence agencies shows that Beijing had approved the incremental provision of weapons to Moscow, which it would disguise as civilian items.

That comes from a February 23 top-secret intelligence summary that The Washington Post reported was gathered by U.S. agents eavesdropping on discussions by Russias secret service. The Russians said Chinas central military commission wanted the shipments to remain secret.

Among other revelations, a separate file in the trove of leaked documents said Beijing would consider a significant Ukrainian strike with American or NATO weapons on Russian territory as an escalation of the conflict that would merit sending arms to Russia.

The timing is notable. A public U.S.-led campaign over a potential Chinese arms transfer accelerated in late February, and shortly after that document circulated within the U.S. government NBC News reported that the U.S. information about the plan to obtain lethal aid from China was gleaned from Russian officials.

Whats less clear is if the transfers are taking place or if the public pressure on China has worked.

Reports based on trade data show private sales of small-scale weapons from China to Russia, and senior Ukrainian officials have said their forces are finding a growing number of components from China in Russian weapons on the battlefield.

Whether Chinese covert efforts are under way or not, defense cooperation between China and Russia is set to grow. A large portion of the Chinese delegation for Xis Moscow summit in March were defense officials, and Chinese Defense Minister Li Shangfu was in Russia on April 16 to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu.

2. Lula's 'Peace Club'

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva wrapped up a state visit to China, where he sought to position himself as a peace broker in the ongoing war in Ukraine while attempting to elevate Brazil's global status and boost economic ties with Beijing.

The Details: As I reported here, a key piece of Lula's outreach is courting political backing for his proposal that Brazil and other developing countries, including China, form a peace club to broker a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

Analysts, however, remain skeptical about the chances of Lula's peace proposal, which is unlikely to gain support from Kyiv and its backers given China's close ties with Russia and past comments from the Brazilian leader that Ukraine should cede Crimea -- which was forcibly annexed by Moscow in 2014 -- as a means to reach a deal.

Beyond the diplomacy push from Lula, the visit allowed him to shore up Brazils economic and political ties with China, as he left Beijing with a slew of new agreements.

But as Carlos Solar, a senior fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, told me, Lula is still hedging his bets, having already made a trip to Washington to meet with U.S. President Joe Biden and made moves to position Brazil to be a regional power in Latin America.

[Lula] needs this frenzy of deals in China and talks with Xi in part to show his public that he's still an influential guy around the world, Solar said. But when you look more closely, you can see that he is putting his eggs in different baskets.

3. Frustrated By The Taliban, Interested In Afghanistan

Frustrated by the Talibans reluctance to take action against an array of militants, including a strengthening Islamic State group, Afghanistan's neighbors have resolved to come up with a joint strategy to counter security threats emanating from the country.

What It Means: Top diplomats from Russia, China, Iran, and Pakistan attended an April 13 conference that focused on ensuring regional security in light of the situation in Afghanistan.

Russia and China are among the few countries that have kept their diplomatic missions in Kabul since the Taliban retook power, but lingering frustrations with the group as a partner have been boiling up.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry said it was ready to work more closely with Afghanistans neighbors and the international community, and Beijing also expressed hope that the Taliban would continue working actively to meet Afghans' interests and the international communitys expectations for an open and inclusive political structure.

China has a growing interest in the countrys resources -- having secured rights for mining and oil and gas exploration -- but security concerns have kept those projects mostly on paper for the time being.

Still, the cash-strapped Taliban is hoping that it can draw in more Chinese interest, recently floating progress on a potential $10 billion investment from the China Petroleum Economics and Information Research Center (CPEIC) in Afghanistans lithium deposits.

Few details beyond a Taliban press release were offered, but even if something is inked, realizing the project -- and others with China -- is still a distant prospect due to the countrys tough security situation.

Across The Supercontinent

A New Case In Pakistan: A Chinese man has been arrested in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province after an angry mob accused him of blasphemy and tried to enter a camp near the construction site of the Dasu Dam, the biggest hydropower project in Pakistan, which involves both Chinese and Pakistani workers.

Police filed a blasphemy charge against the Chinese man, RFE/RL's Radio Mashaal reported.

Internal Review: Hikvisions human rights investigator admits the company's Chinese police contracts in Xinjiang explicitly target Uyghurs as a group.

The Chinese surveillance giant has repeatedly denied reports that the company is complicit in human rights abuses targeting Uyghurs, but documents obtained by technology trade publication IPVM show otherwise.

Brussels To Beijing: The EU lodged a protest with China after police detained veteran rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his activist wife, Xu Yan, ahead of an April 13 meeting with its diplomats in China, Radio Free Asia reports.

Macron In China: Looking to catch up on Macrons trip to China earlier this month? Listen to the last episode of Talking China In Eurasia, where guest Rikard Jozwiak explained why the French president thinks he can split China and Russia and where he fits among Europes large groups of actors looking to engage and pressure Beijing.

One Thing To Watch

Chinas economic growth is exceeding expectations. GDP grew 4.5 percent year on year in the first quarter. Strong growth in exports and infrastructure investment, as well as a rebound in retail consumption and property prices, are said to be driving the recovery.

That momentum looks set to continue, but economists have warned that consumption and the property sector might struggle to maintain strong growth, while exports could be threatened by weaker demand in developed economies.

Thats all from me for now. Dont forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you might have.

Until next time,

Reid Standish

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every other Wednesday.
Russian forces took Ukrainian students from a school in the Mykolayiv region that provided accommodation for children with special needs. They were sent to live at a sanatorium in Russia's Krasnodar region. The school's director, Natalia Lutsyk, followed the children to Russia and fought to get them out. With the help of U.S. volunteers and Georgian organizations, Lutsyk was able to bring the young students to safety in the South Caucasus nation of Georgia.
Two prominent Iranian actresses, Katayoun Riahi and Pantea Bahram, are facing legal action after they made public appearances without wearing the mandatory hijab.

According to the Tasnim news agency, which is affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, the Tehran Police Public Relations Center cited "unveiling in public and publishing images on social media" as the reason for filing the case against the actresses.



Riahi, alongside actresses Golab Adineh and Fatemeh Motamed-Arya, appeared without a mandatory hijab, or head scarf, at a public funeral ceremony on April 18. It was not clear whether the other actresses also face charges.



Bahram, another well-known actress, has made several public appearances without a mandatory hijab, including at a screening of the last episode of the Iranian television series The Lion Skin at Tehrans Lotus Cinema on April 19.



Following the event, the director of the Lotus cinema was dismissed and the cinema was closed for two days.



The Judiciary Media Center has previously reported cases against the two being sent to a specialized court, which deals with crimes "against chastity" and says it takes a "serious" stance on "social and moral corruption."



Riahi, a veteran actress, made headlines when she removed her mandatory hijab in solidarity with nationwide protests against the Iranian government after the death in September 2022 of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini while in police custody after allegedly breaking the hijab law.



Although Riahi initially managed to evade the authorities, she was arrested by security forces on November 29 and accused of "gathering and colluding to act against national security and propaganda activities against the system."



She was released on bail on December 8. Her trial took place in January amid a news blackout. According to Soraya Riahi-Rad, a writer and poet, the actress had to leave the court in an ambulance because her state of health had deteriorated "under the most severe threats and pressure."



In recent weeks, officials have warned women to respect the hijab law and have threatened to punish violators. The authorities have also shut down businesses, restaurants, cafes, and in some cases pharmacies due to the failure of owners or managers to observe Islamic laws and hijab rules.



Several Iranian cinematographers and prominent public figures have also been summoned by the police or arrested, including director Hamid Pourazari.

Other celebrities, including actor Hamid Farrokhnejad, have been interrogated and have had their passports confiscated after showing support for the protests.



Since the Amini's death last year, Iranians have flooded onto the streets across the country to protest against a lack of rights, with women and schoolgirls putting up unprecedented shows of support in what is considered to be one of the biggest threats to the Islamic government since the 1979 revolution.



Many women have burned their hijabs in public as a show of defiance.



In response to the unrest, the authorities have launched a brutal crackdown on dissent, detaining thousands and handing down stiff sentences to protesters, including the death penalty.



The authorities have also intensified efforts to enforce the hijab as more women flout the law by expanding punishments to businesses and workers who fail to enforce the law on their patrons.



The hijab became mandatory in Iran shortly after the 1979 revolution, by order of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of the Islamic republic.

Written by Ardeshir Tayebi based on an original story in Persian by RFE/RL's Radio Farda
Details added (first published: 16:42)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Following the instructions of First Vice-President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva, a Russian cemetery was inspected in the village of Balakhany in the Sabunchu district with the participation of the Assistant to the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Head of the Department for Territorial and Organizational Issues Zeynal Nagdaliyev, Trend reports.

Earlier, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan initiated a criminal case on the fact of vandalism at the cemetery and started an investigation.

Zeynal Nagdaliyev met with the local residents, including the representatives of the Russian community.

Landscaping work have started on the territory, appeals have been sent to the relevant institutions in connection with the construction of a water pipeline, and it has been decided to replace broken tombstones, and enclose the cemetery with a fence.
The European Union's military mission to Bosnia-Herzegovina says it has not perceived any danger to the country's security situation despite ongoing tensions sparked by Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik's repeated threats that the Bosnian Serb entity would pursue independence and union with neighboring Serbia.

Dodik -- who has been targeted by sanctions from the United States and Britain over alleged destabilization efforts and corruption -- has repeatedly threatened to push for the independence of Republika Srpska unless a dispute with Bosnia's central government over who's the rightful owner of the country's assets is resolved in the Serbian entity's favor.



On April 23, Dodik vowed to pursue a union with neighboring Serbia if the issue will not be settled to the benefit of Republika Srpska and warned that the entity's police would patrol the boundary with Bosnia's other entity, the Bosniak-Croat Federation.

Mission spokeswoman Emer Kelly told RFE/RL on April 26 that Operation Althea was closely monitoring the local political and security developments.



"EUFOR's Althea has an agile presence throughout the whole country and is conducting routine patrols all over Bosnia-Herzegovina in order to reassure all communities of our presence and enhance our situational awareness," Kelly said.



She added that the mission continues to proactively support Bosnian partner institutions in ensuring a secure environment in the country, and that they continue to cooperate and maintain contacts with local authorities through a network of liaison and observation teams.



Under the 1995 Dayton accords that ended the Bosnian War, an administrative system was established under which Bosnia remains partitioned between Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation, connected by a weak central government.



Dodik has been trying to separate the entity's military, police, and tax administration from the central Bosnian government, actions that contravene the Dayton accords.



Operation Althea, formally known as the European Union Force Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR) was formed in 2004 as a successor to the previous Stabilization Force (SFOR), Implementation Force (IFOR), and United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) that ensured Bosnia's security following the end of the 1992-95 war.



EUFOR is responsible for implementing the military part of the Dayton agreement and ensuring peace. Its mandate, which includes the use of military force, is extended by the UN Security Council every autumn for one year.



EUFOR has repeatedly stated that it would only use military force if "the safe and stable environment is seriously threatened, and the existing security structures are in danger of falling apart."



EUFOR does not comment on political issues but continues to closely monitor all activities that might impact the security situation, in accordance with its mandate.
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.
Welcome back to The Farda Briefing, an RFE/RL newsletter that tracks the key issues in Iran and explains why they matter. To subscribe, click here.

I'm RFE/RL correspondent Golnaz Esfandiari. Here's what I've been following during the past week and what I'm watching for in the days ahead.

The Big Issue

Iranian police on April 15 began to enforce new measures to identify and punish women who fail to comply with the Islamic dress code, including the mandatory hijab.

Police said surveillance cameras will be used to monitor public spaces for women not wearing the head scarf, and offenders will receive a warning via SMS. Repeated offenders could face hefty fines and lose access to mobile-phone and Internet services, the authorities said.

Police say they have sent thousands of text messages in recent days to alleged offenders, including to business and car owners. Drivers have been warned that they could have their vehicles seized if they or any passengers violate the hijab law.

Why It Matters: In response to the new measures, some Iranian women have posted photos and videos of themselves in public without the hijab, in a direct challenge to the authorities.

The authorities have intensified efforts to enforce the hijab as more women flout the law. Women have been emboldened by the nationwide antiestablishment protests that erupted in September following the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini soon after she was arrested by the morality police for allegedly violating the hijab law. During the demonstrations, women and girls removed and burned their head scarves.

"Good morning to everyone, except [police chief Ahmadreza Radan] and his cameras," a young woman wrote on Twitter on April 15, posting a selfie without the hijab.

Atash Shakarami, the aunt of Nika Shakarami, a teenage girl who was killed in the deadly crackdown on the protests, also posted a photo of herself without a head scarf.

What's Next: The hijab law is likely to remain a source of tension between the clerical establishment and women who are fed up with state interference in their daily lives.

Despite renewed warnings and fresh measures by the authorities, women have continued to defy the hijab law. Even a small number of men have flouted the Islamic dress code by appearing in public in shorts.

Stories You Might Have Missed

An association representing the families of those killed in Iran's downing of a Ukrainian commercial plane over Tehran in 2020 has criticized the verdicts issued by the Iranian judiciary against the alleged perpetrators as a "show trial." On April 16, Iran said it had sentenced 10 members of the armed forces to prison on charges of involvement in the downing of flight PS752. In a statement, the association of the victims' families said the Iranian judiciary did not pursue the main perpetrators and commanders of the crime.

An Iranian academic group said more than 400 students had been suspended or expelled in the wake of recent antiestablishment protests. The Union Council of Iranian Students said on April 13 that 435 students had been hit with disciplinary measures that were carried out through an illegal and security-driven process. In recent weeks, there have also been several reports of university professors being fired or suspended for accompanying protesting students.

What We're Watching

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi threatened Israel with destruction during a ceremony marking Army Day on April 18.

His comments came hours after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Iran "must be prevented from arming itself with nuclear weapons," in reference to Western fears that Tehran is building an atomic weapon.

Why It Matters: Raisi's warning comes as tensions between Iran and Israel have spiked in recent weeks.

Suspected Israeli air strikes in Syria killed two members of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) on March 31. Tehran vowed to avenge their deaths.

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal on April 14 reported that Ismail Qaani, the commander of the Quds Force, the IRGC's overseas operations arm, held a series of clandestine meetings with the leaders of Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hizballah to coordinate attacks against Israel.

That's all from me for now. Don't forget to send me any questions, comments, or tips that you have.

Until next time,

Golnaz Esfandiari

If you enjoyed this briefing and don't want to miss the next edition, subscribe here. It will be sent to your inbox every Wednesday.
Irans former crown prince, Reza Pahlavi, has stirred controversy after visiting Israel, Tehrans arch enemy.



Pahlavi, an exiled opposition figure who has lived in the United States for decades, arrived in Israel on April 17. He held talks with senior officials, met Israelis of Iranian descent, and participated in Israel's annual Holocaust memorial ceremony.



The 62-year-old Pahlavi described his visit to Israel as a chance to deliver a message of friendship from the Iranian people.



But some Iranians blasted Pahlavi for visiting a country that has threatened to launch military strikes against Iran. The former royal was also criticized for his silence on the plight of Palestinians. Others questioned why he had met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose controversial attempts to overhaul the judiciary has led to mass street protests.



Since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, Irans clerical establishment has refused to recognize Israel. Some senior leaders have called Israel a cancerous tumor that should be destroyed. Tehran has also been accused of providing material support to Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.



Israel, meanwhile, has been accused of carrying out sabotage and cyberattacks against Iranian nuclear and military sites and assassinating Iranian scientists, engineers, and military personnel in recent years.



'A Disgrace'



Tehran-based political activist Tirdad Bonakdar, a critic of the Islamic establishment, said Pahlavi was free to visit any country he wished but asked why he considered himself to be the representative of the Iranian people.



Bonakdar also criticized Pahlavi for taking his message of peace to Israel, where Defense Minister Benny Gantz has previously threatened military action against the Islamic republic.



"Accepting an invitation by the most extremist government in the history of Israel, which is opposed by the majority of Israelis, is not an honor but a disgrace," said Ali Afshari, a U.S.-based former student leader who was jailed in Iran for his activism.



Pahlavis wife, who was also in Israel, was criticized for suggesting in an Instagram post that female Israeli soldiers embodied the main slogan of Irans protest movement, Women, Life, and Freedom. The post is no longer available.



Human rights groups have accused Israeli security forces of beating, arbitrarily detaining, and unlawfully killing civilians in the Palestinian Occupied Territories.



Nothing says we support freedom like celebrating an army that has kept millions of Palestinians under occupation for decades. While leaders around the world shun Netanyahu as he takes Israel down the road to authoritarianism, the Pahlavis see an opportunity for a photo op, Alex Shams, a doctorate student of anthropology at the University of Chicago, said on Twitter.
Ukraine said on April 19 that it has received its first Patriot air-defense systems, and the United States announced a package of military aid worth $325 million as Russia launched a fresh wave of drone attacks on the southern port city of Odesa.

"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian skies have become more secure because Patriot air-defense systems have arrived in Ukraine," Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov wrote on Twitter.

Live Briefing: Russia's Invasion Of Ukraine RFE/RL's Live Briefing gives you all of the latest developments on Russia's full-scale invasion, Kyiv's counteroffensives, Western military aid, global reaction, and the plight of civilians. For all of RFE/RL's coverage of the war, click here.

Reznikov wrote that the Ukrainian air-defense forces have trained to master the complexities of the Patriot systems "as quickly as they could" and thanked the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands for having "kept their word" on delivering the system.



The mobile surface-to-air Patriot system is one of the most advanced in the world and can be used against aircraft, ballistic missiles, and cruise missiles.



The United States and Germany pledged Patriot systems to Ukraine following waves of Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy infrastructure that began in October.



President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has said Patriot will "significantly" beef up Ukraine's air defense.

An additional $325 million in U.S. military aid announced on April 19 also will help.

The package will send rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) that the Pentagon says Ukraine has used effectively on the battlefield, as well as an array of other missiles, small-arms ammunition, and anti-tank ammunition.



The supplies will be pulled from Pentagon inventories, meaning they can go quickly to the front line as Ukraine prepares to launch a counteroffensive against Russian forces.



Counteroffensive actions by Ukrainian troops are already taking place in eastern Ukraine, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar said. The dates of counteroffensive actions will not be announced, Malyar added, but certain actions already are under way in areas around Lyman, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka.



The announcement of the arrival of Patriot systems and the U.S. weapons package came after Russia attacked the southern port city of Odesa with Iranian-made drones overnight.

"This time, 10 out of 12 Shahed kamikaze drones were destroyed by the members of the Odesa antiaircraft missile brigade of the Southern Air Command," the military said in a statement.



Yuriy Kruk, the head of the military administration in the Odesa region, said a public infrastructure target was hit during the drone attack, but there were no immediate reports of casualties.

In the east, Ukrainian defenders repelled more than 60 attacks as Russian troops continue their assault on Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka, Ukraine's General Staff said in its daily report on April 19.



The fiercest battles are fought for Bakhmut and Maryinka, which remain the epicenter of hostilities, the military said.

The months of fighting for Bakhmut in particular has turned into one of the bloodiest battles of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, with both sides reportedly suffering heavy casualties.

The Ukrainian military said April 19 that it had taken delivery of France's light AMX-10 RC armored fighting vehicles, which were "already in service."

With reporting by Reuters, AP, and CNN
First version published at 16:57

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Azerbaijani Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman) Sabina Aliyeva has met with the parents of the Azerbaijani servicemen held captive in Armenia, the Ombudsman's Office told Trend.

During the meeting, the Ombudsman condemned the illegal arrest of Azerbaijani servicemen, Agshin Babirov and Huseyn Akhundov, held captive in Armenia, as well as cases of inhumane treatment of the servicemen.

Aliyeva noted that in this regard, an appeal has been made to the relevant organizations. The letter addressed to relevant international and regional organizations demands ensuring the rights of the servicemen detained in Armenia, including providing them with the opportunity to contact their families via video call.

Babirov and Huseyn Akhundov went missing due to limited visibility under adverse weather conditions in the border area of the Shahbuz district of Azerbaijans Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic with Armenia on April 10.

After a while, Armenian media outlets released photo and video depicting Armenians torturing Huseyn Akhundov.
HEADLINE CHANGED. First version published at 16:03

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. A meeting was held in Baku today between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry wrote on Twitter, Trend reports.

Within the meeting, the "Program of cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel in the field of education for 2023-2026" was signed.

Jabbarov said earlier that useful discussions were held between the business circles of the two countries on the expansion of contacts and the realization of new opportunities for cooperation.

Previously, Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek noted that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Israel is doing to double this year.

He also said that the opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel will play a certain role in expanding the cooperation between the two countries.

On March 29, 2023, the opening ceremony of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel was held with the participation of Jeyhun Bayramov and Eli Cohen.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The Russian Community of Azerbaijan has received several appeals about the situation at the Zabrat cemetery located between the settlements of Zabrat-1 and Balakhani, the statement of the community said, Trend reports.

"Witnesses presented photographs of acts of vandalism, graves with destroyed and damaged tombstones. Moreover, in some cases, trees and bushes were dug up, apparently planted by relatives, and fences were broken.

It is simply outrageous and not surprising that in a tolerant multicultural Azerbaijani society, this caused a flurry of indignation among the public and in the media. The Russian Community of Azerbaijan strongly condemns the act of vandalism committed and expresses its deep gratitude to First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva for the attention she paid to the incident.

On behalf of First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, with the participation of Assistant to the President of Azerbaijan - Head of the Department for Territorial and Organizational Issues of the Administration of the President of Azerbaijan Zeynal Nagdaliyev, an inspection of the Russian cemetery in the village of Balakhani of Sabunchi district has already been carried out. It was noted that all the tombstones will be renovated again.

Today, First Deputy Prosecutor General, State Counselor for Justice of the Third Degree Elchin Mammadov contacted Chairman of the Russian Community, Member of Azerbaijani Parliament Mikhail Zabelin and informed him about the creation of an investigative group to look into all events related to acts of vandalism at the cemetery. The Prosecutor General and the Minister of Internal Affairs of Azerbajian are conducting an investigation. The Russian Community of Azerbaijan will continue to personally monitor the progress of the investigation and inform the public," the statement reads.
Supreme Court Could Issue Ruling on Texas Chemical Abortion Pill Case on Wednesday, April 19

NEWS PROVIDED BY

Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution

April 19, 2023



WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 /Standard Newswire/ -- Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution to hold prayer vigil and news conference at the Supreme Court Wednesday morning.



The group will gather on Wednesday, April 19, at 9:30 a.m. on the public sidewalk in front of the Supreme Court calling for the justices to affirm the decision of Federal District Court Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk who suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Mifepristone.



Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution will be praying for God to guide and direct the nine Supreme Court Justices to issue a ruling affirming human rights and protection for women and their preborn children.



Based in Washington, D.C., Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution is a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice which empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally.



Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, states:

"As the founder of life-affirming medical clinics that support women with unexpected pregnancies, Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution calls upon the Supreme Court to affirm the decision U.S. Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk, of the U.S. Northern District of Texas, who suspended the Food and Drug Administration's approval of Mifepristone.



"Chemical abortions now account for more than half of all abortions in the U.S. and have significantly higher complication rates than that of surgical abortions. What the FDA and the abortion lobby are promoting is a new type of 'back-alley abortion' with no medical oversight and care. We will not be silent when it comes to standing for the safety of women's health and wellness."

Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution, adds:

"The pro-life community and all who embrace human rights must passionately stand against this barbaric practice of chemical abortions which kills innocent children, harms women, and destroys our environment.



"We pray the nine justices would embrace the hallowed words etched on the Supreme Court building: 'Equal Justice Under Law.' As a nation, we cannot allow chemical abortion pills to destroy human life."

For more information or interviews, please contact:

Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741



SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center/Purple Sash Revolution



CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741


BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 20. Turkiye has supported Azerbaijan in the liberation of occupied territories [during the second Karabakh war], Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said speaking in Antalya, Trend reports.

"Of course, we supported Azerbaijan in the liberation of the occupied territories. During the earthquake, Azerbaijan was the first to come to the rescue, and the last to depart from here," he said.

According to him, the opposition, in turn, said: "Unfortunately, we supported Azerbaijan."

Minister stressed that the Turkish people will not allow those who regret the support provided for Azerbaijan to come to power.
EIGHTY junior doctors walked out last week as part of a nationwide four-day strike, Rotherham Hospital revealed.

The hospitals managing trust said the number was similar to that of previous industrial action.

Outpatient appointments were postponed but patient care continued, with the hospital saying robust plans were in place to support wards and departments and ensure patients continued to receive safe and effective care.

The British Medical Association said the 96-hour walk out of all junior doctors in England was to achieve a full pay restoration, claiming that, while workload and waiting lists were at record highs, junior doctors pay had been cut by more than a quarter since 2008.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak has said he wants to find a reasonable compromise in the row, while health secretary Steve Barclay said ministers remained ready to start formal talks with the BMA as soon as the union pauses its strikes and moves significantly from its unrealistic position of demanding a 35 per cent pay increase.

Meanwhile, Unite the Union said staff from Yorkshire Ambulance Service will walk out on May 1 after rejecting the governments pay offer.

A union spokesperson said members were increasingly angry that the government has blatantly failed to deliver its commitment to find new money to pay for its proposals, rather than robbing other health budgets.

Other ambulance service trusts could join the walkout from May 2.

Nurses are also due to hold a 48-hour strike across the country from 8pm on April 30 in their own dispute over pay and conditions, but this will not affect services in Rotherham.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Restoration of internal roads in Azerbaijans Lachin is planned to be completed in the shortest term, the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads told Trend.

According to the agency, these roads, which are 59 kilometers long, have two traffic lanes 3-3.5 meters wide, and the designed width of the roadway is 8-15 meters.

As part of the project, a new roadbed and road base are being built, as well as a new asphalt concrete pavement is being laid.

The construction and restoration work is carried out in accordance with the "Construction Norms and Rules", under the personal control of the agencys leadership.

The reconstruction work is planned to be completed in the near future.

With the restoration of internal roads in Lachin City, modern road infrastructure will be established that will ensure the comfortable movement of residents and guests of the city.

Excavation, drilling and blasting work in connection with the construction of Lachin International Airport, the foundation of which was laid on August 16, 2021 with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, are also being carried out by the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads.

In accordance with the "Construction Norms and Rules", under the project carried out under the supervision of the agencys leadership, the vegetation layer was removed from an area of 162,800 cubic meters, blasting - on an area of 6.9 million cubic meters, mechanized drilling of rocks  on an area of 859,800 cubic meters, as well as excavation work in the amount of 5.04 million cubic meters.

Lachin International Airport, which is being built in the Gorchu village of the Lachin district, will become the highest mountainous airport in Azerbaijan.

The distance from the airport to Lachin City will be 38.1 kilometers, to Shusha City - 75 kilometers, and to Kalbajar City - 592 kilometers.

The construction of the Lachin International Airport will give impetus to the socio-economic development of the region and will lead to an increase in tourism potential.

The Lachin district was liberated from Armenian occupation following the 2020 Second Karabakh War.
POLICE are seeking help to trace a wanted man with links to South Yorkshire.

Joshua Soper (34) is wanted on recall to prison after failing to comply with the conditions of his release.

Soper had been jailed for 36 months in 2019 following a burglary in Humberside.

He is described as black, 6ft tall and known to frequent Balby in Doncaster, and also has links across the UK including Nottinghamshire, Lincolnshire and Norfolk.

If you have any information about his whereabouts, contact 101 and quote the investigation number 14/12326/22.




(rapaport.com) - Diamond dealers and manufacturers have complained to the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) about its new paperless dossier reports, claiming they reduce security and are less popular among retailers. The reports  available for 0.15- to 1.99-carat, D- to Z-color diamonds  have caused consternation in the industry since the GIA switched to digital-only versions at the beginning of this year. GIA customers who submit a diamond receive the stone back in a small envelope that shows the key specifications and a unique QR code that links to an online report. Although the girdle gets inscribed, other people can easily copy the code and associate it with a different diamond, according to traders who spoke with Rapaport News in recent weeks.
President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have released their 2022 federal income tax return.

With this, President Biden has shared a total of 25 years of tax returns with the American public.

Announcing this, the White House said, "Once again demonstrating his commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the Commander-in-Chief, President Biden has released the most tax returns of any president while in office."

The President and First Lady Jill Biden filed their income tax return jointly and reported federal adjusted gross income of $579,514, according to the White House. They paid $169,820 in combined federal, Delaware, and Virginia income taxes. And their 2022 effective federal income tax rate is 23.8 percent.



The President and First Lady also reported contributions of $20,180 to 20 different charities. The largest gift to charity was $5,000 to the Beau Biden Foundation, a public charity dedicated to ensuring that all children are free from the threat of abuse. They also donated to St. Joseph on the Brandywine, their home parish, to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, among other charities.



Specifically, the President and First Lady paid $137,658 in federal income tax. They also released their Delaware income tax return and reported paying $29,023 in Delaware income tax. The First Lady released her Virginia income tax return as well, and reported paying $3,139 in Virginia income tax.



Vice President Kamala Harris and Second Gentleman Douglas Emhoff also released their 2022 federal income tax return, as well as state income tax returns for California and the District of Columbia. Including this, the Vice President has published 19 years of tax returns.



The Vice President and the Second Gentleman reported federal adjusted gross income of $456,918, the White House said. They paid $93,570 in federal income tax, amounting to a 2022 effective federal income tax rate of 20.5 percent. They also paid $17,612 in California income tax. Emhoff paid $9,697 in District of Columbia income tax. They contributed $23,000 to charity in 2022.

Except for Donald Trump, all recent U.S. presidents have released their tax returns voluntarily.

The House Ways and Means Committee in December released six years of Donald Trump and wife Melania's joint tax returns.

The former President fought for years to prevent his returns from being released to the public, but the Supreme Court in November declined to block the release to the Democratic-led committee.

For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com

Business News
Professor Sally Matthews and Dr Joshua Bell.

By Professor Sally Matthews and Dr Joshua Bell

Wine was first produced in South Africa as far back as the mid-1600s by Dutch colonisers who sold it to passing ships. The industry developed further during the colonial and apartheid eras and wine became an important part of the South African economy.

A recent study reports that the industry now employs close to 300 000 people. A 2021 report indicates that it generates R10 billion (more than $550 million) in export value annually. While wine does not rank as one of South Africas biggest industries, it contributes 1.1% to South Africas GDP and 1.6% of the countrys total employment, making it significant to the economy.

During the colonial and apartheid eras, the countrys wine industry was characterised by the use of enslaved workers and the exploitation, and paternalistic control of black and coloured labourers by white farmers. The black and coloured labourers lived and worked on the farms under the control of the white farmers.

With the formal end of apartheid in 1994, such relations were expected to change. New labour laws to protect workers from exploitation were introduced. However, many observers continued to have concerns about the living and working conditions of workers on the wine farms.

In response to these concerns, some South African wine farms applied for and were granted Fairtrade certification. The Fairtrade label assures consumers that the product they buy has been ethically sourced and traded.

Fairtrade certification is supposed to be given only after an audit to determine that the social, economic and environmental conditions on the farm meet certain minimum requirements.

Fairtrade products, such as Fairtrade coffee, chocolate or wine, are sold at a higher price, with a percentage of the sale value going towards a Fairtrade premium. This premium is supposed to be spent on projects that will improve farmworkers lives, such as creches, literacy programmes or medical centres.

If Fairtrade certification worked as intended for the South African wine industry, it could offer local producers improved entry into new markets while also supporting farmworkers developmental needs.

Thats what we set out to establish in a doctoral study. What makes this study important is that it focuses on the experiences of farmworkers on commercial wine farms. Most Fairtrade products are produced by small-scale producers who are organised into co-operatives. However, in the case of South African Fairtrade wine, it is mostly commercial farms which have been certified.

As other researchers have pointed out, the decision to extend Fairtrade certification to South African commercial wine farmers has been a controversial one. Such farmers, who are mostly wealthy and white, are not the typical producers associated with Fairtrade certification.

Our study can help in reviewing whether the inclusion of such farmers is justified. As part of the study, interviews were conducted in 2020 with representatives of the Commercial, Stevedoring, Agricultural and Allied Workers Union, other key stakeholders in the wine industry, and workers on five Fairtrade farms.

The five farms are all commercial farms and all hold Fairtrade certification. But the experiences of the farmworkers suggest that while the wine bottles leaving the farm might bear the Fairtrade label, the workers on these farms do not feel they are fairly treated. These findings cast doubt on the efficacy and legitimacy of extending Fairtrade certification to South African commercial wine farmers.

Fairtrades stated mission is to connect disadvantaged producers and consumers, promote fairer trading conditions and empower producers to combat poverty, strengthen their position and take more control over their lives.

Our study suggests that this mission is not being realised on South

African Fairtrade wine farms. Workers on these farms are not being empowered to combat poverty and have more control over their lives.

Most of the 30 farmworkers interviewed were not even aware that the farm they worked on was Fairtrade certified. Only one had a good understanding of what the Fairtrade certification and audit process entails, but her account suggests that the process did not function as it should.

(W)hen they do audits, the employer will clean  (P)eople are forced to clean so that if the auditor comes, they will find everything in good standard. What happens when the auditor comes is that the employer chooses who must talk to the auditor because, for example, me, I will never be called to an auditor because they know that I will tell the honest truth.

Regular audits are meant to be conducted as part of the certification process to ensure that farmworkers on Fairtrade farms are fairly treated and adequately paid.

Farmworkers reported poor and unsafe living and working conditions. One woman complained: What happens in the vineyards is that there is no toilet for us as women. We have to relieve ourselves in the vineyards. The toilets you will see when there is an audit.

Others described inadequate housing. We were promised that these houses would be temporary. It is cold and when it rains the rain comes in We have reported this, and nothing happens. I have to constantly move my bed when it rains because the water comes through. I have been here since 1979. They (farm management) have ignored me. They dont care.

Farmworkers also spoke about increased labour casualisation, especially for women. They further reported being intimidated for taking part in trade union activities, or for speaking out about their conditions.

It was clear that, contrary to the stated goals of Fairtrade International, farmworkers on these farms did not feel empowered.

Fairtrade certification may be helping farmers gain entry to international markets, but our study suggests it is not bringing the anticipated benefits to farmworkers.

Significant changes to the auditing and certification processes need to be made if the certification is to benefit workers on South African wine farms. More transparent and rigorous auditing needs to occur if certification is to be meaningful.

Matthews is an associate professor of political and international studies, at Rhodes University. Bell is a PhD candidate in the Department of Political and International Studies at Rhodes University

Source: The Star Late Edition
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. A special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan has been extended until July 1, 2023, following Prime Minister Ali Asadovs corresponding decree, Trend reports.

According to the decision, the special quarantine regime in Azerbaijan has been extended until 06:00 (GMT+4) July 1, 2023, in order to prevent the spread of COVID-19 infection and its possible consequences.

The deadline has previously been set for 06:00 (GMT+4) on May 1, 2023.

The first COVID-19 case in Azerbaijan was reported on Feb. 28, 2020. The coronavirus outbreak reportedly started in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - at a fish market in late December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.
If you are looking for the strongest strains & buds from legit weed brands, then read this article to get the best delta 8 flower.
Jack Haldrup, founder of the subscription soap company Dr. Squatch, tests out new soap scents in his soap lab garage.

When Amazon arrived like Godzilla to the retail world, stomping out brick-and-mortar shops with speedy e-commerce delivery, small businesses suffered the brunt of the damage. But theres a new wave of savvy entrepreneurs who still compete with the giants of retail  even in saturated markets.

Jack Haldrup, a 31-year-old San Diegan, epitomizes this shift to small business 2.0. He makes $6 million a year selling a product thats been around since ancient times: plain and simple bar soap. In a retail world dominated by massive players like Procter & Gamble and Unilever, how is there room for yet another soapmaker?

Theres nothing particularly mind boggling about Haldrups soap, mind you. Its natural, made from lye, vegetable oil and a variety of scented essential oils. It comes as a bar wrapped in brown packaging, smelling very woodsy and wild in flavors like Pine Tar, Bay Rum and Spearmint Basil. The soaps schtick is that its made for men. More specifically, its for the manly chops-his-own-firewood male, who wants natural soaps but doesnt want to smell like lavender and patchouli.

Advertisement

Fittingly, the companys name is Dr. Squatch. As in Sasquatch  the hairy, ape-like figure from North American folklore who stomps around woods and lakes.

In a few short years, Haldrup has gone from selling a few bars of soap per week out of his Midwest apartment, to shipping out 1,500 to 2,000 soaps a day. Today, the companys products are manufactured in Indiana and North Carolina, with distribution in Ohio. Craving the West Coast life, Haldrup moved to San Diego a couple of years ago and established his headquarters in Little Italy.

The small business has kept overhead low, Haldrup said, achieving profitability right off the bat. The vast majority of the companys sales are made online, with customers signing up for a monthly or quarterly subscription to receive Haldrups soap on a regular schedule to their doorstep. Dr. Squatch now has 17,000 active subscribers, with customers paying between $6 to $18 per shipment depending on how many bars they want.

Sasquatch magic

The soap may be average, but targeting this particular demographic is new. Marketers have long targeted females for these products, as women handle the bulk of purchasing decisions for everyday items like soap. But times are changing. Thanks to the Internet, everyone is online making purchases and Haldrup saw a gap in the market for guys like him.

Haldrup has a common autoimmune skin condition called psoriasis, which makes him a poor match for regular supermarket soaps. They burn his skin, leaving him feeling dry and irritated. He was forced into seeking out natural products that would be less harsh on his skin.

I ended up buying handmade soaps from farmers markets, and they made my skin feel great, Haldrup said.

But the average guy, he thought, isnt going to hunt down these products and buy them from a farmers market. And theyre also not shopping at health food stores, where these bars are widely sold.

Our customer is not the guy who already shops at Whole Foods and uses Dr. Bronners soap, Haldrup said. Our biggest audience turns out to be middle America. This is for the guy who would never normally consider buying natural products because he thinks theyre for hippies.

The company expected the product to take off in big coastal cities like San Francisco and New York.

But when we looked at the sales data, our biggest customers were coming out of places like Kentucky, Idaho and South Dakota, Haldrup said.

Jack Haldrup cuts a loaf of soap at his soap company called Dr. Squatch. (K.C. Alfred / San Diego Union-Tribune)

The new age of small business

Matthew Parvis, another San Diegan in his 30s, has a few things in common with Haldrup. He also launched a subscription company that ships out products targeted to men. His company, co-founded with his wife Melissa Parvis, is called Fresh Clean Tees, and they sell plain T-shirts to guys who want a regular in-flow of crisp undershirts in their wardrobe.

Parvis said men are waking up to the fact that there are more products available today tailored to their preferences. But more than that, he said, customers  women included  flock to brands like Fresh Clean Tees and Dr. Squatch because buyers have grown tired of interacting with faceless, giant corporations.

People want a more personal experience these days, Parvis said. If youre buying a Hanes T-shirt, you dont feel like youre a part of anything. Youre also not a part of anything when youre buying soap from Walmart or Target.

When you buy from boutique brands, however, customers join a little community, Parvis said.

Even though the small-business experience has gone away in a traditional sense, its rebounding in a different way, Parvis said. I love that entrepreneurs who are great at marketing are breaking through in spaces that are rather saturated, like soaps and T-shirts.

The marketing is the money

Haldrup, a former IT security consultant, isnt your typical marketing guru, however. He has no higher education in the field. His undergraduate degree is in finance and he has a masters in information systems. But he was savvy enough to see potential early on in Facebook Ads, committing most of his ad spend for social media.

My product is a terrible fit for advertising on Google, because no one is searching for mens natural soap, Haldrup said. But its perfect for Facebook Ads. Within a month of learning that, we tripled our sales.

Parvis said Facebook Ads is also critical for his companys success. About 90 percent of customer acquisition at Fresh Clean Tees comes from Facebook Ads.

Its been a huge platform of growth for us, Parvis said.

Dr. Squatch also invested big bucks in creating ads worth watching. Haldrup went out on a limb and paid $20,000 to a professional marketing agency to film a humorous video about their soap. And it paid off fast. The video spread around online, racking up 12 million views so far. The video alone grew Dr. Squatchs subscription base from 11,000 subscribers to 17,000 in only three months.

With social media marketing and their own online stores, Haldrup and Parvis have virtually no need for retail partners. Haldrup said getting his soap into retail stores is hardly worth his time.

Unless theyre a big box store, the volume they do is just so small, Haldrup said. It wont move the needle for us.

Expansion

Dr. Squatch has expanded into selling other hygiene products for men, like shampoo and conditioner, beard oil and shaving cream. The company employs just three people in San Diego, with some customer support people overseas.

Ten or 15 years ago, the only way to sell this product would have been to break into stores like Target or Walmart, Haldrup said. It would have been hard for a guy like me. Its amazing to live in a time when this is possible.

Business

brittany.meiling@sduniontribune.com 619-293-1286 Twitter: @BrittanyMeiling
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The Azerbaijani community of UK strongly condemns the fact of torture against Azerbaijani soldiers captured by Armenia, Azerbaijani State Committee for Work with the Diaspora told Trend.

The statement of the Azerbaijani community of UK, addressed to the international organizations and local community on the behalf of British Azerbaijanis Association, Azerbaijani community of Northern Ireland clarifies under what weather conditions Azerbaijani soldiers Babirov Agshin, born in 2004, and Akhundov Huseyn, born in 2003 were captured and draws attention to the fact that the soldiers of Azerbaijani army were tortured and inhumanly treated. This incident was assessed as a gross violation of international humanitarian laws by Armenia.

Relevant international organizations were informed that investigation and properly evaluation of the above-indicated violence, including the violence committed by Armenia against Azerbaijani prisoners of war and civilian prisoners, and 3,890 missing Azerbaijanis over the past 30 years should be carried out.

The statement one more time underlines the breach of obligations by Armenia under the Geneva Convention, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

Our compatriots called on the local community and international organizations to investigate the fact of violence, give a proper legal evaluation and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of the Azerbaijani servicemen.
Details added: first version posted on 10:27

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Restoration of internal roads in Azerbaijans Lachin is planned to be completed in the shortest term, the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads told Trend.

According to the agency, these roads, which are 59 kilometers long, have two traffic lanes 3-3.5 meters wide, and the designed width of the roadway is 8-15 meters.

As part of the project, a new roadbed and road base are being built, as well as a new asphalt concrete pavement is being laid.

The construction and restoration work is carried out in accordance with the "Construction Norms and Rules", under the personal control of the agencys leadership.

The reconstruction work is planned to be completed in the near future.

With the restoration of internal roads in Lachin City, modern road infrastructure will be established that will ensure the comfortable movement of residents and guests of the city.

Excavation, drilling and blasting work in connection with the construction of Lachin International Airport, the foundation of which was laid on August 16, 2021 with the participation of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev and First Vice-President Mehriban Aliyeva, are also being carried out by the State Agency of Azerbaijan Automobile Roads.

In accordance with the "Construction Norms and Rules", under the project carried out under the supervision of the agencys leadership, the vegetation layer was removed from an area of 162,800 cubic meters, blasting - on an area of 6.9 million cubic meters, mechanized drilling of rocks  on an area of 859,800 cubic meters, as well as excavation work in the amount of 5.04 million cubic meters.

Lachin International Airport, which is being built in the Gorchu village of the Lachin district, will become the highest mountainous airport in Azerbaijan.

The distance from the airport to Lachin City will be 38.1 kilometers, to Shusha City - 75 kilometers, and to Kalbajar City - 592 kilometers.

The construction of the Lachin International Airport will give impetus to the socio-economic development of the region and will lead to an increase in tourism potential.

The Lachin district was liberated from Armenian occupation following the 2020 Second Karabakh War.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Internal Affairs has started an investigation in connection with the destruction of graves at the cemetery in Zabrat village in Baku, the ministry told Trend.

According to the ministry, an investigation is underway into the case of the destruction by unknown persons of several tombstones at one of the cemeteries located in the Zabrat village of Baku's Sabunchu district.

Will be updated
Nitrogen dioxide is one of the criteria air pollutants that plays an important role as a precursor gas of fine particulate matter and ozone. NO 2 emissions are known to be primarily generated by industrial facilities or vehicle exhausts. Recently, a research team from POSTECH analyzed satellite remote sensing data from the European Space Agency (ESA) and released results showing that food processing facilities and high-rise apartments that are 10 stories or higher are significant sources of NO 2 emissions. Their findings have drawn attention from NASA.

A POSTECH research team led by Professor Hyung Joo Lee used the TROPOspheric Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI), an instrument on an Earth observation satellite that can monitor atmospheric composition, to analyze NO 2 emissions from various types of properties in California. Their analysis suggests that NO 2 emissions were highest at food processing facilities and residential complexes with high population density.

The team estimated average NO 2 concentrations at the spatial resolution of 500 m in California between 2018 and 2019 and assessed whether NO 2 concentrations measured at ground monitors were representative of population exposures to NO 2 in each county. They also evaluated which property types showed the highest NO 2 emissions and therefore exposures. Their assessment revealed that the highest NO 2 exposures were attributed to food processing facilities and high-rise apartments that are 10 stories or higher. The same results were obtained when traffic was taken into consideration.

Such high residential emissions are presumed to be attributed to combustion sources within the apartments, such as water boilers, space heaters, and other indoor-generated emissions vented outdoors. Residential combustion sources have not been considered significant sources of air pollution in previous research.

POSTECH Professor Hyung Joo Lee explained, "Highly populated residential areas, specifically high-rise apartments, have not been extensively studied. However, the research indicates that these areas should be regarded as crucial contributors to NO 2 emissions in the formulation of environmental policies."

He emphasized the significance of the research by stating, "The research demonstrates that satellite remote sensing can be effectively used to inform air quality management."
An international coalition of biomedical researchers co-led by Alexander Bick, MD, PhD, at Vanderbilt University Medical Center has determined a new way to measure the growth rate of precancerous clones of blood stem cells that one day could help doctors lower their patients' risk of blood cancer.

The technique, called PACER, led to the identification of a gene that, when activated, drives clonal expansion. The findings, published in the journal Nature, suggest that drugs targeting this gene, TCL1A, may be able to suppress clonal growth and associated cancers.

"We think that TCL1A is a new important drug target for preventing blood cancer," said Bick, the study's co-corresponding author with Stanford University's Siddhartha Jaiswal, MD, PhD.

More than 10% of older adults develop somatic (non-inherited) mutations in blood stem cells that can trigger explosive, clonal expansions of abnormal cells, increasing the risk for blood cancer and cardiovascular disease.

Since arriving at VUMC in 2020, Bick, assistant professor of Medicine in the Division of Genetic Medicine and director of the Vanderbilt Genomics and Therapeutics Clinic, has contributed to more than 30 scientific papers that are revealing the mysteries of clonal growth (hematopoiesis).

With age, dividing cells in the body acquire mutations. Most of these mutations are innocuous "passenger" mutations. But sometimes, a mutation occurs that drives the development of a clone and ultimately causes cancer.

Prior to this study, scientists would measure clonal growth rate by comparing blood samples taken decades apart. Bick and his colleagues figured out a way to determine the growth rate from a single timepoint, by counting the number of passenger mutations.

"You can think of passenger mutations like rings on a tree," Bick said. "The more rings a tree has, the older it is. If we know how old the clone is (how long ago it was born) and how big it is (what percentage of blood it takes up), we can estimate the growth rate."

The PACER technique for determining the "passenger-approximated clonal expansion rate" was applied to more than 5,000 individuals who had acquired specific, cancer-associated driver mutations in their blood stem cells, called "clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential" or CHIP, but who did not have blood cancer.

Using a genome-wide association study, the investigators then looked for genetic variations that were associated with different clonal growth rates. To their surprise, they discovered that TCL1A, a gene which had not previously been implicated in blood stem cell biology, was a major driver of clonal expansion when activated.

The researchers also found that a commonly inherited variant of the TCL1A promoter, the DNA region which normally initiates transcription (and thus activation) of the gene, was associated with a slower clonal expansion rate and a markedly reduced prevalence of several driver mutations in CHIP, the second step in the development of blood cancer.

Experimental studies demonstrated that the variant suppresses gene activation.

"Some people have a mutation that prevents TCL1A from being turned on, which protects them from both faster clone growth and from blood cancer," Bick said. That's what makes the gene so interesting as a potential drug target.

The research is continuing with the hope of identifying additional important pathways relevant to precancerous growth in other tissues as well as blood, he added.

Researchers from more than 50 institutions across the United States, as well as Germany, Sweden, and the Netherlands participated in the study. Other VUMC co-authors were Taralyn Mack, Benjamin Shoemaker, MD, MSCI, and Dan Roden, MD.

The research at VUMC is supported by National Institutes of Health grant OD029586, a Burroughs Wellcome Fund Career Award for Medical Scientists, the E.P. Evans Foundation & RUNX1 Research Program, a Pew-Stewart Scholar for Cancer Research Award, the VUMC Brock Family Endowment, and a Young Ambassador Award from the Vanderbilt-Ingram Cancer Center.
'Tis the season for hiking now that spring has arrived and temperatures are on the upswing. But with hikes come insect bites and on the increase in North America is babesiosis, a malaria-like disease spread especially between May and October by a tick.

Indeed, recent research suggests an increase in the incidence of diseases transmitted by ticks around the world, not just the United States and Canada, due likely to climate change and other environmental factors. Among the tick-borne pathogens, Babesia parasites, which infect and destroy red blood cells, are considered a serious threat to humans and animals. All cases of human babesiosis reported in the United States have been linked to either Babesia microti, B. duncani, or a B. divergens-like species.

Now a research team led by scientists at the University of California, Riverside, and Yale University reports the first high-quality nuclear genome sequence and assembly of the pathogen B. duncani. The team also determined the 3D genome structure of this pathogen that resembles Plasmodium falciparum, the malaria-causing parasite.

"Our data analysis revealed that the parasite has evolved new classes of multigene families, allowing the parasite to avoid the host immune response," said Karine Le Roch, a professor of molecular, cell and systems biology at UC Riverside, who co-led the study with Choukri Ben Mamoun, a professor of medicine at Yale University.

According to Le Roch, who directs the UCR Center for Infectious Disease Vector Research, the study, published today in Nature Microbiology, not only identifies the molecular mechanism most likely leading to the parasite's pathogenicity and virulence, but also provides leads for the development of more effective therapies.

"By mining the genome and developing in vitro drug efficacy studies, we identified excellent inhibitors of the development of this parasite -- a pipeline of small molecules, such as pyrimethamine, that could be developed as effective therapies for treating and better managing human babesiosis," Le Roch said. "Far more scientific and medical attention has been paid to B. microti. The genome structure of B. duncani, a neglected species until now, will provide scientists with important insights into the biology, evolution, and drug susceptibility of the pathogen."

Human babesiosis caused by Babesia duncani is an emerging infectious disease in the U.S. and is often undetected because healthy individuals do not usually show symptoms. It has, however, been associated with high parasite burden, severe pathology, and death in multiple cases. Despite the highly virulent properties of B. duncani, little was known about its biology, evolution, and mechanism of virulence, and recommended treatments for human babesiosis against B. duncani are largely ineffective.

A strong immune system is required to fight the pathogen. A compromised immune system could lead to flu-like illness. The tick that spreads babesiosis is mostly found in wooded or grassy areas and is the same tick that transmits bacteria responsible for Lyme disease. As a result, around 20% of patients with babesiosis are co-infected with Lyme disease.

B. duncani mostly infects deer, which serve as the reservoir host during the pathogen's asexual development. The parasite's sexual cycle occurs in the tick after the tick bites the infected deer. When this tick bites humans, infection begins. The full life cycle of Babesia parasites has not yet been determined. The tick that spreads babesiosis, called Dermacentor albipictus, lives longer than mosquitoes and could facilitate a long life cycle for B. duncani.

Even though scientists are discovering more Babesia species, diagnostics are mostly developed for B. microti. Le Roch is already working with Stefano Lonardi, a professor of computer science and engineering at UCR and co-first author of the study, on new Babesia strains that have evolved.

"The Babesia genomes are not very long," said Lonardi, who assembled the B. duncani strain. "But they are challenging to assemble due to their highly repetitive content and can require years of research. Once the genome is assembled and annotated, it can provide valuable information, such as how the genes are organized, which genes are transcribed during infection, and how the pathogen avoids the host's immune system."

In older and immunocompromised people, if B. duncani is left unattended, babesiosis could worsen and lead to death. Once the pathogen enters the body and red blood cells start to get destroyed, fever, headache, and nausea can follow. People who get bitten by the ticks often don't feel the bite, which complicates diagnosis. Skin manifestations of babesiosis are rare, Lonardi said, and difficult to separate from Lyme disease.

Le Roch and Lonardi urge people to be mindful of ticks when they go hiking.

"Check yourself for tick bites," Le Roch said. "When you see your physician don't forget to let them know you go hiking. Most physicians are aware of Lyme disease but not of babesiosis."

Next the team plans to study how B. duncani survives in the tick and find novel vector control strategies to kill the parasite in the tick.

Le Roch, Mamoun, and Lonardi were joined in the study by colleagues at UCR, Yale School of Medicine, Universite de Montpellier (France), Instituto de Salud Carlos III (Spain), Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, and University of Pennsylvania. Pallavi Singh at Yale and Lonardi contributed equally to the study. The B. duncani genome, epigenome, and transcriptome were sequenced at UCR and Yale.

The study was supported by grants from the National Institutes of Health, Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation, Global Lyme Alliance, National Science Foundation, UCR, and Health Institute Carlos III.

The research paper is titled "Babesia duncani multi-omics identifies virulence factors and drug targets."
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. A criminal case has been initiated on the fact of the destruction of tombstones at a cemetery in one of the districts of Baku, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan told Trend.

Earlier, a video footage depicting destroyed tombstones at one of the cemeteries has been spread on social networks. As a result of the activities carried out by the staff of the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, it was revealed that unknown persons damaged the tombstones at a cemetery located in the Zabrat village of Baku's Sabunchi district.

No reason was yet provided on why the tombstones were desecrated.

A criminal case has been initiated in the Investigation Department of the Sabunchu Police Department under Article 245 (desecration of graves) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Currently, a preliminary investigation is underway. The necessary measures are being taken in order to identify and bring to justice those responsible.
Responsible for over 5 million infections and 100,000 deaths every year, influenza remains one of the most challenging public health issues for populations globally, particularly First Nations communities.

New research from the Peter Doherty Institute for Infection and Immunity (Doherty Institute) has found that First Nations populations around the world are significantly more likely to be hospitalised and die from influenza compared to non-Indigenous populations.

Researchers from the Doherty Institute analysed 36 studies that examined influenza hospitalisations and deaths for First Nations and non-First Nations populations globally, finding that hospitalisation and mortality rates were consistently higher in First Nations communities than corresponding benchmark populations.

In Canada, New Zealand and Australia, First Nations people were over five times more likely to be hospitalised with the flu than the benchmark population.

The study's authors note that data on the rates of severe flu in First Nations populations from low and middle income countries was scarce.

Senior author of the study and Epidemiologist at the Doherty Institute, Royal Melbourne Hospital's Dr Katherine Gibney said that more needs to be done to determine the disease burden among First Nations populations in Australia and around the world.

"It is critical that governments ensure that people who have the flu have equitable access to healthcare and that vaccination rates are as high as possible," Dr Gibney said.

"When we are planning for seasonal flu, but especially pandemic flu, we need to have specific and targeted plans for First Nations people that are generated by First Nations people.

"'Australia did a fantastic job during COVID of having First Nations-led plans that worked well. And if that can be applied to the flu, it would be incredibly valuable."

Dr Gibney added that surveillance of respiratory virus information is vital for management of the disease.

"When we get information about flu hospitalisations and deaths, we need to capture that individual's First Nations status to determine whether the gap we have described is closing over time, and to continue to advocate for resources to reduce the disease burden in First Nations populations."

Co-author of the study, Monash University's Dr Juliana Betts said the study also shows the need for systemic and political reform.

"Our research emphasises the widespread and ongoing impacts of colonisation on the health outcomes of First Nations communities," Dr Betts said.

"Solutions to these health gaps largely sit outside of the health sector, in policies that address the many social determinants of health including poverty, housing, education and racism."
Researchers have created the largest atlas of post-zygotic genome mutations in healthy human tissue ever assembled -- a scientific advancement that could unlock new avenues for diagnosing and treating genetic disease. It is the largest ever in terms of the combined number of tissues and number of donors sampled.

The study, led by researchers at Oregon Health & Science University, published today in the journal Science.

The development points the way toward understanding the genetic underpinnings of disease associated with cancer as well as innumerable conditions caused by cellular malfunction, including aging. The atlas could be useful in diagnosing medical conditions, and potentially useful in reversing genetic mutations that cause disease.

"If you're talking about genetic changes being the basis of disease, there are a wide variety of technologies now that allow us to make changes to the genome," said senior author Don Conrad, Ph.D., associate professor in the OHSU School of Medicine who directs the Division of Genetics at the Oregon National Primate Research Center. "It may be possible to change those mutations we've acquired due to bad luck or bad habits, and change them back to what they were before."

Window into cell mutations

Researchers generated the atlas using 54 tissue and cell types compiled after death from 948 individuals who donated their bodies for the National Institute of Health's Genotype-Tissue Expression Program.

Every person begins as a single cell at the moment of conception, carrying a DNA blueprint within the nucleus of that first fertilized cell. Using those original DNA instructions, the cell divides and replicates into vast groups of cells that form distinct tissues carrying out unique functions in the body. At any one time, the average person is comprised of about 30 trillion cells; in the course of a lifetime, that same person produces quadrillions of cells.

Over time, an individual cell is damaged again and again. In some cases, they repair themselves thousands of times a day.

"Every once in a while, the cell makes a mistake during DNA repair, or misses one -- and that's a change that gets propagated on," Conrad said. "Our work gives us a window to the extent that those changes occur in different organs and tissues, and during different periods of our lives."

This situation, known as somatic mosaicism, is a result of cells mutating from the original DNA blueprint.

Building the atlas

Until now, genetic research investigating mutations that occur post-zygotically, or after fertilization, has generally been conducted in biopsies of cancerous tissue such as skin melanomas and lung tumors, or in easily accessible tissues such as blood.

The new atlas opens a field of inquiry into mutations that occur over the course of a lifetime.

"Going from a single cell to a child is a remarkable process," said lead author Nicole Rockweiler, Ph.D., previously part of Conrad's lab at OHSU and Washington University in St. Louis, and now a postdoctoral associate at the Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. "When you add on layers of mutations happening at such an important part of our lives, it's amazing that we can come out pretty well at the end of our gestation."

To generate the new atlas, researchers developed a computational method using bulk RNA sequencing to characterize the mutations in a massive catalogue of tissue samples throughout the body. They were able to trace the point at which mutations occurred by mapping them to a "developmental tree," indexing them across tissues and among many people. They found many mutations arose systematically and somewhat predictably as people age, although roughly 10% of mutations appeared to be the result of something intrinsic to an individual, be it genes or environment.

They found most detectable mutations occurred later in life, although many occurred before birth.

"We learned that some tissues, like the esophagus and liver, acquire a lot of mutations whereas other tissues like the brain, acquire fewer mutations," Rockweiler writes in a post on the Conrad Lab website describing the research. "This made sense to us because the esophagus and liver are exposed to many environmental toxins; here the cells must transmit the message in a noisy environment. A low number of mutations in the brain also makes sense because the brain is primarily composed of cells that don't replicate."

Funding for the research was supported by the National Institutes of Health awards R01MH101810, R01HG007178 and R01HD078641; the National Human Genome Research Institute award T32HG000045; and the Medical Research Council awards MR/M004422/1 and MR/R023131/1.
Wildfires. Many see them as purely destructive forces, disasters that blaze through a landscape, charring everything in their paths. But a study published in the journal Ecology Letters reminds us that wildfires are also generative forces, spurring biodiversity in their wakes.

"There's a fair amount of biodiversity research on fire and plants," said Max Moritz, a wildfire specialist with UC CooperativeExtension who is based at UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, and is the study's lead author. Research has shown that in ecosystems where fire is a natural and regular occurrence, there can be more species of plants -- a greater "species richness" -- due to a variety of factors, including fire-related adaptations. But, he said, there hasn't been nearly as much research in the way of animal biodiversity and fire.

"If you look at how fire operates across the planet, fire actually eats plant productivity," Moritz said. Productivity, which is a measure of how quickly biomass is generated within a given ecosystem, is also a driver of species richness at broad spatial scales. "When fires occur they can take a bite out of that bottom line," he added.

If fire regularly consumes some of the base of an ecosystem's food chain, how does that ripple up to affect the biodiversity at higher levels?

That was the question Moritz investigated during a project supported by UC Santa Barbara's National Center for Ecological Analysis & Synthesis; he later recruited collaborators Enric Batllori from Universitat de Barcelona and Benjamin M. Bolker from McMaster University in Canada. For several years they combed through global datasets on various factors such as plant biomass, fire observations and species richness patterns.

While it might be natural to assume that plant biomass regularly consumed by fire would in turn lead to lower animal biodiversity, they found that for birds and mammals, fire is associated with increased diversity. In fact, they say, the effect of fire on biodiversity in the case of birds rivals that of the ecosystem's productivity. And in the case of mammals, fire's influence was even stronger than that of productivity.

"It's counterintuitive," Moritz said. In the short term, fire's consumption of plant material (also known as "net primary productivity") could result in less food for the animals that consume plants and make it more difficult to survive and reproduce. But in the longer term, he said, there may be evolutionary effects that unleash adaptations and formations of new species.

The researchers also looked at the effect of fire on amphibian species, however, the connection between fire and biodiversity in their case was difficult to make, possibly because amphibians live in wetter environments where fires may not be a regular occurrence.

So what accounts for the net positive effects of fire on mammal and bird diversity? The study is a correlative one, Moritz said, so more granular examinations have to be made to find out for sure. But it's likely that fire selects for species that can adapt to and quickly recover from a burn, and fire often creates environmentally complex habitats that meet different species' requirements.

"We know that fire creates a lot of heterogeneity and opens up all these niches," Moritz said, and this resource availability might create favorable environments for some organisms to flourish alongside or over others. For example, animals that have strategies to survive fires or reproduce faster might do better in a fire-prone environment, as could those that make use of different habitats that emerge in the wake of a blaze.

Despite the connection between fire and species richness, the authors are careful to point out it does not mean fire is good for all ecosystems. In places where fire is not a natural occurrence, its presence "is more of a modern threat than an important process to maintain," they said. And for places where fire is a natural part of the ecosystem, climate change-driven and intentional deforestation fires "may be quite different from natural fire regimes."

Nevertheless, they say, these findings indicate that fire plays an underappreciated role in the generation of animal species richness and biodiversity conservation. Furthermore, the study adds nuance to the Latitudinal Biodiversity Gradient, a global pattern of terrestrial biodiversity in which the world's most biodiverse areas are located nearest to the equator, with levels of biodiversity generally decreasing toward the poles.

"This is a pattern that people have known for decades and have argued quite a bit about in terms of what drives it," Moritz said. "And it turns out, it's hard to figure out. And it looks like fire plays a far more important role than we've ever really understood."
How could the fictitious Marvel movie character Ant-Man produce high energy out of his small body? The secret lies in the "transistors" on his suit that amplify weak signals for processing. Transistors that amplify electrical signals in the conventional way lose heat energy and limit the speed of signal transfer, which degrades performance. What if it were possible to overcome such limitation and make a high-performance suit that is light and small but without loss of heat energy?

A POSTECH team of Professor Kyoung-Duck Park and Yeonjeong Koo from the Department of Physics and a team from ITMO University in Russia led by Professor Vasily Kravtsov jointly developed a "nano-excitonic transistor" using intralayer and interlayer excitons in heterostructure-based semiconductors, which addresses the limitationsof existing transistors.

"Excitons" are responsible for light emission of semiconductor materials and are key to developing a next-generation light-emitting element with less heat generation and a light source for quantum information technology due to the free conversion between light and material in their electrically neutral states. There are two types of excitons in a semiconductor heterobilayer, which is a stack of two different semiconductor monolayers: the intralayer excitons with horizontal direction and the interlayer excitons with vertical direction.

Optical signals emitted by the two excitons have different lights, durations, and coherence times. This means that selective control of the two optical signals could enable the development of a two-bit exciton transistor. However, it was challenging to control intra- and interlayer excitons in nano-scale spaces due to the non-homogeneity of semiconductor heterostructures and low luminous efficiency of interlayer excitons in addition to the diffraction limit of light.

The team in its previous research had proposed technology for controlling excitons in nano-level spaces by pressing semiconductor materials with a nano-scale tip. This time, for the first time ever, the researchers were able to remotely control the density and luminance efficiency of excitons based on polarized light on the tip without directly touching the excitons. The most significant advantage of this method, which combines a photonic nanocavity and a spatial light modulator, is that it can reversibly control excitons, minimizing physical damage to the semiconductor material. Also, the nano-excitonic transistor that utilizes "light" can help process massive amounts of data at the speed of light while minimizing heat energy loss.

Artificial intelligence (AI) has made inroads into our lives more quickly than we ever expected, and it requires huge volumes of data for learning in order to provide good answers that are actually helpful for users. The ever-increasing volume of information should be collected and processed as more and more fields utilize AI. This research is expected to propose a new data processing strategy befitting an era of data explosion. Yeonjeong Koo, one of the co-first authors of the research paper, said, "The nano-excitonic transistor is expected to play an integral role in realizing an optical computer, which will help process the huge amounts of data driven by AI technology.

The research, recently published in international journal ACS Nano, was supported by the Samsung Science and Technology Foundation and National Research Foundation of Korea.
Details added (first published: 12:40)

BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. A criminal case has been initiated on the fact of the destruction of tombstones at a cemetery in one of the districts of Baku, the Prosecutor General's Office of Azerbaijan told Trend.

Earlier, a video footage depicting destroyed tombstones at one of the cemeteries has been spread on social networks. As a result of the activities carried out by the staff of the Prosecutor's Office and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Azerbaijan, it was revealed that unknown persons damaged the tombstones at a cemetery located in the Zabrat village of Baku's Sabunchi district.

No reason was yet provided on why the tombstones were desecrated.

A criminal case has been initiated in the Investigation Department of the Sabunchu Police Department under Article 245 (desecration of graves) of the Criminal Code of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Currently, a preliminary investigation is underway. The necessary measures are being taken in order to identify and bring to justice those responsible.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Seismic devices provided by Turkiye are planned to be installed in Azerbaijans Dashalty village near Shusha in June this year, Director General of the Seismological Service Center under the Azerbaijan National Academy of Sciences (ANAS), Active Member of ANAS Gurban Yetirmishli told reporters, Trend reports.

Previously, the Republican Seismic Survey Center said that the installation of a seismic station started near Shusha in January this year.

The center's staff made a trip to Shusha to identify suitable locations for the installation of seismic station equipment. The staff inspected the proposed installation areas jointly with representatives of the relevant public agencies.

The specialists determined the location for the seismic station, and documentation and technical evaluation work kicked off in this regard.

The Republican Seismic Survey Center provides for the installation of 10 integrated seismic and geophysical stations in Azerbaijani liberated areas.

Equipment of the seismic station was donated by the Disaster And Emergency Management Presidency under the Turkish Interior Ministry.
JABRAYIL, Azerbaijan, April 19. Israeli Keshet International company, the global production and distribution arm of Israeli media company Keshet Media Group, plans to make a film about an Azerbaijani soldier who was seriously wounded during the second Karabakh war, Eti El-Kiss, head of the Yentas in the City podcast told Trend.

She made the remark while visiting Azerbaijan's liberated lands as part of the delegation, consisting of representatives from the US and Israel. The main purpose of the trip is to convey information about the history, culture of the country, and its realities to the world community, including the public of Israel and the US.

According to El-Kiss, the film will be based on how eight surgeons from Israel arrived in Azerbaijan in order to transplant the cornea of a soldier who lost his sight. According to the plot, the cornea was donated by a family from Israel.

The representative of the company also said that in the future she would like to re-visit Azerbaijan as part of the next delegations.

El-Kiss also added that it is very significant for the world community to see the beauty of Azerbaijan.
Laman Ismayilova

A Chinese version of the poetry book "You only live once" by Vice-President of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Leyla Aliyeva has been presented in Beijing, China.

The book presentation was co-organized by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, the Chinese Foreign Languages Publishing Administration and the Embassy of Azerbaijan in China, Azernews reports.

Speaking at the event, Vice Editor-in-Chief of the Chinese Foreign Languages Publishing Administration Chen Shi described the book as an excellent example of cooperation between China and Azerbaijan in the cultural and humanitarian areas.

Azerbaijani Ambassador to China Akram Zeynalli said that cultural and humanitarian projects bring the two nations closer to each other and further strengthen ties between the two countries.

He expressed confidence that the publication will allow readers to learn more about Azerbaijani culture, paving the way for the implementation of new projects in this direction.

President of China Poetry Association, an eminent Chinese poet Jidi Majia noted that Leyla Aliyeva's poetry is lyrical and, at the same time, has a deep philosophical meaning.

The first symbolic book copy was presented to the Deputy Culture Minister of Azerbaijan Murad Huseynova.

Next, the students majoring in Azerbaijani language at Beijing Foreign Studies University recited Leyla Aliyeva's poems in Chinese.

It should be noted that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation translated the books of Azerbaijani poets and writers into Chinese for the first time.

On the sidelines of the event, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation Anar Alakbarov has met with Vice Editor-in-chief Chen Shi to discuss issues regarding the translation of the works of other Azerbaijani poets and writers into Chinese in the future.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The Pardon Issues Commission under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan held a regular meeting on April 19, Trend reports.

More than 100 appeals for pardon were reviewed at the meeting. Moreover, in general, about 1,600 appeals have been reviewed to this day.

Following the Presidential Decree of May 27, 2022, as many as 213 people have been granted pardon based on humanist principles as a consequence of reviewing pardon appeals of numerous convicted individuals, and members of their families, the Human Rights Commissioner (Ombudsman) of Azerbaijan, as well as human rights organizations, addressed to the head of state.
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April is Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month

Colleen Allen, AAoM president and CEO

2022 AAoM Gala

Joanna Lofton and her son Edward are thankful for AAoM.

AAoM Autism Hero Walk
Jacom Stephens / Getty Image

The motorist who struck and killed a pedestrian before fleeing down a busy South San Francisco thoroughfare earlier this month was an on-duty BART worker, police said Wednesday.

Joaquin Duarte, 52, was arrested on suspicion of vehicular manslaughter and leaving the scene of an injury collision, according to the South San Francisco Police Department. Duarte is in custody at the San Mateo County jail in Redwood City.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The number of people willing to engage in beekeeping on Azerbaijan's liberated territories this year is more likely to be even greater than last year, Chairman of the Board of the Azerbaijan Beekeepers Association Public Union Badraddin Hasratov told Trend.

According to him, more honey and other bee products are expected to be produced this year.

The chairman said that there are favorable conditions on the liberated territories for beekeeping development.

Hasratov added that currently, Azerbaijani honey is being exported to mainly Arab states.

"During the year, a total of 3 to 5 tons of honey are exported to foreign countries. The cost per kilogram is $60," Hasratov added.

Moreover, he noted that this year there is an increase in the number of bee colonies. "This is enough to meet the needs for honey within the country. Honey prices are not expected to rise in Azerbaijan this year," Hasratov said.
A new late-night street food restaurant founded by a famous South Korean chef has arrived in Oakland.

Hanshin Pocha opened in early April at 4869 Telegraph Ave. in the Temescal neighborhood. Its the first Northern California franchise of a chain of the same name in Korea, run by celebrity chef Baek Jong-won. The restaurant is inspired by pocha, street vendors that originally served food out of covered wagons in Korea and eventually evolved into more permanent, indoor food stalls.

Jong-won is known for hosting several popular Korean food television shows, including Top 3 Chef King, which has a similar premise to the American hit Top Chef. The chef, whose name is sometimes spelled Paik, also starred in Netflixs Paiks Spirit, in which he talks about Korean cuisine over a meal with celebrity guests. Baek Jong-won runs multiple restaurant chains in Korea, including Hanshin Pocha and Paiks Noodle, which also has locations in Santa Clara, Dublin and at H Mart in San Francisco. Hanshin Pochas U.S. presence is steadily growing, with two outposts in Los Angeles and another in Mesa, Ariz.

The owners of Bowld BBQ, a small string of Korean barbecue restaurants in the East Bay, converted their Temescal location into a Hanshin Pocha franchise, said manager John Lee. They felt the neighborhood needed a late-night spot to serve a younger crowd, and they were right: Hanshin Pocha has been packed with college and graduate students and young professionals on weekend nights, often until last call at 2 a.m., Lee said.

A team from Los Angeles and a representative from Korea flew in to train the Oakland staff on the menu, which is the same as other Hanshin Pocha locations. Expect dishes like hanshin tongdak, a crispy, whole fried chicken that servers break down table side; chewy tteokbokki (rice cakes) with seafood; and an entire grilled squid. Hanshin Pochas best-selling dish is spicy chicken feet, which arrive in a bubbling cast iron pot and require gloves to eat. The leftovers can get a second life as fried rice, Lee said. There are also D.I.Y. rice balls: The restaurant gives diners a bowl of rice, dried seaweed and other accoutrements to assemble their own (plus gloves).

This is the kind of food meant to pair with drinks. As such, Hanshin Pocha serves a range of makkoli (a milky Korean rice wine), soju and Korean beers. The new Oakland restaurant is dark and neon-lit; small chairs around small metal fold-up tables re-create the vibe of street food.

Its full of flavor. Its a lot of spicy food. It goes really well with Korean soju, Lee said.

Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more.

The new restaurant marks the latest addition to the Bay Areas Korean food scene, which was long maligned, especially compared to Los Angeles and New York Citys, but has been growing in recent years. If Hanshin Pocha does well, Lee said, the owners will likely open more locations in the Bay Area.
In their fight against pandemic-sparked eviction rules and other tenant protections, Bay Area landlord advocates are wielding an unlikely tool: identity politics.

Last week, landlord advocacy organizations and lobbyists, including In It Together, the East Bay Rental Housing Association, and the Business and Housing Network, demonstrated outside of an Oakland City Council meeting to demand an immediate end to the pandemic-era eviction moratorium and just cause eviction laws. At the rally and during the council meetings public comment period, self-identified landlords repeatedly claimed that the eviction restrictions were a matter of social justice, but in a different way than one might expect.

A lineup of speakers, all BIPOC except for one, testified that tenant protections put their homes in jeopardy and passionately railed against those who can pay (rent) but laugh in our faces. Attendees held up signs displaying the amounts of rent they were owed.

In a statement sent to The Chronicle, Derek Barnes, CEO of the East Bay Rental Housing Association, lamented the political influence of Radical Socialist Progressives, who he said are working to devalue the properties of vulnerable Black, brown, disabled and retirement-age landlords by installing new rules through unvetted policies, using scare tactics, and stealing opportunities to build equity and generational wealth in communities of color.

Salgu Wissmath/The Chronicle

I cant say that Im unsympathetic to the idea that real estate can be a way for marginalized groups to gain equity and wealth in this country, and that Black homeowners especially are caught in a trap of paying extra for housing in less-desirable redlined neighborhoods. Nonetheless, I left the rally with the sneaking suspicion that landlords were finally getting wise to a cynical maxim in the liberal Bay Area  if you dont go woke, youll go broke.

Timothy Thomas, research director of the Urban Displacement Project, acknowledged the stickiness of this issue because, of course, no one wants to see the racial homeownership gap widen. But its worth asking who it would really help to knock down tenant protections.

I dont think it would predominantly benefit Black and brown homeowners per se, he said. Its a question of following the money.

Thats hard to do. Ideally, there would be data to show the real-world impact of the pandemic on BIPOC landlords in the Bay Area, but those statistics are hard to find. Census workforce statistics dont include demographic data about those who collect rental income, and the data available on local landlords were unreliable and statistically unreliable at best, according to Susie Neilson, a Chronicle data reporter.

Thats not a coincidence, Thomas told me. In his decade of studying housing, hes continued to run into this problem. Certain entities, including landlord organizations, dont want you to know. They have all that information, but if its not going to be used for their benefit, theyre not going to release it.

According to the Bay Area Equity Atlas, Black homeownership declined in the past 20 years, from 41% of households in 2000 to 34% in 2019. In 2019, only 40% of the Bay Areas Latino households owned their homes. Both groups constituted the tail end of the spectrum, with white people at 64% and Asian Americans at 60% leading the way in 2019.

Salgu Wissmath/The Chronicle

Shanti Singh, legislative director at Tenants Together, a tenants rights organization based in San Francisco, told me that identity politics has often popped up in local debates over housing, but the numbers dont give those claims much credence in her mind. People of color disproportionately dont own property  thats why were trying to protect them!

In truth, while Bay Area landlord lobbyists are putting BIPOC front and center in their organizing, their parent organizations and affiliates are dominated by large corporate interests run by white people. By its own admission, the East Bay Rental Housing Association is a local affiliate of the National Apartment Association and the California Rental Housing Association, led by executives of multibillion-dollar investment groups and national real estate developers.

In a dramatic case of a snake eating its own tail, Thomas said that whats really exacerbating the homeownership gap is the trend of BIPOC and low-income households being systematically priced out of the housing market, often by the same corporate landlords that are using the stories of aggrieved BIPOC landlords to fight tenant protections.

Salgu Wissmath/The Chronicle

This jockeying for position is part of what philosopher Olufemi O. Taiwo describes as being-in-the-room privilege. In his 2022 book, Elite Capture, he explains how the most well-resourced members of a given group can strip-mine a cultural critique as potent as identity politics in order to bolster and rebrand their own narrower causes, such as better Asian American representation in Marvel films or more LGBT middle managers at weapons manufacturers.

In a healthier political culture, Taiwo said an interview, the racial or sexual demographics of the landlord class wouldnt register the barest blip on our radars. At the end of the day, we can count how many of the people in these communities are gonna be on the nightstick end of evictions and how many are on the portfolio rate of return end. And then well know which way those politics actually cut. Whether we believe the mom-and-pops they trot out at city council, we have our politics, our goals and we wont be persuaded by these cheap political tricks.

This isnt all to say that some landlords havent been harmed during the pandemic. Frankly, everyone has. But making the lives of renters more precarious is far and away the worst solution for the racial wealth gap Ive ever encountered.
I was 12 years old the first time my mother was arrested for selling drugs. It wasnt at an open-air market and it wasnt fentanyl. A sting operation ended with my mom being taken into custody for selling marijuana.

She was in jail for a bit until she made bail, but most of her sentence was served under house arrest. This was not the blessing it might seem. Her

felony conviction derailed her ability to get a job using the accounting degree she returned to school for, and it didnt change her drug habits.

Instead, locked in her home, without the ability to work as an accountant, she developed a pill addiction and later moved on to intravenous drugs. She died from an opioid overdose in 2011.



Her involvement with the criminal justice system didnt just strip her ability to climb out of poverty. It failed to provide her with meaningful rehabilitation and had devastating and long-lasting impacts on her children.

Five years after our moms death, my sister would tell a friend, Im ready to try what my mom chose over me.

This decision altered her life forever. She experienced addiction, homelessness and severe struggles with mental health. She was eventually incarcerated and was offered the option of rehabilitation and intensive in-patient drug and alcohol treatment as an alternative to more jail time. She successfully completed the program, moved into a subsidized halfway house and is now thriving.

This public investment in harm reduction saved her life. And it made me more aware of how progressive justice policies can turn peoples lives around.



As a child of an addict, I learned early on that the police were not there to help my family. The undercover police officer who befriended my mom as a means to arrest her also seized her student loan dispersal, taking away our livelihood for an entire semester. During her entire time navigating the criminal justice system, my mom was never once offered in-patient treatment, counseling, opioid addiction medication like Suboxone or any other life-saving measures. She was a checkmark on a piece of paper. So long as she answered the phone and peed in a cup at the regimented hours, her problems were mine and my sisters to deal with.

What would have saved my mom? Perhaps nothing. But public funding for treatments like Suboxone and intensive in-patient treatment saved my sisters life.

San Francisco is making national headlines over its problems with drugs, crime and homelessness. The Whole Foods at Mid-Market is at ground-zero for these issues, and the company announced it was closing the store after just one year, over what said were concerns for team members safety.

Some blame progressive policies for San Franciscos crime and drug crisis. But, truthfully, we havent meaningfully tried progressive policies. If we did, we would have more robust funding for intensive in-patient drug treatment, social services and enough water, sanitation and emergency housing to meet United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees guidelines for sanitation standards in refugee camps.

I have lived in this city for 14 years, and every time I walk through Civic Center and see the flagrant drug use and misery, Im depressed, saddened and angry. I know from personal experience that shame and incarceration do not work. But I also know that doing nothing is just as bad. Were clearly seeing the repercussions of a city with too few police trying to handle an opioid crisis, homelessness, increased crime and empty downtown offices.

San Franciscos Police Department has had problems, but the defund movement that resonated with many city residents was never just about shrinking the number of officers. It was about moving funds into mental health and drug treatment, and other social services. San Francisco has yet to meaningfully do this. Absent those investments, the decrease in our police force has been accompanied by increased crime and theft  with overworked officers in the middle who have become dehumanized. We are left with the worst of all worlds.

The police are not equipped to deliver life-saving harm-reduction services. But we also shouldnt use them to arrest people just to get them off the streets.

While struggling with drug use and homelessness, my sister was arrested for throwing her trash into a private dumpster. She tried to clean up her trash, rather than litter public roads, but she was still criminalized for being poor.

Do I like the smell of urine and feces as I walk to the bus stop each day? No.

Do I like stepping over trash thats piled up on the sidewalks? No.

But criminalizing poverty isnt the solution.

What police can do is triage emergencies related to drugs, housing insecurity and mental health crisis so that those trained in harm reduction and mental health counseling can intervene. My sister was arrested but was later given the option to receive treatment that saved her life.

The progressive agenda is clear: Fund maintenance drugs and in-patient treatment, create funding streams for social services and provide access to clean water, sanitation and trash disposal for all our residents. We cant blame these policies for the crisis we are experiencing because we havent tried them. And now we are all out of excuses.
Regarding There is a way to house all homeless people in S.F. with respect and dignity (Letters to the Editor, SFChronicle.com, April 18): Michael Stryker proposes from luxurious Kentfield, where the homeless population is probably zero, to house all of San Franciscos homeless in tiny cabins. It will never happen.

First, where are you going to place 8,000 cabins in San Francisco? And even if they are built, good luck getting even 1,000 people to accept. Talk to some of the people who are homeless. They dont want rules, such as when they can come and go, who can visit and stay with them, and restrictions on pets. The likelihood of the mentally ill or those addicted to drugs accepting a tiny cabin is zero.

Here in Seattle, unlike Kentfield, we have chronic homelessness and rampant drug use. There are some tiny cabins here like in San Francisco. We have talked to some of our homeless neighbors, some of whom live in the dirt under a tree with nothing more than a tarp over their heads. They dont do drugs and are not mentally unsound, but they refuse to live anywhere else. This will be the answer from many chronically homeless people.

Building 8,000 tiny cabins is far-fetched and will never happen. The solution? No easy answer, but spend the money on something else that will actually help the homeless.

Scott MacQuarrie, Seattle

My income is my business

Regarding Californians electricity bills could see huge change if PG&E proposal goes through (Bay Area, SFChronicle.com, April 13): Setting rates based on income level would be bad public policy and would set a bad precedent.

How much I make is no business of a public utility. The prospect that a third party be responsible for verifying customers total household incomes fills me with existential dread  everything possible would absolutely go wrong, especially with an entity as tarnished as PG&E. And then theres the thin end of the wedge argument  first they come for my gas and electricity, then my water, then theyre eyeing my property taxes or my rental payments, then the price I pay for gas, then my (fill in the blank).

If Californias elected representatives choose to ease the burden on the less fortunate amongst us by more progressive taxation or straight-out rebates and subsidies, lets consider it. But the idea of unprecedented, involuntary and coercive intrusion between me and a vendor gives me the creeps.

Ian Keay, San Francisco

Feinsteins time is up

Regarding Sen. Dianne Feinstein will leave key Senate committee amid calls for her resignation (Politics, SFChronicle.com, April 11): As an elder, I completely support Rep. Ro Khannas suggestion that ailing Sen. Dianne Feinstein resign now so that Californians need not wait for her retirement to gain stronger representation in the Senate.

There is nothing ageist about Khannas suggestion. Feinstein is ill, and, even so, she has been less effective of late. As a state of 39 million residents, we are already underrepresented in Washington compared, for example, to the 600,000 residents of Wyoming, also represented by two senators.

Nancy Barnby, Menlo Park

No towers by the beach

Regarding Build taller buildings (Letters to the Editor, April 18): Putting a 55-story condo tower in the Sunset District is obscene and will definitely be an eyesore and cast a large shadow that will adversely affect the neighbors surrounding it.

It happened where I grew up, on Missouri Street in the Pacific Beach neighborhood of San Diego 6 blocks from the beach. There was no condo tower there when I left for school. I returned for a visit several years later to see that a 10-story condo tower had been built on a bluff overlooking the beach.

Do not let any condo tower be built in the Outer Sunset. These towers do not benefit anyone but the politicians and the developers. San Diego learned the hard way but was quick to stop wholesale development in the beach area.

Michael Novak, San Francisco
Californias long-running fight over the status of gig workers is going national this week.

One California House Republican who as a state lawmaker led the fight against AB5, the state law that limits when employers can classify workers as independent contractors, will hold a hearing Wednesday to decry the law and efforts to implement similar rules at the federal level. That will take place a day before former California Labor Secretary Julie Su appears before a Senate committee that will decide if she will lead President Bidens Labor Department.

California Republicans have long condemned AB5, passed in 2019, arguing that the restrictions are too burdensome and that the independent contractor arrangement benefits both employers and workers. The Biden Labor Department has proposed federal guidelines similar to AB5 that would reclassify most gig workers as employees entitled to certain benefits.

Congress doesnt play any role in writing or implementing those guidelines, but it could pass legislation to change the underlying law. Republicans are seizing on their House majority to air their frustrations about certain issues.

Rep. Kevin Kiley, R-Rocklin, was a vocal opponent of AB5 while serving in the California Assembly, and is now taking the fight to Washington in a Wednesday hearing. The hearing will highlight overreaching federal policies that discourage work and attack workers, Kiley, who chairs the House Education and the Workforce subcommittee on worker protections, said in a statement.

The House passed legislation in 2020 and 2021 mirroring AB5, known as the Protecting the Right to Organize Act, which focused on using a similar mechanism to allow independent contractors to unionize. Nearly every Democrat voted in favor of the bill both times, but the Republican-led Senate didnt take it up in 2020 and the Democratic-led Senate didnt bring it to a vote in 2022. Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, and Rep. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, said they supported the PRO Act because it would help workers.

Biden endorsed AB5 as a presidential candidate in 2020, and his Labor Department proposed new worker classification guidelines in October. The department solicited comments from the public at the end of 2022. The final step for the guidelines to take effect would be for the department to publish the final rules and outline when they will take effect. The changes, however, will likely be challenged in court.

The implementation of AB5 has followed a tortuous path. After the bill became law in 2020, companies including Uber and Lyft spent $224 million on a campaign to carve themselves out of the requirements, allowing app-based drivers to remain independent contractors, while guaranteeing them some new benefits. Proposition 22 received support from 59% of California voters in November 2020. But it was quickly challenged in court.

Though a state judge sided with the measures union-backed challengers and found Prop. 22 unconstitutional, a state appeals court overturned that ruling in March. Labor-backed organizations plan to seek review in the state Supreme Court and have until the end of this week to file their appeal. If the court grants review, the case could be heard sometime this fall, with a ruling in late 2023 or early 2024.

Su enforced AB5 as Gov. Gavin Newsoms secretary of labor and workforce development until July 2021, when the Senate approved her nomination as deputy secretary of labor. But business groups objecting to the Labor Departments current proposal to classify workers who are economically dependent on their employer for work as employees rather than contractors could pose an obstacle to Sus confirmation as the nations top labor official.

Su is currently acting U.S. labor secretary after the departure of Marty Walsh from the agency in March. As she has been making the rounds in the Senate for confirmation to lead the department permanently, she has been hammered by Republicans for her support of AB5.

The Biden administration is all in on these failed policies, even nominating the architect of the disastrous AB5 law, Julie Su, to head the Department of Labor, Kiley said in a statement. Although the House plays no role in the confirmation process, Kiley has made Sus support for AB5 a centerpiece of his campaign against her, and led a group of seven California House Republicans who urged Biden in a letter not to nominate her.

Every California Republican House member  including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield  later asked Biden to withdraw Sus nomination.

Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher, leader of the California Labor Federation who as an Assembly member wrote AB5, believes their opposition is disingenuous.

Julie Su didnt have anything to do with AB5. Im shocked that its even brought up with her, said Gonzalez Fletcher. She wasnt involved in getting it passed, but by law, she was responsible for some of the enforcement.

As deputy secretary of labor, Su has been directly involved in the process to create federal guidelines similar to AB5.

Su will also likely face questioning about the multibillion-dollar scandal that engulfed Californias Employment Development Department, in which the state improperly paid jobless benefits to fraudsters during the pandemic.

Senate Republicans previously opposed Sus confirmation as deputy labor secretary. She was confirmed on a party-line vote, with 50 Democrats voting in favor and 47 Republicans opposing. Its unlikely that calculus changes with her being up for the top job. Committee Republicans said they had yet to meet with Su as of April 12, according to Bloomberg Law. A White House official said Su has met with both Republican and Democratic senators and has offered a meeting to every member of the committee.

Democrats still hold a majority in the Senate, and unless multiple Democratic senators oppose her nomination, she is likely to be confirmed. Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., however, has expressed deep reservations to the White House about Su, Axios reported. If one more Democrat opposes her or misses the vote  as Sen. Dianne Feinstein has done for every vote since Feb. 17  she would not have enough support to be confirmed.

Bob Egelko contributed to this report.
Republicans may be trying to downplay abortion as an election year wedge issue, but more than half of House Republicans are asking the Supreme Court to allow a lower court ruling banning an abortion pill used by millions of patients to stand.

That included only one California House member: Republican Rep. Doug LaMalfa, R-Richvale (Butte County). House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a Bakersfield Republican, did not sign the brief.

The Supreme Court is considering a request by the Department of Justice to stay a ruling this month by U.S. District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk revoking the Food and Drug Administrations 2000 approval of the abortion pill mifepristone.

The drug, typically used in combination with the drug misoprostol, have been used to end pregnancies through 10 weeks  and very safely for the most part.

More than 5 million people have used mifepristone since it was approved. Complications after medication abortions occur in no more than a fraction of a percent of patients, according to a 2018 report published by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.

LaMalfa joined 124 Republican House members and 24 GOP senators in signing a friend of the court brief filed Tuesday by Americans United for Life. The brief asks the court to keep in place the ruling by Kacsmaryk, who was appointed by former President Donald Trump.

The FDAs unlawful deregulation of chemical abortion drugs subverts Congress public policy considerations and safeguards for patient safety, the brief read.

Unlike many California GOP House members who represent swing districts where abortion rights are popular, LaMalfa doesnt have to fear much political blowback. He represents a district where Trump won 58% of the vote in 2020.

Congressional Democrats submitted their own brief to the court in support of keeping mifepristone available. Signed by 203 members of the House and 50 senators, it said the lower court ruling has no basis in law, threatens the Congressionally mandated drug approval process, and poses a serious health risk to pregnant individuals by making abortion more difficult to access  when access has already been seriously eroded in the aftermath of Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization that overturned the constitutional right to an abortion.
The proposed 55-story residential tower out near Ocean Beach and the San Francisco Zoo is many things, including wildly out of place. The initial design is ludicrous, not alluring.

But that doesnt make the scheme the first head-scratching proposal for how the city and its surroundings ought to grow.

Dozens of awkward extrusions have flared up and then fizzled in the decades since World War II started waves of growth that only recently have tapered off. Many had the support of their eras powers that be, and some had their strong points. But not even the best of them would have made this a better place to live. More likely, the opposite.

If you think Im being melodramatic, then follow me on a six-stop tour of Big Dreams that never came to pass. And count your blessings.

Environmental Design Archives, University of California

Tear down the Ferry Building!

What would you think about tearing down the Ferry Building and replacing it with a nine-block mega-development at the foot of Market Street? One modeled on Rockefeller Center and intended to be no less than the most worthwhile major project in the annals of the development of the West?

A bit excessive, perhaps?

Not to the Port of San Francisco, which in 1948 announced its desire to replace the then-moribund landmark and its neighbors at the foot of Market Street with an ill-defined World Trade Center. The mayor and the governor were on board. So was The Chronicle, which enthused that the City Hall-blessed scheme would be a monument to San Franciscos future.

Fortunately for us, the boosters never made a convincing case for why an oversized economic enclave was needed. The idea sputtered along for five years, but the Ferry Building was safe.

Chronicle file illustration

The monster in Marin

The concept for Marincello didnt seem outlandish in the early 1960s, at least by the standards of suburban sprawl: Take 2,100 acres of empty ranch land and fill large swaths of it with enough housing to hold 20,000 residents.

But heres the thing: That land was situated directly north of the Golden Gate Bridge, just west of Highway 101 along the narrow roads heading out to Muir Beach. Marin County signed off on the plan. Construction began on an entrance at Tennessee Valley Road before lawsuits by opponents brought things to a halt. Years of litigation later, and with the environmental movement gaining influence, developers agreed to sell the land to the National Park Service.

Yes, we need housing in the 21st century Bay Area. People who have fought growth over the decades have made things much, much worse. But a big part of what makes our region so seductive and liveable are natural attributes like the Golden Gate National Recreation Area  of which Marincello is now a part.

Chronicle file illustration

Bad pitch, good outcome

Before there was the Giants ballpark on China Basin, San Francisco voters were asked to let the team build a ballpark on Mission Creek.

Specifically, where Mission Creek first appeared above ground, west of Interstate 280s tangle of overhead ramps.

Close call.

The 1987 proposal was touted as the only way to keep the Giants in the city. We have the financing, said then-Mayor Dianne Feinstein. And if the wind blows toward the fences at Seventh and Townsend, let it blow only when the Giants are up to bat.

The winds of fate had other other ideas, and voters turned down the sketchy proposal by 11,000 votes. The team changed hands in 1991 and the new owners built the now-beloved jewel box on King Street  where the view beyond right field includes sparkling bay waters, not gridlocked commuters.

Katy Raddatz/The Chronicle 2007

The skys the limit?

No question, this tower conceived by the architects at Skidmore Owings & Merrill was tres cool  a futuristic take on the Eiffel Tower with a lattice of structural steel spinning upwards from a broad base and concluding with a translucent cone. In between? Offices, housing and a hotel. It also would have risen 1,375 feet  thirty stores higher than Salesforce Tower, the current occupant of the site. No plaza at the bottom, but the base would be punctured by a rectangular passage 70 feet wide and 103 feet tall.

This air of gargantuan glamor isnt why Skidmores supertall plan fell short during a public competition in 2007 for the Mission Street block between Fremont and First street: For starters, the developer Hines bid $200 million more for the site than Skidmores client. Now imagine if it had been built; the tower might have dazzled on the skyline, but it would have been deadly on the ground.

C.Y. Lee Partners

Four bores by the bay

There is nothing wrong with the idea of placing four, 18-to-22-story towers just south of China Basin, as was proposed by one of the four teams that vied for what then was a parking lot when the Port offered it to developers in 2008.

Unless, that is, the idea is to place the quartet atop a four-level parking podium covering roughly 20 acres. The main ground-level entrance would be by car; the podium would be cloaked by immense landscaped berms intended to appear from at least three sides that there has been a hill created by nature.

This weird throwback to 1960s urban renewal, complete with stodgy rectangular slabs, never had a chance. The winner was the Giants, which with developer Tishman Speyer is well along on the first phase of what is now dubbed Mission Rock. Trivia note: The financial backers of the quartet included Lehman Bros.  the Wall Street heavyweight that collapsed a few months later and triggered the Great Recession.

Courtesy George Lucas

Bad luck for Lucas

The next time you visit Presidio Tunnel Tops, that 12-acre park spilling down from the Presidios Main Post to Crissy Field, imagine how much better your experience would be if a gigantic, mock-Spanish temple stood alongside you to the west.

Thats what Star Wars creator George Lucas wanted to build back in 2013 when ideas were sought to remake the former commissary site on Old Mason Street by the Presidio Trust, which manages the unusual Army post-turned-national park. He wanted to house his private collection of digital and narrative artwork in what would be named the Lucas Cultural Arts Museum, and he had support ranging from tech bigwigs to Nancy Pelosi.

Not everyone was a fan, however, and the notion of a big lumpish box with a design based on the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition raised hackles with people who saw it as misplaced kitsch. The Trusts board took a deep breath and ended the competition. Lucas is now building his dream museum in Los Angeles. Somehow, the Presidio has survived.
UPDATE: Newsom directs CHP and National Guard to combat drug dealing in city

Gov. Gavin Newsom and state Attorney General Rob Bonta walked around the Tenderloin and SoMa on Wednesday morning, joined by Mayor London Breeds chief of staff and others, in a previously undisclosed visit focused on the fentanyl crisis.

Overdose map: Tracking San Franciscos drug epidemic

The governors spokesman said the visit was a Cabinet meeting that Newsom conducts periodically.

He does this from time to time, spokesman Anthony York said in a statement. Has had the full Cabinet out and then focusing on an issue pressing to the state. A couple months ago, it was Wood Street encampment (in Oakland) and talking about homelessness. Today, theyre talking fentanyl mostly.

The mayors spokesman, Jeff Cretan, confirmed that Bonta and Newsom were in town but deferred to the governors office for details on their visit.

The Tenderloin and South of Market are the epicenters of the citys drug and homeless crises, with people dealing and using drugs on sidewalks. New numbers show a 41% jump in overdoses in San Francisco in the first three months of this year compared with the same period last year. Two hundred people died in those three months from accidental drug overdoses, new data shows, with the vast majority of deaths involving fentanyl.



Recently, San Francisco politicians have been asking for outside help to handle the situation.

SFNext is Chronicle coverage devoted to the city's most vexing problems. To become involved: Send feedback, ideas and suggestions to sfnext@SFChronicle.com

Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin sent letters to Newsom and U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi last week asking them to send federal and state help to improve street conditions. Peskin said Wednesday he had not received a response from the governor. Breed sent a letter earlier this month to the new U.S. attorney for the Northern District of California asking for his partnership to prosecute drug dealing.

The Twitter account JJ Smith, which shares videos of interviews with people who are homeless and using drugs, posted footage at 11:46 a.m. of the group walking down Ellis Street. The person recording the video asks Newsom what he will do about the fentanyl epidemic.

Thats why were here, Newsom answered as he continued walking down the sidewalk. What should I do, JJ? What do you want?  You can tell me what we need to do. Thats why Im here.



The pair later took a selfie, which was also posted on Twitter.

The Get Involved calendar Search for public meetings on top San Francisco issues so you can add your voice.

Last month Newsom announced his administration was in discussions about making its own naloxone through CalRx, the states prescription drug initiative. Newsom said the state intends to make both injectable and nasal spray versions of the drug, which is used to treat opioid overdoses and is known by the brand name Narcan.

In his budget for the coming fiscal year, Newsom has proposed spending an additional $97 million to combat the opioid crisis, most of which would pay for distribution of naloxone. His budget also includes $3.5 million to provide the overdose drug for middle and high schools. Newsom has promised to send naloxone to schools that need it.

Chronicle writer Sophia Bollag contributed reporting.
San Francisco Fire Department

A person was hospitalized in critical condition Wednesday afternoon after being injured in a fire that broke out at a San Francisco apartment building, fire officials said.

The San Francisco Fire Department said the victim was still at the hospital being treated for serious injuries shortly after 4 p.m. A second victim of the fire was treated and released at the scene, the department said.
Mayor London Breed opposes a $50 million funding request for a potential new City Hall office that would be in charge of implementing reparations for San Franciscos Black community.

But Breed did not say Tuesday where she stood on any of the dozens of specific actions that a committee has recommended San Francisco take to make reparations a reality, including potential cash payments. Instead, Breed suggested she would have more to say after the committees recommendations are finalized this summer.

Supervisor Shamann Walton introduced legislation last month that would appropriate $50 million from the citys general fund reserves this fiscal year to set up an office of reparations within the city government and begin implementing actions in the committees final report due in June. With support from fellow progressive Supervisors Dean Preston and Hillary Ronen, he made the request after supervisors held a public hearing about the draft report on actions the city can take to address harms Black residents experienced because of the legacy of slavery and systemic racism.

SFNext is Chronicle coverage devoted to the city's most vexing problems. To become involved: Send feedback, ideas and suggestions to sfnext@SFChronicle.com

Walton, who represents the Bayview, where a large portion of the citys Black population lives, said the money could also pay to set up a database that the city could use to decide who is eligible for reparations.

But Breed told Walton during a question-and-answer session at Tuesdays Board of Supervisors meeting that she has no plans at this time to support his $50 million request. That means Walton may need to get support from a veto-proof majority  eight supervisors, including himself  to get the funding approved this year.

Its not yet clear if Walton has enough support to make that happen. He told The Chronicle in a text message after Breeds comments that he still hoped to get support from Breed and all of my colleagues. He expressed optimism that his legislation would be heard in committee shortly.

The reparations committees wide-ranging draft report recommended more than 100 different actions, including the possibility of $5 million lump-sum payments to an undetermined number of eligible recipients. Those potential payments have been panned by national conservatives and deemed infeasible by multiple supervisors, especially in light of San Franciscos budget constraints. Amid lower-than-expected property and business tax revenue due to the citys weak recovery from the pandemics economic impact, San Francisco currently faces a $780 million two-year deficit.

The Get Involved calendar Search for public meetings on top San Francisco issues so you can add your voice.

Breed did not address Tuesday whether she supported the potential cash payments  or any of the dozens of other recommended actions the report suggested for improving financial, educational and health disparities.

I look forward to receiving those recommendations once they are finalized and (will) make it clear in regards to my support at that time, Breed said.

The mayor did emphasize her support for the Dream Keeper Initiative, a program she and Walton spearheaded in 2020 to steer tens of millions of dollars away from law enforcement and into programs that support the Black community. Breed on Tuesday touted a list of the initiatives accomplishments, which included hundreds of thousands of dollars provided to prospective home buyers through a down payment assistance loan program, almost $3 million awarded to new businesses and the launch of nine new Black-led child care centers.

These are the kinds of opportunities we can create in our city, and we are right now, Breed said. I know that we are facing serious challenges with our budget this year, and difficult decisions will need to be made. However, I also know that these kinds of investments are having a tremendous impact in our community, and we can continue to invest in programs that are clearly working while the work to finalize the reparations report continues.



Breeds spokesperson Parisa Safarzadeh said in a statement that the mayor has historically invested in San Franciscos black community and is committed to those investments, calling the Dream Keeper Initiative a good example of her work.



We are facing a $700+ million budget deficit and an uncertain economic future, which means its a challenging time for new programs, Safarzadeh said. We remain focused on the Mayors top priorities, including programming that already exists and does a good job serving our communities.



Chronicle staff writer Mallory Moench contributed reporting.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The 3rd meeting of the Joint Commission between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Israel was held in Baku, Trend reports referring to the tweet of Azerbaijan's Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov.

"In the course of the session of the Joint Commission between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the State of Israel, we considered issues on the agenda of the bilateral economic cooperation: promotion of trade relations and investments; cooperation directions in the field of environmental protection; and application of innovative technologies, digital economy," said the minister.

According to the State Statistics Committee of Azerbaijan, the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Israel totaled $450.03 million from January through February 2023.

Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover increased by $863.1 million (7.91 percent) from January through March 2023 compared to the same period of the previous year, from $10.9 billion to $11.7 billion.
San Francisco supervisors agreed Tuesday to accept $1.7 million in state money originally slated to pay for one public toilet that will now  after considerable backlash  pay for a whopping two toilets.

Despite the unanimous vote, several supervisors said theyre not sure city bureaucrats have wiped clean their propensity to inflate costs and wrap projects in pricey red tape  even after this column broke the news that a small, single stall toilet planned for the Noe Valley Town Square was projected to cost $1.7 million.

While a donated modular toilet brought down the cost of the Noe Valley loo by a lot, the city says toilet No. 2, planned for Precita Park in Bernal Heights, could still cost $1.4 million, consuming the rest of the state grant.

We all remember the $1.7 million toilet at the Noe Valley Town Square. The price was so outrageous that the media started calling it Toiletgate, Supervisor Joel Engardio earnestly told his colleagues. Now, Im worried were heading to Toiletgate 2.0. Now, were talking about a $1.4 million toilet in Precita Park. Thats not much of an improvement.

But since the alternative was to reject $1.7 million in free money, the supervisors agreed to accept it  and to also accept the donated, modular toilet for Noe Valley.

The commode kerfuffle began in October when Assembly Member Matt Haney planned a potty party in Noe Valley Town Square to announce winning a $1.7 million state grant to fund a long-sought small bathroom there. But when this column questioned how any toilet could cost as much as a single-family home with multiple bathrooms, Haney pulled the plug on his own event.

And Gov. Gavin Newsom joined the outrage train, announcing he was putting the state funding on hold until San Francisco could prove it could build a toilet without flushing so much money down the drain.

Thats when Chad Kaufman, president of the Public Restroom Co., smelled an opportunity. He offered to donate a modular toilet to the Noe Valley Town Square. And his buddy, Vaughan Buckley, CEO of Volumetric Building Cos., said hed give free architecture and engineering support to prepare the site. The men also said theyd fund the installation and hire local, union workers for the job.

In January, the Recreation and Park Department announced it would accept the donation, worth $425,000, and spend $300,000 to hire a landscape design firm to create construction illustrations depicting building details, site improvements and mechanical, electrical and plumbing work.

The department said it would use the rest of the state grant to install a modular toilet in Precita Park. That was apparently good enough to persuade Newsom to release the $1.7 million in state money even though other California cities, including Emeryville, have installed toilets in their public parks for far less. A spokesperson for Newsom didnt return requests for comment.

A document created by the Recreation and Park Department and provided to the supervisors before their vote showed installing a modular bathroom in Precita Park would cost $1.4 million  $840,000 in construction costs and $560,000 in soft costs. A spokesperson for the department told me that number was incorrect and the grant might pay for both that bathroom and leave leftover money to begin to build future modular restrooms in our parks.

But Supervisor Hillary Ronen said her understanding is that the $1.4 million estimate is correct and that itll be so expensive because theres no plumbing infrastructure in Precita Park. Still, she said, shes glad that itll get built because desperate park users are urinating on neighbors front doorsteps.

It does feel like you could build a whole house for that much, Ronen lamented, adding its unclear when it will get built.

I asked Ronen if the city had learned anything from Toiletgate. She sighed.

Let me put it this way, she told me. More so than ever, all city leaders are looking to bring prices down and to eliminate bureaucracy and other impediments that drive prices up.  But theres a long way to go, as you know.

Haney said the saga of the Noe Valley toilet should be a lesson for the citys political leaders and bureaucrats.

San Francisco has to be able to get the basics right, he said. I hope this was a wake-up call to dramatically overhaul the citys contracting process that leads to things costing so much and taking so long.

Supervisor Rafael Mandelman said the bathroom brouhaha showed departments propensity to opaquely bill each other for work, duplicate efforts and craft budgets even they acknowledge arent accurate.

It makes it really hard to figure out what the cost of government actually is, he said.

Still more layers of cost come from well-meaning, yet ineffective ideological decisions like the citys ban on contracting with companies in 30 states in hopes of changing those states laws on voting rights, abortion rights and LGBTQ rights. Supervisors might overturn that program soon after city studies showed its driven up costs for San Francisco and done nothing to change other states laws.

We almost need an Office of Dismantling Well-Intentioned Ideas, Mandelman told me before the toilet vote.

Lets just hope it doesnt require its own bathroom.
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Bay Area travelers hoping to visit the South Island of New Zealand will soon be able to fly there directly from San Francisco for the first time, according to United Airlines.

Starting Dec. 1, the airline, which has a hub at San Francisco International Airport, will offer what it says is the first direct flight between the U.S. and New Zealands South Island, departing from San Francisco for Christchurch three times weekly.
Temperature whiplash is in the cards for California this week. The cold weather system thats been sitting over the Bay Area will fizzle by Wednesday afternoon, leaving the door open for an area of high pressure thats been building hundreds of miles away in Mexico.

Weather models are forecasting that the warm air from that high-pressure system will expand into Northern California by Friday. And depending on the timing of its arrival, parts of the Bay Area could potentially reach 80 degrees for the first time this year.

The return of warm, dry air

Weather models are favoring that this high-pressure system will tap into the warm air over Mexicos Chihuahuan Desert. The center of the high-pressure system is looking to expand into West Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and Southern California by Wednesday afternoon and into the second half of the week.

Residents in Los Angeles and San Diego will experience an uptick in daytime temperatures, rising 2 to 3 degrees around that time. Once the center of the high-pressure system spreads by Thursday, residents in Southern California can expect 5 to 7 degrees of warming.

This leap in temperatures is looking to reach the Bay Area and most of Northern California around Friday, where the Sacramento Valley and the inland cities of the Bay Area  like Walnut Creek and San Jose  have a good chance of experiencing the first 80-degree day of the year.

Baron/Lynx

On Friday, Santa Clara, San Ramon, Livermore and North Bay valleys all have the highest chances of surpassing the 80 degrees. Thats assuming that the high-pressure system is able to stomp out the sea breeze that normally forms around 1 p.m.

The European weather model is still leaning on the idea that Fridays sea breeze will reach the coast and curl into the bays and delta early on in the day. The rush of cool air in that scenario would be just enough to shave off some of the warmth from the high-pressure system, raising a few clouds and keeping temperatures in inland valleys below 80. But if the high-pressure system manages to expand into Northern California on Friday before noon, then that might just stomp out the sea breeze and any coastal clouds in time for inland temperatures to rise to the lower 80s.

Wednesday breakdown

San Francisco: Stray patches of fog are likely to hang around west-facing hillsides before sunshine burns it off this morning. Mostly sunny skies are forecast for the rest of the day, but the cold air over the city should keep temperatures below 60 degrees on the west side.

Expect upper 50s for highs this afternoon across most of the city, though lower 60s could develop east of Sutro Tower, particularly over Dolores Park and Noe Valley. Cool winds will then pick up after 2 p.m., gusting to 25 mph by the water. These winds will clear out any remaining 60s by late afternoon.

Cold nighttime weather returns tonight as winds calm and temperatures fall to the lower 40s downtown and mid-40s by the water. A few pockets around Twin Peaks and Mount Davidson could fall to 39 degrees overnight, depending on how quickly winds die off.

Peninsula and Pacific Coast: Foggy weather will be possible this morning along Highway 92 between Half Moon Bay and San Mateo, including some of the foothills facing the I-280 corridor south of San Andreas Lake. Most of the fog is likely to burn off before 9 a.m.

Look for daytime temperatures in the upper 50s along Highway 1 between Half Moon Bay and Pacifica as cool winds churn by the water. These winds are likely to gust to 25 mph after 2 p.m., keeping temperatures in the upper 50s along the San Bruno Gap  including Daly City, Millbrae and San Francisco International Airport. Residents south of Millbrae along the 101 corridor will be shielded from the bulk of these winds thanks to the hillsides and mountains in San Mateo County. This will allow temperatures to reach the lower 60s in Redwood City, Foster City and Atherton.

Cold nighttime weather returns tonight as winds die down and temperatures plummet to the mid-40s along the coast and bayside and lower 40s across the rest of the Peninsula. A few pockets of the hills and mountains, like Borel Hill and Sierra Morena, could drop to the upper 30s.

North Bay: Aside from foggy conditions on the Mayacamas Mountains this morning, residents across Marin, Sonoma, Napa and Solano counties can look forward to sunny skies.

Cool winds are looking to pick up after 1 p.m. this afternoon, gusting to 30 mph in Point Reyes and Bodega Bay. Some of these winds will curl into San Francisco Bay, reaching Tiburon, San Rafael and Novato, keeping daytime temperatures along the bays in the lower 60s. The cooling effect is likely to spread north into the Santa Rosa, Napa and Petaluma valleys in the afternoon, leading to highs in the mid-60s.

Very little of that breeze will make it to the delta in Solano County, meaning Vacaville, Fairfield and Vallejo can look forward to daytime temperatures in the mid- to upper 60s by the afternoon. Temperatures are then looking to take a nosedive tonight. A cold air mass and clear skies will lead to nighttime temperatures in the mid-40s in the bays and delta and upper 30s to lower 40s in the inland valleys.

East Bay: Residents in the Oakland and Berkeley hills have a chance of seeing some fog before 9 a.m. this morning, while rounds of stratus  or high fog  will be possible over the Diablo Range. Sunnier skies will return by the midmorning and stay for the rest of day.

Despite the afternoon sunshine, daytime temperatures are looking to only reach the lower 60s in Richmond, Albany, Oakland, Alameda and most of the I-80 and I-880 corridors. A cool bay breeze is slated to arrive by 1 p.m., cooling the region right before peak heating hours. Some of the breeze will reach the Contra Costa County side of the delta, but temperatures will likely reach the mid-60s in Concord, Pittsburg and most of the San Ramon and Livermore valleys  including Walnut Creek and Dublin.

Colder weather returns after sunset as clear skies, calm winds and a frigid air mass overhead bring temperatures to the lower 40s by the water and upper 30s in the hillsides and inland valleys.

South Bay and Santa Cruz: A cool breeze off the Pacific Ocean will curl into Monterey Bay on Wednesday, keeping afternoon temperatures in Capitola, Soquel, Watsonville and Aptos in the upper 50s. Some of this breeze will likely make it into the Santa Cruz Mountains and the 101 corridor between Morgan Hill and Gilroy, shaving temperatures just enough to stop daytime highs from surpassing the upper 60s.

The Monterey Bay breeze isnt looking to arrive in the Santa Clara Valley. Instead, residents in San Jose can expect a cool breeze off San Francisco Bay, with winds gusting to 25 mph in Milpitas and North San Jose. Look for daytime highs in the lower 60s north of the Berryessa BART Station and over in the eastern foothills of the Santa Clara Valley, while residents in the rest of the valley can expect upper 60s.

Temperatures across the region are then looking to plummet tonight as winds die down and cold air from higher levels of the atmosphere pools into the valleys. Expect nighttime lows in the mid-40s by the water and upper 30s to lower 40s inland.
Technology

spotlight

Wilson Sonsinis first chief innovation officer is excited  and worried  about AI

Wilson Sonsini David Wang, chief innovation officer of Wilson Sonsini.

David Wang was named Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosatis first chief innovation officer three years ago.

The timing was significant. Wilson Sonsini, a Palo Alto-based law firm, has dealt with many of Silicon Valleys and technologys biggest legal questions and battles over the past 60 years.

And these battles are bound to get bigger and more complicated as tech faces new waves of innovation. A major one that Wang has been focused on is the recent AI frenzy sparked by the introduction of ChatGPT late last year.

Its an exciting trend but one that has triggered serious concerns. Last month, a group of more than a thousand technology leaders signed an open letter calling for a pause in the development of ChatGPT.

Wang doubts that the call for a pause will work, but acknowledges that serious issues must be addressed with the rapid advance of AI.

Im most worried that were going to sleepwalk into something that we havent been thoughtful about, he told The Examiner this month.

In a recent interview, Wang also discussed how the Silicon Valley law firm has adapted to changes in the industry, including the rise of cloud computing and the push toward digitization and the rapid, if unsteady, growth of crypto.

This interview was edited for clarity and brevity.

What does it mean to be the chief innovation officer of a major Silicon Valley law firm? Its a relatively new thing in the industry as a whole and this firm in particular. I actually founded the position at the firm. I was a former practicing corporate lawyer advising technology companies and startups before taking on this role. So Im responsible for our technology strategy. Im kind of like a head of product. Its weird to say that when youre in a traditional enterprise, not a tech company, but because there are so many technology solutions that are being deployed, some of them we buy and some of them that we build ourselves, you have to have this product roadmap and concept baked in. So Im in charge of that at the firm.

Can you describe the conversations about this role when you pitched the idea? Why is there a need for such a role at this time? Here in the valley, were at the forefront of things that happen in the industry. We incorporated Google and took Apple IPO [public]. We fought Elon for Twitter. This is the bread and butter of what we do. Because our clients are all technology oriented, we see the trends first. The trend very clearly is the digitization of work, increasing automation within that digitalization, and the use of data, machine learning and artificial intelligence.

Youve been with the firm for almost 10 years. (Wang joined the firm in 2014 as an associate.) What has been the most jarring change youve seen in tech in the last decade? There are kind of rolling waves in my world. The biggest thing that is jarring is the ubiquity of digitization now.

A clear example of that is electronic signatures, right? Thats a great example. Before the pandemic, we still had many investors, especially on the East Coast, who say, Oh, we dont do digital signatures. After the pandemic, we still run into them. I just had one the other day, an investor from the Middle East. We have a digital platform now to handle early stage companies work and it uses DocuSign integrated signatures. We couldnt close this transaction because they [said], We want wet signatures. So we have to figure out a way to do that. Its very uncommon, but it still happens.

The introduction of ChatGPT in November clearly changed the conversation around AI. What are the biggest legal issues that you are grappling with? Its fascinating. Were on the forefront of the legal issues that are entailed with it, one of the biggest examples being intellectual property.

Were in this classic peak of the hype curve right now, where theres a lot of folks trying to figure it out. And theres a lot of these fear-based attempts to sell things.

Nobody really understands exactly what the impacts are going to be. Its probably going to be years, if not decades, of reckoning with this technology. This is almost akin to the transition from paper to email. Its one of those things that is not going to be escapable in any corner. Whether or not and how it impacts and changes the habits and the motions of an industry  I think those things are still very much to be decided. We are obviously interested in keeping abreast of whats going on and being at the forefront of what makes the most sense for us and our clients.

Do you have a personal view, or does your firm have a position on the call for a pause in the development of AI? We definitely dont have a position on this. Ill give my personal opinion on it. I think the thought is coming from the right place. I understand the concerns in the market. But to be realistic, I dont know how you implement something like that.

If you look back at the history of

OpenAI as well as a lot of these other companies working on large language models, there have been very serious conversations on this axis and very passionate visionaries and innovators that kind of go both ways on it. One of the dynamics that youre already seeing now is that because these large language models are being introduced into the market, the foot race is now on.

Things are moving very quickly. And the concern is that because of the race for commercial dominance, the VC community is uniformly aligned that this is going to be the next big thing at the moment. So the [questions about this] Gold Rush [include]  is it going to produce these problematic social effects that were not even going to be able to recognize, let alone deal with for years to come, but is going to become the de facto norm of how things are done before regulatory or any kind of understanding can happen? I think thats the concern.

Would you say the challenges and the fear of AI are greater than those involving crypto? I think so. Aside from blockchain, crypto itself, I think most people saw that as a financialized problem. When people talk about the risks of crypto, it is primarily the risk of speculation, the risk of leverage. I didnt think it would rise to a scale to produce systematic risks, but that debate is still ongoing.

With Generative AI, its a new type of problem. I dont know how many emails were forwarded to me when [ChatGPT] passed the bar exam or was in the top 10% of test takers. Thats because it had a certain type of information it was being trained on. But as the pool of data that its being trained on gets bigger and bigger, I think its going to get better substantively. The real question is this: How do you know and how do you trust it? And how do you build a system in which you can know and trust it?

What do you say to critics who are worried about that dilemma? It would be foolish to ignore the promise of all that could be possible, given this capability, just because today we dont have a good way of figuring that out. But on the other hand, it must be something we figure out.

Its a really exciting time in technology. With the excitement comes fear. The thing that I always come back to is that these are tools. Humans use tools. Youre worried about, Oh, AI is going to take my job. Thats not how it works.

Someone using AI will take the work. That person driving it is going to outcompete you for the work. It is going to do a better job for your client, your customer. Faster, cheaper, whatever way.

Theres not going to be a Terminator that shows up to your office and goes, Hey, youre gone. Im gonna sit in your chair.

For everybody whos involved in any industry that is impacted, I think people should react to this as I need to learn about this. I need to harness this power. How do I do that in a safe, responsible and effective way?

Thats my job: to help my company go through that journey. In boardrooms across America, all these conversations are being had. But frankly, the level of knowledge and understanding for traditional industry is still low compared to what you would see in the valley.

What are the lessons from past innovations like the rise of the web 3.0 in terms of how things could go wrong? As you said, AI is exciting, but theres a lot of fear. Whats that saying I like? You have to live your life forwards, but you only understand it looking backwards.

Smart, forward-thinking businesses are going to be proactively thinking about and trying to shape what that outcome is versus just reacting and going wherever the tides take them.

The kind of automation and the increasing capabilities of automation through artificial intelligence will devalue the things that it can easily automate but, at the same time, increase the value of things like relationships, your ability to understand your client and adapt. For example, a lot of the things we deal with are first impressions, novel legal issues. No model is going to have that because theres nothing to train on.

Not yet. Whats exciting and scary about these new models is theyre going to fix that. Even the style and language, the human touch can be improved on, right? Yeah. If youre thinking about it from a commercial perspective, its the people that are making these economic decisions, at the end of the day, are human beings. Theyre going to be thinking about how to best maximize their human capital and their managers in business by utilizing these tools. This is going to guide the direction of commercialization for these tools and how people intend to use them.

I completely agree that a lot of the things that people are focused on as problems with these larger language models today are going to be resolved one way or the other. It might take a few years. It might take a few more years. But its going to happen.

How confident are you that those conversations are taking place or will be taking place? I think the people thinking about it correctly are already deep in those conversations. Im not going to be the person that goes out banging the drums like, Hey, everybody. I think theres plenty of that happening already.

What are you most worried about? What keeps you up at night about this issue? Im most worried that were going to sleepwalk into something that we havent been thoughtful about. The whole world is thinking about this, and were at the very tip of the spear here in the Valley. Its going to take a very long time for [the changes] to become societally understood. By that time, I dont know what the ground is going to look like.

At the same time, I dont think we can let our fear drive us because the promise of what can be done with this technology is so obvious. People are going to be using it one way or the other. And so its on us to work hard to understand and learn about it and master it is the best we can do for each other.

One last question. What has been the most difficult question to answer from a family member about AI? What is the right major for my kids? I give a lot of talks at law schools these days. The questions will be like: Will I have a job? What do I do to make my job more safe from this kind of thing? And I dont have a good answer. Its too early to tell. But people are fooling themselves if they think that theres not going to be any impact.
A 48-year-old California mom accused of throwing alcohol-fueled sex parties for her teenage son and his friends asked a judge in a preliminary hearing Monday whether the length of her prison time would change if she switched her plea from not guilty to guilty as charged, the Mercury News reported.

Shannon OConnor, dubbed party mom by the media, has been sitting behind bars since she was arrested in October 2021 on suspicion of throwing parties for her teenage son and his friends.

OConnor is facing 39 criminal counts of felony child abuse, sexual assault, providing alcohol to minors and other crimes. Prosecutors alleged in charging documents that the mother threw large, wild parties in the Silicon Valley town, where she served alcohol to high school students and encouraged the teenagers to have sex, some of which may have been nonconsensual.

She bought vodka and Fireball whiskey, provided condoms, and discouraged the teens from telling their parents about the parties or calling for help when one of them passed out in their own vomit, the Santa Clara County District Attorneys Office said in a news release. The parties were held across an 11-month period spanning from 2020 to 2021 and were mainly attended by 14- and 15-year-olds, the prosecution said.

While locked up at Elmwood Correctional Facility in Milpitas without bail, OConnor was attacked in October 2022 by five female inmates who beat her with their hands and kicked her, according to court documents obtained by KRON.

OConnor originally pleaded not guilty, but on Monday, the defense inquired about a plea change.

MediaNews Group/The Mercury News/MediaNews Group via Getty Images

In every criminal case the defendant has the right to ask the judge for an offer in exchange for an as-charged guilty plea, Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Rebekah Wise, a prosecutor in the case, told SFGATE. Our goal at this time is to provide the judge with all the relevant information about the case so that she indicates a just and appropriate sentence.

OConnor is due in a court again Friday; Wise said victims and witnesses will be making statements from the podium in the audience, providing additional information for the judge to consider before proposing a plea deal.

Legal expert Steven Clark told the Mercury News that its not uncommon for a defendant to request a plea change, and the defense is likely hoping a judge will appreciate OConnor accepting responsibility and be more merciful, and given shes already spent a year and a half in the county jail, it could get her closer to a release date rather than having to wait to try her case.

OConnors lawyer, Brian Madden, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
LATEST April 19, 1 p.m. The man who was fatally shot while confronting a shoplifter at a Home Depot on Tuesday was identified by officials on Wednesday as Blake Mohs, 26, of the Tri-Valley.

Mohs was a loss-prevention employee at the store, as well as a well-known member of the community who was involved in local youth programs and had planned to get married this summer, according to the update on the Tuesday shooting from the Pleasanton Police Department.

In the investigation, detectives learned that Mohs confronted a female shoplifter who resisted and shot him shortly after 2 p.m., police said.

Police said suspect Benicia Knapps, 32, fled the store and got into a getaway car with a male suspect, David Guillory, 31, behind the wheel. Knapps child was also inside the vehicle, police said.

Less than 20 minutes after the shooting, the deputies with the Alameda County Sheriffs Office detained Knapps and Guillory, and the child was released to relatives.

Mohs is survived by his parents, brother and fiancee, police said.

I am devastated by the loss of Blake Mohs in yesterdays senseless shooting, Mayor Karla Brown said in a statement shared by police. Through his service to Tri-Valley organizations, Blake was a model for others. To have a life cut short is heartbreaking and infuriating.

April 19, 7:35 a.m. A worker at a Bay Area Home Depot died after being shot as he was trying to stop a shoplifter inside the store Tuesday, officials said. Two suspects are in custody, according to the Pleasanton Police Department.

Police dispatch received a report at 2:15 p.m. of a man bleeding at the Pleasanton Square Shopping Center store at 6000 Johnson Drive, and officers rushed to the scene, the department said. Officers provided medical aid, and the man was taken to a local hospital. KTVU reported that the man died hours after the shooting.

In an email to SFGATE, Home Depot identified the man in a statement as a sales associate named Blake. The company wrote, Were heartbroken over this senseless tragedy.  Our hearts go out to his family and everyone who knew and loved him.

At the scene, witnesses told police that the man attempted to stop a theft in progress, wherein a struggle ensued, and the man was shot, according to the police report. Witnesses also said the suspects sped off in a car. Only 15 minutes later, deputies with the Alameda County Sheriffs Office stopped a vehicle that matched the description near the 7000 block of Ney Avenue in Oakland and detained the suspects, according to the report. Police told the East Bay Times that two suspects, a man and a woman, were apprehended.
Sydney West was last seen at San Franciscos Crissy Field approaching the Golden Gate Bridge shortly before sunrise on Sept. 30, 2020. New information has now revealed that the 19-year-old UC Berkeley student was captured on surveillance video that morning disappearing into the fog near the crowded bridge.

Due to the location of her last known sighting, some believe she may have died, but Wests family says everything doesnt quite add up.

First off, it was 6:45, roughly, in the morning. Extremely crowded. It was foggy, but she kind of disappears into the fog, Scott Dudek, a private investigator representing the family, told Fox News this week. You would think if somebody went and crawled up on the rails with all those people and bike riders, somebody would have either called  or somebody would have tried to talk to her and try to come forward with all that publicity, and that never happened.

There were a lot of people on the bridge that morning, so thats what continues to baffle us, Wests mom, Kimberly West, added.

Its not clear exactly where the surveillance footage, which has not been share with the public, was taken. Dudek told Fox News that in addition to the fog, there was significant wildfire smoke on the SF Bay that day, further obscuring the footage of West. (The Bay Areas infamous Orange Day, during which the skies were dimmed due to smoke from Oregon wildfires, occurred just weeks earlier.)

Courtesy the West family

The Golden Gate Bridge is a known suicide spot. According to the Bridge Rail Foundation, approximately 2,100 people have ended their lives at the iconic tourist destination. At the time of her disappearance, the San Francisco Police Department stated that West was considered at risk due to depression. SFGATE reached out to SFPD for further comment Wednesday but had not heard back at time of publication.

West reportedly took a ride-hailing service to the Golden Gate Bridge that morning. The driver cooperated with SFPD and is not believed to be a suspect.

Originally from California, Wests family moved to North Carolina and lived there at the time of her disappearance. West moved back to the Bay Area to attend her first year at UC Berkeley in 2020. But due to the coronavirus pandemic, and a concussion sustained earlier that summer that limited her ability to use screens to study virtually, West had deferred her studies to the fall of 2021, and was living with friends in the Bay Area when she went missing.

West is 5-foot-10 and weighs 130 pounds, with light brown hair and blue eyes. She was last seen in dark leggings, a teal hoodie and Vans sneakers with a tropical print on them. Her hair was in a bun on top of her head. She may have been carrying a black backpack, her family said on a website highlighting the case. West reportedly last contacted her family the evening before in a lengthy phone call with her father, Jay West. The family says her father fully expected to speak with her the next day.

Courtesy the West family

Lots of people have been like, Well, its obvious what happened. She was on the Golden Gate Bridge,' Jay West told Fox News. But  her being my daughter and knowing how she feels about her sister and about her family and all of the things that she was looking forward  I just find it [hard to believe] she would just leave all of that.

Anyone with any information on Wests disappearance is asked to call SFPDs 24-hour tip line at 415-575-4444.

If you are in distress, call the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day at 988, or visit 988lifeline.org for more resources.
NEW ORLEANS (AP)  A Louisiana energy company has reached a tentative $3.1 million settlement with the federal government over a 2017 Gulf of Mexico oil leak.

The agreement, called a consent decree, was filed in federal court in New Orleans on Wednesday following the filing of a lawsuit earlier in the day.

The settlement said the company does not admit to liability in connection with the leak of about 16,000 barrels (about 672,000 gallons or 2.5 million liters) of crude oil from a site about 40 miles (65 kilometers) southeast of Venice, Louisiana. The suit against Covington, Louisiana-based LLOG Exploration sought compensation for costs incurred by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in assessing the damage.

A December 2019 report by the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement attributed the oil spill to a failed connection device, known as a jumper, at an underwater well head. The leak of oil is believed to have begun on Oct. 11, 2017 and lasted at least 32 hours, according to the lawsuit. The leak wasn't detected for several hours, according to the report, which included recommendations that the industry improve leak detection methods.

The lawsuit doesn't detail any environmental damage. At the time of the spill in 2017, the Coast Guard said the leaked oil was not expected to reach the shore.

LLOG didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit, sent via its website Wednesday. There will be a public comment period before the agreement is approved, according to court documents.
Californias superbloom is out of this world.

Bursting swaths of yellow, orange and purple wildflowers have come to life on satellite and aerial images taken in recent weeks by the European Space Agency, NASA and San Francisco-based aerospace company Planet Labs. The stunning pictures from hundreds of miles above the Earth show fields upon fields of colorful superblooms across various spots in Central and Southern California following record winter precipitation.

We are seeing a crazy amount of flowers, but not necessarily all over California, Yoseline Angel, postdoctoral researcher at Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, told SFGATE in a video call. There are certain, specific places where youll be able to see these superblooms. Those include the Antelope Valley California Poppy State Natural Reserve outside of Lancaster, Carrizo Plain National Monument west of Bakersfield and Walker Canyon at Lake Elsinore.

The last major superbloom in California happened in 2019. Smaller blooms are taking place across open spaces in the state, including some of Californias national and state parks. While sites like Joshua Tree National Park and Pinnacles National Park are seeing average blooms, other places, like Death Valley National Park, wont see a superbloom this year  the cookbook ingredients just werent there this winter, park officials said.

Its like following a recipe, Angel said. It requires a unique combination of certain factors. Factors including consecutive dry years preceding the blooms, wildflower species that demand a certain amount of rain, soil conditions, a rise in temperature from winter to spring, and humidity. The heavy rain could also [deter superblooms]. If its too much [rain], then the seeds arent going to be happy with this amount of water. It has to be a specific amount of water and temperature together to get it right.

Mario Tama/Getty Images

The sites where superblooms are occurring clearly have the right factors, to the point where satellites are capturing the flowers from space. Planet Labs satellites operate at an altitude of more than 300 miles. In NASAs case, the stunning imagery came from airborne equipment and high-tech cameras aboard the International Space Station.

Theres more to the images beyond showcasing how large the superblooms are this year. NASA plans to use the pictures and data collected to further study climate change, behavior of pollinators like bees, and future agriculture yields, among other items critical to the planets environmental health. Its an incredibly dense data set, Dana Chadwick, scientist with the Jet Propulsion Laboratorys water and ecosystems group, said.

One of the nice things about using satellite data, you can get a picture of where geographically these things are happening year after year now, Chadwick explained. You can think about where these things are occurring or where in space they are happening. Its important for so many reasons.

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by the European Space Agency

Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel data (2023), processed by the European Space Agency

Truly diverse in nature, superblooms involve a variety of flowers.The California poppy takes most of the headlines. But this years blooms include other favorites, such as owls clovers and cream cups in the Antelope Valley reserve, and orange fiddlenecks and goldfields at the Carrizo Plain National Monument.

Visit soon as the region is beginning the downside of peak bloom, the 2023 Theodore Payne Foundation Wild Flower Hotline said of the bloom at Carrizo.

The superblooms have drawn increasingly larger crowds over the years, amplified by the rise of social media and influencers. The biggest blooming events are known to sometimes bring in hundreds of thousands of visitors, even causing traffic jams in hard-to-reach places like Death Valley National Park. This year, local officials in Lake Elsinore preemptively closed trails and viewpoints in an effort to protect the flowers themselves and avoid another so-called poppy nightmare.

Other places have taken to zip lines as an environmentally safe way for tourists to see superblooms up close and personal.

Its not going to go away anytime soon because theres this overall interest in outdoor recreation and conservation in general, said Daniel Winkler, research ecologist for U.S. Geological Surveys Southwest Biological Science Center in Tucson, Arizona. Winkler co-wrote a paper published in 2020 analyzing how climate extremes shape biological and cultural life with events like superblooms. I personally love those before-and-after photos that show the dramatic change, whether its visible from space or its the before-and-after on the ground from the superbloom area.

Planet Labs PBC

He said the rise in superbloom interest has been a boon for Americas deserts and rarely visited public lands.

Theyre actually full of life and filled with these adorable species that have evolved over millions of years, just like any other animal or plant on Earth, Winkler said. These deserts are valued by scientists because we get to understand the world we live in, but most of these superblooms are happening on public land. There are tons and tons of tourists going to deserts to capture them for selfies or experience them in their own unique ways.

Even as researchers continue to study superblooms and their lasting impact on the world, scientists welcome the increased attention.

I think one of the things thats really nice about it is that its a natural thing that people get really excited about, Chadwick said. Its these events that are causing people to be more aware of their environment and taking care of their environment.
After hearing from scores of Asian American residents staunchly opposed to a new cannabis dispensary that would be located near a preschool, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 to allow the project to move forward.

The new dispensary, called the Green Mirror, would be located on the second floor of the Gold Mirror Italian restaurant on Taraval Street. The dispensary project received a conditional use authorization from the city's Planning Commission earlier this year, but was controversial from the get-go. In a heated February meeting, Planning Commissioner Rachel Tanner suggested community opposition was based on "misinformation on cannabis and used to target certain communities," specifically Black and Latino Americans.

A group of residents sought an appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to green-light the project, and a Change.org petition titled, "Pasta, Not Pot: Stop The Gold Mirror Cannabis Dispensary," was launched in February. The board heard the group's appeal on Tuesday.

Those opposed to the dispensary were mostly worried that it would be located near Happy Day Preschool, as well as the fact that the Planning Commission's initial approval allowed for onsite consumption of edibles. A very large group of residents, mostly elderly Asian Americans, spoke at the meeting to raise their concerns. It's not an exaggeration to say that the phrase "protect the children" may have been said upwards of 50 times during the meeting.

Many of the speakers required translators, which led to a handful of particularly blunt quotes, such as, "San Francisco has already been approving too many permits for dispensaries, please help us," and "marijuana does not do any good for us and is causing problems in San Francisco."

SFGov TV

District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, who represents the area where the dispensary would be built, pushed the board to adopt a motion that would disapprove of the Planning Commission's original approval, but grant a new conditional approval with concessions. Those concessions included the prohibition of edible consumption at the site, a one-hour reduction in hours of operation and a requirement that only one entrance be used for cannabis deliveries.

Board President Aaron Peskin seemed to imply that Melgar ceded too much to the residents, asking how it makes sense that the dispensary must close at 9 p.m., when nearby stores that serve alcohol, another "mind altering substance," can remain open longer. Melgar replied that it was "an attempt to come to consensus in negotiation."

Another issue that prompted discussion was a city rule prohibiting dispensaries within 600 feet of a school. However, the city's relevant laws define "school" as starting with kindergarten, meaning Green Mirror technically can open despite its close proximity to Happy Day Preschool, which serves younger children. Melgar said she did not want to punish the business for how rules were written when it began the approval process. District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio, meanwhile, said the "spirit of the law" meant that the dispensary should not open, and he voted against the project for that reason.

The board ultimately approved Meglars new conditional use authorization for Green Mirror, with only District 2 Supervisor Catherine Stefani and Engardio dissenting. Once the board vote was taken, the group of citizens who spoke in favor of the appeal promptly retreated from the board chambers.

From here, the project will need to obtain authorization from the San Francisco Office of Cannabis. As of Tuesday evening, the office's website said Green Mirror's application was processing.
ROME (AP)  A Texas-born princess who lives in a Rome villa containing the only known ceiling painted by Caravaggio is facing a court-ordered eviction Thursday, in the latest chapter in an inheritance dispute with the heirs of one of Romes aristocratic families.

Princess Rita Jenrette Boncompagni Ludovisi, a widow formerly known as Rita Carpenter, was still holding out at the Casino dellAurora on Wednesday night, awaiting what she expected to be the arrival of Carabinieri police in the morning. With her are her Ukrainian housekeeper Olga, and the housekeeper's daughter and two young grandchildren who fled Kyiv last year after Russia's invasion.

In January, Rome Judge Miriam Iappelli instructed Carabinieri police at the Via Veneto station to evict her, accusing the princess of having failed, among other things, to maintain the home in a good state of conservation after an exterior wall crumbled. With the warning time now up, the decree calls for police to evict anyone still living there, take possession of the property, change the locks and dispose of or destroy any furniture or documents left behind.

The house, located off the swank Via Veneto, has been in the Ludovisi family since the early 1600s. After Prince Nicolo Boncompagni Ludovisi died in 2018, the villa became the subject of an inheritance dispute between the children from his first marriage and his third wife, the San Antonio, Texas-born Princess Rita, whom he married in 2009.

The children have argued that the home, built in 1570, belongs to them, that their grandfather intended for them to inherit it and that their late father abused them and mismanaged his fortune. They have mounted a multi-pronged legal campaign to get control of the property so it can be sold.

One of the children, Bante Boncompagni Ludovisi, took to Twitter on Wednesday to praise Iappelli's eviction order and assert the children's right to the villa and its contents.

The widow Boncompagni Ludovisi says she and her husband worked diligently to restore the villa as best they could, adding that she has tried to negotiate with her late husband's children. In a statement provided to The Associated Press on Wednesday, she called her imminent eviction unexpected and unjust.

What a brutal ending to my beautiful life with my beloved Nicolo, she wrote.

The eviction order marked the culmination of a bitter inheritance saga that simultaneously saw the villa put on the court-ordered auction block last year and assigned a court-appraised value of 471 million euros ($533 million). After the minimum bid of 353 million euros ($400 million) failed to get any takers in the first auction, the price was progressively lowered in a series of successive auctions, with more scheduled until a buyer is found.

The villa, also known as Villa Ludovisi, is famous for the Caravaggio that graces a tiny room off a spiral staircase on the second floor.

It was commissioned in 1597 by a diplomat and patron of the arts who asked the then-young painter to decorate the ceiling of the small room being used as an alchemy workshop. The 2.75-meter (9-foot) wide mural, which depicts Jupiter, Pluto and Neptune, is unusual: Its not a fresco, but rather oil on plaster, and represents the only ceiling mural that Caravaggio is known to have painted.

The American princess previously was married to former U.S. Rep. John Jenrette Jr. of South Carolina.
Home health care provides a beneficial alternative to living in an assisted living home, enabling people to age in place. Who are the best candidates to benefit from home health care, and what type of services are typically provided by home health care agencies?

Home health is a rapidly growing segment of the health care industry due to the demographics of an aging population and increases in chronic disease. These factors, further exacerbated by the pandemic, have created a greater need for comprehensive home-based care for people of all ages, including those in pre- or post-operative settings, or for those who need special attention, ongoing care, and assistance due to disability, frailty, age or chronic illness.

Trends are pointing toward people wanting to stay at home or age in place, particularly after the pandemics disproportionate impact on residential care settings, said Jonathan Davis, founder and CEO of Trualta, a training platform for family caregivers.

Davis cited an AARP survey revealing that most over 50 adults  77%  would prefer to age in place and remain in their current home for the long term if possible.

Home health includes a variety of services for patients of all ages and conditions. Not all home health agencies provide all types of health services. Therefore, its important to research the various agencies to determine which services they are qualified and approved to provide, according to Joanna Fuller-Crawford, registered nurse, M.B.A., CEO and co-founder of Perfect Care Nursing, a home health agency providing personalized in-home care across metro Atlanta.

As compared to a nursing home or assisted living facility, where each caregiver may handle up to 20 patients, home health offers a much more dedicated level of care and undivided attention, provided you hire a reputable home health company. After a varied nursing career including stints in emergency care and kidney care, Fuller-Crawford enjoys seeing the benefits of one-on-one attention with her agencys clients each day.

We have some clients who have been with us for more than 10 years. I enjoy building the one-on-one relationships with our clients and seeing the outcomes were able to provide for people who need a special level of care.

In addition to standard long-term care for patients of all ages who need assistance, home health may also offer the following types of care.

Pre- and post-operative care

Some home health agencies provide care for patients who have care needs on a pre-or post-operative basis. This typically requires additional training and certifications for the clinicians to be able to provide the level of care needed for a post-surgical patient.

Dementia care

Caring for a patient with dementia or Alzheimers can sometimes be accomplished via a home health agency or private home health provider. However, once the patients dementia has progressed too far, they may require a full-service assisted living facility with a memory care unit. According to Cloud Conrad, a metro-Atlanta-based Certified Dementia Caregiver Trainer and Mentor, and author of The Dementia Field Guide, many dementia patients require inpatient or onsite care, but if the following circumstances apply, home health may be a viable option:

 A home health assistant or loved one can be present to provide care coverage at all times.

 A loved one can be present regularly, if not daily, to monitor living conditions and quality of care.

 Resources such as groceries and household supplies can be provided regularly for caregivers to prepare.

 The person with dementia has been denied admission to assisted living/memory care based on violent or threatening behavior.

 The person with dementia has few or no health risks requiring acute care.

 Loved ones and unpaid caregivers need a periodic break from caregiving for vacations or other trips, work or volunteer commitments, or simple respite from the demands of dementia caregiving.

Respite care  short-term/part-time care

According to Fuller-Crawford, home health agencies can be a helpful resource for much-needed respite care, to give family caregivers a break from the rigors of caregiving.

One important factor for selecting a service or facility for respite care is finding one that can provide consistency with the normal routine, she said.

She cited one example of a client who didnt want to take their loved one to a facility because they were concerned that hed be overmedicated. By choosing home health for respite care, the patients family can more easily manage and oversee their loved ones care and ensure that they are treated in a way that is consistent with their typical daily care.

Respite care can be provided in the home via a home health agency or private provider, or via a facility such as a senior daycare.

Additionally, home health agencies may provide a traveling caregiver to accompany your family on vacation so that you can take your loved one with you, and still maintain some flexibility to enjoy the trip.

Some clients even ask us to attend to their family member while they are hospitalized, Fuller-Crawford said. They want their family member to have extra attention while theyre in the hospital, especially if they cant be there with the family member. We can send a caregiver to the hospital to attend to the patient during their stay to provide personalized attention.

Hospice care

Hospice care is an entirely different type of care that is provided as a patient nears the end of their life. While some home health agencies may also provide hospice care, hospice care is typically provided by a health system, hospital, or an agency that specializes in end-of-life care. Hospice care can be provided at home, in a hospital, or in an inpatient hospice facility. Hospice does not provide life-sustaining treatment, but provides comfort and hygiene during a terminal patients final days, weeks, or months of life.

Hospital at home

Hospital at Home, or HaH, is another separate model of in-home care that is designed for more acute patients. Hospital at home is a newer, emerging model of home-based care that brings hospital-level care into the patients home. Most typical home health agencies do not provide Hospital at Home services, which are provided by agencies and services that specialize in hospital-level, HaH care.

Home health and Hospital at Home... are different models of care and serve different needs, said Rami Karjian, CEO and co-founder of Medically Home.

Hospital-at-home provides hospital-level care in patients homes often using resources not  typically  used in Home Health (such as) X-ray, EKG, IV Infusions all at home. Hospital-at-Home care is a studied model used around the world to bring hospital-level care for patients with serious or complex illnesses, (which is) different than home health support for chronic, non-acute conditions, to patients in their homes. These patients otherwise would have required a bricks-and-mortar hospital admission to receive the needed care, Karjian said.

Getting started  do your research

The options of agencies and caregivers can be overwhelming  how do you know if youre hiring a reputable home health agency to care for your loved one? Fuller-Crawford said that checking reviews and references is a good first step. She also recommends checking with the state board to make sure that the agency is in good standing and properly licensed to provide home health care services and confirm that the agencys license hasnt been suspended or revoked for any reason.

For dementia home care you may want to seek specialized experience with dementia patients, according to Conrad.

When looking for a dementia caregiver for the nonmedical aspects of home health care, those with any kind of certificate from an evidence-based dementia training program might be given preference over others, she said. First-hand experience caring for a loved one or working in a memory care unit is also a plus, but doesnt guarantee the applicant has received evidence-based training.

Conrad added that evidence-based dementia care training is available locally through the Virtual Dementia Tour offered through Second Wind Dreams, headquartered in Roswell, Georgia, which helps caregivers learn what its like to live with dementia through virtual reality simulation technology.

Research is also important for budgeting purposes. Be sure to research all the options for reimbursement from health insurers, as well as government programs.

The state of Georgia provides several waivers for in-home care for children and adults which can help minimize your out-of-pocket costs for care, said Fuller-Crawford. These programs include Georgia Access Point and Structured Family Care.

Whether your insurance will help cover home health care depends upon your circumstances and your health insurance plan. Fuller-Crawford said she has some clients who are paid for via Medicaid and Medicare, some who are paid for in part by private insurers, and other clients who are self-pay. Home health costs range from $25-$27 per hour, according to Fuller-Crawford, and can be structured around your budget and the hours needed. Before hiring home health care, be sure to research your insurance coverage as well.

In addition to government aid or insurance coverage to help with the cost of home health care, Fuller-Crawford advises families to work out a schedule that involves a rotation of family members alternating with hours served by professional home health care. Not all families have the availability to help with the care, but if your family does, this will reduce the cost by allowing family members to cover as many shifts as possible, and decrease the number of hours you have to pay for home health care.

Comprehensive care plan

Once youve decided upon a home health service thats right for you and your family, your home health agency will work with you to devise a comprehensive care plan to cover the hours, schedule, services, preferences, and needs, within your familys budget. Every home health agency should have at least one RN on staff to oversee the caregivers and provide supervision when necessary, according to Fuller-Crawford. This RN or a medical director or other senior clinician should be involved in developing the care plan for your loved one.

The care plan will help determine which type and level of caregiver is needed for your case, which will depend upon the level of care required. The services provided range from basics such as dressing, assisting with meals and feeding, rotating or repositioning, and hygiene and bathing, to providing medications, wound care, or tracheostomy management. The level of care needed will dictate whether you need an RN or licensed practical nurse to provide a higher level of care, or if a certified nursing assistant, patient care assistant, home health aide, or companion-level of professional will suffice for the care needs of the patient.

2023 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Visit at ajc.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
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The Supreme Court's action Friday regarding a key drug used in medication abortions may leave many women wondering: What does this mean for me?

On Friday, the court preserved access to mifepristone, which is used in the most common form of abortion in the U.S., by rejecting lower-court restrictions while a lawsuit continues.

The courts action stands to leave access to mifepristone unchanged at least into next year, as appeals play out. Meanwhile, doctors, clinics and telehealth providers are taking steps to ensure theyll still be able to offer abortion care in the future.

For patients, theres been confusion about whether or not they can access their appointments, said Dr. Becca Simon, a family medicine doctor in Pennsylvania who provides abortions. Were trying to just calm people.

IS THE USUAL TWO-DRUG TREATMENT STILL AVAILABLE?

Yes. People can still get medication abortions using mifepristone from doctors and clinics in states where it was available before the rulings.

Medication abortion, which accounts for more than half of all abortions in the U.S., typically involves two drugs: mifepristone, which blocks progesterone, and misoprostol, which wasnt affected by the various rulings. The two-drug combination is also used to treat miscarriages.

There are no new restrictions on mifepristone at the moment.

Still, abortion providers have been devising backup plans in case mifepristone is eventually taken off the market. That could include switching to a slightly less effective one-drug regimen using only misoprostol.

HOW SAFE IS MIFEPRISTONE?

Doctors and clinic operators worry that the decision earlier this month by a federal judge in Texas blocking the Food and Drug Administration's approval of the medication  and media coverage about it  have led some people to question the drugs safety.

The language in the opinion that was used is very, very disturbing, said Texas OB-GYN Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi.

Mifepristone, approved by the FDA in 2000, had been used by more than 5.6 million women in the U.S. as of June 2022, according to the agency. Medical groups say complications occur at a lower rate than with routine medical procedures such as wisdom teeth removal and colonoscopies.

In an amicus brief filed in the Texas case, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the American Medical Association and other medical organizations said when mifepristone is used as part of the two-drug regimen, serious side effects occur in less than 1% of patients. Major problems such as significant infection or hospitalization occur in less than 0.3% of patients.

Mifepristone is one of the most studied medications prescribed in the U.S. and has a safety profile comparable to (the over-the-counter pain drug) ibuprofen, they wrote.

As with any drug, there can be side effects. The most common ones include nausea, weakness, fever, chills and headache. Patients are also told to call their health care providers right away if they have heavy bleeding or abdominal pain.

HOW CAN YOU GET MIFEPRISTONE PILLS FOR AN ABORTION?

From clinics and doctors in places abortions are allowed.

Medication abortions are not available in places where all abortions are banned. Thirteen states effectively ban it at all stages of pregnancy, and one when cardiac activity can be detected. Courts have blocked bans throughout pregnancy in five other states, and one, Georgia, where abortion is forbidden once cardiac activity can be detected.

If abortion is banned in a state, patients seeking one cant legally get the pills there through telehealth from any state or through the mail, said David Cohen, a Drexel University law professor. They can, however, travel across state lines to visit abortion providers in person or have telehealth appointments from within states where abortion is allowed.

Telehealth rules also vary. Six states that have not banned abortion  Arizona, Indiana, Nebraska, North Carolina, North Dakota and South Carolina  have requirements for at least one trip to the clinic, according to a February report from KFF.

WHAT ABOUT THE ONE-DRUG ABORTION OPTION?

Many abortion providers say they are considering a misoprostol-only protocol if mifepristone becomes unavailable at some point. Medical experts say its a safe option, and can also be used to treat miscarriages.

But many doctors say it's not ideal. The two-drug combination is about 95% to 99% effective in ending a pregnancy. Used alone, misoprostol is less effective. Some research rates it around 85% effective, although other studies say its closer to that of the two-drug combination. Some doctors said misoprostol-only abortions can sometimes be more painful than abortions done with both drugs.

In-office abortion procedures also remain an option.

Simon, the Pennsylvania doctor, suggested people keep checking in with their clinics  which will still have options for them regardless.

___

The Associated Press Health and Science Department receives support from the Howard Hughes Medical Institutes Science and Educational Media Group. The AP is solely responsible for all content.
The former owner of a Connecticut behavioral health agency was sentenced Monday after she defrauded Medicaid of thousands of dollars, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice.

Kelly Ann Stutzman, now of Rindge, N.H., entered a plea of nolo contendre in state Superior Court in Hartford to health insurance fraud. The DCJ said she was found guilty Monday and was ordered to pay $63,764 in restitution.

Judge David P. Gold sentenced Stutzman to a three-year suspended jail sentence and five years of conditional discharge. In addition to the restitution, he ordered Stutzman not to act as a provider in the Medicaid program, which provides health coverage to low-income and disabled individuals, according to the DCJ in a news release.

"By being found guilty of a program-related felony, the defendant also is subject to mandatory exclusion as a health care provider to certain federally funded health programs pursuant to federal and state laws and regulations," the DCJ said.

An investigation by the Office of the Chief State's Attorney's Medicaid Fraud Control Unit determined that, between March 2016 and December 2019, Stutzman, a professional counselor and the former owner of K-Assist LLC, submitted behavioral health services claims she did not perform. Instead, these services were provided by interns and unlicensed people, "yet Stutzman was billing as if she provided licensed qualified services herself," according to the DCJ.

"Stutzman also billed for services while clients were inpatient or in skilled care facilities and services were not performed," the DCJ added.

The U.S. Attorney's Office also said Stutzman and her business, K-Assist LLC, entered into a civil settlement agreement and paid more than $234,000 to "resolve allegations that they violated the federal and state False Claims Acts."

Under the False Claims Act, the government can recover up to three times its actual damages, plus penalties up to $27,000 for each false claim, the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The civil settlement reimburses the Medicaid program for conduct occurring from February 2018 to August 2019, the U.S. Attorney's office said.
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SHELTON  The Board of Ethics took no action against Mayor Mark Lauretti, accused by a former mayoral opponent of ethics violations in relation to a developers proposed plans for the mayors land.

David Eldridge, who ran unsuccessfully against Lauretti in 2021, filed a formal complaint with the city's ethics board, accusing the mayor of violating two sections of the Code of Ethics and one section of the City Charter, saying the potential development is a conflict of interest given Lauretti's role as mayor.

Last week, the Board of Ethics deliberated in executive session for nearly 40 minutes before exiting and stating there would be no further action. The ethics board has sent the completed minutes with this decision to Eldridge and the Board of Aldermen.

As per ethics policy, the Board of Aldermen will have this decision on a future agenda.

From the start I had no faith in this board since they havent met in over three years ... that in itself tells a tale, said Eldridge, who received the meeting minutes Monday afternoon.

He criticized the board for rendering a decision in less than 40 minutes, saying they didn't do "the right thing, even when the statue and charter spells it out."

"Its in black and white, and there is no in between, Eldridge said.

Eldridge said the ethics board backhanded the mayor in the process because it didn't clear the charge; it just took no action.

Board of Ethics Chair Thomas McGorty declined to comment on the ethics decision.

Lauretti had called the complaint frivolous and told Hearst Connecticut Media on Monday he was not surprised by the outcome.

Laurretti said other claims and lawsuits filed against him over the years also "never went anywhere."

The complaint stems from recent reports that Lauretti had an agreement to sell his land at 390 Shelton Ave. to a developer who has proposed building 16 homes on the six-acre lot that presently has a single-family dwelling.

Lauretti recently confirmed to Hearst Connecticut Media that he has an agreement to sell that property to Bridgeport-based B-Wizz, LLC. He purchased it for $204,000 in 2017. Lauretti has said the homes will sell for anywhere between $700,000 and $750,000 once completed, but the deal is contingent on zoning approvals.

The development, titled Oak Hill Estates, received approval from the Inland Wetlands Commission in December and was filed with the Planning and Zoning Commission the same night as the ethics hearing.

Eldridges complaint called on the Board of Ethics to investigate the process through which this development plan entered the application phase and if there was ever a written disclosure filed with the town clerk with regards to (Laurettis) financial interest, as required by the ethics code.

I didnt disclose (my name) on the front of the (wetlands) application, but it is public record that I am owner of the property, Lauretti had told Hearst Connecticut Media.

The complaint also said Lauretti violated the section of the code that states no city official can participate in any business or transaction, or shall have an interest, direct or indirect, which is incompatible with the proper discharge of his official duties  or would tend to impair his independent judgment or action in the performance of his official duties.
Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman returned to work on Monday at the U.S. Senate.

His vehicle pulled up to the Capitol at 2:30 p.m., and he got out wearing his familiar attire of a hoodie, gym shorts and sneakers.

He didn't take any questions from reporters, only saying, "It's great to be back."

Fetterman has been away from the Capitol for two months after he checked himself into Water Reed Medical Center in February to be treated for depression.

Fetterman was discharged on March 31 and spent the Senate's Easter break in his hometown of Braddock, Pennsylvania.

The 53-year-old senator's doctors now say his depression is "in remission."

His staff also confirmed Fetterman has been fitted for hearing aids to help with an auditory processing disorder he has had since suffering a stroke last year. He has also used closed captioning technology.



Difficult time to be away

A political analyst at George Washington University described the impact of Fetterman's absence after only a short time on the job.

"It put a lot of burden on the learning curve, which is a very, very tough thing for a new senator. The procedure, the way of the hill, the norms, the traditions, there's no school for that, and it's usually learned on the job. So, when you're not there, you're not learning it. And it puts a huge burden on his staff to carry out the functions of his office, to carry out the constituent service demands, to carry out the messaging, to carry out the partisan interests of the state and those constituents," Casey Burgat said.

Agenda

On Wednesday, Fetterman is expected to chair his first subcommittee hearing on nutrition assistance as well as the Senate farm bill.

Previous hospital stay

Fetterman spent two nights in a hospital the week before he checked into Walter Reed. He had been feeling light-headed.

The senator underwent tests, which ruled out another stroke, and there were no signs of a seizure.

Senator suffered stroke last year

Fetterman suffered a stroke in May 2022 while on the campaign trail. It happened just days before the primary election.

At the time, Fetterman's wife, Gisele Fetterman, said her husband was well on his way to a full recovery.

After the stroke, Fetterman had a pacemaker put in. And since the event, he has had difficulty speaking and understanding speech.

In an October 2022 senatorial debate against Republican Mehmet Oz, Fetterman struggled at times and spoke haltingly.

Fetterman defeated Oz in the general election on Nov. 8, 2022. He won 51.2% to 46.3%.

Statement from doctor

A few weeks before the general election, Fetterman released a statement from his doctor about his health.

Dr. Clifford Chen said Fetterman was "recovering well" and that in a recent office visit, the then-candidate "spoke intelligently without cognitive deficits." Chen also said Fetterman had no work restrictions and could work full duty in public office.




WASHINGTON  Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, on Tuesday said that he and other Republicans would not allow Democrats to temporarily replace the ailing Sen. Dianne Feinstein of California on the Judiciary Committee, raising new questions about how her party will be able to move forward with Senate work without her.

Pressure is mounting for Feinstein, 89, who was hospitalized with shingles in February and has announced she will not seek reelection in 2024, to resign now. Her prolonged absence means Democrats will be unable to advance President Joe Bidens judicial nominees and could be short of a vote on other crucial matters, including action expected to be needed in the coming months to raise the debt ceiling to avert a catastrophic default.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., the majority leader, said later Tuesday that he still planned to move forward with a request to replace Feinstein temporarily with Sen. Benjamin L. Cardin of Maryland. But the move would take the unanimous consent of the Senate  or at least 60 votes  and McConnell made it clear that would not happen.

Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees, McConnell told reporters. The sentiment was echoed throughout the Republican conference.

It was the latest indication of how polarized the chamber, and particularly the issue of judicial nominees, has become.

Responding to pressure from members of her own party to resign, Feinstein said last week she would not do so. Instead, she requested a temporary replacement on the panel, offering no timeline for her return.

I spoke to Sen. Feinstein just last Friday, Schumer said. She and I are very hopeful shell return soon.

As lawmakers trickled back to the Capitol after a two-week recess, Democrats pleaded for Republicans to show compassion to a colleague some of them have served with for decades.

Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., chair of the Judiciary Committee, tried to appeal to a sense of decorum that once prevailed in the Senate, particularly when it came to matters of age or infirmity.

It just boils down to this, Durbin said. Tomorrow this could happen to the Republicans, and they could find themselves in a vulnerable position through no fault of their own. I hope that theyll show a little kindness and caring for their colleague.

Faced with a situation in which there were no good options, some Democrats viewed the stalemate as a way to coax Feinstein to consider her next steps.

If this goes on month after month after month, then shes going to have to make a decision with her family and her friends about what her future holds, said Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on ABCs This Week on Sunday. Klobuchar also said that she was taking Feinstein at her word that she would be back soon. This isnt just about California. Its also about the nation.

Adding to the growing pressure on Feinstein is that in a moment of divided government, with Republicans in control of the House, judicial nominations are among the only things Senate Democrats can do on their own.

The situation of just letting the nominations stall endlessly is not tenable, said Brian Fallon, the executive director of the progressive advocacy group Demand Justice. The conversation needs to be shifted to what can be done now. That concern hasnt gone away, and this option isnt going to solve it.

Fallon said Democrats should increase the pressure on Republicans, including by trying to change filibuster rules to allow the replacement to be made unilaterally.

He said Democrats could also threaten to do away with blue slips, an informal Senate practice that allows a senator to block the nomination of a judge from his or her home state.

Just raising the specter of it might cause the Republicans to think twice, Fallon said. Republicans didnt even contemplate trying to meet the Democrats halfway because they dont fear any reprisal.

On Tuesday, when asked about doing away with blue slips, Schumer said that Sen. Durbin and the Judiciary are considering it.

Questions about Feinsteins ability to perform her job have dogged her for years and were prevalent even in 2018, when she decided to seek reelection. She has never been open to talk of resigning, even as some close to her have tried to urge her to engineer a graceful exit to safeguard her legacy as a pioneering woman in politics. Instead, she has slowly diminished her profile in the Senate, often begrudgingly.

In 2020, Feinstein agreed to relinquish the top Democratic spot on the Judiciary Committee amid pressure from progressives who said she was not up to the task of leading a crucial panel at the forefront of the partisan war over the courts in a new Biden administration.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
Growing up in Chicago, Melissa Rodriguez Mendoza initially had designs on working in the fashion industry. Trips to the doctor's office with her parents changed her mind.

Immigrants from Mexico, her parents mainly spoke Spanish and had trouble finding Spanish-speaking doctors. Melissa would accompany her mother and father to medical visits to be their interpreter.

When it came time to apply for college, Melissa decided to pursue pre-med programs with a goal of becoming a doctor. Now, she is a third-year medical student at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico, doing her clinical rotations back in Chicago.

She is committed to eradicating barriers to health care in the Latino community.

"Watching my parents struggle as they navigated the health care system is what made me realize there was a need for Spanish-speaking health care workers  especially for doctors," Melissa said. "This early exposure is what inspired me to become the doctor my parents needed back then."

Spanish is the second-most commonly spoken language in the United States, with about 13% of the total population speaking the language at home, according to census data.

While survey data published last year in American Family Physician found that more than 22% of family physicians say they speak Spanish, there were "inadequate numbers" of Spanish-speaking family physicians in many U.S. counties where high proportions of the population speak the language. In fact, 222 counties where more than 20% of the population speaks Spanish had no Spanish-speaking family physicians.

Having one Spanish-speaking physician for every 1,500 people who speak the language in a community was considered an adequate ratio, according to the American Family Physician study. A cluster of communities in the Chicago area and northeastern Illinois had a ratio of more than 1,500-to-1.

"As the U.S. population continues to diversify, it is increasingly important to recruit Spanish-speaking medical students to serve Spanish-speaking populations and for Spanish to be taught in medical school and family medicine residency programs," the study's authors wrote.

Melissa witnessed how language barriers impacted people in her broader community. After attending Chicago's Roosevelt University, she worked as a medical assistant in a primary care clinic that needed her to interpret for Spanish-speaking patients.

She found that patients needed more than an interpreter. Melissa studied to become a certified diabetic educator to help patients manage diabetes and other chronic medical conditions.

"That's how my interest in cardiometabolic disease came about," she said. "I found it really fascinating, especially seeing how it affected people who looked like me and my family members."

Melissa chose to go to medical school in her mother's hometown of Guadalajara, in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. She started school in July 2020, and has had to weather the challenges that came with adjusting to a new home early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

She persevered. Now a third-year medical student, she has been named a scholar in the American Heart Association's National Hispanic Latino Cardiovascular Collaborative mentoring program.

The goal of the program is to engage with medical students through networking, mentorship and opportunities to grow and diversify the future health care workforce, promoting cardiovascular health for all populations.

International medical school students aren't often represented in programs that allow them to connect with mentors as well as other aspiring doctors coming from medical schools outside the U.S., she said.

"And now, I'm fortunate enough to be back in Chicago for my clinical rotations, and I am able to bring this cultural sensitivity and advocacy not only for people of Mexican descent, but for all Latinos in the United States," she said. "It's truly an honor."

One of her first unofficial patients might be her biggest fan.

Her mother, Guillermina Rodriguez, recalled a recent trip to the hospital to have surgery. Melissa was by her side, as usual, guiding her parents through the process.

Not only is Melissa on track to become the first person in the family to become a doctor, she also is the first in the family to graduate from college. Her two younger sisters have also since graduated from college.

"I can tell that she does it well, and it's something that she's passionate about," a smiling Guillermina said about her daughter's pursuit of a medical career. "I cannot explain how proud I am of her."

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HARTFORD  A knife-wielding woman who lunged toward a city detective in a random attempt to stab him in 2021 was sentenced to prison Tuesday during an emotional hearing that brought her relatives  and even her public defender  to tears.

Judge David P. Gold sentenced Sheila Calderon to 3  years in prison, followed by five years of special parole, in state Superior Court in Hartford. She had pleaded guilty to criminal attempt to commit assault on a police officer and criminal attempt to commit first-degree assault under the Alford doctrine, which means she did not admit guilt but acknowledged there was enough evidence for a conviction.

The attempted assault on Dec. 7, 2021 was captured on surveillance video. The video shows three members of a regional Auto Theft Task Force, the Hartford detective and investigators from the West Hartford Police Department and the Connecticut State Police, standing on the sidewalk on Taylor Drive in the citys Northeast neighborhood. They were talking while waiting for a tow truck to remove a recovered stolen vehicle.

The video shows a person, Calderon, approach from the left, first walking and then quickening the pace to a full-out run toward one of the detectives, thrusting the hand with the knife toward him.

A fraction of a second before contact, the detective noticed her coming and was able to step out of the way while guiding her to the ground. At a news conference, Hartford Police Chief Jason Thody later said he was awestruck by the move.

Once on the ground, Calderon struggled with detectives and bit one of their shoes.

Its only by Gods grace that no one was hurt, Gold said.

Prosecutor Emily Trudeau had asked for a seven-year sentence, saying Calderons actions could have put a number of peoples lives in danger, including her own.

Public defender John Stawicki said Calderon, who he said had a minimal arrest record, abused drugs and alcohol and was mentally ill. She had been affected deeply by four murders, three of which she witnessed.

One of the homicides was the killing of her brother, Stawicki said. After that, her attempts at substance abuse treatment failed, he said.

The reality is, she attempted to commit suicide by police officer, Stawicki told the judge. She had no intent to harm a police officer. She only wanted to end her own life.

Her sisters tearfully told the judge about Calderons struggles with addictions and how they tried to help her.

She had a choice, either work to support your kids or get treatment, said her sister Elisa Caraballo, who sobbed so hard after she made her statement she had to leave the courtroom.

Ivelisse Calderon, her other sister, also cried as she said, I just think she needs help. This is not her. This crime is not who she is.

The attempted assault happened the same night one of Sheila Calderons children announced that he thought Ivelisse Calderon was his mother.

Sheila came over to see her young son that night and he lay his head on her lap as she played with his hair, Ivelisse Calderon said. But Sheila abruptly got up and left, she said. She later attacked the detective, she said.

Stawickis voice cracked after Ivelisse Calderon spoke.

May I have a minute your Honor? he asked Gold before requesting leniency for his client.

Sheila Calderon spoke next and said she was sorry.

I would like to apologize to the police officer who I attacked that day, Calderon said. She said she let her drug addiction overcome my judgment.

The judge said he now understands more about why Calderon acted the way she did, and he tried to factor that into his sentence.

Gold also said he was impressed by the attitude of the victim, the detective whose name was not spoken. He was not in court.

His primary concern was that he might have hurt her, Gold said.

Stawicki, too, said he was impressed by the detectives and the restraint they showed at the scene.

Outside the courtroom, Stawicki said, We wouldnt have any news about the police if they all acted like these cops.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (AP)  A man previously found incompetent has been ordered to stand trial on a kidnapping charge in the abduction of a 16-year-old who was killed in 2018, a prosecutor said Tuesday.

A U.S. Bureau of Prisons forensic psychologist found evidence to suggest Gerald Bennett, 63, of Detroit, was faking symptoms so he could be found incompetent to stand trial, so U.S. Magistrate Judge Ray Kent ordered Bennett to stand trial on a charge of kidnapping a minor, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. The Azerbaijan-Israel Business Forum has been held, Trend reports, referring to the tweet of Azerbaijani Economy Minister Mikayil Jabbarov.

The minister noted that at the forum, information was provided on the investment environment in Azerbaijan.

"Besides, useful discussions were held between the business circles of the two countries on the expansion of contacts and the realization of new opportunities for cooperation," Mikayil Jabbarov added.

The 3rd meeting of the Joint Commission between the Government of Azerbaijan and the Government of Israel was held in Baku today.

Previously, Israeli Ambassador to Azerbaijan George Deek noted that the trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Israel is doing to double this year.

He also said that the opening of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel will play a certain role in expanding the cooperation between the two countries. On March 29, 2023, the opening ceremony of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel was held with the participation of Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Israeli Foreign Minister Cohen.
TOLLAND  The town has decided not to fight the Electric Blue Cafe's appeal of its suspension as a multi-faceted criminal investigation of the strip club continues, an official said Tuesday.

Town Manager Brian Foley said he made the decision last week based on the likely cost of fighting the bar's appeal and the fact that it would be permitted to continue to operate during the legal fight. He also noted the ongoing investigation, which involves federal and state agencies.

On March 16, the town shut down the Electric Blue at 62 Merrow Road for 30 days after state and federal authorities descended on the club for a day-long evidence search. The operation included representatives of the federal Homeland Security Investigations and the Internal Revenue Service as well as detectives with the Connecticut State Police. As of Tuesday, none of the involved agencies has released information about their investigations or whether any arrests have been made.

Foley announced the 30-day suspension on March 16, saying the town believed prostitution and sexual activity has taken place in the club. The club immediately appealed, which automatically stays the action of the town in suspending or revoking a license until the Town Council, Superior Court or Appellate Court makes a final decision, according to Town Code 51-10.

Under the same set of rules, grouped under the heading Adult-Oriented Establishments, if a Tolland business has a 30-day suspension upheld by the town council after a hearing, the aggrieved party has the right to immediately file another appeal directly to state Superior Court, Foley said.

This would forward the case to state of Connecticut court system at significant expense to the town only to fight a temporary suspension. Moreover, during a lengthy appeals process, a business has the right to remain open, he said.

One day after it was shut down, Electric Blue reopened while appealing the suspension.

As for why the town revoked the clubs license in the first place, Foley said in a phone interview that to serve them with a 30-day suspension was of little to no cost to the town. And given the size and scope of the investigation we witnessed on March 16, it was plausible that an appeal would not be filed and the suspension would stand.

Serving that suspension would serve as a good barometer as to what we can expect when the federal investigation is made public, added Foley, who is a former deputy chief with the Hartford Police Department and assistant to the commissioner of the state Department of Emergency Services and Public Protection.

I know what I saw on March 16, I have some experience in these endeavors from previous careers, and we await the outcome of the federal investigation, he said.
MIAMI (AP)  A federal judge in Miami handed down a 15-year prison sentence Wednesday to the former nurse of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for taking bribes from a billionaire media mogul to green-light lucrative currency transactions when she served as Venezuela's national treasurer.

Claudia Diaz and her husband, Adrian Velasquez, were both found guilty in December by a jury of five of the six counts detailed in a 2020 indictment accusing them of taking millions of dollars in bribes. Velasquez also was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years.

The U.S. Justice Department has aggressively investigated corruption in Venezuelas socialist government, taking advantage of the United States' unique position as the destination of choice until recently for insiders to stash their ill-gotten gains.

But Diaz was the first former senior official to actually fight charges. The long sentence handed down to both her and her husband  the stiffest ever handed down against so-called Venezuelan kleptocrats  reflects their decision to reject a plea deal offered by the government as is customary in criminal cases.

"I agree with the government that the defendants drastically changed their life from a middle class existence to one of multiple jets and yachts, Judge William Dimitrouleas said as Diaz and Velasquez listened in complete silence. They made a lot of money.

The couple also must forfeit $136 million in cash and assets, which represents their take from the money laundering conspiracy. Attorneys for the couple said they intend to appeal.

Judge Dimitrouleas rejected prosecutors' request that she be locked away for more than 23 years, perhaps persuaded by a last-minute appeal from the couple's two minor children. On the eve of the sentencing, the couple's 14-year old son submitted a letter to the court describing how his parents were whisked away and extradited from Spain, where the family had been living, and his hope that he wouldn't grow up without a parent.

My parents were sent to Florida, United States, so quickly that I felt they had been taken hostage, David Velasquez Diaz wrote in a letter to Judge Dimitrouleas on behalf of himself and his younger brother.

According to the indictment, Diaz and Velasquez received payments from companies controlled by their co-defendant, fugitive Venezuelan media mogul Raul Gorrin, to accounts in Miami allegedly used to pay for the couples otherwise unexplained lavish lifestyle.

The governments case relied heavily on the testimony of one of Diazs predecessors as treasurer, Alejandro Andrade, who took the witness stand to testify that the kickback scheme he struck with Gorrin continued under Diaz.

Like Diaz, Andrade, a former presidential security officer, leveraged a personal connection with Chavez to rise through the ranks of the army and the Venezuelan state, amassing a huge fortune almost overnight.

In 2021, he was released from prison after serving less than half of a 10-year sentence for his role in a massive scheme to siphon millions from state coffers. As part of his plea agreement, he forfeited more than $260 million in cash and assets, including an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion, luxury vehicles, show-jumping horses and several Rolex and Hublot watches.

The trial took place as normally hostile relations between the US and Venezuela are starting to ease after the Trump-era policy of maximum pressure to remove President Nicolas Maduro has stalled.

Recently the Biden administration loosened crushing oil sanctions against the OPEC nation, allowing U.S. oil company Chevron for the first time in more than three years to resume production to support fledgling negotiations with the opposition.

But ongoing criminal investigations against Venezuelan insiders remain closely watched in south Florida, home to millions of Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans fleeing leftist rule in their homelands.



Follow Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman
FORT EDWARD, N.Y. (AP)  The father whose 20-year-old daughter was fatally shot after she and her friends got lost and drove to the wrong house in rural upstate New York raged Wednesday at the man who pulled the trigger.

For this man to sit on his porch and fire at a car with no threat is just  it angers me so badly," said Andrew Gillis, whose daughter Kaylin Gillis was killed Saturday. "And I just hope to God that he dies in jail.

The anguished father spoke at the courthouse after a hearing in which the man accused of killing Kaylin Gillis, Kevin Monahan, was denied bail by a judge. Monahan, 65, appeared in court with a jacket, tie and shackles. He answered questions from the judge, but mostly sat quietly.

My daughter was an honor student. She had hopes and dreams of ... becoming a marine biologist or a veterinarian, Andrew Gillis told reporters, his voice cracking with emotion. She loved animals. And this man took that away from us.

Gillis, her boyfriend Blake Walsh and their friends got lost while going to another friends nearby house. They were driving two cars and a motorcycle when they turned into Monahans long, dirt driveway in the town of Hebron, near the Vermont border.

As they realized the mistake and turned around, Monahan fired with a shotgun, authorities said.

Andrew Gillis said Walsh, who wanted to marry his daughter, blamed himself for the tragedy.

The first time I saw Blake after this happened, he said, Its all my fault,'" he said. "And I said, No, its no one's fault except for that man that pulled the trigger. You guys had no idea that something that bad could happen on a backcountry road.

Assistant District Attorney Christian Morris described Monahan in court as confrontational and hot-tempered. He said Monahan recently caused a scene at a local department of motor vehicles office. Monahan also had a 1980 misdemeanor and a 2001 aggravated assault with a weapon charge in Vermont that was later dismissed, the prosecutor said.

Morris said other charges are possible against Monahan, including attempted murder.

Monahan's attorney, Kurt Mausert, told the judge the 1980 misdemeanor was for a driving while intoxicated and that his client had no penal law convictions. He said his client should not be judged on rumor and innuendo.

Mausert has previously called law enforcement's version of the events a superficial, simplistic account of what actually happened.

After court, Andrew Gillis said the loss of Kaylin is being felt by his wife and Kaylins two younger sisters. He also recalled his daughter leaving that day, grabbing her bathing suit with plans to go in the hot tub at her boyfriend's house that night.

If anything Im thankful for," he said, is that I got to tell her that I love her before she walked out the door.
University of Connecticut students are no longer required to be vaccinated against COVID-19, after the school's Board of Trustees voted Wednesday to repeal a vaccine policy that had been in place for nearly two years.

In a letter to the board ahead of Wednesday's meeting, UConn President Radenka Maric recommended an end to the policy, which mandated vaccines for all undergraduate and graduate students.
MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden (AP)  U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday it's important that Turkey makes its decision to allow Sweden to join NATO sooner versus later and he feels confident it will happen before the alliance summit in July.

Speaking during a stop in Sweden, Austin declined, however, to say whether a recent U.S. deal to provide fighter jet upgrades to Turkey will provide enough incentive for Ankara to finally vote.

Standing alongside Austin, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson told reporters he is hopeful Sweden will gain admittance by summer. He thanked Austin for Americas military support during this transition time into NATO, which he said has reassured Sweden and helped make the country more secure.

We look forward to continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO, and well work hard to get that done before the summit, Austin said. The NATO summit will be in Lithuania in early July.

Swedens bid to join NATO remains stalled by opposition from Turkey and Hungary, even weeks after both nations finally approved Finlands application. The two neighboring Nordic countries jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022, abandoning decades of non-alignment in the wake of Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Austin and Jonson spoke to reporters near the docks at the Musko Naval Base. Afterward, Austin boarded the HMS Harnosand, a Visby-class Corvette warship, for a chilly one-hour journey north to Berga Naval Base, passing by a number of islands in the southern Stockholm archipelago.

From aboard the ship, the U. S. defense secretary watched as Swedish Marines on small combat boats conducted an amphibious landing exercise, the sounds of their guns echoing off the water. Swedish fighter jets and military Black Hawk helicopters made several passes by the ship and a Swedish submarine nosed to the surface, identified only by its telltale periscope. Off to the side, as his ship moved by a smaller island, explosions went off, as a Swedish mine-clearing ship showed off its capabilities.

Austin said his visit comes at a crucial time for European security, and he urged Turkey and NATO to act soon to approve Sweden's membership in NATO. He said it will mean a stronger alliance and a more secure Europe, lauding Sweden's troops and their capabilities, particularly in the Baltic Sea region.

It's important to all of us that they make the decision sooner versus later, Austin said.

The U.S. agreed Monday to sell Turkey $259 million in software it has long sought to upgrade its fleet of U.S. F-16 fighter jets. But Turkey also still wants to buy 40 new F-16s from the U.S.  a sale opposed by some in Congress who want to wait until Turkey approves Sweden's membership in NATO.

Austin is the first U.S. defense chief to visit Sweden since William Cohen visited in 2000. While the U.S. military has long trained with Sweden, it had not been a frequent stop for U.S. defense leaders, since they were more likely to visit NATO allies. Sweden had long resisted joining the alliance.

Austin got a sweeping look at Swedens military, including a tour of the Musko cave complex and its maritime operations center, followed by the sail to Berga Naval Base.

While Sweden has long worked with NATO and is considered a partner country, it does not enjoy the full protections afforded a member nation  most importantly Article 5 protection. That provision of the treaty states that if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America, it is considered an attack on all.

The only time the Article 5 mutual defense provision has been invoked was in support of the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. But after Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number of European nations feared they could be attacked next  triggering the NATO applications of Finland and Sweden.

Finland formally joined the alliance on April 5, just days after Turkey and Hungary finally voted to ratify its application. A unanimous vote of all 31 alliance members is required to admit new members.

In response to Finlands formal acceptance, Russias Foreign Ministry said Moscow will be forced to take military-technical and other retaliatory measures to counter the threats to our national security arising from Finlands accession to NATO. And Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Finlands membership reflects the alliances anti-Russian course and warned that Moscow will respond depending on what weapons NATO allies place there.

The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organizations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara needs further assurances before it will give its final approval.

The dispute grew when, in January, a far-right activist from Denmark got police permission to stage a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm where he burned the Islamic holy book. The incident angered millions of Muslims around the world, and Turkey said it wouldnt allow Sweden to join NATO as long as Stockholm permits such protests. In Sweden, such demonstrations are protected by freedom of speech.

Austin spoke with Turkeys defense minister, Hulusi Akar, on April 6, and according to a statement from the defense ministry they discussed Finlands NATO membership and it was emphasized that we always support NATOs Open Door Policy, Finlands membership shows this once again and it is hoped that Sweden will fulfill its commitments as soon as possible.
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. (AP)  Chicago's mayor-elect on Wednesday attempted to dispel the often-contentious relationship between the nation's third-largest city and the rest of the state, telling a joint session of the General Assembly, Theres more than enough for everybody in the state of Illinois.

Brandon Johnson, whose victory in the mayor's race this month provided a welcome boost for progressives, played to his fellow Democrats, who hold supermajorities in both the House and Senate. He extolled the Blue Wall they've built and pledged to be a partner in this incredible, progressive body that has delivered for people across the state.

Pounded later by reporters' questions about reducing crime in Chicago, he promised to be smart as well as tough," putting resources into youth employment and other preventive measures as well as enforcement. But his primary message was one of collaboration.

They told us that if something is good for Chicago, that means were taking something away from Peoria, Johnson told lawmakers. They tell us that the challenges that we face in the city of Chicago ... arent the same challenges shared by families from Rockford to Carbondale. ... No one has to lose at the expense of someone else winning. Theres more than enough for everybody in the state of Illinois.

Senate Majority Leader Kimberly Lightford, a Democrat from the Chicago suburb of Maywood, said Johnson took a positive step by tabbing team members to keep connected to the Legislature, something that was wanting with current Mayor Lori Lightfoot.

He wants to work with not only with the Chicago delegation of legislators, but hes recognizing that ... no matter where you are in the state, you have a role to play in the outcomes of the city of Chicago," Lightford said. She added, A lot of people lose sight of that. They just say Chicago has issues, not recognizing that it is the economic engine of the state. And you do want to make sure that theres prosperity there so that it can also extend across the state.

Johnson, 47, a two-term Cook County commissioner and former teacher who gained traction with the full-throated support of the powerful Chicago Teachers Union, promised to tackle the city's financial trouble with the same smart, responsible, bold approach" that Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker and lawmakers have taken in Springfield, reducing the state's billions of dollars in debt and consequently receiving credit upgrades from Wall Street bonding houses.

But he also pledged investments in neighborhood schools, youth employment and health care  particularly mental health  and combating crime. Such initiatives will need an assist from Springfield, Johnson said. When addressing reporters later, he declined to talk specific figures, labeling that as dictating rather than collaborating with state partners.

On crime, he said, Public safety is a prerequisite to the prosperity of Chicago and the voters have sent a clear message that they want to get smart, not just tough on crime.

After weathering criticism from runoff rival Paul Vallas over previous statements to defund" the police, a movement that arose after the 2020 murder of George Floyd by Minneapolis police, Johnson said Wednesday that he would add 200 detectives to the force. But he also said he would increase funding to battle the root causes of violence and provide mental health care for police officers.

The smart way is investing in people, Johnson said.

Johnson, who frequently mentions that he and his wife are raising three children in the westside Austin neighborhood, among the city's most violent, took heat for comments he made following last weekend's melee in downtown Chicago that left two teenagers wounded by gunfire. He said he didn't condone the violence but said "it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.

He rebuffed a reporter's question about whether he sent a mixed message.

Its not a mixed message. ... This is a false choice. You can make sure that we eradicate the root causes that lead to violence, and we also can make sure that theres support on the front line to make sure that were preventing violence, Johnson said. "No one takes it more seriously than a family that lives through it every single day."

___ Follow Political Writer John OConnor at https://twitter.com/apoconnor
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GENEVA (AP)  U.S. lawmakers have accused embattled Swiss bank Credit Suisse of limiting the scope of an internal investigation into Nazi clients and Nazi-linked accounts, including some that were open until just a few years ago.

The Senate Budget Committee says an independent ombudsman initially brought in by the bank to oversee the probe was inexplicably terminated as he carried out his work, and it faulted incomplete reports that were hindered by restrictions.

Credit Suisse said it was fully cooperating with the committee's inquiry but rejected some claims from the Simon Wiesenthal Center, a Los Angeles-based Jewish human rights group, that brought to light in 2020 allegations of possible Nazi-linked accounts at Switzerland's second-largest bank.

Despite the hurdles, reports from the ombudsman and a forensic research team revealed at least 99 accounts credibly tied to senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of Nazi-affliliated groups in Argentina, most of which were not previously disclosed, the committee said Tuesday, on Holocaust Remembrance Day.

The reports raise new questions about the banks potential support for Nazis fleeing justice following World War II via so-called Ratlines, the committee said, referring to a network of escape routes used by Nazis after the war.

The committee said Credit Suisse has pledged to continue its own investigation into remaining unanswered questions.

When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned. Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard, said Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, the ranking Republican member of the panel.

The budget committee is leaving no stone unturned when it comes to investigating Nazis and seeking justice for Holocaust survivors and their families, and we commit to seeing this investigation through, said Chairman Sheldon Whitehouse, a Democrat from Rhode Island.

Credit Suisse launched the internal investigation after the Simon Wiesenthal Center, named for the Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter, said it had information that the bank held potential Nazi-linked accounts that had not previously been revealed, including during a series of Holocaust-related investigations of the 1990s.

Late that decade, Swiss banks agreed to pay some $1.25 billion to Nazi victims and their families who accused the banks of stealing, hiding or sending to the Nazis hundreds of millions of dollars worth of Jewish holdings.

Credit Suisse said its two-year investigation into the questions raised by the Simon Wiesenthal Center found no evidence to support the allegations that many people on an Argentine list of 12,000 names had accounts at Schweizerische Kreditanstalt  the predecessor of Credit Suisse  during the Nazi era.

It said the investigation fundamentally confirms existing research on Credit Suisses history published in the context of the 1999 Global Settlement that provided binding closure for the Swiss banks regarding all issues relating to World War II.

The latest findings come as problems have boiled over for Credit Suisse, a pillar of Swiss banking whose origins date to 1856, culminating in a government-orchestrated takeover by rival lender UBS.

The emergency rescue last month came after years of stock price declines, a string of scandals and the flight of depositors worried about Credit Suisse's future amid global financial turmoil stirred by the collapse of two U.S. banks.

Its troubles havent ended with the rescue. The U.S. Senate Finance Committee said last month that a two-year investigation showed that Credit Suisse violated a plea agreement with U.S. authorities by failing to report secret offshore accounts that wealthy Americans used to avoid paying taxes.

In the latest Senate findings, 70 Credit Suisse accounts with plausible links to Nazis in Argentina were opened after 1945 and at least 14 stayed open until the 2000s, including some as recently as 2020, according to the investigators' reports.

Forensic research firm AlixPartners Ltd. found that 21 accounts  including 12 opened after 1945  had credible connections with those on the Simon Wiesenthal Center's list of senior Nazi officials. They include an SS commander convicted at the Nuremberg trials as well as a Nazi commander who was tried, sentenced and released and whose account was not closed until 2002.

Others include German businessmen, scientists and another Nazi commander who were all either tried and acquitted or imprisoned and released.

The Senate committee, which oversees budget requests related to the State Departments Office of the Special Envoy for Holocaust Issues, issued a subpoena for the reports after new leadership at Credit Suisse paused its internal investigation last year.

Neil Barofsky, a former federal prosecutor and special inspector general of the U.S. Troubled Asset Relief Program that bailed out banks following the 2008 financial crisis, was let go as ombudsman overseeing the probe months later.

Credit Suisses decision to terminate oversight risks reputational damage based on the inevitable speculation as to what else may have been found or could have been found if the investigation and oversight were allowed to continue, Barofskys report said.

It says the Swiss lender did not review and investigate all relevant records"  including, for example, failing to complete a search on whether Nazi heirs tried to access bank accounts.

The Simon Wiesenthal Center said removing Barofsky eroded its confidence in a fair, independent and transparent historical review.

The actions taken today by the U.S. Senate Committee on the Budget shine light on a dark and troubling past that has remained outside the historical record, the organization said Tuesday.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  For some senators, the Democratic effort to temporarily replace ailing 89-year-old Dianne Feinstein on the Judiciary Committee is about speeding up confirmation of President Joe Biden's federal court nominees. But for others, particularly her most long-serving peers, its personal.

Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley of Iowa, who is the same age as the California Democrat and has worked with her for three decades on the committee, said he thinks Democrats have been trying to force her out of office because shes old. He called that anti-human.

The attempt to replace her on the committee is disrespectful and not in keeping with her many contributions, said Sen. Susan Collins of Maine, a Republican who is close friends with Feinstein.

Feinstein is not the first senator to take an extended medical absence or face uncomfortable questions about age or cognitive abilities. But the open discussion over her capacity to serve shows just how much the Senate has changed in recent years, with high-stakes partisanship replacing a more collegial, clubby atmosphere.

It also highlights the difficulty, and the sensitivity, surrounding Democrats uphill efforts to replace Feinsteins vote on the influential committee as she recovers from a case of the shingles. Her absence, which comes as her health and memory has noticeably declined in recent years, means that some of Biden's picks for the federal bench are stalled in committee.

Democrats say Republicans snubbed a sick colleague when they blocked Feinstein's unusual request to be temporarily replaced.

It is flat wrong to seek partisan advantage from health issues of a colleague," White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday. The American people reject that kind of scorched earth approach to governing.

Republicans say Democrats are unfairly trying to force her off one important committee  she serves on others  simply to game the system because they lack the votes to move Biden's most partisan nominees.

It is a marked difference from the Senate of years past.

Collins said Feinstein has been treated differently from men in the Senate who have had memory or health issues. Examples include Republican Sens. Thad Cochran of Mississippi and Strom Thurmond of South Carolina and Democratic Sen. Robert Byrd of West Virginia.

Cochran and Byrd remained atop the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee after their health began to fail; Byrd eventually stepped down from the position voluntarily; Cochran resigned from Congress.

The contrast is pretty sharp, said Collins, who served with all three men and has worked closely with Feinstein for years. Collins said senators were more collegial and respectful of each other in the past, and there was less pressure on the men to resign or step down from a committee.

She said she believes the efforts to push Feinstein off the committee are sexist. Were all human, and senators get ill, Collins said. Because the Senate has been disproportionately male for so long, I think what were seeing now is a different standard being applied.

Older senators in declining health were more protected by leaders and members of both parties in the past, Collins said.

Feinstein herself requested a temporary replacement on the Judiciary Committee in a statement last week. But the pressure on her to step back from her duties due to questions about her age and cognitive abilities dates back several years.

In 2020, Feinstein said she would not serve as the top Democrat on the committee after criticism from liberal advocacy groups about her handling of hearings on Amy Coney Barretts nomination for the Supreme Court. Earlier this year, Feinstein said she would not serve as the Senate president pro tempore, or the most senior member of the majority party, even though she was in line to do so. The president pro tempore opens the Senate every day and holds other ceremonial duties.

In February, she announced she would not run for reelection in 2024.

Angst over health issues in the Senate is not new, and many senators are well over retirement age. Also, Feinstein is not the only senator take an extended absence this year.

Democrat John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, who is 53, returned to the Senate this week after checking himself into the hospital for clinical depression in February. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, who is 81, also returned this week after falling and hitting his head in early March.

Feinstein asked for the pause in her service on the committee after Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., called on her to resign from the Senate. Khanna said it is unacceptable for her to miss votes to confirm judges who could be weighing in on abortion rights, a key Democratic priority. Khanna has endorsed Democratic Rep. Barbara Lee, one of several California Democrats already running to replace Feinstein in the Senate.

After Khannas call for her to resign, Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi, the former House speaker, defended her longtime California colleague. Like Collins, Pelosi suggested sexism is at play.

I dont know what political agendas are at work that are going after Sen. Feinstein in that way, said Pelosi, 83, in an interview with a California radio station. Ive never seen them go after a man who was sick in the Senate in that way.

McConnell said on the Senate floor that he believes Democrats are trying to sideline Feinstein, whom he called a titanic figure. Elected in 1992, she was the first woman to serve as chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee and the first woman to hold the rank as the top Democrat on Judiciary Committee. Before her Senate career she was the first woman to be mayor of San Francisco.

Lets be clear, said McConnell in remarks on the Senate floor. Senate Republicans will not take part in sidelining a temporarily absent colleague off a committee just so Democrats can force through their very worst nominees.

Schumer on Tuesday declined to answer when asked if Feinstein should resign. He would only say that he had spoken to Feinstein last week and she and I are both very hopeful that she will return soon. Her office has not provided a timeline for her return.

As Schumer called up the resolution to replace Feinstein, he said he was asking for support in replacing her "not just as leader, but as Dianne's friend in honoring her wishes until she returns to the Senate."

Democrats acknowledge its an uncomfortable question as they try to balance the health of colleagues against their efforts to legislate and approve nominations with a narrow 51-49 majority.

If any one of us is missing, it has an impact on the ability of the Senate and of committees to function, said Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del. And so any conversation about our health and continuing service has its sensitivity.

___

Associated Press writer Darlene Superville contributed to this report.
ATLANTA (AP)  A former executive for a longtime city of Atlanta vendor pleaded guilty Wednesday to paying bribes in exchange for millions of dollars in city contracts and to paying bribes to an official in a neighboring county in an attempt to get business there.

In addition to admitting to paying bribes to Atlanta and DeKalb County officials, Lohrasb Jeff Jafari, 72, also pleaded guilty to failing to pay more than $1.5 million in taxes, federal prosecutors said. He is the latest in a string of people, including numerous former Atlanta city officials, to plead guilty or be convicted by a jury as part of a federal investigation into corruption during former Mayor Kasim Reed's administration. Reed himself was never charged with wrongdoing.

Contractors and the public deserve a fair and impartial government procurement process, U.S. Attorney Ryan Buchanan said in a news release. For years, Jeff Jafari corrupted, and attempted to corrupt, those processes in the City of Atlanta and DeKalb County by paying tens of thousands of dollars in bribe payments to several high-ranking government officials. Not surprisingly, after illegally obtaining city contracts he never paid a dime of personal income tax on millions of dollars he earned.

Jafari was the executive vice president of PRAD Group, which provided architectural, design and engineering services for Atlanta and DeKalb County, prosecutors said.

Jafari gave cash and other items to Adam Smith, who served as Atlanta's chief procurement officer from January 2003 to February 2017, and to Jo Ann Macrina, who was commissioner of the city Department of Watershed Management from April 2011 to May 2016, prosecutors said. In exchange, they ensured that PRAD Group obtained lucrative city contracts.

From 2014 to January 2017, Jafari paid Smith more than $40,000 in cash and then tried to get him to lie about it when he caught wind of the federal investigation, prosecutors said. Jafari promised Macrina a job with PRAD Group, gave her cash, jewelry and paid for landscaping work at her home as well as a luxury hotel room and shopping trip in Dubai, prosecutors said.

Smith pleaded guilty and was sentenced in January 2018 to serve two years in federal prison for accepting bribes in exchange for city contracts. A jury last year found Macrina guilty of accepting bribes and a judge in February sentenced her to serve 4 1/2 years in prison.

In April and August 2014, the FBI used a confidential source who was a high-ranking DeKalb County official to conduct undercover operations. Jafari sough the person's help to get work in the county and paid the person between $1,000 and $1,500 in cash, prosecutors said.

Jafari failed to file personal tax returns and didn't pay any income tax to the IRS from 2014 to 2016, prosecutors said. During that time, he took out large sums from corporate accounts to pay for personal expenses.

Jafari is scheduled to be sentenced on July 19.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Azerbaijan, Israel aim to double both trade and tourist flow, Simona Halperin, Deputy Director General, Head of Eurasia and Western Balkans Division at Israel's Foreign Ministry, said in an exclusive interview with Trend in Baku.

Halperin pointed out that Israel's Foreign Minister Eli Cohen has visited Azerbaijan with the largest delegation that has ever accompanied an Israeli minister in a visit to Azerbaijan.

"The minister is accompanied by 16 members of the business delegation and 10 different government agencies and ministries. The main purpose of the visit is to expand the economic cooperation between Israel and Azerbaijan. We are going to sign a number of agreements on cooperation. We are going to promote cooperation in various areas from health to cyber security to innovation, environment, as well as education. It is a really important visit," she said.

Halperin pointed out that definitely, the sides are going to discuss the energy issue, because it is such an important area for Azerbaijan, but also because Israel has so much interest to offer in the next phase moving towards renewable energy.

Speaking about the Israeli business in Azerbaijan, she noted that Israeli companies are working very significantly in the areas of expertise from energy to very relevant sectors in reconstruction of Karabakh, such as water management, agriculture.

She also praised the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel.

"We are thrilled and happy that after 30 years of diplomatic relations we have an Azerbaijani ambassador in Israel. We very much welcome the opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israel. We are targeting to double both the economic and tourism relations. Currently, we have about 50 000 tourists from Israel and the target is to at least double that, because we see a great potential," said Simona Halperin.
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RENO, Nev. (AP)  Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday applauded efforts under way in Nevada to enshrine abortion rights in the state constitution, saying the move stands in stark contrast to other states where such rights are under assault.

What you are doing at the statewide level is so important, she said during a forum on the University of Nevada, Reno, campus.

Harris said she met Tuesday with several state lawmakers who supported a resolution in the state Senate this week to amend Nevadas constitution to include abortion rights up to 24 weeks.

Abortion rights up to 24 weeks already are codified into state law through a 1990 ballot measure. That could only be changed through another referendum vote.

The standards are higher for amending the constitution, the highest level of state protection that takes years to accomplish. If the resolution also passes the Nevada Assembly, the constitutional question could eventually be put in front of voters on the 2026 ballot.

Nevada is showing the way, Harris said Tuesday in Reno.

Its important because it is not only about the protection of the rights of the people of this state, but it is an example that these things can be done and its the right thing to do," she said.

Since last year's reversal of Roe v. Wade, the 1973 U.S. Supreme Court decision that legalized the right to an abortion, more than a dozen states have effectively outlawed abortion and others have moved to further tighten abortion laws.

Harris was in Los Angeles on Sunday at a rally with several hundred demonstrators where she called the attack on abortion rights a further incursion by conservatives into myriad fundamental rights many Americans thought they had.

On Tuesday, Harris was joined by Reno Mayor Hillary Schieve and actress Rosario Dawson on a theater stage, urging the audience to help protect abortion rights.

You did good here in Nevada," Harris told a crowd of mostly students. And I just left California, my home. You know  we're good there.

"Even though it's not in our backyard here in Nevada or in California, please lead in this movement and build up the energy and momentum to stand for our democracy and our foundational principles and the rights for people to make decisions about their own lives and not their government, Harris said.

The Nevada state Senate voted 13-8 along party lines Monday to send the resolution to the Assembly that would enshrine reproductive rights including not only abortion, but also other reproductive procedures including postpartum and prenatal care. That continued the more than three-year process to offer the highest level of state protection on the 2026 ballot.

There are two routes to amend the state constitution that could take more than three years: either approval from two legislative sessions before it appears as a ballot question the following year, or two consecutive elections with a simple majority vote.

This resolution would have to pass both legislative chambers in 2023 and 2025 before appearing on the ballot the following year.

Party-line debate on the Senate floor turned emotional with discussions over language of the resolution as well as who gets to decide reproductive medical decisions. Statements from lawmakers included personal experiences with decisions about abortion that they or their loved ones faced.

There has to be be one guiding principle in this. And that is that politicians should not be interfering in personal decisions between patients and their doctors when it comes to reproductive care, said Democratic Sen. Majority Leader Nicole Cannizzaro on the Senate floor Monday in Carson City.

Im exceptionally worried that the people that are most impacted, the unborn children, have no say in this matter, said Republican Sen. Ira Hansen.

____

Stern, who reported from Carson City, 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.
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LONDON (AP)  Northern Irelands politicians got the message. Some of them dont like it.

Unionist lawmakers have bristled as, with a united voice, leaders of the U.K., European Union officials, and a former and current U.S. president urged them to restore the mothballed Belfast government and reap the reward of more economic investment in Northern Ireland.

There can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity, U.S. trade envoy Joe Kennedy III said during a conference in Belfast on Wednesday.

Former President Bill Clinton said Northern Ireland's people deserve a working government.

Its time to get this show on the road, Clinton said.

Their statements were the latest in a drumbeat of messages pressing the Democratic Unionist Party to end a political crisis that is clouding 25th anniversary commemorations for the 1998 Good Friday peace accord that ended three decades of sectarian bloodshed known as The Troubles.

The semi-autonomous Belfast government has been suspended since the DUP, which wants to keep Northern Ireland part of the United Kingdom, walked out more than a year ago to protest a post-Brexit customs border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the U.K.

Under power-sharing rules established by the Good Friday accord, the main British unionist and Irish nationalist parties have to govern together.

The DUP boycott has left Northern Irelands 1.9 million people without a government to make key decisions as the cost of living soars and backlogs strain the creaking public health system.

Clinton and ex-U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair, along with President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, have all stressed the economic benefits of restoring the government  and the potential cost if the crisis persists.

During a visit to Belfast last week, Biden linked American investment in Northern Irelands burgeoning tech sector to resolving the political crisis.

A deal struck by the U.K. and the EU in February would remove many of the customs checks that irked the DUP and ease the EUs role in making rules for Northern Ireland. Politicians in London, Dublin, Brussels and Washington have welcomed the deal, known as the Windsor Framework, but the DUP said it still had concerns.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said at the Belfast conference that the agreement gives Northern Ireland unique access to both the U.K. and EU markets.

More investors are now eyeing Northern Ireland. This is a unique opportunity for Northern Ireland, she said.

Kennedy, a scion of the U.S. political dynasty who is Bidens economic envoy to Northern Ireland, said he wanted to see an increase of the 230 U.S. businesses already operating in Northern Ireland, which collectively employ 30,000 people.

But, he said, businesses want clarity and certainty.

They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner there are answers to those questions, the better for the Northern Ireland economy, Kennedy said.

Sunak said the DUP boycott was hurting the party's most cherished cause: keeping Northern Ireland within the United Kingdom.

We have to show that devolved government within the United Kingdom works for Northern Ireland. ... We need to get the institutions up and running and keep them up and running, the British prime minister said.

DUP politicians have hit back at the carrot-and-stick messaging. Lawmaker Ian Paisley Jr. told Times Radio it was moonshine to suggest that suddenly theres going to be another El Dorado over the hill, if we just have an executive (in) Northern Ireland.

Party leader Jeffrey Donaldson said the DUP would not be browbeaten into submission and the agreement was not enough to get the DUP to end its walkout.

Still, many politicians and officials remain optimistic the party will eventually relent  perhaps after local elections on May 18, the first test of voter opinion in Northern Ireland since the DUP began its boycott. The party may get a sense then of whether its hard-line stance has cost or gained votes.

The DUP is renowned for its intransigence, but it has also shown itself to be adaptable. It opposed the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, before eventually changing stance and entering government.

Duncan Morrow, professor of politics at Ulster University in Belfast, said the DUP now had no allies and not much room to maneuver.

The DUP is faced with a huge dilemma, he said. Given that theyve had so much pressure, how do they turn a return to (government) as anything other than a defeat?
WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed should have a chance to argue for testing of crime-scene evidence that he says will help clear him.

The justices, in a 6-3 decision, sent Reed's case back to a lower court for his constitutional challenge to the state's law on DNA testing.

The issue before the high court was whether Reed, sentenced to death nearly 25 years ago, waited too long to file his lawsuit claiming that untested crime-scene evidence would exonerate him. Texas courts and the federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled that he missed the deadline.

But the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, reversed the appellate ruling.

Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented. If there is a mitigating factor to today's decision, Thomas wrote, it's that the outcome is no barrier to the prompt execution of Reed's lawful sentence.

Reed was sentenced to death for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. Prosecutors say Reed raped and strangled Stites as she made her way to work at a supermarket in Bastrop, a rural community about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Austin.

Reed has long maintained that Stites' fiance, former police officer Jimmy Fennell, was the real killer. Reed says Fennell was angry because Stites, who was white, was having an affair with Reed, who is Black. Fennell, who served time for sexual assault and was released from prison in 2018, has denied killing Stites.

Reed has attracted support from around the world, including from Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, as well as lawmakers from both parties.
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TOKYO (AP)  A 24-year-old man who allegedly threw an explosive at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japan's parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts that appeared to be his.

The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Kishida, who escaped unhurt.

Kimura has refused to talk to police, but local media reports that he bore grievances about Japan's election system might shed light on his motives.

In June last year Kimura, who police said is unemployed, filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election, according to Japanese media including NHK public television and Kyodo News. A candidate must be aged 30 years or older and present a 3 million yen ($22,260) deposit to run for the upper house, the less powerful of Japans two-chamber parliament. He was 23 at the time.

He demanded the government pay 100,000 yen ($740) in compensation for his psychological anguish, according to the reports.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan. With its strict gun control laws, the country has only a handful of gun-related crimes annually, most of them gang related. But in recent years Japanese police have worried about lone offender attacks with homemade guns and explosives. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a homemade gun at a campaign event on July 8, just two days before the upper house election.

In a document he submitted to the court, Kimura argued that the election system that blocked his candidacy was unconstitutional, the reports said.

Kimura argued that the election law violates constitutional guarantees of equality and other rights, according to media reports. The court dismissed his claim in a November 2022 ruling, and Kimura appealed the decision to the Osaka High Court, whose decision is expected in May, reports say.

Tweets posted to an account cited by local media as Kimura's and seen by the Associated Press complained about Japan's political system. The account does not carry his name, but identifies itself as representing the plaintiff in a lawsuit that matches the one filed by Kimura. The Associated Press was not able to contact the owner of the account. The account had only 23 posts since it began late June.

An Aug. 11, 2022 tweet said the deck is stacked against ordinary people who quit their job and pay the deposit to run in national elections. "There is an established system where ordinary people can never become politicians.

Other tweets on the account criticized Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe.

The man accused of shooting Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, told authorities soon after his arrest that he killed Abe because of the former prime ministers apparent links to a religious group that Yamagami hated. In statements and in social media posts attributed to him, Yamagami said his mothers donations to the Unification Church bankrupted his family and ruined his life.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  Three Tennessee lawmakers who faced expulsion votes after participating in protests over last month's school shooting in Nashville will visit the White House to meet with President Joe Biden on Monday.

Press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre announced the visit on Wednesday. She said Biden was proud and appreciative to see the three state representatives calling for stronger gun restrictions, particularly a ban on so-called assault weapons.

The president spoke with the lawmakers to thank them for speaking out and for standing their ground, and being very clear about what's needed to protect their communities, Jean-Pierre said.

The expulsion votes added a level of political drama and controversy to the violence at The Covenant School, where three children and three adults were killed.

Two of the lawmakers  Rep. Justin Pearson and Rep. Justin Jones, both Black  were expelled by the Republican-controlled legislature. The third, Rep. Gloria Johnson, who is white, was not.

Pearson and Jones have since been reinstated by local officials, returning them to their positions on an interim basis.

The state has set Aug. 3 as the special election date for the seats filled by Jones and Pearson, preceded by a June 15 primary election. Both lawmakers have said they intend to run.

Julia Bruck, the Tennessee secretary of state office's spokesperson, said local officials believe the Nashville special election will cost about $120,000 to administer, while the Memphis one will cost between $375,000 and $500,000.

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Nashville earlier this month to support the Tennessee Three" and their calls for greater gun control.

Lets not fall for the false choice  either youre in favor of the Second Amendment or you want reasonable gun safety laws, Harris said. We can and should do both.

___

Associated Press writer Jonathan Mattise in Nashville, Tennessee, contributed to this report.
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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP)  Ron DeSantis has yet to enter the 2024 presidential race, but former President Donald Trump is aiming to drum up support in the Florida governor's backyard, securing endorsements already from more than one-third of the Republicans in the state's congressional delegation.

Republicans hold 20 of Florida's 28 U.S. House districts, and eight of those lawmakers have announced their support for Trump. They include Rep. Byron Donalds, who introduced DeSantis at his reelection party last year. Earlier this month, Donalds called Trump the only leader at this time in our nations history who can seize the moment and deliver what we need.

Rep. John Rutherford backed Trump on Tuesday shortly after leaving a Washington meeting with DeSantis. Others going with Trump are Reps. Vern Buchanan, Matt Gaetz, Anna Paulina Luna, Brian Mast, Cory Mills and Greg Steube,

In all, Trump has won the backing of more than 40 House Republicans across the country. His team, led by former White House political director Brian Jack, contacted some of those lawmakers, while others reached out to him.

Endorsements rarely have a dramatic impact on whom voters ultimately support, especially this early in a presidential primary. But they do signal which candidates are gaining support within a party. That's important as Trump tries to assert himself as the undisputed leader of the GOP in seeking the 2024 nomination.

Trump's endorsements are notable because they suggest his criminal indictment in New York this month did little to erode his support among elected Republicans. If anything, the charges may have enhanced his standing within the party.

I think after the indictment, a lot of people were willing to be very vocal with their endorsement, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said.

DeSantis' backers note that the governor hasn't formally launched his effort, making it harder for him to get official endorsements. He has expanded his travel outside of Florida, making his first appearances Wednesday in South Carolina, where support for any GOP nominee is critical, and where a few state lawmakers have said they will back him if he runs for the White House.

So far, DeSantis has three congressional endorsements, including one from Florida, first-term Rep. Laurel Lee, who served as DeSantis secretary of state for more than three years. Rep. Chip Roy of Texas was the first House member to sign on.

Rep. Thomas Massie, who has endorsed DeSantis, acknowledged Trumps growing endorsement advantage but emphasized that the Florida governor hasnt yet entered the 2024 race.

Ron DeSantis hasnt asked anybody for an endorsement," Massie, R-Ky., said in an interview Wednesday. He cant ask anybody for an endorsement because he is not a candidate for president.

The real question, Massie said, is why Trump has yet to lock up more endorsements, given that the former president is essentially an incumbent.

Im not concerned that Donald Trump is getting endorsements and getting a lot of them," Massie said. "He should have all of Congress. Why doesnt he have the whole Republican Congress?

DeSantis slow start in building out a national coalition underscores his long-standing disdain for investing in relationships with other Republican leaders. Fellow GOP governors and party officials regularly grumble about his tendency to ignore their public gatherings, fundraisers and conference calls.

In his recent book, DeSantis, who served nearly three terms in the House, referred to Congress as grotesque.

As a practice, DeSantis typically does not attend meetings of the Republican Governors Association. During the height of the pandemic, he did not participate in regularly nightly conference calls of Republican governors, according to Gov. Chris Sununu, R-N.H.

All the Republican governors, for the most part, are pretty tight. Were buddies, Sununu said in a recent interview. He didnt get on the phone calls. He didnt. He doesnt come to our events. If he comes to a governors event, he shows up, makes a speech and leaves. Thats just him and his style. At first, we were all taken aback by it, but thats just him.

DeSantis unwillingness to engage with colleagues stands in stark contrast with successful candidates at the national level in the past.

Former President George W. Bushs lengthy Christmas card list is cemented in political lore. Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton regularly sent handwritten notes to mark birthdays or graduations to local activists in New Hampshire and Iowa. Trump, before and after his 2016 election, was almost always on the phone with party officials, donors or business leaders.

Massie, who served with DeSantis in Congress for six years, said he hosted a private reception with him on Monday night, in part, to dispel this notion that he is not personable.

Massie noted that DeSantis spent less than 10 minutes of the two-hour event delivering a speech. The rest of the time, he said, DeSantis spoke one on one with other members of Congress.

He surprised me with the degree to which he understood peoples districts, Massie said. He is a student of politics.

___

Associated Press writers Jill Colvin and Steve Peoples in New York and Will Weissert in Washington contributed to this report.

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP
LONDON (AP)  Russian hackers are seeking to disrupt or destroy Britains critical infrastructure and not enough is being done to stop them, U.K. government officials said Wednesday.

Britains National Cyber Security Centre issued an official threat notice to operators of Britains electricity, water and other critical systems, telling them to boost their defenses.

I dont think we are yet doing enough to protect our infrastructure from the cyber threats emerging from Russia-aligning groups, the centers chief, Lindy Cameron, said.

Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden said the threat comes from hackers sympathetic to Russia though not necessarily directed by the Russian state. He described them as the cyber equivalent of the Wagner Group, the private Russian company with mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.

He said that while the alleged hackers currently lack the capacity to do widespread damage to U.K. systems, the threat is growing.

Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly, but its necessary for companies to understand the current risk they face, and take action to defend themselves and the country, Dowden said at a cybersecurity conference in Belfast.

These are the companies in charge of keeping our country running. Of keeping the lights on, he said. Our shared prosperity depends on them taking their own security seriously.

The National Cyber Security Centre, a branch of U.K. cyber intelligence agency GCHQ, said cyber attackers could begin to broaden their focus from Ukraine to the wider West as the war drags on.

Cameron also sounded a warning about the dramatic rise of China as a technology superpower."

What Im saying about China is that China is, as we say in the integrated review, an epoch-defining threat, she told British broadcaster Sky News. The scale and pace of their ambition and technology is something that all of the people here at the conference need to take seriously and think about how it is that we build security into our future technology to keep our people safe.
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TUMWATER, Wash. (AP)  The email went out to legal cannabis growers around Washington state. Another of their colleagues had gone under.

Liquidation sale, it said. Attached was a spreadsheet of items for sale: LED grow lights for $500 apiece. Rotary evaporators for hash oil, $10,000.

Across the Columbia River in Oregon, where the states top marijuana regulator recently warned of an existential crisis in the industry, its an open secret some licensed growers have funneled product to the out-of-state black market just to stay afloat.

Californias Apple store of weed, MedMen, is teetering with millions in unpaid bills, while the Canadian cannabis company Curaleaf has shuttered cultivation operations in California, Oregon and Colorado.

Along the West Coast, producers face what many call the failed economics of legal pot. There is vast supply, thanks to great growing conditions and a wealth of expertise, but any surplus remains trapped within each states borders due to the federal ban on marijuana. Prices have plunged and producers have struggled.

Im at rock bottom, said Jeremy Moberg, who owns CannaSol Farms in Washington and, like many growers, complains that the states 37% cannabis tax leaves virtually no profit margin.

No one expects Congress to help out by legalizing the drug nationwide. Instead, some are pinning their hopes, however faint, on President Joe Bidens administration approving marijuana trade among states that have regulated it.

That would allow the West Coast  with its favorable climate and cheap, clean hydropower for indoor growing  to supply the rest of the country, they argue.

In Senate testimony last month, Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department will soon announce a new marijuana policy. Drug policy experts say they do not expect it to go as far as permitting interstate commerce.

Nevertheless, lawmakers in Washington last week approved a trigger bill  modeled after ones already passed in Oregon and California  that will allow the governor to enter into interstate cannabis agreements should the feds allow it.

Twenty-one states have now legalized the recreational use of cannabis by adults.

How they have set up their markets has implications for how they might fare if their growers and processors are allowed to sell pot in other states.

Washington and Colorado were the first states to legalize recreational marijuana in 2012. Many of the early regulations Washington adopted to keep the Justice Department at bay  including restrictions on the size of growing facilities and banning out-of-state investment  remain.

That has helped some smaller growers thrive. But it would hamstring those who hope to compete in an interstate marketplace alongside larger, more efficient producers from Oregon or California, who face fewer restrictions.

In Oregon, where sales began in 2015, large growers have achieved some economy of scale that could give them a leg up in a broader market  but in the meantime, the states oversupply is considered the nations worst.

Cannabis in Oregon is like corn in Iowa, said TJ Sheehy, an analyst for Oregons cannabis agency. If you put a box around Iowa and said you can only grow corn in Iowa to sell to Iowans, youd have exactly the same dynamic.

The oversupply has been terrific for cannabis consumers.

When legalization started in Oregon in 2015, a pound of cannabis might have gone for $3,000 wholesale; today, it might be $100 to $150, said Isaac Foster, co-founder of Portland Cannabis Market, a wholesale distributor.

In Washington, which has some of the highest cannabis taxes in the country, the prices consumers pay are still cheaper than illicit weed. The state is raking in half a billion dollars a year in taxes.

But with such cheap prices, keeping the industry sustainable is a challenge.

With the spring planting season arriving, Moberg, of CannaSol Farms, says he already has three shipping containers of unsold weed, including 75% of what he produced last season.

East Fork Cultivars, one of Oregons first licensed growers, has thousands of pounds stashed, said co-founder Nathan Howard.

We hope we can sell most of it to keep the lights on, Howard said.

Oregon regulators know producers are suffering, but say theyll be in a good position should the federal government allow interstate commerce.

Legal growers generally want to supply the legal market, rather than risk their businesses and freedom if they get caught selling out the back door. But oversupply and cheap wholesale prices have made it tough for some to survive on legal sales alone.

They were either going to die or get creative, said Tanner Mariani, head of sales for the Portland Cannabis Market. And a lot of people chose to get creative and ... found a way to get it from this market into the other side and then out of the state.

Authorities have also contended with illegal farms operating under the guise of legality  notably in Oregon, where many have been financed by foreign cartels.

In California, about two-thirds of communities dont allow legal marijuana activity, which helps the illicit market flourish.

A post-pandemic economy ushered in layoffs in the already-strained legal sector. A glut pushed wholesale prices to fire-sale levels. As in Oregon, its no secret some growers have fed the black market.

An analysis by cannabis investor Aaron Edelheit determined Californias legal market lost nearly one-quarter of its total growing area after the start of 2022  a wipeout, he called it.

With so many California producers going out of business, wholesale prices have started to recover.

One of the first licensees was Erik Hultstrom, who began nurturing boutique buds in a steel-gated warehouse on the fringes of Los Angeles.

Five years later, hes sold his license and is trying to contract with a large grower to sell bud under Hultstroms brand.

I dont know any companies that are really making money, he said.

Still, not everyone is so concerned. Rob Sechrist, of the cannabis-only lender Pelorus Equity Group, described the market tumult as typical for an emerging industry.

Every time somebody fails, market share goes to somebody else, Sechrist said.

Indeed, cannabis distributor Nabis is opening a massive warehouse southeast of Fresno this month.

Some growers have found a happy medium.

Indoor producer Doc & Yeti Urban Farms, in Tumwater, Washington, has about 100 regular retail-store customers, said co-founder Joseph DuPuis. Brand loyalty has helped his team of 13 survive and profit.

If you can withstand the storm, you have a chance to come out to calmer seas and survive in this market, DuPuis said.
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SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  A U.S. judge on Wednesday ordered former Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo Manrique to surrender to federal agents after an appeals court denied his latest motion to stop his extradition back to Peru, where he faces charges he accepted millions of dollars in bribes.

Magistrate Judge Thomas S. Hixson in San Francisco ordered Toledo, who has been under house arrest, to turn himself in Friday to U.S. Marshal agents in San Jose. Toledo will be placed in a San Mateo County jail while he awaits extradition to his native country, where authorities say he accepted bribes as part of a mammoth corruption scandal in which four of Perus ex-presidents have been implicated. Toledo denies the charges.

Federal prosecutors have said Peruvian officials will travel to California to pick up Toledo and fly him back to Peru. When that will happen was not immediately known. Hixson's order comes after the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied Toledo's latest effort to stay his extradition.

Toledo, 77, is accused of taking $20 million in bribes from Odebrecht, a giant Brazilian construction company that has admitted to U.S. authorities that it bribed officials to win contracts throughout Latin America for decades. He had sought a stay on his extradition pending a legal challenge to the U.S. State Departments decision to send him back to Peru.

On Wednesday, Tamara Crepet, one of Toledo's defense attorneys, asked Hixson to delay the former president's extradition until Tuesday so he could see his psychiatrist one last time but the judge sided with Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Waldinger who asked that he be placed in custody as soon as possible.

He is elderly and does have health issues ... and hes always going to have medical appointments coming up no matter when the extradition is, Waldinger said.

Toledo, who was Perus president from 2001-2006, was arrested in July 2019 at his home in Menlo Park, California. He was initially held in solitary confinement at the Santa Rita Jail about 40 miles (60 kilometers) east of San Francisco, but was released in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and his deteriorating mental health. He has been under house arrest since then.

The Odebrecht corruption scandal has shaken Perus politics, with nearly every living former president now on trial or under investigation.

Former President Ollanta Humala is standing trial on charges that he and his wife received over $3 million from Odebrecht for his presidential campaigns in 2006 and 2011. Both have denied any wrongdoing.

Ex-leader Pedro Pablo Kuczynski, who left office in 2018, is under house arrest for similar charges.

Former leader Alan Garcia, in office from 2006-2011, fatally shot himself in the head in 2019 as police arrived at his home to arrest him.
STOCKHOLM (AP)  The U.S. is sending Ukraine about $325 million in additional military aid, including an enormous amount of artillery rounds and ammunition as the launch of the spring offensive against Russian forces approaches, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

The U.S. has declined to say exactly how much munitions will be sent to Ukraine, but the latest package resembles other recent deliveries, which included rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, and howitzers, as well as an array of other missiles and anti-tank ammunition. It will all be pulled from Pentagon stocks, so it can go quickly to the front lines.

A Ukrainian official warned on Monday that it is only a matter of time before his country is militarily prepared to begin its counteroffensive. Oleksiy Danilov, the secretary of Ukraines National Security and Defense Council, told The Associated Press in an interview in Kyiv that the offensive against Russian troops will start when Ukraines troops are ready. And he said deliveries of armored vehicles and ammunition are key to the launch.

The recent leak of classified information included a number of documents detailing the timeline for weapon deliveries to Ukraine and previously unreleased assessments about how quickly the Ukrainian military could run out of critical air-defense munitions. They included projections that missile stocks could be exhausted as soon as late this month or May, which would provide greater opportunities for devastating Russian air and artillery strikes.

Danilov echoed other Ukrainian leaders who said they didn't see the leak as gravely damaging future offensives, stressing that Ukraine doesnt share highly sensitive information with anyone.

The announcement of the new U.S. aid comes before Friday's meeting in Germany of defense and military leaders from more than 50 countries to discuss and plan for future Ukraine security assistance. The Ukraine Contact Group was formed about a year ago by U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to better coordinate the military aid, weapons and training for Ukraine. Austin and Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, will both attend the meeting.

The new U.S. aid package includes demolition munitions to clear routes, more than 9 million rounds of small arms ammunition, four logistics support vehicles, spare parts, and equipment for harbor security and maintenance and repair.

Officials have said the weapons and other equipment will help as Ukraine prepares to shift from what has been a long and bloody winter stalemate, focused on heavy fighting in Ukraines east, particularly around the town of Bakhmut in the Donetsk province.

While the fighting has been brutal, not much territory has changed hands. Moscow controls about half of Donetsk, and capturing Bakhmut would be a stepping stone to seizing the remaining half.

This is the 36th package of Pentagon stocks to go to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and it brings the total U.S. military aid to nearly $36 billion.

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Follow the APs coverage of the war at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine
BANGKOK (AP)  A giant panda on long-term loan from China died in a zoo in northern Thailand on Wednesday, six months before she was due to return home, officials from the Chiang Mai Zoo said.

The cause of Lin Huis death was not immediately clear but she appeared to have become ill Tuesday morning, and her nose was seen bleeding when she laid down after a meal, said Wutthichai Muangmun, the zoo director.

She was rushed into the care of a joint Thai-Chinese veterinarian team but her condition deteriorated and she died early Wednesday morning, he said.

Tewarat Vejmanat, a veterinarian who spoke at a news conference broadcast live on the zoos Facebook page, said the panda, who had a health check every day, was already at an advanced age at 21, and there had been no sign of illness or any difference in her behavior before she became sick.

China is saddened by the death of the giant panda Lin Hui, Wang Wenbin, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said in Beijing.

Wang said that after China learned about the panda's illness it immediately organized experts to guide the Thai side to carry out rescue work through video link, but unfortunately did not save her life." He added that the Chinese authorities would soon set up a team of experts to carry out a joint investigation into the cause of death.

Lin Huis male mate, Chuang Chuang, who was kept with her at the Chiang Mai Zoo, died there in 2019 at the age of 19. The couple arrived in Chiang Mai in 2003 on a 10-year loan that was later extended for another 10 years.

While the loan was ostensibly for research and conservation purposes, it was generally regarded as an act of friendship by China, which has sent pandas to many countries in what is regarded as a striking example of soft power diplomacy.

When Chuang Chuang died in 2019, Thailand's then-Environment Minister Varawut Silpa-archa said the country had to pay $500,000 to the Chinese government in compensation. It was later reported that heart failure was the cause of his death.

Zoo director Wutthichai said the zoo has a 15-million-baht ($435,000) insurance policy on Lin Hui, who was due to be returned to China this October.

Lin Hui and Chuang Chuang had a daughter, Lin Ping, in 2009 through artificial insemination. A scheme to encourage them to mate naturally by showing them videos of pandas having sex made headlines in 2007. Lin Ping was sent to China in 2013 in what was initially said to be a one-year visit for her to find a mate, but has remained there.

The life expectancy of a giant panda in the wild is about 15 years, but in captivity they have lived to be as old as 38. Decades of conservation efforts in the wild and study in captivity saved the giant panda species from extinction, increasing its population from fewer than 1,000 at one time to more than 1,800 in the wild and captivity.

A Chinese influencer living in Thailand who identified herself as Shanshan visited the zoo Tuesday morning and posted several videos of Lin Hui on the Chinese social media platform Douyin. One of them showed her nose, which appeared bloody, and a red spot could be seen on her neck. In another clip, she was lying down while licking her nose, and there were red stain trails on a concrete slab beneath her head. Screenshots from the videos were widely shared by Thai social media users.

This is when we just got here, she was lying on her side. Then I saw her nose was bleeding, she commented in one of the clips. She looked like she had nausea. We were not sure.

Screenshots from the videos were widely shared by Thai social media users.

The cause of Lin Huis death will take time before it can be determined, Wutthichai said, and how and when that would be revealed will be entirely up to China. Under an agreement between the zoo and the Chinese governments panda conservation project, an autopsy cannot be performed until a Chinese expert is present.

Some Thai internet users speculated that air pollution in northern Thailand, which in recent weeks has spiked to levels considered dangerous to human health, contributed to Lin Huis death. The zoo staff, however, said that was unlikely, as Lin Hui lived in a closed space in an area of the zoo considered to have the cleanest air.
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP)  Cyprus says it is seeking information from the United States and Britain on whether 13 Cypriot nationals included in a new round of sanctions targeting the financial networks of two Russian oligarchs have breached domestic and European Union laws.

Government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said Wednesday that President Nikos Christodoulides has instructed senior Cypriot officials to prepare a roadmap on what must be done to thoroughly investigate the individuals.

The people named as being allegedly involved in the financial networks of Alisher Usmanov and Roman Abramovich  close allies of Russian President Vladimir Putin  include two dual Uzbek-Cypriot nationals, a man with Russian, Israeli and Cypriot citizenship and three Russian Cypriots.

The naming of the 13 individuals as part of the new sanctions riled the new Cypriot president, who signaled his countrys firm Western orientation amid Russias war in Ukraine shortly after taking office Mar. 1.

The spokesman said Christodoulides has reiterated the clear message that our countrys credibility must be safeguarded  and that no deviation from European Union sanctions will be tolerated. Cypriot officials say the latest U.S.-U.K. sanctions havent been adopted yet by the EU.

Cyprus has in recent years striven to shake off a reputation of being in the pocket of Russian oligarchs who conceal their assets through a maze of Cyprus-registered trusts and brass-plate companies. Cyprus-Russian political, cultural and business ties have been traditionally strong. Hundreds of Russians received Cypriot passports under a now-defunct investment-for-citizenship program.

Letymbiotis said Central Bank Governor Constantinos Herodotou informed the president that Cypriot banks have frozen the accounts of the 13 individuals as well as a number of Cyprus-based companies listed in the sanctions.

Herodotou said Cypriot authorities have in recent years toughened measures against potential sanctions busting including shutting down some 43,000 shell companies and 123,000 suspicious bank accounts. Only 2.2% of all bank deposits currently belong to Russians, a far cry from the tens of billions parked in Cypriot bank accounts before a 2013 financial crisis brought the country to the brink of bankruptcy.

Several of the Cypriots named as part of the sanctions are lawyers who allegedly manage Russian oligarchs' assets. Cyprus Bar Association chairman Christos Clerides told state RIK broadcaster Tuesday that no Bar member has so far been found in breach of any sanctions against Russia.

Clerides said the latest sanctions aiming to prevent Russian oligarchs from accessing their assets through the Cypriot-based management network were exaggerated and complained that Cypriot law firms should have been forewarned about them.
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MANANJARY, Madagascar (AP)  Battered by three intense cyclones in the space of a year, southeast Madagascar is experiencing the knock-on effect of those climatic disasters: catastrophic hunger in remote, inaccessible areas that is gaining little international attention, humanitarian groups say.

Cyclone Batsirai hit in February 2022, followed two weeks later by Cyclone Emnati. Then, Cyclone Freddy made landfall on the Indian Ocean island in February of this year. The combined impact left 60%-90% of farming areas in the southeast badly damaged and food crops largely destroyed, according to a report by UNICEF and Madagascar's National Office for Nutrition.

The suffering is felt by people like Iavosoa, a desperate young mother whose 10-month-old daughter, Soaravo, was at risk of not living to see her first birthday because of acute malnutrition. Iavosoa, who only gave her first name to protect her privacy, also has a 3-year-old son suffering from moderate malnutrition.

A team from the humanitarian organization Doctors of the World brought her children and two other badly malnourished children, both under age 2, to a hospital in the city of Mananjary on Madagascars east coast last month after a group of parents and their children were found walking through the bush to try to reach the nearest health center.

At the hospital, Soaravo moaned weakly as her mother rocked the baby in her arms to soothe her. The child weighed barely 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) and had the appearance of an infant born prematurely, her eyes almost too big for her tiny skull. At her age, she should weigh four to six times more, doctors said.

"If my daughter is in this state, its because we dont have enough food where we live," Iavosoa said. I had dysentery for two months. I had almost no milk. I was exhausted. The first basic health center is three hours' walk from my village. I could not treat myself. ... I was unable to travel such a distance.

And then she (Soaravo) got sick, too. And then Cyclone Freddy came. (It) ravaged our village and completely destroyed our house, she said.

Iavosoa, who said she wasn't sure of her own age but thought she was between 21 and 24, wore a torn T-shirt and a piece of fabric wrapped around her waist. She had no shoes. Everything she owned was wrapped up in a cloth bundle on the hospital floor. She is a single mother.

With a look of dismay on her face, Iavosoa glanced at her little girl. She just turned 10 months old," she said.

The families found walking about 30 miles from the hospital were discovered by chance when a Doctors of the World team went to evaluate the state of health facilities in areas outside Mananjary, said Joaquin Noterdaeme, a coordinator with the group known by its French name, Medecins du Monde.

Soaravo was treated for an infection and diarrhea and received a special milk formula to address the malnutrition. Doctors said she would have to stay in the hospital for at least a month. Her mother and brother lived with her there because they had nowhere to go.

More than a quarter of the population in the southeastern region of Madagascar, approximately 870,000 people, don't have enough food and are at risk of hunger, according to the Feb. 28 report by UNICEF and the National Office for Nutrition.

Soaravo and the other hospitalized children are a drop in the ocean, aid groups say.

"This is a nutrition emergency clearly, Jean-Francois Basse, the UNICEF representative in Madagascar said, calling the situation in rural areas catastrophic.

The hospital where doctors worked to save Soaravo's life also bears the scars of the cyclones. Some of its buildings are little more than a shell. The walls were just about standing, but parts of the roof were gone. Some patients were treated in a tent outside.

In and around Mananjary, which took the brunt of the cyclones roaring in from the Indian Ocean and where Freddy made landfall, few trees stand upright. The cyclones ripped them out or left them lurching at 45-degree angles, revealing the force of the wind the storms carried.

Homes were destroyed, rebuilt and destroyed again.

People living in remote districts like coastal Nosy-Varika and the mountainous region of Ikongo were extremely vulnerable to hunger before the cyclones, and children across southeast Madagascar experienced chronic malnutrition, according to Brian Willett, head of mission in Madagascar for Doctors Without Borders, also known as Medecins Sans Frontieres.

But with the repeated climate shocks of the past year, their resilience has been exceeded," he said. "Today, 1 in 4 children is acutely malnourished. Without medical support, these children are at risk of dying.

Mothers who couldn't feed their children might engage in acts of desperation, Willett said, referring to reports that some were selling their children in hopes of saving them from hunger.

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Follow AP's coverage of climate and environment issues at https://apnews.com/hub/climate-and-environment

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More AP Africa news: https://apnews.com/hub/africa
MEXICO CITY (AP)  The Mexican government said Wednesday that the police shooting earlier this month of a Mexican man in California represented an unreasonable use of lethal force.

Police in Oxnard, California shot to death Cristian Baltazar Torres, 18, on April 7. A video distributed by the police department showed Torres holding a knife and refusing to follow orders to drop it as he approached several officers.
SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  A migrant woman was accidentally shot and killed by police in North Macedonia during a struggle that broke out Wednesday as an officer tried to arrest a suspected smuggler, authorities said.

The fatal shooting occurred during an inspection of two vehicles outside the town of Gevgelija, close to the countrys southern border with Greece.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP

SHANGHAI (AP)  Government inspectors concluded Tesla Inc.s Shanghai factory where an employee died in a Feb. 4 accident has weaknesses in its safety measures, news reports said Wednesday.

The emergency bureau of Shanghais Pudong district recommended an unspecified penalty for Tesla, the business news magazine Caixin and other outlets reported. They cited a copy of the report posted on the city government website.
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BERLIN (AP)  German police released an initial description Wednesday of a suspect wanted in connection with a knife attack at a gym in the western city of Duisburg that left four men seriously wounded.

Police said witnesses interviewed after the attack late Tuesday described the man as being about 30 years old, 180cm (5 feet 11 inches) tall, of normal build and with a long black beard. They added that witnesses said he had a southern appearance  a term sometimes used in Germany to describe people of Mediterranean origin  and wore a long-sleeved pullover, dark trousers and a black baseball cap.

Investigators were still looking into a possible motive, however it appeared that it was not an indiscriminate attack, said Herbert Reul, the state interior minister of North Rhine-Westphalia, where Duisburg is located. He did not elaborate.

I hope that the victims will recover quickly and that everyone who was on the scene and saw this terrible act will recover, Reul added.

Prosecutor Jill McCuller said later that it appeared one or more of the victims had had an altercation with the attacker, German news agency dpa reported. She said investigators were still trying to clarify whether the attacker was also a member of the gym.

Police said the four victims are German citizens aged 21 and 32, and two aged 24. The 21-year-old victim remains in a life-threatening condition and may have to undergo a second surgery, McCuller said. Officers were not yet able to interview any of the victims, meaning the description of the attacker couldn't yet be verified.

McCuller said there were no surveillance cameras in the gym making it difficult to reconstruct the exact course of the attack.

Authorities have asked members of the public with any information about the attack to get in touch and submit relevant photos or videos.

Police said a stabbing or cutting weapon was used in the attack at the gym, which is part of the John Reed Fitness chain.

The company said in a statement that it deeply regretted the incident and expressed hope that the victims would recover quickly.

Last month, a gunman stormed a service at his former Jehovahs Witness hall in the northern Germany city of Hamburg, killing six people before taking his own life after police arrived.
IRBIL, Iraq (AP)  The United Nations expressed concern Wednesday over the Iraqi authorities' swift closure this week of a displacement camp that had housed more than 300 families with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group.

The U.N. office in Baghdad said in a statement that the closure the previous day of the camp known as Jadah 5 in the town of Qayyarah in the country's north was done without adequate notification or preparation.

Aid workers, who had also criticized the closure as hasty and chaotic, said authorities had notified camp residents on Monday that they had to leave by Wednesday  a day before the beginning of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that follows the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Initially, the migration and displacement ministry had set a closure deadline for May. Jadah 5 was one of the last remaining camps for the displaced in Iraq, which still has some where 1.2 million people internally displaced after years of conflict.

Aid groups have pushed back against their closures, fearing that vulnerable families, including many women and children, would struggle to integrate in their hometowns and would be stigmatized for their perceived or real affiliation with IS militants. Camp residents had said they fear violence from militias and tribes if they go back to their towns of origin.

The humanitarian community is concerned by the impact of the closure of the camp, the U.N. office said and reiterated the U.N.'s long and principled support for voluntary, informed, safe and dignified return of all" internally displaced persons.

Ali Abbas, a spokesman for the ministry, said that each family was given 1,500,000 Iraqi dinars (about $1,030) to find new housing. He did not why the deadline was pushed up.

Iraqi authorities in late 2020 began a push to close all displacement camps across the country, hoping it would boost reconstruction efforts that have lagged, years after the defeat of IS.

Most camps have since been closed, except for those in Iraq's northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish region and also Jadah 1 in Qayyarah, which houses Iraqi detainees with IS ties who were formerly held in neighboring Syria's al-Hol camp.

International organizations have cited rampant violence and lawlessness in al-Hol and called for countries with citizens housed there to repatriate them.
A meeting of the House Homeland Security Committee on Wednesday went completely off the rails after Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene accused California Rep. Eric Swalwell of having a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy.

The Republican-controlled committee was taking testimony from U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, who was summoned to the Capitol this week to answer questions about the agency's budget. In a video posted on Twitter, Swalwell can be seen wrapping up his questions before Greene is called on to speak.

That was quite entertaining from someone that had a sexual relationship with a Chinese spy, and everyone knows it, Greene said in response to Swalwell's line of questioning.

Democratic Rep. Daniel Goldman of New York interrupted Greene and called for a motion to have her comments stricken from the official committee record. He also asked that Greene not be allowed to speak for the remainder of the meeting. The committee's chair, Republican Rep. Mark Green of Tennessee, asked Greene if she would be willing to voluntarily remove her comments from the record, to which she replied, No, I will not."



The committee stopped action for several minutes as Green reviewed rules and decided what to do next. Ultimately, Greene's comments were not removed from the official committee record, which is unusual even in today's political climate. Remarks about other lawmakers are typically seen as uncouth in official proceedings. Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson of Mississippi said as much in his comments shortly after the chair's decision to not remove Greene's comments from the record.



Weve never had an accusation made of any member like that, he said. Im appalled at it. We all ought to be embarrassed at it.

Greene's remarks were a reference to Swalwell's professional relationship with Christine Fang, who U.S. intelligence officials believe was working on orders from Beijing to befriend up-and-coming politicians in an attempt to gain information and leverage. Swalwell has never been accused of any wrongdoing by law enforcement.

Wall Street Journal policy reporter Michelle Hackman said on Twitter that Greene was later barred from speaking during the hearing after she called Mayorkas a liar. Hackman said the committee's decision to gag Greene took place only a few minutes after the fracas over her comments about Swalwell.

Swalwell later addressed Greene's comments in a tweet.

The hardest thing I do every day is to wake, feed, and dress 3 little monsters who are 5 and under. Dealing with this crazy ladys delusions is like dunking in Oz, he said.
NurPhoto / Contributor and George Pachantouris via Getty

JetBlues Spring Into Summer sale is heading into its last hours, but you still have time to snag deals and forestall some serious travel envy. One of the best deals that weve found online? A nice little weekend getaway (or weeklong excursion) that departs from the Bay Area and takes you all the way across the country.

For example, you can get a flight from SFO (or SJC) to JFK for less than $140 one way during the first half of May  or, conveniently, you can make it a package offer with quick-escape deals on two nights of a hotel stay plus flights going for just $555.
A trio of telecoms firms have been accused of overcharging hundreds of thousands of landline-only customers by almost 200m, according to research. Economists at Fideres argue that almost 600,000 UK landline-only customers have been charged excessive prices since 2009. - Guardian

The bakery chain Greggs is to appeal against a ban preventing a central London outlet from selling hot food through the night after police claimed it could lead to a spike in crime and disorder. The company was last summer refused an overnight licence to open its store in Leicester Square between between 11pm and 5am amid claims it could become a hotspot for late-night disturbances and antisocial behaviour.  Guardian

The former head of the CBI has said he has been made the fall guy for a wider crisis within Britains biggest business lobbying group, amid allegations of drug use and rape. Tony Danker said his reputation has been totally destroyed by the misconduct claims, which were unrelated to his dismissal but came to light around the same time.  Telegraph

The leading shareholder in HSBC has accused the banks bosses of being closed-minded about a break-up as Ping An detailed for the first time its plan to spin off the lenders Asian division. The Chinese insurer, which owns an 8 per cent stake, claimed that the FTSE 100 bank had refused to verbally engage in discussions on its proposals and had exaggerated many of the costs and risks. It had been extremely disappointed by the consistent closed-minded attitude displayed by executives at the British group.  The Times

Lawyers for Jes Staley have been given the chance to question the former Barclays chief executives ex-boss at JP Morgan over allegations surrounding the crimes of Jeffrey Epstein. Jamie Dimon, JP Morgans veteran chairman and chief executive, has been ordered by a federal judge to set aside two days for questioning under oath as Americas largest bank grapples with legal action over its former ties with Epstein, the paedophile.  The Times
Laman Ismayilova

Days of Shusha have been successfully held in Uzbekistan in connection with the declaration of Shusha as the 2023 Cultural Capital of the Turkic World.

The anticipated event was held under the auspices of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation and on the basis of a joint project with the Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Uzbekistan, Azernews reports.

The Minister of Culture and Tourism of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva, Azerbaijani Ambassador to Uzbekistan Huseyn Guliyev, Secretary-General of TURKPA Mehmet Sureyya Er, head of the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan Bahadur Abdukarimov, ambassadors of Turkic states accredited in Tashkent, deputies, state officials, and media representatives took part in the opening ceremony held at Heydar Aliyev Azerbaijan Cultural Center in Uzbekistan.

The event program included a screening of a documentary about Shusha's culture, literature, art and history, an exhibition of photographs and books, a fashion show dedicated to Karabakh national costumes, artistic and poetic compositions and gala concerts.

At the beginning of the event, the guests laid wreaths and flowers by the bust of National Leader Heydar Aliyev at the Cultural Center, as well as in front of the Martyrs and Victory memorial complex.

In the hall of the Azerbaijan Culture Center, a photo and publication exhibition called "Free and Prosperous Shusha" was presented to the guests.

The event continued in the large conference hall of the Heydar Aliyev Cultural Center. Director of the center Samir Abbasov welcomed the guests of the event.

He called the Days of Shusha held for the first time in Uzbekistan a major event not only for the Azerbaijani culture, but also for the cultural and social life of Uzbekistan.

Speaking about the exceptional role of the city of Shusha in Azerbaijani culture, music, poetry, he emphasized that as a result of the 44-day Patriotic War, the Azerbaijani ancestral lands were liberated and by order of the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev the city was declared the Cultural Capital of Azerbaijan, and TURKSOY made a decision to declare it the Cultural Capital of the Turkic World for 2023.

The Azerbaijani Ambassador to Uzbekistan Huseyn Guliyev stressed that Shusha has a special place for the Azerbaijani state and people. He noted that the city, which had been under the occupation of Armenians for a long time, was destroyed, and historical monuments were desecrated.

The ambassador called the liberation of the city of Shusha from the Armenian occupation a significant historical event and noted that the construction work and important international events currently being held in the city make every Azerbaijani feel proud.

President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, Gunay Afandiyeva, called the opening ceremony of the Days of Shusha in the Azerbaijan Cultural Center named after the Great Son of the Turkic world Heydar Aliyev, whose centenary is celebrated this year, a historic event.

She stressed that in connection with the announcement of the city of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic world, the organization she leads provides for the holding of Days of Shusha in various countries.

Gunay Afandiyeva outlined that the first event within the project took place last year in the Turkish city of Bursa, and this year it continues in Uzbekistan.

Emphasizing the contribution of the city of Shusha to Azerbaijani culture, literature, music, she noted the importance of bringing the rich cultural heritage of the city to the whole world.

The President of the Foundation assessed the holding of the Days of Shusha as a fusion of cultures of peoples with common roots, values, traditions, calling the city a new place of rapprochement, which laid the foundation for a new era in the Turkic world.

In his remarks, the Minister of Culture and Tourism of Uzbekistan Ozodbek Nazarbekov touched upon the intensively developing political ties between the Turkic countries in recent years and emphasized the high level of cultural ties between Azerbaijan and Uzbekistan.

Highly appreciating the Days of Shusha held in Tashkent under the auspices of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, the minister noted that this is an important and significant event not only for Azerbaijani culture, but also for the culture of all Uzbekistan.

Calling Shusha the heart of Azerbaijan, Ozodbek Nazarbekov expressed particular interest in the city and admiration for its rich cultural heritage.

The minister said that the announcement of the city of Shusha as the Cultural Capital of the Turkic world is a source of pride and a great event for all brotherly Turkic states.

Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Assembly of Turkic States Mehmet Sureyya Er and Director of the Cultural Heritage Agency of Uzbekistan Bahodir Abdukarimov emphasized the importance of cooperation with the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation.

They stressed that this project will contribute to the development of solidarity and cooperation between the countries of the Turkic world. The speakers emphasized that the historical Shusha, distinguished by high architecture and urban planning, has become a new symbol of unity and solidarity of the entire Turkic world.

Furthermore, a documentary film on Khurshidbanu Natavan was presented to the guests of the opening ceremony. The film, prepared by the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation, featured both documentary and artistic scenes about the life and work of the famous representative of Azerbaijani literature, poetess Khurshidbanu Natavan.

The film scripts was written by Ulviyya Heydarova, and directed by Zahra Guliyeva. The lead role was played by People's Artist of Azerbaijan Mehriban Zaki.

The artistic part of the event brought together People's Artist of Uzbekistan, the artistic director of the Yalla ensemble Farrukh Zakirov, a mugham trio consisting of Azerbaijani musicians Nisbat Sardayeva, Rustam Muslimov, Elnur Salakhov, Azerbaijan Gizlary dance ensemble as well as world-famous musical dance group "Ozbegim yoshlari". Azerbaijani and Uzbek songs and dancers were met with much enthusiasm.

At the end of the ceremony, President of the International Turkic Culture and Heritage Foundation Gunay Afandiyeva presented souvenirs dedicated to Shusha to the official guests and organizers.
Mountain View, Calif, & Mumbai, India: CleverTap, worlds #1 retention cloud, announced its partnership with Barefoot Edu Foundation to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) education across low-fee private schools in Mumbai.

Through this partnership, the aim is to develop fully operational STEM labs in 12 low-fee private schools. These labs will allow students to demonstrate increased retention of textual subject knowledge through formative and summative testing. Six of the twelve STEM labs will be exclusively for female students. Students will be given resources to demonstrate their creativity in applying textbook concepts to real-world problems through engaging activities like melas and competitions.

STEM education is critical in today's digitally savvy world. It helps in nurturing young minds and developing a future-ready workforce that will drive innovation across industries. CleverTap and Barefoot Edu Foundation plan on training educators with respect to how to incorporate experimental learning into their Science Lesson Plans. This will ensure that the next generation of students are STEM-skilled and aligned with the ever-evolving demands of the modern world.

A well-rounded education system that deploys proven and competent teaching methods brings the best out of students. This is most evident in a resource-intensive, technical field like STEM where application is everything. said Sidharth Malik, CEO at CleverTap. At CleverTap, we are true believers of a brilliant mind can come from anywhere and hope that our efforts can help create a conducive environment for the young aspirants of today, soon to be the leaders of tomorrow.

Commenting on the association, Subhankar Paul, Director and Co-founder of Barefoot Edu Foundation stated, At Barefoot, we are fully committed to providing a strong foundation for children to think, feel, dream, and thrive. Our association with CleverTap is made even more special given how strongly they align with our principles and values. Their contribution will go a long way in making STEM more accessible to students, especially young girls. Building the appropriate infrastructure to facilitate an environment of learning is the first step in changing the way society approaches education.
Education ties between New Zealand and India are set to strengthen following one of Education New Zealands biggest events of the year, the India-New Zealand Education Week. Starting on 17th April 2023, this week will encourage a dialogue on research while fostering innovation culture exchange and cooperation in the context of international education. The week-long activities included a series of engagements between New Zealand and Indian institutions and academics.

Demonstrating New Zealands overall commitment to India, New Zealand has announced an investment of NZ$ 400K towards internationalisation and student mobility initiatives. These include further engagement with the New Zealand Centre at IIT Delhi to include fellowship grants and the re-launch of the partial scholarships under the New Zealand Excellence Awards.

The New Zealand Excellence Awards (NZEA) is a unique scholarship scheme designed exclusively for Indian students. The awards are jointly funded by Education New Zealand and all eight New Zealand universities. Since the launch of the scholarship in 2016, it has supported over 200 Indian students to pursue their overseas study at world class universities in New Zealand.

Speaking at the event, Education New Zealands Chief Executive, Grant McPherson said, New Zealands education system is future focussed and multicultural, offering students an opportunity to earn work ready degrees.

India is one of New Zealands priority partner countries for collaborations, exchanges and student mobility. We are excited that todays announcements around the New Zealand Centre and the launch of the New Zealand Excellence Award scholarships demonstrate our commitment to India as an education partner. Added Mr McPherson.

Adding to this, IIT Delhi spokesperson, Prof. James Gomes, Dean International added, The New Zealand Centre embodies IIT Delhis efforts to embrace internationalisation, providing opportunities for new research collaboration and global exposure for our students. The first round of jointly funded Research Collaboration, awarded in 2022, has helped foster collaborative, sustainable and self-supporting research programmes.

Memorandum of Understanding has further enhanced the partnership and cooperation in research, teaching and fellowships between India and New Zealand and provides an opportunity to explore other innovative ventures, added Prof. Gomes.

The announcements were made at a media roundtable session hosted at the New Zealand High Commission in the presence of: HE. David Pine, New Zealand High Commissioner to India, Grant McPherson, Chief Executive, Education New Zealand; Prof. Alister Jones, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Waikato, and Dr. Erik Lithander, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Strategic Engagement University of Auckland.

The India-New Zealand Education week has senior level attendance from all 8 universities from New Zealand and focusses on high level engagement between New Zealand universities and Indian institutions and partners.

The visiting senior delegates and academics from New Zealand universities include:

Guy Littlefair, Pro Vice Chancellor, Auckland University of Technology

Annie Goh, International Director, Lincoln University

Christopher Gan, Head of Department Financial & Business System, Lincoln University

Christopher Carey, Executive Director Global Engagement, Massey University

Gaurab Sen Gupta, Deputy HOD Food & Advanced Technology, Massey University

Erik Lithander, Deputy Vice Chancellor, Strategic Engagement University of Auckland

Alister Jones, Senior Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Waikato

Graham Wise, Director of International Development, University of Canterbury

Anthony Ballantyne, Deputy Vice Chancellor, University of Otago

Blair McRae, Deputy Vice Chancellor Victoria University of Wellington

Vasso Koutsos, Deputy Director International Marketing & Recruitment University of Auckland

All the New Zealand universities have India based/responsible staff, who are also accompanying the delegation during the NZ-India week, these include:
The Rajasthan Royals are off to a flyer. Their start this season can be called an extension of their performance last year when they finished as the runners-up, but the team is looking even more ominous and their two away wins against Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Gujarat Titans testify that.

Their three-run victory at the Chepauk Stadium saw Sanju Samsons unit breach MS Dhonis fortress for the first time since 2008, and the three-wicket win over Titans came after losing all three games against them the previous season. These are the signs of Royals fearless approach in their quest for the trophy, an unfinished business from last years IPL.

The Royals have managed to click as a unit. Playing their first game at their original home ground here after four years, the present table-toppers Royals will take on second-placed Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) at the SMS Stadium on Wednesday.

In the batting department, Jos Buttler, Samson and Shimron Hetymer continue to be their pillars of strength, with youngsters looking up to the task. Yashaswi Jaiswal is in good nick while Devdutt Padikkal has started finding his range after being promoted as a No. 3 batter and Dhruv Jurel has managed to impress with his big-hitting ability.

The only glaring weak link is all-rounder Riyan Parag. He hasnt contributed anything of substance and his IPL numbers -- an average of 16 and strike rate of 123.6 in 51 matches, along with his last four knocks of 7, 20, 7 and 5, give little hope. The LSG have an equally strong batting line-up while their middle-order, which includes Nicholas Pooran and Marcus Stoinis, poses a serious threat.

After three matches, their captain KL Rahul has finally taken off with a 56-ball 74 which came against Punjab Kings in their previous game, but his strike rate in the IPL, which has dropped significantly from 152.45 (2016-2018) to 134.72 (2019-2022), was a matter of discussion yet again. More than how he carves his innings this time, it would be interesting to see how consistent the birthday boy Rahul remains from here. The LSG skipper turned 31 on Tuesday.

But it is Royals bowling which puts them ahead of Rahuls pack, though an interesting competition would be between Royals leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal and LSG pacer Mark Wood as they continue to jostle each other for the coveted Purple Cap. Currently, both have 11 wickets to their name, but it is Chahal who holds the cap with a better economy of 7.85 in five games. On the other hand, Wood has an economy of 8.72 in four games.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  A 14-year-old boy died in Ohio after overdosing on Benadryl as part of an online TikTok challenge, according to multiple media reports and his familys GoFundMe page.

So, what is the challenge all about, and why are young people doing it?

The drug diphenhydramine, an antihistamine, is sold under the brand-name Benadryl. Its also available under store-brands labels, in generics and in combination with pain relievers, fever reducers and decongestants.

The TikTok challenge is a trend in which adolescents challenge others to post short videos of themselves ingesting large amounts of the drug on TikTok, a social media platform, in an attempt to create hallucinations.

The trend gained national attention in 2020, prompting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to post warnings on its website.

The drug, when ingested in high amounts, causes confusion, delirium and hallucinations, among other symptoms, the FDA and the drug manufacturer, Johnson & Johnson, warn.

The Ohio teen, Jacob Stevens, was participating in the challenge when he took a bunch of Benadryl ... trying to be cool in front of his friends, his family said on the online GoFundMe page, which has so far raised more than $8,000 for the family.

Jacob was at home with friends, who filmed him attempting the social media challenge, before his body starting seizing, his family has reported.

The FDA warned in 2020 that serious problems, including seizures, trouble breathing and even death can occur if the drug is taken in doses higher than recommended on the label. Common signs and symptoms of overdose include confusion, urinary retention, tachycardia, blurry vision, dry mouth, irritability and hallucinations, medical experts warn.

The FDA said it has contacted TikTok, requesting that it remove all such videos from its platform.

When used as recommended, diphenhydramine is a safe and effective medicine, according to the FDA.

The challenge is a dangerous trend and should be stopped immediately, Johnson & Johnson stated on its website. The products should only be as directed by the label, the manufacturer said. Johnson & Johnson also said it is working with TikTok and other social platforms to remove content that showcases this type of behavior.

Consumers and parents should store Benadryl, other over-the-counter medications and prescription medicines out of the reach of children, the FDA said.

In a statement to CNN, TikTok said: Our deepest sympathies go out to the family. At TikTok, we strictly prohibit and remove content that promotes dangerous behavior with the safety of our community as a priority. We have never seen this type of content trend on our platform and have blocked searches for years to help discourage copycat behavior.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A bloody assault a little more than two years ago involving a pair of work boots will result in prison time for the owner of said boots.

Giga Nemsitsveridze, 30, of Brooklyn, is scheduled to be sentenced May 4 in state Supreme Court, St. George, to second-degree assault in connection with the 2020 incident that unfolded on a September afternoon along the 1300 block of Richmond Terrace in West Brighton.

In exchange for the plea, hell be sentenced to one year in prison with a full order of protection issued on behalf of the victim, according to the agreement with prosecutors.

DA: VICTIM LEFT WITH SERIOUS INJURIES

The events unfolded around 11:40 a.m.

Nemsitsveridze punched the victim in the head, and when the man fell to the ground, Nemsitsveridze kicked him with his construction boot, according to the complaint. Officials said the victim lost consciousness and suffered a leg fracture as well as bleeding between the skull and brain.

He also lost a tooth and needed stitches to his lip, according to the complaint.

This defendants violent attack left his victim with serious injuries including broken bones, internal bleeding, and wounds that required stitches, said Richmond County District Attorney Michael E. McMahon, in regard to the defendants upcoming sentencing hearing.

This type of violence will always be met with serious consequences, and thanks to the work of the NYPD in apprehending this offender and the determined work of ADA Travis Atkinson, this defendant will spend considerable time behind bars and off the streets of Staten Island.

CONSTRUCTION BOOT SPARKS LEGAL DEBATE

Nemsitsveridze was arrested weeks after the assault.

Initially, he was indicted by a grand jury for first-degree assault, implicating the defendant of intentionally inflicting serious injuries by means of a dangerous instrument.

Prosecutors argued that he deployed his boots as a dangerous instrument or weapon, which left another man seriously injured. State law sometimes allows prosecutors, under certain circumstances, to bring assault charges alleging certain items typically recognized as non-weapons were used as weapons.

New Jersey-based defense lawyer Don Savatta said at the time it was one of the many issues that will be litigated in this case.

Savatta added that his client contested the charges and that time will show that there is a lot more to what happened than what is contained in the indictment.

Ultimately, the defendants plea ended the legal debate in lieu of a jury trial. As part of the agreement, the charge of assault with a deadly weapon was dismissed, court records show.

Savatta could not be reached this week for comment.

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BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Minister of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan Rashad Nabiyev discussed cooperation on Implementation of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) with Acting Resident Representative of UNDP in Azerbaijan Nuno Queiros, the press service of the ministry told Trend.

The sides exchanged views on issues arising from the United Nations  Azerbaijan Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2021-2025.

The United Nations  Azerbaijan Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework for 2021-2025 defines the strategic directions of bilateral relations between both parties.

It should be noted that the above framework includes social programs, in particular, the main directions are education and employment.

As Azerbaijani Deputy Minister of Labor and Social Protection of Population Anar Kerimov said previously, in 2023 a total of 21 meetings are expected to be held to discuss the project implementation process.

"I would like to note that Azerbaijan has already achieved great results. Other countries are studying Azerbaijan's experience of implementing this project. Even at global events, the UN cites our implementation reports as a model of implementation of the "UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2021-2025," he had said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. Police identified Benito Rivera, 66, of Grymes Hill, as the man who was fatally struck by a SUV while he was crossing a major street in Sunnyside last month.

The pedestrian crash was reported shortly before 6 a.m. on March 30 at the bottom of Grymes Hill at Clove Road and Tioga Street, an extension of Howard Avenue, according to a spokeswoman for the NYPD.

Responding officers found the man unconscious and unresponsive with trauma on his head and body on that Thursday. EMS transported the victim to Richmond University Medical Center in West Brighton, where he was pronounced dead, according to police.

A preliminary investigation by the NYPDs Highway Collision Investigation Squad determined that Rivera was attempting to cross the street at the location when he was struck by a 2021 Ford Bronco, police said.

A 42-year-old man was driving the Ford southbound on Clove Road entering the intersection of Tioga Street when he attempted to swerve left and struck the pedestrian, according to police.

The driver remained at the scene and police were unable to provide any further information about the driver on Wednesday.

GOOD SAMARITAN DETAILS ATTEMPTS TO SAVE MAN

In a split second, Maggie Brady morphed from a commuter waiting for a bus into a hero when she saw the horrific crash unfold before her eyes.

The former EMT sprang into action and teamed with a nurse who happened upon the crash to render first aid and comfort Rivera until emergency responders arrived on the scene.

That is terrible, so sad and very, very tragic, Brady said when she learned that the man later identified as Rivera died.

Brady said that the 66-year-old man was crossing Clove Road from the Howard Avenue side and walking in the direction of where she was standing at a bus stop on Clove near Tioga.

She said that an SUV traveling on Clove in the direction of the Staten Island Expressway hit the senior and he flew 40 or 50 feet in the air.

Rivera landed in the lane close to the double-yellow lines.

He had been carrying a duffle bag and the contents, including oyster crackers, scattered all over the street. Brady didnt recognize the man and said he wasnt one of the people that she regularly sees at the bus stop.

I ran over, calling 911 at the same time and I dont know if he was dead when I got to him, but I couldnt feel a pulse and he was unresponsive, so I flipped him over and I started compressions, Brady said.

The nurse, who happened to be driving by in her car, stopped and began assisting Brady with first aid.

He started breathing, Brady said of Rivera, adding that at this point other drivers were offering to help.

We started asking them for blankets, Brady said, in an effort to keep the man warm.

We got a bunch of blankets and we put them on him because he was clearly in shock, she said, adding, We just stayed with him.

At one point, the nurse asked the senior if he was okay and whether he could hear them.

He gave a very small nod, like he heard us, and then at that point the Fire Department had arrived, Brady said.

The first responders took over at the scene and the nurse left before Brady realized that in the rush of activity, she hadnt asked for the other good Samaritans name.

Brady then caught her bus and headed to her current job as an apprentice engineer for the International Union of Operating Engineers (IUOE) Local 30 at her permanent site at Disney/ABC.

It was nice that the nurse came to help me, Brady said, because its hard to really think clearly in those moments.

We worked as a team and it was nice that she was there to kind of level me out a little bit because I know when I called 911, I was hysterical because I thought he was dead.

Brady added, We did really try our best to comfort him.

OTHER STATEN ISLAND NEWS:

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>> Crash prompts emergency response at major intersection on Staten Island; bus, livery car, SUV damaged

>> Man, 25, dies after being shot in head on Staten Island, NYPD says
A Florida woman is accused of allegedly scamming an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor from New York out of a reported $2.8 million, prosecutors said.

Peaches Stergo, 36, pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison, according to a statement from the U.S. attorneys office for the Southern District of New York.

Stergo apparently met the 87-year-old on a dating site and drained the victims life savings while she bought designer items, a house, and a Corvette among other things, said officials.

Beginning in early 2017, Stergo allegedly asked the victim to borrow money to pay her lawyer who she said refused to fork over funds from an injury settlement, prosecutors said.

She claimed the funds were put into a TD Bank account, but records show she never received any money from an injury settlement.

Over the next 4-and-a-half years, Stergo continued to drain victims bank account

She demanded the victim deposit money into her bank accounts, alleged prosecutors. If he did not, she claimed they would be frozen and he would never get any of the money back that he loaned her.

Stergo also created a fake email account and fake invoices intended to appear as if they were from a TD Bank employee.

In total, the victim signed off on 62 checks. He ultimately lost his apartment from Stergos scheme.

Peaches Stergo stole the life savings from an 87-year-old Holocaust survivor who was just looking for companionship. This conduct is sick  and sad, U.S. Attorney Damian Williams said in a statement.

Stergo was ordered to pay $2.8 million in restitution and forfeit the same amount, including the more than 100 luxury items she bought including designer clothes, purses and jewelry.

Thanks to the hard work of the FBI and this office, Stergo is being held accountable for her fraud, Williams added.

Stergo is scheduled to be sentenced on July 27.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  One famed author winnowed down the list of New York Citys 28,329 food establishments to a select few. Based on his decade of work as a food critic for the New York Times, he called out 100 as the Big Apples best.

How did Staten Island rate by his palate?

Lakruwanas Sri Lankan food at 668 Bay St. struck a solid chord at Number 92 on the elite list. He describes how owner Jayantha Wijesinghe fills clay pots with various house-made dishes traditional to the Isle of Gems. He opined, Other restaurants in Staten Islands Sri Lankan community may do a better job with this dish or that. But there is no more enjoyable way to get a birds-eye view of the cuisine than Lakruwanas buffet.

Indeed the weekend spread at the Stapleton sit-down eatery appeals to a curious food tourist new to the cuisine. At $15.95, the offerings are an all you-can-eat sampling between the hours of 12:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday.

Ayat Palestinian restaurant also earned high marks from the Times with a position at Number 80. Wells paid a visit to the Bay Ridge location in the winter of 2020. As a result of that discussion, Ayats newly established Staten Island spot at 2018 Hylan Blvd., Dongan Hills earned a shoutout as well.

As for her Bay Ridge flagship operation, Wells wrote of that kitchens work, This is painstaking and sustaining stuff, miles from the street food advertised above the door.

Its co-owner and namesake said she remembers the Wells review.

She said, Its hard to forget! My husband and I were shocked that just a few months after opening our first location Pete Wells found us. It was an honor to share the inspiration and Palestinian culture with him.

Masoud also shared, Right after the article was published, we had an influx of residents of Manhattan who traveled just to try our place. We were busy non-stop for a few weeks. But we also had a movement by a group of zionists who were determined to bring us down by writing One Star reviews on Google. Thankfully our real customer support outweighed and we were able to report many of the reviews as racially targeted.

The Times restaurant list is prefaced with a warning to readers to use it as a guide to both casual and fine dining venues. Its author then declared, When I review restaurants, I try to consider each on its own merits, almost as if others didnt exist. That isolated view is a major basis for the star ratings I typically give out.

He concluded, After rating hundreds of trees, I wanted to have a look at the forest.

Pamela Silvestri is Advance Food Editor. She can be reached at silvestri@siadvance.com.
The Secret Service Uniformed Division came face-to-face with an intruder on the White House grounds Tuesday  except this time it was a crawling toddler.

Secret Service spokesman Anthony Guglielmi, said a toddler crawled through the fence on the north side of the White House, setting off security alerts, CNN reported.

The Secret Service Uniformed Division today encountered a curious young visitor along the White House north fence line who briefly entered White House ground, Gugliemli said. The White House security systems instantly triggered Secret Service officers and the toddler and parents were quickly reunited.

President Joe Biden was at the executive mansion at the time, according to his schedule, and the complex was briefly locked down.

The National Park Service previously installed a new 13-foot tall fence, which recently replaced an old six-foot, six-inch fence.

Its not the first time a toddler has made it through the White House fence. A similar incident in 2014 occurred when a toddler squeezed through the White House fence just before then-President Barack Obama was about to address the nation on Iraq. The breach prompted a temporary lockdown and delayed the briefing.
JACKSON COUNTY, Mich.  A mothers love from a big dog kept a tiny kitten warm and fed until his very last day.

Kela, a Great Dane-mix brought to the Jackson County Animal Shelter, welcomed the abandoned 2-week-old kitten into her litter of 10 puppies in early April.

On Friday, April 14, however, the kitten died due to a possible genetic disorder, Animal Shelter Director Lydia Sattler said.

Related: Great Dane adopts tiny kitten into her litter at Michigan animal shelter

The kitten wasnt suffering or anything. He was nursing and doing great, but he just had a neurological thing that caused him to pass away, Sattler said.

The kitten met Kela soon after arriving at the shelter. He was believed to be abandoned and, after his death, shelter employees speculate his original cat mom possibly took note of his health issue and rejected him, Sattler said.

Its not uncommon if theres something wrong a mom can easily detect but you cant physically see that may be a reason he was abandoned, Sattler said.

Kela was selective of people, but took interest in the kitten when he came in. The kitten was seeing the vet, and she heard his cries behind the door, and wanted to get to him.

Eventually, Sattler added the kitten to the rest of Kelas litter and she started to clean him, as if he was one of her puppies. The kitten became an official member of Kelas litter, where he was cleaned, cuddled and even nursed.

Up until his death, the kitten received the best care from Kela, and the shelter never heard him cry once while he was with her. He was truly loved by Kela and his 3-week-old doggie siblings, Sattler said.

I know that him being with Kela, versus us bottle feeding him, he was constantly warm, he was constantly snuggled, Sattler said. He had the best nutrition. So, if he was going to have a short life, Im glad that he got to spend it (with Kela).

Kela and the 10 puppies are still being fostered by Jackson residents Gene and Sue Chapel until the puppies are 8-weeks old and ready to be adopted.

Kela is doing OK, even after losing her favorite kitten, Sattler said, adding the rest of the puppies are growing big, and she has been slowly warming up to other people.

Shes going on and doing what good moms are going to do, and taking care of the rest of her babies, Sattler said.

The shelter was going to host a naming contest for the kitten, with the winner receiving a $50 gift card to Nevermore Decor Store, 120 W. Michigan Ave., Suite 102, in Jackson. Now the shelter will look for another event and contest to apply the gift card to, Sattler said.
STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Residents in the New York City Housing Authority (NYCHA) West Brighton I and II complex will be among the first in Staten Island to reap the benefits of a recent city initiative to overhaul NYCHA housing.

The renovation will be a complete overhaul of the apartments, building infrastructure and common areas. Infrastructure updates will include building security, heating and cooling, water and plumbing and ventilation. All apartments will get new kitchens, bathrooms, flooring, windows, paint, doors and more. The project will also include improving public spaces, community safety, landscaping and building entryways.

NYCHA announced on Tuesday that BFC Partners Development LLC, CB Emmanuel Realty LLC and non-profit organization Catholic Homes New York will work together to repair 574 apartments across the NYCHA developments 14 buildings, which are home to more than 1,400 residents.

The funding for the much-needed repairs is through NYCHAs PACT (Permanent Affordability Commitment Together) program, which is the agencys version of the Rental Assistance Demonstration (RAD), a U.S. Dept. of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) program created for housing authorities to access federal capital to improve developments and ensure their affordability.

Under PACT, NYCHA establishes public-private partnerships with private developers, property management companies and social service providers, to carry out much-needed overhaul renovations of their developments. They also convert the properties from Section 9 (public housing) to project-based Section 8, the Housing Choice Voucher program.

NYCHA remains the owner of the buildings, but the PACT program allows day-to-day management of the complexes to be handed over to private companies. Pinnacle City Living will serve as West Brighton I and IIs property manager after they are converted, according to NYCHA.

PACT PROJECT TEAMS

The PACT project teams are selected by resident review committees, comprised of residents of their respective developments.

NYCHA and residents of West Brighton I and II, with the support of a technical adviser, Censere Consulting, underwent an extensive community engagement process that began in fall 2021. The committee then reviewed proposals from several potential partners and conducted interviews before selecting BFC Partners, CB Emmanuel Realty and Catholic Homes New York.

West Brighton Houses is in desperate need and is long overdue for these comprehensive repairs provided by the PACT program, Shekina Butler, president of the West Brighton Tenant Association said. The quality of life for West Brightons residents has declined over the years, and now its time to celebrate the upcoming changes. While this has been a long and arduous process, we are thankful for the support of NYCHA and Censere Consulting to have finally chosen the partner team that we feel will best suit the needs of West Brighton residents.

The West Brighton PACT team will work with residents to assess property conditions and develop rehabilitation, property management and social services plans over the course of the year. Construction is slated to begin summer 2024, according to NYCHA.

The team has also committed to renovating and expanding the West Brighton senior center, for which construction will begin after the rehabilitation work of the development is largely complete. They will work closely with residents in the design process for the center as well.

NYCHA CITYWIDE WORK

NYCHA is six years into its overhaul to upgrade its developments, many of which have not been renovated in decades. According to the agencys website, more than 15,000 apartment units have received repairs or are in progress under the PACT program. There are currently 75 active PACT projects.

PACT remains one of our most successful and impactful tools for bringing large-scale investment into NYCHA properties and addressing the comprehensive repair needs that stem from aging infrastructure and decades of disinvestment, NYCHA Interim CEO Lisa Bova-Hiatt said. Today, we are excited to join resident leaders in moving a step closer to transformative renovations at West Brighton, with the selection of the PACT partner team a key milestone in this process.

ABOUT THE TEAM

BFC Partners and CB Emmanuel will lead the West Brighton construction as the general contractors.

BFC is a Brooklyn-based company with a mixed portfolio of commercial and residential properties, including affordable and mixed-income housing.

The company is no stranger to Staten Island. BFC is the owner and operator of the St. George-based Empire Outlets, which opened in 2019 as New York Citys first outlet mall. Empire Outlets senior lenders  Goldman Sachs Urban Investment Group and Sterling National Bank  filed a consensual foreclosure action last year in coordination with BFC Partners. BFC is currently building a 12-story apartment complex in Stapleton with affordable units, including some designated for formerly homeless seniors. Construction is expected to be complete this fall.

We are honored to be selected as a PACT partner for West Brighton I & II, BFC Partners Principal Joseph Ferrara said. Our firm has deep roots both in Staten Island and in the preservation and new construction of affordable housing, and the opportunity to preserve this housing stock for generations to come is one we are very grateful for.

According to NYCHA, BFC has renovated more than 2,200 units in tenant-in-place rehabilitation projects.

CB Emmanuel, a local minority business enterprise (MBE) development firm, has completed more than 1,000 units of tenant-in-place rehabilitation.

CB Emmanuel is excited to have been selected as co-developer for the West Brighton I & II portfolio, R. Christopher Bramwell Jr., managing partner of CB Emmanuel, said. As MBE co-developer, we look forward to creating opportunities for BIPOC vendors to participate in the renovation and redevelopment of this campus and look forward to establishing our presence alongside BFC in Staten Island.

Catholic Homes, which is a non-profit initiative through Catholic Charities and the Archdiocese of New York, develops new affordable homes and preserves existing units for families and seniors.

We are pleased that Catholic Homes New York and Catholic Charities of Staten Island are partnering with BFC and CB Emmanuel on this important project for the West Brighton residents, Msgr. Kevin Sullivan, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of New York, said.

This project will engage residents, renovate apartments, create new housing, and provide supportive social services to enhance the lives of the families living there and in the community. This is part of Catholic Charities strategy to participate in effective initiatives to preserve and expand the stock of affordable housing for New Yorkers and ensure that all New Yorkers have a decent place to live at rents they can afford.

RELATED STORIES

Staten Island may be getting a new 125-unit NYCHA apartment building

NYCHA West Brighton Houses could be selected to undergo more than $100M in repairs

New York will help fund 12-story, $151M Stapleton complex with affordable units and homeless senior housing

First step taken to create new Staten Island affordable housing on NYC-owned site

NYC expands free internet program for public housing, estimated to reach 300,000 New Yorkers

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STATEN ISLAND, N.Y.  The nascent offshore wind industry has begun to make a footprint in New York, and with seemingly unbounded potential to grow into a major source of jobs and energy, the burgeoning field is again setting its sights on Staten Island.

The states first Global Wind Organization (GWO)-certified training facility will receive a ribbon-cutting Friday at 3365 Richmond Terr. in Mariners Harbor and serve as a source of local manpower to fuel the rapidly expanding energy sector.

A floating barge, the facility has the capacity to currently accommodate up to a dozen students weekly and is able to travel to different communities to break down travel barriers for prospective participants, according to TMI Waterfront, a joint venture between Indigo River and Menotti Enterprise  firms with expertise in renewable energy and waterfront and workforce development.

The SIEDC welcomes the TMI Waterfront to Staten Island, said Staten Island Economic Development Corporation President Michael Cusick, who formerly served as the boroughs Mid-Island assemblyman.

This initiative highlights a solid collaboration between three leaders in Offshore Wind training: TMS Waterfront, Indigo River, and Menotti Enterprise, said Cusick. With their expertise, the borough is sure to reach success in spearheading the offshore wind sector.

Staten Island is positioned to be a major piece in the states lofty offshore wind energy goals. The boroughs projected offshore wind manufacturing and staging sites are currently featured in multiple proposals for the states third offshore wind solicitation  moving them closer to eventual operation.

SAFETY CERTIFICATION OFFERED

The new facility is in operation and is designed to scale as interest in its program increases. It will offer a training experience to receive a GWO basic safety training certification, which is a standard requirement for all personnel to work on wind turbines, and also offers basic safety training for infrequent visitors to wind turbine facilities, like management staff.

Areas of safety training include modules on sea survival, first aid, fire awareness and working at heights. The weeklong program costs $3,150.

Alongside the new programs training opportunities, it also intends to offer services that will help participants network with one another and potential employers, essentially serving as a gateway towards career opportunities in the field.

TMI created the program under the mentorship of Energy Innovation, a GWO-training provider in Norway, and expects to serve as a blueprint for other states to emulate.

The success and safety of waterfront and OSW projects hinges on training. All hands on deck, said Shea Thorvaldsen, president and CEO of TMS Waterfront. Lets mobilize folks to the waterfront and establish the next generation of skilled workers. TMI is proud to launch this training school at the beginning of this potential revolution.

Workforce development programs will have to materialize quickly to meet the expanding need for skilled workers at each end of the offshore wind industry. New York City has begun efforts to open the door for women, minority-owned and historically-disadvantaged businesses to take part in the states early stages of waterfront construction.

On Staten Island, the College of Staten Island (CSI) last year received a $566,000 state investment to help develop the schools curriculum around the offshore wind industry.

New York law dictates 70% of its electricity come from renewable sources by 2030 and calls for the development of 9,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2035  deeply ambitious goals that require the states planned offshore wind farms to quickly become an important part of its energy portfolio.

From engineering and construction to maintenance and operation, the transition to renewable energy presents our city with a unique opportunity to build a skilled workforce for a more sustainable future, said city Comptroller Brad Lander. TMI Waterfront Services GWO-certified Offshore Wind training will play a critical role in preparing union tradespeople and workers from underinvested communities to enter this emerging industry, and I am excited to see us move closer to a clean energy New York with their help.

Participants can sign up for the program here.



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CITY HALL  Mayor Eric Adams pulled no punches Wednesday in his critique of President Joseph Bidens response to the citys ongoing migrant crisis.

Hizzoner has made repeated calls for more help from the federal government to address the influx of tens of thousands of people into the city, but until now has avoided pointing the finger at Biden and Vice President Kamallah Harris to address the issue.

That changed Wednesday with a federal policy set to expire that allows for quicker expulsion of migrants. Adams pointed to the $4.3 billion financial burden on the city to care for the migrants over two years, and said the Biden administration should grant work authorizations to allow the migrants to better care for themselves.

As it currently stands, our national government has abandoned the city, Adams said.

Specifically, the mayor wants to see the Department of Homeland Security grant temporary protected status to migrants from a host of countries, including Nicaragua, Honduras and Venezuela.

Mayor Eric Adams addresses the media during a City Hall press conference held Wednesday, April 19, 2023. (Staten island Advance/Paul Liotta)

The protected status, which doesnt require legislative action, would permit migrants from those countries to work in the U.S. without fear of deportation for working illegally.

They can act with a stroke of the pen. Thats all it takes, a stroke of the pen, Adams said adding that hes made the request to the Biden administration in private, but that it has so far, fallen on deaf ears.

In addition to his request for temporary protected status, the mayor said hed also like to see the government grant more humanitarian parole, which allows people into the country for humanitarian reasons, and reduce processing times at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

While Adams said the migrant crisis should remain under the vice presidents purview, he said the White House should appoint a lead person who has an on-the-ground familiarity with the issue.

Since early last year, the city has seen an influx of more than 55,000 migrants into the city, some of them bused from southern localities, and almost 35,000 remain under the citys care at traditional homeless shelters, 103 emergency hotel shelters around the five boroughs, and eight Humanitarian Emergency Relief Centers.

Adams and members of his administration anticipate another influx of migrants starting next month when Title 42, the federal policy allowing for quicker deportation of migrants, expires.

Its unclear if the mayor will get what hes asking for from the Biden administration, but said Wednesday that he expects about $1 billion from the state. Adams said the one thing he wont be doing to address the financial cost is raising local taxes.

Members of the City Council have disputed the mayoral administrations estimates around migrants, and the budget cuts he says are necessary due to the influx.

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Those concerns about the solidity of the recovery are borne out by the detail of the quarters activity. Retail spending might have been up 10.6 per cent in the 12 months to March and 5.8 per cent for the quarter, but most of the increase was leisure and hospitality-related from a population that was released from the severe zero-COVID restrictions very late last year rather than on bigger ticket goods. Industrial production was up 3.9 per cent in March, an acceleration from the 2.4 per cent growth experienced in the first two months of the year but fixed asset investment, which usually benefits from any government efforts to stimulate growth, slowed from 5.5 per cent in the first two months of the year to 5.1 per cent. China still has a major unemployment problem. Credit: Getty Theres also a noticeable (but probably not surprising) disparity between what Chinas state-owned and private sector businesses are doing.

The state-owned businesses increased their investment (no doubt with encouragement and some financial support from Beijing, local governments and state-owned banks) by 10 per cent. The private businesses, which suffered last year not only as a result of the response to COVID but a broad crackdown on private enterprise, lifted their investment by only 0.6 per cent. Chinas property industry appears to be stabilising, at low levels, after the implosion that followed the authorities introduction of limits on developers leverage in 2020. Loading Property investment (which includes housing, offices and retail stores) fell 5.8 per cent in the quarter, with home sales down 1.8 per cent and new housing starts 19.2 per cent. Housing sales are just starting to pick up, but there is a massive over-hang of completed but unsold apartments that could weigh on the market for some years. On some estimates about a third of the apartments completed last year have yet to be sold.

The depressed state of the property market flows, not just into development and investment but all the sectors that service developments. Sales of household appliances, for instance, were down 1.4 per cent in March relative to the same month last year. China also has a persistent unemployment problem. The urban jobless rate was 5.3 per cent in March but youth unemployment (16 to 24-year-olds) rose from 18.1 per cent in February to 19.6 per cent in March. How Chinas economy fares this year  whether it continues to growth at or better than the rate established in the first quarter  is important for the rest of the world and resource exporters like Australia in particular. Without a broadening of the base of economic activity, particularly a structural increase in consumption and a strong return to growth in manufacturing, that will remain a challenge for the government and its Communist Party leadership and their ability to generate sustainable growth and maintain social stability. The other challenge is the intensifying trade confrontation with the US and, to a degree, its allies. The US has progressively increased sanctions and restrictions designed to limit Chinas access to semiconductors and other key inputs to advanced technologies.

Chinas production of semiconductors was down almost 15 per cent in the first quarter, its production of microcomputing devices was down 21.6 per cent, mobile phones 6.7 per cent and integrated circuits 3 per cent. The Biden administrations efforts, with some help from its allies in Europe and Asia, to stymie Chinas ambition of challenging the US for global technology supremacy, an ambition that straddles both commercial and military objectives, appears to be increasingly effective. Chinas embattled property market is showing signs of stabilising but it remains vulnerable. Credit: Bloomberg Last month Xi foreshadowed a tightening of the government/party control of its science and technology (and financial) sectors. While Beijing has been cautious in injecting stimulus into an economy laden with debt, it has earmarked its technology sectors, and the semiconductor industry in particular, for major financial support over the next few years, planning to spend more than a trillion yuan ($220 billion) over the next five years to try to create self-sufficiency in chip production.
Comments made by actor and artist David Choe, who stars in Netflixs recent hit series Beef, joking about alleged sexual assault have resurfaced online.

In 2014, while speaking on his podcast DVDASA, Choe  who plays cousin Isaac on the hit comedy drama  described a non-consensual sexual encounter between himself and a masseuse, in which he allegedly began masturbating in front of her before pressuring her into oral sex.

David Choe as Isaac in Netflix series Beef. Credit: Netflix

At the time the actor admitted it was rapey behaviour, but assured listeners he is not a rapist. He told his podcast co-host, porn actress Asa Akira, that the thrill of possibly going to jail aroused him and later joked that he was a successful rapist.

Choe has since denied all allegations of sexual assault, arguing that he had fabricated the story for the podcast.
Victorian Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has responded to Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses comments that she has obvious health issues that require support after she was filmed in a profanity-laden altercation with a group of men outside a strip club in Melbourne over the weekend.

Independent senator Lidia Thorpe has released a statement following Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses comments she should get some support. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

She issued a statement a short time ago:

I am in the Senate as a Blak Sovereign mother and grandmother who is not afraid to challenge the government and fight to improve the lives of First Nations People in this country. This is in the interests of all people living on this land. When I talk of Treaty, I am talking about a path to peace that will benefit all of us, blak and white, coloniser and colonised. I understand that at times this means I will be targeted but I remain hopeful that the media will see through shallow attacks and start reporting on the real issues impacting people in this country.



Isnt it interesting that there were a hundred stories about me responding to racist harassment and yet not one, not a single story about Saturday being the 32nd anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody Report being handed to the government.



On Saturday night I was provoked and stood up for myself. No one was hurt. The story should be about the racists brazenly harassing a senator. The story is that I cant go out without being harassed by racists. This is the racism Blak people deal with everyday in this colony.



The racism that sees children removed at record rates. The racism that prevents the government from implementing the Recommendations of the Blak Deaths In Custody Report, that sees our people being killed by police, and that locks up our little children, some as young as ten years old, in cold prison cells. Meanwhile the racists are free to walk around and harass Blak women without consequences.



There is a history of white men in power using the media to attack and demonise Blak people that stand up to racism. They did the same thing to Adam Goodes and Heritier Lumumba when they called out racism. Saying I need mental help is a continuation of the old racist and misogynistic narrative used to discredit and silence outspoken and strong women, particularly Blak women.



I am disappointed by the opportunism of politicians in Canberra - including the PM - using this to drag me down, but more than that I am heartened and inspired by the hundreds of messages of support Ive received from every corner of the country.



While the Prime Minister and others have used this to try and undermine my progress, I have been busy out in community talking to First Nations leaders about solutions to the problems our people face everyday.



I will be speaking of the work that I do as a Senator, both in Canberra and on the ground, in an exclusive interview with Tom Tanuki that will be available in the coming days.
A former Australian spy dubbed Alan Johns who was prosecuted and jailed in secret in Canberra for mishandling classified information was acting recklessly because he was angry about perceived unfair treatment, a court found in a decision kept secret for years.

The man, who has also been called Witness J, was charged in 2018 with a series of offences relating to his handling of the sensitive information and was sentenced in 2019 to a maximum of two years and seven months in prison after he pleaded guilty to five charges.

The secret trial of Alan Johns prompted a wide-ranging review into the National Security Information Act. Credit: Tamara Voninski

He was released on a good behaviour bond after serving 15 months behind bars.

In a decision on Tuesday, released publicly on Wednesday, ACT Supreme Court Chief Justice Lucy McCallum ordered that a redacted version of the sentencing judgment delivered by Justice John Burns in 2019 be released.
I am Australian. Im a member of the Bundjalung First Nation of Australia, from my fathers side, and the Gumbaynggirr and Yuin First Nations of Australia from my mothers side. And I oppose the Voice to parliament.

Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses proposed new chapter of the Constitution is stated to be in recognition of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples as the First Peoples of Australia.

Warren Mundine with Senator Jacinta Nampijinpa Price and other opponents of the governments Voice proposal at Parliament House. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

This is not recognition of Australias First Nations. All it does is recognise Aboriginal people as a homogenous race. Race can sometimes be convenient descriptor. But its a flawed, and insulting, basis for recognising Australias First Peoples in the Constitution. And history shows its a fraught basis on which to differentiate peoples rights. Race and nationhood are different.

The Oxford Dictionary defines a nation as a large body of people united by common descent, history, culture, or language, inhabiting a particular state or territory. Indigenous Australians dont have the same languages or cultures or histories or descent or territorial lands. Many people have seen the Indigenous Australia language map which illustrates the first language groups across the continent. Each different coloured area represents a distinct group united by unique descent, history, culture, and language, inhabiting a particular state or territory: a nation.
Property developers are stepping up pressure on the Andrews government to push through major reforms ahead of next months state budget, including fast-tracking planning approvals by bypassing councils and establishing a housing affordability council.

In a budget submission, obtained exclusively by The Age, the Property Council asked the government to cut out ineffective local governments so that more medium and high-density homes can be delivered in Melbournes middle-ring suburbs.

The state government has flagged plans to add an extra one million homes to Melbournes existing suburbs by 2050. Credit: Paul Rovere

It comes after this masthead revealed on Tuesday that the government was working behind the scenes on a bold reform package to streamline planning, which would likely reduce the role of local councils.

The Property Council submission urges the government to fully implement 27 recommendations from a major review of the planning system undertaken by commissioner for better regulation Anna Cronin between 2019 and 2021 that was never acted on.
Loading For the past month, vendors between Queensberry and Grattan streets have served Ramadan fare to worshippers each night after sunset, amid clouds of shisha smoke and twinkling strings of lights. Theres fare on offer from across the Muslim world: Pakistani (Khabbay and Ziyka restaurants), Indonesian (DPenyetz & DCendol), Egyptian (Leyalina and Cairo Nights), Iranian (Mixity), Afghan (Kabana), Lebanese (Tabouli), Turkish (Nefes, Lambs, IloveIstanbul) and shisha bars El Giza and Balcony. It was Little Italy definitely, when everyone was Italian  but not any more, says Sonny Bestawros, owner of Cairo Nights, which opened in July 2021. Bestawros worked on Lygon Street eight years ago and watched the subtle cultural shift take place. His family decided to set up in a 140-year-old double-storey Victorian building that once housed Italian trattoria Villa Romana.

Its changed so much. Theres a bit of everything down here now, he says. Loading Bestawros is expecting a packed house this weekend as Ramadan ends with Eid al-Fitr, a religious festival that will be observed by more than 800,000 Muslim Australians. On Friday and Saturday night there will be belly dancers and on Sunday a traditional oud player. We really try to bring that Egyptian party experience, Bestawros said. Everyones singing along.

Cairo Nights, like many restaurants on the strip, has been offering buffets each night during Ramadan. The meals usually start with dates and karkadeh (hibiscus tea), followed by a soup, mains, and baklava for dessert. The restaurant also specialises in charcoal-grilled meats  lamb kofta, chicken, quail  and seafood clay pots. Then theres the Egyptian dessert om ali, a bread-and-butter-style pudding made with pastry, nuts and spices. Sonny Bestawros and his mother Jacqueline at their family Egyptian restaurant, Cairo Nights, on Lygon Street. Credit: Simon Schluter Diners often stick around after a family feast to smoke shisha water pipes, he says. Its standard  for many people it doesnt feel right to eat and not have shisha, he says.

Diners enjoy smoking shisha after a meal at Cairo Nights. Credit: Simon Schluter Everyone can come together and eat together here, he said. Our backgrounds are actually not Muslim, however we have a huge demographic that are. But we get Chinese, we get Australians, we get everyone. Mandina Kitchen opened in April 2021 when Lygon Street was struggling with high vacancies and the effects of lockdowns. The property has housed an Italian restaurant, an Argentinian restaurant, and most recently a Chinese restaurant over the past decade. Since weve opened we have a lot of customers interested because the Yemeni cuisine is considered to be one of the popular cuisines in the Arabian Peninsula, owner Mohammed Alhamed said. People like to come and have that sort of an experience, it reminds them of their home, he says.

For the other people like ... the Australians and other backgrounds, they would like to come to have that sort of an experience. As well as a special Iftar buffet, Mandina is also hosting a baloot tournament, a popular card game played on the Arabian Peninsula. Egyptian restaurant Leyalina was one of the first Middle Eastern restaurants to open in the southern end of Lygon Street in 2016. Owner Nader Tawfek says his customers have changed. When I started eight years ago, the ratio of my customers was 60 per cent from gulf Arab countries and 20 per cent Australian, and 20 per cent Egyptian, but nowadays its about 60 per cent Australian, he said.

Tawfek has been busy preparing special Iftar banquets for customers throughout Ramadan and says there is more competition in the strip for Muslim customers. Loading But while business has been good during Ramadan, Tawfek says his business was still struggling to recover from the pandemic. I can see there are less gulf students from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and I think this is affecting Middle Eastern restaurants in general, he said. But one diner, Iraqi-born Mugdad Rassan, who grew up in New Zealand, said the food hed eaten during Ramadan on the strip would keep him coming back.
A four-year battle over a proposed treetop adventure course in Melbournes north-east has ended with Banyule City Council dumping the plan after traditional owners penned a letter calling for the project to be halted over cultural insensitivities.

The council, which had previously supported the proposal for the high-ropes obstacle course at Yarra Flats Park in Ivanhoe East, voted unanimously this week to scupper the plans put forward by company Ecoline, in response to a letter from the Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Cultural Heritage Aboriginal Corporation.

Yarra Riverkeeper Associations Charlotte Sterrett (left) stands in the dried-up Banksia billabong with Friends of Yarra Parks Andrew and Suzanne Lees. Credit: Jason South

The corporations then-chief executive Gwyneth Elsum said in the letter the proposal  backed by land manager Parks Victoria  would impact on the sensitive cultural values of the region.

The [Wurundjeri Woi-wurrung Corporation] hopes that both Banyule Council and Parks Victoria respect this position and work to ensure that this project is no longer pursued.
As the thousands of people who flocked to Exmouth settle in to watch the total solar eclipse, those left behind in Perth should still be able to partially view the natural phenomenon.

While Exmouth will be in complete darkness, Perth residents will witness a dimming effect during the eclipse at 11.29am. The sun will fully emerge again just 58 seconds later.

A map of the eclipse path and what you will be able to see based on location. Credit: Shire of Exmouth

Curtin Institute for Computation Director and astrophysicist Professor Melanie Johnston-Hollitt said the further north you were, the more you would be able to see.

But in Perth things should still get dimmer over that minute, we will experience the eclipse at about 72 per cent of totality, she said.
Plans to build Perths first high-rise primary school have been revealed, with the Education Department revealing it is hoping to build on a carpark in East Perth.

The City of Perth carpark, opposite Queens Gardens and near the WACA grounds, has been identified as an ideal site, close to amenities and easily accessible with public transport.

An artists impression of the new multistorey primary school announced for East Perth. Credit: State Government

The school will aim to take on 800 students from Northbridge, Perth and East Perth and is scheduled to open in 2028.

City of Perth Mayor Basil Zempilas said the city would do their due diligence to assess the proposal, but that it was widely supportive of the move, which he said it had long championed for.
A united front of unions and health groups is demanding a blanket ban on engineered stone products, regardless of the concentration of deadly silica, in a stance that puts them at odds with the business lobby over the workplace epidemic spurred by the installation of shiny kitchen benchtops.

The Australian Council of Trade Unions and construction union CFMEU want a licensing scheme for the handling or removal of all existing benchtops. The latter also wants all tradies dealing with manufactured stone listed on a national register and screened for the lung disease silicosis.

The silicosis epidemic has been driven by the popularity of engineered stone kitchen benchtops. Credit: iStock

But as the government considers a complete ban on engineered stone, one of the worlds major suppliers will launch an advertising blitz to convince the construction industry and home owners to buy its 40 per cent crystalline silica slabs, despite the ACTU, Cancer Council and occupational hygienists warning there is no evidence it is safe.

In its submission to Safe Work Australias probe of the ban, the ACTU said engineered stone benchtops were a fashion item rather than an essential building material.
Snap Incs global chief executive, Evan Spiegel, insists his companys premier app Snapchat is not losing its quirky distinctiveness even as it courts influencers with features resembling those of its rivals TikTok, Facebook and Instagram.

At a media conference overnight in California, Snap unveiled a host of new features designed to encourage more influencers to post on the platform in a move away from its origins a decade ago as a tool for friends to message each other. It also said it would make its AI chatbot, which has been a subscriber-only feature, available to all users.

Snap chief executive Evan Spiegel. Snapchat says it has 750 million monthly active users. Credit: Bloomberg

The announcements put it in a stronger position to pick up users from TikTok, which has been banned on government devices in Western countries including Australia and faces potentially being blocked outright in the US over national security concerns tied to its Chinese corporate ownership.

Figures released by Snap highlighted that in India, which blocked TikTok in 2020, time spent on the platform had soared 175 per cent between early 2021 when it launched its TikTok clone feature called Spotlight, and 2022. It did not provide the raw figures on which that percentage was based.
PHILIPSBURG:--- A test run of a weekly flight out of Newark took place on Sunday. A second flight is planned for April 23. The new air service is catering to travelers from the U.S. tri-state area of New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut.



The goal of the La Compagnie program is to create a path to Sint Maarten/Saint-Martin that matches the level of expectations that travelers have for St. Barths and Anguilla. The idea is to organize seven-night stays at one of the selected hotels and/or villas. Flights will be on a weekly basis non-stop from Newark to Sint Maarten on Sundays starting in the fall of 2023 up to the end of April 2024.



The aircraft to be used is a 76-passenger plane from La Compagnie which is a business-class-only airline.



We must showcase ourselves in new markets, creating new opportunities, which is what we see here today (Sunday) with the inaugural flight of La Compagnie. We are excited to have such a wonderful team, aircraft, and concept on our shores today (Sunday).



I am extremely proud of the Sint Maarten Tourism Bureau and their continued efforts as well as all others that were involved. It is time we started to focus on the niche market. I hereby also want to congratulate the organizers on this first step, and we look forward to a fruitful and successful relationship for all, Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transportation & Telecommunication (TEATT), Arthur H.L. Lambriex said.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Minister of Economy of Azerbaijan Mikayil Jabbarov and his Kyrgyz counterpart Daniyar Amangeldiev discussed cooperation between the two countries, Trend reports with reference to the Ministry of Economy of Kyrgyzstan.

The meeting was scheduled ahead of the 70th Anniversary Session of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), held on April 18-19 in Geneva, Switzerland.

Following the meeting, the sides discussed bilateral trade and investment cooperation, as well as the main themes of the 5th meeting of the Azerbaijani-Kyrgyz Intergovernmental Commission, which will be held in June this year.

The parties also discussed the practical launch of the Azerbaijani-Kyrgyz Development Fund.

The Kyrgyz ministry noted that the countries have already completed domestic procedures for the entry into force of the agreement between the cabinet of ministers of Kyrgyzstan and the government of Azerbaijan on the establishment of the fund.

Within the frame of the 70th session of the UNECE, Kyrgyz minister also had a meeting with Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Europe Olga Algayerova on April 18.

The 70th session of the UNECE is dedicated to the digital and green transformations for sustainable development in the region of the Economic Commission for Europe.
SABA--The three-day training on Bonaire on April 11, 12, and 13 provided valuable insights for the new Island Council.

The training brought more insight into the role and responsibilities that you have as an Island Council member, said Elsa Peterson of the Windward Islands Peoples Movement (WIPM). For me, it was a bit more empowering, coming from the governments executive branch. As an Island Council member, it is important to realize that you are in fact the highest legislative body of government and the responsibility and authority that comes with that, she said.

Vito Charles (WIPM) reiterated it was good that the training was held very soon after the installation of the new Island Council. It shows that we are proactive. The training gave focus and clarity on what is important for the Island Council. It is always good to reinforce what you heard during earlier training and to discuss it with your colleagues, especially the more recent members who have come on board so we can continue to develop knowledge and find ways to do new things, said Charles.

Greater understanding

Saskia Matthew of the Party for Progress, Equality, and Prosperity (PEP) said she was glad to have done this training at this specific point in time. It's been three weeks since we were sworn in and it was important for us to start with the basics. This training has given me a greater understanding of how much knowledge is lacking on Saba and within our governing system. As such, we have made a collective decision to have a fully functioning Island Council before the end of this term because we all deem it necessary. It's important that we are fully equipped to uphold the office of the Island Council and represent the island to the best of our abilities, she said.

As I mentioned before we left, our last training was 3.5 years too late. So, I made it my point that as soon as the new Island Council was sworn in, an introduction training should take place. Especially for the newly-elected members it is important to understand the structure of the organization and what your role is within. The fact that the training was held off-island allowed the different members to get to know each other in a different setting, said Hemmie van Xanten (PEP).

Day 1 of the introductory training on Bonaire focused on the responsibilities, instruments, and expectations of the Island Council and its members, the interaction between the parties in the Island Council, and the interaction with the Executive Council, the Dutch Government, and citizens. The Island Council has seven tools in total to do its work of which the right to ask questions, the right to make amendments, and the right to submit motions are among the most important.

Day 2 focused on the Rules of Order as well as the proposed changes to the WolBES, the general law that regulates the public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius, and Saba, and the FinBES, the general law that regulates the finances of the three islands.

Rules of Order

We also discussed the new Rules of Order for the Island Council, said Peterson. Charles pointed out that the last time the Rules of Order were updated was in 2011. The discussion to update the Rules of Order started in 2019 at an earlier training for the Island Council and again during a subsequent training in 2022. According to Charles, an update is needed. Certain processes have changed or have been updated and are no longer in line with other municipalities in The Netherlands., he said. The new Rules of the order will give the Island Council tools to operate more effectively, added Peterson.

It is good to know that the Rules of Order and Code of Conduct should be updated every four years. Just learning this makes me feel more confident in saying that policies and processes are something that we really need to investigate. We have been really falling behind and it's about time that we catch up, said Matthew.

While on Bonaire, the Island Council members met with Island Governor Edison Rijna, who shortly after took up his new job as Caribbean Netherlands Special Envoy for EU funds, United Nations (UN) funds, and economic relations with Latin America. Rijna explained his new role and how this could bring benefits for Saba and the other islands.

Healthcare

The Island Council delegation also had a meeting with the management of Care and Youth Caribbean Netherlands (ZJCN) to discuss general developments and pressing issues. This meeting was mainly a result of the previous meeting we had in December with State Secretary of Public Health Maarten van Ooijen. The Island Council was introduced to all ZJCN staff members and got an insight into the daily operation, said Van Xanten.

Meeting with ZJCN was very important to us because the community has expressed a lot of concern in this area. Having those vital conversations gave me a different perspective on how the processes work. We met everyone working in the department and now have direct contact with persons responsible for all departments. They also asked us to help them help the Saba community and we intend to do just that, said Matthew. The Island Council returned to Saba on Friday, April 14.
SABA:--- Dutch State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitalization Alexandra van Huffelen arrived in Saba from Bonaire Tuesday late afternoon for a short working visit.

The official part of the State Secretary starts on Wednesday morning with a meeting with the new Executive Council, followed by a meeting with the new Island Council. Van Huffelen will furthermore meet with Qredits, a micro-financing organization for small and middle-sized entrepreneurs, and some of Qredits clients on Saba. The State Secretary will visit a family living in a social housing unit, meet with notary Marica Bouterse and speak with Saba residents.

Part of the State Secretarys visit this time will also focus on the other part of her portfolio besides Kingdom Relations, namely Digitalization. On the program is a roundtable meeting with stakeholders to discuss digitalization, what this means, the difference that it can make, and the opportunities that it presents, also in relation to doing business. On Wednesday evening, the State Secretary and her delegation leave for St. Eustatius on the Makana ferry.

Saba is the State Secretarys second stop on a five-day working visit to Bonaire, Saba, St. Eustatius, and St. Maarten this week. Van Huffelen has been on Saba several times before, the last time being in February 2023 when she accompanied King Willem-Alexander, Queen Maxima, and Princess Amalia during their visit to Saba and the other five Dutch Caribbean islands.

Last week, Dutch State Secretary of Justice and Security Eric van der Burg visited Saba, and the week before that, Minister of Education, Culture and Science Robbert Dijkgraaf.
Aurania Announces Proposed 2023 Exploration Activities

Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU; OTCQB: AUIAF; Frankfurt: 20Q) (aAuraniaa or the aCompanya  https://www.commodity-tv.com/ondemand/companies/profil/aurania-resources-ltd/ ) is pleased to announce its proposed 2023 exploration activities.

As the concessions for its mineral properties in Ecuador are fully renewed and in good standing for another year after payment of all concession fees in March, the Company is able to develop the 2023 exploration programs.

Aurania attended the Prospectora?s and Developera?s Association of Canada meeting (PDAC) in Toronto the first week of March, and we were delighted by the interest shown by several Major companies in our Ecuador asset.A As a result of follow-up meetings there are now several companies in our data room.A The primary interest has been in our porphyry copper and sediment-hosted copper-silver prospects.A

To date, approximately 45% of the Awacha Porphyry Target has been covered by aAnaconda-style Mappinga.A This is an intensive mapping technique that was originally developed by the famous Anaconda Copper Company, and has been taught to the Aurania geological staff by consultant Dr. Steve Garwin.A This target is approximately 11 km x 5 km in size and was discovered by stream sediment sampling which showed elevated copper and molybdenum in the vicinity of two strong airborne magnetic anomalies.A This size is significantly larger than any copper porphyry known and so our working hypothesis is that it is a cluster of porphyries, and similar to the Warintza cluster to the south of our concessions.A Intrusive rock types from gabbro to diorite to monzonite and syenite have been mapped.A Many of these intrusives show secondary biotite (potassic) alteration and fine quartz veins containing molybdenite or a centre line of chalcopyrite.A These so called distinctive aB veinsa are classic evidence of mineralized porphyry systems.A An independent explanation of B veins can be found at:A https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gL0WzJ70z3s

Most of the Awacha area is covered by a unit of black shale which obscures the geology except where streams have cut down through the sediments and exposed the porphyry.A The area is also covered by thick jungle.A Nevertheless, Terraspec Mineral Spectrometer analysis of soils in the southern half of the anomaly indicates chlorite, kaolinite, white micas, dickite and pyrophyllite which are compatible with porphyry-style alteration. The last two minerals are typically found in the upper part of porphyry systems.

Copper soil anomalies are patchy, which is in keeping with soil results seen near outcropping sediment hosted copper elsewhere on the property.A It would seem that copper is easily flushed away from surface soils by the significant rainfall in the area.A Molybdenum however, which is essentially insoluble and immobile presents a much more coherent group of anomalies.A Half of the Awacha target is still to be sampled for soils.

The reinterpretation of the surficial geology and structure in the areas of outcropping sediment-hosted copper-silver and zinc-lead-silver has generated a large number of compelling drill targets (see press release dated October 17, 2022).A This copper-silver-zinc system across the concessions is 38 kilometres in lngth and is open to the north over an additional 15 kilometres. We believe this is perhaps one of the best areas of the property to find an economic ore deposit, considering the numerous high assays already yielded to date. A few areas are highlighted for follow-up, but we concede that a comprehensive programme here is more appropriate for a Major mining company partner.A

The Tatasham epithermal gold/porphyry copper target is compelling due to the presence of what are believed to be pipe breccias.A The area is, however, in steep terrain and the geology is mostly covered by post-mineral sedimentary cover and does not outcrop.A Soil samples along the ridgeline above the previous porphyry drilling campaign yielded anomalous antimony, which is a pathfinder element in gold systems.A An additional soil survey is required at Tatasham to extend the antimony anomaly that is still open to the north.A Intensive mapping and prospecting are required.A A The discovery of the epithermal system at Tatasham was unexpected, in our pursuit of a copper porphyry target indicated by geophysics.A That porphyry target is still valid, but it may lie at considerable depth, or it may lie laterally.A A A A A A A A A A A

Over the next six months it is intended to finish the Anaconda mapping on Awacha, and bring it to drill readiness.A At the same time, Tatasham will be re-examined in the belief that the antimony anomaly in soils may be due to a subcropping mineralized system.A The Fruta del Norte gold deposit was discovered by drilling a geochemical anomaly of antimony, arsenic and mercury which had virtually no gold on surface. Aurania is currently investigating the feasibility of conducting an Induced Polarization (IP) geophysical survey at Tatasham and Awacha.

The proposed exploration programmes are dependent on raising further funding.A The proceeds of the current private placement (as announced on March 13, 2023 and March 23, 2023) to date, have been applied to concession fees and general and administrative expenses.A

Qualified Person

The geological information contained in this news release has been verified and approved by Auraniaa?s VP Exploration, Mr. Jean-Paul Pallier, MSc. Mr. Pallier is a designated EurGeol by the European Federation of Geologists and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators.

About Aurania

Aurania is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition, and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper in South America. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities a Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador.

Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedar.com, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-.

For further information, please contact:

Carolyn Muir VP Corporate

Development & Investor

Relations Aurania Resources Ltd.

(416) 367-3200

carolyn.muir@aurania.com

In Europe:

Swiss Resource Capital AG

Jochen Staiger & Marc Ollinger

info@resource-capital.ch

www.resource-capital.ch

Neither the TSX-V nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains forward-looking information as such term is defined in applicable securities laws, which relate to future events or future performance and reflect managementa?s current expectations and assumptions. The forward-looking information includes Auraniaa?s objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the corporationa?s portfolio, treasury, management team and enhanced capital markets profile, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration, timing of the commencement of operations, the Companya?s teams being on track ahead of any drill program, the commencement of any drill program and estimates of market conditions. Such forward-looking statements reflect managementa?s current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to Aurania, including the assumption that, there will be no material adverse change in metal prices, all necessary consents, licenses, permits and approvals will be obtained, including various local government licenses and the market. Investors are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected. Risk factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed or implied by the forward-looking information include, among other things, the ability to anticipate and counteract the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on the business of the Company, including without limitation the effects of COVID-19 on the capital markets, commodity prices supply chain disruptions, restrictions on labour and workplace attendance and local and international travel; a failure to obtain or delays in obtaining the required regulatory licenses, permits, approvals and consents; an inability to access financing as needed; a general economic downturn, a volatile stock price, labour strikes, political unrest, changes in the mining regulatory regime governing Aurania; a failure to comply with environmental regulations; a weakening of market and industry reliance on precious metals and copper; and. those risks set out in the Companya?s public documents filed on SEDAR. Aurania cautions the reader that the above list of risk factors is not exhaustive.A Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law.
By Samanah Ali

New Canadian Media

On August 3, 2022, Sushil Katti, a Mississauga resident, woke up on what seemed like another ordinary morning. He had no idea a scout had been keeping a close eye on his home, with a runner waiting in the wings. Katti walked out the door around noon, but was confused by what he saw  or rather what he didnt see  in his driveway.

His 2020 Honda Civic was gone, stolen.

I was in a state of shock to be honest, because that car had emotional value, Katti said. My father was really proud when I bought the car.

Katti probably did not know Hondas are the most popular vehicle targeted by car thieves in the country. According to the Insurance Bureau of Canada, the company makes three of the six most commonly stolen vehicles, including the 2018 Honda CR-V, which is at the top of the list (other sources have similar findings).

Katti is among thousands of Canadians who have had their car stolen. In 2021, there were around 218 motor vehicle thefts per 100,000 residents in Canada, more than 83,000 in total, a 6.5 percent increase from the year before.

A few weeks ago, Peel Region Police recovered $10 million worth of stolen vehicles after a three-month investigation named Project R&R, which recovered 78 stolen vehicles that were set to be shipped overseas for resale. Multiple law enforcement agencies were involved including Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA), partners from the Port of Montreal (POM) and Equite Association.

Organized crime groups are targeting Canadian vehicles to steal in purchases of export, and export being the primary reason why vehicles are stolen, Bryan Gast, associate director of the International Association of Auto Theft Investigators (IAATI) and vice president of the Investigative Services Division at Equite Association, a not-for-profit organization that helps Canadian insurers detect and prevent fraud, said.

Stealing, shipping and selling stolen vehicles is a low-risk way for criminals to make profit and it often finances other criminal activities ranging from drug trafficking, arms dealing, people smuggling and international terrorism, according to the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).

In 2004, Statistics Canada published a report on the involvement of organized crime rings in the countrys stolen car network. It said, international vehicle trafficking is more profitable than prostitution or any other black market activity, and that the cost for criminal syndicates to steal and ship cars internationally was less than 10% of what the stolen vehicle will sell for overseas.

Project R&R intercepted over 25 containers that were held in multiple locations and ports, including Brampton, Montreal, Germany, and Spain. Many stolen vehicles were headed for the United Arab Emirates.

One way to reduce the chances of a runner from targeting your vehicle is to cover or block your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), which is usually located on the front of the vehicle

People consider this to be a victimless crime or a property crime, but its far from that. These thefts are funding their criminal organizations as well as funding terrorism, Gast said.

In reality, [organized auto crime] is one of the top revenue generators for organized crime, only behind drugs and fraud, Deputy Chief Nick Milinovich said at the 2023 Auto-Theft Summit in Mississauga, which was hosted by Peel Police and attended by representatives from nine municipalities in Ontario that collectively lost over 27,000 vehicles in 2022.

Chart by Samanah Ali/The Pointer, sourced from Statistics Canada.

While a majority of the thefts have occurred in Ontario, the main route of export for these stolen vehicles is through the Port of Montreal (POM), which according to its website is the largest port in Eastern Canada. This has been the case for more than a decade.

The highest rates of organized vehicle theft, using the rate of stolen vehicles not recovered as a proxy measure, are found in the larger urban centres of Quebec and Ontario as well as the port city of Halifax, the 2004 Stats Can report detailed, linking the proximity to ports with higher rates of stolen cars in nearby cities.

York Regional Police Detective Sergeant Pat Smyth described the various steps criminals take to remove a vehicle from a private driveway or street to a nearby depot, then onto a shipping container bound for an overseas destination.

Scouts go through neighbourhoods to take pictures of Vehicle Identification Numbers (VIN), a unique code usually printed on the driver-side door or door jam of a car that provides information about its manufacturing details, features and mechanical specifications. This information is then shared with someone else in the criminal network to confirm the vehicle is one that buyers on the other side of the operation want. The car is stolen often using an electronic device that picks up information from the owners key fob to gain access to the vehicle. A runner then drives the car to a location where it is prepared and put in a shipping container to be transported to a port, or directly out of province before it is placed in a container to ship overseas.

There are different crime rings and criminal motives, involving different techniques for use in a range of settings.

In May last year, Toronto police, York and Peel Regional Police recovered around $1.5 million worth of stolen vehicles and arrested two suspects after a month-long carjacking crime spree. Toronto police Inspector Rich Harris said they used extreme violence towards victims and believed the vehicles were being obtained for sale to illicit businesses throughout the GTA or also for transportation overseas.

Supervising the thieves who scout and run the vehicles to depots before they are eventually shipped, are theft crews of as many as five people who coordinate and organize the operation. Runners are told where to drop the cars, the shipper loads them into a container in Ontario or Quebec, puts them on a truck or train and most often sends them to the Port of Montreal to be shipped abroad.

Investigators overseeing Project R&R described the operation.

These shippers, theyre paid fairly well and theyre paid per vehicle, but theyre at best a lower [or] mid-level individual involved in the operation, Smyth said. Theres a certain amount of knowledge involved when theyre putting vehicles in their containers that dont come with the original keys, the locks are damaged. Theyre being loaded into containers at three or four in the morning, not during regular business hours.

People who export goods from Canada are required to fill out a legal document, called the Bill of Landing (BoL), which provides information on the goods being shipped and where theyre going. Criminals fill these documents with fraudulent personal and financial information and often describe the items in the containers as mattresses, grains or something else.

In 2022, the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) intercepted 1,310 stolen vehicles, a 96 percent increase over five years. The CBSA uses targeted and random examination selection as a part of this risk management process, Jacqueline Roby, Senior Spokesperson of the CBSA, said.

Proportionally, thats still a small number of vehicles, Gast said at the Mississauga Summit. Right now, we have over a thousand vehicles identified in various countries across the world, and those are just the ones that we know that have been seized by local customs. That does not include the other thousands of vehicles that are already in the marketplace.

Stolen vehicles exported from Canada are usually sent to countries in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Sometimes the original licence plate is kept on the car when resold, making it obvious its stolen.

David Adams, President of the Global Automakers of Canada, points to brazen practices within foreign auto markets to illustrate how stolen cars are openly sold in some countries. Online ads highlighting cars from Canada can easily be found, even featuring vehicles that still have their provincial licence plate attached alongside the foreign one, raising public concern that some foreign authorities do not take the crime seriously.

A question that has not been addressed by Canadian authorities is whats being done to crack down on the foreign markets where stolen cars are sold out in the open, creating a huge demand for vehicles sourced by criminals in Canada.

I am not familiar with the automotive market in Ghana, but what I can say is that those pictures widely available on the internet show how brazen the thieves have become by not even bothering to remove the provincial or state license plates, David Adams, President of the Global Automakers of Canada, said. The presence of those plates should be a key indicator to those dealers/consumers purchasing those vehicles in Ghana that they are stolen. (Photo from Instagram)

Canada is now a source country. Other countries are targeting Canadian vehicles to be stolen and its grown significantly in the last year. In 2022 it grew to over a billion dollars, Gast said.

Smyth, who oversees the Auto/Cargo Theft Unit (ACTU), has been on the ground when many containers have been inspected. He recognizes that a majority of the stolen vehicles make it out, but explained that even getting 60 containers examined in a day is a big deal.

The Port of Montreal ships over two million containerized cargo pieces per year, around 6,000 daily. On a good day, only around one percent of containers are inspected.

Sometimes we can only do maybe 20 or 25 with the resources that we have, from a time perspective, Smyth said.

Addressing this crisis

The link between organized crime and auto theft is not a new phenomenon in Canada. In 2010, Canada legislated the Tackling Auto Theft and Property Crime Act (Bill S-9). Former minister of justice and attorney general of Canada, Rob Nicholson, described auto thefts as one of the criminal enterprises on which organized crime depends. It cost Canadians around one billion dollars annually back then as well.

Whats changed? Nothing really. It all comes down to a willingness to address the issue through enforcement of the laws and provisions that exist, David Adams, President of the Global Automakers of Canada, wrote in a column for the Canadian Auto Dealer that was published on March 31.

How about amending the penalties and punishments arising from conviction under the Tackling Auto Theft and Property Crime Act? If the opportunity is great (it is estimated that a $100,000 vehicle stolen in Canada can fetch up to $250,000 in some foreign markets), the enforcement is light and the punishment is relatively light (18 months in jail for a summary conviction) it should not come as a surprise that auto theft runs rampant.

While auto theft crimes have remained an issue over the last few decades, many cite the sudden recent spike (Peel has been particularly hard hit over the past year) as a result of semiconductor chip shortages during the pandemic, which caused a demand for them, and the increased use of push-button technology in vehicle manufacturing that makes it easier for thieves who can steal the fob key signals using special devices.

Any vehicle that is a push button start, keyless entry, keyless remote start, those are the vehicles that are being targeted, Gast said. One of the two main ways thieves exploit such technology is through relay attacks, in which thieves stand at peoples front doors with an antenna-like device to intercept the signal between the car and the fob device. The second way is through connecting to the onboard diagnostic port, which reprograms the fob device.

Most cars, regardless of whether they are high-end vehicles, are at risk of being stolen if they do not have a robust anti-theft protection system.

With such technology, thieves are often able to get inside a car in under 30 seconds. Toronto Councillor Mike Colle, who called for an auto theft task force in Toronto in 2021, says one of the first steps to tackle auto theft networks is to ensure the federal government mandates auto manufacturers put in anti-auto-theft technology on all new cars. They can do that, Transport Canada should do that, he said. The technology is too easy to break into and steal cars.

Others cite slow police response as a reason why stolen vehicles are not recovered in time.

When Katti woke up to find his car missing in August of last year, he called Peel Police to report it stolen but was disappointed with the response. I gave them a call at around 12 p.m. in the afternoon, and they came at 9 p.m. at night. So yes, there is definitely something wrong over there. I dont know how it took them nine hours to be available.

Katti said he called the police multiple times almost every day after the crime but was met with the same response  waiting on hold for around an hour then finally being told someone would get back to him if there was an update.

Things could have been done better. I dont think theyre taking it seriously enough, Katti said. I am from India. I thought Canada is one of the developed nations and I never really thought something like this could happen in Canada.

His frustration is being felt by more and more residents across Peel.

Over the last five years, vehicle thefts in the region have increased by around 118 percent.

Only around three percent of auto theft cases in Peel between March 2022 and 2023 were solved.

The auto theft crisis is not a simple local police matter.

What happens is the car stolen from Toronto goes across the municipal boundary into Brampton and they get a container in Brampton, and they go out to Montreal and bang, theyre in Malta or the United Arab Emirates or in Nigeria, theyre gone, Councillor Colle said. Local police cant stop that without the federal government and the provincial government taking this seriously, right now theyre not taking it seriously.

Police and representatives from nine different municipalities at the 2023 Auto Summit have also come to the consensus that there needs to be a more joint effort, not just at the provincial level, but also at the federal level.

The federal government really does need to acknowledge that it has a responsibility with respect to this issue and thats an issue of health and safety for Canadians, its also an issue of significant economic costs to insurers and to consumers and its also an issue with respect to Canadas international reputation, Adams said at the Auto Summit. We do have certain obligations under the United Nations with respect to declarations that weve signed financing terrorism, well thats where all this money is going.

The Pointer asked the federal Safety Ministry what is being done to work with foreign governments to tackle international auto crime. The ministry acknowledged the questions but did not provide a response.
Musk touts new moderation policy to reassure advertisers



Miami, April 18 (AFP) Apr 18, 2023



Twitter head Elon Musk on Tuesday attempted to reassure wary advertisers by hyping up the site's newly introduced content moderation policy against hateful material.

Speaking at a meeting in Florida, the controversial billionaire outlined new rules, first announced Monday, to limit the reach of tweets that do not conform to the platform's guidelines.

"If somebody has something hateful to say, it doesn't mean he should have a microphone," the self-described free-speech absolutist told gathered journalists.

"He still should be able to say it, but it needs to be not them pushing it on people," he added.

Under the new policy, unveiled in a blog post titled "Freedom of Speech, Not Reach," Twitter will soon begin tagging posts whose visibility has been limited.

The labels will "bring a new level of transparency to enforcement actions," the blog post said.

"Tweets with these labels will be made less discoverable on the platform. Additionally, we will not place ads adjacent to content that we label."

Since purchasing the so-called bird app in a rollercoaster $44 billion deal last year, Musk has sharply reined in content moderation on the platform, allowing the return of many users who had been banned for posting tweets that incite hate or spread misinformation.

At the same time, he also reduced the company's workforce from more than 7,500 to fewer than 2,000 employees.

Last week, US public radio NPR said it was quitting Twitter after the site labeled the highly respected news outlet's account as "state-affiliated media," branding it the same way as media in authoritarian countries such as Russia or China.

The tag was later amended to read "government-funded media," which was also applied to Britain's BBC.

Following the row, Canada's CBC/Radio-Canada and Swedish public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) also quit the social network.

The drama came against the backdrop of the rollout of yet another contentious new policy, as Twitter has said that starting April 20, it will only grant its famous blue checkmark to accounts that pay for its Twitter Blue service.

According to analyst Jasmine Enberg at market research firm Insider Intelligence, Twitter's revenue is set to drop 28 percent this year, because "advertisers don't trust Musk."

But for Musk, the ability to tinker with Twitter's protocol might be worth the financial risk of spooking advertisers.

"It's totally cool to say that you want to have your advertisement appear in certain places in Twitter and not in other places," Musk said Tuesday.

"But it's not cool to try to say what you can do or not do. And if that means Twitter loses hundreds of thousands of dollars, we'll lose it," he said.

gma/cpy/sr/caw/st
'Stamp of approval': Twitter's Musk amplifies misinformation



Washington, April 19 (AFP) Apr 19, 2023



Elon Musk promised to make Twitter the "most accurate source of information about the world," but he has repeatedly used his own account to amplify false claims from some of the most notorious disinformers on the internet, according to an AFP analysis of his online activity.

The posts show Musk drawing attention to misinformation about everything from the war in Ukraine to the attack on US Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi's husband. Last week, the billionaire boosted a tweet that wrongly suggested doctors misdiagnosed flu cases as Covid-19 deaths.

"One of the greatest mysteries of Covid-19: Where did the flu go in 2020 and 2021?" an account called "KanekoaTheGreat" said, to which Musk replied: "Good question."

It was one of at least 40 times the billionaire replied to the profile, which has promoted the QAnon conspiracy theory, since purchasing Twitter for $44 billion nearly six months ago. He has only replied to a handful of accounts more in that time.

Using data from PolitiTweet, a website that tracked public figures' posts until Twitter cut off its access, AFP reviewed thousands of replies Musk published between late October and March.

He shared a fabricated CNN segment, called a made-up quote "wise words" and falsely claimed police escorted a rioter through the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. He amplified a post blaming mass shootings on LGBTQ individuals and endorsed a fake casualty count from Ukraine.

Musk has also downplayed Covid-19 and promoted spurious claims about vaccines causing blood clots, miscarriages and heart problems.

"We are running out of 'conspiracies' that turned out to be true!" the Twitter owner said in March, replying to a tweet that listed Covid-19 and vaccine safety among the "biggest media lies."

Days later, he tweeted that the "best way to fight misinformation is to respond with accurate information."

Experts say Musk's activity is concerning -- and not just because of his online influence.

"Musk has almost 135 million Twitter followers and forced his engineers to increase the reach of his tweets, so we should worry when he spreads misinformation," Brendan Nyhan, a Dartmouth College professor who studies misperceptions in politics, told AFP.

"I'm most worried, though, about what these tweets reveal about the judgment of the person who determines the policies of a major social media platform."

- Musk's feed -



Researchers have tied Twitter's recent policy changes -- including Musk's reinstatement of suspended accounts and its overhaul of verification practices -- to spikes in misinformation.

NewsGuard, a company that assesses websites' credibility, found accounts paying for Twitter's subscription service are inundating the site with false claims.

Musk is driving attention to some of these accounts.

"Got the Elon Musk stamp of approval," said "KanekoaTheGreat" on Telegram after one such reply.

A January study from the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a London-based think tank, recorded a "staggering" increase in Musk's interactions with right-wing accounts since acquiring Twitter, including several profiles other research identified as spreaders of US election misinformation.

Musk has repeatedly amplified posts from sources such as the pro-Donald Trump page "Catturd," the anti-LGBTQ account "Libs of TikTok" and the conspiratorial website ZeroHedge.

Ian Miles Cheong, a far-right blogger, has received at least 60 replies from Musk -- topping all but a few other profiles, according to AFP's analysis. In one instance, Musk amplified a tweet blaming Joe Biden for an immigration program that started under Trump.

"Musk is elevating some of the worst voices on Twitter," Nyhan told AFP. "These interactions are likely to increase the reach and prominence of the accounts."

In some cases, the Twitter boss has helped mainstream false narratives.

After an intruder broke into Pelosi's California residence and struck the lawmaker's husband with a hammer in October, Musk tweeted a link to an article claiming he was drunk and quarreling with a male prostitute. #Pelosigaylover trended on Twitter.

Court filings and footage of the incident disproved the claims, which stemmed from a site that had previously published misinformation. But the damage was done.

"It's really sad for the country that people of that high visibility would separate themselves from the facts and the truth in such a blatant way," Nancy Pelosi said at the time. "It is traumatizing to those affected by it. They don't care about that, obviously."

Twitter responded to AFP's requests for comment with the poop emoji, an auto-reply Musk launched in March.
Focus on reproductive rights rather than population numbers, UN urges



Geneva, April 19 (AFP) Apr 19, 2023



Rather than fixating on the impact of the world's soaring population, the world should look at women's reproductive rights to shore up "demographic resilience," the UN said Wednesday.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- the UN's sexual and reproductive health agency -- acknowledged there was widespread anxiety over the size of the world's population, which is expected to peak at around 10.4 billion during the 2080s.

But the UNFPA said the focus should be on giving women more power to control when and how they have children.

"The question is: 'Can everyone exercise their fundamental human right to choose the number and spacing of their children?'. Sadly, the answer is a resounding no," said UNFPA chief Natalia Kanem.

She said that "44 percent, almost half of women, are unable to exercise bodily autonomy. Unable to make choices about contraception, healthcare and whether or with whom to have sex. And globally, nearly half of all pregnancies are unintended."

She said countries with the highest fertility rates contribute the least to global warming and suffer the most from its impact.

In its flagship annual "State of World Population" report, the UNFPA found the most commonly-held view is that the world's population is too big.

But it said that passing the eight billion mark "should be a reason to celebrate. It is a milestone representing historic advances for humanity in medicine, science, health, agriculture and education".

"It is time to put aside fear, to turn away from population targets and towards demographic resilience -- an ability to adapt to fluctuations in population growth and fertility rate," it said.

- India overtaking China -



"The world population is rapidly reordering itself," Kanem told a press conference.

While the population is now the largest ever seen, "the global average fertility rate is the lowest in living memory".

Kanem said the ranking of the world's most populous countries would change significantly over the next 25 years, with India currently overtaking China at the top.

Eight countries will account for half the projected growth in global population by 2050: the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria, Pakistan, the Philippines and Tanzania.

The report said two-thirds of people were living in countries with low fertility.

"This is the first time in human history where not every country is getting bigger," said Kanem.

The countries with the highest fertility rates were all in Africa: Niger (6.7), Chad (6.1), DR Congo (6.1) Somalia (6.1) and Mali and the Central African Republic (5.8).

The territories with the lowest birth rates were Hong Kong (0.8), South Korea (0.9), Singapore (1.0), Macau and San Marino (1.1) and Aruba and China (1.2).

Europe is the only region projected to experience an overall population decline between now and 2050.

The report said the world fertility rate per woman was currently 2.3. Life expectancy is 71 for men and 76 for women.

"All populations are ageing largely because we're living longer lives. Since 1990, the average life expectancy has increased by about a decade," said Kanem.

Twenty-five percent of the world's population is aged 14 or under; 65 percent are aged 15-64 and 10 percent are aged 65 and over.

The report found anxious governments were increasingly adopting policies aimed at raising, lowering or maintaining fertility rates. However, such efforts are very often ineffective.

"Half a million births every year take place among girls aged 10-14... girls too young to consent to sex, girls married off, abused, or both," Kanem added.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. China Southern Airlines resumes direct scheduled flights between Urumqi (China) and Ashgabat (Turkmenistan) from April 25, 2023, Trend reports with reference to the Turkmen media.

According to the information, it is planned that flights will be carried out on Boeing 737-800 aircraft once a week  on Tuesdays.

The departing flight is scheduled to depart from Urumqi on Tuesday at 22:20 (GMT+8) and arrive in Ashgabat around 23:30 (GMT+5). The return flight will depart from Ashgabat on Wednesday at 01:00 (GMT+5) and arrive in Urumqi at 07:35 (GMT+8).

Meanwhile, China Southern Airlines suspended flights to Turkmenistan in early 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

China Southern Airlines is based in Guangzhou (China). It is the largest Asian airline by fleet size, as well as the largest air carrier in Asia.

Meanwhile, at the moment, flights to Turkmenistan are operated by four foreign air carriers  Belarusian Belavia, S7 Airlines, FlyDubai and Turkish Airlines.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Deputy Minister of Agriculture of Uzbekistan Umid Mamadaminov held a meeting with the leadership of the cotton and textile cluster created on the basis of investments of the South Korean POSCO International corporation during which they discussed new investment agricultural projects, Trend reports with reference to the Uzbek media.

During the meeting, the cluster management presented plans to expand activities for the next three years and implement investment projects in the Tashkent, Kashkadarya, and Fergana regions with a total value of $196 million.

The parties discussed the allocation of areas for cotton cultivation in areas where it is planned to implement new projects, as well as the use of arid lands with the use of water-saving technologies.

Furthermore, an exchange of views took place at the meeting on the possibility of restoring abandoned agricultural lands in the Kasan district of the Kashkadarya region and ways of their effective use.

Meanwhile, South Korean POSCO International corporation and Uzbekistan last year signed an agreement worth $65 million on the organization of a cotton cluster in Uzbekistans Fergana region.
MADISON, Wis. (AP)  Microsoft has agreed to buy a $50 million parcel of land in southeastern Wisconsin meant for Foxconn after the world's largest electronics manufacturer failed to fulfill grandiose promises to build a massive facility that would employ thousands of workers.

Microsoft plans to build a $1 billion data center on the 315-acre (127-hectare) parcel in Mount Pleasant, a village of about 27,000 people in Racine County, about 30 miles (50 kilometers) south of Milwaukee. It's unclear how many people the center might employ. Paul Englis, Microsoft's director of global community research and engagement, told the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday that such centers typically employ 300 to 400 people.

The village already is home to a Foxconn Technology Group manufacturing facility. The Taiwan-based company is best known for making Apple iPhones. The company announced plans in 2017 to build a $10 billion facility in Mount Pleasant that would employ 13,000 people.

Wisconsin's governor at the time, Republican Scott Walker, and then-President Donald Trump praised the decision, with Trump boasting the plant would be the eighth wonder of the world.

The state agreed to provide Foxconn with nearly $3 billion in tax breaks. The company never delivered on its promises and Democratic Gov. Tony Evers scaled back the tax breaks to $80 million contingent on the number of jobs created and investments. The company qualified for just $8.6 million in tax credits last year after creating 768 eligible jobs and making a $77.4 million capital investment by the end of 2021.

According to a fact sheet describing the Microsoft project compiled by southeastern Wisconsin economic development groups, the parcel of land is part of a tax-increment financing district that includes the Foxconn campus. Property taxes collected in such districts can be used to subsidize development.

Foxconn spent $60 million to help Mount Pleasant officials buy the property to create the district, said Mia Tripi, a spokesperson for the village and Racine County.

Foxconn would receive the proceeds from the land sale to Microsoft as partial reimbursement of what Foxconn spent to acquire land for the district in 2017, according to the fact sheet. Microsoft would be eligible to recoup 42% of property taxes paid on new construction, up to $5 million annually.

Microsoft must begin the first phase of construction by July 2026 and begin the second phase by July 2033.

The tech sector has been contracting after pandemic-era expansions brought on a boom in demand for workplace software. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, hasn't been immune to the trend, announcing in January that it planned to cut 10,000 workers and consolidate leased office locations. Company officials said then that the layoffs amounted to less than 5% of their total employee base.

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This story has been corrected to show that Paul Englis spoke to the Racine County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday  not Thursday.
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MILFORD  There were two things everyone who spoke Wednesday during the sentencing of Peter Manfredonia agreed on.

First  there was no excuse and no explanation for the crimes that brought Manfredonia to court: the killing of his high school classmate Nicholas Eisele, 23, and the kidnapping of Eiseles girlfriend, for which Manfredonia had pleaded guilty to charges of murder and first-degree kidnapping.

Second  no sentence could ever bring an end to his victims suffering or make Eiseles family whole for his loss.

In a mothers eyes this will never be enough justice served for taking my sons life, Eisele's mother, Michele Krasowski, said of the 55-year sentence agreed upon in a plea deal, which Manfredonia, 26, will serve concurrently to a sentence of the same length for a samurai sword attack and subsequent home invasion in Willington which preceded Eisele's killing and prompted a days-long, multi-state manhunt.

Speaking for the first time publicly in the nearly three years since the May 2020 homicidal rampage that left Eisele and another victim dead in Connecticut prior to his capture in Maryland days later, Manfredonia told Eiseles family that there are no words that could possibly atone for what I have done.

My actions were nothing short of reprehensible. Although I do not expect your forgiveness, I apologize nonetheless, Manfredonia told a courtroom packed with Eiseles friends and family, many of whom wore T-shirts with Eiseles picture, the words "As long as I breathe youll be remembered" and the hashtag #JusticeForNick.

What I did was inexcusably horrendous and I will regret it every day for the rest of my life, Manfredonia said. Not because of the consequences its had on me, but the consequences it has had on your family.

Eisele was a good young man for whom I felt no ill will, he said.

To Eiseles girlfriend, Shannon Spies, who had said she had envisioned her own funeral while driving down Interstate 684 as Manfredonia held her at gunpoint following his killing of Eisele in the couples Derby apartment, Manfredonia said he could not apologize enough for what I put you through.

You were incredibly strong and brave during what must have been the scariest instance of your life, he said. I never intended to hurt you even though I know I did. I sincerely wish you the best despite what I have done.

Before Manfredonia spoke, his lawyer, Michael Dolan, said Manfredonia "suffers from a mental health condition that certainly contributed to the conduct that (brought) us here today," but wasn't blaming his crimes on what the lawyer has previously described as a psychotic break which he said could have been prevented if Manfredonia had obtained treatment that wasn't available to him during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"He takes responsibility for his actions, is ashamed of his conduct, and is saddened by its results," Dolan said.

For Eiseles family, who spoke Wednesday in glowing terms about his character and the memories that are now the only things to remember him by, Manfredonias words rang hollow.

"To say that my son was a great kid was an understatement," Krasowski said after the sentencing. "He was an amazing kid, and (Manfredonia) made a choice to end that too soon."

In a statement thanking State's Attorney Margaret Kelley and Victim Services Advocate Jennie Abutu, Krasowski said she doubts Manfredonia feels true remorse.

"I feel he and many others use the pandemic as an excuse to not accept their responsibility for their actions against others," Krasowski said.

Eisele's mother said she'll never be "closure," but that the sentencing is "simply an end to this chapter in our story.

"I will never fully heal from this; I don't know any mother that ever heals from losing their child," she said.

But at the same time, she said the question of forgiveness isn't cut and dried, but "a journey that at times I do not want to travel."

"So, if the journey of faith and forgiveness is the way through this life then that is what I have to try to do," she said, asking her son to be remembered, and not Manfredonia.

Krasowski said she "had the honor of watching my son grow, especially in the last year of his life, into a man far greater than I could have hoped for as a mother."

"He had so much life ahead of him," Eisele's father, John, said in a statement read by a friend during the sentencing, recalling the horror he still feels at the moment he discovered his son's dead body in a pool of blood. "He hadn't even scratched the surface."

Spies cried as she read a statement saying that although she survived the ordeal unharmed physically, "I did die with Nick that day."

"The version of myself that went to bed with my boyfriend, my best friend, and the sweetest man I've ever met on May 23 was not alive anymore when my parents picked me up at a state police headquarters in New Jersey," Spies said.

My son died protecting the one he loved and his home, Krasowski said. My son died a hero. We are left with the scars of this crime, but we choose to honor our memories with him and his life as it was far greater than this tragedy.

Her words echoed those of many of Eisele's friends and family who spoke during the sentencing about their fond memories of Eisele and the trouble they've had in the wake of his senseless killing.

One of Eisele's sisters, Jessica Rose Eisele, herself a survivor of the Sandy Hook Elementary School, said she was forced to re-live the trauma of the 2012 massacre, and called attention to evidence that Manfredonia was inspired its perpetrator, who lived down the street from Manfredonia's childhood home in Newtown.

"I've been consumed by grief, anxiety, and depression and I will continue to for the rest of my life," she said.

Another sister, Gianna Eisele, said she would never be able to forgive Manfredonia. "If that means I can't completely heal, then so be it."

"I ask myself every day why I still have to be here," Spies said, noting she's accumulated roughly $20,000 in bills from a trauma therapist and psychiatrist. "I envy the safety Peter has gotten for the past three years and will get for significantly longer behind security guards and concrete walls. Despite my freedom, there hasn't been a single moment I've felt safe."

"The plea deal does nothing for me except close the door on this court case," Spies said. "The damage can never be undone. None of this brings Nick back."

After offering his condolences to Eisele's family and friends, the judge agreed.

"Mr. Manfredonia, the sentence which will result in your incarceration for the next 55 years will do absolutely nothing to dull the pain or heal the wounds of those that have spoken today and those that they speak for," Brown said.

Manfredonia will be sentenced separately Thursday on charges of murder, first-degree assault, and home invasion in connection to the samurai sword attack in Willington that killed a 62-year-old man, Ted Demers, and subsequent burglary of an occupied home nearby during which he held a man captive for more than a day before stealing the man's truck and crashing it in Derby prior to Eisele's killing.
BOSTON (AP)  Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his longshot bid to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year.

Kennedy, a member of one of the countrys most famous political families who has in recent years been linked to some far-right figures, kicked off his campaign in Boston on Wednesday and likened his campaign to the American revolution.

My mission over the next 18 months of this campaign and throughout my presidency will be to end the corrupt merger of state and corporate power that is threatening now to impose a new kind of corporate feudalism in our country, Kennedy said.

Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running for the Democratic nomination. Biden has said he's planning on running again but has not formally announced a campaign. He's expected to have a glide path to the nomination, with much of the Democratic establishment behind him.

Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, repeatedly referenced both of them during his lengthy speech Wednesday.

Kennedy Jr. was once known most as an environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water. But over the past nearly two decades, he's become one of the leading voices of the anti-vaccine movement. His work has been described by members of his own family and public health experts as misleading and dangerous.

His efforts intensified after the pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine, and an AP investigation in 2021 showed he had linked up with anti-democratic figures and other groups. He has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A photo posted on Instagram showed Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former President Donald Trumps ally Roger Stone, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger. All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen.

Kennedy has been a guest on Infowars, the channel run by conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and on the War Room podcast hosted by longtime Trump ally Steve Bannon, where he promoted his bestselling 2021 book, The Real Anthony Fauci, in which he accused the U.S.s top infectious disease doctor of participating in a historic coup detat against Western democracy."

The AP documented how Kennedy and his anti-vaccine group, Childrens Health Defense, had capitalized on the COVID-19 pandemic  raking in funding and followers in the U.S. and abroad, and doubling its revenue from 2019 to 2020. Researchers have found that the group is among the most influential spreaders of anti-vaccine misinformation, and the AP found traffic to its website had soared.

In the second year of the pandemic, Childrens Health Defense continued its huge growth, according to a more recent filing with charity regulators in California. Revenue more than doubled from $7 million in 2020 to $16 million in 2021.

Facebook and Instagram removed the accounts of Childrens Health Defense for spreading misinformation.

Kennedy has repeatedly invoked Nazis and the Holocaust when talking about measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, such as mask requirements and vaccine mandates. He has apologized for some of those comments, including when he suggested that people in 2022 were worse off than Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.
HELSINKI (AP)  Russia is suspected of spying in the waters of the Baltic Sea and North Sea using civilian fishing trawlers, cargo ships and yachts, the public broadcasters of four Nordic countries said in a joint investigation published Wednesday.

The investigation by the public broadcasting companies of Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden uncovered Moscows alleged undersea intelligence operations by tracking the radio traffic and locations of Russian vessels traveling in the seas over the past year.

Analyzing the data revealed suspicious sailing patterns, particularly around offshore wind farms, gas pipelines, and undersea power and data cables, the broadcasters said. They published the investigation on their websites and planned to air a documentary, titled Shadow War, with their full findings later Wednesday.

One of their conclusions states that Russian military and civilian ships were constantly on the move in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea with the aim of mapping critical infrastructure in the seabed. Among the reasons Moscow might be interested in doing that would be to plan and prepare possible acts of sabotage, such as cutting the flow of electricity to nearby countries, the joint investigation says.

Asked to comment on the Nordic allegations that Russia was preparing to sabotage energy infrastructure, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said during a conference call with reporters that European countries again prefer to baselessly blame Russia for everything.

We would prefer it if they focused on the terror attack on the Nord Stream pipelines and the need for a transparent, urgent and broad international inquiry into these unprecedented terrorist acts of sabotage, Peskov said, referring to explosions that damaged two Russia-to-Germany gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea last year.

Swedish news agency TT quoted Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson as saying he wasnt surprised by the revelation of Russia's alleged illegitimate information gathering.

But this is serious. It underlines that we have a very risky situation in our immediate vicinity, Kristersson said during a press conference at the Karlskrona naval base in southern Sweden.

In Brussels, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg told reporters he wouldnt speculate about the specific incidents, ships or capabilities presented in the Nordic investigation.

NATO has addressed threats against undersea infrastructure for many, many years," Stoltenberg said. After the explosions incapacitated the Nord Stream gas pipelines, "we stepped up our presence in the Baltic Sea and the North Sea with ships, planes and other capabilities, he added.

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Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this article.
Right now, the appropriations committee in the state legislature is mulling over whether to cut millions from the Connecticut State Colleges and Universities budget.

The consequences of these cuts would be severe and immediate.

As a professor at Western Connecticut State University, Ive already seen how the dwindling state funding for the CSUs has impacted our students. Students are maxed out, both financially and mentally. Further cutting our budget would only push more of the burden onto them through tuition costs, hurting our enrollment and our states future.

Just prior to the pandemic, one of my students surveyed her peers for a research project on poverty. More than 80 percent of respondents said that college finances had impacted their mental health. One respondent had to take time off from school to attend therapy. Another suffered from anxiety because they regularly were faced with choosing between working and studying for exams. Several stated that just thinking about their student loans caused stress.

The COVID-19 pandemic has only worsened conditions for our students. WCSU has seen a nearly 50 percent increase in demand for urgent counseling sessions since fall of 2019.

Our students simply cannot take more of this stress. If Gov. Ned. Lamonts budget proposal, or anything close to its proposed cuts, is to move forward, we will see more and more students withdraw from school and lose out on opportunities. As tuition increases, we will see enrollments plummet, programs gutted and the vibrancy of our institutions dulled.

This is not a decision we can take back in the future. The decision to cut CSCU funding will impact generations to come and worsen inequality in our state. Its time that our elected leaders do the right thing and fully fund the CSCU system so it, and our state, can thrive.

Carina Bandhauer is chair of the Department of Social Sciences and Professor of Sociology at Western Connecticut State University
A first-term Danbury lawmaker introduced a surprise amendment to the legislative budget bill on Tuesday, sending the Appropriations Committee into an hour-long discussion on public education and under-funded urban school systems, before the majority Democrats finally rejected the maneuver.

Rep. Rachel Chaleski, a Republican who was elected in November, froze the committee with the amendment that would put the proposal for a 110-student charter school, which has been languishing for a half dozen years, into the two-year $50.9 billion state budget.

I was very disappointed to see in the budget that of the four approved charter schools, Danburys charter school was left out, Chaleski said, detailing hours of testimony and support from the public and City Hall. This is not a funding issue. It is a choice issue. It is an equity issue. A hundred and ten in a sea of 3,600 students at the states largest high school.

Danburys GOP mayor agreed.



I am incredibly disappointed in the actions taken by the majority of the Appropriations Committee in not including funding for the Danbury Charter School, and then rejecting the amendment proposed by Danburys Representative Rachel Chaleski to include funding, Dean Esposito said in a prepared statement.

On Wednesday, the planning team behind the Danbury Charter School said they were not defeated by the Tuesday vote and they remained committed to getting the Danbury Charter School open this fall.

We were heartened to hear so many legislators  from both parties  speak favorably about parent choice and about our school in particular  including several who felt that they had to vote against Rep. Chaleskis amendment for procedural reasons, said Stephen Tracy, chair of the Danbury Charter School planning team. In an effort to overcome the procedural concerns that prevented some of our schools supporters from voting yes yesterday, the Danbury Charter School Planning Team, alongside our many supporters in the community, will continue to press for inclusion in the state budget as the current legislative session continues.

The scene in Hartford Tuesday played out when state Sen. Cathy Osten, D-Sprague, the co-chairwoman of the committee, immediately called for a 10-minute recess that stretched to 45 minutes, as several Democrats sided with the proposal during a closed-door caucus. This is an extremely unusual process in Appropriations, in particular in the budget, to call an amendment, Osten said.

When the committee finally reconvened, an hour-long debate ensued and in the vote, four Democrats led by Sen. Doug McCrory, D-Hartford, co-chairman of the Education Committee, sided with the 16 Republicans on the committee in the final 33-20 vote against the proposal. It might not be next year, but youre going to have a school, said McCrory, a school administrator.

If you look at the history of education in this state, especially how it pertains to poor people, Black people, people who speak a second language, brown people, its embarrassing, McCrory said. This amendment, its probably not going to pass. I want to help the kids in Bridgeport. I want to help the kids in Bristol. I want to help the kids in New London. I want to help all the kids who are failing in traditional schools that we have had the data on for the last 35 years. If were not doing whats best for Danbury, were not doing whats best for the state.

Currently, the second year of the committees budget includes $2.1 million for a Norwalk charter school; $4.75 million for a charter school in Middletown and $937,500 for a charter school in New Haven.

State Rep. Jeff Currey, D-East Hartford, said the overall problem is the states out-dated, disjointed formula for funding public education, which lawmakers led by Speaker of the House Matt Ritter, D-Hartford hope to change with pending legislation. We have not fixed the problem in front of us, Currey said. Our children deserve it, the children that attend all of our public schools around the state of Connecticut. Until we fix what we currently have, I cannot in good faith stand up and support an amendment, a surprise amendment.

I dont think its best for Danbury, said Sen. Julie Kushner, D-Danbury, who voted against the amendment. Its my view because I care about the children of Danbury and our education system, and I think we need to make it better, she said, noting that a contingent of Danbury residents was in attendance for the meeting in the Legislative Office Building. I believe in the children of Danbury and I believe that they should have the best possible education.

Rep. Susan Johnson, D-Windham, noted that many suburban school districts are keeping out nearby city children by failing to participate in the Open Choice program. Why are we not opening the borders between our towns? asked the eighth-term lawmaker. If were really that broad-minded, we should be opening the borders between our towns and letting people go from one town to the next. We have a lot of vacancies in some of the suburban schools where they are really going to have to close some of those schools down. And a lot of places in the urban areas have over-crowding.

During the vote, several Democrats said that while they support charter schools generally, voting for the amendment wasnt appropriate for the meeting. The overall budget will become the center of negotiations over the next six weeks as lawmakers and the governor try to reach a final budget package.
BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 19. Armenia is among the countries that help Russia bypass Western sanctions, an article in the New York Times said, Trend reports.

According to the author of the article, who refers to the senior US and EU officials, a surge has been recorded in chips and other electronic components re-export from Armenia to Russia. As the author noted, eight particular types of those chips, crucial for the production of weapons, are delivered in Russia.

"One document marked with the seal of the U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security said that in 2022, Armenia imported 515 percent more chips and processors from the US and 212 percent more from the EU than in 2021. Armenia then exported 97 percent of those same products to Russia, the document said," the article noted.

Earlier, the US Departments of Commerce, the Treasury, and of Justice have issued a trilateral note on the specifications of the signs of attempts to circumvent sanctions against Russia.

According to the document, one of the most common tactics is the use of third-party intermediaries or transshipment points to avoid restrictions. It was revealed that Armenia is used to illegally redirect goods to Russia or Belarus, thus, bypassing West sanctions.
H SBC has urged investors not to be swayed by calls from its top stakeholder to split up the bank, insisting it would result in the material erosion of earnings and disrupt global customers.

Chinese investor Ping An Asset Management, which owns an 8% stake in HSBC, has been in a long-running spat with the banking giant over calls for an Asia-headquartered spin-off.

The dispute intensified after the firms chairman, Michael Huang, said on Tuesday HSBC was refusing to consider its proposals and would not engage in any verbal discussions.

HSBC dismissed the claims, saying there had in fact been about 20 meetings with the senior management team over the past year, including with Mr Huang himself.

After extensive discussions with Ping An, other shareholders and assessing the options for its Asia arm, both businesses had agreed to disagree on a number of issues, the lender said.

This would result in a material erosion of earnings, returns, dividends and shareholder value, and a disruption to our unique global customer service proposition

The two firms disagree over whether or not splitting up the bank and having a separately Hong Kong listed, Asia-headquartered business would improve or worsen its financial prospects.

Ping An says the move would improve performance and growth opportunities in Asia, and make it more profitable and competitive in the long term.

However, HSBC argues such big structural change would only be costly and damaging.

The bank said: Structural reforms of HSBCs Asia Pacific businesses suggested by Ping An would significantly dilute the international business model upon which HSBCs strategy is based.

This would result in a material erosion of earnings, returns, dividends and shareholder value, and a disruption to our unique global customer service proposition.

Accordingly, HSBC cannot support or recommend to its shareholders the structural options that have been proposed or otherwise considered.

The dispute comes ahead of the banks annual general meeting on May 5, where a vote will be put to shareholders over the restructuring proposals.

HSBC said it recommends people vote against the proposals because it is not in the interests of shareholders or customers for its structure to remain the subject of a prolonged debate.

Voting against the proposals next month would bring the issue to a conclusion, it said.
T he UK is facing ideologically motivated cyber threats from Russia-aligned groups, Oliver Dowden will warn later.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is expected to use a speech in Belfast on Wednesday to confirm that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) is issuing an official threat notice to operators of critical national infrastructure amid concerns about the growing cyber threat.

He will also use the address at the CyberUK conference to acknowledge that more needs to be done to improve salaries to attract cyber security experts into the civil service.

The NCSC alert points to what it calls the emerging risk posed by state-aligned adversaries in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, with officials recommending that organisations act now to protect against future attacks.

Mr Dowden, who is also responsible for national investment security, is set to warn that cyber security is closely linked to economic prosperity as he unveils new measures to support businesses on the front line of our cyber defences.

The senior minister will reveal that in the last few months several Russia-aligned groups have turned to focus on the UK, with Mr Dowden claiming that the motive is to disrupt or destroy.

These adversaries are ideologically motivated, rather than financially motivated, he will say.

This, the minister will warn, means that they are less likely to show restraint and makes them particularly concerning.

Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly, Mr Dowden is set to tell attendees.

But we believe it is necessary if we want these companies to understand the current risk they face, and take action to defend themselves and the country.

The annual conference, which is run by the Government and attracts a host of officials and industry figures, will also hear from the head of the National Cyber Security Centre, Lindy Cameron, who is set to warn of the epoch-defining challenge China poses to the West.

Mr Dowden will announce plans to set specific and ambitious cyber resilience targets for all critical national infrastructure sectors to meet within two years, as well as moves to bring private sector businesses working on critical infrastructure into the scope of resilience regulations.

Businesses cant afford... to leave their digital back door open to cyber crooks and hackers

He will say: These are the companies in charge of keeping our country running. Of keeping the lights on.

Our shared prosperity depends on them taking their own security seriously.

A bricks-and-mortar business wouldnt survive if it left the back door open to criminals every night. Equally in todays world, businesses cant afford to leave their digital back door open to cyber crooks and hackers.

The safer we make our businesses, the safer we make our economy  and the more attractive we become as a destination for entrepreneurs.

The fact that the UK has in the last few years taken cybersecurity so seriously already makes us one of the best places in the world to invest.

Mr Dowden will also admit the Government needs to break through its own glass ceiling on attracting talented cyber-trained experts, with a promise to look at whether salaries can be improved.

He will say: These are people protecting the systems and public services that millions of people across the country rely on every day, so we should want the very best people in charge of them. We must be competitive to stay ahead.

Elsewhere in the speech will be an announcement of new cyber security measures, known as GovAssure and run from the Cabinet Office, to protect the UKs critical IT systems.

Concerns have mounted in recent years about the danger posed by cyber attacks.

Only in January, an attack on Royal Mail caused severe disruption to parts of its services.
T he recently-sacked boss of the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) says his reputation has been totally destroyed following misconduct allegations, and claims he has been made a fall guy for a wider crisis engulfing the business group.

Police launched an investigation after the group fired former director general Tony Danker and suspended three other employees.

But in his first interview since his sacking on April 11, Mr Danker told the BBC his name had been wrongly associated with separate claims, including rape, which allegedly happened before he joined the CBI.

Mr Danker said he believes he has been made the fall guy by the lobby group as it now faces questions over its future.

CBI president Brian McBride said the board had lost trust and confidence in his ability to lead the organisation and that he was dismissed on strong legal grounds.

Mr McBride told the BBCs Today programme that Mr Dankers account of events was selective and claims the grounds are laid out more fully in a report compiled by independent law firm Fox Williams, which he confirmed have not been shown to Mr Danker.

He added that Mr Danker was free to go to an employment tribunal if he feels that he was unfairly dismissed.

Mr Danker told the BBC his termination letter had cited four reasons for his dismissal: organising a secret and private karaoke party for 15 people, viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff, sending non-work related messages to staff and inviting junior staff to breakfasts, lunches or one-on-one meetings.

While Mr Danker acknowledged he had made some staff feel very uncomfortable and he apologised for that, the former CBI boss insisted he had never used sexually suggestive language with people at the company.

You know, there was an incident somebody raised a complaint about unwanted contact, which was verbal contact, he added.

There was never any physical contact. Ive never had any physical contact. Ive never used any sexual language. Ive never propositioned anybody.

Mr Danker said his reputation had been totally trashed because separate claims against the body  which included drug use, as well as serious sexual assault  emerged a matter of weeks after the CBI disclosed that it was looking into separate allegations of misconduct against him.

He admitted to messaging around 200 individual staff members at the company but insisted it was to try and build rapport during lockdown and with colleagues who continued to work from home.

The ex-CBI boss responded to his dismissal last week by saying the allegations against him had been distorted.

The trade body has been rocked by allegations of a toxic workplace culture since Mr Danker was last month accused of allegedly making unwanted contact with a woman who works for the CBI.

She considered the contact to be sexual harassment, The Guardian reported at the time.

The group launched an investigation into his behaviour and he agreed to step down in the meantime.

But he was sacked abruptly last week as the CBI said his conduct fell short of what was expected of him, and said there had been serious failings in how it acted as an organisation.

He has since been replaced by former CBI chief economist Rain Newton-Smith.

The Guardian said it was approached by more than a dozen women who claimed to be victims of various forms of sexual misconduct by senior members of the CBI who were not Mr Danker.

One woman said she was raped at a staff party.

Mr McBride said the board had first heard about the allegations, dating back to 2019, in the newspaper.

For some reason people decided to go to the newspaper and not to us directly, which in itself points to something wrong with our culture, Mr McBride said.

He promised a root and branch examination of the group as it looks to mend its battered reputation.

A number of big firm members have halted their engagement with the group since the scandals emerged and the Government has stopped working with the CBI while police investigations continue.

Mr McBride said he did not believe the Government should wait for 18 months for the result of a potential rape case to engage with the CBI.

We have not been lobbying with Government for the past 10 days, we have been for the past 60 years, he said.

We expect to get back to that quite quickly, he added.
W hile the names of iconic bricks and mortar stores like Hamleys, Harrods and Selfridges roll off the tongue, it is often more difficult for digital retailers to stand out from the crowd.

In a congested market, where brands are not only battling a cost-of-living-crisis, but competitors and dominant online marketplaces such as Amazon, it is crucial to get the customer experience right.

This means ensuring every step of the customer journey, from digital payment options and check out to delivery and social media, are working in tandem for a truly seamless experience across all shopping channels. A happy customer is likely to be a loyal one.

But what could digital retailers be doing differently to get this right? Here are five of the latest trends shaping digital shopping today.

Augmented reality

A criticism often aimed at online shopping is that customers dont get to try before they buy. Augmented reality turns this problem on its head  and now many digital retailers are incorporating it into their strategies.

What will that sofa you love look like in your living room or watch look like on your wrist? Not only are businesses using AR to create immersive shopping experiences to help drive engagement, but brands including IKEA and Nike are giving customers the chance to test out exactly how products would look in real-life through their mobile phones.

Not only does this generally translate to more sales and a higher number of satisfied customers, it can also help cut down on returns, with fewer surprises when products are delivered.

Composable architecture

Theres a big buzz around composable architecture in the digital retail industry.

Up until now, many online stores have been built using customised out-of-the-box solutions, giving retailers a faster and more cost-effective route to market.

However, brands like Lego and IKEA have started turning to composable architecture, which allows complex systems to be built with loosely coupled components  almost like building blocks. Retailers can quickly swap segments in and out with ease  like a sites search engine or content system  without having to spend money developing the whole platform.

This gives businesses more flexibility to choose the blocks they want at will, allowing brands to constantly evolve the user experience.

Social commerce

Shoppers, especially Gen Z, want to be able to buy what they want, when they want. With more time spent on social media than ever before, it makes perfect sense to use platforms like Instagram, Facebook and TikTok to sell products directly to consumers, which can bring about more interactive experiences and quicker sales.

Its estimated that global social commerce sales will reach $1.298 billion this year. Retailers must ask whether these platforms might be used for more than just content.

Virtual reality

Like augmented reality, virtual reality is becoming a major channel for digital retailers to explore. Next month (May), Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is launching MENAs first Metaverse Academy in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, showing its huge potential.

Based on Web3  an updated version of the World Wide Web  the Metaverse allows people and businesses to connect virtually, with PwC predicting its potential contribution to GCC economies could be around 12 billion by 2030.

Brands including Gucci have already experimented with virtual clothing for users avatars to wear, but its merely the tip of the iceberg.

Live chat

From generating new leads to helping customers find what they need faster, live chat has quickly become a must-have for online retailers.

In 2020, the global live chat software market was valued at $755.23 million but with its popularity soaring, this is projected to reach $1.7 billion by 2030.

Having someone on hand, fulfilling the same functions as a shop floor assistant to quickly answer questions and clear any doubts can keep customers happy and help make those all-important sales.

Despite a booming online shopping industry, with so much competition, its vital to understand what your audience wants and expects and act on it. Businesses should consider tapping into some of these trends to stand out from the crowd and attract and retain new customers  and as importantly, keep them engaged and happy.
D oes the Conservative Party care about the environment? All main parties broadly define themselves as pro-planet these days, so the description is perhaps hard to qualify. Within the party  as in any e-coli strewn beach  there are pockets of resistance, such as the Net Zero Scrutiny Group, a group of 20 MPs who are now blaming green policies for the cost-of-living crisis. On the whole, though, the Tories are happy to present themselves as essentially green. This dates perhaps to 2006, when David Cameron replaced the Conservative branding, a lit torch, with an oak tree. There was Boris Johnsons rewilding project (now watered down). There is the Net Zero pledge.

But perhaps what the party says it will do is less revealing than who it appoints to do it. Lets remind ourselves of the past few environment secretaries: Liz Truss, who made cuts to countryside protections; Andrea Leadsom, who on her appointment asked officials whether climate change really existed; George Eustice, who had received funding from a climate-sceptic think-tank, and Therese Coffey, who once voted in favour of selling off the nations public forests.

Michael Gove bucked the trend  to the surprise of colleagues, he declared himself reformed as a full-throated environmentalist  but only some time after he had been handed the job.

Foxes in charge of henhouses come to mind  or perhaps water companies in charge of water. Under this sort of cover, prime ministers can make all sorts of gestures towards environmental friendliness, all the while knowing their secretary of state will resist.

I have often wondered how environmentalism and conservatism fit together as political agendas. Conservatism is essentially local in spirit: its essential value might be charity begins at home  or secure your own oxygen mask first before helping others. Self-interest serves the general interest. The urge to look after those closest to us is among our highest instincts.

Environmentalism, on the other hand, is a much more universal value. It requires individuals to make sacrifices for a more abstract cause, the good of all. When it comes to rising temperatures, environmental penalties do not fall directly on the culprits: problems generated by the 4x4 driver in the Cotswolds, say, or burger-eaters in Camden, will show up in Bangladesh or Australia.

It is easy, therefore, to see why Right-wing parties take on anti-environmental policies, even in countries in which voters broadly favour saving the planet. It is of a piece with other Conservative values to say the rights of the truck driver or boiler-owner should trump more conceptual concerns about climate change.

Yet there are some areas where self-interest and environmentalism coincide, and it goes from an abstract problem to a very immediate and local one. One of these is air quality  but this happens mostly in large cities such as London, where Tory votes are waning anyway. The other, though, is water pollution, which affects people in the country  and in particular, in exactly the sort of coastal towns the Conservative Party hopes to hold on to in the next election. It is hard not to care about an environmental problem that shows up quite so viscerally on your very doorstep.

Why isnt the Government doing more to combat the dumping of untreated sewage into Britains rivers and oceans by privately-owned water companies? Coffey was slammed yesterday  again  by our three biggest conservation groups for being too wet on the issue. There is a sense that she is not quite working hard enough to solve it. Has a generally sceptical attitude to the environment within her department overflowed into this issue, politically charged as it is among Tory voters?

Sewage in rivers is a matter not only of importance to environmental zealots but of supreme self-interest to local people. The matter is repeatedly raised during canvassing, according to MPs of all stripes. The Lib Dems say their polling shows 41 per cent of previous Tory voters would be less likely to vote for an MP who did not support a ban on sewage dumping in rivers. Clean water is expected to be a politically charged topic in next months local elections  more important than pot holes, as one MP put it. The Tories are missing a trick.
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Londons renting crisis isnt going away anytime soon.

Figures show that annual rent growth has risen by 20% in the capital, the shortage of affordable rental accommodation is increasing, and the lack of protection for private tenants means the Renters' Reform Bill cant come quickly enough.

Prudence Ivey, the Evening Standards Homes & Property Editor, explains the current issues and trends in the London rental market.

In part two, Conor OShea from Generation Rent, a campaign group led by and for private renters in the UK, reveals what happened when they sat down with Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, Michael Gove, to discuss the Renters' Reform Bill.

Listen above, and find us on your Spotify Daily Drive or wherever you stream your podcasts.
K ate Garraway has praised Sir Elton John for his kindness and support after he dedicated a song to her husband Derek Draper during his show at Londons O2 Arena.

The Good Morning Britain presenters husband fell seriously ill with Covid-19 in March 2020 and has suffered long-lasting damage to his organs and requires daily care.

Garraway has since created two documentaries detailing her familys life as former political adviser Draper battles the long-term effects.

On Monday, the couple and their two children, Darcey and Billy, were invited to be Sir Eltons guests of honour at his Farewell Yellow Brick Road concert.

Garraway told Smooth Radio: Right up to the last minute, I wasnt sure if it would be possible to get Derek there.

It took weeks of planning and just days before, it looked like he would be too sick to attend. Even on the journey there, he seemed so weak.

But as soon as we got into the stadium and Elton went on stage, he started weeping tears of joy, and squeezed my hand so tightly.

Garraway said her husband refused to wear ear defenders for an hour so he could hear the music but at one point it seemed it might be all too much for him and he started shaking.

She continued: His nurses and I took him outside the hall to let him have a moment to stretch and relax in the dark and silence.

After a while, I asked him if it was time to go and he said, No, want to go back, so we gave him ear defenders to reduce the stimulation and wheeled him back to the concert.

It must have been fate as that was the exact moment Elton suddenly dedicated Dont Let The Sun Go Down On Me to Derek and his journey.

During the dedication, Sir Elton said the couple had been through hell and described them as inspiring.

He added: To say theyve been through a lot is an understatement theyve never given up. Im so thrilled theyre here, I cant believe they are here.

Garraway said: We were all in tears, the kids, Derek and even the nurses. It was completely unexpected.

People around us were so lovely and started clapping which was an extraordinary moment we will all treasure forever and Elton made it possible.

Derek has been stuck at home for so long, so for him to experience that joy and be part of so many peoples amazing evening was just magical.

Garraway said Draper had been exhausted since the concert and was back in hospital for treatment.

She added: But his spirit is lifted and well always have that special moment as a family, whatever the future holds.

I cant thank Elton and David enough. They are such kind people and have been so supportive to us all over the last three years.

We have been surrounded by so much kindness from people everywhere. It really keeps us going through the hard times. Were just bursting with gratitude.
Review at a glance









True, 30-plus years on, the scripts juxtaposition of pagan liberation and austere repression in Ireland and the wider world feels slightly overdone. Though Robert Joness costumes are terrific, his prettified set unhelpfully recalls The Wizard of Oz. But otherwise, this remains a powerfully moving evocation of time, place and atmosphere.

Partly autobiographical, its presented as the adult recollection of Michael, son of the youngest of the Mundy sisters, Chris (Oliver), and her charming but feckless and mostly absent Welsh lover, Gerry. Aged seven when the story unfolds, and played at a disarming tangent from the main action by grown-up Tom Vaughan-Lawler, Michael is doted on by Chris and teased by exuberant aunt Maggie (McSweeney).

Family life for the Mundys is tight-knit, occasionally abrasive, and precarious. The peat-heated cottage is held together by the nagging organisational instinct, and the income, of schoolmarm eldest sister Kate (Mitchell), with a little extra from the gloves knitted by Agnes, a seriously underwritten character, and Rose, who has a learning disability. The familys giant radio, a symbol of the future, keeps conking out.

Alison Oliver (Chris) in Dancing at Lughnasa / Johan Persson

Shame stalks the family as well as poverty. Along with Michael, born out of wedlock, the sisters are caring for their missionary brother Jack (Father Teds Ardal OHanlon, unrecognisable in a good way), who contracted malaria and went native in Uganda. Though OHanlon sells them well, Jacks enthusiastic speeches about sacrifices and dancing lepers sound clumsy today. Ditto the decision of Tom Rileys irresistibly daft Gerry to join the International Brigades fighting in the Spanish Civil War.

Mostly the play works brilliantly across many levels. The sisters begin with some hopes, but are thwarted by religion, misogyny, history and the march of progress. The joyful abandon they bring to step-dances during the pagan harvest festival of Lughnasa will be swept away, like so much else after 1936.

Even if you missed all the subtext, this show would still delight in its acute depiction of family dynamics. The careworn exasperation of Mitchells Kate, knowing she has to be unpopular to keep things together; McSweeneys bluff, fag-puffing Maggie defusing tensions; the way Olivers expressive Chris lights up when Gerry appears, to the mixed envy and despair of her siblings.

Rourke deserves plaudits, but Im sure shed defer the praise. This play won Friel the Evening Standard Award for best play in 1991, and it still looks richly deserved.

National Theatre, to May 27; nationaltheatre.org.uk
Elnur Enveroglu

The information about the accusation of Baroness Caroline Cox over bribery, corruption and racism, in the political circle of Great Britain, is known to everyone. At the same time, another peculiar aspect of Cox was revealed - her great passion for human murder. Baroness Cox is also fond of recounting such atrocities. Why not? After all, this skill also brought her from the nursing profession to politics...

A senile Cox, who spoke very nonchalantly about the Khojaly genocide, still angered the public with her inhuman features. Mrs. Baroness notes that during the Khojaly Genocide, she was directly among the Armenian vandals, her blood brothers in Karabakh - in short, Baroness Cox is a living witness of Khojaly and a number of Armenian atrocities.

I have repeatedly visited Nagorno-Karabakh during the war of the 1990s and can testify about the events in Khojaly.

This is what she has admittedly stated at the during the debates in the House of Lords of the British Parliament on the oral request of Lord Flyte, addressed to the government in connection with the events in Khojaly.

Cox says the Armenians notified the Azerbaijanis about the attack on Khojaly and asked to evacuate the population trying to convict the Azerbaijani side over the atrocities committed by Armenians.

I have repeatedly visited Nagorno-Karabakh during the war of the 1990s and can testify about the events in Khojaly.

Cox also resembled her Armenian brothers in telling false tales. Appropriating other people's land, inventing false claims and justifying oneself - all this is a legacy left to Cox from Armenians. s used by the Azerbaijanis to launch missiles in the direction of Khankendi, where Armenians have been, in fact populated since the late XIX centuries. Speaking with such claims, Cox either considered the politicians sitting in the British Parliament to be idiots, or tried to cover up their lies by abusing their ignorance. Despite the fact that there are enough visual evidences about the massacres in Khojaly, Baroness Cox, who has devoted her life to the Armenian people, shamelessly made such claims.

In another speech, Baronees exposes her lies. The so called British politician of Armenian origin who first talks about missile strikes, then talks about warning civilians prior to assaulting of Armenian aggressors in Khojaly.

They gave advance notice of the offensive and asked the Azerbaijanis to allow civilians to evacuate, which the Azerbaijanis did not, she said.

Being a deputy speaker of the House of Lords from 1985 to 2005 Cox has al. She was Founder Chancellor of Bournemouth University; Chancellor of Liverpool Hope University from 2006-2013 and is a Hon  obviously, and not surprisingly for her racist activities.

As it has already been presented in the previous publish about Cox, her humanitarian work takes her to conflict and post-conflict zones, in particular, the Armenian called so-called Nagorno Karabakh or more clearly saying Azerbaijans war-torn Karabakh region.

Publications include Coxs Book of Modern Saints and Martyrs (with Catherine Butcher); This Immoral Trade: Slavery in the 21st Century, with John Marks and The Very Stones Cry Out, The Persecuted Church: Pain, Passion and Praise, with Benedict Rogers.

Two biographies have been published by Monarch/Lion Hudson: The Baroness Cox: Voice for the Voiceless, by Andrew Boyd and The Baroness Cox: Eyewitness to a Broken World by Lela Gilbert.

And finally, we should note that this article is not intended to perpetuate and make famous Cox and pro-Armenians like her. These are just to present such funny heroes as role models for future generations. Perhaps today, people like the Baroness can call their crimes different names without being ashamed of being liars and hypocrites. But among future generations, a person with a fear of justice will definitely be ashamed of the traces left by people like Cox...

Elnur Enveroglu is AzerNews deputy editor-in-chief, follow him on @ElnurMammadli1
Inter Milan set up a blockbuster derby in the Champions League semi-finals on Wednesday after a 3-3 draw with Benfica saw the Italians through 5-3 on aggregate, Trend reports citing Bein Sports.

Simone Inzaghi's side will face local rivals AC Milan in the last four thanks to goals from Nicolo Barella, Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa.

Both Milan giants are trying to become the first Serie A side to win Europe's top club competition since Inter last lifted the trophy in 2010.

Inter had come into Wednesday's second leg two goals ahead but in a miserable run of form in which their only win in their last eight games had come last week in Portugal.

The win not only set up two blockbuster clashes with Milan, it also snapped a three-match home losing streak in which Inter hadn't scored a single goal.

Benfica made a fight of it and scored through Fredrik Aursnes, Antonio Silva and Petar Musa but there was never any threat of Roger Schmidt's side overturning their first-leg deficit.

Silva and Musa netted late on for the away side when Inter had already long made sure that they would be tussling Milan for a place in the June's final in Istanbul.
Review at a glance









T he special relationship has always occupied a strange place in the British/US consciousness. Its a complicated subject  see the recent meeting of Joe Biden and Rishi Sunak  with a lot of baggage; perfect material, in other words, for a new Netflix show about politics.

Our po-faced heroine is Kate Wyler, played here by The Americans Keri Russell with the kind of grimness that marks her out as a Very Serious Person. Shes been training her whole life to be Americas ambassador to the Middle East  except things dont quite shake out that way.

Instead, a British aircraft carrier is bombed in the Persian Gulf (possibly by Iran) and the world is suddenly teetering on the precipice of war.

To help manage the situation, Kate is drafted in as the brand-new Ambassador to the UK: a role that comes with a private car, a very fancy house and a bevy of Downton Abbey-style underlings ready to make Kates life as easy as possible.

Unfortunately, shes soon dealing with a host of other issues: a far-right journalist, played with oily smoothness by Celia Imrie; a glory-hunting, populist Prime Minister (Rory Kinnear), and even her own husband Hal.

Hal, played by Rufus Sewell with a twinkle in his eye, is politically infamous (for various reasons), loves to plot, has his fingers in multiple pies and refuses to admit that their marriage is falling apart. Oh, and he might have something to do with the fact that Kate is being considered for the soon-to-be-vacant role of Vice President  something that everyone except Kate seems to know.

Rufus Sewell as Hal Wyler, Celia Imrie as Margaret Roylin / ALEX BAILEY/NETFLIX

In other words, theres a lot to be getting on with here (and watching Hal and Kates interactions are undoubtedly some of The Diplomats highlights). However, the show juggles everything well, and it proceed at quite a clip. There are kidnappings, funerals, political infighting and even a meeting with the President, and thats just in the first two episodes. Oh, and the Prime Minister drops a clanger that gets media organisations around the world salivating (remind you of anyone?).

Things move so fast, in fact, that theres hardly enough time to sit back and wonder how realistic certain decisions Kate makes are. Spoiler alert: some are not. Fending off an imminent firing with a Vogue photoshoot because you know what you cant fire? A princess seems a flimsy pretext to have Kate dress up in gorgeous clothes and ride a horse and carriage around the grounds of her fancy new house.

But The Diplomat does have a refreshing lack of the moral high ground. Here, the Americans arent so much the saviours of the day as the ones trying to shovel their way out of the mountain of excrement that has landed on their doorstep.

Frantic whispered conversations straightening things out are very much the order of the day; one exchange between Kate and the British defence secretary about the Prime Ministers desire to glory-hunt absolutely seems eminently believable.

Theres serious chat about the state in which the US and UK have left the Middle East, references to Ukraine and flashes of lighthearted humour (though never too much  think The West Wing rather than The Thick of It) to tie it all together.

Plus, the character relationships alone are a good argument to continue watching: though Kate is a bit of a stiff, her veneer cracks more as the series goes on, hinting at as-yet untold history with her husband, her colleagues and even her job. The supporting characters are great, too (or at least the American ones are): well fleshed-out, having affairs all over the place, all with their own shady motives.

The Diplomat is an interesting take on the time-honoured political drama  though it doesnt reach the lofty heights of The West Wing  and one that casts Americans and Brits in a rather unflattering light. United in chaos and confusion: long live the special relationship.

The Diplomat is streaming on Netflix from April 20
I wish my flat in London was mine, but I will get there eventually, says Katie Wilson, 37. Shes one of a new breed of London rentlords who rent in the capital while letting out a property elsewhere in the country. The two-bedroom flat Wilson owns is in her hometown of Nottingham, while she lives in Victoria Park, Hackney. Its worked for me because its an investment for my future.

Before buying in Mapperley, Nottingham, Wilson had been looking at moving to Margate or shared ownership options in London.

When her sister decided to sell a two-bedroom flat in 2020, Wilson, digital editor for The Boutique Handbook, decided shed try to buy it. As a first-time buyer, buying a buy-to-let property, I needed a deposit of 25 per cent on the 150,000 price, so that was 37,500, which I managed using savings and some help from my family.

The Nottingham property is currently let to a long-term tenant who was found via an agent but who now deals directly with Wilson or her parents. Mum and Dad are down the road from her, and theyre retired and have her number. Ive been lucky because the flat is less than 10 years old and so not much goes wrong. I havent heard from my tenant for ages but Im in direct contact and, if anything does go wrong, I know it falls to me to pay for it and I have money saved up for that.

Meanwhile, the flat Wilson rents is managed by an agency, so shes never dealt directly with her landlord. As I was handed the keys, they said: you know the shower has never worked in that flat, dont you? At this point Id already paid the deposit and first months rent, and this had never once been mentioned to me. The boiler also needed to be replaced and there were black marks in some of the rooms.

After the absolute faff that was my first six months in my London property, having to get several things fixed, Im sympathetic to my tenants as I know how stressful it is to live somewhere where things dont work properly.

As a tenant, Wilson is also conscious that her rent is likely to go up in May  potentially by as much as 150 a month  and the service charge on the flat she owns has already increased. Although I want to be a good landlord and be fair to my tenants, we are in a cost-of-living crisis and what I have to pay out on the flat I own has already increased this year. My tenant pays 700 rent a month, which hasnt increased in two years, so thats something I will need to look at.

Wilson says she plans to keep renting out the flat and renting herself. Ive recently re-mortgaged and its gone up 30,000. I dont plan to live in it but its a leg-up on the property ladder. If I meet someone or wanted to buy in London, theres always the option to sell the Nottingham flat.

According to the Land Registry, the average London house price was 534,000 in January 2023, compared with 163,000 in the North East, the cheapest part of the country to live, and 290,000 nationally. But, while Londoners might see being a rentlord as an investment opportunity, there are factors they need to be aware of. These include tax implications and, more importantly, being a landlord requires responsibility.

Natalie Allen wanted to try London living and says making life easier for her tenants means they take good care of her Hertford home / Hayley Bray Photography

Natalie Allen, 26, has always lived in Hertford and in 2019 she bought a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment next to Hertford station. In lockdown, she moved in with her parents, who live nearby, but, once Covid eased, decided she wanted to move to London. I wanted to experience the London living lifestyle. I had always worked in London so I thought it made sense, at that time of my life, to make the move and rent.

Initially Allen, a customer relations manager, rented with a friend in Islington but now lives with her boyfriend in Berkeleys 250 City Road development. Living here means no commuting costs and no more gym memberships, as I use the on-site gym five times a week. My boyfriend also has an easy commute to Canary Wharf. 

Allen hasnt had any issues since moving in but says being a tenant herself has changed her perspective. Ive become more proactive in resolving a problem or query raised by my tenant via my agent, as I know Id expect and like to receive the same level of response from my landlord.

Allen decided to keep her Hertford property as an investment. As a landlord and a tenant, it has meant that Ive been able to enjoy the London lifestyle while enabling me to stay on the property ladder and have the option in place to move back to Hertford.

Like Wilson, Allen bought a new-build property near her parents and there havent been any major maintenance issues. I would definitely recommend this approach. If you cant afford to buy in London, look at alternative areas, preferably areas that you know well, so you can understand whether you are getting a good deal.

Allen warns against seeing this set-up from a purely financial perspective, however: I wouldnt say being a landlord is just business as the property is providing a home for someone, so you need to be more empathetic. I try to make life easier for my tenant and he looks after my apartment well.

Buying hundreds of miles from where you live might seem like an extreme tactic for getting on the property ladder but there is method behind the madness. With shared ownership continuing to garner a negative press and London homes costing 12 times the average wage, first-time buyers are being forced to find ways to fund their dream of living in the capital.

Watch out tips for would-be rentlords
A professional cyclist says he feared he was about to be murdered when he was ambushed by masked machete-wielding robbers, as one of those responsible is jailed for the attack.

Alex Richardson was training in Richmond Park in October 2021 when he was ambushed by thieves on stolen mopeds who stole his 15,000 bike.

One of the robbers, a 17-year-old boy who was just 15 at the time, has now admitted two counts of a robbery, an attempted robbery, and possession of criminal property, and was sentenced on Tuesday to 12 months in youth custody.

Speaking out after sentencing, Mr Richardson said: This crime made me fear for my life; I thought I could be murdered at that moment and it continues to cause feelings of anxiety, stress, sleepless nights and a fear to my familys safety to the point we have hired overnight security at our property on more than one occasion.

I have a huge fear of riding my bike now on open roads in the UK as this could happen again at any time. My children have also been affected, they have had disturbed sleep and are traumatised by what they saw in the evening with my physical injuries.

No one should have to feel this way. I wouldnt want anyone to go through what I have.

Mr Richardson, a father-of-two who lives in south-west London, took to Instagram after the attack, posting pictures of the injuries he had sustained.

He had been surrounded by the four robbers and took off on his bike at speed, hoping to escape. However the cyclist and Team GB rider was then chased and forced off his bike, before being dragged for around 100 metres as he attempted to hold on to his bike.

Mr Richardson told the Evening Standard he was then threatened with a 15-inch machete, at which point he let go of his bike.

They saw I had a nice bike and they were committed to getting it, he said. I dont know what lengths they would have gone to but they could easily have said this guy is not giving up, lets slice him.

Scotland Yard said the teenage culprit was caught after accidentally walking into a cafe where police officers were planning how to solve the crime.

He entered guilty pleas and was sentenced at Wimbledon Youth Court on Tuesday.

The defendant carried out a number of terrifying offences with no regard for the safety of the victims or the injuries he could cause by ramming them off their bikes and dragging them along the road, said Detective Constable Ian Croxford.

It was only by good fortune that none of them were more seriously hurt.

All of the victims have spoken of the effect these robberies have had on their lives. No-one should have to change the way they behave because of the violent actions of others and we are pleased that this defendant has now been prosecuted.

The boy admitted two further offences on October 11, 2021, when a man in his 50s was confronted for his bike in Roehampton Lane in a failed robbery and a successful mugging minutes later, when a man was threatened with a machete and rammed from his bike - worth more than 5,000 - in Danebury Avenue, Roehampton.

Officers identified the 15-year-old suspect from CCTV but they did not find him in a series of property raids on October 15.

However when officers went for breakfast in a nearby cafe following the raids, to discuss next steps, the boy - with a machete tucked down his trousers and a balaclava and 1,500 in cash  walked in and was promptly arrested.

The teenager, who lives in Wandsworth, was charged with the offences almost a year and a half after his arrest, and pleaded guilty at the second court hearing.
M embers of the criminal underworld murdered a former friend before dumping his body in woodland in a killing likened to the plot of a Hollywood movie, the Old Bailey heard.

Mohammed Shah Subhani, 27, was reported missing by his family in May 2019, and his remains were found months later in a shallow grave in the Buckinghamshire woodland.

Amraj Poonia, 27, his younger brother Raneel Poonia, 25, and Gurditta Singh, 26, are now on trial for Mr Subhanis murder in the midst of a drugs feud, while Mohanad Riad, 22, Mahamud Ismail, 26, and Singhs cousin Mohammed Shakeel, 29, are accused of helping to dispose of the body.

Prosecutor Tom Little said the alleged murder happened behind closed doors at R & J Plumbing on a small industrial estate in Hounslow, before a plot was hatched to hide the body.

He comes out rolled in a carpet, thrown into the back of a vehicle, driven away, moved from vehicle to vehicle, moved to the countryside, burnt and dumped, he said.

Sounds like something out of a Hollywood film but it is the grim reality of this case.

Jurors heard Mr Subhani, nicknamed Little Man, and Amraj Bigs Poonia were friends and both involved in the supply of cannabis.

It is a murder that appears to arise from, and be linked to, the criminal underworld of a number of those living in and around the flightpath to Heathrow, said Mr Little.

However, the criminality does not end with that murder in west London.

Having murdered Mohammed Shah Subhani it was necessary for the defendants to cover up and clean up their crimes.

That includes disposing of the body, moving and disposing of Mohammed Shah Subhanis Audi Q3 motor vehicle, other vehicles and other items.

Mr Little said the reason for the cover-up was to try to avoid justice catching up with the defendants.

He went on: Accordingly, an elaborate and extensive attempt to pervert the course of justice was set in train and carried out and which very nearly succeeded.

Following the murder, Mohammed Shah Subhanis body was removed from R & J Plumbing and, having been kept in a vehicle or vehicles in London, was driven to the countryside in Buckinghamshire where it was partially burnt and then left in a shallow grave in a storm drain in a wooded area off the beaten track.

Mr Little said the involvement of Mr Subhani and Poonia in the criminal underworld came with risks, rivalries, suspicion, treachery, violence  and even murder.

The court heard Mr Subhani had been asked to look after a very large quantity of cannabis and had taken 5kg for himself, including 1kg which was entrusted to Poonia.

He must have trusted him to have done so, said Mr Little. However, that cannabis went missing.

It is said Mr Subhani and his brothers attempted to recover the missing drugs, leading to violence meted out to Amraj Poonia and Mohanad Riad.

Threats were made back to the Subhanis, it is said, culminating the murder on May 7, 2019 at the plumbing firm  part of the Poonia family business.

The defendants from west London deny the charges against them.

The trial continues.
A woman has been jailed for the murder of her teenage partner in a savage unprovoked knife attack in south London.

Kamila Ahmad, 24, from Mitcham, fatally stabbing 19-year-old Tai Jordan ODonnell on March 3 2021.

She was sentenced to a minimum of 23 years at Croydon Crown Court on Wednesday. Her claims of self defence were rejected by the court who heard she left Mr ODonnell bleeding to death on a sofa.

Ahmad was also found guilty of causing grievous bodily harm in an attack on another man in 2015 and was sentenced to seven years, to be served concurrently.

Detective Sergeant Dave Brooks, from the Specialist Crime Command, said: Tai was a much-loved son and brother and his death has left his family completely devastated and their lives will never be the same and our thoughts remain with them.

Tai Jordan ODonnell was murdered by his partner / Met police

Police and the London Ambulance Service were called to a stabbing at a flat on Alpha Road in Croydon.

They found Tai laying on the sofa with several stab injuries, he was pronounced dead at the scene having been injured some hours before the alarm was raised. His cause of death was later confirmed as severe blood loss due to a wound to the left thigh.

Detectives from the Mets Specialist Crime Command immediately launched a murder investigation and arrested Ahmad two days later. She claimed she knew nothing about the death.

However they found items discarded by Ahmad including a bloodstained rucksack and jacket. When forensically tested, they were found to be a DNA match to her victim.

The court heard that Ahmad had also carried out a knife attack on another man almost six years before the murder, in July 2015, following an argument over a remote control.

The victim, Ahmads then partner, was stabbed three times before being moved into the street in an attempt to mislead police into believing that he had been attacked by an unknown third party.

He did not initially wish to proceed with a prosecution against Ahmad but upon hearing of the murder of Tai felt compelled to support the investigation.

Hearing the parallels of the two offences enabled the jury to reject a claim of self-defence made by Ahmad who had inflicted the violence upon both partners.

DS Brooks, added: We wish to reaffirm that the Met will take all instances of domestic abuse seriously and urge anyone living with violence no matter what their gender to seek help.
A female Afghan lawyer who says her life is at risk from the Taliban has lost a High Court challenge over the operation of a UK Government resettlement scheme.

The prosecutor and womens rights activist argued she was wholly excluded from the Afghan Citizens Resettlement Scheme (ACRS), claiming its narrow implementation was unlawful.

Lawyers for the woman, who specialised in prosecuting cases involving violence against women, forced marriage and honour crimes, alleged that at-risk people who had a legitimate expectation of being considered under the scheme were excluded instead.

The court was told that the exceptionally vulnerable campaigner, who cannot be named, had openly criticised the Taliban, repeatedly received direct threats over her work for several years and has been in hiding since August 2021.

Vulnerable people who stood up for values such as democracy, womens rights and freedom of speech or rule of law and currently remain in hiding and at risk in Afghanistan, and who are entitled to prioritisation, are currently excluded from accessing ACRS

But the UK Government denied the implementation of the ACRS was unlawful, and in a ruling on Wednesday her case was dismissed by a High Court judge.

Mr Justice Bourne ruled that the woman had failed to establish she had a legitimate expectation of consideration under the scheme and that the policy did not exclude her from any category.

The court was told at a hearing last month that the ACRS was split into three pathways by which people would be considered eligible for resettlement, with the first two routes covering those notified by the Government who are in the UK or were unable to board initial evacuation flights or people referred by the UN Refugee Agency.

In the first phase of the scheme, the third pathway offers places to three specific groups: those who worked with the British Council, security company GardaWorld and Chevening alumni.

Irena Sabic, for the woman, told the hearing in London that the Government previously identified other priority groups  including those at risk who supported the UK and international community effort in Afghanistan  as well as those who are particularly vulnerable, such as women and girls at risk.

Ms Sabic said in written submissions: Despite these clear and unambiguous statements, vulnerable people who stood up for values such as democracy, womens rights and freedom of speech or rule of law and currently remain in hiding and at risk in Afghanistan, and who are entitled to prioritisation, are currently excluded from accessing ACRS.

The barrister later said the woman does not have an expectation she should be granted resettlement, but that she should be able to access and be considered for eligibility under the scheme.

The claimant does not fit that description so closely that she could expect, with confidence rather than just hope, to benefit from the scheme ... That does not mean that she is not in great danger

Edward Brown KC, for the Home Office, Foreign Office and Ministry of Defence, told the court: There is an active consideration to expanding pathway three, the issue is whether there is a legal obligation to do what the Government is doing by considering it.

The barrister added that the woman has no legitimate expectation that she would be eligible under ACRS and the High Court was not considering the strength of her case for entering the UK.

The court was told that after the first year of the third pathway, the Government will work with international partners and NGOs to welcome wider groups of Afghans at risk.

In his ruling Mr Justice Bourne said the implementation of ACRS was not unlawful.

The judge said it had been repeatedly stated that there would be a focus on those who had directly assisted the UK or its international partners in Afghanistan.

The claimant does not fit that description so closely that she could expect, with confidence rather than just hope, to benefit from the scheme, the judge added.

That does not mean that she is not in great danger. Nor am I questioning her contribution to the democratic values which the UK and its partners sought to uphold in Afghanistan.

However, while her contribution identifies her as one of those who may be included in the pathway 3 cohort, the policy documents simply did not state that she, or others like her, would definitely be included or included from the start.

Mr Justice Bourne said the policy may have life-and-death consequences for individuals and involved the making of choices of a painfully invidious nature.

He said the Governments objectives justified the choice of the three groups in pathway 3, which included people at very serious risk.

The judge added that Government guidance said there were only 1,500 places in the first year, and emphasises the need to make restrictive and painful choices which would exclude some deserving individuals.

He said he did not interpret policy announcements over the intention to help womens rights activists as a commitment to help any minimum quantity of individuals who fit any of those descriptions but who were less directly connected with the activities of the UK or its international partners.

Mr Justice Bourne concluded: Nothing in this judgment is intended to call into question the extraordinary courage of those who have stood up for democratic values in Afghanistan or the dangers which face them.

As I have said, decision-makers in this area are faced with profoundly difficult and painful choices.
L ess than a third of children in some London boroughs have seen an NHS dentist in the past year, new figures have revealed.

Just 27.2 per cent of children had seen a dentist in the 12 months up to June 2022 in Westminster - the lowest figure of any area in England.

This was followed by Hackney (28.4 per cent), Kensington and Chelsea (29.6 per cent), Tower Hamlets (30.6 per cent) and Islington (32.3 per cent).

Children should see an NHS dentist at least once a year, according to guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence. Health experts warn that a lack of regular dental check-ups could leave children vulnerable to tooth decay and oral disease.

Just four in ten (40.6 per cent) children had been seen by a dentist in the year up to June 2022 across the London region, the lowest proportion in the country.

The figures, compiled by the Liberal Democrats, also reflect the impact of the Covid pandemic on dentistry. Practices were instructed to close and cease all dental care from March 25 to June 8, 2020 - leading to a backlog in appointments.

In Westminster, the proportion of children who had seen in a dentist saw a 16 per cent drop from 2016 to 2022.

Hounslow and Bromley had the highest proportion in the capital, with 55.1 per cent and 50.2 per cent respectively.

Separate NHS data shows that Londoners waited an average of six and a half weeks to begin oral surgery last year, leaving patients in pain or at risk of further complications.

A poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats last year found that one in five (21 per cent) people who failed to get an NHS dentist appointment in the past year had turned to DIY dentistry, including patients using their own filling kits.

Healthcare Englands 2020-2021 annual report identified a 425 per cent increase in people struggling to see an NHS dentist, with patients citing access and affordability as two of their main concerns.

Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said patients were left waiting in pain for months or even years for the dental care they need.

We need to see action now to make sure everyone can see a dentist on the NHS when they need to. That must start with investing the cash earmarked for NHS dentistry that has scandalously gone unspent, and reforming the broken system that has driven dentists away from offering NHS appointments.
S adiq Khan has said there are no plans to display some of Londons rising number of historic artefacts in Tube stations, following a suggestion from a City Hall politician.

A director at Historic England warned earlier this year that the clock is ticking to find enough museum space to accommodate archaeological finds, which are being increasingly uncovered by building works across the UK.

Troves of ancient artefacts are thought to be gathering dust in warehouses as a result, ranging from fine Roman metalwork to bronze age pottery.

Barney Sloane, national specialist services director at Historic England, recently told the BBC: "The clock is ticking - we have four or five years before we really do start seeing massive problems.

The idea of displaying some of the objects in Londons Tube stations and transport hubs was suggested by Leonie Cooper, a Labour member of the London Assembly.

London Assembly member Leonie Cooper / Tom Simpson/Greater London Authority

In a written question to the Mayor, she said doing so would enhance Londoners ability to view the citys history.

Responding, Mr Khan said: Transport for London (TfL) Tube stations share and display the history of the station and stories about key people in transport, the history of transport and how that has shaped London more widely.

These can be found throughout the network on blue signage and is managed by TfL with support from the London Transport Museum.

There are no plans to display artefacts found in construction sites in London in Tube stations. Anything of archaeological merit should be shared with the Museum of London to review for accession into its collection.

He explained that this was not only because of the environmental conditions required for museum objects, but also due to the licensing rules which govern the storage of objects on the Underground network.

The Mayor said these obstacles would mean any plans to display museum objects would take considerate [sic] planning and investment.
T raffic wardens in Westminster plan to strike on the day of the Kings coronation in a dispute over pay and conditions.

The GMB union said its members, employed by the councils contractor NSL, will be taking action short of a strike from May 1 to 8 and strike action on May 2, 4 and 6.

Saturday May 6 is the day of King Charles IIIs coronation procession and ceremony.

GMB organiser Alex Etches said: This is a great example of a simple truth in the world that is rarely acknowledged: that behind each great historical event are hundreds of ordinary workers working behind the scenes.

Working people like our members might seem to do unimportant jobs, but they are the engines of history.

This dispute is simply about working people being paid a decent wage for the physically demanding and very important job that they do.

If NSL fail to make a sensible offer in time, well see just what an important job our members do as the King makes his way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Cathedral on Saturday May 6.

The union claimed workers are in a dispute over the employers failure to agree a cost of living pay award after a wide-ranging restructure.

Westminster Council has been approached for comment.

Preparations are well underway for the Kings coronation procession and ceremony.

The first rehearsal took place in the early hours of Tuesday morning as military paraded through the quiet streets of central London.

During the procession the King and Queen Consort will first travel from Buckingham Palace to the Mall, through Admiralty Arch, before passing to the south of the King Charles Island statue in Trafalgar Square.

Theyll turn onto Whitehall, where the procession will continue along the east and south sides of Parliament Square, before arriving at Westminster Abbey, where the service will begin at 11am.

The procession is sure to attract crowds and viewing space will likely be in high demand.

The viewing areas along the procession route will open from 6am on May 6, but people have been asked to avoid turning up before 6am. Once the viewing areas reach capacity, they will be closed.

Alternatively, the Coronation will be broadcast live on screens at Hyde Park, Green Park, and St Jamess Park.
T he head of the Police Federation of England and Wales has said he accepts the Metropolitan police is institutionally racist, misogynistic and homophobic.

Steve Hartshorn said he accepted in full the findings of the report on the Met by Baroness Louise Casey which laid bare failings which have severely damaged the reputation of Britains largest force.

The report came in the wake of the cases of ex-PC Wayne Couzens, who killed Sarah Everard, and rapist officer David Carrick. Both used their position as serving officers to commit heinous crimes.

Mr Hartshorn told the Guardian: For me, I personally do accept the findings in the report. I represent lots of those people that have come forward to speak. Some of my colleagues will probably not like the fact that Im accepting there are institutional failings and biases within such a massive organisation.

But then many will, and [will] go: Well, whats the harm in accepting it if we understand that its not labelling every officer as institutionally racist, sexist, homophobic, corrupt?

He was speaking in an interview marking the 30th anniversary of Stephen Lawrences murder which led to the report by Sir William Macpherson into the failings that left the racist killers of Lawrence free was the first official report to find the Met guilty of institutional racism, in 1999.

Almost a quarter of a century later, Louise Casey reached the same conclusion in a report published last month  but it was not accepted in full by the Met commissioner, Sir Mark Rowley, who claimed institutional was ambiguous and a political term.

Hartshorn said he accepted the term.

He added: Whats the harm in accepting it if we understand that its not labelling every officer as institutionally racist, sexist, homophobic, corrupt?

Theres been clear failings in leadership  to address the very issues that should have been dealt with, and consigned to history.

It could be argued that, yes, it manifestly has got worse because, you know, 25-30 years on, things dont seem to improve and were still having these horrendous issues.

If its institutional failings of racism, sexism, homophobia, that has to sit at levels of senior leadership throughout the organisation.

Mr Hartshorn was elected last year as chair of the federation, which represents more than 130,000 rank-and-file officers across England and Wales. He said making his views public was an act of leadership, with policing needing a mindset shift to move on from race problems that had dogged it for decades.

He added: Acceptance is the first step to moving on.

The Met Police has been contacted for comment.
The Ministry of the Interior announced on Saturday the release of 1,920 inmates from rehabilitation and correctional centres after receiving a presidential pardon in honour of Eid Al-Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day.
A left-wing French publisher who was arrested by counter-terror police at St Pancras was grilled on his views about Emmanuel Macron and asked to name anti-Government authors he works with, his firm has claimed.

The arrest of Ernest Moret, a foreign rights manager with French publisher Editions La Fabrique, at St Pancras on Monday sparked criticism, with two publishers and the National Union of Journalists condemning it.

He was bailed on Tuesday.

In an update, Mr Morets company said he was grilled by counter-terror police on his point of view on the pension reform in France, on the French government, on Emmanuel Macron, and asked to name anti-government authors the publisher works with.

Mr Morets phone and work computer have also been kept for analysis, the publishing firm said.

He had been on his way to the London Book Fair, a major publishing expo held at Kensington Olympia, when he was arrested.

Mr Morets employer said it was relieved that he had been released but said that it was shocked by his arrest and the questions asked of him.

Beyond the scandalous situation of counterterrorism investigating the political and philosophical opinions and perspectives of people who are detained, none of these questions should be relevant to a British police officer, it said.

Moreover, to ask the representative of a publishing house questions, in a counterterrorism framework, about the opinions of its authors, is to take the logic of political censorship and repression of dissenting currents of thought even further.

In a context of the authoritarian escalation of the French government faced by social movements, this element is chilling.

The Met has refused to comment on what was said to Mr Moret during police interviews.

The force said in a statement: At around 1930hrs on Monday, 17 April, a 28-year-old man was stopped by ports officers as he arrived at St Pancras station, using powers under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000.

On Tuesday, 18 April, the man was subsequently arrested on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a Schedule 7 examination (contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000). Enquiries continue.

Under the power used by police, people at border crossings can be stopped to check they are not involved in terrorism without grounds.

Pamela Morton, senior books and magazine organiser at the National Union of Journalists, said it seems extraordinary that British police used terror legislation to arrest a publisher who was on legitimate business here.

An open letter was also organised in France which had earlier called on police to release Mr Moret.

His publisher said it was calling for the dropping of all proceedings and prosecutions against him and the return of his phone and computer.

French diplomatic officials said the publisher was offered consular assistance during his arrest.

The Standard has contacted the Met for further comment.
A n 87-year-old man has died after being hit by a motorbike in south London, police have said.

Police were called at 2.57pm on Tuesday, April 18 following reports that a motorbike had collided with a pedestrian on Croydon Road, Keston.

Despite the best efforts of the emergency services, the victim died at the scene.

The 23-year-old rider of the motorbike was arrested by police and remains in custody in a south London police station.

The victims family has been informed and are being supported by officers.

Detectives from the Mets Serious Collision Investigation Unit have appealed for information from any witnesses or drivers in the area who may have dash cam footage.

Anyone who can help is asked to call 020 8285 1574. You can also call 101 quoting CAD 6428/18Apr.
T he famous facade of St Pauls Cathedral will become a stage for an aerial dance display as part of a historic festival being re-invented in the Citys bid to promote itself as a cultural hotspot.

Bartholomew Fair began as a cloth fair in 1133 and ran for seven centuries, eventually becoming a riotous three-day affair with prize fighters, freakshows and feasts being organised to entertain Londoners.

The modern version  described as an annual festival celebrating the City as the Creative Heart of London and the birthplace of global trade  will include art exhibitions, fashion shows and markets.

Organisers have also planned a series of star moments including a projection trail lighting up the facades of some of the citys landmark buildings and an aerial performance on the exterior of St Pauls Cathedral by eight dancers and abseil experts.

St Pauls Cathedral / PA

The city is increasingly trying to throw off its nine to five image and become a leisure destination for Londoners and others.

It is also promoting its Culture Mile, which stretches from Farringdon to Finsbury Circus, and includes landmarks such as the Barbican and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is seen as a potential rival to the South Bank.

Its focus on culture has seen two separate planning applications lodged recently for new tower blocks complete with plans for a Migration Museum in one case and a visitor centre based on the citys Roman past in the other.

The plans for this Septembers fair are being considered by members of the City Corporations Policy and Resources committee on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the City of London Corporation said: Common Councillors will consider a report outlining a proposal to revive Bartholomew Fair this Autumn to celebrate its 900th anniversary.

Elected Members of the Policy and Resources Committee, and the Culture, Heritage, and Libraries Committee, will make a decision in April and May, respectively.

If approved, event programming will be developed over the coming months.

It will be part of our Destination City programme aimed at re-imagining the Square Mile as a world-leading leisure destination for visitors, workers, and residents.
A lmost 3.5 billion is being paid to landlords letting out homes of a non-decent standard in London, City Hall figures have revealed.

Mayor Sadiq Khan branded it a scandal that not only is so much money going to private landlords of dangerous, cold or dilapidated homes, but also that roughly half a billion of that amount is effectively being paid for by the taxpayer.

Some 493 million of the rent paid to landlords of non-decent properties in the capital comes from housing benefit, according to City Halls new analysis.

The statistics show that some 178,784 homes in London are non-decent - an official designation for homes that pose a risk to residents health or life, are in a bad state of repair, are cold or lack modern facilities.

On average, a Londoner can expect to pay around 19,503 per year to rent one of these properties.

Mr Khan said the Government needed to take national action to support renters, including giving him the power to impose a rent freeze. A Government spokesman rejected the demand, saying that the evidence shows private sector rent controls do not work.

Commenting on City Halls findings, the Mayor said: It is a scandal that some private landlords are profiting from letting sub-standard housing that is unfit for 21st century living.

Renters would feel more secure raising complaints about the condition of their property if they didnt face the threat of arbitrary eviction, which is why I have long called for Section 21 no fault evictions to be abolished.

The Government should also give me the power to drive up standards and introduce a rent freeze in London to help people during this cost of living crisis.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan / PA Wire

If we are to continue building a better London for everyone, we need the Government to step up to empower our citys renters.

He added: Ministers must urgently introduce the long-promised Renters Reform legislation, properly fund borough private rented sector enforcement teams, and increase the fines for landlords who break the rules.

Although London has the most non-decent properties of any English region, and is paying the most for them, City Halls analysis also looked at the issue in other parts of the country.

Across England, a total of 970,198 non-decent properties were yielding almost 9 billion for landlords, of which 1.6 billion came from housing benefit.

After London, the second worst-affected individual region is Yorkshire and the Humber, where landlords are receiving nearly 1 billion in rent from non-decent homes, followed by the South West on almost 900 million.

Responding to the Mayors comments, a spokesman at the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities said: Councils should use the powers weve given them to crack down on rogue landlords, including issuing fines of up to 30,000 and banning those who rent out unsafe homes.

Our White Paper, A Fairer Private Rented Sector, set out plans to fundamentally reform the sector and level up housing quality in this country, including introducing a legally binding Decent Homes Standard in the Private Rented Sector for the first time ever.

He added: Evidence shows rent controls in the private sector do not work  leading to declining standards and a lack of investment and may encourage illegal subletting.
L ondoners could have their weekly groceries delivered by self-driving vehicles under plans being trialled in the capital.

Asda and Ocado have partnered with technology firm Wayve to explore the potential to use driverless or autonomous vehicles to improve road safety.

Kaity Fischer, Director of Partnerships and Business Development at Wayve, said they could become commonplace within the next decade.

I think its sooner than most folks think, she told the Evening Standards Plug It In summit.

She said that humans were responsible for a serious injury or fatality on UK roads every 22 minutes.

By comparison, automated vehicles used camera technology and artificial intelligence to cope with congested streets and unexpected occurrences.

Autonomous vehicles are never drowsy. They are never drunk, she said. 96 per cent of all accidents are based on human error.

Wayves technology, developed using Jaguar I-Pace electric cars, is soon to be tested on Ocado delivery routes on selected London postcodes. A 12-month trial with Asda has begun.

Ms Fischer declined to reveal the testing locations but said trials were being run in parts of London where online shopping was already popular.

The vehicles do have a safety operator behind the wheel  able to intervene if necessary - but essentially drive themselves.

The trials are also exploring how to solve the kerb to kitchen dilemma  with the possibility of customers who are prepared to unload their own shopping receiving a discount on their shopping.

The Kings Cross-based firm secured a 10m investment from Ocado last year. It means safer streets and cleaner streets, Ms Fischer told the Standard.

A change in the law - the biggest barrier at present - would be required to enable the trials to be expanded to a wider operation. Insurance for a fleet of autonomous vehicles would also be needed.

Our ambition is to launch in London and to grow in London, Ms Fischer said. This industry is huge. I feel its the UKs to lose. Its the legislation that will be the key driver. The technology is ready.
T he mother of Stephen Lawrence has said that the Metropolitan Police has failed to change in the 30 years since his murder.

Doreen Lawrence claimed officers can be as brutal as they want without being held to account and black people are never seen as individuals that should have justice.

Stephen, 18, was stabbed to death by a racist gang at a bus stop in Eltham, south-east London on April 22, 1993. The original police investigation was hindered from the start amid allegations of racism and corruption. The 1999 Macpherson report into the killing labelled the force institutionally racist and made a number of recommendations.

Stephen Lawrence was murdered in a racist attack in 1993, when he was just 18 / COLLECT

But weeks after Baroness Caseys bombshell review found evidence of Met institutional racism, misogyny and homophobia, Baroness Lawrence told BBC Breakfast: Its no surprise because its always been there. I dont know how many more inquiries and how many reviews you need to have to say the same thing  and still no changes, and still denials. Officers [are] able to be as brutal as they want, and nobody holds them to account. Until that happens, theres no way the police are going to move forward.

David Norris, 46, and Gary Dobson, 47, were convicted of Stephens murder in 2012. Norris will become eligible for parole next year and Dobson in 2025. Of the three remaining suspects, brothers Neil and Jamie Acourt have since served time for drug dealing, while Luke Knight has remained free.

Baroness Lawrence said she doesnt really think about the trio because her life would be at a standstill.

Discussing her justice fight, she added: If we as a family did not look to push and keep challenging, I dont think those two who are in prison we would have ever got there. Its not something that I felt at the time the police was interested in doing.

Within the black community, how were treated, how crimes investigated, were never seen as a group of people that should have justice. So everything that weve had, weve had to fight for  and continue to fight.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence, mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence / BBC

For me, all I kept thinking that I did nothing wrong nor did Stephen and his death shocked society. But it didnt shock them [the Met] and thats why it took so long. Baroness Lawrence said she couldnt forgive Stephens killers as they hadnt owned up, adding: In their eyes, theyve done nothing wrong.

Met Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley has admitted severe shortcomings at Scotland Yard but says the force is not the same as it was 20 or 25 years ago.

When they met after the publication of the Casey report, Baroness Lawrence told Sir Mark the public needed to see improvements for themselves.

Reflecting on aspiring architect Stephens short life ahead of a memorial service on Saturday, she said: It doesnt seem like 30 years to me. Its like where have all the years gone? Im always thinking about him all the time. Its a long, long time. Where would he be now? Would he have children?

Every year there is something that happens around Stephen. I dont get the opportunity to sit back and think about him in the way other parents will think about their child that theyve lost.

Stephen was just an ordinary young man growing up. That is what I would like young people to see Stephen as, like a role model. Hes special to me.

Baroness Lawrence spoke out as her ex-husband Neville joined Lionel Idan, the Crown Prosecution Services national lead for hate crime, in calling for Stephens legacy to be the tackling of inequality in the justice system. The Ministry of Justice found black, Asian and minority ethnic youths are over-represented in courts and more likely to be jailed. Four police officers are being investigated over the strip search of a 15-year-old black girl, known as Child Q, at a Hackney school in 2020.

David Norris was given a life sentence in 2012 after being found guilty of Stephen Lawrences murder (CPS/PA) / PA Media

Mr Lawrence and Mr Idan said in an opinion piece to Crown lawyers: Stephens legacy teaches us that we must have the courage and the will to confront prejudice and hatred in all its forms, wherever it exists. We must never forget the reasons why Stephens murder was a catalyst for change.

Sir Mark said: I am determined to win back Londoners trust. We can succeed because of the dedicated, honest, often heroic, men and women who are the great majority of the Met.

Lifting the stone reveals painful truths that will not be resolved overnight, and it is critical that these truths cause none of us to lose our resolve to renew Peels vision of policing by consent.

The Macpherson report - was published in 1999, and concluded the police investigation into Mr Lawrences murder had been marred by, among other failings, institutional racism, and made a number of recommendations to increase trust and confidence in policing amongst minority ethnic communities.

The latest damning report - known as the Casey report - was commissioned in the wake of the kidnap, rape and murder of Sarah Everard by serving police officer Wayne Couzens.

Carried out by Baroness Dame Louise Casey and published last month, it revealed a shocking catalogue of racist, misogynistic and homophobic behaviour and abuse across the force, and warned there may be more officers like killer Wayne Couzens and serial rapist David Carrick.
A n old Nasa satellite is expected to fall to Earth this week after 16 years service. It is expected to re-enter the Earths atmosphere at approximately 9.30pm on Wednesday and there are concerns about falling debris.

On Monday, the space agency said: NASA and the Defense Department will continue to monitor reentry and update predictions.

Heres what you need to know.

What is the Rhessi observatory?

Rhessi is short for the Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager. Since 2002, the Rhessi observatory has been in orbit to take photos of the sun until its communications broke down in 2018. Before being shut down, it observed solar flares and coronal mass ejections from the sun, capturing images in high-energy X-rays and gamma rays.

Before the Rhessi observatory existed, no gamma ray or high-energy X-ray images of solar flares had been taken. It recorded more than 100,000 X-ray events, helping scientists study the energy particles in solar flares.

But this week the old Nasa satellite is expected to fall to Earth.

When will it hit Earth?

The defunct spacecraft is expect to plummet through the atmosphere, according to Nasa and the US defence department.

On Tuesday, Nasa said that the re-entry location is not being disclosed. Its final descent could even be visible as a fireball if the skies are very clear.

This will be the second retired Nasa satellite to crash into Earth this year after a 2,450kg one came down in January.

Will it be dangerous?

The majority of the 300kg satellite will burn up as it passes through the upper atmosphere, however, some parts are expected to fall to Earth. Experts said that the chance of debris from its descent hitting someone or posing any danger are low even though its unclear where debris might fall. The space agency said the risk of anyone on the surface being harmed by plunging satellite pieces is low  about one in 2,467.
A Essex council has begun a legal fight with the Home Office over plans to house thousands of asylum seekers at a former RAF base.

Conservative-run Braintree town hall will argue that Wethersfield airfield is a "completely inappropriate" site for around 1,700 migrants during a High Court hearing on Wednesday.

A spokesman for the local authority said the "scale of the development proposed could have a significant impact upon the local community".

Braintree council leader Graham Butland previously told the Evening Standard there "is simply not the infrastructure here to support" a large number of asylum seekers given the "isolated nature" of the site.

Immigration minister Robert Jenrick last month announced Wethersfield, alongside RAF Scampton near Lincoln and a former prison in Bexhill, East Sussex will be used as migrant accommodation in a bid to reduce the Governments more than 6m-a-day hotel bill.

But the plans have been criticised by a number of Tory MPs, including former Home Secretary Priti Patel.

Local MP and Foreign Secretary James Cleverly has also voiced his concerns, citing the "remote nature of the site, the limited transport infrastructure and narrow road network".

The Home Office has paused moving people onto the site until it gets the go ahead from a judge.

However, it has already began preparing the accommodation for asylum seekers.

A Home Office spokesman said: "Delivering accommodation on surplus military sites will provide cheaper and more orderly, suitable accommodation for those arriving in small boats whilst helping to reduce the use of hotels.

These accommodation sites will house asylum seekers in basic, safe and secure accommodation as they await a decision on their claim.

We understand the concerns of local communities and will work closely with councils and key partners to manage the impact of using these sites, including liaising with local police to make sure appropriate arrangements are in place.
N ot allowing young voters to use the same photo identification as older people hints at potential selfish interests behind a change in policy at polling stations, according to Sir Ed Davey.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats said his party is opposed to new compulsory rules for those voting in person during Englands local elections next month.

Those turning up at polling stations will be required to show a form of photo identification, such as a passport, driving licence or blue badge.

They claim it was about voter fraud  there is no evidence about this at all

Bus and travel passes for older and disabled people are being accepted as photo IDs but Sir Ed said it was very suspicious that young peoples travel cards were not being permitted.

His comments seem to allude to long established polling suggesting that older voters are more likely to vote Tory than younger members of the electorate.

The former cabinet minister said ministers had failed to make the case for the change in policy, which he branded wrong.

He told Sky News: They claim it was about voter fraud. There is no evidence about this at all and it will make it harder for some people to vote.

When you look at the sort of things they have done in implementing this, theyve made it OK for retired people to use their bus passes  thats great, I think thats right.

But they have not allowed young people to use their bus passes as photo ID.

That is very suspicious and I think it suggests the Governments motives behind this change are nothing to do with voter fraud; they are everything to do with the selfish interests of the Conservative Party.

The voter ID rules apply to England as of the May 4 local elections and will come into force for UK general elections from October.

More than 8,000 council seats in England are up for grabs on May 4 across 230 local authorities, ranging from small rural areas to some of the largest towns and cities.

Polls are also taking place to choose mayors in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield and Middlesbrough.

Elections are not taking place in all parts of England this year.

There are no contests in London and Birmingham, along with other areas including Cornwall, North Yorkshire and Cumbria.

It comes as a study commissioned by the Local Government Information Unit (LGIU) found that there is confusion over what forms of identification will be accepted under the new voting rules.

A poll by Ipsos  which interviewed 1,859 adults aged 18-75 online in England between April 7 and 10  found that more than a third of English adults incorrectly thought a student card would be accepted, while 30% wrongly thought their poll card would be valid.

Those thinking a polling card would suffice rose to 42% among those aged 18-34 and half of ethnic minorities.

In spite of a public awareness campaign, 41% of people have heard little or nothing about new voter ID requirements being introduced for the upcoming local elections in England

Close to a quarter thought a council tax bill would meet the requirements while only 22% of adults knew a blue badge was listed as an acceptable form of ID.

Jonathan Carr-West, chief executive of the LGIU, said: In spite of a public awareness campaign, 41% of people have heard little or nothing about new voter ID requirements being introduced for the upcoming local elections in England.

As we head into local elections, it is essential that the British public understands and has access to the correct forms of ID so they can harness the power of their vote.

Those without a valid form of ID have until April 25 to apply for a voter authority certificate, which can be used instead.

Separately, Sir Ed said he expected the Lib Dems to make real gains in the local contests, adding: Four years ago we made massive gains, 700 gains, so weve got to do even better than that.

Later in the interview, he said: If people want to get rid of the Conservatives in many parts of the country, particularly in these local elections, they need to vote Liberal Democrat.

We are the main challenger to the Conservatives in huge numbers of seats.

Separate local elections are being held in Northern Ireland on May 18, though the deadline to register there is not until April 28.
P olice have failed to attend 4.3 million reports of anti-social behaviour since 2019, the Liberal Democrats claimed as the deadline for the Governments manifesto pledge to hire 20,000 more officers looms.

Leader Sir Ed Davey accused the Tories of empty promises as the party said its research showed about 75% of incidents did not result in a call-out to the scene in some areas.

The Lib Dems obtained data through freedom of information requests sent to 45 police forces across the UK, 38 of which responded.

Of these, the worst performers in 2022 were Avon & Somerset and Cambridgeshire  with 81% and 80% of anti-social behaviour reports going unattended respectively, according to the party.

Its clear this Government has lost control of anti-social behaviour - and its only getting worse

Police in the local area of Hertfordshire also failed to attend almost three in four reports  75%  of incidents last year, the Lib Dems said.

More than 2,000 a day went unattended by officers last year, according to the partys analysis.

The data has been highlighted as parties compete to focus on law and order in a bid to snap up votes in the local elections next month.

It also comes as the Government waits to discover if it has achieved its pledge to hire 20,000 police officers in England and Wales  a target the Lib Dems predict the Government will fall short of.

Figures published in January showed that more than 3,000 police extra officers needed to be recruited in less than three months in order to meet the target.

Sir Ed said: Its clear this Government has lost control of anti-social behaviour  and its only getting worse.

Too many communities are being plagued by anti-social behaviour, with criminals being allowed to act with impunity while victims are left afraid to walk down their own street.

People should be able to feel that if they fall victim to anti-social behaviour, it will be taken seriously and police will attend.

Instead of more empty promises, its time for the Government to finally commit to proper community policing  where offices are visible, trusted, and able to tackle neighbourhood crime. It cannot wait any longer.

The Government insisted it remains confident that it will meet its manifesto pledge to have delivered 20,000 new officers by the end of March 2023, but said the data is yet to be finalised.

A Home Office spokesperson said: There is no such thing as petty crime  anti-social behaviour causes misery to neighbourhoods up and down the country and is often a gateway into committing other serious crimes, which is why we have launched our Antisocial Behaviour Action Plan.

We are supporting the police with record funding to protect the public and clamp down on crime, and recent Crime Survey figures show that neighbourhood crime has decreased by 22% since March 2020.

And although we await the final data, we remain confident we will have delivered on the governments manifesto commitment to recruit 20,000 additional officers by the end of March 2023.

A Cambridgeshire Constabulary spokesperson said: Anti-social behaviour is a priority for many of our neighbourhood policing teams across Cambridgeshire and our officers are working hard to tackle it as we know it is something people really want us to focus on.

Our officers increase patrols in affected areas, carry out covert work and work alongside our partners to tackle the wider issues.

These areas include Peterborough, Cambridge City, Cambourne in the south of the county, Ely, Littleport and Bottisham in the east of the county and Wisbech in Fenland.

They added the force is committed to reducing anti-social behaviour across the country and urged the public to report any incidents.
R ishi Sunak faces his first big electoral test as prime minister next month, when voters across much of England head to the polls to choose thousands of new councillors.

A total of 230 local authorities are holding contests next month. These range from small rural councils to some of the largest towns and cities  though no elections are scheduled in London or Birmingham.

Polls are also taking place to choose mayors in Bedford, Leicester, Mansfield, and Middlesbrough.

Local elections typically reflect voters attitudes about neighbourhood concerns, such as when bins are collected, the state of parks and pavements, or access to libraries and hospitals.

But they can also be a verdict on the main political parties and their handling of big issues. In 2023, these are likely to be the cost of living, the NHS, and public services.

Heres everything you need to know about this years local elections.

When are the 2023 local elections?

These will be held on May 4 in England.

Local elections for 11 councils in Northern Ireland have been put back two weeks to May 18. This to avoid a clash with the Kings coronation on May 6.

No elections are taking place in Scotland and Wales this year.

The majority of results are expected to be announced the following day, although some will take a little longer.

Where are the 2023 local elections taking place?

Overall, more than 8,000 council seats will be up for grabs on May 4, with voters in most parts of England able to take part.

As well as London and Birmingham, areas not holding elections include Cornwall, North Yorkshire, and Cumbria.

Of the councils holding elections, 152 are district councils, many of which are currently run by the Conservatives.

By contrast, almost all of the 32 Metropolitan boroughs holding elections this year are already run by Labour. These include huge authorities such as Leeds, Liverpool, and Manchester, and these are unlikely to change hands.

The remaining 46 councils holding elections on May 4 are unitary authorities and include many large towns and built-up areas across England. These include Hartlepool and Redcar & Cleveland in the north-east, to Plymouth and Portsmouth in the south-west and on the south coast respectively.

Many are currently run by coalitions of two or more parties, or by one party as a minority administration.

Elsewhere, Labour are defending two of the mayoral seats up for grabs  Leicester and Mansfield. The Liberal Democrats are defending Bedford and Middlesbrough is currently held by the independent Andy Preston.

Will you need to bring ID to vote at the 2023 local elections?

For the first time in England, voters will need to show a form of photographic identification at their polling station to cast a ballot.

Anyone without an accepted form of ID can apply for a special certificate from their council before the deadline of April 25.

What forms of ID are acceptable at the 2023 local elections?

Not all types of photo ID will be accepted, which means some people may be unable to vote.

Many people will have a driving licence or a passport, which are both acceptable forms of ID. However, there are also a number of other forms of acceptable ID, including a PASS card or Blue Badge.

You can still use your ID to vote if it has expired. However, it still needs to look like you, and needs to bear your current legal name.

What are the results to watch out for at the 2023 local elections?

Contests that will be watched closely include a number councils in traditional Conservative heartlands in the south, and Tory seats in the former Labour Red Wall in the north.

Labour will be hoping to gain ground on the Tories in southern England.

In Milton Keynes, Labour needs only two councillors to overtake the Conservatives as the largest party. In Bedford, they need only one.

There are also opportunities for the party to retake symbolic ground in the north.

In Blackpool, Cheshire West and Middlesbrough, the party is only a handful of councillors away from an absolute majority after a poor showing in 2019 and recent defections.

The Liberal Dems performed very well in last years local elections, securing their largest proportion of seats in the south since 2010. They will be hoping to cement this success this year.

The party will hope to repeat the successes they have seen in places such as St Albans, South Cambridgeshire and Chelmsford, where they have increased councillors by 30 per cent in the past couple of elections.

And they will also be hoping to put pressure on Labour, after taking overall control away from them in Hull last year.

How to register to vote in the 2023 local elections

In England, you had register to vote in person, or by proxy, by midnight on April 17. This had to be done online with a National Insurance number, or by writing to your councils Electoral Registration Office.

The deadline to request a postal vote in England is 5pm on April 18. You can find more details about doing that here.

In Northern Ireland, the deadline to register to vote, by post or by proxy, is April 26. To vote in person, you must register by April 28.
D elaying the HS2 high-speed lines opening at Euston for almost two decades will not save money, Transport Secretary Mark Harper admitted on Wednesday.

The Department for Transport last month announced a two-year halt to work at Euston as part of efforts to reduce the total cost of HS2, which has soared in excess of 100bn.

Mr Harper told the Commons transport committee that halting work on Eustons HS2 station and new Tube interchanges would save the amount being spent each year but added: "In itself, delaying delivering something doesnt save money."

Asked whether HS2 would ever reach Euston, or permanently terminate at Old Oak Common, a new station being built in north west London, Mr Harper said: The commitment to take HS2 to Euston remains in place.

He admitted the decision to down tools at Euston, where more than 2bn has already been spent and the stations cost is now estimated at 4.8bn, 2.2bn more than the original budget, would add to HS2s total bill.

He said Euston would open at the same time as the second phase of HS2, when it was extended to Manchester, expected by 2041.

The Cabinet minister said: "It was significantly ahead of the budget that is available and that's why I've taken the decision to pause construction of that project.

"There is going to be some cost involved in demobilising the work there and leaving the site in a sensible way for the next couple of years that is sensible for people who live in the area.

"Then we're going to go back and look at coming up with a more cost-effective design for Euston."

Last month the National Audit Office revealed that the 10-platform design at Euston, which was meant to be cheaper, was now more expensive than the original 11-platform option.

Euston s HS2 station was originally due to open between 2031-36, with Euston and Euston Square Tube stations also being modernised as part of the scheme.

The delay to Euston means that HS2 passengers will be forced to transfer onto the Elizabeth line at Old Oak Common, resulting in overcrowding akin to that on the Underground at rush hour.

Marios Alexandrou, interim president of the TSSA union, said: What we have heard from the Transport Secretary is astonishing  the Tories are making daft decisions which save no money at all but seem to offer only the slow death of HS2.

Is Mr Harper really asking us, in 2023, to pause the building in its entirety of a rail project which would boost national, regional and local economies for decades to come because of some temporary economic issues?
R ishi Sunak has declared the childcare agency his wife holds shares in as a financial interest while under investigation over a possible breach of the rules.

The delayed list of ministerial interests published on Wednesday contained for the first time a reference to a number of direct shareholdings owned by Akshata Murty.

The Prime Ministers wife held shares in Koru Kids as far back as March 2019, before Mr Sunak entered Downing Street as chancellor, according to documents lodged with Companies House.

Mr Sunak is under investigation by Parliaments standards watchdog over claims he broke the MPs code of conduct by not declaring the firm that was boosted by a key policy in the Budget.

His team insisted he had followed the rules by declaring it as a ministerial interest, rather than to the Commons.

But the list of ministers interests had not been updated for nearly a year until its publication shortly before Prime Ministers Questions on Wednesday.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer had urged Mr Sunak to come clean and publish his financial interests to clear up whether there is any conflict of interest.

Under the section for relevant interests held by a spouse or close relative, Mr Sunaks entry includes his wifes venture capital company Catamaran Ventures and unnamed direct shareholdings.

A note adds that these include her minority shareholding in Koru Kids, which Mr Sunak declined to mention when questioned by MPs last month over why one of his policies specifically benefited childminders who sign up through private agencies.

Previous lists have mentioned Catamaran Ventures but never referenced Ms Murtys other shareholdings. The new register does not state when Mr Sunak first mentioned Koru Kids to officials.

Sir Laurie Magnus, who was appointed by Mr Sunak as ethics adviser in December after the post was left vacant by Boris Johnson and Liz Truss, said he was content any conflicts of interest have been, or are in the process of being resolved.

I am content that any actual, potential and perceived conflicts have been, or are in the process of being, resolved, but it is important that ministers and their permanent secretaries remain alert in the context of their respective portfolios if ministers interests change, he wrote in his report.

The adviser on ministers interests explained that the register does not include every interest that a minister has declared in relation to themselves and their family members.

To do so would represent an excessive degree of intrusion into the private affairs of ministers that would be unreasonable, particularly in respect of their family members, he added.

The list instead documents those interests, including of close family, which are, or may be perceived to be, directly relevant to a ministers ministerial responsibilities.

Downing Street declined to say if a mitigation has been put in place to alleviate the perception of a conflict of interest over the shares.

The Prime Ministers press secretary would not say when exactly Mr Sunak first declared Koru Kids, but suggested it was years ago.

We have been very clear that the Prime Minister has taken his obligation to declare everything very seriously, he has done that for a number of years, she said.

Three independent advisers have reviewed those declarations so one would infer by that, that those declarations  including that of Koru Kids  have been made for a number of years.

Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner said: Rishi Sunak is failing to deliver the integrity he promised and has instead chosen to preserve the rotten standards regime of his predecessors.

There will be no accountability while the Prime Minister continues to mark his own homework on ethics.

We need stronger rules and tougher enforcement to give the public the transparency and accountability they deserve.

The ministerial interests list does not necessarily put Mr Sunak in the clear in the investigation by Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards Daniel Greenberg.

The watchdog opened the inquiry under rules demanding MPs are open and frank with their interests.

While the specifics of the investigation are unclear, it focuses on declarations surrounding Koru Kids after Mr Sunak declined to name the firm while being questioned by the Commons Liaison Committee.

Labour MP Catherine McKinnell had asked why childminders will get twice the incentive for joining the profession if they sign up with private agencies under the Budget policy.

Asked if he had any interests to declare, Mr Sunak responded: No, all my disclosures are declared in the normal way.

The Prime Minister went on to write to the committee to say he would like to clarify for the parliamentary record that this interest has rightly been declared to the Cabinet Office.

A fortnight earlier, before the select committee appearance, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt announced a pilot of incentive payments of 600 for childminders joining the profession. The sum doubles to 1,200 if workers sign up through an agency like Koru Kids.
A former anti-slavery commissioner has described the failure to find someone to replace her as deeply regrettable and suggested there could be a conflict of interest with the Home Office being in charge of the appointment.

Dame Sara Thornton left the post  which she said is a key appointment  in April last year and it has been vacant since.

The ex-police chief said she does not know whether the lack of a replacement is deliberate or down to poor administration and bureaucracy.

She was asked during the opening session of the Home Affairs Committees new inquiry into human trafficking whether she thinks the failure to make a new appointment is international.

I think it's deeply regrettable. Whether it's deliberate or whether it's just poor administration and poor bureaucracy, I dont know

She told the MPs on Wednesday: I dont know. I think its deeply regrettable.

Whether its deliberate or whether its just poor administration and poor bureaucracy, I dont know.

But, given the level of public discourse about modern slavery, given that we had the Illegal Migration Bill and also lots of issues about implementation of the Nationality and Borders Act, it seems to me that this is a key appointment and Parliament surely should be informed by the expert views of an independent slavery commissioner.

She suggested recruitment to the role should be overseen by the Cabinet Office rather than the Home Office, and that it should be for a longer term.

She said: I do think potentially the Home Office has a conflict of interest. I also think that a three-year appointment for this sort of role is not long enough  it needs to be five or seven years so that a commissioner can act without fear or favour.

Baroness Butler-Sloss, a former senior judge and independent crossbench peer, said Dame Sara had been outstanding in the role.

Its inconceivable that if this had been a totally objective approach to who should be appointed, that she wasnt reappointed, and it seems to me that lies exactly in the fact that the Home Office has control.

She said the fact that the role has been vacant for a year adds huge weight to the fact the Home Office should not be appointing the anti-slavery commissioner.

The role was created under the Modern Slavery Act 2015 and involves the commissioner giving independent advice on modern slavery issues and how they should be addressed.

According to the Government website, the commissioners role includes encouraging good practice to increase the identification and protection of victims of modern slavery, and ensuring victims and survivors in the UK are supported.

It also involves enabling effective prevention of slavery and human trafficking offences and promoting an improved law enforcement and criminal justice response to modern slavery across the UK.

Dame Sara criticised really concerning rhetoric around immigration, saying it undermines the Modern Slavery Act, and it has a hugely chill effect on victims and survivors.

She added: They wont come forward if they hear all this rhetoric.

Research published by the Home Office last month showed that 92% of those referred to the National Referral Mechanism (NRM)  the framework for identifying and referring potential victims  while detained for return from the UK had been given a positive reasonable grounds decision  indicating they were believed to be potential survivors of modern slavery.

Dame Sara claimed an overlap between small boats and modern slavery has been greatly exaggerated, a sentiment echoed by Baroness Butler-Sloss who said the idea that the boat people are abusing the system of the Modern Slavery Act doesnt seem to be so.

Traffickers will say to the victims You cannot go for help because if you go for help you will be detained and removed

Both women criticised the Governments Illegal Migration Bill, with Dame Sara saying it is doing untold damage to the UKs reputation internationally, and Baroness Butler-Sloss adding: Currently, our reputation is being trashed.

Dame Sara said non-governmental organisations working to help in the sector have told her they are facing a terrible dilemma.

She told the committee: When they find a victim in future if this legislation is passed, do they leave the victim in exploitation or do they support them knowing that they will be detained and possibly removed? How on earth do they work their way through the ethics of that?

She said the Bill just hands control to the traffickers, because the traffickers will say to the victims You cannot go for help because if you go for help you will be detained and removed.

The Bill, which sparked controversy when it was first announced last month, is currently going through Parliament and will see people who come to the UK by irregular means face detention and the prospect of being returned to their home country or nations such as Rwanda, where a deal has been struck to send them.

A Home Office spokesperson said: The UK has led the world in protecting victims of modern slavery and we will continue to identify and support those who have suffered intolerable abuse at the hands of criminals and traffickers.

The Home Secretary recognises the importance of the role of Independent Anti-Slavery Commissioner, and has committed to running a new open competition, which is currently under way.
T he Scottish National Party must absolutely get our house in order amid a growing financial scandal, the Deputy First Minister said on Wednedsay.

Shona Robison issued the warning following speculation that Nicola Sturgeon herself may be questioned by the police about the storm rocking the SNP.

There is no evidence to suggest the former party leader has done anything wrong. But suggestions are growing that she may be interviewed by police, possibly under caution or as a witness, after her husband Peter Murrell was arrested earlier this month and detectives searched the couples home.

Party treasurer Colin Beattie was also arrested and questioned by police yesterday as part of a long-running probe into SNP finances.

Both men have been released under investigation without charge.

Police Scotland are investigating how more than 650,000 in donations to the party earmarked for an independence referendum were used.

Speaking on BBC Radio Scotlands Good Morning Scotland programme on Wednesday, Ms Robison said that decisive action was absolutely critical and that going forward the party needed to be about transparency.

Asked whether the party was concerned that Ms Sturgeon might be arrested she declined to comment, saying speculating would not be helpful.

She added: We need to wait for the facts to be established, whether thats through the ongoing police investigation and of course the review about how the party is managed and that of course is really, really important not just to reassure party members, but it is important that the public expect us to get our own house in order while also focusing as a government on supporting their households through the cost-of-living crisis.

Defeated SNP leadership candidate Kate Forbes told BBC Radio 4 that claims about the partys finances had been mind-blowing. She said new party leader and First Minister Humza Yousaf should take decisive and quick action or the party would be in trouble.

I think, right now, people are watching with astonishment, but they want to see leadership in dealing with it and resolving it, she said. What the people of Scotland want is good education, a good functioning NHS, a growing, well performing economy.

These are the issues that matter. And if we can fix and sort the problems within our own party quickly and ensure we are delivering on those external issues, then I think we can continue to build on the trust and success.

The danger will be if there is an absence of decisive and quick action.

Mr Yousaf has put in place a review of how the party is managed following the allegations.

Asked whether Ms Sturgeon should be suspended from the SNP, Ms Robison said that Mr Yousaf had made it clear that people were innocent until proven guilty and therefore it would inappropriate to suspend membership in this situation.

She added: Going forward, the governance of the party needs to be absolutely about transparency, openness, and people should be able to question, and question about the accounts or any other matters  thats quite right and proper.
R ishi Sunak and Sir Keir Starmer have clashed over the justice system and crime at Prime Ministers Questions.

Sir Keir said there was a record backlog in the court system which meantviolent criminals go free, while the PM hit back branding the Labour leader Sir Softy. Soft on crime. Soft on criminals."

Mr Starmer claimed thousands of criminals arent in prison because of the wrecking ball that the Tories have taken to criminal justice.

Mr Sunak said: "What's the record since 2010, crime down by 50% under the Conservative Government. 20,000 more police officers, we've given them more powers and we've toughened up sentencing all opposed by Sir Softy over there."

The pair clashed amid a serious setback on the PMs pledge to halve inflation by the end of the year.

Inflation stayed stuck in double figures of 10.1 per cent in March - down from 10.4 per cent in February - dashing hopes of an early end to the cost of living crisis in a major blow to hard pressed shoppers.

The blow comes as Mr Sunak is being investigated by Parliaments standards watchdog over a possible failure to declare an interest.

A newly-published list of ministerial interests on Wednesday contained a reference to the childcare agency that Mr Sunak's wife holds shares in, following a row over the Prime Ministers declarations.

PMQs was held for the first time since the Easter recess.
A new father has been named as the motorcyclist killed during an east London police chase.

Rayhan Miah, aged 30 from Camden, and formerly known as Alamin Kazi, died after the motorcycle he was on hit the kerb before crashing into street railings in Commercial Road, E3 at around 2.20am on March 20.

Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) officers gave first aid but sadly Mr Miah died at the scene.

A post-mortem examination was held on 22 March and an inquest has been formally opened and adjourned.

A 29-year-old man who was also on the motorbike sustained serious injuries and was taken to hospital.

The scene of the fatal collision in Limehouse / John Dunne / Evening Standard

Witnesses said police officers performed CPR on Mr Kazi but he died at the scene.

His motorbike was being chased by police cars at the time after failing to stop, police said.

MyLondon reported that the 30-year-old left behind a wife and a two-week baby girl with a family member telling the site everyone is devastated.

Mr Miah had been jailed under his former name for being part of a prolific family gang stealing up to ten motorbikes a day which were then used to rob mobile phones and cameras from pedestrians across Islington, Camden and Westminster.

Rayhan Miah, then 23, had been jailed for being part of a prolific family gang stealing up to ten motorbikes a day / Met Police

He was 23 when he was jailed for three and a half years after admitting two charges of robbery, charges of handling stolen motorbikes and scooters and a mobile phone and two charges of theft of a scooter and motorbike and attempted theft of a camera.

Miah and his brothers Khalid Kazi, then 22, and Shalim Kazi, then 19, admitted a total of 25 charges of moped-enabled robbery, stealing mopeds and selling stolen mopeds between them.

Miah, the oldest brother, was told he would have to forfeit 32,850 if deemed to be living what is considered to be beyond [his] financial means once he was released from prison after detectives seized 195,000 of stolen property and vehicles from the family.

His LinkedIn profile lists him as a motorbike and car trader seeking an opportunity in the property industry.

A police watchdog IOPC spokesman confirmed that shortly before the crash, officers activated their vehicles warning equipment after the driver of the motorbike failed to stop for police.

Police briefly pursued the motorbike and it crashed a short time later.

IOPC regional director Amanda Rowe said: This was a tragic incident in which a young man has sadly lost his life.

Given a person has died following an incident involving a police pursuit, its important that an independent investigation is carried out to look at the actions and decision-making of the officers involved.

We have been in contact with Mr Miahs family to explain our role and our thoughts are with them, his loved ones and all those affected by his death.
A ceremonial silver cross containing shards said to be from the cross used to crucify Jesus Christ has been blessed before it will be used in the Kings coronation.

The Archbishop of Wales, Andrew John, blessed the Cross of Wales at a church service on Wednesday morning, ahead of it being brought to London to be carried before the King at the head of the coronation procession next month.

Two shards of the True Cross, said to be the cross used in the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, were given to Charles by Pope Francis to mark the royal occasion.

The small fragments have been incorporated into the Cross of Wales, which will be seen by millions as it is carried into Westminster Abbey on May 6.

Both pieces are shaped as crosses, one being 1cm in size and the other 5mm, and are set into the larger silver cross behind a rose crystal gemstone so they can only be viewed up close.

Archbishop Andrew, blessing the cross during the service before around 200 parishioners and dignitaries at Holy Trinity Church in Llandudno, North Wales, said: May this cross be sanctified that whoever prays before it in your honour, may find health and wholeness for body and soul, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord.

The Cross of Wales was a gift from the King to the Church in Wales to celebrate its centenary and upon its return to Wales after the coronation, the cross will be shared between the Anglican and Catholic churches in Wales.

Designer Michael Lloyd took two years to make the Cross of Wales, involving more than 217,000 hammer blows to chase out its design.

Crafted from recycled silver bullion, provided by the Royal Mint in Llantrisant, South Wales, the cross also includes a shaft of Welsh windfall timber and a stand of Welsh slate.

Words from the last sermon of St David are inscribed on the back of the cross in Welsh, which read: Byddwch lawen. Cadwch y ffydd. Gwnewch y Pethau Bychain, translated as: Be joyful. Keep the faith. Do the little things.

The silver elements of the cross bear a full hallmark, including the Royal Mark  a leopards head, which was applied by the King himself in November 2022 when visiting The Goldsmiths Centre in London.

Archbishop Andrew said: We are honoured that His Majesty has chosen to mark our centenary with a cross that is both beautiful and symbolic.

Its design speaks to our Christian faith, our heritage, our resources and our commitment to sustainability.

We are delighted too that its first use will be to guide Their Majesties into Westminster Abbey at the coronation service.

The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Cardiff and Bishop of Menevia, Mark OToole, said: With a sense of deep joy we embrace this cross, kindly given by King Charles, and containing a relic of the True Cross, generously gifted by the Holy See.

It is not only a sign of the deep Christian roots of our nation but will, I am sure, encourage us all to model our lives on the love given by our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

We look forward to honouring it, not only in the various celebrations that are planned, but also in the dignified setting in which it will find a permanent home.

Dr Frances Parton, deputy curator of The Goldsmiths Company  who managed the commission, said: Using the ancient craft of chasing silver, Michael Lloyd has created a beautiful object which combines a powerful message with a practical purpose.

We are thrilled that the cross will both feature in the coronation and see regular use within the Church in Wales.
F aith leaders have urged Britons to volunteer on the bank holiday Monday of the coronation weekend.

Senior religious figures have voiced their strong support for The Big Help Out volunteering project on May 8.

It has the backing of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby, Chief Rabbi Ephraim Mirvis and leading figures from the Muslim, Hindu, Sikh and Buddhist communities.

The project aims to inspire and recruit a new generation of volunteers by showing how easy it is to get involved.

Opportunities include a chance to volunteer with the Scouts, Royal Voluntary Service, Guide Dogs and the smallest local volunteering groups.

The Archbishop, Chief Rabbi and other faith and community leaders will visit the The Passage homelessness charity in central London on Wednesday to encourage people to take part in The Big Help Out.

The group will help sort donated clothing and serve food to the homeless.

Faith organisations are set to play a leading role in The Big Help Out because of the support the King has given to promoting inter-faith collaboration as well as their existing important role in volunteering projects across the UK.

Mr Welby said: During the coronation, His Majesty the King will be anointed to serve others, and well be giving thanks for the Kings example of service.

Thats why helping others is a key theme of the coronation weekend  and why Im so delighted to support The Big Help Out.

As we celebrate the coronation, I joyfully encourage everyone to help out in all kinds of creative ways.

I pray we take this opportunity to come together, support those around us and unite our communities. Lets build a legacy of love for one another.

Mr Mirvis said: By taking part in The Big Help Out campaign, volunteering our time and energy, we can make a positive impact on our communities, help those in need and promote social cohesion.

I urge everyone, regardless of their faith or background, to embrace this opportunity and take part in this day of national volunteering.

May The Big Help Out be a source of inspiration and hope, and may it strengthen the bonds that unite us as a people.

The project has also received the backing of the Muslim chaplain at the Canary Wharf Multifaith Chaplaincy, the general secretary of the Hindu Council UK and president of the Hindu Forum of Britain, the director of the Network of Sikh Organisations and the head monk of the London Buddhist Vihara and chief Sangha Nayaka of Great Britain.

The Bishop of the Ukrainian Church in London and the chief executive of Humanists UK have also voiced their support.

Todays intervention from senior leaders from the UKs faith and belief groups, spanning the four nations, is a call to action for the faith communities to build the next generation of volunteers

Mick Clarke, chief executive of The Passage said: The Passage was thrilled to welcome a diverse cross section of faith leaders to The Passage as part of The Big Help Out, which we hope will inspire many people to make a real difference to the local community and get involved in the wide range of volunteering opportunities that are available across the UK.

Brendan Cox, co-founder of the Together Coalition, which is organising The Big Help Out said: The UKs faith communities excel at volunteering and bringing people together.

Thats why are excited about what they can contribute to The Big Help Out.

Todays intervention from senior leaders from the UKs faith and belief groups, spanning the four nations, is a call to action for the faith communities to build the next generation of volunteers.
A fit and healthy doctor died of unintended consequences of vaccination after a rare reaction to the AstraZenecaCovid jab, a coroner has ruled.

As an NHS clinical psychologist and frontline health worker, Dr Stephen Wright, 32, of Sevenoaks, Kent, was among the earliest groups of people to be given the vaccine during the pandemic.

He died 10 days later.

A small group of people, Dr Wright included, have had a severe reaction to the jab and health authorities are investigating, an inquest at Londons Southwark Coroners Court heard.

Dr Wright suffered from a combination of a brainstem infarction, bleed on the brain and vaccine-induced thrombosis.

He was taken to Princess Royal University Hospital in Orpington and moved to Kings College Hospital as his condition rapidly worsened but the nature of the bleed meant he was unfit for surgery.

Coroner Andrew Harris described a very unusual and deeply tragic case.

Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16 2021, awoke with a headache on January 25 and later developed left arm numbness

Regarding the official documents detailing Dr Wrights death, Mr Harris said it is very important to record as fact that it is the AstraZeneca vaccine  but that is different from blaming AstraZeneca.

He said: Dr Wright was a fit and healthy man who had the AstraZeneca vaccine on January 16 2021, awoke with a headache on January 25 and later developed left arm numbness.

He attended an A&E department just after midnight where was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus thrombosis.

He was transferred to Kings College Hospital at 6.39am but, due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery

After the inquest, Dr Wrights widow Charlotte said she is now considering taking legal action against AstraZeneca and the Government.

She held back tears after the hearing as she remembered Dr Wright as the most amazing husband and a good father to their sons Izaac, nine, and Elijah, three.

Outside of the court, she said: I think there is a sense of relief that it is finally on paper and it is written in black and white.

We can finally say we have this proof but unfortunately it does not bring much closure to myself due to the litigation we intend to take against AstraZeneca and the Government.

She added: I find it very comforting to have two boys that remind me of him every day. He was the most amazing husband. Im just very thankful that I got to marry such a great man. I will raise our boys in his honour.

My understanding is that this condition is rare

Work is underway to try and understand why severe reactions the jabs can happen, the inquest was told.

Mr Harris said: My understanding is that this condition is rare.

Causes are being examined by the MHRA (Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency).

It seems to me that there is not an action one can take at the moment.

There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation

It is being looked at and there are reports being given to the Government from the MHRA and there is advice on the matter.

Medical experts told the court nothing could be done to save Dr Wright as his condition quickly worsened.

Earlier, consultant neurosurgeon Francesco Vergani said platelets provide the bodys first response to try and stop bleeding and are important for clotting.

He said: There was nothing that could have been done to have a successful operation.

When you have someone with critically low platelets who is bleeding in the brain, the surgery is a disaster.

Dr Mark Howard, a consultant pathologist and medical examiner at Kings College Hospital, said scientists and medical experts were not aware of the vaccines possible deadly side effects because Dr Wrights case happened so early in its rollout.

The circumstances arise in a very small number of people. There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence

He said: Stephen was a very fit, young and healthy man in January 2021.

It is a truly tragic and very rare complication of a well-meant vaccination.

We had no knowledge that this was a potential side effect at this time.

Its not fully understood why this happens.

Its an idiosyncratic reaction.

The circumstances arise in a very small number of people.

There was no way of knowing that Stephen would have this consequence.

It was a rare and unintended consequence.

After the hearing Dr Wrights mother Anne remembered him as a brilliant father to the two boys and a lovely son.

She added: He was just everything that anyone could want a son to be  kind and caring.

Dr Wrights father Richard noted that because he worked for the NHS, that was the only reason he had the vaccination at that time. If he had been working at any other job, because of his age group, he wouldnt have had the vaccination so early.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson said: We are very saddened by Stephen Wrights death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.

Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines.

From the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has expressed readiness to mediate and restore calm between battling parties in Sudan, reiterating that the presence of Egyptian forces in Sudan is solely for training purposes and not to support any particular party.

El-Sisis remarks came while chairing a meeting of the Supreme Council of the Egyptian Armed Forces on Monday night, where he emphasised Egypt's efforts to reach a prompt solution to the ongoing Sudanese crisis to prevent more bloodshed in Sudan.

He expressed Egypt's readiness to play a mediating role to restore calm between the Sudanese parties, to achieve security and stability in the country.

The Egyptian president also affirmed that intensive communications are taking place to ensure the safety and security of Egyptian forces in Sudan.

On Saturday, the Egyptian Armed Forces said in a statement that it "is coordinating with the concerned parties in Sudan to ensure securing the Egyptian troops who were conducting joint training with their Sudanese counterparts."

The Egyptian Armed Forces statement was issued shortly after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, released a video on its official Twitter account showing several personnel wearing Egyptian military fatigues who were purportedly apprehended at Marawi airbase in northern Sudan.

Late on Saturday, the Head of the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, aka Hemedti, apologized for the released videos in remarks to Sky News Arabia, stressing that he was willing to cooperate to return them to Egypt.

On Monday, Adviser to the RSF head Ahmed Abdeen also apologized for any "individual behaviour" towards the soldiers, in remarks to Al-Jazeera.

Late on Monday, Minister of Emigration and Expatriates Affairs Soha Gendy said that there have been no confirmed deaths among the Egyptian community in Sudan.

Internal Affairs and Egypts Mediation

President El-Sisi pointed out that what is happening in Sudan is an internal matter that "should never be interfered with so as not to inflame the status quo there."

He emphasized Egypt's stance of not interfering in the internal affairs of other countries, warning of the consequences of interfering in Sudan's internal affairs.

"Egypt is always keen, through its foreign policies, for its position to be balanced and moderate with the issues of the entire region," El-Sisi said.

This, he says, comes as each country has its own specificity in managing its internal affairs, stressing the need for cooperation between countries within the framework of development and construction, away from interference in the internal affairs of countries.

El-Sisis call for non-interference in the crisis echoes remarks by Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukrys remarks during his calls earlier on Monday with his French, Djiboutian, Saudi and South Sudanese counterparts, in which Shoukry stressed the need for foreign parties to refrain from any interference in the Sudanese conflict so as not to exacerbate its severity.

Importance of Dialogue

El-Sisi highlighted the importance of negotiations in Sudan to resolve the crisis. He called on Sudanese parties to negotiate and sit down to resolve the current situation in the country, citing some countries currently suffering from instability and insecurity due to their refusal to engage in dialogue and resorting to the use of weapons and violence.

He referred to contacts with the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, to restore calm and sit at the dialogue table with "the brothers in Sudan, whether with the Sudanese Army or the Rapid Support Forces."

The Egyptian president indicated that communications with both Sudanese parties "are continuous" to stop the bloodshed and restore stability.

On Sunday, Egyptian FM Shoukry briefed the Chair of the African Union Commission Moussa Faki on Egypt's efforts to de-escalate the crisis in Sudan ahead of Faki's then-planned visit to Khartoum.

Egypt, which is currently holding consultations with the concerned parties both inside and outside Sudan to defuse the current crises, said the foreign ministry in a separate statement.

At the request of Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the Arab League convened an emergency meeting at the level of permanent representatives, in which it called for the immediate halt of all armed clashes in Sudan to avoid further bloodshed and to protect the lives of the Sudanese people as well as Sudans sovereignty and territorial integrity.

On the same day, Shoukry had a call with Sudan's Foreign Minister Ali Ahmed Karti to discuss de-escalating efforts.

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O ne of Britains most senior police officers has said he does not believe that any force in the UK is institutionally racist.

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson said the label is unhelpful and misunderstood by members of the public.

He told LBC: I think it possible that a police force could be institutionally racist, I just dont think that applies to any of the UK police forces.

A major review of the Metropolitan Police found last month that the force is institutionally racist, misogynist and homophobic in the wake of a series of scandals including the murder of Sarah Everard by a serving officer and Pc David Carrick being unmasked as a serial rapist.

This echoed the 1999 Macpherson Report on the murder of black teenager Stephen Lawrence which originally branded the force institutionally racist over its handling of the case.

The bungled original investigation hampered by racism and alleged police corruption meant it took nearly 20 years for two of the 18-year-olds five killers to be brought to justice, with three never prosecuted.

Mr Watson, who has served in six forces in England since he first joined the police in 1988, said the label of institutional racism is unhelpful.

It is not helpful because people do not differentiate between the nuanced, balanced interpretation as was set forth in Macpherson, and the otherwise assertion that people will very often put to our people at three oclock in the morning  Youre institutionally X, Y or Z, he told LBC.

His comments came after Mr Lawrences mother said nothing much has changed at the Metropolitan Police in the 30 years since her son was murdered by a racist gang as he tried to get the bus home with a friend in Eltham, south-east London, on April 22 1993.

Baroness Doreen Lawrence told the BBC: I dont know how many more inquiries and how many reviews you need to have to say the same thing.

Officers have been able to be as brutal as they want, and nobody holds them to account.

And until that happens, theres no way that the police are going to move forward.

They have to not do it behind closed doors, it needs to be seen publicly what theyre doing for people to accept that they are going to change.

Over the past, in Stephens case 30 years, nothing much has changed.

Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley rejected the accusation of institutional racism in the recent review by Baroness Louise Casey, saying the term is ambiguous and politicised.
T he Duke of Sussex has narrated a new video promoting the work his charity Sentebale has done to help people with HIV in southern Africa.

The charity was co-founded by Harry and Prince Seeiso of Lesotho in 2006.

It works with vulnerable children and young people in the southern African nations of Lesotho and Botswana to ensure they have access to vital health services, especially HIV treatment.

In the video, released on Sentebales Instagram page, Harry explained how he and Seeiso dedicated the charity to their mothers, choosing the name Sentebale as it means forget-me-not in Sesotho  one of Lesothos official languages.

In 2006, Prince Seeiso and I founded Sentebale in Lesotho, a small land-locked country in South Africa, he said.

In Sesotho the word Sentebale means forget-me-not.

The charity was founded in honour of our mothers and symbolises our pledge to always remember and advocate for the most vulnerable among us.

He said that Covid-19 has impacted on many young lives across southern Africa,

Many young lives across southern Africa have been impacted by poverty, inequality, HIV/Aids and, lately, Covid-19, leaving many children and young people caring for siblings out of school and with disrupted adherence to HIV treatment to name but a few, he said.

Our mission is to help vulnerable children and young people across Lesotho and Botswana have access to vital health services, receive care and support and build skills to be self sufficient and thrive.

Harry said that the charity has scaled up operations across southern Africa in the last few years.

We have scaled up operations across Lesotho, and in 2016, based on the needs of young people, expanded into Botswana, delivering our holistic package of support focused on the social and emotional wellbeing for those children and young people coming to terms with living with HIV, he said.

We are providing access to health services, youth advocacy, and building individual skills and livelihoods.

Harry added that the charitys contribution was making a visible difference to the lives of young people and their communities in Botswana and Lesotho.

Our contribution to these young lives and their communities is making a real and visible difference, he said.

And it is not down to us alone. It is thanks to our donors and our partners and importantly the determination and resilience of the Lesotho and Botswana people and their communities. Real change, big change, is possible when we all come together.

Harry ended the video by appealing for partners who want to invest in Lesotho and Botswana to join the charity.
T ravellers planning to fly in to Heathrow for the Kings coronation next month were warned they faced disruption as airport security officers prepare to walk out for another eight days.

The strikes, scheduled for May 4-6, 9-10 and 25-27, follow a 10-day walkout by security staff that ended earlier this month.

Unite said the strikes will cause inevitable disruption and delays at a time when people are expected to be travelling to the UK for the Kings coronation on May 6.

However Heathrow Airport insisted that services will run smoothly during the fresh wave of strikes.

It comes as traffic wardens in Westminster are to strike on the day of the Kings coronation in a dispute over pay and conditions.

The GMB said its members employed by contractor NSL will be taking action short of a strike from May 1 to 8 and strike action on May 2, 4 and 6.

Announcing the fresh Heathrow strikes, Unite general secretary Sharon Graham warned: This dispute is bound to escalate with more workers being balloted and disruption set to continue throughout the summer.

Unite regional co-ordinating officer Wayne King said: Strikes next month will cause further disruption to airport passengers but this dispute is a direct result of Heathrows stubborn refusal to make an offer that meets our members expectations.

Our members have been crystal clear they are seeking a substantial permanent increase in pay. A small one off lump sum payment will not alleviate the financial pressures our members are facing on a daily basis.

Unite said the current average salary of a Heathrow security officer is 30,000. This is made up of a basic 26,000, after three years experience, with a 4,000 shift allowance.

Around 1,400 members of Unite joined the previous walkout, which covered much of the busy Easter weekend.

Picket line outside Heathrow Airport / PA

The industrial action saw British Airways cancel 72 flights, disrupting the travel plans of around 100,000 people who were hoping to make it to America and Europe.

The strikes involved security officers at Terminal Five, which is used exclusively by British Airways, and campus security guards who are responsible for checking all cargo that enters the airport.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: We kept Heathrow running smoothly during the first 10 days of Unites failed industrial action, and passengers can have confidence that we will do so again this time.

We will not let Unite disrupt the flow of visitors to the UK during such an important period for the country.

The majority of Heathrow colleagues do not want to strike and want to accept the offer on the table. Each day that Unite refuses to allow members to vote on the 10 per cent pay increase - and a 1,150 lump sum payment - is a day that costs colleagues money they deserve now.

Further strike action during the Kings coronation was also announced on Wednesday, with parking wardens in Westminster walking off the job on May 2, 4, and 6.

The GMB union said its members, employed by the councils contractor NSL, are in a dispute over pay and conditions.

GMB organiser Alex Etches said: This is a great example of a simple truth in the world that is rarely acknowledged: that behind each great historical event are hundreds of ordinary workers working behind the scenes.

Working people like our members might seem to do unimportant jobs, but they are the engines of history.

This dispute is simply about working people being paid a decent wage for the physically demanding and very important job that they do.

If NSL fail to make a sensible offer in time, well see just what an important job our members do as the King makes his way from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Cathedral on Saturday May 6.

Meanwhile, a strike by workers at the Passport Office is to be escalated next month.

The Public and Commercial Services Union (PCS) said its members in all Passport Offices will walk out for four days at the beginning of May.

Union members have been taking industrial action since the start of the month, but it has been limited to some staff in some offices.

Almost 2,000 PCS members working as passport examiners in Belfast, Durham, Glasgow, Liverpool, London, Newport, Peterborough and Southport have been on strike since April 3 in the union's long-running dispute over pay, pensions, redundancy terms and jobs.

They will be joined from May 2-6 by 1,000 workers in non-examination roles such as admin, anti-fraud, policy and commercial in the same offices, as well as interview officers in Birmingham, Corby, Hemel Hempstead, Leeds, Portsmouth, Sheffield and Plymouth from May 3-6.

The prospect of a growing new wave of walkouts increased further on Wednesday with news that senior civil servants are to be balloted for strikes in an escalating dispute over pay.

The FDA said its Executive Committee voted to launch a ballot in response to the Governments decision last week to give civil servants a pay rise of between 4.5% and 5%.

It is the first time the union has approved a national strike ballot over pay in more than 40 years.
F ormer US secretary of state Hillary Clinton has described a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement as extraordinary.

Addressing the event at Queens University in Belfast, Mrs Clinton said she had received messages from people around the world.

Her remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

The event has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

Mrs Clinton said: I want to thank everyone for the last extraordinary days of events.

I have heard from people from the United States to Singapore, we have heard from the architects of the Good Friday Agreement about the challenges they encountered and the solutions they built.

We have had a chance to reflect on what has been achieved and to really honour all of the citizens of Northern Ireland who made the peace possible.

We also recognise the impact of those who often go unrecognised, the many women of Northern Ireland who were crucial to the agreements inception and its longevity.

Charles Michel, president of the European Council, paid tribute to the peace accord for ending conflict in Northern Ireland.

He said it took strength and courage, and people being able to listen to each other and shake hands despite past divisions.

We are marking an achievement that largely ended three decades of fighting in Northern Ireland, especially when we look at the arc of human history, full of conflicts that continue to divide people leading to intense suffering generation after generation.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

US envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III, whose remit is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, earlier emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.
F ormer US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has listed shared education and housing as issues that should be top of our list of priorities, in Northern Ireland.

Mrs Clinton, who is Chancellor of Queens University Belfast, was awarding honorary degrees to the principals of St Marys High School Limavady and Limavady High School for their shared education initiative.

The schools, which are next door to each other, are establishing a new shared education campus that will be used by students from both schools.

As well as promoting cross-community education, the campus will boast a range of new and upgraded facilities for pupils.

Mrs Clinton said the work of sharing education and housing was not finished.

Because while we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement at Queens, and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues, she said.

The journey is by no means finished.

And the work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

No victory and no defeat is ever permanent.

Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.

During her visit to the schools, Mrs Clinton unveiled two benches to commemorate their new campus, and met with the head boy and head girl from both schools, before visiting the woodworking classrooms at Limavady High School where she talked with pupils and viewed their projects.

The former first lady waved to the schoolchildren greeting her outside St Marys High School as she entered the neighbouring school to attend the honorary graduation ceremony.

In her speech at the ceremony, Mrs Clinton paid tribute to Ms Rita Moore and Mr Darren Mornin, the principles of the two schools in Limavady, and said the Good Friday Agreement would not have been reached without the work of teachers.

I know how difficult it was to secure the Good Friday Agreement, how much work and sacrifice it took on all sides to bring about peace and how much effort has continued to go into implementing its tenets and building a new future, including a new government in Northern Ireland, she said.

There would not, however, be a Good Friday agreement if there had not been teachers, principals, community leaders, citizens who did so much of the work of building and maintaining progress.

Mrs Clinton also said that more should be done to ensure young people want to stay in Northern Ireland.

We know at Queens that 33% of school leavers in Northern Ireland leave to seek their futures elsewhere, she said.

The goal is to ensure that they can choose to remain here and follow their dreams.

Institutions like this shared campus help build a bulwark against sectarianism and divisiveness, help to create a Northern Ireland where students, parents, members of the community come together in pursuit of common purpose.

Queens Universitys mission is transformation of knowledge and learning of individuals and societies, of leaving its mark on history and the world and that is what todays honouree graduates have each achieved.

Theyve led the schools and this community through a great transformation.
M ore than 100 MPs have signed a letter to the Prime Minister backing an Iranian activists plea for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) to be proscribed as a terror organisation.

The letter comes as a string of protests supporting Vahid Beheshtis plight are planned across London this month.

Mr Beheshti entered the 56th day of his hunger strike outside the Foreign Office in London when MPs who signed the letter visited him on Wednesday.

The letter, addressed to Rishi Sunak, Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Home Secretary Suella Braverman read: Vahid has shown remarkable dignity and strength throughout his protest and has widespread support from parliamentarians who share his sense of urgency in the need to proscribe the (IRGC) as a terror organisation.

Proscription of the IRGC has deep support across Parliament. MPs unanimously endorsed a motion earlier this year calling for proscription. Peers from all parties and none have also joined the efforts to end the IRGCs ability to operate in the UK.

The IRGC is a special branch of Irans armed forces responsible for internal and external security of Iran, which has been sanctioned by the UK.

Speaking directly to Mr Sunak, the MPs wrote: We welcome your comments in December that your Home Secretary and yourself would utilise the full range of tools at your disposal to combat the IRGC.

The letter claimed that the IRGC has been systematically destabilising the Middle East since the Islamic Revolution, killing thousands, and expanding the Iranian regimes malign hegemonic ambitions.

It added: The Governments decision to proscribe the Hamas and Hezbollah terror groups were important steps in combating the threat of extremism and terrorism, but the UK can ill afford to stop there.

The IRGC is, after all, the primary financier, supplier, and trainer of these dangerous groups. It is incumbent upon the Government to go after the parent organisation.

Among MPs who signed include Simon Clarke, Michael Fabricant and Dame Diana Johnson. Tory MP Alicia Kearns, who was among those who visited Mr Beheshti on Wednesday, raised the issue on the House of Commons.

Mr Beheshti has become weak, lost 17 per cent of his body mass and is using a wheelchair, his wife Mattie Heaven told the Standard.

She said she is very, very worried about his health.

My life is kind of upside down and [Im] very concerned, but at the same time, I really support him and really proud of what hes standing for, she said.

She urged Mr Sunak to proscribe the IRGC as a terrorist organisation and to meet with her husband.

The letter was very important because it shows that this is not a hunger strike of one person.

It shows how important this issue is, that hes getting support from MPs, and the Government is ignoring it.

Ms Heaven added: MPs are calling for it, peers are calling for it, millions of Iranians are calling for recognition of IRGC as a terrorist organisation.

I hope todays letter would be impactful [enough] for the Prime Minister to respond. Theres been three open letters sent to the Prime Minister.

So I really hope that [the hunger strike] doesnt last long and I hope that he and other MPs are listened to by the Prime Minister.

Up to 200 supporters of Mr Beheshit are expected to gather outside the Foreign Office on Thursday and Saturday.

A march from the London Eye to 10 Downing Street is planned for April 29.

A UK Government spokesperson earlier told the Standard: Whilst the government keeps the list of proscribed organisations under review, we do not comment on whether a specific organisation is or is not being considered for proscription.

Under the Terrorism Act 2000, the Home Secretary may proscribe an organisation if they believe it is concerned in terrorism, and it is proportionate to do.
I rish premier Leo Varadkar said the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations  a leadership quality still needed in Northern Ireland.

The Taoiseach was applauded after telling a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the landmark peace deal that the people of Northern Ireland deserve a functioning Assembly.

The challenges of today require Northern Irelands leaders to make the decisions that affect their constituents on the ground, he told the event in Belfast.

I believe that the Good Friday Agreement was about defying historical expectations.

We need that kind of leadership still.

The peace process has always been at its strongest when the two governments have worked hand in hand, and Northern Ireland works best when the two governments work together with an agreed strategy

Mr Varadkar said the accord challenged our assumptions of what we once thought possible and that, in the face of difficult compromises, vision, leadership and optimism triumphed.

He told those gathered at Queens University that leaders at the time defied assumptions about what was possible.

They also defied those within their own communities  who would have preferred to stay mired in conflict to avoid concessions or compromises.

They realised that, to see their way to a better future, they had to reject the divisions and differences that had kept Northern Ireland in what seemed an unresolvable impasse for many decades.

These were not easy decisions to make and some paid a high personal and political price.

Mr Varadkar paid tribute to the political leaders of 1998 for what they achieved, noting that many are now dead.

I thank them from the bottom of my heart on behalf of my generation, he said.

Mr Varadkar also committed to working closely with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, saying the peace process is at its strongest when the Dublin and London governments work hand in hand.

Both governments have an ongoing obligation to honour and implement the agreement and that is why I am so pleased to share a stage with Prime Minister Sunak, he said.

The peace process has always been at its strongest when the two governments have worked hand in hand, and Northern Ireland works best when the two governments work together with an agreed strategy.

Mr Varadkar said the Windsor Framework will play an essential role in winning additional investment in Northern Ireland  and that the presence of US special envoy on economic affairs Joe Kennedy was a reminder of the opportunities that lie ahead if we reach together.

The framework has been welcomed by the business community, which has expressed a desire to move forward and take advantage of the opportunities and certainty it offers, he said.

It is incumbent on Northern Irelands political leaders today to take the initiative

A prosperous Northern Ireland is a place in which people want to live, a place that people want to make work, a place where young people will stay and return to.

Quoting John Hume, Mr Varadkar concluded: Unionists and nationalists have at last taken the future in their hands, they have seized control of their history rather than letting history hold them in thrall.

He added: It is incumbent on Northern Irelands political leaders today to take the initiative.

To see past the shadow of the mountain behind, he said, referring to a metaphor used by David Trimble upon accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Mr Hume, in 1998.

To seize control of their history, to seize control of their destiny, and to lead their people into the future, and we as co-guarantors of the agreement will be here to help, every step of the way.
L idl has scored a victory in a High Court fight with Tesco over the use of a yellow circle logo.

A judge on Wednesday said, in a ruling, that she had found for Lidl on claims of trademark infringement, passing off and copyright infringement.

Mrs Justice Joanna Smith had overseen a hearing at the High Court in London earlier this year.

Lidl uses a yellow circle in its main logo while Tesco uses a yellow circle logo to promote a Clubcard scheme.

A Lidl GB spokesman said, after the ruling: We are pleased that the court has agreed with us.

The spokesman said: We asked Tesco to change their Clubcard logo, but they refused, making it necessary to bring this case.

Clubcard branding seen inside a branch of a Tesco Extra supermarket in London / Reuters

Having seen the evidence, the court has now ruled that Tescos Clubcard logo was copied from Lidls logo, and it infringes Lidls trademark rights and copyright.

A Tesco spokeswoman said: We are surprised and disappointed by the decision today in relation to the claim brought by Lidl against our Clubcard Prices logo.

She added: We intend to appeal.

Tesco had made a counter-claim during the yellow circle battle with Lidl and the judge said she had made one finding in favour of Tesco - on a counter-claim of bad faith.

A lawyer who specialises in brand protection issues has described the ruling as a landmark.

Charlotte Duly, who is based at law firm Charles Russell Speechlys, said: A yellow circle on a blue background has spawned a multi-million pound intellectual property dispute, highlighting the enormous value companies see in their branding.

Lidl relied on survey evidence to show consumer perception of their wordless logo.

Tesco objected to this and whilst undertaking a survey that complies with the requirements set down in case law can be difficult and onerous, leading to an increase in costs for both parties, the survey was admitted into the proceedings.

Lidl has won as the court agrees that Tesco has taken unfair advantage of the reputation in Lidls logos, even if this was not deliberate - a landmark decision between two major brands.

From both a general interest perspective and a legal point of view, there are a number of very interesting issues raised in this case and it will be interesting to see whether this judgment triggers more cases of this kind.
P eace and prosperity in Northern Ireland go together, a conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement has been told.

US special envoy to Northern Ireland Joe Kennedy III said American companies considering investing in the region want certainty for the future, adding the sooner they have clarity the better for the economy.

His comments echo those of US President Joe Biden last week when he said hundreds of US investors were poised to invest but were cautious due to the lack of powersharing executive at Stormont.

Mr Kennedys remarks come ahead of an address by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to close the three-day conference to mark the anniversary of the 1998 peace accord which largely brought an end to the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity

The event at Queens University Belfast has seen political leaders fly in from across the world, including former US president Bill Clinton, ex-prime minister Sir Tony Blair, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern and European Commission vice president Maros Sefcovic.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen will also address the conference on Wednesday.

While celebrating the achievement of the 1998 accord, the conference has also seen repeated words of encouragement to restore the Stormont Assembly, which has been collapsed for the last year amid a DUP boycott over post-Brexit trading arrangements.

Mr Kennedy, whose remit as envoy is focused on stimulating economic growth in Northern Ireland, emphasised the opportunities presented by Northern Irelands dual access to the UK and EU markets.

Two of my primary responsibilities will be trying to get those firms who are already here to expand their footprint and, of course, to make the case to the next set of global partners about why they should come here, he said.

Perhaps not surprisingly, many executives are already aware of the case for Northern Ireland.

They know about the talent and the ease of transit. They know about the potential for market access.

They also, yes, want clarity and certainty. They want to have a good idea of what might change and how and when that might happen. The sooner they have answers to those questions, the better for a Northern Ireland economy.

Mr Kennedy added: There also can be no prosperity without peace, and there can be no peace without prosperity.

Jayne Brady, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, told the conference the next mission was to ensure the benefits of the peace dividend are felt by everyone in the region.

She said: The sad fact is that the legacy of our past still clings to us.

We are struggling to deal with persistent societal problems, low-paid work, low economic productivity and multi-generational poverty.

Not all our communities have experienced the benefits of peace and even after 25 years of peacebuilding and investment our job is not yet done.

The final day of the Belfast conference will see Mr Sunak vow to give everything to deliver the vision of sustained economic growth and tackle the problems of a divided society in Northern Ireland.

Mr Sunak will then later host a gala dinner, attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities.

Meanwhile, former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was in Limavady, Co Londonderry, to honour a new shared education initiative by two local schools.

She said: While we have been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement at Queens (University), and it is an enormous achievement for which the people of Northern Ireland deserve all of the credit, we know that the work for peace, prosperity and progress that so many have committed their lives to continues.

The journey is by no means finished.

The work of sharing education and of expanding housing and of working to remove barriers and divisions in neighbourhoods and to tackle persistent poverty and unemployment are ones that have to be at the top of our list of priorities.

No victory and no defeat is ever permanent. Every generation has to continue to do its part to both preserve and expand opportunity.
P rime Minister Rishi Sunak has been pressed during a visit to Belfast on a controversial government Bill to deal with the legacy of Northern Irelands troubled past.

The Bill proposes an effective amnesty for Troubles crimes in exchange for co-operation with a new truth recovery body, as well as ending future court processes.

It has been almost universally opposed by political parties across the UK and Ireland.

Mr Sunak was criticised by Amnesty International for not mentioning Troubles victims in his speech at a major conference marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement.

Irish premier Leo Varadkar raised his governments concerns with the Bill during his meeting with Mr Sunak on Wednesday.

Mr Varadkar said opposition to the Bill is rare in that it has united the main political parties in Northern Ireland.

He said it is his governments strong view that the Bill should be withdrawn  and if not withdrawn at least amended until it has the support of the majority of people in Northern Ireland.

The Prime Minister must take the opportunity of this milestone anniversary to drop the Troubles Bill and other legislation which directly undermines the agreement

Grainne Teggart, Amnesty International UKs Northern Ireland deputy director, said Mr Sunaks pledge to the agreement will be judged by his actions, not words.

Prosperity comes when peace thrives; the ongoing process of reconciliation requires conflict related violations to be addressed, she said.

The total absence from Sunaks speech of Troubles victims was a missed opportunity to show he is listening to them and the opposition to his Governments Troubles Bill.

The Prime Minister must take the opportunity of this milestone anniversary to drop the Troubles Bill and other legislation which directly undermines the agreement.
Ethiopia is deeply concerned about the fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and calls for a peaceful resolution of the conflict, State Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Mesganu Arga, said.

Arga held a discussion on Tuesday with the Sudanese ambassador in Ethiopia, Jamal El-Sheikh, regarding the current situation in the African country.

He reaffirmed the support of the Ethiopian government for a peaceful resolution to the conflict in the interest of the people of Sudan.

He also stressed the need to resolve the conflict through dialogue and expressed his confidence that Ethiopians and the staff of Ethiopias diplomatic mission in Sudan would receive proper protection.

On Monday, Ethiopia's PM Abiy Ahmed said in a statement posted on his official Twitter account, We in Ethiopia have a deep belief that the Sudanese people have all the wisdom to overcome the situation they are going through now."

He warned against what he described as "any attempts with hidden motives and agendas to interfere in Sudanese affairs that seek to destroy the country's capabilities."

Additionally, the goal of any interference in Sudanese affairs should aim to achieve reconciliation between brothers and establish peace.

As the fighting rages, more regional and international powers called for a ceasefire in the country to avert a humanitarian crisis in the country and allow for dialogue.

Since the start of fighting on Saturday, millions of Sudanese, in the capital and elsewhere in the country, have been hiding in homes without adequate supplies.

Many found themselves caught in the crossfire as the two warring sides battle it out in street fights using light and heavy weaponry.

More than 185 have been killed and 1,800 wounded since the fighting began, according to UN estimates.

The Sudan Doctors Syndicate estimated that at least 144 civilians were killed and more than 1,400 were wounded.

The overall death toll could be much higher because clashes on the streets of Khartoum have impeded the removal of bodies in some areas.

A 24-hour ceasefire reportedly reached between Sudan's rival generals went into effect on Tuesday, but fighting continued in the capital and it was unclear whether it would hold.

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R ussian ships have been mapping wind farms and communication cables in the North Sea ahead of a possible sabotage attack, according to a new report.

The claim is part of a report put together by broadcasters across the four Scandinavian states, which alleges that vessels disguised as fishing trawlers are being used as part of reconnaissance missions in the area.

These alleged scouting missions include reconaissance of wind farms off the UKs coast.

In a report due to be broadcast on Wednesday by DR in Denmark, NRK in Norway, SVT in Sweden and Yle in Finland, officials say they have intercepted communications from vessels who have turned off their transmitters to avoid being tracked.

Within the documentary, the vessel named the Admiral Vladimirsky, is highlighted.

Although officially labelled as an Expeditionary Oceanographic Ship, the investigation claims it in fact a spy vessel.

The documentary team said it had used a former Royal Navy expert to track the movements of the vessel between wind farms off the coast of the UK and the Netherlands, the BBC reports.

According to the investigation, the vessel has sailed with its transmitter switched off for a month and when a reporter approached the vessel, he was confronted by a masked individual carrying what appeared to be a military assault rifle.

The same vessel was also reported entering the Moray Firth last November and was seen 30 miles off the coast of Lossiemouth, a RAF Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet station.

In February, General Jan Swillens, from Dutch intelligence, warned Russian ships were mapping energy infrastructure sites.

He added: We saw in recent months Russian actors trying to uncover how the energy system works in the North Sea. It is the first time we have seen this.

Norwegian police also claimed human activity had been behind the interference with an underwater cable south of the island of Svalbard.

More recently, Norway expelled 15 Russian officials accusing them of operating as spies for the Kremlin.

Following explosions at the Nord Stream gas pipelines last September, German publication t-online has claimed there may have been suspicious activity detected in the area in the days leading up to the attack on the two gas pipes.

Russia has denied any involvement in the attack.

Despite the concern, reconnaissance in foreign waters is not unusual and no major incident has been declared by the UK officials.

A Royal Navy source told the Standard the UK takes the security of energy infrastructure and cables seriously.

The source also said that the ship had previously been identified as an academic vessel previously although it was uncertain as to why it had an armed guard on board.

A spikesperson for the navy said: The Government takes the security and resilience of our national infrastructure very seriously.

That is why we increased Royal Navy presence patrols after the Nord Stream incident and have invested 65million in the first of our two Multi-Role Ocean Surveillance ships.

We continue to review all our investments and activities against the full range of threats and risks.
T his year marks 30 years since the murder of Stephen Lawrence. The incident and the fallout from it are seen as a collective watershed moment in race relations.

On the evening of April 22, 1993, a group of six white adolescents fatally stabbed Lawrence, a black teenager from Britain, as he waited for a bus in the south-east London neighbourhood of Eltham. Afterwards, it was discovered that Lawrence's murder was completely motivated by the colour of his skin.

Lawrence, who was 18 at the time, didnt know his killers and they didnt know him. His murder has always aroused strong emotions.

The Metropolitan Polices handling of the investigations has been criticised by many, and allegations of corrupt police conduct and racism eventually led to the landmark Macpherson report, condemning the force as institutionally racist.

Stephen Lawrences mother, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, has spoken out this week about the issues that continue to shadow the Metropolitan Police, saying the force had failed to change, and that black people are never seen as people that should have justice.

Speaking not long after the damning review by Baroness Dame Louise Casey that found rotten treatment of black people by the Met, Baroness Lawrence said that officers can be "as brutal as they want" without being held to account.

She previously called the Metropolitan Police rotten to the core following the release of the Casey review.

The report, released on March 21, found prejudice is alive and well in a damning assessment of the forces failings.

Baroness Lawrence said: It comes as no surprise to me that the report from Baroness Louise Casey has found that the Metropolitan Police is riddled with deep-seated racism, sexism and homophobia.

My suspicion that racism played a critical part in the failure of the Metropolitan Police to properly investigate my sons death in 1993 was borne out by the Macpherson Report.

Since then, despite repeated reassurances that the Metropolitan Police had learned lessons from its failures, discrimination in every form is clearly rampant in its ranks.

She added: It is not, and has never been, a case of a few bad apples within the Metropolitan Police.

It is rotten to the core. Discrimination is institutionalised within the Metropolitan Police and it needs changing from top to bottom.

What happened after Stephen Lawrences murder?

The individuals suspected were detained after the initial police inquiry, but they were not found guilty. The Macpherson Report, which has been hailed as one of the most significant moments in the modern history of criminal justice in Britain, was published as a result of a public inquiry into how Lawrences case was handled in 1998.

The BBC documentary Stephen: The Murder That Changed a Nation details the murder and focuses on his mother. She has fought for justice for her son for more than a quarter of a century, in a case that saw her sons murderers initially walk free.

Where are Stephen Lawrences killers now?

After eventually being found guilty of killing Lawrence, Gary Dobson received a life sentence.

He is reportedly being held at Leicestershire's Gartree Prison in Market Harborough.

Dobson received a minimum sentence of 15 years and two months since he was a juvenile at the time of the offence, aged 17.

David Norris is also serving a life sentence after making an unsuccessful attempt to appeal.

Norris was transferred out of Cat-B HMP Garth, Lancashire, in 2022 and is now considered a lower-risk prisoner.

Three other men were suspects in the murder case but were not convicted.

Luke Knight is said to be a roofer who still resides in east London.

Jamie Acourt was on the run in Spain with his brother and was featured in a most-wanted campaign back in 2016. He was convicted for drug dealing and was scheduled to be released the next month, according to reports from October 2022, despite having not repaid 3 million in drug money.

Neil Acourt was required to serve only the first three years of a six-year sentence before being freed.

What is Stephen Lawrence Day?

Stephen Lawrence Day, which takes place every April 22, was announced by former prime minister Theresa May at a memorial service in 2018 marking the 25th anniversary of Lawrences death.

It is a solemn occasion marked by commemoration activities planned by the UK Government and the Stephen Lawrence Charity Trust, an educational non-profit devoted to the advancement of social justice.

The day is aimed at honouring Lawrences life and raising awareness of work that still needs to be done to end systemic racism.

Children and young people have the chance to speak up, promote the changes they want to see, and build a culture that values fairness and respect for all people.
A new play inspired by the murder of Stephen Lawrence will have its world premiere only a few miles from where he was killed.

The Architect is being staged on a bus as part of this years Greenwich + Docklands International Festival which runs from August 25 to September 10.

Playwright Roy Williams has helped create the show which is described as a life-affirming theatrical journey infused with the experiences of Black Londoners across the three decades since the murder.

The 18-year-old, who wanted to train to be an architect, was stabbed to death during an attack by six white youths while waiting for a bus in Eltham, south-east London, 30 years ago, on April 22 1993.

An independent review of the Mets investigation of the case later found the probe was riddled by failures, including institutional racism.

Five men were arrested for the murder and after a prolonged campaign for justice two of them, Gary Dobson and David Norris, were handed life sentences in 2012 after being found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey.

Matthew Xia, Artistic Director of the Actors Touring Company who will perform the play, said: Thirty years ago, the UK was rocked to its core by the unprovoked racist murder of South London teenager Stephen Lawrence.

The ensuing decades became a fight for justice and revealed the extent of institutional racism across the nation. I have gathered a collective of the most brilliant Black theatre artists to respond to this commemorative moment, and as is often the way with such painful events and memories, we want to try to move through the trauma, and the profound loss towards something uplifting and hopeful.

We come together in our collective power to imagine an alternative city, designed and inhabited by The Architect.

The festival will also feature dancers and circus perfomers taking part in events on either side of the river.
I n light of damaging claims from 2019, including alleged drug use and serious sexual assault, which are being investigated by City of London police, experts are now saying one of the UKs largest business groups is finished.

The former head of the CBI, Tony Danker, says his reputation has been completely destroyed after being fired following complaints about his behaviour and sexual misconduct allegations.

While three other CBI employees have also been suspended pending further investigation into a number of ongoing allegations, the group said.

Since the original allegation, the Government has suspended its relationship with the CBI.

Others have also now backed claims that the organisation is finished, including well-known City fund manager Baroness Morrissey, who chairs investment firm AJ Bell.

She said the actions now being taken by the firm are too little, too late.

Asked on the BBCs Today Programme on Tuesday (April 25) whether she thought the CBI as an organisation is finished, she said: I do, Im afraid.

Theyve left it too little too late and I think that losing trust is so quick, easy to do, and then regaining it is so difficult.

Baroness Morrissey, who is a well-known campaigner for female rights within companies, and uses her title to encourage women to go for top management jobs, also called other firms out that have not yet left the CBI.

She continued: I dont quite understand why people dont come out and say: Were going to join those who have decided to leave and well work out what were going to do in replacement of the CBI, because I feel they will be on the wrong side of history.

"I'm afraid they've left it too little too late."



Baroness Helena Morrissey, who campaigns for diversity on boards, tells @JustinOnWeb that business lobby group CBI needs to "completely start again" after allegations of sexual assault.https://t.co/8ZAfCSNH8c | #R4Today pic.twitter.com/iJRypGoFIT  BBC Radio 4 Today (@BBCr4today) April 25, 2023

But what is the CBI, what are the claims against its former director general, and what firms have distanced themselves from the organisation?

What is the CBI?

The Confederation of British Industry (CBI) was established in 1965 and claims to represent more than 190,000 businesses across the UK. Members are companies as well as trade associations.

The CBI acts as a lobby group on behalf of its members and is the countrys largest organisation of its kind. It can seek to advise the British Government on issues affecting its members.

Its website says it has an ambitious vision for the economy of the future, and the desire to create a more carbon-neutral economy with levelling-up elements.

We champion business so it can lead, not fear, the changes that are all around us, its website says.

A CBI statement issued after the news of Mr Dankers sacking said: The CBI exists to help British business flourish. This is a privilege and responsibility which we take extremely seriously and cannot take for granted.

We represent our members not just in how we advocate for them, but also through our values as an organisation. It means we must be a place where colleagues are safe, valued, and respected, and where there is zero tolerance for behaviour that falls short of those expectations.

Who is Tony Danker and what is he accused of?

Northern Ireland-born and raised Mr Danker was a special adviser to Gordon Browns administration from 2008 to 2010. From 2010 to 2017, he held top board roles at the Guardian.

The CBI said concerns about him were raised in early March. It organised an independent investigation conducted by Fox Williams, an employment law specialist.

The BBC reported that the investigation concerned his conduct towards a female employee. However, it is thought his behaviour related to how he acted towards more than one person.

As a result of the investigation, he was fired without a redundancy package.

Tony Danker [has been] dismissed with immediate effect following the independent investigation into specific complaints of workplace misconduct against him, a statement read. It added that he was not subject to any of the further allegations reported in the Guardian.

His termination letter cited four reasons for his dismissal  for organising a secret karaoke party for 15 people, for viewing the Instagram accounts of CBI staff, for sending non-work-related messages to staff, and for inviting junior staff to breakfasts, lunches, or personal meetings.

He had previously said on Twitter that he was shocked at the allegations. He apologised for unintentionally making colleagues feel uncomfortable.

I recognise the intense publicity the CBI has suffered following the revelations of awful events that occurred before my time in office, he tweeted. I was appalled to learn about them for the first time last week.

I was nevertheless shocked to learn this morning that I had been dismissed from the CBI, instead of being invited to put my position forward as was originally confirmed. Many of the allegations against me have been distorted, but I recognise that I unintentionally made a number of colleagues feel uncomfortable and I am truly sorry about that. I want to wish my former CBI colleagues every success.

Mr Danker said his name had been wrongly associated with an allegation of rape and other sexual assault claims that occured before he joined the CBI, claiming he had been made the fall guy by the lobbying group.

In his first interview since his dismissal, Mr Danker acknowledged that he had made some staff feel very uncomfortable, saying: I apologise for that.

But he told the BBCs Today Programme on Wednesday (April 19): I have had a week of coverage saying, Tony Danker sacked in rape scandal.

And these stories have been about rape and sexual assault and cocaine and bullying  none of that was anything to do with me. And it was all before my time.

Its so clear  Ive been made the fall guy. Not only did they throw me under the bus, they reversed the bus back over me I feel I have to clear my name.

The CBIs chairman, Brian McBride, said Mr Danker was dismissed on strong legal grounds, telling the BBC that Mr Dankers description of events was selective and he was free to seek redress if he felt unfairly treated.

Tony Danker (left) with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak / Jacob King / PA Wire

What companies have quit the CBI?

So far, firms that have quit their relationship with the CBI include John Lewis, BMW, Virgin Media O2, NatWest, Mastercard; B&Q owner Kingfisher, ITV, the Association of British Insurers as well as Aviva, Zurich, the Phoenix Group and the British Insurance Brokers Association, Energy UK, investment firm Schroders, auditor EY, and Lloyds of London.

Companies that have suspended membership include GSK and AstraZeneca, Heathrow, major high-street retailers Tesco, Sainsburys, Asda, and M&S, Santander, PwC, the National Grid, Octopus Energy and Scottish Power, Diageo, Rolls Royce, British Land, Manpower, and BT.

Shell and BP are understood to have paused membership, according to the BBC.

Can a new director general save the CBI?

The CBI is facing a crisis and has acknowledged serious failings in how it has acted as an organisation. We must do better, and we must be better, the CBI statement said.

Rain Newton-Smith, the CBIs former chief economist, has replaced Mr Danker in the top job. She becomes the second woman to take the role.

The CBI statement added: We know it will take time for these steps to make a difference and rebuild trust. We will not hesitate to take any measures necessary in the meantime to act on further findings or complaints that arise from ongoing investigations.

However, many have questioned whether someone who has worked at the CBI beforehand is the right person to head the organisation when it is reeling from so many damaging claims.

Commenting on Ms Newton-Smiths appointment, the chief executive of the Chartered Management Institute, Ann Francke, said: Im not sure there was a huge amount of openness and transparency around the process and, obviously, you can question whether somebody who was there is the right change agent to change the culture.
T he death toll from a devastating hospital fire in Beijing has risen to 29, including 26 patients.

Also among the deceased after the blaze at the inpatient department of Beijing Changfeng Hospital were a nurse, a medical assistant and a family member.

The fire at the private hospital broke out at 1pm Tuesday local time, forcing dozens of people to evacuate. Some of those who were trapped escaped from windows using bedsheets tied together.

Concerned relatives rushed to the scene hours later after only learning of the fire through news reports.

Chinese officials are investigating the cause of the fire but authorities have said they believed it originated from welding sparks from works being carried out at the hospital.

12 people, including the hospitals head and her deputy, along with the head of the construction crew, have been detained.

A total of 39 people are being treated for injuries, three of them in critical condition, officials said.

Residents gather outside the barricaded hospital after the fire / AP

Some relatives of those at the hospital have told the media of their anguish at a lack of communication from the authorities in the aftermath of the fire.

Just tell me if the patient is dead or alive, one relative of a hospital patient told local media.

How can the person just disappear out of thin air? Neither the nurses nor doctors picked up their phones. My elderly relative doesnt have a phone on him.

According to local media reports, most patients at the hospital were elderly.

Safety rules are frequently ignored in China. Construction accidents occasionally result from corners being cut on work hours and safety conditions, while local officials are bribed to ignore violations.

However, the government has previously pledged stronger safety measures after an explosion in 2015 at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers.

Beijing Changfeng Hospital is in the capitals western urban area, about 25 minutes by car from central Tiananmen Square.
E leven Indonesian fishermen were rescued by Australian authorities after surviving six days without food or water on a tiny desert island in the Indian Ocean.

The survivors were rescued from Bedwell Island, located 195 miles (313km) west off the coast of the town of Broome in Western Australia.

Nine other fishermen are feared dead.

The fishermen were left stranded after their two vessels were destroyed last week by Tropical cyclone Ilsa, one of the strongest storms to hit the region in years.

Two primitive wooden Indonesian fishing boats were caught in the path of the cyclone, which made landfall Friday, with winds gusting at an apparent record of 289 kilometers (180 miles) per hour.

One of the boats, Putri Jaya, sank in extreme weather conditions on April 11 or 12 while Ilsa was gathering strength over the Indian Ocean and heading toward the coast, Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement, citing survivors.

The other boat, Express 1, ran aground with 10 men aboard in the early hours of April 12 on Bedwell Island, a sandy outcrop some 300 kilometers (200 miles) west of the Australian coastal tourist town of Broome, the authority said. The only known survivor from the Putri Jaya spent 30 hours in the water before washing ashore on the same island, Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement, citing survivors.

They all remained (on Bedwell Island) for six days without food and water before being rescued on Monday night, the authority said.

The Putri Jaya survivor had tied himself to a fuel can to stay afloat at sea before swimming to the island, said Putu Sudayana, head of Indonesias search and rescue agency in Kupang, the capital of East Nusa Tenggara province where the fishermen live in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago.

The survivors were spotted Monday by the Australian Border Force, which patrols Australias northern approaches for smuggling and other illegal activity, from a plane on a routine surveillance mission. A Broome-based rescue helicopter was deployed and winched all 11 aboard in failing light.

Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation, said the rescue helicopter crew had been unable to land on the sand.

They had to conduct winch recoveries which, in itself, is a challenging task, Watt said. The time of day meant that nightfall was upon the crew during the rescue, so they had to transition to using night vision goggles.

The survivors were taken to Broome Hospital where Border Force said in a statement they were reported to be in good health despite their ordeal.
T he parents of a 20-year-old woman shot dead when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway in upstate New York have said they are devastated and heartbroken.

Angelique and Andrew Gillis remembered their daughter Kaylin in separate Facebook posts as a beautiful soul who had so much to live for and so many dreams before she was fatally shot by a homeowner in Washington County.

The young woman was with three friends when they mistakenly drove up the wrong driveway and were shot at as they tried leaving, authorities said.

The homeowner, Kevin Monahan, 65, was charged with second-degree murder.

Im lost. Im heartbroken, Angelique Gillis wrote. I cant put into words how to even express how thankful for everyones love and support. My beautiful baby didnt deserve this. She had so much to live for and so many dreams. She was the light of our lives.

Washington Country Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said: This is a very sad case of some young adults who were looking for a friends house and ended up at this mans house who decided to come out with a firearm and discharge it.

None of the group had exited the vehicle or attempted to enter Mr Monahans house before he allegedly opened fire, Mr Murphy said.

Kevin Monahan has been charged / AP

Kaylin was a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her. She was a big sister, much loved daughter, devoted friend, and partner to her loving boyfriend, Andrew Gillis posted on Facebook.

She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love. Kaylin was a talented artist, an honor student, a Disney fanatic, and loved animals. She was looking forward to starting college in Florida to pursue her dream of becoming a marine biologist.

She was taken from us far too soon, and we are devastated. Our family will never be the same but we will be guided by Kaylins positivity, optimism, and joy as we learn to live with her loss.

He added he was grateful for the support he and his family have received that will carry us through this difficult journey.

The shooting happened at roughly 10pm local time on Saturday in Hebron while Gillis and her pals were searching for a friends home in the rural area filled with dirt roads.

After Gillis was hit with one of the two shots allegedly fired by Monahan, the driver of the car quickly fled from the home, Sheriff Murphy said during a Monday press conference. The group of friends connected with 911 after driving miles from the home into a neighboring town in an area with poor cellphone reception.

Gillis was pronounced dead after first responders were not able to save her.
A New Zealand competition encouraging children to hunt and kill feral cats has been scrapped following a huge backlash.

The North Canterbury Hunting Competition, which raises money to fund teachers and maintain the swimming pool at a local school, announced the new category this week prompting outcry from animal lovers.

According to New Zealand news outlet Stuff the most feral cats category encouraged children aged 14 or below to kill as many of the felines as possible, to be in with a chance of winning $250, and a dirt bike.

The annual North Canterbury Hunting Competition is described by Stuff as a beloved community event, reportedly attracting more than 900 competitors last year, including 250 children who hunted animals including rabbits, rats, possums and geese.

But animal charity SPCA Canterbury said it was extremely concerned about the competitions new category, having received a huge number of reports about it.

The charity pointed out it could leave cats suffering painful, drawn-out deaths, and could see pets accidentally slaughtered.

Its not possible to tell the difference between a feral, stray or frightened domestic cat based on appearance, so there is a good chance someones pet may be killed during this event, SPCA Canterbury said in a post on Facebook.

In addition, children often use air rifles in these sorts of event which increase the likelihood of pain and distress, and can cause a prolonged death.

SPCA advocates that, instead of organised killing events, education around humane and compassionate practices can better prepare young people to appreciate and protect the biological heritage of New Zealand.

The competition, held annually in the Canterbury region in New Zealands South Island, has since confirmed it is scrapping the controversial category.

It said it is disappointed, and apologised to those who were excited to be involved in something that is about protecting native and vulnerable species.

Feral cats are widespread in New Zealand. According to conservation charity Forest and Bird, they are thought to number in the millions and are devastating local populations of endemic birds, lizards, and insects.

The North Canterbury Hunting Competition said on Facebook: The decision has been made to withdraw this category for this year to avoid further backlash at this time.

We are disappointed and apologise for those who were excited to be involved in something that is about protecting out native birds, and other vulnerable species.

To clarify, for all hunting categories, our hunters are required to abide by firearms act 1983 and future amendments as well as the animal welfare act 1999.

Please remember we are a group of volunteers who are trying to raise money for our local school and pool. This fundraising effort is critical in aiding the local school to employ a board funded third teacher and gives our local community and kids greater opportunities.
O ne person was killed and five injured when a multi-storey car park collapsed in New York on Tuesday.

The disaster happened in lower Manhattans Financial District at roughly 4pm - crushing cars as concrete floors fell on top of each other like a stack of pancakes and killing one worker, officials said.

Eyewitnesses described hearing a terrifying rumbling, followed by screams as the building collapsed onto itself.

Jadess Speller, a student at nearby Pace University, said it felt like an earthquake - like the earth opened up inside.

Other students described seeing cars falling in the building.

Authorities believed they had accounted for everyone inside the building, but searches continued on Tuesday evening to make sure nobody was inside any of the squashed cars, Fire Department Chief of Operations John Esposito said.

He said firefighters had to pull out because of the danger, conducting searches instead with a drone and robotic dog.

Four of those injured were hospitalised and in a stable condition, and the fifth refused medical attention, he said.

AP

William Flashnick, 19, was in a Pace classroom when he and his friends heard what they thought was an explosion. They ran to a window to see a plume of thick dust and the car parks top deck cracked open, with vehicles tossed around.

One of his first thoughts was of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center, which looms over the neighbourhood.

We freaked out, he said. Given the history of this place, its a little scary.

Don Mulligan was on the 17th floor of a nearby hotel when he heard a roar he described as like a jet flying overhead and felt the high-rise sway. The hotel and Pace University buildings were evacuated.

One garage employee was rescued by firefighters via a neighbouring roof after being trapped on an upper floor.

City Buildings Department records show the four-storey building has been a garage at least since the 1920s, and there are no recent permits for construction.

AP

The collapse left the site completely unstable, New York Mayor Mr Adams said at a news conference.

The building was all the way pancaked, collapsed all the way to the cellar floor, acting Buildings Commissioner Kazimir Vilenchik said.

Ahmed Scott arrived to collect his car after work as the disaster was taking place.

In a video shot from across the street, someone off-camera can be heard shouting: Guard! 911! 911! Theres a building collapsing on Ann Street, followed by the sound of something crumpling.

About 45 seconds later two women run out of the car park, saying the building fell while they were inside it.
A n elderly white man who shot a Black teenager after he mistakenly knocked on his door has pleaded not guilty in a Missouri courtroom.

Andrew Lester, 84, from Kansas City, entered the courtroom using a cane and spoke quietly when he entered a not guilty plea on Wednesday.

Ralph Yarl, 16, had knocked on Lesters door looking for his younger brothers around 10pm last Thursday.

The shooting has attracted presidential attention and renewed national debate about gun policies as people react with shock to honor student being shot first in the head, then in the arm while making a routine stop in a residential neighborhood.

The case is among three in recent days involving young people who were shot after mistakenly showing up in the wrong places.

A 20-year-old woman was killed in upstate New York when the car she was in pulled into the wrong driveway. In Texas, two cheerleaders were shot after one of them mistakenly got into a car thinking it was hers.

Mr Yarl was shot at point-blank range in the head but miraculously survived the bullet.

Some civil rights leaders and Yarls family attorney, Lee Merritt, have urged prosecutors to charge Lester with a hate crime, with Merritt noting that was armed only with his Black skin.

Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson said first-degree assault is a higher-level crime, allowing a sentence of up to life in prison, which is more than a hate-crime charge would carry.

Though activists have called for the US Department of Justice to investigate, it was unclear whether it would do so.

Lester remains free after posting 10 per cent of his bond and agreeing to relinquish any weapons and have no contact with Yarl or his family. He also agreed to have his cellphone monitored.

Mr Yarls relatives were not at Wednedays hearing because they are emotionally exhausted, Merritt said. Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarls mother asked him to pick up his twin brothers at a home on 115th Terrace.

Mr Yarl, who is all-state band member as well as a top student, mistakenly went to 115th Street  a block away from where he meant to be. When he rang the bell, Lester came to the door and used a .32 caliber Smith and Wesson 1888 revolver to shoot the teenager.

Lester told police he lives alone and was scared to death when he saw Yarl on the porch because he thought someone was trying to break in, police said in court documents.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, but afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, Dont come around here, the statement said.

Yarl ran to multiple homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, according to court documents.

Merritt said the teen is hardly an imposing figure.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. President Joe Biden spoke with Yarl on Monday, and on Tuesday invited him to the White House.

No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell, Biden tweeted. Weve got to keep up the fight against gun violence.

Thompson, the prosecutor, said Monday that there was a racial component to the shooting but did not elaborate. Merritt said the Yarl family met privately with Thompson.

The prosecutor said he was echoing the words from law enforcement that obviously theres a racial dynamic at play in this case, said Merritt, who called the answer shallow.

Lesters next court date is June 1.
"The organisation supports international ceasefire efforts for humanitarian assistance deliveries and the evacuation of the injured and entrapped in conflict areas," the statement read.

Taha also stressed the readiness of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to channel its full potential and capabilities to support humanitarian efforts and resume dialogue between the rival parties to overcome the crisis threatening the security, safety and unity of Sudan.

Today's statement follows an earlier one in which the OIC called on both leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to end the fighting and begin negotiations.

A 24-hour ceasefire reportedly reached between Sudan's rival generals went into effect on Tuesday, but fighting continued in the capital, and it was unclear whether it would hold.

No sooner had the first hour of the ceasefire between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces entered into force on Tuesday than the sounds of gunfire were heard in the capital Khartoum resulting in a violation of the agreement.
R ussias invading forces are deliberately using rape, torture and kidnapping to try to sow terror among civilians in Ukraine, the top prosecutor in Ukraine has told US legislators.

Prosecutor general Andriy Kostin said nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Focusing on just one area of the country that has felt the brunt of the war, Mr Kostin described some of the discoveries made when the Ukrainian military liberated Kherson last November.

He said some 20 torture chambers were found and more than 1,000 survivors have reported an array of abuses, including the use of electric shocks, waterboarding, being forced to strip naked, and threats of mutilation and death.

Mr Kostin said more than 60 cases of rape were documented in the Kherson region alone.

In areas still controlled by Russian forces, residents, including children, are being forcefully relocated to other occupied territories or to Russia.

Such evil cannot let be, Mr Kostin said.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee invited Mr Kostin to give evidence.

The chairman, Representative Michael McCaul, (Republican-Texas), believes that spotlighting the brutality of Russias actions will show legislators and voters why the United States is in the right in supporting Ukraine.

This is happening right now. They are monsters and they need to be brought to justice, Mr McCaul said.

He added: These are more than war crimes. These are more than crimes against humanity. What we are witnessing in Ukraine is genocide.

Mr McCaul also issued a challenge to fellow legislators, saying history will judge us by what we do here and now.

No country can remain neutral in the face of such evil, he said.

Congress approved about 113 billion dollars (90 billion) in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022 to assist Ukraine.

President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine for as long as it takes to repel the Russian invasion that began in late February of last year, though support for that aid has softened, polling shows.

Congressional leaders anticipate that Ukraine will need billions of dollars in additional assistance in the months ahead.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky tweeted that he spoke by telephone with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Republican-California), and thanked him for bipartisan support from Congress.

Mr Zelensky also outlined the situation at the front and Ukraines urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft.

The House committee also heard from a war crimes survivor, a 57-year-old woman, who said she was taken to a torture chamber for five days, beaten, forced to strip and endured threats of rape and murder.

At one point, she was forced to dig her own grave. She said her house was looted.

She has escaped, but other Ukrainians still experience such treatment in Russian-controlled territories, she said.

These terrible crimes need to be stopped, she told legislators.

Her identity was not revealed out of concerns about retribution.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine.

But the practical implications are limited as the chances of Mr Putin facing trial at the court are highly unlikely because Moscow does not recognise the courts jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.
B ank statements, work documents and insurance policies may not make entertaining bedtime reading but they can put you at risk of identity theft if they end up in the wrong hands. A decent shredder makes it easy to dispose of sensitive data in seconds, keeping your financial information safe and your home free of mountains of unwanted paperwork.

First, decide just how secure you need your shredding to be. Strip-cut shredders cut paper into long strips, cross-cut shredders dice it into small, thin chunks and micro-cut shredders chop paper into tiny pieces like confetti. The size of the strip is measured by a DIN 66399 standard from level one to seven, with the highest level used only for top-secret documents and rarely found in home shredders.

If you just plan on destroying a monthly bank statement, its easy to find a shredder from around 20 that will do the job. If you work at home or want the machine to handle a little more paperwork, consider the shredders capacity, run time, required cool down time between jobs and its size, as some can be very bulky squeezed into a home office. Other worthwhile features include jam prevention to stop paper getting stuck and a credit card slot for slicing more than just paper. Its worth buying shredder oil to keep all models in tip-top condition too.

Weve shredded everything in sight to find the best models around for every household need, considering price, size, speed and reliability plus overall security. Invest in one of these and you can guarantee your personal information will be safe and sound from prying eyes.

Best paper shredders for home at a glance:

Ryman VS805MC 8 Sheet Micro Cut Shredder Ryman Best for: value for money If youre keen on maximum security but dont want to break the bank, this shredder from Ryman will demolish your documents into DIN level 4 micro cut particles for the same price as a less secure cross-cutter. Its a sturdy black machine with a clear window to see when the bin is full and takes a respectable 18 litres so you wont be emptying it every two minutes. It can chew through an impressive eight sheets of paper in one go and saw off staples without a hitch. CDs, DVDs and credit cards can also be fed through the same slot and theres a reverse button in case anything gets jammed, though we had no problems during testing. Its able to operate for two minutes before requiring a 40 minute cooldown, so wont suit anyone with heavy-duty needs but otherwise this is a great secure buy for most households. Buy now  54.99 , Ryman {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Amazon Basics 8 Sheet Strip Cut Shredder with CD Shred Amazon Best for: speed One of the speediest shredders we tested, this budget model might be inexpensive but tackles unwanted junk mail and bills in minutes. It looks a little flimsy but we found it handled up to eight sheets easily with built-in thermal protection ensuring it doesnt overheat and stop working unexpectedly like so many shredders do. We were especially impressed by the fact it only needs a 15 minute cool down after two minutes continuous run time, enabling us to power through a pile of paperwork in no time. Theres a dedicated slot for shredding CDs and credit cards, a 12 litre bin and a manual reverse setting to clear paper jams. Be aware it only cuts into 0.65cm strips though so anyone with particularly sensitive documents might prefer a more secure cross-cut machine instead. Buy now  26.24 , Amazon {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} WHSmith Premium Heavy Duty 21 Litre Cross Cut Shredder WHSmith Best for: industrial-grade shredding at home Pulverise your paperwork with this beefy shredder that holds a whopping 21 litres before youll need to empty it. It has a matte black bin and sleek silver trim and we loved the generous-sized handle which made it easy to lift the lid off for emptying. We would have preferred the window panel on the front to be a little bigger to help us see when the bin was nearly full though. Theres a separate slot for credit cards and CDs which is a great way to avoid blunting the paper-shredding blades and it has an auto/reverse button to keep everything working smoothly. It cross cuts to security level 3, has two minutes running time and can take up to ten sheets of between 6mm and 12mm thickness at once, though we found it operated more smoothly if we only fed eight at a time. Buy now  41.99 , WHSmith {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Rexel Optimum AutoFeed+ 50X Automatic Cross Cut Paper Shredder P4 Rexel Best for: hi-tech This is the Rolls Royce of shredders and will certainly be overkill if youre only looking to destroy the odd credit card bill. However if you run your own business from home or need to whizz through a mountain of paper work, this pricey shredder is a great investment. Anyone who loves a gadget will be wowed by the fancy touch control panel and infra-red full bin sensor but this shredder really triumphs on usability. It runs for a massive ten minutes and has fan cooling so its ready to go again in no time, can chomp through staples and even paperclips as well as having an ingenious 20-litre pull out bin to make emptying a cinch. Six sheets can be fed manually for level four compliant cross-cutting but the automatic shredding is its real trump card. Open up the lid, stack 50 sheets of paper inside and get on with your day  the shredder takes care of the rest without you having to stand over the machine feeding in the paper. We cant lie, we enjoyed using it so much, we found ourselves searching for more paperwork to keep it busy. Our only grumble? Its very large and heavy so check you have somewhere to store it before splashing out. Buy now  208.80 , Amazon {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Fellowes Powershred LX65 Cross-Cut Shredder Amazon Best for: ultra safe shredding with level 4 security Worried about little hands near your shredder the minute your back is turned? This smart model has clever patented SafeSense technology which stops shredding as soon as hands touch the paper entry, making it a super-safe option for the home. Its a powerful machine that can handle almost anything you can throw at it too. It obliterates up to ten sheets at a time, is jam-proof and had no problem with staples, paperclips or thicker documents, cutting them into nearly 400 cross-cut particles per A4 sheet to comply with level four security. We especially loved the six minute running time, which doesnt sound like much but was considerably more than nearly all the shredders we tested and was plenty of time for us to decimate a huge pile of papers. It took less than 20 minutes to cool down and be ready for use again, while the generous 22-litre bin didnt need emptying all the time. Despite this, its not too enormous to store under a desk and its discreet curved appearance means it wont need to be hidden away. Buy now  94.79 , Amazon {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}} Robert Dyas 6-Sheet Cross-Cut Paper Shredder Robert Dyas Best for: aesthetics Weve never admired a shredder before but this Robert Dyas model is easily the best looking example we tested. We loved its sheer mesh bin, which looked as stylish as a bin can ever be in the corner of our home office (unlike the usual solid black plastic version). Better still, the clever design was really handy to see exactly how full the shredder was so we didnt overload it and knew exactly when to empty it. It works well too, cross-cutting documents lengthways and widthways with overheat protection and a continuous cycle of two minutes on and 30 minutes off. It can shred credit cards or up to six sheets of paper at once, though we did find it struggled if the paper was very thick, so its best to use fewer sheets for quicker operation. The shredder is surprisingly quiet too so you wont drive everyone else in the house mad if you decide to purge your paperwork. Available in stores with limited stock online. Buy now  20 , Robert Dyas {{#hasItems}} Price comparison {{/hasItems}} {{#items}} {{ merchant }} {{ price }} Buy now {{/items}} {{#hasItems}} {{/hasItems}}
S tacey Solomon is returning to work just two months after welcoming her fifth child.

The Loose Women star announced on social media that shes back to business and heading to Paris following the birth of her baby daughter Belle in February.

As she took her followers through her morning routine Solomon, who shares her newborn with husband Joe Swash, 41, said: Ive got my first job back next week so I just really want to get into good habits so its easier.

Ive got my first day back next week, and its like the craziest job ever. Im going to Paris. What the hell!

The Sort Out Your Life host said she was stunned at being offered a job in the French city, adding that she never gets jobs like this.

Solomon, pictured with baby Belle, has just returned from a family trip to Abu Dhabi / Stacey Solomon/INSTAGRAM

I really cant stress to you enough how I never get jobs like this, she continued.

I get the come and tidy my house jobs, which I love by the way, Im not mocking it. I dont get the come to Paris jobs.

The 33-year-old told fans that baby Belle will be accompanying her on the work trip.

Im taking Belle with me because I havent worked out the breastfeeding thing yet, she explained.

Im trying to wean her off a little bit, which is sad, but I just cant do it all.

I cant do work, school runs, kids, breastfeeding. Its just impossible, she admitted.

Breastfeeding is hard, and you have to have time, and its on demand.

So Im going to have to stop breastfeeding but I havent managed to do it yet so Im taking her with me for my first job.

Before embarking on work, Solomon recently enjoyed an elaborate trip to Abu Dhabi with her family.
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Streaming services including Spotify, Tidal and Apple Music have removed a song made using artificial intelligence that cloned the voices of Drake and The Weeknd.

The track, called Heart On My Sleeve went viral on TikTok, and industry news website Music Business Worldwide said it racked up hundreds of thousands of plays on YouTube and a quarter of a million on Spotify before being taken down.

A study looking at biodiversity loss and the decline in animal populations globally suggests we need to act more quickly than first thought to protect nature.

Dr Robin Freeman from the Zoological Society of London who worked on the study told Tech & Science Daily the data suggests we may have underestimated the effects of historical trends in land use and climate.

Eleven Indonesian fishermen were rescued after surviving for six days on a desert island without food or water.

Two fishing boats got caught in a collision in the Pacific Ocean during Tropical Storm Ilsa, and one of them ran aground on Bedwell Island, 195 miles west of the Australian coast.

The men were spotted by an Australian border force plane on a routine surveillance mission on Monday, and taken to hospital via helicopter.

A 300 kg satellite used by Nasa to study the sun since 2002 is set to come crashing down to earth.

Nasa said The Rhessi Observatory, which was shut down in 2018, should mostly burn up in the atmosphere, but some parts are expected to fall to Earth.

And the rest

UK businesses urged to beef up their cyber security, study finds losing weight can put type 2 diabetes in remission for at least five years, planets hosted by stars with low metallicity may be more suitable for life, and Netflix reveals when password sharing crackdown will finally be rolled out.

Listen above, and find us on your Spotify Daily Drive or wherever you stream your podcasts.
G oogles Pixel Fold, one of the most keenly awaited phones of the year, could be unveiled in a matter of weeks.

The tech giants first folding device is expected to rival the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, which is currently the top dog among foldables. After months of speculation, we now have the first credible report about the new smartphone, based on Googles internal documents.

According to CNBC, the Pixel Fold will boast a massive battery, a large display when unfolded, and could even get rid of the annoying crease thats an eyesore on other folding phones. Heres what we know about Googles next flagship, including its release date, price and features.

When will Google release the Pixel Fold handset?

Google is expected to announce the Pixel Fold at its annual developer conference, Google I/O, on May 10.

However, you may not be able to buy the phone straight away. In the past, Google has used I/O as a means of previewing its newest Pixel phones before releasing them several months later.

If history repeats itself, we could see the Pixel Fold officially launched at a separate Google event, known as Made By Google, most likely in October. This is where Google typically launches its brand new hardware including Pixel phones, smartwatches and Nest smart home products.

How much will the Google Pixel Fold cost?

As mentioned, Google is positioning the Pixel Fold as a Galaxy Z Fold 4 competitor. That strategy applies to everything from its features (more on those below) to its premium price tag.

Google is reportedly planning to charge $1,700 (1,370) for the phone in the US, which would make it one of the most expensive phones on the market.

Unfortunately for Brits, Google doesnt normally follow the US/the UK exchange rate to set UK prices, going instead for numerical equivalence. The Pixel 7, for instance, started at $599 in the US and 599 in the UK, and the Pixel 7 Pro cost $899/849. So, you can expect the Pixel Fold to cost roughly the same in both regions.

Alas, proper foldables that open up to a tablet-like display dont come cheap. The Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, for instance, comes with three different storage sizes priced at 1,649 for 256GB, 1,769 for 512GB, and a whopping 2,019 for 1TB.

To make the price more palatable, Google is reportedly planning to throw in a free Pixel Watch with the Pixel Fold. As is the norm among smartphone makers, it could also offer discounts on the new phone when you trade in your current Pixel, Android handset or iPhone.

Both sides of the Pixel Fold shown in an artists rendering / HowToiSolve

Google Pixel Fold features

So, will the Pixel Fold be worthy of its eye-watering price tag? Word is the phone will offer a similar design to the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 4, but with a few possible improvements over its closest rival.

The Pixel Fold will apparently sport an outside screen that measures 5.8-inches across. Googles internal photos have also revealed that it will open like a book to a small tablet-style 7.6-inch screen.

That makes it the same size as Samsungs foldable flagship, but the Pixel Fold will reportedly be slightly heavier at 283.5g.

Google is also promising the most durable hinge on a foldable. Thats important, because after repeated use, folding phones tend to show a visible crease in the middle of the display where the hinge mechanism resides.

Broadly speaking, foldables boast a unique design with a spine down the middle of the phone that allows you to open and close the screen. A small gap between the two halves of the phone also prevents the two sides of the glass from touching and creating friction. More recently, manufacturers have been working to reduce this gap and eliminate the crease on thier folding phones.

Samsung previously patented a waterdrop design for a phones hinge that allows it to be completely flat when unfolded, and without a noticeable gap between its halves when folded. The design could be showcased on the Galaxy Z Fold 5 later this year.

Similarly, Motorolas Razr 2022 also doesnt appear to have a distinguishable crease halfway down its screen. Plus, Oppo recently claimed that its Find N2 Flip can withstand over 400,000 folds and unfolds at standard room temperature.

In terms of its other specs, the Pixel Fold is also tipped to come with a bigger battery than the Galaxy Z Fold 4, which Google says will last for 24 hours, or up to 72 hours in a low-power mode. It will also be water-resistant, though the exact certification remains unknown.

Surprisingly, the Pixel Fold will reportedly pack the same processor as last years Pixel 7 range; Googles Tensor G2 chip. This despite rumours that Google is working on a third-gen processor for its Pixel 8 and Pixel 8 Pro phones, both of which are also expected to arrive in October.

The Fold is also likely to pack AI-powered photo-editing tricks that arent available outside Googles Pixel range. Googles other handsets have come with features that can scrub unwanted people and objects from pics, and unblur faces.

How to watch Google I/O

Google will almost certainly livestream its I/O event on its official YouTube channel on May 10.

Alongside the Pixel Fold, the conference could also herald the launch of the companys AI-powered search engine, a new Pixel 7a phone, a Pixel tablet and the next iteration of its ubiquitous phone operating system, Android 14.

So, Google fans should have plenty of reasons to tune in to the action.
T ime is about to run out for those borrowing Netflix from friends and family.

Starting this summer, Netflix is expanding its password-sharing crackdown to most of the countries where its streaming service is available. That inevitably means that the rules will apply in the UK.

The company announced the policys worldwide rollout during its first quarter earnings call on Tuesday.

That launch we are doing in Q2 is a very broad launch, it includes the United States, includes many, many other countries, said Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters. But I would say the bulk of our countries and certainly, when you think about it from a revenue perspective, the vast majority will be rolling out in Q2.

Netflix initially planned to launch the password sharing clampdown in March but appears to have delayed its expansion because of a backlash from subscribers.

Last year, Netflix introduced the paid-sharing tests in three Latin American countries. In February, it extended its measures designed to put an end to password sharing to four new countries, Canada, New Zealand, Portugal and Spain.

Peters said Netflix was taking some extra time to expand the rules to more markets.

We felt based on those results  it was better to incorporate those learnings and make this transition as smooth as possible as we can for members and we think that approach also best serves the long-term business goals as well, he said.

How does Netflixs password sharing clampdown work?

Under the new regime, you are only allowed to stream Netflix from one location. While it is flexible enough to let you use your account in a hotel while on holiday, or on your phone, extended use in homes other than your own will be blocked.

Devices need to be connected to your home wi-fi once a month to be verified, causing potential headaches for those who travel a lot.

You are then able to buy an add-on to allow up to two extra people to access your account, for people who live elsewhere. This costs $8 in Canada, 4 in Portugal and 6 in Spain, suggesting people in the UK may end up paying an additional 5 to allow continued use somewhere outside their home.

Last week, Netflixs website appeared to suggest these rules would be introduced worldwide by late March. However, it then claimed such information was only meant for Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru, where the account-sharing measures were initially trialled.

How many people share Netflix passwords?

Netflix claimed in 2022 that more than 100 million households across the world use the video-streaming service without paying, by using a shared account.

Tackling password sharing is Netflixs strategy to reinvigorate the services growth. This was fantastic at the start of the Covid pandemic, but has all-but flatlined, and analysts from Ampere Analysis predicted it will lose 200,000 UK subscribers in 2023.

Netflix addressed this slowed growth in a letter to its shareholders early in 2022. Account sharing as a percentage of our paying membership hasnt changed much over the years but, coupled with [slow broadband and connected TV adoption], means its harder to grow membership in many markets  an issue that was obscured by our COVID growth, the letter read.

Netflix has been approached for comment.
M ore needs to be done to protect the UK from the threat posed by Russia-aligned cyber groups, the head of the National Cyber Security Centre has warned.

It comes as Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden warned that the cyber equivalent of the Wagner group posed a serious threat to the UK, as he announced that the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) was issuing an official threat notice to operators of critical national infrastructure amid concerns about the growing cyber threat.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, as he made the comparison to the private Russian military company, announced plans for more ambitious cyber resilience targets for all critical national infrastructure sectors to meet by 2025, as well as moves to bring private sector businesses working on critical infrastructure into the scope of resilience regulations.

Lindy Cameron, who heads up the GCHQ arm, said: I dont think we are yet doing enough to protect our infrastructure from the cyber threats emerging from Russia-aligning groups.

She told an audience in Belfast: If the UK is to be the safest place to live and work online, then resilience must urgently move to the top of our investment shopping list.

She said that there needs to be resilience to all threats, whether they come from nation states or cyber criminals.

It comes as she echoed the language of the Governments recent integrated review refresh, referencing the rise of China as a technology power and the epoch-defining challenge it poses to the West.

Mr Dowden did not focus on China in his address, instead using it to stress the need for the Government and businesses to take seriously cyber security.

Ransomware is no longer just a crime, it is a national security threat, he told the audience as he stressed the key role cyber officials were playing in protecting British democracy.

The senior minister compared global interest to the visible presence of an alleged Chinese sky balloon floating over US airspace to the less well-known threats to UK cyber security that silently and invisibly breach our digital defence, both in the UK and the rest of the world.

Speaking specifically about Russian-aligned groups, Mr Dowden that the NCSC has seen the rise of several Russia-aligned groups, sympathetic to Putins invasion of Ukraine.

Comparing them with the Wagner group, he said that focus had turned to the UK and its allies.

They are now seeking opportunities to compromise our critical national infrastructure, he said.

Instead of seeking to profit or spy on us, their primary motive is to disrupt or destroy our infrastructure.

He said that they were ideologically motivated, adding that it made them more opportunistic and less likely to show restraint.

Ms Cameron, who pointed to her Derry girl credentials as she addressed the conference, warned that it was crucial for cyber security to be built into future technology such as artificial intelligence (AI).

Pointing to the growing interest in tools such as ChatGPT, she warned of the danger of inadvertently designing vulnerabilities into AI.

We as the NCSC think it is crucial for cyber security to be built into future technology and supply chains from the outset, she said as he offered the semi-conductor industry as another area of focus.

Sir Jeremy Fleming, director of GCHQ, appeared towards the close of the conference to warn that countries like China were now posing a challenge to the traditional technology leadership role played by the West.

Speaking in Belfast, he said that everyone in this room needs to have a finger on the pulse of what is happening in geopolitics.

Asked about the relationship between new technology and values, he said: I think weve been able to take this for granted for much of the last 75 years.

Technology developed in western, liberal, democratic countries, have driven our growth, have driven our prosperity, weve taken that leadership for granted and, of course, now it is being challenged in many ways.

But its not just the fact we have new kids on the block, no longer kids, we have new lumbering monsters out there who are taking some of our tech leadership.

Its the fact that a whole range of new technologies are arriving at the same time, which are creating a wave of change, of transformation.

You have got the arrival of new peer powers to the United States and, of course, Im talking about China here, that is using technology in some ways that offend us, that dont accord with our values.
Egypt has been in direct communication with both parties to the conflict in Sudan and is encouraging them to cease hostilities and return to dialogue, Egypts Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said in an exclusive interview with CNN earlier on Tuesday.

In exclusive statements to CNNs Christina Macfarlane, Shoukry stated that Egypt has been in contact around the hour with both parties to the conflict in Sudan to achieve a ceasefire.

We hope that the 24-hour ceasefire between the two sides will hold and will open further doors of communication that can lead to renewed peaceful dialogue to resolve the situation, Shoukry, who was speaking from Cairo via videoconference, said hours before the ceasefire came into effect in Khartoum.

The ceasefire went into effect on Tuesday at six PM Khartoum local time.

He was then asked whether the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are sceptical of Egypts involvement due to President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis alleged support of the Sudanese Armed Forces.

In response, Shoukry affirmed Egypts impartiality and historical relations with Sudan's various political factions.

I think the president was very clear yesterday when he made the statement about the nature of this conflict, which is an internal one, thereby we maintain impartiality and total commitment to the best conditions for the Sudanese people, stated the foreign minister.

Shoukry was referring to the Egyptian Presidents statement on Monday during his meeting with the Supreme Council of Armed Forces in Cairo.

The escalating violence and its impact on military and civilian casualties are of great concern to us. But, again, the best interests of Sudan and its population drive us, and we continue to do so to the best of our abilities, he said.

The host then asked the foreign minister whether Egypt was in contact with the RSF and whether the RSF was receptive to such communication.

Shoukry responded by saying that Egypt is communicating with all who influence this issue, whether the Sudanese army or the RSF, adding that Egypt hopes both parties take heed of its appeals for calm and restraint and the cessation of hostilities.

He was then asked about the situation on the ground in Sudan and whether any of the parties to the conflict had the upper hand.

In response, Shoukry said this was an issue for the military to evaluate, adding that they were monitoring to the best of their abilities within a degree of fluidity and conflicting reports.

What we highlight is the importance of a ceasefire and maintaining the best interests of the Sudanese people, avoiding further casualties and opening a dialogue for a peaceful settlement of this dispute and again indicating its internal nature and the need for all foreign interest and influence to restrain itself and not to aggravate the situation further, he said.

The foreign minister added that the statements issued by various members of the international community and by the Secretary General of the UN have all indicated the importance that the international community takes steps to encourage restraint and avoid any escalation of the situation.

During the interview, Shoukry reaffirmed that this stage focuses on peaceful dialogue to end the conflict. He added that Egypt was currently in communication with various neighbouring countries, the United States, the EU, and all those who can play an active role in communicating the importance of reaching a peaceful solution to this crisis.

Macfarlane then asked him about the Egyptian soldiers currently held in Sudans Merowe by the RSF. In response, the foreign minister said that he refrained from particulars, adding that Egypt is communicating to ensure the safety of those soldiers.

Shoukry added that Egypt has many active participants in various aspects of life in Sudan, whether in education, irrigation, or agriculture.

We are thus carefully monitoring the situation and its impact on all Egyptian citizens in Sudanese territories, he stated.

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Syria's semi-autonomous Kurdish administration said it was ready for talks with Damascus, as the government's ties with Arab states thaw more than a decade after the country's war broke out.

The government of President Bashar al-Assad rejects the Kurdish administration in north and northeast Syria and accuses it of "separatism".

Several rounds of talks since 2018 between Damascus and the Kurds -- who control most of the country's major oil and gas fields -- have failed to achieve any results.

"We affirm our readiness to meet and talk with the Syrian government and with all Syrian parties to hold discussions and present initiatives for a solution," the Kurdish authorities said.

The statement denied any separatist ambitions, "affirming Syria's territorial integrity" and calling for Syria's resources to be shared "fairly".

The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), the Kurdish administration's de facto army, spearheaded the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria, driving it from its last stronghold in the country in 2019 with US backing.

Assad has been politically isolated in the region since Syria's war began in 2011, but a devastating February 6 earthquake that killed thousands in Turkey and Syria sparked Arab outreach.

A flurry of diplomatic activity has been underway in past weeks as Middle East rivals Saudi Arabia and the Syrian government's ally Iran patched up ties, shifting regional relations.

On Tuesday, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan met with Assad in Damascus, in the first visit by a Saudi official since the conflict began.

The pair discussed steps to achieve a political settlement for Syria's return to the Arab fold, according to the Saudi foreign ministry.

Last week, diplomats from nine Arab countries met in Saudi Arabia to discuss ending Syria's long spell in the diplomatic wilderness, and Syria's foreign minister visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in over a decade.

The Kurds in the statement urged "Arab countries, the United Nations and international forces... to play an active and positive role in searching for a common solution".

They said they were ready to share resources including oil and gas "through an agreement with the Syrian government" following "dialogue and negotiation".

Turkey has also made overtures towards Damascus in recent months, stoking further fears among Syria's Kurds.

Ankara considers the People's Protection Units (YPG) -- which dominate the SDF -- as an offshoot of the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), designated as a terrorist group by Turkey and its Western allies.

"Any party or individual working for a foreign power is simply a traitor and a collaborator," Assad told broadcaster Russia Today in an interview last month, when asked about the YPG.

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Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. (OLG) announced on Wednesday, it is giving the City of Niagara Falls $3.93 million for the three-month period from Jan. 1 to March 31, as part of ongoing payments that OLG makes to the city in exchange for hosting the two provincial casinos in Niagara Falls.

In the last fiscal year, just ended March 31, OLG said it gave the city $19.9 million for hosting Casino Niagara and the Fallsview Casino Resort.

Since Casino Niagara opened in December of 1996, the city has received $194.9 million in payments, OLG said.

The payments OLG makes to host communities are based on a formula consistently applied across all gaming sites in Ontario using a graduated scale of gaming revenue at the hosted site, the agency said.

OLGs municipal contribution agreement payments are building strong communities where people and families can enjoy a high quality of life, said Ontario Finance Minister Peter Bethlenfalvy in a news release.

These revenues help support local program and critical infrastructure, making a real difference for gaming host municipalities.

OLG said its proud to share proceeds of casino gaming with local communities, contributing to economic recovery, infrastructure development and job creation.

The agency said 100 per cent of its profits are reinvested in the province, and payments to host communities are part of that commitment.

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Jennifer Dockstader has concerns about how an investigation into a potential burial ground with Indigenous artifacts in Port Colborne has been handled so far.

But the executive director of the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre said she is grateful the investigation has been paused so the Haudenosaunee Development Institute (HDI) can have a chance to lend its expertise.

The HDI protects and preserves the heritage of Haudenosaunee people and Indigenous people. Their involvement brings a level of expertise to the potential finds of Indigenous people and will bring expertise with regard to the Indigenous artifacts found, Dockstader said.

The Ministry of Public and Business Services Delivery (MPBSD) notified the municipality last year that a burial site had been discovered near a city-owned right of way along Sugarloaf Street. The city was ordered to undertake an investigation to determine the origins of the site.

An archeological dig on Sugarloaf Street between Isabel Street and Fielden Avenue was expected to begin April 10 and last about four weeks to investigate the site, which may contain Indigenous remains. The city is spending $435,000 on the investigation.

According to a report by CBC Hamilton, the HDI wanted more information before entering into an agreement with the city to be part of the investigation.

The City of Port Colborne already has signed agreements with the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation and Six Nations to be involved.

Jasmine Peazel-Graham, the citys communications manager, said the municipality is working to finalize an agreement with the HDI.

Niagara This Week has sent multiple emails and made phone calls to the HDI, but they were not returned.

We are committed to engaging with the Indigenous community and are always looking to learn more about the best ways to do so. As part of this archeological investigation, we have invited their participation through the report and strategy review as well as monitoring during the field investigations, Steve Shypowskyj, the citys director of public works, said.

He added that the decision to postpone the archeological investigation was made to ensure the Indigenous community has an opportunity to be involved.

Dockstader said the Fort Erie Native Friendship Centre has a long-standing agreement to contact the HDI whenever there are finds in the centres catchment area, which includes Welland, Port Colborne, Niagara Falls and Fort Erie.

We dont yet know if the remains found (in Port Colborne) are Indigenous people. We do know that Indigenous artifacts were found at the site in Port Colborne, she said.

We are glad (the city) knew to call Six Nations of the Grand (River) and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. HDI has the expertise and capacity to see the history recorded accurately and any remains, if Indigenous, to be cared for properly.

Dockstader said the municipality of Port Colborne working with the three groups on the investigation into the site is an important opportunity.

This is an opportunity for reconciliation that is priceless to positive relationships with Indigenous people in Niagara, she said.

History and acknowledgment of Indigenous people starts the process of repairing the pains of the past by acknowledging that Niagara is home to civilizations and cultures that predate settler towns, houses and histories.

The investigation stems from an initial burial investigation by the Kitchener and Hamilton-based Archaeological Research Associates (ARA) on behalf of a Sugarloaf Street property owner.

A contractor from Emburghs Backhoe Service was digging in the front yard of a home between 239 and 229 Sugarloaf St. when workers discovered human remains last year, on March 10.

The work was stopped so Niagara Regional Police forensic officers and the regional coroners office could investigate the remains. It was determined by the police not to be a criminal matter.

 With files from Niagara This Week and Welland Tribune

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St. Catharines Mayor Mat Siscoe pushed back against opponents of the citys incentive program for developers this week saying the October election results speak for themselves.

During a two-hour council debate on the merits of the controversial Community Improvement Plan, Siscoe said residents voted in candidates in favour of the CIP when they were clearly faced with options.

This was an election issue, Siscoe said, citing a third-party advertising campaign by Vote for a Better St. Catharines that distributed flyers with photos of Siscoe and four other pro-CIP councillors with red circles and lines through their faces.

Every single person who was a supporter of the CIP that was targeted got re-elected and in most cases, it wasnt close.

The community had their say. They understand what the CIP is. They agree with it, probably because a 228 per cent return on investment is exactly what the community expects of us.

The citys CIP offers financial incentives to the private sector to help offset a portion of costs related to redevelopment. The money comes from future taxes that are generated from the projects being completed.

Siscoe said the average taxpayer pays $27 less on their property taxes because of nearly $400 million in increased assessed value the city has seen through the CIP program.

Im just a physics teacher. Im not an economist. Im not a business guy. But a 228 per cent return on investment is pretty good.

Still, concerns by some councillors and residents about the program in its current state and the types of projects being approved was enough for councillors to vote in January to create a working group to review the CIP.

The only hold outs were St. Patricks ward councillors, who expressed concerns about any changes that could discourage development on the former General Motors property on Ontario Street.

At the time, the director of development said the CIP, adopted in November 2020, is due for a five-year review at the end of 2024 and that would be a more appropriate time to open up the issue.

Staff brought back a report Monday offering four options for council to consider for the basis of a working groups terms of reference.

They included keeping the CIP program as is until its expiry in 2025, reviewing potential minor changes that could be made midstream or reviewing potential major changes that would impact the administration of the CIP and ultimately lead to a city-wide official plan amendment.

The final option was to review the potential elimination of the program altogether.

Don Sawyer of the Coalition for a Better St. Catharines urged council to pick a fifth option and freeze the CIP immediately until it is fully reviewed.

Sawyer said he was involved with public consultation on the CIP in 2019 and endorsed the new program in 2020 because it focused on affordable housing and brownfield remediation.

When it was first applied, it was applied to a development of million dollar condos and it seemed to almost defy every one of the priorities that had been established, he said.

And in fact, its a strong word, but its a word I felt at the time and feel now, I genuinely felt betrayed.

Sawyer said hes a fan of CIP programs but they need to be used surgically in very specific situations.

But Siscoe said its not the time to halt the plan.

I keep hearing from the opponents of the CIP who say we need to use the CIP surgically. But the only surgery that opponents of the CIP suggest is a decapitation of the citys ability to direct development, he said.

There is too much going on in this community right now that is going to need the help of the Community Improvement Plan. Now is not the time to pull the rug out from underneath the plan.

Council also heard delegations in favour of continuing the CIP from Wendy Wing of Rankin Construction, which was approved for a CIP in 2019 for a residential condo building at the Royal Canadian Legion site in Port Dalhousie, and lawyer Tom Richardson on behalf of developer Nino Donatelli, who rehabilitated the two industrial plants in Merritton that are now home to The Keg and The Stone Mill using a former CIP program.

Council ended up voting unanimously in favour of the staff recommendation to see the existing CIP program through to its expiry in 2025.

A working group will do a comprehensive review of the program, but changes wont be made midstream until the program expires.

Merritton Coun. Jackie Lindal asked that the start of the review can happen at the end of this year, rather than wait until the end of 2024 as staff suggested. She said that way council can have thoughtful conversations with staff and each other so they have everything in place when 2025 hits.

Her amendment was adopted, as was a request by St. Andrews Coun. Joe Kushner that more consideration be given to affordable housing and brownfield sites in the review.

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OTTAWA - The economic cost of greenhouse gas emissions is nearly five times higher than previously thought, Environment Minister Steven Guilbeault said Wednesday.

The minister told attendees at a climate change conference in Ottawa that the government used updated scientific knowledge and economic models to revise the way it evaluates how much climate change is costing Canadians.

The new numbers have been in development for months but come after a recent report from the parliamentary budget officer on the economic costs of the carbon price. That report did not specifically equate the cost of the price on carbon to the costs of climate change itself.

The updates to the social cost of carbon simply show that every tonne of greenhouse gas is costing the economy more, Guilbeault said at the Net Zero Leadership Summit.

The social cost of carbon estimates the financial impact that every tonne of emissions has on everything from food production and human health to disaster repair bills and even property values.

The idea is that growing emissions contribute more to global warming, and every increase in global average temperatures can increase the number and severity of extreme weather events.

More than seven years ago an analysis estimated that by 2020 the cost would be about $54 a tonne in 2020. Guilbeault said the updated model suggests that figure was actually closer to $247.

He said this year its even higher, at $261 per tonne of emissions, and by 2030 it will rise to $294.

Pause for a moment to understand what this signifies, Guilbeault said.

Every tonne of carbon we reduce this year saves society as a whole $261  and we are talking in terms of cutting megatonnes: millions of tonnes.

Between 2005  the year Canada uses as the base for its 2030 emissions targets  and 2021, Canada eliminated 62 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. Using the new social cost of carbon figure, that equates to saving almost $10 billion.

However that doesnt include an estimate of what it cost to eliminate those 62 million tonnes. The carbon price in 2021 was $40 per tonne, and it will rise to $170 per tonne in 2030.

Last year a federal analysis of regulations to reduce emissions produced from gasoline and diesel said the cost of that policy was about $151 per tonne.

Canadas Ecofiscal Commission in 2017 pegged the cost of Quebecs electric vehicle subsidy at about $355 per tonne. Most provinces and the federal government now have some kind of electric vehicle subsidy.

By 2030, Canada wants to eliminate at least another 231 million tonnes. That could save $68 billion on the emissions side, but there are no direct comparisons to illustrate how much it will cost to do that.

Canada has dozens of other policies designed to help meet that target, including phasing out coal power, expanding renewable electricity, mandating an end to the sale of gas-powered cars and capping emissions from the oil and gas industry.

The parliamentary budget officers recent analysis of carbon pricing said the governments climate rebates are more than the direct cost of carbon pricing for most families, but when you factor in the economic costs  such as lower incomes or job losses  many families may have less money in 2030 than they would without the carbon price.

Guilbeault and others criticized that report for not being explicit that climate change itself is contributing to job losses and lower incomes.

The social cost of carbon analysis is done in concert with the United States Environmental Protection Agency, which published its interim values last year but is still reviewing them before releasing a final version. Canada published its final numbers Wednesday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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A Mississauga familys vacation has turned into a nightmare as they find themselves trapped in Sudan after violence erupted Saturday between rival factions in the countrys military government.

They say they fear for their lives and are pleading for help from the Canadian government as they wake up every day to the sound of gunshots and missile explosions.

The family says they feel theyve been abandoned by the Canadian embassy as they were told, as of Wednesday, that there are no plans to evacuate Canadians stuck in the country.

Nagwa El Mamoun arrived in Khartoum with her daughter and husband on March 2 to visit family after a weeks vacation in Dubai. They were planning on flying back on March 28, but extended their trip to April 25 so they could spend the holy month of Ramadan there.

On Saturday, they woke up at 7 a.m. to the sound of gunfire. There was no warning about the conflict, which is now dragging into its fifth day; the family has been ordered to shelter in place inside their apartment.

They put snipers on the roof and they are shooting civilians so we cannot go out, El Mamoun said as she choked back tears in a video call, adding that shes running out of needed medication.

The clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces over key government sites have left at least 296 people dead and more than 3,000 people injured. The conflict rages on days before the arrival of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of Ramadan and which El Mamoun was hoping to celebrate with family.

The Mississauga mother, who works as an immigration consultant, said the family had a flight to Canada booked from Dubai on April 25, but its been cancelled due to civil unrest, they were told by the Emirates airline.

Their fate is uncertain now in the midst of violence that has destabilized the city and shut down the airport.

El Mamoun has high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes and said shes running low on medication; she only brought enough to last until their flight home on April 25.

She said shes been reaching out to the Canadian embassy every morning and theyve offered no assistance.

Even if they cant evacuate us outside of the country, we can understand that because the airports are all destroyed. At least they can take us to a secure place (in Khartoum)  even this, there is not any attempt to do that, she said. Were so disappointed by our government.

The family has already lost a 27-year-old relative, Alaa Fawzy Elmardi, who was a doctor, in the conflict on April 15.

She was in her home, with her mother, and they were affected. And I think thats the scariest part  were trying to take shelter, but these things can still enter your home, said Dalia Abbadi, El Mamouns daughter.

In a video chat, Abbadi showed three bullets that landed on their balcony.

My biggest ask is just for some sort of action, to reassure us, just a plan to help folks who are currently stuck to get out safely, she said. I dont wanna die here.

The family entered Sudan on visas. El Mamoun and her husband grew up in Sudan, but gave up their Sudanese citizenship when they became Canadian citizens. They immigrated to Canada in 1996.

I showed up to the country when I was seven years old, so really Canada is home, Abbadi said. So to reach out every day and receive a standard email template response, its very disheartening.

And its making us, specifically my parents, feel quite hopeless.

The family visits Sudan every year but has never been caught in a situation like this before.

The situation in Khartoum is chaotic; Abbadi said a family member that was injured tried to go to the hospital and ran into a road block manned by armed forces who instructed her to turn around.

Another family member that lives five minutes away found a missile shell in her front yard. Its difficult to tell members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rival Rapid Support Forces apart and there are also plain clothed combatants.

The family is located about 10 minutes from the airport, where several key government buildings are located and where much of the fighting is occurring. But its now spreading into residential neighbourhoods as combatants seek shelter, Abbadi said.

Civilians are caught in the crossfire.

Because its Ramadan, theyre trying to go get bread to break their fast, Abbadi said. And those are the people that are getting hit and unfortunately killed.

In a statement, Global Affairs Canada said theyre advising all Canadians to avoid travelling to Sudan.

Canadians who are in Sudan are advised to shelter in place, stay away from windows, ensure that they have essential supplies, monitor local media and follow the advice of local authorities.

The embassy in Sudan has been closed but consular services are available by phone and telephone, they said.

Global Affairs Canada did not comment on any plans to evacuate Canadians from Sudan in the coming days or weeks.

They added there are 1,535 Canadians in Sudan registered with the Registration of Canadians Abroad Service, but thats only an estimate of how many Canadians are there as registration is voluntary.

Abbadi said shes frustrated because it feels like Canada reacted more swiftly to assist Canadians trapped abroad in other global conflicts.

As citizens I thought, in a situation like this, maybe they cant evacuate us but at least come up with a plan to reassure us, Abbadi said. Its unfortunate but to be honest, we feel like were on our own.

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For the first time in the programs 32-year history, Canadas latest Heritage Minute featured the largely untold stories of South Asian Canadians.

The new episode explores the founding of Paldi, B.C., one of Canadas first multicultural communities founded by South Asian immigrants. Its release was timed to mark Sikh Heritage Month, which runs through April.

This Heritage Minute introduces the mill town of Paldi, BC, through the eyes of a Sikh woman, Bishan Kaur.

The video follows Bishan Kaur  wife of town founder Mayo Singh  and her experiences as Paldi grew from a small lumber camp into a thriving, multicultural town.

After landing in B.C. at the turn of the 20th century, Singh, along with 35 other Sikh lumbermen, established the Mayo Lumber Company on Vancouver Island in 1917. As the settlement grew, buildings were erected  there were bunkhouses, cookhouses, a school and also a Sikh gurdwara and Japanese temple.

In 1936, the town received its name with the arrival of an official post office. They settled on Paldi  named after Singhs home in Punjab, more than 10,000 kilometres away.

Paldi, B.C. was a small community in size, but its impact on Canada and the lives of the South Asian community endures to this day, said Anthony Wilson-Smith, president and CEO of Historica Canada, the films creator, in a news release.

In many ways, the struggles, resilience, contributions and ultimate triumphs of those living in Paldi reflect the larger picture of the evolution of inclusive multiculturalism across all of Canada.

And yet, the town wouldnt last. In 1940, Paldis vibrant Japanese community was among the first to disappear. Japanese residents were forced into internment camps by the Canadian government during World War II and few returned. The mill closed soon after, causing many other residents to leave.

The town is still there but isnt really functioning as a commercial site, said Satwinder Bains in a CBC interview. She was a consultant on the episode and is a professor of Asian studies at the University of the Fraser Valley.

Right now its got a few people living there, theres a Sikh temple there, but its importance is as a significant settlement site for South Asians who came to Canada as migrants in the early 1900s  and then Japanese and Chinese immigrants as well.

Founder Singh died in 1955, recognized as a beloved philanthropist. His family maintains a strong connection with the town to this day; his grandson currently serves as president of the Paldi Historic Gurdwara.

Historica Canada did not respond to the Stars requests for comment before publication.

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CALGARY - A man convicted in the death of his malnourished son who died of sepsis and untreated diabetes will have to wait months for his chance to take the stand at an Alberta fatality inquiry.

Alexandru Radita was 15 and weighed 37 pounds when he was brought to a Calgary hospital in May 2013. His parents, Emil and Rodica Radita, were found guilty in 2017 of first-degree murder.

Emil Radita has been watching the proceeding from prison and has been asking questions throughout. He intends to testify, but the inquiry has been adjourned until June while the court decides if it wants to call one more witness.

He did not testify at his trial.

Court heard the boy was hospitalized twice due to malnutrition and taken into foster care before later being returned to his parents, who moved to Calgary in 2008. They refused to accept the boy had diabetes when he was initially diagnosed in British Columbia with the disease in 2000, the trial heard.

A fatality inquiry into the teens death began last September and resumed in March so the judge could hear from further witnesses, including those from B.C. child welfare.

The purpose of the inquiry is to determine how to prevent similar deaths and does not make findings of legal responsibility.

An expert on medical care and the use of pharmacological remedies was the lone witness called to testify on Wednesday.

Dr. Ann Crabtree, a clinical associate professor in the Cumming School of Medicine at the University of Calgary, said with a chronic disease such as diabetes there are no alternative medicines.

There are no natural health products that are medically recognized to appropriately treat either infection or diabetes, said Crabtree.

She said when it comes to a younger patient, any change at all in the amount of insulin needs to be approved by a qualified physician.

You wouldnt be prescribing a reduction in insulin without a medical assessment of some kind, asked Justice Sharon Van de Veen of the Alberta Court of Justice, previously called provincial court.

Absolutely not, replied Crabtree.

There would be changes in management of a dose of insulin given an ongoing assessment of a patients blood sugar.

Van de Veen has interviewed school, medical and government officials from Alberta and British Columbia during the inquiry. She has said she wants to find a way in her final report to make sure the same sort of situation doesnt happen again.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden (AP)  The age of the airman charged in one of the most significant U.S. intelligence leaks in recent memory  just 21  has been the focus of a growing question: Why would the nation give someone so young access to some of its most important secrets?

But the airmans age has not come up as a focus of the Pentagons investigation into how the documents were leaked. That investigation instead is targeting what security lapses took place that allowed Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira to allegedly remove the top secret level documents from the Massachusetts National Guard base where he worked.

For the Pentagons leaders, who have seen 17- and 18-year-olds serve, age isnt the issue.

The vast majority of our military is young, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him in Sweden on Wednesday. Its not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. Thats thats really not the issue.

Teixeira was charged Friday in the U.S. District Court in Boston with unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information. He has not entered a plea, and his lawyer didnt speak to reporters at the courthouse after his initial appearance. He was supposed to appear in court Wednesday for a detention hearing, but it was delayed, with no new date set.

The leaked documents exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on Russias war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

In Sweden, where Austin met with Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in a show of support for that countrys NATO bid, Jonson said the issue of the leaks did not come up.

I can just say that we have good intelligence cooperation between Sweden and the United States, Jonson said. We feel completely sure of the U.S. commitment of handling the situation.

The Air Force is investigating how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, and in the meantime it has taken away the intelligence mission from the unit where the leaks took place, Air Force leaders said Tuesday.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress he has directed the Air Force inspector general to look at the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira served, and at anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong.

For top secret information across the military, theres supposed to be accountable control officers who are responsible for recording active top secret documents and ensuring they have been either properly secured or disposed of, such as through a shredder or by burning them.

In addition, the Air Force is conducting a service-wide review of how each command handles classified information, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown told a Congress subcommittee Tuesday.

The Air Forces own reviews are on top of a military-wide review directed on Monday by Austin. Austin has ordered that all military facilities that handle classified information report to him within 45 days on how they access, share, store and destroy the nations secrets following the leaks.

Teixeira is accused of posting the highly classified material in a geopolitical chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He was arrested by heavily armed tactical agents at his Massachusetts home last week and charged under the Espionage Act.

___

Copp reported from Washington.

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Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry has stressed the need to deal with the conflict in Sudan as an internal matter, urging against interference from any external party in a way that exacerbates the conflict.

Shoukry made his statements in three separate phone calls on Wednesday with UK Foreign Secretary James Cleverly, Chads Foreign Minister Mohamed Salih Al-Nadif and Oman's Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad Albusaidi, to review the latest developments of the Sudanese crisis.

Egypt's top diplomat stressed to his counterparts the necessity of integrating all international and regional efforts to contain the crisis, according to statements by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Shoukry also reiterated his call for a ceasefire as soon as possible, stressing the need for the two conflicting parties "to listen to the voice of reason and spare the bloodshed of the brotherly Sudanese people," added the statement.

Cleverly expressed his country's "deep" concern about the developments in Sudan, agreeing to continue coordinating efforts to contain the crisis.



Shoukry and his Omani counterpart urged for implementing the recommendations of the last emergency meeting of the Arab League Council at the level of permanent delegates.



During an emergency meeting of the Arab League (AL) on Sunday, Sudan's Representative to AL Al-Sadiq Omar Abdullah called on Arab states to mediate in order to reach a calm and peaceful settlement in Sudan "away from international interventions."

In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Shoukry said Egypt has been in direct communication with both parties to the conflict in Sudan and is encouraging them to cease hostilities and return to dialogue.

Violence in Sudan erupted early on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in 2021: Army Chief Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, who commands the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

Thousands of Sudanese have fled Khartoum, according to AFP on Wednesday, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed. Around 200 civilians are estimated to have been killed in the fighting so far.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  A federal watchdog is investigating whether the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration under chief Anne Milgram improperly awarded millions of dollars in no-bid contracts to hire her past associates, people familiar with the probe told The Associated Press.

Among the spending under scrutiny by the Justice Departments Office of Inspector General is $4.7 million for strategic planning and communication and other contracts that were used to hire people Milgram knew from her days as New Jerseys attorney general and as a New York University law professor  at costs far exceeding pay for government officials.

At least a dozen people have been hired under such contracts, including some in Milgrams inner circle handling intelligence, data analytics, community outreach and public relations  work often requiring security clearances and traditionally done by DEAs own 9,000-person workforce.

Also under scrutiny is $1.4 million to a Washington law firm for a recent review of the DEAs scandal-plagued foreign operations that was widely criticized for giving short shrift to agent misconduct and how to prevent it. That review was co-authored by Boyd Johnson, former right-hand man to one of Milgrams closest friends, Preet Bharara, when he was U.S. Attorney in Manhattan. Bharara himself landed at the firm, WilmerHale, even as the review was being conducted.

Some of these deals look very swampy, said Scott Amey, general counsel of the nonpartisan Project on Government Oversight, noting that federal contracting is not intended to bypass the government hiring process and should be conducted with no preferential treatment and avoiding even the appearance of a conflict of interest. Contractors are also prohibited from performing inherently governmental functions such as directing federal employees.

Contracts should never be awarded based on who you know, Amey said.

WIDENING INQUIRY

Details of the widening inquiry, which began several months ago in response to employee complaints, came from several people interviewed by the Inspector Generals office who discussed the ongoing probe and provided contracting documents on the condition of anonymity. If misconduct is found, the Inspector General can recommend anything from administrative sanctions to criminal prosecution.

The probe comes as the DEA is struggling with repeated revelations of agent misconduct that have rocked the federal narcotics agency and a fentanyl crisis claiming more than 100,000 overdose deaths a year that Milgram has called the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced.

The DEA declined to make Milgram available for an interview or to discuss the investigation and specific contracts, instead releasing a statement.

DEA has acted with urgency to set a new vision, target the global criminal networks responsible for hundreds of thousands of American deaths, raise public awareness about how just one pill can kill, and promote and recruit hundreds of highly talented people, it said. These changes have been made through an extensive and multi-part process, and we are committed to ensuring that DEA is working relentlessly to protect the national security, safety, and health of the American people.

Anthony Coley, a former Justice Department spokesman who has known Milgram for 15 years, said the investigation may stem from employees who arent happy with such organizational change and are seeking ways to push back or undermine it, even if the underlying allegations arent true.

But thats what inspectors general are for, he said, to call balls and strikes.

MANDATE TO CLEAN HOUSE

With a tough New Jersey bravado and data-driven Moneyball approach to the war on drugs, the 52-year-old Milgram came to the DEA nearly two years ago with a mandate to clean house.

But the Biden appointee quickly ruffled feathers by pushing out several career DEA officials she viewed as part of a cliquish culture that allowed misconduct to flourish. Instead, she favored the counsel of newly installed attorneys and data crunchers who work with her in an isolated part of the 12th floor of DEA headquarters known as the bubble.

Milgram has also made a point to show zero tolerance for sexual misconduct and racism in the ranks, warning agents they may now be fired for certain first offenses  a departure from previous administrations.

One of her first actions was ordering an external review of the DEAs sprawling foreign operations, which spans 69 countries. It came in the wake of the high-profile arrest of Jose Irizarry, a disgraced agent now serving a 12-year federal prison sentence after confessing to laundering money for Colombian drug cartels and skimming millions from asset seizures and informants to fund an international joyride of fine dining, parties and prostitutes.

STUNNINGLY VAGUE

But those selected to carry out the review raised eyebrows. One, John Jack Lawn, is a DEA legend but the 87-year-olds insights date from his tenure leading the agency in the 1980s. After leaving government, Lawn headed the Century Council, a beverage industry group, which funded research into campus alcohol abuse that was conducted by Milgrams mother, a Rutgers University expert in the field.

Lawns co-author, Boyd Johnson, worked as a prosecutor on international drug cases before becoming a partner at WilmerHale. Both Johnson and Milgram have close ties to Bharara, who after being fired as U.S. attorney by President Donald Trump joined the NYU faculty alongside Milgram and together hosted the legal issues podcast Cafe Insider. Last year  as the foreign operations review was being conducted  Bharara joined WilmerHale. And this year, DEA hired away from the firm Milgrams former NYU research assistant to become her deputy chief of staff.

Competitive bidding rules for the review were sidestepped by the DEAs argument of unusual and compelling urgency, saying the threat of illicit foreign drugs to the health and safety of the American public has never been greater.

But instead of the projected six months to get the review out, it took nearly three times that long.

Its a complete waste of taxpayers money, said Matthew Donahue, who led DEAs foreign operations until he butted heads with Milgram and was transferred to Colombia, a demotion that prompted him to retire.

Donahue said he and several other DEA overseas veterans were never interviewed as part of the review, which scarcely mentioned Irizarry or other scandals, and borrowed heavily from publicly available audits and DEA operating manuals.

Its something that couldve been written in three days, he said.

Iowa Republican Sen. Chuck Grassley, a longtime voice against government waste and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, ripped WilmerHales review as stunningly vague and recently sent Johnson a letter requesting a range of records, background on his relationship with Milgram and asking whether she or anyone else at DEA requested edits of the report.

Though DEA originally billed this report as a comprehensive review of DEAs foreign operations strategy, the report glosses over or ignores serious shortcomings at the agency and spends much of its 49 pages quoting from publicly available documents that one could have pulled off a web site, Grassley wrote in the letter last week.

Neither Lawn, Johnson, Bharara nor WilmerHale responded to requests for comment.

NEW JERSEY TIES

Another no-bid contract under scrutiny went to Jose Cordero, a longtime New York City police official whose ties to Milgram go back to 2007 when as attorney general she named him New Jerseys first statewide director of gangs, guns and violent crime.

Together they overhauled the police department in Camden  then under state control due to soaring crime and corruption  by crunching crime stats and intelligence data in real time to deploy resources as needed. The approach won national praise as the homicide rate in what was then the countrys most dangerous city was slashed by nearly half.

We have a lot of culture to change, Milgram said in a 2014 TED talk on applying statistics to crime fighting. But the great news about all of it is that we know it works.

Less than three weeks after taking the top job at DEA, Milgram awarded Cordero what has become a nearly $400,000 contract to conduct data analysis of crime stats.

But Donahue said Corderos expertise in urban policing has less value to the DEA, which processes a flood of intelligence from foreign and domestic wiretaps, as well as informants, to dismantle cross-border criminal networks.

Cordero didnt respond to requests for comment.

THE CLEARING

Several of the hires in question joined DEA through The Clearing, a Washington-based federal contractor that provides outsourced administrative services to the DEA and other federal agencies.

The Clearings $4.7 million in billings to the DEA for strategic planning and communication consulting services over the past two years have accounted for 30% of its federal contracts during that period, records show.

Among those from The Clearing under scrutiny is Lena Hackett, a former Democratic congressional staffer and founder of Community Solutions, an Indianapolis consulting firm focused on public health and criminal justice. Milgram described her as her main partner in a policing reform project she established in Indianapolis while teaching at NYU.

Internal records show Hackett regularly briefs field offices, prepares policy statements and memos for Milgram and meets with families affected by the fentanyl crisis. For her services, the DEA budgeted $257 an hour  more than triple the hourly rate earned by the agencys top civil servants, including the head of community outreach.

Another brought in through The Clearing is Julia Pacetti, a New York City publicist who has led media campaigns for prominent public figures and authors.

According to documents, Pacettis firm JMP/Verdant collected $11,500 a month plus expenses to write news releases, handle interview requests and arrange news conferences work some DEA employees viewed as redundant given the agencys existing staff of public relations employees.

Several recent DEA news releases  including those announcing fentanyl busts as part of the agencys One Pill Can Kill enforcement surge  came not from the DEAs official email account but from Julia Pacetti-Verdant.

Neither The Clearing, Hackett nor Pacetti responded to requests for comment.

This looks terrible to taxpayers, said Don Fox, former acting director and general counsel of the Office of Government Ethics. The appearance is awful. ___ AP Researcher Rhonda Shafner contributed to this report from New York.

___

Contact APs global investigative team at Investigative@ap.org.

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BOWDOIN, Maine (AP)  A man confessed to killing four people, including his parents, and then firing on motorists on a busy interstate highway, just days after being released from prison, police said Wednesday.

Mike Sauschuck, commissioner of the Maine Department of Public Safety, called the shootings of four people at a home in Bowdoin and then three more people on Interstate 295 to the south in Yarmouth an attack on the soul of our state that shook neighbors, law enforcement and the state at large.

Its a shock to everybody, he told reporters in Augusta. You want to naturally say, That cant be happening here in Maine. But the reality is these senseless acts can and do happen everywhere.

The seven people shot in Maine were the latest victims of mass shootings in the U.S., whose targets included a Christian elementary school in Nashville, Tennessee; a bank in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Sweet Sixteen party in a small city in Alabama.

The gunman, Joseph Eaton, 34, had been released April 14 from the Maine Correctional Center in Windham, where he was picked up by his mother after completing a sentence for aggravated assault, police said. That crime was serious enough to prevent him from possessing a gun in Maine. Over the past decade he has been charged with more than a half-dozen crimes.

The shootings began in the small town of Bowdoin, where four people were killed Tuesday, with three bodies discovered in a home and one in a barn, police said. The victims in Bowdoin were identified Wednesday as Joseph Eatons parents, Cynthia Eaton, 62, and David Eaton, 66, along with their friends, homeowners Robert Eger, 72, and Patricia Eger, 62, police said.

After Joseph Eaton fled the home, a chaotic scene developed on a highway over 20 miles (32 kilometers) away in Yarmouth, where shots were fired at moving vehicles, police said. Joseph Eaton later told police he was firing on cars because he thought he was being followed by law enforcement. Several vehicles were hit by gunfire but the three people injured were a family all in the same car: Sean Halsey, 51; Justin Halsey, 29; and Paige Halsey, 25, police said. Paige Halsey remains in critical condition, police said Wednesday.

Joseph Eaton was found in a wooded area not far from a vehicle believed to be his own, police said. He was taken to Maine Medical Center, where he was treated and released without injury, police said.

Hes due to make an initial court appearance on Thursday.

Maine is a small state and has often been referred to as a single community, and I think Bowdoin epitomizes that. Im heartsick over this tragedy that occurred, and to the people and residences of this community, said Sagadahoc Sheriff Joel Merry.

The day before the shootings, an anguished man believed to be Joseph Eaton posted a roughly two-minute live video on Facebook criticizing people who he said are Christian and dont give people a second chance. What good does it do to hate somebody? he said, choking back tears on the video. You know, it destroys you.

On the day he was released from prison, the man believed to be Joseph Eaton posted on Facebook that he was feeling thankful. Its finally over. There are so many people I cant wait to see.

Moss confirmed that state police were aware of the video, and that its part of their investigation. Joseph Eaton, who was living in Bowdoin, was charged with four counts of murder but was not immediately charged in the highway shootings, she said. Eaton remained jailed and it was unclear if he had an attorney to speak on his behalf.

Police declined to release more information about the investigation into the shootings, which they described as ongoing. They declined to speculate on a possible motive or the weapon that was used. The origins and ownership of the firearms used remain unclear.

Betty Fagan, Joseph Eatons grandmother and the mother of victim Cynthia Eaton, said her grandson had been dropped off at a beach and spent the weekend alone after being retrieved from prison. The parents had come back to Maine but were planning to move to Kansas, where theyd lived previously, Fagan said.

She said she doesnt understand what went wrong. I couldnt believe it. I just couldnt believe he would do something like that, Fagan said from her home in Ocala, Florida.

Police declined to comment on Joseph Eatons living arrangements after leaving prison beyond saying his parents were helping him with accommodations. Police also did not comment on whether drugs or mental illness played a role in the killings.

Meanwhile in Bowdoin, Denise Pride, 58, a neighbor, said one of the victims was famous for delivering baked goods to neighbors on holidays. They were very kind people, Pride said. The neighbors were texting, shocked that it happened, and to them.

A relative to the family shot on the highway, Ian Halsey of Bowdoinham, said that two of his cousins were shot and that his uncle suffered shrapnel injuries. None of the family knew the shooter, he said.

They were just passersby in the wrong place at the wrong time, he said of his family. Its horrible what happened.

___

Sharp reported from Portland. Associated Press writer Michael Casey in Boston contributed to this report.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  Russias invading forces are deliberately using rape, torture and kidnapping to try to sow terror among civilians in Ukraine, the top prosecutor in Ukraine told U.S. lawmakers in graphic testimony Wednesday.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Focusing on just one area of the country that has felt the brunt of the war, Kostin described some of the discoveries made when the Ukrainian military liberated Kherson last November. He said some 20 torture chambers were found and more than 1,000 survivors have reported an array of abuses, including the use of electric shocks, waterboarding, being forced to strip naked, and threats of mutilation and death.

Kostin said more than 60 cases of rape were documented in the Kherson region alone. In areas still controlled by Russian forces, residents, including children, are being forcefully relocated to other occupied territories or to Russia.

Such evil cannot let be, Kostin said.

He was asked about the motivations behind Russias tactics, but said he struggles to understand the brutality of the Russian forces in targeting civilians.

The only possible explanation is that they just want to erase Ukraine and Ukrainians from the land, Kostin said. Maybe because they want to really kill all of us.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee invited Kostin to testify. The chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, believes that spotlighting the brutality of Russias actions will show lawmakers and voters why the United States is in the right in supporting Ukraine.

This is happening right now. They are monsters and they need to be brought to justice, McCaul said. He added: These are more than war crimes. These are more than crimes against humanity. What we are witnessing in Ukraine is genocide.

McCaul also issued a challenge to fellow lawmakers, saying history will judge us by what we do here and now.

No country can remain neutral in the face of such evil, McCaul said.

Congress approved about $113 billion in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022 to assist Ukraine. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine as long as it takes to repel the Russian invasion, though support for that aid has softened, polling shows.

Congressional leaders anticipate that Ukraine will need billions of dollars in additional assistance in the months ahead.

Ukraine is preparing to launch a counteroffensive in an attempt to regain territory lost to Russian troops. McCaul said he would like to see the U.S. back Ukraines efforts to retake Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized in 2014, so it could negotiate for a cease-fire from a stronger position. He is pushing for the U.S. and its allies to provide Ukraine with long-distance artillery and F-16 fighter jets for the counteroffensive.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that he spoke by telephone with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and thanked him for bipartisan support from Congress. Zelenskyy also outlined the situation at the front and Ukraines urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft.

The House committee also heard from a war crimes survivor, a 57-year-old woman, who said she was taken to a torture chamber for five days, beaten, forced to strip and endured threats of rape and murder. At one point, she was forced to dig her own grave. She said her house was looted. She has escaped, but other Ukrainians still experience such treatment in Russian-controlled territories, she said.

These terrible crimes need to be stopped, she told lawmakers. Her identity was not revealed out of concerns about retribution.

Kostin said exposing atrocities is not enough.

Only with discovering and determining truth, bringing perpetrators to responsibility and providing adequate reparations to victims and survivors, we can say justice has been done, Kostin said.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. But the practical implications are limited as the chances of Putin facing trial at the court are highly unlikely because Moscow does not recognize the courts jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.

McCaul told The Associated Press he will press for the Department of Justice and FBI agents to assist prosecutors in Ukraine, even as he doubts there will ever be a full reckoning for the war crimes.

I dont know whats going to happen, how this is going to end, McCaul said. But at least therell be historical documentation about what they did, for generations to read about the atrocities.

____

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

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MONTREAL - The Quebec government is modifying the provinces anti-tobacco law to crack down on vaping, including by banning the sale of flavoured products.

The new regulations tabled Wednesday would prevent the sale of vape products in flavours other than tobacco, cap the nicotine content to 20 milligrams per millilitre, and limit the size of capsules and refill containers.

The new rules would also restrict the sale of vaping products in the form of a toy, a jewel, a food, an animal or a real or fictional character or any other form, appearance or function which may be attractive to minors, according to a draft in the official government journal, Gazette officielle du Quebec.

Health Minister Christian Dube says the changes are designed to better protect Quebecers, especially young people.

Banning flavoured vapes is excessively important to the government, and follows a similar move to ban flavoured cigarettes a few years ago, he told reporters in Quebec City.

The government cited data showing the number of high school students who reported having vaped in the prior 30 days more than quintupled between 2013 and 2019, to 21 per cent from four per cent.

Isabelle Charest, minister responsible for sports and recreation, said over 90 per cent of the vapes used by minors are sweetened or flavoured.

The important thing for us is to limit the attraction of these products, which could lead them to developing an attraction for tobacco and become smokers for all their lives, she said alongside Dube.

The Heart and Stroke Foundation welcomed the news, noting that vape flavour bans are in force in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

More than a quarter of young people started smoking cigarettes after they started vaping because they are addicted to nicotine, Kevin Bilodeau, the groups director for Quebec government relations, said in a statement.

This is why the proposed limit on the concentration of nicotine in vaping products is excellent news, especially since we know that nicotine is harmful to developing brains.

In an interview, Bilodeau said the anti-tobacco groups research also shows that the availability of flavours, including fruit, mint and menthol, are an important reason why young people start and continue to vape.

Flavours are special because at first taste we can think its inoffensive or not dangerous, but in fact its the way used by the industry to attract new consumers.

The official gazette noted that the new rules would likely result in lower revenue and job losses for some businesses and in particular for boutiques that specialize in vaping products.

Eric Gagnon, the vice-president of legal and external affairs at Imperial Tobacco Canada, said the company is disappointed in the decision. In a phone interview, he said that while vaping is not harmless, health experts have found it to be preferable to smoking. He noted that even Health Canadas website suggests vaping nicotine can help adults give up cigarettes.

Gagnon said that while the company agrees that minors should neither smoke nor vape, it doesnt think prohibition works.

Its not by banning flavours that youre going to stop youth that are vaping to vape, he said. Whats going to happen is theyre going to buy these products illegally.

He said governments would be better off attacking the problem through education and awareness, and by cracking down on those who sell to minors.

Dube acknowledged that some people who want flavoured vapes will be able to procure them illegally or online, but he said banning their sale in the province was still the right thing to do, noting that similar calculations had been made when the state restricted cigarette flavours.

We know there will be contraband, we know people might be able to get it over the internet, were aware, he said.

But the same way we limited flavours for cigarettes, the same for cannabis, were saying, its not legal, dont do it.

The government has 45 days to hear from and consult with any concerned parties. The regulation is expected to come into effect 90 days after it was published in the gazette.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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OTTAWA During otherwise uneventful testimony last week from the prime ministers top aide about allegations of foreign meddling in Canadian elections, one exchange did pique the interest of experts and parliamentarians alike.

It involved the powers U.S. presidents have to declassify intelligence in situations that call for transparency  and whether such a process could unfold in Canada.

When posed the question by NDP MP Rachel Blaney at the House of Commons procedure and house affairs committee on Friday, Justin Trudeaus chief of staff Katie Telford appeared interested in the notion.

Its a very good question, and one I have been asking many questions about myself for the last while, replied Telford, noting that from her initial probing into the matter, the answer is not as straightforward as it is south of the border.

I dont feel expert enough yet, but I can tell you Ive been asking a lot of questions on this in the last little while, she said.

Telford underwent more than two hours of grilling about how much the government knew about allegations reported in The Globe and Mail and Global News that Beijing sought to influence Canadas federal elections in 2019 and 2021. Those attempts reportedly included efforts to support and fund a network of at least 11 candidates  mostly Liberals  in 2019.

Much of Telfords testimony was watered down due to strict limits on what she could discuss publicly regarding national security and intelligence matters, despite calls from opposition MPs for the government to increase transparency by releasing records that could shed light on the allegations.

In the U.S., the way sensitive information is classified is established through executive orders, which are issued by presidents and direct how the government operates. Typically, officials can declassify information at the behest of a president, or, in rarer cases, presidents can directly release information themselves.

In Canada, we have no system like this. No one who works in government has a clearly delineated system or framework to think about declassification, said Wesley Wark, a national security expert and senior fellow at the Centre for International Governance Innovation.

Theres nothing equivalent  to declassify records on specific subjects or within specific time frames, said Wark, who said he was struck by Telfords declaration that she had been asking questions about the issue.

Tim Sayle, an expert on the history of intelligence and director of the international relations program at the University of Toronto, also found the exchange fascinating.

Were the only Five Eyes country  the intelligence alliance also includes the U.S., the U.K, Australia and New Zealand  without a declassification framework. I dont think Canadians know that, he said.

The Treasury Board and the federal Justice Department are responsible for maintaining government security and deciding what information is released or redacted, Wark said. Even so, he noted, there are no formal processes that outline exactly how and when information should be declassified.

Complicating matters are a suite of outdated laws: the Access to Information Act, the Security of Information Act, and the Canadian Security Intelligence Service Act. Each in some way governs what kinds of information can be publicly released, how sensitive records are categorized and defined, and limitations on the Canadian Security Intelligence Services powers and with whom it can share its intelligence.

Last month, Trudeau tasked Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc and Privy Council clerk Janice Charette with addressing recommendations from the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians and other reports into foreign interference threats in Canadian elections. The report concluded that one of the next gaps for Ottawa to tackle is updating those laws and further increasing transparency and communications with Canadians about the threat of foreign interference.

A senior government source, speaking on the condition they not be named, told the Star there are ongoing conversations within the Public Safety Department around reviewing those laws and potentially amending the Criminal Code to make foreign interference a criminal offence.

The source said any concrete plans for reviews will likely materialize in a package of reforms that could surface sometime this year.

The NDPs Blaney, meanwhile, told the Star that Telfords interest in her question signals theres something that isnt working in the process, and that she wants to see legislative changes introduced swiftly.

If some of these issues can be dealt with simply by unclassifying information and clearing the air, it would certainly make a difference for Canadians who are worried about our democratic institutions, Blaney said.

Nevertheless, allowing a prime minister to rule on what information is declassified and what remains shielded from public view  a concept that would not be easily replicated within Canadas Westminster system of government  is a thorny issue.

The problem is, without a really obvious and clear system to do it, theres the risk of being seen as politicized or advantageous to the government thats releasing it, said Sayle, given that the recent reports involve allegations that Beijing favoured the governing Liberals.

Its going to raise other questions about why was this information released, why was other information not released, Sayle said.

For the prime minister just to decide to release something on his own, I think would create a lot of questions and concerns and maybe create new speculation.

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OTTAWAThe Trudeau government is appointing its Japanese ambassador as the envoy in charge of lifting its $2.3-billion Indo-Pacific Strategy ambitions off the page.

In naming Ian McKay lead Indo-Pacific envoy and co-ordinator, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly is betting on a fixer who has diplomatic, political, and business connections in the region  and was once credited for rescuing Canadas signature on the trans-Pacific free trade treaty  to implement a ream of actions spanning 17 government departments to ensure the strategy doesnt gather dust on a shelf.

Its a tall order, especially for a diplomat halfway around the world who already has a full-time job.

At a time when Canadians are grappling with allegations of Chinese government interference and a lot of political talk about the need to friend-shore supply chains, the choice of McKay also attempts to put a region-friendly face on a still-new foreign policy, one that identifies China as a disruptive player and other Pacific allies as desirable regional partners.

McKay, 59, is a lot of formers: former financial markets executive in New York, Tokyo, London and Vancouver, former head of the federal investment promotion agency Invest in Canada, former Liberal government adviser under two prime ministers (Jean Chretien and Paul Martin), former Liberal candidate and former head of the Liberal Party of Canada.

Hes also a former exchange student from B.C. who fell in love with Japan at age 16, learned the language, and later ended up living and working there for about 14 years.

Liberal government officials see him as a personification of the people-to-people ties push, the poster boy for a big part of what Joly hopes the strategy will achieve: a deeper engagement by Canadian students, entrepreneurs, academics, and diplomats in a region that comprises 40 countries, and three of the worlds largest economies: China, Japan and India.

McKay himself sees that as the biggest challenge of his job, the part that will take the most heavy lifting but will have the biggest impact, long term.

In an exclusive interview with the Star on Tuesday, after the end of the G7 foreign ministers meeting in Nagano, he said Canada already starts from a strong base when it comes to expanding its security, economic and climate policy work in the region. But the effort to build Canadian awareness across a whole bunch of sectors of all the opportunities that lie in the region, is very broad, almost open-ended, he said.

Part of that work will include overseeing opening new diplomatic posts in Hawaii and India. The strategy also outlines billions of dollars over the next five years to kick-start greater engagement beyond facilitating visas, travel, and new trade offices. It commits nearly half a billion alone towards more Canadian participation in international defence and security exercises to bolster Canadas claim to be a Pacific nation. Another three-quarters of a billion dollars is to increase Canadian investment in sustainable infrastructure in the region. And the list goes on.

The Trudeau government once hailed McKays role in nailing Canadas signature on the trans-Pacific free trade treaty after Trudeau left former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe and other leaders hanging in November 2017 at what was supposed to be a show of unity on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.

Trudeau later tapped McKay, then head of the Vancouver Economic Commission, to explain Ottawas objections in Tokyo to the deals proposed rules on auto-sector content, intellectual property, cultural and agricultural sector protections  an effort that led to side-deals that satisfied the concerns of Canada, Japan and other allies. China was left out of that deal and is still seeking to join.

McKay says Canadas new Indo-Pacific strategy is inclusive of China but he is eyes wide open on the challenge posed by China even as he recognizes it is a dominant force in this region and in the global economy.

He dismisses critics suggestions the strategy either too closely aligns with a hawkish U.S. or that it has further heightened tensions with China.

Look it, the dynamics of this region are shifting very, very rapidly. And so I think we would as a country regret not having built a comprehensive Indo-Pacific strategy in the years ahead, because I think that would make us weaker in terms of our dealings with China on a bilateral basis.

I think everybody needs to up their game in terms of how theyre dealing with the Indo-Pacific region, he said. And I think Canada has been very responsible to do it.

That said, he insists, we need to highlight to Canadians, in all walks of life, from every part of Canada, the opportunities that this strategy, that this part of the world, can offer to them because it does seem a long, long way away.

The fact McKay is based in Tokyo, not Ottawa, and that the Indo-Pacific co-ordination task is on top of his job as ambassador to Japan  which he took up two years ago  doesnt mean its a part-time job, he insisted.

Rather, McKay says, it makes sense to be based in Japan, a country with which Canada has had its longest standing diplomatic relationship in the region.

Its a pretty good launching pad to flesh out our strategy from a place that we know pretty well, we have a terrific relationship with and is probably our best ally and a real significant force in this region and has been for a long time.

It also is better than being based in the nations capital, he figures. No matter how you slice it, Ottawa is still 13 hours away from the closest part of the Indo-Pacific region.

Tonda MacCharles is Ottawa Bureau Chief and a senior reporter covering federal politics. Follow her on Twitter: @tondamacc

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The Alliance for the Union of Romania (AUR) calls for the depoliticization of the National Energy Regulatory Authority (ANRE) and the return to a regulated market, as it was before liberalization, AUR deputy Dan Tanasa said on Wednesday.

"ANRE's management will continue to be politically subservient, because the ruling coalition's Social Democratic Party (PSD), National Liberal Party (PNL) and Hungarian Democratic Union of Romania (UDMR) continued to share the leadership of ANRE among them. (...) All PSD, PNL and UDMR political cronies must be removed from ANRE's helm and truly patriotic specialists must be appointed instead to ensure that the market is legally controlled and verified. (...) The PSD, PNL and UDMR don't care that the Romanians are still being ripped off with their electricity bills," Tanasa told a press conference at Parliament.

The Chamber of Deputies and the Senate will gather on Wednesday in a joint session to vote in ANRE's president, vice-president and two members on the watchdog's Regulatory Committee, told Agerpres.
The National Public Health Institute (INSP) informs that in the week of April 10 - 16, 41.5 percent of the COVID-19 cases in Romania were reported by Bucharest City and the counties of Cluj, Iasi, Sibiu and Brasov combined.

As many as 4,201 new cases of SARS-CoV-2 infection were registered in the reporting period, and 40 COVID-related deaths: 19 men and 21 women, tolf Agerpres.

According to the Weekly Supervision Report, 48.3 percent of the confirmed cases were in persons not vaccinated against COVID-19.

Among the vaccinated who got sick, 49.8 percent were either immediately after vaccination or more than six months after the last dose.

INSP says that 50 percent of the total deaths were reported by the counties of Constanta, Iasi, Bihor, Sibiu and Tulcea combined. Also, 68.3 percent of the deaths were in unvaccinated people.

As of today, 86.5 percent of all COVID-19 deaths were in people over 60 years old, and 54.7 percent - in men, with 93.7 percent of the deaths having occurred in patients with at least one underlying condition.
Minister of Entrepreneurship and Tourism Daniel Cadariu on Wednesday said -- regarding the situation of grain imports from Ukraine -- that his ministry's Trade Policy Department has only technical powers to support the relevant ministries, adding that the Ministry of Agriculture is the maker of agricultural policy.

"At our ministry, there is a department of commercial policies; it's just that the powers of the department regard only supporting the relevant ministries. Romania's agricultural policy is made by the Ministry of Agriculture. So, not by us; we support from a technical point of view our representative office in Brussels. (...) On April 11, we notified the Ministry of Agriculture to let them know the ministry's position, what we should do. We actually received on April 12 a notice that did not say anything on the requested subject. I made public the content of the notice, which is posted on the website of the ministry," Cadariu told Parliament when asked about grain imports from Ukraine.

He went on to say that the department of the ministry only provides technical support, adding that "agricultural policy, decisions related to Romania's relationship with the EU on agricultural policy are made by the relevant ministry in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs."

Asked if there is a shift of blame between the ministries, the minister said: "At the moment I would refrain from making such assessments."

"We don't shift anything. The moment we receive a clear request from a relevant ministry, we take the necessary actions alongside our permanent representation at the EU. These are our duties and nothing more," Cadariu said.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism announced that on April 11 it asked the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development ( MADR), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and the Presidential Administration for points of view on the extension of the provisions of the European Regulation on temporary trade-liberalisation measures supplementing trade concessions applicable to products from Ukraine, but did not receive information regarding the impact of this regulation on Romania, nor any other information to substantiate the aspects highlighted by MADR, told Agerpres.
Kenyas president, who is among mediators tasked with brokering peace in Sudan, on Wednesday called for an end to the fighting in the country, warning it could destabilize the region.

President William Ruto also urged Sudan's rival parties to allow access to humanitarian aid and cooperate with a mission from a regional body of Eastern African countries, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

Sudans military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, have been fighting for five days  killing nearly 300 people, according to the United Nations health agency.

IGAD leaders on Sunday issued a resolution calling for an end to hostilities in Sudan  which currently chairs the regional group.

Kenya's Ruto said the situation in Sudan "is evolving into a threat to regional and international peace and security, and deplored that diplomats have been targeted in the fighting.

A pattern of systematic violation of established norms and principles of international humanitarian laws is clearly emerging, he said.

Sudan borders Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya and Egypt.

The International Crisis Group's Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell said the fighting could have an impact on the region.

Sudan is surrounded by fragile countries, many already immerged in conflicts. What happens in Sudan will not stay in Sudan, he told the Associated Press.

Ruto said that, beyond a cessation of hostilities in Sudan, sustainable peace, security and stability should be pursued.

It is time to silence the guns in our region and continent so that we can focus on the urgent work of enabling our people to pursue opportunities and actualize their aspirations, in peace and tranquility. Time is of the essence, he said.

Kenya plans to evacuate about 3,000 of its citizens living in Sudan in the event of a ceasefire.

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The Chamber of Deputies rejected on Wednesday by a vote of 83 to 174 and one abstention the simple motion initiated by the Save Romania Union and the Force of the Right against Agriculture Minister Petre Daea.

The initiators of the motion titled "From the breadbasket of Europe to the disgrace of Europe. Minister Daea deliberately destroys Romanian agriculture" demanded the dismissal of the minister, for "agriculture to become Romania's strong point".

The motion was debated in plenary sitting on Tuesday, told Agerpres.
Sanda Manu, theater director and professor at the Theater Faculty of the Spiru Haret University, died at the age of 89, the Romanian Theater Union stated for AGERPRES.

The sad news was also announced by the actress Oana Pellea on her Facebook page, who said that Sanda Manu was, for four years, her "father, professor, mentor, enemy, best friend - so an ideal teacher".

"She taught rigor and emotion to several generations, she taught the intelligence of the stage act, common sense on stage and common sense in life, the elegance, class that an actor must have," Oana Pellea said.

The actor Mihai-Gruia Sandu said that the death of Sanda Manu leaves the theater world poorer, more superficial, lacking respect, faith, humour, good taste and sophistication.

"Sanda Manu... She was and remains my professor...", the actor Vlad Radescu wrote.

In his turn, the actor Andi Vasluianu sent a message thanking Sanda Manu "for everything".

"May God rest you in peace!", Vasluianu said.

The actors Victoria Cocias, Ioana Calota-Philippide, Bacs Miklos, director Paul Cozighian also posted messages of condolence on the social media page.

Sanda Manu was born on August 6, 1933 and was married to the actor Stefan Tapalaga.
On Wednesday, the European Commission (EC) decided to send an additional letter of formal notice to Romania for an incorrect transposition of EU rules on racism and xenophobia, asking the country to correctly transpose EU law on hate speech and hate crimes, according to a press release published by the EC Representation in Bucharest.

The aim of the framework decision on combating racism and xenophobia by means of criminal law is to ensure that serious manifestations of racism and xenophobia, such as public incitement to violence or hatred, are punishable by effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties throughout the European Union.The European Commission had sent a letter of formal notice to Romania in October 2020. Romania responded to the letter of formal notice, and in June 2022, Romania adopted a new legislation aiming at solving the issues of incorrect transposition raised by the commission. The commission carefully assessed the new legislation and concluded that the amendments solve the issues raised in the letter of formal notice. However, the new legislation adds an element which narrows the scope of the criminalisation of hate speech in a way that is incompatible with the framework decision. For this reason, the commission decided to send an additional letter of formal notice to Romania who now has two months to take the necessary measures to address the shortcomings identified. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the commission may decide to send Romania a reasoned opinion.Also on Wednesday the European Commission decided to open an infringement procedure by sending a letter of formal notice to the Netherlands and Romania for failing to correctly transpose the directive on the right of access to a lawyer and to communicate upon arrest. The purpose of the directive is to ensure that suspects and accused persons in criminal proceedings and persons requested in European Arrest Warrant (EAW) proceedings have access to a lawyer from the earliest stages of the proceedings; and that those who are deprived of liberty may inform and communicate with third persons, such as their employer or family members, as well as with consular authorities.Romania failed to correctly transpose exceptions from the right to have a third person informed of deprivation of liberty and the legal conditions under which a suspect or accused person may choose not to exercise the right of access to a lawyer. Dutch law provides for exceptions from the right of access to a lawyer in EAW proceedings, which are not allowed under the directive.Romania and the Netherlands now have two months to take the necessary measures to address the shortcomings identified by the commission. In the absence of a satisfactory response, the commission may decide to send them a reasoned opinion.
The Commission decided to send reasoned notices to Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Romania for not ensuring the proper implementation of Directive (EU) 2014/89RO establishing a framework for the development of Maritime Spatial Plans, according to a release of the European Executive.

The Directive sets out a common approach for EU countries to plan their maritime areas. Maritime spatial planning aims to organise human activities in marine areas to meet various ecological, economic and social objectives. Amongst these objectives there are the development of a sustainable blue economy, the sustainable use of marine resources, and the conservation of healthy marine ecosystems and biodiversity.''The implementation of the Directive is essential to achieve these objectives as part of the European Green Deal. The Directive requires coastal EU Member States to draw up maritime spatial plans no later than 31 March 2021, and to submit copies of the plans to the Commission and other Member States concerned within three months of their publication. However, Bulgaria, Greece, Italy, Cyprus and Romania have still not established and sent copies of their maritime spatial plans to the Commission. Therefore, the Commission has decided to send them reasoned opinions. They now have two months to respond and take the necessary measures to address the shortcomings identified. Otherwise, the Commission may decide to refer the case to the Court of Justice of the European Union," the communication informed.Through its monthly package of decisions on non-fulfillment of obligations, the European Commission pursues legal action against member states that have not fulfilled their obligations under EU legislation.These decisions, which target various sectors and policy areas of the EU, aim to ensure the proper application of EU legislation, for the benefit of citizens and businesses.
Any measure that will be taken will comply with the European Union regulation, in order not to affect Romanian farmers, prime minister Nicolae Ciuca said on Wednesday, referring to the Social Democratic party (PSD)'s request to suspend grain imports from Ukraine, mentioning that our country can make decisions together with the European Commission.

"As you are well aware, we have decided, together with five other prime ministers, to submit a request to the Commission for a concrete analysis of the situation regarding the impact of grain imports from Ukraine and, in particular, the transit of grain from Ukraine, on the price of certain quotas of agricultural products. So far, I can tell you that this afternoon there will be a meeting chaired by Commission Vice-President Dombrovskis, where our requests will be analysed and we hope that at the end of this meeting we will receive a reply to the letter we submitted," said Ciuca, in Parliament.

"We have to take into account that in Romania we receive and distribute 3 billion euros annually from the European Commission for direct support, 2 billion for farmers and a billion and something for investments. We need, in this context, the measures we take to have a consensus and also to be directed in such a way as to support, not to affect," added the prime minister.

According to him, there are several categories of products affected and there are discussions not only on the import of raw cereals, but also honey, oil, milk, including chicken meat, told Agerpres.

Asked how he sees the PSD's request to suspend cereal imports, Ciuca said: "Any measure we take we will take in such a way that we comply with the European Union regulation and do it in such a way that it does not affect Romanian farmers."
President Klaus Iohannis, who is on an official visit to Brazil for two days, met on Wednesday with the vice-governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Pampolha Goncalves, and with the vice-mayor of the city, Nilton Caldeira.

The meeting with the vice-governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro took place at the Guanabara Palace, the official seat of the government of the state of Rio de Janeiro. In the presence of the head of state, a memorandum of understanding was signed on cooperation in the field of environment. The document was signed by the vice-governor Thiago Pampolha Goncalves and the Romanian ambassador to Brazil, Monica-Mihaela Stirbu.Also on Wednesday, the head of state met with the vice mayor of the city, Nilton Caldeira, at the headquarters of the Rio de Janeiro city hall.According to the Presidential Administration, the head of state highlighted in the discussions with the representatives of the local authorities the special relations of Romania with Brazil, respectively with Rio de Janeiro, pointing out the fact that, 95 years ago, with the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries, our country established his first legation in Latin America in this city."The President of Romania emphasized the active role of the Romanian community in Brazil in the promotion and development of relations between the two peoples, especially in the cultural field", indicates the quoted source.During the discussions, topical issues were addressed, including the dynamism of economic relations, the stimulation of trade exchanges and mutual investments, combating climate change and environmental protection, sustainable development, education and culture.President Iohannis presented the economic opportunities offered by Romania and invited investors from the region to come to our country, mentioning the fact that joint projects can be developed in several fields.The head of state specified that Rio de Janeiro is of special interest for Romania, being a defining economic, cultural and historical center for Brazil.President Iohannis encouraged the intensification of collaboration in the field of environment, appreciating the intense involvement of the authorities in Rio de Janeiro in aspects related to this field.The memorandum of understanding between the Romanian Ministry of Environment, Water and Forestry and the Government of the State of Rio de Janeiro aims at cooperation in the fields of adaptation to climate change, conservation of biodiversity and ecosystems, as well as forest management and monitoring."From the discussions with the local authorities, it emerged that both Rio de Janeiro and the cities in Romania face common challenges, such as the effects of climate change, air pollution in the urban environment and suboptimal waste management. In this sense, President Klaus Iohannis highlighted the fact that the transition to sustainable cities requires innovation, investments in research and development, but also international cooperation in order to learn from the good practices developed in different states", says the Presidential Administration.During the discussion with the local authorities in Rio de Janeiro, the head of state noted the importance of parks for the quality of life in the urban environment, but also the need to protect urban forests, including from wildfires, expressing his openness to closer cooperation between the two countries in these fields, indicates the quoted source."The President of Romania noted that a successful green transition also requires investments in education, stressing the fact that education regarding climate change and the environment, especially for young people, is another area in which Romania and Brazil can cooperate, at the central level, but also at the local level", said the Presidential Administration.Also on Wednesday, the head of state laid a wreath at the National Monument of Fallen Heroes during World War II.President Klaus Iohannis ends his two-day official visit to Brazil on Wednesday. On Tuesday, in Brasilia, the head of state met with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and visited the Memorial Museum dedicated to President Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, the founder of the city.The head of state is on a tour of Latin America until April 26. After Brazil, the first visit at the head of state level in the last 23 years, the next stages of the South American tour carried out by the head of state are the official visits to Chile and Argentina, the first of this level in the last ten years, respectively in the last 30 year old.
On Wednesday, president Klaus Iohannis continues his two-day official visit to the Federative Republic of Brazil, meeting with local authorities in Rio de Janeiro, according to the official agenda.

The Romanian president will meet with the vice-governor of the state of Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Pampolha Goncalves, and with the vice-mayor of the city, Nilton Caldeira, told Agerpres.

Also, Klaus Iohannis will lay a wreath at the National Monument of fallen heroes during the World War II.

According to the Presidential Administration, the core objective of this visit is to deepen, diversify and bolster the bilateral relationship with Brazil, Romania's main commercial partner in Latin America and the Caribbean. The visit also aims, considering the level of commercial exchanges, which is below the potential offered by the two markets, the promotion of Romania as an attractive economic partner, with an emphasis on opportunities for cooperation and investments in industry, energy, agriculture, IT and other sectors.

President Klaus Iohannis is on a tour of Latin America until April 26. On Tuesday and Wednesday he is in Brazil, this being the first visit at the president level in the last 23 years. In this context, on Tuesday, in Brasilia, the Romanian president met with his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and visited the memorial museum dedicated to the president Juscelino Kubitschek de Oliveira, the founder of the city.

The next stages of the South American tour carried out by the Romanian president are the official visits to the Republic of Chile and the Republic of Argentina, the first of this level in the last ten years, and in the last 30 years, respectively.
The head of the Senate's defence committee, Nicoleta Pauliuc, on Wednesday discussed with the Ambassador of the United States of America in Romania, Kathleen Ann Kavalec, about Romania's desideratum to be included in the Visa-Waver Program, which would ensure the access of Romanian citizens to the USA, without a visa.

According to a press release of the Senate sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday, during the Pauliuc-Kavalec meeting, topics related to Romanian-American cooperation in the political, economic, defence and security fields were discussed.Pauliuc wished the US ambassador success in fulfilling her mandate, assuring her of her full support, for all aspects related to the common interest of our countries on a bilateral, European and international level.On the political level, Senator Pauliuc emphasized the importance of increasing and diversifying the areas in which there is common bilateral interest, especially on the parliamentary level, in order to confirm the existing collaboration at the governmental level and within NATO. In this respect, he showed appreciation for the constant and significant support of the USA in the field of defence and security on NATO's Eastern Flank, in the context of the Russian aggression in Ukraine. The Romanian dignitary condemned, in the strongest terms, the Russian military actions against Ukraine, emphasizing the steps taken by Romania in humanitarian terms, for the reception of refugees, as well as in economic terms.At the same time, he pointed out the need for the two partner countries to continue, at a sustained and constant pace, to support the Republic of Moldova, both in its European course and through the prism of the neighbourhood with an armed conflict that affects the economic and social life of this state.Senator Pauliuc highlighted Romania's interest in increasing and diversifying cooperation with the USA in the field of defence and security, from a technical-military and economic point of view, by increasing American investments in Romania.The Romanian dignitary showed Romania's firm commitment to NATO and the Strategic Partnership with the United States, marked by numerous military collaborations and reinforced by the increase in the allocation of 2.5% of GDP for the defence budget.Nicoleta Pauliuc also spoke about the priorities of her political agenda, centred, in particular, on health policies - with an emphasis on policies regarding different types of cancer and combating human trafficking. At the same time, he made an exposition on the place and role of women in Romanian politics, emphasizing the special importance of their presence in the political field, according to the principles of meritocracy.
The discussions of the minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mikola Solski, in online format, will begin on Wednesday, around 2:30 p.m., under the conditions in which Romania supports the reintroduction of customs duties for grain imports from Ukraine (accelerated safeguarding) and ensuring only the transit to the states that need Ukrainian grain.

Moreover, on Wednesday, the discussions will take place, at the European level, in the Committee of Permanent Representatives of the governments of the member states next to the European Union (COREPER II) for the extension of Regulation 870 adopted on May 30, 2022 by which products from Ukraine are exempted from paying customs duties and transit to the EU and third countries is facilitated, told Agerpres.

The position of the Ministry of Agriculture was transmitted on April 12 by the minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, to the minister of Entrepreneurship and Tourism, Daniel Cadariu, MAT being the institution that exercises powers in the fields of commercial policy and European affairs.

"We appreciate that our country has already adopted a series of measures to streamline the flow of products originating in Ukraine to third countries, therefore the proposal to renew trade liberalization measures after the expiration of Regulation 2022/870 on June 5, 2023 incubates following a series of sensitive aspects," the MADR letter reads.

In a press release sent to AGERPRES on Tuesday, the Ministry of Entrepreneurship and Tourism announced that it requested, on April 11, MADR, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) and the Presidential Administration, points of view regarding the extension of the provisions of the European Regulation on temporary liberalization measures of trade in addition to the commercial concessions applicable to Ukrainian products, but did not receive information regarding the impact of this regulation at the level of Romania, nor any other information to substantiate the aspects highlighted by MADR.

Romanian farmers requested the Agriculture minister, Petre Daea, in the context of the discussion with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mikola Solski, the immediate restriction of imports of agricultural goods of Ukrainian origin, at least until the reintroduction of customs duties, through bilateral partnerships with Ukraine.

Also, the Forum of Professional Farmers and Processors from Romania demands the separation, in Romanian customs, of the flows of agricultural goods according to origin or the separation of the flows at different time intervals, so that there are no overlaps with the logistic flows of products of Ukrainian origin and Romanian (eg: per weeks, even/odd).

The organization also demands ensuring the traceability of imports through a strict quality control and avoiding ambiguities related to the origin of agricultural goods by applying in these situations some forms of monitoring already in use, such as the Ro E-Transport system.
Romania will restrict grain and oilseeds exports from Ukraine, will implement additional security measures for the means of transport transiting the country's territory and will introduce direct customs controls for all agri-food products coming from Ukraine, the Ministry of Agriculture and Development announced on Wednesday.

These decisions come after the discussion that the Minister of Agriculture, Petre Daea, had on Wednesday, online, with his Ukrainian counterpart, Mikola Solski, regarding the measures that Romania will take to protect Romanian farmers as a result of trade issues involving the grain and oilseeds from Ukraine. The two officials will meet on Friday, April 21, in Bucharest, to quickly put into practice the best solutions for both sides.According to the same source, the Romanian Minister of Agriculture conveyed to his Ukrainian counterpart that the Romanian state will implement additional security measures (sealing and monitoring) for the means of transport transiting the territory of Romania to third countries, to protect Romanian farmers who are facing difficulties due to the flow of Ukrainian grain. Daea reiterated that Romania, as a member state, supports the European Commission's efforts to support Ukraine in the face of Russian aggression and will continue to ensure the transit of grain from this country to third countries and traditional trade routes.At the same time, the Minister of Agriculture sent the Ukrainian side the request to quickly identify solutions to restrict the export of grain and oilseeds (sunflower, rapeseed) to Romania, considering the difficulties encountered by Romanian farmers.Last but not least, the Ukrainian minister was informed that, as of Wednesday, Romania will introduce direct customs controls, coordinated by the National Veterinary Sanitary and Food Safety Authority (ANSVSA), for all agri-food products coming from Ukraine, with sampling for qualitative determination in accordance with European legislation, and not at the destination as was the case until now.During the discussions, Minister Mikola Solski was informed about the approach taken by the ministers of agriculture from the five member states (Romania, Poland, Hungary, Bulgaria and Slovakia) to the European Commission to amend Regulation 870/2022, so that the corridor is ensured of transit to third countries, without affecting the farmers in the border states.Also, the Romanian side conveyed to the Ukrainian counterpart that a response is expected to the letter addressed to the European institutions by the four prime ministers and by the Bulgarian president regarding the solutions identified for the problems of farmers and the market.The two officials agreed to have a face-to-face meeting on Friday, April 21, 2023, in Bucharest, in order to quickly put into practice the best solutions for both sides, MADR representatives said.
Hanoi requires face masks in public places

Hanoi has again required people to wear face masks in public places and increase Covid-19 preventive measures as the city has reported a rising number of infections in recent days.













Hanoi requires face masks in public places



In an urgent document issued on April 18 by Hanoi vice chairman Vo Thu Ha, people are requested to wear face masks when using public transport or visiting public places including bars and dance clubs.



The move came after Hanoi witnessed a surge in the number of Covid-19 infections since early April. The city has also detected patients infected with the new Covid-19 XBB.1.9.1 sub-variant which is rapidly transmissible with a mild clinical course and is classified by the World Health Organisation as a variant under monitoring.



Hanoi currently has 566 Covid-19 cases being treated, including two severe cases requiring mechanical ventilation. There are nearly 100 new infections reported daily. The director of the Department of Preventive Medicine, Phan Trong Lan, said that the number of new cases may rise.



He stressed the need to protect vulnerable groups such as the elderly, people suffering from underlying diseases, and pregnant women.



The capital has allocated a total of 17,800 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to its districts to be given as booster shots for people aged over 18.



Vietnam has witnessed a reoccurrence of Covid-19 cases over the past week. The country confirmed 1,522 new infections on Tuesday, up 491 cases from the previous day's figure. According to experts, the actual figure may be higher as many people undergo a self-test and self-treatment at home.



The Ministry of Health has asked localities nationwide to tighten preventive measures to curb the spreading of the virus, including speeding up vaccination.



Around 832,900 doses of the AstraZeneca Covid-19 vaccine have been allocated to localities across the country as booster shots for people aged 18, according to the National Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology.
Sabina Mammadli

Azerbaijani Defense Minister Col-Gen and his Kazakh counterpart Col-Gen Ruslan Zhaksylykov discussed prospects for the development of cooperation between the countries in the military, military-technical, and military-educational spheres, Azernews reports per the ministry.

During the meeting, organized in the framework of the Azerbaijani official's visit to Kazakhstan's Astana city, the sides also eyed other issues of mutual interest.

Upon arrival to the country, an official welcoming ceremony was organized for the visiting minister.

Further, the defense ministers passed along the guard of honor, the national anthems of both countries were performed and Hasanov signed the "Book of Honor" in accordance with the protocol.

In the end, a photo was taken.

As part of the visit, Col-Gen Hasanov visited the National Defense University named after First Kazakh - Elbasy.

After getting acquainted with the university, the Azerbaijani defense minister met with the Head of the university, Maj-Gen Lut Alchekenov.

During the meeting, detailed views were exchanged on further development of joint cooperation in the field of military education between the two countries, and other topics.

Relations between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan were established on August 30, 1992. The Kazakh embassy in Azerbaijan was opened on January 9, 1993, and the Azerbaijani embassy in Kazakhstan on March 1, 2004.

The two countries closely cooperate in various sectors of the economy. Around 160 companies with Kazakh capital operate in Azerbaijan in the industry, construction, trade, agriculture, transport, and services, and Azerbaijani companies are also represented in the Kazakh market.
Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) declared on Wednesday that the Egyptian soldiers  who were in Sudan for training purposes  have been relocated from Marawi airport to the Sudanese capital Khartoum.

On its official Twitter account, the RSF reassured the Egyptian government and the families of the soldiers  who had been stuck at the Marawi airport since Saturday amid the ongoing clashes  that they are safe and sound and receiving the necessary care.

They [the soldiers] will be handed over when the appropriate opportunity arises, and according to the conditions the country is going through, the RSF said.

The Egyptian government has yet to comment on the relocation.

In the early hours of Tuesday, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi reiterated that the presence of Egyptian forces in Sudan is solely for training purposes and not to support any particular party, affirming that intensive communications are taking place to ensure their safety.

The Marawi airport, which includes a military base, is located in the Sudanese Northern States Marawi region  350 kilometres north of the capital, Khartoum.

On Saturday, the Egyptian Armed Forces said in a statement that it "is coordinating with the concerned parties in Sudan to ensure securing the Egyptian troops who were conducting joint training with their Sudanese counterparts."

The Egyptian Armed Forces statement was issued shortly after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, released a video on its official Twitter account showing several personnel wearing Egyptian military fatigues who were purportedly apprehended at Marawi airbase in northern Sudan.

Late on Saturday, Hemedti, apologised for the released videos in remarks to Sky News Arabia, stressing that he was willing to cooperate to return them to Egypt.

On Monday, Adviser to the RSF head Ahmed Abdeen also apologized for any "individual behaviour" towards the soldiers, in remarks to Al-Jazeera.

Violence in Sudan erupted early on Saturday between the forces of two generals who seized power in 2021: Army Chief Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan and his deputy, Mohamed Hamdan "Hemedti" Dagalo, who commands the paramilitary RSF.

Thousands of Sudanese have fled Khartoum, according to AFP on Wednesday, as fighting between the army and paramilitaries raged for a fifth day after a 24-hour truce collapsed. Around 200 civilians are estimated to have been killed in the fighting so far.

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PRESIDENCY:

- President Klaus Iohannis continues official visit to Brazil (18-19 April)

ECONOMY:

- AgriMin Petre Daea talks online with Ukrainian counterpart Mikola Solski on the impact of grain imports, measures to be taken to deal with this crisis

- Official data on contruction works in January and February 2023
Regarding "Ameren customers paid $1.8M for Blues promotion. Only a fraction went to charity, state says." (April 16): The story related to the Power Play Goals for Kids program merits clarification. It's important to note that all donations to participating charities in this program are funded by Ameren shareholders, not customers. [Editor's note: The actual charity donations are different from the Post Dispatch's accurately reported figure of $1.8 million in costs that customers, not shareholders, pay for the Power Play Goals program.]

Ameren Missouri, of which I am president, uses the program to raise awareness for these charities, most of which are small and don't have the means to broadly promote their mission. This program makes a difference. In addition to monetary donations, the spotlight on their community impact has helped these charities garner additional visibility.

In the current rate-review proceeding before the Missouri Public Service Commission, we made it clear that ongoing costs for this program are not included in rates. Ameren Missouri has also assured the Public Service Commission in our current settlement that the future costs of this program will not be included in customer rates.

In 2022 alone, Ameren made $11 million in cash and in-kind donations to local non profits for a variety of community betterment initiatives.

Mark Birk  St. Louis
WEDNESDAY, April 19, 2023 (American Heart Association News) -- Growing up in Chicago, Melissa Rodriguez Mendoza initially had designs on working in the fashion industry. Trips to the doctor's office with her parents changed her mind.

Immigrants from Mexico, her parents mainly spoke Spanish and had trouble finding Spanish-speaking doctors. Melissa would accompany her mother and father to medical visits to be their interpreter.

When it came time to apply for college, Melissa decided to pursue pre-med programs with a goal of becoming a doctor. Now, she is a third-year medical student at Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara in Mexico, doing her clinical rotations back in Chicago.

She is committed to eradicating barriers to health care in the Latino community.

"Watching my parents struggle as they navigated the health care system is what made me realize there was a need for Spanish-speaking health care workers  especially for doctors," Melissa said. "This early exposure is what inspired me to become the doctor my parents needed back then."

Spanish is the second-most commonly spoken language in the United States, with about 13% of the total population speaking the language at home, according to census data.

While survey data published last year in American Family Physician found that more than 22% of family physicians say they speak Spanish, there were "inadequate numbers" of Spanish-speaking family physicians in many U.S. counties where high proportions of the population speak the language. In fact, 222 counties where more than 20% of the population speaks Spanish had no Spanish-speaking family physicians.

Having one Spanish-speaking physician for every 1,500 people who speak the language in a community was considered an adequate ratio, according to the American Family Physician study. A cluster of communities in the Chicago area and northeastern Illinois had a ratio of more than 1,500-to-1.

"As the U.S. population continues to diversify, it is increasingly important to recruit Spanish-speaking medical students to serve Spanish-speaking populations and for Spanish to be taught in medical school and family medicine residency programs," the study's authors wrote.

Melissa witnessed how language barriers impacted people in her broader community. After attending Chicago's Roosevelt University, she worked as a medical assistant in a primary care clinic that needed her to interpret for Spanish-speaking patients.

She found that patients needed more than an interpreter. Melissa studied to become a certified diabetic educator to help patients manage diabetes and other chronic medical conditions.

"That's how my interest in cardiometabolic disease came about," she said. "I found it really fascinating, especially seeing how it affected people who looked like me and my family members."

Melissa chose to go to medical school in her mother's hometown of Guadalajara, in the western Mexican state of Jalisco. She started school in July 2020, and has had to weather the challenges that came with adjusting to a new home early in the COVID-19 pandemic.

She persevered. Now a third-year medical student, she has been named a scholar in the American Heart Association's National Hispanic Latino Cardiovascular Collaborative mentoring program.

The goal of the program is to engage with medical students through networking, mentorship and opportunities to grow and diversify the future health care workforce, promoting cardiovascular health for all populations.

International medical school students aren't often represented in programs that allow them to connect with mentors as well as other aspiring doctors coming from medical schools outside the U.S., she said.

"And now, I'm fortunate enough to be back in Chicago for my clinical rotations, and I am able to bring this cultural sensitivity and advocacy not only for people of Mexican descent, but for all Latinos in the United States," she said. "It's truly an honor."

One of her first unofficial patients might be her biggest fan.

Her mother, Guillermina Rodriguez, recalled a recent trip to the hospital to have surgery. Melissa was by her side, as usual, guiding her parents through the process.

Not only is Melissa on track to become the first person in the family to become a doctor, she also is the first in the family to graduate from college. Her two younger sisters have also since graduated from college.

"I can tell that she does it well, and it's something that she's passionate about," a smiling Guillermina said about her daughter's pursuit of a medical career. "I cannot explain how proud I am of her."

American Heart Association News covers heart and brain health. Not all views expressed in this story reflect the official position of the American Heart Association. Copyright is owned or held by the American Heart Association, Inc., and all rights are reserved.

By Genaro C. Armas, American Heart Association News
ST. LOUIS  He was a two-bit felon doing 20 years for robbery when he escaped from the Missouri State Penitentiary in a bread truck. The exploit made a small headline and was forgotten.

Roughly one year later, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was murdered on a motel balcony in Memphis on April 4, 1968. Investigators found fingerprints in a rooming house across the street and on an abandoned Remington rifle.

On April 19, the FBI announced it had scanned 53,000 prints and made a hit  the three-time loser who had escaped on the truck in Jefferson City.

A worldwide search was on for James Earl Ray, 40, a drifter who was born in Alton and spent pieces of his disjointed life in St. Louis. In 1959, he and an accomplice grabbed $190 in an armed robbery of a Kroger store at 3417 Ohio Avenue. Ray was arrested 20 minutes later at his apartment across from Lafayette Park.

Ray had been in trouble since the sixth grade, when he stole school lunch money in Ewing, Mo., where his impoverished family lived for a time. He dropped out of the ninth grade, was booted from the Army and arrested for a burglary in East Alton because he had lost his shoes at the scene. Not the savviest criminal, he once tumbled out of a getaway car during a tight turn. He did time in Kansas and Illinois before returning to St. Louis in August 1959. He robbed the store two months later and drew the 20.

His escape from the Missouri prison  his third try  took place on April 23, 1967. He was known inside as a racist, but there was nothing special about his hatred.

Scotland Yard detectives arrested Ray in London seven weeks after the FBI bulletin. He had used aliases and robbery to stay on the lam.

Ray's lack of distinction made it hard for many Americans to believe he could murder someone like King and get away all by himself. Conspiracy theories have lingered ever since. Ray fed the frenzy by pleading guilty of King's murder, taking a 99-year sentence and then quickly trying to recant.

There were claims of government cover-up and Mafia connections. One tale was of two segregationists from Imperial who put up $50,000 to murder King. The contract supposedly reached Ray by way of his brother's saloon, the Grapevine Tavern, 1982 Arsenal Street. Conveniently, the alleged money men already were dead.

Some members of King's family later said they didn't believe Ray was the killer. But numerous courts affirmed his conviction. Ray died a prisoner in Nashville, Tenn., in 1998 at age 70. In 2000, the U.S. Justice Department concluded again that Ray had acted alone.

James Earl Ray
ST. LOUIS  Police on Thursday identified a woman killed one day earlier after police said she fled a traffic stop, ran a red light and collided with a semi-truck just off Interstate 70 on Adelaide Avenue, police said.

An officer tried to pull over the car on I-70 near Salisbury Street around 12:30 p.m., police said.

The driver, 21-year-old De'jah Leonard, fled north in a 2008 Nissan Versa. She got off the interstate at Grand Avenue, before getting right back on the interstate, police said.

She drove a mile north and exited at Adelaide Avenue. Police said she then ran a red light and struck a semi-truck that was driving through the intersection.

Leonard died at the scene of the crash.

The 69-year-old man driving the truck was uninjured, police said.

A police spokesman said the officer did not chase Leonard.

Leonard lived on Wilmington Avenue in south St. Louis.
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ST. LOUIS  Judge John Torbitzky channeled his inner Dad, the one driving the minivan on a cross-country summer vacation. The one who turns to his bickering children in the back and threatens to pull over.

He did it. She did it. It wasnt me.

So went the first hearing in the historic lawsuit filed by Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner. Bailey is seeking to oust Gardner from her job for neglect of duties. There was new urgency to this long-simmering problem: the hearing came the day after a different judge moved to hold Gardner in contempt when nobody from the prosecutors office showed up for a murder trial.

Baileys office has filed multiple subpoenas seeking a broad sweep of records, more than 60 different types of them. Gardners office hasnt produced any records and has denied the need to do so on the majority of them.

Thats what the attorneys for the two politicians were arguing about Tuesday for much of the four-hour hearing before Torbitzky.

There has been no discussion, said deputy attorney general Bill Corrigan, not a single discussion about the circuit attorneys office producing a single document.

It was about an hour into the hearing when Torbitzky, whose day job is an appeals judge in Missouris Eastern District, did what somebody should have done with Gardner and Bailey long ago. He pointed to the closed doors in the back of the fourth-floor courtroom in the Civil Courts building downtown. Theres a room across the hall, he said. Go there, go point-by-point through the subpoenas and let me know if you can agree on what records can be produced, he told the lawyers.

Part of my concern is youre just now, today, gone to talk to somebody about this, Torbitzky said. The people of this state and this city are going to want an answer sooner rather than later.

The meeting took more than an hour. Little was accomplished. Then, a former judge, Booker T. Shaw, offered a few words toward the end of the hearing. Shaw has been hired by the judges of the 22nd Circuit Court. All of those judges recused themselves from handling this case for good reason: they might be called as witnesses. Thats why the Missouri Supreme Court appointed Torbitzky to handle the case. Its why Shaw stood to address the court.

Those looking from the outside might see this as nothing but a political battle. Bailey, appointed to his job by Gov. Mike Parson, is a Republican who has made a habit of filing lawsuits that seem to be designed to get him face time on Fox News.

Gardner, a Democrat, is casting herself as a victim. She blames her woes on staff members, racism and, well, anybody but herself. Yes, politics and race are involved here. But the reality is, no matter who is at fault, Gardners office is bleeding staff members so quickly that the criminal justice system cant work. Judges potentially face the difficult decision of letting people charged with violent crimes go free because Gardner cant do her job.

There is no justice  for victims, for defendants, for anybody.

The situation, Shaw told Torbitzky, is untenable and unsustainable. Gardners office, he said, is in near total collapse.

Those words, particularly coming from Shaw, packed a punch. Torbitzky pulled the minivan over and laid down the law. He set a tentative trial date for Sept. 25.

The lawyers in the courtroom suggested getting ready for a trial that quickly, with dozens of complicated evidence disputes still to play out, would be a Herculean task. But the date creates another pressure point in a morality play that likely has more twists coming. Nobody in the courtroom really wants this case to go to trial. The legal bar for Baileys attorneys to force Gardner out of office is a high one. Most similar actions in Missouri have involved the sort of corruption and self-dealing that arent at play in this case.

But between now and Sept. 25, if there are no more prosecutors in Gardners office who can show up for murder trials, then perhaps she learns a lesson from an early chapter of her tenure. Five years ago, former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens resigned his office in shame, in part because he faced criminal charges filed by Gardner. Those charges were eventually dropped, but not until they turned up the pressure on Greitens and he slunk away, at least for a while.

There would be little shame in Gardner finally realizing its time to walk away. Witness the actions of Tim Lohmar, who, after some embarrassing personal stumbles, gave up his office recently as the prosecutor in St. Charles County. The story was forgotten in a day.

That wont happen if Sept. 25 comes and the political show trial of the year begins. That trial ends with no winners, only losers, most notably the citizens of St. Louis, who are desperate for prosecutors who can show up for work.

Photos: Lawyers face off in first hearing over Missouri AG's case to remove Kimberly M. Gardner from office Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit
ST. LOUIS  The regions attention was fixed Tuesday on a fourth-floor courtroom in the citys civil courts building for the first glimpse of whats shaping up to be a fierce legal battle between the states attorney general and the citys top prosecutor.

There, in front of a packed courtroom, a rotating cast of attorneys leveled their initial arguments in the fight over the future of St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner.

Everyone is watching us today, not only in this community, but beyond, said Bill Corrigan, who represented Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. Its in everyones interest to resolve this one way or another as expeditiously as possible.

Tuesdays arguments focused on whether Baileys lawsuit, which attempts to remove Gardner from office for failing to uphold her duties, should be dismissed and what evidence city prosecutors must provide to the state. The two sides sparred for more than four hours about trial timelines, subpoenas and the contents of the case.

Ultimately, Judge John Torbitzky said hed rule on most of the issues at a later date. He did, however, set a tentative date of Sept. 25 for a three-week trial.

People in the state and the city want to know an answer sooner rather than later, he said. This is something where time is of the essence.

Booker T. Shaw, a lawyer representing the St. Louis Circuit Court judges, described the situation as untenable.

The circuit attorneys office is now in a state of near-total collapse, he told the court near the end of Tuesdays hearing.

Gardners office has faced criticism for years for mishandling cases, understaffing and organizational dysfunction. The criticism reached a fever pitch in February when a 17-year-old volleyball player visiting downtown St. Louis from Tennessee was pinned between two cars in a crash. Both of the girls legs were amputated. The man charged in the crash was free on bond in a pending robbery case despite violating the conditions of his GPS monitor several dozen times.

Republicans and Democrats alike blamed Gardner for allowing the man to remain on bond. Gardner argued her office tried to put him back in jail, but a judge denied their request. She later released a statement that said it was not the time for finger pointing, which sparked more calls for her resignation.

Bailey filed his quo warranto lawsuit Feb. 23, arguing Gardners tenure had been characterized by neglect in office. He said she failed to prosecute cases by dismissing charges and allowing others to languish, failed to keep victims informed and failed to review thousands of cases submitted by St. Louis police.

Gardner argued that Bailey was attempting to thwart the will of St. Louis voters, who elected her twice.

Its a poorly considered political move that doesnt remotely state a lawful claim for Ms. Gardners ouster, Gardners attorney Jonathan Sternberg told the court on Tuesday.

Sternberg noted only 13 previous public officials in Missouri history, including two prosecutors, have been ousted using quo warranto.

Those removals included corrupt officials who misstated public funds, gave kickbacks to friends or intentionally turned a blind eye toward notorious organized crime due to their own involvement in those same offenses, Sternberg said.

Baileys allegations dont remotely come close to meeting that bar, Sternberg argued.

But Assistant Attorney General Andrew Crane said that a public official doesnt have to commit a crime or be guilty of corruption to face removal. Gardners repeated pattern of not prosecuting cases was enough to merit her ouster, he said.

What were talking about is doing the same thing over and over again and failing in a way thats not excusable, Crane said.

Torbitzky said he would make a decision on dismissal later, but in the meantime, he considered a 54-point subpoena to the Circuit Attorneys Office for contracts, budget documents, texts, emails, case data and complaints.

Gardners attorneys opposed the bulk of requests, including a list of cases Gardner personally prosecuted during her time as an assistant to emails about cases between her staff, police and victims.

A lawyer for the attorney general argued they were all necessary to investigate the case, but Jonathan Jeffress, who is representing the Circuit Attorneys Office, called them absurdly oppressive and burdensome for an office of public servants that have another job to do.

(The attorney general) should not be allowed to pry into the inner workings of the office in this way, he argued.

This entire lawsuit is about the inner workings of the office, Torbitzky said in response.

Which is why it should be dismissed, Jeffress said.

At the end of the hearing, Torbitzky pledged to review the subpoenas, then set the tentative trial date.

The attorney generals office urged him to work fast. Multiple prosecutors have left the office in recent weeks, leaving few to handle the citys most violent felony cases. Prosecutors have failed to turn over evidence, repeatedly delaying hearings and, on Monday, a judge filed to hold Gardner in contempt of court because no one from Gardners office showed up for a murder trial.

Outside the courthouse, Natalia Ogurkiewicz, who abruptly resigned from her post as an assistant circuit attorney on Friday and wrote of a toxic work environment in her resignation letter, told reporters she felt like she had been thrown under the bus by her former boss.

Meanwhile, several Gardner supporters surrounded Ogurkiewicz, holding up signs, shouting and questioning her motives.

You betrayed Kim Gardner, one supporter told her.

If Torbitzky decides not to dismiss the case, the parties are set for another hearing May 2.

Photos: Lawyers face off in first hearing over Missouri AG's case to remove Kimberly M. Gardner from office Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit Kim Gardner appears in court for first hearing in removal suit
ST. LOUIS  A jury acquitted a man of murder on Wednesday, finding he acted in self-defense during a fight outside his home last year.

Stanley Barge, 32, was charged in July with second-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of 38-year-old Shaun Hunt. Police said Barge was at fault for Hunt's death and refused to leave his home to be arrested.

But Barge's attorney, Johnny Peddicord, said it was clear from the beginning his client was trying to protect himself. Barge also fully cooperated with police during his arrest, Peddicord said.

"We've known this has been a self-defense case from the get-go," he said.

Just before 7:45 a.m. July 15, Barge heard two people fighting on his front porch in the 4800 block of Leduc Street. He walked outside with a gun that he was legally allowed to carry and told them to leave, Peddicord said.

One of the men started swinging at Barge, so Barge pulled out his gun. The two men then struggled for the weapon, and eventually, Barge grabbed it and shot him.

Barge then went back inside his house to retrieve his cell phone, but by the time he was ready to come out, police had arrived. Peddicord said. Barge waited in the house until police assured him they would not shoot if he came out.

"He's been locked up for nine months now, and he's been adamant it was self-defense," Peddicord said.

This week, after a one-day trial, Barge was acquitted.

"He's super thankful the people of St. Louis saw things for what they are," Peddicord said.
ST. LOUIS  Maggie Sullivan, an administrator at St. Josephs Academy in Frontenac, will become the first president of the newly independent Rosati-Kain Academy.

Sullivan starts her new role at the Catholic girls high school on May 1. She is currently the assistant principal of mission at St. Josephs Academy.

Rosatis place in the city, the most diverse of all the all-girls schools, centered in the middle of the most important institutions in the city, the opportunity for this school to empower women through Catholic values ... was an opportunity I couldnt resist, Sullivan said.

Rosati-Kain Academy will open in the fall as an independent school after operating under the Archdiocese of St. Louis for 112 years. Last September, archdiocesan leaders announced they would close Rosati-Kain and St. Marys high schools as part of the All Things New downsizing plan for parishes and schools.

Supporters at both schools scrambled to raise money and secure new religious sponsors to remain open as independent Catholic schools.

Rosati-Kain Academy will lease the school, on Lindell Boulevard in the Central West End, from the archdiocese. The school will be sponsored by St. Joseph Educational Ministries, which also oversees St. Josephs Academy and Fontbonne University. Sullivan follows Elizabeth Ann Goodwin in leading Rosati-Kain.

A native of St. Louis, Sullivan graduated from St. Josephs in 1993, earned a bachelors degree from the University of Missouri and a masters degree from Washington University. She expects to complete her doctorate in educational leadership this year from Vanderbilt University.

Sullivan started her career as a history teacher and has taught at Whitfield School and Clayton and University City high schools, along with St. Louis Community College and Washington University. She has also worked at schools in Colorado and Florida.

The first challenge at Rosati-Kain will be building enrollment and funding back to pre-pandemic levels. The short-term plan calls for raising $10 million for operations and scholarships at the school, where about 80% of students receive financial aid.

Rosati-Kain was one of the first St. Louis high schools to integrate in 1947, and diversity remains a priority. More than half of the current student body is Black or Hispanic.

Sullivan said she is confident that the school has a promising future.

We have a team of women that are innovative, forward-thinking, powerful leaders that are going to really rebuild this school to be better than ever, Sullivan said.
Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly has invited his Palestinian counterpart, Mohammad Shtayyeh, to visit Cairo in an effort to deepen bilateral relations, according to a statement by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The invitation was presented by Egypt's Ambassador to Palestine, Ihab Soliman, during a meeting with Shtayyeh in Ramallah.

Shtayyeh welcomed the invitation and praised Egypt's historic role in supporting Palestine. Madbouly's invitation aims to enhance bilateral cooperationbetween the two countries and strengthen their firm and historic relations.

During the meeting, Soliman reiterated Egypt's full support for Palestinian rights, including the establishment of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital.

Egypt has been calling for de-escalation in the Palestinian territories and supporting negotiations to achieve peace and implement the two-state solution amid continued Israeli forces escalation in Jerusalem and the West Bank in recent months.

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JEFFERSON CITY  At least one top Missouri Republican isnt defending Attorney General Andrew Baileys rules on transgender medical care, which advocates say would make Missouri the first state to restrict treatments for adults.

Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft said in an interview he disagrees with Baileys regulation even though he doesnt support hormone therapy and gender surgeries for children and adults.

Ashcroft said adults should be able to make their own decisions and predicted the Republican attorney generals regulation wont actually take effect.

I wouldnt want to be the attorney that was defending it, Ashcroft, an attorney and engineer elected secretary of state in 2016, told the Post-Dispatch.

If youre an adult, you have the capacity to make your own decisions, Ashcroft said. Its a decision I would disagree with, but I dont believe its the role of government to forbid it.

He said the government had a responsibility to protect children who are too young to give consent, and supports legislation restricting gender-related care for children. But Ashcroft said he wasnt confident the attorney general had the authority to limit such care himself.

Advocates for the LGBTQ community have said Baileys regulation, which was issued last week and requires three years of documented gender dysphoria and 15 hours of therapy over 18 months before obtaining treatment, will erect barriers to obtaining care.

The rule is set to take effect April 27.

Planned Parenthood this week hosted a pop-up clinic for patients seeking care before the regulation starts. The group has said Baileys rule is an attempt to effectively bar gender-affirming care in Missouri.

Bailey has based the authority for the regulation on the Missouri Merchandising Practices Act, a consumer protection law the attorney general enforces.

State government can issue regulations to fill gaps in current laws when the laws arent clear, Ashcroft said, but its the Legislatures job to create new laws.

If you are adding requirements that are not existent in the law, it seems to me that you are legislating, he said.

There will be litigation and the courts will decide and Im sure that the attorney general will have a reason why he believes its appropriate, Ashcroft said. I think its a tough sell.

Ashcroft is running against Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe for the Republican nomination for governor.

Kehoe, approached in the Capitol on Wednesday, declined to comment on Baileys regulation.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY  Four St. Louis County mayors on Tuesday called on the Missouri Legislature to combine the county and St. Louis prosecuting attorneys offices into one regional office.

The pitch, from Wildwood Mayor Jim Bowlin, Bridgeton Mayor Terry Briggs, Brentwood Mayor Dave Dimmitt and Manchester Mayor Mike Clement, comes as state lawmakers consider a bill to appoint a special prosecutor for St. Louis, where Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner, a Democrat, faces criticism for mishandling cases, understaffing and organizational dysfunction.

A regional prosecuting attorney could consolidate resources and more effectively prosecute crime across the county-city border and the countys 88 municipalities, the four county mayors said.

Failure to prosecute criminals in any jurisdiction within this region affects the safety of all our residents, the mayors said in a joint statement. Crime is a regional problem and needs a regional solution.

The GOP-led state senate is considering the special prosecutor in the last four weeks of the legislative session, as well as other crime-related proposals including a separate Republican-backed plan to turn control of the St. Louis Police Department over to the state. Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, a Republican, has also sued to remove Gardner from office.

Bowlin and Briggs said in interviews that have had only preliminary talks with state lawmakers. The legislature, they said, could identify a future date to merge the two offices and set an election for a regional prosecutor to lead the combined office.

The mayors also called on the legislature to increase penalties for illegal drug and firearms possession and car thefts and break-ins; implement mandatory cash bonds for repeat criminal offenders; require that juveniles accused of a crime be detained for 24 hours if they cant be picked up by parents or legal guardians; and require that juveniles entire criminal record be considered in family court assessments.

Bowlin, a Republican, is a candidate for the 15th Senate District in west St. Louis County, which includes Manchester, Ballwin, Wildwood, Chesterfield, Clarkson Valley, Ellisville, Winchester, Twin Oaks, Town and Country, Country Life Acres, and Crystal Lake Park. Bowlin faces St. Louis County Councilman Mark Harder, R-Chesterfield, and former state Rep. David Gregory, a Sunset Hills Republican, in the race for the Republican nomination.
JEFFERSON CITY  The former head of the Missouri Lottery left her post last year, but Republican lawmakers arent done battling over her tenure.

After stripping funding for advertising from the Lottery in recent years, members of the House Budget Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a proposal that would bar Lottery officials from working or lobbying for companies that do business with the state agency.

The measure is a response to former Director May Scheve Reardon, who left the top job at the Lottery in July to take a job with a company that sells materials related to the Lotterys lucrative scratch off ticket business.

Under legislation sponsored by Rep. Dirk Deaton, R-Noel, employees of the Lottery and members of the Lottery commission would be barred from going to work for a company that does business with the Lottery for two years. Similarly, it would bar employees and commissioners from lobbying on behalf of a company for two years.

It puts in place a gift ban for any employee of the Lottery and their immediate families, Deaton added.

The framework is similar to a lobbying ban that requires lawmakers to wait two years before they can jump into the lobbying ranks like dozens of their former colleagues who roam the corridors of the Capitol on behalf of clients during the annual legislative session.

Former employees of the Lottery have gone to work for vendors, Deaton said. I think we have to have the highest standards.

The proposal is another salvo at the Lottery by the GOP-controlled House Budget Committee, where Deaton serves as vice-chairman.

In 2021, for example, budget writers reduced a $1.5 million advertising budget to $400,000. Last year, they cut the remaining funds.

Reardon, a former Democratic lawmaker who served as lottery chief for 13 years, left the job to take a governmental affairs position with Canada-based Pollard Banknote, which is a supplier of scratch-off games and other services.

State contracting records show Pollard received about $10 million in state payments for work it has done for the lottery during Reardons tenure. Reardon called them a minor contractor in the Missouri Lotterys operation when she took the new job.

Rep. Peter Merideth, D-St. Louis, questioned why the proposal focuses solely on the Lottery when other state agencies also have employees dealing with major contracts.

It does feel like this targets Lottery in a very specific way compared to other departments, Merideth said.

The House action, however, may not go anywhere this legislative session.

On Tuesday, the Senate signaled its not on board with the crackdown on the Lottery when members of the Appropriations Committee added $7.6 million into the Lotterys budget for advertising in the fiscal year beginning July 1.

The Lottery, meanwhile, has hired a new director.

In November, Lester Elder took the job after spending three decades in the Missouri Highway Patrol, including as director of the agencys gaming enforcement division from 2006-11.

After leaving the department, Elder became chief administrator of the Missouri Department of Revenues Compliance and Investigation Bureau, overseeing criminal and administrative investigations, as well as duties related to budget, legislation and policy development.

Deaton said Elder has been helpful in crafting the legislation.

The legislation is House Bill 1171.
JEFFERSON CITY  Homeowners associations wouldnt be able to ban backyard chickens under a plan debated in the Missouri Senate on Tuesday.

The plan by Sen. Nick Schroer, R-Defiance, would allow homeowners to pasture up to six chickens per every two-tenths of an acre by prohibiting such bans in covenants, deed restrictions or other binding agreements.

Associations could still prohibit roosters and enact other reasonable rules with regard to backyard birds, according to the proposal. The legislation doesnt address local government ordinances on chickens.

Schroer said many HOA agreements strictly prohibit backyard chickens, and said homeowners who have contacted him reported being threatened and harassed by their associations, even when [the chickens] are incredibly safe, no sound, no smell.

He said hes heard from homeowners concerned about the issue in his district, as well as in St. Louis County.

Schroer said he and the homeowners are trying to change state law instead of pursuing a lawsuit asserting homeowners rights under Missouris 2014 Right to Farm amendment to the constitution.

But Sen. Tracy McCreery, D-Olivette, raised concerns about a one-size-fits-all approach that would preempt local decision-making. She noted someone with a 1-acre lot could pasture 30 chickens under the bill.

In some of these subdivisions that are in my district, you could have very small plots, and thats why we tried to restrict it in a manner where it wouldnt become a nuisance, Schroer said.

The more land that you have, the less of a nuisance thats going to be, he said, adding the majority of people wouldnt have 30 chickens.

McCreery said she served as a trustee in her subdivision and I feel like me and the other people that were elected in my community know our community the best.

I have a hard time thinking that the Legislature should step in and tell ... the most local of local elected officials what they can and cant do, she said.

Schroer said he would be open to capping the number of birds allowed on a property, but McCreery said she was uncomfortable with a statewide standard.

The Senate didnt vote on the plan Tuesday. It needs to clear the upper chamber and the House before the end of the legislative session on May 12 to make it to Gov. Mike Parson for consideration.

The legislation is Senate Bill 400.
JEFFERSON CITY  Budget writers in the Missouri Senate on Wednesday restored the state funding for local public libraries that had been stripped from the spending plan by the House.

During an hourslong review of the House spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, Sen. Lincoln Hough, R-Springfield, inserted $4.5 million for libraries back into the budget, setting up a showdown heading into the final weeks of the legislative session.

The House and Senate are on track to finish the spending plan by May 5.

The library money was removed from the House blueprint by House Budget Chairman Cody Smith and backed by the Republicans who control the chamber last week. He cited a lawsuit by two library groups to overturn a new state law banning sexually explicit material in school libraries.

The ACLU, the Missouri Association of School Librarians, and the Missouri Library Association in February asked a judge in Kansas City to find the law unconstitutional or clarify how and when it applies.

Smith, R-Carthage, believes the state shouldnt subsidize the lawsuit by giving public libraries money.

Hough earlier promised to restore the money, saying libraries serve multiple purposes in communities, allowing people to not only get books, but internet service, job assistance and programs for adults and children.

For libraries, the money is distributed based on population. The St. Louis city library system receives an estimated $452,000, while the St. Louis County library district is on tap to receive about $660,000, according to figures provided by the Secretary of States office.

Houghs hometown library district, which covers Springfield and Greene County, would receive an estimated $368,000 if the money is restored.

The Missouri Library Association has argued that smaller, mostly rural library systems would be most affected if the cuts are not restored.

The disputed law, which was approved in 2022, does not apply to written descriptions of sex or sexual acts. Photographs, drawings, videos and other visual depictions are prohibited.

Librarians and other school officials face up to a year in jail or a $2,000 fine for violating the policy, which makes it a crime to provide minors with sexually explicit visual material. Exceptions are provided for works of art, science classes, and other educational courses.
ST. LOUIS  The new Board of Aldermen got its first big fight out of the way Tuesday.

In its inaugural action as a body of 15 members  down from the 29 it had for more than a century  the board voted 10-4 to adopt rules ending another time-honored tradition: awarding powerful committee chairmanships by order of seniority.

The move appeared to clear one of the few remaining obstacles for the board's progressive Democrats as they look to leverage a working majority to overhaul city administration, fight racial inequality and tackle poverty. Under the old rules, more centrist aldermen with long tenures could claim chairs of key panels on topics like crime, development and infrastructure policy and use those positions to stymie legislation.

But on Tuesday, the first day of the new session, the board voted to put chair assignments in the hands of Aldermanic President Megan Green, the progressive bloc's agenda-setter, and three of the aldermen she endorsed in the election earlier this month.

Green said the new rules would make the board more democratic and balance respect for experience as well as "new perspectives."

But Sharon Tyus, the third-longest-tenured alderman and one of Green's most vocal critics, railed against the change. She said it discriminated against senior Black aldermen from north St. Louis, like her.

"You are a tyrant," she shouted at Green. "You are autocratic and racist."

The fight over seniority was a long time coming. Left-wing aldermen spent years watching more centrist chairmen use their power to kill proposals aimed at changing how the city handles development incentives, police oversight and other issues.

And over the last year, Tyus in particular raised progressives' ire as the chair of the Streets, Traffic and Refuse Committee. Mayor Tishaura O. Jones' administration accused Tyus of holding up a bill with money for street and sidewalk repair. Tyus denied it, and called for the mayor's director of operations to resign.

Tyus also threatened to use her position to force the administration to give her the names and addresses of everyone who received one-time $500 payments from the city last year. Tyus said the payments, which were supposed to help struggling residents cover basic necessities, skipped over her northside ward  even as exasperated mayoral aides insisted they sent 403 payments there.

Jones and Green tried to deny Tyus reelection this spring. They both backed Baden businesswoman Tashara Earl in the new 12th Ward election. But Tyus won by 11 percentage points. And in an Election Day interview, she made clear she'd return emboldened, saying the North Side had rejected Jones and Green.

But on Tuesday, she was outnumbered. Only Aldermen Pam Boyd, of the northwest side, Joe Vollmer, of the Hill, and Laura Keys, of the O'Fallon neighborhood, joined her in voting against the change.

And some of the new Black board members allied with Green, who is white, pushed back hard on Tyus' allegations of racism.

"I call it baloney," said Alderman Rasheen Aldridge, of Old North St. Louis. He noted that most of his ward is north of Delmar Boulevard, and the board made him assistant floor leader and a member of the committee chair selection committee. Shameem Clark Hubbard, who is Black and whose ward straddles Delmar, is the floor leader.

Green, for her part, also pointed out that when her team surveyed 11 other cities, including Kansas City and Chicago, they didn't find a single one that picked committee chairs by seniority.

She added, however, that the new rules were meant to hold committee chairs more accountable to the entire board. And she said in the future, aldermen who obstruct progress can count on a tougher time securing their preferred committee chairmanships.

"These types of changes encourage collegiality," Green said.

Photos: Megan Green and new 14-member St. Louis Board of Aldermen sworn in
Last week, Missouris attorney general decided to enact an emergency regulation to halt or severely limit transgender medical care for everyone in the state. This includes my son, who is no longer a minor. Technically, since he is already receiving medical care, he would be able to continue his treatment if we were able to find a doctor willing to meet at least 10 different conditions that the regulation requires adults to comply with before keeping their medicine. Of note:

 The doctor must keep track of the changes to his genitalia, and have it available for scrutiny.

 The doctor must ensure that his existing mental health issues have been treated and resolved. This is particularly tricky, because it is my impression that anxiety and depression can only be coped with rather than resolved.

 Additionally, by threatening to take my sons critical medicine away, it is making him anxious and depressed.

Legislators and politicians have decided that they know more about my son and his medical needs than do his parents, his two therapists, his psychologist, his endocrinologist, his general practitioner, his reproductive endocrinologist and, most importantly, himself. They dont think that this process has involved years of research, and soul searching, and questioning and fact-checking. They havent been awake on school nights until 2 a.m. to console a child who is mentally replaying a hurtful comment from school. They havent had to listen to people unabashedly spew their hate about one of the few people youd die for. They havent had to read countless medical articles to see if the wild assertions about transgender care have the faintest possibility of truth.

The medical decisions that we are making are very personal and belong to no one else besides my kid and his parents. They do not affect anyone else but us. I recognize that others might not agree with our decisions, just as there are some decisions that other parents make that I dont agree with. However, none of us know the full story of the family dynamic and what factors have led to these decisions, so we must leave it to the family and let them work through the consequences.

I can confidently say that I know quite a lot about gender identity and expression at this point because I had to inform myself as a responsible parent when my son came out to us in high school. This is nothing that was even on my radar before then, so I had to start from knowing nothing. With each milestone that our son reached in his transition, we had to understand how each decision would affect his life and compare that against his health status.

Its really easy to find a medical article that fits a specific narrative  for example, I still dont understand if wine is good for me or not. My simple request before anyone forwards these on a social feed or puts them in a regulation is to actually read these articles and understand what they are saying, and how they got to these results. I could write an op-ed for each of the next 23 days to state personal and documented reasons why each of the 23 studies listed in the emergency regulation are misleading or being used in a different context.

I was so proud to watch my son stand up for his rights when he testified in Jefferson City earlier this month against the Senate Bill 39 sports-participation ban. He had prepared his testimony and practiced it all the way to the Capitol because he needed to tell his story so that others could see he was just a kid trying to be a part of something that included him. Before anyone got to speak, my heart broke as I watched the bill sponsor walk out of the room before even listening to his words.

Leave sweeping bans out of the conversation. Have concerns? Learn the issues and understand why they matter. Have a question? Ask a parent of a transgender kid, and we would be happy to have a discussion about it. We want nothing more than for someone to listen about what we are going through.
St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner just isnt getting the message that it is time for her to go. The Missouri Legislature wants a special prosecutor to take over her biggest cases. The state attorney general wants to replace her altogether. Mayor Tishaura Jones has clearly lost confidence in her. A prosecutor just publicly bailed on her. And now a judge wants to hold her in criminal contempt for, once again, failing to send a prosecutor for the start of a high-profile murder trial. What part of this picture is Gardner failing to see?

The embarrassment she poses to St. Louis isnt really the point any more  even if that embarrassment is now the subject of national headlines. The bigger issue is that criminals are now at high risk of walking free for lack of someone competent in the courtroom to prosecute them. In some cases, theres a lack of anyone in the courtroom  competent or not  to prosecute them.

On Monday, Judge Scott A. Millikan filed an order for Gardners office to explain why she should not be held in criminal contempt. Gardner could face a fine or jail time, and given her utter disregard for the criminal justice system she claims to be reforming, a few nights in jail might be what she needs to come to her senses.

Millikan issued the contempt threat Monday after Gardners office ghosted the judge and defense attorney in a high-profile case involving a 2022 murder on the steps leading to the Gateway Arch grounds. No prosecutor showed up for the trial or bothered to give the judge a heads-up so the proceeding could be postponed. The prosecutor assigned to the case is on medical leave, but no replacement was assigned. The same thing happened in 2021 when a murder suspect was set free because Gardners office was a no-show at trial.

Gardner has tried repeatedly to portray herself as a victim of some elaborate smear or sabotage campaign. She even fooled the CBS News program 60 Minutes, which produced a 2021 puff-piece profile of her as a progressive warrior fighting racists and the anti-reform establishment in St. Louis. The producers of 60 Minutes got it wrong and owe their viewers a correction. The person doing the most to undermine Kim Gardner is Kim Gardner.

Just last week, prosecutor Natalia Ogurkiewicz quit, citing an untenable workload and toxic work environment. The 27-year-old had been assigned to handle major felony cases, but she wrote, As a St. Louis City resident, I have lost trust in Kim Gardner from the inside.

The citys embarrassment grows with every day Gardner stays on the job, as does the local criminal communitys sense of impunity. Absolutely no redeemable cause is served by Gardners refusal to resign. Her contempt is not just for Millikans court but for the entire city she was elected to serve.
Biden is the only Democrat who can avert a GOP victory

Regarding the editorial, For his legacy, party and country, the president should consider retirement (April 15): I say, run, Joe, run. I am for strong gun-control laws, civil rights and abortion freedom of choice. Biden is the only Democrat who is sure to win, and a Republican win would be disastrous for the country.

If Biden does not run, the Republicans will pound the message that his presidency has been a failure. And then we will see about 20 Democrats vying for power and attacking each other.

I agree that Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, California Gov. Gavin Newsom and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries are a strong bench. Any one of them would be an excellent president, as would Vice President Kamala Harris, though she may lack sufficient charisma.

If Biden does run, I believe he would win. He should then do everything he can to elevate public awareness and appreciation for the aforementioned future Democratic candidates.

Andrew T. Pickens  St. Louis County

Using herbicides on lawns can unintentionally poison animals

Homeowners wanting a perfect lawn should be aware that spreading poison to kill insects and weeds has become an invitation to the killing fields for animals. As humans, we recognize beautiful hawks, owls and eagles, but what do they eat? They eat rabbits, squirrels, mice and many other animals.

Throwing poison down on a lawn brings sickness to the animals that eat the grass, which poisons and kills our hawks, eagles, and owls. The same goes for our pets that walk these lawns and fields. We risk poisoning our wildlife and killing innocent animals.

Is killing weeds that important? I believe its more important to recognize that we need to save our beautiful animals.

Jane Miskall  Florissant

Ameren donations are paid by shareholders, not customers

Regarding Ameren customers paid $1.8M for Blues promotion. Only a fraction went to charity, state says. (April 16): The story related to the Power Play Goals for Kids program merits clarification. Its important to note that all donations to participating charities in this program are funded by Ameren shareholders, not customers. [Editors note: The actual charity donations are different from the Post-Dispatchs accurately reported figure of $1.8 million in costs that customers, not shareholders, pay for the Power Play Goals program.]

Ameren Missouri, of which I am president, uses the program to raise awareness for these charities, most of which are small and dont have the means to broadly promote their mission. This program makes a difference. In addition to monetary donations, the spotlight on their community impact has helped these charities garner additional visibility.

In the current rate-review proceeding before the Missouri Public Service Commission, we made it clear that ongoing costs for this program are not included in rates. Ameren Missouri has also assured the Public Service Commission in our current settlement that the future costs of this program will not be included in customer rates.

In 2022 alone, Ameren made $11 million in cash and in-kind donations to local nonprofits for a variety of community betterment initiatives.

Mark Birk  St. Louis

Gardner could turn controversy into a teachable moment

It appears to me that, one way or the other, Kim Gardner wont remain St. Louis city prosecutor for very much longer. If this is the case, what can she do to turn a negative experience into a positive one?

I feel she can do this by writing about her experiences and making recommendations going forward. Her views should be taken seriously.

There are innumerable reasons why jobs dont work out, and the fact that they dont should not tarnish the person who is involved. There is something to the notion that sometimes there is just not the fit between the person and the job. What will be important for Gardner is what she takes away from her experience and how she utilizes it in a positive manner going forward.

Harry Toder  University City

Anti-trans politicians practicing medicine without a license

Our Missouri state legislators and attorney general are practicing medicine without a license by preventing health care for transgender patients. The state Board of Registration for the Healing Arts should investigate this serious issue. People adversely affected by this infringement of equal rights should be able to sue. It is time to vote for legislators and state office holders who believe health care is a right.

Alan Silverberg  Creve Coeur

Legislating morality is a smoke screen to avoid real issues

I think I understand why our elected officials are trying to legislate morality: Its a smoke screen they hide behind because they are too dumb to understand the finances behind real issues. Every elected official should be required to pass basic classes on microeconomics, macroeconomics and general finance. Then they might spend less time thinking about what is in my pants, who is in my bedroom and how I manage my body. It would be refreshing to see them focus on real issues like infrastructure, safety and health care access.

Antoinette Disano  St. Louis

Read letters online at STLToday.com
South Korea is once more having problems with Islamic terrorists, not with attacks inside South Korea, but with Moslem foreigners providing financial support for active Islamic terror groups outside of South Korea. All foreigners entering South Korea are informed about this rule and other similar regulations. So far this year two Central Asian Moslems (from Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan) were arrested for sending about $9.000 worth of cryptocurrency to KTJ (Katibat Tavhid wal-Jihad), an Islamic terrorist group in Syria. Central Asians belonging to KTJ. This all began several years ago when some Central Asian KTJ members left Syria because of numerous defeats, but they were then arrested in Turkey and deported. Few countries would take them but South Korea would and even Central Asian Islamic terrorists know that South Korea is a popular country for Uzbeks looking for work in a foreign country. South Korea has a major labor shortage and to deal with it has brought in 1.3 million foreign workers. Less than ten percent are Moslems and most of those are from Uzbekistan. South Korea will accept former Uzbek Islamic terrorists as foreign workers as long as they agree to severing all their ties with Islamic terrorism. Most such men honor their promise, but a few dont or at least try to pass off their financial assistance to KTJ as not terror related. Some KTJ members in South Korea were expelled for persuading other Uzbeks to join the cause of supporting Islamic terrorism. More South Koreans are calling for a ban on Moslem foreign workers. That worked in Japan and South Koreans see no reason why this policy would not work in South Korea.

For about twenty years Islamic terrorists have been a problem in South Korea. Between 2003 and 2008 South Korea arrested 74 foreigners as terrorism suspects. This was the result of 19 separate investigations. Most of the suspects were Moslems from South Asia or Southeast Asia. Most were involved in collecting information on American military forces in South Korea, or planning terror attacks against non-Koreans. Some Arabs have been caught involved in criminal activities that were apparently to provide funds for terrorists. Most of the suspects were expelled and returned to their home countries, along with files on what the South Korea police had found. These men were usually arrested when they arrived in their home countries, and some of them were already known by counter-terrorism officials there.

South Korea was long believed to be free of Islamic terrorist activities. After 2003 that was no longer the case and South Korea intelligence and police agencies continue to monitor any Islamic terrorist activity in South Korea.
The annual paid May Day holiday to public and private sector employees will be enjoyed on Thursday 4 May to allow for a longer weekend, announced Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly announed on Tuesday.

May Day, known internationally as International Workers' Day, is celebrated on the first day of May and falls on Monday this year.

Egyptians will enjoy a paid holiday 20-25 April to commemorate Eid Al-Fitr and Sinai Liberation Day.

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Israel treats Iran as a major threat, especially because of the Iranian presence in Syria, although Irans nuclear program is starting to rival that danger. Israel has been at war with Iran in Syria for nearly a decade, during which Israel carried out hundreds of airstrikes and a few commando operations against Iranian operations in Syria. This cost Iran a lot of lives and money, and is one of the things restive Iranians want to halt by pulling Iranian forces out of Syria and Lebanon. But first Iranians must oust their religious dictatorship which has been in power for 45 years, and has refused to shut down operations in Syria despite years of protests that it costs too much.

Iran controls irregular forces in Syria along with the more organized Hezbollah in Lebanon and the inept Hamas in Gaza. Iran also has medium-range ballistic missiles in Iran that can reach Israel, and keeps trying to smuggle guided rockets and short-range ballistic missiles into Syria and Lebanon. Hundreds of Israeli air strikes have prevented the guided weapons buildup and formidable Israeli BMD (ballistic missiles defense) systems neutralize the use of missiles launched from Iran. So far these defenses have worked. Israel has now offered to sell its BMD systems to their new Arab allies, and help them use whatever BMD systems they do obtain to intercept Iranian missiles.

Israel also has to deal with the Russian presence in Syria although Russia is currently is obsessed with conquering Ukraine, or at least not being driven out by the Ukrainians. At the same time, Iran remains obsessed with destroying Israel but has made no progress at all, despite years of expensive trying, in part because of an informal agreement between Russia and Israel in which Israel refrains from demonstrating deficiencies in Russian air defense systems in return for Russia not interfering with Israeli air strikes on Iranian forces in Syria. In addition, Israel does not directly supply Ukraine with any offensive weapons despite the fact that most Israelis back the Ukrainians. Israel has provided Ukraine with defensive weapons for use against the Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian civilians. These attacks also include a lot of Iranian cruise missiles. Israel has sold a lot of modern weapons to NATO countries and does not object when these NATO nations provide these Israeli weapons to Ukraine. Russia does not make an issue of this in Syria as long as Israel does not provide these weapons directly.

Irans presence in Syria remains a major threat, so Israeli efforts to make a peace deal with the Syrian Assad government continue covertly. Arab nations have come to the aid of the Assads by allowing Syria to rejoin the Arab League. At the same time China negotiated an arrangement between Iran and Saudi Arabia to guarantee the continued flow of Iranian and Saudi oil to China, which gets most of its oil from these two countries. For this to work Iran and the Arab Gulf oil states must cease attacks on each other. Russia is also an unofficial participant in this arrangement and now controls enough of the world oil supply to significantly affect oil prices. Russia also receives assistance in circumventing economic sanctions by moving Russian oil directly from Russia to Iran and then by tanker to India and China.

Syria rejoining the Arab League and the Chinese role in assisting Iran also provides more protection for the Assad rule in Syria. The Assads want independence from Iranian domination. The Assads play a major role in legitimizing the Iranian presence in Syria and wants this cooperation to be mutual, not coerced by Iranian threats to replace the Assad government if the Assads do not do whatever Iran wants. Iran has few suitable replacements for the Assads and the new arrangements with China, Russia and the Arab League make continued Assad rule in Syria more secure. This suits Israel, which is free to continue attacking Iranian attempts to attack Israel from Syria.

While Israel has Syria and the Iranians under control, the same cant be said for the Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza. So far this year, eighteen Israelis or foreign tourists were killed by terrorist attacks in Israel or the West Bank. In 2022 the total for the entire year was 24. Various Palestinian terror groups are responsible for carrying out attacks or encouraging other Palestinians to do so.

Some of these Palestinian groups, especially in Gaza, receive aid from Iran to attack Israel. To deal with this Israel works with Egypt to control Islamic terrorists in Sinai, part of which includes Egypt shutting down Iranian smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza while Israeli naval forces detect and intercept continued attempts to get weapons into by sea. Iran can still get cash to its supporters in Gaza, but not weapons.

To cope with this, some Palestinians from Gaza now operate from southern Lebanon, where they have rockets to attack Israel with. This has caused some problems in Lebanon, where the government was not informed of the new Iran/Palestinian presence there. Lebanon does not want to be dragged into another war with Israel because of Iran sponsored attacks on Israel from Lebanese territory using Palestinians. Israel regularly reminds Lebanon of its vulnerability to Israeli air power by sending aircraft over southern Lebanon to keep an eye on Palestinian and Hezbollah forces there. Israeli aircraft operate over the rest of Lebanon to remind the Lebanese population how vulnerable they, Israel has also increased its ground forces in northern Israel, especially on the Lebanese border. Lebanon can avoid such a war by putting pressure on independent forces in southern Lebanon.

April 15, 2023: Several hundred thousand Israelis demonstrated in Tel Aviv and over a hundred other locations to protest the government efforts to reduce the independence of the High Court of Justice, which has the final say on government operations. The proposed changes have divided the country and this recently led to foreign credit rating firms to downgrade its evaluations of Israeli economic stability. This makes it more difficult for Israel to borrow money abroad and do business with export customers. The current Israeli government insists that proposals be tried to see if them improve the stability of Israeli governments, which often depend on many smaller special interest political parties to stay in power. Popular opposition to this proposal is an example of the disruption the changes would address. Israel is the strongest economy in the region but Israeli governments must cater to a lot of special interests in order to form a governing coalition.

April 11, 2023: In the West Bank, two Palestinians were killed by soldiers after the two men fired on the troops.

April 9, 2023: In the north (Golan Heights) three rockets fired from Syria landed in uninhabited areas. Later Israeli artillery was fired into Syria near where the rockets were launched.

April 6, 2023: In the north, across the border in southern Lebanon an Iran-backed Palestinian faction fired 30 unguided rockets into Israel. The Iron Dome defense system intercepted 15 of the 34 rockets that were headed for populated areas while the others landed in uninhabited territory. Iran sponsors Hamas in Gaza and smuggled in rockets and rocket components. Iran control Hezbollah in Lebanon has recruited local Palestinians to form an anti-Israel group and use Iranian-made rockets provided by Hezbollah to attack Israel. Hezbollah does not want to do this itself because Israel would retaliate against the many Hezbollah facilities in Lebanon. Israel retaliated for this rocket barrage with artillery fire against Iranian or pro-Iranian group targets near the border. For years Iran has threatened to unleash massive simultaneous rocket barrages from Gaza and Lebanon but was dissuaded by Israeli retaliation, which would include ground invasion and enormous damage on Hamas and Hezbollah facilities. Worse, the Lebanese government would become more hostile to the Hezbollah presence in Lebanon and the many anti-Hamas Palestinians in Gaza threaten to do the same. The Lebanese do not complain openly because that would lead to more strife inside Lebanon.

April 4, 2023: In central Syria (Homs province) an Israeli airstrike hit the Al-Qusayr airport, which is near the Lebanon border and used by Hezbollah.

April 2, 2023: In the north (the Syrian border) Israel shot down an UAV that crossed into Israeli air space. The UAV apparently came from Syria.

In southern Syria (Damascus) a car bomb went off outside the city near a military airport. There were no injuries. Earlier in the day there was an Israeli airstrike in the west Syrian city of Homs. Five Syrian soldiers were wounded. This was the third Israeli airstrike in the south in the last three days. Most of these attacks are against Iranian or Iran-backed personnel and facilities.

April 1, 2023: In central Syria (Homs province) an Israeli airstrike hit the T4 airbase., in retaliation for a recent Iranian UAV that tried to cross the border into Israel but was detected and destroyed. The targets at T4 were Iranian training areas and weapons warehouses. Five Syrian soldiers were killed and many more wounded. Air-to-surface missiles are used and some are intercepted by Syrian S-200 SAMs (Surface-to-Air missiles) that have less success against Israeli fighters that are equipped with countermeasures and pilots who know how to avoid the SAMs. The T4 airbase, near the ancient ruins of Palmyra, has been hit at least three times a year since 2018. T4 is the largest airbase in Syria and Iran has constantly built new structures for storing weapons and housing personnel, usually to replace buildings destroyed by the air strikes. T4 is where Iran moved its UAV operations in 2018 after its original UAV base in Syria was destroyed by an Israeli airstrike. Some of the Israeli attacks are against Hezbollah, a large Iran-backed Shia militia in southern Lebanon.

March 30, 2023: In southern Syria (Damascus) Israeli airstrikes hit intelligence headquarters operated by Iran and Hezbollah. Elsewhere in Damascus an Israeli airstrike killed Milad Heydari, a senior IRGC officer who specialized in Cyber War operations. This was the fifth Israeli airstrike this month in Syria. All of them were against Iranian targets and the one today was particularly important because Heydari was a senior officer as well as a key technical advisor for Iranian forces in Syria. The IRGC threatened strenuous efforts to avenge Heydari. This usually means that the man killed had caused lower morale and effectiveness among Iranian personnel in Syria. Iranian retaliation often involves assassination attempts in foreign countries or, if Israel is the target, against Jews living anywhere in the world. Many nations deal with this threat by banning Iranians from entering, unless they are diplomatic personnel. Even with an embassy there is a risk and Iran has got itself into big diplomatic trouble when Iranian embassy officials were caught trying to arrange an assassination by hiring local hitmen to do it. European nations have long tried to maintain friendly diplomatic relations with Iran but in the last year more EU (European Union) nations are treating Iranians like a threat and no longer telling Iran that they do not support the overthrow of the current Iranian government. Its difficult to support the current Iranian government in any way after six months of anti-government demonstrations in Iran.

March 27, 2023: In southwest Syria (Rif Dimashq province) a bomb planted in the car of an army colonel went off near where he worked as a weapon development engineer. Israel was suspected.

March 23, 2023: In eastern Syria (Deir Ezzor province) an Israeli airstrike killed a Hezbollah official and an IRGC commander. This prompted Iran to order an attack on an American base in eastern Syria (Hasaka province). This attack took place the next day and caused no casualties. These attacks usually result in an American airstrike on an Iran-backed group in Syria.

March 22, 2023: In northern Syria (Aleppo) an Israeli airstrike hit the main airport outside the city because it is where Iran flies in weapons.

March 21, 2023: In Egypt, the United States delivered three Cyclone-class patrol boats to the navy. These 328-ton boats among the sixteen built in 1990s and retired by the U.S. between 2000 and 2023. The boats were refurbished before being sent to Egypt. Gulf state Bahrain received five of these boats while the Philippines received two.

March 19, 2023: In southern Syria (Damascus) a car bomb killed a senior member of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. This group is based in Gaza but Syria has long provided sanctuary for such groups as long as they do no violence in Syria. The car-bomb was blamed on Israel, which has used similar tactics in the past.

March 9, 2023: Turkish interference in Libyan internal affairs is making the formation of a Libyan national government even more difficult. The UN agrees that the Turkish demands are illegal but refuses to do much about it. That is actually normal for the UN. The United States and European governments are demanding that the UN act but the UN refuses without admitting that it is simply impossible for the UN to obtain enough international support to pressure the Turks to get out of Libya. UN efforts in Libya to help establish a national government have failed and are now seen as part of the problem. The UN still considers its efforts as a positive force in Libya. While most Libyans are ready to form a national government, the UN and Turkey remain the primary obstacles to achieving that. There are other obstacles, like Egypt, which has long been a major factor in Eastern Libya politics because the Egyptians want to look after the many Egyptians who work in Libya as well as keeping Islamic terrorists in Libya from getting into Egypt or smuggling weapons into Egypt.
Live Content Discoverability, Reliability, and FAST 2.0

How will consumers find content in the approaching FAST 2.0 era, and how will FAST providers maintain QoE with high-reliability performance as the platforms and their reach continue to grow? In this clip from Streaming Media Connect 2023, Jonathon Barbato, Co-CEO, Best Ever Channels, talks with Rema Morgan-Aluko, Vice President, Software Engineering, Platform, Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes, and Kevin Parks, Senior Director, Field Engineering, Zixi, about the technical challenges Free Ad-Supported Television will face in the coming years and how to meet them.

Having been around in the 80s when television and live TV had appointment viewing, and Thursday nights were some things, and Monday nights were some things  that's gone, or at least it's going away for a lot of the younger viewers, Barbato says. And live certainly matters when it comes to sports, events, and other content. But how are people going to know about it?

Morgan-Aluko emphasizes that Fandango focuses on agile adaptation for all types of programming discovery on all kinds of platforms. From a Fandango perspective, our view is that the consumers are really just looking for choice, she says. We want to make sure they have a choice. They're chasing the content. They're not necessarily chasing the mechanism and where that content is. They just want to find the content, and we need to be [on] whatever device they are, whatever system they are, and provide them with the best experience possible.

Regarding the post-pandemic changes to film release windows, Morgan-Aluko says that Fandango has now adapted to shorter and smaller-scale theatrical releases by providing a high-quality viewing experience outside of theaters. If you're not a consumer who goes to the theaters as much anymore, we want to make sure you have access to that content and have access to it quickly, she says. So on our Vudu streaming platform, we provide the best in class amenities and video and 4K to ensure that the experience is just as good.

Further underscoring Fandangos aim to guide discoverability on as many platforms as possible, Morgan-Aluko says, such as on the menus for Roku, LG, and Samsung, along with offering as many ways to consume the content as possible. Do they want to rent it? Do they want to buy it? Is it available for free via advertising? Are they seeing the trailers? We want to make sure that they have that content everywhere because we can't predict where this industry's going to take us, she says. In the pandemic, we've seen this whole shift, right? And I think so many companies and studios are trying to come up with the thing that's going to get the most eyeballs. And everyone's trying different things and you just have to be ready to pivot. From an engineering perspective, our focus is let's build for as many situations as we can in a cost effective way so that the business can pivot how it needs to based on the different consumer behavior changes.

Barbato asks Kevin Parks of Zixi what he thinks about live discoverability. What Zixi does is get the content there incredibly reliably, he says. So whether it's a live event, [like a] sporting event where you're doing kind of the traditional contribution of that back into a production environment, or if you're actually doing the distribution of the FAST channel out to different platforms, or to third parties like Amagi, who then get that content on out to different platforms.

Parks mentions that the ways TV was broadcast essentially remained the same for decades, either via transmitter towers, cable, or satellite, and consumers came to expect that reliability. So replicating that sort of reliability in the FAST channel world or in the streaming world is part of is where we come in, he says. "In terms of actual discovery, like Rema said, there's all sorts of traditional paths where you're marketing it, on websites, there's still platforms that have guides there, there's that sort of thing. But then there's also social media, and even doing things during a sporting event, the live clipping and then generating viral interest in a show because there's a great play or whatever, and you start getting that out on the social media platforms and then having people discover it that way.

Parks also highlights the large potential of social influencer marketing. We haven't talked much about influencer kind of content, he says. But there's a lot of rumors about YouTube getting into the FAST space soon and probably with a lot of influencer content. I was interested to find out in China, they'll do live events where some influencer will go shopping. They'll get a million people watching that at one time. So there's that kind of content too. And again, doing that with the same level of reliability that we've all expected from television, it's got to work. That's where [Zixi] comes in.

Learn more about FAST, live streaming, and discoverability at Streaming Media East 2023.

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MALAGA, SPAIN / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / SPT continues to develop technological innovations for the mining industry while expanding worldwide. At the end of April, it will unveil its ground-breaking gyroscopic tool for downhole navigation at the Expomin 2023 trade show in Chile.

Stockholm Precision Tools (SPT), a global pioneer in the design and manufacture of downhole navigation systems, is expanding its global presence by capitalizing on the Chilean market and its dominant position in the mining of copper.

In accordance with the company's new vision and values, SPT seeks to develop new business and establish itself as a dependable provider of high-precision and high-quality surveying instruments offering innovative solutions. One of the company's goals is to form partnerships with nations that invest actively in the development of sustainable economies and prioritize environmental and social governance.

The investment that SPT, a major player in the mining industry, will make in Chile is evidence that these reforms are being implemented within the company.

Orlando Ramirez, CEO of SPT, said: "Our arrival into Chile is a huge bet for our firm." Chile is one of the main nations focused on the exploitation of copper mines, and our most recent developments offer significant benefits to drilling and resource companies engaged in this activity.

The company desires to broaden its presence in Chile in order to provide the Chilean mining industry with the most precise instruments for conducting directional survey operations with the highest degree of data precision and reliability.

The aim of SPT is to get as near to the customer as possible. In light of this, it will employ the same strategy it employed in Peru. It will open a new office in Santiago, Chile, where the country operations manager, the sales manager, the technical team, and all other required personnel will labor to provide the best customer service possible.

Expomin 2023 presentation of SPT's innovations

Throughout the year, SPT exhibits and sells its newest products at a number of international expositions. In reality, SPT will be present at Expomin 2023 between April 24 and April 27 at exhibit number 2-B24.

The SPT Polestar Aligner, the GyroScoutTM in conjunction with the Gyro PushRodder, and the GyroLogicTM Evo will be presented at Expomin by Stockholm Precision Tools. These tools can be employed for mining Chilean copper mines using block caving, sublevel caving, and other mining operations such as exploration campaigns.

The SPT Polestar Aligner is the most recent rig aligner that seeks true north. According to SPT engineers, Polestar Aligner allows multiple platforms to be aligned for eight hours without losing true north. It is a portable solution that generates highly accurate data in both surface and underground operations and is usable in all latitudes, including the most extreme.

For gyro borehole investigations in blast holes, the GyroScoutTM in conjunction with the Gyro PushRodder is the optimal solution. Despite incorporating a pressure barrel, it weights only 2,4 kg. It is a blasting instrument that is recommended for block caving, sublevel caving, and other techniques used in the copper mining industry. This instrument is distinguished by its portability and portability.

As for the Gyro PushRodder, it is a GyroScoutTM accessory that enables wireless depth measurement by squeezing the tool. Alvaro Gonzalez, Service Engineer at SPT, explains, "We have developed the ideal solution for GyroScout deployment, the "Gyro PushRodder," which allows the versatile tool to be deployed easily and quickly even in positive wells."

At Expomin, the new GyroLogicTM Evo will also be introduced. SPT intends to improve the operability of gyroscopes with this new solution because it is a more versatile, powerful, and transportable instrument. This instrument is assembled with fewer manufacturing components, and as a result, its potential for failure and manufacturing time are significantly reduced.

SPT has a longstanding commitment to technological development and innovation and invests a substantial portion of its global revenue in the research and development of new technologies.

Some of these technological innovations include SPT SmartCloud, the cloud-based mining geodata management system that works as an ideal complement to the detailed QA/QC reporting function that characterizes SPT's tools.

These reports allow you to audit data quality from the field and make instant decisions. SPT tools export reports in the most commonly used formats in mining such as csv, xlsx, pdf, las, dxf, among others, which facilitates the import of geodata into geographic information system applications such as Arcgis, Mapinfo, Autocad and Qgis among others.

With SmartCloud", teams can efficiently store, share and analyze geodata. In addition, users can access data from anywhere in the world, facilitating real-time global collaboration. This means that detailed quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) reports can be quickly reviewed by the appropriate parties, and decisions can be made with the assurance that the chain of custody of the data is protected.

Stockholm Precision Tools's emerging horizon

The Swedish company introduced its new corporate identity in March to reflect the significant changes it is implementing and to emphasize environmental, social, and governance concerns.

Several elements of the refreshed brand identity represent SPT's new perception: verticality, precision, and the firmness, coherence, goals, and environmentalism with which SPT operates every day.

The deliberate global expansion of Stockholm Precision Tools demonstrates the company's dedication to providing the global mining industry with cutting-edge precision tools and superior service. By concentrating its future expansion efforts on Chile as a key location for its Latin American operations, the company is well positioned to develop its presence in the Latin American market and promote the significance of high-precision directional survey geodata in the Chilean mining scenario. Stockholm Precision Tools' commitment to quality and customer satisfaction ensures that its innovative products will continue to advance and support sustainable mining operations worldwide.

Address and contact information:

Eric Estrada

Global sales and marketing manager

Stockholm Precision Tools

[email protected]

SOURCE: Stockholm Precision Tools AB

View source version on accesswire.com:
AMSTERDAM, NETHERLANDS / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / The containerization crew at BrainGu is headed to Amsterdam! Fueled by a passion for innovative software platforms that deliver (rs)2: Resilience, Scalability, Repeatability, and Security, BrainGu is crossing the Atlantic to commune and commiserate with adopters and technologists from the world's leading open-source and cloud-native communities.

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon

KubeCon + CloudNativeCon

As Silver Sponsors of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe, BrainGu has carved out its own corner of the RAI Convention Center corner at booth S51. But the BrainGu crew isn't only in Amsterdam to sample Hollandse Nieuwe and practice their Dutch -- they're showcasing the ever-expanding capabilities of StructsureTM, BrainGu's leading-edge internal developer platform (IDP).

While visiting BrainGu at KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe, you can expect to:

Learn how BrainGu's cloud-native technologies are building IDPs that apply DevSecOps principles to all levels of ANY company, regardless of size, industry, or regulatory roadblock.

Explore how (rs) 2 is helping BrainGu's partners foster innovation and developer autonomy, all while improving platform stability and security.

is helping BrainGu's partners foster innovation and developer autonomy, all while improving platform stability and security. Score some rad burrito stickers and other pieces of highly coveted BrainGu swag.

Terminate Kubernetes pods with extreme prejudice on BrainGu's chaos-engineered two-player version of KubeDoom - now on Steam Deck and powered by StructsureTM Edge.

BrainGu Co-Founder, John (Spence) Spencer, will be on hand to discuss how leading-edge platforms, like StructsureTM, must be resilient enough to support any product development effort, regardless of unexpected challenges, outages, and emerging threats. He's also eager to share how BrainGu's modular and extensible architecture adapts to the changing needs and requirements of any customer while also providing the necessary context and tooling to foster innovation through developer autonomy. He's also keen for opportunities to practice his conversational Dutch.

"If you want to find the heart of cloud-native innovation and ground-breaking ideas, you come to KubeCon," said BrainGu CEO John Spencer. "This is why we are thrilled to sponsor this year's KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe. The BrainGu team is eager to connect and collaborate with the great minds working at the forefront of cloud-native computing and introduce them to our IDP, StructsureTM. We know KubeCon will be a chance to help even more developers and companies deliver (rs)2 platforms - regardless of industry or barrier."

Can't make it to Amsterdam? Visit BrainGu at www.braingu.com/kubecon-europe for more information and video content.

Who Is BrainGu?

BrainGu is a technology company specializing in developer-centric Internal Developer Platforms and user-driven software applications. We solve complex challenges by taking a human-first approach to incubating and scaling technologies that solve real-world problems in the hands of users and mission owners. BrainGu's platforms deliver resilient, scalable, repeatable, and secure results in weeks, not years.

Contact Information

Sunny Dasgupta

Marketing & Communications Manager

[email protected]

SOURCE: BrainGu

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Bennett College was founded in 1873 in the basement of St. Matthews Methodist Episcopal Church in Greensboro, NC. They are one of only two all-women, Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States - and their mission is to prepare "women of color through a transformative liberal arts education to lead with purpose, integrity, and a strong sense of self-worth." I encourage you to read more about their rich "herstory" in honor of Women's History Month.

At Cisco, we've taken considerable steps to fight injustice and inequity around the world. One of the most powerful examples of the bold actions we're taking is our $150 million commitment to preserve the legacy and sustainability of HBCUs through Social Justice Action 8.

While that commitment includes driving technology modernization and improving STEM education at HBCUs, Cisco is actively investing into the future of their students as well - and I am proud to say that those investments continued earlier this month at Bennett College.

We are building a bridge with Bennett College

Bennett College has been a private, four-year historically black liberal arts college for women since 1926. Over the course of our relationship, we have worked to establish Bennett College as a Networking Academy, provided student recruiting support, offered guidance on funding grants, and helped enhance their network security for remote learning through a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Assessment. In addition, Bennett College has requested mentorship, job shadowing, and guest lectures by Cisco professionals to prepare Bennett students for life after college. These opportunities align with Action 8 initiatives and will enable Cisco to continue to support the sustainability and legacy of Bennett College.

Women of color often face racism and discrimination in academic and professional environments. HBCUs like Bennett College offer the advantage of providing a supportive, inclusive, and justice-oriented approach to education. Bennett College operationalizes student support through special convocations, lectures, and seminars that comprise their Academic Cultural Enrichment Series (ACES) series, which is designed to enhance the cultural and intellectual development of the student population. Cisco's commitment to delivering student success, accelerating young AA/B talent, and making a lasting impact for generations to come provides an excellent foundation for a symbiotic partnership with Bennett College and augments student support.

As the Executive Sponsor for Bennett College, I worked with Wesley Carter, CX Sr. Program Manager, and Bennett College to create an ACES event that delivered an important message to Bennett's liberal arts students:

You don't have to major in the computer sciences field to be valuable to a technology company like Cisco!

It's a powerful message, and one that we can continually build upon to show Bennett students that even entry-level digital and cybersecurity skills can enhance their competitive edge, no matter what they choose for their career path. Dr. Santiba Campbell, Director of Academic Special Initiatives for Bennett College, suggested an all-woman panel and focus on liberal arts, instead of STEM, because Bennett College is predominately a liberal arts college.

An overview of our Women in Cisco Panel Discussion in March of 2023

One of the most important aspects of this event was the evidence-based approach. It was kicked off by our own Shaina Tamburr, VP, CX Programs & Compliance, and featured a panel of diverse, liberal arts-educated, successful women from different areas within Cisco - ranging from project management to sales and marketing. These successful women came together to share their unique career stories and life experiences, as well as welcome Bennett College's liberal arts students to engage with Cisco. We doubled down on Cisco's commitment to student success by inviting our Emerging Talent Diversity Engagement Team to create a portal specifically for students to upload their resume and be considered for future Cisco opportunities!

The connection between the speakers and students was palpable - and after sharing their stories, our panelists had a chance to answer these insightful questions in front of students:

What has been the most significant barrier in your career?

How have mentors helped you grow as a leader? What was your path to get there?

What advice would you give your 21-year-old self?

As the event concluded, the students were provided with contact information for all the panelists so they could reach out and ask questions to prepare themselves for a career in the tech industry.

This was an incredible event for Bennett College

The Women in Cisco event was a success for Bennett College because it provided students with valuable insights into working in the tech industry, as well as an opportunity to network with successful liberal arts majors - including two alumnae from Bennett College!

But most of all, this was a great step in strengthening the relationship between Bennett College and Cisco:

"I hope both of you are doing well and still glowing from a great experience Friday at Bennett College! Thank you for all of the hard work in planning, organizing and communicating for the Women in Cisco ACES panel. I look forward to more opportunities and sponsorships for us to work together."

- Dr. Santiba Campbell, Director of Academic Special Initiatives, Bennett College

I am genuinely proud to be part of a company that is committed to not only creating opportunity and exposure in the IT field to non-technical students, but also to the strategic recovery, sustainability, and legacy of HBCUs like Bennett College.

Let's continue to work together to power an inclusive future for all by identifying more ways to transform our beliefs into action, especially as we celebrate Women's History Month.

Register now for our upcoming Women Rock-IT event to learn how

amazing women are using technology to address climate change.

International Girls in ICT Day

April 27th, 2023

View original content here.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Cisco Systems Inc. on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Cisco Systems Inc.

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/cisco-systems-inc

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Cisco Systems Inc.

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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 18, 2023 / Last week, Entergy (NYSE: ETR) joined the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children, or LPIC, and United Way of Southeast Louisiana at the Louisiana State Capitol for the release of a new report, "A Modern History of Early Care and Education in Louisiana." The report analyzes the modern history of early care and education in legislation and funding. The report was funded with support from Entergy.



Dr. Libbie Sonnier, Gov. John Bel Edwards , Patty Riddlebarger and Charmaine Caccioppi advocate for early child care and education at the Louisiana State Capitol

Patty Riddlebarger, Entergy vice president of corporate social responsibility, attended a press conference alongside Gov. John Bel Edwards and Dr. Libbie Sonnier, executive director of the LPIC.

"At Entergy, we firmly believe that an investment in our children is an investment in our economy," said Riddlebarger. "Over the past two decades, Entergy has worked with countless advocates, legislative champions, policy makers and community leaders to expand access to high quality early childhood education for Louisiana families. This report documents that progress, while also highlighting how much further we have to go."

The report provides a comprehensive modern history of the early care and education, or ECE, reform movement in the state, including lessons learned. In the late 20th century, scientists concluded the vast majority of brain development takes place during the first three years of a child's life. At the same time, increasingly, child care was becoming one of the most common contexts in which child development unfolds.

In the early 2000s, Louisiana served only 27% of 4-year-olds in pre-kindergarten (pre-K), and the state ranked last in the country for access to child care for 3-year-olds. The state's ECE regulatory structures met only four out of 10 national benchmarks, with no required teacher professional development or minimum staff-child ratios. Yet Louisiana's ECE advocates understood that affordable, high-quality ECE opportunities could be a game-changer for both children and their families, as well as for the state as a whole, and they began to organize themselves to support families with young children.

At the press conference, Edwards offered his remarks about the report.

"When I first took office, the state had spent years disinvesting in education. Now, we have the best budget for education in the history of the state," said Edwards. "This year's budget includes the largest investment of state general fund in early childhood education in state history. We all know how important increasing both access and quality of early childhood education in Louisiana is, and I'm incredibly proud of the strides we've made to put our children first."

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Entergy Corporation on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: Entergy Corporation

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/entergy-corporation

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: Entergy Corporation

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LONDON, UK / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Horizonte Minerals Plc (AIM:HZM)(TSX:HZM) ("Horizonte" or the "Company") announces that CEO, Jeremy Martin, and CFO, Simon Retter, will provide an investor presentation with a construction update on the Araguaia Nickel Project. The presentation will be hosted on the Investor Meet Company platform on 24 April 2023 at 14:00 BST.

The presentation is open to all existing and potential shareholders. Questions can be submitted pre-event via your Investor Meet Company dashboard until 09:00 am the day before the meeting or during the live presentation.

Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add to meet HORIZONTE MINERALS via:

https://www.investormeetcompany.com/horizonte-minerals/register-investor

Investors who already follow HORIZONTE MINERALS on the Investor Meet Company platform will automatically be invited.

For further information, visit www.horizonteminerals.com or contact:

Horizonte Minerals plc

Jeremy Martin (CEO)

Simon Retter (CFO)

Patrick Chambers (Head of IR) [email protected]

+44 (0) 203 356 2901 Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser & Joint Broker)

Ross Allister

David McKeown +44 (0)20 7418 8900 BMO (Joint Broker)

Thomas Rider

Pascal Lussier Duquette

Andrew Cameron +44 (0) 20 7236 1010 Tavistock (Financial PR)

Emily Moss

Cath Drummond +44 (0) 20 7920 3150

ABOUT HORIZONTE MINERALS

Horizonte Minerals plc (AIM & TSX: HZM) is developing two 100%-owned, Tier 1 projects in Par state, Brazil, the Araguaia Nickel Project and the Vermelho Nickel-Cobalt Project. Both projects are large scale, high-grade, low-cost, low-carbon and scalable. Araguaia is under construction with first metal scheduled for early 2024, when fully ramped up with Line 1 and Line 2, is forecast to produce 29,000 tonnes of nickel per year. Vermelho is at feasibility study stage and is expected to produce 24,000 tonnes of nickel and 1,250 tonnes of cobalt to supply the EV battery market. Horizonte's combined near-term production profile of over 60,000 tonnes of nickel per year positions the Company as a globally significant nickel producer. Horizonte's top three shareholders are La Mancha Investments S.a r.l., Glencore plc and Orion Resource Partners LLP.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

Except for statements of historical fact relating to the Company, certain information contained in this press release constitutes "forward-looking information" under Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information includes, but is not limited to, the ability of the Company to complete the acquisition of equipment as described herein, statements with respect to the potential of the Company's current or future property mineral projects; the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility study regarding the second RKEF line at Araguaia on time, or at all, the success of exploration and mining activities; cost and timing of future exploration, production and development; the costs and timing for delivery of the equipment to be purchased as described herein, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves and the ability of the Company to achieve its goals in respect of growing its mineral resources; the realization of mineral resource and reserve estimates and achieving production in accordance with the Company's potential production profile or at all. Generally, forward-looking information can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved". Forward-looking information is based on the reasonable assumptions, estimates, analysis and opinions of management made in light of its experience and its perception of trends, current conditions and expected developments, as well as other factors that management believes to be relevant and reasonable in the circumstances at the date that such statements are made, and are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information, including but not limited to risks related to: the inability of the Company to complete the acquisition of equipment contemplated herein, on time or at all, the ability of the Company to complete a positive feasibility study regarding the implementation of a second RKEF line at Araguaia on the timeline contemplated or at all, exploration and mining risks, competition from competitors with greater capital; the Company's lack of experience with respect to development-stage mining operations; fluctuations in metal prices; uninsured risks; environmental and other regulatory requirements; exploration, mining and other licences; the Company's future payment obligations; potential disputes with respect to the Company's title to, and the area of, its mining concessions; the Company's dependence on its ability to obtain sufficient financing in the future; the Company's dependence on its relationships with third parties; the Company's joint ventures; the potential of currency fluctuations and political or economic instability in countries in which the Company operates; currency exchange fluctuations; the Company's ability to manage its growth effectively; the trading market for the ordinary shares of the Company; uncertainty with respect to the Company's plans to continue to develop its operations and new projects; the Company's dependence on key personnel; possible conflicts of interest of directors and officers of the Company, and various risks associated with the legal and regulatory framework within which the Company operates, together with the risks identified and disclosed in the Company's disclosure record available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, including without limitation, the annual information form of the Company for the year ended December 31, 2022, the Araguaia Report and the Vermelho Report. Although management of the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

This information is provided by Reach, the non-regulatory press release distribution service of RNS, part of the London Stock Exchange. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact [email protected] or visit www.rns.com.

SOURCE: Horizonte Minerals PLC

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MIAMI, FL / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Miami Dade College (MDC) has partnered with PRAI, a trailblazer in the public relations (PR) industry, to offer MDC students, faculty and staff access to first-class innovative PR and media artificial intelligence (AI) solutions through PRAI technology, educational case studies and webinars hosted at MDC's state-of-the-art Business Innovation & Technology (BIT) Center at the Wolfson Campus.





"Our Business Innovation & Technology Center was founded with the idea of exploring business technologies," said Pamela Fuertes Berti, dean of MDC's Miguel B. Fernandez Family School of Global Business, Trade and Transportation. "As we look at the growth of business technologies, this is an exciting opportunity for Miami Dade College, and we are pleased to offer this technology to our students, faculty and colleagues through this partnership with PRAI."

With offices in Miami, PRAI is the first personalized, AI-powered public relations toolbox developed for individuals, organizations and SMEs that will democratize access to PR services. Artificial intelligence is employed instead of full-service agencies to produce every element of an effective PR campaign, reserving users' financial and human resources.

Developed by PRAI Founder and CEO Valentin Saitarli, this revolutionary platform is the result of four years of research and development with a team of AI researchers, designers, developers, content writers, marketing experts and service support specialists.

"Miami Dade College is our first academic institution of choice with whom to partner on this initiative, given its unique and important mission as "Democracy's College." We are passionate about our technology and maximizing its use to help students and faculty through our platform," Saitarli said.

MDC's BIT Center explores the role of technology in digital transformation, process automation, and analytics in the ever-changing business landscape. The BIT Center is an initiative of MDC's Miguel B. Fernandez Family School of Global Business, Trade & Transportation and offers various programs and courses in three core areas - marketing and digital marketing; banking and finance and industry certifications. For a complete list of BIT Center courses and events, visit www.mdc.edu/bitcenter.



MDC Media Contacts: Irene Muoz, interim director of communications, 305-237-3030, [email protected]; Sue Arrowsmith, director of media relations, 305-237-3710, [email protected]; or Norma Ardila, 305-237-3607, [email protected].

This and other MDC releases are available at news.mdc.edu.

SOURCE: Miami Dade College



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NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Nearly a billion people across the world experience the effects of food insecurity, or insufficient access to enough safe and nutritious food.

LyondellBasell is committed to increasing food security in our communities by supporting food banks around the world. In alignment with our sustainability approach and goal to support a thriving society, as well as the United Nations sustainable development goal of zero hunger (SDG 2), we are dedicating our 2023 annual day of service, Global Care Day, to supporting World Food Day on October 16.

In 2022, the company donated more than $100,000 and matched $60,000 in employee giving to support food security globally across 29 community partners.

Stichting Voedselbank Rotterdam

In the Netherlands, LyondellBasell donated 25,000 to Stichting Voedselbank Rotterdam to provide access to healthy food options for the 2,000 families the food bank supports. Stichting Voedselbank launched Rotterdam's first food bank supermarket in 2019. The innovative market helps reduce food waste and removes queues for clients as they are able to select their own groceries and choose products that meet the needs of the size of their families.

"It is important for sustainability so we make sure that as little food as possible is wasted because we can better determine what people can take," said Susan Vermunt, manager, Food Bank Supermarket "There is less wastage here compared to the crates."

Since 2019, LyondellBasell has donated nearly 120,000 towards Stichting Voedselbank's mission, as well as an electric car to help the organization deliver groceries to those who are unable to get to the market.

"This is an opportunity for LyondellBasell to be a good neighbor, and more importantly, help families in the Rotterdam area," said Jean Gadbois, senior vice president, O&P EAI Manufacturing.

Houston Food Bank

In the U.S., LyondellBasell donated $25,000 to the Houston Food Bank in 2022 in support of the Houston Food Bank's transportation fleet, as part of a three-year commitment.

The Houston Food Bank distributes 2.3 million meals and 283,000 snacks annually at 326 meal sites in the greater Houston area. Two co-branded delivery box trucks help disperse meals for Kids Cafe, a program aiming to alleviate child hunger through free nutritious meals. LyondellBasell trucks have metered more than 209,000 miles and transported 262,000 pounds of produce to meal sites in Harris and surrounding counties since 2019.

Since 2017, LyondellBasell has donated more than $443,000 and matched an additional $140,000 in employee giving to the Houston Food Bank, which serves around one million people in southeast Texas.

Global support

By supporting a thriving society, LyondellBasell makes an impact far beyond the company when improving society by investing in programs that strengthen communities. Other food security initiatives in 2022 included:

$10,000 to Tri-State Food Bank's Tons of Turkey fundraiser in Evansville, Indiana, which purchases Thanksgiving turkeys and hams for people in need in a 33-county area, equivalent to more than 17,500 meals

10,000 to La Banque Alimentaire Des BDR in France for the purchase of new refrigerators and general program support

$5,000 to the Akron-Canton Regional Foodbank in Ohio, which provides more than 30 million pounds of food annually to individuals and families in need

$4,000 to the We Care of Grundy County food pantry in Morris, Illinois, for new multi-leveled pallet racks for back stock storage

2,000 to Tafel Bayreuth e. V. in Germany to offset increased food and energy costs

2,000 to Voedselbank Moerdijk in the Netherlands supporting food distribution

Beyond its Advancing Good program, LyondellBasell products are essential to the fight against food insecurity by enabling more efficient food production, transport, and storage. Our materials go into products like protective agricultural netting, food packaging, and cling-films that help maintain freshness and extend shelf-life.

For more information on other initiatives in LyondellBasell's Advancing Good program, refer to our sustainability report.

View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from LyondellBasell on 3blmedia.com.

Contact Info:

Spokesperson: LyondellBasell

Website: https://www.3blmedia.com/profiles/lyondellbasell

Email: [email protected]

SOURCE: LyondellBasell

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Insurance informational site, RateSonic, is celebrating its first full year in business.

LONG BEACH, WA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Since early 2022, RateSonic has grown from an idea for a website to a knowledge base with tons of articles helping consumers learn about insurance. The site exists to help consumers navigate the complex insurance industry and make informed shopping decisions.

RateSonic Banner

RateSonic's logo in banner form.

The company is celebrating its one-year anniversary this April and has a positive outlook for 2023 and beyond. The RateSonic team is excited about introducing even more helpful content, such as state car insurance guides and more in-depth shopping advice. The editorial team also plans to roll out a blog, featuring relevant news and informative studies regarding auto, home, and renters insurance.

RateSonic was founded in Long Beach, Washington, by 23-year-old brothers Brandon and Sean Canonica and their uncle, Larry Canonica. They decided to start the company once Larry saw the need to build a high-quality informational website in the insurance space after working in the industry for several years. Then, the two brothers joined to help build the site and round out the team.

During the company's development, Larry, Brandon, and Sean vowed to follow a strict set of core values:

User-friendliness. The website and its tools should be user-friendly and easy to use. Each article must be to the point and only as long as it needs to be.

The website and its tools should be user-friendly and easy to use. Each article must be to the point and only as long as it needs to be. High quality. Content must be high quality, rather than simply copied, rehashed, or hastily put together. This means it must be original, well-written, and useful.

Content must be high quality, rather than simply copied, rehashed, or hastily put together. This means it must be original, well-written, and useful. Integrity. Ethics are a must at all times. This means putting the users ahead of greed and following honest business practices.

Ethics are a must at all times. This means putting the users ahead of greed and following honest business practices. Objectivity. No outside person or company influences the website's content. Any information is either factual or explicitly stated as the team's own opinion.

Once the above values were in place, Brandon and Sean began writing all of RateSonic's content. Meanwhile, Larry, as the company's CTO, handled the more technical side of maintaining the website.

"Since last year, it's been a tough ride to build this website out with just the three of us, but we've been up to the task, and the site has grown into a very helpful resource. Because of this, we're optimistic for the future and hope to serve as many people as possible," says Sean Canonica, co-founder and CEO of RateSonic.

The site also plans to be active in its home community, Long Beach, WA, as it grows. Per Brandon Canonica, RateSonic's co-founder and COO, "We're based in a small community, so it'll be great to focus on getting more involved, especially with local Chambers of Commerce and the county's Economic Development Council."

Overall, the company's future looks promising as it continues to grow its website, and audience, and help people with their insurance journey. You can learn more about RateSonic and check out its content by visiting https://ratesonic.com.

Contact Information

Sean Canonica

CEO

[email protected]

SOURCE: RateSonic

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Kyiv said Wednesday it had received the first Patriots, seen as one of the most advanced US air defense systems, and deployed France's light armored fighting vehicles as Ukraine prepares for a counteroffensive.

"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defence systems have arrived in Ukraine," Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Twitter.

He added that the United States, Germany and the Netherlands had "kept their word".

Washington late last year said it would provide Ukraine with its Patriot air defence system as Russia pounded Ukraine's energy infrastructure from the air.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said the system will "significantly" strengthen Ukraine's defence against Russian strikes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed the announcement at the time, saying Russia will find an "antidote".

Germany announced in January that it was following the United States in sending one of the advanced missile defence batteries to Ukraine.

The Netherlands said it would supply parts of a Patriot air defence system to Ukraine, specifically two launchers and missiles.

Separately, the Ukrainian army said Wednesday that France's light AMX-10 RC armoured fighting vehicles were "already in service".

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LAS VEGAS, NV / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Licensing Expo, the leading event dedicated to licensing and brand extension, organized by Informa Markets Global Licensing Group, is excited to announce its keynote speaker for the 2023 show: Sam Edelman, the renowned fashion and footwear designer. This year's focus is on fashion in licensing, and Sam Edelman, the founder and president of Sam Edelman, will be joined by Robert D'Loren, CEO and Chairman of Xcel Brands, to discuss how their brand built its fashion empire and expanded through licensing across multiple categories.

"I am honored to be speaking at Licensing Expo this year and to have the opportunity to share my experience and insights with the industry. At Sam Edelman, we have always believed in the power of brand extension through licensing, and I look forward to discussing how we have built our fashion empire and continued to expand our reach through licensing partnerships," says Sam Edelman. "Fashion is such an important category for licensed consumer products, and I am excited to be a part of this conversation at Licensing Expo."

Sam Edelman is a division of Caleres, a global footwear company inspiring people to feel good, feet first, for more than 140 years. Sam Edelman has been a dominant force in the fashion and footwear industry, making an indelible impact on some of the most prominent contemporary footwear brands over the past four decades. Alongside his wife, muse, and business co-founder, Libby Edelman, Sam has grown the Sam Edelman brand into a complete lifestyle brand devoted to an irreverent and whimsical style, inspired by timeless American elegance. The brand bridges the gap between aspiration and attainability to define modern luxury across the U.S., with an international presence from cities like Hong Kong to Dubai.

"Sam Edelman is a fashion-forward influencer and visionary in American footwear and apparel. His presence at Licensing Expo speaks volumes to the endless possibilities of brand extension within retail and fashion categories and the breadth this market shares in licensed consumer product opportunities," says Anna Clarke, Senior Vice President, Global Licensing Group, Informa Markets, the organizer of Licensing Expo. "Edelman is a vibrant trendsetter with innovative and creative experiences, across a robust business portfolio, which provides unique expertise to the perspective of fashion within licensing that we aim to showcase this year at Licensing Expo."

With fashion as the theme for the licensing event this year, Licensing Expo highlights the largest category for licensed consumer products globally by providing an outlet for retailers, agents, and brands to gain insight into the market's direction from one of the world's most celebrated forces in footwear. According to Licensing International, fashion properties account for 9% of the total licensed consumer product revenue worldwide, topping more than $28 billion in annual sales.

The Sam Edelman brand will host a meeting room at Licensing Expo, June 13-15 at Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas, accessible by appointment-only. To book an appointment, please reach out to Seth Burroughs via email: [email protected].

To register to attend Licensing Expo 2023 for free, please visit www.licensingexpo.com.

About Licensing Expo:

Launched in 1980, Licensing Expo is the world's largest and most influential annual tradeshow dedicated to licensing and brand extension. Every year, more than 5,000 brands and 16,000 retailers, licensees, manufacturers, distributors, and licensing agents attend Licensing Expo from more than 70 countries. Licensing Expo is a part of the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, the licensing industry's leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together.

About Global Licensing Group:

The Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets, a subsidiary of Informa plc (LON:INF), is the licensing industry's leading tradeshow organizer and media partner. Its mission is to provide licensing opportunities around the world by bringing brands and products together. The following events and information products are produced for the licensing industry by the Global Licensing Group at Informa Markets: Licensing Expo, Brand Licensing Europe, Licensing Expo Shanghai, Brand & Licensing Innovation Summit and License Global. Global Licensing Group events are sponsored by Licensing International.

Media Contact:

Jordan Douglas

Informa Markets Licensing PR

[email protected]

SOURCE: INFORMA MARKETS - GLOBAL LICENSING GROUP (Licensing Expo)

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TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / SPETZ INC. (the "Company" or "Spetz") (CSE:SPTZ, OTC:DBKSF) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an amending agreement (the "Amendment") with respect to an unsecured, convertible note, dated December 29, 2021 (the "Note"), through which the Company had invested US$250,000 (the "Principal Amount") into MADA Analytics Ltd. ("MADA"), as previously announced in the Company's press release dated December 29, 2021. As per the terms of the Note, MADA had agreed to pay interest on the Principal Amount at a rate of 5% per annum to the Company. The Principal Amount, including any interest accrued thereon, was due and had become mature on December 29, 2022.

Pursuant to the Amendment, the Company and MADA have agreed to an extension of the maturity date, to allow for the repayment of the Principal Amount by MADA in ten (10) quarterly installments to the Company, in amounts ranging from US$20,000 to US$30,000. In addition to the foregoing, as per the terms of the Amendment, interest shall accrue on the Principal Amount at a rate of 8% per annum from the date of the Amendment.

About Spetz Inc.

Spetz is a multinational technology company that operates the Spetz application, a global, online, AI-powered marketplace platform that dynamically connects consumers to nearby top-rated service providers in around 30 seconds. Spetz is available in the USA, United Kingdom, Australia, and Israel.

The Spetz vision is to reinvent how people around the world connect to services in their moment of need. Connecting them immediately with the top-matched service provider, for any need, anytime, anywhere. For more information visit www.spetz.app.

Company Contacts:

Ofir Friedman Daniel Mogil Director and Chief Marketing Officer Investor Relations Manager [email protected] [email protected] 437-826-4012

NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE, NOR THEIR REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDERS HAVE REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements

Certain information in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements under applicable securities laws. Any statements that are contained in this news release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements are often identified by terms such as "may", "should", "anticipate", "plans" "expect", "potential", "believe", "intend" or negatives of these terms and similar expressions. In this press release, forward-looking statements relate, among other things, to: the ability of MADA to repay the Principal Amount, including any interest accrued thereon, in quarterly installments pursuant to the Amendment.

Forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions. While the Company considers these assumptions to be reasonable based on information currently available, they are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies and they may prove to be incorrect. Such assumptions include, but are not limited to: MADA's ability to access sufficient capital.

Forward-looking statements also necessarily involve known and unknown risks, including without limitation: risks associated with general economic conditions; increased competition in the mobile application and home-services market; and risks with respect the MADA's ability to access sufficient capital, which may delay and/or render MADA incapable of completing its quarterly payments pursuant to the Amendment.

Readers are cautioned that the foregoing is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ from those anticipated. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. The purpose of forward-looking information is to provide the reader with a description of management's expectations, and such forward-looking information may not be appropriate for any other purpose. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise. Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as to the date hereof and are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change.

SOURCE: Spetz, Inc.

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SHANGDONG, CHINA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / SPO Global Inc, (OTC PINK:SPOM) ("SPO Global Inc" or the "Company"), which operates Shandong Fangyuan Huizhong Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd., today provides an update regarding Shandong Fangyuan's participation in the 108th National Sugar and Liquor Commodities Fair held in Chengdu, Sichuan, China from April 12th to 14th. The company had signed up for the fair in early December 2022.

On April 14, 2023, the 108th National Sugar and Liquor Commodities Fair in Chengdu ended successfully. Shandong Fangyuan participated in the exhibition as scheduled, showcased information solutions tailored to the automation industry, consolidated existing cooperative relationships, explored a large number of potential customers, and laid the foundation for opening up new markets.

This year's conference was hosted at an exhibition area of 320,000 square meters which held 5,000 international standard booths, and nearly 450,000 domestic and foreign professional merchants participated during the event.

After careful preparation, and with exquisite technical level, the automatic stretch film packaging machine equipment has once again become a highlight in the industry. The ingenious design and precise production accuracy have attracted many Chinese and foreign businessmen to stop and watch, consult, and negotiate. Many buyers have encountered technical problems at their processing sites, but after the technical guidance and process optimization of engineers, many customers seemed greatly satisfied and had a high purchase intention.

This event was not only a feast for the industry, but also a harvest journey. At this exhibition, Shandong Fangyuan met many colleagues in different regions, accumulated a variety of food machinery and equipment manufacturing experience, enriched knowledge, and brought back the valuable opinions of many end users.

Automatic stretch film series equipment in the domestic vacuum packaging machine industry has achieved long-term development in recent years, with remarkable achievements, certain brand accumulation and, steady development. With good market operation ability, Shandong Dongguan has occupied a pivotal position in the field of vacuum packaging equipment. Nevertheless, Shandong Fangyuan knows that "the task is heavy and the road is long", and will continue to improve the management system, accelerate the process of brand building of Shandong Fangyuan, rationally face market demand, and create more high-quality products to serve the majority of users and friends.

The global food packaging market is projected to grow from $338.34 billion in 2021 to $478.18 billion in 2028 in forecast period. The growing demand for packaged products due to the shift in evolving lifestyles and eating habits is anticipated to impact the market, says Fortune Business Insights in its report titled, "Food Packaging Market Size, Share, Growth and Forecast 2021-2028".

We encourage our shareholders to visit our corporate Twitter account for more updates: https://twitter.com/spo_global

About SPO Global Inc. (OTC PINK:SPOM):

SPO Global Inc. recently signed a merger agreement with a leading food machinery company, Shandong Fangyuan Huizhong Intelligent Equipment Co., Ltd. (SFHI).

Company Disclaimers: As a Public Traded Company, within the guidelines of Federal and State Securities Law, SPO Global, Inc. may not avail itself of the Safe Harbor provisions as identified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. However, SPO Global, Inc. provides the following disclaimer and warning to protect our shareholders, prospective investors and the public at large by alerting them to the risks and uncertainties involved with any investment, and the need to perform their own due diligence and assessment.

Forward-Looking Statements: This press release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, such as statements relating to financial results and plans for future development activities and are thus prospective. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding intent, belief or current expectations of the Company, its directors or its officers. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company's ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Among the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements are risks and uncertainties associated with the Company's business and finances in general, including the ability to continue and manage its growth, competition, global economic conditions and other factors discussed in detail in the Company's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Company Contact:

Jeff Peng

[email protected]

SOURCE: SPO Global, Inc.

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With new environmental and societal activities, SumUp steps up its efforts to support positive change in the planet

BOULDER, CO / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Global financial technology company SumUp continues its industry-leading sustainability agenda, today announcing a range of initiatives addressing societal and environmental issues.

SumUp - River Cleanup - Citarum River

SumUp helps NGO to clean up the Citarum River, in Indonesia, the most polluted river in the world

The SumUp ESG framework is based on: Environment, Education and Entrepreneurship. Within the Environment pillar, SumUp has pledged to donate 1% of net revenue generated by its Solo card readers to NGOs within the "1% for the Planet" movement.

Today's announcement is a continuation of that work as SumUp looks to contribute to all aspects of ESG, looking at environmental and societal matters. SumUp is proud to announce several initiatives:

In partnership with River Cleanup, removing 100,000kg of plastic from the Citarum River in Indonesia, the most polluted river in the world. In addition to the initial removal, SumUp will also conduct campaigns to raise environmental awareness among local communities

With Wilderness International, protecting 100,000m 2 of forest in Peru for generations to come, preserving valuable habitats and biodiversity and offsetting 6,000 tons of CO 2

of forest in Peru for generations to come, preserving valuable habitats and biodiversity and offsetting 6,000 tons of CO Through StoveTeam International, SumUp will be supporting 1,000 families in Central America with safe, fuel-efficient cookstoves. These stoves reduce the risk of lung diseases and save 12 tons of CO 2 per stove

SumUp is also offering three-month Java Full Stack courses to over 120 students across Chile, Brazil, and Colombia, providing tech education to women and girls, non-white, LGBTQ+, and other underprivileged people. Over 80% of last year's graduates have found employment post-course. In addition, SumUp works with Dharma Life to provide a technology platform that supports education for children from rural India.

Commenting, SumUp Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion and ESG Felizitas Lichtenberg, said:

"As a world-leading technology company, we're committed to having a positive impact on the world and empowering people. And with our ESG initiatives, we want to create value throughout society and for the planet. We believe that investing in critical global issues and addressing them at source, like education for unemployed and minoritized groups, or protecting our planet, is not only the right thing to do but also a responsibility of everyone and will shape our shared future. We are committed to driving this agenda further to accelerate change and help create a sustainable future."

About SumUp

SumUp is a global financial technology company driven by the mission of empowering small businesses all over the world. Founded in 2012, SumUp is the financial partner for more than 4 million entrepreneurs in over 35 markets worldwide.

In the United States, SumUp offers an ecosystem of affordable, easy-to-use financial products, such as point-of-sale and loyalty solutions, card readers, invoicing, and a business account that allows customers to manage their money and receive payouts the next day.

For more information, please visit https://www.sumup.com/en-us/.

Contact Information

Adriano Lira

PR Manager, US

[email protected]

5511983918632

SumUp PR Team

[email protected]

SOURCE: SumUp

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Patent thrusts PUR Biologics into the $200B immunotherapy market

IRVINE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / PUR Biologics, a wholly owned subsidiary of HippoFi (OTC PINK:ORHB) today announced the issuance of a groundbreaking technology which activates immune cells. This issued patent launches PUR Biologics into the field of cell and immune therapies, ushering in a new era of medical treatments for patients with immune compromised and chronic pain conditions. A 2022 Grand View Research study found the immunotherapy market value is projected to be worth $271.84 Billion USD by 2030.

"The increasing adoption of immunotherapies and technological advancements in bioinformatics will expand our growth opportunities," said CJ Wiggins, Executive Chairman & CEO of HippoFi. "We are pleased to support PUR Biologics' biotechnologies and restorative therapeutics as we continue to position ourselves as an authority in biologics and innovator in advanced cellular-based immunotherapies."

Immune therapies support the battle against degenerative and diseased conditions by developing new pathways to restore the immune system's capacity to heal as intended. PUR has been developing a variety of methods to activate the immune system and critical cells from the patient's bone marrow to mitigate neuropathic and centralized pain signals and the development of new anti-cancer therapeutics.

"We are proud to be at the forefront of this exciting new technology," said Ryan Fernan, Head of PUR Biologics. "By activating immune cells, we can unlock their full potential and create therapies that are more effective than ever before. PUR Biologics' innovative approach to utilizing this technology has the promise to improve the quality of life, particularly in our aging population."

HippoFi, Inc. is publicly traded under the symbol: ORHB and is headquartered in Irvine, California. For more information, please visit: www.HippoFi.com and www.PURbiologics.com.

About PUR Biologics

PUR Biologics, a wholly owned subsidiary of HippoFi, Inc. (OTC PINK: ORHB), is a leading biologic company committed to supporting surgeons and hospitals in providing the best care for their patients. PUR Biologics' full line of biologic products currently include: advanced allografts and demineralized extracellular matrixes (d-ECM), innovative synthetic solutions, cellular derived tissues, and a future of next generation regenerative stem cell and growth factor driven therapeutics for treating osteoarthritis and cartilage regeneration.

About HippoFi, Inc.

HippoFi, Inc. delivers its cutting-edge healthcare innovations through an extensive sales channel network while implementing first-to-market solutions in the multibillion-dollar Biotech, Fintech, and Artificial Intelligence (AI) markets. HippoFi comprises three segments: Regenerative Therapeutics, Digital Payments, and AI, which utilize the same customer channels to commercialize solutions, drive revenue, and improve patient outcomes.

Contact:

Jason Brown

Shareholder Communications

HippoFi, Inc.

612-209-7565

SOURCE: ORHUB, Inc.

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VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Usha Resources Ltd. ("USHA" or the "Company") (TSXV:USHA)(OTCQB: USHAF)(FSE:JO0), a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of drill-ready lithium and other battery and precious metal projects, is pleased to provide an update on its on-going catalysts for growth and a recap of the Company's progress in 2022.

Highlights

Working capital of approximately $3.1 million.

220% growth in market capitalization since the start of 2022 to just under $15 million with significant future exploration work to come.

Upcoming 20% "Share Dividend" via the Spin-Out of the Nicobat Nickel Project with an Ex-Distribution Date of April 21, 2023.

Roadmap for the Jackpot Lake Lithium Brine Project in Nevada, where the Company recently announced the highest drill results ever and is presently undertaking a fully permitted and financed maiden drill program with the goal of delivering a 43-101 resource estimate.

Roadmap for the White Willow and Nym Lake Lithium Pegmatite Projects in Ontario, the first of the Company's planned acquisitions in the hard-rock space, where almost 200 pegmatites are present and a confirmed fertile lithium-cesium-tantalum ("LCT") system exists that has coarse mineralization observed seen elsewhere only in one other locality within the province: the North Aubrey pegmatite at Green Technology Metals (GT1) Seymour Lake Project where GT1 has identified a 9.9 Mt resource at 1.04% Li 2 O.

Dear Shareholders,

The start of 2023 has been a very exciting and transformative period for Usha given the expedited nature of advancing Usha into a lithium-focused company.

While this period has been a difficult time for many explorers in the commodities space, we have successfully navigated this turbulent time, growing our company by almost 220% to its market capitalization of just under 15 million, with several significant acquisitions that have resulted in the Company you see today.

We are excited and energized by the promise this year holds for our Company. We enter 2023 with strong marketplace tailwinds in the battery metals sector, prudent financial and operational management, and conservatively valued assets in highly ranked mining jurisdictions with excellent potential for out-sized success in 2023 and beyond.

A primary goal of ours this year is complete our maiden resource estimate for the Jackpot Lake Lithium Brine project, a significant catalyst that would result in Usha joining a select few companies that are on the path to providing domestic supply of a critical element in the United States.

We are very excited to unlock the value of our portfolio and become a significant leader in the lithium space as the world continues its transition to a low carbon future and we look forward to continuing to build our company through acquisition, exploration and high-impact execution in the coming year to drive future growth.

Sincerely,

Deepak Varshney, CEO

Significant highlights from the past 12 months:

Strong Balance Sheet

Successful closing of $5,895,401 across two financings, both of which were heavily oversubscribed: $2,895,401 at $0.30 and $3,000,000 at $0.325. With a working capital of just over $3.1 million, the company has a strong balance sheet and is fully funded to execute at each of its projects.

Strategic Acquisitions

Acquisition of the Jackpot Lake Lithium Brine Project in Nevada, USA ("Jackpot Lake"), including the recent exercise to obtain 100% of the project following the success of its on-going maiden drill program where it recently announced the highest grades ever at the history of the project. Initially comprised of 2,800 acres, the Company has recently expanded its control to 8,714 acres, increasing the footprint to just over 35 km 2 . As the primary strategic landowner within the Dry Lake Basin, the Company is in a strong position to advance the Jackpot Lake project.

. As the primary strategic landowner within the Dry Lake Basin, the Company is in a strong position to advance the Jackpot Lake project. Acquisition of the White Willow and Nym Lake Lithium Pegmatite Projects in Ontario, Canada ("White Willow" and "Nym Lake"). The first of Usha's planned expansion into the hard-rock pegmatite space, White Willow is an advanced grassroots asset that is host to a fertile lithium-cesium-tantalum system that contains coarse-grained tantalite crystallization only found in one other locale in Ontario: the North Aubrey pegmatite at Green Technology Metals' (GT1) Seymour Lake project, where GT1 has identified a 9.9-million-tonne resource at 1.04 per cent Li2O.

Nym Lake is the Company's second pegmatite acquisition and is host to at least 119 pegmatites that are on trend with the system identified at White Willow, giving the Company almost 200 pegmatites to explore that may be related to the identified LCT-system.

Progress on the Upcoming 20% "Share Dividend" via the Spin-Out of the Nicobat Nickel Project:

With an upcoming Ex-Distribution Date of April 21, 2023, the Company will have successfully provided another avenue of value creation through the spin-out of its Nicobat Nickel Project ("Nicobat") whereby shareholders will receive one (1) common share of FMI with respect to every five (5) USHA shares held at the end of the "Due Bill Period" on April 20, 2023, inclusive.

Catalysts for growth

Completion of a 43-101 Maiden Resource Estimate at the Jackpot Lake Lithium Brine Project

The Company is presently drilling the second hole of its maiden drill program at Jackpot Lake with the goal of defining a 43-101 resource.

The drilling so far has been a success, providing support that the Dry Lake Basin is a similar setting to that of Albemarle's Silver Peak Nevada Lithium Mine, the only producing lithium mine in North America. The Company's target is relatively unique within Nevada as it has a shallower basin which has resulted in favourable geology being present at more accessible depths than elsewhere in the state.

Notably, the Company recently reported the highest lithium grades ever at the project, with analytical results from JP22-02 returning as high as 820 ppm and averaging 334 ppm Li in thirty samples collected from shallow surface soils ([i].

Similar stratigraphy has been encountered in both drill holes advanced to date, including the presence of significant evaporitic crystallization, indicative of a brine-forming environment, and higher-porosity sand and conglomerate. Identifying these similarities is a key finding that continues to support that Dry Lake, within which Jackpot is hosted, is a similar geologic setting to that of Clayton Valley.

The identification of the sand and conglomerate zone in particular is very important as per the Preliminary Economic Assessment (PEA) completed by Pure Energy Minerals for their Clayton Valley project[ii], their sand and conglomerate zone was identified to contain a large volume of brine with superior grades, and per the Pre-Feasibility Study completed by Albemarle for the Silver Peak Mine, this zone is a focus for expansion.

The Company will be advancing both its drill holes to 2,000 feet within the coming weeks after which it will complete sampling, including the deeper sand and conglomerate zones where the Company believes the best potential brines may be present. Pending results, the Company would then proceed with either further drilling or completion of its maiden resource estimate, the completion of which would enable it to join the ranks of a select few companies in the United States.

Exploration at the White Willow and Nym Lake Lithium Pegmatite Projects

With the coming snowmelt, the Company intends on aggressively pursuing an exploration program at the White Willow and Nym Lake Lithium Pegmatite Projects with the goal of drilling them in Q3 of 2023.

The exploration work will involve a combination of prospecting, mapping and rock sampling, combined with soil sampling and geophysical surveying. Exploration is slated to begin in the final week of April 2023 and will include:

Prospecting, mapping, rock sampling

Geophysical ground surveys (resistivity)

Soil sampling over target features

Trenching and,

Diamond drilling best targets

With almost 200 pegmatites and a confirmed fertile LCTsystem, the focus of the summer program will be the identification of drill targets, particularly in the vicinity of the "Maple Leaf Showing", an LCTpegmatite dike that appears to be at least 50 metres wide and outcrops for approximately 350 metres along strike. Tantalite as high as 14.64% Ta 2 O 5 has been identified here, with the very coarse mineralization observed seen elsewhere only in one other locality within the province: the North Aubrey pegmatite at Green Technology Metals (GT1) Seymour Lake Project where GT1 has identified a 9.9 Mt resource at 1.04% Li 2 O.

The company has also agreed to engage Aktiencheck.de AG, owned by Stefan Lindam, for 50,000 euros for a European marketing and news dissemination program. The length of such program depends upon the volume of the company's future news flow. Aktiencheck is an arm's-length party to the company and does not currently own any securities of the company as at the date hereof.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release relating to the Jackpot Lake Project has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Seth Cude, P.G., CPG. RM, M.Sc., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43-101").

The technical content of this news release relating to the White Willow and Nym Lake Projects has been reviewed and approved by Mr. Andrew Tims, P.Geo., a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Usha Resources Ltd.

Usha Resources Ltd. is a North American mineral acquisition and exploration company focused on the development of quality battery and precious metal properties that are drill-ready with high-upside and expansion potential. Based in Vancouver, BC, Usha's portfolio of strategic properties provides target-rich diversification and consist of Jackpot Lake, a lithium project in Nevada; White Willow, a lithium project in Ontario; Nicobat, a nickelcoppercobalt project in Ontario; and Lost Basin, a gold-copper project in Arizona. Usha trades on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol USHA, the OTCQB Exchange under the symbol USHAF and the Frankfurt Stock Exchange under the symbol JO0.

For more information, please call Tyler Muir, Investor Relations, at 1-888-772-2452, email [email protected], or visit www.usharesources.com.

Forward-looking statements:

This news release may include "forward-looking information" under applicable Canadian securities legislation. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and are based on a number of estimates and/or assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking information are neither promises nor guarantees and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties, uncertain and volatile equity and capital markets, lack of available capital, actual results of exploration activities, environmental risks, future prices of base and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labour issues, delays in obtaining governmental approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry.

The Company is presently an exploration stage company. Exploration is highly speculative in nature, involves many risks, requires substantial expenditures, and may not result in the discovery of mineral deposits that can be mined profitably. Furthermore, the Company currently has no reserves on any of its properties. As a result, there can be no assurance that such forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

[i] Monk, L. et al. 2011. Geochemistry of Lithium-rich brines in Clayton Valley, Nevada, USA. Society of Geology Applied to Ore Deposits Bi-annual Meeting, Antofogasto, Chile.

[ii] Pure Energy Minerals, 2018. NI 43-101 Technical Report. Preliminary Economic Assessment (Rev. 1) of the Clayton Valley Lithium Project. Esmeralda County, Nevada.

SOURCE: Usha Resources Ltd.

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SACRAMENTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- 3fold Communications, a Sacramento-based marketing and advertising agency, has won an impressive 9 awards across 3 prestigious creative competitions around the globe in just 30 days. These awards recognize the exceptional work of 3folds marketing campaigns, which aim to uplift communities while enhancing brands - what they refer to as Cause Performance Marketing.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419006019/en/

3fold is a full-service cause performance marketing and advertising agency that specializes in making impactful connections with your audience through messages that resonate. Our research-driven approach enables us to provide tailored campaign and advertising services, including traditional/digital media buying and beautiful creative execution. We're passionate about driving positive change through our clients' causes, and we're committed to staying at the forefront of cause performance marketing and advertising. (Graphic: Business Wire)

One of the most notable awards was in the Novelty and Wild Card categories for their innovative drone show for the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, California, winning Gold awards at both the Community College Public Relations Officers Awards (CCPRO) and American Advertising Federations ADDY Awards. The drone show was a collaborative effort with 3folds partners, including the Sacramento Republic FC, and was designed to create an unforgettable experience for the audience. Christie Pierce, 3folds Media Director, expressed his excitement about the recognition, stating: We are absolutely thrilled that our innovative drone show was recognized by both the CCPRO and ADDY Awards. It was a collaborative effort with our partners, and we are proud to have created an experience that captivated audiences and left lasting impressions. This is a testament to the power of creativity and technology when combined with a stronger message. The Los Rios Colleges went on to increase their Spring 2023 enrollment by 5.2% the following semester.

In addition to the drone show, 3fold won multiple awards for their advertising campaigns, including the International Student Campaign category for Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California; Los Rios Meet Future You, and Sacramento Green Teams SB-1383 organics campaign. The awards reflect 3folds commitment to Cause Performance Marketing, an approach that uses advertising to improve lives and communities, in turn enhancing brands.

At the Hermes Creative Awards, one of the oldest and largest global creative competitions, 3fold took away a Gold award for their Pride is a Protest campaign and an Honorable Mention for their Communities Against Sexual Harm creative.

Jason Malmberg, Creative Director at 3fold Communications, said: We believe creativity drives positive change in communities. Our collaborative work with partners and clients pushes boundaries to solve real-world problems. These prestigious awards recognize our passion and dedication to impactful campaigns that look great and make a difference.

For more information, contact Taylor Toledo, Vice President of Insights, at [email protected] or call 209-598-4493.

Links to the respective award organizations:

CCPRO Awards: https://ccleague.org/event-calendar/2023-ccpro-conference#ccpro-awards

American Advertising Awards: https://aafsacramento.org/american-advertising-awards/

Hermes Creative Awards: https://www.hermesawards.com/

3fold Communications is located in Sacramento, California with a nationwide service area. They specialize in Cause Performance Marketing, a method of advertising that improves lives and communities, while enhancing brands by focusing on return-on-objectives. 3fold works with education and workforce development, public agency, and healthcare brands and initiatives. Clients have included Electrify America, Sutter Health, University of Pacific, and more.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419006019/en/

3fold Communications

Taylor Toledo

P: 209-598-4493

E: [email protected]

Source: 3fold Communications
DULUTH, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- ALLETE Inc. (NYSE: ALE) has again been included among a group of Minnesota companies recognized for gender diversity in their top leadership ranks.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005871/en/

ALLETE was named an Honor Roll Company with Special Distinction in the 2022 Minnesota Census of Women in Corporate Leadership. From left are Kristin Renskers, IBEW Local 31; Jennifer Kuklenski, public policy advisor; Ana Vang, senior public policy advisor; Carrie Ryan, enterprise project manager; Jennifer Cady, director of regulatory affairs; Bethany Owen, ALLETE chair, president and CEO; Nicole Johnson, ALLETE Clean Energy president and ALLETE vice president; and Maggie Thickens, ALLETE vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary. (Photo: Business Wire)

ALLETE has been named as an Honor Roll company with Special Distinction in the 2022 Minnesota Census of Women in Corporate Leadership, produced by St. Catherine Universitys School of Business. The annual research study examines the representation of women on boards of directors and as executive officers in the states largest publicly held companies. It is the fourth consecutive year ALLETE has received the honor.

ALLETE is among only six of 78 companies that achieved gender parity on their board of directors, among their executive officer positions, or both, in 2022, according to the report. Five of 10 directors serving on the ALLETE board are women and three of the six ALLETE executive officers are women.

The six Special Distinction companies are among the 23 companies named to the Honor Roll for having representation of women on the board of directors at 29% or better, and representation of women in executive officer roles as 23% or better.

Bethany Owen, ALLETE chair, president and CEO, said the company is honored to be recognized with the Special Distinction status. She noted that women have served in senior leadership positions and on ALLETEs board of directors for decades.

Im proud of our companys strong track record of diversity in all forms, be it gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, as well as experience, Owen said. But this isnt about numbers or percentagesits about creating and strengthening an equitable and inclusive culture where individuals are valued for their whole selves. And that, in turn, enables people, organizations and businesses, and our communities to thrive in truly sustainable ways. We know we have more work to do, but we also know we are stronger when more voices are included in the decision-making process at all levels.

ALLETE and other Honor Roll companies were recognized April 18 at an event at the Saint Paul RiverCentre hosted by Twin Cities Business. Jennifer Cady, director of regulatory affairs at Minnesota Power, accepted the award on behalf of ALLETE.

In addition to the recognition in the St. Catherine University census, Moodys Investors Service has identified ALLETE as having the most gender diverse board among 45 utility companies it examined for a report on board gender diversity at publicly traded North American utilities.

ALLETE, Inc. is an energy company headquartered in Duluth, Minnesota. In addition to its electric utilities, Minnesota Power and Superior Water, Light and Power of Wisconsin, ALLETE owns ALLETE Clean Energy, based in Duluth; BNI Energy in Bismarck, North Dakota; and New Energy Equity, headquartered in Annapolis, Maryland; and has an 8% equity interest in the American Transmission Co. More information about ALLETE is available at www.allete.com. ALE-CORP

The statements contained in this release and statements that ALLETE may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks discussed in documents filed by ALLETE with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005871/en/

Amy Rutledge

Director, Corporate Communications

Minnesota Power/ALLETE

218-723-7400

[email protected]

Source: ALLETE Inc.
LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has affirmed the Financial Strength Rating of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of a- (Excellent) of the rated operating subsidiaries of SiriusPoint Ltd. (SiriusPoint) (Bermuda) [NYSE: SPNT]. Additionally, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term ICR of bbb- (Good) of SiriusPoint, which is a non-operating holding company. Concurrently, AM Best has affirmed the Long-Term Issue Credit Rating of bbb- (Good) on USD 115 million, 7% senior unsecured notes, due 2025, of SiriusPoint. The outlook of these Credit Ratings (ratings) is stable. (See below for a detailed listing of the companies and ratings.)

The ratings reflect SiriusPoints consolidated balance sheet strength, which AM Best assesses as very strong, as well as its adequate operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of the groups operating subsidiaries factor in their strategic importance to SiriusPoint.

SiriusPoints balance sheet strength is underpinned by its risk-adjusted capitalisation, which was at the strongest level at year-end 2022, as measured by Bests Capital Adequacy Ratio. The assessment also considers the significant de-risking of SiriusPoints asset base in 2022, owing to the redemption of USD 0.6 billion from related party investment funds and reinvestment of the proceeds into high quality fixed income securities. As a result, cash and fixed income investments comprised 92% of SiriusPoint's investment portfolio at year-end 2022, up from 78% at year-end 2021. A partially offsetting rating factor is the group's somewhat limited capital fungibility due to a significant portion of consolidated available capital being held as a safety reserve in the groups Swedish subsidiary.

SiriusPoint is expected to report adequate operating performance over the underwriting cycle. However, recent technical performance has been weak, demonstrated by combined ratios of 120% and 107% (as calculated by AM Best) in 2021 and 2022, respectively. Underwriting profitability is expected to improve and be more stable as SiriusPoints management continues to rebalance the groups business mix away from catastrophe-exposed property business toward less volatile accident and health and specialty lines.

SiriusPoints neutral business profile assessment reflects its market position as a midtier global (re)insurer, which operates from platforms in Europe, the United States, Bermuda and at Lloyds. The group has a good level of diversification by line of business, which is expected to improve further as it executes its business plan.

The FSR of A- (Excellent) and the Long-Term ICRs of a- (Excellent) have been affirmed, with stable outlooks for the following subsidiaries of SiriusPoint Ltd.:

SiriusPoint America Insurance Company

SiriusPoint Bermuda Insurance Company Ltd.

SiriusPoint International Insurance Corporation (publ)

SiriusPoint Specialty Insurance Corporation

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Bests website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Bests Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Guide to Bests Credit Ratings. For information on the proper use of Bests Credit Ratings, Bests Performance Assessments, Bests Preliminary Credit Assessments and AM Best press releases, please view Guide to Proper Use of Bests Ratings & Assessments.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency, news publisher and data analytics provider specialising in the insurance industry. Headquartered in the United States, the company does business in over 100 countries with regional offices in London, Amsterdam, Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore and Mexico City. For more information, visit www.ambest.com.

Copyright  2023 by A.M. Best Rating Services, Inc. and/or its affiliates. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

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Ben Diaz-Clegg

Senior Financial Analyst

+44 20 7397 0293

[email protected]

Christopher Sharkey

Associate Director, Public Relations

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5159

[email protected]

Ghislain Le Cam, CFA, FRM

Senior Director, Analytics

+44 20 7397 0268

[email protected]

Al Slavin

Senior Public Relations Specialist

+1 908 439 2200, ext. 5098

[email protected]

Source: AM Best
Use of artificial intelligence technology efficiently identifies eligible patient candidates for pivotal clinical trial; program launched at The Christ Health Network

SANTA CLARA, Calif. & ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Ancora Heart, Inc., a medical device company developing a novel transcatheter device-based therapy to address heart failure (HF), and egnite, Inc., a leading digital health company in the field of cardiovascular care, today announced a strategic partnership to accelerate clinical trial enrollment for Ancora Hearts CORCINCH-HF pivotal clinical trial, which is evaluating the safety and efficacy of the AccuCinch Ventricular Restoration System. The partnership brings together the cutting-edge technology and expertise of both organizations with the goal of delivering innovative therapies to patients faster. The Christ Health Network in Cincinnati, OH is the first site in Ancora Hearts CORCINCH-HF trial to utilize egnites Trial Accelerator artificial intelligence (AI) technology to help identify eligible patients.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005428/en/

Ancora Heart's AccuCinch Ventricular Restoration System device is designed to restore the structure and function of the enlarged left ventricle of the heart, thereby addressing the fundamental issue in the progression of heart failure in patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The AccuCinch System is an investigational device, which is currently being studied in the CORCINCH-HF pivotal trial, a prospective, randomized, open-label, multicenter, international, clinical safety and efficacy investigation. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Our goal with the development of the AccuCinch System is to provide a minimally invasive treatment option to further improve the lives of heart failure patients whose symptoms progress despite guideline directed medical therapy, said Mark Miles, chief commercial officer of Ancora Heart. This partnership with egnite and The Christ Health Network will allow us to deploy AI tools such as egnites Trial Accelerator and expedite identification of eligible candidates for the CORCINCH-HF trial.

egnites Trial Accelerator technology will also be leveraged at other participating CORCINCH-HF sites to drive patient identification and enrollment for the pivotal trial. The innovative solution can accelerate clinical trial enrollment through AI and big data processing, automatically screening hundreds of thousands of patients against trial parameters to help identify more trial candidates without hospital staff dedicating hours to manual chart review.

Identifying patient candidates for clinical trial participation can be a complex task that requires many hours to review medical charts in the search for matching clinical criteria, said Dr. Dean Kereiakes, president of The Christ Hospital Heart and Vascular Institute and co-principal investigator for CORCINCH-HF. The use of AI technology streamlines the trial screening process by identifying candidates more quickly and efficiently, thereby freeing up critical resources needed for clinical trial success.

We are thrilled to partner with leading life sciences organizations like Ancora Heart and apply our novel technology to accelerate clinical trial enrollment, said Joel Portice, president and chief executive officer of egnite. We believe this collaboration is a significant step forward for patients and are excited to be at the forefront of cardiovascular care.

About Ancora Heart, Inc.

Ancora Heart is a medical device company dedicated to providing new treatment options for people with heart failure (HF). The companys proprietary AccuCinch Ventricular Restoration System is the only completely transcatheter device designed to restore the structure and function of the enlarged left ventricle of the heart, thereby addressing the fundamental issue in the progression of heart failure in patients with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). The AccuCinch System is an investigational device, which is currently being studied in the CORCINCH-HF pivotal trial, a prospective, randomized, open-label, multicenter, international, clinical safety and efficacy investigation (ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04331769). Ancora Heart is a privately held company located in Santa Clara, Calif. For more information, please visit www.ancoraheart.com.

About egnite, Inc.

egnite is a visionary digital health company committed to advancing the health of our society through innovative cardiovascular solutions. egnite uses AI-driven algorithms and big data to produce business intelligence for healthcare, elevating the role of data in critical decisions. The company partners with leading hospitals and life sciences providers to transform care delivery for cardiovascular patients. The company is based in Aliso Viejo, Calif., for more information, visit www.egnitehealth.com.

About The Christ Hospital Health Network

The Christ Hospital Health Network consists of an acute care hospital located in Mt. Auburn, a remote hospital location in Liberty Township, five ambulatory outpatient centers and dozens of medical offices throughout the region. For more than 130 years, The Christ Hospital has provided compassionate care to those it serves. Made up for more than 1,300 physicians and more than 6,500 team members, our mission is to improve the health of our community by providing exceptional outcomes in an affordable way. The Network was recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 hospital in the Cincinnati Region, named to Newsweeks Worlds Best Hospitals list in 2023. It is also a Press Ganey Guardian of Excellence Award recipient, which recognizes top-performing healthcare organizations that achieve the 95th percentile or above of performance in patient experience.

egnite, egnite, Inc., and the spark logo are trademarks of egnite, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005428/en/

egnite

Rachel Stein

949-309-1325

[email protected]

Ancora Heart

Jessica Volchok

310-849-7985

[email protected]

The Christ Health Network

James Buechele

513- 263-1443

[email protected]

Source: Ancora Heart, Inc.
European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen on Wednesday proposed an extra 100 million euros of support for EU farmers to ease a standoff over Ukrainian grain.

Brussels is scrambling to find a solution after Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, and Bulgaria banned imports of Ukrainian grain and other food products, blaming them for driving down prices.

Ukraine's grain exports have been transiting through the European Union to other countries since the war-torn nation's traditional Black Sea routes were cut by Russia's invasion.

But, because of logistical issues, the grain had been piling up and pushing prices lower, triggering protests from local farmers, who also raised food safety concerns.

Von der Leyen put forward a new 100 million euro ($110 million) package for the hardest-hit farmers in a letter to five Eastern European leaders.

That money would come on top of a 56 million euro package that was provided for farmers in Poland, Romania, and Bulgaria last month.

Von der Leyen also vowed "preventive measures" to improve the situation in regard to certain grains such as wheat, maize, sunflower, and rapeseed.

An EU official said the measures would be aimed at ensuring grain could enter Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria only for export.

On Tuesday, Warsaw struck a deal with Kyiv to allow Ukrainian grain to transit again through Poland.

Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said "mechanisms" had been put in place to make sure no grain would remain in his country.

Hungary on Wednesday widened its temporary ban to cover products such as honey, wine, bread, and sugar, but said it did not apply to the transit of products through the country.

Brussels has previously insisted that any unilateral bans on Ukrainian exports were "not acceptable" and noted that trade policy is solely an EU responsibility.

EU trade commissioner Valdis Dombrovskis was set to meet Wednesday with representatives from the five concerned member states and Ukraine to discuss the proposals.

The EU standoff has come as tensions over a deal with Russia to allow grain out of Ukraine via the Black Sea have again fuelled fears for exports.

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BRUSSELS, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Digitalisation has the power to transform the European chemical industry, revolutionising the sector's solutions and enabling a circular, more sustainable economy in line with the EU Green Deal objectives. This exciting potential is highlighted in a new report from Arthur D. Little and Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, which details how technologies like artificial intelligence, big data, Internet of Things, digital twins, robotics, virtual/augmented reality, and blockchain can accelerate the industry's transformation.

The study titled "Digital Technologies for Sustainability in the European Chemical Industry", is the first ever attempt to outline how these technologies are used in the chemical sector and how they can be scaled up to make the chemical industrys processes and products more sustainable .

Dr. Daniel Witthaut, Executive Director for Innovation at Cefic, emphasises that while the EU chemical industry has already implemented digitalisation in various applications, there is still much more that can be done:

Digitalisation in the chemical industry is not new with multiple players already applying digital technologies in their fields. However, enormous opportunities exist for the industry to reach their sustainability goals faster through the application of the latest digital technologies  a journey that is just beginning for most players. And this is where we also need to work more closely with EU institutions to remove existing bottlenecks, improve data sharing and create a larger pool of homegrown talent to implement all these new technologies.

According to the research, digital technologies can make the greatest contribution in five priority areas in both large and small companies in the EU: (1) process design and production for climate and circularity objectives, (2) sustainability assessment, (3) enabling materials and chemicals circularity through tracking and tracing, (4) sustainable product design, and (5) safe and efficient logistics and distribution.

Dr. Michael Kolk, Managing Partner at ADL, adds: Chemical companies in Europe are not only working on their own sustainability objectives, but also providing solutions that serve as enablers for many downstream industries to reach their own. The picture is complex, but we believe that collaboration via greater digitalisation is the way forward.

The report also highlights a number of challenges that must be addressed to fully realise the potential of digital technologies. These include technological challenges such as data availability, interoperability, standardisation and cybersecurity as well as reluctance among companies to share data, financial costs, organisational issues, and a shortage of digital skills in the workforce. Greater collaboration between EU institutions and the chemical industry will be needed to address some of these bottlenecks.

The report is available for download here: https://tinyurl.com/2s4bztsb

END

About the report

Arthur D. Little and the European Chemical Industry Council (Cefic) joined forces to prepare this report, which summarises the views of digital technology experts from within and outside the chemical industry.

Recommendations from this report are based on the result of 15 individual interviews with senior digital and sustainability experts (e.g., chief digital officers or chief sustainability officers) as well as a survey of more than 70 experts from 50 companies that are broad representatives of the chemical industry in terms of type of business, size, and region.

To add cross-industry perspectives, the study also took into account input from more than 10 globally recognised digital technology experts outside the chemical industry.

About Cefic

Cefic, the European Chemical Industry Council, founded in 1972, is the voice of large, medium and small chemical companies across Europe, which provide 1.2 million jobs and account for approximately about 15% of world chemicals production.

About Arthur D. Little

Arthur D. Little has been at the forefront of innovation since 1886. We are an acknowledged thought leader in linking strategy, innovation and transformation in technology-intensive and converging industries. We navigate our clients through changing business ecosystems to uncover new growth opportunities. We enable our clients to build innovation capabilities and transform their organizations.

Our consultants have strong practical industry experience combined with excellent knowledge of key trends and dynamics. ADL is present in the most important business centers around the world. We are proud to serve most of the Fortune 1000 companies, in addition to other leading firms and public sector organizations.

For further information, please visit www.adlittle.com or www.adl.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005504/en/

Media contact: Marina Mendes

Cefic

+32 499239522

[email protected]

Media contact: Sue Glanville

Catalyst Comms

+44 7715 817589

[email protected]

Source: Arthur D. Little
HARVEY, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Atkore Inc. (the Company) (NYSE: ATKR), a leading provider of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions, today announced that the Company will release its Second Quarter Fiscal Year 2023 results before the market opens on Tuesday, May 9, 2023. The Company will hold a conference call to discuss the results at 8:00 a.m. (ET) that same day.

Interested investors and other parties can listen to a webcast of the live conference call by logging onto the Investor Relations section of the Company's website at https://investors.atkore.com/events-and-presentations. The online replay will be available on the same website following the call.

Conference Call Information Dial In: 888-330-2446 (Domestic) 240-789-2732 (International) Conf ID: 5592214

A telephonic replay will be available approximately three hours after the call. The replay will be available until 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Tuesday, May 23, 2023.

Replay Information Dial In: 800-770-2030 (Domestic) 647-362-9199 (International) Conf ID: 5592214

To learn more about Atkore Inc. please visit the company's website at https://investors.atkore.com/

About Atkore Inc.

Atkore is forging a future where our employees, customers, suppliers, shareholders and communities are building better together  a future focused on serving the customer and powering and protecting the world.

With a network of manufacturing and distribution facilities worldwide, Atkore is a leading provider of electrical, safety and infrastructure solutions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418005907/en/

Media Contact:

Lisa Winter

Vice President - Communications

708-225-2453

[email protected]

Investor Contact:

John Deitzer

Vice President - Treasury & Investor Relations

708-225-2124

[email protected]

Source: Atkore Inc.
AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE: AESI) (Atlas or the Company) announced the rescheduling of its first quarter 2023 conference call. The Company will now host a conference call to discuss financial and operational results on Tuesday, May 9, 2023, at 8:00am Central Time (9:00am Eastern Time).

A live webcast will be available at https://ir.atlas.energy/. Please join the webcast at least 10 minutes ahead of the start time to ensure a proper connection and registration.

An archived version of the conference call will be available on the Companys website shortly after the conclusion of the call.

About Atlas Energy Solutions

Our company was founded in 2017 by long-time E&P operators and led by Bud Brigham. Our experience as E&P operators, combined with our unique asset base and focus on using technology to deliver novel solutions to our customers toughest challenges and mission-critical needs differentiates us as the proppant and logistics provider of choice in the Permian Basin.

Atlas is a leader in the proppant and proppant logistics industry and is currently solely focused on serving customers in the Permian Basin of West Texas & New Mexico, the most active oil and natural gas producing regions in North America. Our Kermit, TX & Monahans, TX facilities are strategically located and specifically designed to maximize reliability of supply and product quality, and our deployment of trucking assets and the Dune Express is expected to drive significant logistics efficiencies.

Our core mission is to maximize value for our stockholders by generating strong cash flow and allocating our capital resources efficiently, including providing a regular and durable return of capital to our investors through industry cycles. Further, we recognize that our long-term profitability is maximized in being good stewards of the environments and communities in which we operate. In our pursuit of this mission, we work to improve the processes involved in the development of hydrocarbons, which we believe will ultimately contribute to providing individuals with access to the energy they need to sustain or improve their quality of life in a clean, safe, and efficient manner. We take great pride in contributing positively to the development of the hydrocarbons that power our lives.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006254/en/

Investor Contact

T: 512-220-1200

[email protected]

Source: Atlas Energy Solutions Inc.
VIENNA--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Vienna-based corplife, the all-in-one solution for employee benefits, has announced a new partnership with embedded-finance firm, Weavr. The partnership sees the launch of a digital solution for tax-free meal allowance, corplife Lunch. The employee-benefits provider, which has onboarded over 2,500 clients including flagship organisations such as Microsoft, A1, Booking.com, Siemens and IBM, will roll out the product as their dedicated module for tax-free benefits.

Weavr will provide corplife with the embedded finance tools it needs to launch its new corplife Lunch solution. With corplife Lunch, businesses reduce the administrative efforts and costs associated with employee meal allowances. The solution offers employers more control over employees purchases at restaurants and supermarkets.

In practice, corplife Lunch leverages Weavrs Employee Financial Plug-in to give employers the controls they need to set pre-approved lunch allowances, while providing the added benefit of automatic reconciliation of payments.

Employees who receive a corplife Lunch card can use it to pay for food and can add the card to Google Wallet or Apple Wallet for greater ease. They also have instant access to pre-determined funds supplied by their employer, without having to spend their own money and wait until the end of the month to be reimbursed.

While corplife works with many high-profile companies, the platform is committed to supporting companies of all sizes in building stronger relationships with their employees by offering corplife Lunch. The exciting platform allows employees to earn up to 146 extra monthly, with the ability to build up unspent lunch allowances, whether stepping out of the office or when working from home.

corplife chose to work with Weavr on account of its intuitive and straightforward Plug-and-Play Finance solution for embedded finance. Unlike alternative embedded finance solutions, Weavrs platform can be integrated at a fraction of the cost of Banking-as-a-Service providers. This was just one of the benefits that stood out to corplife when making its decision on whom to partner with.

Founder of corplife, Mario Nowak said "We're thrilled to partner with Weavr to bring more value to our customers. Their technology has allowed us to quickly and seamlessly deploy new capabilities, and their expertise in handling the regulatory aspects has been invaluable. Weavrs solution allows us to provide additional options for companies looking to offer meal allowances, with the flexibility to use the allowance at both restaurants and supermarkets.

Alex Mifsud, Co-founder of Weavr said corplife is showing how innovation can be used to enhance the experience of employees and is committed to making lunchtime the highlight of the workday. Weavr is very happy to further corplifes mission by strengthening employer-employee relationship

For more information about corplife and Weavr please visit www.corplife.at www.weavr.io

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418005247/en/

Media contact

James Doyle

[email protected]

Source: corplife
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Late last night, CUPEs provincial school support bargaining team reached a tentative agreement with government.

Without the public pressure that our members generated, this deal would not have been possible, said CUPE NSSBCU Chairperson Chris Melanson. Education workers showed tremendous leadership in this round of bargaining. Our 5400+ members across the province stood shoulder to shoulder in support of their bargaining team and stayed united throughout this challenging process. Its a historic first for our sector and something were excited to build on in the next round of negotiations.

We are so grateful and moved by the support of parents, teachers, other allies, and our fellow working people across Nova Scotia. We could not have achieved this deal without them, and we thank them sincerely for standing with us throughout this struggle, Melanson continued.

When working people come together and mobilize, we win, said CUPE Nova Scotia President Nan McFadgen. Education workers showed that they have the support of their communities, and the fact that they were willing to take to the streets was the key to our negotiation success.

Ratification votes will take place within the coming weeks. Details of the agreement will be presented to CUPE school support members at meetings across the province. No further information will be released publicly until the tentative agreement has been presented to the membership.

:sm/cope 491

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005769/en/

Mary-Dan Johnston

CUPE Atlantic Communications Representative

[email protected]

902-412-5780

Source: CUPE
Evidence shows computational advantage, with quantum dynamics speedup over classical in 3D spin glasses, an intractable class of optimization problems

BURNABY, British Columbia & PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- D-Wave Quantum Inc. (NYSE: QBTS), a leader in quantum computing systems, software, and servicesand the only provider building both annealing and gate-model quantum computers, today published a peer-reviewed milestone paper showing the performance of its 5,000 qubit Advantage quantum computer is significantly faster than classical compute on 3D spin glass optimization problems, an intractable class of optimization problems. This paper also represents the largest programmable quantum simulation reported to date.

The paper---a collaboration between scientists from D-Wave and Boston University---entitled Quantum critical dynamics in a 5,000-qubit programmable spin glass, was published in the peer-reviewed journal Nature today and is available here. Building upon research conducted on up to 2,000 qubits last September, the study shows that the D-Wave quantum processor can compute coherent quantum dynamics in large-scale optimization problems. This work was done using D-Waves commercial-grade annealing-based quantum computer, which is accessible for customers to use today.

With immediate implications to optimization, the findings show that coherent quantum annealing can improve solution quality faster than classical algorithms. The observed speedup matches the theory of coherent quantum annealing and shows a direct connection between coherence and the core computational power of quantum annealing.

This research marks a significant achievement for quantum technology, as it demonstrates a computational advantage over classical approaches for an intractable class of optimization problems, said Dr. Alan Baratz, CEO of D-Wave. For those seeking evidence of quantum annealings unrivaled performance, this work offers definitive proof.

This work supports D-Waves ongoing commitment to relentless scientific innovation and product delivery, as the company continues development on its future annealing and gate model quantum computers. To date, D-Wave has brought to market five generations of quantum computers and launched an experimental prototype of its sixth-generation machine, the Advantage2 system, in June 2022. The full Advantage2 system is expected to feature 7,000+ qubits, 20-way connectivity and higher coherence to solve even larger and more complex problems. Read more about the research in our Medium post here.

Papers Authors and Leading Industry Voices Echo Support

This is an important advance in the study of quantum phase transitions on quantum annealers. It heralds a revolution in experimental many-body physics and bodes well for practical applications of quantum computing, said Wojciech Zurek, theoretical physicist at Los Alamos National Laboratory and leading authority on quantum theory. Dr. Zurek is widely renowned for his groundbreaking contribution to our understanding of the early universe as well as condensed matter systems through the discovery of the celebrated Kibble-Zurek mechanism. This mechanism underpins the physics behind the experiment reported in this paper. The same hardware that has already provided useful experimental proving ground for quantum critical dynamics can be also employed to seek low-energy states that assist in finding solutions to optimization problems.

"Disordered magnets, such as spin glasses, have long functioned as model systems for testing solvers of complex optimization problems, said Gabriel Aeppli, professor of physics at ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne, and head of the Photon Science Division of the Paul Scherrer Institut. Professor Aeppli coauthored the first experimental paper demonstrating advantage of quantum annealing over thermal annealing in reaching ground state of disordered magnets. This paper gives evidence that the quantum dynamics of a dedicated hardware platform are faster than for known classical algorithms to find the preferred, lowest energy state of a spin glass, and so promises to continue to fuel the further development of quantum annealers for dealing with practical problems."

As a physicist who has built my career on computer simulations of quantum systems, it has been amazing to experience first-hand the transformative capabilities of quantum annealing devices, said Anders Sandvik, professor of physics at Boston University and a coauthor of the paper. This paper already demonstrates complex quantum dynamics on a scale beyond any classical simulation method, and I'm very excited about the expected enhanced performance of future devices. I believe we are now entering an era when quantum annealing becomes an essential tool for research on complex systems."

"This work marks a major step towards large-scale quantum simulations of complex materials, said Hidetoshi Nishimori, Professor, Institute of Innovative Research, Tokyo Institute of Technology and one of the original inventors of quantum annealing. We can now expect novel physical phenomena to be revealed by quantum simulations using quantum annealing, ultimately leading to the design of materials of significant societal value.

This represents some of the most important experimental work ever performed in quantum optimization, said Dr. Andrew King, director of performance research at D-Wave. Weve demonstrated a speedup over simulated annealing, in strong agreement with theory, providing high-quality solutions for large-scale problems. This work shows clear evidence of quantum dynamics in optimization, which we believe paves the way for even more complex problem-solving using quantum annealing in the future. The work exhibits a programmable realization of lab experiments that originally motivated quantum annealing 25 years ago.

"Not only is this the largest demonstration of quantum simulation to date, but it also provides the first experimental evidence, backed by theory, that coherent quantum dynamics can accelerate the attainment of better solutions in quantum annealing, said Mohammad Amin, fellow, quantum algorithms and systems, at D-Wave. The observed speedup can be attributed to complex critical dynamics during quantum phase transition, which cannot be replicated by classical annealing algorithms, and the agreement between theory and experiment is remarkable. We believe these findings have significant implications for quantum optimization, with practical applications in addressing real-world problems."

About D-Wave Quantum Inc.

D-Wave is a leader in the development and delivery of quantum computing systems, software, and services, and is the worlds first commercial supplier of quantum computersand the only company building both annealing quantum computers and gate-model quantum computers. Our mission is to unlock the power of quantum computing today to benefit business and society. We do this by delivering customer value with practical quantum applications for problems as diverse as logistics, artificial intelligence, materials sciences, drug discovery, scheduling, cybersecurity, fault detection, and financial modeling. D-Waves technology is being used by some of the worlds most advanced organizations, including Volkswagen, Mastercard, Deloitte, Davidson Technologies, ArcelorMittal, Siemens Healthineers, Unisys, NEC Corporation, Pattison Food Group Ltd., DENSO, Lockheed Martin, Forschungszentrum Julich, University of Southern California, and Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which statements are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: may, will, could, would, should, expect, intend, plan, anticipate, believe, estimate, predict, project, potential, continue, ongoing, or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. These statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that may cause actual results, levels of activity, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. We caution you that these statements are based on a combination of facts and factors currently known by us and our projections of the future, which are subject to a number of risks. Forward-looking statements in this press release include, but are not limited to, statements regarding the impact of the results of this study; the companys Advantage2 experimental prototype; and the potential for future problem-solving using quantum annealing. We cannot assure you that the forward-looking statements in this press release will prove to be accurate. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including, among others, various factors beyond managements control, including general economic conditions and other risks, our ability to expand our customer base and the customer adoption of our solutions, and the uncertainties and factors set forth in the sections entitled Risk Factors and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in D-Wave Quantum Inc.s Form S-4 Registration Statement, as amended, previously filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, as well as factors associated with companies, such as D-Wave, that are engaged in the business of quantum computing, including anticipated trends, growth rates, and challenges in those businesses and in the markets in which they operate; the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against us; risks related to the performance of our business and the timing of expected business or financial milestones; unanticipated technological or project development challenges, including with respect to the cost and or timing thereof; the performance of the our products; the effects of competition on our business; the risk that we will need to raise additional capital to execute our business plan, which may not be available on acceptable terms or at all; the risk that we may never achieve or sustain profitability; the risk that we are unable to secure or protect our intellectual property; volatility in the price of our securities; and the risk that our securities will not maintain the listing on the NYSE. Furthermore, if the forward-looking statements contained in this press release prove to be inaccurate, the inaccuracy may be material. In addition, you are cautioned that past performance may not be indicative of future results. In light of the significant uncertainties in these forward-looking statements, you should not place undue reliance on these statements in making an investment decision or regard these statements as a representation or warranty by any person we will achieve our objectives and plans in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this press release represent our views as of the date of this press release. We anticipate that subsequent events and developments will cause our views to change. However, while we may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we have no current intention of doing so except to the extent required by applicable law. You should, therefore, not rely on these forward-looking statements as representing our views as of any date subsequent to the date of this press release.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005266/en/

Amy McDowell

[email protected]

Source: D-Wave Quantum Inc.
DELTA, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- With the cooperation of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Delta School District is expanding its new seamless day childcare pilot project to provide low-cost childcare opportunities to even more families in Delta.

The pilot project, which is staffed by members of CUPE 1091 at Sunshine Hills Elementary School, originally offered 12 spots for before- and after- school care to Kindergarten-aged children and their siblings. Recognizing the pilot projects potential to address critical childcare demands, the Delta School District decided to expand the project to another 12 spots in order to provide spaces for the Kindergarten children who start this September and to keep the children currently enrolled in the program in the before- and after-school setting. These spots will be staffed by existing Education Assistants  members of CUPE 1091.

We are thrilled to be able to expand this program to more families as there is clearly a need for high-quality, low-cost childcare options in our community, said Marne Hopkinson, Principal of Child Care and Early Learning.

The Delta School District pilot is one of more than 36 in B.C. schools, funded through provincial government grants to school districts exploring this new model of providing childcare. Deltas seamless day childcare utilizes existing public school facilities and Early Childhood Educators.

CUPE 1091 members are dedicated to our public schools and want to build a career here in Delta. This pilot project expansion provides the opportunity for full-time hours, while offering students more stability throughout the day in a high-quality early learning environment, says Daun Frederickson, a school support worker in the Delta School District and president of CUPE 1091.

Delta already has the schools to house these spots, and the trained, qualified, and dedicated staff to offer the care. This expansion is great for the school district, for CUPE members, and for students and families, says Frederickson.

CUPE 1091 represents over 950 members working as education support workers. They work as education assistants, child & youth care workers, multicultural workers, trauma informed strategists, plumbers, electricians, painters, mechanics and more. CUPE 1091 members are an integral part of Delta School Districts vision for 2030 to become an innovative inclusive community where all learners belong, and everyone soars.

The Delta School District aims to be an innovative, inclusive community where all learners belong, and everyone soars with more than 16,131 student FTEs and a headcount of approximately 2,260 active employees. The District has 24 elementary schools and 7 secondary schools located in Ladner, North Delta, and Tsawwassen. The Districts schools provide safe, culturally diverse, and nurturing learning environments. We offer a variety of quality programs to meet unique learning needs and we engage students in stimulating and relevant educational experiences. A dedication to social responsibility teaches our students to respect themselves, their environment and each other.

cope491

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Greg Taylor

CUPE National Communications Representative

(604) 842-7444

[email protected]

Cathryn Tucker

Delta School District

(604) 363-3079

[email protected]

Source: Canadian Union of Public Employees
Lattice Semiconductor CEO Jim Anderson Joins the Board of Directors as the Company Enters into Customer Deployments of Private 5G and Open RAN Networks

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- EdgeQ Inc, a leader in 5G wireless infrastructure, announced today a $75 million investment round of funding as well as the appointment of Lattice Semiconductor CEO and President, Jim Anderson, to the companys Board of Directors. EdgeQ will use the funding to ramp production of its award-winning 5G + AI Base Station-on-a-Chip to meet customer demand and to develop its next generation chip. The $75 million funding consists of both institutional and strategic investors, including Phaistos Investment Fund, Strategic Development Fund (SDF) the investment arm of the United Arab Emirates Tawazun Council, Singapore-based global investor EDBI, IRONGREY, ST Engineering, Yaletown, ClearSky, and other existing investors.

EdgeQs revolutionary approach to wireless infrastructure unifies both 4G and 5G onto a single chip that can elastically scale in performance and features via software upgrades. EdgeQ is the only company offering multi-mode 4G+5G convergence along with a production grade 4G+5G PHY layer for O-RAN Distributed Unit (DU) and small cells.

It is really exciting to see a rich mix of institutional and strategic investors validate the mission and spirit of EdgeQ. We are here to motivate new and existing players, innovating to deploy private 5G networks and O-RAN networks in simplistic, affordable terms, said Vinay Ravuri, CEO and co-founder of EdgeQ. By removing the friction and price premium that traditionally accompanies cellular deployment, we have envisioned a new backbone that is simple, intuitive, and open. And this disruption is available now.

The fabric of wireless infrastructure rests on access to silicon innovation that is designed expressively for a rich cross section of transformative applications, ranging from industrial 4.0 automation to digital education to autonomous vehicles to satellite communications and beyond. With the latest investment round, EdgeQ will be the first to address the fast growing, multi-billion dollar 5G infrastructure TAM with a single chip that converges connectivity and compute at the edge.

EdgeQ is built on strong fundamentals that appeals to investors, technologists, and customers. Particularly in the 5G wireless space, EdgeQ possesses the rare blend of ability and aptitude to execute on a compelling vision that will profoundly reshape how the industry conceives and consumes 5G, said Jim Anderson, CEO and President of Lattice Semiconductor. This is a really exciting time to join as an independent board member and help EdgeQ through the next phase of growth and market successes.

EdgeQ has developed the worlds first Base station-on-a-Chip, giving operators, cloud service providers and enterprises the revolutionary ability to build, configure, and deploy public and private networks that are simple, scalable, and affordable. The massively integrated 4G+5G+AI chip uniquely leverages both RISC-V and ARM architectures to compact at an unprecedented small scale an entire rack of complex and high-performance base station communications equipment into a tiny and power efficient envelop. The platform comes feature complete, including a production-grade Physical Layer (PHY) software that governs all the essential protocols and features of 4G/5G.

Recently awarded the coveted CTO Choice Award at Mobile World Congress Barcelona 2023, EdgeQs converged 4G+5G+AI platform enables operators and enterprises to deploy systems at scale, implement wholesale upgrades without ripping and replacing their current network configuration, and frees the market from vendor lock-in. The solution is available now. And customer deployments are expected this year.

To learn more about how EdgeQ is pioneering the 5G infrastructure market, please visit www.edgeq.io.

About EdgeQ

EdgeQ is a leading innovator in 5G systems-on-a-chip. The company is headquartered in Santa Clara, CA, with offices in San Diego, CA and Bangalore, India. Led by executives from Qualcomm, Intel, and Broadcom, EdgeQ is pioneering converged connectivity and AI that is fully software-customizable and programmable. The company is backed by world-renowned investors. To learn more about EdgeQ, visit www.edgeq.io.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005328/en/

Hanna Kang

Wireside Communications

[email protected]

804-612-5393

Source: EdgeQ
CTCI Americas will deliver on U.S. union labor and vendors for Encinas Point Township facility

THE WOODLANDS, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Encina Development Group, LLC (Encina) today announced that U.S.-based CTCI Americas has joined Hyundai Engineerings Front End Engineering Design team for its proposed Circular Manufacturing Facility in Point Township, Pennsylvania.

As Hyundai Engineering nears completion of its Front End Engineering Design service contract with Encina, it has engaged CTCI Americas (CTCIA), which has offices in Houston, Texas, and Phoenix, Arizona. CTCIA will work with Hyundai to deliver on Encinas commitment to partner with highly-skilled, union tradesmen and women whenever possible.

Encina manufactures drop-in circular chemicals using an integrated single-stage catalytic conversion process that takes hard-to-recycle plastics and transforms them into their base building blocks that can be used to make new products. This process will allow the Point Township facility to divert up to 450,000 tons of previously non-recyclable waste materials every year from landfills, incinerators, streets, and waterways.

We are committed to protecting regional ecosystems while advancing a more sustainable future and a vibrant local economy, said Shirley Hammond, Encinas vice president of engineering. Were serving these goals by keeping end-of-life plastics out of landfills and waterways and by partnering with CTCIA, which has a strong track record in the Americas and a robust U.S.-based construction management team.

CTCIA is excited to partner with Hyundai Engineering on this important Circular Manufacturing Project, which aligns with our strategic corporate sustainability goals, stated Patrick Jameson, president of CTCI America. As part of our strategic goals, CTCIA is engaged in several sustainable and renewable projects and is excited that Encina has selected CTCIA to help bring this project to successful operation. We look forward to working with Encina for engineering and construction of the Point Township Circular Manufacturing Facility Project.

Encinas project is expected to support between 600 and 900 jobs during peak construction and 300 when fully operational. The $1.1 billion facility will inject $2.1 billion in total economic impact over five years, according to a Pennsylvania Manufacturers Association study.

For more information about the Encina Point Township Circular Manufacturing Facility, including frequently asked questions, please visit https://encinapointtownship.com/.

About Encina Development Group

Encina Development Group produces circular chemicals. Encinas products provide the basic building blocks for customers to meet their sustainable content goals and enable the cyclical production and reproduction of products across a broad spectrum of ubiquitous goods, including consumer products and packaging, pharmaceuticals, construction, and much more.

For more information, please visit www.encina.com.

About Hyundai Engineering

Hyundai Engineering is a global engineering, procurement and construction contractor leading the execution of complex projects in green, circular, and renewable industries. With 49 years of expertise covering the full spectrum of engineering & technology solutions in process plants such as oil & gas, petrochemical, refinery and etc, Hyundai Engineering leverages its exceptional teams to deliver world class solutions to our global partners.

About CTCI Americas

CTCI Americas (CTCIA) is a globally recognized EPC company, and a wholly owned subsidiary of CTCI Corporation which has more than 40 years of experience, with 7,000 employees, operating from 40 affiliates, spanning across more than 15 countries worldwide. CTCI has a globally dynamic team working to solve some of the worlds most technically challenging problems with an exceptional reputation for reliability, quality, and a focus on high value project delivery.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005355/en/

Aileen Fan

[email protected]

+1 (305) 310-8218

Source: Encina Development Group, LLC
Join some of the greatest minds in deep learning, artificial intelligence and data science to learn how to make AI in India and make AI for the world

BANGALORE, India & MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The AI cloud leader, H2O.ai, announced that H2O World India is set to take place on Wednesday, April 19th at the Leela Bhartiya City Convention Center in Bengaluru. After sold-out events in New York, London, Sydney, and San Francisco, the marquee event will be the largest gathering of data science olympians (Kaggle grandmasters), Fortune 500 organizations, and AI practitioners in South Asia.

Register to attend the event virtually here.

H2O World India speakers include:

Sri Ambati, Founder & CEO, H2O.ai

Prince Paulraj, AVP - Engineering, Data Science & AI, AT&T

Parul Pandey, Principal Data Scientist, Kaggle Grandmaster, H2O.ai

Andy Markus, Chief Data Officer, AT&T

Dr Andrew McMullan, Chief Data & Analytics Officer, Commonwealth Bank of Australia

Dr Agus Sudjianto, EVP, Head of Corporate Model Risk, Wells Fargo

Shainy Dsouza, Decision Scientist/Apprentice Leader, Citi

H2O.ai is democratizing AI and powering the imagination of every entrepreneur and business globally  we are co-creating transformational products and making them the true AI superpowers, said Sri Ambati, co-founder and CEO of H2O.ai. Our customers are unlocking discovery in every sphere and walk of life and challenging the dominance of technology giants. In India, were seeing the digitalization of more than a billion people, which in turn creates more data and will quickly establish the country as the largest assembly of data scientists in the world.

Bringing H2O World to India is a significant moment for Ambati as his journey comes full circle after growing up here. He is bullish about the technical skills in the country, emphasizing that the country has many outstanding engineers, makers, and Kagglers that provide a strong foundation for the nation to form alliances with other global leaders like AT&T and Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA), the largest bank in Australia.

Ambati views data science as a quest for truth and should be foundational for businesses looking to optimize their greatest assets  people and data. Making AI fast, easy, and affordable is the only equitable way for customers and communities to truly change the world. That's why open-source is at the heart of H2O.ai's ethos. For H2O.ai and Ambati, its essential to get AI tools into as many hands as possible to help smaller companies build their own solutions and promote essential diversity in the market. His vision is to empower enterprises to compete against behemoths in the tech world.

Our partnership with H20.ai continues to deliver fantastic outcomes for our customers and communities. Our use of Document.ai is really shifting the dial in improving the efficiency of manual processes and document handling; this not only makes us a simpler, better bank for our customers to engage with, it is also freeing up our people to spend more time serving customers and delivering innovative new products and services, said Dr. Andrew McMullan, Chief Data & Analytics Officer at CBA. AI is transforming our ability to be more personalized and timely for our customers in the moments that matter, and our H2O.ai platform is a key driver of this. From real-time assistance during natural disasters to returning $1Bn to customers from government rebates and benefits through our Benefits Finder tool, our customers are already feeling many real-world benefits from our use of machine learning at scale, and were incredibly excited about what the latest developments in AI will mean for our customers as our partnership with H2O continues to flourish.

ABOUT H2O.AI

H2O.ai is the leading AI Cloud company, on a mission to democratize AI.

As a company, it distills the technical prowess of 30 Kaggle Masters into straightforward AI cloud tools that solve powerful problems. Goldman Sachs, NVIDIA, and Wells Fargo are not only customers and partners, but strategic investors in the company.

H2O.ais marquee products of Driverless AI, Hydrogen Torch and Document AI have transformed over 20,000 global organizations and over half of the Fortune 500, including AT&T, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Citi, GlaxoSmithKline, Hitachi, Kaiser Permanente, Procter & Gamble, PayPal, PwC and Unilever.

Join the movement of AI4Good at www.h2o.ai.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006256/en/

H2O.ai

James Christopherson

Global Communications Team

[email protected]

Source: H2O.ai
Terrified Sudanese who have been trapped for days in their homes by fighting in the capital of Khartoum fled on Wednesday, hauling out whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the city, after an internationally brokered truce failed.

Explosions shook the city as the army and a rival paramilitary force battled for a fifth day in the streets.

The swift failure of the 24-hour cease-fire, despite pressure from the United States and regional powers, suggested that Sudan's two top generals were determined to crush each other in a potentially prolonged fight for control of the country. It also underscored the inability of the international community to force a stop to the violence, with millions of people caught in the crossfire.

Residents of multiple neighborhoods in Khartoum told The Associated Press they could see hundreds of people, including women and children, leaving their homes, carrying luggage, some leaving by foot, others crowding into vehicles. Residents had been desperately holding out in hopes for a halt in the mayhem on their doorsteps, but with food and other supplies running low and no sign of respite, it appeared many had decided to risk making an escape.

Khartoum has become a ghost city, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of clashes.

Residents said the military was pounding positions of the opposing Rapid Support Forces with airstrikes since early Wednesday, while gunbattles continued to rage outside the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture.

At the nearby airport, another front line, palls of black smoke rose and a damaged aircraft was in flames, according to satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs PBC. A high-rise in the city center was on fire with burning debris falling from its top floors, according to footage by the Al Arabiya news network. Fierce clashes were also reported around the state television building across the Nile River in the adjacent city Omdurman.

The army's monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days. But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force are fanned out across neighborhoods.

The result has been scenes of chaos. Residents have spoken of armed men looting shops and attacking anyone found on the streets.

They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you, said Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor. She said many in her south Khartoum neighborhood have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings. Others fled the city to stay with relatives elsewhere, she said.

A 24-hour cease-fire was to have been in effect from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. It was the most concrete attempt yet to bring a pause that it was hoped could be expanded into a longer truce.

It came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately by phone with the two rivals  the leader of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down.

But fighting continued after the intended start of the truce and through the night. Each side blamed the other for the failure.

The RSF said it has agreed on a day-long truce to take effect Thursday at 6 p.m. local time. There was no immediate comment from the military.

Aid agencies and foreigners, including diplomats, have also been trapped in the fighting.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said in a tweet that its compound in Nyala in the western Darfur region had been raided by armed men who stole vehicles and office equipment and looted a warehouse storing medical supplies. The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Niyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Darfur, which has been the scene of heavy fighting since the weekend, is a stronghold of the RSF, where the force had its origins among the Janjaweed militias, accused of atrocities during the long conflict there.

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum, but turned around Wednesday due to security concerns in Khartoum. Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan. Spinant did not provide details.

The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. The report said Fransen was receiving medical treatment for serious injuries. It said he had gone missing on Sunday evening and that his colleagues tracked him down Tuesday.

Another spokeswoman said the EU office in Khartoum is still operating and the delegation is not being evacuated. The EU ambassador, who was assaulted when gunmen broke into his residence several days ago, is back at work, she said.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement. Dozens of health care facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

Our urgent priority is to get medical assistance to hospitals and try to make repairs to their water and power lines so they can treat the wounded," said Patrick Youssef, the ICRC's Africa regional director. But fighting has made it impossible to reach the facilities.

The U.N.s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudans transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. But Burhan and Dagalo joined to carry out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command. ___ Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.

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EDMONTON, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Health Cities, a non-profit organization committed to promoting innovative solutions to improve health outcomes and economic growth in Albertas healthcare sector, is pleased to launch a new initiative aimed at improving the delivery of social services using data and technology.

In the first phase of the project, named the Edmonton Community Data Warehouse, Health Cities partnered with PolicyWise for Children & Families, an Alberta-based organization with industry-leading expertise in evaluating policies and programs, and creating processes to analyze data for organizations serving children, youth, families, and communities. The integration of key data was done in partnership with the project working group, comprised of six Edmonton-based social services agencies:

Bissell Centre

Boyle Street Community Services

Canadian Mental Health Association

IslamicFamily

Mustard Seed

Seniors Association of Greater Edmonton (SAGE)

This transformative project can improve the capacity for social service organizations to collect, organize and analyze data  a critical first step to better serving client populations in Edmonton and across Alberta. The collective power of the information allows agencies to better understand the populations they serve, assess changes in those populations over time and advocate, as one, for policy outcomes to address shortcomings.

PolicyWise's experience and knowledge was instrumental in assisting the working group to assess their current data environment, and establish effective pathways for collecting and managing safe, meaningful and useful data.

This is an important collaboration to build data capacity across the Alberta social sector, said Jody Wolfe, Research and Policy Manager at PolicyWise for Children & Families. We are excited to embark on this new venture and committed to working closely with our partners to make a real difference in our communities using our Build Better Data tools."

Data plays a critical role in addressing the complex challenges facing our communities today," said Reg Joseph, CEO of Health Cities. "By using data to better understand the needs of the community, we can inform where our resources are needed most  and through partnership and collaboration, we can provide solutions which incorporate and address social determinants of health.

The community approach to working with data is the most exciting part for me, said Maria Savidov, Analysis and Evaluation Manager at Bissell Centre. It's just been so delightful to see the enthusiasm of different agencies about joining our data sets and breaking down inter-agency silos.

The Edmonton Community Data Warehouse has already moved into its next phase involving building the architecture, governance, and privacy protocols for the warehouse. Health Cities plans to scale the pilot project province-wide with participation from other social services agencies looking to collaborate, understand and shape the services they provide to Albertans.

For more information about the Edmonton Community Data Warehouse and Health Cities, please visit healthcities.ca

For more information about PolicyWise for Children & Families and our Build Better Data tools, please visit policywise.com

About Health Cities

Health Cities is a Canadian not-for-profit corporation that works with clinicians, innovators, philanthropic organizations, and companies to develop new models of care that can drive better health outcomes and economic growth in the health sector. Our focus is on transforming innovations from our health sector into solutions that have commercial application and global relevance, adopting them for impact locally and scaling them for export to global markets.

Visit healthcities.ca for more information.

About PolicyWise for Children & Families

PolicyWise for Children & Families is an Alberta-based non-profit that informs, identifies, and promotes effective social policy. We focus on improving the well-being of children, families, and communities so that they thrive in respectful, safe, and supportive environments shaped by wise decisions.

Visit policywise.com for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005094/en/

Media Inquiries:

Stephanie Gillis-Paulgaard

Health Cities

[email protected]

780-885-0458



Troy Rhoades

PolicyWise for Children & Families

[email protected]

780-408-8730

Source: Health Cities
AI-driven wireless access solutions deliver reliable network experiences with proactive actions for improved operations

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Juniper Networks (NYSE: JNPR), a leader in secure, AI-driven networks, today announced that two innovative healthcare organizations, Rady Childrens Hospital and Sentara Healthcare, have adopted Junipers AI-driven networking technology, including Juniper AP43, AP45 and AP12 High-Performance Access Points (APs) to drive digital transformation and improve experiences for both patients and staff. An agile network that can support modern, consumer-centric healthcare ecosystems requires flexible solutions with predictable, more reliable and more secure Wi-Fi and scalable indoor location services that provide standards-based asset location and user engagement capabilities.

Rady Childrens Hospital-San Diego is the largest childrens hospital on the West Coast and one of the nations top pediatric healthcare systems, in addition to being the only designated pediatric trauma center in the region.

After a two-year effort vetting multiple technology providers, Rady Childrens chose to move away from their legacy vendor and adopt Juniper wireless solutions, starting the eventual rip and replace of approximately 900 APs, controllers and anchor controllers with Juniper APs. They have currently deployed around 85 Juniper AP43 Access Points to their IT facility, HomeCare, Plaza and Asthma Care buildings, with a goal to implement a full-stack solution by 2024.

Juniper offers better coverage as well as improved roaming experiences for clinicians and staff, said Scott Voigts, CTO at Rady Childrens Hospital. These AI-driven solutions also provide proactive alerting to ensure optimal uptime and reduce mean time to resolution, saving us both time and money, and they allow us to focus on delivering excellence in care.

Sentara Healthcare, a not-for-profit health organization, provides care in more than 100 sites across Virginia and North Carolina. 3,800 medical staff and 29,000 team members support their system of 12 hospitals. As COVID filled emergency rooms and ICUs with more than 4.5 million patients from 2020 to 2022, it became clear how crucial Wi-Fi is to patient care and staying in touch with loved ones. Realizing that healthcare providers cant operate successfully without a modern Wi-Fi network, Sentara opted to migrate to the Juniper Wireless Access solution, driven by Mist AI.

Juniper Mist provides Sentara Healthcare with a robust suite of cloud-based microservices that support Wi-Fi 6, IoT, AI, automation and location-based services. Reliable Wi-Fi performance provides the foundation for new services such as wayfinding, medical device tracking and digital patient check-in. And with the Marvis Virtual Network Assistant conversational interface, the IT team has extensive visibility into service levels and can proactively identify and solve Wi-Fi issues that might lead to poor performance and security gaps. Sentara Health also implemented Juniper MX204 Universal Routing Platforms for highly resilient, carrier-grade connectivity among its hospitals, clinics and office locations.

Junipers technology has modernized our patient care, allowing us to provide services we couldnt with traditional, controller-based wireless networks, said Matthew Douglas, now CTO of OptiFi, a joint venture funded by Sentara Healthcare. Additionally, Juniper has asset tracking that works, which means wheelchairs and infusion pumps wont go missing. We can also start planning for wayfinding and contact-free registration to enhance patient experiences.

Juniper Networks will attend the HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition, which is being held in Chicago at McCormick Place Convention Center from April 17-21,2023. The HIMSS Global Health Conference & Exhibition is the most influential health information technology event of the year, where 40,000 professionals throughout the global health ecosystem meet to build relationships during lively networking events, learn from experts in hot topic education sessions and discover innovative health tech products to solve their greatest challenges.

Rady Childrens Hospital, Sentara and Juniper Networks will be hosting a panel discussion titled The Changing Role of Connectivity in Delivering First Class Experiences on Thursday, April 20, 2023 at 2:30-3:30 pm in South Building, Level 4, S403.

About Juniper Networks

Juniper Networks is dedicated to dramatically simplifying network operations and driving superior experiences for end users. Our solutions deliver industry-leading insight, automation, security and AI to drive real business results. We believe that powering connections will bring us closer together while empowering us all to solve the worlds greatest challenges of well-being, sustainability and equality. Additional information can be found at Juniper Networks (www.juniper.net) or connect with Juniper on Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook.

Juniper Networks, the Juniper Networks logo, Juniper, Junos, and other trademarks listed here are registered trademarks of Juniper Networks, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Category  Enterprise

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005215/en/

Media Relations:

Leslie Ruble

Juniper Networks

408-936-2111

[email protected]

Source: Juniper Networks
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- KBRA releases topical and timely commentary on credit markets, compiled from our weekly podcast, 3 Things in Credit, hosted by our Chief Strategist, Van Hesser. Among the wide-ranging topics Van has addressed over the past month are the likelihood of credit crunch, the smaller bank business model, and durability of the AT1 market.

Each week, we dig into and provide perspective on issues credit-market participants care about. Tune in every Friday to Vans podcast for the latest. And look for our monthly published recap to catch up on what you might have missed.

Click here to view the report.

About KBRA

KBRA is a full-service credit rating agency registered in the U.S., the EU and the UK, and is designated to provide structured finance ratings in Canada. KBRAs ratings can be used by investors for regulatory capital purposes in multiple jurisdictions.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005733/en/

Van B. Hesser, Senior Managing Director and Chief Strategist

+1 (646) 731-2305

[email protected]

Source: KBRA
AI-based fintech company is revolutionizing the auto finance space

RALEIGH, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Lendbuzz, a fintech company that is disrupting the car financing market using AI and machine learning algorithms was honored today with a 2023 Emerging 8 Award by the Cherokee Media Group (CMG), a leading business-to-business media company and news source for the pre-owned automotive industry. Established in 2018, this is the fifth year for the award program honoring companies that improve a specific aspect of the automotive industry through technology.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005755/en/

"We are thrilled to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of Lendbuzz, one of this year's honorees who are setting new standards for excellence through technology in the automotive industry," said Bill Zadeits, President of Cherokee Media Group. "The Emerging 8 award program was developed to fulfill our commitment to honor companies that push the boundaries of innovation."

Industry leaders recommended potential candidates to CMG for consideration who are at the forefront of automotive innovation and technology development. The selection process identified individuals who represent diverse areas of the automotive industry. Along with Lendbuzz, these seven companies were named:

The full list of honorees includes:

We are honored to receive this award and be named to this list of impressive companies. While we are proud of the technology that has led us to this award, we are equally proud of the team members that service our customers and manage the programs to create an unparalleled service experience for our dealer partners. said Amitay Kalmar, CEO Lendbuzz.

The honorees will be highlighted in the April issue of Auto Fin Journal and were recognized at this years Auto Intel Summit in Raleigh, North Carolina during an awards luncheon held in their honor.

About Lendbuzz

Lendbuzz is an AI-based auto finance platform that helps consumers obtain fair access to credit when purchasing a car. Powered by alternative data and machine learning algorithms, Lendbuzz can assess the creditworthiness of consumers with limited credit historya group underserved by traditional banks. Through their auto dealership partners, Lendbuzz offers consumers attractive financing solutions while opening up opportunities for those dealerships to serve a more diversified client base. Lendbuzz is headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts and was founded in 2015.

About Cherokee Media Group

Cherokee Media Group (CMG) is a leading business-to-business media company that provides news and information to the vehicle remarketing, auto finance, and used-car industries in the US and Canada. Established in 1990, CMG publishes top industry media brands, including Auto Remarketing, Auto Remarketing Canada, SubPrime Auto Finance News, BHPH Report, and Auto Fin Journal. Delivering timely, accurate, relevant news and insights, its publications reach a broad audience of franchised and independent dealers, remarketers, auctions, OEM executives, captives and independent finance companies, banks, and more, through print publications, digital media, and live events including Canada's Used Car Week, Automotive Intelligence Summit, National Remarketing Conference Spring Summit, and Used Car Week.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005755/en/

Media:

Stephen Francisco

Chief Marketing Officer

[email protected]

Source: Lendbuzz
SINGAPORE & ALISO VIEJO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- LifeStrands Genomics and Ambry Genetics have joined forces to provide clinical genetic testing services in Singapore. Together, they have been chosen to support the Clinical Implementation Pilots (CIPs) for Phase II of Singapores National Precision Medicine (NPM) programme through an open tender commissioned by Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE)  the central entity implementing NPM.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005365/en/

LifeStrands signed a strategic agreement with all public sector health care institutions in Singapore, and will provide support to three CIPs for patients with familial hypercholesterolemia, familial and hereditary cancers, and primary glomerular diseases. As part of the agreement, LifeStrands will provide the testing menu from Ambry Genetics and sequence the samples in its accredited laboratory, while Ambry Genetics will provide data interpretation and reporting.

"Genetic factors account for up to 30% of health. Modern technologies such as next generation sequencing and the appropriate interpretation of any genetic variants identified provides an opportunity to better diagnose or predict diseases. Rapid diagnosis will allow appropriate therapies to be offered to patients quickly while better prediction allows us to take steps to prevent disease from occurring. Clinicians in the Singapore public hospitals are evaluating the use of genetic tests to improve the health of Singaporeans in a number of different areas as part of the National Precision Medicine Programme. This programme cannot succeed without the ability to carry out high quality genetic testing and appropriately interpreting these tests. We are delighted that LifeStrands Genomics has partnered with Ambry Genetics to offer these tests in Singapore, said Professor Tai E Shyong, Chief Medical Officer, PRECISE. He is also a Senior Consultant in the Division of Endocrinology at the National University Hospital and Professor at the National University of Singapores Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health and Duke-NUS Medical School.

We are honored to be part of this major initiative to advance precision medicine for Singaporeans, said Dr. Camille Cyncynatus, Head of Business Development for Genomics and Life Sciences at Pathology Asia, LifeStrands' holding company. Through our partnership with Ambry, we are bringing the most advanced clinical genomics science to Singapore. We believe that this collaboration will not only enable individuals to receive the right treatment at the right time and place, but will also drive further discoveries in the field of precision medicine through the PRECISE programme."

The core of our companys mission is to enable widespread access to high quality genetic testing globally, and we are glad to support PRECISE with its goal of enhancing precision medicine in Singapore, said Tom Schoenherr, CEO of Ambry Genetics. To achieve this, we have tightly integrated our teams with those of our local partner LifeStrands, and together we will help gather the genomic data needed by PRECISE that will ultimately lead to the earlier identification of people at risk of cancer and other target diseases.

Precision medicine in Singapore aims to understand how genomic, phenotypic, lifestyle and clinical factors contribute to the health of Singaporeans. It also supports the responsible use of health data in clinical applications with the longer-term goal of addressing Singapore's health care challenges in a sustainable and clinically cost-effective way.

About LifeStrands

LifeStrands Genomics (LSG) is a Singaporean laboratory and a subsidiary of the Pathology Asia group, a leading diagnostic service provider in Southeast Asia, headquartered in Singapore. The Pathology Asia group includes leading diagnostic laboratories in Singapore, Malaysia, Australia and Indonesia and its own proprietary digital health platform.

LSG delivers clinical grade genetic and genomic services, and its mission is to drive the adoption of Clinical Genomics and transform the way it is delivered. LSG is also investing in R&D of new assays tailored to the Southeast Asian population and its medical needs. For germline testing, LSG is partnering with Ambry Genetics to deliver high quality tests in Southeast Asia.

About Ambry Genetics

Ambry Genetics, a subsidiary of REALM IDx, Inc., translates scientific research into clinically actionable test results based upon a deep understanding of the human genome and the biology behind genetic diseases. It is a leader in genetic testing that aims to improve health by understanding the relationship between genetics and diseases. Due to its unparalleled track record of discoveries over 20 years, as well as to its growing database that continues to expand in collaboration with academic, corporate and pharmaceutical partners, Ambry Genetics is first to market with innovative products and comprehensive analysis that enable clinicians to confidently inform patient health decisions.

About Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE)

Precision Health Research, Singapore (PRECISE) is the central entity set up to coordinate a whole of government effort to implement Phase II of Singapores 10-year National Precision Medicine (NPM) strategy. NPM Phase II aims to transform healthcare in Singapore and improve patient outcomes through new insights into the Asian genome and data-driven healthcare solutions. NPM Phase II will also enhance the breadth and depth of the Precision Medicine-related industry by attracting and anchoring overseas companies in Singapore, while yielding new opportunities for home-grown companies.

PRECISE is a business unit under the Consortium for Clinical Research and Innovation Singapore (CRIS), a subsidiary of Ministry of Health Holdings. NPM Phase II and PRECISE are supported by the National Research Foundation Singapore and the Singapore Ministry of Healths National Medical Research Council.

For more information, visit www.npm.sg.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005365/en/

Mickie Henshall

Chief Marketing Officer

REALM IDx

[email protected]

Azmir Abdullah

Manager, Corporate Communications

Pathology Asia

[email protected]



Precision Health Research, Singapore

Clarissa Ho

Strategic Communications

[email protected]

Source: Ambry Genetics
Large scale integrated refining-chemical complex is embracing the circular economy. Waste sulfuric acid from onsite processes will be regenerated for re-use

ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sinopec Zhenhai Refining and Chemical Co., Ltd (Sinopec), Chinas largest integrated refining-chemical enterprise, has contracted with MECS, Inc. (MECS) and MECS Chemical Plants Equipment (Shanghai) Co., LTD., subsidiaries of Elessent Clean Technologies (Elessent), for the license, design, engineering, and equipment for a spent sulfuric acid regeneration plant. This plant will be located at Sinopecs petrochemical complex in Ningbo, Zhenhai province, Peoples Republic of China. The spent acid regeneration plant will be built in conjunction with Sinopecs planned expansion of its sulfuric acid alkylation and acrylonitrile facilities at the Ningbo site.

The growing use of sulfuric acid alkylation by refineries and increased production of spent sulfuric acid from chemical plants necessitate a resource to process the additional spent acid being produced. For many companies, consistently dependable regeneration technology is critical to meeting capacity requirements and fulfilling end market demands. MECS dry gas sulfuric acid regeneration (SAR) technology offers sulfuric acid producers a highly effective solution that supports the production of very high quality alkylate, while ensuring consistent uptime with limited maintenance requirements.

By introducing an acid regeneration plant into their refinery, Sinopec is reducing as much waste as possible and prioritizing air quality. The MECS acid plant and equipment used at the refinery will guarantee tight emissions control and assist with sustainability efforts, as well as long-term profitability, by decreasing dependence on new resources. The prioritization of conservation measures is ultimately contributing to a circular economy which goes hand in hand with Sinopecs commitment to social responsibility.

Mr. Eli Ben-Shoshan, CEO, Elessent, said, We are honored to play a role in a project that provides our customer, Sinopec Zhenhai, with a means to strengthen sustainability in the region. Our sulfuric acid regeneration technology allows Sinopec to keep sulfuric acid in circulation for as long as possible. This provides great value for our customer and allows them to incorporate another measure of sustainability into their refining operation.

The MECS sulfuric acid technology has been in use for nearly a century in the phosphate fertilizer, non-ferrous metals (leaching & smelting), oil refining and general chemical industries. MECS technologies feature breakthrough solutions, many of which have revolutionized the performance, quality and cost-effectiveness of customer operations. They include MECS heat recovery systems (HRS), MECS SolvR regenerative SO2 scrubbing and MECS MAX3 sulfuric acid production technology. Integrated into these MECS technologies are proven specialty products such as catalysts, Brink mist eliminators, DynaWave scrubbers, ZeCor corrosion resistant alloy products, and acid coolers all of which are specifically designed for the most demanding operating environments. Licensed and marketed by Elessent Clean Technologies, the MECS technology is the world-leading sulfuric acid production technology with more than 400 licensed acid plants worldwide since the 1960s. Elessent Technologies is committed to long-term customer satisfaction and support for the life of customer assets

About Elessent Clean Technologies

Elessent Clean Technologies is a global leader in process technologies to drive sustainability and carbon neutrality in the metal, fertilizer, chemical and oil refining industries with an unwavering commitment to customer support. We provide extensive global expertise across our portfolio of offerings in key applications  MECS sulfuric acid production, STRATCO alkylation, BELCO wet scrubbing and IsoTherming hydroprocessing. Offering critical process equipment, products, technology and services, we enable an array of industrial markets, including phosphate fertilizer, non-ferrous metals, oil refining, petrochemicals and chemicals, to minimize their environmental impact and optimize productivity. We are dedicated to helping our customers produce high-quality products used in everyday life in the safest, most environmentally-sound way possible, with a vision to make the world a better place by creating clean alternatives to traditional industrial processes. Learn more at www.ElessentCT.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005759/en/

Elessent Clean Technologies

Mary Reiss

Tel: +1-314-464-4375

[email protected]

MECS Sulfuric Acid Technology

Sarah Douglas

Tel: +1-314-464-3764

[email protected]

Source: Elessent Clean Technologies
Jointly driving communications and infrastructure technology innovation to meet future data and computing requirements

HAIFA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- proteanTecs, a global leader of deep data analytics for advanced electronics, announced today that it has joined the Innovative Optical and Wireless Network (IOWN) Global Forum.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005014/en/

proteanTecs joins IOWN Global Forum and supports collaboration to meet future data and computing requirements. (Graphic: Business Wire)

Founded in January 2020 by Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT), Intel, and Sony, IOWN Global Forum is focused on defining next-generation communications infrastructure to create a smarter, fully connected world. Key IOWN Global Forum goals include advances in silicon photonics, edge computing, and wireless distributed computing through the development of new technologies, frameworks, specifications and reference designs. By 2030, the Forum plans to achieve lower power consumption by 100x, higher transmission capacity by 125x, and lower end-to-end latency by 200x.

In joining the Forum, proteanTecs will collaborate with over 100 best-in-class partners across diverse industries to further the Forums initiatives. proteanTecs brings its expertise in deep data health and performance monitoring, which delivers visibility and actionable insights at every step along the electronics value chain, from chip design to system deployment in the field.

IOWN Global Forum has laid out a clear vision to address the ever-increasing demands of power consumption, data transfer, storing and processing, said Uzi Baruch, Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) at proteanTecs. This is critical work to removing existing barriers and enabling tomorrows communications infrastructure. We look forward to sharing our approach to ensuring reliability while offering new concepts for power and performance optimization as we build relationships throughout the IOWN Global Forum community.

About IOWN Global Forum

IOWN Global Forums objective is to accelerate innovation and adoption of a new communication infrastructure to meet our future data and computing requirements through the development of new technologies, frameworks, specifications, and reference designs in areas such as photonics R&D, distributed computing, use cases and best practices. Details on IOWN Global Forum and membership information can be found at https://iowngf.org.

About proteanTecs

proteanTecs is the leading provider of deep data analytics for advanced electronics monitoring. Trusted by global leaders in the datacenter, automotive, communications and mobile markets, the company provides system health and performance monitoring, from production to the field. By applying machine learning to novel data created by on-chip monitors, the company's deep data analytics solutions deliver unparalleled visibility and actionable insightsleading to new levels of quality and reliability. Founded in 2017 and backed by world-leading investors, the company is headquartered in Israel and has offices in the United States, India and Taiwan. For more information, visit www.proteanTecs.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005014/en/

proteanTecs Press Contact:

Elizabeth Brown, Media Relations

[email protected]

+1 619-993-4648

Source: proteanTecs
SUSSEX, Wis.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Quad/Graphics, Inc. (NYSE: QUAD) will hold a conference call at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday, May 3, to discuss first quarter 2023 results. The call will be hosted by Joel Quadracci, Quad Chairman, President & CEO, and Tony Staniak, Quad CFO.

The full earnings release and slide presentation will be concurrently available on the Investors section of Quads website at http://www.quad.com/investor-relations. As part of the conference call, Quad will conduct a question and answer session. Investors are invited to email their questions in advance to [email protected].

Participants can pre-register for the webcast by navigating to https://dpregister.com/sreg/10177357/f8e85770aa. Participants will be given a unique PIN to gain access to the call on May 3, bypassing the live operator. Participants may pre-register at any time, including up to and after the call start time.

Alternatively, participants may dial in on the day of the call as follows:

U.S. Toll-Free: 1-877-328-5508

International Toll: 1-412-317-5424

An audio replay of the call will be posted on the Investors section of Quads website shortly after the conference call ends. In addition, telephone playback will also be available until June 3, 2023, accessible as follows:

U.S. Toll-Free: 1-877-344-7529

International Toll: 1-412-317-0088

Replay Access Code: 1072388

About Quad

Quad (NYSE: QUAD) is a global marketing experience company that helps brands reimagine their marketing to be more streamlined, impactful, flexible, and frictionless. Quads strategic priorities are powered by three key competitive advantages that include integrated marketing platform excellence, innovation, and culture and social purpose. The companys integrated marketing platform is powered by a set of core specialties including strategy and consulting, data and analytics, technology solutions, media services, creative and content solutions, and managed services.

Serving more than 2,900 clients, Quad has approximately 15,000 people working in 14 countries around the world.

Please visit quad.com for more information.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005029/en/

Investor Relations Contact

Katie Krebsbach

Investor Relations Manager, Quad

414-566-4247

[email protected]

Media Contact

Claire Ho

Director of Corporate Communications, Quad

414-566-2955

[email protected]

Source: Quad/Graphics, Inc.
Dell Technologies Capital led the companys seed extension for a total of $27M raised to date

REHOVOT, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Quantum Source, an Israel-based company developing the technology needed to bring photonic quantum computers to market, announced today it has raised a $12M seed extension investment round led by Dell Technologies Capital with participation from 10D as well as existing investors Eclipse VC, Grove Ventures, and Pitango First. The extension brings Quantum Sources seed round total to $27M, one of the largest total seed financings in the field of Quantum Computing.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005176/en/

Quantum Source leadership team. L to R: Oded Melamed, CEO; Shlomit Semel, VP of HR; Gil Semo, VP of R&D; Professor Barak Dayan, chief scientist. (Photo: Business Wire)

This additional $12M financing round will be used to expand the research and development team as the company scales to reach significant technical and performance milestones.

Founded in 2021 by a team of semiconductor industry veterans and accomplished physicists, Quantum Source is developing technology to enable the efficient implementation of large scale, fault-tolerant, photonic quantum computers. To date, companies have built small quantum computers with just tens or hundreds of qubits. While these rudimentary quantum computers are truly groundbreaking technology, the systems are not yet commercially viable.

Quantum Source aims to build fault-tolerant quantum systems that scale to millions of qubits and that will have the potential to unleash dramatic acceleration in numerous cutting edge fields that include drug design, material development, cybersecurity, and the processing of large datasets for AI applications.

We founded Quantum Source with the belief that photonic quantum technologies are the best route to achieve large-scale, fault-tolerant quantum computers. Our unique approach will dramatically improve the scalability of those machines and will be the key to commercial success of quantum computers, said Oded Melamed, co-founder and CEO of Quantum Source. Having investors such as Dell Technologies Capital believe in us will allow us to accelerate our work and by extension, entire industries.

Quantum Source is led by four co-founders: CEO Oded Melamed; VP of R&D, Gil Semo; Chief Scientist Prof. Barak Dayan; and Chairman Dan Charash. The senior leadership has successfully co-founded, scaled, and sold deeply technical companies to Apple, Broadcom, and Sony. With more than 170 articles published among them, the broader team is composed of 18 PhDs in either physics or electrical engineering from esteemed universities including Caltech, Columbia University, MIT, Weismann Institute of Science, and Yale University.

DTC invests in technologies that can move industries forward. We believe quantum computing has this potential and, as our first investment in this area, that Quantum Source can be the team to get us there, said Omri Green, partner at Dell Technologies Capital. Oded and this exceptional team of scientists and proven entrepreneurs are addressing crucial hurdles in photonic quantum  scalability and fault tolerance. Once those challenges are solved, the innovation upside will be boundless.

Photonic quantum computing is a type of quantum computing that uses photons as a representation of qubits. Quantum Source utilizes a unique approach for generating photons and quantum gates that is five orders of magnitude more efficient than state-of-the-art implementation.

About Quantum Source

Quantum Source (QS), located in Rehovot Israel, is developing breakthrough technology to enable a commercially viable photonic quantum computer with millions of qubits. The company was established in 2021. For more information, please visit: http://www.qs-labs.com/

About Dell Technologies Capital

DTC backs determined early-stage founders who push the envelope on technology innovation for the enterprise, connecting them to the capital, expertise, and customers they need to take a company from start to scale. Since its inception in 2012, DTC has backed more than 145 startups including Arista Networks, Cylance, DocuSign, Graphcore, JFrog, MongoDB, Netskope, Nutanix, Nuvia, Redis, Xometry and Zscaler. DTC has offices in Palo Alto (HQ), Boston, and Israel. For more information, visit www.delltechnologiescapital.com

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005176/en/

[email protected]

Source: Quantum Source
PHOENIX--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Reliance Matrix, a leading provider of employee benefits solutions and technology enabled absence and productivity services, has launched new Text Back technology into its integrated claim experience across all solutions and services. This latest innovation allows employees to easily confirm or change their return-to-work status through text messaging, enhancing the employee experience and rapidly updating employee information across proprietary Matrix platforms as well as client HCM systems.

The return to work (RTW) process is one of the most important phases of any employee leave, for both the employee and the employer. As a best practice, Reliance Matrix absence management specialists proactively reach out 5 days prior to the employees scheduled return to confirm the date and other important information. Historically this important touchpoint took the form of a phone call and, as such, was subject to delays from missed calls and voicemail.

Our clients confirm Text Back is a quantum leap forward in service and accuracy said Mark Marsters, President of Matrix Absence Management and Chief Operating Officer of Reliance Matrix. In research jointly conducted with some of our largest employer clients, we confirmed what I think we can all agree on: Few of us are willing to answer a call from an unidentified number on our mobile phone. The resulting communication delay actually grows and expands, like ripples in a pond, resulting in data gaps and even missed deadlines.

Our new Text Back feature resolves that issue, making it safe and intuitive for the employee to provide necessary information in real time, Marsters said. That data is then immediately available to managers and HR teams so that vital staffing decisions can be made accordingly.

With Text Back, employees can quickly confirm their return to work date, and indicate whether they are returning full time and full duty, by responding to a simple text inquiry. Once confirmed, all integrated systems are updated so employers stay informed real-time on the status of their workforce. Reliance Matrixs patented workforce productivity tool, Absence Radar, conveys this information to line managers through just-in-time notifications as well as a unique calendar interface.

Paired with Matrixlink, the companys proprietary data integration product, this time-sensitive data is then shared seamlessly with each employers Human Capital Management (HCM) system.

Visit www.RelianceMatrix.com for more information.

About Reliance Matrix

Reliance Matrix delivers employee benefit, absence management and workforce productivity solutions through the financial stability of a top-rated insurance carrier, the proven innovation of an absence TPA, and the daily commitment of thousands of team members across America. Where larger competitors offer size, we inspire confidence and long-term engagement through integration, reliability, and dedication to providing customized solutions.

Born in 1907, Reliance Standard Life Insurance Company is a leading provider of employee benefits, absence management and retirement savings solutions. Matrix Absence Management traces its roots to Silicon Valley at the dawn of the tech boom. Seamless and secure, we innovate and deliver products and programs to help individuals, employers, brokers, and fiduciaries protect and nurture those most important to them.

Reliance Matrix is a member of the Tokio Marine Group. Tokio Marine Holdings, Inc., the ultimate holding company of the Tokio Marine Group, is incorporated in Japan and is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The Tokio Marine Group operates in the property and casualty insurance, reinsurance, and life insurance sectors globally. The Groups main operating subsidiary, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire (TMNF), was founded in 1879 and is the oldest and leading property and casualty insurer in Japan.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005665/en/

David Gittelman

VP Marketing Communications

Reliance Matrix

(267) 256-3741

Source: Reliance Matrix
Explosions and heavy gunfire rattled the Sudanese capital in a fifth day of fighting Wednesday after an internationally brokered truce quickly fell apart. The cease-fire failure suggested the two rival generals fighting for control of the country were determined to crush each other in a potentially prolonged conflict.

With no sign of respite, desperate and terrified Sudanese who have been trapped for days in their homes by the violence began to flee, witnesses said. Residents of multiple neighborhoods of Khartoum told The Associated Press they could see hundreds, including women and children, carrying luggage, some leaving by foot, others crowding into vehicles.

Khartoum has become a ghost city, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

The generals fight for power has caught millions of Sudanese in the crossfire, as their forces have battled it out since Saturday with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes in residential neighborhoods of Khartoum, its neighboring city Omdurman and other major towns of the country.

At least 270 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of clashes.

A 24-hour cease-fire was to have been in effect from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. It was the most concrete attempt yet to bring a pause that it was hoped could be expanded into a longer truce.

It came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately by phone with the two rivals  the leader of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down.

But fighting continued after the intended start of the truce and through the night. Each side blamed the other for the failure.

Fierce clashes between the army and RSF were reported Wednesday morning around the militarys headquarters in central Khartoum and the nearby airport, as well as around the state television building across the river in Omdurman. Bombs and artillery could be heard around the city.

A high-rise in the city center was on fire with burning debris falling from its top floors, according to footage by the Al Arabiya news network.

The battles intensified in the morning after sporadic gunfire over the night, said Tahani Abass, a prominent rights advocate who lives close to the military headquarters. Bombing and explosions are shaking our houses.

Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor, said many in her south Khartoum neighborhood have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings. Others fled the city to stay with relatives elsewhere, she said.

Armed men were roaming the streets, storming shops and houses. They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you, she said.

Meanwhile, 89 students and staffers at Khartoum University who had been trapped in the engineering department since the start of fighting were rescued by the military Tuesday, said Mohammed Al Faki, one of the freed students. Online footage showed students crawling through a small hole in the universitys perimeter wall, helped by men in uniforms.

The battles, with heavy machine guns, artillery and airstrikes, have wreaked extensive damage, playing out in the streets of Khartoum and the city of Omdurman on the opposite bank of the Nile River, as well as in other key towns around Sudan.

Dozens of health care facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed and 16 were forcefully evacuated, it said.

The director-general of the U.N.s World Health Organization, Tedros Ghebreyesus, said Wednesday that at least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

Blinken had described the proposed one-day humanitarian cease-fire as a building block for a longer truce and a return to eventual negotiations. Their failure to pause fighting for even a day, despite high-level diplomatic pressure, suggests the generals remain bent on pursuing a military victory.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudans transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir, but Burhan and Dagalo allied to carry out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command  tensions that exploded into violence Saturday.

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At no cost to card owners, the industry leader has offset 1,111,745 metric tons of CO2 emissions since the program launched in 2021 with a multi-million dollar investment through its sustainability initiative in partnership with 4AIR

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Sentient Jet, leading private aviation company and inventor of the jet card category, has once again proven its strong commitment to sustainability as the first private aviation company to offer a calculated total consumer footprint and offset at no additional cost to card owners. Now with its own innovative tracking software, all Sentient Jet card owners will be able to track their carbon footprint and emission offset records via their post-flight invoices available on Sentients Card Owner Site, and coming to Mobile App users next month. This forward-looking sustainability initiative is necessary in furthering the industry as travelers prioritize brands and companies with effective sustainability plans.

Sentient Jet launched its emissions-neutral sustainability initiative in 2021, and to date, has offset a total of 1,111,745 metric tons of CO2 through this multi-million dollar investment. Sentient Jets total emission offsets since the programs inception is equivalent to:

215K+ homes electricity use for one year

135B+ smartphones charged

18M+ tree seedlings grown for 10 years (1.8M+ seedlings per year)

125M+ gallons of gasoline consumed

Travelers and businesses are becoming increasingly aware of their carbon footprint and are seeking transparency and accountability when it comes to how aviation companies are taking steps to reduce their impact, said Andrew Collins, Co-Chief Executive Officer of Flexjet, Sentient Jets parent company. Through our continued investment in carbon offsetting, our hope is that we build a greater awareness around the aviation industrys impact on the planet and instill a greater responsibility to take steps to tackle these global and societal issues.

Through its partnership with environmental leader 4AIR, the first and only rating system focused on comprehensive sustainability in private aviation, Sentient Jets carbon offset program goes beyond traditional aviation sustainability programs by carbon offsetting the CO2 equivalent impact of all aviation emissions, including water vapor, contrails, aerosols, and nitrous oxide, which together account for two thirds of the emissions an aircraft produces when flying.

Since the program's inception, Sentient Jet has contributed funds to wind power projects in the United States and South America, as well as to renewable energy projects in Turkey and India. Further projects include installing efficient cookstoves in Malawi and sequestering CO2 through forestry projects in Massachusetts to protect their combined 6,500-acre watersheds. Sentient Jet has committed to maintaining forest CO2 stocks above regional common practices as part of the Doe Mountain Forestry Project located on over 8,500 acres of forestland in the Blue Ridge Mountains of eastern Tennessee. The project will provide significant climate benefits through increasing local carbon stocks.

Sentient Jet continues to innovate in this category by providing first of its kind transparency around a customers entire footprint, says Kennedy Ricci, President of 4AIR. Not only is Sentient helping customers understand their carbon footprint, but they are helping build awareness and address the more comprehensive impact of aviation, including its non-CO2 effects."

By investing in sustainability and technology, Sentient Jet aims to improve the overall Sentient Jet experience for Card Owners and create a positive impact. Sentient Jet will continue to set new industry standards in digital innovation, and offer its card owners a more thoughtful way to fly.

About Sentient Jet

Founded in 1999 with the invention of the Jet Card, and now a Flexjet company, Sentient Jet is one of the most innovative private aviation companies across the globe. The Sentient Jet Card offers clients the flexibility and convenience of flying private for their personal and business air travel needs along with a host of unique digital booking tools, including an industry-first with instant, automated text-based booking, a unique sustainability program, and an outstanding service heritage. Sentient Jet is known for its commitment to safety and is guided by an Independent Safety Advisory Board with former FAA and NTSB officials. Sentient Jets extensive network of certified operators ensures that clients will always have access to executive aircraft that meet their rigorous standards for safety and quality. Visit sentient.com for more information. You can also follow Sentient Jet on social media platforms, including Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. Download the Sentient Jet Mobile App: iOS | Android.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005714/en/

Media:

Daphna Barzilay

Maverick Creative

[email protected]

Source: Sentient Jet
Aladtec Scheduling solves complex public safety scheduling challenges

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- TCP Software, a leading provider of employee time, attendance, and scheduling solutions, today announced that Aladtec Scheduling, shift scheduling software for public safety departments, has been sold into 200 fire departments in the state of Ohio and counting. Designed for the unique 24/7 staffing practices of public safety agencies, Aladtecs software solves complex scheduling challenges that public safety administrators never thought possible.

Public safety agencies have unique and complex needs, and with lives depending on their care, every shift needs personnel in the right place at the right time. In an industry where there is so much communication and interaction with nearby departments, taking place when responding to calls or attending training events and conferences, its no surprise that word of mouth has led to Aladtecs explosive growth in Ohio. Aladtec is being used by 200 fire departments in Ohio and is used by more than 100 other public safety departments across the state.

Despite advances in technology, many fire, rescue, law enforcement, EMS, and dispatch departments still rely solely on spreadsheets or even pen and paper to schedule employees. Beyond being inefficient and time-consuming, manual scheduling leads to countless headaches and even unintentional errors that violate various Department of Labor or union regulations. Aladtec is designed specifically to meet the complex needs and variables of public safety scheduling, including mechanisms to seamlessly manage union, training, and certification requirements and unique scenarios, including Kelly Days in firefighting.

In public safety, there are no second chances, said Derek McIntyre, Chief Operating Officer, TCP Software. Scheduling is absolutely critical to ensure that every shiftand every emergencyis covered. To see our satisfied customers in Ohio share with their peers across neighboring departments how Aladtec has solved their most complex scheduling challenges has been the highest compliment. We are honored to serve so many fire and public safety departments in Ohio.

Public safety agencies need employee scheduling to be seamless and reliable. When scheduling manually, its easy to accidentally schedule an employee for shifts that dont meet minimum time off or skillset requirements.

When seeking to solve complex scheduling challenges at Auburn Career Center, which offers 10 different public safety training programs in Ohio, our instructors, many of whom work full time as firefighters, unanimously preferred to use Aladtec, said Sean Davis, Director of Public Safety Education, Auburn Career Center. Each and every one of our instructors was either currently using Aladtec at their fire department or had used Aladtec in the past. With Aladtec, we are no longer spending hours creating a schedule in Excelinstead, everything is configured with all of our specific scheduling requirements and weve solved a problem that I didnt think had an easy solution.

To learn more about Aladtec Scheduling, visit www.aladtec.tcpsoftware.com.

About TCP Software

For more than 30 years, TCP Software has helped organizations engage their people by providing flexible, mobile timekeeping, scheduling, and integrated workforce management solutions. Trusted by over 30,000 customers and millions of users, TCP delivers best-in-class technology and personalized support to organizations of all sizes in the public and private sectors to meet their complex time tracking, employee scheduling, leave management and other workforce needs. TCPs products include TimeClock Plus, Humanity Scheduling, InstaSub, Aladtec and ScheduleAnywhere.

For more, visit www.tcpsoftware.com or follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook.

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Jen Lapierre

[email protected]

518-441-4895

Source: TCP Software
PARIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Regulatory News:

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005762/en/

(Photo: Teleperformance)

Teleperformance (Paris: TEP), a global leader in digital business services, today finalized an agreement re-affirming its shared commitments to workers rights in Colombia.

The agreement, signed with Ultraclaro and UNI Global Union, reinforces Teleperformances commitment to being a Force of Good in creating jobs in Colombia while fostering democratic labor relations with its employees.

To read more about the agreement, click here.

Teleperformance thanks the Colombian Ministry of Labour for working closely with the Group to reach this mutually beneficial agreement.

About Teleperformance Group

Teleperformance (TEP  ISIN: FR0000051807  Reuters: TEPRF.PA - Bloomberg: TEP FP), a global leader in digital business services, serves as a strategic partner to the worlds largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model including end-to-end digital solutions, which guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high touch, high tech approach. More than 410,000 employees, based in 91 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 300 languages and 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the Simpler, Faster, Safer process. This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industrys highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2022, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of 8,154 million (US$8.6 billion, based on 1 = $1.05) and net profit of 645 million.

Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350, MSCI Global Standard and Euronext Tech Leaders. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares are included in the CAC 40 ESG since September 2022, the Euronext Vigeo Euro 120 index since 2015, the EURO STOXX 50 ESG index since 2020, the MSCI Europe ESG Leaders index since 2019, the FTSE4Good index since 2018 and the S&P Global 1200 ESG index since 2017.

For more information: www.teleperformance.com Follow us on Twitter: @teleperformance

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FINANCIAL ANALYSTS AND INVESTORS

Investor relations and financial

communication department

TELEPERFORMANCE

Tel: +33 1 53 83 59 15

[email protected]

PRESS RELATIONS

Europe

Karine Allouis  Laurent Poinsot

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Tel: +33 1 53 70 74 70

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PRESS RELATIONS

Americas and Asia-Pacific

Nicole Miller

TELEPERFORMANCE

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Source: Teleperformance SE
MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- The College of Dentistry at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center (UTHSC) has opened a new $45 million Delta Dental of Tennessee Building on its Memphis campus.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418005363/en/

The Delta Dental of Tennessee Building at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. (Photo: Business Wire)

The 68,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art building increases space for training Tennessees dental workforce and expands facilities to treat patients from across the Mid-South. The building opens as the UTHSC College of Dentistry is undertaking a $53 million project, as a part of the states five-year $94 million Healthy Smiles Initiative, to increase access to dentists and dental care across Tennessee.

The buildings name honors the support from Delta Dental of Tennessee and its Chief Executive Officer Philip Wenk, DDS, chair of the UTHSC Advisory Board and a 1977 graduate of the College of Dentistry.

Delta Dental of Tennessee provided $6.3 million for construction costs and $1.4 million for equipment for the building. Generous support also came from the state and other donations.

The building houses a clinic for patients with special needs; an expanded faculty practice for treating patients, including the underinsured; and dental technique labs for first- and second-year students.

The building also allows the college to expand its class size to 130 students over the next five years to meet the anticipated demand for dentists in Tennessee. This goal is part of the Healthy Smiles Initiative, which also includes expansion of dental student rotations at UTHSC-sponsored clinics in areas of greatest need across the state, as well as new dental residency training sites across Tennessee in Kingsport, Knoxville, and Jackson.

The UTHSC College of Dentistry, the third oldest public college of dentistry in the country, trains 75 percent of Tennessees dentists.

This is a great day for Tennessee, said Chancellor Peter Buckley, at the opening ceremony. It is a transformation not just in the building and in the new training environment. It is a transformation that will benefit the health care of Tennessee.

As Tennessees only public, statewide, academic health system, the mission of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center is to bring the benefits of the health sciences to the achievement and maintenance of human health through education, research, scientific discovery, clinical care, and public service, with a focus on the citizens of Tennessee and the region. More information: uthsc.edu, facebook.com/uthsc, twitter.com/uthsc.

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Peggy Reisser

[email protected]

901-336-3199

Source: University of Tennessee Health Science Center
MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- U.S. Bancorp reported its first quarter 2023 results today. The earnings release, business line schedules and slide presentation can be accessed online at ir.usbank.com/investor-relations/financial-information.

At 9 a.m. Central Time, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer Andy Cecere and Vice Chair and Chief Financial Officer Terry Dolan will host a conference call to review the financial results. The conference call will be available online or by telephone. To access the webcast and presentation, visit U.S. Bancorps website at usbank.com and click on About Us, Investor Relations and Webcasts & Presentations. To access the conference call from locations within the United States and Canada, please dial 877-692-8955. Participants calling from outside the United States and Canada, please dial 234-720-6979. The access code for all participants is 6030554.

About U.S. Bank

U.S. Bancorp, with approximately 77,000 employees and $675 billion in assets as of December 31, 2022, is the parent company of U.S. Bank National Association. The Minneapolis-based company serves millions of customers locally, nationally and globally through a diversified mix of businesses: Consumer and Business Banking; Payment Services; Corporate & Commercial Banking; and Wealth Management and Investment Services. Union bank, consisting primarily of retail banking branches on the West Coast, joined U.S. Bancorp in 2022. The company has been recognized for its approach to digital innovation, social responsibility, and customer service, including being named one of the 2023 Worlds Most Ethical Companies and Fortunes most admired superregional bank. Learn more at usbank.com/about.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005200/en/

Investor contact: George Andersen, U.S. Bancorp Investor Relations

[email protected], 612.303.3620

Media contact: Jeff Shelman, U.S. Bancorp Public Affairs and Communications

[email protected], 612.303.9933, @usbank_news

Source: U.S. Bancorp
SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- WEX (NYSE: WEX), the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business, has recognized 16 companies and business leaders with the 2022 WEX Community Awards and inducted 26 companies into the WEX Circle of Excellence. The awards and induction honor unparalleled partnership in making it easy for companies to overcome complexity and reach their full potential. These are merit recognitions for best-in-class companies and business decision makers meant to underscore accomplishments and extraordinary efforts in 2022.

Our award winners have embraced technical innovation and new products to capture efficiencies, drive savings, and identify new marketplace opportunities, said Melissa Smith, WEX Chair, CEO, and President at WEX. We are incredibly proud of the trust these top performing businesses and executives have placed in WEX to simplify the business of running a business  and of the results we have achieved together.

Our award winners are a vital component to what makes us an industry leader, said Robert Deshaies, COO, Americas at WEX. We are in awe of their commitment, grit, accomplishments, and achievements. In short, they simply are the best, and they inspire us to do better and be better. It is an honor to recognize and celebrate their accomplishments.

The WEX 2022 Community Awards winners in their respective categories are:

For excellence in over-the-road, closed-loop fleet payments:

Intermodal Cartage as Innovator of the Year

Fraley and Schilling as Partner of the Year

For best-in-class fintech partnerships and corporate, embedded, and API-facilitated business-to-business payments:

AvidXchange for the Growth Excellence Award

Jack Henry as Customer of the Year

For superior light- and medium-duty business fleet operations and payment product offerings:

Shell Fleet Solutions as Service Innovator of the Year

Enterprise Holdings as Partner of the Year

For partnership in deploying WEX paytech, insurtech, and other technology solutions for employee benefit programs, administration, and service:

Aon as Benefits Administration National Partner of the Year

Marsh & McLennan Agency as Consultant Partner of the Year

Associated Bank for the Benefits Service Innovation Award

Medsurety for the Sales Innovation Award

Carrie Stout of Consolidated Admin Services for the Leadership Award

Central Trust Bank for the Marketing Excellence Award

Empyrean as COBRA Partner of the Year

Paylocity as CDH Platform Partner of the Year

Molina Healthcare as New Partner of the Year

UPMC as Partner of the Year

The top echelon companies from WEXs member community were honored as 2022 inductees into the WEX Circle of Excellence:

Associated Bank

AvidXchange

Bank of America

Chard Snyder an Ascensus Company

Consolidated Admin Services

Empyrean

Enterprise Holdings

Fraley and Schilling

HSA Bank

Intermodal Cartage

Jack Henry

Lifetime Benefit Solutions

Marsh & McLennan Agency

McGriff Employee Benefit Solutions

MetLife

Paylocity

PNC Bank

Proflex Administrators

Progressive Benefit Solutions

Sentinel Group

Shell Fleet Solutions

Surency Life & Health

The Harrison Group

UMR

UPMC

Voya

Recognitions took place during WEX SPARK 2023, WEXs annual learning and networking event. Full details are available at https://www.wexspark.com/ and by following the hashtag #WEXSPARK2023.

WEX SPARK 2023 is sponsored by strategic partners including Visa, Coherent Solutions, Mastercard, Kunai, FIS, Fiserv, and Great Hearing Benefits.

About WEX

WEX (NYSE: WEX) is the global commerce platform that simplifies the business of running a business. WEX has created a powerful ecosystem that offers seamlessly embedded, personalized solutions for its customers around the world. Through its rich data and specialized expertise in simplifying benefits, reimagining mobility and paying and getting paid, WEX aims to make it easy for companies to overcome complexity and reach their full potential. For more information, please visit www.wexinc.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005453/en/

News media:

WEX

Robert Gould 207-523-7429

[email protected]

Source: WEX
The Mental Health Services Professional Development Grant Program will support school-based mental health workforce development initiatives.

NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- A $5.9 million-dollar grant from the U.S. Department of Education will provide scholarships and stipends to recruit and retain graduate students from underserved communities (e.g., first-generation students; individuals with disabilities; ethnic, linguistic, and racial minority groups; and LGBTQ+ groups) who are committed to working as school psychologists and behavioral health counselors in high-need public school districts. Funding from the U.S. Department of Educations Mental Health Services Professional (MHSP) Development Grant Program will support William James Colleges (WJC) ongoing efforts to build a well-trained and diverse behavioral health workforce that can deliver trauma-informed and culturally responsive care to children and adolescents, and promote inclusive practices in high-need schools across the Commonwealth.

The pandemic disrupted normal social development, causing a significant increase in anxiety and depression among our young people, said Dr. Nicholas Covino, President of William James College. It is critical that students receive services in a school setting where they spend most of their day. Without these interventions, the normal trajectory of learning cannot happen. The U.S. Department of Educations financial support will change the lives of youth and families for the better in communities throughout the state.

Over the next five years, the Center for Workforce Development and the School Psychology Department at WJC will offer scholarships, stipends, mentorship, and professional development training to 100 of its graduate students who work in high-need schools. Graduate students who enroll in WJCs Masters/Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (MA/CAGS) in School Psychology or MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs will be awarded $10,000 scholarships and field education stipends of up to $10,000 to complete their practicum and internship training at the colleges partner school districts, which include Abington, Lynn, Milford, Weymouth, and Worcester.

Congressman Jake Auchincloss (D, MA-04) shared his support, As one of the only Members of Congress with young children, I am particularly in tune with the priority of youth mental health care. With this grant and beyond, I remain a committed partner at the federal level to funding and programming for the wellbeing of our children.

The MHSP grant will also create career pathways for 100 school-based paraprofessionals to complete their undergraduate studies at local community colleges and through WJCs bachelors completion program in Psychology and Human Services. College partners include Middlesex Community College, Quincy College, and Quinsigamond Community College.

Paraprofessionals are an integral part of the school environment where they educate and support students with the most complex needs said Dr. Gemima St. Louis, Vice President for Workforce Initiatives and Co-Director of the grant-funded program. This partnership will build capacity in underserved school districts and allow paraprofessionals to pursue academic training, gain new knowledge, and apply effective behavioral health strategies to address the social-emotional needs of students and improve student outcomes.

WJCs Center for Behavioral Health, Equity, and Leadership in Schools (BHELS), which offers academic and professional licensure programs, will help implement innovative training practices aimed at creating healthy, inclusive, and equitable school climates where students can grow and thrive. BHELS will facilitate group workshops on school-based mental health and lead summer institutes for teachers and school administrators to foster safe and welcoming learning environments for students in the high-need school districts.

We are grateful to the U.S. Department of Education and the MHSP Development Grant Program for recognizing the need to prepare professionals for mental health careers in our school systems, said Dr. Jason Kaplan, Chair of WJCs School Psychology Department and the grants Project Director. Their investment in the colleges behavioral health workforce will increase the number and diversity of mental health service professionals with the requisite knowledge, skills, and expertise to provide culturally responsive services to children and adolescents in underserved communities.

About William James College

Founded in 1974, William James College is an independent, non-profit institution and a leader in educating the next generation of behavioral health professionals to support the growing and diverse needs of the mental health workforce. Integrating field work with academics, the College prepares students for careers as organizational leaders and behavioral health professionals who are committed to helping the underserved, multicultural populations, children and families, and veterans. William James College alumni can be found making an impact in a variety of settings, including schools, the courts, clinical care facilities, hospitals, the community, and the workplace.

The MA/CAGS in School Psychology at William James College is a three-year, NASP-accredited program, and leads to licensure as a School Psychologist in Massachusetts and many other states. The MA in Clinical Mental Health Counseling is a two-year, full-time or three-year part-time program that can be taken online or on-campus and leads to licensure as a Mental Health Counselor. There are optional program concentrations in Couples and Family Therapy, Forensic and Correctional Counseling, Health and Behavioral Medicine, and Substance Use and Addictions. Students from the School Psychology and Clinical Mental Health Counseling programs can also participate in college-wide concentrations in African and Caribbean Mental Health, Asian Mental Health, Global Mental Health, Latino Mental Health, LGBTQIA+ Studies, or Military and Veterans Psychology.

To learn more about the College, please visit williamjames.edu.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005390/en/

Erin McGarvey

[email protected], 203.770.1013

Source: William James College
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Women Corporate Directors (WCD) select Aquafil Group, Midmark Corporation, LIXIL Group, Luiza Trajano, and Henrietta Fore as the 2023 Visionary Awards Honorees to be honored at the 12th annual Visionary Awards Celebration and Dinner.

The award ceremony, to be held at Casa Cipriani Hotel in New York City on June 8 at 5:30 p.m. (ET), will recognize companies and individuals who exhibit an exceptional corporate commitment to diversity, inclusion and women's leadership in the boardroom. As part of WCDs larger event, the 2023 Global Institute, this two-day conference covers an expansive discussion on corporate governance issues with global corporate leaders who will provide thought leadership, insight and best practices on todays most pressing issues facing boards and executive leadership teams.

WCD is delighted to be honoring our most geographically diverse group of award winners ever, a tribute to our members serving on corporate boards around the globe, said Jennifer Reynolds, CEO of WCD. These leaders and companies exemplify successful and sustainable corporate leadership and a deep commitment to developing diverse and inclusive executive leadership and boardrooms.

The 2023 Visionary Award recipients will be honored in the categories of:

WCD Visionary Award for Leadership and Governance of a Public Company: Presented to LIXIL Group, accepted by Jin Song Montesano, Director, Representative Executive Officer, Executive Vice President, Human Resources, Communications, External Affairs, and Impact Strategy, and Chief People Officer of LIXIL Corporation

WCD Visionary Award for ESG Leadership: Presented to Aquafil Group, accepted by Giulio Bonazzi, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

WCD Visionary Award for Leadership and Governance of a Private Company: Presented to Midmark Corporation, accepted by Anne Eiting Klamar, Chair

WCD Visionary Award for Strategic Leadership: Presented to Luiza Trajano, accepted by Luiza Helena Trajano, Chair of Magazine Luiza

Susan Stautberg WCD Membership Leadership Award: Presented to Henrietta Fore, Former Executive Director, UNICEF, Former Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID); Former Director, General Mills; Former Director, ExxonMobil and Chairman and CEO of Holsman International

The recipients were selected by WCDs Visionary Awards Selection Committee, a group of fourteen members representing all regions around the globe, based on the honorees continued commitment and efforts in their areas of recognition.

This years award recipients have demonstrated incredible diversity and skill, each one pushing the boundaries and setting a high standard for others to follow, said Jennifer Sondergaard, co-chair of WCDs Visionary Awards Selection Committee.

Our selection committee is honored to be a part of the process to recognize these leading companies and individuals worldwide who continually make a significant contribution to boardroom diversity, according to Lucy Pamboukdjian, co-chair of WCDs Visionary Awards Selection Committee.

KPMGs long-standing commitment to DE&I is one of many reasons why our firm has been the Presenting Sponsor of the WCD Global Institute and Visionary Awards since their inception. We are proud to recognize the accomplishments of each award recipient who consistently demonstrate their values by modeling inclusive behaviors for others to emulate, said Karen Mitchell Curran, KPMG Partner and Lead Director, Women Corporate Directors Foundation.

A unique global network, the Women Corporate Directors Foundation (WCD), has served as the place where the most powerful and influential women in the world have convened for over 20 years. We work to increase womens representation and influence in corporate boardrooms worldwide and inspire diverse and visionary boards.

WCD represents the preeminent women leaders in business today. With 70 chapters around the world, WCD members serve on thousands of boards across six continents. WCD's members serve on more than 8500 boards globally. With 2500 members, our community includes CEOs, board chairs, lead directors, C-Suite executives, board members, and heads of global divisions in the major indices, such as S&P 500, FTSE 250, DAX, Nikkei, and beyond.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418005307/en/

Ana Tackett

Email: [email protected]

Phone: (480) 859-0899

Source: Women Corporate Directors
Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE AMERICAN: ATNM) (Actinium or the Company), a leader in the development of targeted radiotherapies, announces encouraging preclinical proof of concept data at a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2023 Annual Meeting being held April 14 - 19, 2023 in Orlando, Florida . The poster showcased the robust anti-tumor effects of HER3-targeted radiotherapy using multiple therapeutic radionuclides in preclinical models of high unmet need malignancies.

Highlights from the AACR poster titled, "Novel HER3 targeting antibody radioconjugates, 225Ac-HER3 ARC and 177Lu-HER3 ARC, exhibit potent antitumor efficacy in HER3-positive solid tumors" include :

Actinium's HER3-targeted radiotherapy displayed strong anticancer activity when conjugated to either alpha-emitting Actinium-225 or beta-emitting Lutetium-177 in models of two high unmet need cancers, highlighting its therapeutic potential for HER3+ malignancies



HER3-ARC showed strong target engagement and efficient cellular internalization with compelling cytotoxic activity against established in vitro cellular models



cellular models A single dose of HER3-ARC, conjugated to either Actinium-225 (p<0.0001) or Lutetium-177 (p<0.0001) showed highly significant reductions in tumor burden in a preclinical ovarian cancer model compared to bevacizumab, an anti-VEGF monoclonal antibody indicated in ovarian cancer



Promising antitumor activity displayed in a preclinical model of colorectal cancer, a highly aggressive malignancy, including a significant reduction in tumor volume (p<0.0001) when dosed with 225Ac-HER3-ARC



The consistent overexpression of HER3 in multiple solid tumor types including ovarian, renal, prostate, urothelial, breast, and lung cancers suggests broad utility of a HER3-targeted agent across oncology indications

"Actinium is committed to developing targeted radiotherapies for patients with unmet needs and our program targeting HER3, a validated, pan-cancer target, is a strong representation of our R&D capabilities", said Sandesh Seth , Actinium's Chairman and CEO. "The new data from our HER3 program once again demonstrate the potent anti-tumor effect and broad utility of targeted radiotherapy in solid tumors. Building on our prior results in lung cancer models, we are excited by the highly significant reduction in tumor burden seen in ovarian cancer and colorectal cancer models, providing much improved treatment options to critical patients with poor clinical outcomes. These data also demonstrate our isotope-agnostic approach to targeted radiotherapy development enabling us to generate optimal therapies, given our strong, industry leading clinical experience with both beta and alpha therapies."

HER3 is a member of the EGFR family, a highly validated cancer target for which there are several approved therapies directed against EGFR and/or HER2. However, there are no approved therapeutics targeting HER3, which is upregulated in response to EGFR and HER2 therapies as part of acquired resistance and is associated with poor survival in multiple solid tumors including breast, colorectal, lung, ovarian and others.

The poster will be available on the presentations page of Actinium's investor relations page of its website: https://ir.actiniumpharma.com/presentations-webinars.

About Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted radiotherapies to deliver cancer-killing radiation with cellular level precision to treat patients with high unmet needs. Actinium's clinical pipeline is led by targeted radiotherapies that are being applied to targeted conditioning, which is intended to selectively deplete a patient's disease or cancer cells and certain immune cells prior to a bone marrow transplant (BMT), gene therapy or adoptive cell therapy, such as CAR-T, to enable engraftment of these transplanted cells with minimal toxicities. Our lead product candidate, Iomab-B ( I-131 apamistamab) has been studied in over four hundred patients, including the pivotal Phase 3 Study of Iomab-B in Elderly Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (SIERRA) trial for BMT conditioning. The SIERRA trial was positive with Iomab-B meeting the primary endpoint of durable Complete Remission of 6 months with high statistical significance (p<0.0001). Iomab-B enabled 100% of patients to access a BMT and produced higher rates of post-BMT CR. Iomab-B produced positive results for the secondary endpoints of the SIERRA trial including reducing the probability of an event by 78% resulting in an Event-Free Survival (EFS) Hazard Ratio of 0.22 (p<0.0001), doubled 1-year overall survival and median overall survival. Iomab-ACT, low dose I-131 apamistamab, is being studied as a targeted conditioning agent in a Phase 1 study with a CD19 CAR T-cell Therapy with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with NIH funding. Actimab-A, our second most advanced product candidate has been studied in approximately 150 patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML, including in combination trials with the chemotherapy regimen CLAG-M and with venetoclax, a targeted therapy. Actimab-A or lintuzumab-Ac225 is an Actinium-225 based antibody radiation conjugate targeting CD33, a validated target in AML. Actinium has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop Actimab-A as a single agent or combination with chemotherapy, targeted agents or immunotherapy in Phase 1, 2 or 3 trials. The NCI will fund clinical trial expenses under the CRADA while Actinium will supply Actimab-A. The NCI is currently accepting proposals for non-clinical and clinical studies with Actimab-A. Actinium is a pioneer and leader in the field of Actinium-225 alpha therapies with an industry leading technology platform comprising over 200 patents and patent applications including methods of producing the radioisotope AC-225. Our technology and expertise have enabled collaborative research partnerships with Astellas Pharma, Inc. for solid tumor theranostics, with AVEO Oncology Inc., an LG Chem company, to create an Actinium-225 HER3 targeting radiotherapy for solid tumors, and with EpicentRx, Inc. to create targeted radiotherapy combinations with their novel, clinical stage small molecule CD47-SIRP inhibitor. More information is available on Actinium's website: https://www.actiniumpharma.com/.

Investors:

Hans Vitzthum

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

[email protected]

(617) 430-7578

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/actinium-highlights-first-in-class-her3-targeted-radiotherapy-data-demonstrating-potent-anti-cancer-activity-of-in-ovarian-and-colorectal-cancer-models-at-the-aacr-annual-meeting-301801356.html

SOURCE Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NYSE: ATNM) announced today the first ever data demonstrating the utility of Actimab-A to depleted myeloid derived suppressor cells (MDSCs), which are ubiquitously present within the solid tumor microenvironment as well as blood cancers. The new data were showcased in a poster presentation at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) 2023 Annual Meeting, which is being held April 14 - 19, 2023 in Orlando, Florida .

Sandesh Seth , Actinium's Chairman and CEO, said, "Significant research and development activities are being applied to understanding the complex biological activities within the tumor microenvironment in order to generate better treatment responses and patient outcomes. MDSCs are recruited to sites of chronic inflammation, such as the tumor microenvironment, where they exert immunosuppressive effects including inhibition of immune responses mediated by T cells, B cells, and NK cells. At Actinium, we believe Actimab-A can play an important role in the tumor microenvironment by depleting MDSCs, which express CD33, in a targeted manner. In doing so, Actimab-A can mitigate a major immunosuppressive contributor and potentially improve response rates as well as the duration of responses for a wide array of immunotherapies. With the substantial number of immunotherapies in development or currently in clinical use, we see multiple opportunities to synergize with immunotherapies such as checkpoint inhibitors and T and NK cell therapies. These data are an important step forward and we are excited to continue development of Actimab-A for MDSC depletion and beyond."

Highlights from the AACR poster titled, "Targeting myeloid-derived suppressor cells with actinium-225 lintuzumab, a CD33 antibody radioconjugate to enhance antitumor immunity", include:

Actimab-A demonstrated efficient depletion of ex vivo human MDSCs derived from colorectal and lung cancer patient samples in vitro in addition to an in vivo humanized mouse model of Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer



human MDSCs derived from colorectal and lung cancer patient samples in addition to an humanized mouse model of Non-Small Cell Colorectal cancer blood MDSCs treated with Actimab-A were more effectively cleared (p<0.01) compared to depletion by Mylotarg, a CD33-targeted antibody-drug conjugate, highlighting the powerful cytotoxicity and potential therapeutic benefit of radiotherapy compared to naked antibodies or ADCs



Flow cytometry data confirmed an upregulation of CD33+ MDSCs in both lung and colorectal cancer patient samples compared to healthy donor controls. Following Actimab-A treatment in mice, a specific and robust depletion of ex vivo CD33+ MDSCs was observed



CD33+ MDSCs was observed These results suggest that targeted blockade of MDSC activity via treatment with Actimab-A can alleviate their pro-tumorigenic and immunosuppressive activities to bolster the efficacy of immunotherapy such as checkpoint inhibitors.

The poster will be available on the presentations page of Actinium's investor relations page of its website: https://ir.actiniumpharma.com/presentations-webinars.

About Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing targeted radiotherapies to deliver cancer-killing radiation with cellular level precision to treat patients with high unmet needs. Actinium's clinical pipeline is led by targeted radiotherapies that are being applied to targeted conditioning, which is intended to selectively deplete a patient's disease or cancer cells and certain immune cells prior to a bone marrow transplant (BMT), gene therapy or adoptive cell therapy, such as CAR-T, to enable engraftment of these transplanted cells with minimal toxicities. Our lead product candidate, Iomab-B ( I-131 apamistamab) has been studied in over four hundred patients, including the pivotal Phase 3 Study of Iomab-B in Elderly Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (SIERRA) trial for BMT conditioning. The SIERRA trial was positive with Iomab-B meeting the primary endpoint of durable Complete Remission of 6-months with high statistical significance (p<0.0001). Iomab-B enabled 100% of patients to access a BMT and produced higher rates of post-BMT CR. Iomab-B produced positive results for the secondary endpoints of the SIERRA trial including reducing the probability of an event by 78% resulting in an Event-Free Survival (EFS) Hazard Ratio of 0.22 (p<0.0001), doubled 1-year overall survival and median overall survival. Iomab-ACT, low dose I-131 apamistamab, is being studied as a targeted conditioning agent in a Phase 1 study with a CD19 CAR T-cell Therapy with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center with NIH funding. Actimab-A, our second most advanced product candidate has been studied in approximately 150 patients with Acute Myeloid Leukemia or AML, including in combination trials with the chemotherapy regimen CLAG-M and with venetoclax, a targeted therapy. Actimab-A or lintuzumab-Ac225 is an Actinium-225-based antibody radiation conjugate targeting CD33, a validated target in AML. Actinium has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to develop Actimab-A as a single agent or combination with chemotherapy, targeted agents, or immunotherapy in Phase 1, 2, or 3 trials. The NCI will fund clinical trial expenses under the CRADA while Actinium will supply Actimab-A. The NCI is currently accepting proposals for non-clinical and clinical studies with Actimab-A. Actinium is a pioneer and leader in the field of Actinium-225 alpha therapies with an industry-leading technology platform comprising over 200 patents and patent applications including methods of producing the radioisotope AC-225. Our technology and expertise have enabled collaborative research partnerships with Astellas Pharma, Inc. for solid tumor theranostics, with AVEO Oncology Inc. to create an Actinium-225 HER3 targeting radiotherapy for solid tumors, and with EpicentRx, Inc. to create targeted radiotherapy combinations with their novel, clinical-stage small molecule CD47-SIRP inhibitor. More information is available on Actinium's website: https://www.actiniumpharma.com/.

Investors:

Hans Vitzthum

LifeSci Advisors, LLC

[email protected]

(617) 430-7578

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/actinium-presents-data-demonstrating-actimab-as-potential-use-against-solid-tumors-by-selectively-depleting-immunosuppressive-mdscs-a-key-component-of-the-tumor-microenvironment-at-the-aacr-annual-meeting-301801350.html

SOURCE Actinium Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
The Sudanese military rescued 89 students and staffers who had been trapped in the engineering department of Khartoum University since the beginning of fighting on Saturday, said Mohamed Al-Faki, one of the freed students, the Associated Press reported.

Online footage showed students being helped by men in uniforms to crawl through a small hole in the university's perimeter wall.

Amid continuing deadly clashes in Sudan's capital, one of the students was killed at the University of Khartoum after being hit by a stray bullet. A Facebook post by one of his colleagues revealed that the body was buried on campus after safe passage off-site could not be secured.

"We buried our friend after getting permission from his family and the university. We were going to get food for the rest of the students," said law student Mosaab Sharif, who is sheltering in a building near the campus, in an interview with the BBC.

"There were three of us, and then he was hit in the chest. We couldn't even help him. As we were burying our colleague, one of us was hit with a bullet in his hand."

"Snipers have been targeting anyone with flashlights. That's why no one is walking around wearing white clothes to be extra safe," added Sharif. "We are scared of both sides, the military and the Rapid Support Forces, if they shoot in our direction."

Explosions and heavy gunfire continued to rattle the Sudanese capital on Wednesday, the fifth day of fighting, after an internationally brokered truce quickly fell apart. According to a UN toll, the fighting between the army and paramilitaries has killed 300 people, prompting thousands of residents to flee the capital.

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BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) announced today its plan to invest $42 million into the expansion of its Seneca, South Carolina production facility. The investment will be allocated to building and equipment upgrades as well as the development of new manufacturing lines to launch the production of 3GWh of annual battery module capacity, contributing to the growth of the company's battery module and pack production in the U.S.

Over the course of three years, the expansion is expected to create approximately 122 jobs, including production, technical support, manufacturing, engineering, maintenance and supporting function positions. To aid in the expansion, BorgWarner is working closely with the State of South Carolina as well as Oconee County .

"The ability to expand our existing BorgWarner operations producing energy-efficient, clean products is crucial as we continue to 'Charge Forward' toward our goal of enabling lower-emissions transportation," said Volker Weng , Vice President and General Manager, BorgWarner Drivetrain and Battery Systems. "I want to thank the State of South Carolina and Oconee County for their support in further enabling the launch of new production processes at our Seneca facility, which will provide additional capacity to better meet U.S. customer demands for BorgWarner battery assemblies."

Expansion of the facility is slated to begin in the second quarter of 2023, with an expected completion date of in the first half of 2024.
BorgWarner (NYSE: BWA) has announced its plan to invest $20 million into expanding the capabilities of three existing Michigan -based facilities and developing a new electric vehicle (EV) battery service center. As a result of the investment, BorgWarner is slated to create approximately 186 jobs, including engineering, manufacturing and service positions.

The project will accelerate development, manufacturing and testing of EV products and EV charging infrastructure equipment, including battery modules and packs, direct current (DC) fast charging equipment, and microgrid control and operations in its Auburn Hills , Dearborn and Hazel Park facilities. The project will also increase BorgWarner's DC fast charging, EV battery module, and EV battery pack manufacturing capabilities in Michigan . In support of the expansion, BorgWarner has received a $1.86 million grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC) through its Michigan Business Development Program that will be put toward expansion activities that further advance the company's electrification goals.

"This is a significant investment for our company as we continue to charge forward with our electrification strategy. We are grateful to receive this grant from the MEDC as we continue to expand upon and grow our EV offerings," said Frederic Lissalde , President and CEO of BorgWarner Inc. "On top of creating more pathway jobs in the community to improve the quality of life for local residents, we intend to use the grant to expand BorgWarner's manufacturing capability and presence, enhance volume capacity and grow our cross-functional departments."

The investment will be split across the three facilities. The Auburn Hills portion will be allocated toward new electrification labs that will house testing equipment and allow for new research and development activities. In Dearborn , its footprint is set to increase by roughly 7,000 square feet, allowing for growth of manufacturing, engineering and service departments dedicated to next generation DC fast charging equipment. The growth plan and new enhancements will allow the facility to double its current capacity.
Carvana Co. (NYSE: CVNA) (Carvana or the Company), the leading e-commerce platform for buying and selling used cars, today announced that it has extended the expiration date for each of its previously announced offers to exchange (each an Exchange Offer and, collectively, the Exchange Offers) its outstanding existing notes listed below (the Existing Notes) for up to an aggregate principal amount of $1,000,000,000 (subject to increase or decrease by the Company) of new 9.0%/12.0% Cash/PIK Toggle Senior Secured Second Lien Notes due 2028 (the New Secured Notes) issued by the Company.

The Exchange Offers, which were originally scheduled to expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on Wednesday, April 19, 2023, have been extended until 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on May 3, 2023 (the New Expiration Time), unless further extended. As the withdrawal deadline has passed, Existing Notes tendered in the Exchange Offers may not be withdrawn.

Additionally, eligible holders who validly tender Existing Notes at or prior to the New Expiration Time will be eligible to receive the Early Exchange Premium, as set forth in the table below. Furthermore, the Exchange Offer relating to the Companys 5.625% Senior Notes due 2025 (the 2025 Notes Exchange Offer) has been amended to increase its exchange consideration, as set forth in the table below (the New Exchange Consideration). Any Existing Notes validly tendered prior to the New Expiration Time and accepted by the Company will receive the Total Consideration as set forth in the table below.

Other than the extension of the Exchange Offers and Early Exchange Premium and the New Exchange Consideration, all other terms and conditions of the Exchange Offers set forth in the Exchange Offer Memorandum distributed to eligible holders, dated March 22, 2023 (the Exchange Offer Memorandum), remain unchanged.

The following table sets forth the amended pricing terms of the Exchange Offers:

Principal Amount of New Secured Notes(2) Title of Existing Notes CUSIP Number(1) Principal

Amount

Outstanding Acceptance Priority

Level Exchange Consideration New Exchange

Consideration Early Exchange Premium(3) Total Consideration(4) 5.625% Senior Notes due 2025 146869AB8 / U1468GAC8 $ 500,000,000 1  $838.75 $20 $858.75 10.250% Senior Notes due 2030 146869AJ1 / U1468GAG9 $ 3,275,000,000 2 $773.75  $20 $793.75 5.500% Senior Notes due 2027 146869AF9 / U1468GAE4 $ 600,000,000 3 $638.75  $20 $658.75 5.875% Senior Notes due 2028 146869AD4 / U1468GAD6 $ 600,000,000 4 $626.25  $20 $646.25 4.875% Senior Notes due 2029 146869AH5 / U1468GAF1 $ 750,000,000 5 $612.50  $20 $632.50

No representation is made as to the correctness or accuracy of the CUSIP numbers listed in this press release or printed on the Existing Notes. They are provided solely for convenience. Consideration in the form of principal amount of New Secured Notes per $1,000 principal amount of Existing Notes that are validly tendered and accepted for exchange, subject to any rounding as described in the Exchange Offer Memorandum. In addition to the Exchange Consideration or the New Exchange Consideration, as applicable, and the Early Exchange Premium (together, the  Total Consideration ), all eligible holders of Existing Notes accepted for exchange pursuant to the Exchange Offers within five business days following the New Expiration Date or as promptly as practicable thereafter (the  New Settlement Date ) will also be paid a cash amount equal to any accrued and unpaid interest for such series of Existing Notes from the last interest payment date for such series of Existing Notes to, but not including, the New Settlement Date. The Early Exchange Premium will be payable to Eligible Holders who validly tender and do not withdraw Existing Notes at or prior to the New Expiration Time. Includes the Early Exchange Premium for Existing Notes tendered for exchange and not validly withdrawn at or prior to the New Expiration Time.

This press release is for informational purposes only and shall not constitute an offer to sell nor a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States and shall not constitute an offer, solicitation or sale of any securities in any jurisdiction where such offering or sale would be unlawful.

About Carvana (NYSE: CVNA)

Carvana (NYSE: CVNA) is an industry pioneer for buying and selling used vehicles online. As the fastest growing used automotive retailer in U.S. history, its proven, customer-first ecommerce model has positively impacted millions of peoples lives through more convenient, accessible and transparent experiences. Carvana.com allows someone to purchase a vehicle from the comfort of their home, completing the entire process online, benefiting from a 7-day money back guarantee, home delivery, nationwide inventory selection and more. Customers also have the option to sell or trade-in their vehicle across all Carvana locations, including its patented Car Vending Machines, in more than 300 U.S. markets. Carvana brings a continued focus on people-first values, industry-leading customer care, technology and innovation, and is the No. 2 automotive brand in the U.S., only behind Ford, on the Forbes 2022 Most Customer-Centric Companies List. Carvana is one of the four fastest companies to make the Fortune 500 and for more information, please visit www.carvana.com and follow us @Carvana.

Carvana also encourages investors to visit its Investor Relations website as financial and other company information is posted.

Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

These forward-looking statements reflect Carvanas current intentions, expectations or beliefs regarding the proposed Exchange Offers. These statements may be preceded by, followed by or include the words aim, anticipate, believe, estimate, expect, forecast, intend, likely, outlook, plan, potential, project, projection, seek, can, could, may, should, would, will, the negatives thereof and other words and terms of similar meaning. Forward-looking statements include all statements that are not historical facts. Such forward-looking statements are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause actual outcomes or results to differ materially from those indicated in these statements. Among these factors are risks related to the Risk Factors identified in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 and in the Exchange Offer Memorandum. There is no assurance that any forward-looking statements will materialize. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, which reflect expectations only as of this date. Carvana does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or review any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as required by law.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005449/en/

Investor Relations:



Carvana



Mike Mckeever



[email protected]

Media Contact:



Carvana



Kristin Thwaites



[email protected]

Source: Carvana
IFF (NYSE: IFF) today announced the launch of its new pectin-based technology, a further expansion of its vegan softgel offering. The introduction of VERDIGEL SC enables manufacturers of vegan softgels to offer carrageenan-free products, which are in high demand in several markets.

Across the world, an increasing consumer preference for vegan supplements is driving producers to meet this growing demand. Softgels are gaining popularity and becoming a format of choice in the nutraceutical and supplement sectors, but they present several manufacturing challenges, including strength and stabilityparticularly with increasingly complex and sensitive active ingredients.

"VERDIGEL SC was developed to provide manufacturers looking to switch to plant-based, carrageenan-free alternatives without disrupting their production processes and compromising the performance and quality that they need from this popular dosage form," said Rebecca Putans , R&D scientist, IFF. "Ultimately, this is about providing choice and flexibility for our customers, so they can unlock softgel possibilities, accelerate their time to market and respond swiftly to changes in consumer preferences."

VERDIGEL SC is a ready-to-use pectin-based premix, requiring only the addition of water and a plasticizer to produce high-performance softgels. It is designed for easy implementation and efficient use, suitable for a wide range of formulations, and maintains the same processability and stability as other vegan and animal-based softgel approaches. VERDIGEL SC offers significant processing benefits as well as labeling advantages as it is vegan, halal, kosher, non-GMO, and contains no gluten, allergens or preservatives.

"Today's announcement is a proud moment as we again expand our vegan softgel technology platform, to provide our customers with even more differentiated options to create high-quality plant-based soft capsules with excellent consumer acceptance and appeal," added Benjamin Roscoe , application development and innovation manager, IFF. "At IFF, we are committed to providing innovative solutions that meet the evolving needs of our customers and the industry. With a long, proud history in the pharmaceutical and nutraceutical industries, and a decade of experience in softgel development, we are uniquely positioned to partner with formulators and producers to develop the novel delivery forms of tomorrow."

VERDIGEL SC will be available at IFF booth C80 during Vitafoods Europe in Geneva, Switzerland from May 9-11 . Visitors will have the opportunity to find out more about the carrageenan-free vegan softgel samples and meet with IFF experts on-site. Meetings with a VERDIGEL SC representative at Vitafoods can be arranged here.

To learn more about VERDIGEL SC, its applications and benefits, visit here.
National Bank Holdings Corporation (NYSE: NBHC) today announced that its bank subsidiary NBH Bank (NBH) has recently acquired StoneCastle Digital Solutions, LLC (d/b/a Cambr), a subsidiary of StoneCastle Partners, LLC (StoneCastle).

Cambr is a unique deposit acquisition and processing platform that generates core deposits from accounts offered through embedded finance companies. Today, Cambr administers approximately $1.7 billion of deposits comprising more than 500,000 FDIC-insured cash accounts.

Cambrs business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model leverages the customer base and marketing spend across a wide range of embedded finance companies to source granular, diversified cash deposits in a highly cost-efficient manner. Much of the underlying deposits are transaction accounts. When combined with NBHs existing banking competencies, the Cambr platform is expected to bring expanded capabilities for embedded finance companies while also expanding to serve clients across a broader set of sectors.

Cambr provides us the ability to significantly grow our core deposits with very little incremental overhead, said Tim Laney, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of National Bank Holdings Corporation. Cambrs high-touch, low-cost model adds a highly scalable client base that delivers deposits at a significantly lower cost than our traditional retail accounts. The Cambr deposit channel provides NBH with a truly unique source of liquidity and diversifies our funding capabilities and lowers our all-in funding costs.

Cambr will continue to go-to-market under the Cambr brand and will operate as a separate subsidiary of NBH Bank.

Piper Sandler & Co served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to NBH.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Company, served as exclusive financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to StoneCastle.

About National Bank Holdings Corporation

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to stakeholder results. Through its bank subsidiaries, NBH Bank and Bank of Jackson Hole Trust, National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of over 95 banking centers, serving individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, and government and non-profit entities. Its banking centers are located in its core footprint of Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho. Its comprehensive residential mortgage banking group primarily serves the banks core footprint. Its trust business is operated in its core footprint under the Bank of Jackson Hole Trust charter. NBH Bank operates under a single state charter through the following brand names as divisions of NBH Bank: in Colorado, Community Banks of Colorado and Community Banks Mortgage; in Kansas and Missouri, Bank Midwest and Bank Midwest Mortgage; in Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho, Hillcrest Bank and Hillcrest Bank Mortgage; and in Wyoming, Bank of Jackson Hole and Bank of Jackson Hole Mortgage. Additional information about National Bank Holdings Corporation can be found at www.nationalbankholdings.com.

For more information visit: cobnks.com, bankmw.com, hillcrestbank.com, bankofjacksonhole.com, or nbhbank.com. Or connect with any of our brands on LinkedIn.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements contain words such as anticipate, believe, can, would, should, could, may, predict, seek, potential, will, estimate, target, plan, project, continuing, ongoing, expect, intend or similar expressions that relate to the NBHCs strategy, plans or intentions. Forward-looking statements involve certain important risks, uncertainties and other factors, any of which could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such statements. Such factors include, without limitation, the Risk Factors referenced in our most recent Form 10-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the following factors: difficulties or delays in integrating Cambr or fully realizing benefits. NBHC can give no assurance that any goal or plan or expectation set forth in forward-looking statements can be achieved and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such statements. The forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this press release, and NBHC does not intend, and assumes no obligation, to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which the statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events or circumstances, except as required by applicable law.

Contact: Analysts/Institutional Investors: Media: Aldis Birkans, 720-554-6640 Jody Soper, 303-784-5925 Chief Financial Officer Chief Marketing Officer [email protected] [email protected]

Source: National Bank Holdings Corporation

Source: National Bank Holdings Corporation
The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) today announced it has signed a purchase agreement with global coatings company Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZO.AS) to divest its China architectural paint business. The business manufactures and sells decorative paints under the Huarun brand name in China , has annual revenue of approximately $100 million USD and employs approximately 300 people. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, pending customary regulatory approvals.

"The divestiture of our China architectural paint business aligns with our ongoing strategy to optimize our portfolio, brands and customer programs to drive continued value for our shareholders," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis . "We are confident our resources can be better prioritized to other areas of our Company to offer greater growth and higher returns and cash flow. We remain committed to growing our industrial coatings business in the region, and we thank the employees of the architectural paint business for their contributions to Sherwin-Williams."

The architectural paint business being divested became part of Sherwin-Williams through the 2017 acquisition of The Valspar Corporation and was previously reported in the Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group.
Natalie Knight to Join Stellantis as Chief Financial Officer

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA) is pleased to announce that Natalie Knight will join the Company as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, replacing Richard Palmer, on July 10, 2023, at the latest. Natalie Knight currently serves as Chief Financial Offer at Ahold Delhaize, a leading global food retailer headquartered in the Netherlands.

Prior to joining Ahold Delhaize in early 2020, Natalie Knight was the CFO at Arla Foods in Denmark, and held several senior finance positions during her 17 years at adidas AG in Germany and the U.S., after Investor Relations roles at BASF and Bankgesellschaft Berlin. Natalie Knight graduated from the University of Arizona in the U.S. and Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germany, followed by executive leadership programs at INSEAD in France and St. Gallen University in Switzerland.

Im delighted to have Natalie join Stellantis. She has worked across several industries in both the U.S. and Europe, said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. With her experience and demonstrated business transformation leadership, including a clear ESG focus, she is exactly the right leader to continue accelerating Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategy. Im convinced that she will play a strategic role in setting the new impetus and unleashing the great potential of Stellantis value.

Natalie Knight will be based in the Auburn Hills, Michigan office with extensive travel to Europe and the other regions.

Richard Palmer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, plans to leave Stellantis on June 30, 2023, to ensure a smooth handover, after a distinguished 20-year career with the Company.

On behalf of all Stellantis employees and our Board of Directors, I want to extend our gratitude to Richard, said Carlos Tavares. Carrying over from Richards successful history with FCA, he has significantly contributed to the success of the merger to form Stellantis and to its integration over the past two years. We wish Richard the very best for the future and in any new challenges that await him.

# # #

About Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. Its storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and todays customers in their innovative products and services, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves  aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.

@Stellantis Stellantis Stellantis Stellantis For more information, contact:Fernao SILVEIRA +31 6 43 25 43 41  [email protected] Nathalie ROUSSEL +33 6 87 77 41 82  [email protected] [email protected] www.stellantis.com

Attachment

EN-20230419-Stellantis-CFO-Announcement

Source: STELLANTIS N.V
FILE PHOTO: Logos of Swiss banks UBS and Credit Suisse are seen in Zurich, Switzerland March 20, 2023. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

By Julie Zhu, Valentina Za, Scott Murdoch and Amy-Jo Crowley

HONG KONG/LONDON (Reuters) -Credit Suisse Group AG's dealmakers, hoping to secure jobs after UBS Group AG's rescue takeover, are struggling to dispel fears about a culture clash and many will be disappointed, sources familiar with the talks told Reuters.

UBS bankers over recent weeks have been meeting with their counterparts at Credit Suisse in the world's biggest financial centres, to move quickly on potential new jobs once the merger is completed, four sources with knowledge of the talks said.

Only a very small number of Credit Suisse senior bankers who have strong client relationships will be retained, said one of the people, after early discussions described by another source as "brutal".

Formal interviews will take place once the deal is completed, two sources said.

UBS and Credit Suisse declined to comment.

CULTURE CLASH

Credit Suisse in recent years took part in deals that UBS perceived to be riskier, illustrative of a culture and a way of handling business that could clash with UBS's, one source said.

What's more, UBS doesn't tend to lend to potential clients as Credit Suisse has often done, a move that can persuade some customers. That could make it harder for bankers to be as successful if they move across to UBS, two of the sources said.

Since announcing the state-sponsored rescue of its beleaguered smaller peer last month, UBS has said it plans to scale back Credit Suisse's investment bank.

"There are clearly parts of Credit Suisse that have had a bad culture," UBS Chairman Colm Kelleher told reporters on March 29. "Primarily, that was focused on the investment bankWe need to put everybody through a culture filter to make sure we don't import something into the eco system that causes issues."

The Swiss state is providing UBS with a 9 billion Swiss franc guarantee on potential losses from winding down the investment banking business. The trading operations will be managed in a separate non-core division, Kelleher has said.

As part of plans for the revamped investment bank, UBS is also considering letting go its own underperforming bankers as it hires top performers from Credit Suisse, two of the people said.

Speaking with analysts on March 19, UBS executives said they expect the deal to bring $8 billion in cost reductions by 2027, $6 billion of which would come from cutting the number of full time employees across the firms' operations.

U.S. PRESENCE

UBS and Credit Suisse, neighbours in their hometown of Zurich, for decades have competed head-to-head for mergers and initial public offerings across the world.

Credit Suisse employs about 17,000 across its investment banking and trading operations, according to recent media reports, while UBS has fewer employees, one of the sources said. The banks don't publish the numbers.

UBS ranked 14th advising on mergers globally last year, behind 11th placed Credit Suisse, according to data compiled by Dealogic. In underwriting share sales, Credit Suisse also ranked ahead of UBS, at no. 10 while UBS ranked 19th, the data shows.

Yet in the U.S., where UBS has been lagging Wall Street peers, bringing in Credit Suisse bankers could provide an opportunity to quickly bolster its presence, according to one of the sources.

Credit Suisse grew its Wall Street business with the First Boston merger in 1988, creating CS First Boston. The Swiss bank doubled down on the U.S. in 2000 when it bought Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette.

Credit Suisse was planning to revive the First Boston brand by spinning off the investment banking operations into a standalone business with veteran banker Michael Klein at the helm. It had agreed to buy the investment banking business of M. Klein & Company LLC, for $175 million.

Since the merger was announced, UBS has examined how to void the contract with Klein in the cheapest way possible, reports say.

That would give UBS the opportunity to pick the bankers it wants to keep.

In addition to the U.S., the acquisition will allow UBS to accelerate planned growth in Asia Pacific, and in certain industries such as healthcare and technology, according to another source.

UBS has been racing to complete the takeover by as soon as the end of April.

(Reporting by Julie Zhe, Valentina Za, Scott Murdoch and Amy-Jo Crowley. Additional reporting by Stefania Spezzati and Noele Illien. Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi, Elaine Hardcastle and Anna Driver)
FILE PHOTO: A person stands by a sign of Huawei during World Artificial Intelligence Conference, following the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Shanghai, China, September 1, 2022. REUTERS/Aly Song

By Karen Freifeld

Reuters) -Seagate Technology Holdings PLC has agreed to pay a $300 million penalty in a settlement with U.S. authorities for shipping over $1.1 billion worth of hard disk drives to China's Huawei in violation of U.S. export control laws, the Department of Commerce said on Wednesday.

Seagate sold the drives to Huawei between August 2020 and September 2021 despite an August 2020 rule that restricted sales of certain foreign items made with U.S. technology to the company. Huawei was placed on the Entity List, a U.S. trade blacklist, in 2019 to reduce the sale of U.S. goods to the company amid national security and foreign policy concerns.

The penalty represents the latest in a string of actions by Washington to keep sophisticated technology from China that may support its military, enable human rights abuses or otherwise threaten U.S. security.

Seagate shipped 7.4 million drives to Huawei for about a year after the 2020 rule took effect and became Huawei's sole supplier of hard drives, the Commerce Department said.

The other two primary suppliers of hard drives ceased shipments to Huawei after the new rule took effect in 2020, the department said. Though they were not identified, Western Digital Corp and Toshiba Corp were the other two, the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee said in a 2021 report on Seagate.

The companies did not respond to requests for comment.

Even after "its competitors had stopped selling to them ... Seagate continued sending hard disk drives to Huawei," Matthew Axelrod, assistant secretary for export enforcement at the Commerce Department's Bureau of Industry and Security said in a statement. "Today's action is the consequence."

Axelrod said the administrative penalty was the largest in the history of the agency not tied to a criminal case.

Seagate's position was that its foreign-made drives were not subject to U.S. export control regulations, essentially because they were not the direct product of U.S. equipment.

"While we believed we complied with all relevant export control laws at the time we made the hard disk drive sales at issue, we determined that ... settling this matter was the best course of action," Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said in a statement.

In an order issued on Wednesday, the government said Seagate wrongly interpreted the foreign product rule to require evaluation of only the last stage of its manufacturing process rather than the entire process.

Seagate made drives in China, Northern Ireland, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the United States, the order said, and used equipment, including testing equipment, subject to the rule.

In August, the U.S. Department of Commerce sent the company a "proposed charging letter," warning the company that it may have violated export control laws. The letter kicked off some eight months of negotiations.

Reuters broke news of the charging letter in October.

Seagate's $300 million penalty is due in installments of $15 million per quarter over five years, with the first payment due in October. It also agreed to three audits of its compliance program, and is subject to a five-year suspended order denying its export privileges.

The company said in light of the settlement it would report its fiscal third quarter 2023 financial results before the market opens on Thursday, rather than a previous plan for after the close of trade.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Chris Sanders, Grant McCool and Jamie Freed)
FILE PHOTO: The General Electric logo is pictured on working helmets during a visit at the General Electric offshore wind turbine plant in Montoir-de-Bretagne, near Saint-Nazaire, western France, November 21, 2016. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe/File Photo/File Ph

(Reuters) - General Electric Co's workers have ratified a two-year contract extension that provides for a 12% rise in wages, their union said on Wednesday.

The contract extension, which covers about 3,000 American workers of GE, will also ensure labor protections after the spinoff of the company's aerospace and energy divisions, according to the International Union of Electric Workers - Communications Workers of America (IUE-CWA).

GE is set to separate its aerospace and energy businesses in early 2024 to become GE Aerospace and GE Vernova, respectively.

The contract extension will take effect on July 1 and continue through June 22, 2025.

Separately, eight local unions that together cover about 400 employees also ratified contract extensions with the company, GE said on Tuesday.

(Reporting by Aishwarya Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Devika Syamnath)
Terrified Sudanese who have been trapped for days in their homes by fighting in the capital of Khartoum fled on Wednesday, hauling out whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the city, as the military and its paramilitary rival made a new attempt at a 24-hour cease-fire after a failed truce the day before.

The new cease-fire attempt came as alarm was growing that millions of Sudanese were on the brink of disaster from the past five days of warfare between the country's two most powerful generals.

Desperate residents of the capital have been running out of food and other supplies as they sheltered in their homes from the gun battles, bombardment and airstrikes on the streets outside. Hospitals have been damaged and forced to close or have been overwhelmed by wounded, with staff exhausted and medical supplies depleted. Increasingly, armed fighters have turned to looting shops and robbing anyone who dares step outside.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

After the failure of Tuesday evening's truce attempt, hundreds gave up on trying to hold out for calm and fled their homes throughout the day Wednesday, even as explosions and gunfire shook Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman. Residents of multiple neighborhoods told The Associated Press they could see men, women and children leaving with luggage, some on foot, others crowding into vehicles.

On Wednesday evening, the army and its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, separately announced that a new 24-hour truce had begun. Prospects for the cease-fire were uncertain, however, as residents said they continued to hear sporadic shooting and explosions.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for both sides to stand by a truce, renounce violence and return to negotiations. She said the army and the RSF "are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and non combatants.

Until now, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo who were once former allies seem determined to crush each other in their struggle for power.

The explosion of violence between their forces, which began Saturday, has challenged international efforts to bring calm. Tuesday's cease-fire attempt failed even after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to each general by phone and after pressure from their regional allies. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have been calling on all sides to stand down.

Throughout the day Wednesday, the two sides battled around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture, and the nearby airport. Residents said the military was pounding RSF positions with airstrikes.

The armys monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days. But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force are fanned out across neighborhoods.

The result has an increasing social breakdown. Residents say armed men, mostly in RSF uniforms, have raided homes, offices and shops in neighborhoods across the capital.

They roam in small groups from house to house, from shop to shop and loot everything, said a resident of the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri in northern Khartoum. They storm your house and take all valuable things at gunpoint.

The resident, who asked to remain anonymous for fear of reprisal, said many families began to take up arms to defend their properties. He and his brother guard their home at night, he said. You dont have (any) other option.

Another resident in the Arabic Market area said men in RSF uniforms broke into mobile phone shops in the market and looted anything they could carry.

Both sides in the conflict have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan's western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Darfur has also seen heavy clashes the past five days. The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said that its compound in Nyala in Darfur had been raided by armed men who stole vehicles and office equipment and looted a warehouse storing medical supplies. The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Nyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, have also been trapped by the fighting,

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum, but turned around Wednesday due to security concerns in Khartoum. Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan. Spinant did not provide details. The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. Separately, the EU ambassador was assaulted when gunmen broke into his residence several days ago, but a spokeswoman said he is back at work.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement. Dozens of healthcare facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

Our urgent priority is to get medical assistance to hospitals and try to make repairs to their water and power lines so they can treat the wounded," said Patrick Youssef, the ICRC's Africa regional director. But fighting has made it impossible to reach the facilities.

The U.N.s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudans transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. But Burhan and Dagalo at the time joined forces to carry out a 2021 coup.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.

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FILE PHOTO: The logo of commodities trader Glencore is pictured in front of the company's headquarters in Baar, Switzerland, September 30, 2015. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

(Reuters) - Swiss miner Glencore Plc said on Wednesday it was willing to raise its bid for Canada's Teck Resources Ltd, its latest attempt to bring the Canadian miner on the negotiation table ahead of restructuring.

Teck has repeatedly rejected Glencore's offer and instead urged shareholders to vote for the company's own plan to split its coal and copper businesses.

Here is the snapshot of key events in the Teck-Glencore saga so far.

Date Development

March Glencore privately offers to merge with Teck Resources

26 in a $22.5 billion all-share deal.

April Teck rejects Glencore's offer citing reluctance to

3 expose its shareholders to thermal coal, oil, LNG and

related sectors.

April Teck Chief Executive Jonathan Price reinforces the

10 rejection of Glencore's unsolicited bid and tells

shareholders that Teck's restructuring plan is the

only viable option.

Reuters reports that Glencore Chief Executive Gary

Nagle plans to personally meet some Canadian

shareholders of Teck to get their support for the

merger.

April Glencore modifies its $22.5 billion all-share takeover

11 bid to include up to $8.2 billion in cash, which

Teck's board dubs "largely unchanged".

April Several Teck shareholders ask Glencore to sweeten its

12 takeover bid.

April Teck rejects the improved bid and tweaks its own

13 restructuring plan to allow for an earlier full

separation of its metals and coal divisions.

Influential proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder

Services (ISS) advises shareholders to reject Teck's

restructuring plan on uncertainties and structural

issues.

April Bloomberg News reports that Teck's biggest shareholder

14 China Investment Corp (CIC) favors Glencore's revised

offer as it allows investors to exit their coal

exposure for cash.

April Bloomberg News reports that Advisory firm Glass Lewis

15 has recommended to its shareholders to vote against

Teck's plan to spin off its coal segment.

April Vale SA, Anglo American Plc and Freeport-McMoRan Inc,

16 among others, approach Teck to explore deals for its

base metals business if the spinoff takes places,

sources tell Reuters.

Teck's Chairman Emeritus Norman Keevil says he would

support deals for the base metals business of Teck

post spinoff.

April A source tells Reuters that Glencore's executives have

17 met or spoken with some 120 Teck shareholders to win

support for their takeover bid.

Teck denies media reports that stated its largest

shareholder CIC favored the Glencore deal.

April Teck CEO Price again advises shareholders to back the

18 spinoff in a hastily arranged conference call after

skipping the World Copper Conference in Chile.

April In an open letter, Glencore says it is willing to

19 improve the $22.5 billion bid and will consider taking

the offer directly to shareholders if Teck's board

refuses to discuss the deal.

Teck says Glencore is seeking to frustrate the vote

and pre-empt a competitive future landscape. Teck

reiterates its recommendation that shareholders vote

for a planned spin-off.

Teck shareholder Waratah Capital Advisors

says it has voted against the restructuring plan. As

of March 7, the asset management firm held about 2.3

million class B subordinated voting shares.

(Reporting by Sourasis Bose in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
CARROLLTON, Texas, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Auto Rescue Solutions (ARS or the Company), a leading dispatcher of roadside services for motor clubs and insurance companies, today announced its acquisition of Road Service 1, an emergency roadside services company operating out of Florida. Former Road Service 1 president and industry veteran, Chris Scrivano, will continue with the business in a consulting capacity, providing market guidance and support.

Auto Rescue is the premier provider of light duty roadside services around the country, and Im thrilled that they identified in us a like-minded organization with a zealous commitment to customer service, said Scrivano. Technology is evolving in the roadside services industry and the strength of our combined networks and Auto Rescues systems make us an ideal partner to motor clubs.

The acquisition of Road Service 1 has bolstered the Companys presence in Florida, amplifying continued goals of geographic expansion. We are pleased to have added Road Service 1 to our growing network of roadside assistance operations, said Mike Inman, Founder of ARS. Opportunities for strategic growth and acquisitions continue to remain at the forefront of our business approach.

About Auto Rescue SolutionsAuto Rescue Solutions, headquartered in Carrollton, TX, is a dispatcher of roadside assistance providers who provide support to motorists on behalf of Auto Rescues motor club partners. With resources spanning metropolitan regions across the country, Auto Rescue provides end customers of motor clubs, insurers, OEs, and fleets with light-duty emergency services including jump starts, tire changes, lock outs, and refueling.

For more media information, contact:Lisa Hendrickson, LCH Communications 516-643-1642[email protected]

Source: Auto Rescue Solutions
OTTAWA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Canada's unions reiterate their strong opposition to any attempt by the federal government to introduce back-to-work legislation against federal public sector workers who are members of the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) and are currently on strike.

In a letter addressed to Treasury Board President, Mona FortierCLC President, Bea Bruske, warned the government that back-to-work legislation would be a misstep that would only worsen the current dispute and would be met with strong resistance from the entire labour movement.

Let us be very clear: we are in total disagreement with the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB)s push for back-to-work legislation, said Bruske. It is wrong of them to ask the government to violate these workers rights and to misrepresent PSACs demands.

For Canadians and small businesses to have the services they rely on, we need a strong public service. If the right to strike is weakened by the government legislating federal workers back to work, it will have a significant impact on every Canadian who expects to have their rights protected by their government.

Bruske added: Collective bargaining and the right to strike are fundamental rights. They are central to our democracy. The best and only way to ensure continued high-quality public services for Canadas small businesses is for the government to negotiate a fair deal.

The deal these federal employees are currently being offered is, in reality, a pay cut. It does not go far enough to help workers make ends meet, and it is not going to attract the talent we need today and into the future to support Canadians and our countrys small businesses.

You can see the full letter to Minister Fortier here.

To arrange an interview, please contact: CLC Media Relations [email protected] 613-526-7426

Source: Canadian Labour Congress
CALGARY, Alberta, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cenovus Energy Inc. (TSX: CVE) (NYSE: CVE) will release its first-quarter 2023 results on Wednesday, April 26. The news release will provide consolidated first-quarter operating and financial information. The companys financial statements will be available on Cenovuss website, cenovus.com.

Conference call: 9 a.m. MT (11 a.m. ET)

To join the conference call without operator assistance, please register here approximately 5 minutes in advance to receive an automated call-back when the session begins.

Alternatively, you can dial 877-400-0505 (toll-free in North America) or 647-484-0475 to reach an operator who will place you in the call.

Access the live audio webcast here.

Annual meeting of shareholdersCenovuss Annual Meeting of Shareholders (Shareholders Meeting) will be held on April 26, 2023 starting at 11 a.m. MT (1 p.m. ET) in a virtual-only format. The webcast link to the Shareholders Meeting will be available under Presentations and Events in the Investors section of cenovus.com.

Cenovus Energy Inc.

Cenovus Energy Inc. is an integrated energy company with oil and natural gas production operations in Canada and the Asia Pacific region, and upgrading, refining and marketing operations in Canada and the United States. The company is focused on managing its assets in a safe, innovative and cost-efficient manner, integrating environmental, social and governance considerations into its business plans. Cenovus common shares and warrants are listed on the Toronto and New York stock exchanges, and the companys preferred shares are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange. For more information, visit cenovus.com.

Find Cenovus on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube and Instagram.

Cenovus contacts:

Investors Media Investor Relations general line403-766-7711 Media Relations general line403-766-7751

Source: Cenovus Energy Inc.
TOWSON, Md., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Vistant, a Maryland-based firm that delivers advanced healthcare solutions, international development, and mission support services to federal government clients, today announced the company has expanded its work with the Defense Health Agency (DHA). Vistant will deliver additional support services to the Clinical Operations Program Management Office (PMO).

Vistant (formerly PM Consulting Group) will provide expertise in credentialing and privileging, patient safety, and infection control to support the DHA Clinical Operations PMO. The company will be responsible for offering data-driven guidance and sound recommendations to improve patient safety and clinical operations across military health services.

For our nations service members and their families, patient safety is of utmost importance, said Walter Barnes III, president of Vistant. Were proud to help advance high-reliability practices and ensure a culture of safety across the DHA through process improvement and innovative thinking.

Vistants work at DHA continues to expand on multiple fronts. In addition to the clinical operations work, the company was awarded an expansion of its contract with the DHA Department of Paralegal at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center (WRNMMC) and Fort Belvoir. Vistant paralegal experts now support active duty and retired service members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, Coast Guard, Public Health Service, and their dependents, as well as civilian employees of the Department of Defense.

About Vistant Vistant is a Maryland-based firm that specializes in international development, advanced healthcare solutions, and mission support services. For additional information, visit www.VistantCo.com.

Vistant contracting vehicles: OASIS SB/8a Pool 1 (47QRAD20D1060/47QRAD20D8121); GSA 8a STARS III (47QTCB22D0222); and GSA MAS (GS-00F-166GA). Online at VistantCo.com.

Contact: Elizabeth Brophy Spire Communications for Vistant [email protected]

Source: Vistant
Brampton, Ont., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dynacare, a Labcorp subsidiary and one of Canadas leading health and wellness solutions providers, today announced that they have entered into an agreement to acquire Valley Medical Laboratories in British Columbia effective May 1, 2023.

The combined strength of Dynacare and Valley Medical will offer an expansive patient service centre network and diagnostic test menu to patients, customers, and the healthcare community. Under the agreement, Dynacare will continue to provide superior laboratory services including collection and testing across Valley Medicals network of 14 locations in the Okanagan Valley (Osoyoos, Penticton, Peachland, West Kelowna, Kelowna, Winfield, Vernon and Lumby).

Expanding our presence in the Province of British Columbia allows us to include a licensed community laboratory, providing additional healthcare services for patients, healthcare providers and government organizations, said Vito Ciciretto, CEO of Dynacare. We are pleased to welcome such a strong and well-respected organization as Valley Medical to our network and we look forward to welcoming new colleagues to our team.

Dynacare, with more than 50 years of experience in diagnostic testing, has been a key partner in British Columbias healthcare system, providing essential services to several health authorities and private corporations. Dynacares healthcare solutions within British Columbia include medical courier services for The Interior Health Authority and drug and alcohol testing for the mining, construction, oil and gas pipeline industries, as well as prenatal testing contracted by the British Columbia government.

Valley Medical has a long history as a trusted healthcare partner in British Columbia since 1969. They have been an innovative leader in laboratory sciences, working with the province to be the first laboratory to provide on-demand HIV testing in the Interior Health region in 2016. Valley Medical was also a critical resource that remained operational during the COVID-19 pandemic, allowing patients to continue to access laboratory services within the community.

It was important for Valley Medical to align with a company that had a similar vision, that would uphold our service standards and continue the partnerships we have built in the province, said Dr. Jason Doyle, Valley Medicals Medical Director. We are very confident in Valley Medicals future with Dynacare.

About DynacareDynacare, a Labcorp company, is committed to being Canadas health and wellness solutions leader. Quality care is at the heart of everything we do. We are continually developing innovative programs and services to positively impact the lives of Canadians and help healthcare providers deliver the best care possible. This includes our specialized testing, convenient home care services, and Dynacare Plus, an easy-to-use online portal where individuals can understand their lab test results and manage their health.

In addition to offering the largest and most advanced menu of diagnostic and screening tests in Canada, Dynacare supports physicians in making more confident diagnoses and clinical decisions. Dynacare Genetics and Specialty Services is shaping the future by bringing advances in medical laboratory testing and innovative services to clinicians and the healthcare industry. Through Dynacare Insurance Solutions we provide fast accurate medical evidence to the insurance industry, and we are helping improve the health and safety of employees through workplace testing and wellness programs with Dynacare Workplace.

About Labcorp Labcorp is a leading global life sciences company that provides vital information to help doctors, hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, researchers, and patients make clear and confident decisions. Through our unparalleled diagnostics and drug development capabilities, we provide insights and accelerate innovations to improve health and improve lives. With more than 80,000 employees, we serve clients in 90 countries. Labcorp (NYSE: LH) reported revenue of $14.9 billion in 2022. Learn more about us at www.Labcorp.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter @Labcorp.About Valley MedicalValley Medical Laboratories is a community-based medical laboratory serving the residents and health care providers of B.C.s Okanagan Valley since 1969. Over the years, they have expanded to include over 150 staff members in 14 locations serving patients across the Okanagan Valley (Osoyoos, Penticton, Peachland, West Kelowna, Kelowna, Winfield, Vernon and Lumby).

Corporate Communications Dynacare [email protected]

Source: Dynacare
A captivating and immersive exhibitionin a setting both elegant and grandiose!

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/65a50e89-694c-4d7f-9533-c507d6ec937d

MONTREAL, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Opening tomorrow and running until October 15, 2023, Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreals Archaeology and History Complex, presents Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile. Covering 3,000 years of history on the shores of the Nile, from the civilizations very beginning to the Roman conquest, the exhibition features 320 authentic objectsin a North American exclusivefrom the collection of the Museo Egizio in Turin (Italy), one of the largest collections in the world. Visitors will learn that Egyptian civilization has not yet revealed all its mysteries and still has many surprises in store!

We are honoured and proud to share this historical journey with Montreal this summer, showcasing these exceptional masterpieces of the heritage of humankind. The exhibition Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile paints an up-to-date portrait of ancient Egypt, putting a human face on this age-old society. This will also be an opportunity to reach out and get closer to Montrealers from the Egyptian community.  Anne Elisabeth Thibault, Executive Director, Pointe-a-Calliere

Life in Ancient Egypt

The history of ancient Egypt is not simply concerned with that of palaces and pharaohs but also focuses on the men and women who lived, loved, enjoyed themselves, worked, and died with the hope of a life beyond this one. A refined rural people, with good-natured customs and strong traditions, and a monogamous extended family at the heart of it all.

Learn about a few distinctive characteristics of this society, in which a childs entry into the world was considered a gift from the gods in which respect for ones parents was a fundamental value and in which women enjoyed greater freedom than most of their counterparts in the rest of the ancient world.

People, at the Heart of the Exhibition

How did the inhabitants of ancient Egypt go about their daily lives? What was their view of the world? What made them happy? Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile brings ancient Egyptian artisans, farmers, fishers, scribes, priests, and pharaohs back to life, shining a spotlight on how Egyptian society and power were organized, as well as on the key role that common people played in the emergence and perseverance of this remarkable civilization. Tools, everyday objects, and jewelry will be displayed alongside sculptures and monumental statues, sarcophagi, stelae, and mummies throughout the immersive exhibition layout.

Animals and Divinities

The Egyptians had a unique relationship with animals, which were omnipresent in their daily lives and religious beliefs. Practiced since the Predynastic Period, animal worship was one of the main characteristics of Egyptian religion. Animals, associated with divinities based on their physical or behavioural attributes, were not venerated for themselves. Rather, they were considered manifestations of the gods, acting as intermediaries between gods and humans.

This worship and the zoomorphic representation of gods distinguish the Egyptians from all other peoples, notably their Greek, Persian, and Roman conquerors.

Light-hearted

The pharaohs primary mission was to ensure justice, harmony, order, and balance. This concept was at the centre of the Egyptians understanding of the universe. As the foundation of social cohesion, the pharaoh encouraged people to live in peace and to contribute to the collective well-being. Egyptians hoped their hearts would be lighter than a feather when being judged by Osiris, after death. Their goal was to create a life worth living... for eternity.

Publication: Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile

This lavishly illustrated, 64-page book-magazine will extend the visitors immersion into the heart of ancient Egyptian society! It features magnificent objects from the Museo Egizio, in addition to several iconographic representations to accompany the text by eminent Egyptologists. The publication takes an accessible approach to the exhibitions major themes.

Complementary Activities

LecturesTo coincide with the temporary exhibition Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile, Pointe-a-Calliere is holding a series of three lectures focused on various aspects and subjects addressed in the exhibition and accompanying publication.

April: An immersion into Egyptian society at the time of the pharaohs, with Perrine Poiron, Doctor of Egyptology and History.

May: Explore every step in Egyptian funeral practices, with Doctor of Egyptology Cloe Caron.

October: Enter the Egyptian imagination with professor Jean Revez who will discuss the role that animals played.

Cultural Activities: Family SundaysEvery Sunday this summer, from July 9 to August 20, Pointe-a-Calliere will be holding free, participatory activities complementing our temporary exhibition Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile. From 1 pm to 4 pm, families are invited to take part in a range of activities during which they will explore, discover, and experience various aspects of ancient Egyptian history and culture. Its a perfect opportunity to learn about hieroglyphics, hear Egyptian music and songs, discover the myths and legends of ancient Egypt, try out Egyptian inventions, and explore the relationships between animals, gods, and ancient Egyptians. Not to be missed!

Acknowledgements

Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile is an exhibition produced by Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreals Archaeology and History Complex, in collaboration with the Museo Egizio in Turin, Italy.

It is presented by Desjardins, through a partnership with Air Canada Cargo, Tourisme Montreal, Hotel InterContinental Montreal, and La Presse. The Museum sincerely thanks its lenders, sponsors, and partners.

About Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreals Archaeology and History Complex

Inaugurated in 1992, on the citys 350th anniversary, Pointe-a-Calliere is today the largest archaeology museum in Canada and the busiest history museum in Montreal. Rising above a concentrated number of historic and archaeological sites of national significanceincluding the birthplace of Montreal, the Museum has a mission to preserve its collections and to further knowledge, while showcasing and fostering an appreciation for Montreals archaeological and historical heritage. This mission is carried out through various activities focused on conservation, research, presentation, education, and inclusion, along with community initiatives benefiting both Montrealers and visitors to the city.

Pointe-a-Calliere, proud partner of the City of Montreal.

Download photos of the exhibition: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/d69ro2w7sx0x458/AACy4MoW3NRUhVvQ24XYferPa?dl=0  Caroline Thibault / Pointe-a-Calliere

SOURCE: POINTE-A-CALLIERE, MONTREAL ARCHAEOLOGY AND HISTORY COMPLEXKatia Bouchard, Communications and Marketing DirectorT: 514 872-9124 / [email protected]

MEDIA CONTACTS:Genevieve Harvey / 514-927-1525 / [email protected]Stephanie Culakowa / 514-245-1417 / [email protected]

Egypt. Three Millennia on the Nile  Pointe-a-Calliere, Montreal Archaeology and History Complex. Photo credit  Caroline Thibault / Pointe-a-Calliere

Source: Pointe-a-Calliere, cite d'archeologie et d'histoire de Montreal
London, United Kingdom , April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Evo Pricing is partnering with Dante Genomics to offer full DNA sequencing to employees in an effort to improve their well-being while further expanding the adoption of AI technology into the healthcare industry.

Evo Pricing is one of the first companies in Europe to offer, as a part of their benefits program, free and complete DNA sequencing to all employees and ecosystem partners who enroll. This bridges the affordability and awareness gap that Fabrizio Fantini, CEO of Evo Pricing, has identified as preventing most people from capturing the benefits of DNA sequencing as a preventive health measure.

Other DNA sequencing services that have become popular over recent years only analyze a small portion of about 1% to 2% of a persons DNA, whereas the sequencing being offered by Dante Genomics is unique in that it analyzes the entirety of an individuals genetic profile. Dante will be providing needleless, at-home blood collection kits for its premium clinical whole genome sequencing test, making it easier than ever and virtually painless for individuals to collect their blood sample on their own without having to travel to a hospital or have direct interaction with a mobile phlebotomist. These private, secure and convenient testing kits can be completed by anyone in just a few minutes with results shared to each person individually.

We chose Dante because of its superior offering: by looking at the entire genomic profile, their easy-to-use service allows our people to identify important information in regard to a broader set of genetic diseases, allergies, risk factors, and other critical health data says Fantini. Our business generally is to make managers and companies successful, and this partnership will certainly do that, but in this particular case, it's interesting because not only are we making them successful, but we are also discovering something ourselves which is scientifically and personally interesting.

Fantini is excited to pursue preventative healthcare, and DNA sequencing specifically, from a research aspect as it is still a fairly new practice that is likely to become mainstream in the near future. By offering it now to his workforce, he is helping lead the way into healthier practices and wider understandings of human health.

Partnering with Dante Genomics is providing Evo Pricing with the opportunity to expand their offering and continue to research new AI solutions that can help with the go-to-market of DNA sequencing and other high value-add healthcare services. The goal is to build a new AI service so that Dante Labs can position themselves as market leaders in genetic offerings. The Evos AI service can increase targeting and reduce the cost of building awareness of the relevance of DNA sequencing to the broader population. With more awareness of the advantages of genetic sequencing in the market, both Evo and Dante Genomics will grow.

Eventually, Evo Pricing and Dante Genomics want to apply their research to allow more patients and doctors to leverage DNA sequencing for the prevention and more effective treatment of disease. By doing this, they will be able to have a large impact on government spending on healthcare while improving the health of people worldwide.

Dante Genomics has a highly specialized workforce of individuals with unique and often difficult-to-find expertise. They quickly become experts in the projects they are working on and are highly valued not just for their skills, but also for their ability to quickly master complexity. By taking up AI-driven solutions, Dante Genomics can foster critical learnings towards the well-being of communities at large. Andrea Riposati, CEO of Dante Genomics, says that the power of the genome and its impact on healthcare is still poorly understood by healthcare practitioners and the broader population. We see a tremendous opportunity in partnerships like this one with Evo to use AI to deliver genomic insights to people and build awareness that grows global adoption for a healthier future for everyone.

Media Contact:

Name: Kaitlin Goodrich

Email: [email protected]

Source: Evo Pricing
SINGAPORE, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Genius Group Limited (NYSE American: GNS) (Genius Group or the Company), a leading entrepreneur edtech and education group, announces today the Alpha release of its Genie AI. Genie AI is designed to assist students throughout their learning journey on GeniusU, Genius Groups Edtech platform. Our intended purpose is to leverage the power of artificial intelligence to guide students on personalized learning paths based on their talents, passions, purpose and personal goals.

Genie AI, when used as intended, enables students to name and personalize their own AI guide, which then learns with the student based on personal preferences and goals. Each AI guide follows Genius Groups CLEAR philosophy of Connect, Learn, Earn, Act, and Review, which when used properly, working to enable daily steps to:

Connect each student to the communities, campuses mentors and students within Genius Groups global community of 4.3 million students and users to support their journey.

each student to the communities, campuses mentors and students within Genius Groups global community of 4.3 million students and users to support their journey. Learn with each student, recommending the courses, events and programs to follow, from free courses and learning steps to vocational certifications, full bachelors degree programs and MBA programs.

with each student, recommending the courses, events and programs to follow, from free courses and learning steps to vocational certifications, full bachelors degree programs and MBA programs. Earn GEMs (GeniusUs student credit system) by taking CLEAR steps with the students and finding earning opportunities, from employment and entrepreneurial projects to investment opportunities that best fit each student.

GEMs (GeniusUs student credit system) by taking CLEAR steps with the students and finding earning opportunities, from employment and entrepreneurial projects to investment opportunities that best fit each student. Act on key action steps and learning plans based on each students learning style and learning goals.

on key action steps and learning plans based on each students learning style and learning goals. Review steps taken to ensure effective learning by doing, both at an individual and group level when guiding classes and in-company learning.

The Genie AI integrates GeniusUs Genie with OpenAIs GPT-4 and Salesforces Einstein AI. The Alpha version of Genie AI has launched with a select user group, and the waitlist for the Beta version of Genie AI is now open for registration at www.geniusu.ai.

The Beta version is scheduled for launch in the second quarter of 2023, and will launch within an upgraded version of GeniusU, optimized for students to have their own AI Genie guiding them on their lifelong learning journey. All students will have access to workshops to improve their AI-piloting skills alongside the existing courses focused on entrepreneurial, investing and vocational skills.

Genie AI will be available for all students across GeniusUs University Campus, Entrepreneur Campus and Investor Campus in Q2, and for all K-12 students in the School Campus later in 2023. With the launch of the Beta version, it will also be available for all GeniusU partners and companies.

CEO of Genius Group, Roger Hamilton, said While there are schools and universities banning students from using ChatGPT, new education systems will arise that will expect all students to have AI assistants. We see our Genius Curriculum as being one of the first in which learning with an AI assistant is compulsory, as the future will require us all to be AI-pilots.

There is a danger that the acceleration of artificial intelligence will leave many behind. We believe the future of education lies in the equation: AI + HI = SI, where the combination of Artificial Intelligence with Human Intelligence results in Superhuman Intelligence. Our commitment at Genius Group is to support this integration as a global platform for superhuman learning.

To learn more about GeniusU AI and join the beta launch, visit www.geniusu.ai

About Genius Group

Genius Group is a leading entrepreneur Edtech and education group, with a mission to disrupt the current education model with a student-centered, life-long learning curriculum that prepares students with the leadership, entrepreneurial and life skills to succeed in todays market. The group has a group user base of 4.3 million students and users in 200 countries, ranging from ages 0 to 100.

For more information, please visit https://www.geniusgroup.net/

Investor Notice

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. Before making an investment decision, you should carefully consider the risks, uncertainties and forward-looking statements described in our most recent Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, filed with the SEC on May 13, 2022. If any of these risks were to occur, our business, financial condition or results of operations would likely suffer. In that event, the value of our securities could decline, and you could lose part or all of your investment. The risks and uncertainties we describe are not the only ones facing us. Additional risks not presently known to us or that we currently deem immaterial may also impair our business operations. In addition, our past financial performance may not be a reliable indicator of future performance, and historical trends should not be used to anticipate results in the future. See "Forward-Looking Statements" below.

Forward-Looking Statements

Statements made in this press release include forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as may, will, plan, should, expect, anticipate, estimate, continue, or comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are inherently subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate and involve factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or suggested. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and are advised to consider the factors listed above together with the additional factors under the heading Risk Factors in the Company's Annual Reports on Form 20-F, as may be supplemented or amended by the Company's Reports of a Foreign Private Issuer on Form 6-K. The Company assumes no obligation to update or supplement forward-looking statements that become untrue because of subsequent events, new information or otherwise.

Contacts

Investors:Flora Hewitt, Vice President of Investor Relations and Mergers and AcquisitionsEmail: [email protected]

Media Contacts: Adia PREmail: [email protected]

US Investors:Dave GentryRedChip Companies Inc1-800-RED-CHIP[email protected]

Source: Genius Group Limited
Two roadside bombs hours apart targeted police vehicles in volatile southwestern Pakistan on Monday killing at least four people and wounding 22, mostly civilian pedestrians, a government spokesperson said.

The first attack in Quetta, the capital of Baluchistan province, killed two police officers and two civilians. Hours later, another bomb in the city went off near a police vehicle, wounding four people, police said.

In a statement, the outlawed Baluchistan Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the first attack. The BLA, which was designated a terrorist group by the United States in 2019, said its fighters targeted the vehicle of a police officer who was behind the arrest of members of the group.

Although such attacks are common, t he Pakistani Taliban have also stepped up assaults on troops and police across Pakistan since November, when they ended a monthslong cease-fire with the government.

Pakistan has been battling an insurgency in Baluchistan for more than a decade, with separatists in the province demanding complete autonomy or a larger share of the provinces gas and mineral resources.

Monday's attack in Quetta comes days after Pakistan said its top intelligence agency arrested Gulzar Imam, who is also known by the name Shambay, and was the militant founder and leader of another banned group, the Baluch Nationalist Army.

The BNA is an umbrella group for Baluch insurgents formed after two main insurgent groups merged: The Baluch Republican Army and United Baluch Army.

In separate statements, Pakistan's Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif and Baluchistan chief minister Abdul Qudoos Bizenjo condemned the attack. They asked authorities to provide the best possible medical care to the wounded.

The Pakistani Taliban, who are known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, have claimed previous such attacks in Baluchistan and elsewhere. The militant group is separate from, but allied with, the Afghan Taliban.

The latest attack comes a day after the TTP shot and killed two police officers in Quetta. One of the assailants was also killed when police returned fire after coming under attack in the city Sunday night.

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Washington, DC, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Washington, DC  CAN is pleased to announce the Traumatic Brain Injury Caregiving Puzzleto support the needs of those caring for loved ones with a traumatic brain injury. The information weve assembled will help family caregivers assist their loved ones through the process of treatment and recovery while taking care of themselves as well.

When a loved one has a traumatic brain injury (TBI), there is no single clear path to deal with the changes theyll experience. The time it takes to heal varies from person to person and depends on many factors, including how long it takes to receive the most appropriate medical treatment. Caregivers need to make many decisions which factor in the feasibility of execution of the care plan by their loved one and their support team.

When someone suffers a traumatic brain injury, healing takes time and sadly theres no way to predict how their recovery will go, said Lisa Winstel, Interim Chief Executive Officer of CAN. We hope that this information can make things a bit easier for TBI caregivers.

The TBI Caregiving Puzzle addresses 6 topics:

Caregiving for the Physical Changes Associated with TBI

Associated with TBI Caregiving for the Cognitive Changes Associated with TBI

Associated with TBI Caregiving for the Emotional Issues Associated with TBI

Associated with TBI Symptom Reporting Guide to help you talk to your loved ones doctor

to help you talk to your loved ones doctor Caregiver Impact addresses self-care as you manage the challenges of having a loved one with TBI

addresses self-care as you manage the challenges of having a loved one with TBI TBI Caregiver Resources includes links to educational resources and sites about TBI and PBA.

For more details, please visit: https://www.caregiveraction.org/tbi.

About CANCaregiver Action Network (www.CaregiverAction.org) is the nations leading family caregiver organization working to improve the quality of life for more than 90 million Americans who care for loved ones with chronic conditions, disabilities, disease, or the frailties of old age. CAN serves a broad spectrum of family caregivers ranging from the parents of children with significant health needs, to the families and friends of wounded soldiers; from a young couple dealing with a diagnosis of MS, to adult children caring for parents with Alzheimers disease. CAN reaches caregivers on multiple platforms. CAN (the National Family Caregivers Association) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization providing education, peer support, and resources to family caregivers across the country free of charge.

Jodi Koehn-Pike Caregiver Action Network 202-454-3966 [email protected]

Source: Caregiver Action Network
NEW YORK, NY, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NewMediaWire  ILUS International Inc. (OTC: ILUS) is a Mergers and Acquisitions company focused on acquiring and growing companies in the public safety, industrial, defense and renewable sectors. Having recently filed strong 2022 annual results and confirmed that its industrial subsidiary, Quality Industrial Corp. (OTC: QIND), is preparing its application for listing on the New York Stock Exchange American (NYSE), ILUS also confirms that it is submitting its application for uplisting to the OTCQB, before moving forward with its own senior exchange listing plans after the uplist of QIND.

As QINDs majority Shareholder, ILUS has agreed for QIND to be uplisted to the NYSE American. After originally beginning preparation for a senior exchange listing with another advisory firm, ILUS chose to expedite this process and approved QINDs appointment of Exchange Listing, LLC (Exchange Listing) as Capital Market Advisor for its NYSE American application. Given that extensive progress had been made prior to Exchange Listings appointment, ILUS believes that QINDs uplist remains on track to take place during the summer of 2023. Further information on the successful track record of Exchange Listing and its Founder and CEO, Peter Goldstein, is covered in QINDs press release regarding the appointment.

While QIND is preparing its NYSE American application, ILUS is now commencing with its application for uplist from the OTC Pink Market to the OTCQB Venture Market, which is the mid-tier of the OTC equity market. ILUS will very soon be submitting its application, with the approval process usually taking four weeks, unless OTC Markets finds reason to deny or delay the application.

ILUS determined that it is not worthwhile for QIND to uplist to the OTCQB due to the expected timeframe of its application to the NYSE American, and the company plans to pursue its own senior exchange listing after the uplisting of QIND, subsequent to a share lock-up opportunity being made available to Shareholders.

We are excited with the progress that QIND is making towards uplisting to the NYSE American and the value that this adds to ILUS and our Shareholders, including through an expected exponential increase in our ILUS balance sheet and greater access to capital for the execution of our more ambitious growth plans. The planned uplist of ILUS itself to the OTCQB should cement our progress made in becoming fully audited and SEC Reporting and serve to separate our company from many of the more speculative OTC companies, said ILUS Managing Director, John-Paul Backwell.

We regard QINDs uplist to the NYSE American and an ILUS uplist to the OTCQB as waypoints on our path towards an ILUS senior exchange listing. It has been a very busy few months for ILUS behind the scenes and we have made important progress across each of our subsidiaries. Therefore, we will be releasing several positive business progress and subsidiary updates as well as announcements over the coming weeks, said ILUS CEO, Nicolas Link.

For further information on ILUS, please see its communication channels:

Website: https://ilus-group.comTwitter: @ILUS_INTL

Email: [email protected]

Source: ILUS

Related Links

https://ilus-group.com

Forward-Looking Statement

Certain information set forth in this press release contains "forward-looking information", including "future-oriented financial information" and "financial outlook", under applicable securities laws (collectively referred to herein as forward-looking statements). Except for statements of historical fact, the information contained herein constitutes forward-looking statements and includes, but is not limited to, the (i) projected financial performance of the Company; (ii) completion of, and the use of proceeds from, the sale of the shares being offered hereunder; (iii) the expected development of the Company's business, projects, and joint ventures; (iv) execution of the Company's vision and growth strategy, including with respect to future M&A activity and global growth; (v) sources and availability of third-party financing for the Company's projects; (vi) completion of the Company's projects that are currently underway, in development or otherwise under consideration; (vi) renewal of the Company's current customer, supplier and other material agreements; and (vii) future liquidity, working capital, and capital requirements. Forward-looking statements are provided to allow potential investors the opportunity to understand management's beliefs and opinions in respect of the future so that they may use such beliefs and opinions as one factor in evaluating an investment. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. Such forward-looking statements necessarily involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, which may cause actual performance and financial results in future periods to differ materially from any projections of future performance or result expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Although forward-looking statements contained in this presentation are based upon what management of the Company believes are reasonable assumptions, there can be no assurance that forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by applicable securities laws. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") has provided guidance to issuers regarding the use of social media to disclose material non-public information. In this regard, investors and others should note that we announce material financial information via official Press Releases, in addition to SEC filings, press releases, Questions & Answers sessions, public conference calls and webcasts also may take time from time to time. We use these channels as well as social media to communicate with the public about our company, our services, and other issues. It is possible that the information we post on social media could be deemed to be material information. Therefore, considering the SEC's guidance, we encourage investors, the media, and others interested in our company to review the information we post on the following social & media channels:website: https://ilus-group.com Twitter: OTC_ILUS

Note: ILUS Coin does not sit within ILUS International Inc (Ilustrato Pictures International Inc), so the public are recommended to follow the correct Media Channels relating to the public company OTC: ILUS

Source: ILUS International Inc.
Hampton, Virginia, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Registrar Corp, leading provider of services, software, and training for regulatory compliance, announces the addition of Jaclyn Bellomo as the Director of Cosmetic Services and Software.

Bellomo started the newly created position in November 2022 and is leading the company in cosmetics regulatory research, cosmetics software solutions, and new service launches for cosmetics compliance. Registrar Corp's new services assist cosmetic companies with updated FDA regulations and other global regulations for the industry.

Before joining Registrar Corp, Bellomo served as the Director of R&D, Regulatory Affairs, and Innovation for Wormser Group. Bellomo has spent the majority of her career in the private sector working with multinational brands, specializing in formulations and regulatory compliance for the beauty and personal care industry from concept to counter. With over a decade of experience in the cosmetics industry, Bellomo has focused her career and education on creating support for the cosmetic industry around compliance.

She holds a Master of Science (M.S.) in Cosmetic Sciences from Fairleigh Dickinson University, an M.S in Regulatory Affairs from Northeastern University, and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) in Marketing and Innovation from Northeastern University.

We are thrilled to have Jaclyn join our team. For well over a decade, Registrar Corp has been assisting firms with existing FDA and California regulations around cosmetics, and with the addition of Jaclyn we can continue to expand our services and software, said David Lennarz, co-founder and CEO of Registrar Corp.

Bellomo is tasked with overseeing and expanding Registrar Corps robust offerings of services and software for cosmetics. Bellomo adds a deep understanding of the cosmetic regulatory environment and uses her expertise to support cosmetic companies on the newly Modernization of Cosmetic Regulation Act of 2022 (MoCRA). Registrar Corp offers several services including Facility Registration and Product Listing support, for companies that distribute or market cosmetic products in the United States.

MoCRA is the first major overhaul for US cosmetic regulations in 84 years and has put into place major provisions that have safety and transparency at its forefront, Bellomo said. Under MoCRA, FDA creates new standards and requirements that the cosmetic industry has never required before. Here at Registrar Corp, I can help cosmetic companies navigate through these changing regulatory waters to ensure they achieve and maintain FDA regulatory compliance.

Bellomo specializes in technical formulation, global regulatory compliance, product development, quality assurance, manufacturing, process engineering, and innovation development for both domestic and international cosmetic requirements.

Registrar Corps Additional Compliance Solutions

Registrar Corp provides regulatory compliance services for food, medical device, drug, and cosmetics establishments. Along with cosmetics compliance, the company also assists with the following:

FDA registration and renewal

Detentions

Inspection preparation

Food safety regulations

Software solutions for compliance

About Registrar Corp

Registrar Corp makes regulatory compliance quick and easy for cosmetics companies. Weve been a leading provider of government compliance services since 2003, offering tech-enabled services and software product solutions that help you improve workflow and adhere to global regulations. Our cosmetics services include FDA registration, navigating MoCRA requirements, label and ingredient review, California Safe Cosmetics Act reporting, and more.

We also offer SaaS products such as Cosmetri, a platform designed to help cosmetics companies streamline compliance operations and accelerate product development. Cosmetri is equipped with tools that simplify compliance requirements, including GMP requirements for cosmetics.

Companies can easily view deviations from GMPs, prepare and conduct internal audits, assure adherence to SOPs, and manage GMP documentation. The Cosmetri platform is designed to aid you through the entire cosmetics manufacturing process, from product development and formulation to quality assurance and document management.

Additionally, our FDA Compliance Monitor software helps you source suppliers for your cosmetics products by assessing supplier risk. The Monitor automatically aggregates your suppliers compliance data from 6 FDA databases and uses our patented RegiScore tool that scores suppliers based on their compliance history.

If you have questions about cosmetics requirements or Registrar Corps compliance solutions, contact Registrar Corp at [email protected] or call +1-757-224-0177 (option 5).

Starza Thompson Registrar Corp 7572240177 [email protected]

Source: Registrar Corp
FOOTHILL RANCH, Calif., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Professional Community Management (PCM), an Associa company and leading provider of community management services throughout the Orange County, Los Angeles, and Riverside areas, is pleased to announce the promotion of Joshua Thomas to director of community management. In his new role, Thomas will help lead a team of community managers and other support staff. This includes assistance with strategic planning, staff training, business development, and related fiscal operations at the branch level.

Thomas joined PCM in 2016 as an administrative assistant and has since distinguished himself as a skilled community management professional. He most recently served as a senior community manager with the companys Foothill Ranch office. He also worked as an assistant general manager and community manager for numerous community associations throughout Southern California. His expertise makes him well-suited to provide the community management teams he manages with the resources they need to provide clients with the highest level of service.

"Joshua is an integral part of our Orange County management team and we are thrilled to elevate him to this key leadership position," said Markus Ashley, CMCA, Professional Community Management vice president of community management. His commitment to excellence, professionalism and exceptional customer service make him the ideal choice to lead that offices community management team."

About Associa

With more than 225 branch offices across North America, Associa is building the future of community for nearly five million residents worldwide. Our 11,000+ team members lead the industry with unrivaled education, expertise, and trailblazing innovation. For more than 43 years, Associa has brought positive impact and meaningful value to communities. To learn more, visit www.associaonline.com.

Stay Connected

Like us on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/associa

Subscribe to the Blog: https://hub.associaonline.com/

Follow us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/associa

Join us on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/associa

Attachment

Tom Womack Associa 214.272.4107 [email protected]

Source: Associa
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medaro Mining Corp. (CSE: MEDA)(OTC: MEDAF)(FSE: 1ZY) (Medaro or the Company) is pleased to announce the results of Phase 1 exploration fieldwork program (the Program) on its Darlin Lithium Property (the Property) located in Val-dOr, Quebec, Canada. The work identified lithium anomalies in soil sampling which the Company plans to follow up during summer 2023 exploration work. The 2022 work program included airborne and ground geophysical surveys, soil and rock sampling and diamond drilling.

Results Highlights:

A total of 209 soil samples were collected during exploration work in the summer and fall of 2022 along two grids located on the Darlin North and South Claim Blocks (see Figures 1 and 2 below).

Lithium (Li) values ranged from less than (

The samples also reflected anomalies of other rare elements such as niobium (Nb), tantalum (Ta), rubidium (Rb), and cesium (Cs).

Results of eight diamond drill holes (see Figure 3 below for location) intercepted larger widths and low grades of lithium, in the range of

Figure 1: Darlin North Soil Grid

Figure 2: Darlin South Soil Grid

Program DescriptionThe Program was comprised of soil and rock sampling and geological mapping, aimed at sampling, mapping and identifying a group of pegmatites for their potential to host lithium mineralization. 21.83 line-kilometres of ground magnetic and very low frequency (VLF) geophysical survey was also completed as part of the Program. A high-resolution helicopter borne magnetic geophysical survey was also flown on Medaros Darlin and Rapide claims, the results of which will be reported in a subsequent news release once known.

A total of eight (8) diamond drill holes were drilled with a cumulative drilling of 1,286 metres NQ size core, out which two (2) holes were abandoned at shallow depths of 27m and 33m, respectively, due to difficult ground conditions. The drill holes intersected several pegmatites with varying widths and lithologies.

All rock, soil and drill core samples were bagged and tagged using best practices and were delivered to Activation Laboratories (ACTLABS), Ancaster, Ontario for sample preparation and analyses using laboratories code Ultratrace 7. ACTLABS is an independent commercial, accredited ISO Certified Laboratory. Drill core was logged and sampled at a core shack facility located in St-Dominique du Rosaire, Quebec.

Figure 3: Location of 2022 drill holes

Michael Mulberry, CEO of Medaro, states I am excited to see another of our 2022 additions to our Quebec Lithium portfolio generating such positive results. As we receive and analyze the soil sampling results from Darlin lithium property, we are increasingly optimistic about the potential of this property. The data we have collected so far demonstrates indications of lithium mineralization, which gives us confidence in the viability of the project. In addition, Darlins proximity to the Val DOr area, and all its support contractors, logistically enhances the value proposition of the project. We remain committed to unlocking the full potential of this asset and look forward to continuing to further exploration work in 2023 by extending the soil survey grids.

Qualified Person Afzaal Pirzada, P.Geo., a Qualified Person for the purposes of National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release.

On Behalf of the Board of DirectorsMichael R. MulberryCEO & Director

About the Company The Company is a lithium exploration company based in Vancouver, BC. And holds options over the Darlin, Rapide, Lac La Motte and CYR South lithium properties in Quebec; and the Yurichson Uranium property in the Athabasca basin Saskatchewan. The Company is a party to a joint venture agreement that engages the Company in the development and commercialization of a new process to extract lithium from spodumene concentrate.

For more information, investors should review the Companys filings that are available at www.sedar.com.

Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements that are not historical facts, including without limitation, statements regarding future estimates, plans, programs, forecasts, projections, objectives, assumptions, expectations or beliefs of future performance, including statements regarding the Companys 2023 work program at the Property are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements reflect the expectations or beliefs of management of the Company based on information currently available to it. Forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those detailed from time to time in filings made by the Company with securities regulatory authorities, which may cause actual outcomes to differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and the Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly or revise any forward-looking statements or information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, unless so required by applicable securities laws.

Contact Information[email protected]778-837-7191

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at: https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d662a714-ada2-4a2a-b95b-c9dc4dc6a659

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a0a72a50-cf19-48fe-a41e-c05430f0d9a8

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/ad4d1e2f-3989-46e3-944f-de17c12f1dac

Figure 1 Darlin North Soil Grid Figure 2 Darlin South Soil Grid Figure 3 Location of 2022 drill holes

Source: Medaro Mining Corp.
Natalie Knight to Join Stellantis as Chief Financial Officer

AMSTERDAM, April 19, 2023 - Stellantis N.V. is pleased to announce that Natalie Knight will join the Company as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, replacing Richard Palmer, on July 10, 2023, at the latest. Natalie Knight currently serves as Chief Financial Offer at Ahold Delhaize, a leading global food retailer headquartered in the Netherlands.

Prior to joining Ahold Delhaize in early 2020, Natalie Knight was the CFO at Arla Foods in Denmark, and held several senior finance positions during her 17 years at adidas AG in Germany and the U.S., after Investor Relations roles at BASF and Bankgesellschaft Berlin. Natalie Knight graduated from the University of Arizona in the U.S. and Freie Universitat in Berlin, Germany, followed by executive leadership programs at INSEAD in France and St. Gallen University in Switzerland.

Im delighted to have Natalie join Stellantis. She has worked across several industries in both the U.S. and Europe, said Carlos Tavares, Stellantis CEO. With her experience and demonstrated business transformation leadership, including a clear ESG focus, she is exactly the right leader to continue accelerating Stellantis Dare Forward 2030 strategy. Im convinced that she will play a strategic role in setting the new impetus and unleashing the great potential of Stellantis value.

Natalie Knight will be based in the Auburn Hills, Michigan office with extensive travel to Europe and the other regions.

Richard Palmer, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, plans to leave Stellantis on June 30, 2023, to ensure a smooth handover, after a distinguished 20-year career with the Company.

On behalf of all Stellantis employees and our Board of Directors, I want to extend our gratitude to Richard, said Carlos Tavares. Carrying over from Richards successful history with FCA, he has significantly contributed to the success of the merger to form Stellantis and to its integration over the past two years. We wish Richard the very best for the future and in any new challenges that await him.

# # #

About Stellantis

Stellantis N.V. (NYSE: STLA / Euronext Milan: STLAM / Euronext Paris: STLAP) is one of the world's leading automakers and a mobility provider. Its storied and iconic brands embody the passion of their visionary founders and todays customers in their innovative products and services, including Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroen, Dodge, DS Automobiles, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram, Vauxhall, Free2move and Leasys. Powered by our diversity, we lead the way the world moves  aspiring to become the greatest sustainable mobility tech company, not the biggest, while creating added value for all stakeholders as well as the communities in which it operates. For more information, visit www.stellantis.com.

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Source: STELLANTIS N.V
MONTREAL, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- nesto, the Montreal-based, number one digital mortgage lender in Canada that offers the best end-to-end home financing consumer experience, announced today that it achieved a significant milestone by becoming a certified B Corp (B Corp). The company is one of the first in its industry to achieve this feat, and this means that it has met the highest standards of social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose.

This certification is a testament to the hard work and dedication that we have put in place for every aspect of our business since inception in 2018, said Malik Yacoubi, CEO and Co-Founder of nesto, It is an important step in our mission to revolutionize the mortgage process by offering a positive, empowering, and transparent financing experience start to finish. We are keen on creating lasting change across our entire industry by using business as a force for good and to be the bright side of mortgage

Going forward, the B Corp certification will serve as a guidepost and an ongoing reminder company-wide to:

Foster a diverse and inclusive workplace culture.

Continually improve our environmental footprint.

Implement ethical and transparent business practices.

Innovate and collaborate to address pressing global challenges.

nesto is proud to join other leading companies globally on their mission towards conscious capitalism and helping people achieve their dreams through transparent mortgages across Canada. The organization will take the journey forward of maintaining high standards seriously and looks forward to continuing down the path of making meaningful contributions that are concrete and measurable, alongside constant improvements in creating a more equitable world for everyone.

Learn more about nestos B Corp certification.

About nesto: nesto is Canada's leading digital mortgage lending platform, with a dedicated team of qualified mortgage experts supported by advanced technologies. The company is on a mission to offer a positive, empowering and transparent property financing experience, simplified from start to finish to all Canadians. nesto is delivering on this mission by offering Canadians a leading digital mortgage experience and by empowering other mortgage lenders to improve and streamline their mortgage lending operations with the nesto Mortgage Cloud.

Media contact:Alivia Massimillo[email protected]516-398-2513

An image accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/55a9ecbc-934d-4fca-932b-570d690d2f8a

nesto Is Proud To Be A Certified B Corporation This coveted designation reflects the highest levels of social and environmental responsibility, transparency, and accountability.

Source: nesto
Trial will investigate OBT076 as monotherapy and in sequence with balstilimab

CD205, OBT076s target antigen, is overexpressed in ~ 80 % of ACC tumor biopsy samples

Recurrent or metastatic ACC patients currently face poor prognosis and very few treatment options

Oxford, UK and San Jose, Calif., 19 April 2023 - Oxford BioTherapeutics Ltd. (OBT), a clinical stage oncology company with a pipeline of immuno-oncology and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC)-based therapies, announces it has entered into a collaboration with Groupe d'Oncologie Radiotherapie Tete Et Cou (GORTEC), an established, internationally renowned, European oncology and radiotherapy consortium specialising in clinical and laboratory research specifically for the benefit of head and neck cancer patients, to undertake a new Phase 1b trial investigating OBTs lead asset, OBT076, in patients with Adenoid Cystic Carcinoma (ACC).

ACC is a rare, aggressive type of cancer which represents 2% of head and neck cancers and about 20% of salivary gland malignancies. Patients with ACC typically have a poor prognosis with a high risk of recurrence and metastasis. The Median survival of patients with ACC and distant metastasis is less than three years. There are no effective and/or standardized treatments available to date, beyond surgery and radiotherapy, for ACC cancer patients.

OBT has observed the drug receptor CD205, a unique characteristic for this disease, in at least 80% of ACC patients. CD205 is the target for OBTs innovative ADC, OBT076, suggesting that OBT076 may have high therapeutic potential in this type of cancer.

Led by Professor Jean Bourhis, MD, PhD, Chief of Radiation Oncology at Lausanne University Hospital & Chairman at GORTEC, the trial will be carried out in patients with recurrent or metastatic ACC of the head and neck across the GORTEC network in France, Belgium and Switzerland, from an anticipated 15 study sites. It will investigate OBT076 both as a monotherapy and in combination with Agenus Inc. proprietary checkpoint inhibitor (CPI), balstilimab. Balstilimab is a PD-1 blocking antibody that has been studied in over 750 patients and is currently in clinical development in multiple solid tumor indications.

Prof. Jean Bourhis, said: OBT076s ability to target a highly prevalent receptor in ACC, and the potential to work in combination with checkpoint inhibitor therapies make it an interesting prospect as we continue seeking effective treatment options for patients with ACC. We are looking forward to leveraging our network for the trial and learning more about the drugs potential in this rare indication with very limited treatment options.

OBT076 is currently being evaluated in Phase 1 clinical trials in the US and Europe across several advanced solid tumor indications, including gastric, endometrial, ovarian and non-small cell lung (NSCLC) cancer. Trial arms are investigating OBT076 both as a monotherapy and in combination with a CPI in these tumors. In preliminary data, OBT076 showed signs of clinical activity as a single agent and in combination with a CPI, including near complete responses after 2-5 cycles of OBT076 and 1-2 cycles of a CPI, in two chemo-refractory patients with low PD-L1 expression.

Christian Rohlff, PhD, Chief Executive Officer of Oxford BioTherapeutics, added: We are excited to be collaborating with GORTEC to investigate OBT076 in another key indication where CD205 expression appears to be a driving factor. This collaboration will allow OBT to work in partnership with a number of world renowned experts in the field of head and neck cancer, who have a strong track record of conducting multiple, globally significant clinical trials in this field. We are hopeful that this trial will provide evidence to develop better treatment options for ACC patients while simultaneously adding to the growing body of data supporting OBT076s potential both as an ADC monotherapy and as an immune primer to boost the effectiveness of CPI immunotherapies, particularly in patients with advanced and/or refractory tumors and those with low PD-L1 expression. As ACC is an orphan disease, should OBT076 be found to be effective, the regulatory process could be expedited via fast-track approval, given the high unmet medical need for this patient population.

***

About GORTEC

GORTEC (Head and Neck Oncology and Radiotherapy Group) was created in 1999 with the aim of running clinical and/or laboratory studies in the field of head and neck oncology towards improving care, and promoting research, for the benefit of patients. It is currently one of the most prominent cooperative groups in this field and its multidisciplinary network consists of >100 cancer treatment centers in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Germany and Spain and represents around 500 investigators in the field of head and neck cancer.

About Oxford BioTherapeutics

Oxford BioTherapeutics (OBT) is a clinical stage oncology company based in Oxford (UK) and San Jose (USA); with a pipeline of first-in-class immuno-oncology (IO) and antibody-drug conjugate (ADC) based therapies designed to fulfil major unmet patient needs in cancer therapeutics. These include bispecific, Chimeric Antigen Receptor T Cell (CAR-T), Antibody Drug Conjugate (ADC) and Antibody Dependent Cell-mediated Cytotoxicity (ADCC) therapeutics.

OBT's first clinical program, OBT076, initiated expansion in a U.S. Clinical Trial in 2021 in patients with advanced or refractory solid tumors, including gastric, bladder, ovarian and lung cancer, where CD205 is overexpressed. Infiltration of tumors by immunosuppressive cells correlates with adverse outcomes (lower progression free and overall survival), suggesting that this process contributes to the progression of several cancers.

OBTs proprietary OGAP target discovery platform is based on one of the worlds largest proprietary cancer membrane proteomic databases, with data on over 5,000 cancer cell proteins providing unique, highly qualified oncology targets, of which three programs are in clinical development in the USA and Europe. OBT's IO discovery process provides unique insights into the cancer-immune cell synapse and has identified several novel IO monoclonal and bispecific antibody candidates for cancer therapies.

OBTs pipeline and development capabilities have been validated through multiple strategic partnerships including with Boehringer Ingelheim, ImmunoGen, Genmab, Agenus and our cell therapy research collaboration with Kite Pharma as well as other world leaders in antibody development (such as Amgen, WuXi, Medarex (BMS), Alere (Abbott) and BioWa). OBT has a strong oncology focused management team and board with significant experience in developing IO and antibody-based therapies.

For more information on Oxford BioTherapeutics, please visit www.oxfordbiotherapeutics.com and follow us on LinkedIn

Investors:Dr Christian Rohlff, CEO[email protected]

Media:MEDiSTRAVA ConsultingEleanor Perkin, Sylvie BerrebiE : [email protected] T : +44 (0) 203 928 6900 

Source: Oxford BioTherapeutics
GOLDEN, Colo., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Panacea Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (OTCQB: PLSH) (Panacea or the Company), a Colorado-based manufacturing, research, and product development company in the natural health and wellness industry, announced today the execution of a distribution agreement with C.A.G. Global to expand its line of seed-to-sale CBD products into Guyana, South America.

Why Guyana?

Guyana is considered an emerging growth country poised for extensive growth due to its recent oil reserve discovery (GeoVane 2020). This discovery has and will continue to provide an economic boom to the previously disregarded country in South America, dwarfing their 2019 $5 billion GDP with the ability to produce an estimated 25 billion barrels of oil and natural gas by the end of the decade.

The timing for Panacea Lifes CBD brand launch in Guyana is ideal. According to C.A.G. Global Founder, Cort Gomes, the CBD market is a new and exciting market which plays in directly with the government's vision for a greener Guyana. Our people will welcome a healthier path to wellness, and, for this reason, the CBD market will become one of the most booming markets in Guyana over the next coming years.

Panacea will launch its full line of CBD topical and ingestible products in May 2023 through C.A.G. Global. In the countrys capital of Georgetown there are 15 large pharmacies and numerous convenience stores eager to provide Panacea products to its 300,000 citizens. As Panacea expands its reach globally, the Company intends to develop relationships with countries like Guyana that are embracing hemp and unlocking the true potential of cannabinoid research for medicinal use rather than just recreational use.

We have seen early indications of a very strong market in South America, and we are excited to have C.A.G. Global join the Panacea team, states Nick Cavarra, President of Panacea Life.

Because Panacea develops and manufactures all its CBD products in-house, the Company can provide an array of CBD products priced in accordance with the socioeconomics of Guyana to provide its citizens with an all-natural remedy for relief of common ailments like pain, sleep deprivation and anxiety.

Cavarra notes, Our focus for 2023 is to pursue master distribution partners and introduce the Panacea Life assortment of CBD products to the world in order to help improve quality of life with natural, plant-based products.

About Panacea Life Sciences Holdings, Inc.

Panacea Life Sciences Holdings, Inc. (PLSH) is a holding company structured to support the life sciences and health and wellness industries. Established in 2017, PLSH is a woman-owned and woman-led company. Its subsidiary, Panacea Life Sciences, Inc. (PLS) is dedicated to manufacturing, researching, and producing the highest-quality hemp-derived cannabinoid, functional mushroom, Kratom, and nutraceutical products for consumers and pets in the U.S.A. and globally. Panacea operates out of its 51,000 square foot, state-of-the-art, cGMP facility in Golden Colorado, focusing on natural plant-based extraction, manufacturing, research, testing and fulfillment services. Panacea operates in every segment of the manufacturing value chain from cultivation to finished goods and ensures its products with stringent GMP standards and testing protocols employed at every stage of the supply chain. Panacea also offers the purest natural remedies within its branded product lines for every aspect of life: PANA Health, PANA Beauty, PANA Sport, PANA Pet, PANA Pure and PANA Life. For more information, please visit www.panacealife.com.

About C.A.G GLOBAL.

Growing up in Georgetown, Guyana as the son of successful entrepreneurs and attorney-at-law, Cort Gomes always understood the value of hard work. Cort Gomes is currently a rising entrepreneur himself as the Owner/Operator of C.A.G. GLOBAL, a consulting and investing business founded in Georgetown with investments in real estate, mining and now distribution. His ability to make his clients feel at ease as well as his ability to think outside the box has earned him a stellar reputation among his clients. In just the last year, C.A.G. GLOBAL has managed twenty million Guyanese dollars in transactions. He attributes his success and continued growth to his strategic alliances, who appreciate his commitment to service. Gomes has enjoyed being a resident of Georgetown for the last three years after his remigration from the U.S. When he is not busy building his business, he enjoys working out, being in nature and spending time with his family.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected or anticipated. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, risks arising from supply chain disruptions or our ability to obtain raw materials as well as similar problems with our vendors, our ability to fulfill purchase orders on a timely manner, our ability to fully collect money for our purchase orders, the risk of customers returning our products, impact of the pandemic including new variants on our workforce, as well as those risks and uncertainties described by us in our annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 under the heading "Risk Factors". Any forward-looking statement made by us herein speaks only as of the date on which it is made. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future developments, or otherwise, except as may be required by law.

Contact:

[email protected]

Attachments

Picture 1 Guyana acreage map; Source: Frontera Energy Picture 2 CORT ANTHONY GOMES

Source: Panacea Life Sciences Holdings, Inc.
Salisbury, Md., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Perdue Farms, the 103-year-old, family-owned company and fourth-largest producer of chicken products in the United States, today announced the intention of Randy Day, CEO, to retire this summer. Day, who has worked at Perdue for more than 40 years, has served as CEO since 2017. He will remain in his current role to assist Kevin McAdams, COO and President, in the succession transition.

I have spent my entire adult career at Perdue, and I love this company. After 43 years, I would like to spend more time with my wife, our children, and our six (soon to be seven!) wonderful grandchildren. I am looking forward to mentoring and transitioning Kevin over the next few months. We are confident that Kevin possesses qualities that align with our companys values and vision to be the most trusted name in food and agricultural products, said Day. It has truly been an honor to lead Perdue Farms the past six years.

Randy has been instrumental to some of our companys biggest initiatives in both agribusiness and food production and will be instrumental in the CEO succession plan as well. I am incredibly grateful to Randy for his more than 40 years of service at Perdue, especially for his leadership as CEO since 2017, said Jim Perdue, Chairman of Perdue Farms. His guidance was invaluable as we navigated the unprecedented and challenging COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

I am honored to be succeeding Randy as CEO of Perdue Farms, said Kevin McAdams, COO of Perdue Farms and President of Perdue Foods. Perdue boasts an unmatched, committed team of associates and strong network of family farmers who are integral to the companys ability to produce high-quality products that are trusted and recognized by consumers and customers nationwide. I am excited to lead this company in its second century of success.

Day joined Perdue Farms in 1980 and has held various positions of increasing responsibility in Perdue Foods and Perdue AgriBusiness, before being named CEO in 2017. A native of the Eastern Shore of Maryland, Day received his Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Western Maryland College, earned a masters degree in poultry nutrition from the University of Maryland at College Park, and completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School.

McAdams joined Perdue in July of 2022. He has nearly 30 years of experience as a successful and trusted leader in the food and beverage industry with a proven track record of achieving profitable, sustainable growth and driving operational excellence. Prior to Perdue Farms, McAdams was President, North America (NA) of Jack Links protein snacks, a privately held, family-owned company. His previous senior positions include President, Schwans Consumer Brands, and President and COO of Pabst Brewing Company. Earlier in his career, he held operating roles with Mizkan, Red Bull North America, The Coca-Cola Company, and PepsiCo/Frito-Lay.

McAdams graduated from Iowa State University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science.

About Perdue FarmsWere a fourth-generation, family owned, U.S. food and agriculture company. Through our belief in responsible food and agriculture, we are empowering consumers, customers, and farmers through trusted choices in products and services.

The premium protein portfolio within our Perdue Foods business, including our flagship PERDUE brand, Niman Ranch, Panorama Grass Fed Beef, and Coleman Natural, as well as our pet brands, Spot Farms and Full Moon, is available through retail, foodservice, and our new direct-to-consumer website, PerdueFarms.com. Perdue AgriBusiness is an international agricultural products and services company.

Now in our companys second century, our path forward is about getting better, not just bigger. We never use drugs for growth promotion in raising poultry and livestock, and we are actively advancing our animal welfare programs. Our brands are leaders in no-antibiotics-ever chicken, turkey, pork, beef, and lamb, and in USDA-certified organic chicken and beef. Learn more at corporate.perduefarms.com.

###

Attachment

Perdue Corporate Communications Perdue Farms 443-493-3522 [email protected]

Source: Perdue Farms
The opening of Azerbaijani Embassy in Israel indicates the high level of our relations, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said at the meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister, co-chair of the Joint Commission Eli Cohen,

Azernews

reports.
A 24-year-old man who allegedly threw an explosive at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japan's parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts that appeared to be his.

The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Kishida, who escaped unhurt.

Kimura has refused to talk to police, but local media reports that he bore grievances about Japan's election system might shed light on his motives.

In June last year Kimura, who police said is unemployed, filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election, according to Japanese media including NHK public television and Kyodo News.

A candidate must be aged 30 years or older and present a 3 million yen ($22,260) deposit to run for the upper house, the less powerful of Japans two-chamber parliament. He was 23 at the time.

He demanded the government pay 100,000 yen ($740) in compensation for his psychological anguish, according to the reports.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan. With its strict gun control laws, the country has only a handful of gun-related crimes annually, most of them gang-related.

But in recent years Japanese police have worried about lone offender attacks with homemade guns and explosives. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a homemade gun at a campaign event on July 8, just two days before the upper house election.

In a document he submitted to the court, Kimura argued that the election system that blocked his candidacy was unconstitutional, the reports said.

Kimura argued that the election law violates constitutional guarantees of equality and other rights, according to media reports. The court dismissed his claim in a November 2022 ruling, and Kimura appealed the decision to the Osaka High Court, whose decision is expected in May, reports say.

Tweets posted to an account cited by local media as Kimura's and seen by the Associated Press complained about Japan's political system.

The account does not carry his name, but identifies itself as representing the plaintiff in a lawsuit that matches the one filed by Kimura. The Associated Press was not able to contact the owner of the account. The account had only 23 posts since it began in late June.

An Aug. 11, 2022 tweet said the deck is stacked against ordinary people who quit their job and pay the deposit to run in national elections. "There is an established system where ordinary people can never become politicians.

Other tweets on the account criticized Kishida's decision to hold a state funeral for Abe.

The man accused of shooting Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, told authorities soon after his arrest that he killed Abe because of the former prime ministers apparent links to a religious group that Yamagami hated.

In statements and in social media posts attributed to him, Yamagami said his mothers donations to the Unification Church bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

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Recognizes Customers Leveraging Real-Time Data for Action and Certainty

LAS VEGAS, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Qlik today announced the winners of its annual Global Transformation Awards, recognizing customers who are leveraging real-time data through Qlik for transformation and creating certainty in decision-making. The awards were presented by Qliks Chief Transformation Officer Poornima Ramaswamy at QlikWorld, the companys global customer and partner event. The winners represent a cross-section of organizations from various industries and NGOs that have deployed Qlik to activate their data for outcomes.



Real-time data is crucial in driving decisions that create certainty and outcomes in an ever-changing market landscape, said Mike Capone, Qlik CEO. Were proud to recognize these leaders efforts in putting Qlik at the center of their data strategies that drive value across their organizations.

The 2023 Qlik Global Transformation Award Winners:

CaixaBank: CaixaBank is the leading financial group in Spain with an asset volume of more than 590 billion and one of the leading banks in Europe. CaixaBank leverages Qlik Sense to support 25,000 network and HQ employees with real-time data made available on any device. Powered by Qlik, CaixaBanks Mis Ventas (My Sales) app helps employees analyze sales and objectives and gain valuable insights, which the bank is using to define its commercial strategy and transform how the entire organization makes decisions.

Honda: The leading Japanese public multinational manufacturer of automobiles, motorcycles and power equipment, Honda has deployed Qlik analytics to more than 7,000 users to uncover hidden insights - even among unrelated data sources - to support business decision-making. Honda is using Qlik company-wide for value creation, including areas such as carrying out root-cause analysis of sales situations, analyzing the occurrence of quality problems and reducing production costs.

Merck & Co., Inc.: Merck, known as MSD outside of the United States and Canada, is a global pharmaceutical company whose mission is to discover, develop and provide innovative products and services that save and improve lives around the world. The company has been using Qlik as its central reporting tool since 2019 and has deployed Qlik across multiple aspects of its business. These include its Global Clinical Trials Operations team, which oversees over 300 late development stage clinical trials, and over 8,000 users across 60 countries leveraging a single Qlik application to maintain medicine quality standards and delivery.

Syngenta: Syngenta Group empowers the global food chain to feed the world and care for the planet. Syngenta has put data and analytics supported with Qlik at the heart of its digital transformation, with a 70% increase in analytics usage by over 11,000 employees each year for the last two years. Syngenta recently adopted Qlik Cloud  to expand data usage even further across the organization and help drive its mission of becoming a fully data literate company.

to expand data usage even further across the organization and help drive its mission of becoming a fully data literate company. C40 Cities Climate Leadership Group: C40 is a network of nearly 100 mayors of the worlds leading cities working to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis and create a future where everyone, everywhere can thrive. Leveraging both core Qlik analytics and advanced capabilities such as AI and Machine Learning, C40 is gaining real-world insights on issues such as greenhouse gas emissions that it shares with its member cities to drive collaboration and collective action towards climate goals.

Direct Relief: Direct Relief is a nonprofit humanitarian organization that works in over 80 countries to equip doctors and nurses with lifesaving medicines and supplies, along with essential funding for stronger health systems. Qlik has been a central component of Direct Relief operations since 2015, helping to inform its teams and network on where to allocate staff, money and resources, turning information into aid. Most recently, Direct Relief leveraged Qlik to analyze anonymized metadata from social media on mobile devices to provide vital support to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the ongoing war.



Follow QlikWorld Online as it unfolds on Twitter via @Qlik and #QlikWorld.

About Qlik

Qliks vision is a data-literate world, where everyone can use data and analytics to improve decision-making and solve their most challenging problems. A private company, Qlik offers real-time data integration and analytics solutions, powered by Qlik Cloud, to close the gaps between data, insights and action. By transforming data into Active Intelligence, businesses can drive better decisions, improve revenue and profitability, and optimize customer relationships. Qlik serves more than 38,000 active customers in over 100 countries.

 2023 QlikTech International AB. All rights reserved. All company and/or product names may be trade names, trademarks and/or registered trademarks of the respective owners with which they are associated.

Media Contact:

Derek Lyons

[email protected]

617-658-5310




Dr. Santiago Munne, a pioneer in preimplantation genetic diagnosis, presented the new test at the PGDIS Conference





The novel laboratory test will not only detect genes inherited from parents, but will also reveal new mutations that could lead to de novo diseases such as autism



PARIS, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dr. Santiago Munne, a pioneer in preimplantation genetic diagnosis, presented the first whole genome sequencing test in embryos before delegates at the 20th Conference of the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis International Society (PGDIS), held this week in Paris.

In his plenary address attended by over 300 experts, Dr. Munne, an internationally recognized trailblazer in reproductive genetics, presented validation data for GenomeScreen, the test developed by the research team he leads at the biotechnology firm GenEmbryomics.

We have known since we started working with embryo diagnostics back in 1993 that embryo selection would be key to pregnancy, especially in older patients. Over the last 30 years, our work has been focused on improving genetic embryo selection, though the definitive diagnostic approachthe one that provides the most information and the best outcomeswill doubtless be this one: whole genome sequencing of the embryo using just a few cells obtained from a biopsy. This test will open doors that we never knew existed, says Munne of the work done at GenEmbryomics.

To understand the genome is to know everything about an embryo before transfer

GenomeScreen is a revolutionary new whole genome sequencing test for IVF embryos that has been described as "the most complete genetic test in IVF" by authorities at the PGDIS forum.

The test provides highly precise information on the genome sequence of the embryo and the genetic parents, offering families key preimplantation insights on embryo health and reproductive prognosis that can inform their decisions. Furthermore, this information will be invaluable to individuals born from IVF, as it will provide input on nutrigenomics or guidance on which medicines are most genetically suited to the patient.

When we first started our research on embryo sequencing, our goal was to create a powerful, comprehensive tool that could equip fertility physicians with exhaustive data for precision screening, recalls Dr. Nick Murphy, founder of GenEmbryomics. Now that we have this tool and use it with 99% reliability, we are aware that this diagnosis not only provides information, but also substantially enhances the success of reproductive medicine, adds Murphy.

Embryo sequencing will increase IVF success rates

Professor Munne, whose career as a leader in reproductive genetics spans over 20 years, has made enormous contributions to embryo selection and IVF treatment. With this test, he and his team of researchers solidify the role of genetic testing within reproductive medicine, increasing treatment success.

"The findings presented at the conference are the validation data for a test that will change embryo selection as we know it," according to Munne. "Preimplantation genetic analysis with whole genome sequencing is a giant step forward: among other things, it will tell us which embryo will implant successfully, because we will know beforehand which one is truly healthythe one that is free of diseases inherited from the parents or de novo illnesses, such as autism, he concludes.

About GenEmbryomics

Founded by Dr. Nick Murphy in 2019, GenEmbryomics is a cutting-edge biotech company specializing in the genomic analysis of embryos to determine the most viable candidates for IVF implantation. Their work will lead to higher success rates in IVF cycles, thanks to their proprietary algorithms offering more accurate and efficient embryo selection based on each embryos whole genome.
DENVER, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Clear Cannabis Inc., a national licensor of The Clear, a legacy cannabis brand of innovative and high quality distilled concentrate products, has announced its expansion into the companys 10th retail market: Arkansas. Their products will be manufactured and distributed through Arkansas licensee Dark Horse Medicinals.

Starting with a soft launch on April 20, 2023, The Clear Elite, the flagship brand of The Clear's family of products, will be available for sale in select Arkansas medical dispensaries. With a full rollout across the state to take place throughout May 2023.

The Clear Elite premium vape products are renowned for their exceptional quality, completely free of filler agents, and boasting a starting potency of well over 85% cannabinoids. The Elite cartridge is perfect for moderate to seasoned cannabis enthusiasts, filled with ultra-premium THC distillate, with award-winning botanically derived terpenes.

Arkansas customers can choose from a range of high-quality Elite products, including 1000mg cartridges, 500mg cartridges, and 350mg All-In-Ones, available in The Clear's award-winning flavors, including Blue Raz, Golden Goat, Grapevine, Lime Sorbet, OG, and Orange Cream.

In the coming months, customers can also look forward to the release of two additional products in Arkansas: Dripcees, fast-acting vegan gummies, and The Clear Elite 2g Cartridge. All the company's products are crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail, ensuring a consistent and high-quality experience for every customer.

"We are thrilled to announce our latest license partnership with Dark Horse Medicinals, an esteemed leader in the local cannabis marketplace," said Richard Batenburg Jr., CEO of Clear Cannabis Inc., the licensor of The Clear brand. "The Clear and Dark Horse share a commitment to quality and innovation, making this partnership an excellent fit. We are excited to expand The Clear's customer base in the South and look forward to growing our presence in this market."

As a medical cannabis market with limited licenses, Arkansas has faced challenges in providing residents with access to national cannabis brands. However, Dark Horse Medicinals is proud to be the state's first operational medical marijuana processor and independent cannabis product manufacturer. By partnering with Dark Horse, The Clear will be able to bring its emphasis on quality, consistency, and transparency to the Arkansas market, solidifying its position as one of the top brands in the nation.

We at Dark Horse are happy to welcome The Clear to the Arkansas market. The Clear is a perennial national brand in the cannabis space and with their emphasis on quality, consistency, and transparency we are eager to see their success in Arkansas, said Casey Flippo, Chief Executive Officer at Dark Horse Medicinals.

The Clear Family of Brands are available in California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. The national cannabis leader has plans to roll out additional consumption formats and expand into emerging markets throughout the east coast in 2023.

For more information about The Clear, visit clearconcentrate.com.

About The Clear The Clear is one of the worlds first commercially produced cannabis brands. Founded in 2013 by a team of scientists who reinvented the cannabis industry by introducing molecular distillation to the legal cannabis market, the award-winning cannabis brand prioritizes product consistency, proprietary formulations, product safety, and consumer experience  regardless of state. A national licensee of Clear Cannabis Inc., The Clear products are available in multiple cannabis markets in the U.S., including California, Colorado, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nevada, New Mexico, and Oklahoma. For more information about the first and original distilled cannabis brand, visit clearconcentrate.com.

Media Contact:Lucas Wentworth[email protected]

Source: The Clear Cannabis
Available in the App Store and Google Play, Thumzup Enables Virtually Everyone to Earn Cash Rewards for Posting on Social Media about the Brands They Love

Los Angeles, CA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Thumzup Media Corporation ("Thumzup" or the "Company") (OTCQB: TZUP) is excited to welcome The Red Chickz to its cash rewards digital social media branding platform.

The Thumzup mobile app, which is available for download in the App Store and Google Play, incentivizes virtually everyone to become social media advocates for the brands they enjoy by paying them cash for approved posts.

Were thrilled to welcome The Red Chickzs Culver City location to the Thumzup community, stated Robert Steele, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Thumzup. Thumzups users are now able to earn cash while enjoying the crunchiest hot chicken. We look forward to continuing our commitment to helping grow The Red Chickzs customer base and sales.

For more information, please visit https://www.thumzupmedia.com and https://theredchickz.com/

About Thumzup

Thumzup Media Corporation (Thumzup) is democratizing the multi-billion dollar social media branding and marketing industry. Its flagship product, the Thumzup platform, utilizes a robust programmatic advertiser dashboard coupled with a consumer-facing App to enable individuals to get paid cash for posting about participating advertisers on major social media outlets through the Thumzup App. The easy-to-use dashboard allows advertisers to programmatically customize their campaigns. Cash payments are made to App users/creators through Venmo and PayPal.

Thumzup is a publicly traded company (OTCQB stock ticker: TZUP). For more information, please visit https://www.thumzupmedia.com

Forward-looking Statements

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These include, without limitation, statements about its potential growth, impacts on the advertising industry, and planned expansion. These statements are identified by the use of the words "could," "believe," "anticipate," "intend," "estimate," "expect," "may," "continue," "predict," "potential," "project" and similar expressions that are intended to identify forward-looking statements. All forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although we believe that our plans, objectives, expectations and intentions reflected in or suggested by the forward-looking statements are reasonable, we can give no assurance that these plans, objectives, expectations or intentions will be achieved. Forward-looking statements involve significant risks and uncertainties (some of which are beyond our control) and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from historical experience and present expectations or projections. Actual results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements and the trading price for our common stock may fluctuate significantly. Forward-looking statements also are affected by the risk factors described in our filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Except as required by law, we undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, after the date on which the statements are made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

Contact Info:800-403-6150[email protected]

Attachment

Thumzup Media Corporation The Red Chickz to its cash rewards digital social media branding platform.

Source: Thumzup Media Corporation
STEINHAUSEN, Switzerland, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Transocean Ltd. (NYSE: RIG) today issued a quarterly Fleet Status Report that provides the current status of, and contract information for, the companys fleet of offshore drilling rigs.

This quarters report includes the following updates:

Transocean Enabler  Awarded a 19-well contract in Norway at a current rate of $377,000 per day, as adjusted for foreign currency exchange plus eight option wells.

Transocean Encourage  Awarded a nine-well contract in Norway at a rate of $350,000 per day.

Transocean Endurance  Awarded a multi-well plug and abandonment contract in Australia at a rate of $380,000 per day plus options.

Transocean Norge  Customers exercised four one-well options in Norway at $338,000 per day, $358,000 per day, $358,000 per day, and $408,000 per day, respectively, as adjusted for foreign currency exchange.

The aggregate incremental backlog associated with these fixtures is approximately $645 million. As of April 18, 2023, the companys total backlog is approximately $8.6 billion.

The report can be accessed on the companys website: www.deepwater.com.

About Transocean

Transocean is a leading international provider of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. Transocean specializes in technically demanding sectors of the global offshore drilling business with a particular focus on deepwater and harsh environment drilling services and operates the highest specification floating offshore drilling fleet in the world.

Transocean owns or has partial ownership interests in and operates a fleet of 37 mobile offshore drilling units, consisting of 27 ultra-deepwater floaters and 10 harsh environment floaters. In addition, Transocean is constructing one ultra-deepwater drillship and holds a noncontrolling ownership interest in a company that is constructing one ultra-deepwater drillship.

Forward-Looking Statements

The statements described herein that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements could contain words such as "possible," "intend," "will," "if," "expect," or other similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based on managements current expectations and assumptions, and are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. As a result, actual results could differ materially from those indicated in these forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, but are not limited to, estimated duration of customer contracts, contract dayrate amounts, future contract commencement dates and locations, planned shipyard projects and other out-of-service time, sales of drilling units, timing of the companys newbuild deliveries, operating hazards and delays, risks associated with international operations, actions by customers and other third parties, the fluctuation of current and future prices of oil and gas, the global and regional supply and demand for oil and gas, the intention to scrap certain drilling rigs, the success of our business following prior acquisitions, the effects of the spread of and mitigation efforts by governments, businesses and individuals related to contagious illnesses, such as COVID-19, and other factors, including those and other risks discussed in the company's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, and in the company's other filings with the SEC, which are available free of charge on the SEC's website at: www.sec.gov. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize (or the other consequences of such a development worsen), or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those indicated or expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. All subsequent written and oral forward-looking statements attributable to the company or to persons acting on our behalf are expressly qualified in their entirety by reference to these risks and uncertainties. You should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of the particular statement, and we undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that occur, or which we become aware of, after the date hereof, except as otherwise may be required by law. All non-GAAP financial measure reconciliations to the most comparative GAAP measure are displayed in quantitative schedules on the companys website at: www.deepwater.com.

This press release, or referenced documents, do not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities, and do not constitute an offering prospectus within the meaning of the Swiss Financial Services Act (FinSA) or advertising within the meaning of the FinSA. Investors must rely on their own evaluation of Transocean and its securities, including the merits and risks involved. Nothing contained herein is, or shall be relied on as, a promise or representation as to the future performance of Transocean.

Analyst Contact:Alison Johnson+1 713-232-7214

Media Contact:Pam Easton+1 713-232-7647

Source: Transocean Ltd.
TORONTO, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TransUnion (NYSE: TRU) has promoted Juan Sebastian DAchiardi to Regional President of Canada. DAchiardi will lead TransUnions Canadian business, setting the strategic vision for the country, while focusing on driving continued growth and building on our strong client relationships. He will ensure TransUnion continues to innovate in our customer solutions to deliver Information for Good to help create greater opportunities and build trust between consumers and businesses. As part of his role as Regional President, he will also oversee Trinidad and Tobago.

DAchiardi brings significant experience in financial services, leadership and strategy to the role. For the last six years, he has been a part of TransUnions international business, first as Senior Director, Strategy and Planning, LATAM, and most recently, as Head and Regional Manager for our LATAM Countries. DAchiardi successfully led the expansion of TransUnions business across nine LATAM geographies, delivering accelerated growth, establishing long-term strategic plans, driving innovation with tangible value for our customers and markets, spearheading service model improvements and increasing engagement of cross-functional associates.

During his time with TransUnion, Juan has demonstrated exceptional leadership and a drive for creating innovative business solutions that bring tangible value to our customers, said Todd Skinner, President, International. Juan has been a strong asset to our company, and now as Regional President of Canada, I am confident that he will be able to make even greater contributions to TransUnion.

Before joining TransUnion, DAchiardi was an investment banker at the largest boutique investment bank in Colombia, playing a critical role in TransUnions acquisition of CIFIN-Colombia operations in 2016. He also held a number of senior roles, executing and evaluating cross-border sell-side and buy-side M&A projects, across multiple industries, for over US$2.2 billion. DAchiardi holds a master of business administration from IE Business School (Madrid, Spain), a master of science in management from NEOMA Business School (Rouen, France) and a bachelor of science in business administration from CESA Business School (Bogota, Colombia).

TransUnions team in Canada has an impressive track record of building innovative solutions for customers and I am proud of the incredible momentum weve built to date, said DAchiardi. I am excited for the opportunity to lead our talented teams, and going forward, we will remain committed to strengthening trust between businesses and consumers.

About TransUnion (NYSE: TRU)TransUnion is a global information and insights company that makes trust possible in the modern economy. We do this by providing an actionable picture of each person, stewarded with care, so they can be reliably represented in the marketplace. As a result, businesses and consumers can transact with confidence and achieve great things. We call this Information for Good.

TransUnion provides solutions that help create economic opportunity, great experiences and personal empowerment for hundreds of millions of people in more than 30 countries. Our customers in Canada comprise some of the nations largest banks and card issuers, and TransUnion is a major credit reporting, fraud, and analytics solutions provider across the finance, retail, telecommunications, utilities, government, and insurance sectors.

For more information visit: www.transunion.ca

ContactHyunjoo KimDirector, Corporate Affairs and Communications[email protected](289) 962-2376

Source: TransUnion
NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- WHY: Rosen Law Firm, a global investor rights law firm, continues to investigate potential securities claims on behalf of shareholders of Trinseo PLC (NYSE: TSE) resulting from allegations that Trinseo may have issued materially misleading business information to the investing public.



SO WHAT: If you purchased Trinseo securities you may be entitled to compensation without payment of any out of pocket fees or costs through a contingency fee arrangement. The Rosen Law Firm is preparing a class action seeking recovery of investor losses.

WHAT TO DO NEXT: To join the prospective class action, go to https://rosenlegal.com/submit-form/?case_id=13711 or call Phillip Kim, Esq. toll-free at 866-767-3653 or email [email protected] or [email protected] for information on the class action.

WHAT IS THIS ABOUT: On March 27, 2023, The Philadelphia Inquirer published an article entitled Bristol plant that spilled chemicals into Phillys water supply had other mishaps over the last decade. The article reported a chemical plant in Bristol that authorities said caused a toxic spill, threatening Philadelphias drinking water, has a long history of mishaps  including at least four recent contamination incidents. The article also stated over the past decade, the U.S. Coast Guard twice before detected releases of acrylates [commonly used to produce glass-like acrylics] from the Bristol facility into the Delaware [River]. The EPA had separately flagged two other acrylate releases. The article further stated that David Salas-de la Cruz, a Rutgers University associate professor of chemistry, worked at the Bristol plant during its Rohm and Haas days. He said the number of incidents over the past decade was unusual.

On this news, the price of Trinseos stock fell $1.09, or 5%, to close at $19.62 per share on March 27, 2023.

WHY ROSEN LAW: We encourage investors to select qualified counsel with a track record of success in leadership roles. Often, firms issuing notices do not have comparable experience, resources, or any meaningful peer recognition. Many of these firms do not actually litigate securities class actions. Be wise in selecting counsel. The Rosen Law Firm represents investors throughout the globe, concentrating its practice in securities class actions and shareholder derivative litigation. Rosen Law Firm has achieved the largest ever securities class action settlement against a Chinese Company. Rosen Law Firm was Ranked No. 1 by ISS Securities Class Action Services for number of securities class action settlements in 2017. The firm has been ranked in the top 4 each year since 2013 and has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for investors. In 2019 alone the firm secured over $438 million for investors. In 2020, founding partner Laurence Rosen was named by law360 as a Titan of Plaintiffs Bar. Many of the firms attorneys have been recognized by Lawdragon and Super Lawyers.

Follow us for updates on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-rosen-law-firm, on Twitter: https://twitter.com/rosen_firm or on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rosenlawfirm/.

Attorney Advertising. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

-------------------------------

Contact Information:

Laurence Rosen, Esq.

Phillip Kim, Esq.

The Rosen Law Firm, P.A.

275 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor

New York, NY 10016

Tel: (212) 686-1060

Toll Free: (866) 767-3653

Fax: (212) 202-3827

[email protected]

[email protected]

[email protected]

www.rosenlegal.com
Identifies Strong Similarities to the Serra Verde Ionic Clay Project

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp.(CSE: API) (OTCQX: APAAF) (FSE: A0I0.F) (FSE: A0I0.MU) (FSE: A0I0.BE)(the "Company" or "Appia") has begun a multi-phase due diligence process pursuant to the Letter Agreement (the "Letter Agreement") with 3S LTDA ("3S") and Beko Invest Ltd. ("Beko") referred to in the Press Release dated March 7, 2023 whereby the Company can acquire up to a 70% interest in The Cachoeirinha Project (the "PCH Project") located in the Tocantins Structural Province of the Braslia Fold Belt, Goias State, Brazil. (Click here for the Press Release).

"The PCH project has significant potential for high levels of REEs in the upper layers of the clay structure. The mineralization is in a Carbonatite complex, and the surrounding granites have weathered to develop ionic clay characteristics in the upper levels," stated Mr. Don Hains, Consulting Geologist and Senior Advisor to Appia.

"The regional mineralogy has very similar lithologies to Serra Verde (See link to website here) demonstrating the classic model of ionic clay structures. Based on assays obtained from the vendor, grades appear to be similar to those reported at Serra Verde project," he continued.

"Like Serra Verde, Appia's PCH Project is an ionic-clay REEs deposit and one of the relatively few deposits of this type found outside of China. Ionic clays can be mined with low-cost open pit mining techniques and processed using simple technologies," stated Stephen Burega, President. "The PCH Project is a classical, highly weathered alkaline granitic complex showing ionic clay development with elevated REE values immediately below surface and extending down to a depth of over 15 metres, and is located in close proximity to a massive ultra mafic complex currently owned by Vale."

The PCH Project is 17,551.07 ha. in size and is a circular structure originating from significant depth and brings with it a series of REEs. Early indications are that the minerology is primarily bastnaestite and monazite with clays that are preferentially enriched in the valuable magnetic rare earth elements. Historic work by the Vendors indicates that the magnetic REEs represent +/- 25% of the total REEs found within the project area.

Positive Attributes of the PCH Ionic Clay Deposit

Currently, 9 targets have been identified on the western side of the property through geophysics and geochemical survey and analysis, trenching as well as auger and diamond drilling;

A radiometric survey of the eastern side of the property demonstrates excellent exploration potential;

The current western 9 targets cover only +/- 35% of the total project area;

The geophysical work completed to date indicates that there still remains very high potential additional areas over significant sections of the property;

Due diligence assays to confirm historical results are anticipated to be received within a 4-week window;

There are well known metallurgical process routes for ionic clays, and they are readily processeable and the flow-sheets are well understood and practiced with this type of minerology;

The cerium component of the clays is predominantly as cerianite which is not soluable and is considered to be relatively easy to address in the production cycle;

Radiometric measurements indicate the concentrations of thorium and uranium are very low which is a positive in the processing of ionic clays as it is less expensive to address;

It is anticipated that the mineralization will be recoverable using industry standard flowsheets.





Image #1 - Typical environment on the western targets illustrating the accessibility at the PCH Project, State of Goias, Brazil



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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"The PCH project is extremely accessible with a well defined network of roads along with significant associated infrastructure," stated Burega. "And our Brazillian partner has established an exceptional network of support from the small group of farmers, and Municial Officials, all of whom are highly enthusiastic about seeing the project move forward."

He continued, "As part of the due diligence process, we have twinned a representative mix of trenches, drill and auger holes across the western portion of the property to be sampled and assayed at 1/2 meter intervals. And assaying will take place at the SGS labs near Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Once reviewed, the Company will make a final assessment on the viability and prospectivity of the PCH project for Appia's shareholders."





Images #2 and #3 - Stephen Burega, President of Appia, and Mr. Don Hains, Consulting Geologist and specialty mineral expert, review core samples at the PCH Project, State of Goias, Brazil.



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Background on the PCH Project

The Cachoeirinha Project (PCH Project) is located within the Tocantins Structural Province in the Brasilia Fold Belt, more specifically, the Arenopolis Magmatic Arc. The PCH Project is 17,551.07 ha. in size and located within the Goias State of Brazil. It is classified as an alkaline intrusive rock occurrence with highly anomalous REE and niobium mineralization. This mineralization is related to alkaline lithologies of the Fazenda Buriti Plutonic Complex and the hydrothermal and surface alteration products of this complex by supergene enrichment in a tropical climate. The positive results of the recent geochemical exploration work carried out to date indicates the potential for REEs and Niobium within lateritic ionic adsorption clays.

The technical content in this news release was reviewed and approved by Mr. Don Hains, P.Geo, Consulting Geologist, and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101.

About Appia Rare Earths & Uranium Corp (Appia)

Appia is a publicly traded Canadian company in the rare earth element and uranium sectors. The Company is currently focusing on delineating high-grade critical rare earth elements and gallium on the Alces Lake property, as well as exploring for high-grade uranium in the prolific Athabasca Basin on its Otherside, Loranger, North Wollaston, and Eastside properties. The Company holds the surface rights to exploration for 113,837.15 hectares (281,297.72 acres) in Saskatchewan. The Company also has a 100% interest in 12,545 hectares (31,000 acres), with rare earth element and uranium deposits over five mineralized zones in the Elliot Lake Camp, Ontario.

Appia has 130.5 million common shares outstanding, 153.8 million shares fully diluted.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This News Release contains forward-looking statements which are typically preceded by, followed by or including the words "believes", "expects", "anticipates", "estimates", "intends", "plans" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance as they involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. We do not intend and do not assume any obligation to update these forward- looking statements and shareholders are cautioned not to put undue reliance on such statements.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the CSE) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

For further information, please contact:

Tom Drivas, CEO and Director: (cell) 416-876-3957, (fax) 416-218-9772 or (email) [email protected].

Stephen Burega, President: (cell) 647-515-3734 or (email) [email protected].

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162994
San Antonio, Texas--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Bracewell LLP announced today that Carrie Douglas has joined the firm's San Antonio office as a partner in the healthcare and life sciences practice. Douglas most recently was a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, following its combination with Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis LLP.

"We're excited to welcome Carrie to the firm," said Bracewell Managing Partner Gregory M. Bopp. "Carrie's broad experience, including her expertise in the managed care space, will be a valuable addition to our growing healthcare team."

Douglas represents hospital systems, ambulatory surgery centers and large physician practices in coverage and reimbursement disputes with health insurers/payors. A passionate advocate for her clients, Douglas has recovered millions of dollars for health systems and other providers, often without resorting to full adversarial proceedings.

"Carrie is a highly regarded practitioner whose wealth of experience brings additional strength to the array of services we currently provide to clients," said Wilson G. Jones, chair of Bracewell's healthcare and life sciences practice.

Bracewell has one of the most highly regarded health law teams in Texas. In addition to its long-standing representation of the leading non-profit health systems in Texas, the firm represents the three largest for-profit hospital systems in the United States following the arrival in 2021 of a seven-lawyer team from Holland & Knight that, in addition to Jones, included partners J. Patrick Bredehoft and Andrew C. Cookingham.

Douglas has extensive experience on matters related to unilateral payor policies involving COVID-19 reimbursement, reference-based pricing, out-of-network plans and E/M downcoding. She has also established successful strategies pertaining to disputes involving experimental/investigational designations, medical necessity, diagnosis-related groups (DRG) downgrades and refunds, offsets and other adjustments, which have allowed for pre-litigation resolutions. In addition, she advises hospitals and health systems on compliance with the Hospital Price Transparency Rule.

"I am thrilled to join Bracewell and to be part of a team of attorneys dedicated to providing top-notch legal services to their clients," said Douglas. "I look forward to working with my new colleagues in helping our clients navigate the complexities of the healthcare industry and turn their reimbursement woes into reimbursement victories."

Douglas earned her B.A. with honors, Phi Beta Kappa in the Plan II Honors Program from The University of Texas at Austin, and her B.B.A., with honors, from The University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business in Finance and the Business Honors Program. She received her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.

About Bracewell LLP

Bracewell is a leading law and government relations firm primarily serving the energy, infrastructure, finance and technology industries throughout the world. Our industry focus results in comprehensive state-of-the-art knowledge of the commercial, legal and governmental challenges faced by our clients and enables us to provide innovative solutions to facilitate transactions and resolve disputes.

Contact:

Bob Schranz

T:+1.713.221.1470

E:[email protected]

###

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163023
Egypt and Austria are set to hold a joint business forum at the end of April, according to a statement by Egypt's Ministry of Trade.

The move comes as the volume of trade exchange between the two countries increased by 20% last year, reaching around $339.5 million.

The trade minister, Ahmed Samir, highlighted the importance of increased coordination between his ministry and the Austrian Chamber of Commerce to provide reliable information to the Austrian business community on investment opportunities and regulations in Egypt, with the aim of increasing Austrian investments in the future.

Meanwhile, the Austrian Ambassador to Cairo, Georg Stillfried, expressed Austria's keenness to expand economic cooperation with Egypt and invest in the Egyptian market as part of its investment plans in Africa.

Austrian investors have already contributed to 173 projects across a range of sectors in Egypt, including industry, services, tourism, construction, finance, agriculture, telecommunications, and information technology, according to Samir.

The Egyptian minister urged Austrian companies to take advantage of investment opportunities in the Suez Canal Economic Zone and the investment incentive packages offered by Egypt to investors in the region, with a focus on infrastructure, transportation, communications, port development, and logistics projects.

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Including M&I Resource of 56,700,000 tonnes grading 10.07% Manganese

Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Canadian Manganese Company Inc.(NEO: CDMN) (OTCQB: CDMNF) ("CDMN" or the "Company")is pleased to report that it has filed on SEDAR (www.sedar.com) a Technical Report prepared in accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, reporting an updated Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") for the Plymouth manganese-iron deposit (Plymouth deposit) of the Company's wholly-owned Woodstock Project in New Brunswick, Canada.

The Technical Report is entitled "NI 43-101 Technical Report, Woodstock Project Mineral Resource Estimate, (Plymouth Manganese-Iron Deposit), Woodstock Area, New Brunswick, Canada" (the "Report") and was prepared by Matthew Harrington, P. Geo., Michael Cullen, P. Geo., and Kevin-Dane MacRae, P. Geo. (all of whom are with Mercator Geological Services Limited); and Lawrence Elgert, P. Eng. (of AGP Mining Consultants Inc.) with an Effective Date of March 1, 2023. The Report updates and replaces the previous NI 43-101 Technical Report for the Plymouth deposit of the Woodstock Project with an effective date of November 10, 2021.

The Report includes the 2023 MRE of the Plymouth deposit, as described in detail in the Company's news release dated March 3, 2023.

REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Measured and Indicated Resources of 56.7 million tonnes at Manganese (Mn) grade of 10.07% at 4.75% Mn grade cut-off

Inferred Resource of 17.7 million tonnes at Mn grade of 10.02%

Tonnage of Measured and Indicated Resources exceeds previous MRE (November 2021) total tonnage by 32% at comparable Mn grades

73% increase in total MRE tonnage (all categories) vs. 2021 at comparable Mn grades

Continuity and consistency of deposit grade and spatial aspects support high resource category conversion percentage and expansion of deposit's economic potential

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

The Report provides several recommendations based on work completed to date by the Company and its various contractors and consultants. The premise underlying the recommendations is that a Preliminary Feasibility Study (PFS) for the Plymouth deposit based on the 2023 MRE should be undertaken as the next stage of its technical and economic evaluation. The Report recommends that this be carried out as a two-Phase program, the first of which predominantly consists of identifying and assembling all technical, economic, and other information required to support preparation of the PFS. Phase II would be first focused on assembling, analyzing and interpreting Phase I results and acquiring additional data where necessary. This would be followed by completion of the detailed PFS evaluation of project viability and preparation of an NI 43-101 Technical Report that documents all contributing work programs and results.

QUALIFIED PERSONS

The Report, including the 2023 MRE, was prepared by Matthew Harrington, P. Geo., Michael Cullen, P. Geo., and Kevin-Dane MacRae, P. Geo. (all of whom are with Mercator Geological Services Limited), and Lawrence Elgert, P. Eng. (of AGP Mining Consultants Inc.). All are Independent Qualified Persons as defined by NI 43-101. Mr. Harrington and Mr. Cullen have read and approved the contents of this news release.

ABOUT CANADIAN MANGANESE

CDMN is a Canadian mineral development company aiming to become a supplier of high-purity manganese metal products for the rechargeable battery industry. CDMN holds the Woodstock Project in New Brunswick, which comprises the Plymouth Deposit and the nearby Hartford deposits.

For further information:

[email protected]

Matthew Allas: President and CEO +1 647 338 3748

The NEO Exchange has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release and accepts no responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Additional information on CDMN is available atwww.CanadianManganese.com.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163064
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Graph Blockchain Inc.(CSE: GBLC) (OTC Pink: REGRF) (FSE: RT50)(the "GBLC" or "Graph Blockchain" or the "Company")is pleased to announce that it has closed previously announced shares for debt settlement transactions (see press release April 11, 2023). An aggregate of $500,000 owed to certain directors, officers, employees, and consultants of the Company (the "Creditors") has been settled by issuing an aggregate of 10,000,000 common shares (the "Shares") of the Company at a price of $0.05 per share. The Shares are subject to a four-month and one-day hold period.

About Graph Blockchain

Graph Blockchain provides exposure to various areas of Decentralized Finance (DeFi). Focusing on altcoins through its wholly-owned subsidiaries Babbage Mining Corp., a Proof of Stake ("POS") miner, and Beyond the Moon Inc. an IDO-focused company, Graph gives investors exposure to the vast emerging market of cryptocurrencies with the significant technological disruption and potential gains altcoins represent. Through its strategic acquisitions, Graph is assembling a collection of products and technologies that will lead the DeFi market and offer an unprecedented investment for shareholders.

For additional information on Graph Blockchain and other corporate information, please visit the Company website at www.graphblockchain.com.

For further information, please contact:

Paul Haber, Chief Executive Officer, and Chairman of the Company

Phone: (416) 318- 6501

Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws. All statements contained herein that are not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements.

Generally, such forward-looking information or forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or may contain statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "will continue", "will occur" or "will be achieved". Forward-looking information in this news release are based on certain assumptions and expected future events. These statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors, which may cause actual results, performance, or achievements to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements, including but not limited to: the potential inability of the Company to continue as a going concern; the risks associated with the blockchain in general. Readers are cautioned that the foregoing list is not exhaustive. Readers are further cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements, as there can be no assurance that the plans, intentions, or expectations upon which they are placed will occur. Such information, although considered reasonable by management at the time of preparation, may prove to be incorrect and actual results may differ materially from those anticipated.

Forward-looking statements contained in this news release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement and reflect the Company's expectations as of the date hereof and are subject to change thereafter. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, estimates or opinions, future events or results, or otherwise or to explain any material difference between subsequent actual events and such forward-looking information, except as required by applicable law.

The CSE does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

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To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163031
Intersphere Enterprises is a Fintech company. Recently, the company has been pleased to announce its collaboration with a Forex Broker named Vlado.

Mahe, Seychelles--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Intersphere Enterprises (ISE), a multinational tech giant renowned for its research and development in the field of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and autonomous deep learning, has announced a strategic partnership with Vlado, a significant Forex broker based in Dubai's financial sector. The collaboration aims to launch a new fund management program combining Vlado's financial market expertise and ISE's premium A.I. system, Saphira.

After two years of development, ISE's Saphira can now analyze trends and data in foreign exchange and other financial markets using a collection of algorithms by examining live global statistics. For more information, visit here: https://www.myfxbook.com/portfolio/ise-orion-trading-system/10060672.

Saphira assesses the risks and executes trades swiftly and accurately. For further details, visit the following link: https://www.myfxbook.com/portfolio/ise-saphira-martingale-bot/10060296.

The fund management program provided by Vlado and ISE will allow users to diversify their risk portfolios. The program uses A.I. and deep learning algorithms to analyze the financial markets and make suitable user decisions continuously.

The CEO of Vlado, Robert Gilbert, said that the collaboration with ISE was a natural fit for the company, and the partnership would bring the required fund management program to users. Tyler Smith, the CTO of ISE, focuses on collaboration and strives to make it beneficial to both companies as they combine their technology and expertise to create something special for users.

Consequently, the new fund management program is now available to users. With the powerful partnership of Vlado and ISE, it is sure to become a preferable choice for financiers and traders alike.

About the Company - Intersphere Enterprises

Intersphere Enterprises (ISE) is a fintech company focusing on the research and development of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) and autonomous deep learning. Founded in 2020, ISE uses A.I. to analyze trends and data in foreign exchange and financial markets. The company has equipped its tools with an innovative system encompassing algorithms that interpret data faster than humans to deliver accurate executions. The A.I. system developed by ISE facilitates efficient executions that ensure long-term security and sustainability for its users.

About the collaborative company - Vlado

Vlado Limited is an online trading and investment specialist licensed in Hong Kong with an operations office in Dubai. Vlado facilitates a wide range of trading products with low spreads, leverage up to 1:500, and two-way transactions. They value their clients' trust and take measures to protect their funds through robust financial strength and live trading servers located in major economic hubs. Moreover, Vlado provides extensive educational materials for beginners and experienced traders.

For further detail about the collaboration, potential users can visit the following links:

Vlado Limited - Intersphere Enterprises

Facebook ID : https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100090823551359

Instagram ID : https://www.instagram.com/theofficialise/

LinkedIn ID : https://www.linkedin.com/in/peter-keusgen-ba2530268/?originalSubdomain=au

(CEO Profile)

YouTube ID : https://www.youtube.com/@intersphereenterprises





Intersphere Enterprises



To view an enhanced version of this graphic, please visit:

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Media Details:

Contact Name: Peter Keusgen

Company Name: Intersphere Enterprises

Company Website: https://ise.fund/

Contact Email: [email protected]

Address: 306 Victoria House, Victoria, Mah, Seychelles

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162018
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Kingsview Minerals Ltd . (CSE: KVM) (FSE: 0L4) (the "Company" or "Kingsview") is pleased to announce that spring drilling has begun at the Company's Echum Project, south of Alamos Gold's Island Gold Project in the fast-growing Wawa Gold Corridor of northern Ontario.

Spring drilling will centre around the critical metals targets identified on the 7,691-hectare gold, silver, and critical metals project. The drill rig is now onsite (Figure 1) at the Smoke Target, which was recently identified through interpretation of the 2021 airborneVTEM (Versatile Time Domain Electromagnetic) and 2023 IP (Induced Polarization) surveys(Figure 2).





Figure 1: Drill Rig at Echum Project



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https://images.newsfilecorp.com/files/8574/162889_3bbf354cd464191d_001full.jpg

The 600-metre program utilizing a minimum of two drill holes aims at intersecting both anomalies from the above mentioned 2021 surveys (Figure 3).

James Macintosh, President and CEO, commented: "We are pleased to be drilling our first hole at the Echum Project, and it's on track to intersect the interpreted disseminated sulphide halo near the surface. We will then continue deeper to intersect what we interpret as a potential massive sulphide body within the disseminated halo. This initial phase of drilling will be followed by additional programs designed to target the numerous anomalies found in the geophysical surveys. The team is optimistic about the possibility of discovering critical metals at Echum."





Figure 2: Echum Project Planned Drill Holes at Smoke Target on Line L6W

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Figure 3: Echum Project's First Drill Pad Location for 2023 Drill Program

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Qualified Person

Bruce Durham, P.Geo., is a Qualified Person, as that term is defined by Canadian regulatory guidelines under NI 43-101, and has read and approved the technical information contained in this press release.

About Kingsview Minerals Ltd.

Kingsview is a mineral exploration company focused on its gold and base metal exploration properties, including the flagship Echum Project and the Hubcap Project, located in the active Wawa Gold Corridor in Ontario, Canada. The Company's properties are surrounded by advanced infrastructure in a well-developed mining district. Kingsview will draw on its strong technical team with significant exploration success to advance its properties. Learn more: http://www.kingsviewminerals.ca.

For more information, please contact investor relations at [email protected].

On Behalf of the Board of Directors,

James Macintosh

President and CEO

Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its regulation services provider has reviewed or accepted responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and assumptions and accordingly, actual results and future events could differ materially from those expressed or implied in such statements. You are hence cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include words or expressions such as "proposed", "will", "subject to", "near future", "in the event", "would", "expect", "prepared to" and other similar words or expressions. All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements and include but are not limited to statements regarding the potential that the projects will yield any precious metals in future exploration programs and the Company's ability to advance its properties.

Where the Company expresses or implies an expectation or belief as to future events or results, such expectation or belief is based on assumptions made in good faith and believed to have a reasonable basis. Such assumptions include the Company's ability to implement a drill program on the projects, that the Company will have sufficient funds available to it and that the Company will continue to be able to retain skilled personnel. Factors that could cause future results or events to differ materially from current expectations expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements include general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the state of capital markets; there being no assurance that any future exploration program on the projects will result in mineral resources; the inability of the Company to raise sufficient funds and/or retain necessary personnel to conduct its operations; the impact on the business, operations and financial condition of the Company resulting from the announcement of the purchase of the projects; the impact that the recovery post COVID-19 may have on precious and critical metals; failure to realize the anticipated benefits of the transaction described in this press release; other unforeseen events, developments, or factors causing any of the aforesaid expectations, assumptions, and other factors ultimately being inaccurate or irrelevant; and any risks associated with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

You can find further information with respect to these and other risks in filings made with the Canadian securities regulatory authorities that are available on the Company's SEDAR profile page at www.sedar.com. The Company disclaims any obligation to update or revise these forward-looking statements, except as required by applicable law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162889
Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Lithium Energi Exploration Inc. (TSXV: LEXI) is excited to announce that Thomas Lefebvre, a highly experienced infrastructure professional, has joined the board as its fifth member.

Lefebvre was a partner and founding member of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager, where he was responsible for the acquisition, development and transformational strategies of platforms and companies across the Americas spanning the power and utilities, oil and gas, energy transition, transportation and logistics, and telecommunications sectors. He has been an active director on numerous boards-private and public-throughout his career, in the US, Canada and Latin America.

The appointment of Thomas Lefebvre to the board was driven by his extensive financial experience with strong expertise in power, batteries, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. His enthusiasm for the lithium industry and the ongoing race among battery manufacturers and companies that rely on batteries to secure lithium supplies aligns with the company's mission and vision.

Additionally, Lefebvre's professional background in operating in Latin America makes him a valuable asset to the company, as he brings firsthand knowledge of the geopolitical aspects surrounding lithium reserves in the Southern Cone. His expertise will help the company navigate the complex dynamics in these key regions.

Furthermore, his extensive focus on and expertise in Environmental, Health, Safety, Social, and Governance (EHSSG) matters will contribute to the company's overall success and positive impact on the industry. With Lefebvre joining the team, the company is poised for success as they work together on the exciting challenges and opportunities in the lithium industry.

Ali Rahman, CEO of LEXI, expressed enthusiasm for the appointment, stating, "We are thrilled to have Thomas join our board. His technical knowledge, financial expertise and relationships across the financial industry will be a major asset to LEXI as we continue to grow. We look forward to working together and leveraging his experience to help shape the future of our company."

Thomas Lefebvre also shared his excitement about joining the LEXI board, saying, "I am honored to be joining the LEXI board and working with such a talented and dedicated team. I'm excited about the opportunities ahead and am eager to help drive the company's growth and success."

LEXI is well-positioned to address the key challenges and opportunities facing the lithium exploration industry, including environmental concerns, political risks, technical challenges, and a competitive environment. With the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, LEXI aims to capitalize on the ever-growing demand for lithium while preparing for any potential market shifts. The company is committed to assembling a dynamic and experienced board to help navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. As the company continues to evolve and expand, the board is focused on ensuring a strong and diverse leadership team to guide LEXI into the future.

About Lithium Energi Exploration, Inc.

Lithium Energi Exploration, Inc. is an exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium brine assets in Argentina. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Catamarca, Argentina, the Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: LEXI) and the Frankfurt Exchange (FSE: L09). LEXI's portfolio of prospective lithium brine concessions in the Argentina Province of Catamarca (heart of the lithium triangle) includes approximately 57,000 hectares and a 20% interest in Triangle Lithium Argentina, S.A., which owns an additional 15,000 hectares - all located in and around the Antofalla Salar, one of the largest basins in the region, which is over 130 km long and up to 20 km across. LEXI is committed to innovation, sustainability, and quality, striving to differentiate itself from other players in the industry to maximize its potential for success. For more information, please visit our website at lithiumenergi.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Chris Hobbs"

________________________

Chris Hobbs,

Chief Financial Officer and Director

For more information, please contact:

Ian Murphy

Media Relations

[email protected]

(310) 689-6397

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the results of preliminary testing proving accurate and repeatable over time and at commercial scale; the absence of material changes with respect to the Company and its businesses; possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of exploration activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties; failure to of the parties to the Transactions to comply with the terms and conditions of the definitive agreements relating to the Transactions; and the use of proceeds. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure its shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162970
Singapore, Singapore--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Web3 infrastructure company, AAG, is excited to announce that the upcoming update to the MetaOne wallet application will include two new functionalities: asset swap and crypto off-ramp.

Image source AAG

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Asset swap will allow users to easily exchange one cryptocurrency for another within the MetaOne app. This feature will enable users to quickly and securely convert their digital assets without the need for an external exchange or third-party service. Asset swap aims to help users take advantage of market movements and act on informed decisions about their investments.

The second new feature, crypto off-ramp, will provide users with the ability to sell their cryptocurrency holdings into fiat currency and withdraw the funds to their bank accounts. This functionality will give greater flexibility for users to access the value of their digital assets without having to navigate through the complexity of a multi-step process that would otherwise require knowledge of bridging, centralized exchanges, and swapping whether for everyday expenses or larger purchases.

Both of these new functionalities will be seamlessly integrated into the MetaOne app, providing users with a more comprehensive and streamlined experience. AAG believes that these features will further enhance the utility and convenience of the MetaOne wallet application.

AAG provides LiveChat customer support for users to speak with a real person for any questions that they may have.

About AAG

AAG is a web3 infrastructure company focused on providing software that helps simplify interactions with blockchain applications and the Metaverse for both mainstream users and traditional companies. AAG provides a secure and easy-to-use MetaOne wallet, as well as infrastructure software, such as a cross-chain search engine and Saakuru blockchain for enterprise companies. With the belief that education is the key to unlock the potential of web3, AAG is also exploring the concept of Learn-and-Earn with the mission of enabling economic opportunities worldwide via the Metaverse economy. AAG aims to bring 1 billion people into the Metaverse economy by 2030.

For more information about AAG, visit: AAG Linktree.

Contact:

Name: Jack Vinijtrongjit, CEO

Email: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162990
Toronto, Ontario and New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Micromem Technologies Inc. (CSE: MRM) (OTCQB: MMTIF) ("Micromem") ("the Company") has made a significant commitment since 2020 to build its expertise and its profile in technology designed for comprehensive, real time electrical power line monitoring. Micromem personnel have attended multiple industry trade shows dealing with the electricity transmission sector. In 2021 the Company hired two graduate students in mechanical and electrical engineering for a term of 16 months each. Their role was to investigate market conditions and needs in the sector and to evaluate available technologies based in North America and in Europe. Micromem forged a dialogue and a working relationship with two Canadian-based companies - the first of which is a large utility and the second one is a developer of energy storage technology.

By late 2021, the Company had accumulated relevant experience and insights into competing technologies that serve this industry sector. At that point, Micromem began to develop a proposal for Transelectrica in Romania. The proposal deals with the electrical grid in Romania and how to introduce new technology to modernize and upgrade the operations of the electrical grid in that country. The Company submitted their proposal in late 2022 and these negotiations are now being finalized.

Regarding the PLM technologies, new hardware will be selected and reviewed by Micromem, together with WING[1], Universitatea Petrol SI Gaze Ploiesti (the "University") and Augustine Professionals (the "Partners"). The new technology will be modified by Micromem for use by the Partners. The criteria are that the technology should be ready for field trials and ready to be connected to the new analytics software that is currently being developed. It is expected that field trials for the new PLM technologies, including online analytics, will begin in Q4 2023.

About Micromem.

Micromem Technologies Inc. and its subsidiaries, a publicly traded (CSE: MRM) (OTCQB: MMTIF), company analyzes specific industry sectors to create intelligent game-changing applications that address unmet market needs. By leveraging its expertise and experience with sophisticated sensor applications, the Company successfully powers the development and implementation of innovative solutions for oil & gas, utilities, automotive, healthcare, government, information technology, manufacturing and other industries. Visit www.micromeminc.com.

Safe Harbor Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks, assumptions and uncertainties that could cause the Company's actual results to differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. In particular, factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward looking statements include: our inability to obtain additional financing on acceptable terms; risk that our products and services will not gain widespread market acceptance; continued consumer adoption of digital technology; inability to compete with others who provide comparable products; the failure of our technology; the infringement of our technology with proprietary rights of third parties; inability to respond to consumer and technological demands; inability to replace significant customers; seasonal nature of our business; and other risks detailed in our filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date made and are not guarantees of future performance. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements. When used in this document, the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "project," "plan," "should," "intend," "may," "will," "would," "potential," and similar expressions may be used to identify forward-looking statements.

The CSE or any other securities regulatory authority has not reviewed and does not accept responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release that has been prepared by management.

###

Listing: NASD OTC-QB - Symbol: MMTIF

CSE - Symbol: MRM

Shares issued 490,006,379

SEC File No: 0-26005

Investor Contact: [email protected]; Tel. 416-364-2023 Subscribe to receive News Releases by Email on our website's home page. www.micromeminc.com

[1] Technological Transfer Center accredited by the Ministry of Research, Innovation and Digitization&the largest national group of research & innovation companies, with almost 20 years of experience. www.wing.ro

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163007
'My Crypto Merchant' has launched a new cryptocurrency payment platform, providing SMEs with a easy way to integrate crypto transactions. Its peer-to-peer model offers secure and compliant cryptocurrency processing, as well as educational materials for those unfamiliar with blockchain-based currencies.

Salem, Oregon--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - 'My Crypto Merchant' has announced the launch of its cutting-edge web-based cryptocurrency payment platform, designed to empower small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) across various industries.

Further details are available at https://mycryptomerchant.com

My Crypto Merchant Launches Cryptocurrency Payment Processing Platform For SMEs

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With over 120 million crypto users in the United States, the platform was launched with the goal of revolutionizing digital payments by providing an innovative and user-friendly solution for businesses looking to tap into this burgeoning market.

Data shows that the overwhelming majority of crypto users are millennials, with older and more established business owners showing hesitance to embrace the digital currency market, explains 'My Crypto Merchant'. Fear of fraud and distrust caused by lack of anti-money laundering regulations or consumer protections are all reasons cited by businesses as to why they are wary of cryptocurrency exchanges as a way of managing their funds securely.

'My Crypto Merchant''s new web-based crypto payment solutions aim to address these concerns and ensure secure and compliant cryptocurrency processing, making it a suitable choice for businesses looking to safely embrace digital payments. With its recent announcement, 'My Crypto Merchant' is set to change the face of digital payments, providing a seamless and reliable platform for businesses of all sizes.

The company's peer-to-peer crypto merchant payment services provide direct customer-to-merchant payments with no transaction fees for the merchant and unlimited transaction volume. By providing businesses with a reliable and trustworthy crypto payment solution, 'My Crypto Merchant' is driving financial inclusion and opening up new opportunities for growth.

"We are excited to launch our innovative crypto services which will be a game-changer for small businesses, enabling them to accept digital payments securely and compliantly," said Bryant Harper, Co-Founder of 'My Crypto Merchant'. "Our user-friendly platform will help businesses seamlessly process crypto transactions, while our focus on financial inclusion will benefit SMEs across the retail industries. Our mission is to enable every business, merchant, gig worker, vendor, and contractor to receive payment in the cryptocurrency of their choice directly from their customer with no middleman, no fees, and no limits."

Interested parties can learn more about 'My Crypto Merchant' and its impact on retail industries by visiting the company website at https://mycryptomerchant.com

Contact Info:

Name: Kevin Jenson

Email: [email protected]

Organization: My Crypto Merchant LLC

Address: 2355 State Street, Salem, OR 97301, United States

Website: https://mycryptomerchant.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162980
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Provenance Gold Corp. (CSE: PAU) (OTCQB: PVGDF) (the "Company" or "Provenance") is pleased to announce that it has received the final drill permit from Oregon's Department of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI) for drilling of its Eldorado gold property in Malheur County, Oregon. The project is located in sparsely populated sagebrush desert in mining friendly Eastern Oregon. The Company had previously received permitting approval by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), on whose land the project is situated.

Provenance plans to start its drilling program this spring, subject to field conditions following an unusually cold and snowy late winter, and subject to the timing of mobilizing the drill rig.

"This is a very positive step for Provenance," said Project Manager Steven Craig. "This is already a major gold system with excellent characteristics and metallurgy for a near-surface bulk gold system, but additionally, our review of historical data has established that the property has major expansion potential. We now look forward to confirming that potential."

Project Manager Steve Craig Points Out the Area Where Initial Drilling Will Occur



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About Eldorado

The Eldorado gold property hosts a large near-surface gold system with strong growth potential. The gold system was historically explored with 242 drill holes and accompanying preliminary metallurgy studies. Provenance's study of the historical work discovered significant room for expansion of the already sizeable gold system. Historical metallurgy also suggested that the gold is unusually amenable to recovery, even by non-chemical methods.

Provenance's upcoming drilling program is designed to confirm the historic drilling and the Company's new gold system model.

Qualified Person

Steven Craig, CPG, Project Manager for the Company and a qualified person as defined under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical contents of this news release.

About Provenance Gold Corp.

Provenance Gold Corp. is a precious metals exploration company with a focus on gold and silver mineralization within North America. The Company currently holds interests in three properties, two in Nevada, and one in eastern Oregon, USA. For further information please visit the Company's website at https://provenancegold.com or contact Rob Clark at [email protected].

On behalf of the Board,

Provenance Gold Corp.

Rauno Perttu, Chief Executive Officer

Safe Harbor Statement: Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange, nor its regulation services provider, accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release. This news release may contain certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and applicable Canadian securities laws. When or if used in this news release, the words "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect", "target, "plan", "forecast", "may", "schedule" and similar words or expressions identify forward-looking statements or information. Such statements represent the Company's current views with respect to future events and are necessarily based upon a number of assumptions and estimates that, while considered reasonable by the Company, are inherently subject to significant business, economic, competitive, political and social risks, contingencies and uncertainties. Many factors, both known and unknown, could cause results, performance or achievements to be materially different from the results, performance or achievements that are or may be expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update these forward-looking statements or information to reflect changes in assumptions or changes in circumstances or any other events affecting such statements and information other than as required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162951
London, United Kingdom--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Insurance is evolving at record pace, and carriers are faced with the challenge of keeping up with changing times. As Mary Boyd, President & CEO of Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation puts it, "Insurance risk doesn't disappear, it simply changes form - and over the next decade, we all need to ready our businesses for material change". The need for future-proofing insurance has become more critical than ever, and carriers must adapt their strategies to remain relevant in the industry.

That's why Reuters Events has brought together some of the most prominent industry CEOs to share their insights and honest perspectives on how industry leaders can future-proof their organizations, and the insurance industry as a whole.

Click here to access the report - "Insuring Tomorrow: CEO Insights on Future-Proofing Insurance"

Featuring opinions on industry challenges and predictions for future trends from leading executives:

Jasmine M. Jirele, President & CEO , Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America

, Allianz Life Insurance Company of North America Timothy NeCastro, President & CEO , Erie Insurance

, Erie Insurance Jack Howell, CEO Zurich Global Ventures, Zurich Insurance Group

Zurich Insurance Group Mary Boyd, President & CEO , Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation

, Plymouth Rock Assurance Corporation Bill Martin, President & CEO, Plymouth Rock Home Assurance

Giving their honest answers to questions such as:

In today's challenging market, there are many competing challenges for carriers - what's the most pressing issue for you? We're seeing the word 'customer-centric' more and more on the conference circuit. What does this mean to you? How do you see the future of work unfolding in the next decade? How can carriers address the complexities of legacy technology within their operations whilst modernizing the customer experience? What investments are you prioritizing to appeal to the next generation of talent? As we look to the next 10 years, where do you see significant growth opportunities for the insurance industry?

Click here to download the full report now - delivered straight to your inbox!

Interested in these topics? Check out our upcoming conference: Reuters Events: The Future of Insurance USA 2023 (June 27-28, Chicago) - where these CEOs and many more senior insurance executives will gather to ensure people, processes, and products are fully optimized in the face of global disruption. For more information, visit https://events.reutersevents.com/insurance/future-of-insurance-usa or email [email protected].

Contact:

Alexandra Wilson

Project Director, Insurance

Reuters Events

T: + 44 (0) 20 7513 4979

E: [email protected]

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/159932
Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul will begin offering tours in Spanish starting this week. The tours will be conducted every Friday and Saturday at 10:30 a.m. and 3 p.m., according to the Cultural Heritage Administration.

Among four major palaces in Seoul, Gyeongbok Palace is the first site to provide the Spanish service regularly. Admission to the palace is W3,000 for adults but the guided tours are free of charge (US$1=W1,291).
Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Solarvest BioEnergy Inc. (TSXV: SVS) ("Solarvest" or the "Company") wishes to provide an update regarding its corporate activities.

The Company has been in discussions with various financing sources, including existing shareholders, for additional working capital. Unfortunately, the response from these groups has been unsuccessful to date and, due to an immediate cash flow shortage, the Company has been forced to halt operations and release all employees effective April 18, 2023.

At this time, the Company confirms that there are no formal insolvency proceedings against it and the Company is examining the sale of certain assets to generate additional cash. There have been no resignations of the Board. As and when the Company has secured additional funding, the Company will provide an update to its shareholders.

The board of directors and management would like to thank shareholders for their patience and continued support.

For further information contact:

Claes Ellegaard

Phone: 1.514.898.3488

Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statement

This news release contains statements that constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"), which are based upon our current expectations, estimates, projections, assumptions and beliefs. All information that is not clearly historical in nature may constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by the use of terms or phrases such as "anticipate", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "intend", "may", "plan", "predict", "project", "will", "would" and "should", and similar terms and phrases, including references to assumptions.

Forward-looking statements, by their nature, are based on assumptions and are subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, both general and specific, that contribute to the possibility that the forward-looking statement will not occur. The forward-looking statements in this press release speak only as of the date hereof and reflect several material factors, expectations and assumptions. While Solarvest considers these factors, expectations and assumptions to be reasonable, actual events or results could differ materially from the results, predictions, forecasts, conclusions or projections expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Undue reliance should not be placed on any predictions or forward-looking statements as these may be affected by, among other things, changing external events and general uncertainties of the business. A discussion of the material risks applicable to us can be found in our current Management Discussion and Analysis, which will be filed on SEDAR and can be accessed at www.sedar.com. Solarvest cautions that the list of risk factors included in such Management Discussion and Analysis is not exhaustive. Except as required by applicable securities laws, forward-looking statements speak only as of the date on which they are made and we disclaim any intention and assume no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this press release.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163090
Additional Drill Planning Underway

Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - T2 Metals Corp.(TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E)("T2" or the "Company")announces final results from two holes drilled at the Lida copper - silver - gold project on the Walker Lane Belt in south-central Esmeralda County, Nevada. Holes were drilled 900m apart at a strong IP (chargeability) anomaly beneath volcanic cover, and both intersected intense alteration and intrusive dykes indicating potential for porphyry-style mineralization in the project area.

Economic elements in sampled intervals were weakly anomalous, while trace and major element geochemistry supported visual observations and indicated both porphyry and epithermal mineralization characteristics at Lida. Assay results from the two drillholes (LD22001, LD23002 - Table 1) were interpreted with an artificial intelligence (AI) and geostatistical software package by a consulting geochemist, and the results have been incorporated into a comprehensive 3D model together with geophysical (IP) data collected during 2022.

The deeper part of LD22001 (from 344.7 meters) intersected a domain characterized by epithermal-type alteration assemblages with intense silicification and minor pyrite dissemination and veining (see Figure 1a & 1b). This zone demonstrates a strong Pb-Zn-Ag-Au association (or signature) consistent with the distal zone of a potential magmatic hydrothermal system (eg epithermal). In addition, the trace element geochemistry of intrusive rocks intercepted in hole LD22002 indicates they are both hydrous and oxidized, the appropriate geochemical characteristics for copper porphyry mineralization. These intrusive rocks are also associated with anomalous copper well above background values.

The Company is now using the vectors provided by the geochemical analysis in conjunction with 3D IP data (chargeability and resistivity) to target potential buried copper-gold-silver mineralization at Lida. The epithermal alteration assemblage including strong silicification corresponds with a domain of high resistivity in IP geophysical data, that was not a target in this first drilling program. This high resistivity zone also coincides with the widespread copper-silver mineralization found on the surface (see press release dated December 15, 2021).

The high chargeability IP anomaly appears to coincide with dykes and alteration more characteristic of porphyry copper mineralization, where widespread pyrite was intersected in both drillholes.

While copper values were subdued in this drill program, the combination of alteration and prospective geochemistry is positive for a discovery elsewhere on the large Lida claim package. The combination of geophysical and geochemical anomalies found at Lida is now being targeted by Company geologists in the design of a follow up drilling program.

"T2 Metals' drilling program at Lida was the first in the area, with both holes drilled at a buried high chargeability target beneath volcanic cover close to copper-silver mineralization at surface. Interpretation of trace element geochemical data from zones of alteration have shown us that Lida continues to be a highly prospective target for copper and gold," said Mark Saxon, CEO of T2 Metals Corp. "The strongest alteration, with an epithermal signature in geochemical data, highlighted an association with a domain of high resistivity in geophysical data. Our initial drilling campaign has proven very valuable in vectoring toward potential buried mineralization at Lida."

T2 Metals is focused on copper, nickel and lithium acquisition, exploration and development within the major mining belts of western North America. The Company continues to target under-explored areas, including the Sherridon, Lida and Cora projects where post-mineralization cover masks areas of high geological prospectivity in the vicinity of major mines.

Any references to the terms "ore minerals", "mineralization" or "mineralized zones" are purely for descriptive purposes and are not intended to be interpreted as or relied upon for any resource or economic evaluation of the project at this time. Although historic exploration data was generated by reputable companies applying practice of the day, T2 Metals Corp cannot verify the data or determine the quality assurance and quality control measures applied in generating the data. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the exploration history is fully captured. Additional drilling may have been undertaken, however the Company has not been made aware of or obtained additional data. Accordingly, the Company cautions that the exploration data reported in this news release may not be reliable. Readers are cautioned that a "qualified person" as defined by National Instrument 43-101 has not completed sufficient work to be able to verify the historical information, and therefore the information should not be relied upon.

The qualified person for the Company's projects, Mr. Mark Saxon, the Company's Chief Executive Officer, a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy and a Member of the Australian Institute of Geoscientists, has reviewed and approved the contents of this release.





Figure 1a: LD22001 - Intense silica alteration

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Figure 1b: LD22002 - Intense silica alteration

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Table 1: Drill hole coordinate and orientations (NAD83, UTM Zone 11N)

HOLE ID EAST NORTH ELEV DIP AZIMUTH EOH (m) LD22001 464558.1 4147829 1635.2 -55 295 380.2 weakly anomalous mineralization only LD23002 465005.4 4148550 1630.0 -55 335 504.0 weakly anomalous mineralization only

About T2 Metals Corp (TSXV: TWO) (OTCQB: AGLAF) (WKN: A2DR6E)

T2 Metals Corp is an emerging copper and precious metal company enhancing shareholder value through exploration and discovery. T2 is focused on the Sherridon Project in Manitoba, the Lida Project in Nevada, and the Cora Project in Arizona.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD,

"Mark Saxon"

Mark Saxon

President & CEO

For further information, please contact:

t2metals.com

1305 - 1090 West Georgia St., Vancouver, BC, V6E 3V7

[email protected]

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Certain information set out in this news release constitutes forward-looking information. Forward looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "seek", "anticipate", "plan", "continue", "estimate", "expect", "may", "will", "intend", "could", "might", "should", "believe" and similar expressions. Forward-looking statements are based upon the opinions and expectations of management of the Company as at the effective date of such statements and, in certain cases, information provided or disseminated by third parties. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, and that information obtained from third party sources is reliable, they can give no assurance that those expectations will prove to have been correct. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual results may differ materially from results contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Accordingly, the actual events may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such risks include uncertainties relating to exploration activities. When relying on forward-looking statements to make decisions, investors and others should carefully consider the foregoing factors and other uncertainties and should not place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements, except as may be required by applicable securities laws.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162963
Highlights

Class 1 Notification permit granted by Yukon Government

Summer field program to be announced

Sudbury, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Transition Metals Corp (TSXV: XTM) ("Transition", "the Company") is pleased to provide an update on its Pike Warden Au-Ag-Cu Property located approximately 65 kilometres southwest of Whitehorse (Figure 1). The Company is in receipt of its approved Quartz Class 1 Notification for the Pike Warden project from the Yukon Government. This will allow the Company to execute exploration programs pursuant to Yukon Quartz Mining Act and Territorial Lands (Yukon) Act, which include prospecting, geological mapping, hand trenching, and percussion reverse circulation (RC) drilling across the property.

Pike Warden boasts 18 historic and recently discovered high-grade polymetallic showings, which are indicative of a large epithermal-porphyry system. Sampling across the property to date has returned up to 11,270 g/t Ag, 44.5 g/t Au, 7.49% Cu, and 59.6% Pb. Furthermore, maiden drilling at the ERT Zone completed by Transition returned up to 104.64 g/t AgEq* over 21.34 metres (see company news releases dated: January 16th, 2023). Note: *AgEq (Silver Equivalent) calculation based on gold and silver content with gold price of $1,800 per Oz Au and silver price of $23 per Oz USD; with lengths reported as drilled length.

In addition, the research work being carried out by Western University (see company news releases dated March 2nd, 2023), has demonstrated that the showings are all related to a single mineralizing event across the 37 km2 property. Final results from the Synchrotron Mineral Studies are expect soon and will be announced once finalized. Transition Metals' exploration team is eager to get back into the field this summer to continue working on this highly prospective project.



Exploration Plans for Pike Warden in 2023

The Company intends to complete a program of work consisting of systematic prospecting, mapping, and hand trenching across the property to follow up on results acquired in 2022. This work aims to further define and discover additional structural trends, alteration footprints, and zones of mineralization, particularly in the underexplored northern claims which were not worked in 2022. In addition, an RC drill program is also being considered, to further evaluate the extent of mineralization at the ERT Zone and additional high-priority showings on the property.

About the Pike Warden Property

The Pike Warden property is located approximately 65 kilometres southwest of Whitehorse, Yukon, and is composed of 185 contiguous mining claims totaling approximately 37 km. The property encompasses a combination of historic and recently discovered high-grade polymetallic gold, copper, and silver epithermal showings that are potentially indicative of a large epithermal-porphyry system in the vicinity of the Bennett Lake Volcanic Complex. In June 2022, Transition Metals Corp. entered into an option to acquire a 100% interest in the property from the Vendor in exchange for cash, shares and work expenditures over a four-year period (please refer to news release dated June 28, 2022).

Figure 1: Pike Warden Property Position with Polymetallic showings



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Investor Relations and Media Service Contract

The Company has engaged Mining Investor Resources Media Ltd., doing business as MiningIR.com ("MIR"), to provide the Company with media services through mining and resource news, lead generation services, social media services, and information company profile page for an initial period of 12 months beginning April 11, 2023, subject to the terms of the service agreement (the "MIR Agreement") executed between the Company and MIR. Pursuant to the terms of the MIR Agreement, MIR will be paid an aggregate cash amount of $39,000 for its services. Neither MIR nor its affiliates currently own any securities of the Company. MIR and the Company are unrelated and unaffiliated entities.

Qualified Person

The technical elements of this press release have been approved by Mr. Benjamin Williams, P.Geo. (PGO), who is a Qualified Person as defined under National Instrument 43-101.

Transition Metals Corp.

Transition Metals Corp. (TSXV: XTM) is a Canadian-based, multi-commodity explorer. Its award-winning team of geoscientists has extensive exploration experience which actively develops and tests new ideas for discovering mineralization in places that others have not looked, often allowing the company to acquire properties inexpensively. Joint venture partners earn an interest in the projects by funding a portion of higher-risk drilling and exploration, allowing Transition to conserve capital and minimize shareholder's equity dilution.

Cautionary Note on Forward-Looking Information

Except for statements of historical fact contained herein, the information in this news release constitutes "forward-looking information" within the meaning of Canadian securities law. Such forward-looking information may be identified by words such as "plans", "proposes", "estimates", "intends", "expects", "believes", "may", "will" and include without limitation, statements regarding estimated capital and operating costs, expected production timeline, benefits of updated development plans, foreign exchange assumptions and regulatory approvals. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate; actual results and future events could differ materially from such statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include, among others, metal prices, competition, risks inherent in the mining industry, and regulatory risks. Most of these factors are outside the control of the Company. Investors are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as otherwise required by applicable securities statutes or regulation, the Company expressly disclaims any intent or obligation to update publicly forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Further information is available at www.transitionmetalscorp.com or by contacting:

Scott McLean

President and CEO

Transition Metals Corp.

Tel: (705) 669-1777

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/163001
Montreal, Quebec--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Vior Inc. (TSXV: VIO) (OTCQB: VIORF) (FSE: VL5) will be participating in the Deutsche Goldmesse, which will take place on May 5th and 6th at The Westin Grand Frankfurt.

Members of the Vior Inc. management will be taking meetings throughout the day, and also present at 2:15 pm CET on May 5th to an audience of European investors.

An online registration form is available, and Investors can register to attend at: https://deutschegoldmesse.online/investor-registration/.

Kai Hoffmann, Managing Director of Soar Financial Partners, remarked, Following two virtual, and three in-person events, Deutsche Goldmesse has established itself as Germany's premier investment conference in the resource space. Being from Germany myself and working solely in the junior mining space for the last 12 years, I understand what German and European investors are looking for. This is why I have focused on bringing together a selective group of impressive and diverse companies, keynote speakers, mining influencers, HNW investors, asset & fund managers, media partners and more. I am excited to offer this boutique event once again, exclusive to the junior mining sector.

The Deutsche Goldmesse website is updated regularly with attending companies, keynote speakers, schedule, and other important details. & www.deutschegoldmesse.com.

About Vior Inc.

Vior Inc. (TSXV: VIO) (OTCQB: VIORF) (FSE: VL5) is a hybrid junior mining exploration company based in Quebec, whose corporate strategy is to generate, explore and develop high-quality mineral projects in proven and favourable mining jurisdictions in North America. Through the years, Viors management and technical teams have demonstrated their ability to discover several gold deposits and many high-quality mineral prospects. Vior is rapidly advancing three district-scale projects, which include its flagship Belleterre Gold Project, the Belleterre Lithium Project and its Skyfall Nickel project. More at www.vior.ca.

About Deutsche Goldmesse

Deutsche Goldmesse is Germany's premier mining investment conference, based out of Frankfurt- one of Europe's most important financial capitals. We bring together leading minds in the industry to foster new business opportunities and facilitate valuable relationships. The exclusive two-day event showcases industry-leading keynote speakers and up to 35 carefully considered companies in a range of commodities and stages from explorers to producers.

Hosted by Soar Financial Partners, we provide a platform where top company management can connect with a vast network of European institutional and HNW investors, retail investors, analysts, influencers, newsletter writers, media, and other local partners.

For further information:

Vior Inc.

Mark Fedosiewich

President & CEO

613-898-3052

[email protected]

www.vior.ca
'Your WP Guy', a leading website support and maintenance company, has been awarded the Innovation in Business MarTech Award for Best Website Maintenance Company.

Atlanta, Georgia--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - 'Your WP Guy', a leading website support and maintenance company, has been awarded the Innovation in Business MarTech Award for Best Website Maintenance Company. The MarTech Awards recognizes excellence in the field of marketing technology and celebrates companies that have achieved outstanding results through innovative approaches to their business.



Your WP Guy Wins Innovation Award for Best Website Maintenance Company



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'Your WP Guy' stood out among other nominees for its exceptional website support services, which help businesses of all sizes keep their websites running smoothly and efficiently. The company offers a wide range of website maintenance services, including regular updates, backups, security scans, performance optimizations, and more.

The Martech Award Committee had this to say, "Your WP Guy is a business with a big heart. The Atlanta-based company is working to bring peace of mind to small business owners so that they can be free to live life to the fullest. Your WP Guy offers a full range of WordPress design and maintenance services as well as traffic optimisation. The company is the perfect partner for businesses looking for a professional website, hassle-free maintenance, and a great ROI."

"We are thrilled to receive this prestigious award," said Jonathan Wofford, founder of 'Your WP Guy'. "It's an honor to be recognized for our commitment to providing exceptional website support services to our clients. We believe that a well-maintained website is critical for businesses to succeed online, and we are proud to be helping our clients achieve their goals."

'Your WP Guy' has a team of US based expert technicians who work tirelessly to ensure that their clients' websites are always up-to-date, secure, and performing at their best. Their proactive approach to website maintenance helps prevent issues before they arise, saving clients time and money in the long run.

The Innovation in Business MarTech Award for Best Website Maintenance Company is a testament to 'Your WP Guy's' dedication to excellence and their commitment to helping businesses succeed in the digital age. With this recognition, 'Your WP Guy' is poised to continue its growth and success in the website support and maintenance industry.

For more information about 'Your WP Guy' and their website maintenance services, visit their website at yourwpguy.com .

Contact Info:

Name: Jonathan Wofford

Email: [email protected]

Organization: Your WP Guy

Address: 2302 Parklake Dr NE Suite 675, Atlanta, Georgia 30345, United States

Website: https://ishouldbeyourwpguy.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162981
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Ohio Physician William Greg Siefert MD Gives Back With Scholarship Fund



The Dr. William Siefert Scholarship for Future Doctors is pleased to announce a one-time award of $1,000 to support the educational aspirations of outstanding students pursuing a career in medicine. The scholarship program is open to currently enrolled university students or high school seniors entering university in the United States who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to making a positive impact in the healthcare industry.

As the world's population continues to grow, so does the need for qualified and compassionate healthcare professionals. The Dr. William Siefert Scholarship for Future Doctors is committed to supporting the next generation of medical professionals and recognizes the significant financial burden that comes with pursuing a career in medicine. The scholarship aims to ease that burden and provide students with the opportunity to focus on their studies and achieve their academic and career goals.

To be eligible for the scholarship, applicants must have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and submit an essay of no more than 1,000 words describing their passion for pursuing a career in medicine and how they plan to use their skills and education to make a positive impact in the healthcare industry. The scholarship committee will consider various factors in the selection process, including academic performance, leadership skills, community involvement, and the content and creativity of the essay.

The Dr. William Siefert Scholarship for Future Doctors is named after Dr. William Greg Siefert, a patient-centered healthcare professional with over 35 years of experience evaluating and treating patients in private practice and hospital environments. Dr. Siefert is a respected member of the Dayton community and has been dedicated to improving the lives of patients and their families through his commitment to excellence and compassionate care.

"We believe that supporting the education of future doctors is critical to the advancement of healthcare, and we are honored to provide financial assistance to outstanding students who share this vision," said a spokesperson for the scholarship program. "We encourage all eligible students in the United States to apply for the Dr. William Siefert Scholarship for Future Doctors and take advantage of this unique opportunity."

The deadline to apply for the scholarship is November 15, 2023, and the winner will be announced on December 15, 2023. The $1,000 award can be used to cover tuition, books, and other educational expenses.

The Dr. William Siefert Scholarship for Future Doctors believes that investing in the education of future medical professionals is critical to the advancement of healthcare. By supporting outstanding students who demonstrate academic excellence and a commitment to making a positive impact in the healthcare industry, we hope to create a brighter and healthier future for all.

We believe that every student deserves the opportunity to achieve their academic and career goals. That is why we are committed to providing financial assistance to outstanding students pursuing a career in medicine. Our scholarship program is designed to ease the financial burden of pursuing higher education and allow students to focus on their studies and achieving their career goals.

The Dr. William Siefert Scholarship for Future Doctors is committed to supporting the next generation of healthcare professionals and invites all eligible students in the United States to apply for the scholarship. We encourage students to take advantage of this unique opportunity and showcase their passion for pursuing a career in medicine and making a positive impact in the healthcare industry.

To apply for the scholarship or to learn more about the eligibility criteria and application requirements, please visit https://drwilliamsiefertscholarship.com/. We look forward to receiving your application and helping you achieve your academic and career aspirations.



Contact Info:

Name: Dr. William Siefert

Email: Send Email

Organization: Dr. William Siefert Scholarship

Website: https://drwilliamsiefertscholarship.com



Release ID: 89094826

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TEMPE, Ariz. (PRWEB) April 19, 2023

Atlassian announced that Isos Technology has received Atlassian Partner of the Year 2022: ITSM Solutions for its outstanding contribution and achievements during the calendar year 2022. This includes exceptional efforts in developing new business, thought leadership, and products and services that complement Atlassian.

Isos Technology was one of 26 global partner recipients honored in the annual Atlassian Partner of the Year program for its continuous efforts and exceptional customer work.

"Year over year, I am surprised and delighted by the innovative solutions and passion our partners bring to their Atlassian customers," said Ko Mistry, Atlassian's Head of Global Channels. "Our partners are industry leaders playing an instrumental role in our customers' ongoing success. We are thrilled to spotlight some of our top partners who provide cutting edge solutions and Atlassian services across the globe."

Isos Technology is a four-time Partner of the Year award-winner in IT Service Management, achieving this honor from Atlassian in 2017, 2020, 2021, and 2022.

"We are thrilled to be acknowledged as one of the best Solution Partners in the Atlassian ecosystem," said Thad West, CEO of Isos Technology. "This is our third year in a row winning in the ITSM category, and we've been an Atlassian Partner of the Year in five of the last six years. This achievement validates the Isos team's expertise, innovation, hard work, and unshakable commitment to the long-term success of our customers."

This year, Isos Technology was also a finalist for the Atlassian Partner of the Year 2022: Cloud award, as the company completed several complex migrations to the cloud for various enterprise organizations. Additionally, HyperVelocity, an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner that was recently acquired by Isos Technology, received a finalist nod for Atlassian Partner of the Year 2022: Work Management for All Solutions.

About Isos Technology

Isos Technology accelerates the innovation curve for companies that are changing the world. Since 2005, we've partnered with hundreds of organizations to help them tackle tough business challenges and achieve their strategic goals. In November 2022, Isos became a portfolio company of The Acacia Group, joining forces with the Atlassian practice of MajorKey Technologies. Furthermore, Isos announced the acquisition of HyperVelocity in February 2023, cementing its status as one of the largest Platinum Solution Partners in the Atlassian ecosystem.

As an Atlassian Platinum Solution Partner with ITSM, Cloud, and Agile at Scale specializations, Isos helps organizations optimize their technology, develop effective practices, and guide people towards agility and resilience. Headquartered in Tempe, Arizona, and with offices across the U.S., Isos has been recognized as an Atlassian Partner of the Year in the ITSM and Enterprise categories for the last five out of six years, an Inc. 5000 Fastest-Growing Private Company, and a CIOReview Most Promising Agile Consulting Company. For more information, visit isostech.com.

Read the full story at https://www.prweb.com/releases/2023/4/prweb19282214.htm
Paid press release content from The Financial Capital. The StreetInsider.com news staff was not involved in its creation.

Toronto-Based law firm William Jaksa Criminal Litigation has announced an expansion of its services for clients in nearby Newmarket, ON.



The firms latest launch brings its litigation and legal counsel expertise to bear in all manner of criminal proceedings, from serious violent crimes to fraud and professional disciplinary hearings. William Jaksa Criminal Litigation offers a client-centred approach and expert advice at any stage of the criminal justice system.

More details can be found at https://www.toronto-criminal-lawyer.co

The move will make Mr. Jaksas approach to his criminal defence workwhich ensures that clients are treated according to the protections set out in the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedomsmore accessible to Newmarket residents. From initial arrest to pre-trial hearings, the firm holds authorities to account for any abuse or delays in the legal process.

William Jaksa helps clients understand how the courts classify criminal charges and the potential penalties they may face if found guilty, dividing crimes into one of three categories: summary, indictable, and hybrid offences. For summary charges, defendants can have their lawyer appear on their behalf for most court appearances.

By ensuring crimes are correctly classified, Mr. Jaksa ensures that any sentencing is commensurate with the seriousness of the alleged offence. This can mean the difference between custodial terms of one to five years with a parole term of one year or sentences lasting between 10 and 25 years.

The firm conducts research into every aspect of a case as well as conducts negotiations with the police, the judiciary, and the Crown. Detailed reviews of any police investigations are also carried out. In some cases, Mr. Jaksa will conduct an independent enquiry into the allegations and the related evidence, hiring a private investigator if necessary.

Other aspects of Mr. Jaksas legal services include the interviewing and preparation of witnesses for trial, the drafting of charter motions, and advocacy during bail hearings, appeals, and any pre-trial motions.

Mr. Jaksa and his team have provided successful legal advice and representation for over 15 years in the Greater Toronto Area and Southern Ontario, a spokesperson said. With vast experience in drug, sexual and domestic assault and fraud cases, he knows how to deliver results.

Interested parties may call 416-900-0998 or visit https://www.toronto-criminal-lawyer.co/best-criminal-lawyer-toronto for further details.

Contact Info:

Name: William Jaksa

Email: Send Email

Organization: William Jaksa Criminal Litigation

Address: 55 University Avenue Suite 1100, Toronto, Ontario M5J 2H7, Canada

Website: https://www.toronto-criminal-lawyer.co/



Release ID: 89094911

If you detect any issues, problems, or errors in this press release content, kindly contact [email protected] to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 8 hours.
VONORE, Tenn. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Genera, the largest integrated manufacturer of non-wood pulp and molded fiber products in North America , announced today that it has appointed packaging industry veteran Ben Mascarello as Chief Executive Officer. Mascarello succeeds Genera's founding CEO, Dr. Kelly Tiller , who will continue to be an integral part of Genera's future as Founder and Chief Strategy Officer.

"Ben is the right leader for the next phase of Genera's growth, and I am excited to welcome him to our team," said Tiller, who has been at the helm of Genera since founding the company 15 years ago. "The breadth of Ben's experience in the packaging industry and leading private equity-backed companies through periods of rapid growth will be a great asset to Genera as we execute our expansion plans. I look forward to working closely together to realize our vision for a truly transformative sustainable company."

Mascarello brings a 30-year track record of successful business development and executive leadership in the packaging industry. Before joining Genera, he spent 15 years with Novolex, a highly diverse packaging products manufacturer. As Chief Operating Officer, he was instrumental in navigating the company's explosive growth, which included fourteen acquisitions under four different private equity sponsors. He has also spent more than 10 years in management consulting at AlixPartners and Arthur D. Little , and has served as CEO at TransAxle and Korsnas Packaging, Inc.

"I'm incredibly excited to work with Kelly and the highly talented Genera team, along with our community and business partners, to accelerate the growth trajectory of the business and build a company that redefines state-of-the-art biomanufacturing," said Mascarello. "Genera's product development pipeline, based upon locally sourced regenerative fiber crops, positions the company perfectly to meet the market's robust demand for renewable fiber solutions."

"As a result of Kelly's vision and leadership, Genera is poised to build the leading sustainable fiber platform in North America ," said Troy Thacker , Managing Partner at Ara Partners, a private equity firm specializing in industrial decarbonization investments that acquired Genera in 2022. "We are thrilled to welcome Ben as our new Chief Executive Officer. He is a proven operator and leader who will build on what Kelly has created and propel Genera into its next phase of growth."

About Genera

Genera is a vertically integrated manufacturer of sustainable and compostable products for foodservice, retail, and consumer packaging made from locally grown perennial grasses. Genera offers consumers sustainable alternatives to plastics with direct benefits to local farmers and communities and a significantly lower carbon impact. Genera is currently expanding its integrated non-wood pulp and molded fiber manufacturing operations located in Vonore, Tennessee , with plans to build additional plants across the U.S.

About Ara Partners

Ara Partners is a private equity firm focused on industrial decarbonization investments. Ara Partners invests in the industrial and manufacturing, chemicals and materials, energy efficiency and green fuels, and food and agriculture sectors, seeking to create companies with significant decarbonization impact. It operates from offices in Houston , Boston and Dublin, Ireland . Ara Partners closed its second fund with approximately $1.1 billion in capital commitments in September 2021 . For more information about Ara Partners, please visit www.arapartners.com.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

(865) 977-1973

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ben-mascarello-joins-genera-as-chief-executive-officer-301802301.html

SOURCE Genera
Top student entrepreneurs will compete at Regional BUILDFest events in front of a panel of VIP judges and BUILD community members

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- BUILD.org showcases the next generation of entrepreneurial student leaders and changemakers through its innovative BUILDFest events around the Nation over the next three months. BUILD is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to use entrepreneurship to ignite the potential of youth from under-resourced communities to build C areer success, E ntrepreneurial Mindsets, and O pportunity. BUILDFest events celebrate the transformational power of youth entrepreneurship by redefining education and creating opportunities for middle and high school students in underserved communities.

Upcoming BUILDFest events:

"I am pleased to showcase the power of BUILD and youth entrepreneurship at our impactful BUILDFest events. We are grateful to all of our individual, foundation and corporate supporters that make our events possible," said Bill Taylor , CEO at BUILD. "We want to celebrate our students and educators' successes with the larger community as they engage in our innovative, project-based entrepreneurship education program(s) that will give students the real-world skills needed to become the CEO of their own lives."

Hundreds of high school students across the country will pitch their innovative business ideas to judges in hopes of earning a final slot at their regional BUILDFest Pitch Challenge. Finalists will compete in front of a "Shark Tank-style" panel of VIP judges and community members for cash prizes and start-up funds. These events promise to be action-filled evenings that will be attended by many entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, leading members of the business community, and educators. Many of the events feature a Student Business Expo where guests will have the opportunity to meet BUILD's student entrepreneurs and purchase their unique products. We invite you to join a BUILDFest event this Spring to celebrate the transformational power of youth entrepreneurship for high school students in underserved communities.

Media Contacts:

Shefali Billon

BUILD, Marketing Team

[email protected]

416-706-4397

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/build-showcases-youth-entrepreneurship-competitions-across-the-nation-for-cash-prizes-and-start-up-funds-301801773.html

SOURCE BUILD.org
Sweden is set to introduce a new anti-terrorism law, which it hopes will persuade Turkey to approve its NATO application. Speaking to reporters April 5, Turkey's foreign minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, gave a measured response. "Of course, they have taken some steps but they are not enough. We are expecting additional efforts in the coming period," he said.

Sweden's prime minister, Ulf Kristersson, said he hoped next month's presidential elections in Turkey could mark a turning point. "Now we're waiting for the Turkish elections. I think everyone realizes that there is a substantial role in this, which is about Turkish domestic politics and that is fully understandable, that's how it is in most countries," Kristersson said at a press conference March 31.

Ankara has accused Sweden of harboring what it considers pro-Kurdish terrorists, including members of the PKK militant group, which Sweden denies.

The alliance welcomed Finland earlier this month -- NATO's 31st member state -- after Turkish and Hungarian lawmakers finally voted through the ratification in March. Sweden's application has yet to be approved by the same two NATO members.

With Turkey and Hungary continuing to block Sweden's application to join the NATO military alliance, the Swedish government hopes for a swift ratification soon by both countries after Turkish elections scheduled for May 14.

 NATO Summit

NATO's secretary-general, Jens Stoltenberg, has said he hopes that Sweden's application is ratified in time for the alliance's annual summit, scheduled for July 11-12 in Lithuania.

Alper Coskun, of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and the former director general for international security affairs at the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told VOA Turkish approval of Sweden's application is not guaranteed.

"It will depend more on whether in the aftermath of the elections -- irrespective of who wins -- the Turkish authorities will be able to say to themselves and to the public at large, that some of Turkey's expectations from Sweden have been met in terms of the implementation of that very law," he said.

"I do not believe that it is necessarily in Turkey's interest after the election and post the implementation of that (anti-terror) law in Sweden, to prolong the matter. So I would assume that it is still a realistic expectation that Sweden will be able to join (NATO) by the summit in Vilnius."

 Election Campaign

Foreign policy comes second to domestic concerns in Turkey's election campaign -- and that could benefit Sweden's NATO application, Coskun added.

"Especially now, in the aftermath of the earthquakes and the economic circumstances in Turkey, it has even decreased even more. In that sense, I don't think as far as the public opinion is concerned, or as far as the interest of the political parties in Turkey is concerned, it's a leading topic, that there is attention on it. And I think that alleviates the domestic political pressure on the issue, which should facilitate a solution post-election."

Turkish opposition parties have rallied behind a single candidate, Kemal Klcdaroglu, in an effort to unseat incumbent President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Coskun believes an opposition win could benefit Sweden. "They've made it clear that they will underline Turkey's place within NATO, within the Western security architecture," he said.

 Hungary

Meanwhile, Hungarian lawmakers say they are blocking Sweden's NATO bid over its recent criticism of their country's democratic credentials, part of a long-running dispute over the rule of law between Budapest and its European allies.

Analysts say that Turkey's approval of Sweden's bid would likely pressure Hungary to do the same, citing Budapest's approval of Finland's NATO application, which came just days after Ankara had signaled it would ratify Helsinki's bid to join the alliance.

Hungary's foreign minister, Peter Szijjarto, told the Associated Press March 25 that his country deserves more respect. "When Finnish and Swedish politicians question the democratic nature of our political system, that's really unacceptable. As we give respect to all countries, we expect respect as well. And this respect was not really given," he said.

Szijjarto did not elaborate on whether Hungary would approve Sweden's NATO application, if Turkey were to do so after the May 14 election.
The Censys research team identified 8,000 servers hosting potentially sensitive information discoverable by its Web Entities solution now generally available for customers

ANN ARBOR, Mich. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Censys , the leading internet intelligence platform for threat hunting and exposure management, announced its 2023 State of the Internet Report . This year's report focuses on web-based vulnerability and HTTP services across the internet, and now, Censys is making its solution for managing Web Entities within its Exposure Management platform generally available.

The Censys research team identified 8,000 servers hosting potentially sensitive information

Using Censys' industry-leading global scanning engine, the 2023 State of the Internet Report provides visibility into the assets and weaknesses across organizations' internet infrastructure divided into three sections: HTTP services, certificates, and the attack surfaces of the internet. Censys leveraged their internet-wide scan data to better understand the applications and services that have become core to our existence, evaluating the state of security on the modern internet. Through careful analysis, Censys observed over 740 million hosts running 1.3 billion HTTP services of some variety. This comprises 165 million "unnamed" hosts only accessible by bare IPv4 addresses, and over 570 million named or "virtual hosts" that can also be accessed by a hostname.

Censys' 2023 State of the Internet Report found that:

While misconfigurations don't often make headlines, they remain a major problem. Censys researchers identified over 8,000 hosts on the internet misconfigured to expose open directories containing potentially sensitive data, such as database information, backup files, passwords, Excel worksheets, environment variables, and even some SSL and SSH private keys. Exposure of these types of data in such an accessible manner can offer threat actors an easy way into an organization's network.

Nearly 60% of all HTTP services observed are not protected by Transport Layer Security (TLS). This means traffic to and from these sites is unencrypted and susceptible to eavesdropping and man-in-the-middle attacks.

Over 40,000 unauthenticated Prometheus servers, intended to monitor the network health of over 219,000 endpoints, are exposed to the internet. This tooling could provide would-be threat actors with detailed reconnaissance and network mapping abilities.

The widespread use of web servers that have a known history of vulnerabilities or have reached end-of-life on unnamed hosts, including certain software that has been linked to recent critical infrastructure attacks, suggests concerning security practices.

"Between the increasing scarcity of IP addresses, the growing popularity of HTTP and TLS as common middleware protocols, and the widespread adoption of cloud, named services now far outnumber IP-identified services on the internet. This evolution means that an increasing fraction of every organization's internet exposure is only visible by scanning known names of services and checking potentially vulnerable endpoints," said Zakir Durumeric, Co-Founder and Chief Scientist of Censys. "Censys is the only company to provide global visibility into both IP-based and name-based internet exposure. In this year's report, we're excited to discuss how internet exposure is evolving and to launch our new Web Entities service to help companies understand their entire attack surface, including web-based exposure."

Censys' new Web Entities solution leverages powerful, industry-leading intelligence by continuously discovering and monitoring external web inventory for insecure and misconfigured websites, Elasticsearch instances, Kubernetes clusters and Prometheus endpoints exposed to the internet. Access to this data is critical to ensure organizations have complete visibility into both known and unknown assets, giving security teams the ability to identify and remediate threats as quickly as possible.

There are indicators that the state of internet security is moving in a positive direction. However, opportunities for threat actors to disrupt the security of our online presence remain; misconfigurations, outdated and vulnerable software, and improperly exposed API endpoints are just some of the weaknesses threat actors can leverage to exploit organizations' online systems.

To download the full report, visit: https://censys.io/the-2023-state-of-the-internet-report/

For more information about Censys' Web Entities solution, visit: https://censys.io/early-access-product-release-web-entities/

To learn more about Censys' approach to organizational visibility, visit: https://www.censys.io .

About Censys

Censys, Inc. is the leading Internet Intelligence Platform for Threat Hunting and Exposure Management. Founded in 2013 in Ann Arbor, Michigan , Censys gives organizations the world's most comprehensive real-time view of global networks and devices. Customers like Google, Cisco, Microsoft, Samsung, NATO, Swiss Armed Forces, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, and over 51% of the Fortune 500 rely on the company's Exposure Management solution for a real-time, contextualized view into their internet and cloud assets. At Censys, you can be yourself. We like it that way. Diversity fuels our mission, and we are committed to inclusion across race, gender, age and identity. To learn more, visit censys.io and follow Censys on Twitter.

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SOURCE Censys
When completed, LogistiCenter at Copperwing will offer over 10 million square feet of modern distribution space

EL MIRAGE, Ariz. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dermody Properties, a national private equity real estate investment, development and management company focused exclusively on the logistics real estate sector, broke ground on LogistiCenter at Copperwing, Wednesday, April 19, 2023 , commencing construction for one of the largest business parks in Arizona history.

LogistiCenter at Copperwing is located at the Northern Parkway Expressway & Dysart Road in El Mirage, Arizona , a suburb of Phoenix . Phase I of the project includes construction of the first two buildings, totaling 566,602 square feet of Class A logistics space designed for modern use. When completed, the 961-acre site will feature more than 10 million square feet of distribution space with individual buildings accommodating a wide range of user sizes up to 1.5 million square feet.

"With a project of this scale, Dermody Properties intends to create a best-in-class industrial park through sustainable design and construction to meet the supply chain requirements of national, regional and local companies," said Pat Gallagher , Southwest Region Partner at Dermody Properties. "The Phoenix metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country and is experiencing unprecedented industrial growth, having reported more than 26 million square feet of annual net absorption in 2022."

Located with immediate access via two new full interchanges to the currently under construction Northern Parkway Expressway , the park is approximately 3.5 miles from the Loop 101 and Loop 303 freeways. The logistics park is expected to attract large distribution users and companies with manufacturing operations as it provides access to all of the southwestern U.S. within a days' drive and features an abundant labor pool with a workforce of nearly 850,000 people within 20 miles.

Industrial zoning was already in place for the land when acquired by Dermody Properties. In addition, the property is within an approved Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), meaning companies within the park that are active users of FTZ can receive up to a 72% reduction in real estate and personal property taxes. Several recent and under construction infrastructure improvements in addition to the new Northern Parkway Expressway include new water and sewer service to the site along with new roads and availability of abundant electrical power.

"This development will have a significant impact on the Phoenix market, including an influx of jobs and economic benefits," said Douglas A. Kiersey , Jr., CEO and President at Dermody Properties. "For Dermody Properties, this investment is consistent with our strategy of sourcing projects dedicated to serving the distribution network needs of both new and existing customers."

Pat Feeney Jr ., Tyler Vowels and Dan Calihan of CBRE are the leasing brokers for the logistics park.

"This year, we have seen substantial net absorption across Southwest Valley's industrial market," said Feeney. "Adding LogistiCenter at Copperwing to this market will provide tenants with a large selection of warehouse distribution and manufacturing alternatives in an ideal location with accessible distribution routes and a great workforce nearby."

Dermody Properties acquired the property in late 2021 from the John F. Long Family Trust, known for developing more than 30,000 homes over four decades, including Arizona's first master-planned community, Novo Development, which has been involved with the project since its inception, will continue to be involved with this new venture.

About Dermody Properties

Dermody Properties is a privately-owned real estate investment, development and management firm that specializes in the acquisition and development of logistics real estate in strategic locations for e-commerce fulfillment centers, third-party logistics and distribution customers. Founded in 1960, Dermody Properties has invested more than $10 billion of total capital across all platforms nationwide, having acquired and developed approximately 110 million square feet of logistics and industrial facilities. In addition to its corporate office in Reno, Nev. , it has regional offices in northern and southern California , Atlanta , Phoenix , Seattle , Chicago , Dallas and New Jersey . For more information, visit www.Dermody.com .

CONTACT: Nicole Shearer , KPS3, [email protected], 530-448-6485

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SOURCE Dermody Properties
CHICAGO , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Donnelley Financial Solutions (NYSE: DFIN) will hold a conference call and webcast on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 , at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time to discuss its first-quarter fiscal year 2023 financial results, provide a general business update and respond to analyst questions.

A live webcast of the call will also be available on the Company's investor relations website. Please visit investor.dfinsolutions.com at least fifteen minutes prior to the start of the event to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

If you are unable to participate live, a replay of the webcast will be available following the conference call on the Company's investor relations website, along with the earnings press release, and related financial tables.

DFIN's financial report for the first-quarter will be released before the market opens on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 via a filing with the SEC on Form 8-K and will also be posted on the Company's investor relations website.

About Donnelley Financial Solutions (DFIN)

DFIN is a leading global risk and compliance solutions company. We provide domain expertise, enterprise software and data analytics for every stage of our clients' business and investment lifecycles. Markets fluctuate, regulations evolve, technology advances, and through it all, DFIN delivers confidence with the right solutions in moments that matter. Learn about DFIN's end-to-end risk and compliance solutions online at DFINsolutions.com or you can also follow us on Twitter @DFINSolutions or on LinkedIn.

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SOURCE Donnelley Financial LLC
WASHINGTON , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs (V.A.) has awarded a contract approval to Discseel Technologies. This will provide the Discseel Institute with funding to train physicians to perform the Discseel Procedure, a non-surgical spine procedure, allowing for distribution of this medical technology to all Department of Defense and V.A. hospitals in the United States and overseas.

The Discseel Procedure is intended to replace many spine surgeries currently being performed to treat chronic low back pain and neck pain by injecting FDA-approved Fibrin into the discs. During a singular outpatient encounter, the Discseel Procedure precisely identifies disc pathology and immediately repairs it by introducing the Fibrin, a biologic which promotes spine disc tissue regrowth over the following months, thus healing the discs. This contract approval is a "first of its kind" initiative because it helps offer a Regenerative Medicine Procedure, the Discseel Procedure, to the V.A.'s 19.5 million members, and provides funding to train all Dept. of Defense and V.A. physicians in developing the skillset necessary to perform the Discseel Procedure. With this, the government is fulfilling its mandate to provide more advanced medical technologies to Veterans and military personnel.

"Discseel Technologies is honored to treat our country's finest," said Kevin Pauza , MD, Chief Medical Advisor and Director of Discseel Technologies. "Veterans deserve the best treatment available. We are committed to offering the highest quality of care by adding new physicians in locations across the country, making our services more accessible and helping more people find relief from their chronic back or neck pain."

The Discseel Procedure is the only Spine Regenerative Medicine procedure awarded U.S. patents, and treats degenerative disc disease, disc herniation, disc bulge, spinal stenosis and radiculopathy (sciatica) of the lower back and neck. Patients are discharged 30 minutes following treatment to return to daily activities within a week. A study of the Discseel Procedure, pending publication, demonstrates statistically significant improvement in pain, function, mental health and depression at 1-, 2- and 3-years following treatment.

"The contract funds all physician and staff training," said Scott Choinski , Director of the Discseel Institute of Education. "Our Institute will train several hundred physicians to perform the procedure, in specialties including Orthopedic and Neurological surgery, Radiology, Anesthesia, PM&R and Pain Management."

The U.S. government spends over $110 billion annually treating chronic low back pain through spine surgeries, injections and opioids. "Because this procedure is performed in the outpatient setting and isn't associated with adverse events associated with traditional spine surgeries, its potential cost-savings to taxpayers surpasses $15 billion per year," said Carrie Wright , CEO of Discseel Technologies.

The V.A. is the largest health care system with 171 hospitals and 1,400 outpatient clinics, caring for 19.5 million Veterans, with a 2023 budget of $301.4 Billion . The Department of Defense is the largest employer in the United States , with 2.4 million employees.

"More Veterans with pain died by suicide during the past decade than all who died in Vietnam combat," said Denis McDonough , Presidential Appointee and Secretary of Veteran Affairs. "There is a strong association between spine surgery, chronic pain, opioid addiction and Veteran suicide."

For more information about Discseel Technologies and the Discseel Procedure, please visit https://discseel.com/.

About Discseel Technologies

The Discseel Procedure is the non-surgical spine procedure that is replacing traditional spine surgery, through the use of FDA-approved Biologic Fibrin Sealant. This is the only procedure proven to seal discs and encourage them to heal, proven by the only research organization endorsed by the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgery: OBERD. Discseel Technologies is committed to providing the highest quality of care to our patients, especially because they travel from around the world for the Discseel Procedure.

Our refined treatment plan consists of four steps, all in one visit: a consultation, the Discseel Procedure, recovery time and return to daily activities. Because our procedure is performed on an outpatient basis, it allows our patients to return home within the same day and with minimal downtime. If you are suffering from back or neck pain caused by a spinal disc problem, the Discseel Procedure may be the right choice for you. Contact us today to schedule a consultation and learn more about how we can help you find relief from your pain at https://discseel.com/.

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SOURCE Discseel Technologies
BOSTON , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Doobie, a leading cannabis delivery operator, announced today a new strategic partnership with Cresco Labs , one of the largest vertically integrated, multistate cannabis operators in the United States . Through Doobie's direct-to-consumer delivery solution, Doobie Direct, today customers in Massachusetts can begin ordering their favorite Cresco Labs' products and have them delivered to their door. Customers will be able to purchase Mindy's Edibles , Good News , FloraCal Farms , High Supply and Cresco by simply visiting the "Shop" pages on the brand websites to place their orders.

The partnership between Doobie and Cresco Labs is a natural fit, as both companies are dedicated to providing high-quality products and exceptional customer service.

"We are excited to partner with Cresco Labs and offer their customers the ease of delivery" said Joseph Rubin , CEO of Doobie. "We believe that this partnership will help us to support our partners to retain more business and generate more sales, while providing the best possible experience. Collaborations like these help keep Doobie ahead in the evolving delivery market."

"We are thrilled to partner with Doobie and offer delivery directly to our customers," said Dana Mason , Vice President of Wholesale & Commercial Marketing. "Doobie's platform is built for efficiency and customer service, which aligns with our commitment to quality and innovation. We look forward to a successful partnership with Doobie and serving our customers."

Doobie's partnership with Cresco Labs is the cannabis delivery partner's fifth direct-to-consumer partnership, following launches with Cann, Fernway, Cantrip, and TILT Holdings.

About Doobie:

Doobie is a leading cannabis delivery operator, dedicated to providing customers with high-quality products and exceptional customer service. With a focus on efficiency and customer experience, Doobie's platform is designed to make ordering and delivery as seamless as possible. To learn more, visit www.trydoobie.com or call 1-888-8DOOBIE (1-888-836-6243) and follow Doobie on Instagram and LinkedIn .

About Cresco Labs:

Cresco Labs is one of the largest vertically integrated multistate cannabis operators in the United States , with a mission to normalize and professionalize the cannabis industry. Employing a consumer-packaged goods ("CPG") approach, Cresco Labs is the largest wholesaler of branded cannabis products in the U.S. Its brands are designed to meet the needs of all consumer segments and comprised of some of the most recognized and trusted national brands including Cresco, High Supply, Mindy's Edibles, Good News, Remedi, Wonder Wellness Co. and FloraCal Farms. Sunnyside, Cresco Labs' national dispensary brand, is a wellness-focused retailer created to build trust, education and convenience for both existing and new cannabis consumers. Recognizing that the cannabis industry is poised to become one of the leading job creators in the country, Cresco Labs operates the industry's largest Social Equity and Educational Development initiative, SEED, which was established to ensure that all members of society have the skills, knowledge and opportunity to work and own businesses in the cannabis industry. Learn more about Cresco Labs at www.crescolabs.com .

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SOURCE Doobie
DELRAY BEACH, Fla. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ed Morse Automotive Group announced today that it has acquired Putnam Chevrolet in California, Missouri . The new name of the dealership will be Ed Morse Chevrolet. This will be the sixth dealership for Ed Morse in Missouri , joining locations in Rolla , Lebanon , and Saint Robert .

Ed Morse Automotive Group purchased the dealership from Bill Campbell , who has overseen the legendary dealership in Moniteau County for years. Putman Chevrolet has been in business for 100 years, making it one of the oldest dealerships operating in the state of Missouri.

"When our family-owned automotive group looks to expand, we focus on acquiring dealerships that are established, trusted, and family-owned. Mr. Campbell and his team exemplify these qualities. We are also excited to expand further into the incredible state of Missouri , where we've experienced tremendous success. The city of California has impressed us immediately and we look forward to being part of the community," said Teddy Morse , Chairman and CEO of Ed Morse Automotive Group.

"We pride ourselves on not only delivering on our promises to support the community but thrilled to work with the employees there to continue to make this dealership a world-class destination," added Morse.

The Ed Morse Automotive Group is headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida , and has been family-owned for over 75 years. This acquisition will add 25 employees to its over 2,000-plus employee base, growing their locations to 37 dealerships, 77 franchises and 25 automotive and motorcycle brands.

About Ed Morse Automotive Group

The Morse family has been in the automotive business since 1946 when Ed Morse founded Morse Motors. Over 75 years later, Ed's grandson, Chairman/CEO Teddy Morse continues to build on the legacy and family tradition. Headquartered in Delray Beach, Florida and with acquisitions into Texas , Iowa , Missouri , Illinois and Oklahoma , Ed Morse Automotive Group is considered to be one of the nation's fastest growing and most respected automotive and motorcycle dealer groups. www.edmorse.com

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SOURCE Ed Morse Automotive Group
Emergency Nurses Association's largest event of year scheduled for Sept. 21-23

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The road to Emergency Nursing 2023 in San Diego began Wednesday when the Emergency Nurses Association opened registration for the largest conference dedicated to emergency nursing.

Thousands of emergency nurses will be in San Diego for Emergency Nursing 2023 in September.

Thousands of emergency nurses from around the world will descend on the San Diego Convention Center Sept. 21-23 to Level Up their careers with more than 100 educational sessions to support clinical skill development, unique learning and industry partners in the extensive Experience Hall and seemingly non-stop engagement opportunities for ED nurses to connect and have fun with their peers.

"When I think of inspiration for emergency nurses, ENA's annual conference and its tradition of celebrating and supporting the emergency nursing community immediately comes to mind," said ENA President Terry Foster , MSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, CCRN, TCRN, FAEN. "In San Diego, Emergency Nursing 2023 will deliver what every ED nurse needs  the best education for their career development, tremendous peer and industry networking and an unbelievably fun environment that makes this a must-attend event every year."

In addition to the on-site event, any emergency nurse unable to attend in person can register for Digital Access that offers recording of every educational session and livestreams of the event's two general sessions. Digital Access through Jan. 31 is included with all Emergency Nursing 2023 registrations.

ENA will also bring together nearly 750 delegates from the United States and several other countries for the association's annual General Assembly on Sept. 20-21 at the convention center.

To register for Emergency Nursing 2023, or to learn more about it, visit ena.org/EN23. You can also tune in to the ENA Podcast to hear about what's planned for San Diego in September.

About the Emergency Nurses Association

The Emergency Nurses Association is the premier professional nursing association dedicated to defining the future of emergency nursing through advocacy, education, research, innovation, and leadership. Founded in 1970, ENA has proven to be an indispensable resource to the global emergency nursing community. With 50,000 members worldwide, ENA advocates for patient safety, develops industry-leading practice standards and guidelines and guides emergency health care public policy. ENA members have expertise in triage, patient care, disaster preparedness, and all aspects of emergency care. Additional information is available at www.ena.org.

ENA Media Contact:

Dan Campana

Director of Communications

847.460.4017

[email protected]

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SOURCE Emergency Nurses Association
Richard Jelinek nominated to join the Board; current director David Farner to depart the Board in June 2023 , in addition to previously announced departure of Frank Williams .

WASHINGTON , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Evolent Health, Inc. (NYSE: EVH), a health care company that delivers proven specialty clinical solutions to payers and providers, today announced that a new director nominee will stand for election to the Board of Directors at the annual meeting of stockholders scheduled to be held on June 8, 2023 .

The Board has recommended Mr. Richard Jelinek for election at the annual meeting. Mr. Jelinek is currently a managing partner at Czech One Capital Partners. Rick was executive vice president at Aetna, Inc. before becoming executive vice president of enterprise modernization and integration for CVS Health. Prior to his position at Aetna, Rick was the chief executive officer of OptumHealth.

"I am honored to be nominated to join Evolent's board," said Mr. Jelinek . "I believe Evolent is well-positioned for market leadership in value-based specialty care, and I look forward to supporting the mission in the years to come."

"Rick is a highly respected leader in the health care industry, and we are excited about the opportunity to have him join our board," said Evolent Chair of the Board Ms. Cheryl Scott .

"Independent perspectives from industry leaders like Rick are important to the continued evolution of our board," said Evolent Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Seth Blackley . "We believe the company will benefit from his perspectives as we accelerate our leadership in value-based specialty care."

Evolent concurrently announced that Mr. David Farner tendered his resignation from the Board, pursuant to the stockholder's agreement between Evolent and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). Mr. Farner  a UPMC designated director  will serve out the remainder of his current term through Evolent's annual meeting in June. Mr. Farner's departure from the Board is in addition to the previously announced departure of former Chairman and CEO Frank J. Williams , an Evolent co-founder. Mr. Williams will retire from the Board also in June.

"I want to thank David and Frank for their dedication and contributions to Evolent and the Board," said Ms. Scott . "We appreciate their partnership over the years and the work they've done to help position Evolent for future success."

Mr. Jelinek has served as managing partner at Czech One Capital Partners since 2020. He was executive vice president at Aetna, Inc. before becoming executive vice president of enterprise modernization and integration for CVS Health. Prior to that, Mr. Jelinek held various executive leadership roles at UnitedHealth Group and successor companies from 1994 to 2013, including CEO of OptumHealth. He received an MHSA and an MBA from the University of Michigan and a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Southern California.

About Evolent Health

Evolent (NYSE: EVH) specializes in better health outcomes for people with complex conditions through proven solutions that make health care simpler and more affordable. Evolent serves a national base of leading payers and providers and is consistently recognized as a top place to work in health care nationally. Learn more about how Evolent is changing the way health care is delivered by visiting evolenthealth.com.

Important Additional Information and Where to Find it

Evolent Health, Inc. (the "Company") intends to file a proxy statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") in connection with the solicitation of proxies for the Company's 2023 Annual Meeting of Stockholders (the "Proxy Statement" and such meeting the "Annual Meeting"). The Company, its directors and certain of its executive officers will be participants in the solicitation of proxies from shareholders in respect of the Annual Meeting. Information regarding the names of the Company's directors and executive officers and their respective interests in the Company by security holdings or otherwise are set forth in the Company's proxy statement for the 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, filed with the SEC on April 29, 2022 (the "2022 Proxy Statement"). To the extent holdings of such participants in the Company's securities have changed since the amounts described in the 2022 Proxy Statement, such changes have been reflected on Initial Statements of Beneficial Ownership on Form 3 or Statements of Changes in Beneficial Ownership on Form 4 filed with the SEC. Details concerning the nominees of the Company's Board of Directors for election at the Annual Meeting will be included in the Proxy Statement. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING DECISION, INVESTORS AND SHAREHOLDERS OF THE COMPANY ARE URGED TO READ ALL RELEVANT DOCUMENTS FILED WITH OR FURNISHED TO THE SEC, INCLUDING THE COMPANY'S DEFINITIVE PROXY STATEMENT AND ANY SUPPLEMENTS THERETO BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Investors and shareholders will be able to obtain a copy of the definitive Proxy Statement and other documents filed by the Company free of charge from the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. The Company's shareholders will also be able to obtain, without charge, a copy of the definitive Proxy Statement and other relevant filed documents by directing a request by mail to Evolent Health, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, 800 N. Glebe Road , Arlington, VA 22203, or from the Company's website, www.evolenthealth.com.

Contacts:

Seth R. Frank

Vice President, Investor Relations

Evolent Health, Inc.

[email protected]

571-895-3919 (W)

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SOURCE Evolent Health
 The company launches a first-of-its-kind staffing solution to fight labor shortage covering workforce management from recruiting to payroll -

QUEBEC , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - The workforce management platform formerly known as Voila! evolves into Evolia , announcing the launch of an industry-first staffing solution to empower employers to find and hire the frontline workers they need. This employer-powered talent pool is meant to fight the ongoing labor shortage while increasing employer-worker collaboration.

Inspired by customer feedback and the shortage of talent, the new solution completes the company's existing workforce management platform now supporting the entire HR process; from initial recruitment of qualified local talent to scheduling,time tracking, and payroll preparation.

The release of this groundbreaking alternative for recruitment in shift-based industries outlines Evolia's mission to focus on normalizing access to qualified workers, providing customers with an end-to-end platform that creates an employer-powered pool of local workers.

"Evolia's vision is to remove the duality between workers and employers and help them work hand in hand to reach their respective goals. This is exactly what our new shift-based recruiting solution aims to achieve," said Martin Ouellet , Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Evolia.

The company's new solution and rebranding effort comes at a pivotal time when power dynamics between managers and workers are shifting. Evolia offers solutions in a single platform that increases flexibility and places the worker at the center of the operational process, which is essential for company viability.

"Today's workplace is all about flexibility and matching the workforce to opportunities that best suit their skills, constraints and aspirations," said Max Trudel , Chief Operations Officer of Evolia. "With our new recruiting solution, Evolia is empowering employers and employees to adapt and thrive in the ever-changing workforce management industry."

Companies can hire shift workers with an integrated web and mobile platform for recruitment, automated schedule management, time and attendance, and work quality monitoring, as well as integration with many HRIS and payroll systems. Industries that are facing high turnover rates and labor shortages include healthcare, manufacturing, hospitality, retail and more.

Evolia was created to support a myriad of complex HR realities with ease for the worker and employer alike. The company recently raised $13M in a Series A round in an effort to accelerate growth in the U.S. and Canada . Evolia's recruiting solution is currently available to all employees and employers in Quebec , and is scheduled to branch out across Canada and the U.S. in the fall of 2022.

Learn more, book a demo, meet the team at www.evolia.com .

About Evolia

Evolia is a workforce management platform for shift-based businesses. Founded in 2016, its recent evolution adapts to modern realities of the workplace; putting worker demands at the forefront by arming them with schedule flexibility and freedom, while managers efficiently oversee operations and maximize their time, employee availability, and optimize the cost of their workforce. Solutions include; covering open shifts with qualified and verified workers from a pool of local talent, managing time, attendance, leave requests and payroll. Evolia stands out for its flexibility, allowing it to be adapted to various business rules, collective agreements and structures, without compromising its user-friendliness for employees.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/evolia-disrupts-workforce-management-with-the-1st-talent-pool-of-frontline-workers-301801063.html

SOURCE Evolia
CALGARY, AB , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - Frontera Energy Corporation (TSX: FEC) ("Frontera" or the "Company") announces that its first quarter 2023 results will be released after markets close on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 .

A conference call for investors and analysts will be held on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time . Participants will include Gabriel de Alba , Chairman of the Board of Directors, Orlando Cabrales , Chief Executive Officer, Rene Burgos , Chief Financial Officer and other members of the senior management team.

Analysts and investors are invited to participate using the following dial-in numbers:

Participant Number (Toll Free North America): 1-888-664-6383 Participant Number (Toll Free Colombia): 01-800-518-4036 Participant Number (International): 1-416-764-8650 Conference ID: 49513969 Webcast Audio: www.fronteraenergy.ca



A replay of the conference call will be available until 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on May 11, 2023 .

Encore Toll free Dial-in Number: 1-888-390-0541 International Dial-in Number: 1-416-764-8677 Encore ID: 513969

About Frontera

Frontera Energy Corporation is a Canadian public company involved in the exploration, development, production, transportation, storage and sale of oil and natural gas in South America , including related investments in both upstream and midstream facilities. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets with interests in 31 exploration and production blocks in Colombia , Ecuador and Guyana , and pipeline and port facilities in Colombia . Frontera is committed to conducting business safely and in a socially, environmentally and ethically responsible manner.

If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: http://fronteraenergy.mediaroom.com/subscribe.

Corporate Presentation

See Frontera's corporate presentations at: https://www.fronteraenergy.ca/reports-presentations/

Social Media

Follow Frontera's social media channels at the following links:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/fronteraenergy?lang=en

Facebook: https://es-la.facebook.com/FronteraEnergy/

LinkedIn: https://co.linkedin.com/company/frontera-energy-corp.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/frontera-energy-provides-notice-of-first-quarter-2023-financial-results-and-conference-call-301802429.html

SOURCE Frontera Energy Corporation
Billionaire Elon Musk said on Monday he will launch an artificial intelligence (AI) platform that he calls "TruthGPT" to challenge the offerings from Microsoft and Google.

He criticized Microsoft-backed OpenAI, the firm behind chatbot sensation ChatGPT, of "training the AI to lie" and said OpenAI has now become a "closed source," "for-profit" organization "closely allied with Microsoft."

He also accused Larry Page, co-founder of Google, of not taking AI safety seriously. "I'm going to start something which I call 'TruthGPT', or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe," Musk said in an interview with Fox News Channel's Tucker Carlson aired on Monday.

He said TruthGPT "might be the best path to safety" that would be "unlikely to annihilate humans." "It's simply starting late. But I will try to create a third option," Musk said.

Musk, OpenAI, Microsoft and Page did not immediately respond to Reuters' requests for comment.

Musk has been poaching AI researchers from Alphabet Inc's Google to launch a startup to rival OpenAI, people familiar with the matter told Reuters. Musk last month registered a firm named X.AI Corp, incorporated in Nevada, according to a state filing. The firm listed Musk as the sole director and Jared Birchall, the managing director of Musk's family office, as a secretary.
GUIYANG, China , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. ("FTA" or the "Company") (NYSE: YMM), a leading digital freight platform, announced that it filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 with the Securities and Exchange Commission on April 19, 2023 . The annual report can be accessed on the Company's investor relations website at ir.fulltruckalliance.com.

The Company will provide a hard copy of its annual report containing the audited consolidated financial statements, free of charge, to its shareholders and ADS holders upon request. Requests should be directed to Investor Relations Department, Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd., 16F, Building T2 , SOHO Tianshan, No. 1717 Tianshan Road , Changning District , Shanghai , 200051, People's Republic of China .

About Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd.

Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd. (NYSE: YMM) is a leading digital freight platform connecting shippers with truckers to facilitate shipments across distance ranges, cargo weights and types. The Company provides a range of freight matching services, including freight listing, freight brokerage and online transaction services. The Company also provides a range of value-added services that cater to the various needs of shippers and truckers, such as financial institutions, highway authorities, and gas station operators. With a mission to make logistics smarter, the Company is shaping the future of logistics with technology and aspires to revolutionize logistics, improve efficiency across the value chain and reduce its carbon footprint for our planet. For more information, please visit ir.fulltruckalliance.com.

For investor and media inquiries, please contact:

In China:

Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd.

Mao Mao

E-mail: [email protected]

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Hui Fan

Tel: +86-10-6508-0677

E-mail: [email protected]

In the United States :

The Piacente Group, Inc.

Brandi Piacente

Tel: +1-212-481-2050

E-mail: [email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/full-truck-alliance-co-ltd-files-its-annual-report-on-form-20-f-301802401.html

SOURCE Full Truck Alliance Co. Ltd.
The actor is known to be a passionate supporter of handlooms

SEATTLE , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Shobitam, a leading D2C ethnic wear brand that focuses on celebrating the elegance and legacy of handlooms globally, today announced the association of renowned actor Vidya Balan as a brand ambassador. As one of the most credible voices, Vidya has always supported the traditional art of handlooms, encouraging artisans globally.

Vidya is universally credited for bringing the saree back to the red carpet, making it cool and relevant for a new generation. She has made an immense contribution to social initiatives that cater to the empowerment and livelihood of traditional handloom weavers.

Sharing thoughts on this partnership, Vidya Balan said "I have been forever in awe of the rich tradition of handlooms, and I am glad to associate with a brand that shares the same passion. Shobitam is a leading ethnic fashion brand and I love the beautiful sarees and ethnic wear that they offer to customers. As a brand ambassador, I am pleased to support the vision of Shobitam to work closely with our talented weavers to deliver unique creations with Silk Mark Certified quality to customers globally. Together, we look forward to creating products which truly stand out in quality, variety, value, and service."

This strategic alliance is expected to create pathways for customer acquisition with the Indian diaspora both within India and globally, facilitate rapid growth and help solidify Shobitam's position as a world class ethnic wear brand in the world, per an official statement by the brand.

Talking about this association, Aparna Thyagarajan , Co-founder at Shobitam said, "We are excited to have Vidya come on board as our brand ambassador, as we look forward to growing our brand connect with our customers globally. Vidya is an influential global icon who perfectly embodies the saree drapes and resonates well with the brand ethos of Shobitam, with her real and approachable persona. This partnership is an important milestone as we continue to build Shobitam into a cherished brand that stands for finest selections of ethnic fashion with exceptional quality, delivery, value and 5 star service."

About Shobitam: Founded by fashionistas and creative sisters Aparna and Ambika in Seattle , Shobitam is building a world-class ethnic fashion brand that is elegant, affordable, and available globally. Powered by a passion for fashion, an interest in designing them, and a drive to make them available to all, Shobitam's mission is to help people look good, do good and feel good. Working closely with weavers, Shobitam designs unique collections and makes a difference in their lives with deep impact. They sell through their global online platform to tens of thousands of customers across 40+ countries, offering beautiful selections with quality, prices and 5-star service! Customer Obsession is at the core of Shobitam's experience and you can see it reflected in their 7000+ 5 Star Customer Reviews. https://shobitam.com/

For Media Queries

Maryam Mujawar | [email protected] | +917045153805

Asmeeta Sahni | [email protected] | +917701875443

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/global-d2c-ethnic-wear-brand-shobitam-brings-on-board-vidya-balan-as-brand-ambassador-301800606.html

SOURCE Shobitam
Shares Outstanding: 326,033,527

Trading Symbols: TSX: GGD

OTCQX: GLGDF

6,951 g/t AgEq over 0.5m within 14.2m of 977 g/t AgEq

HALIFAX, NS , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - GoGold Resources Inc. (TSX: GGD) (OTCQX: GLGDF) ("GoGold", "the Company") is pleased to announce additional drilling results from Los Ricos South, within the Eagle Deposit. Hole LRGAG-22-145 intercepted 42.2m of 417 g/t silver equivalent ("AgEq"), including 14.2m of 977 g/t AgEq which also contained 6,951 g/t AgEq over 0.5m. See Table 1 for breakdown of silver and gold values.

"We continue to intersect exceptional metal values with the drill bit at the Eagle deposit within Los Ricos South. These holes, combined with additional drilling in the Los Ricos South Main area, should add value to the upcoming updated Los Ricos South Mineral Resource and Preliminary Economic Assessment," said Brad Langille , President and CEO. "We expect to have these updated studies on Los Ricos South by the end of June."

Table 1: Drill Hole Intersections

Hole ID Area / Vein From To Length1 Au Ag AuEq2 AgEq2



(m) (m) (m) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) (g/t) LRGAG-22-134 Eagle 66.6 103.5 36.9 1.13 69.2 2.05 153.8

including 78.9 95.3 16.5 2.28 134.0 4.06 304.6

including 80.7 81.9 1.3 8.55 823.9 19.53 1,465.1 LRGAG-22-135 Eagle 133.9 138.0 4.2 0.80 96.3 2.08 156.2

including 151.8 152.6 0.8 3.96 448.0 9.93 745.0

and 188.4 199.2 10.8 1.32 42.5 1.89 141.7

including 195.8 198.1 2.3 5.10 37.2 5.60 419.8 LRGAG-22-136 Eagle 47.0 100.0 53.0 1.03 64.8 1.90 142.2

including 78.1 98.2 20.2 2.16 55.6 2.90 217.6

including 78.1 78.8 0.7 9.54 490.0 16.07 1,205.5 LRGAG-22-137 Eagle 120.6 122.8 2.3 0.64 157.5 2.74 205.5

including 121.2 122.0 0.8 1.52 390.0 6.72 504.0

and 142.8 149.8 7.0 0.99 77.8 2.03 152.1 LRGAG-22-138 Eagle 109.0 136.3 27.3 3.06 193.4 5.64 423.1

including 110.8 112.2 1.4 15.64 907.7 27.74 2,080.6

also including 121.9 122.7 0.8 14.00 19.0 14.25 1,069.0

also including 124.3 125.3 1.0 5.43 563.0 12.94 970.3 LRGAG-22-139 Eagle 76.3 97.4 21.1 1.77 43.7 2.35 176.6

including 93.0 94.0 1.1 20.04 71.2 20.99 1,574.0

including 93.5 94.0 0.5 29.10 67.0 29.99 2,249.5 LRGAG-22-140 Eagle 157.6 163.7 6.1 0.77 135.8 2.58 193.7

including 159.2 160.8 1.6 2.32 309.3 6.44 483.2 LRGAG-22-141 Eagle 156.6 185.0 28.4 3.82 113.9 5.34 400.1

including 177.1 178.0 0.9 43.30 99.0 44.62 3,346.5

and 192.0 203.4 11.4 2.10 188.6 4.61 345.7

including 196.4 197.7 1.3 9.43 709.8 18.89 1,416.7 LRGAG-22-142 Eagle 99.0 107.0 8.0 2.79 138.9 4.64 348.2

including 99.6 101.1 1.5 3.01 393.5 8.26 619.5

including 99.6 100.2 0.7 4.00 704.0 13.39 1,004.0 LRGAG-22-143 Eagle 123.9 133.4 9.6 2.29 198.9 4.94 370.8

including 126.7 128.2 1.5 7.41 708.0 16.85 1,263.8 LRGAG-22-144 Eagle 35.1 43.5 8.5 2.80 472.7 9.11 682.9

including 35.1 40.4 5.4 4.38 727.3 14.07 1,055.6

including 37.4 39.7 2.4 8.19 1,400.5 26.87 2,015.1 LRGAG-22-145 Eagle 112.5 154.6 42.2 1.94 271.7 5.56 417.2

including 128.4 142.5 14.1 3.70 699.7 13.03 977.2

including 132.9 133.4 0.5 16.15 5,740.0 92.68 6,951.3 LRGAG-22-146 Eagle 75.5 78.7 3.2 1.99 57.8 2.76 206.7



1. Not true width 2. AgEq converted using a silver to gold ratio of 75:1 at recoveries of 100%



The Eagle Deposit adjoins the Main Deposit and represents a northern extension of the previously defined Mineral Resource Estimate in the Los Ricos South PEA. The Eagle concession covers 1,107 hectares, including the area between the Main Deposit and the Company's Jamaica concession located 3km to the northwest, where the Company holds the rights to additional concessions. Drilling at the Eagle has returned the highest grade intercepts to date in the district. These wide high-grade intercepts are consistent with geophysical targets on the new concession.

Figure 3, above, provides a summary of the Los Ricos District , including both the Los Ricos North and Los Ricos South projects. The map includes an outline of the concession areas and a summary of the current Mineral Resource Estimates ("MRE") on the projects, as well as stars locating each of the deposits included within the current MREs.

Table 2: Drill Hole Locations

Hole ID Easting Northing Elevation Azimuth Dip Length LRGAG-22-134 610103 2328383 1291 50 -59 151 LRGAG-22-135 609989 2328393 1263 50 -64 234 LRGAG-22-136 610091 2328421 1291 50 -71 132 LRGAG-22-137 610009 2328481 1258 50 -74 170 LRGAG-22-138 610055 2328369 1282 50 -59 168 LRGAG-22-139 610015 2328570 1273 50 -48 169 LRGAG-22-140 610199 2328136 1353 50 -46 194 LRGAG-22-141 610055 2328367 1282 50 -82 260 LRGAG-22-142 610015 2328569 1273 50 -68 150 LRGAG-22-143 610014 2328569 1273 50 -89 194 LRGAG-22-144 610278 2328104 1323 50 -45 101 LRGAG-22-145 610099 2328217 1307 50 -79 182 LRGAG-22-146 610054 2328537 1274 50 -62 129

VRIFY Slide Deck and 3D Presentation

VRIFY is a platform being used by companies to communicate with investors using 360 virtual tours of remote mining assets, 3D models and interactive presentations. VRIFY can be accessed by website and with the VRIFY iOS and Android apps.

The VRIFY 3D Slide Deck for GoGold can be viewed at: https://vrify.com/companies/gogold-resources-inc and on the Company's website at: www.gogoldresources.com.

Los Ricos District Exploration Projects

The Company's two exploration projects at its Los Ricos Property are in Jalisco state, Mexico . The Los Ricos South Project began in March 2019 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on July 29, 2020 , which disclosed a Measured & Indicated Mineral Resource of 63.7 million ounces AgEq grading 199 g/t AgEq contained in 10.0 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 19.9 million ounces AgEq grading 190 g/t AgEq contained in 3.3 million tonnes. An initial PEA on the project was announced on January 20, 2021 , indicating an NPV 5% of US$295M . The Eagle Concession was acquired in October 2022 and is adjacent to the Main Area which contains the initial Mineral Resource.

The Los Ricos North Project was launched in March 2020 and an initial Mineral Resource was announced on December 7, 2021 , which disclosed an Indicated Mineral Resource of 87.8 million ounces AgEq grading 122 g/t AgEq contained in 22.3 million tonnes, and an Inferred Mineral Resource of 73.2 million ounces AgEq grading 111 g/t AgEq contained in 20.5 million tonnes.

Procedure, Quality Assurance / Quality Control and Data Verification

The diamond drill core (HQ size) is geologically logged, photographed and marked for sampling. When the sample lengths are determined, the full core is sawn with a diamond blade core saw with one half of the core being bagged and tagged for assay. The remaining half portion is returned to the core trays for storage and/or for metallurgical test work.

The sealed and tagged sample bags are transported to the ALS Chemex facility in Guadalajara, Mexico . ALS Chemex crushes the samples and prepares 200-300 gram pulp samples with ninety percent passing Tyler 150 mesh (106m). The pulps are assayed for gold using a 30-gram charge by fire assay (Code AA23) and over limits greater than 10 grams per tonne are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (Code ME-GRAV21). Silver and multi-element analysis is completed using total digestion (Code ME-ICP61 Total Digestion ICP). Over limits greater than 100 grams per tonne silver are re-assayed using a gravimetric finish (ME-GRA21).

Quality assurance and quality control ("QA/QC") procedures monitor the chain-of-custody of the samples and includes the systematic insertion and monitoring of appropriate reference materials (certified standards, blanks and duplicates) into the sample strings. The results of the assaying of the QA/QC material included in each batch are tracked to ensure the integrity of the assay data. All results stated in this announcement have passed GoGold's QA/QC protocols.

Mr. David Duncan , P. Geo . is the qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and is responsible for the technical information of this release.

About GoGold Resources

GoGold Resources (TSX: GGD) is a Canadian-based silver and gold producer focused on operating, developing, exploring and acquiring high quality projects in Mexico . The Company operates the Parral Tailings mine in the state of Chihuahua and has the Los Ricos South and Los Ricos North exploration projects in the state of Jalisco . Headquartered in Halifax, NS , GoGold is building a portfolio of low cost, high margin projects. For more information visit gogoldresources.com.

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT:

The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the " U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to, or for the benefit of, U.S. persons (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy of any of GoGold's securities in the United States .

This news release may contain "forward-looking information" as defined in applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements other than statements of historical fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding the Los Ricos South and North projects, and future plans and objectives of GoGold, including the intention to undertake further exploration at Los Ricos North, and the prospect of further discoveries there, constitute forward looking information that involve various risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking information is based on a number of factors and assumptions which have been used to develop such information but which may prove to be incorrect, including, but not limited to, assumptions in connection with the continuance of GoGold and its subsidiaries as a going concern, general economic and market conditions, mineral prices, the accuracy of mineral resource estimates, and the performance of the Parral project. There can be no assurance that such information will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such forward-looking information.

Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from GoGold's expectations include exploration and development risks associated with GoGold's projects, the failure to establish estimated mineral resources or mineral reserves, volatility of commodity prices, variations of recovery rates, and global economic conditions. For additional information with respect to risk factors applicable to GoGold, reference should be made to GoGold's continuous disclosure materials filed from time to time with securities regulators, including, but not limited to, GoGold's Annual Information Form. The forward-looking information contained in this release is made as of the date of this release.

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SOURCE GoGold Resources Inc.
Shop, Earn, Offset - Consumers can offset their carbon emissions and earn discounts while shopping with thousands of global retail brands

DUBLIN , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IMPT , a blockchain-based carbon-offsetting ecosystem designed to connect leading global retail brands with socially responsible individuals seeking to reduce their carbon footprint, has launched the first iteration of its retail shopping platform , available at IMPT.io and on Google Play. The platform will also be available to download on the App Store in the near future. IMPT is giving consumers the tools to acquire and retire carbon credits while doing their regular shopping across thousands of its affiliate retail brands, including Amazon, Nike, and Samsung.

Each time a user buys a product while shopping on the IMPT platform, a percentage of the total purchase price will be allocated to their account in the value of IMPT tokens. Consumers can use accumulated tokens to acquire carbon credits that are provided in the form of an NFT. These carbon credits can then be allocated to a range of environmental projects of their choice, giving shoppers a direct stake in global sustainable development. The platform connects socially conscious consumers with pioneering brands, demonstrating their commitment to fighting climate change, driving customer loyalty with a novel use-case, and allowing individuals to have a direct impact.

Denis Creighton , CEO of IMPT, said: "IMPT's vision is to offer every member of society a simple, affordable, and efficient way to combat climate change. Consumers are looking for innovative ways to spend less and adopt a more sustainable lifestyle. We want to empower consumers to not only offset their carbon emissions but also measure their impact in a responsible and social way that encourages friendly competition. That is why we're introducing the IMPT Impact Card, so that people using the platform can measure the impact of their everyday shopping decisions and challenge their friends and family to make positive choices for the planet."

Upon retiring their carbon credits, users will receive collectable NFTs and earn points towards an IMPT score that measures the overall impact of their purchase history which will be tracked on their Impact Card. The IMPT Impact Card is a Non-Fungible soulbound token that allows users to record every carbon credit they retire and track their positive progress one transaction at a time. Users can utilise the in-app search function to browse thousands of their favourite brands by location, category, or description. Additionally, by using the app, shoppers can avail of rewards in the form of discounts ranging from 5 to 45 percent, depending on the brand.

By 2037, the carbon offset market is expected to be worth $1 trillion . Built on blockchain, IMPT adds a layer of security and transparency to the carbon credit market and helps to overcome the traditional problem of double-spending by ensuring that each carbon credit on the platform exists as a redeemable NFT. When redeemed, the carbon credit is retired from the network and the burned NFT is sent to a null address, making it easy for users to track carbon credits in the system.

Users can access the IMPT platform by creating an account that they can connect to their wallet to generate and store IMPT tokens. When IMPT users accumulate a sufficient number of tokens, they can exchange them for carbon credits. Users can choose from one of 18 environmental carbon credit projects, allowing them to play a direct role in how their carbon emissions are offset.

Creighton added: "This is the next step in realising our true vision for IMPT. We're building a global network of people to play their part in combating climate change, simply by taking small actions in their everyday lives."

Denis Creighton , CEO of IMPT, is available for interview.

About IMPT

IMPT is a carbon-offsetting ecosystem designed to connect global retail brands with socially responsible individuals seeking to reduce their carbon footprint. IMPT enables users to make a simple change and contribute to sustainable global development by acquiring carbon credits through everyday purchases. The platform's tech stack demonstrates the true value of Web3 by unlocking transparency and verification in the carbon credit industry. Join the IMPT community on Twitter , Discord , YouTube and Telegram . For more information, visit www.impt.io .

For Media Enquiries

Wachsman

Lauren Fetherston

E: [email protected]

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SOURCE IMPT
DALLAS , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Invesco Real Estate, a global leader in the real estate investment management business, announced today the launch of Homestead Communities, a real estate operating company. Homestead Communities is dedicated to addressing the affordable housing crisis in the U.S. by providing safe, clean, and supportive communities for working families and retirees where they can own or rent affordable, high-quality, single-family manufactured homes. The platform strengthens Invesco Real Estate's commitment to the growing manufactured housing sector and enhances the firm's speed to market, scale, and performance across growth markets nationally.

"The manufactured housing industry is a strategic priority for Invesco Real Estate given it is a niche asset class with a strong track record of net operating income resiliency amidst market volatility," said Bert Crouch , Head of North America at Invesco Real Estate. "As a part of our broader strategic initiative around vertically integrating operating companies in our highest conviction strategies, we believe Homestead Communities will allow us to capitalize on secular tailwinds and achieve operational efficiencies." The transaction was structured by Invesco Real Estate's Platform Investments team, led by Andrew Lane , Senior Director.

David Gold , a seasoned leader in the manufactured housing industry, will serve as CEO for Homestead Communities. Prior to this role, David was CEO of Inspire Communities, one of the country's largest owners and operators of manufactured housing communities, where he led the company's growth through its sale to Apollo Global Management. He also helped grow William E. Simon & Sons Realty into an institutional fund manager with more than $2 billion of AUM and co-led the firm's launch in Latin America .

"Manufactured housing represents approximately four percent of all U.S. housing, and we believe Homestead Communities provides an opportunity to meaningfully meet the institutional demand we are seeing in the sector," said Gold. "Invesco Real Estate and I look forward to bringing our complimentary capabilities together to deliver quality manufactured housing communities and strong return potential for our investors."

To learn more about Invesco Real Estate's capabilities, please visit: http://www.invesco.com/realestate.

About Invesco Real Estate

Invesco Real Estate is a global leader in the real estate investment management business with $89.3 billion in real estate assets under management, 587 employees and 21 regional offices across the U.S. , Europe and Asia (as of September 30, 2022 ). Invesco Real Estate was established in 1983 and today invests across the risk return spectrum, from core to opportunistic; in equity and debt; listed and direct; locally and globally. Invesco Real Estate is a business name of Invesco Advisers, Inc., an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Invesco Ltd. Invesco Ltd. is an independent investment management firm dedicated to delivering an investment experience that helps people get more out of life. NYSE: IVZ; http://www.invesco.com/realestate.

Media Contact : Jamie Braverman , [email protected], 212-278-9630

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SOURCE Invesco Ltd.
87% of corporate workers feel bored at work, and 35% are mentally checked out of online training; new story-based learning format engages all types of learners

OSLO, Norway , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Kahoot!, the global learning and engagement platform company, today announced that it is further improving Kahoot! 360, its offering for business professionals, with the launch of "Story," - a 'mobile first' interactive storytelling format which makes online knowledge sharing with Kahoot! Courses even easier and more engaging. Kahoot! is already used by 97% of the Fortune 500 to add engagement to training, presentations and events and in recent years the company has been building out 'Courses,' a comprehensive Corporate Learning solution. Courses allow trainers and presenters to design engaging learning experiences comprising different content formats such as video, Kahoot! sessions, and documents inside the Kahoot! platform.

As a part of Kahoot!'s track record in continuous innovation, the company is planning to take full benefit of new generative AI content creation tools and integrate these into Story later in 2023. This will ultimately make it even easier for users of Kahoot! to turn dry documents and presentations into engaging learning experiences or to create courses from scratch in minutes.

The launch of Story comes at a moment when companies worldwide face increasing urgency to reskill their employees and upgrade their corporate training. Kahoot! continues to double down on engagement as a means to drive behavioral change in the corporate arena. Technology is driving change, automation is displacing jobs, and the challenges of hybrid and remote work are making it harder to develop and retain talent. Too often, conventional online training tools are part of the problem. Harvard Business Review reports that 75% of senior managers are dissatisfied with their L&D initiatives, and Gartner reports that 70% of employees feel they lack the skills required to do their jobs.

Additionally, a recent survey commissioned by Kahoot!, the 2022 Workplace Culture Report , found that many employees feel bored and disengaged by conventional online training and virtual presentations:

87% of workers feel bored at work, mostly due to ineffective online training and virtual presentations

Only 14% of employees are actively listening and paying attention to online training for the whole time

46% said the content of online training and virtual presentations is not personally relevant to them

Modern online training experiences, like the new Kahoot! Story microlearning format, can be at the center of the solution to all these challenges.

"Training employees tops the agenda in many organizations this year and the spotlight on impactful L&D programs will only grow as companies put people and skills at the center of organizational success," said James Micklethwait , VP, Kahoot! at Work. "Employers spend hundreds of billions of dollars on training each year, but too often this investment is not delivering results due to a lack of engagement. We're super excited to launch "Story" - an interactive storytelling content format which will make Kahoot! Courses even better. When combined with the famous Kahoot! quiz, these two world class formats create a truly unique learning experience and allow enterprises to deliver engaging asynchronous corporate learning at scale. We are bringing the fun of game-based learning to the modern workforce to keep employees motivated, learning and engaged."

Modern workplaces require reinventing a new training experience

Old systems simply weren't designed for today's hybrid corporate training environment and new data reveals that they aren't working with Gen Z. According to Kahoot!'s report, 44% of Gen Z are the most checked out of current online training events. L&D professionals need to find new ways to maintain engagement and meet future goals.

Story makes it easier for companies to create their own fun, engaging, visually impactful training content. The Story creator tool has an easy-to-use interface with built-in premium image library and video integrations, enabling users to build a powerful, great-looking story with any type of content. Story is inspired by the success Kahoot!'s Motimate mobile learning app has had with European Enterprise customers.

Because Story is a microlearning format, designed to be mobile-first and consumed in less than seven minutes, it avoids "content dumping" or overwhelming people with too much information too fast. Seventy percent of conventional corporate training is forgotten within 24 hours; Story is intended to help employees retain more information by sharing knowledge in a coherent, digestible way. The new Story format also makes it easier for employees to share knowledge with peers outside of conventional meeting spaces.

Story is now available as part of Kahoot! 360 Spirit, Kahoot!'s flagship plan for corporate learning and employee engagement. The new Kahoot! Story format has already been used successfully in Europe by leading brands in numerous verticals including financial services, retail and technology.

To get started with Story, visit our website .

About Kahoot!

Kahoot! is on a mission to make learning awesome! We want to empower everyone, including children, students, and employees to unlock their full learning potential. Our learning platform makes it easy for any individual or corporation to create, share, and host learning sessions that drive compelling engagement. Launched in 2013, Kahoot!'s vision is to build the leading learning platform in the world. Since launch, Kahoot! has hosted hundreds of millions of learning sessions with over 9 billion participants (non-unique) in more than 200 countries and regions. The Kahoot! Group includes Clever, the leading US K-12 EdTech learning platform, together with the learning apps DragonBox, Poio, Drops, Actimo, Motimate, and Whiteboard.fi. The Kahoot! Group is headquartered in Oslo, Norway with offices in the US, the UK , France , Finland , Estonia , Denmark , Spain and Poland . Kahoot! is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange under the ticker KAHOT. Let's play!

Media Contact for Kahoot!:

Falguni Bhuta

[email protected]

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SOURCE Kahoot!
TORONTO , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KEENON Robotics ("KEENON"), a leading global manufacturer of commercial service robots, exhibited its full lineup of products and solutions at RC Show 2023, the preeminent foodservice & hospitality expo of Canada . KEENON showcased robots designed for a number of scenarios, including restaurants, hotels, retails, and retirement homes, and debuted two new robots.

This is the second time KEENON has participated in the show. The new KEENON releases of Dinerbot T-Max and T5 Pro are ideal for fine dining, and are equipped with 3D vision sensors, tray detectors, attractive LED lighting, a HD touchscreen, shock-absorbing chassis, and is available with thoughtful design features, such as a floating tray and a range of aural notifications. As part of the showcase, KEENON sponsored five robots to provide on-site service and support at the show  three Guiderbot G2 robots were stationed at the registration area and entrance to provide information and guidance for people and two Dinerbot T8 robots served snacks and drinks at Restaurants Canada's booth and VIP lounge. The excellent performance of the robots attracted much attention and received positive feedback from attendees.

KEENON Robotics has joined with E-Pro Bot, its Canada national distributor partner, to host the show this year. Greg Staley , General Manager of E-Pro Bot, said that the RC Show offers a great opportunity to meet franchise and individual restaurant owners, senior living representatives, and hotel management, to help them learn about new innovations that can help alleviate the big issue of labor shortages in Canada . "Our program goes beyond offering the right robotic solution to help with specific needs, as we also provide consulting support to show our clients how to drive new revenue potential. KEENON truly does have the best selection of robots in the Canadian market."

Felix Yang , Founder of Advantics, was a KEENON customer as a franchise restaurant owner. "Robots helped my restaurant with staffing challenges and saved me up to 20% on my labor cost. I saw great potential in this fast-growing industry, that's why I later decided to be a KEENON distributor. With the seamless support from KEENON and E-Pro Bot, we are confident about bringing real artificial intelligence to more scenarios," said Felix.

Riva Huang , Country Manager for Canada at KEENON Robotics, mentioned that "We consider ourselves very fortunate to have found exceptional partners in Canada and believe our strong collaborations will facilitate the development of more intelligent products and provide excellent services to our local clientele."

Throughout 2022, KEENON has achieved significant milestones in the Canadian market and partnered with state-owned enterprise Loto-Quebec to successfully create Canada's first case of autonomous lift-control of the KEENON Butlerbot. Other KEENON milestones involve forming strategic cooperation with SGP Purchasing Partner Network, the largest group purchasing organization in the senior living sector in Canada , and providing services to valued client Mandarin, the largest Chinese buffet franchise in North America .

Considering the challenges of staffing and high operating costs faced by businesses in the North American market, KEENON Robotics is committed to making every possible effort to enhance the adoption of service robots across different sectors.

About KEENON Robotics

Founded in 2010, KEENON Robotics is a global, award-winning pioneer in the field of indoor, intelligent, autonomous, service robots. With a dedicated in-house R&D technology team, the company has over 35,000 robots operating in more than 60 countries and regions worldwide. KEENON offers a wide range of safe, reliable, and efficient robotic solutions for various application scenarios, including restaurants, hotels, nursing homes, factories, and so on.

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SOURCE Keenon Robotics Co., Ltd.
CHICAGO , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ - (NYSE: KFS) Kingsway Financial Services Inc. ("Kingsway" or the "Company") today announced an Investor Day following their Annual General Meeting of shareholders in New York City on Tuesday, May 16, 2023 .

President and Chief Executive Officer, John T. Fitzgerald , along with Kent A. Hansen , Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and members of the management team will discuss a range of topics covering the Company's operations, long-term growth strategy and financial structure. Prepared presentations will begin at 9:30 am ET .

CEO John T. Fitzgerald will also host a fireside chat with Will Thorndike , Managing Partner of The Cromwell Harbor Partnership, author of "The Outsiders, Eight Unconventional CEOs and Their Radically Rational Blueprint for Success", and member of the Kingsway Search Xcelerator ("KSX") advisory board, to discuss a range of topics including capital allocation, the power of long holding periods, and his experience as an original and long-time investor in the Search Fund ecosystem.

Event Location / Details

The event will take place at the New York Stock Exchange (RSVP required) and will also be available virtually at the investors section on the company website: https://kingsway-financial.com/ .

Interested Parties

Individuals interested in attending or registering for the event may contact James Carbonara , Hayden IR at [email protected] or by calling (646) 755-7412.

A live webcast, including video, audio and presentation slides, will be accessible on www.kingswayfinancial.com at the time of the meeting. Those who attend virtually will also have the opportunity to participate in the question-and-answer session following the presentation.

About the Company

Kingsway is a holding company that owns or controls subsidiaries primarily in the extended warranty and business services industries. The common shares of Kingsway are listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol "KFS."

The Company serves the extended warranty industry through its operating subsidiaries IWS (iwsgroup.com), Penn Warranty (pennwarranty.com), Preferred Warranties (preferredwarranties.com) and Trinity Warranty Solutions (trinitywarranty.com).

The Company serves the business services industry through its operating subsidiaries CSuite (csuitefinancialpartners.com), Ravix (ravixgroup.com) and Secure Nursing Service (securenursing.com).

Contact

Hayden IR

James Carbonara

(646)-755-7412

[email protected]

OR

Kingsway Financial Services Inc.

Kent Hansen , CFO

312-766-2163

[email protected]

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/kingsway-announces-investor-day-and-fireside-chat-with-will-thorndike-at-the-new-york-stock-exchange-on-may-16-2023-301801303.html

SOURCE Kingsway Financial Services Inc.
AALBORG, Denmark , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- MapsPeople A/S (MapsPeople) has reached an agreement to acquire all of US based Point Inside's, Inc (Point Inside) customer contracts and indoor mapping assets

With the acquisition of the Point Inside business, MapsPeople gains a roster of high-profile global brands. The indoor mapping assets from Point Inside include indoor maps of more than 1,800 shopping malls in the US and more than 200 airports globally, which will help accelerate the growth opportunities for MapsPeople's partners that provide solutions to these strategic verticals. Furthermore, MapsPeople adds new products to the MapsIndoors current portfolio by providing accurate Point of Interests (POI) data for location-based services and last-mile delivery services.

Additionally, the transaction strengthens MapsPeople's presence in the retail sector that increasingly depends on new technology to attract and engage consumers by enhancing their shopping experience. Through the acquisition, MapsPeople also gained a UK customer base with more than 170 large retail stores for MapsIndoors. All customer services will continue without change to their current agreement or services level.

Morten Brgger , MapsPeople CEO: "I am thrilled to announce our acquisition of Point Inside, an early industry pioneer, and welcome its customers and employees to MapsPeople. I am confident that this new acquisition will be a perfect match, and the new products we receive from Point Inside will provide substantial global growth opportunities for our MapsIndoors product family in 2023 and beyond. With this acquisition, we will fortify our customer base, expand the team, and strengthen our business and product portfolio in a great synergetic way. This will be added to the current growth MapsPeople is seeing in the Smart Building verticals."

Geary Eppley , Point Inside CEO: "We are excited to be part of MapsPeople and to be part of their vision to map the built world. Our organizations share a common culture of accuracy, user focus, and innovation in indoor mapping, making this a natural fit. With our combined multi-decade experience in indoor mapping and extensive catalog of maps, we will further establish MapsPeople as the industry's premiere indoor mapping solution. I am impressed with CEO Morten Brgger's leadership and the vision for the company and am confident that our customers and employees are in good hands."

Closing of the Acquisition is expected to be completed in April 2023 . ASG Advisors LLC acted as business advisor to Point Inside, serving as a trusted partner to their growth and success.

To learn more about MapsPeople, please visit www.mapspeople.com .

MapsPeople A/S

The Board of Directors

FURTHER INFORMATION

BLASTmedia for MapsPeople

Samantha Miller

317-806-1900

[email protected]

IMPORTANT INFORMATION

This announcement is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any securities issued by MapsPeople in any jurisdiction where such offer or sale would be unlawful and the announcement and the information contained herein are not for distribution or release, directly or indirectly, in or into such jurisdictions, including but not limited to, the United States , Australia , Canada or Japan .

This announcement does not constitute an offering circular, company description or other offer document and nothing herein contains an offering of securities. No one should purchase or subscribe for any securities in MapsPeople except as described in this company announcement.

Neither the existing shares of MapsPeople (the "Existing Shares") nor the New Shares have been, or will be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended ("Securities Act"). Neither the Existing Shares nor the New Shares may be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or to persons residing there. Moreover, the Private Placement is not made to persons resident in Australia , Hong Kong , Japan , Canada , New Zealand , South Africa , Switzerland , or Singapore or to persons whose participation would require the publication of a prospectus, registration or other measures.

Certain statements in this announcement constitute forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements (other than statements of historical fact) relating to future events and the Company's anticipated or planned financial and operational performance. The words "targets", "believes", "expects", "aims", "intends", "plans", "seeks", "will", "may", "might", "anticipates", "would", "could", "should", "continues", "estimates" or similar expressions or the negative forms thereof, identify certain of these forward-looking statements. Other forward-looking statements can be identified in the context in which the statements are made. MapsPeople has based these forward-looking statements on its current views with respect to future events and financial performance. By their nature, forward-looking statements are based on certain assumptions and projections on future events and financial performance, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. These risks, uncertainties and assumptions could adversely affect the outcome and financial consequences of the plans and events described herein. Actual results are likely to differ from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statements speak only as at the date of this document and neither the Company nor any of its respective affiliates, directors, officers, employees, advisors, or any other person is under any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You should not and may not rely on these forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE MapsPeople
Rowan Amir has been holed up in an apartment north of Khartoum for four days with her husband and children, aged three, four and eight. The family has been joined by a cousin, aged nine, who was visiting them on the day the country descended into violence and has to remain with them. I tell the children that the shooting in the streets is just tear gas, says Amir, 36, who works in an advertising agency. But at some point, they are going to become aware that this is a war. In a video call with EL PAIS, the sound of gunshots can be heard and, from the balcony, smoke is visible: Amir believes there has been a bombing in a nearby neighborhood.

The power struggle between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which flared up on April 15, has resulted in 270 deaths and more than 2,000 wounded, most of them in the countrys capital, Khartoum, according to the director general of the World Health Organization (WHO). On Tuesday, generals from both sides announced a 24-hour ceasefire agreement, but in the hours before it came into force, fighting continued amid accusations of dishonesty leveled by both warring factions.

Those children who remain at home can be persuaded that the noises they hear are tear gas because Sudan has been in a permanent state of instability for over four years. In October 2021, the democratic transition was cut short by a coup detat staged by the army and the RSF. Two years earlier, the dictator who had ruled for three decades, Omar al-Bashir, had been overthrown after months of street protests, which left more than 240 people dead, according to the Sudanese Doctors Central Committee. The military uprising of 2021 was a major setback for popular aspirations to dismantle the old regime and lay the foundations for a civilian, democratic government. But the plans of the two generals  Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the Armed Forces, and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces  former allies who are now at war with one another, to cement their authority were met with widespread popular opposition. In recent years, Sudan has faced a severe economic crisis, alarming levels of internal violence and diplomatic isolation that ultimately shattered the fragile alliance of convenience between Burhan and Dagalo.

In Khartoum, even ambulances are having trouble picking up bodies from the streets or transporting the wounded Ghazali Babiker, representative for Doctors Without Borders in Sudan

Hospitals lacking supplies and equipment

This political instability has been compounded by a persistent humanitarian crisis, marked by a lack of food and drinking water, and the difficulty of gaining access to healthcare and education, particularly in the countrys peripheral, traditionally marginalized regions. One third of the Sudans population of 45 million are in need of humanitarian aid, according to Save the Children. UNICEF warned late last year that Sudanese children are caught in a perfect storm, with one in three requiring humanitarian aid. That figure has risen by 35% in just two years, mainly due to increasing food insecurity. According to World Bank data from 2021, 56% of Sudans population lives on less than $3.20 a day; in 2009, that figure stood at 43%.

Osama A. Osman, communications director for the Sudanese Red Crescent, moves the phone closer to the window of his home in Khartoum so that the gunfire is audible. People cant go to work or school. Some students have been trapped in school buildings since Saturday, he says. Of the 18 hospitals where the Red Cross/Red Crescent operates in Khartoum, most are already suffering from staff shortages, lack of medicines and materials  some as basic as bandages  and continuous power cuts. They have generators for basic functions, but they are running out of fuel, Osman says.

Ghazali Babiker, representative for Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Sudan, tells EL PAIS: In Khartoum, even ambulances are having trouble picking up bodies from the streets or transporting the wounded. The situation was already complicated before the 2021 coup, Babiker says, with the majority of international aid frozen and spiraling living costs. The health care system has been on the verge of collapse for decades. The political and economic crisis was already pushing it to the limit, but these latest events exacerbate humanitarian needs, which were already at their peak over the last decade.

Katharina Schroder, a Save the Children worker in Khartoum, says that in the five states in western Sudan that comprise Darfur, the offices of many humanitarian organizations  hers included  have been ransacked for, among other things, medicines. MSF reports it has treated 136 wounded in El Fasher in North Darfur, of whom 11 died. In a statement, MSFs project coordinator in El Fasher said most of the wounded are civilians, many of them children. The rest of the hospitals in North Darfur have had to close. We didnt have the capacity to treat everyone. Fortunately, a group of surgeons from other hospitals transferred here on Saturday and have already operated on six people. But we are running out of medicines and blood stocks. And with the airports closed, there is no way to bring in vital supplies.

People in the camps and citizens in the towns of Darfur are living in a state of panic and fear Adam Rojal, spokesman for the internally displaced in Darfur

Although that is the reality for most Sudanese, Khartoum has significantly better infrastructure and services than the rest of the country. In the capital, the middle class can afford, at least for the time being, to remain at home. Many others, however, are forced to survive day-to-day. Inaya, who uses a pseudonym and asks not to reveal any details that could identify her, also hears the bullets from her apartment in a residential area of the capital. The walls of her building are marked by shooting, she says, and drinking water, eggs, fruits and vegetables are scarce in the supermarket. It all happened so suddenly that we didnt have time to prepare. Electricity comes and goes. There is not enough fuel to keep the generators running. We follow the news on social media, but some internet and phone operators are down. We Sudanese are resilient, but this is surreal. It is war. We have never experienced anything like this in Khartoum. Inaya, too, tries to present a sense of calm for her children. I put them in front of a screen, the TV or a tablet, from the moment they wake up, in a room that seems more or less safe to me. Its a luxury that others cant afford, she acknowledges.

Danger in Darfur

Miguel Mubarak (a pseudonym), a 29-year-old Spaniard, also sits out the tension as best he can in his home in the capital, where he has lived since 2019 and runs an art gallery. Last night we were expecting an attack by the army, there was talk in WhatsApp groups. We fell asleep at 2 a.m. and were woken up by gunfire. This morning I managed to fix the generator to charge the phones. And then we stayed up watching the news. We tried to stay calm, he says. Everybody interviewed by this newspaper agrees that fake news abounds on social networks and that it is difficult to verify information with contradictory messages being spread by the two opposing factions.

National and international experts are increasingly concerned that the fighting that has so far been concentrated in Khartoum will escalate in outlying regions such as Darfur, where fierce clashes have already taken place. Fighting has also been reported in the state of North Kordofan in central Sudan, Blue Nile State in the far south, Red Sea State in the northeast, and in the Northern State. Some of these areas are strongholds of armed groups that have so far remained neutral, but it is feared that the spread of violence could drag them into the conflict, further aggravating the humanitarian situation.

People in the camps and citizens in the towns of Darfur are living in a state of panic and fear, Adam Rojal, a spokesman for the internally displaced in Darfur, said recently. Sudan had 3.2 million internally displaced people at the end of 2021, according to the United Nations Development Programme.

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CARLISLE, Pa. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Known throughout the world for providing the finest classical ballet training, the prestigious Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet (CPYB) is elevating its student's trajectory in 2023 with new state-of-the-art spaces, a one-of-a-kind men's program, and the hiring of famed ballerina, Noelani Pantastico as Artistic Director.

"I am honored to be appointed as the new Artistic Director for Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet," Pantastico says. "My goal is to inspire and challenge students to explore their full potential and make meaningful contributions to the world of dance and beyond."

CPYB is praised for being one of the premier ballet schools in the nation, producing dancers for the New York City Ballet, Broadway , and more. Established in 1955 from humble beginnings, beloved founder Marcia Dale Weary had a lifelong dream  to bring the art of ballet to as many as possible. Now, 68 years later, Weary's vision of a fully immersive school has finally rang true with the recent launch of a newly renovated building featuring nine studios, a 200-seat theater, and an array of modern multipurpose rooms.

The school has also announced the rededication of the Male Ballet Scholarship program for male dancers comprising full-ride scholarships, the first and only academy in the country to do so. The division intends to break down barriers surrounding the craft for male dancers and expand their reach to the professional level. Training, room and board, weight training, and all other aspects will be covered for the eight lucky participants selected, and submissions are open on CPYB's website.

Artistic Director Noelani Pantastico , an alumnus of CPYB, has made her name as a distinguished ballerina for the past 25 years. After taking her final bow in 2022, she announced the end of her career as a performer and shifted her focus towards instructing and mentoring at the school that made her who she is today. Pantastico's top priority of her instruction? Using ballet as a tool to build the foundation of students' discipline before they make it to the stage.

With a mission of changing lives through dance, CPYB continues to focus on an approach to what ballet performance means, what ballet training can do, and how ballet culture can inspire.

For more information or to interview Noelani Pantastico , contact Eileen Koch of EKC PR, a full-service Branding, Marketing and Public Relations firm at 310-441-1000 or [email protected].

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/master-ballerina-noelani-pantastico-chosen-as-artistic-director-for-central-pennsylvania-youth-ballet-school-301801308.html

SOURCE Central Pennsylvania Youth Ballet
PHOENIX , April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NextMart, Inc. (the "Company" or "NXMR" - Pink Sheets Alternative Reporting Pink: NXMR)  NXMR would like to announce the resignations of its former CEO, and the naming of Donald R. Keer , Esq., a resident of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, as the new Chief Executive Officer and a director of the Company.

On April 17, 2023 , the Company reached an agreement with Mr. Keer and the prior CEO agreed to step aside. This change is effective immediately ( April 17, 2023 ). The Company will update the corporate records with the State of Delaware to effectuate this change in the management in the next several days.

Mr. Keer has served as the Company's attorney for the past two years. His experience includes work in oilfield services, water treatment as a chemical engineer and as a business owner. He has over 40 years of working with technical service and equipment companies as an engineer, manager, owner and attorney. Mr. Keer supports a number of other companies listed on OTC Markets and has assisted a number of them in obtaining a qualification for Regulation A offering. His oilfield experience and water treatment experience combined with his legal expertise will allow NextMart to leverage its existing subsidiary, EMCO Oilfield Services into additional water, energy and infrastructure operations.

Mr. Keer states: "I believe the potential for expanded operations through organic growth and acquisitions is very exciting. I may be one of the very few people who have both fracked an oilwell and treated the flowback water from a well. My technical, legal and regulatory in this space allows me to strategically guide the Company into the future. We have plans to quickly re-capitalize the company, file for a Regulation A offering and acquire a number of target companies. Some of the acquisition targets are already in negotiations. This next phase of the Company's growth will be very exciting."

The Company will be filing a Form 8-K during the week of April 17, 2023 , to provide notice of this change its management team and updated financial statements and notes thereto. The Company has an active Twitter site at @CorporationNxmr and plans to have an active social media program moving forward to effectively disseminate material information to the public in an expeditious and quick manner.

Forward Looking Statement

Certain statements that we make may constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The statements contained herein may contain certain forward-looking statements relating to NXMR that are based on the beliefs of NXMR's management as well as assumptions made by and information currently available to NXMR's management. These forward-looking statements are, by their nature, subject to significant risks and uncertainties. These forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements relating to the NXMR's business prospects, future developments, trends and conditions in the industry and geographical markets in which NXMR operates, its strategies, plans, objectives and goals, its ability to control costs, statements relating to prices, volumes, operations, margins, overall market trends, risk management and exchange rates.

ABOUT US

NextMart, Inc., a Delaware Corporation, is a public quoted Pink Sheet issuer under the ticker symbol "NXMR". Currently, NXMR currently is a shell company with a new management team with plans to become a current alternative reporting issuer with OTC Markets. The Company is currently looking for an appropriate business acquisition.

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nextmart-inc--new-management-team-301801172.html

SOURCE NextMart, Inc.
LEANDER, Texas , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Novak Residential Construction, a sub-company of Novak Brothers LLC based in Georgetown, Texas , welcomed Leander city officials, friends, family, and community leaders to the ribbon-cutting of The Brownstone at Northline  the first project of its kind to come to Leander .

Novak Residential Construction welcomed Leander community members to the ribbon-cutting of The Brownstone at Northline.

These award-winning homes are inspired by classic 19th century row houses, all designed with native Texas materials and styling. Each of the attached, single-family residences features its own private elevator, a rooftop terrace and two-car garage. Novak will build 69 townhomes as part of its initial phase at Northline. All homes will be within walking distance to Northline's key destinations, including shops, restaurants, office spaces, and other community amenities, giving residents convenient access to Leander's new downtown district.

"Partnering with Alex Tynberg and the team at Northline Leander Development Company has been an exceptional experience," said Joy McVean , President of Novak Residential Construction. "We look for partners and projects that will help us create an enhanced lifestyle living experience for our buyers, and we've found that here at Northline."

Novak is a best-in-class real estate operating company with industry-leading capabilities across residential, office, multifamily, retail, and hospitality. Comprised of owners and investors known for pioneering urban mixed-use developments, Novak is trusted for financial strength, stability, and vision. Novak remains committed to selective acquisition, management, and development of innovative, high-quality properties that create long-term economic and civic value.

"Novak's talented team has been integral to bringing our vision to life  the downtown destination that Leander has needed for so long," said Alex Tynberg , Principal of Northline Leander Developer Company. "This is an important milestone for the project and we can't wait to welcome the first residents to Northline."

Northline Leander Development Company (NLDC) is an affiliate of Tynberg LLC, a seasoned real estate investment and development firm, focused on creating transformative urban, mixed-use communities.

Media Contact: Joy McVean , [email protected]

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SOURCE Novak Residential Construction
Global technology brand, OPPO, celebrates Earth Day by showcasing its efforts towards a greener future

OPPO's first self-built data center exemplifies the brand's commitment to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 across its operations

The OPPO AndesBrain IDC relies on 100% renewable energy sources and employs immersion cooling technology to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions

OPPO also developed a carbon emission data platform, to analyze emissions from its self-build clouds services and servers worldwide

DUBAI, UAE , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Each year, 22nd April marks, Earth Day , a significant occasion for people worldwide to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the planet. This year's theme, "Invest in Our Planet," resonates with OPPO's long-term investment in sustainable development.

Aligned with its mission "Technology for Mankind, Kindness for the World", OPPO pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 across its operations. The OPPO AndesBrain ( Binhaiwan Bay ) IDC, OPPO's first self-built data center, exemplifies the brand's dedication to integrating infrastructure and business innovations to reduce carbon emissions and make a long-term investment in preserving the Earth.

Using 100% renewable energy

In today's digital age, the demand for data storage, artificial intelligence, and high-performance computing is constantly growing. The OPPO AndesBrain ( Binhaiwan Bay ) IDC, which commenced operations in late 2022, serves as OPPO's center for data security, computing, and algorithm innovation.

To minimize carbon emissions, the data center relies entirely on renewable energy sources. Since 2022, it has utilized 6.176 gigawatt-hours of renewable power, equivalent to a reduction of 3,600 tCO2e in emissions. Additionally, with the rainwater harvesting system for cooling circulation applied in the data center, about 30,000 tons of water will be saved annually.

Applying immersion cooling technology to enhance energy efficiency

Besides utilizing 100% renewable energy, the OPPO AndesBrain ( Binhaiwan Bay ) IDC continuously explores and adopts cutting-edge, low-carbon technologies to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. A key breakthrough of this exploration is the research and implementation of immersion cooling technology for GPU server clusters.

Current data centers are estimated to consume up to 3% of the world's total electricity, and one of the key culprits of this consumption is cooling systems, which is a significant amount of energy consumption. Efficient heat dissipation method has long been a challenge in the industry as traditional data centers typically rely on mechanical cooling devices like fans and air conditioners, which consume extra energy and emit higher levels of CO2.

Immersion cooling technology for GPU server clusters is an innovation solution that OPPO employs to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. This technology entails submerging servers directly in a non-conductive liquid, which removes heat generated during operation without requiring active cooling from equipment like fans and air conditioners. The heated liquid circulates, cools, and returns to continue absorbing the heat. The reclaimed heat can be then repurposed in other areas, such as heating in the dormitory and hot water provision, substantially increasing energy efficiency. The adoption of immersion cooling technology leads to a 45% improvement in energy efficiency and an industry-leading data center power usage efficiency (PUE) as low as 1.15.

Digitalization Carbon Emission Management

As a global technology company operating in over 60 countries and regions, OPPO has also developed a carbon emission data platform, to analyze the data of carbon emission from its self-build clouds services and servers worldwide.

Starting from the Chinese market in July 2022 , OPPO began issuing monthly Carbon Emission Bills caused by OPPO Cloud service to customers as part of a broader effort to foster a green intelligent engine.

OPPO continuously explores innovative solutions to contribute to sustainable development, and its green data center is just one of them. Protecting this Earth requires long-term strategy and commitment, and OPPO is doing its part as a global citizen, working towards a greener future.

To learn more about OPPO's initiatives on carbon neutrality by 2050 across its operation, please refer to the OPPO Climate Action Report: https://www.oppo.com/content/dam/oppo/common/mkt/footer/

About OPPO

OPPO is a leading global technology brand since 2004, dedicated to providing products that seamlessly combines art and innovative technology.

OPPO is on a mission to building a multiple-access smart device ecosystem for the era of intelligent connectivity. The smartphone devices have simply been a gateway for OPPO to deliver a diverse portfolio of smart and frontier technologies in hardware, software and system. In 2019, OPPO launched a $7 Billion US Dollar three -year investment plan in R&D to develop core technologies furthering design through technology.

OPPO is firmly pursuing the creation of the best technology products and technological artistry for global users. Based on the brand elements of leading, young and beautiful, OPPO dedicates to the mission of letting the extraordinary users enjoy the beauty of technology.

For the last 10 years, OPPO has focused on manufacturing smartphones with camera capabilities that are second to none. OPPO launched the first mobile phone, the Smile Phone, in 2008, which marked the launch of the brand's epic journey in exploring and pioneering extraordinary technology. Over the years, OPPO has built a tradition of being number one, which became a reality through inventing the world's first rotating camera smartphone way back in 2013, launching the world's then thinnest smartphone in 2014, being the first to introduce 5X Zoom 'Periscope' camera technology and developing the first 5G commercial smartphone in Europe .

Today, OPPO was ranked as the number four smartphone brand globally. OPPO brings the aesthetics of technology of global consumers through the ColorOS system Experience, and Internet service like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+.

OPPO's business covers 60 countries operated by more than 40,000 dedicated employees, with over six research institutes and five R&D centers across the world, from San Francisco to Shenzhen . OPPO also opened an International Design Centre headquartered in London , driving cutting edge technology that will shape the future not only for smartphones but for intelligent connectivity.

About OPPO MEA

OPPO started its journey in the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region in 2015 after setting up its regional office in Egypt . Following the immense success of the brand's sales centre in Cairo in the first year, OPPO accelerated its expansion plan across the MEA region and inaugurated its country operations in the UAE in 2019. Now OPPO is physically present in more than 14 markets across the region, including Egypt , Algeria , Tunisia , Morocco , Bahrain , Saudi Arabia , UAE , Oman , Kuwait , Qatar , Kenya , Nigeria , South Africa and the Levant.

To empower its presence in the region in line with its product localisation strategy, OPPO further invested in MENA and set up its very own factory in Algeria in 2017, thus, becoming the first Chinese brand to build a manufacturing premises in North Africa . Based on insights of local consumers in each country, OPPO has evolved the progress of product localisation, taking into consideration several perspectives towards each market, including product localisation, to further meet the core needs of users; marketing localisation, to better communicate with local young customers; and talent localisation, to understand local consumers further and provide an optimum customer service.

Within the last year, OPPO has started to adjust its product line in the Middle East region specifically. This has included the launch of its flagship OPPO Find X Series and the introduction of the OPPO Reno Series. OPPO will continue to evolve its local product line to offer more premium series to consumers in the region.

A forward-thinking international technology company, OPPO strives to be a sustainable company that contributes to a better world and have enacted positive change in every way possible through activating local community initiatives and humanitarian, charity campaigns.

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1451542/OPPO_Logo.jpg

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SOURCE OPPO
Paessler PRTG OPC UA Server: Created for the specialized needs of the industrial sector

CHICAGO , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Paessler AG today announced the launch of its first product extension to its award-winning monitoring solutions. Paessler PRTG OPC UA Server is designed for customers in the industrial sector, specifically teams in operational technology (OT), who need to receive valuable information from both IT and OT monitoring displayed in their supervisory and control systems (such as SCADA, MES, DCS, and others).

PRTG OPC UA Server allows OT admins to monitor infrastructures through supervisory and control system architecture.

This product extension represents a significant milestone for the company as it further expands its product portfolio to the industrial sector. IT/OT convergence will build the bridge to more efficient processes in industrial environments and solutions like OPC UA Server will provide real, tangible value to OT professionals.

"We are thrilled to launch OPC UA Server, our first product extension to Paessler PRTG," said Helmut Binder , CEO of Paessler. "As we continue to evolve our product portfolio, we recognize the importance of expanding our solutions to meet the unique needs of industrial customers. This product extension demonstrates our commitment to providing cutting-edge solutions that meet the demands in the world of OT."

Together with Paessler PRTG, OPC UA Server allows OT admins and plant operators to monitor their infrastructures through their supervisory and control system architecture. OPC UA Server expands Paessler PRTG's field of application by bringing a comprehensive overview of various IT and OT elements into OPC UA-capable systems. Further benefits are central alerting via existing alert chains, enrichment of quality control data with data from IT/OT components, as well as interactive alarm handling between IT and OT personnel.

Initially, this product extension will operate exclusively with Paessler PRTG Network Monitor with active maintenance, and its coverage will be extended to Paessler PRTG Hosted Monitor and Paessler PRTG Enterprise Monitor in the coming months.

"We believe that OPC UA Server will help industrial customers to get a comprehensive overview of their industrial networks and environments. This also includes the reduction of downtime and therefore improvement of their plant infrastructures," said Johannes Liegert , product manager IoT & Industry at Paessler. "Using Paessler PRTG with this product extension, operators and engineers have more data at their fingertips and can thereby make better decisions."

As the requirements in the OT world are diverse, OPC UA Server comes in three feature-based pricing tiers in the form of subscription-based models. Quotes for the new product extension, which is available now, can be requested by contacting Paessler's customer service by clicking on the Free Trial button on this page. Customers of Paessler PRTG with an OPC UA Server subscription will receive comprehensive support from Paessler, including access to training materials.

About Paessler AG

Paessler believes monitoring plays a vital part in reducing humankind's consumption of resources. Monitoring data helps its customers save resources, from optimizing their IT, OT, and IoT infrastructures to reducing energy consumption or emissions  for our future and our environment. That is why Paessler offers monitoring solutions for businesses across all industries and all sizes, from SMBs to large enterprises. Paessler works with renowned partners, and together they tackle the monitoring challenges of an ever-changing world.

Since 1997, when Paessler first introduced PRTG Network Monitor, it has combined its in-depth monitoring knowledge with an innovative spirit. Today, more than 500,000 users in over 170 countries rely on PRTG and other Paessler solutions to monitor their complex IT, OT, and IoT infrastructures. Paessler's products empower its customers to monitor everything and thus help them optimize their resources.

Learn more about Paessler and its products at www.paessler.com

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SOURCE Paessler AG - The Monitoring Experts
Company plans to merge with Gravitas Education Holdings, Inc. to deliver greater strategic and operational focus

SEATTLE , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Promethean , a leading global education technology company, announced today that its parent company, NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited, has approved a plan and entered into the related agreements to spin off the Promethean group of entities into a separate company that will subsequently merge with Gravitas Education Holdings, Inc., a public company.

Following the merger, expected to be completed in Q3, Promethean will benefit from operating as a standalone company separate from NetDragon, listed on the NYSE, with a distinct board and management team of world-class leaders focused on driving shareholder value. The new holding company will be renamed to MYND.AI at the transaction's closing to reflect the new brand and the company's direction to pursue the transformation of artificial intelligence (AI) in education.

Merging with Gravitas Education Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: GEHI) will enable the company to grow its global education business sustainably and further the development of new innovative technologies like AI. Promethean has expanded its product offerings to include software and AI in the past year. This merger is the next stage in the evolution of the company's goal to strengthen its global position in the market and remain the market leader in the U.S. and EMEA.

"The decision to spin off our overseas education business advances our ability to create value for customers and shareholders. Our business is at an exciting market inflection point as the world moves toward accelerating the application of AI in virtually all industries. We believe we are well ahead of the market in pushing forward the effective and practical use of AI in education, especially in the classroom," said Dr. Simon Leung , vice chairman of NetDragon and chairman of MYND.AI, upon closing of the transaction. "As we execute our plan to transform education with AI, this spinoff transaction will provide the right platform for the MYND.AI team to pursue our goal of becoming the dominant category leader in the AI-enabled classroom technology space. We are excited about our path ahead, and I want to thank our shareholders for their support as we embark on this journey together."

"As the classroom evolves, we continue to look to the future to provide innovative educational technology solutions that transform teaching and learning. We are excited to be at the forefront of integrating AI into our products that will add true education value, leveraging our investment in AI technology and our deep understanding of customer needs over the past 25 years," said Vin Riera , CEO at Promethean and MYND.AI, upon closing of the transaction. "This exciting new chapter will build on our mission to design learning and collaboration tools that deliver the most effective learning outcomes for teachers and students."

Learn more about Promethean here.

About Promethean

Promethean is a leading education technology company working to transform the way the world learns and collaborates. From our founding in Blackburn, England , more than 25 years ago to our global operations in 22 countries today, we've continued to explore, innovate, and inspire designing learning and collaboration tools that are built for breakthroughs. Our award-winning interactive display, ActivPanel, and lesson delivery software, ActivInspire and ClassFlow, were designed to engage students, connect colleagues, and bring out the brilliance in everyone. With headquarters in Seattle, Washington , and offices worldwide, Promethean is a member of the NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) group of companies. Visit us at PrometheanWorld.com.

About NetDragon

NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (HKSE: 0777) is a global leader in building internet communities with a long track record of developing and scaling multiple internet and mobile platforms that impact hundreds of millions of users, including previous establishments of China's first online gaming portal, 17173.com, and China's most influential smartphone app store platform, 91 Wireless.

Established in 1999, NetDragon is one of the most reputable and well-known online game developers in China with a history of successful game titles including Eudemons Online, Heroes Evolved, Conquer Online and Under Oath. In recent years, NetDragon has also started to scale its online education business on the back of management's vision to create the largest global online learning community, and to bring best-in-class integrated blended learning solutions to every school around the world. Visit us at http://www.netdragon.com/.

2023 Promethean. All Rights Reserved. Promethean, the Promethean logo, ActivPanel, ActivSync, ActivInspire, ActivConnect, ActivSound, ClassFlow, Vellum, and ActivPen are trademarks or registered trademarks of Promethean Limited in the United Kingdom , United States , and other countries around the world. All other product and company names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders. Unless specifically identified as such, Promethean's use of third-party trademarks does not indicate any relationship, sponsorship, or endorsement between Promethean and the owners of these trademarks.

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SOURCE Promethean
SANTA CRUZ, Calif. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Santa Cruz County Bank (OTCQX: SCZC), today announced Michael Davis Luong has joined the bank as Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager for the Bank's Silicon Valley region. He is based out of the Bank's Cupertino office where he will be responsible for new business acquisition, lending, and business development in Silicon Valley and the Greater Bay Area .

Mr. Luong has an 18-year history in the banking industry with extensive experience in business development, credit underwriting, commercial real estate, SBA lending, and loan portfolio management for major financial institutions in Northern California and the Bay Area .

Mr. Luong served as Commercial Real Estate Relationship Manager for Meriwest Credit Union and as First Vice President and Regional Sales Manager of Northern California for CTBC Bank Corporation. Most recently, he served as Vice President and Commercial Real Estate Relationship Manager for Silicon Valley Bank where he managed a portfolio of commercial real estate of over $500 million .

Mr. Luong obtained his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Comparative Corporate Management from University of California, Berkeley .

Jon Sisk , Executive Vice President and Chief Banking Officer, remarked, "We are thrilled to welcome Michael to the Bank's Silicon Valley team. His vast experience in commercial lending combined with business development experience and an extensive knowledge of credit are beneficial assets to serve our growing client base and attract new business in the greater Bay Area . We look forward to further growth in the region as a result of Michael's contributions."

Mr. Luong is based out of the Bank's Cupertino office at 19240 Stevens Creek Boulevard . He currently serves on the Board of the Silicon Valley Chapter of CCIM - Certified Commercial Investment Member.

ABOUT SANTA CRUZ COUNTY BANK

Santa Cruz County Bank was founded in 2004. It is a top-rated, locally-owned and operated, full-service community bank headquartered in Santa Cruz, California . The bank has branches in Aptos , Capitola , Cupertino , Monterey , Salinas , Santa Cruz , Scotts Valley and Watsonville . Santa Cruz County Bank is distinguished from "big banks" by its relationship-based service, problem-solving focus and direct access to decision makers. The bank is a leading SBA lender in Santa Cruz County and Silicon Valley and a top USDA lender in the state of California. As a full-service bank, Santa Cruz County Bank offers competitive deposit and lending solutions for businesses and individuals; including business loans, lines of credit, commercial real estate financing, construction lending, asset-based lending, agricultural loans, SBA and USDA government guaranteed loans, credit cards, merchant services, remote deposit capture, mobile and online banking, bill payment and treasury management. True to its community roots, Santa Cruz County Bank has supported regional well-being by actively participating in and donating to local not-for-profit organizations.

Santa Cruz County Bank stock is publicly traded on the OTCQX U.S. Premier marketplace under the symbol SCZC. Stock purchase orders may be placed online, through a brokerage firm, or through Market Makers listed in the Investor Relations section of the bank's website. For more information about Santa Cruz County Bank, visit www.sccountybank.com .

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SOURCE Santa Cruz County Bank
HOBOKEN, N.J. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Seton Hall University has announced the induction of Gabino Roche Jr . and Stephen Roche into the 2023 Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Awards for their outstanding contribution to the fintech industry through Saphyre , a company revolutionizing the way data and information is managed in pre-trade, simplifying post-trade.

Gabino Roche Jr . and Stephen Roche co-founded Saphyre in 2017, with a vision to simplify the complex and fragmented world of data and processes in the pre-trade space of finance. The company's platform offers a revolutionary approach to data management, enabling firms to seamlessly communicate through automated workflows, and share "Ready-To-Trade" statuses in real-time. Their innovation has been adopted by some of the largest financial institutions in the industry, many of which have issued joint public press releases with the growing Fintech. Saphyre consistently has been recognized through the finance industry for its achievements.

The groundbreaking work of Gabino and Stephen has earned them recognition from the Seton Hall University Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Awards, which took place on March 29, 2023 on the Seton Hall University campus in South Orange, New Jersey . "We are excited to be honored for our work in the finance space," said Gabino Roche , Jr. CEO and Founder of Saphyre. "While our innovative approach to pre-trade data management has been a game-changer, we extend the benefits by simplifying post-trade processes. We are proud to be recognized by Seton Hall and be part of their Hall of Fame."

The Entrepreneur Hall of Fame Awards is an annual event that recognizes entrepreneurs who have made significant contributions to their respective fields. The event brings together industry leaders, alumni, and students to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship and innovation. The ceremony was a celebration of vision, passion, and hard work, which has helped make Saphyre a success.

About Saphyre:

Saphyre leverages patented AI technology to digitize all pre-trade data and activities across multiple counterparties: from asset owners to investment managers, hedge funds to prime brokers, any client firms to broker-dealers and custodians, and much more. Saphyre's platform maintains memory of data and documents, resulting in clients not having to search or resubmit information, and expedites flow in a digitally structured manner so that it can be consumed and understood by any permissioned counterparty in the finance industry. This allows firms not only to assess risk faster but they can speed their onboarding processes, get real-time ready-to-trade statuses per account, and eliminate 70%-75% of redundant or inefficient post-trade activities. Learn more at https://www.saphyre.com

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SOURCE Saphyre
Redesign helps meet increased mental healthcare demand

BALTIMORE , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sheppard Pratt today hosted a ribbon cutting ceremony to celebrate the redesign of its Admissions, Psychiatric Urgent Care, and main entrance lobby area at its Towson, Maryland hospital campus. The physical renovation, as well as the redesign of the admissions process and model of care within Psychiatric Urgent Care, will allow Sheppard Pratt to meet the significantly increasing demand for mental healthcare.

The redesign of Admissions and Psychiatric Urgent Care will increase capacity and efficiencies of the Psychiatric Urgent Care by relocating the check-in and waiting area to provide more space, additional consultation and exam rooms, and a smoother transition to the appropriate level of care for each patient. The newly renovated space creates a more comfortable and welcoming experience for patients, families, and visitors. Nearly one-third of those seen in Sheppard Pratt's Psychiatric Urgent Care are people who need hospitalization, which substantially reduces emergency room visits and prolonged emergency department stays by helping people access care more directly.

"We recognize the critical and growing demand for urgent mental healthcare services in Maryland , and we are working to close this gap by providing the best and safest experience possible for people in crisis," said Harsh K. Trivedi , MD, MBA, president and CEO of Sheppard Pratt . "Patients should have access not only to care, but to care provided in encouraging, inviting, comforting spaces that illuminate the path forward."

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the existing need for mental healthcare services across the nation, driving more patients to emergency departments that are unable to accommodate the increased need. Sheppard Pratt has offered its Psychiatric Urgent Care at the Towson campus since 2011, and it opened one at its new Baltimore/Washington Campus in 2021. Both offer patients and their families an alternative to the emergency room, allowing them to receive a psychiatric assessment and triage in a welcoming environment. Once assessed, patients are referred to the appropriate level of care they needfrom inpatient admission or day treatment programs to outpatient care for ongoing therapy and medication management.

Sheppard Pratt secured nearly $1 million in state funding for this project as well as additional funding support from the Hearst Foundations, Kahlert Foundation, Middendorf Foundation, and the Women's Hospital Foundation.

About Sheppard Pratt

Sheppard Pratt is the largest private, nonprofit provider of mental health, substance use, developmental disability, special education, and social services in the country. A nationwide resource, Sheppard Pratt provides services across a comprehensive continuum of care, spanning both hospital- and community-based resources. Since its founding in 1853, Sheppard Pratt has been innovating the field through research, best practice implementation, and a focus on improving the quality of mental health care on a global level. Sheppard Pratt has been consistently ranked as a top national psychiatric hospital by U.S. News & World Report for more than 30 years.

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LEXINGTON, Mass. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Skylla Technologies, the MIT spinoff revolutionizing automation with people-centric robot intelligence, today announced its acquisition by Movensys, a global motion control platform company headquartered in South Korea .

According to Dr. Sheng Liu , Skylla's CEO, in combination, the startup's cutting-edge autonomous mobile robot (AMR) technology and Movensys' state-of-the-art motion control system is a gamechanger.

"Movensys' WMX brand software-based motion control technology is the perfect complement to Skylla's Jetstream AMR control software," says Kota Weaver , Skylla's CTO. "Now, we can replace multiple dedicated controller units with a single, integrated WMX-Jetstream controller, leading to substantial customer savings in costs, power consumption, and space. Together, we intend to develop a global brand by providing the world's leading software platform for smart automation."

Born out of MIT Professor Harry Asada's lab, Skylla was launched by a team of peerless roboticists and machine learning engineers in 2017. It already counts the world's largest machine tool manufacturer as a customer and develops specialized solutions for a diverse array of industries, including manufacturing, material handling, and transportation.

Movensys is known for providing innovative, software-based motion control solutions for top-tier customers in key industries that span from semiconductors and electric vehicles to displays and logistics. The South Korean company also has deep roots in the MIT ecosystem. Dr. Bernard Boo-Ho Yang , its Founder, Chairman, and Chief Strategy Officer, was a classmate of Skylla's CEO at MIT. Both studied under Professor Asada at the Institute.

In May 2022 , Skylla and Movensys entered into a strategic partnership to jointly develop new technologies targeting AMR applications. Together, they built an integrated AMR solution that delivered unparalleled accuracy while effectively navigating complex factory and warehouse layouts. The offering was a success with Movensys' customers, and just five months later, Dr. Yang , accompanied by Movensys CEO Roi Pak, was on a plane to Skylla's headquarters in Lexington, MA to express his interest in acquiring the young startup.

Due diligence done and ink on the deal now dry, Movensys will use the acquisition to expand its business by creating a total AMR control platform. Acquiring Skylla also provides Movensys with an invaluable foothold in Boston's robust robotics ecosystem and proximity to top-notch research universities. Working together, the two teams plan to establish the Boston Advanced R&D Center (BARC) in Boston, MA in the summer of 2023. The Center will serve as a home for innovative robotics research and development.

For its part, Skylla has already begun the search for a new space to accommodate a larger team. Liu says Skylla will soon double its total headcount to support development projects and professional service contracts. It intends to recruit engineers not only in its US office but also in Movensys' office in Japan to support local customers.

In addition to technology fit, the two companies are a great match culturally. Both sides of the equation are energetic and highly passionate about building a world class software platform for the automation industry, which will allow customers to easily create, configure, and deploy automation solutions across many fields.

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SOURCE Skylla Technologies
Ivan Mordisco was resurrected twice. Not only did he reappear triumphantly after President Ivan Duque left him for dead at the end of his term but the current government of Gustavo Petro has given his armed group a new life.

Over the last few years, the self-styled commander of the FARC dissidents  a breakaway group from the extinct FARC guerrillas  has been linked to drug-trafficking and illegal mining. Today, his little political group is seeking to negotiate a peace deal in Norway.

Ivan Mordisco entered the public eye on May 3, 2016 although his journey in the jungle as part of the armed struggle has been going on for more than 22 years. His real name is Nestor Gregorio Vera Fernandez. Seven years ago, when the FARC leadership was negotiating in Havana with then-President of Colombia Juan Manuel Santos, Vera announced, via statement, that a group of guerrillas led by him would not hand over their weapons.

With the determination to continue the armed struggle, the First Front of the former FARC-EP speaks for dissatisfied guerrilla militants, who, in the different blocs and fronts, dont feel represented or protected by the decisions made by the negotiating team, explains an internal document by the Colombian military, which came to light after the 2022 Guacamaya leaks. This was an early warning from the military regarding the municipality of Miraflores, in the southern region of Guaviare, where Mordiscos group threatened civilian populations and ex-combatants who were going along with the peace process.

Mordisco is seen as dogmatic [and] radical for [not] having adapted to the changes of the war [with the government] and always being in disagreement with an armistice or political negotiation. This is from a 2016 report on the origins of the FARC dissidents, prepared by the Ideas for Peace Foundation (FIP), which also notes that he has undergone a process of criminal degradation. He was distinguished by an openly hostile attitude towards the agreements and towards those who promoted them. Mordisco  who is extremely violent  also rejects illicit crop substitution programs and demonstrates deep mistrust towards civilian populations, particularly Indigenous communities.

The First Front is one of the most representative structures of the FARC, operating in three departments (regions) in the southeast of the country: Vaupes, Guaviare and Meta. These areas  along with Caqueta  are known as the so-called deforestation arc. According to another report by the military high command, Mordiscos public announcement of continuing to bear arms caused Gentil Duarte  a FARC leader  to return to Colombia from Cuba to subdue alias Ivan Mordisco. However, according to the militarys timeline, in September of 2016  as Colombia celebrated the imminent demobilization of some 13,000 combatants  Duarte himself withdrew from the peace process to form a separate group of dissidents. A year later, Duarte and Mordisco created a temporary secretariat.

During a meeting in El Retorno, in Guaviare, they established a four-year plan: the first two for growth (2018 and 2019) and the other two (2020 and 2021) to do great actions, with a goal of adding 6,000 armed men to the offshoot. They also agreed that they would fine local ranchers and peasants about 200,000 Colombian pesos ($45) per kilo of coca, among other illegal charges. At the beginning of 2022, his group  according to documents from the General Command of the Military Forces  had approximately 3,239 members.

More than 90% of the peace signatories have fulfilled their commitments. They remain legal and are advancing in their reincorporation process. The destruction by the government that was initially feared never occurred. For this reason, the FARC dissidents have relied heavily on forced recruitment  often of minors. An analysis by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) points out that the dissidents are a federation of groups under the same umbrella, but with different interests, ways of operating, and degrees of articulation, as well as great autonomy in their operation at the territorial level.

Both Duarte and Mordisco were central to the escalation of the war after the disarmament of the FARC. In regions like Arauca  on the border with Venezuela  they confronted the ELN guerrilla group, fighting over mobility corridors, as well as hegemony over the illicit economies present in the border area, [which are] the main source of financing for the strengthening of its armed component and support networks for terrorism, according to the Colombian military.

A letter sent by the Ombudsmans Office to the military mentions the murder of three peasants in the Sumapaz region, a rural area near Bogota, which occurred in 2021. In May of that same year, an intelligence report on the dissidents connections revealed that there were disputes between the Mordisco group and the Segunda Marquetalia  under the command of Ivan Marquez  over control of the eastern border (with Venezuela) and drug trafficking.

In Colombia, six internal armed conflicts persist. Half of them involve dissident factions, according to an annual summary by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). The United States government considers both Marquezs Segunda Marquetalia and Mordiscos Central General Staff to be terrorist organizations.

In 2021, when referring to the dissident faction commanded by Mordisco and Duarte, the Military Forces of Colombia said: These two subjects [are] committing crimes mainly in the departments of Caqueta and Guaviare, in 103 municipalities and 15 departments. The army attributed the attack on Brigade No. 30 in Cucuta to them, as well as the shots that were fired at a helicopter carrying former President Ivan Duque in that same city.

Gentil Duarte seemed to emerge as the big winner in the confusing war between dissident factions until he was assassinated in May of 2022 across the border with Venezuela, according to Colombian press and intelligence information. Two months later, outgoing President Duque announced that the army had achieved a coup at the core of the FARC dissident structure. The neutralization of Ivan Mordisco  in the words of the then-Defense Minister Diego Molano  was the final blow to the dissidents.

But Mordisco reappeared two months later via video, accompanied by a dozen armed men, in which he announced his willingness to talk with the new administration of Gustavo Petro, within the framework of the presidents total peace policy. And, in case anyone had any doubts, he reappeared this past Sunday, wearing sunglasses and a military uniform, in the Yari Planes. The dissidence that he leads announced that it would begin negotiations with the government on May 16 of this year.

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NEW YORK , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- StoneCastle Partners, LLC announced today that it has sold its subsidiary StoneCastle Digital Solutions, LLC (d/b/a Cambr) to National Bank Holdings Corporation's (NYSE: NBHC) bank subsidiary NBH Bank ("NBH").

Cambr is a deposit acquisition platform that provides cash processing solutions to leading embedded finance companies. StoneCastle Partners developed Cambr to provide a low-cost, scalable and diversified deposit channel for a future bank owner. During its two-decade history, StoneCastle Partners has built numerous businesses that utilize non-traditional strategies to create efficiencies in financial services.

"Cambr provides an opportunity for a bank owner to source deposits in a unique way while continuing to provide leading service to top-tier embedded finance companies," said Joe Healey , Managing Director and operating partner at StoneCastle Partners. "The platform allows a bank to benefit from the diversified deposits of hundreds of thousands of underlying accounts with virtually no marginal overhead or customer acquisition costs. We believe that banks who efficiently source deposits through differentiated and durable strategies will significantly outperform over the long-term."

Cambr will continue to go-to-market under the Cambr brand and will operate as a separate subsidiary of NBH Bank. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Company, served as exclusive financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to StoneCastle.

Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to NBH.

About StoneCastle Partners, LLC

Founded in 2003, StoneCastle Partners develops businesses focused on banking and associated technologies. StoneCastle Partners creates innovative platforms and disruptive technology to enhance or redefine inefficient banking processes. For the past 19 years, StoneCastle Partners has built and sold platforms to strategic buyers, including banks, asset managers, and fintechs. Over 1,000 banks trust StoneCastle Partners and use its companies' products; for more information, visit www.scpdevco.com.

About National Bank Holdings Corporation

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a Denver -based bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to stakeholder results. Through its bank subsidiaries, NBH Bank and Bank of Jackson Hole Trust, National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of over 95 banking centers, serving individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, and government and non-profit entities. Its banking centers are located in its core footprint of Colorado , the greater Kansas City region, Utah , Wyoming , Texas , New Mexico and Idaho . Its comprehensive residential mortgage banking group primarily serves the bank's core footprint. Its trust business is operated in its core footprint under the Bank of Jackson Hole Trust charter. NBH Bank operates under a single state charter through the following brand names as divisions of NBH Bank: in Colorado , Community Banks of Colorado and Community Banks Mortgage; in Kansas and Missouri , Bank Midwest and Bank Midwest Mortgage; in Utah , Texas , New Mexico and Idaho , Hillcrest Bank and Hillcrest Bank Mortgage; and in Wyoming , Bank of Jackson Hole and Bank of Jackson Hole Mortgage. For more information, visit www.nationalbankholdings.com.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication, and all oral statements made regarding the subject matter of this communication, contain "forward-looking" statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the proposed acquisition. Such forward-looking statements reflect current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Statements that include the words "should," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "seek," "will," and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements in this material for within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in the statements. Among the key factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: the impact that any litigation may have on the parties or the transaction; and the impact of potential legislative, regulatory and competitive changes. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. StoneCastle Partners undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

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SOURCE StoneCastle Partners, LLC
MINNEAPOLIS , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A drug called teriflunomide may delay first symptoms for people whose magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans show signs of multiple sclerosis (MS) even though they do not yet have symptoms of the disease. The preliminary study, released April 19, 2023 , will be presented at the American Academy of Neurology's 75th Annual Meeting, being held in person in Boston and live online from April 22-27, 2023 . Called radiologically isolated syndrome, the condition is diagnosed in people who do not have MS symptoms but who have abnormalities in the brain or spinal cord called lesions, similar to those seen in MS.

MS is a disease in which the body's immune system attacks myelin, the fatty white substance that insulates and protects the nerves. Symptoms of MS may include fatigue, numbness, tingling or difficulty walking.

"With more and more people having brain scans for various reasons, such as headache or head trauma, more of these cases are being discovered, and many of these people go on to develop MS," said study author Christine Lebrun Frenay , MD, of the University Hospital of Nice in France and a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology. "The sooner a person can be treated for MS, the greater the chances of delaying damage to the myelin, which decreases the risk of permanent neurologic impairment and debilitating symptoms."

The study involved 89 people with radiologically isolated syndrome. Half of the people were given 14 milligrams (mg) of teriflunomide daily and the other half were given a placebo. They were followed for up to two years.

During the study, eight people who took the drug developed MS symptoms, compared to 20 who took the placebo.

After adjusting for other factors that could affect the risk of developing symptoms, researchers found that people taking teriflunomide had a 63% lower risk of experiencing first symptoms than those taking the placebo.

"Our findings suggest that early intervention with teriflunomide may be beneficial to those diagnosed with radiologically isolated syndrome, the presymptomatic phase of MS," Lebrun Frenay said. "However, more research is needed in larger groups of people to confirm our findings. Additionally, it is important that medical professionals are cautious when using MRI expertise to diagnose this condition, selecting only patients at risk of developing MS and not increasing MRI misdiagnoses."

The study was supported by Sanofi, the company that makes teriflunomide.

Learn more about multiple sclerosis at BrainandLife.org, home of the American Academy of Neurology's free patient and caregiver magazine focused on the intersection of neurologic disease and brain health. Follow Brain & Life on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

When posting to social media channels about this research, we encourage you to use the American Academy of Neurology's Annual Meeting hashtag #AANAM.

The American Academy of Neurology is the world's largest association of neurologists and neuroscience professionals, with over 40,000 members. The AAN is dedicated to promoting the highest quality patient-centered neurologic care. A neurologist is a doctor with specialized training in diagnosing, treating and managing disorders of the brain and nervous system such as Alzheimer's disease, stroke, migraine, multiple sclerosis, concussion, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

For more information about the American Academy of Neurology, visit AAN.com or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube.

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SOURCE American Academy of Neurology
NEW YORK , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Teleperformance, a global leader in digital business services, today finalized an agreement re-affirming its shared commitments to workers' rights in Colombia .

Teleperformance finalized an agreement re-affirming its shared commitments to workers' rights in Colombia .

The agreement, signed with Ultraclaro and UNI Global Union, reinforces Teleperformance's commitment to being a Force of Good in creating jobs in Colombia while fostering democratic labor relations with its employees.

To read more about the agreement, click here.

Teleperformance thanks the Colombian Ministry of Labour for working closely with the Group to reach this mutually beneficial agreement.

ABOUT TELEPERFORMANCE GROUP

Teleperformance (TEP  ISIN: FR0000051807  Reuters: TEPRF.PA - Bloomberg: TEP FP), a global leader in digital business services, serves as a strategic partner to the world's largest companies in many industries. It offers a One Office support services model including end-to-end digital solutions, which guarantee successful customer interaction and optimized business processes, anchored in a unique, comprehensive high touch, high tech approach. More than 410,000 employees, based in 91 countries, support billions of connections every year in over 300 languages and 170 markets, in a shared commitment to excellence as part of the "Simpler, Faster, Safer" process. This mission is supported by the use of reliable, flexible, intelligent technological solutions and compliance with the industry's highest security and quality standards, based on Corporate Social Responsibility excellence. In 2022, Teleperformance reported consolidated revenue of 8,154 million ( US$8.6 billion , based on 1 = $1.05 ) and net profit of 645 million.

Teleperformance shares are traded on the Euronext Paris market, Compartment A, and are eligible for the deferred settlement service. They are included in the following indices: CAC 40, STOXX 600, S&P Europe 350, MSCI Global Standard and Euronext Tech Leaders. In the area of corporate social responsibility, Teleperformance shares are included in the CAC 40 ESG since September 2022 , the Euronext Vigeo Euro 120 index since 2015, the EURO STOXX 50 ESG index since 2020, the MSCI Europe ESG Leaders index since 2019, the FTSE4Good index since 2018 and the S&P Global 1200 ESG index since 2017.

For more information: www.teleperformance.com Follow us on Twitter: @teleperformance

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SOURCE Teleperformance
World's Longest Elevated Pedestrian Loop Grand Opening Set for July 28, 2023

APPLE VALLEY, Minn. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In just 100 days, guests at the Minnesota Zoo will be able to reach new heights when the Treetop Trail , the world's longest elevated pedestrian loop, officially opens. Beginning Friday, July 28, 2023 , the 1.25-mile Treetop Trail will bring guests up to 32 feet above the ground and provide them with an immersive and accessible naturistic journey.

The Minnesota Zoo Treetop Trail , the world's longest elevated pedestrian loop, will officially open July 28, 2023 .

This opening date of the Zoo's new pathway to nature appropriately coincides with World Nature Conservation Day. As a worldwide leader in wildlife conservation, the Minnesota Zoo created the Treetop Trail to give guests year-round access to hundreds of acres of hardwood forest, ponds and marshes, and the diverse wildlife that call Minnesota home. The Treetop Trail will provide new perspectives of many Zoo animals, including tigers, moose, bison, and of course, a bird's eye view for bird watchers during each of Minnesota's four seasons.

The Minnesota Zoo opened 45 years ago in 1978 with a mission to connect people, animals, and the natural world to save wildlife. The Treetop Trail will reinforce the Zoo's reputation as a trusted nature destination and is an evolution of the role that zoos play around the globe.

" The Treetop Trail marks a new chapter for the Minnesota Zoo ," said Minnesota Zoo Director and Foundation President John Frawley . "As we look ahead to the Zoo's next 45 years, the Treetop Trail is a major step in furthering connections to nature and animals in an accessible and immersive way."

Integrating into the Zoo's original monorail track which was retired in 2013, the Treetop Trail is the ultimate reuse construction project. The Zoo contracted with award-winning Snow Kreilich Architects; engineering firm Buro Happold (known for its work on the High Line in New York City ); and construction partner, PCL. Together, they have been committed to minimizing disruptions to the Zoo's animals and guests before, during, and after construction.

The entrance to the Treetop Trail will feature the Zoo's new animal ambassador habitat. Here, guests will be greeted by several species native to Minnesota including the Treetop Trail ambassador - a North American porcupine named Quillber.

Planning for the Minnesota Zoo Treetop Trail began in June 2018 and a ceremonial groundbreaking was held in April 2022 . "Thanks to the full support from our Boards, legislative and government champions, as well as the philanthropic community, we have secured $39 million in public and private partnership to support this transformational project," said Frawley.

The Minnesota Zoo would like to express profound gratitude to the following for their support of the Treetop Trail : State of Minnesota , K.A.H.R. Foundation, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, Target, Best Buy Foundation, Hubbard Broadcasting Foundation, and hundreds of individual donors.

To learn more about the Minnesota Zoo's Treetop Trail , please visit mnzoo.org/treetoptrail.

Background and assets can be found here: Minnesota Zoo Treetop Trail Assets.

ABOUT THE MINNESOTA ZOO

The Minnesota Zoo is a year-round destination providing a window into the natural world. With hundreds of species of animals, worldwide conservation efforts, and acres of scenic beauty, the Zoo is a resource to connect people, animals, and the natural world to save wildlife. The Minnesota Zoo is an accredited member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and an institutional member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA). For more information visit mnzoo.org.

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Riverview Hospital hygiene specialist earns 14th annual award recognizing the frontline workers who clean healthcare facilities

NORTHBROOK, Ill. , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- UMF|PerfectCLEAN today announced that Stacey Turner , hygiene specialist at Riverview Hospital in Noblesville, Indiana , has earned the company's 14th annual National Hygiene Specialist Excellence Award. Stacey was nominated by Riverview Hospital Director of Housekeeping Scott Smith for her exemplary work as team lead of the hospital's environmental services (EVS) department.

"Through her hard work, leadership, and commitment to infection prevention, Stacey helps support Riverview's commitment to being a champion for health and wellness throughout central Indiana ," said Smith. "She delivers excellence in everything she does, driving quality improvements and providing our customers throughout the hospital with exceptional care and support. A star hygiene specialist, Stacey is highly professional and never forgets the importance of teamwork. When issues arise or patients need extra care, staff look to her for help. She helps keep morale high by organizing regular team events and reaching out to sick staff members. At an organizational level, she is an ambassador for Riverview Hospital's exceptional values and behavior. Everything she does is underpinned by compassionate care for our patients and coworkers."

In the United States , preventable healthcare associated infections (pHAIs) kill more than 75,000 people every year. To keep patients safe, the CDC recommends that healthcare facilities maintain clean environments to minimize the presence of pathogens. Thorough cleaning and disinfection of environmental surfaces is fundamental to reducing pHAIs, as surfaces contaminated with bacteria and viruses create a biofilm which protects them from disinfectants. Hygiene specialists play a leading role in ensuring safe environments across all kinds of healthcare facilities.

"We established the National Hygiene Specialists Award 14 years ago to celebrate the hygiene specialists who serve on the front lines in preventing the spread of pHAIs," said UMF|PerfectCLEAN CEO George Clarke . "As healthcare workers contend with staffing shortages, new safety protocol training, burn-out, and a lack of recognition, it has never been more important to acknowledge and reward individuals such as Stacey for their contributions. They are essential to processing patient and common areas, which is critical in the fight against pHAIs."

As the 2022 HSA recipient, Stacey will receive an all-expenses paid trip for two, including airfare, to a location of her choice within the 48 contiguous states.

About UMF Corporation

UMF Corporation is the leader in the research and development of high-performance products, programs and training for the infection prevention and commercial cleaning markets. Through extensive testing, exhaustive analysis, and the commitment of significant human and financial resources, new antimicrobial technologies have been merged with innovative product designs that are redefining the future of clean. http://www.perfectclean.com, LinkedIn

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SOURCE UMF Corporation
PHILADELPHIA , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- (ETF Architect) -- Upon the recommendation of Empowered Funds, LLC, dba EA Advisers, the Board of Trustees (the "Board") of EA Series Trust (the "Trust") approved a proposal to liquidate the UPHOLDINGS Compound Kings ETF ("KNGS" or the "Fund"), a series of the Trust. After careful consideration of a number of factors, including its inability to attract sufficient investment assets, the Board concluded that it is advisable and in the best interest of the Fund and its shareholders to liquidate the Fund. Any shareholders still holding shares of the fund at liquidation will receive a cash distribution equal to the net asset value (NAV) of their shares.

KNGS will cease trading on the Cboe BZX Exchange, Inc. ("Cboe") and will be closed to purchase by investors as of the close of regular trading on May 12, 2023 (the "Closing Date"). The Fund will not accept purchase orders after the Closing Date.

Shareholders may sell their holdings in the Fund prior to the Closing Date and customary brokerage charges will apply to these transactions. However, from May 12, 2023 through May 19, 2023 (the "Liquidation Date"), shareholders may be able to sell their shares only to certain broker-dealers and there is no assurance that there will be a market for the Fund's shares during this time period. Between the Closing Date and the Liquidation Date, the Fund will be in the process of closing down and liquidating the Fund's portfolio. This process will result in the Fund increasing its cash holdings, which is inconsistent with the Fund's investment objective and strategy.

On or about the Liquidation Date, the Fund will liquidate its assets and distribute cash pro rata to all shareholders of record who have not previously redeemed or sold their shares, subject to any required withholding. Liquidation proceeds paid to shareholders generally should be treated as received in exchange for shares and will therefore be treated as a taxable event giving rise to a capital gain or loss depending on a shareholder's tax basis. Shareholders should contact their tax adviser to discuss the income tax consequences of the liquidation. In addition, these payments to shareholders may include distributions of accrued capital gains and dividends. As calculated on the Liquidation Date, the Fund's net asset value will reflect the costs of closing the Fund. Once the distributions are complete, the Fund will terminate.

ABOUT ETF ARCHITECT

Veteran owned and operated; ETF Architect is the market leader for best-in-class ETF operations. ETF Architect partners with Advisers, ETF sponsors, mutual fund managers, and industry veterans to launch ETFs. For more information, visit www.ETFArchitect.com .

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. For a prospectus or summary prospectus with this and other information about the Fund, please call 1.215.882.9983 or visit our website at kngsetf.com. Read the prospectus or summary prospectus carefully before investing.

The Fund is distributed by Quasar Distributors, LLC.

SOURCE ETF Architect

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SOURCE ETF Architect
BROADLANDS , Va., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Van Metre Companies is set to host their 31st annual 5K Run supporting Children's National Hospital. The event will be held on April 29, 2023 , from 8:30 AM to 12:00 PM at Broadlands Marketplace in Broadlands , VA.

Rick Rabil , President and CEO of Van Metre Companies, expressed the importance of the event, "What started as a 5 Mile Run, now the Van Metre 5K, continues to be successful after so many years because health and wellness are so important for all children and their families. Children's National has been a top-notch healthcare provider for kids, and we want to support their efforts. Additionally, the generosity of our (Van Metre) relationships and the willingness of our employees to donate their time make it a well-run and enjoyable event. When we started it in 1992, raising $6k for Children's, we planned on doing it annually, but over 30 years is remarkable. Jeannie Van Metrethe Race Committee Chairperson, and our employees have made that happen."

Established in 1992 to benefit Children's National Hospital, the Van Metre 5K Run has raised over $2.9 million . In 2022, an additional $1.8 million was committed as a gift to help improve neurological outcomes for pediatric cardiology patients. Over the next four years, this gift will support the team of doctors at Children's National as they develop new standards of care that will impact hundreds of babies with special hearts, helping to reduce the risk of neurological impairment and improve long-term neurological outcomes in children with CHD.

The mission of Children's National Hospital is to excel in Care, Advocacy, Research, and Education. The hospital is ranked #5 nationally by U.S. News & World Report and #1 for newborns in the Mid-Atlantic. Children's National ranks in all 10 specialties, with top 10 honors in specialties including neurology and neurosurgery.

About Van Metre Companies

The Van Metre Companies have built and managed new homes, offices, apartments, and retail centers across the Greater Washington region for over 65 years. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia , Van Metre is a family-owned, full-service real estate development company that provides residential, retail, and office management services. Their footprint has expanded outside Virginia to include Washington, DC , Maryland , North Carolina , and Orlando, Florida . For information on Van Metre Companies, please visit www.vanmetrecompanies.com.

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SOURCE Van Metre Companies
LOS ANGELES , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC), the community-based non-profit organization that advocates and provides resources for residents of South Los Angeles and beyond, announced today that Quentin Strode is named President/Chief Executive Officer.

Strode is a community economic development leader dedicated to offering equitable financial solutions for marginalized businesses of color. Leveraging his expertise as a former executive for Bank of America and U.S. Bank, Quentin takes on a comprehensive approach to bridging the capital access gap for underserved community entrepreneurs and small business owners. Most recently, as President and CEO for NEW Community Investments, Strode launched two business centers, offered college-level proprietary entrepreneurial courses, and provided alternate financing options to help underserved women, women of color and minority small businesses succeed.

Kecia Washington , Chair of VSEDC's Board of Directors remarks, "At VSEDC, we're focused on the future. We have so many opportunities in front of us. We are pleased to welcome Quentin and confident that he will enhance our mission. We look forward to Quentin boosting our lending portfolio, serving more capital needs, and developing our commercial real estate assets in innovative ways that are profitable and sustainable. We are also focused on nurturing our next generation community leaders by enhancing our Teen Tech Center. We believe Quentin's expertise here can also help lead us to the future of VSEDC."

Strode says, "I am honored and excited to be named President/Chief Executive Officer for VSEDC. During my time as a consultant for VSEDC, I was fortunate to contribute to the process of obtaining the Community Development Financial Institution Certification. As President/Chief Executive Officer, I will leverage my extensive experience in banking, business training, and economic development to boost wealth generation for the communities of South LA and beyond. I look forward to leading operations at VSEDC strengthening partnerships, increasing strategic alliances and expanding our presence to take VSEDC to the next level."

Strode is deeply involved in community affairs and is a sought-after board member, serving on the board of some of the most influential industry associations and community organizations like the LA Urban League and the Center Theater Group in the past. He also supports educational and scholarship opportunities for Southern California's disadvantaged communities through board memberships for The Randal Lewis Center for Entrepreneurship at the University of La Verne, USC Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, Educating Young Minds, MUFG Union Bank Community Advisory Board, and STEAM:CODERS. He was also recently appointed to the board of the Woodstock Institute in Chicago, IL.

About Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation

Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation (VSEDC) is a community-based nonprofit and Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) recognized for decades of technical and entrepreneurial assistance to South LA small businesses, start-ups and entrepreneurs. The service VSEDC provides serves to drive community self-sufficiency, facilitate business growth, access to affordable housing, goods and services, and job creation. VSEDC achieves this through youth education and entrepreneurial projects, CDFI programs, and fundraising efforts. Find out more about VSEDC at www.vsedc.org, Facebook, and Twitter.

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SOURCE Vermont Slauson Economic Development Corporation
TAIPEI , April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Yet another successful case of cultural landmark in Taipei, Taiwan ! VIVOTEK (3454-TW), the global leading IP surveillance solution provider, has introduced international standard security solution to Ching-Kuo Chi-Hai Cultural Park (hereinafter referred to as " Chi-Hai Cultural Park ") in Taipei to offer citizens a safe environment and experience when they visit the park and protect the park's important cultural heritage and historical displays from damage, while also strengthening the park's security under the premise of effective management of manpower and operating cost.

"With its great historical significance, Chi-Hai Cultural Park has now transitioned into a new cultural landmark. With upgraded security services, a balance is achieved between revitalization and preservation of historical heritage, creating new values for the park. VIVOTEK has over 20 years of industry experience and has recently undergone rebrand to transition from a surveillance equipment manufacturer to a comprehensive security solution brand, just like Chi-Hai Cultural Park's successful transformation that presents historical heritage and an image of revival," said Allen Hsieh , VIVOTEK Spokesperson and Director of Global Marketing Division. "In response to the market trend of AI, VIVOTEK will continue to introduce AI smart analysis capability to existing product lines and strive for integration of software and hardware and upgrade of services, proactively building safer and smarter security services for diverse places."

Solving the Conundrums of Revitalization and Preservation of Historical Sites, VIVOTEK Tailors for Chi-Hai Cultural Park Three Security Highlights

Opening up a cultural heritage to the public often faces two conundrumsdifficulty of revitalization and preservation; moreover, most surveillance equipment has not been replaced or upgraded for years and many sites still use traditional analog cameras, where image resolution is affected by transmission distance. Also, these cameras only have the function of passive recording and lack real-time preventive mechanism. Thus, during the preparatory period of Chi-Hai Cultural Park , VIVOTEK tailored for the park international standard smart security solution. For example, VIVOTEK has installed diverse products, such as fixed dome and bullet cameras and network video recorders, at important spots like Chiang Ching-Kuo Presidential Library, the first of its kind in Taiwan , and Exhibition Halls according to their specific needs, responding to the rigid demands of preservation of historical relics, prevention of incidents, and control of personnel access. Furthermore, for the park's perimeters and entrances with busy traffics, VIVOITEK's smart image analysis technology can also be utilized to detect abnormalities like intrusion, loitering, or line crossing detection, and notify the management through the system's real-time alerting function, significantly enhancing efficiency of the park's security management procedure and building a comprehensive smart security system.

On the Foundation of Smart Surveillance Service, VIVOTEK Builds Cross-Scene Security Solutions

As the leading global smart security brand, VIVOTEK has implemented the rebrand project since 2021. In addition to continued optimization and R&D of technologies, VIVOTEK also utilizes existing surveillance products as carriers for horizontal introduction of applications and smart surveillance technology. VIVOTEK not only applies AI deep learning technology to image detection and analysis, but also develops different application scenes for object tracking, behavior analysis, and facial or license plate recognition; moreover, VIVOTEK's three major advanced search functions of attribute search, scene search, and re-search, enables one-key screening that precisely targets tags like gender, age, and clothes color. The recently launched smart cloud surveillance service and system, VORTEX and VAST Security Station , are VIVOTEK's answer to the past pain points of untimely surveillance and protection and inaccessibility to security data. In the future, VIVOTEK will continue to optimize products and technologies and develop innovative technological applications, building for companies more smart solutions with greater efficiency, while also expanding diverse vertical applications in the areas of smart city, building automation, and transportation.

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SOURCE VIVOTEK Inc.
FILE PHOTO: An undated picture shows Jack Douglas Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard, who was arrested by the FBI, over his alleged involvement in leaks online of classified documents, posing for a selfie at an unidentified loca

By Tim McLaughlin and Sarah N. Lynch

BOSTON (Reuters) -A 21-year-old U.S. Air National Guardsman facing criminal charges for leaking top-secret military intelligence records online will remain in jail, according to court filings.

Jack Douglas Teixeira of North Dighton, Massachusetts, was due to appear in federal court in Boston on Wednesday to determine whether he would remain jailed pending trial after federal prosecutors told U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy they intended to seek detention.

About two hours before the hearing, however, Teixeira's federal public defenders filed a request asking the judge to delay the detention hearing for two weeks because they needed "more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention."

It remains to be seen whether Teixeira will opt to challenge the government's detention request.

Teixeira appeared very briefly in court, where the judge accepted his request to waive his right to a preliminary hearing.

The case is believed to be the most serious U.S. security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

Senior intelligence, defense and State department officials briefed Congress on the leak on Wednesday. Afterward, lawmakers said they were incredulous that someone as young and low-ranking as Teixeira had access to highly classified material and been able to share it online so easily.

"We need to make sure that internal security processes... as well as the overall access questions, get thoroughly examined," Democrat Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate intelligence committee, told reporters.

Warner said he and Senator Marco Rubio, the committee's top Republican, had requested a review of security and clearance issues. "And clearly, there's going to be some changes," Warner added.

Teixeira was charged with one count of violating the Espionage Act related to the unlawful copying and transmitting of sensitive defense material, and a second charge related to unlawful removal of defense material to an unauthorized location.

He will likely face more charges as additional evidence is presented to a grand jury, legal experts said.

A conviction on the Espionage Act charge carries up to 10 years in prison.

(Reporting by Tim McLaughlin in Boston and Sarah N. Lynch in Washington; additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle and Eric Beech in Washington; Editing by Jonathan Oatis and Jamie Freed)
Brazil is experiencing an epidemic of violence in schools, according to the Brazilian government. Alarm bells began ringing earlier this month after a 25-year-old man hacked to death four children between the ages of five and seven, in Blumenau, in the south of the country. A few days earlier, a 13-year-old stabbed a teacher to death and injured four other people at a school in Sao Paulo. The back-to-back tragedies have sparked alarm among families and authorities, who are also concerned about the spread of fake news online warning of new attacks.

On Tuesday, the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, met with ministers and governors in Brasilia to assess the measures taken to contain the violence. At the meeting, Justice Minister Flavio Dino reported 225 people have been arrested in cases related to violent acts or plans to attack schools in just the last 10 days. A total of 1,224 cases are being investigated throughout the country, and 694 adolescents have been called to testify. Dino added that 756 profiles from platforms such as Twitter and TikTok have been eliminated, and that Escola Segura (Safe School)  the channel created by the Ministry of Justice to receive complaints  has received 7,473 reports of violence. This shows that we are facing an epidemic [] this allows us, in a very eloquent way, to understand the scale: they are not isolated cases. It is a structured criminal network, said Dina.

The minister presented his data at the high-level meeting chaired by President Lula. The highest representatives of the judicial and legislative powers were also present, as well as eight ministers and several governors and mayors  something that has not happened since the January 8 attack on Congress, the Supreme Court and the presidential palace.

Indeed, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes linked the insurrection with the scourge of violence at schools, claiming they share the same modus operandi since social media has created a lawless land. One of the central ideas from the meeting was to tighten regulation online in a bid to prevent hate speech and to root out profiles that allow aggressors to grow a wide supporter base.

Lula criticized social media platforms for not doing more to stop algorithms from spreading violent hate speech and images. The big companies that make money from disseminating violence are getting richer. Some are the richest businesspeople on the planet, and they continue to spread lies, they have no standards, said the Brazilian president. The Brazilian government was recently upset by the attitude of Twitter executives in Brazil, who showed little interest in moderating or removing content likely to encourage violence at schools.

Meanwhile, the conservative media and opposition leaders are calling for increased security measures at schools, such as weapons, barricades, metal detectors and private guards. Lula, however, said that he will not transform schools into a maximum security prison.

Brazils parliament is currently debating a law that would criminalize fake news, and could serve as the grounds to regulate social networks. But for now, the measures are focused on calming social alarm by creating a more secure school environment.

The government announced that it will invest 3.1 billion reais ($625 million) to combat attacks in schools, with the focus on tracking and removing online calls for violence. More than half of that amount may go to infrastructure to reinforce security at schools. Teachers will also be offered training courses on how to deal with school violence. And more than 200 million reais ($39 million) will go to promoting mental health policies.

But in a country as diverse as Brazil, the response on how to address the epidemic has been far from uniform. In the state of Santa Catarina  where the deadly attack at the daycare center took place  the governor, an ally of former president Jair Bolsonaro, promised that he would place at least one armed police officer in each of the regions 1,053 public schools.

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FILE PHOTO: A logo of Airbus is seen at the entrance of its factory in Blagnac near Toulouse, France, July 2, 2020. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier

By Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) -Airbus told shareholders on Wednesday that European nations on need to "get their act together" on strategic autonomy and said it stood ready to help shore up Europe's shaky industrial cooperation on defence, but appealed for governments to back promises with factory orders.

The chairman of Europe's largest aerospace group, Rene Obermann, told investors last year's invasion of Ukraine by Russia had been a wake-up call.

"It has highlighted the essential role that defence plays in society and that European nations need to get their act together for higher levels of strategic autonomy. The sooner the better," he told a shareholder meeting monitored by webcast on Wednesday.

The invasion, which Moscow calls a special operation, has catapulted defence spending higher and rekindled a debate over Europe's dependence on the United States for its security.

"We are committed to playing a role of enabler for more co-operation in defence, which we believe is one of the key prerequisites to make sure that Europe maintains its strategic autonomy, Obermann said.

The rearming of Europe could accelerate campaigns for new business, Obermann said. He also cited sovereign capabilities for which Europe does not want to depend on the United States.

"But some of these budgetary decisions are yet to unfold and materialise into concrete orders," he added.

DEFENCE DIVIDEND

French President Emmanuel Macron is pursing an agenda to beef up Europe's "strategic autonomy" separate from the U.S.-led NATO umbrella, with eastern allies trusting the United States more for their defence.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz last year upended decades of reticence over arms spending by pledging 100 billion euros of purchases. But some allies have criticised Berlin's decision to move ahead with U.S. weapons purchases, including F-35 fighter jets.

Paris and Berlin each hold about 11% of Airbus, whose defence catalogue includes fighters, helicopters and airlift.

Airbus leads several multinational programmes, including the A400M airlifter and Tiger attack helicopter, but faces doubts over commitments from France and Spain for the troop plane while Germany has effectively withdrawn from the next phase of Tiger.

Reuters reported last year that the board had conducted a defence review that could lead to more strategic partnerships.

On Wednesday, Chief Executive Guillaume Faury said Airbus remains open to strategic partnerships with tech group Atos after abandoning talks to buy a 29.9% stake in its cybersecurity unit Evidian.

He added that civil airline traffic is on course to break above pre-pandemic levels buoyed by China's recovery, but voiced disappointment with last year's slow recovery of supply chains.

(Reporting by Tim HepherEditing by Mark Potter)
The Pentagon building is seen in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. October 9, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria

By Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Air Force's 102nd Intelligence Wing, which the alleged leaker of classified information belonged to, has been ordered to halt its intelligence mission as the service's inspector general carries out an investigation, the Air Force said on Tuesday.

The Air Force said all units would also have to carry out a "security-focused standdown" sometime in the next 30 days.

Jack Teixeira has been charged with unlawfully copying and transmitting classified material after being accused of leaking top secret military intelligence records online.

The leaked documents are the most serious U.S. security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010.

"The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently

performing its assigned intelligence mission," Air Force Spokesperson Ann Stefanek said in statement.

The Air Force inspector general would investigate the unit's "compliance with policy, procedures, and standards...related to the release of national security information," Stefanek added.

The 102nd Intelligence Wing, which is based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, says on its website its mission is to provide "worldwide precision intelligence and command and control along with trained and experienced airmen for expeditionary combat support and homeland security."

Since May 2022, Teixeira had been serving as an E-3/airman first class in the Air National Guard and had Top Secret security clearance.

If the accusations against Teixeira are correct, the Air Force will be under pressure to explain how he could have smuggled and disseminated highly classified intelligence for months without being noticed.

Reuters has reviewed more than 60 of the documents, labeled "Secret" and "Top Secret," but has not independently verified their authenticity. The number of documents leaked is likely to be over 100.

(Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Lincoln Feast.)
FILE PHOTO: Driver David Gonzalez delivers a package along his route in Poway, California, U.S., November 16, 2022. REUTERS/Sandy Huffaker

By Daniel Wiessner

(Reuters) - Amazon.com Inc must face a proposed U.S. nationwide class action accusing the company of illegally monitoring private Facebook groups that delivery drivers used to discuss working conditions, a U.S. appeals court said on Wednesday.

A divided panel of the San Francisco-based 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said an agreement that driver Drickey Jackson signed requiring him to bring work-related disputes in arbitration rather than court did not apply to his 2020 lawsuit.

The ruling means Jackson can continue seeking to represent a class of at least 800 Amazon drivers instead of pursuing his claims in individual arbitration.

Jackson in the lawsuit alleges that Amazon invaded drivers' privacy and engaged in illegal wiretapping by creating a "social listening team" to monitor and intercept posts to private Facebook groups using automated tools.

Amazon and lawyers for Jackson did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Amazon has denied wrongdoing.

Jackson in court filings cited a leaked document purporting to show an internal social media monitoring list of 43 private Facebook groups that drivers ran in different cities.

He says Amazon used sophisticated digital tools to monitor the groups and gather information about planned strikes and protests, unionizing efforts, pay and benefits and whether researchers examining Amazons workforce had approached drivers.

Amazon has argued the case belongs in arbitration, citing the agreement Jackson signed. The agreement applies to "any dispute or claim ... arising out of or relating in any way to ... your participation in the program, or to your performance of services."

But the 9th Circuit on Wednesday said that drivers' use of private Facebook groups and Amazon's alleged privacy violations did not relate to Jackson's performance of services or implicate any provision of his contract with the company.

The decision affirmed a 2021 ruling by a California federal judge.

In a dissenting opinion, Circuit Judge Susan Graber said the case belonged in arbitration because Jackson's claims would never have arisen if he did not have a work relationship with Amazon.

(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York; Editing by Josie Kao)
FILE PHOTO: Souvenir tokens representing cryptocurrency Bitcoin plunge into water in this illustration taken May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic

(This April 19 story has been corrected to fix the name of Banxa U.S. CEO to Richard Mico, not Ricardo Mico, in paragraph 24)

By Elizabeth Howcroft and Hannah Lang

LONDON (Reuters) - Crypto firms have been left scrambling to find banking partners after the collapse of three crypto-friendly lenders in the U.S. last month, creating a risk their business will become concentrated in smaller financial institutions.

It is a scenario that concerns U.S. regulators, who have expressed doubt about the safety and soundness of bank business models that are highly focused on crypto clients after Silvergate Capital Corp, Signature Bank and Silicon Valley Bank imploded.

U.S. regulators have also told banks to be alert for liquidity risks coming from crypto-related deposits, which could be subject to rapid outflows if customers try to redeem their crypto assets for real money.

Mainstream banks have become increasingly wary of crypto clients following a series of high-profile collapses, including the bankruptcy of major exchange FTX in November last year, and a lack of regulation.

"Crypto and Web3 start-ups are telling us they simply cannot get a business bank account," said Marcus Foster, head of crypto policy at Coadec, a body representing UK start-ups. Foster said the issue has become "significantly worse" recently.

This has left digital asset companies with little choice but to seek out smaller financial institutions, some in remoter corners of global finance.

A spokesperson for FV Bank, a U.S.-licensed fintech-focused bank in Puerto Rico, said that it has seen an uptick in inquiries from potential customers in recent weeks, even though it is not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. The bank does not lend and is therefore not subject to the same type of risks as traditional banks that operate on a fractional reserve system, a spokesperson said.

In Liechtenstein, a spokesperson for Bank Frick said it has also experienced a "significant increase in account opening requests," with the largest portion of inquiries coming from firms in Europe, Singapore and Australia.

However, the bank is not purely focused on crypto and has a broadly diversified business model, the spokesperson said.

Switzerland-based Arab Bank told Reuters in March it had seen an increase in U.S. firms, mostly crypto funds or those involved in crypto venture capital, seeking to open accounts, but that the bank was unlikely to accommodate all of them.

While ZA Bank in Hong Kong, a digital bank, said it had seen about four times more enquiries from crypto firms seeking accounts after Silicon Valley Bank's collapse, although it said it would only accept firms licensed to trade virtual assets.

Nikki Johnstone, a partner at the Allen and Overy law firm in London, said that the "concentration risk" that comes from a growing number of clients seeking business from the smaller firms is the "biggest challenge" of having reduced crypto banking options.

"That places a greater degree of expectation on that firm to apply the right level of risk management and monitoring," she said.

Cryptocurrency companies need access to banks to hold customers' dollar deposits and for day-to-day business activities.

"Of course the motto of crypto is 'we are going to replace the banks', but first of all, we are not there yet, and I dont think we will be there ever," said Paolo Ardoino, the chief technology officer of Tether, the largest stablecoin by market capitalisation, whose reserves have previously been the subject of investor scrutiny.

'TOP TIER'

Several top banks told Reuters that they are currently turning most potential crypto-related customers away, while others said they are only working with top-tier firms - policies that most say are unchanged from their historical positions.

JPMorgan Chase is not onboarding any clients that are primarily crypto businesses anywhere in the world, according to a source familiar with the situation, with the exception of a select few firms including Coinbase, which has disclosed that it deposits customer funds at the bank.

The person said this policy has long been its stance.

A source familiar with the Bank of New York Mellon said that while the bank examines any crypto company that seeks to become a customer, it is "very, very rigid" in its vetting process and has only taken on clients on a case-by-case basis. Circle, the principal issuer of USD Coin, custodies a portion of its reserves with BNY Mellon.

A spokesperson for ING said the bank does not "target or focus actively on crypto firms" so its exposure is "very limited."

Allen and Overy lawyer Johnstone said that banks are often cautious due to the heightened money-laundering risk in the crypto sector and a lack of robust crypto regulation.

To be sure, some of the largest cryptocurrency companies have ongoing relationships with U.S. banks. Circle, the principal issuer of USD Coin, custodies a portion of its reserves with Customers Bank, and Gemini says it custodies the reserves for its stablecoin at State Street Bank and Goldman Sachs . Coinbase has disclosed that it deposits customer funds at Cross River Bank in addition to JPMorgan Chase.

But for smaller crypto start-ups, securing a banking partner could be more difficult, said Richard Mico, the U.S. CEO of Banxa, a payment and compliance infrastructure provider for crypto.

"Theres certainly a concern about a lack of banking partners available in the market now, notably for the smaller and less-proven ventures," he said.

(Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft in London and Hannah Lang in Washington; additional reporting by Mehnaz Yasmin and Georgina Lee; Editing by Elisa Martinuzzi and Sharon Singleton)
FILE PHOTO: The production line for the Boeing P-8 Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft is pictured at Boeing's 737 factory in Renton, Washington, U.S. November 18, 2021. REUTERS/Jason Redmond/File Photo

By Tim Hepher and Valerie Insinna

PARIS/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Planemakers have signalled a shift in production strategy to make factories more resilient to recent supply disruptions by adding "surge capacity," even where that means extra cost.

Leaders of Airbus and Boeing have both used the term in recent days - which can include expanding factory space and hiring more staff - as the aerospace industry struggles to tame post-COVID disruption now in its fourth year.

The move comes as experts warn delays that have seen Airbus reset hundreds of 2024 deliveries could stretch to 2026, though both groups confirmed underlying output goals on Tuesday.

"We live in a supply constrained environment ... Our focus is on both capacity and quality. Like many in the industry, we do expect another challenging year for the supply chain," Boeing Chief Executive Dave Calhoun told shareholders.

"To support the supply chain, we've increased on-site presence, we've ramped up internal fabrication for surge capacity and we've increased inventory of select parts for risk protection."

Airbus, which holds its annual meeting on Wednesday, is also building in more spare margin as it targets a two-thirds rise in core production to 75 jets a month in 2026.

Chief Executive Guillaume Faury this month agreed to open a new assembly line in China, bringing to 10 the number of single-aisle plants worldwide. Its target is the Chinese market but it complements an expanding European and U.S. network.

"It is a way to be probably more in sync with the way the world is developing, with tensions and with more complexities of doing business," Faury told reporters.

"Ten lines for rate 75 is also an opportunity to have what we call surge capacity, to be able to recover in case we have difficulties, but also to absorb difficulties here and there and be able to focus on the market when it is moving forward."

DEFENDING AVERAGE OUTPUT

Planemakers only rarely speak of "surge capacity" in the aerospace production system, which is seen as more capital-intensive and less nimble than in consumer-facing industries.

But a person familiar with the change of direction said Faury was also doubling down on the monthly target of 75 after it was delayed by a round a year amid scepticism from suppliers.

Instead of a series of peaks, surge capacity would allow Airbus to defend that rate on an average basis, the person said, noting that similar tactics had been used in the auto sector where Faury spent several years between stints at Airbus.

Although auto firms rely heavily on overtime to meet peak demand, analysts say there are examples of automakers installing surge capacity for a successful product. General Motors took such a gamble in Canada to assemble more pickups in 2020.

The risk is that when demand slows the added capacity and inventory may no longer be profitable. Yet the stakes of sticking to previous just-in-time methods are just as high.

"That might not be viable in a world where we have to worry about pandemics and disruptions like the Ukraine war and sudden oil shocks, financial crises," said Doug Royce, aerospace analyst at Forecast International.

"You need to be able to prepare to weather storms in a way that maybe you didn't think you had to in pre-COVID days."

A senior manufacturing source said the strategy made sense as long as neither company over-invested in spare capacity.

"It is logical depending on the percentage of the surge, otherwise you just have excess people," the source said.

Calhoun acknowledged the looser industrial set-up was having an impact on performance but added "the worst is behind us".

Airbus' tactics also reflect a shift towards the in-demand A321neo variant, whose range makes it suitable for long trips but whose narrow fuselage and quick assembly are hard to reconcile with the installation of customised premium seats.

While an A320 assembly line typically runs in current circumstances at around eight planes a month, sources say the 30% of extra work needed to build an A321 means lines can handle as few as six planes a month when fully deployed on that type.

That implies a blended capacity of seven planes a month per line based on the 50-50 mix of A321 and A320 in latest deliveries - a ratio expected to tilt towards 60% A321s based on future orders.

Airbus may therefore add more single-aisle lines at about $200 million each, one industry source said, with part of the former A380 assembly hall in Toulouse still lying vacant.

"Everyone is learning lessons from the ramp-up. Things just got a little too lean," said Aerodyamic Advisory managing director Richard Aboulafia.

(Reporting by Tim Hepher and Valerie InsinnaEditing by Mark Potter)
FILE PHOTO: Southwest Airlines planes sit idle on the tarmac after Southwest Airlines flights resumed following the lifting of a brief nationwide stoppage caused by an internal technical issue, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), at Ch

By Allison Lampert and Rajesh Kumar Singh

(Reuters) -A technology failure that temporarily halted all departures of Southwest Airlines Co flights on Tuesday is raising fresh concerns about the resiliency of the U.S. carrier's IT infrastructure, industry experts and the carrier's pilots' union said on Wednesday.

The Dallas-based carrier has blamed the hour-long outage on a vendor-supplied network firewall failure, causing a temporary loss of connection to key systems.

Southwest told Reuters on Wednesday it opted to halt flights out of caution, adding there were no indications of a cyber attack. It declined to identify the vendor and did not address why this failure was not part of the company's planning.

While the exact cause is not clear, some industry experts questioned why Southwest systems did not include more redundancy. The carrier has been under fire since a software problem over the Christmas holiday led to over 16,700 flight cancellations, disrupted travel plans for two million customers and cost it more than $1 billion.

"This would indicate that resiliency is not adequately addressed in their systems," said Eric Parent, a private pilot and CEO of EVA Technologies, a cybersecurity firm with offices in Canada, the U.S. and Europe. "Some significant improvements should be considered to increase their maturity and capacity to maintain operations."

Jose Fernandez, a pilot and retired professor specializing in aviation and cybersecurity at Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal, added: "If one firewall equipment failure led to this, it's not very resilient."

CHAIN OF EVENTS

At around 7:15 a.m. CST (1215 GMT) on Tuesday, the carrier lost access to a software application called SWIFT, said a person in the industry with direct knowledge of how the airline handled the matter. The application, which provides a real-time status report on everything from flight tracking to fuel usage and gate information, relies upon a data feed to operate.

An hour later, SWIFT was back up and running but other systems like dispatch and weather packets that provide weather information were also impacted, the source said. Southwest was able to manually launch flights while SWIFT was down but decided to suspend departures at 8:27 a.m. CST.

A message from a Southwest plane's ACARS system - a direct data messaging system for pilots - said a lack of data on "aircraft position and location" caused the grounding, according to a copy of the message the source gave Reuters.

The FAA referred questions to Southwest and declined to comment further. The U.S. Department of Transportation could not immediately be reached to comment.

The carrier said it was working with the vendor to identify the issue and devise a solution to prevent future problems.

But Tom Nekouei, a vice president at the Southwest Airlines Pilots Association (SWAPA), said SWIFT is an ongoing problem as access goes down intermittently.

He called Tuesday's problems yet another example of Southwest's "chronic under-investment" in tech infrastructure.

"It is a known issue," he said.

A Southwest spokesperson, however, said SWIFT is only one operational application and was not the root cause of Tuesday's operational pause. Other functions such as weather packets, aircraft routing, crew duty time monitoring and passenger manifests required the data feed as well.

Southwest has developed a plan with inputs from aviation consultancy Oliver Wyman, which was hired to investigate the holiday disruption, to bolster its operations and prevent last year's debacle from repeating.

Oliver Wyman did not respond to a request for comment.

Fernandez, the retired professor, said more should be done to protect non-critical aviation systems where cases of failure are not life threatening, but still disruptive.

"These ancillary systems that makes sure the business runs need to be resilient."

(Reporting By Allison Lampert in Montreal and Rajesh Kumar Singh in Chicago, editing by Ben Klayman and Josie Kao)
Colombia's President Gustavo Petro speaks on the day of a presentation of the labor reform that his government wants to carry out, in Bogota, Colombia March 16, 2023. REUTERS/Luisa Gonzalez

By Matt Spetalnick

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Joe Biden will discuss Venezuela in wide-ranging talks with Colombian President Gustavo Petro on Thursday, including U.S. willingness to further ease sanctions on the OPEC nation only in return for concrete steps toward free elections there, a senior administration official said.

Previewing the leaders' first meeting, the official told Reuters that Biden would reiterate to Petro, who has called for lifting sanctions on Venezuela, that he is not prepared to provide significant sanctions relief to President Nicolas Maduros government until he agrees to democratic steps with the countrys opposition.

Relations between neighbors Colombia and Venezuela have warmed since Petro's inauguration in August, and Maduro has welcomed moves by Bogota to organize an international conference on April 25 to promote resumption of talks between his Socialist government and opposition politicians.

The White House talks are aimed at renewing historically strong ties between Washington and Bogota and charting a new relationship with Colombias first leftist president. The broad agenda will also include anti-drug cooperation, regional migration, Petros peace efforts with rebel groups as well as climate change.

Since taking office, Biden has eased some U.S. sanctions on Venezuela - many imposed by his predecessor Donald Trump in a "maximum pressure" campaign - to encourage dialogue. But negotiations have stalled again.

Unilateral lifting of sanctions," the official said on condition of anonymity, "will line the pockets of people who have already stolen billions of dollars from Venezuela ... The two presidents are going to likely discuss it and I think we can find common ground."

Underscoring their differences, however, Petro said at the United Nations this week the objective of the Venezuela conference would be "more democracy, zero sanctions.

The U.S. has expressed a positive view of the planned conference but is waiting for details to decide formally whether to attend and at what level, the official said.

The Colombian government has said it expects officials from the U.S., Latin America and Europe but Maduro and the opposition will not be represented.

Anti-drug efforts will also expected to figure into Thursdays talks, another issue on which the Biden administration and Colombias leader, a former M-19 rebel, have not seen eye-to-eye.

Petro, whose country is a top cocaine producer, has derided as a failure what has long been considered a U.S.-led war on drugs, calling for a new international approach.

The official said it was now a misnomer to call it a drug war, that the U.S. was pursuing a more "holistic response" and was looking for ways to "adapt to the priorities of his government."

(Reporting by Matt Spetalnick in Washington; Additional reporting by Julia Symmes Cobb and Oliver Griffin in Bogota; Editing by Alistair Bell and Stephen Coates)
By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's public approval fell to 39% this month, nearing the lowest level of his presidency, as the U.S. economy showed signs of losing steam, a Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.

The three-day poll, which ended on Sunday, showed a modest decline from last month, when 42% of respondents said they approved of Biden's performance as president.

Biden's popularity declined almost steadily after he took office in January 2021, bottoming out at 36% in mid-2022. It has remained near that level since then.

Biden declared last Friday he was running for re-election in 2024 but he has yet to formally launch his campaign.

He is not expected to face serious competition for the nomination of his Democratic Party, but his approval levels remain low by historical standards.

Donald Trump, who is also running for president in 2024, spent much of his 2017-2021 presidency with similarly low approval levels, bottoming out at 33% in December 2017. Previous presidents only occasionally experienced approval levels that low.

Respondents in the Reuters/Ipsos poll were most likely to cite the economy as the biggest problem facing the country, with one in five pointing to it. Crime and the environment were each picked by about one in 10 respondents as America's top problem.

One potential bright spot for Biden: 68% of respondents said they were opposed to federal courts overturning FDA approval of mifepristone, an abortion drug.

The result was the latest to show a clear majority of Americans siding against efforts to curtail abortion rights.

The Reuters/Ipsos poll gathered responses from 1,029 U.S. adults, using a nationally representative sample. The poll has a margin of error of three percentage points.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; Editing by Lisa Shumaker)
FILE PHOTO: Vessels are seen as they await inspection under the Black Sea Grain Initiative, brokered by the United Nations and Turkey, in the southern anchorage of the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey December 11, 2022. REUTERS/Yoruk Isik//File Photo

By Pavel Polityuk

KYIV (Reuters) -Inspections of ships carrying Ukrainian grain from the Black Sea resumed on Wednesday under a U.N.-brokered deal but Kyiv faces a struggle to secure an extension of the agreement, as well as a widening import ban in eastern Europe.

Bulgaria became the fourth European Union member state in the region to block Ukrainian grain imports, hoping to protect local farmers following an influx of cheaper supplies since Russia's invasion of Ukraine 14 months ago.

But there was some relief for Kyiv as Romania, a key trade partner, stopped short of banning imports even as it tightened controls on the transit of Ukrainian grain.

Kyiv and its allies blamed the latest halt to ship inspections in the Bosphorus this week on Moscow, which in turn blamed Ukraine and the United Nations.

Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Oleksandr Kubrakov wrote on Facebook that "ship inspections are being resumed, despite the RF's (Russian Federation's) attempts to disrupt the agreement".

The Joint Coordination Centre in Istanbul that oversees operations said "inspections are already at work".

The Black Sea Grain Initiative, reached with U.N. and Turkish mediation last July, unblocked three Ukrainian Black Sea ports five months after Russia's invasion.

It was designed to alleviate a global food crisis as well as to support Ukraine, whose economy relies heavily on agricultural exports.

Russia says it has committed to the initiative only until May 18, and complains that a separate deal meant to ease its own agricultural and fertiliser exports - which are not covered by Western sanctions against Moscow - has not been upheld.

Ukrainian Agriculture Minister Mykola Solsky told reporters talks were taking place to get the deal extended next month. But, making clear no immediate breakthrough is expected, Solsky said: "Let's give them time."

He gave no details of the talks. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is due to discuss the grain export deal with U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York next week.

IMPORT BANS

Kyiv is also trying to secure agreement from Hungary, Poland and Slovakia to lift bans on imports of Ukrainian grain and food products that were announced in the last few days.

The countries are transit routes for Ukrainian grain that could not be exported by sea because of Russia's invasion, and bottlenecks have built up, reducing prices and sales by local farmers and putting political pressure on governments.

The EU is preparing 100 million euros ($109.32 million) in compensation for farmers in countries bordering Ukraine, and plans to introduce restrictions on imports of Ukrainian grains.

The EU executive has criticised member states for taking individual steps but Bulgaria's caretaker prime minister, Galab Donev, was quoted by Bulgaria Radio as saying Sofia had no option but to act.

"Over the past year, a significant amount of food has remained in the country and disrupted food chains," he was quoted as saying. "We are forced to adopt this national measure because the European authorities are still considering an adequate measure."

Poland went further than others by also prohibiting the transit of Ukrainian grain through its territory, but agreed on Tuesday to lift the transit ban after talks with Kyiv.

Transit of Ukrainian grain will resume at midnight on Thursday night, Poland's development ministry was cited as saying by state-run news agency PAP on Wednesday.

Poland and Romania will now monitor and seal Ukrainian grain cargoes that cross its territory in transit, a measure that is insufficient to satisfy all Ukrainian farmers.

"We do not know what the process will be, how it will work and what will work," Volodymyr Bondaruk, a farmer in western Ukraine, told Reuters.

"This will enable large and medium agricultural holdings to sell their products, but it will be very difficult for small farmers."

($1 = 0.9130 euros)

(Additional reporting by Max Hunder in Kyiv, Elizabeth Piper in Bilohiria, Ukraine, Luiza Ilie in Bucharest, Omer Berberoglu and Huseyin Hayatsever in Ankara, Guy Faulconbridge in Moscow, Philip Blenkinsop in Brussels; writing by Timothy Heritage, editing by Barbara Lewis and Mark Heinrich)
FILE PHOTO: NSO Group logo is shown on a smartphone which is placed on a keyboard in this illustration taken May 4, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo

By James Pearson and Raphael Satter

BELFAST/WASHINGTON (Reuters) -British officials are sounding the alarm over the widespread abuse of surveillance software and hackers-for-hire, saying that thousands of people were being targeted each year by an industry they described as posing an increasingly unpredictable threat.

Britain's National Cybersecurity Centre (NCSC), part of its GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said in a report published on Wednesday that the mercenary hacking market was offering products that were on par with government hacking groups.

"There is another new front opening, as we see more and more adversaries able to buy and sell sophisticated cyber tools and spyware like Pegasus," senior British minister Oliver Dowden told an NCSC conference in Belfast on Wednesday, referring to spyware made by Israel's NSO Group.

"These are the types of tools that we used to only see in a handful of powerful state actors, and which can cause serious damage," Dowden added.

In a statement, NSO repeated its longstanding assertion that its technology was used "for the sole purpose of fighting crime and terror".

Reuters has previously documented how the company's software was used to target the phones of American diplomats and European Union officials.

Journalists and researchers have catalogued a string of other alleged abuses. On Tuesday, Canadian internet watchdog group Citizen Lab published a report which said that NSO had been caught using newly discovered hacking tools to break into iPhones belonging to Mexican human rights defenders in 2022.

The NCSC also warned about hackers-for-hire, mercenary spies whose activities it said "raise the likelihood of unpredictable targeting or unintentional escalation".

The report comes as some in the surveillance industry see regulation coming down the pipe and are taking steps to try to shape it.

In a letter sent last week to the American Bar Association, NSO General Counsel Shmuel Sunray lobbied against a proposed ABA resolution calling for a moratorium on the purchase, sale or use of commercial spyware, arguing that companies with an "established human rights compliance programme" - which NSO says it has - should be exempted from any such ban.

The ABA declined comment.

(Reporting by James Pearson in Belfast and Raphael Satter in Washington; Additional reporting by Mike Scarcella in Washington; Editing by William Maclean and Alex Richardson)
A video that claims to show a Ukrainian soldier being beheaded by Russian troops caused outrage in the international community last week, with even Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov describing the footage as horrible. The Russian Prosecutor Generals Office announced that it would open an investigation to clarify what happened, according to a recent United Nations report on crimes against prisoners of war in Ukraine. Such a move from Moscow is unprecedented, but what is not unusual, according to the U.N. report, human rights organizations and witnesses who spoke to EL PAIS, are the abuses against prisoners of war (POWs), from both sides of the conflict.

The scale of Russias crimes against the civilian population in Ukraine exceeds all other human rights abuses in the war. After 13 months of the Russian Federations war against Ukraine, severe violations of human rights and international humanitarian law have become shockingly routine, Volker Turk, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on March 31. Our staff have verified more than 8,400 civilian deaths, and over 14,000 civilians wounded, since 24 February 2022. These figures are just the tip of the iceberg. Most of the casualties resulted from the Russian forces use of wide-impact explosive weaponry in residential neighborhoods. In occupied areas of Ukraine, we have documented numerous summary executions and targeted attacks on civilians.

But less attention has been paid to war crimes against soldiers who have surrendered at the front. According to a report by the U.N. Mission for the Monitoring of Human Rights in Ukraine (HRMMU), both the Ukrainian and Russian armies systematically violate international law and the Geneva Convention with respect to the treatment of prisoners. The findings of the report, which are based on a 13-month investigation, are shocking for both sides.

More information The race to gather evidence of war crimes in Ukraine

The video of the alleged beheading came to light as another recording showing the mutilated corpses of alleged Ukrainian soldiers was found. Regrettably, this is not an isolated incident, the HRMMU said in a statement. In March, a video of an unarmed Ukrainian soldier being machine-gunned to death by Russian troops sparked outrage in Ukraine and across Europe. In February, another recording claiming to show three Russian servicemen shot in the head by Ukrainian fighters was also released. The HRMMU report has authenticated some of these videos, which are often posted on social media by the soldiers who filmed them.

Ukrainian presidential adviser Daria Zarivna said Wednesday that Russian soldiers were sharing the videos as part of a psychological operation aimed at intimidation. However, according to the HRMMU and Human Rights Watch (HRW), this psychological weapon is also being used by the Ukrainian side. In its report on the first year of the invasion, HRW said that both armies publicly taunted prisoners of war, in contravention of the Geneva Convention.

The U.N. report lists several examples of this. On the Russian side, the HRMMU described an extreme case in which two Ukrainian prisoners were filmed as they were forced to drag themselves half a kilometer with a broken leg. On the Ukrainian side, HRW notes that there have been several cases of Ukrainian forces filming Russian prisoners in deplorable conditions to publicly humiliate them. Last Saturday, a video on Telegram showed Ukrainian soldiers laughing at the wounded state of three Russian soldiers, who had surrendered in a forest.

The HRW report also confirmed a case of torture that was filmed last March in Mala Rohan, a town in Kharkiv province. The video shows three Russian soldiers  captured after the town was liberated by Ukrainian forces  being shot in the leg by Ukrainian troops. EL PAIS visited Mala Rohan in July and spoke to two women who said that Russias occupying troops had raped Ukrainian women. Locals interviewed for the HRW report suggested that the Ukrainian soldiers may have shot the Russian POWs out of revenge. The U.N. report includes several examples of torture against Russian prisoners in retaliation for crimes committed against the civilian population. In June, a Ukrainian officer stabbed three Russian soldiers who had surrendered in Sloviansk; another was suffocated until he lost consciousness and the next day his arm was cut.

Torture is common, although it is much more widespread on the Russian side. More than 90% of imprisoned Ukrainian soldiers interviewed by the HRMMU said they had been tortured and ill-treated, compared to 49% of Russian prisoners. A fighter from the Ukrainian International Legion told EL PAIS last week that Ukrainian soldiers are terrified of being captured by Russian forces. In February, an official from the Ukrainian intelligence services told this newspaper that on the front in the eastern province of Donetsk neither Russia nor Ukraine prioritizes taking soldiers prisoner, explaining that only officers are targeted because they have more information.

In both armies the most common form of torture is beatings, although the Russians use other forms of mistreatment more extensively, such as electrocution and sexual abuse. The HRMMU reports that both sides have used old TA-57 military telephones to give POWs electric shocks. On the Ukrainian side, no cases of sexual assaults have been identified, while on the Russian side, there is even evidence that a prisoner was castrated.

Another key difference, according to the HRMMU, is that while Ukrainian authorities actively collaborated to help the investigation, Russian authorities restricted access to detention centers. The Red Cross has also denounced the challenges involves with visiting Ukrainian POWs: Moscow has only given the organization occasional access to Donetsk and not since December, 10 months after the start of the invasion.

The U.N. also reports that Russian POWs have better living conditions than Ukrainian prisoners, and unlike Ukrainian POWs, they are allowed to contact their families. Whats more, the Ukrainian prosecutors office has opened five investigations into the summary execution of 22 Russian prisoners  a move Russia had not made until the alleged beheading went public last week. But the HRMMU report regrets that Ukrainian prosecutors have made no progress in their probe.

Russias lack of collaboration was clearly evident last July when at least 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war died in a building in Olenivka, a Russian-occupied village in Donetsk. They were killed after Ukrainian forces bombed the building. A few weeks after the incident, the U.N. and Turkey announced that Russia and Ukraine had reached an agreement to clarify what happened. But in the end, Russia backed out. The HRMMU report suggests that Russian forces most likely placed Grad missile batteries near the building, so that Ukraine would bombard the site and unknowingly kill dozens of their compatriots.

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N'DJAMENA (Reuters) - Chad's army stopped and disarmed a Sudanese contingent of 320 soldiers who entered the West African country on Monday, Defence Minister Daoud Yaya Brahim said on Wednesday.

Brahim told a press conference that the confrontation between the Sudanese might create new waves of refugees and added that maintaining security would become difficult.

Chad's government closed its border with Sudan on Saturday and called for calm amid an apparent coup attempt in Khartoum by Sudan's main paramilitary group.

The West African country's defense minister said that the country had hosted more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees in the past.

"Today, thousands of refugees are crossing our border to seek protection. We have no choice but to welcome and protect them," Brahim said.

(Reporting by Mahamat Ramadane; Writing by Anait Miridzhanian; Editing by James Macharia Chege)
FILE PHOTO: A GCHQ plaque is seen during Britain's Queen Elizabeth's visit at the Watergate House to mark the centenary of the GCHQ (Government Communications Head Quarters) in London, Britain, February 14, 2019. REUTERS/Hannah McKay/Pool

By James Pearson

BELFAST (Reuters) - China is aiming for "global technological supremacy" in cyberspace and is using its cyber capabilities to conduct intelligence and surveillance campaigns, Britain's cyber chief said on Wednesday.

Lindy Cameron, director of the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), part of Britain's GCHQ eavesdropping spy agency, said Britain had a "legitimate concern" about the effects Chinese technology may have on cybersecurity.

"China is not only pushing for parity with Western countries, it is aiming for global technological supremacy," Cameron told an annual government cybersecurity conference in Belfast.

"Bluntly, we cannot afford not to keep pace with China. Otherwise, we risk China becoming the predominant power in cyberspace."

China is also using its cyber capabilities to acquire intellectual property, achieve its strategic geopolitical goals, and conduct global spying campaigns, Cameron added.

Last month, Britain banned the use of TikTok on government phones, following other Western countries in barring the Chinese-owned video app over security concerns.

TikTok has come under increasing scrutiny due to fears that user data from the app owned by Beijing-based company ByteDance could end up in the hands of the Chinese government, undermining Western security interests.

The United States, Canada, Belgium and the European Commission have also banned the app from official devices.

China has characterised the bans as politically motivated. Beijing routinely denies any involvement in hacking and says it punishes those who do.

(Reporting by James Pearson; Editing by Nick Macfie)
NICOSIA (Reuters) - Cyprus on Wednesday said it would not tolerate any deviation from EU sanctions on Russia, and said it was in touch with the U.S. and Britain after a number of its nationals were blacklisted last week as sanctions-busting enablers.

Britain sanctioned two Cypriots, and the U.S. about a dozen Cypriots or dual-nationals on April 12 for alleged ties to people facing sanctions or entities sanctioned over Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

It alarmed Cyprus, which has a thriving services industry in part built on hosting an extensive network of businesses with links to Russia and a past reputation of light-touch regulation.

Cyprus has asked both Britain and the U.S. for additional information to pass on to its own law enforcement agencies for assessment, officials said.

"The credibility of our country must be safeguarded and no deviation from EU sanctions will be tolerated," government spokesman Konstantinos Letymbiotis said.

Cyprus has significantly reduced its exposure to Russia since a financial crisis in 2013 forced the island to seek an international bailout and triggered an extensive shake-up of its banking sector.

Meanwhile, Bank of Cyprus, the island's largest bank, said it had notified around 4,000 clients with Russian passports who were not resident in the EU that their accounts would be closed.

"This action follows the suspension of Russia's membership by the Financial Action Task Force and the designation of Russia as a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction by the European Union," Bank of Cyprus said in a statement.

The bank said deposits held by the 4,000 clients accounted for less than 0.5 percent of total deposits.

(Reporting By Michele Kambas; Editing by Alex Richardson)
FILE PHOTO: European Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union Mairead McGuinness speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. Deputy Secretary of the Treasury Wally Adeyemo (not pictured) in Brussels, Belgi

By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - A digital euro will offer choice in making payments and is not a "Big Brother" project that seeks to control people, the European Union's financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness said on Wednesday.

The European Central Bank has yet to decide if it will go ahead with introducing a digital euro, but McGuinness is due soon to publish a draft EU law which would give it a legal underpinning, if a decision to move ahead is taken.

The ECB has said it does not want to keep any personal data on its users, officials at the central bank have said.

But critics say a digital version of the euro could be used to pry on people's activities, and make it harder to use cash for making payments and purchases.

"This is not a Big Brother project," McGuinness told the European Parliament.

"I respect those that have that view, but frankly I would ask them to calm it down a little. We should not address this issue to citizens in this chamber as any sense of a project of control. It's a project of choice," McGuinness said.

If the EU decides to grant formal 'legal tender' status to a digital euro, the bloc would need to do likewise for the cash version of the single currency, McGuinness said.

The European Commission will therefore propose during the current quarter a draft law to ensure that the cash form of the euro is legal tender, in line with a ruling from the European Court of Justice in 2021, McGuinness said.

The court said legal tender means mandatory acceptance of the euro at full face value, along with power to discharge from payment obligations or release from debt.

The Bank of England and Britain's finance ministry are studying a digital version of the pound, and the BoE has said it would have the same legal status as cash.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
FILE PHOTO: An attendant walks past EU and China flags ahead of the EU-China High-level Economic Dialogue at Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing, China June 25, 2018. REUTERS/Jason Lee/File Photo

By Laurie Chen

BEIJING (Reuters) -The European Union has said it is seriously concerned about the arrest of two prominent Chinese human rights activists and has called for their immediate release after they were detained in Beijing last week en route to a meeting with EU officials.

The detention of Yu Wensheng and Xu Yan shortly before their meeting with visiting EU officials last Thursday was "already not acceptable", an EU spokesperson said in an emailed response to Reuters late Tuesday, adding that their "formal arrest on Saturday is a matter of serious concern".

"The EU requested to the Chinese authorities their immediate and unconditional release," the spokesperson said.

"China's ongoing crackdown on human rights activists and lawyers is a well-known EU concern, which we raise at all levels."

Chinese authorities have not confirmed the detention of the two, a married couple, and Beijing's Public Security Bureau did not immediately respond to a faxed request for comment.

When asked about the detentions at a Wednesday briefing, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin did not refer directly to the pair but said "Chinese authorities handle cases according to the law" and China opposed interference in internal affairs.

Yu Wensheng, 55, is a human rights lawyer who last year completed a four-year prison sentence for "subversion of state power". He was among more than 300 rights lawyers and activists arrested in a 2015 crackdown.

His activist wife, Xu Yan, campaigned for his release, and alleged that he had suffered torture and ill health while in detention. Authorities deny accusations of torture.

The two were formally arrested for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble", a vague charge used by authorities against dissidents, which carries up to a prison term of up to 10 years for more serious cases, fellow human rights lawyer, Peng Jian, citing information from a relative, told Reuters.

The couple had planned to join a meeting with the EU's visiting top diplomat for Asia, Gunnar Wiegand, EU Ambassador to China Jorge Toledo Albinana, and Chinese civil society representatives, a source familiar with the matter said.

The EU delegation in Beijing said on Friday three other human rights lawyers, Wang Quanzhang, Wang Yu and Bao Longjun, had been placed under house arrest.

Two of those lawyers had successfully attended Thursday's meeting, said the source, who declined to be identified.

(Reporting by Laurie Chen; editing by Robert Birsel)
By Huw Jones

LONDON (Reuters) - The rest of the world should copy European Union rules for cryptoassets to create a robust global approach that protects consumers and financial stability, the EU's financial services chief said on Wednesday.

The European Parliament is due on Thursday to rubber stamp the EU's markets in cryptoassets regulation (MiCA), the world's first comprehensive set of rules for the hitherto unregulated sector. EU states have already given their approval.

The crypto sector has been rocked by the failure of crypto exchange FTX and other collapses, sending benchmark bitcoin prices tumbling, though it has begun to recover.

"I hope that our rules could become a model for other countries," EU financial services commissioner Mairead McGuinness told the parliament.

MiCA requires crypto firms to be authorised by the EU to serve customers in the bloc, and to comply with safeguards against money laundering and terrorism finance.

It is being rolled out in phases from July 2024 to give the sector time to adapt.

Crypto firms authorised in one EU state would be allowed to offer their services across all 27. EU cities including Paris are already wooing firms in the sector.

"It marks the end of the Wild West era for cryptoassets," Green Party lawmaker Ernest Urtasun told parliament.

But other countries need to play their part by introducing robust rules as well, said McGuinness, whose officials drafted MiCA. "Global convergence is absolutely key."

Britain has just set out draft rules to regulate cryptoassets.

McGuinness said the commission will study whether further rules are needed for decentralised finance, and for lending and borrowing in cryptoassets.

"We believe had FTX been captured under the EU's jurisdiction, many of its practices would not have been permissible under MiCA," she added.

(Reporting by Huw Jones; editing by John Stonestreet)
FILE PHOTO: Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg arrives for his arraignment hearing in New York State Supreme Court in the Manhattan borough of New York City, New York, U.S., July 1, 2021./File Photo

By Karen Freifeld

(Reuters) -Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg was released from jail on Wednesday, according to New York City Department of Correction records.

Weisselberg was sent to New York's Rikers Island jail on Jan. 10 for helping engineer a wide-ranging 15-year tax fraud scheme at former President Donald Trump's family business.

He was sentenced to five months behind bars but was eligible for release after 100 days with time off for good behavior.

A lawyer for Weisselberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Weisselberg, 75, pleaded guilty last year in connection with the long-running scheme. He and other executives received bonuses and perks in ways that cheated tax authorities and saved the company money.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty to all 15 charges he faced, including grand larceny and falsifying business records, and paid some $2 million in taxes, penalties and interest.

As part of his plea deal, Weisselberg testified at last year's trial of the Trump Organization, which also was charged with the tax fraud scheme. The company also was found guilty of all charges, and was fined $1.6 million, the maximum allowed.

Weisselberg testified that Trump signed checks and other documents at the heart of the tax fraud case, but said he was not in on the scheme. The former president was not charged in the case.

Weisselberg, who worked for Trump for decades, also was involved in the hush money arrangement behind the criminal charges recently filed by Manhattan prosecutors against Trump, but he is not charged in that case.

As a co-trustee of Trump's trust that owns Trump's businesses, Weisselberg co-signed a check to Michael Cohen, Trump's former lawyer. Cohen produced a copy of the check for Congress in 2019 and said it was to partly reimburse him for a $130,000 payment to porn star Stormy Daniels for her silence before the 2016 election.

Daniels has said she had a sexual encounter with Trump, which he denies.

Trump pleaded not guilty to the charges -- 34 counts of falsifying business records -- at his arraignment in New York state court on April 4.

Weisselberg remains a defendant in the New York Attorney General Letitia James' $250 million civil lawsuit accusing him, Trump, and the company of inflating asset values and Trump's net worth.

(Reporting by Karen Freifeld; Editing by Nick Zieminski and Jonathan Oatis)
FILE PHOTO: A Gucci sign is seen outside a shop in Paris, France, January 27, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

By Emilio Parodi and Foo Yun Chee

MILAN/BRUSSELS (Reuters) -European Union antitrust regulators have started inspecting a facility of luxury goods company Gucci as part of an EU investigation spanning several countries, Gucci's French owner Kering said on Wednesday confirming a Reuters report.

"The group is fully cooperating with the (European) Commission in the context of this investigation," Kering said in a statement.

Reuters had previously reported that Italian tax police and European Commission agents on Tuesday inspected a Gucci site in Milan connected with the manufacture of travel items, handbags and other leather goods, according to two sources with knowledge of the matter.

Gucci and the European Commission declined to comment on Wednesday.

One of the sources said other fashion companies outside the Kering group had been targeted by similar inspections.

The European Commission said on Tuesday that antitrust regulators had raided companies in the fashion sector in several EU countries.

The Commission, which acts as the competition enforcer in the 27-country EU, did not name the companies or the countries, in line with its policy. It also sent requests for information to companies active in the same sector.

Companies found guilty of breaching EU rules face fines of as much as 10% of their global turnover.

The Commission said on Tuesday that the latest action was not related to other raids on the fashion industry in the past two years.

EU antitrust regulators said in January 2022 they were probing whether French fashion house Pierre Cardin's licensing and distribution deals with German clothing maker Ahlers might breach European Union rules on online and cross-border sales.

A second investigation, disclosed in June 2022 following raids on some fashion companies the previous month, centred on a group of designers who had called for changes in sales periods and discounts, according to people familiar with the matter.

(Additional reporting by Elisa Anzolin in Milan and Mimosa Spencer in ParisWriting by Keith Weir and Silvia AloisiEditing by Catherine Evans and Josie Kao)
FILE PHOTO: Civil rights attorney Ben Crump speaks during a Stop The Black Attack rally against ongoing state legislation at the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. January 25, 2023. REUTERS/Octavio Jones/File Photo

(Reuters) -Lawyers for Tyre Nichols' family filed a $550 million federal lawsuit against the city of Memphis on Wednesday, seeking damages in the beating death in January of the 29-year-old Black man at the hands of police, attorney Ben Crump said.

The lawsuit and the massive award that the family is seeking are meant to send a message to Memphis and other U.S. cities that continued brutalization of Black men will be wrenchingly expensive, in hopes of forcing a change in the way police officers are hired and trained.

The specific number of $550 million was chosen as a reference to 55 years since civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated, also in Memphis, Crump said.

"This lawsuit and the amount we are suing for is a message that if you keep giving license to these gang-minded police officers to perpetrate acts of terrorism on Black and brown people, then were coming to your city and were going to bring these lawsuits," Crump said at a news conference in Memphis.

Crump has negotiated multimillion-dollar settlements in other high-profile civil rights cases in recent years, including $27 million from the city of Minneapolis for the police killing of George Floyd and $12 million from the city of Louisville for the police shooting death of Breonna Taylor.

Nichols died on Jan. 10 three days after his beating by police during a traffic stop. A nationwide outcry and protests followed, leading to the arrest and indictment for second-degree murder of five police officers.

The officers, all Black, pleaded not guilty and are next scheduled for a court appearance on May 1.

Memphis officials and Shelby County prosecutors acted swiftly in meting out discipline after police video showed officers punched Nichols with his hands held behind his back, kicked him in the head and beat him with a baton after they said he swerved in and out of traffic.

Police and fire department responders left a mortally wounded Nichols on the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back, and intermittently propped him against a patrol car. It took several minutes before medical care was provided, the police video showed.

Besides the five criminally charged, two additional police officers were fired, three more were suspended and two had internal disciplinary charges dropped. Yet another officer retired while being recommended for termination.

Three fire department employees were also fired and a fourth was suspended.

Besides seeking damages for wrongful death, Crump's legal team is also suing Memphis police for intentional infliction of emotional distress for lying to his mother.

(Reporting by Daniel Trotta and Sharon Bernstein; editing by Jonathan Oatis and Grant McCool)
Opinion articles written in the style of their author. These texts are to be based on verified facts and must be respectful towards people, even though their actions may be criticized. All opinion articles written by individuals from outside the staff of EL PAIS shall feature, along with the authors name (regardless of their greater or lesser renown), a footer stating their office, academic title, political affiliation (if any) and main occupation, or the occupation related to the topic being assessed

Can a military superpower maintain its global dominance even if its population is shrinking? What about when its population is aging and will soon be dominated by the elderly? These are not hypothetical questions; they are happening right now. Russia is depopulating and China is aging rapidly. And these are not the only demographic woes that are weakening these two nuclear powers.

Between 1994 and 2021 the Russian population decreased by six million (from 149 to 143 million people). According to the U.N., if Russia follows the current demographic trend, its population will fall to 120 million by 2050.

China is also shrinking. In 2022  for the first time since 1961  it had a net loss of citizens. But thats not all. On top of this, Chinas population is, on average, getting older, forcing a smaller and smaller percentage of the population to work to support the growing proportion of retirees.

These aging and shrinking trends in China and Russia will pose unprecedented challenges. Demographic decline not only threatens the stability of these military superpowers, but also brings labor shortages and amplifies disruptions to the job market. The decrease in the workforce simultaneously reduces the income that the government receives from taxes, which in turn reduces its ability to finance pensions and essential social services.

In this sense, demography can be just as destabilizing as any external shock. Similarly, a rapid increase in the population can be just as destabilizing as a sudden decline.

More information When organized crime is the government

The Economist recently warned that a demographic tragedy is unfolding in Russia. Over the past three years the country has lost around two million more people than it would ordinarily have done, as a result of war, disease and exodus. The life expectancy of Russian males aged 15 fell by almost five years, to the same level as in Haiti.

Naturally, the demographic situation in Russia, which was already bad, has been made worse by the war in Ukraine. According to U.S. and European security agencies, between 175,000 and 250,000 Russian soldiers were killed or wounded in 2022. And between 500,000 and one million Russians (many young and well-educated) sought exile abroad. Thus, war and the flight of human capital have added to Russias chronic problems such as aging, low birth and fertility rates, high infant mortality, a weak healthcare system, and lethal levels of addiction to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs. Whats more, mortality rates worsened between 2020 and 2023 due to the Covid pandemic, which, according to The Economist, claimed the lives of between 1.2 and 1.6 million Russians.

Even setting aside the pandemic, China has been facing a sustained population decline. In 2022, there were half as many births as six years earlier. This is due, in part, to the success of the one-child policy that the Beijing government imposed in 1980 to limit population growth. In 2016, the government abandoned this policy, since by then Chinese leaders had realized that their problem was no longer rising birth rates but falling ones. The impacts are already apparent. In fact, the working-age population has been declining for the last eight years, which is raising concerns about Chinas anemic economy. In 2022, Chinas economy grew at its slowest rate since 1976.

The Beijing government currently sees population growth and population renewal as important means of stimulating the economy. To promote these goals, it has created all kinds of incentives to incentivize births, including cash payments, tax breaks, and long periods of paid maternity  and paternity  leave.

Unfortunately, experience shows that attempts to boost the birth rate through government incentives are rarely effective. There are much stronger cultural, social, and economic forces at work that have reduced the Chinese peoples interest in getting married and having children. In 2022, for example, the number of marriages fell to its lowest level since 1985. The birth rate fell too. As the experience of countries such as Sweden, Italy or Australia shows, government subsidies arent enough to reverse the trend.

The reasons for getting married and having children certainly include material calculations, but they are also determined by cultural factors and expectations about the future of the country and its ability to provide opportunities for its population.

Optimism about the future matters as much or more as the cash promised to each woman who has a child. And the data on marriages and childbirth show that a growing number of Chinese do not seem to be willing to bet on their country.
(This story has been refiled to remove an extraneous word in paragraph 4)

By Kanishka Singh

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A former Venezuelan treasurer, who also served as an aide to late President Hugo Chavez and was convicted in the U.S. of money laundering, was sentenced to 15 years in prison, the U.S. Justice Department said on Wednesday.

Claudia Diaz, a former Navy sergeant who served as Venezuela's national treasurer from 2011 to 2013 and was Chavez' nurse when he was being treated for cancer, was extradited from Spain to the United States in May 2022.

A Florida jury in December convicted Diaz, as well as her husband Adrian Velasquez, on two counts of money laundering and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering in association with a corruption scheme in Venezuela.

U.S. District Court Judge William Dimitroulea in Florida sentenced Diaz and her husband, who also received 15 years, on Wednesday, the Justice Department said.

U.S. prosecutors in an indictment originally filed in 2020 said Diaz received at least $65 million in bribes between 2011 and 2013 in exchange for helping Raul Gorrin, also a Venezuelan national, obtain dollars at a favorable exchange rate.

Diaz, Velasquez and Gorrin purchased and paid expenses related to private jets, yachts, mansions, champion horses and a designer fashion line in South Florida, prosecutors said.

(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
French "Spiderman" Alain Robert climbs the Tour Alto skyscraper at the financial and business district of La Defense, naming his feat "The People", in Courbevoie near Paris, France, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meyssonnier

PARIS (Reuters) - A free climber known as the "French Spiderman" scaled a 38-storey skyscraper in Paris on Wednesday to demonstrate his support for protesters angry about a pension law that will delay the age at which people can retire in France.

Alain Robert, 60, climbs without a harness, using only his bare hands and a pair of climbing shoes.

"I'm here to show my support for those who oppose the pension reform," he told Reuters before starting his ascent of the 150-metre (492 foot) skyscrapper in Paris' La Defense business district.

"I'm here to tell (President) Emmanuel Macron to come back down to earth ... by climbing with no safety net."

Robert said the pension reform, which Macron signed into law at the weekend after months of street protests, meant that, combined with a loss of income due to the COVID pandemic, he would have to keep on working, and climbing, for longer.

Under the reform, the French retirement age will gradually rise to 64 from 62.

Robert has scaled more than 150 towering structures worldwide, including Dubai's Burj Khalifa - the world's tallest building - the Eiffel Tower, and San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge.

(Reporting by Noemie Olive and Clotaire Achi; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Gareth Jones)
FILE PHOTO: Laurent Berger, Secretary General of French Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) leaves after a meeting on pension reform with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne at the Hotel Matignon in Paris, France, April 5, 2023. REUTERS/Sarah Meys

PARIS (Reuters) -French Union leader Laurent Berger, a leading critic of Emmanuel Macron's pension bill, will step down in June, at a time when protests against the president's widely unpopular reform risk losing momentum.

Berger, 54, announced his exit from the powerful Democratic Confederation of Labour (CFDT) union in an interview with Le Monde newspaper. His deputy, Marylise Leon, will succeed him, he said.

With Berger's departure, unions are losing another key figure in the pension battle after Macron forced his bill, which raises France's retirement age by two years to 64 - still below the European Union average - through parliament.

Philippe Martinez left the helm of the hardline CGT union in March.

With unions calling for more massive protests on May 1 against the reform, which Macron's government says is needed to plug an anticipated shortfall in the pension system, Berger denied his departure would weaken efforts to keep up the pressure.

"I realise this is a particular period, who knows if it will be any different in October or in June? I am not essential to the CFDT," he said.

Macron said Berger is "someone I respect and whom I even consider a friend," when asked to comment on the news. "We disagreed on pension reform... Under other circumstances, he is someone with whom I always worked very well,"

While Berger did not resist Macron's first attempt to reform the pension system in 2019, he staunchly opposed a second try this year after the president ignored his calls for broader talks about how to make the system fairer while ensuring it is economically viable.

First elected to head the CFDT in 2012, Berger was overwhelming re-elected last June for a final four-year mandate, but also said at the time he did not intend to finish his term.

(Reporting by Dominique Vidalon, Bertrand Boucey, Elisabeth Pineau; editing by Leigh Thomas and John Stonestreet)
A mockup representation of classified U.S. military documents and a keyboard are seen in this illustration taken April 13, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

By Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan Landay

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was huge, expensive and top secret.

In the early 1970s the CIA built a gigantic ship called the Hughes Glomar Explorer to lift a sunken Soviet submarine from the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, according to a declassified history by the U.S. intelligence agency.

But the elaborately woven CIA cover story - that the ship was built by Howard Hughes to mine manganese nodules from the ocean depths - began to unravel with a February 1975 Los Angeles Times story, eventually forcing the agency to abandon the project.

The court appearance on Wednesday by Jack Teixeira, a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard accused of posting top secret military intelligence records online, has revived questions about whether leaks damage U.S. security in cases less clear-cut than the Hughes Glomar Explorer.

Proving that a leak, whether a single data point or a trove of documents, has harmed the U.S. government is difficult given that internal assessments are themselves kept secret, but analysts of government secrecy said the damage can be dramatic.

"There is a potential ... for great damage because many of the most valuable intelligence methods are quite fragile," said Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists.

"Once their existence is known, they can be evaded or spoofed and so their intelligence value can evaporate," he added, referring to a target taking steps to avoid espionage or exploiting a channel to provide false information.

"Individuals can be placed at significant risk of imprisonment or death," he added.

FOUR KINDS OF DAMAGE

Mark Zaid, a Washington-based national security attorney, described four types of potential harm.

These include disclosure of the information itself (such as troop locations); the source or method of collection (which can endanger the individual or the stream of information); the mere fact of U.S. interest (which may help adversaries identify and exploit U.S. trigger points); and public disclosure (which can embarrass or provoke other nations, including allies).

There is often diplomatic fallout.

Mexico's president on Tuesday accused the Pentagon of spying after the Washington Post reported on apparent tensions between Mexico's army and navy and said he would begin classifying information from the armed forces to protect national security.

The release of U.S. diplomatic and military documents on Wikileaks starting in 2010 contributed to two U.S. ambassadors losing their assignments.

In 2011, the U.S. ambassador to Mexico resigned after his criticism of Mexican authorities for a lack of coordination against drug cartel leaders emerged and Ecuador expelled the U.S. envoy for cables on suspected police corruption.

It is virtually impossible for outsiders to make a complete appraisal of the damage from leaks because internal assessments are themselves classified to avoid further disclosures.

"The damage assessment itself would likely reveal additional classified information," such as how long a source was providing information and whether what was conveyed, say about military deployments, might have caused a battlefield defeat, Zaid said.Another complicating factor is that officials can muddy the waters by minimizing the significance of leaks or playing it up, perhaps seeking a public relations benefit by pretending that no harm was done or to make a stronger case for punishing leakers.

In the case of the Hughes Glomar Explorer, which was built at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars and only recovered part of the Soviet submarine, once its cover was blown it was of no use to the CIA.

The ship was eventually put into private use for deepwater oil drilling and, in 2015, slated to be scrapped.

(Reporting By Arshad Mohammed and Jonathan Landay; editing by Grant McCool)
JAKARTA (Reuters) - Indonesia's military confirmed on Wednesday that three soldiers missing since a weekend ambush by rebels in the restive Papua region have been found dead, in a setback for its mission to locate a New Zealand pilot held captive by separatists.

The military said the bodies of those soldiers and another earlier confirmed dead had been airlifted from the area. Five wounded troops who were found the previous day had also been evacuated.

Indonesia's military chief on Tuesday dismissed a claim by the West Papua National Liberation Army (TPNPB) that 15 troops were killed in the attack on a group of 36 soldiers searching for where Susi Air pilot Philip Mehrtens was being held.

"Currently the four soldiers who died have been evacuated," a military spokesperson in Papua, Herman Taryaman said in the statement.

The abduction in February of Mehrtens has intensified conflict between rebels and Indonesia's security forces in the remote, resource-rich region, which came under Indonesian control after a 1969 referendum that followed the end of Dutch colonial rule.

TPNPB on Wednesday said it had pictures and video evidence to show its version of Saturday's events was accurate. Spokesperson Sebby Sambom said those images would be later shared as proof.

The rebels say they attacked the soldiers because Indonesia had not responded to its request for peaceful negotiations.

(Reporting by Bernadette Christina; Editing by Martin Petty)
Ralph Yarl, a Black 16-year-old who was shot and wounded by a homeowner after mistakenly going to the wrong house to pick up his siblings, holds a bass clarinet in this picture obtained from social media. Lee Merritt/via REUTERS

By Doug Barrett and Brendan O'Brien

LIBERTY, Missouri (Reuters) - An 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting and wounding of a Black teenager who mistakenly walked up to the man's house in Kansas City pleaded not guilty to felony charges on Wednesday during his first court appearance in the case.

Andrew Lester would face a maximum sentence of life in prison if convicted of first-degree assault, as charged, for shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, on the doorstep of his suburban home last Thursday night. He also was charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

He entered not guilty pleas to both counts during a brief arraignment in a Clay County courtroom, online court records showed.

The defendant, slightly hunched and walking with a cane, stepped up to the bench and stood with his attorney at his side as he spoke briefly with the judge during a proceeding that lasted just over three minutes, video-only footage of the session showed.

Lester, who surrendered to police on Tuesday but was subsequently released on $200,000 bond, left the courthouse after Wednesday's arraignment.

His encounter with Yarl occurred when the teenager walked up to Lester's house late at night by accident, mistaking it for another home nearby with a similar address where Yarl intended to pick up his younger siblings, according to authorities.

Lester fired two shots through a glass door with a .32-caliber revolver, prosecutors said. Yarl, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, and it was not believed that any words were exchanged before the gunfire, according to Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson.

However, local media, citing court documents, reported that Yarl told police who interviewed him at the hospital that Lester told him: "Don't come around here."

Thompson has said the case has "a racial component," without elaborating. Prosecutors have not filed hate-crime charges, which carry lesser penalties in Missouri than the two counts Lester faces.

The high school student has been recovering at home, according to his family.

Lester was initially detained shortly after the shooting and placed on a 24-hour investigative "hold," then freed on his own recognizance. His swift release fueled days of protest before he was charged days later and he turned himself back in to police on Tuesday.

In another case of a person being shot after going to the wrong address, a homeowner in upstate New York fatally wounded a 20-year-old woman on Saturday when she turned onto the wrong driveway while looking for a friends home.

Two Texas cheerleaders were also shot northeast of Austin after they got into the wrong car in a grocery store parking lot early on Tuesday. In both the New York and Texas incidents, the shooters have been charged with felonies.

(Reporting by Doug Barrett in Liberty, Missouri, and Brendan O'Brien in Chicago; Additional reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; editing by Deepa Babington)
CHISINAU (Reuters) - The small east European nation of Moldova summoned the Russian ambassador on Wednesday to declare a member of embassy staff persona non grata, prompting Moscow to complain.

Government press secretary Daniel Voda told reporters the decision was connected to the actions of embassy staff towards Moldovan border guards who denied entry to a regional Russian politician at Chisinau airport this week.

Moldova, which applied to join the European Union last year alongside its neighbour Ukraine, has repeatedly accused Russia of trying to destabilise the country, something Moscow denies.

Moldova told Russian politicians not to meddle in its internal affairs on Monday after barring Rustam Minnikhanov, governor of Russia's Tatarstan region. Police said he aimed to bolster support for a pro-Russian candidate standing in a regional election.

Russian ambassador Oleg Vasnetsov said he had not received answers to why the embassy employee was being kicked out and why Minnikhanov had been barred.

"We consider these actions to be unfriendly steps towards our country," he told reporters.

(Reporting by Alexander Tanas, writing by Max Hunder and David Ljunggren; Editing by Timothy Heritage and Grant McCool)
By Lisa Barrington

DUBAI (Reuters) - Omanis no longer need state permission to marry a foreign national according to a royal decree issued this week, a rare example of social reform in the conservative Gulf country.

Sultan Haitham bin Tariq al-Said has, since assuming power in 2020 after the 50-year reign of the late Sultan Qaboos, embarked on long-delayed reforms to improve fiscal stability and attract foreign investment.

According to newspapers in Oman, where the government tightly controls media and public dissent, Omanis previously had to fulfil certain conditions, such as being over a certain age, to marry a foreigner. Unauthorised marriages drew fines.

On Sunday Omani state media said Sultan Haitham had issued decree 23/2023 which cancelled a 1993 law empowering the interior ministry to approve each marriage to a foreigner.

"The facts and circumstances of life have changed, and the economic situation has changed (since that 1993 law)," said Omani lawyer Salah al-Maqbali, re-stating to Reuters comments to Omani media outlet Shabiba on Monday.

The decree states that such marriages must not violate sharia (Islamic law), public order or other provisions banning holders of certain government jobs from marrying foreigners. But marriages previously deemed illegal can now be legalised, it said.

The full decree has not yet been published.

Omani nationals make up just over half of the population of around 3.8 million people.

Oman is a relatively small crude oil producer compared to its wealthier Gulf neighbours, and was hit by a post-2014 fall in oil prices and by the pandemic-driven price crash.

Higher recent oil prices and fiscal reforms have however improved state deficits and rating agency S&P last month revised Oman's outlook to positive, from stable. It said the government was repairing its balance sheet and had reduced gross debt to 40% of GDP in 2022, from around 60% in 2021.

(Reporting by Lisa Barrington; Editing by Mark Heinrich)
People attend an event on the occasion of the commemoration of the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising in front of the Warsaw Ghetto monument in Warsaw, Poland, April 19, 2023. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel

WARSAW (Reuters) - Eighty years on from the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising - the largest Jewish revolt against Nazi Germany during World War II - Poland marked the heroism of those who took part with a warning to the world against sowing hatred.

In 1940, German Nazi occupiers corralled over 400,000 Jews into a small section of the Polish capital Warsaw; most were then sent to camps to be killed or died from the conditions within the ghetto, but on April 19, 1943 hundreds took up arms.

Their fight against heavily armed German troops to try to stop the transports to the death camps ended on May 16, when the Germans razed the ghetto to the ground. An estimated 13,000 Jews were killed.

"Anyone who sows hatred, anyone who tramples on people, tramples on the graves of the heroes of the Warsaw Ghetto, tramples on the graves of murdered Jews, but also of those who helped," said Polish President Andrzej Duda.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog and German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier attended the commemorations, which began with sirens sounding across the Polish capital.

"The heroism of the resistance and the rebels and the imperative to remember that terrible chapter of history... offer a platform for important dialogue between Poland and Israel and for the advancement of friendship between our peoples," said Herzog.

Steinmeier said that "every crime that the Germans committed should have a place in our memory."

As in previous years, volunteers handed out paper daffodils on the streets of Warsaw.

The daffodil has become a symbol of the uprising as Marek Edelman, the last surviving leader of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, used to receive a bouquet of yellow daffodils from an anonymous person every year on April 19.

He would lay them at the Monument to the Ghetto Heroes in memory of those who fought and died.

Organisers are giving out 450,000 paper daffodils, as this was the number of people in the ghetto when its population was at its peak.

(Reporting by Alan Charlish and Pawel Florkiewicz in Warsaw, additional reporting by James MacKenzie in Jerusalem; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Qabil Ashirov

The Assistant to the Azerbaijani President, Executive Director of the Heydar Aliyev Foundation, Anar Alakbarov met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of the People's Republic of China Ma Zhaoxu, Azernews reports.

Ma Zhaoxu said that Azerbaijan-China relations, the foundation of which was laid by the great leader Heydar Aliyev, are currently developing in all areas thanks to the heads of the two states, and have risen to the level of strategic partnership.

He touched on the importance of the meeting of the heads of Azerbaijan and China within the framework of the last summit of the member countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization in terms of determining future cooperation prospects. He emphasized the importance of the humanitarian and cultural projects implemented by the Heydar Aliyev Foundation in China, as well as the cooperation between the Chinese People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries, and the activities of the embassies of both countries in the expansion of relations between the two countries.

Stating that the Azerbaijani delegation was one of the first delegations to visit the PRC after the pandemic, Ma Zhaoxu noted that Azerbaijan has always responded positively to all Chinese initiatives, and noted its contributions to the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.

He spoke about the importance of establishing relations between all government institutions, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector for the further expansion of relations. The deputy minister wished peace to Azerbaijan, noting that the PRC supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Azerbaijan.

Anar Alakbarov said that Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev always attaches importance and support to relations with the People's Republic of China, and strives to develop bilateral relations.

Information was given about the tourism potential of Azerbaijan, the large-scale restoration and construction works carried out in Azerbaijans liberated territories, as well as the availability of opportunities for Chinese investors and companies in projects in other regions of Azerbaijan.

Stating that the Heydar Aliyev Foundation will continue humanitarian and cultural projects in China in the future, Anar Alakbarov noted that state institutions are also highly interested in cooperation with China and emphasized that the state of Azerbaijan always supports the principle of "One China".
The Dominion-Fox trial was the trial that never was. It was supposed to start on Monday, but Sunday night the judge overseeing the case announced that it would be delayed until Tuesday. On Tuesday, everyone was scheduled to convene at 9:00 a.m., but most of the day was spent finishing jury selection and going from recess to recess. There were no opening statements from either party. Turns out, as had been rumored, both sides been negotiating a behind-closed-doors settlement And, in the end, the case was settled: Fox agreed to pay $787 million to Dominion. The truth matters, lies have consequences, Dominions lawyer said.

Dominion Voting Systems sued Rupert Murdochs television network for $1.6 billion dollars for the lies it spread about the 2020 U.S. presidential election. Presenters and guests of the network publicly said that Fox relentlessly spread the lie that the 2020 U.S. presidential election had been stolen from former president Donald Trump and that Dominions voting machines were responsible for rigging the vote.

It was a hoax, that had been made crystal clear, as Delaware Superior Court Judge Eric Davis said in pretrial proceedings. The central question of the trial was whether in spreading those lies, Fox acted with what is known as actual malice, that is, whether the company spread the falsehoods knowing that they were such, or at least with irresponsible disregard as to whether they were lies.

Actual malice must be proven in order to establish that defamation took place, a requirement set forth by the U.S. Supreme Court in order to protect freedom of speech. It is difficult to prove that a media outlet has been maliciously or at least culpably lying, but the spectacle generated by leaked internal communications and messages between Fox executives and anchors makes it clear that even they did not believe the lies they were repeating on-air.

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FILE PHOTO: People gather outside PMC Wagner Centre, which is a project implemented by the businessman and founder of the Wagner private military group Yevgeny Prigozhin, during the official opening of the office block in Saint Petersburg, Russia, Novembe

(Reuters) - The Russian private military Wagner Group on Wednesday denied it was operating in Sudan and said it had nothing to do with battles rocking the giant impoverished African state.

Western diplomats in Khartoum said in March 2022 that Wagner was involved in illicit gold mining in Sudan, among other activities. Sudan denied this was the case.

"Due to the large number of inquiries from various foreign media about Sudan, most of which are provocative, we consider it necessary to inform everyone that Wagner staff have not been in Sudan for more than two years," the group wrote on Telegram.

Wagner had not had contacts for a long time with either Sudan's military ruler, General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, or paramilitary chief General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, whose forces are at the heart of the current conflict, it said.

Companies associated with Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin have no financial interests in Sudan, it added, saying the conflict was a purely internal Sudanese affair.

Wagner mercenaries, which have in the past been deployed against insurgents in Mali and the Central African Republic, are currently spearheading attempts to capture the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut.

(Reporting by David Ljunggren; Editing by Sandra Maler)
By Conor Humphries

DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair will have to trim its July schedule because it expects around 10 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will be delayed due to manufacturing issues, Group Chief Executive Michael O'Leary said on Wednesday.

"We are beginning to look at schedules maybe being about 10 short for July. We'll get maybe 12 by the end of June and then we hope 12 by the end of July," O'Leary told Reuters on the sidelines of a conference in Dublin. The airline had been due to receive 22 of the planes in June and two in July, he said.

"We will certainly have to trim some flights out of the system. I don't think there will be route cancellations."

The Irish airline in a statement on Friday said it was assessing with Boeing how delays, related to certain components made by one of the U.S. firm's main suppliers, would impact its schedule.

The focus of any cuts, O'Leary said, would be on high-frequency routes such as those between Britain and Ireland.

Boeing has promised an updated delivery schedule by Friday, he said.

"So really we don't know where we are at the moment, which is very regrettable. This is the third unauthorised mod [modification] that we've suffered that have delayed deliveries so it's very disappointing," he said.

(Reporting by Conor Humphries; Editing by David Goodman, Kirsten Donovan)
FILE PHOTO: The Toronto Dominion (TD) bank logo is seen on a building in Toronto, Ontario, Canada March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Chris Helgren

By Maiya Keidan

TORONTO (Reuters) - Hedge fund bets against Canada's TD Bank Group hit $6.1 billion on Wednesday, a 45% increase from 14 days ago, according to data provider ORTEX's calculations, one day ahead of the Canadian lender's annual general meeting.

Analysts attributed the short bets to the TD's planned acquisition of U.S. lender First Horizon. The transaction has come under scrutiny since the collapse last month of U.S. regional lenders Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank, and some shareholders have urged TD to drop the deal or renegotiate a lower price.

"I think that short interest was elevated by arbitrage investors betting on the (First Horizon) deal ... suggesting that the market believes that the deal is at risk of closing," said James Shanahan, an analyst at Edward Jones.

So-called 'arbitrage investors', many of which are event-driven hedge funds, bet on mergers and acquisitions by buying shares of the target and shorting the acquirer's stock.

"I think the biggest factor is noise around closing of First Horizon and what TD could be paying for it," said Lemar Persaud, an analyst at Cormark Securities.

Persaud said the failures of SVB and Signature Bank are a factor given TD's substantial retail operations.

TD, which is awaiting regulatory approval of its takeover of First Horizon, is expected to address the $13.4 billion deal at its AGM on Thursday in Toronto.

Around 5.5% of TD's outstanding shares were out on loan to hedge funds betting against the company, while the second-most shorted bank stock, Bank of America, only had $2.9 billion, or 1.2%, worth of short bets, the data showed.

Hedge funds profit when they borrow a stock from an institutional investor and sell it back when the price falls, pocketing the difference, a practice known as short-selling.

TD shares are down 0.1% since the U.S. regional banking crisis began, and up 3.4% this week.

While Bank of Montreal and Royal Bank of Canada are also exposed to the U.S. banking system, they had around $2.1 billion and $2.2 billion worth of shares out on loan, respectively, according to ORTEX data.

A spokesperson for TD declined to comment.

(Reporting by Maiya Keidan in Toronto; Additional reporting by Nivedita Balu in Bengaluru; Editing by Steve Scherer and Paul Simao)
FILE PHOTO: A woman walks past a sign board of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, part of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc (SMFG) outside its branch in Tokyo, Japan, January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Toru Hanai

By Junko Fujita

TOKYO (Reuters) -Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) sold $1 billion of additional tier-1 (AT1) debt on Wednesday, becoming the first major global bank to sell the risky securities since similar bonds issued by Credit Suisse were wiped out last month.

The deal reflects rebounding confidence in the banking sector of Asia's second-largest economy and could pave the way for a similar re-opening in Europe, where banks are grappling with higher funding costs following the sudden collapse of two U.S. regional lenders.

"SMFG had a choice of not selling them but they went ahead, likely signalling that the Japanese financial system may be more stable than those in other countries," said Nana Otsuki, senior fellow at Pictet Japan.

AT1 bonds - the riskiest tranche of a bank's bonds also known as "contingent convertibles" or "CoCo" bonds - can be converted into equity or written off if a bank's capital level falls below a certain threshold.

The market for AT1s froze after the government-brokered takeover of Credit Suisse by rival UBS in March.

The Swiss regulator determined that more than $17 billion worth of Credit Suisse's AT1 bonds will be written down to zero, even as shareholders, who sit below bonds on the priority ladder for repayment in a bankruptcy process, will receive over $3 billion.

The resultant tumult cast doubts on whether SMFG would move ahead with its planned AT1 offer, and led to Japan's biggest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc, putting on hold its issuance until at least mid-May.

In a note on April 17, analysts at Morgan Stanley estimated European banks would need to issue more than 400 billion euros of debt over the next three years.

Lenders most likely to issue AT1s over 2023 to help meet this requirement include BNP Paribas, UniCredit, Santander and Standard Chartered, the note added.

SMFG sold its bonds in two tranches, in 89 billion yen ($662.50 million) five-year notes, and 51 billion yen 10-year bonds.

The 89 billion yen issuance carries a coupon rate of 1.879% for the initial five years and two-month period, a regulatory filing showed. That compared with an initial 1.534% coupon on similar bonds issued by the bank in December.

The 51 billion yen one has a coupon of 2.180% for the first 10 years and two months, compared with 1.750% on the 10-year bonds sold in December.

The terms were attractive for investors, some analysts said.

"In Japan, where spreads over corporate bonds are thin, the terms for these AT1 bonds were reasonably good, provided that the banking sector is credible," said Pictet's Otsuki.

Japanese banks' AT1 bonds had been configured in a way the value is secured even if the government is involved in restructuring, and SMFG's new issues are seen to have the same features, she said.

($1 = 134.3400 yen)

(Additional reporting by Kaori Kaneko and Sinead Cruise in London; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman, Kirsten Donovan)
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's top national security adviser resigned on Wednesday, the presidential palace said, amid a scandal related to the aide's presence during the storming of government buildings in the capital.

The resignation of General Marcos Goncalves Dias, which the president accepted, followed a report from CNN Brasil that included footage of him walking around the presidential palace while a mob ransacked government buildings in Brasilia on Jan. 8.

Sources close the president said there was no doubt that Dias did not support or facilitate the invasion by supporters of former president Jair Bolsonaro in any way. Dias was head of presidential security during Lula's two previous terms.

Although the general's presence in the area after the invasion was previously known, Lula's opposition says the footage indicated that the government facilitated the invaders' entry, as it looks to bolster its request for a special committee on the invasion.

This committee would be the opposition's main platform to push its version of events, which centers on Lula's newly-sworn in government having colluded with the attacks in Brasilia.

Dias arrived at the presidential palace shortly after it was invaded and stayed there until the arrival of Lula that evening, after the Bolsonaro supporters had already been removed and arrested, the sources said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

One of the sources said that Dias - who was able to get invaders out the door of the presidency room and lock the armored windows - managed to do what was possible, alone.

In an interview with local broadcaster GloboNews later Wednesday, Dias said the footage released sought to link him to an army captain working for his national security agency who was filmed distributing water to the invaders in the palace.

He added that the captain and other agency staffers were removed from their positions and were under investigation by internal inquiries and by the Supreme Court.

Dias said he offered his resignation to Lula so that the investigations could take place in a transparent way.

(Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu; Writing by Peter Frontini; Editing by David Alire Garcia and Jamie Freed)
FILE PHOTO: Citgo Corpus Christi Refinery is seen in Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S., January 25, 2019. Picture taken on January 25, 2019. REUTERS/Erwin Seba/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. on Wednesday extended for three months a license that protects Venezuela-owned oil refiner Citgo Petroleum from creditors trying to seize its assets to recoup pending debts.

U.S. protections on the Houston-based refiner have prevented bondholders and other creditors from moving ahead on billions of dollars in claims against Venezuela issued by U.S. courts and international tribunals.

The U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) extended the general license until July 20, according to the department's website.

A spokesperson for Citgo was not immediately available to comment.

Citgo split from Venezuelan state-run oil company PDVSA in 2019 under an order by Venezuela's National Assembly after the U.S. imposed sanctions intended to oust President Nicolas Maduro. Washington has since 2019 recognized the opposition-led congress as the entity controlling the refining subsidiary, extending protection to prevent its breakup at the hands of Venezuela creditors.

The three-month extension comes as a U.S. district court judge is seeking federal approval to schedule an auction that could lead to a breakup of the seventh-largest U.S. refiner by volume.

A U.S. court this month asked OFAC for guidance on its aim to auction shares in Citgo's parent to cover a $970 million judgment obtained by Crystallex International over the expropriation of its mining assets in Venezuela. Any OFAC reply would be relayed to the judge at month's end.

O-I Glass Inc, Huntington Ingalls Industries, ACL1 Investments, Rusoro Mining Ltd and Gold Reserve separately have won attachments contingent on obtaining U.S. Treasury approval to seize assets, or an end to the Treasury protection. Their judgments total $2.6 billion.

ConocoPhillips separately has a claim against Venezuela valued at $1.29 billion over the nationalization of its oil assets in the country.

(Reporting by Marianna Parraga in Houston, Caitlin Webber in Washington; Editing by Paul Grant and Marguerita Choy)
By Muvija M and William James

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain said on Wednesday that any intimidation on British soil of foreign nationals by China or other states was unacceptable and that it was investigating the matter, responding to a media report about a so-called secret Chinese police station.

Britain has previously said that reports of undeclared police stations in the country were "extremely concerning," and that the police were looking into the issue.

Earlier this week, U.S. federal agents arrested two New York residents for allegedly operating a Chinese "secret police station" in the Chinatown district of Manhattan. China said it firmly opposed what it called "the US's slanders and smears."

On Wednesday, Britain's policing minister Chris Philp said the government was aware of about 100 such stations around the world.

"This government takes interference with foreign nationals here, transnational intimidation, extremely seriously. It is completely unacceptable and we will do whatever is necessary to stop it from happening," he said.

China's embassy in Britain did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for a comment.

The Chinese government has previously said there are centres outside China run by local volunteers, not Chinese police officers, that aim to help Chinese citizens renew documents and offer other services.

The Times reported on Tuesday that a Chinese businessman linked to what it called a secret police station in London had organised fundraising dinners for the governing Conservative Party.

The local Conservative Party association concerned said it had reported the matter to the security services last year and the man was no longer a member of their association.

Philp declined to comment on the case, which he said was under police investigation.

On the issue of possible political influence, he said: "All political parties need to be alert to the danger that representatives of hostile states seek to infiltrate or influence our activities"

(Reporting by William James, Muvija M and Andrew MacAskill; editing by Philippa Fletcher)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visits the border with Belarus, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Volyn region, Ukraine April 19, 2023. Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

KYIV (Reuters) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy inspected the frontier with Belarus and Poland on Wednesday, and thanked border guards for their defence of the country since Russia's invasion.

The president posted video footage on the Telegram messaging app that showed him meeting border guards in woodland with barbed-wire fencing beside a river in the Volyn region of northwestern Ukraine.

"It is an honour for me to be here today to thank our border guards for protecting the state border," Zelenskiy wrote under the footage, which also showed him addressing the border guards and handing out awards.

"For the protection of our state in Bakhmut. I know how firmly you stood there, holding Bakhmut," he said, referring to the eastern Ukrainian city where fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces has been intense for months.

Zelenskiy said after discussing border protection measures at a meeting in January that Ukraine must "be ready" at the frontier with Belarus even though Kyiv did not see "anything powerful" there apart from statements.

Russia used Belarus as a launchpad for its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February last year, and President Vladimir Putin said last month that Russia would station tactical nuclear weapons on its close ally's territory.

In a separate post on Wednesday, Zelenskiy said he had discussed security and socio-economic issues with political and military leaders in the Volyn region.

Zelenskiy has travelled widely in recent weeks. On Tuesday he met troops in the eastern city of Avdiivka, where fighting has also been fierce as Ukraine prepares for an expected counteroffensive to try to win back Russian-occupied territory.

(Reporting by Dan Peleschuk, Editing by Timothy Heritage)
FILE PHOTO: U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during an aid conference for Afghanistan at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 13, 2021. REUTERS/Denis Balibouse/File Photo

By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will convene envoys on Afghanistan from various countries next month to work on a unified approach to dealing with the Taliban authorities, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

The closed-door meeting in Doha on May 1-2 was announced after U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed suggested on Monday the gathering "could find those baby steps to put us back on the pathway to recognition ... of the Taliban, a principled recognition - in other words, there are conditions."

Her remarks sparked backlash from some countries. The Taliban administration's desire for recognition is viewed as key international leverage to press for an inclusive government and respect for rights, particularly for women, in Afghanistan.

"The intent and purpose of this meeting was never to discuss recognition of the Taliban and any discussion at the meeting about recognition would be unacceptable," said a U.S. official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Russia's U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia also told reporters the meeting was not intended to be about recognition, but rather "be looking for the opinions of those special envoys on how they see the way out for Afghanistan."

The Taliban seized power in August 2021 as U.S.-led forces withdrew following 20 years of war.

In December, the 193-member U.N. General Assembly approved postponing, for the second time, a decision on whether to recognize the Afghan Taliban administration by allowing them to send a United Nations ambassador to New York.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters on Wednesday the Doha meeting will aim to "reinvigorate the international engagement around common objectives for a durable way forward on ... Afghanistan."

Earlier this month the Taliban began enforcing a ban on Afghan women working for the United Nations after stopping most women working for humanitarian aid groups in December. Since toppling the Western-backed government, they have also tightened controls over women's access to public life, including barring women from university and closing most girls' high schools.

The Taliban says it respects women's rights in accordance with its strict interpretation of Islamic law.

Mohammed told an event at Princeton University on Monday that discussion of recognition of the Taliban administration "has to happen ... The Taliban clearly want recognition and that's the leverage we have."

Dujarric sought to explain Mohammed's comments, stating on Wednesday the issue of recognition was "clearly in the hands of the member states" and that Mohammed was reaffirming the need for an internationally coordinated approach.

"She was not in any way implying that anyone else but member states have the authority for recognition," Dujarric said.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; editing by Grant McCool and Chris Reese)
FILE PHOTO: A Boeing 767-322ER aircraft of United Airlines takes off during cold winter weather from Zurich Airport near Ruemlang, Switzerland, December 14, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann

By Rajesh Kumar Singh

CHICAGO (Reuters) - United Airlines Holdings Inc on Wednesday said macroeconomic risks have increased following turmoil in the banking industry last month that led to a sharp, brief drop in business travel demand.

CEO Scott Kirby said while the company "feels good" about its full-year profit outlook, it stands ready to act if the economy softens further.

United expects to return to profit in the second quarter and has forecast a four-fold jump in profit this year.

The Chicago-based carrier said it saw an eight percentage point drop in business travel demand compared to 2019 in the immediate aftermath of Silicon Valley Bank's failure.

Although the impact lasted just two weeks and bookings have recovered, the company suggested its earnings outlook could be at risk if the economy slips into a deep recession or has a hard landing.

"Our base case, therefore, remains a mild recession or soft landing," Kirby said on an earnings call. "But we agree that the tail risk is higher than normal.

He said United has a lot of flexibility in managing its capacity. That coupled with improvements in its balance sheet will help it deal with a downturn, Kirby said.

It is also seeking to keep a lid on non-fuel operating costs by minimizing flight cancellations. The company has forecast operating expenses excluding fuel to be flat this year.

"We can't control what happens at the macro economy, but we can and are doing a great job of controlling our costs," Kirby said.

Pent-up travel demand as well as constrained airline capacity due to shortages of aircraft, spare parts and labor have, thus far, allowed the airline industry to avoid the fallout from a slowdown in the broader economy.

"The macroeconomic weakness is being offset with the counter trend of consumer spending continuing to rebalance back to services," Kirby said.

(Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)
KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 16:21 | World, All, Japan

Japan has lodged a protest with China for not providing sufficient information about its recent launch of a weather satellite, despite the risk of debris from the rocket dropping near Japanese waters in the East China Sea, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Wednesday.

"It is extremely regrettable," Hayashi told a House of Representatives session, noting Japan had "strongly requested an appropriate response, including a detailed explanation" from China before the rocket was launched on Sunday, he said.

Beijing did not respond to Tokyo's requests, according to a Japanese Foreign Ministry source. There have been no reports of damage from rocket debris so far.

China set up no-fly and no-sail zones in the East China Sea before the launch, given the possibility of falling debris. The areas were located north of Taiwan and near the Senkaku Islands, Japanese-controlled uninhabited islets claimed by China and known as Diaoyu. The latter area covered a part of Japan's economic exclusive zone.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Thursday that Japan had urged China to ensure the safety of Japanese vessels operating near the area.

The satellite was launched amid intensifying U.S.-China tensions over Taiwan, a self-ruled democratic island Beijing regards as its territory to be united with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Tensions grew further after a meeting early this month in Los Angeles between Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen and U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, with China responding by conducting military drills.
By Andrew Chung

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday gave Turkey's state-owned lender Halkbank another chance to avoid criminal charges in the United States for allegedly helping Iran evade American economic sanctions, but rejected a key defense mounted by the bank.

The justices in a 7-2 decision threw out a lower court's ruling that had let the prosecution proceed. The court's majority ordered the Manhattan-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider Halkbank's effort to dismiss the case, but ruled out the bank's contention that was is protected under a 1976 U.S. law called the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).

Halkbank, an entity owned by the Turkish government, was charged in New York in 2019 and has pleaded not guilty to bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy charges over its alleged use of money servicers and front companies in Iran, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates to evade U.S. sanctions.

Halkbank shares surged 10% on the Istanbul stock exchange after the decision. Shares in Vakifbank, another Turkish state bank, jumped 9.9% and the bourse's banking index climbed more than 4%.

Halkbank's case has complicated U.S.-Turkish relations, with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan calling the American charges against the bank an "unlawful, ugly" step.

The case tested Halkbank's contention that it is shielded from prosecution because, by virtue of being owned by the Turkish government, it should have the same legal protections as Turkey. Sovereign immunity generally protects countries from facing legal action in another country's courts.

The Supreme Court rejected the bank's view that it has immunity under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which limits the jurisdiction of American courts over lawsuits against foreign countries.

"We disagree because the Act does not provide foreign states and their instrumentalities with immunity from criminal proceedings," wrote conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who authored the ruling for the court's majority.

Kavanaugh wrote that in Halkbank's view, "a purely commercial business that is directly and majority-owned by a foreign state could engage in criminal conduct affecting U.S. citizens and threatening U.S. national security while facing no criminal accountability at all in U.S. courts. Nothing in the FSIA supports that result."

The majority, however, found that the 2nd Circuit did not fully consider whether the bank has immunity under "common law" principles.

Justice Neil Gorsuch, in a dissent joined by fellow conservative Justice Samuel Alito, said the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act does apply but that the bank's prosecution would still be allowed to proceed under the law's exceptions for commercial activity in or affecting the United States.

Wednesday's decision, Gorsuch wrote, "overcomplicates the law for no good reason."

Gorsuch said that lower courts do not have guidance on how to resolve immunity disputes using the common law, including whether to apply norms of international law, which he said supply "no easy answer."

President Joe Biden's administration has said the FSIA does not apply to criminal prosecutions and, even if it did, Halkbank's actions fell under the law's exception to sovereign immunity for misconduct involving commercial activities.

The U.S. government has argued that the case does not involve the prosecution of a sovereign government, and that it has been pursuing criminal matters against foreign government-owned companies - if not foreign states themselves - for at least 70 years.

A Justice Department lawyer told the court in January that ruling for Halkbank could allow any foreign state-owned enterprise to "become a clearinghouse for any federal crime, including interfering in our elections, stealing our nuclear secrets, or something like here, evading our sanctions and funneling billions of dollars to an embargoed nation."

U.S. prosecutors accused Halkbank of converting oil revenue into gold and then cash to benefit Iranian interests, and documenting fake food shipments to justify transfers of oil proceeds. They also said Halkbank helped Iran secretly transfer $20 billion of restricted funds, with at least $1 billion laundered through the U.S. financial system.

The 2nd Circuit in 2021 ruled against Halkbank, concluding that even if the FSIA law shielded the bank, the conduct for which it was charged fell under the commercial-activity exception.

(Reporting by Andrew Chung; Additional reporting by Oben Mumcuoglu in Gdansk; Editing by Will Dunham)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Treasury Department on Wednesday imposed sanctions on three Nicaraguan judicial officials it said were involved in revoking the citizenship of more than 300 people who oppose President Daniel Ortega's government.

Nicaragua in February expelled more than 200 political prisoners to the United States and later stripped them of their citizenship, before revoking the citizenship of another 94 Nicaraguans, some living abroad but some still residing in the country at the time.

The Treasury targeted two magistrates and a judge at courts in Managua that affirmed those, it said in a statement.

The Ortega regime continues to engage in anti-democratic actions that target the most vocal opposition figures in Nicaragua, including through its judicial system, Brian Nelson, the Treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in the statement.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Paul Grant and Susan Heavey)
By Deisy Buitrago

CARACAS (Reuters) - A former vice president of Venezuela's state oil firm PDVSA was arrested as part of a widening anti-corruption probe looking into wrongdoing at the state company, a government official said on Wednesday.

The investigation that began in October has led to the arrests of more than 60 Venezuelan officials and businessmen, and prompted the resignation of the country's oil minister. It is examining missing oil payments and the use of crypto currency for transactions.

Ysmel Serrano, formerly a PDVSA executive vice president and chief of trade between 2017 and 2018, appeared in court on Tuesday after being arrested by a special anti-corruption police unit designated by President Nicolas Maduro for the case, said Venezuela's information minister Freddy Nanez on Twitter.

Antonio Perez Suarez, who also served as PDVSA vice president, was previously arrested.

The anti-corruption police also arrested businessman Salem Hassoun Atrach and Leoner Azuaje, an official who worked at a state cardboard manufacturer, according to Venezuela's state TV channel. It was not immediately clear what charges the men face.

Over 170 raids and 61 arrests have come out of the corruption case involving PDVSA and other state entities, according to figures by Venezuela's general attorney Tarek Saab.

From 2020 to March 2023, PDVSA accumulated $21.2 billion in commercial accounts receivable, Reuters revealed last month citing internal PDVSA documents. The receivables were tied to dozens of little known middlemen companies that replaced big-name firms barred by U.S. sanctions.

The total receivables include $3.6 billion in accounts classified by PDVSA as potentially unrecoverable as the customers took oil cargoes away from Venezuelan waters without completing due payments.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama)
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549





FORM 6-K



REPORT OF FOREIGN ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16 OF THE

SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934



For the month of April 2023



(Commission File No. 001-32305)





BANCO ITAU CHILE

(Translation of registrants name into English)





Av. Presidente Riesco 5537

Las Condes

Santiago, Chile

(Address of registrants principal executive office)





Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover Form 20-F or Form 40-F.





Form 20-F  Form 40-F 



Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (1):





Yes  No 



Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101 (b) (7):





Yes  No 



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant by furnishing the information contained in this Form is also thereby furnishing the information to the Commission pursuant to Rule 12g3-2(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.





Yes  No 


UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form 6-K

REPORT OF FOREIGN PRIVATE ISSUER

PURSUANT TO RULE 13a-16 OR 15d-16

UNDER THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

For the month of April 2023

Commission File Number: 000-53445

KB Financial Group Inc.

(Translation of registrants name into English)

26, Gukjegeumyung-ro 8-gil, Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul 07331, Korea

(Address of principal executive office)

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant files or will file annual reports under cover of Form 20-F or Form 40-F.

Form 20-F  Form 40-F 

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1): ____

Note: Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(1) only permits the submission in paper of a Form 6-K if submitted solely to provide an attached annual report to security holders.

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is submitting the Form 6-K in paper as permitted by Regulation S-T Rule 101(b)(7): ____
UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549



FORM 8-K



CURRENT REPORT

Pursuant to Section 13 OR 15(d) of The Securities Exchange Act of 1934



Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported):



NATIONAL BANK HOLDINGS CORP ORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)



  Delaware  001-35654  27-0563799 (State or other jurisdiction

of incorporation)  (Commission

File Number)  (IRS Employer

Identification No.)



7800 East Orchard Road , Suite 300 , Greenwood Village , Colorado 80111

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)



303 - 892-8715

(Registrants telephone, including area code)



Not Applicable

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report.)



Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):



 Written Communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)



 Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)



 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))



 Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))



Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:



Title of each class: Trading Symbol Name of each exchange on which registered: Class A Common Stock  NBHC  NYSE



Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933(230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (240.12b-2 of this chapter).



Emerging growth company 



If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act. 






SCHEDULE 13G

(c) Number of shares as to which the person has:

(i) Sole power to vote or to direct the vote 0.

(ii) Shared power to vote or to direct the vote 387,448.

(iii) Sole power to dispose or to direct the disposition of 0.

(iv) Shared power to dispose or to direct the disposition of 387,448.

Sculptor and Sculptor-II serve as the principal investment managers to the Accounts and thus may be deemed beneficial owners of the Ordinary Shares in the Accounts managed by Sculptor and Sculptor-II. SCHC-II serves as the sole general partner of Sculptor-II and is wholly owned by Sculptor. SCHC serves as the sole general partner of Sculptor. As such, SCHC and SCHC-II may be deemed to control Sculptor as well as Sculptor-II and, therefore, may be deemed to be the beneficial owners of the Ordinary Shares reported in this Schedule 13G. SCU is the sole shareholder of SCHC, and, for purposes of this Schedule 13G, may be deemed a beneficial owner of the Ordinary Shares reported herein.

The percentages reported in this Schedule 13G have been calculated based on 7,318,182 Class A Ordinary Shares outstanding, as reported in the Issuers Form 8-K filed February 27, 2023.

Item 5. Ownership of 5 Percent or Less of a Class. If this statement is being filed to report the fact that as of the date hereof the reporting person has ceased to be the beneficial owner of more than 5 percent of the class of securities, check the following .

Dissolution of a group requires a response to this item.

Item 6. Ownership of More than 5 Percent on Behalf of Another Person.

See Item 4.

Item 7. Identification and Classification of the Subsidiary Which Acquired the Security Being Reported on by the Parent Holding Company or Control Person.

N/A

Item 8. Identification and Classification of Members of the Group.

See Item 4.

Item 9. Notice of Dissolution of Group.

N/A

Item 10. Certifications
MUSKO NAVAL BASE, Sweden  The age of the airman charged in one of the most significant U.S. intelligence leaks in recent memory  just 21  has been the focus of a growing question: Why would the nation give someone so young access to some of its most important secrets?

But the airman's age has not come up as a focus of the Pentagon's investigation into how the documents were leaked. That investigation instead is targeting what security lapses took place that allowed Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira to allegedly remove the top secret level documents from the Massachusetts National Guard base where he worked.

For the Pentagon's leaders, who have seen 17- and 18-year-olds serve, age isn't the issue.

"The vast majority of our military is young," Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told reporters traveling with him in Sweden on Wednesday. "It's not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. That's that's really not the issue."

Teixeira was charged Friday in the U.S. District Court in Boston with unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information. He has not entered a plea, and his lawyer didn't speak to reporters at the courthouse after his initial appearance. He was supposed to appear in court Wednesday for a detention hearing, but it was delayed, with no new date set.

The leaked documents exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on Russia's war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

In Sweden, where Austin met with Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson in a show of support for that country's NATO bid, Jonson said the issue of the leaks did not come up.

"I can just say that we have good intelligence cooperation between Sweden and the United States," Jonson said. "We feel completely sure of the U.S. commitment of handling the situation."

The Air Force is investigating how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, and in the meantime it has taken away the intelligence mission from the unit where the leaks took place, Air Force leaders said Tuesday.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress he has directed the Air Force inspector general to look at the Air National Guard 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira served, and at "anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong."

For top secret information across the military, there's supposed to be accountable control officers who are responsible for recording active top secret documents and ensuring they have been either properly secured or disposed of, such as through a shredder or by burning them.

In addition, the Air Force is conducting a service-wide review of how each command handles classified information, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown told a Congress subcommittee Tuesday.

The Air Force's own reviews are on top of a military-wide review directed on Monday by Austin. Austin has ordered that all military facilities that handle classified information report to him within 45 days on how they access, share, store and destroy the nation's secrets following the leaks.

Teixeira is accused of posting the highly classified material in a geopolitical chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers. He was arrested by heavily armed tactical agents at his Massachusetts home last week and charged under the Espionage Act.

Copp reported from Washington.
When a recent plea for medical help came from the crew of a disabled Washington state ferry, a Navy nurse answered the call.

Lt. Holly Sapien, who is assigned to Naval Hospital Bremerton and was a passenger on the ferry, took the lead in stabilizing a man who was having an epileptic seizure, the Navy said in a statement Tuesday.

I had to get him out of the seat he was in, Sapien said in the statement. I had to get him on his side to protect his airway and prevent aspiration.

Sapien was among 596 passengers and 15 crew members aboard MV Walla Walla on Saturday when it lost power and grounded on the south end of Bainbridge Island at about 4:30 p.m., the Navy said.

The ferry was traveling from Bremerton to Seattle across the Puget Sound for what is normally a one-hour ride. Many sailors were aboard, including Sapiens husband and a hospital co-worker.

Other sailors, some of whom were on their way to a submarine ball, were credited with helping passengers during emergency procedures, Seattle-based KOMO News reported Sunday.

It was just second nature at that point. It was a different boat with different people, Navy sailor Jakob Stroud told KOMO. We all kind of worked together and helped everyone do life jackets and guide them where they needed to go.

There were no reported injuries related to the grounding and all passengers were safely evacuated, according to Washington State Ferries.

Sapien, an El Paso, Texas, native with nearly 10 years of Navy experience, said she relied on her service training in combat casualty care and providing basic life support in austere conditions.

Her experience in caring for people having seizures while she was working at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth in Virginia also helped, said Sapien, who noted that the ferry emergency was her first time treating such a case outside a clinical setting.

Its nice to be there when needed and be able to jump in and help out to give peace of mind to another when theres no hospital nearby, Sapien said.

Naval Base Kitsap in Bremerton is the third-largest Navy installation in the U.S. and is home to several submarine groups and two aircraft carriers, USS Nimitz and USS Theodore Roosevelt, according to the Navys website.
(Tribune News Service)  U.S. Rep. Ed Case is urging the Biden administration to grant Hawaii a Jones Act waiver to aid in the defueling of the Navys underground Red Hill Fuel Storage Facility.

Case, D- Hawaii, wrote in a letter dated Tuesday to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas that the current plan will require 10 bulk petroleum tankers to ship the fuel from a pier at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to various points, ranging in distance from ten miles away at Kalaeloa to various replacement storage sites thousands of miles overseas. ... Under existing law, these tanker movements for the simple transport of fuel ten miles from Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to Kalaeloa are subject to Jones Act requirements.

The Jones Act, a section of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, requires cargo shipped between U.S. ports to be transported on ships that are American-flagged, American-built, American-owned and majority American-crewed. There are currently fewer than 100 Jones Act vessels in service.

Joint Task Force Red Hill, the military organization tasked with defueling the Red Hill facility, hopes to complete the defueling process by summer 2024.

The Department of Defense plans to move the 104 million gallons of fuel in the tanks around the Pacific region in a new distributed posture to support its operations. But even when the Pentagon announced in March 2022 that it would shutter Red Hill, officials admitted they werent sure they had enough tankers available.

As a practical matter, Jones Act ships are functionally unavailable for (the defueling ) timeframe and prohibitively expensive due to the very limited number of fuel tankers in the Jones Act fleet, which are fully committed elsewhere, Case wrote. It is critical to DOD and the people of Hawaii that an advance waiver from the Jones Act and government-impelled cargo requirement be issued to provide DOD with the fullest possible range of options to contract internationally available fuel tanker transport on a predictable and cost-effective basis.

Red Hill has proved to be a political lightning rod, particularly since 2021, when fuel from the facility tainted the Navys Oahu water system, which serves 93, 000 people, including both military and local families. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply and environmental groups like the Sierra Club have long warned that the facility, which sits just 100 feet above a key aquifer that most of Honolulu depends on for clean water, posed a threat to the environment and public health.

Since the 2021 leak, numerous details on just how badly the World War II-era fuel farm has aged have become public. These included badly corroded piping systems, shoddy work in its fire suppression system and a litany of other problems  many of which the Navy had documented extensively in internal documents well before jet fuel got into its Oahu water system.

JTF Red Hill is tasked in part with a series of repairs and upgrades to make the facility safe enough to move fuel out of. JTF Red Hill announced Monday that it had begun dewatering  the Red Hill fuel tanks, a process that centers around separating water from fuel in the tanks to prevent corrosion.

Because the Red Hill fuel tanks vent into the atmosphere, condensation accumulates, resulting in water sinking to the bottom of the tanks, said a JTF Red Hill spokesperson. The water is removed through the tanks bottom drain where it is constantly monitored through a sight glass so operators will know when the dewatering process is complete. This extensive preparatory work will help ensure the safe and expeditious defueling of the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility.

(c)2023 The Honolulu Star-Advertiser

Visit at www.staradvertiser.com
By Yuki Yamaguchi, KYODO NEWS - Apr 18, 2023 - 20:31 | All, Japan, World

Taiwan's electronics giant Foxconn is considering expanding its electric vehicle output globally, setting up production sites where there is demand, the company's newly appointed EV business chief said recently.

"We will do on-site production in principle. We are not thinking of producing at a specific site and shipping products all over the world," Jun Seki, a 61-year-old former Nissan Motor Co. executive, said in an interview with Kyodo News.

Seki, appointed to his current post in February, said India and Japan are among the countries Foxconn is considering entering, adding the company is still undecided on its target markets.

Foxconn, formally known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., has EV production sites in Taiwan and the United States, including the one in Ohio it acquired from EV startup Lordstown Motors Corp. It also has plans to build a factory in Thailand.

One of Apple Inc.'s main suppliers, Foxconn booked sales of 6.6 trillion New Taiwan dollars ($217 billion) last year. In recent years, it has ventured into the EV business to diversify its revenue source, aiming to take a global market share of 5 percent in the sector by 2025.

The company is focusing on contract manufacturing, taking orders from existing automakers and mass-producing cars on their behalf, just like it makes electronic devices for other manufacturers.

As more companies from other sectors have been entering the automotive industry, Foxconn has received inquiries from firms such as oil producers and steelmakers interested in selling their own EVs, he added.

Foxconn, which still offers a limited number of EV models, is currently producing all-electric buses and plans to deliver battery-driven sport utility vehicles to a Taiwanese customer as early as this year.

The company aims to offer inexpensive cars to tap demand from consumers who cannot afford existing electric vehicles. It will utilize its know-how to lower costs it acquired through electronics manufacturing, Seki said.

"(Current) EVs are too expensive and inconvenient. If these problems are solved, people will shift to EVs," he said, while also adding he hopes to launch an EV priced at around 1 million yen ($7,439).

All-electric vehicles are more expensive than gasoline-powered cars due mainly to costly batteries and state-of-the-art technology such as advanced self-driving. Foxconn will keep its products simple to lower the cost, he said.

"We won't add anything unnecessary to our cars," Seki said.

Seki, who started his career at Nissan in 1986, became vice chief operating officer, the third highest ranking official at the Japanese automaker, in 2019 before joining electric motor maker Nidec Corp. in 2020.

He subsequently became CEO of the company but was demoted to chief operating officer in 2022. He left Nidec shortly after that.

Foxconn announced in January this year that it would welcome Seki as chief strategy officer for electric vehicles.

Related coverage:

Nissan accepts resignation of recently appointed No. 3 exec
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service)  Space Command is growing up more than three years into its reestablishment in Colorado Springs  supporting lunar missions and providing 11,000 missile warnings since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

Space Command Gen. James Dickinson described the progress at Space Symposium in Colorado Springs on Tuesday saying he expected to declare full operational capability later this year. The importance of the milestone has been a major talking point around whether Space Command should move to Alabama or remain in town. Experts and Colorado advocates argued a move could slow down progress toward full operational capability.

However, when asked about a decision on a permanent home for Space Command, Dickinson didnt offer any details on when an announcement could be expected.

We are looking forward to a final basing decision, he said.

Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs employs 1,200 people from all services, and it is charged with defending an area from 100 kilometers above the Earth to the edges of the universe, Dickinson said.

Every piece of our military operation is somehow grounded in space whether thats maritime operations, air operations, land operations, cyber operations, he said.

Its a place that is getting much busier with the number of objects space command is tracking growing from 25,000 to 48,000 over the life of the command, he said. It is work that will benefit from artificial intelligence to help manage the huge datasets, he said.

The command is also working with the Department of Commerce on a traffic management service to help manage it.

Dickinsons responsibility also covers the space above the contentious Ukraine and Russian border.

Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Space Command has provided 11,000 communications and warnings about launches to NATO partners and allies, Dickinson said.

In addition, the command has helped improve communications across Europe, he said.

The volume, the magnitude of how many (missile warnings) we have provided, thats very relevant, he said. Its a workload that would fall, in part, on those providing missile detection at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora.

However, the same warnings would be provided in areas of the world, such as the Middle East, he said.

On the space exploration side, the command has also been closely involved in NASAs Artemis program that will send astronauts around the moon in 2024 as part of a larger mission to send humans to Mars.

During the uncrewed Artemis I mission around the moon, Space Operations Command, based in Colorado Springs, was keeping watch on other objects in space, and testing tactics and procedures for crewed missions, according to a news release.

In addition Air Forces Space Detachment 3 oversaw the training to retrieve the space capsule and will provide support to human missions. Air Forces Space was formerly called First Air Force. It was named a component of Space Command in May.

They have already executed a couple of great missions, he said.

Dickinson said the command plans to support as many Artemis missions as NASA sends.

(c)2023 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Visit at www.gazette.com
KHARTOUM, Sudan  Sudan's rival generals on Wednesday made a new attempt at a 24-hour humanitarian cease-fire after a failed truce the night before. But sporadic fighting continued, and aid groups said they needed guarantees and a wider window to help civilians trapped by five days of intense urban combat.

Terrified Sudanese fled Khartoum earlier in the day, hauling whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the capital, where forces loyal to the country's top two generals have been battling each other with tanks, artillery and airstrikes since Saturday.

The fighting became less intense in the first hours after the cease-fire took effect at 6 p.m., with sporadic clashes continuing in the city center, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors' Syndicate, who is still in the capital. But he said neither side has provided guarantees to his group to facilitate movement of health care workers and ambulances.

Desperate residents of the capital have been running out of food and other supplies as they sheltered in their homes from the gun battles on the streets outside. Hospitals have been damaged and forced to close or have been overwhelmed by wounded, with staff exhausted and medical supplies depleted. Increasingly, armed fighters have turned to looting shops and robbing anyone who dares step outside.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher because many bodies lie uncollected in the streets.

In the tense hours after Wednesday's cease-fire, Abdalla al-Tayeb joined other residents in collecting bodies near the main military headquarters, the scene of intense fighting. "All of them nearly rotted, causing a foul smell that reached our homes," he said. "The scene was heinous."

After the failure of Tuesday evening's truce attempt, hundreds gave up on trying to hold out for calm and fled their homes throughout the day, even as explosions and gunfire shook Khartoum and the adjacent city of Omdurman. Residents of multiple neighborhoods told The Associated Press they could see men, women and children leaving with luggage, some on foot, others crowding into vehicles.

On Wednesday evening, the army and its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, separately announced that a new 24-hour truce had begun.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for both sides to adhere to the truce, "renounce violence and return to negotiations." She said the army and the RSF "are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and non combatants."

Until now, army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo  former allies against Sudan's pro-democracy movement  have seemed determined to crush each other in their struggle for power.

Tuesday's cease-fire attempt failed even after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke to each general by phone and after pressure from their regional allies. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have been calling on all sides to stand down.

Throughout the day Wednesday, the two sides battled around the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture, and the nearby airport. Residents said the military was pounding RSF positions with airstrikes.

The army's monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days. But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force have fanned out across the city.

Residents say armed men, mostly in RSF uniforms, have raided homes, offices and shops in neighborhoods across Khartoum.

"They roam in small groups from house to house, from shop to shop and loot everything," said a resident of the upscale neighborhood of Kafouri in northern Khartoum. "They storm your house and take all valuable things at gunpoint."

The resident said many families began to take up arms to defend their properties. He and his brother guard their home at night, he said. "You don't have another option."

Another resident, in the Arab Market area, said men in RSF uniforms broke into mobile phone shops and took anything they could carry. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity, fearing reprisals.

Both sides in the conflict have a long history of human rights abuses. The RSF was born out of the Janjaweed militias, which were accused of widespread atrocities when the government deployed them to put down a rebellion in Sudan's western Darfur region in the early 2000s.

Darfur has also seen heavy clashes in the past five days. The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said armed men raided its compound in Nyala in Darfur, stealing vehicles and office equipment and looting a warehouse storing medical supplies. The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Nyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Abdalla Hussein, the program manager for MSF, welcomed the truce but said 24 hours "is not enough" for sustained relief operations, particularly in remote areas.

Foreigners, including diplomats and aid workers, have also been trapped by the fighting,

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum but turned around Wednesday due to security concerns. The Dutch government said it was sending a Hercules C-130 and an A330 to Jordan to be on standby but that "evacuations are not possible at the moment." Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan, without providing details. The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. Separately, gunmen broke into the EU ambassador's residence and assaulted him this week, but a spokeswoman said he is back at work.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement. Dozens of health care facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

The U.N.'s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudan's transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. But Burhan and Dagalo jointly carried out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command.

Magdy reported from Cairo. Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and Lorne Cook in Brussels contributed to this report.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador ratcheted up the political infighting with the U.S. by saying Tuesday his country has been a target of espionage by the Pentagon.

AMLO, as the president is known, said the Mexican government needs to safeguard classified information to protect its national security and defend its sovereignty, arguing without showing proof the country is subject to spying by units of its northern neighbor including the Drug Enforcement Administration.

Were going to take care of information from the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of Defense because were the object of espionage by the Pentagon, AMLO told reporters during his daily press briefing, adding that several media organization in Mexico are leaking information provided by the DEA.

AMLOs comments come amid growing controversy over the Mexican militarys role in domestic security activities, which have greatly expanded with Lopez Obradors creation of the National Guard. The countrys Supreme Court annulled on Tuesday the move that put the National Guard under control of the military, ruling it as unconstitutional, local media reported.

On Monday, the Court invalidated military powers to carry out searches and spying in investigations against Mexicans and civil authorities, local media reported. AMLO referred to the ruling during the conference, saying that no intelligence investigation can be used if there is no court order.

While Mexico has generally good political relationships with its main trading partner, the nationalist AMLO has been increasing rhetoric against the US in recent months as general elections approach in both countries next year.

The Pentagon didnt immediately respond to a request for comment on AMLOs remarks.

Espionage has become a hot topic after U.S. classified documents started appearing on social media sites in recent weeks in one of the largest leaks in a decade, exposing reports the U.S. has been gathering intelligence on its diplomatic allies.

Mexico is guarding information for security because we feel that they are trying to violate our sovereignty in an interventionist plan, AMLO said.

With assistance from Nick Wadhams.

___

2023 Bloomberg L.P.

Visit bloomberg.com.

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
TORONTO  Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has told NATO officials privately that Canada will never meet the military alliance's defense spending target, according to a leaked secret Pentagon assessment obtained by The Washington Post. The document's anonymous authors say Canada's "widespread" military deficiencies are harming ties with security partners and allies.

The document, which has not been previously reported on, says "enduring" defense shortfalls led the Canadian Armed Forces to assess in February that it "could not conduct a major operation while simultaneously maintaining its NATO battle group leadership [in Latvia] and aid to Ukraine"  and that the situation was not "likely" to change without a shift in public opinion.

The United States and Canada, neighbors and close NATO allies, share responsibility for defending the continent as partners in the North American Aerospace Defense Command, or NORAD. Washington has long pressed Ottawa to boost its spending on defense and hasten plans to upgrade military capabilities and infrastructure in the Arctic, where officials in both countries warn that Russia and China are being more assertive.

But the document, part of a trove of classified material leaked to the Discord messaging app, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard, offers new insight into dissatisfaction and concern in the United States and beyond about Canadian defense policy and priorities.

"Widespread defense shortfalls hinder Canadian capabilities," the document says, "while straining partner relationships and alliance contributions."

The assessment, which bears the seal of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, says Germany is concerned about whether the Canadian Armed Forces can continue to aid Ukraine while meeting its NATO pledges. Turkey is "disappointed" by the Canadian military's "refusal" to support the transport of humanitarian aid after February's deadly earthquake, the document says, and Haiti is "frustrated" by Ottawa's reluctance to lead a multinational security mission to that crisis-racked nation.

Since February 2022, Canada has provided Ukraine more than $1 billion of military aid, including armored vehicles, ammunition, a surface-to-air missile system that it sourced from the United States and eight German-made Leopard II tanks that it transferred to Poland for delivery to Ukraine. The Canadian Armed Forces has trained more than 36,000 Ukrainian military and security personnel since 2015 and leads a NATO battle group in Latvia.

But some NATO members are "concerned" that Canada has not increased the number of personnel deployed to Latvia, the document states, despite a pledge last year to do so. NORAD finds that the Canadian Armed Forces lacks "significant Arctic capabilities, and modernization plans have not materialized despite multiple public statements."

A Pentagon spokesman declined to address the contents of the assessment. He told The Post that the "bond" between the two countries "remains close."

"Canada is much more than an exemplary neighbor; it is a reliable friend and a steadfast ally," said the spokesman, who commented on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter. "For more than a century, the United States and Canada have stood shoulder to shoulder protecting our homelands, building a secure and prosperous North America, upholding democracy and defending freedom around the world. We will continue to stand together in support of those values."

The U.S. Northern Command did not respond to a request for comment.

Kerry Buck, a former Canadian ambassador to NATO, said Canada has long relied on the United States to be its security umbrella. She said Canadian diplomats and defense officials "are fully aware" of the impact that shortfalls have "on Canada's international reputation and our reputation with our U.S. partners."

"Whether that translates into government-wide action is a different question with a different answer," Buck told The Post. "There has been underinvestment in defense and broader security for quite a while now in Canada, from my perspective, and through successive governments."

The document contains markings indicating that at least some of the intelligence it contains was drawn from human sources and is not to be shared with foreign nationals. The date on which it was written is obscured, but the document includes references to events in February. Trudeau and President Biden discussed defense spending and NORAD modernization when they met in Ottawa March.

The assessment echoes long-standing criticisms and observations about Canada's commitment to defense. In an open letter released Monday, the Canada-based Conference of Defense Associations Institute called on Ottawa to "radically accelerate the timelines for procurement and redress the poor state of our nation's current defense capacity, capabilities and state of readiness."

"Years of restraint, cost cutting, downsizing and deferred investment have meant that Canada's defense capabilities have atrophied," said 60 signatories, who included several former Canadian defense ministers, military commanders, and security and intelligence officials.

According to NATO, Canada spends an estimated 1.29 percent of its economic output on defense  well short of the 2 percent guideline that members agreed in 2014 they would aim to meet. In the midst of the war in Ukraine, which has mobilized Western allies, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said recently that a growing number of countries view the benchmark "as the floor, not the ceiling."

Trudeau, in public, has been noncommittal when asked when Canada will meet the target. Privately, the document says, he has "told NATO officials that Canada will never reach 2% defense spending." It notes that the military budget has been below 1.4 percent of gross domestic product for 26 years.

Trudeau has been prime minister for nearly eight of those years. Asked this week about the letter from the Conference of Defense Associations Institute, he blamed some military procurement issues on his predecessor. "Canada will continue to do its share," he told reporters in Ottawa. But he added that "governments are challenged with a whole bunch of different priorities that we have to invest in and get the balance right on."

Trudeau's office referred requests for comment to the Ministry of Defense. A spokesman for Defense Minister Anita Anand told The Post that Canada's "commitment to Euro-Atlantic and global security is ironclad  and we continue to make landmark investments to equip our Armed Forces."

Spokesman Daniel Minden called the $19 billion purchase of 88 F-35 fighter jets in January the largest investment in the Royal Canadian Air Force in 30 years. Canada is spending $38.6 billion to "modernize its NORAD capabilities," he said, and is "working diligently to surge the Canadian-led NATO battle group in Latvia to brigade level."

Canada's defense policy calls for defense spending to increase by more than 70 percent from 2017 to 2026, he said. But even if the country fulfills that aim, it will still fall short of the 2 percent baseline.

Gen. Wayne Eyre, Canada's chief of the defense staff  the equivalent of the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff  has acknowledged problems in recruitment, retention and readiness. The government last year announced a review of defense policy. Critics say it must be sped up.

In October, Eyre ordered a halt to nonessential activities so commanders could focus on personnel shortages. One factor fueling the shortages, officials acknowledged, is a string of sexual misconduct allegations against top leaders. A government-commissioned report said the crisis "has caused as much damage as defeat in combat would have to demoralize the troops and shock Canadians."

The document lists problems with what it categorizes as readiness, personnel, "political apathy" and procurement.

It says that nearly all of Canada's 78 Leopard II tanks "require extensive maintenance and lack spare parts." In one unit, only nine of 40 are fully or partially operational. The assessment says the military lacks half the pilots it requires and calls procurement decisions "politically motivated, constrained by limited staffing and not properly codified in budget items."

Canadian military leaders, it says, "perceive that politicians do not care about supporting them and that senior politicians publicly misrepresent defense spending for political gain."

The assessment notes Canada's response to an unidentified aerial object that violated Canadian airspace in February.

Canadian and American fighter jets were scrambled, and an American F-22 fighter jet shot the object down in Canada's Yukon territory on Feb. 11. At the time, Anand said that the process was "sound" and that the shoot-down was "NORAD doing what it supposed to do."

But the document says the response of the Canadian CF-18 fighter jets "was delayed by 1 hour, necessitating U.S. assistance"  an example of a readiness issue.

Eyre told a parliamentary committee last month that the jets were "somewhat delayed" by freezing rain. He did not specify the length of the delay.

"Let me say up front that the shoot-down occurred in exactly the way we practice, exactly the way we train," he told Canadian lawmakers. He said his communications with the commander of NORAD and other military and political leaders were "almost textbook."

"That being said, there are some lessons that we are garnering from this," Eyre said.
BEIJING  China's foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.

In separate phone calls to the two officials on Monday, Qin Gang expressed China's concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements issued late Monday.

Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. It was a dramatic moment of diplomacy for China that Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

Qin stressed in his talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue, a statement about that phone call said.

He told Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and the Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks. "China is willing to provide convenience for this," he was quoted as saying.

Israel and the Palestinians have not held substantive peace talks on ending the century-long conflict in over a decade. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government is committed to expanding settlements in the occupied West Bank  which most of the international community considers illegal and an obstacle to peace  and several of his key allies are staunchly opposed to the creation of an independent Palestinian state.

Cohen expressed his country's commitment to reducing tensions, but said the problem appeared to be difficult to resolve in the short term, the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

Israel's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qin and Cohen discussed "the importance of maintaining quiet at the Temple Mount, particularly in the final days of Ramadan," the Muslim holy month, but made no mention of peace talks with the Palestinians.

It said that Cohen conveyed "the threat that we see in Iran's nuclear program" and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Qin also told Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed Qin's outreach to the two officials. "It is never too late to do the right thing," he said.

This month, violence in Israel and the West Bank has increased, touched off by an Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's most sensitive holy site, the compound home to the Al-Aqsa mosque. The Israeli military struck sites linked to the Palestinian group Hamas in southern Lebanon and the Gaza Strip after militants in the two territories fired rocket salvos at Israel. The mosque sits on a contested hilltop revered as the third-holiest site in Islam and the holiest site in Judaism.

Associated Press writer Ilan Ben Zion in Jerusalem contributed to this report.
The Chinese military could soon deploy a high-altitude spy drone that travels at least three times the speed of sound, according to a leaked U.S. military assessment, a development that would dramatically strengthen Chinas ability to conduct surveillance operations.

A secret document from the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which has not previously been reported, shows the Chinese military is making technological advances that could help it target American warships around Taiwan and military bases in the region.

The document features satellite imagery dated Aug. 9 that shows two WZ-8 rocket-propelled reconnaissance drones at an air base in eastern China, about 350 miles inland from Shanghai. The drones are a cutting-edge surveillance system that could help China gather real-time mapping data to inform strategy or carry out missile strikes in a future conflict.

The assessment says the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) had almost certainly established its first unmanned aerial vehicle unit at the base, which falls under the Eastern Theater Command, the branch of the Chinese military responsible for enforcing Beijings sovereignty claims over Taiwan.

The Washington Post obtained the assessment of the WZ-8 program from a trove of images of classified files posted on Discord, a group chat service popular with gamers, allegedly by a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard.

The Defense Department declined to comment. Chinas Ministry of National Defense did not respond to a faxed request for comment.

Other documents in the trove detail a number of disclosures about Chinese spying and military modernization, including intelligence that revealed the existence of additional Chinese spy balloons and an assessment that Taiwan is ill-prepared to prevent early Chinese air superiority during an invasion.

This latest revelation about the advancement comes as intensifying military aggression around Taiwan has heightened concern about a Chinese invasion on the self-governed island democracy.

CIA Director William J. Burns has said Chinese leader Xi Jinping wants the PLA to be capable of seizing Taiwan by 2027, although he added that this does not mean Xi will order an attack at that time.

Beijing introduced the WZ-8 drones in 2019 when two of the jet-black aircraft were paraded past Tiananmen Square during celebrations for the 70th anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party-run Peoples Republic of China. Few analysts considered the drones fully operational at the time.

Also included in the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agencys assessment are possible flight paths for the drone as well as for the twin-engine H6-M Badger bomber used to launch it. After taking off from its home air base, the warplane would fly to just off Chinas east coast before releasing the stealthy drone, which could then enter Taiwanese or South Korean airspace at a height of 100,000 feet and fly three times the speed of sound. The document does not detail how the drone is propelled but says engine features are primarily associated with rocket fuel.

A map of projected routes, labeled not necessarily authoritative, suggests ways the drones Electro-optical cameras and sensors could gather intelligence on Taiwans main island and the western side of South Korea including Seoul, the capital city. The use of synthetic aperture radar would allow it to map territory at night and foggy weather.

The drones primary use wont be against Taiwan but against the United States and its military bases in the Pacific, said Chi Li-pin, director of the aeronautical systems research division at the National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology, Taiwans military-run weapons developer. Its a weapon for anti-access and area denial, he said.

Chi added that the aircraft does not currently appear to be designed to launch attacks, but he noted modifications could allow it to conduct strikes in future. It is difficult to detect and intercept. The existing U.S. air-to-air weapons arent good enough, he said.

Dean Cheng, a nonresident senior fellow with the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, said the disclosure shows China is developing a capability to monitor the entire Indo-Pacific region. This is not just aimed at the United States or South Korea, said Cheng, who had not seen the documents. Japan has to worry about it. India has to worry about it. All Southeast Asia has to worry about it.

China, he noted, is creating a range of high-tech systems for military use  from hypersonic weapons that can use drone reconnaissance for anti-ship purposes to antisatellite weapons that they could use to try to blind the United States. Individually, none of these things are game-changers, he said. Taken together, were looking at a PLA that is developing a reconnaissance strike complex: Find the enemy, hit the enemy, kill the enemy.

The airfield described in the document as Liuan appears to be a base in Dushan County of Luan city, according to coordinates in the document. (The first Chinese character in Luan is often pronounced liu but it is lu in this instance.)

It was originally built in 1970, part of leader Mao Zedongs campaign to move crucial industries and military installations into mountainous regions, prompted after relations with the Soviet Union soured and left Chinas communist leadership feeling vulnerable to attack. The hangars of the original air base, known then as the 8301 airfield, were burrowed into the hillside and had steel-plated doors that were 12 inches thick, according to Chinese state media.

A review of satellite imagery publicly available on Google Earth and provided to The Post by Planet Labs shows the base has expanded multiple times in recent years, with at least 18 new structures constructed after August 2020. Beginning in late February 2022, new, significantly wider thoroughfares that lead into the hills south of the runway were constructed. In some places, the new clearing is about 130 feet wide.

Enthusiasts who use open-source material to track the Chinese air force believe the base is home to a regiment of the Eastern Theaters 10th bomber division, the branch most likely to conduct air attacks if China launches a full-scale assault on Taiwan.

Joseph Wen, a Taipei-based independent analyst who tracks military installations in China, says that the base was abandoned for years. It was even used as a filming location for a patriotic action film about the Sino-Japanese War.

But there have been clear signs since 2019 that the base has been brought back into service. Wen has tracked a flurry of construction activity, included widening the paths that lead to the southern cavern entrance to nearly 130 feet. The wingspan of the bomber plane used to launch the drone is 108 feet.

The Washington Posts Meg Kelly contributed to this report.
CAMP HUMPHREYS, South Korea  South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in an interview Wednesday offered some scenarios in which Seoul could provide Ukraine with lethal aid to fight its now 14-month-old war with Russia.

Yoon told the Reuters news agency that in the event of a large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war by Russia, it would be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support to Ukraine.

According to the Reuters interview, Yoon said he believed there won't be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that's been illegally invaded. But South Korea must take the most appropriate measures due to its relationship with other countries involved in the war, he added.

South Korea has pledged over $100 million in non-lethal aid to Ukraine in the form of vaccines, medical equipment, body armor and power generators since June, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Considering the growing suffering of the Ukrainian people and refugees due to the prolonged war, the Korean government will strive to deliver the additional aid as quickly as possible in hopes of relieving their pain, the ministry said in a news release on April 20, 2022. "With the hope that the assistance will help relieve the suffering of Ukraine, the Korean government stands in solidarity with the people of Ukraine.

Yoon has condemned the Russian invasion, but so far has publicly declined to send lethal aid directly to Ukraine. In an October speech, he cited Seouls peaceful and good relations with all countries around the world.

However, senior South Korean officials have privately explored ways to indirectly provide 155 mm artillery shells to Ukraine, according to news reports about leaked Defense Department intelligence data that included diplomatic communications.

One such report from South Koreas Dong-A Ilbo newspaper Wednesday said Seoul had agreed to lend 500,000 artillery shells to the United States in March.

South Koreas trade policies state that exports must be for peaceful purposes and must not affect international peace, safety maintenance, and national security.

World leaders have publicly urged Yoon to boost his support for Ukraine. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said Seoul needed to step up and that other like-minded nations, such as Germany and Sweden, have since altered their policies to send weapons to Kyiv.

If you believe in freedom, if you believe in democracy, if you don't want autocracy and tyranny to win, then they need weapons, Stoltenberg said during a Jan. 29 speech in Seoul. That's the reality.

Human Rights Watch, a nongovernmental organization, in an April 2022 report documented cases in which Russian troops committed laws-of-war violations against civilians in occupied areas of Ukraine. Those cases included rape, summary executions and violence against civilians in a two-months span.

The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission had recorded 13,560 civilian casualties by August, mission head Matilda Bogner said in a separate report.

We reiterate our calls to the sides to take constant care to spare and protect civilians while hostilities are ongoing, she said in an Aug. 24 U.N. news release.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday that he expects a breakthrough in Swedens stalled NATO bid that will enable the country to gain full alliance membership in time for a major summit this summer.

You have made the bold and historic decision to apply for NATO membership, and you have the full and firm support of the United States, Austin said during a stop in Stockholm.

Austin met with Swedish Defense Minister Pal Jonson and said he thinks the approval process will be wrapped up by the time heads of state gather in July in Vilnius, Lithuania.

Swedens quest for NATO membership has been delayed by opposition from Hungary and Turkey, which are at odds with Stockholm over various diplomatic issues.

Its important for all of us that (the Hungarians and Turks) make their decision sooner versus later because we all look forward to having a very capable Sweden sitting at the desk beside us in Vilnius this summer, he said.

Sweden would be NATOs 32nd member.

Initially, allies hoped it would join alongside Finland, which became part of NATO earlier this month. However, Turkish opposition revolving around allegations of Kurdish militants living in Sweden has complicated matters.

Meanwhile, Hungary has delayed approval over grievances related to Swedish criticism of Hungarian President Viktor Orbans policies, which have been labeled as authoritarian by outside critics.

Austins stop in Stockholm comes ahead of a meeting at Ramstein Air Base on Friday, where he will meet with allies and partners on how to further support Ukraine in its war against Russia.

During those talks, Austin is likely to face questions from partners over a voluminous leak of highly sensitive classified Pentagon material.

A 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman, Jack Teixeira, is accused of violating the Espionage Act by posting scores of classified documents on social media.

The leaked material included a wide array of military secrets, ranging from the war in Ukraine to security matters related to China and the Pacific region.

When asked during a news conference Wednesday whether he had concerns that such a young service member had access to such high-level material, Austin said he doesnt consider age a factor in the matter.

The vast majority of our military is young, and so its not exceptional that young people are doing important things in our military. That really is not the issue, Austin said. The issue is how you responsibly execute or carry out your duties and how you protect information.
WARSAW, Poland  Sirens wailed, church bells rang and the presidents of Germany, Israel and Poland bowed their heads Wednesday before a memorial to Jewish insurgents who fought a mismatched, desperate battle against Nazi German forces in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Celebrations of the uprising's 80th anniversary honored the hundreds of young Jews who took up arms in the Polish capital in 1943, choosing to fight and die at a time and place not dictated by the Nazis. Most were killed, and none of those who survived the fighting are still alive.

"I stand before you today and ask for forgiveness," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the site of the former ghetto.

"The appalling crimes that Germans committed here fill me with deep shame. But at the same time it fills me with gratitude and humility that I can take part in this commemoration as the first German head of state ever."

The leaders were joined by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, amid a poignant sense that the responsibility for carrying on the memory of the Holocaust is passing from the witnesses to younger generations.

A 96-year-old Polish Holocaust survivor, Marian Turski, told those gathered that German forces did the unimaginable in annihilating Jews, but that the "subsoil" of anti-Semitism existing for centuries made it possible for the Germans to kill so many. He warned against indifference in the face of rising hatred and violence in today's world.

"Can I be indifferent, can I remain silent, when today the Russian army is attacking our neighbor and seizing its land?" he said.

Steinmeier said the lessons of his country's aggression offer a message amid the war.

"You in Poland, you in Israel, you know from your history that freedom and independence must be fought for and defended," Steinmeier said. "But we Germans have also learned the lessons of our history. 'Never again' means that there must be no criminal war of aggression like Russia's against Ukraine in Europe."

Jewish and Christian clerics recited prayers and a torch burned from a part of the memorial resembling a Jewish menorah.

A large group held private unofficial observances at other sites across the former ghetto, placing yellow daffodils or wearing small paper daffodils that in recent years has become a symbol of remembering the uprising.

For some it was a boycott of the right-wing government for its policy of portraying the predominant response to the Holocaust as one in which Poles saved Jews. That approach has been a source of tensions with Israel, where many accuse the Polish government of ignoring modern scholarship, which paints a complex picture that also includes many cases of Polish betrayal of Jews.

The Germans invaded Poland in 1939 and the next year set up the ghetto, the largest of many in occupied Poland.

Poland was home to Europe's largest prewar Jewish population on the eve of the Holocaust, some 3.5 million Jews, most of whom were murdered. The Polish state preserves sites like the ghetto and the Auschwitz death camp, while also honoring the massive losses inflicted on the entire nation. Some 6 million Polish citizens were killed during the war, about 3 million of them Jews and the others mostly Christian Poles.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog mentioned in his remarks the "disagreements and pain" that still exist between the Jewish and Polish people over their clashing historical narratives, and voiced hope their friendship would advance.

"The heroism of the resistance and the rebels and the imperative to remember that terrible chapter of history, when the Jewish people faced complete annihilation, and destruction rained down upon Poland and many other countries, offer a platform for important dialogue between Poland and Israel," Herzog said.

Poland and German have faced tensions of their own, including over Polish demands for reparations for World War II. During Steinmeier's visit, the Polish culture minister presented him with a report on Polish war losses. Poland has been demanding $1.3 trillion. Germany has rejected that idea, saying it paid reparations already after the war.

The Warsaw ghetto initially held some 380,000 Jews who were cramped into tight living spaces, and at its peak housed about half a million people. Disease and starvation were rampant, and bodies often appeared on the streets.

The Jewish resistance movement in the ghetto grew after 265,000 men, women and children were rounded up in the summer of 1942 and killed at the Treblinka death camp. As word of the Nazi genocide spread, those who remained behind no longer believed German promises they would be sent to labor camps.

A small group of rebels began to spread calls for resistance, carrying out isolated acts of sabotage and attacks. Some Jews began defying German orders to report for deportation.

The uprising began when the Nazis entered the ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of the Passover holiday. Three days later, the Nazis set the ghetto ablaze, turning it into a fiery death trap, but the Jewish fighters kept up their struggle for nearly a month before they were vanquished.

Avi Valevski, a professor of psychiatry from Israel whose father, Ryszard Walewski, a doctor who led a group of some 150 warriors in the revolt, visited Warsaw with his wife, describing it as "more than an emotional moment."

Valevski, 72, was young when his father became ill and died in 1971. Today he pores through the documentation his father left behind, and is trying to get one of his stories translated into English and published.

Some descendants of survivors feel an inexorable pull back to the land of their parents.

"I'm a New Yorker but there is something that keeps drawing me back here," said Barbara Jolson Blumenthal, whose parents survived the Warsaw Ghetto after a Pole helped them to escape and hide, while many other members of their families were murdered.

"And although such horrible things happened here, I remember my parents saying that they loved it here, that it was so wonderful here, and I walk the streets and I wonder if this is where my family was and where they walked," Blumenthal said.

Michal Dyjuk contributed reporting.
WASHINGTON  Russia's invading forces are deliberately using rape, torture and kidnapping to try to sow terror among civilians in Ukraine, the top prosecutor in Ukraine told U.S. lawmakers in graphic testimony Wednesday.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Focusing on just one area of the country that has felt the brunt of the war, Kostin described some of the discoveries made when the Ukrainian military liberated Kherson last November. He said some 20 torture chambers were found and more than 1,000 survivors have reported an array of abuses, including the use of electric shocks, waterboarding, being forced to strip naked, and threats of mutilation and death.

Kostin said more than 60 cases of rape were documented in the Kherson region alone. In areas still controlled by Russian forces, residents, including children, are being forcefully relocated to other occupied territories or to Russia.

"Such evil cannot let be," Kostin said.

He was asked about the motivations behind Russia's tactics, but said he struggles to understand the brutality of the Russian forces in targeting civilians.

"The only possible explanation is that they just want to erase Ukraine and Ukrainians from the land," Kostin said. "Maybe because they want to really kill all of us."

The House Foreign Affairs Committee invited Kostin to testify. The chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, believes that spotlighting the brutality of Russia's actions will show lawmakers and voters why the United States is in the right in supporting Ukraine.

"This is happening right now. They are monsters and they need to be brought to justice," McCaul said. He added: "These are more than war crimes. These are more than crimes against humanity. What we are witnessing in Ukraine is genocide."

McCaul also issued a challenge to fellow lawmakers, saying "history will judge us by what we do here and now."

"No country can remain neutral in the face of such evil," McCaul said.

Congress approved about $113 billion in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022 to assist Ukraine. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine "as long as it takes" to repel the Russian invasion, though support for that aid has softened, polling shows.

Congressional leaders anticipate that Ukraine will need billions of dollars in additional assistance in the months ahead.

Ukraine is preparing to launch a counteroffensive in an attempt to regain territory lost to Russian troops. McCaul said he would like to see the U.S. back Ukraine's efforts to retake Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized in 2014, so it could negotiate for a cease-fire from a stronger position. He is pushing for the U.S. and its allies to provide Ukraine with long-distance artillery and F-16 fighter jets for the counteroffensive.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that he spoke by telephone with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and thanked him for bipartisan support from Congress. Zelenskyy also outlined the "situation at the front" and Ukraine's "urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft."

The House committee also heard from a war crimes survivor, a 57-year-old woman, who said she was taken to a torture chamber for five days, beaten, forced to strip and endured threats of rape and murder. At one point, she was forced to dig her own grave. She said her house was looted. She has escaped, but other Ukrainians still experience such treatment in Russian-controlled territories, she said.

"These terrible crimes need to be stopped," she told lawmakers. Her identity was not revealed out of concerns about retribution.

Kostin said exposing atrocities is not enough.

"Only with discovering and determining truth, bringing perpetrators to responsibility and providing adequate reparations to victims and survivors, we can say justice has been done," Kostin said.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. But the practical implications are limited as the chances of Putin facing trial at the court are highly unlikely because Moscow does not recognize the court's jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.

McCaul told The Associated Press he will press for the Department of Justice and FBI agents to assist prosecutors in Ukraine, even as he doubts there will ever be a full reckoning for the war crimes.

"I don't know what's going to happen, how this is going to end," McCaul said. "But at least there'll be historical documentation about what they did, for generations to read about the atrocities."

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 15:03 | Japan, World, All

Japan is preparing to send the Self-Defense Forces to rescue its nationals living in Sudan, amid military clashes in the African country, the top government spokesman said Wednesday.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at an emergency press conference there were no reports of injuries among the around 60 Japanese people living in Sudan.

But the nationals, including officials of the nation's embassy and the Japan International Cooperation Agency, are in a "severe situation" due to shortage of drinking water and food, he said.

Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi has requested Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada to take the necessary steps to launch the rescue mission, Matsuno added.

In Sudan, clashes started on Saturday between the country's armed forces and a paramilitary group, called Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, leaving more than 270 people dead and over 2,600 others injured.

Explosions were heard in the capital city of Khartoum and elsewhere on Tuesday despite an agreed ceasefire, according to local media.
KYIV, Ukraine  American-made Patriot missiles have arrived in Ukraine, the country's defense minister said Wednesday, providing Kyiv with a long-sought new shield against the Russian airstrikes that have devastated cities and civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. agreed in October to send the surface-to-air systems, which can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles such as those that Russia has used to bombard residential areas and the Ukrainian power grid.

"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure," Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.

The missiles are the latest contribution from Western allies, who have also pledged tanks, artillery and some types of fighter jets as Ukraine gears up for an expected counteroffensive.

Reznikov thanked the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many missile systems had been delivered or when they arrived.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the systems would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Germany's federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers Wednesday in Berlin.

Germany has also delivered the second of four medium-range IRIS-T air defense systems that it pledged last year, Baerbock said.

Reznikov said he first asked for Patriot systems when visiting the U.S. in August 2021, five months before Russia's full-scale invasion and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraine's Crimea peninsula. He described possessing the system as "a dream" but said he was told in the U.S. at the time that it was "impossible."

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which requires up to 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

"Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word," Reznikov wrote.

Experts have cautioned that the system's effectiveness is limited and that it may not significantly change the shape of the war, even though it will add to Ukraine's arsenal against its bigger enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the U.S. in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per missile, and the launchers cost about $10 million each, analysts say. At such a cost, it's not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the smaller, cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

In other developments Wednesday, China denied recent reports that Chinese drones have been found on Ukraine battlefields. China has insisted that it will not help arm Russia, one of its key allies.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Beijing maintains strict control over the export of drones in keeping with international standards preventing them from being used for nonpeaceful purposes.

China, which has repeatedly criticized the U.S. and other countries' support for Ukraine as "adding fuel to the fire" of the war, has an "objective and fair stance" and seeks peace, the statement said.

Elsewhere, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday that he recently visited Moscow-controlled parts of Ukraine's southern Kherson and easternmost Luhansk provinces.

"The purpose of the trip was to meet with the military, whom I did not want to distract for a long time and a long distance from the deployment of the units they command," he said.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were wounded Tuesday and overnight, Ukraine's defense ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian airstrike on a border town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraine's southern Kherson region, killing one civilian at a market in the center of Kherson, the region's namesake capital, and a nearby school, Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired exploding drones at Ukraine's southern Odesa region.

Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Geir Moulson in Berlin, contributed to this report.

Follow AP's coverage of the war in Ukraine
WASHINGTON  The leader of the U.S. governments watchdog for the war in Afghanistan warned Congress on Wednesday that he cannot guarantee the U.S. is not funding the Taliban through billions of dollars in humanitarian aid.

John Sopko, the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction, made the stark assessment at the first of a series of Republican-led House Oversight Committee hearings on the U.S. mission in the country.

As I sit here today, I cannot assure this committee or the American taxpayer we are not currently funding the Taliban, he said. Nor can I assure you that the Taliban are not diverting the money we are sending from the intended recipients, which are the poor Afghan people.

American troops withdrew from the country in August 2021 after 20 years of war there, but the U.S. earmarked $2 billion to continue support for womens rights, health care, food assistance, agriculture, education, and other humanitarian and economic needs. Another $3.5 billion is in a Switzerland-based Afghan Fund created by the U.S. last year to hold frozen Afghan central bank assets.

The hearing called Wednesday featured inspectors general from the Defense Department, State Department, U.S. Agency for International Development and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, or SIGAR, and is part of a campaign by Republicans newly in control of the House to scrutinize the rapid fall of the Afghan government to the Taliban and the chaotic withdrawal of U.S. troops.

Since the Afghan governments collapse, the Oversight Committee has wanted answers from the Biden administration, and we will get them, said Rep. James Comer, R-Ky, the chairman of the committee.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee focused its first hearing on the Afghanistan War in March on the deadly evacuation at Hamid Karzai International Airport in Kabul that led to the deaths of 13 U.S. service members in a suicide bombing on Aug. 26, 2021.

Members of the House Oversight Committee on Wednesday largely fixated on accountability for the estimated $8 billion in taxpayer funds sent to Afghanistan and spent on Afghan refugees since October 2021.

These are billions and billions out of the U.S. Treasury that if theyre not going to do what they ought to do, could be better spent at home, said Rep. Kweisi Mfume, D-Md. They should be getting into Afghanistan to protect what we see going on with girls and women there, the tremendous suppression of human rights and if thats not occurring then we really do, ladies and gentlemen, have a big task before us in making sure that that takes place.

Sopko said his office has gathered information indicating the Taliban already is diverting funds and criticized international institutions such as the United Nations and World Bank for weak oversight and little transparency.

The World Bank reported last year that 70% of households in Afghanistan cannot meet their basic needs, including food. Women and girls are particularly affected because strict Taliban rules prohibit them from traveling without a male companion and accessing Western aid offices without female staff.

I havent seen a starving Taliban fighter on TV, they all seem to be fat, dumb and happy, Sopko said. I see a lot of starving Afghan children on TV so Im wondering where all this funding is going.

Sopko also urged lawmakers to press the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development to comply with his repeated requests for information, accusing both of hindering his efforts to account for U.S. aid.

A serious threat to our assistance is the refusal of State and USAID to answer the simplest of oversight questions: Who are your implementing partners? Can we interview them? Sopko said. We are not getting those answers back.

The inspectors general for the State Department and USAID said they were aware of Sopkos complaints but have not had any issues obtaining information for their own investigations. Robert Storch, the inspector general for the Defense Department, said he would be happy to help other inspectors general.

Sopko noted he regularly briefed senior agency officials, as well as the Defense Department and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, under previous presidential administrations.

But since this administration has come in, its been radio silence with us, Sopko said, describing the lack of cooperation as unprecedented in his 12 years serving as SIGAR.

Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fla., said the stonewalling was part of a pattern.

It sounds like youre a Republican member of Congress because Republican members of Congress send letters over to the administration, and we dont get answers either, Donalds told Sopko.

Republicans have placed most of the blame for the tumultuous end to the war in Afghanistan on President Joe Bidens administration while Democrats trace the chaos to an agreement former President Donald Trump struck with the Taliban in 2020 to withdraw U.S. troops.

Comer on Wednesday connected the withdrawal to Afghanistans resurgence as a haven for terrorists, the increased aggression of China and Russia, and billions of dollars lost to waste, fraud and abuse.

The U.S. withdrawal has consequences that will not go away overnight despite the Biden administrations hope that the American people will forget, he said.
IRBIL, Iraq  The United Nations expressed concern Wednesday over the Iraqi authorities' swift closure this week of a displacement camp that had housed more than 300 families with alleged ties to the militant Islamic State group.

The U.N. office in Baghdad said in a statement that the closure the previous day of the camp known as Jadah 5 in the town of Qayyarah in the country's north was done "without adequate notification or preparation."

Aid workers, who had also criticized the closure as hasty and chaotic, said authorities had notified camp residents on Monday that they had to leave by Wednesday  a day before the beginning of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr, the holiday that follows the end of the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan.

Initially, the migration and displacement ministry had set a closure deadline for May. Jadah 5 was one of the last remaining camps for the displaced in Iraq, which still has some where 1.2 million people internally displaced after years of conflict.

Aid groups have pushed back against their closures, fearing that vulnerable families, including many women and children, would struggle to integrate in their hometowns and would be stigmatized for their perceived or real affiliation with IS militants. Camp residents had said they fear violence from militias and tribes if they go back to their towns of origin.

"The humanitarian community is concerned by the impact of the closure of the camp," the U.N. office said and reiterated the U.N.'s long and principled support for "voluntary, informed, safe and dignified return of all" internally displaced persons.

Ali Abbas, a spokesman for the ministry, said that each family was given 1,500,000 Iraqi dinars (about $1,030) to find new housing. He did not why the deadline was pushed up.

Iraqi authorities in late 2020 began a push to close all displacement camps across the country, hoping it would boost reconstruction efforts that have lagged, years after the defeat of IS.

Most camps have since been closed, except for those in Iraq's northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish region and also Jadah 1 in Qayyarah, which houses Iraqi detainees with IS ties who were formerly held in neighboring Syria's al-Hol camp.

International organizations have cited rampant violence and lawlessness in al-Hol and called for countries with citizens housed there to repatriate them.
KANSAS CITY, Mo.  An 84-year-old white man in Kansas City, Missouri was charged Monday with first-degree assault for shooting a Black teen that mistakenly approached his house while trying to pick up his siblings.

Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson said at a news conference that there was a "racial component" to the incident last Thursday night when Andrew Lester twice shot 16-year-old Ralph Yarl, who is recovering at home after being released from the hospital. But nothing in the charging documents says the shooting was racially motivated, Thompson clarified.

"We understand how frustrating this has been but I can assure you the criminal justice system is working and will continue to work," Thompson said at a news conference.

The shooting outraged many in Kansas City and across the country. Civic and political leaders  including President Joe Biden demanded justice. Some, including lawyers for Yarl, pressed the racial dimension of the case.

Rev. Vernon Howard, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference of Greater Kansas City, called the shooting a "heinous and hate-filled crime." Vice President Kamala Harris wrote on Twitter that "No child should ever live in fear of being shot for ringing the wrong doorbell." The Missouri Senate held a moment of silence for Yarl on Monday.

The civil rights attorneys for Yarl's family, Ben Crump and Lee Merritt, said in a statement that Biden called Yarl's family and offiered "prayers for Ralph's health and for justice."

"Gun violence against unarmed Black individuals must stop," the lawyers' statement read. "Our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted."

The assault charge carries a penalty of up to life in prison. Lester was also charged with armed criminal action, which has a penalty range of three to 15 years in prison. Thompson said Missouri's hate crime law, a violation of which is not part of the charge, is considered a lesser felony than first-degree assault, and carries a less severe penalty.

Missouri is among roughly 30 states with "Stand Your Ground" laws, which allow for the use of deadly force in self-defense, but the prosecutor determined the shooting was not in self defense.

An arrest warrant was issued but Lester was not yet in custody, Thompson said.

Yarl, an honor student and all-state band member, was supposed to pick up his two younger brothers Thursday night when he approached the wrong house at roughly 10 p.m. Lester came to the door and shot Yarl in the forehead -- then shot him again, in the right forearm.

No words were exchanged before the shooting, the probable cause statement said. But afterward, as Yarl got up to run, he heard Lester yell, "Don't come around here," the statement said.

Yarl ran to "multiple" homes asking for help before finding someone who would call the police, the statement said.

Lester told police that he lives alone and had just gone to bed when he heard his doorbell, according to the probable cause statement. He said he picked up his gun and went to the door, where he saw a Black male pulling on the exterior storm door handle and thought someone was breaking in.

A number for Lester was not in service on Monday evening and it was not immediately clear whether he had an attorney to speak on his behalf.

The shooting happened in a middle class neighborhood in north Kansas City. Yarl was sent to pick up his twin younger brothers. He didn't have a phone with him and went to the wrong block, his aunt, Faith Spoonmore, wrote on a GoFundMe page set up to help pay medical bills. By Monday afternoon, $1.4 million had been raised.

Police Chief Stacey Graves said that Yarl's parents asked him to pick up his brothers at a home on 115th Terrace, but he mistakenly went to 115th Street, the Kansas City Star reported.

Yarl is a bass clarinetist who earned Missouri All-State Band honorable mention and who plays several instruments in the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra of Kansas City, Spoonmore wrote. A statement from the North Kansas City School District described Yarl as "an excellent student and talented musician."

Spoonmore said Yarl is "doing well physically" but has a lot of trauma to overcome emotionally.

By Monday afternoon, the home where the shooting happened had been vandalized. Black spray-paint on the side of the house showed a heart with "16" in the middle. Eggs splattered the front windows and the door.

A message seeking comment from Republican Gov. Mike Parson, a staunch gun rights supporters, wasn't immediately returned.

Crump, who has represented families in several high-profile case of Black people being shot, including those of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and George Floyd, questioned why the shooter wasn't arrested and charged immediately.

"We all believe that if the roles were reversed and this was a Black citizen who shot a 16-year-old for merely ringing his doorbell, they would have arrested him, and he wouldn't have slept in his bed that night," Crump said.

Two days after Yarl was shot, a 20-year-old woman was killed by a homeowner in Upstate New York Saturday after the car she was in drove to the wrong address. Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said Kaylin Gillis was in a car with three others looking for a friend's house.

As the car was turning around, Kevin Monahan came out and fired two shots, one of which struck Gillis. Monahan was charged with second-degree murder.

Salter reported from O'Fallon, Missouri. Nick Ingram in Kansas City and Summer Ballentine in Columbia, Missouri, contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON  House Speaker Kevin McCarthy pledged on Monday to pass legislation to raise the nation's debt ceiling  but only on condition of capping future federal spending increases at 1%  as he lashed out at President Joe Biden for refusing to engage in budget-cutting negotiations to prevent a debt crisis.

In a high-profile speech at the New York Stock Exchange, McCarthy, the Republican leader who was marking his 100th day as speaker, said the nation's debt load is a "ticking time bomb" and Biden is "missing in action" as the deadline nears to raise the debt limit. But McCarthy's own ability to bring his plan to passage in coming weeks as promised is highly uncertain.

"Since the president continues to hide, House Republicans will take action," McCarthy vowed.

The White House hit back quickly, accusing McCarthy of "dangerous economic hostage taking." And administration officials reupped Biden's pressure on the Republican leader to approve a debt ceiling increase with no strings attached.

McCarthy's Wall Street address came with Washington heading toward a potential fiscal crisis over the need to raise the nation's debt limit, now at $31 trillion, and avert a federal default. The Treasury Department has said it is taking "extraordinary measures" to continue paying its bills, but money will run short this summer.

While vowing that "defaulting on our debt is not an option," McCarthy faces his own challenges pushing a legislative fix to passage.

With his slim majority and less-than-strong grip on power, he has been unable to rally his Republican troops around a budget-cutting proposal that he could offer the White House as a starting point in negotiations. The outline of conditions he proposed Monday is considered dead on arrival in the Democratic-controlled Senate.

Instead, McCarthy is seeking to shift blame for the standoff and draw the White House back into talks. "The longer President Biden waits to be sensible to find an agreement, the more likely it becomes that this administration will bumble into the first default in our nation's history," he said.

White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates called McCarthy's conditions a "MAGA wish list that will increase costs for hard-working families," a reference to former President Donald Trump's Make America Great Again slogan.

"A speech isn't a plan, but it did showcase House Republicans' priorities," said Bates.

The White House has said the ball is in McCarthy's court, saying he has promised to produced a budget plan but has thus far failed to deliver. Senior Biden advisers doubt McCarthy's ability to hold his Republican majority together to pass anything, and see little need to even express openness to concessions to a leader they doubt can deliver.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said it's McCarthy who "continues to bumble our country toward a catastrophic default."

"President Biden and I are happy to meet with the speaker when he has something to talk about," Schumer said.

Nevertheless, McCarthy was both upbeat and defiant as he vowed to pass a bill through the House that would raise the nation's debt limit into next year  putting the issue squarely in the 2024 presidential election  coupling it with a plan to roll back federal spending to fiscal 2022 levels and cap future spending at no more than 1% a year over the next decade.

Republicans, he said, also want to attach policy priorities, including imposing work requirements to recipients of government aid that would result in cuts to benefit programs in the federal safety net for poorer Americans.

And McCarthy said the House Republicans also want to tack on H.R. 1, an expansive energy bill that would favor oil, gas and coal production  and ease permitting regulations  undoing many of Biden's climate change-fighting initiatives.

Without commenting on the House plans, Senate Republican l eader Mitch McConnell said the president can't simply put his fingers in his ears. "The White House needs to stop wasting time and start negotiating" with the speaker, he said.

Many economists have suggested that it may take a stock market selloff to force an agreement, showing the risks of a possible default. But McCarthy said after his speech during a question period that he wasn't gauging market reaction for guidance on the debt limit.

"The markets go up and down," he said.

Once a routine matter, the need for Congress to pass legislation raising the nation's debt limit to continue paying already accrued bills has increasingly become a political weapon wielded particularly by Republicans as leverage for their policy priorities.

McCarthy is working furiously to unite the "five families"  the various caucuses including the Freedom Caucus, Republican Study Committee and others within the House Republican majority  around a plan that could be presented to Biden to kickstart negotiations.

Federal spending skyrocketed during the COVID-19 crisis, rising to $7.4 trillion in 2021, before sliding back to $6.2 trillion in fiscal 2022, according to Treasury Department data. The nation's debt load has also climbed steadily, doubling during the George W. Bush administration with the 9/11-era wars overseas and spiking again during the Obama administration as spending rose and tax revenue plummeted during the Great Recession.

The nation runs more than $1 trillion in annual deficits, and the last time the federal budget balanced was 2001.

McCarthy noted that President Ronald Reagan similarly warned of government spending. The cuts the House Republicans want to make are not "draconian," McCarthy said.

He pledged not to touch the Medicare and Social Security programs important to older Americans that other Republicans want to cut.

Once, his speech was interrupted by applause from the executives and others at the stock exchange.

The White House and Democrats in Congress have been unwilling to engage in talks with the Republicans, saying Congress must simply raise the debt limit without conditions.

Biden in particular, has been here before as vice president during the 2011 fiscal standoff that sent jitters through the economy as the Republicans demanded steep spending cuts.

The sweeping proposal from McCarthy will likely be too expansive for the White House to consider, but serves as a calling card to push Biden back to the negotiating table.

The split screen on display in New York, though, showed the challenges ahead for McCarthy in focusing on budget matters.

As the speaker delivered his speech, his hard-charging Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan was convening a New York City field hearing focused partly on District Attorney Alvin Bragg who indicted former President Trump on campaign finance and other charges related to alleged hush money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels and a Playboy model who contend he had sexual relations with them.

Associated Press White House Correspondent Zeke Miller and AP writers Josh Boak and Mary Clare Jalonick contributed to this report.
(Tribune News Service)  A federal judge delayed by two weeks a detention hearing scheduled for Wednesday for a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guardsman accused of leaking classified government documents.

Judge David Hennessy made the ruling Wednesday morning after Teixeiras public defender, Brendan Kelley, said defense lawyers needed more time to address the issues presented by the governments request for detention. Government lawyers agreed to the delay, according to court filings.

During a court appearance last week, Hennessy ordered Teixeira to remain in the custody of the U.S. Marshal Service ahead of a detention hearing. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorneys Office did not immediately say where he would be held for the next two weeks.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Marshal Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

A date for the detention hearing was not immediately available from court filings, but it is likely lawyers will meet again at Bostons John Joseph Moakley U.S. Courthouse sometime in early May to argue over whether Teixeira should remain in custody while his case plays out.

Investigators say Teixeira, a low-level airman who was based out of Joint Base Cape Cod, at first posted transcripts of highly sensitive national defense information in December 2022 to a social media platform designed for gamers before taking the documents home and uploading photos in January 2023.

The U.S. Attorneys Office charged him with unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information and unauthorized removal and retention of classified documents or material in connection to one document on the war in Ukraine leaked in February 2023. He faces up to 15 years in prison.

Teixeira was arrested last week by heavily armed law enforcement agents who had tracked him to his residence in Dighton using billing records from the social media platform, Discord, and a member of one of the servers prosecutors say he led.

The documents cover everything from the war in Ukraine to U.S. intelligence-gathering efforts in allied countries. And an FBI agent told a judge last week that investigators believe Teixeira may have more classified documents being stored in an unsecure manner at two residences in Dighton.

Members of the Massachusetts congressional delegation have warned that adversaries ability to learn how the United States collects and stores classified information could have real-world effects.

Congressman Seth Moulton said the leak will result in on-the-ground consequences in Ukraine.

Frankly, I am so shocked that were talking about a 15-year prison sentence here because he has risked, I mean, this will cost lives, he said in a previous interview with MassLive. Its impossible to imagine that more Ukrainians wont die because of this leak, and yet, were just talking about a 15-year prison sentence for this kid.

Working for the Air National Guard out of Otis Air National Guard Base in Massachusetts, Teixeira had a top-secret security clearance and sensitive compartmented access to other highly classified programs, both of which he received in 2021.

But officials have questioned how the airman was able to access sensitive documents, like ones that showed near real-time battle plans in Ukraine.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told Congress on Tuesday that the service has launched its own investigation into how Teixeira was able to access and distribute documents.

In the meantime, the Air Force reassigned the intelligence mission of the 102nd Intelligence Wing, Teixeiras unit, pending the outcome of a review of their policy and procedures.

A spokesman for the Massachusetts National Guard said the 1,200-member 102nd Intelligence Wing will not resume its mission until the Air Force is confident it is ready to do so. Guard members who are part of the unit are not suspended, the spokesman said, and there will not be any transfers.

2023 Advance Local Media LLC.

Visit masslive.com .
The Army will have a challenge to meet its expanded enlistment goal this year, though the service is recruiting better in 2023 than last year when it fell thousands of soldiers short of its goal, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said Wednesday.

Sixty-five thousand [recruits for fiscal year 2023] is a very ambitious goal, she said while testifying before the House Armed Services Committee in defense of the services $185.5 billion budget request for fiscal 2024. The service set such a lofty target for 2023 after only taking in 45,000 recruits in 2022 because [Gen. James McConville, the Army chief of staff,] and I felt it was important to send a signal to our recruiter force that they shouldn't take their pedal off the metal.

Despite the insistence from the services top leaders that they have prioritized efforts to bring in new recruits above other challenges that the Pentagons largest military service faces, lawmakers repeatedly expressed skepticism they can achieve their goal.

Rep. Michael Waltz, R-Fla., told Wormuth that he worried the Army would be forced to cut its force strength. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., said he worried the service had a perception issue after recent events including the chaotic 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan and highly publicized controversies such as the coronavirus vaccine mandate and equality concerns within the force.

I hear from some multigenerational military families, where theres a reluctance to have their kids join because theres a perception that [President Joe Bidens] administration [is] more about social issues than warfighting, said Bacon, a retired Air Force general. Its a perception, and perceptions arent always reality, but it is a reality to those who see it on cable news or read it on the internet. Weve got to keep reminding folks that we have  the greatest Army in the world, the greatest military in the world that will kick anybodys butt. Thats what people want to be a part of.

Gen. Randy George, vice chief of staff of the Army, told the House Armed Services Committees subpanel on readiness at another hearing Wednesday that the service projects it will sign 55,000 new recruits this year. Thats 10,000 more than last year, but still short of the Armys 65,000 goal.

We are challenged by the fact that a small number of young Americans  are qualified to serve, George said. Fewer still, were finding, are interested in serving. And thats something we are working very hard to change.

The recruiting challenges have not been limited to the Army, which missed its 2022 goal by 15,000. Pentagon officials have said the other services have struggled to reach their enlistment goals in recent years in an environment often described as the most difficult recruiting climate in recent history.

Only about 23% of young Americans between the ages of 17 and 24 meet the academic and physical requirements to serve in the military, according to recent Pentagon data. Furthermore, only about 10% of young Americans are even interested in military service, officials have said.

At the readiness subpanel hearing, Adm. Lisa Franchetti, vice chief of naval operations, said she expects the Navys recruiting shortfall this year to be about 6,000. Gen. David Allvin, the Air Force vice chief of staff, said the service expects its total force in 2023  the number of new and existing members across the Air Force, Reserve and Air National Guard  to be about 10,000 short.

Gen. Eric Smith, assistant commandant of the Marine Corps, and Gen. David Thompson, vice chief of space operations for Space Force, told lawmakers that their services will meet recruiting goals this year.

An Army study this year found issues related to the culture war, or so-called woke military, was low on the list of reasons why young Americans rejected enlistment with only about 5% of respondents citing such concerns.

Many people known as Generation Z  those born from the mid-1990s to the mid-2010s  who were polled cited safety issues, such as the fear of death or serious injury, as their main reason for lacking interest in military service, McConville said.

The recruiting problem has led the service to adopt a variety of new efforts aimed at reaching Gen Z people. In recent months, the Army has brought back its popular Be All You Can Be" campaign from the 1980s and 1990s. It started new classes to help otherwise-qualified potential recruits boost military aptitude test scores or their fitness levels. The service has also made new efforts to connect with schools and community officials throughout the country to bolster recruiters' visibility in their areas of responsibility, especially after the coronavirus pandemic forced most recruiting efforts into the virtual world for much of the last three years.

The initiatives have seen some success, McConville said. The Future Soldier Prep Course, which began last year at Fort Jackson, S.C., and expanded this year to Fort Benning, Ga., has produced 4,219 recruits who have moved on to Basic Combat Training, he said. Without the course, those individuals would not have met the standards to enlist. So far, the general said, 98% of potential recruits accepted into the new program have improved their scores enough to enlist.

The Army course has been so successful that the Navy launched its version  the Future Sailor Preparatory Course Physical Fitness Track pilot program  this month to help recruits meet physical admission standards. Its located at Naval Station Great Lakes in Illinois.

The Navy said its pilot course will provide physical fitness training along with nutritional and life skills course work for potential recruits who are as much as 6% above body-fat standards.

Some lawmakers at the House Armed Services Committee hearing pointed to other pools of potential recruits to help bolster enlistments.

Rep. Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash., urged her fellow lawmakers to support legislation now in the Senate that would allow undocumented immigrants brought to the United States as children known as Dreamers to enlist in the military as a pathway to citizenship.

The [Defense] Department is very supportive of looking at finding ways, for example, to bring the Dreamers into the Army and the other services as a pathway to citizenship, Wormuth said. I think we would very much welcome that.
WASHINGTON  The official charged by the Pentagon to track the mystery surrounding UFOs told lawmakers on Wednesday that there is nothing unusual to see at this time.

I state clearly for the record that in our research, AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known law of physics, Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, told members of the Senate Armed Services Committees subpanel on emerging threats and capabilities.

The hearing was only the second one held in Congress on the phenomenon in more than 50 years.

The Defense Department refers to the idea of UFOs as unidentified anomalous phenomena, or UAP. Kirkpatrick said 650 UAP cases are being reviewed at this time. He provided examples during his testimony showing two cases, one resolved and one unresolved, of how the department goes through data to try and explain reports.

In the examples, both images were captured from an MQ-9 Reaper drone of what looked like aircraft.

Time and time again, UAPs are resolved into something already explainable, Kirkpatrick said.

In May 2022, a subpanel of the House Intelligence Committee held the first congressional hearing on UFOs in almost 50 years, months after the Pentagon said it would review UFO sightings more seriously.

The intelligence community released a report in January showing that the number of UFO reports involving the U.S. military is increasing. The report released by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said since its first June 2021 unclassified report on UAPs, it is now aware of 510 sightings.

The New York Times first published cockpit footage in 2017 and 2018 of a Navy aircraft crew that claimed to have encountered a UFO in the air. The Pentagon said it would make more footage available.

The Defense Department created AARO in July to monitor UAPs -- whether viewed as possible extraterrestrials or national security concerns such as the Chinese surveillance balloon. To cut down on layers of bureaucracy, Congress ordered the AARO director to report to top Pentagon and intelligence community leaders.
WASHINGTON  Another round of military weapons and equipment worth more than $300 million will be sent to Ukraine to help the country restock ahead of anticipated Russian assaults in the coming months, the Pentagon said Wednesday.

President Joe Bidens administration has committed roughly $35 billion in security aid to Ukraine since the Russian war began more than a year ago. The new military aid mainly aims to restock ammunition and missiles for Ukrainian forces.

This includes  more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS, artillery rounds and anti-armor capabilities essential to strengthening Ukraines defenders on the battlefield, the Pentagon said in a statement announcing the aid, which is worth $325 million.

HIMARS, which stands for High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, is a truck-mounted weapon thats capable of firing different types of missiles at enemy targets. The U.S. and its allies have been helping Ukraine prepare in recent months for possible new Russian offensives now that winter is over, and the weather is warmer.

The announcement came at a time of heightened concern for Ukrainian forces after the leak of what appear to be classified U.S. military documents online in recent weeks. The first materials discovered on social media platforms were photos of documents that revealed information on Ukrainian troop positions and weapons. Some of the documents indicated Ukraine was running low on rockets.

Also included in the military aid announced Wednesday are additional AT-4 anti-armor weapons systems, tube-launched missiles, millions of rounds of ammunition, support vehicles, anti-tank mines and spare parts.

The aid announcement came two days before the next meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, a collection of about 54 countries that meet periodically to determine what Ukraine forces need most to fend off Russian forces. New U.S. aid shipments have been typically announced after the group meets.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, who was in Sweden on Wednesday, will travel to Germany to attend the contact group meeting Friday.

The new U.S. aid is being given through presidential drawdown authority, which means it will come directly from Pentagon stocks and be sent quickly on an emergency basis. Aid given this way typically reaches Ukraine in a matter of weeks.

Some U.S. aid for Ukraine is also provided through the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, a program that procures new weapons and equipment from manufacturers. It takes several months for Ukraine to receive items given through the initiative.

Lt. Gen. Oleksandr Pavliuk, Ukraines first deputy minister of defense, said Wednesday that three U.S.-made Patriot air defense systems  one each from the United States, the Netherlands and Germany  have arrived in the country. The U.S. pledged to send a Patriot system in December and a group of Ukrainian troops recently finished training at Fort Sill, Okla., to learn how to use it.

"Such air-defense systems will allow us to protect ourselves from attacks by Russian cruise missiles and [drones]," Pavliuk said in a social media post to Telegram.

Here is a list from the Pentagon of what is included in the aid package:

Additional ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS).

155mm and 105mm artillery rounds.

Tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided (TOW) missiles.

AT-4 anti-armor weapon systems.

Anti-tank mines.

Demolition munitions for obstacle clearing.

Over 9 million rounds of small arms ammunition.

Four logistics support vehicles.

Precision aerial munitions.

Testing and diagnostic equipment to support vehicle maintenance and repair.

Port and harbor security equipment.

Spare parts and other field equipment.
By Yosuke Watanabe, KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 10:45 | All, World

The likelihood of China invading Taiwan within the next 10 years is higher than 50 percent, a former U.S. national security adviser who mainly handled issues related to the Asian giant has said.

To discourage Beijing from doing so, the United States, Europe and Japan should enhance cooperation in the political, economic and security fields, Matthew Pottinger, who served as deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump, told a recent interview with Kyodo News.

The reunification of the self-ruled island is indispensable to President Xi Jinping's goal of attaining the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and he is determined to achieve it, Pottinger said.

The probability of China using force to bring Taiwan under its control will be "more than 50 percent in the next decade," he said.

The visiting fellow at U.S. think tank the Hoover Institution backed the China-related policies of President Joe Biden's administration, including measures unveiled in October aimed at strengthening broad restrictions on exports of the most advanced semiconductors to China.

Pottinger said Biden has basically maintained the Trump administration's hard-line position on China and helped bipartisan efforts to deal with Beijing, at a time when the Democrats and Republicans have otherwise intensified their rivalries amid increasingly deep divisions.

Japan and many other countries have struggled to impose sanctions on China, given their already close economic ties.

Pottinger said, however, it is unavoidable for such countries to put security issues first because geopolitics ultimately trumps economic relations, which would be severed in the event of war.

China is unlikely to provide weapons for Russia's war against Ukraine, Pottinger said, noting Beijing recognizes that if it did so it would be crossing a red line.

While China may be inclined to support Russia militarily that would worsen relations with the United States and Europe to a level that would devastate its economy, he said, adding although the leaderships in Beijing and Moscow have close connections there is no strong mutual affinity between the peoples of the two countries.

Related coverage:

China bans navigation north of Taiwan on April 16 over rocket debris fears
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Tribune News Service)  For the first time, Honor Flight of Southern Colorado is sending an all-female group of veterans to Washington, D.C., to recognize their service.

The honor flight is to remember those who when they came home were forgotten, said Cindy Anderson, a participating Army veteran.

World War II, Korean and Vietnam-era veterans visit the nations war memorials on the trips and receive a large honorary reception when they return. The local chapter is on its 16th honor flight.

The Colorado Springs chapter of the nonprofit has found in the past women were hesitant to sign up for the free trips because they didnt serve in combat roles and that helped spark the idea for an event set aside to recognize their efforts, said Barbara Harris, a board member with the group.

Maybe they werent in battle but they were very, very important for us, she said.

The travelers include women who were among the first to serve in certain roles, such as drill sergeant and missileer, and helped break down previous segregation. The military didnt fully lift the ban on women in combat roles until 2013.

Anderson trained men and women together as one of the early female drill sergeants, she said.

It was the higher echelons that had trouble accepting that women can do this, she said. Some of the women she trained went on to serve for 25 to 30 years.

The idea for a trip to honor women has been well received and once word was out, filled up rather quickly with 29 veterans, said Harris. Other female veterans are traveling as volunteers to assist.

It is an amazing, amazing tribute to our veterans, she said.

Harris first got involved in Honor Flight work because she saw how her husband became much more open and outwardly proud about his Korean war service after going on a trip. Previously, he wouldnt talk much about it or tell people he had served.

Since then she has been on numerous trips to help elderly veterans navigate the memorials and events. She also worked to revitalize the local chapter in 2019 when it was on the edge of dissolving.

It makes you proud to be an American to see people recognize these men and women and take the time to go up and thank them, she said.

The local homecomings are a major part of the experience for veterans, especially for those who served during Vietnam. In some cases the returning veterans received a cold reception and in some cases had to take their uniforms off to walk through airports.

We want them to have a homecoming that maybe they never got, she said.

Hundreds of people attended the most recent homecoming last April.

The public is welcome to attend the Welcome Home Event on Saturday at the Sierra High School Gym. The event will feature an all-womens color guard, military band and special guest speaker. The organizers ask that the public arrive no later than 7:15 p.m. for a tentative 7:30 p.m. start. Live updates about the event will be posted at facebook.com/HonorFlightSOCO/

(c)2023 The Gazette (Colorado Springs, Colo.)

Visit at www.gazette.com
Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial termed the Ministry of Defence's petition seeking elections across the country as "unmaintainable" on Wednesday.

The top court issued the warning while hearing the defence ministrys request to hold general elections across Pakistan simultaneously upon completion of the terms of the national as well as Sindh and Balochistan assemblies.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Umar Ata Bandial, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar heard the petition.

On Tuesday, the Ministry of Defence moved the top court seeking elections across the country on the same date and requested the court to withdraw its order directing Punjab polls on May 14.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Umar Ata Bandial, comprising Justice Ijaz Ul Ahsan and Justice Munib Akhtar, will take up the plea shortly.

It may be noted that it is the same bench that announced the April 4 verdict directing the government and the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to hold snap polls in Punjab next month.

The ministry's view is in line with the federal government's stance, which has persistently opposed holding separate general elections in Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

The tenure of the National Assembly and the legislature of two other provinces  Sindh and Balochistan  will end later this year and the federal government wants the polls to take place then, not in May, as directed by the Supreme Court on April 4.

In the April 4 order, the top court ruled that the ECP's decision to postpone polls of the Punjab Assembly till October 8 was unconstitutional and fixed May 14 as the date for polls in Punjab.

The impugned order dated 22.03.2023 made by the Election Commission of Pakistan is declared to be unconstitutional, without lawful authority or jurisdiction, void ab-initio, of no legal effect and is hereby quashed, the ruling said. Neither the Constitution nor the law empowers the Commission to extend the date of elections beyond the 90 days period as provided in Article 224(2) of the Constitution.

But despite the court's orders, the government did not budge and got a resolution passed through parliament against the verdict, clearly stating that it would not provide funds to the ECP for polls.

Following the government's move, the apex court directed the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to release a total of Rs21 billion to the election commission for holding polls, but even after the deadline passed on April 17, the central bank did not release the funds.

In a session of the National Assembly's Standing Committee on Finance and Revenue on Monday, SBP Acting Governor Sima Kamil said the central bank had allocated funds  on the SC's orders  for the polls but lacked the authority to release them.
Senior civil judge Bakhar on Wednesday granted bail to Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader Ali Amin Gandapur in check post attack case.

As per details, the PTI leader was brought to the court of a senior civil judge in strict security. The judge after hearing the arguments of Gandapurs lawyer granted bail to the PTI leader and also quashed non-bailable sections from the case.

The PTI leader has been asked to submit a surety bond of Rs50,000 for his bail.

On Tuesday, a Sargodha anti-terrorism court on Tuesday quashed terrorism charges against Ali Amin Gandapur.

On April 8, a case was registered against the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Ali Amin Gandapur at Islamabads Golra police station under section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA).

Gandapur, a former federal minister, was arrested from outside the Peshawar High Courts D.I. Khan bench last week.

The ATC judge announced the verdict after police produced the Gandapur in the court and sought a 14-day extension in his physical remand in the checkpost attack case.

During the hearing, police said the vehicle used by the former minister in the attack was yet to be recovered. The PTI leaders lawyer also submitted his arguments.

Later, the judge announced his reserved verdict, dropping terrorism charges against the political leader and handing him over to police on one-day transit remand.

The court also ordered police to produce Gandapur before Civil magistrate in Bakhar within 24 hours.
Alan Swan (52) has 13 previous convictions for the unauthorised use of trademarks

A man who pleaded guilty to offering to sell counterfeit luxury goods with an estimated value of over 36,000 is to be assessed for community service.

Alan Swan (52) of Donard Road, Drimnagh pleaded guilty to eight counts of the unauthorised use of trademarks including Adidas, Nike, Ugg, and Hugo Boss on December 21, 2015 and December 19, 2017 at Liberty Market. He has 13 previous convictions for the unauthorised use of trademarks.

At Dublin Circuit Criminal Court on Tuesday, Judge Orla Crowe said this was an unusual case and she directed the Probation Service to prepare a report to assess the defendant's suitability for community service.

The court heard that gardai carried out an operation at the market after receiving confidential information about the suspected sale of counterfeit goods. During this operation, a member of An Garda Siochana paid for suspected counterfeit items including 30 for a pair of Ugg boots at one stall and 50 at another stall for two tracksuits, including an Adidas one.

Sergeant Brian Quinn gave evidence that gardai then obtained a search warrant for four stalls operated by Swan and carried out a search on December 21, 2015. Counterfeit Ugg, Adidas and Under Armour items were seized, with a street market value of 20,000.

Detective Garda Alan Gordon of the National Bureau of Criminal Investigation also gave evidence that gardai carried out a search of five stalls at Liberty Market on December 19, 2017. A large quantity of counterfeit Adidas, Nike and Hugo including sportswear, footwear and outerwear were seized. These goods had a street market value of 16,300.

All the goods seized by gardai were inspected and confirmed to be counterfeit by brand protection managers for the relevant companies. The items have been held in secure storage, at a cost of 50,000 to Adidas.

Alan Swan   Collins Courts

The court heard that Swan was later interviewed under caution in 2018 in relation to events in 2015. Swan confirmed that he rented several stalls where some branded items were sold. Swan denied knowing the items were counterfeit and told gardai he bought goods to sell from the internet and from people closing other shops.

Det Gda Gordon told the court that he asked to speak with Swan in 2019 about the search carried out in 2017. During a cautioned interview, Swan admitted to selling items, which he said he had purchased online or in Manchester. Swan told gardai he didn't know or inquire into the authenticity of the goods.

Sgt Quinn agreed with John Gallagher BL, defending, that his client declined an offer to have a solicitor present during the 2018 interview, during which he admitted he was the proprietor of these stalls. The witness accepted a suggestion made by defence counsel that the victims in this case were the copyright holders, rather than the people who bought the goods. The sergeant also agreed with defence counsel that the guilty pleas were of value to the prosecution.

Det Gordon agreed with Mr Gallagher that his client was cooperative and took responsibility for the goods.

Mr Gallagher asked the court to treat his client's previous convictions at the District Court as a single conviction as they relate to one offence date.

Swan has two adult children and cares for his grandchildren. Mr Gallagher said his client is a hard-working man, but his propensity for work had been misdirected. Swan has applied for a taxi licence and also has some temporary work.

A number of references were handed into the court on behalf of Swan, who is also involved in community work. Mr Gallagher asked the court for as much leniency as possible for his client.

Judge Crowe said the court is minded to impose a community service order, but this would be subject to the assessment of Swan's suitability. The case was adjourned to July 7 for finalisation.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 22:17 | All, World

Visiting chair of the American Institute in Taiwan Laura Rosenberger said Taiwan is critical in maintaining peace and stability in a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen on Wednesday, expressing hope to further deepen ties.

"Taiwan is a valued friend and important trade partner, and is critical in maintaining peace and stability," Rosenberger said on her first trip to the island as the head of the AIT Board of Trustees, after assuming the position on March 20 this year.

AIT represents U.S. interests in Taiwan in the absence of official diplomatic ties. Its headquarters is located in Washington.

"I'm looking forward to meeting with other members of your administration, as well as leaders from Taiwan's business community, civil society, and political parties in order to get a deeper sense of the people and society in your vibrant democracy," Rosenberger said.

Tsai thanked Rosenberger, who previously held the position of senior national security director for China and Taiwan to U.S. President Joe Biden, for accompanying her delegation during transit stops in New York and in Los Angeles for a 10-day overseas trip between March 29 and April 7.

Tsai also expressed gratitude for Biden's administration showing support for Taiwan enhancing its self-defense.

The meeting came after Taiwan's Defense Ministry said on Tuesday that it welcomes the ongoing efforts of the United States to help the island train its troops.

Taiwan's Central News Agency has reported that nearly 200 active duty American military instructors are currently in Taiwan training military personnel.

Taiwan and mainland China have been separately governed since they split due to a civil war in 1949. Beijing views the island as a renegade province to be unified with the mainland.

The United States changed its diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 1979 but has kept up unofficial relations with Taiwan and supplies the island with arms to help it maintain self-defense capabilities.
CAB have also been given the go-ahead to take possession of two seaside plots of land in Rush, Co Dublin

A High Court judge has awarded legal costs against Ross Browning the Kinahan Cartels No.1 man in Ireland in a 1.7 million Criminal Assets Bureau case.

It comes after a ruling last February in which a number of properties including his luxury Garristown, Co Meath home were found to have been funded through the proceeds of crime.

CAB have also been given the go-ahead to take possession of two seaside plots of land in Rush, Co Dublin, by 16 May after it was heard there was no objection.

Judge Alex Owens said that notice must be given to people who live in two of the properties, but who were not part of the proceedings, before the houses can be seized.

Ross Browning

These include ex-garda David OBrien who lives at Chesnut Lodge at Garristown with Brownings mother Julie Conway.

An argument that the couple should at least get partial costs was rejected by Judge Owens who also said he would not make an order of cost against them.

The judge previously said they should receive 25 per cent of the cash from the eventual sale of the house to reflect that some money from legitimate sources had been used.

He also said at todays hearing Brownings uncle Jeffrey Conway must be notified before any moves to take possession of the house on Deanstown Road in Finglas bought by Browning with criminal money.

Brownings cousin, convicted drug smuggler Ian OHeaire, had taken part in what was described as a money-laundering exercise by buying the house from Brownings now deceased grandfather William Conway.

It was previously ruled that OHeaire would get just over 100,000 from the sale of the house and Judge Owens said he would not allow him any cost or make award against him.

The judge said he took the view that Browning was not the sort of person OHeaire could rely on to pay him back.

Similarly, counsel for the estate of the late William Conway was told there would be no costs in his favour and that the 59,000 the judge allowed at a previous hearing is all he would get if still alive.

The judge said there was no logical reason why Brownings grandfather should have invested in property in Garristown and Deanstown - that was a money laundering exercise his grandfather participated in.

Judge Owens last month granted an order to allow CAB to appoint a receiver to sell off vehicles and jewellery which had been deemed the proceeds of crime.

The Ross Browning property at Garristown, Co Dublin

However, he didnt make the same order for the properties which remain family homes but are effectively now frozen by CAB.

Brownings aunt Lesley Conway Conway was also deemed not to be eligible for legal costs as was his sister Cheryl in her case.

It was previously heard that the occupants of the targeted houses have promised to maintain the properties before they are eventually seized by the State.

The CAB case centred on Brownings luxury house and compound along with a renovated cottage on the property at Garristown.

Paddocks and an indoor show-jumping arena were built as well as the completely renovated cottage now called Chestnut Lodge.

Ross Browning, who is originally from Hardwicke Street in the north inner-city, was previously described in court as the Kinahan Cartels No.1 man in Ireland.

In his February judgement Judge Owens said that although Brownings name was not on the properties they were controlled by him, his partner Sinead Mulhall and his mother Julie Conway.

Browning tried to disguise his drug money in Ireland through his family members who in return enjoyed his generosity when it came to cars, jewellery and travel.

While Browning did not contest the case, members of his family denied CABs claim and said that money used came from legitimate sources.
Dad-of-seven Marian Mihai allegedly approached and tried to befriend her as she walked along a road in Dublin

A dad-of-seven has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman after allegedly approaching and trying to befriend her as she walked along a road in Dublin.

Former refuse worker Marian Mihai, 41, currently no fixed abode, appeared before Judge Bryan Smyth at Dublin District Court today following extradition from Romania earlier this week.

He is accused of sexually assaulting a woman in north Dublin on a date in 2021.

Detective Garda Gary Moran said the defendant's reply to the charge was, "I am happy to come before the judge and explain myself".

The objection to bail was due to the seriousness of the case.

The detective said it was alleged the accused engaged the woman in conversation and began to kiss her on the lips while holding her head.

The contested bail hearing was told he "suggested they go home and have sex," but she declined and walked to her house.

Detective Garda Moran said the accused allegedly walked beside her and kissed her while holding her head, but she said "no".

He allegedly kissed her, put his hand on her buttocks, and tried to put her hands in the front of his trousers.

The court heard the man allegedly suggested giving her his phone number to "meet another time".

Judge Smyth was told the woman went into her house to get a pen and paper and came back out, and he gave her his number and a name.

The number but not the name was correct, the court heard.

It was alleged he placed his hand down the front of her trousers and underwear and to the outer part of her vagina before she ran.

Gardai were contacted and arrested the accused. Detective Garda Moran said the man stated he had "intended to become friends".

Mr Mihai is yet to indicate a plea.

Detective Garda Moran said that Mr Mihai was released pending directions from the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).

Gardai received them in October 2021, but the accused had left Ireland the previous month and travelled to various countries.

The officer agreed with defence solicitor Yvonne Bambury that her client did not face any charges when he departed, but he would have been readily available beforehand.

She said he had gone home to get treatment for an injured back.

The judge noted from the defence that the accused, who had lived in Ireland for three years, had ties to the State and family here and an offer of an address.

He had not contested extradition proceedings when he was arrested in Bucharest.

The DPP has directed trial on indictment, meaning the case should be transferred later to the circuit court, which has wider sentencing powers. A book of evidence has still to be drafted.

Ms Bambury asked the judge to note there could be a two-year wait until his circuit court trial.

Judge Smyth set bail in his bond of 500 and required approval of an independent surety with 4,000.

On taking up bail, the accused must have no contact with the woman, sign on three days a week at a garda station, be contactable by phone, notify gardai of his address, and not apply for travel documents.

Judge Smyth remanded him in custody with consent to bail to appear again next week.

Legal aid was granted.
The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with unborn twins, just months after the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

Colm Murphy has died at the age of 70 (Haydn West/PA)   Haydn West

Colm Murphy, who was found liable in a civil trial for the 1998 Omagh bomb atrocity, has died.

Murphy, 70, a Dundalk-based contractor and publican originally from Co Armagh, died in Co Louth.

A death notice on Tuesday said he had died at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda with funeral details to be announced later.

The Real IRA bomb killed 29 people, including a woman pregnant with unborn twins, just months after the Good Friday Agreement was signed.

The bombing killed 29 people (Paul McErlane/PA)   Paul McErlane

Murphy was originally arrested over the bombing in 1999 in a joint RUC-Garda investigation. He was charged with conspiracy to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause injury as well as membership of the Real IRA.

In 2002, he was found guilty by the Dublin Special Criminal Court of conspiracy to cause the Omagh bombing and jailed for 14 years.

Colm Murphy has died at the age of 70 (Haydn West/PA)   Haydn West

However, his conviction was overturned in 2005 and a new trial ordered.

In 2008 the families of some of the victims of the bombing begin a landmark civil case, suing five men they claimed were involved, including Murphy.

The following year in Belfast, a judge in the civil trial ruled that Murphy and four others were all liable for the Omagh bomb, ordering them to pay a total of 1.6 million damages to 12 relatives who took the case.

Colm Murphy was found liable in a civil trial (Julien Behal/PA)   Julien Behal

In the criminal case, Murphy was cleared after a retrial in 2010, after interview evidence from gardai was ruled inadmissible.

In 2011 he won an appeal against the civil trial verdict, but he was again found liable after a civil retrial in 2013.

Last year, a judge in Belfast recommended the UK Government carry out an investigation into the bombing, and urged the Irish Government to do likewise, after finding plausible arguments that there had been a real prospect of preventing the atrocity.

In February the UK Government ordered an independent inquiry into the bombing.
Alan Leech was described as nothing more than a local junkie who had been criminally opportunistic and had milked Kennedy "like a cash cow

A Dublin man who was solicited by another man to kill his wife's friends is to be sentenced next month for extortion, Dublin Circuit Criminal Court has heard.

Defending counsel told the court that Alan Leech (38) was an opportunistic local junkie who had milked his acquaintance Bryan Kennedy "like a cash cow when Kennedy approached him about murdering the women his wife had met online.

Alan Leech of Loftus Hall Apartments, Hazelbrook Square, Churchtown, Dublin 14, pleaded guilty to demanding money with menaces on three occasions during January 2020.

At a sentence hearing today, the court heard that Leech and Kennedy knew each other as their children went to the same school.

Kennedy confided in Leech that his wife was having an online relationship with a couple who lived in Canada and that he believed the only way to salvage his marriage was to arrange for the couple to be killed.

Garda Tony Galway told Karl Moran BL, prosecuting, that Leech quoted the figure of 10,000 and led Kennedy to believe that he had contracted third parties to carry out the murder.

Last January Kennedy, of Mount Tallant Avenue, Harolds Cross, Dublin 6W, was sentenced at the Central Criminal Court to four and a half years in prison for soliciting Leech to murder two women on a date between October 2019 and January 2020.

Kennedys sentence was deferred until Monday of this week to allow time for him to put in place care for his children.

Gda Galway told the court that Kennedy, who was on social welfare, borrowed money from family members, friends and neighbours and paid Leech the sum of 8,000 to arrange the murder.

Investigating gardai took 65 screenshots of WhatsApp messages between Leech and Kennedy about the organisation of the murder and how it was to be carried out.

The court heard that Leech never contracted any third parties nor planned to carry out a murder, but had simply taken advantage of Kennedys mistaken belief that he had criminal connections.

When Kennedy failed to pay the outstanding 2,000, Leechs messages became more direct and threatening. Leech told Kennedy that the third parties were threatening him for the rest of the money and that he had been beaten up in front of his kids.

He said these third parties had come to his house several times and stolen things and that he had begged them on his hands and knees but that they wouldnt listen and were like animals.

Some of Leechs messages were read out in court, including: Ill carve your f*****g throat. Dont dare text me back with your sob stories cos Ill f*****g end you.

On January 6, 2020, Kennedy left Ireland for the UK out of fear of Leech and the threats he was making.

Kennedy left his phone and some belongings with his friend, along with instructions to his wife to keep their children locked in the house, to take a different bus home from school and to be wary of Leech.

Bryan Kennedy talking to our reporter

Kennedys wife said Leech met her at the school gates and asked where Kennedy was.

A few days later, Kennedys wife opened her door and saw Leech standing at the hedge. He told her that her husband had been watching everything she had been sending online to the Canadians and wanted to send a hit over to make it stop.

Leech said he would be kneecapped by the third parties if he didnt get the 2,000 and took a photo of Kennedys front door. He got pissed off, Kennedys wife later told gardai.

The following day, Kennedys wife heard a knock at the door. She sent her children upstairs and called the guards but heard Leech kicking the door and saying, Ill be back later.

Leech also sent her messages on Facebook saying her husband had sent him photos of the Canadian couple for the purpose of identifying them for the murder.

The court heard Kennedy returned from the UK and went to Nutgrove Shopping Centre with his wife on January 11, when they heard two whistles and saw Leech, who approached and threatened that he would personally carve Kennedys face.

Gda Galway told the court that no arrests were made for some months, as gardai wanted to first ensure that nobody in Canada or Ireland was in immediate danger.

Leech has 43 previous convictions, including 27 for theft in 2009 for which he served an 18-month sentence. He told gardai on arrest that he had a drug debt and had just taken advantage of Kennedy.

Bryan thought I was involved in gangs and I played along. I thought, if hes not man enough to control his wife, Ill take advantage of it, he told gardai.

The court heard that at one point Leech had an earbud in his ear while talking to Kennedy to pretend that he was on the phone to third parties who were threatening him.

I got it from watching films, Leech told gardai.

A victim impact statement submitted by Kennedys wife said she has been frightened of leaving the house ever since she was threatened by Leech.

She said she has recurring PTSD nightmares and that her disability has flared and worsened so badly because of stress that she is now in a wheelchair. This man has ruined my life, my mental and physical health and my children. My childrens father is in jail because of this, she said.

Justin McQuade BL, defending Leech, said his client had no gangland connections and had simply played Kennedy like a salmon by pretending that he was in contact with third parties.

There was a couple of Walter Mittys on both sides, said Mr McQuade.

He described Leech as nothing more than a local junkie who had been criminally opportunistic and had milked Kennedy "like a cash cow.

The court heard Leech had a chronic addiction to cannabis, cocaine and crack cocaine. Mr McQuade said Leech had expressed remorse and had pleaded guilty early.

Letters were presented to court from Leechs father and from Merchants Quay Ireland, outlining their willingness to engage with Leech.

The court heard that Leech is a single father whose daughter is being cared for by his parents, who are supportive and pro-social.

Judge Orla Crowe adjourned the case for sentence to May 2.
Its believed several alleged criminals have used the address to get out on bail

The derelict house is in Newtownbutler

A derelict house in a Co Fermanagh village has been used as a bogus bail address for people charged with serious crimes.

The Sunday Worldhas learned the scam was uncovered recently when police went out to check on the house in Newtownbutler and found it in a rundown condition.

Its believed several alleged criminals have used the address to get out on bail  despite never having any intention of living there.

Local sources have linked the address to a criminal from the Newtownbutler area.

The existence of the bogus bail address emerged at a court hearing involving a man charged with a large number of serious offences.

Stephen Smith is accused of 31 offences, which include assault, burglary, possession of drugs and vandalising vehicles.

The offences are all alleged to have happened in June 2022.

Smith (26) was arrested recently in Derry and appeared at the local magistrates court to reapply for bail.

A police officer told the court Smith had previously been granted bail on March 20 to an address in Newtownbutler.

The officer said checks later revealed the address was a boarded-up building.

The policeman said it was established the address had been given by a fellow inmate to numerous people.

The officer said Smith never attended the address in the Fermanagh village.

One of his previous bail conditions ordered him not to be in contact with a woman who he allegedly attacked.

However, the officer told the court Smith had contacted the woman through social media and called her a slut and a slag.

The officer said they objected to Smith being released on bail again as there was a clear risk of him not attending court.

He told the court Smith has been a wanted person since March 21 and had been actively avoiding police.

He has a condition that he is not allowed in Derry and he was in his aunts property within the city, he said.

The defendant has run from police on several occasions when he has known that he is wanted.

The officer said Smith has 44 previous convictions and police believe there is a high risk of him reoffending.

Smith is addicted to both alcohol and drugs, the policeman added, and when arrested he was under the influence of a substance.

The majority of his offending has happened when he has been under the influence of some substance.

The officer said Smith was also recently given a bail address at Crumlin Road in Belfast but did not attend that address either.

The court was told Smith has breached bail on 41 occasions since 2013.

He has a complete disregard for any bail conditions, the PSNI officer said.

He was out on bail for one day when he breached the conditions.

We have no confidence he will be able to abide by any conditions the court imposes.

The new bail application was refused, and Smith was remanded in custody.

When contacted, a PSNI spokesperson confirmed the existence of the false bail address in Newtownbutler.

Police were informed that an individual had been granted bail to an address in Newtownbutler and when officers attended the address it was established that the premises had been boarded up at this time. Subsequently, this was brought to the attention of the court, the spokesperson said.

Bail addresses proposed for accused individuals in criminal cases are approved by the court, not the Police Service of Northern Ireland, within the appropriate legal framework.

As part of proactive enforcement activity, officers are continuing to carry out regular checks at this designated bail address to ensure compliance with all conditions imposed by the court.

The Sunday World visited Newtownbutler this week to speak to local people about the existence of the bogus bail address.

One man who spoke to us on condition of anonymity said he was not surprised.

I have not heard about this boarded-up house before but there is definitely a problem with people being released on bail to Newtownbutler, he said.

We have been having bother for some time with people being let out on bail to live in the village.

This house may have been boarded up but there are a number of addresses in the village where people from outside this area are regularly released on bail to.

A lot of the time, these people are nothing but bother for the local community.

Why are these people being released on bail to a small village like Newtownbutler?
Gerry Hutch is believed to be staying at the Dublin inner-city home of a relative since he was acquitted of murder on Monday

Cartel leader Daniel Kinahan is believed to have arranged for weapons to be transported to the Canary Islands for the botched hit on Gerry The Monk Hutch in Lanzarote.

We can reveal the suspected involvement of key cartel associates, including Daniel Kinahan, in the plot to murder Hutch more than a month before the 2016 Regency Hotel shooting.

It comes as The Monk has been sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where its understood he has been staying since he was acquitted of murder on Monday.

There was a policing plan in place at the location on Monday and again yesterday, with a significant garda presence.

Daniel Kinahan

The Regency attack in 2016, which claimed the life of Kinahan associate David Byrne, was carried out just over a month after The Monk survived an attempt on his life in Spain.

Two gunmen attempted to shoot him in a Lanzarote bar on New Years Eve. Several senior cartel associates have been identified as suspects in the plot, including Kinahan, whom gardai believe arranged for the weapons to be transported to the Canaries.

This is believed to have been done through a key member of the cartels network, based in Spain, who later supplied the handguns to the Dublin hit team sent to Lanzarote.

Gang member Sean McGovern, whom gardai want to charge with a feud murder, is also suspected of having organised meetings between the firearms supplier and the gunmen.

The murder bid failed after The Monk recognised the shooters and fled the bar.

Just over a month later, a five-man team entered the Regency Hotel in Dublin and shot David Byrne dead. McGovern was injured in the attack.

Meanwhile, it has emerged that a request to allow Hutch leave court on Monday through a side entrance was denied, and he had to walk out of the front door to a media scrum.

Later on Monday, The Monk was sighted at the inner-city home of a relative, where its understood he has been staying since his release.

Gardai put in place a policing plan covering the wider area on Monday evening, which remained in place yesterday, with a significant garda presence. No incidents were reported.

The office of the DPP has so far refused to comment on the States unsuccessful prosecution of Hutch. Its case relied on audio surveillance and testimony from convicted criminal Jonathan Dowdall.

The non-jury court found the attack was carried out by the Hutch family and that Hutch had control of the weapons, but said it was not proved he was one of the gunmen.

Gangland figure David Byrne was shot dead at the Regency Hotel in February 2016.

Shortly before 4pm on Monday, Hutch (60) walked from the Special Criminal Court.

He declined to answer any questions as he left. His legal team then flagged down a taxi that took him away from the courts.

Following the acquittal, questions have been raised over the decision to charge him with murder.

Ms Justice Tara Burns raised serious concerns about the reliability of key witness Dowdall. He was originally charged with murder, but agreed to give evidence for the prosecution shortly before the trial started and pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of facilitating the murder gang.

The non-jury court found that the surveillance audio relied on by the prosecution did not contain admissions that Hutch was one of the hotel gunmen dressed in fake garda uniform.

Ms Justice Burns said one would wonder what the prosecution case intended to be prior to Dowdall turning States evidence.
Oh yes, Gerry, how could I forget? We remember this night very well. Of course, we welcome him back"

Staff at the Spanish restaurant in Fuengirola where Gerry Hutch was arrested urge him to come back and finish his pizza.

The veteran crime boss was arrested at Limoncello in 2021 after popping in for dinner at his favourite eatery.

Waiters at the popular establishment in the heart of the seaside resorts old town welcomed the news Mr Hutch (60) was cleared of murder on Monday in the Special Criminal Court.

Oh yes, Gerry, how could I forget? We remember this night very well. Of course, we welcome him back, staff member Marlena Pelarea told sundayworld.com.

Limoncello was subsequently inundated with Irish tourists enquiring about the night Mr Hutch was busted by Guardia Civil officers, just as he sat down to order one of the restaurants famous pizzas, alongside a female companion.

Fuengirola

Ms Pelarea said today that the Hutch family elder should come back sooner rather than later.

I remember because I ran to the bar. I ran away almost. I think they took him to the WC, he didnt get a chance to eat.

Of course, he should come back, we welcome him! Lots of Irish came to visit then, we remember all the videos.

We are a great restaurant, very popular, good restaurant. Yes, Gerry, tell him to come finish his pizza. We will cook him something nice, Marlena added.

Gerry Hutch leaves court

It is believed Mr Hutch was hiding out in an apartment in Fuengirola for a number of months in the run up to his arrest.

The apartment overlooked a picturesque square in the quaint Spanish town, where property prices have been on the rise.

Mr Hutch was known to frequent the local Dunnes Stores on Las Rampas in the town, but generally kept a low profile and was not seen out and about.

Dunnes entrance in Fuengirola

At least one associate was understood to have been ferrying supplies to the Dubliner whilst he laid low during the gangland feud which was ongoing at the time.

Spanish media revealed how Hutch led a 'monastic life' and only left home twice during a five month period.

On the first occasion, he was seen by undercover officers eating in the Plaza de la Constitucion in the town.

The agents saw him sitting on the terrace of the Plaza de la Constitucion. It was the first evidence that he was there," ABCandalucia reported at the time.

For months, they quietly stood guard in the area, without being identified, until they saw him leave.

On the day he was arrested, The Monk walked 200 metres to Limoncello where he met the woman before he was arrested.

"He changed the sidewalk, looked, lightened his pace and walked slower to see if someone was following him," recalled officers, who waited for him to sit down at in the pizzeria.

WC where Hutch was cuffed by Guardia Civil

They then entered and stopped him in an action that lasted a few minutes and one that he did not resist.

Gardai believe Hutch will now travel to Spain almost immediately after over a year in custody in Dublins Wheatfield Prison.

As Mr Hutch walked from court this week a man appeared by his side to usher him away from the press.

The unidentified male, who is not connected to Mr Hutch, told reporters to leave the man alone and let him grieve in peace as they walked along Infirmary Road.

Other passers-by were heard saying: Good man, Gerry and Congratulations, Gerry.
Dowdall (44) has been formally accepted into the Witness Security Programme following an assessment by gardai

The States key witness during the trial of Gerard The Monk Hutch, Jonathan Dowdall, has officially entered the witness protection scheme.

Dowdall (44) has been formally accepted into the Witness Security Programme following an assessment by gardai in the wake of the sensational acquittal of the gangland boss this week, reports have claimed.

The Special Criminal Court found Gerry The Monk Hutch not guilty of the murder of David Byrne at the Regency Hotel in north Dublin in February 2016.

Gerry "The Monk" Hutch leaving the CCJ

In the judgment, Ms Justice Tara Burns, presiding, dismissed Jonathan Dowdalls credibility as a witness in her lengthy judgement, saying he acted out of self-interest and the court was not prepared to act on his statement alone.

Judge Burns said, regarding Dodwall, the real question was who is the court actually dealing with?

A significant question mark hangs over Jonathan Dowdalls character and reliability, she said. In light of the pattern of lies, she said, the court must approach what he said about Mr Hutch with scepticism and extreme care.

According to a report in the Irish Times, while some logistical matters remain to be worked out, Dowdall has been formally accepted into the Witness Security Programme following an assessment by gardai.

The criticism of Dowdalls evidence will not have any impact on his admission into the Witness Security Programme, the report claims.

On his release, he will almost certainly be relocated abroad by gardai, most likely to an English-speaking country, and set up with a new identity and livelihood.

He will receive limited financial support.

The security services in his new home will be responsible Dowdalls safety who has been assessed as being under continuing and severe threat.

Dowdall was originally due to go on trial alongside Hutch for the murder of David Byrne.

But the murder charge was dropped after he pleaded guilty to facilitating the killing and agreed to testify against his former co-accused.

Dowdall was sentenced to four years in prison for facilitating the murder the day before Hutchs trial began.

While recordings of Hutch discussing the shooting with the ex-Sinn Fein councillor were enough to get him extradited from Spain to face trial for murder it didnt reach the bar for the three-judge Special Criminal Court.

Testimony from Dowdall that didnt have additional evidence to back it up had to be treated with caution and he had lied and lied according to Ms Justice Burns.

The court heard Dowdall had helped his father Patrick to book a room in the hotel the night before the attack.

The room was used by one of the raiders, paramilitary linked gunman Kevin Flat Cap Murray, since deceased.

Two weeks after the attack, on February 20, Dowdall was under surveillance when he drove Hutch to Donegal to meet an IRA man, Shane Rowan.

Then, on March 7, 2016, he took Hutch to Northern Ireland for meetings with republican contacts. In their bugged conversations that day, they were heard discussing getting northern republicans to mediate in the escalating feud with the Kinahans.

Gerry Hutch after his acquittal

They spoke about three yokes- the AK-47s used in the Regency attack - and a plan to hand them over to republicans as a present.

Two days later, on March 9, Shane Rowan travelled to Dublin where he was seen meeting Mr Hutchs brother Patsy. Rowan was intercepted as he drove back north near Slane, Co Meath. The three assault rifles from the Regency attack were in the back of his car.

Dowdall was initially also charged with murder but while awaiting trial, he instead pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of facilitation and turned states witness against Mr Hutch.

He alleged that the night before the attack, Gerard Hutch turned up to collect the keys to the room at the hotel.

He also claimed that they met in a park days after the Regency and Mr Hutch confessed to being one of the gunmen who shot David Byrne.

Ms Justice Burns said the prosecutions case therefore was that Mr Hutch was one of the two shooters who shot David Byrne in the Regency.

His alleged presence as an actual shooter was based on the evidence of Jonathan Dowdall.

David Byrne

Dowdall's evidence as an accomplice had to be treated with caution, the judge said.

It cannot be said that Jonathan Dowdall found God or decided to do what was right, Ms Justice Burns said.

He was acting out of self-interest when he came forward and obtained significant benefit from providing a statement for the gardai. As a result he now had a chance at a life instead of a potential life sentence for murder.

Of his previous character, she referred to Dowdalls separate conviction for torturing a man in his garage in a truly appalling, shocking and brutal assault punctuated by menacing threats. He had been a Sinn Fein councillor and was expected to adhere to certain standards.

The manner in which he told convincing lies in these interviews was extremely concerning, she said.

He was unrecognisable on the audio tapes which portrayed him as a ruthless, base, callous criminal involved in making bombs and suggesting assassinations, the judge continued.

Rather than being forthright in his evidence, he was reluctant to fill in surrounding details about his own involvement in the Regency and IRA connections.

He was extremely reluctant to acknowledge his friendship with Pearse McAuley, an infamous, dangerous terrorist.

An account of visiting McAuley two or three times in prison was a barefaced lie to hide this when records showed around 14 visits.

As to the key card for the Regency room she said the reality is the card was handed over to someone in the Hutch clan at some location and was passed to Kevin Murray.

She said it was unusual that Dowdall was nonplussed to find out about the Regency when one would have expected extreme panic on his part.

On the park confession, Dowdall had said it happened after the Sunday World publication of a photo of the Regency raiders in the flat cap and wig.

He had referred to Patrick Hutch Jr allegedly being recognisable as the man in drag but this was not possible as the picture had been pixellated.

Dowdall had not been sure whether the meeting happened on February 7 or 8, 2016.

Ms Justice Burns said this should have made a searing impression on Dowdalls memory, especially given his involvement in booking the room.

The court was of the view that the day would be etched on ones memory, with Gerard Hutchs brother Eddie shot dead on February 8 and a string of murders now in the offing.

Gerry Hutch's brother Eddie, who was shot dead in 2016.

Great care had to be taken with Dowdalls evidence, she said. The court was "not prepared to act on his statement alone, and it would require corroborative evidence on his allegations.

During the trial, Dowdall accused Hutch of terrorising his family.

The ex-politician also said names of his relatives and others were being dragged into the trial and there was a "barrage of threats."

Dowdall has told the Special Criminal Court that coming forward to testify against Gerard Hutch raised intimidation levels against his family to a whole different level.

Dowdall told the Regency murder trial that death threats had been made to his children and  this is why nobody comes in and gives evidence.

He said the reason he told lies to gardai when he himself was a murder suspect was because of the threat to his family and since then everything he feared would happen has happened, and worse.
It is understood Price, who has fled the area, owns property in the industrial estate

The scene of the arson attack in the Lansdowne Road area of Newtownards   Kevin Scott

The scene of the arson attack in the Lansdowne Road area of Newtownards   Kevin Scott

An early morning arson attack in Co Down is being linked to a ongoing loyalist feud.

Detectives are appealing for information following an arson attack at a business in the Landsdowne Industrial Estate area of Newtownards in the early hours of yesterday morning.

The premises damaged are on the edge of the West Winds housing estate which has been at the epicentre of a near month long feud between rival criminal gangs.

Sources in the area have told the Sunday World this latest in incident was aimed at crime boss Adrian Price  leader of the self-styled Real UFF which has been targeted by a rival loyalist gang linked to the mainstream UDA.

Adrian Price

It is understood Price, who has fled the area, owns property in the industrial estate.

Police have appealed for information.

Detective Sergeant Shivers said: At approximately 3.20am, we received a report that a number of vehicles had been set on fire at a car dealership.

Officers along with colleagues from the Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service attended and the fire was extinguished.

Adrian Price target of early morning arson attack in Newtownards

Approximately 25 cars and a trailer have been badly damaged in the blaze.

We are investigating this as an incident of arson. This was a completely reckless attack which could have had serious consequences. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported.

He conceded a line of enquiry was that is linked to the feud.

The scene of the arson attack in the Lansdowne Road area of Newtownards   Kevin Scott

At the present time we are keeping an open mind as to the motivation behind this attack however a primary line of enquiry is that it is linked to the ongoing feud between rival drugs gangs across Ards and North Down.

I would appeal to anyone who may have seen anyone suspicious in the area at the time of the fire or to anyone with dash-cam or CCTV footage that could assist with enquiries, to contact detectives on 101 quoting reference 108 of 18/04/23."

Price is believed to have sought sanctuary in east Belfast where he is under the protection of an organised crime boss.

A rump of his crime gang remain holed up in Weavers Grange in the West Winds. There has been a raft of attacks on property and people across North Down and the Ards Peninsula in the last month

Anyone with any information about this incident or who may be able to help with the investigation, is asked to call detectives in Larne on the non-emergency number 101 quoting reference number 100 29/04/21, or to submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/.

You can also contact Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at http://crimestoppers-uk.org/.
The victim was rushed to St Jamess Hospital, where he later passed away from his injuries

The man was rushed to St James's Hospital. Stock image

A man in his 40s has been arrested by gardai investigating the fatal assault on another man in Dublin 8 in the early hours of this morning.

Gardai say they had received reports of a male in his 20s with serious injuries on Harrington Street at approximately 4.45am.

The victim was rushed to St Jamess Hospital, where he later passed away from his injuries.

The man was rushed to St James's Hospital. Stock image

The scene is currently preserved for examination by the Garda Technical Bureau.

The office of the State Pathologist has been notified and a post-mortem examination will take place later today.

A man, aged in his 40s, has been arrested by gardai, a spokesperson added.

He is currently being detained at Garda Station in Dublin under the provisions of Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984.

Gardai are appealing to any person who has information that can assist with this investigation to contact Kevin Street Garda Station on 01 666 9400, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any Garda Station.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 20:55 | All, World, Japan, G7

The Group of Seven digital ministers will call for accelerated research into generative artificial intelligence systems, such as ChatGPT, at a meeting later this month, a draft communique showed Wednesday, as the rapid proliferation of such tools has raised concerns about their potential impact on society.

During their two-day talks from April 29 in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, the ministers aim to formulate an action plan on AI governance, according to the draft.

With the Japanese government also considering discussing generative AI at a G-7 summit in May in the western Japan city of Hiroshima, the topic is also expected to be mentioned in a joint statement by the leaders.

ChatGPT, launched in November 2022 as a prototype, stands for Chat Generative Pre-trained Transformer and is driven by a machine learning model that works much like the human brain.

Trained using massive amounts of data, the tool can process and simulate human-like conversations with users, giving it utility in various fields.

But many countries have been stepping up regulations on its use over suspicions that its developer, OpenAI, illegally gathers vast amounts of personal data from users.

In addition to calling on global organizations to establish international standards for AI governance, the draft statement also proposes formulating countermeasures to tackle fake news and other forms of disinformation that have been an issue during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The G-7 will additionally draw up an action plan for constructing secure network infrastructure to support emerging and developing countries, promote collaboration to improve the connectivity of undersea cables and address the blocking or limiting of internet access by some countries.

Establishing an international framework for Data Free Flow with Trust, a concept proposed by Japan at the World Economic Forum annual summit in 2019 to facilitate economic growth on a global scale, will also be an aim of the meeting, the draft statement showed.
Ian Paterson is currently serving a 20 year jail sentence for carrying out needless, life-changing operations.

A rogue breast surgeon who grew up in Northern Ireland could be linked to more than 1,600 deaths, a campaigner has warned.

Bangor-educated Ian Paterson is currently serving a 20 year jail sentence for carrying out needless, life-changing operations.

But now the focus is on Patersons botched 'cleavage-sparing' mastectomies on patients which left behind the breast tissue, risking a return of cancer.

Medical experts are now looking through records belonging to hundreds of patients who were under the care of Patterson who was educated at Bangor Grammar School before studying medicine at Bristol University.

At the weekend the Times revealed that the deaths of 650 patients who were under his care are currently being investigated by coroners in Birmingham.

But campaigner Debbie Douglas believes the figure could be much higher than the 650 deaths which were potentially caused by Patersons actions.

Actually, at the moment, I am really pleased that finally it is coming out in the Pyress because it is something Ive been fighting for for the last 10 years, so at least there is a little bit of traction behind it now, said Ms Douglas who was one of thousands of patients who suffered at the hands of Paterson.

I believe the figures are much greater than have been reported, she told BBC Radio 4s Womans Hour.

Campaigner Debbie Douglas   Alexander Britton/PA Wire

She added: At least 675 patients were dead in 2017 (when Paterson was jailed) in the NHS when a consultant looked at the figures for the NHS.

"And a further 1,000, over 1,000, were dead in the private sector.

"So for me, if those patients had a diagnosis of breast cancer and they died from a breast cancer related illness, they should all be looked at, every single one of them.

Originally, the inquiry said they were going to look at 23 cases, that was a sample of Paterson patients. That has been now been raised to 27 and as (the Sunday Times) reported, a further 650 are to be looked at. But I do believe the figure is greater than that, she said.

Mother-of-three Debbie Douglas underwent a cleavage-sparing mastectomy by Ian Paterson which she said left her in "horrendous" pain.

She later learned her cancer was not serious enough to warrant a mastectomy or the seven-month course of chemotherapy she endured.

She founded Breast Friends Solihull, a group fighting for justice for those impacted by the Paterson case

Ms Douglas said she found it heart-breaking that families of patients who had died were left not knowing if their loved ones might still be with them if had not met Paterson.

She urged anyone who thought there may be an issue concerning their loved ones death to ask for their medical records to be reviewed and if were issues discovered to pass the records to the coroner for review.

Ian Paterson was convicted at Nottingham Crown Court in 2017 of 17 counts of wounding with intent and three counts of unlawful wounding.

He had carried out invasive and unnecessary surgery on both men and women between 1991 and 2012. A large proportion of these surgeries were on women with suspected breast cancer. He also carried out unnecessary surgeries such as colonoscopies, vascular surgeries, hernia surgeries and vasectomies.

An inquiry found he carried out unnecessary operations in NHS and private hospitals on more than 1,000 patients over 14 years, exaggerating or inventing cancer risks and claiming payments for more expensive procedures.

Paterson was born in Scotland but his parents moved to Bangor, Co Down, when he was a child and he was educated at Connor House prep school before going to the local grammar.

He worked for the NHS and built a practice at two private hospitals run by Spire Healthcare in Birmingham.

Some of the rogue surgeons patients underwent unnecessary chemotherapy, tests and other procedures.

The Times reported at the weekend that 27 inquests have been opened as a result of cases where coroners 'believe there is evidence to have reason to suspect that some of those deaths may be unnatural'.

His trial heard that there had been 'no medically justifiable reason' for many of the procedures, conducted for financial gain between 1997 and 2011.

The investigation is to be led by deputy high court judge Richard Foster, who is experienced in medical negligence cases.

Out of 1,206 mastectomy patients, 675 had died, according to a report by the Heart of England NHS Trust, compiled in 2017 by the breast surgeon Martin Lee.

The report believes that as many as 1,000 of Patersons private patients have died but the cause of death is unknown.

Figures provided by Cancer Research UK figures show that female patients aged between 50 and 60 have a 90 per cent chance of survival when facing breast cancer.

However, the survival rates were less than 56 per cent for Paterson's patients.
Rasta was arrested at the weekend.

The last remaining member of bigwig Ridouan Taghis super cartel was arrested on Saturday in the Dominican Republic.

Dutchman Dennis G  nickname Rasta- is a 47-year-old childhood pal of Dutch crime lord, Taghi, who is currently on trial for six murders in the Marengo Trial in the Netherlands.

Rasta is seen as an important player in the international cocaine trade, according to the Dutch public prosecutor.

The drug smuggler was suspected of using corrupt officials working in the transport industry, including dockers, to ship drugs around the globe.

Members of Taghis gang have been locked up in Europe, Serbia and Brazil.

Authorities have submitted an extradition request to Caribbean officials for Rasta. According to prosecutors, decrypted Ennetcom messages show that the Dutch man is likely involved in shipments of 985 and 522 kilos of cocaine seized in Colombia in 2015.

Dennis G is the suspected owner of cocaine packages with his nickname Rasta printed on them and involvement in a shipment of 47 kilos of cocaine intercepted in the UK in 2015.

Taghi was arrested in 2019

According to police, decrypted messages from another intelligence service, SkyECC, indicate that Rasta was involved in smuggling hundreds of kilograms of cocaine into the Netherlands in 2019 and 2020.

In 2015 he was arrested in the Dominican Republic and detained for the discovery of cocaine in his home.

According to prosecutors, Taghis pal lived in the Dominican Republic for years and is said to have lived in a luxurious villa in the capital, Santo Domingo.

The Dominican authorities are investigating a man and a woman who were accompanying Rasta at the time of his arrest.

According to a Dominican Drug Control Directorate report, the two others who were arrested with Rasta are Urvin W. and Terence de V.

Both are members of No Limit Soldier, a criminal organization that is mainly active in the Caribbean, but also has ties to the Netherlands.

Dutch authorities suspect them of murder, arms trafficking, drug trafficking and money laundering.

Rastas childhood buddy, Taghi, is one of the suspected leaders of the super-cartel who all attended Daniel Kinahans wedding celebration at the Burj al Arab hotel in 2017.

Prosecutors described it as a completely unscrupulous organisation.

Marengo trial security

At a recent hearing of the Marengo trial, prosecutors pointed to the empty seats reserved for relatives of the victims who were too frightened to attend.

There is not a single surviving relative who dares to exercise the right to speak. They will not tell you who their father, brother, son or loved one was, what he meant to them and how he is still missed," the prosecution said.

The motive for most of the murders was revenge and to ensure silence because there was talk or to prevent talk.

The statements of the key State witness were of great importance in tracking down the gang leaders who had remained largely out of sight.

Statements showed that this series of murders was committed by one and the same organisation. It also turned out that there were others on the list to be killed by this organisation.

As well as the witness statements a large number of encrypted messages from the suspects were also used in evidence.

They provided a shocking insight into the way in how the accused men talked to each other about murders and victims.

Intercepted messages showed Taghi saying that if necessary, one killer should break into a home and do it in daylight.

They were told no matter what time or morning or night light, if it sleeps, you will be well rewarded.

The Marengo trial itself is entering its final stages.
Jacob Stevens spent six days on a ventilator before he died.

A teenager in the US has died after taking part in a viral Benadryl challenge in front of his friends on TikTok.

Jacob Stevens from Columbus, Ohio overdosed online after consuming the over-the-counter antihistamine medicine in order to try and create a hallucination.

The challenge was being filmed by Jacobs friends at home when the teenager started suffering seizures.

Jacob was rushed to hospital where doctors warned his family he might never wake up after it was "it was too much for his body.

Benadryl is an allergy relief

Keep an eye on what your kids are doing on that phone, Jacobs dad Justin warned parents after the tragedy.

Speaking to reporters, Justin warned the public off engaging in the sick and reckless 'challenge' and urged parents to be vigiliant.

"They said we could keep him on the vent, that he could lay there but he will never open his eyes, he'll never breathe, smile, walk or talk, Justin said.

He described Jacob's ventilator being turned off as "the worst day of his life."

The grieving dad released a picture of Jacob hooked up to life support in hospital to spread awareness of what can happens when kids engage in these trends.

It has led the family becoming dedicated to spreading awareness of the dangerous TikTok challenge and to ensure no other family suffers the same fate.

Talk to em about, you know, the situation. I want everybody to know about my sons situation, Jacob added.

The family are urging lawmakers to get TikTok to impose an age-restriction for making accounts - which will force users to provide identification before being allowed onto the platform.

Jacob Stevens

Dianna Stevens, Jacobs grandmother has already contacted politicians to try and get them to put an age restriction on buying medicine like Benadryl.

She said: "I am going to do everything I can to try to make sure another child doesnt go through it."

Justin also said his son was caring and could brighten up any day.

"It didn't matter how bad of a day I was having, no one could make me smile, Jacob could make me smile."

The Food and Drug Administration have warned parents the dangers of their children participating in the TikTok challenge.

It said: "Taking higher than recommended doses of the common over-the-counter (OTC) allergy medicine diphenhydramine (Benadryl) can lead to serious heart problems, seizures, coma or even death,' the FDA wrote.

The maker of the medicine, Johnson and Johnson demanded the "extremely concerning" trend be "stopped immediately."
Thomas Flood (49) was reported missing from his home in Dublin 1 on Monday, 17 April.

The family of a Dublin man who went missing at the start of this week are extremely worried for his safety.

Thomas Flood (49) was reported missing from his home in Dublin 1 on Monday, 17 April.

He is described as being approximately 5ft 2in in height and of a medium build. He is bald and has blue eyes.

Thomas Flood

Thomas has been known to frequent the Howth and Dollymount Strand areas and was last seen at Howth train station shortly after 12pm on Sunday after leaving his home around 11am, his brother told sundayworld.com.

He was wearing a grey jacket, navy top and navy bottoms and brown shoes when he went missing.

Thomas family have said that it is very unlike him not to get in touch and added that they are extremely worried for his safety and wellbeing.

Describing him as vulnerable, his brother urged the public to help search for Thomas, saying: If you can help us, please do. The gardai at Mountjoy are on alert so the more people looking, the better chance he has of coming home safe.

Meanwhile, a garda spokesperson said: Gardai are seeking the public's assistance in tracing the whereabouts of 49-year-old Thomas Flood, who is reported missing from his home in Dublin 1, since Monday 17th April 2023.

Thomas is described as being approximately 5 foot 2 inches in height and of a medium build. He is bald and has blue eyes.

Thomas has been known to frequent the Howth and Dollymount Strand areas.

Gardai and Thomas family are concerned for his welfare.

Anyone with any information on Thomas whereabouts are asked to contact Mountjoy Garda Station on 01 666 8600, the Garda Confidential Line on 1800 666 111, or any garda station.
New inquiry could soon begin into the horrific abuse of children by priests and other religious figures in Northern Ireland.

Victims of clerical abuse in Northern Ireland are to be asked to come forward and tell their heart-breaking stories.

It marks the start of a process which could lead to a new inquiry into the horrific abuse of children by priests and other religious figures.

An inquiry has already been held into the years of abuse suffered by young people living in institutions such as childrens homes and orphanages throughout Northern Ireland.

Some of these institutions were run by churches  but an inquiry has never been held into abuse carried out by members of the clergy in other venues, such as church buildings or the victims own homes.

The Northern Ireland Executive set up the Historical Institutional Abuse Inquiry (HIA) in 2012.

It was the biggest child abuse public inquiry ever held in the UK.

The inquiry examined allegations of abuse in 22 homes and other residential institutions in Northern Ireland.

These were facilities run by the state, local authorities, the Catholic Church, the Church of Ireland and the childrens charity Barnardos.

The largest number of complaints related to four Catholic-run homes.

The sexual abuse was carried out by priests and lay people.

Inquiry chair Sir Anthony Hart found shocking levels of sexual, physical and emotional abuse across the period 1922 to 1995.

As well as an apology, Sir Anthony also recommended at the publication of the inquirys final report in 2017 that abuse victims receive compensation and a memorial be created in their memory.

While the HIA covered abuse within church-run institutions, no similar investigation has been carried out into clerical abuse in other locations. That could soon change.

The Stormont Executive is seeking to award a contract for research into historical clerical child abuse.

This is being seen as the first stage in the process of having a HIA-type inquiry into the scandal of clerical abuse of children.

However, a victim of abuse in one of the institutions covered by the HIA said lessons need to be learned from how they were treated.

Despite the HIAs recommendations being published in 2017, it was not until last year that victims received an apology at the Assembly from the institutions involved.

Many victims are still also waiting for compensation for what they endured.

Margaret McGuckin, from Survivors & Victims of Institutional Abuse (SAVIA), who herself suffered institutional abuse as a child, said any victims of clerical abuse who come forward needed to be supported.

There are a lot of lessons to be learned from the experiences we went through with the inquiry into institutional abuse, she said.

Abuse survivor Margaret McGuckin.

We were told by those involved we are going to do this, we are going to do that and then they disappeared.

It took years for us to get the apology. Thats the way it was, so they have to do it right this time.

Despite what she and others went through during the HIA inquiry, Ms McGuckin said it had been worthwhile and urged all abuse victims to come forward.

It was a battle and it broke me in the end, she said.

Im a changed person but to see so many people get their day to speak about what happened them and to know it was not their fault made it all worthwhile.

Also, to have the apology from the institutions showed the world where the blame lay for this abuse.

Amnesty International is among the organisations which have called for an inquiry into clerical abuse in Northern Ireland.

The organisation said in the absence of an independent public inquiry, the scale of clerical child sexual abuse in Northern Ireland remains unknown.

Last year, Archbishop Eamon Martin, the leader of the Catholic Church in Ireland, said clerical abuse is like an open wound that has never been able to heal.

Archbishop Martin said he supported criminal prosecutions in relation to abuse cases and added the church should be open to official inquiries.

There have been several high-profile cases involving Catholic priests who abused children, the most notorious of which was Father Brendan Smyth.

Smyth was convicted in the 1990s of dozens of offences against children over a 40-year period.

Despite allegations being previously investigated by church officials as far back as 1975, it was almost 20 years before he was jailed.

In 1991, Smyth was arrested and released on bail, before spending the next three years out of the reach of police in Northern Ireland, when he stayed at his orders Kilnacrott Abbey in County Cavan.

His case led to the collapse of the Republics Labour/Fianna Fail coalition government, when it emerged there were serious delays in his extradition to Northern Ireland in 1994.

When Smyth finally appeared before a Belfast court, he was convicted of 43 charges of sexually assaulting children in Northern Ireland and was sentenced to four years in prison.

Upon his release from prison, Smyth was immediately arrested and extradited to the Republic.

In 1997, the convicted paedophile admitted to 74 charges of child sexual abuse over a 35-year period.

Smyth died of a heart attack in prison in August 1997, just a month into his 12-year prison sentence.

Victims of another paedophile priest have come forward in recent years to speak about the abuse they suffered.

Father Malachy Finnegan taught and worked at St Colmans College in Newry from 1967 to 1987, spending the last decade as the schools president.

He went on to serve as a parish priest in Clonduff, County Down.

The priest, who died in 2002, was accused of a long campaign of child sexual abuse but was never prosecuted or questioned by police.

In 2018, it emerged that the Diocese of Dromore had settled a previous claim made by one of his alleged victims.

At that stage, the board of governors at St Colmans condemned the abuse inflicted by Finnegan while he worked there.

His image was also removed from the schools photographs.
The pair were both contestants on the ITV dating show back in 2019, living in the villa alongside the likes of Molly-Mae Hague, Greg OShea, and Tommy Fury.

Former Love Island stars and Maura Higgins and Lucie Donlan have reportedly ended their close friendship after a disaster holiday and an Instagram snub.

The pair were both contestants on the ITV dating show back in 2019, living in the villa alongside the likes of Molly-Mae Hague, Greg OShea, and Tommy Fury.

After striking up a friendship on Love Island, Maura and Lucie drifted apart but rekindled their relationship during the pandemic.

They even jetted off to the Maldives together on a girls trip with some pals in December 2021 but, according to The Sun, this is where their problems began to surface.

The former friends drifted further and further apart since their tropical holiday and seem to no longer be friends.

Maura (32) even went as far as unfollowing Lucie (25) on Instagram, which eagle-eyed fans noticed a few months back.

Lucie, who is engaged to Winter Love Island star Luke Mabbott, still follows the Longford lady but hasnt liked any of her photos since May last year.

Lucie and Maura just drifted apart - it was fun when they were both single and going on holidays together but Lucie's settling down in Cornwall with her fiance and Maura lives in London, a source revealed.

When Maura unfollowed Lucie though, it was a bit of a shock - clearly they weren't as close as Lucie thought they were, as it was a bit of a harsh move and ended the friendship on a bit of a sour note.

Some fans believe that Maura and Lucies rift may have something to do with their Love Island co-star and Mauras bestie, Molly-Mae Hague.

The new mum (23) previously admitted that she and Lucie werent pals shortly after returning home from Majorca after their summer on Love Island.

She told Metro in 2019: I do still see the people that I was close with in the villa, and Lucie and I werent close in the villa.

So she would say that because Id say the same about her because we dont speak, we werent close. And obviously circumstances just mean that were not close like that.
A new cost-effective method of strengthening earthquake-prone buildings may be on the horizon.

Research funded by Toka Tu Ake EQC is demonstrating that wrapping weak spots in concrete walls with carbon-fibre straps can strengthen earthquake-prone high-rise buildings well beyond the demands of the building code.

The research findings will be presented this week by University of Auckland PhD student Victor Li at the New Zealand Society for Earthquake Engineering Conference, and is likely to draw significant interest in this sector as more than 100 multi-storey buildings in Wellingtons CBD alone are identified to be well below modern code.

With so many pre-1982 concrete buildings in New Zealand considered a particular earthquake risk, the research by the team supervised by Dr Enrique del Rey Castillo and Dr Rick Henry and funded by Toka Tu Ake EQC, has been in a race against time to find the most efficient and cost-effective ways to strengthen thin concrete walls.

Li says that this type of concrete walls can deform out of plane due to their thinness and inherent instability, and just one per cent of lateral displacement can cause catastrophic collapse.

Technically its called axial failure. It can still happen in a newer building, as we saw in Christchurchs Grand Chancellor Hotel, but the pre-1982 design methods mean the risk is higher in those older buildings, says the PhD candidate.

Up until now there has been no guidance on how these walls could be strengthened, but our research has shown that with the carbon fibre solution, the wall cannot buckle in the out of plane direction, says Li, who adds that the team tested the walls up to twice the building code for seismic resilience.

Toka Tu Ake EQC Head of Research, Dr Natalie Balfour, says that many older commercial buildings are being converted to apartments, so it is vital to ensure that people live in homes that meet modern earthquake standards.

Toka Tu Ake EQC decided to fund this research because it will deliver practical guidance on how at-risk walls in older buildings can be strengthened cost-effectively. It will also establish a consistent way of doing these fixes across New Zealand, says Dr Balfour.

Research supervisor Dr Enrique Del Rey Castillo explains that his team wrapped at-risk walls in carbon fibre and tested 56 different combinations of concrete, steel and carbon fibre to see when and how they would break.

This gave us the data we needed to model how to strengthen a particular wall. And the results have even been better than we anticipated, says Dr Del Rey Castillo who adds that practising engineers will now have the scientific data to use the new technology with confidence to repair old alls.

At the NZSEE conference we will present new guidelines and equations for engineers to use, so they can choose the most efficient and cost-effective fix for their particular problem wall.

Dr Del Rey Castillo emphasises that his team has had a lot of support from industry players like Concrete NZ, Mapei, Sika, Holmes and BBR Contech, who are all extremely interested in the research and to ensure that the testing would deliver real-world results.

Thanks to the input from people working in the industry, we have delivered something that can be put to practical use right away.
Eastern Bay health care workers and community members stood side by side on Saturday to call for New Zealand to better value its nurses, midwives, health care assistants and kaimahi hauora.

Maranga mai  Rise up, was the message to members of the community wanting to support a stronger health system at the rally at Wharaurangi on The Strand.

The rally was not part of any strike action, but one of 19 events organised by the New Zealand Nurses Organisation throughout New Zealand in response to New Zealands nursing shortage and pay inequity issues.

The rallies, more of which are being planned as the general election draws nearer, are to demonstrate to political parties that communities stand alongside health care workers in their struggle for more equitable pay and better working conditions.

Whakatane paediatric nurse and nurses organisation representative Tracy Black said nurses were desperately under resourced and sometimes felt that they were not valued.

On the ground, at the front line, time and time again it's nurses, it's health care assistants, its midwives that are having to stand up, through the pandemic and all the natural disasters, we stood up, every time. Why? Because we care. Were a profession that cares but sometimes it feels to nurses that we're just not valued.

Several community members spoke at the event, including Whakatane Mayor Victor Luca, in his role as president of the Whakatane District Grey Power Association.

Whakatane mayor and Grey Power Whakatane president Victor Luca endorses the demands of nurses and sought a halt to ongoing privatisation of the health system.

Nursing is a job I couldnt do for all the money in the world and I truly appreciate what they do, Dr Luca said. Nurses should be rewarded appropriately.

I have never occupied a hospital bed but I know that my time is coming. And when it does eventually come I would like to know that the health system has my back.

He said both he and Grey Power had been advocating strongly for some time for a halt to the ongoing privatisation of the health system.

I am here to endorse the demands of nurses for better pay and conditions and also to call for a halt to continued privatisation of our health system which I view as the fundamental problem to be addressed.

Ms Black said the nurses appreciated Dr Lucas commitment along with the other members of the public who stood with them at the rally.

That was what Saturday was all about. It was about us calling for action, not just as people who work in the health system but for the members of the public to stand up with us to ensure that we have a health care system that provides a service for all and not just for some and that we value the workforce.

Other speakers on the day were Ms Black and other nurses and health care assistant students, along with other members of the public.

New Zealand Nurses Organisation representative Tracy Black and Whakatane man Gordon Dickson demonstrate that nurses are worth more than they are getting.

Danae Lee, whose mother is a registered nurse, spoke about her own experiences.

So she was able to speak around watching the pressures on her mother, having to live it as well and her own struggles, both as a patient and as a family member of a nurse.

Ms Black said the rally was a good start.

It was nice to see the turnout, especially seeing that were a really small community. The next ones coming and we would like to get more of the public involved.

-Public Interest Journalism funded through NZ on Air.
A commercial fisher who failed to report about 2.5 tonnes of mostly Snapper, along with some Kahawai and Gurnard has been fined $26,500.

Hamish Robert Apatu, 54, was sentenced on April 17 in the Kaitaia District Court on three charges under the Fisheries Act, based around his commercial fishing reports and the financial benefit gained by not filing them accurately.

Fisheries New Zealand inquiries found discrepancies in the numbers and weights of fish Mr Apatus company, Apatu Enterprises Limited, landed between December 30, 2020, and March 30, 2022, at his companys Licenced Fish Receiver in Cable Bay.

"Around 249 bins of snapper, 62 bins of kahawai, and five bins of gurnard were omitted from the official records. Thats around 2.5 tonnes of snapper and some kahawai and gurnard. It would have cost around $18,000 to gain quota in the form of Annual Catch Entitlement (ACE) to land these fish. By not having ACE, the fish taken was unaccounted for and the only motivation for doing this would be to maximise profits.

Apatus fishing vessel, Valiant, was forfeited and he was ordered to pay $12,000 to have it released.

He must also pay a deemed value penalty of $21,255 for the unreported fish. This is in addition to the court-imposed fine of $26,500.

"When we find evidence of fishing rules being deliberately broken for financial gain, we will investigate and if appropriate place the matter before the court. The rules are there for a reason  to ensure sustainability of fishing resources into the future," says Fisheries New Zealand regional manager fisheries compliance, Phil Tasker.

Apatus fishing operation from his vessel, Valiant would target snapper in Doubtless Bay and generally did single day fishing trips.

"Two-and-a-half tonnes of snapper is a lot of fish. The resource is there for everyone and Mr Apatu was taking far more than his share."

Fisheries New Zealand encourages fishing industry operators and non-commercial fishers to report any suspected illegal activity through the Ministry for Primary Industries 0800 4 POACHER line (0800 47 62 24).
Papamoa Beach netballer Miriana Rei has been named an ANZ Future Captain after she won the opportunity to meet their idols of the ANZ Premiership at the Magic v Tactix match at Trustpower Baypark.

Ten-year-old Miriana, who attends Tahatai Coast Primary School, experienced what its like to be an ANZ Premiership player when she led the teams onto the court, got up-close with the players, and caught the action from prime courtside seats.

Mirianas sister, 13-year-old Anahera Rei, was able to join her.

Miriana says getting to see the game up close was the most exciting part of being a Future Captain.

It was really cool because I got to high five the players and get photos with the captains. It was fun getting to go on court with my sister.

The Year 6 student has been playing netball for the past three years and says she likes shooting and has been practising and getting better.

I really like playing netball. I like getting to play with my friends and winning.

She says she was impressed by the ANZ Premiership players fast passing and she plans to

practise that when the season starts in term 2.

My goal is to become a much better player and one day become a Silver Fern.

ANZ Bank of New Zealand Head of Sponsorship Sarah Rogan said ANZ is committed to its support of netball from grassroots players in the community to the elite players in the ANZ Premiership and Silver Ferns.

Thats why were giving 98 young netball fans, like Miriana, the chance to meet their idols of the ANZ Premiership and experience the magic of a live game.

Sport is incredibly important to a childs wellbeing and what better way to be inspired to get involved than to watch those at the top of their game.

We hope this opportunity shows these young fans how far they can go with netball and inspires them to follow their dreams into the game.

ANZ has supported netball from grassroots games in the community, to the elite level for the past 14 years.

Applications for the ANZ Future Captains programme are now open at www.ANZcourtside.co.nz
Michiko Bokka, an artist connecting Japan and Malaga, opens Japanese culture week The series of events, that will take place until Sunday 23, includes talks and workshops on manga, sushi, ikebana, origami and other traditional crafts

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Michiko Bokka has one foot in Malaga and the other in Tokyo, this bipolarity being expressed in her art. With connections to both places, she was one of the main figures at the opening of the fourth annual Japanese cultural week in Malaga on Monday.

The programme started with the opening of her exhibition El Camino de la Luz (the way of light), in which she explores the connection between Spain and Japan.

The weeks events, organised by the Japanese embassy and businesswoman Olga Grymierski, includes 11 activities such as workshops, talks, performances and exhibitions.

Mondays schedule included the opening ceremony at Malaga city hall, which was attended by Japanese Ambassador Takahiro Nakamae, and the mayor Francisco de la Torre.

The event included traditional Japanese music, such as a shamisen, a Japanese guitar with three strings, played by Jose Luque, and taiko music (a Japanese drum) to which Begona Castro gave a flamenco performance.

Ampliar ose Luques performance in front of Francisco de la Torre and Takahiro Nakamae, the Japanese Ambassador. SUR

Michiko Bokkas exhibition will be open until Sunday 23 April in the Sala Mingorance gallery in the Archivo Municipal building in Malagas Alameda Principal. It has two parts: one expressing the soul of Japan, the artists home country; and the other focusing on Andalucia, her other home. In the first room there are Japanese-inspired works showing the beauty of shading and deep colours.

This art reflects Michiko Bokkas Japanese spirituality. In the room, there are several ceramic works made by the artist, such as the piece made with traditional washi paper, displaying a contemporary painting created using Japanese paintbrushes, made only from natural resources.

The second room displays El Elogio de Andalucia (the praise of Andalucia), which contains messages of strength, happiness, passion, energy and progress that have emerged from the lockdown.

They are works that vividly express the Andalusian character in black and white, using only Japanese materials. In this room there is also a kimono and two decorative pieces made from a Japanese black persimmon.

These pieces are incredibly rare; only one in every 10,000 persimmon trees produces black fruit. Normally, once the fruit is opened it has a milky or pale yellow colour, but occasionally it has a black inky colour in the interior which is called kurokaki.

Furthermore, located in el patio of the Archivo building you can find a large piece done in black ink on modern Japanese paper with a type of floral art called ikebana, which Michiko Bokka specialises in.

Throughout her long and successful career, she has had exhibitions in the Louvre, New York, Dubai and Miami, not forgetting Malaga and the province where she has repeatedly displayed her work.

On Tuesday 18, the programme continued with a talk by Mari Orikasa on Japanese ceramics and Amalfy Fuenmayor led a tea ceremony.

On Wednesday 19, the Municipal Heritage Museum (MUPAM) is hosting a demonstration on shibori (a type of fabric dying), led by Marie Isabelle Poirier, while those younger have the opportunity to learn Japanese through manga and anime.

On Thursday 20 Chihiro Tomita will discuss Myths and Legends of Sushi while on Friday 21 the Economic Society of Friends of the Country are holding a bookbinding workshop and with a Ikebana demonstration, led by Eiko Kishi.

Saturday 22 will be the last day of activities, with morning workshops in the Aplama room. Here, Carmen Mai will teach the Sumi-e painting technique. She also has an exhibition on discipline and an origami session. All activities mentioned are free.
This semi-circular walking route, which is approved as a local footpath (SL-A-229), allows you to discover a good part of the municipality of Tolox, from the village itself to its forest areas and the fertile lowlands next to the Horcajos river.

Comarca: Sierra de las Nieves

Municipality: Tolox

Difficulty level: Medium. Due to its length, it cannot be considered of lesser difficulty. In addition, it may not be recommended for people with vertigo, as the second half of the route involves walking along narrow paths with a free drop. It cannot be done by bicycle.

Type of route: Semi-circular

Approximate duration: 3 hours

Length: 9 kilometres

Minimum height: 291 metres

Maximum altitude: 667 metres

Nearby places of interest: Balneario de Tolox, monument to the mountain goat, hermitage of the Virgen de las Nieves, Fuente Amargosa, church of San Miguel and Rinconada del Castillo (old town of Tolox).

Ampliar Virgen de las Nieves Hermitage J. Almellones

How to get to the starting point

The starting point of this route begins next to the well-known spa in Tolox, located very close to the village of the same name. Therefore, to get there you must first follow the signs to this village in the Sierra de las Nieves, first on the A-357 and then on the A-354. Once at the entrance to the village, just follow the signs to the Fuente Amargosa spa. Next to this building, you can see the signposting panels for both this route and others that start here.

Ampliar The start is next to the spa of Tolox. J. Almallones

Route description

1This route is semi-circular, as it does not end exactly where it starts, but at the Plaza Alta de Tolox. From there, it would take about 800 metres to walk back to the starting point. Another option is to leave the vehicle somewhere in between the two points. In any case, it is advisable to start walking from the area around the spa, where you will also find the Cascadas path. In fact, the first few metres of both routes are the same.

Ampliar In the first few metres this path coincides with the Cascadas path. J. Almellones

2The path leaves the asphalted track just a few metres after leaving the aforementioned information panels. From here begins an climb of just over a kilometre, which is one of the most demanding sections of the route. Although the climb is somewhat tough, it is mitigated by a zigzagging route. However, it is advisable to pay close attention to the various milestones and signposts so as not to leave the path under any circumstances. Thanks to the difference in altitude, there are panoramic views of Tolox and the surrounding area.

Ampliar After passing the hotel Cerro de Hijar, the lane is made of dirt. J. Almellones

3After a kilometre and a few more metres of ascent, this path separates from the aforementioned Cascadas path. The first path turns off to the right to take an asphalted track known as the Golondrinas path. This path, which can be used by vehicles, also leads to the Cerro de Hijar hotel. It is necessary to go as far as this tourist establishment. Then continue along the same track, which becomes a dirt track, until you reach a sharp bend in the road (about 700 metres from the hotel). At this point, turn off to the right onto a narrower track.

Ampliar Path that leads to the foot of the Hijar hill. J. Almellones

4After the previous detour, the path continues climbing slightly until it reaches the foot of the Hijar hill, which is to the right of the path. From the path itself there is a spectacular panoramic view of the highest peaks of the Sierra de las Nieves, with the Tajo de la Caina, the Penon de Enamorados and the peak of La Torrecilla, from left to right. After contemplating this authentic postcard view, there is a stretch of descent that gradually becomes steeper. Before this you can see one of the most biodiverse areas of the route, with chestnut trees, Spanish firs, holm oaks and gall oaks, among other trees.

Ampliar Cerro de Hijar. J. Almellones

5The path becomes increasingly narrower and descends through the valley of the river Horcajos (and its tributaries). Although the section is downhill, it can be considered one of the most complex of the route, as the path is very narrow, has very steep parts and a lot of loose stones, which complicates the descent. This way, you first cross a stream that is a tributary of the Horcajos river, and then pass by the Piloncillo well. From there it is only a few metres to the Virgen de las Nieves hermitage , in the recreational area of the same name. This is one of the most important landmarks on this trail.

Ampliar From left to right, Torrecilla, Penon de Enamorados and Tajo de la Caina. J. Almellones

6From the hermitage, the only thing left to do is to descend and then turn off onto a path on the right, which allows you to walk along a narrow path that runs parallel to the Horcajos river. Next to it there is a plain where you can see traditional vegetable growing plots and avocado plantations. The path converges in the last kilometre with the path to the Ermita de la Virgen de las Nieves. Both pass next to Fuente Amargosa and arrive together at the Plaza Alta de Tolox, the official end of both routes. From there, the only thing left to do is to pick up the vehicle where it was left, either next to the starting point or somewhere in between it and the Plaza Alta.

Ampliar Virgen de las Nieves Recreation Area SUR

Flora and fauna

Along this route you can see orchards with citrus and avocado trees, but also other unique botanical species, such as Spanish firs, chestnut trees, gall oaks, holm oaks, gorse, eucalyptus and palmettos. In addition, there is also riverside vegetation. As far as fauna is concerned, you can see some birds of prey in flight and sense the presence of some mammals, such as wild boar, mountain goats and foxes. Among the reptiles, the snub-nosed viper can be seen in spring and summer.
National Police officers are investigating eight people for the drug trafficking-related disappearance of the individual, and have carried out simultaneous raids in Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola and Mijas

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Almost three years ago Jamal, a Dutch national of Moroccan origin, was kidnapped by a group of criminals posing as police officers. The whereabouts of the Dutchman, a father of five who was 31 years old when he was abducted, remain unknown.

The events took place on the night of 22 August 2020, the first summer of the pandemic. After dining at a Costa del Sol restaurant, Jamal went with his wife to Puerto Banus and were driving back to the luxury flat they had rented in Nueva Andalucia, when their car was rammed and then blocked by another.

Ampliar

Several men got out of both cars, but they have not yet been identified. One of them had blond hair and blue eyes. The other had curly hair. The face masks, which were mandatory at the time, helped to hide their faces.

Hit over head with pistol

Jamal's wife recalls that they spoke poor quality Spanish and English. She was warned: Stay still inside the car or I'll shoot you.

Jamal was pulled out and pushed against the car. Then, she told police officers, they began to hit him over the head with a pistol, causing him to fall to the ground. They then bundled him into the black car and fled the scene at high speed.

A few months ago a suspect was arrested in France. He was released after being handed over to the judicial authorities.

Now, following an extensive investigation, officers from Spain's National Police's organised crime group have identified seven other people who, according to the investigations, could have a more or less direct link to the illegal detention of the Dutchman.

Under investigation

Last week, police coordinated an operation to arrest those under investigation with simultaneous raids in Marbella, Estepona, Fuengirola and Mijas.

Officers arrested two of the targets in Marbella and requested an international search warrant for the rest of those under investigation. A few days ago, a third suspect was arrested. The others have not yet been located by the police and it is believed that they could be abroad. Of the four arrested to date, none of them have been imprisoned.

'Successful businessman in the real estate sector'

Jamal's family portrays the kidnappee as a successful businessman in the real estate sector and the purchase and sale of luxury watches, although the police point out in their investigation that his kidnapping was related to drug trafficking.

On 15 August, just a week before his disappearance, Jamal was robbed at a petrol station in Marbella. Although he struggled with the assailants, they succeeded in their aim, which was to steal his Richard Mille watch, valued at 400,000 euros.

The investigation points to a possible debt of 1.7 million euros owed by a family member as a possible motive for the kidnapping. However, the family has reportedly not received proof of life or a ransom demand, despite the fact that Jamal was very wealthy.

The first clue found in the investigation into his whereabouts pointed to a villa in Estepona. This was provided in November 2020 by a brother of the victim, but did not lead to any concrete results.

Dutch police also picked up a conversation in a chat room where there was discussion of a kidnapped person who, according to the information provided, could be Jamal. A judge authorised a search of a farm in Coin owned by British nationals but the victim was not located.

Despite the progress made in the investigation, Jamal's whereabouts remain a mystery to this day.
Romina said that her husband Jose Rafael Pisani Pardo messaged her on the fatal night to say he was afraid because there were "a lot of drunk people"

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The doorman who died after an assault at former Towie star Elliot Wright's restaurant Olivia's La Cala, in Mijas, messaged his wife before the fatal incident to say he was afraid because there were "a lot of drunk people".

Romina replied to her husband Jose Rafael Pisani Pardo that he should be careful and he reassured her that he had only a short time to do before going home. That was just after midnight on Saturday 15 April. Half an hour later, at 0.30am, Jose Rafael Pisani would be knocked out by a man he was trying to immobilise to prevent a fight in the restaurant.

Related article British man arrested after doorman dies following brawl at Towie star Elliot Wright's Mijas restaurant Juan Cano

"He told me he would be back here soon. I wanted him to come as soon as possible. But he never came back," Romina said.

The security cameras captured him trying to hold down an even bigger and burlier man than he was. Pisani was a bodybuilder, like Romina, and had a very muscular body, sculpted by hours and hours in the gym. He had been working nights as a doorman for some time and didn't lack experience. Despite this, he was unable to restrain a troublesome client, who, as soon as he got free of him, punched him in the chin, knocking him to the ground. Hours later he died at Malaga's Regional hospital.

Romina, 32, described Jose as a "very quiet" man, who stayed out of trouble and led a healthy life. "He would go from home to work or to the gym and back. We liked to go out to dinner and travel, but nothing more. I always told him that you had to enjoy life and make the most of every moment together. We hadn't been lucky in love before, so we gave it up for each other. And for someone to suddenly come along and kill him...".

Jose Rafael Pisani, 55, was a Spaniard of Venezuelan origin. He and his wife, an Italian born in Chile, both trained at the Alhamar gym, now Oxygen, in Mijas Costa.

The couple, who married five months ago, had planned to become parents. And today, Wednesday 19 April, Romina was going to undergo artificial insemination but that is no longer possible.

Heartbroken Romina said she never liked her husband working at night. She wanted him to use his law degree.

"I wanted him to try, or at least to stop working as a doorman. He had promised me that this was the last summer he would do it and that in October he would quit. And look..."

The alleged attacker, a 32-year-old British man, has been arrested by the Guardia Civil.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 18, 2023 - 21:31 | All, Japan, World

Foreign ministers of Japan and France agreed Tuesday to promote security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, confirming the importance of stability across the Taiwan Strait after French President Emmanuel Macron cautioned against being drawn into a Taiwan crisis amid a U.S.-China rivalry.

Speaking to Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, France's Catherine Colonna stated that the security of the Indo-Pacific and Europe is "indivisible" and that it is important to respect the international order based on the rule of law, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry.

The two held the talks in Tokyo after leaving the resort town of Karuizawa in central Japan, where the Group of Seven foreign ministerial meeting was held through Tuesday.

The G-7 gathering took place after Macron sparked controversy in the United States and Europe for calling on Europeans not to be "followers" of either the United States or China and warned of being drawn into a crisis over Taiwan driven by what he called "the American rhythm and a Chinese overreaction."

At the Karuizawa talks, the top diplomats from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, reaffirmed the importance of "peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait," calling it "an indispensable element in security and prosperity in the international community."

Beijing regards self-ruled, democratic Taiwan as a breakaway province to be united with the mainland, by force if necessary.

Japan and France have been deepening ties, sharing the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific amid China's growing military assertiveness. France is the only European Union member with overseas territories in the Indo-Pacific.

Earlier Tuesday in Karuizawa, Hayashi met Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly. They pledged to work closely to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific and to cooperate in dealing with North Korea, which continues to launch ballistic missiles in defiance of U.N. Security Council resolutions.

They also held talks on a trans-Pacific free trade agreement, according to the Japanese Foreign Ministry, referring to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, of which Japan and Canada are members.

In late March, the members agreed to allow Britain to join the 11-nation free trade pact, marking the first expansion of the deal and raising the bloc's share of global economic output to 15 percent.

Related coverage:

Japan, U.S. agree to work toward successful G-7 Hiroshima summit

G-7 unified in backing Taiwan peace, urges China to act responsibly

French minister calls on China to act responsibly over Taiwan
Spain's King Felipe VI goes walkabout in Ronda Later, the monarch will see an equestrian exhibition in the town's historic bullring which some 3,000 local schoolchildren will also attend

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King Felipe VI has arrived in Ronda this Wednesday, 19 April.

In what is his first visit to the famous town that spans a deep gorge, the monarch was greeted with cheers and applause by members of the public gathered on Avenida Virgen de la Paz next to the Real Maestranza de Caballeria. That is where he will preside over the general meeting of the five royal cavalry schools of Spain (Ronda, Seville, Granada, Valencia and Zaragoza) that is being held in the Ciudad del Tajo on the 450th anniversary of the creation of the institution.

Ampliar Felipe VI in Ronda today. Nito Salas

Felipe VI spent seven minutes greeting the public gathered in the area. Later, the monarch will see an equestrian exhibition in the town's historic bullring which some 3,000 local schoolchildren will also attend.
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The king emeritus returns to Spain today, as he did in May 2022, on a super expensive private jet flight. As SUR has learned, the former head of state flew to Vigo from London Stansted in a Bombardier BD-700-1A11 Global 5000 which costs some 9,000 euros an hour for a chartered flight.

The plane, which took off at 11.47am (Spanish mainland time), is registered in the United Arab Emirates and priced at 50 million euros, making it one of the worlds most expensive luxury aircraft.

The emeritus king in a car after arriving in Vigo. AFP

The former head of state has been staying in London since Monday and according to official sources is scheduled to land at Peinador airport in Vigo.

Earlier, on Tuesday afternoon, Relevo reported the emeritus king was spotted at the entrance to Stamford Bridge, where Chelsea and Real Madrid faced each other in the second leg of the Champions League quarter-final.

On Monday night, the 85-year-old ex-monarch, was also seen with friends at Oswald's club in central London, in the Mayfair district. This is one of the most exclusive establishments in the British capital and is frequented by Prince William, Queen Camilla and Boris Johnson and his wife Carrie. Juan Carlos de Borbon left Oswald's at around 11pm escorted by two bodyguards.

It was rumoured that Juan Carlos I had a private lunch with his cousin, King Charles III, at his royal residence in central London. However, this was denied by the British Royal household.

From Vigo, the former monarch will travel today to Sanxenxo, where he will stay until Sunday 23 April, according to the schedule of the security deployment made by the Ministry of the Interior. Juan Carlos I is expected to take part in the regatta aboard the Bribon in the 6M category.

As was the case in the previous trip to Sanxenxo that the former head of state made between 19 and 23 May 2022, his agenda is completely private so the details of his stay are unknown, although it is believed that he will be staying at one of the homes of his friend Pedro Campos, former sailor and president of the Sanxenxo Nautical Club and owner of the Bribon.

According to arrangements made by the Ministry of the Interior Juan Carlos will limit his movements during his visit to Spain exclusively to the Galician coastal town and will not travel from there to other parts of the country, as he did in the spring of last year. Then he travelled to Madrid to meet his son, Felipe VI, at the Zarzuela Palace, in a tense meeting. That was the former kings first return to Spain after he left for Abu Dhabi in August 2020.

On Tuesday, The Times newspaper published an 'unofficial' list of guests for the coronation ceremony of King Charles III on 6 May, which includes both Juan Carlos I and Queen Sofia.
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DeWitt, N.Y.  The name of a 39-year-old man killed Tuesday night in the parking lot of a Carrier Circle hotel in DeWitt has been released by police.

The man killed was Paul A. Washington Jr., of New York City.

Washington was found on the ground of the northern parking lot of the Best Western Plus, 6605 Old Collamer Rd., according to a news release from DeWitt police.

He had family ties in the Syracuse area, Lt. Jerry Pace of the DeWitt Police Department. Investigators are not sure yet why Washington was at the hotel, he said.

Around 9:19 p.m., a person called 911 to report gunshots at the hotel, according to dispatches from the Onondaga County 911 Center.

When officers arrived, they found Washington with a gunshot wound to his chest, according to dispatches. He was taken to Upstate University Hospital where he was pronounced dead shortly before 10 p.m., police said.

As police investigated, the Onondaga County Sheriffs Offices helicopter, Air 1, was circled the area.

DeWitt police ask anyone with any information about the killing to call them at (315) 449-3640.

A person was reported shot at the Best Western Plus hotel at 6605 Old Collamer Road in DeWitt on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Rylee Kirk | rkirk@syracuse.com)

Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.
Update at 2:16 a.m. Wednesday: A 39-year-old man shot at a hotel near Carrier Circle Tuesday night has died, police said.

Around 9:19 p.m., officers responded to Best Western Plus at 6605 Old Collamer Rd. South for a reported shooting with injuries call, spokesperson Lt. Jerry Pace of the DeWitt Police Department said in a news release early Wednesday morning.

On scene, police found a man laying on the ground in the northern parking lot of the hotel with a gunshot wound to his upper torso, Pace said. Officers attempted live saving measures on scene before the man was taken to a Upstate University Hospital, he said.

At 9:55 p.m., the man was was pronounced dead at the hospital.

DeWitt police are continuing to investigate the homicide and ask anyone with any information to call them at (315) 449-3640.

Original story

East Syracuse, N.Y.  A person was reported shot in the chest at the Best Western Plus off Carrier Circle in DeWitt Tuesday night, according to dispatches.

At about 9:20 p.m., a person called 911 and reported hearing a gun shot at the hotel at 6605 Old Collamer Road South in DeWitt, according to dispatches from the Onondaga County 911 Center.

Upon arrival a police officer reported a person in the parking lot with a gunshot wound to the upper chest.

An officer reported CPR in progress. The officers asked the ambulance to make their best time getting there, according to dispatches.

Onondaga County Sheriffs Offices helicopter, Air 1, was circling over the area.

The sheriffs office, New York State Police and DeWitt Police are on the scene.

Syracuse.com is reaching out to the police for more information on the reported shooting.

Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard is on the scene and will update this report when more information becomes available.

Evidence is collected outside the Best Western Plus hotel at 6605 Old Collamer Road in DeWitt on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. A person was reported shot there. (Rylee Kirk | rkirk@syracuse.com)

Staff writer Rylee Kirk covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, story idea, photo, question or comment? Reach her at 315-396-5961, on Twitter @kirk_rylee, or rkirk@syracuse.com.
The Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard police blotter of arrests from police agencies around Central New York was updated today.

The 332 arrests added this week have dates between Jan. 13 and April 16, but most of the new arrests are from the last couple of weeks. Those charged were ages 18 to 80.
Climate Connections: Our Shared Future at the ArtRage Gallery showcases work by three artists who work in different media and discuss subjects ranging from a decline in 16 bird species to tropical storms and the impact of increasing temperatures on our planet. Yet they share an agenda based on innovative storytelling, on finding different paths for addressing environmental changes.

Anita Welych, for example, thought about decreases in bird populations for a couple of years before moving forward with her project, Dwindle. She researched numbers for 16 bird species for the period 1966-1974 and then 2016-2019, consulting three sources -- the Audubon Society, the USA Geological Survey, and the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology.

Ultimately, she found evidence of drastic declines for the Chimney Swift (72 percent), the Greater Prairie Chicken (78 per cent), and the Cerulean Warbler (75 percent). The overall rate of decline was 62 percent.

She then created detailed information graphics illustrating the decreases. At ArtRage, one map, for 1966, is filled with small, silkscreened, colorful images of many, many birds. The second map, referencing 2016-2019, has far fewer birds.

Next to the maps, the artist has positioned a series of collages on colored paper. Each depicts a bird from one species, accompanied by information on the population decline over 50 years. The collages show each bird in fine detail.

For Welych, Dwindle reflects her long-time interest in birds. As a child, she watched various birds in her familys backyard and was thrilled when her father bought her a bird book and binoculars. Today she observes birds in the backyard of her Eastwood home.

Dwindle is just one of her artistic pursuits. Over a career spanning over 30 years, shes done paintings, installations, book art and printmaking.

A second artist, Christine Chin, has multiple artworks in the exhibition--fabric sculptures referencing Atlantic tropical storm seasons, small display screens with stop-motion animations referring to dust storms, cyanotypes portraying invasive species found in Central New York. A cyanotype is a distinctive photographic print with a dark, greenish-blue color.

In working on the storm-seasons pieces, she reviewed records kept by the National Ocean and Atmosphere Administration. For works on invasive species, she gathered some specimens from Oneida Lake, the Keuka Lake Outlet and other locales, and obtained others via collaboration with the Finger Lakes Institute.

Chin emphasizes she doesnt view these subjects in isolation; shes interested in the cumulative effects of climate changes and in explaining some shifts in depth. Many people, for example, have heard of the deleterious impact of zebra mussels, an invasive species, on the ecosystems of the Great Lakes, but know little about the local situation. The cyanotypes provide a visual treatment.

Similarly, in Stuffed Storms she prints NOAA satellite images of tropical storms on fabric, then sews and quilts to make soft sculptures. Those works incorporate information and the expressiveness of an artistic medium. Merging soft fabric and references to raging storms brings its own sense of irony.

Chins previous series deal with artificial intelligence, biotechnology in medicine, and genetically altered food, among other topics.

The third artist, Carrie Drake, focuses on our complex relationship with nature, one thats influenced by individual perceptions, cultural definitions and community context.

At ArtRage, her Collective Impact installation begins with four of Drakes lush watercolor paintings, each depicting a different season at Syracuse city parks--Thornden, Barry, Onondaga and Elmwood. Shes visited all four but is particularly fond of Barry Park where she and her young daughter have taken many walks.

Those watercolors are intended to start a larger conversation. Drake has provided line drawings of the park paintings, markers and plexiglass, inviting participants to do their own artwork based on one of the parks. As the plexiglass pieces are completed, they will be stacked on a gallery wall, juxtaposed with each other. Participants will take part in a group exercise that alters perceptions of a landscape.

In addition, the exhibit presents the Syracuse Tempestry Project, a series of knitted tapestries done in bright colors by ten adults and 15 students from the Montessori School of Syracuse where Drake teaches.

Each tapestry documents temperatures for one year at a Syracuse location, with knitters working on information for their birth year. Given the range of ages for adults and children, the years cited fall sometime between 1953 and 2013.

The local project is part of an international collaboration fusing tapestries and information about temperature changes. The global project was founded in 2016 and has generated a variety of exhibitions and outreach efforts. Theres even a National Parks Tempestry Collection.

Drake views the tapestries and the interactive component as ways of communicating with people and emphasizing shared responsibility for dealing with the climate crisis. And displaying work by both adults and children touches on passages between generations. What is the status of the world that her students and daughter will live in?

Climate Connections is on display through May 20 at ArtRage, 505 Hawley Ave. The gallery is open from 2 to 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and on Saturdays from noon to 4 p.m. There is no admission fee.

On April 26 between 7 and 9 p.m. a documentary movie, The Letter: A Message for Our Earth, will be shown, followed by a panel discussion. The film deals with an encyclical letter issued by Pope Francis which discusses the current environmental situation; it also incorporates interviews with activists from around the world.

On April 30 between 2 and 5 p.m. there will be a knitting meet-up at the gallery Knitters are encouraged to bring current work.

For more information, call 315-218-5711 or access www.artgallery.org.

Carl Mellor covered visual arts for the Syracuse New Times from 1994 to 2019. He continues to write about artists and exhibitions in the Syracuse area.
The Syracuse University Art Museum will host a performance featuring Syracuse University students and Narratio Fellowship alum Khadija Sharif, Zamzam Mohamed, and Justo Antonio Triana, along with a short film screening by fellowship alum Rayan Mohammed.

The performance and screening, on Thursday April 20 at 5:30 p.m., will consist of a presentation by each fellow of their original work inspired by contemporary and critically acclaimed artist Rina Banerjees monumental sculpture included in the spring exhibition Take Me to the Palace of Love.

The exhibition, on view through May 14 at the Syracuse University Art Museum, explores the meaning of home in diasporic communities and invites resettled refugee and immigrant youth in Syracuse to tell their own stories of identity, place, and belonging through the Narratio residencies, site-specific art installation, and an upcoming virtual exhibition catalogue curated in partnership with Banerjee.

Complementing the performances will be a discussion with a community reception to follow the in the Shaffer Galleria. This program is co-sponsored by the Engaged Humanities Network and funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts.

The Narratio Fellowship is a storytelling and leadership program that provides resettled refugee youth Fellows with the tools and resources to share their narratives and creative works on the world stage.

About the Fellows

Khadija Sharif is a junior majoring in biology and creative writing. She is a 2019 Narratio Fellow and served as a Narratio artist-in-residence in 2021. In addition to serving in leadership positions within the fellowship program, Khadija works as a facilitator and research assistant for Write Out, a creative writing program associated with SUs Engaged Humanities Network that works with youth across schools and community centers in Syracuse.

Zamzam Mohamed is a junior majoring in biology and writing & rhetoric. She is a 2021 Narratio Fellow and co-leads a community-based research project called Northside Futures, which studies and advocates for safe and affordable housing and neighborhood development in the Northside of Syraucuse.

Justo Antonio Triana is a sophomore majoring in classical civilization. He is a 2021 Narratio Fellow and now serves a program corridor for the program. He published his first collection poetry, La Condena, in Spanish in Fall 2022.

Rayan Mohamed, is a first-year film major at SU. She is a 2020 Narratio Fellow and now serves as a program corridor for the program. She has created films for organizations across the city, including Syracuse City School District and is a co-founder of the Northside Speaking Circle, a speech and debate program for Syracuse youth associated with SUs Engaged Humanities Network.
It has been a little over two weeks since Donald Trump received the historic and infamous designation as the first former President of the United States to be indicted on criminal charges.

On March 30, Trump was charged in a New York State Supreme Court indictment with 34 counts of Falsifying Business Records in the First Degree.

While the country awaits the resolution of this unprecedented ordeal, if the case against Trump goes to trial, then eyes of the nation will be fixed on what transpires inside of a New York State Supreme Court courtroom where a braggadocious former Republican President sits in the defendants chair.

That scene, however, will not be unprecedented.

Over a century ago, on April 19, 1915, Theodore Roosevelt walked briskly down State Street flanked by two of his attorneys, W.H. Van Benschoten and Stewart Hancock, headed for the entrance to Syracuses magnificent County Courthouse.

Dozens of reporters from across the country lined the streets along with crowds of Syracusans who hoped to catch a glimpse of the hero of San Juan Hill and the father of the Square Deal.

- Roosevelt walking to court on the first day of the trial. During his extended stay in Syracuse, Roosevelt stayed at the mansion of his friend, Horace Wilkinson, at 703 Walnut Place. The house still stands today.Onondaga Historical Association

Barricades were built inside the courthouse to control the expected crowds. Perhaps the New York Sun said it best, to Syracuse lead avenues from far and wide. The big Bull Moose again is loose and is in his stride.

There, in Onondaga Countys great marble temple of justice, the 56-year-old former President and Governor of New York was to stand trial in a $50,000 libel suit brought by his longtime political nemesis, publisher of the Albany Evening Journal and political machine boss, William Barnes.

Though both men came from well-heeled, aristocratic backgrounds and were Republicans, they had battled one another for nearly two decades over control of the Grand Old Party in the Empire State.

Barnes, whose grandfather Thurlow Weed, the noted publisher who was instrumental in the formation of the Republican party in the 1850s and ruled the New York Republican Party as State Chairman for years, representing the old-line conservative wing of the party. Roosevelt, famously, had taken a populist turn, becoming a champion of progressive policies that expanded the federal governments scope of authority during his two terms in office.

In 1904, he won re-election becoming the first candidate to amass over 300 electoral votes, carrying every state outside of the infamous Solid South, which was controlled by the Democratic Party until 1968.

Heeding the example of George Washington, Roosevelt stepped aside in 1908, having served nearly two full terms.

Yet, the Bull Moose had a very hard time in the political wilderness.

He took umbrage with the administration of William Howard Taft, his handpicked successor, and by 1912 he was ready to enter the political arena and take back the Oval Office.

Enter William Barnes.

Loathe to see his long-time rival back in White House, Barnes used his considerable talents as a political operative and master of machinations and back room deals to stymie Roosevelts nomination at the Republican Convention in Chicago, where Barnes was a major force in the nomination of Taft.

Outmaneuvered by Barnes and the conservative wing of the party, Roosevelt seethed.

Driven by a bruised ego and a strong belief that the American people still supported him, Roosevelt formed his own third party, the Progressive Party. Despite his combination of hubris and optimism, Roosevelts attempt failed. His Bull Moose party split the Republican vote and gave the Democratic candidate, Woodrow Wilson, the Presidency.

Barnes outflanked Roosevelt again in the governors race in 1914.

In his fury, Roosevelt issued a press release decrying machine politics and stating that the state government is rotten throughout.

Bosses like Barnes, Roosevelt charged, secure the appointment to office of the evil men whose activities so deeply taint and discredit our whole governmental system.

Going even further and speaking to the prevailing sentiments of many Americans during this great age of electoral reform (the 17th Amendment finally ushered in the popular election of U.S. Senators in 1912) Roosevelt asserted that these bosses and their minions form the all-powerful invisible government which is responsible for the maladministration and corruption that thwarted the will of the people.

Initially, Barnes dismissed the statements made by the former president as a diatribe.

But, in late July 1914, Barnes decided to sue Roosevelt, calling his statements false and malicious, thus setting up what The Post Standard one of the greatest political contests in the history of the United States.

Politics were certainly at the center of the Vaudevillian-era media circus that descended on Syracuse for four weeks as a result of Roosevelts lawyers successfully arguing for a change of venue on the grounds that Roosevelt could not get a fair trial in Albany, a city they charged was controlled by Barnes.

But, as Dan Abrams and David Fisher so ably demonstrated in their New York Times best-selling book, Theodore Roosevelt for the Defense, published in 2019, the trial became an opportunity for the former Rough Rider to lead the charge into battle once more in a fight to salvage and solidify his legacy and perhaps to make one final run at the White House in 1916.

In all the trial lasted four weeks and Roosevelt proved himself to be a master of presentation and publicity.

After a scholarly opening statement by the prosecution, Roosevelts lawyer, Syracuse University graduate, William H. Van Benschoten, offered up his opening salvo.

He reminded the 12-man jury and the 150 spectators jamming the courtroom of State Supreme Court Justice William Andrews (Roosevelts Harvard classmate), that the trial began rather serendipitously on April 19, the 140th anniversary of the battles of Lexington and Concord.

Much like those venerable patriots, the former presidents lawyer contended, Mr. Roosevelt too was fighting against a corrupt government in the name of political liberty and freedom.

- President Theodore Roosevelt on the witness stand of Justice Andrews' third-floor courtroom of the Onondaga County Courthouse. The chair he sat in is on public display in the courthouse. Onondaga Historical AssociationOnondaga Historical Association

He then pivoted to attack Barnes and the long record of corruption in state politics. Roosevelts strategy was both ingenious and necessary. He and his legal team had to make Barnes the defendant in what might best be characterized as a popularity contest between a little-known but demonstrable political boss and the brilliant and charismatic former trust-busting President of the United States.

It was simple according to Van Benshcoten. The plaintiff stands above all things else fororganization, machine and boss. The defendant stands for the rights of the citizens, the welfare of the people, and honest and decent government.

Regardless of the veracity of these platitudes, Roosevelt was at a decided disadvantage as far as the law was concerned and Barness attorney, William Ivins wasted no time cutting to the chase.

In a world before the landmark Supreme Court case, New York Times vs. Sullivan (1964) that greatly increased the scope of protected speech aimed at public figures, a defendant in a libel suit had to prove that the statements were true.

This meant that when Judge Andrews determined that the statements were libelous per se, which he did, Roosevelts only defense was proving the validity of his claims.

As such, the witness list for the trial read like a whos who of New York politics, including names like Simon Guggenheim, Franklin Roosevelt and Alfred E. Smith, both of whom future governors of New York.

After the prosecution rested its case having called just one witness, who proved Roosevelt authorized and authored the libelous statements.

The burden was now on the former President. Luckily for the defense they had Teddy Roosevelt, a man whose ability to cajole and captivate an audience was as good as any in American history.

First though, Roosevelts lawyer called for an immediate dismissal.

In response, Ivins called Roosevelt to the witness stand. Did you write it of and concerning the plaintiff? Ivins asked. Roosevelt responded without missing a beat, I did.

Laughter filled the courtroom. Again, Ivins rested his case.

For the next eight days, Roosevelt beguiled his audience, and the national news media, running roughshod over the proceedings. He dispensed with Ivins easily during his cross-examination.

In all, the jury heard over 100 witnesses. Roosevelts lawyer, John Bowers, ended his summation claiming that Barnes was out to destroy Teddy Roosevelts usefulness to the people.

- Theodore Roosevelt leaves the courthouse in Syracuse on April 20, 1915. Crowds of people gathered to see him.Onondaga Historical Association

Stand for him, he continued, stand for the People. He concluded by reading the Gettysburg Address.

To the surprise of almost no one after his masterful performance on the witness stand, on May 22, 1915, after deliberating for two days, the jury of 12 Syracusans delivered a unanimous verdict in favor of Roosevelt.
Syracuse, N.Y.  Le Moyne College will maintain Cazenovia Colleges student, alumni and personnel records and dedicate space on its campus to preserve the Madison County colleges legacy after it closes this summer.

The two colleges announced Wednesday they have reached an agreement under which Cazs records will be transferred to Le Moyne at the end of June.
To the Editor:

On Saturday, April 22, 2023, Honor Flight Syracuse will fly 81 veterans and their guardians on our 18th Mission to Washington, D.C., to visit the national memorials dedicated to their service and sacrifice. This mission will be particularly special for Vietnam veterans, as we just passed the marking of the National Vietnam War Veterans Day on March 29. This date held significant importance this year as it was the 50th anniversary of the date the last combat troops left South Vietnam.

As we reflect on the anniversary of the Vietnam War, I ask you to remember the brave men and women who served in that conflict. These veterans answered the call to duty, and they served with honor and distinction. They fought bravely in a war that was not always popular, and they came home to a country that sadly, was sometimes not ready to welcome them.

But despite the challenges they faced, Vietnam veterans never gave up on their country. They have continued to serve our nation in many ways and made significant contributions to our society. They are heroes and we owe them a debt of gratitude.

As no one serves alone, we should also remember the families of Vietnam veterans. They, too, made sacrifices, and they have continued to support their loved ones in the years since. We are grateful for their strength and courage.

The Vietnam War was a long and difficult conflict, but as a country, it also taught us important lessons. We learned the importance of supporting our veterans, and we learned to never give up on our country. Let us never forget the lessons of the Vietnam War and to honor the sacrifices of our veterans.

So, what can we do to honor Vietnam veterans? We can support organizations that help veterans and continue to advocate for policies that support them. And dont underestimate the gesture of thanking them for their service and simply saying, welcome home, a reminder that it did matter.

Kevin Bradley, Maj Gen (ret), USAF

President

Honor Flight Syracuse
Sabina Mammadli

The relations between Israel and Azerbaijan have reached a new high following the long-awaited opening of the Azerbaijani embassy in Israels Tel Aviv. The current two-day visit of Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen to Baku serves to prove the depth of the bilateral cooperation.

It is also worth noting that the visiting minister came with the biggest Israeli delegation to ever accompany an Israeli minister on a visit to Azerbaijan. The visit is aimed at expanding the existing cooperation in the economy, cyber security, education and other spheres. Several agreements will also be signed.

Besides, receiving the Israeli FM, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev expressed the countrys interest in Israels experience in water resource management, seawater desalination, prevention of desertification and desert and semi-desert farming.

In a comment to Azernews, well-known Israeli political analyst, Doctor of Law, international relations expert Michael Finkel pointed out that the unprecedented friendship between Azerbaijan and Israel, our business and military cooperation angers our enemies, and we have common enemies.

Besides, the expert emphasized that Israel and Azerbaijan are not just two allied states that have common goals, and common visions for the development of the region, but two fraternal nations.

I know that in Azerbaijan the fraternal nation is Turkiye, but the majority of Azerbaijanis also feel and understand that their fraternal peoples are also the Jewish people through our common Khazar history, Finkel highlighted.

Speaking about the visit of the Israeli foreign minister, the pundit noted that the current visit of minister Eli Cohen is not accidental. He also evaluated the visit as another even higher milestone.

And I think it is not right to disclose the reason for this visit, but certainly the true reason is to confront those external threats that exist and are aimed against our states. Therefore, I am sure that this is another very serious and important step. And as it has always been in the relations between Azerbaijan and Israel, they always seemed to me like some kind of iceberg, most of which was underwater and only a smaller part of which was visible, Finkel remarked.

Furthermore, the expert talked about the historic opening of the embassy in Tel Aviv, noting that he had the honor to attend it.

It was a major milestone that we have been waiting for 30 years. For objective reasons, which are clear only to those who understand, this could not be done earlier, which Israel is not offended by at all and understands, he added.

Finkel also expressed gratefulness to the leader of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev, for making the right decision and opening this embassy.

It was a long-awaited move. The opening of this embassy, of course, will open many doors for business and cooperation in completely different areas, in the defense industry, in the tourism sector, and in the field of mutual understanding between the two peoples. Therefore, this was a very important step that will serve to further strengthen our unprecedented good relations and ties. There are very few countries in the world that are as close to each other as Israel and Azerbaijan. And we in Israel understand this and appreciate it very much, he finalized.
By Keita Nakamura, KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 12:56 | All, World, Japan, G7

The Group of Seven industrialized nations face an increasing need to cooperate with developing countries in the Global South to deliver a strong message one month ahead of the G-7 summit, as they seek to uphold their vision of a rules-based international order challenged by Russia and China.

But winning the backing of such countries, many of which have not sided with the United States and its allies over Russia's war in Ukraine, will not be easy unless there are clear benefits for them doing so, international relations scholars say.

For some countries in the Global South, such as India, the most favorable situation is to "maintain ties with the U.S.-led camp and the China-Russia bloc, to enjoy the benefits of both sides as much as possible," said Toru Ito, a professor at the National Defense Academy of Japan.

"It is a tall order to make nations in the Global South side completely with G-7 countries, so what the G-7 must do is try to prevent them from being drawn closer toward China and Russia," the expert on South Asian security and international relations said.

In a communique issued after a three-day meeting of G-7 foreign ministers in the resort town of Karuizawa in central Japan, the top diplomats on Tuesday underscored the importance of working alongside "partners with emerging or developing economies" in addressing threats that undermine global security and stability.

But the communique from the major industrialized nations did not come up with any substantial initiatives for reaching out to emerging and developing countries that have been struggling from a global food and energy crisis for over a year, exacerbated by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The Global South is a term that collectively refers to developing nations mainly in Asia, Africa and Latin America. Such countries often value economic ties with China, as well as some form of military cooperation with Russia, and can be ambivalent about the concept of a U.S.-led international order.

"The Global South is not a monolith and there is much variation among countries, but they have been growing increasingly confident that the future order of their global and regional environments depends on themselves, both politically and economically," Ito said.

The term has come under the spotlight since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, as many developing nations have not joined the West in imposing economic sanctions on Moscow.

Viewing the sanctions applied to Russia -- a major grain, fertilizer and energy resources producer -- as a factor behind soaring food and fuel prices, many developing countries have felt themselves to be the "biggest victims" of the measures, said Ito.

Dealing with the knock-on effects of the sanctions has been "a far larger problem" for them than the challenge posed to the international order by Russia's invasion of its neighbor, he said, noting that due to the coronavirus pandemic, poorer nations were already struggling economically before the war.

As the G-7 seeks to step up collaboration with countries in the Global South, India is likely to be key, having demonstrated its eagerness to "amplify" the voices of developing economies.

In March, Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who will chair the G-7 summit in May, flew to New Delhi to deepen cooperation with India, which took the helm as chair of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies this year.

India is seen as a country with the potential to become an economic superpower, overtaking Britain, its former colonial ruler, last year to become the world's fifth-largest economy. India is projected to surpass China to become the world's most populous nation sometime this year.

In dealing with issues of energy, food security and climate change, "it is essential to cooperate with a range of partners in the international community," Kishida said during his visit to New Delhi, adding that he has high expectations about India's role, inviting the South Asian country to the G-7 summit from May 19 to 21.

Kishida also explained that creating a "united voice" in the international community by including nations from the Global South will be key to bringing an end to Russia's war against Ukraine as soon as possible.

But India has been pursuing a vision of "strategic autonomy" in foreign affairs and has long-standing military ties with Moscow. It has not joined in sanctioning Russia despite being a member of the Quad group, which involves Japan, the United States and Australia, and which commits itself to upholding the rules-based international order.

India has also been buying Russian oil, apparently lured by Moscow's offer of energy at a discounted price, as the West cuts back Russian oil and gas imports as part of their economic sanctions.

"If the G-7 nations want to make developing economies decouple from Russia, they need to provide some alternatives to make up for (the potential losses)," said Ito.

What could also complicate cooperation efforts with Global South nations is the memory of past colonial rule by Western countries and anti-U.S. sentiment exacerbated by recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Global South nations "take a cold view" toward Western powers promoting values such as democracy, said Yuko Ido, a junior research fellow of an institute at the Tokyo University of Foreign Studies, with expertise in the politics and economies of the Middle East and North Africa.

The G-7, which groups Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, plus the European Union, must also face the reality that its global economic significance is declining.

The total share of the seven nations' gross domestic product in the world economy has dropped from over 50 percent in 1990 to about 30 percent in 2020, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.

China, the world's second-largest economy after the United States, meanwhile, has been expanding its influence in regions such as Africa and Asia through its signature Belt and Road infrastructure initiative, although the program has been criticized for saddling developing countries with debt.

A global environment where developed nations in the "rich North" can win over the "poor South" to their side through financial assistance on the back of overwhelming economic power has become a thing of the past, Ido said.

As for what Japan can do so far to beef up ties with the Global South, Ido said it is important to boost engagement with other multilateral frameworks, including the G-20, while making an effort to respect them as "partners on an equal footing."

Ito, meanwhile, said Japan should utilize its position as the G-7's only Asian member, to better communicate with India and other South Asian states skeptical of Western narratives.

"Although it may not be that easy, India and others may take what Japan says seriously," he said.

Related coverage:

Japan, France vow cooperation after Macron's comments on Taiwan

Japan, U.S. agree to work toward successful G-7 Hiroshima summit

G-7 unified in backing Taiwan peace, urges China to act responsibly
By Raga Justin | Times Union, Albany

Albany, N.Y.  New York lawmakers are beginning to grapple with the emergence of xylazine in illicit drug supplies as a public health threat sweeping both urban and rural areas across the state.

A handful of bills have surfaced in recent weeks attempting to combat the spread of tranq dope, a common term for the combination of fentanyl and xylazine that has spurred growing alarm as it infiltrates drug markets in major cities  including Philadelphia, New York City and other Northeast cities.

A measure introduced late last week by state Assemblyman John McDonald of Cohoes and state Sen. Pete Harckham of Westchester County would expand access to test strips that can detect the additives presence in drug supplies.

Xylazine is intended for use as an animal tranquilizer and is a common substance for veterinary practices. But because the drug is relatively easy to divert from legitimate providers, drug dealers have been cutting it into more popular substances, like heroin. Those mixtures usually contain some amount of fentanyl as well.

While fentanyl test strips have become widespread in counties  primarily distributed through harm reduction groups or other charitable organizations  xylazine test strips only recently became available. BTNX, a Canadian company specializing in rapid diagnostic tests, said last week it has begun producing commercially available test strips.

McDonald, who is a pharmacist, said the bill would allow more touchpoints for users to pick up a test kit for either substance since pharmacies are sometimes more readily accessible than another health care provider or community organization.

The bill would allow testing kits to be stored at any health care facility or any retail store that contains a pharmacy department. Users could pick up five kits at a time.

Its just one more tool in the shed, McDonald said. You cant ignore the fact that xylazine is on the streets,

McDonald said the state Department of Health would ideally create a standing order for the test strips with the state and federal sources covering the cost.

Molly McKay, a marketing manager with BTNX, said the biotech company has sold shipments to a number of groups based out of New York, primarily harm reduction and other health organizations. A box of 100 rapid testing xylazine strips would cost $200, McKay said.

Harckham said currently, only dedicated harm reduction organizations typically provide testing strips. But there are too few of them and theyre underfunded, Harckham said.

White House officials recently classified the additive as an emerging threat to the country, signaling measures to respond to xylazine will receive heightened federal attention in coming months. Members of Congress recently moved to designate the additive a controlled substance, which lawmakers said would allow officials to crack down on xylazine trafficking.

Though there have been few studies on the drug, anecdotal reports point to the combination of xylazine and fentanyl as potentially lethal. Fentanyl is itself an often-deadly substance that had previously been linked to a growing number of overdose fatalities in recent years, including thousands in New York state alone. Increasingly, opioid users have turned to the powerful synthetic opioid as their tolerance increases.

But while medication to reverse an opioid-related overdose has become more widely available, there is currently no similar antidote to reverse xylazine-related overdoses. Since xylazine is not an opiate, it does not respond to Narcan  meaning if someone overdoses on the additive without their knowledge, simply using Narcan might not be enough to reverse that overdose.

Known colloquially as tranq or tranq dope, the mixture causes grisly effects on the human body, including open sores that quickly develop into blackened and scabbed tissue  and in extreme cases leads to amputation.

The additive can also cause extreme drowsiness  its known as a zombie drug  and can cause users to experience a slowdown of their respiratory system and have coma-like side effects.

Local law enforcement and public health officials have urged federal and state action; Albany County Sheriff Craig Apple said he has noted the presence of the additive in several overdoses throughout the Capital Region.

Albany County officials will soon have a meeting with the state to determine how soon the county can begin receiving xylazine test strips, according to the county public health department.

The state Department of Health did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether it had purchased xylazine testing kits from the company.

___

(c)2023 the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.)

Visit the Times Union (Albany, N.Y.) at www.timesunion.com
The boyfriend who drove an Upstate New York woman to the wrong address, where she was fatally shot in the driveway by the property owner, is sharing his side of the story.

Blake Walsh, 19, of Cambridge, N.Y., told NBC that he and Kaylin Gillis, 20, were in his Ford Explorer searching for a party in Hebron, about 50 miles north of Albany, on Saturday night. They pulled into a driveway, along with another vehicle and a motorcycle with two friends looking for the same party; they didnt have cell phone service but realized they were at the wrong place and started to leave.

The homeowner, 65-year-old Kevin Monahan, fired twice as the group was leaving, according to Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy.
The Washington County man who is suspected of killing 20-year-old Upstate New York woman Kaylin Gillis has been denied bail.

Kevin Monahan, 65, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge in the fatal shooting of Gillis when she, her boyfriend Blake Walsh, and their friends, mistakenly drove onto the mans property while looking for a friends house.

According to the Times Union, Judge Adam D. Michelini ruled against a bail request for Monahan by attorney Kurt Mausert. Mausert requested Monahan be released on $10,000 cash, or $20,000 bond bail.

The Hebron homeowner allegedly fired two shots as the group was leaving after realizing they were at the wrong house. One of those shots mortally wounded Gillis.

A neighbor told the Associated Press that Monahan had grown increasingly bitter over the years at people driving onto his land by mistake.

Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said no one from Gillis group had exited the car or tried to enter Monahans house.

When police arrived at the mans house after the shooting, Monahan was uncooperative and refused to leave his home. They claimed after talking to him through a 911 dispatcher and in person, Monahan was finally taken into custody after an hour.

Mausert, however, said there was no standoff and that he was on the phone with Monahan when police showed up and negotiated his peaceful surrender.

Monahan has been in custody at neighboring Warren County jail.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 11:55 | World, All

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has ordered the country's space agency to make final preparations for launching its first reconnaissance satellite, the country's state media reported Wednesday.

During his visit to the National Aerospace Development Administration on Tuesday, Kim said the satellite's production was "completed" this month, according to the official Korean Central News Agency, but the launch schedule was not mentioned.

The leader has ordered the deployment of "several reconnaissance satellites" in the future.

"Possessing and operating military reconnaissance means is the most crucial primary task for increasing the military effectiveness" in the face of strengthening U.S.-South Korea ties, Kim was quoted by KCNA as saying.

The U.N. Security Council has attempted to bolster sanctions on North Korea as the country has stepped up missile testing since last year, amid growing concerns that its seventh nuclear test may be conducted anytime soon.

But given such efforts have been blocked by vetoes from China and Russia, approval is likely to be voted down again, even if a potential launch of the reconnaissance satellite increases calls for stronger sanctions.

Photos carried by state media showed Kim was accompanied by his daughter during the visit to the space agency.

In December last year, the country said it had conducted an "important final-stage test" for the satellite.

Related coverage:

High level of activity spotted at North Korea's key nuclear complex

U.S. says North Korea sought to sell over 20 types of arms to Russia

North Korea shows ICBMs, tactical nuke unit in military parade
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KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 22:25 | All, Japan, Coronavirus

Japan could face a large "ninth wave" of the coronavirus pandemic in the future, a group of experts warned Wednesday, with the health minister noting a recent rise in cases of a new, contagious subvariant of the virus.

"A possibility remains that it will be larger than the eighth wave," the experts said in an opinion presented at their meeting.

The group involves Takaji Wakita, who heads an advisory panel to the health ministry on COVID-19 countermeasures.

"We need to continue to take measures for the elderly, who are at high risk of dying (from the virus), and those with underlying diseases," they said, underscoring the need for booster vaccinations and further efforts to prevent infections in nursing homes and medical institutions.

They also pointed out that due to the aging population, Japan may see its mortality rate remain high compared to other countries.

The number of coronavirus infections in Japan reported in the week through Tuesday was 1.06 times that of the previous week, with 33 out of the 47 prefectures logging an increase, according to the ministry.

Health, Labor and Welfare Minister Katsunobu Kato, who attended the meeting, said the number of new infections has been gradually increasing in Japan while noting an increasing proportion of those being the XBB.1.5 Omicron subvariant.

"There is a possibility that infections will spread toward this summer," he said.
1.

Netflix didnt always have a problem with subscribers sharing their passwords. As recently as 2016, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings called the practice a positive thing because so many password sharers eventually got their own accounts. To be clear, Hastings wasnt actually encouraging password sharing, but he didnt seem interested in a crackdown, either, noting that account sharing really hasnt been a problem.

Of course, Hastings 2016 comments came in the context of explosive subscriber growth for Netflix. By early 2022, that growth had stalled, with Netflix reporting that its subscriber base had shrunk for the first time in a decade. Password sharing was partly to blame, the company said.

While Netflix hasnt quantified how much revenue it may have lost from password sharers, a Los Angeles Times report estimates the practice may have cost streamer and pay-TV operators up to $9.1 billion in 2019, a figure that could balloon to $12.5 billion by 2024.

The streaming landscape has also changed dramatically in the past few years. Back in 2016, Hastings could afford to be cavalier about password sharing because the streamer faced little in the way of serious competition. Today, its up against the likes of Disney+, HBO Max, Paramount+, Peacock, and Apple TV+.

With all the big players fighting tooth-and-nail over new subscribers, streamers like Netflix arent giving password sharers a free pass anymore.
Whether you're a consumer, business, government agency, or educational organization, you need to read, create, sign, and annotate (comment on) PDF documents and fill out PDF forms. Foxit Reader is a small, lightning fast, and feature rich PDF viewer which allows you to create (free PDF creation), open, view, sign, and print any PDF file. Foxit Reader is built upon the industry's fastest and most accurate (high fidelity) PDF rendering engine, providing users with the best PDF viewing and printing experience. Available in English, Dutch, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish.

Features

PDF Viewer - Lighting fast PDF view and print of PDF files and portfolios quickly without exhausting system resources.

Easily View Multiple PDF Files - Multi-tab style document display allows users to go back and forth between different PDF documents quickly and easily.

Configurable PDF Viewer - Configure document views with read mode, reverse view, and text viewer options. Configure page display with full screen, single page, continuous scrolling, split, two page facing, continuous facing, separate cover page, auto-scroll, and page transition options.

Bookmark Support - Easily add, edit, and modify bookmarks in a PDF document.

Multiple Views - Rotate pages between landscape and portrait. Configure zooming or adjust magnification using the marquee, loupe, and magnifier tools.

Comments Panel

Lists all comments in the PDF document, and provides a number of common options that helps users check their comments better, such as expanding or collapsing all comments, as well as sorting comments in different ways.

Summarize Comments

Allows users to generate a new PDF document with comments summary and set the document properties, such as paper setting, page range choosing, and so on. It is a convenient way to get a synopsis of all the comments associated with a PDF.

Document Restrictions

Now users can view document restrictions by clicking the Security tab in the properties dialog box. The document's Security Method restricts what can be done to the document, and the Document Restrictions Summary displays a list of tasks that users can perform.

Supports MSAA

Part of user interface elements supports Microsoft Active Accessibility (MSAA), that is, to deliver the UI information to the MSAA client-side.

Streamlined UI

A completely redesigned UI with a new look and feel that makes Foxit Reader more intuitive than ever before, such as updated icons and the reclassified menu bar.

What's New

Android version updated to 12.1.0

Fixed some security and stability issues. Click here for details.

Previous release notes
Tor is a network of virtual tunnels that allows people and groups to improve their privacy and security on the Internet. It also enables software developers to create new communication tools with built-in privacy features.

How does the Tor Browser keep my internet activity anonymous?

The Tor Browser uses the Tor network, which consists of more than six thousand relays located worldwide, to hide the users' location and online traffic. This ensures anonymity and avoids your activities from being seen by others.

What is Tor Browser?

The Tor Browser is the flagship product from the Tor Project. The web browser is based on a modified version of Mozilla Firefox ESR that includes extras like the Tor proxy, TorButton, TorLauncher, NoScript, and HTTPS Everywhere extensions.

Who uses the Tor Browser?

With Tor Browser having made Tor more accessible to everyday internet users and activists, Tor was an instrumental tool during the Arab Spring beginning in late 2010. It not only protected people's identity online but also allowed them to access critical resources, social media, and websites which were blocked.

Individuals use Tor to keep websites from tracking them and their family members, or to connect to news sites, instant messaging services, or the like when these are blocked by their local Internet providers. Tor's hidden services let users publish web sites and other services without needing to reveal the location of the site. Individuals also use Tor for socially sensitive communication: chat rooms and web forums for rape and abuse survivors, or people with illnesses.

Journalists use Tor to communicate more safely with whistleblowers and dissidents. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) use Tor to allow their workers to connect to their home website while they're in a foreign country, without notifying everybody nearby that they're working with that organization.

Groups such as Indymedia recommend Tor for safeguarding their members' online privacy and security. Activist groups like the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) recommend Tor as a mechanism for maintaining civil liberties online. Corporations use Tor as a safe way to conduct competitive analysis, and to protect sensitive procurement patterns from eavesdroppers. They also use it to replace traditional VPNs, which reveal the exact amount and timing of communication. Which locations have employees working late? Which locations have employees consulting job-hunting websites? Which research divisions are communicating with the company's patent lawyers?

A branch of the U.S. Navy uses Tor for open source intelligence gathering, and one of its teams used Tor while deployed in the Middle East recently. Law enforcement uses Tor for visiting or surveilling web sites without leaving government IP addresses in their web logs, and for security during sting operations.

Is Tor better than a VPN?

Tor is not a VPN. Tor is a free browser similar to Chrome or Firefox, but it includes features that encrypt your IP address, making your browsing sessions private. A VPN (Virtual Private Network) is software that can change your IP address when you use any browser installed on your PC. To learn more about VPNs, you can read this article.

What's New

This release updates Firefox to 102.9.0esr, including bug fixes, stability improvements and important security updates. We also backported the Android-specific security updates from Firefox 111.

We use this opportunity to update various components of Tor Browser as well:

NoScript 11.4.18

All Platforms

Updated Translations

Updated NoScript to 11.4.18

Bug tor-browser#41598: Prevent NoScript from being removed / disabled until core functionality has been migrated to Tor Browser

Bug tor-browser#41603: Customize the creation of MOZ_SOURCE_URL

Bug tor-browser#41627: Enable network.http.referer.hideOnionSource in base-browser

Bug tor-browser#41637: cherry-pick Mozilla 1814416: Generalize the app name in about:buildconfig. r=ahochheiden

Bug tor-browser#41659: Add canonical color definitions to base-browser

Bug tor-browser#41669: Rebase Tor Browser stable to 102.9.0esr

Windows + macOS + Linux

Updated Firefox to 102.9esr

Bug tor-browser#41542: Disable the creation of a default profile

Bug tor-browser#41574: Use --warning-color variable for the "Custom" label in the security level popup.

Bug tor-browser#41606: Move the changes to the hamburger menu out of the Torbutton commit

Bug tor-browser#41626: Bridge-emojii tooltips not localized in ES locale

Android

Updated GeckoView to 102.9esr

Bug tor-browser#41679: Backport Android-specific security fixes from Firefox 111 to ESR 102.9-based Tor Browser

Build SystemAll Platforms

Updated Go to 1.19.7

Bug tor-browser-build#40764: Embed repo URL and git revision in Firefox

Bug tor-browser-build#40782: Update tools/signing/download-unsigned-sha256sums-gpg-signatures-from-people-tpo to fetch from tb-build-04 and tb-build-05

macOS

Bug tor-browser-build#40790: Fix dmg2mar after dmg changes from #28124

Bug tor-browser-build#40791: tools/dmg2mar should exit with an error when there is an error creating the mar file

Android
It's also integral to the intranet applications and other e-business solutions that are the foundation of corporate computing. Installing this update will ensure that your Java applications continue to run as safely and efficiently as always.

The JRE is the Java Runtime Environment, it covers most end-users needs. Contains everything required to run Java applications on your system. It is a package of everything necessary to run a compiled Java program, including the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), the Java Class Library, the java command, and other infrastructure. However, it cannot be used to create new programs.

The JDK is the Java Development Kit, the full-featured SDK for Java. It has everything the JRE has, but also the compiler (javac) and tools (like javadoc and jdb). It is capable of creating and compiling programs.

Usually, if you only care about running Java programs on computer you will only install the JRE. It's all you need. On the other hand, if you are planning to do some Java programming, you need to install the JDK instead.

Sometimes, even if you are not planning to do any Java development on a computer, you still need the JDK installed. For example, if you are deploying a web application with JSP, you are technically just running Java programs inside the application server. Why would you need the JDK then? Because the application server will convert JSP into Java servlets and needs to use the JDK to compile the servlets.

What's New

client-libs/2d

a Marlin Renderer in JDK 8u

Starting from version 8u311, the Marlin graphics rasterizer and its artifacts will be built and distributed as a part of the JDK/JRE bundles. It is not the default rendering engine, however there is an option to enable it by setting the following system property:

sun.java2d.renderer=sun.java2d.marlin.MarlinRenderingEngine

core-libs/java.io:serialization

a Context-specific Deserialization Filter Subset

Allow applications to configure context-specific and dynamically-selected deserialization filters via a JVM-wide filter factory that is invoked to select a filter for each deserialization stream. The behavior is a strict subset of JEP 415: Context-Specific Deserialization Filters to allow a filter factory to be configured using a property configured on the command line or in the security properties file.

The behavior is opt-in based on the presence of the jdk.serialFilterFactory system property on the command line or the jdk.serialFilterFactory security property. If set, the JVM-wide filter factory selects the filter for each stream when the stream is constructed and when a stream-specific filter is set.

The JVM-wide filter factory is a java.util.function.BinaryOperator function invoked when each ObjectInputStream is constructed and when the stream-specific filter is set using sun.misc.ObjectInputFilter.Config.setObjectInputFilter(sun.misc.ObjectInputFilter). The parameters are the current filter and a requested filter and the function returns the filter to be used for the stream. When invoked from the ObjectInputStream constructors, the first parameter is null and the second parameter is the static JVM-wide filter. When invoked from sun.misc.ObjectInputFilter.Config.setObjectInputFilter(sun.misc.ObjectInputFilter), the first parameter is the filter currently set on the stream (which was set in the constructor), and the second parameter is the filter requested.

A typical filter factory should use or merge the static JVM-wide filter with other application and context specific filters and the stream-specific filter, if one is set on the stream. The filter factory implementation can also use any contextual information at its disposal, for example, extracted from the application thread context, or its call stack, to compose and combine a new filter. It is not restricted to only use its two parameters.

Previous release notes

Allow SASL Mechanisms to Be Restricted

A security property named jdk.sasl.disabledMechanisms has been added that can be used to disable SASL mechanisms. Any disabled mechanism will be ignored if it is specified in the mechanisms argument of Sasl.createSaslClient or the mechanism argument of Sasl.createSaslServer. The default value for this security property is empty, which means that no mechanisms are disabled out-of-the-box.

SunPKCS11 Provider Upgraded with Support for PKCS#11 v2.40

The SunPKCS11 provider has been updated with support for PKCS#11 v2.40. This version adds support for more algorithms such as the AES/GCM/NoPadding cipher, DSA signatures using SHA-2 family of message digests, and RSASSA-PSS signatures when the corresponding PKCS11 mechanisms are supported by the underlying PKCS11 library.

New Checks on Trust Anchor Certificates

New checks have been added to ensure that trust anchors are CA certificates and contain proper extensions. Trust anchors are used to validate certificate chains used in TLS and signed code. Trust anchor certificates must include a Basic Constraints extension with the cA field set to true. Also, if they include a Key Usage extension, the keyCertSign bit must be set.

A new system property named jdk.security.allowNonCaAnchor has been introduced to restore the previous behavior, if necessary. If the property is set to the empty String or "true" (case-insensitive), trust anchor certificates can be used if they do not have proper CA extensions.

The default value of this property, if not set, is "false".

Note that the property does not apply to X.509 v1 certificates (since they don't support extensions).

This property is currently used by the JDK implementation. It is not guaranteed to be supported by other Java SE implementations.

Exact Match Required for Trusted TLS Server Certificate

A TLS server certificate must be an exact match of a trusted certificate on the client in order for it to be trusted when establishing a TLS connection.

Added LuxTrust Global Root 2 Certificate

The following root certificate has been added to the cacerts truststore:

+ LuxTrust

+ luxtrustglobalroot2ca

DN: CN=LuxTrust Global Root 2, O=LuxTrust S.A., C=LU

Bug Fixes:

Support for OpenType CFF Fonts

Previously, Oracle JDK 8 did not include OpenType CFF fonts (.otf fonts) into the standard logical fonts (such as "Dialog" and "SansSerif"). This resulted in missing glyphs when rendering text. In the most extreme cases where only CFF fonts were installed on the system, a Java exception could be thrown.

Several Linux distributions were affected by this issue because they rely on CFF fonts to support some languages, which is common for CJK (Chinese, Japanese, and Korean) languages.

Oracle JDK 8 now uses these CFF fonts, and this issue has been resolved.

Better Serial Filter Handling

The jdk.serialFilter system property can only be set on the command line. If the filter has not been set on the command line, it can be set can be set with java.io.ObjectInputFilter.Config.setSerialFilter. Setting the jdk.serialFilter with java.lang.System.setProperty has no effect.

Legacy:

If you are looking for previous Java versions here are the links to download:
TechSpot is about to celebrate its 25th anniversary. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust

In brief: Those of a certain age may remember when Netflix was just a popular DVD-by-mail subscription business. A quarter of a century after it first started mailing discs out to subscribers, the company has announced that the famed red envelopes are finally going away.

In the same year it was founded, 1997, Netflix started its DVD-by-mail service, offering the public an alternative to going to the local video rental store. The very first DVD it sent out was Tim Burton's Beetlejuice, marking the begging of the end for stores like Blockbuster.

Netflix launched its streaming service in 2007, though it offered just 1,000 movies compared to the 70,000 it had on DVD at the time. To the surprise of many, the mail service continues to this day - it shipped its five billionth DVD in 2019 - but it's shuttering in a few months.

Netflix's co-chief executive Ted Sarandos praised DVD-by-mail for paving the way for the company's gigantic streaming business. But "after an incredible 25-year run, we've made the difficult decision to wind down at the end of September [29th]."

"Our goal has always been to provide the best service for our members but as the business continues to shrink that's going to become increasingly difficult," Sarandos added.

On September 29th, 2023, we will send out the last red envelope. It has been a true pleasure and honor to deliver movie nights to our wonderful members for 25 years. Thank you for being part of this incredible journey, including this final season of red envelopes. pic.twitter.com/9lAntaL2ww  DVD Netflix (@dvdnetflix) April 18, 2023

According to an FAQ, customers' final bill for the DVD service will be in August, so it sounds as if they will get a free month of rentals during its last month of September. Netflix will continue to accept returns up until October 27, 2023.

In 2011, Netflix said it would rebrand its DVD rental service as an independent subsidiary called Qwikster, but changed its mind a month later. In 2016, it rebranded its DVD-by-mail service under the name DVD.com, A Netflix Company.

Netflix slightly missed analysts' forecasts for the first quarter of the year, generating $8.18 billion in revenue. The better news was that it added 1.75 million subscribers, bringing its global total to 232.5 million customers.

Netflix said this week that it would be delaying the broader rollout of its crackdown on password sharing, which will now start by the end of June. The company rolled out its profile transfer tool last year in preparation for password sharers moving to their own accounts.
What just happened? Many former employees at big tech companies are admitting that they had very little to do at their jobs, despite earning high salaries. One such under-worked and overpaid former tech worker is 33-year-old Madelyn Machado, who left Microsoft to join Facebook's parent company Meta as a recruiter in the fall of 2021.

In a viral TikTok video, Machado claimed she was hired for a $190,000 yearly salary, but had basically nothing to do during her stint at the company. "I do think a lot of these companies wanted there to be work, but there wasn't enough," she said. Talking to The Wall Street Journal, Machado said that on most days, her work included attending virtual meetings from noon until 3:30 pm before logging off for the day.

Curiously, Machado says she was told by her recruiters at Meta that she wouldn't be hiring anybody during her first year at the company. She also claims that some of her colleagues told her that they had spent two years at the company without ever hiring anyone. Unfortunately for her, she only worked for six months at Meta before being fired last year for posting TikTok videos that the company said posed a conflict of interest.

Another former Meta worker who recounted a similar story is 35-year-old Britney Levy, who says she joined the company in April 2022 but received her first and only assignment shortly before being laid off in November. Since then, companies across the tech industry, including Amazon, Meta, Microsoft, Twitter, PayPal, Yahoo, Zoom, IBM, Spotify, and others, have announced massive layoffs, affecting tens of thousands of employees.

Talking to the WSJ, experts said they believe companies overhired during the pandemic-era boom not because they needed more workers, but to hoard talent from rival companies. According to Vijay Govindarajan, professor at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business, the hiring spree was initially fueled by a shortage of tech talent but eventually became a competition, which led to companies "hiring ahead of demand." He also pointed out that that the situation was very similar to what happened in the finance industry in the early 2000s, when companies overhired during periods of high growth, leaving many workers with not enough work.

Others, however, say they believe the tech companies have valid reasons to hire new talents, despite not having enough work for them from the get-go. According to Patrick Moloney, the head of global technology practice at the advisory firm Willis Towers Watson PLC, workers like AI engineers are expected to be in high demand in the near future, so it makes sense for companies to hire them aggressively even if they didn't have a lot to do in their initial months. However, it still doesn't explain why a company would need recruiters with nothing to do but attend meetings all day.
What just happened? MSI Afterburner was about to disappear because of sanctions against Russia and Vladimir Putin's war on Ukraine. Now, the top-rated utility received an update to its latest stable release bringing support for the newest hardware on the market.

Guru3D and MSI have released a new version of their well-known GPU utility MSI Afterburner. Version 4.6.5 is the first stable update in years, as the latest non-beta release dates back to the end of 2021. Between the 4.6.4 and 4.6.5 releases, MSI Afterburner survived the worst crisis of its development history as the single Russian programmer working on it declared that the software was probably "dead."

Nevertheless, MSI Afterburner is now more "alive" than ever. Version 4.6.5 adds official support for the latest high-end gaming GPUs, namely Nvidia RTX 4000 and AMD Radeon RX 7900 series. Afterburner 4.6.5 also adds "experimental" support for the latest CPUs from both Intel (13th-Gen Core) and AMD (Ryzen 7000), as well as many bugfixes and improved compatibility with the latest versions of Windows and even older GPU models from Team Green.

The update also adds voltage control support for GA103 and GDDR6x-based versions of the GeForce RTX 3060 Ti and includes some new device IDs for "future" hardware from AMD and Nvidia. Support for Intel Arc GPU monitoring is also improved, even though GPU overclocking is not supported right now because Intel limits API support to x64 applications only.

Other improvements provided in the software by developer Alexey Nicolaychuk in MSI include an alternate implementation of the hardware monitoring module because Windows 11 22H2 broke the "legacy" module, a switch in the config file to bypass voltage control lock on Maxwell GPUs introduced with the 515 release of official GeForce drivers.

MSI Afterburner now provides a temperature monitoring feature for NVMe solid-state devices through the SMART.dll plugin, including the secondary controller temperature for some Samsung NVMe drives. The developers also changed the server location to check updates since the old server has reached end-of-life.

Version 4.6.5 also includes a new version of RivaTuner Statistics Server (RTSS 7.3.4), the "core" tool of the Afterburner package managing the monitoring, frame limiting, and even video recording features the program provides to its users. The update includes a "huge" list of changes, with over 100 compatibility enhancements and an upgraded DesktopOverlayHost utility to display monitoring information on the Windows desktop or small external displays mounted inside the PC case.

Nicolaychuk said that he would continue developing RTSS even after the "death" of MSI Afterburner because it has always been his primary interest. In January 2023, Nicolaychuk stated that MSI hadn't paid him in a year because sanctions against Putin's warmongering regime forced the Taiwanese company to halt money transfers to Russia. The issue seems to be solved now, and the development of MSI Afterburner can proceed as usual.
What just happened? The Pegasus spyware developed by notorious Israeli tech firm NSO Group has once again raised its ugly head several years after it was originally deployed. While recent reports suggested the malware was coming to the end of its natural life, cybersecurity researchers have now found that NSO created at least three new zero-click hacks against iPhones, potentially jeopardizing the privacy and security of many activists and journalists.

The report about the renewed threat posed by Pegasus comes from Citizen Lab, which is based at the University of Toronto in Canada. The new version of Pegasus affects iPhones running iOS 15 and early versions of iOS 16. The spyware is said to have been deployed last year against human rights activists who were researching the 2015 disappearance of 43 student demonstrators in Mexico among other suspected human rights abuses by the country's military establishment.

While the Mexican government is known to be one of the leading users of Pegasus, the spyware was also reportedly used last year against "civil society targets around the world." The first deployment is believed to have happened on January 17, 2022, on an iPhone running iOS 15.1.1. The researchers identified the zero-click exploit as 'LATENTIMAGE' as it left very few traces on the device.

Before discovering LATENTIMAGE, the researchers also found two other zero-click exploits that they named 'FINDMYPWN' and 'PWNYOURHOME.' While the former was first deployed against iOS 15 in June 2022, the latter was used against iOS 15 and 16 starting in October 2022. Both are two-step zero-click exploits, with each targeting a different iOS app.

In the case of the former, the first step targets HomeKit, while the second affects iMessage. With the latter, the first step targets the Find My app, while the second step once again snoops on iMessage.

In October 2022, the researchers shared their findings with Apple, which has since fixed the vulnerabilities. However, that doesn't mean the threat from Pegasus and other spyware is over. The researchers are recommending that high-risk users like activists, journalists, government officials and corporate executives employ Apple's Lockdown Mode that's designed to tackle the growing problem of mercenary spyware.

The feature, which is available on iOS 16, iPadOS 16 and macOS Ventura, severely limits the abilities of a device, but can offer security from corporate espionage and state-sponsored hacking syndicates. It reportedly came in handy against the PWNYOURHOME exploit, as devices with the feature enabled received real-time warnings when they were targeted. According to the researchers, there are no known cases of the exploit being successfully used against devices with the Lockdown Mode switched on.
KYODO NEWS - Apr 19, 2023 - 21:06 | All, World, Japan

Japan's trade minister Yasutoshi Nishimura and his U.S. counterpart Katherine Tai affirmed Wednesday further cooperation in advancing negotiations of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework to set high trade standards amid concerns over China's growing clout.

"I hope that Japan and the United States will lead efforts to build resilient supply chains among like-minded nations, who share the fundamental value of freedom, democracy, human rights, and rule of law," Nishimura said at the outset of the meeting in Tokyo.

Tai said in response that she appreciates "Japan's leadership in partnering with the United States on the collaboration (in the IPEF)," adding it is "really an exciting initiative" that the two allies have been undertaking together.

The negotiations of the 14-nation IPEF center around four policy pillars -- fair trade, supply chain resilience, clean energy with decarbonization and infrastructure, as well as proper taxation and anti-corruption.

Nishimura has indicated the IPEF partners would like to broadly agree on the direction of negotiation outcomes at ministerial talks in the United States next month.

The U.S.-led initiative is regarded as a symbol of the world's biggest economy's reengagement in the fast-growing region after its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade deal in 2017, with President Joe Biden's administration hoping to conclude a deal this year, possibly around the time of a summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum economies in November.

Earlier Wednesday, Tai, the U.S. trade representative, also met with Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi, ensuring cooperation to counter economic coercion, among other issues.

Tai's two-day trip to Japan followed the U.S.-Japan deal in March on critical minerals that are key to strengthening their supply chains for electric vehicle batteries and the launch of a task force to address forced labor and other human rights issues in supply chains in January.

Biden launched the IPEF during his visit to Japan last May in a bid to strengthen economic ties with key economies in the Indo-Pacific, which accounts for about 40 percent of the global economy, to establish rules and norms in the global trading order.

The IPEF currently groups Australia, Brunei, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the United States and Vietnam. Canada is also seeking to join the framework.
Joseph Staten, a name familiar to sci-fi aficionados and gaming fans, has recently taken up a new job as creative director for a top-tier, multiplatform game at Netflix. After working for nine years at Microsoft, Staten left to explore new opportunities, eventually joining the streaming giant.

Joseph Staten: A Major Influence on the Halo Universe

Staten made his fame by being a major influence in the Halo universe, from his writing and directorial duties in the iconic first-person shooter, to later works such as writing for Halo 3 and Halo Reach, as well as authoring books and writing short stories related to the franchise.

According to the story by Game Spot, having served over nine years alongside Microsoft and Bungie's Halo franchise, Joseph Staten is not done joining the gaming world yet.

Staten Joins The Creative Team Of Netflix To Revolutionize Streaming Services' Video Game Development

Recently, he announced that he joined Netflix's creative team in a major step forward for the streaming giant's development of its own video games, as explained further in an article by The Verge.

Staten is a major influencer in the world of Halo and Bungie fans. He was the cinematic writer and director of Combat Evolved and Halo 2, a writer for Halo 3 and Reach, and a writer and creative director for Halo 3: ODST.

Joining Netflix as Creative Director for a New "AAA, Multiplatform Game" and Original IP

He also wrote a book and a short story for the Halo universe. After helping to start the world of Destiny's co-creative director, he returned to Microsoft and acted as the head of creative of 343 Industries. Yet, it was not enough, and now he has joined Netflix as creative director for a new "AAA, multiplatform game" and original IP.

He is, as expected, very excited by the change in his work life, as he writes on his Twitter, "In my work life, there's nothing I love more than collaborating with others to build worlds filled with iconic characters, deep mysteries, and endless adventures."

Read Also: 'Street Fighter 6' New Feature Lets Players Download Big Modes Separately: Here's How to Do It

The Impact of Joseph Staten on Netflix's Move into Console and PC Game Development

It is already known that Netflix invested in video game development in October with the news of 55 games in the works, and it has certainly created its own game studios, such as Oxenfree developer Night School Studios and studios in Finland and California, amongst other places.

So far, the gaming releases from Netflix have been based exclusively on mobile ports like Into The Breach and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge. The streaming giant exposed its plans for a cloud gaming service, and now with the hiring of Staten, it is clear that Netflix is taking a step up in its console and PC games development.

Joseph Staten is certainly making a big move that many will pay attention to. With his impressive resume of work at Bungie and 343 Industries, it is certain that the gaming world will experience an incredible evolution at the hands of this incredible new talent.

Related Article: 'The Super Mario Bros.' Second-Weekend Box Office Breaks Record-Biggest Game Adaptation in History!

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Following Twitter's decision to label the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) account as "government-funded media," CBC has temporarily suspended its Twitter activity, stating that it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of its work, according to a report by AP.

Undermines Credibility

CBC spokesperson Leon Mar announced the suspension of CBC's corporate Twitter account and all CBC and Radio-Canada news-related arrangements. CBC believes that the label "government-funded media" undermines its credibility.

The media company has sent a letter to Twitter, requesting that the company reconsider the label. Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, later tweeted about the situation and changed the title to "69 percent Government-funded media."

As per CBC spokesperson Leon Mar, the CBC does not meet the "government-funded media" label requirements on Twitter.

Mar argued that the company is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that all members of Parliament vote on, and its editorial independence is protected in the Broadcasting Act.

The funding received by CBC is determined by its board of directors. In the 2021-22 fiscal year, CBC received more than $1.2 billion Canadian from the government.

This statement follows Twitter's labeling of National Public Radio's main account as "state-affiliated media," which refers to media outlets controlled or heavily influenced by authoritarian governments such as Russia and China. Twitter later changed the label to "government-funded media."

Twitter has not yet provided any comment regarding the application of the label and whether any changes will be made.

Read Also: Twitter Doge: Blue Bird Logo Changed to Shiba Inu Mascot Amidst Dogecoin Lawsuit Against Elon Musk

Twitter as a Go-to Platform

The app has built a reputation as a go-to platform for users to stay informed about current events, and news outlets have utilized the bird app to share their stories and counteract the spread of misinformation.

However, Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, has been vocal in his criticism of professional journalists and has expressed his desire to prioritize the views and expertise of ordinary citizens.

Musk has even taken the drastic step of suspending individual journalists' accounts who wrote about Twitter, alleging that they were attempting to reveal his location.

Despite Twitter's efforts to combat misinformation, Musk's contentious relationship with professional journalists may affect the platform's reputation as a reliable source of news and information.

The New York Times' main Twitter account had its verification check mark removed by Twitter in April, allegedly due to its refusal to pay for verifying its institutional accounts.

Twitter previously used the blue check marks to verify the identity of high-profile accounts, such as journalists. Still, anyone can get them if they subscribe to Twitter's premium service.

This has raised concerns for news outlets as these check marks indicate that the information they share comes from a reliable source.

Related Article: Elon Musk Claims 'For You' Page Will Only Display Twitter Verified Accounts Starting April 15-What For?

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FTX's reboot plan attracted Tribe Capital, a San Francisco, California, venture capital firm.

The VC company even said it is considering leading million-dollar fundraising for the collapsed crypto exchange firm.

An anonymous individual, who is familiar with the activities of Tribe Capital, claimed that the company's co-founder, Arjun Sethi, already had a meeting with FTX's official committee.

If this is true, then the financial assistance offered by Tribe Capital would greatly help the crypto exchange service provider to gain back its business.

FTX Reboot Plan Update

According to Coin Desk's latest report, Tribe Capital said it would lead a $250 million fundraise.

Also Read: CryptoWatch: FTX Regains Lost $7.3B Funds, Ethereum's Shapella Merger, and Crypto's Prices Now

The venture capital firm added that it would also have a $100 million commitment after Tribe Capital announced its bid for FTX, the crypto exchange company's FTT token, increased by around 23%.

With this, the value of FTX's exchange token is now higher by 17%.

"The Committee is working with the Debtors to evaluate all options to reboot or sell the FTX exchanges and create value for creditors," said the committee of FTX creditors.

They added that while waiting for a formal process to be released, interested companies in sponsoring the return of FTX exchanges should contact the Debtors and the Committee.

Can FTX Revive From the Dead?

Fast Company reported that restarting the business of FTX will not be easy.

First, the crypto exchange company needs to raise significant capital or convert creditors' holdings into an ownership interest.

Previously, FTX already recovered more than $7 billion in assets, $2 billion in cash, and over $4 billion in cryptocurrency.

Aside from this, the public relations of FTX should also be done efficiently to attract investors.

Click this link to learn more about the latest FTX reboot plan.

Here are other stories we recently wrote about FTX:

The crypto exchange company said they would subpoena former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried.

Over $700 million in FTX assets linked to Bankman-Fried were recently seized by federal prosecutors.

For more news updates about FTX and its reboot plan, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: FTX Regains Lost $7.3B Funds, May Be Looking to Restart the Crypto Exchange Platform

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
TruthGPT is one of the most-awaited AI models in the tech industry... because it is being developed by none other than Elon Musk.

He confirmed this effort during his "Tucker Carlson Tonight" interview, which went viral on Twitter and other social media platforms.

Recently, Musk said that artificial intelligence models should be regulated. The billionaire explained that FDA (Food and Drug Administration) regulates all the things that U.S. residents consume.

Elon added that since users also consume AI models, they should have regulators, as reported by CBS News.

TruthGPT: Elon Musk's Upcoming AI

Since Elon Musk said that the existing AI models are dangerous, he decided to work on new artificial intelligence that is safer than ChatGPT and other AI techs.

Also Read: OpenAI GPT-5 Update: CEO Sam Altman Says It's Not Coming... For Now; Here's What They're Working On Instead

He confirmed that he plans to start a new AI initiative called TruthGPT. The billionaire claimed that this new artificial intelligence would be an AI model that mainly focuses on seeking the truth.

Musk further stated that his TruthGPT would be trained to understand the nature of the universe, as reported by CNBC.

As of writing, Elon hasn't confirmed if TruthGPT is already being developed or if his new AI already exists.

TruthGPT vs. ChatGPT

Elon Musk and his team haven't shared any specific detail regarding their new TruthGPT. But, experts stated that the new TruthGPT would be able to compete against similar AI models, especially OpenAI's ChatGPT.

This means that it could also be another AI-powered chatbot that can answer queries and do tasks requested by users.

Based on TruthGPT's whitepaper, Musk's upcoming AI model would also rely on collected data from a broad range of credible and alternative sources.

The main difference that Elon boasts about is TruthGPT's ability to provide unbiased answers/responses.

Here's a simple comparison between TruthGPT and ChatGPT:

TruthGPT

AI type: Possibly an AI chatbot

Capability: Will provide text responses/answers

Training: Will also use GPT

ChatGPT

AI type: Chatbot

Capability: Provides text answers/responses

Training: Will also use GPT

If you want to learn more about the upcoming TruthGPT of Musk, you can click here.

In other news, OpenAI launched its new ChatGPT Bug Bounty Program. We also reported about the new ChatGPT-like AI of Alibaba called Tongyi Qianwen.

For more news updates about TruthGPT and other new AI models, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.

Related Article: AutoGPT vs. ChatGPT: Differences, Uses, Other Details

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Apple and Alphabet have recently raised concerns over Amazon's Kindle app due to its accessibility to sexually explicit content that is unrestricted to children.

The companies have called on Amazon to improve its content moderation after it was discovered that users could view full-color photographs of naked women and people engaging in sexual acts on the app, primarily self-published by authors through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing arm.

Families Horrified by Explicit Content Downloaded by Children

Reuters reported that two families claimed their pre-teen sons downloaded the explicit content from Amazon's Kindle Unlimited e-book subscription service and viewed it on the Kindle iPhone app.

The parents first signed up for the service because it provided access to age-appropriate book series that would otherwise be prohibitively expensive to purchase and were unavailable through Amazon's Kids+ subscription service.

Much like Google Play, which does not allow apps containing or promoting sexual content, Amazon's Kindle app has a specific content guideline policy against pornographic content.

However, the Kindle Unlimited service does not have any parental controls.

Apple, which also prohibits apps dedicated to overtly sexual or pornographic material, has shared concerns with Amazon and is working with the company to ensure compliance with its guidelines. Google has also been in contact with Amazon about the issue.

What's next?

With a 72% market share, available data suggests that Amazon's Kindle dominates the e-reader market. The number of Kindles sold by Amazon ranges from 20 million to 90 million, demonstrating the device's popularity among consumers.

Given its dominant position as the world's leading e-book distributor, with at least two-thirds of the market, Amazon will face renewed criticism for failing to regulate the content available on its platform effectively.

Read Also: Facebook Privacy Settlement Payout Could Net You Some Money! Here's How to Check if You're Eligible

However, given First Amendment protections, Amazon is unlikely to face legal ramifications, according to internet law experts interviewed by Reuters.

According to Reuters, Amazon changed the Kindle's age rating in the Apple App Store from 4 years or older to 12 years or older after receiving alerts of the explicit material on Kindle. Meanwhile, Gizmodo spots that the Kindle was still listed as 4+ on April 3, according to the Wayback Machine, but the age rating had changed by Sunday.

On Explicit Content Found in Amazon Kindle

Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service has grown in popularity among readers looking to binge-read series and self-published books that cover a wide range of topics.

Unfortunately, this includes text-based erotica, which can be purchased for as little as $2.99 without a subscription on Amazon's website.

Reuters tells us that while Amazon generally allows authors to self-publish online without cross-talk, the company has software tools to detect prohibited content before publication.

However, no parental controls are available for the Kindle Unlimited service, which is the only subscription service option for customers looking for book content aimed at children aged 13 to 17.

Although Amazon has changed the age rating and is reviewing the situation, the lack of a specific policy prohibiting sexual content on the app continues to be a significant issue.

Related Article: Google Chrome to Update with AI Features, 'GIFI' and 'Searchalong' Among Many Projects Besides 'Magi'

Stay posted here at Tech Times.

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The Federal Trade Commission appeared at a Congress hearing last Tuesday and it discussed the many dangers of AI and its growing use today, as it can be used for fraudulent acts across industries. FTC Chair Lina Khan specifically used the word to describe AI to help "turbocharge" fraud, with the likes of present technologies including ChatGPT.

It is now looking into protecting Americans from the unfair practices in the field that is related to technical advances these systems bring for everyone.

(Photo : Graeme Jennings-Pool/Getty Images)

FTC Warns About AI 'Turbocharging' Fraud in the Industry

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has issued a warning about the potential dangers of artificial intelligence (AI) technology, specifically chatbots, being used to facilitate fraud in different industries. FTC Chair, Lina Khan, addressed this critical issue during a Congressional hearing on Tuesday, shedding light on the need to protect American consumers from deceptive practices.

"AI presents a whole set of opportunities, but also presents a whole set of risks," said Khan among the House representatives.

"And I think we've already seen ways in which it could be used to turbocharge fraud and scams. We've been putting market participants on notice that instances in which AI tools are effectively being designed to deceive people can place them on the hook for FTC action," she added.

Read Also: Rules for AI? US Wants Your Suggestions on Creating Regulations for AI Models Including ChatGPT and MORE

FTC is Looking to Protect Consumers and Competition

TechCrunch claimed that the FTC addressed its measures in combatting AI fraudulence and scams carried out by individuals or organizations looking to best the public. As per Chair Khan, the FTC already has its personnel focusing on AI's influence on the consumer and competition side of the Commission's work in protecting the public.

Moreover, FTC already has set countermeasures to fight against AI wrongdoings.

AI and its Growing Presence in Technology

AI is a significant technology now, and because of its growing presence and popularity in the tech industry, many are falling victim to users who are utilizing it for wrongful deeds. One of the most recent scams with AI was deepfaking a voice of a girl, which was then sent to her mother and the criminals demanding $1 million in ransom payment.

These systems are developed for the good of humankind, centering on offering tools and capabilities to help them have an easier time creating content or generating information. However, some experts and researchers also believe that ChatGPT may be used for scams, bringing in the dark and twisted side of the technology its creators never intended.

Machine learning is growing to be more sophisticated and advanced, with people who want to take advantage of the technology also working hard in bending it toward their desires. This is what the FTC is looking out for in the present, as AI is like clay that can be molded to bring anything they like, with the tool being easily accessible to execute fraudulent deeds against the public, and the Commission watching closely.

Related Article: TruthGPT vs. CHATGPT: How Is Elon Musk's AI Different From OpenAI's Chatbot?

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An old and defunct 660-lb. satellite is set to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere and make a landing back on the planet this Wednesday night, and NASA confirms it is the more than 20-year-old satellite, Rhessi. After being shut down in 2018 as it lost communications for the solar energy imager spacecraft, it is now bound for its faithful return, with NASA addressing its risks to be "low."

The agency and the Department of Defense did not disclose the location of where the satellite will land and expect it to still be intact after its atmospheric reentry burn.

(Photo : NASA)

NASA's Rhessi is Coming Home-Collision, Risks are 'Low' to Humans

NASA's RHESSI (Reuven Ramaty High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager) satellite, which has been observing high-energy X-rays from solar flares for over 18 years, is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday night. However, NASA has assured the public that the risks to humans are low, with an estimated 1-in-2,467 chance of the satellite hitting people or homes.

This low risk is primarily due to the vast majority of Earth's surface being covered by water or uninhabited areas, and the fact that the satellite is expected to burn up upon re-entry due to the high temperatures generated by the friction with the Earth's atmosphere.

It is expected to arrive by 9:30 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, April 19, with NASA expecting an uncertainty of +/- 16 hours.

Moreover, the agency expects most of the satellite to burn up upon reentry, with only a few of its components to survive upon its return. Further update predictions will be provided by NASA and Defense.

Read Also: NASA's James Webb Space Telescope Sees a Brilliant Smash-up of 2 Spiral Galaxies

What is the Rhessi Satellite and its Function from Before?

The RHESSI satellite was launched by NASA in February 2002 and has since provided valuable data on solar flares and their impact on Earth's atmosphere. The satellite's mission was to investigate the physics of solar flares and the release of high-energy particles from the Sun.

However, in 2018, the satellite ceased its scientific operations and was decommissioned, seeing a 16-year run on its solar energy imagery feat.

NASA's Rhessi and Re-Entering Satellites

Previous satellites in orbit and other missions in the different regions of the cosmos have also made their way back to the planet for re-entry. There was a failed Russian Satellite called the Angara A5 which reentered earlier this year, and it targeted the Pacific Ocean for its landing spot to avoid any significant casualties.

The ESA is also developing a new tech called the "ADEO-N," a.k.a. the Angel Wings, that will help re-entering satellites or spacecraft glide their way back after passing through the Earth's atmosphere.

NASA's RHESSI satellite is expected to re-enter Earth's atmosphere on Wednesday night with a low risk to humans and property. While the exact landing location is currently undisclosed, NASA has assured the public that the risks are minimal.

This reentry event serves as a reminder of the importance of responsible space debris management to reduce the cosmic heavens of space trash and avoid risks in the long run.

Related Article: Symphony of Space: NASA's HARP Transforms Earth Plasma Waves to Audible Sounds

 2023 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
Switching from an Android to an iPhone is an exciting experience, but there are a few hurdles to jump over. One of the most significant challenges is how to migrate your WhatsApp data. Since WhatsApp is among the most popular messaging apps, WhatsApp messages, and chats are often precious and painful to lose.

Expectedly, the platform is aware of this fact and offers an official way to move the data, but this method is limited. For example, you will need iOS 15.5 or newer on your iPhone, and if your iPhone is not factory new, you must factory reset it. Inconvenient, right?

Fortunately, this guide will explain how to avoid these limitations using iToolab WatsGo, a WhatsApp data transfer tool. But thats not all. You will also see how to do it via email, Google Drive, Move to iOS, or a new phone number. Lets dive in.

Methods to Transfer WhatsApp From Android to iPhone

Use the methods below to move WhatsApp data between your Android phone and iPhone.

Method 1: Transfer WhatsApp Data From Android to iPhone Directly (Via iToolab WatsGo WhatsApp Transfer)

iToolab WatsGo WhatsApp Transfer allows you to move all WhatsApp data when you switch from an Android to an iPhone, and vice versa.

It is professional, three times faster than other tools, and only takes a few clicks. Moreover, you can transfer all data types, including call history, messages, and images.

Steps:

1. Download and install iToolab WatsGo WhatsApp Transfer to your computer, then launch it.

2. Select WhatsApp Transfer.

3. Connect your Android and iPhone to the computer via a USB cable.

4. Click Transfer, then move all or select the WhatsApp data you want to migrate.

Features:

The transfer is secure and encrypted.

No need to factory reset the iPhone.

Convertible with the latest versions of Android and iOS.

You can also backup WhatsApp data with it.

Method 2: Transfer WhatsApp From Android to iPhone Using Move to iOS

Move to iOS is a WhatsApp transfer app created by Apple to help Android users migrate to iOS seamlessly.

Despite this, it does not support all versions of Android or iOS. These restrictions mean not everybody can use it, and you cannot transfer all data types. Move to iOS does not cause any data loss, but you need to be quite tech-savvy to use it.

Requirements to use Move to iOS:

iOS 15.5 or newer and Android 5 or above.

WhatsApp iOS version 2.22.10.70 or later on your iPhone.

WhatsApp Android version 2.22.7.74 or later on the Android phone.

Use the same WhatsApp number.

iPhone must be at default settings.

Connect the iPhone and Android to a power source and a common Wi-Fi network. Alternatively, connect the Android to the iPhones hotspot.

Steps:

1. Install Move to iOS on your Android via the Google Play store, launch it, and follow the on-screen instructions.

2. Open your iPhone and start setting it up. Once you reach the Apps & Data screen, tap Move Data from Android.

3. Your iPhone will display a code. Enter the code in the text field on your Android phone.

4. Tap Continue and follow the on-screen prompts.

5. On the Transfer Data screen, select WhatsApp.

6. Tap START on your Android phone. Wait for WhatsApp to prepare the export data. After the data is ready, you will be signed out of the WhatsApp account on your Android phone.

7. Tap Next to go back to the Move to iOS app.

8. Hit Continue to begin the transfer. This takes a while, so be patient. Move to iOS will alert you once the transfer is done.

9. Go to the App Store and install the latest version of WhatsApp, then launch it and sign in via the same number you had on your Android phone.

10. Tap Start when prompted, then wait for the process to finish.

11. Once you have activated your iPhone, your WhatsApp chats will appear on it.

Method 3: How to Transfer WhatsApp From Android to iOS Using Google Drive

WhatsApp typically backs up to Google Drive on Android, but there is no direct way to transfer this backup to your iPhone. Fortunately, you can use iToolab WatsGo WhatsApp Transfer to restore the backup on your iOS device.

Steps:

1. Download and install iToolab WatsGo WhatsApp Transfer, then select Restore WhatsApp Backup from Google Drive.

2. Sign in to your Google account, then click WhatsApp Backup.

3. You will be shown a list of WhatsApp backups on your Google Drive. Select the desired one to download it.

4. Once the download is done, click Restore to Device, then connect your iPhone to the computer. If you enabled encrypted backup, you might be required to enter a code first.

5. iToolab WatsGo WhatsApp Transfer will automatically transfer your WhatsApp data to your iPhone.

Method 4: Transfer WhatsApp From Android to iPhone via Email

This method allows you to save your chats to email but doesnt restore them to WhatsApp.

Instead, the chats are available as downloadable text files.

This method is only suitable for saving a few conversations, and you should exclude media due to email storage limits. Although you do not need to be very tech-savvy to use this method, accessing the chats can be troubling.

Steps:

1. Go to your Android phone, open WhatsApp, then tap Settings > Chats > Chat History.

2. Tap Export chat.

3. Select the contact whose chat history you intend to export, then choose whether to include media.

4. On the next page, choose to transfer the chat via Gmail or Email.

5. Enter the email address to which you want to send the data and click the send icon.

6. Open the email account you sent the WhatsApp chat to view the messages.
A pair of mechanical arms are displayed during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

BERLIN, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference."

More than 4,000 companies will present solutions for the "production and energy supply of the future," at the Hannover Messe fair, its organizers said. Main topics of the fair include automation, artificial intelligence, hydrogen technologies and carbon-neutral production.

"Only by weaving these technologies together will it be possible to secure our prosperity sustainably while pursuing climate change mitigation," said Jochen Koeckler, chairman of the Managing Board of Deutsche Messe AG.

Besides Germany and this year's partner country Indonesia, most of the exhibitors come from China, Italy, Turkiye and the United States. Germany is represented by global players such as Siemens and Bosch, as well as medium-sized companies, startups and renowned research institutes such as Fraunhofer.

Regarding digitalization and automation of production, Germany and its neighboring countries Austria and Switzerland are "clearly behind China, the UK and the USA and the gap is growing," said the fair's organizers.

A study by Ludwig Maximilian University (LMU) Munich, and IT consulting firm MHP, shows that only around 44 percent of all production processes are automated at companies in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the U.K. and the U.S. Meanwhile, in China the figure is 69 percent, according to the study. 

People look at an intelligent inspection robot dog during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

An intelligent robot is displayed during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

An intelligent robot imitates the gesture of a man during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

A man shakes hands with an intelligent robot during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People look at a generator using hydrogen energy during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 17, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

A man tries on a VR headset during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

People look at a model of hydrogen-powered plane during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 17, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)

A transport drone is displayed during the Hannover Messe in Hannover, Germany, on April 18, 2023. Germany's leading trade fair for mechanical and electrical engineering kicked off on Monday in Hannover, with the theme of "Industrial Transformation - Making the Difference." (Xinhua/Ren Pengfei)
People gather at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Str/Xinhua)

ISLAMABAD, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said.

The incident happened at about 3:50 a.m. local time due to lightning at the border area near Afghanistan, sources from the state-owned Rescue 1122 told Xinhua.

"It was a massive land sliding, and part of a mountain caved in when the lightning struck it, trapping dozens of trucks waiting to cross the border," the sources added.

Earlier in a statement, Rescue 1122 said that several vehicles caught fire after the landslide, adding that initially three ambulances from the nearby camp of the rescue organization were dispatched to the site.

The statement said that judging from the magnitude of the incident, ambulances and firefighters from other parts of the province have also been called in.

About 60 rescue workers are taking part in the operation, and all resources are being used to recover the trapped people from the rubbles, the statement added. 

Rescuers search for victims at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Str/Xinhua)

People discover a victim at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

People search for victims at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

Heavy machinery remove a container at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Str/Xinhua)

People search for victims at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

People search for victims at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)

Rescuers search for victims at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Str/Xinhua)

An excavator removes debris at a landslide site in northwest Pakistan's Torkham on April 18, 2023. Eight people were injured and scores of others went missing under the rubbles following a land sliding at the Torkham border in Pakistan's northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Tuesday, rescue sources said. (Photo by Saeed Ahmad/Xinhua)
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 Communities 2019 - Privacy

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Visitors pose for photos outside the venue for the third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, capital city of south China's Hainan Province, on April 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xin)

HAIKOU/NANNING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Cheng Zhongyun, chairman of a jetboard maker in south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, just wrapped up a busy trip to Hainan, where he attended the third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE).

"We've participated in the expo for three consecutive years, and every year our participation has proved fruitful. While further exploring the local market in Hainan, the expo also provides opportunities for us to acquire orders from foreign companies," said Cheng.

His company, Guangxi Tefei Yuntian Aviation Power Technology Co., Ltd., is a microcosm of many domestic companies leveraging the resumed offline expos to gain wider overseas market access.

From April 10 to 15, over 320,000 visitor arrivals were registered at the CICPE, which gathered more than 3,300 brands from 65 countries and regions.

On Saturday, the 133rd China Import and Export Fair, also known as the Canton Fair, kicked off in Guangzhou and welcomed purchasers from over 220 countries and regions.

Burgeoning on-site activities, coupled with a suite of free trade agreements such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), have greatly boosted regional economic integration.

Apart from China, 10 other RCEP member countries, including the Republic of Korea, Thailand and Vietnam, participated in this year's CICPE, while Japan set up an exhibition area exceeding 1,800 square meters at the CICPE this year.

"The cooperation between Hainan and RCEP member states has deepened in recent years with the help of platforms such as the CICPE," said Zhang Bin, director of the Department of Commerce of Hainan Province.

Zhang added that in 2022, Hainan attracted total investment of 840 million yuan (about 122 million U.S. dollars) from other RCEP member states. The import and export volume of goods between Hainan and RCEP member countries increased by 23.7 percent year on year.

Of the over 160 types of featured products displayed in the Guangxi pavilion at this year's CICPE, about 60 varieties come from ASEAN countries, which are all RCEP member countries.

Yu Xuemei, deputy director of Guangxi's department of commerce, said as China's gateway to ASEAN, Guangxi has adopted a more proactive strategy to deepen economic cooperation and trade exchanges with neighboring countries.

"The CICPE will definitely promote consumption and boost regional economic development," Yu added.

In 2022, China's total retail sales of consumer goods reached nearly 44 trillion yuan, and China maintained its status as the second-largest import market in the world for the 14th consecutive year.

Exhibitors at both the CICPE and the Canton Fair highlighted China's vital role in driving global economic recovery and the massive growth potential of China's consumer market.

"The rising enthusiasm of many countries and regions, especially RCEP member countries, to participate in the offline expos proves that the international community is optimistic about the vitality of China's consumer market and economic development prospects," said Chen Jian, a researcher with the China Society of Economic Reform.

Chen noted that such fairs will fully unleash the potential of economic growth, promote mutual benefit, and continue to inject new impetus into regional and global economic recovery. 
Total Petrochemical USA, foreground, sits just inside the city limits of St. Gabriel and Carville La., in Iberville Parish, photographed Tuesday, Oct. 1, 2019. According to the company fact sheet, it's the largest polystyrene facility in the world. The state's hydrogen initiative seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from petrochemical plants. (Photo by David Grunfeld, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate
Rep. C. Denise Marcelle, D-Baton Rouge, right, gives a hug to Rep. Christopher Turner, R-Ruston, left, before members of the House and Senate were seated in a joint session for La. Gov. John Bel Edwards' address to kick off the 2023 regular legislative session, Monday, April 10, 2023 at the State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La.
The brutal killing of a 2-year-old Houma boy last year  which horrified the bayou community and ratcheted up scrutiny over Louisiana's beleaguered child welfare agency  has inspired a new law that's now headed to the floor of the Louisiana Senate.
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The report into the collapse of the company, filed with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on April 17, shows Purely Byron had been loss-making for several years, even though the brand launched its first product in June 2022.

Purely Byron, the skincare brand co-founded by model and actor Elsa Pataky and backed by husband Chris Hemsworth, was never profitable, according to a report prepared by administrators.

Between 2020 and until the skincare brand folded in March, Purely Byrons operating losses totalled nearly $3.6 million.

Company directors Ido Leffler and Lance Howard Kalish cited the corporate troubles of majority shareholder BWX, which owned a 47 per cent stake in Purely Byron, as the driving factor behind the collapse. They deny allegations that they may have breached their duties as directors.
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The report shows the homebuilder had zero assets and had a bank account deficit of $533,664 at the time of its collapse late last month. Total debts for the main entity, PDH Group, is shown to be $28.88 million.

Porter Davis managing director Anthony Roberts. Credit: Chris Hopkins

Porter Davis, the countrys 13th biggest homebuilder, appointed liquidators from Grant Thornton on March 31, leaving 1700 homes unfinished in Victoria and Queensland. The group had taken deposits from a further 779 buyers.

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BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Liu Jianchao, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on Wednesday met separately with members of a workshop of the Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) National Executive Committee led by CCM General Secretary Daniel Godfrey Chongolo, Uruguayan Foreign Minister Francisco Bustillo Bonasso and Jukka Salovaara, Permanent State Secretary at the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.

The meetings took place in Beijing and the participants exchanged views on strengthening inter-party exchanges and cooperation, promoting the development of national and regional relations, as well as related international and regional issues. 
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Eating outJust open Newsteads latest hangout is a vinyl bar with bites, booze and beats The Coppa Spuntino team hits the right note with their Japanese-inspired listening bar, Ruby, My Dear, a funky addition to Newsteads evolving dining scene. Matt Shea April 19, 2023 Save Log in , register or subscribe to save recipes for later. You have reached your maximum number of saved items. Remove items from your saved list to add more. Save this article for later Add articles to your saved list and come back to them anytime. Got it Share

The room features a long banquette down one side, with a bar and DJ booth down the other. Kirsty Sycz

To watch Newsteads food and drink scene over the past decade has been to witness the evolution not just of a suburb, but a neighbourhood. First it was brewpubs and taprooms such as Newstead Brewing Co and Tipplers Tap moving into the old warehouses dotted about the area. Then came the commercial and residential developments between Commercial Road and Skyring Terrace, which brought with them Bettys Burgers, Italian Street Kitchen, Mecca Bah and other broad-appeal spots. Now, independent venues are beginning to define the suburb  Niky, After Dark, Allonda and Ardos Wine  bars and restaurants very much designed with locals in mind.

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Ruby, My Dear also has an area for al fresco dining. Kirsty Sycz The latest is Ruby, My Dear. This slick, Japanese-inspired vinyl listening bar immediately filled with punters drawn from the surrounding apartment blocks upon softly opening before the weekend. Its a friendly, casual spot that belies its formerly flash identity as Drum Dining and feels like a home away from home. Its also a return to neighbourhood venues for Bonnie Shearston and Tom Sanceau, who own the CBD-based Red Hook and Coppa Spuntino (currently on ice while they find a new location) and once owned the boundary-pushing Public on George Street. Ruby, My Dear is a collaboration with new business partners Pablo Warner and Andrew Hackworth.

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Tales of the Jazz Age is a vodka-based cocktail with rhubarb and strawberry gum, a type of eucalypt. Kirsty Sycz Canvas Club [in Woolloongabba and now owned by Dan Rodriguez] was the first thing we did, and that was very much a neighbourhood cocktail bar, Shearston says. Its been such a tumultuous few years that I wanted something in an area thats established. Newstead now feels like that. It has some cool places and it has an energy running through it, rather than sitting here just built and waiting for people to come. That energy is reflected in Ruby, My Dear, which on its first Friday and Saturday nights buzzed with tunes punched out from a pair of turntables and four Pitt & Giblin speakers, hand-built in Tasmania and decked out in timber and bronze.

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The venue is defined by a long counter that runs down one side, which changes from kitchen to bar to DJ booth. That easy mix of food, drinks and vinyl makes this place relatively unique in Brisbane. Charred cabbage with seaweed miso mayo. Kirsty Sycz Im not sure why someone hasnt done a proper vinyl bar before, Shearston says. I feel like a lot of people associate turntables with a club. But then, Ive been out of the country for much of the past five years and theres definitely a change. People are more adventurous and curious than they used to be.

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Drinks are the first order of business here. The punchy cocktail list includes signatures and variations on the classics, such as a Sake Negroni (Roku Japanese gin, sake and Suze), the Sailor Moon Milk Punch (Lula rum, coconut, pineapple, pandan and whey), and Tales of the Jazz Age (Haku vodka, rhubarb, strawberry gum, and lemon). On tap theres an Espresso Martini and a house spritz. For wine, the 70-bottle list taps everything from thrifty small-producer local drops to wallet-lightening burgundies. Theres also a generous selection of vino by the glass, as well as Sapporo beer and Stone & Wood Pacific ale on tap, craft beers by the can and bottle, and a clutch of sake, shochu and umeshu. Panko-crumbed prawn with gribiche on brioche. Kirsty Sycz For food, Hackworth is overseeing a menu that ranges from raw and snack selections to larger plates of protein.

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You might start with seared bonito tuna, six-score Wagyu tataki or chicken skins with tobiko mayo. A fried section includes a panko prawn brioche and a pork katsu sando, while the main plates include koji-rubbed Wagyu rump, air-dried atka mackerel, and a bone-marrow udon. The through line of Ruby, My Dear is, of course, the music, delivered by those four enormous speakers. They distribute the sound at this perfect level, Shearston says. Its fascinating. But because its so perfectly balanced, you can have it loud. If I crank it up, you dont have to raise your voice at all, you just feel it more. Timber shelves already stacked with 500 vinyl records will soon groan under the weight of more. Kirsty Sycz

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It all amounts to a very different venue to Drum  driven home by designer Adam Lamings less-is-more treatment, which was more about stripping out materials than adding too much in. As well as the speakers, the major features include a leather banquette that runs the length of the internal window, and a couple of timber shelves stacked with 500 vinyl records (Shearston says to expect the collection to grow). Its been really great, she says, people coming in and wanting to sit on the table near the DJs and talk to them, and drink and eat ... Its just a cool vibe. Weve had really great compliments, and thats what you want on that first night. Open Tue-Thu 4pm-11pm; Fri-Sat 12pm-12am; Sun 12pm-9pm

12 Longland Street, Newstead, @instagram.com/rubyvinylbar



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Dumped Brisbane councillor Kate Richards was told by a now-sacked lawyer she would be awarded a large amount of money in her legal fight against the LNPs top brass and she was not going to settle for less, her barrister has claimed.

Richards is suing for defamation after the LNP released a media statement in December 2019 announcing her disendorsement and the referral of extremely grave claims to the Crime and Corruption Commission.

Former Brisbane LNP councillor Kate Richards launched defamation action in December 2020. Credit: Twitter

She was cleared of wrongdoing by the CCC, a week before she lost her council seat to the LNPs Greg Adermann at the March 2020 election.

The case returned to the Supreme Court in Brisbane on Wednesday for a review, with defence lawyers revealing they discovered the plaintiff had retained new lawyers about five minutes earlier.
On the day paramedics were called to a Brisbane home after a toddler suffered severe injuries, his stepfather claimed the 16-month-old had been playing with other children.

Jaylen Priest was rushed to the Queensland Childrens Hospital in a critical condition on December 30, 2021. He died days later in the hospital, having suffered a fractured skull, brain swelling, fractured ribs and bruises.

Before his death, Jaylen Troy Priest suffered injuries including a skull fracture, brain swelling, fractured ribs and bruises.

Now, a magistrate has committed his stepfather, Aaron Harley James, to stand trial for murder.

Wearing prison clothes, James appeared via video link in the Brisbane Magistrates Court on Wednesday, and sat with his arms crossed and cried as magistrate Andrew Moloney described Jaylens death.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has weighed in on independent senator Lidia Thorpes tirade outside a strip club, saying she has obvious health issues that must be dealt with.

In a radio interview on Wednesday morning, Albanese described Thorpes behaviour as unacceptable as he was asked about her conduct in light of a string of recent incidents that have garnered negative media attention.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has said independent senator Lidia Thorpe should get some support. Credit: Alex Ellinghausen

I hope that Lidia gets some support. I think that that level of behaviour is quite clearly unacceptable. And I think there are obvious issues that need to be dealt with in terms of her health issues. These are not the actions of anyone who should be participating in society in a normal way, let alone a senator, Albanese told 2SM.

And Lidia needs to be very conscious of the way in which this behaviour has been seen. They are repeat exercises now.
Mikakos, who became health minister after the 2018 election, described staff from the premiers office pressuring the department as inappropriate, the report stated, and that it appeared the contract was signed to placate Asmar and looked like a way  of injecting funds into the HWU. She said she would not have entered into the contract because she felt uneasy about trade unions providing training given the findings of the Royal Commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption. Before the 2014 election, the then-Labor opposition made a series of commitments to address violence in healthcare settings. Asmar met staff in the premiers office and Hennessys office in early 2018 on the proposed training program to lobby the government to fulfil that pledge. Throughout that year, political staff pressured the department to award the contract to the union, according to IBACs report, despite the unions newly formed training entity not being a registered training organisation or having relevant experience in providing training to healthcare workers.

The report described the scheme as another example of the phenomenon of grey corruption that is of increasing concerns to integrity bodies. Political staff initially proposed to the union that it partner with the TAFE sector to deliver the training, but IBAC found Asmar was unwilling to engage with that model. The investigation report found an adviser to the health minister helped the HWU shape the unsolicited proposal that the union deliver the training, before it was submitted to the department for approval. A key focus of IBAC was a private meeting between the premier, Asmar and others on October 4 because it related to a 2018 election commitment that effectively extended funding to a contract that was improperly awarded. Asmar told investigators that Andrews promised her an election commitment to fund security officer training for 1000 workers, which the premier announced standing alongside the union boss on October 23. But in his interview with IBAC, Andrews said he could not recall what was discussed in the private meeting or the $2.2 million election pledge he announced at the press conference. The premier had no recollection of what he discussed with Ms Asmar, no recollection of any discussion with his advisers that led to this announcement and no awareness that they and the minister for healths adviser had discussed a detailed proposal, the report said.

Premier Daniel Andrews, then health minister Jill Hennessy (third from right) and union leader Diana Asmar (right) announcing the $2.2 million election commitment ahead of the 2018 election. Credit: It is highly likely that the premier was informed of the commitment proposal as formulated by his advisers and conveyed the substance of the intended commitment to Ms Asmar when he met her before making the announcement. During his examination, the premier ultimately accepted that he may have done so. The premier initially said in his evidence that the announcement did not involve a commitment to any particular provider. He was then played a video clip of his announcement that showed the commitment as being one in partnership with the HWU. The premier had no memory of that commitment. IBAC concluded that Andrews announcement constituted a pre-election commitment favouring the union and that Mikakos told investigators she believed the $1.2 million contract and the $2.2 million pledge were interrelated and both needed to be delivered in a timely manner. However, the agency said it could not prove that the premier was aware of the serious probity concerns that had been raised about the training program contract.

Andrews made the election commitment for the training program seven days before the tender had been finalised, a sign that political staff believed the awarding of the contract to the union was a fait accompli. The contract was executed just hours before the government entered into caretaker period on October 30. The unions training body  the Health Education Federation  only trained 83 of the planned 575 staff between October 2018 and March 2020, when the training ended because of the COVID-19 pandemic. IBAC found the quality of the training was poor: 60 per cent of hospital staff who attended the training believed the trainers were not organised or prepared, while nearly 80 per cent believed the trainers did not have in-depth knowledge of occupational violence and aggression, nor were they providing a program that was relevant to the health sector.

Hennessy with Andrews in 2018. Credit: Scott McNaughton The commission criticised the department in the report for succumbing to pressure despite its significant concerns about the proposal, including the unions capacity to deliver the training program  a conduct that the commission said fell short of the standards required of public servants. The decision by DHHS to contract with [the union] without undertaking a competitive procurement process was driven by a belief of senior staff in that department that that was the ministers and governments preference, and by ongoing pressure from the ministerial adviser and secretary of the union, the report states. There were serious concerns about the standard of training provided by [the union] under the contract. However, intervention in 2019 and early 2020 by another adviser in the new health ministers office, on occasion at the request of a senior adviser in the PPO, dissuaded DHHS from taking steps to terminate the contract. Loading

When department officials tried to cancel the contract, staff from the premiers office intervened to keep it intact, IBAC found. The commissioner was critical of the centralisation of power in the premiers office and said the probe was a further illustration of the significant deterioration in the observance of more traditional rules and conventions, which have affected the role and independence of ministers and their departments. It also described the scheme as another example of the phenomenon of grey corruption that is of increasing concerns to integrity bodies. Soft or grey corruption, IBAC said in its report, involves bending or breaking rules in a way that unfairly favours allies of decision-makers. The watchdog said it corroded standards of public governance, and, if left unchecked, increased the risk of corrupt criminal offending. IBAC said its finding of centralisation of power was based on the testimonies of the two former health ministers  Hennessy and Mikakos  with the latter describing the premiers office as having its tentacles everywhere. The handover meeting between the two women had principally focused on how interventionist the PPO and premier had been in the health portfolio, Mikakos said.

Former health minister Jenny Mikakos was scathing of the centralisation of power under Andrews. Credit: Joe Armao Hennessy told investigators she had no detailed understanding of her advisers role in developing the $2.2 million election commitment and that there had been a significant expansion of the premiers office since she was first elected in 2010. Former minister Hennessy observed that the growth in the PPO reflected a greater centralisation that has occurred in government  across many Westminster systems  a centralisation of decision-making and media management, the IBAC report states. In her submission on the draft report, Ms Mikakos referred to the interventions of the PPO in relation to the management of the [HWU] contract as being inappropriate. [She] said that the Westminster tradition of ministerial responsibility was meaningless when ministers and their staff could be directed by others in government as to how to oversee their departments.
There is one paragraph in the corruption watchdogs latest report into the Andrews government's actions that should trouble all Victorians.

Found on page six, the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission concludes that when a multimillion-dollar training contract was awarded to a Labor-linked union, safeguards designed to ensure integrity were bypassed and a conflict of interest ignored.

As a result, a union with no relevant experience was given favourable treatment and privileged access to the government that was denied to others.

The combined effect of these failings and unethical conduct resulted in a contract that should not have been entered into with the union and an outcome which was not in the public interest.
The boss of $US1.3 billion Melbourne-based social media start-up Linktree has declared his business is not redundant after Instagram copied its best-known feature.

Linktree initially took off among Instagram influencers who wanted to direct followers to their sponsors and other websites but were held back by Instagram permitting only one link in each users biography section.

Linktree co-founders (L-R): Anthony Zaccaria, Alex Zaccaria and Nick Humphreys. Credit: Eamon Gallagher

The company, valued at $US1.3 billion ($1.8 billion) in a capital raising announced in March last year, allows users to create simple websites that collate links to their other online pages.

On Wednesday, Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced Instagram users would be allowed five links on their profile.
The leaked documents confirm in detail that the United States is using its vast array of espionage and surveillance tools  including cutting-edge satellites and signals intelligence  to keep Kyiv ahead of Moscows war plans and help them inflict Russian casualties. Loading Biden officials adamantly reject the proxy label, noting that it is a defensive war Ukraine didnt start and that Kyiv is fighting for its very survival. While the United States has a legitimate interest in the outcome, and a legal right to provide aid requested by another sovereign government, Ukraine is running operations on the ground. This is a war of choice by Putin, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said in an interview. We are not in a war with Russia, and we wont be in a war with Russia ... It was Russias choice to begin with. That may be true, but the administration has given Ukraine more than $US40 billion in military and economic aid, along with sophisticated weapon systems on which it has trained Kyivs forces and real-time targeting assistance.

Some domestic critics of Bidens policy openly echo Putins charge, if not necessarily his professed assessment that the Western goal is to eliminate Russia. Donald Trump, in a recent presidential campaign video, called the war a proxy battle and said the Biden administration was only pretending to fight for freedom. Instead, he said, Biden globalists were using it to distract Americans from the havoc theyre creating right here at home. Ukrainian soldiers leave their APC during training at the frontline in Donetsk region, Ukraine. Credit: AP In a tweet last month, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said that the war was ridiculous, and that Russia posed no danger to the United States or its NATO allies. We are paying for ... a proxy war with Russia, when Ive never seen Putin actually show in any detail his plans to invade Europe. Although he later called Putin a war criminal, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis  an undeclared presidential contender  evinced a similar strain of isolationism during a February appearance on Fox & Friends. I dont think its in our interest to be getting into a proxy war with China, getting involved over things like the borderlands or over Crimea, DeSantis said. While some conservatives slam what House Speaker Kevin McCarthy has called Bidens blank cheque for Ukraine, others think the president has been too restrained in doling out enough aid for Ukraine to finish off the Russians. If you want to fight a proxy war against Vladimir Putins vindictive, brutal, destructive desire to be remembered as Peter the Great, then fight the damn proxy war; dont do it halfway, the National Reviews Jim Geraghty wrote last month.

The administration itself has provided rhetorical grist for Putins proxy portrayal. We want to see Russia weakened so that it can never invade another country again, Austin said early in the conflict. Loading At a NATO summit in Madrid last June, Biden said Americans should be prepared to pay higher energy and petrol prices for as long as it takes to defeat Russia, a phrase he has subsequently used in nearly every statement since then about Western aid for Ukraine. While insisting there will be no US or NATO troops in Ukraine, he has said the war must end in a strategic failure for Russia. Ukraine will never be a victory for Russia. Never, Biden said as he marked the anniversary of the wars beginning during a visit in February to Kyiv. Most Western allies agree. Whose proxy is Putin? Its a war of occupation, Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis said in an interview during a recent Washington visit.

We [must] stop it once and for all. And then, we can create the actual architecture for the whole continent  that includes Ukraine, Moldova, Georgia, and keeping everybody safe, Landsbergis said. Landsbergis is not alone in professing an expansive goal for the war in Ukraine. Virtually every Western partner  collectively having pledged upward of $US80 billion to the war effort  has called not just for Kyivs victory but for Putins defeat. US President Joe Biden gives a speech in Warsaw, Poland, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a national address in Moscow. Credit: AP/Sputnik/Kremlin Pool While the battle rages on the ground, international law and conflict scholars have fiercely debated on whether it constitutes a proxy war. The short answer is: it depends on how the term is defined. Unfortunately for those who like their strategic concepts to be as precise as the best modern weaponry, proxy wars lacks an agreed meaning and is used in different ways, Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at Kings College London, wrote in a January essay published in Britains New Statesman.

The basic idea is that you get someone else to do your fighting for you, wrote Freedman, who argued that the concept did not apply to Ukraine. Hal Brands, a professor at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies, has said that is precisely what the United States and its allies are doing in Ukraine. Russia is the target of one of the most ruthlessly effective proxy wars in modern history, he wrote in an opinion column for Bloomberg shortly after the war began. The key to the strategy is to find a committed local partner  a proxy willing to do the killing and dying  and then load it up with the arms, money and intelligence needed to inflict shattering blows on a vulnerable rival, Brands wrote. Thats just what Washington and its allies are doing to Russia today. More recently, as the brutality of the war has increased, and after Ukraine scored some victories, Brands seems to have been won over, at least to the concept that a world in which Russia emerges victorious is a danger to all. If nothing else, he wrote for Bloomberg early this year, this war has illustrated what a world without American power would look like, and what it looks like when America uses that unmatched power well.

A Ukraine left to its own devices would have quickly succumbed to President Vladimir Putins invasion, he wrote. It would now be suffering show trials, the execution and imprisonment of its leaders, and harsh punishment of anyone who resisted Russian rule. Loading The United States didnt find and enlist Ukraine to fight Russia, and it certainly doesnt tell it what to do, according to Freedman. The Ukrainian government sets the objectives and Ukrainian commanders are in charge of the operations. Most important, US and NATO goals are defensive  protecting their own eastern flank from Russian expansion and ensuring that territorial gains cannot be won by force  rather than offensive. At the same time, NATO has a legitimate interest in an act of blatant aggression being thwarted, he wrote. Others apply a more technical explanation, noting that US support for the Nicaraguan Contras under the Reagan administration in the 1980s  including US assistance in the creation and active supply of a nonstate force, overflying Nicaraguas territory and covertly mining its harbours to overthrow the Sandinista government  was a classic proxy war. The International Court of Justice found in 1986 that the US harbor-mining and other activities had breached international law.

US support for Afghan mujahideen fighters against the occupying Soviet Union during the Cold War in the 1980s is widely considered a proxy conflict, as was backing for Libyan dissidents who overthrew the government of Muammar Gaddafi during the Obama administration. Regardless of its rationale for supporting Ukraine, the United States has made some useful gains in assessing Russias military capabilities, if only in seeing how a country that it defines as an acute threat operates in combat. Members of US 10th Army Air and Missile Defence Command stands next to a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery in Lithuania in 2017. Credit: AP I thought they would do better at combined arms manoeuvre than they did, General Mark A. Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in an interview, speaking of the early days of the invasion. But they were just stumbling around. During offensives against Kyiv and elsewhere, Milley said, it became obvious that the Russian military was not capable of sustaining themselves ... They couldnt keep their vehicles from getting hit; they didnt have maintenance on-site or the ability to deliver ammunition.

Loading I dont want to underestimate, but it does give me more confidence. The Russian military is not as good as we previously assessed, he said. The leaked Pentagon documents reveal substantial Russian weaknesses, including the decimation of elite forces on the front lines  and show that US officials have been able to glean an extraordinary level of information about Russian operations, for example being able to count how many missiles are being loaded onto bombers and, in some cases, where they intend to strike targets in Ukraine. A Ukrainian solider in an armoured personnel carrier near the front line in the Luhansk area, eastern Ukraine, Credit: AP But the Western allies have had their own problems, including keeping up a steady flow of weaponry and ammunition for Ukraine. We dont have a country on wartime mobilisation for industry, Milley said. The lesson really is sustainment rates. What does that mean to us? We are very deliberately reevaluating our own stockage levels and industrial base relative to the war plans we have on the books for various contingencies, including a potential conflict with China.

Have we done the correct estimations of what the requirements are? Theyve been very high in this arguably small, limited war, Milley said. What would be the rates in a much larger war that the United States might be involved in? As they focus on the war currently confronting them, many US and Western leaders, while reluctant to voice it publicly, say they are convinced that workable relations with Russia can never be reestablished as long as Putin is in power. But that does not mean, they say, that Putin is correct that their goal is to finish Russia. Loading The last thing we need is Russia fragmenting and the fate of all those nuclear weapons being uncertain, former US defence secretary and CIA director Robert M. Gates said recently. We need a coherent Russian state, and we need a strong government in Moscow. US aid has increased considerably this year as Ukrainian forces prepare to launch what is considered a crucial counteroffensive this spring. Asked what happens if Ukraine doesnt succeed in pushing back Russian front lines and reclaiming significant territory, the Pentagons top official deflected.
Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday.

The two heads of state decided to upgrade the comprehensive cooperative partnership between the two countries to a "comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership."

Xi called President Bongo "an old friend" of the Chinese people. Bongo is the first African head of state visiting China after Xi was reelected as the Chinese president. It fully demonstrates the importance and high level of China-Gabon relations, said Xi.

In recent years, under the leadership of President Bongo, Gabon has been exploring a development path tailored to its national conditions and pursuing national stability and economic diversification. Significant achievements have been made in national development, Xi said.

Xi commended that Gabon has also been promoting the regional integration process and mediating hotspot issues in Africa.

Gabon has held a successful One Forest Summit and taken over as the president of the Economic Community of Central African States not long ago, Xi said, noting that Gabon's influence in the region and beyond has grown markedly.

As a sincere friend of Gabon, China wishes the country still greater progress in all its endeavors and early realization of its strategic goal toward an Emerging Gabon, said the Chinese president.

President Xi noted the 50th anniversary of China-Gabon diplomatic relations to be celebrated next year. Over the last half-century, thanks to the commitment and guidance of generations of leaders on both sides, the China-Gabon friendship has stayed rock-firm as ever, Xi said.

In a world undergoing profound changes, China and Gabon have supported each other in advancing their shared interests and upholding international fairness and justice. The strong and sustained growth of the bilateral ties serves the long-term interests of both countries and has an exemplary role to play in building a community with a shared future for humanity, said Xi.

He said that China is willing to work with Gabon to strengthen experience-sharing on state governance, deepen strategic mutual trust, and firmly support each other on issues involving each other's core interests and major concerns.

China firmly supports Gabon in pursuing a development path suited to its national realities and is willing to synergize strategies with Gabon and promote cooperation in infrastructure construction, forestry, fishery, the digital economy, and industrial park construction, Xi said.

He called on the two sides to deepen cultural and people-to-people exchanges and strengthen cooperation in tourism, rural revitalization, poverty reduction, and agricultural development.

Xi also urged joint efforts in strategic cooperation in multilateral platforms, such as the United Nations, to safeguard global peace and development, international equity and justice, and the common interests of developing countries.

Regarding China-Africa cooperation, Xi said that China is willing to provide new opportunities to African countries through its own development and turn China-Africa practical cooperation into an example for South-South cooperation and international cooperation with Africa.

Bongo said Gabon firmly adheres to the one-China policy and supports important concepts proposed by President Xi, including the Belt and Road Initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity.

Bongo said he appreciates China's valuable assistance in promoting Gabon's economic diversification and industrialization. He said that the two sides could further strengthen cooperation in infrastructure, agriculture, and tourism.

Gabon looks forward to celebrating the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations with China next year, consolidating and deepening friendly cooperation, and promoting the comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the two countries, said Bongo.

He added that Gabon is willing to enhance strategic coordination with China at multilateral level and push for better development and more achievements of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation and Africa-China relations.

After the talks, the two heads of state witnessed the signing of several bilateral cooperation documents in fields such as investment, agriculture, housing and urban construction, and climate change.

A joint statement on establishing a comprehensive strategic cooperative partnership between the People's Republic of China and the Gabonese Republic was published. 

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. Xi held talks with Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Wang Ye)

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds a welcoming ceremony for President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Great Hall of the People prior to their talks in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. Xi held talks with Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife Peng Liyuan pose for a group photo with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba and his wife Sylvia Bongo Ondimba before the talks between Xi and Bongo at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. Xi held talks with Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, in Beijing on Wednesday. (Xinhua/Li Xueren)

Chinese President Xi Jinping holds talks with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, who is on a state visit to China, at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)
By Azernews

Rena Murshud





A country that is itself an aggressor should not be expected to establish peace between the two countries, Mikhail Zernov, a director of the branch of the International Fund for Cooperation and Partnership of the countries of the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, told in a comment for Azernews, with regard to the escalated tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia in connection with recent Armenian provocations.

As is known, a telephone conversation took place between Azerbaijani Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov and Derek Hogan, an Acting Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian Affairs, during which the sides have discussed peace agenda between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

At a telephone conversation, Azerbaijan's Bayramov has noted the current situation in the region in the post-conflict period, the ongoing military-political provocations committed by Armenia are detrimental to the peaceful and creative efforts of Azerbaijan.

Derek Hogan, in his standard response, was just sufficient to emphasize the importance of peace between the two sides. Hogan, who stated that he will not spare the support of the United States in this matter, tried to console the Azerbaijani side. However, the question arises as to how the United States can act as a guarantor of peace...

Can the United States really defend the violated rights of Babirov Agshin and Akhundov Huseyn, who were unjustly beaten and imprisoned by Armenia?

According to Mikhail Zernov, the current situation at the border, and in the region is unstable: "The ethno-political and territorial causes of the conflict have deep historical roots, manifestations of such aggression stem from these contradictions. I think tensions in the region is quite tangible."

As for the support of the United States in the return of Azerbaijani soldiers, the expert emphasized that the United States will only try to increase its pressure on both sides in the region.

To establish peace, a negotiation process is needed with the participation of the CIS countries and, of course, Russia, Zernov said as he touched on the return of the Azerbaijani soldiers.

Expert also underlined Russia's stance in ending the conflict in the region, saying that Kremlin always respects Azerbaijan's sovereignty.

"Russia has already recognized the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan. It is necessary to stop the information war by both sides of the conflict, to intensify the negotiation process," he concluded.




People visit the London Book Fair in London, Britain, April 18, 2023. London Book Fair, one of the world's largest publishing trade fairs, kicked off here on Tuesday with a strong presence of Chinese publishers.

The book fair, launched in 1971, is scheduled to run until Thursday and boasts the participation of over 1,700 companies from 60 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

LONDON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- London Book Fair, one of the world's largest publishing trade fairs, kicked off here on Tuesday with a strong presence of Chinese publishers.

The book fair, launched in 1971, is scheduled to run until Thursday and boasts the participation of over 1,700 companies from 60 countries and regions.

More than 40 Chinese publishers, supported by the National Press and Publication Administration, are showcasing over 2,300 types of China-themed books.

Speaking to Xinhua at a signing ceremony for cooperation in the international publishing of China-themed books, Hu Kaimin, president of the Foreign Languages Press, said such books, published in foreign languages, are expected to enhance people's understanding of China, a country that is committed to openness and peace.

"The Visible Sounds," a children's picture book illustrated by British Chinese illustrator Yu Rong, was shortlisted for The Yoto Carnegie Medal for Illustration 2023. It made a splash during a panel discussion at Olympia London, a massive exhibition center in west London where the book fair is being held.

The book, based on the true story of Chinese dancer Tai Lihua, portrays the uplifting journey of a young child grappling with the challenges of hearing loss.

"What stood out for me for this book was its passion, the way through the words and the illustration, the story was told. It's about showing that level of authenticity, that belief in your stories and characters, and using that to promote ideas of empathy and understanding," Janet Noble, chair of Judges for The Yoto Carnegies 2023, told Xinhua. 

A man walks past a poster at the London Book Fair in London, Britain, April 18, 2023. London Book Fair, one of the world's largest publishing trade fairs, kicked off here on Tuesday with a strong presence of Chinese publishers.

The book fair, launched in 1971, is scheduled to run until Thursday and boasts the participation of over 1,700 companies from 60 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

A man walks past a poster at the London Book Fair in London, Britain, April 18, 2023. London Book Fair, one of the world's largest publishing trade fairs, kicked off here on Tuesday with a strong presence of Chinese publishers.

The book fair, launched in 1971, is scheduled to run until Thursday and boasts the participation of over 1,700 companies from 60 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

A logo is pictured at the London Book Fair in London, Britain, April 18, 2023. London Book Fair, one of the world's largest publishing trade fairs, kicked off here on Tuesday with a strong presence of Chinese publishers.

The book fair, launched in 1971, is scheduled to run until Thursday and boasts the participation of over 1,700 companies from 60 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Li Ying)

A woman is pictured at the London Book Fair in London, Britain, April 18, 2023. London Book Fair, one of the world's largest publishing trade fairs, kicked off here on Tuesday with a strong presence of Chinese publishers.

The book fair, launched in 1971, is scheduled to run until Thursday and boasts the participation of over 1,700 companies from 60 countries and regions. (Xinhua/Li Ying)
This photo taken on April 15, 2023, shows the booths of Turkish exhibitors at the 133rd session of the China Import and Export Fair, also known as Canton Fair, in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. (Xinhua/Deng Hua)

GUANGZHOU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi businessman Abdullah Rahman could hardly wait to meet his old friend in China after arriving at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, after the event had largely remained online since 2020 due to COVID-19 prevention measures.

With the full resumption of on-site activities, Rahman said the fair enables him to have direct communication with Chinese companies, see and touch products, and make the right purchase with higher efficiency.

Rahman first established business cooperation with Guangzhou Tiger Head Battery Group Co., Ltd. in 2007. Wu Yan, overseas sales director of this leading dry battery manufacturer, said they have brought the latest products to this year's fair and are eager to share the new batteries with their partner from Iraq.

"I am quite interested in the home energy storage product series developed by Tiger Head," said Rahman, adding that he also plans to visit the battery enterprise's industrial park.

The Canton Fair, officially known as the China Import and Export Fair, has been held twice annually since 1957.

It will run until May 5 during this year's spring session and welcome purchasers from over 220 countries and regions, covering markets in Europe, the United States, and emerging markets along the Belt and Road.

Hashik Abdulla, a purchaser from the United Arab Emirates, said he secured a hotel room over two weeks ago, as he had heard that there is typically a surge in accommodation demand during the Canton Fair.

Nirose Paramabtah Mohammed and Noushad Kummitharayil Mohamed, buyers from the hypermarkets and retail companies operator Lulu Group International, said they came to the fair for the "best quality, best price, and most innovative models and designs" for consumers in the Middle East and India.

"The Canton Fair is very helpful for us to develop new brands and new products," said Mohammed.

This year's offline exhibition venues, covering 1.5 million square meters, will provide nearly 70,000 booths for around 35,000 exhibitors, both representing record highs, according to the organizer.

Heri, a buyer of electrical appliances from Indonesia, has led a team of dozens of participants to the fair with the hope of expanding opportunities.

They arrived ahead of the opening and paid an exclusive visit to the production lines of Guangzhou Light Holdings Limited's branch in Zhongshan City.

"They never disappoint us," said Heri. "From buying one or two containers per year in the past, to now purchasing five or six containers per month, our business has been boosted by increasing demand in the Southeast Asian markets and supported by China's strong manufacturing capability."

While expanding its exhibition space, the fair has also expanded its import exhibition, with 508 companies from 40 countries and regions having registered to participate, of which 73 percent are from countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

Olive oil from Italy, red wine from Chile, and avocado from Mexico are among the collection of quality import products selected by Lotus Market, a chain supermarket owned by the Chia Tai Group, to add a touch of the exotic to consumers' dining tables.

"The Canton Fair provides a high-end platform for communication, connection, and cooperation, especially in the import exhibition that has gathered featured products from all over the world," said Zou Yu, director of external marketing at Chia Tai Group.

"With the increase in offline presentations this year, we believe that we will gain even more from them," Zou added. 
This photo taken on April 19, 2023 shows the opening ceremony of a conference titled "Understanding China -- Greater Bay Area Dialogue" held in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province. An Understanding China conference on Chinese modernization and new opportunities for the world was held here Wednesday.(Xinhua/Hu Nayun)

GUANGZHOU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- An Understanding China conference on Chinese modernization and new opportunities for the world was held Wednesday in Guangzhou, south China's Guangdong Province.

The conference, Understanding China -- Greater Bay Area Dialogue, gathered politicians, officials, experts, entrepreneurs, foreign envoys, and representatives of international organizations and multinational companies. It aims to help people understand China's modernization and the new opportunities it will bring to the world.

Over the past decade, China's reform and opening up and its socialist modernization have advanced greatly, writing a new chapter of rapid economic development and long-term social stability, Zheng Bijian, head of the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, said at the opening ceremony.

The key to the great achievements lies in China's adherence to the fundamental principle of development, a people-centered development philosophy, and its commitment to high-quality development, Zheng said.

In a video speech, former Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo hailed China's development achievements since the beginning of its reform and opening up as "breathtaking."

The event has an opening ceremony, 10 parallel forums, four closed-door seminars, and three special sessions.

The event is co-hosted by the China Institute for Innovation and Development Strategy, the Chinese People's Institute of Foreign Affairs, the Guangdong provincial government, and France's Prospective and Innovation Foundation. 
Zhao Leji, chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee, meets with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China's top legislator Zhao Leji met with President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba in Beijing on Wednesday.

Zhao, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, said China is ready to work with Gabon to implement the important consensus reached by the two heads of state, consolidate political mutual trust, expand practical cooperation, strengthen multilateral coordination and push bilateral relations to a higher level.

The legislatures of China and Gabon should strengthen friendly exchanges and provide better legal support for practical cooperation, Zhao said.

Zhao explained the theory and practice of Chinese modernization and stressed that China will provide new opportunities for world development with its new achievements in modernization.

Ali Bongo Ondimba said Gabon and China have the same views on some fundamental issues and the two sides have built strong mutual trust and friendship.

He said China's development model has set a good example for other developing countries. Gabon is committed to strengthening cooperation with China in various fields, and welcomes Chinese enterprises to invest in the country. 
The Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Solid Waste Permitting and Corrective Action Program is hosting three Dead Animal Compost Seminars beginning in two weeks on May 3, 2023 in Moorcroft, May 4, 2023 in Torrington, and May 8, 2023 in Cody. Each seminar will begin at 10:00 a.m. and will conclude before 2:30 p.m.

During each seminar, Caitlin Youngquist with the University of Wyoming Washakie County Extension Office will provide participants with the basics of how to successfully compost whole animals, offal, or viscera. DEQ will also discuss solid waste permitting requirements and funding opportunities for

composting operations. In the afternoon, in-person participants will gain hands-on experience constructing a compost windrow.

Please join us in person to take part in these unique hands-on training opportunities. A virtual option will be available for the classroom portion of each session. Registration is required and lunch will be on your own

for in-person attendees. To register, please visit the DEQ website at https://deq.wyoming.gov/shwd/solid-waste/ and click on Training.

May 3, 2033 in Moorcroft, Wyoming Moorcroft Town Hall, 104 N Big Horn Ave, Moorcroft, WY 82723

May 4, 2023 in Torrington, Wyoming Torrington City Hall, 436 East 22 nd Ave, Torrington, WY 82240

May 8, 2023 in Cody, Wyoming Park County Building, 1002 Sheridan Ave, Cody, WY 82414



If you have questions, please contact Craig McOmie at (307) 473-3487 or Jody Weikart at (307) 777-3501.

Please consider joining us for these training sessions. Registration will open 45 days in advance of each

training session.

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, special assistance or alternative formats will be made available upon request for individuals with disabilities.
Cheyenne, WY (82001)

Today

Sun and clouds mixed. High 57F. Winds WNW at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly to mostly cloudy. Low around 40F. Winds WSW at 10 to 15 mph.
Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui (R) and Cuba's Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Deborah Rivas sign handover documents at Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) in Havana, Cuba, April 18, 2023. Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) on Tuesday welcomed a donation from the Chinese government to help the Caribbean island weather a severe drought.

China donated 449 pieces of equipment, including trucks, bulldozers, lighting towers, backhoe loaders, motor graders, and thermal diffusion welding machines. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)

HAVANA, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) on Tuesday welcomed a donation from the Chinese government to help the Caribbean island weather a severe drought.

China donated 449 pieces of equipment, including trucks, bulldozers, lighting towers, backhoe loaders, motor graders, and thermal diffusion welding machines.

Cuba's Deputy Prime Minister Ines Maria Chapman and Deputy Minister of Foreign Trade and Investment Deborah Rivas witnessed the handover of the equipment at the INRH headquarters in Havana.

Chinese Ambassador to Cuba Ma Hui said the donation will contribute to improving water supply in Cuban provincial capitals and communities on the outskirts of urban areas.

Antonio Rodriguez, president of the INRH, thanked the Chinese government for the donation, saying China's help has been essential for the development of water resources on the island.

"I reiterate Cuba's gratitude for China's contribution to the improvement of the living conditions of the Cuban people, in keeping with the UN guidelines," Rodriguez said.

Currently, more than 400,000 Cubans are struggling with water shortages due to the extended drought, local media reported.

According to the country's Institute of Meteorology, significant rainfall is not expected in Cuba until mid-May. 

Staff members stand beside vehicles with donated equipment from China at Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) in Havana, Cuba, April 18, 2023. Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) on Tuesday welcomed a donation from the Chinese government to help the Caribbean island weather a severe drought.

China donated 449 pieces of equipment, including trucks, bulldozers, lighting towers, backhoe loaders, motor graders, and thermal diffusion welding machines. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)

A staff member checks donated equipment from China at Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) in Havana, Cuba, April 18, 2023. Cuba's National Institute of Hydraulic Resources (INRH) on Tuesday welcomed a donation from the Chinese government to help the Caribbean island weather a severe drought.

China donated 449 pieces of equipment, including trucks, bulldozers, lighting towers, backhoe loaders, motor graders, and thermal diffusion welding machines. (Photo by Joaquin Hernandez/Xinhua)
What does the end of the public health emergency for COVID really mean?
TUNIS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Tunisia and Syria on Tuesday issued a joint statement underlining bilateral solidarity and cooperation in face of the growing regional and international challenges.

The statement, made on the occasion of Syrian Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad's visit to Tunisia, highlighted the necessity of preserving Syria's sovereignty, stability and territorial integrity, and pushing forward regional and international efforts for a political settlement of the Syrian crisis and the full restoration of its sovereignty.

The Tunisian side affirmed its support for Syria's role to be restored in the League of Arab States, stressing that its security and stability is a pillar of that of the entire region, according to the statement posted on the Tunisian foreign ministry's official Facebook page.

The two countries also agreed to strengthen bilateral communication and coordination on a range of issues and in consular, humanitarian and security fields, said the statement.

The two sides agreed on convening the joint consular committee as soon as possible and deepening cooperation in combating terrorism, organized crime and human trafficking networks.

Mekdad was in Tunisia on a three-day official visit aimed at resuming diplomatic relations between the two countries.

On April 12, the two countries decided to reopen their embassies and resume diplomatic ties, ending years of severance since February 2012 when Tunisia cut ties with Syria after the Syrian civil war broke out. 
17 Men Arrested in California Sikh Community Shootings

YUBA CITY, Calif.Authorities in Northern California on Monday said they had arrested more than a dozen men from two warring criminal syndicates whose violent rivalry they say was responsible for a mass shooting at a Sikh temple and a brutal sword attack at a parade in 2018.

Sutter County District Attorney Jennifer Dupre said the two syndicates were responsible for multiple shootings where 11 people were shot, including five people at a Sikh temple in Stockton last year and two more victims at a temple in Sacramento last month.

None of the victims died. Dupre said all of the men arrested are part of Californias Sikh community and were members of one of two rival groups whose feud was fueled by intense personal connections.

This started out as one group, and one faction broke off, and since then they have been rivals trying to outdo each other. Mainly they show up places and try to shoot each other, Dupre said, comparing it to the U.S. Civil War where brothers were fighting against brothers.

Dupre said the arrests are not related to the murders last year of a Sikh family in the San Joaquin Valley, which included the killings of an 8-month-old baby, the babys parents and an uncle.

Dupre said the violence began in 2018 at the annual Sikh Parade in Yuba City, one of the largest South Asian festivals held outside of the Indian subcontinent. There, Dupre said, a man was beaten so hard with a sword that it broke. The violence soon escalated to shootings, including one at a wedding party in 2021.

The rash of violence attracted the attention of the Yuba-Sutter Narcotic and Gang Enforcement Task Force, which launched an investigation with assistance from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration, and various other local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.

The investigation intensified in March, when authorities learned of potential violence at a Sikh parade in Sacramento. Dupre said police stopped two cars before they reached the parade, arresting seven people and seizing four handguns and two other guns with large capacity magazines.

A shooting still happened at the parade, injuring two people, but Dupre said a mass casualty incident was prevented.

If those weapons had gotten into the parade, it could have been a bloodbath, Dupre said.

Altogether, Dupre said police seized 41 guns during the investigation, including a weapon described as a machine gun.

Authorities arrested 17 people, including Karandeep Singh, Pardeep Singh, Pavittar Singh, Husandeep Singh, Sahajpreet Singh, Harkirat Singh, Tirath Ram, Dharamvir Singh, Jobanjit Singh, Gurvinder Singh, Nitish Kaushal, Gurminder Singh Kang, Devender Singh, Karambir Gill, Rajeev Ranjan, Jobanpreet Singh and Singh Dhesi.

Dupre said five other peopleAmandeep Singh, Harmandeep Singh, Gursharn Singh, Grucharan Singh and Jaskaran Singhhave not yet been arrested.

Dupre said the men have not had a court appearances yet. Its not clear if they have attorneys yet who can speak on their behalf.

Yuba City, a city of nearly 70,000 people along the Feather River just north of Sacramento, has a large Sikh community. Locals often refer to the area as mini Punjab, named after the Indian state where many Sikhs live. Each November, tens of thousands of people travel to the city for Nagar Kirtan, one of the largest Sikh gatherings in the U.S.

Sikhs also have a large presence throughout Californias Central Valley. The Sacramento County Assistant Sheriff said seven of the shootings occurred in Sacramento County within the past year.

The investigation in this particular case and the charges that have been brought forth does not in any way reflect or represent the vibrant Sikh community that are such an important and vital part of the greater community in this region, Sacramento County District Attorney Thien Ho said.

By Adam Beam
Air Force Launches Investigation Into Leak of Classified Documents

Jack Teixeira, in T-shirt and shorts, being taken into custody by armed tactical agents in Dighton, Mass., on April 13, 2023. (WCVB-TV via AP)

The Air Force has launched an investigation into the major leak of dozens of classified documents by a 21-year-old Massachusetts Air National Guard member.

The investigation will focus on the 102nd Intelligence Wing at Otis Air National Guard Base, to which the alleged leaker, Jack Teixeira, was assigned, officials said.

The Secretary of the Air Force directed the Department of the Air Force inspector general to investigate overall compliance with policy, procedures, and standards, including the unit environment and compliance at the 102nd Intelligence Wing related to the release of national security information, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told The Epoch Times via email.

Stefanek said that the 102nd Intelligence Wing has been removed from the Air Forces intelligence mission and its work is currently being undertaken by other units.

The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently performing its assigned intelligence mission, said Stefanek. The mission has been temporarily reassigned to other organizations within the Air Force.

Teixeira Arrested, Charged

Teixeira was arrested on April 13 at a home in southern Massachusetts, about 18 miles east of Providence, Rhode Island, following a Department of Justice (DOJ) probe into the leak of documents launched in that same month, although he is believed to have started sharing the documents online as far back as January.

The highly sensitive documentsallegedly relating to the RussiaUkraine warwere leaked earlier this year across platforms such as Discord, an instant messaging social platform popular with gamers, as well as on the Telegram app and 4chan.

Teixeira was charged on April 12 with violating 18 U.S.C. Section 793 and 18 U.S.C. Section 1924, which prohibits the unauthorized removal and retention of national defense information and classified documents or materials.

He is expected back in court for a hearing on April 19. If convicted, Teixeira could face up to 10 years in prison for each charge.

According to reports, Teixeira was a junior airman with the Air National Guards 102nd Intelligence Wing, and worked as a cyber transport systems journeyman, meaning he was an IT specialist responsible for military communications networks, including their cabling and hubs.

We Are All Disturbed

Officials say his role granted him a higher level of security clearance and sensitive compartmented access to other highly classified programs since 2021.

The latest investigation by the Air Force is in addition to the probe announced by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin last week. Austin also vowed to take any additional measures necessary to safeguard against national security leaks.

Speaking before the Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee on Tuesday, Secretary of the Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall told lawmakers that his department is committed to completing a thorough review of its security practices but stressed that officials do not yet know all the facts regarding the ongoing case into the leak.

Ive tasked our inspector general to go look at the unit and anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong from the point of view of implementing our policies, to see what things allowed this to happen, Kendall said.

Were turning on a complete review of our policies themselves, within the staff to make sure our policies are adequate and that will be illuminated by what we learn about what happened in this incident. We are asking the entire force to do a stand-down to review their security practices, conduct training as necessary, and respond to the Secretary of Defenses guidance.

There is a full-court press going on about this, Kendall continued. We are all disturbed about it and we are working very very hard to get to the bottom of it and take corrective actions.
America Needs a Transfusion

Commentary

America needs a transfusion. One third of its population, having lost what Alexis de Tocqueville most admired about Americaself-responsibilityshould be replaced with new blood.

We need people who are entrepreneurial, educated, skilledqualities that built this great nation.

Its not a joke (except that transfusion could be infusion). Already, 71 percent of all Silicon Valley workers are foreign born, according to San Jose Mercury News. Already, American universities are flooded with foreign students speaking English as a second language and outscoring American students on the SAT.

American public schools, which were well regarded in the 1950s and 1960s, today are among the lowest in the world. What happened?

Latching on to Howard Zinns Peoples History of the United States, Americas marginalized (in their minds) groups have pressured American schools to focus on their cultures. By itself, that might not have lowered standards, but it has contributed to neglect of teaching the history and culture of British and American democracy.

No other nation in the world does such a thing. In France, for example, by law, schools and employers are forbidden to ask about race, religion, ethnicity, or gender. French schools teach French history and culturewhat the nation believes bonds its citizens and instills love of country.

American schools do the opposite. Diminishing the importance of the Founding Fathers, infusing students with critical race theory, American schools send children home confused and even ambivalent about their country.

Working to replace the United States as the worlds military and economic leader, China is laughing at the United States. By destroying our country ourselves, were doing Chinas job.

We cant compete with a population four times the size of ours whose citizens and students routinely work 10 to 12 hours a day six days a week and who consider Western civilization (social, political, and economic freedom) inimical to their sense of community. China has that strategic advantage.

But China may be underestimating America. The United States had no intention of entering World War II, yet once the American elephant was awakened and mad, citizens united, and Germany and Japan realized they had made a mistake.

However, to counter China, America does need those new high performers. How will it attract them? By doing the opposite of what China does: by creating social, political, and economic freedomwhat the Founding Fathers gave us, freedom from government.

Then, with that infusion of 100 million self-responsible citizens who were attracted by those values, U.S. voters may well reverse the 1933 New Deal, which was freedom with government.

Reverse all legislation since 1933? Yes, except civil rights! Social Security, Medicare, the War on Poverty, the Affordable Care Actall must go.

Heres one example. Before Medicare, the price of health insurance was the price of auto insurance (or property insurance or life insurance), about $200 a month ($50 a month for a young person) in 2023 dollarswhat it would again be if government were completely removed from the market for health care.

Health insurance at $1,000 to $2,000 a month is not insurance; its prepaid health care. Employers write off policies as a business expense; consumers never bargain over prices. Forbidden to purchase health insurance across state lines (in violation of interstate commerce law), citizens in New Jersey cannot purchase health insurance in Pennsylvania at one third the cost. Thats not a market.

With a cost of $1,200 a month, employees think their salary is $14,400 a year higher than it is. Times 40 years, thats $576,000 in cash they would have had in their medical savings account. Where is that money? Lost.

Medicare created demand way in excess of what citizens would normally ask, as much as $100,000 for the last six months of life. Normally, citizens would leave that money to their children and grandchildren. Unchecked spending in drugs and surgery has pushed the price of American health care to twice its cost anywhere else in the world.

Are we going to reverse 1933? No, but the United States can still do something: It can create an economic comparative advantage by lowering its tax rate in relation to the rest of the world. That would lower the cost of American goods and services, and the economy would grow.

There would be revenue to reduce the national debt, provided the United States deals with the Achilles heel of a dynamic economy: labor shortage, which drives up the cost of all goods and services. That problem is precisely why the United States needs those 100 million workers and why it looks the other way with respect to illegal immigration.

Japan, South Korea, and China have the very same problem. Over the last 20 years, wages of mid-level management in China have tripled, according to the National Bureau of Statistics of China.

In other words, with $31 trillion in national debt and $100 trillion in unfunded liabilities in 2023, if the United States wants to maintain its military and economic position, it must increase revenue. To do that, it must cut taxes and raise education standards.

The U.S. Department of Education states that for the last 50 years only 36 percent of American students have been proficient in reading and math. Are they proficient in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering (STEM)? Certainly not. We need that infusion.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
American Facebook Users Can Now Apply for Their Share of a $725 Million Facebook Settlement: Heres How

Facebook users have until August 2023 to claim part of a $725 million class-action settlement of a lawsuit that claimed the companys parent Meta violated their privacy, according to a new website that went online this week.

If you were a Facebook user in the United States between May 24, 2007, and December 22, 2022, inclusive, you may be eligible for a cash payment from a Class Action Settlement, the new website says, in part. Your rights are affected whether you act or dont act. Please read the Notice carefully, it adds.

Those users, which likely encompass the vast majority of American Facebook users who currently have an account on the social media platform, have until Aug. 25, 2023, to submit a claim form.

The only way to receive a cash payment from this Settlement is by submitting a timely and properly completed Claim Form that obtains approval from the Settlement Administrator. The Claim Form must be submitted no later than August 25, 2023, the site says.

Users can either submit an online form or download the form and mail it to the settlement administrator. If the claim is accepted by the administrator, those users will have to give up their right to file a lawsuit against Facebook in connection to the claims.

Why Did Facebook Agree to Pay?

The case and subsequent settlement sprang from 2018 reports that Cambridge Analytica had paid a Facebook app developer for access to the personal information of around 87 million users of Facebook. That data was then allegedly used to have targeted U.S. voters during the 2016 campaign, according to the suit.

The two sides reached a temporary settlement agreement last August, just a few weeks before a Sept. 20 deadline for Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his long-time chief operating officer, Sheryl Sandberg, to submit to depositions.

The company based in Menlo Park, California, said in a statement late last year that it pursued a settlement because it was in the best interest of its community and shareholders. Meta also denied the allegations in the lawsuit but agreed to pay the settlement for a variety of reasons.

Over the last three years we revamped our approach to privacy and implemented a comprehensive privacy program, said spokesperson Dina El-Kassaby Luce. We look forward to continuing to build services people love and trust with privacy at the forefront.

Were You Impacted?

You must have lived in the United States between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022. It means that residents of, for instance, the United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, European countries, and any other country cannot apply.

People who deleted their Facebook account since the end of 2022 but want some of the settlement money have to provide a date range when they were a Facebook user, according to the website.

The number of Facebook users who could be eligible range from between 250 million to 280 million, say court papers.

When Can You Receive the Money and How Much?

A final approval hearing is slated for Sept. 7, 2023, to consider whether to approve the settlement. There could be future appeals, which would delay the payment.

The date of the hearing could also be changed due to a variety of reasons.

Its not clear how much each claimant will receive as the settlement payment amount depends on how many submit claims to the administrator. They will also have to show how long they were a Facebook user during the eligibility period, which will factor into the payment amount.

Settlement payments will be distributed as soon as possible if the Court grants Final Approval of the Settlement and after any appeals are resolved, the claim websites FAQ explains.

How to Claim Your Share?

Each settlement class member can submit only one claim relating to the suit. The funds will be sent via your choice of a prepaid Mastercard or payment services like PayPal, Venmo, Zelle, or a direct bank deposit.

Unless you opt out of the settlement, you are automatically part of the Settlement. If you do nothing, you will not get a payment from this Settlement and you will give up the right to sue, continue to sue, or be part of another lawsuit against the Defendant related to the legal claims or factual allegations resolved by this Settlement, it says.

Facebook users have to include their name, address, email address, and confirm that they lived in the United States and were using Facebook between May 24, 2007, and Dec. 22, 2022, the form shows.
ANZAC Spirit Gets an Upgrade as Australia and New Zealand Armies Expand Cooperation

Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart inspects the parade at Pukeahu National War Memorial during his visit to Wellington, New Zealand, on April 17, 2023. (CPL Cameron Pegg/Australian Department of Defence)

As ANZAC day approaches, Australia and New Zealand will be strengthening the relationship between both armies under a new agreement that upgrades the long-standing trans-Transman strategic partnership.

Plan ANZAC provides a framework to increase cooperation, improve interoperability, and enhance engagement as well as exchange information.

Chief of the New Zealand Army Major General John Boswell, said the agreement will reflect a broader defence relationship that is open and enduring.

As close neighbours and allies, we have a mutual commitment to support each others security, closely coordinate our efforts in the South Pacific, and maintain a shared focus on the security and stability of our wider region. This plan ensures our armies can continue to effectively contribute to that, he said.

We will be able to better share lessons across capability development, doctrine for training, and many other areas related to the generation and in the New Zealand Armys current case, the regeneration of land combat capability.

Boswell added that both armies have a deep history of operational service and mateship and, together for more than a century, have supported global peace and regional stability.

We will continue to do just that, he said.

Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart (L) and New Zealand Chief of Army Major General John Boswell conduct a salute after laying wreaths at the Pukeahu National War Memorial in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 17, 2023. (CPL Cameron Pegg/Australian Department of Defence)

Chief of Australian Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart said the agreement built on the significant ANZAC partnership to support combat operations and joint capabilities to meet todays challenges.

This partnership will see both armies better prepared to work together to support security and stability missions and humanitarian aid and disaster relief operations, he said.

Stuart told ABC that Plan ANZAC builds on our very significant ANZAC history and ensured both countries could integrate and work together in a way that best suited the needs of the current situation in the region.

Harinder Sidhu, Australias high commissioner to New Zealand, said the signing of the agreement was a great example of the ANZAC spirit.

The ANZAC legend was forged during World War I when the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps fought together during the bloody campaign in Gallipoli.

Major Military Enhancement For Australia

The upgraded partnership comes as geopolitical tension rise in the wider Indo-Pacific region, which has seen a significant global strategic shift towards the region.

Australian Defence Minister Richard Marles previously said the biggest concern he was hearing about from the Pacific nations was the threat of climate change.

He indicated that the Australian government would use climate change as the key policy to win support from the island nations amid heightened geopolitical competition with Beijing.

The Pacific has been clear in saying that geopolitical competition is of lesser concern to them than the threat of rising sea levels, economic insecurity, and transnational crime. Australia respects and understands this position. And we are listening, he said in July 2022.

Defence Minister Richard Marles speaks at a press conference in front of the USS Asheville, a Los Angeles-class nuclear powered fast attack submarine during a tour of HMAS Stirling in Perth, Australia, on March 16, 2023. (AAP Image/Richard Wainwright)

Amid concerns of Chinas growing influence and assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific, Australia signed a trilateral pact with the United States and the United Kingdom in March centred around the $386 billion (US$260 billion) nuclear submarine deal, but also includes the sharing of technology.

Gregory Cople, the president of the Washington-based International Strategic Studies Association, said AUKUS was potentially the most significant global security alliance of the 21st century.

Indeed, the submarine project for Australia represents a major strengthening of Australias power projection capabilities into the next strategic era, more than two decades hence, and it fills the gap between the great concentrations of the United States and the United Kingdom, he wrote in The Epoch Times.

Century-Old Mateship

The announcement comes as New Zealand appears to be increasingly aligned with its sole military ally, Australia, after years of walking a tightrope between China and its Western allies.

Both prime ministers, New Zealands Chris Hipkins and Australias Anthony Albanese have accepted an invitation to the NATO leaders summit in Lithuania in July.

Both countries also recently issued bans for the social media app TikTok on all government devices, citing security risks.

Chief of Army Lieutenant General Simon Stuart and the New Zealand Chief of Army Major General John Boswell discuss Plan ANZAC at Defence House in Wellington, New Zealand, on April 17, 2023. (CPL Cameron Pegg/Australian Department of Defence)

New Zealand Defence Minister Andrew Little signalled that the New Zealand government was open to discussions about joining the non-nuclear aspects of the AUKUS arrangements, or Pillar Two.

In turn, Australias defence minister noted that AUKUS was fundamentally a capability and technology-sharing arrangement.

We are open to expanding that in the future. I think in terms of AUKUS Pillar Two, which is, you know, those technologies beyond submarines, we need to get runs on the board, really, so that this is an arrangement that is attractive to others, Marles said in Wellington on April 6.

Hipkins will also make his second visit to Australia as prime minister to meet Albanese in Brisbane this weekend, before ANZAC day.

Albanese will announce if his government will grant New Zealanders living in Australia voting rights.
Appeals Court Pumps Brakes on Berkeleys Gas Stove Ban

Blue flames rise from the burner of a natural gas stove in Orange, Calif., June 11, 2003. (David McNew/Getty Images)

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals snuffed out a California citys ban on new natural gas hookups on April 17, handing restaurant owners and cooks their first victory over the national climate-action movement.

Judge Patrick Bumatay reversed a district courts dismissal of a California Restaurant Associations lawsuit alleging federal law overruled the City of Berkeleys ban on installing natural gas pipes in newly constructed buildings.

Bumatay found the federal Energy Policy and Conservation Act trumps city laws concerning the energy use of many natural gas appliances, including those used in households and restaurants.

By its plain text and structure, [the federal acts] preemption provision encompasses building codes that regulate natural gas use by covered products, Bumatay wrote in his opinion. And by preventing such appliances from using natural gas, the new building code does exactly that.

In 2019, Berkeley became the first U.S. city to ban gas stove hook-ups. The ordinance took effect Jan. 1, 2020. The move has inspired similar bans in Los Angeles, Seattle, New York, and other progressive cities.

Berkeleys ordinance attempted to bypass the federal law by enacting a new building code that prohibited installing natural gas pipes in new buildings, rendering gas appliances useless, according to Bumatay.

Judge Diarmuid OScannlain and Judge Miller Baker agreed with Bumatays ruling.

Berkeley City Attorney Farimah Faiz Brown told The Epoch Times the city was evaluating the decision and its next steps.

The ruling could be appealed, according to a statement by Matt Vespa, a senior attorney with the nonprofit Earthjustice, the Associated Press reported.

As we face a climate and air quality crisis from coast to coast, it is vital that cities and states maintain all legal pathways to protect public health, cut climate emissions, and increase safety by addressing pollution from buildings, and well continue to fight to ensure this authority is preserved, Vespa said in a statement.

The association, which represents nearly 22,000 restaurant locations in the state, applauded the ruling on Monday.

The Ninth Circuit has unanimously affirmed the central issue in this case: local ordinances cannot override federal law, the associations president Jot Candie said in a release. Natural gas appliances are crucial for restaurants to operate effectively and efficiently, as they allow for a wide variety of cuisines and innovations in the restaurant industry.

Attorneys with the association also commended the ruling on Monday, saying in a statement, At stake was the [restaurant association] members ability to conduct business in the state of California, which puts not only the future of restaurants at risk, but also the vibrant culture and the jobs that those restaurants bring to the area.

The lawsuit challenged the practice of banning gas stoves in cities across California, the attorneys said.

The California Restaurant Associationthe largest nonprofit statewide restaurant trade group in the nationclaimed its members included restaurants that relied on gas for cooking particular types of food, and for heating space and water, for backup power, and affordable power.

Without it, they would be unable to prepare any of their specialties without natural gas, the association said in the complaint, according to attorneys.

A lower court dismissed the complaint in July 2021, disagreeing on the restaurant associations interpretation of federal energy law.

Banning gas stoves sparked national backlash in January when the Biden administrations Consumer

Product Safety Commission proposed a national gas-stove ban. That was quickly squashed following a firestorm of public and political outcry from Democrats and Republicans.

According to the Consumer Energy Alliance, an energy policy advocacy group, most American households rely on natural gas for cooking, cleaning, or heating their homes. About 59.5 million households rely on natural gas for heat, the organization reported.
As Soros-Backed Prosecutor Fights Attempt to Oust Her, Judge Sets Separate Contempt Hearing

Accusations of mismanagement and chaos are piling up against St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner.

Gardner appeared in court on April 18, the first hearing in Attorney General Andrew Baileys attempt to remove her from office. Gardners lawyers are seeking dismissal of that case.

Bailey asserts she neglected her duties by failing to properly staff her office and allowing thousands of criminal cases to languish. Gardners lawyers counter that Bailey never even alleges she committed any intentional acts that would justify her ouster.

Lawyers from Baileys office argued that Gardner should be disqualified from holding office because of her alleged pattern of inaction and willful neglect of her duties.

A day before the hearing, a judge ordered Gardner to show cause why she shouldnt be held in contempt of court for failing to ensure that prosecutors from her office show up for a murder trial on April 17. A hearing in that matter is set for April 24, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.

The contempt action comes after a judge sanctioned Gardner for failing to turn over evidence in a double murder case earlier this month.

Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey speaks to his staff in March 2023. (Courtesy of the Missouri Attorney Generals Office)

During the hearing in Baileys case against Gardner, a representative of judges in St. Louis 22nd Circuit Court said: The circuit attorneys office is now in a state of near total collapse. The man, whose name was unclear during a live broadcast of the Gardner hearing, told Visiting Judge John Torbitzky: An expedited resolution of this matter is very important.

Torbitzky is expected to decide within a couple of weeks whether to throw out Baileys petition against Gardner. He ordered attorneys to file written arguments about the motion to dismiss within a week; Torbitzky said he would decide whether to dismiss the case promptly after that.

If it proceeds, a trial likely would be held in September, based on a scheduling discussion during the hearing.

In his original court filing (pdf) against Gardner, Bailey wrote: She has sacrificed the safety of the city of St. Louis. She has squandered the goodwill of the courts through misdirection and incompetence. She has turned away grieving families while murderers walk free.

Action Follows Outcry

But an attorney representing Gardner, Jonathan Sternberg, said Bailey doesnt have the goods on Gardner.

This is an attack on the democratic process by someone who was never elected, Sternberg said, taking a dig at Bailey, who was appointed to his position in January after the former attorney general, Eric Schmitt, became a member of the U.S. Senate. Bailey and Schmitt are Republicans; Gardner is a Democrat.

Mr. Bailey doesnt like the job Miss Gardner is doing, Sternberg said. So the appropriate remedy would be for Bailey to support an opposition candidate in the next election rather than trying to throw her out of office via a court proceeding, Sternberg said.

Such drastic action should be reserved for cases involving intentional acts and corruption, which arent alleged in this case, Sternberg said.

Janae Edmondson Case

Bailey filed the action against Gardner last month following a public outcry over the tragic case of Janae Edmondson. That visiting teen athlete, who is from Tennessee, lost both of her legs in a pedestrian-vehicle crash. The driver accused of causing the crash that hurt Janae, is an armed robbery suspect who remained free despite violating his house arrest order dozens of times.

Janae Edmondson, a Tennessee teen athlete, lost both of her legs after a speeding vehicle caused a crash as she walked with her parents in St. Louis, Mo., on Feb. 18, 2023. (Rhonda Ross/GoFundMe)

Gardner is one of 75 prosecutors nationwide who benefited from billionaire George Soros efforts to get progressives elected, according to author Matt Palumbo, who wrote a book about Soros.
After US Arrests in Chinese Police Stations Case, Canadian Senator Urges Fast-Tracking Foreign Agent Registry Bill

A Chinese paramilitary police officer stands guard on the Bund waterfront during China's National Day celebrations in Shanghai on Oct. 1, 2022. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

With the FBIs arrests in relation to a secret Chinese police station in New York City and foreign interference charges laid against a man in Australia, a senator is urging Ottawa to quickly move forward on creating a key legal tool to fight foreign influence operations in Canada.

The FBI arrested two people on April 17 for operating an illegal Chinese police station in lower Manhattan, charging them with conspiring to act as agents of the Chinese regime, among other charges. Similar clandestine Chinese police stations are operating in Canada, yet no arrests have been made in connection with them.

On April 15, the Australian Federal Police arrested and charged a man with a foreign interference offence, which carries a maximum penalty of 15 years imprisonment.

Canada doesnt have an equivalent law that requires people acting on behalf of foreign governments to register with the government, and be subject to prosecution if they fail to do so, but Conservative Sen. Leo Housakos is trying to change that.

Housakos introduced Bill S-237, An Act to establish the Foreign Influence Registry and to amend the Criminal Code, in the Senate in November 2021, but it hasnt received support from the government, and is far from becoming law.

Sen. Leo Housakos in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld)

All the Trudeau government has to do is  give the green light to Trudeau-appointed senators to review the bill, to pass the bill, and send it to the House of Commons, and within two, three months we can have a foreign registry, he told The Epoch Times.

[This] would be the first step forward in dealing with foreign interference and particularly dealing with the CCP [Chinese Communist Party] and their activity here in Canada.

Housakos noted that the United States and Australia already have laws in place that criminalize foreign interference, while the United Kingdom, through amendments to its National Security Bill, is also close to creating a foreign interference registry that would do the same.

Amid the recent revelations of the Chinese regimes attempts to interfere in Canadian elections, the Liberal government on March 10 announced the launch of public consultations on creating a foreign influence transparency registry in Canada, including enacting potential legislation. The consultation will accept online submissions until May 9.

Housakos believes there is no time for public consultations, given the urgency of the situation.

Theyre talking about launching a consultation in terms of putting together a foreign registry bill, which is ridiculous. We understand the urgency of this nature and theres no time for consultation, discussion. We saw Australia, we saw the United States take action, he said.

Right now, intimidation and foreign interference is not being done only against government institutions and parliamentary bodies. We have first-hand evidence where the regime in Beijing is intimidating Canadians of Chinese descent.

The Sino-Quebec Centre in Brossard, Quebec, is seen on March 9, 2023. The RCMP says its investigating this location, along with the Chinese Family Service of Greater Montreal, which are allegedly clandestine overseas Chinese police service stations. (Noe Chartier/The Epoch Times)

The RCMP has identified at least six Chinese police stations in Canada, including three in the Greater Toronto Area, two in Quebec, and one in British Columbia. The Epoch Times has reported that there is another location in BC which a Chinese police force has listed as its overseas service centre. Some of those stations were first exposed by Spain-based NGO Safeguard Defenders, which identified 102 secret police outposts worldwide, run by four provincial-level police agencies in China.

While the RCMP has sent uniformed officers to some of those locations, and four police stations have been shut down, Housakos says police have no power to lay charges.

A foreign registry and other laws of this nature would have given the RCMP the capacity to lay charges, he said.

Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister David Morrison told MPs at the Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee on March 2 that he was unaware of any Chinese diplomats being expelled from Canada in the past four years. One Chinese diplomat was denied a visa to Canada last fall, Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly told the same committee on March 9.

CCP Weaponizing Nationalism

Some in the Liberal Party have voiced support for a foreign registry. Liberal MP Francesco Sorbara said in the House Commons on April 17 that he is in favour of such a measure, citing laws in the United States and Australia, reported Blacklocks Reporter.

After media reports alleging that the Canadian Security Intelligence Service had named a Liberal Party candidate who was supported by Beijing in the 2019 federal election, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau linked the issue to racism.

At a news conference on April 17, when asked about whether a foreign registry would be in place before the next election, he said the government needs to take on a range of tools to address foreign interference, and that any measures should avoid making certain diaspora groups like Chinese-Canadians more vulnerable.

An online petition supported by Liberal MP Chandra Arya is calling on the government to reconsider creating a foreign influence registry because it poses a serious harassment and stigmatization risk for racialized communities.

But former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu warns against conflating the issue of foreign interference with racism.

The communist Chinese regime has been weaponizing nationalism and hijacking the anti-Asian racism topics. It is, however, really sad to see that the prime minister has fallen victim, or worse, may have deliberately played into the same narrative as the Chinese communist [regime], he told The Epoch Times.

Former Conservative MP Kenny Chiu. (The Epoch Times)

Chiu, who is of Asian descent, had introduced legislation similar to Housakoss Bill S-237 in the last Parliament. But he says his efforts made him a target of disinformation in the 2021 election, which he said led to his defeat.

He noted that in both his and Housakoss proposed legislation, China or Chinese are not mentioned since a foreign registry also addresses interference attempts by other authoritarian regimes, such as Russia and Iran. Chiu thus warned against repeating the CCP narrative of racism in pushing back against foreign influence.

By keep on repeating this and not giving up this same narrative as the CCP, [Trudeau] is jeopardizing Canadians of Chinese descent and perpetuating a racist view that only Chinese-Canadians are at risk. That is far from the truth, he said.

Chiu further noted that the man in Australia arrested on foreign interference charges is not of Chinese descent, which indicates that race is not a concern to the CCP in terms of their influence attempts.

The Chinese communists, they practise fair opportunitythey look into what cracks they can use, he said.

So they are race-neutral, and they are political ideology-neutral. They dont care if you are left-leaning or right-leaningall they care about is that you have power to corrupt, that you have information that they need. They dont care if you are white, Anglo-Saxon, or native Chinese or non-Chinese.
At Least 29 Dead in Beijing Hospital Fire, Mostly Patients

An investigator inspects burnt out area following a fire at a hospital in Beijing, on April 19, 2023. (Andy Wong/AP Photo)

BEIJINGThe death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital rose to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday, and a dozen people had been detained including the hospitals head and her deputy.

The fire broke out at the private Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and forced dozens of people to evacuate. Some who were trapped had to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.

A nurse, a medical assistant and a family member also died in the incident, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of Fengtai district.

The actual number of casualties from such event may be much higher. The actual number of casualties is difficult to verify, as the Chinese regime routinely suppresses or alters information.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but officials say they believe it originated from welding sparks from work being done in the hospitals inpatient wing. Among the 12 people who were detained was the head of the construction crew.

A total of 39 people are being treated for injuries, three of them in critical condition, officials said.
Australia Not an Easy Cyber Target Says Home Affairs Minister

Clare Ellen O'Neil Minister for Home Affairs and Minister for Cyber Security at Parliament House on September 1, 2022 in Canberra, Australia. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

Australias Minister for Home Affairs, Claire ONeil, has denied that Australians are easy targets for hackers, despite millions of Australians suffering from data and privacy breaches in multiple cyber attacks over the past 12 months.

The comment comes after a Russian hacker told the ABCs Four Corners program that he thought Australians were the stupidest people alive when it came to cybersecurity.

Speaking to Radio National on Tuesday, ONeil said that she didnt believe that Australia was an easy target but did acknowledge that the Albanese government was five years behind where it needed to be in keeping Australia cyber secure.

There is an enormous amount of effort going into making sure that Australia is a hard target, and we are making significant ground on that, ONeil said.

Weve set up Hack the Hackers, which is the first time the Australian government has asked the Federal Police and the cyber guns in the Australian Signals Directorate to work together to basically turn their energies and forces onto debilitating and degrading the ability of the hacking groups.

And that work is going really, really well, and its a model that countries around the world are looking at.

An engineering student takes part in a hacking challenge near Paris on March 16, 2013. (AFP via Getty Images/Thomas Samson)

She said that the federal government had set minimum standards for Australian companies working in critical sectors and changed privacy laws so that there are real penalties for companies that dont protect the data of Australians.

The federal government is also making cyber exercises mandatory for companies that work in critical industries, all of which ONeil said would move the country towards to goal of being the most cyber secure country in the world by 2030.

Australia Facing Targeted Campaign of Cyberattacks

The comments from the minister come after a raft of cyber incidents targeting major public companies like Medibank, Australias larger health insurer; Optus, the second largest telecommunications company; and EnergyAustralia, one of the three largest energy companies.

Hackers have also attacked Australian universities like Queensland University of Technology, as well as the defence department and private companies Vinomofo, Woolworths MyDeal, and Medlab.

Read More Cybercrime Reports Surge as Cyberspace Turns Into a Battleground, Report Shows

The Australian government has said it will strike back against cyber hackers, creating a 100-person strong task force staffed by the Australian Federal Police (AFP) and the Australian Signals Directorate (ASD).

The task force has said it will debilitate hackers and ransomware syndicates around the world before crimes have been committed by collecting intelligence and identifying ring-leaders, networks, and infrastructure to disrupt and stop cyber-criminal syndicates.

People walk past a shop front for Medibank in Sydney, Australia, on Nov. 11, 2022. The health insurer was hit by one of Australias largest cyber hacks in 2022. (Muhammad Farooq/AFP via Getty Images)

The recent Optus and Medibank data breaches have shown the extent of the damage that can be done by malicious actors. This new joint campaign will ensure the full powers of the AFP and ASD are brought to bear to stop such incidents before they start, said ONeil in a joint media release along with Defence Minister Richard Marles and Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus in November 2022.

Where incidents do take place, it means that cybercriminals will be hunted down and their networks disrupted. It sends an important message to criminals and hackers intending to do harmAustralia will fight back.

Australias Failing CyberSecurity Strategy Down to Coalition Government

ONeil alleged that the problems Australia are facing in the cyber sector were due to the failures of the previous federal government.

Weve set up an incident response function in the Australian government, which, frankly, should have existed a long time ago but didnt, she said.

Australia should be and can be the most cyber secure country in the world by 2030. But we need focus and energy, and attention. And thats what this problem is getting for the first time.
Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, meets with Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, wife of President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. Sylvia is accompanying Bongo on his state visit to China. (Xinhua/Ding Lin)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Peng Liyuan, wife of Chinese President Xi Jinping, met with Sylvia Bongo Ondimba, wife of President of the Gabonese Republic Ali Bongo Ondimba, in Beijing on Wednesday.

Peng recalled with pleasure her interactions with Sylvia and their joint efforts to promote the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, and said she appreciated Sylvia's longstanding enthusiasm for public welfare.

Peng spoke about China's achievements in the prevention and treatment of HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, and the fight against COVID-19, as well as her work as a World Health Organization (WHO) goodwill ambassador for tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS.

Peng said that China is willing to strengthen exchanges with Gabon, share experience, promote cooperation and bring more benefits to the two peoples. She voiced confidence that under the leadership of the leaders of the two countries, bilateral cooperation in various fields will continue to deepen, and that this friendship will be passed on from generation to generation.

Sylvia, who is accompanying the Gabonese president on his state visit to China, thanked Xi and Peng for their hospitality and said she was impressed with China's friendly ties with Gabon.

Gabon admires China's great achievements in public health, and is willing to learn from China's successful experience and strengthen exchanges and cooperation with China, she said.

Sylvia said she looks forward to having the opportunity to see more of China and to appreciate the Chinese culture and the country's development. 
Australian Universities Ban Indian Students as Fraudulent Visa Applications Soar

Hundreds of vaccinated international students can return to NSW by 2022. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

Australian universities have placed bans or restrictions on international students from some Indian states in an effort to crack down on growing fraudulent visa applications.

This comes as the country has seen a surge in the number of international students after it re-opened its border in 2021.

In addition, applications from Indian students are expected to exceed pre-pandemic highs of 75,000 following Prime Minister Anthony Albaneses trip to India in March, in which he announced that Australia would facilitate the efficient and timely processing of student visa applications for Indian nationals.

According to an investigation by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald, at least five universities, including Victoria University, Edith Cowan University, the University of Wollongong, Torrens University, and agents working for Southern Cross University are banning or placing higher requirements for prospective students from many states in India.

The Home Affairs Department told the media outlets that there had been an increase in incomplete applications and presentation of fraudulent information and documentation in student visa applications since Australia eased COVID-19 border restrictions in 2021.

At the same time, the department witnessed a surge in applications from South Asian countries after the Morrison government removed the working limit of 20 hours per week for student visa holders.

In February, Home Affairs disapproved 94 percent of applications from India to study in Australias vocational sector, while only less than one percent of applications from countries such as the United States, the UK and France were rejected.

While players in the education sector have taken actions to prevent the system from being abused, the industry still rakes in significant revenue from international students.

Universities Australia, a peak industry body, revealed that international students contributed $29 billion (US$19.5 billion) to the Australian economy in 2022.

Concerns About Risks to Australias Immigration System

As the government has adopted new policies to facilitate the recovery of Australias overseas education industry, there have been concerns that the immigration system is at risk due to migrants seeking to exploit the student visa program.

During a Senate hearing, International Education Association of Australia CEO Phil Honeywood said the problem with the student visa program went beyond Indian students as there had been widespread exploitation of students from Nepal and other South Asian nations.

People study at the University of Technology Sydney campus in Sydney, Australia, on April 6, 2016. (Brendon Thorne/Getty Images)

The Senate inquiry was told that overseas agents were pushing applicants into the education system as they saw student visas as an easy method to gain work rights in Australia.

Honeywood said the surge in non-genuine applicants was due to the federal governments decision to abolish maximum work hours for student visa holders.

Its become a Ponzi scheme which is attracting the wrong motivation for young people, the CEO said.

While education agencies have been accused of exploiting Australias visa system to attract applicants, some people in the industry said education providers were also part of the problem.

Education agent Ravi Singh from Global Reach told The Age that many Australian training colleges had become visa factories that focused on offering immigration pathways rather than education.

Response From the Government

In an interview with ABC radio, Home Affairs Minister Clare ONeil said the significant number of international students returning to Australia was good news as it showed the education system was recovering.

This is a really important export for our country, and Im pleased to see students coming back into the country, she said.

While the minister said the student system helped attract brilliant young people from around the world into Australia, she acknowledged that it was one of the main avenues through which exploitation occurred.

As such, ONeil said Australia needed to balance between increasing the number of international students and preventing the system from being exploited.

The minister also explained it was the governments view there was no indication that rules around student visas would be tightened.

I think we need to be really cautious about how we think about international students and the scope for exploitation, ONeil said.

It is an opportunity  for our country that all these wonderful young people are coming here to study.

Its a very important provider of jobs and support for the higher education sector as a whole. But yes, at the other end of this, there is a risk, and the government is alive to it and managing it.
Ban on TikTok Faces Hurdle as Top Officials Still on Platform: Cybersecurity Expert

TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew testifies before the House Energy and Commerce Committee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington on March 23, 2023. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

The ban on the Chinese video sharing app Tiktok might face hurdles as top officials are on the platform, says cybersecurity expert Rex Lee.

The Chinese app has been in the headlines recently, especially after the testimony from Singapore-based TikTok CEO Chew Shou Zi before members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee in late March.

At the event, Chew failed to convince lawmakers that TikTok had separated from its China-based parent company ByteDance and wouldnt pose a national security risk.

Since then, there has been a growing call for a complete ban of the platform in the United States.

However, Lee, a security adviser at My Smart Privacy, pointed to the hearing, noting that no further actions had been taken afterwards.

Rex Lee. (Courtesy of Rex Lee)

One good thing about this last TikTok congressional hearing is there was a lot of bipartisan support to ban it, which is a positive thing. But then here we are, two or three weeks later, and theres no action being taken, Lee told China in Focus on NTD, the sister media outlet of The Epoch Times.

He called such hearings political theater, saying, What I find out about these congressional hearings, theyre more about politics than resolve. We see these executives go before Congress, half of the politicians in the congressional hearings are addressing the real problems, the other half arent, and they never seem to come to full resolution.

Top Officials Remain on Platform

According to him, obstacles stem from the fact that there are still lawmakers using the platform.

A lot of people dont realize this, but over 30 members of the House and Senate are on TikTok, he said.

He singled out the report by Axios, which states that President Joe Biden and his campaign are planning on teaming up with social media influencers to reach young voters.

A number of TikTok influencers are among the hundreds with whom the Biden group would work, the article reads.

It was just in the news the other day, that the Biden administration had TikTok influencers, along with Instagram and Facebook influencers, at the White House to spread information about the Biden administrations platform across the social media platform, Lee said.

So when you have congressional hearings, when you have congressional members of Congress and the Senate utilizing TikTok as well as the president, I dont see how its gonna get banned anytime soon, he added.

Powerful Lobbyists

Whats more? According to Lee, behind those tech companies are powerful lobbyists.

He pointed to Tony Podesta, the brother of former Hillary Clinton campaign manager John Podesta, who recently joined the Biden administration to serve as a senior adviser on clean energy innovation and implementation. Tony Podesta, Lee said, represents Huawei.

He further referred to David Urban, president of the lobbying firm American Continental Group and an adviser to former President Trumps 2020 campaign, who was reportedly hired to lobby for Bytedance, TikToks parent company.

So theyre hiring both advisors from both parties. And theyre not just going after the average lobbyist who may be a former member of Congress, theyre going after presidential advisors. And theyre using them to influence our laws, Lee warned.

Updated Privacy Law Needed

Lee said that all social media platforms, including TikTok, are built on surveillance and data mining, because the companies that developed these platforms are in the information trafficking business and thats how they make their money. They make their money off of the information they can collect from their end users on these platforms.

Thus, to protect users, he suggested updated privacy laws  to put the control back into the end users hands of whether they want their data to be monetized or not.

And I think if you start to cut the money off in that area, that will have an impact, he said.

So, once you take the ability for these companies to monetize you, and sell you in terms of selling your personal and business information, once you take that motive out of the business equation, and theres no longer money to be made there. Then youll see privacy and security return to our electronic circuits, Lee said.

The Epoch Times has reached out to TikTok for comment.

Melanie Sun contributed to this report.
Beijing Police Block Lawyers, Control Teenage Son of Recently Detained Lawyer Yu Wensheng, Source Says

Chinese human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng and his wife Xu Yan were detained by police on April 13 on their way to the embassy of the European Union (EU) in Beijing. Independent lawyers attempted to approach Yus family for power of attorney, only to find Yus 18-year-old son was under police control in the familys home, a source has told The Epoch Times.

The Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times learned from the source on April 17 that two independent lawyers wanted to represent Yu and his wife to defend their rights.

On Apr. 16, the lawyersSong Yusheng and Peng Jianvisited Yus home in Mengtougou District, Beijing, to have Yus son sign the power of attorney so they could take up his parents case, but police blocked them, the source said.

When Song and Peng arrived at Yus home, they found two police officers standing at the gate of Yus residence. Two more officersone in plainclothes, who claimed his name to be Lu Kai, and the other in uniformstood by each side of Yus son in the home.

Lu Kai told the two lawyers that Yu didnt want to hire any lawyer and that his wife had already hired two lawyers.

It is very likely that Xu Yan has no lawyer at all. [What Lu Kai said] is a lie, a Chinese lawyer told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on April 18, speaking anonymously for safety reasons.

Xu Yan, wife of human rights lawyer Yu Wensheng, holds a piece of paper that reads I want to request a meeting with Judge Liu Mingwei and a picture of her then-detained husband outside the Xuzhou Intermediate Peoples Court in Xuzhou, China, on Oct. 31, 2019. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images)

Denying Legal Counsel

Chinas rubberstamp legislature allows a detainee to hire a maximum of two lawyers to represent them. In reality, however, communist authorities and police use various tactics to prevent lawyer-client meetings and even threaten independent lawyers with disbarment.

According to Safeguard Defenders, a human rights NGO, the regime uses a multitude of ways to deny suspects access to independent legal counsel. These include forcing detainees to fire their own lawyers and accept state-appointed counsel, threatening lawyers with the cancelation or revocation of their license if they take on sensitive cases, to using illegitimate excuses to prevent lawyer-client meetings at the detention center doors.

The Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times reached out to the lawyers, Song and Peng, but did not receive a reply as of publication.

The Epoch Times learned from a source that seven police went to Yus home on the evening of April 15 and read to his son a notice that Yu and his wife had been arrested. The police also removed personal belongings from Yus residence without presenting any official documents.

Yu and his wife were taken away by Beijing police from a subway station in Beijing on April 13 while on their way to meet a EU delegation at the unions embassy.

Local police notified Yus son on April 15 that his parents have both been detained for picking quarrels and provoking trouble, a common charge under Article 293 of Chinas Criminal Law that the regime uses to target critics.

A friend of Yus told the Chinese language edition of The Epoch Times on Saturday that the couple must have their own independent lawyers and the son should be cared for by families or friends.

Yu was imprisoned in 2018 for four years for inciting subversion of state power after he sought to call for constitutional change in China. He was released in 2022 after serving the full sentence of imprisonment.

In 2014, Yu was detained for 99 days, denied access to lawyers, and severely tortured in the detention center.

Hong Ning contributed to this report.
Beijings Antarctic Land Grab: CCP Builds 5th Base Near South Pole

A satellite view with overlays shows areas to be developed at the new Chinese station under construction, on Inexpressible Island, Antarctica, January 2, 2023. Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)/Hidden Reach/Maxar Technologies 2023/Handout via REUTERS

Beijing is embarking on the most significant expansion of its footprint in Antarctica after new satellite images revealed the communist regime has resumed construction on a fifth polar station.

The new station, located on Inexpressible Island near the Ross Sea, could double as a spying operation, a Washington-based think tank suggests.

While essential for tracking and communicating with Chinas growing array of scientific satellites, ground stations can support intelligence collection, the report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies says.

Importantly, the stations position may enable it to collect signals intelligence from U.S.-allied Australia and New Zealand and could collect telemetry data on rockets launching from newly established space facilities in both countries.

The CSIS says China has faced more challenges in establishing a footprint in the northern Arctic and, instead, has a freer hand to explore the South Pole.

While the United States still maintains the largest presence on the continent, Beijings presence is expanding rapidly. It currently has four stations (all to be expanded), including the Great Wall, Taishan, Kunlun, and Zhongshan stations.

A map shows the locations of existing Chinese Antarctic stations and the Inexpressible Island site of a new station in this handout image. (Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS)/Hidden Reach)

The Zhongshan Stations assets could be leveraged to collect intelligence on foreign militaries in the Indian Ocean, including on the joint U.S.-UK Naval Support Facility Diego Garcia. It could also play a support role in monitoring Indias developing naval forces operating in the region.

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has maintained that its frequent expeditions to Antarctica are for research purposes only.

However, the U.S. Department of Defense has said the CCPs strategy is to develop dual-use technologies, facilities, and scientific research, all aimed at improving the capabilities of the Chinese Peoples Liberation Army.

These research stations could also be reference positions for Beijings answer to the U.S.-run global positioning system, the BeiDou satellite network.

Theres absolutely no reason why Antarctica would be immune from this doctrine, Anthony Bergin, senior fellow at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, previously told The Epoch Times.

Particular technologies, particular pieces of scientific research, could be morphed into part of a bigger system. Its not so much we would expect a direct military threat from Antarctica.

Antarctic Treaties Under Threat

The Antarctic Treaty System, established in 1961, is a key agreement governing international relations on the continent. The treaty is considered one of the most successful sets of international agreements because it has relied on goodwill and peaceful cooperation between nations.

Since the CCP ratified the treaty in 1983, it has been steadily expanding its footprint, fishing fleets, and research expeditions to the continent.

Beijings role in Antarcticas affairs also has been contentious on other fronts.

In 2022, Russia and China again blocked a proposal to establish a new conservation zone in the area during a Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) meeting. This was the sixth consecutive year that such a proposal had been blocked by either party.

Its this weird politicization of science, Tony Press, a former CCAMLR commissioner, said in an interview with Scientific American.

Frankly, it is now holding back progress, the U.S. delegation to the CCAMLR meeting said in an opening statement. Countries that have prioritized their individual needs have weakened our ability to meet the shared conservation objectives on which this body was founded.
Biden Policies Could Spell the End of Freelance Contractors, Republicans Say

Republican members of Congress say President Joe Bidens administration is waging war on independent contractors. Democrats counter that they are trying to ensure workers are not exploited and businesses compete on a level playing field.

Kim Kavin, a freelance writer from New Jersey, said this is not a partisan issue.

Our members have voted for everybody from Bernie Sanders to Donald Trump, Kavin told the Subcommittee on Workforce Protection of the House Committee on Education and the Workforce.

All of us are in agreement on this.

Kavin is one of five witnesses called before the committee for a hearing entitled Examining Bidens War on Independent Contractors.

The hearing was called because the Biden administration is pushing a policy to deny Americans a fundamental right, according to Subcommittee Chairman Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Calif.).

Todays hearing is about the right to earn a living. In a free society, few rights are as fundamental, he said.

A driver wears a face mask and gloves during a caravan protest calling for California to enforce the AB5 law, in Los Angeles on April 16, 2020. (Mario Tama/Getty Images)

Biden is attempting to apply a California law that requires some companies to reclassify freelance workers as employees to the entire nation, Kiley said. The law, AB5, was a disaster for Californias economy and would be equally devastating nationally, he added.

According to Kiley, the law had such a negative impact that a subsequent bill had to be passed exempting dozens of freelance jobs such as app-based delivery and ride-sharing businesses.

He said California is an example of why the rest of the country should avoid its practices.

We were the state where anyone could get ahead. Now were the state people cant wait to leave behind, Kiley said.

The subcommittees ranking member said the real issue is how to protect workers rights, benefits, and legal protections when they are misclassified as independent contractors.

The misclassification of workers as independent contractors is a problem, said Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.).

Gig Workers Have Fewer Protections

According to Adams, independent contractors have fewer legal protections, do not qualify for unemployment benefits, and dont have to be paid a minimum wage. In addition, they said companies that hire contractors could underbid their competitors because they dont have to pay unemployment or Social Security Taxes.

The freelancers on the panel said they were willing to forego such benefits in exchange for controlling their schedules and work product.

Karen Anderson is the founder of Freelancers Against AB5. She said her organization began as a social media account for freelancers to air their concerns and complaints about the law. She said she was surprised by the volume and nature of the complaints.

Entire sectors [of business] have been negatively impacted, Anderson said.

David Long is the chief executive officer of the National Electrical Contractors Association based in Washington. He said contractors who classify employees as independent contractors can underbid their competitors by up to 40 percent. He said his members dont want to harm employees.

Open and Fair Marketplace

Responsible contractors want an open and fair marketplace, he told the committee.

The Biden administration has been pushing the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act. This law would significantly increase the power and influence of unions while reining in employers regarding employee organizing in the workplace.

The PRO Act passed the House of Representatives in June 2021. A companion bill, S.420, is currently in the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.

The law also includes a redefinition of the term Independent Contractor using a three-point test similar to the test in AB5.

According to the PRO Act, a worker is an independent contractor if he is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of the service, both under the contract for the performance of service and . . . the service is performed outside the usual course of the business of the employer; and, the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed.

New Labor Department Rule

The Department of Labor issued a rule in 2021 to clarify the matter. But witnesses disagreed over the validity of the rules new six-point test.

Tammy McCutchen is a senior affiliate with Resolution Economics of New Market, Tennessee. She said the Department of Labor test is so broad that it can be interpreted in whatever manner the person applying the standard chooses.

The DOL can consider any fact it wants, or refuse to consider any fact it wants, she said. The Biden administration, with no notice and no rule changes, could implement California AB5, the unpassed PRO Act, or use a Ouija board to determine who is an employee and who is an independent contractor.
California Nixes Cigarette Ban for Stronger Flavored Tobacco Ban

A California lawmaker has revised a bill that would have eliminated tobacco sales over time and replaced it with a measure that will close a loophole in the states flavored tobacco ban.

The amended Assembly Bill 935, introduced by Democratic Assemblyman Damon Connolly (D-San Rafael), would authorize the California Department of Health and the attorney general to enforce the ban on flavored tobacco enacted last year.

In 2022, 63 percent of California voters supported Proposition 31, enacting Senate Bill 793, banning the sales of flavored tobacco. The state law prohibits retailers from selling menthol cigarettes, tobacco product flavor enhancers, flavored vape tanks, and other flavored cigarettes from stores and vending machines.

Flavored tobacco products continue to be sold in many stores across the state, Connolly said in a statement. The existing loophole allows teenagers to continue accessing these dangerous products and undermines the intent of the law.

The bill now heads to the Assemblys Governmental Organization Committee and then to the Appropriations Committee. The state currently prohibits selling tobacco to anyone under 21, which would not be changed by the bill.

George Osborne, representing the bills co-sponsor the Union of American Physicians and Dentists Local 206, told legislators last week more enforcement is needed.

We need to ensure that [the flavored tobacco ban is] being enforced properly, because as it stands, these lethal products are still falling into the hands of teenagers, which is inexcusable and unacceptable, Osborne said.

According to an Assembly analysis of the bill, the states Department of Health would be authorized to penalize any firm, corporation, or person $400 to $600 for the first violation. The civil penalty would increase to $900 for a second violation, $1,200 to $1,800 for a third, up to $4,000 for a fourth, and up to $6,000 for a fifth violation.

Violators can also have their licenses suspended for 45 days for a third violation within a five-year period. The length of the suspension increases for a fourth violation, and the state can revoke a license for a fifth violation.

Preventing the next generation of Californians from becoming addicted to smoking should be a priority for all of us who care about the public health of our state and the wellbeing of our children, Connolly told Assembly Health Committee members before they voted to pass the legislation April 11.

Electronic cigarettes with different flavored E-liquid are seen on display at the Vapor Shark store in Miami, Fla., on Feb. 20, 2014. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

Dr. John Maa, a general surgeon from San Francisco, agreed.

Smoking is the leading cause of death for Americans, Maa said. The COVID pandemic has only highlighted further the urgency to encourage smoking cessation, as extensive research shows that smoking is linked to worse outcomes from COVID.

The California Statewide Law Enforcement Association opposes Connollys bill, saying the restrictions could add to the demand for contraband products. California has the second-highest tobacco smuggling rate in the country, the association reported.

That unmet demand leads to larger illegal markets, which in turn result in greater burdens on law enforcement, the association said in a statement submitted to the health committee ahead of the vote.

Last year, the flavored tobacco ban survived a lawsuit filed by R.J. Reynolds, the maker of Newport menthol cigarettes and top-selling vape products, and other tobacco companies, according to Courthouse News.

Before filing the lawsuit, the companies gathered enough signatures to force a public vote on the ban, which was overwhelmingly approved by voters in November 2022. The lawsuit was then filed the day after Election Daybefore the voting results were outclaiming the ban violated federal commerce clause in the U.S. Constitution by obstructing interstate trade. However, a judge ruled that the federal clause did not apply because the ban targets sales from not only out-of-state but also in-state manufacturers.

The flavored tobacco ban does not apply to tribal governments. In California, there are 109 federally recognized Native American tribes with nearly 100 reservations. Tribal governments are sovereign nations and are not required to follow state laws except federal mandates, according to a 2021 report by the University of Southern California.

Connolly removed the phased tobacco ban from the original bill text last week due to a lack of support from fellow lawmakers and said he planned to bring it back again in 2024.

We are disappointed we will not be continuing with the phased tobacco sales ban this year, Connolly said in an April 7 statement.
Carlsbads Graze at the Fields Showcases San Diegos Agricultural Diversity

At over $488 million in annual sales, cacti and succulents are the number one agriculture crop in San Diego county, according to the San Diego County Farm Bureau. (Jie Yang/The Epoch Times)

A few hundred people attended the annual Graze at the Fields in Carlsbad on April 13 to experience the variety of San Diego agriculture while interacting with local farmers and purveyors.

Hosted by the San Diego County Farm Bureau representatives from a wide variety of agricultural industries shared with attendees information about the diversity and role agriculture plays in the county.

Many agriculture-related businesses and organizations were in attendance at the event. Some handed out free samples of the food and beverages they produce; some provided information about the products and services they provide; others showcased educational programs.

A succulent in Carlsbad, Calif., on April 13, 2023. (Mark Mathews/The Epoch Times)

At the event, the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources Cooperative Extension educated attendees about the Mexican fruit flyalso known as the Mexflyinfestation and quarantine in Valley Center. The fly infestation was found last August and is expected to end this June.

Representatives from Cal Poly Pomona provided information on its many educational programs at their Huntley College of Agriculture, ranging from undergraduate to Masters programs in agribusiness and food industry management, agricultural science, animal science, and nutrition.

Hollandia Dairya mainstay in San Diegos dairy industryalso exhibited its operations at the event.

The company has over 800 employees who work at the San Jacinto dairy farm and San Marcos milk processing plant, which has its own fleet of delivery trucks, Hollandia Dairys General Sales Manager Rick Struble told The Epoch Times.

Also in attendance was J.R. Organics. This California Certified Organic Farm provides fresh produce at farmers markets, organic grocery stores, specialty stores, and restaurants.

The company also makes home deliveries on a subscription basisa process known as community-supported agriculture. Such allows consumers to receive locally-grown produce fresh from the fields, sometimes less than 24 hours after it is picked.

Another organization present was Plus Box, a nonprofit that partners with local growers, food rescuers, and neighborhood schools to distribute boxes of fresh food to insecure families weekly.

The food is delivered to the schools during the day so that when the parent picks up the child, they can get a box of food at the same time, according to Plus Box Program Manager, Danielle Radford.

Other vendors and organizations at the event included restaurants, ranchers, chicken and egg farmers, a beekeeper, a mushroom farmer, house-plant growers, and the San Diego County Water Authority.

With over 5,700 farms and a mild climate, San Diego is one of the most agriculturally diverse counties in the nation.

The Farm Bureau, established in 1914, is supported by more than 1400 due-paying members in the county. It serves all agricultural businesses in San Diego through education, public relations, and public policy advocacy.

With only about 25 percent of the farms as members, the bureau still supports all farmers. So, even if theyre not a member they still get the benefits of what our organization does, Taylor Reese, county manager at the bureau, told the Epoch Times.

The variety of farms in the county is diverse. Some farmers are full-time, part-time, large, small, conventional, organic, urban, rural, well established, or just starting out.

Nearly 70 percent of the countys farms are from 1 to 9 acres in size, and over 35 percent are operated by women. With more than 360 certified organic farms, San Diego County has more than any other county in the nation, according to the bureaus website.
China Bans Imports, Exports of US Defense Contractors Over Sales to Taiwan

Lockheed Martin's logo is seen during Japan Aerospace 2016 air show in Tokyo on Oct. 12, 2016. (Kim Kyung-Hoon/Reuters)

The Chinese Commerce Ministry said on April 18 that Beijing is banning the exports and imports of two U.S. defense contractors, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Technologies, for supplying weapons to Taiwan.

The ban is part of the sanctions imposed against Lockheed Martin and Raytheon Missiles & Defensea subsidiary of Raytheon Technologiesin February to prevent Chinese products from being used in their military business, the ministry stated.

The ministry urged Chinese companies to strengthen due diligence and compliance system construction, and verify transaction information in order to avoid violating Chinas sanctions on the two American firms.

For violations of relevant regulations, the relevant departments will be held accountable in accordance with laws and regulations, it stated.

The sanctions also prohibit top executives of the companiesincluding Lockheed Martin CEO James Taiclet and Raytheon Missiles & Defense President Wesley Kremerfrom traveling and working in China.

This came just days after Beijing denounced the United States for imposing sanctions on 120 targets from 20 countries and jurisdictions, one of which is a China-based company, over their alleged support for Russia.

The Chinese Commerce Ministry warned on April 15 that the U.S. sanctions would affect the security and stability of the global supply chain and vowed to resolutely safeguard the rights and interests of Chinese firms.

The Raytheon stand at the 53rd International Paris Air Show at Le Bourget Airport near Paris, France, on June 21, 2019. (Pascal Rossignol/Reuters)

Lockheed Martin and Raytheon were previously sanctioned by Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) imposed sanctions on the two companies in February 2022, but the nature of the sanctions was not specified.

Those sanctions came less than two weeks after the United States approved a $100 million military deal to bolster Taiwans missile defense system. Both companies were named as primary contractors in the sale.

In October 2020, Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, along with The Boeing Company, were placed under Chinese sanctions after the State Department approved arms sales valued at $1.8 billion.

Last September, the U.S. State Department approved a potential $1.1 billion sale of military equipment to Taiwan. The package includes 60 anti-ship missiles and 100 air-to-air missiles, of which the principal contractors are Boeing Defense and Raytheon, respectively.

Related Coverage China Sanctions US Arms Suppliers Over Sales to Taiwan

The CCP later warned the United States that it would resolutely take legitimate and necessary countermeasures if Washington continued arms sales and military interactions with Taiwan.

China Threats Against Taiwan

Beijing regards Taiwan as a renegade province that must be united with the mainland by any means necessary, despite the fact that Taiwan has never been ruled by the CCP and has its own democratic government and currency.

The United States has no official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, but it is the islands largest ally and is bound by law to ensure that Taiwan has sufficient means to defend itself. The United States bars most sales of weapons-related technology to China.

The CCP staged a three-day military drill around the self-ruled island on April 8 after Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen met with U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) in California.

Chinese aircraft incursions into the region continued despite the fact that the CCP had already proclaimed the conclusion of its military exercise on April 10.

Taiwans military said it detected 12 Chinese aircraft and four naval vessels near the island on Tuesday, with four aircraft spotted entering southwest of Taiwans Air Defense Identification Zone.

Eva Fu and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
China Visit More Than Shocking, Says German Foreign Minister

This Nov. 10, 1989 file photo shows Berliners singing and dancing on top of The Berlin Wall in celebration of the opening of the East German-West German border. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle)

Germanys Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, has said that Chinas communist regime is continuing to act more aggressively internationally while increasing domestic oppression. Elements of her visit to China this week were more than shocking, Baerbock said during parliamentary questions in Berlin on April 19.

Baerbocks visit to China came just days before her meeting with other foreign ministers of the G7 nations in the Japanese city of Hiroshima. A communique from the ministers affirmed the importance of peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait for the security of the international community.

China Visit

When meeting with Baerbock in Beijing on April 15, the Chinese communist regimes top foreign affairs official, Wang Yi, asked Germany to support the reunification of mainland China and Taiwanas the official claimed that the ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) had previously supported the unification of East Germany and West Germany.

However, Taiwans de-facto ambassador to Germany, Shieh Jhy-wey, rejected the CCPs use of German reunification as an analogy for Taiwan. The principal China-policy adviser to former U.S. Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, also rubbished the idea: Miles Yu, now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute, indicated that East and West Germany made democratic decisions to reunite, while the Chinese communist regime has repeatedly threatened to use force against Taiwan.

The CCPs Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that when Wang Yi, Director of the regimes Foreign Affairs Office, met with Baerbock, he stated that China had supported the reunification of Germany, and that he hopes and believes that Germany will also support Chinas great cause of peaceful reunification. Wang also said: Taiwans return to China is an important part of the post-WWII international order. Baerbock did not respond directly to Wangs remarks on Taiwan.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock responds to questions from fellow parliamentarians at a federal government question and answer session in Berlin on April 19, 2023. (Maja Hitij/Getty Images)

At a joint press conference with the CCPs Foreign Minister Qin Gang during her Beijing visit, Baerbock said that conflicts may only be resolved peacefully.

She said that unilaterally changing the status quo across the Taiwan Straitand, in particular, by forcewould be, for us as Europeans, unacceptable. The German Foreign Minister called on all parties to not escalate the tension.

Unification After The Fall of The CCP

Shieh Jhy-wey, Representative of the Republic of Chinas (Taiwan) Representative Office in Berlin, posted a statement on his Facebook account, pointing out the fallacies in the CCPs claims surrounding the reunification of East and West Germany.

In 1990, the unification of Germany was the free and democratic West Germany unifying the authoritarian East Germany that was under a one-party dictatorship, Shieh wrote, which he said followed the fall of the Berlin Wall and the East German communist regime in 1989  Lets see when the CCP regime collapses, and then talk about the reunification of mainland China and Taiwan in the second year.

Miles Yu , director of the China Center at the Hudson Institute and previously the chief adviser on China policy for the U.S. State Department under the Trump administration, pointed out the hypocrisy of Wangs claim. While Chinas communist regime recognized both East and West Germany as independent nations, it refuses to recognize Taiwan, and repeatedly states it will annex the island by force, if necessary.

Yu wrote in a Twitter post: China (the CCP) supported the coexistence of East Germany and West Germany, giving both of them diplomatic recognition.

However, the reunification of Germany was democratically approved by the peoples of the two countries, and neither side had threatened the other by force.

Shieh said that Baerbock has repeatedly and clearly told the CCP regime one thing, namely that Germanylike the European Union, the United States, Japan, and other G7 countriescannot accept the use of any force by the CCP to change the status quo across the Taiwan Strait.

Shieh pointed out that in addition to the traditional reason for the free world to support Taiwan, which is based on the common moral level (upon which democracies support each other), theres now another reason on the common interest level.

Fifty percent of the global trade and logistics freight goes through the Taiwan Strait, Shieh said. Once the situation in the (Taiwan Strait) changes, it will bring extremely serious consequences to every country in the world. Such a world economic crisis will also hit China (the CCP) and Germany. Shieh said that Baerbock also mentioned another reason why Germany cannot accept the CCPs takeover of Taiwan: Seventy percent of the worlds semiconductors come from Taiwan.

Shieh added a third reason for the democratic world to support Taiwan. Based on Taiwans key position in the Indo-Pacific strategic alliance, the free world cannot allow Taiwan to fall into the hands of an authoritarian Chinano matter what!

Zhong Yuan and Lin Yan contributed to this report.
Communist Chinas Police Stations in America Are Focused State Terrorism

The America ChangLe Association in New York on Oct. 6, 2022. An overseas Chinese police outpost in New York called the Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Station is located inside the association building. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

Commentary

At a New York City news briefing held on April 17, U.S. Attorney Breon Peace nailed the core national security issue at stake in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) police stations in America fiasco: This prosecution reveals the Chinese governments flagrant violation of our nations sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City.

Kudos to Peace for stating the gut truth. Heres the rest of Peaces quote: As alleged, the defendants and their co-conspirators were tasked with doing (communist Chinas) bidding, including helping locate a Chinese dissident living in the United States, and obstructed our investigation by deleting their communications. Such a police station has no place here in New York Cityor any American community.

Peace was addressing the specifics of the case he is prosecuting. Nevertheless, his case and two other Justice Department investigations involving CCP secret police operations in America are tactical (small) examples of the strategic challenge the United States and its allies confrontcommunist China obeys no rules other than it will do whatever the hell it wants to do.

I add this as a caveat at least for the next two to three years: Beijing will do whatever it wants to do as long as doing what it wants doesnt exact a heavy penalty.

I dont think Chinas leaders are quite ready for war. Operating secret police stations in the United States suggests that the CCP is still in the process of undermining American, international, and domestic Chinese resistance to its corrupt rule.

However, Chinese leader Xi Jinping is confident. February 2023s cross-country Chinese balloon violated U.S. sovereignty with no cost. U.S. President Joe Biden refused to shoot it down until it was over water. Now, media report that military sources confirm it had a spy mission, gathering intelligence at lazy balloon speed. According to recent reports, recovered debris indicates the balloon carried high-resolution three-dimensional mapping electronics. When analyzed, the data can reveal underground structures. To gather the detailed data requires an aerial platform loitering over the targeta balloon instead of an airplane or satellite.

It now appears several loitering Chinese spy balloons have violated U.S. sovereignty.

Regular readers of this column know that Ive followed CCP depredations against the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Japan, and India for over two decades. The CCP has raped the Philippines. In July 2016, The Hagues international arbitration tribunal, relying on the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea treaty, supported the Philippines claims that China had violated its territory in the South China Sea by seizing islets and sea features. China also plundered resources in the Philippines exclusive economic zone.

Despite having signed the treaty (and accepting arbitration), the Chinese government callously ignored the verdict and disdained the courts authority.

Having gotten away with disdaining international legal norms, the CCP now has the nerve to flout U.S. sovereignty and launch a terrorist attack on the First Amendment as well as the ethnic Chinese their secret police targeted.

Focused state terrorism is a fair way to frame all three cases the Department of Justice (DOJ) is pursuing. Chinas communist government covertly planted secret police stations in the United States and then proceeded to intimidate, threaten, and harass mainland Chinese expatriates, ethnic Chinese dissidents (no matter their passport citizenship), and American citizens who aid the CCPs vulnerable human victims.

Another DOJ senior officer, Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI Counterintelligence Division, also spoke candidly:

It is simply outrageous that Chinas Ministry of Public Security (secret police) thinks it can get away with establishing a secret, illegal police station on U.S. soil to aid its efforts to export repression and subvert our rule of law.  This case serves as a powerful reminder that the Peoples Republic of China will stop at nothing to bend people to their will and silence messages they dont want anyone to hear.

The DOJ now has a term for the CCPs police station crimes: transnational repression schemes. Yes, it reeks of bureaucratese and avoids my word terror, but its accurate enough for government work.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- China plans to build a supercomputing internet by the end of 2025 to connect powerful computers across the nation and effectively tap into their joint computing power to promote innovation and socioeconomic growth, China Daily reported Wednesday.

It quoted a statement from the Ministry of Science and Technology at a work meeting and said that after decades of efforts, China's supercomputing sector is among global front-runners, effectively supporting the nation's science and technology innovation, social development and digital economy.

However, with the rise of big data, artificial intelligence and a new generation of information technology, society needs more computing power than ever, the statement said, adding that the purpose of the supercomputing internet is to organize local computing centers into a more coordinated system on a national scale.

The newspaper said the endeavor will allow China to overcome key issues such as an uneven distribution of computing capacity, a lack of standardization in computing ports and a lack of incentives for creating and adopting domestically developed application software.

Also it is expected to support China's efforts in making breakthroughs in science and engineering, and in fulfilling the digital China strategy.

The report further quoted Li Guojie, a computer scientist and an academician at the Chinese Academy of Engineering, as saying that by building an integrated and efficient supercomputing internet, China can improve its application shortcomings and make supercomputers more accessible to the general public.

Sun Ninghui, another computer scientist and Chinese Academy of Engineering academician, told the newspaper that supercomputers are foundational digital infrastructure that can spur technological revolutions. Therefore, it is imperative that China reduces the cost of accessing such computing power and lowers the entry barriers for programing on these machines. 
Congressmen Spar Over Effectiveness of School Choice Programs

Bay Area students are given new musical instruments at KIPP Bridge Charter School in San Francisco on Aug. 12, 2014. (Michael Buckner/Getty Images for StubHub)

Education funding should be given to students through their parents, not to institutions, witnesses testified before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce on April 18.

The committee hearing examined the merits of school-choice programs, one of which is currently under consideration. H.R. 531, the Educational Choice for Children Act, would create a tax credit for donations to nonprofit organizations providing education scholarships for elementary and secondary students.

The surest remedy to accountability for these dollars is to fund students via parents rather than schools, Rep. Warren Davidson (R-Ohio), appearing before the committee as a witness, told members.

In K-12 education, students are assigned to a school that is closest to where their parents can afford to live, even if that school is a poor fit. It is time to break the link between housing and schooling and fund families directly just as we do in every other aspect of American life, said Lindsey Burke, director of the Center for Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation.

Opponents of the measure, and of school choice initiatives generally, said the tactic amounts to a tax break for families who can already afford private education and drains resources from already struggling public schools.

The history of school voucher programs is engaged, ingrained in an act of resistance to integration from white families across the south, said Ranking Member Suzanne Bonamici (D-Ore.).

Bonamici noted that many voucher programs admit students who have never attended a public school, and in some states, the programs have no cap on income.

As a result, taxpayer dollars have been used to provide tuition coupons for students already in private schools, and for wealthy families who dont need them, she said.

The debate about school choice followed what have become familiar talking points on both sides.

Advocates insisted that school-choice programs allow families to choose a school tailored to their childs needs and goals and produce higher academic achievement. Also, proponents claimed that choice programs like the Educational Choice for Children Act do not drain funds from public education because they are privately funded.

Those claims are suspect, according to Bonamici, because private schools can selectively enroll higher achieving students while discouraging academically challenged or special-needs students from attending.

Some people  have posited that a massive, multi-billionup to $10 billionschool choice federal tax credit would not affect public school funding, which I find a bit baffling, Bonamici said.

Just to clarify, a $10 billion school-choice federal tax credit would reduce federal revenue by $10 billion, isnt that correct? she asked committee witness Derek W. Black, director of the Constitutional Law Center at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

Thats true, Black said. And if we look at the state level, any type of tax credits  does have the effect of either directly coming out of the public education funding program or indirectly coming out.
Coroner Confirms Earliest Known UK Death From AstraZeneca Vaccine

AstraZeneca COVID-19 Coronavirus Vaccine and a syringe are seen in front of a displayed AstraZeneca logo, in this illustration photo taken on March 14, 2021. (Dado Ruvic/Reuters)

A coroner formally has officially recorded that the likely cause of Dr. Stephen Wrights death was the AstraZeneca vaccine, making him potentially the first person in the UK to have died from the vaccine, according to his wife.

More than two years after 32-year-old Stephen Wright, an NHS psychologist in south-east London, died, an inquest has ruled that it was after taking the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine.

Stephen Wrights wife Charlotte Wright has been fighting to try to get the natural causes wording on her husbands death certificate changed.

On Wednesday, the London Inner South Southwark Coroners Court confirmed that the death was due to unintended consequences of vaccination.

VITT

The report noted that Wright was a fit and healthy man who had an AstraZeneca COVID vaccination on Jan. 16, 2021, awoke with a headache on Jan. 25, 2021, and later developed left arm numbness.

He attended an A&E department just after midnight where he was found to have high blood pressure and a sagittal sinus venous thrombosis. He was transferred to Kings College Hospital at 06.39 but due to the extent of the bleed and very low platelets, was unfit for surgery, dying at 18.33, it said.

It named the cause of death VITT (Vaccine Induced Thrombosis and Thrombocytopenia) as a direct result of the AstraZeneca vaccine.

Charlotte Wright said he was the first person in the UK to die from the AstraZeneca vaccine. His two young sons were aged seven and one at the time.

The Epoch Times has not been able to independently verify that he is the first person in the UK to die from the AstraZeneca vaccine. Before he died, he was due to start work as a senior clinical psychologist at Great Ormond Street.

Charlotte Wright told The Epoch Times that after her husbands death, she was told by authorities that they had noticed abnormalities with the case and that they had never seen a stroke like it before.

She added that we werent listened to after he died.

I think the main thing I feel is relief, however, unfortunately, I dont think Ill get any closure until I have direct answers from AstraZeneca and the government, she added.

VDPS

The Vaccine Damage Payment Scheme (VDPS) is a one-off tax-free payment of 120,000 if someone is proven to have been severely disabled or has died as a result of vaccination from diseases such as measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR), swine flu, and more. In December 2020, ministers agreed to add COVID-19 to the scheme.

Wright said that she was awarded the payment last August, which took 16 months.

Peter Todd, a consultant solicitor with Scott-Moncrieff & Associates, has initiated a claim against AstraZeneca under the Consumer Protection Act 1987, representing Charlotte Wright and her children as well as dozens of others who say that their loved ones suffered severe reactions or died after taking the vaccine.

The legal team is seeking personal injury compensation from AstraZeneca, claiming that the vaccine was not as safe as the public were entitled to expect.

Todd told The Epoch Times that it remains to be seen whether AstraZeneca will be disputing that the vaccine was the cause of his death.

Even if they do not dispute this, I anticipate they will still be disputing civil liability for his death. That is a question of law for the court to determine in due course, he added.

Todd previously told The Epoch Times that the UK government had agreed in the procurement contract of the vaccine to indemnify AstraZeneca against any liability of this kind, so we ask the government to do the right thing and to support people who were vaccinated and help them cope with the devastating consequence of their life changing injuries.

Strict time limits apply to such claims so anyone who thinks they may have been affected in a similar way should get in touch, he added.

Legal Indemnity

In the UK, the Moderna, AstraZeneca, and Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines have been approved for use. All three have legal indemnity protecting the companies from being sued for damages.

An AstraZeneca spokesperson told The Epoch Times by email: We are very saddened by Stephen Wrights death and extend our deepest sympathies to his family for their loss.

Patient safety is our highest priority and regulatory authorities have clear and stringent standards to ensure the safe use of all medicines, including vaccines, he added.

He said that from the body of evidence in clinical trials and real-world data, Vaxzevria has continuously been shown to have an acceptable safety profile and regulators around the world consistently state that the benefits of vaccination outweigh the risks of extremely rare potential side effects.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Authority (MHRA) granted conditional marketing approval for Vaxzevria for the UK based on the safety profile and efficacy of the vaccine, he added.
Court Hearing Delayed for Man Accused of Leaking Secret Military Documents

Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira, right, appears in U.S. District Court in Boston on April 14, 2023. (Margaret Small via AP)

BOSTONThe man accused of leaking secret U.S. military materials will remain detained for at least two more weeks after his detention hearing was delayed on April 19.

A detention hearing for Jack Teixeira, 21, was delayed after lawyers representing Teixeira said they need more time to prepare a response to the governments request to have the National Guard member held in detention as the case proceeds.

Brendan Kelly, one of the lawyers, said that the hearing should be pushed back two weeks. Government prosecutors did not oppose the request, which was granted by Magistrate Judge David Hennessy, who is overseeing the case at the moment.

A new hearing has not yet been scheduled.

Teixeira also waived his right to a preliminary hearing.

Teixeira briefly appeared in the U.S. courthouse in Boston on Wednesday. He was brought into the courtroom in an orange prison jumpsuit. Teixeiras handcuffs were removed when he arrived at the defense table.

The judge asked Teixeira if he had voluntarily waived his right for a preliminary hearing, and Teixeira confirmed he had. The judge said Teixeira would continue to be held for now.

The handcuffs were placed back onto the defendant and he left the courtroom.

Jack Douglas Teixeira poses for a selfie at an unidentified location in a file photo. (Social Media Website via Reuters)

Arrest

Teixeira was arrested on April 13 on suspicion of obtaining and transmitting classified documents that began appearing online in late December 2022. He is a member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard who was called up for federal duty in 2021.

Teixeira has had top security clearance since that year and was involved in posting the documents to a social media platform, according to charging documents. Evidence uncovered in the investigation showed Teixeira accessed at work at least one of the documents that was later posted, an FBI agent said in an affidavit.

Teixeira has been charged with violating the Espionage Act, which bars keeping and transmitting classified national defense information without authorization.

The airman has not entered a plea and neither he nor his attorneys have spoken since he was taken into custody.

Teixeira initially retyped information from the documents but later started taking the materials home and taking pictures because he was concerned he may be discovered making the transcriptions of text in the workplace, a social media user, who was not identified, told authorities.

Billing records from the platform, believed to be Discord, matched Guard records for Teixeira, leading investigators to him.

The documents include materials on the RussiaUkraine war, with some showing different death toll estimates than U.S. officials have given publicly. U.S. officials have said there are signs some of the documents were manipulated. Its not clear how many documents were unlawfully retained, or posted online, in total.

The Department of Defense is still trying to figure that out, Sabrina Singh, a spokesperson, told reporters in a briefing this week.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and other officials continue to convene daily meetings to examine the scope and scale of this disclosure, as well as ensure that appropriate mitigation measures are being taken, she said.

An internal assessment is looking at what documents were disclosed and where they surfaced online, Singh said, adding that were going to continue to find docs online.

The Air Forces 102nd Intelligence Wing, where Teixeira was assigned, has been reassigned following his arrest, officials have said.

The 102nd Intelligence Wing is not currently performing its assigned intelligence mission, Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told The Epoch Times in an email. She said that the Air Force inspector general is investigating the units compliance with policy, procedures, and standards  related to the release of national security information.
How indoctrination undermines principles of American democracy

NR | 1 h 5 min | Documentary | 2023

Anyone who compulsively engages in self-criticism and only remembers their worst mistakes rather than their greatest accomplishments would probably be diagnosed by psychiatrists with alarmingly severe depression.

Young people are being taught to negate Americas founding principles as shown in Civilization in the Danger Zone. (Doc Emet Productions)

Yet, this self-defeating mindset has increasingly taken hold on a national scale here in America, largely with the medias blessing. Filmmaker Gloria Z. Greenfield explains how the indoctrination campaigns of woke activists and radical academics have rotted away the confidence of the West in the documentary Civilization in the Danger Zone, which opens in New York theaters on April 21.

Historian Victor David Hanson interviewed for Civilization in the Danger Zone. (Doc Emet Productions)

The Western worlds self-loathing didnt just happen. In 1964, conservative icon James Burnham warned of the free worlds lack of resolve in his classic book, The Suicide of the West: An Essay on the Meaning and Destiny of Liberalism. Although the fall of Soviet communism seemed to herald the triumph of the West and invalidate Burnhams alarm, the long-term trends identified by Greenfields expert commentators continued unabated.

The films on-camera scholars argue the campaign to undermine the principles of American democracy began in earnest with the sexual revolution of the late 1960s, which weakened the primacy of the family unit as the foundation of society. With the national culture growing increasingly secularized, religious institutions, such as churches and schools, no longer serve as the unifying forces that they once were. Therefore, as family and religious identity weakens, so does national cohesion.

These social and ideological trends also hold practical implications, especially the resulting decline in birthrates in the United States and our allies. Among Western democracies, only Israel has been immune to this projected demographic shortfall, both among its religious and non-Orthodox populations.

Indeed, the Jewish peoples ability to maintain their identity in the face of opposition, oppression, and even occupation, becomes a model to study in Greenfields documentary. Greenfield and company also remind the audience this is a perilous time to be disunited and irresolute, given the mounting threat posed to liberal democracy by Xi Jinpings increasingly hostile and territorially ambitious Chinese communist regime.

Indoctrination has weakened the primacy of the family unit as the foundation of society, something that people must oppose as shown in Civilization in the Danger Zone. (Doc Emet Productions)

Although the message might sound very compatible with Christian conservatism, its important to note many of the films interview subjects are Jewish scholars, such as Ruth Wisse, Harvard University professor and recipient of the National Humanities Medal in 2007; Eric Cohen of the Tikvah Fund; and Moshe Koppel of the Kohelet Policy Forum in Israel. Frankly, this is hardly surprising, since Greenfield has previously exposed rising anti-Semitism in the documentary Unmasked Judeophobia, which is, sadly, even more timely now than when it was first released.

Prominent conservative commentators such as Victor Davis Hanson and Frank Gaffney also address the questions raised by the film, along with Dave Rubin, who is also a well-known conservative and who happens to be openly gay. Indeed, given the voices Greenfield assembles, its hard to dismiss Civilization in the Danger Zone as Evangelical Christian polemics.

Frankly, its scope is broader than that. Admittedly, it assumes a broad overlap between Judaic and Christian values, but Greenfield and her cast of commentators are completely unconcerned with partisan political controversies. Names such as Trump or Ocasio-Cortez are never mentioned at all. Instead, they focus on historically defining figures such as Karl Marx and Thomas Jefferson.

Larry P. Arnn of Hillsdale College interviewed in Civilization in the Danger Zone. (Doc Emet Productions)

In fact, Larry P. Arnn of Hillsdale College offers some much-needed second thoughts regarding Jefferson. While he makes no defense for the Founding Fathers slave ownership, he reminds us Jefferson was one of the prime movers behind the Northwest Ordinance, which forbade slavery in the newly acquired Ohio River territories. That kind of nuanced perspective on history is largely absent in current cancel culture debates.

Civilization in the Danger Zone certainly has a point of view, but it makes all its points in a highly measured, reasonable manner. Greenfield also organizes the material with admirable economy, given the highly manageable 65-minute running time. In some ways, the thesis harkens back to the clash of civilizations discourse prevalent in the 2000s but updated for the era of wokeness. (To be clear, the term woke is used by both liberals and conservatives to describe a number of more radical progressive ideologies, including critical race theory, social justice, and gender theory.)

The documentarys underlying question deserves serious thought: How long can a nation survive when its younger generations hold its founding principles in contempt?

Recommended for its provocative thesis and restrained tone, the DVD for Civilization in the Danger Zone is already available on the website of the production company, Doc Emet Productions.

The documentary Civilization in the Danger Zone shows how indoctrination is rotting America from within. (Doc Emet Productions)

Civilization in the Danger Zone opens in New York theaters on April 21.

Civilization in the Danger Zone

Documentary

Director: Gloria Z. Greenfield

Running Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes

MPAA Rating: NR

Release Date: April 21, 2023

Rated: 4 out of 5
Ex-Con Charged With Killing Worker Painting Over Gang Graffiti in Northridge

SAN FERNANDO, Calif.A Panorama City man has been charged with murder and other counts for allegedly fatally shooting a man who had been hired to paint over gang graffiti on the wall of a Northridge business.

Jamal Jackson, 24, is set to be arraigned May 23 in a San Fernando courtroom on one count each of murder and possession of a firearm by a felon and four counts of attempted murder, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorneys Office.

The charges include allegations that Jackson personally used a handgun and personally inflicted great bodily injury.

Jacksonwho was allegedly seen on video surveillance cameras painting graffiti on the building hours before the shootingis accused of fatally shooting Juan Lopez-Suarez and injuring several others Saturday outside a building in the 1900 block of Parthenia Street, according to the District Attorneys Office.

Surveillance footage showed Jackson exiting his vehicle, a white Toyota Camry, near the victims who were painting out gang graffiti on Van Alden Avenue in Northridge, Calif., on April 15, 2023. (Courtesy of Los Angeles Police Department)

Investigation later revealed that nearby surveillance footage showed Jackson exiting his vehicle, a white Toyota Camry, near the victims who were painting out gang graffiti on Vanalden Avenue, north of Parthenia Street, Los Angeles police said in a statement announcing Jacksons arrest. Jackson approached the victims on foot and produced a handgun, firing at them multiple times.

Police said the victim, who was working alongside three other men when he was shot, was pronounced dead at a hospital a short time later.

Three other men in the immediate vicinity were also struck by gunfire before the shooter got back into the sedan and sped away northbound on Vanalden, according to police.

Police said two of the shooting victims underwent surgery and the other was treated and released.

Jackson was arrested on April 16 in the San Bernardino County community of Ontario by personnel from the Operations-Valley Bureau Homicide Unit and the LAPD/FBI Fugitive and U.S. Marshals Task Force, according to the police department.

In a statement announcing the charges, District Attorney George Gascon said, This callous act of violence against a group of individuals showed a total disregard for human life. Juan Lopez-Suarezs death is tragic and senseless. My heart goes out to the victims and their families who are dealing with this tragedy.

The district attorney vowed that his office will hold Mr. Jackson accountable for his brutal actions.
Ex-Trump Organization Top Executive Released From Rikers Island Jail

Former Trump Organization Chief Financial Officer Allen Weisselberg leaves the courtroom for a lunch recess during a trial at the New York Supreme Court in New York City on Nov. 17, 2022. (Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Former Trump Organization chief financial officer Allen Weisselberg was released from the Rikers Island jail on Wednesday after serving a roughly four-month sentence after he pleaded guilty to several felonies.

The 75-year-old emerged from New York Citys Rikers Island jail complex after serving about 100 days, according to an Associated Press reporter. His term started Jan. 10.

New York City Department of Correction records also showed that he was released on Wednesday.

Anyone who truly knows Allen feels sorry that he had to go through this. I hope he can now retire in peace, spend time with his wonderful family, and leave the circus in the rear view mirror, his former lawyer Nicholas Gravante said Wednesday. It was my honor and privilege to have represented him. Hes a true gentleman.

Weisselberg pleaded guilty last August to failing to pay taxes on $1.7 million in off-the-books compensation, including a Manhattan apartment, Mercedes-Benz cars for him and his wife, and his grandchildrens school tuition.

With his knowledge of the Trump Organizations financial dealings, Weisselberg would be a valuable witness for both the prosecution and defense in former President Donald Trumps criminal case thats playing out in Manhattan. Earlier this month, Trump was charged by the Manhattan District Attorneys office with 34 counts of allegedly falsifying business records.

The former president is accused of directing underlings to falsify company business records to disguise payments made to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen, as reimbursement and reward for his work buying the silence of people with stories about Trumps relationships with several women. Trump has vehemently denied the allegations against him, saying its part of a longstanding witch hunt against him.

In court filings, prosecutors said Weisselbergwho has not been charged in the caseadvised Cohen how to issue two payments to women. Court papers also said he arranged for Cohen to be paid $420,000 for that work in 12 installments.

Several years ago, Cohen pleaded guilty to federal campaign finance violations in connection to the 2016 payments to adult film actress Stormy Daniels. He served several years in a federal prison before being released in 2021.

Before Trumps indictment, Cohen told MSNBC and other outlets that he served as a witness to a Manhattan grand jury in connection to the Trump case. Another Trump-connected attorney, Robert Costello, also testified and told reporters in Manhattan last month that he attempted to cast Cohen as an unreliable witness.

Notably, Judge Juan Merchan, who was tapped to preside over Trumps Manhattan case, also presided over Weisselbergs case. Trump wrote earlier this month in a Truth Social posting that Merchan was hand picked by Bragg [and] the Prosecutors.

The Judge assigned to my Witch Hunt Case, a Case that has NEVER BEEN CHARGED BEFORE, HATES ME. His name is Juan Manuel [Merchan], was hand picked by Bragg & the Prosecutors, & is the same person who railroaded my 75 year old former CFO, Allen Weisselberg, to take a plea deal (Plead GUILTY, even if you are not, 90 DAYS, fight us in Court, 10 years (life!) in jail. He strong armed Allen, which a judge is not allowed to do, & treated my companies, which didnt plead, VICIOUSLY. APPEALING! he wrote.

Trumps lawyer, Joe Tacopina, has told multiple news outlets this month that his team will soon file a motion to dismiss the case against Trump. He claimed that the DA, Alvin Bragg, abused his prosecutorial authority and said that the case wouldnt have been made against anyone other than Trump.

Weisselberg is still a defendant in New York Attorney General Letitia Jamess $250 million civil lawsuit accusing him, Trump, and the Trump Organization of allegedly inflating asset values.

The Epoch Times has contacted the Trump Organization for comment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Feds Resist Disclosing Government Subsidies Given to Volkswagen for New Battery Plant

House of Commons Industry Committee asks repeatedly to review contract

A new Volkswagen ID.3 electric car in a fully automatic high-bay-rack for delivery by the German automaker at the "Autostadt" in Wolfsburg, Germany, on Sept. 11, 2020. (Annegret Hilse/Reuters)

The federal industry department has so far refused to disclose to a House of Commons committee how much money the Liberals have given to the European vehicle company Volkswagen for the development of a new battery plant to be built in Ontario.

The contracts were supposed to be presented by the April 17 meeting of the Standing Committee on Industry and Technology, according to Blacklocks Reporter. During the meeting, B.C. Conservative MP Brad Vis expressed frustration with the governments failure to provide details of federal subsidies provided to Volkswagen.

Two things: number of jobs, amount of money. I am not asking for anything inappropriate. If the government stands by their investment, theyll give us the numbers. I dont need obfuscation. We need to have transparency, said the MP.

We asked over two weeks ago to receive this information, he said, asking why the government is afraid to give Canadians the number.

There are some big numbers floating around about the amount of money the government put forward to Volkswagen, Vis said. This is the only car company thats been charged under my understanding with the Canadian Environmental Protection Act laws on emissions. And that was within the last seven years.

Vis asked: Why cant we just get the number? Whats the big deal?

Motion

A motion was passed by the committee on March 30 to request the terms of the contract with Volkswagon to build a subsidized battery plant by 2027. The plant is to be located in St. Thomas, Ontario. Vis said, The number of $15 billion was being thrown around.

According to Vis, the German government offered Volkswagen over $10 billion to have a lithium battery processing plant.

Sheryl Groeneweg, director general of the Advanced Manufacturing and Industrial Strategy Branch, was asked by Vis for the amount of investment the Canadian government made with Volkswagen to develop the new battery plant.

Groeneweg replied, That information is not yet public, so there is nothing I can communicate to you at this point.

The committee voted on April 17 to compel Industry Canada to provide the contract to the committee by April 24. Vis said taxpayers deserve to know the total cost involved.

Ontario Liberal MP Iqwinder Gaheer said that the contract with Volkswagen is not a one-pager.

He said: Im sure its 200 pages, 200 pages, who knows. Im sure it has to be translated to both languages, it has to be verified. And it could be partially in German, who knows.

Nova Scotia Conservative MP Rick Perkins expressed doubts the government would be transparent in providing the documents.

The governments going to redact them anyway, he said.

Gigafactory

On March 13, Volkswagen Group and its battery company PowerCo announced it will establish its first overseas gigafactory for battery cell manufacturing in St. Thomas, Ontario, with the start of production planned for 2027.

The company signed an agreement last year with the federal government to identify an appropriate site for such a facility in Canada, and the Liberals committed to considering ways for Canada to contribute to Volkswagens battery supply chains, including raw materials and assembly.

Federal Industry Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne and Ontario Economic Development Minister Vic Fedeli said in a joint statement that the announcement is a major vote of confidence for the country and the province of Ontario to be part of the electric vehicle supply chain.

In 2020, Volkswagen settled 60 counts laid under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act for installing software into diesel cars that misrepresented nitrogen oxide emissions. West Virginia University researchers discovered the emissions were nine times the legal limit by conducting road tests in 2014.

Volkswagen was forced to pay $196.5 million in fines, and $1.75 million for misleading advertising in violation of the Competition Act. The car company agreed it would provide $2.39 billion in compensation to Canadian consumers who bought a diesel Volkswagen vehicle. The company paid a total of $2.6 billion in Canada as a result of the issue.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Former Top Officials Cant Recall 2017 Memo on Chinese Regime Interference

Michael Wernick, Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa, waits to appear as a witness at the Standing Committee on Procedure and House Affairs investigating foreign election inference on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on April 18, 2023. (Spencer Colby/The Canadian Press)

Two former top federal officials who had alleged links to a 2017 memo to the prime minister on Chinese regime interference told a committee of MPs they have no recollection of the matter.

I have no memory of seeing that note, Michael Wernick told the House of Commons Procedure and House Affairs Committee (PROC) on April 18.

Wernick is the former Clerk of the Privy Council, the top public service role managing the Privy Council Office (PCO), which supports the functioning of the prime ministers department.

Wernick served in that role from 2016 to 2019 and was invited to the committee to share his knowledge as PROC studies foreign interference. He is currently the Jarislowsky Chair in Public Sector Management at the University of Ottawa.

The former top public servant was asked about one of the multiple national security leaks to appear in the media in recent months on the topic.

Global News reported on Feb. 8 that Katie Telford, chief of staff to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, had requested that then National Security Intelligence Advisor (NSIA) Daniel Jean produce a memo in 2017 on foreign interference.

The report said the Memorandum for the Prime Minister had also been provided to Wernick, according to records.

But Global added it wasnt clear whether the memo had been sent to Trudeau, with the document it saw not having been signed or stamped.

The memo reportedly discussed Beijings efforts to infiltrate all levels of government and that its agents were assisting Canadian candidates running for political offices.

I left government four years ago today. I did not take any records or secret documents with me, I dont have access to document logs, I dont have my old calendars, and I dont have access to any records, Wernick said to explain his lack of recollection.

Conservative MP Michael Cooper, after receiving this response to his question, asked Wernick what he knew about foreign interference by the Chinese regime at that time.

Did you have information that Beijing officials were actively pursuing a strategy to infiltrate or interfere in our democratic processes? he asked.

Not that I recall, Wernick said, adding that the main preoccupation was then Russia and its potential to disrupt elections.

Wernick was also asked about a National Intelligence Assessment produced in 2019 on espionage, foreign interference, and threats to the 2019 federal election.

China is still the most active and sophisticated perpetrator of espionage and foreign interference activities in Canada, said Conservative MP Blaine Calkins as he read from the redacted document.

Calkins asked how Wernick could not be familiar with the topic given the assessment was produced by his office. Can you circle that square for me, Mr. Wernick?

Wernick said he had no recollection of seeing that note. Maybe I did, maybe I didnt, I just dont remember.

Former NSIA Jean testified after Wernick and was also asked by Cooper to provide information on the 2017 memo that Telford reportedly requested him to prepare. Jean did not confirm the existence of the memo. Like Wernick, he said he left government years ago.

Ive been out of the PCO for five years, so I dont have any access to my records.  Having said that, even if I had I wouldnt be able to discuss a classified memo, said Jean, who served as NSIA from 2016 to 2018.

But I dont want to be seen as trying to evade the question, he continued, limiting himself to saying that he had briefed the prime minister on foreign interference from China and other countries in the context of growing concern from his office and some of Canadas allies.

Jean similarly said that the concern at the time was more related to Russia, and although there existed a growing preoccupation with the Chinese regime it was not necessarily on the foreign interference front.

Our concerns were a lot more on some of the issues like acquisition of sensitive technology, what we like to refer to as economic security, he said.

Telford was also asked about the 2017 memo when she testified before the committee on April 14.

I ask a lot of questions and a lot of meetings and sometimes my name also gets attached to things, even when its not coming directly with me, she said, adding she couldnt speak to the specifics of the memo to protect sensitive information.

My understanding through the reporting is that this was an unsigned memo, and its particularly strange and not my experience to receive unsigned memos [in the Prime Ministers Office], Telford said.

PROC is one of the bodies currently reviewing the threat of foreign interference. The Commons ethics committee is also currently reviewing the matter, while the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP) will also begin a review.

Opposition parties have requested holding a public inquiry on the matter, but the Liberal government has instead announced various measures, such as asking NSICOP to conduct a review.

Another measure is the appointment of former governor general David Johnston as special rapporteur to evaluate the countrys response to the threat and formulate recommendations. Those are expected to be provided in the coming weeks and could include calling for a public inquiry.

Opposition party leaders have questioned Johnstons suitability for the task given his close links to Trudeau and his recent involvement with the Trudeau Foundation, itself embroiled in foreign interference controversy for taking money from businessmen tied to the Chinese regime.

Trudeau has defended Johnstons integrity and called the criticism of his appointment horrific partisan attacks.
Fracking Closer After Release of Beetaloo Report

Fracking in the NT may be one step closer after the territory government released a milestone report into the Beetaloo Basin.

The new report was commissioned in response to recommendations from the Pepper inquiry into the gas fracking industry, which said more data was needed before decisions could be made on natural gas extraction in the area.

Research for the Strategic Regional Environmental and Baseline Assessment (SREBA) was conducted over three years at a cost of $15 million.

The hydraulic fracturing inquiry laid out a recipe of all the information gaps that needed to be filled before decisions could be made about hydraulic fracturing in the territory, said Dr Alaric Fisher of the NT Department of Environment, Parks and Water Security.

Weve undertaken a systematic process to fill those gaps.

But environmental activists and local residents are worried the information will not be used in good faith by the NT government.

Baseline scientific reports are only as good as the way they are used, Arid Lands Environment Centre spokeswoman Hannah Ekin said.

The report looked into key baseline data in the area surrounding the Beetaloo Basin across topics including water and biodiversity resources and local community concerns.

But a series of scandals plagued the report, after key tenders were awarded to interstate researchers instead of Charles Darwin University.

In 2021, researchers from the university and CSIRO found the presence of a tiny, blind shrimp in the groundwater of the aquifer that stretches across the Beetaloo.

They concluded the presence of this creature meant water systems through the aquifer were connected for at least 300km, meaning that any fracking in the area could have far-reaching implications for water contamination.

The team was not awarded a third contract to conduct research for the report, despite winning tenders for the first two.

Local pastoralist Carina James said concerns about fracking affecting water quality were top of mind for her.

Ive asked and nobody can give me 100 per cent assurance that there wont be changes to the water quality or quantity for my business and operations as a result of fracking, she said.

The report also found that communities, such as those in the town of Tennant Creek, had low confidence in the government to effectively regulate fracking.

They are cautious and very sceptical of receiving any economic or social benefits from an onshore gas industry being developed in the Beetaloo region, and more concerned about the environmental and cultural impacts it could have instead, the report said.

Environment Minister Lauren Moss said she believed the report and any resulting regulatory reform would withstand public scrutiny and the test of time.

The report addressed 35 of the Pepper inquirys 135 recommendations, she told reporters on Tuesday.

In 2018, we made a decision as a government that  if those 135 recommendations were implemented, we could move ahead as a territory with the onshore gas industry.

Thats where were up to now, she said.

Its been a significant amount of work over many, many years to get to this point. And once that has been released, we will be able to move forward.

Moss said as the inquiry had intended, the report would play a critical role in avoiding and mitigating risks associated with onshore gas and development activity.
Fuel Campaigner and Lobbyist Says Ban on Petrol and Diesel Cars Doesnt Make Sense

A lobbyist and campaigner for motorists claimed the ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars in the UK in 2030 will cost five times more than any environmental benefits.

Howard Cox, CEO of FairFuelUK, said: There will be about 75 billion worth of benefits in environmental jobs and all those sorts of things, because of the green economy. But its gonna cost us 400 billion more to get that. It doesnt make sense.

Cox was referring to a report by the CEBR which Fair Fuel UK had commissioned and had been paid for by the Alliance of British Drivers and the Motorcycle Action Group.

Speaking to NTDs Lee Hall for the British Thought Leaders programme, Cox said: For some reason the UK authorities, particularly in Westminster, have been infiltrated by people who have some sort of hidden agenda to say that the world is ending. Its not going to end. Were being driven by emotion, not scientific fact.

Cox, who campaigns for lower fuel prices and reducing the tax burden on motorists, said: We are being dominated by people who believe that for some reason or another we can actually stop global warming. Before anyone attacks me on this, I am not a climate change denier, but I do not believe theres a crisis.

Were Being Told Lies

The climate change is called basically the weather. We had increases of CO2, and dont forget CO2 is actually a food for plants. We wouldnt have crops, its the basis of photosynthesis, which is a way of actually for plants to grow right across the world. But were being told lies in terms of actually what we are inflicting on this planet in terms of the Industrial Revolution, Cox added.

He went on to say that without the Industrial Revolution and huge technological advances in the last 100 years, there would be no video cameras, smartphones, or central heating and he added, But we have not impacted on the planet. There are cyclical things happening on this planet, because of things like solar radiation, all sorts of things that are happening. Its nothing to do with us.

Cox called for lower taxation and more investment in clean fuel technology.

He said: Im all for actually lowering CO2 emissions and all those sorts of things.

But he went on to say that the UK produces only 1 percent of the worlds emissions and added: The other 99 percent come from places like India, South America, America, North America, China, theyre not going to do anything. Theyre building coal mines, all those sorts of things.

A family walks past as activists take part in a demonstration outside Buckingham Palace, as part of protests by the Extinction Rebellion climate change group on the fifth day of their new series of mass rebellions, in central London, on Sept. 5, 2020 (Justin Tallis/AFP via Getty Images)

Cox said: We cannot do anything here and its arrogant to think we can and I challenge any of the politicians in government at the moment. Stop trying to think that you can lead the world in actually reducing emissions. You cant. Weve done enough. UK is one of the cleanest places on the planet. Stop this virtue-signalling rubbish.

He said a 75-year-old pensioner who drives her diesel car to the supermarket or to the doctors to sort out some medical ailment was penalised as though when she gets in her car shes killing off the planet, shes not.

Cox said: Diesel is the commercial heartbeat of the economy and the government for some incredible reason doesnt seem to get that if they reduce the cost of diesel you watch our economy rocket. It would go absolutely bananas in terms of actually increasing in terms of GDP.

On Saturday, hundreds of people took part in a protest in Londons Trafalgar Square against the London Mayor Sadiq Khans plan to extend the Ultra Low Emissions Zone (ULEZ) to the outer limits of the capital.

Losing the Freedom to Drive

Cox is adamantly opposed to the plan to expand the zone and he said: One of the most important battles we are fighting is for the freedom to drive. It is one of the most important freedoms in our lives, the freedom to travel, to get in our car and go anywhere we want.

He said: But were now told we cant go anywhere. Weve got Low Traffic Neighbourhoods. Were told that if we havent got the right sort of emissions in the car, youre going to be paying an extra 12 and then youve got the congestion charge on top of that.

An anti-ULEZ protest organised by the Together Declaration in London on April 15, 2023. (Owen Evans/The Epoch Times)

Guess what? Those sorts of restrictions on low-income families, its a regressive tax, it hits small businesses.

Cox said he received a very emotive email recently from a plumber in Bromley who drives his van into central London in order to quote for work.

Theres no guarantee that hes going to get the business from those quotes, and hes gambling. And he simply said hes not going to do that, hes not going to work in London again, he added.

Khan faces another election in May 2024 and Cox said: Im going to fight until I die to stop this man from actually ever getting elected again.

Ive been asked by a lot of people if I would stand for mayor. I wont say yes or no at the moment, but I am considering my options. And you can read into that what you want, said Cox.
People visit the third China International Consumer Products Expo (CICPE) in Haikou, capital city of south China's Hainan Province, on April 15, 2023. (Xinhua/Yang Guanyu)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Global luxury brands are poised to unlock fresh business growth points and tap into the vast Chinese consumer market, as China's economy is showing a faster-than-expected recovery.

"2023 is a year full of hope after the peak of COVID in China and all the measures are in place to relaunch the economy and consumption," Sophie Phe, the CEO of Remy Cointreau China, told Xinhua in an exclusive interview.

"We have seen the demand and vibrancy of the Chinese market return this year and the prospects are very exciting. Chinese customers are hungry for in-person experiences and are returning to physical stores as well as continuing to access our digital platforms. There is pent-up demand in China and the rest of Asia that we are now seeing released," noted Adam Hershman, vice president of TUMI Asia Pacific and Middle East.

China's economy grew at a faster pace in the first quarter of 2023, with gross domestic product growing 4.5 percent year on year to 28.5 trillion yuan (about 4.14 trillion U.S. dollars) and major indicators showing an upward trend and improvement in market expectations.

In particular, retail sales of consumer goods went up 5.8 percent year on year in the first quarter, reversing a decline of 2.7 percent in the final quarter of last year.

These figures have again bolstered the confidence of luxury brands in ramping up investment in the world's second largest consumer market.

As a renowned company in the global spirits market, Remy Cointreau Group still expects a bigger market share in China, as in the spirits category, imported products only account for about 3 percent of the total alcohol market in terms of value in China, Phe noted.

"Some categories like cognac and single malt are growing fast. Consumers have the appetite for exceptional spirits with history and craftsmanship, and they are curious about how these products are made and the way to enjoy them," she said.

Bullish on rosy prospects and massive potential, the group has increased investment in China in recent years, including opening its first sustainability bar in Shanghai in February and a new boutique at the Haikou International Duty-Free Shopping Complex.

Noting that the company still sees a lot of scope to grow in the Chinese market, Hershman said TUMI is "encouraged by all the positive economic developments and projects, like the Hainan Free Trade Port, as they create even more opportunities for brands."

Mirko Bordiga, managing director of Maserati Greater China, is currently attending the Auto Shanghai 2023. Highlighting that next year marks the 20th anniversary of Maserati's presence in China, Bordiga said the carmaker has been a witness to the evolution of the Chinese auto market.

"Chinese customers have become extremely conscious and extremely competent when it comes to cars during the past years. And obviously this reverberates positively to the upper part of the range, so the pursuit of luxury cars has obviously been increasing. Though the epidemic affected us last year, we are confident that the situation will improve and it's already improving," Bordiga added.

China has, on various occasions, stressed its commitment to enhancing high-quality development and high-level opening up. The country is ready to provide a larger Chinese market to the world and bring more development opportunities to all countries.

As a regular participant at the China International Import Expo and the China International Consumer Products Expo, Remy Cointreau has already laid out plans to broaden its footprint in the Chinese market.

"Over the past three years, despite the pandemic, Remy Cointreau China has continuously expanded its business in China and grown investments behind its brands. The group is confident about the future in China, especially after the peak of COVID and the start of recovery in the market," said Phe.

"We are very supportive of the government's efforts to open up and boost trade," said Hershman, adding the recent positive economic policies will boost overall trade, tourism and demand in the Chinese market and will positively affect regional trade. 
Government at Loggerheads With Critics Over Emergency Alerts as Test Looms

An emergency alert regarding a stay-at-home order during the COVID-19 pandemic is viewed on a mobile phone in Eastern Ontario, Canada, on Jan. 14, 2021. (Sean Kilpatric/The Canadian Press)

The government has urged people not to try and deactivate the emergency alerts system on their mobile phones ahead of a nationwide test on Sunday and has said the system is in the public interest and could be used to warn of terrorist attacks, mass shootings, or even nuclear threats.

Millions of smartphones across the UK will emit a loud alarm and vibrate at 3 p.m. on Sunday as the government conducts a test run.

But critics, including a number of Conservative MPs, have said it is unnecessary and could cause anxiety, especially among old people.

Jacob Rees-Mogg, a former Cabinet minister, said on his GB News programme: If something is building up to a great disaster, are we to assume that people are so stupid that they havent paid any attention to whats been going on? And this seems to me to be a mistaken role for the state to be taking.

Back to the Nanny State

He said: It is back to the nanny state, warning us, telling us, mollycoddling us, when instead they should be letting people get on with their lives and make sensible decisions for themselves. And really its an extensive intrusion of the information that was used during COVID.

The systembased on similar structures in Canada and New Zealandis designed to warn people about severe weather situations such as floods and wildfires or other emergencies in their local area.

Craig Mackinlay, another Tory MP, told the Daily Telegraph he did not understand why the emergency alert system is needed.

Its something weve managed to live and breathe without for all these years. It may scare a few people, I think particularly the elderly, wondering what all this is all about. I cant see any imperative for it, Mackinlay added.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunaks official spokesman said: We would encourage people not to switch it off unless it is the right thing for them to do so. Obviously, people are free to make their own decisions about whats right for them, so we are not prescriptive. But we do think that this is a system that has the potential to alert people to significant danger. So, of course, we would encourage people to opt in.

The decision to award the 5.7 million contract to Fujitsu has also been greeted with anger after the Japanese companys involvement in the Post Office IT scandal led to a public inquiry.

Thousands of sub-postmasters were accused of stealing money from the Post Office due to a glitch in Fujitsus Horizon accounting system and Lord Arbuthnot, a Conservative peer and former MP, told the Daily Mail the decision to work with Fujitsu is strange and disappointing.

Several smaller tests have already been run in parts of Suffolk and in Reading, Berkshire, and the government insists the system is necessary and needs to be tested on a national level.

Around 5 percent of those in the Reading sample opted out of the system after being part of the pilot and there is a growing opposition to it on social media.

At a press conference earlier this week, a Whitehall official said: At the moment, our plans for this first pilot phase relate to severe weather and flooding, but we do expect the use of the system to broaden out. This is about threats to life and limb and situations where specific advice can be issued.

He added: You can conceive that we could use this in an abduction situation, or where there was a dangerous criminal on the loose, or where we require the public to look for something for that reason. Were going to be led by discussions with the police and other emergency services on this.

It could also be used to warn people of car bombs and civil nuclear incidents, he said.

If we were to move to the use of the system for this reason, we do so quite cautiously, the official added.

The government said it had been working with a number of charities to ensure vulnerable people were not distressed by Sundays test.

Emergency Alert Could Have Saved Lives

In many parts of Canada, emergency alerts have been in existence for several years. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police was heavily criticised for failing to use the Alert Ready system in April 2020 when a gunman, who was driving a fake RCMP car, went on a 13-hour killing spree in Nova Scotia.

Gabriel Wortman killed 13 people in the village of Portapique on the night of April 18, 2020, and then lay low for several hours before resuming his killing spree the following morning, claiming another 9 victims.

Instead of sending out an emergency alert to all mobile phones in Nova Scotia late on the Saturday night, the Mounties chose to make an appeal on Twitter and consequently, many people were oblivious to the fact there was a killer still on the loose on the Sunday morning.

Last month the Mass Casualty Commission published a damning report (pdf) on the Wortman shootings, in which it said, Alert Ready was the best available tool to warn the Nova Scotia public about the mass casualty and to provide updates as the information available to the RCMP changed.

PA Media contributed to this report.
Government Jobs Compensate More, Offer Earlier Retirement, Says Canadian Study

Government employees get paid more for similar work, get more personal days per year, retire earlier, and are more likely to have a pension that guarantees income in retirement than those in the private sector, according to a new study by the Fraser Institute.

In a report released April 18, the independent think tank said government workers on average receive 8.5 percent higher wages than a comparable employee in the private sector, even after adjustments for age, gender, education, tenure, type of work, and other factors.

The report suggests government jobs provide more generous benefits and higher wages that could be reduced in a recession to reduce costs.

At a time when governments across Canada are facing serious fiscal pressures as a result of the recession, bringing government sector compensation in line with the private sector would help reduce costs without necessarily affecting services, said Ben Eisen, a senior fellow with the Fraser Institute.

Closing the compensation gap between the government and private sectors would reduce costs and help governments move towards balancing their budgets, added Eisen.

The report, Comparing Government and Private Sector Compensation in Canada, 2023 Edition, finds that government employees across Canadaincluding federal, provincial, and municipal workerswere paid 31.3 percent higher wages, on average, than workers in the private sector in 2021.

The study used the most recent data available from Statistics Canadas Labour Force Survey to conclude that the average government worker retires 2.4 years earlier, and is able to miss work for personal reasons five days more per year than comparable non-government workers.

A government job also equates to almost five times less job loss and almost nine times more chance of having a pension providing guaranteed income and benefits in retirement, said the study.

Most government workers (90.6 percent) received such a pension, according to the Fraser Institute, but only 39.9 percent of private sector workers could retire under those same conditions.

In 2021, 86.6 per cent of public-sector workers were covered by a registered pension plan compared to only 22.9 per cent in the private sector, it said.

Added Benefits

Government workers were absent from their jobs for personal reasons more often than private sector workers as well14.9 days compared to 9.8 days.

The report notes wages are only one aspect of compensation. Government jobs also provide various non-wage benefits such as pensions, health and dental insurance, vacation time, and life and disability insurance, said the report.

In Canada in 2021, there were almost 4.1 million public sector employees, representing 21.6 percent of the countrys total employment. This includes the federal, provincial, and local governments, as well as government agencies, crown corporations, and government-funded establishments such as schools (including universities) and hospitals, indicated the report.

Private sector workers accounted for 64.2 percent of total employment, using 2022 Statistics Canada numbers. The remaining 14.1 percent, approximately 2.7 million Canadians, were self-employed, the report said.

The study also found that men, on average, earned 8.7 percent more than women, and high school graduates earned 5.8 percent more than those with an elementary education or less. An individual who graduated from university earned 15.9 percent more than a Canadian with only elementary school level education, and those with graduate degrees could command 22.1 percent higher wages.
Greens Lock Horns With Labor Again Over Aussie Battlers

Party leader of the Australian Greens Adam Bandt addresses the media after the resignation of Senator Lidia Thorpe from the Australian Greens Party at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia on Feb. 6, 2023. Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

The federal Labor government has been accused of failing lower-income Australians after deciding not to increase the Jobseeker rate, as well as rental assistance.

Greens leader Adam Bandt said the decision showed Labor did not care about the Aussie battler.

Labor is forcing people to live in poverty while giving a $9,000-year tax cut to billionaires and politicians, he said, referring to the decision of the Labor government to keep the Stage Three tax cuts legislated under the previous government.

Labors not making hard choices in this Budget; theyre making everyday people make hard choices, like whether to pay the rent or put food on the table.

Treasurer Says Government Cant Support Everything

The comments from the Greens leader come after the federal Treasurer Jim Chalmers released an interim report by the Economic Inclusion Advisory Committee (pdf) outlining measures to repair the Budget.

We thank the committee for the report, which is helping inform the governments considerations ahead of the Budget to be delivered on 9 May, the treasurer said.

Treasurer Jim Chalmers during Question Time at Parliament House in Canberra, Australia, on Feb. 14, 2023. (Martin Ollman/Getty Images)

While we cant fund every good idea, there will be measures in the May Budget to address disadvantages. This will include energy bill price relief that prioritises those on payments and pensions.

The treasurer also noted that the government would look to provide support where we can to those most in need, where it is responsible and affordable to do so, and weighed up against other priorities and fiscal challenges.

Chalmers did say there would be an expansion in the number of hours pensioners could work and better support for disabled individuals to find work.

The Budget is also expected to include energy price relief which Prime Minister Anthony Albanese spruiked on April 19 on Radio 2SM, saying one-and-a-half billion would be put aside to help households.

But the Greens were still critical saying the Labor government had forgotten its ideological roots with its commitment to tax cuts and the AUKUS nuclear submarine deal.

Labor is becoming a centre-right government, making economic decisions Scott Morrison would have been proud of, said Bandt.

Disagreement Over Housing As Well

The Greens have been at loggerheads with the Albanese government over rental assistance for the past month following failed negotiations over the $10 billion (US$6.7 billion) affordable Housing Australia Future Fund (HAFF)a key election promise.

HAFF is billed with supporting the construction of 30,000 homes over the next five years for vulnerable Australians to deal with the countrys housing crisis.

Both the Greens and independent Senators David Pocock and Tammy Tyrell are calling for significant amendments in the bill, including a nationwide freeze on rents.

Prime Minister Albanese called the idea absurd and said Bandt knew the demand was pixie dust.

I say to the Greens political party: pass our Housing Australia Future Fund. You cant have credibility coming in here and saying: We dont think $10 billion is enough. We want $20 billion. Therefore, well oppose $10 billion. Its just absurd to vote for zero rather than to vote for progress, the prime minister said.

He knows its not real, and he should do better than come in here and make statements that he knows cant be delivered. We can deliver something. He can talk to his senators across there and say unblock the filibuster and the nonsense thats around the Housing Australia Future Fund, he added.
Grieving Families, Frustrated Lawmakers Protest Decision to Kill Fentanyl Bills

Assemblyman Jim Patterson (C), R-Fresno, speaks at a press conference in front of the state Capitol to protest the Assembly Public Safety Committees recent decision to not hear bipartisan fentanyl bills in Sacramento, Calif., on April 18, 2023. (Courtesy of Assemblyman Jim Pattersons office)

California families affected by fentanyl overdose deaths joined lawmakers in front of the state Capitol in Sacramento on April 18 to protest the Assembly Public Safety Committees recent decision to not hear bipartisan fentanyl bills proposed by legislators.

Attendees were invited to place flowers in baskets commemorating fentanyl victims, and the group said it intends to present the memorial to the committee.

We have been told by this committee that we need to wait. The families need to wait, Assemblyman Jim Patterson (R-Fresno)author of one of the bills vetoed by the committeetold The Epoch Times in a statement April 18. With all due respect, we dont have time left to waste, and waiting shouldnt be an option.

Tablets believed to be laced with fentanyl are displayed at the Drug Enforcement Administration Northeast Regional Laboratory in New York on Oct. 8, 2019. (Don Emmert/AFP via Getty Images)

Chair of the committee, Assemblyman Reginald Jones-Sawyer (D-Los Angeles), vetoed the bills in March, preventing them from being presented to the legislature.

Moving forward, I intend to work on this issue by bringing those who understand the causation, prevention, and treatment components together with policy makers to ensure we have a tactical solution in hand, Jones-Sawyer told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement after announcing the vetoes.

During the protest, politicians, district attorneys, and advocates for changes in fentanyl regulations were flanked by visual aids demonstrating the immensity of the problem.

A dump truck demonstrating the volume of 28,000 pounds of fentanyl recovered by authorities in California last year served as the backdrop for the event.

The amount seized in 2022 is enough to potentially kill more than 6 billion people, according to the Department of Justices recent calculation that a pound of fentanyl could take more than 200,000 lives.

California is in the midst of a fentanyl crisis that is creating havoc in communities across the state, Assemblyman James Gallagher (R-Yuba City) said at the event. We need to ensure that our communities, and our children are safe. We must come together and save our children.

Nearly 6,000 people died from fentanyl in California in 2021, according to the most recent data from the California Department of Public Health, a 50 percent increase from 2020.

The Faces of Fentanyl wall, which displays photos of Americans who died from a fentanyl overdose, at the Drug Enforcement Administration headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on July 13, 2022. (Agnes Bun/AFP via Getty Images)

Laura Didier, mother of a 17-year-old fentanyl overdose victim, spoke about the need for support from state representatives.

We are out there in the community, we are doing hard, heartbreaking work, and we need our elected officials to stand with us, she said during the protest.

As each voice approached the microphone, the frustration was palpable, and each story offered a glimpse into the sorrow felt by families and friends affected by the drug.

All of us standing here today are sick and tired of losing loved ones to fentanyl, Natalie Page, who lost her brother to a counterfeit pill, told the crowd. Fentanyl has destroyed our families, changed our lives, and taken our loved ones away from us.

Access to illicit narcotics has increased with the advent of social media, and more than 98 percent of all pills sold on such platforms are fake, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

Many overdose victims believe they are purchasing legitimate, pharmaceutical medications, and unintentional overdose cases are not uncommon, according to justice department officials.

Perla Mendozas son Elijah was one such case. He purchased what he believed to be a Percocet pill via Snapchat in September 2020, but subsequently died of fentanyl poisoning.

Mendoza told the crowd that she confronted her sons murderer, yet he continued selling drugs on social media platforms.

For two and a half years I witnessed this man selling his tainted products up and down Orange County and Los Angeles County, she said.

The drug led to the death of more than 67,000 across the nation in 2021, according to the National Safety Council, a nonprofit safety advocate based in Illinois.

Drug dealers and traffickers are bombing our communities with this dangerous chemical, Angela Webb, founder and CEO of Arrive Alive Californiaa non-profit focused on saving lives through education and preventionsaid at the gathering.

This is not a red issue, its not a blue issue, its a red, white, and blue issue, she said. Its time to hold these death dealers accountable.
Depression is a treatable condition, but standard approaches arent always effective, resulting in some sufferers feeling hopeless. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may be used when typical treatments such as medications and psychotherapy dont work or when a patient desires a more natural approach to treat their depressionthe results can be life-changing.

The Cost of Depression

The National Institutes of Health estimates that 21 million adults in the United States had at least one major depressive episode from 2019 to 2020representing 8.4 percent of all adults. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions Household Pulse Survey, about 28 percent of adults experienced symptoms of anxiety and depression during the first two weeks of February 2023.

The financial cost associated with major depression is staggering, with an estimated economic burden of $326 billion in 2020.

The amount of suffering is great, especially considering that 30 percent of patients treated for depression experience treatment-resistant depression, meaning that the depression does not respond to two or more combinations of medication.

TMS for Treatment-Resistant Depression

There is hope for those who have treatment-resistant depression or who may simply decide they do not want to take antidepressantsthey can use TMS.

TMS is a noninvasive procedure that uses magnetic fields to stimulate neurons in the brain to improve symptoms of depression.

The most common and standard type of TMS treatment involves repetitive magnetic pulse and is called repetitive TMS or rTMS. An electromagnetic coil is placed on the scalp close to the forehead. A painless magnetic pulse is administered via the electromagnet.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) treatment. (Pepermpron/Shutterstock)

Neurons help relay information by using electrical impulses and chemical signals to communicate information between different areas of the brain and the nervous system. The treatment works by stimulating neurons and increasing activity in parts of the brain that are less active than they should be.

The use of TMS dates back to 1985. TMS devices were developed and originally used in the field of psychiatry as a secondary option for patients with major depressive disorder who would typically have received electroconvulsive (shock) therapy, Dr. Kevin Murphy, a radiation oncologist, told The Epoch Times.

A number of studies have shown that TMS can be a promising treatment for resistant depression. It improves symptom severity and is considered generally safe.

A review of TMS research shows that approximately 30 percent of people will reach the treatment goal of remission from depression following treatment.

Another study published in The Journal of Clinical Psychiatry used TMS to treat patients with major depressive disorder, who were previously unresponsive to antidepressant medication. The researcher found that TMS had a clinically meaningful durability of acute benefit over 12 months of follow-up.

TMS has the potential to impact the emotional and cognitive state of patients, and may significantly reduce suicidal ideation in depressive patients.

Personalized TMS Versus Standard TMS

Murphy, a radiation oncologist who specializes in the treatment of brain and spinal cord tumors in children, explained that in the process of treating the tumors, adjacent tissue is also harmed. Treatments like radiation, surgery, and chemotherapy, can induce trauma, resulting in reduced brainwave frequency, and does it at irregular intervals.

Murphy says this creates a brain arrhythmia which can lead to any number of symptoms, including depression, anxiety, post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), sleep disorders, addiction, attention deficit disorder, attention deficit hyperactive disorder, autism, and more.

Murphy has used TMS to help fix patients brain arrhythmias and to get the neurons all firing together.

In 2013, Murphy had the desire to further personalize the dose given during standard rTMS. He partnered with many other physicians and providers across the nation and coined this new method personalized repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (PrTMS).

PrTMS has some distinct advantages over standard rTMSnamely that PrTMS utilizes a quantitative electroencephalogram (EEG) and an electrocardiogram to measure a patients brain wave frequencies, heart rate, and brain-heart coherence to evaluate which areas of the brain are not functioning properly so that the treatment can be tailored to each patients individual needs.

PrTMS looks at the brain frequencies in 19 different locations. During stimulation, the patient sits in what looks like a reclined dental chair. A magnetic paddle is placed on the scalp over one of five to six different targeted brain areas.

Standard rTMS does not utilize EEG information to plan or implement the treatment; only one region of the brain is treated.

Murphy says standard rTMS also uses one set pulse frequency of 10 hertz. A magnetic field is delivered to the brain over a period of six secondsreferred to as a treatment train, with a rest interval of about one minute, for a total of approximately 40 minutes.

PrTMS provides a personalized treatment train between six and 15 seconds, followed by 10 to 60 seconds of rest before the next traindelivered over the course of 20 to 30 minutes.

Both treatments are given daily, five days a week, for about six weeks, depending on different situations.

What is particularly unique about PrTMS is that a much lower magnetic field intensity, or amplitude is used. According to Murphy, this lower amplitude is more tolerable for patients, reduces the risk of potential side effects, and allows treatment of brain regions otherwise not accessible by way of standard rTMS.

Approved Treatments

Frank Plut, who runs NeuroHealth Center in Hackettstown, New Jersey, heard about PrTMS years ago. Their son with autism was nonverbal, a toe walker, flapped his arms when excited, and did not respond to his name. They had tried occupational, physical, and speech therapy to help their son without results, Plus told The Epoch Times.

Plut and his wife flew to California so that their son could receive PrTMS treatment. After three weeks of treatment, Pluts son was talking, and when treatment was completed after four weeks, he was no longer toe walking or flapping his arms when stimulated.

After such dramatic results, Plut decided to bring PrTMS treatment to his hometown to help other children with autism, as well as adults and children suffering from depression and other diagnoses.

About eight different TMS devices have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in the treatment of depression and OCD using standard rTMS protocol. Standard TMS is also FDA-approved for the treatment of migraines, however, the treatment does not require repetitive pulses (rTMS).

Additional clinical trials on the effects of PrTMS are planned, including one for autism.

All insurance companies have their own specific criteria for covering standard rTMSapproval is usually contingent upon a demonstrated lack of improvement in depression or OCD symptoms after the use of one or more different drugs and psychotherapy. Insurance may or may not pay for PrTMS as it is an off-label treatment.

Standard rTMS has about a 40 percent response rate, according to a 2022 study, while Plut says PrTMS has response rates pretty close to 90 percent, based on his clinical experience.

Plut says that when repeated EEGs no longer indicate that a patient is depressed, patients can begin weaning off medications with the help of their prescriber if they choose to do so.

Although the technology is showing promise in the treatment of many different illnesses, PrTMS is not for everyone.

Contraindications and Side Effects

Murphy says that those with metal in their head in the form of bullets, shrapnel, metal shunts, or other metal devices or implants are not candidates for the treatment. Those that have titanium or non-ferrous implants, however, can receive the treatment.

Additionally, those with a known history of mania or bipolar disorder are not candidates since the treatment has the possibility of inducing mania, said Murphy.

Psychotic patients also do not currently qualify for the treatment; however, this group of patients is being studied to determine if they might benefit from the treatment, according to Murphy.

Side effects are mild and can include lightheadedness and temporary headache.

Feeling Better Without Medication

Plut knows first-hand how much PrTMS can help those suffering from depression and autism, as he recently received treatment after suffering from his own depression for decades. He tried multiple different medications without complete relief of depressive symptoms before trying PrTMS himself.

After an EEG confirmed he was depressed, Plut received four weeks of PrTMS.

He now says he feels great, is sleeping much better, and is in the process of weaning off his medication.

It felt like there was a black cloud that weighs like 1000 pounds that is following me around and on my shoulders. Thats gone for me now, said Plut.

According to the EEG, Im recoveredI dont have depression anymore.
Highly Unusual That Government Can Appoint Directors to Trudeau Foundation Board: Charity Expert

The West Block of Parliament Hill is pictured through the window of the Sir John A Macdonald building in Ottawa on May 11, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

The Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation is governed by a board of up to 18 directors, and Canadas industry minister has the power to appoint two of those directors, something charity expert Kate Bahen says she has never seen before.

Its highly unusual for the government to have this influence on a charity, even when the government gives an endowment, Bahen told The Epoch Times.

The foundation, which describes itself as an independent and non-partisan charity, began operations when it received a $125 million endowment from the federal government in March 2002.

Normally, the government just gives you money, said Bahen, managing director of Charity Intelligence Canada, adding that it doesnt usually require seats on the board or any other oversight powers.

The Trudeau Foundation was formed as a memorial to former prime minister Pierre Trudeau and to provide scholarships and mentorship to future Engaged Leaders  in the Social Sciences and Humanities.

With the late Trudeaus son, Justin Trudeau, becoming prime minister in 2015, the foundation came under new scrutiny for its points of connection withand potential influence onthe federal government.

Its entire board recently resigned following controversy over a donation made in 2016 by two Chinese businessmen with ties to the Chinese Communist Party. The Globe and Mail reported in February that, according to a national security source, the donation was part of the regimes attempts to influence Canadian politicians.

Government-Appointed Seats

The two seats reserved for directors appointed by the Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development were already empty before the mass resignation.

One government-appointed seat was filled until November 2022 by Marc Renaud, former president of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He had been on the board since its inception. He is the only government-appointed director listed in the foundations annual reports throughout its history.

In the most recent report, the foundation says Renaud stepped down after years of dedicated volunteer service to the Foundation.

While its unusual to have government-appointed directors on a charity board, Bahen thinks it could be a good thing. Given the allegations of interference, she thinks government oversight of the foundations operations may have been helpful.

The government needs to fill those two board seats with competent directors, not some sort of favour to a friend, she said. We really need two really competent people on the board.

Democracy Watch co-founder Duff Conacher says the more separation there is between such foundations and government, the better.

All of this just shows how much there has to be clear rules that keep a clear separation between these kind of organizations and the Prime Minister, Cabinet ministers and their staff and top government officials, so that the organization cannot become an avenue for influencing any of those people, Conacher told The Epoch Times via email.

The industry ministers office did not respond to an Epoch Times inquiry before publication regarding the nature of its relationship with the foundation or any plans to fill the seats.

Other Directors a Whos Who

Directors and members of the board are pretty much a list of whos who in Canada, Bahen said, noting that this is similar to other high-profile charitable organizations.

In its first year, the foundations board included former provincial premiers Bill Davis and Bob Rae of Ontario and Peter Lougheed of Alberta, former cabinet minister Marc Lalonde, and United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Louise Frechette.

Former Conservative minister Chuck Strahl started out with the foundation as a mentor in 2012. He served on the board of directors from 2013 to 2016, but resigned after the foundation started holding him up as an example of its bi-partisan nature.

The Trudeau family also has two seats on the board of directors. The prime ministers sister, Sarah Coyne, and family friend Peter Sahlas filled these seats until Coyne recently resigned with the other directors. Sahlas remains on the board on an interim basis until new directors are selected.

The prime minister is still listed as a board member on annual reports, though a note by his name says he has withdrawn from the affairs of the Foundation for the duration of his involvement in federal politics.

The extent of Trudeaus remaining connection with the foundation has been questioned.

In Ottawa on April 18, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet criticized the prime minister for a recent vacation in Jamaica at the estate of Peter Green, who made a large donation to the Trudeau Foundation two years ago, according to the CBC.

La Presse reported on April 14 that it had viewed a November 2016 email exchange between Trudeaus director of issues management and the foundations executive director about the controversial China-linked donation, which suggests some level of connection between the Prime Ministers Office and the foundation.
Hongkongers Hold 22 Silent Stand With Hong Kong Global Events in Solidarity With the HK47 Trial Defendants

On April 15, 2023, Hongkongers in Reading, UK, attended a Silent Stand with Hong Kong global campaign. Participants wore white masks with awareness posters, while others were handcuffed with props. (Shan Lam/The Epoch Times)

In response to the Hong Kong governments National Security Education Day For All, many discerning Hongkongers from cities all over the world acted in solidarity with the arrested 47 democratic figures charged under the National Security Law.

The 47 defendants were accused of conspiring to subvert the state power by taking part in the Hong Kong primary elections in 2020.

Trial of the Era

The Hong Kong 47 Case is the largest Trial under Hong Kongs National Security Law.

In 2020, pro-democratic political figures and activists participated in a Legislative Council primary election in hopes of getting into the Legislative Council to get a seat in making Hong Kong policies better for the people. They were unhappy with how the Chinese and Hong Kong governments disintegrated freedom and democracy in the city.

Despite the primary being a huge success, the Hong Kong government arrested 47 people involved in the primaries, accusing them of conspiring to subvert state power. The 47 politicians include Joshua Wong Chi-fung, Jimmy Sham Tsz-kit, and Ventus Lau Wing-hong.

The global solidarity campaign, Silently Stand With Hong Kong, spread across the United Kingdom, the United States, the Netherlands, Canada, Taiwan, and Australia from April 15 to 23, with 22 events.

They Stood In Silence

In the United Kingdom, a popular destination for Hongkongers migrating to, nine silent stations and street booths stood tall in the cities all over the country from April 15 to 16, 2023. These cities included Manchester, Reading, Sutton, and Nottingham.

A UK-Hongkongers organization Reading UK Stands With Hong Kong, organized a standing-in-silence event to represent their solidarity with the 47 arrested people. About 50 people joined the event.

Attendees stood in silence, wearing white masks with posters, while others wore handcuff props to represent Hongkongers who could become the next political prisoner.

The campaign wanted to raise awareness of how the Chinese regime would do everything to eliminate or silence its political opponents.

Volunteers were nearby to give out flyers to raise awareness and speak against the regime.

On April 15, 2023, about 50 Hong Kong people participated in the global Stand In Silence With Hong Kong at a booth in Reading. (Shan Lam/The Epoch Times)

Warnings to the World

The host of the Reading-Hongkongers group introduces the background of the Hong Kong 47 Case to the public. She pointed out that most defendants had been remanded for over two years without a trial.

No jury will be in the closed-door trial. The Case is heard by only judges appointed by the government for National Security Law cases. Right now, many defendants are facing the possibility of life imprisonment.

She also criticized that the Chinese Communist Party had violated the promise of the Sino-Joint Declaration and destroyed Hong Kongs freedom, democracy, and human rights.

The organization called on Reading residents to write to the British parliament members. It also urged the British government to follow the Trial closely and impose sanctions on the CCP and Hong Kong officials.

The host said people should boycott products made in China, as the CCP violated human rights while backing Russia to invade Ukraine.

Hong Kong scholar Chung Kim-wah arrived to volunteer for the event in Reading and distributed leaflets to passersby on April 15, 2023. (Shan Lam/The Epoch Times)

Local Understanding Rising

Professor Chung, a former assistant professor in the Department of Applied Social Sciences of the Polytechnic University of Hong Kong and former deputy chief executive officer of the Hong Kong Public Opinion Research Institute (PORI), was also present to volunteer and distribute leaflets to introduce the Hong Kong 47 Trial to the Reading community.

When speaking with The Epoch Times, Chung affirmed that many middle-aged or older people in the area have a fundamental knowledge of the decaying political situation in Hong Kong. Even if they dont know about the primary election with how Hong Kong has transitioned to the worse in the past few years. They also sampled the Chinese Communist Partys authoritarian power.

The current affairs scholar strongly hoped overseas Hongkongers could take part in raising awareness.

Keeping the Fire Lit

One of the things Professor Chung reminded overseas Hongkongers was not to give up on Hong Kong, and they should continue to do what they can to spread awareness instead of abandoning Hong Kong.

He also said he noticed fewer British media outlets reporting on Hong Kong trials, which made Hongkongers global campaigns and street stalls necessary. The locals were stunned when I told them about the primary election.

Online Remarks Led to a Sudents Arrest

On another note, a Hong Kong student who was studying in Japan at the time got arrested on her return to Hong Kong by the National Security Police for inciting subversion. She was accused of initiating the so-called Hong Kong independence.

Professor Chung confessed that the arrest deterred overseas Hongkongers from participating in social events since it created enough scruples for them to keep quiet.

In addition, many people planned on returning to Hong Kong to visit their loved ones. Hence the hesitance to speak aloud.

Chung described the situation as sad and pitiful; The National Security Law still intimidates Hongkongers who departed from the city for good. They are scared to use their freedom overseas to openly attend social events, or increase awareness by talking to their neighbors and friends, even if they would be too frightened to support it publicly.

Demonstration in London

Meanwhile, Sutton Hong Kong Culture and Arts Society and Kingston Hongkongers held their silent stand supporting the arrested democratic figures in Trinity Square, near Tower Bridge, London.

Paul Scully, a member of the British Conservative Party, was also present for support. Scully said it saddened him that Hong Kong changed from a free city to a place full of oppression. He said he and other members of the Parliament would support the Hong Kong people and bring their voices to the Parliament.

When Sutton Hong Kong Culture and Arts Society spoke to The Epoch Times, the group explained how unjust the arrest of the primary election participants was. The defendants would likely spend the rest of their lives in jail.

The group also collected over 200 signatures for the letter to the MPs, hoping the UK government would follow the Trial.

Among those who signed the letter to speak and vote overseas, about 30 percent were non-Hongkongers.

In addition, the Sutton-Hongkongers Society also attended social events and hoped that they can soon register as voters so that local politicians could also hear the voice of Hongkongers.

UK-Hongkongers could also become pen pals, regularly writing to protesters behind the wall, reminding them they had not been forgotten.

On April 16, 2023, Hongkongers who migrated to Taiwan attended the silent protest while reminding the Taiwanese not to trust the Chinese Community Partys lies. (New Tang Dynasty Television)

Taiwan Be Aware

On April 16, Hongkongers who migrated to Taiwan launched their silent protest as part of the global campaign to support arrested Hong Kong protesters while warning the Taiwanese not to give in to the Chinese Community Partys lies.

Taiwan-Hongkongers stood silently in the crowded Ximending District under the scorching sun to show solidarity with the Hong Kong 47 arrestees.

The silent protest attracted many Taiwanese passersby to show their support to Hongkongers.

Hong Kong exile, Tong Wai-hung, said, Over 10,000 people in Hong Kong have been arrested since the protests. Many of them have not attended trials yet, and they have been locked up for about two to three years. It is an unjust reality. It violates human rights to freedom.

Lee Ming-che, a Taiwanese pro-democracy activist and an NGO worker, cautioned Taiwanese people to open their eyes. Not only do we all face a common aggressor, the CCP, as you can see in Hong Kong:

What does the regimes One Country, Two Systems look like?

Lee warned Taiwan to look closely at the erosion of freedom in Hong Kong and Xinjiangs re-education camps. He said Taiwan should think carefully about which fate they would choose.

Meanwhile, the former Vice President of the Chinese University of Hong Kong hoped that the Taiwanese could reference Hongkongers as their example and realize the lies the Chinese regime had been telling about One Country, Two Systems and the so-called universal suffrage.

If you believe a tyrants promise, you will only meet with a tragic end: just look at Hongkongers, he said.
House Fails to Override Bidens Veto of Measure Repealing His Water Rule

The House failed on April 18 to override President Joe Bidens veto of a regulation his administration enacted surrounding U.S. waters and wetlands.

The final tally was 227196, short of the two-thirds majority necessary.

The disapproval resolution passed the House on March 9, 227198, and passed the Senate, 5343, on March 28. It was passed in accordance with the Congressional Review Act, which allows Congress to strike down regulations within 60 days of passage. Biden vetoed the resolution on April 6.

In his veto message, Biden said that the 2023 revised definition of Waters of the United States carefully sets the bounds for which bodies of water are protected under the Clean Water Act.

It provides clear rules of the road that will help advance infrastructure projects, economic investments, and agricultural activitiesall while protecting water quality and public health.

He went on to say that repealing the regulation would threaten economic growth, including for agriculture, local economies, and downstream communities.

Farmers would be left wondering whether artificially irrigated areas remain excluded or not. Construction crews would be left wondering whether their water-filled gravel pits remain excluded or not. The resolution would also negatively affect tens of millions of United States households that depend on healthy wetlands and streams.

In June 2021, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of the Army announced that they would revise what qualifies as waters of the United States (WOTUS). The regulation was published in the Federal Register on Jan. 18 and took effect on March 20.

When Congress passed the Clean Water Act 50 years ago, it recognized that protecting our waters is essential to ensuring healthy communities and a thriving economy, EPA Administrator Michael Regan said in a Dec. 30, 2022, statement.

Following extensive stakeholder engagement, and building on what weve learned from previous rules, EPA is working to deliver a durable definition of WOTUS that safeguards our nations waters, strengthens economic opportunity, and protects peoples health while providing greater certainty for farmers, ranchers, and landowners.

In the same statement, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Michael Connor said: This final rule recognizes the essential role of the nations water resources in communities across the nation. The rules clear and supportable definition of waters of the United States will allow for more efficient and effective implementation and provide the clarity long desired by farmers, industry, environmental organizations, and other stakeholders.
House GOP Unveils Debt Limit Bill, Proposes $1.5 Trillion Debt Ceiling Increase

U.S. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) delivers remarks on the debt ceiling at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Feb. 6, 2023. (Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on April 19 unveiled legislation to increase the nations debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion or until March 31, 2024, whichever comes first.

At the same time, the measure would return discretionary spending to 2022 levels, limit spending growth to 1 percent per year, take back unspent COVID-19 relief funds, repeal certain tax credits, reinstate work requirements for many people on public assistance, and remove barriers to increased production of domestic energy.

If enacted, the Limit, Save, Grow Act of 2023 would allay concerns about a possible default on U.S. obligations but push a more permanent resolution of the debt crisis into the election season.

Passage Uncertain

McCarthy reportedly intends to bring the bill to a vote sometime next week. However, its unclear if Republicans can muster the 218 votes needed for passage in the narrowly divided House.

While Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas), chair of the House Committee on the Budget, has been hammering out the details of the measure, some in the party have said gaining passage of any fiscal proposal will be difficult in the 118th Congress.

Its not going to be easy. Every dollar spent has an advocate up here, Rep. Ralph Norman (R-S.C.) said in an April 18 interview with NTD, sister media outlet to The Epoch Times.

The budget committee has fielded more than 500 amendments offered by House members, suggesting cuts to each agency, according to Norman.

Biden Reaction

President Joe Biden sharply criticized the Republican plan based on details revealed in a speech that McCarthy gave at the New York Stock Exchange on April 17.

Im here in this union hall with you, while just two days ago, the Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy went to Wall Street to describe the MAGA economic vision for America, Biden told a group of union workers in Accokeek, Maryland.

Contrasting his economic vision, the president said the Republicans plan would entail deep cuts to federal programs that benefit average Americans while preserving tax breaks for wealthy people.

It will destroy this economy, Biden said. And who do you think it will hurt the most? You hard-working people in the middle class.

Democrats have said that achieving the spending reductions Republicans seek will require a 22 percent cut in discretionary spending, resulting in higher costs for students, the loss of child care for thousands of families, reductions in services for veterans and senior citizens, and the loss of food assistance for 10 million peopleincluding 4 million children.

Resume Talks

Apparently hoping to prod Democrats into negotiating over Republicans spending demands, McCarthy has portrayed Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) as missing in action and said that Biden is ignoring the debt problem.

The United States reached its statutory $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in January but didnt exceed it because of extraordinary measures taken by the Treasury. Those measures will be exhausted by late summer, according to recent estimates.

Because the country operates on a deficit budget, borrowing is necessary to continue funding the operation of the government.

McCarthy, who has been frustrated for weeks by the presidents refusal to negotiate, has insisted that Congress wont approve an increase in the borrowing limit without a concurrent agreement by Democrats to cut future federal spending.

Biden has insisted that budget discussions must be separate from an increase in the debt ceiling, which enables the government to pay for obligations already approved by Congress.

The president has rebuffed McCarthys requests for a meeting, saying it would be pointless to talk about spending cuts before Republicans list their proposed reductions.

Biden released his 2024 budget proposal on March 9.

Now that weve introduced a clear plan for a responsible debt limit increase, they have no more excuse and refuse to negotiate, McCarthy said.

President Biden has a choice. Come to the table and stop playing partisan political games, or cover his ears, refuse to negotiate, and risk bumbling his way into the first default in our nations history.
House Passes Bill to Require Public Companies to Disclose Use of Huawei, ZTE

The House passed a bill on April 19 that would require the State Department to address the use of problematic telecommunications equipment and services by requiring publicly traded companies to disclose whether they use such equipment or services.

The final vote was 410-8. Four Republicans and four Democrats voted against the measure.

The bill means that public companies would be required to disclose annually if they use equipment or services from Chinese companies ZTE and Huawei, both of which are banned in the United States.

Reporting has shown us how Huawei and ZTE operate as vehicles for the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to commit human rights violations against the Uyghur people, conduct mass surveillance, and spread that technology to other authoritarian regimes, said Rep. Susan Wild (D-Pa.) in a statement after the House Foreign Affairs Committee passed the bill in 2022. The Senate did not take it up.

In the face of this threat, we need to redouble our efforts to protect our national security and interests, help our allies take vital measures for their own security, and stand firmly in defense of fundamental rights, she added.

The bill would require the secretary of state to submit a report on the prevalence of untrusted telecommunications equipment or services in the networks of United States allies and partners to specific congressional committees within 180 days after the enactment of the bill and to do so annually for the next two years.

Those committees are House Foreign Affairs, Energy and Commerce Committees, Senate Foreign Relations, and the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committees.

The measure would also require the secretary of state to also submit a report to the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Senate Foreign Relations Committee, containing an assessment of the use of covered telecommunications equipment or services in United States embassies and by United States embassy staff and personnel.

The bill, according to the Congressional Budget Office, would allow the State Department and the U.S. Trade and Development Agency to provide diplomatic and technical support to countries that are working to secure their telecommunications infrastructure.

Whether the bill is taken up by the Senate this time around is to be determined. It is publicly unknown whether President Joe Biden would sign or veto the bill were it to be sent to his desk.

The bill noted that the Comptroller General of the United States has reported that 23 percent of all telecommunications device manufacturers of the Department of State have at least one supplier reported to be headquartered in the Peoples Republic of China or the Russian Federation.

In addition, the comptroller general has reported that four percent of all telecommunications contractors of the Department of State have at least one supplier reported to be headquartered in the Peoples Republic of China.
Batuhan Yeltekin, a Grade 12 student atSABIS SUN International School (SABIS SUN) in Baku, Azerbaijan, has received his acceptance lettersfromtop universities in the world, including two Ivy League schools  Columbia University and The University of Pennsylvania.

Batuhan joined SABIS SUN in 2015 as a Middle School student. Throughout his time at the school, he was dedicated to maintaining a high academic standing and worked hard to earn high grades in school and high scores on internationally recognized standardized exams. In fact, Batuhan earned a 33 out of a maximum of 36 on the American College Test (ACT), and 112 out of a maximum of 120 on the TOEFL iBT.

Batuhanis also an active member of the SABIS Student Life Organization (SLO), a student-led mini-society at the school. As part of the SLO, he was given countless opportunities to carry out campaigns, volunteer for projects, host and participate in competitions and debates, and so much more. As a result of his hard work and commitment to his educational experience, Batuhan has been rewarded with recognition from highly ranked universities around the world, most notably Columbia University and The University of Pennsylvania.

From Columbia University, Batuhan received a Likely Letter, which is sent to around 200 students out of 60,000+ applications that are viewed as strong applicants to inform them of their acceptance early on.

He was also named the John Jay Scholar in the Class of 2027, as he is considered to be one of the most talented students admitted to the class. Batuhan is the first student from Azerbaijan to receive this recognition.

The University of Pennsylvania sent their letter of acceptance to Batuhan in addition to a nomination for the University Scholar Program and special invitation to apply for Benjamin Franklin Scholars Program. The program provides undergraduates with mentored opportunities for innovation, conversation, and collaboration within and across the disciplinary boundaries of their curiosity-based inquiries.

Other universities that have recognized Batuhans talent and capabilities include the University of SouthernCalifornia (USC);theUniversity of Toronto (UOT); theUniversity of British Columbia (UBC); theUniversity of California San Diego (UCSD);theUniversity of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC); and VirginiaTech.

When speaking on his time at SABIS SUN, and how his school supported him in his educational journey, Batuhan noted:

The strong curriculum offered by SABISSUN and the preparation for exams such as A-Level, AP, SAT, ACT, and TOEFL iBT, which are essential for international education, ensured my success. The support provided by our teachers to reach the highest level of our potential played a leading role in my success, including all my schoolmates. However, these selected universities evaluate students not only on their academic achievements but also on the additional activities they have done throughout their education life with a unified approach. The Student Life Organization in my school provided me with all the opportunities to carry out these additional activities and projects.

Batuhan is truly a remarkable individual with a curious mind destined to achieve great things in the future. When we asked him what his plans are, he shared, My academic goal is to specialize in computer science and also gain basic knowledge in economics. I want to further my education in the field of artificial intelligence.

We wish Batuhan the best of luck as he continues his educational journey.

To watch the full interview with Batuhan, click here.

About SABIS SUN

SABIS SUN International School is a non-selective, co-educational, independent, English-medium day school serving students from Kindergarten to Grade 12. Using English as the main language of instruction to deliver an international curriculum, SABIS SUN gives students a solid foundation of knowledge and life skills that helps them achieve success in a changing world.

The school is licensed by the Ministry of Education of the Azerbaijan Republic and is accredited by the National Council for Private Schools, Cambridge Assessment International Education, Accreditation International, and Middle States Association Commissions on Elementary and Secondary Schools.

To learn more about the school, visit sabissun.sabis.net or school social media pages:

https://www.facebook.com/sabissunbaku

https://www.instagram.com/sabissuninternational.school/

Make your appointment via following numbers: +994 55 213 95 03, +994 55 212 20 28
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets with Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang met with Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming in Beijing on Wednesday.

Qin said that the SCO is an important platform for regional countries to seek strength through unity, and has played an important role in safeguarding regional security and stability and promoting shared development and prosperity.

He added that at last year's Samarkand Summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping summed up the successful experience of the SCO and reached an important consensus with leaders of other member states on expanding cooperation in various fields, charting the course for the future development of the SCO.

China is ready to strengthen cooperation with other member states, actively implement the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative and the Global Civilization Initiative proposed by President Xi, and jointly build an even closer community of shared future, Qin said.

Lauding the work of the secretary-general and the secretariat, Qin expressed the hope that the secretariat would continue to play a coordinating role, promote cooperation in various fields in a coordinated manner, and continuously enhance the organization's cohesion and capacity for implementation.

He added that China will continue to strongly support the work of the secretary-general and the secretariat.

Zhang said that he will lead the secretariat to earnestly implement the consensus reached by the heads of state and push for greater development of the SCO. He thanked China for its strong support for the work of the secretariat. 

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Qin Gang meets with Secretary-General of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Zhang Ming in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhai Jianlan)
House Republicans Weigh Lab Leak Theory, Coverups as COVID Origins Investigation Continues

Security personnel stand outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, in China's central Hubei province, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

Republicans on the House Select Subcommittee on the Coronavirus Pandemic are discussing whether COVID-19 was the result of a weaponized virus and whether international organizations and even the U.S. intelligence community obfuscated evidence after the virus began to spread around the world.

The special panel investigating the virus origins met for its second hearing on Tuesday. At the hearing, lawmakers heard from former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) John Ratcliffe, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Feith, and intelligence analyst Mark Lowenthal.

U.S. intelligence assessments on the origins of COVID-19 remain inconclusive. The FBI and the U.S. Department of Energy have concluded with moderate confidence and low confidence respectively, that COVID-19 spread from a lab leak. Meanwhile, other intelligence agencies have given low-confidence support to the idea that the virus was the result of a natural jump from animals to humans.

Ratcliffe, who began serving as DNI in May of 2020, during the early stages of the U.S. COVID-19 response, testified (pdf) that a lab leak is the only explanation credibly supported by our intelligence, by science and by common sense.

Lowenthal, a witness called by the Democratic minority on the panel, testified (pdf) that absent greater cooperation and transparency from Chinawhich seems highly unlikelywe may never resolve [the issue of COVID-19s origins] with certainty.

Several Republicans on the panel indicated they are satisfied with the level of evidence thus far supporting the lab leak theory, which posits that an outbreak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology lead to the spread of COVID-19 around the world.

Thats where the origin of [COVID-19] came from, that city and that lab, basically, that said, they were asking funds for gain of function research, Rep. Rich McCormick (R-Ga.) told NTD News. Natural conclusion: theres no other alternatives. So, therefore, thats where it came from.

McCormick said the Chinese regimes opposition to outside investigations of COVID-19s origins also supports the theory that the virus was the result of dangerous experimentation with viruses.

I mean, its pretty simple. If you have nothing to cover up, why are you covering it up? McCormick said.

Was the Virus Weaponized?

Treating the lab origin theory as a given, McCormick went on to debate with himself whether the virus that leaked was being intentionally weaponized or whether scientists were experimenting for a more benign purpose

I think its a high probability that it came from the Wuhan lab because of research [on] gain-of-function. Whether it was intentionally being weaponized, thats more debatable and I dont want to make jumps in that, because that really doesnt help us come to our natural conclusion, McCormick said.

McCormick said a lab-engineered virus should be treated with concern, regardless of whether it was meant to be weaponized, stressing we need to take this seriously because it has dire consequences.

When asked about the possibility that the Chinese regime intentionally weaponized the COVID-19 outbreak, Rep. Mike Cloud (R-Texas) repeated assessments that the regime hoarded protective equipment and delayed sharing information about the virus during the early stages of the virus outbreak.

[Chinese officials] were not a partner in this at all, in helping relieve humanity from this scourge that occurred or was birthed, I guess, in their country, Cloud said.

The Chinese Embassy in the United States criticized lawmakers for focusing on China ahead of the Tuesday hearing.

According to the announcement, the hearing is to examine Chinas complicity in the COVID-19 crisis and hold China accountable. We firmly oppose it, Chinese Embassy Counselor Li Xiang wrote in an emailed statement to committee chairman Rep. Brad Wenstrup (R-Ohio) on Friday.

Rep. Greene Criticizes US Intel Community

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) criticized the U.S. intelligence communitys response to the virus and its lack of definitive answers on the origins of COVID-19.

[The U.S. intelligence community] still wont admit whether it came from the Wuhan lab or not. And I think we have a real problem in our intelligence community, Green said. Theyre pretty much designed to protect the government that they serve, and I think their unwillingness to reveal the true information means that theyre helping cover up something.

During the hearing, Lowenthal testified that intelligence analysts are often asked to address issues for which there may not be a final definitive answer.

Analysts tend to live in a world where there may be several possibilities, each with its own degree of certainty and uncertainty, Lowenthal added. This can be very frustrating to policymakers who want an answer. Given the available intelligence and our own expertise, a specific answer cannot always be determined.

Lowenthal also cautioned against intelligence issues becoming politicized.

Intelligence may sometimes be discomforting and may even run counter to preferred policy preferences, but this does not mean that it is partisan or subjective, Lowenthal said. It becomes increasingly difficult for intelligence officers to do their best work when they are put under consistent partisan pressure or when they are consistently accused of being partisan.

While Lowenthal pushed back on criticisms of the intelligence communitys lack of definitive answers on COVID-19, Feith said a campaign to stigmatize and discredit the lab-leak explanation went into overdrive once President Trump publicly expressed interest in the subject on April 15.

Feith condemned an April 30, 2020 statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), which said it concurs with the wide scientific consensus that the COVID-19 virus was not manmade or genetically modified.

This statement was dubious at the time and is even more so in retrospect. There was no wide scientific consensus, only the manufactured appearance of one, Feith said of the ODNI statement. In citing one, the IC used the authority of unnamed others as a shaky crutch. It also used slippery, undefined language.

From NTD News
IN-DEPTH: Before the Suspected Wuhan Lab Leak, a Key Scientist Knew of the Risks

New document reveals Peter Daszak who collaborated with Wuhan Institute of Virology knew of lab-enhanced virus outbreak risks

Peter Daszak (R) and other members of the World Health Organization (WHO) team investigating the origins of the COVID-19 coronavirus, arrive at the Wuhan Institute of Virology on Feb. 3, 2021. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

News Analysis

Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, a group initiated by Peter Daszak was soliciting funding for a lab leak prevention and preparation program, a newly discovered document reveals. Daszak later became known as a leading figure in Dr. Anthony Faucis funding of gain-of-function experiments at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in China.

Daszak also helped instigate the infamous Lancet letter, which was published at the start of the pandemic in February 2020, that had the aim of shutting down any discussions about the possibility that COVID-19 had emerged from a lab.

We stand together to strongly condemn conspiracy theories suggesting that COVID-19 does not have a natural origin, Daszak and his partners stated in the Lancet letter.

However, before the pandemic, as the newly released document proves, the group initiated by Daszak had been solicitingand receivingtaxpayer money to prepare for the likelihood of a lab leak involving a lab-enhanced virus.

The document is in the form of a 2017 PowerPoint presentation that was obtained through freedom of information litigation by the transparency group U.S. Right to Know. A second version of the presentation with slight variations was recently found by data scientist and COVID-19 origin investigator Gilles Demaneuf using an image search.

The PowerPoint presentation was part of a pitch to potential funders to bankroll a new project called the Global Virome Project. This project was the brainchild of Daszak and a number of collaborators, with the ostensible aim to collect virus data to prevent and prepare for pandemics. The project sought $1.2 billion to $3.4 billion in funding over a 10-year period.

The first slide of the presentation, immediately after the cover page, explains that [t]he world is facing an increasing dual threat from the natural emergence of deadly infectious pathogens, and the accidental and/or intentional release of their laboratory-enhanced variants.

Notably, it acknowledged that dangerous viruses were being brought to labs to be made more dangerous, and that they could escape from such labs. As the world would later learn, at the same time that Daszak was pitching the Global Virome Project, he and the Wuhan Institute of Virology were collecting wild viruses and enhancing them at the Wuhan lab under the auspices of Faucis National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

The next slide in the presentation acknowledges that this new unnatural threat from lab-enhanced viruses is actually intensifying. On the same slide, it states that Gain of function and DIY research is elevating the risk of the accidental and/or deliberate release of deadly novel biological agents.

On another slide, the Global Virome Project was said to present a path to identifying and characterizing those viruses that have the greatest potential to infect humans, and their laboratory enhanced variants  so we can prepare for them before they jump to us.

Despite these admissions in the 2017 funding pitch, Daszak later denied any possibility of a lab origin when what was almost certainly a laboratory-enhanced virus emerged on the doorsteps of the Wuhan Institute in 2019. Instead, Daszak and his co-signatories of the Lancet letter accused anyone who voiced concerns over a lab leak of creating fear, rumors, and prejudice. As we now know, anyone who suspected a lab leak was merely echoing what Daszak himself was claiming in the PowerPoint presentation.

The P4 laboratory on the campus of the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on May 13, 2020. (Hector Retamal/AFP via Getty Images)

The presentation was attached to a July 2017 email that discussed outreach to potential funders of the Global Virome Project, including the Pentagon, the National Institutes of Health (with Fauci specifically named as the projects contact person), and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The email to which the PowerPoint was attached was sent by Cara Chrisman of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and was copied to Dennis Carroll, also of the USAID. Both Carroll and Chrisman used government email addresses for the exchange. Other notable recipients of the email were Daszak and Jonna Mazet of the University of California at Davis (UCDavis).

Daszak, Carroll, and Mazet would later become signatories of the Lancet letter.

Additional email recipients included at least two staff members of Metabiota. Similar to Daszaks EcoHealth Alliance, Metabiota is a so-called virus-hunting group. It has been previously reported by the New York Post that Metabiota also partnered with Hunter Bidens company Rosemont Seneca. Through the company, Hunter Biden not only funded Metabiota but also introduced Metabiota to the Ukrainian energy company Burisma, where he served on the board, proposing that the two sides start a science project involving biolabs in Ukraine.

While it isnt known whether any Ukrainian labs were involved in the Global Virome Project, it is known that staff from EcoHealth Alliance, USAID, UC-Davis, and Metabiota were all part of the project and knew about the PowerPoint slides. The staff members involved werent only familiar with the extreme dangers posed by lab-enhanced viruses but also sought funding to prepare for these dangers.

However, when the pandemic hit, the people involved either remained silent orin the case of Daszak, Mazet, and Carrollactively covered up what had happened and accused others of being conspiracy theorists.

Security personnel keep watch outside the Wuhan Institute of Virology during the visit by the World Health Organization team tasked with investigating the origins of COVID-19, in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, on Feb. 3, 2021. (Thomas Peter/Reuters)

While it isnt known how much total funding the Global Virome Project has received since its inception in 2017, its known that the project continues to actively seek funding.

A USAID spreadsheet obtained by U.S. Right to Know shows that USAID paid at least $270,000 directly to the Global Virome Project.

USAID was further being asked to pay for trips of EcoHealth, Metabiota, and UCDavis staff to promote the Global Virome Project.

Both the Pentagons Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) also were discussed by Daszak and his associates at USAID, UCDavis, and Metabiota as possible avenues for partnerships and funding.

According to the newly unearthed PowerPoint presentation, the Global Virome Projects organizational partners include pharmaceutical giant Merck, as well the NIAID, which at the time was headed by Fauci. A spreadsheet included in the freedom of information return further lists Mark Zuckerbergs foundation, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, as well as pharmaceutical company Johnson and Johnson and the Wellcome Trust as potential funders.

The Wellcome Trust is a trust established by the former pharmaceutical giant Wellcome (now GSK). The trust was until recently headed by Jeremy Farrar, who, in early 2020, helped Fauci shape the narrative against claims that COVID-19 had come out of the Wuhan lab. Farrar is now the World Health Organizations chief scientist.

Bats in a cage at the Wuhan Institute of Virology in Wuhan, Hubei Province, China, in a 2017 video. (Screenshot)

Dennis Carroll, who was director of pandemic influenza and other emerging threats at USAID when the Global Virome Project was being established, is now chairman of the project. Daszak is secretary and treasurer of the project and Lancet letter signatory Mazet is a board member.

The deep financial and other entanglements of a U.S. government agency, USAID, with the Global Virome Project are evident, as is the fact that Carroll transferred from a prominent position at USAID to a prominent position in the Global Virome Project.

However, the biggest takeaway from this latest document release is that Daszak and his associates were seeking taxpayer money to prepare for a pandemic caused by a laboratory-enhanced virus, a fact they later concealed from the public while aggressively pushing the natural origin narrative.

The latest revelations about the Global Virome Project will be the topic of an upcoming episode of Truth Over News to be aired on EpochTV on April 19.
IN-DEPTH: Bidens World Bank Pick Has Ties to Chinese Company That Owns TikTok

Ajay S. Banga, then president and CEO of Mastercard USA, attends the India Economic Summit in New Delhi, India, on Oct. 5, 2017. (Money Sharma/AFP via Getty Images)

President Joe Bidens pick to lead the World Bank has business links with China.

Ajay Banga is currently the vice chairman at General Atlantic, a major investor of ByteDance. ByteDance is the Chinese company that owns TikTok, an app that has drawn heightened security concerns over its ties with the Chinese Communist Party.

During Bangas tenure as CEO and president of Mastercard, the credit card company won approval in 2020 to join Chinas $27 trillion payments market.

Additionally, Banga is a board member of Temasek, a state holding company of Singapore that has 22 percent of its investments in China.

The Treasury Department has defended Bangas nomination, which requires the approval of the World Banks executive board. The position is a five-year term that is renewable. If confirmed, Banga would succeed David Malpass.

A department spokesperson told The Washington Examiner that General Atlantics investment in ByteDance predates Bangas work there.

From his tenure at Mastercard, Banga knows firsthand the importance of taking concrete measures to protect the data privacy of consumers, added the spokesperson.

China Ties Alarming

Experts who spoke with The Epoch Times expressed alarm over the pick.

If the nominee does indeed have serious ties to China then his nomination could be in trouble, Desmond Lachman, who was deputy director in the International Monetary Funds (IMF) Policy Development and Review Department and is currently a senior fellow at the Washington-based American Enterprise Institute, said in an email.

Nonetheless, said Lachman, Bangas nomination was a blunder and reflected a poor vetting process and it does not indicate that Biden is getting soft on China.

However, the pick reflects Biden going easy on China, according to human rights and national security lawyer Irina Tsukerman.

The news of Ajay Banga having business ties to China is far from surprising, on the contrary they are fully in line with the Biden administrations ideology and policies, she said in an email. Bangas candidacy fits the pattern of other moves and nominations.

Banga, though, was likely picked due to his business background, stated Dan Runde, the director of the Project on Prosperity and Development at the Washington-based think tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Runde was the head of partnerships at the International Finance Corporation, which is part of the World Banks umbrella organization, World Bank Group.

Im guessing that the Biden administration mainly picked him for a couple of reasons other than China. So they picked him because hes an American citizen, that he has stature, he said.

Historically, theres a significant bias toward what they describe as bankers, people with some financial experience, continued Runde, who cited Bangas experience at Mastercard and General Atlantic. And so they feel that this is a person who can do this role.

Climate Change a Deciding Factor

That being said, remarked Runde, the administration did not look at this pick through a China lens, rather through a series of other lenses and then, I think, more likely they looked at it through a lens of climate change.

Indeed, climate change was the main factor behind Bangas nomination, said Tsukerman.

The Biden administration prioritizes climate change over all else, and is reluctant to let go of lucrative opportunities in doing business with China, she said. Actions speak louder than words.

Having someone who has a long relationship with China, not just on any issue, but specifically with respect to TikTok  shows that Biden does not really mean his orientation towards confronting Chinas threat, any more than he means it when he shuts down the FBIs [China] focus group while China sets up police stations and intimidates Chinese diaspora in the U.S. in various cities.

Runde noted that Banga was one of the two co-chairs of the Partnership for Central America, a public-private partnership that was launched in 2021 in concert with Vice President Kamala Harris and seeks to increase business investment in the region.

Banga was one of four co-chairs at CSIS on U.S. trade policy, noted Runde.

At the end of the day, said Runde, hes someone whos very well-respected and well-known in Washington circles.

Runde and Tsukerman expect the World Bank would maintain its status quo under Banga with regard to China, which the institution classifies as a developing nation.

Biden is signaling not only business as usual but is proactively enabling Chinas surveillance society vision and geopolitical ambitions, showing willingness even to prop up Chinas floundering and increasingly isolationist economy through business, all in the name of climate change cooperation and cronyism, Tsukerman said. This is not only not serious, but is a deeply concerning position. The last thing [the] U.S. needs is the White House enabling and empowering U.S. adversaries who cant be bothered to hide their belligerence to the U.S. and its concerns.

Runde remarked that it should be expected that, under Banga, the World Bank will continue to lend funds to China and that the United States should pressure the institution to stop doing so.

Do I think hes going to be a person thats going to, like, work to kind of squash engagement with China? he added. Im guessing the answer is probably not.
IN-DEPTH: Controversial mRNA Technology Now Targeting Livestock

Five states have introduced bills either prohibiting gene therapy or mRNA technology in meat products or requiring full disclosure on packaging

At least five states have introduced proposals to restrict the use of controversial mRNA technology or gene therapies in livestock or demand full disclosure to consumers on product packaging.

The states considering legislation include North Dakota, Tennessee, Arizona, Idaho, and Missouri.

Idaho House Bill 154 would make it a misdemeanor offense for anyone who provides or administers a vaccine using mRNA technology for use in an individual or any other mammal in this state.

Arizona House Bill 2762 would require conspicuous labeling of all aquatic, livestock, or poultry products that received mRNA vaccines and prohibits these products from being labeled as organic.

Tennessee House Bill 0099 would amend existing law to prohibit the manufacture or sale of livestock or meat that contains mRNA vaccine of vaccines materials without a conspicuous label that there are such ingredients in the product.

In North Dakota, state lawmakers filed SB2384, which seeks to ban the use of mRNA vaccines in humans and to introduce a penalty for anyone breaking the prohibition.

Missouri state Rep. Holly Jones, a Republican, is the lead sponsor of a bill that would require product labeling of all livestock meat containing potential gene therapy products.

We label everything around the world. We label non-GMO [genetically modified organisms]. We label GMO. We label grass-fed. We label no antibiotics used. We label manufactured in a plant that has nuts, Jones said.

We should label anything that has not been proven safe and effective. As weve seen with the COVID vaccines, theyre neither safe nor effective. Even the CDC [the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention] has come out with that.

While HB1169 doesnt mention mRNA by name, the proposed ban would include all potential gene therapy products.

The Missouri House Emerging Issues subcommittee will review an amended bill on April 19. Jones is a member of that committee.

The bill would require labeling of any product created to act as a potential gene therapy or that could otherwise possibly impact, alter, or introduce genetic material or a genetic change into the user of the product.

It would include anyone exposed to the product or people exposed to others who have used the product.

With the passage of HB1169, the law would require livestock farmers and producers in Missouri to fully display on product packaging mRNA technology used in cows, pigs, and other livestock under the rule of informed consent.

Already in Development

They would have to tell us if they begin using those things. As it is currently, almost all states do not, Jones said.

She said she confirmed through multiple agricultural sources that mRNA programs for U.S. livestock are in the works.

It is in the pipeline, Jones said. Australia is already doing that.

According to a statement from the Queensland government in Australia, scientists are working to develop an mRNA-related vaccine to combat the threat of Lumpy Skin Disease (LSD) in beef cattle with $1.5 million invested.

A new mRNA vaccine would be a game changer as the live virus vaccines currently available overseas cannot be used in Australia, Mark Furner, minister for agricultural industry development and Fisheries and minister for rural communities, said in the statement.

Using existing vaccines here would result in us losing our disease-free status.

With mRNA technology, as in COVID-19 vaccines, the injections introduce a virus fragment into cells, teaching them how to produce a specific antibody against the disease.

The Veterinary Microbiology and Preventive Medicine Department at Iowa State University is developing an mRNA-based cattle vaccine for the bovine respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Untreated, RSV can lead to pneumonia in cows.

The federal grant program aims to develop a novel mRNA system that provides immune protection against RSV.

We hypothesize that a [mRNA injection] delivered continuously by vaccine implant will lead to prolonged and robust cellular and antibody immunity, reads a program summary in the U.S. Department of Agricultures Research, Education, and Economics Information System (REEIS).

Here, we will optimize our vaccine further and then test for potential correlates of protection to examine for in eventually challenged cows.

No Labeling of Foreign Meat

In 2016, Congress removed a labeling law requiring the country of origin on meat products.

That means we could take beef from Argentina, Australia, Chinaanywhere around the worldand this gets mixed in because we no longer have to label it as country of origin, Jones told The Epoch Times.

That strikes an issue with me.

The National Cattlemens Beef Association recently stated that there are no current mRNA vaccines licenses for use in beef cattle in the United States.

Cattle farmers and ranchers vaccinate cattle to treat and prevent many diseases, but presently none of these vaccines include mRNA technology, the association stated.

In August 2022, mRNA vaccine research start-up Genvax Technologies received $6.5 million in grant funding through a coalition of private investors, including United Animal Health.

The threat posed to producers and consumers by foreign animal diseases like African swine fever (ASF) and constantly mutating variants of swine influenza is extraordinary, Joel Harris, CEO and co-founder of Genvax Technologies, said in a statement published in PorkBusiness.com.

The goal is to develop a vaccine that matches 100 percent to the specific strain when a disease outbreak occurs.

While ASF is a viral disease thats almost always fatal in domestic and wild pigs, it doesnt threaten human health and cant spread from pigs to people.

It is not a food safety issue, the USDAs website states.

ASF is found in countries around the world. More recently, it has spread to the Dominican Republic and Haiti. ASF has also spread through China, Mongolia, and Vietnam, as well as within parts of the European Union.

It has never been found in the United Statesand we want to keep it that way.

The Animal Health Institute (AHI) reports that mRNA vaccines used in veterinary medicine are at least five to 10 years away from deployment.

New vaccines that use mRNA technologies to control parasites could allow more effective vaccines that can be reliably produced. Parasite vaccines developed through traditional methods are often difficult to reliably manufacture for companies, the AHIs website states.

As a result, only a handful of parasite vaccines are available in veterinary medicines. However, mRNA could allow for more reliable production as these can avoid the difficulties of traditional methods.

Not All Harmful?

However, Jones said her bill doesnt mean she considers all mRNA technology harmful.

Theyre using it in many different medical studies and clinical trials. We do a good job of covering up things that may or may not be the best for us, she said.

I would like to see is that informed consent for consumers. I will fight for that tooth and nail.

What were asking is tell us if you are a cattle rancher or a pig farmerif you choose to go that route with vaccinationspeople should have that awareness whether to purchase that meat or 100 percent organic.

Jones said lobbyists accused her of creating fear among consumers and affecting the bottom line.

Thats upsetting to me, she said. I have a strong moral standing that everyone has a right to choose what they put in their bodies.

Texas Cites Concerns

On April 3, Texas Agricultural Commissioner Sid Miller said his office is working on a fact-based analysis of the risks associated with mRNA technology in food and livestock.

Since news of the development of mRNA vaccines and mRNA-related treatments for livestock came to the attention of the Texas Department of Agriculture (TDA), we have been working towards developing a fact and science-based assessment of the risks associated with this technology, Miller said in a statement.

Our analysis will include the clinical research, the structure of existing Texas law, and the public policy, economic, and production impact of the different policy prescriptions we may adopt.

I aim to ensure that Texas agriculture remains safe, trusted, healthy, and wholly uninfected by dangerous or unproven technology.

I personally take this issue very seriously. No political hot takes. Just a well-reasoned and well-researched proposal based on a wide range of input from stakeholders, scientists, agriculturalists, and other experts.

We are looking at this issue at TDA and will share your concerns.

The Texas agriculture departments spokesman, Reb Wayne, said many Texans expressed their concerns regarding mRNA technology.

Wayne said the departments goal is a safe and abundant food supply.

Our work is in its initial stages, and Commissioner Miller wants to make sure that both the [agricultural] industry and the general public are dealing with the facts on mRNA, Wayne told The Epoch Times.

Jones said the Missouri legislation is for businesses and people who deserve to know the effects of mRNA in food and other products.

We want to make sure people not only have informed consent and transparency in their food supply, but that if something happens without their knowledge, there is a way to stand firm, she said.

This is spreading like wildfire. And rightfully so.
IN-DEPTH: Experts Link Transgender Ideology to Elevated Risk of Violent Radicalization

Ideology creates paranoid mindset and can lead people to blame others, society for their problems

Ideology currently permeating the political movement around gender and transgenderism drives its adherents into psychological corners and makes them susceptible to radicalization, according to several experts on radical movements and religious extremism.

The ideology imparts a simplistic, polarizing worldview that traps its victims in paranoia and rage, they said.

The issue has come to the forefront recently with several high-profile incidents.

On March 27, Audrey Elizabeth Hale shot dead six people, including three children, at the Covenant School in Nashville, Tennessee. Police said Hale identified as transgender.

About a week later, a 19-year-old was arrested in Colorado for attempted murder after police found in his home detailed plans for multiple school shootings. He identified as female, local news reported.

Also in Colorado, one of the two murderers in the 2019 STEM School Highlands Ranch shooting, 16-year-old Alec McKinney, was a woman who identified as male.

While the incidents dont add up to a trend, they may reflect a deeper problem.

Surveys in recent years have revealed an elevated potential for radicalization among transgender people.

Transgender and gender-diverse youth emerge as the group at the highest risk of support for VR [violent radicalization]. This is in line with results of a recent survey conducted during the pandemic that highlighted high levels of support for VR as well as psychological distress among gender minorities, said a paper based on a 2021 survey of Canadian college students.

Signs of psychological stress among transgender people are off the charts, with surveys indicating about 30 percent of them attempt suicide.

Underlying Mental Problems

If a person, especially a child, expresses discomfort with their gender, the matter should be handled thoughtfully on a case-by-case basis, experts have argued.

I would want to ensure that people who continue to have problems with the sense of their body  get serious medical attention and serious attention to all of their emotional and psychological issues, said Philip Carl Salzman, emeritus professor of anthropology at McGill University.

Salzman has dedicated the latter part of his career to studying the issue of freedom and equality. He noticed that rather than handling transgender cases individually, the approach has become a formulaic fast-track gender affirmation policy.

That, in and of itself, he considers irresponsible.

Many of the people who are trans now have very serious psychological comorbidities. Many of them are autistic, many of them have deep depression, he said.

Theres a vulnerable time in adolescence where people feel very disturbed, he said.

For some, that may involve questioning their gender, but the great majority of young people who say theyre not comfortable in their body desist from that claim once theyve gone through adolescence, he noted.

Yet now, theres a broad push to make gender questioning universal, especially among youth, and seemingly to encourage as many people as possible to settle on a gender other than the one they grew up with.

Theyre being groomed to do this, Salzman said.

Theyre being groomed to do it by teachers. Theyre being groomed to do it on social media. These things are being directed to them, being imposed on them.

This push has emerged as a consequence of mixing a legitimate medical condition of gender dysphoria, extreme discomfort with ones innate sex, with a radical political narrative, he and others have observed.

Us vs Them

The political narrative around transgenderism posits that gender-diverse people are fundamentally at odds with people willing to live with their innate sex, who they are encouraged to call cisgender.

Its a neo-Marxist model that divides society into oppressors and victims and characterizes the victims as innocent and the oppressors as evil. So people who identify as victims feel justified in hating the category of people who are alleged to be their oppressors, Salzman said.

This paradigm has been applied by Marxism to class, by critical race theory to race, by radical feminism to sex, and by queer theory to gender.

For the adherents of the transgender ideology, cis-hetero-normativity is the enemy that wants to destroy them, Salzman said.

This kind of worldview then fuels resentment, opposition, hate, and potentially violence, he said.

Its a paranoid mindset in the sense that all of your troubles are the result of what other people do to you. So my problems are not my problems, they are problems that have been foisted on me.

Many parents struggling with their childrens self-declared gender change have reported their children speaking dismissively or resentfully about cis people as a group, especially when talking to their transgender friends.

In general, cis-gendered people are considered evil and unsupportive, regardless of their actual views on the topic. To be heterosexual, comfortable with the gender you were assigned at birth, and non-minority places you in the most evil of categories with this group of friends. Statement of opinions by the evil cis-gendered population are [considered] phobic and discriminatory and are generally discounted as unenlightened, one parent said, according to a 2018 study.

The ideology prevents its followers from living a balanced way of life, according to Janice Fiamengo, a retired English professor at the University of Ottawa and expert on radical gender ideologies in the feminist realm.

I think the main issue is the resentment that victim ideology inevitably produces. Victim ideology is grounded in the belief that ones group is uniquely victimized, and that no one else suffers in the (preventable, allegedly) manner in which the victim does, she told The Epoch Times via email.

In this, it rejects the wisdom of most world philosophies and religions, which understand that suffering is part of the human condition, and that accepting suffering is necessary for wholeness and health.

Precursors to Violence

The oppressor-oppressed dynamic is one of four precursors to political violence that has many times ravaged various corners of the world over the past 100 years under the masthead of the isomers of equity, according to filmmaker Curt Jaimungal, who exhaustively documented the phenomenon in his documentary Better Left Unsaid.

Another precursor is the claim that evidence of oppression is the inequality between groups, the documentary says.

In this context, trans activists most often point to the high suicide rates among transgender people as well as anecdotal evidence of transgender people being murdered as evidence of trans genocide.

Salzman rejected such a characterization.

The idea that theres some campaign to kill trans people is totally imaginary and totally paranoid, he said.

In 2021, there was one murder classified as a hate crime against a transgender or gender non-conforming person, meaning this identification allegedly figured in the crimes motive, based on data from about two-thirds of U.S. police agencies.

In 2022, 38 transgender people were killed in violent incidents, according to Human Rights Campaign, an LGBTQ lobby group.

Given that transgender people make up an estimated 0.6 percent of the population, the homicide rate would be about three to four times lower than in the general population. The group cautions, however, that the data is likely incomplete because the gender self-identification of the victim is not always reported.

For cases where details have been reported, the most prominent circumstances of the killing appear to be domestic violence and prostitution, according to an analysis by The Federalists Chad Felix Greene.

The third precursor Jaimungal pinpointed is a claim that peaceful dialog and understanding between the groups is impossible since the dominant groups strategy is to retain its power.

Trans activists have commonly argued that the issue cannot be debated because criticizing the ideology encourages people to dismiss the experiences of transgender people as imaginary, the implication being that this increases psychological stress on such individuals and increases the risk of suicide.

Any attempts to approach the issue without total acquiescence to the ideology typically prompts dramatic accusations.

Disagreeing is hate speech and hate is equivalent to violence, Salzman summarized.

The final precursor Jaimungal identified is a call for violence.

Journalist Andy Ngo has documented a number of examples of trans activists engaging in, threatening, or advocating for violence in just the past two weeks.

While sporadic so far, such acts of violence seem to trace a broader ideological milieu.

Thomas York, who holds a doctorate in religious studies and previously lectured on religion, violence, and ethics at the University of Toronto, has noticed radicalization in the trans community bears similarities to Islamist radicalization.

Though not religious per se, the trans ideology fits the functional definition of religion, meaning it serves the social function or the psychological function of a religion for its followers, York told The Epoch Times.

It does perform a lot of the same functions. It has rituals, it has a community, it has its own sense of good and evil, its own morality. Moreover, it shares the same characteristics as the radical movements in religious traditions that bring about religious violence, he said.

After dialog has been abandoned as a solution, violence is the next logical step.

Its either they feel its going to take too long or its not going to work, that things are so wrong that there has to be this purge of the old world order, a violent purge, he explained.

The violence is then framed as an act of self-sacrifice.

They view themselves as a martyr, that theyre defending a marginalized community that they feel is under attack, he said.

Still, the individual usually needs to feel the violence would accomplish something, even meet with approval.

They dont arise out of a vacuum. They are encouraged by a lot of people who themselves would never engage in violence, he said.

The community might publicly disavow the violence, but privately condone it or sympathize with it.

Most Muslims dont agree with suicide bombers, but there is a large enough contingent within Islam that does believe it that it encourages the suicide bombers to take action. They are actually venerated by numerous people in their community and thats why it encourages them to do it, he explained.

The terrorist act itself then doesnt need to accomplish much in and of itself, but rather purge the perceived evil symbolically.

They cant eradicate the entire old world order by themselves, so they do it through this great symbolic gesture that they know is going to get attention, he said.

Way Out

Leaving a radical movement tends to be a painful experience, York said, speaking from a personal experience of being a radical animal rights and environmental activist in his youth.

It brings a kind of a feeling of euphoria to you to be a part of a movement. You lose your identity in it and you become part of this group and you feel empowered by that, he said.

So its a euphoric feeling and you feel very, very committed to it. But then youre also at the same time afraid that if you dont conform or you say suddenly the wrong thing, you will be excommunicated or purged by other people.

That can put a lot of pressure on the members, especially those who dont have much of a life outside of the movement.

You feel almost suicidal because you feel like youve lost your entire raison detre, your reason for being, York said. So the fear of doing that makes them conform more to this narrowing of the ideology. And some of them become superactivists who see their role as taking it to the next level and sort of outdoing the others and being the leaders.

In his experience, since members get to depend on the movement for a sense of purpose and belonging, they wont let go of it easily.

I think the only way they can get out of it is to sort of suffer what has been called existential disappointment, he said.

Your heart is broken by what you perceive as the irreparable failures of the movement and that you cant fit in it anymore or youre purged from it maybe.

That was his experience. He still believed in animal rights and environmental causes, but could no longer identify with the activism. He was particularly turned off by people bringing Marxist ideas into the movements, he said.

I didnt really think they belonged to those movements, but I was alone in that.

In the end, he felt he had to leave.

Its as serious as a very committed relationship breaking apart. But you get over it, he said. Just like a heartbreak, it repairs in time.

Its actually normal for young people to pursue a controversial cause.

When youre a teenager, you rebel and you adopt this alien identity that eventually you grow out of. Its called individuation, York said, referring to the term used by psychologist Carl Jung.

The problem with taking up the transgender cause for this purpose is that it can leave life-long consequences. Gender transition is a long process that can be extremely taxing on both the physical and mental health of the patient, especially when it reaches the level of surgery.

This is much more serious than just becoming punk rocker, he noted.

The way the movement presents itself, however, is exactly by catering to the individuation urge.

On social media, which has amplified this a lot, these kids, theyre drawn to the power of this movement because it has such conviction, he said.

Matching that conviction can earn one praise and encouragementoften a scarce commodity in adolescence.

What happens in this community is that you feel compelled to jump in with both feet and become hardcore. There are rewards involved in doing that, York said.

The solution, he said, would be to offer people an alternative paradigm which has to be as strong as the thing its replacing.

As an activist, its hard to go from something that gives you ultimate meaning to just regular, everyday life again. Its very difficult to make that transition he said.

Because everyday life is not fulfilling. You have your boring job or school or the problems in life and you still see the problems everywhere that compelled you to be an activist and theyre not being addressed.

The alternative thus needs to be deeper and more meaningful.

You have to have something as powerful to draw you away from it almost, like another faith, if you will, he said.
India Surpasses China as Worlds Most Populous Country

People walk through a market in Bangalore, India, on Nov. 15, 2022. (Manjunath Kiran/AFP via Getty Images)

India has surpassed China as the worlds most populous country, according to the U.N.

The Indian population rose to 1.428 billion, 3 million more than Chinas 1.425 billion, according to data from the U.N. Population Funds (UNFPA) State of World Population Report, 2023 on April 19.

India and China now account for more than one-third of the estimated global population of 8.045 billion people.

The demographic data reflects information available as of February, according to the U.N. report.

India, which also has Asias third-largest economy, is home to nearly 20 percent of humanity, greater than the entire population of Europe, Africa, or the Americas.

The United States is the third most populous nation, with an estimated population of 340 million people.

Chinas Population Ages Out

China is expected by sometime in the 21st century to have one of the worlds oldest populations, economists and demographers say.

U.N. officials have said that it isnt possible to specify a timeframe because of uncertainty about the data coming from both countries and also because India hasnt conducted a countrywide census since 2011.

The planned census for 2021 was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Population growth in both Asian states has been slowing but at a much faster pace in China than in India.

Chinas population fell for the first time in six decades in 2022, a major turn of events that will gradually mark a decline in the number of its aging citizens over the next couple of decades.

That will have strategic implications for the Chinese economy and the globe, as the worlds second-largest economy loses much of its productive workforce.

India, where half the population is younger than the age of 30, will be the worlds fastest-growing major economy by mid-century.

India on Path to Economic Superpower Status

Indias population growth has slowed to an average of 1.2 percent per year since 2011, compared with 1.7 percent in the previous decade, according to data from New Delhi.

Despite the slowdown in growth, the Indian population is forecast to reach 1.668 billion by 2050, while Chinas population is expected to decline to about 1.317 billion.

The quickly growing population is expected to put pressure on the government of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to create jobs for the millions of people entering the workforce, as the country increasingly moves towards an urbanized industrial economy.

The Indian survey findings suggest that population anxieties have seeped into large portions of the general public, Andrea Wojnar, representative for UNFPA India, said in a statement.

Yet, population numbers should not trigger anxiety or create alarm. Instead, they should be seen as a symbol of progress, development, and aspirations if individual rights and choices are being upheld.

Reuters contributed to this report.
Indiana Senate Advances Handgun Training Bill for Teachers

Indiana state senators meet in the Senate chamber in the Indiana State Capitol building in Indianapolis, Ind., on July 25, 2022. (Jon Cherry/Getty Images)

The Indiana Senate approved a bill on Tuesday that would provide funding for teachers and other school employees to undergo firearms training across the state.

Introduced by Republicans, the bill first passed the House 428 in February before passing the Senate 7124 on Tuesday with the support of two Democrats.

The proposed 40 hours of voluntary training would be funded by taxpayers to help teachers learn how to defend themselves and their students in the event of an active shooter. While state law currently permits teachers to be armed, no standardized training is mandated.

The legislation will also allow schools to apply for funding to cover the costs of counseling for students, teachers, and other school employees in the event of a mass shooting.

Sen. Travis Holdman for District 19, the bills sponsor in the Senate, said before Tuesdays vote that he wished the training was mandatory, but we cant get that as a General Assembly, because I have tried that for the last number of years.

Even basic training will make a difference in the event of an active shooter scenario, said state Rep. Jim Lucas (R-Seymour), who introduced the bill in the House.

When faced with a life-or-death situation, simple drills and basic training can make all the difference, Lucas said in a statement. With this legislation, schools have the option to send their teachers through a state-certified course designed to teach them how to respond to a threat like an active-shooter situation.

Similar legislation failed in 2020 amid opposition from both gun rights groups and gun control groups. That legislation was too prescriptive and usurped local control for some gun rights advocates, and for gun control proponents, it was normalizing a high-risk strategy of arming teachers.

Basic Firearm Familiarization

While two Democrats in the state Senate joined the Republicans in passing the bill, most of the Democrats had doubts about its effectiveness in preventing school shootings.

State Sen. Andrea Hunley, a Democrat for District 46, asked how 40 hours of training would prepare teachers to shoot a kid in the classroom, stating that the legislation was not enough to stop school shootings.

Im struggling that now were at the point where were going to arm our teachers, Hunley said on the Senate floor while questioning Lucas, the bills author.

Hunley also questioned why the training should include dynamic gun drills for shooting while in high-stress scenarios and while moving. She characterized the inclusion of such drills as training teachers to act like SWAT officers.

State Sen. Fady Qaddoura, a Democrat for District 30, also stated that the training almost looks to me like SWAT training, not teachers being trained to protect their students.

Responding to these claims, Lucas said teachers were absolutely not being trained to become police officers or SWAT officers.

This is just basic firearm familiarization with the mindset  you have to develop, proper weapon handling techniques, and how to go about working in an environment that you might be getting shot at, Lucas said.

Meanwhile, state Sen. Jim Tomes, a Republican for District 49, said guns arent the issues; people are.

Weve got to quit worrying about the gun, Tomes said. Weve got to think about the human component, what were dealing with, we have a meanness in our society, an evilness in this society, and it goes beyond mental illness sometimes of people who just want to hurt people, and they want to hurt kids, and they know theyre soft targets in these schools.

On Monday, an amendment to the bill that would have necessitated schools to inform parents if an employee completes firearm training and carries a gun, was also voted down. In answer to Hunleys questions on this, Lucas noted that teachers were already permitted to have a gun license.

The bill advanced in the state legislature just days after former President Donald Trump spoke at the annual National Rifle Association convention in Indianapolis, where he called to arm teachers.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.
California Man Gets Life Sentence for Killing Woman, Dog, Burning Down House

POMONA, Calif.An Inglewood man who fatally stabbed a woman he had briefly dated and killed her dog before setting fire to her Pomona apartment was sentenced Tuesday to more than 66 years to life in state prison.

Jurors found Chaumon Tyner, now 54, guilty last Sept. 19 of one count each of first-degree murder, animal cruelty and arson of an inhabited dwelling, according to Deputy District Attorney Phil Stirling, who prosecuted the case with colleague Michelle Weiske.

Ronny Wall and her Yorkshire terrier, Bentley, were found inside the apartment on March 18, 2019, after the buildings sprinkler system extinguished the fire.

The 58-year-old woman met Tyner through an internet dating site, and the two had dated for 28 days, Stirling said. She suffered 11 significant stab wounds, with jurors finding true an allegation that Tyner used a pair of scissors in the crime.

Authorities believe the two had argued, with telephone records indicating that he remained in the apartment after the killing, according to Stirling.

Tyner was arrested nine days later by Pomona police and has remained in jail since then.

In a statement read in court on her behalf, the victims mother, Patricia Hayes, said she was in complete shock when police informed her about her daughters death.

I felt that this was such a horrible loss, and I couldnt believe it, she wrote. My life changed after my daughters death. I think about her all the time, I dream about her and miss our conversations.  As far as the defendant who took Ronnys life, I am angry at what you did and I hope that you rot in prison.

Tyner had a prior strike from 2003 for robbery, which resulted in his sentence being doubled to 66 years and four months to life.
Inmates Sue Prison Service for Failing to Protect Them From Islamist Prison Gangs

In this file image, two people walk alongside the curtain wall of HMP Liverpool, northwest England, on Nov. 15, 2016 (Paul Ellis/AFP/Getty Images)

Inmates who refuse to convert and are being put in segregation blocks for their own protection are planning legal action against the Prison Service for failing to protect them from Islamist gangs in British prisons.

Prisoners face a David and Goliath battle against Islamic gangs in British jails, according to lawyers who are taking on their case to force a judicial review.

Criminal barrister Tony Wyatt told The Epoch Times that he wants to demonstrate that there is an organised crime group within the prisons.

Large groups of individuals in British prisons, under an Islamic banner, are operating in a criminal way, he said.

The claim is that prison services have effectively allowed the groups to take control because they fear being accused of racism.

Wyatt said that convicted drug dealer Richard Caswell is their primary client along with 2025 prisoners, some of who are Christian, from prisons not just in London but over the whole country.

On his clients, he said: We dont claim that these are sympathetic people, they deserve to be in prison as they were sentenced, but they shouldnt be serving in conditions that are ten times worse as everybody else merely because they are the targets of a group that cant be touched.

Islamist Gangs

Islamists are acting as a huge gang within the rules of British prisons, with many converting for their own protection and out of fear of the repercussions of not joining.

According to a 2022 government report (pdf) on prisons, there is evidence of highly structured Islamist gangs operating within the prison estate.

It said that the gangs make insincere allegations of racism and Islamophobia or mistreatment against staff to delegitimise staff authority. Furthermore, charismatic or violent prisoners act as self-styled emirs and exert a controlling and radicalising influence on the wider Muslim prison population.

The report found that gangs acted collectively to intimidate staff when their behaviour was challenged and that they assaulted other prisoners for faith-based reasons.

A 2022 House Of Commons report (pdf) found that the proportion of Muslim prisoners increased from 8 percent in 2002 to 17 percent in 2022.

A general view through the bars of Birmingham Prison in Winson Green in Birmingham, England, on Aug. 20, 2018. (Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

Wyatt said that the prisoners he represents refused very early on to convert and would stick up for people who are being forcibly converted back before the groups were the size they are and have the influence they have.

He said that now that dispute has become utterly David and Goliath in terms of scale.

Due to them not being safe in the general population, prisons are now choosing to deal with the problem by putting them into punishment conditions for their own protection.

So rather than taking on these gangs, these organised crime groups, rather than doing that, the prisons are effectively punishing their victims putting them in the Block, which is a prison within a prison, he said.

In punishment conditions, prisoners in segregation units, known as the Block, tend not to have access to contact with their families, nor do they have normal everyday privileges, have a much-reduced regime, and have shorter periods of exercise.

Fear of Confronting These People

Wyatt said that said he believed that this started due to fears of staff being called racist.

I think that theres a fear of confronting these people, he said.

I think it started that way with people who are not genuinely what they claim to be. They chose Islam and they chose to go under that banner exactly because they knew it afforded them protection from people who are afraid of being accused of racism, he added.

He added that its a very important thing to understand that this is in no way a dog whistle.

Its not anti-Islamic. We dont regard these people as Islamic  they are using it as a shield, he added.

A spokesperson for HM Prison Service told The Epoch Times by email: Staff act swiftly to clamp down on intimidating or threatening behaviour regardless of cultural or religious sensitivities and we are investing 100m in prison security to stop the contraband which fuels violence and gangs behind bars.

Prisoners may be moved wings for many reasons including for their own protection or if they are a risk to others, she added.
Intelligence Committee Laments Difficulty in Obtaining Documents From Feds

David McGuinty, chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians, holds a new conference to release the committee's annual report, in Ottawa on March 12, 2020. (The Canadian Press/Fred Chartrand)

The group of select parliamentarians tasked with reviewing the intelligence in the hands of the federal government says its facing obstacles in getting access to the material it needs to do its work.

The committee faces several challenges to obtaining the information we are entitled to under the law and that we need to fulfill our mandate, said David McGuinty, Liberal MP and chair of the National Security and Intelligence Committee of Parliamentarians (NSICOP).

McGuinty was testifying on April 18 before the House of Commons public safety committee to address NSICOPs latest report on cyber defence.

He remarked that Parliament would be reviewing later this year the NSICOP Act and offered a recommendation to MPs on the committee who could be involved in the review.

I will only emphasize the importance of the committees access to government information, he said.

For example, the committee is concerned that departments are applying an overly broad interpretation of what constitutes a cabinet confidence.

NSICOP was created by the Trudeau government through the passage of the NSICOP Act in 2017.

It comprises eight MPs from all political parties and one senator who have security clearances, granting them the ability to review in secret documents produced and received by the Canadian intelligence apparatus.

NSICOP Executive Director Lisa-Marie Inman drilled down on the issue of her committee not being able to receive documents protected by cabinet confidence.

She told MPs its not really that NSICOPs work has been compromised or hindered by not being able to see cabinet confidences, but rather that it doesnt know what its missing since departments dont have to notify NSICOP theyre holding documents back.

So if theres a document subject to cabinet confidence or information subject to cabinet confidence, the committee doesnt necessarily know that that document exists because it doesnt need to be provided, she said.

Inman added that NSICOP has previously inadvertently obtained documents marked cabinet confidence, which led them to discern that the application of the definition is sometimes very broad.

NSICOP has received more attention of late in relation to the issue of Chinese regime interference in Canada documented in national security leaks in the press.

This led to opposition parties calling for holding a public inquiry on the matter, but the Liberal government has resisted and instead announced other measures on March 6.

One of those measures was to task NSICOP with reviewing the issue, something it had worked on previously, with its findings and recommendations published in its 2020 annual report.

It wrote at the time that espionage and foreign interference were the most significant long-term threats to Canadas sovereignty and prosperity, and identified China and Russia as the main culprits.

McGuinty told MPs on the public safety committee he hopes the government will pay closer attention to recommendations made by NSCIOP, noting it hasnt responded to 20 recommendations contained in six of its previous reviews.

He said NSICOP is putting aside its review of the lawful interception of communications for security and intelligence activities to study the foreign interference issue.
JERUSALEM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- An Israeli unmanned aerial vehicle crashed in Syria due to technical failure, the Israeli military said in a statement on Wednesday.

According to the statement, "During a routine activity at night, an unmanned aerial vehicle of the Skylark type fell in the Syrian territory following a technical malfunction. No information was breached."

The incident is currently under investigation, the military said. The military did not disclose the exact location where the drone crashed, nor did it provide any information about the drone's mission.

The incident came amid heightened tensions between Israel and Syria.

Earlier in April, militants in Syria and Lebanon fired rockets at the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights and Israel retaliated with airstrikes targeting the source of the fire.

Syria has not immediately issued a statement regarding the drone's crash.

The Israeli military frequently employs the Skylark, a small unmanned aerial vehicle for surveillance purposes over the borders with Syria and Gaza. 
Iowa Advances Child Labor Bill

The Iowa Senate passed a bill on Tuesday that would allow minors to work in currently banned roles and longer hours.

The new bill would extend the hours teens under 16 could work up to six hours per day, two more than currently allowed. It would allow 16- and 17-year-olds to serve alcohol at restaurants with parental permission.

Two Republicans crossed the floor to vote against the bill with Democrats. However, the bill still passed 32-17 in the GOP-controlled Senate. The Iowa House will now consider the bill before it is sent to Republican Gov. Kim Reynolds for approval.

Ultimately, parents and kids will decide if they want to work or not, Reynolds said earlier this month. It teaches the kids a lot. And if they have the time to do it and they want to earn some additional money, I dont think we should discourage that.

The bills mostly Republican supporters argue that it would give children valuable opportunities to work and get paid, while its mostly Democrat opponents have voiced concerns about potential harm to children and increased risk of workplace accidents and injuries among youth.

Some labor unions have organized protests to oppose the bill. The U.S. Department of Labors top lawyer, Seema Nanda, criticized the bill, saying it is irresponsible for states to consider loosening child labor protections.

Sen. Adrian Dickey (R-Packwood), the bills floor manager, said it would allow certain young people who want to work the ability to enjoy the rewards of a paycheck.

While the responsibility of having a job might be more valuable than having a paycheck, the reward of the paycheck will allow these youth who want to have a job to possibly save for a car, maybe buy a prom dress, go to a summer camp, take a date out for the weekend, Dickey said, Des Moines Register reported.

The Bill

Under the new bill, 14- to 17-year-olds would be allowed to work in jobs that are currently off-limits for minors so long as the directors of the Iowa Department of Education or Iowa Workforce Development grant exceptions. The exception would require the minors to be part of an approved training program with adequate supervision and safety precautions.

Senate Republicans approved amendments to the bill made early Tuesday to clarify that 16- and 17-year-olds would be prohibited from serving alcohol at strip clubs, even though current law bans them from working at strip clubs.

The bill would also allow teens to work longer hours until 9 p.m. during the school year and until 11 p.m. during the summer. It would further create a committee to study the possibility of allowing minors aged 14 and older to obtain a special drivers permit to drive to work.

Furthermore, the bill grants protections to minors who are injured on the job under the states workers compensation program. Previously, the bill did not provide such protections.

The bill also removes provisions in current law that allow children ages 10 to 13 to work in street occupations like selling newspapers or migratory labor conditions.
Jihadist Attacks in Burkina Faso Kill More Than 80 People as Security Situation Worsens

A demonstrator holds a placard during a march called by the opposition to protest against the security situation worsening and asking for a response to jihadist attacks, in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, on July 3, 2021. (Olympia de Maismont/AFP via Getty Images)

An attack by unidentified assailants in northern Burkina Faso on army and volunteer defense forces on April 15 left 40 people dead and 33 others wounded, the West African nations transitional leadership confirmed in a statement.

The government said the attack was carried out by unidentified armed men in Aorema village in the Yatenga province near the border with Mali. The area is overrun by fighters linked to al-Qaeda and ISIS militants.

The detachment that came under attack was reportedly deployed to maintain security at an aerodrome in Ouahigouya, the provincial capital. Eight soldiers and 32 civilian volunteers were killed, the government said in the statement.

At least 50 attackers were killed, 30 others wounded, and equipment was destroyed in the reprisal attack that followed, the army said in an April 16 statement seen by The Epoch Times.

Air reinforcements were also deployed, making it possible to intercept and destroy a terrorist column trying to exfiltrate, it said.

Early on April 16, assailants attacked another military detachment in Kongoussi, the capital of the northwestern Bam province, killing two soldiers and leaving two others injured. The army said in the statement that it successfully repelled the attack, killing at least 20 of the attackers and destroying 30 motorcycles.

Last weekends separate attacks became just the latest data point in a resurgence of similar attacks in the Sahel country, which is grappling with a seven-year-old campaign by jihadists.

Forty-four civilians were killed by suspected armed terrorist groups in the northeastern Burkina Faso villages of Kourakou and Tondobi, near the Niger border on April 6.

Rodolphe Sorgho, lieutenant governor of the Sahel region, described the killings as despicable and barbaric, adding that an army offensive succeeded in putting out of action the armed terrorist groups that had carried out the attacks.

The twin attacks happened close to the village of Seytenga, where 86 civilians were killed in June 2022 in one of the bloodiest attacks of a long-running insurgency.

Meanwhile, on Feb. 17, 51 soldiers were killed in an ambush at Deou, in the far north.

Analyst Says Attacks No Surprise

The latest wave of killings didnt come as a surprise to Olusegun Alabi, a political science lecturer at Osun State College of Education in Nigeria.

The current topsy-turvydom in Burkina Faso was predictable because of the trend in the metastasis of the scourge, he told The Epoch Times. The security and political woes of Burkina Faso are intertwined. Very symbiotic in nature.

The ground for the spread of jihadi insurgency was created by the countrys debile [feeble] economy, very low per capita income, harsh climatic conditions, pervasive socioeconomic inequalities, and poor, alienated leadership.

The end result, Alabi says, is that locals [are] easily susceptible to the propaganda and the manipulations of the jihadists.

Burkina Faso has been increasingly exposed to the threats and attacks of violent armed jihadist groups since beginning their campaign from neighboring Mali in 2015.

The northern parts of the country, which border Mali and Niger, are particularly at risk as a result of conflict spillover.

In September 2022, the country suffered its second coup in less than nine months, when a 34-year-old army captain, Ibrahim Traore, seized power. He ousted Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who led a coup in January, toppling then-President Roch Marc Christian Kabore.

Jihadist-inspired terrorist groups are wreaking havoc in Burkina Fasos northern regions, controlling large swaths of territory, especially in the countryside where the central government has limited control.

The government controls slightly more than 50 percent of the countrys territory, and the actual figure could be lower, according to estimates.

The West African country recorded 1,135 deaths attributed to terrorists in 2022, a 50 percent jump from 2021, according to the 2023 Global Terrorism Index.

With jihadist violence rising in Burkina Faso, the United States is preparing to send long-term assistance to neighboring countries of Ivory Coast, Benin, and Togo.

Washington believes that violence could spill into coastal West Africa and destabilize the region.

Its a significant and burgeoning threat, Michael Heath, deputy assistant secretary of state in charge of West Africa, recently told AFP.

Its something of concern to us because of the capabilities of the governments in placetheyve never faced a threat like this before.

On April 4, the United Nations and partners said a staggering 4.7 million people in Burkina Fasoa fifth of the populationwill need humanitarian assistance this year as an $877 million response plan was announced to meet urgent needs.

Jihadist Groups Entrench Roots

The two main Salafi-Jihadist organizations operating in Burkina Faso are the ISIS Sahel Province (IS-Sahel) and the Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM).

The latter, which is affiliated with al-Qaeda, was created in Mali in 2017 as a union of four different groups: al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM), al-Murabitoun, Ansar al-Dine, and the Macina Liberation Front.

IS-Sahel, which was formerly known as ISIS in the Greater Sahara (ISGS), has been operating in the region under the Islamic States banner since 2016.

In broader terms, as with all Al-Qaeda and Islamic States affiliates, JNIM and IS-Sahel strive to establish an Islamic state under sharia law in adherence to their parent organizations long-term vision, Daniel Matan, a researcher at the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Center (ITIC), an Israeli-based research group that tracks both ISIS and al-Qaeda, told The Epoch Times in an email.

We cant determine the level of involvement of Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in their activities yet, he wrote, but JNIM and IS-Sahel are largely self-sufficient in terms of manpower, weapons, and other resources, and rely on local or regional sources.

Matan is skeptical that these Salafi-Jihadists have the support and sympathy of local communities.

Whatever the case, he says, the organizations operate in the northern and eastern parts of Burkina Faso, where the majority of the population is Muslim and therefore can provide a source of support, but this also likely means that the majority of the casualties as a result of their activities are Muslims.

More than 10,000 civilians, troops, and police have been killed in Burkina Faso and at least 2 million other people displaced since jihadists launched their campaign in 2015.

Since junta leader Traore seized power in September 2022, the activities of all political parties and civil society organizations in the country have been suspended.

Inadequate Military Firepower

In response to the string of insurgent attacks since the start of the year, Burkina Fasos new military chief, Celestin Simpore, on April 6 vowed to step up a dynamic offensive against jihadists during a handover ceremony following his appointment.

He promised that the offensive underway in the past few weeks will be stepped up to force armed groups to lay down their weapons.

But Burkina Fasos security forces are largely seen to be inadequately equipped and lacking the sufficient operational capacity to perform their duties in line with the country and populations needs.

The recent terror attacks in Burkina Faso may just be the tip of an iceberg, given that its government lacks robust counterterrorism capabilities to meet the Islamist threat. Nna-Emeka Okereke, an expert on African affairs and regional security in West and Central Africa, told The Epoch Times by phone from Abuja, Nigeria.

The land area is too vast [274,220 square km] and the population is small [22.1 million], he said.

So, there exists vast uninhabited and under-governed spaces which serve as [a] sanctuary for the terrorists.

Past, Current Leaders to Blame: Analyst

Moreover, there exists deep-rooted animosity of the population towards the Fulani, who form bulk membership of ISIS in the Greater Sahara (ISGS) amid other local grievances breeding terrorism, according to Nna-Emeka.

Then, the existence of active terrorist groups in neighboring countries feeds the domestic contradictions.

ITICs Matan agrees and blames the countrys past and present leaders for its current security woes.

Political instability, manifested by the recent changes in power in Burkina Faso, usually result in [the] purging of the security forces and a subsequent decrease of efficiency in their ability to tackle terrorist activities and defend the local population, he told The Epoch Times.

He notes that most of the attacks in Burkina Faso are ambushes of military and civilian convoys and raids of military installations, villages, or other population centers.

Usually, this kind of operation requires low-tech weapons such as assault rifles, machine guns, and in some cases, armed mounted trucks along with motorcycles.

In case of an ambush, mines and improvised explosive devices [IEDs] are also used. This modus operandi is similar to other Salafi-Jihadist organizations in Africa such as ISWAP in the Lake Chad region or IS-Mozambique, Matan said.

On April 13, the transitional authorities in Burkina Faso declared a general mobilization to give the state all means necessary to deal with the jihadist attacks.

The Defense Ministry had launched an operation called Empty Granaries, calling on all the countrys military personnel, active or retired, to donate their uniforms for the soldiers currently on the ground.

France Pulls Out, Russia Steps In

France has had mixed fortunes fighting terrorism in the Sahel since 2013.

Matan said Salafi-Jihadist organizations have since strengthened significantly despite several French-led operations and other anti-terror endeavors.

There is also an anti-French sentiment amongst the Burkinabe population regarding the true reason for Frances involvement in the country, which some believe [are] for self-gained economic benefits.

Earlier this year, Burkina Fasos former colonial ruler, France, confirmed that it was withdrawing its troops stationed in the country.

The announcement came weeks after Burkina Fasos junta ousted hundreds of French troops, signs appeared that the West African country could be moving closer to Russia, including the Wagner Group mercenary outfit.

But the countrys leaders deny having any ties with the Wagner Group.

In Africa, the Wagner Group is occasionally resorting to violent measures against civilian populations who are suspected of aiding the enemy [as was shown since the start of their operations in Mali], Matan said.

This is an unproven tactic of tackling the jihadist organizations or the civilian support for them. Moreover, it is likely counter-productive for this effort.

But Nna-Emeka thinks linking with the Wagner Group is the natural consequence of breaking links with France as the country still needs that strong strategic partnership to counter the real threat to the Burkina state.

However, political analyst Olusegun insists Burkina Faso moving closer to Russia amid the French pullout wont bring any substantial change.

Until the opportunistic factors are addressed, the whole scenario is just a change of guards, he told The Epoch Times.

The political class in Africa at large, including Burkina Faso, should be excoriated for being flatfooted, insouciant, and lackadaisical as they are more engrossed in power calculus than national security and stability in most cases.

The peoples of Africa including Burkina Faso are good at scapegoatism according to Olusegun.

Here, they have been holding France responsible for their past woes. After some time, they will celebrate the exit of the Wagner Group. It is a [vicious] cycle!
Joe Biden and First Lady Earned Nearly $580,000 in 2022, Tax Returns Show

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden walk on the South Lawn to a tree planting ceremony for Dale Haney, the White House grounds superintendent, in Washington on Oct. 24, 2022. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden made a combined income of nearly $580,000 in 2022, according to documents published on April 18 by the White House.

Biden and the first lady filed their income tax return jointly and reported federal adjusted gross income of $579,514 last year, the tax returns show (pdf). Thats down roughly $31,000 from the $610,702 they earned in 2021 (pdf).

The president earned $400,000, which makes up the majority of the couples income, and was granted an expense allowance of $50,000, an amount that is determined by Congress to help him fulfill his duties. Any unused expense from that allowance goes back to the Treasury Department.

Jill Biden teaches at Northern Virginia Community College and is the first presidential spouse to continue an outside-paid job while her husband is in office. She earned $82,335 from that job last year, the tax records show.

According to the return, the couple paid $169,820 in combined federal and state income taxes in Delaware and Virginia, and their 2022 effective federal income tax rate was 23.8 percent compared to 25 percent in 2021.

Specifically, they paid $137,658 in federal income tax and $29,023 in Delaware income tax, and the first lady paid $3,139 in Virginia income tax due to her job in the commonwealth.

Bidens Charitable Donations

Biden and the first lady also reported contributions of $20,180 to 20 various charities, with the largest amount, $5,000, going to the Beau Biden Foundation, a public charity that aims to prevent child abuse through the effective education of adults and children.

The charity is named after their son Beau, the former attorney general of Delaware who died in 2015 after being diagnosed with brain cancer.

They also donated to St. Joseph on the Brandywine, their home church parish, to the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, and the National Fraternal Order of Police Foundation, among others.

Also on Tuesday, Vice President Kamala President Harris and her husband, Doug Emhoff, released their tax returns (pdf) showing that they made a combined income of $456,918 last year, a significant decline from the year prior when they earned $1.65 million.

As vice president, Harris earned $219,171, according to tax records. However, she also reported $74,772 in income from her writing, a sharp decline from the $452,664 in income she reported as a writer last year.

Harris has authored two books: The Truths We Hold: An American Journey and a childrens book, Superheroes Are Everywhere.

Emhoff, meanwhile, earned nearly $170,000 from his job as a faculty member at Georgetown Law School. Together the couple paid $93,570 in federal income tax, amounting to a 2022 effective federal income tax rate of 20.5 percent.

They also paid $17,612 in California income tax, and Emhoff paid $9,697 in District of Columbia income tax. They contributed $23,000 to charity in 2022.

In a statement alongside the tax returns, the White House said Biden has released 25 years of tax returns to the American public as part of his commitment to being transparent with the American people about the finances of the Commander-in-Chief.

While releasing annual income and tax returns to the public is common practice among U.S. Presidents, former President Donald Trump declined to do so, arguing that an ongoing audit prevented him from doing it, which triggered a lengthy court battle.

However, in December 2022, the House Ways and Means Committee finally released six years of Trump and his wifes joint tax returns.

In 2015, 2016, and 2017, the Trumps reported an income tax liability of $750. In 2018, they paid nearly $1 million in taxes, and in 2019, that figure was $133,445.

In 2020, the Trumps reported a loss of $4.8 million and paid $0 in federal taxes.

Tom Ozimek and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon Set to Be Deposed in Jeffrey Epstein Lawsuits

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon is set for deposition in Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking lawsuits. A federal judge instructed Dimon to set aside two days for questioning in litigation that accused Americas largest bank of knowingly benefiting from Jeffrey Epsteins forced prostitution ring of underaged children.

U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff made the decision to allow the JPMorgan CEO to be deposed in a Manhattan federal court on April 19.

A friend of Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew, Les Wexner, and other powerful celebrities, Epstein allegedly killed himself in a Manhattan cell jail in 2019, under suspicious circumstances, while awaiting trial on criminal child sex-trafficking charges.

An unnamed Epstein sex-trafficking victim and the U.S. Virgin Islands are both separately suing JPMorgan over its ties to Epstein, who was a client of the banking giant from 1998 to 2013.

Attorneys for JPMorgan had initially opposed efforts to have Dimon answer questions, arguing that he was not directly involved in the decision to maintain Epsteins accounts.

Judge Orders Trials to Go Ahead

Last month, the federal judge rejected JPMorgans request to dismiss the lawsuits filed by the Virgin Islands and the unknown Epstein victim after the bank stated that questioning its boss would not yield any useful information.

The plaintiffs counsel know our CEO has no relevant knowledge, but persist with this media stunt, JPMorgan said in a statement. A review of more than two decades of emails and other documents makes it clear that he had no involvement with Epstein or his accounts. He does not recall ever meeting, speaking, or communicating with him, the bank said.

Rakoff gave attorneys representing the plaintiffs in two lawsuits against JPMorgan a total of five hours to question Dimon during a telephone conference with the lawyers.

The judge also allowed lawyers for former JPMorgan executive Jes Staley, whom the bank is suing for allowing Epstein to remain a client, to separately question Dimon for two hours, according to the court docket.

JPMorgan had argued that Staley, who was once considered to be a successor to Dimon and not the bank, is legally responsible for the suits related to Epstein.

The major investment bank filed an $80 million suit against Staley in March, accusing him of concealing his inappropriate relationship with Epstein and demanding that he return his earnings as its former investment banking chief.

He resigned as Barclays CEO in late 2021 after an investigation by British financial regulators over his relationship with Epstein.

Rakoff further ordered that representatives for the two plaintiffs report back to him after the first day of depositions in order to determine whether a second day is necessary. However, he said he might allow the depositions to go beyond the time which had been initially set aside.

The judge also allowed parts of a similar separate lawsuit by Epstein victims against Deutsche Bank, including a claim that it also knowingly benefited from the late pedophile.

The German-owned bank paid New York banking regulators a $150 million fine for its dealings with Epstein.

Dimon Allegedly Allowed Epstein to Maintain Accounts at Bank

The CEOs deposition follows last months questioning of Mary Callahan Erodes, who was the head of JPMorgans asset and wealth management division in 2009.

A court filing released last week cited Erdoes admitting in her deposition that JPMorgan was aware by 2006 that Epstein was accused of paying cash to have underage girls and young women brought to his home, according to the attorneys for the Virgin Islands.

She admitted in her testimony that JPMorgan only dropped Epstein as a client seven years after he was accused of sex trafficking children.

Erodes said that she only acted after learning that the tens of thousands of dollars he routinely withdrew from his account were for actual cash.

The Virgin Islands lawsuit alleges that JPMorgan Chase executives knew about Epsteins interest in young girls enough to be able to joke about it, Forbes reported.

Attorneys for the islands accused the bank of allowing the facilitation of concealed wire and cash transactions that raised suspicion ofand were in fact part ofa criminal enterprise whose currency was for the sexual servitude of dozens of women and girls in and beyond the Virgin Islands.

Human trafficking was the [principal] business of the accounts Epstein maintained at JP Morgan, the filing stated.

During a March 16 court hearing, Mimi Liu, a lawyer for the Virgin Islands, accused both Dimon and Staley of knowing in 2008 that his billionaire client [Jeffrey Epstein] was a sex trafficker.
Judge Sides With Rep. Jordan, Denies DA Braggs Request to Block House GOP Subpoena

(L) Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 1, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images); (R) Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg in New York City on April 4, 2023. (Kena Betancur/Getty Images)

Update: On Thursday, hours before Pomerantz scheduled testimony to the committee, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals issued a temporary administrative hold on the subpoenas return date to allow the court to review Braggs application for a permanent hold on the subpoena while the lower courts decision is being appealed. The appeals court indicated that the administrative stay does not indicate the courts position on the merit of Braggs case. The court instructed the parties to complete court filings on a permanent stay on the ruling on Saturday.

NEW YORKA federal judge in Manhattan ruled on April 19 that the U.S. House Judiciary Committee and its chairman, Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), can subpoena a former prosecutor who worked for Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg.

District Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil, a Trump appointee, ordered that the congressional panel has the authority to become involved in the investigation of former President Donald Trump.

Specifically, Vyskocil grantedover Braggs objectionthat Jordan could subpoena Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor in Braggs office, for his testimony related to the DAs investigation of Trump.

Pomerantz could be subject to criminal liabilities by testifying in Congress, one of Braggs attorneys said during the hearing on April 19. Meanwhile, he also could be held in contempt of Congress if he doesnt cooperate with Congresss requests, his lawyers said in an April 17 filing.

The April 19 order came after an hour-long verbal clash between Theodore J. Boutrous Jr., counsel for Bragg, and House general counsel Matthew Berry in the Southern District Court of New York. It gave the Judiciary Committees lawmakers a victory in their legal clash with Bragg, which began when Bragg sued the committee, as well as Pomerantz, to stop the panel from enforcing the subpoena on Pomerantz.

In her order, Vyskocil ruled in favor of the congressional lawmakers, affirming their stance that the subpoena they issued on Pomerantz serves legitimate legislative purposes and is thus protected from lawsuits by the speech and debate clause of the U.S. Constitution. That clause protects federal legislators from lawsuits for actions that serve a valid legislative purpose.

It is not the role of the federal judiciary to dictate what legislation Congress may consider or how it should conduct its deliberations in that connection, the judge wrote in her ruling. Mr. Pomerantz must appear for the congressional deposition.

No one is above the law.

Todays decision shows that Congress has the ability to conduct oversight and issue subpoenas to people like Mark Pomerantz, and we look forward to his deposition before the Judiciary Committee, Russell Dye, a spokesperson for Jordan, told The Epoch Times in a statement following the April 19 ruling.

Lawyers for Bragg wrote in a filing following the district courts ruling that they intend to ask the Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit for emergency relief and delay the deadline for the subpoena issued to Pomerantz.

Judiciary GOP Takes on Bragg

Jordans probe into Braggs prosecution of Trump began two days after Trump announced on March 18 that he would be arrested. Jordan asked Bragg to provide documents about his politically motivated prosecution of a former president.

Then came Trumps indictment on April 4. The former president was charged with 34 counts of felony falsifying business records. On April 6, Jordan subpoenaed Pomerantz to seek his testimony.

Pomerantz had pushed for an indictment against Trump in 2021 after leading a probe into the former presidents finances. He left the Manhattan district attorneys office in February 2022 because Bragg initially decided not to pursue a criminal case against Trump. Pomerantz later released a memoir about the case.

In response to Jordans subpoena to Pomerantz, Bragg filed a federal lawsuit on April 11 seeking to nullify Jordans subpoena, which included an emergency request for a temporary restraining order on Jordan and an injunction to block the subpoenas enforcement. The court ordered a hearing on the emergency request, leading to the April 19 hearing and the subsequent rejection by the court of Braggs request.

Michael Scotto, who worked for 23 years as a prosecutor in the Manhattan DAs office, told The Epoch Times in an email on Thursday that Braggs lawsuit is still pretty much dead, even considering the appeals courts Thursday order extending the subpoena deadline. He agreed with Vyskocils assessment that Congress has legitimate legislative interests in inquiring about the prosecution of a former president and that Braggs separation of powers claims would not override those interests.

Another consideration, he added, is that Pomerantz could invoke various privileges at the House hearingwhich can be litigated if Congress finds his refusal to answer on privilege grounds is baselesswhich weakens Braggs central claim that Pomerantzs testimony would cause irreparable harm to his case. Additionally, Scotto indicated that Pomerantzs testimony would not significantly interfere with Braggs criminal case because Pomerantz didnt work on that case and isnt currently working for Bragg.

If there was never a book, we wouldnt be here, Scotto said.

Question of Congressional Authority

During the hearing, the House general counsel asserted that the committees subpoena to Jordan serves a valid legislative purpose and is therefore protected from any interference from the courts under the Constitutions speech and debate clause.

Berry proposed two reasons for that claim.

First, he stated that Congress had introduced legislation that Pomerantzs testimony could help inform. He cited a bill that, if enacted into law, would bar the use of federal funds to investigate a sitting or former president (the Accountability for Lawless Violence In our Neighborhoods, or ALVIN, Act), as well as another that would allow Congress to remove of an action or prosecution against a former president (H.R. 2553).

Berry also stated that Congress is within its authority to examine whether politically motivated prosecutions of a former president would interfere with the duties of a sitting POTUS. For example, it might inappropriately influence a sitting presidents decision-making on policies, for the president may fear the posthoc prosecution by a local DA for a decision that may be unpopular to the people in the DAs locality, Berry said.

Braggs attorney objected to those contentions. The committees subpoena, Boutrous said, exceeded congressional authority because its the judicial branchs jobnot that of Congressto ensure that this ongoing prosecution is not politically motivated.

He said that the committee, in issuing the subpoena, intended to disrupt Braggs criminal case against Trump and that this action encroaches upon other branches of governmentthe New York Executive Department and the judicial branch.

Braggs attorney cited the Supreme Court case Trump v. Mazars, in which the high court ruled in Trumps favor and stated that the congressional committees couldnt subpoena Trumps financial statements. The Supreme Court reasoned in that ruling that conducting a criminal investigation is a power of the executive branch and that Congresss subpoena against Trump violates the principles of separation of powers.

Boutrous says the Supreme Court ruling applies to this case because this case also raises significant separation of powers questions.

In her April 19 ruling, Vyskocil affirmed Congresss position that the subpoena serves a valid legislative purpose.

Furthermore, she rejected Braggs reasoning that Trump v. Mazars applies to the case.

The congressional subpoena in Mazars was directed at materials pertaining to the sitting President of the United States, Vyskocil wrote in her ruling.

In contrast, here, the subpoena was issued to a private citizen who is no longer employed by any state government and who has written a book and spoken extensively about the subject matter of the congressional inquiry, she wrote. The Court is not persuaded that Mazars applies to this case.

Zachary Stieber contributed to this report.
Judge Rules Religious Exemptions Must Be Allowed in Mississippi for Childrens Vaccine Requirements in Public Schools

A federal judge has ruled Mississippi must now provide religious exemptions to the states strict childhood vaccine requirements to be enrolled in public schools.

U.S. District Judge Halil Suleyman Ozerden granted a preliminary injunction on Monday following an evidentiary hearing and handed down a full order on Tuesday.

Several families filed the lawsuit last fall arguing that the health policy refusing religious exemptions violates their constitutional rights under the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment.

Mississippi is one of six states without a religious exemption for students to attend public school, the others being California, Connecticut, Maine, New York, and West Virginia.

Ozerdens order takes effect on July 15, 2023. By then, the Mississippi State Department of Health must allow religious exemptions.

Walker Moller, an attorney with Siri & Glimstad, the law firm that represented the families, told The Epoch Times the ruling represents a significant breakthrough for Mississippi families who have been praying and fighting for a religious exemption option for many years.

Forty-four states have religious or philosophical exemption options to childhood vaccination requirements, but those exemptions are only available by way of legislative enactment, Moller said. In other words, exemptions in other states are legal privileges that can be taken away if elected officials deem necessary. The ruling in Mississippi is significant because it signals that Mississippians possess the inalienable constitutional right to freely exercise their religious beliefs, and that right exists independent of legislative action or inaction.

The immunization requirementswhich dont apply to school staffare Diphtheria; Tetanus and Pertussis; Polio; Hepatitis B; Measles, Mumps, Rubella; and Varicella, according to the Mississippi State Department of Health, which says on its website that it has one of the most successful childhood immunization programs in the nation, and as a result one of the lowest rates of childhood diseases.

The state allows people to apply for some medical exemptions, and it has no mandate for the COVID-19 vaccination.

The state formerly had a religious exemption that was removed in 1979 after a state court judge declared it invalid in Brown v. Stone, arguing that vaccinated children had a 14th Amendment right to be protected from their unvaccinated peers. However, the lawsuit argues that the court decision failed to consider vaccinated childrens association with unvaccinated children at other gatherings such as church and camp.

Exclusion of Families With Religious Beliefs

The lawsuit equated the medical exemption with a secular value judgment and argues that the rejection of religious value judgment deprives the plaintiffs of their freedom of religion protected by the First Amendment.

Critically, after stripping the states citizens rights to seek a religious exemption, Mississippi enacted a medical exemption system, the lawsuit states. Removing one exemption while enacting another confirmed that the exclusion of families with religious beliefs against vaccination was not the result of an absolute priority to ensure every single child is vaccinated, but rather a calculated choice to eliminate religious beliefs.

Religious exemptions for vaccines center around the fact that they are derived from growing viruses in fetal embryo cells that originated from tissue harvested from two aborted fetuses in the early 1960s.

Others depend on these fetal cells for testing, design, and/or manufacture, the lawsuit states. Most other vaccines, even if not directly associated with aborted fetal cells themselves, are made by manufacturers who profit from the use of these aborted fetal cells. These aborted fetal cells would be illegal to harvest in Mississippi today under the states abortion ban, and yet their continued use, and profit derived from an abortion, is condoned through the Compulsory Vaccination Law.

The organization that funded the lawsuitthe Austin, Texas-based Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN)said Mississippis allowing secular, medical exemptions show that the state could have always accommodated unvaccinated students.

It has simply chosen to not accord an exemption when it is someones immortal soul that a parent believes would be at risk, ICAN said in a press release. The plaintiffs and all parents in Mississippi whose children have been excluded from school due to their religious beliefs are, no doubt, incredibly heartened that a federal court agreed that the State cannot afford a secular exemption without affording a religious exemption because doing so violated the First Amendment.

Mississippi Patriots for Vaccine Rights

An organization that has advocated for medical freedom and informed medical consent in the state celebrated the ruling but expressed disappointment that it took a lawsuit to secure a basic constitutional right that has been dismissed by state legislators.

We have worked tirelessly through the years in attempts to convince Mississippi lawmakers to create a religious exemption, legislatively, the Mississippi Patriots for Vaccine Rights (MPVR) said in a press release.

However, state Republican leadership has aggressively blocked bills that would have allowed for religious exemptions, MPVR said.

The facts and the U.S. Constitution demand a religious exemption to vaccines, yet each of them intentionally ensured that Mississippi maintained the most draconian vaccine laws in the nation, MPVR said.

While other southern states have religious exemptions, MPVR said Mississippi has been a radical outlier for over four decades despite it being one of the most religious states in the country.

Many parents have sincerely held religious beliefs which prevent them from vaccinating their children, MPVR said. Some have objections to using several of the vaccines which were developed using products of abortion. If those parents want to send their children to school, they would be forced to violate their sincerely held religious beliefs.

In response to The Epoch Times request for comment, the Mississippi Department of Health said it continues to support strong immunization laws that protect our children.

Beyond that, it is our long-standing policy that the Agency does not comment on pending litigation, the department said.
Kansas City Homeowner Charged in Shooting of Teen Released on Bond

Andrew Lester poses in his booking photograph after his surrender to the Detention Center of the Clay County, Missouri Sheriff in Liberty, Mo., on April 18, 2023. (Clay County, Missouri Sheriff/Handout via Reuters)

An 84-year-old white man charged in the shooting and wounding of a black teenager who mistakenly walked up to the mans house in Kansas City surrendered to police, the Clay County Sheriffs Office said on Tuesday, but was freed on bond within a few hours.

Andrew Lester had been charged a day earlier with first-degree assault, which could bring a sentence of life in prison, for shooting Ralph Yarl, 16, on the doorstep of his suburban home around 10 p.m. last Thursday.

Yarl had walked up to Lesters house to pick up his younger siblings, who were at a nearby house with a similar address.

Ralph Yarl in a file photo. (Ben Crump Law via AP)

Lester was also charged with armed criminal action, punishable by up to 15 years in prison.

Andrew Lester, charged in the shooting of Ralph Yarl, has surrendered at our Detention Center. He is in custody, the Clay County Sheriff said earlier on Twitter.

Bond for Lester was set at $200,000, which he posted within a few hours of turning himself in to authorities, the Clay County Sheriffs office said on social media late Tuesday afternoon.

I can tell you there was a racial component to the case, Clay County prosecutor Zachary Thompson told a news conference, without providing further details.

Prosecutors have not filed hate crime charges, which carry lesser penalties in Missouri than the two counts Lester faces, Thompson added.

Lester fired two shots through a glass door with a .32-caliber revolver, the prosecutor said. Yarl, who was struck in the head and an arm, did not cross the threshold, Thompson said, adding it did not appear any words were exchanged in the encounter.

But Yarl told police in an interview at the hospital where he was treated that the man told him, Dont come around here, local media reported, citing court documents.

The teen was recovering at home on Monday, his family said.

Lester was initially taken into custody, placed on a 24-hour investigative hold, then released pending an interview with Yarl and the collection of forensic evidence, Kansas City Police Chief Stacey Graves said.

His swift release helped fuel two days of protests.

Missouri has a stand your ground law that allows homeowners to use physical force to defend themselves against suspected intruders.

The law says a person cannot use deadly force unless they reasonably believe it is necessary to protect themselves or another person against death or serious physical injury, or a possible felony.
Kyiv Cries Foul After Minsk Hosts Moscow-Backed Leader of Donetsk Region

Head of the separatist self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic Denis Pushilin speaks during a press conference in Donetsk, Ukraine Feb. 23, 2022. (Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters)

Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko met with the head of the Moscow-backed Donetsk Peoples Republic (DPR) on April 18, drawing spirited protests from Ukrainian officials.

Kyiv and its Western allies reject the legitimacy of the DPR and view the Donetsk region as Russian-occupied territory.

In a statement, Ukraines Foreign Ministry condemned the meeting between Lukashenko and DPR head Denis Pushilin, which was held in Minsk, Belarus.

The ministry described the meeting as an attempt to legitimize the representative of the Russian occupation administration in Donetsk.

Volunteer soldiers prepare to fire toward Russian positions close to Bakhmut, Donetsk region, Ukraine, on March 8, 2023. (Libkos/AP Photo)

Unlike most Western capitals, Minska key Russian allymaintains relations with the DPR and the neighboring Moscow-backed Luhansk Peoples Republic.

In September 2022, Russia effectively annexed the Ukrainian provinces of Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Donetsk, and Luhansk after holding controversial referendums.

Moscow views the latter two provinces, which together make up the Russian-speaking Donbas region, as peoples republics.

Kyiv and its allies refuse to recognize the annexationsand the Moscow-backed peoples republicsand demand that Russia relinquish all seized territories.

Meeting in Minsk

At the meeting, Lukashenko told Pushilin that Belarus sought to help the people of Donetsk and assist in the war-battered regions reconstruction.

It was the first meeting between the two leaders since last years controversial annexations by Russia.

Donetsk remains the scene of fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces, especially in and around the flashpoint cities of Bakhmut and Avdiivka.

Russian regular forces have fought alongside the self-styled Donetsk Peoples Militia, a local paramilitary group that supports the regions integration into the Russian Federation.

A tank moves along a field during joint exercises of the armed forces of Russia and Belarus near Minsk, Belarus, on Feb. 17, 2022. (Maxim Guchek/BelTA/AFP via Getty Images)

The combat is very intense there [in Donetsk], Lukashenko told Pushilin during the meeting.

According to Belarusian news agency BelTA, Lukashenko voiced his countrys readiness to provide assistance and support to the people of Donetsk so that our kinfolk finally stop suffering.

The two leaders also reportedly discussed means of bolstering trade ties between Belarus and the Russia-controlled region.

Speaking on Telegram after the meeting, Pushilin confirmed that he and Lukashenko had discussed mutually beneficial cooperation between our region and the Republic of Belarus.

He went on to assert that the DPR hopes to step up bilateral cooperation with Minsk, especially in the fields of agriculture, industry, and construction.

According to Pushilin, the DPR seeks to obtain badly-needed equipment and materials from Belarus in exchange for shipments of grain and sunflower seeds.

Kyiv Slams Unfriendly Act

In a subsequent statement, Ukraines Foreign Ministry described the LukashenkoPushilin meeting as another blatantly unfriendly act by Belarus.

Noting that Pushilin was the target of Ukrainian and international sanctions, the ministry accused the DPR head of evading investigations by Kyiv for his alleged role in serious crimes.

It went on to demand that Minsk refrain from such destructive steps and stop supporting Russias war of aggression against Ukraine.

Following Lukashenkos meeting with Pushilin, Ukraines ambassador to Belarus, Ihor Kyzym, had been summoned to Kyiv for consultations, the ministry noted.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko meet in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Russia, on Feb. 15, 2019. (Sergei Chirikov/AP Photo)

On April 19, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Ukrainian response to the meeting in Minsk had been noted by Moscow.

Kyiv could retaliate against Minsk by orchestrating provocations against Belarus, he said.

Provocations cannot be ruled out, Peskov was quoted as saying by Russias TASS news agency.

Moscow invaded Ukraine in February 2022 with the stated aim of protecting Russian speakers in the Donbas region and halting the eastward expansion of NATO.

Kyiv and its NATO-aligned supporters, for their part, view the move as an unprovoked war of aggression.

Longstanding Allies

Belarus has remained a key ally of Russia since 1999, when the two countries signed a wide-ranging Union State treaty.

Earlier this month, Lukashenko and Russian President Vladimir Putin reiterated their commitment to the treaty, which is aimed at strengthening economic and defense ties between the two former Soviet republics.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine early last year, military cooperation between Moscow and Minsk has ramped up exponentially.

In October 2022, they established a joint force made up of Russian and Belarusian military personnel. Soon afterward, Moscow dispatched thousands of troopsand substantial military hardwareto Belarusian territory.

Belarus, which shares a 675-mile border with Ukraine, has yet to play an active role in the conflict next door.

Lukashenko has repeatedly ruled out the notion of sending Belarusian troops into Ukraine to fight alongside Russian forces.

Nevertheless, Kyiv fears that Belarus could be used as a staging ground for a future Russian offensive, as was seen in the first weeks of the conflict.

In March, Moscow unveiled plans to station nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, drawing fierce criticism from most Western capitals.
Legal Nonprofit Files Complaint Against BlackRocks Racist Hiring Practices

Young Socialists Switzerland (JUSO) activists take part in a protest against U.S. investment company BlackRock calling for a climate tax on the rich, on the eve of the WEF annual meeting in Davos, on Jan. 15, 2022. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

America First Legal Foundation (AFL) filed a complaint with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) to ask them to open an investigation into BlackRock for engaging in what they called unlawful and racist employment practices.

Vice President and General Counsel at AFL Gene P. Hamilton sent a letter to the EEOC Director of New York District Office Judy Keenan requesting her office investigate BlackRock for a variety of their employment policies that appear to violate federal laws, including with BlackRock Founders Scholarship.

As a part of their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts, BlackRock gives out what they call the Founder Scholarship, which is given to undergraduate or masters students who self-identify as Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Native American, LGBTQ+ or disabled. The scholarship provides the recipient with an internship at BlackRock and $17,500.

AFLa national nonprofit whose mission is to protect the rule of law, due process, and equal protection for all U.S. citizenssays BlackRock is violating Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 with their current employment practices, including the companys scholarship program.

This program is just one piece of a long-term practice of BlackRock to use unlawful discriminatory employment practices to build its workforce. Indeed, BlackRock has affirmatively and repeatedly represented to its shareholders, to its investors, and to the Securities and Exchange Commission, that its employment practices are infused with facially unlawful considerations of race, color, sex, and/or national origin, Hamilton said in the letter (pdf).

BlackRock CEO Larry Fink attends a session at the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, on Jan. 23, 2020. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images)

AFL also sent a letter (pdf) to BlackRocks CEO, Larry Fink, advising him to end all discriminatory hiring policies.

However, a spokesperson for BlackRock said the companys hiring practices are not discriminatory.

BlackRocks hiring and promotion decisions are driven entirely by merit. We hire over a thousand graduates and interns each year representing hundreds of universities. The Founders Scholarship is just one of several channels we offer to access the outstanding talent the firm needs to meet the evolving demands of our clients, a BlackRock spokesperson wrote in an emailed statement to The Epoch Times.

According to the BlackRock employment goals for 2021, the company is committed to increasing employees who identify as Black and Latinx by 30% on their U.S. team, and to doubling the number of Black and Latinx senior leaders.

BlackRock is the worlds largest asset manager, which provides investment management and technology services to institutions and retail clients across the world and is estimated to have about 19,800 employees in more than 30 countries.

AFL denounced DEI as unlawful.

Decades of case law holds thatno matter how well-intentionedsuch policies are prohibited, Hamilton wrote.

New Model of Capitalism

The DEI model is part of what is called stakeholder capitalism, which progressives have praised as the solution to issues like economic disparities between whites and non-whites, while conservatives have criticized the model as woke capitalism and irresponsible to shareholders.

The World Economic Forum (WEF) laid out the four pillars of stakeholder capitalism (pdf), which are Principles of Governance, Planet, People, and Prosperity. DEI is covered under the umbrella of the People pillar.

The WEF promotes stakeholder capitalism as a system in which corporations seek long-term value creation by considering the requirements of all its stakeholders and society at large. However, opponents criticize these trends, stating that theyre politicizing investment decisions and creating an expensive deviation from basic financial investing principles.

In a 2022 letter to fellow heads of corporations, Fink defended this new form of capitalism.

Stakeholder capitalism is not about politics. It is not a social or ideological agenda. It is not woke. It is capitalism, driven by mutually beneficial relationships between you and the employees, customers, suppliers, and communities your company relies on to prosper, wrote Fink.
1 Dead, 5 Injured in New York City Parking Garage Collapse

New York City Police and Fire Department personnel cordon off an area in New York's Financial District on April 18, 2023, near the site of a partially collapsed parking garage. (Julie Jacobson/AP Photo)

At least one person has been killed and five others have been injured after a four-story parking garage partially collapsed in New York Citys Financial District on April 18, Mayor Eric Adams announced.

The upper levels of the garage, which is located at 57 Ann Street between Nassau Street and William Street in Lower Manhattan, collapsed at about 4 p.m.

Images and video footage shared on social media showed what appeared to be a giant hole on the upper level of the parking facility through which many vehicles had fallen through on top of each other. Thick clouds of dust could be seen rising into the air and multiple vehicle horns could be heard beeping loudly.

Speaking at a press conference the day of the collapse, Adams confirmed that one individual had died in the partial collapse but city officials did not identify the victim.

Adams noted that the building is currently extremely unstable and said rescue teams had used robotic dogs and drones to search for other survivors or possible victims after firefighters were forced to pull back.

At the same conference, John Esposito, chief of operations for New York City Fire Department, confirmed that there were six workers in the building at the time of the collapse, four of whom were taken to a local hospital in stable condition.

Extremely Dangerous Operation

He said one worker was trapped on an upper floor, conscious, alert, and moving around while calling for firefighters but was unable to get down. That individual was eventually rescued by firefighters and taken out across the roof to another building where he was bought down safely.

We have one patient that has died and we have one patient that refused medical attention, Esposito said. This was an extremely dangerous operation for our firefighters. We responded to a call of a collapse in the building. We had firefighters inside the building conducting searches. The building was continuing to collapse. We made the decision to remove all our people from the building.

Although we continue to make sure that we have everybody accounted for, at this time, we believe that we have the workers that were in danger in the building all accounted for, all out of the building, and that structure is very unstable, Esposito added.

Esposito added that large concrete slabs from the upper floors of the parking garage had fallen down and crushed parked cars while other vehicles had fallen on top of each other during the partial collapse. He said this is prolonging the rescue and cleanup operation.

Police Commissioner Keechant Sewell noted investigators have no reason to believe the incident was anything other than a structural collapse and no foul play is suspected, but she said officials will continue to investigate the matter, including reviewing and researching the history of the building, its certificate of occupancy, and other records.

Building Violations

Kazimir Vilenchik, acting commissioner for the New York City Department of Buildings, said there are currently some violations on the building dating back to 2003, as well as permits, including one related to the electrical work on the premise.

The Department of Buildings online records showed that the structure at the site of the collapse had been cited for 45 violations, including 25 since 2003, many related to its elevators.

One filing from 2003 noted that ceiling slab cracks exist as well as defective concrete with exposed rear cracks. It said an $800 penalty had been paid for the violation.

Officials confirmed the building has been used as a parking garage since 1957 and is a four-story building with a cellar. Eyewitnesses said the collapse appeared to come out of nowhere.

It all happened so fast, said Thai Nguyen, 35, who lives in Chinatown and is a manager of the nearby Kollective Klub. Our store is two buildings from the parking garage, and we also have a hotel next to us. People ran inside asking if they could take refuge inside our store.

Another local resident, Sandy Imhoff, 78, said she felt a shudder from the force of the collapse and promptly vacated her home.

My building was shaking. I only had time to grab my dog and leave the building, Imhoff said. Im really worried about my cats. But at least everyone in my building was able to evacuate. Its so unreal.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
GUANGZHOU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Iraqi businessman Abdullah Rahman could hardly wait to meet his old friend in China after arriving at the Canton Fair in Guangzhou, capital of south China's Guangdong Province, after the event had largely remained online since 2020 due to COVID-19 prevention measures.

With the full resumption of on-site activities, Rahman said the fair enables him to have direct communication with Chinese companies, see and touch products, and make the right purchase with higher efficiency.

Rahman first established business cooperation with Guangzhou Tiger Head Battery Group Co., Ltd. in 2007. Wu Yan, overseas sales director of this leading dry battery manufacturer, said they have brought the latest products to this year's fair and are eager to share the new batteries with their partner from Iraq.

"I am quite interested in the home energy storage product series developed by Tiger Head," said Rahman, adding that he also plans to visit the battery enterprise's industrial park.

The Canton Fair, officially known as the China Import and Export Fair, has been held twice annually since 1957.

It will run until May 5 during this year's spring session and welcome purchasers from over 220 countries and regions, covering markets in Europe, the United States, and emerging markets along the Belt and Road.

Hashik Abdulla, a purchaser from the United Arab Emirates, said he secured a hotel room over two weeks ago, as he had heard that there is typically a surge in accommodation demand during the Canton Fair.

Nirose Paramabtah Mohammed and Noushad Kummitharayil Mohamed, buyers from the hypermarkets and retail companies operator Lulu Group International, said they came to the fair for the "best quality, best price, and most innovative models and designs" for consumers in the Middle East and India.

"The Canton Fair is very helpful for us to develop new brands and new products," said Mohammed.

This year's offline exhibition venues, covering 1.5 million square meters, will provide nearly 70,000 booths for around 35,000 exhibitors, both representing record highs, according to the organizer.

Heri, a buyer of electrical appliances from Indonesia, has led a team of dozens of participants to the fair with the hope of expanding opportunities.

They arrived ahead of the opening and paid an exclusive visit to the production lines of Guangzhou Light Holdings Limited's branch in Zhongshan City.

"They never disappoint us," said Heri. "From buying one or two containers per year in the past, to now purchasing five or six containers per month, our business has been boosted by increasing demand in the Southeast Asian markets and supported by China's strong manufacturing capability."

While expanding its exhibition space, the fair has also expanded its import exhibition, with 508 companies from 40 countries and regions having registered to participate, of which 73 percent are from countries and regions along the Belt and Road.

Olive oil from Italy, red wine from Chile, and avocado from Mexico are among the collection of quality import products selected by Lotus Market, a chain supermarket owned by the Chia Tai Group, to add a touch of the exotic to consumers' dining tables.

"The Canton Fair provides a high-end platform for communication, connection, and cooperation, especially in the import exhibition that has gathered featured products from all over the world," said Zou Yu, director of external marketing at Chia Tai Group.

"With the increase in offline presentations this year, we believe that we will gain even more from them," Zou added. 
They wanted a castle. So Jim Bishop was going to build them a castle.

It was 1969 when the ornamental ironworker in his late 20s set out building a stone cottage near Pueblo, Colorado, with the help of his father, intending to make a home out of a shack. But what began as a construction project turned into a beacon for freedom some 50 years in the making. Bishop Castle would be born from it.

The seed for a castle was planted when some locals drove by the stone cottage and commented how its latest additionan improvised water tank finished in masonry and furnished with arched windowslooked so very castle-like. This got the wheels of Jims imagination turning.

He started adding onto the rock cottage, and my grandpa asked him what he was doing, Jims son Daniel Bishop, 50, told The Epoch Times. He said, People want a castle, Im gonna build them one. And my grandpa never helped a day after that in any way.

Notably, Jims dad did eventually complete a rock cottage that became a gift shop, though it ended up burning down.

Bishop Castle in the late stages of its completion. (This image has been color corrected  Hustvedt/CC BY-SA 3.0)

Jim Bishop when he was younger. (Courtesy of Bishop Castle)

Of course, Jim meant well in his grand aspiration to build a castle for locals to enjoydespite his dads hesitancy. His motive came from a profound experience he had growing up poor. As a teenager, during an outing with visiting family members at Seven Falls, he almost couldnt afford admission.

After paying to get in, the young man ventured up onto the rocks which led to his hearing loudspeakers blaresingling him out and ending his fun. He remembered being embarrassed by the situation and feeling like he was substandard to everybody else there, Daniel said. It put a lasting impression and developed a core value in him of creating a place that people could enjoy that didnt offer that feeling that he got of being told he couldnt do this.

A Castle-Building Obsession

Starting on a shoestring budget, Jims castle-building bug became an obsession. It began as just a weekend thinghe spent weekdays in the iron shop. But his fixation soon exploded as he started accepting local donations, allowing him to close up shop five months of the year during summer and devote that time to realizing his vision. All his extra money was poured into the castle. There was five to ten years where [my father] just busted his butt building castle all summer long, Daniel said.

It was the 70s and few cared if he quarried the National Forest for rocks. Ditches along the road and local landslides were fair game. But as Jims castle-building project saw him hauling three to four tons per load, the National Forest Service took notice and started charging him $15 a ton for a rock-hauling permit. That was too much, Jim thought, especially as he was giving the castle away to the public, benefitting the county.

So, standing his ground, he posted a sign asking locals to complain. Afterward, to their credit, the National Forest Service made Jim a reasonable offer. Its our belief that they backed off completely because the phone started to ring so much that they couldnt conduct business, Daniel said. They reached out and offered him a rock hauling permit for 15 cents a ton.

That was more like it, Jim thought.

He accepted. And all were happy.

Jim Bishop and Bishop Castle at various stages of its early construction. (Courtesy of Bishop Castle)

Eventually, the government relaxed about the rocks. Jim has not bought a permit in a long time, said Daniel, adding that maybe they came to appreciate the concept of attracting tourism dollars. There would be fewer roadblocks ahead for Bishop Castle from then on.

Throughout the 70s and 80s, Jim was a one-man castle-building crewand he was fit enough for it. An Olympic-quality bodybuilder, according to his son, Jim could single-arm curl a 150-pound barbell. He was also resourceful. Tossing rocks into the back of a truck, he hauled them onsite and piled some 500 pounds of rock and concrete onto a skid, which he rigged up to a pulley system; he then hooked a line to his vehicle and drove the whole heap to frightening heights before climbing up himself to start setting stone. It was a performance, to say the least.

The castle stretched skyward.

Up, up, up it went.

Jim Bishop working on Bishop Castle. (Courtesy of Bishop Castle)

Jim Bishop and his son at Bishop Castle during its construction. (Courtesy of Bishop Castle)

As a teenager, for several years Daniel saw the castle grow like a living organism. A stone cottage became a two-story fort. Then a third floor was added with a peaked roof, comprising a Great Hallthat was dubbed the Cathedral.

Building on the cathedral motif, Jim fashioned flying buttresseslike those on Notre Dame in Pariswhich were set into the ground to brace the walls, for Jim feared the masonry would topple outward as it stood so tall. In a fundraiser, Jim enlisted local artisans to craft stained glass windows for the cathedralfor Jims wife had made the project into a foundation for infants who needed heart surgeryand thus they yoked public participation.

As you can guess, the citadel is decked out in ornamental ironwith wrought iron balconies, decorative roof trusses, and even a dragon. The dragon out on the front was built  in [Jims] iron shop one winter as something to try to get some more publicity, Daniel said. Then it was hauled up in two pieces, and hoisted up with a pully, and welded onto the castle.

The castle would soar to vertigo-inducing heights as Jim stacked the last stones of the central tower, the tallest of three spires, scraping the mountain air at some 160 feet.

If You Build It, They Will Come

Bishop Castle would have been for naught had nobody come to enjoy it. So, did people come?

Yes. And in droves.

Besides tourists, for a time it was also a haven for all-night parties where hundreds of costume-wearing youngsters would set up psychedelic light shows, have DJs blaring techno music, and dance the night away until sunrise. Freedom won the day, for better or worse.

Yet with freedom comes responsibility. Neither Jim nor his son would bar visitors from exploring yet there are parts where iron platforms dangle over dizzying heights and the slightest swaying or rattling disturbs the mind. Any sane person would ask, is it safe? Im of the feeling that we keep it structurally safe, Daniel said. But there is a caveat that harks back to Jim the teenager climbing the rocks at Seven Falls.

Ornamental iron works adorning masonry at Bishop Castle. (A.F.Smith/Shutterstock)

A vaulted ceiling and glass windows inside Bishop Castle. (Rexjaymes/Shutterstock)

View from an ornamental iron balcony at Bishop Castle. (Public Domain)

No, there would be no loudspeakers at Bishop Castle, for freedom itself begets peoples own safety like a law of nature, according to Daniel. I believe that when you make it apparent that theres going to be nobody there to take care of somebody, and theyre scared, that they inherently take care of themselves, he said. Theres an element of safety that happens up there: its that it doesnt appear to be safe, so people are extra careful. And that creates self-imposed safety.

It is private property. All are welcome yet they enter at their own risk, Daniel said, adding testamentally that nobody has ever sustained an injury as a result of being in or on the castlethat Im aware of.

An aerial view of Bishop Castle. (Jacob Boomsma/Shutterstock)

A recent photo of Jim Bishop, builder of Bishop Castle. (Courtesy of Bishop Castle)

Sadly, Jim suffered a mental breakdown in 2021 due to a bipolar disorder that rendered him unable to build for the past two seasons. After 52 years, his castle-building days have come to an end. Since 2018, Daniel has held the fortoverseeing what has become a profitable legacy for American freedom, as Jim had intended.

Today, Bishop Castle is a spectacle to behold standing majestically in the National Forest, though Daniel assures us that its far from being done if you go by the picture that I believe is in [my fathers] head of what he wanted to see there. He mentioned one tower still needs some stonework done. Maybe one day, he will get around to it.

But what of the rocks he would need, and where would they come from? The landslide? The National Forest? The ditch? More importantly, what about the permit he would need and the cost? Jims son explained. The castle has become semi-successful enough to where I would probably not try to get rock off the National Forest, he said, adding, not without contributing to the mountain through some monetary form.

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Mayorkas Draws Fire From Republicans at Committee Hearing

A House committee hearing on the 2024 budget proposal for the Department of Homeland Security became a veritable trial of Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whom Republicans accused of intentionally failing to secure the U.S. border with Mexico.

Committee Democrats tried, with little success, to turn the April 19 hearing of the Committee on Homeland Security back to a discussion of the budget, accusing their GOP counterparts of politicizing a crisis that had grown worse under administrations of both parties, and of grandstanding in order to gain media attention.

The Republican Case

Chairman Mark E. Green (R-Tenn.) assumed the role of prosecutor in his opening statement.

Your job is to protect the homeland, Green said, addressing Mayorkas.

Committee chairman Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) speaks during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing in Washington on Feb. 28, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

And one of those obvious duties is to secure the United States sovereign borders and to implement the laws duly passed by Congress.

However, you have not secured our borders, Mr. Secretary, and I believe youve done so intentionally. There is no other explanation for the systematic dismantling and transformation of our border into a lawless and dangerous open border, Green said.

Green and others provided a barrage of statistics on the border crisis, including encounters with 257,910 immigrants by border agents in March, 34,000 apprehensions of illegal immigrants, 10,800 gotaways, and the seizure of 580 pounds of marijuana and 202 pounds of fentanyl in a single week in April.

A specific charge made by Green is that Mayorkas lied to Congress on April 28, 2022, when he was asked whether DHS had operational control of the southern border.

Yes, we do, Mayorkas said at the time.

By law, operational control is defined as preventing all unlawful entries into the United States. In March 2023, Mayorkas stated at another congressional hearing that DHS did not have operational control by that definition.

You make it very clear, Mr. Secretary, that youve known all along according to the definition that is written in the law, passed by the Congress, that you do not have operational control, Green said.

And yet in testimony to this house, under oath, the definition was read to you. Youre asked, according to that definition, whether control exists, and you say yes. That sounds like a lie under oath.

Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.), chair of the select committee investigating the Jan. 6 U.S. Capitol breach, speaks in Washington on Oct. 19, 2021. (Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Moments later, when Mayorkas denied knowledge of an alleged strategy used by drug cartels to get around border agents, Green said, Not only have you lied under oath, you just admitted your own incompetence.

Mayorkas, when given the chance to defend his 2022 answer, said he was not given an opportunity to give a complete answer during that hearing. He said that no secretary has been able to meet the standard of operational control defined as allowing not a single illegal entry into the country.

I have testified under oath multiple times that I use a lens of reasonableness in defining operational control. We are maximizing the resources that we have to deliver the most effective results, and under that definition, we are doing so very much to gain operational control, Mayorkas said.

Democrats to the Defense

Democrats responded by denouncing the attacks on Mayorkass job performance as an attempt to divert attention from their own failures.

They dont want solutions to homeland security challenges. They want to make a headline or photo. They want a political wedge issue, Ranking Member Bennie Thompson (D-Miss.) said.

Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) reminded the committee that conditions on the border were not ideal under the previous administration either.

My Republican colleagues have been painting quite the picture today, she said to Mayorkas.

And to hear them tell it, you inherited a secure orderly situation at the border. I for one have been to the border many times in the midst of mass confusion, she said. That, of course, was not under your tenure.

Illegal immigrants thread their way along footpaths just north of the Mexico/Arizona border. (Don Bartletti/Los Angeles Times)

Jackson Lee said that border patrol recorded 41 percent more illegal entries into the country in fiscal year 2019 under the Trump administration, compared with the last year of the Obama administration.

She recalled the Trump-era policy of separating the families of illegal aliens, saying, Tragically, many migrants died while being held in these kinds of conditions, including at least five children.

Congresswoman, the policies of the past administration, those that were cruel and inhumane, not only did not achieve operational control under the definition of the Secure Fence Act, they also disobeyed our values as a country, Mayorkas said.

More Agents

Mayorkas depicted the scope of DHSs responsibility as broad and complex, including border protection, disaster relief, transportation security, and Coast Guard operations in the Arctic and South Pacific. To do the job, more money is needed, he said.

The fiscal year 2024 budget proposes the hiring of over 1,400 additional personnel to secure the southwest border, including 350 additional border patrol agents and 310 additional border patrol processing coordinators to get more agents back into the field performing their critical law enforcement mission, he said.

The budget proposes $535 million dollars in new funds for border technology, $305 million of which is to deploy new technologies and capabilities in our fight against the trafficking of fentanyl through our ports of entry.

Overall, Democrats sought to portray Mayorkas as a dedicated public servant, doing the best job possible with the resources available.

Are you [fulfilling your oath of office] in the best manner, the securest manner, the honest manner, with integrity, to save the lives of the American people and to ensure that hamlets, cities, counties, and others are safe and that our domestic security is safe? Jackson Lee asked.

Yes, I am, Congresswoman, Mayorkas said.
Mexican Cartels Recruiting Women for Smuggling Jobs

Venezuelan and Nicaraguan migrants are transferred by agents of the Border Patrol after crossing the Rio Grande river from Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua state, Mexico to El Paso, TX, on Dec. 27, 2022, to ask for political asylum. (Herika Martinez/AFP via Getty Images)

Mexican cartels are recruiting women to help smuggle humans and drugs across the Texas border because women often get away without jail time.

Over the last two years, at least 140 females have gotten away scot-free after being caught smuggling, Kinney County Sheriff Brad Coe said on Tuesday in an interview on NewsNation. According to Coe, at least 15 to 20 percent of the smugglers caught are women.

Kinney County is near the Texas-Mexico border, about 35 miles southeast of Del Rio. The rural county encompasses 1,365 square miles and is home to about 3,600 residents.

Coe said the cartels have caught on that many small rural counties along the Texas border do not have the facilities to house women inmates, leading to an uptick in female recruitment.

But the county has begun making changes to how it processes female smugglers.

Were managing to find a place for the ones that really need to go to jail, Coe said. Were starting where we do an actual P.R. [personal recognizance] bond on them. In other words, if they dont show for their hearing, were gonna charge them $5,000.

This month, the Kinney County Sheriffs Office and the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) together have arrested and released at least 20 females on P.R. bonds for border-related crimes, NewsNation reported.

Some of the alleged smugglers get caught again while awaiting their court dates.

We picked up one earlier this monthshe was picked up in Webb County for smuggling. She had 16 counts against her there, the sheriff told NewsNation. We caught her in Kinney County with five or six  But now shes not the first one, wont be the last one.

Alleged Smuggler Flirts With DPS Trooper

On April 12, DPS Lt. Christopher Olivarez arrested a female driver for smuggling 2 female immigrants in Jim Hogg County, about 260 miles south of Kinney County, Olivarez wrote on Twitter. The social media post included a video of the incident.

Lidia Elizabeth Badillo, 38, was arrested for allegedly smuggling two illegal female immigrants from El Salvador in her Chevrolet Malibu sedan.

Badillo, a Mexican national who lives in Edinburg, Texas, told the trooper the women were her friends and that they were going out for drinks.

The woman attempted flirting with Olivarez when he told her to wait while he ran their licenses.

Im looking at your eyes, Badillo told him.

You look pretty handsome, she responded.

Badillo later admitted to picking up the women from a stash house in Mission, Texas, according to DPS.

The two smuggled female illegal immigrants were provided with fraudulent drivers licenses in an attempt to get through the #USBP [U.S. Border Patrol] inspection station at Falfurrias, Olivarez wrote on Twitter.

Olivarez also wrote that Badillo is a member of LUPE, an organization founded by labor rights activists Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta, according to the groups website.

The organization has more than 8,000 members. Its objectives include using the power of civic engagement for social change, from fighting deportations, to providing social services and English classes, the website states.

Badillo faces two counts of human smugglinga third-degree felony in Texas carrying a penalty of at least two years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine.

What Else?

Gov. Greg Abbott named border security on his list of emergency items this legislative session, which ends May 29.

We need both new strategies as well as greater investment in what were currently doing, Abbott said in a press release in February.

Since 2021, Abbott has taken a number of actions to combat the border crisis, including securing $4 billion in funding for increased border security, deploying thousands of Texas National Guard soldiers and DPS troopers along the border, designating drug cartels as terrorist organizations, and signing a law to make it easier to prosecute human smugglers, among others.
Nearly 1,900 Ontario Nurses Commuting to Work in Michigan: Report

A nurse tends to a patient on a ventilator at Beaumont Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan, on Dec. 17, 2021. (JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

As Ontario faces an estimated shortage of 30,000 nurses and health care professionals, a new report finds that nearly 1,900 nurses living in the province regularly commute to work in Michigan.

The report was published by the think tank Secondstreet.org, which contacted just over 3,000 Ontario nurses with active licenses in the U.S. state to learn about their decision to work outside of the country.

A total of 1,887 nurses surveyed, or 63 percent, live in Ontario and said they regularly commute to work in Michigan. Another 248 nurses, or 8.2 percent, indicated a desire to work in the U.S. state in the future.

The survey found that the most common incentive for the nurses to take work in Michigan was availability of work (30 percent), followed by compensation (25 percent) and working conditions (23 percent). Many noted that they were seeking full-time positions in Ontario, but only part-time positions were available.

The findings come after a report published last month by the Ontario Financial Accountability Office suggested the province is facing a shortage of 33,000 nurses and personal health care aides, and falls short of $21.3 billion to cover health care costs in the next five years.

The province is also struggling with a backlog of more than 200,000 patients waiting for surgical procedures left over from the COVID-19 pandemic, during which approximately 600,000 fewer surgeries were performed. To reduce the backlog, Ontario Premier Doug Ford announced in January that the province will allow private and non-profit clinics to take over routine surgeries.

Big Opportunity

SecondStreet.org said in a release that the study aims to find an alternative source of medical professionals to fill the shortage.

Theres a big opportunity for government-run hospitals to improve and convince some of these nurses to work in the public system, but new private surgical clinics can also give these workers more choices in terms of where to work, said SecondStreet.org President Colin Craig in the April 19 release.

Compensation was a factor for why many nurses decided to work in Ontario, but a majority couldnt find the type of work they were looking for or didnt like the working conditions.

The Windsor Regional Hospital recently implemented a signing bonus of $25,000 to attract new registered nurses. Similar hiring incentives were applied by hospitals in other parts of Ontario such as Kingston and Thunder Bay.

Were looking into how many Canadian nurses and doctors currently work in other states along the border, Craig said. I suspect there is a sizeable opportunity for government hospitals and private clinics in Canada to convince more health care workers to work in our country instead of crossing the border.

As of April 1, 2023, there are over 182,000 nurses who have registered with the College of Nurses of Ontario, according to the provincial regulator.

Marnie Cathcart and Tara MacIsaac contributed to this report.
Nearly 600 Drug Deaths in BC During First Three Months of 2023, Says Coroner

In the first three months of 2023, almost 600 people have died in British Columbia, an average of 6.4 per day, due to drug overdoses, according to the provinces coroner.

In a news release on April 18, the BC Coroners Service said the province is losing lives in record numbers, attributing this to a toxic, unregulated drug supply.

Between January and March, 595 people died, the second-highest total in the first three months of a calendar year, beaten only by 2022, which recorded 599 overdose deaths in the first three months. The coroner said the total number of deaths equals a provincewide death rate of 44.1 per 100,00 population.

The year 2022 was the deadliest on record in the province for overdoses, with a total of 2,314 lives lost, causing more deaths than combining all of the provinces murders, suicides, motor vehicle accidents, drownings, and deaths caused by fires.

Since the province declared a public health emergency due to drugs in April 2016, 11,807 people have died from a drug overdose. Chief Coroner Lisa LaPointe said it was a crisis of incomprehensible scale.

The coroner suggested that there is no evidence that prescribed safe supply is contributing to illicit drug deaths.

Decriminalization

In March, B.C. set a record for the most overdose calls in one day, the highest 30-day average of overdose calls, and the most consecutive days where paramedics responded to 100 or more drug poisoning calls each day.

The B.C. government officially decriminalized possession of hard drugs on Jan. 31, under a temporary authorization by Health Canada, as a three-year experiment. This means that adults, referring to individuals over 18, found in possession of less than 2.5 grams of any combination of cocaine, methamphetamine, MDMA, heroin, fentanyl, and/or morphine for personal use would not be arrested or charged and would not have their drugs seized.

Carolyn Bennett, federal minister of mental health and addictions, said at a news conference in Vancouver on Jan. 30 that the provinces harm reduction plan will reduce the stigma, the fear, and shame that keep people who use drugs silent about their use, or using alone.

The federal minister suggested B.C.s drug policy was saving lives.

Supervised consumption sites, which prioritize the dignity and safety of people who use drugs, have saved lives and guided many Canadians towards treatment. We know that access to treatment remains a gap, said Bennett.

So far this year, more than 70 percent of those dying from a drug overdose were aged 30 to 59, and 77 percent were male.

Vancouver, Surrey, and Victoria continue to report the highest number of deaths from illegal drugs, but are also the highest population centres in the province.

Two deaths have occurred at an overdose prevention site: one in 2022 and one in 2023, according to the coroner.

Lapointe said recommendations from experts on various committees and panels support the province providing a safe, regulated supply of substances for those at risk of serious harm or death, and provincial standards for treatment and recovery services.

This is also not a crisis confined to certain neighbourhoods or certain towns. All areas of our province are immensely affected by this crisis, and collaboration, innovation and the rejection of old stereotypes and failed solutions are necessary to prevent future deaths, she said.

Treatment

In February, The Epoch Times asked the B.C. Ministry of Mental Health and Addictions what evidence the province used to conclude destigmatization would save lives and prevent drug deaths.

Drug use is a public health matternot a criminal justice one. Criminalization drives people to hide their drug use and often use alone. Given the increasingly toxic drug supplyusing alone can be fatal, the ministry replied in a statement.

B.C.s approach to decriminalization contrasts sharply with Albertas focus on addictions recovery and treatment programs, which include the construction of a 75-bed long-term residential treatment facility in Red Deer, announced on Jan. 16, plus five more recovery communities in various stages of planning throughout the province.

While Albertas government does not believe in criminalizing a health-care issue, you cannot simply take away penalties for unlawful behaviour and expect things to get better, Colin Aitchison, spokesperson for Albertas Ministry of Mental Health and Addiction, previously told The Epoch Times.

He said Alberta is building a recovery-oriented system of addiction and mental health care and will create more than 9,000 new publicly funded addiction treatment spaces and eliminate user fees for residential addiction treatment.

Filmmaker Aaron Gunn, who produced the 2022 documentary Vancouver is Dying, spent months interviewing city residents, business owners, law enforcement, mental health and addiction experts, victims of violent crime, and recovered addicts.

Gunn told The Epoch Times that since B.C. began its harm reduction strategy in 2001, both crime and overdose deaths in the province have skyrocketed. Its idiotic and incredibly misguided to destigmatize drug use, which lowers the barriers to doing it, so people do more of it, Gunn said. These drugs like crystal meth and fentanyl are some of the most damaging substances on the planet. Theres no such thing as a safe amount of fentanyl or crystal meth.

The coroner said that in 2023, the highest number of illicit drug toxicity deaths were in Vancouver Coastal and Fraser Health Authorities, making up 59 percent of all such deaths so far.

The highest rates of death in 2023 so far were in Northern Health (60 deaths per 100,000 individuals) and Vancouver Coastal Health (59 per 100,000).
New District To Find Last-Minute Disney Deal Illegal, Source Says

An entranceway to Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., on Feb. 8, 2023. Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and the special district governing the property are continuing their efforts to bring Disney under state control. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

The Disney Companys last-minute deal to retain control of Disney Worlds special district is legally flawed for multiple reasons and will probably be voided, a source close to the deals investigation said.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has already launched a state investigation into the February dealone made less than three weeks before the state took control of the district and placed over it five trustees appointed by the governor.

DeSantis on Feb. 27 signed the bill ending Disneys self-governing powers that have been in place for almost 60 years.

Prior to that, the company announced its deal with the old district would preserve its control over the development of the 39-square-mile entity for 30 years and give it other rights as well.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks to Iowa voters gathered at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, on March 10, 2023. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)

The bill appeared to catch DeSantis and the new boardthe Central Florida Tourism Oversight Districtflatfooted.

The new board hired lawyers to fight the deal. And DeSantis, on April 3, announced his offices inspector general would investigate the deal.

A source close to the investigation told The Epoch Times on April 18 that the deal has fatal flaws, which would be presented to the board at its meeting on April 19.

There are several problems, the source said.

One is its failure to meet all the requirements of Floridas Government in the Sunshine Laws.

The deal between Disney and the old Reedy Creek Improvement District board is, by state law, considered a development agreement.

The source said that the law requires two public hearings, with notice of each posted in a general circulation newspaper in the area.

That took place, the source said.

A crowd is shown along Main Street USA in front of Cinderella Castle in the Magic Kingdom at Walt Disney World in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on March 12, 2020. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP)

But the law also requires neighboring property owners to be notified, which did not occur, the source said.

Disney owns much but not all of the district. Some of it is owned by private businesses such as hotels and resorts.

Florida law is particularly strong on this point, the source told The Epoch Times.

It requires strict compliance on public notice requirements, particularly for land development issues. If you miss it, the contract is null and void.

A second problem is this: a development agreement is a contract between a local government and a developer.

Contracts require a consideration, where each party gives the other something of value, such as one party giving land and the other party giving money, the source said.

But in the Disney deal, whats being given goes entirely in one directiontoward Disney.

Disney received all development rights in the district. That means it controls not only the development of its own property but of the districts property and that of private landowners such as hotels.

Options for the Board

The source said that the deal legally binds the district to $300 million in future road projects and to tax property owners to raise the money.

The only consideration the district receives is Disneys commitment to selling property to the district at fair market value. They have to do that anyway, so its illusory, and not a consideration, the source said.

A third problem is the old district board giving Disney core government powers, such as zoning and taxation power. Disney can set its own building heights, the source said. All of that is illegal under the states non-delegation doctrine.

The states Sunshine Laws prohibit the board members from discussing matters among themselves outside meetings, so its April 19 meeting will be their first discussion of it, the source said.

The board can move in the direction of nullifying the deal by directing its lawyers to frame a suitable resolution or to take legal action.

In a situation unique in Florida, Disney has enjoyed quasi-governmental status, acting through the Reedy Creek Improvement District as its own county. Disney World straddles property in Orange and Osceola counties.

After Disney came out against DeSantiss Parental Rights in Education bill last year, which prohibits sex education in public schools for kindergarten through 3rd grade, he retaliated by stripping the company of the special status it had enjoyed since 1967 as the company planned what became Disney World.
New York Attorney General Hosting Gun-Buyback Event

FILE  New York Attorney General Letitia James speaks during a press conference, Sept. 21, 2022, in New York. Embattled electronic cigarette-maker Juul Labs Inc. will pay $462-million to six states and the District of Columbia, marking the largest settlement the company has reached so far for its role in the youth vaping surge, James said Wednesday, April 12, 2023. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

New York attorney general Letitia James is hosting a gun-buyback event in late April with the stated aim of protecting New Yorkers from gun violence while the country sees a population shift away from gun control states.

The first-ever statewide community gun buyback in New York will be held on Saturday, April 29, according to an April 18 press release from New Yorks Office of the Attorney General (OAG).

This one-day statewide initiative will feature nine simultaneous gun-buyback events held across the state, at which the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) will acceptwith no questions askedworking and non-working, unloaded firearms in exchange for compensation on site, it said.

The OAG provides money in the form of prepaid gift cards when a gun is received and secured by law enforcement officers on site  This statewide initiative is part of Attorney General James efforts to combat gun violence and protect people from harm.

The OAG will offer $500 for every assault rifle or ghost gun, $75 per rifle or shotgun, and $25 for every non-working, replica, antique, homemade, or 3D-printed gun. A handgun will fetch $150. However, the first handgun turned in by an individual will be given $500.

There are no limits on how many firearms an individual can turn in. The firearms must be unloaded and placed in a bag or box.

The buyback event will be held at nine locations, including the Family Life Academy in the Bronx, All Saints Roman Catholic Church in Brooklyn, OAG Suffolk Regional Office in Suffolk County, and the Johnson City Senior Center in Broome County.

To date, Attorney General James has helped remove more than 4,000 guns from New York communities since 2019, said the statement but did not specify from whose hands.

Tightening Gun Control, Government Targeting Lawful Citizens

Letitia Jamess gun buyback comes as President Joe Biden signed an executive order on March 14 that seeks to tighten gun control measures. The order increases the number of background checks an individual is subject to before a firearm sale.

In addition, the order expands the use of red flag laws and increases the scrutiny of the gun industry. Red flag laws are aimed at preventing individuals who exhibit signs of being a potential threat to themselves or others from buying or possessing a firearm.

During a recent convention held by the National Rifle Association (NRA), former president Donald Trump warned that Bidens gun control agenda is a part and parcel of the left-wing crusade to weaponize government against law-abiding citizens.

At the same time, the administration is letting criminals roam free, Trump said. Theyre [criminals] all over the place. Ive never seen anything like it. Youre afraid to walk through one of these Democrat cities. You go out for a loaf of bread, you end up getting shot.

As president, I will end the weaponization of our government, including the ATF, Trump said, referring to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives.

Exodus From Gun Control States

According to an analysis by John Seiler, a veteran California opinion writer, people have been fleeing from gun-control states like California. He looked at states with constitutional carry gun laws and shall issue laws.

Under constitutional carry, a citizen can carry a concealed firearm without getting a permit. In a state with shall issue laws, citizens will be issued gun-carry permits only after they take firearms classes and a background check is performed on them.

The United States has 26 constitutional carry states, including Florida where this will become effective on July 1, and 24 shall issue states.

Seiler found that 1,929,551 Americans moved from shall carry states to constitutional carry states during a period of two years, between April 1, 2020, and July 1, 2022. The biggest exodus was seen in Californi,a where 871,127 people left the state that is known for its strict gun-control laws.
We dont often get blown away by some newly discovered documentweve come to always expect the worst. But then something arose that did blow us away in terms of its sheer audacity, corruption, and dishonestyeven by todays extremely low standards.

We are talking about the revelation that Peter Daszakthe man who operated as Anthony Faucis conduit to the Wuhan Institute of Virologywas saying something completely different before the pandemic than after. And we dont mean just the usual hypocrisy that we see on a daily basis from Daszak and from Faucis group.

No, we are talking about something so fundamental that we are still pinching ourselves. This is something so incredibly dishonest and deceptive that the consequences are still sinking in.
Newsom Faces Tough Budget Battle Ahead

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA - FEBRUARY 01: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during a press conference on February 01, 2023 in Sacramento, California. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, state Attorney General Rob Bonta, state Senator Anthony Portantino (D-Burbank) and other state leaders announced SB2 - a new gun safety legislation that would establish stricter standards for Concealed Carry Weapon (CCW) permits to carry a firearm in public. The bill designates "sensitive areas," like bars, amusement parks and child daycare centers where guns would not be allowed. (Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

Commentary

Governments run on money. So of course, the most important thing any government does is pass a budget.

For the first time since he became governor four years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom is going to face a tough battle in the run-up to the June 15 constitutional deadline to pass a budget. Up until now, the situation was divvying up surpluses with the legislative bosses. Now, its going to be making cuts withouthe hopestax increases.

The last big crunch came under Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in September 2008, when he signed the budget 85 days late, with major cuts to state programs. The next January, he signed a record $13 billion tax increase to pay for it.

Jerry Brown, who became governor the second time in January 2011, also faced deficits at the beginning. But his vast knowledge of state government and the Democratic Party, and his ability to negotiate, led him to avoid such a stalemate. His father had been Pat Brown, who served as attorney general, then governor. Jerry himself had been secretary of state, governor in the 1970s, attorney general, mayor of Oakland, and chairman of the California Democratic Party. Jerry also was congenial toward journalists.

Newsom, by contrast, has been aloof. When I was state Sen. John Moorlachs press secretary, 2017-20, he said he almost never saw Newsom in the state Capitol, even though the Newsoms office was directly below Moorlachs. By contrast, Brown was known for circulating among the legislators, including Republicans.

In early May, Newsom will release what in Sacramento parlance is called the May Revise of his January budget proposal. At that time, he pegged the expected shortfall at $22.5 billion. The next month, the Legislative Analyst added another $7 billion. So the number two months ago was estimated at about $30 billion.

Since then, weve had the Silicon Valley Bank failure in early March. And the San Francisco Chronicle reported March 24, San Francisco and Silicon Valley lost 11,300 tech jobs in January and February, major contractions fueled by widespread layoffs that helped push the unemployment rate up for two consecutive months.

The deficit could be well above that $30 billion of two months ago.

The brighter among those laid off will start their own companies. But turning such companies into profitable enterprises takes years, if they even last that long. In the interim, those who lost their jobs will not be paying Californias high income tax rates, meaning more hits to the state and local treasuries.

Newsoms January proposal (pdf) calculated, The Budget reflects $35.6 billion in total budgetary reserves. So a big question on the May Revise will be if he taps into any of that. He has said he wont. But well see.

As hes obviously running for president, he is going to be reluctant to ask for a tax increase. Unlike previous governors who went that route, he easily could get one, because Democrats control more than two-thirds of the seats in both the Senate and the Assembly. They could pass a tax increase without a single Republican vote. Thats a contrast to the tax increases passed by Republican Govs. Pete Wilson in 1991 and Schwarzenegger in 2009, when they had to use various means to get one or two Republicans to go along.

Brown couldnt pass a tax increase through the Legislature, because Republicans balked. Instead, he had to put on the ballot for voter approval the Proposition 30 tax increase of 2012.

The Legislature actually could pass a tax increase on its own, then override a potential Newsom veto. But that seems unlikely.

Meanwhile, as Moorlach likes to emphasize, a budget is not an accounting of the states actual fiscal condition. Its just a spending plan that can go awry; or even, as in recent years, turn out to lowball actual receipts, allowing for even more spending.

As he wrote in The Epoch Times on April 5, the actual accounting of the state budget, its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report, finally was submitted for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021after almost two years. We still have no idea what the numbers are for the next fiscal year, which ended June 30, 2022. This is supposed to be issued within 180 days, not 21 months, he wrote. We can assume that the June 2022 report will be available a year from now. Unbelievable!

That means the governor and the Legislatureand journalists and citizenshave only a vague idea of the true fiscal condition of the state government. Every other state has submitted its ACFR for the most recent fiscal year. Even the highly troubled Los Angeles Unified School District submitted its last Dec. 14.

Going back to the state, for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2021, Moorlach ranked Californias fiscal condition 10th worst of the 50 states. On the positive side, he found, There is some good news for Californians. The unrestricted net deficit was reduced by $33.5 billion. It looks like Gov. Newsom may just have allocated a good portion of his historic budget surplus toward reducing the states debts. Even after this overdue and necessary spending decision, California is still in 41st place.

With the days of near-$100 billion surpluses gone, the state also missed another chance to reform its tax code to avoid the rollercoaster rises and pits of the PITthe personal income tax. Even Brown couldnt do it.

Ive been writing about state budgets now for 36 years. The inability of the state to advance reforms is just another annoying feature of life in California. And a reason people keep fleeing paradise.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Nonbinary Biden Administration Official Ordered to Undergo Mental Health Evaluation After Avoiding Jail Time

A former government official who claims he is nonbinary has been ordered to undergo a mental health evaluation after avoiding jail time for a series of luggage thefts.

Samuel Brinton, until recently a deputy assistant secretary in the Department of Energys Office of Nuclear Energy, was able to enter an adult diversion program for the theft he carried out at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport in 2022 while still being employed by the government.

Brinton must undergo a mental health evaluation as well as fulfill other requirements, including writing a letter of apology to the person who owned the luggage that was stolen.

The case resolved with an opportunity for diversion, which is a standard disposition in a case like this when a defendant has no felony criminal record. It gives an opportunity for the defendant to be accountable and take responsibility for the conduct, and potentially have the case dismissed if they are successful, a spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorneys Office told The Epoch Times via email.

Diversion in this case will include a mental health evaluation and following all recommendations, signing a release of information within 2 weeks of intake to allow providers to give updates of progress, performing 3 days of community work service, and writing an apology letter. And of course remain law abiding.

Brinton was captured on video footage at the airport on Sept. 16, 2022, removing a bag owned by another person, taking off the tag, and going to a nearby hotel. After Brinton initially told police officers that did not take anything that did not belong to him, he later called airport police and said he took a bag that did not belong to him.

Brinton had faced up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.

The diversion program entry means Brinton is avoiding jail time in a second case.

Brinton was also caught on camera taking luggage belonging to another person at Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas, Nevada, in July 2022.

Charging documents said Brinton stole items worth more than $3,670 after removing the tag on the bag and quickly leaving the airport.

Brinton faced a felony theft charge but pleaded no contest to misdemeanor theft, according to court records.

Brinton was sentenced on April 12 by Judge Ann Zimmerman to a suspended jail sentence. Brinton must pay $3,670 in restitution to the victim and stay out of trouble, according to the records.

A lawyer who represented Brinton did not respond to a request for comment.

Brinton departed the Department of Energy by the end of 2022, the agency told news outlets. It remains unclear whether Brinton was terminated or resigned.

Brinton was placed on administrative leave when initially facing charges. According to a document obtained by Townhall, Brinton was paid his six-figure salary while on administrative leave.

The document shows that Brintons access to government buildings was revoked and that Brintons government email and phone were suspended while on leave.

Brinton identifies as non-binary, with the identity being promoted on Brintons government profile and by Brinton in social media posts. Brinton is a well-known advocate for LGBTQ youth, the profile stated before being taken down.
BEIJING, April 18 (Xinhua) -- China's Ministry of Commerce on Tuesday provided further details on the inclusion in February of two companies on the country's unreliable entities list.

On Feb. 16, China put two companies, Lockheed Martin Corporation and Raytheon Missiles & Defense, on its unreliable entities list as they sold arms to China's Taiwan region, banning them from engaging in China-related import or export activities and making new investments in China.

Senior executives of the two companies, including James Donald Taiclet, Frank Andrew St. John and Jesus Malave of Lockheed Martin Corporation, as well as Wesley D. Kremer, Agnes Soeder and Chander Nijhon of Raytheon Missiles & Defense, have since then been prohibited from entering China, as well as working, staying and residing in China, the ministry said, citing relevant laws and regulations.

The decision to ban the two companies from China-related import or export activities aims to prevent the use of Chinese products in their military businesses, said the ministry, urging Chinese enterprises to check and verify relevant transaction details when conducting business.

Chinese enterprises who are aware that the actual importer or user of their products is one of the above two U.S. enterprises should not carry out related import and export activities, and those violating relevant regulations will be held accountable, according to the ministry. 
North Korean Leader Orders Launch of First Spy Satellite Amid Regional Tensions: State Media

People watch a television screen showing a news broadcast with file footage of a North Korean missile test, at a railway station in Seoul, on April 13, 2023. - North Korea fired a ballistic missile on April 13, Seoul's military said, prompting Japan to briefly issue a seek shelter warning to residents of the northern Hokkaido region. (Jung Yeon-je/AFP via Getty Images)

North Koreas leader has ordered that the launch of his countrys first military spy satellite proceed as planned to ensure its military effectiveness amid regional tensions, the state-run media reported on April 19.

During his visit to the Norths aerospace agency, North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said the countrys military reconnaissance satellite had been completed and urged officials to speed up final preparations for its launch.

Kim also ordered the future deployment of several reconnaissance satellites on different orbits, state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) reported. He did not specify the date for the satellite launch.

He said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite would be crucial for North Korea to cope with the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the United States and South Korea.

North Korea conducted the final-stage test of the spy satellite last year to evaluate the capabilities of satellite photography and data transmission system.

At the time, KCNA released black-and-white photos of South Koreas cities of Seoul and Incheon, which, when enlarged, showed areas surrounding the South Korean presidential office in Seoul.

US, South Korea, Japan Conduct Joint Drill

Kims remarks came as the United States, South Korea, and Japan held a joint missile defense exercise in the international waters of the East Sea on April 17 in response to North Koreas growing nuclear and missile threats.

Separately, South Korea and the United States launched a 12-day joint air exercise at South Koreas Gwangju air base on Monday, involving about 110 warplanes and more than 1,400 troops from both sides.

They sought to bolster joint military capabilities after North Korea fired a new type of intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) on April 13, which sparked evacuation alerts on Japans northernmost island of Hokkaido.

Japans Defense Ministry subsequently lifted the alerts, saying there was no possibility of the missile landing in or around Hokkaido. Japan condemned the launch and lodged a strong protest against North Korea.

South Koreas military detected the launch at around 7.23 a.m. (local time) and estimated that the missile had flown about 621 miles before crashing into the sea, Yonhap News Agency reported.

North Korea Warns Of Extreme Horror

KCNA reported that North Korea tested a new Hwasong-18 ICBM on April 13 under Kims guidance. The agency released photos of the launch that showed Kim was accompanied by his wife, daughter, and sister.

The ICBM launch aimed to assess the performance of the high-thrust solid-fuel engines for multi-stage missiles and the reliability of the stage-jettisoning technology, KCNA said, without elaborating on the ICBMs flight distance and maximum altitude.

Kim vowed to make enemies experience a clearer security crisis, and constantly strike extreme uneasiness and horror into them by taking fatal and offensive counter-actions, according to the report.

A view of a test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18 at an undisclosed location in this still image of a photo used in a video released by North Koreas Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 14, 2023. (KCNA via Reuters)

National Security Council spokesperson Adrienne Watson said the United States strongly condemned the Norths ICBM launch and is assessing the situation in close coordination with allies and partners.

This launch is a brazen violation of multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions and needlessly raises tensions and risks destabilizing the security situation in the region, Watson said in a statement.

The door has not closed on diplomacy, but Pyongyang must immediately cease its destabilizing actions and instead choose diplomatic engagement, she added.

Pyongyang had repeatedly condemned the U.S.-South Korean joint military drills as invasion rehearsals even though the allies have said the exercises are defensive in nature.

Representatives from the United States, South Korea, and Japan gathered in Washington last week to discuss the regularization of defense exercises to respond to North Koreas nuclear and missile threats.

The three countries reaffirmed that a DPRK nuclear test, if conducted, would be met with a strong and resolute response from the international community, according to a joint statement.

Efthymis Oraiopoulos contributed to this report.
North Koreas DF-41 Intercontinental Ballistic Missile

Communist China's role in North Koreas nuclear missile program

A view of a test launch of a new solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) Hwasong-18 at an undisclosed location in this still image of a photo used in a video released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) on April 14, 2023. (KCNA via Reuters)

Commentary

After having warned of its development for seven years and revealed its transporter erector launcher (TEL) in a Feb. 8 parade, on April 13 for the first time, North Korea successfully tested its solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), which it calls the Hwasong-18.

With propaganda images and videos of the Hwasong-18 and his daughter revealed by North Korean state media on April 14, North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un was likely paying homage to the real technology source of his new ICBM.

The next day, April 15, was the 11th anniversary of the official revelation of the China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporations (CASIC) transfer of Sanjiang Special Vehicle 16-wheel TELs to North Korea, in a parade celebrating the birthday of the first North Korean communist dictator Kim Il Sung.

Over the subsequent decade, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has barely concealed its continued proliferation of technology to assist North Koreas nuclear missile programs.

In North Koreas military parade on April 15, 2017, a version of the CASIC TEL was used to display a full-scale mockup of the future solid fuel cold-launch tube for the North Korean solid fuel ICBM, as TELs based on Chinese Sinotruk trucks from a 2013 co-production scheme pulled a mockup of a medium-range solid fuel ballistic missile that looked like the early CASIC 932-mile range DF-21 ballistic missile.

In that same parade, a Sinotruk-based TEL pulled North Koreas new solid fuel submarine launch ballistic missile called KN-11. A smaller Sinotruk-based TEL was used for a new precision-guided 300-millimeter diameter artillery rocket in a parade on Oct. 10, 2015.

There are two more versions of CASIC-Sanjiang TEL, an 18-wheel version revealed in a North Korean military parade on Feb. 2, 2018, carrying the liquid-fueled Hwasong-15 ICBM, and then a 22-wheel version, the largest ICBM TEL in the world, revealed in a military parade on Oct. 10, 2020, carrying the liquid-fueled Hwasong-17.

The 18-wheel version of the CASIC-Sanjiang TEL carries the new solid fuel Hwasong-18.

This analyst has long held that to build their TELs, Chinas CASIC-Sanjiang would also have to have intimate knowledge of the missiles being carried, which points to the high likelihood that CASIC and the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASC) have been heavily involved in North Koreas liquid and solid fuel missile programs.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-un watches a fire assault drill at an undisclosed location in North Korea on March 10, 2023. (KCNA via Reuters)

In its first military technology exhibit in October 2021, when Pyongyang revealed that it had a hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV) warhead almost exactly like that of the CASC DF-17, it was clear that the CCP did not care that the world understood its role in North Koreas nuclear missile program.

In his early analysis of the Hwasong-18 based on North Korean revealed images and videos, analyst and 3D image artist Nathan J. Hunt estimates that the diameter of the first stage of the three-stage Hwasong-18 is 2.21 meters.

If the Hwasong-18 is based on a Chinese solid-fuel missile, then there are two possible technology sources. One is CASCs 8,000-mile range DF-41 with an estimated 2.28-meter diameter. The other is the 2.2-meter diameter CASIC Kuaishou-11, currently a space launch vehicle. Still, since CASIC has undertaken previous deception exercises attempting to conceal its near-total creation of Pakistans large solid-fuel ballistic missiles, it could have easily mounted a deception operation to help develop the Hwasong-18 based on Kuaizhou-11 technology.

But what is clear is that the Hwasong-18 is a mobile solid fuel ICBM in the same class, if not a replica of the DF-41 or a CASIC equivalent not yet deployed by the Peoples Liberation Army Rocket Force.

As the DF-41 is credited, mainly by Chinese sources, as having the potential to carry up to 10 warheads, it should be considered that the Hwasong-18 will eventually have a similar capability.

In Kim Jong-uns January 2021 Work Report to the 8th Congress of the Workers Party of North Korea, he stated the Norths research into perfecting the guidance technology for multi-warhead rocket was in its final stage.

This could mean larger multiple warheads for the Hwasong-17. Still, with North Koreas March 28 revelation that it has developed a new small common tactical nuclear warhead for eight short-range ballistic missiles, land attack cruise missiles, and unmanned underwater delivery systems, such a small nuclear warhead could also form the basis of a smaller multiple warhead system for the Hwasong-18.

Unlike the Hwasong-15 and Hwasong-17, which require time for fueling that creates vulnerability to attack, the solid fuel Hwasong-18 can be made ready for an attack within minutes of emerging from its under- or above-ground base, making possible effective surprise nuclear strikes.

The solid-fuel Hwasong-18 can also be developed into a rapid space launch vehicle that can build a constellation of Chinese-assisted surveillance satellites to enable continuous North Korean targeting of its nuclear missiles.

In addition, the Hwasong-18 can be developed into an effective anti-satellite weapon capable of attacking crucial U.S. Medium Earth Orbit satellites, such as its Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) system.

The Chinese regime likely began helping to build North Koreas nuclear missile capacity in the early 2000s, first to deter a large-scale U.S. attack against the Pyongyang dictatorship and second, to make Pyongyang into a proxy nuclear rogue, capable of creating nuclear crises that divert U.S. military resources to make possible the CCPs invasion of Taiwan.

But as North Korea also traffics in nuclear and missile technology to Iran and Pakistan, it can now sell the full range of nuclear missiles, from short-range tactical to medium-range, HGV, and solid-fuel ICBMs.

But what is perhaps most confounding is that the United States has refused to expose the CCPs full role in creating North Koreas nuclear threat. Recall that when the United States helped save China from a Soviet nuclear attack in 1969, it subsequently worked hard to convince South Korea to forgo its nuclear weapons program.

Even more galling is that the Biden administration refuses to consider building up U.S. nuclear forceslimited to 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads by the 2010 New Start nuclear agreement to which Russia suspended its adherence on Feb. 21as China is building up its nuclear weapons from 3,000 to 4,000 warheads by the early 2030s.

Should China and Russia engage in cooperative nuclear targeting of the United Stateswhich has long been suggested by their increasing cooperation in missile defensethen a combined Chinese, Russian, and North Korean nuclear force threatens to overwhelm that of the United States, making Americans vulnerable to nuclear coercion or a massive first strike.

The United States is in danger of losing the opportunity to redeploy warheads reduced due to New Start, deploy new ones, rebuild its regional nuclear forces, and commit to building a real national missile defense.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
NSW Governments Legislative Agenda in Shambles After Last Minute Coalition Win

NSW Labor Leader Chris Minns speaks to media the during a press conference at NSW Parliament, Sydney, Australia, on Sept. 23, 2022. Bankstown MP Tania Mihailuk made sensational claims against a selected candidate and was been booted from NSW Labor leader Chris Minns' shadow cabinet. (AAP Image/Bianca De Marchi)

The New South Wales (NSW) Labor government will be forced to delicately negotiate with the crossbench to pass legislation after the Liberal Party scored the final seat in the upper house.

More than three weeks since polls closed, the NSW Electoral Commission distributed preferences on Wednesday, leaving the upper house chamber evenly split between the left and right wings.

The government and coalition opposition will have 15 members each, meaning Labor will either need the support of a right-wing crossbencher to pass bills or must convince a right-wing MP to take the presidents chair.

Liberal Party candidate Rachel Merton, a former Australian Classification Board member and Perrottet government staffer, narrowly won the 21st and final seat from the Animal Justice Partys Alison Waters.

Four Greens members, Animal Justices Emma Hurst and newly elected Jeremy Buckingham of Legalise Cannabis, represent left-wing parties in the upper house.

Election analyst Kevin Bonham said Labor had a history of working well with the right-wing Shooters, Fishers and Farmers Party.

The party will have two seats in the new chamber after party leader Robert Borsak was re-elected.

Labor could also negotiate with former Liberal Party member John Ruddick, elected for the Liberal Democrats.

But the government has ruled out dealing with One Nation leader Mark Latham.

While One Nation failed to replicate its 2019 two-seat result, federal leader Pauline Hanson on Wednesday celebrated the party increasing its representation to three members.

She also confirmed ex-Labor MP Tania Mihailuk would inherit the upper house seat Latham vacated to contest the March election.

This is our third straight state election where we have increased our representation. All across Australia, One Nation continues to grow from strength to strength, Senator Hanson said.

Wednesdays result was the third time unlucky for the Animal Justice Party, which won one seat in each of the past two elections on the final count of preferences.

Candidate Ms Waters closed to within 4000 votes of her Liberal opponent in the final stages but never got her nose in front.

MP-elect Merton spent 14 years in government relations at KPMG before a two-year stint on the board of Australias classifier for film, computer games and publications.

Her most recent role was as deputy chief of staff to Natasha Maclaren-Jones, the families minister in the Perrottet government.

As a full-time working mother for the past decade, Rachel has a strong understanding of the challenges women face in juggling the competing demands of raising children while in the workforce, the Liberal Party said before the election.
There may be a possible breakthrough in the debt limit deadlock. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy unveils a new plan to raise the debt ceilingand demands spending cuts at the same time.

A tragic death has occurred after a popular TikTok challenge. What exactly happened?

The Biden administrations tax code could be subsidizing the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to the tune of millions of dollars.

New Jersey has run out of money for its electric vehicle rebate programat least for now.

Tesla cuts prices again. Its the sixth time this year.
Opposition MPs Criticize Liberals for Failing to Negotiate Deal With Federal Workers

PSAC workers and supporters picket outside the Canada Revenue Agency office in Sudbury, Ont. on April 19, 2023. More than 155,000 federal public servants are on strike after the government and the Public Service Alliance of Canada failed to reach a deal before an April 18 evening deadline. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Gino Donato)

Opposition MPs criticized Prime Minister Justin Trudeau during question period on April 19 for failing to negotiate a deal with the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) to prevent 155,000 federal workers from striking.

It is a failure to increase the cost of the bureaucracy by 50 percent with poor services. It is a failure to have 150,000 people workers go on the biggest general strike in decades. It is an especially incredible achievement of incompetence to do both of those things at the same time, said Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre.

The federal public servants went on strike after the government and PSAC failed to reach a deal before an April 18 evening deadline. On April 19, over 35,000 Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) workers and 120,000 Treasury Board workers set up picket lines at more than 250 locations across Canada.

Ottawa has warned that the strike could impact a number of federal services, including taxes, border services, employment insurance, veteran support, and passport applications.

How will the prime minister fix the damage that he has caused to our government and our taxpayers? Poilievre asked Trudeau in the House.

Trudeau responded that the Liberals deeply respect the work that unions do across the country to stand up for good middle-class jobs. He said this was why the government had ensured the work is done at the bargaining table.

We know theres progress being made, but its an important principle to respect the work of the bargaining table. That is why were encouraging people to continue to do so. Canadians deserve their services, and we need to continue to support the public service that delivers those services, he said.

Conservative MP Stephanie Kusie, shadow minister for the Treasury Board, said the Liberals had spent $21 billion more on public service and $22 billion on outside consultants since coming to power in 2015, yet were unable to reach a deal with PSAC.

Now its Canadians who are suffering, Canadians who are not receiving their passports, and Canadians loved ones whose immigration processes will be elongated. Will the prime minister take responsibility and apologize to Canadians for failing to reach a negotiation, she said.

Trudeau responded that if the Conservatives were in power, they would be implementing back-to-work legislation even before the picket lines were brought up, as they have done before.

We actually respect the right to collective bargaining, and we will continue to be at the table in constructive conversation, he said.

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said his party was extremely disappointed that the government failed to arrive at a negotiated agreement with the PSAC.

These are the workers that delivered unprecedented health during the challenging times of the pandemic. They deserve our respect, he said.

Singh asked if the prime minister would commit to not bringing forth back-to-work legislation, and to negotiate a fair deal with the workers.

Trudeau said in response that negotiators are currently at the bargaining table putting forth responsible proposals that respect the hard work of public service workers over the last few years.
Pentagon Warns Offshore Wind Projects Could Threaten National Security

Plan Could Jeopardize Biden Administration's Climate Agenda

In October 2022, the U.S. Navy and Air Force documented areas of potential conflicts between Department of Defense activities and proposed offshore wind development. Areas in red are deemed highly problematic. Map courtesy of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

The Pentagon is sounding the alarm over planned offshore wind farm projects that it says could negatively impact U.S. national security.

According to published reports, the Pentagon is concerned that nearly all of the new areas slated for offshore wind energy development along the Central Atlantic coasta key component of the Biden administrations climate agendawould conflict with military operations.

The Pentagons opposition could jeopardize the administrations goal of harnessing 30 gigawatts of fixed-bottom offshore wind power by the end of the decade, which it claims could power 10 million homes, and 15 gigawatts from floating offshore wind infrastructure by 2035, potentially providing power to 5 million homes.

The dispute is the latest hurdle for an industry facing growing opposition from dozens of coastal communities, tribal interests, and the tourism, fishing, and shellfish industries.

Ocean Energy Under Fire



The Department of the Interiors Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has already leased 2.3 million acres and plans to lease another 1.7 million to install an estimated 3,500 turbines along the Atlantic coast.

But areas of potential conflicts delineated by the U.S. Navy and Air Force on a map dated Oct. 6, 2022, call those plans into question. It specifically declared four of six Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) identified by BOEM for an offshore wind auction as potentially affecting military operations.

The map shows vast red areas deemed highly problematic. They encompass large areas that the Department of the Interior has earmarked for wind development leases off the coasts of North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware.

The Pentagon reportedly identified conflicts with operations and facilities, including North Carolinas Dare County bombing range, used for training fighter jet crews, and a weapons station in Yorktown, Virginia.

In an email to The Epoch Times, BOEM expressed confidence that these areas of conflict could be resolved, stating that it has a long working relationship with DOD, and has successfully deconflicted and identified areas that have resulted in 27 leases.

We will continue this collaboration as we seek to identify new lease areas in the Central Atlantic, wrote Lissa Eng, BOEMs National Communications Lead for Renewable Energy Programs.

Eng acknowledged that the bureau was previously aware of the DOD concerns.

Because BOEM was already collaborating with DOD, we did not incorporate a DOD compatibility assessment in the draft Wind Energy Areas released for public comment in November 2022, she explained.

Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.), a House Armed Services Committee member and an ardent supporter of offshore wind, is confident the conflicts can be resolved.

According to his office, DOD raised similar concerns for the offshore wind lease areas proposed off the coast of his California district. In 2020, the congressman formed a working group that brought together DOD and other federal, state, and local partners to negotiate those potential conflicts, Ian Mariani, a spokesman for Carbajal, told The Epoch Times.

This led to written commitments for continued partnership in assessing potential impacts, Mariani said.

With those lease areas auctioned off last year, Congressman Carbajal believes that the agreement he helped facilitate on the Central Coast proves that these concerns are navigable and surmountable for other proposed wind energy projects, and is willing to use his regions example as a roadmap to helping the United States harness the full potential of this clean energy sources potential, Mariani said.

A Bone to Pick With BOEM

Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), an outspoken critic of offshore wind energy, said BOEM has been tone-deaf to the concerns of various interest groups.

No matter who you askwhether its DOD, NOAA [National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration] scientists, fishermenthe answer is always the same: BOEM does not take genuine input from anyone, Van Drew told The Epoch Times.

The agency hears you out for the sole purpose of saying they made an effort but decides to move forward with these projects despite the countless number of concerns.

He provided a litany of examples.

When fishermen indicated their concerns with how these projects will affect their livelihoods, their concerns were pushed aside.

When I highlighted how the BOEMs own environmental impact statement admitted that offshore wind will have no impact on climate change, there was no response from the administration.

When NOAAs own scientist raised concerns with how these projects could affect the endangered right whale, he was ignored.

And when my [March 16 congressional hearing] revealed that these massive turbines could interfere with radar systems and highlighted the warnings from our own military, this administration continued full steam ahead, said Van Drew.

In that hearing, Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for Seafreeze, testified that windfarm development poses a serious risk to navigation, especially in fog and heavy weather.

Lapp cited a National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine study in 2022 that found wind turbine generators can interfere with the radar systems that mariners rely on for navigation.

Mariners cant transit through the areas because windmills cause radar interference, she told The Epoch Times. Navigation without radar is not safe.

This affects fishing fleets as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and Navy, she said.

But BOEM doesnt care. They are moving forward at lightning speed regardless of the fact that its a life-threatening situation, she continued.

Landowners and fishing groups are currently challenging the federal environmental permit issued for the 62-turbine Vineyard Wind project off the coast of Marthas Vineyard.

In that case, plaintiffs argue that BOEM did not adequately evaluate the potential impact the project might have on local fishermen and the critically endangered North American right whale, among other issues.

But Vineyard Wind is already starting construction, even before the lawsuits have been decided, said Lapp. So there you have it.

Van Drew said that these examples show that the Biden Administration is fast-tracking offshore wind development, despite threats to national security and U.S. interest groups.

More than 50 percent of the wind energy leases have gone to foreign firms, which means foreign countries will be controlling our energy, he said. The only thing this administration cares about is achieving their Green New Deal agenda, no matter the cost.
Marguerite Missy LeHand (18981944) was born to an Irish family in Potsdam, New York. During her childhood the family moved to Massachusetts, settling into the small working-class town of Somerville just outside of Boston. It was here that she contracted rheumatic fever at the age of 15. She was lucky to survive the illness, as many did not, but it would damage her heart and eventually lead to her premature death. But before she died, nearly a year before the Japanese surrender in World War II, her personality, skill, and perceptiveness would draw her as close as anyone to the man who would lead America through the drama of the Second World War.

LeHand was trained in secretarial science at her high school, where upon graduating she held several positions in clerical work. The year the United States entered World War I, she moved to Washington, D.C. and accepted a position as a clerk for the Department of the Navy. Her skill and attentiveness was quickly noticed by Franklin Delano Roosevelts assistant, Charles McCarthy. Roosevelt had been the assistant secretary of the Navy during the Great War, and though McCarthy knew LeHand well, Roosevelt and LeHand had never met. When they did, the two developed an unbreakable friendship.

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, seen here circa 1933 during his first term as president, was assisted by Marguerite LeHand as his executive secretary. (Public Domain)

When Roosevelt was running on the ticket with James Cox, the Democratic candidate for the 1920 election, LeHand became his secretary. Though the election ended in a landslide victory for the Republican ticket of Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge, LeHand remained with Roosevelt. She continued as his personal secretary while he practiced law and when he became vice president of the Fidelity and Deposit Company. Her work proved invaluable, but her friendship even more so.

In August 1921, Roosevelt contracted polio. LeHand remained by his side during his efforts to recover. She joined him on trips, hosted events for him on his houseboat, learned to play poker and make his favorite cocktails, provided emotional support during his physical therapy, and encouraged his return to politics. She thought, however, that his return was too soon when he decided to run for governor of New York in 1928. She possibly suffered a nervous breakdown as a result.

Regardless, when Roosevelt entered the governors mansion, LeHand strode in as his secretary. She learned the subtle art of scheduling visitors or turning them away. She had become adept to the type of people Roosevelt preferred to see and developed a sharp eye for opportunists. She understood that the then-governor did not waste time. Her gift for being the gatekeeper to the active executive would play a crucial role when he entered the White House in 1933.

When the Roosevelt administration began, she became the first woman to be secretary to the president and was termed as the presidents super-secretary. The following year, she was on the cover of Time Magazine. That same year, after White House renovations, she was given the only office with a direct entrance into the Oval Office.

When Louis Howe, an advisor to Roosevelt, died in 1936, she became what would now be considered the presidents chief of staff (the position was not created until the Eisenhower administration). She was present every morning at the bedside meetings with Roosevelts key advisors. Her executive permission to refuse visitors to the president made her one of the administrations most powerful people. From 1933 to 1941, she became known as FDRs Right Hand Woman.

For 20 years, she worked tirelessly for Roosevelt, as well as his family. She was by his side during his struggles with polio, when he entered the New York governors mansion, and through the troubled and demanding years of the Great Depression and World War II. On June 4, 1941, however, her weakening health caught up with her, which led to her collapse at a White House party. It is assumed she suffered a heart attack and a stroke simultaneously. She was bedridden for weeks and missed the opening ceremony of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museumthe nations first presidential library. It was a project that she had been intricately involved with.

Suffering from her debilitating stroke, LeHand soon moved back to Somerville. Roosevelt and LeHand kept in touch through letters and phone calls, but the war kept the president too busy to visit. In July 1944, she suffered a fatal stroke.

The president lamented her passing. Memories of more than a score of years of devoted service enhance the sense of personal loss which Miss LeHands passing brings, Roosevelt wrote. Faithful and painstaking, with charm of manner inspired by tact and kindness of heart, she was utterly selfless in her devotion to duty.  Her memory will ever be held in affectionate remembrance and appreciation, not only by all the members of our family but by the wide circle of those whose duties brought them into contact with her.

Her funeral, held Aug. 2, 1944, was attended by 1,200 people, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Joseph P. Kennedy, and Supreme Court Justice Felix Frankfurter.
The Fosters enjoyed Shen Yun at the Eventim Apollo, in London, on April 18. 2023. (Mary Mann/The Epoch Times)

LONDONShen Yun Performing Arts is halfway through its London tour, 10 shows from April 14 to April 22, at the Eventim Apollo. On April 18, theatergoers and lovers of the arts appreciated the cultural depth of Shen Yuns performance.

Its just a wonderful production. So colorful, amazing dancing, great technique of the dancers, said James Mackenzie-Blackman, an award-winning theater producer and chief executive of Scotlands largest combined Arts venue, Eden Court.

[Shen Yun] is just something very different, which is really great, he said. Its really fantastic to see that diversity and to see those stories being told, and really important.

New York-based Shen Yun is the worlds premier classical Chinese dance company and has been recognized for its revival of the ancient art form. Since its inception in 2006, the performing arts company has taken the mission of reviving 5,000 years of Chinese civilization.

Manus Fraser, a filmmaker, saw the performance with his daughter.

Its very interesting to hear all the cultural information about the culture of China and the history of China, said Mr. Fraser. I think the message of inclusivity and tolerance is something thats essential for all cultures to appreciate and take on board.

Theyve clearly put in a huge amount of work and dedicated, and it shows, they were very impressive, he said. A great show.

I Was in Heaven

Niall and Yvonne Foster shared that the experience was one of great beauty.

The music, the synchronicity, the passion of all the dancers was wonderful, said Mr. Foster, a company director. Overall, just a fabulous production.

I thought it was like a fairy landa fairy tale, said Mrs. Foster. It was really, really enchanting, professional. And youre taken away to another world.

Absolutely. Beautifully done, Mr. Foster added.

Just listening to the music transported Mrs. Foster, and the couple commented on the effect of the erhu, the two-stringed ancient instrument.

The music was really, really beautiful. So we were very, very happy, Mrs. Foster said. I thought I was in heaven.

Her only regret was that Shen Yun could tour everywhere but China.

My heart was so heavy that [Shen Yun] cannot be in China and do this really is so sad, absolutely sad, she said.

But the couple had hope, as the Shen Yun artists did, that one day things would change. Without hope, were nowhere, hope is everything, Mr. Foster said.

Since its founding in 2006, Shen Yun has been to around 200 cities across five continents but never to China. The ruling Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has worked for 70 years since it came to power to uproot traditional culture, the very culture Shen Yun takes as a mission to revive.

For some audience members, the fact that Shen Yun is banned in China comes as a surprise.

A Real Purity

Paul Gilston, who does special effects for films, saw the performance with Caroline Mannion, an art teacher. The two said the production was beautiful and that it was a shame this could not be performed in China.

Its quite intriguing really cause I never realized it was so humbling, and so religious, the Chinese people relate to religion and their Creator. I didnt ever realize that, Mr. Gilston said. Its just so sad news to hear that its no more because it should be embraced.

Theres a real purity, I think, to this as well. So that divinity really comes through, said Ms. Mannion.

Mr. Gilston described a story-based dance that stood out to him, which was set in modern-day China. It told of people of faith in China and the human rights abuses at the hands of the CCP.

He was shocked to learn this was based on true events and thought Shen Yun brave for including the program.

I cant believe its still happening, he said. Theyre still having the courage to say this is still happening in China today. Which is unbelievable that this sort of atrocities is still happening today, in the world we live in.

Mr. Gilston shared that he had always had a fascination with Chinese culture and history, dreamed of walking the Great Wall, and, as a child, watched stories of the Monkey King, the protagonist of the beloved classic Journey to the West. The way Shen Yun brought these stories to life on stage through classical dance and a high-tech backdrop amazed him.

Absolutely amazing. And where the characters jump below the stage and then fly off, the CGI is just unbelievable. They look fantastic. I couldnt stop laughing when I saw itit is amazing, he said. Its just amazing. The way that you switch the screen and the guys just make the images appear, sort of touchscreen. Its just brilliant.

Ms. Mannion was similarly enthused.Absolutely stunning. The colors and the costumes are incredible. I particularly like the water sleeves. Its just so beautiful. So yes, very reminiscent of some things that I think I remember from my childhood, but also Im learning learning new things about culture as well.

Reporting by Mary Mann.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
REI to Close Portland Store Due to High Crime Rates

The REI (Recreational Equipment, Inc.) SoHo flagship store in New York on Nov. 24, 2015. REI is choosing to stay closed on black Friday so employees can spend more time with family. (Benjamin Chasteen/Epoch Times)

Popular outdoor recreation retailer REI is closing its Pearl District store located in downtown Portland due to increasing local crime and retail loss from store sales, the company announced on Monday.

In an email sent to members, the company expressed its sadness over the decision but explained that the Portland location experienced its highest number of break-ins and thefts despite actions to provide extra security.

The safety of our employees, members, and customers is always our number one priority, spokesperson Megan Behrbaum said. Last year, REI Portland had its highest number of break-ins and thefts in two decades, despite our actions and investment to provide extra security.

A clothing store is vandalized during a demonstration called by Black Lives Matter in Portland, Ore., on Nov. 4, 2020. (Kathryn Elsesser/AFP via Getty Images)

The company informed its more than 150 employees of the upcoming closure, as their lease expires in February 2024.

Behrbaum highlighted that the decision does not reflect the hard work and dedication of our Portland team, nor the overall health of the co-op, she said.

Since the beginning of this year, there have been over 10,745 reported crimes against Portland residents and 62,870 reported property-related crimes, according to data released by the Portland Police Bureau.

Oregon legislators were considering a package of bills, SB318 and SB340, introduced to legislation last month, that would help the state become more prepared and equip to solve the high amount of organized theft and charge individuals with stricter penalties.

These individuals are targeting a large amount of merchandise at one timelosses from anywhere between $10,000 and $100,000, Philip Smith, a retail crime investigator for Fred Meyer and vice president of the Organized Retail Crime Association of Oregon, told lawmakers at the time. As a result of these actions retailers are now starting to close doors or relocating to combat these issues.

Retailers throughout the Portland area have voiced their concerns over the growing theft problem around the city and say that city officials have been slow to respond.

The company says it has been unsuccessful in working with its landlord to address safety issues at the store and has outgrown the current space it has occupied since 2004, to continue providing its desired level of customer service and employee experience.

The extra security measures required to keep customers and employees safe are not financially sustainable, Behrbaum said.

Other major retailers like Starbucks, Walmart, and Nike closed stores in the Portland area last year due to safety concerns and increasing theft.

We continue to equip our partners with the training, policies, and information they need to address the societal challenges that cross our store thresholds every day. But when these efforts arent enough to ensure the safety of our partners, we will make the decision to close a store, regardless of its revenue or union status, a Starbucks spokesperson said in a statement to local FOX 12.

Despite the Pearl District closure, the company remains dedicated to serving its community in the area and is continuously evaluating opportunities for new locations.

While we do not believe a downtown Portland location will be possible in the near term, our stores in Tualatin, Hillsboro, and Clackamas remain open and ready to outfit you with the gear and advice you need to enjoy life outside, the company wrote in its email.

The company is dedicated to continuing to serve and provide for its loyal customers until its doors officially close in 2024.

Until that time, we look forward to continuing to serve the outdoor community, Behrbaum said.

Portlands Mayor Ted Wheelers office issued a statement regarding REIs closure.

Mayor Wheelers staff and leadership at the Portland Police Bureau have met with REIs leadership team and store representatives for several months to find ways we can collaborate on addressing retail theft, vandalism, and other safety issues. The Portland Police Bureau and other public safety partners worked with REI directly to execute a retail theft mission at their Pearl location and developed proactive safety measures, including authorizing temporary security camera trailers at their loading dock and protective measures toward the front of their store, the statement read.

Wheeler has joined Oregon Governor Tina Kotek to increase security efforts and hire more police officers to combat the high crime rates, according to the statement.

Mayor Wheeler is committed to further supporting REI to help ensure we retain their business in Portland and help them succeed. All options are on the table as we explore paths forward, the statement concludes.
Robert Kennedy Formally Announces Democratic 2024 Presidential Campaign

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announces his 2024 presidential bid and Democratic primary challenge to President Joe Biden in Boston, Mass., on April 19, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

BOSTONJust a few miles from the homestead where his familys dynasty in U.S. politics began, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. officially announced his campaign for the presidency on April 19, becoming the first Kennedy since 1979 to make a bid for the White House and the third to challenge a sitting president.

I come here to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for the president of the United States, Kennedy said, as cheers erupted from the crowd that gathered at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel.

With his wife, actress Cheryl Hines, by his side, flanked by a row of American flags, Kennedy spoke to an audience of more than 1,000 attendees.

The crowd chanted Bobby and RFK, stood to applaud several times, and listened intently as Kennedy spoke about the history of his family in U.S. politics after escaping British oppression and potato famine in their native country of Ireland.

Kennedy spoke fondly about his personal relationship with President Joe Biden, saying his challenge to the incumbent is a matter of differences about issues such as censorship and public health.

Unlike the political luminaries in his family, Kennedy isnt known as much for his politics as he is for his advocacy for vaccine safety, which drew significant attention with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccines.

His views on vaccine safety were part of his 2021 New York Times bestselling book The Real Anthony Fauci. He is also the founder of the nonprofit activist group Childrens Health Defense.

Kennedy is looking to follow in the footsteps of his uncle, President John F. Kennedy, who was elected in 1960 and served as president until his assassination in 1963.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s father was campaigning for president against incumbent President Lyndon Johnson when he was assassinated in 1968. Richard Nixon went on to win that election.

Ted Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s uncle and a popular U.S. senator who represented Massachusetts for 47 years until his death in 2009, made an unsuccessful bid for the presidency, with sights set on unseating President Jimmy Carter.

All three brothers grew up in a small house in Brookline, Massachusetts, which is now a registered landmark and known as the birthplace of John F. Kennedy.

Outside of vaccines, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is every bit a Democrat, with staunch support for LGBT causes and abortion.

Kennedy, named one of the NY Times Heroes of the Planet, is also highly celebrated among climate change theorists, environmentalists, and human rights advocates for his efforts against carbon emissions, negotiating better homeland treaties for indigenous Americans, and protecting threatened watersheds.

Disgruntled Biden Voters

The prospect of another Kennedy in the White House drew a diverse crowd to the historic Park Plaza Hotel in Boston.

Among was them Linda Brierty, who traveled from Connecticut. The Catholic Democrat told The Epoch Times she has been disappointed since day one after voting for Biden. She said that she hopes Kennedy will win the Democratic nomination.

This is about courage, this is about alliance, and this is about leadership, she said. Kennedy represents all three of those.

Linda Brierty (L) and Eliot Minor (R) attend Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s announcement of his 2024 presidential bid in Boston on April 19, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Brierty said she also likes that Kennedy opposes vaccine mandates, saying that while she isnt opposed to vaccines, she favors informed consent and peoples right to make their own medical decision.

Although he said he wishes Kennedy would run as an independent, Rhode Islander Eliot Minor said he already has his vote. Like Brierty, Minor told The Epoch Times he likes Kennedys views on vaccine safety. He also said he feels like Kennedy would be the first president to actually drain the swamp. Like Brierty, he voted for Biden but has no plans to do so again.

Charles Small, who flew in from Richmond, Virginia, was already wearing a Kennedy 2024 campaign pin. He is also switching his support from Biden to Kennedy. He said Kennedy had him hooked when Small read on his campaign website that he was going after government corruption, especially the abuse of its regulatory powers.

Charles Small (L) and Nina Moliver (R) attend Robert F. Kennedy Jr.s announcement of his 2024 presidential bid in Boston, Mass., on April 19, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

Bostonians React

Outside of Park Plaza, the reaction to Kennedys bid for the presidency was far more mixed.

Hed be better than sleepy Joe, a local Bostonian, who asked not to be identified because he is a government employee, told The Epoch Times.

But Washington state resident Brian Walsh, who was dining with his family just a few booths away from the fabled Kennedy booth at the local Union Oyster House, told The Epoch Times that Kennedys vaccine stance alone makes him oppose Kennedy and that he would like to see Biden reelected.

I cant vote for someone who promotes all that misinformation about vaccines, Walsh said.

Nina Moliver, a local from nearby Jamaica Plain and two-time Biden voter, said Kennedys fight against vaccine mandates is the primary reason she is supporting him. Forced vaccines crosses a boundary for me.

She also said that this is about the whole cartel.

Im not interested anymore in the pseudo-left identity politics, she said. Robert is a true progressive.

Just a few blocks away, a group of Suffolk University students who used the phrase my body my choice regarding abortion, told The Epoch Times that even though Kennedy was aligned with them on that, they also wouldnt support him because of his position on vaccines.

One of the students, Maxwell Wright, a political science major who is graduating from Suffolk in just a few months, called Kennedy part of a draconian emblematic dynasty that needs to go.

Suffolk University professor Donna Giancola, a lifelong Bostonian, who was out with her students and shared their liberal views, said she is open to voting for Kennedy and told The Epoch Times she thought it was good that a Kennedy was running.

While there was never any assassination attempts against Ted Kennedy, FBI files released in 2010 show there were several threats made against the Senator starting as early as 1968, within months following his brothers assasination.

Security was especially tight yesterday at Kennedys inaugural primary speech and for a few tense seconds the boisterous crowd fell silent as an emergency alert system sounded calling for an evacuation of the building.

Nice try, jested Kennedy.

The alarm ceased seconds later.
Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, holds talks with the president of the Uruguayan House of Representatives, Sebastian Andujar, via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)

BEIJING, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), on Wednesday held talks with the president of the Uruguayan House of Representatives, Sebastian Andujar, via video link.

Noting China has always attached great importance to the development of China-Uruguay relations, Zhao said China is willing to strengthen cooperation with Uruguay further and take the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between the two countries as a new starting point to push forward bilateral relations and bring more benefits to the two peoples.

Zhao said China appreciates Uruguay's firm adherence to the one-China principle and stands ready to strengthen political mutual trust with Uruguay, support each other on issues concerning each other's core interests and major concerns, and respect each other's choice of development path.

He called on the two sides to promote mutual benefit and win-win results, achieve common development, and better align their development strategies within the framework of high-quality Belt and Road cooperation.

The two sides should strengthen people-to-people and cultural exchanges, deepen mutual learning among civilizations, and consolidate popular support for friendship between the two countries, Zhao said. "We should work together to strengthen multilateral cooperation and jointly cope with global challenges," Zhao added.

The NPC of China is willing to continue the tradition of friendship with Uruguay's National Congress, deepen exchanges between the top level of the legislature, special committees, friendship groups, and lawmakers, and timely approve and revise legal documents promoting bilateral cooperation; exchange experience on coordinated economic and social development, democracy and rule of law, and poverty eradication; and strengthen communication and cooperation in multilateral parliamentary organizations, Zhao said.

He introduced the development of China's whole-process people's democracy, and said that China is willing to work with Uruguay to advocate the promotion of the common values of mankind, practice true multilateralism, and work to make the global governance system more just and equitable.

Andujar said Uruguay firmly adheres to the one-China principle. He thanked China for its generous assistance in the most difficult time for Uruguay to fight the pandemic.

Uruguay hopes to strengthen exchanges and cooperation between the legislative bodies of the two countries, so as to promote better understanding of each other between the two peoples, and common progress and development, Andujar added. 

Zhao Leji, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, holds talks with the president of the Uruguayan House of Representatives, Sebastian Andujar, via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, April 19, 2023. (Xinhua/Zhang Ling)
SCOTUS Rules Turkish Bank Not Immune From Prosecution in Iran Sanctions Violation Case

Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh at his confirmation hearing to serve as associate justice on the Supreme Court at the Capitol in Washington on Sept. 4, 2018. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times)

A bank controlled by the Turkish government isnt immune from criminal prosecution in U.S. courts for allegedly helping Iran defy U.S. economic sanctions, the Supreme Court ruled 72 on April 19.

Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S., also known as Halkbank, is 75 percent owned by the Turkish Wealth Fund, which in turn is owned by the Republic of Turkey.

Istanbul-based Halkbank is accused of participating in a criminal conspiracy involving money laundering, bank fraud, and assisting terrorism-sponsoring Iran in evading U.S. economic sanctions.

The bank is accused of laundering about $20 billion in proceeds from the sale of Iranian oil and natural gas. Prosecutors said the bank used money servicing outfits and front companies in the United Arab Emirates, Iran, and Turkey in defiance of the sanctions regime.

The case, Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S. v. United States, court file 21-1450, has made U.S. relations with Turkey, a NATO ally, difficult at times.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan previously said the U.S. governments decision to prosecute the bank was ugly and unlawful.

The United States prosecuted the bank in a federal district court in New York for conspiring to evade the sanctions against Iran.

The bank argued that the indictment, which was issued in 2019, should be thrown out because federal law doesnt allow for the prosecutions of instrumentalities of foreign states such as Halkbank.

It argued in the alternative that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976 confers instrumentalities of foreign states with absolute immunity from criminal prosecution in U.S. courts.

We disagree with Halkbank on both points, Justice Brett Kavanaugh wrote for the court majority.

The Supreme Court held that the federal district court has jurisdiction under federal law and that the FSIA doesnt provide immunity from criminal prosecution.

On Halkbanks view, a purely commercial business that is directly and majority-owned by a foreign state could engage in criminal conduct affecting U.S. citizens and threatening U.S. national security while facing no criminal accountability at all in U.S. courts, Kavanaugh wrote.

Nothing in the FSIA supports that result.

[The banks FSIA-related arguments] are infused with the notion that U.S. criminal proceedings against instrumentalities of foreign states would negatively affect U.S. national security and foreign policy.

But it is not our role to rewrite the FSIA based on purported policy concerns that Congress and the president have not seen fit to recognize.

The Supreme Court also directed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit to reconsider the banks request to dismiss the prosecution based on a theory of common law-based immunity.

Justice Neil Gorsuch dissented in part and concurred in part with the majority opinion. Gorsuchs opinion was joined by Justice Samuel Alito.

The majority is wrong to hold that FSIAs rules apply only in civil cases, Gorsuch wrote.

To decide whether a foreign sovereign is susceptible to criminal prosecution, the Court says, federal judges must consult the common law. Respectfully, I disagree. The same statute we routinely use to analyze sovereign immunity in civil cases applies equally in criminal ones, the justice wrote.
Senators Question Feasibility of EPAs New Vehicle Emissions Standards

'No way' to scale up domestic production and manufacturing in 10 years, Sen. Lummis says

A Daimler Urban eTruck electric truck during a press conference at the IAA Nutzfahrzeuge (IAA Commercial Vehicles) fair in Hanover, northern Germany on Sept. 21, 2016. (Julian Stratenschulte/DPA/AFP via Getty Images)

Lawmakers questioned the feasibility of new vehicle tailpipe emissions proposals from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which the agency predicts will lead to the mass adoption of electric light- and medium-duty vehicles within a decade.

The April 18 hearing was held by the Subcommittee on Clean Air, Climate and Nuclear Safety of the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee.

Subcommittee Chair Ed Markey (D-Mass.) lauded the proposals, which the EPA released on April 12.

He suggested that the new EPA standard for light-body vehicles could be expanded upon, saying that over $135 billion in spending last Congress was being used to build Americas electric vehicle future.

Strong proposed regulations are critical to driving climate progress forward, but they are more doable than ever, thanks to the billions in clean vehicle investments passed by Congress, Markey said.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) speaks during a press conference in Washington on Sept. 10, 2020. (Jemal Countess/Getty Images for Green New Deal Network)

Describing the advantages of stricter regulations, he argued that those benefits are a bonanza of benefits to our climate, to drivers, and to our health.

We need to make sure they also benefit Union-American workers, he added.

Lummis Questions Mineral Sourcing

Sens. Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) and Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) voiced skepticism regarding the EPAs vision.

Lummis asked one expert witness, Kathy Harris of the Natural Resources Defense Council, whether focusing on tailpipe emissions alone ignored greenhouse gas emissions from the rare earth mining needed to produce electric vehicle batteries.

There have been many studies that have shown that electric vehicles today, from well to wheel, are still cleaner than compared to a gasoline vehicle, Harris responded.

Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.) meets with the media in Washington on Nov. 9, 2020. (Stefani Reynolds-Pool/Getty Images)

The Wyoming senator also ran through a list of minerals used in electric vehicle batteries, pointing out that China, Indonesia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo dominate production and downstream processing.

Do any of these countries have anywhere near the stringent environmental regulations the United States has?

I cannot speak to that today, Harris said before apologizing and correcting herself: Not to my awareness.

I have a rare earth mine in my state that has been trying to open for over ten years and still doesnt have the environmental permitting to open, Lummis said.

A staffer for Lummis told The Epoch Times that the lawmaker had in mind the Rare Element Resources Bear Lodge Project.

Soil containing various rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, China, in a file photo. (STR/AFP via Getty Images)

There is no way that the standards and the materials needed to produce and manufacture in the United States can happen in ten years, and to ramp up the supply even in foreign countries that have far lower environmental standards, not to mention human labor standardsthis is not possible to do, Lummis said.

Not Even a Consideration for Trucking

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) questioned another expert witness, Andrew Boyle.

Boyle is co-president of the trucking company Boyle Transportation and first vice chairman of the American Trucking Associations, a trade group representing the trucking industry.

Boyle had earlier testified to the risks of a rapid push for electric-powered trucks because of their current technological limitations.

A clean diesel truck can spend 15 minutes fueling anywhere in the country and then have a range of about 1,200 miles before fueling again. In contrast, todays long-haul battery-electric trucks have a range of about 150 to maybe 330 miles and can take up to ten hours to charge, he said.

Cramer asked Boyle about the cost of insuring a large electric truck.

Its hard to tell because the consumer-facing EV product is so much further ahead, Boyle said.

Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.) speaks to reporters at the U.S. Capitol Building on Oct. 06, 2021. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

He told the senator about what he sees as the negative consequences of another recent EPA decisionnamely, granting California a waiver for its clean vehicle regulation, which would mandate that all drayage trucks purchased in the state be zero-emission starting in 2024. Old trucks would be grandfathered in by the California Air Resources Board (CARB).

If the power and the infrastructures not available, its not even a consideration for trucking, yet California wants to make it effective next January, thats the only choiceno diesel trucks, he said.

We have the cart before the horse right now.
Son Confronts Mother, Testifies in Doomsday Plot Murder Trial

BOISE, IdahoThe only surviving child of a woman charged in the murders of her two youngest children and a romantic rival confronted his mother about his siblings deaths in an emotional phone call played for jurors on Tuesday in a trial that has touched on claims of evil spirits, zombie children, and an additional murder charge in another state.

Prosecutors played the call shortly after Colby Ryan, Lori Vallow Daybells oldest child, took the stand in the bizarre triple murder case in Idaho. The call was made after the bodies of Ryans siblings, Joshua JJ Vallow and Tylee Ryan, were found buried in an eastern Idaho yard in 2020, and after Vallow Daybell was jailed in connection with the crime.

It starts with Ryan asking his mother if she thought she could keep hiding from him.

Im not hiding, why would you think Im hiding? Vallow Daybell responds.

Probably because you murdered my siblings! Maybe you should understand, Ryan continued, before his mother interrupted:

I didnt. Im sorry you feel that way, she said.

This courtroom sketch, from L, depicts Madison County prosecutor Rob Wood, Lori Vallow Daybell and defense attorney Jim Archibald during opening statements of Vallow Daybells murder trial in Boise, Idaho, on April 10, 2023. (Lisa C. Cheney via AP)

The call continued for several minutes, with Vallow Daybell insisting that Ryan cant know what happened because he wasnt there, but that JJ and Tylee were happy and all would become clear in the afterlife.

But Ryan said his mother lied to him multiple times while his brother and sister were missing, with someone even sending him texts from his sisters phone as if they were from Tylee.

To know that theyre gone, and you knew! And my phone is being texted by my little sister, whos not even alive! Ryan said, his voice rising. My poor brother, who is the sweetest little kid everfor what purpose? You tell me this is Gods will: For my whole family, including my stepfather, to be dead.

Prosecutors say Vallow Daybell and her fifth husband, Chad Daybell, espoused strange doomsday-focused beliefs involving demonic possession and zombies to further their alleged plan to kill the children and his previous wife Tammy Daybell. They are also accused of collecting life insurance money and nearly $6,000 a month from the childrens social security and survivor benefits due to the deaths of their fathers: Tylees father Joe Ryan died in 2018 and JJs father Charles Vallow died in 2019.

JJ was 7 years old and Tylee was a few days shy of her 17th birthday when the children were last seen alive in September of 2019, and their bodies were found buried in Chad Daybells yard the following June. Tammy Daybell died in October of 2019just two weeks before Vallow Daybell and Chad Daybell marriedand an autopsy later determined she had been asphyxiated.

Joshua JJ Vallow (L) and Tylee Ryan. (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children via AP)

Both have pleaded not guilty to murder, conspiracy and grand theft charges, and they are being tried separately. Daybells trial is still months away.

Vallow Daybell has also been charged in Arizona in connection with the the death of her fourth husband, Charles Vallow.

He was shot and killed by Vallow Daybells brother, Alex Cox, outside of his Phoenix-area home in July of 2019. Cox told police the shooting was in self defense, and was never charged in the case because he died of natural causes later that year. Vallow Daybell has not yet had the opportunity to enter a plea in the Arizona case.

Earlier in the trial, former friends of Vallow Daybell told jurors about the couples purported spiritual beliefs, which included the idea that evil spirits could take over a persons body, forcing the persons soul out and turning them into a zombie. The only way to get rid of the evil spirit was to kill the body, former friend Melanie Gibb told jurors.

Vallow Daybell called JJ and Tylee zombies several times before they died, Gibb told investigators.

The recorded phone call seemed to allude to some of Vallow Daybells beliefs, with Ryan telling his mother he was praying for her and warning her against blasphemy.

In response, Vallow Daybell laughed.

I love you, I always will. One day you will see and one day you will understand, Vallow Daybell told her son in the call, and said his dead siblings were fine.

They love me and they are fine  You can go ahead and judge me all day long, she said.

Ryan cried on the stand when prosecutors showed him photos of Tylee and JJ, and told jurors about how the text messages Tylee regularly sent him changed in tone and punctuation in the weeks after she first disappeared but before she was reported missing.

He also said Tylee was receiving social security benefits from her father Joe Ryans 2018 death and would sometimes send him money, but after Tylee went missing the funds began coming from a different account under his mothers name.

Charles Vallows death meant that JJ was also receiving Social Security benefits, a special agent with the Social Security Administration told jurors. Vallow Daybell never reported to the Social Security Administration that younger children were missing or had died, Mark Saari said, though federal rules required her to do so.

The children were receiving about $3,800 a month combined, and Vallow Daybell was also receiving roughly $1,900 a month in benefits following Charles Vallows death, Saari said.

The agency stopped all the payments in January of 2020 because the children were missing, he said.

By Rebecca Boone
Sunil Chopra at the Shen Yun Performing Arts performance at the Eventim Apollo in London, on April 18, 2023. (NTD)

LONDONThe United Kingdom has been through a long history and like China, it once was and still is a very influential country. What is different, however, is that the United Kingdom has preserved its history. Shen Yun Performing Arts is reviving the Chinese culture lost when communism took power in China.

I personally think its very good; people must be aware of the tradition of any culture all over the world, said Sunil Chopra, Mayor of the London Borough of Southwark.

Shen Yun is based in New York, and Mr. Chopra expressed his support for Shen Yuns efforts in making people, especially the younger generation, aware of what China was before communism.

If you dont show people what China was, people will not know. And the young generation will never know what the tradition of the Chinese culture is, he said.

History, Literature, and Mythology

Shen Yuns artists are trained in classical Chinese dance. With the support of Shen Yuns live orchestra, the production is able to present moving stories from Chinese history, literature, and mythology.

Very impressed. Very talented stars you got here. They are showing you history, Chinese culture, and Chinese music as well. So, on the whole, I think it is very, very impressive. I think Shen Yun is doing good work to promote Chinese culture, said Mr. Chopra.

Although Shen Yun is promoting Chinese culture, its truthful depiction of present-day China makes it difficult for Shen Yun to perform in China.

I personally think theres nothing wrong with promoting your old tradition, culture, and theres no message which destroys the image of China, shared Mr. Chopra.

Being in the audience, Mr. Chopra could see the people sitting with him and their expressions of appreciation.

You can see thousands of people here, and they all are enjoying [the performance.] This shows that people love to see these sorts of things. People love to see the tradition; people love to see the lovely costumes. And it shows people should come and see the history of different cultures and different countries, Mr. Chopra said.

Since Shen Yuns inception in 2006, it has grown from one company to eight. All the artists and the production team must work together to be able to present an all-new production each year.

Excellent. Keep on doing good work, and Ill definitely come and watch you again. And they really work hard. I must say thank you to them for the hard work and their dedication, Mr. Chopra said.

Reporting by NTD and Maria Han.

The Epoch Times is a proud sponsor of Shen Yun Performing Arts. We have covered audience reactions since Shen Yuns inception in 2006.
Supreme Court Temporarily Extends Access to Abortion Pill Mifepristone

The U.S. Supreme Court on April 19 temporarily extended an order that stays lower court rulings that would have restricted access to a popular abortion pill.

Justice Samuel Alito, a George W. Bush appointee, extended the order until 11:59 p.m. Washington time on April 21. The order had been set to expire on April 19.

Alito didnt provide a reason for the temporary extension, which keeps in place a stay on restrictions ordered by lower courts.

A district court judge ruled earlier this month that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) appeared to violate its legal duty to evaluate a drugs safety when it approved mifepristone, the abortion pill, in 2022. The judge ordered a pause on the FDAs approval.

An appeals court panel said the ruling was too broad but kept in place the part that rolled back actions the FDA took in 2016 and more recently that loosened restrictions on mifepristone, including the action that enabled dispensation by mail. The panel found the government hadnt proven the FDAs actions were not arbitrary and capricious.

That prompted the U.S. Department of Justice and Danco Laboratories, which makes the pill, to ask the nations top court to step in.

Absent an emergency stay, mifepristone wouldnt be available for some time, likely months, government lawyers and attorneys representing Danco told the court. The revision to pre-2016 standards would mean widespread changes, including alterations to product labels and promotional materials, they said.

Once the changes were made, fresh changes might be needed if certain updates to the rulings had been handed down.

The Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which brought the case, said blocking the earlier rulings would endanger women because mifepristone isnt safe, and would lead to doctors having to deal with women harmed by the drug.

Alito temporarily stayed the lower court rulings on April 14. He entered the stay and the extension because he oversees the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Each justice handles emergency requests from one or more appeals courts.

Alito can ultimately decide whether to reject or approve the applications for an emergency stay or refer them to the full court. If he does the latter, at least five justices would need to approve an application.

Some lawmakers and abortion advocates have proposed ignoring any court orders restricting access to mifepristone, while others have said orders should be followed.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert Califf told senators on Capitol Hill on April 19 that the agency intends to comply with any court orders.

Flurry of Filings

Since Alitos stay, multiple filings have urged the high court to side with one party or another.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other public health groups, for instance, say that mifepristone has been thoroughly studied and is safe, and limiting access would harm pregnant patients and have severe negative impacts on the broader health care system.

A group of former FDA officials also supported the government and Danco, arguing that the earlier rulings set the country on a dangerous path back to the piecemeal regulatory scheme that Congress rejected in 1938, when Congress decided that the best way to protect the public health and promote access to safe and effective medication was to rely on an expert agency to regulate and approve drugs.

Courts lack the expertise to step into FDAs shoes by second-guessing FDAs experts on the safety and efficacy of drugs, they said.

Assuming that role would require inexpert judges to learn how to do what FDAs expert pharmacologists, toxicologists, chemists, epidemiologists, physicians, and data scientists have spent lifetimes training to do. Getting it wrong can lead to catastrophic consequencesmeasured not in dollars, but in human lives and deprive patients of life-saving medication they depend upon.

Mississippi and some other states, on the other hand, noted that the FDA has acknowledged there are adverse events associated with mifepristone, including severe bleeding requiring surgery, when the agency required that the drug be provided by or under the supervision of a physician.

The more recent allowance of dispensation by mail disregards the protections for life, health, and safety adopted by numerous States elected representatives, and is an overreach of the agencys authority, the states said.

The pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute also urged the court to keep the other rulings intact, arguing that allowing women to get the drug without visiting a doctor in person is dangerous.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and 252 other members of Congress urged the court to block the lower court rulings while Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and 146 other members said the court shouldnt block the earlier rulings.
Suspect in Over 30 Gas Station Store Robberies Facing Federal Charges

SANTA ANA, Calif.A detention hearing is scheduled for April 20 in Santa Ana federal court for a 23-year-old man accused of committing 31 robberies or attempted robberies in Los Angeles and Orange counties in a 3 1/2-week period.

Namir Malik Ali Greene was arrested April 17 following a chase that began in Ontario, according to Ciaran McEvoy, the public information officer for the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Central District of California.

Greene made a brief appearance in Santa Ana federal court Tuesday and was ordered held in federal custody until the detention hearing, McEvoy said.

Greene is charged with violating the Hobbs Actinterference with commerce by robbery. If convicted, he would face a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison, McEvoy said.

According to the complaint filed Tuesday, Greene committed 31 robberies or attempted robberies of gas stations and convenience stores and at least two carjackings from March 21 through Saturday. During the robberies, Greene brandished a gun at the station and store employees, threatening to shoot them if they did not retrieve money for him from the cash register.

The complaint states that on April 4, Greene stole at least $2,554 from eight gas station stores in Hermosa Beach, Marina del Rey, Long Beach, Pico Rivera, Whittier, Montebello, Santa Monica, and Los Angeles Mid-City neighborhood and attempted to rob one more.

Greene stole at least $15,360 in cash during his robbery spree which primarily targeted stores in Los Angeles County, according to the complaint. He also carjacked a driver at a Fullerton gas station on March 21 and robbed an Anaheim gas station Saturday, approximately 90 minutes after carjacking a Honda Accord in Los Angeles which was used as his robbery getaway car, McEvoy said.

Police located the stolen Honda Accord in Ontario Monday and initiated a traffic stop. Greene instead tried to escape and a pursuit ensued, with Greene eventually losing control of the car, colliding with a curb, and disabling the vehicle, according to the affidavit. Greene ran from the disabled Honda Accord and was apprehended shortly afterward by law enforcement, who took him into custody.

Greene was identified from security camera footage, eyewitness testimony, his tattoos, his jewelry, and photographs in his Instagram account, according to the affidavit.

The robberies were investigated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Orange County Violent Crime Task Force, with assistance from the Los Angeles Police Departments Robbery Homicide Division, and Ontario Police Department, McEvoy said.
The Dirty Little Secret

Commentary

Its long been the practice of our conservative media to blame the corrupt, woke, criminal coddling governments in our cities on the Democratic Party. This allows the conservative establishment to flatter the voting public as a source of wisdom while fobbing off its disastrous stupidity on some external force.

Thus, it was allegedly not the voters who elevated the anti-police wokester Brandon Johnson to the mayoralty in Chicago or who allowed the floundering tool of the public sector unions Kathy Hochul to win the governorship in New York State. These mishaps occurred because of the Dems, who are always plotting behind our backs with the surveillance state and their media lapdogs.

This goes on quite independently of the people, who presumably had nothing to do with Lee Zeldins defeat. The American people are also supposedly solidly behind their tribune Donald J. Trump, although a sizable relative majority, according to the latest Ipsos poll, would prefer Joe Biden to remain in office rather support his predecessor.

Roger Kimball, commenting on a relevant article by Jacob Siegel, makes the following observation:

Americans didnt choose to give up their liberties and Constitutional rights.

The choice was made for them.

As Siegel writes, Americans are no longer presumed to have the right to choose their own leaders or to question decisions made in the name of national security. Anyone who says otherwise can be labeled a domestic extremist.'

The last time I checked, tens of millions of Americans did choose the government under which they live. They arent the entirely helpless victims of a derailed constitutional government, which is rapidly turning totalitarian. They had made their choice to escape from freedom, if I may quote the title of a famous anti-Nazi work by a member of the Frankfurt School.

Having just come from a family reunion, I listened to my own relatives, with advanced degrees, explaining how Biden has saved us from a Christian theocracy. I patiently listened to repetitions of alarmed reports about the gun danger courtesy of NPR, which is certainly not lacking listeners. One might hope that educated people with high native intelligence would know better than to repeat the latest propaganda emanating from state radio.

Whatever we may think about the behavior of our Deep State and our less-than-unbiased media, they are certainly not operating without popular support. And lets not understate the extent of this aid. We know that at the height of the Depression, the Nazi Party brought their share of the German vote up to about one-third, although that total came down considerably by the end of 1932. (That, mind you, was before the viciousness of the Nazis was fully evident.)

A higher percentage of the American electorate is now voting for a rogue government that Kimball and Siegel rightly criticize. This concerns me at least as much as what this administration and its enablers are doing. As hard as this may be for some on the right to grasp, the Deep State and fake media have loads of public support. In Canada and Europe, woke regimes that imposed lockdowns and woke instruction on their citizens were rewarded with electoral victories. We may therefore conclude that voters in what call themselves democracies have an eroded appetite for freedom. On the basis of their votes, we may also conclude that they are happy to have the state control their lives and reconstruct their social relations.

Please note that Im not saying that Kimball and Siegel are wrong about the malevolence they attribute to the present political order. They just leave out of their picture the popular acceptance that has aided the destruction of constitutional government in this country. Even if our elections are run with some deceit and even if the media distort reality, it seems that Alvin Bragg, Kim Foxx, Larry Krasner, and other woke district attorneys won their contests without breaking a sweat. Bragg won his race in the Democratic primary in 2021 against an equally progressive opponent, and quite often those we consider unfit for public office win against equally unfit opponents.

But most of those who live under this failed justice system are far from the hapless victims of a totalitarian society. Theyre fully complicit in their fate.

I fully understand that those who want to change this situation may regard it as unwise to depict voters as implicated in the misdeeds of their rulers. This may fit a certain misguided populist notion, one in which the people are always good, while political elites are held responsible for running things down. Although I, too, would like to see the populace rise up against an evil, inept governing class, its ridiculous to pretend the electorate has no part in giving credibility to those who misrule us.

Without continuing popular affirmation here and elsewhere in the Western world, the surveillance state would have been driven from power, before producing all the mischief that Siegel and Kimball quite properly lament.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
The House GOP Effort to DefundNot Police, but Wokeness

Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.) speaks at a press conference following a Republican caucus meeting at the U.S. Capitol, in Washington, on June 8, 2022. (Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

News Analysis

Through executive orders and budget requests, the Biden administration has sought to embed diversity, equity, and inclusion principles across the entirety of the federal governmentand in turn to touch the lives of every American. Now members of the Republican House majority, who see this whole-of-government effort as a woke assault on America and its core values, are working to combat it using the power of the purse.

In a series of letters to House appropriations leaders, Rep. Jim Banks and like-minded colleagues have identified and called for the defunding of all woke programs and initiatives that are rooted in discrimination and promote far-left ideology in the federal government in 2024 spending bills.

The letters, obtained exclusively by RealClearInvestigations (RCI), are a product of Banks Anti-Woke Caucus, a 26-member group of House Republicans launched by the former chair of the Republican Study Committee earlier this year, and notably counting among its members Rep. Elise Stefanik, chair of the House Republican Conference, members of the House Freedom Caucus, and others.

Banks and caucus members delivered the letters to the chairmen and ranking members of each of the 12 House Appropriations Committee subcommittees in late March following the release of President Bidens $6.8 trillion 2024 budget request.

Each letter flags examples of woke offices or policies to which Congress allocated funding in relevant 2023 spending bills, and the associated dollars, and calls for those and all programs that discriminate based on race, gender, and sexual orientation or seek to disparage our nations core ideals and history [to] be decreased to $0 in the 2024 versions of the bills.

A narrow reading of the line items characterized as woke in the letterswhich represent only a partial accounting of such programs and initiativesshows that such programs totaled over $900 million in 2023.

Some of the 2023 programs the Republican members seek to zero out in 2024 include:

 The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Acts more than $200 million in spending on programs aimed at increasing race-based hiring and recruitment in STEM.

 The State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Acts $200 million for the Gender Equity and Equality Action Fund.

 The Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies Appropriations Acts $108 million for environmental justice activities.

The $900 million outlay excludes broader items highlighted in the letters, like the $3.5 billion earmarked for energy efficiency and renewable energy in the 2023 Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act. Given that the letters represent only a partial accounting of such programs, the vagueness of budget language, and the discretion with which federal agencies can act, tax dollars advancing such efforts may well substantially dwarf these figures.

The letters also target language in the 2023 versions of:

 The Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, claiming that white supremacists and violent anti-government domestic extremists are infiltrating security and law-enforcement agencies.

 The Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act, directing Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to detain transgender illegal aliens at facilities only with staff who have received LGBTI Sensitivity and Awareness Training, and medical personnel with experience delivering hormone therapies.

 The Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, requesting that the Department of Energy consider social equity and environmental and energy justice in state and community energy programs.

We believe that the House Republican majority has a responsibility to use its spending powers to ensure that we do not contribute further funding to anti-American and divisive initiatives, the signatories to each letter wrote.

Tough Odds

They face tough odds given Democratic control of the Presidency and Senate and the persistence of budgetary gridlock in Congress. Though the House has primary power under the Constitution to tax and spend, only three times in the last 47 years has Congress completed a budget in advance of the subsequent fiscal year, which begins October 1often relying instead on continuing resolutions that temporarily fund the government at existing levels. This year spending disagreements extend to negotiations to avert a U.S. debt default by relaxing the limit on federal borrowing, a ceiling some expect the government to reach this summer; in those talks, the Biden administration has refused to contemplate any cuts at all.

Should Congress pass and President Biden ultimately compromise on a budget that does not wholly comport with his progressive priorities, his administration could be expected to circumvent the anti-woke constraints. In a recent precedent, President Trump declared a national emergency to justify redirecting funding to build a southern border wall that Congress had not so allocated. The courts ultimately blessed that effort. But in his first day in office, President Biden froze it.

When asked about chances of GOP success in the present effort, Rep. Banks told RCI that:

This needs to be the Republican majority that says enough is enough. Speaker Pelosi famously said show me your budget and Ill tell you your values. This appropriations cycle, Republicans need to show that we value liberty, patriotism, and legal equality and that we reject dividing Americans based on race, anti-Americanism, radical gender ideology, and climate hysteria.

Even if the defunding effort fails, the Banks-led coalition may see a political benefit to pursuing it: pushing Democrats in the 2024 election cycle to stake out positions on more deeply ideologicaland presumably less broadly popularprograms.

RCI asked ranking Democrats on several of the appropriations subcommittees for comment on the Banks letters, and had not received any responses at the time of publication.

The House Anti-Woke Caucus members budget requests represent its most extensive legislative effort to date.

In March, the caucus reportedly held its inaugural dinner and endorsed its first piece of legislation, the Fairness, Anti-Discrimination, and Individual Rights (FAIR) Act. Sponsored by Anti-Woke Caucus member Tom Tiffany, a Republican from Wisconsin, the bill would bar any federal agency, contractor, state, or private entity that receives federal funding from discriminating against or granting preferential treatment on the basis of race, color, or national origin.

Banks announced he would be establishing the Anti-Woke Caucus in January, pledging to fight institutionalized wokenessan announcement that came just days before he would declare his candidacy for an open U.S. Senate seat in Indiana in 2024.

In an interview for RealClearPolitics in February, the Indiana congressman indicated that the caucus had three missionsthe first two to which the appropriations subcommittee letters seem to aim: To Identify Wokeism, defund it and uproot it, and then hold those accountable for it.

Banks added that wokeism is a cancer thats going to eat our country inside out and kill us if we dont do something about it.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Top Biden Administration Official Violated Federal Law: Special Counsel

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, next to the White House, in Washington, on Aug. 3, 2022. (Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

A member of President Joe Bidens Cabinet violated a federal law when he endorsed Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), according to a new watchdog report.

Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, formerly Californias attorney general, violated a law called the Hatch Act on Sept. 15, 2022, the Office of Special Counsel stated on April 18.

Becerra, appointed by Biden, was speaking in his official capacity at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Annual Awards Gala when he expressed support for Padillas reelection bid, according to the watchdog.

The Hatch Act bars individuals in executive agencies from using their official authority or influence for the purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election.

Becerra was clearly acting in his official capacity when he attended the gala, the special counsel said. Evidence includes his prepared remarks being reviewed by an attorney in the Department of Health and Human Services Ethics Division, his being introduced with his official title, and his discussing in his speech the work of the Biden administration.

Because he was acting in his official capacity at the event, the Hatch Act prohibited Secretary Becerra from promoting or opposing candidates for partisan political office, like Senator Padilla, the watchdog stated.

But Becerra not only said he was proud to have Padilla representing him as a California resident, but also said he would be voting for Padilla in the then-upcoming election.

Should Have Known

Becerra should have known that what he did was prohibited because he has undergone comprehensive training on the Hatch Act, including viewing a presentation from White House lawyers just three months before the gala, the Office of Special Counsel stated.

The materials in the training included the statement that political remarks must be distinct from official remarks.

Attendees were warned that they may not encourage support for a candidate for a candidate or remind attendees to vote for a particular candidate or group in an election or discuss candidates, elections, or partisan groups.

Becerra could have also accessed information about the Hatch Act before the gala, the watchdog stated.

His statement was so obviously concerning that a member of his own staff, present at the Gala, gasped and said, No, no, you cant say that immediately after hearing it, it stated.

Off-the-Cuff

Becerra told investigators that his comments about Padilla were off-the-cuff and not planned.

Becerra also said he has a longstanding personal relationship with Padilla, who was appointed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to fill a vacancy that arose when Kamala Harris left the Senate to become vice president.

I certainly am proud of Alex Padilla and his accomplishments and said so from the perspective of someone who has witnessed many of his achievements, Becerra was quoted as telling investigators.

With regard to his saying he would be voting for Padilla, he said, I dont believe I thought of that as conveying anything more than what I as a responsible citizen would be doing in the near future.

Because of the training he underwent, Becerras explanations do not serve to mitigate the issuance of this Report to the President, the Office of Special Counsel stated.

I did not intend to use my official authority or influence for purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election, and I regret this inadvertent violation, Becerra said in response to the report.

While I did not realize at the time that my off-the-cuff remarks concerning my personal voting intentions were in violation of the Hatch Act, I now understand why they were not permitted, he added. I have received additional counseling on the Hatch Act from the Departments Ethics Division, and I will work hard to ensure that there are no future violations.

Other Biden administration officials have violated the same law, including Housing Secretary Marcia Fudge, the special counsel has found previously. Several Trump administration officials were also found in violation, including former White House adviser Kellyanne Conway.
Town of Wallkill Supervisor George Serrano Announces Reelection Bid

Wallkill Supervisor George Serrano announced his reelection campaign in Middletown, N.Y., on April 17, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Town of Wallkill Republican Supervisor George Serrano announced his reelection bid on April 17.

Surrounded by supporters at a campaign kickoff, Serrano highlighted his work in the past 16 months and looked forward to campaigning for another two-year term.

He said he was honored to host the towns 250th anniversary and be part of the years-long celebration with memorable events and activities in 2022.

It was inspiring to be among the pillars of the community who have shaped and helped this town over the years, Serrano said.

He also made it a practice to recognize community members at the monthly town hall meetings, including small businesses, community leaders, volunteers, working families, and students.

My team and I will continue to recognize and acknowledge those in our community who go above and beyond to unselfishly contribute to a better Wallkill, he said.

Striving for a more inclusive community, he hosted the towns first Kwanzaa celebration last year.

Kwanzaa is an annual celebration of African American culture from Dec. 26 to Jan. 1.

The government center of the Town of Wallkill, N.Y., on Dec. 27, 2022. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Serrano also highlighted state funding secured during his term, including a grant of $175,000 to complete the towns Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.

The grant was awarded in October 2022 with the help of New York state Assemblywoman Aileen Gunther and state Sen. James Skoufis.

He cited new town projects such as pickleball courts, more accessible playgrounds, and a communication system to notify residents of emergencies and news.

While touting the growing tourism, Serrano noted his efforts to check unsustainable growth.

In November 2022, the town board approved a six-month moratorium on warehouses to make time for a whole-picture analysis of the zoning map.

Another program aimed at preserving irreplaceable land resources is also in planning, he said.

[Wallkill] is not only a place where I have raised my kids and reside with my family and call home, but it is a historic and vibrant community in which we can discover, work, explore, play, shop, relax, travel, and retire, Serrano said.

Campaign literature at Wallkill Supervisor George Serranos reelection campaign kickoff in Middletown, N.Y., on April 17, 2023. (Cara Ding/The Epoch Times)

Orange County Sheriff Paul Arteta, county legislators Robert Sassi and Janet Sutherland, and Town of Crawford Supervisor Charles Carnes attended the campaign kickoff and pledged support for Serrano.

Born and raised in the Bronx, Serrano worked as a police officer and detective in White Plains for more than 25 years before being elected Wallkill supervisor in 2021.

Since he came on board, the police department has added two budgeted positions, hired seven new officers, and restarted the police academy, according to a previous interview with The Epoch Times.

In 2022, the town saw a historic number of homicidesfourbut all cases were solved within months.

Aside from public safety, town finances were central to the most recent election.

Former Supervisor Frank DenDanto initiated an audit of town finances in 2021, which was the foundation for Serranos later improvements to town financial practices.

The New York State Comptrollers Office is also expected to issue a report about an aspect of town financial practices later this year.

If something has been done incorrectly, tell me what I can do better to help the town move forward because it is taxpayers money, not my money, Serrano said in a previous interview with The Epoch Times.
UNITED NATIONS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations has officially expressed to the United States the world body's concern over reported surveillance on UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, a UN spokesman said on Tuesday.

"UN officially expressed to the host country its concern regarding recent reports that the communications of the secretary-general and other senior UN officials have been the subject of surveillance and interference by the U.S. government," said Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for Guterres.

"The UN has made it clear that such actions are inconsistent with the obligations of the United States of America enumerated in the UN Charter and the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations," he added.

The Washington Post on Monday reported that according to four classified reports obtained by the newspaper, the United States eavesdropped and gathered intelligence on Guterres.

The documents, two of which haven't been previously reported, summarize intercepted conversations that shed new light on the UN chief's interactions with top UN officials and world leaders, the newspaper reported. 
Treasury Board President Says Plan Coming to Improve Access to Information Act

President of the Treasury Board Mona Fortier speaks in the foyer of the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Dec. 15, 2022. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)

Treasury Board President Mona Fortier said Tuesday she will share a plan in the coming months for improving the Access to Information Act and how it is managed.

My current priority is to improve administration of the existing law. We strengthened the act less than four years ago, Fortier told the Standing Committee on Access to Information, Privacy and Ethics.

We have a lot of work to do to address the underlying systemic issues. And we will continue to take action to do just that.

Canadas Access to Information Act allows for people to request a range of federal documents, such as internal emails, invoices, and briefing notes, for a $5 fee. Federal agencies are supposed to respond within 30 days or provide justifications for why more time is needed to do so.

Fortier said Canadas Open Government portal contains approximately 37,000 records and 2 million proactive disclosures, with the Global Data Barometer ranking Canada seventh in the world for open data.

The Treasury Board president added that 70.7 percent of requests were completed within the timeframe of law in 2021 and 2022. Im not the first to say that this compliance rate is not good enough, she said.

Fortier said the objectives of the work being done are to improve service delivery, strengthen staff to better meet the needs of Indigenous populations, and continue to develop actions such as declassification. She added that recent initiatives have been undertaken to make the process of submitting and receiving requests more efficient and to address staffing challenges.

As soon as I am able to share more information about our action plan, I will be happy to come back to you, Forter said.

Conservative MP Says Access to Information Request System Is Failing

Conservative MP Damien Kurek told Fortier that every witness that appeared before the committee said Canadas Access to Information system did not meet appropriate standards. Its been eight years, and along with your predecessors in this portfolio, Canadas Access to Information system is struggling, its failing, and its causing a loss of confidence in our democratic institutions.

Kurek also referenced testimony from a previous Access to Information officer, who said the Liberal government removed some key performance metrics, which caused chaos and confusion in the system. Fortier responded that while most requests were being handled within the required timeframe, there was still a lot of work to do to make sure that we increase the numbers that we receive.

And everyone knows that we have received an increased amount of requests and are trying to deal with the backlog, Fortier added.

Fortier did not answer Kureks question on how many staff are working on Access to Information Requests, but said they are working very hard to train staff. She said there is also a pool of 150 potential candidates that could come and work with us, to make sure that theyre ready to confront the load that we have currently.

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.
Two-Thirds of Californians Want to Know Whos Funding Environmental Lawsuits

Commentary

I was recently introduced to California 100 by Sal Rodriguez, the opinion editor for the Southern California News Group, which includes the Orange County Register. Its a think tank of sorts and provides the following to describe itself:

California 100 is a transformative statewide initiative focused on inspiring a vision and strategy for Californias next century that is innovative, sustainable, and equitable. The initiative is incubated at the University of California and Stanford, and is guided by an expert and intergenerational Commission.

Last week it provided the results of a poll that addressed a number of key issues facing Californians.

One question and its responses stood out and is worth a little commentary from this former State Senator.

(Screenshot via California 100)

The poll asked if California should require plaintiffs and defendants in California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) lawsuits to identify every person or entity who contributes $1,000 or more to either the plaintiff or the defendant in the lawsuit.

Six out of ten responded in favor of requiring disclosure of the plaintiffs filing lawsuits against housing developers in order to find out who is suing them. After fully appreciating the fact that businesses attempting to build apartments or similar housing stock are sued by parties who are unnamed, usually hiding behind pseudonyms, like Neighbors for Good Development or some other trite phrase, two-thirds responded in favor of such a change. The defendant usually finds out who filed the lawsuit at the conclusion of the case.

CEQA is defined as a statute that requires state and local agencies to identify the significant environmental impacts of their actions and to avoid or mitigate those impacts, if feasible. Governor Reagan signed the law with the intention of only considering the environmental impacts of large, government projects, not housing. Regretfully, after decades of litigation, CEQA has made building new housing extremely difficult and has added to its costs.

I was recently with a friend who was involved in the building of an apartment complex. The project was delayed because they were sued under CEQA by a front group for industry unions who found that holding up projects is an effective way to pressure builders into hiring the very few construction contractors that are still union shops. Its a form of greenmail and adds to the overall cost of the construction. Using CEQA to extort investors in addressing one of the most critical needs in California, more housing, is not only legal, but condoned by the Democrats in Sacramento.

The joys of having been a State Senator was trying to put an end to this nonsense. In 2016, I submitted Senate Bill 1248, titled Environmental quality: judicial challenge: identification of contributors. It addressed the anonymity of CEQA lawsuit abusers and required that transparency and knowing ones accusers must be provided for the defendants.

My bill was referred to the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality and heard on April 10, 2016. After making the presentation, the two Republicans on the Committee, former Senators Pat Bates and Ted Gaines, voted in favor. The five Democrats, former Senators Hill, Jackson, Leno, and Pavley, along with the Chair, current State Senator Wieckowski, voted in opposition.

Why would they oppose good government and transparency? Because private sector unions and extreme environmental groups also have their claws into Democratic legislators.

The consultant for the committee provided the following conclusion for the Committee report:

Questions arise as to whether this bill infringes on a persons fundamental right of freedom of association, whether focusing on who is suing takes away from enforcement efforts to comply with the law, and how prevalent CEQA litigation actually is. Considering the issues raised above, the Committee may wish to consider the need for this bill.

No wonder there is a housing shortage, and you dont have to look far for whom to blame.

Trying to improve upon CEQA has been touted by Governors Brown and Newsom, to no avail. In 2019, Senator Caballero tried to expedite these nuisance lawsuits for certain government projects with Senate Bill 25 (California Environmental Quality Act: projects funded by qualified opportunity zone funds or other public funds). When it went before the Senate Environmental Quality Committee, Senator Wieckowski was back with one of the two votes in opposition. He also opposed it in the Senate Judiciary Committee, with Senator Jackson not voting (equivalent to a no vote).

It passed on the Senate Floor with 28 votes, exposing the divide within the Senate Democrats over this critical issue. It would face minor turbulence in the Assembly and be withdrawn by the author after successfully passing the first Committee hearing.

Its great to see California 100 including this necessary reform in its discussions to make the Golden States future sustainable. And with two-thirds support for a simple CEQA change, it should be worthy of another legislative attempt. But with the current supermajority in Sacramento, the potential author of the bill will either look like Don Quixote or the kind of independent leader our State Capitol desperately needs. Get this bill on the Governors desk, and if Newsom is serious, we may see a necessary reform in addressing the real systemic problem that created Californias housing shortage in the first place.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
UK Urged to Shut Chinese Police Outposts Following Report of Conservative Party Connection

The UK government was urged on April 19 to shut Chinese police outposts in the country after it was reported that one of the stations hosts has been linked to two former Conservative prime ministers.

Earlier this week, the FBI arrested two people in connection with a similar outpost in New York.

Responding to questioning by members of Parliament, Policing Minister Chris Philp said that UK police are still investigating the matter and all political parties should be alert about hostile state infiltrations.

All Eat App, a food delivery platform registered in Croydon in east London, is at one of the addresses in the UK that were listed as Chinese overseas police service stations.

Research by human rights NGO Safeguard Defenders (pdf) has identified 102 of such unofficial police outposts across 53 countries. Chinese officials have claimed the stations are set up to help overseas Chinese renew their documents, but Safeguard Defenders found evidence that some of the stations had been involved in the repatriation of alleged criminals outside of normal channels.

Alleged UFWD and Tory Links

According to The Times of London, Lin Ruiyou, director of All Eat App and UK Fujianese association, has attended conferences and political events in China that are connected to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)s United Front Work Department (UFWD).

The report also said he was appointed the vice chairman of Cities of London and Westminster Conservative Association (CLWCA) Chinese Group in 2019.

According to the paper, the CLWCA hosts annual dinners for Chinese diplomats including the ambassador and senior British politicians, raising thousands of pounds for the local Conservative party.

The Times published two photos, in one of which Lin posed with then-Prime Minister Theresa May and another he posed with then-Prime Minister Boris Johnson.

Given the nature of these allegations, last year we immediately reported the matter to the security services, a spokesman for CLWCA said in a statement. Mr. Lin is no longer a member of CLWCA.

In an interview with YesTV Daily published in November 2022, Lin denied working for the Chinese regime, police, or the CCP, saying he was volunteering to help Chinese expats renew drivers licenses during the COVID-19 pandemic when travel was severely restricted.

The 41-year-old Chinese-born British citizen also denied working for UFWD, arguing that dining and taking photos with friends who work for the Chinese regime doesnt mean he works for the UFWD.

He acknowledged having been in photos with British politicians, but rejected trying to influence British politics.

Police Investigation Ongoing

Safeguard Defenders has identified two service stations in London and Glasgow, in addition to All Eat App. The phone number for the Glasgow station is coupled with an address belonging to a Chinese restaurant while the other London station shared an address with a Hendon estate agent.

The Metropolitan Police and Police Scotland confirmed last year that they were looking into the matter.

There is a live investigation by the law enforcement community into this matter, said Philp, who declined to comment when asked about accusations against Lin.

Standing in for Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who was on a trip in Northern Ireland, Philp said the Times report is of great concern.

Commenting on concern that the police outposts could be used to intimidate dissidents, the minister said the protection of people in the UK is of the utmost importance.

Any attempt to coerce, intimidate, or illegally repatriate any individual will not be tolerated, he said.

This egregious activity is part of a wider trend of authoritarian governments, not just China, but others as well, perpetrating transnational repression in an effort to silence their critics overseas, undermine democracy and the rule of law and further their own narrow geopolitical interests.

The minister said the UK takes a proactive approach in protecting those who are identified to be at heightened risk.

Labours shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper questioned the extent of Lins involvement with the Conservative Party and government ministers.

In response, Philp said, All political parties need to be alert to the danger that representatives of hostile states seek to infiltrate or influence their activities.

Former Conservative Party leader Iain Duncan Smith urged the government shut down the stations.

We know that they are bringing Chinese dissidents in. They are confronting them with videos of their families, threatening their families in front of them if they dont cooperate and leave and go back to China. We know that. The security services have warned the government about that. The question really here today is why in heavens name havent we acted alongside the Americans, even the Dutch, and shut these stations down and kick those people out of the country? he said.

Philp said the activity Duncan Smith described is unacceptable and must and will be stopped, and Tugendhat will provide an update as soon as he can.

He also appeared to suggest the stations are no longer in operation after Foreign Affairs Committee chair Alicia Kearns said four illegal police stations are known to be operating in the UK, including one in Belfast.

She asserted in her question that these locations were still operating. She is making, if I may say, an assumption in making that assertion, not an assumption Im going to comment on because it is a matter of a live investigation, Philp said.

Last year, the Irish and Dutch governments ordered the closure of the stations in their countries.

The FBI on April 17 arrested two people on charges of operating a secret police station in New York City on behalf of Chinas regime. Prosecutors said the pair conspired to work as CCP agents and took the regimes orders to track down and silence Chinese dissidents living in the United States.
US Appeals Court Denies Emergency Request to Block Assault Weapons Ban

A California-legal AR-15 style rifle is displayed for sale at the Crossroads of the West Gun Show at the Orange County Fairgrounds in Costa Mesa, Calif., on June 5, 2021. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

A federal appeals court ruled to keep an Illinois state-wide assault weapons ban intact by denying a business owner who said the ban violates the U.S. Constitutions 2nd Amendment.

The Chicago-based Seventh U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday denied a request (pdf) for an emergency injunction by Robert Bevis, a gun store owner in Naperville, to block the ban while it considers his case. He is appealing an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Virginia Kendall issued (pdf) earlier this year.

Bevis filed a petition for the emergency injunction in March and asked the 7th Circuit to block the ban for himself and others who might be impacted by the law, signed by Democrat Gov. J.B. Pritzker earlier this year. The bill banned a number of weapons and magazines that hold more than 10 rounds, while requiring that anyone who owns such a gun register it with the Illinois State Police.

The legislation to ban such weapons was introduced in January, coming months after a shooting at a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park that left seven dead and dozens more injured. No motive was established by law enforcement in the mass shooting, and police later arrested a suspect in the case, Robert Eugene Crimo III.

Beviss lawyers have wrote that his business, Law Weapons & Supply, had suffered because of the ban. His store also may have to close down due to the new law, they wrote.

The challenged laws ban arms commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes. Hellers central holding is that a categorical ban on arms held by law-abiding citizens is unconstitutional, his lawyers wrote to the appeals court last month, referring to the Supreme Courts 2008 ruling on District of Columbia v. Heller in which the high court found that a District of Columbia law regulating gun ownership to be unconstitutional.

Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker gives a COVID-19 update in the Blue Room at the Thompson Center in Chicago on Feb. 9, 2022. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP)

They added: One would suppose that the district court would apply the Heller test or, failing that, at least explain why it believed the test is not applicable. The district court did neither. It erred when it simply ignored Hellers central holding. Nowhere in its opinion does it apply, or even acknowledge, Hellers holding in this regard. It further contended that Beviss constitutional rights were violated.

It came after Kendall ruled that Bevis and others suffer a minimal financial burden and loss of access to effective firearms with the bank. On the other side, Illinois and Naperville compellingly argue their laws protect public safety by removing particularly dangerous weapons from circulation. The protection of public safety is also unmistakably a public interest, one both laws further, she added.

Kendall further argued that because assault weapons are particularly dangerous weapons  their regulation accords with history and tradition. But such weapons, Beviss lawyers argued in their petition to the 7th Circuit, are commonly possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, and therefore cannot be banned because they are not unusual.

In explaining why he wanted to sue, Bevis told a local media outlet that he believes the ban violates Americans 2nd Amendment right to keep and bear firearms.

I wake up one morning, I come into work and find out that they are going to ban assault weapons the following week, Bevis told a local NBC affiliate earlier in 2023. Its unconstitutional. Our Second Amendment provides us a right to keep and bear arms, and this is taking away, Bevis said.

His challenge is one of many that seek to overturn the statewide law.

We are doing this to help the whole state of Illinois. We are doing this to try to defend our rights, Bevis said.

According to an FAQ of the law, No, Illinois residents cannot purchase an AR 15 or assault weapon beginning January 11, 2023 unless subject to one of the narrow exemptions. And the FAQ says the law bans a magazine, belt, drum, feed strip, or similar device that has a capacity of, or that can be readily restored or converted to accept, more than 10 rounds of ammunition for long guns and more than 15 rounds of ammunition for handguns; or any combination of parts from which a device described can be assembled.
US Government Watchdog Blames Both Biden, Trump for Afghanistan Collapse

Taliban extremists stand guard at the site of an explosion, near the Interior Ministry, in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Jan. 1, 2023. (Ebrahim Noroozi/AP Photo)

A U.S. watchdog says the Trump and Biden administrations are to blame for the collapse of Afghanistans government due to the U.S. withdrawal from the country in 2021.

Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko testified to the House Oversight Committee (pdf) on April 19, identifying five factors behind the collapse.

One of them was that the Afghan government believed the United States would stay.

Despite many official pronouncements throughout the Bush, Obama, and Trump administrations about the U.S. desire to exit Afghanistan, contradictory messaging by U.S. officials failed to convey the seriousness of U.S. intentions, Sopko wrote.

Inconsistent U.S. policy statements amplified the confusion.

Sopko cited the Trump administrations 2020 deal with the Taliban, which had a conditions-based agreement to withdraw U.S. forces from Afghanistan, and a joint U.S.Afghan government declaration reaffirming their commitment to militarily combat terrorism.

Both the language of the U.S.Taliban agreement and statements by senior U.S. officials left open the possibility that the United States would not leave Afghanistan until all the agreements conditions were met, he wrote.

Sopko said that Bidens April 14, 2021, withdrawal announcement should have put an end to that speculation. However, he said, It is unclear whether the Afghan government, and particularly President [Ashraf] Ghani, fully grasped its meaning.

He also noted that Afghans security forces were ill-prepared to fight the Taliban.

The second factor he identified is the United States leaving out the Afghan government and instead just negotiating with the Taliban.

The agreement likely led Taliban leaders to seek a resolution with the Afghan government on the battlefield rather than through peace talks, he wrote.

Sopkos third factor is the Afghan governments wanting the Taliban to be integrated under the umbrella of the Republic.

He wrote: A senior member of the Afghan negotiating team, Fatima Gailani, told SIGAR that President Ghani was convinced that President [Joe] Biden would win the 2020 election, and would start negotiations over again from scratch. Accordingly, he refused to relinquish power until the last possible moment.

Ghani fled Afghanistan on Aug. 15, 2021.

The fourth factor Sopko noted is that the Taliban was unwilling to budge.

The U.S. promise to withdraw its military forces and the Talibans subsequent successes on the battlefield made the Taliban unwilling to negotiate or compromise, he wrote.

Moreover, the U.S.Taliban agreement and the subsequent April withdrawal announcement gave the Taliban its core demand: the complete withdrawal of U.S. and coalition troops, as well as contractors. From that point onward, the insurgency increasingly focused on defeating the Afghan government on the battlefield.

By April 2021, a U.S. intelligence community assessment concluded that the Taliban is confident it can achieve military victory. Over the next 2 months, the Talibans offensive accelerated as the insurgency rapidly gained control of half of Afghanistans 419 districts. On August 15, 2021, Kabul fell.

The final factor is that Ghani relied on only a handful of advisers as opposed to working with the entire Afghan government.

In addition to the collapse of the Afghan government, another failure of the Biden administration has been the slow processing of Afghans who helped the United States and its allies during that almost-20-year war by giving them special immigrant visas (SIV), according to the watchdog.

In its report, released on April 19, the SIGARs office wrote, The U.S. promised to resettle its allies in safety, but the United States is failing.

According to the report, as of late September 2022, the United States had only issued visas to approximately 20 percent of SIV applicants, and according to one estimate, at the current pace, it will take 31 years to relocate and resettle all SIV applicants.

The Department of Defenses Robert Storch, the State Departments Diana Shaw, and the U.S. Agency for International Developments Nicole L. Angarellaall watchdogs from relevant departmentsalso spoke at the hearing.
US Military Failed in Training, Advising, Equipping Afghan Forces: Pentagon Watchdog

Members of the Taliban wait to enter the former U.S. military base to celebrate the first anniversary of the withdrawal of U.S.-led troops from Afghanistan, in Bagram, Afghanistan, on Aug. 31, 2022. (Ahmad Sahel Arman/AFP via Getty Images)

The U.S. military failed to properly train, advise, assist, and equip the Afghan military, according to the Pentagons watchdog.

This assessment comes as watchdog representatives from the Defense Department, the State Department, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) testified before the House Oversight Committee on April 19 about the Biden administrations chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021.

According to Defense Department Inspector General Robert Storch, who testified before the committee, the U.S. military let down the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces (ANDSF) in multiple ways. These remarks were from his written statement to the committee.

He said that one way, as laid out in a 2017 Pentagon Office of the Inspector General (OIG) report, was through an insufficient level of training for those advising the Afghan Ministry of Defense (MoD) as they delayed progress toward building the internal controls capability of the MoD and its subordinate commands.

The OIG evaluation determined the train, advise, and assist efforts needed to focus on [the] further development of inspection planning, executing, and reporting to build the capacity of the Afghan MoD in order to reach what the OIG said were transparency, accountability, and oversight milestones.

Storch noted that the Afghan Air Force (AAF) was incapable of operating without U.S. and coalition support despite the training it had received from those partners.

An August 2019 evaluation found that this training did not meet operational objectives, which meant that the AAF was not independently capable of coordinating airdrops to resupply Afghan ground forces or undertaking efforts to minimize civilian and ANDSF casualties during targeting operations, he wrote.

The United States and its allies also did not conduct adequate oversight of the contracted advisors carrying out the training of Afghan air liaison officers, according to Storch.

Another way the United States failed the Afghan military was on the equipment front in that there was incomplete recordkeeping of the inventory of vehicles and radios meant for the Afghan army and whether they were delivered to them.

Other issues included corruption and an overreliance on U.S. contractors.

In addition to U.S. and Afghan military incompetence, most of those who helped the United States and its partners during the almost-20-year-old war have yet to receive Special Immigrant Visas (SIV).

Acting State Department Inspector General Diana Shaw told the House Oversight Committee there are more than 152,000 SIV applicants in Afghanistan awaiting approval.

In its report released on April 19, SIGAR wrote, The U.S. promised to resettle its allies in safety, but the United States is failing.

According to SIGAR, as of late September 2022, the United States had only issued visas to approximately 20 percent of SIV applicants, and according to one estimate, at the current pace, it will take 31 years to relocate and resettle all SIV applicants.
US Tracking More Than 650 Possible UFO Cases: Pentagon Official

There may be no aliens or extraterrestrial life to worry about, but there are at least 650 possible cases of unidentified flying objects (UFOs), according to the head of the Pentagons office that monitors and reports on unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP).

Of those over 650, weve prioritized about half of them to be of anomalous interesting value, Sean Kirkpatrick, the director of All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), told the Senate Armed Services Committees Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities on April 19. And now we have to go through those and go How much of those do I have actual data for?'

Kirkpatrick noted that the majority of unidentified objects reported to AARO demonstrated mundane characteristics of balloons, clutter, natural phenomena, or other readily explainable sources.

In a slideshow presentation to the committee during his opening testimony, Kirkpatrick pointed out that AARO has sighted 72.2 percent of UAPs in the 15,000 to 30,000-foot range, where a lot of our aircraft are.

Kirkpatrick played a video of a UAP in the Middle East last year that, by his offices analysis, did not look like a threat. This case is still under investigation. Kirkpatrick did not say where in the Middle East the UAP, which appeared to be a round silvery object, was seen. He said it will be virtually impossible to fully identify what the object was, based only on the video.

Kirkpatrick showed another slide and played another clip of a high-speed UAP in South Asia this year, zooming past an MQ-9 Reaper, which is an unmanned aerial vehicle. A close-up view shows the UAP appearing to move by propellers. This case was resolved and is pending peer review. According to the slide, the object is commercial aircraft transiting known flight paths per morphology and traffic-control data analyses.

Additionally, said Kirkpatrick, there is a possible aerial threat from China and Russia.

Of the cases that are showing some sort of advanced technical signature  I am concerned about what that nexus is, he said.

At least there is no need yet to worry about a real-life version of ET.

I should also state clearly for the record that in our research, AARO has found no credible evidence thus far of extraterrestrial activity, off-world technology or objects that defy the known laws of physics, said Kirkpatrick.

The public hearing was the third Congress has ever held about UFOs, with the most recent one taking place in 2022, or more than 50 years since the first hearing in 1969.
ANALYSIS: Vague Promises: Ontarians Try to Read Between the Lines of New School Legislation

Ontario Minister of Education Stephen Lecce makes an announcement at St. Robert Catholic High School in Toronto on Aug. 4, 2021. (The Canadian Press/Tijana Martin)

News Analysis

Ontarios education minister tabled legislation on April 17 that he says will bring schools focus back to basicsmath and literacy. But the question many are asking is, what does the minister think the schools have been focusing on too much instead?

Does the education minister plan to elevate the focus on math and reading by significantly restricting the attention thats now given to the teaching of radical gender ideology and identity politics dressed as anti-racism instruction? David Haskell, a liberal arts professor at Wilfrid Laurier University, told The Epoch Times.

We might wonder if this legislation has some greater meaning hidden between the lines.

Haskells thoughts were echoed by many who have been outspoken on issues of gender and identity politics in schools.

The bill contains vague promises as if its a code for some genius secret plan, tweeted Ontario teacher Chanel Pfahl. She has been professionally censured for criticizing critical race theory in schools. This theory generally emphasizes the privileged position of white people and their role as oppressors.

[Im] trying to read between the lines. Are they finally realizing that they are focusing too much on non-academic issues? said Tanya Gaw, founder of the citizen group Action4Canada, in an email to The Epoch Times.

If it is a genuine effort to truly put childrens education and their academic achievement ahead of Marxist social justice, this could be a game changer for the Canadian education system.

Teachers unions have also asked about the intent.

Why is an overhaul necessary? What is their agenda? asked the Elementary Teachers Federation of Ontario in a statement.

What are we supposed to be leaving out here? Karen Littlewood, president of the Ontario Secondary School Teachers Federation, asked in an interview with the CBC.

Similar questions have swirled across social media and in news reports since Lecces announcement.

What Matters Most

Lecces office did not reply by time of publication to an Epoch Times inquiry seeking further details and clarification.

Lecce told the press on April 17 that when students graduate from the Ontario school system, they arent at the level they should be.

They graduate, they get their physical certificate, but they still are not meeting the standards of literacy for their age, he said. The fundamental skills have regressed.

Lecce said he has heard from parents about the skills that matter most. The goal here today is to send a signal to school boards to refocus their energies on what matters most, which is improving reading, writing, and math skills and STEM [science, technology, engineering and math] education, he said.

The ministrys backgrounder on the legislation, Bill 98, says it will allow the minister to set provincial priorities for focus on these academic areas.

It also requires boards to give parents more information about their childrens education, and it gives the minister more power over school boards.

More Control Over School Boards

With battles over gender identity and other charged subjects regularly erupting at school board meetings across the province, Lecces move to increase his power over the boards may be significant.

Such battles include recent Ottawa-Carleton District School Board meetings on the matter of transgender students using girls washrooms, which drew a large number of protesters. The board had initially called parent concerns on the matter transphobic.

Multiple trustees in the province have been censured for comments on critical race theory and gender identity, including Durham District School Board Trustee Linda Stone, Toronto Catholic School Board Trustee Mike Del Grande, and Waterloo School Board Trustee Mike Ramsay.

Heated debates have also rocked board meetings over the appropriateness of books in school libraries such as Gender Queer, which contains illustrations of two males in a sexual act.

The legislation gives the minister greater power to assess the performance of education directors at the provinces school boards, as well as the power to mandate training for school board trustees.

It also touches on code of conduct complaints for trustees. Such complaints have been the avenue of censure for trustees commenting on matters of ideology.

For example, the backgrounder says the legislation will strengthen trustee codes of conduct and reduce disruption so trustees can focus their attention on student achievement. It will also create a new impartial Integrity Commissioner-led process for resolving code of conduct complaints.

Waterloo Trustee Ramsay had a code of conduct complaint lodged against him last year, in part for his tweets about woke politics in the board. His fellow trustees voted 63 to bar him from board meetings for more than three months.

Ramsay told The Epoch Times an impartial process is needed to decide cases like his. Currently, they are decided by other board members who are elected politicians voting in judgement of their colleagues and political opponents, he said via email.

It is far from objective, and far from fair. There needs to be more transparency and due process safeguards, so the Code of Conduct system doesnt degenerate into a political weapon, he said.

Bill 98 would also enable more efficient disciplinary processes for teachers.

Skeptical About Change

Pfahl, who has been at the centre of just such a process, remains skeptical that Lecces legislation will change much.

I applaud this move in the right direction, but sincerely you cannot fix wokism with a few bandaids, she said in a tweet aimed at Lecce. It has to be a full amputation or it will not work.

Haskell was also skeptical. In terms of clear action, this act seems to stay in park and never shift into drive, he said.

Lecce has stayed mum on most issues raised by Pfahl, Ramsay, and others like them.

He has spoken in clear terms on only one instance that touches on gender identity issues. He has called out the Halton District School Board for ineffectively dealing with a teacher who has made international headlines since September for wearing oversized prosthetic breasts with protruding nipples.

Lecce said at Queens Park on Feb. 21, Its unacceptable and an abdication of responsibility of the school board for not defending and upholding the interests of children. Shortly thereafter, the board took the teacher off active assignment.

Campaign Life Coalition spokesperson Jack Fonseca said he is wary of Lecces intent with the legislation. It takes power from trustees as elected officials, he said, and could just as well work against the anti-woke trustees.

Guess which trustees would be targeted with these new powers? Ill bet it would be the traditionally-principled, anti-woke trustees, Fonesca said via email.

Lecce oversaw changes made to the Peel District School Board over the past couple years following accusations the board was racist. Under his ministrys oversight, the board greatly expanded its equity and anti-oppression initiatives.
Wagner-Like Russian Hacker Groups Want to Destroy UK Infrastructure, Minister Warns

Cyber chief says communist China eyes 'global technological supremacy'

Russia-aligned cyber groups sympathetic to the invasion of Ukraine have been trying to disrupt or destroy the UKs infrastructure, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Oliver Dowden said on Wednesday.

In a keynote speech at the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC)s annual cyber security event in Belfast, Dowden said the NCSC is issuing an official alert about these groups, which he said are the cyber equivalent of the Wagner groupa Russian paramilitary organisation.

According to the minister, these groups initially focused their attacks on Ukraine and the surrounding region but recently began to turn their attention to the UK and its allies.

Unlike past attacks, which were aimed at profiting or spying, he said, these ideologically-motivated groups primary goal has been disrupting or destroying the UKs critical national infrastructure, and they are more opportunistic and less likely to show restraint than state-controlled actors.

However, Dowden stressed that the government does not believe the groups currently have the capability to cause widespread damage to our infrastructure in the UK.

The minister said he will set cyber resilience targets for all critical national infrastructure sectors to meet by 2025 and is working on new laws to include private sector businesses working in critical national infrastructure into the scope of cyber resilience regulations.

Cyber Security Chief: China Aiming at Tech Supremacy

Besides Russia, the most acute state threats in cyberspace continue to come from China, Iran, and North Korea, Dowden said.

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, Oliver Dowden, speaks to the media as he departs BBC Broadcasting House in London on March 19, 2023. (Victoria Jones/PA)

Besides the very visible Chinese spy balloon detected in U.S. airspace earlier this year, Dowden said, every day, a combination of criminals, spooks, hacktivists, and cyber soldiers silently and invisibly breach our digital defenses, both in the United Kingdom and in the rest of the world.

Giving the opening speech at the same event, NCSC chief executive officer Lindy Cameron urged organisations to take seriously Beijings ambition to dominate in cyberspace.

We need to be clear: China is not only pushing for parity with Western countries, it is aiming for global technological supremacy, she said. It wants to achieve a dominant role in global affairs.

Cameron said the UK has a legitimate concern about whether the technology China is producing will allow us to secure ourselves effectively in a way that means we can do cyber security in 10 years time.

She also expressed optimism that Britain can keep up with China in cyberspace, saying the UKs liberal economy, democratic values, and collaborative allies are huge advantages.

Warning of potential risks that will emerge with new technologies, Cameron said the UKs cyber security must be built into thinking on artificial intelligence, semiconductors, quantum technologies, and future telecomsall of which are underpinned and enabled by data.

Citing Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT as an example, the cyber security chief said the LLMs bring incredible benefits while raising questions about what this means for security.

Speaking earlier to Sky News, Cameron said the scale and pace of Beijings ambition and technology is something that all of the people here at the conference need to take seriously and think about how it is that we build security into our future technology to keep our people safe.

We shouldnt be surprised that, as technology changes and improves, our adversaries are thinking about how they can use that as well. Thats not a shock, she said.

You dont have to simply be passive in the face of that threat. You can actually make yourself much more effectively resilient to those kinds of threats.

1 in 3 Businesses Attacked

The government on Wednesday published the analysis of its new cyber security breaches survey, which showed almost a third (32 percent) of businesses were attacked in the past year, costing an average of 1,100 for every business. For medium and large businesses, the average loss was almost 5,000.

Nearly a quarter (24 percent) of charities suffered cyber attacks in the past 12 months, incurring an average damage of 53o.

But most of the attacks were relatively unsophisticated and could be avoided by improving cyber hygiene such as setting up password policies, using network firewalls, restricting admin rights, and updating software.

Cameron said the NCSC is launching a new cyber advisory scheme to help businesses with basic cyber security.

Dowden also confirmed that the governments GovAssure scheme will be rolled out across all government departments, which will undergo yearly checkups of their cyber health.
Whistleblowers Tell Supreme Court Pharmacy Chains Should Pay for Alleged Fraud

The U.S. Supreme Court in Washington on March 23, 2023. (Richard Moore/The Epoch Times)

The Supreme Court seemed open on April 18 to revive whistleblower lawsuits against pharmacy operators SuperValu and Safeway for allegedly submitting false Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement claims for prescription drugs they sold.

The case is considered to be important because it could have an impact on the governments ability to crack down on health care fraud.

The companies say they shouldnt be held liable because they did not knowingly commit fraud and in their view acted reasonably in the absence of clear-cut price-reporting rules.

Lawyers say that fraud is one of the most difficult crimes to prove in court.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 7th Circuit determined that SuperValu and Safeway together had indeed overbilled the government, but found their billing processes were consistent with an objectively reasonable interpretation of the law, regardless of their intentions.

But the whistleblowers, who stand to benefit financially if their lawsuits succeed, and the Biden administration, argue the 7th Circuit ran afoul of the purpose of the federal False Claims Act (FCA).

In the case at hand, the Supreme Court agreed to look at whether and when a defendants contemporaneous subjective understanding or beliefs about the lawfulness of its conduct are relevant to whether it knowingly violated the False Claims Act.

Much of the oral argument on April 18 focused on the application of the legal concept of scienter in the FCA, a legal term meaning the intent or knowledge a person has of the wrongness of an act prior to committing it.

Various federal courts of appeal disagree over the scope of the FCAs scienter requirement. To prove scienter under the statute, the government or the whistleblower must demonstrate that the company acted knowingly, or with reckless disregard or deliberate ignorance of the law in question.

Senator Urges Court to Take Up Case

Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) filed a friend-of-the-court brief in May 2022 urging the Supreme Court to take up the case, and arguing that the 7th Circuits radical departure from the statute continues a lamentable tradition of some courts interpreting the FCA in an unduly restrictive fashion.

The circuit court crafted from whole cloth a novel and unprecedented requirement for proving scienter, which puts on the government a nearly impossible burden to anticipate and warn off future fraudsters from every colorable misinterpretation of the law, the brief stated.

The FCA is the most important anti-fraud statute and if the ruling is not corrected it will not be long before the centerpiece of the governments anti-fraud arsenal becomes unusable.

Grassley said he sponsored the False Claims Amendments Act of 1986, which modernized the FCA and made it a more effective weapon against government fraud.

The case is actually two cases: U.S. ex rel. Schutte v. SuperValu (court file 21-1326) and U.S. ex rel. Proctor v. Safeway (court file 22-111).

The court consolidated the two cases and heard them together.

The unusually long titles of the cases reflect the fact that the whistleblowers, known in legal parlance as relators, brought their lawsuits on behalf of the United States government.

The Lincoln Law

The FCA, sometimes called the Lincoln Law, was enacted in 1863 to deal with defense contractor fraud during the Civil War.

The act currently provides that anyone who knowingly files false claims with the government is liable for treble damages plus a $2,000 penalty for each false claim.

The FCA allows the government to pursue perpetrators on its own, and for private citizens to sue those who defraud the government on behalf of the government in what are known as qui tam suits.

Private citizens who prevail may be awarded part of what the government recovers.

The whistleblowers lawsuits allege the two supermarket chains billed the two government programs at artificially high rates while charging most paying customers significantly lower prices under discount schedules.

They say the two companies together bilked taxpayers out of $200 million. Federal law mandates that pharmacies bill the programs at the typical prices they actually make customers pay.

Whistleblowers Tracy Schutte and Michael Yarberry, have claimed that SuperValu knew its reporting was problematic and failed to report discounted prices, charging the government  higher prices.

Whistleblower Thomas Proctor claimed that despite ample warning the company did not report its discounted prices to the government and [t]his allowed Safeway to offer discounts to price-sensitive consumers without sacrificing lucrative reimbursements from the government.

The whistleblowers attorney, Tejinder Singh, told the justices that the lower court was wrong to let the pharmacy operators off the hook.

The companies approach to the scienter requirement would permit some of the worst offenders to escape liability, he said. It treats the defendants subjective beliefs about the lawfulness of its conduct as irrelevant.

Justice Elena Kagan seemed to tip her hand, telling Singh, Your case is the easy case, isnt it?

Justice Brett Kavanaugh interjected: He wants to win the hard case here too, but you dont need to.

Singh said the companies, had ample evidence in terms of guidance from the government, guidance from their own attorneys, industry consensus, of the usual and customary [price].

SuperValu and Safeway would replace existing incentives for companies to determine and then follow the law with an incentive to plunder every ambiguity for all its worth.

That flies in the face of the statutes text, the common law, and common sense, the lawyer said.

Justice Clarence Thomas pushed back, telling Singh: There was no guidance as to what usual and customary meant  no guidance whatsoever.

The usual and customary price in Nebraska could be different from the price in Iowa, Thomas said.

Would you still say that you could find that these statements were false or representations were false? the justice said.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson told U.S. Deputy Solicitor General Malcolm Stewart she was struggling to understand why this is a hard case.

I dont understand it at all. I was with Justice Kagan. I thought the 7th Circuit said, essentially, that the subjective beliefs of the supermarkets were irrelevant, Jackson said.

Stewart said companies filing claims with the government have an obligation to be forthright.

In our view, the one bedrock requirement is they should not say things they do not believe to be true, he said.

Carter Phillips, the attorney for Safeway and SuperValu, said that his clients did their best, reporting prices they believed to be accurate.

There is nothing from the federal government that tells you what the right answer is. And there are lots of different states that take lots of different positions, he said.

Theres lots in the record in this case that says that the interpretation adopted by my clients was absolutely correct, Phillips said. Those discounts didnt count, he added.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue a decision on the case by June or July.
Chinese and Iraqi workers work at a school being built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) in Baghdad province, Iraq, April 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

BAGHDAD, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The deserts of Iraq may seem like an unlikely place for bustling construction sites, but some Chinese companies are racing against the clock there to build schools as part of the effort to bridge the education gap in Iraq.

The Iraqi Ministry of Education said Iraq is in dire need of nearly 12,000 new schools to accommodate the growing number of students in the country, where an estimated 3.2 million children are currently being out of school.

In 2021, several Chinese companies signed contracts with Iraq to build 1,000 schools in Iraq as part of an ambitious project to build a total of 8,000 schools across the country, which is still reeling from long years of war and destruction.

This project aims to increase the number of schools in Iraqi cities, towns and villages to reduce the overcrowding problem in the existing schools, which are over burdened already due to the growing number of students.

At a construction site in west of the Iraqi capital Baghdad, Hanan Raad al-Qaysi, an Iraqi teacher, was thrilled with the progress of the project.

She spoke of her admiration for the new schools being built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina), which will have all the necessary infrastructure and services, including health services, infrastructure, and teachers' rooms.

"The old schools in Baghdad are not fully equipped," al-Qaysi said. "We all hope that PowerChina will provide us with the best new schools in terms of classes, health services, infrastructure, and teachers' rooms, which will serve the school, students and teachers better."

Gao Fei, the vice president of the Middle East and North Africa Department of PowerChina, emphasized that the school building project is a fruit of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), which is committed to bringing about win-win results and benefits for both China and participating countries.

"PowerChina will do its best to fulfill the project contract, strive to better meet the educational needs of the Iraqi people, and contribute China's strength and wisdom to the economic and social development of Iraq," Gao said.

PowerChina will begin handing over the 144 school buildings in the Baghdad province starting from July this year, according to Liu Zhenlin, the manager of PowerChina's school project in Baghdad province.

The school building project is considered very important for the future generations in Iraq, said Yousif Jamal, an Iraqi engineer working for PowerChina.

He noted that Iraqis are able to learn modern technology and ideas in construction from China, which will also benefit Iraq's future generations.

"Honestly, my first experience of working for a Chinese company was very nice. And I benefited greatly from my Chinese colleagues," the Iraqi engineer said.

Iraq's once exemplary education system, with nearly 100 percent primary enrollment rates in the 1970s, has suffered a severe decline, leaving the country grappling with a shortage of schools. This was largely caused by the war, violence and political chaos that have ensued after the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.

Saif Farhan, a representative of the Iraqi government overseeing school construction projects, said that the past decades of wars and conflicts have badly damaged the country's education infrastructure, compounded by a lack of substantial reconstruction efforts.

"The Iraqi government was keen to contract with accredited international companies, and among the first of these companies is PowerChina, which has rich experience in the field of construction," Farhan said.

He also lauded the positive impact of the BRI, adding that Iraq has plans for further collaboration with accredited Chinese companies to benefit the Iraqi society and secure a brighter future.

"The Iraqi government and people welcome this initiative, and we have seen the positive effects of many projects, such as this school building project that serves a large part of the Iraqi people," Farhan said. 

Chinese and Iraqi workers work at a school being built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) in Baghdad province, Iraq, April 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Iraqi workers work at a school being built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) in Baghdad province, Iraq, April 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

Iraqi workers work at a school being built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) in Baghdad province, Iraq, April 9, 2023. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)

This photo taken on April 9, 2023 shows a school being built by the Power Construction Corporation of China (PowerChina) in Baghdad province, Iraq. (Xinhua/Khalil Dawood)
White House Condemns Chinese Regimes Harassment, Threats Against US Citizens

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre speaks with reporters in the press briefing room at the White House in Washington on April 18, 2023. (Madalina Vasiliu/The Epoch Times)

The White House criticized the Chinese regime on April 18 for running a secret police station in Manhattans Chinatown, warning that the U.S. government wont tolerate the regimes assault on people on U.S. soil.

The U.S. government has been clear that we will use all available tools to protect American citizens and other U.S. persons from transnational repression and other forms of foreign malign influence, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said during an April 18 press conference.

We will not tolerate the PRC government or any foreign government harassing or threatening U.S. persons.

The FBI arrested two men on April 17 on charges of operating a secret police station in the Chinatown district of Manhattan on behalf of the Chinese regime. Prosecutors said the individuals conspired to work as agents of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and follow the regimes orders to track down and silence Chinese dissidents in the United States.

The secret police station in New York City is suspected to be one of the Chinese regimes more than 100 police outposts believed to exist around the world.

The Department of Justice announced arrests and charges as a significant national security matter.

U.S. District Attorney Breon Peace stated that the arrests uncovered a massive violation of U.S. sovereignty by the CCP and a flagrant violation of international law.

This prosecution reveals the Chinese governments flagrant violation of our nations sovereignty by establishing a secret police station in the middle of New York City, Peace said at a press conference on April 17 in Brooklyn. Just imagine the NYPD opening an undeclared secret police station in Beijing.

Peace said that the two defendants worked closely with Chinas Ministry of Public Security to carry out transnational repression schemes in the United States.

Chinas foreign ministry spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, denied U.S. claims of a Chinese secret police station in New York City on April 18. Wang said during a press conference that these alleged police stations dont exist and that China adheres to a policy of non-interference in other countries.

However, according to court documents, one of the defendants, Lu Jianwang, has been working for the CCP in the United States since at least 2015.

During Chinese regime leader Xi Jinpings visit to the United States in 2015, Lu was instructed to organize counter-protests to the demonstrations from the spiritual group Falun Gong, which has been heavily persecuted in China since 1999.

The Chinese Consulate in New York asked Lu to publish materials criticizing Falun Gong in newspapers, which he claimed he didnt do. However, Lu stated that he assisted in transporting members of his organization to Washington on buses.

Each association member would receive $60 from the consulate. Each bus would have a point of contact that would pay in cash from the Consulate, he told the investigators, according to the complaint. People would not just travel from New York but also from Philadelphia. Several hundred people would go every time.

Andrew Thornebrooke and Eva Fu contributed to this report.
With Dissent Now Criminalized, Free Speech Faces a Big Chill

Commentary

Americans right to think and speak freely has for years been under heavy assault.

The propagators of political correctness slowly but surely chipped away at open discourse, pressuring dissenters from prevailing ruling class orthodoxy to speak in euphemism and self-censor lest they be branded uncouth, if not bigoted.

Apparently not content with the results of this soft power campaign, illiberals in recent years resorted to more coercive methods to compel ideological conformity, or at minimum, submission.

Speech police entered the scene, deputized under something of a society-wide diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) administrative state fixated on imposing woke-ism, and a mass public-private censorship regime that suppressed unauthorized opinions and their holders at scale.

Now, censorship and cancellation are giving way to criminalization.

The War on Wrongthink has escalated to the point that authorities are literally prosecuting Wrongthinkbludgeoning the First Amendment.

We would appear to be in for a big chill in the United States, and with incalculably terrible consequences.

Consider recent Rubicon-crossing events and the logical conclusions to which they lead us.

While President Donald Trump was being indicted in Manhattan, over in Brooklyn, social media influencer Douglass Mackey was being convicted over his posting of obviously satirical memesfacing a long stint in prison for literal thought crimes.

Mackey, who went by the name Ricky Vaughn on Twitter, a reference to Charlie Sheens character in the Major League series, jokingly tweeted out to followers days before the 2016 election that they could text their vote for Hillary Clinton to a fictitious number, with the hashtag #ImWithHer.

At least 4,900 people texted that number on or around Election Day. We dont know how many of them were eligible voters, whether they were legitimately trying to vote, or whether they would have ever seen the offending tweet had the media not given it extensive coverage.

Regardless, the government cast the tweet, and a similar one that followed it, as parts of a dangerous disinformation campaignas a fraudthough it didnt charge Mackey accordingly. Instead, it convicted him of Conspiracy Against Rights stemming from his scheme to deprive individuals of their constitutional right to vote.

He faces up to 10 years in prison under a law that punishes people who injure, oppress, threaten, or intimidate othersthat is, who engage in actual aggression against peoplein ways that violate or threaten to violate their rights, not for sending facetious memes.

To think the tweets are criminal is anything but a laughing matter.

As former Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York Andrew McCarthy put it, the case was a three-fer: the prosecutorial creation of a crime Congress has not prescribed, the trivialization of civil-rights law, and the intrusion of government as a monitor of political speech.

Mackey, often characterized as a white nationalist, has reportedly said some appalling things. But even if he is the most detestable person on Earth, with the most indefensible of views, its no excuse for torturing the law to criminalize speech, imperiling the rights of everyone. Practically, of course, such punitive efforts always start with the least sympathetic figures and quickly move to anyone disfavored by those in power.

So today, you must think twice about even posting jokes on social media, at least should they touch on electionsthis despite the fact that political speech is core to the First Amendment.

What about the state of the right to peaceably assemble and petition government for a redress of grievancesthat is, to protest?

The governments response to Jan. 6, whereby scores of individuals have been held for months or longer in pretrial detention in reportedly abhorrent conditions, slapped with felony charges never before leveled in an analogous situation, and generally pursued like domestic terrorists, has put an end to such expressions of dissent, at least if youre on the right.

The muted response to former President Donald Trumps call for supporters to protest in the wake of the announcement that he would be indicted in New York spoke volumes. The reply from many MAGA pundits and activists on social media was essentially this: The case against Trump is a travesty, but why would I want to risk ending up in the gulag like the Capitol protesters?

Whats more, many expressed concerns that federal authorities would be seeking to infiltrate protests and provoke participants into acting badly as a justification to engage in a further crackdown on conservatives.

The takeaway: Conservatives expect to be punished if they publicly oppose the authorities and would rather avoid that risk by keeping their mouths shut.

The same likely goes for those who would challenge their local school boards. As the House Weaponization Subcommittee has clearly demonstrated, the FBI targeted concerned parents, baselessly, as domestic terrorists. So be careful about questioning what your kids are being taught in school.

Pro-lifers, who face FBI raids and the wrath of the Biden Justice Department should they protest at abortion clinics, no matter how peacefully, no doubt feel the same chill.

What of the state of another core aspect of the First Amendmentthe ability to freely exercise ones religion?

Well, now we have learned that at least in the Richmond, Virginia, area, the FBI was targeting Racially or Ethnically Motivated Violent Extremists in Radical-Traditionalist Catholic Ideology. The bureaus field office, relying on at least one source, pursued local religious organizations as new avenues for tripwire and source development.

So be careful about where and how you worship too.

In short, our ruling class has eviscerated the First Amendment in pursuit of those who would dissent from that classs orthodoxy. Consequently, Americans are going to speak less and less about an ever-growing list of highly subjective, contentious, and critical issuesincluding the most fundamental ones of church and state.

If you wanted to stifle any and all progress, choking off the marketplace of ideas would be precisely the place where you would start.

What could possibly go wrong?

As for the marketplace in leaders who might seek to remedy this situation, well, consider the sham Trump indictment, which lacks an underlying crime.

New York District Attorney Alvin Braggs prosecution marks the beginning of the culminating effort in the perpetual coup against Trump. It aims to lock him up, since Trump will not leave the political realm, demerits of the case against the former president be damned.

This perpetual coup, plus the legal, political, and personal attacks that myriad people in and around Trump have faced, no doubt serve as deterrents of their own for those who might otherwise consider entering the political fray to combat the tyranny at hand.

Will decent, intelligent, patriotic people be willing to risk it all in pursuit of what is right?

The fate of the republic hinges on such courage.

Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Woman in Court Over $7M Chinese Cigarette Money Laundering Scheme

A new review has called for the age limit for buying cigarettes to rise every year. (Martin Rickett/PA Media)

After helping to import illegal Chinese cigarettes and launder over $7 million (US$4.71 million) in cash, a Sydney woman will soon learn her likely jail term.

Caixia Li, 49, faced a sentencing hearing in Parramatta District Court on Tuesday with her defence team arguing she played a role in an unsophisticated scheme in which she could be traced by authorities.

Li has pleaded guilty to one count of dealing with the proceeds of crime over $1,000,000 and one count of importing tobacco products with an intent to defraud the revenue.

She funnelled a total of $7.4 million earned by selling Chinese cigarettes through 23 corporate bank accounts.

According to agreed facts filed with the court, the Campsie woman worked alongside others in the plot to bring cigarettes from China delivered to PO boxes, and transfer the money earned through the bank accounts.

The accounts, which were set up with major Australian banks, were created either in the names of individuals Li knew who stood in as proxies or through companies that were created and then deregistered at later dates.

In April 2021, she attempted to use at least one bank account from a friend who was leaving Australia the following month.

It is impossible for me to allow you to use my account because I know you have illegal activities. We are friends, and I am going, to be frank with you. Dont ask me again, the friend said.

Police surveillance and telephone intercepts saw Li seeking buyers for the tobacco and discussing money laundering methods with others in the scheme.

In one of these phone calls, an unknown male told her to keep a coded record.

In this way, even if others see it, they wouldnt know what that is. Understand what I mean? You use a code, he said.

In October 2021, police also seized 1400 Double Happiness and Yuxi cigarettes sent from China to her PO Box in Campsie in parcels labelled cotton socks, biscuits.

The duty avoided on this single consignment was over $1,500.

Many of the bank accounts and PO boxes used in the scheme were connected with Lis details, including her Campsie home address, email and mobile phone numbers.

She will be sentenced on May 5.
BJP core panel discusses discontentment, performance issue





By Bhavana Aparajita

Shukla

Tuesdays State BJP core committee meeting will mull over preventing strategy to internal sabotage and decide the political fate of some of the ministers. Sources suggest that decisions and directions were taken at a recently held meeting of BJP leaders and RSS office bearers at Indore was among the main agenda. After rounds of meetings between Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, some of the Cabinet ministers, party state office-bearers, Union ministers and national office-bearers from the state, head of all morchas and district incharges in recent past, this meeting is being held in the capital. Following the main organisations instructions, a 14-member team of ministers was constituted whom the state unit entrusted with the task to meet and mollify disgruntled leaders across the state. Needless to mention that ex-MP Makahansingh Solanki and Rao Yadavendra Singh Yadav (son of ex-MLA Rao Deshraj Singh Yadav) joined the Congress last month . In this meeting, their inputs will be discussed in detail. In addition to this, it is being learnt that another team has gathered information about ministers' performance. Both the matters have now been ready and were tabled in the core committee meeting.

In an election year, it is seen as crucial where discussion on poor performance of ministers and how the Government will proceed with the issues of education, labour and most importantly farmers, were discussed according to the highly placed sources. To enhance the Governments image, RSS leaders are said to have told the CM and his team that pro-citizen schemes must reach beneficiaries and need to put more focus on youth, labourer and farmers. National Joint General Secretary Bharatiya Janata Party Shiv Prakash, a RSS Pracharak, a few days ago visited Bhopal and held discussion with Chief Minister. It was followed by BJPs Indore meet.

Head of RSS affiliates-Vidyarthi Parishad, Majdoor Sangh and Kisan Majdoor Sangh met with ministers in presence Shiv Prakash in Bhopal. Where Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan, BJP State Unit Head V D Sharma and General Secretary, State Unit, Hitanand Sharma were present. Education policy, new forms of agriculture and curriculum were discussed. Appointment of Chairperson, State Youth Council, Nishsant Khare is also seen in the light of part's focus on youth. For several years the post was lying vacant. But at a time when only a few months are left for Assembly elections, this appointment has been made. BJPs position in contemporary politics in comparison to other political parties in the state, amid announcement of entry of other political parties like Bhim Sena, JAYAS, AAP etc. and the partys ongoing programmes for tribal development, were also being discussed here," said a BJP leader. Along with strategies to reach out to the beneficiaries of welfare schemes run by the BJP government, other strategies related to key campaigns, controversies related to transparency in the functioning of the government, were also discussed he added.
Govt documents found burning in WB; CBI suspects scam link





KOLKATA,

THE CBI officers had to make an unscheduled rush to Bhangar in West Bengals South 24 Parganas district on Tuesday following information that some crucial documents related to any of the scams were there.

On reaching there, the CBI officials found the documents burning in an open space at the Andul- Garia area in Bhangar. The Central Armed Forces escorting the CBI officials immediately surrounded the area and the CBI officers quickly started the process of recovering the documents by extinguishing fire.

On questioning the local people, the CBI sleuths came to know that the documents were brought and dumped in the open space late on Monday night. The local people did not have any doubt at that point of time. However, on Tuesday afternoon they became curious as they saw the documents had been set on fire. Sources said that while the CBI sleuths are sure that the papers were certain Government documents, the contents of the documents are to be ascertained.
IGNORED SECTOR





THAT President Mrs. Droupadi Murmu described the village in India as the basic unit of the country as she gave away National Panchayat Awards, it must be admitted that in the past 75 years since Independence -- and also much before that -- India has been ignoring the rural sector to its own peril. Unfortunately, most leaders in different fields paid rich lip-service to the village as the basic unit, often quoting Mahatma Gandhi, the village has stood terribly neglected in the country for too long. Today, the average Indian village is a neglected entity with only a smattering of development having reached there. Looking at the larger picture, only one conclusion comes out -- that India needs to start paying a very special attention to the rural sector that also includes agriculture-based economy.

Most unfortunately, the Indian planners did not pay appropriate attention to the village where Mahatma Gandhi said India lived. That is the reason that there is a constant outflux of people from villages to the cities in search of better living conditions supported by employment opportunities. The other end of this spectrum, thus, highlights the absence of jobs in the rural sector. This issue has earned some political tall talk all right, but the rural sector really does not offer enough employment opportunities to the people. If lack of job opportunities is one aspect, the other aspect is lack of development in terms of infrastructure, healthcare, education, sanitation and hygiene and decent living conditions. These also have led to the population outflux from villages for the past 75 years. The alien British rulers ignored the village as the societys basic unit and the Indian rulers afterwards neglected the sector almost totally.

There is no doubt that the Panchayat Awards the President conferred upon some villages self-Government bodies do indicate that some hope has emerged on the scene that in the years to come the standard Indian village would be an attractive proposition for the common people. Of course, the Panchayat Awards are being given for a long time and many villages do show marked progress because of local leadership. The overall rural scene, however, is rather bleak and barren -- having been ignored by the planners and the successive Governments at the Centre and the States. This sad reality needs to be addressed rather on an urgent basis, failing which the countrys larger segment of rural populace would keep suffering as in the past. Indian villages do not need just funds, but also focused attention by the planners and the Government -- plus, of course, the larger Indian society. The average Indian village requires a special emphasis on rise of local leadership that works in tandem with the higher layers of the governmental pyramid. Despite political tall talk, nothing much has been done and achieved in this area.

Mahatma Gandhi often insisted that the persona of the standard Indian village should be preserved with its unique features such as close-knit human communities, simplicity of manner and method, openness of head and heart of the general public, and willingness to engage in genuine hard work. These are the traits coming from the dominance of agriculture as the basic activity, aided by allied economic activities. Unfortunately, these attributes of rural sector were larger ignored and neglected by the Government in the past 75 years since Independence. Now that President Mrs. Droupadi Murmu has laid much emphasis on the village as the countrys basic unit, hopefully the Government will start paying a greater attention to the rural sector in a comprehensive manner. That will be in larger national interest.
Lawyers suffer due to severe space crunch at new District Court building





Staff Reporter

THE newly-constructed District Court Building has left the lawyers fraternity of Nagpur disappointed as they have not been allocated enough space to work. Despite the buildings massive size, lawyers have been given a total of only 3,000 square feet, with just 10 small rooms available for sitting arrangements. At present, 12,000 lawyers, of which 8,500 are registered, practise in the District Court. The number is set to increase by 50% in the next ten years.

The buildings huge size makes the shortage of space even more puzzling. Each floor has a whopping carpet area of 19,000 square feet, with parking space for 1,400 two-wheelers and 107 cars. The first floor of the building is reserved for parking of judges cars. However, lawyers have been provided inadequate sitting arrangements in the new building. During the buildings inauguration, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had claimed that a committee of lawyers was During the buildings inauguration, Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had claimed that a committee of lawyers was consulted to incorporate their opinions during the construction. Still, the buildings complicated design has caused problem in allocating space for lawyers. The courts in the new building have ample space but the remaining rooms are not enough for lawyers. Of the 89 courts operating in the old court building, 26 have been relocated to the new building. Representatives of lawyers have demanded an area of around 30,000 square feet to accommodate the lawyers.
NTPC gives financial aid to eye care unit under CSR





Business Bureau

NTPC under its CSR policy provided financial aid to NGO Swami Vivekanand Bahuudeshiya Sewa Sanstha, Nagpur for setting up of an eye care unit in presence of Union Minister Nitin Gadkari on Sunday. A K Manohar, Head of Project (NTPC Mouda), handed over the cheque to the Union Minister. The eye care unit shall provide free diagnosis, medications and treatment for ailments related to the eye to underprivileged people in and around Nagpur who will benefit from this initiative. NTPCs CSR policies aim to uplift and enable the society by providing substantial support in order to empower the people on sustainable basis.

NTPC Mouda has taken steps in various areas like sanitation, healthcare, girl child and women empowerment, education for introducing new and better facilities for the Project Affected Persons (PAPs) and other beneficiaries.
SC questions Gujarat Govt over remission to convicts in Bilkis case





NEW DELHI,

THE Supreme Court on Tuesday questioned the Gujarat Government over the remission granted to the 11 convicts last year in the case of gangrape of Bilkis Bano and murder of her family members during the 2002 Godhra riots, saying the gravity of the offence should have been considered and asked whether there was any application of mind.

Asking for reasons for the premature release of the convicts, a bench of Justices KM Joseph and BV Nagarathna also questioned the paroles granted to them during their incarceration period. It(remission) is a kind of grace which should be proportional to crime.

Look at the records, one of them was granted parole for 1,000 days that is three years, the other 1,200 days and third is for 1,500 days. What policy have you (Gujarat Government) been following? It is not a simple case of section 302 (murder) but a case of murders compounded by gangrape. Like you cannot compare apples with oranges, similarly massacre cannot be compared with single murder. Hearing a plea challenging the release of the convicts, the court said although there was consultation with the Centre for grant of remission but the State is required to apply its mind, looking at the gravity of the offence. The Centre and the Gujarat Government also told the court they may file a plea seeking a review of its March 27 order asking them to be ready with original files on the grant of remission. AM Singhvi, appearing for one of the PIL petitioners, said the records show that when the convicts were released on bail, they had given threats to witnesses and were involved in other crimes. Advocate Shobha Gupta, appearing for Bano, said no new records have been filed in the petition.
Seeing is believing. Follow Xinhua to Xinjiang's cotton fields to see how cotton farming has revolutionized with the help of modern farming equipment. Also, hear European Parliament's Clare Daly expressing her views on Xinjiang in an exclusive interview.

Produced by Xinhua Global Service
Two accused held with leopard skin in Mandla





Our Correspondent

MANDLA,

Mandla Bichhia police arrested two accused with leopard skin. Acting on a tip-off, Bichhia Police arrested the skin smugglers. They are residents of Chhattisgarh and Dindori district. The arrested accused have been identified as Narbad Singh, son of Sughar Singh Markam (45), a resident of Fitari police station Samnapur Dindori district, Sehtar Singh Markam, son of Tirthram Markam (51), resident of village Singhari police station Bodla district Kabirdham (Chhattisgarh). Police have seized leopard skin and a bike (CG09 JH5988) from the accused. Superintendent of Police, Mandla, Rajat Saklecha has directed all the police station/outpost in-charges to curb illegal activities in their respective police station/outpost areas and take effective action. Police stations and outposts attached to the National Park have been directed to identify and collect information regarding protection of wildlife and people hunting wild animals and to take immediate action on such information.

During this, on April 17, information was received by informer at Thana Bichhia police station that two people carrying leopard skin in a blue bag on a motorcycle had come to Sijhaura from Chhattisgarh to sell it. Coming towards Mandla from National Highway. By giving above information to senior officers, Bichhia police took immediate action and sent police team to lay siege to suspected motor-bike and verify the information. Blockade action was taken by police at village Padariya Tiraha on National Highway.

During blockade, a red bike was seen coming as per informer, which was cordoned off by Bichhia police team, after getting information about the name and address of motorcycle and suspects, the bag was searched. During search, the accused identified themselves as Narbad Singh and Sehtar Singh Markam. Leopard skin was wrapped in a plastic bag was found with the accused in a blue bag. By taking the accused into custody, inquiring about the leopard skin and seizing leopards skin (leather) and motor cycle, the act of both the accused under section 2, 9, 39, 49B, 50, 51 of IPC. Due to the finding of the Living(Animal) Protection Act 1972, crime number 161/2023 was registered in police station Bachhia and taken into consideration, the accused were arrested and presented in the court. Action was taken under the leadership of Sub-Divisional Officer Police Bichhia, Police Station in-charge Bichhia Inspector KS Pendro, Sub-Inspector Jagdish Pandre, Assistant Sub-Inspector Dhanpal Bisen along with police station staff played an important role. The team of Wildlife Crime Research Bureau was also present during the proceedings.
BILLINGS, Mont. (AP)  A proposed change to next year's Montana U.S. Senate primary that was aimed at undermining Democratic Sen. Jon Tester's reelection chances is likely dead after a state legislative committee shelved the GOP-backed measure Wednesday.

Some Republican lawmakers urged on by a GOP lobbyist wanted to alter Montana's 2024 Senate primary so that only the top two candidates, no matter their party, would advance to the November election.

That would have effectively blocked out third-party candidates, who Republicans blamed for draining away potential GOP votes during past attempts to unseat Tester.

Control of the Senate will be in play during next year's election. Tester's seat is one of several that Democrats are defending in Republican-leaning states.

The race's national importance helped fuel outrage over the bid to change the primary rules. Critics, including Democratic lawmakers and representatives of the Libertarian party, blasted it as a blatant attempt to rig the election.

After Rep. Gregory Frazer moved to table the bill during a Wednesday meeting of the House State Administration Committee, all but one of the committees 12 Republicans joined the panel's six Democrats to vote to shelve the measure.

I have had a lot of my folks from back home reach out to me and ask me to vote no on this  a lot more than what I thought. It's actually been pretty interesting, said Frazer, a Republican from Deer Lodge.

It is possible for the bill to be revived before the end of the session, but that's considered unlikely given Wednesday's definitive House committee vote.

Montana Libertarian Party chairman Sid Daoud praised Frazer for looking critically at the bill despite a push by Republican leaders to advance it and said Libertarians would remain on watch for attempts to revive the measure.

Its great the people stood up against it, said Daoud, a Kalispell City Council member.

The state Senate approved the 2024 primary change earlier this month by a 27-23 vote. Seven Republicans joined all of the chambers Democrats in voting against the measure.

The bill's Republican sponsor said he wanted to stop the GOP and Democrats alike from trying to manipulate elections by stealthily promoting third party candidates.

But emails included in the legislative file for the bill show that longtime Republican lobbyist Chuck Denowh helped shape the measure.

In late March, Denowh suggested that an early version of the proposal be changed so it would apply only to the U.S. Senate and would sunset after the 2024 election, the emails show. The bill was changed accordingly.

State Rep. Kelly Kortum, a Democrat from Bozeman, said the bill had been pushed onto Montana by outside interests. He called it an irresponsible way to change Montanas election laws."

A broad coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, Libertarians, and others across Montana publicly spoke out against the bill, Kortum said.

Sponsor Sen. Greg Hertz of Polson did not immediately respond to telephone and email messages seeking comment.

The House committee on Monday rejected a second election-related bill from Hertz that would have increased the number of signatures required for independent candidates and third parties to qualify for ballots.

Both major parties in Montana have sought to use third parties to their advantage in past elections.

During one of last years U.S. House elections, a Democratic-linked group in Washington, D.C., sent mailers promoting Libertarian candidate John Lamb as the races true conservative in an effort to peel away conservative votes.

In the 2020 race, the Republican Party bankrolled a $100,000 signature-gathering effort to put the Montana Green Party on the ballot and hurt Democrats' chances. The state Supreme Court removed the Green Party after hundreds of people sought to withdraw their signatures upon learning the GOP was behind the effort.
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WASHINGTON (AP)  Russia's invading forces are deliberately using rape, torture and kidnapping to try to sow terror among civilians in Ukraine, the top prosecutor in Ukraine told U.S. lawmakers in graphic testimony Wednesday.

Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said nearly 80,000 cases of war crimes have been registered in Ukraine since the war began in February 2022.

Focusing on just one area of the country that has felt the brunt of the war, Kostin described some of the discoveries made when the Ukrainian military liberated Kherson last November. He said some 20 torture chambers were found and more than 1,000 survivors have reported an array of abuses, including the use of electric shocks, waterboarding, being forced to strip naked, and threats of mutilation and death.

Kostin said more than 60 cases of rape were documented in the Kherson region alone. In areas still controlled by Russian forces, residents, including children, are being forcefully relocated to other occupied territories or to Russia.

Such evil cannot let be, Kostin said.

He was asked about the motivations behind Russias tactics, but said he struggles to understand the brutality of the Russian forces in targeting civilians.

The only possible explanation is that they just want to erase Ukraine and Ukrainians from the land, Kostin said. Maybe because they want to really kill all of us.

The House Foreign Affairs Committee invited Kostin to testify. The chairman, Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, believes that spotlighting the brutality of Russia's actions will show lawmakers and voters why the United States is in the right in supporting Ukraine.

This is happening right now. They are monsters and they need to be brought to justice, McCaul said. He added: "These are more than war crimes. These are more than crimes against humanity. What we are witnessing in Ukraine is genocide.

McCaul also issued a challenge to fellow lawmakers, saying history will judge us by what we do here and now.

No country can remain neutral in the face of such evil, McCaul said.

Congress approved about $113 billion in economic, humanitarian and military spending in 2022 to assist Ukraine. President Joe Biden has repeatedly said the United States will help Ukraine as long as it takes to repel the Russian invasion, though support for that aid has softened, polling shows.

Congressional leaders anticipate that Ukraine will need billions of dollars in additional assistance in the months ahead.

Ukraine is preparing to launch a counteroffensive in an attempt to regain territory lost to Russian troops. McCaul said he would like to see the U.S. back Ukraine's efforts to retake Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized in 2014, so it could negotiate for a cease-fire from a stronger position. He is pushing for the U.S. and its allies to provide Ukraine with long-distance artillery and F-16 fighter jets for the counteroffensive.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy tweeted that he spoke by telephone with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., and thanked him for bipartisan support from Congress. Zelenskyy also outlined the situation at the front and Ukraines urgent defense needs in armored vehicles, artillery, air defense & aircraft.

The House committee also heard from a war crimes survivor, a 57-year-old woman, who said she was taken to a torture chamber for five days, beaten, forced to strip and endured threats of rape and murder. At one point, she was forced to dig her own grave. She said her house was looted. She has escaped, but other Ukrainians still experience such treatment in Russian-controlled territories, she said.

These terrible crimes need to be stopped, she told lawmakers. Her identity was not revealed out of concerns about retribution.

Kostin said exposing atrocities is not enough.

Only with discovering and determining truth, bringing perpetrators to responsibility and providing adequate reparations to victims and survivors, we can say justice has been done, Kostin said.

The International Criminal Court issued an arrest warrant last month for Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes, accusing him of personal responsibility for the abductions of children from Ukraine. But the practical implications are limited as the chances of Putin facing trial at the court are highly unlikely because Moscow does not recognize the courts jurisdiction or extradite its nationals.

McCaul told The Associated Press he will press for the Department of Justice and FBI agents to assist prosecutors in Ukraine, even as he doubts there will ever be a full reckoning for the war crimes.

I dont know whats going to happen, how this is going to end, McCaul said. But at least there'll be historical documentation about what they did, for generations to read about the atrocities.

____

Associated Press writer Stephen Groves contributed to this report.
EAST ST. LOUIS  A St. Louis man was sentenced Tuesday to 50 years in federal prison for the murder of a security guard during an East St. Louis bank robbery in August 2021.

Security guard Ted Horn, 56, of St. Libory, was killed when Jaylan Quinn, 23, drew a semi-automatic handgun and fatally shot Horn in the head.

Quinn pled guilty to one count of bank robbery and one count of using a firearm to commit murder during and in relation to a crime of violence. In addition to the 50-year sentence, he will serve five years supervised release and pay $7,280.

Although this sentence wont bring back Ted Horn, its a small sigh of relief that the man responsible for taking his life will spend the foreseeable future in federal prison for his crimes, said U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. Swift action by the FBI, the Illinois State Police and the East St. Louis Police Department led to this successful investigation, and I applaud their efforts to remove this dangerous, uncivilized criminal from society.

Todays significant sentence reflects the severity of Jaylan Quinns actions, said FBI Springfield Field Office Special Agent in Charge David Nanz. And while it brings a conclusion to this case, the loss experienced by the family of Ted Horn will last a lifetime. We hope that in some way todays sentence provides a degree of comfort for the victims family.

According to court documents, Quinn and Andrew R. Brinkley, 21 of St. Louis, Missouri, entered First Bank in East St. Louis located at 350 River Park Drive around 4 p.m. on Aug. 27, 2021. Wearing masks, the pair approached the teller and displayed a demand note. The note read, i got a bomb strapped to my chest put all the money in or everyone die. After receiving funds, the two men ran toward the door.

Horn was working at the bank as a uniformed security guard and followed the men to observe, but Quinn drew a semi-automatic handgun and fatally shot Horn in the head. The robbers then fled in a white Lexus sedan. Horn was pronounced dead at the scene.

Bank surveillance video quickly led to the identification of Brinkley as a suspect. By 2 p.m. the next day, FBI agents arrested Brinkley and Quinn at Brinkleys residence in St. Louis.

Agents executed a search warrant at the residence and recovered a loaded 9mm handgun, two marked bills that were taken during the First Bank robbery and clothing that matched the description of the robbers. A white Lexus sedan was found parked at the residence.

Strong and swift investigation by law enforcement, working with the justice system, enabled us to send a convicted murderer to prison, said ISP Zone 6 Commander Lt. Mike Lewis. The Illinois State Police will continue working with our local and federal law enforcement partners, and the U.S. Attorneys Office, to ensure those breaking the law are held accountable.

Brinkley was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Jan. 12. He was ordered to pay $7,280 in restitution and will serve three years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

The FBI-Springfield Field Office led the investigation with assistance from the Illinois State Police and the East St. Louis Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laura Reppert and Ali Burns prosecuted the case.
EDWARDSVILLE  Recess Brewing is closing on April 30, with Sneakys Burgers set to take over the space on May 2. But the owners of the new restaurant at 307 N. Main St. are already familiar to Recess customers.

Casey Hinman owns Sneakys Burgers along with his business partner, Tyler Ottwein. Sneakys opened its food truck behind Recess Brewing on April 1, 2022. For the past six months, the truck has served food at the brewery on Friday and Saturday nights.

The announcement about the changes was made Saturday morning on Recess Brewings Facebook page. It noted that brewmaster Tracy Hutton is leaving to start his own brewery, Mississippi Culture, at 201 S. Union St. in Staunton, which will have its grand opening on Saturday.

Jay Beard is the owner of Recess Brewing and the building, and we have a good relationship with him, Hinman said. He wanted to have some options for food at his brewery and we were originally talking about building a kitchen inside, but that was too pricey.

We have an old 1986 Chevy, and it was kind of already set up to be a food truck, but we had to make a few changes to it. As time went by, Jay decided he didnt want to be in the brewing business because hes a real estate guy, not a brewer.

Hinman and Ottwein talked about going into business with Beard, and they explored the idea of a brick-and-mortar restaurant built from the ground up. That deal fell through, however, and Hinman and Ottwein went back to Beard, who said he had been thinking about leasing the space on North Main Street and closing the brewery, and they arranged a deal with Beard to lease the property.

The timing worked out well for all of us, Hinman said. Tyler and I were ready to take the next step, Jay was ready to get out of the building and Tracy was ready to open his own place.

Drawing on experience

Hinman and Ottwein, meanwhile, have plenty of first-hand kitchen and restaurant management experiences over the past 25 years.

Ottwein was a busboy and server in high school and quickly transferred to the kitchen where he gained his passion for cooking. Seven years ago, Ottwein started working full-time in the kitchen.

Hinman is a veteran who began working with Ottwein after he left the U.S. Marine Corps. The duo met each other a decade ago while working together at a beer restaurant in Nashville, Tennessee.

Since then, the business partners have worked together in a variety of restaurants to create the perfect burger. For Sneakys, they have partnered with an Illinois farm, Miller Wagyu Ranch, to raise full-blooded wagyu cattle for their burgers.

In addition to Friday and Saturday nights at Recess Brewing, weve been taking the food truck to lot of warehouses for World Wide Technology and we also did the catering special events at Recess, Hinman said.

For the time being, were still going to use the food truck as our kitchen when we take over the building. Were working on putting in a kitchen and were getting permits from the city and getting bids from architects and construction companies. At some point this year, we hope to pull the trigger on that.

New on the menu

When Sneakys Burgers officially opens on May 2, the menu will remain essentially the same with the addition of a small dessert menu featuring fried candy bars.

They wont be the bite-size bars and they wont be full-size but more of a half-size candy bar, Hinman said. You can get a fried Snickers or a fried 3 Musketeers depending on your preference or if you have a food allergy. Were going to skewer them and dip them in pancake batter and deep-them golden brown and sprinkle powdered sugar on them.

We are going to bring back the big hot German pretzel as an appetizer. Were also in conversation about putting one or two more options on the burger menu as well.

Hinman added that Sneakys Burgers will primarily be a beer bar with 12 rotating taps on draft (none brewed on the premises) and 75 to 80 cans and bottles of craft beer, along with a full bar including liquor and wine. Sneakys is also going to have its own beer club.

We havent figured out yet what were going to call it, but if youre going to go someplace and drink anyway, youre going to want to check out our club, Hinman said. Were going to offer some really cool prizes.

Sneakys will have essentially the same hours as Recess Brewing, with a few minor adjustments. It will be open from 4-10 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Friday, noon to 11 p.m. on Saturday and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. The restaurant will be closed on Monday.

For more information, visit Sneakys Burger Truck on Facebook or visit https://sneakysburgertruck.com/. The restaurant will have a new phone number as soon as a phone line is installed.

Tyler and I have been working together for 10 years now, so were really excited about this, Hinman said. Its our newest venture and our passion project. Tyler was born and raised in Edwardsville, so we have a lot of local connections.
COLLINSVILLE  The Goshen Theatre Project is calling all parents, grandparents, aunts, and uncles to come see the Alice you remember, but with a twist our teens and tweens will appreciate.

This performance is designed to have all generations smiling throughout the show.

In Goshen Theatre Projects "Alice@Wonderland," a world of adventure awaits. The audience will see the original characters that many know and love  the Mad Hatter, White Rabbit, and the Queen of Hearts  but may not recognize Alice.

In this musical and modern version, Alice is a texting, tweeting, and Googling girl of the modern digital era, yet she finds herself in the wonderland of old (Pioneer Drama).

This performance will feature actors ranging in age from 13-30 and they are all excited to bring this modern production to the stage. The cast and crew are so excited in fact that the caterpillar in the production is a CPA putting in long hours during the day and at night to be a part of the show in the midst of tax season.

Directors of this show include the award-winning Terry Pattison, Tori Evans, and Jennifer Bickel.

Jennifer, on behalf of the directors, said, We are firm believers that theater should be an experience within a show. Actors will roam about the audience, and we are going to make it as weirdly wonderful as possible.

The production will take place at Goshen Theatre Project headquarters, 114 W. Main St., Collinsville, over two weekends: April 21-22-23 and 29-30. Friday and Saturday shows will begin at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday shows at 2 p.m.

Tickets are available at gtp.BookTix.com.

There is limited availability for VIP Tea Party seating, which will be available on Saturday, April 22, Sunday, April 23, and Sunday, April 30 only. These VIP seats will include entry one hour prior to the show, a charcuterie-tea board, a buttercream board, and warm tea served by one of the Alice actors, in character of course.

To purchase VIP tickets, visit: https://www.goshentheatreproject.org/alicewonderland.

The cast and crew also encourage everyone to join the theater project for its Rock N Roll Bingo Fundraiser on May 20. Tickets can be purchased at gtp.BookTix.com for $20.

Goshen Theatre Project has a full lineup of shows for the 2023 season. Next up will be Disneys Descendants The Musical in June featuring youth actors ages 11-18.

To learn more about this season and upcoming auditions, log on to www.goshentheatreproject.org or find the group on Facebook and Instagram.
ALGIERS, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune called for a unified international approach to help end the armed fighting in Sudan, the Algerian Presidency said on Tuesday.

Tebboune, who also presides over the Arab League at the summit level, sent messages to the secretary-general of the United Nations, current president of the African Union, and executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the presidency said in a statement.

The Algerian leader "called for urgent and collective action to prevent further escalation and put an end to the fighting between the Sudanese brothers," said the statement.

In his letters, Tebboune emphasized "the need to prioritize dialogue to resolve the differences between the Sudanese warring brothers," while proposing "a united approach" by concerned organizations to help Sudan overcome the current crisis and establish a new era of peace, harmony and stability.

He expressed Algeria's "willingness to collaborate with regional and international partners," within "a unified approach to help Sudan overcome the current crisis and establish a peaceful and stable environment for its people."

Sudan has been witnessing armed clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in the capital Khartoum and other areas outside the capital since April 15, with the two sides accusing each other of initiating the conflict. 
CHICAGO  Faculty at Governors State University ended a strike Monday after being on the picket line for five days.

Governors State was one of three Illinois universities which saw a faculty strike this month and the last to see their strike end.

Union members at Chicago State University ended their 10-day strike on Sunday and those at Eastern Illinois University ended their six-day strike April 13.

This contract is a step towards strengthening our university and the support we can give our students, and it will contribute to attracting high-quality educators and retaining the excellent faculty and staff we have, GSU union president Mike Hart said in a statement April 13.

COMING UP Check back with the Intelligencer on Friday for a detailed update on contract negotiations at SIUE. See More Collapse

The universitys administration shared the optimistic tone in a separate statement.

Governors State President Cheryl F. Green said the tentative contract is an agreement that recognizes the valuable contributions of the faculty and academic support professionals to the University while at the same time recognizing the Universitys fiscal realities.

Faculty returned to classes at Governors State on Tuesday.

CSUs strike was the longest at 10 days. Union members at CSU also held a sit-in protest in which representatives of the union sat inside the offices of CSU President Zaldwaynaka Scott. A video released by the union showed a university police officer requesting them to leave.

Our members never wanted to strike, but being forced to do so has made us more unified and stronger than ever, CSU union president Valerie Goss said in a statement when the strike was suspended.

When the two sides reached a tentative agreement, the university released a statement saying the agreement accomplishes the goals of both parties and addresses a wide array of subjects, including wages, workload and parental leave.

Still acrimony at EIU

At EIU in downstate Charleston, faculty have voted to end the strike, with a ratification vote set for April 25.

The strike ended despite the bargaining teams having some disagreement over end-of-strike terms. The unions bargaining team wanted a provision in the agreement that would have allowed professors to be paid for making up work they missed during the strike, such as grading or holding additional office hours.

A union news release last week indicated this issue could delay ratification.

EIUs administration has demonstrated how they truly feel about the instruction and instructional support at EIU throughout this negotiation process, EIU union president Jennifer Stringfellow said. I have found that Im no longer surprised when Im disappointed by the administration of this institution.

The university took a more optimistic tone in a short statement issued by the universitys media relations department on behalf of the university: EIU thanks all parties for their commitment to our students and willingness to collaboratively chart a pathway forward as the University and its (union) partners work together to advance EIU's mission.

Unfinished contracts

Bargaining is also ongoing between administrators and faculty at Northeastern Illinois University. The faculty union there voted to authorize a strike last week and has also requested mediation.

At Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, the next round of contract negotiations is planned for April 28, according to union leaders. Watch the Intelligencer and at www.theintelligencer.com this week for an update on SIUE talks.

Faculty at University of Illinois Chicago went on strike for six days in January before the two sides reached an agreement. The union ratified the contract in early February.

Capitol News Illinois is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news service covering state government. It is distributed to hundreds of newspapers, radio and TV stations statewide. It is funded primarily by the Illinois Press Foundation and the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, along with major contributions from the Illinois Broadcasters Foundation and Southern Illinois Editorial Association.
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EDWARDSVILLE  A probationary firefighter/EMT for the City of Edwardsville received an employee excellence award for utilizing her skills while off duty to help an auto accident victim.

Sarah Jansen received the recognition as announced Tuesday at the Edwardsville City Council meeting.

Jansen was on her way to report to duty for the National Guard in her own vehicle when she encountered a recent rollover accident. A person was trapped inside the vehicle.

The Pekin Fire Department responded and Jansen assisted them in stabilizing the vehicle and extricating the patient.

This is not the first time Jansen has been lauded for her efforts to help people amid health emergencies. In January, she was among several people saluted for helping resuscitate a man who collapsed in December while at work at Edwardsvilles Gateway Commerce Center.

Tree City USA

In other reports at this week's council session, Sarah Cundiff, chair of the city's beautification and tree commission, received an Arbor Day proclamation and gave Mayor Art Risavy and the city a gift  a flag to fly at City Park as Edwardsville is once again named a Tree City USA City.

Cooler temperatures. Cleaner air. Higher property values. Healthier residents. These are just some of the benefits trees provide, according to proponents.

Arbor Day, which is April 28, recognizes that the first American Arbor Day originated with J. Sterling Morton of Nebraska City, Nebraska, at an annual meeting of the Nebraska State Board of Agriculture held in Lincoln. On April 10, 1872, an estimated one million trees were planted in Nebraska.

Cundiff said this is the 21st consecutive year for Edwardsville to be named a Tree City USA Member and the 15th year in a row for it to earn the companion Tree City USA Growth Award.

She also praised the public works and parks departments for their involvement in the program as many city trees are in the parks or in city rights-of-way. The growth award is presented to participating Tree City USA communities that demonstrate increased levels of tree care and community engagement.

In other action, the aldermen unanimously agreed to:

Authorize a public hearing date for the Park North Business District Redevelopment Plan as May 16 at 6:30 p.m., prior to that evening's city council meeting in City Hall, 118 Hillsboro Ave.

Establish a budget for the 2023-24 fiscal year

Approve the police department application for a state tobacco enforcement grant for fiscal year 2024

Authorize the mayor enter into an emergency medical services mutual aid agreement with Rural Aid, LLC

Authorize the sale of a 2003 Ford Econoline Ambulance as surplus

Authorize a sole source resolution for resurfacing Troy Road to Christ Brothers Asphalt for $1.12 million

A professional services agreement with Volkert, Inc. for construction engineering of the Troy Road resurfacing project for $34,330

Resolutions granting change order authority and signature authority to the director of public works and the city engineer, the latter for Illinois Environmental Protection Agency permit applications

Approve the final minor plat of Newsong Plaza

Authorize the parks department to apply for grant funds from Phillips 66

Appropriations for the fiscal year 2023 to 2024 from May 1, 2023, to May 6, 2024

The next city council meetings are scheduled for May 1 and May 2 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
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TOPEKA, Kan. (AP)  Kansas' governor vetoed legislation Wednesday that would require clinics to tell patients that a medication abortion can be stopped using an unproven drug regimen.

Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly's action pushed back state GOP efforts to restrict abortion despite a decisive statewide vote affirming abortion rights in August 2022. It was the second time within a week that she vetoed an anti-abortion bill approved by the Legislature, which has Republican supermajorities and conservative leaders.

Kansans made clear that they believe personal healthcare decisions should be made between a woman and her doctor, not politicians in Topeka, Kelly said in a short statement announcing Wednesday's action.

Last week, she rejected a measure that could subject doctors to criminal charges and lawsuits if they are accused of not providing enough care for infants delivered alive during certain abortion procedures, even if they are expected to die within seconds outside the womb because of a severe medical issue.

Kelly also vetoed an abortion medication reversal measure in 2019. The governor said Wednesday that this year's bill would interfere in decisions made by women and their doctors and could harm people's health, given the uncertain science behind it.

Kansans for Life, the state's most influential anti-abortion group, called last week's veto of the bill dealing with medical care for infants born during abortion procedures heartless. After Kelly's veto of the abortion medication measure, spokesperson Danielle Underwood said the governor sided with the extremist abortion industry.

Kansas House Speaker Dan Hawkins, a Wichita Republican, said: With this veto, Governor Kelly has shown that she does not believe vulnerable women have the right to know all of their options.

The vetoes mean that abortion access and providers in Kansas remain for now far less restricted compared to other states with GOP-controlled legislatures that have banned or severely restricted abortion procedures over the past year.

GOP lawmakers are expected to try to override both vetoes after they reconvene next week to finish their business for the year.

Abortion opponents had the two-thirds majorities that will be necessary to override the veto of the bill on medical treatment for infants delivered alive during abortion procedures.

Republican lawmakers also may be able to override the bill vetoed Wednesday, though the vote is likely to be close in the House.

If they do, patients asking for a medical abortion would get a state-mandated, written notice that they can interrupt their abortion, even though the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology says there is no scientific evidence that the reversal approach promoted by abortion opponents is safe or effective.

Abortion rights supporters contend both measures break faith with voters. Kansas Senate Democratic Leader Dinah Sykes said Wednesday that those voters had "rejected giving politicians power over their personal, private decisions.

This bill attempts to undermine Kansans right to bodily autonomy by willfully forcing blatant misinformation into a healthcare environment," said Sykes, who is from the Kansas City area, where the abortion-rights vote was especially strong. This is an attempt to sway a woman away from making the decision that the people of Kansas resoundingly said she has a right to make on her own.

Even if Kansas lawmakers override Kellys vetoes, providers could ask state courts to block the new laws. Lawsuits have prevented Kansas from enforcing a 2015 ban on a common second-trimester abortion procedure and a 2011 law from imposing extra health and safety rules on abortion providers.

At least a dozen states enacted abortion reversal bans before the U.S. Supreme Court's decision in 2022 allowing states to prohibit abortion, though legal challenges put four states' laws on hold.

But in Kansas, the state Supreme Court ruled in 2019 that access to abortion is a matter of bodily autonomy and a fundamental right under the state constitution. The vote last year rejected stripping out that protection.

Republican lawmakers and anti-abortion groups contend the vote last year doesnt preclude reasonable abortion restrictions or rules for providers like the reversal bill.

A majority of U.S. patients terminating their pregnancies do so with abortion medications. Since the U.S. Supreme Court's decision last year, abortion opponents have sought to undercut access to the pills. The U.S. Supreme Court is considering the legal status of mifepristone, the first of two medications in the most common and most effective method.

The abortion reversal approach promoted by Kansas lawmakers involves giving women doses of the hormone progesterone after mifepristone is taken but before the second medication, misoprostol, is taken. Doctors use progesterone to try to prevent miscarriages.

Experts question the findings of the two anti-abortion doctors who began using the off-label reversal approach more than 15 years ago and see a 2018 study vouching for its effectiveness as seriously flawed. Republican lawmakers in Kansas have brushed aside the criticism.

Medical knowledge is passed within our profession very much like political knowledge is passed here, peer to peer, Republican state Rep. Bill Clifford, a southwestern Kansas eye doctor, told his colleagues during one recent debate. It isn't always about studies, and you have to trust your colleagues.

___

Follow John Hanna on Twitter: https://twitter.com/apjdhanna
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CANBERRA, Australia (AP)  Eight Indonesian fishermen are feared drowned and another 11 have been rescued after spending almost a week without food or water on a barren island off the northwest Australian coast in the wake of a powerful tropical cyclone, authorities said Wednesday.

Two primitive wooden Indonesian fishing boats were caught in the path of Cyclone Ilsa, which made landfall Friday as Australia's most powerful storm in eight years, with winds gusting at an apparent record of 289 kilometers (180 miles) per hour.

One of the boats, Putri Jaya, sank in extreme weather conditions early on April 12 while Ilsa was gathering strength over the Indian Ocean and heading toward the coast, Australian Maritime Safety Authority said in a statement, citing survivors.

The other boat, Express 1, ran aground with 10 men aboard around the same time on Bedwell Island, a sandy outcrop some 300 kilometers (200 miles) west of the Australian coastal tourist town of Broome, the authority said. The only known survivor from the Putri Jaya spent 30 hours floating in the water tied to a fuel can for buoyancy before swimming to the same island, officials said.

The authority said the 11 survivors had spent for six days on the island without food and water before being rescued on Monday night.

The authority clarified in a later statement that the Putri Jaya survivor reached the island a day later than the rest.

The fishermen live in the East Nusa Tenggara province in the eastern part of the Indonesian archipelago.

The survivors were spotted Monday by the Australian Border Force, which patrols Australias northern approaches for smuggling and other illegal activity, from a plane on a routine surveillance mission. A Broome-based rescue helicopter was deployed and winched all 11 aboard in failing light.

Gordon Watt, a manager at helicopter provider PHI Aviation, said the rescue helicopter crew had been unable to land on the sand.

They had to conduct winch recoveries which, in itself, is a challenging task, Watt said. "The time of day meant that nightfall was upon the crew during the rescue, so they had to transition to using night vision goggles."

The survivors were taken to Broome Hospital where Border Force said in a statement they were reported to be in good health despite their ordeal.

This incident highlights the dangers of undertaking journeys in small boats unsuited to rough seas and adverse weather events, both of which are common in Australias northern waters, the statement said.

The survivors have been flown from Broome to the northern city of Darwin, from where they will be flown back to Indonesia, the statement said.

Indonesia's consulate in Darwin requested to meet the fishermen and provide them with assistance, Indonesias Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement. The consulate would facilitate their repatriation, the statement said, thanking Australian agencies for their help.

The Australian Maritime Safety Authority, which manages searches and rescues in Australian waters, said there was no ongoing search for further survivors.

The missing Indonesian fishermen are expected to be the only fatalities from Ilsa, which was a maximum Category 5 cyclone when it crossed the Pilbara region coast of Western Australia state southwest of Broome.

___

Associated Press writer Edna Tarigan in Jakarta, Indonesia, contributed to this report.

___

This story corrects that eight fishermen were reported missing.
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Linkedin Reuters Brussels, Belgium  Wed, April 19, 2023

The European Parliament approved a landmark deforestation law on Wednesday to ban imports into the EU of coffee, beef, soy and other commodities if they are linked to the destruction of the world's forests.

The law will require companies that sell goods into the European Union to produce a due diligence statement and "verifiable" information proving their goods were not grown on land deforested after 2020, or risk hefty fines.

The rules aim to eliminate deforestation from the supply chains of a range of everyday items sold in Europe. It will apply to soy, beef, palm oil, wood, cocoa, coffee, rubber, charcoal, and derived products including leather, chocolate and furniture.

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Linkedin Radhiyya Indra (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, April 19, 2023 07:48 7 0de7eba49861a560f8b2ec6fa5e0ac83 1 Lifestyle Lebaran,firecracker,firecracker-explosion,fire-accidents Free

As Idul Fitri approaches, more and more fireworks will start blasting off in the country, a diversion that can have a dark side.

Big holidays like Ramadan and New Years Eve are always welcomed by bursts of fireworks, not least in Indonesia. But they have become so common that many seem to overlook their risks, which may even cause the death of loved ones.

Days before Ramadan started in March, a deadly firecracker blast killed one person and injured three others in Magelang regency, Central Java. Several weeks later, more injuries started popping up in Jepara and Kebumen, the latter resulting in the death of a 17-year-old boy on April 12. In response, Central Java Governor Ganjar Pranowo issued a warning.

Im asking the public, ahead of Idul Fitri, especially these last 10 days of Ramadan, to please stop playing with firecrackers, Ganjar said on Wednesday, as quoted by Kompas.com.

Ganjar asked revelers to opt for replacements. However, firecrackers are so ingrained in Indonesian culture that separating them from holiday nights may seem unthinkable.

Seasonal fun

For 16-year-old Haura, firecrackers have always been a family tradition. Almost every New Years Eve, her family gets firecrackers to blast off on the front porch.

I like the ones that are not too noisy but have a big burst in the air, the Bandung high schooler said on April 9.

Though she generally liked them, she drew some lines.

Our family never gets them for the evenings leading up to Idul Fitri since [theres always] takbiran and shalawatan [laudation of Gods greatness] around the house, she said.

Playing with fire: A younger, 5-year-old Arraya holds sparklers during New Year's Eve at his house in Bandung. (Courtesy of Haura) (Archive/Courtesy of Haura)

Firecrackers vendors, who are mostly found on the streets or at markets during Ramadan or in December, also spoke of the longevity that firecrackers have had in Indonesian culture.

Ive sold firecrackers every year since 2003. [...] My family also did. This is a business that has been passed down, 30-year-old Rustamaji, or Aji, said on April 4.

Aji, who resides in Kebon Jeruk, West Jakarta, and sells firecrackers on the street near his house, said business tended to boom during Ramadan and before New Year. He and his colleagues could double or triple their investment, which was typically around Rp 1.5 million.

[This is] because everyone buys firecrackers, especially parents who buy them for their kids, said Aji, who runs a reflexology shop during the firecracker off-season.

He named the many varieties of firecrackers he sold, from fountain-shaped bursts of sparks to ball-shaped explosions, adding that people who were afraid of big blasts could always opt for sparklers.

Traumatizing injuries

There is good reason to be wary of the colorful explosions. Firecracker-related injuries are actually quite common.

It was the night before Idul Fitri and the whole family had come together. All the kids were playing with firecrackers outside. My brother, who was 6 years old at the time, had this wild idea to just light a firecracker himself, said 23-year-old Khairunnisa Dwita Dudu Lestari about an incident that occurred in 2008.

Her brother, who had entered elementary school that year, got too close to the firecrackers fuse while it was lit.

His clothes caught fire, and it got to his stomach, near his belly button. He then ran around trying to put out the fire, Dudu recalled on March 28.

After the young boy was calmed down and the fire was put out, his father administered an ointment for the burns for several days.

Thankfully, it was not a fatal burn, [...] He was traumatized for some time, avoiding firecrackers at all costs and even scared to hold a sparkler. But the fear goes away with age, Dudu said.

Meanwhile, for 24-year-old Muhammad Fadhil from Banjarmasin, Kalimantan, a firecracker blast once resulted embarrassment that was far worse than any physical pain it caused.

Booming season: Rustamaji, or Aji, poses with the firecrackers he sells on Jl. Rawa Belong in West Jakarta on April 4. (JP/Radhiyya Indra) (JP/Radhiyya Indra)

I was in fourth grade, and usually every Ramadan my family would do tarawih [Ramadan evening prayers] at the mosque behind my housing complex. But I went to another musholla (prayer room) so I could avoid the prayers and just play with my friends, Fadhil confessed with a laugh on March 28.

With firecrackers on hand and a river near the musholla, the kids had the idea of throwing the firecrackers into the river.

Maybe so that there would be a bursting water fountain when it exploded, who knows? So we threw the firecrackers in the river, but nothing happened. When I moved my face closer to the river to check whether the firecrackers were lit or not [] thats when they exploded, Fadhil said.

My face was unbelievably hot, red and itchy, but at the time I was just shocked and totally embarrassed, so I just laughed it off, he said. Some ulcers appeared on his face the next day.

While Fadhil eventually grew out of the fear of fireworks that resulted from his shock by the river, some people, such as 24-year-old Zulfan, never get over their fears after such incidents.

When I was little, my friends and I played with firecrackers a lot, and one time, we played catch with them, the Bandung-based graphic designer recounted, sounding regretful about his elementary school experience.

Eventually, a firecracker exploded in his hand before he could throw it back.

It didnt leave a terrible scar, more like a cigarette burn, thankfully, he said. But it was quite traumatic for me. To this day, when I smell a wisp of firecracker gas I just instantly go on alert as a reflex.

Regardless of the danger it might pose, many children are still eager to play with firecrackers.

Im not scared of firecrackers, Hauras 7-year-old brother Arraya said on April 9. Im more scared of sparklers since the fiery sparks get on your hand.

After trying out his first firecracker experience during this fasting month, he decided he wanted to try more  with caution, of course.

I cant wait to light up some more firecrackers with my cousins, Arraya said excitedly.
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Linkedin Yohana Belinda (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, April 19, 2023 11:05 7 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b054ff57b 1 People Feast,rock-band,Sexual-assault,sex-abuse,sex-abuse-scandals,Hindia,Baskara-Putra Free

The popular drummer has also posted an apologetic statement on his Instagram account.

On Monday, April 17, Indonesian rock band .Feast shared a post on its social media stating that one of its members, Adrianus Aristo Haryo, aka Bodat, had been permanently suspended after an allegation of sexual assault was made against him.

In .Feasts statement, which is written in Indonesian, the band states Bodat will take time to reflect on his actions, and the rest of the band will keep an eye on the situation and do anything they can to help the victim get the help they need. No details about the victim or victims, or what specifically occurred, was shared.

Adrianus Aristo Haryo or Ryo Bodat has been suspended from all .Feast activities because he has taken detrimental actions that hurt other parties, which are not in line with the values and principles we believe in, the statement reads.

We hope Bodat will make the necessary improvements, and .Feast will keep an eye on his progress.

Bodat has also released a message on Instagram after the news of his dismissal from the band stating he regrets his actions and promises to reflect on his actions.

I would like to apologize to those I have lost for my big mistake. I also want to apologize to all kelelawar [the term used for Feast fans] I've let down.

I am fully aware, disappointed and very sorry for what I did. Even though an apology will not be enough and will not erase the trauma experienced by the victim, I will try to continue to improve myself, so that similar incidents will not happen again.

The provided remark also indicates an apology for an unnamed victim: As a consequence, I accept the decision .Feast has made. This is long-term learning for me, and I will focus on self-improvement with professional help.

Throughout its career, .Feast found a large following due to its sociopolitical lyrics including a hard anti-sexual violence stance. Its songs often soundtrack student protests nationwide. Some of their popular songs include Beberapa Orang Memaafkan (Some people forgive), which tackles the issue of terrorism and radicalization, and Camkan (Keep in mind), a plea for religious tolerance.

The Jakarta Post has tried to reach Bodat through various channels but has not received a response. A representative for the band returned to refer us back to the original social media statement, as written above.

The full statement, in Indonesian, can be found below.




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Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan  Wed, April 19, 2023 11:30 7 5fceed71997e5776a1634d25dc51ca30 1 Archipelago online-gambling,Court,crime,prison,Medan,North-Sumatra Free

Medan District Court in North Sumatra sentenced 15 men to 10 months in jail and fined them Rp 50 million (US$3,362) each for their involvement in illegal online gambling on Tuesday.

The trial of Jonni, alias Apin BK, the alleged boss of the illegal online gambling ring, on charges of gambling and money laundering, is still ongoing.

Prosecutors had previously demanded 18-month jail terms for the 15 men. Presiding judge Dahlan Tarigan said that mitigating factors for the men were that the crimes were their first offenses, their good behavior and the fact that they were remorseful.

Prosecutors have accused Jonni of intentionally establishing places and facilities for illegal online gambling, setting up a facility in 2017 in a building with around 19 rooms at the Krakatau Multi Centre (KMC) warehouse complex in Medan to accommodate the bookies in their illegal online gambling operations.

In January 2022, Jonni allegedly bought four storehouses in the Cemara Asri housing complex in Deli Serdang, on the outskirts of Medan, equipping them with tables, chairs, computers, CCTV cameras and an internet connection to expand his online gambling ring.

Jonni is being tried under Article 303 of the Criminal Code (KUHP) on gambling and Article 3 of Law No. 8/2010 on the prevention and eradication of money laundering, which carry a combined sentence of up to 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of Rp 10 billion.

Last August, police raided several locations in Deli Serdang suspected of being the sites of Jonnis illegal gambling headquarters, but found he had fled to Singapore. He was arrested in Malaysia in October 2022.

Jonni is suspected of operating up to 21 illegal online gambling websites from the Warung Warna Warni cafe in Deli Serdang, and is believed to have pocketed up to Rp 1 billion each day. (dre)
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Linkedin Fadli (The Jakarta Post) Batam  Wed, April 19, 2023 11:29 7 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b054ffed4 1 Archipelago fire,search-and-rescue,Indonesia,Malaysia Free

A crew member was killed and two others injured, and one reported missing, after a fire broke out on a Malaysian-flagged tanker in the Outside Port Limits (OPL) waters between Indonesia and Malaysia on Monday.

Slamet Riyadi, chief of the Tanjung Pinang Riau Islands Search and Rescue (SAR) Agency, said that his office had deployed personnel following a report by local fishermen.

Indonesian fishermen rescued two crew members and recovered a dead body, and these were later brought to Batam, Slamet said on Tuesday.

Multi tanker Tiger Star was on its way from Johor, Malaysia, to the OPL.

There was a fire in the ships engine room and on deck; the ship was at anchor and its generator was left running, Slamet said.

The search involves one boat from the SAR Agency, one from the Navy and two from Malaysia. (dre)
BANGKOK, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese Consulate General in Chiang Mai confirmed on Wednesday that the female giant panda living in Chiang Mai Zoo had passed away at the age of 21.

The consulate general said in a statement that Chiang Mai Zoo has informed them of the death of Lin Hui, and a joint investigation by both Chinese and Thai experts will be launched to find out the cause of Lin Hui's death as soon as possible.

The giant panda showed signs of sickness on Tuesday. The zoo closely monitored Lin Hui's condition and sought guidance for treatment from experts of the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda, according to the statement.

Lin Hui was born in September 2001 and arrived in Chiang Mai from China in October 2003. She enjoyed great popularity in Thailand and some Thai people mourned her death on social media after they heard the news. 
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Linkedin Tenggara Strategics (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, April 19, 2023 07:00 7 d5259e4d93052b0e76bee70b054f5ea9 4 Academia the-brief Free

The Development Finance Comptrollers (BPKP) recent audit over PT Kereta Commuter Indonesias (KCI) capacity shows that the KCI is surprisingly not overcapacity  starkly different with the public perception and the KCIs own audit. The BPKP audit result solved the recent disagreement over the KCIs plan to imported used trains from Japan and prompted the government to tell the KCI to send its retired train cars to INKA for retrofitting, despite the latters unfamiliarity with Japanese-made cars.

According to the BPKP audit, the KCIs train occupancy still hovers at around 62.75 percent, projected to rise to 79 percent and then 83 percent in the coming two years. These results would imply that even if KCI retired a third of their fleet, they would still have the capacity to service commuters for the rest of 2023. However, the BPKP came to its conclusion for the 62.75 percent occupancy ratio based on the total number of occupants within the period of its test.

In contrast to BPKPs review, the KCI did its own review based on peak hours, which found that its occupancy ratio could potentially spike up to 126 percent in 2023. This projection is based on the scenario where it retires some cars and reduces the KCI fleet down to 86 train cars. Should its fleet drop to 69 cars in 2024, the occupancy ratio could reach as high as 195 percent. Aggravating the issue further is the length of time of the retrofitting process, which is projected to take between 14 and 17 months, meaning that the KCIs lowered capacity issue would be unavoidable for the rest of 2023.

Following the BPKP audit, the retrofitting scheme with PT Industri Kereta Api (INKA) is looking to be the only option for the KCI. However, INKA and its joint venture partner, Stadler Rail AG, do not specialize in the kind of trains the KCI train network uses.

The Greater Jakarta train network has historically used Japanese train cars, which use stainless steel and are well suited for tracks that run low to the ground and pass through roads. Meanwhile, INKA, since 2020 when it entered a joint venture with Stadler to make PT Stadler Inka Indonesia, has been specializing in aluminum train cars. Aluminum train cars are used for the LRT project and are a popular export commodity because of their lower carbon footprint compared with stainless steel cars, however they are ill suited for the KCIs railways.

The primary proponent for retrofitting at the start was Industry Minister Agus Gumiwang Kartasasmita, citing that KAI should focus on promoting local manufacturers such as INKA. Even after the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry voiced its approval of the KCIs import plan, the Industry Ministry continued to oppose the import option so vehemently that Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Minister Luhut Pandjaitan had to intervene.

On the other hand, the Transportation Ministry argues that KCIs fleet can still be optimized to somewhat mitigate the overcapacity issue. One example of this would be to shorten the intervals between trains. Another example given by the Institute for Transportation studies is to move cars from less active routes to the more congested routes.

Whats more

Despite the hard stance against imports from the Industry Ministry and the results from the BPKP audit, Deputy SOEs Minister Kartika Tiko Wirjoatmodjo said the decision regarding the Japanese train car imports would not be final until May 2023. One last meeting regarding the train car imports would be held before Lebaran, participated by representatives from the SOEs Ministry, the Coordinating Maritime Affairs and Investment Ministry, the Industry Ministry and the Trade Ministry. Deputy Minister Tiko will be arguing for the urgency of the imports in this last meeting. He explained that the retrofitting scheme would be fine for 2024, but the KCI urgently needed to solve its capacity issues in the short term.

Echoing the urgency of the imports has been House of Representatives (DPR) commission VI member Andre Rosiadi, who recently engaged with netizens by testing the BPKPs capacity report and riding the train from Rawa Buntu station to his office in Palmerah. Despite his route not going through heavily congested transit stations such as Tanah Abang, he was still subject to densely packed cars with little breathing room. Based on this test, he concludes that the KCI needed more cars added to its fleet. Andre explained that if more trains were added, the interval between trains could be cut from 9 minutes to 5 minutes, which would reduce congestion considerably, especially during rush hours.

What weve heard

A source in the government said that there were doubts within the government's internal circlesespecially from the Ministry of Transportation and the Ministry of SOEthat INKA could produce commuter trains according to PT KCI's specifications. This doubt occurred after the results of the BPKP audit leaned against the import option and the Coordinating Ministry for Maritime Affairs and Investment proposed that used trains be rejuvenated.

The issue is that PT KAI wants domestically produced KRLs to continue using Japanese technology because the entire Jabodetabek KRL track network is already using Japanese technology. The problem, said the source, is that INKA has established a partnership with Stadler, a company from Switzerland.

This Swiss company produces trains with different specifications from Japanese train cars. Stadler's trains, for example, are said to use aluminum. For KAI, the trains made of aluminum do not match the train criteria KCI wants. Meanwhile, Japanese trains use rust-resistant stainless steel material which is suitable for the Jabodetabek KRL track. Stadler did not want to replace their trains with stainless steel.

That's why KAI encourages Inka to use technology from J-TREC, a company from Japan. However, a source in the government said that Inka had not been able to cooperate with J-TREC because it was already bound by a cooperation contract with Stadler, which was a stipulation in the establishment of their joint venture company, PT Stadler Inka Indonesia.

However, added another source at the Ministry of SOEs, a cooperation with Stadler cannot begin. This is because, as part of the cooperation contract, it is written that the manufacturing of trains can only be carried out after a purchase order for 500 units for the driven train series has been received. Meanwhile, PT KCI does not need to replace that many train cars.

It is suspected that a number of these stipulations have contributed to the alleged stagnation of INKAs collaboration with Stadler. A source at the Transportation Ministry even said that the train factory in Banyuwangi, which was built to support the Inka-Stadler joint venture, is still empty. It is said that Stadler hasnt even brought in their manufacturing equipment into the Banyuwangi factory.

It is because of this that the SOE Ministry suggested that the plan to import used cars from Japan should still be carried out, but with a limited mechanism, at least for 2023.

Since the very start, the SOE Ministry was opposed to the Industry Ministrys hard stance. The SOE Ministry already agreed with the KCI import plan. The SOE Ministry estimates that the retrofit option will not be able to overcome the train car deficit nor the projected increase in passengers. Moreover, there are 10 train car series that are over 45 years old and must be replaced before the end of this year. Additionally, the SOE Ministrys position is supported by the Transportation Ministry.

Disclaimer

This content is provided by Tenggara Strategics in collaboration with The Jakarta Post to serve the latest comprehensive and reliable analysis on Indonesias political and business landscape. Access the latest edition of Tenggara Backgrounder to read the articles listed below:

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Linkedin Dorita Setiawan (The Jakarta Post) Hanover, Germany  Wed, April 19 2023

Hannover Messe 2023 records some important notes for Indonesia as the official partner country of one of the worlds annual tech exhibitions.

Now underway in Hanover, Germany, the event is a reassuring event for Indonesia to show an excellent image of the country to the eyes of the world after struggling to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hannover Messe has been held every spring at the Hanover Exhibition Center in Lower Saxony since 1947. This years edition began on April 17 and will close on April 21.

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Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, April 19 2023

In a few days, ASEAN will have to once more take stock of its efforts to restore peace and democracy in Myanmar.

Two years ago on April 24, nine leaders of the Southeast Asian bloc met in Jakarta for an emergency meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of the Myanmar junta, who had seized power from the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi three months prior.

Behind closed doors, a set of demands was put together and seemingly pushed out by consensus, including an apparent acknowledgment from the new military ruler.

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Linkedin Agence France-Presse (The Jakarta Post) Seoul/United Nations  Wed, April 19 2023

Chinese President Xi Jinping will push for a "higher stage" of relations with Pyongyang, North Korean state media said on Tuesday, as Group of Seven (G7) foreign ministers condemned the North's unprecedented string of weapons tests.

China is North Korea's longtime treaty ally and main economic benefactor, their relationship forged in the bloodshed of the Korean War when Mao Zedong sent in millions of "volunteers" to fight United States-led United Nations forces to a standstill.

Mao once described the two countries as being close as "lips and teeth", and while relations have fluctuated over the years, a breakdown in negotiations between North Korea and the US has spurred both sides to strengthen their alliance.

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Linkedin Yvette Tanamal (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta  Wed, April 19, 2023

Despite the December finalization of the Indonesia-Vietnam Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) observers have said that poaching by Vietnamese fishing boats is still rife in some of Indonesias most resourceful waters, with government officials asserting that illegal fishing remains Jakartas number-one maritime threat in 2023.

Having tracked the movements of Vietnamese fishing boats and Hanois state-owned vessels in the North Natuna Sea since January, Jakarta-based think tank the Indonesia Ocean Justice Initiative (IOJI) said that this years movement patterns showed little to no differences compared with the pre-EEZ period.

The pact should have reduced the number of Vietnamese vessels in these waters, [...] Not much has changed since the demarcation of the EEZ boundaries, IOJI senior advisor Andreas Aditya Salim told a Monday online discussion.

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Linkedin Soyoung Kim, Ju-min Park and Hyonhee Shin (Reuters) Seoul  Wed, April 19, 2023 09:52 7 0de7eba49861a560f8b2ec6fa5e26b83 2 Asia and Pacific Government-Politics,defense,military-conflicts,North-Korea,Ukraine,Russia,Russo-Ukrainian-War,Yoon-Seok-youl Free

South Korea might extend its support for Ukraine beyond humanitarian and economic aid if it comes under a large-scale civilian attack, President Yoon Suk Yeol said, signalling a shift in his stance against arming Ukraine for the first time.

In an interview with Reuters ahead of his state visit to the US next week, Yoon said his government has been exploring how to help defend and rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international assistance during the 1950-53 Korean War.

"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said.

It was the first time that Seoul suggested a willingness to provide weapons to Ukraine, more than a year after ruling out the possibility of lethal aid.

A key US ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea has so far tried to avoid antagonising Russia due to its companies operating there and Moscow's influence over North Korea, despite mounting pressure from western countries for weapons supply.

"I believe there won't be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that's been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law," Yoon said. "However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures."

Yoon is scheduled to visit Washington next week for a summit with US President Joe Biden to mark the 70th anniversary of the two countries' alliance.

During the summit, Yoon said he will seek "tangible outcomes" on the allies' efforts to improve responses to evolving threats from North Korea, which has ramped up military tests, and launched its first solid-fuel intercontinental ballistic missile last week.

Seoul, for its part, will step up its surveillance, reconnaissance and intelligence analysis capability and develop "ultra-high-performance, high-power weapons" to fend off the North's threats, Yoon said.

"If a nuclear war breaks out between South and North Korea, this is probably not just a problem between the two sides, but the entire Northeast Asia would probably turn to ashes. That has to be stopped," he said.

When asked if the allies would envision an Asian version of NATO's nuclear planning group involving Japan, Yoon said they are focusing on bilateral measures to strengthen information-sharing, joint contingency planning and joint execution of the plans.

In February, South Korea and the US staged table-top exercises simulating a North Korea nuclear attack as part of Seoul's efforts to play a bigger role in Washington's nuclear policy over the North.

"In terms of responding to a powerful nuclear attack, I think stronger measures than what NATO has should be prepared, Yoon said.

"I think there's no big problem if Japan is joining, but since there's been much progress between the US and South Korea, it would be more efficient to create this system ourselves first."

'No summit for show'

Tension has flared in recent weeks, with the North threatening "more practical and offensive" action over South Korea-US exercises and refusing to answer inter-Korean hotlines.

Yoon said he is open to peace talks but opposes any "surprise" summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un to "show off" to voters out of domestic political interests.

He criticised former governments' sudden, uninformed announcements of inter-Korean talks, which he said did little to build trust.

Yoon's predecessor, Moon Jae-in, staked his legacy on improving inter-Korean ties and helped arrange a historic meeting between Kim and then US President Donald Trump in 2018.

Three summits Kim and Moon held in 2018 promised peace and reconciliation but relations have soured and the North conducted unprecedented numbers of weapons tests following a second failed summit between Kim and Trump.

"They used those talks ahead of elections, but ultimately inter-Korean relations were always back to square one," Yoon said.

Humanitarian aid could open the door for dialogue, and both sides could build on those discussions to move onto more sensitive topics including economy and military, he said.

Yoon's administration proposed COVID-19 relief last year and unveiled plans to provide economic aid in return for nuclear disarmament, but Pyongyang flatly rejected the offers.

"If previous talks had proceeded step by step ... before the leaders met, the inter-Korean relationship would have developed steadily, though at a snail's pace," Yoon said.

On Sino-US rivalry, Yoon has trodden cautiously, with China being South Korea's largest trade partner, but he has been more vocal over tension in the Taiwan Strait.

Tensions over democratic Taiwan, which China claims as its own, have spiked as Beijing intensifies diplomatic and military pressure to get Taipei to accept Chinese sovereignty.

"After all, these tensions occurred because of the attempts to change the status quo by force, and we together with the international community absolutely oppose such a change," Yoon said.

"The Taiwan issue is not simply an issue between China and Taiwan but, like the issue of North Korea, it is a global issue."
Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has announced plans to establish its interim operational hub in the UAE at the Abu Dhabi Global Market.

The Host Member Agreement for setting up AIIBs first overseas office was inked by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, and Jin Liqun, the President of the AIIB.

The UAE joined as a founding and permanent member of AIIB in 2015. The bank currently has 106 members. The bank's capital consists of $100 billion and the UAEs contribution to its capital amounts to approximately $1.185 billion.

The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development was mandated to represent the UAE in the bank and to actively participate in its periodic meetings.

AIIB has financed 212 projects with a total value of $40.37 billion, which have contributed to economic development and improved the quality of life for communities in beneficiary countries.

Dr Al Jaber and Jin Liqun held in-depth discussions on the emerging opportunities for the AIIB to strengthen its role in the region as a leading development bank and on the importance of reforming the international financial institutions (IFIs) and finding practical and comprehensive solutions to address the imperative of scaling up financing of global climate action through these institutions.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr Al Jaber said this deal reflects the UAEs commitment to enhancing co-operation with international organizations and institutions focused on sustainable economic development for developing countries.

"The operational office would serve as a strategic destination in the Middle East and the world, supporting the Banks development agenda and financing infrastructure projects to achieve sustainable economic growth, especially where it is needed the most in the global south," he added.-TradeArabia News Service
ISLAMABAD, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Pakistan's Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Ahsan Iqbal rejected the perception that the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is a "debt trap," saying it distorts the spirit of the BRI.

"The local people can testify that it (the BRI) has had a very positive impact," the minister told media on Wednesday.

Appreciating China for extending the BRI to Pakistan in the shape of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), he said that the CPEC has given Pakistan a great opportunity in the areas of energy, infrastructure, telecommunication, and industrial cooperation.

Under the CPEC, Pakistan's Gwadar Port is set to become a major trade and commercial hub in the region with its free zone and investment from Chinese companies, Iqbal said, adding that Pakistan can ship goods to China from Gwadar port in a shorter time owing to its strategic location and potential for trade.

The government's top priority is to attract more private sector investment in Pakistan, particularly in the mining sector which holds tremendous potential for value addition and development, he said.

The minister underlined that the progress and implementation of CPEC projects are being supervised, and the incumbent government is committed to completing the projects on time. 
Banco BBVA Argentina S.A. (NYSE:BBAR  Get Rating) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 764,700 shares, a drop of 19.7% from the March 15th total of 952,500 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 718,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.1 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded Banco BBVA Argentina from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Saturday, March 18th.

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Banco BBVA Argentina Price Performance

Shares of Banco BBVA Argentina stock traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $4.89. The company had a trading volume of 848,339 shares, compared to its average volume of 743,574. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The company has a market capitalization of $998.73 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $4.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $3.83. Banco BBVA Argentina has a 1-year low of $2.03 and a 1-year high of $5.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Banco BBVA Argentina

Banco BBVA Argentina ( NYSE:BBAR Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Monday, March 6th. The bank reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter. Banco BBVA Argentina had a net margin of 7.37% and a return on equity of 16.04%. The firm had revenue of $784.48 million for the quarter.

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Banco BBVA Argentina by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 137,830 shares of the banks stock worth $489,000 after buying an additional 4,941 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Banco BBVA Argentina by 318.6% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 7,259 shares of the banks stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 5,525 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG raised its position in Banco BBVA Argentina by 70.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 14,624 shares of the banks stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 6,024 shares during the last quarter. United Maritime Capital LLC purchased a new position in Banco BBVA Argentina during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Banco BBVA Argentina during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 1.75% of the companys stock.

Banco BBVA Argentina Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Banco BBVA Argentina SA engages in the provision of banking and financial services. It operates through the following business lines: retail banking; small and medium-sized companies; and corporate and investment banking (CIB). The retail banking business includes checking and savings accounts, time deposits, credit cards, personal and auto loans, mortgages, insurance, and investment products.

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Dfpg Investments LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 19,225 shares of the financial services providers stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WFC. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 66.6% in the third quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 688 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC bought a new stake in Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Orion Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Wells Fargo & Company by 125.0% during the 3rd quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC now owns 900 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Lam Group Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Wells Fargo & Company in the 1st quarter valued at about $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.24% of the companys stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling

In other Wells Fargo & Company news, EVP Kleber Santos sold 34,698 shares of Wells Fargo & Company stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.27, for a total value of $1,605,476.46. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $906,429.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wells Fargo & Company Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WFC opened at $41.87 on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company has a 12-month low of $35.25 and a 12-month high of $49.49. The business has a 50 day moving average of $42.13 and a 200-day moving average of $43.50. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 0.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $158.15 billion, a PE ratio of 12.00, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.12.

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 14th. The financial services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.08. Wells Fargo & Company had a return on equity of 10.07% and a net margin of 15.93%. The business had revenue of $20.73 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.06 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.88 EPS. The firms quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Wells Fargo & Company will post 4.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Wells Fargo & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 3rd were paid a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 2nd. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. Wells Fargo & Companys dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Wells Fargo & Company in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $46.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a report on Monday. Piper Sandler cut shares of Wells Fargo & Company from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and decreased their target price for the company from $49.00 to $47.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 17th. Odeon Capital Group lowered shares of Wells Fargo & Company from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, March 13th. Finally, Raymond James lifted their price objective on shares of Wells Fargo & Company from $47.00 to $48.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Wells Fargo & Company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $49.45.

About Wells Fargo & Company

(Get Rating)

Wells Fargo & Co is a diversified, community-based financial services company. It is engaged in the provision of banking, insurance, investments, mortgage products and services, and consumer and commercial finance. It operates through the following segments: Consumer Banking and Lending, Commercial Banking, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Wealth & Investment Management.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WFC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE:WFC  Get Rating).

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First Farmers Financial Co. (OTCMKTS:FFMR  Get Rating)s stock price was up 0.7% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $62.00 and last traded at $62.00. Approximately 40 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 567 shares. The stock had previously closed at $61.54.

First Farmers Financial Stock Performance

The firms fifty day moving average price is $62.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $61.59.

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First Farmers Financial Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 30th. This represents a dividend yield of 2.97%.

About First Farmers Financial

First Farmers Financial Corporation operates as the financial holding company for First Farmers Bank & Trust that provides banking products and services to individuals, families, and businesses. The company offers checking and savings accounts, health savings accounts, youth accounts, business accounts, deposit and government accounts, certificates of deposit, and individual retirement accounts, as well as account management services; and mortgages and construction loans, first time home buyers loan, home equity loans, auto loans, collateral loans, and debit and credit cards.

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Shares of Frederick County Bancorp (MD) (OTCMKTS:FCBI  Get Rating) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $36.00 and traded as low as $36.00. Frederick County Bancorp (MD) shares last traded at $36.00, with a volume of 600 shares traded.

Frederick County Bancorp (MD) Stock Down 0.5 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $57.85 million, a PE ratio of 25.35 and a beta of 0.34. The businesss 50-day moving average is $36.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.00.

About Frederick County Bancorp (MD)

(Get Rating)

Frederick County Bancorp, Inc operates as the holding company for Frederick County Bank that provides various banking services to individuals and commercial enterprises in the Frederick County, Maryland. It offers deposit products, including personal checking accounts, savings accounts, money market accounts, certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, and health savings accounts; and business checking accounts, savings and money market accounts, and certificates of deposits.

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Thunder Mountain Gold (OTCMKTS:THMG  Get Rating) is one of 102 publicly-traded companies in the Metal mining industry, but how does it contrast to its peers? We will compare Thunder Mountain Gold to similar companies based on the strength of its valuation, profitability, institutional ownership, dividends, analyst recommendations, earnings and risk.

Volatility & Risk

Thunder Mountain Gold has a beta of 0.89, suggesting that its stock price is 11% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Thunder Mountain Golds peers have a beta of 1.35, suggesting that their average stock price is 35% more volatile than the S&P 500.

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Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Thunder Mountain Gold and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Thunder Mountain Gold $300,000.00 -$1.25 million -4.61 Thunder Mountain Gold Competitors $8.12 billion $2.21 billion -4.71

Analyst Ratings

Thunder Mountain Golds peers have higher revenue and earnings than Thunder Mountain Gold. Thunder Mountain Gold is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for Thunder Mountain Gold and its peers, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Thunder Mountain Gold 0 0 0 0 N/A Thunder Mountain Gold Competitors 915 2146 2760 94 2.34

As a group, Metal mining companies have a potential upside of 25.84%. Given Thunder Mountain Golds peers higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Thunder Mountain Gold has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Profitability

This table compares Thunder Mountain Gold and its peers net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Thunder Mountain Gold -415.33% -185.48% -59.67% Thunder Mountain Gold Competitors -412.45% -2.66% -3.25%

Insider and Institutional Ownership

0.0% of Thunder Mountain Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 20.4% of shares of all Metal mining companies are owned by institutional investors. 29.5% of Thunder Mountain Gold shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 11.9% of shares of all Metal mining companies are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Thunder Mountain Gold peers beat Thunder Mountain Gold on 9 of the 10 factors compared.

About Thunder Mountain Gold

(Get Rating)

Thunder Mountain Gold, Inc. operates as a mineral exploration company, which engages in the acquisition, exploration, and development of premier precious and base metal properties. Its projects include South Mountain located southwest of Boise, Idaho and Trout Creek located in Nevada. The company was founded on November 9, 1935 and is headquartered in Boise, ID.

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BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust (NYSE:BFZ  Get Rating) major shareholder Saba Capital Management, L.P. purchased 5,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 17th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.70 per share, for a total transaction of $63,180.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 3,648,640 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $42,689,088. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Large shareholders that own more than 10% of a companys shares are required to disclose their transactions with the SEC.

Saba Capital Management, L.P. also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Friday, April 14th, Saba Capital Management, L.P. bought 25,908 shares of BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust stock. The shares were acquired at an average price of $11.76 per share, for a total transaction of $304,678.08.

On Thursday, April 6th, Saba Capital Management, L.P. purchased 9,210 shares of BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust stock. The stock was bought at an average cost of $11.76 per share, with a total value of $108,309.60.

On Tuesday, April 4th, Saba Capital Management, L.P. bought 15,288 shares of BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust stock. The stock was bought at an average price of $11.69 per share, for a total transaction of $178,716.72.

On Tuesday, March 28th, Saba Capital Management, L.P. purchased 26,517 shares of BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust stock. The shares were bought at an average price of $11.42 per share, with a total value of $302,824.14.

On Thursday, March 23rd, Saba Capital Management, L.P. acquired 27,924 shares of BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.21 per share, with a total value of $313,028.04.

On Tuesday, March 21st, Saba Capital Management, L.P. purchased 54,414 shares of BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust stock. The shares were purchased at an average price of $11.38 per share, with a total value of $619,231.32.

BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust Price Performance

NYSE BFZ traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $11.57. The stock had a trading volume of 14,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,291. BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust has a twelve month low of $10.03 and a twelve month high of $11.97.

BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust Dividend Announcement

About BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust

The company also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 1st. Investors of record on Friday, April 14th will be paid a $0.039 dividend. This represents a $0.47 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.04%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th.

(Get Rating)

BlackRock California Municipal Income Trust is a closed-end investment fund. Its investment objective is to provide current income exempt from Federal and California income taxes. The company seeks to achieve its investment objective by investing primarily in municipal obligations exempt from federal income taxes and California income taxes.

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WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF (NYSEARCA:EFA  Get Rating) by 4.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,730 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 6,515 shares during the quarter. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF makes up approximately 4.4% of WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. WealthBridge Investment Counsel Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI EAFE ETF were worth $10,156,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VitalStone Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA grew its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 172.9% during the 4th quarter. Farmers & Merchants Trust Co of Chambersburg PA now owns 464 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 294 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,510 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. Field & Main Bank grew its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF by 189.7% during the 4th quarter. Field & Main Bank now owns 504 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. Finally, First Personal Financial Services purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE ETF during the 3rd quarter worth about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.78% of the companys stock.

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iShares MSCI EAFE ETF Stock Performance

iShares MSCI EAFE ETF stock traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $73.25. 4,638,889 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 20,027,000. The companys fifty day moving average price is $70.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.85. iShares MSCI EAFE ETF has a fifty-two week low of $54.61 and a fifty-two week high of $73.69.

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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Nevsun Resources (NYSEAMERICAN:NSU  Get Rating)s share price dropped 0.2% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $4.44 and last traded at $4.44. Approximately 25,500 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 71% from the average daily volume of 87,058 shares. The stock had previously closed at $4.45.

Nevsun Resources Stock Performance

Nevsun Resources Company Profile

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Nevsun Resources Ltd. engages in the mining and development of mineral properties in Europe, Africa, and North America. It explores for gold, copper, zinc, and silver deposits. The company's principal assets include Timok project, a copper-gold development project in Serbia; and Bisha copper- zinc mine in Eritrea.

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New Zealand Energy Corp. (CVE:NZ  Get Rating)s stock price crossed below its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$0.09 and traded as low as C$0.08. New Zealand Energy shares last traded at C$0.08, with a volume of 1,068 shares trading hands.

New Zealand Energy Stock Down 21.1 %

The company has a market cap of C$1.74 million, a P/E ratio of -2.50 and a beta of 2.01. The company has a 50 day moving average of C$0.10 and a 200-day moving average of C$0.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 182.40, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.45.

About New Zealand Energy

(Get Rating)

New Zealand Energy Corp., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the exploration and production of oil and natural gas in New Zealand. It has interests in Taranaki Basin; Copper Moki/Eltham permits; Alton permits; and TWN licenses. It also operates midstream assets. New Zealand Energy Corp. was incorporated in 2010 and is based in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

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Providence Resources P.l.c. (LON:PVR  Get Rating) crossed below its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 3.32 ($0.04) and traded as low as GBX 3.10 ($0.04). Providence Resources shares last traded at GBX 3.25 ($0.04), with a volume of 1,470,563 shares trading hands.

Providence Resources Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of GBX 3.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of GBX 3.32. The firm has a market cap of 34.84 million and a PE ratio of -3.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 1.54.

About Providence Resources

(Get Rating)

Providence Resources P.l.c. operates as an oil and gas exploration company in Ireland. Its principal project is the Barryroe project located in the North Celtic Sea Basin. The company was founded in 1981 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.

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SEOUL, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Almost half of South Korean farmers were aged 65 or higher last year as younger people continued to leave rural areas amid the aging population, statistical office data showed Wednesday.

The number of farmers aged 65 or higher was 1,078,000 in 2022, accounting for 49.8 percent of the total population in the agricultural sector, according to Statistics Korea.

The percentage of the elderly farmers was up from 46.8 percent in 2021 and far higher than 18.0 percent that was the proportion of the total elderly population in 2022.

Farmers in their 70s or older marked the highest proportion of 34.9 percent in the age group last year, followed by those in their 60s with 30.2 percent and those in their 50s with 15.8 percent.

The number of farmers totaled 2,166,000 in 2022, down 2.3 percent from the previous year. The number of farming households fell 0.8 percent to 1,023,000 last year as more farmers gave up on farming due to old age.

The number of fishing population diminished 3.2 percent to 90,800 in 2022, while the number of fishing households slipped 1.8 percent to 42,500.

The proportion of those aged 65 or higher in the fishing sector gained 3.7 percentage points from a year earlier to 44.2 percent in 2022.

The proportion of the elderly in the forestry sector increased 4.7 percentage points to 48.8 percent. 
Sixt SE (ETR:SIX2  Get Rating)s stock price dropped 0.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as 117.70 ($127.93) and last traded at 117.70 ($127.93). Approximately 13,748 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average daily volume of 49,244 shares. The stock had previously closed at 118.00 ($128.26).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

SIX2 has been the subject of several research reports. Baader Bank set a 140.00 ($152.17) target price on Sixt in a research report on Tuesday, February 28th. Jefferies Financial Group set a 145.00 ($157.61) price objective on Sixt in a research report on Monday, March 6th. Warburg Research set a 155.00 ($168.48) price objective on Sixt in a research report on Wednesday, March 1st. BNP Paribas set a 150.00 ($163.04) price objective on Sixt in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a 160.00 ($173.91) price objective on Sixt in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th.

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Sixt Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $3.57 billion, a PE ratio of 13.02, a P/E/G ratio of 23.89 and a beta of 2.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 125.36, a current ratio of 2.57 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average of 121.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of 103.34.

Sixt Company Profile

Sixt SE, through its subsidiaries, provides mobility services for private and business customers in Germany and internationally. The company offers mobility service across the fields of vehicle and commercial vehicle rental, car sharing, ride hailing, and car subscriptions. It has a network of 2,115 stations.

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Shares of TransAlta Renewables Inc. (TSE:RNW  Get Rating) have received an average rating of Hold from the ten ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is C$15.08.

A number of analysts recently commented on RNW shares. National Bankshares dropped their price target on shares of TransAlta Renewables from C$14.25 to C$12.75 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 7th. CIBC decreased their price objective on TransAlta Renewables from C$13.50 to C$13.00 in a research note on Friday, February 24th. CSFB boosted their price objective on shares of TransAlta Renewables from C$14.00 to C$14.50 in a research note on Wednesday, April 12th. TD Securities dropped their price objective on TransAlta Renewables from C$12.50 to C$12.00 and set a hold rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on TransAlta Renewables from C$16.50 to C$15.50 in a research note on Friday, February 10th.

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TransAlta Renewables Trading Down 1.7 %

TSE RNW opened at C$12.39 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of C$3.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.25, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.76. TransAlta Renewables has a one year low of C$10.63 and a one year high of C$18.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 43.77, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The businesss fifty day moving average is C$12.02 and its 200-day moving average is C$12.70.

TransAlta Renewables Dividend Announcement

TransAlta Renewables Company Profile

The firm also recently disclosed a monthly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Investors of record on Friday, April 28th will be given a $0.0783 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 13th. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 7.58%. TransAlta Renewabless dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 335.71%.

(Get Rating)

TransAlta Renewables Inc develops, owns, and operates renewable power generation facilities. The company operates through Canadian Wind, Canadian Hydro, Canadian Gas, US Wind and Solar, US Gas, and Australian Gas segments. As of February 24, 2022, it owned and operated 26 wind facilities, 13 hydroelectric facilities, 8 natural gas generation facilities, 2 solar facilities, 1 natural gas pipeline, and 1 battery storage project comprising 2,968 megawatts of net generating capacity located in the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, Ontario, Quebec, New Brunswick, the States of Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Wyoming, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Washington, North Carolina, and the State of Western Australia.

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Transocean Ltd. (NYSE:RIG  Get Rating) CAO David A. Tonnel sold 12,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $6.53, for a total value of $78,360.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 476,802 shares in the company, valued at $3,113,517.06. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Transocean Stock Down 4.4 %

Shares of RIG stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $6.33. 22,584,920 shares of the companys stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 23,511,672. Transocean Ltd. has a 12-month low of $2.32 and a 12-month high of $7.74. The stock has a market cap of $4.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.13 and a beta of 2.90. The stocks fifty day simple moving average is $6.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $5.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61.

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Transocean (NYSE:RIG  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The offshore drilling services provider reported ($0.49) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of ($0.19) by ($0.30). Transocean had a negative return on equity of 5.85% and a negative net margin of 24.12%. The firm had revenue of $606.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $620.89 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.19) earnings per share. Transoceans revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Transocean Ltd. will post -0.35 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Transocean

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Transocean by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Murphy Pohlad Asset Management LLC now owns 100,550 shares of the offshore drilling services providers stock worth $639,000 after acquiring an additional 1,550 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Transocean by 59.9% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 5,440 shares of the offshore drilling services providers stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 2,037 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Transocean by 13.7% in the 4th quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,212 shares of the offshore drilling services providers stock worth $88,000 after purchasing an additional 2,317 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Transocean by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 21,649 shares of the offshore drilling services providers stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 2,402 shares during the period. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its position in Transocean by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 82,966 shares of the offshore drilling services providers stock worth $378,000 after purchasing an additional 2,743 shares during the period. 55.16% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $5.50 to $6.50 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $6.00 to $6.50 in a report on Monday, April 3rd. Compass Point upgraded shares of Transocean from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $7.50 price objective for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 22nd. BTIG Research raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $8.00 to $10.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Benchmark raised their price objective on shares of Transocean from $7.50 to $12.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, March 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $6.98.

About Transocean

(Get Rating)

Transocean Ltd. engages in the provision of offshore contract drilling services for oil and gas wells. It also owns and operates offshore drilling fleets such as ultra-deepwater, harsh environment, deepwater, and midwater rigs. The company was founded in 1953 and is headquartered in Steinhausen, Switzerland.

Further Reading

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CHENGDU, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The 21-year-old panda Lin Hui passed away at Thailand's Chiang Mai Zoo on Wednesday morning, the China Conservation and Research Center for the Giant Panda confirmed.

Born in September 2001, the female panda was moved to Thailand in 2003 through a program of China-Thailand cooperative research on giant pandas, and had been living in the zoo ever since.

The center said that the giant panda suddenly fell into a coma on Tuesday night. Rescue efforts were carried out after the center received reports of the situation from the zoo. Unfortunately, despite rescue efforts, the panda died at around 2 a.m. on Wednesday.

Recent health examinations showed that the giant panda suffered from an abnormal kidney function index and high blood pressure.

The Chinese side will send an expert team to Thailand to work with Thailand's experts and investigate the cause of Lin Hui's death. 
New York, April 18, 2023Zambian authorities should thoroughly investigate the recent assaults of three journalists and one radio station employee in separate incidents involving ruling party supporters and ensure that those responsible are held to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said Tuesday.

Around noon on April 8, in the eastern district of Petauke, six supporters of the ruling United Party for National Development went to the office of privately owned broadcaster Radio Explorer and assaulted reporter Charles Chimwemwe Banda, according to news reports and the journalist, who communicated with CPJ via messaging app. His attackers accused him of collaborating to take down the government, kicked him in the face and head, and punched him all over his body.

Separately, at about 2 p.m. that day, at least 20 UPND supporters beat privately owned broadcaster Serenje Radios station manager Male Kapema and reporter Sheila Kalunga, as well as accountant Enoch Kile Champo, at a police station in the district of Serenje, according to news reports , a statement by Serenje Radio, and Kapema, who communicated with CPJ via messaging app. Champo drove the journalists to the police station to confirm reports of a clash between members of the UPND and the opposition Socialist Party.

Politically motivated violence against journalists in Zambia is a serious concern, and United Party for National Development leaders must condemn the recent attacks on three members of the press by the partys supporters, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator. Authorities must thoroughly investigate these attacks. Impunity for crimes against journalists should not be tolerated in a country whose president has committed to ensuring press freedom.

Banda told CPJ that he received a call from a number registered to Mwika Petauke UPND, and the caller asked to meet, claiming he had a news tip. Banda refused and asked to meet at the radio station instead.

When the six UPND supporters arrived, a party official identified only as Mwika asked Banda why he aired a program that featured a song for an independent member of parliament, why he had given that member of parliament airtime, and accused him of collaborating against the government. Banda told CPJ that the parliamentarian had paid for a block of airtime on the station but denied that the outlet was involved in any anti-government activities.

After he explained the situation, they started beating me up with their fists all over the body, my face, and head, he said, adding that the attack left him bleeding from the mouth. He received medical treatment at Petauke District Hospital for neck and general body pains, according to a medical report reviewed by CPJ.

Banda said he did not report the matter to the police as the UPND party leadership in Petauke told him they were seeking to resolve the matter by issuing an official apology, which he has not received as of April 18. CPJs phone call and app message to UPND spokesperson Cornelius Mweetwa were unanswered.

In Serenje, Kapema told CPJ that his crew was filming a standoff between approximately 40 UPND and Socialist Party members after allegations that a Socialist Party leader shot a UPND member.

A woman on the UPND side noticed Kalunga filming and shouted that they were being recorded, Kapema said, adding, Thats how they ran toward up and pounced on us. The crowd, most of whom were wearing UPND emblems, punched and kicked the three Serenje Radio employees all over their bodies.

Kalunga told CPJ by messaging app that her beating was more severe than Kile or Kapemas, as she was the one filming. Police ultimately dispersed the crowd.

I sought medical attention at Serenje hospital, but Im still in pain. My back was hurt from the kicks they unleashed on me, Kalunga said, adding that they filed complaints with the police, but no arrests have been made.

Serenje police referred all queries to spokesperson Danny Mwale, who did not return CPJs phone calls or messages.
The Chinese Government has dismissed reports that it was funding terrorist groups in order to gain access to Nigerian mining sites.

The Nigerian Voice recalls that a British news platform, The Times, have accused the Chinese government of financing terrorists to access Nigerias mineral resources.

The report dated April 15, 2023, and titled, Chinese bribed Nigerian militants for access to vast mineral reserves claimed that Beijing could be indirectly funding terror in Nigeria.

However, while reacting to the allegation in a statement, the Chinese Embassy said that it would never be involved in any form of terrorism financing.

It said the report is based on unverified, unclear and unproven information, to which we have to express our strong dissatisfaction and objection.

The Chinese government, as well as the Chinese Embassy in Nigeria, have always encouraged and urged the Chinese companies and nationals in Nigeria to abide by the laws and regulations of Nigeria, and to implement the local rules and guidance on labour, environment, health, and safety, etc., and would continue their efforts in this regard.

The Chinese government was and would never be involved in any form of funding terrorism.

The allegations contained in the report were totally irresponsible and unethical, and the intention of the report is seriously questioned.

For the past decades, the bilateral cooperation between China and Nigeria has brought tangible benefits to our bilateral ties and the well-being of the two peoples. We will continue to work with the Nigerian government to promote development and address security issues.

We welcome international partners to join our efforts in good faith but would reject any intention or action that would smear our cooperation.
The Governing Board of the Nigeria Immigration Service has handed a retirement notice to the acting Comptroller-General of the Service, Isah Idris Jere.

The retirement is to take effect on or before April 24, 2023.

In a memo cited by newsmen on Wednesday, the board said the expiration of the one-year extension of service granted by President Muhammadu Buhari was the reason behind the retirement.

The board directed the CGI to hand over to the most senior Deputy Comptroller General.

The memo, dated April 17, 2023 with code number CDCFIB/APPT.CG&DCG/61/VOL.IV/74, was signed by the Civil Defence, Correctional, Fire and Immigration Services Board Secretary, Obasi Edmond, on the orders of the Board chairman and Interior Minister, Rauf Aregbesola.

It is titled Notification of expiration of one-year extension in office as acting Comptroller-General, Nigeria Immigration Service.

It read, I write to draw your attention to the end of one-year extension in office granted to you by Mr President via letter no. SH/COS/42/3/3/A128 date April 22, 2022, and which would be expiring on April 24, 2023.

Consequently, you are directed to hand over to the most senior Deputy Comptroller-General on or before Monday, April 24, 2023, pending Mr Presidents appointment of a substantive Comptroller-General of the Service.

The board is grateful to you for your immense contributions to the Nigeria Immigration Service and to the country and wishes you success in your future endeavours.
There was commotion around Alapere area of Lagos State on Wednesday after a yet-to-be identified commercial bus driver was confirmed dead in an accident involving two yellow-coloured vehicles known as danfo and a government-owned BRT bus.

According to reports, the accident occurred around the Ogudu bridge, inward the Alapere area of Lagos State.

The Spokesman for the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA), Adebayo Taofiq, in a telephone chat with reporters, blamed the accident on over speeding by the buses.

The accident involved a BRT bus and two commercial buses, he said.

One of the drivers of the commercial buses died on the spot. There are passengers with minor injuries.

He added that the early morning rain compounded the resultant gridlock on Lagos-Ibadan expressway axis which prompted LASTMA officials to be deployed to the accident scene to manage the traffic.

Also, the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency (LASEMA), in statement, said, Further Investigation revealed that the BRT Bus suddenly lost control then rammed into the commercial bus from behind causing the yellow commuter bus to upturn.

Unfortunately an adult male (driver) of the bus lost his life to the incident while several others were injured but had been moved to the nearest hospital.

This prompted angry mobs to set the BRT Bus on fire .

The Agencys LRT are at the scene alongside Lagos state fire and rescue service , Nigeria Police Force and LASTMA.

However the body had been bagged by the Agencys LRT at the scene and handed over the police officer at the scene.

The burnt carcass had been recovered with the aid of a private tow truck provided by LBSL (Lagos bus service limited) the road is now free for vehicular activities.
One of Nigeria's most celebrated embedded journalists, Jibrin Baba Ndace, is set to launch his first ever trilogy, which highlights the 'Nigerias Armed Forces War Against Boko Haram-ISWAP Insurgency', in the North East.

The books are titled walking the war front with Lt. Gen. TY Buratai, Duty Call Under Buratai's Command and finally The Lonely Grave, a collection of poems.

In a statement, Ndace said that the public presentation of the books will be held in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja on a soon-to-be announced date.

He described his trilogy as a must read for everyone seeking to have deep insight and pictorial evidence on Nigerias counter-insurgency warfare in the most ravaging moments.

Speaking further on why he embarked on the project which took him five years of hard work, Ndace, immediate-past Chief Press Secretary, CPS, to Governor Abubakar Sani Bello of Niger State, noted that he was encouraged by the need to create an experience on the war against insurgency in Nigeria.

"These books were inspired by many veterans who fought on and off the war field.

"Soldiers who sacrificed their lives to serve our great nation, the courage they showcased and the aftermath of their gruesome experiences.

"Amongst many soldiers and servicemen, Lt. Gen. TY Buratai occupies a large part of the storytelling.

"Lt. Gen TY Buratai is a retired Nigerian army Lieutenant General, Former chief of Army staff, who was appointed in 2015 and retired in January of 2021," he said.

On the scope of the book, the ace defence correspondent, explained that his trilogy will be an unexpected experience expressed through first-hand accounts, poems, photographs, and powerful storytelling, witnessing the courage and sacrifice of soldiers, the brutal realities of combat, and the toll that war takes on both the human body and the human mind.

A military officer who saw the manuscripts of the books, had this to say: "These books, which have taken Jibrin over 5 years to successfully complete, have taken a lot of sweat, blood and tears. These books are not just mere stories but actual realities. NOT just through his eyes, but also through the experiences of other Servicemen".
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, April 19 (Xinhua) -- A series of people-to-people exchange programs to enhance mutual understanding between China and Brunei will be arranged this year, Xiao Jianguo, Chinese ambassador to Brunei said here on Wednesday.

During a briefing with local media and think tanks, the ambassador said that people-to-people exchanges are the solid foundation of China-Brunei relations.

"People-to-people exchanges play an important role in promoting the development of bilateral relations. The friendly exchanges between China and Brunei have thousands of years of history."

Xiao said the two countries have conducted extensive cooperation in the fields of culture, education, sports, tourism, local governments and youths, and supported each other in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which further enhanced the traditional friendship and the social basis of public opinion.

More tourists from the two countries will visit each other for sightseeing and exchanges, which will inject new impetus to tourism, people-to-people exchanges and regional economic recovery, the ambassador added.

This year, a series of bilateral people-to-people exchange programs will include visits to China by Brunei media, officials and teachers, as well as cooperation between educational institutions of the two countries, Xiao explained.

About 50 people including local journalists, think tank researchers and government officials attended the briefing. 
If youve seen the new building going into East City, the upcoming Canadian Canoe Museum, the new hospice, Showplace, Market Hall or the Medical Arts Building, youve seen the work of Lett Architects.

For 55 years, the firm has been responsible for designing or renovating a number of landmark locations in Peterborough, and owner Bill Lett and partner Michael Gallant are being honoured for their work.

On pretty much every city block in the downtown is one of our projects, said Lett as he and Gallant are being inducted into the Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame.

I feel fortunate that Peterborough has been where Lett Architects has grown from a small practice to a much larger practice, he added.

While the growing architectural firm continues to expand and take on a number of exciting projects in and outside of Peterborough, its origins are a bit more humble.

Lett grew up in an architects household, his father having started Lett-Smith Architects. My father was an architect, my uncle was an architect, said Lett. Its just been in my family.

Designing and building was always something that appealed to him, he says, so it felt natural to walk down the same avenue as the rest of the family.

In 1995, Letts father moved the small business to Peterborough after a recession, which changed the landscape of the industry and caused many significant layoffs among firms.

In 1998, Lett joined his father, and it was the two of them working out of their house.

In 2004, they renamed the business to Lett Architects, and in 2008, he bought the business from his father. He moved it to King Street, and in 2009, he hired Gallant, and the era of rapid growth began.

When Gallant joined on, he was fresh out of school and was eager to get started in the workforce. Having grown up in Bethany, he left for school but came back to get his career started.

When I started, we were five people, and from 2009 to now, were sitting at about 23, said Gallant.

In 2017, he signed on as partner, and since then there have been many new and exciting projects theyve worked on, with more in the pipeline.

While Lett Architects has been ambitious, Gallant says they take a strong look at the business and how it can have an impact on people.

We see the value architecture can bring to society, and were being deliberate about our growth and tactful about it, added Gallant.

Peterborough is on the cusp of renewal, he also says, and its felt great for Lett Architects to contribute to the revitalization of some major properties.

But Gallant isnt just an architect; hes also been the chair of the Downtown Business Improvement Area, serving for three years over the COVID-19 pandemic, which had tumultuous impacts on small businesses.

We encourage all staff to get involved in the community, so most of our staff sit on boards or volunteer in different capacities, said Gallant.

And its important for a local company to contribute to the Peterborough community, notes Lett.

Its about community building, he added.

And the business will continue its path of thoughtful growth, said Lett. A new strategic plan for the business has been passed, and there are more projects on the horizon outside of Peterborough, especially in other smaller but growing communities.

For burgeoning entrepreneurs who want to follow in their path, both Lett and Gallant have the same advice: follow your passion and dont let anyone dissuade you from doing what you love.

Most young people are almost overwhelmed by the decision of what to do next, said Gallant. You need to follow whatever pursuit brings you joy and passion in your life.



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The April 20 trip from Peterborough to the Big Apple saw passengers board the largest charter jet to ever fly out of the Peterborough Airport.



BST Vacations (Blowes & Stewart Travel Group Ltd.) is again flying charters out of the Peterborough Airport this year, with the first flight set for a long-weekend excursion to New York City that started April 20.

Passengers departing on Thursday flew on a Boeing 737-800  the largest passenger aircraft to land/take off from the Peterborough Airport, the company states.

The plane has a carrying capacity of 189 passengers.

Having access to an aircraft of this size will allow us to grow our Peterborough departures program and allows us to move more people to more destinations in the future, stated Scott Stewart, president of BST Vacations.

The cost for the New York City trip, tax included, is $1,889 per person (based on double occupancy) and includes three nights of accommodation at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, daily breakfast, inflight meal with full beverage service, and other amenities.

This is part of BSTs community-first initiative, where rather than outsourcing the food and beverage to the airline, they bring it on themselves and support local businesses. Continental breakfast and in-flight meals are hand-picked and made to order the morning of the flight by Sobeys Catering department on Lansdowne Street.

Spirits and beer on board are from local distilleries and craft brewers. In 2022, BST Vacations served the Publican House Pet Pilsner on board, and were able to collect $1,500 in donations for the Humane Societys Pet Project on the flights.

BST Vacations will also fly this year to Newfoundland, Nashville, and Austin. The Nashville trip, scheduled for September, is already sold out, but they are accepting names on a cancellation wait list.

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Fleming College celebrated Day of Pink on Tuesday with special guest speaker Martin Boyce, who talked about his experience in the Stonewall Riots 54 years ago.

The Stonewall riots were a series of spontaneous demonstrations by members of the gay community in response to a police raid that began in the early hours of morning June 28, 1969.

Stonewall has become a verb. It's become an action word, and that's why I'm here today, said Boyce. Thats why we're doing this whole thing.

The Stonewall Riots are widely considered a watershed event that launched the gay liberation movement and the fight for 2SLGBTQ+ rights in North America, explained Boyce.

Because we (2SLGBTQ+ community) didn't like each other, he said. There was no unity and there was no such thing as pride.

This battle against machismo brought the groups together as a united front, noted Boyce.

We won the battle, he said. Now we have to win the war, and its gone global.

Gay freedom is incremental, stated Boyce, which is why Day of Pink is so important to continuing to better the lives of the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Gay bashing is still something we hear about today. We do have bashings, but they're not evident, and sometimes they're covered by other kinds of hate crime, he said. But nonetheless, it's the same. The battle is against machismo, because that's the last thing that's not defeated.

Boyce, who is originally from New York, has been to Canada four times and admits Canadians are much more receptive to his messages.

I do speak in the U.S., but I dont tour like this, he said. Theres not the same fanfare and general interest as in Canada.

Boyces next stop on the Courage to Standup Stonewall Tour is at Club SAW, in Ottawa. From there he will make five more stops across Canada, in Yellowknife, Vancouver, Charlottetown, Yarmouth, and Sydney.

Im going to try to bring the audiences back to 1969; the conditions, the reaction, and the accumulation, and finally, the parade that would glue the whole thing together, he said.

Day of Pink is important for Fleming, as it showcases the celebration of human rights that are baked into the colleges strategic plan, explained college president Maureen Adamson.

Having Martin here is really pivotal, because this is a person who has changed history and made it safe for many people, she said. It's all because of his courage, that those coming here today also have courage. I think that's the most important point of this celebration.

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Apple Card holders just got a new perk. Members can now access a high-yield savings account paying far more than average  but only Americans have access for now.

Starting this week, Apple Card users have the option of using a savings account from Goldman Sachs paying out 4.15 per cent interest annually, according to a news release.

In comparison, major Canadian banks typically pay out between 1.5 to 2.5 per cent on savings accounts and 0 per cent on chequing accounts, according to Ratehub.ca. According to Apples release, their rates are more than 10 times the U.S. national average  on Monday, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) listed national deposit rates for savings accounts as just 0.39 per cent.

The tech giants offer claims to have no fees, no minimum deposits and no minimum balance requirements. Users can sign up within minutes and manage their accounts through their Wallet app.

At the moment, only U.S. citizens or lawful residents can apply for the Apple Card. While Canadians have access to the Apple Pay service, the card and savings account are currently unavailable.

That said, a Canadian expansion may come soon  Canada approved Apple Cards trademark application in 2021, for example, while Apple CEO Tim Cook said they intended to expand the card into other countries during its launch in 2019.

One perk of the Apple Card is 3 per cent cash back on every purchase made. This Daily Cash will be automatically deposited into the new savings account. Users can also transfer cash in through a linked bank account or through their Apple Cash balance.

The money cant be withdrawn directly; instead, it must be transferred either into a linked bank account or ones Apple Cash card. There are no transfer fees attached, the company said.

Apple did not respond to the Stars requests for comment before publication.

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TORONTO - Whether youre catching a flight, opening a new bank account or picking up groceries, a small group of big names takes up most of the market share. Competition Ltd. is a Canadian Press series that explores what this means for products  and prices  in the country.



At the end of last year, Canadas Big Six held about 93 per cent of all banking assets in the country. Its the same share they held a decade earlier, and a decade before that.

The tight hold on the market of RBC, TD, BMO, CIBC, Scotiabank and National Bank is not from a lack of others trying.

Ive really defined my career over the last 15 years as sort of putting my foot in doors as theyre being slammed, because its really challenging, said Andrew Moor, chief executive of EQ Bank, whose tag line is Canadas Challenger Bank.

EQ is one of the many alternatives in Canadas financial industry that have been working to diversify the landscape, but while they have made inroads, and there are structural changes in the works that could give them a boost, the near-term forecast is for even more concentration ahead.

Critics say thats a concern because a lack of competition leads to customers paying more in account fees and being paid less interest, while also making it harder for some to get loans and slowing the pace of innovation.

With the amount of concentration we have here, its fair to say that deposit rates are going to be a little bit lower, and the rates on loans are going to be a little bit higher, said Robert Clark, an economics professor at Queens University who studies bank competition.

Determining the exact rate gap, and the overall competition deficit, is tricky though, as differences in products and markets make an apples to apples comparison difficult. For example, U.S. banks offer 30-year mortgage terms, while Canadian banks top out at five. Other efforts to measure the level of competition in Canadas banking industry, through complex indexes factoring in price markups and profit sensitivity, dont paint a clear picture of Canada being an outlier on competition.

The industry association maintains that the market is competitive, with 34 domestic banks, more than 200 credit unions, a growing number of fintechs plus trusts, life insurers and foreign-owned banks in the mix.

As a consequence theres a lot of access, a lot of competition and a lot of choice, said Darren Hannah, vice-president of personal and commercial banking at the Canadian Bankers Association.

But while there may be options, those trying to compete against the Big Six say there are barriers to entry that help keep big banks profitable and in control.

Domestic Canadian banks are the most profitable banks in the entire world, said Moor. Their return on equity is the highest, all of them, highest in the world, and that presumably comes from things like fees, not paying interest on chequing accounts, and that sort of thing that is an outcome of a less competitive system.

He points to challenges of scale, such that EQ pays about seven times more per Interac transaction as the big banks since larger institutions can spread fixed costs over more transactions.

Regulatory burdens, while somewhat proportional, could also be lightened further for smaller banks to reflect the lower risks they pose to the financial system, he said.

Big banks also benefit from lower funding costs, both because of the implicit guarantee that they would be bailed out if needed, and simply because of their large deposit bases. RBC, for example, boasts to analysts of its low-cost Canadian deposit base, meaning Canadians keep a lot of money at the bank for which theyre paid relatively little in return.

But while big banks often pay out lower interest in accounts, current systems can make it cumbersome for customers to switch banks through everything from paperwork to possibly having to go into branches to the $150 it can cost to transfer a single registered account.

One of the biggest possibilities to shake up the system is the rising trend globally towards open banking, which is in essence allows customers to give banks permission to share their personal data with other financial companies.

By making the data more mobile, customers can easily shop around for services and switch providers, sort of like porting a cellphone number, rather than the clunky systems currently relied on. The system could mean a quick switch of accounts, including automated deposits, all done online.

Having access to that data in an easy way would really open up competition, said Moor.

Modernizing the payments system would also help, he said, creating more options for instant money transfers with more fraud protection, as well as innovations like sending money phone to phone using near field communication or QR codes, as is already common at farmers markets everywhere from the U.K. to India.

Both open banking and modernized payments are in the works, but are coming years after places like the U.K. and Australia have already moved forward.

A long-awaited report from a government-convened advisory committee out in 2021 recommended an initial open banking system to be in place by the start of 2023, but theres still no clear launch date.

The delays mean all sorts of innovations are slower to arrive, said Vass Bednar, executive director of the Master of Public Policy in Digital Society at McMaster University.

Why cant you Venmo in Canada? asked Bednar, referring to the popular money transfer service in the U.S. They cant because of how we regulate our payment system.

While these are complex changes, some of the slow pace can be blamed on reluctance from the biggest banks, said Bednar.

We see them being hostile to progress that allows others to compete on a more even footing with them, she said.

The industry is simply concerned with making sure the government balances safety and security with competition and access, said Hannah at the bankers association.

At the end of the day, everyone is trying to establish what that appropriate balance is.

The tension between competition and security is seeing more focus these days following several high-profile bank failures including Silicon Valley Bank and Credit Suisse.

Moor however said it was ridiculous to think adding competition would mean less stability, and that the failures arent representative of the Canadian market.

And to some degree there is increasing competition in Canada even as the system remains stable. EQ for example, has grown to over 300,000 clients and more than $50 billion in assets since a 2016 launch, while Laurtentian Bank is rolling out fully digital account sign-ups as it looks to expand nationally and fintechs and credit unions also push alternatives.

But while there is the potential for more competition ahead, more concentration is also on the horizon.

RBCs proposed $13.5-billion takeover of HSBCs Canadian division, announced last November, will see it swallow up the $128 billion assets the global giant has carved out in Canada after four decades of aggressively trying to win locals away from the Big Six.

They were offering really low rates and building up a sizable mortgage portfolio as a result, but thats what they had to do, said Clark at Queens.

They had to come with these super low introductory rates to get them in. And then now we see that potentially theyre going to be bought up by an existing lender.

The deal, still working through the regulatory process, would finally move the needle on that 93 per cent share asset the Big Six have. It would move it up though, to almost 95 per cent.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RY; TSX:TD; TSX:BNS; TSX;BMO; TSX:CM; TSX:NA)

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Canadas industry minister is calling on the countrys major telecom companies to come to an agreement over wireless service in Torontos subway system.

In a letter on Twitter, Francois-Philippe Champagne said he has taken note of Rogers Communications Inc.s recent announcement that its buying the company that owns the wireless network in the Toronto Transit Commission subway system.

The letter addressed to executives of Bell Canada, Telus Communications Inc., Quebecor Inc. and Rogers said arrangements are still not in place to ensure service is available to customers who are with a service other than Rogers.

Champagne said he wants the telecom companies to rectify the situation with urgency to reach agreements that would allow any company to access the TTC network.

He requested that the companies respond to his letter within 30 days detailing their respective statuses on the issue, as well as outlining a joint plan to offer mobile service to all customers.

BAI Communications Inc. won the contract to build and operate the TTCs public Wi-Fi and cellular network in 2012, but only Freedom Mobile signed on to provide coverage to its customers through BAIs network.

While customers not with Freedom have been unable to use BAIs network other than for 911 emergency calling for more than a decade, calls to make the system work for all Torontonians have surfaced after a spate of violent incidents on the TTC system.

As a condition of Rogers $26-billion purchase of Shaw Communications Inc., Quebecor acquired Freedom Mobile from Shaw.

Rogers has said it will upgrade the existing network, which covers abound a quarter of the subways underground tunnels, and will also build a 5G network for the entire system in around two years.

Rogers president and CEO Tony Staffieri said last week that his company would not attempt to prevent any of the other telecom companies from offering service to their customers on Torontos subway system once Rogers takes control of the infrastructure.

Rogers is committed to provide access to all TTC riders, and thats why we took action and stepped up to acquire BAI Canada to modernize this critical network and open up access for all riders, Rogers spokesman Cam Gordon said in a statement on Wednesday.

As we have said from the outset, we are committed to working with all carriers.

Bell president and CEO Mirko Bibic responded to Champagne in his own letter on Wednesday evening. He told the minister that the company would only take part in the network if it has a chance to help build it with the other carriers, rather than have to pay access fees to Rogers in order to use the infrastructure.

It is astounding that this important project would be awarded to one party without a transparent open-bid process, wrote Bibic, who stated Bell has urged the TTC to require Rogers to implement a joint-build model.

We have also written to the CEO of Rogers asking for confirmation that Rogers will adopt the proven open access, joint build approach that has been a success in other major transit projects. We have not received a response.

Bibic told Champagne that Bell and Telus have jointly offered to acquire the BAI contract if Rogers wont agree to that model on its own. The offer includes a $10 million direct payment to the TTC for discretionary projects like transit safety improvements.

If Rogers neither invites its rivals to participate in a joint build, nor agrees to sell the contract, Bibic said Ottawa and the CRTC should compel Rogers to implement the joint-build model.

It is clear that Bell is prepared to step up to fund its portion of a state-of-the-art wireless network to serve all TTC commuters, he wrote.

Richard Gilhooley, a spokesman for Telus, said it agreed with Champagne that users of the TTC deserve to have the same world-class wireless connectivity below ground as they do on the streets of Toronto.

Telus continues to believe that a consortium approach to building the TTC network is the best way to ensure that redundancies are in place to allow for continuity of service in the event that one carrier suffers a network outage, Gilhooley said in an email.

This approach was applied during the construction of the network for the STM in Montreal and provided a great outcome for Montrealers.

Gilhooley said having multiple carriers operating their own equipment on the network means less congestion, a more resilient network, and a better overall customer experience.

Quebecor said it has received Champagnes letter and wants to assure Toronto residents that it will maintain services in the subway system where Freedom is currently the only telecom provider.

Providing quality services to commuters and to our customers, as Freedom has been doing for many years in Toronto, mirrors our philosophy and business plan at Videotron and at Quebecor, the company said in an email.

We will continue in this direction, with as much enthusiasm as ever in this competitive environment, to give Canadians more choice at more reasonable prices.

Speaking in Toronto last week, Staffieri promised the network will work for everybody.

One of Rogers priorities is to ensure 911 emergency calling is available throughout the subway system, and not just the portion currently covered by BAIs infrastructure.

We really need to figure out and implement on a timely basis 911 emergency calling throughout the subway transit system and it doesnt matter who youre on. It could be us, Bell, Telus, Videotron  it doesnt matter, Staffieri said.

We think its important for not just our customers but for Torontonians and that was our intent in doing this. If Bell, Telus want to step up and join in, were happy and open to having those discussions with them.

Champagnes letter asked the telecoms to include in their plan consideration of 988 calling once Canadas new suicide crisis line number is operational so that TTC riders can access the line.

Rogers has said talks with BAI began around a year ago.

 With files from Sammy Hudes

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

Companies in this story: (TSX:RCI.B, TSX:SJR.B, TSX:BCE)

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Puberty is one of those topics that, as parents, we worry about getting right.

According to Dr. Ashley Vandermorris, a pediatrician in the division of adolescent medicine at The Hospital for Sick Children, we shouldnt consider puberty as a one-and-done topic.

Chances are, youll have this conversation more than once, she says, so dont be too hard on yourself if you dont knock it out of the park every time.

Heres her advice on how to talk the talk.

What age do kids typically hit puberty?

There is a wide range of whats normal. I try to shift away from the this is when puberty starts conversation because it can be distressing for kids who arent right at that average.

That said, for girls, any time between eight and 13 is typical. We wouldnt consider it early-onset puberty unless they are under age eight. So, if your daughter is showing signs of puberty, such as breast development, before age eight, its worth checking in with your health-care provider.

Puberty for boys is typically between nine and 14. So, we would consider puberty early if there are signs before age nine.

When is a good time for parents to start talking to their kids about puberty?

When I think about conversations with a child on an important topic, I like to start early and revisit. These are not one-off discussions.

Im not suggesting you talk to your four-year-old about the menstrual cycle, but normalizing conversations about bodies is important. We also advocate for using anatomically correct terms.

You can set the stage early on, even when your child is a toddler, by talking about how the body grows and changes, and how this helps them to become strong, healthy adults. That way, by the time puberty hits, when your child might be more self-conscious about these topics, theres already a foundation in place to facilitate these conversations.

The specifics of how the body changes  in other words, the more detailed developmentally relevant information  may be better suited to a child of eight, nine or 10. However, if your child brings up observations relating to their body and its changes, you may want to capitalize on their interest. Kids always integrate information better when theyre already engaged in the topic.

What kinds of questions do kids typically ask?

I think for a lot of kids, Is this normal? is a pretty typical question. Part of our role is to normalize not just that changes happen, but also that feelings about those changes can range from excited to uncomfortable. We want kids to know its OK to feel nervous about bodies changing, that its unfamiliar and can feel scary.

Sometimes young people ask, Is this too early, or too late? Some kids have questions about discomfort or pain. And sometimes kids have questions about what will come next. So, as we acknowledge diversity in experiences, we want to help kids anticipate what most bodies go through, and to understand that process is all part of growing a healthy adult body.

How can parents ensure kids who are reluctant to ask questions have all the information they need?

Every kid is different, and some kids may not be ready to have conversations about puberty. These can be uncomfortable topics for kids and parents alike, but shying away from the conversation altogether because your child isnt receptive the first time, can be a missed opportunity. Its never too late to revisit this topic.

Sometimes kids might be reluctant to talk about whats happening with them because theyre simply experiencing a lot of social and emotional change all at once. They might be having big feelings; they might be feeling attraction to or curiosity about other people.

There are a couple of things a child might not think to ask, which can be important.

One is to educate kids about the changes to all bodies. You want children with female anatomy to understand what changes happen to children with male anatomy, and vice versa. We like to educate our kids about the breadth of experiences that all bodies go through, as this will position them to be healthy, informed adults able to navigate their own future health.

Whats more, a discussion about puberty is a good opportunity to revisit the topics of consent and privacy. You can talk to your child about making decisions on who they share information with. For example, talking to a health-care professional versus talking to someone online.

Any advice on additional resources for parents?

There are many excellent books on the subject you can choose to read together or give your child the option of reading on their own. I usually suggest parents borrow a few from the library and choose ones they feel are best suited for their child.

Also, dont forget that kids are likely on different social media platforms, so this might be a good opportunity to have a conversation about what are safe and reliable sources of media. You may want to give your kids links to websites youve sourced, rather than sending them to Google on their own.

Healthy Kids poses health questions to experts at SickKids. Always consult your health-care provider with specific concerns. Torstar is in a fundraising and educational partnership with SickKids Foundation to help raise $1.5 billion for new facilities.

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HALIFAX - Environmental researcher John Kearney says the whirring blades of a proposed 13-turbine wind farm in Nova Scotia may cut greenhouse gases, but the risks they pose to migrating birds are too high.

The 74-year-old former consultant to the wind industry has in recent years set up acoustic monitoring in southwestern Nova Scotia, documenting species ranging from black-capped chickadees to spotted sandpipers as they call out during autumn flights.

Im speaking from the perspective of a person who supports both the objectives of wind power and preserving biodiversity, and here they come in conflict, he said in a recent interview, shortly after submitting written submissions to the province objecting to the proposed project on a peninsula west of Yarmouth.

To me, its quite clear this wind farm should never happen.

Kearney has a PhD in environmental anthropology  which involves relationships between humans and nature. He came to his conclusion after finding that bird calls just south of the proposed Wedgeport Wind Farm averaged 538 per hour after sunrise.

He says this is nearly equal to the intensity of Brier Island, N.S., located further west, which was recently cited in the Proceedings of the Nova Scotian Institute of Science as one of the migration hot spots of northeastern North America.

To Kearney, rejecting the project would help preserve the avian songs, but industry proponents counter that theres limited evidence to show the proposed coastal location threatens bird populations.

In an email, Daniel Eaton, the project director at Vancouver-based Elementary Energy, noted the firm and its partners, Stevens Wind and Sipeknekatik First Nation, are responding to the Nova Scotia governments goal of a 53 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.

Eaton said that in 2025, the first year of potential operation, the project is anticipated to offset 112,750 tonnes of carbon emissions  which is roughly equivalent to the yearly output of 25,000 gasoline-powered cars.

We agree there are a variety of habitat types in southwestern Nova Scotia that are important to migratory birds and are appreciative of the work that Mr. Kearney has undertaken to collect information on migratory bird activity across a number of sites in southwestern Nova Scotia, Eaton wrote on Monday.

However, he added, we stand by the work done by our consultants, including their work to estimate potential bird mortalities associated with our project. The companys submission in the environmental review argues once standard industry mitigation measures are in place, the impact of the turbines on the birds is not significant.

It notes their own field survey identified 100 bird species within and outside the project area, and about 16,000 individual birds. The proponents predict the project will cause about 36 bird deaths a year, citing a model developed in 2016 from Scottish Natural Heritage, an environmental advisory body.

Kearney is critical of the model and questions why theoretical data is being used when the proponent could be asked to study functioning wind turbines near the site to obtain mortality rates occurring along the windy and foggy Nova Scotia coast.

And he returns to his acoustic data, saying it gives compelling, comparative evidence that the proposed farm is in the middle of a migration corridor.

The Nova Scotia Bird Society has also objected to the wind farm, saying its members have observed the concentrations of birds passing overhead, feeding on berries in the barrens and capturing insects in the trees.

We understand first hand the interconnections between terrestrial and marine habitats, which result in a high species richness, wrote Anthony Millard, president of the society.

Mikaela Etchegary, a spokeswoman for the provincial Environment Department, said the minister, Tim Halman, will consider the facts, science, and comments from the public and Mikmaq, and render a decision by May 4.

Scott Leslie, a naturalist and the author of Woodland Birds of North America, urges the Progressive Conservative government to take Kearney seriously.

He is one of the pioneers of using the latest bio-acoustical listening technology in Nova Scotia .... This is a powerful tool for assessing small migratory birds, and one of the most cost effective ways for people to establish whether or not a particular place is important for small migrants, he wrote in an email.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Nova Scotias goal was a 53 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2023.

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Employees work on caravans at a factory in Ankara, Turkiye, on April 19, 2023. In the wake of devastating earthquakes in February, the demand for tiny houses and caravans surged in Turkiye as citizens seek safer accommodations in the earthquake-prone country. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

by Burak Akinci

ANKARA, April 19 (Xinhua) -- In the wake of devastating earthquakes in February, the demand for tiny houses and caravans surged in Turkiye as citizens seek safer accommodations in the earthquake-prone country.

The two massive earthquakes on Feb. 6 claimed over 50,000 lives in southern Turkiye, toppling tens of thousands of buildings and leaving millions of people homeless.

Amid quake fear, many citizens living in seismically active zones, who do not feel safe in their current houses but have a limited budget to settle in a new apartment, are turning to alternatives -- tiny houses and caravans, according to industry veterans.

"Following the earthquake there's been an explosion in demand for tiny houses," Galip Olmez, CEO of Yako Groups, Turkiye's biggest company producing tiny houses, told Xinhua.

"Whenever there is a crisis, there is a soaring interest for tiny houses in Turkiye," just like it was during the COVID-19 pandemic, Olmez said.

Tiny houses, some of which are on wheels and can be towed around anywhere, are priced between 20,000 and 30,000 U.S. dollars with their sizes ranging from 15 to 40 square meters.

In Olmez's view, it would be much more time and cost-efficient to establish tiny house villages in seismically active zones rather than engage in huge social housing projects.

He stressed that Turks used to live in rural communities but found themselves squeezed into big cities over time.

Olmez said his company aimed to motivate citizens to reside in safe and practical tiny houses and form modern rural communities.

There is a 10-fold increase in demand since the earthquakes, particularly in earthquake-prone cities such as Istanbul and Izmir, reported local media citing Cem Demirer, the founder of another tiny house manufacturer.

Istanbul, with its 16 million inhabitants, lies close to the North Anatolian Fault Zones, and the deadly tremors in February have revived the worries of a powerful earthquake that experts have long been raising alarms about.

Sinan Sefik and his wife Zerin, both retired teachers, are currently weighing their options to purchase a caravan in Izmir, Turkiye's third largest city located on the western Aegean coast.

Sefik told Xinhua that the massive quakes have prompted him and his wife to take action as Izmir also lies close to active seismic faultlines.

"The quakes were a wake-up call for us, we were already considering moving to a caravan or a tiny house, but now we are quite determined," the pensioner said. 

An employee works on a caravan at a factory in Ankara, Turkiye, on April 19, 2023. In the wake of devastating earthquakes in February, the demand for tiny houses and caravans surged in Turkiye as citizens seek safer accommodations in the earthquake-prone country. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)

A man is seen in a caravan in Ankara, Turkiye, on April 19, 2023. In the wake of devastating earthquakes in February, the demand for tiny houses and caravans surged in Turkiye as citizens seek safer accommodations in the earthquake-prone country. (Photo by Mustafa Kaya/Xinhua)
HALIFAX - The Nova Scotia government has reached a tentative deal with the provinces 5,400 educational support workers, who were in a legal position to strike Friday.

The two sides stuck a deal around 2 a.m. Wednesday, Nan McFadgen, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees Nova Scotia, said in an interview. A spokeswoman with the provincial Education Department also confirmed that a tentative agreement had been reached.

We are pleased and we are recommending it, McFadgen said. I think there was clearly enough in the deal. There was movement and I think it was a direct result of member mobilization.

Neither side released details of the agreement.

CUPEs Nova Scotia School Board Council of Unions represents educational program assistants and early childhood educators, bus drivers, cleaners and maintenance staff, who were mainly looking for higher wages.

McFadgen said timing  the end of the school year is in June  along with the unions threats of going on strike gave it leverage during negotiations.

To withdraw your services is no small thing, but thats how committed they were, she said of union members. They were just done and were ready to draw their line and they drew it.

McFadgen said ratification votes are to be held over the next few weeks.

In a statement, Education Minister Becky Druhan said the government was pleased to strike a deal with union members. More information would be going out to parents later Wednesday, she said.

We are very glad that for now there will be no disruption to students learning as we wait for the ratification vote to happen.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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MEXICO CITY (AP)  Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met Wednesday with Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, and the two commiserated about U.S. sanctions.

The United States announced new sanctions Wednesday against three Nicaraguan judges who stripped 222 exiled opponents of their nationality.

Ortega told Lavrov that his government isnt concerned.

We already have hundreds of officials under sanctions ... this doesnt cause them any concern or fear anymore, Ortega said.

Lavrov responded that sanctioned people in Russia take it as a recognition of their effectiveness in defending Russian interests. Lavrovs remarks were translated from Russian to Spanish by a government-provided translator.

Russian officials and oligarchs were hit by sanctions following Russias invasion of Ukraine.

Lavrov repeated Russias warnings about Western expansionism and said he expected Nicaragua to be a strong pillar in the world that is being formed, adding multipolarism is a process that cannot be stopped.

In recent years, Ortegas government has essentially arrested all domestic political opponents as well as priests and a bishop.

On Feb. 9, Ortegas government released 222 opposition figures from prison and deported them, saying their Nicaraguan citizenship would be revoked and their property confiscated. Rights groups say that is an example of banishment, a violation of international norms.

Lavrov began his tour of Latin America on Monday with a stop in Brazil, where the administration of President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is seeking to simultaneously develop ties with China, Europe and the U.S. while keeping an open door to Russia. During a visit to Dubai, Lula said that Russia and Ukraine share responsibility for the war.

Lavrov met Tuesday with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, and was expected to visit Cuba on Thursday.

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KYIV, Ukraine (AP)  Ukraines defense minister said Wednesday his country has received U.S-made Patriot surface-to-air guided missile systems it has long craved and which Kyiv hopes will help shield it from Russian strikes during the war.

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov said in a tweet.

Ukrainian officials have previously said the arrival of Patriot systems, which Washington agreed to send last October, would be a major boost and a milestone in the war against Moscows full-scale invasion.

The Patriot can target aircraft, cruise missiles and shorter-range ballistic missiles. Russia has used that weaponry to bombard Ukraine, including residential areas and civilian infrastructure, especially the power supply over the winter.

Ukrainian air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said late Tuesday that delivery of the system would be a landmark event, allowing Ukrainians to knock out Russian targets at a greater distance.

Reznikov thanked the people of the United States, Germany and the Netherlands, without saying how many systems had been delivered nor when.

Germanys federal government website on Tuesday listed a Patriot system as among the military items delivered within the past week to Ukraine, and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock confirmed that to lawmakers in Berlin on Wednesday.

Reznikov said he had first asked for Patriot systems when he visited the U.S. in August 2021, five months before the full-scale invasion by the Kremlins forces and seven years after Russia illegally annexed Ukraines Crimea peninsula. He described possessing the system as a dream but said he was told in the U.S. at the time that it was impossible.

Ukrainian personnel have been trained on the Patriot battery, which can need as many as 90 troops to operate and maintain it.

Our air defenders have mastered (the Patriot systems) as far as they could. And our partners have kept their word, Reznikov wrote.

Experts have cautioned that the systems effectiveness is limited, and it may not be a game changer in the war, even though it will add to Ukraines arsenal against its bigger enemy.

The Patriot was first deployed by the U.S. in the 1980s. The system costs approximately $4 million per round and the launchers cost about $10 million each, analysts say. At such a cost, its not advantageous to use the Patriot to shoot down the far smaller and cheaper Iranian drones that Russia has been buying and using in Ukraine.

Kyiv officials have reported daily civilian, but not military, casualties from Russian bombardment.

At least four civilians were killed and 27 others were injured in Ukraine on Tuesday and overnight, the press office of Ukraines defense ministry reported.

A 50-year-old man and 44-year-old woman were killed in a Russian airstrike on a border town in the northeastern Kharkiv region, its Gov. Oleh Syniehubov said in televised remarks.

Russian forces launched 12 rocket, artillery, mortar, tank and drone attacks on Ukraines southern Kherson region, its Gov. Oleksandr Prokudin said, killing one civilian at a market in the center of Kherson, the regions namesake capital, and a nearby school.

A woman was killed and another was wounded in northern Ukraine after Russian forces shelled the border village of Richki from multiple rocket launchers, the local military administration said.

Russian forces also fired nighttime exploding drones at Ukraines southern Odesa region.

___ Associated Press writers Yuras Karmanau in Tallinn, Estonia, and Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report. ___ Follow APs coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

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WASHINGTON - A trove of leaked Pentagon secrets included Prime Minister Justin Trudeau privately telling NATO that Canada would never meet the military alliances targets for defence spending, the Washington Post reported Wednesday.

One document in particular, unsigned and undated, includes that blunt assessment among other widespread military deficiencies in Canada that are causing friction with security partners and allies, the newspaper says.

The Post report, published online Wednesday, describes it as a Pentagon assessment and does not include any direct quotes from Trudeau himself, nor many from the document beyond single words.

NATO, for instance, is concerned that Canada hasnt added to its battle group in Latvia. Turkey was disappointed by Canadas refusal to help transport aid after an earthquake earlier this year. Haiti is frustrated by Canadas reluctance to mount a security mission.

Widespread defence shortfalls hinder Canadian capabilities, the Post quotes the document as saying, while straining partner relationships and alliance contributions.

It all points toward a U.S. perception of the Canadian Armed Forces as underfunded and ill-equipped, making it hard for Canada to maintain ties among allies and impairing its international reputation.

Defence Minister Anita Anand rejected any suggestion that allies are expressing concerns about Canadas contributions, as she prepared to meet with around 50 counterparts this week at the Ukraine Defence Contact Group in Germany.

She said spending was a topic of discussion Wednesday when she met with David Cohen, the U.S. ambassador to Canada.

We spoke about our defence spending, generally speaking, and we discussed the upward trajectory of our defence spending and in fact how Canada continues to make foundational investments for the Canadian Armed Forces, she said in an interview.

Anand pointed out that the Liberal government has committed to nearly $40 billion on Norad modernization and North American defence, along with $8 billion in military spending announced in the 2022 budget.

As for Latvia, Canada has launched an urgent, competitive procurement process to equip troops there with anti-tank, anti-drone and anti-air defence systems, Anand said.

Planning with the other 10 countries involved in the Canadian-led battle group is still ongoing.

Criticism of defence spending has been a political mainstay in Ottawa, as it is elsewhere around the world. NATO wants its members to spend at least two per cent of their GDP on defence  a target Canada consistently fails to reach.

Canada has always been one that has depended too heavily upon other nations to provide that collective security. And we definitely have benefited from it, Conservative defence critic James Bezan said Wednesday.

Its time for us to step up and make sure that we pull our weight, especially in these dangerous times that we find ourselves in.

Asked about the Post story Wednesday, Trudeau did not acknowledge the report directly or explain precisely what he said to alliance officials.

I continue to say, and will always say, that Canada is a reliable partner to NATO, a reliable partner around the world, he said.

The Post report says the Forces warned back in February that a major military operation would be impossible, given its ongoing support for Ukraine and its support role leading a NATO battle group in Russia-adjacent Latvia.

The story doesnt linger on what that operation might be, but the U.S. has been keen to see someone lead a multinational support mission in gang-ravaged Haiti, and officials have even name-checked Canada as a worthy option.

No such commitment materialized last month after President Joe Bidens Ottawa visit. But that meeting with Trudeau did address other military shortcomings identified in the document, most notably with a promised $14-billion investment in the continental defence system known as Norad.

Canada has faced criticism domestically and around the world for a perceived reluctance to meet NATOs spending expectations.

Its embarrassing, Bezan said.

Here he is telling Americans behind the scenes that theres no chance that well do it. That is undermining our bilateral relationship, and not just on the security front.

NATO established the two per cent threshold in 2006 to ensure ongoing military readiness and provide an indicator of a countrys political will to contribute to NATOs common defence efforts, the alliance says on its website.

Canada was among the allies who signed on in 2014 to aspire towards that target.

The U.S. has shouldered an outsized share of the burden; total spending of all other allies is only about half of American expenditures on defence  a constant, with variations, throughout the history of the alliance.

But Anand said she believes Canadians care about results, and the target is only one way of measuring our contributions.

There arent many other countries that can say that they have trained 36,000 Ukrainian soldiers, she said, while also responding to natural disasters at home and increasing their presence in the Indo-Pacific.

Since the start of Russias war in Ukraine, Canada has provided more than $1.3 billion in military aid, including armoured vehicles, cannons, ammunition and eight Leopard II tanks.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

 With files from Stephanie Taylor and Sarah Ritchie in Ottawa

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OTTAWAWhen NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh turned up in front of Parliament Hill Wednesday to join thousands of striking federal workers, the picket line all but turned into a party line.

After all, Singh has noted repeatedly in recent days, his party has always stood on the side of unions.

They deserve respect, Singh told reporters, more than half of his partys caucus behind him and strikers eagerly crowding around to snap photos.

So were going to keep putting pressure on the government to deliver a respectful contract that understands the struggles these workers are going through.

But for Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, the calculus of where to stand Wednesday was more complicated.

In the months since becoming leader, hes positioned his party as that which speaks for the working class, as opposed to what he calls the elite Liberals or costly NDP.

Polls suggest he has momentum, with union workers appearing poised to back the federal Conservatives similar to how they swung to the side of Premier Doug Ford in the last Ontario election.

But join striking public servants on the picket line? For Poilievre  whose party used back-to-work bills in government, routinely disparaged the public service and who was a fierce advocate for union-busting legislation  that might be going too far.

Could Liberals lose power?

Still, how Poilievre and Singh will navigate the historic strike now underway will be a test of their respective claims to be the so-called workers vote  and may also test the future of the Liberal government itself.

That upwards of 100,000 Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) workers are off the job follows a period last fall when the Liberals were raked over the coals for the shoddy state of service delivery: people were lining up for days to get passports and immigration backlogs were at historic levels, among other things.

From that situation emerged a Conservative catch phrase: everything feels broken.

As talks with the unions were underway last year, the subject of many a closed-door discussion at the Liberals cabinet retreat was the labour landscape in front of them.

How would they survive the fallout from the fall, then navigate a strike?

How would negotiations with their workers impact talks with unions in other federally-regulated industries or efforts to get auto sector or oil and gas unions onside with their climate policy ambitions?

Recent budgets have been chock full of programs and money for workers in those sectors. In recent town halls, Prime Minster Justin Trudeau has made a point of visiting shop floors and union halls to make his case that his government has their back.

Theres also the question of precedent: whatever deal they reach with the public sector could have an impact on private sector unions and those wage talks.

Treasury Board Minister Mona Fortier suggested Wednesday the government knows there are cascading implications.

I think its important that we get to this wage offer that will not compromise what other jurisdictions are also working on and putting pressure on those jurisdictions and the private sector, she said.

So I think that we have the right path forward and we will, of course, work very hard to get to it.

Poilievre blames Trudeau

For a time Wednesday, the Conservatives werent even sure what path they were going to take  its the Liberals problem, not ours, insiders said.

But eventually they landed on a talking point of exactly that shape.

How will the prime minister fix the government he broke? Poilievre asked Trudeau during question period.

The NDPs Singh jumped ahead to the next potential political pressure point: back-to-work legislation, which could be used by Ottawa to end the strike and impose an arbitration process or contract on both parties.

The NDP repeatedly pressed the Liberals during question period for a commitment they wouldnt introduce such a bill, accusing them of being Conservative in spirit if they do.

Singh also said despite his partys governing agreement with the Liberals  which could see the New Democrats prop up the minority Liberals until 2025  the NDP were not looped into the negotiations.

Early on in the formation of that agreement, the NDP had made it clear that even if they were partners with the Liberals, theyd never  ever  support any decision to bring in a back-to-work law.

Thats led to speculation over whether the governing deal might dissolve should the Liberals move forward with back-to-work legislation, particularly if the government treats the vote as a confidence matter.

But Jennifer Howard, Singhs chief of staff, quashed some of that conjecture Wednesday.

If introducing the law becomes a confidence vote, the NDP, as Singh has already indicated, will vote against it.

If no other party wants to vote with them, then I guess were in an election, Howard said.

But if theres a scenario in which the NDP votes against the law and another opposition party supports it  thereby allowing the Liberal government to survive  the deal could still emerge unscathed, Howard told the Star.

Whats in the agreement commits us to supporting budgets, in exchange for certain things, and on other matters of confidence, commits us to be clear and forthright about what we would do and we have fulfilled that on our end, Howard said.

Howard, who worked as an executive director for PSAC before joining Singhs office, also took a shot at Poilievres failure to connect with workers on the first day of the strike.

If youre a party that claims to support workers, to believe that people who do the work deserve fairness and respect  which is a good wage and good benefits  then you have to support their ability to fight for those things, she said.

The last time the Liberals used back-to-work legislation  to end a Montreal port workers strike in 2021  the Tories backed the bill, over the objections of the NDP and Bloc Quebecois.

Would the party do the same under Poilievre? All they would say Wednesday is that they arent the ones in charge.

We are not at the negotiating table, Treasury Board critic Stephanie Kusie said.

This is in the hands of the incompetent Justin Trudeau and his team, and we really hope that he resolves this strike soon.

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OTTAWA - The federal Conservatives top Quebec Tory says the partys concerns about the CBC do not apply to the broadcasters French-language wing, but one of its senators suggests there is a need to look at it mandate.

Quebec Sen. Pierre-Hugues Boisvenu told reporters on his way into the partys weekly caucus meeting that Radio-Canadas mandate should be re-centred to its core mission.

Weve always said there was a form of competition that wasnt healthy between the private sector and Radio-Canada since it is funded at a significant level, Boisvenu said in French on Wednesday, adding this was the partys policy even before the era of former prime minister Stephen Harper.

The Conservative party has always said that we want to recentre the role of Radio-Canada in its core role, which is education, which is information, which is having a presence in the regions, he said, instead of competing with other broadcasters on content such as variety shows.

The Conservatives position to cut the roughly $1 billion CBC receives in annual funding is wildly popular among its base, which is heavily concentrated in Western Canada.

Leader Pierre Poilievre has repeated the promise countless times to drum up support at rallies and in fundraising emails.

The long-standing pledge is garnering further attention after Poilievre recently asked Twitter to add the label of government-funded media to its main account. The social-media giant did so late Sunday.

But Poilievres letter to the company requesting that change did not mention Radio-Canada, the broadcasters French-language programming wing.

He has said in past media interviews that he sees value in offering services to francophone communities, particularly in regions where they are linguistic minorities, which would be areas outside of Quebec.

The corporation itself has clarified that funding only Radio-Canada and not CBC would change the very nature of how programs and services are funded in Canada to target public money at only one language group.

Spokesman Leon Mar has said that it would require the federal Broadcasting Act to be rewritten, as the law currently states the broadcaster must offer programming in both official languages.

Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez has also thrown water on the Tories proposal, saying Tuesday that CBC and Radio-Canada are the same institution.

Pierre Paul-Hus, Poilievres lieutenant for the French-majority province, told reporters the same day that the next step is to see how to manage Radio-Canadas programming separately.

Paul-Hus, speaking in French, called Radio-Canada an essential service in Quebec as well as to francophones outside the province, saying CBCs English services are the main target of the partys criticism.

It doesnt at all touch Radio-Canada. These are two different things, he said.

Boisvenu echoed some of Paul-Huss comments Wednesday, saying that he believes that services to francophone communities outside Quebec are important and could be beefed up.

Poilievres attacks of the CBC could have ramifications for the partys chances in Quebec, according to political analyst and former Tory leadership candidate Rudy Husny.

Husny said Radio-Canada enjoys a sizable audience in Quebec and Poilievres attempts to draw a distinction between the French and English arms of the institution is a difficult message to land.

In 2008, Husny pointed out, the former Conservative government put some of the governments arts programming on the chopping block, which made Harper deeply unpopular in Quebec.

The more Poilievre pays attention to the CBC, the more he is basically giving ammunition to the Liberals, the Bloc (Quebecois) and the NDP to continue a narrative that, you know, the Conservatives are going to cut, Husny said.

When it comes to Radio-Canada, French, culture, you all put it together  it strikes a chord.

Both the NDP and Bloc Quebecois did not hesitate this week to charge that Poilievre is a threat to both French and culture.

Husny said that besides being an unpopular message in Quebec, Poilievres decision to draw attention to his fight against CBC is poorly timed, since he remains a relatively new leader whose opponents are still trying to define him for future voters.

The Conservatives currently have nine seats in Quebec, far behind the governing Liberals and Bloc, which boast 34 and 32, respectively.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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Phuket forecasts 60% post-Songkran hotel occupancy

PHUKET: Hotel occupancy in this island province after Songkran is expected to be around 60% with more Chinese arrivals even though the low season is approaching, say industry executives.

tourismChineseRussian

By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 19 April 2023, 10:30AM

Tourists visit the Lard Yai walking street in the Phuket Old Town. Photo: Achadthaya Chuenniran / Bangkok Post

In the first quarter of this year, Phuket saw hotel bookings at 86% of occupancy. During the Songkran festival, bookings were about 80%, said Sueksit Suvunditkul, president of the southern chapter of the Thai Hotels Association.

After Songkran, hotel bookings are expected to be 60% because Phuket is entering the low tourism season, starting from June, he said on Tuesday (Apr 18).

Its the rainy season. But there will be international travellers from other markets such as Australia and the Middle East. Tourists from the European market will drop while tourists from the Chinese market will start to enter Phuket.

The number of travellers from China is expected to be surpassed only by those from Russia. More Chinese arrivals are expected by mid-year, he said.

During the low tourism season, visitors from Australia, the Middle East, China, India, Malaysia and Singapore are expected to enter the province.

Russia led all arrivals to Phuket from Apr 1-15 with 36,999 tourists, the Phuket immigration office reported on Tuesday. They were followed by visitors from China (19,695), Australia (13,410), India (11,614) and England (11,462).
Phuket Immigration issues yellow cards to Thai landlords

PHUKET: Phuket Immigration has issued yellow cards to Thais for allowing foreigners found breaking the law to stay at their rented premises.

immigrationpropertycrime

By The Phuket News

Wednesday 19 April 2023, 11:55AM

The report issued by Phuket Immigration on Monday (Apr 17). Image: Phuket Immigration

Confirmation came through the report posted by Phuket Immigration on Monday (Apr 17), where it was reported that three Thai nationals had been issued yellow cards.

The title of the report, for Apr 1-15, had been updated to Statistics of Foreigners/Householders Committing Offenses and Receiving Warnings.

Of note, no foreigners were issued any yellow or red cards during the period.

It is actually a warning that we gave to the Thai householders who own the places where foreigners are found guilty of crimes, Phuket Immigration Chief Pol Col Thanet Sukchai told The Phuket News.

When we arrest foreigners that commit crimes, we call the householders to the Immigration Office and issue them a warning while we are proceeding with deportation of their tenant, he said.

While the Thai landlords are at the Immigration office, officers educate them in relevant immigration laws and information, he added.

Only receiving a warning already freaks them out because they do business and they are afraid that it will affect their business, Col Thanet said.

The three Thai landlords that received the yellow cards had foreign tenants who overstayed their visa and were illegal migrants, he added.

If the householders do not help to monitor and let criminals live in their place, it is like they only care about their business without thinking about Phuket.. This puts extra work on the immigration officers, said.

Col Thanet noted that under the policy Good Guys In, Bad Guys Out, he does not want the good foreigners to be in a bad environment.

When people come to Phuket legally, which are the good guys, and they stay in a bad environment, such as a place where drugs are sold, they can easily turn into one of the bad guys, he said.

When in Rome, do what Romans do. When foreigners are in Thailand, they have to respect our laws and the people who can help monitor them are the householders, he added.

To make the tourism industry sustainable, Phuket has to be a safe city, Col Thanet concluded.

Of note, the report on Monday confirmed that six people had been fined for breach of Section 38 of the Immigration Act, which mandates: House owners, heads of household, landlords or managers of hotels who accommodate foreign nationals on a temporary basis who stay in the kingdom legally, must notify the local immigration authorities within 24 hours from the time of arrival of the foreign national.
PM grilled on power bills

BANGKOK: Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said yesterday (Apr 18) the government is stepping up efforts to find new sources of alternative energy following complaints about electricity bills going up during the summer months.



By Bangkok Post

Wednesday 19 April 2023, 09:59AM

Photo: Bangkok Post

He was responding to criticism on social media and calls for the government to do more to cut peoples energy costs, reports the Bangkok Post.

We have to consider why the bills go up. It is a complicated issue involving production costs and management, Prayut said.

We will look at things that can be done. Dont worry. Ill see to it myself.

He added that electricity rates involve business operations and contractual obligations that have existed for a long time. But the government will try to ensure no one is disadvantaged.

He went on to say that the government has been trying to find and promote the use of cheaper sources of energy, such as renewable energy, and encourage local communities and households to use solar cells to catch sunlight and convert it into electricity.

We should also look at the energy prices and gasoline prices in other countries. But dont compare ours with countries that have their own energy sources.

Thailand still has to buy energy from other countries because the domestic natural gas supply in the Gulf of Thailand is declining. We have to import energy from Myanmar or Malaysia.

So, we have to step up efforts to find other alternative sources of energy. It wont happen very soon, but we are making much progress, Prayut said.

Netizens on social media have posted pictures of their pricey bills with one Facebook user saying that in April of last year, he was infected with COVID-19 and self-isolated at home for 16 days, using two air-conditioners alternately. The electricity bill for that month was B1,348.

But this April, I used electricity as usual and took five days off during the Songkran holiday, but the power bill was 2,060 baht, he said.

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) recently decided to impose a single electricity bill rate between May and August.

This will make electricity bills cheaper for businesses but more expensive for households and will come as particularly unwelcome news during the ferocious heat of the summer.

The new rate will be B4.77 per kilowatt-hour, which is lower than the current rate businesses are charged from January to April at B5.33 per unit, but an increase from B4.72 per unit for households.

The ERC conducted online surveys from March 1020 to gather opinions in support of its decision.

However, the move has come under heavy criticism for favouring the industrial sector, as the revised rates will enable businesses to save 10% on their bills while households will face a 1% increase in electricity fees, according to observers.

The underlying factor is the rise of the fuel adjustment tariff, known as Ft, by 5% during the May-August period, while the Ft associated with power use by industry is expected to dip by 30%.

The government and ERC justified the higher Ft rate for households from May to August by saying it had already provided a B3.2-billion subsidy for vulnerable groups - such as low-income earning groups and households consuming less than 300 units.

Mingkwan Sangsuwan, a member of the Palang Pracharath Partys strategy committee, said the committee agreed with a campaign pledge to reduce the rate to B2.50 per unit for households and B2.70 for the industrial sector by revising concession contracts for natural gas production in the Gulf of Thailand.

Sirikanya Tansakun, deputy leader of the Move Forward Party, said the party would cut power bills by 70 satang per unit by using the mechanisms of the ERC. It would also allow consumers to shop around and buy from other suppliers, not just Egat.
STOCKHOLM, April 19 (Xinhua) -- Up to 90 percent of all commuter train departures were canceled in the Swedish capital on Wednesday as a strike among train drivers entered its third consecutive day, local media reported.

On average, more than 400,000 commuter train journeys are done per day, according to MTR Nordic which operates the service on behalf of Stockholm's public transport provider SL, and many commuters had to find other means getting to and from work.

"Depending on the time of day, there will be between 80 and 90 percent fewer departures than usual," SL spokesperson Henrik Palmer told TT news agency ahead of the morning rush hours.

"Around 25 buses are required to replace one train set, and we have around 50 available," Palmer told TT, indicating a large shortfall to the train replacement.

Although the strike is planned to last until 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, Palmer said there were uncertainties as to when the service would run according to schedule again as train sets were left haphazardly throughout the network when the strike commenced.

The strike, which was not sanctioned by the trade union organizing the train drivers, was announced last Friday by train drivers unhappy with the decision to remove conductors from the commuter trains.

Such a decision, train drivers have said, would jeopardize safety as they would be solely responsible for monitoring that all doors are clear before closing them.

Politicians in the Stockholm region, responsible for providing public transport, have told local media that the new system is safe, while saving the region up to 150 million kronor (14.5 million U.S. dollars) annually. 
In less than a month, a second threat of a school shooting has occurred at St. Benedict Catholic Secondary School.

The Waterloo Regional Police Service said they responded on April 18 to a report of concerning threats that were located within one of the washrooms. The threats, police said, made reference to potential violence toward the school, staff and students.

A photo of the alleged message, scrawled on tile, was posted on social media, stating "I am shooting this school A20."

Police could not confirm if this was the message at the school.

The investigation is ongoing, police said.

Some people think scrawling threats of violence and hate speech on bathroom walls is clever or funny. I can assure them, it is not," said John Shewchuk, the Waterloo Region Catholic board's chief managing officer.

"What it is, is dangerous to the community and a very serious crime. Those responsible will face all appropriate legal consequences.

The incident is similar to one that occurred on the morning of March 27 when the message, "I am shtooing (sic) this shool (sic) down on M/28. F you!" was found in the school bathroom.

Anyone with information can call police at 519-570-9777.

To provide anonymous information, please call Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477 or submit information online at www.waterloocrimestoppers.com.

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An artist rendering of the proposed LRT at Shantz Hill in Cambridge.



Diane Moyes thinks the door has been opened to re-evaluate the Stage 2 ION path.

After regional council learned on April 4 the cost of completing the light rail transit (LRT) line through Cambridge had ballooned to $4.5 billion, Moyes, who helped spearhead the Stop the LRT thru Preston group, said maybe its time to look at a more conservative approach that would reroute the line around Preston.

She contended the most expensive part of the second phase runs through Preston, with an elevated bridge down Shantz Hill to cross the Speed River  properties at 124 Eagle St. S. and at the corner of Eagle and King streets have already been bought up by the region to make room  and another bridge at William and Eagle streets to cross over existing train tracks and catch the old spur line.

A staff report to regional council confirmed Stage 2 is more expensive than Stage 1 as it has six new bridges, grade separations and/or elevated sections. Stage 1 had none.

To fund Stage 1 at a cost of $868 million  built mostly between 2014 and 2017  the region paid $278 million, with $131 million of that financed through GrandLinq, while procuring $265 million from the federal government and $325 million from the provincial government. The business case for funding for Stage 2 is still being compiled.

The proposed LRT has become a great white elephant in the room, Moyes said.

We realize that some citizens still want the LRT due to the fact that we paid toward the first phase in Kitchener, but if it does go through to the second phase, the taxes will go through the roof, making it totally unaffordable to live here.

Regional staff, citing the need for more than one LRT route design to present to the Ministry of Transportation, proposed three alternatives to consider.

Alternative A would extend the LRT line from the Fairway Road terminal to Pinebush Road at a cost of $2.9 billion. Alternative B would extend from the Fairway terminal to the Delta intersection at a cost of $3.9 billion, or the full line, Alternative C, would extend from the Fairway terminal to downtown Galt, with the $4.5 billion price tag.

Factored into the cost is the assumption construction would begin between 2030 and 2035.

The downtown Galt terminus still needs to be figured out as well  a functional design is expected in the fall  as it could end up at the Ainslie Street terminal, or the planned original end on Bruce Street, or on Concession Street.

All three alternatives would still go through Preston. Moyes had her own idea.

A possibility to alleviate some of the cost would be to junction the LRT down Maple Grove Road to facilitate the massive industrial area there, along with the new subdivisions in that area, to transport the vast majority of riders to the Highway 24 corridor and to Galt. To still be able to get ridership to Preston, buses could be interchanged at Sportsworld Crossing, she said, noting traffic congestion is already a nightmare in Preston.

The costs of the three lines dont include operations, maintenance, and rehabilitation costs. Based on 2022 costs, at least eight years prior to the earliest proposed construction, Alternative A brings an added cost of $9.4 million, Alternative B $18.8 million and Alternative C $22.6 million.

An email from the region to the Times stated staff is continuing to advance the technical work required to inform the projects business case, which is a key part of the process to help regional council weigh the benefits and costs of Stage 2 ION.

Moyes said she was hopeful regional planners would look at the expense and find a way to cut costs.

Cambridges regional councillors, however, werent convinced money is coming for the project at all.

I think we need to have some sort of commentary from someone that will look at this and say to us if this is realistic, because quite frankly I dont believe it is in any sense of the word, said Reg. Coun. Doug Craig.

No government is to give $4.46 billion to Cambridge to run a LRT. So, lets start looking at this from a different perspective.

Reg. Coun. Pam Wolf offered one.

Would it be possible to have rapid bus along the LRT corridor while were waiting for this magical funding? she asked.

After a deferral by Reg. Coun. Rob Deutschmann, staff agreed to bring additional information to a special council meeting on May 24.



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From educational lectures and workshops to community clean-up initiatives and sustainable lifestyle tips, check out these events happening in Waterloo Region in April during Earth Month.



THEMUSEUM PD Day Camp: Eco-Action

Waterloo Park Earth Day Cleanup and Electronics Recycling Event

The Underground Studio MakerSpace PD Day Camp: Tote-ally Upcycled!

Wilmot Rec Complex and Schmidt Woods

Parkminster United Speaker Series

Virtual Lunch and Learn Talk- eco anxiety

Gardening in a Changing Climate

(Postponed due to inclement weather) KW VegFest is back for its sixth year with a pop-up event planned on Earth Day, Saturday, April 22, from 3 to 7 p.m. at Waterloo Town Square.

Although we endeavour to provide the most accurate description of events listing and venues, we are not responsible or liable for errors and omissions in the event description, location or intended audience. If necessary, please contact the event organizer for additional information.

For more events happening near you visit the events calendar.

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KITCHENER  Udo Haan has been ordered detained in a secure psychiatric hospital after he was found not criminally responsible for murdering his wife Edra and blowing up their home.

However, a plan must be made that may eventually see Haan released into the community, with or without supervision. If he is let out, police would be notified, he must abstain from alcohol and drugs and agree to be tested, and he may not possess a weapon or fire-starting device.

The Ontario Review Board issued the order after a hearing April 12 in which lawyers representing Haan, hospitals and the Crown agreed to detain him for a year. His case will be reviewed annually.

The detention order dated Wednesday confines him to a hospital in St. Thomas, Ont. The order remains in place until the review board issues a new order.

The Kitchener man, now 63, was having paranoid delusions when he fatally strangled Edra Haan, 58, with a rope and then triggered an explosion in their home. The blast in 2018 obliterated the house at 56 Sprucedale Cres. in the Forest Heights area of Kitchener.

After the explosion, Edra Haan was found dead in the backyard. Neighbours pulled Udo Haan from the wreckage. He was airlifted to a Hamilton hospital in critical condition.

In February Haan was found not criminally responsible because of a mental disorder. He was charged with first-degree murder and arson with disregard for human life.

The psychiatric hearing was told that Haan must meet a number of steps before he is allowed back into the community.

Some people found not criminally responsible are held for years in a psychiatric hospital. Its also possible Haan could earn a conditional or absolute discharge, removing him from the jurisdiction of the review board.

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WATERLOO REGION  In line with a growing number of hospitals across Ontario, Grand River Hospital and St. Marys General Hospital have announced an end to mandatory masks in most areas in the hospital, starting this week.

Meanwhile, Cambridge Memorial Hospital will still require masks in all hospital settings.

In a news release Monday, Grand River said masks still must be worn in the chemotherapy suite and whenever someone is in close contact with patients, like when they are visiting in their room.

Anyone with respiratory symptoms who needs to come to the hospital should wear a mask, the release said, and visitors should continue to stay away if they arent feeling well.

Our team members will continue to wear masks whenever they are directly interacting with patients. Were committed to keeping patients safe, the news release said. Youll still see Plexiglas barriers in some areas and physical distancing when possible.

Grand River shared its statement on Twitter in a four-part post, leading to some strong reactions against the decision.

Abandoning protections during an airborne pandemic is harmful, one Twitter user wrote.

Vulnerable members of our community will die & others will end up with life-altering complications from Long Covid. You need to reverse this policy immediately: health care is a right & should be accessible to all.

Another user called it a disgusting abdication of responsibility to your patients, with others questioning whether this will lead to more outbreaks on hospital floors and more strain on the health care system as a whole.

St. Marys, which also announced a move away from universal masking to being mask-friendly on Monday, faced similar backlash to its Twitter post.

The decision locally comes as several other hospitals across southwestern Ontario  including Chatham-Kent Health Alliance, Bluewater Health, Windsor Regional Hospital, Hotel-Dieu Grace Healthcare and Erie Shores HealthCare  lifted mask mandates on Monday.

Locally, hospitalizations for COVID-19 eased last week in the region but remain high.

The regional public health unit reported 28 patients in three local hospitals in a weekly update released Friday. The rate of daily hospitalization for the pandemic disease has been above normal since late March, as it has been for most of the last nine months.

The full rate of transmission is no longer known in the region, as mass testing is no longer available for the general public, as it was during earlier stages of the pandemic.

There have been 518 deaths in the region in which COVID-19 is a direct or contributing cause.

It does seem ill-advised to remove mask mandates in health-care settings where, one would think, the risks of exposure are greater, said University of Waterloo School of Public Health director Craig Janes.

It does reflect our journey in the pandemic  wishing for a return to normalcy I suppose, and certainly a retreat from a public health perspective on transmission dynamics.

In terms of the timing of the decision, it is springtime and respiratory virus levels usually start levelling off, said Wilfrid Laurier University virologist and immunologist Stephanie DeWitte-Orr.

SARS-CoV-2 isnt going anywhere and will continue to circulate, she said.

However, it is adapting to us as hosts and becoming less pathogenic, meaning it is less severe, she said. Collectively, this is likely a good time to lift mask mandates unless you are a person with a health condition that makes you high-risk.

-with files from Jeff Outhit

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KITCHENER  Members of Ontarios Big City Mayors caucus will be meeting in Kitchener on Thursday to discuss health, housing and homelessness.

The group is holding its annual general meeting at The Walper Hotel in the morning. Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Steve Clark is expected to attend to discuss provincial legislation related to housing.

After the meeting, a media conference will be held at noon, with 16 mayors expecting to participate, including local mayors: Kitcheners Berry Vrbanovic, Waterloos Dorothy McCabe, and Cambridges Jan Liggett.

Other participating mayors include:

Mayor Bonnie Crombie of Mississauga

Mayor Andrea Horwath of Hamilton

Mayor Patrick Brown of Brampton

Mayor Cam Guthrie of Guelph

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward of Burlington

Mayor Bryan Paterson of Kingston

Mayor Josh Morgan of London

Mayor Frank Scarpitti of Markham

Mayor Kevin Ashe of Pickering

Mayor Mat Siscoe of St. Catharines

Mayor Alex Nuttall of Barrie

Mayor Ken Boshcoff of Thunder Bay

Mayor Elizabeth Roy of Whitby.

Ontarios Big City Mayors includes mayors of 29 single and lower-tier cities with a population of 100,000 or more. The group advocates for issues and policies important to the provinces largest cities.

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WATERLOO REGION  Starting in September, the public school board will make students wait a year until Grade 2 to enrol in French immersion.

Teacher Marisa Moser sees an opportunity in the delay from Grade 1 entry. Shes started an immersion program for kindergartners at a new private school she aims to launch in Waterloos downtown.

Enscolaire Bilingual School targets parents who want their children to spend half their school day in French and half in English. Tuition is $11,500 a year.

Studies have found that learning a new language at an early age, especially between five and seven years old, helps to improve your childs cognitive skills, such as reading and problem-solving, said Lois Peterson, a retired school principal who is consulting with Moser on the launch of the school.

With French immersion starting later at public schools, the private school is looking for parents who have a belief that French, at an early age, is an enriching experience and that bilingualism is an asset to Canadians, Peterson said.

Before she became a teacher and earned a graduate degree in French, Moser attended Kitchener-Waterloo Bilingual School, a private school that charges $11,000 a year for kindergarten tuition.

Moser plans to open her private school on the second floor of Knox Presbyterian Church at 50 Erb St. W. in Waterloo. An open house is scheduled April 29 from noon to 3 p.m. at the school.

Peterson said the school plans to employ certified teachers and follow the Ontario curriculum. The school may offer Grade 1 if there is demand, she said.

French immersion is popular with many parents. But the voluntary program has caused problems at the public board. It is now offered at 42 elementary schools at the Waterloo Region District School Board and six elementary schools at Waterloo Catholic District School Board.

Catholic schools are sticking with Grade 1 entry but the public board is delaying French immersion until Grade 2 entry after reports of uncertain French fluency among students, poor teacher credentials, a high dropout rate, and inequitable classroom impacts caused by the program.

Starting this September, the public board will provide all Grade 1 students with more French instruction, at about one-sixth of the day. Grade 2 entry into immersion begins September 2024 and students in that program will be taught in French for just over half the day.

About 8,000 students are enrolled in all grades in immersion at the public board.

Public school trustees figure delaying immersion until Grade 2 will help families make better decisions about enrolling, while giving schools a better grasp of each students learning needs.

Many Ontario school boards offer French immersion starting in kindergarten, but not in this region.

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WARSAW, April 18 (Xinhua) -- Grain transports from Ukraine via Poland will resume on Friday, Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus said on Tuesday, after two-day talks here with the Ukrainian side.

The transports will be escorted and monitored by a specialized electronic system while passing through Poland to make sure "that not one ton of grain (from Ukraine) will stay in Poland," he said in a press conference.

Polish Development and Technology Minister Waldemar Buda said Poland will maintain the ban on importing agricultural goods, but will "allow passage through Poland to four Polish ports and to other European countries."

He noted that grain transports through Poland will be sealed with electronic GPS seals.

Hungary and Slovakia have imposed similar import bans, joining Poland, which banned both import and transit through the country last week after seeing weeks of protests staged by farmers against low prices.

"We are aware of the situation of Polish farmers, the Polish side understands Ukrainian farmers," Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko, who is visiting Warsaw for negotiations, said at the joint news conference.

The European Union (EU) has criticized member states for putting individual bans in place, and EU envoys are set to discuss the measures on Wednesday, according to a senior EU official. 
NEW YORK, April 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. oil prices edged up slightly on Tuesday as the market digested the latest macroeconomic data from major economies.

The West Texas Intermediate (WTI) for May delivery gained three cents, or 0.04 percent, to settle at 80.86 U.S. dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for June delivery increased one cent, or 0.01 percent, to settle at 84.77 dollars a barrel on the London ICE Futures Exchange.

While the stronger-than-expected economic growth in China bolstered market sentiment, continuous deterioration of a key economic sentiment indicator in Germany weighed on oil prices.

An indicator of economic sentiment for Germany in April read 4.1 points, down from 13 points in March and much lower than market forecast consensus of 15.1 points, according to a monthly expert survey published by the Leibniz Center for European Economic Research (ZEW) on Tuesday.

The key German investor sentiment survey weighed on crude, as optimism for the eurozone's largest economy remains downbeat in the coming quarters, according to Edward Moya, senior market analyst at OANDA, a supplier of online multi-asset trading services.

Meanwhile, China's gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.5 percent year on year in the first quarter of 2023, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Tuesday.

"As of this morning, oil markets are regaining some ground as traders cheer the release of forecast-beating Chinese GDP data," said a research note by PVM Oil Associates on Tuesday.

Separate data revealed that China's crude throughputs surged to record levels last month, noted PVM Oil Associates.

Oil isn't getting any good news here and that means prices could continue to hover around 80 U.S. dollars per barrel, or even see a tentative dip below if sellers get some help from a strong dollar, said Moya.

U.S. crude inventories were estimated to show a decline of 400,000 barrels in last week, and U.S. gasoline and distillate stocks should tighten by 1.6 million barrels and 600,000 barrels in the period, respectively, according to a survey issued by S&P Global Commodity Insights on Tuesday.

The U.S. Energy Information Administration is scheduled to release weekly oil inventory data on Wednesday. 
Inter-State drug ring busted, 4 including woman held Over 1 Kg of brown sugar seized

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By Our Staff Reporter

IMPHAL, Apr 18 : A team of Kangpokpi police arrested four persons including a woman allegedly involved in an inter-State drug ring from different places along with 1.018 kilograms of brown sugar yesterday.The four persons have been identified as Asheibam Thoibi (38) w/o Nongthongbam Premananda of Huikap Mayai Leikai, Md Abdul Matalip (40) s/o Kashim of Thoubal Moijing Wangma Taba Mayai Leikai, Narendra Mahawar (39) s/o Mandanlal Mahawar staying at Thangal Keithel and Md Abdul Nazir (33) s/o Md Abdul Rahim of Lilong Turel Ahanbi Khongnang Makhong, as per a senior official of Kangpokpi police .Reportedly, Kangpokpi police carried out a verification drive at its station checkpost on receiving information about the movement of some drug smugglers along Imphal-Dimapur road, during which one Tata Winger was also stopped.Saying that two occupants of the passenger vehicle namely Thoibi and Md Abdul Matalip, who behaved suspiciously, were examined separately, the police continued that it was Thoibi who disclosed about the presence of the drug in her backpack.It is reported that the backpack was searched in the presence of an Executive Magistrate and a transparent polythene bag containing 1.018 kilograms of brown sugar was found.Both of them were arrested along with the drug while the Tata Winger was confiscated, added the senior police officer. The police team learnt about the involvement of two more persons in running the drug cartel during interrogation and they were identified as Narendra Mahawar and Md Abdul Nazir who were also arrested by the police from their respective places. The police also seized one Toyota Fortuner bearing Assam registration number. All four of them have been sent to police custody till April 25 by the Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class Kangpokpi.
Korean books

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Imphal, Apr 19 : Extending support to Korean studies, Korean Ambassador Chang Jae-bok has donated Korean books to the Manipur University today.

The book donation ceremony/function was organized by Korea Corner and Department of Foreign Languages, Manipur University.

Speaking at the function, Chang Jae-bok said that the initiative of learning Korean language and cultural exchange programmes will help in bringing mutual understanding between India (Manipur) and Korea.

While expressing happiness on getting the opportunity to take part in todays programme, the Ambassador said that he will extend every possible support to Manipur University in promoting Korean studies.

Ambassador Chang Jae-bok also interacted with the students of Manipur University.
Preserve your culture : Munda tells tribal people

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Our Correspondent/PIB

IMPHAL, Apr 19: Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda on Wednesday lauded the tribal people of the State for keeping alive culture and tradition inherited from their forefathers.The Union Minister was addressing the closing function of the two-day 5th State level Hun Festival of the Thadou tribe held at Thomas Ground of Kangpokpi district.Governor Anusuiya Uikey was also present at the event.The Hun Festival is one of the biggest festivals of the Thadou community. During the festival celebrated at the start of a year, the community offers prayers for a prosperous and fruitful year ahead. Young children praying to their grandparents for blessings is one of the important features of the festival.At the event, the Union Minister stated that culture is their identity and urged the tribal people to protect and preserve their culture, values and dialects.Keep alive your culture and tradition. I am so happy as you have kept your tradition and language intact, he told the tribal people attending the closing function.He said that tribal people are leading a happy life anywhere they live and added that the Central Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi is implementing various welfare projects and schemes to improve the living standard of the tribal people across the country.The Central Government, he said, is working at its best to protect and preserve the culture and tradition of the tribal people including their dialects.The Central Government has been giving special emphasis on preserving the culture and tradition of the tribal people across the country. In the new education policy framed by the Centre, special chapters highlighting the cultural heritages of the tribals have also been included, he said.Addressing the gathering, Governor Anusuiya Uikey appreciated the Thadou tribe for organizing the Hun cultural festival under the theme, "drug-free society".She said that the Hun celebration under the theme, "drug-free society" will encourage youth to stay away from drugs.The Governor, while acknowledging the immense contribution of the tribal people across the Nation, said that land, water, and forest are protected and preserved by the tribal people.She also said that the tribal people in the country deserve a proper lifestyle and development and added that the problems and grievances of the tribal people need to be addressed accordingly.She also thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for posting her "to the beautiful land of Manipur where the people are very innocent and peace-loving."The Governor also assured that she would seriously look into the problems and grievances of the tribal people and also do her best to address them.Union Minister of State for Education and External Affairs RK Ranjan, who also attended the closing function as guest of honour, said that Thadou is one of the oldest and biggest communities and their culture and tradition have many similarities with other ethnic communities including the Meitei living together in the State.We must celebrate our sister festivals. We must respect other's culture. Other communities should be invited to our festivals," said Dr RK Ranjan.In his address as the president of the function, State Tribal Affairs Minister Letpao Haokip said the Hun is one of the biggest festivals of the Thadou community. During the festival, the community offers prayers for a fruitful year ahead, he added.The closing event was also attended by Corporation Minister Nemcha Kipgen and MLA S Kunjakeshwore among others.Notably, Union Minister of Tribal Affairs Arjun Munda arrived in Imphal on Tuesday on a two-day visit to the State.On Tuesday, he launched a new Central tribal oriented scheme Marketing and Logistics Development for Promotion of Tribal Products from North Eastern Region (PTP-NER) in the presence of Chief Minister N Biren Singh here in Imphal.The Union Minister also reviewed various tribal welfare schemes being implemented in the State with officials of the departments concerned of the Government.
So-called forever chemicals are being consumed by people on a daily basis from a variety of ordinary materials, revealed a new report.

In a study published in Environmental Science and Technology, researchers from the University of Toronto, Indiana University and the University of Notre Dame examined 42 different types of food packaging samples and found the presence of pre-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), also known as forever chemicals in 55 per cent of the samples taken.

The science indicating that PFAS are a problem at much lower levels has been known about for many years, but governments in both the U.S. and Canada have been very slow to act, said Dr. Joe Minor, a Hamilton biologist.

Minor, who has urged the citys public health staff to improve communications with residents about PFAS in fish that live downtown stream from the Hamilton International Airport, said a disinformation campaign waged by PFAS polluters has shifted to state that since PFAS chemicals are everywhere, so therefore the problem cant be addressed.

PFAS is a problem at the very low levels that are currently all around us but more importantly the risk increases with higher consumption of PFAS above those levels.

The study pointed out that PFAS has the highest levels in molded paper bowls. Scientists say manufacturers use PFAS for the paper bowls to repel grease, oil and water. But these chemical dont easily break down because they are made of a strong chemical bond between carbon and fluorine.

Exposure to these chemicals have been linked to several serious health concerns, including high risks for cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes, weaker immune systems, reduced fertility, low birthweight babies, cancer, including kidney and testicular, and damage to the liver.

Researchers say everybody likely has PFAS in their bodies, but not everyone will develop these health conditions.

The chemicals have been in use since the 1940s in consumer products and industry, including non-stick pans, food packaging, food wrappers, cosmetics and firefighting foam.

PFAS has been banned for food packaging in 11 U.S. states. The European Union is considering a proposal to ban 10,000 different types of chemicals. Several companies, such as McDonalds and Restaurant Brands International  the parent company of Tim Hortons and Burger King  have announced plans to phase out the use of PFAS in packaging by 2025.

But it is in drinking water that environmentalists, and health care researchers have expressed recent concern. The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States announced in March it was limiting PFAS chemicals in drinking water to the lowest level that tests can detect at four parts per trillion. The agency is seeking comments and is expected to issue a final rule by the end of the year.

Health Canada has established drinking water guidelines for PFAS since 2018 and 2019, said Natalie Mohamed, spokesperson for the ministry.

In February 2023, Health Canada issued proposed objectives for PFAS in drinking water for a 60-day community period. Canada is proposing a 30 ng/L (nanograms per litre) for the sum total PFAS detected in drinking water, from the interim value of 70 ng/L. Mohamed stated the government will use the public comments to help revise the drinking water guidelines as needed. It will replace the previous drinking water guidelines and nine other screening values for individual PFAS. It will eventually be posted on the Health Canada website.

Mohamed said PFAS data in freshwater sources and drinking water are limited but said PFOS chemicals are present at levels below the new proposed target. But she said PFOS may be higher near facilities that use large amounts of these chemicals such as where firefighting foam was used, landfills and wastewater treatment plants.

Mohamed said in Canada some of the most common PFAS (PFOS, PFOA, long-chain PFCAs, their salts and precursors) have been prohibited from manufacture, use and import with a limited number of exemptions. She said PFAS enter Canada in consumer products or are embedded in manufactured items.

Mohamed said if people are concerned about PFAS in their drinking water, they should contact their municipality, or public health for advice. If PFAS are confirmed in the drinking water, they can be removed by treating the water with a carbon filter directly at the tap or reverse osmosis system.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: As part of our Earth Day coverage, we wanted to examine the impact of 'forever chemicals' in drinking water and what to do about them.

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WASHINGTON, April 18 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that he has called the Black teen who got shot in Kansas City, Missouri, after knocking on a wrong door.

Biden tweeted on Tuesday afternoon that he "had a chance to call Ralph Yarl and his family" on Monday night.

"No parent should have to worry that their kid will be shot after ringing the wrong doorbell," he continued. "We've got to keep up the fight against gun violence."

Biden also suggested that he would invite Yarl, 16, to the White House once he feels better.

Yarl was shot twice by Andrew Lester, of Kansas City, on the night of April 13 after the teen approached the wrong house while picking up his siblings.

Lester, an 84-year-old White man, was charged on Monday with assault in the first degree and armed criminal action. He turned himself in on Tuesday afternoon, according to the Clay County Sheriff's Office.

Lester reportedly told investigators that he had gone to bed when the doorbell rang, and he went to the door armed with a revolver.

According to the probable cause document obtained by U.S. media outlets, Lester thought his home was being broken into and he fired twice through the glass door.

Officers responded before 10 p.m. that night after receiving reports of a shooting. When they arrived, they found Yarl wounded in the street.

Demonstrators have marched through Kansas City, demanding justice for Yarl who has been released from the hospital after being treated for gunshot wounds.

Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas said that he believes Yarl was racially profiled by the shooter, stressing that "this boy was shot because he was existing while Black."

Clay County Prosecuting Attorney Zachary Thompson has also said, "There was a racial component to this case."

Attorneys for Yarl's family -- Ben Crump and Lee Merritt -- said in a statement on Monday that "gun violence against unarmed Black individuals must stop."

"Our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted," the lawyers added.

Firearms are the number one cause of death for children in the United States, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation analysis released last year.

Including accidental deaths, suicides, and homicides, guns killed 4,357 children aged between one and 19 years old in the United States in 2020, or roughly 5.6 per 100,000 children, the analysis showed. 
Hamilton police have retained a third-party facilitator to lead conversations between the police service and the LGBTQ community, fulfilling one of the last remaining recommendations from a report into the police response to violence at the citys 2019 Pride celebration.

Rebecca Banky said she is both nervous and excited to take on the work. She is a member of the queer community who has lived and worked in Hamilton for 11 years and is the chair of the citys LGBTQ advisory committee. She attended Pride in 2019.

Banky said she has a healthy distrust of police, but has also had some really positive experiences with specific officers.

I have a lot of optimism, she said.

But she also is not expecting anything miraculous or change to happen overnight. She sees her work as a step on the path, and there are still many miles to go.

Lawyer Scott Bergman led the probe into anti-LGBTQ violence at Gage Park during the 2019 Pride celebration and found the police response was inadequate. He made 38 recommendations to police for change.

Among the recommendations already put in place is a full-time LGBTQ liaison officer and officer training. Bankys selection sets in motion the completion of the final three recommendations.

A 2021 engagement survey conducted through McMaster University found the facilitator should be politically neutral, independent, a member of the LGBTQ community and have an understanding of historical oppression of marginalized groups by police. Police said this feedback led to community nominations, and police eventually selected Banky from that pool.

We acknowledge the time it has taken to get to this point. We thank the community for their input and feel Rebecca is absolutely the right person to move these much-needed conversations forward, police Chief Frank Bergen said in a statement.

Banky said the first challenge is getting the word out to the community so she can engage with as many people as possible.

Her first pitch to police was a pretty radical approach, which she was pleased to find police command supported. She is meeting with focus groups on her own, without police knowing locations. These are intended to be small groups where community members can remain anonymous, go by different names or request other accommodations, including to meet virtually. The goal is to make people comfortable having difficult conversations. Bankys job is to listen and then work with police.

Before being selected as facilitator, Banky had the opportunity to do some work with Hamilton police through the city advisory committee. She went into those conversations with a lot of trepidation and it took time for police to earn her trust. She was very skeptical of whether it was possible to make things better with police, but now says she has seen change and believes more is possible.

After speaking with friends and community members Banky believes she is the right person in the right moment to do this work.

The feedback from the focus groups will help inform a police town hall meeting  also recommended in the Bergman report  planned for this fall. And, depending on community feedback from focus groups and the town hall, could also lead to an advisory committee, the final unfulfilled Bergman recommendation.

Anyone from the LGBTQ community interested in participating in focus groups or looking for more information can reach out at rebeccabanky2023@gmail.com.

Nicole OReilly is a crime and justice reporter at The Spectator. noreilly@thespec.com

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It was nearly a year ago, in June 2022, that the Hamilton man first showed the Ukrainian student his cosy home, with the maple tree out front, on Chatham Street just east of Dundurn.

In the aftermath of war, and loss, 24-year-old Andrey Shatsky has come to see 59-year-old Richard (Rick) Wybou as a father figure.

In the house, Richard pointed and said: This is your room, says Shatsky. It was very nice.

The story of their intersecting lives goes back eight years, when Wybou started to take the teenager a world away under his wing.

Wybous drive to help might seem over the top, but to him its not complicated.

He speaks approvingly of random acts of kindness, and quotes Gandhis exhortation to be the change you want to see in the world.

And whats the saying, that all it takes for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing? Wybou says. I take that to heart. If Im in a position to help, Im going to help.

Wybou works in IT for a bank, but his passion has long been politics and history.

He took special interest in Russian expansionism under Vladimir Putin, and implications for Ukraine. In 2014 he was chatting with Ukrainians on VK, a Facebook-style Russian social media platform.

One of them was teenage Shatsky, who lived in Kramatorsk, a city in eastern Ukraine. He knew almost no English, but communicated with Wybou using Google Translate.

In the spring of 2014, armed Russian separatists occupied Kramatorsk. In May, Shatskys father, a municipal transit official and former deputy of the city council, was reportedly abducted.

Messaging with Wybou, Shatsky said he hoped his father would be released.

I knew his father was not coming back, says Wybou in a recent interview with The Spectator. But its heartless to tell this 15-year-old kid. I tried to mentor him and gently take him down that road, because hes going to need emotional support and guidance.

Shatsky never saw his father again.

Andrey Shatsky's father, Sergei, was reportedly abducted in Ukraine by Russian armed militants in May 2014. Shatsky believes his father was executed. Photo courtesy Andrey Shatsky

Meanwhile, he was traumatized further by shelling in and around the city through 2015.

In his interview with The Spec, Shatsky says he witnessed a window in his school shatter from compression waves of an explosion.

I saw this, it exploded in front of me. When I went outside, I saw corpses. I didnt feel anything at the time, but later I did; I think it was shock, yes. I talked to Richard right away. I texted him there was a terrorist shelling and Im scared as hell. It was the closest to death Ive felt.

Wybou eventually began sending parcels with clothes and Canadian souvenirs, including a flag and maple syrup of course, says Shatsky.

Later, he sent money for a laptop and paid for tutors to help Shatsky write university entrance exams.

I wanted Andrey to get a real education at a good university, and I also wanted to get him away from the Russian border, says Wybou, who believed an invasion was inevitable: The insurgency was just the opening ruse.

Wybous father served in the Canadian military with Norad (North American Aerospace Defense Command). Growing up, his family moved place to place, including Quebec, North Bay, Montana, and near the base located inside Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.

Wybou never married and has no kids, even though he says he is a commitment guy who had long-term relationships lasting 13 and 14 years.

He remembers years ago, pausing in Ikea, staring at kids bedroom furniture, and thinking: I missed out on that.

He volunteered six years with Big Brothers, and has devoted time and money to helping others: a homeless man and his dog; a woman scammed by a building contractor.

Even given his penchant for supporting others, his parents could not understand why he was investing in this stranger in Ukraine  tens of thousands of dollars in the end, Wybou estimates, some of which Shatsky has repaid.

Wybous mother asked: why not support your nieces and nephews instead?

And I said, Andrey did not ask me for it, and I knew he had no other choice, Wybou says. There were no options for him.

Andrey Shatsky, in 2018 at about age 19, sitting on top of a Ukrainian armoured vehicle holding a Canadian flag Rick Wybou had sent him. Photo courtesy Andrey Shatsky

At one point, even Shatsky began questioning Wybous interest in his well-being. When Shatsky was 17, there was a stretch of a few months when he stopped talking and messaging with Wybou.

People had been giving Andrey a hard time about it, says Wybou. A Canadian adult male spending time with a teenage boy in Ukraine; what is this guys motive?

But Wybou says one day he floated Shatsky a message wishing him well, and Andrey replied that he felt like he had made a mistake cutting him off. They resumed communicating.

I had not realized it at the beginning, says Shatsky, but I bonded with Richard like he is my father. He helped me and supported me.

In 2020 he was accepted at Taras Shevchenko University in Kyiv. Wybou sent money for tuition.

Richard believed in me and helped boost my self-esteem, says Shatsky. I wanted to go to the best and most prestigious university in Ukraine.

In September 2020 he sent a selfie to Wybou, standing on campus: Look I did this, he texted. Thank you.

Andrey Shatsky sent Rick Wybou a selfie to show that he had finally arrived at university in Kyiv, largely thanks to Wybou's support. Photo courtesy Andrey Shatsky

By January 2022, Wybou and Shatsky were talking about attempting a move to Canada.

Wybou badgered him to stock up on water and canned goods, and keep a backpack ready so he could take cover at a moments notice.

I was a Boy Scout; always prepared, right? says Wybou. But people were telling Andrey: Rick is just a worry wart, (an invasion) wont happen. They werent assessing it from Putins perspective. Big mistake.

On Feb. 24, 2022, Putin announced a special military operation had begun in Ukraine.

Shatsky translated Putins speech in real time on the phone with Wybou.

In the next few minutes I heard a sound like a jet, but we figured out later it was a rocket, says Shatsky.

Each night for two weeks, Wybou monitored a channel on the social media app Telegram, tracking air raid sirens during overnight hours, Kyiv time, so he could warn Shatsky.

Wybou says he felt like a worried parent.

People at work were saying its a tough situation, but theres nothing you can really do, you might as well accept it. And Im like: No, Im not going to accept it. Im going to find a way. (19th-century German poet) Goethe said the universe conspires to help, when you pick a direction and move. If you stand still nothing will happen.

Men ages 18 to 60 were prohibited from leaving Ukraine, if healthy enough to fight. Shatsky has a heart condition. He reported to an enlistment station and after a physical was classified ineligible to serve.

One of the many parcels Andrey Shatsky received in Ukraine from Rick Wybou. Photo courtesy Andrey Shatsky

Wybou believed escaping to Romania was their best hope, and used Google Earth to find a hotel near the border. He phoned the hotel and said he was trying to help a Ukrainian student get out.

One contact led to another. A woman was so inspired by his story that she offered to help. In March 2022, she entered Ukraine, helped Shatsky organize his documents, and drove him into Romania.

The next stop was Canada, but first Shatsky convinced his mother and grandmother to board a train in Kramatorsk. They started on a journey for Romania on April 3; five days later a Russian missile attack on the Kramatorsk railway station killed 60 people.

The pair remain in Romania, where his mother is a hair dresser.

As for his fathers abduction, over the course of several years Shatsky researched the case, obtaining information from Ukrainian police.

He shows a Spectator reporter copies of documents that he says prove police concluded his father was executed for having remained loyal to the Ukrainian government against the Russian insurgency.

There is no doubt, says Shatsky. It is transparent to me.

In June 2022, toting nothing but a backpack, Shatsky arrived at Pearson Airport, alone, to greet Wybou.

I was 15 and 165 centimetres tall when I first met Richard (online) and now I am 197 centimetres, says Shatsky. When I saw Richard I said: You really exist! I just wanted to see him, after these eight years of helping me emotionally and financially.

Wybou says Shatsky is intelligent, motivated and responsible, but there are adjustments after all these years of living with no one but his dog.

Some mornings its the dirty dishes left out from Andreys late-night snack.

Andrey needs to feel this is home, and feel secure and loved, and where he can grow and make his own decisions ... Having him in my life has been good for me, too. Its helping me to grow, too.

Shatsky landed a job at McDonalds in Ancaster, where he works 30 hours a week. His English has come a long way.

He helps pay for groceries, and also sends money to a relative in Ukraine who is fighting in the war, lately to help him buy night-vision goggles.

Each morning, Shatsky attends classes remotely toward completing his bachelors degree from the university in Kyiv. His plan is to eventually apply to McMaster to continue his education.

He speaks four languages. Wybou thinks Shatsky might one day be a great fit working for Canadas intelligence agency, CSIS, or border services.

Shatsky has a three-year permit to live and work under the Canada-Ukraine Authorized Emergency Travel program, after which he could apply for permanent residency, or return to Ukraine.

I really want to stay in Canada, he says.

Wybou hopes to make official what is in his heart: he wants to adopt him.

Ive had a parental role with Andrey for many years, he says. It feels like the natural thing to do. It would be good for him, to feel like hes not alone.

It is the logical continuation of our relationship, Im confident in this, says Shatsky, adding that his mother is supportive, because she trusts Wybou, who she has spoken with many times.

Last summer, Wybou took Shatsky to meet family members in P.E.I. and Ottawa, where they toured Parliament Hill.

More recently, they went shopping for a bed, to replace the old futon in Shatskys room.

Looking at the furniture in Ikea, it took Wybou back.

He still wasnt in the market for a childs bed.

It did feel like he was picking one for his son, though, this young man already versed in life and death, as well as the power of one person to tilt the universe a little bit at a time.

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TORONTO - Some of the most active companies traded Tuesday on the Toronto Stock Exchange:

Toronto Stock Exchange (20,684.68, up 42.71):

Toronto-Dominion Bank. (TSX:TD). Financials. Up $1.27, or 1.55 per cent, to $83.28 on 12.1 million shares.

Royal Bank of Canada. (TSX:RY). Financials. Up 76 cents, or 0.57 per cent, to $134.29 on 11.4 million shares.

Sabina Gold & Silver Corp. (TSX:SBB). Basic Materials. Down three cents, or 1.39 per cent, to $2.13 on 10.5 million shares.

Algonquin Power & Utilities Corp. (TSX:AQN). Utilities. Down 59 cents, or 5.19 per cent, to $10.78 on 8.1 million shares.

Suncor Energy Inc. (TSX:SU). Energy. Down 91 cents, or 2.10 per cent, to $42.41 on 8.0 million shares.

Enbridge Inc. (TSX:ENB). Energy. Down 12 cents, or 0.22 per cent, to $53.52 on 7.9 million shares.

Companies in the news:

Tourmaline Oil Corp. (TSX:TOU). Energy. Up 28 cents, or 0.46 per cent, to $61.38. Tourmaline Oil Corp. said it is partnering with California-based Clean Energy Fuels Corp. to build and operate a network of compressed natural gas (CNG) fuelling stations along highway corridors in Western Canada. The $70-million joint investment will see the two companies commission up to 20 CNG stations over the next five years. The move will allow heavy-duty trucks and other commercial transportation fleets to transition to using CNG, which is a lower-carbon alternative to diesel and gasoline. The first station under the agreement is located north of Edmonton and is already operational.

Loblaw Companies Ltd. (TSX:L). Retail. Down $1.35, or 1.09 per cent, to $122.79. Galen Weston is stepping back from day-to-day operations of Loblaw Companies Ltd. in a senior leadership shuffle that will see a European retail executive take over as president and CEO. Canadas largest grocer and drugstore chain said Tuesday the chief executive of Denmarks leading grocery retailer Salling Group A/S, Per Bank, will join the company in early 2024. The hiring will see Weston step aside from the president role, which he took on in 2021 when Sarah Davis retired from the job. He will remain chairman of Loblaw and chairman and CEO of holding company George Weston Ltd.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18,2023.

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Toronto Public Health issued nine conditional passes to restaurants, cafes, bakeries, bars and grocery stores on April 17.

Bloomers at 873 Bloor Street West received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to protect against harbouring of pests

Christinas at 492 Danforth Avenue received a conditional pass with one major infraction:

Fail to clean multi-service articles after use

Gyro Bar! at 1647 Queen Street West received a conditional pass with four major infractions:

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

Fail to protect against breeding of pests

Maintain potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Fail to keep sanitary facility sanitary

Monkey Sushi at 64 Edward Street received a conditional pass with five major infractions:

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Sanitize utensils in chlorine solution of less than 100 ppm of available chlorine

Store potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Use food equipment not in good repair

Mechanical equipment not maintained to maintain wash water between 60 C and 71 C

Robot Boil House at 895 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with four major infractions:

Fail to ensure equipment surface cleaned as necessary

Fail to protect against breeding of pests

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Use handwashing station other than for handwashing of employees

Shah Abbas at 1440 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with four major infractions:

Fail to sanitize multi-service articles after use

Store potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

Use handwashing station other than for handwashing of employees

Fail to equip sanitary facility with toilet paper

The Bagel House at 1438 Yonge Street received a conditional pass with three major infractions:

Fail to protect food from contamination or adulteration

Food premise maintained in manner to permit contamination of single-service articles

Store potentially hazardous foods at internal temperature between 4 C and 60 C

The Friendly Thai at 3032 Dundas Street West received a conditional pass with two major infractions:

Fail to ensure equipment surface cleaned as necessary

Fail to maintain handwashing stations (liquid soap and paper towels)

The Six Convenience at 195 Sixth Street received a conditional pass with three major infractions:

Fail to ensure room kept free from live birds or animals

Fail to provide adequate number of handwashing stations

Fail to provide equipment for cleaning and sanitizing utensils as required

A conditional pass is issued when at least one infraction presents a significant health risk, and a closure is ordered when at least one infraction presents an immediate health hazard. Both outcomes trigger an additional inspection within 48 hours. Failure to comply with Torontos DineSafe program can result in fines, court summons and other enforcement action.

Miss a DineSafe roundup? Find out which restaurants recently made the list

About this story

This story was automatically generated using open data from the City of Toronto. The Toronto Star has no role in collecting, reviewing or analyzing this data, and makes no representations or endorsements about any food premises, or the products or services offered by a food premise. Readers should review any municipal disclaimers located at the citys open data portal.

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The Halton school boards latest version of a professionalism policy  ordered after public outcry over a teachers revealing clothing  is almost identical to a previous one, despite feedback from more than 8,500 community members surveyed.

The latest draft of the policy, to be presented at a Halton District School Board meeting on Wednesday, has left frustrated parents complaining its still too vague and calling for more specifics about what is appropriate dress and decorum.

All we have are platitudes, said Al Saplys, whose daughter attends Oakville Trafalgar High School, which garnered global attention after photos went viral of a transgender shop teacher wearing tight shirts atop prosthetic breasts with protruding nipples.

There is still a lot of concern about whether the board will be decisive or vague. Clearly its all a work in progress and perhaps a tactic to delay as long as possible to drag this out and cool the temperature on this issue.

The school board says once a policy is finalized, specific details will come out in a follow-up companion procedure.

Asked about the ongoing Halton controversy at an unrelated announcement on Sunday, Education Minister Stephen Lecce said the boards leaders need to act.

They made commitments to parents  and we expect them to follow through on them, he said.

The school made headlines in September, leading to protests and repeated bomb threats that left students shaken. For months, parents called for a staff dress code  similar to one for students prohibiting clothing that reveals genitals or nipples  but the board said it couldnt implement one because of equity and human rights issues. After the Lecce criticized the boards handling of the issue, trustees in January ordered Director of Education Curtis Ennis to create a professionalism policy for staff.

In late February, the teacher was put on home assignment, where she remains. On March 1, staff presented a draft of the policy, but parents were disappointed because it consolidated and affirmed existing standards and didnt clearly outline expectations. Ennis, however, said the board was in the midst of a consultation process with stakeholders and their input was valuable.

Also at that meeting, trustees voted to bring in an outside adviser to help manage the uproar and meet long-term planning goals, but no one has been announced yet.

The agenda for Wednesdays meeting includes the revised policy, which is almost identical to the draft presented last month. Also posted is a 63-page report that summarizes the findings of its consultation. A total of 8,652 parents, staff and high school students were surveyed, as well as 11 school councils and an advisory group. (Sixty per cent of respondents were parents, 25 were staff and about 15 students.)

Feedback included that the board set expectations and definitions around staff dress, decorum and professionalism, and details be added, such as an educators appearance shouldnt create distractions and revealing clothing focused on breasts or genitalia should be prohibited. None of that was included in the policy revision.

When asked why the revised policy remains vague, board spokesperson Heather Francey said changes could be made after trustees review it. She also said feedback that was operational in nature will be considered as part of the administrative procedure development process.

Policies provide a framework within which administrative procedures, the operational elements, are then developed, she explained. Much of the feedback requesting details and specificity belong in a companion procedure.

The policy could be adopted April 19 if trustees approve it, but is scheduled to be voted on at next weeks board meeting on April 26.

Rishi Bandhu, whose son attends the high school and was the lawyer representing a small group of parents who threatened legal action, says the board had all the resources necessary to deal with the controversy, but didnt.

Professionalism standards already existed and it was simply a matter of enforcement and management. They utterly failed in that respect. If they dont have the ability or will to put our children first, what good is a policy that says nothing other than what we already know?

Celina Close, whose daughter also goes to the school and is among eight trustee candidates running in the by-election for HDSB trustee in Burlington Wards 1 and 2, says it is impossible for students, staff or parents to feel comforted that a recurrence would not happen again at OTHS or any school in Halton.

Last week, Students First Ontario, a parent group formed in response to the controversy, called on the board to restore trust. It wants a valid professionalism policy that prevents sexually inappropriate attire and behaviour.

The HDSB spokesperson says the board has also heard from students, parents and staff who quietly assure us that not everyone feels the same way.

We will continue to prioritize students by setting an example of a board that is inclusive, accepting and rooted in the belief of upholding human rights, said Francey. ... We have an obligation to teach acceptance, inclusion and respect.

At Queens Park on Monday, Lecce was again pressed by reporters about whether the Halton boards mishandling of the situation was part of the reason behind new legislation giving the province greater control over school boards and promoting better training for directors and trustees.

If we can improve the governance training of those individuals, we can ensure that the local school boards are much more effective, he said. Because there are too many examples in Ontario.

Meanwhile, student life has returned to normal at the Oakville high school  the last bomb threat was on Feb. 21.

The doors are now unlocked, the full-time security presence has been removed and teachers and students have been commenting that they are unafraid to attend school and resume extracurriculars, said Saplys. Its a normal high school environment without unwanted distractions, media attention and bomb threats.

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A 38-year-old man has been charged after allegedly swindling over $60,000 on an online romance scam.

Peel Regional Police said the suspect and the victim kept close contact for over six months after meeting on an online dating website in January 2021.

The suspect posed as a contractor working offshore in South Africa, who alleged to be in emergent need of money and committed to reimbursing it.

Police said the victim was deceived into wire transferring bitcoin and over $35,000 to an exchange account in South Africa.

Lincoln Marquis, a 38-year-old man from Mississauga, faces counts of fraud over $5,000 and possession of property obtained by crime.

Police said he was released on undertaking and will appear before the Ontario Court of Justice in June.

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TORONTO - The Ontario Superior Court has dismissed a constitutional challenge from seven youth activists who argued the province is discriminating against young people by setting greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets dangerously low, putting their futures at risk.

In a decision issued last week, Justice Marie-Andree Vermette called the youths  all aged between 15 and 27  remarkable young people committed to fighting climate change. But while she voiced sympathy about their concerns for the future in light of scientific evidence on the impacts of climate change, she did not find Ontarios policy breached their Charter rights.

While it would be difficult not to be sympathetic to the concerns expressed by the applicants about their future in light of the evidence filed in this case, this court cannot, based on the current state of the law, find violations of the Charter in this case, she wrote in a 52-page decision.

She found that the young activists made a compelling case that the existential threat of climate change imposes on their Charter rights to life and security, but lay blame with climate change itself, rather than provincial policy.

The lawsuit, backed by Ecojustice environmental lawyers, dates back to 2018 when the newly elected Progressive Conservative government repealed a law from the former Liberal government that had established a cap-and-trade system for reducing emissions. That law had set a target of reducing emissions 37 per cent below 1990 levels by 2030.

The Tories replaced that target with one to reduce emissions 30 per cent below 2005 levels by 2030, which the government argued in court was to balance a healthy economy with a healthy environment.

The revised target will allow for an additional 200 million tonnes of emissions, the youths experts had said. The lawsuit alleged the dangerously high level of greenhouse gas emissions violates sections of the charter on life and security of the person, as well as discrimination based on age.

The Ontario government had previously asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing against judicial control over environmental and climate policy. There is no constitutional right requiring a government to take certain actions now to avoid future climate-related harms, government lawyers said in written arguments.

Ontario did not dispute human-caused climate change and its risks to public health, but argued that the provinces emissions represent less than one per cent of the global total and is therefore not statistically significant.

Vermette rejected that argument, finding Ontarios inaction to further reduce greenhouse gases is contributing to global warming and is connected to the future hardship the youths may face as a result.

While Ontarios contribution to global warming may be numerically small, it is real, measurable and not speculative, she wrote. Every tonne of CO2 emissions adds to global warming and leads to a quantifiable increase in global temperatures that is essentially irreversible on human timescales.

Ecojustice said in a statement that Vermettes ruling still offered optimism as it established Ontarios target falls short of the scientific consensus of whats necessary to confront climate change.

She also found the case justiciable, setting a precedent that Canadian courts can hear Charter-based cases that challenge specific laws or state actions, such as climate targets and plans.

The seven youth activists will appeal the decision at the Ontario Court of Appeal, Ecojustice said.

Around the world, legal challenges are becoming a powerful tool for young people to hold their governments accountable for climate action, said Ecojustice lawyer Danielle Gallant.

While this decision is disappointing, we remain inspired by the courage and determination of these young applicants to advocate for a better, safer future for us all. We remain behind them to support their fight, to the Court of Appeal and beyond.

Ottawa-based Alex Neufeldt, one of the young applicants, said Vermettes decision proves the Ford government is causing climate harm that will impact future generations.

We are the ones who will have to suffer through the tomorrow the Ford governments policies are creating today, said Neufeldt. Thats why, despite this setback, were continuing our fight to hold the Ford government accountable for climate action.

Andrew Kennedy, spokesman for Ontarios Attorney General, said the provincial government is leading the countrys progress on emission reductions through actions that include investing in electric vehicle production and building the largest public transit expansion in Canadian history.

We are pleased with the decision dismissing the constitutional challenge, said Kennedy, adding it would be inappropriate to comment further due to the case being in an appeal period.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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A Mississauga mother of six has been denied bail and will remain behind bars while awaiting a second trial for the alleged first-degree murders of her ex-husband, Caleb Harrison, and his mother, Bridget Harrison.

The decision, delivered Wednesday by a Superior Court judge in Brampton, is the latest development in a disturbing case that has spanned more than a decade, in which three members of the same family were found dead in their home years apart.

The accused, Melissa Merritt, 42, walked into the courtroom smiling Wednesday morning and listened intently from the prisoners box as Judge Jennifer Woollcombe read a lengthy decision. Merritt wiped tears from her eyes as it became clear she would not be released from jail. When it was over, she was led out in handcuffs.

Woollcombes reasons cannot be reported due to a standard publication ban intended to protect the rights of an accused person to a fair trial.

The ruling comes three months after the Ontario Court of Appeal overturned Merritts first-degree murder conviction for the killing of her ex-husband, and ordered a new trial. In a unanimous ruling, the appeal court said the trial judge made two errors in his instructions to the jury regarding key evidence before members delivered a guilty verdict.

After the months-long murder trial in 2018, a jury found Merritt guilty of killing Caleb Harrison, while a mistrial was declared on her first-degree murder charge in Bridgets death when the jury couldnt reach a unanimous verdict. At the time, the Crown stayed that charge, meaning prosecutors did not intend to retry Merritt for Bridgets murder.

Since the appeal court ruling in January, however, Merritt has been charged again with the first-degree murders of both Caleb and Bridget  this time by direct indictment, which means this time the case will go to trial without a preliminary hearing.

All three members of the Harrison family died in their Mississauga home on Pitch Pine Crescent over four and a half years, from 2009 to 2013. The bail decision comes at a painful time for their surviving relatives, with this month marking the anniversary of Bill Harrisons sudden death on April 16, 2009, and Bridgets murder on April 21, 2010. Police did not investigate the deaths as homicides until after their 40-year-old son, Caleb Harrison, was murdered on Aug. 23, 2013.

A 2018 Toronto Star investigation documented the failures of Peel police, coroners and pathologists in the first two death probes.

Merritt has been incarcerated since January 2014, when she and her then-partner, Christopher Fattore, now 45, were arrested and charged with murdering all three members of her ex-husbands family. She was discharged in Bills death after a preliminary inquiry.

The Harrisons were murdered at key moments in a bitter custody battle over Merritt and Calebs two children. Bill died the same day Merritt and Fattore fled Ontario with the Harrison children, contravening a court order that gave the grandparents their sons share of custody while he was incarcerated. Bridget died the day before she was to give a victim impact statement at Merritts parental abduction trial, at a time when Bridget had sole interim custody. Caleb died the night before a 50-50 summer custody split with Merritt was to revert to sole custody for him.

At the first trial, prosecutors argued Merritt and Fattore plotted together to kill her former spouse and his mother, while Fattore alone committed the acts. Both pleaded not guilty. Merritts lawyer argued there was no evidence she killed, or plotted to kill, anyone. Fattore had confessed to killing Bridget and Caleb after his arrest, saying Merritt knew nothing about it, but he later recanted.

At trial, Fattore denied killing Bridget and testified that he did not intend to kill Caleb, only to rough him up  a claim the jury didnt buy. Fattore was found guilty for the murders of Bridget and Caleb, and not guilty for the second-degree murder of Bill. Merritt and Fattore were sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole for 25 years.

Merritts verdict in Calebs death was overturned on appeal earlier this year. This is not a case where the evidence is so overwhelming that a reasonable and properly instructed jury would inevitably have convicted,  Justice David Paciocco wrote for a unanimous three-judge Ontario Court of Appeal panel.

Merritt maintains her innocence in the deaths of Caleb and Bridget, and is thrilled by the appeal courts ruling, one of her appeal lawyers, Mark Halfyard, said after the verdict. Winning her appeal is just one step  albeit a significant one  towards finally clearing her name, Halfyard said.

Joel Hechter, who represented Merritt in her 2018 murder trial and the bail hearing, declined to comment on Wednesdays decision.

A new trial has been scheduled for January 2024.

With files from Jacques Gallant

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A person is dead after a multi-vehicle collision in the citys west end Tuesday night.

Toronto police said the incident happened shortly after 11 p.m. at the Albion Road and Finch Avenue West intersection in Etobicoke.

A person was pronounced dead at the scene. Paramedics transported a second victim with serious injuries via emergency run to a nearby hospital.

The circumstances around the incident are still under investigation. No charges or arrests have been laid at this time.

Police are appealing for any eyewitnesses to come forward. The intersection remained closed overnight for investigation and cleanup.

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A man believed to be involved in separate assault and stabbing incidents, two of them on the TTC, has been arrested, Toronto police said.

Officers responded to a call Wednesday morning in the Weston Road and Lawrence Avenue West area after the suspect allegedly assaulted a person known to him.

In another incident, police said the suspect and a victim were aboard a TTC bus travelling westbound on Eglinton Avenue West on April 11 at around 11:30 p.m. Police say the suspect stabbed the victim, without provocation, then left the bus at Black Creek Drive.

Earlier than that, it is alleged that a victim was approached by the suspect at Eglinton Subway Station at around 10:15 p.m. on April 7. The suspect threatened the victim with an unknown sharp object, then escaped on the subway train.

A 38-year-old man from Toronto has been arrested and charged with seven counts of assault, including three for assault with a weapon and one for aggravated assault.

He is expected to appear before the Ontario Court of Justice on April 20.

Anyone with information is being urged to contact police at 416-808-1200, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereiraa

Santiago Arias Orozco is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @SantiagoAriasO6

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NEW YORK, April 19 (Xinhua) -- The Boy Scouts of America (BSA) recently asked members whether it's time to change century-long traditions and practices that critics say misappropriate Native American culture, reported NBC News on Tuesday.

"Despite decades of calls for reforms from some scouts and Indigenous advocates, the organization still encourages scouts to don headdresses and imitate Indigenous dances as part of its honor society," said the report.

"Some chapters and camps carry made-up, Indigenous-sounding names. Indigenous advocates have decried the depictions as racist and oppressive," it noted.

In a recent email survey taken by 35,000 current and former members, the national organization asked a broad range of questions about what changes -- if any -- should be made to its usage and portrayal of Native American imagery, ceremonies and rituals.

Despite the range of the survey's possible answers, the organization said in a statement to NBC News that "there are no plans to eliminate Native American traditions from the BSA program."

"Native American traditions have been an important part of the BSA program for more than 100 years and during that time Scouting has worked hard to share those traditions while upholding the highest standards of accuracy and respect," the statement said.

The Boy Scouts' poll comes amid growing, national backlash over the misappropriation of Indigenous culture, the report said.

Philip Deloria, a Harvard historian and author and member of the Dakota Nation, was quoted as saying that the imagery and themes still used by the Boy Scouts build upon exaggerated and offensive depictions of Native life.

"They're fantasies that lead to distorted perceptions of Indigenous people," said Deloria. 
A new report has ranked Toronto as the twelfth wealthiest city in the world in 2023.

The report by Henley & Partners, a residence and citizenship advisory firm, ranked 97 cities with the fastest-growing millionaire populations based on the number of residents that are High-Net-Worth-Individuals (HNWI).

For someone to fall in the individuals with high net worth category, they must own at least US$1 million in investable wealth, according to the report. The data by wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth tracks individuals with the work titles Founder, Chairperson, CEO, and Director as well as the number of highly priced homes in a city.

The data covered Africa, Australasia, East Asia, Europe, the Middle East, North America, South Asia, and Southeast Asia.

Globally, New York City ranked first with 340,000 HNWIs, then Tokyo with 290,300, followed by The Bay Area, which includes San Francisco and Silicon Valley, with 285,000.

Toronto came in twelfth place with 105,200 HNWIs, and ranked fifth in North America. Its home to 18 billionaires and 193 centimillionaires, or those with wealth greater than US$100 million.

The three other Canadian destinations that made the list are Vancouver with 37,300 HNWIs, Montreal with 17,900, and Calgary with 14,700.

Out of the 10 wealthiest cities in the report, seven are in countries with active foreign direct investment migration programs, according to Henley & Partners

The firm says Canadas Startup Visa Program allows foreign families to acquire permanent residence by investing in an innovative business in the country. Many countries offer similar migration opportunities in exchange for significant investment in their economies: in Jordan, for example, the minimum investment to acquire citizenship is US$750,000.

During the pandemic, Canadian billionaires saw their wealth grow by 51 per cent, as shown in a report by Britains Oxfam International.

Perhaps its not surprising that Toronto did not make the firms Seasonal Hotspots list, which ranked Miami as the city with most centimillionaire residents, followed by Paris, then Santa Barbara and Montecito in California.

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereiraa

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Toronto police said hold and secure order has been lifted at Weston Collegiate Institute after a group of children threatened to shoot at the high school.

According to a Tweet by Toronto police, they were made aware of the threat at the school near Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West around 11:40 a.m. on Wednesday.

No injuries have been reported so far, and no arrests have been made, a spokesperson for Toronto police told the Star.

Officers are currently on scene investigating.

In a letter to parents, guardians and caregivers, acting principals Ellen Austrom and Paul Edwards said the decision to place the institution under hold and secure came out of an abundance of caution to ensure the safety of students and staff.

Access from outside the school was not permitted throughout the day, as the exterior doors to the building were locked, and students remained indoors. The hold and secure measures were extended until the end of the school day. Police assisted with the dismissal of students and staff.

We anticipate continued Police presence in the area tomorrow, reads the letter.

This is the second day in a row that classes were disrupted for Weston students.

The school was placed under a precautionary lockdown on Tuesday at around 11:30 a.m. after an altercation took place between students at the school, according to a letter shared by a parent with the Star.

The letter stated that TDSB social workers would be at the school on Wednesday to provide counselling and support.

We understand that it may be upsetting for students who may have heard about the event and are concerned about what happened, the letter read.

The high school has also been the recent scene of gun violence.

Two 17-year-old teens were charged after a shooting outside Weston Collegiate Institute in February that left one 15-year-old teen in hospital. The pair were also charged with a series of carjackings and robberies in Peel Region in the lead-up to the attempted murder. Peel Police allege the teens were driving a stolen vehicle during the drive-by shooting in the schools parking lot.

One of the teens was granted bail in late March.

Correction  April 21, 2023: Two 17-year-old teens were charged with attempted murder after a shooting outside Weston Collegiate Institute in February that left one 15-year-old teen in hospital in critical condition. A previous version of this article said the victim was murdered.

With files from Jennifer Pagliaro and Santiago Arias Orozco.

Ana Pereira is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Stars radio room in Toronto. Follow her on Twitter: @anabpereiraa

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A female pedestrian in her 80s is in critical condition after being struck by a garbage truck Tuesday night.

Toronto police said the incident happened near Jarvis and Shuter Streets shortly after 8 p.m.

Paramedics initially rushed the victim to a nearby hospital with serious injuries. Police later reported the pedestrians injuries had escalated to life-altering.

The garbage truck driver remained on the scene, theres no word of arrests or charges at this time.

Police are asking any witnesses are asked to come forward.

Jarvis Street was closed northbound from Queen to Shuter streets and eastbound to George Street.

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Toronto-based writer and consultant Alice Gauntley came out on top in the Stars 45th annual short story contest with a tale that captured the anxieties and struggles of modern living.

The 29-year-old learned her story, Free to a Good Home  a tale about todays housing woes and the financial instability foisted upon the younger generation  placed first in one of Canadas largest short story contests Tuesday evening.

Im incredibly excited, Gauntley told the Star. I grew up seeing this contest in the paper and reading various stories over the years, and being like, Oh, maybe someday thats going to be me.

Gauntley wins $5,000 cash, print publication of her story on May 6 and a scholarship for two programs at the Humber School for Writers, a sponsor of the contest.

A consultant for LGBTQ inclusion by day, Gauntley says shes been a lifelong writer. Her works have been featured in numerous publications, including the 2021 edition of Best Canadian Stories by Biblioasis.

Gauntleys true love are stories with a literary speculative edge, a genre that Free to a Good Home encapsulates with its unique blend of magical realism. Gauntleys story follows a young woman with the ability to shrink her body. Facing eviction from her apartment, the protagonist finds a discarded dollhouse and, on a whim, decides to bring it home.

It was very much about those millennial anxieties that I think we all have, especially living in a city like Toronto, Gauntley said. She hoped her tale captured that prevalent sense of worry around housing and affordability, especially among young people looking to build a life for themselves.

Although Gauntleys personal housing situation is more secure than her protagonists, she said much of the characters inspiration came from her and her friends lived experiences.

On the lighter side, I feel like I have always been fascinated by miniatures, Gauntley continued. I think theres something like so charming about a miniature scene, but also something just a little bit uncanny about it.

After placing second, Torontos 24-year-old Jasmine Ng said she can finally call herself a real writer. Her story, Fish and Forgiveness, a raw, feminist tale exploring what it means to create what she calls a labour of love, netted Ng a $2,000 cheque and a print byline on April 29.

A third-year medical school student with a lifelong love of writing, Ng said her storytelling has played a major role in broadening her perspective of health care: I dont think that you can be a doctor without being a human being first, she said. ... If youre attuned to other peoples stories, people tell you more about themselves, which I think is one of the most meaningful parts of medicine.

Fish and Forgiveness follows a wife and her bloodied attempts to provide fish for her husband, to appease the man following a violent incident the previous night.

My family is Cantonese, were from Hong Kong, and one of the things I remember most is that we love to eat fish, Ng said. When preparing dinner, her mom once described the unseen labour that went into cleaning and cooking the fish  something Ng hadnt fully appreciated until that moment.

I realized that this was a labour of love, she said. And I thought, you know, lets explore this concept of a labour of love. And that was the root of the story.

While Ng has been published in some University of Toronto publications, Fish and Forgiveness will be the first of her works to run in a major paper. Shes currently querying agents about a novel she wrote.

I can now say that Im a writer more securely, but I shouldnt forget that I also was a writer before this, she said. I just didnt have, I guess, the courage to claim it as my own title.

Freelance journalist Natalya Anderson placed third with her story Two Cadavers Seek Witnesses at Shoppers Drug Mart, a humanistic exploration of childhood sexual assault and the unseen experiences of the strangers around us. The piece won $1,000 and will be published in print on April 22.

Andersons journalism can mostly be found in the Financial Post and Canadian Family Offices. Her poetry has been featured in publications across Canada, Ireland and England.

A survivor of childhood sexual abuse and currently recovering from anorexia, Anderson said her story was about finding moments of humanity or moments of childhood in an almost impossible childhood and adolescence.

Andersons story follows two teen survivors of sexual assault on day leave from their hospital ward. The girls lean on each other as they fight for some semblance of normalcy, while unknowing strangers look on.

While not based around her real life, Anderson said her lived experience helped ground the piece in reality. She hopes it will inspire readers to support and stand up for victims of sexual assault.

Abuse is bad in all forms and its horrible to experience, Anderson said. But whats worse is surviving it, having the courage to tell someone about it and have them not react.

On the lighter side, she also hopes People would just have a laugh and remember that everybodys going through something.

All stories submitted were under 2,500 words, and can be of any genre. The three finalists were decided by a panel of five judges out of 25 top entrants.

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The head of an organization that promotes Russian ties with the West is facing allegations she conspired with and helped Russias main security agency spy on young western leaders, including Canadians, as part of an elaborate foreign influence operation.

As Canada investigates suspicions about Chinese attempts to influence policy and perspectives in this country, the Russian case allegedly provides a look at the lengths to which foreign governments will go and the time and money they will invest to sway public opinion in foreign lands.

Natalia Burlinova, a 39-year-old Muscovite, founded a non-governmental organization, PICREADI Creative Diplomacy, in 2010 that aimed to promote Russian voices and viewpoints, or soft power, to the world.

In 2015, according to a criminal complaint released this week by the U.S. Justice Department, Burlinova hatched the idea to bring young leaders from the West to Russia for a three-day visit in which they would meet senior Russian government officials and other leaders. The program, dubbed Meeting Russia, was officially launched in 2017.

Over the years, Burlinova has brought journalists, academics, activists and policymakers to the country.

The criminal complaint only makes reference to U.S. citizens invited to participate in the program.

It identifies none of the participants by name, as they are not suspected of wrongdoing.

Zachary Paikin, a Canadian researcher and foreign policy expert with the Centre for European Policy Studies, told the Star he was shocked and concerned by the allegations against Burlinova, whom he met through the program in 2017 and has run into several times since at conferences in Europe.

Other Canadian participants included Aaron Pinto, who now serves as Ontarios Trade and Investment representative in New York City; Erik Henningsmoen, a public policy researcher who works for the Calgary branch of the Canadian International Council, a think-tank; and Oliver Roy Pelletier, who was a masters student at Moscows Higher School of Economics, when he took part in the program in 2019.

I really liked it. I was surprised. In Canada we dont have so many informations about whats really happening in Russia so I was really happy to come, said Pelletier, a francophone who spoke in English, in a video posted to the programs Facebook page.

I think its good for the resume, of course, but also to really like deconstruct the stereotypes and get down on the facts and be more pragmatic and more tolerant as well.

But U.S. prosecutors alleged Tuesday that the public diplomacy trips were secretly organized in close collaboration with officials from Russias federal security service, known by its Russian acronym, the FSB.

It was also financed in part by the FSB and Burlinova allegedly provided detailed intelligence reports about who, in Burlinovas view, had positive attitudes towards Russia and were prepared to continue to collaborate, according to the criminal complaint.

Burlinova conspired with the FSB Officer in a years-long effort to influence the opinions of future leaders in the United States on behalf of the Russian government, says the complaint, which charges Burlinova with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. government and acting as an agent of a foreign government without registering her activities.

These efforts allegedly began in 2015, when the FSB agent provided Burlinova a list of American experts, journalists, activists and policymakers whom she should contact as she searched for participants in the inaugural Meeting Russia program.

Some participants in the 2018 program described it as pushing a pro-Russian agenda and as being in part designed to identify U.S. participants who might later serve in the U.S. government, the criminal complaint alleges.

Paikin said the program offered a better sense of the strategic calculations and political discourses shaping Russias foreign policy, which was useful for my scholarly research.

But he said the Russian officials, analysts and thinkers featured in the program expressed a range of different opinions and were vigorously challenged by participants.

Some of the Russians I met during the program have since left Russia and have openly opposed Putins invasion of Ukraine, Paikin wrote.

In July 2022, Burlinova was sanctioned by the U.S. government for her part in the Meeting Russia trips, with the Treasury Department noting that Russias intelligence services have tracked the activities and career paths of past participants of the groups events.

Henningsmoen wrote after being told by the Star of the criminal complaint that he participated in the Meeting Russia program in 2018 and then again in a virtual meeting in 2022 as an alumni observer.

He recounted his impressions of that most recent meeting in a January article for the Canada-Russia Research Initiative website, calling it a modest attempt to expand Western coverage of (the) Meeting Russia program.

As the war in Ukraine continues and as the Wests relations with Russia continue to degrade as a result, coverage of initiatives such as Meeting Russia become increasingly pertinent, Henningsmoen wrote.

Contrary to previous years, where participants came mainly from North America and Europe, the 2022 participants came from India, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, South Africa and parts of Latin America, he noted.

There was, he said, frank discussion about Russias war in Ukraine, including a widespread acknowledgement amongst experts that Russias so-called special military operation in Ukraine was not going well, although most believed that Russia would eventually prevail in Eastern Ukraine.

Henningsmoen concluded his report on the 2022 meeting with a wish that he could end his dispatch by saying something on a positive note.

But such words would ring hollow, he wrote. Its hard to see any space for programs such as Meeting Russia to have any real chance at reshaping Russias shattered relations with the West at present time.

Allan Woods is a Montreal-based staff reporter for the Star. He covers global and national affairs. Follow him on Twitter: @WoodsAllan

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NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Kenyas president, who is among mediators tasked with brokering peace in Sudan, on Wednesday called for an end to the fighting in the country, warning it could destabilize the region.

President William Ruto also urged Sudans rival parties to allow access to humanitarian aid and cooperate with a mission from a regional body of Eastern African countries, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

Sudans military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, have been fighting for five days  killing nearly 300 people, according to the United Nations health agency.

IGAD leaders on Sunday issued a resolution calling for an end to hostilities in Sudan  which currently chairs the regional group.

Kenyas Ruto said the situation in Sudan is evolving into a threat to regional and international peace and security, and deplored that diplomats have been targeted in the fighting.

A pattern of systematic violation of established norms and principles of international humanitarian laws is clearly emerging, he said.

Sudan borders Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya and Egypt.

The International Crisis Groups Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell said the fighting could have an impact on the region.

Sudan is surrounded by fragile countries, many already immerged in conflicts. What happens in Sudan will not stay in Sudan, he told the Associated Press.

Ruto said that, beyond a cessation of hostilities in Sudan, sustainable peace, security and stability should be pursued.

It is time to silence the guns in our region and continent so that we can focus on the urgent work of enabling our people to pursue opportunities and actualize their aspirations, in peace and tranquility. Time is of the essence, he said.

Kenya plans to evacuate about 3,000 of its citizens living in Sudan in the event of a ceasefire.

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SEOUL, South Korea (AP)  North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.

Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past test launches.

During his visit to the countrys aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite is crucial for North Korea to effectively use its nuclear-capable missiles. Kim cited what he described as serious security threats posed by the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the United States and South Korea this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency. He likely hopes to pressure his rivals on issues including joint military drills and international economic sanctions on North Korea.

Kim said the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 had already been built and ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch. He said North Korea must launch several satellites to establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said.

North Korea has said its ongoing run of weapons tests, including its first test-launch of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the U.S. mainland last week, are a response to joint military exercises between the United States and its regional allies South Korea and Japan. North Korea has carried out about 100 missile tests since the start of last year, including about 30 this year.

The U.S. and South Korean militaries have been expanding combined drills in response to North Koreas growing nuclear threats. This week, the allies launched a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan.

Spy satellites are among an array of major weapons systems that Kim publicly vowed to develop during a major ruling Workers Party conference in January 2021. Kim also pledged to build solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles and multi-warhead missiles. North Korea has since conducted tests of such weapons, but observers say those high-tech weapons are still in development stages.

After North Korea launched a test satellite last December, it publicized black-and-white photos showing a space view of South Korean cities. Some civilian experts in South Korea said at the time the photos were too crude for a surveillance purpose and that they were likely capable of only recognizing big targets like warships at sea or military installations on the ground.

Kims sister and senior North Korean official Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.

Kim Jong Un said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.

Tuesdays KCNA dispatch focused on U.S. military assets like aircraft carriers and long-range bombers that have been deployed in South Korea in recent months, but made no mention of possible targets in the mainland U.S. That could imply that North Korea intends to use its reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including U.S. military bases, in order to attack them with short-range missiles.

Putting a reconnaissance satellite into orbit would require a long-range rocket. The U.N. bans such launches by North Korea because it views them as cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology.

In response to a question posed by The Associated Press, South Koreas Foreign Ministry said North Koreas launch of a spy satellite would threaten regional peace and violate multiple U.N. Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launches by the North. It said South Korea will work closely with the international community to get North Korea to face consequences when it commits provocations.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

North Korea placed its first and second Earth observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say neither transmitted imagery back to North Korea. The U.N. issued sanctions over those launches.

North Korea has avoided fresh U.N. sanctions for its recent ballistic missile tests in 2022 and this year because U.N. Security Council permanent members Russia and China didnt support U.S. and others attempts to toughen sanctions on the North. ___

Find more AP coverage of the Asia-Pacific region at https://apnews.com/hub/asia-pacific

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BEIJING (AP)  The death toll from a fire at a Beijing hospital rose to 29, including 26 patients, authorities said Wednesday, and a dozen people had been detained including the hospitals head and her deputy.

The fire broke out at the private Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday afternoon and forced dozens of people to evacuate. Some who were trapped had to escape from windows using bedsheets tied together.

A nurse, a medical assistant and a family member also died in the incident, said Li Zongrong, deputy head of Fengtai district.

The cause of the fire is under investigation but officials say they believe it originated from welding sparks from work being done in the hospitals inpatient wing. Among the 12 people who were detained was the head of the construction crew.

A total of 39 people are being treated for injuries, three of them in critical condition, officials said. Rescue crews and medical staff from around the city were mobilized, with squads plucking some of the 142 people who were evacuated from air conditioning units on the buildings exterior.

Safety rules are frequently ignored in China, but accidents on the level of the Changfeng fire are treated with a much higher level of scrutiny. Construction accidents sometimes result from corners being cut on work hours and safety conditions, while local officials are bribed to ignore violations.

The central government has pledged stronger safety measures since an explosion in 2015 at a chemical warehouse in the northern port city of Tianjin killed 173 people, most of them firefighters and police officers.

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TOKYO (AP)  A 24-year-old man who allegedly threw an explosive at Prime Minister Fumio Kishida wanted to be a politician and believed that he was unfairly blocked from running for Japans parliament by an age requirement, according to media reports and social media posts that appeared to be his.

The suspect, Ryuji Kimura, was wrestled to the ground and arrested Saturday at a campaign event in the fishing port of Saikazaki, in the western Japanese city of Wakayama. The explosive, believed to be a pipe bomb, landed near Kishida, who escaped unhurt.

Kimura has refused to talk to police, but local media reports that he bore grievances about Japans election system might shed light on his motives.

In June last year Kimura, who police said is unemployed, filed a lawsuit with the Kobe District Court claiming that he should have been allowed to register for the July 2022 Upper House election, according to Japanese media including NHK public television and Kyodo News. A candidate must be aged 30 years or older and present a 3 million yen ($22,260) deposit to run for the upper house, the less powerful of Japans two-chamber parliament. He was 23 at the time.

He demanded the government pay 100,000 yen ($740) in compensation for his psychological anguish, according to the reports.

Violent crimes are rare in Japan. With its strict gun control laws, the country has only a handful of gun-related crimes annually, most of them gang related. But in recent years Japanese police have worried about lone offender attacks with homemade guns and explosives. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was assassinated with a homemade gun at a campaign event on July 8, just two days before the upper house election.

In a document he submitted to the court, Kimura argued that the election system that blocked his candidacy was unconstitutional, the reports said.

Kimura argued that the election law violates constitutional guarantees of equality and other rights, according to media reports. The court dismissed his claim in a November 2022 ruling, and Kimura appealed the decision to the Osaka High Court, whose decision is expected in May, reports say.

Tweets posted to an account cited by local media as Kimuras and seen by the Associated Press complained about Japans political system. The account does not carry his name, but identifies itself as representing the plaintiff in a lawsuit that matches the one filed by Kimura. The Associated Press was not able to contact the owner of the account. The account had only 23 posts since it began late June.

An Aug. 11, 2022 tweet said the deck is stacked against ordinary people who quit their job and pay the deposit to run in national elections. There is an established system where ordinary people can never become politicians.

Other tweets on the account criticized Kishidas decision to hold a state funeral for Abe.

The man accused of shooting Abe, Tetsuya Yamagami, told authorities soon after his arrest that he killed Abe because of the former prime ministers apparent links to a religious group that Yamagami hated. In statements and in social media posts attributed to him, Yamagami said his mothers donations to the Unification Church bankrupted his family and ruined his life.

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The Mohammed Bin Rashid Centre for Government Innovation and the Mohammed bin Rashid Housing Establishment has announced the launch of the House of the Future competition that invites architects and designers from around the world to design a highly-affordable, expandable, innovative and aesthetically-pleasing house suited to modern Emirati needs.

As per the contest rules, the cost of building the house should not exceed the housing mortgage value of AED1 million ($272,259).

The contest will see the architects and designers come up with mock-ups of smart houses that will stand the test of time and meet the requirements of future generations, reported Wam.

The competition aims to generate unique designs that will enhance Dubais profile as a global architectural trendsetter. The jury of the competition is looking for innovative designs that can refresh current housing offerings for citizens in Dubai, bringing them more up-to-date with the architectural aesthetic of the country and its people. The competition is open to submissions from April 25 until September end.

On the competition, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Crown Prince of Dubai and Chairman of The Executive Council of Dubai, said the emirates sustained urban development, the high quality of its infrastructure and its ability to create iconic buildings have made it one of the worlds best cities to live in.

"The House of the Future competition is aligned with the vision of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to further raise Dubais status as a model for urban development," he stated.

According to him, the winners will be announced at an award ceremony to be held in November where the top prize will fetch AED500,000 followed by the runner-up who will walsk away with AED200,000 and second runner-up with AED100,000.

"The competition will also award AED200,000 to the best design for a self-sustaining house that is able to go off the grid, without water or electricity for two consecutive weeks," he added.

The House of the Future competition has a detailed set of criteria covering innovation, modern smart design, ability to meet the requirements of Emirati families, cost effectiveness and liveability.

The international partners behind the contest include Zaha Hadid Architects, Santiago Calatrava  Architects & Engineers, and Buildner, said the Wam report.

Members of the competitions jury include: Abdulredha Abu Alhassan, Executive Director for Rail Planning and Projects Development Department at Dubais Roads and Transport Authority; Ahmed Bukhash, Chief Architect & Founder of ARCHIDENTITY; Charles Walker, Board Member of Zaha Hadid Architects; and Micael Calatrava, CEO of Calatrava International, it added.
Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure  Ukraines DM on Patriot system delivery 19 April, 03:59 PM Patriot air defense system (Photo:twitter.com/BMVg_Bundeswehr)

The American Patriot air defense systems have already arrived in Ukraine, the countrys defense minister, Oleksii Reznikov, wrote on Twitter on April 19.

Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine, he tweeted.

Ukraines air defenders have mastered the system to the best of their ability, he said.

And our partners have kept their word, the official said and thanked his colleagues and the American, German, and Dutch people.

Video of day

The main feature of the latest Patriot system is the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles. These include missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine, including Iskanders, Kinzhals (hypersonic air-to-air missiles), and Zircons (hypersonic anti-ship missiles).

Infographics: NV

The German government announced on April 18 that a new military aid package, including the Patriot system and an IRIS-T air defense system, had been delivered to Ukraine.

Earlier the United States, Germany, and the Netherlands vowed to transfer the Patriot air defense systems to Ukraine.

U.S. Department of Defense spokesman Brig. Gen. Patrick Ryder said on March 30 that 65 Ukrainian troops had completed their Patriot air defense system training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

CNN reported on March 21, citing U.S. Department of Defense officials, that the Patriot air defense systems would be transferred to Ukraine sooner than previously planned.

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BRUSSELS (AP)  The gay prime minister of Luxembourg used the dais of the European Unions parliament Wednesday to stand up for LGBTQ rights in the 27-nation bloc and to chastise member state Hungary, which wants to curtail discussions of homosexuality in schools and the media.

If theres anyone in this house who thinks that youve become a homosexual by watching the television or listening to a song, then youve not understood anything, Prime Minister Xavier Bettel told legislators at the European Parliaments plenary session in Strasbourg, France. The most difficult (thing) for a homosexual is to accept themselves.

Bettel, 50, became prime minister of his small European country in December 2013 and married his husband eight years ago. He has often spoken about his sexual orientation and for two years, he has been especially critical of Hungary.

A 2021 law prohibited sharing content on homosexuality or gender transition in films, advertisements and other media targeting people under 18. It also banned information on homosexuality in school sex education programs.

The European Unions executive commission and a number of member nations have challenged the measure in the EUs Court of Justice. The European Commission said the law discriminates against people on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

Bettel said Wednesday that he thinks the government of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is out of touch with the prevailing views in many other EU countries. He noted that identifying publicly as gay could be dangerous in too many nations outside the EU.

I could end up in prison, face (a) life sentence. And soon maybe, in a European Union member state, I would only be able to talk about this in secret because I would be accused of perverting the young generation, Bettel said.

I am ashamed, Madam President, that some colleagues want to win votes at the expense of minorities. Weve had that before in our history, he said.

At an EU-Arab League summit in Egypt in 2019, Bettel told Arab leaders that he was married to a man and would probably face capital punishment in many of their countries.

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TALLINN, Estonia (AP)  A Moscow court on Wednesday dismissed a prominent Russian opposition figures appeal of his 8 1/2-year prison sentence for criticism of Russias actions in Ukraine.

Ilya Yashin was convicted in December of spreading false information about the military, which was made a criminal offense after Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine.

The charges against him stemmed from a series of online posts discussing atrocities in Bucha, a town outside Ukraines capital where dead civilians were found in the streets and a mass grave after Russian troops withdrew.

During his trial last year, Yashin argued that a livestreamed YouTube video in which he talked about Ukrainians being killed in Bucha cited official Russian sources along with Ukrainian statements to give his audience an objective view.

I will not renounce the truth behind bars, he said, emphasizing that he considered it his duty to tell the truth.

Yashin, one of the few Kremlin critics to have stayed in Russia after Putin launched the military action in Ukraine, participated by video link in Wednesdays Moscow City Court hearing on his ultimately unsuccessful appeal.

International human rights groups have denounced the sentence as a mockery of justice and called for Yashins immediate release.

Before his sentencing, Yashin addressed Putin directly, urging him to immediately stop this madness, recognize that the policy on Ukraine was wrong, pull back troops from its territory and switch to a diplomatic settlement of the conflict.

Asked at the time about the Dec. 8 verdict, Putin replied that Yashins lawyers could appeal it.

Russian authorities have repeatedly used the law on discrediting the military to stifle dissent. A Russian court on Monday convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. of treason for publicly denouncing Moscows war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison as part of the Kremlins relentless crackdown on critics of the invasion.

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SKOPJE, North Macedonia (AP)  A migrant woman was accidentally shot and killed by police in North Macedonia during a struggle that broke out Wednesday as an officer tried to arrest a suspected smuggler, authorities said.

The fatal shooting occurred during an inspection of two vehicles outside the town of Gevgelija, close to the countrys southern border with Greece.

Police said the shot was fired after the migrant smuggling suspect, identified only as a 26-year-old man, tried to snatch the officers handgun during the roadside inspection. The victim of the shooting died of chest wounds in a nearby hospital, medical officials said.

A second smuggling suspect was arrested and seven other migrants were detained. Their nationalities were not immediately known.

Migration along the so-called Balkan route, from Turkey to Greece and then on to North Macedonia and further northward toward western Europe, has picked up since travel restrictions imposed under the COVID-19 pandemic were lifted.

___ Follow APs global migration coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/migration

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP)  One Southern California teenager was killed and three others injured Tuesday afternoon when a stabbing suspect crashed his vehicle into the group as they were walking near their high school, authorities said.

Investigators are looking into whether the driver, who had allegedly stabbed a Walmart employee earlier in the day, intentionally crashed into the teens in Thousand Oaks, according to Ventura County Sheriffs Deputy Ashley Barrios.

Police were not in pursuit of the suspect at the time, Barrios said. The suspect was also injured in the rollover crash; the extent of his injuries was not immediately known.

A 16-year-old boy was fatally struck, while a 16-year-old girl was in critical condition, Barrios said. Another 16-year-old boy had minor injuries, while a 15-year-old girl was in moderate condition.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, the Conejo Valley Unified School District said in a statement on Facebook.

The Walmart stabbing occurred in Simi Valley around 2:40 p.m. and the suspect, whose name has not been released, fled the scene in a white Toyota Camry, according to Simi Valley police. The Walmart employee suffered one stab wound.

The suspect then allegedly was involved in a domestic disturbance with family members in Camarillo, about 15 miles (24.14 kilometers) away, Barrios said. No one was injured.

After that, the suspect traveled to Thousand Oaks  about 12 miles (19.31 kilometers) from Camarillo  where he crashed the Camry into the teenagers around 3:15 p.m., officials said.

Authorities have not released the identities of the teenagers. Other details were not immediately available.

Thousand Oaks is about 35 miles (56.33 kilometers) northwest of downtown Los Angeles.

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MILFORD, Conn. (AP)  As the killer of her boyfriend was about to be sentenced to 55 years in prison Wednesday, Shannon Spies said the plea deal provided no solace. It couldnt bring back Nicholas Eisele, or erase the trauma of being a kidnapping victim.

On March 24, 2020, Peter Manfredonia shot Eisele to death in Spies apartment in Derby, Connecticut. He then proceeded to abduct Spies, leading to a six-day manhunt in several states before authorities captured him. Two days before the shooting, Manfredonia had killed another man and seriously wounded a second in a Samurai sword attack on the other side of the state.

I wont lie. This plea deal does nothing for me except close the door on this court case, Spies, 25, said during emotional testimony at Manfredonias sentencing hearing in Milford Superior Court. The damage can never be undone. None of this brings Nick back or makes me feel whole again.

I will never be the person I was before then, she said. I will never feel safe, even in a room surrounded by only people I know. I will always look at the world differently.

Spies said she hoped her testimony haunts Manfredonia for the rest of his life.

Manfredonia, 26, a former University of Connecticut student, wore a tan prison uniform with his hands in cuffs and apologized to Spies and Eiseles family. He also was scheduled to be sentenced on Thursday to another 55-year prison term for the sword attack in Willington. He pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in both cases.

Before he spoke, Manfredonias lawyer, Michael Dolan, said his clients mental health problems contributed to the spree of violence but were not an excuse. For most of the hearing, Manfredonia looked straight ahead  not looking at the witnesses and showing little emotion. It remained unclear what prompted the attacks.

There are no words that can possibly atone for what I have done, he said to Eiseles family. My actions were nothing short of reprehensible. ... Nick was a good young man to whom I felt no ill will or malice. My actions were senseless. Please know you have my deepest apology.

Eisele and Manfredonia were school classmates growing up in Newtown, Connecticut, the town where 20 children and six educators were killed at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14, 2012. Eiseles sister, Jessica, survived the school shooting.

As a survivor of the Sandy Hook school shooting, I was forced to relive the trauma and pain of 12/14 as Peter used the same source of violence to end my brothers life, Jessica Eisele said in court Wednesday. Peter Manfredonia is a monster who must be punished for what he has done. My brother is gone and will forever be. Theres no way for me and family to recover from that.

About 40 relatives and friends of Nicholas Eisele filled the courtroom, with his mother and several others testifying. Many wept at times and were comforted by others.

After killing Eisele, Manfredonia forced Spies into her car and fled the state. He let her go, physically unharmed, near Columbia, New Jersey. Following searches in Pennsylvania, authorities finally captured Manfredonia near a truck stop in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Two days before shooting Eisele, Manfredonia killed Ted DeMers, 62, and seriously wounded an 80-year-old man who lost several fingers and part of his ear in a Samurai sword attack.

After the attack, police said Manfredonia broke into another mans house in Willington and held him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms. The man later told police that Manfredonia told him he just flipped.

Ansonia/Milford States Attorney Margaret Kelley called the killing of Eisele and the kidnapping of Spies horrific and a senseless tragedy that severely damaged others lives.

Judge Peter Brown said the 55-year sentence would do nothing to dull the pain suffered by Spies and Eiseles family.

Spies testimony was the first time she spoke publicly about the ordeal. Though she didnt detail much about the hours she spent with Manfredonia as his captive, she said he tried to hug her at one point while apologizing for killing Eisele.

The version of myself that went to bed with my boyfriend  my best friend and the sweetest man Ive ever met  on May 23 was not alive anymore when my parents picked me up from a state police headquarters in New Jersey on May 24, she testified.

I lost absolutely everything I had, Spies said. I lost my best friend and my partner. Theres no telling how amazing our future could have been and I was robbed of ever knowing that happiness. I was robbed of ever knowing peace again, of feeling safe anywhere, even in my own home. I was robbed of my home. My apartment was a crime scene.

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MILFORD, Conn. (AP)  A 26-year old man who used a sword to attack two men in Eastern Connecticut before going on a crime spree that included killing a former classmate and kidnapping a woman before during a multistate manhunt was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years in prison.

Peter Manfredonia pleaded guilty in February to murder, kidnapping and other charges in the shooting death of Nicholas Eisele, 23, and the kidnapping of Eiseles girlfriend.

Friends and family of Eisele wore T-shirts to Milford Superior Court emblazoned with his photo inside a heart with words reading As long as I breathe youll be remembered. Justice for Nick.

Manfredonia apologized separately to the Eisele family and kidnapping victim Shannon Spies.

There are no words that can possibly atone for what I have done. My actions were nothing short of reprehensible, he said. What I did was inexcusably horrendous and I will regret it every day for the rest of my life.

Manfredonia has also pleaded guilty to murder and other charges in the sword attack and is scheduled to be sentenced for those crimes on Thursday.

Police and prosecutors said Manfredonia killed Ted DeMers, 62, and seriously wounded an 80-year-old man who lost several fingers and part of his ear in a Samurai sword attack in Willington, Connecticut on May 22, 2020.

Its not clear why Manfredonia attacked the men, but an acquaintance of his lived near DeMers home and told police she had recently stopped seeing him.

After the sword attack, police said Manfredonia broke into another mans house in Willington and held him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms. The man later told police that Manfredonia told him he just flipped.

Two days later, Manfredonia went to Derby, Connecticut, to the home of Eisele, a high school friend, and fatally shot him, authorities said. He then forced Eiseles girlfriend into her car and fled the state, police said.

The violence in Connecticut was followed by a six-day search in several states.

After Manfredonia let the woman go near Columbia, New Jersey, investigators tracked him to Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Authorities searched the area but didnt find him. A man fitting his description was later spotted near Scranton, Pennsylvania, prompting another search there.

Police believe Manfredonia stole a car and abandoned it in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before taking another Uber to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was captured without incident when police spotted him near a truck stop.

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WASHINGTON (AP)  The Supreme Court on Wednesday ruled that longtime Texas death row inmate Rodney Reed should have a chance to argue for testing of crime-scene evidence that he says will help clear him.

The justices, in a 6-3 decision, sent Reeds case back to a lower court for his constitutional challenge to the states law on DNA testing.

The issue before the high court was whether Reed, sentenced to death nearly 25 years ago, waited too long to file his lawsuit claiming that untested crime-scene evidence would exonerate him. Texas courts and the federal appeals court in New Orleans ruled that he missed the deadline.

But the Supreme Court, in an opinion by Justice Brett Kavanaugh, reversed the appellate ruling.

Justices Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch and Clarence Thomas dissented. If there is a mitigating factor to todays decision, Thomas wrote, its that the outcome is no barrier to the prompt execution of Reeds lawful sentence.

Reed was sentenced to death for the 1996 killing of 19-year-old Stacey Stites. Prosecutors say Reed raped and strangled Stites as she made her way to work at a supermarket in Bastrop, a rural community about 30 miles (50 kilometers) southeast of Austin.

Reed has long maintained that Stites fiance, former police officer Jimmy Fennell, was the real killer. Reed says Fennell was angry because Stites, who was white, was having an affair with Reed, who is Black. Fennell, who served time for sexual assault and was released from prison in 2018, has denied killing Stites.

Reed has attracted support from around the world, including from Beyonce, Kim Kardashian and Oprah Winfrey, as well as lawmakers from both parties.

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MIAMI (AP)  A federal judge in Miami handed down a 15-year prison sentence Wednesday to the former nurse of late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez for taking bribes from a billionaire media mogul to green-light lucrative currency transactions when she served as Venezuelas national treasurer.

Claudia Diaz and her husband, Adrian Velasquez, were both found guilty in December by a jury of five of the six counts detailed in a 2020 indictment accusing them of taking millions of dollars in bribes. Velasquez also was sentenced Wednesday to 15 years.

The U.S. Justice Department has aggressively investigated corruption in Venezuelas socialist government, taking advantage of the United States unique position as the destination of choice until recently for insiders to stash their ill-gotten gains.

But Diaz was the first former senior official to actually fight charges. The long sentence handed down to both her and her husband  the stiffest ever handed down against so-called Venezuelan kleptocrats  reflects their decision to reject a plea deal offered by the government as is customary in criminal cases.

I agree with the government that the defendants drastically changed their life from a middle class existence to one of multiple jets and yachts, Judge William Dimitrouleas said as Diaz and Velasquez listened in complete silence. They made a lot of money.

The couple also must forfeit $136 million in cash and assets, which represents their take from the money laundering conspiracy. Attorneys for the couple said they intend to appeal.

Judge Dimitrouleas rejected prosecutors request that she be locked away for more than 23 years, perhaps persuaded by a last-minute appeal from the couples two minor children. On the eve of the sentencing, the couples 14-year old son submitted a letter to the court describing how his parents were whisked away and extradited from Spain, where the family had been living, and his hope that he wouldnt grow up without a parent.

My parents were sent to Florida, United States, so quickly that I felt they had been taken hostage, David Velasquez Diaz wrote in a letter to Judge Dimitrouleas on behalf of himself and his younger brother.

According to the indictment, Diaz and Velasquez received payments from companies controlled by their co-defendant, fugitive Venezuelan media mogul Raul Gorrin, to accounts in Miami allegedly used to pay for the couples otherwise unexplained lavish lifestyle.

The governments case relied heavily on the testimony of one of Diazs predecessors as treasurer, Alejandro Andrade, who took the witness stand to testify that the kickback scheme he struck with Gorrin continued under Diaz.

Like Diaz, Andrade, a former presidential security officer, leveraged a personal connection with Chavez to rise through the ranks of the army and the Venezuelan state, amassing a huge fortune almost overnight.

In 2021, he was released from prison after serving less than half of a 10-year sentence for his role in a massive scheme to siphon millions from state coffers. As part of his plea agreement, he forfeited more than $260 million in cash and assets, including an oceanfront Palm Beach mansion, luxury vehicles, show-jumping horses and several Rolex and Hublot watches.

The trial took place as normally hostile relations between the US and Venezuela are starting to ease after the Trump-era policy of maximum pressure to remove President Nicolas Maduro has stalled.

Recently the Biden administration loosened crushing oil sanctions against the OPEC nation, allowing U.S. oil company Chevron for the first time in more than three years to resume production to support fledgling negotiations with the opposition.

But ongoing criminal investigations against Venezuelan insiders remain closely watched in south Florida, home to millions of Venezuelans, Cubans and Nicaraguans fleeing leftist rule in their homelands.



Follow Goodman on Twitter: @APJoshGoodman

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When some people think about lawyers, a famous Shakespearean quote may come to mind. The reality is, however, that lawyers provide services that are fundamental to maintaining the rule of law, create a bulwark against the power of the state, and facilitate access to justice for many marginalized communities.

That is why so much is at stake as members of the Law Society of Ontario (LSO), which regulates Ontarios lawyers and paralegals, elect a new set of benchers, or governing board. The 40 lawyers and five paralegals elected as benchers are required to make decisions about the governance of the legal professions in the public interest. They must work to enhance access to justice and ensure the competency of lawyers and paralegals, in a context where the Supreme Court of Canada has made clear that diverse professions are competent professions.

The election that begins today is different from any previous one. This is because during the 2019 election, a slate of 22 candidates branding themselves as StopSOP organized in opposition to a single issue: the introduction of a Statement of Principles. The electoral reality of vote splitting led to a bloc of 4,000 to 5,000 lawyers electing all 22 candidates. More than 11,000 other lawyers split their votes among over 100 other candidates, electing only 18 of them.

In the ensuing four years, and spanning well beyond the death of the Statement of Principles, this slate proved itself to be a regressive and disruptive force in the LSOs governance. Among many other things, members proposed massive budget cuts without any suggestion of exactly what should be cut; opposed a mandatory minimum compensation for articling students; and dismissed as wokeism measures intended to favour inclusion, confront discrimination, and address harassment.

With the 2023 bencher election on the horizon, these benchers announced they would form a full slate of candidates branded as FullStop. Their campaign tag line? Stop BLOAT. Stop CREEP. Stop WOKE.

As a result, a group of leaders in the legal professions formed the Good Governance Coalition to run in this years election. We are members of this coalition. The coalition was formed to present a clear choice to members of the professions and attempt to prevent the vote splitting that would otherwise lead to the FullStop slate seizing the majority of seats on the LSOs governing body.

The coalition is not a political party. Members will not vote as a bloc. What unites us is a belief that our governing body should have respectful debate, decorum that reflects our values and professions, and a serious commitment to fiduciary duties. We also believe in diversity over division. The LSO has a responsibility to self-regulate in the public interest  all of the public, whomever they are.

Over the past several months, a consensus has emerged among many in the professions recognizing what is at stake in this election. In an unprecedented move, eight former LSO treasurers (presidents of the governing body) endorsed the coalition. They urge voting for all of the coalitions candidates because they are worried about the future of the [LSO] and the legal professions ability to retain the privilege of self-governance.

Almost two dozen legal organizations have also endorsed the coalition, including the Association of Community Legal Clinics of Ontario, Canadian Defence Lawyers, the Womens Law Association of Ontario, the Roundtable of Legal Diversity Associations, and the National GC Network.

Many of these endorsements are similarly unprecedented. They reflect the imperative to regulate the professions for the benefit of the public we serve, while also recognizing the LSOs role to act on issues of inclusion, diversity, equity, and accessibility within the professions as a regulatory imperative.

As lawyers and paralegals start casting votes for bencher candidates today, we hope they will carefully consider who they want making governance decisions about our professions. We believe the best way to preserve the privilege of self-regulation and ensure the LSO is governed in the public interest is to avoid the electoral reality of vote splitting and elect the coalitions entire set of competent, committed, and principled leaders.

Pam Hrick is the executive director and general counsel of the Womens Legal Education and Action Fund (LEAF). Mark Surchin is a partner at Goodmans LLP.

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In the real world of health service delivery, the last three years have taught us a great deal. The pandemic has been a test of endurance for health care workers for sure, but it has also tested our ability as a collective system to do something we dont do enough of: work together.

Here is an incomplete list of the results:

We procured massive quantities of supplies and distributed them across the country: Personal Protective Equipment; swabs; hand sanitizer; ventilators.

We massively ramped up testing capacity; stood up assessment centres, drive-through clinics, mobile outreach teams.

We trained and retrained health care workers; instituted billing codes and protocols for COVID@Home clinics and virtual care for people with acute and chronic medical problems.

We opened field hospitals and tents in parking lots. We participated in clinical trials to determine which drugs to use and at what doses.

On the basis of data about who was most impacted by the virus, and only because of unprecedented collaboration, we allocated resources accordingly when they were scarce  like testing, drugs and vaccines.

We moved patients out of hospitals that were overwhelmed, whether that meant from Scarborough to University Avenue or from Saskatchewan to Ontario.

We sent teams of workers into long-term care facilities to try to stem the impact of decades of poor design, understaffing, and underresourcing on our elders.

And we stood up one of the worlds most successful vaccination campaigns, learning from early design mistakes and adopting community-based strategies that were unprecedented at that scale.

The result was a world-class pandemic response, built entirely on collaboration and co-ordination. Resolving to eliminate competition and work together was the key to every success we had.

Competition, on the other hand, is what happened in New York City, where in the first wave safety net hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID patients while for-profit facilities up the street stood empty.

Competition is also what happens in the most dysfunctional parts of our Canadian health systems, where value for money is most elusive and frustration is highest.

Pharmaceuticals: where we have competition between multiple public and private insurers, among the highest drug prices in the world, and millions of Canadians not taking their medicine because of cost.

Long-term care: Where for-profit homes in Ontario competing to care for our elders had a 78 per cent higher mortality rate from COVID-19 than not-for-profits.

Electronic records: where vendors compete for our business but have seemingly no incentives or requirements to be interoperable with each other.

Competition, in a true market for any good or service, requires a set of conditions, including a large number of buyers and sellers making homogenous products; perfect knowledge among buyers and sellers; and mobility of the factors of production. None of these exists in health care, in Canada or anywhere else. Patients are not savvy consumers choosing between near-identical products on the basis of price or the bells and whistles. They are sick people in need of compassionate care close to home.

And providers are not in endless supply, able to move freely around the market. They are highly trained, expensive resources, who need to be marshalled to the area of greatest need. The World Health Organization is projecting a shortfall of 10 million health workers by 2030, and in Ontario alone, there will be a shortage of about 33,000 nurses and personal support workers by 2027-28. Where will the supply come from for competition exactly?

We have a long road to recovery ahead. To suggest that other countries have it better is to ignore the reality plaguing us all: nurses are on strike for the first time in the history of the NHS in England, and President Macron has declared that hell be completely overhauling the French health care system, for example. Health care workers have been on strike over working conditions and wages in the Netherlands, Spain, Germany and more  there is no system, no matter the mix of payment and delivery, that is not struggling today.

We are in tough times in Canadian health care and there are more tough times ahead. Service backlogs. Human resources shortages. Mental health impacts. The co-ordinated effort required to manage recovery will probably dwarf what we have just achieved. More competition and fragmentation is the last thing we need. Collaboration is our only hope.

Dr. Danielle Martin is a professor and chair of the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. This essay is drawn from her argument at the C.D. Howes latest Regent Debate: Be It Resolved, Competition Will Save Canadas Broken Healthcare System.

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Ukraine receives first Patriot air defense system from Germany  what to know 19 April, 02:44 PM Exclusive U.S. and Germany had previously promised to deliver the Patriot air defense system to Ukraine (Photo:ukraine_map/Twitter)

Germany has handed over its first U.S. Patriot anti-aircraft missile system and artillery as part of its newest aid package, the German government reported on April 18.

Germany generally provides reports after the equipment has been delivered to Ukraine.

Neither Kyiv, nor Washington, has yet confirmed the delivery of the Patriot system to Ukraine.

The United States has promised to provide Ukraine with at least one Patriot system. The U.S. officially announced their transfer before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited Washington in Dec. 2022.

Video of day

In Jan. 2023, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced that Germany would join the U.S. in supplying an additional Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.

NV looks at the Patriot system specifications and the chronology of negotiations regarding their supply to Ukraine.

The MIM-104 Patriot anti-aircraft missile system was adopted by the U.S. Army in the early 1980s. Its latest modification, called PAC-3, is designed to hit and intercept targets at an altitude of up to 24 km.

The main feature of the latest Patriot system is the ability to shoot down ballistic missiles. These include missiles that Russia uses to attack Ukraine, including Iskanders, Kinzhals (hypersonic air-to-air missiles), and Zircons (hypersonic anti-ship missiles).

The Patriot system uses advanced interceptor missiles and highly effective radar systems.

The system includes four main functions:

communication;

command and control;

radar surveillance;

missile guidance.

Infographics: NV

The launchers are highly mobile  one battery can be deployed in less than an hour  while system components are transported on trucks or trailers.

One Patriot PAC-3 launcher is designed for four types of MIM-104 missiles, GEM-T (missiles with advanced guidance), or 16 ERINT missiles (missile-interceptors of extended range). One Patriot battery consists of up to eight launchers.

The average range of use of one Patriot launcher is 150 km. The air defense system can track targets at a speed of up to 2,200 m/s at a distance of up to 180 km.

Other important characteristics of the Patriot air defense system:

target tracking range  up to 180 km

target interception range  up to 80 km

target interception height  up to 24 km.

Ukraine has been asking the U.S. for Patriot systems since before Russias full-scale invasion, CNN reported in Dec. 2021.

Even after Russia began pummeling Ukraine with massive missile strikes beginning in Oct. 2022, the provision of Patriot systems was in question. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, specifically, wanted guarantees that already delivered systems were effective and functioning, as they require ammunition and spare parts.

The Pentagon confirmed its plans to send the Patriot systems to Ukraine by Dec. 13, reported Voice of America. Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said that the Patriots would definitely become a target for the Russian invaders.

The White House officially announced the transfer of the Patriot systems to Ukraine on Dec. 21. Later, Germany also announced that it would transfer a Patriot air defense battery to Ukraine.

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Russo-Ukraine war will only end in a negotiated settlement, April 14

Thomas Walkom is correct in stating that negotiated settlement is the only way to end the war in Ukraine.

Former Prime Minister Lester Pearson (as Canadian Secretary of State) helped defuse the 1956 Suez Crisis by proposing a United Nations peacekeeping force. Pearson then won the Nobel Peace Prize.

Certainly, our present world leaders can bring this horrendous war in Ukraine to a peaceful end with a negotiated settlement.

Stop wasting lives.

Jeffrey Manly, Toronto

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It stands to reason that if Germany follows through on the narrative it is shaping in Berlin and amplifying in partner nations ~ that it is seeking to reduce trade over-dependence on an absolutist China which it sees as backing an aggressive Russia on its doorstep ~ it will need to seek new markets for trade and investment.

India, with its massive market size and the demographic advantage of a young population with a median age of just 29, has the potential to emerge as a relevant partner for Germany. To this end, an area of concerted effort by both sides could be promoting business ties between Indian states and German landers (states) which are well-funded and have their own strengths in industry and banking, as former Indian Ambassador to Germany Gurjit Singh has emphasised.

Former Indian Foreign Secretary Vijay Gokhale too has recently written on Germany Inc. turning bearish on China and bullish on India. Given the strong civil society influence in Germany which emphasises the separation of government and non-government initiatives, however, it needs to be recognised that it is the business communities of both countries which would be the most potent force for closer ties, with governments acting as enablers and/or facilitators.

Indias growing green footprint and its commitment to its Intended Nationally Determined Contributions at Paris and Glasgow means it can no longer be classified as an outlier on trade and climate issues, which has been a past hurdle in Indo-German relations.

Germanys influence in the European Union, a player of significance for India in economic terms with a Free Trade Agreement on the horizon, is important too. In June 2022, the EU relaunched negotiations with India after a gap of eight years for an FTA, and launched separate negotiations for an Investment Protection Agreement and an Agreement on Geographical Indications (GIs). But even in the best of circumstances, all these efforts coming to fruition would imply an incremental enhancement of economic ties between India and Germany over a period of time.

Such an arc, if thats how it plays out, while welcome, would explicitly not be a gamechanger.

The transformative potential of the Indo-German relationship lies in a closer alignment of their respective strategic approaches and, within that framework, a carefully designed collaborative effort to engage with ~ and invest in ~ Africa to secure a rare earth elements supply chain. Africa is estimated to have an abundance of rare earths but lacks exploration and extraction capabilities.

German capital and green tech know-how augmented by an Indian-African workforce could be the key driver for Africa to replace China as the worlds source of rare earths over the next decade. It would provide employment avenues for Indias young population both at the skilled and semi-skilled levels, remittances from a new geography will come into play, and the attended opportunities for trade and commerce would grow. Africa would benefit as its own youth bulge would become productive.

Also, environmentally sensitive and sustainable extraction/processing of rare earth elements as opposed to rapacious Chinese mining techniques would ensure green growth for the continent. And Germany, if it is serious about ending its economic overdependence on China, may actually be in a position to do so.

Beijing, though, can hardly be expected to roll over. It has spent two decades wooing Africa and inveigling itself into important countries economic and strategic spheres. So, all the running will have to be done by Delhi and Berlin working in tandem. Despite Indias leading role in the Non-Aligned Movement through the second half of the 20th century which, conventional wisdom holds, helped it foster close relationships with multiple African post-colonial nations, China with its deep pockets has taken over the leadership of a significant section of the Global South, particularly in Africa, with relative ease. India has a chance to make amends for de-prioritising Africa in its post-Cold War foreign policy and Germany could deploy its abundant capital in Africa for its own long-term economic and strategic interests.

To take the long view, Delhi would need to start factoring into the proposed Indo-German strategic matrix the alternative scenarios which could come to pass going forward. Would not the threat posed to India by China, in conjunction with the danger to Germany from the Russo-Chinese no-limits strategic relationship, become acute if the Sino-Russian axis metamorphosizes into a military alliance as a Eurasian version of the erstwhile Warsaw Pact? (Such an outcome, dismissed outright until even a few years ago, is today increasingly part of the strategic conversation in major global capitals.)

Alternatively, what are the factors that would come into play in a putative post-Putin Russia, and how would they impact Moscows relationship with China, India, and Germany? Additionally, could France, given its strategic and commercial interests in the Western Indian Ocean and Francophone Africa, be persuaded to be a participant in the Indo-German Africa Project? America, still the worlds preeminent power, appears to have emerged from the highly disruptive Donald Trump interregnum focussed on engaging with the world anew.

So will Washington, which is now speaking the language of consultation, coordination, and collaboration with its partners worldwide, back a joint IndoGerman effort without seeking to subsume it into the US own Africa policy? These are not questions susceptible to easy answers.

But then thats the thing about geostrategic churn ~ one never knows what may emerge as a result. Establishing Indias priorities rather than focussing on its needs, which may be endless, is critical to crafting an innovative and mutually profitable engagement with Germany

(The writer is a Fellow at the Pahle India Foundation)
There can be several perspectives for examining the deeply worrying situation in Ukraine, but if one examines this mainly from the point of view of the welfare of the people of Ukraine, then securing peace immediately must be the foremost objective. At the same time one has to reckon with the fact there are many serious differences between the two sides.

Hence keeping in view both these factors  the urgent need for peace as well as the prevalence of serious differences  the best course of action today would be acceptance of an unconditional ceasefire by both sides on the basis of the existing line of control.

This should be followed by a huge community-based, participative, decentralised programme for rehabilitation and reconstruction in Ukraine with decisions and priorities under the democratic control of people but helped by unconditional international financial support.

The mistakes made in the past in some war-ravaged countries of handing over reconstruction to some giant foreign construction companies should not be repeated as in such cases community needs and priorities often get neglected.

Once a big reconstruction effort is in place, talks between Ukraine and Russia should start to settle various contentious issues and areas of difference. Generally, it is said in the case of peace talks that they should progress very fast to sort out all differences.

If this is possible in the present context it would of course be great. But let us be realistic. If these talks had been held about a year back, then the possibility of clinching an early agreement on various differences would have been much higher. However the situation now is much more complex.

An early resolution of various differences, particularly on territory issues, would be difficult to achieve. So let us not start with unrealistic expectations.

It would be more realistic to have a rather modest but more achievable objective. The talks can take breaks, but should not break down. They should start with the understanding that some issues are very difficult but at the same time peace between the two neighbours is even more important and so solutions have to be found.

Even when some talks drag out for a long time these are not necessarily a failure and if both sides are careful to conclude each round of talks with some friendly voices then the contribution of talks to at least increasing goodwill is always there. With the passage of time, with reconstruction progressing, with people on both sides making efforts to create more friendly conditions, feelings of hostility begin to fade, people want peace to continue and are more in tune with the give and take necessary for settling contentious issues and serious differences.

The historical and cultural ties that the people of the two countries have will also no doubt contribute to the peace process over a longer period of time. Hence clearly the path of peace is possible in Ukraine as long as this is given a fair chance and is not obstructed by any powerful forces. This path of peace is the best option today from the point of view of the welfare of the people of Ukraine. It is best achieved by an unconditional ceasefire followed by reconstruction and extended negotiations to resolve other differences.

This peace process can be helped by countries like Turkey, India, Mexico and Brazil which can hope to have the confidence of both sides and have shown some interest in the peace process in the past. While this course of action is clearly the best from the point of view of the welfare of the people of Ukraine, at the same the great importance of such a plan of action from the perspective of world peace should also be asserted.

It has become increasingly clear over the course of the last 15 months or so that the ongoing Ukraine war has become the biggest crisis threatening world peace and under certain conditions it can even lead to a more open conflict between the USA and Russia  the two biggest military powers of the world which together possess over 11,000 nuclear weapons.

This can even create conditions for a Third World War type situation, as pointed out by several eminent scholars. Hence it is important to stop the Ukraine war as early as possible as each day of the war leads to more devastation and more complications, making solutions more difficult.

Hence both from the point of view of the welfare of the people of Ukraine as well as for the sake of world peace, it is very important to end the Ukraine war as early as possible and start walking the path of peace.

(The writer is Honorary Convener, Campaign to Save Earth Now. His recent books include Planet in Peril and A Day in 2071.)
Taking cognisance of parents grievances, the Delhi government has initiated strict action against the private schools allegedly forcing parents to purchase expensive books and uniforms from specific vendors.

So far, show-cause notices have been sent to 12 private schools across the capital for not following the guidelines of the Directorate of Education. If satisfactory answers to notices are not received from schools, they will have to face action by the department, an official statement said on Wednesday.

Immediate action is being taken on the complaints of parents, and show-cause notice has been sent to 12 schools, and an inquiry has been ordered against six other schools, the statement said.

Sharing the information, Delhi Education Minister Atishi said, Notices have been sent to the concerned schools asking them to explain the reasons for the complaints received from parents. Additionally, an investigation is also being carried out by the Directorate of Education (DoE).

If any violations of guidelines are found, action will be taken against these schools under the relevant provisions of the Delhi School Education Act, 1973. I am personally keeping an eye on the complaints received from parents and have instructed the Education Department to promptly address every such grievance, she said.

The statement further said that despite the clear guidelines of DoE on books and uniforms, complaints against many schools allegedly forcing parents to buy expensive books and uniforms from specific vendors were being received.

This is a clear violation of the rules, and to address this, the Education Department is working diligently to resolve every complaint received from parents on a priority basis, the statement said.

For schools where such complaints are coming up, officials are conducting investigations into these complaints, and notices have been issued to explain the reasons for violating the guidelines, it said.

Atishi said, Guidelines issued by the Education Department give freedom to parents to buy books and uniforms from the vendors of their choice. If any school forces parents to buy expensive books and uniforms from specific vendors, then it is a violation of the rules. This will not be tolerated by the Kejriwal government and strict action will be taken against schools found guilty of violating these rules.

She added that every parent has the right to obtain proper information about books and uniform for the upcoming session before the start of the new academic year so that they can make arrangements according to their convenience, rather than by being forced by schools to purchase these items from specific shops or on their own. The goal of education should be to shape the future of the country, not to earn money.

The guidelines of the Education Department state that private schools must display a class-wise list of books and other study materials on their website before the beginning of the new academic session to inform parents. Additionally, schools must also display at least five nearby shops addresses and phone numbers on their website where parents can purchase books and school uniforms.

Parents have the freedom to buy these items from any store at their convenience, and the school cannot compel them to purchase from a particular vendor. The guidelines also state that private schools cannot change the colour, design, or other specifications of school uniforms for at least three years.
The District Magistrate in Bihars Saran has barred all government employees from wearing jeans to office.

The employees have also been asked to wear identity cards around their neck so that they could be easily identified. They have been asked to wear formal dress and stay in the offices during the working hours from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

The idea of the initiative is to change the work culture in the offices.

The District Magistrate said that he will undertake surprise inspections of particular departments and could also do video conferencing or video calling to check the status of the directive. He has warned the employees to strictly follow the new guidelines, especially the dress code, and warned that offenders would be penalised.
To maintain law and order in the state amidst upcoming festivals, senior Uttar Pradesh government officials reviewed the law and order in the state and gave necessary instructions to the district officials.

Principal Secretary Home Sanjay Prasad, Director General of Police RK Vishwakarma and Special DG Law and Order Prashant Kumar, held a review meeting with all ADGs (Zone), Divisional Commissioners, District Magistrates, Police Commissioners, IGs, DIGs, SSP/SP here on Wednesday.

In the meeting held through video conferencing, Principal Secretary Home Sanjay Prasad said that in recent years, festivals of all religions have been celebrated in the state amidst an atmosphere of peace and harmony. This has sent out a good message to the whole country.

Safety of every citizen in the state is the primary responsibility of all of us. We always have to be careful about this responsibility of ours. The month of Ramzan is going on. Eid-ul-Fitr, Akshaya Tritiya and Parshuram Jayanti are likely to be celebrated on the same day on coming April 22. In view of the present environment, the police will have to be extra careful, said Prasad.

He instructed officers to make all necessary efforts, keeping in view the local needs, for every festival to be celebrated in peace and harmony. Deal sternly with those issuing mischievous statements. Strict action should be taken against the chaotic elements that try to cause harm to the peaceful atmosphere in the state, he added.

The principal secretary home instructed that all the officers posted in the field should ensure that religious programs, worshipping etc. take place at the designated place only. Under no circumstances should any religious event be held by obstructing the road and traffic. In the past, we have been able to do this through communication. This year also we have to make the same effort, he remarked further.

He instructed that no procession/religious procession should be taken out without due permission. Permission should be given only to those religious processions, which are traditional, unnecessary permission should not be given to new events. Principal Secretary Home also told the officers to be vigilant about social media and ensure immediate response to any attempt aimed to spread fake news. A senior officer should do a refutation of rumour/fake news.

In the review meeting, Director General of Police RK Vishwakarma took the details of the preparations made for the upcoming festivals from all the zone/range/district level officers. He said that in order to maintain social harmony between the festival, additional police force should be deployed in sensitive areas. There should be adequate arrangements for the security of religious places. Monitor the situation using drones.

He said that the police force should continuously patrol congested areas. Senior officers should also participate in patrolling. We should keep an eye on every suspicious activity. The usefulness of emergency services like 112 depends on its quick response. In this situation, 247 PRV 112 remained active. He said that videography of every important program must be done.

Special DG law and order Prashant Kumar said that the police should be alert and careful for social peace and harmony. In the midst of festivals, some chaotic elements may try to disturb social balance, such people should be dealt with strictly according to the policy of zero tolerance.

The increasing issue of traffic in cities like Varanasi, Ayodhya, Mathura, Gorakhpur and Lucknow was also discussed in the meeting.
As the summer sets in, suddenly temperatures around the world begin soaring punctuated by heat waves. Rising global temperatures due to climate change have only exacerbated the situation, leading to more intense and frequent heat waves.

What could be a tougher summer than usual started to sway the entire nation with the Meteorological Department issuing an orange alert for dangerously high temperatures in three states, West Bengal, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh. It also warned that the heat wave conditions are likely in parts of four other states, Sikkim, Jharkhand, Odisha, and Uttar Pradesh.

Recently, 13 people died while attending a public event in Maharashtra.

Heat waves are the periods of abnormally hot and humid weather that last for days or weeks. These events have become increasingly common in recent years due to climate change, and their impact on human health and the environment is significant. In this article, we will explore the causes of heat waves, their effects on our lives, and how we can protect ourselves from their harmful effects.

When the winds blow from the eastern side or from the direction of Bay of Bengal then there is some clouding at times which bring down temperatures over the eastern states. But hot, dry winds from the northwest are blowing over east India, which has comparatively higher humidity levels due to their location. So, people in the eastern states need to take heat prevention measures adequately, said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD.

Temperatures are very high over east India but humidity is still relatively low compared to June and July and because winds are from the northwest direction. Still the relative humidity levels we are seeing can also lead to discomfort and heat stress. They can be severe or fatal when winds approaching from the east and similar temperatures prevail, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate and meteorology at Skymet Weather.

One of the primary causes of increasing heat during summers is climate change. The Earths average temperature has been steadily increasing over the past few decades due to the release of greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide and methane, into the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels for transportation and energy generation, deforestation, and industrial activities are some of the significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.

The effects of increasing heat during summers are widespread and significant. Heatwaves can cause severe health problems, particularly for vulnerable populations such as the elderly, children, and those with pre-existing health conditions. Heat exhaustion, heat stroke, dehydration, and respiratory issues are common health concerns during a heatwave. In addition, increasing heat can also lead to reduced crop yields and water shortages, resulting in economic losses.

Experts also noted that this years weather is developing in an unsettlingly typical fashion; the shifts are significant, just as they were in 2022, when a large portion of the nation missed spring and transitioned almost directly from winter to summer.

Heat waves can have a significant impact on human health, particularly on vulnerable populations such as the elderly, young children, and those with chronic illnesses. The most common health risks associated with heat waves are dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke. Dehydration occurs when the body loses too much water and electrolytes, which can lead to dizziness, confusion, and even unconsciousness. Heat exhaustion is a more severe condition that can cause nausea, headaches, and fatigue. Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness and can be life-threatening. It occurs when the bodys core temperature rises above 104F, and the bodys internal systems begin to shut down. Heat waves can also have a significant impact on the environment. They can lead to drought conditions, which can have a ripple effect on ecosystems, agriculture, and water supplies. Drought can cause soil erosion, reduce crop yields, and lead to wildfires. Heat waves can also contribute to air pollution, as increased heat and sunlight can lead to the formation of ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone can cause respiratory problems, especially for those with pre-existing respiratory conditions.

To mitigate the impacts of increasing heat during summers, it is crucial to take collective action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Governments, businesses, and individuals can all contribute to this effort. The Odisha Government has declared that schools will remain closed till 20 April amid the heatwaves. Businesses can adopt sustainable practices and invest in renewable energy sources. Individuals can reduce their carbon footprint by using public transportation, walking, or biking instead of driving, reducing energy consumption in their homes, and choosing to buy from environmentally responsible companies.

IMD has advised a variety of preventive measures, including drinking enough water (even if youre not thirsty), ORS (oral rehydration solutions or electrolyte replenishments), or comparable home-made drinks to stay hydrated.
In a major decision, the Maharashtra government has banned all open-air public meetings/rallies between 12 noon to 5 p.m., state Tourism Minister Mangal Prabha Lodha said here on Wednesday.

The move came three days after the deaths of 14 people, Shrisadasyas, who died hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah conferred the Maharashtra Bhushan Award 2022 on social reformer Dattatreya Narayan Dharmadhikari, revered as Appasaheb, at an open-air event which attracted an estimated 20 lakh followers.

The development also came 48 hours after Shiv Sena (UBT) Kishore Tiwari made a strong plea to the Centre and state governments to come out with a set of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for all such mega-events and prevent recurrence of such calamities with loss of precious human lives. (IANS report dated April 17).

Lodha said that the decision has been taken after the unfortunate disaster in Navi Mumbai and to avoid similar tragedies in future.

State Congress President Nana Patole said on Wednesday that given new social media photos/videos, the government must clarify whether the deaths took place due to a stampede at the award venue.

What is the truth, and what is the government suppressing? Both the Chief Minister Eknath Shinde and Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis must resign. I am appealing to Governor Ramesh Bais to sack this regime, Patole said sternly.

On Tuesday, Nationalist Congress Partys Leader of Opposition Ajit Pawar had demanded a judicial probe by a retired judge into the tragedy, and lodging culpable homicide cases against all those found guilty for the shortcomings.

Pointing out that the state government had sqaundered Rs 13 crore for the Rs 25-Lakh Maharashtra Bhushan Award, Tiwari asked Shinde-Fadnavis to give compensation of at least Rs 1 crore to the kin of each deceased who hailed from very poor families.

Senior leaders of other political parties including Atul Londe, Clyce Crasto, Dr. Raghunath Kuchik, Trade Unions Joint Action Committee state convenor Vishwas Utagi, NGOs and social activists have slammed the state government for the lapses leading to the tragedy.

Moved by the tragedy, Shah expressed his condolences to the families of those who lost their lives after he gave away the Maharashtra Bhushan Award to Appasaheb Dharmadhikari on Sunday.

My heart is heavy with the passing of the Shrisadasyas who lost their lives due to heatstroke while attending the Maharashtra Bhushan Award ceremony held yesterdaya I pray for the speedy recovery of those who are undergoing treatment, said Shah.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Wednesday expressed full confidence in the Indian Armys capability to deal with any contingency along the Northern borders with China and commended the force for its response to cross-border terrorism emanating from Pakistan.

Addressing the first Army Commanders Conference here, he expressed the hope that talks with China for resolving the military stand-off at eastern Ladakh would bear fruits. Disengagement and deescalation by peaceful means in the best way forward, he added.

Referring to the situation on the borders with Pakistan, he said the proxy war by the neighbouring country was continuing. I compliment the excellent synergy between the police forces and the Army in tackling the menace of terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir. The synergised operations in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are contributing to increased stability and peace in the region and the same should continue, and for this, I again compliment the Indian Army, he said.

The defence minister reaffirmed the faith of the billion-plus citizens in the Indian Army as one of the most trusted and inspiring organisations in the country. He highlighted the stellar role played by the Army in guarding the countrys borders and fighting terrorism apart from providing assistance to the civil administration whenever called for.

The Armys contribution is applaudable in every domain from Security, HADR, and Medical Assistance to maintaining the stable internal situation in the country. The role of the Indian Army is very important in nation-building as also in the overall national development.

Talking about the present complex world situation which affected everyone globally, he stated that Unconventional and asymmetric warfare, including hybrid war, will be part of the future conventional wars. Cyber, information, communication, trade and finance have all become an inseparable part of future conflicts. This necessitates that the armed forces will have to keep all these facets in consideration while planning and formulating strategies.

It is our Whole of Government approach to ensure availability of best weapons, equipment and clothing to our troops braving extreme weather and hostile forces to defend our territorial integrity, he added.

The minister commended the Army for the high standard of operational preparedness and capabilities which he has always been experiencing first-hand during his visits to forward areas. He also paid tributes to all the brave hearts for making the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of the motherland.

He appreciated the Armys efforts to develop niche technologies in collaboration with civil industries, including premier educational institutions and thereby progressing towards the aim of Modernisation through Indigenisation or Atmanirbharta.
A class 9 student was stabbed to death in Bihars Gopalganj district on Wednesday while he was on his way to school.

The incident took place at around 6.30 a.m. in Batardeh village under the Barauli police station.

Confirming the incident, the SHO of Barauli police station said a youth, identified as Ujjwal Kumar, attacked the victim Pratik Kumar Patel with a knife on his neck.

Pratik died on the spot.

The accused was caught by locals in the area and handed over to the police.

The reason for murder is property dispute between the families of the accused and the victim.

Pratiks father Ajay Patel was also stabbed to death a few years ago.

After Ajays death, Pratik had been living in his maternal uncles house in Batardeh village.

Following the incident, the angry villagers put the body in the middle of NH 27 and blocked it.
Union Home Minister and Minister of Cooperation Amit Shah on Wednesday said the government is committed to build a drug-free India by 2047, and if there are collective efforts and a whole of India approach, the victory is certain.

Amit Shah was addressing the first National Conference of Heads of Anti-Narcotics Task Forces of States and Union Territories here.

The home minister said the young generation is the foundation for the development of the country, but narcotics are ruining them, thereby weakening the foundation of the countrys development.

On such weak foundations a strong country cannot be built, he said. Apart from ruining the youth of the country, the smuggling of narcotics affected the countrys economy. Smuggling of narcotics not only impacted the economy of the country, but compromised national security and borders through narco-terror, he said.

Shah said that while many countries across the globe had failed in the battle against narcotics, India was at a stage where we can win against this fight by moving forward with the determination of 130-crore people.

He said that there can be three reasons for failure against this fight: It must be understood that it is not just the fight of the government, but of the people, that it is not the fight of any one department, but everyone has to fight it together with equal intensity, he said.

There should not be any mistake in the approach and the goal should be clear that one who consumes drugs is a victim and one who deals in drugs is a criminal, and they need to be dealt with firmly, the Home Minister said.

Shah said that we will definitely win if we work on it. He said, the Ministry of Home Affairs under the leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has devised a 3-point strategy -strengthening of institutional structure, coordination among all narco-agencies and comprehensive public awareness campaign.

He said that we should move forward with Team India and Whole of Government Approach. He said that one should rise above party politics and political ideology in this fight against the narcotics. He said that this battle has to be fought rising above party politics and political ideology. He said that with zero tolerance approach all state governments should move forward to achieve the goal of drug-free India.

The minister said that the outcomes of the fight against drugs in the last three years have been encouraging. He said that while only about 1,257 cases were registered between the years 2006-2013, the number has increased by 181 per cent to 3,544 between 2014 and 2022. During the same period, the total number of arrests increased by almost 300 per cent to 5,408 as against 1,363 arrests.

During 2006-2013, 1.52 lakh kilograms of drugs were seized which doubled to 3.73 lakh kilogram between the years 2014-2022. Drugs worth Rs 768 crore were seized between 2006-2013, which has increased by more than 25 times to Rs. 22,000 crore between 2014 and 2022.

The home minister released the Annual Report (Special Edition), 2022 and Drug Free India, National Resolution Booklet of the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) on the occasion.

He launched a mobile app and web portal  Map Drugs which will help in identifying and destruction of illegal farming in the country. He virtually inaugurated the office complex of NCB, Indore Regional Unit also.
Amidst reports that the BJP is backing the formation of a new political party with the support of the Church in Kerala, Johny Nellore, vice-chairman of the Kerala Congress (Joseph), on Wednesday resigned from the party and announced that a new political party will be formed in the state.

Johny also resigned as a member of the UDF high power committee.

Announcing his resignation from the Kerala Congress (Joseph) at a press conference in Kochi on Wednesday, Johny Nellore said he will not join any other party, but will form a secular national party. It will be a political party with a national outlook and people from all communities will be there, he added.

The new party is expected to get the support from various Christian churches and will be a part of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

Former Udumbanchola MLA Mathew Stephen, George G Mathew and Joy Abraham will be part of the new political entity. Victor T Thomas, who recently resigned as UDF chairman in Pathanamthitta, will also join the new party. Joy Abraham is the general secretary of Christian right-wing outfit Churchs Auxiliary for Social Action (CASA).

It has been reported that the Central leadership of the BJP has long been attempting to form a political party backed by the Church in Kerala. It has also been reported that. Assam chief minister Himanta Biswas Sarma and a Keralite Bishop serving in the north-eastern states were also part of the unofficial discussions regarding the formation of the party.

The announcement about the formation of the new party came at a time when the BJP is trying to strengthen its base in the state by making inroads into the Christian community, which has a sizeable influence in central Kerala.

The move came in the backdrop of Thalassery Arch Bishop of Roman Catholic church, Mar Joseph Pamplanis statement that if the government of India raises the price of rubber to Rs 300 per kilogram the church will help the Kerala BJP to get an MP of the party elected from the state.

In an apparent admission that the Church has no qualms about supporting the BJP if it supports rubber farmers, Bishop Pamplani said the farmers community in high range can relieve the Kerala BJPs despair of not having its own MP from the state in the Lok Sabha, if the Union government raises the price of rubber to Rs 300 per kilogram.

Cardinal Mar George Alenchery, head of the Syro-Malabar Church and a prominent face of the Christian community in India, has recently come forward in praise of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and said that Christians are not insecure in the country under the BJP rule.

In an interview given to an English daily, Mar George Alenchery said the prime minister is a good leader and does not go into confrontation with anyone.

He is a good leader. He makes an effort to be one and is successful at it. He did not go for confrontation with anyone. He has been effective in raising Indias image internationally. When theres a sense of security among the people, other faults tend to be ignored. He is very receptive and open. Thats leadership. Also, there are many things common between Hinduism and Christianity. The concept of harmony in Hinduism is very inspiring to me, the Cardinal said.

Last year, when Pala Bishop Mar Joseph Kallarangatt raised the narcotic jihad allegations, BJP was the first to defend him. The bishop came out against a section of Muslim community saying Catholic girls and youth were targeted by jihadi elements in the state.
Keeping the government posts temporary for long and denying the claims of the incumbents on the score that their posts are temporary makes especially when both temporary and permanent appointees are functionally identified, the Orissa High Court observed on Wednesday.

The high court made this observation while ordering the regularisation of services of 32 junior assistants in Sambalpur University.

The order passed by the Odisha government for the Department of Higher Education on 31 May, 2019 by rejecting the claim of the petitioners for regularisation of the posts of junior assistant in Sambalpur University cannot be sustained in the eye of law and is hereby set aside.

The opposite parties (government) shall pass appropriate order for regularisation of services of the petitioners against the post of Junior Assistants as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of three months from the date of receipt of copy of this judgment, Justice S K Sahoo stated in the order on Wednesday.

The petitioners were appointed on a temporary basis. On 24 December 2013, the University had sought the Department of Higher Education to accord approval to the appointment of the petitioners taking into consideration the length of service rendered by them as well as long experience in clerical work in the University.

The state government rejected the case of the petitioners on the ground that the petitioners have not completed ten years as of 2006 and the post has not been sanctioned.

The Government claimed that the petitioners who were appointed were non-sanctioned posts and prior approval of the State Government has also not been obtained by the University for creating such posts. It further stated that the action of the University to engage the petitioners against such non-sanctioned posts was in contravention of section 22 of Odisha University Act, 1989.
In view of the rising number of Covid-19 cases across India, Principal Secretary to Prime Minister Dr P K Mishra on Wednesday chaired a high-level meeting to assess the situation with focus on preparedness of health infrastructure, logistics, drugs, vaccination campaign and steps required to deal with the problem.

The meeting was attended by Rajiv Gauba, cabinet secretary; Dr Vinod Paul, member, Niti Aayog; T V Somanathan, finance secretary; and Rajesh Bhushan, secretary, Health and Family Welfare.

A comprehensive presentation was made by Rajesh Bhushan, providing an overview of the global Covid-19 situation. He highlighted that India has been witnessing a rapid increase in the number of Covid-19 cases with the majority of cases being reported in eight states (Kerala, Delhi, Maharashtra, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Rajasthan).

Further, the sudden increase in the positivity was also highlighted along with the status of tests being conducted in the country. A detailed analysis of active cases within these eight states was presented and it was highlighted that approximately 92 per cent of the cases are under home isolation.

The presentation also provided an overview of the Genome Sequencing of different variants since January 2023 and noted the proportion of circulating variants in India.

The status of vaccination was discussed, followed by drug availability and infrastructure preparedness across the country. As per directions of the Prime Minister, a nationwide mock drill for assessment of functional infrastructure was conducted and the status of Mock drill was presented to participants.

Further, the expenditure of the Covid-19 vaccination programme and budget provisions for drugs and vaccine raw materials were also reviewed.

The Health Secretary also informed that States have already been advised that they may take steps for procurement of requisite Covid vaccine doses directly from the manufacturers at their end without any prior approvals from the Union Ministry of Health. Private Hospitals situated in the States may also directly procure such Vaccines from the manufacturer. These vaccines once procured may be administered as per the existing Covid vaccination guidelines.

After the detailed presentation, Dr Mishra highlighted that for managing localized surges it is essential that sufficient health infrastructure should be available at sub-district level and the same may be ensured in consultation with States.

He exhorted that advisories for guiding states should be assessed based on evolving scenario and updated accordingly.

Further, the meeting deliberated that it is critical to focus on identification of emerging hotspots and States should monitor trends of ILI/SARI cases, send sufficient samples for testing of Covid-19, and ramp up Whole Genome Sequencing.

Dr Mishra stressed that the time-tested five-fold strategy of test-track-treat-vaccination and adherence to Covid appropriate behaviour must continue to be implemented. It was equally crucial to promote awareness within the community regarding Covid appropriate behaviour and caution citizens against complacency.

He advised officials to maintain a strict vigil on the Covid-19 situation and take necessary actions to contain its spread.
(Bloomberg) -- The market for Additional Tier 1 bonds is beginning to reopen just weeks after Credit Suisse Group AGs collapse set off a global fire sale of the debt.

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Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. sold 140 billion yen ($1 billion) of AT1 notes Wednesday, the first major global lender to tap the market since Swiss regulators wiped out more than $17 billion of the risky debt as part of Credit Suisses forced takeover by UBS Group AG.

The offering is one of the largest yen corporate-bond sales this year, and suggests yield-starved Japanese investors are willing to look beyond strains in the global banking sector in exchange for the promise of higher returns. But whether the markets nascent reopening will extend beyond Japan, and how soon, remains an open question.

The global AT1s market is somewhat siloed along geographic lines. Yet, this is a step in the right direction for the sector, said Pri de Silva, senior analyst for Bloomberg Intelligence. This deal indicated that the Japanese AT1 market is very much open and the megabanks are still able to issue junior capital securities at relative low spreads.

AT1 notes, also known as contingent convertible or CoCo bonds, are considered the riskiest debt sold by banks. Thats because they are designed to impose losses on bondholders or be converted into equity if a lenders capital ratios fall below a predetermined level. Regulators can write them down as well if a bank starts to fail.

The securities have rebounded since the writedown, with the exception of those in Switzerland and Brazil, the latter having followed the Swiss model on AT1 regulation.

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SMFG priced both 89 billion yen of perpetual notes that cant be called for five years and two months, and 51 billion yen of similar non-call 10-year, two-month debt at spreads of 171 basis points, according to sole underwriter SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. Another of the countrys megabanks, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc., is planning a two-part AT1 bond sale as soon as mid-May.

Its no surprise that Japans major banks can issue AT1s at these types of risk premiums in their home market, said Nicholas Elfner, co-head of research at Breckinridge Capital Advisors. The countrys corporate bond market has been remarkably stable, with tight spreads and low yields for several years, he said.

Still, the fact that there was more demand for the SMFGs AT1s with the earlier call date suggests that even in Japan, investors prefer safer debt after the recent market turbulence, said Kazuma Ogino, a senior credit analyst at Nomura Securities Co.

In the US, investors have largely been shielded from the writedown pain because the big banks generally sell preferred equity, which counts as additional tier-one capital but doesnt have writedown or conversion-to-equity clauses, Arnold Kakuda, a bank analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence.

But the wipeout, while unmatched in Europes $275 billion CoCo bond market, has created opportunities for some investors to load up on the riskiest bonds. Mark Lieb, the founder of Spectrum Asset Management, recently bought AT1s of Europes highest-quality banks, wagering the recent selloff is overdone.

Financial authorities regard SMFG as one of around 30 global systemically important banks, and no lender of that rank had sold an AT1 bond since Credit Suisses collapse, Bloomberg-compiled data show.

--With assistance from Finbarr Flynn, Rie Morita, Kevin Kingsbury and Boris Korby.

(Updates throughout.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) chief Maulana Tauqeer Raza and his supporters were not permitted to hold a sit-in at Islamia Maidan on Wednesday to protest against the killing of Mafia don Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf in Prayagraj on Saturday.

The police did not allow Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan to reach the protest site. The maulana and all the IMC office bearers were present at the residence of Nadeem Khan, former district president of IMC, at some distance from the picket site.

But the police did not allow them to come out of the house and put barricade to restrict them from going near the protest site.

Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan had announced a sit-in protest from 12 noon on Wednesday at Islamia Maidan.

Earlier, the police had also given notices to four office bearers of the IMC saying that no dharna can happen without permission citing high alert, election code of conduct and Covid protocol in the state.

Maulana Tauqeer on Tuesday had strongly condemned the UP government for the killing of Atiq and Ashraf.

The maulana said he does not know Atiq and Ashraf personally, but he definitely knows that Shaista is being shown absconding by the media and police is actively searching her which is wrong. After the death of a person, women in Muslim religion do not go to the cemetery, but stay in seclusion for about four months.

Shaista and Ashrafs wife Zainab will also be in Idat (seclusion). Even if the police catch them, let them stay where they are, he demanded.
President of India Droupadi Murmu underlined the need to promote research and innovations in tune with the needs of the local region.

Speaking at the 26th convocation of Himachal Pradesh University in Shimla on Wednesday, Droupadi Murmu noted that since its inception in 1970, the university has played a very important role in the field of higher education. The alumni of this university have left their mark in various fields including arts, medical, judiciary, sports, social service, politics and administration.

The president pointed out that the climate of Himachal Pradesh attracts people from across the world.

This region of the Himalayas is rich in fauna and flora. But climate change is affecting the ecology of this region also. It is need of hour to move forward together towards the goal of sustainable development while conserving the rich natural heritage of the state, she said.

Therefore, it is the duty of institutions like Himachal Pradesh University to promote research and innovation keeping in mind the needs of the local community and the ecological challenges of the region and contribute in eco-friendly development, she added.

The President called it a fundamental duty of every citizen to develop scientific temper, humanism and the spirit of inquiry and reform. She told the graduating students that while entering a new phase of life they should connect their individual goals with the national goals and contribute to the development of the country by marching forward in their chosen fields.

The youth of our country are making a mark across the world with their talent. Many of them have established start-ups and set great examples of success. Innovation is the main element of these start-ups, she said.

She lauded the Himachal Pradesh University for taking up initiative to encourage the spirit of entrepreneurship among youth by setting up Incubation Centers.

The President also presented Gold Medals to 10 meritorious students including seven girls during the convocation. As many as 99 students were given Ph. D. degrees including 59 females and 40 males and 111 Gold medals were presented to 34 males and 77 females.

While congratulating all the degree holders and gold medalists, Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, who is also a Chancellor of the University, said it was an important occasion in the life of the students studying in this institution.

Speaking on the occasion, Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said such programmes motivate the students to excel in their life and encourage them to serve the nation with dedication. He recalled the memories of his student life at the Himachal Pradesh University which happens to be his alma mater.

He said that the state government was committed to successfully implement the National Education Policy-2020 and hoped that the University would play an important role to meet its objectives.
The Supreme Court on Wednesday set aside a Bombay High Court judgment which acquitted former Delhi University professor G.N. Saibaba in an alleged Maoist links case.

A bench headed by Justice M.R. Shah remanded the matter back to the high court for fresh consideration and also kept the question of law (including sanction) open.

The apex court suggested that the case should be heard by a different bench, and not by the same one which passed the order, as the previous bench had already formed an opinion on the question of sanction.

The top court asked the high court to dispose of the appeals expeditiously, preferably within four months.

The top courts order came on the Maharashtra government plea against the high court judgment passed in October 2022, which allowed an appeal filed by Saibaba challenging a 2017 trial court decision convicting and sentencing him to life imprisonment.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, represented Maharashtra government along with advocates Siddharth Dharmadhikari, Aaditya Pande and Abhikalp Pratap Singh.

On October 15, 2022, the Supreme Court suspended the October 14 order of the Bombay High Court discharging Saibaba and five others in the Maoist links case.

The top court had noted then that the high court had not considered the matter on merits, and rather took a shortcut to decide the matter.

It added that the high court discharged the accused only on the ground that sanction was invalid and it was pointed out that there was irregularity in granting sanction by concerned authority.

The Maharashtra government had moved the apex court questioning the validity of the Bombay High Courts judgment discharging Saibaba and the five others in the case of having links with banned Maoists organisations due to absence of sanction.

The High Court has erred in not considering the fact that the point of sanction was neither raised nor argued before the trial court and yet the trial court had rightly concluded the said point against the accused holding that there was no substantial failure of justice, the state government said in its appeal.
The police have arrested seven persons, including employees of the world-famous Mahakaleshwar Temple in Ujjain, on charges of duping some devotees from New Delhi by issuing fake entry tickets to the Bhasma Aarti ritual at much higher rates than the official fees.

According to the police, the fraud occurred with three devotees from New Delhi, Nitin Bhardwaj, Mohit Arora and Dishant Gaira who had come to the Mahakal Temple to take part in the Bhasma Aarti on 16 April. The trio had lodged a written complaint about the incident with the Temple Committee authorities and on the basis of the complaint the temple committee had lodged an FIR in Mahakal Police station.

During investigations, police found that the three devotees had come in contact with an accused named Pawan Kumar Sharma who had assured them of getting entry tickets through another accused Mrityunjay Kumar at the rate of Rs 1,500 each.

However, when the devotees produced the tickets before the temple staff at the entry gate, the barcodes on the tickets were found already used by some other devotees in the past and the tickets turned out to be fake.

The police said the accused used to provide fake tickets by changing the names of devotees on already used tickets. However, they could not succeed in altering the barcodes of the tickets and the scam was unearthed.

According to Additional Superintendent of Police (ASP) Abhishek Anand, those arrested include Pawan Kumar Sharma, Mrityunjay Kumar, Shekhar Tiwari, Gaurav Sharma, Vishal Sharma and Vipin Makwana.

The accused include a temple employee, a temple security guard and two middlemen. Police have confiscated six mobile phones, a laptop and the Rs 4,500 from the accused.

Police officials said that the authorised rate of one entry ticket for the Bhasma Aarti is Rs 250 but the accused charged Rs 1,500.

The Bhasma Aarti is the ritual in which ashes are used as the offering. It is possibly the most popular and sought after ritual at the Mahakal Temple, hence the entry is very difficult. It is performed during the Brahma Muhurata between 4 am and 5.30 am.
While the Special Investigation Team (SIT) commenced its probe into the daring murder of Mafia don Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf from Wednesday, the police got a four-day remand of the three accused, who killed the two brothers.

Meanwhile, the police have arrested Asad Kalia, shooter of Atiq, and have questioned a builder, Mohammad Muslim, to get details about the illegal properties of the mafia don.

However, in a questionable action, the Prayagraj Police suspended five policemen including SHO of Shahganj in connection with the killing on Saturday night after delaying for three days. But the Dhoomanganj police, under whose custody Atiq and Ashraf were murdered, were spared and no action has have been initiated against them till now.

Police station in-charge Shahganj Ashwini Kumar Singh, five policemen including an inspector, two sub inspector and two constables have been suspended. Prima facie a case of negligence has been found in the investigation. The Colvin Hospital where the incident took place comes under Shahganj police station area only. The incident site is located only 50 meters away from the police station.

Police sources said here that the three-member SIT checked around 40 CCTV camera inputs to trace the three assailants activity as they reached the spot.

Earlier in the day, the shooters, Lavlesh Tiwari, Sunny Singh and Arun Maurya, who shot and killed mafia don Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf, were brought to the CJM Court for production in the Court of the Chief Judicial Magistrate from Pratapgarh district Jail.

Hearing was held in the court on the remand application of the police. The police had sought 14-day remand of the three shooters but the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate (CJM) Dinesh Kumar Gautam granted only four-day police remand of the three shooters.

The police team is said to have prepared more than 100 questions for questioning the accused during the remand and the accused will be questioned regarding mobile and weapons. The police team can recreate the crime scene with the accused .

Due to the fear of attack on the accused by Atiqs supporters, they were sent from Naini jail to Pratapgarh on Monday . While the shooters were being brought to the court, security forces were deployed all along the way. The court has been converted into a fortress and there were deployment of RAF and PAC personnel.

Meanwhile, Prayagraj police have arrested Asad Kalia, a shooter of Atiq gang. After the death of Atiq Ahmed and Ashraf, the UP Police had started raids in many areas of the country to nab Guddu Muslim and Atiqs absconding wife Shaista. It is believed that Asad Kalia was Shaista Parveens right hand and she considered him as her sixth son. It is expected that after the arrest of Asad Kalia, the police will be able to reach Shaista.

Sources that Atiqs wife Shaista Parveen and one Ayesha Noori were suspected to be hiding in Kaushambis Cachar area. Shaista and Ayesha are accompanied by shooter Sabir. Shaista and Ayesha Noori are constantly changing numbers, sources said.
The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has frozen ten bank accounts of Trinamool Congress MLA Jiban Krishna Saha, who has been arrested in connection with the multi-crore teachers recruitment scam in West Bengal.

Sources said that the central agency sleuths have, so far, been able to track 12 bank accounts, of which four are in the name of the arrested MLA, three in his wife Togori Sahas name and the remaining five jointly held by the couple. Out of these 12 bank accounts, ten have been frozen and the remaining two will be freezed shortly, said a CBI associate.

Of the 12 accounts traced by the CBI sleuths, eight are held with bank branches in Murshidabad district where Saha is the MLA from and the remaining are based out of bank branches in Birbhum district.

Sources said that in the next step, the officials of the bank branches where these accounts are being held will be summoned by the CBI sleuths for details of the debit and credit transactions from these accounts.

Meanwhile, CBI is currently questioning Saha on the sources of his funds for purchasing huge property in different parts of Birbhum district in forms of land, residential flats and oil mills among others. The CBI sleuths, sources said, were also quite intrigued on how the arrested MLA managed to procure such property at a registered price much lower than the prevailing market price of the same property.

In this connection, the sleuths have noticed s strange similarity of Sahs modus operandi with that of Trinamool Congress strongman and partys Birbhum district president, Anubrata Mondal, who is currently serving judicial custody at Tihar Jail in New Delhi in connection with the multi- crore cattle smuggling scam in West Bengal.

In that case too, the CBI sleuths tracked huge property in the name of Mondal and his family members which were purchased at much lower prices than the prevailing market rates.
After slamming OpenAIs ChatGPT, Elon Musk is now working on TruthGPT, a ChatGPT alternative that will act as a maximum truth-seeking AI.

In an interview with Fox News, Musk said that an alternative approach to AI creation is needed to avoid the destruction of humanity.

Im going to start something which I call TruthGPT or a maximum truth-seeking AI that tries to understand the nature of the universe, Musk was quoted as saying.

And I think this might be the best path to safety in the sense that an AI that cares about understanding the universe is unlikely to annihilate humans because we are an interesting part of the universe, the Twitter CEO added.

In February, Musk for the first time tweeted that what we need is a TruthGPT.

The revelation comes as the billionaire has created a new company called X.AI which will promote artificial intelligence (AI) in the ChatGPT era.

Incorporated in Nevada, Texas, the company has Musk as the only listed director, and Jared Birchall, director of Musks family office, as secretary, according to a filing.

Musk aims to create an AI firm to take on Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

In recent months, ChatGPT and GPT-4 have become a rage worldwide.

In March, several top entrepreneurs and AI researchers, including Musk and Steve Wozniak, Co-founder of Apple, wrote an open letter, asking all AI labs to immediately pause training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4 for at least six months.
Twitter has put more government-funded media labels on the accounts of global news outlets like Australian Broadcasting Company (ABC Australia), Australias Special Broadcasting Service (SBS), New Zealands public broadcaster RNZ, Swedens SR Ekot and SVT, and Catalonias TV3.cat.

The micro-blogging platform earlier placed the publicly-funded label to the BBC account and applied the government-funded label to US-based NPR.

ABC News said in a tweet that it is a publicly funded broadcaster, governed by the ABC Charter which is enshrined in legislation.

For more than 90 years, the ABC has always been and remains an independent media organisation, free from political and commercial interests, it argued.

SBS said the label might lead Twitter users to believe that the outlet is editorially controlled by the government.

While we appreciate Twitters motivations with regard to transparency on its platform, we believe a Publicly-funded media label better reflects the hybrid public-commercial nature of our funding model and the fact that SBS retains full independence from government in our news editorial and content decision making, a company spokesperson said in a statement.

CBC/Radio-Canada tweeted that our journalism is impartial and independent.

To suggest otherwise is untrue. That is why we are pausing our activities on @Twitter, it added.

Last week, American media outlet NPR became the first major news organisation to quit Twitter after the Elon Musk-run platform labelled it as a government-funded organisation.

After NPR, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) also left Twitter after being labelled as government-backed media.
Iran has reportedly unveiled a homegrown radar system capable of detecting low-altitude micro aerial vehicles (MAVs).

The radar system, named Shahid (Martyr) Jalilvand, was unveiled during a ceremony that also featured parades by the ground force, navy, air force, and air defence divisions to mark National Army Day, which is celebrated annually on April 18, Xinhua news agency reported, citing the semi-official Fars news agency.

The radar system also boasts features such as 3D target detection, tactical capability for rapid reaction operations, long endurance, and utilisation of modern techniques for precise angle measurement and anti-electronic warfare equipment.

The medium-range phased array radar system enhances the detection capabilities of the Iranian Armys air defense systems, enabling them to identify low-altitude MAVs, Fars reported.

During the parade, the Iranian Army also showcased other advanced equipment and armaments, including homegrown missiles, tanks, armored vehicles, drones, radar systems, and air defense missile systems, as reported by Irans IRIB news agency.
Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has accused the US Pentagon of espionage, saying his government will protect its national defence information.

In his daily press conference, the Mexican President said that as part of this, Mexican media receive leaks from the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), Xinhua news agency reported.

We are going to guard the information from the Ministry of the Navy and the (Ministry of National) Defense because we are being spied on by the Pentagon and a lot of media in Mexico are leaking information provided by the DEA, he said.

Lopez Obrador said that his administration will protect state information for national security reasons, as well as in defense of Mexicos sovereignty.

The Presidents remarks came a day after he accused the DEA of abusive meddling and arrogance for an alleged operation to infiltrate the Sinaloa drug trafficking cartel.

The US government claims Mexico is responsible for the illegal trafficking of fentanyl into its territory.

In response, Mexico said the US is not doing enough to combat the causes that lead its population to resort to illicit drugs.
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FUSE 46 is the command center for 357's customized logistics solutions, enhancing the value of 357s Kerbsyde division by managing the complexities of final mile deliveries for both B2B and residential shipments.

FUSE 46 is 357s command center for its customized logistics solutions, robust partner network, and client portal

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CHICAGO and NASHVILLE, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The 357 Company (357), a client-driven end-to-end logistics provider, is proud to introduce its FUSE 46 proprietary technology to the market. The technology streamlines the complexities for clients by providing a single point of contact and integrated system to access trusted partners and resources.

FUSE 46s open API enables seamless software integrations, grants clients access to a robust partner network, and offers exclusive support through its client portal. The strength of this technology is complemented by 357s strategic consultation and customized logistics solutions, supported by collaboration and a steadfast commitment to its clients' success.

FUSE 46 is the lynchpin in executing on our top priority of delivering outstanding value to our clients by enhancing their operational efficiency, which drives profitability," said Kevin Schultz , Co-Founder and President of The 357 Company. "We continue to exceed our clients expectations by going beyond the data to provide actionable insights and transparency, innovation, efficient problem-solving, and precision execution. We are looking forward to sharing details at the Express Carriers Association ECA Marketplace Conference in San Antonio, TX, April 24-26. The 2022 ECA Marketplace was a homerun for us and we expect even better results this year as we prepare to roll out FUSE 46."

FUSE 46 is a game changer that demonstrates The 357 Company's founders' mindset of continually seeking innovative ways to provide value to their clients, stated Adam Schultz, Director of Transportation at Optimas . Our company benefits significantly from having access to powerful technology that facilitates connections with a dependable network of partners through one central point of contact.

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FUSE 46 serves as the command center for 357's customized logistics solutions, particularly enhancing the value of 357s Kerbsyde division by managing the complexities of final mile deliveries for both B2B and residential shipments. Kerbsyde simplifies last-mile delivery, making it easier and faster for shipping clients to scale regardless of package density.

The portal allows clients to monitor the logistics process and make informed decisions about their shipments.

The 357 Company's FUSE 46 client portal provides:

24/7 Real-Time Visibility,

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Delivery Notifications,

POD with Image Verification,

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Label Creation,

File Sharing, and more.



Kevin Schultz noted, "Our company's mission statement of We Listen, Then Execute is embodied by FUSE 46. We engaged in a listening tour with our clients to better understand their needs and to discover ways to provide even more value. Through FUSE 46, our clients gain access to our comprehensive logistics services and a powerful network of partners. Feedback from our beta test of the technology reveals increased efficiencies and profitability, further bolstering our reputation for excellence in the logistics and transportation industry.

Executives from 357 will be attending the Express Carriers Association ECA Marketplace Conference in San Antonio, TX, April 24-26. Vendors and Companies attending the event should sign up now to book their one-on-one meeting with 357 during the event or contact 357 directly at +1 844.357.SHIP (7447) or Sales@357Company.com to schedule a meeting independent of the conference.

For more information on The 357 Company and its proprietary technology, visit www.357Company.com

# # #

About The 357 Company

The 357 Company provides client driven end-to-end logistics solutions powered by its FUSE 46 proprietary technology and extensive logistics and multi-industry operations expertise. Through innovative problem-solving and precision execution, 357 accelerates clients success, enhancing their operational efficiency to drive profitability. 357s co-founders expertise has been honed by decades of transportation, logistics, medical device, and supply chain management experience across industry leaders such as American Backhaulers/CH Robinson, Hangar A, Biomet, and Schering-Plough and major brands in the restaurant home delivery and highly regulated medical cannabis industries, including Grubhub, Verano, and PharmaCann. For more information on 357, its subsidiaries, and the logistics industry, visit www.357Company.com and follow 357 on social media: Facebook , Instagram , and LinkedIn .

CONTACTS:

Media: Julie Shepherd, Accentuate PR, +1 847 275 3643, julie@accentuatepr.com

Sales/Investors: +1 844.357.SHIP (7447), Sales@357Company.com

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Nepal President Ram Chandra Paudel will be flown to All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi in an air ambulance after he was detected with a lung infection, officials have confirmed.

An official from the Presidents Secretariat confirmed to ANI that the President would be flown to AIIMS for further treatment on Wednesday following no improvement in his health. He was admitted to the hospital on Tuesday after falling short of breath and fainting. Earlier, the Chief Administrator of the Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital (TUTH), where the President is currently admitted, had confirmed that he might be flown to India in an air ambulance.

He might be flown to India today in an air ambulance, Thapaliya had told ANI over the phone.

He is prepared to be flown out at 9:30 am (Local Time), informed TUTH hospital officials.

The President had reached the government hospital on Monday for a check-up, following which he was admitted to the hospital.

On Monday, doctors found an infection in his lungs. Following this, he was put on medicines which apparently failed to make a significant improvement in his health.

Paudel also underwent treatment for four days at the same hospital after being admitted on April 5 this year. As per the hospitals release issued earlier, Paudel, who is the third President of the Republic of Nepal, was admitted after he complained about a stomach ache.

On March 13, 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 Nepals Election Commission.

Further, according to the 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.

Eight parties supported Paudel while Subash Chandra Nembang, the sole candidate from CPN-UML, was tipped to be backed by independent lawmakers.
Saint-Laurent, CA (H4T1V6)

Today

Cloudy with light rain developing this afternoon. High 51F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 80%..

Tonight

Rain showers this evening with clearing overnight. Low 37F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 60%.
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MultiCaf and The Depot food banks in centre of perfect storm

Joel Ceausu / MultiCaf Organizations like MultiCaf and The Depot are facing a perfect storm of rising demand and soaring costs, says the borough.

The two food banks in Cote-des-NeigesNotre Dame de Grace are at the centre of a perfect storm, says the borough, which is stepping in with some emergency assistance.

With record inflation, soaring food costs, rising fuel expenses and an unprecedented affordable housing crisis, The Depot in NDG and MultiCaf in CDN have experienced a steady increase in families using their services.

At the Depot, average monthly registrations jumped from 42 in 2021-2022, to 104 for the first 11 months of 2022-2023, and the number of families benefiting from emergency baskets nearly doubled  from 700 to more than 1,300. A similar increase in demand has hit MultiCaf, which now supports 2,500 more families than last year.

All that means less food, restricting programs, or reducing services to families. MultiCaf cut its distribution in half, to one emergency basket per month for 8,000 registered families. The Depot will follow suit for its 1,300 families registered. The math is simple: half the amount of food for thousands of residents already in dire need.

For CDN resident Lucia, that means a week of worry every month. The single mom, who struggles with a partial disability, says she is lucky because her two children benefit from lunch programs at school and I get occasional help, but the challenge is to feed them good food and enough. Its already hard to wait for a basket. If Im one of thousands of people and families just here alone? How do we consider ourselves a wealthy country?

CDN-NDG is stepping in with $400,000 in cash over two years  $150,000 for The Depot, and $250,000 for MultiCaf  to help soften the blow of shrinking budgets and rising demand. The funding comes primarily from the boroughs general surplus.

The two organizations are at the centre of a perfect storm, reads a borough document , where increased demand, increase in cost of food, restrictions in the donation system as well as stagnation of state funding are currently affecting their ability to ensure food security for nearly 10,000 poor families in the borough.

Food banks ability to purchase food is cyclical, as companies in the food sector manage inventory more efficiently and are therefore less able to provide food to major food banks. In concrete terms, that means MultiCaf has seen a decrease of nearly $200,000 worth of food over the last few months in what it gets from its main source, Moisson Montreal.

The two organizations receive mission funding from a Ministry of Health and Social Services program, increased by a mere 2.9% following the latest government announcements, which means a total envelope of $95,000 for The Depot and $141,000 for MultiCaf, which are both looking at deficit budgets next year: $350,000 and $250,000 respectively.
FILE  Attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks at the New York State Capitol, May 14, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. launched his longshot bid to challenge President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination next year. Kennedy, a member of one of the countrys most famous political families who has in recent years been linked to some far-right figures, kicked off his campaign in Boston on Wednesday, April 19, 2023.
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This year, Eid al-Fitr 2023 is expected to be on April 21, marking the end of Ramadanthe holy month where Muslims fast every day from sunrise to sunset. To celebrate the holiday, Muslims dress up in their favorite (oftentimes brand new) outfits, enjoy time with their friends and loved ones, cook delicious meals and generally make sure they look and feel their best. They also give gifts, especially to kids (also known as Eidi or Salami). In general, they make sure they look and feel their best.

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If youre celebrating Eid this year, consider upping your beauty game with products from one of these amazing South Asian-owned beauty brands. Not only do these brands emphasize South Asian skin but also use the best ingredients on the market. Many hold roots in Ayurveda, the ancient Indian medical system that uses traditional plant ingredients (think turmeric, coconut oil, saffron and more) to help calm inflammation in the skin and balance the body.

Whats more, these brands are providing the brown girl representation we all needed growing up. It's helping us feel more seen in a space where we're vastly underrepresented in terms of colors and shade range. As there were no models in the beauty space who looked like us, we struggled to accept ourselves as beautifulmuch less find the best concealer for our skin tone. If Im speaking for myself, I remember every lipstick shade I bought as a teen washing me out. Now though, I finally feel seen, and I celebrate my olive skin instead of wanting to change it.

That's why weve put together innovative makeup products from South Asian-owned brands to elevate your Eid look, from the perfect red lipstick to a long-wearing kohl pencil. Celebrate your heritage in a space that is too often all-white, invest in products made for you and give back to South Asian-owned brands at the same time: Talk about a win on all counts.

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1. For pigmented cheeks: Kulfi Beauty Mehndi Moment Blush

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Kulfi

Our favorite: Mehndi Moment Blush$28

Kulfi Beauty gives back in a huge way, with proceeds from each purchase going to benefit various mental health organizations that help the South Asian community. Also available at Sephora, each product has been tested on South Asian skin to make sure it performs precisely the way it should. The brand boasts self-expression as its ethos.

We especially like the Mehndi Moment Blush, a buildable cream blush available in five fun shades. It easily blends into the skin to provide a seamless look. Packed with antioxidant-rich amla (Indian gooseberry) extract and hydrating hibiscus, its benefits are multifaceted. Don't forget to give the brand's most popular product, its award-winning smudge-proof Underlined Kajal Eyeliner, a try as well.

Shop Kulfi Beauty

2. For eyes that pop: Live Tinted Hueliner Longwearing Pencil

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Live Tinted

Our favorite: Hueliner Longwearing Pencil in Black$20

Live Tinted was created by YouTube celeb Deepica Mutyala, when a video she posted about covering up her dark circles with red lipstick went viral. The brand is designed to make sure women of all skin tones can find shades that match their skin perfectly. Today, instead of red lipstick, you can use the Huestick in Rise, the brand's award-winning color corrector developed for deeper skin tones.

Our particular favorite is the Hueliner Longwearing Pencil in Black, which takes its inspiration from kohl, used in South Asian culture for years. It goes on smooth and creamy, but doesnt transfer or fade one bit. The waterproof design makes it great for hot summer days, too.

Shop Live Tinted

3. For an all-in-one product: Mango People Multi Stick

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Mango People

Our favorite: Mango People Multi Stick$27

Mango People prides itself on being rooted in tradition, using vegan ingredients in all their products. Founder Sravya Adusumilli is all about using ingredients traditionally used in Ayurveda to get the perfect color for all shades of olive tones. The Multi Stick is one of the brands best-selling products, using a combination of plant oils and natural pigments in eight bright, diverse options to enhance eyes, lips and cheeks with a single swipe.

Use the lighter colors for blush, while the darker ones are perfect for contouring. The buildable shades can be subtly applied for just a sheen, or built up for a statement-making look.

Shop Mango People

4. For the most blendable foundation: Ex1 Cosmetics Invisiwear Liquid Foundation

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Ex1 Cosmetics

Our favorite: Invisiwear Liquid Full Coverage Foundation$20

Ex1 Cosmetics founder Farah Naz was sick of having to spend tons of money just to find a product that matched her skin, so she took matters into her own hands. She created a brand at drugstore prices that could benefit anyone with Asian, Mediterranean, Middle Eastern, pale olive or dark golden skin.

The result: The brand's Invisiwear Liquid Full Coverage Foundation, which creates the perfect match. The luminous finish is thanks to its use of true color pigments that help highlight the skins natural tone while hiding imperfections. Its made without parabens and is non-comedogenic, so there wont be any allergic reactions to worry about.

Shop Ex1 Cosmetics

5. For color-correcting: Wander Beauty Dualist Matte Illuminating Concealer

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Wander Beauty

Our favorite: Dualist Matte and Illuminating Concealer$30

Wander Beauty is the brainchild of Divya Gugnani and Lindsay Ellingson, two working moms who believe your makeup should work as hard as you dobut take a lot less time to apply. Also available at Sephora, each product is designed to perform multiple tasks so you need fewer of them, and all ingredients were sourced with clean beauty in mind.

The Dualist Matte and Illuminating Concealer, for instance, is doubled-edged with a matte stick on one end and an illuminating liquid on the other, allowing both heavier coverage and a sheer, glowy look to wake up tired skin.

Shop Wander Beauty

6. For bright hues: Meera Beauty Co Holi Grail Bundle

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Meera Beauty Co.

Our favorite: Holi Grail Bundle$42

Meera Beauty Co, a small BIPOC and LGBTQIA-owned beauty startup based in Atlanta, Georgia, was created with one goal in mind: to adequately represent marginalized communities in the beauty space. Its Holi Grail Bundle, named after the Hindu religious festival of color, perfectly depicts South Asian culture with a sea of bright hues designed to work on all skin types.

They come in powder form, but can easily be activated with a single drop of water to go heavier if you prefer. Choose from shimmer, matte, neon and pastel shades, and get the exact look you desire to match your eyes to your outfit.

Shop Meera Beauty Co

7. For getting rid of dark circles: Vasanti Cosmetics Liquid VO2 Undereye Color Corrector and Concealer

South Asian-owned beauty brands: Vasanti Cosmetics

Our favorite: Liquid VO2 Undereye Color Corrector and Concealer$27

If your darker skin means youre plagued with heavier under-eye circles than most, dont despair: Vasanti Cosmetics is here to help. The word Vasanti means spring in Sanskrit; true to its word, all its products bring about that breezy, spring vibe, from the cruelty-free packaging down to the clean ingredients.

The Liquid VO2 Undereye Color Corrector and Concealer is the brands first and signature product, designed specifically for the darker melanin in South Asian skin. The hydrating, oil-free ingredients work well on all skin types, while the orange pigment conceals any shadows.

Shop Vasanti Cosmetics

8. For the perfect red pout: CTZN Cosmetics Code Red Laal

South Asian-owned beauty brands: CTZN Cosmetics

Our favorite: Code Red Laal$28

Created by sisters Aleena, Aleezeh and Naseeha Khan, CTZN was created to provide an exact match for South Asian and Middle Eastern skin tones. Ever helpful, the vegetarian and cruelty-free brand asks users to take a quiz to match the exact nude shade for their skin tone.

Its Code Red lipstick comes in six tantalizing shades of red that range from light orange to deep mahogany, with both cool and warm undertones. The brand is also available at Nordstrom.

Shop CTZN Cosmetics

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

This article originally appeared on Reviewed: 8 of the best South Asian-owned beauty brands you should try
JPMorgan Chase & Co. CEO Jamie Dimon must undergo up to two days of questioning by lawyers handling lawsuits over whether the bank can be held liable in financier Jeffrey Epstein's sexual abuse of teenage girls and women
State police in Maine say four people were fatally shot in a home shortly before gunfire broke out on a busy highway about 25 miles away, wounding three
Russia and Venezuela have reviewed some of their hundreds of bilateral agreements covering the financial, energy, agricultural and several other sectors during discussions between their top diplomats
The only surviving child of a woman charged with murdering her two youngest children and a romantic rival confronted his mother about his siblings deaths in an emotional phone call played for jurors Tuesday in a trial that has touched on claims of evil spirits, zombie children and an additional murder charge in Arizona
FILE - Multiple white nationalist groups march with torches through the University of Virginia campus on Aug. 11, 2017, in Charlottesville, Va. Nearly six years after a large gathering of white nationalists in Charlottesville erupted in violent clashes with counter protesters, a grand jury in Virginia has indicted multiple people on felony charges for carrying flaming torches with the intent to intimidate.
By buying an index fund, you can roughly match the market return with ease. But if you choose individual stocks with prowess, you can make superior returns. For example, the AFFIN Bank Berhad (KLSE:AFFIN) share price is up 30% in the last three years, clearly besting the market return of around 12% (not including dividends). On the other hand, the returns haven't been quite so good recently, with shareholders up just 18% , including dividends .

With that in mind, it's worth seeing if the company's underlying fundamentals have been the driver of long term performance, or if there are some discrepancies.

Check out our latest analysis for AFFIN Bank Berhad

While markets are a powerful pricing mechanism, share prices reflect investor sentiment, not just underlying business performance. One imperfect but simple way to consider how the market perception of a company has shifted is to compare the change in the earnings per share (EPS) with the share price movement.

During the three years of share price growth, AFFIN Bank Berhad actually saw its earnings per share (EPS) drop 32% per year.

So we doubt that the market is looking to EPS for its main judge of the company's value. Since the change in EPS doesn't seem to correlate with the change in share price, it's worth taking a look at other metrics.

We note that the dividend is higher than it was preciously, so that may have assisted the share price. Sometimes yield-chasing investors will flock to a company if they think the dividend can grow over time. On top of that, revenue grew at a rate of 3.6% per year, and it's likely investors interpret that as pointing to a brighter future.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

Take a more thorough look at AFFIN Bank Berhad's financial health with this free report on its balance sheet.

What About Dividends?

When looking at investment returns, it is important to consider the difference between total shareholder return (TSR) and share price return. 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. As it happens, AFFIN Bank Berhad's TSR for the last 3 years was 65%, which exceeds the share price return mentioned earlier. This is largely a result of its dividend payments!

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A Different Perspective

It's good to see that AFFIN Bank Berhad has rewarded shareholders with a total shareholder return of 18% in the last twelve months. Of course, that includes the dividend. That's better than the annualised return of 0.4% over half a decade, implying that the company is doing better recently. Someone with an optimistic perspective could view the recent improvement in TSR as indicating that the business itself is getting better with time. 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. For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for AFFIN Bank Berhad that you should be aware of before investing here.

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 Malaysian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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For the Telegraph

JERSEYVILLE  If you live in the Metro East, you might have come across FireCreek Snacks in various convenience stores. Now, there's a chance it could be purchased in a Walmart everywhere in the future.

Ryan Hansen, owner of FireCreek Snacks and Hansen Meat Co., said that he is in a testing phase for FireCreek Snacks in Walmart stores in Missouri and Arkansas. Currently, FireCreek Snacks are in Schnucks stores and around 75 convenience stores. The FireCreek Snacks product being tested is the 4-ounce bite bags in two flavors: original and teriyaki.
Martin Meissner/AP

BERLIN (AP)  The German government sought Wednesday to reassure homeowners that plans to phase out gas or oil heating systems will provide generous transition periods and take into account hardship cases.

Almost a third of the energy consumed in Germany goes toward heating and warm water, prompting the government to draft a bill that would require all new heating systems installed from next year to use at least 65% renewable energy. From 2045, all fossil fuel heatings would be banned as part of Germany's target to become climate neutral by then.
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP)  Nebraska lawmakers passed a bill Wednesday to allow people to carry concealed guns in the state without a permit, just as national attention has ramped up over gun violence in the wake of several mass shootings, including the killing last month of six people at a Tennessee school.

Despite opponents filibustering the bill for 14 hours over three rounds of debate this session, lawmakers voted 33-14 to pass the so-called constitutional carry bill.

The bill does not usurp the federal requirement for a background check to buy a gun, and those with a history of crime or mental health issues that bar them from possessing a gun would still be barred under the Nebraska bill. But it allows eligible people to carry guns hidden in their clothing or vehicle without having to pay for a government permit or take a gun safety course, which is currently required. It also overrides stricter gun laws in the states cities, including in the states largest city of Omaha, which requires a conceal carry license for anyone carrying a gun in a car  even if the gun is in open view.

The bill was opposed by the cities of Omaha and Lincoln, where the majority of gun violence occurs, and their police chiefs, who have said the measure will make their cities less safe.

Sen. Tom Brewer of Gordon  the bills conservative sponsor who has tried since 2017 to pass it  expressed frustration with the yearslong opposition to it and said his sole purpose was to ensure Nebraskans are afforded their constitutional right to carry guns.

But Brewer, an Army combat veteran who was shot several times during a firefight with the Taliban in 2003, also said he understood that the subject of gun regulation is not an easy thing.

If you're on the receiving end of a bullet, ... you understand how that can change and impact lives, he said.

The lawmaker most vocal in her opposition to the bill has been Lincoln Sen. Jane Raybould, who pleaded with lawmakers to block the measure. She noted Wednesday that Thursday will be the 24th anniversary of the Columbine High School mass shooting in Colorado that killed 13.

We talk about gun rights, Raybould said. What about the rights of all those adults and children gunned down?

The bill's passage drew an emotional response from gun control advocates who filled the north balcony of the legislative chamber for Wednesday's final debate. One woman stood and yelled Shame! several times at lawmakers until she was escorted out by security.

The public debate on guns in America has run hot since the March 24 shooting at The Covenant School in Nashville, in which three 9-year-old students and three adults were killed. But such high-profile shootings seem to only enhance the nations political polarization on guns.

Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, has said he will sign the Nebraska bill into law, and it will go into effect about 90 days after he does. Nebraska then will be the 26th state to allow people to carry concealed guns without a permit. North Dakota allows concealed carry of a gun only by eligible North Dakota residents within that states boundaries.

Nebraska already allows gun owners to carry firearms in public view, as long as they dont have a criminal record that bars them from possessing one and arent in a place  including churches, courthouses and private businesses  where guns are prohibited. Currently, to legally conceal a gun, Nebraska residents are required to submit to a Nebraska State Patrol background check, get fingerprinted and take a gun safety course at their own expense.
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AYODHYA, India (AP)  Syed Mohammad Munir Abidi says India is a changed country, one he doesnt recognize anymore.

Its a country, the 68-year-old says, where Muslims are ignored, where rising attacks against them are encouraged, and where an emboldened Hindu majoritarian government is seizing its chance to put the minority community in its place.

Swami Ram Das thinks otherwise, echoing a belief system central to Hindu nationalism.

The 48-year-old Hindu priest says India is on a quest to redeem its religious past and that the country is fundamentally a Hindu nation where minorities, especially Muslims, must subscribe to Hindu primacy.

Abidi and Das are two ordinary citizens living in one city in a country of more than 1.4 billion people that is on the cusp of becoming the worlds most populated nation. Together they embody the opposing sides of a deeply entrenched religious divide that presents India with one of its biggest challenges: to safeguard freedoms for its Muslim minority at a time when a rising tide of Hindu nationalism is eroding the countrys secular underpinnings.

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EDITORS NOTE: This story is part of an ongoing series exploring what it means for the 1.4 billion inhabitants of India to live in what will be the worlds most populated country.

___

India will have an estimated 1.4286 billion people against Chinas 1.4257 billion by mid-2023, according to United Nations projections. It is home to some 200 million Muslims who make up the predominantly Hindu countrys largest minority group. They are scattered across almost every part of India, where a systemic anti-Muslim fury has descended since Prime Minister Narendra Modi first assumed power in 2014.

Though Indias communal fractures date back to its bloody partition in 1947, most Indians trace the roots of the latest religious fault lines to a small temple city in northern India, where the Hindu nationalist movement was galvanized in 1992 after Hindu mobs demolished a historic mosque to make way for a temple.

Since then, the city of Ayodhya has, in many ways, become a religious microcosm of India, where a diverse, multicultural past has gradually been overrun by ruptured relationships between Hindus and Muslims.

Its also a city Abidi and Das call home.

They have meandered through its narrow, winding streets overrun by temple monkeys and Hindu monks who ask passersby for alms in exchange for blessings. They have walked past its brimming bazaars where miniature idols of Ram are sold to pilgrims visiting from Indias vast hinterlands. They have begun their mornings with calls for prayers spilling out of mosque loudspeakers and Vedic hymns chant in the temples.

Beyond these shared experiences lie stark differences.

For Das, a broad-shouldered man with a stout frame, Ayodhya is the birthplace of Ram, Hinduisms most revered deity. The city also hosts one of Hinduisms most sacred sites  Rams grand temple  which will open to pilgrims next year. It is imperative that the city clings to its Hindu character, Das says.

Our forefathers have fought for this temple and sacrificed lives for it. Today their dream is getting fulfilled, he says, circled by a group of devotees.

The temple is being constructed where the 16th-century Babri mosque was demolished by Hindu hardliners who claim Muslim rulers built it at the exact spot where Ram was born. When it was razed on Dec. 6, 1992, Das was there, watching a frenzied Hindu mob climb its rounded domes and tear it down with pickaxes and crowbars.

There was so much excitement to destroy that disgraced structure that no one cared about the falling debris, he recounts, prompting his disciples to chant Jai Sri Ram, or Hail Lord Ram, a slogan that has become a battle cry for Hindu nationalists.

The 30-year campaign to build the temple saw subsequent religious violence and a bitter legal battle over the site that Hindus won in 2019. Muslims were given alternate land on the city outskirts to build a new mosque. A year later, Modi attended the temples groundbreaking ceremony.

For Abidi, a tall man in clothes that hang off his frame, it marked a sad chapter for Indias Muslims.

The hearts of Muslims are broken. No Muslim opposes the construction of Ram temple, but such unilateral changes are impacting Indias culture, he says, arguing the former mosque was essential to the citys Muslim identity.

As for his city, it has already gone through major changes.

For decades Ayodhya city was part of Uttar Pradesh states Faizabad district. But in 2018, authorities changed the entire districts name from Faizabad to Ayodhya, a move that reflected the Modi governments pattern of replacing prominent Muslim geographic names with Hindu ones.

For Abidi it indicates a worrying trend: To erase everything that remotely reflects Muslim culture.

Today, Ayodhya is taken over by frenetic construction of hotels, bringing in tens of thousands of Hindu pilgrims. Construction workers are busy making way for wider highways. All that is expected to boost the citys economy. But at what cost, Abidi reckons.

The relationship Hindus and Muslims used to share is barely visible anymore, he says.

Indias religious fault lines have become pronounced under Modi. Scores of Muslims have been lynched by Hindu mobs over allegations of eating beef or smuggling cow, an animal considered holy to Hindus. Muslim businesses have been boycotted, their localities have been bulldozed and places of worship set on fire. Sometimes open calls have been made for their genocide.

Critics say Modis conspicuous silence over such attacks has emboldened some of his most extreme supporters and enabled more hate speech against Muslims.

Muslims have been falsely accused of manipulating Hindu women into marriages and producing more children to establish domination. The government data shows otherwise: Indias religious composition has been largely stable since 1947 and the fertility rate of Muslims has declined from 4.4 in 1992 to 2.3 in 2020.

It is never going to be possible if you look at the data. We should forget and ignore this rhetoric, says Poonam Muttreja, director at the Population Foundation of India.

Muslims also have the lowest literacy among all major Indian religious communities. They have faced discrimination in employment and housing and hold a little less than 5% of seats in the parliament, their lowest share ever.

For Abidi, all this represents a grim future, one where Indias secular character lives only in peoples memories.

Every Muslim in todays India finds himself unsafe, he says.

Das disagrees, arguing that Muslims are still free to pray and practice their religion. But we will correct the mistakes made by your ancestors.

Das is referring to the Mughals who ruled India before the British made it their colony.

Scorn for Mughal rulers, who are not ancestors of Indian Muslims and only shared a similar faith, is distinctive to Indias Hindu nationalists, who claim Mughals destroyed Hindu culture. It has prompted Hindu nationalists to seek ownership of hundreds of historic mosques they say are built over demolished temples.

In Ayodhya, longtime Muslim locals have made compromises to avoid tension with Hindu neighbors.

Last year when the Muharram procession overlapped with a Hindu festival, Muslim leaders changed the timing of their march to avoid confrontation. This year, Muslims in the city had to forgo selling and consumption of meat during another Hindu festival that coincided with the beginning days of Ramadan.

In such an atmosphere, Abidi says, only religious tolerance can stop Indias communal fractures from worsening.

India will only survive if we mend hearts and not break them, he says.

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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.
NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)  Kenyas president, who is among mediators tasked with brokering peace in Sudan, on Wednesday called for an end to the fighting in the country, warning it could destabilize the region.

President William Ruto also urged Sudan's rival parties to allow access to humanitarian aid and cooperate with a mission from a regional body of Eastern African countries, the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.

Sudans military and its rival, the Rapid Support Forces, have been fighting for five days  killing nearly 300 people, according to the United Nations health agency.

IGAD leaders on Sunday issued a resolution calling for an end to hostilities in Sudan  which currently chairs the regional group.

Kenya's Ruto said the situation in Sudan "is evolving into a threat to regional and international peace and security, and deplored that diplomats have been targeted in the fighting.

A pattern of systematic violation of established norms and principles of international humanitarian laws is clearly emerging, he said.

Sudan borders Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Central African Republic, Chad, Libya and Egypt.

The International Crisis Group's Horn of Africa director Alan Boswell said the fighting could have an impact on the region.

Sudan is surrounded by fragile countries, many already immerged in conflicts. What happens in Sudan will not stay in Sudan, he told the Associated Press.

Ruto said that, beyond a cessation of hostilities in Sudan, sustainable peace, security and stability should be pursued.

It is time to silence the guns in our region and continent so that we can focus on the urgent work of enabling our people to pursue opportunities and actualize their aspirations, in peace and tranquility. Time is of the essence, he said.

Kenya plans to evacuate about 3,000 of its citizens living in Sudan in the event of a ceasefire.
LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Agris, the agriculture and forestry division of investment company Maris, and Granot, a leading avocado producer from Israel, are developing a 390 hectare avocado plantation at Agris' flagship Ndabibi farm in Naivasha, Kenya, with investment from AgDevCo.

Agris and Granot International Ltd enter joint venture, with support from AgDevCo, to develop avocado research and production hub in Kenya.

The partnership combines Granot's expertise as one of the world's biggest avocado producers with Agris' local expertise and portfolio of agricultural and forestry businesses across East Africa. Granot produces one third of Israel's total avocado yield and with an annual revenue of more than USD 1.5 billion is one of the largest cooperatives in the world. Ndabibi farm will secure year-round avocado production for their new marketing arm.

"Ndabibi will benefit the whole of the Kenyan avocado industry, providing producers across the country with the technical research and development we need to put Kenya on the map as a major avocado producer," says Ran Kadosh, Agris CEO. "Granot's expertise will take production up a gear and achieve greater scale through extension, packing and marketing services for commercial out-growers."

The market for avocados continues to grow in Europe. Favourable conditions in Naivasha, Kenya, produce high yields of quality fruit at a lower unit cost. Ndabibi farm enjoys ideal growing conditions and is less than a day's travel to the international port of Mombasa, for sea links to Europe, and key emerging markets.

"Our partnership with Agris and AgDevCo allows us to harness Kenya's potential as one of the best places in the world to grow avocados," says Giyora Merom, CEO of Granot. "With a professional value chain we can produce a superior product to other major producing regions. In this partnership we've found the East African experience and presence we need."

AgDevCo's Chief Investment Officer, Chris Isaac, says: "We're thrilled to be partnering with Agris and Granot to make this major investment in Kenya's avocado industry, where there is so much potential to raise quality and develop new export markets. Our USD 8m mezzanine loan is flexibly structured to support new avocado orchards, which take three to four years to reach maturity. This project adds to our existing avocado investments in Tanzania and Mozambique, for a total of more than 1,250 hectares of production."

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Ndabibi will serve as Agris' production hub and a world-class agricultural centre. The farm will increase production capacity of high-value crops primarily for export, as well as short-cycle crops for the local market. Agris' fast-expanding herb producer, Evergreen Herbs, will grow herbs and vegetables in open-field and greenhouses, which will be sold through Evergreen Fresh, Agris' distribution company.

At its peak, about 2,000 people will be employed at the farm, including horticulture operations, creating employment and training opportunities for local communities.

NOTES FOR EDITORS:

This transaction was supported by Herbert Smith Freehills in London, Prolegis LLC in Singapore, Anjarwhalla & Khanna in Kenya, and Ady Kaplan & Co. in Israel.

Agris is a subsidiary of Maris Ltd, and offers investors unique access to an integrated portfolio of food and forestry operations across sub Saharan Africa.

www.agris.group

Evergreen Herbs Ltd offers a full selection of fresh cut herbs throughout the year, with GLOBAL G.A.P., GRASP and SMETA certification. Their technology and operating expertise puts them at the forefront of the East African fresh herb industry.

www.evergreenherbs.net

Granot is owned by 43 Kibbutzim and Moshavim in the center of Israel. The cooperative includes 20 factories and corporations, mainly focused on agriculture and the needs of the Kibbutzim. Granot has an aggregated annual turnover of approximately 4 billion NIS from a portfolio spanning multiple sectors.

www.granot.co.il

AgDevCo is a specialist investor in African agriculture, growing sustainable and impactful agribusiness, with USD 280m under management. Their vision is a thriving commercial agriculture sector, which benefits both people and planet by investing in and supporting agribusinesses to grow, create jobs, produce and process food and link farmers to markets. They support their partners to work towards climate sustainability, and where possible, regenerative solutions. AgDevCo has made over 65 investments to date and committed over $150 million.

www.agdevco.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057188/AgDevCo.jpg

Cision

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Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, is set for company-wide layoffs as it aims to restructure its teams for greater efficiency.

The move is part of a cost-cutting effort that will result in 10,000 job cuts, as announced by founder Mark Zuckerberg in March. The company had already cut around 11,000 jobs in November, which amounted to about 13% of its workforce. A hiring freeze was also extended through the first quarter, which is characterized by job and cost cuts by other Silicon Valley businesses.

A memo seen by Bloomberg News revealed that Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Reality Labs, which focuses on virtual reality efforts and Quest hardware, will be affected.

The memo sent to managers indicated that teams would be reorganised, and remaining employees would be reassigned to work under new managers. The company is asking all North American employees who can work from home to do so on Wednesday to have time to process the news.

The spokesperson declined to comment but pointed to Zuckerberg's "year of efficiency" post in March that suggested the company would restructure and lay off employees in late April for tech groups and late May for business groups.

Zuckerberg has indicated that the company aims to become leaner and rebalance its ratio of technologists and engineers to business and administrative staff. The move comes as the company faces growing competition and regulatory scrutiny. Meta has also faced criticism for its handling of misinformation, data privacy concerns, and its impact on mental health.
On September 17, 2022, over a thousand laity from different church denominations in Kerala met at Ashish Convention Centre in Kalamassery, Kochi, under the banner of a newly-floated grouping, Bharatiya Christian Sangamam (BCS).

Inaugurating the meeting, former Kanjirappally bishop Mar Mathew Arackal said Christians are not sufficiently represented in different domains and more Christians must come to political leadership positions. Former legislators like Johnny Nellore, Mathew Stephen and George J. Mathew, and former national minority commission member V.V. Augustine were some of the politicians present at the meeting.

BCS put forward 12 demands, including greater minority rights for Christians and more government support for farmers. Merely 11 days after the meeting, BJP national president J.P. Nadda held a closed-door meeting with the archbishop of Changanacherry (Syro Malabar Church) and the archbishop of Kottayam (Knanaya Catholic archdiocese, which is also under Syro Malabar Church). Since then, there were speculations that a new partywith the blessings of a section of Catholic leadership and the BJPwill soon be formed, with Christian politicians at the helm of it.

On Wednesday, when Kerala Congress (Joseph) faction leader Johnny Nellore, who had been functioning as the UDF secretary, announced his resignation from his party and coalition, things may have become clearer. Nellore announced that he will not be joining any other party and that he will be part of a new party, National Progressive Party (NPP), which is likely to be announced on April 22.

Last week, when THE WEEK contacted George J. Mathew, a key figure behind the new party, he argued that the newly-formed party will not be a "Christian party" and that it is not being floated by the BJP. On Wednesday, Nellore too said NPP will not be a party for Christians alone and it will not have any special affinity for any particular party. But his announcement that the party will be floated before the arrival of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Kerala does speak volumes about the direction in which Nellore and his secular party will be heading.

Besides, there are reports that the general secretary of a Sangh Parivar-leaning Christian extremist outfit in the state will also join the leadership of the new party.

The saffron party knows it well that considering the peculiar political landscape in Kerala, dominated by the CPI(M) and the Congresswho had always divided the majority Hindu votes among themand demographic equations in the state, it is going to be a tough ride to come to power in the state. The BJP is aware that the support of Christians, who form around 18 per cent of Keralas total population, will be crucial for the party to gain prominence in the state, and hence the party leadership has been going all out to woo Christians in the state.

A major hurdle before the party is overcoming the traditional aversion and suspicions that the Christians in the state have towards the Sangh Parivar. Hence, a new party, with Christians at the helm, should be seen as an effort by the saffron party to bridge this gap as well as collect traditional Christian votesespecially those in the Central Travancore, split across Kerala Congress parties in UDF and LDFin favour of the BJP and the NDA.

It remains to be seen how much impact someone like Nellorewho neither enjoys major clout nor could present a very strong case for his defectioncan create to turn the tide towards the NDA.

In June, an audio clip surfaced, which allegedly had Nellores voice, requesting Kerala Congress (M) leader A.H. Hafees to help him to join the LDF. In the audio, a man could be heard asking for the chairmanship of a corporation and a state car for switching over from UDF to LDF. The man also talked about the kind of offers he had received from the BJP. However, Nellore later denied that the man in the audio was him.

Political observers say just with some old horses, a new party like NPP will not be able to move forward and reap some gains. There is also the possibility of it never becoming a major player if those behind it fail to bring on board some heavyweights from the existing Kerala Congress parties.

Kerala Congress (J) chairman P.J. Joseph reacted to Nellores resignation saying he quit the party with some ulterior motives. Opposition leader V.D. Satheeshan tried to underplay Nellore's resignation saying he is not an important leader, even as LDF convenor E.P. Jayarajn said more leaders would leave the UDF. However, both UDF and LDF are closely watching the BJPs aggressive tactics in the state.

The most numerous among the Christian denominations in Kerala are Syro-Malabar Catholics, and, the BJPs Easter Day outreach efforts were largely concentrated on this denomination. Last month, the archbishop of Thalassery archdiocese of Syro Malabar, Mar Joseph Pamplany, had said if the Centre increases the rubber procurement price to  300 per kg, the BJP may open its account in Kerala.

As his comment triggered a furore in Keralas public sphere, his fellow prelate, Bishop Remigiose Inchananiyil of Thamarassery came in support of him, saying he will back any party addressing the issues faced by farmers.

Not surprisingly, while announcing his resignation, Nellore also stressed raising the rubber procurement price to Rs300. The issues faced by farmers, especially rubber farmers, in Kerala are critical. A lot of people in central Travancore are in deep crisis. I have demanded long back that the price of rubber needs to be raised, he said.

The Catholic church leadershipwhich traditionally backed the Congress and the Kerala Congress partiesis currently disillusioned with the way things are progressing with the Congress party and the United Democratic Front. This became apparent in a recent interview given by Cardinal George Alencherry, the head of the Syro Malabar Church, to the New Indian Express. When asked about the reasons why more and more Christians are levitating away from Congress, he said, It happened because of their own doings Because of their wrong policies. People started thinking why not vote for someone else?

Catholic church in Kerala has traditionally kept an anti-Communist stance, too (though in recent years the church has kept a more friendly relationship with the CPI(M) leadership). Along with that, there are growing Christian and Muslim frictions in the stateon issues ranging from marital conversions, land accumulation, and business competition to the distribution of minority scholarships in the state. There is also a growing perception among Christians that Muslim sections hold more power in the UDF and the ruling LDF, and the CPI(M) is playing appeasement politics to woo Muslim organisations and the Indian Union Muslim League.

All these are ground realities favouring the BJPs moves to woo Christians, and the formation of NPP should be seen as a small pawn in the larger and long-term game played by the BJP to capture the state.
More than a month after the actual event, His Holiness the Dalai Lama has suddenly been taken to task in India and across the world over his supposed questionable public interaction with a child, accompanied by his mother and a large group of students from Delhi. The judgment was made purely on the basis of a calculated short clip of the long meeting, mysteriously circulated on Twitter just weeks after the Tenth Jetsun Khalkha Dhampa Rinpoche and a vast entourage of Mongolian Tibetan Buddhists requested and received the transmission of a deity whom his predecessor was a greatly accomplished practitioner of. Whilst giving the teaching in the Main Temple in Dharamshala on March 8-9, the Dalai Lama specifically mentioned this, although the media coverage that followed this internal Buddhist matter focused only on how the Dalai Lamas recognition of the reincarnated boy affected Mongolian and Communist Party of China (CPC) relations.

Did social media stop to ask who stood to gain by such a blatant attempt to tarnish the unblemished record of the Dalai Lama, as a beacon of non-violent resistance against the most powerful aggressor in the world and every odd? No, because the urge to provide click-bait content and react to it dominates our lives, and this is before the coming takeover of open-source AI. A lifelong proponent of child and youth rights, both Tibetan and non-Tibetan, the Dalai Lama has been extended no spirit of open-minded enquiry and benefit of doubt on the circus that is social media and the internet today, where trolls and bots have metaphorically hanged, drawn and quartered him on scant evidence and worse, little regard for it when presented ad nauseum by Tibetans in some detail via videos and articles.

Nowadays, decolonising and decentering knowledge systems are what takes up much discussion time in classrooms of universities and other fecund intellectual spaces across the globe. Yet, in this instant, what salacious meaning we impute to the body part that is a tongue  unlike a nose or a beard, also known to uniquely and playfully be a part of the Dalai Lamas interactions  and how we perceive a phrase presented in self-taught broken English by an 87-year-old monastic, must conform to the hegemonic hypersexualised cultural and linguistic understanding of the dominant world. Hasty a priori judgements made on the basis of a slice of the actual interaction were not retrospectively reconsidered or apologised for, with scant regard for Tibetan customs and what Tenzin Pema explains as oothuk (a forehead to forehead greeting) or po (a kiss on the lips between elders and children) or what Tenzin Jigme painstakingly describes is the innocent meaning of che le sa (lost in translation as eat my tongue, a phrase most commonly used in Amdo, the province to which the Dalai Lama belongs).

Predictably, write ups in the mainstream media inevitably ended with how the Dalai Lama has stoked controversy before, by claiming if the next Dalai Lama were female, shed have to be attractive, even though the BBC journalists intent and ethics with regard to the interview in question were highly suspect. It is as if the only prism though which people and actions are to be judged is a quick, one-size-fits-all MeToo lens. And this must uniformly apply even in countries as diverse as India, where child rights activists came on television to argue for suo moto action against the Dalai Lama, with the onus on him to prove a lack of sexual intent. But one also wonders where these protectors of child rights are when there is across the board silence on the atrocities committed against Tibetan children in Tibet, with one million of them forced into Chinese colonial boarding schools, or when Uighur women and children suffer grave abuses in reeducation camps. It is at such moments of selective and limited outrage that one begins to question the consistency, moral high ground and political expedience of liberals supposedly standing for universal progressive values.

It could be argued that there are enough instances of child abuse in religious institutions, east and west, and the interpretation of the Dalai Lamas very public and innocent playful interaction was a grave casualty of that inherent mistrust. Herein lies the greatest tragedy, for the Dalai Lamas first and most sustained project has been the betterment of Tibetan children in exile, who are seen as the seeds of the future Tibet, and the holistic education of all children and youth, via the promotion of a universal ethics-based curriculum, based on two central tenets of our common humanity and profound interdependence. To sacrifice the Dalai Lamas impeccable credentials on every front over eight decades of a very public life, a Middle Way non-violent David to a brutal expansionist Goliath, on the altar of a false, fickle and morally decrepit social media, is the ultimate folly of an unhinged age.

The sentiments of Tibetans have deeply and rightly been hurt by the way this campaign against the Dalai Lama has been generated and whipped up by social media, including in India, a country Tibetans in exile have thus far loved as their second home. In the wake of this attack, perhaps many of the younger generation will question whether they are truly accepted and belong. Tibets experience at the hands of China, and that of the Dalai Lama at the hands of the CPC, as the single symbolic and real force between the occupying power and the occupied, should serve as notice to all countries and peoples across the world who stand for the truth. We lose sight of this at our own peril.

Professor Kaveri Gill teaches at a university in Delhi, NCR and is the former Principal of the Dalai Lama Institute for Higher Education, Bengaluru.

Opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of THE WEEK.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Wednesday carried out searches at the offices of Oxfam India in connection with its probe into the alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. The agency has also registered a case against the NGO and its office-bearers.

The CBI filed the FIR following a complaint filed by MHA Director Jeetendar Chadha who alleged that though Oxfam India's FCRA registration ceased, it planned to circumvent the law by taking other routes to channelise funds.

"Email communication found during IT (Income Tax) survey by the CBDT shows that Oxfam India has been planning to pressure Indian government for renewal of FCRA through foreign governments and foreign institutions," it alleged.

"The Oxfam India has the reach and influence to request multilateral foreign organisations to intervene on its behalf with the Government of India," the complaint further said.

Earlier this month, the Union Home Ministry had recommended a CBI probe against Oxfam India after it found that the NGO continued to transfer foreign contributions to various entities, including other NGOs, even after registering under the FCRA, which prohibits such transfers after amendment of the law in September 2020.

The MHA recommendation came after an I-T survey during which multiple emails were found which revealed that Oxfam India was allegedly planning to circumvent provisions of the FCRA by routing funds to other FCRA-registered associations or through the for-profit consultancy route.

Reports claimed that Oxfam India allegedly routed funds to the Delhi-based think tank Centre for Policy Research (CPR) through its associates and employees in the form of commission.

The TDS data of Oxfam India allegedly showed payment of Rs 12,71,188 to the CPR in 2019-20. Oxfam India received foreign contributions amounting to about Rs 1.50 crore directly into its foreign contribution utilisation account instead of receiving them in the designated FCRA account, said a PTI report, quoting sources.

Oxfam India's FCRA licence was suspended in January 2022, after which the NGO filed a revision petition with the home ministry.

In a statement earlier this month, Oxfam India said it is fully compliant with Indian laws.

"Oxfam India is fully compliant with Indian laws and has filed all its statutory compliances, including Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) returns, in a timely manner since its inception. Oxfam India has been cooperating with all government agencies since its FCRA registration wasn't renewed in December 2021," the NGO said.

The group also said it has filed a plea in the Delhi High Court against the decision to not renew its FCRA registration.

With PTI inputs
Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Altiplano Metals Inc. (TSXV: APN) (WKN: A2JNFG) ("Altiplano" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into a concentrates offtake and loan agreement dated April 18th, 2023 (the "Offtake Agreement") with ArrowMetals Asia Pte. Ltd. ("ArrowMetals"), which is part of the ArrowResources AG group of companies ("Arrow Group").

Pursuant to the Offtake Agreement, Altiplano will sell copper concentrates produced at the El Penon processing facility located 15 km from the Farellon Iron-Oxide-Copper-Gold mine in Chile, on an exclusive basis to ArrowMetals until December 31, 2025, and the agreement may be further extended. Pursuant to a Term Loan Facility Agreement dated April 18th, 2023 (the "Facility"), ArrowMetals has also agreed to make available to Altiplano up to USD$1.5 million as a loan facility, which will be repaid by delivery of such concentrates. The Facility will be by way of multiple drawdowns on request of Altiplano, with the first drawdown being for USD$500,000, which will be repaid with interest in monthly instalments, against Altiplano's future shipments of concentrates over the next 12 months.

Under the Offtake Agreement, Altiplano will ship the concentrates at the rate of 300 DMT per month during the term of the Offtake Agreement, until a minimum quantity of 10,000 DMT has been delivered. Provided certain conditions are met for metal content, ArrowMetals will pay for the concentrates at the prevailing metal prices for their copper and gold content within either one month after delivery or four months after delivery, as may be declared prior to delivery, less treatment, refining, shipping and insurance charges. Interest will be charged on the loaned amount due to ArrowMetals from time to time at a rate of SOFR plus 4.70%.

The Company's repayment of all amounts owing to ArrowMetals will be secured by a security interest granted to ArrowMetals over a proportion of Altiplano's processing facility and mineral stockpiles in Chile as collateral, limited to the amounts owing.

Story continues

Alastair McIntyre, President & CEO of Altiplano commented, "We are very pleased to complete this transaction with ArrowMetals and move forward with the completion of our processing facility. This new business relationship, and these agreements, mark a major milestone for Altiplano. ArrowMetals's commitment to our business provides a significant seal of approval on the Company and our growth prospects . These favourable finance terms ensure that Altiplano will have access to working capital to further advance operations and continue with our growth strategy. The Facility demonstrates ArrowMetals's support for Altiplano, and we expect Arrow will be a key contributor to our growing success."

Raoul Meier, Head of Metals at the Arrow Group stated that, "We are delighted to have concluded this new long-term business relationship. Altiplano has a clear view on its growth plan and we are looking forward to working closely with them on what promises to be an exciting journey".

The Company will use the prepayment amounts for working capital needed to transition from currently selling copper-gold mineralized material to third party processors to processing through its own El Penon facility and to optimize development of the Farellon Mine project for increased productivity, as well as potential development in additional projects. Processing at the Company's state of the art El Penon facility is expected to significantly reduce operating, processing and transportation costs while focusing on the positive environmental impacts of using a dry stack tailings dewatering system expected to reduce water consumption by 75% and also eliminate the need for a conventional tailings dam. In full operation, the processing facility is also expected to reduce tailings output by 40% by capturing ~1,850 tonnes of >61% magnetic iron which can be sold as a secondary income stream.

About Altiplano

Altiplano Metals is a growing gold, silver, and copper company focused on the Americas. The Company has a diversified portfolio of assets that include an operating copper/gold/iron mine and a state-of-the-art operating copper/gold and iron processing facility in the final stages of completion. Altiplano is focused on creating long-term stakeholder value through developing safe and sustainable production, reinvesting into exploration, and pursuing acquisition opportunities to complement its existing portfolio. Management has a substantial record of success in capitalizing on opportunity, overcoming challenges and building shareholder value. Altiplano trades on the Toronto Venture Exchange trading under the symbol APN and the Frankfurt Exchange under the symbol A2JNFG.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

/s/ "John Williamson"

Chairman

For further information, please contact:

Alastair McIntyre, CEO

alastairm@apnmetals.com

Tel: (416) 434 3799

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the (TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This release includes certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address exploration drilling, exploitation activities and events or developments that the Company expects are forward-looking statements. A qualified person has not done sufficient work to classify any historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves and the issuer is not treating the historical estimates as current mineral resources or mineral reserves. The Farellon mine was previously in production dating back to the 1970's with a reported historical production (to a depth of 70 m) yielding approximately 300,000 tonnes at an average grade of 2.5% copper and 0.5g/t gold. This material was processed locally and sold to ENAMI. Altiplano is relying upon past production records, underground sampling and related activities and current diamond drilling to estimate grade and widths of the mineralization to reactivate production. The decision to commence production on the Farellon deposit is not based on a feasibility study of mineral reserves demonstrating economic and technical viability and there is increased uncertainty and economic and technical risks of failure associated with any production decision. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include market prices, exploitation and exploration successes, continuity of mineralization, uncertainties related to the ability to obtain necessary permits, licenses and title and delays due to third party opposition, changes in government policies regarding mining and natural resource exploration and exploitation, and continued availability of capital and financing, and general economic, market or business conditions. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. For more information on the Company, investors should review the Company's continuous disclosure filings that are available at www.sedar.com

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162962
Five police officers have been suspended over the killing of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj recently. Officials including the station officer of Shahganj police station were suspended for 'negligence' while taking Atiq and his brother Ashraf for a medical checkup on the night of April 15 when they were killed in full view of camera crews.

A Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the murders questioned the cops on Tuesday.

Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead by three men who came posing as journalists and shot them at point-blank range. The three accusedLovelesh Tiwari, Mohit and Arun Kumar Maurya were produced in a Prayagraj court amid tight security on Wednesday morning where they were sent to four-day police custody.

An FIR under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and under the Arms Act was registered against the three alleged assailants of Atiq and Ashraf at Shahganj police station. On Sunday, these three accused were produced before the remand magistrate who sent them to judicial custody for 14 days. They were initially lodged in Naini jail but were shifted to Pratapgarh prison citing security reasons.

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear on April 24 a plea seeking an independent probe into the killings. Meanwhile, Atiq's lawyer Vijay Mishra said on Tuesday that a letter written by Atiq Ahmad two weeks before his murder with instructions to send it to the Uttar Pradesh chief minister and the chief justice of India in case of his death is being dispatched to them.

Atiq had earlier had moved the SC for protection, claiming that he and his family have been falsely implicated in the Umesh Pal murder case and he might be killed in a fake encounter by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
India has become the world's most populous country, overtaking China, according to latest data on the United Nations world population dashboard. According to UN estimates, India now has a population of 142.86 crore against China's 142.57 crore.

According to a report published by the United Nations Population Fund on Wednesday, the fertility rate in India is 2, whereas that of China stands at 1.2. China is facing a demogaphic crisis as the workforce ages amid plunging birth rates. The government had announced plans to boost the birth rates amid reports earlier this year that the country's population had fallen for the first time in 60 years. China's strict one-child policy which was implemented till 2015 has been blamed for the decline.

The UN's 'State of the World Population' report titled '8 billion lives, infinite possibilities' stated that most of the survey's respondents in India felt that the population in their own country was too large and fertility rates were too high. Majority of the respondents in Brazil, Egypt and Nigeria also held the same opinion. As part of the SWOP 2023, a UNFPA-commissioned public survey conducted by YouGov asked a representative sample of 1,007 in India about their views on population issues.

According to the report, 25 per cent of India's population is in the age group of 0-14 years, 18 per cent in the 10 to 19 age group, 26 per cent in the age bracket of 10 to 24 years, 68 per cent in 15 to 64 years age group, and 7 per cent above 65 years.

Estimates by different agencies have suggested that India's population is expected to keep rising for nearly three decades before it peaks at 165 crore and then start declining. Andrea Wojnar, the representative for United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) India and the country director for Bhutan, said that "India's 1.4 billion people must be seen as 1.4 billion opportunities".



"As the country with the largest youth cohortits 254 million youth (15-24 years) can be a source of innovation, new thinking and lasting solutions, she said.



Wojnar said that ensuring gender equality, empowerment and advancing greater bodily autonomy for women and girls are the key determinants for a sustainable future. Individual rights and choices should be respected, and all should be able to decide when to have children, she added.

The report also addressed concerns of population anxieties across the world. Environmntal concerns are indeed among the top causes of population anxiety  which might make

people vulnerable to the claims of too many or indicate that alarmist rhetoric about, the report stated. In India, about 63 per cent of those surveyed identified economic issues as their top concerns.

-with agency inputs
Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept the political pundits guessing over his next move, on Tuesday night said he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the saffron camp.

Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for "some personal work", even as his family initially claimed that he was "missing", only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the "right frame of mind".

"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda, he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening.

The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won as a saffron party candidate in the 2011 West Bengal assembly election. He, however, returned to the Trinamool Congress soon after without resigning from the House.

"I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and would again be active in politics," Roy said.

He said he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC".

Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. "He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," he said.

The drama over Roy's whereabouts evolved since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was "untraceable".

After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had "no specific agenda".

"I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said.

The former railway minister's son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was "untraceable" and "missing" since late Monday evening.

As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease".

"My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters.

Roy's son also claimed that his father had undergone "brain surgery" last month and failed to recognise even family members and close associates.

Subhrangshu claimed when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was travelling to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to de-board him, but by then, "the flight had taken off".

"The chief minister herself had called up to inquire about my father's well-being," Subhrangshu, who too had returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said.

Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra made a cryptic single word Facebook post: "Comeback".

When contacted by a news channel, Hazra said, "It's time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two days; everything will be clear very soon".

Reacting to Hazra's comments, Subhranghsu said it was an attempt to malign the TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

"This is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father's visit to New Delhi. This is an attempt to malign the TMC and our party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee," he said.

State parliamentary affairs minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics.

"I have known Mukul Roy for the last several decades. He is so ill that he doesn't recognise people and cannot complete a sentence properly. Now If the BJP wants to pursue politics by using an unwell person, we condemn such dirty politics," he said.

Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp is not interested in "inducting Roy back into the party."

Meanwhile, the Airport police station under the Bidhannagar police commissionerate questioned Pijush Kanodia, a BJP leader and once a close associate of Mukul Roy, during his stint in the saffron camp.

"Following a complaint of Mukul Roy's son, we have questioned one local leader of South Dum Dum for his alleged involvement in the matter. We have also sent a couple of officers to New Delhi to find out what has happened," a senior police official said.

Roy joined the BJP in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was made BJP national vice president in 2020.

He won from the Krishnanagar North assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 and returned to the TMC just a month after the results were announced, complaining of "ill-treatment" by the saffron party. He, however, didn't resign as an MLA.

Since his return to the TMC, he has remained away from the public glare.

Roy also resigned as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the West Bengal assembly last year, citing ill health.
Senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Wednesday filed nomination from Varuna constituency in this district, for the May 10 Karnataka Assembly polls, as he reiterated that this would be his last election and virtually laid out a "succession plan" of sorts.

The 75-year-old Leader of Opposition indicated his son and grandson to be his political successors. "This is my last election, after that there is Yathindra (son), Dhawan Rakesh (grand son)...", he said.

Siddaramaiah's younger son Dr Yathindra Siddaramaiah is the sitting Congress MLA from Varuna.

An eight time MLA, Siddaramaiah had earlier won twice from Varuna, and went on to become the Leader of Opposition after winning from here in 2008, and then became Chief Minister after 2013 Assembly polls.

The Congress legislature party leader offered prayers to his family deity Siddarameshwara at the temple in his native village of Siddaramanahundi, and also visited Sri Rama temple there, and held a massive roadshow before filing the nomination.

He also visited the famous Chamundeshwari temple on Chamundi hills in Mysuru, and addressed a public meeting ahead of filing papers.

Pointing out that he is the son of the soil, as his village Siddaramanahundi comes under Varuna segment, Siddaramaiah while addressing the public meeting said this will be his last election. After contesting this polls, he will retire from electoral politics, but not from politics.

Dhawan Rakesh is son of Siddaramaiah's late elder son Rakesh Siddaramaiah. As Siddaramaiah took Dhwan's name the crowd started cheering.

As Dhawan was waving at the crowd, Siddaramaiah said, "He should be 25 years to come to politics, still eight years to go, his education is still not complete. Only after completing education, politics. Your love and affection towards him was what you had on Rakesh, who was very popular here."

Further, urging people to ensure that he wins with a margin of over one lakh votes, he said, "I will not be able to come for campaigning here for more than two days, think you are the candidate and ensure victory."

The ruling BJP has fielded Minister V Somanna from Varuna to take on Siddaramaiah.

Stating that BJP has fielded Somanna who is a resident of Bengaluru, instead of someone born here, Siddaramaiah alleged, "BJP and JD(S) have come to an internal pact. That's the reason why JD(S) has fielded Bharathi Shankar, former MLA from T Narasipur, as its candidate, aimed at dividing Dalit votes, but I'm confident that people of Varuna will understand the conspiracy and will make me win with a big margin."

"BJP and JD(S) aimed at defeating me may ensure money flow," said Siddaramaiah, a Chief Ministerial aspirant in the event of Congress coming to power. "Despite all their conspiracies and spending crores of money, people of Varuna will not fall prey to their allurements and will bless me," he said.

By filing nomination in Varuna, Siddaramaiah has returned to his home constituency after contesting from neighbouring Chamundeshwari, and Badami in Bagalkote district, in 2018 polls. He had faced a defeat in Chamundeshwari, but had won in Badami.

The last day for filing of nominations is April 20. Voting will take place on May 10 and the counting of votes will be on May 13.
The state cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of sexual characteristic over which the person has no control, the Supreme Court said on Wednesday, asserting the Centre has no data to back up its claim that the concept of same-sex marriage is "elitist" or "urban".

The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions seeking legal sanction for same-sex marriage.

"It is very simple, the State cannot discriminate against an individual on the basis of a characteristic over which the person has no control," a five-judge constitution bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud said on the second day of day-long hearing on the pleas.

The Centre, in one of its affidavits filed in the apex court, termed the petitions a reflection of "urban elitist" view for the purpose of social acceptance and said recognition of marriage is essentially a legislative function which the courts should refrain from adjudicating.

Apparently agreeing with the submissions of senior advocate A M Singhi, appearing for one of the petitioners, the bench said, "When you say that this is an innate characteristic then it is also an argument in response to the contention (of the Centre) this is elitist or urban or it has a certain class bias."

"When something is innate, then it cannot have the class bias. It may be more urban in its manifestations because the people in urban areas are coming out of closed closet. Anyway, no data is forthcoming from the government to indicate that this is urban. No data at all," observed the bench, also comprising Justices S K Kaul, S R Bhat, Hima Kohli and P S Narasimha.

Singhvi stressed that every averment made by the Centre in the affidavit is without a "single survey, single data".

Another senior advocate, K V Viswanathan, who also represented one of the petitioners, said branding the petitioners as "urban elitist" showed "absolute lack of grace". "The Union should have shown some grace," Viswanathan said.

At the start of the day's hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, filed a fresh affidavit urging the bench that all states and Union Territories be made parties to the proceedings as any decision on the issue without obtaining their views will render the present "adversarial exercise" incomplete and truncated.

During the hearing, the bench also deliberated upon the consequences of legalising same-sex marriage including adoption and different marriageable age for male and female.

"Incidentally, even if a couple is in a gay relationship or a lesbian relationship, one of them can still adopt. So the whole argument that this will create a sort of psychological impact on the child is belied by the fact that even today, on the state of the law as it stands, once we have decriminalised homosexuality, it is open to people to live-in together and one of them can adopt. It is just that the child looses the benefit of parenthood so to speak of both the parents," the CJI said.

The apex court dwelt upon section 4 of the Special Marriage Act, which deals with conditions relating to solemnization of special marriages and mandates that a male and female must be of the age of 21 and 18 years respectively.

Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for one of the petitioners, said a bill has been proposed to increase the marriageable age of women to 21 years, and the moment 18 years is made 21, the problem will be solved.

The bench observed it could be a "slightly dangerous argument" and recalled a petition had come before the top court where the issue of marriageable age was raised.

It said the court had rejected the petition observing if it holds the provision unconstitutional, there will be no minimum age of marriage.

During the arguments, Rohatgi urged the bench to use its "plenary power, prestige and moral authority" to push the society to acknowledge such a union as would ensure LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex, pansexual, two-spirit, asexual, and ally) persons lead a "dignified" life like heterosexuals.

He said, the State should come forward and provide recognition to same-sex marriage.

Rohatgi said LGBTQIA have no representation in Parliament and that is why it is the courts they have to come to.

He said courts have always struck down majoritarian views with regard to fundamental rights and, even if one person is impacted, the action has been struck down.

Rohatgi referred to the law on widow re-marriage, and said society did accept it then, the "law acted with alacrity" and the social acceptance followed.

"Here, this court needs to push the society to acknowledge the same-sex marriage. This court, besides the power under Article 142 (which provides SC the plenary power to pass any order necessary for doing complete justice) of the Constitution, has moral authority and it enjoys public confidence. We rely on the prestige and moral authority of this court to ensure that we get our right," Rohagti said during the arguments which will continue on Thursday.

In its fresh affidavit filed in the apex court, the Centre said it issued a letter on April 18 to all states inviting comments and views on the "seminal issue" raised in the pleas.

"It is, therefore, humbly requested that all states and Union Territories be made a party to the present proceedings and their respective stance be taken on record and in the alternative, allow the Union of India, to finish the consultative process with the states, obtain their views/apprehensions, compile the same and place it on record before this court, and only thereafter adjudicate on the present issue," the affidavit said.

Opposing the government's fresh affidavit, Rohatgi said the pleas challenged a central law- the Special Marriage Act- and just because the subject is there in the concurrent list of the Constitution, states and UTs need not be issued the notices.

"You do not have to labour on this point," the CJI said.

Rohatgi referred to the judgements, including the decriminalisation of consensual gay sex, and said the court was revisiting something which has already been decided.

"I (petitioner) am equal to heterosexual groups and it cannot be so that their sexual orientation is correct and all others are incorrect. I am saying let there be a positive affirmation...We should not be treated as lesser mortals and there will be full enjoyment of the right to life," he said.

The top court on Tuesday made it clear that it will not go into personal laws governing marriages while deciding the pleas seeking legal validation for same-sex marriages and said the very notion of a man and a woman, as referred to in the Special Marriage Act, is not "an absolute based on genitals".

The judicial outcome on the sensitive issue will have significant ramifications for the country where common people and political parties hold divergent and strong views on the subject.

The apex court had on November 25 last year sought the Centre's response to separate pleas moved by two gay couples seeking enforcement of their right to marry and a direction to the authorities concerned to register their marriages under the Special Marriage Act.
Amid reports that Indians, including 31 people belonging to the Hakki-Pikki community from Karnataka, are stranded in

conflict-torn Sudan, the Centre is coordinating closely with various countries to ensure the safety and security of Indian nationals in the African country.

"The Quartet countries of the US, the UK, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a key role in Sudan and India is engaging them accordingly," PTI quoted government sources.

According to External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, he has discussed the situation in Sudan with his counterparts from Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. "Thank HH @ABZayed, Foreign Minister of UAE, for the exchange of views on the situation in Sudan. Our continuing contacts are helpful," Jaishankar said in a tweet. The sources said both foreign ministers assured Jaishankar of their practical support on the ground.

Thank HH @ABZayed, Foreign Minister of UAE, for the exchange of views on the situation in Sudan.



Our continuing contacts are helpful.  Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) April 18, 2023

India is also working with the UN, which has a substantial presence in Sudan. The MEA and the Indian embassy in the Sudanese capital Khartoum are also continuously monitoring the situation in the African country. "Concerns of safety and security constrain us from putting out specific details," the source cited above said.

The latest development comes a day after a political slugfest erupted between Karnataka Congress leader Siddaramaiah and MEA S Jaishankar over the Indians stranded in Sudan.

After Siddaramaiah claimed that 31 people from Karnataka are stranded in violence-torn Sudan, Jaishankar hit back at the Congress leader asking him not to politicise the issue. "Simply appalled at your tweet! There are lives at stake; don't do politics. Since the fighting started on April 14th, the Embassy of India in Khartoum has been continuously in touch with most Indian Nationals and PIOs in Sudan," the Minister tweeted.

This came after reports that 31 people belonging to the Hakki-Pikki community from Karnataka are stranded in Sudan. The community sells herbs and other medicines from India in Sudan.

"It turns out there is a great demand for low-cost traditional medicines because the people of Sudan are unable to afford 'English medicines', an official said.

"Modern medical treatment is either unavailable to them or is way beyond the reach of the majority of citizens of Sudan. The people were looking for alternative medicine which is effective and cheap. That is when the Hakki-Pikki tribes found an opportunity and reached there," the state government official told PTI.

On Monday, the Indian embassy in Sudan issued a fresh advisory urging Indians not to venture out of their residences and stay calm. An Indian had died in Khartoum after sustaining bullet injuries.

(With inputs from PTI)
Days after gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf were shot dead, the spotlight is on Atiq's wife Shaista Parveen, who is absconding.

Shaista, also an accused in the sensational Umesh Pal murder case, is one of the most wanted criminals on the Uttar Pradesh police's list. Amid speculations that she will surrender soon, sources with the police say a massive hunt is on to nab the 50-year-old, who helped plan Umesh Pal's murder. There is a reward of Rs 50,000 for any information about the godmother of Atiq Ahmed's gang.

A day after Atiq and Ashraf were shot dead, Shaista's lawyer was reportedly quoted stating that she would surrender before the police to take part in her husband's burial. However, there was no official confirmation in this regard and Shaista was nowhere to be seen at Atiq's burial.

She has four cases registered against her, one of murder and three for cheating, according to The Times Of India.

The daughter of a police officer, Shaista married Atiq in 1996 after he established himself as a gangster. Though she initially wasn't at the forefront, Shaista soon joined Atiq's criminal world, threatening and extorting people and later planning the Umesh Pal murder.

She was active in political circles too. After joining AIMIM in September 2021, Shaista switched sides to the BSP eyeing mayoral polls. But, the Umesh Pal murder and subsequent police action had derailed her plans.

"My husband (Atiq) could not learn discipline due to friendship with SP supremo (former). My husband always liked BSP and even helped top BSP leaders earlier," she told reporters then.

Letter to Yogi ?

A letter purportedly written by Shaista Parveen to chief minister Yogi Adityanath has surfaced after Atiq's death. The letter was originally sent on February 27, just days after Umesh Pal's murder, said reports.

In the letter, Shaista accuses Minister Nand Gopal Gupta of being the key conspirator of Umesh Pal's murder. She added that Atiq and Ashraf were falsely implicated in the case. "If you (CM Adityanath) don't intervene, my husband, brother-in-law, and sons would be killed," she wrote in the letter.

Atiq's shooters before the court

The three men accused of shooting to death gangster Atiq Ahmed will be presented before the CGM court in Uttar Pradesh's Prayagraj on Wednesday. The Special Investigation Team investigating the incident will seek their custody, reported ANI.

Meanwhile, security has been beefed up near the court after the shooting incident. The media is being kept away from the accused.

Earlier, the three assailants were shifted from Prayagraj's Naini Central Jail to the Pratapgarh district jail on Monday. "All three shooters, Arun Maurya, Sunny Singh and Lovelesh Tiwari, are under threat of attack behind bars, owing to which they have been shifted to a high-security cell and are kept under CCTV surveillance," official sources said.
Assam Youth Congress president Angkita Dutta on Tuesday accused the unit's national chief Srinivas B V of being sexist and chauvinistic, and discriminating against her based on gender.



She also claimed of informing the matter to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi.

How can a sexist and chauvinistic leader @IYC torture and demean a woman every single time. What happened to @priyankagandhi ladki hoon ladk Shakti hoon (sic), the daughter of former Congress minister, Anjan Dutta, said in a series of tweets tagging Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, among others.

She alleged that Srinivas has continually harassed her and was discriminating on the basis of my gender.

My values and education doesn't allow me anymore. The leadership has played deaf ears despite bring front of them MANY TIMES @RahulGandhi @kcvenugopalmp @priyankagandhi (sic), she said.

Dutta claimed that despite complaints, no enquiry committee has been initiated against Srinivas.

Is this the safe space @RahulGandhi talks about women @priyankagandhi, she said in another tweet.

Dutta, however, did not cite any specific instance to substantiate her claims.

Meanwhile, when contacted, Assam Pradesh Congress Committee president Bhupen Kumar Borah refused to comment on the issue.

I am in touch with AICC state in-charge Jitendra Singh over the matter. I can comment only after a thorough discussion with the AICC, Borah told
The death toll from a major fire at a hospital building in the Chinese capital has risen to 29, officials said here on Wednesday.



The fire which broke out at the Beijing Changfeng Hospital on Tuesday has been extinguished, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported.

On Tuesday, the official media reported that 21 people were killed in the incident.

More than 70 patients were affected and shifted from the affected hospital admissions building in Beijing's Fengtai district.

Videos circulating online show some people jumping out of the window and waiting for rescue on the outdoor air conditioning units. Others jumped to lower rooftops, state-run Global Times reported.

The cause of the fire is yet to be ascertained.

The city has set up a special working team to identify the cause of the accident, and those responsible for the accident will be held accountable in accordance with the law, the report said.

Authorities have instructed all districts to conduct large-scale inspections to identify and eliminate potential safety hazards, preventing any significant safety incidents from occurring as the May Day holidays are approaching.

China will shut down for a week from May 1 to celebrate International Workers Day.

Beijing Changfeng Hospital is a private hospital established in 1985, affiliated with Beijing Changfeng Hospital Corporation.

The hospital, a secondary hospital in China's three-tier hospital system, is a chain hospital that specialises in the treatment of vascular diseases, especially haemangiomas and vascular malformations, as well as other comprehensive treatment programmes.

In another incident, 11 people died in a factory fire in Wuyi county, Jinhua city in China's eastern Zhejiang province earlier on Tuesday.
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has built its first-ever military spy satellite and that he planned to launch it on an undisclosed date, state media reported Wednesday.



Previous missile and rocket tests have demonstrated that North Korea can send satellites into space, but many experts question whether it has cameras sophisticated enough to use for spying from a satellite because only low-resolution images were released after past test launches.

During his visit to the country's aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim said that having an operational military reconnaissance satellite is crucial for North Korea to effectively use its nuclear-capable missiles.

Kim cited what he described as serious security threats posed by the most hostile rhetoric and explicit action by the United States and South Korea this year, according to the official Korean Central News Agency.

He likely hopes to pressure his rivals on issues including joint military drills and international economic sanctions on North Korea.

Kim said the military reconnaissance satellite No 1 had already been built and ordered officials to speed up preparations for its launch.

He said North Korea must launch several satellites to establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said.

North Korea has said its ongoing run of weapons tests, including its first test-launch of a solid-fueled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland last week, are a response to joint military exercises between the United States and its regional allies South Korea and Japan.

North Korea has carried out about 100 missile tests since the start of last year, including about 30 this year.

The US and South Korean militaries have been expanding combined drills in response to North Korea's growing nuclear threats.

This week, the allies launched a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defense exercise with Japan.

Spy satellites are among an array of major weapons systems that Kim publicly vowed to develop during a major ruling Workers' Party conference in January 2021.

Kim also pledged to build solid-propellant ICBMs, nuclear-powered submarines, hypersonic missiles and multi-warhead missiles.

North Korea has since conducted tests of such weapons, but observers say those high-tech weapons are still in development stages.

After North Korea launched a test satellite last December, it publicised black-and-white photos showing a space view of South Korean cities.

Some civilian experts in South Korea said at the time the photos were too crude for a surveillance purpose and that they were likely capable of only recognising big targets like warships at sea or military installations on the ground.

Kim's sister and senior North Korean official Kim Yo Jong said the test satellite carried a commercial camera because there was no reason to use an expensive, high-resolution camera for a single-shot test.

Kim Jong Un said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to use pre-emptive military force when the situation demands.

Tuesday's KCNA dispatch focused on US military assets like aircraft carriers and long-range bombers that have been deployed in South Korea in recent months, but made no mention of possible targets in the mainland US.

That could imply that North Korea intends to use its reconnaissance satellites to identify key targets in South Korea, including US military bases, in order to attack them with short-range missiles.

Putting a reconnaissance satellite into orbit would require a long-range rocket. The UN bans such launches by North Korea because it views them as cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology.

In response to a question posed by The Associated Press, South Korea's Foreign Ministry said North Korea's launch of a spy satellite would threaten regional peace and violate multiple UN Security Council resolutions banning any ballistic launches by the North. It said South Korea will work closely with the international community to get North Korea to face consequences when it commits provocations.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

North Korea placed its first and second Earth observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say neither transmitted imagery back to North Korea. The U.N. issued sanctions over those launches.

North Korea has avoided fresh UN sanctions for its recent ballistic missile tests in 2022 and this year because UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China didn't support US and others' attempts to toughen sanctions on the North.
What trends should we look for it we want to identify stocks that can multiply in value over the long term? One common approach is to try and find a company with returns on capital employed (ROCE) that are increasing, in conjunction with a growing amount of capital employed. Ultimately, this demonstrates that it's a business that is reinvesting profits at increasing rates of return. In light of that, when we looked at American Water Works Company (NYSE:AWK) and its ROCE trend, we weren't exactly thrilled.

Return On Capital Employed (ROCE): What Is It?

If you haven't worked with ROCE before, it measures the 'return' (pre-tax profit) a company generates from capital employed in its business. Analysts use this formula to calculate it for American Water Works Company:

Return on Capital Employed = Earnings Before Interest and Tax (EBIT)  (Total Assets - Current Liabilities)

0.054 = US$1.4b  (US$28b - US$2.8b) (Based on the trailing twelve months to December 2022).

Therefore, American Water Works Company has an ROCE of 5.4%. Even though it's in line with the industry average of 4.5%, it's still a low return by itself.

Check out our latest analysis for American Water Works Company

roce

In the above chart we have measured American Water Works Company's prior ROCE against its prior performance, but the future is arguably more important. If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report for American Water Works Company.

What Can We Tell From American Water Works Company's ROCE Trend?

In terms of American Water Works Company's historical ROCE movements, the trend isn't fantastic. To be more specific, ROCE has fallen from 7.2% over the last five years. Meanwhile, the business is utilizing more capital but this hasn't moved the needle much in terms of sales in the past 12 months, so this could reflect longer term investments. It's worth keeping an eye on the company's earnings from here on to see if these investments do end up contributing to the bottom line.

Story continues

What We Can Learn From American Water Works Company's ROCE

Bringing it all together, while we're somewhat encouraged by American Water Works Company's reinvestment in its own business, we're aware that returns are shrinking. Since the stock has gained an impressive 90% over the last five years, investors must think there's better things to come. Ultimately, if the underlying trends persist, we wouldn't hold our breath on it being a multi-bagger going forward.

One final note, you should learn about the 4 warning signs we've spotted with American Water Works Company (including 1 which shouldn't be ignored) .

While American Water Works Company may not currently earn the highest returns, we've compiled a list of companies that currently earn more than 25% return on equity. Check out this free list 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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Kolkata, Apr 19 (PTI) KONE Elevators India, a subsidiary of the Finnish multinational corporation KONE Corporation, on Wednesday said that it will continue to grow at a high double-digit rate in India, despite cost pressures, as demand from the residential and infrastructure sectors remain robust.

The company has also announced the expansion of its Kolkata office, which serves the eastern region and export markets in Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

"In 2022, we had grown strong by over 15 per cent and the growth trajectory will continue as India's growth remains strong. We aim to grow between 15-17 per cent in the current fiscal year," KONE India MD Amit Gossain said.

He noted that the company's market share is currently at 25 per cent in the segment it operates, and that new technology-backed products and services will help push the market share further.

Gossain expressed optimism about the Indian market, saying that it is the second largest market after China in Asia and that KONE has a presence in 60 countries worldwide.

He acknowledged that there has been a cost increase between 20-30 per cent depending on the products, leading to margin pressure.

As it is a closely held multinational company, Gossain did not disclose India's turnover or profitability. He, however, noted that input costs had not reduced significantly, but the company was able to pass them to its customers.

New product lines incorporating the latest technologies and aesthetics will be developed to stay above the curve, according to the managing director.

Speaking about the eastern region, the managing director said, "Kolkata is an important market for us, and we are excited to expand our presence here. With our new office and the increased workforce, we aim to provide even better services to our customers and strengthen our relationships with them.

The company is committed to provide innovative and sustainable solutions that meet the evolving needs of the customers, Gossain said.

The investment in an expanded office space is aimed at providing better amenities for employees, enhancing the customer experience, and elevating the brand image, officials said.

KONE has a good presence in East India with offices in Kolkata, Siliguri, Guwahati, Patna, Ranchi and Bhubaneshwar.
NEW DELHI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The liver is an essential organ responsible for processing and filtering toxins, producing bile, and storing nutrients. However, excessive alcohol consumption can cause serious damage to the liver, leading to conditions such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty liver disease. In light of this, healthcare experts at HCMCT Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka are urging people to be aware of safe alcohol consumption limits and to take steps to protect their liver.



Dr. (Col). Avnish Seth, Head - Medical Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Manipal Organ Sharing & Transplant, HCMCT Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka stated, "The liver is one of the most important organs in the body, responsible for processing and filtering toxins, producing bile, and storing nutrients. Unfortunately, excessive alcohol consumption can cause serious damage to the liver, leading to conditions such as cirrhosis, hepatitis, and fatty liver disease. We spoke to people about liver health and found that many of them are aware of its importance, but struggle to take care of their liver due to their lifestyle."



The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism suggests that men should not consume more than 14 standard drinks per week and women should not consume more than 7 standard drinks per week. It is also advised to have at least 2 alcohol-free days per week to allow the liver time to recover. However, recent studies show that no amount of alcohol is considered safe for liver health.



Emphasising the importance of liver health, Dr. Sarthak Malik, Consultant Gastroenterologist, HCMCT Manipal Hospitals, Dwarka said, "Liver health is very important. We have seen patients coming with liver disease in the form of fatty liver disease and alcoholic liver disease. It is important that one should keep their diabetes in control to control the fatty liver, and they should also get themselves checked for hepatitis B and C and if found negative, please get vaccinated for hepatitis B."



The liver is the largest internal organ in the body, responsible for filtering blood, producing bile for fat digestion, regulating blood sugar, and producing blood-clotting proteins. It is also the only organ capable of regenerating itself. Care must be taken to avoid harmful substances and alcohol, and healthcare providers should be consulted before taking new medications or supplements to maintain liver health.



About Manipal Hospitals



As a pioneer in healthcare, Manipal Hospitals is among the top healthcare providers in India serving over 5 million patients annually. Its focus is to develop an affordable, high quality healthcare framework through its multispecialty and tertiary care delivery spectrum and further extend it to out of hospital care. With the completion of acquisition of 100% shareholding in Columbia Asia Hospitals Private Limited and Vikram Hospital (Bengaluru) Private Limited, the integrated network today has a Pan-India footprint of 29 hospitals across 16 cities with 8;300+ beds, and a talented pool of 4,000 doctors and an employee strength of over 12,000.



Manipal Hospitals provides comprehensive curative and preventive care for a multitude of patients from around the globe. Manipal Hospitals is NABH, AAHRPP accredited and most of the hospitals in its network are NABL, ER, Blood Bank accredited and recognized for Nursing Excellence. Manipal Hospitals has also been recognized as the most respected and patient recommended hospital in India through various consumer surveys.



Media Contact:



Call us: +91-8376965812, +91-7303881483

Email us: manipal.international@manipalhospitals.com

Visit us at: https://www.manipalhospitals.com/internationalpatientcare/doctors/search/location-delhi?page=1



Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQmYFXN-9Mg

Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1848066/ManipalHospitalsLogo.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

PWR
NEW DELHI, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Deakin University, a Top 1% university worldwide and a leading Australian higher education institution, is furthering its commitment to Indian students by expanding its Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship Program 2023. This initiative aims to support high-achieving Indian students in their pursuit of becoming global citizens who can positively impact their communities back in India. The program, which offers 100% fee waivers to recipients for the entirety of their studies at a Deakin Campus in Victoria, Australia, has been expanded to include 10 scholarships, each valued at over INR 6 million. Applications for the July 2023 intake are now open.



With a goal of making a profound impact on the lives of deserving students in India, this initiative is a part of the university's 'Changing Lives' program and offers opportunities for postgraduate and undergraduate studies in any field, with no limit on the duration of study. The program is designed to support exceptional students who have demonstrated academic excellence and well-rounded achievements and aims to empower them to study onshore at Deakin University in Australia.



Furthermore, the program has a philanthropic outlook, with the aim of giving back to India while helping to develop the skills and experience needed to make a real impact on society and has the potential to change the trajectory of the lives of deserving students, allowing them to realise their academic and personal potential while contributing to the growth of society.



Professor Iain Martin, President and Vice-Chancellor of Deakin University, reiterated his support for helping Indian students pursue excellence, saying, "Nearly a decade ago, Deakin recognised the need for Indian students to have better access to world-class education to fulfil their immense potential, and initiated the Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious 100% Scholarship program (India).



Today, I am thrilled to announce that our commitment to empowering Indian students has only grown stronger. We are increasing the number of scholarships from four last year to ten this year, further opening the door to world-class education for deserving students."



"At Deakin, we believe that education has the power to transform lives and communities, and we are dedicated to supporting the aspirations of Indian students who share our vision for a better world. Through this scholarship program, we are investing in the future of India and its people," Professor Martin said.



The scholars, while on-campus, are inducted also into the Vice Chancellor's Professional Excellence Program (VCPEP), which gives them the unparalleled opportunity to represent themselves and the University in prestigious forums alongside senior officials from the government, corporate and academia.



The Deakin Vice-Chancellor's Scholarship program was introduced first in 2014, and so far, 39 deserving scholars have been awarded the 100% Scholarship for their studies in both undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Meritorious students aspiring to pursue high-quality international education across emerging study areas like sports, engineering, psychology, etc. have gone forward to pursue successful careers in their chosen field.



Ravneet Pawha, Vice-President (Global Alliances) and CEO (South Asia) at Deakin, added, "Education is the cornerstone of progress and has been rightly referred to as a key focus area in the strong and mutually beneficial relationship between India and Australia.



As we witness the emergence of a new generation of leaders, these scholarships will provide invaluable support to young, high-achieving students in India, empowering them not only with financial assistance but also with the skills and knowledge necessary to thrive in a rapidly changing world that demands innovation and collaboration. This initiative aims to foster a cohort of visionary young leaders who will help shape the future and strengthen the bonds between our two great nations."



The selection process for the Deakin Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship Program is rigorous and will be conducted by the Deakin South Asia Office based in New Delhi. A minimum eligibility criterion is set after which the selection process will involve an application review, referee recommendations, online interviews and in-person panel interviews with the shortlisted candidates in the presence of neutral representatives from academia and industry.



Shruti Arora, who won the Deakin Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship in 2022, said, "The scholarship was my key to study abroad and a huge financial support to my parents. It has changed my life and opened the path for me to become a future change maker in the mental health sector."



Deakin University also offers other academic merit-based bursaries and scholarships for Indian students that include a 25% Merit Scholarship and a 20% Bursary for studies onshore in Australia.



For more information about the Deakin Vice-Chancellor's Meritorious Scholarship Program 2023, and to check eligibility to apply, please visit https://www.deakin.edu.au/study/fees-and-scholarships/scholarships/find-a-scholarship/deakin-vice-chancellors-meritorious-100-scholarship-india.



Students may also email sascholarships@deakin.edu.au/southasia@deakin.edu.au or call the Deakin South Asia Office, New Delhi on +91 11 2654 4725



About Deakin University



Established in 1974, Deakin University successfully combines excellence in teaching, research and effective partnerships with industry and government to deliver high quality courses and undertake research that makes a difference to the domestic and international communities it serves.



Deakin's South Asia operations commenced in 1994 at New Delhi, India, making it one of the first overseas education provider to set operations in this region. Here, Deakin engages with the government, industry, and academia to share its vibrant culture of education and research.



For more information on Deakin University, please visit: www.deakin.edu.au.



Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/713572/DeakinUniversityLogo.jpg



(Disclaimer: The above press release comes to you under an arrangement with PRNewswire and PTI takes no editorial responsibility for the same.). PTI PWR

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New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) Apple chief executive Tim Cook on Wednesday met Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the iPhone manufacturer is looking to invest more in the world's second-largest smartphone market.

According to government sources, iPhone maker Apple is likely to double the employment base at its contract manufacturers in India to around 2 lakh soon.

"An absolute delight to meet you, @timcook! Glad to exchange views on diverse topics and highlight the tech-powered transformations taking place in India," Prime Minister tweeted on meeting Apple CEO.

Cook, on his first trip to India in seven years, opened Apple's first official retail store in the country in Mumbai on Tuesday and will launch another in Delhi on Thursday.

"Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on India's future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, we're committed to growing and investing across the country," Cook tweeted with a picture of him shaking hands with Modi.

Cook had last visited India in 2016 when the tech giant was just beginning to scale up operations in the country.

Looking to replicate what China did to Apple's business in the last 15 years, the tech giant is eyeing India's massive market with an expanding middle class to power sales growth, and potentially make it a home base for the production of millions of Apple devices.

Cook during his visit met Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Minister of State for Electronics and IT Rajeev Chandrasekhar.

"Met with @timcook , CEO, Apple. Discussed deepening Apples engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports, app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women. Jointly charting a long-term and strong relationship," Vaishnaw tweeted.

As per the sources, Cook has sought government support to widen its components supplier base in India.

"It was a delight to meet @tim_cook CEO, @Apple and his team to engage on Apples strategic and long-term partnership with and in Indias digital journey. We discussed deepening and broadening manufacturing, exports, skilling of youth, expanding app n innovation economy and job creation," Chandrasekhar tweeted.

The minister has said Cook's visit to India is not just limited to opening of stores but to explore the expansion of the Apple-India partnership.

Cook also discussed manufacturing facilities and App Design and Development Accelerator in Bengaluru with both ministers.

"It is a significant opportunity for Indian startups and innovation and manufacturing sectors. I am hopeful that this visit will give him the confidence to make India a strong partner for Apple groups global ambitions and global value chains, Chandrasekhar said.

Cook has asked for continued government support through long-term stable policies to foster investments in the country, according to government sources.

"Apple has created 1 lakh employment in India. Based on the discussions, we feel that they will double the employment base very soon," a government source said.

Apple's contract manufacturers Foxconn, Pegatron, Wistron and others hire dedicated workforce as per the requirement of the company.

The hiring plan is an indication of the company's expansion of its manufacturing base in the country.

"He has also asked support to skill Indian manpower to suit the company's requirement," one of the sources said.

The government has offered Apple to define the skill set, and it will support them in facilitating it.

The company has set up a two-story Apple store in Mumbai covering a total area of around 20,000 square feet. According to sources, Apple will pay Rs 40 lakh rent per month and share revenue from the total sales of the store.

The Apple Saket Store in Delhi is half the size of the Mumbai store where the company will pay a portion of total sales from the store as rent or Rs 40 lakh per month whichever is higher, according to sources.

The barricade for Apple Saket store features a unique design that takes inspiration from Delhi's many gates.

The company has more than 70 highly skilled retail team members at Apple Saket Store who come from a combined 18 states in India and collectively speak more than 15 languages.

The store will be open for all customers without any need for pre-registration.
Noida, Apr 19 (PTI) The Gautam Buddh Nagar district administration has sealed the office of real estate major Supertech Group in Noida over dues, officials said on Wednesday.

The builder group has described the administration's action as illegal, saying the office belongs to Supertech Limited while the recovery has to be made from Supertech Township.

The district administration had recently initiated action to recover dues from the real estate group's Supertech Township entity. The action was initiated over recovery certificates issued from the UP Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

"Yes, the office has been sealed," Additional District Magistrate (Finance/Revenue) Vandita Shrivastav told PTI, confirming the development.

According to officials, the process to seal the office had started on Tuesday afternoon under supervision of the tehsildar, Dadri.

Meanwhile, the Supertech Group condemned the action of the district administration.

"The illegal action has caused tremendous hardship to the home buyers who need to visit these offices for their various needs," a company executive said.

"The action of the district administration in sealing the offices is illegal as the Company is under Corporate Insolvency Process initiated by the NCLT. In view of the moratorium clause of the IBC, no dues can be coercively recovered by any authority till the resolution process is over," the executive said.

"The action of the district administration in sealing the offices, including that of the Interim Resolution Personnel, appointed by the NCLT, would amount to contempt of court as well," the executive claimed.

The IRP has written to the district administration to deseal the premises immediately, and is also planning to take up the matter with the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) or the Supreme Court, the executive added.

In August last year, the twin towers of the Supertech Group were demolished after a Supreme Court direction in August 2021 to raze the illegally built structures to the ground. The Supreme Court had said the towers were built in violation of building norms.
London/Gaydon, Apr 19 (PTI) UK-based Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) luxury carmaker on Wednesday announced a major investment plan of GBP 15 billion over five years, backed up by a Gigafactory planned by Indian parent company Tata Group in Europe.

JLR Chief Executive Adrian Mardell confirmed plans for the companys plant in Halewood, north-west England, to become an all-electric production facility as he reaffirmed the firms commitment to the Reimagine strategy, which will reposition the luxury car manufacturer as an electric-first company by 2030.

He also revealed that JLR would be the anchor customer of the Tata Groups proposed Gigafactory, an announcement related to which he said is hopefully imminent.

JLR will not be building a Gigafactory; that is not within our plans. Tata will be building a Gigafactory. We are clear it's going to be in Europe. A final destination hasn't yet been chosen," Mardell told reporters at a media event in Gaydon, the company's base in the West Midlands region of England.

The important thing is our underpinning of [battery] supply is inhouse we are the anchor customer and absolutely have equity in making sure that the right decisions are made. Wherever it [factory] goes will be an optimised proposal for us, he said.

The company, which utilises the Tata Groups software capabilities in Bengaluru, and has a vehicle and assembly plant in Pune, reiterated its commitment to work closely on its synergies with the parent group.

We, as an anchor customer [of the Gigafactory], will benefit from frictionless collaborations within our ecosystem in the Tata family. It means that we can explore and develop the latest advanced battery technologies in-house, noted Barbara Bergmeier, Executive Director, Industrial Operations, at JLR  a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Motors Limited and part of Tata Sons.

Accelerating its electrification path by making one of its UK plants geared towards the next-generation medium-size luxury SUV architecture fully electric and moving towards a net zero carbon target by 2039, the company said it is making strides towards its financial goals of achieving a net cash-positive position by the financial year of 2025.

JLR confirmed it would start inviting applications for client orders for the modern luxury all-electric Range Rover later this year. The first of its next-generation medium-size modern luxury SUVs will be an all-electric model from the Range Rover family, launching in 2025 and built in the UK.

As a next step within the Reimagine strategy, it was revealed that JLR would move to a House of Brands approach to amplify the unique character of each of its brands  Range Rover, Defender, Discovery and Jaguar.

Land Rover will be transformed into a so-called "trust mark" for the Land Rover models within its luxury suite as a pillar supporting this new branding vision.

JLRs Chief Creative Officer, Professor Gerry McGovern, explained, Pivotal to our Reimagine strategy is the formation of the House of Brands, which is a natural evolution, with a purpose of elevating and amplifying the uniqueness of our characterful British marques."

Our ultimate ambition is to build truly emotionally engaging experiences for our clients that, over time, will build long-term high equity for our brands and long-term sustainability for JLR, McGovern added.

The company also announced that the first of three reimagined modern luxury Jaguars would be a 4-door GT built in Solihull in the West Midlands. With power output more than any previous Jaguar, a range of up to 700 km (430 miles), and indicative pricing from GBP 100,000, the new Jaguar will be built on JEA, its unique architecture. The design is being kept strictly under wraps for now, with more details to be released later this year before going on sale in selected markets in 2024, with deliveries slated for 2025.

With Range Rover, the original luxury SUV, available for pre-order in pure electric form later this year, and the first of three breath-taking electric reimagined Jaguar models to be launched in 2025, we are stepping into an incredibly exciting new electric era for JLR as a modern luxury business, added Mardell, who took over as CEO at the end of last year.
Chandigarh, Apr 19 (PTI) Punjab Agriculture Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal on Wednesday held a meeting with some farmers' leaders on agricultural issues.

During the meeting held at his office here, Dhaliwal directed the principal secretary of the Agriculture Department to get the details of the farmers who have not received compensation for crop damage from the deputy commissioners by May 15 so that the compensation can be given to the farmers on time.

According to an official statement, Dhaliwal directed the officials/employees of the Revenue Department and Agriculture Department to submit a report after a proper assessment of crop damage.

Apart from this, the minister informed the farmers' representatives that he has already written to the Centre regarding the difficulties faced by the peasants near the international border in tilling their land.

On another issue, Dhaliwal told them that the Punjab government has already written to the central government to provide compensation to farmers, whose animals die due to lumpy skin disease.

In the meeting, farmer leaders Jagjit Singh Dallewal and Baldev Singh Sirsa and senior officials of the agriculture department were present.
Caracas, Venezuela, Apr 19 (AP) Russia and Venezuela reviewed some of their hundreds of bilateral agreements covering the financial, energy, agricultural and several other sectors during discussions between their top diplomats and other high-level officials Tuesday in the South American country.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Venezuelan counterpart Yvan Gil held a joint press conference in Caracas hours after the former arrived to the allied country in the second stop of a tour of four Latin American nations. Both men vowed continued support for each other's country and condemned the economic sanctions that the United States government has imposed on them.

We fully support the position of our Venezuelan friends, Lavrov said. It is their country ... and we are going to support it in any way so that the Venezuelan economy becomes an independent economy from the pressures of the United States and other western actors.

Lavrov's remarks were translated from Russian to Spanish by a government-provided translator.

Gil and Lavrov, who was expected to also meet with Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, said their countries are developing an alternative to SWIFT, the system that enables global financial transactions but to which key Russian banks lost access last year. Those banks were cut off as part of economic sanctions imposed on Russia at the start of the war in Ukraine last year.

Russia, along with China, is an unconditional ally of the Venezuelan government. Its support has allowed it to circumvent crippling economic sanctions meant to oust Maduro.

Lavrov began his tour of Latin America on Monday with a stop in Brazil. He will also visit Cuba and Nicaragua.

Even before they were united by a fight against economic sanctions, Venezuela had forged a close relationship with Russia and made multi-million-dollar acquisitions of helicopters, fighter planes and Kalashnikov rifles. (AP)



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Seoul, Apr 19 (AP) North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country has completed the development of its first military spy satellite and ordered officials to go ahead with its launch as planned, state media reported Wednesday.

During his visit to the North's aerospace agency Tuesday, Kim stressed it's crucial to acquire a space-based surveillance system in the face of what he called US-led security threats, the Korean Central News Agency said.

North Korea says its spate of weapons tests, including its first test-launch of a solid-fuelled intercontinental ballistic missile designed to strike the US mainland last week, are a response to joint military exercises between the United States and its regional allies South Korea and Japan.

At the National Aerospace Development Administration, Kim said military reconnaissance was crucial for North Korea to effectively use its methods of war deterrence, according to KCNA.

Kim said the military reconnaissance satellite No. 1 had been built as of April and ordered efforts to speed up final preparations for its launch at a date that wasn't disclosed. He said North Korea must launch several satellites to firmly establish an intelligence-gathering capability, KCNA said.

Kim also accused the US and South Korea of expanding their hostile military campaigns in the name of bolstering their alliance. He accused the US of transforming South Korea into an advanced base for aggression by deploying strategic assets like aircraft carriers and nuclear-capable bombers.

The US and South Korean militaries have been expanding their combined drills to beef up their deterrence against North Korea's growing nuclear threats. This week, the allies launched a 12-day aerial exercise involving some 110 warplanes and staged a one-day naval missile defence exercise with Japan.

North Korea, for its part, has carried out about 100 rounds of missile tests since the start of last year, about 30 of them this year. Observers say while North Korea protests the US-South Korean drills, it also uses them as pretext to advance its own military capabilities that it believes would apply more pressure on Washington to make greater concessions such as the relaxing of sanctions.

A spy satellite is among an array of high-tech weapons Kim has been developing. The others are a solid-propellant ICBM, a nuclear-power submarine, a hypersonic missile and a multi-warhead missile. North Korea has conducted tests of such weapons, but it is not clear how close they are to operational.

Many experts question whether North Korea has sophisticated cameras to use on a spy satellite, because photos it has released from previous test launches were low-resolution imagery.

Kim's comments appeared to link the spy satellite to the North's escalatory nuclear doctrine, which authorises preemptive nuclear strikes. According to KCNA, Kim said one of the objectives for its spy satellite is acquiring an ability to use preemptive military force when the situation demands.

Kim Dong-yub, a professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, said North Korea is communicating that its military reconnaissance satellites would be intended to acquire precise location and movement information in real time so that its missiles and other nuclear-armed weapons could accurately strike targets. He said North Korea will likely inform international maritime and telecommunication authorities of its specific launch plans, likely sometime between May and September.

Putting a reconnaissance satellite into orbit would require a long-range rocket. But the UN bans such a launch by North Korea because it views it as a cover for testing its long-range ballistic missile technology.

North Korea placed its first and second Earth observation satellites into orbit in 2012 and 2016, but foreign experts say neither one transmitted any imagery back to North Korea. UN sanctions were issued over those launches.

North Korea has avoided fresh UN sanctions for its recent ballistic missile tests in 2022 and this year because the UN Security Council permanent members Russia and China won't support US and and others' attempts to toughen sanctions on it. (AP)



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Colombo, Apr 11 (PTI) Cash-strapped Sri Lanka on Wednesday formally announced the indefinite postponement of the local body polls scheduled to be held on April 25.

District Returning Officers of the respective districts issued gazette notifications saying the election would not take place on Tuesday, as the Treasury is yet to release the required funds for the polls.

The local body polls, which were earlier scheduled on March 9, got postponed to April 25, due to a plethora of reasons linked to Sri Lankas current economic crisis.

The notifications stated that the next date for the local council election would be determined only after the Treasury confirms the availability of the required funds or a determination by the court on the election is received.

At least three court cases regarding the election are pending, to be heard in mid-May.

The Election Commission made the announcement to postpone the local body elections last week, a day after its officials held meetings with Sri Lankan Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and members of major political parties.

The Election Commissions Director General Saman Sri Ratnayake said that the next date for holding elections would be announced only after the Treasury confirms the disbursal of funds.

Last month, the Election Commission postponed the postal voting for the local body polls due to the paucity of funds.

In March, the Sri Lanka government's printer Gangani Liyanage said the inability to print ballot papers to conduct postal voting from February 21 to 24 caused the Election Commission to postpone the elections.

Liyanage said that by the time the elections were postponed, she had only received Rs 40 million out of the estimated full cost of Rs 500 million from the Treasury.

The election to appoint new administrations to 340 local councils for a four-year term was postponed since March last year due to the ongoing economic crisis.

The International Monetary Fund has approved a USD 3 billion bailout programme to help debt-ridden Sri Lanka overcome its economic crisis and catalyse financial support from other development partners, a move welcomed by Colombo as a "historic milestone" in the critical period.

Sri Lanka was hit by an unprecedented financial crisis in 2022, the worst since its independence from Britain in 1948, due to a severe paucity of foreign exchange reserves, sparking a major political and humanitarian crisis in the island nation.
Fitch Ratings has revised Omans outlook to positive from stable and affirmed the rating at BB, noting a significant reduction in Omans debt to GDP as a result of fiscal consolidation measures, high oil prices and the associated reduction of external liquidity risks.



The agency said that the measures taken by the government helped to contain public debt, stating that the debt to GDP fell from 61% at the end of 2021 to 40% at the end of 2022, reported Oman News Agency (ONA).



Fitch now expects the public debt to decline to 37% at the end of 2024, compared to 48% previously projected by the agency in its report issued in August 2022.



Fitch forecasts a budget surplus of 2.3% of GDP and 0.1% in 2023 and 2024, respectively.



Fitch also projects Omans fiscal breakeven oil price to decline from $77 per barrel in 2022 to $67 per barrel in 2025, in light of ongoing fiscal measures and the implementation of the Medium Term Fiscal Plan (MTFP).



The agency expects non-oil sector growth of 2.3% in 2023, pointing out to the recovery of the construction sector after being affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.



The agency also projects non-oil revenue to rise from 5.2% of non-oil GDP in 2022 to 5.6% in 2024. Moreover, it assumes the average Brent oil price to fall to 85 US Dollars per barrel in 2023 and $75 per barrel in 2024.



In its report, Fitch said that Omans Sovereign net foreign assets are expected to improve in 2023. It further added that investment in renewables and hydrogen sector are likely to support growth from 2024.



The agency indicated that Omans credit rating could be upgraded in case of medium-term stabilization of public debt and sovereign net foreign assets (as a percentage of GDP), as well as a continued decline in net external debt to GDP.



The positive outlook is a significant indicator of the Government performance. It helps to foster the investors confidence in the national economy and improve the creditworthiness. The credit ratings show the reliability of the Government to meet its obligations.



Meanwhile, S&P Global Ratings revised Omans outlook to positive and affirmed its ratings at "BB" in a report issued in March. It commended the efforts exerted by the Government towards fiscal and economic reforms.
LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched tanker freight assessments for Russian crude exported from the Black Sea, Baltic and Barents Sea regions. The new rates show the costs of delivering Russian crude to India and China and highlight the "sanctions premium" for this trade.

Argus Media Logo (PRNewsfoto/Argus Media)

The EU's ban on seaborne imports of Russian crude and the accompanying G7-led $60/bl price cap on sales of Russian crude have gradually pushed much of the business of shipping grades such as Urals to an unorthodox fleet, which has created significant ambiguity about transportation costs.

New trade flows for Russian crude have developed to supply buyers in India and China. But the real freight costs involved have not been visible to the general market, with commentators often referring to the "shadow" or "dark" fleet that facilitates this trade. This is despite a sizable volume of Russian crude moving on legitimate vessels, operating within the G7 price-cap restrictions.

Argus' new assessments bring transparency to this opaque trade with the publication of two types of Russian-origin freight rates. The first are weekly market survey assessments, underpinned by market indications, transactions, bids and offers. These represent the actual market level, reflecting tanker rates for both legitimate and "shadow" fleets.

The second type are daily baseline rates for comparison purposes. These indicate notional freight costs  what costs would be if Russian cargoes were operating in the general open market without being subject to sanctions.

Argus Media chairman and chief executive Adrian Binks said: "Our new Russian origin crude freight assessments help provide market participants with important information to understand both the cost of shipping as well as the sanctions premium freight spread. This new transparency will aid understanding of the pricing and competitiveness of Russian crude in the international market against competing grades. These assessments are an essential piece of the puzzle for any companies involved in the seaborne crude market."

Story continues

Argus contact information

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+44 20 7780 4200

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About Argus Media

Argus is the leading independent provider of market intelligence to the global energy and commodity markets. We offer essential price assessments, news, analytics, consulting services, data science tools and industry conferences to illuminate complex and opaque commodity markets.

Headquartered in London with 1,300 staff, Argus is an independent media organisation with 29 offices in the world's principal commodity trading hubs.

Companies, trading firms and governments in 160 countries around the world trust Argus data to make decisions, analyse situations, manage risk, facilitate trading and for long-term planning. Argus prices are used as trusted benchmarks around the world for pricing transportation, commodities and energy.

Founded in 1970, Argus remains a privately held UK-registered company owned by employee shareholders, global growth equity firm General Atlantic and Hg, the specialist software and technology services investor.

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Musko Naval Base (Sweden), Apr 19 (AP) US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said Wednesday it's important that Turkiye makes its decision to allow Sweden to join NATO sooner versus later, and said he feels confident it will happen before the alliance summit in July.

He declined, however, to say whether a recent US deal to provide fighter jet upgrades to Turkiye will provide enough incentive for Ankara to finally vote.

Swedish Defence Minister Pal Jonson said he is hopeful Sweden will gain admittance by summer, and his country feels more secure with the additional US military exercises and involvement with his nation.

We look forward to continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO, and we'll work hard to get that done before the summit, Austin said. The NATO summit will be in Lithuania in early July.

Sweden's bid to join NATO remains stalled by opposition from Turkiye and Hungary, even weeks after both nations finally approved Finland's application. Sweden and neighbouring Finland jointly applied for NATO membership in May 2022, abandoning decades of non-alignment in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Austin and Jonson spoke to reporters near the docks at the Musko Naval Base. Austin is travelling on the HMS Harnosand, the Visby class corvette warship, between two islands in the southern Stockholm archipelago. The US defence secretary watched as Swedish Marines on small combat boats conducted an amphibious landing exercise, the sounds of their guns echoing off the water.

Austin said his visit comes at a crucial time for European security, and he urged Turkiye and NATO to act soon to approve Sweden's membership in NATO.

He said it will mean a stronger alliance and a more secure Europe, lauding Sweden's troops and their capabilities, particularly in the Baltic Sea region.

It's important to all of us that they make the decision sooner versus later, Austin said.

The US agreed Monday to sell Turkiye USD 259 million in software it has long sought to upgrade its fleet of US F-16 fighter jets. But Turkiye also still wants to buy 40 new F-16s from the US  a sale opposed by some in Congress who want to wait until Turkiye approves Sweden's membership in NATO.

In remarks at the start of their meeting, Jonson thanked Austin for America's continuing military support during this transition time into NATO, which he said has reassured Sweden and helped make the country more secure.

Austin's visit to Sweden is the first by a US defence chief since 2000, by then-secretary William Cohen. While the US military has long trained with Sweden, it has not been a frequent stop for US defence leaders, since they are more likely to visit with NATO allies  an alliance Sweden has long resisted joining.

Austin got a sweeping look at Sweden's military, including a tour of the Musko cave complex and its maritime operations centres, followed by an hour-long ride to Berga Naval Base, aboard one of the Navy's Visby-class Corvette ships.

While Sweden has long worked with NATO and is considered a partner country, it does not enjoy the full protections afforded a member nation  most importantly Article 5 protection.

That provision of the treaty states that if one member of the alliance is attacked in Europe or North America, it is considered an attack on all.

The only time the Article 5 mutual defence provision has been invoked was in support of the US after the September 11, 2001, attacks on New York and Washington. But in the wake of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, a number of European nations feared they could be attacked next  triggering the NATO applications of Finland and Sweden.

Finland formally joined the alliance on April 5, just days after Turkiye and Hungary finally voted to ratify Helsinky's application. A unanimous vote of all 31 alliance members is required to admit new members.

In response to Finland's formal acceptance, Russia's Foreign Ministry said Moscow will be forced to take military-technical and other retaliatory measures to counter the threats to our national security arising from Finland's accession to NATO. And Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Finland's membership reflects the alliance's anti-Russian course and warned that Moscow will respond depending on what weapons NATO allies place there.

The Turkish government has accused Sweden of being too soft on groups that it deems to be terror organisations. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said Ankara needs further assurances before it will give its final approval.

The dispute grew when, in January, a far-right activist from Denmark got police permission to stage a protest outside the Turkish Embassy in Stockholm where he burned the Islamic holy book.

The incident angered millions of Muslims around the world, and Turkiye said it wouldn't allow Sweden to join NATO as long as Stockholm permits such protests. In Sweden, such demonstrations are protected by freedom of speech.

Austin spoke with Turkiye's defence minister, Hulusi Akar, on April 6, and according to a statement from the defence ministry they discussed Finland's NATO membership and it was emphasised that we always support NATO's Open Door Policy, Finland's membership shows this once again and it is hoped that Sweden will fulfil its commitments as soon as possible. (AP)



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Kathmandu, Apr 19 (PTI) The search operation is going on to trace Indian climber Anurag Maloo, who went missing after falling into a deep crevasse on Nepal's Mount Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain in the world.

Maloo, 34, a resident of Kishangarh in Rajasthan, went missing on Monday after he fell from around 6,000 metres while descending from Camp III.

A team of five sherpa climbers are conducting a ground search for the missing climber, Chhang Dawa Sherpa, the expedition director at Seven Summit Treks, was quoted as saying by the Himalayan Times newspaper.

The expedition organiser added that an aerial search was also conducted on Tuesday to trace the Indian climber, it added.

Maloo is on a mission to climb all 14 peaks above 8,000 metres and the seven highest points in all seven continents to create awareness and drive action towards achieving the UN Global Goals.

He has been awarded REX Karam- Veer Chakra and became the 2041 Antarctic Youth Ambassador from India.

Meanwhile, Maloo's brother Aashish has sought help from the governments of Nepal and India in finding his brother.

Aashish posted the request for help on change.org, addressed to India's Ambassador to Nepal Naveen Srivastava and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar.

"Last week he had set out to climb Mount Annapurna, the 10th highest mountain in the world. It was without question that he will return after successfully summiting yet another peak. But in an unfortunate turn of events, he fell down from around 6,000m while descending from Camp III on 17th April, and since then has been missing.

"We are devastated. It feels like our worst nightmares have come true, but we cannot lose hope. We know that Anurag is out there somewhere, waiting for us. Help us find him by signing and sharing this petition," Aashish said in the post on the crowd petition website.

He said a team of sherpas has started the search operation but thats not enough.

"We need to act faster!! We need support from the Indian and Nepalese governments. We have contacted some of them, and need your support in making sure our voices reach them," he said.

Two other Indian mountaineers - Baljeet Kaur and Arjun Vajpayee - were rescued from Mt Annapurna in Nepal on Tuesday.

Kaur, 27, who scaled the world's 10th highest peak without using supplemental oxygen, went missing near Camp IV while descending from the summit point on Monday and was rescued from 7,363m after an aerial search team located her above Camp IV.

In May last year, Kaur, from Himachal Pradesh, scaled Mt Lhotse and became the first Indian climber to have climbed four 8000-meter peaks in a single season.

Vajpayee, 29, was also rescued from 6,800 metres, and admitted for treatment to Hams Hospital after being airlifted to Kathmandu.

He was awarded by Guinness World Records in 2022 for becoming the youngest person to climb two higher 8000ers (Mt. Everest in 2010 and Summit Lhotse in May 2011).

He has already scaled Mt. Everest, Mt. Lhotse, Mt. Makalu, Mt. Kangchenjunga, Mt. Manaslu, and Cho-Oyu, making several mountaineering world records.
Islamabad, Apr 19 (PTI) Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday returned a bill seeking to curb the powers of the chief justice of the Supreme Court to parliament for a second time, saying that the matter was now subjudice.

"The matter of competency of legislation and validity of the bill is subjudice now before the highest judicial forum of the country. In deference to the same, thereto no further action is desirable, the President was quoted as saying in his reply by the Dawn newspaper.

The bill, titled the Supreme Court (Practice and Procedure) Bill 2023, is aimed at depriving the office of the CJP of powers to take suo motu notice in an individual capacity and form a panel of judges for hearing of cases.

It was initially passed by both houses of parliament and sent to the president for his assent. However, the president sent it back, saying that the proposed law travelled "beyond the competence of parliament".

The bill was, however, passed again by a joint sitting of parliament with certain amendments on April 10 and sent to the president.

But three days after the passing of the bill by the joint parliament session, an eight-member bench of the Supreme Court (SC), including CJP Umar Ata Bandial, issued an order that bars the government from implementing the bill after it becomes a law.

The bench observed that prima facie the proposed law infringed the powers of the apex court to frame its own rules and it merits a hearing by the court.

The court in its order after hearing stated that any intrusion in its practice and the procedure, even on the most tentative of assessments, would appear to be inimical to the independence of the judiciary, no matter how innocuous, benign or even desirable the regulation may facially appear to be.

"It is therefore hereby directed and ordered as follows. The moment that the bill receives the assent of the president or (as the case may be) it is deemed that such assent has been given, then from that very moment onwards and till further orders, the act that comes into being shall not have, take or be given any effect nor be acted upon in any manner, the court stated.

The parliament passed a resolution calling for the dissolution of the eight-judge larger bench. The resolution tabled by the Pakistan Peoples Party lawmaker Agha Rafiullah was approved by a majority vote.

Pakistan is witnessing a rift between the judiciary and the government after a three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Bandial fixed May 14 as the date for elections to the Punjab Assembly and quashed the Election Commission's decision to extend the date of the poll from April 10 to October 8.

The bill states that every cause, matter, or appeal before the apex court would be heard and disposed of by a bench constituted by a committee comprising the chief justice and the two senior-most judges. It added that the decisions of the committee would be taken by a majority.

On exercising the apex courts original jurisdiction, called suo motu powers, the bill said that any matter invoking the use of Article 184(3) would first be placed before the committee.
Khartoum (Sudan), Apr 19 (AP) Terrified Sudanese who have been trapped for days in their homes by fighting in the capital of Khartoum fled on Wednesday, hauling out whatever belongings they could carry and trying to get out of the city, as the military and its paramilitary rival made a new attempt at a 24-hour cease-fire after a failed truce the day before.

The two sides separately announced that they would abide by the new halt in fighting that took effect Wednesday evening. Residents reported that sporadic sporadic gunfire and explosions could still be heard, pointing to the fragility of the efforts.

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre on Wednesday called for both sides to stand by the truce, renounce violence and return to negotiations. She said the country's two top generals, whose forces have turned the capital into a war zone for the past five days are responsible for ensuring the protections of civilians and non combatants.

Throughout the day Wednesday, residents of multiple neighborhoods in Khartoum told The Associated Press they could see hundreds of people, including women and children, leaving their homes, carrying luggage, some leaving by foot, others crowding into vehicles. Residents had been desperately holding out in hopes for a halt in the mayhem on their doorsteps, but with food and other supplies running low and no sign of respite, it appeared many had decided to risk making an escape.

Khartoum has become a ghost city, said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Doctors' Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

Nearly 300 people have been killed in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of clashes.

Residents said the military was pounding positions of the opposing Rapid Support Forces with airstrikes since early Wednesday, while gunbattles continued to rage outside the main military headquarters in central Khartoum, which the RSF has tried repeatedly to capture.

At the nearby airport, another front line, palls of black smoke rose and a damaged aircraft was in flames, according to satellite imagery provided by Planet Labs PBC. A high-rise in the city center was on fire with burning debris falling from its top floors, according to footage by the Al Arabiya news network. Fierce clashes were also reported around the state television building across the Nile River in the adjacent city Omdurman.

The army's monopoly on air power has appeared to give it an edge in fighting in Khartoum and Omdurman, enabling it to take several RSF bases over the past few days. But tens of thousands of fighters from the paramilitary force are fanned out across neighborhoods.

The result has been scenes of chaos. Residents have spoken of armed men looting shops and attacking anyone found on the streets.

They take whatever they can, and if you resist, they kill you, said Mahasen Ali, a tea vendor. She said many in her south Khartoum neighborhood have left their homes to take refuge in open areas, hoping to be safe from shelling hitting buildings. Others fled the city to stay with relatives elsewhere, she said.

A 24-hour cease-fire was to have been in effect from sundown Tuesday to sundown Wednesday. It was the most concrete attempt yet to bring a pause that it was hoped could be expanded into a longer truce.

It came after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke separately by phone with the two rivals  the leader of the armed forces, Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the head of the Rapid Support Forces, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo. Egypt, which backs the Sudanese military, and Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have close ties to the RSF, have also been calling on all sides to stand down.

But fighting continued after the intended start of the truce and through the night. Each side blamed the other for the failure.

The RSF said it has agreed on a day-long truce to take effect Thursday at 6 p.m. local time. There was no immediate comment from the military.

Aid agencies and foreigners, including diplomats, have also been trapped in the fighting.

The aid group Doctors Without Borders, or MSF after its French name, said in a tweet that its compound in Nyala in the western Darfur region had been raided by armed men who stole vehicles and office equipment and looted a warehouse storing medical supplies. The International Committee of the Red Cross said its office in Niyala was also looted, with one vehicle taken.

Darfur, which has been the scene of heavy fighting since the weekend, is a stronghold of the RSF, where the force had its origins among the Janjaweed militias, accused of atrocities during the long conflict there.

German media, including the DPA news agency, reported that three A400M transport planes were dispatched to evacuate German citizens from Khartoum, but turned around Wednesday due to security concerns in Khartoum. Japan said it was preparing to send military aircraft to evacuate about 60 Japanese nationals.

In Brussels, Dana Spinant, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, confirmed reports that a senior EU official had been shot and wounded in Sudan. Spinant did not provide details.

The New York Times identified the official as Wim Fransen, a Belgian national. The report said Fransen was receiving medical treatment for serious injuries. It said he had gone missing on Sunday evening and that his colleagues tracked him down Tuesday.

Another spokeswoman said the EU office in Khartoum is still operating and the delegation is not being evacuated. The EU ambassador, who was assaulted when gunmen broke into his residence several days ago, is back at work, she said.

Hospitals in Khartoum are running dangerously low on medical supplies, often operating without power and clean water, the ICRC said in a statement. Dozens of health care facilities in Khartoum and around the country have stopped functioning because they are close to clashes, the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate said Wednesday. At least nine hospitals were bombed, it said.

Our urgent priority is to get medical assistance to hospitals and try to make repairs to their water and power lines so they can treat the wounded," said Patrick Youssef, the ICRC's Africa regional director. But fighting has made it impossible to reach the facilities.

The U.N.s World Health Organization said Wednesday at least 296 people have been killed and more than 3,000 wounded since fighting began, without offering a breakdown of civilians and combatants killed. The Doctors' Syndicate, which monitors casualties, said Tuesday that at least 174 civilians have been killed and hundreds wounded.

The conflict between the military and the RSF has once again derailed Sudan's transition to democratic rule after decades of dictatorship and civil war.

A popular uprising four years ago helped depose long-time autocrat Omar al-Bashir. But Burhan and Dagalo joined to carry out a 2021 coup. Both generals have a long history of human rights abuses, and their forces have cracked down on pro-democracy activists.

Under international pressure, Burhan and Dagalo recently agreed to a framework agreement with political parties and pro-democracy groups. But the signing was repeatedly delayed as tensions rose over the integration of the RSF into the armed forces and the future chain of command. (AP) MRJ
Mumbai, Apr 18 (PTI) Two people were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly morphing pictures of a female YouTuber and later selling them to earn quick money, a Mumbai police official said.

According to the Santacruz police station official, one of the accused, nabbed from Assam, morphed photos of the 25-year-old woman. The second accused, caught from Vasai town in adjoining Palghar district, sold these pictures on social media.

During probe, the police found the duo had opened a fake Instagram account, where they put up these objectionable pictures for sale, he said.

They were arrested and booked under relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 354-D (stalking) and also the IT Act, said the official, adding further investigation was underway.
Bhopal, Apr 19 (PTI) Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan on Wednesday ordered a "review" of illegal madrasas and institutions in the state where "fanaticism" is taught.



The chief minister tweeted about the decision after holding a meeting at his official residence to review the law and order situation ahead of festivals. It was attended by Home Minister Narottam Mishra and senior officials.



Illegal madrasas and institutions in Madhya Pradesh where fanaticism is taught will be reviewed. Bigotry and extremism will not be tolerated, Chouhan tweeted later.



He also flagged online gambling as a new problem.

The present Gambling Act in Madhya Pradesh is of 1876, it does not have any provisions against online gambling. We have decided to enact the Madhya Pradesh Gambling Act, 2023, to replace the existing Act, he told reporters.

Madhya Pradesh Police has the potential to make it the number one state in terms of law and order, Chouhan said during the meeting.



Those who operate like mafia gangs should be destroyed, he said.



Mishra told reporters that the chief minister had given strict instructions to the officials to keep a watch on organizations like the Jamaat-ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) and Popular Front of India besides those who spread rumours on social media regarding festivals.



Some JMB members were arrested from Madhya Pradesh earlier this year for alleged illegal activities.
Mumbai, Apr 19 (PTI) Five persons who suffered sunstroke during the Maharashtra Bhushan award ceremony in Navi Mumbai are still undergoing treatment at various hospitals, police said on Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, 14 persons who suffered sunstroke during Sunday's event had died.

Two persons are admitted at MGM Hospital at Kamothe, two at MGM hospital, Vashi and one is admitted at Medicover Hospital in Kharghar and all of them are out of danger, a police official said.



Others were discharged after treatment, he said.

Scores of people suffered sunstroke and dehydration after the programme held on Sunday in an open ground where social worker Appasaheb Dharmadhikari was given the states top award by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

Opposition parties have blasted the Eknath Shinde government in Maharashtra over the deaths, accusing it of mismanagement.

State Congress chief Nana Patole on Wednesday demanded that a two-day special session of the state legislature be convened to discuss the issue.
Pune, Apr 18 (PTI) The Maharashtra State Prisons Department has decided to use drones to ensure security in prisons and monitor the movements of inmates, a senior official said here on Tuesday.

Additional Director General of Police of Prisons, Amitabh Gupta said that in the first phase, drones will be deployed in 12 prisons -- eight central jails, two district jails and two open jails.

"They will also be used for night-time surveillance. This will help in getting real-time updates on what is happening within prison premises," said an official release.

The prisons that will use drones for surveillance include Yerawada, Kolhapur, Nashik, Sambhaji Nagar, Taloja, Thane, Amravati, Nagpur, Kalyan and Chandrapur.

The use of drones for surveillance has been given priority under the orders of the Union Ministry of Home Affairs and the Maharashtra government, it added.

Maharashtra would be the second state after Uttar Pradesh to use drones to strengthen prison security, the statement said.
Mumbai, Apr 19 (PTI) Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat has said if Ajit Pawar joins the BJP with a group of NCP leaders, then the Eknath Shinde-led Sena will not be part of the government in Maharashtra.

Talking to mediapersons in Mumbai on Tuesday, Shirsat, whose party shares power with the Bharatiya Janata Party in Maharashtra, said he thinks the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will not go with the BJP directly.

"Our policy is clear about it. The NCP is a party which betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out (of the earlier undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray) because people didnt like us going with the Congress and NCP," he said.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not said anything which means he doesn't want to be in the NCP.

"We left the Congress-NCP (which were part of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government) because we didnt want to be with them. Ajit Pawar doesn't have a free hand there. Therefore, if he leaves the NCP, we will welcome him. If he comes along with along with a group of NCP (leaders), we will not be in the government," the Shiv Sena leader said.

He said Ajit Pawar's displeasure is because his son Parth Pawar lost election earlier. His displeasure has no connection with the case of a plea seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs pending before the Supreme Court.

Shirsat was recently appointed spokesperson of the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Parth Pawar was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from Maval constituency in Maharashtra.

"Ajit Pawar not being reachable is not a new thing. But his displeasure, which is being shown by the media, and our case (pending before the Supreme Court) has no relation. Ajit Pawar is disgruntled since his son Parth Pawar had lost the election," Shirsat said.

"Ajit Pawar was held responsible for the oath ceremony held at dawn (in November 2019 with Devendra Fadnavis). After two-and-a-half years, Sharad Pawar said it was an experiment to revoke President's rule," he claimed.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not clarified over this till date.

The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 had lasted for three days.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar is a big leader and he will not tell easily about what is going on in his mind.

He also slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi's move to hold rallies in parts of the state, as a show of unity and strength.

"We have to search for Ajit Pawar's stand in the ongoing rallies of MVA. He could not speak at the rally in Nagpur. The party which has only 15 MLAs (referring to Uddhav Thac is the key speaker and the one which has 54 MLAs is side-tracked. This is disrespect of Ajit Pawar," he said.
Kolkata, Apr 19 (PTI) Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee shrugged off l'affaire Mukul Roy - the desertion and flight to Delhi - by her ailing trusted lieutenant for a second time, simply stating on Wednesday that the maverick politician is BJP's MLA, it's his affair if he wants to go to Delhi".

Roy who had helped found the party which Banerjee leads in 1998, deserted her in 2017 for the BJP after facing a number of charges levelled by the CBI in the Narada case, only to come back in 2021 after winning the assembly election on a saffron party ticket, complaining of ill-treatment there.

For the last two years, Roy was hardly visible in public life and in and out of hospitals, though he clung on to both his MLA-ship which many thought he would resign from, to fight again as a TMC candidate as well as the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee which by tradition goes to an opposition MLA. Though he did ultimately resign from the PACs chairmanship, perhaps on sound advice by his colleagues in the TMC.

On Monday, his son Subhrangshu, an upcoming TMC leader filed a missing person report with the police, saying Mukul Roy was missing from home. When he discovered that his father was on a flight to Delhi, he even tried to get the airline flying the politician to off-board the man, pleading he was suffering from dementia.

Roy reached Delhi and the next day declared that he was in town to meet top BJP leaders and he had taken the step on his own, even though some of his assertions conflicted with each other.

Earlier, speaking to a Bengali news channel, Roy had claimed that he was "never a MLA and has always been a member of the Parliament," and then said he had a right to be in Delhi as "as a Delhi MP and MLA". He also said he has to fight the CPI(M) and then went on to say that there is a need to fight CPI(M), Congress and TMC.

On Wednesday in a telephonic interview to PTI from New Delhi, Roy said the saffron camp would do well in the upcoming panchayat polls in Bengal, and the party would easily achieve the target of winning 35 plus Lok Sabha seats in 2024 set by Amit Shah last week.

"I am absolutely fit and fine. Some people are spreading rumours that I am unwell, but this is not true. I am a BJP MLA and have come here to be with the party. I want to work for my party BJP. I was never mentally with the TMC after I left it," the 69-year-old politician said.

He asserted he would soon meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president J P Nadda and start working for the BJP.

All this happened as the family pleaded that he was suffering various ailments and needed help through a series of press statements and press conferences.

Banerjee took note of the familys concerns while speaking to press reporters at Nabanna on Wednesday and carefully said her states administration would look into and act on the complaint made by his son that Roy was missing.

However, beyond that, observer in the city felt, that she had reconciled herself to the loss of Mukul Roy, whose political value at the current juncture may be one of being an embarrassment to both her and the party which supports him. Though it is yet to be evaluated what embarassing revelations Roy may make in the weeks to come.

A physician who had looked after him confirmed that Roy underwent a surgery for hydrocephalus, a condition in which fluid accumulates in the brain, which may cause brain damage last month and has been suffering from both from Dementia and Parkinsons.

"Mr Roy's (physical) health has improved a lot compared to what it was a month back. He is physically fit to travel, but how much he has regained his mental functioning is yet to be ascertained, eminent Neurosurgeon Dr S N Singh told PTI.

Dementia is a condition in which a person may lose cognitive functioning, which includes thinking, remembering, and reasoning, to an extent. Parkinson's disease on the other hand is a neurological disorder which affects the nervous system.
NEWARK, NJ / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / New Jersey Attorney Brett M. Rosen has been racking up the awards. Rosen was recently selected to Thomson Reuters Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for criminal defense. He's been selected to this list every year since 2020. According to Thomson Reuter Super Lawyers website, only 2.5% of attorneys in New Jersey are selected to the Rising Stars list. Rosen has been practicing criminal as well as civil litigation at the law firm of Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle, & Sacks, LLC for the last several months.

Attorney Brett Rosen & Edilberto Torres

Besides being selected to this list four years in a row, Rosen is no stranger to high-profile clients. He's repped celebrity clients on domestic violence and drug cases according to his firm's website. He's handled cases ranging from a speeding ticket to severe criminal charges per the firm's website.

It seems that he's living up to that Super Lawyers Rising Stars list's reputation since he is fresh off a victory for a criminal jury trial in Essex County Superior Court. He represented the accused and after deliberating the jury acquitted his client of all charges. Apparently, this wasn't his first rodeo. His firm's website quotes him saying "while [he] was still in law school, [he] tried a misdemeanor jury trial as a student-prosecutor for the Bristol District Attorney's Office in Massachusetts."

His Super Lawyers profile also lists him as a recipient of the National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40. He was selected to that list in 2019. It also lists him as receiving the Avvo's Client Choice Award, which makes sense since he's quoted on his firm's website saying that part of his passion "is knowing [his] clients are satisfied with the result."

Rosen's firm, Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle, & Sacks, LLC is located in Toms River, New Jersey, and handle civil and criminal litigation, as well as employment law, family law, and elder law. Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle & Sacks, LLC is one of the Jersey Shore's leading full-service law firms, encompassing a wide variety of practice areas. The firm strives to be a value-added provider of legal services and obtain the very best possible results for its clients. To learn more, visit https://www.cldds.com.

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9 Robbins Street, Toms River, NJ 08753

www.cldds.com

Contact Information

Brett Rosen, Esq.

brosen@cldds.com

732.797.1600

SOURCE: Carluccio, Leone, Dimon, Doyle, & Sacks, LLC

.





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Jamshedpur, Apr 19 (PTI) BJP on Wednesday urged the Jharkhand Governor C P Radhakrishnan to order a probe by Central investigative agencies into the recent communal violence in Shastrinagar area under Kadma police station limit of Jamshedpur city.

A ten-member delegation led by former BJP Jharkhand President Dineshanand Goswami met the Governor in Ranchi and submitted a memorandum, appealing to him to order a probe by CBI or a High Court judge into the April 9 communal violence in Shashtrinagar here, BJP said in a statement.

They also urged the governor to release "innocent BJP and VHP workers" arrested in connection with the violence.

BJP leaders apprised the governor about the violence and said unruly mobs brick-batted the Jatadhari Shiv Mandir and triggered the violence.

Tension has been.prevailing in the area from April 8 night when the members of an Akhara committee reportedly detected a piece of meat in the Ramanavami jhanda (flag) and served 24-hour memorandum to the police to arrest culprits, install CCTV camera around the temple and remove a meat stall in the area.

The East Singhbhum administration gave assurances of looking into the demands, the statement said.

BJP leaders claimed that arrested leaders - Abhay Singh, the party in-charge of Dhanbad and former East Singhbhum district President of BJP, and Sudhansu Ojha, Vice-President of district committee of the party - had nothing to do with the violence.

The party also demanded to probe into accumulation of huge quantity of stones and bricks by unruly crowd in violence-marred area.

Apart from a Goswami, Party's General Secretary Pradip Verma, BJP Executive Committee members J B Tubid and Laxman Prasad Singh, Ex-MLA Laxman Tudu and Kadma Mandal President of BJP Rajesh Singh, among others, were part of the delegation.
Imphal, Apr 19 (PTI) In a sign of the rift with the BJP's Manipur unit, party MLA Khwairakpam Raghumani who is currently in Delhi, has filed a complaint with the DGP of Manipur police against BJP Minority Morcha president for a comment the latter made in a Facebook post.

Raghumani, who is one of the four BJP MLAs camping in Delhi to reportedly meet the party's central leadership and voice grievances, said he interpreted a comment made by the Morha chief Asker Ali Mkm to be "a threat" to his life while and urged "for action under cybercrime law and IPC Section 506."

Ali allegedly commented about the four MLA's move to sound out the BJP top leadership, stating "let this be the last trip to Delhi" in Manipuri language.

In his complaint, Raghumani claimed Ali,"Has issued this statement while I am away in Delhi and he seems to be threatening that this will be my last trip to Delhi or anywhere."

"The comment seems to have been issued with a malicious intent at the behest of people who are perhaps involved in drug business and do not want such issues to be brought up in meetings with leaders in Delhi" Raghumani said in his complaint.

Uripok MLA Khwairakpam Raghumani, posted a picture on Facebook of a meeting with Union Minister of State for DONER B L Verma.

"They (Thokchom Radheshyam Singh, Karam Shyam, Paonam Brojen and Raghumani) discussed the border and developmental issues of Manipur," the post said.

The move created speculation of dissension brewing in the Biren Singh-led BJP government as the trip to Delhi to meet national leaders came soon after BJP MLA Karam Shyam of Langthabal constituency tendered his resignation on Monday from the chairmanship of Tourism Corporation Manipur Limited complaining that he had "not been assigned any responsibility". PTI COR

On April 8, BJP MLA Thokchom Radheshyaam of Heirok constituency had resigned from the post of advisor to the chief minister citing similar grievance.

JRC JRC
Bhubaneswar, Apr 19 (PTI) Normal life in 14 districts of Odisha, including violence-hit Sambalpur, was affected on Wednesday due to a 12-hour 'hartal' (strike) called by Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest the "anti-Hindu" attitude of the BJD government.

The dawn-to-dusk strike has also been supported by the BJP, Bajrang Dal and other outfits of the Sangh Parivar.

Clashes were reported in Sambalpur on April 12 and 14, following which curfew was imposed in the city and internet services were suspended in the district.

The prohibitory order clamped in Sambalpur city since the midnight of April 14 following large-scale violence during Hanuman Jayanti celebrations was, however, partially lifted but the suspension of internet services was extended by another 24 hours till 10 am on Thursday, an official said.

The strike was spontaneous in Sambalpur, with commercial establishments remaining shut and few vehicles plying the roads. In other districts, however, Hindutva activists were seen staging blockades on roads and urging people to shut their shops.

However, emergency services have been kept out of the purview of the hartal.

Police personnel were deployed at important junctions in the affected districts to prevent any untoward incident.

ASP, Sambalpur, Tapan Kumar Mohanty said there has been no report of any untoward incident in the district so far.

Besides Sambalpur, the hartal was observed in Bargarh, Deogarh, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Bolangir, Kalahandi, Sonepur, Boudh, Nuapada, Koraput, Nabarangpur, Malkangiri and Rayagada districts.

Agitators demanded stringent action against "those responsible" for the violence in Sambalpur.

"We will observe a state-wide strike if no action is taken against those guilty within 48 hours," Subhransu Sekhar Satpathy, VHP secretary, Odisha, said.

BJP state unit president Manmohan Samal alleged that the police acted in a partisan manner and allowed mischief-mongers to go scot-free and arrested some innocent people.

The Sambalpur district administration, meanwhile, relaxed curfew following improvement in situation. No fresh violence was reported since April 14.

"Curfew has been relaxed from 7 am to 6 pm as the situation has improved," Sambalpur Collector Ananya Das said.

However, the state government extended the suspension of internet services by 24 hours till 10 am on Thursday across Sambalpur district.

The administration, however, provided internet services to banks and commercial establishments in some areas except Sambalpur city.

The collector, along with Superintendent of Police B Gangadhar, held several peace committee meetings with representatives of localities and said normalcy is returning.

The BJD, on the other hand, accused the BJP of trying to "instigate violence" in Odisha.

BJD spokesperson Srimayee Mishra said party activists will bring out peace marches across the state on Wednesday evening.

"It is extremely unfortunate that when peace is returning to Sambalpur, the Odisha BJP wants to instigate for political gains. This has always been their strategy. The police have taken tough action against those involved in the violence," she said in a statement.
Ranchi, Apr 18 (PTI) Agitators belonging to various student bodies on Tuesday took out a torchlight procession in Ranchi demanding 100 per cent reservation for local people in Jharkhand government jobs.

The procession was taken out as part of the students' 72-hour agitation over the issue.

The protesters had on Monday attempted to gherao Chief Minister Hemanta Soren's residence but the police stopped them ahead of the spot, prompting them to take other routes to assemble near Sidhu-Kanhu Park close to the CM's house.

On Tuesday, they gathered near Jaipal Singh Stadium and took out the torchlight procession to Albert Ekka Chowk. Tight security arrangements were put in place for the programme.

The agitators have called for a bandh on Wednesday over the demand.

Student leader Devendra Mahto said the agitators will not rest till their demands are fulfilled.

Protesters urged all to support their bandh by not opening shops and running buses.

Many schools will remain closed on Wednesday, while the Jharkhand Academic Council has cancelled its exams.

Mahto claimed the government had promised an employment policy based on the 1932 'khatiyan' (land settlement) but instead, it introduced a pre-2016 employment policy, under which 60 per cent of the seats will be reserved for underprivileged students while 40 per cent will remain open for all.

Making 1932 the cut-off year for the domicile policy will help descendants of people living in Jharkhand prior to that year get jobs.
Aizawl, Apr 19 (PTI) The United States consul general Melinda Pavek on a visit to Mizoram on Wednesday said that collaboration in certain areas, including connectivity, cyber security and people to people connect, would strengthen ties between the US and India.

Pavek, who heads the US consulate in Kolkata, held separate meetings with Mizoram health minister Dr. R. Lalthangliana and state chief secretary Renu Sharma in Aizawl on Wednesday, according to an official statement.

During an interaction with Sharma, the US Consul General described the relationship between the US and India as good and and highlighted cooperation in four areas - connectivity, prosperity, security and people to people connectivity.

Apart from land and air connectivity, human mobility, visa issuance for students and businesses, collaboration can also be effected in the fields of innovation and entrepreneurship to work with US industries, Parek said.

She said that cyber security, research and development in the military, people to people, government to government and multilateral collaborations can also be undertaken.

Sharma apprised the Consul General of the various initiatives and projects undertaken by the Mizoram government.

She also spoke about the potential areas of collaboration particularly in the fields of connectivity, tourism, food processing, health care, business sector, bamboo development, innovation and entrepreneurship.

In another meeting, Lalthangliana highlighted the state's strategic location with respect to its international border (with both Myanmar and Bangladesh) and pointed out that the state was well placed to act as a connector for international trade and investment.
(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)
New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) Three wanted criminals were arrested after a brief exchange of fire in Southwest Delhi's Sarojini Nagar in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.

Identified as Sachin (47), Prince (18) and Ritik (20), they all are members of Rajesh Bawania gang, they said.

During the encounter, the criminals fired four rounds upon the police party and in self defence, the team fired three rounds, police said.

Special Commissioner of Police (Crime) Ravindra Singh Yadav said, "We got a tip off that three wanted and active criminals of Rajesh Bawania gang would be visiting the Sarojini Nagar area. We were also told that they always carry firearms and weapons with them and dont hesitate to open fire upon the police team."

"A team was constituted which along with the informer reached near Pakora Market in Sarojini Nagar. Picket checking was started on Mata Rani Vijaya Sindhiya Road. At around 1.10 am, a motorcycle was intercepted which was coming from the ring road towards Brigadier Hoshiyar Singh Road.

"There were three persons on the motorcycle, who were signalled to stop by police officials. That is when the alleged persons started firing on the police party. One bullet hit SI Hemant on his bullet proof jacket while HC Sanjay had a narrow escape," he said.

During exchange of fire, accused Sachin got a bullet injury in his right leg, while two other accused Prince and Ritik were overpowered by police officials, he added.

The injured assailant was immediately moved to the Safdarjung Hospital for treatment, the officer said.

Sachin committed four bank robberies at various places namely, Narnaul, Jind, Rewari in Haryana. In 2021, he abducted a person for ransom, police said, adding the other two accused are also involved in criminal activities.
New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) As India became the world's most populous country, experts said women should not be blamed for the country's growing population and asserted that gender equality and greater bodily autonomy will act as key determinants for a sustainable future.

According to the latest data provided by the United Nations, India has surpassed China to become the world's most populous nation with 142.86 crore people.

Poonam Muttreja, Executive Director, Population Foundation of India, said women should not be held responsible for the surge in population.

"Whether they wish to have children or not, when to have them, and how many are really their right - nobody elses. Families, governments, and policy-makers or society have no right to take decisions on their behalf.

"Womens autonomy over their bodies cannot be determined by policies driven by population trends - incentivising women to have more children if the population is declining, or controlling their fertility if the population is rising," she said, pointing out that regardless of population dynamics and changing fertility trends, what remains unchangeable is womens right over their fertility and lives.

Women, according to the World Bank, account for 48 per cent of India's population. According to National Family Health Survey-5 data, nearly one out of every four women in India is married before turning 18. The figure also indicates towards the prevalence of child marriage in the country pegged at 23 per cent  higher than the world average of 21 per cent.

One such child bride is Chaaya Devi.

Married at the age of 12, Devi dreamt of a better future for her firstborn. She wanted her daughter to become a doctor, which, however, changed after she had two more children.

"Children are god's gift but what if you don't have money to raise them? It leaves your other children in the constant state of suffering, too," said the 25-year-old, who works as a domestic help in Noida and is currently expecting her fourth child.

"I consulted a government hospital doctor but she scolded me for getting pregnant again. What she does not understand is that my consent is never taken, she said.

Her situation is not unique, millions of women in India share Devis ordeal due to societal and family pressure and stigma around contraceptives and abortion.

According to NFHS-5 survey, in 2019-20, only 1.7 per cent of women from the lowest wealth quintile chose abortion as compared to those in middle and highest wealth quintile at 3.2 and 4.1 per cent, respectively.

It also suggested that women with 10-11 years of education were more likely to opt for abortion than those who never went to school.

Shyamal Santra, Lead of Public Health and Nutrition at Transform Rural India Foundation said it is possible that the lower reported rates of abortion among lower-middle-class individuals in India could be influenced by a variety of factors, including limited access to healthcare, cultural or religious beliefs, or a lack of awareness about reproductive healthcare options.

Andrea Wojnar, Representative UNFPA India and Country Director Bhutan on State of the World Population Report (SWOP) 2023 said ensuring gender equality, empowerment and advancing greater bodily autonomy for women and girls-is one of the key determinants of a sustainable future.

Individual rights and choices should be respected, and all should be able to decide when to have children, if any, and how many. Women and girls should be at the centre of sexual and reproductive policies and programmes," she said.

Adopting a life cycle approach, where girls and women are empowered at every stage of their lives, gender-responsive work arrangements (for both men and women) that enable women to continue engagement in decent work opportunities in the long run, reducing barriers within the workplace, and improved access to finance will allow women and girls to pursue their lifetime aspirations and harness their untapped potential, Wojnar said.

Seema Bhaskaran, Lead-Gender at NGO Transform Rural India Foundation, said, Adolescents and young women are only infused with patriarchal values of virginity and the sanctity of the vagina and linking it to the honour of the family. This leads to a sense of secrecy and shame about the body, menstruation, fertility, and reproductive rights."

Talking about the situation in rural India, she said sexual abuse of adolescents and young women is high in rural areas of India and the girl child is subjected to severe trauma and risk to life as they bear children as unwed mothers.

Acording to Muttreja, India needs to continue working towards improving equitable and universal access to reproductive health services, including family planning services so that women and men have the freedom to lead their lives the way they want to.

At the same, India needs to educate young people - especially girls - and make sure that they are employed rather than married first. Young people must be equipped with the right education and professional skills to contribute productively to the workforce and subsequently to national development, she added.
New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) Three children drowned in a pond in which they were allegedly bathing near Yamuna Khadar in northeast Delhi's Shastri Park on Wednesday, police said.

Police personnel, who were in the area in connection with a murder case, saw the children drowning around 12.30 pm and tried to pull them out. The children were then rushed to Jag Pravesh Chandra hospital, where doctors declared them brought dead, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Northeast) Joy Tirkey.

Later, the bodies were shifted to GTB Hospital for post-mortem examination, the DCP said.

The three children were residents of Bhagwanpur Kheda Village, Shahdara.

Police said proceeding are being carried out under CrPC 174, which is invoked in cases of death by natural or suspicious means. Two of the deceased have been identified as Himanshu (12) and Krishna Chauhan (13).

Himanshu was the eldest among three siblings, said his father Govardhan, who runs a tyre repair shop in Seelampur.

Govardhan said five children had gone to the pond to bath. Two of them did not enter the pond and they brought the police to his home. "The police informed me about the incident. I never heard that my son had gone to the area before," he said, adding he did not know the two surviving children.

Krishna's mother Neelu Chauhan said she works as a maid and was returning home when she saw police at her doorstep.

"I usually go to work at 7 am and return home around 2 pm. Today when I was heading home, I saw police personnel outside my house," she said.

She said the police informed her that her son was rushed to a hospital. "When I reached the hospital, the doctors informed me he has died. This was the first time my son had gone to the area," she said.
New Delhi, Apr 19 (PTI) The Delhi government plans to provide small plants and pots free of cost at people's doorstep to enhance the green cover in the national capital, Environment Minister Gopal Rai said on Wednesday.

He told PTI in an interview that a team is being set up to identify plant species that have a high mortality rate after transplantation and to ascertain the impact of soil type and other factors on the translocated trees in a bid to improve their survival rate.

According to the latest India State of Forest Report, Delhi's green cover has increased from 21.88 per cent to 23.06 per cent of its geographical area.

However, Rai said the government is planning alternative models such as urban farming to improve the green cover as Delhi will hit the saturation point at some point.

"The Forest Department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi are going to launch a pilot project to provide plants and pots free of cost to people at their doorsteps.

"We are conducting a ward-wise survey, asking people what type of plants they want. I have got the survey conducted in my assembly constituency (Babarpur in northeast Delhi). If the project becomes successful, we will be able to create an alternate green belt," he said.

According to biodiversity experts, small plants are easy to maintain and require fewer resources than larger ones. This makes smaller plants a more sustainable choice for increasing green cover in certain areas, they said.

The Delhi environment minister said a few species have a very poor survival rate, and the soil type in some areas does not suit tree transplantation.

"A team is being formed to identify trees that have a dismal survival rate after transplantation. The forest department has been directed to ascertain the impact of soil type on the survival rate of the transplanted trees," he said.

Data submitted by the forest department to the Delhi High Court in May last year showed that only 33.33 per cent of the 16,461 trees transplanted in Delhi over the previous three years have survived.

The Delhi government's tree transplantation policy states that agencies concerned must transplant a minimum of 80 per cent of the trees affected by their development works. The benchmark tree survival rate at the end of one year of transplantation is 80 per cent.

Rai said the Delhi government has been able to substantially reduce air pollution and is now working at the micro-level, "trying to ascertain which sources are contributing to air pollution under what conditions."

"Our action plan to fight air pollution will be based on the inputs provided by the real-time source apportionment study," he said.

The Delhi government will launch a 16-point action plan to curb pollution in the summer season this month.

Rai also acknowledged that efforts to curb dust pollution have improved in the national capital region (NCR) areas of the neighbouring states.

"Several studies show that around 69 per cent of the air pollution in Delhi comes from outside its boundaries... Certainly, the neighbouring states have had a role in reducing air pollution in the capital but more measures need to be taken," he said.

Rai suggested that Delhi's neighbouring states set up a committee to look into the problem of air pollution in the NCR areas as "top officials sitting far away from NCR -- in Lucknow and Chandigarh -- are unable to feel the urgency to resolve the problem".

About the opposition parties' criticism of the Delhi government promoting bio-decomposer, Rai said changing people's mindset takes time and effort.

"We provided a solution to people. But to convince them to use it requires serious effort. If we have been able to reduce air pollution in Delhi, it's because we are creating awareness and changing the mindset of people. (In the case of bio-decomposer) we not only convinced people but the central government too," he said.

To minimise the impact of the burgeoning population of Delhi on the environment, Rai said the city government is connecting all houses in unauthorised colonies to the sewer network, improving public transport and promoting e-vehicles, and working with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi to improve the waste management system and flatten the garbage mountains in Ghazipur, Okhla and Bhalswa.

The government is working to ensure last-mile connectivity through the Mohalla bus service. Free bus travel for women is an excellent effort, integrating women's safety and the use of public transport, he said.

Rai said the Delhi government is working in tandem with other agencies to improve the condition of roads to curb dust pollution.
Austin is becoming known for more than its music festivals and great food.

By the end of 2022, the Texas capital housed approximately 30,500 individuals with at least $1 million in investable assets, according to a ranking published by investment migration firm Henley & Partners in partnership with global wealth intelligence firm New World Wealth. The new figure of rich city slickers represents a 102-percent increase from 2012, or a doubled millionaire population, which makes Austin the fastest-growing wealthy city in America.

More from Robb Report

Several major tech companies have moved their headquarters to Austin over the past few years, aiding in the citys surge of wealth. Billionaire Elon Musk, one of the citys noted power players, has taken steps to move operations including Tesla and SpaceX are based to the southern capital. In March, the tech CEO was allegedly said to be considering the purchase of a portion of Bastrop County, just 35 miles outside the city. What for? To build a Texas Utopia where his Boring Company employees can live in new houses with cheap rent, all of which he would control. Other big-tech companies including Oracle, Microsoft, Qualcomm, and Intel also have significant footprints in Austin.

With its fast-growing tech sector, it has been dubbed Silicon Hills. The top-end residential market in the city has also been growing rapidly, writes Andrew Amoils, head of research at New World Wealth, in the report. Notable listings in Austin so far this year include a trio of Victorian-Era homes listed for $20 million and a $17 million penthouse, both located in downtown Austin. Four Seasons also pulled back the curtain on its luxe private residences on Lake Austin. Set on 145 acres, the enclave is expected to wrap development in 2026 with 179 homes. With that said, the city certainly has more to offer than space for business outposts.

From a global standpoint, Hangzhou, China has the fastest-growing millionaire population, according to the ranking. Headquarters for conglomerate Alibaba and tech giant Netease are based in the city, where millionaire residents grew 105 percent over the last decade to 30,400. The report also found that some 15 million people across the globe possess more than $1 million in investable wealth. While Austin is now dubbed the fastest-growing wealthy city in America, New York remains the wealthiest city in the world with approximately 340,000 millionaires. Tokyo is the worlds second wealthiest city with 290,300 millionaire residents.
New Delhi, Apr 18 (PTI) An e-rickshaw driver was found carrying his mother's body in his vehicle in central Delhi's Rajendra Nagar area on Tuesday, police said.

A call was received at the Police Control room (PCR) around 7 pm, informing that a man was seen carrying an elderly woman's body in an e-rickshaw. A police team rushed to the spot and the e-rickshaw driver was identified as Jagdish (32), a resident of Begampur, a senior officer said.

A passerby saw Jagdish carrying the woman's body in his e-rickshaw while he was headed towards Patel Nagar from Ganga Ram Road, police said.

The officer said Jagdish had got his mother, Dhanwati Devi (65), admitted to the Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar Hospital as she was suffering from an illness for long. Jagdish told police that his mother was discharged by the hospital in the evening but subsequently, she passed away.

Jagdish also told police that she was taking his mother's body to his native place in Banda in Uttar Pradesh in the e-rickshaw, the officer said.

No external injury was found on the body, which has been preserved at the Ram Manohar Lohia (RML) Hospital where the post-mortem examination will be conducted, police said.

They added that the version of Jagdish is being verified.

According to police, it seems that Jagdish is not in a fit state of mind. Necessary action in the matter will be taken, they added.
Ludhiana, Apr 19 (PTI) Police on Wednesday said they have busted an inter-state fake Indian currency note gang in this district and recovered fake currency with a face value of over Rs 15 lakh.

Four people have been arrested in this regard, Amneet Kondal, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Khanna, said.

A special campaign was launched to nab criminals and anti-social elements last Thursday. During patrolling near Alaur village, the police saw two people moving suspiciously and started searching them, the SSP said.

During checking, fake Indian currency notes of 500, 200 and 100 denominations with face value of Rs 67,500 were recovered from their possession.

The suspects have been identified as Kamaljit Singh and Honey Bhardwaj of Samrala and Machiwara, respectively.

The police said link was established with other accomplices Manoj Kumar and Madan Lal of Ajmer (Rajasthan) during investigation.

Police parties were rushed to Rajasthan to nab the accused.

During their search, fake Indian currency notes worth more than Rs 15 lakh along with one laptop, printer and blank pages were also recovered from their possession. Later on police also seized some more fake currency from them, she said.
Nagpur, Apr 19 (PTI) A 59-year-old street vendor was killed and a pedestrian was injured after a speeding ambulance hit them in Nagpur city of Maharashtra, police said on Wednesday.

Police have arrested the 21-year-old driver of the ambulance for rash and negligent driving.

The incident occurred in Sakardara area on Tuesday evening when the ambulance was shifting a body. The injured duo was rushed to the government hospital where doctors declared the 59-year-old vendor dead.
A 26-year old man who used a sword to attack two men in Eastern Connecticut before going on a crime spree that included killing a former classmate and kidnapping a woman before a multistate manhunt was sentenced Wednesday to 55 years in prison
Westerly, RI (02891)

Today

Cloudy skies early, followed by partial clearing. Slight chance of a rain shower. High 54F. Winds ESE at 5 to 10 mph..

Tonight

Partly cloudy skies this evening will give way to occasional showers overnight. Low 43F. Winds light and variable. Chance of rain 40%.




Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus global influence may be waning, according to a recent Pew Research Center poll. The survey found that a growing number of Americans, including young Republicans, have never even heard of him.

The poll, which analyzed US confidence in major world leaders, found that a sizable shares of the US public have not heard of several world leaders, including Netanyahu. The Israeli Prime Minister was viewed unfavorably by 42% of Americans, with only 32% expressing confidence in him.

Despite the overall negative perception, Netanyahus standing among Republicans was notably higher. Republicans were 32 percentage points more likely than Democrats to have confidence in Netanyahu, with 49% expressing confidence in him compared to just 17% of Democrats.

However, the survey found that younger Republicans between the ages of 18 and 49 were less positive about Netanyahu than their older counterparts. This was largely due to the fact that 35% of younger Republicans surveyed said they had never even heard of the Israeli leader. Just 30% of Republicans in this age group expressed confidence in Netanyahu, which was significantly less than the 66% of older Republicans who expressed confidence in him.

These trends suggest that Netanyahu may not be able to rely on the traditional support of Republicans for much longer, as younger members of the party appear less enthusiastic about him. The Pew Research Center poll is likely to be of concern to Netanyahu, who prides himself on his standing as an influential international statesman.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)




Antisemitism rose in the U.S. in 2022 and shows little sign of abating worldwide as political radicals have gained mainstream popularity, researchers said in a report released Monday.

The report was released by Tel Aviv Universitys Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry and the U.S.-based Anti-Defamation League as Israel began observing its annual day of remembrance for the 6 million Jews killed in the Holocaust.

Last years report found that 2021 set a new high for antisemitic incidents, with the coronavirus pandemic fueling a worldwide rise in antisemitism. This year the researchers said that 2022 did not mark a universal reversal of the trend, and in some countries, most alarmingly the United States, it intensified.

Other countries with large Jewish populations, such as France, Canada, Argentina and the United Kingdom, showed a decrease in antisemitic incidents from the previous year.

The ADL found that the number of antisemitic incidents in the U.S. increased by more than 35% in the past year, from 2,721 in 2021 to 3,697 in 2022. Antisemitic and white supremacist propaganda in the U.S. also hit new levels, the organization said.

Antisemitic hate crimes rose in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago, home to the countrys three largest Jewish populations, according to their police departments.

The researchers found that visibly identifiable Jews, particularly ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are also known as haredi Jews, are the primary targets of antisemitic violence in the West.

Haredi Jews are the main victims not only because they are easily identifiable as Jews, but also because they are perceived as vulnerable and unlikely to fight back, the report said.

The rise in Jew-hatred in the U.S. is not limited to white supremacists. It said that the antisemitism of the far-right and far-left are pushing into the mainstream of American culture and politics from both sides.

While antisemitism in America is nothing new, since World War II, American Jews have lived securely in the knowledge that civil society and its institutions are a reliable buffer against discrimination, prejudice and violence, the reports authors wrote. Violent attacks on Jews and Jewish institutions in recent years have shattered the perception of exceptionalism.

In Israel, the report also criticized the new governments inclusion of the ultranationalist religious Jewish Power party, founded by the successor of the late racist anti-Arab rabbi, Meir Kahane. The paper said the party has polluted Israeli public discourse with chilling racist expressions that would have led to the immediate termination of their political careers in other democracies.

The obvious must be stated: Racism is racism, and Jewish racism is as deplorable as other forms of racism, and should never be excused or tolerated, the report said.

(AP)




Fox and Dominion Voting Systems reached a settlement Tuesday in the voting machine companys defamation lawsuit, averting a trial in a case that exposed how the top-rated network chased viewers by promoting lies about the 2020 presidential election.

An attorney for Dominion said the settlement was for $787.5 million.

The truth matters. Lies have consequences, said Dominion lawyer Justin Nelson in a news conference outside the courthouse after the announcement.

Dominion had asked for $1.6 billion in arguing that Fox had damaged its reputation by helping peddle phony conspiracy theories about its equipment switching votes from former President Donald Trump to Democrat Joe Biden. Fox said the amount greatly overstated the value of the Colorado-based company.

The resolution announced in Delaware Superior Court follows a recent summary judgment ruling by Judge Eric Davis in which he allowed the case to go to trial while emphasizing it was CRYSTAL clear that none of the allegations about Dominion aired on Fox by Trump allies were true.

In a statement issued shortly after the announcement, Fox News said the network acknowledged the courts rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false. It did not respond to an inquiry asking for elaboration.

Inquiries to Dominion and Fox Corp. were not immediately returned.

Records released as part of the lawsuit showed how Fox hosts and executives did not believe the claims by Trumps allies but aired them anyway, in part to win back viewers who were fleeing the network after it correctly called hotly contested Arizona for Democrat Joe Biden on election night.

The settlement, if formally accepted by the judge, will end a case that has proven a major embarrassment for Fox News. If the case had gone to trial, it also would have presented one of the sternest tests to a libel standard that has protected media organizations for more than half a century.

Several First Amendment experts had said Dominions case was among the strongest they had ever seen. Still, there was real doubt about whether Dominion would be able to prove to a jury that people in a decision-making capacity at Fox could be held responsible for the networks airing of the falsehoods.

Dominion accused Fox of defaming it by repeatedly airing, in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election, false allegations by Trump allies that its machines and the software they used had flipped votes to Biden  even as many at the network doubted the claims and disparaged those who were making them.

The company sued both Fox News and its parent, Fox Corp., and said its business had been significantly damaged.

During a deposition, Fox Corp. Chairman Rupert Murdoch, who founded the network, testified that he believed the 2020 election was fair and had not been stolen from Trump.

Fox knew the truth, Dominion argued in court papers. It knew the allegations against Dominion were outlandish and crazy and ludicrous and nuts. Yet it used the power and influence of its platform to promote that false story.

In his March 31 summary judgment ruling, Davis pointedly called out the news organization for airing falsehoods while noting how the bogus election claims persist, 2 1/2 years after Trump lost his bid for reelection.

The statements at issue were dramatically different than the truth, Davis said in that ruling. In fact, although it cannot be attributed directly to Foxs statements, it is noteworthy that some Americans still believe the election was rigged.

In its defense, Fox said it was obligated to report on the most newsworthy of stories  a president claiming that he had been cheated out of reelection.

We never reported those to be true, Fox lawyer Erin Murphy said. All we ever did was provide viewers the true fact that these were allegations that were being made.

Fox said Dominion had argued that the network was obligated to suppress the allegations or denounce them as false.

Freedom of speech and of the press would be illusory if the prevailing side in a public controversy could sue the press for giving a forum to the losing side, Fox said in court papers.

In a 1964 case involving The New York Times, the U.S. Supreme Court limited the ability of public figures to sue for defamation. The court ruled that plaintiffs needed to prove that news outlets published or aired false material with actual malice  knowing such material was false or acting with a reckless disregard for whether or not it was true.

That has provided news organizations with stout protection against libel judgments. Yet the nearly six-decade legal standard has come under attack by some conservatives in recent years, including Trump and Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, who have argued for making it easier to win a libel case.

Two Republican-nominated Supreme Court justices, Clarence Thomas and Neil Gorsuch, have publicly expressed interest in revisiting the protection.

Dominions lawyers argued that Fox made a deliberate decision to repeatedly air the false claims to appeal to viewers. They allowed guests to falsely claim that the company had rigged the election, flipped large numbers of votes to Biden through a secret algorithm, was owned by a company founded in Venezuela to rig elections for Hugo Chavez, the late president, and bribed government officials.

What they did to get viewers back was start this new narrative that the election had been stolen and that Dominion was the thief, Dominion lawyer Rodney Smolla said during a March hearing.

A mountain of evidence  released in the form of deposition transcripts, internal memos and emails from the time  was damaging to Fox even if some of it was only tangentially related to the libel argument.

Dominion has pointed to text and email messages in which Fox insiders discounted and sometimes overtly mocked the vote manipulation claims. One Fox Corp. vice president called them MIND BLOWINGLY NUTS.

Much of the material showed a network effectively terrified of its audience after its election night declaration that Biden had won Arizona. The race call infuriated Trump and many viewers who supported him.

One of Foxs top news anchors, Bret Baier, noted the audiences anger and suggested rescinding the call, even awarding the state to Trump.

We dont want to antagonize Trump further, Murdoch said in a Nov. 16 memo.

Biden narrowly won Arizona, but two executives responsible for the accurate election night call lost their jobs because of it two months later. In an internal memo, Murdoch talked in mid-November about firing them.

Fox executives and anchors discussed how not to alienate the audience, many of whom believed Trumps claims of fraud despite no evidence to back them up. Foxs Tucker Carlson suggested a news reporter be fired for tweeting a fact check debunking the fraud claims.

Some of the exhibits were simply embarrassing, such as scornful behind-the-scenes opinions about Trump, whose supporters form the core of the networks viewers. Text exchanges revealed as part of the lawsuit show Carlson declaring, I hate him passionately, and saying that we are very, very close to being able to ignore Trump most nights.

(AP)




In a brain melting reckless move that smacks of self-promotion and delusion, a prominent frum Democratic lobbyist publicly blared his attempt to build a relationship with Reps. Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, whose virulently anti-Semitic histories have shocked Jews worldwide.

Lobbyist Ezra Friedlander wrote on Twitter that he was invited as a plus one to the Muslim Congressional staffer Iftar dinner. The Iftar is the meal Muslims eat after sunset during the month of Ramadan.

Friedlander said he utilized the opportunity to lay the foundation for future communication with Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib.

Justifying the move, Friedlander wrote that, as easier as it would be to not engage in conversation, I believe to my core that not communicating is even more risky.

What is risky is thinking that making overtures to anti-Semites is beneficial to Jews in the US and around the world. Keep in mind that Omar equated Israel with the Taliban, and when asked if she realizes why her Jewish colleagues in Congress perceive such language as anti-Semitic, she said that they are not partners in justice and that she had no regrets about her comments.

Omar has a long history of other anti-Semitic and anti-Israel remarks, and has come under fire numerous times for her shameless and brazen anti-Semitism. Oh, and she also called the 9/11 attacks an incident in which some people did something.

Rashida Tlaib is no better. Just weeks ago, Tlaib republished a video she claimed showed IDF soldiers assaulting Palestinian teenagers. When the truth of the video clip emerged  the soldiers were breaking up a fight between Palestinian teens  Tlaib refused to apologize or even remove her Twitter post.

Like Omar, Tlaib calls Israel and apartheid state. And heres what she had to say about the Holocaust.

Theres always kind of a calming feeling I tell folks when I think of the Holocaust, and the tragedy of the Holocaust, and the fact that it was my ancestors  Palestinians  who lost their land and some lost their lives, their livelihood, their human dignity, their existence in many ways, have been wiped out, and some peoples passports, Tlaib said in a 2019 interview.

Does Friedlander really think that fraternizing with such miscreants would lead to anything positive? Perhaps he does, but that wouldnt be surprising from someone who defended Rep. Jerry Nadlers support for the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, despite his being keenly aware of the existential threat a nuclear Iran poses to Israel and the world.

(YWN World Headquarters  NYC)
EDMONTON, AB, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - AutoCanada Inc. ("AutoCanada" or the "Company") (TSX: ACQ), a multi-location North American automobile dealership group, announced that it will release its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2023 on Wednesday, May 3, 2023 after the close of markets. The Company will hold a conference call and webcast to discuss the results on Thursday, May 4, 2023 at 9:00 a.m. Mountain Time (11:00 a.m. Eastern Time).

AutoCanada Inc. Logo (CNW Group/AutoCanada Inc.)

The conference call will include prepared remarks from AutoCanada's management team. After the prepared remarks, the Company will accept questions from analysts .

Date: May 4, 2023

Time: 9:00 a.m. MT (11:00 a.m. ET)

Call: 1.888.664.6392 (Canada and USA)

Participants are asked to call at least 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. For those unable to participate on the live call, a replay will be made available until Thursday, May 11, 2023 by dialing 1.888.390.0541 (Canada and USA), passcode 912028. The public is invited to listen to the live conference call or the replay.

This conference call will be webcast live over the internet and can be accessed by all interested parties at the following URL: https://investors.autocan.ca/event/2023-q1-conference-call/

For those unable to listen during the live webcast, an audio replay will be available shortly after the conclusion of the conference call for a period of 90 days.

In addition, the Company announced details for its Annual and Special Shareholders Meeting (the "Meeting"). AutoCanada's 2023 Meeting will be held in a virtual only meeting format, which will be conducted via live audio webcast on May 4, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. Mountain Time (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time). Online access to the meeting will begin at 10:45 a.m. Mountain Time. Shareholders will not be able to attend the Meeting in person.

MEETING DATE AND LOCATION

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Date: Thursday, May 4, 2023

Time: 11:00 a.m. MT (1:00 p.m. Eastern Time)

Location: Online at https://meetnow.global/MJQPMTY

About AutoCanada

AutoCanada is a leading North American multi-location automobile dealership group currently operating 83 franchised dealerships, comprised of 28 brands, in eight provinces in Canada as well as a group in Illinois, USA. AutoCanada currently sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, FIAT, Alfa Romeo, Chevrolet, GMC, Buick, Cadillac, Ford, Infiniti, Nissan, Hyundai, Subaru, Audi, Volkswagen, Kia, Mazda, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Volvo, Toyota, Lincoln, Acura, Honda and Porsche branded vehicles. In addition, AutoCanada's Canadian Operations segment currently operates three used vehicle dealerships and one used vehicle auction business supporting the Used Digital Retail Division, 11 RightRide division locations, and 10 stand-alone collision centres within our group of 26 collision centres. In 2022, our dealerships sold approximately 100,000 vehicles and processed over 900,000 service and collision repair orders in our 1,367 service bays generating revenue in excess of $6 billion.

Additional information about AutoCanada is available at www.sedar.com and the Company's website at www.autocan.ca.

SOURCE AutoCanada Inc.

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View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2023/19/c9516.html




Police in New York have arrested two men for allegedly setting up a secret police station for a Chinese provincial police agency to collect information on opponents of the ruling Communist Party.

Such offices have been reported across North America, Europe and in other countries where Chinese communities include critics of the Communist Party who have family or business contacts in China. China denies that they are police stations, saying that they exist mainly to provide citizen services such as renewing drivers licenses.

Party leader and head of state Xi Jinping has waged a campaign against corruption that has also targeted criticism of his regime at home and abroad, while seeking to chase down those accused of financial crimes.

The arrests Monday in New York came alongside charges against 34 officers with Chinas national police force in China for using social media to harass party critics in the United States, authorities said Monday.

Below is a look at the allegations that China is running secret overseas police stations and the backlash they have encountered.

WHAT IS THE LATEST IN THE NEW YORK CASE?

The two men who were arrested were acting under the direction and control of a Chinese government official, the Justice Department said in a statement Monday.

The arrests of the men, identified as Harry Lu Jianwang, 61, of the Bronx, and Chen Jinping, 59, of Manhattan, both U.S. citizens, are the first of their kind anywhere in the world.

The two did not register with the Justice Department as agents of a foreign government, U.S. law enforcement officials said. And though the office did perform some services such as helping Chinese citizens renew their Chinese drivers licenses, it also served a more sinister function, including helping the Chinese government locate a pro-democracy activist of Chinese descent living in California and threatening a fugitive whom police wanted to return to China, officials said.

WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE OFFICES?

On Tuesday, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said there was no such thing as an overseas police station, and accused the U.S. of smears and political manipulation. Chinas Foreign Ministry says it operates the centers abroad to help citizens with bureaucratic tasks, such as renewing drivers licenses, that typically are done at police stations in China.

But the Spain-based nongovernment group Safeguard Defenders accused Chinese police of using the offices to spy on critics abroad and to harass or threaten both citizens and non-citizens in a report published last year. A Chinese official claimed last year that 210,000 suspects of fraud were persuaded to return to China in 2021 as part of a crackdown on telephone scams, although the researchers wrote that not all were charged with crimes. Countries including Canada and Ireland asked China to close such stations or opened investigations of their own following the Safeguard Defenders report.

According to prosecutors in New York, the station in New York was operated by the Fuzhou branch of the Ministry of Public Security; they wrote that it had no authority to operate there and infringed U.S. law and national sovereignty.

HOW WILL THE INVESTIGATION AFFECT US-CHINA RELATIONS?

China-US political relations are at a historic low. In February, the U.S. canceled a visit by Secretary of State Anthony Blinken to Beijing amid a furor over a Chinese spy balloon that overflew the U.S. Suspicion of China is one of the few areas where the Democratic and Republican parties find common ground, and the accusations of illegal Chinese police stations will likely galvanize sentiment for banning of Chinese brands such as Huawei and TikTok. Countries are required by international treaty to inform each other of when and where they operate their diplomatic missions.

Its not clear if China will seek the release of the two men arrested in the U.S., who are both U.S. citizens. China has in past been accused of hostage diplomacy, including imprisoning two Canadian nationals over the detention of a top executive of the electronics giant Huawei.

WHERE ELSE DOES CHINA OPERATE SIMILAR OFFICES?

In a February 2002 news release, the government of Fujian province said it had established a first batch of 30 Fuzhou Police Overseas Service Stations on five continents. The province has traditionally sent waves of migrants to Southeast Asia, North America, Australia and Europe.

Scores of service offices  Safeguard Defenders estimates more than 100  have been reported around the world, from Canada to New Zealand. Some are based in embassies, while others have operated out of commercial centers frequented by members of the Chinese diaspora.

In Italy, Chinese police made an agreement with the government in 2016 to conduct joint patrols with local police to assist Chinese-speaking tourists. Italy ended the program last year following the Safeguard Defenders report.

(AP)




The Air Force has opened its own investigation into how a lone airman could access and distribute possibly hundreds of highly classified documents, top Air Force leaders told Congress on Tuesday.

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall said he has directed the Air Force inspector general to go look at the Air National Guard unit based in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, where Airman 1st Class Jack Teixeira served and anything associated with this leak that could have gone wrong and allowed the leak to happen.

Teixeira, 21, was charged Friday in the U.S. District Court in Boston with unauthorized removal and retention of classified and national defense information. He is expected back in court for a hearing Wednesday.

The leaks have raised questions as to how a single airman could have removed so many documents without being detected, why there were not safety checks in place and how the documents could have lingered online undetected for months.

How could this guardsman take this information and distribute it electronically for weeks, if not months, and nobody knew about it? Democratic Sen. Jon Tester of Montana asked the Air Force leaders testifying before a Senate defense appropriations subcommittee.

In addition, the Air Force is conducting a service-wide review of how each command handles classified information, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. C.Q. Brown told committee members.

The Air Forces own reviews are on top of a military-wide review directed on Monday by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. Austin has ordered that all military facilities that handle classified information report to him within 45 days on how they access, share, store and destroy the nations secrets following the leaks.

The leaked documents exposed to the world unvarnished secret assessments on the war in Ukraine, the capabilities and geopolitical interests of other nations and other national security issues.

Teixeira posted the highly classified material in a geopolitical chat room on Discord, a social media platform that started as a hangout for gamers.

He had access to some aspects based on his job as a cyber administrator. He took advantage of that access, Brown said.

(AP)




Four Americans affiliated with a Black empowerment and political organization have been charged along with three Russians with conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in U.S. elections, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday.

The U.S. citizens and two Russians were added to an existing case in Tampa, Florida, federal court involving Aleksandr Ionov, described by prosecutors as the founder of a Moscow-based organization funded by the Russian government to carry out a clandestine influence campaign in the U.S.

The four Americans are all part of the African Peoples Socialist Party and Uhuru Movement, which has locations in St. Petersburg, Florida, and St. Louis. Among those charged is Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the U.S.-based organization  which was raided by the FBI last summer when Ionov was originally charged.

Russias foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights  freedoms Russia denies to its own citizens  to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States, said Assistant Attorney General Matthew Olsen of the Justice Departments National Security Division.

The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt U.S. elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are U.S. citizens or foreign individuals abroad, Olsen said in a news release.

Yeshitela and three other U.S. citizens  Penny Joanne Hess, Jesse Nevel and Augustus C. Romain Jr  are charged with conspiracy to defraud the U.S. Hess, Yeshitela and Nevel are also charged with impersonating agents of a foreign government. Ionov and the other two Russians, who remain in their country, face the fraud conspiracy charge.

Court records did not list attorneys for any of the seven defendants, and it wasnt immediately clear if they have been arrested. An email seeking comment was sent to the African Peoples Socialist Party, which has previously denied working covertly for Russia or that any members committed a crime.

Prosecutors said Ionov operated an entity called the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia that was used to carry out its U.S. influence efforts, overseen by the Russian intelligence service known as the FSB. They recruited U.S.-based organizations to help sway elections, make it appear there was strong support in the U.S. for Russias invasion of Ukraine and backing efforts such as a 2015 United Nations petition to decry the genocide of African people in the U.S., according to the indictment.

Among other things, the indictment charges that an unnamed candidate for local office in St. Petersburg received clandestine funding and political strategy from the group. Ionov and another Russian said at one point that their Florida effort would extend to the 2020 presidential campaign, which they called the main topic of the year.

The Uhuru group did have a candidate who ran unsuccessfully for St. Petersburg City Council in 2019, Eritha Akile Cainion. who is not charged in the indictment. She held a news conference in 2022 in which she defended Russia, saying world colonial powers have been collaborating against Russia for more than a century.

St. Petersburg Mayor Ken Welch, a Democrat, called the allegations troubling. It is important to underscore that the City of St. Petersburg does not support, condone or tolerate any foreign government engaging in activities to undermine or influence our elections, Welch said in a statement.

Yeshitela, the indictment adds, traveled from Tampa to Moscow in 2015 to meet with Ionov and other Russians to communicate on future cooperation, according to an Ionov email. What followed was covert Russian funding and support for various activities in the U.S. until summer 2022, including demonstrations at the California and Georgia state capitols and at an unnamed social media company in San Francisco.

Much of the alleged cooperation involved support for Russians invasion of Ukraine. In March 2022, Yeshitela held a news conference in which he said the African Peoples Socialist Party calls for unity with Russia in its defensive war in Ukraine against the world colonial powers. He also called for the independence of the Russian-occupied Donetsk region in eastern Ukraine.

In addition, the Justice Department announced a separate indictment in Washington charging Russian national Natalia Burlinova with conspiring with Russian intelligence to recruit U.S. academics and researchers to attend programs that advanced Russian interests. Burlinova concealed that her efforts were funded by the Russian government, prosecutors said.

It was not immediately clear Tuesday if Burlinova has an attorney to speak on her behalf.

(AP)




A Russian court on Monday convicted top opposition figure Vladimir Kara-Murza Jr. of treason for publicly denouncing Moscows war in Ukraine and sentenced him to 25 years in prison as part of the Kremlins relentless crackdown on critics of the invasion.

The political activist and journalist, who twice survived poisonings he blamed on Russian authorities, has rejected the charges against him as punishment for standing up to President Vladimir Putin and likened the proceedings to the show trials under Soviet dictator Josef Stalin.

Human rights organizations and Western governments denounced the verdict and demanded his release. Amnesty International declared the 41-year-old to be a prisoner of conscience.

Kara-Murza reacted calmly as the judge read the verdict and sentence in a quick monotone. His lawyer, Maria Eismont, later quoted him as telling her: My self-esteem has risen: I realized that I have done everything right. Twenty-five years is the highest appraisal that I could get for doing what I did and what I believed in, as a citizen, a patriot and a politician.

Kara-Murzas wife, Evgenia, who lives in the U.S. with their three children, tweeted after the verdict: A quarter of a century is an A+ for your courage, consistency and honesty in your years-long work. I am infinitely proud of you, my love, and Im always by your side.

The charges against Kara-Murza, a dual Russian-British citizen who has been behind bars since his arrest a year ago, stem from a March 2022 speech to the Arizona House of Representatives in which he denounced Russias invasion of Ukraine, as well as other speeches abroad.

There are millions of people in my country who fundamentally reject and fundamentally disagree with everything that the Putin regime represents and stands for, from the kleptocracy and thievery to the abuses and the repressions and the crimes against humanity that are being committed, Kara-Murza said in his 17-minute speech to lawmakers in Arizona, which he visited at the invitation of the Phoenix Committee on Foreign Relations.

It was an absolute honor for me to witness his courage last year when he addressed the House, said state Rep. Marcelino Quinonez, a Democrat and House Minority Whip. Obviously this sentence is a travesty for justice all around the world.

Days after the invasion, Russia adopted a law criminalizing spreading false information about its military. Authorities have used the law to stifle criticism of what the Kremlin calls its special military operation.

Kara-Murza was initially only charged with spreading false information about the military, but later the authorities added charges of working with an undesirable organization  also a criminal offense  and treason.

The sweeping campaign of repression is unprecedented since the Soviet era, effectively criminalizing independent reporting on the conflict and any public criticism of the war.

Another prominent opposition figure, Ilya Yashin, was sentenced to 8 years in prison last year on charges of spreading false information about the military.

Last month, a Russian court convicted a father over social media posts critical of the war and sentenced him to two years in prison. His 13-year-old daughter, who drew an antiwar sketch at school, was sent to an orphanage. Days later, Russias security service arrested Evan Gershkovich, an American reporter for The Wall Street Journal, on espionage charges.

A recent report by the Russian Supreme Court said that in 2022, courts ordered citizens to pay fines for discrediting the military 4,439 times, for the equivalent of about $1.8 million in total, according to Russias independent news site Mediazona.

In a statement at the end of his trial, Kara-Murza said he was jailed for many years of struggle against Putins dictatorship, his criticism of the war in Ukraine and his long efforts to champion Western sanctions against Russian officials involved in human rights abuses.

I know that the day will come when the darkness engulfing our country will dissipate, he told the court in remarks posted on his Twitter account. This day will come as inevitably as spring comes to replace even the frostiest winter.

Kara-Murza was an associate of Russian opposition leader and fierce Putin critic Boris Nemtsov, who was assassinated near the Kremlin in 2015.

In 2011-12, Kara-Murza and Nemtsov lobbied for passage of the Magnitsky Act in the U.S. The law was in response to the death in prison of Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who had exposed a tax fraud scheme. The law has enabled Washington to impose sanctions on Russians deemed to be human rights violators.

The judge in Kara-Murzas trial, Sergei Podoprigorov, was among those sanctioned after ordering Magnitskys arrest in 2008. Podoprigorov had petitioned U.S. authorities in 2018 to lift the sanctions against him, according to Kara-Murzas lawyer, Vadim Prokhorov. During Kara-Murzas trial, Prokhorov twice asked Podoprigorov to recuse himself, to no avail, Russian media reported.

Kara-Murza had been a friend of Sen. John McCain and was a pallbearer at his 2018 funeral. McCains choice of the Russian dissident as a pallbearer was widely seen as a slap at then-President Donald Trump, a fellow Republican who was often criticized by the senator for what he saw as having a cozy relationship with Putin. Kara-Murza had worked with McCain on pushing anti-Putin measures through Congress.

The politician and activist survived poisonings in 2015 and 2017 that he blamed on the Kremlin. Russian officials have denied responsibility.

Amnesty International denounced Kara-Murzas sentence as yet another chilling example of the systematic repression of civil society, which has broadened and accelerated under the Kremlin since Russias invasion of Ukraine last year.

The group declared Kara-Murza a prisoner of conscience, convicted for his political beliefs, and demanded his immediate and unconditional release.

Memorial, one of Russias oldest and most prominent human rights organizations that was named a co-winner of the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize along with human rights defenders from Ukraine and Belarus, also has named Kara-Murza as a political prisoner.

Memorials head Yan Rachinsky described the sentence as monstrous, adding that it reflected the authorities fear of criticism and marked a difference between todays Russia and civilized countries.

British and U.S. ambassadors to Russia called for Kara-Murzas immediate release, speaking to reporters on the steps of the Moscow courthouse. Western governments strongly condemned the conviction.

Vladimir Kara-Murza bravely denounced Russias invasion of Ukraine for what it was  a blatant violation of international law and the U.N. Charter, British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said in a statement.

The Foreign Office said it summoned Russian Ambassador Andrey Kelin over the conviction. The U.K. previously sanctioned the presiding judge for human rights violations in another case and said it would consider taking further action to hold people accountable in Kara-Murzas case.

The U.S. State Department praised Kara-Murza along with jailed opposition leader Alexei Navalny, Yashin and many others who serve their country and their fellow citizens at great personal cost by boldly standing up for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It renewed its call for the release of Kara-Murza and more than 400 other political prisoners in Russia.

The U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Turk called the sentence another blow to the rule of law and civic space in the Russian Federation.

Former Arizona state Rep. Cesar N. Chavez, a Democrat who was vice chairman of international affairs committee to the legislature when Kara-Murza gave his speech, called the sentence appalling and sad to those of us who live in a free society.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov refused to comment.

Kara-Murzas health has deteriorated in custody, leading to the development of polyneuropathy  disease of or damage to nerves  in both his feet, according to his lawyers.

Lawyer Prokhorov told German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle on Monday that the politician was handed in essence, a death sentence.

(AP)




Democratic Mayor Karen Bass, who was elected in November after promising to take on the citys out-of-control homeless crisis, announced Monday she would recommend spending what she called a record $1.3 billion next year to get unhoused people into shelter and treatment programs.

The funding to be included in the mayors upcoming budget could be used in part to buy hotels or motels that would be converted to housing, while the city combs through its inventory of properties for those that could be used for sheltering homeless people. The former congresswomans remarks, in an annual address to City Council on the state of the city, came roughly four months into her first term.

Bass added that the budget also would include funds for substance abuse treatment beds for the unhoused, but she did not specify how many. And her signature program, dubbed Inside Safe that offers homeless people motel rooms and a path to permanent housing with services, has over 1,000 enrollees so far, she said.

Meanwhile, Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has promised to deliver 500 units of temporary housing to the city, while the Biden administration has sent the city and county more than $200 million for homeless programs, she added.

After years of frustration  we can see a clearer path to a new Los Angeles, Bass said, speaking inside the ornate City Council chambers. And we have finally dispelled the myth that people do not want to come inside. They do.

However, Bass added that much work needed to be done. I cannot declare that the state of our city is where it needs to be, she said.

Bass overall optimism would be expected for a mayor in the early months of a first term, but it also belies looming challenges that could reshape her time in office.

The city has expanded spending on homeless programs for years  then-Mayor Eric Garcetti signed a budget in 2021 with nearly $1 billion in homeless spending  but the unhoused population has continued to increase. Bass challenge is in plain sight in just about any neighborhood: homeless people living in trash-strewn encampments or rusty RVs along streets, below underpasses and clustered around freeway exits.

About half the homeless population  totaling over 40,000 citywide  struggles with drug or alcohol addiction, and about a third have serious mental illnesses. Homeless deaths average five a day.

Some economists see a recession coming that could slash city tax revenue at a time when Bass is expanding homeless spending, though opinions are divided on the direction of the economy. A recent report from city Controller Kenneth Mejia outlined a series of other concerns, including the need to investment more in repairing crumbling streets and sidewalks and higher pension costs for retirees that already consume fully 15% of the citys general fund budget. Meanwhile, crime rates have been climbing, including for car thefts and shootings, while the police department has seen its staffing levels drop. Bass warned the number of police officers could drop below 9,000  a tally not seen since 2002.

Bass said her budget for the year that begins July 1 recommends hiring hundreds of officers, along with a recruitment campaign and incentives for new hires. It also funnels new dollars into a team of social workers and clinical psychologists who could respond to emergency calls when a police officer is not required.

We know safety goes far beyond lights and sirens, she said.

Bass, the first Black woman to serve as LAs mayor who was on President Joe Bidens short list for vice president, defeated billionaire businessman Rick Caruso in the November election. She anchored her campaign to getting homeless people off the streets and into shelters, reversing spiking crime rates and developing housing that working-class families can afford.

(AP)




Chinas foreign minister told his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts that his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.

In separate phone calls to the two officials on Monday, Qin Gang expressed Chinas concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements issued late Monday.

Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. It was a dramatic moment of diplomacy for China that Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

Qin stressed in his talks with Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran have set a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue, a statement about that phone call said.

He told Cohen that Beijing encourages Israel and the Palestinians to show political courage and take steps to resume peace talks. China is willing to provide convenience for this, he was quoted as saying.

Cohen expressed his countrys commitment to reducing tensions, but said the problem appeared to be difficult to resolve in the short term, the Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said.

Israels Foreign Ministry said in a statement that Qin and Cohen discussed the importance of maintaining quiet at the Temple Mount, particularly in the final days of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, but made no mention of peace talks with the Palestinians.

It said that Cohen conveyed the threat that we see in Irans nuclear program and called on China to help prevent Tehran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Qin also told Palestinian Foreign Affairs Minister Riyad al-Maliki that China is willing to play an active role in the resumption of talks, a second statement said.

On Tuesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin confirmed Qins outreach to the two officials. It is never too late to do the right thing, he said.

(AP)




Israeli security forces, operating overnight Tuesday in Shechem, arrested the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack in the Shimon HaTzaddik neighborhood of Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, which injured two Breslover chassidim who had just davened Shacharis at the kever.

The operation was carried out by IDF soldiers and Border Guard officers under the intelligence guidance of the Shin Bet.

The terrorist, a 15-year-old resident of a village near Shechem, was transferred to the Shin Bet for questioning. BChasdi Hashem, no Israeli security forces were injured in the operation.

Police Commissioner Yaakov Shabta praised the security forces for the arrest: The combination of forces that has been proven time and time again  the Israel Police, the Border Guard, and the Shin Bet  led to the rapid arrest of the terrorist who carried out yesterdays shooting attack in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood of Jerusalem.

The commissioner added that from the first moment that the police forces from the Jerusalem District and the Border Guard officers were rushed to the scene of the attack, we used many forces and, together with accurate intelligence, we managed to get our hands on the terrorist. Every terrorist should know that the long hand of the security system will reach wherever he escapes and hides.

I would like to take this opportunity to praise the police forces and the Border Guard in Jerusalem who thwarted eight terrorist attacks during Ramadan. The war against terrorism is daily and cross-district and we will do everything to thwart any terrorist organization and any intention to harm civilians and the security forces.

We are now focusing, together with the Shin Bet and the IDF, on capturing the terrorists who carried out the attack in which Lucy, Rina and Maya Dee, hyd, of Efrat were murdered, and as I promised the father of the family yesterday, we will not turn a blind eye until the terrorists are captured.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Following a report of the neis the terror victims were zocheh to when the terrorists gun jammed in the attack in the Shimon HaTzadik neighborhood of Jerusalem on Tuesday morning, another neis was revealed in the operating room  the bullet had narrowly missed penetrating the heart of one of the victims.

Following the attack, Reb Yaakov Mozes, 48, underwent surgery at Hadassah Har HaTzofim Hospital to remove the bullet, which had barely missed his heart. Baruch Hashem, his condition has improved and he is in mild condition.

The second victim, Reb Moshe Yosef Hess, 50, who was more seriously wounded, underwent an emergency three-hour operation at Shaare Tzedek Hospital after the attack. Baruch Hashem, the surgery went well and he has regained consciousness.

Reb Moshe Yosefs son, Nachum, said after the attack: We thank Hashem who gave us a father as a gift, mamash a chesed and huge neis that a terrorist shoots from point-blank range  and Baruch Hashem we experienced nissim.

Another son, Menashe, said painfully that theres no security in this area, no police. My father has been going there for years but in recent years, due to feeling unsafe, he went by car rather than walking.

The public is asked to daven for the refuah sheleimah of Yaakov ben Penina and Moshe Yosef ben Malka btoch shaar cholei Yisrael.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




In a rare incident, all the soldiers in the 51st Battalion of the Golani Brigade deserted their base due to their anger over their new commander.

The soldiers laid down their weapons and left their base in protest over the dismissal of their commander, who was transferred from his position due to incompatibility. The commander was replaced by an officer from the Paraptroopers Brigade, which was apparently seen as an insult to the Golani soldiers.

The soldiers also launched a protest campaign on social media over the issue.

The move was condemned by the IDF which issued a statement saying that it is a serious incident that is not in accordance with IDF values and what is expected of IDF soldiers. The issue is currently being investigated and will be handled accordingly.

One social media user wrote: The left that started by normalizing the phenomenon of refusal destroyed the IDF.

(YWN Israel Desk  Jerusalem)




Fox News settled a major defamation lawsuit for $787.5 million on Tuesday, according to the voting machine company that sued the top cable news network.

The settlement avoids a trial that could have shed additional light on former President Donald Trumps election lies, revealed more about how the right-leaning network operates and even redefined libel law in the U.S. Here are some things to know about the case.

___

THE CASE

Dominion Voting Systems sued Fox for $1.6 billion, claiming the news outlet repeatedly aired allegations that the companys voting machines were rigged against Trump in 2020 while knowing the accusations were untrue. Fox contended that it was reporting newsworthy charges made by supporters of the Republican president. The network said it was supported legally by libel standards.

The judge in the case announced that the two parties had resolved the matter Tuesday, just as opening arguments were scheduled to begin. Fox did not reveal settlement terms, but Dominion said the deal was for $787.5 million.

___

ELECTION DISCONNECT

Denver-based Dominion produced evidence that prominent people at Fox didnt believe the fraud allegations, even as the network gave Trumps allies airtime to repeat them. Multiple staffers texted and emailed in disbelief as Trump latched onto increasingly tenuous claims of being robbed by voter fraud. Foxs Sean Hannity said in a deposition that he did not believe the fraud claims for one second but wanted to give accusers the chance to produce evidence.

Fox founder Rupert Murdoch, questioned under oath, agreed that the 2020 election, won by Democrat Joe Biden, was free and fair: The election was not stolen, he said. Murdoch even wrote on Jan. 5, 2021, to a top executive urging that prominent Fox personalities issue a statement acknowledging Bidens legitimate win. At the same time, Murdoch acknowledged that Fox hosts such as Lou Dobbs and Jeanine Pirro at times endorsed false claims of election fraud.

___

FOXS FEAR

The court papers laid out a profound concern at Fox over the impact of its election night call that Biden had beaten Trump in the battleground state of Arizona  a call that was accurate. Fox scooped its rivals on the call, but it infuriated Trump and many Fox viewers, who expressed their anger and began tuning in to rival conservative media outlets such as Newsmax. Emails and memos released in the case show Fox executives were highly aware of a drop-off in their networks viewership at the same time that Newsmax was gaining viewers, and the executives viewed that dynamic as a potential threat.

LIBEL LAW

In its defense, Fox relied on a doctrine of libel law that has been in place since a 1964 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. The doctrine has made it difficult for some plaintiffs to prove defamation by news outlets. Public figures, and Dominion fits that standard in this case, have to prove not only that the information reported was incorrect but that the news organization acted with reckless disregard about whether it was true or not.

Some First Amendment advocates suggested the voting machine company had a strong argument. But they worried that a prolonged legal battle would give the Supreme Court a chance to change libel laws that would weaken protection for all media.

___

JUDGES IRE

The run-up to the trial was rocky for Fox, and not just because the public got a look at such private chatter as primetime host Tucker Carlson saying he passionately hated Trump. The trial judge has scolded the network for 11th-hour disclosures about Murdochs role at Fox News and about some evidence involving Fox Business host Maria Bartiromo, including recordings of her talking off-camera with Trumps lawyers.

Fox lawyers later apologized to the judge about the Murdoch matter, saying it was a misunderstanding not intended to deceive. Fox, meanwhile, won some legal fights over limiting what jurors could hear, including a ruling that barred testimony about the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

___

TRUMPS INTEREST

Trump took a keen interest in the case, judging by his social media posts. Always concerned about loyalty, and nursing a grudge about the Arizona call, he expressed anger at revelations in the case that many people at Fox not only did not support his fraud allegations but privately disdained them. Trump stepped up his criticism of Fox as the 2024 Republican presidential race gained steam, but he gave recent interviews to Carlson and Hannity.

___

THE ELECTION

Federal and state election officials, exhaustive reviews in multiple battleground states where Trump challenged his loss, and Trumps attorney general found no widespread fraud that could have changed the outcome of the 2020 election. Nor did they uncover any credible evidence that the vote was tainted. Trumps allegations of fraud also have been roundly rejected by dozens of courts, including by judges he appointed.

(AP)
Office buildings in New York City. (Photo by Fatih AktaA/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Regional banks' troubles aren't over and remain "an area of concern", JPMorgan Asset Management's Jonathan Liang said.

They are facing increased risks of credit losses in the commercial-property sector, which may come under stress, he said.

"The story in banking is not over yet," Liang told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

US regional banks have been at the center of the worst financial turmoil since the 2008 crisis, and their troubles are far from over, according to a JPMorgan Asset Management strategist.

The small and mid-sized regional banks remain "an area of concern" because of their increased lending exposure to the commercial real-estate sector, which is grappling with high vacancy rates and may come under stress, Jonathan Liang, JPMorgan Asset's head of Asia ex-Japan investment specialists, told Bloomberg on Wednesday.

Over the last 12 to 18 months, "most of the bank lending that has occurred in America has come from US regionals and most of that lending has actually gone into commercial real estate," Liang said.

"So this has gone to a lot of construction of suburban offices, which remain very vacant, the occupancy rate remains about maybe 50% pre-COVID. And so we think that in the coming year or two, there's going to be growing distress in this space, and that will also potentially amount to credit losses for those US regional banks," he added.

"And so, we think the story in banking is not over yet," he continued.

Many experts have warned the US commercial real-estate sector could face problems as high borrowing costs and tighter credit conditions following the recent banking turmoil complicate matters for big property owners as they seek to refinance loans.

Nearly $450 billion in commercial real-estate debt is due to mature in 2023 - meaning a final payment on those loans are due, per data cited from Trepp by JPMorgan.

Billionaire investor Howard Marks rang the alarm on commercial real estate this week in what he labels as "one of the biggest worries" US banks face today.

Read the original article on Business Insider




Russian hackers are seeking to disrupt or destroy Britains critical infrastructure and not enough is being done to stop them, U.K. government officials said Wednesday.

Britains National Cyber Security Centre issued an official threat notice to operators of Britains electricity, water and other critical systems, telling them to boost their defenses.

I dont think we are yet doing enough to protect our infrastructure from the cyber threats emerging from Russia-aligning groups, the centers chief, Lindy Cameron, said.

Cabinet Minister Oliver Dowden said the threat comes from hackers sympathetic to Russia though not necessarily directed by the Russian state. He described them as the cyber equivalent of the Wagner Group, the private Russian company with mercenaries fighting in Ukraine.

He said that while the alleged hackers currently lack the capacity to do widespread damage to U.K. systems, the threat is growing.

Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly, but its necessary for companies to understand the current risk they face, and take action to defend themselves and the country, Dowden said at a cybersecurity conference in Belfast.

These are the companies in charge of keeping our country running. Of keeping the lights on, he said. Our shared prosperity depends on them taking their own security seriously.

The National Cyber Security Centre, a branch of U.K. cyber intelligence agency GCHQ, said cyber attackers could begin to broaden their focus from Ukraine to the wider West as the war drags on.

Cameron also sounded a warning about the dramatic rise of China as a technology superpower.

What Im saying about China is that China is, as we say in the integrated review, an epoch-defining threat, she told British broadcaster Sky News. The scale and pace of their ambition and technology is something that all of the people here at the conference need to take seriously and think about how it is that we build security into our future technology to keep our people safe.

(AP)




Presidents and Holocaust survivors and their descendants commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising on Wednesday with a poignant sense that the responsibility for carrying on the memory of the Holocaust is passing from the witnesses to younger generations.

Germanys president, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the lessons of his own countrys aggression hold a lesson as Russias attack on Ukraine has destroyed the foundations of our European security order.

You in Poland, you in Israel, you know from your history that freedom and independence must be fought for and defended. You know how important it is for a democracy to defend itself, Steinmeier said at a ceremony alongside presidents Isaac Herzog of Israel and Andrzej Duda of Poland.

But we Germans have also learned the lessons of our history. Never again means that there must be no criminal war of aggression like Russias against Ukraine in Europe.

The anniversary honors the hundreds of young Jews who took up arms in Warsaw in 1943 against the overwhelming might of the Nazi German army.

There are no surviving fighters still alive. Marek Edelman, the last surviving commander, died in 2009. He remained in Poland and helped keep alive the memory of the revolt in his homeland. Simcha Rotem, a fighter who smuggled others out of the burning ghetto through sewage tunnels, died in 2018 in Israel, where he settled.

The small number of elderly surviving witnesses today were mostly children at the time of the revolt.

The commemorations took place in front of the Memorial to the Ghetto Heroes where the fighting erupted, led by three presidents whose nations were forever shaped by World War II.

Israel was founded after the war to give Jews a home where they could finally be safe after centuries of persecution in Europe.

Germany, which inflicted death and destruction across the vast areas that it occupied, has acknowledged its crimes and expressed remorse.

Steinmeier once again begged forgiveness.

As German Federal President, I stand before you today and bow to the courageous fighters in the Warsaw ghetto, Steinmeier said. I bow to the dead in deep sorrow.

And Poland, where Europes largest prewar Jewish population lived and which was invaded and subjected to mass death and destruction, carries out its responsibility of preserving sites like the ghetto and the Auschwitz death camp, while also honoring the massive losses inflicted on the entire nation. Some 6 million Polish citizens were killed during the war, about 3 million of them Jews and the others mostly Christian Poles.

Dear President Duda, dear President Herzog, many people in your two countries, in Poland and in Israel, have granted us Germans reconciliation despite these crimes, Steinmeier said, calling that a miracle of reconciliation to be preserved into the future.

Some of those participating in Wednesdays observances traveled from as far as Australia and the United States to honor those who perished, but also the rich Jewish civilization that is their heritage. Many hold their own private ceremonies, paying tribute to those departed at the Jewish cemetery or at various memorials on the former grounds of the ghetto.

Avi Valevski, a professor of psychiatry from Israel whose father, Ryszard Walewski, a doctor who led a group of some 150 warriors in the revolt, visited Warsaw with his wife, describing it as more than an emotional moment.

Valevski, 72, is working to carry on a history that his father rarely spoke to him about but also carries an emotional burden. He was young when his father became ill and died 1971, but today pores through the documentation his father left behind, and is trying to get one of his stories translated into English and published.

He was quite proud of his fight against the Nazi beast  his words  but I suppose that the feeling of apprehension entered my soul until now, Valevski said.

The Germans invaded Poland in 1939 and the next year set up the ghetto, the largest of many in occupied Poland.

It initially held some 380,000 Jews who were cramped into tight living spaces, and at its peak housed about a half-million souls. Disease and starvation were rampant, and bodies often appeared on the streets.

The Jewish resistance movement in the Warsaw ghetto grew after 265,000 men, women and children were rounded up in the summer of 1942 and killed at the Treblinka death camp. As word of the Nazi genocide spread, those who remained behind no longer believed German promises that they would be sent to labor camps.

A small group of rebels began to spread calls for resistance, carrying out isolated acts of sabotage and attacks. Some Jews began defying German orders to report for deportation.

The uprising began when the Nazis entered the ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of the Passover holiday. Three days later, the Nazis set the ghetto ablaze, turning it into a fiery death trap, but the Jewish fighters kept up their struggle for nearly a month before they were brutally vanquished. That was longer than some countries held out.

Im a New Yorker but there is something that keeps drawing me back here, said Barbara Jolson Blumenthal, whose parents survived the Warsaw Ghetto after a Pole helped them to escape and hide on the Aryan side of the city, while many other members of their families were murdered.

And although such horrible things happened here, I remember my parents saying that they loved it here, that it was so wonderful here, and I walk the streets and I wonder if this is where my family was and where they walked, Blumenthal said.

(AP)




The U.S. Navy sailed its first drone boat through the strategic Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, a crucial waterway for global energy supplies where American sailors often faces tense encounters with Iranian forces.

The trip by the L3 Harris Arabian Fox MAST-13, a 13-meter (41-foot) speedboat carrying sensors and cameras, drew the attention of Irans Revolutionary Guard, but took place without incident, said Navy spokesman Cmdr. Timothy Hawkins. Two U.S. Coast Guard cutters, the USCGC Charles Moulthrope and USCGC John Scheuerman, accompanied the drone.

The trip saw the drone safely pass with the accompanying ships through the strait, a busy waterway between Iran and Oman which at its narrowest is just 33 kilometers (21 miles) wide. A fifth of all oil traded passes through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman.

The Iranians observed the unmanned surface vessel transiting the strait in accordance with international law, Hawkins told The Associated Press. He said an Iranian drone and at least one Houdong-class fast-attack vessel operated by Irans paramilitary Revolutionary Guard observed the MAST-13 drone.

The U.S. Navys Bahrain-based 5th Fleet patrols Mideast waters, particularly the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz, to keep open the waterways for international trade, as well as protect American interests and allies. However, Iran views the Navys presence as an affront, comparing it to its forces running patrols in the Gulf of Mexico.

Iranian state media did not acknowledge the drone voyage. Irans mission to the United Nations did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The 5th Fleet launched a special drone task force last year, aiming to have a fleet of some 100 unmanned drones, both sailing and submersible, operating in the region with Americas allies.

Iran briefly seized several of the American drones being tested in the region in late August and early September, though there hasnt been any similar incident since.

The MAST-13 now is operating in the Gulf of Oman, where a maritime shadow war has played out as oil tankers have been seized by Iranian forces and suspicious explosions have struck vessels in the region, including those linked to Israeli and Western firms. Iran has denied involvement in the explosions, despite evidence from the West to the contrary.

The MAST-13s video feeds can transmit images back to shore and to ships at sea, helping sailors see ships before approaching them, Hawkins said. That can come in handy, particularly as the Navy and Western allies have increasingly seized weapons it believes were from Iran bound for Yemen.

It puts more eyes out on the water, enabling us to better monitor what is happening, Hawkins said.

(AP)
Households are routinely being told they must pay to have faulty or broken smart meters replaced  despite energy providers promising the devices would help them save money.

In some cases, they are being quoted 50 just to replace the display unit that shows how much gas and electricity they are consuming in pounds and pence.

The postbag of This is Money's sister title, Money Mail, has been flooded with letters from scores of readers who, try as they may, simply cannot persuade their energy supplier to fix faulty smart meters.

Millions of the devices have now been rolled out to homes across the country. But 3.2 million homes have smart meters that do not function as they should, with some left in limbo for months, with no way of knowing how much gas and electricity they are using  until a bill lands.

Households are being quoted 50 to replace their smart meter display units that shows how much gas and electricity they are consuming in pounds and pence.

We have now sent a dossier of more than 50 complaints to regulator Ofgem and Smart Energy GB .

Ofgem says suppliers must replace faulty meters free of charge if they break within 12 months  after that, the energy watchdog says suppliers are free to decide any charges

Andy Cameron, 71, was told by British Gas he would have to cover the cost of a replacement display unit after it stopped working in January. British Gas did not specify how much this would be.

The father-of-two first got a smart meter just 18 months ago when energy prices started to soar.

But after a year of it functioning correctly, he began receiving texts and emails saying his smart meter was not sending signals or readings to British Gas.

When he contacted his supplier, the former procurement officer, who lives in Fife, Scotland, with his wife Anne, was told there was a six-month wait for repairs.

He says: I need to know how much energy Im using. Im trying to regulate our consumption but I cant. Its ridiculous.

British Gas says if a display unit breaks it will provide a new device to some customers, such as those who are vulnerable  but says some may need to pay for the unit to be replaced.

Eon customers say they are also being asked to pay for replacement display units.

Faulty meters: Some UK households have been left in limbo for months, with no way of knowing how much gas and electricity they are using until a bill lands

Judith Kennedy, 77, was quoted more than 50 by her supplier, Eon, to replace the display unit from her previous provider, Scottish Power.

The grandmother of six, from Radcliffe in Manchester, thought she would be sent a new device when she joined Eon more than a year ago, but has since learnt she would have to cover the cost. She says: I was an early adopter of smart meters so it is very disappointing to be asked to pay.

Eon says it considers each customers circumstances individually.

It will replace a broken display unit for free if it is within its 12-month warranty, after which point the customer may need to cover the cost.

An Ofgem spokesman says: We expect suppliers to proactively identify when a customers smart meter is not working properly and take steps to fix or replace the meter.

Faulty readings: Some 3.2 million UK homes have smart meters that dont function as they should

Where we have concerns about a suppliers performance, we will engage with them and take action as appropriate in accordance with our enforcement guidelines.

Consumer champion Martyn James says: Customers are now being charged up to 100 to replace a smart meter.

But unlike a boiler, you dont own your energy meters. They are the responsibility of the business. If the meter isnt working then the energy firm must change it.

Richard Hulme, 67, was told the ongoing problems with his smart meter were a result of an industry-wide problem.

The retired pet food company director had no problems with his smart meter until a year ago, when it would no longer display his daily energy usage.

He says: Suppliers were advertising smart meters as a way to measure your usage live, but I cannot monitor mine.

When he contacted his provider, Shell Energy, it couldnt give a fix date  and has not gone into further detail about what the industry problem is.

After our involvement, Shell has fixed his smart meter for free and Richard has been offered a gesture of goodwill.

Kevin Hill, 64, an EDF customer from Lincolnshire, has been given a three-month date to fix his smart meter display.

EDF also cites the mysterious industry-wide problem. In correspondence to Mr Hill, it said: Weve identified the problems youre experiencing are linked to known issues across the industry and cant be fixed with the tools currently available to suppliers.

a.cooke@dailymail.co.uk
Every week for the past 50 years, come rain or shine, Jennifer Wilcox has driven to Warwick to do her shopping.

The 76-year-old, who lives in Claverdon, five miles outside the town, says it caters perfectly for all her needs: her bank, chemist and optician are all within a short walk of each other.

But one week late last year, she found the payment machines in all the council car parks had disappeared.

The retired secretary discovered from the car park signs that she instead had to download an app on her mobile phone and enter her bank details and car reg number to pay to park  something she wasn't comfortable doing.

Driving us nuts: Pay-as-you-go parking machines are disappearing from British city streets at a rapid pace, with councils instructing drivers to pay via smartphone apps

Yet Warwick council  which started replacing all pay and display machines in district car parks with the RingGo app in November 2022  offers no alternative payment method.

As a result, Jennifer hasn't been back to Warwick since. Instead, she has been forced to drive a further five miles to Kenilworth to do her shopping.

'Kenilworth is hardly convenient but it has a Sainsbury's car park I can use for two hours for free,' she says.

'I have no choice. I don't want to hand over my bank details online. I can't tell the difference between what's a scam and what's genuine.'

Her anger and dismay at the rise of infuriating parking apps will strike a chord with millions across the country.

Pay-as-you-go parking machines are disappearing from British city streets at a rapid pace, with councils instructing drivers to pay via smartphone apps such as RingGo, PayByPhone and MiPermit.

It means drivers can no longer pay in cash and must have a smartphone with mobile data to be able to park.

Money Mail has received a deluge of letters from readers who say the switch to fiddly phone apps is blighting their lives.

The Mail on Sunday reported at the weekend that motorists are in some cases having to tap their mobile phones as many as 226 times to pay!

You must first download the app to your phone and figure out how to set up an account, then input your card details, and your vehicle details too. To park, you need to input the location's code number and duration of stay.

Many of those struggling are older drivers who say they can't navigate the apps and are giving up on trips out as a result.

Others are saying they aborted parking because they either didn't have a strong signal or their phone had run out of battery when they arrived at their destination.

Those who have called helplines trying to pay for parking say they have been met with automated voice recordings rather than customer services staff. Some have waited hours to speak to a human or not got through at all.

Apps are out: Jennifer Wilcox from Warwickshire doesnt want to hand over her bank details online

No option if you haven't got mobile data

Earlier this month, Kevin Coley and his wife were trying to find a parking space to visit their nephew in hospital at Leicester's Royal Infirmary.

Unable to get into the hospital's car park, they drove to one around the corner called Gateway Car Park. There, Kevin, 65, spotted a sign telling them to make the 2 parking payment online or over the phone.

The accountant does not have a smartphone and while his wife does, it doesn't have mobile data enabled. That meant they were unable to download the app.

Paying via a phone call was their only option. But the line repeatedly cut out. When they got through, their payment was unsuccessful. In frustration, they gave up.

Kevin says: 'My wife went through this process three times in total. It was sunny and difficult to see the phone screen. At this point we decided to park elsewhere.' The whole process took 25 minutes and at no point did either Kevin or his wife leave their car.

Yet just over a week ago, Kevin received a 60 penalty notice from parking company Euro Car Parks  which operates the Gateway Car Park  for the time the car was stationary.

'It's disgusting and I will be appealing,' Kevin says.

Driving away those without a smart phone

Charles Wicks has been visiting the Tern Cafe at Frensham Little Pond near Farnham in Surrey since 1946.

But he fears a recent trip in March to the medieval bishops' fishpond, part of the National Trust, will prove his last.

The 86-year-old pensioner, who owns a pay-as-you-go phone, says it was impossible for him to download the app he now needs to pay for parking at the cafe.

He says: 'I drove away and did not stay for coffees and cakes, so the cafe has lost my custom in the future. I've been going there since 1946 when I first helped the then owner, Mr Atherton, with his boats. We also used to fish and swim across the pond.'

Fined 250: Michelle OMalley from Doncaster thought she had used the parking app correctly

Another reader, Tim Baldwin, wrote to Money Mail saying he is no longer meeting friends in Bath after being driven out by the city's adoption of parking apps.

He and his pals  who are over 60  used to enjoy a long lunch in Bath followed by a nice afternoon in the city, and occasionally an evening trip to the theatre.

But they now struggle to find somewhere to park where they can pay with cash or card.

None of them uses a smart phone, so they've given up on Bath and go to country pubs with reserved parking instead.

'The council is waging a war on cars and is discriminating against those without smart phones,' Tim says. 'There are so many reasons why someone might not own one  so please don't treat us as second-class citizens and exclude us because of it.

'We've spent a lot of money in shops and businesses over the years in Bath, so I feel sorry that the council's lack of empathy towards its older visitors is affecting footfall in this way.'

He adds: 'Councils should be falling over themselves to ensure that their parking is accessible to all people rather than putting barriers up.'

Jackie Tench, 76, is another who suddenly discovered the car park she uses in her local town, Cirencester, in Gloucestershire, had gone fully digital, leaving her unable to pay.

Jackie, who lives in the town and is disabled, doesn't have a mobile phone. She says she cannot drive further afield as her disability means she can't travel long distances.

She says: 'I find it awful in today's world that I can't take part in many things because I don't have a smartphone. It should be a legal requirement that alternative ways of paying are available.'

Blocked: Some drivers say they aborted parking because they either didn't have a strong signal or their phone had run out of battery when they arrived at their destination

Hefty 250 fine for making a simple mistake

Some motorists say they are being charged hefty penalties for genuine mistakes when they thought they had successfully paid for parking.

However, parking firms are under no obligation to waive fines and can levy hefty penalties for late payment.

Michelle O'Malley, from Doncaster, says she has spent the past eight months disputing a parking fine. But she was forced to back down and hand over 250 when she was taken to court.

The former hairdresser, 56, says she thought she had paid 5 to park her car for two hours last July when she and her husband Richard stopped in Filey, near Scarborough, for a stroll along the beach.

'I downloaded the app and filled it all in, including my car registration and credit card details. It wasn't straightforward but we did it  or at least we thought we did,' she says.

Two weeks later, she received a 40 fine for failing to pay. The couple refused to pay it, as they believed it was unfair.

But the parking company issued a county court judgment and hiked the penalty to 250.

'We are in our 50s and we generally know what we are doing, but this was complicated,' she says.

'It's daylight robbery and it's disgusting that these companies get away with it.'

Consumer rights expert Scott Dixon says: 'People cannot speak to anyone if they are having issues as contact details for parking firms are often not readily available.

'Parking tickets are being issued automatically by cameras that do not take any mitigating factors into account.

'Private parking ticket operators use intimidating legalese jargon to force motorists to pay up. The threat of a fine escalating intimidates people of all ages.'

Disappearing: A growing number of councils are ripping out pay-as-you-go machines in favour of cashless smart phone apps

Cash is out and apps are in say councils

A growing number of councils are ripping out pay-as-you-go machines in favour of cashless smart phone apps.

Brighton and Hove city council will get rid of all its pay and display machines by May 31. A spokesman says this measure will save 220,000 this tax year, as the council will no longer have to maintain, repair and replace machines or collect cash.

For those without a credit or debit card, they can still pay by cash for on-street parking at certain vendors around the city.

However, Money Mail readers say staff at the designated shops are not always aware of this.

The London borough of Bromley removed all its machines by early April. Harrow had all its machines removed by January and Enfield plan to have them all removed this month. Other boroughs which have removed some machines are Richmond, Merton and Barking and Dagenham.

Edmund King, president at the AA, the leading motoring group, says the shift indicates that councils and parking operators think drivers serve them and not the other way around.

'These payment apps differ wherever you go and add more to the often extortionate cost of parking,' he says. 'Older motorists are often bamboozled by rules and machines that seem designed to catch them out.'

Mr King adds that research shows drivers just want simple ways to pay for parking: cash, card or contactless.

'If the cost of parking and the constant threat of being fined for the slightest mistake wasn't bad enough, obstacles thrown in the way of simple payment for tickets ramps up the stress,' he says.

Peter O'Driscoll, of parking app RingGo, says: 'We recognise that some motorists still prefer not to use an app, which is why we also offer SMS and phoneline payment options.

'We also understand that having multiple parking apps isn't the perfect solution, which is why we're working with the Department for Transport as well as local operators to create an 'Open-Market for parking', where drivers would be able to choose to pay via a payment machine or the app they want to use.'
The mighty Goldman Sachs is having a bumpy ride. Unlike its more diversified Wall Street rivals, Goldman gets the bulk of its revenue from bond trading and investment banking, its two traditional strengths and the backbone of its formidable reputation as the worlds most powerful bank.

So it must be galling for it to have taken such a pasting on fixed-income trading when the rest of Wall Street enjoyed a bonanza over the last few months.

Whats worse is that its traders lost around $200million on interest-rate products following the market turmoil after the collapse of SVB last month.

Paradoxically, JP Morgan Chase and Citigroup beat first-quarter estimates mainly because of great fixed-income trading.

Overall Goldmans revenues from bond trading fell sharply by 17 per cent while investment banking was down 2 per cent as new deals slowed. Advisory fees were lower by a similar amount.

No encore: Goldmans boss, David Solomon, is under fire after the Wall Street giant posted a dismal set of results

With both trading and investment banking well below results from a year ago, the bank posted a poor set of first-quarter figures that missed analysts forecasts, sending the shares down as much as 3.6 per cent  not a great look for the worlds most connected bank.

Profit was down at $3.1billion in the quarter compared to $3.83billion a year ago, while revenues were 5 per cent lower at $12.22billion.

Goldmans recent foray into consumer banking is turning out to be more than a disaster.

It has already chopped around 3,000 jobs across the division, reshuffled management and taken a hit of around $470million on the partial sale of its $4billion Marcus loans portfolio.

Goldman is looking to unwind more of the consumer business, and questions are now being asked about other credit card partnerships, like the one with Apple.

That begs the question over the future of the deal just signed with Apple for its new savings accounts, which is offering customers a whopping 4.15 per cent interest on their accounts.

Goldmans DJ boss, David Solomon, is already under fire for trying to diversify from its trading arm and investment bank into more of a financial supermarket.

As these results show, focusing on those twin strengths means you are always going to be more vulnerable to boom and bust.

Yet ironically it may well be that by trying to switch the focus to a broader based bank, Solomon and his henchmen have taken their eyes off the ball.

Who knows what impact this has had. Whats sure is that Solomons strategy is under the spotlight. Investors will not like the hit to Goldmans return on tangible equity.

Solomon will be hoping that investors give him time to spin a few more of the electronic dance music discs he loves before showing him the door.

Cash is still king

The speed at which we are heading towards a cashless society is astonishing. Contactless card payments are used by nearly 90 per cent of the population, and make up almost a third of all payments in the UK.

Around a third of all adults use mobile apps such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Seven million consumers and 750,000 small firms use Open Banking products.

Yet cash is essential for many. The Bank of Englands Sir Jon Cunliffe reckons that one in five of us still prefer it for payments and over 1m rely on it for their everyday spending, often the elderly and the more vulnerable.

Which is why the deputy governor made it clear in a speech on the future of digital money early this week, that the Bank will continue to issue cash as long as there is any demand for it.

This sounds reasonable and encouraging. But think again. Shouldnt we be worried by those last few words, demand for it? Who is the judge of that demand? And how will it be measured? Is it 1,000 people or ten?

The Bank must go further and pledge that there will, in perpetuity, always be physical cash in circulation. Without a physical means of value to store, we lose all freedom.

Open markets

GSKs Emma Walmsley has pulled off another clever deal, buying Canadas Bellus Health, a late-stage drugs specialist in respiratory treatments.

Thats a bit hypocritical, you might say, considering our criticism of the takeover frenzy by foreign predators for UK companies.

How can you have one rule for one and one for another? But it is not contradictory. Overseas capital flow is good for business.

The problem for the UK is that too many companies are being sold on the cheap, undervalued by their own investors. Thats the difference.
Last October, while on holiday in Paris, I took a taxi with two friends, one of whom was on crutches as she had broken her knee.

The taxi appeared legitimate, with a green light indicating it was for hire. On the five-minute journey, the driver was initially chatty, and his English was good.

We arrived at our hotel and I handed him a 10 note for the 7.30 (6.44) fare. He wouldn't accept the note and insisted I pay by card as he 'had taken too much cash that day'.

I went to tap my card on the machine, but he said I needed to use chip and PIN. I felt uneasy so checked my Sainsbury's Bank account when I got to the hotel and found I'd been scammed out of 777.77  or 685. Despite this, the bank won't refund me. A.S., Chatham, Kent.

Taken for a ride: A Parisian taxi driver scammed British group out of 777 on a 7.30 fare after he refused to accept cash

Sally Hamilton replies: Zut alors! You were taken for a ride by this rogue Paris taxi driver. You tried your best to resist his brazen techniques, but you were too trusting, and he foiled you at every turn.

Fishy as it was that he refused cash for the fare in the first place (few taxi drivers I have encountered prefer card payments to coins and notes), you felt pressurised to make the card payment and worried what would happen if you didn't do as he said.

I do sympathise that when you're in a country where you don't speak the language it can be tricky to negotiate.

When you told the driver you couldn't see the charge on the screen because his machine was being held together with duct tape, he offered a blustering response, along with the excuse he couldn't provide a receipt because the machine had run out of paper.

It all added up to old-fashioned, premeditated theft  as shameless as if he'd pinched your purse from your handbag.

The transaction on your card statement showed the name 'Hotelextra Lyon', which was suspicious for a taxi driver operating in a city almost 300 miles away from Lyon.

You complained quickly to Sainsbury's Bank and froze your card. When the call centre opened on the Monday morning following the scam, the team told you not to worry and to complete a claim form for a chargeback.

Feeling reassured, you sent off the completed form. Many weeks passed and you heard nothing. You called again in January and were told the team would respond by the end of the month.

But then, the next day, you received a letter from the bank saying the disputed transaction was valid and that the bank would not be seeking a refund from the merchant. When you expressed your consternation, the bank offered you 25.

The payment terminal used by the scammer was supplied by SumUp, a popular international payment systems provider. You asked this company for help, too.

Sainsbury's also contacted SumUp, but not until March. When I contacted SumUp on your behalf, it told me it endeavours to return funds to fraud victims but only if the money has not 'exited our system', which of course it had after nearly six months.

In fact, the cash was gone within 24 hours and the account involved was blocked in October. It said standard practice is for victims in cases like yours to initiate a chargeback, or a Section 75 claim with their bank, which you had done.

Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 says a credit card provider is jointly responsible for any breach of contract or misrepresentation by a merchant, so long as the purchases made were over 100 and under 30,000.

Chargeback is similar, and though not enshrined in law, most banks have signed up to the scheme. It can be used if a disputed purchase was made on a debit card, or on a credit card for a sum under 100.

Either way, the banks will usually require evidence to pursue a claim successfully. Unfortunately, as your unfair fare had been discussed verbally with the driver and you did not have a receipt for your taxi journey to prove the charge did not match the money taken, you hit a roadblock.

I asked Sainsbury's to reconsider its decision and refund you. I'm sorry to say that despite strenuous efforts, the bank refused.

The most it offered was to freeze the interest on the unwanted payment for two months to give you time to pay it off.

The bank said that because you had used your PIN, the rules mean it was unable to process a Section 75 or chargeback claim. A Sainsbury's Bank spokesman says: 'We take fraud very seriously and regularly invest in measures to protect our customers. Unfortunately, in this case, the customer has authorised and made an in-person payment using her chip and PIN, so we're unable to process it as fraud.'

You have now contacted the Financial Ombudsman.

A key lesson from this inflated taxi fare fraud is for holidaymakers to remain sceptical if a cab driver makes life difficult when it comes to paying. Hard as it may feel, especially when abroad, it is essential to check the transaction amount and to request a receipt.

When a driver uses excuses such as 'the machine's broken', this should raise red flags. If taken in by such a scam, try to take a photo of the taxi licence plate and report the incident to the police. This could be useful evidence if a fraud claim becomes necessary.

Sally sorted it: One year, 1.5m returned to readers I'm pleased to say Sally Sorts It has won back almost 1.5 million for readers in a year. Launched 12 months ago this week, I've battled firms and organisations that have let down customers with inferior service. With the cost of living crisis engulfing all households it has become more important than ever to get money that is owed  whether for faulty goods, unfairly denied insurance claims or funds stolen by fraudsters  back. The total recouped includes money reimbursed, tracked down, paid out and written off as well as sums offered in compensation for poor customer service. Notable wins include the man who suffered a cardiac arrest but initially had his critical illness insurance claim denied because policy wording said it was not a 'heart attack'. The insurer, Royal London, agreed to pay him the full 244,000. John Lewis doubled a home insurance payout to nearly 20,000 after a customer's Mercedes burst into flames on her front drive, causing extensive damage to her property. Keep writing in  and I'll keep investigating and working hard to sort your problems.

Bingo firm wants 1,450 but I thought game were free

I occasionally gamble on bingo websites and did so recently, paying 30 to one called Broadway Gaming.

I didn't win but continued to play on what I thought was 'play for fun' games, involving no charge.

When I checked my HSBC bank account on the Monday, to my horror, I saw 'pending' transactions of about 1,450 payable to the site. The bank said I had authorised the payments.

I emailed Broadway Gaming and was awaiting a reply when I saw that the 'pending' transactions had disappeared from my account.

I rang HSBC to be told the payments had been declined by the gaming company and was told categorically this meant it was not possible for it to take the payments in future.

I assumed the site accepted my error in thinking I was playing for free. But on checking my account, the money had been taken.

Anon.

Sally Hamilton replies: You told me you were initially so thankful the payments had not gone through you donated 725 half the sum involved  to the relief effort following the Pakistan floods. But when the betting firm took your money after all, you realised your luck had changed and it left you in a nasty financial hole.

Although you were naive in assuming the extra bets were free  you later checked that this firm does not offer such 'play for fun' options  you said it was an easy assumption to make, as other sites do. However, this wasn't really the point, and you don't blame the site for what happened.

You had been given several reassurances in your call to HSBC that the payments would not be taken and had made a sizeable charitable donation on this basis.

I asked HSBC to investigate, and it agreed you had been misinformed on your call. It has refunded you 725 to cover your charity gift, donated a further 100 to the same charity and awarded you 100 as an apology. You have passed this latter sum on to Oxfam as a thank you for my involvement.

On your request, the bank has put a gambling block on your debit card. It has also retrained the employee involved.

An HSBC spokesman says: 'Our customers are our absolute priority and we are sorry that, due to human error, anon was not provided with accurate information on some payments that were pending on his account.

'We have apologised to him and taken action to put things right.'

Your case should serve as a warning to would-be gamblers to check the rules of any game before handing over debit card details.
HSBCs biggest shareholder has accused the group of exaggerating the risks involved in spinning off its Asian operations.

Chinese insurer Ping An fired off a broadside against the banks management ahead of its annual general meeting held next week.

The statement from Ping An Asset Managements chairman Michael Huang escalates the spat between the two sides since it first began to push for a break-up last November.

HSBC is listed in London but originates in Hong Kong and makes most of its money in Asia.

Break-up row: Chinese insurer Ping An fired off a broadside against HSBCs management ahead of its annual general meeting held next week

It maintains that a break up would not deliver any increased value for shareholders. But Huang said: We have been extremely disappointed by HSBC managements consistent closed-minded attitude to all solutions.

We believe that both the HSBC team and its appointed paid external advisors have an adamantly preconceived view against reviewing any structural options, despite our continued request for an open dialogue and the demands of other shareholders.

Huang criticised HSBCs claim, in response to break up calls, that such a move would destroy material value.

Not only did management refuse to countenance any benefits but also, in our view, exaggerated many of the costs and risks, he said.

The fallout comes at a time of mounting tension between China and the West.

HSBCs present structure frustrated Hong Kong investors reliant on its dividends when during the pandemic it was ordered, like other UK banks, to halt such payouts.

At the same time, the banks management has been accused in Britain of kowtowing to Beijing amid the Communist states crackdown on democracy in Hong Kong.

The latest statement crystallises divisions between Ping An and other shareholders on one side and the Banks management and its supporters on the other ahead of the AGM on May 5.

At the meeting, shareholders will be asked to vote for a strategic review and restoration of higher dividend payments, in a motion filed by Ken Lui, leader of a group of Hong Kong-based small investors, and backed by Ping An.

Glass Lewis, the shareholder advisory body, backed HSBCs position in a report ahead of the annual meeting.

It said: We do not believe further evaluation or pursuit of a spin-off is warranted or advisable at this time.

A spokesman for HSBC said: It is our judgment, supported by third-party financial and legal advice, and with third-party assurance, that alternative structural options will not deliver increased value for shareholders. Rather, they would have a material negative impact on value.

HSBC also denied a claim by Ping An that the bank had refused to verbally engage in discussions on the proposals.

The bank has had extensive discussions with Ping An on these topics, the spokesman said.
Audioboom's first-quarter revenue fell significantly following the departure of a major podcast platform to rival publisher Wondery.

The podcast developer reported revenue of $15.4million for the three months ending March, which was in line with forecasts but lower than the record $19.5million made during the equivalent period last year.

Over a fifth of revenues earned by the group during the latter period derived from the Morbid Network, whose eponymous true crime-themed anthology series is one of the ten most popular podcasts in the US.

Nice drive: Audioboom recently renewed a multiple-year deal with Formula One to produce distribute and monetise the official podcasts of the international motor racing series

In April 2022, the show's creators struck an exclusive advertising sales and one-week windowing contract with Wondery, makers of the British Scandal podcast presented by comedians Matt Forde and Alice Levine.

Audioboom lost around 30 million monthly downloads when Morbid left the following month. It compensated for this by agreeing new partnerships and contract extensions.

The firm renewed a multiple-year deal with Formula One, which will see Audioboom produce, distribute and monetise the official podcasts of the international motor racing series.

Since Formula One moved into podcasting five years ago, its various titles - ranging from F1: Beyond the Grid to F1 Nation - have been downloaded more than 80 million times, according to Audioboom.

In addition, the company signed extended contracts with the Australian Radio Network, and podcasts like the paranormal show Astonishing Legends and true crime programmes Killer Queens and Devils in the Dark.

However, trading was impacted by a slowdown in advertising spending amid more difficult market conditions, while its adjusted underlying earnings plunged from a record $900,000 to about $200,000.

Audioboom's chief executive Stuart Last acknowledged the current issues facing the advertising market but said that 'in the medium to long-term, we are confident that brands continue to trust podcasting as a key part of their marketing strategy'.

He added: 'We continue to expect to deliver year-on-year growth for the full year as well as continuing to outperform the wider market, and we see strong signs that the ad market is returning.'

Showcase, the firm's global advertising marketplace, continued its impressive run of growth, expanding its total revenues by 47 per cent.

At the same time, the average number of brand advertisers on Audioboom's platform grew by nearly three-quarters to almost 6,500 per month.

Audioboom Group shares were 5.4 per cent lower at 350p on early Wednesday afternoon, meaning their value has dropped by approximately 30 per cent in the past six months.
Aggressive price cutting has eaten into profits at Tesla.

The company last night reported a 24 per cent rise in first quarter revenues to 19billion as it made and sold more cars.

But profits fell 26 per cent to 2.2billion fuelling concerns that a series of price cuts instigated by boss Elon Musk is taking its toll.

Shares dropped 4 per cent in New York during after hours trading, adding to its 18 per cent decline in the past six months.

Tesla built a record 440,808 electric cars in the first three months of the year and delivered 422,85 to customers - also a record.

Showman: Elon Musk (pictured), one of the worlds richest men, admitted last year that the cost of the cars was embarrassingly high

But Musk is cutting prices in a bid to boost sales further  despite the impact on profits. Tesla is set to slash the price of its electric cars in the US for the sixth time this year.

The price of Model Y vehicles is to be cut by 2,400 to around 37,743, and the Model 3 vehicle by 1,600 to 32,100.

After a series of cuts, the models are a respective 29 per cent and 15 per cent cheaper in the US, its largest market, than at the start of the year.

The cuts come less than a week after the Texas firm announced discounts in some European markets, including Germany and France.

In January, it started slashing prices in China to fuel demand. It later branched these out to Europe, Israel and Singapore as well as in Japan, Australia and South Korea, where prices were cut as much as 30 per cent with immediate effect.

Industry insiders suggested the price cuts were likely to be the result of a fall in demand.

The rapid changes have caused some backlash among drivers who say they were duped into taking early delivery of cars in December, weeks before the brand started to slash its prices.

Although Teslas price war has put pressure on EV start-ups such as Rivian Automotive and Lucid Motors as well as traditional rivals including Ford and General Motors, it has also raised fears about the companys industry-leading margins.

Musk has pushed back against these claims. Were not starting a price war. Were just lowering prices to enable affordability at scale, he said.
LA MIRADA, Calif., April 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Author and former Amazon and General Motors executive Dr. Michael Arena will assume the role of Dean of Biola Universitys Crowell School of Business on July 1, 2023.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005404/en/

Dr. Michael Arena (Photo: Business Wire)

"As Biola continues to strengthen our academic programs and student placement through our Crowell School of Business, I am pleased to welcome Dr. Michael Arena as our incoming dean," said Biola University President Barry H. Corey. "His experience as a corporate executive, adjunct faculty member at University of Pennsylvania, author and innovator makes him an ideal leader at Biola University. Seasoned by a humble spirit and Christlike disposition, Dr. Arena will lead the Crowell School of Business into a season of remarkable influence through our graduates."

Arena served as Vice President for Talent and Development at Amazon Web Services (AWS) until 2022. Prior to that, he served as Chief Talent Officer at General Motors (GM) for seven years and as Senior Vice President of Leadership Development at Bank of America from 2006 to 2010.

"I am honored to be joining the faculty and staff of the Crowell School of Business at Biola University," said Arena. "This is an incredible opportunity to engage my core passions at the intersection of business, academia and faith, and I feel privileged to partner in the critical mission of equipping students to work out their full potential in business while remaining grounded in Christian principles."

With over 20 years of experience in Fortune 100 companies, Arena successfully managed the talent and development portfolio of Amazon Web Services to help grow the business from $26 billion to nearly $75 billion run rate in revenue in three years. Arenas book, Adaptive Space outlines a model to reinvent a company.

Story continues

Arena has previously taught and holds a doctorate in Organization Development from the Union Institute and University and an MBA from Wheeling Jesuit University. He earned his bachelor of science degree from PennWest California University.

Founded in 1993, Biola Universitys Crowell School of Business is a leader among Christ-centered business schools, offering several programs accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP). At Crowell, students of all levels and backgrounds are equipped to thrive personally and professionally. Learn more at biola.edu/crowell.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005404/en/

Contacts

Media Contact:

Sarah Dougher, media.relations@biola.edu
Two in three landlords could be forced to sell up in the next five years, as they fear they will be unable to meet the Governments eco requirements, a survey finds.

Landlords will soon be barred from letting out properties in England and Wales unless they upgrade them to an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of C  the third most efficient category  or higher.

Those who fail face 30,000 fines.

Last month, the Government extended its previously proposed deadline by three years, from 2025 for newly let rentals to 2028, after it was warned that the plan risked driving out landlords.

Regulations: Landlords will soon be barred from letting out properties in England and Wales unless they upgrade them to an energy performance certificate

But nearly two-thirds of them are still considering selling their properties because they cant afford the changes needed to meet the minimum level, a survey by the Mortgage Advice Bureau shows.

Nearly a third of landlords say they are extremely concerned about the cost of upgrading their property, while a further third say they could pass this burden on to their tenants.

EPC ratings are the key measure used in Britain to judge how green a home is. Your property is rated from A to G, with A being the most energy-efficient.

The typical property in England and Wales has a band rating of D, according to the English Housing Survey.

At present, all privately rented homes must meet a minimum energy performance of band E before they can be let.

Ben Thompson, of Mortgage Advice Bureau, says the new regulations will be welcome news for renters, as they will mean lower utility bills.

However, he admits that for landlords it is a confusing and worrying process.

j.beard@dailymail.co.uk
Families are waiting more than five months for vital documents needed to care for loved ones.

Lasting power of attorney gives applicants the right to take over a vulnerable persons finances and property if they become unable to manage them.

But a growing backlog dating back to the pandemic means pensioners fear losing capacity before their loved ones gain these important rights.

Lifeline: Lasting power of attorney gives applicants the right to take over a vulnerable persons finances and property if they become unable to manage them

Families are now being told to wait up to 20 weeks  more than double the normal wait time.

The Office of the Public Guardian typically aims to process the forms within eight to ten weeks.

However, an increasing number of relatives are finding they need to secure these rights.

More than 88,600 requests are being registered each month  67 pc more than during the pandemic. When asked, the Office of the Public Guardian refused to disclose how long it currently takes to process the average application.

Sheree Green, a solicitor at law firm Greenchurch, criticised it for putting families through unnecessary strife.

She says: The wait time is very long and theres a lot of hardship when people are waiting.

I have seen cases where the person has died before the claim has been processed. In other cases there are care home fees or debts that need to be paid but their loved ones cannot access their funds to cover the costs.

Caroline Abrahams, of charity Age UK, urges the Government to act now to cut the waiting period.

She says: Twenty weeks is a long wait and the backlog seems to date from the pandemic.

The delays come after the pandemic slowed down the approval system, leaving thousands of families without the legal protections they need if a loved one becomes ill or incapacitated.

A Bill to modernise the application process is currently passing through Parliament and aims to allow claimants to register their details online, which the department suggests will speed up the process.

However, it may be some time before the Bill becomes law.

In the meantime, families can contact the OPG if their claim is urgent or apply for deputyship at the Court of Protection, which gives applicants the right to make some of the same decisions as a Power of Attorney.

A spokesman for the OPG says: As a result of the extra staff weve hired to meet the unprecedented demand for LPAs, we are now registering 18,000 more every month than before the pandemic.

For more information visit: gov.uk/power-of-attorney or call 0300 456 0300.

a.cooke@dailymail.co.uk
Bank of America downgraded shares of Core Laboratories (NYSE:CLB  Get Rating) from a neutral rating to an underperform rating in a report published on Tuesday, The Fly reports. Bank of America currently has $21.50 price target on the oil and gas companys stock. The analysts noted that the move was a valuation call.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Core Laboratories from $21.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Core Laboratories in a report on Monday. They issued a hold rating on the stock.

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Core Laboratories Stock Performance

Shares of CLB stock opened at $22.00 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.47, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.91. Core Laboratories has a 52 week low of $13.19 and a 52 week high of $33.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.03 billion, a PE ratio of 53.66 and a beta of 2.66. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $23.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $21.50.

Core Laboratories Announces Dividend

Core Laboratories ( NYSE:CLB Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The oil and gas company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.19 by $0.01. Core Laboratories had a net margin of 3.97% and a return on equity of 15.98%. The company had revenue of $127.57 million during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $130.12 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The firms revenue was up 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Core Laboratories will post 0.8 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 13th were issued a $0.01 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 10th. This represents a $0.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.18%. Core Laboratoriess payout ratio is 9.76%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Core Laboratories

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James & Associates acquired a new stake in Core Laboratories during the 1st quarter worth $1,980,000. US Bancorp DE raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 15.3% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 5,945 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $188,000 after acquiring an additional 790 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 57.8% during the 1st quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 39,192 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 14,354 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 9.4% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 68,839 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $2,177,000 after acquiring an additional 5,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS raised its stake in Core Laboratories by 14.0% during the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 39,895 shares of the oil and gas companys stock worth $1,262,000 after acquiring an additional 4,909 shares in the last quarter. 97.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Core Laboratories

(Get Rating)

Core Laboratories NV engages in the provision of proprietary and patented reservoir description, production enhancement, and reservoir management services to the oil and gas industry. It operates through the Reservoir Description segment and Production Enhancement segment. The Reservoir Description segment encompasses the characterization of petroleum reservoir rock, fluid, and gas samples and provides analytical and field services to characterize properties of crude oil and petroleum products.

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NorthRock Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF (NYSEARCA:PWB  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,380 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF by 292.0% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,960 shares of the companys stock valued at $117,000 after buying an additional 1,460 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF in the 3rd quarter valued at $200,000.

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Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSEARCA:PWB opened at $65.82 on Wednesday. Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF has a 1 year low of $54.90 and a 1 year high of $70.67. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $63.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $606.86 million, a PE ratio of 23.79 and a beta of 1.01.

Invesco Dynamic Large Cap Growth ETF Company Profile

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NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC cut its holdings in Ford Motor (NYSE:F  Get Rating) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,463 shares of the auto manufacturers stock after selling 1,938 shares during the quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLCs holdings in Ford Motor were worth $133,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of F. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 283,841 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $3,179,000 after acquiring an additional 4,823 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 52.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 40,461 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $453,000 after acquiring an additional 13,850 shares in the last quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 695.8% in the 3rd quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 3,183 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 2,783 shares in the last quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Investment Advisors LLC. now owns 96,193 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $1,077,000 after acquiring an additional 9,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in Ford Motor by 1,125.3% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 280,586 shares of the auto manufacturers stock valued at $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 257,686 shares in the last quarter. 49.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO James D. Farley, Jr. sold 79,921 shares of Ford Motor stock in a transaction on Friday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total transaction of $1,027,784.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,638,667 shares in the company, valued at $21,073,257.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Ford Motor news, insider Ashwani Kumar Galhotra sold 24,850 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 511,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at $6,655,981.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO James D. Farley, Jr. sold 79,921 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $12.86, for a total value of $1,027,784.06. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 1,638,667 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,073,257.62. 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 0.80% of the companys stock.

Ford Motor Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE F opened at $12.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.06, a quick ratio of 1.06 and a current ratio of 1.20. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $12.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $12.67. Ford Motor has a twelve month low of $10.61 and a twelve month high of $16.68.

Ford Motor (NYSE:F  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The auto manufacturer reported $0.51 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.60 by ($0.09). The company had revenue of $41.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $40.73 billion. Ford Motor had a positive return on equity of 17.45% and a negative net margin of 1.25%. Ford Motors revenue was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ford Motor will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Ford Motor Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 25th. Ford Motors payout ratio is -117.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Tudor Pickering cut Ford Motor from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut Ford Motor from a hold rating to a sell rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $11.00 in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Benchmark dropped their price objective on Ford Motor from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Ford Motor from $14.00 to $12.50 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Finally, Barclays initiated coverage on Ford Motor in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. They set an equal weight rating and a $13.00 price objective on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $15.22.

Ford Motor Profile

(Get Rating)

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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Alaska Wealth Advisors purchased a new stake in Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,054 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $228,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Retirement Financial Solutions LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Tradewinds Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Merck & Co., Inc. by 41.5% during the 4th quarter. Tradewinds Capital Management LLC now owns 317 shares of the companys stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 72.89% of the companys stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 39,900 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,159,575. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Merck & Co., Inc. news, insider Sanat Chattopadhyay sold 134,055 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.07, for a total transaction of $15,425,708.85. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Steven Mizell sold 4,436 shares of Merck & Co., Inc. stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.25, for a total transaction of $462,453.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 39,900 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,159,575. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 150,306 shares of company stock valued at $17,162,278 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.29% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Merck & Co., Inc. Stock Performance

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MRK. SVB Leerink upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $120.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $100.00 to $99.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 3rd. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a buy rating on the stock. Cowen upped their price target on shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from $108.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 3rd. Finally, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Merck & Co., Inc. from a peer perform rating to an outperform rating and set a $127.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $120.65.

Shares of NYSE MRK opened at $114.83 on Wednesday. The companys fifty day moving average price is $108.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.70. Merck & Co., Inc. has a 1 year low of $83.05 and a 1 year high of $116.44. The company has a market capitalization of $291.51 billion, a PE ratio of 20.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE:MRK  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 2nd. The company reported $1.62 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.06. Merck & Co., Inc. had a net margin of 24.49% and a return on equity of 43.47%. The firm had revenue of $13.83 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $13.66 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.80 earnings per share. The firms quarterly revenue was up 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Merck & Co., Inc. will post 6.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Merck & Co., Inc. Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 14th. Merck & Co., Inc.s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.14%.

About Merck & Co., Inc.

(Get Rating)

Merck & Co, Inc is a health care company, which engages in the provision of health solutions through its prescription medicines, vaccines, biologic therapies, animal health, and consumer care products. It operates through the following segments: Pharmaceutical, Animal Health, and Other. The Pharmaceutical segment includes human health pharmaceutical and vaccine products.

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State Street Co. (NYSE:STT  Get Rating)  Investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group lowered their FY2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of State Street in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, April 18th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst K. Usdin now anticipates that the asset manager will post earnings per share of $7.90 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $8.35. The consensus estimate for State Streets current full-year earnings is $8.27 per share. Jefferies Financial Group also issued estimates for State Streets Q4 2023 earnings at $2.13 EPS, Q1 2024 earnings at $1.64 EPS, Q2 2024 earnings at $2.15 EPS, Q3 2024 earnings at $2.37 EPS, Q4 2024 earnings at $2.37 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $8.50 EPS.

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State Street (NYSE:STT  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Friday, January 20th. The asset manager reported $2.07 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $3.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.06 billion. State Street had a return on equity of 12.03% and a net margin of 20.92%.

State Street Price Performance

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on State Street from $85.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Friday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on State Street in a research report on Wednesday, January 4th. They set a neutral rating for the company. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price objective on State Street from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. StockNews.com began coverage on State Street in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on State Street from $97.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $84.19.

Shares of STT opened at $74.90 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $25.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $81.85 and a 200-day moving average of $78.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. State Street has a 52 week low of $58.62 and a 52 week high of $94.74.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On State Street

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. New Hampshire Trust acquired a new position in State Street in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in State Street in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.41% of the companys stock.

Insider Transactions at State Street

In related news, EVP John Plansky sold 11,168 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.22, for a total transaction of $1,029,912.96. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 42,455 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,915,200.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP David C. Phelan sold 15,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.63, for a total transaction of $1,299,450.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,491 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $6,279,895.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Plansky sold 11,168 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.22, for a total value of $1,029,912.96. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,455 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $3,915,200.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 32,893 shares of company stock worth $2,923,987. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

State Street Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 31st. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. State Streets dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.05%.

About State Street

(Get Rating)

State Street Corp. engages in the provision of financial services to institutional investors. It operates through the Commercial and Financial, and Commercial Real Estate segments. The company was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

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State Street (NYSE:STT  Get Rating) released its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The asset manager reported $1.52 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.64 by ($0.12), MarketWatch Earnings reports. State Street had a net margin of 20.92% and a return on equity of 12.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.13 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.59 EPS. The companys revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year.

State Street Stock Performance

STT stock opened at $74.90 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $81.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.78. State Street has a 1-year low of $58.62 and a 1-year high of $94.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 0.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $25.20 billion, a PE ratio of 10.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 1.56.

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State Street Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 3rd were given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 31st. State Streets dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.05%.

Insider Transactions at State Street

Hedge Funds Weigh In On State Street

In other news, EVP David C. Phelan sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.63, for a total value of $1,299,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,279,895.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link . In other news, EVP David C. Phelan sold 15,000 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.63, for a total value of $1,299,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,491 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,279,895.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link . Also, CAO Ian Appleyard sold 6,725 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.42, for a total value of $594,624.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 14,493 shares of the companys stock, valued at $1,281,471.06. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . In the last ninety days, insiders sold 32,893 shares of company stock valued at $2,923,987. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the companys stock.

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in State Street by 69.2% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 572 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 234 shares during the last quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co boosted its stake in State Street by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 1,570 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. First Manhattan Co. boosted its stake in State Street by 7.5% during the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 2,119 shares of the asset managers stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new position in State Street during the 4th quarter valued at about $202,000. Finally, BOKF NA acquired a new position in State Street during the 4th quarter valued at about $211,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.41% of the companys stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

STT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on State Street from $97.00 to $90.00 in a report on Tuesday. Credit Suisse Group raised their price objective on State Street from $76.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, January 23rd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on State Street from $85.00 to $80.00 in a report on Friday, March 24th. Barclays cut their price objective on State Street from $102.00 to $100.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on State Street in a report on Wednesday, January 4th. They set a neutral rating on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $84.19.

About State Street

(Get Rating)

State Street Corp. engages in the provision of financial services to institutional investors. It operates through the Commercial and Financial, and Commercial Real Estate segments. The company was founded in 1792 and is headquartered in Boston, MA.

Further Reading

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Atria Investments Inc purchased a new stake in LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,994 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock, valued at approximately $1,660,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Trust Co. of Vermont lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 1,033.3% in the 3rd quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 340 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 1,006.5% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 343 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Kistler Tiffany Companies LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in LyondellBasell Industries in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Leelyn Smith LLC lifted its position in LyondellBasell Industries by 42.4% in the 3rd quarter. Leelyn Smith LLC now owns 470 shares of the specialty chemicals companys stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.12% of the companys stock.

Get LyondellBasell Industries alerts:

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on LYB. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of LyondellBasell Industries from a buy rating to a hold rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $113.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Piper Sandler upgraded LyondellBasell Industries from a neutral rating to an overweight rating and set a $118.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on LyondellBasell Industries from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an underperform rating in a research report on Monday, February 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised LyondellBasell Industries from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $100.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 20th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on LyondellBasell Industries in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $99.21.

LyondellBasell Industries Stock Performance

Shares of LYB opened at $97.15 on Wednesday. The businesss fifty day simple moving average is $93.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $88.17. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.83. LyondellBasell Industries has a 12 month low of $71.46 and a 12 month high of $117.22. The company has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.23, a P/E/G ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 1.21.

LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The specialty chemicals company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $1.09 by $0.20. The firm had revenue of $10.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.73 billion. LyondellBasell Industries had a return on equity of 32.96% and a net margin of 7.71%. The companys revenue for the quarter was down 20.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.63 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that LyondellBasell Industries will post 8.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

LyondellBasell Industries Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 6th were paid a $1.19 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 3rd. This represents a $4.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.90%. LyondellBasell Industriess dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 40.34%.

Insider Transactions at LyondellBasell Industries

In related news, EVP Jeffrey A. Kaplan sold 10,000 shares of LyondellBasell Industries stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.99, for a total transaction of $989,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,600 shares in the company, valued at $4,711,924. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the companys stock.

About LyondellBasell Industries

(Get Rating)

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.

Further Reading

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding LYB? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for LyondellBasell Industries (NYSE:LYB  Get Rating).

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ReportLinker

Forecasts by Source (Mammalian, Non-mammalian), by Service (Process Development, Fill & Finish Operations, Analytical & QC Studies, Packaging), by Product (Biologics, Biosimilars), by Company Size (Small, Mid-sized, Large), by Scale of Operations (Preclinical, Clinical, Commercial) AND Regional and Leading National Market Analysis PLUS Analysis of Leading Companies AND COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Pattern Analysis.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market Report 2023-2033" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06447095/?utm_source=GNW





The Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market Report 2023-2033: This report will prove invaluable to leading firms striving for new revenue pockets if they wish to better understand the industry and its underlying dynamics. It will be useful for companies that would like to expand into different industries or to expand their existing operations in a new region.





Every year, new and unique drug products and technologies come out. This changes the way biopharma works and what kinds of treatments are possible. This is partly because outsourcing gives them the ability and freedom to do so. Emerging and virtual companies that are driving the future pipeline depend heavily on external development partners, and not just for hard-to-make products. Even more well-known companies are signing contracts with CDMOs to get access to their resources and certain skills. In cell and gene therapy (CGT), many of the chemistry, manufacturing, and control (CMC) jobs, such as process development, analytical development, testing, manufacturing, and filling and finishing, are done by outside companies. Outsourcing can happen at almost any point in the life cycle of a treatment, all the way up until it goes on the market.





CGTs have problems that require expensive and hard-to-find consumables, tools, space, and talent. This could lead a company to think about outsourcing clinical through commercial manufacturing processes. Big companies have the means to develop and make products, but they may need help with certain tasks, such as specialised analytical assays or studies to improve the way a process works. Small companies, which make up most of the advanced biotherapeutic developers right now, dont have a lot of internal development and manufacturing capacity or experience, so they tend to outsource process development, process scaling up, and manufacturing.





What Questions Should You Ask before Buying a Market Research Report?



 How is the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing market evolving?



 What is driving and restraining the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing market?



 How will each biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these submarkets account for in 2033?



 How will the market shares for each biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing submarket develop from 2023 to 2033?



 What will be the main driver for the overall market from 2023 to 2033?



 Will leading biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing markets broadly follow the macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual national markets outperform others?



 How will the market shares of the national markets change by 2033 and which geographical region will lead the market in 2033?



 Who are the leading players and what are their prospects over the forecast period?



 What are the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing projects for these leading companies?



 How will the industry evolve during the period between 2023 and 2033? What are the implications of



biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing projects taking place now and over the next 10 years?



 Is there a greater need for product commercialisation to further scale the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing market?



 Where is the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing market heading and how can you ensure you are at the forefront of the market?



 What are the best investment options for new product and service lines?



 What are the key prospects for moving companies into a new growth path and C-suite?





You need to discover how this will impact the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing market today, and over the next 10 years:



 Our 358-page report provides 140 tables and 167 charts/graphs exclusively to you.



 The report highlights key lucrative areas in the industry so you can target them  NOW.



 It contains in-depth analysis of global, regional and national sales and growth.



 It highlights for you the key successful trends, changes and revenue projections made by your competitors.





This report tells you TODAY how the biopharmaceuticals contract manufacturing market will develop in the next 10 years, and in line with the variations in COVID-19 economic recession and bounce. This market is more critical now than at any point over the last 10 years.





Forecasts to 2033 and other analyses reveal commercial prospects



 In addition to revenue forecasting to 2033, our new study provides you with recent results, growth rates, and market shares.



 You will find original analyses, with business outlooks and developments.



 Discover qualitative analyses (including market dynamics, drivers, opportunities, and restraints), Porters Five Forces Analysis, PEST Analysis and recent developments.





This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect the industry and your company. Four COVID-19 recovery patterns and their impact, namely, V, L, W and U are discussed in this report.





Segments Covered in the Report





Source



 Mammalian



 Non-mammalian





Service



 Process Development



 Fill & Finish Operations



 Analytical & QC Studies



 Packaging





Product



 Biologics



 Biosimilars





Company Size



 Small



 Mid-sized



 Large





Scale of Operations



 Preclinical



 Clinical



 Commercial





In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for five regional and 23 leading national markets:





North America



 U.S.



 Canada





Europe



 Germany



 UK



 France



 Italy



 Spain



 Russia



 Rest of Europe





Asia Pacific



 Japan



 China



 India



 Australia



 South-East Asia



 Rest of Asia Pacific





Latin America



 Brazil



 Mexico



 Argentina



 Colombia



 Rest of Latin America





MEA



 GCC



 South Africa



 Rest of MEA





The report also includes profiles and for some of the leading companies in the Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market, 2023 to 2033, with a focus on this segment of these companies operations.





Leading companies and the potential for market growth



 AbbVie, Inc.



 AGC Biologics



 Avantor, Inc.



 Binex Co., Ltd.



 Boehringer Ingelheim GmbH



 Cambrex Corporation



 Catalent Inc



 Curia Global, Inc.



 Cytiva



 FUJIFILM Diosynth Biotechnologies



 JRS PHARMA



 Jubilant Pharma Limited



 KBI Biopharma



 Lonza



 Pfizer CentreOne



 ProBioGen



 Rentschler Biopharma SE



 Samsung Biologics



 Sandoz



 TOYOBO CO., LTD.



 Thermo Fisher Scientific



 WuXi Biologics





Overall world revenue for Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market, 2023 to 2033 in terms of value the market will surpass US$15,280.0 million in 2023, our work calculates. We predict strong revenue growth through to 2033. Our work identifies which organizations hold the greatest potential. Discover their capabilities, progress, and commercial prospects, helping you stay ahead.





How will the Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market, 2023 to 2033 report help you?



In summary, our 350+ page report provides you with the following knowledge:





 Revenue forecasts to 2033 for Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market, 2023 to 2033 Market, with forecasts for Source, service, product, company size, and scale of operations, each forecast at a global and regional level  discover the industrys prospects, finding the most lucrative places for investments and revenues.





 Revenue forecasts to 2033 for five regional and 23 key national markets  See forecasts for the Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market, 2023 to 2033 market in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and MEA. Also forecasted is the market in the US, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Germany, France, UK, Italy, China, India, Japan, and Australia among other prominent economies.





 Prospects for established firms and those seeking to enter the market  including company profiles for 22 of the major companies involved in the Biopharmaceuticals Contract Manufacturing Market, 2023 to 2033.





Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06447095/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Bioventix (LON:BVXP). Now this is not to say that the company presents the best investment opportunity around, but profitability is a key component to success in business.

View our latest analysis for Bioventix

Bioventix's Earnings Per Share Are Growing

If a company can keep growing earnings per share (EPS) long enough, its share price should eventually follow. So it makes sense that experienced investors pay close attention to company EPS when undertaking investment research. We can see that in the last three years Bioventix grew its EPS by 8.2% per year. That's a pretty good rate, if the company can sustain it.

Top-line growth is a great indicator that growth is sustainable, and combined with a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin, it's a great way for a company to maintain a competitive advantage in the market. Bioventix maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 23% to UK13m. That's encouraging news for the company!

In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings and revenue, over time. To see the actual numbers, click on the chart.

Since Bioventix is no giant, with a market capitalisation of UK198m, you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects.

Are Bioventix Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It should give investors a sense of security owning shares in a company if insiders also own shares, creating a close alignment their interests. Bioventix followers will find comfort in knowing that insiders have a significant amount of capital that aligns their best interests with the wider shareholder group. Indeed, they hold UK14m worth of its stock. That's a lot of money, and no small incentive to work hard. That amounts to 7.1% of the company, demonstrating a degree of high-level alignment with shareholders.

Story continues

While it's always good to see some strong conviction in the company from insiders through heavy investment, it's also important for shareholders to ask if management compensation policies are reasonable. Well, based on the CEO pay, you'd argue that they are indeed. For companies with market capitalisations between UK81m and UK322m, like Bioventix, the median CEO pay is around UK572k.

Bioventix's CEO took home a total compensation package of UK250k in the year prior to June 2022. First impressions seem to indicate a compensation policy that is favourable to shareholders. CEO compensation is hardly the most important aspect of a company to consider, but when it's reasonable, that gives a little more confidence that leadership are looking out for shareholder interests. It can also be a sign of a culture of integrity, in a broader sense.

Does Bioventix Deserve A Spot On Your Watchlist?

One positive for Bioventix is that it is growing EPS. That's nice to see. Earnings growth might be the main attraction for Bioventix, but the fun does not stop there. With company insiders aligning themselves considerably with the company's success and modest CEO compensation, there's no arguments that this is a stock worth looking into. What about risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Bioventix you should know about.

The beauty of investing is that you can invest in almost any company you want. But if you prefer to focus on stocks that have demonstrated insider buying, here is a list of companies with insider buying in the last three months.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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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SPLIT, CROATIA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Bitcoin Store disrupts the cryptocurrency landscape with innovative walk-in exchanges for easy and secure trading. In the picturesque city of Split, Croatia, The Bitcoin Store is leading the charge in transforming the cryptocurrency landscape with their groundbreaking in-person trading platform. Established by cryptocurrency pioneers, the platform aims to bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds of cryptocurrency, democratizing the industry and making it accessible to everyone - regardless of their background or experience. With their game-changing approach, The Bitcoin Store is set to revolutionize personal finance and create a trustworthy space for secure transactions.





The Birth of a Vision: A World Where Crypto Is Accessible to All

In 2013, a pair of long-time friends Tomislav V. and Sime B. identified the enormous promise of cryptocurrencies. Observing the challenges many individuals faced when it came to handling or liquidating their digital assets, they established Bitkonan.com, one of the earliest European cryptocurrency exchanges.

Later in 2018 after the bull run, when crypto became more "mainstream," they were surprised that the space still appeared daunting and out of reach for many potential users, especially non-tech individuals.

In response, they started working on a new idea called "Bitcoin Store" - a unique concept that merges the convenience of online exchanges with the accessibility of walk-in stores.

"Our goal was to create an environment where even the least tech-savvy individuals could manage cryptocurrencies with just a few clicks," says Tomislav, CEO of Bitcoin Store.

"By introducing a chain of walk-in cryptocurency exchanges in major cities alongside an online platform, we make it possible for anyone to buy, sell, and top up their accounts with cash or crypto instantly. Most importantly, we wanted to become a trustworthy crypto companion for non-tech users in a space that still lacks constructive customer support."

Story continues

A Platform Built on Accessibility, Convenience, and Education

The Bitcoin Store is more than just a trading platform. It's a movement designed to empower individuals to easily navigate the complex world of digital currencies.

By developing an approachable and friendly brand personality, the company seeks to foster a strong community and establish trust among its users. Ultimately, The Bitcoin Store aims to make the world of cryptocurrency and fintech accessible to all.

Brick and mortar cryptocurrency exchange: A Safe Haven in a Landscape Seeking Enhanced Customer Experiences

A non-tech user who is unfamiliar with cryptocurrencies may have experienced a sense of confusion or overwhelm, not knowing where to begin when entering the world of crypto.

Even with advancements in user experience and abundant knowledge resources, blockchain technology's technical and economic aspects can still be overwhelming.

Furthermore, despite all these improvements, majority of users report cases of bad customer support with cold or non-existing communication efforts from exchanges.

Physical cryptocurrency exchanges serve as an ideal starting point for those new to blockchain technology. These exchanges not only facilitate trading but also function as educational centers.

Rather than navigating the complexities of an online exchange, a user can receive guidance from an exchange agent who can help set up a digital wallet and explain the various types of cryptocurrency storage and their differences.

Regular users can also benefit from the convenience of visiting a nearby branch for direct support and prompt resolution of potential issues, which is a rarity in the online realm.

For instance, when encountering a problem on an online exchange, the only available option is usually contacting customer service and potentially waiting hours for a response.

Furthermore, Bitcoin Store walk-in cryptocurrency exchanges instill trust and security in their users. Before committing to any transactions, a simple internet search can confirm that the exchange is a regulated company adhering to the highest security standards.

The Future of Personal Finance: Expanding Services and the Store Finance (SEF) Token

The Bitcoin Store plans to introduce new features such as unique IBAN accounts, physical/virtual credit cards, staking, lending, and loans to further its mission.

At the heart of this evolving ecosystem will be their new project - Store Finance (SEF), a new feature designed to be the dedicated utility token within the Bitcoin Store network.

By holding and using SEF tokens, users will enjoy numerous benefits, including:

Fee reduction

SEF staking rewards

Cashback on a physical VISA credit card

Early access to new crypto projects via the Bitcoin Store launchpad

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COLONIE  St. Thomas, Ontario is 435 miles from Albany but the two communities may be getting a lot closer, in spirit and in commerce thanks to the push for more high-tech green energy solutions needed on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border.

Volkswagen recently announced plans to build a massive giga factory for electric vehicle batteries in St. Thomas as part of the move toward those cars. Many of the batteries and cars will end up in the U.S.

Likewise, Canadian businesses will surely tap American resources, including the large computer chip factories coming to upstate New York as part of this new synergy, said Tom Clark, the recently appointed Canadian consul general for New York.

A veteran journalist before turning to international relations, the New York consul general serves as a resource for Canadians and Americans in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut and Bermuda. Based in New York City, Clark met with the Times Union on Tuesday during his first trip to the Albany area since his appointment by Canadas Justin Trudeau administration over the winter.

As the government nerve center for New York, Clark said Albany is a key spot for him. On Monday he met with members of the state Assembly and addressed the Business Council of New York.



Clark on Tuesday stressed the synchrony of needs and opportunities between New York and Canada in developing green energy products.

While chip fabs in places like Saratoga County as well as the Utica and Syracuse areas will create products used in both countries, Canada has many of the raw materials such as cobalt and lithium that go into items like EV batteries.

Moreover, the province of Quebec is rich in clean hydroelectric power, some of which will in coming years help supply energy to New York City with the under-construction Champlain-Hudson Power Express transmission line.

Cross-border trade between the U.S. and Canada should grow stronger as more companies push for reshoring, or bringing production closer to home.

It is going to be a boon for the entire region, Clark said of the green energy ecosystem. In this new world were not necessarily importing bits and pieces from Asia. Were doing it right here.

Also enhancing cross-border trade are the shared values of freedom and democracy maintained by both the U.S. and Canada. While there always may be tussles over issues like dairy or lumber tariffs, Clark stressed that the two nations share the same respect for freedom and democracy.



Its values-sharing, said Clark. If you are going to create a new supply chain, you would say, Well lets do it with friends, and the next question I would ask is Well, who is a friend? ... And is a friend today a friend tomorrow?

Whats more resilient is you base it on values. The values between the two countries, he added.

As democracy is coming under attack all over the world and actually losing ground around the world, having someone whose core values mirrors your own when it comes to that is a pretty good indicator that they are going to be a pretty good supply chain partner.

We cannot get to where we want to go without going through the U.S., said Clark. But I believe the U.S. cannot get to where it wants to go without going through Canada.

rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU
SCHENECTADY  General Electric Co. and its main union have agreed to a new, two-year contract extension that will give workers at its Schenectady plant a 12 percent raise  at the same time ensuring a smooth transition when GE spins off its Schenectady-based energy unit, GE Vernova, next year.

The deal is essential to the hundreds of workers at GEs Schenectady plant represented by Local 301 of the IUE-CWA. Although GE and its unions have enjoyed decades of relatively good cooperation, it is unclear how the unions will fare when GE Vernova, which is moving its headquarters to Cambridge, Mass., becomes a standalone company with its own culture.

GE spun off its health care operations earlier this year, and after it spins off GE Vernova in 2024, the surviving entity will be GEs aerospace unit.

The new union deal with GE is an extension of the current deal that will go into effect July 1 and will continue through June 22, 2025. Union members ratified the offer earlier this week. Local 301 represents 800 union workers in Schenectady.

Officials with the IUE-CWA, which stands for the International Union of Electrical Workers-Communications Workers of America and is GEs largest union, said the extension was important because it includes clauses that ensure that the raises and existing benefits and union recognition will continue at GE Vernova. GE also negotiated an extension with its other, smaller unions as well.

This is a major accomplishment for our union and our members, Jerry Carney, head of the IUE-CWA board that negotiated with GE, said. We have secured greater job security for our members, and this agreement provides peace of mind as General Electric undergoes its split into two separate entities.



GE was also happy about the labor agreement, which helps the company and its CEO Larry Culp Jr. realize their plan to split up GEs industrial divisions. GE employs several thousand people in the Capital Region. Most work in Schenectady or in Niskayuna, where GE Research is located.

This agreement provides our employees with wage increases along with competitive benefits to ensure we continue to attract and retain top talent, while providing clarity and a stable environment for the company as we approach the planned separation of GE Aerospace and GE Vernova, Bill Bussa, head of North American labor relations for GE, said in a statement.

The IUE-CWA said it cant rest on its success too long since the contract only lasts another two years.

We will sit down again with GE Vernova and GE Aerospace management in two years, once they are done with their spin-offs, said Carney, whose union also represents workers in Massachusetts, Kentucky and Kansas.
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MALTA  GlobalFoundries is suing IBM in federal court claiming IBM stole chip technology that the two companies jointly developed at Albany Nanotech and also has been trying to steal employees from its Fab 8 factory in Saratoga County to support a new research program with a Japanese company.

GlobalFoundries said Wednesday that it sued IBM in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, accusing IBM of illegally using GlobalFoundries' technology for a new manufacturing partnership with a Japanese company called Rapidus.

The lawsuit also alleges that IBM has been trying to steal engineers from GlobalFoundries' computer chip factory in Saratoga County to work at Albany Nanotech, where IBM and Rapidus are setting up a major chip manufacturing research program years after GlobalFoundries and IBM stopped working together.

Not all the details of the lawsuit were immediately available on Wednesday since GlobalFoundries is seeking to have the lawsuit heavily redacted due to competitive concerns. GlobalFoundries employs 3,000 people at its headquarters and manufacturing campus in Malta. The companies worked together on research for years before having a falling out a few years ago.

However, a redacted copy of the lawsuit obtained by the Times Union reveals that GlobalFoundries is also accusing IBM of trying to sell chip tech developed in partnership with GlobalFoundries to Intel, the world's largest chip company, as well as allegedly to China.

"IBMs unlawful acts reflect a knowing, willful scheme to violate (GlobalFoundries's) contractual and statutory rights. IBMs unlawful acts must stop," the GlobalFoundries lawsuit asserts.

IBM did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The lawsuit alleges that in 2015, IBM provided Chinese companies with "blueprints for high-end servers and the software that runs on them" so that China can develop its on server industry. IBM's most advanced chips are used in its high-end servers.

Although GlobalFoundries laid off 221 workers at its Fab 8 chip factory in Malta in Saratoga County last December, the company's lawsuit claims that IBM has been stealing GlobalFoundries employees for its new research partnership at Albany Nanotech.

Jason Conwall, a spokesman for Albany Nanotech, declined comment. Albany Nanotech is not a defendant in the case, and Albany Nanotech typically does not comment on lawsuits involving tenants like IBM.

An Intel spokesman declined comment. Intel and IBM announced in 2021 that they would establish a research program at Albany Nanotech that would bring hundreds of jobs to the Capital Region.

IBM announced in December that it would partner with a new Japanese chip company called Rapidus at Albany Nanotech in a new research program that would focus on next-generation 2 nanometer chips that would be made in Japan. The partnership is expected to create 100 new jobs at Albany Nanotech, a semiconductor research campus owned by the state that has both private tenants like IBM and also public tenants like SUNY Polytechnic Institute.

"IBM engineers collaborating with Rapidus as part of the Rapidus-IBM partnership accessed and directly or indirectly disclosed (GlobalFoundries trade secrets) to Rapidus," the lawsuit claims.

As for the alleged poaching of employees, GlobalFoundries spokeswoman Laurie Kelly told the Times Union, "Over the last several months IBM has been aggressively recruiting some of our best engineers from our Fab 8 team to work for them at the Albany Nanotech complex."
HEBRON  A lack of cell service in the region where 20-year-old Kaylin A. Gillis was fatally shot by a homeowner last weekend was a factor in her friends' driving up the wrong driveway and also their efforts to reach a 911 dispatcher after she was wounded by the gunfire.

In the aftermath of the shooting, which has rocked the tight-knit Schuylerville community where Gillis was revered, the lack of cellular service in the rural region has emerged as an element in a tragic death that took place after a group of young friends lost their way in the hilly countryside. Kevin D. Monahan, 65, has been charged with second-degree murder and remains in custody after being denied bail Wednesday.

This case does highlight the need for better cellular service, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said. I dont know that that would have made a difference in this case, but it might in the next  in the fact that we have areas in this county where theres absolutely no cell service, where we have difficulties using our police radios to communicate.

Gillis and six friends  three of them in the vehicle in which she was a front-seat passenger, two more in a second vehicle and another on a motorcycle  mistakenly drove up Monahans unpaved driveway just before 10 p.m. that night as they searched for a friends house. That area of Washington County is roughly 19 miles northeast of the residence where Gillis lived with her family in neighboring Saratoga County.

The area is notorious for its poor cell service. The group, after realizing they were at the wrong house and without getting out of their vehicles, started turning around to leave as they struggled to connect with GPS on their phones to find the correct address, according to Murphy.

I do know that its very limited cell service (in that) area; it works in one spot and then 10 feet away it doesnt work, the sheriff said. I know that when they got to the residence, they were trying to use GPS and cell service to find out where they were and where they were supposed to go ... once they found out they were in the wrong location.

Murphy said the group did not speak with Monahan, but saw him emerge from his residence onto his deck and fire at them as they were turning around their vehicles and trying to drive away. Gillis, riding in a car being driven by her boyfriend, was struck in the neck by one of two rounds that Monahan allegedly fired at the group. The round that hit Gillis was a shotgun slug, a lethal projectile often used for big-game hunting.

The neighbor supports what the kids in the car (said occurred), Murphy said. Its remarkable the composure that the other kids involved in this had during the incident; that they were able to control their emotions enough to be able to direct patrols to the right residence and be able to, you know, relay the information as to what the house looked like, for instance, and where they were and what they were doing, and just put the pieces together so that we knew what was going on.

With Gillis gravely wounded, the group drove south toward Salem along a county highway. At least twice, their mobile phones connected with 911 dispatchers. But the sheriff said both of those calls were disconnected due to the poor cell service in that area before a third was successful.

So they had two broken cell calls that they had made to 911, Murphy said. And then somehow they were able to reconnect, whether it was the 911 (dispatcher) calling them back, or they were able to get through a third time or whatever. But they were directed to a location to meet an ambulance and meet our deputies.

A public safety threat

The emergency dispatch system is set up so that when someone uses a mobile phone to dial 911, even if they dont have service with their provider, the device should connect with the first available cell service to make the emergency call. But that feature wont work if there is no provider service.

Sheriffs officials said that paramedics began applying CPR to Gillis, but she died at the scene. Its unclear whether successfully reaching 911 dispatchers minutes earlier would have made a difference in the outcome.

Andrew Gillis, Kaylins father, on Wednesday said he was very upset by the lack of cell service in connection with the incident.

Because that could have been the difference between, you know, first responders getting there, to be able to save my daughter. ... (But) I cant say for sure, Gillis said as he addressed reporters after a hearing where a judge ordered Monahan to remain in custody without bail.

I dont know the extent of the injuries she received right away," Gillis added. "But them going to a friends house  for a get-together, I wouldnt never have dreamed in a million years that this would happen.

The house where the party was being held was roughly a half-mile away from Monahan's residence  so close that people there heard the shots that were fired, according to one attendee.

Murphy said there is no indication that the actions of the group of friends that became lost that night should have prompted Monahan to fire a gun at them.

I think the key fact in this case is that the amount of time they were in the driveway was very little, by all accounts, the sheriff said. And the fact that they were leaving one by one, turning around, exiting the driveway. So certainly, if a vehicle is leaving its not a threat. And thats a key factor in this case.  They didnt ring the doorbell, didnt bang on the door or get outside the vehicle at all as far as we know, so there was no contact between the kids  I call them kids  and Mr. Monahan at all.

Washington County District Attorney Tony Jordan also characterized that the lack of cell service in that region  as well as in many other areas of the state  as a major concern.

I do think that that continues to pose a very, very real public safety issue and challenge for many parts of our country, and certainly in Washington County, Jordan said. Today, none of the (younger generation) follow (printed) maps. If they dont know where theyre going they just put (the address) in their phone. ... We so rely on cell service that if you don't have it, it's a real harm, and it certainly impacted trying to manage these scenes for law enforcement as it was happening."

Although most of New York has network support for making cellular phone calls, the ability to access the web, including the ability to use a phone's global positioning system (GPS), is more limited.

Dead zones

Last year, the Times Union asked cellphone providers why user experiences differed from the reported data of the carriers. Verizon noted its continued efforts to improve service. AT&T said its wireless service was operating normally in areas where residents report issues, while adding that factors like signal strength, topography, building construction and the type of cellphone being used can influence results.



State and federal efforts recently have focused less on cellphone access and more so on increasing access to broadband, both in low-income urban areas and in upstate, rural areas. Thousands of New York households are unable to access broadband, even if they had the money to pay for a monthly service fee.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and U.S. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer have made substantial pledges to connect all New Yorkers with access to reliable, affordable broadband service. Cellphone service, though, has been less of a pressing political question.

U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose district includes the town of Hebron, said there is still a lack of widespread cellphone and broadband coverage.



Despite significant federal dollars delivered, New York state has abysmally failed in keeping their promise to ensure all of upstate is covered with adequate cell coverage and rural broadband access, Stefanik said.

Tara Smith, whose property abuts Monahans and who saw the incident happen from her yard Saturday night, said she felt almost guilty after learning how close the desperate carload of young people had been to her home.

Ive been haunted thinking about those kids driving around trying to find service, she said. We would have helped them. Could we have saved her?

But after their experience on the Monahans property, Smith said, she understood why they were not going to pull into another persons driveway seeking help.

So theyre driving around these desolate roads trying to get cell service, she said. All the roads look the same. Theyre dark, theres no signs, theres no lights.

Steve Hughes, Kathleen Moore and Joshua Solomon contributed reporting for this story.
When Kaylin Gillis and her friends took a wrong turn into an upstate New York driveway last weekend, they couldn't have known the property was owned by a man who, according to a neighbor, had grown increasingly bitter over the years at people driving onto his land by mistake.

This time, the error proved fatal. The Hebron landowner, Kevin Monahan, opened fire Saturday night, killing 20-year-old Gillis as she and her friends drove away after turning around in the long dirt driveway, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said.

Monahan, 65, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge and remains detained pending a bond hearing.

One of his neighbors, Adam Matthews, who runs an auto repair shop in nearby Salem, said Monahan had become more and more upset in recent years at people making wrong turns into his driveway.

I'm just a bit overwhelmed, Matthews said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday after speaking to other news outlets. "It is a tragic event.

Murphy said Gillis and her friends got lost while going to another friend's nearby house. They were driving two cars and a motorcycle when they turned into Monahan's driveway. As they realized the mistake and turned around, Monahan fired two gunshots at them as they drove away, Murphy said.

One of the bullets struck the rear of the car Gillis was in and hit her, causing a fatal injury, Murphy said.

Gillis' father, Andrew Gillis, said in a Facebook post Tuesday that his family is devastated.

Kaylin was a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her, the post said. "She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love. ... She was taken from us far too soon."

Andrew Gillis wrote that his daughter was an honors student and talented artist who was looking forward to attending college in Florida with dreams of becoming a marine biologist.

Our family will never be the same but we will be guided by Kaylins positivity, optimism, and joy as we learn to live with her loss, he wrote.

Monahan's lawyer, meanwhile, spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday, calling the sheriff's version of the events a superficial, simplistic account of what actually happened.

The attorney, Kurt Mausert, declined to discuss details of the shooting, citing the pending criminal case.

I believe we have series of mistakes that led to a tragedy," he said in a phone interview. "But I dont believe my client is a villain. But not every case with a tragedy has a villain, and I think this is one of them.

The sheriff described Monahan as uncooperative, saying he initially refused to come out of the house before peacefully surrendering after about an hour.

Mausert disputed there was any standoff, saying he was on the phone with his client as law enforcement officers were at Monahan's door. He said Monahan was talking to police outside his door and officials would not say why they were there and did not have an arrest warrant. The lawyer said Monahan was exercising his right to remain silent when he declined to talk to police about what happened.

When police officials told the lawyer over the phone that someone had died, Mausert said he helped arrange the peaceful surrender.

They told me there was a fatality, then it started to make sense to me, he said. At that point, its dangerous for everybody. My goal at that point was to facilitate my client turning himself in to the police safely.

As Gillis' family mourned Tuesday, officials at the school system she attended held a news conference to express their sadness about her death. Gillis graduated in 2021 from Schuylerville High School, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Monahan's home in Hebron. Her two younger sisters are in grades seven and nine in Schuylerville.

We have very very close-knit community, said Katie Elsworth, the middle school principal. And we say to them upon graduation that we will always be your school family. We will always be here to support you and take care of you and love you. And when something happens to one of students who graduated, it hurts our hearts just as much as when theyre here.

Schuylerville High School Principal James Ducharme said Gillis had an infectious smile.

Her smile would light up a room, he said. Her personality would light up any classroom that she walked into or any club activity that she participated in.

School officials said Gillis was on the competition cheerleading team in high school for two seasons, took part in Future Farmers of America programs and was an avid artist.

A celebration of Gillis' life was scheduled for Friday in Schuylerville.
Market.Us

Advancements in diagnostic technologies have revolutionized the standards of care, resulting in an increased demand for bronchoscopy and contributing to the positive growth of the market.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The bronchoscopes market generated a value of USD 2.8 Billion in 2022 and is estimated to reach USD 7.0 billion by 2032, witnessing a CAGR of 9.9% from 2022 to 2032. Bronchoscopes are devices that have a thread that goes through the nose or mouth and into the lungs. These devices can detect blockages, COPD, and bronchopulmonary hemorhage as well as tumors, airway obstructions, and other inflammatory conditions. Bronchoscopes can be inserted through the nose, mouth, or through a tracheostomy to view distal branches of the bronchial tubes. If blood is present in the lungs, or there is a blockage of the airway from a large object, a rigid bronchoscope might be necessary.

Bronchoscopes Market value

Market.us has identified key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will help clients improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors. - Request for PDF sample: https://market.us/report/bronchoscopes-market/request-sample/

Key Takeaway:

By product type , in 2022, the flexible bronchoscope segment generated the largest revenue share.

By usage , the reusable segment has dominated the market, and it is growing at a CAGR of 10.1% over the forecast period 2023 to 2032.

By end-user , the hospital segment accounted for the largest market share in 2022.

In 2022, North America dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 42.8%.

Asia-Pacific will grow at a CAGR of 10.3% from 2023-2032.

An increase in bronchoscope demand has been due to the increasing prevalence of respiratory diseases, better reimbursement policies, and technological advancement. Thus the market is expected to grow more during the forecast period. Additionally, the rising incidence of various respiratory illnesses is another important factor that favors market expansion.

Story continues

Factors Affecting the Growth of Bronchoscopes Market

Several factors can affect the growth of the bronchoscopes market. Some of these factors include:

Increasing cases of lung cancer: It is the most common form of cancer. Due to this form of cancer, the mortality rate has increased in recent years. The bronchoscopic procedure plays an important role in the detection and treatment of lung cancer. This market is expected to grow significantly over the forecast period.

Rising geriatric population: One of the main reasons for market growth and an increase in respiratory diseases is the rising geriatric population.

Increase in pollution: Market growth will be supported by constant exposure to polluting gases and other harmful substances in the environment, which is the key reason for respiratory problems.

Technological Advancements: Advancements in technologies have raised the standards for diagnostic procedures, which is a key factor in increasing the demand for bronchoscopy and positively driving the growth of market.

Emerging key players: The most common key players are involved in the development and innovation of equipment and moreover, implementing the numerous growth strategies for portfolio expansion that will support the market growth

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Top Trends in Bronchoscopes Market

Single-use flexible bronchoscopes are used by anesthetists in ICUs or perioperative settings. They perform at a higher level and are more reliable than reusable, flexible ones.

Single-use flexible bronchoscopes can be used in several clinical settings. They are more cost-effective than reusable bronchoscopes and prevent cross-contamination. These are helpful in diagnosing diseases such as lung cancer, COPD, and other conditions.

Market Growth

The bronchoscopes market is experiencing significant revenue growth due to the increased prevalence of respiratory diseases like pulmonary hemorhage, chronic obstructive lung disorder, and interstitial pneumonia. Technological advances in the bronchoscope, such as blue light bronchoscopy and white light bronchoscopy, have also led to increased applications of the bronchoscope for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. This has supported the market growth for bronchoscopes.

Regional Analysis

The bronchoscopes market was dominated by North America, which acquired the most significant revenue share of 42.8%. Due to factors like an increase in hospitals and healthcare infrastructure, increased healthcare spending, a large patient base, and an aging population, the United States is expected to have a 91.8% market share in North America. As the United States has favourable reimbursement policies, bronchoscopes are in high demand. North America is the market leader due to the presence of major players and rising rates of lung cancer.

Asia-Pacific is expected to grow at a 10.3% CAGR over the forecast period. This market is driven by mandatory healthcare insurance, rising technology, and rising healthcare costs. There are also increasing numbers of global market players who are willing to fulfill these high unmet medical needs. The Asia-Pacific market for bronchoscopes is expected to increase by 20% in India. India's rising use of bronchoscopy and government spending on healthcare is driving demand for bronchoscopes.

Get a glance at the Bronchoscopes Market contribution of various segments including country and region wise - Download a sample report

Scope of the Report

Report Attribute Details Market Value (2022) USD 2.8 Billion Market Size (2032) USD 7.0 Billion CAGR(2023 to 2033) 9.9% North America Revenue Share 42.8% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

Rising geriatric population and increasing respiratory diseases are the key driver expected to boost the market growth. Chronic respiratory conditions can affect the airways and lung structures. This can cause a decline in lung function for all ages. Early diagnosis and treatment can improve health and prevent premature death. Although CRDs can't be cured completely, they can be treated to improve quality of life and reduce symptoms. Due to the high incidence of disease and its complications, elderly patients must be treated immediately. For the diagnosis of flexible bronchoscopy findings (FB), patients over 65 years old were examined. Chronic respiratory diseases are a significant problem worldwide. Weekly outpatient clinics treat chronic lung conditions and other unidentified respiratory problems. Skilled respiratory consultants quickly diagnose and refer patients. Together all these factors are predicted to thrive the market towards growth.

As of now, there are far advanced technologies regarding bronchoscopy diagnostics. Therefore, instead of using bronchoscopic procedures, pulmonologists used to refer patients to radiologists, surgeons, and medical oncologists. This is due to the bronchoscopy ecosystem and standards, technology, and demand. More innovations are expected in the coming years. These advances have allowed respiratory therapists (RTs), to bring their expertise in scientific, clinical, and organizational areas to this rapidly developing field. The diagnostic bronchoscopy process has been made easier by real-time ultrasound and peripheral navigation. Real-time visualization has been a great help in bronchoscopy. It also helps to avoid vascular structures. Bronchoscopes can only enter the airways of the third or fourth generation. Except for ultrasound for proximal lesions, advanced bronchoscopy yields are limited by this challenge. There are now slimmer bronchoscopes with larger working channels, more angulation, better imaging, and the ability to visualize pathology.

Market Restraints

Risk of cross contamination and infection is likely to restrict the growth for bronchoscopes market. Reprocessing bronchoscopes between patients is necessary to sterilize or disinfect microorganisms. Reprocessing devices is done by cleaning, disinfecting, and sterilizing them. If the flexible bronchoscope is not properly cleaned, it can spread infection from one patient to another. To prevent blood, tissue and other biological debris drying out, surface wiping and channel flushing should be part of the pre-cleaning process. This prevents market expansion and leads to cross-contamination among patients.

Market Opportunities

Government medical care spending and the development of a reimbursement system could lead to market expansion. Bronchoscope demand increases as respiratory problems rise. According to the WHO, 65 million people have COPD. 3 million have already died, and 1.8 million suffer from lung cancer. The health of the respiratory system is affected by air pollution. Poor air quality can lead to emphysema and other respiratory issues such as asthma, allergies, sensitivities, breathing infections, COPD, and respiratory infections. Air pollution was recently declared by the WHO as the greatest environmental threat to human well-being.

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Report Segmentation of the Bronchoscopes Market

Product Type Insight

The flexible bronchoscopes segment dominated the global market in 2022. There are a variety of flexible bronchoscopes, including hybrid, fiberotrophic, and video. Because of its low price and high quality video, the flexible market segment earned the most revenue. Fiberoptic has been the dominant segment in flexible because of its numerous advantages. These include high-quality video that makes it easy to spot tumors and infections deeper in the bronchioles. Flexible bronchoscopes are likely to be beneficial for both patients and doctors. Flexible bronchoscopy is quicker to heal than rigid bronchoscopy. Hence, flexible bronchoscopes are preferable over rigid. These narrow devices can penetrate smaller lumens more deeply.

Usage Insight

The reusable category is expected to be the market's biggest contributor, growing at a 10.1% CAGR over the forecast period. Reprocessing removes soil and contaminants, while microorganisms can be sterilized or disinfected. Multiple professional pulmonary societies have issued guidelines for single-use flexible and disposable bronchoscopes (SUFB) during the ongoing pandemic. This is to reduce the risk of infection when using reusable, flexible bronchoscopes. Disposable bronchoscopes are more affordable than RFB when it comes to treating bronchoscopy-related infections. They can be carried around and are easily accessible. Because of their maneuverability and handling, angle deflection, image quality, and larger channels for passing ancillary tools, flexible bronchoscopes can still be used for advanced diagnostic or therapeutic procedures.

By End-User

Hospitals accounted for the largest revenue share in 2022. This is due to the large number of patients admitted to hospitals for care or treatment for respiratory conditions. The high prevalence of lung diseases such as asthma in the emergency rooms is driving this market. This market segment is expected to grow at 9.4% during the forecast period.

Bronchoscopic patients should take several precautions before they choose to have their surgery at a hospital. Another reason hospital are the best is because of the skilled staff who perform the bronchoscopy.

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Market Segmentation

By Product Type

Rigid Bronchoscope

Flexible Bronchoscope (Video, Fiberotrophic, and Hybrid)

Other Product Types

By Usage

Reusable Bronchoscope

Disposable Bronchoscope

By End-User

Hospitals

Diagnostic Centers

Other End-Users

By Geography

North America The US Canada Mexico

Western Europe Germany France The UK Spain Italy Portugal Ireland Austria Switzerland Benelux Nordic Rest of Western Europe

Eastern Europe Russia Poland The Czech Republic Greece Rest of Eastern Europe

APAC China Japan South Korea India Australia & New Zealand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Colombia Chile Argentina Costa Rica Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa Algeria Egypt Israel Kuwait Nigeria Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey United Arab Emirates Rest of MEA



Competitive Landscape

A highly competitive market has emerged due to the increasing demand for products that can diagnose or treat various lung conditions. Market developments and regulatory approvals are positively driving market growth. Major players are using a variety of strategies to increase their market position, including mergers and acquisitions, product launches, collaborations, and partnerships.

Market Key Players:

Teleflex Incorporated

Olympus Corporation

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation Company Profile

Ambu A/S

Karl Storz SE & Co. KG

Boston Scientific Corporation Company Profile

Cogentix Medical, Inc.

Richard Wolf GmbH

Cook Medical.

HOYA Corporation

Other Key Players

Recent Development of the Bronchoscopes Market

In May 2022, Premier, Inc. and Olympus Corporation, Olympus Corporation, a Japanese manufacturer of optics, and reprography, signed in a group buying agreement for Premier, Inc.s single-use portfolio in the Single Use Visualization Devices category.

In July 2022, Ambu Inc. announced that the FDA had granted 510(k) regulatory clearance to the family of single-use, sterile bronchoscopes known as Ambu aScopeTM 5 Bronchoscope.

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Companion Diagnostics Market size is expected to be worth around USD 4,786 Mn by 2032 at a CAGR of 7.1% forecast period from 2022 to 2032.

Autoimmune Disease Diagnostics Market size is expected to be USD 10.3 Bn by 2032 at a CAGR of 7.1% forecast period from 2023 to 2032.

Diagnostic ultrasound Market was valued at USD 7.1 billion in 2022 and is expected to reach around USD 11.1 billion in 2032. Between 2023 and 2032, this market is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 4.7%.

In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) Market size is expected to be worth around USD 149.4 Bn by 2032 CAGR of 4.7% forecast period 2022 - 2032

Molecular Diagnostic Market was valued at USD 19.1 bn. 2023 and 2032, this market is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 10.6%.

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FORT EDWARD  A Washington County judge on Wednesday denied bail for the suspect in the killing of Kaylin Gillis, the 20-year-old who was shot after the group she was with innocently tried to find a friends house.

Judge Adam D. Michelini ruled against a bail request for Kevin D. Monahan, 65, who is charged with second-degree murder in the fatal shooting of the Schuylerville woman. Monahan allegedly fired two blasts from a 20-gauge shotgun at a car Gillis was riding in around 10 p.m. on Saturday after that vehicle, a second car and a motorcycle mistakenly drove up his driveway while searching for a friends house in the rural town of Hebron.

One of the rounds hit Gillis while she was in the car as it was turning around to leave the premises, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy has said.

Gillis father, Andrew, briefly spoke after the bail hearing Wednesday. Were just at a loss at this point, he said, often pausing with emotion. I wasnt going to speak to the media, but Kaylin deserves to have her story told.

He said she was an honors student who had dreams of becoming a marine biologist or a veterinarian. This man took that away from us, he said.

Gillis said his daughter told him she was going to her boyfriends house to spend time with him in the familys hot tub. The pair then joined a group of young people headed to another friends place. The house they were looking for was just a half mile down the road from Monahans, he said.

Gillis said his daughters boyfriend, Blake Walsh, was driving the car she was riding in Saturday night.

After frantic calls from Blakes mother and another friend of his daughters  who broke the news that she had been shot  Andrew Gillis and his wife went to the shooting scene first, but police were still there trying to negotiate Monahans surrender. Blake and the rest of the group ended up driving six miles south of the scene, searching for cell signals to call 911, and ended up on Cemetery Road in Salem where rescue workers had met up with them.

The Gillises eventually made their way to a sheriff substation in Salem and learned their daughter had died.

The first time I saw Blake after this happened, he said, Its all my fault,  Andrew Gillis said. I said No, its no ones fault except for that man  the man who pulled the trigger. You guys had no idea that something that bad could happen on that country road. 

Fit of pique at the DMV

Monahan, who police had to negotiate with for about an hour that night before taking him into custody, is being held at the Warren County jail due to what Murphy called an administrative decision. Public records indicate that Gillis father is a Washington County correctional officer.

New details about the slaying obtained by the Times Union include that police were unable to safely approach Monahans isolated Patterson Hill Road residence, which was illuminated with high-powered lights when law enforcement officers arrived.

During their negotiations, which included Monahan insisting that police come up the hill to his residence, the officers and state troopers remained a good distance down the slope of his unpaved driveway as they tried to piece together what had happened while remaining in a location where they would not risk being shot. Monahan was on the phone with a police dispatcher, and at one point during the standoff called his attorney for advice, police said.

Monahans wife, Polly Jinx Monahan, was inside the residence; its unclear if she became involved in the conversations with police before Monahan finally emerged and surrendered  with a State Police Special Operation Response Team assisting in taking him into custody.

In court Wednesday, Monahans attorney, Kurt G. Mausert, requested his client be released on $10,000 cash, or $20,000 bond bail, arguing that Monahan has deep ties to the community and has never been charged or convicted of a crime in New York. Monahan, who works in construction, and his wife have lived at their home for about 20 years, according to property records. The couples home sits at the top of a steep, curving driveway that hides its porch and the front entrance of the house from view. The property has several faded signs warning against trespassing.

Christian Morris, Washington County first assistant district attorney, countered that the judge should grant no bail because of the seriousness of the alleged crime, and that Monahan had a reputation as being confrontational and hot-tempered. The assistant district attorney cited a 2001 arrest in Vermont in which Monahan was charged with aggravated assault with a weapon. That charge was dismissed.

Morris also alleged that last week Monahan created a disturbance at the countys Department of Motor Vehicles because he was required to set up an appointment and began taking photos of county workers.

Mausert, however, took issue with the prosecutions characterization, saying, Having a fit of pique at the DMV and not getting along with the DMV  God forbid thats a bail factor, because the whole state would get locked up.

 Friends struggled to reach 911 as woman was dying from gunshot

 Shotgun slug killed Saratoga County woman who pulled into wrong driveway

In denying Monahan bail, Michelini said his decision was based on the fact that a firearm was involved and the seriousness of the harm allegedly caused by Monahan.

We know from the charge here whats being alleged is actually that Kaylin Gillis was killed  shes dead, he said. I dont think theres any more serious harm than that.

There was an audible sigh in the courtroom from Gillis family and friends who gathered to watch the hearing when the judge made his ruling.

Neighbor viewed as hostile

When the shooting occurred, Tara Smith and her husband were in their sheep pasture, getting the animals and their dog, Bowie, settled for the night.

They were relaxing in a small pavilion next to the barn, where they often sit. From there, they can see the Monahans house. They saw the two cars and a motorcycle turn into the driveway, saw them immediately start to turn around, and then heard two shots.

As the vehicles sped away, Smith initially thought the visitors had shot at the Monahans house. They called police but, because of what she described as Kevin Monahans hostile nature, they did not venture to the nearby property to find out what happened.

They keep to themselves in a hostile way, Smith said. People here are polite and kind, with the exception of this gentleman.

He often would drive aggressively down their dirt road, not moving aside for people walking their dogs or crossing the street to get their mail, she said.

I was always afraid he would hit me, Smith said. Hed look straight ahead  youd better get the hell out of his way.

Smith said she never thought Monahan would shoot a person. But she said she did fear he would harm her sheepdog  so she shifted where her overnight pasture was to ensure the dog would not be able to walk the fenceline along Monahans property.

Smith and her husband would hear Bowie barking at one specific point along the fenceline. I would think: Is (Monahan) standing there? Is he going to shoot her? Smith said.

A heart of gold

Miles from the crime scene, the dead womans community mourned.

Victoria Salls, 20, and her twin sister, Dallas, knew Kaylin Gillis from the time they were small  their houses were a few doors apart in Schuylerville. They would go up in Victorias moms room, steal her high heels and parade down the street in neon clothes and oversized stilettos.

They also had a tree on their block that attracted swarms of monarch butterflies, and they used to run around with frog fishing nets and try to catch them. They never did  but Gillis always said that if she could, shed own a blue butterfly.

Two nights ago, a coworker of Salls at Schuylerville Pizza & Pasta  a restaurant where she and her sister work  tattooed a butterfly on Salls upper arm in Gillis memory.

She had a heart of gold. What happened to her, I mean  its just unbearable, like we just cant process it, Salls said.

Since the news spread, Salls has been spending a lot of time at the restaurant where she and her sister work, even when shes not on shift. Theyve set up a donation box to help Gillis family, next to a handwritten note that describes her friend as the most genuine, sweet, kindhearted and loving person you would ever have met.

My whole work team has been here for me, and especially my sister. We need each other right now, Salls said. But shes ended up talking about Gillis with strangers as well.

I had a few people come in here (to the restaurant). And you know, they didnt even know the girl, and they were in tears.

Lauren Stanforth helped assemble this report.
DAKAR, Senegal (AP)  At least 40 members of Burkina Faso's security forces were killed by gunmen in the northern part of the country, and dozens of others were injured, authorities said Sunday.

Six soldiers and 34 volunteer fighters, civilians who assist the military, were killed near the town of Ouahigouya on Saturday afternoon, northern region secretary-general Kouilga Albert Zongo said in a statement. The 33 wounded were hospitalized in stable condition, he said.
The Prime Minister will vow to give everything to deliver the Good Friday Agreements vision of a united society in Northern Ireland.

Rishi Sunak is due to address a conference in Belfast as part of commemorations marking the 25th anniversary of the signing of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement (BGFA).

During a speech set to be given on Wednesday, the Conservative Party leader is expected to say that he will use the full force of the UK Government to help grow Northern Irelands economy and fulfil the true promise of the peace pact.

The 1998 deal, signed by former prime minister Sir Tony Blair and former taoiseach Bertie Ahern and partly brokered by the US, helped stem the sectarian bloodshed of the Troubles that had blighted Northern Ireland for decades.

Following concessions made on both sides during the negotiations, the Good Friday Agreement created powersharing institutions at Stormont that involved nationalists and unionists governing Northern Ireland together in a mandatory coalition arrangement.

While the pact largely ended the Troubles, which had claimed more than 3,600 lives since the late 1960s, it has failed to bring long-term political stability in the region and devolution has collapsed several times in the last two decades.

The anniversary comes amid another period of collapse, with the DUP blocking powersharing in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements that have created economic barriers between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.

Mr Sunaks Windsor Agreement, revealed earlier in the year, contains a series of reforms which the Prime Minister hopes will ease trade frictions and also encourage the DUP to form a new government in Belfast with Sinn Fein.

He will travel to the city after Prime Ministers Questions to address Queens Universitys Agreement 25 conference and host a Gala Dinner to commemorate the anniversary.

The Prime Minister is expected to say: Together we must fulfil the true promise of the 1998 agreement.

That future enshrined in the very words of the text  of sustained economic growth, and where we tackle the problems of a divided society.

And I will give everything to help deliver that vision.

BGFA promised prosperity and a more integrated society and we have work to do to deliver on that promise.

During his dinner speech, which former prime ministers Boris Johnson and Liz Truss are expected to attend, Mr Sunak will also herald those who helped bring about the agreement a quarter of a century ago.

Courage, imagination, and perseverance  those qualities brought an imperfect but enduring peace to a place taught to believe no such peace was possible, Mr Sunak will say.

To all those who led us to that peace, including those here in this hall and those no longer with us  let us take this moment to say to you: thank you.

Having negotiated the Windsor Agreement with the European Union, Downing Street said Mr Sunak will address his economic ambitions for Northern Ireland.

Officials said the British leader is keen to deliver a prosperous economy and a more united and contented society for the province, with plans in his speech to touch upon attracting greater investment and building upon the cyber, life sciences, financial services and creative industries.

In extracts of the speech briefed beforehand, Mr Sunak said: I know that journey to prosperity wont be easy  and we arent there yet.

But this is my commitment to you: I will use the full force of the UK Government to help you make this one of the best places in the world to start and grow a business, create jobs, train and learn new skills, and attract investment.

The event will round off the recent period of Prime Minister-led events to mark the anniversary of the 1998 agreement.

Having met US President Joe Biden in Northern Ireland last week, Mr Sunak will speak with architects of the Good Friday Agreement at the Gala Dinner, along with Irish and US representatives.

The dinner will be attended by political leaders, international dignitaries and leading charities, No 10 said.
April 19, 2023





Your ability to effectively communicate with customers and prospects is critical as a financial institution. Whether you're looking to inform customers of product updates, send an invoice, or collect payments, you must do so in a way that resonates with them and in the format they want.







Also, this is the right time for financial institutions to make a move. According to a McKinsey report, the banking sector rebounded from the effects of the pandemic and recorded a 14-year high profitability in 2022, with the return on equity being around 11.5 and 12.5 percent.

But that's not the only reason. Many other reasons exist to use customer communication management software (CCM (News - Alert) software) in today's financial landscape.

Why Is Customer Communication Management Software (CCM) Critical in the Finance Business Landscape?

Customer communications management is essential to any financial institution's customer experience strategy. It helps you to understand how your customers feel about their interactions with the bank and its products, services, and employees. This information can be used to improve processes across the board and build stronger relationships with customers.

According to research from Accenture, companies that invest heavily in customer satisfaction and experiences have seen revenue growth of 3.5x compared to others.

You can use Customer Communication Management software or CCM software to simplify sending communications about transactions, paper statements, policies, etc. It can also help you cut down time on proposals.

For instance, Associa, a property management company that works with customers' financials, uses Smart Communications SmartCOMM product to customize their proposals and reduce the turnaround time.

With Smart Communications CCM software, Associa reduced proposal time by 99.3%. This was a huge achievement for the company as it could make more sales by communicating with potential customers quickly and efficiently.

You can go through such case studies or read most reviews about a company to find the right one for your needs.

Benefits of Customer Communication Management in Finance

Customer communication management software (CCM software) can help to improve the customer experience, create a positive brand image and increase customer retention rates. Further, Customer Communications Management Software can help expand customer reach by improving customer engagement in their communications.

It also helps to reduce churn and increase satisfaction by better managing customer interactions. According to a recent survey, satisfaction scores in a few countries like Indonesia and South Africa were 4.28 and 4.21, respectively, and they needed to be cut down.

In today's financial services landscape, you must always stay connected with your customers. Your company needs to be able to provide instant access to information and quick responses for them to feel appreciated and valued by you as an organization.

Best Practices for Customer Communication Management in Finance

You'll want to use a centralized customer communications management platform to ensure consistent customer communications management. This means all your data is stored in one place and accessed through a single user interface with a single set of rules and logic.

Additionally, you can set up policies around who has access to what information and who can send what types of messages based on their roles within the organization.

Leveraging Technology to Improve Customer Communication Management

You can use technology to improve customer communication management, as it is more efficient compared to when you manage customer communications manually. You can also use it to make your customers feel more at home in your business, increasing loyalty and satisfaction.

Here are a few examples of how you can use technology to communicate with your clients:

A chatbot that allows customers to ask questions about products, services, or policies without waiting on hold for an agent. Based on what they have said, the chatbot can direct them toward the best person for their needs. This means that agents will only be contacted when necessary. Such conversational touchpoints like chatbots comprise roughly 13.5% of the AI vendor product banking market.

An automated email system that sends out notifications when new products are available or when sales are going on in certain categories. This way, customers won't needlessly search online just trying to figure out what's happening with your company; they'll already know. According to an article on the NCBI website, around 3540% of consumers reportedly detest using mobile banking and call center services.

Understanding Customer Needs and Preferences

Understanding customer needs, preferences, and pain points is essential to the success of any business. This information can be obtained through a variety of methods, including:

Customer surveys: These allow customers to share their thoughts on your product or service. They can also help you identify areas for improvement or new features that may interest them.

Sales data analysis: Tracking sales figures will give you insight into what products or services are most popular with your customers so that you can make informed decisions about future development plans.

Social media monitoring: Monitoring social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn (News - Alert) can give you an idea of what people think about your brand at any time.

Consistency Across All Customer Communications Management Channels

Consistency across all Customer Communications Management channels is key to effective customer communication management software (CCM software). Consistency of voice and tone and a cohesive message and content will help you build trust with your customers and keep them engaged.

Here's how you can use this approach. Use the same language across all channels. This consistency helps build trust in your brand and avoid confusion among customers who may interact with different people at different times throughout their relationship with you. It also makes it easier for people to understand what information they should expect from each channel.

For example, if someone calls customer service expecting a live agent but gets an automated menu instead because nobody was available at that time due to high call volume or other factors outside anyone's control.

Personalization of Communication

Personalization is important in customer interactions management software (CCM software), allowing businesses to improve customer satisfaction and customer experience. When you deliver personalized communications, it can help you build customer loyalty by making them feel special.

In the financial sector, personalization can be achieved through various channels, email marketing campaigns, live chat on your website, telephone calls with a dedicated account manager, and social media interactions.

Conclusion

As you can see, there are many benefits to implementing a customer communication management strategy in your finance business. The most important thing is to remember that it should not be viewed as an isolated project but as part of your overall marketing strategy.

You must ensure that all of your marketing initiatives work together toward one goal, creating strong relationships with customers long after they leave the store or website.
[April 18, 2023] Adyen appoints Priyanka Gargav as Country Manager, Singapore

SINGAPORE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, today announces the appointment of Priyanka Gargav as Country Manager, Singapore. In her new role, Priyanka will oversee Adyen's operations in Singapore and be responsible for driving the company's growth locally. In addition to being the Country Manager for Singapore, Priyanka continues in her current role as Adyen's Head of Commercial for Southeast Asia & Hong Kong, where she leads the region in bringing strategic payments innovation to help businesses grow. "Singapore is a key market for Adyen and a major corridor for growth in the region and beyond, making it critical to have strong leadership. Priyanka's in-market expertise and proven track recrd in driving commercial growth across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong complements our commitment to growing our unified commerce footprint in Singapore, as well as the region. With Priyanka's background and experience, I look forward to seeing her lead the Singapore team to build further on the great work," says Warren Hayashi, President, Asia Pacific at Adyen.



"Consumers in Singapore are becoming more discerning with payments as they seek out fast, seamless, and secure options. We see tremendous opportunity locally, as businesses adjust their operations to match these demands. I'm excited to collaborate with our team to help businesses optimize their potential with our single platform," says Priyanka Gargav, Country Manager, Singapore, at Adyen. Priyanka joined Adyen in 2019 as the Vice President of Sales for Asia Pacific (APAC). She has since worked directly with partners and customers across the region and has played a pivotal role in enabling them to accept payments, send payouts, block fraud, and open new markets and revenue streams on a global scale. Prior to joining Adyen, Priyanka held several management roles at TripAdvisor including leading the launch and development of the flights vertical and growing their instant booking business in APAC.

About Adyen Adyen (AMS: ADYEN) is the financial technology platform of choice for leading companies. By providing end-to-end payments capabilities, data-driven insights, and financial products in a single global solution, Adyen helps businesses achieve their ambitions faster. With offices around the world, Adyen works with the likes of Facebook, SHEIN, Uber, L'Oreal, Cathay Pacific, Grab, Klook, and Singapore Airlines. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/adyen-appoints-priyanka-gargav-as-country-manager-singapore-301800381.html SOURCE Adyen

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[April 18, 2023] New opportunities open up between China and ASEAN in AI exchange

BEIJING, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- A news report from Chinadaily.com.cn: Recent visit by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to China signals the strong strategic partnerships between both countries. In fact, China has been playing an increasingly significant role as Malaysia's largest trading partner for the past decade. Similar robust partnerships are observed across other ASEAN countries. In recent years, adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) has been emphasized in various aspects of the China-ASEAN partnerships as part of greater effort to strive in the era of digitalization. Indeed, China has achieved tremendous breakthroughs in the area of AI technology and facility developments. The China-ASEAN (Huawei) AI Innovation Center in Guangxi, the Big Data center in Guizhou are examples of China endeavours in the pursue of latest AI technologies. The successful implementation elements of these AI initiatives can serve as source of reference for ASEAN countries in developing their strategic AI blueprints and promoting the cross-regional AI technological transfers, especially in the domain of cloudbased intelligent system.



The ASEAN Media's View on Digital China Media Tour conducted in late February 2023 visited a number of companies that have significant interest in the AI development such as Huawei, Meituan, WeBank, and Ping An Group, as well as Guangdong Laboratory of AI and Digital Economy (Shenzhen) and Belt and Road Research Institute (Shenzhen) for International Cooperation and Development at Shenzhen University. The tour interviewed numerous key figures at respective organizations with indicative signs of advocating closer China-ASEAN regional cooperation and exchange in parallel with China's Belt and Road Initiative and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Prospectively, joint talent cultivation in AI is the key to sustainable long-term regional partnerships between China and ASEAN. Strategic AI techniques such as Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Edge Computing, etc have trickled literally into all economic sectors. Although some efforts such as Huawei partnership with National University of Singapore Business Analytics Centre were initiated to nurture AI talents, more well-coordinated, wider scale talent programs are required to increase the AI awareness among local populations. Public AI talent development and upskill programs, especially for ASEAN youth, will be paramount in cementing future success of AI-driven digital economy.

(Author: Gan Hong Seng, Associate Professor at School of AI and Advanced Computing, Xi'an Jiaotong  Liverpool University) The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily Website. https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202302/27/WS63fc88c5a31057c47ebb11a3.html View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/new-opportunities-open-up-between-china-and-asean-in-ai-exchange-301801222.html SOURCE Chinadaily.com.cn

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[April 18, 2023] Sungrow Commits to Philippines' Energy Transition by Introducing Latest Innovations in the Solar and Storage Market

MAKATI, Philippines, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sungrow, the global leading inverter and energy storage system solution supplier, introduced its latest product portfolio including its newest commercial and industrial (C&I) inverter, the SG125CX-P2 and liquid cooled energy storage system (ESS), the PowerTitan for the Philippines' solar and storage markets at a technical seminar in Makati, fueling the energy transition and economic sustainability of the country. The Philippines has a substantial incentive to face the challenges of the effects of climate change as a tropical archipelago. The country wants 50% renewables in the energy mix by 2040. As an essential part of a low-carbon energy system, the Philippines' energy storage market holds great potential. The country's Department of Energy (DOE) has outlined a new draft of market rules and policies for energy storage in support of renewable energy integration and grid stability. Sungrow offers its liquid cooled ESS PowerTitan tailored to this particular market. As a result of liquid cooled thermal management, the system has a superior lifespan. The DC-DC controller can charge and discharge battery racks individually, increasing system performance. To date, Sungrow has already signed nine gigawatt hours of orders with PowerTitan globally. For the C&I solar market, Sungrow supplied multiple landmark rooftop projects, inluding the Philippines' largest rooftop project with a capacity of 40MW in Manila. The technical innovation that Sungrow introduced is its newest three-phase C&I PV inverter solution, the SG125CX-P2. It provides higher yields, improved safety, and more flexible usage. The solution has a 30A per MPP tracker, intelligent IV curve diagnostics, integrated Type 1+2 DC overvoltage protection, and AFCI arc detection, all optimized for function and safety.



The seminar was well-received by attendees, who expressed interest in Sungrow's innovative products and commitment to sustainability, including Colin Steley, the Board Member of the Philippine Solar and Storage Energy Alliance (PSSEA). Steley shared his perspectives on the latest trends and developments in the industry, highlighting the growing demand for sustainable energy solutions in the Philippines. Sungrow made its first entry into the Philippines market about 10 years ago and has maintained the No.1 market position for years. Kevin Guo, Southeast Asia Sales Director of Sungrow commented: "We're delighted to hold the technical seminar in the Philippines and share Sungrow's expertise and experience in providing comprehensive solar and storage solutions. The technological leaps created by market players such as Sungrow will contribute to the Philippines' energy supply and climate change mitigation and put the country ahead of the Southeast Asian energy transition curve."

About Sungrow Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd. ("Sungrow") is the world's most bankable inverter brand with over 340 GW installed worldwide as of December 2022. Founded in 1997 by Professor Cao Renxian, Sungrow is a leader in the research and development of solar inverters with the largest dedicated R&D team in the industry and a broad product portfolio offering PV inverter solutions and energy storage systems for utility-scale, commercial & industrial, and residential applications, as well as internationally recognized floating PV plant solutions, NEV driving solutions, EV charging solutions and renewable hydrogen production systems. With a strong 26-year track record in the PV space, Sungrow products power over 150 countries worldwide. Learn more about Sungrow by visiting www.sungrowpower.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/sungrow-commits-to-philippines-energy-transition-by-introducing-latest-innovations-in-the-solar-and-storage-market-301801243.html SOURCE Sungrow Power Supply Co., Ltd.

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Tata Steel has announced the appointment of Shuja Haque as Regional General Manager for the Middle East region.



A 23-year steel industry veteran, he has helped achieve multi-million tons of business volume since he joined Asias first integrated private steel company 18 years ago as a sales executive.



He was quickly promoted to sales manager and was an integral part of the team on the ground when Corus and Tata Steel merged in 2007 In 2017, he became Head of Sales followed by another promotion to Head of Business Development in 2021 before being asked to take the reins as Regional GM.



During his tenure, he has contributed tangibly to the detailed mapping of several countries including Saudi Arabia, resulting in the current order book being highly skewed to the Kingdom with some key wins including the Makkah Haram expansion and some of the largest malls, hotels, airports and parks in KSA. He also played a crucial role in executing the first ever Blockchain transaction in the steel industry, a testament to his forward-thinking mindset and approach.



In his new role he will oversee the Middle East and North Africa business with responsibilities as varied as People's Health & Safety (EHS), P&L growth, and plant operations. Current Tata Steel projects include a few upcoming museums in the UAE, various airport expansion projects across the GCC and unique projects like Sindalah Island at NEOM in Saudi Arabia.



My business acumen has been finely honed thanks to the many cross-functional roles Ive had at Tata Steel. My talented team has a proven record of delivering differentiated products and solutions resulting in consistent business growth, and this will stand me in good stead as I ease into this new role. I am passionate about leveraging synergies, driving our transformational agenda as we grow in the region by effectively using innovation to create long-term mutual value for all stakeholders, said Haque.  TradeArabia News Service
Customs4trade NV (C4T), a leading cloud-based customs declarations platform, raised 4 million in new capital to support product investment and execute its growth plans in the UK and Europe.

MECHELEN, Belgium, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- C4T, known in the sector for its fully automated single message/double filing system as well as Special Procedures modules like Customs Warehousing, Inward Processing/Outward Processing and Returned Goods Relief, will use the funds to develop new products and services for its customers as well as cement its leading position amongst UK and European importers and exporters as the customs declarations platform of choice.

C4T management team. L to R  Jo Buvens, Chief Revenue Officer, Rupert Spiegelberg, CEO, Oliver Conze, Chief Product & Technology Officer

C4T's CAS platform allows companies to fully digitise their customs declarations processes giving them more transparency, control and oversight of customs data in a fully compliant environment. CAS enables customers to implement more efficient inventory management, optimised trade procedures, and improved compliance. Some 95% of the customs declarations processed by C4T have zero manual intervention.

"Digitised customs declarations is the oil that greases the wheels of international trade and C4T has some of the highest-grade oil in the business," said Chief Executive Rupert Spiegelberg. "We are proud to be supporting so many incredible international brands and will be using this new investment to continue to improve our platform and stay the leading provider of cloud-based customs SaaS solutions."

In Q1 2023, C4T's CAS digital platform processed almost triple the number of customs filings per month compared to the same period a year earlier. C4T, which employees some 80 people in offices in Wigan, UK, and Mechelen, Belgium, is now supporting import and export trade flows for customers in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland such as Honda, Aldi, Isuzu, Agristo and many other manufacturers and household brands, in particular in the Automotive, FMCG, Retail and Manufacturing sectors.

Story continues

Approximately 600 million import and export customs declarations are made in Europe each year according to the World Customs Organisation 2021/2022 Annual Report and the overwhelming majority of these are processed through the mainly manual, high-cost network of brokers across the continent. C4T's mission is to digitise this sector to reduce cost, processing time, and errors as well as help companies optimise their tax liabilities.

The CAS platform is connected to government customs declaration systems in the UK, Belgium, Netherlands and Ireland as well as all relevant major ports and other points of entry in these countries. We are also in the process of integrating our systems with upgraded government platforms in Belgium (IDMS) and the Netherlands (DMS) due later this year having successfully integrated into the UK's new CDS and Ireland's new AES government customs declaration platforms in recent months.

The capital increase was supported by existing venture capital investors, France's Hi-Innov Dentressangle and Germany's 42Cap, the management team, and a group of prominent European angel investors.

Notes for Editors

About Customs4trade (C4T)

Customs4trade NV (C4T) has developed CAS, a collaborative hub, built on the Microsoft Azure platform delivered as a service (SaaS). It is designed to manage regional and worldwide customs and trade compliance quickly and accurately, with a digital-first approach, helping customers stay ahead of the digitisation of customs processes. CAS provides customers with continual updates and feature enhancements, including the incorporation of any changes to legislation and compliance regulationalong with Azure's signature accessibility, scalability, and security.

Forward-thinking companies are turning to C4T to help them navigate customs and trade with native-cloud software and managed services for their organisation's highest strategic benefit.

For more information or to contact the company, please visit www.customs4trade.com

Media Contact:

Mimi Richardson

Customs4trade

Tel: + 44 (0) 161 513 5461

E-mail: mimi.richardson@customs4trade.com

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057967/Customs4trade_NV.jpg

Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057968/C4T_Logo.jpg

C4T Logo

Cision

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SOURCE Customs4trade NV
[April 18, 2023] YPO Names Greg Murray the 2023 Global Impact Award Recipient

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, YPO , the global leadership community of more than 34,000 chief executives in 150 countries, announced that Greg Murray, Co-Founder and CEO of KOKO Networks , is the recipient of the organization's 2023 Global Impact Award. KOKO Networks is a Kenyan-based climate-tech company tackling deforestation and carbon emissions caused by using charcoal as cooking fuel in urban homes.



The YPO Global Impact Award is YPO's highest honor to members that recognizes their impact outside of YPO, celebrating CEO impact that is both sustainable and scalable. "Greg and KOKO Networks are paving the way with their innovative approach to combating deforestation and improving the health of Kenyans, finding technology-based solutions that benefit not only the environment but also millions of consumers," says Thayer Smith, CEO of YPO. "He is an inspiration within our YPO community and beyond." According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), charcoal, the dominant fuel used for cooking in urban Africa, is the main driver of deforestation on the continent. Indoor air pollution from burning charcoal causes hundreds of thousands of deaths each year, primarily children under 5 years old, from pneumonia and acute respiratory infections. This pollution is the equivalent of breathing in four packs of cigarettes a day. Murray and his co-founders, Sagun Saxena, Micael da Costa and Nicholas Stokes, set out to tackle this problem through designing and launching a new technology-driven industry that could rapidly transition countries away from charcoal dependence. By providing consumers with a superior solution that is significantly less costly than charcoal, KOKO is scaling rapidly, with over 10,000 new households switching to its clean fuel and carbon platform each week. KOKO, which employs 1,800 staff across East Africa, India and the U.K., manages a network of over 2,000 high-tech KOKO Fuel ATMs located in corer shops in low-income neighborhoods, enabling customers to conveniently and safely access low-cost clean fuel within a short walk of home. KOKO Fuel is now used in the homes of more than 3.5 million Kenyans across six cities, reducing over 4 million tons of carbon emissions each year and protecting family health from the diseases caused by indoor air pollution. Carbon revenues are shared with households via lowering the cost of KOKO Fuel, making it affordable for even the poorest. KOKO Fuel is sustainable bioethanol produced in East Africa from molasses, a byproduct of sugar production, delivering increased incomes to farming communities.







Murray says, "We are honored to receive YPO's 2023 Global Impact Award. Ten years ago, we developed an ambitious plan to harness technology, infrastructure and carbon markets to drive energy transition and forest protection at a scale and pace that is meaningful. We are just getting started  there are over a billion people across 60 low-income tropical forest nations who are charcoal dependent and need our networks. We have about 15 years to turn the tide on tropical deforestation, and it simply can't be done without tackling the main commodity demand drivers and giving the forests the space to regenerate. KOKO is a scalable new tool in that fight."



Murray was selected from honorees representing YPO's regions around the world.

YPO Global Impact Award Regional Honorees: Shadi Bakour , Co-Founder and CEO of Path (Pacific U.S.)

, Co-Founder and CEO of (Pacific U.S.) Eric Braverman , Founding CEO of Schmidt Futures (Northeastern U.S.)

, Founding CEO of (Northeastern U.S.) Kenneth C.M. Lo , Founder of O-Bank ( North Asia )

, Founder of ( ) Luis Javier Castro , Founder of Alejandria ( Latin America )

, Founder of ( ) Daniel Epstein , CEO of Unreasonable Group (Western U.S.)

, CEO of (Western U.S.) Renat Heuberger , Founding Partner and CEO of South Pole ( Europe )

, Founding Partner and CEO of ( ) Jonathan Huy Tran , Chairman of Asia Commercial Joint Stock Bank (ACB) ( Southeast Asia )

, Chairman of ( ) Greg Murray , Co-Founder and CEO of KOKO Networks ( Africa )

, Co-Founder and CEO of ( ) Nicholas Reichenbach , Founder and Executive Chairman of Flow Alkaline Spring Water ( Canada )

, Founder and Executive Chairman of ( ) David Reiling , Chairman and CEO of Sunrise Banks (Mid-America U.S.)

, Chairman and CEO of (Mid-America U.S.) Prashant Sutar , Founder, Chairman and Managing Director of Aryan Pumps and Enviro Solutions ( South Asia ) About YPO:

YPO is the global leadership community of more than 34,000 chief executives in 150 countries who are connected by the shared belief that the world needs better leaders and that business can be a driving force for good. Each of our members has achieved significant leadership success at a young age. They lead businesses and organizations that collectively employ more than 22 million people around the globe and generate over USD9 trillion in combined revenue. YPO members come together to learn and exchange ideas to make a difference in the lives, businesses and communities they impact. Visit ypo.org for more. SOURCE YPO

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[April 19, 2023] Global Sources and MU Group Enter RMB 100 million Strategic Cooperation Agreement

HONG KONG, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Global Sources and MU Group have signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with a total value of RMB 100 million onsite at Global Sources' Hong Kong trade shows on April 18, 2023. The agreement was witnessed by Mr. Hu Wei, Chief Executive Officer of Global Sources, and Mr. Tang Yihu, Chairman and President of MU Group. Ms. Carol Lau, Senior Vice President of Customer Service, Marketing & Business Analytics at Global Sources, and Mr. Fan Yunchang, General Manager of Yiwu Kesai Import & Export Co., Ltd., a representative of MU Group, signed the agreement. Under the terms of the agreement, Global Sources and MU Group will establish a deep partnership, with MU Group investing RMB 100 million over the next three years to provide exclusive, tailor-made services for Global Sources' B2B online trading platform and offline exhibitions, for itself and its subsidiaries, with the aim of expanding its B2B market and overseas presence. Carol Lau stated that as a leading international B2B multi-channel trading pltform, Global Sources serves as a bridge connecting verified suppliers and buyers worldwide. She highlighted that the successful conclusion of this extensive three-year agreement with MU Group signifies the recognition of Global Sources' strength by its customers. Under the cooperation framework, Global Sources will provide MU Group with exclusive customized services by integrating and leveraging its online and offline resources, particularly the new iteration and upgrade of online functions on Global Sources Online (GSOL), its online trading platform. This will enable MU Group to navigate the complex global market and promote the growth of international trade.



Tang Yihu expressed high expectations for the cooperation. He noted that previous work with Global Sources has yielded remarkable results, which is why MU Group has chosen Global Sources as its strategic partner for future development. With this strengthened cooperation in place, MU Group aims to utilize the digital and offline exhibition solutions provided by Global Sources to expand into European and American markets and aggressively develop the cross-border B2B market. Mr. Tang also believes that online buyers will increasingly seek suppliers through online platforms like Global Sources, and strategic cooperation between the two parties will benefit MU Group in further developing overseas e-commerce customers. The Group aspires to become the largest cross-border B2B purchasing company and overseas e-commerce supply chain management company in Asia within the next three years. About Global Sources

Global Sources is an internationally recognized B2B sourcing platform that has been driving global trade for over 50 years. The Company connects authentic buyers and verified suppliers worldwide with tailored solutions and trusted market intelligence through trade shows, digital platforms, and magazines. Global Sources pioneered the world's first cross-border B2B E-commerce web site GlobalSources.com in 1995. The Company has over 10 million registered international buyers and users. About MU Group MU Group in founded by the end of year 2003 and was formerly well known as MARKET UNION CO., LTD. Currently, MU Group is covering more than 50 trade subsidiaries and divisions in the export trade industry. MU Group launches operating centers in Ningbo, Yiwu, and Shanghai; and branches in Guangzhou, Shantou, Shenzhen, Qingdao, and overseas. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/global-sources-and-mu-group-enter-rmb-100-million-strategic-cooperation-agreement-301801324.html SOURCE Global Sources

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[April 19, 2023] OffWorld Europe and Luxembourg Space Agency Collaborate in New Lunar ISRU Exploration Program

OffWorld Europe and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) have recently signed a pivotal agreement to launch a comprehensive, multi-year development program for an In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) processing system focused on ice resources. This system will play a vital role in facilitating sustainable lunar exploration by enabling the extraction, processing, and storage of vital resources directly from the Moon's surface. The project, which is under the oversight of the European Space Agency, will leverage OffWorld's cutting-edge robotic modules that are capable of carrying out a range of functions, including prospecting, mining, processing, storing and delivering oxygen, hydrogen, and other volatiles to customers on the lunar surface. The program is already underway, and the first demonstration mission on the lunar surface is slated for 2027. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006222/en/ OffWorld Europe and Luxembourg Space Agency Collaborate in New Lunar ISRU Exploration Program (Photo: Business Wire) OffWorld's state-of-the-art swarm robotic systems will be utilized to transport the processing modules into a permanently shadowed region on the lunar surface where water ice is thought to form and accumulate. OffWorld Europe's objective is to process all excavted critical material, developing capabilities to process lunar volatiles and dry regolith into valuable consumables such as life support gases, propellants, and water supplies for radiation protection, hydroponics, and other life support systems.



This project has the potential to catapult the space industry forward and pave the way for human expansion into the rest of the solar system, while also benefiting life here on Earth by driving innovation in robotics, technology, and resource processing. OffWorld deployed the world's first autonomous excavation robot in an operating mine and is now the first company to have secured mining development contracts on two celestial bodies, both Earth and the Moon. The company will reach out to customers over the next few months and intends to fly this payload on one of the first SpaceX Starship missions to the Moon. Jim Keravala, OffWorld Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, said: "This collaboration is a thrilling new venture for OffWorld Europe and an example of how our swarm robotic mining platform applications can be customized and adapted to a variety of customers, use-cases and environments. Our autonomous robots are currently being deployed for Earth mining and our ISRU technology subsystem is a subset of OffWorld's overall concept for mining alien regolith for volatiles, minerals, and the overall creation of foundational manufacturing industries on other celestial bodies. I look forward to seeing what our robotic platforms will accomplish in the unchartered territories that were once thought impossible to operate in."

Kyle Acierno, OffWorld Europe Managing Director, stated: "This partnership showcases the power of international collaboration in space exploration. By working with the Luxembourg Space Agency and the European Space Agency, we are advancing in-situ resource utilization technologies and reinforcing Luxembourg's position in the global space ecosystem." Marc Serres, LSA CEO, commented: "Space resources utilization has the potential to revolutionize space activities. The technology developed by OffWorld will be instrumental in space with numerous applications on Earth. We are looking forward to the next steps of the project, which will also contribute to reinforcing Luxembourg's positioning in the field of space resources." About OffWorld: OffWorld is a private company that designs, develops, and manufactures AI-powered robotic platforms. It is headquartered in Pasadena, California, and has facilities in South Africa, Australia, and Luxembourg. OffWorld was founded in 2016 with the goal of expanding human civilization beyond Earth with the help of thousands of smart robots. It is reinventing the mining, manufacturing, and construction industries by developing a new generation of swarm robotic species that can withstand extreme conditions and work collaboratively in an eco-friendly approach while keeping humans out of harm's way. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006222/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Gcore and NHN Cloud agree Strategic Partnership to drive Edge and Cloud Innovation worldwide

MOU Brings Gcore's Pioneering Cloud Services to APAC Customers and Offers Asian Businesses Gateway to EMEA LUXEMBOURG, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gcore  a European provider of high-performance, low-latency, international cloud and edge solutions  and NHN Cloud  a subsidiary of South Korean technology and gaming giant, NHN Group, and a leading provider of public and private cloud services in South Korea and across Asia Pacific  today announce a strategic partnership together. Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Gcore's pioneering cloud services  including CDN (Content Delivery Network), 5G eSIM, and accelerated AI processing  will be made available to enterprises in Asia Pacific through the NHN Cloud, providing a gateway for Gcore into this key market. In return, Gcore will function as NHN Cloud's strategic partner in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and provide a bridge for NHN Cloud's Asia Pacific customers into the region. Additionally, the MOU sets up a framework for the two comanies to jointly develop new solutions and collaborate on commercial initiatives.



NHN Cloud manages various internet businesses, including Hangame, an online gaming portal with over 37 million members in South Korea, NHN Payco, a payment gateway and digital wallet service, and FashionGo, an online marketplace. For nearly ten years Gcore has been building Europe's most powerful and extensive edge and cloud services. Today, Gcore's infrastructure includes 140 points of presence worldwide and more than 11,000 peering partners.

Donghooom Kim, CEO at NHN Cloud, commented: "Gcore's strength in EMEA is a significant benefit for us as we look to support the expansion of our customers across the region. Gcore has a shared desire to drive innovation in the areas of edge and cloud computing, and we are confident that together we can create compelling new propositions that will unlock even more value for our customers." Andre Reitenbach, CEO at Gcore, said: "We at Gcore are immensely proud to embark on this partnership with NHN Cloud, one of Asia Pacific's outstanding technology innovators. Both businesses sharpened their expertise in delivering compelling gaming experiences built on high-performance, low-latency technology infrastructure, and have extended that know-how to businesses across the globe." About Gcore Gcore is an international leader in public cloud and edge computing, content delivery, hosting, and security solutions. Gcore is headquartered in Luxembourg and has offices in Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Georgia. Gcore manages its own global IT infrastructure across six continents. Andre Reitenbach, Gcore CEO since 2014. About NHN Cloud NHN Cloud is a major public/private CSP in Korea, servicing the representative open stack-based comprehensive cloud services. Thanks to NHN Group's various IT services portfolio and experience, NHN Cloud is expanding its services by developing and launching cloud solutions for each industry. As a market front-runner in public cloud transformation sector, NHN Cloud is leading the technology business by reinforcing public and private competitiveness by enlarging public sector and expanding private cloud service area. Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057226/Gcore.jpg View original content:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/gcore-and-nhn-cloud-agree-strategic-partnership-to-drive-edge-and-cloud-innovation-worldwide-301800771.html

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[April 19, 2023] Turacoz's Research & Trainings Empowering Healthcare Professionals with Enhanced Publication Skills

UTRECHT, Netherlands and NEW DELHI, India, March 22, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Healthcare professionals' busy schedules and easy access to social media have reduced their attention spans, making it difficult to read lengthy research papers. Fortunately, enhanced publications summarize research in videos or infographics and medical journals now encourage their use to improve health literacy, patient outcomes, and research dissemination. Turacoz is committed to staying at the forefront of this trend. The EMWA acceptance of our abstract on 'Knowledge, Awareness and Practice in Using Digital Enhancements in Scientific Publications' is proof of that. This is the second time consecutively we are presenting at EMWA. We also touch based on guidelines to develop enhanced publications in an ethical manner through our recent free live webina on 'Good Publication Practices (GPP) - 2022 Updated Guidelines for Developing Scientific Publications'. The webinar was a part of Turacoz's monthly training series developed specifically for knowledge sharing of all the updates in scientific communications. Over 280 participants from across the globe attended it. During the webinar, we discovered that over 50% of participants were unaware of the GPP3 2022 guidelines, indicating a need for training on scientific publications.



The webinar covered guidelines for using social media to disseminate scientific information, and the importance of sharing informational, non-promotional content that cites relevant publications. We emphasized that organizations must set policies and procedures permitting only authorized personnel to share publication information. Turacoz is committed to training professionals in this field, so our upcoming initiatives would be a free LIVE webinar on 'Predatory Journals and Conferences' and 'Certificate Course in Medical Communications'. Also, we'll offer employment opportunities to high performers upon course completion.

By providing these resources, Turacoz aims to equip individuals for success in enhanced publications and remain at the forefront of shaping the future of this field. About Turacoz Turacoz Group is a strategic partner to biopharma companies, medical technology firms, healthcare professionals, and research institutes to escort their product/service development journey. We create Clear, Cohesive, Complete, Concise, and Concrete scientific communication in a target-specific language and format (both print and digital) so that our clients can focus on core research and development to enhance and improve patient care. Media Contact:

Pooja Parashar,

[email protected] View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/turacozs-research--trainings-empowering-healthcare-professionals-with-enhanced-publication-skills-301778514.html SOURCE Turacoz Healthcare Solutions Private Limited

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[April 19, 2023] Sulwhasoo invites Southeast Asia to immerse in a world of Korean heritage, art and beauty with first regional LazMall Super Brand Day

Partners with Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, to launch First Care Activating Serum 6th generation on LazMall Brand moments to take place on April 24th in Vietnam and subsequently to be rolled out in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia SINGAPORE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sulwhasoo, a global luxury beauty brand, announced that it will be holding its first regional LazMall Super Brand Day in collaboration with Lazada, Southeast Asia's pioneer e-commerce platform. Through this multi-country collaboration with Lazada, Sulwhasoo will invite Southeast Asia customers to experience a world of Korean heritage, art, and beauty, starting from April 24th. Sulwhasoo has been expanding its global e-commerce business by providing differentiated digital content and shopping experiences. Through its LazMall Super Brand Day with Lazada, Sulwhasoo is set to excite shoppers in the region with first access to exclusive content featuring the brand's global brand ambassador, Rose from popular K-pop group Blackpink. By bringing exclusive co-branded experiences to shoppers in Southeast Asia, Sulwhasoo plans to strengthen its brand presence in the region and expand its reach to local customers. Along with the launch of Sulwhasoo's 6th generation First Care Activating Serum on LazMall, Lazada shoppers across Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia can also look forward to be delighted by content inspired by Risogragh art, Livestreams, and exclusive sets with special gifts such as Sulwhasoo-scented candles designed by Korean artist Sim Bo-geun from ceramic brand MUJAGI, as well as towels designed in collaboration with luxury towel brand TWB. This partnership with Lazada will also see Sulwhasoo bring exclusive offline-to-online workshops for customers in selected markets to immerse in a greater appreciation to life and its art form and learn more about iconic Korean skincare routines. The First Care Activating Serum, to be applied immediately after cleansing, is recognized as a revolutionary product that has changed the beauty routines of women worldwide. With over 510,000[1] customers who have used more than 10 bottles, the product is selling at a rate of one bottle every 10 seconds[2] and is well-loved by many. The renewed 6th generation First Care Activating Serum, launched earlier this year, provides quick efficacy that maintains moisture on the skin all day long, with visible improvement in skin regeneration and barrier formation within three days of use. It also improves 10 signs of skin[3] aging after four weeks of use. It spreads evenly on the skin and is quickly absorbed, relieving skin stress immediately after cleansing. Han-sook Lee, Senior Vice President of Sulwhasoo's GTM Division, said, "We are delighted to hold Sulwhasoo's LazMall Super Brand Day with Lazada. This collaboration will enable us to connect with highly discerning beauty customers on this leading platform in Southeast Asia who seek authentic brand experiences. With our unique products formulated with supreme ingredients and 'shoppertainment' experiences created with Sulwhasoo's exclusive brand story content, we aim to engage more customers in this region." "Since the launch of our LazBeauty channel, we've seen a strong influx of buyers turn to Lazada to discover beauty products. Continuing Lazada's strong track record as Sulwhasoo's first marketplace partner in the region, we are delighted to deepen collaborations to unlock consumption powers of Southeast Asia and inspire beauty consumers in the region with their newest brand ambassador Rose and quality K-Beauty products. Scaling our partnership with Sulwhasoo is also a reflection of Lazada's commitment to consistently support brands to expand their digital footprint and ultimately uplift consumer experiences.", said Clarissa Chen, Senior Vice President, Regional Strategic Accounts (Health & Beauty), Lazada Group. Sulwhasoo's LazMall Super Brand Day will be held in Singapore on 28 April and available exclusively on Lazada: https://www.lazada.sg/shop/sulwhasoo About Sulwhasoo A global luxury beauty brand, Sulwhasoo traces its roots back to 1932. With a pioneering spirit that is still inspiring today, the brand was the first to carefully craft products infused with ginseng. As one of Asia's most precious herbs, ginseng is celebrated for its many efficacies. Reposing in key products, it embodies the brand's rich history and accentuates Sulwhasoo's position as an artistic innovator in the field of beauty. Sulwhasoo creates products as works of art, powered by heritage and unique skin science to transcend time and generations. With artistry and creativity as core vehicles, Sulwhasoo aims to bring new experiences globally, inspiring people to explore their heritage and create their own version of beauty. About Lazada Group Lazada Group is Southeast Asia's pioneer eCommerce platform. For the last 11 years, Lazada has been accelerating progress in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam through commerce and technology. Today, a thriving local ecosystem links about 160 million active users to more than one million actively-selling sellers every month, who are transacting safely and securely via trusted payments channels and Lazada Wallet, receiving parcels through a homegrown logistics network that has become the largest in the region. With a vision to achieve USD100 billion annual GMV, Lazada aims to serve 300 million shoppers by 2030, and be the best at enabling brands and sellers in digitalizing their businesses.







[1] As of sales from 1997 to 2022 [2] Based on offline sell-in results (domestic and international) in 2021 [3] Test subjects: 33 women aged 20 to 60 / Period: August 22, 2022 to November 8, 2022 / Test facility: Global Medical Research Center, Ltd. 10 factors: Skin turnover, Moisture level, Barrier function, Wrinkles, Lifting, Pores, Radiance, Transparency, Skin texture, Elasticity

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/apac/news-releases/sulwhasoo-invites-southeast-asia-to-immerse-in-a-world-of-korean-heritage-art-and-beauty-with-first-regional-lazmall-super-brand-day-301801560.html SOURCE Sulwhasoo

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[April 19, 2023] S&K Engineering and Research Awarded NASA Intelligent Robotic and Control System Services (IRCSS) III Contract

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced that S&K Engineering and Research, LLC was awarded the Intelligent Robotic and Control System Services (IRCSS) III task order, supporting the Engineering Directorate - Software Robotics and Simulation Division at Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, TX. This single-award task order is administered under the General Services Administration's One Acquisition Solution for Integrated Services (OASIS) multiple award contract. Services include technology development, maturation, and applied research and engineering in automation, robotics, robot control, advanced vision systems, perception, advanced software technologies, and intelligent control systems. "S&K has been a long-standing technical contractor at NASA. This award confirms our commitment to supporting the NASA community and their quest for technology advancement," said Margaret Bowman, President of SKER.



S&K provides vital support to NASA engineers working on multiple projects within the Software, Robotics, and Simulation Division at JSC. Their most recent undertaking involves the development and testing of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle Ground Test Unit rover. This state-of-the-art rover is set to play a critical role in the establishment of future commercial vehicle requirements, mission planning, and concept of operations in preparation for NASA's upcoming Artemis Program. As the first crewed mission to the moon in nearly a decade, slated to begin in 2028, the Artemis Program represents a crucial milestone for space exploration, and S&K's contribution is an essential component of this historic endeavor. S&K Engineering and Research, a subsidiary of S&K Technologies, Inc., has been providing exceptional support to various NASA projects for over two decades. The company has a diverse range of expertise, including engineering support services, enterprise IT, software development, cybersecurity, and aircraft life-cycle engineering.

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes (CSKT), headquartered in St. Ignatius, Montana, are the proud owners of the S&K Technologies, Inc. family of companies. With multiple subsidiaries operating around the world, the corporation has made significant contributions to the local economies. The contract awards earned by the company have resulted in tangible economic benefits for the CSKT Shareholder, which have been utilized to enhance education, employment, social programs, and other investments in the Reservation and surrounding communities. Through these efforts, the S&K Technologies, Inc. family of companies has established itself as a responsible corporate entity committed to social and economic development. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005360/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Cogent Infotech Announces the Appointment of a New Advisory Board Member, The Honorable George Allen, former Governor of Virginia and US Senator

Cogent Infotech welcomes former Governor and US Senator George Allen to its Advisory Board, bolstering strategic guidance and expertise. PITTSBURGH, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Cogent Infotech, a global, award-winning technology consulting firm, announced the appointment of The Honorable George Allen, former Governor of Virginia and US Senator, to its advisory board. With over three decades of experience in public service, Mr. Allen brings a wealth of experience in government operations and services to Cogent Infotech. He has advocated policies to position America as a leader in innovation and technology. His efforts to improve the quality of learning in public schools in Virginia were exemplary. "We are thrilled to welcome Mr. Allen to our advisory board," said Manu Mehta, President of Cogent Infotech. "His extensive experience in public service and his passion for technology and government service make him an invaluable addition to our team. Mr. Allen's leadership and insights will be tremendous assets as we continue to drive innovation and growth at Cogent Infotech." On this appointment with Cogent Infotech, Mr. Allen commented, "I am honored o join the Advisory board of Cogent, a company focused on digitally transforming the state and federal government by providing top-notch technology solutions to better and more efficiently serve the people. I look forward to working with the team to help drive the company's continued success."



About Cogent Infotech Cogent Infotech is a global, award-winning technology consulting firm headquartered in Pittsburgh, PA., USA. The ISO-certified company, appraised at CMMI level 3, works with 120+ Federal, State and local agencies, 65+ Fortune 500's and system integrators to solve complex problems with innovative tech and people. The company empowers enterprises to digitally transform through its expertise in Cloud Computing, Cybersecurity, Data Analytics, and AI. In 2022-23 they were awarded 13 best workplace awards, including Best Company for Women, Diversity, Culture, and Outlook.

Learn more about Cogent Infotech: www.cogentinfo.com

(877) 71-USA

(412) 835-2700

[email protected] This press release was issued through 24-7PressRelease.com. For further information, visit http://www.24-7pressrelease.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/cogent-infotech-announces-the-appointment-of-a-new-advisory-board-member-the-honorable-george-allen-former-governor-of-virginia-and-us-senator-301801499.html SOURCE Cogent Infotech

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[April 19, 2023] Salience Labs appoints former Imagination Technologies CPO to lead productization of multi-chip photonics processor for AI

Oxford-based silicon photonics company, Salience Labs, announced today the appointment of semiconductor industry veteran Chris Porthouse as Chief Product Officer. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005519/en/ Chris Porthouse, CPO at Salience Labs. (Photo: Business Wire) Chris has a track record of growing and transforming businesses, most recently as CPO for Imagination Technologies, and previously as GM and VP at Arm. At Imagination Technologies, Chris delivered the annual 5-year strategy and business plan and the roadmap of GPU, AI and CPU products licensed to mobile, consumer, data centre and automotive customers worldwide. At Arm, Chris elivered significant growth in Mali GPU helping win first deals worldwide and latterly, in cloud services.



Salience Labs has developed an ultra high-speed, super-low latency multi-chip processor that packages a novel photonics chip with standard electronics to accelerate exponential advances in AI and other compute-intensive applications. As CPO, Chris will lead Salience Labs' product strategy and product-market fit, as the business scales following its $11.5m seed funding round in 2022.

Chris Porthouse, CPO of Salience Labs said, "Salience Labs will bring high speed, low latency, efficient photonics compute to market at scale. I am excited to join this phenomenally talented team as we enter a new phase of growth and leverage our differentiated photonics multi-chip architecture to enable applications beyond the horizon of the established CMOS roadmap." Vaysh Kewada, Co-founder and CEO of Salience Labs said, "Chris has over 25 years' experience in the semiconductor industry across a range of markets. His proven leadership and experience in developing novel compute solutions that solve customer problems will enable us to usher in a new era of ultra high-speed, super-low latency processing where supercompute applications become ubiquitous." ENDS About Salience Labs Founded in 2021, Salience Labs is developing an ultra high-speed, super-low latency multi-chip processor that packages a photonics chip together with standard electronics. Spun-out from the University of Oxford in the UK and Munster University in Germany, Salience's unique approach to photonic computing uses a broad bandwidth of light, to create a high speed, ultra-low latency multi-chip processor that accelerates exponential advances in AI. The company is headquartered in Oxford, UK and funded by a portfolio of investors including Cambridge Innovation Capital, Oxford Sciences Enterprises, Oxford Investment Consultants, Silicon Catalyst, Deeptech Labs and leaders from the global semiconductor industry including former CEO of Dialog Semiconductor Jalal Bagherli and the Goh Family Office in Singapore. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005519/en/

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[April 19, 2023] SRAX Inc. to Host and Present at the Sequire Investor Summit in Puerto Rico

Los Angeles, CA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SRAX is proud to announce its participation at the upcoming Sequire Investor Summit.. This highly anticipated event, scheduled for April 24-26, 2023 at La Concha Resort in San Juan, Puerto Rico, promises to offer an array of exciting opportunities for funds, companies, and investors.

One of the standout highlights of this year's summit is the focus on the great tax laws in Puerto Rico, which offers a unique tax-friendly environment for both funds and investors. Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights and knowledge on how to leverage this advantage to drive their business success. The summit also promises to offer comprehensive training sessions and keynote panels on the latest investing trends. These sessions are led by top experts in the field and provide attendees with a wealth of information and insights into the latest trends, strategies, and best practices in the industry. SRAX is thrilled to be hosting in this year's Sequire Investor Summit and looks forward to sharing its knowledge and expertise with attendees. Join us for an exciting and informative event that promises to be a highlight of the year for funds, companies, and investors alike. Chris Miglino, CEO of SRAX, will be closing the event on Wednesday, April 26th at 4:00 pm local time. Some of our largest investors are located in Puerto Rico and we have had the opportunity to spend time there. The amount of intellectual capital that has moved there is amazing and the community is one of the strongest I have ever seen from a capital markets perspective. We hope you can make it and learn why some of the smartest people I have ever met are living or moving there". - Said Chris Miglino, CEO of SRAX For more information about the Sequire Investor Summit, including registration details, please visit the official event website at https://puertorico.sax.com/



About SRAX

SRAX Inc. is a financial technology company that unlocks data and insights for publicly traded companies. Through its premier investor intelligence and communications platform, Sequire , companies can track their investors behaviors and trends and use those insights to engage current and potential investors across marketing channels. For more information on SRAX, visit srax.com and mysequire.com Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information:

This news release contains "forward-looking statements'' made pursuant to the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements relate to future, not past, events and may often be identified by words such as "expect," "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek" or "will." Forward-looking statements by their nature address matters that are, to different degrees, uncertain. Specific risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed in our forward-looking statements include risks inherent in our business, and our need for future capital. Actual results may differ materially from the results anticipated in these forward-looking statements. Additional information on potential factors that could affect our results and other risks and uncertainties are detailed from time to time in SRAX's periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021, its Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q as well as and in other reports filed with the SEC. We do not assume any obligation to update any forward-looking statements. CONTACT

[email protected]



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Key Insights

The projected fair value for Sime Darby Berhad is RM2.56 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

With RM2.17 share price, Sime Darby Berhad appears to be trading close to its estimated fair value

Our fair value estimate is 4.9% higher than Sime Darby Berhad's analyst price target of RM2.44

Today we will run through one way of estimating the intrinsic value of Sime Darby Berhad (KLSE:SIME) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. We will take advantage of the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model for this purpose. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

We generally believe that a company's value is the present value of all of the cash it will generate in the future. However, a DCF is just one valuation metric among many, and it is not without flaws. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

See our latest analysis for Sime Darby Berhad

What's The Estimated Valuation?

We use what is known as a 2-stage model, which simply means we have two different periods of growth rates for the company's cash flows. Generally the first stage is higher growth, and the second stage is a lower growth phase. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

Story continues

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM2.26b RM1.71b RM1.87b RM1.89b RM1.84b RM1.83b RM1.84b RM1.87b RM1.91b RM1.96b Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x3 Analyst x4 Analyst x3 Analyst x1 Est @ -2.46% Est @ -0.65% Est @ 0.62% Est @ 1.50% Est @ 2.12% Est @ 2.56% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 13% RM2.0k RM1.4k RM1.3k RM1.2k RM1.0k RM900 RM804 RM725 RM658 RM600

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM11b

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 3.6%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 13%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM2.0b (1 + 3.6%)  (13% 3.6%) = RM23b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM23b ( 1 + 13%)10= RM6.9b

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 RM17b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM2.2, the company appears about fair value at a 15% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

The calculation above is very dependent on two assumptions. The first is the discount rate and the other is the cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Sime Darby Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 13%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.122. 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 Sime Darby Berhad

Strength

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Industrials market.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Paying a dividend but company has no free cash flows.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Malaysian market.

Next Steps:

Valuation is only one side of the coin in terms of building your investment thesis, and it is only one of many factors that you need to assess for a company. DCF models are not the be-all and end-all of investment valuation. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. For Sime Darby Berhad, we've put together three important items you should further examine:

Risks: We feel that you should assess the 1 warning sign for Sime Darby Berhad we've flagged before making an investment in the company. Future Earnings: How does SIME's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other Solid Businesses: Low debt, high returns on equity and good past performance are fundamental to a strong business. Why not explore our interactive list of stocks with solid business fundamentals to see if there are other companies you may not have considered!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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[April 19, 2023] SweetLeaf Once Again Teams Up with BAM and Kroger Health to Drive Everyday Wellness

GILBERT, Ariz., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Wisdom Natural Brands, makers of SweetLeaf and the country's first stevia sweetener brand, today announced their continued partnership with BAM (Brand Activation Maximizer) event marketing and architects of the 2023 Kroger Health Racing program that SweetLeaf is participating in this season. BAM created a NASCAR-themed mobile marketing tour for Kroger Health and has connected SweetLeaf with the health-related program that promotes healthy lifestyles and living life at full speed. Over the next year, SweetLeaf will be working alongside BAM to play a role in the Kroger Health pop up events that will hit 12 NASCAR race markets in several Kroger divisions. Additionally, Kroger Health Racing will have a major presence in racetrack midways with SweetLeaf, sharing tips for reducing sugar naturally with thousands of NASCAR fans. Kroger Health, the healthcare division of The Kroger Co., was recently named Mass Market Retailers' (MMR's) Retailer of the Year. Kroger Health was honored for its consistent leadership in the retail healthcare industry and for elevating the connection between nutrition and health through its Food asMedicine initiative. SweetLeaf products bridge the gap between wellness and food, supporting this important Kroger Health program through BAM.



"Kroger Health offers a variety of services to help people lead healthier lives," said Tad Geschickter, President of BAM event marketing agency. "This continues to be the most exciting and important sponsorship activation. We look forward to making NASCAR fans aware of the Kroger Health programs, but also encouraging them to use products such as SweetLeaf to 'live life at full speed!' Wisdom Natural Brands is a family-owned company with a 40+-year history of helping consumers reduce their sugar intake through its SweetLeaf stevia and monk fruit sweeteners, including liquid Water Drops and Sweet Drops. All SweetLeaf products are all-natural, low/zero-sugar, low/zero-calorie, non-glycemic, diabetes- and keto-friendly, vegan, gluten-free and non-GMO.

"Helping consumers live better and healthier has always been on the forefront of our vision," says Michael May, President and CEO of Wisdom Natural Brands. "With the challenges of health in this country, our partnership allows us to educate people about simple steps to improve their health with foods that taste good and reduce sugar intake." About Wisdom Natural Brands

Wisdom Natural Brands, based in Gilbert, Arizona, has been the leading stevia expert and industry pioneer with its plant-based SweetLeaf brand for over 40 years. SweetLeaf has won 38 awards for taste and innovation with their variety of stevia and monk fruit products. SweetLeaf sweeteners have low/zero sugars, no artificial ingredients, and are non-GMO and gluten free. SweetLeaf products are available in powder, granular, and liquid forms, making them easy to incorporate into any lifestyle so every day is as sweet as the next. To shop SweetLeaf's natural sweeteners, go to www.sweetleaf.com, online retailers and select grocery stores. View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sweetleaf-once-again-teams-up-with-bam-and-kroger-health-to-drive-everyday-wellness-301799292.html SOURCE SweetLeaf

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[April 19, 2023] Spice Up Your Cinco de Mayo Feast - Fast! - with eMeals and Stella Rosa Wines

Easy Tex-Mex Entertaining Complete with Recipes, Wine Pairings and One-Click Grocery Shopping BIRMINGHAM, Ala., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Hola, hosts and hostesses! Whether you're celebrating Cinco de Mayo or simply having a spring fling for a few of your closest friends, you can get the party started in record time with the new Stella Rosa Fiesta of Flavors Occasions Plan  a collection of Tex-Mex recipes from eMeals, America's leading meal planning service, and complementary wine pairings from Stella Rosa, the #1 imported wine brand in the U.S. It's fast, it's easy, and it's guaranteed to win wows. Available free on eMeals' Fiesta of Flavors landing page or in the Occasions Plan in the eMeals app for subscribers, the plan is a feast of fusion designed for eight hungry guests. Most recipes can be assembled in 30 minutes or less, with plenty of make-ahead prep that will limit your time in the kitchen when company arrives. The spread includes: A bubbling hot Cheesy Mexican Street Corn Dip appetizer topped with queso fresco and served with tortilla chips

topped with queso fresco and served with tortilla chips Pork-and-pineapple Tacos Al Pastor and four other meat, fish and vegetarian taco choices including Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos, Easy Skirt Steak Tacos, Crispy Fish Tacos and Roasted Caulifower Tinga Tacos (make a few for variety!)

including Chipotle Grilled Chicken Tacos, Easy Skirt Steak Tacos, Crispy Fish Tacos and Roasted Caulifower Tinga Tacos (make a few for variety!) Side dishes of Green Chile Rice and Crunchy Bunuelos , fried dough balls sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar

, fried dough balls sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar Stella Rosa Pineapple and the all-new Stella Rosa Pineapple-Chili wines, both combining a proprietary blend of several white grape varietals with natural flavors to create semi-sweet, semi-sparkling wines that pair perfectly with the pizazz of the meal



one-click-shoppable from major retailers. Grocery lists are automatically generated based on the recipes you select, enabling easy in-store shopping or seamless online grocery ordering with Walmart, AmazonFresh, Kroger, Albertsons, Safeway, H.E.B. and the retailers served by Instacart and Shipt when placed through the eMeals app. One-click shopping is also available for select retailers through the Fiesta of Flavors landing page. The Fiesta of Flavors menu is part of eMeals' Occasions Plan offering, which complements the company's weekly meal planning service. The service includes a choice of meal plans for 15 different eating styles ranging from Quick and Healthy, Clean Eating and Low Calorie to Low Carb, 30 Minute Meals, Kid Friendly, Vegetarian and more.

Subscribers receive seven dinner menus for their chosen plan every week, along with the option to mix and match menus from any style, the ability to substitute favorites from previous weeks, and periodic Occasions Plan and Bonus Collection menus for recipes that may not fit into the nightly dinner category. Subscriptions cost as little as $5/month. About eMeals

eMeals is a meal inspiration, planning and shopping platform that operates the subscription-based eMeals digital meal planning service, the free RecipeBox app enabling home cooks to create personalized digital cookbooks, and the Grocery Connect SDK providing online grocery shopping functionality for third-party apps and websites. eMeals has helped millions of families relieve the daily stress of putting healthy home-cooked meals on the table quickly, easily and affordably since the launch of its digital meal planning service. For more information, visit https://emeals.com and https://recipebox.com. About Stella Rosa

Stella Rosa is America's #1 Italian imported wine. A selection of semi-sweet, semi-sparkling Italian wines, its impressive achievements include a 9x IMPACT Magazine Hot Brand award among others. As part of the Riboli Family Wines portfolio, a family-owned company founded in 1917, the company showcases over a century of crafting award-winning wines resulting in Wine Enthusiasts' 2018 American Winery of the Year. With a natural affinity for creativity and innovation, Stella Rosa continues to lead the industry and push the boundaries of winemaking and the wine-drinking experience. For more information, visit www.stellarosawines.com. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/spice-up-your-cinco-de-mayo-feast--fast---with-emeals-and-stella-rosa-wines-301800616.html SOURCE eMeals

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[April 19, 2023] Dr. Kiana Aran's CRISPR-chip selected for national German exhibition on novel genetic research

SAN DIEGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The ongoing exhibition 'Of Genes and Human Beings' at the national German DHMD museum in Dresden, highlights multiple technological advances in the genetic field over the last century and especially the last 20 years. Cardea Bio's BPU variant, the CRISPR-chip - which made the cover of Nature Biomedical Engineering in June 2019 when it was first published  has been selected to be featured prominently in the exhibition. Using the CRISPR-chip to democratize global access to powerful inventions like genotyping or genetic disease testing. "It's not very common for scientists or academics to have their technology featured in a museum, so to see my technology being showcased next to Watson and Crick's DNA model is a proud moment in my career and I'm very happy to be a part of this exhibition" reacts Dr. Kiana Aran, Chief Scientific Officer of Cardea Bio, to being selected for the exhibition. Watch the entire interview with Dr. Kiana Aran and Dr. Viktoria Krason here. Curator & project manager at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden [DHMD], Dr. Viktoria Krason, states, "The overall motivation for this exhibition was to provide an updated picture of genetics in society right now. Because of new developments in technologies within genome editing and sequencing, it's our impression that genetics is ow manifesting itself in social debates and media. Specifically, for the 'health' section of the exhibition, we were very interested in the development that CRISPR-cas9 can not only be used for gene editing, but also as a search engine to look for specific sequences in genes."



Dr. Aran continues, "The way that we detect genetic diseases today, is a long process that requires a lot of specialized medical and lab equipment, so it takes days. The CRISPR-chip is an example of a new technology that overcomes those limitations, because the CRISPR-chip can do genotyping in a matter of minutes! And because it's based on semiconductor principles it's very scalable, cheap, and can be used anywhere in the world. This is how we can democratize global access to powerful inventions like genotyping or genetic disease testing." About the 'Of Genes and Human Beings' exhibition

The exhibition 'Of Genes and Human Beings' takes a serious and consistent look at the insights gained in science laboratories from the perspective of the social and cultural sciences: with exhibits from everyday life and science, culture and history, the approaches of contemporary art  and with interactive stations that invite us to find out for ourselves who we are and who we might become.

The exhibition 'Of Genes and Human Beings' runs through Sep 10, 2023, at the Deutsches Hygiene-Museum in Dresden, Germany. Read more here. The Internet of Biology

In biological science, the 20th century focused on simple tests such as ELISA or lateral flow assays. After the human genome was sequenced and genomics had a major breakthrough in the first 20 years of the 21st century, we're now facing the next wave of innovation in and around biology: The opportunity to understand and communicate with the immense information density available to us in biology. The embrace of complex, real-time data, available via convenient and compact electronic devices, and converted into human understandable information via cloud computing can be conceived of as "the internet of biology". The principals behind internet of biology is paving the way to facilitate global access to powerful technologies  like the CRISPR-chip - to the benefit of everyone, everywhere on our planet. The way that we detect genetic diseases today, is a long process that requires a lot of instrumentation and it takes days. The CRISPR-chip is an example of a new technology that overcomes those limitations, because the CRISPR-chip is able to do genotyping in a matter of minutes! And because it's based on electronic technologies it's very scalable, cheap, and can be used anywhere in the world. This can democratize global access to powerful inventions like genotyping or genetic disease testing. About Cardea Bio

Cardea Bio is the world's first mass producer of a biocompatible semiconductor, the BPU (Biosignal Processing Unit) Platform. The BPU is the first and only graphene semiconductor capable of translating real-time streams of biology's multiomics signals into digital information. Through the BPU platform, Cardea's long-term vision is to democratize access to the biosignals and insights behind the most advanced technology on our planet: Nature and biology. The Internet of Biology is that way becoming possible. Cardea is headquartered in San Diego and has additional activity in Los Angeles. Cardea has developed and built the graphene-based biocompatible semiconductor BPU biosensor platform for applications across a variety of sectors including human health, agriculture, molecular diagnostics, biotechnology, environmental monitoring, and animal health. Contact Cardea

Lasse Gorlitz, VP of Communications

US phone: +1 858 319 7135

EU phone: +45 2758 2601

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dr-kiana-arans-crispr-chip-selected-for-national-german-exhibition-on-novel-genetic-research-301801145.html SOURCE Cardea Bio

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[April 19, 2023] HEAVY.AI Launches HEAVY 7.0, Introducing Real-Time Machine Learning Capabilities

HEAVY.AI, an innovator in advanced analytics, today announced general availability of HEAVY 7.0. The new product adds innovative machine learning capabilities, enabling telcos and utilities to perform in-database predictive modeling and simulate any scenario to uncover key insights. HEAVY 7.0 also incorporates new ways to interactively join and fuse data in the Heavy Immerse visualization platform, as well as more powerful cell site planning and optimization capabilities via significant enhancements to the HeavyRF telco module. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005438/en/ HEAVY 7.0 supercharges analytics for telcos and utilities with groundbreaking predictive modeling features, improved Heavy Immerse experience, and enhanced HeavyRF operational configuration. (Graphic: Business Wire) "For telcos and utilities, delivering the best service to their customers means constantly analyzing, investigating and learning from the immense amounts and vast sources of data available to them. But analyzing complex geospatial data combined with customer and radiofrequency data, is a cumbersome and error-prone process," said Jon Kondo, CEO, HEAVY.AI. "HEAVY 7.0 provides tools and features that make t fast and easy for these organizations to analyze any type of data and uncover insights that are critical for their business."



Introduction of machine learning capabilities via predictive modeling in-database HEAVY 7.0 introduces HeavyML, enabling predictive analytics directly in-database as a public beta feature. Implemented as native SQL operators that can be evaluated interactively on GPUs and then visualized and rendered in Heavy Immerse dashboards, HeavyML supports a variety of clustering and regression algorithms, including tree-based models such as random forest regression. With this addition, domain experts and other end users not intimately familiar with data science workflows can leverage predictive analytics on large datasets.

Expanded HeavyRF Cell Site Planning and Optimization Capabilities HEAVY 7.0 features a new site editor for graphical specification of network hardware and its configuration under various, complex operating scenarios, such as rush hour scenarios, reduced power or maintenance modes and seasonal or monthly variation in vegetation optical thickness - a critical capability for midband 5G and lower frequencies. As a result, telcos can develop and test various software optimized network (SON) scenarios safely and with full visibility to potential customer experience impacts. HeavyRF has also gained improved workflows for establishing and monitoring business targets involving large numbers of buildings. HeavyRF has always provided a continuously updated view of relevant business metrics, but now it can target thousands of buildings at once using fully customizable and extensible building tagging. The addition of no-code joins in Heavy Immerse Heavy Immerse has long offered non-technical users the ability to rapidly visualize, map and filter enormous datasets interactively and in-real-time. Heavy 7.0 further enables users to get rapid, visual insights from their data via the addition of no-code join capabilities. Joins can now be specified directly from Heavy Immerse dashboards, and thanks to the speed of the underlying GPU database, execute across multi-billion record datasets at interactive speeds, no indexing or down-sampling required. The ability to performantly fuse large datasets without writing SQL further democratizes access to complex insights for a broad set of users. A major California utility is using the new join capabilities to downscale huge weather models, measuring weather's impact on specific assets as well as their effect on customers. HEAVY 7.0 is available now in limited release for existing HEAVY.AI customers. About HEAVY.AI HEAVY.AI provides advanced analytics that empower businesses and the government to visualize high-value opportunities and risks hidden in their big location and time data. HEAVY.AI supports high-impact decisions in previously unimaginable timelines by harnessing the massive parallelism of modern GPU and CPU hardware. The analytics technology unifies today's exploding data volumes from multiple sources for a better immersive, real-time, interactive visual experience. It is available in the cloud and on premises. HEAVY.AI originated from research at Harvard and MIT Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) and is funded by GV, In-Q-Tel, New Enterprise Associates (NEA), NVIDIA, Tiger Global Management, Vanedge Capital and Verizon Ventures. The company is headquartered in San Francisco. Learn more about HEAVY.AI at heavy.ai. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005438/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Leading Global Community for Revenue Executives, Pavilion, Announces Partnership with Preeminent Software Investor Insight Partners

The partnership will bring Insight's DRIVE: GTM event, exclusive for portfolio leaders, together with Pavilion's GTM2023 summit to create an unparalleled gathering for the industry's Go-To-Market leaders NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Pavilion, the leading global community for revenue executives, CEOs, and founders in the B2B software space, has announced a new partnership with global software investor Insight Partners. Insight Partners will host DRIVE: GTM, its gathering of portfolio company executives, in conjunction with Pavilion's flagship GTM2023 event, a one-of-a-kind conference for go-to-market (GTM) executives on October 10th-12th in Nashville, Tennessee. Insight Partners will also be recognized as a Diamond sponsor for the Pavilion event, and its portfolio company executives will have preferred pricing and access to DRIVE: GTM, GTM2023 and Pavilion Executive membership. Kicking off the day prior to Pavilion's conference, Insight's DRIVE: GTM is an exclusive, strategic program for Insight's portfolio of GTM leaders, featuring curated content, including thought leadership, training, and strategy from Insight leadership. DRIVE: GTM will bring the offerings of Onsite, Insight's growth engine built to support and transform companies as they scale up, to functional leaders and executives. Attendees will walk away with the perspectives of both investors and operators with tactical and practical guides to help industry leaders achieve results faster with fewer challenges. DRIVE: GTM will bring the unique opportunity to meet and network with other leaders across the industry and at Pavilion's GTM2023. "We're thrilled to partner with Pavilion as one of the most notable networks of business executives to deepen the value Insight provides our portfolio f cutting edge software companies. We believe in the power of a business network, and we are thrilled that aligning DRIVE: GTM with Pavilion's GTM2023 summit will extend the network for our 600+ software ScaleUps." said Hilary Gosher, Managing Director at Insight Partners. "Our mission is to provide data driven insights and practical, hands-on expertise to visionary executives in our portfolio, which aligns seamlessly with Pavilion's mission. This is an incredible opportunity for GTM leaders to learn, plan, and execute go-to-market strategies that will drive transformative change in their industries."



GTM2023 is a three-day, Executive-only event for founders, CEOs, and go-to-market leaders (VP level or above) in sales, marketing, customer success and operations. The program is designed to foster alignment across GTM teams through hands-on planning workshops, panel discussions, and executive sessions, with the goal of accelerating planning cycles and positioning attendees to enter 2024 with go-to-market strategies that will fuel growth. Attendees of GTM2023 will have a unique opportunity to access the strategic support delivered by Insight Onsite, as well as build relationships across the incredible network of over 600 software leaders from the Insight portfolio. In addition to educational programming, GTM2023 will feature Executive-level networking and social activities in the country music capital of the world, as well as the GTM Awards, an industry awards program that recognizes go-to-market executives who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and driven transformative results.

"We're excited to welcome Insight Partners as a Diamond Sponsor for GTM2023," said Sam Jacobs, CEO of Pavilion. "Their expertise in scaling best in class software businesses is renowned in the industry and will be a valuable asset to our attendees as they plan and execute go-to-market strategies that fuel growth. We're looking forward to a successful partnership that will benefit the entire go-to-market community." For more information on Insight Partners and Pavilion, please visit insightpartners.com and joinpavilion.com, respectively. To learn more about GTM2023 or to register, please visit joinpavilion.com/events. About Pavilion Pavilion was founded in 2016 as a support network for revenue leaders. Since then, it has grown into a 10,000+ member international community of go-to-market leaders. Through structured training in Pavilion University; private, moderated peer groups; and in-person events, Pavilion delivers on its mission to help revenue leaders unlock and achieve their full professional potential. For more information about Pavilion or to become a member, please visit joinpavilion.com. About Insight Partners Insight Partners is a global software investor partnering with high-growth technology, software, and Internet startup and ScaleUp companies that are driving transformative change in their industries. As of December 31, 2022, the firm has over $75B in regulatory assets under management. Insight Partners has invested in more than 750 companies worldwide and has seen over 55 portfolio companies achieve an IPO. Headquartered in New York City, Insight has offices in London, Tel Aviv, and Palo Alto. Insight's mission is to find, fund, and work successfully with visionary executives, providing them with right-sized, right-time practical, hands-on software expertise along their growth journey, from their first investment to IPO. For more information on Insight and all its investments, visit insightpartners.com or follow us on Twitter @insightpartners. Contact:

Kathleen Booth, SVP Marketing & Member Experience at Pavilion - [email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/leading-global-community-for-revenue-executives-pavilion-announces-partnership-with-preeminent-software-investor-insight-partners-301800906.html SOURCE Pavilion

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[April 19, 2023] IRONSCALES Unveils Cutting-Edge New Capabilities to Help Stem Rising Tide of Business Email Compromise

IRONSCALES, the leading enterprise cloud email security platform protecting more than 10,000 global enterprises, announced today a collection of groundbreaking new capabilities to aid in the fight against business email compromise (BEC). The new capabilities build upon IRONSCALES' industry-first approach of combining artificial intelligence (AI) and human insights (HI) to deliver enterprise-level protection against BEC and other forms of advanced phishing attacks. These new capabilities will be on display at the IRONSCALES booth (#5215) at this year's RSA Conference, from April 24-27. The announcement comes at a time when rates of BEC and other advanced phishing attacks are climbing exponentially. A recent report from Osterman Research1 revealed that large organizations are expecting a 43% increase in BEC attacks in the next 12 months. These advanced phishing attacks, which leverage vulnerabilities in traditional Secure Email Gateways, cost businesses a staggering $2.7 billion in 2022, according to research from the Federal Bureau of Investigation. To help protect against this rising threat, in their recent Market Guide for Email Security2, Gartner recommends that security and risk management leaders should "use email security solutions that include anti-phishing technology for targeted BEC protection that use AI to detect communication patterns and conversation-style anomalies." Gartner goes on to recommend that organizations "reinforce training with context-aware banners and in-line prompts to help educate users." "Email security is one of those tasks that gets a ton of visibility for the wrong reasons," said Augustine Boateng, Deputy CIO for the City of Memphis. "It's not enough for vendors to say, the AI will take care of it all. Anyone in technology knows that AI is still new. Tech will fail, and it's only a matter of time before hackers identify AI vulnerabilities. I need to have visibility into the threats that are being flagged and the ones that aren't so that my team can act quickly to remove them." "With IRONSCALES doubling down on their AI plus human insights (HI) approach to protecting organizations like mine from phishing threats, we're seeing an increase in awareness from our employees, a decrease in the number of threats we need to respond to, and confidence across the board that we're being proactive in protecting our assets," Boateng continued. /p>



Create Security Awareness Campaigns with a Click - Creating a comprehensive, timely, and relevant phishing simulation & training campaign is a major undertaking. With IRONSCALES' new "Recommended Campaigns" feature, SOC admins can launch entire campaigns based on seasonal events, current threat trends, and more, all with the click of a button.

- Creating a comprehensive, timely, and relevant phishing simulation & training campaign is a major undertaking. With IRONSCALES' new "Recommended Campaigns" feature, SOC admins can launch entire campaigns based on seasonal events, current threat trends, and more, all with the click of a button. Turn Real-World Threats into High-Value Simulations - Traditional phishing simulations often rely on outdated emails that fail to accurately test employees' awareness of the latest threats. And creating effective simulations of your own is challenging and time-consuming. With IRONSCALES' new "Template from Threat" feature, IT and Security leaders can quickly turn an actual phishing threat into a simulation template in just a few clicks.

- Traditional phishing simulations often rely on outdated emails that fail to accurately test employees' awareness of the latest threats. And creating effective simulations of your own is challenging and time-consuming. With IRONSCALES' new "Template from Threat" feature, IT and Security leaders can quickly turn an actual phishing threat into a simulation template in just a few clicks. Standardize Security Posture at Scale - For global enterprise clients and MSP partners, configuring security posture settings traditionally had to be done on a tenant-by-tenant basis. With IRONSCALES' new "Group Settings" capability, admins can now easily apply customization and AI settings across multiple tenants at once, to ensure a standardized security posture at scale.

- For global enterprise clients and MSP partners, configuring security posture settings traditionally had to be done on a tenant-by-tenant basis. With IRONSCALES' new "Group Settings" capability, admins can now easily apply customization and AI settings across multiple tenants at once, to ensure a standardized security posture at scale. Streamline Threat Classification - Today's security and IT admins only have a few moments to investigate and classify an incident before having to move on to the next threat. However, it's not always clear why an email was flagged. As part of IRONSCALES' new BEC capabilities, security leaders can ease the decision making process and gain at-a-glance insights explaining why an email was identified as a potential threat.

- Today's security and IT admins only have a few moments to investigate and classify an incident before having to move on to the next threat. However, it's not always clear why an email was flagged. As part of IRONSCALES' new BEC capabilities, security leaders can ease the decision making process and gain at-a-glance insights explaining why an email was identified as a potential threat. Analyze the Threat Landscape at a Glance - Visibility into the handling of suspicious emails at the enterprise level has traditionally required time-consuming, dispersed searches across different views. With its new "Investigation Tab" capability, IRONSCALES gives security professionals access to a single-pane-of-glass view of the entire threat landscape - including all identified threats, threat patterns, and actions taken. "As our customers grow more profitable, they are becoming the targets of highly advanced phishing attacks that are more difficult to detect through native and traditional email security tools," said Eyal Benishti, co-founder and CEO at IRONSCALES. "With IRONSCALES, enterprise security teams now have a powerful, AI-based co-pilot to fight advanced phishing attacks. And when combined with human insights, organizations can reduce risk, boost security team efficiency, and safeguard themselves from the most advanced phishing threats."

More than 10,000 global customers depend on IRONSCALES to defend against today's most advanced phishing attacks. As the industry's only solution that combines AI and human insight, IRONSCALES ensures enterprises around the world have every tool at their disposal to remain secure in the face of the latest threats. Are you attending this year's RSA Conference? Be sure to visit booth 5215 to see how IRONSCALES is combining AI and human insights to redefine enterprise email security. (1) Defending the Enterprise: The Latest Trends and Tactics in BEC Attacks, Osterman Research, https://secure.ironscales.com/defending-the-enterprise/report-download (2) Gartner Market Guide for Email Security, Ravisha Chugh, Peter Firstbrook, Franz Hinner, 13 February 2023 Gartner is a registered trademark and servicemark of Gartner, Inc and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally, and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. About IRONSCALES IRONSCALES is the leading cloud email security platform for the enterprise that uses machine learning and AI to stop advanced phishing attacks that bypass traditional security solutions. Its award-winning self-learning platform continuously detects and remediates advanced threats like Business Email Compromise (BEC), credential harvesting, Account Takeover (ATO) and more. As the most powerfully simple email security platform, IRONSCALES helps enterprises reduce risk, boost security team efficiency, and build a culture of cybersecurity awareness. IRONSCALES is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia and is proud to support more than 10,000 customers globally. Visit http://www.ironscales.com or @IRONSCALES to learn more. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005212/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Concentric, LLC, an OnPoint Group Company, Acquires Industrial Battery Solutions

Concentric, LLC, the national leader in DC power management for the material handling and critical power industries, announced today the acquisition of Industrial Battery Solutions. Based in Waipahu, Hawaii, Industrial Battery Solutions is the only company in Hawaii to sell and service forklift batteries along with critical power products. This acquisition expands Concentric's footprint past the contiguous United States and into areas which have historically lacked access to leading power management solutions. As an essential partner in maintaining Hawaii's supply chain, Industrial Battery Solutions' team of service leaders are specialized in battery replacement, chargers, watering systems, repairs, maintenance and removal. Industrial Battery Solutions is led by Kathleen Moses Benson, President and Hank Benson, Vice President of Operations - who will both remain in leadership after the acquisition. "Industrial Battery Solutions is led by a strong management team with 50 years in the battery idustry," said Concentric Chief Operating Officer, John Winter. "We are looking forward to working with them and continuing to grow their presence while serving their customers across Hawaii."



"We are excited to join the Concentric team and expand the solutions we can provide to our forklift and critical power customers," said Industrial Battery Solutions President, Kathleen Moses Benson. "Being an island nation, Concentric's suite of critical power solutions provide an invaluable opportunity to provide energy security to Hawaii-based businesses." For additional information about Concentric or this acquisition, visit www.concentricusa.com or https://www.concentricusa.com/partners/acquisition-announcement.

About Concentric Concentric, an OnPoint Group Company, is the national leader in DC power management and maintenance for the material handling and critical power industries. The company's signature solution, GuaranteedPOWER is an industry-first, enabling leading manufacturers, and distributors to improve safety and consistency through a fixed cost program delivering 30% average total cost savings. Concentric partners with both facility and corporate teams, helping them find a better way to manage consistency across the nation as they design, integrate and operate their forklift and backup power systems. Learn more at concentricusa.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005097/en/

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[April 19, 2023] GWM Holds 2023 Global Conference with Partners in Shanghai

BAODING, China, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ -- On April 19, GWM held the 2023 Global Conference with the theme of "NEW GWM NEW ENERGY", attended by more than 260 distributor representatives from more than 60 countries and regions. Mu Feng, President of GWM, gave a detailed introduction to the participants on GWM's global expansion, Forest Ecosystem, and future new energy strategic planning. Mu Feng said that GWM has issued a declaration on new energy to the world, that is, GWM Intelligent NEV, Greener, Higher, Safer. In the future, based on the Forest Ecosystem, GWM will adopt the "ONE GWM" model and global big single product strategy to carry out targeted differentiated planning in the global market and cooperate with global partners to create more high-quality new energy products for customers. At the conference, GWM held a grand award ceremony to commend distributors who wored with GWM to expand the market. Parker Shi, the Vice President and the Head of international market of GWM, awarded honorary awards to distributor partners who have made outstanding achievements. Before the ceremony, GWM also held the Global Business Partner Signing Ceremony and established partnerships with dozens of new distributors from global markets.



GWM also invited hundreds of distributor representatives to visit the factory and R&D laboratory on the eve of the conference and attend GWM's press conference in Auto Shanghai, which gives distributors a more comprehensive understanding of the Forest Ecosystem. Distributors expressed their recognition of GWM's great vehicle manufacturing strength and intelligent new energy products. A new distributor partner said, "The visit to GWM has given me an experience of its excellent new energy solutions and I hope to bring new energy vehicles to more local customers as soon as possible."

Distributors from Australia, South Africa and Brazil are optimistic about the future market performance of GWM. Distributor representatives believe that GWM's excellent quality, luxury features and new energy advantages are recognized by consumers and it is gaining a good reputation. Cooperation with GWM will be an important step towards a better future. Currently, GWM is continuously expanding its global sales and market layout. In 2022, the overseas sales volume of GWM exceeded 170,000 units, with a year-on-year increase of 21.28%, hitting a record high. Since its export in 1997, GWM has had more than 700 overseas sales channels covering more than 170 countries and regions around the world, with a total sales of more than one million vehicles. In the future, GWM will promote the overseas implementation of the whole industrial chain including products, technologies, and services. GWM also expects to strengthen the Forest Ecosystem to achieve a win-win result for all and jointly promote the transformation of GWM's global new energy strategy with global distributor partners. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gwm-holds-2023-global-conference-with-partners-in-shanghai-301801950.html SOURCE GWM

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[April 19, 2023] Brightflag Celebrates Ninth Anniversary, Highlights Addition of Innovative AI-Powered Features and Industry Awards

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Brightflag , the platform and trusted guide in-house teams rely on to manage matters, spend, and outside counsel, today celebrates its ninth anniversary. Founded in 2014, Brightflag has been a pioneer in leveraging innovative AI technologies to transform outside counsel management  helping corporate legal teams better control costs, gain insight into their spend, and improve strategic decision-making. The anniversary comes as market conditions drive in-house teams to prioritize spend visibility and cost control measures, while advances in AI encourage re-evaluating how new technologies can further improve efficiency. "Over the past nine years Brightflag has been privileged to serve as the platform of choice for hundreds of in-house legal teams worldwide" said Ian Nolan, CEO and co-founder of Brightflag. "We are fortunate to be recognized as a market leader and look forward to continuing to help our customers improve their legal operations for many years to come." Brightflag's recent achievements include: Hundreds of customers added, including household names like Bill.com, Snap Inc., Sky and Zendesk

New features released, such as a dashboard that provides users with instant visibility into the tasks awaiting their review, a new reporting interface that emphasizes fast navigation and customizable filters, and an upgraded Timekeeper Rates Review experience which provides immediate insight into requests for increased rates and allows users to quickly take action.

AI innovations launched, such as PDF Check , which automatically verifies that the correct bill-to information is included on every PDF invoice, and Cost Center Budgeting, which allows the legal team to track departmental budgets while providing AI-powered forecasting of potential budget overruns.

, which automatically verifies that the correct bill-to information is included on every PDF invoice, and Cost Center Budgeting, which allows the legal team to track departmental budgets while providing AI-powered forecasting of potential budget overruns. Recognized as a Spring 2023 Enterprise Legal Management (ELM) Leader by G2.

by G2. Published the 2023 Legal Operations Compensation Survey Report to promote pay transparency in legal operations. The report received over 500 downloads in the first two weeks following publication.



Alex Kelly , COO and co-founder of Brightflag. "We are laser-focused on helping in-house teams achieve these goals." About Brightflag

Brightflag is the platform and trusted guide in-house legal teams rely to manage matters, spend, and outside counsel. The company serves a global community of legal professionals from offices in New York, Ireland, and Australia. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/brightflag-celebrates-ninth-anniversary-highlights-addition-of-innovative-ai-powered-features-and-industry-awards-301801971.html SOURCE Brightflag Inc.

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[April 19, 2023] Customer Love for Vyond Grows with Eight #1 Rankings In Spring '23 G2 Report

Vyond, the leader in AI-powered video creation, today announced that it has earned another 36 awards from G2, a popular B2B software review site, as part of its Spring 2023 awards across Video Creation, Presentation, Content Creation, and Animation categories. G2 compares the best business software and services based on user ratings and social data, and utilizes collective, authentic knowledge - incorporating peer-to-peer, customer-driven reviews - to help buyers find the right solutions for their business needs. Users rated Vyond highly across numerous categories as part of G2's Spring 2023 awards, bestowing the company with the following honors: Eight #1 Leader Awards

#1 Leader for Best Results

#1 for Leader for the Enterprise

#1 for Best Usability

#1 for Best Estimated ROI for Animation

#1 for Most Implementable Animation Presentation In G2's Spring Report, Vyond earned 36 badges fro customer reviews, including eight #1 rankings which exceeded last quarter's five #1 rankings. Reflecting Vyond's unique applicability for enterprise-grade, self-service video communications, four of the leader awards were in the enterprise category including one for best enterprise support.



Since its inception, Vyond has prioritized a relentless focus on customer success which shows in this quarter's Q2 Spring Report and in the company's customer satisfaction and NPS that both outpace industry standards. "Customers love Vyond because we make it easy for them to transform their mission-critical content - that can often be bland or boring - into vibrant business communications that engages their customers, partners and employees, and delivers positive business outcomes," said Vyond CEO Gary Lipkowitz. "Once again, we are thrilled with these latest awards from G2 because they're real customer love letters. Thank you to our customers and partners for their support as we continue to define the video-based learning sector." More details on Vyond's G2 awards can be found here.

About Vyond Vyond is the leader in AI-powered video creation. Over 80% of the Fortune 100, tens of thousands of SMBs, and millions of end users use Vyond to communicate better with their employees, customers, and communities with animated video. Vyond Studio is the leader in hundreds of verified customer reviews on G2, Capterra, and GetApp. The company has offices in Silicon Valley, Chicago, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Thailand. Visit vyond.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005405/en/

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Quebec's Minister of Health, Christian Dube, has just announced better regulation of vaping products in Quebec, notably by banning flavours in e-cigarettes, setting a maximum nicotine concentration and cartridge sizes, and by regulating the form and packaging of e-cigarettes.

MONTREAL, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) commends the Government of Quebec and its Minister of Health, Christian Dube, for announcing a series of new regulatory measures to reduce vaping among young Quebecers. Public consultations will be held on these new measures in the next few weeks.

Canadian Cancer Society logo (CNW Group/Canadian Cancer Society (National Office))

With one third of secondary 4 and 5 students and 13.4% of Quebecers between the ages of 12 and 24 vaping, CCS has actively campaigned to regulate e-cigarettes for years in order to protect young people from nicotine addiction.

"The regulations announced today by the Minister of Health represent significant progress and will make Quebec a leader in this matter," said David Raynaud, Advocacy Manager at CCS. "We have to take concrete steps to stem the vaping epidemic among young people in order to safeguard their health!"

CCS has long stressed the importance of banning flavours in vaping products given that these have been identified as a leading factor in attracting young people to vaping.

"Banning flavours in vaping products is a great win when it comes to protecting young people from the dangers of nicotine," stated Raynaud. "In fact, such a ban has already been implemented in other Canadian jurisdictions, including New Brunswick, Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, as well as in five U.S. states and a growing number of European countries."

CCS will submit a brief as part of the public consultations on these draft regulations and will continue to support the government in its vaping control efforts.

About the Canadian Cancer Society



The Canadian Cancer Society works tirelessly to save and improve lives. We fund the brightest minds in cancer research. We provide a compassionate support system for all those affected by cancer, across Canada and for all types of cancer. As the voice for people who care about cancer, we work with governments to shape a healthier society. No other organization does all that we do to make lives better today and transform the future of cancer forever.

Story continues

Help us make a difference. Call 1-888-939-3333 or visit cancer.ca today.

SOURCE Canadian Cancer Society (National Office)

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2023/19/c1182.html
[April 19, 2023] TruArc Partners Invests in Trademark Cosmetics, Inc.

TruArc Partners, a private equity firm focused on the middle-market, announced today that it has invested in Trademark Cosmetics, Inc. ("TCI") alongside Founder and President David Ryngler. TCI is a leading formulator and manufacturer of beauty and personal care products, partnering with a variety of established and emerging brands. Ryngler founded TCI in 1994 and has grown the company alongside General Manager Eko Handoko for more than 20 years. In 2011, TCI moved into a purpose-built 160,000 square foot facility in Riverside, CA. TCI's state-of-the-art production facility includes its in-house R&D lab and an extensive variety of compounding and filling capabilities across several packaging formats ranging from bottles and jars to tubes. Today, TCI provides extensive and innovative custom formulation and complex manufacturing capabilities for a wide range of products in a variety of beauty and personal care categories, including leading expertise in clean and natural formulations. TruArc Partners will work with TCI to pursue continued growth, and support brand partner success, through investing in organic initiatives and targeting strategic M&A. "Building TCI has been an exciting journey and I am thrilled to be partnering with TruArc. The addition of TruArc's expertise and capital will enable us to continue to enhance the service and capabilities that we provide to our customers," said Ryngler. Alongside TruArc's investment, TCI has named Kristopher Dover as CEO. In this role, Dover will oversee TCI's expansion. Dover has spent over 30 years in manufacturing and operations focused on consumer end markets. He has deep expertise in operations as well as mergers and acquisitions and subsequent business integrations. "The combination of TCI's formulation and manufacturing expertise, alongside its strong customer-service orientation, have been instrumental in its growth and will serve as te fundamental driver for continued improvement and expansion going forward," said Dover. "Working closely with Eko, and with support from TruArc, we believe we will successfully scale TCI to become a best-in-class partner to growth-oriented brands."



Ryngler will remain with TCI as an investor and Board member. Handoko will continue in his role as General Manager. Don Sturdivant, an Operating Partner at TruArc, will join the Board of Directors as Non-Executive Chairman. Jeffrey Nodland, former CEO of KIK Custom Products, will also join the Board of Directors. Sturdivant and Dover previously worked together at Graphic Packaging and Altivity Packaging, where Dover ran several different businesses reporting into Sturdivant. "At TruArc, we are focused on investing in well-positioned platforms that are capable of transformational growth. We think TCI is a well-positioned business that is poised to scale with our planned investments," said Gerald Sheehan, Partner at TruArc. "We are equally excited to bring our capital and M&A expertise to execute a focused acquisition strategy that will continue to scale our operation in California and expand the platform nationally. Our goal is to further enhance TCI's position as the go-to partner for high growth brands."

Guggenheim Securities, LLC served as financial advisor to TruArc Partners, and American Discovery Capital served as financial advisor to TCI. Weil, Gotshal & Manges acted as legal counsel to TruArc Partners and Stubbs Alderton & Markiles acted as legal counsel to TCI. About TCI Located in Riverside, CA, TCI is a leading contract manufacturer of beauty and personal care products, partnering with a variety of established and emerging brands. The Company provides product development, material sourcing, and filling services with a focus on unique formulation capabilities and packaging technologies requiring significant technical expertise. With a foundation rooted in innovation and comprehensive manufacturing capabilities, the Company draws on its wide variety of specialized equipment to create customized solutions aligned with a brand's vision. About TruArc Partners TruArc Partners is a private equity firm focused on middle-market control investments. TruArc focuses on companies in attractive sub-sectors across specialty manufacturing and business services. The TruArc investment team collaborates with its operating partners and portfolio management teams to create value through a transformational growth strategy led by organic or acquisition-driven growth. To learn more about TruArc visit www.truarcpartners.com. Disclosure: All endorsements and/or testimonials are from current or former portfolio company executives about TruArc's ability to provide operational support to their companies. In certain cases, the executives are investors or co-investors in TruArc's vehicles. The executives have not been paid, directly or indirectly, for their testimonial or endorsement but as an investor or co-investor they are inherently incentivized to endorse TruArc. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005647/en/

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[April 19, 2023] OEG Offshore continues growth with Pelagian acquisition

ABERDEEN, Scotland , April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- OEG Offshore (OEG) is delighted to announce the acquisition of Pelagian Ltd (Pelagian), a leading provider of consultancy, engineering and installation management services to the submarine cable and offshore renewable energy industries. Pelagian Ltd is an established UK-based company with over 20 years of experience in the subsea cable industry. Their worldwide expertise in the provision of subsea cable construction services makes them a valuable asset for OEG Offshore. With this acquisition, OEG will be better equipped to support the cable sector across different end markets including telecommunications and interconnectors as well as offshore wind. Commenting on the acquisition, OEG Offshore CEO, John Heiton, said, "We are excited to welcome another expert business to the OEG family. Their experience in the subsea cable industry will be invaluable to us as we continue to expand our services in the offshore renewables sector. This acquisition is a strategic move for us, and we look forward to working with Pelaian to provide our clients with innovative and reliable subsea cable solutions."



The deal comes after OEG's recent partnership announcement with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P., marking a new chapter for OEG and signals the group's commitment to expanding its business and global reach. Peter Fisk, Managing Director of Pelagian said, "Pelagian possesses one of the most experienced cable consulting teams in the world and we can provide the glue across many components of the OEG Group, enabling a more cohesive offering to their various industries. As we hit our 20th anniversary as a respected service supplier we look forward to exciting growth as part of the OEG team."

Pelagian support the full cable construction process from initial feasibility studies to route engineering, risk mitigation, permit acquisition and stakeholder liaison, cable route survey, cable installation project management, system testing and acceptance to through-life operations and maintenance. Wiltshirebased Pelagian, which employs 13 people and manages a global pool of contractors, will retain its distinct name, and Peter Fisk will continue to be its Managing Director. Issued by OEG Offshore. For further information contact Lorraine Mitchell [email protected] Notes to Editors About Pelagian: Pelagian has shaped the world's global connections in subsea telecommunications and power for over 20 years by providing comprehensive consultancy, advice and risk-based solutions to the global submarine cable sector. https://pelagian.co.uk/ About OEG Offshore: OEG Offshore is a leading provider of a range of support services to the offshore energy industry across marine , topside, and subsea services as well as equipment supply. Headquartered in Aberdeenshire, UK, OEG Offshore's team of more than 1,000 personnel, operate in every major offshore energy province from more than 65 main bases around the world. https://www.oegoffshore.com View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/oeg-offshore-continues-growth-with-pelagian-acquisition-301801823.html

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[April 19, 2023] Mediacom Communications Announces Promotion of Paul Pecora to Group Vice President of Operations

Mediacom Communications today announced Paul Pecora has been promoted to Group Vice President of Operations for the Coastal Region. In this new role, Mr. Pecora will lead the day-to-day operations for an eight-state area that includes Alabama, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee. A key focus of Mr. Pecora and his team in the years ahead will be the management of over of $50 million in state and federal grants awarded to Mediacom to expand broadband access to more than 27,500 homes and businesses within the Coastal Region. Mr. Pecora joined Mediacom in 2009 as Area Director of the company's Arizona and Southern California markets. He was promoted to Vice President of Operations for the Coastal Region in 2015. Prior to joining Mediacom, he served as Vice President and General Manager of Comcast's Tucson system. Mr. Pecora will be replacing Doug Frank who is retiring from Mediacom after a long career in the able industry that began with Hauser Communications in 1987 and included management positions at Time Warner Cable, TCI, AT&T and Comcast. Mr. Frank joined Mediacom in 2006 as Regional Vice President in Chillicothe, IL, and has been leading the Coastal Region since 2015.



"Doug has done a tremendous job leading our Coastal Region for the past eight years," said John Pascarelli, Mediacom's Executive Vice President of Operations. "We are incredibly fortunate to have someone with Paul's talent and experience ready to lead the region moving forward." About Mediacom Communications

Mediacom Communications Corporation is the 5th largest cable operator in the United States and the leading gigabit broadband provider to smaller markets primarily in the Midwest and Southeast. Through its fiber-rich network, Mediacom provides high-speed data, video and phone services to 1.4 million households and businesses across 22 states. The company delivers scalable broadband solutions to commercial and public-sector customers of all sizes through Mediacom Business, and sells advertising and production services under the OnMedia brand. More information about Mediacom is available at mediacomcable.com.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005783/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Delta School District, CUPE Cooperate to Expand the District's First Seamless Childcare Pilot

With the cooperation of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, the Delta School District is expanding its new seamless day childcare pilot project to provide low-cost childcare opportunities to even more families in Delta. The pilot project, which is staffed by members of CUPE 1091 at Sunshine Hills Elementary School, originally offered 12 spots for before- and after- school care to Kindergarten-aged children and their siblings. Recognizing the pilot project's potential to address critical childcare demands, the Delta School District decided to expand the project to another 12 spots in order to provide spaces for the Kindergarten children who start this September and to keep the children currently enrolled in the program in the before- and after-school setting. These spots will be staffed by existing Education Assistants - members of CUPE 1091. "We are thrilled to be able to expand this program to more families as there is clearly a need for high-quality, low-cost childcare options in our community," said Marne Hopkinson, Principal of Child Care and Early Learning. The Delta School District pilot is one of more than 36 in B.C. schools, funded through provincial gvernment grants to school districts exploring this new model of providing childcare. Delta's seamless day childcare utilizes existing public school facilities and Early Childhood Educators.



"CUPE 1091 members are dedicated to our public schools and want to build a career here in Delta. This pilot project expansion provides the opportunity for full-time hours, while offering students more stability throughout the day in a high-quality early learning environment," says Daun Frederickson, a school support worker in the Delta School District and president of CUPE 1091. "Delta already has the schools to house these spots, and the trained, qualified, and dedicated staff to offer the care. This expansion is great for the school district, for CUPE members, and for students and families," says Frederickson.

CUPE 1091 represents over 950 members working as education support workers. They work as education assistants, child & youth care workers, multicultural workers, trauma informed strategists, plumbers, electricians, painters, mechanics and more. CUPE 1091 members are an integral part of Delta School District's vision for 2030 to become an innovative inclusive community where all learners belong, and everyone soars. The Delta School District aims to be an innovative, inclusive community where all learners belong, and everyone soars with more than 16,131 student FTEs and a headcount of approximately 2,260 active employees. The District has 24 elementary schools and 7 secondary schools located in Ladner, North Delta, and Tsawwassen. The District's schools provide safe, culturally diverse, and nurturing learning environments. We offer a variety of quality programs to meet unique learning needs and we engage students in stimulating and relevant educational experiences. A dedication to social responsibility teaches our students to respect themselves, their environment and each other. cope491 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005849/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Info-Tech Research Group Ranks in Top 3 on 2023 LinkedIn Top Companies in Canada List Alongside Mastercard, TD, Amazon, and Others

The LinkedIn Top Companies List ranks 25 top companies in Canada that are investing in their talent to help professionals identify the best workplaces to grow their careers. TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Amid a competitive labor market, Info-Tech Research Group has ranked third on the 2023 LinkedIn Top Companies List in Canada. LinkedIn's annual list is intended to be a resource for professionals at every level and stage of their careers, offering insights on in-demand skills, roles, and industry trends. Whether job seekers are looking to pivot on their career paths, rejoin the workforce after a hiatus, or invest in new skills, the 25 companies listed demonstrate that they are offering stability in the ever-evolving future of work and helping employees successfully build long-term careers. "It is an honour to be named to the 2023 LinkedIn Top Companies List in Canada in recognition of our investment in our present and future employees," says Shawn Gibson, associate vice president of HR Operatios at Info-Tech Research Group. "We are sensitive to the talent attraction and retention challenges facing organizations across every industry. As such, now is a critical time for organizations to remain committed to providing opportunities for ongoing learning and offering a collaborative, inclusive work culture. We look forward to what we can continue to accomplish with the talented individuals who make up our organization."



LinkedIn determines its annual Top Companies list based on data on its platform. This data is organized into eight pillars of crucial elements of career growth and progression. The pillars are as follows: The ability to advance  Tracks employee movement within an organization and when they move to a new company. Skills growth  Examines how employees are gaining skills while employed at the company. Company stability  Looks at attrition over the past year and the percentage of employees that remain at an organization for at least three years. External opportunity  Focuses on recruiter outreach across employees at the company, signalling demand for its employees. Company affinity  Seeks to measure how supportive an organization's culture is and examines connection volume among employees. Gender diversity  Measures gender parity within a company and its subsidiaries. Spread of educational backgrounds  Evaluates the variety of educational attainment among employees, from no degree up to PhD levels, to identify organizational commitment to recruiting a wide range of professionals. Employee presence in the country  Assesses the number of a company's employees in the country in comparison to other companies. These eight pillars impact and inform organizational success in the eyes of its current and potential employees. As the world of work continues to shift, companies operating in Canada have had to adjust to increased employee expectations. From work model flexibility to compensation and skills development, people are requiring more from their employers, and it is up to organizations to meet those expectations.

To explore career opportunities and open job postings at Info-Tech Research Group, please visit infotech.com/careers and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter. About Info-Tech Research Group Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For more than 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations. Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and over 200 IT and industry analysts through the Media Insiders program. To gain access contact [email protected]. SOURCE Info-Tech Research Group

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[April 19, 2023] EHS and Risk Management Platform YellowBird Raises $6.25M in Oversubscribed Seed Round

PHOENIX, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- YellowBird, a leading EHS and Risk Management technology platform, announced today the completion of its $5 million Seed round funding at an oversubscribed $6.25 million. The funding round was led by Rebalance Capital and Manifold Group, and joined by QBE, Nationwide's Venture Capital team, Plug and Play, Cameron Ventures, and other investors. This funding will help YellowBird further invest in building technology and accelerate its customer acquisition and marketplace strategy. This funding will help YellowBird continue on its growth trajectory, further invest in building technology, and accelerate its customer acquisition and marketplace strategy. YellowBird plans to hire engineering team members to continue developing advanced technology, growing the customer success team to improve client satisfaction and invest in sales and marketing advancements. YellowBird has grown exponentially in the past two years, with sourced jobs in 42 states. YellowBird has achieved 2x year-over-year revenue and supply growth two years in a row with Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) professional flex workers. YellowBird's customer list features Fortune 100 companies, including Nationwide and QBE Insurance, along with major brands in manufacturing, construction and energy. Working EHS and Risk Management Professionals on the YellowBird platform earn an average of $75 per hour. "We are thrilled to have completed this funding round with the support of two of the nation's most highly respected impact venture capitalists and two of the largest global insurance brands," said Michael Zalle, Founder and CEO of YellowBird. "This funding will provide resources t continue developing our platform's technology, particularly artificial intelligence, performance tracking and delivery efficiency, as well as introduce upskilling opportunities for our professionals. Our goal is to help EHS and Risk Management Professionals earn more with greater flexibility and create equitable access to work in the process."



Josh Tanenbaum, Managing Partner at Rebalance said, "We are immensely impressed by YellowBird's scalable solution for matching skills in the historically fragmented and friction filled EHS industry. Equally important, they are creating equitable access to work for all levels of education and ability. We are proud to be part of this journey and the contribution this business is making to workforce development." Brett Klein, Partner at Manifold added, "YellowBird's sweeping impact to the EHS labor market has been as far-reaching as we expected. They fill a huge gap in the Risk Management space and the problems they are solving are demonstrative of why we invest in the future of work. Michael and Michelle are tenacious founders, and we couldn't be happier to be a part of their growth story."

According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, there is a death related to work injuries, incidents and accidents every 101 minutes. In addition to the cost of human life, the cost of work-related injuries in 2021 was $167 billion according to the National Safety Council. Benefits of proper EHS management can be significant, both in terms of financial savings and non-financial benefits, and can contribute to the long-term sustainability of a business or industry. About YellowBird

YellowBird is a comprehensive EHS and Risk Management platform that simplifies the complex and fragmented world of safety and loss control management. With more than 5,000 YellowBird Professionals registered, the technology solution is the go-to platform for simplifying EHS and Risk Management. For more information, visit goyellowbird.com. About Rebalance Capital

Rebalance Capital aspires to be the leading alternative asset manager to address the upward mobility crisis. The firm invests in Series A and B FinTech and WorkforceTech companies across North America. Learn more about Rebalance Capital at rebalancecap.com. About Manifold Group

Headquartered in Chicago, Manifold is a venture holding company combining an advisory firm, venture fund, and incubation and acceleration studio all under one roof. With expertise in driving growth for companies at all stages of maturity, transforming legacy businesses, and new venture identification and scaling, Manifold is a modern platform for perpetual value creation. Learn more about Manifold at manifold.group. Media Contact:

Megan Trummel

Vice President of Marketing, YellowBird

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ehs-and-risk-management-platform-yellowbird-raises-6-25m-in-oversubscribed-seed-round-301802121.html SOURCE YellowBird

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[April 19, 2023] Officials with ION Storage Systems, University of Maryland (UMD), Department of Energy (DOE) ARPA-E and Rep. Glenn Ivey Celebrate ARPA-E Grant

BELTSVILLE, Md., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- ION Storage Systems Inc. (ION), recently hosted a variety of government and academic leaders to celebrate a $4.8 million award to ION and UMD . The award is part of the Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) EVs4ALL program, funded by the DOE. Visiting ION's facility were Maryland Congressman Glenn Ivey; Eric Wachsman, founder of ION Storage Systems and Director of UMD's Energy Innovation Institute; DOE ARPA-E representatives, Dr. Jennifer Gerbi, Senior Advisor (former Acting Director), Peder Maarbjerg, Assistant Director for External Coordination; and Hans Riemer, Senior Consultant at the DOE Loan Programs Office. The EVs4ALL program seeks to increase EV adoption and market share through the development of battery technology to improve EV affordability, convenience, reliability andsafety. In addition, it seeks to increase domestic new and used EV adoption through developing batteries that are fast-charging, effective at low temperatures and more durable. "It's exciting to see this kind of high-risk, high-reward technical work evolve so quickly from a university lab to a domestic startup company," said Dr. Gerbi, during the visit to ION.



Congressman Ivey and representatives from the DOE and ARPA-E toured facilities and met with staff to learn more about ION's unique solid-state battery design. While touring, employees demonstrated the ceramic bilayer architecture of ION's batteries. The design increases the charge and discharge-rate capability, energy density and operative temperature of solid-state lithium batteries. "It's an exciting time for you as employees, to be part of what, I think, is potentially going to change the world," said Congressman Ivey, while addressing ION staff. During the visit, ION leaders and UMD representatives discussed the significance of the federal government investing in battery technology and EV manufacturing through programs such as EVs4ALL.

"As the demand for EVs grows so does the need for domestically supplied batteries," said Ricky Hanna, CEO of ION. "It's important that the government and companies like us work together in commercializing solid-state batteries, making EV adoption more likely." About Ion Storage Systems, Inc.

Ion Storage Systems, Inc. manufactures high energy density, solid state lithium metal batteries that are intrinsically safe and require no external heating or compression. ION's patented battery design is nonflammable, enables fast-charging capabilities, provides wide operating temperatures, reduces volume and weight of the cells, and is compatible with current and next generation cathodes, including high voltage cathodes that are nickel and cobalt-free. The versatility of ION's technology allows it to design products for multiple markets including consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and grid storage customers. Contact:

Daysa Corrington

(212) 220-6045

[email protected] View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/officials-with-ion-storage-systems-university-of-maryland-umd-department-of-energy-doe-arpa-e-and-rep-glenn-ivey-celebrate-arpa-e-grant-301802159.html SOURCE ION Storage Systems Inc.

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[April 19, 2023] Inszone Insurance Services Expands California Footprint with Corbett & Associates Acquisition

Inszone Insurance Services: a rapidly growing, national provider of benefits, personal and commercial lines insurance, announced today the acquisition of Corbett & Associates Insurance Agency. Corbett & Associates Insurance Agency, based in eastern Ventura County, California, was founded in 1985 by Rick Corbett and his father, Robert Corbett. Over the past three decades, the agency has expanded to serve nearly 4,000 families and businesses across California and Arizona, providing tailored insurance solutions for clients in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. In 2015, Weston Corbett joined the agency, preserving its legacy and dedication to providing premium insurance products and exceptional service. Corbett & Associates specializes in personal, high net worth, investment and commercial property, and business insurance. The agency's success is attributed to its dedicated team, including Operations Manager Kathy Camitses, Agent Kelly Pink, and Senior Account Executive Cindy Warner, as well as a number of other experienced team members at Corbett & Associates. Their team's success is clear through the agecy's impressive 92% client retention rate.



"We are delighted to welcome Corbett & Associates Insurance Agency to the Inszone Insurance family," said Chris Walters, CEO of Inszone Insurance. "Rick and his team have built an outstanding agency, and we are eager to carry on the legacy of exceptional service and personalized insurance solutions for which Corbett & Associates Insurance Agency is renowned." As a result of the merger, clients of Corbett & Associates Insurance Agency can anticipate receiving the same exceptional service and care they have come to expect, now under the Inszone Insurance brand. The team from Corbett & Associates Insurance Agency will remain intact, and clients will experience no noticeable changes apart from the additional resources this merger provides, such as access to a wider range of insurance carriers and the support and resources of a top national brokerage.

Founded in 2002 and headquartered in Sacramento, California, Inszone is a full-service insurance brokerage firm that provides a broad array of property & casualty insurance, along with employee benefits solutions. With a strong, experienced management team, Inszone continues to grow organically, as well as through acquisitions. With 42 locations across California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, Michigan, Missouri, Oregon, Texas, and Illinois, the company is looking to further expand throughout the United States. For more information about Inszone, please visit www.inszoneinsurance.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418005136/en/

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[April 19, 2023] AIP Publishing Signs Read & Publish Agreement with CzechELib

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- AIP Publishing is pleased to announce it has signed a 3-year Read & Publish agreement with Czech National Library of Technology (NTK) (CzechELib). The three-year agreement ensures CzechELib will now offer the Czech research community unlimited access to 27 of the pioneering journals across AIP Publishing's portfolio. Affiliated researchers will be able to publish Open Access and free of author processing charges (APCs) in 16 AIP Publishing Publications. "We're thrilled about our first agreement with CzechELib," said Penelope Lewis, Chief Publishing Officer of AIP Publishing. "It eans so much to us to be working with the Czech Republic's research community and helping increase the influence and availability of Open Access publications."



Jiri Jirat, Head of the CzechELib National Centre, said: "We're happy to enter this new agreement with American Institute of Physics, as this is one of the top learned society publishers where authors from Czech physics community publish. We hope that this will have positive impact on all our member institutions." About AIP Publishing

AIP Publishing is a wholly owned not-for-profit subsidiary of the American Institute of Physics (AIP). AIP Publishing's mission is to support the charitable, scientific, and educational purposes of AIP through scholarly publishing activities in the fields of the physical and related sciences on its own behalf and on behalf of our publishing partners to help them proactively advance their missions. About CzechELib The National Centre CzechELib ensures the purchase of key electronic resources for the entire research and education community of the Czech Republic, takes care of their management including usage statistics and supports open access publishing. The National Centre CzechELib is a department of the National Library of Technology, and its establishment was supported by the European Operational Programme Research, Development, Education. View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/aip-publishing-signs-read--publish-agreement-with-czechelib-301802255.html SOURCE AIP Publishing

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[April 19, 2023] ROBERT HALF ANNOUNCES SCHEDULE FOR FIRST-QUARTER EARNINGS RESULTS AND CONFERENCE CALL

MENLO PARK, Calif., April 19, 2023 /CNW/ -- Robert Half International Inc. (NYSE: RHI) today announced it expects to release first-quarter 2023 earnings results on Wednesday, April 26, at approximately 4:05 p.m. EDT. Robert Half management will conduct a conference call at 5 p.m. EDT on April 26, following the release. The dial-in number is 888-394-8218 (+1-323-994-2093 outside the United States and Canada). It is recommended that participants dial in 15 minutes before the call begins. The confirmation code to access the call is 7679792 . A taped recording of this call will be available for replay beginning at approximately 8 p.m. EDT on April 26 and ending at 8 p.m. EDT on May 24. To access the replay, visit https://www.webcasts.com/RobertHalfQ12023. The conference call also will be archived in audio format on the company's website at roberthalf.com.



About Robert Half

Robert Half is the world's first and largest specialized talent solutions and business consulting firm that connects people with meaningful work and provides companies with the talent and subject matter expertise they need to confidently compete and grow. Robert Half is the parent company of Protiviti, a global consulting firm that provides internal audit, risk, business and technology consulting solutions. Robert Half, including Protiviti, has been named to the Fortune Most Admired Companies and Most Innovative Companies lists and is a Forbes Best Employer for Diversity. Robert Half has talent solutions and consulting operations in more than 400 locations worldwide.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/robert-half-announces-schedule-for-first-quarter-earnings-results-and-conference-call-301802277.html SOURCE Robert Half

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Bringing a sense of belonging to generations of consumers through

an unwavering commitment to exceptional fit and elegance

TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Retail Council of Canada (RCC) has named Diane's Lingerie , the iconic destination store in Vancouver known for its exceptional service and commitment to providing well-fitted, quality lingerie, as the Excellence in Retailing Awards (ERA) 2023 Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year .

Sharon Hayles, Owner of Diane's Lingerie, Recipient of the 2023 Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year (CNW Group/Retail Council of Canada)

For generations, Diane's Lingerie has been synonymous with comfort and quality, helping women of all shapes and sizes find lingerie that fits their unique needs. Under the visionary leadership of Sharon Hayles, owner of Diane's Lingerie, who has extensive retail industry experience and has been a long-time trusted retail consultant, the store has become a fashionable, beloved institution, known for providing a highly personalized and relaxed shopping experience to its shoppers. In addition to their commitment to customer service, Diane's Lingerie has also been actively engaged in giving back to the community, supporting various local organizations and charitable causes. Their unwavering dedication to making a positive impact has earned them a reputation as a socially responsible retailer.

"Diane's Lingerie is a shining example of a retailer that embodies the true spirit of entrepreneurship and community service," said Diane J. Brisebois, President and CEO, Retail Council of Canada. "Their dedication to providing well-fitted, quality lingerie for women, while also actively engaging in community involvement, is truly commendable. They have shown exceptional commitment to inclusivity and empowering women to embrace their bodies. Diane's Lingerie is a well-deserving recipient of the Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year award, and they represent the best of what the retail industry has to offer."

"Diane's Lingerie is honoured to be named Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year. This recognition is a testament to our team's dedication to delivering outstanding service and ensuring our customers feel confident in their lingerie choices," said President and Owner of Diane's Lingerie, Sharon Hayles

Story continues

RCC's Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award recognizes the outstanding contributions of a local independent retailer. The award recipient is distinguished as a visionary and retail innovator that has become an integral part of the community it serves.

Past recipients of the Excellence in Retailing Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award include: Joydrop, Evio Beauty Group, Poppy Barley, Birch Hill Studio, Diamond Gallery, Rocky Mountain Soap Company, Reckless Bike Stores, Amos Pewter, That Pro Look, Cuckoo's Nest and Korry's Clothiers for Gentlemen.

The Independent Retail Ambassador of the Year Award will be presented to Diane's Lingerie at Retail Council of Canada's Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala on May 30, 2023, at the Toronto Congress Centre from 4:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. ET. To purchase Gala tickets visit https://retailawards.ca/register-now/ .

The Excellence in Retailing Awards Gala will close the first day of RCC STORE 23 (May 30-31, 2023) which is Canada's biggest retail event. RCC STORE 23 will feature 75+ speakers and is attracting over 2,000 retail leaders from across North America and around the globe.

Media are welcome to attend.

About Retail Council of Canada

Retail is Canada's largest private-sector employer with over 2 million Canadians working in our industry. The sector annually generates over $85 billion in wages and employee benefits. Core retail sales (excluding vehicles and gasoline) were over $462B in 2022. Retail Council of Canada (RCC) members represent more than two-thirds of core retail sales in the country. RCC is a not-for-profit industry-funded association that represents small, medium, and large retail businesses in every community across the country. As the Voice of Retail in Canada, we proudly represent more than 54,000 storefronts in all retail formats, including department, grocery, specialty, discount, independent retailers, online merchants and quick service restaurants.

Retail Council of Canada Logo (CNW Group/Retail Council of Canada)

SOURCE Retail Council of Canada

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2023/19/c9882.html
[April 19, 2023] Nu Skin Releases 2022 Social Impact and Sustainability Report

Report highlights the global sustainability and social impact of the beauty and wellness brand PROVO, Utah, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Nu Skin, a global leader in beauty and wellness, today released its 2022 Social Impact and Sustainability Report. The report outlines progress on the company's environmental, social and governance (ESG) priorities, including its sustainability commitments and global giving efforts. The release of the report coincides with Earth Week, which celebrates environmental protection and global betterment. "For nearly 40 years, Nu Skin has dedicated itself to positively impacting our global and local communities," said Ruth Todd, senior vice president of public affairs at Nu Skin. "We are pleased to highlight the strides we've made over the past year, which focus on driving long-term impact across social impact and sustainability. We look forward to making Nu Skin more equitable and sustainable by continuing to expand our efforts to be a force for good around the world." The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation is the heart of the company's mission. The nonprofit foundation has worked for 25 years to help children around the world in more than 50 countries. The Foundation has supported numerous health and wellness projects that have benefitted hundreds of thousands of children. It has also aided in the preservation of more than 1.4 million acres of natural habitats to better the planet for future generations. Highlights from the 2022 Social Impact and Sustainability Report include: Continued to make progress on product-related sustainability commitments, including making all product packaging recycled, recyclable, reusable, reduced or renewable by 2030.

Reduced more than 82 tons of plasic and 23 tons of paper as a result of environmental initiatives.

Published our first carbon footprint as an appendix to the 2021 Social Impact and Sustainability report.

Joined the EcoBeautyScore Consortium, alongside more than 60 cosmetics industry leaders and stakeholders to develop an industry-wide standard for product environmental impact assessment and scoring.

Conducted a pay equity analysis and implemented appropriate adjustments. Nu Skin remains committed to integrating equity assessment into regular annual pay practices.

Conducted global service projects with more than 2,400 volunteers to benefit more than 25,000 people.

Donated more than $6.7 million globally to causes around the world, including projects supporting conservation efforts and budding entrepreneurs.

globally to causes around the world, including projects supporting conservation efforts and budding entrepreneurs. Partnered with employees, brand affiliates, and charity partners in more than 40 markets around the world to make a difference with Force for Good projects on every continent except Antarctica .

. Nu Skin's family of brand affiliates, customers, and employees purchased and donated 43 million meals to children in more than 65 counties including Malawi , Mainland China and Mexico and others through the company's for-profit Nourish the Children initiative. This effort contributed to the milestone of more than 800 million meals purchased and donated to children through the initiative since 2002.

, Mainland China and and others through the company's for-profit Nourish the Children initiative. This effort contributed to the milestone of more than 800 million meals purchased and donated to children through the initiative since 2002. Received 28 awards for sustainable products, business excellence, social impact and sustainability efforts.



www.nuskin.com/forceforgood. About Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc.

Nu Skin Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: NUS) is a global integrated beauty and wellness company, powered by a dynamic affiliate opportunity platform. The company helps people look, feel and live their best with products that combine the best of science, technology and nature. Backed by more than 35 years of scientific research, Nu Skin develops innovative products including Nu Skin personal care, Pharmanex nutrition and the ageLOC anti-aging brand which includes an award-winning line of beauty device systems. Nu Skin operates in nearly 50 markets worldwide in the Americas, Asia, Europe, Africa and the Pacific. Rhyz Inc. is the company's strategic investment arm that includes a collection of technology and manufacturing companies to support growth in the core Nu Skin business. Nu Skin is committed to sustainability, including global initiatives such as transitioning to reduced and sustainable packaging for all products by 2030. The Nu Skin Force for Good Foundation also strives to improve children's health, education and economic circumstances throughout the world. For more information, visit nuskin.com.

Nu Skin Social Media Channels

fb.com/nuskin twitter.com/nuskin instagram.com/nuskin fb.com/ForceForGood View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nu-skin-releases-2022-social-impact-and-sustainability-report-301802279.html SOURCE Nu Skin Enterprises

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[April 19, 2023] Calix Releases First Quarter 2023 Financial Results

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) today announced unaudited financial results for its first quarter 2023, which have been posted as a letter to stockholders to the investor relations section of its website. Please visit the Calix investor relations website at https://investor-relations.calix.com to view the letter to stockholders, along with accompanying supplemental financial information. A conference call to discuss these results with President & CEO, Michael Weening, CFO, Cory Sindelar and Chairman, Carl Russo will be held tomorrow, April 20, 2023, at 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time / 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time. Interested parties may listen to a live webcast of the conference call by visiting the Events section of the Calix Inestor Relations website. The live conference call will be available by dialing (877) 407-4019, or international (201) 689-8337, with conference ID# 13737082. Participants may also click this link for instant telephone access to the event. The link will become active approximately 15 minutes prior to the start of the conference call. The conference call and webcast will include forward-looking information.



A replay of the conference call will be available following the completion of the call. In addition, the webcast of the call will be archived on the Calix Investor Relations website. About Calix

Calix, Inc. (NYSE: CALX) - Broadband service providers (BSPs) of all sizes leverage the Calix broadband platform and managed services to simplify their businesses, excite their subscribers and grow their value. The Calix platform and managed services enable our customers to grow their subscriber base, revenue, profitability and subscriber satisfaction and ultimately transform the communities that they serve. Calix team members are dedicated to driving continuous improvement in partnership with our growing ecosystem to support the transformation of our BSP customers and their communities. Category: Financial View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005063/en/

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[April 19, 2023] Dermody Properties Breaks Ground on one of the Largest Industrial Parks in Arizona History

When completed, LogistiCenter? at Copperwing will offer over 10 million square feet of modern distribution space EL MIRAGE, Ariz., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Dermody Properties, a national private equity real estate investment, development and management company focused exclusively on the logistics real estate sector, broke ground on LogistiCenter? at Copperwing, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, commencing construction for one of the largest business parks in Arizona history. LogistiCenter? at Copperwing is located at the Northern Parkway Expressway & Dysart Road in El Mirage, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. Phase I of the project includes construction of the first two buildings, totaling 566,602 square feet of Class A logistics space designed for modern use. When completed, the 961-acre site will feature more than 10 million square feet of distribution space with individual buildings accommodating a wide range of user sizes up to 1.5 million square feet. "With a project of this scale, Dermody Properties intends to create a best-in-class industrial park through sustainable design and construction to meet the supply chain requirements of national, regional and local companies," said Pat Gallagher, Southwest Region Partner at Dermody Properties. "The Phoenix metropolitan area is one of the fastest-growing regions in the country and is experiencing unprecedented industrial growth, havng reported more than 26 million square feet of annual net absorption in 2022."



Located with immediate access via two new full interchanges to the currently under construction Northern Parkway Expressway, the park is approximately 3.5 miles from the Loop 101 and Loop 303 freeways. The logistics park is expected to attract large distribution users and companies with manufacturing operations as it provides access to all of the southwestern U.S. within a days' drive and features an abundant labor pool with a workforce of nearly 850,000 people within 20 miles. Industrial zoning was already in place for the land when acquired by Dermody Properties. In addition, the property is within an approved Foreign Trade Zone (FTZ), meaning companies within the park that are active users of FTZ can receive up to a 72% reduction in real estate and personal property taxes. Several recent and under construction infrastructure improvements in addition to the new Northern Parkway Expressway include new water and sewer service to the site along with new roads and availability of abundant electrical power.

"This development will have a significant impact on the Phoenix market, including an influx of jobs and economic benefits," said Douglas A. Kiersey, Jr., CEO and President at Dermody Properties. "For Dermody Properties, this investment is consistent with our strategy of sourcing projects dedicated to serving the distribution network needs of both new and existing customers." Pat Feeney Jr., Tyler Vowels and Dan Calihan of CBRE are the leasing brokers for the logistics park. "This year, we have seen substantial net absorption across Southwest Valley's industrial market," said Feeney. "Adding LogistiCenter? at Copperwing to this market will provide tenants with a large selection of warehouse distribution and manufacturing alternatives in an ideal location with accessible distribution routes and a great workforce nearby." Dermody Properties acquired the property in late 2021 from the John F. Long Family Trust, known for developing more than 30,000 homes over four decades, including Arizona's first master-planned community, Novo Development, which has been involved with the project since its inception, will continue to be involved with this new venture. About Dermody Properties

Dermody Properties is a privately-owned real estate investment, development and management firm that specializes in the acquisition and development of logistics real estate in strategic locations for e-commerce fulfillment centers, third-party logistics and distribution customers. Founded in 1960, Dermody Properties has invested more than $10 billion of total capital across all platforms nationwide, having acquired and developed approximately 110 million square feet of logistics and industrial facilities. In addition to its corporate office in Reno, Nev., it has regional offices in northern and southern California, Atlanta, Phoenix, Seattle, Chicago, Dallas and New Jersey. For more information, visit www.Dermody.com . CONTACT: Nicole Shearer, KPS3, [email protected], 530-448-6485 View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dermody-properties-breaks-ground-on-one-of-the-largest-industrial-parks-in-arizona-history-301802398.html SOURCE Dermody Properties

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[April 19, 2023] North Carolina's Sampson Community College Selects YuJa Enterprise Video Platform to Enhance Teaching and Learning Sitewide

Sampson Community College, located in Clinton, North Carolina, has selected the YuJa Enterprise Video Platform to provide a comprehensive video and media creation, hosting, storage and distribution solution campuswide. YuJa will replace VidGrid, the institution's former video enterprise learning platform, which is phasing out its education offering. The institution was seeking a video tool to record and edit lectures, as well as to create and embed quizzes in Moodle, its learning management system. In addition to user-friendly features that enable instructors to create engaging, interactive content, Sampson Community College will benefit from the ability to auto-caption, gradebook integration, visual analytics, and other features that help elevate teaching and learning. Institutional leaders also wanted a platform that provides support for their team and students. YuJa provides unlimited live support, training and a dedicated support staff for all users.



ABOUT SAMPSON COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Located in Clinton, North Carolina, the mission of Sampson Community College is to provide accessible and affordable education, workforce training, and lifelong enrichment. This mission is accomplished through effective teaching, student support, public outreach, and partnering with others to improve the quality of life for the people of Sampson County. Sampson Community College is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Commission on Colleges to award the associate degree. ABOUT YUJA, INC. YuJa is a leader in ed-tech solutions. Our platforms provide organizations of all sizes with the tools to educate, engage, inspire and collaborate. We serve learning enterprises within all sectors, including higher-ed, K-12, government, healthcare, non-profit and corporate. We have legal headquarters in Delaware with primary U.S. offices in Silicon Valley, California, and Canadian offices in Toronto. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419006018/en/

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3fold Communications Wins 9 Awards in 30 Days at Prestigious Creative Competitions, Highlighting the Power of Cause Performance Marketing

3fold Communications, a Sacramento-based marketing and advertising agency, has won an impressive 9 awards across 3 prestigious creative competitions around the globe in just 30 days. These awards recognize the exceptional work of 3fold's marketing campaigns, which aim to uplift communities while enhancing brands - what they refer to as Cause Performance Marketing.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419006019/en/

3fold is a full-service cause performance marketing and advertising agency that specializes in making impactful connections with your audience through messages that resonate. Our research-driven approach enables us to provide tailored campaign and advertising services, including traditional/digital media buying and beautiful creative execution. We're passionate about driving positive change through our clients' causes, and we're committed to staying at the forefront of cause performance marketing and advertising. (Graphic: Business Wire)

One of the most notable awards was in the Novelty and Wild Card categories for their innovative drone show for the Los Rios Community College District in Sacramento, California, winning Gold awards at both the Community College Public Relations Officers Awards (CCPRO) and American Advertising Fedeation's ADDY Awards. The drone show was a collaborative effort with 3fold's partners, including the Sacramento Republic FC, and was designed to create an unforgettable experience for the audience. Christie Pierce, 3fold's Media Director, expressed his excitement about the recognition, stating: "We are absolutely thrilled that our innovative drone show was recognized by both the CCPRO and ADDY Awards. It was a collaborative effort with our partners, and we are proud to have created an experience that captivated audiences and left lasting impressions. This is a testament to the power of creativity and technology when combined with a stronger message." The Los Rios Colleges went on to increase their Spring 2023 enrollment by 5.2% the following semester.







In addition to the drone show, 3fold won multiple awards for their advertising campaigns, including the International Student Campaign category for Southwestern College in Chula Vista, California; Los Rios' "Meet Future You," and Sacramento Green Team's SB-1383 organics campaign. The awards reflect 3fold's commitment to Cause Performance Marketing, an approach that uses advertising to improve lives and communities, in turn enhancing brands.

At the Hermes Creative Awards, one of the oldest and largest global creative competitions, 3fold took away a Gold award for their "Pride is a Protest" campaign and an Honorable Mention for their "Communities Against Sexual Harm" creative.

Jason Malmberg, Creative Director at 3fold Communications, said: "We believe creativity drives positive change in communities. Our collaborative work with partners and clients pushes boundaries to solve real-world problems. These prestigious awards recognize our passion and dedication to impactful campaigns that look great and make a difference."

For more information, contact Taylor Toledo, Vice President of Insights, at [email protected] or call 209-598-4493.

Links to the respective award organizations:

CCPRO Awards: https://ccleague.org/event-calendar/2023-ccpro-conference#ccpro-awards

American Advertising Awards: https://aafsacramento.org/american-advertising-awards/

Hermes Creative Awards: https://www.hermesawards.com/

3fold Communications is located in Sacramento, California with a nationwide service area. They specialize in Cause Performance Marketing, a method of advertising that improves lives and communities, while enhancing brands by focusing on return-on-objectives. 3fold works with education and workforce development, public agency, and healthcare brands and initiatives. Clients have included Electrify America, Sutter Health, University of Pacific, and more.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419006019/en/
Bombastic accusations from a Missouri faith leader earn quick rebuke from the broader community according to this report from a conservative blog . . .



These people should not be welcome in civil society, Daniel Bogard, rabbi at Central Reform Congregation in St. Louis and parent of a 9-year-old transgender child, says in a TikTok video. They shouldnt be able to go to restaurants in St. Louis or Kansas City and be left alone. They should be shouted and driven out. They shouldnt be able to go to a Cardinals game without being harassed. These people should be made unwelcome everywhere they go.



Condemnation of Bogards call for harassing Republicans in public places was swift and sure.



This far left radical @RavBogard does not speak for Missouris Jews or Judaism, tweeted GOP attorney general candidate Will Scharf, a former gubernatorial aide and assistant U.S. attorney. His brand of radical gender ideology is completely inconsistent with traditional Jewish values, theology, and legal principles.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com links . . .

Trans activist calls for Missouri Republicans to be 'driven out' of civil society for supporting 'ethnic cleansing' with restrictions on trans procedures A St. Louis trans activist says Missouri politicians supporting restrictions on gender transition treatments are pushing "ethnic cleansing," and should be driven out of restaurants and other public venues such as ballgames. "These people should not be welcome in civil society," Daniel Bogard, rabbi at Central Reform Congregation in St.

Developing . . .
In this post we want to share a quick juxtaposition on urban core and even suburban life when violence can't be used to garner political capital.



First, a tragic story from Northeast . . .

Officers were called to investigate a shooting in a residential neighborhood near 69th Street and Bellefontaine Avenue around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 10, when they found the victim in the street.



That victim has now been identified as 16-year-old Victor Jimenez Diaz.



But the hits don't stop there as so many locals will find that their tragedy isn't widely celebrated or even documented when a political narrative isn't readily available . . .



Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

Kansas City police say shooting victim found in street last week was a 16-year-old boy The Kansas City, Missouri Police Department says a shooting victim found in the street last week has been identified as a 16-year-old boy. Officers were called to investigate a shooting in a residential neighborhood near 69th Street and Bellefontaine Avenue around 3:30 p.m. on Monday, April 10, when they found the victim in the street.

Olathe police identify 2 teens killed in Saturday double homicide OLATHE, Kan. - Olathe police identified two teenagers as the victims in a double homicide Saturday evening. Jessica Hicks, 19, of Olathe, and Monterrio Spenser Jr., 18, of Kansas City, Missouri, were shot and killed around 4:45 p.m. at an apartment complex in the area of North Rogers Road and West 126th Street.

Family devastated after losing 18-year-old in Olathe double homicide OLATHE, Kan. - A Kansas City-area family is devastated after losing a loved one over the weekend in a double homicide. Olathe Police said 18-year-old Monterrio Spenser Jr. and 19-year-old Jessica Hicks were killed Saturday near W. 126th Street and N. Rogers Road.

As gun violence reaches record levels in the US, an underlying trauma may be building up As more communities reel from deadly mass shootings - including Dadeville, Alabama, where four people were killed and 28 injured at a Sweet 16 birthday party over the weekend - there's evidence that the trauma of gun violence in the United States is taking a collective toll on the nation's

Developing . . .
Seems like the worst thing for a legit headache would be a phone call from the Commander-In-Chief.

But here we are . . .



The phone call, first announced Monday night by attorneys representing Yarls family, came after news that Yarl had been released from the hospital. It also came around the same time the Clay County Prosecutors office announced charges against Andrew Lester, 84, in the shooting.



Biden tweeted that he hopes to see Yarl and his family in the Oval Office as Yarl's recovery allows.

Read more via www.TonysKansasCity.com link . . .

President Biden details call with family of Ralph Yarl KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The White House released a photo Tuesday showing President Biden on the phone with the family of Ralph Yarl, the 16-year-old teen shot last week in Kansas City, Missouri. The phone call, first announced Monday night by attorneys representing Yarl's family, came after news that Yarl had been released from the hospital.

LIVE: Civil Rights organizations discuss Ralph Yarl shooting The Missouri NAACP and other Civil Rights organizations are speaking live in Kansas City on the Ralph Yarl shooting. The press conference and rally are being held in front of Kansas City Police Department headquarters at 1125 Locust Street in Kansas City, MO.

Hundreds of Staley High School students, staff walk in support of Ralph Yarl KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A day after Ralph Yarl returned home from the hospital after being shot last week in Kansas City, Missouri, hundreds of Staley High School students and staff participated in a unity walk to offer support on Tuesday morning.

Ralph Yarl's mother gives update on his condition after being shot by KC homeowner KANSAS CITY, Mo. -The mother of a Kansas City teen is speaking out after her 16-year-old son was shot after going to the wrong home to pick up his siblings last week. Ralph Yarl, a Black teen, was shot by a white Northland homeowner on April 13, when he arrived at the wrong address to pick up his younger brothers.

Missouri has a 'Stand Your Ground' law, but it may not help Andrew Lester in Ralph Yarl case On a hot July day in 2013, a float trip on the Meramec River southwest of St. Louis turned deadly during an argument about a sandbar. Less than a year later, a jury found James Crocker guilty in the shooting death of a man Crocker said was trespassing on his private property.

Ralph Yarl fundraiser hits $3 million, jumping $400k in a day to help pay medical expenses Supporters across the nation raised more than $400,000 in an online fundraiser Tuesday alone - reaching the $3 million mark - to help the family of Ralph Yarl, the Black teen allegedly shot twice by a white man when he rang the wrong doorbell in Kansas City's Northland last week.

Developing . . .


Andrew Palamarchuk is a reporter with Metroland Media Toronto and toronto.com. He has been covering the crime beat since 2002 and has a passion for giving a voice to those affected by tragedy and looking at societal issues that may have contributed to it.
A person walks down the steps to the Ontario Science Centre in Toronto. Premier Doug Ford has announced plans to demolish the landmark building and rebuild it in a new revamped Ontario Place. - Lance McMillan/Toronto Star
The Canadian Vaping Association

BEAMSVILLE, Ontario, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Today, the Government of Quebec released the Official Gazette of Quebec proposing a ban on flavoured nicotine vaping products except for tobacco flavour. The Gazette also proposes a volume limit of 2 mL on prefilled devices and a limit of 30 mL on refill containers. Additionally, that the draft regulations would restrict nicotine concentrations to 20 mg/mL and prohibit the use of any form, appearance or function that may be attractive to minors, both of which have already been regulated by the federal government.



The Canadian Vaping Association (CVA) is aggrieved by the proposed regulations which have come after the association and industry advocates clearly outlined the negative consequences of such policy to the Government of Quebec. Vaping is proven to be significantly less harmful than smoking, and there is substantial evidence from jurisdictions that have already implemented flavour bans that the public health outcome is negative, as many vapers will return to smoking and fewer smokers will switch to vaping.

Moreover, within the proposed regulation, the Government of Quebec recognises that specialty vape stores will experience closures and job losses, while convenience stores who sell tobacco company owned brands will experience a lesser impact on sales. The CVA believes that the Government of Quebec does not fully appreciate the scope of the anticipated economic impact. Canada has already seen through Nova Scotia that within 90-days of a flavour ban, the speciality industry was decimated. Quebec will experience thousands of business closures, job losses, broken lease agreements and terminated contracts with tertiary suppliers.

Ironically, Quebec began this regulatory process because of a news article claiming vape shops were enticing youth to vape by selling candy. The end result of the proposed regulation is the destruction of Quebecs only age-restricted access point. Should a flavour ban be implemented, vape products in Quebec will only legally be sold beside candy through the convenience store channel, said Darryl Tempest, Government Relations Counsel to the CVA Board.

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Within the proposed regulations, the Government of Quebec gives no indication that it has given any consideration to public health impacts or regulatory alignment with federal health objectives. The premise that the flavour ban has been proposed to protect young people is flawed in two respects. First, there has been no published data on youth vaping rates in Quebec since 2020. This regulation has been proposed based on 3 year old data, while addiction experts have stated they believe youth vaping has plateaued and is in decline. Second, prohibitionist policies like flavour bans actually weaken youth protections. The absence of a legal and regulated market opens the flood gates for the illicit market to fill the demand. A flourishing black-market provides easier access to youth since illicit sellers do not verify age and sell products that do not conform to Canadian regulatory standards. The contraband market will supply high nicotine and youth appealing products that are otherwise prohibited for sale by the regulated market.

Meanwhile, an alternative exists that better protects everyone: ban flavours at any point of sale accessible to youth, but allow flavours in strict access-controlled, adult-only vape shops. This solution has been effective at protecting youth while balancing adult access in Ontario and British Columbia. Unfortunately, Quebec has chosen to forgo this practical solution in favour of an ineffective prohibitionist approach.

Quebecs decision to ban flavours is a major win for tobacco companies, out of province vendors and contraband sellers. What Quebec has done is shift demand to tobacco owned products, retailers outside of Quebec and criminals. Quebecs small businesses and domestic industry will be irreparably harmed in favour of multinational corporations, said Tempest.

Quebecs flavour prohibition violates the constitutional rights of vulnerable Quebecers to access effective harm reduction products that are crucial to enabling them to fight and manage addiction. The CVA is fully prepared to support a constitutional challenge to the regulation and to fight for the right to access safer alternatives to smoking.

About the CVA: The Canadian Vaping Association is a registered national, not-for-profit organization, established as the voice for Canadian vaping industry. Founded in 2014, the CVA represents over 200 retail and online vaping businesses in Canada. The CVA does not accept membership or funding from tobacco companies or affiliates. The association is a liaison with the federal and provincial governments on all legislative and regulatory issues related to the industry. The primary goal of the CVA is to ensure that government regulation is reasonable and practical, through the strategy of professional proactive communication and education.

Contact Info:

Darryl Tempest

Government Relations Counsel to the CVA Board

dtempest@thecva.org

647-274-1867




Throughout the pandemic, these Etobicoke agencies quickly innovated to meet deep need among the vulnerable, hungry and isolated.
(Bloomberg) -- There was a time when investors would send money into Cathie Woods funds even when they were struggling. This year, even as ARK Investment Management roars back, the flows are notable by their absence.

Most Read from Bloomberg

All but one US-listed ARK exchange-traded fund, the flagship ARK Innovation Fund (ticker ARKK), have seen outflows in 2023, despite the fact that most funds have at least matched  and in some cases trounced  the performance of the S&P 500 Index, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Meanwhile, Wood and her firm have waived some fees for one of their newest vehicles, the ARK Venture Fund (ARKVX), amid lackluster demand from investors.

Its a sign that the cult-like fan base Wood amassed after her flagships gain of nearly 150% in 2020 may be finally losing interest after a rough 2022. ARKK tumbled a record 67% last year as the Federal Reserves interest-rate hikes dented prospects for its highly speculative, often profitless technology stocks. While many investors still bought the dip throughout last years selloff, enthusiasm is now waning.

Theres certainly a camp of investors that may have lost some faith, said Nate Geraci of the ETF Store. How could you not?

A representative from ARK did not respond to a request for comment.

Although coming off extremely distressed levels, returns for many of Woods products have had impressive starts to the year. For example, through Tuesdays close, the ARK Next Generation Internet ETF (ARKW), which has seen $35 million in net outflows since the start of the year, has risen some 35% in that time, outperforming the S&P 500s 8% gain.

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Returns from three other ARK ETFs have also solidly outpaced the benchmark gauge, while three other products are at least tracking it. Only one  the ARK Israel Innovative Technology ETF (IZRL)  has posted negative returns since the start of the year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Beyond its well-known line of ETFs, ARK also offers a fund focused on venture capital, which has struggled to catch on with investors. According to its website, the ARK Venture Fund seeks to democratize venture capital, offering all investors access to what we believe are the most innovative companies throughout their private and public market life cycles.

At the end of March, ARK waived the funds management fee to reduce the expense ratio from an estimated 4.2% to 2.9% through November 2024. The fund had roughly $15 million in net assets as of March 31  far less than the firms other products.

This is likely an attempt to attract assets to keep the fund afloat, said Geraci.

Wood announced the funds launch in September, despite rising borrowing costs and mounting uncertainty facing the venture sector. Those challenges have only grown as rates rise. In the first quarter, US startups raised $37 billion from venture capitalists, the lowest haul in 13 consecutive quarters, according to data from research firm PitchBook and the National Venture Capital Association.

To be sure, while ARKs products may have seen net outflows this year, equity ETFs at large have not exactly thrived. Bloomberg Intelligence data puts net inflows into US-listed equity ETFs at $28 billion for the first quarter, a 78% drop from the previous quarter and the lowest intake since the second quarter of 2020.

Read more: Creator of Anti-Ark ETF Looks to Repeat Trick After Losing Fund

Plus, it could be the case that solid returns from ARKs funds may have played into the diminished flows, according to Todd Rosenbluth, head of research at VettaFi. After all, he said, the old adage of buy-low, sell-high exists in the wonky world of ETFs, too, and investors may be waiting for another dip before upping their bets on ARK.

Those that didnt give up are being rewarded in the short term, said Rosenbluth. The funds are still down quite notably on a one-year basis and a three-year basis. But if you stayed loyal up until this point, its been a good start to 2023.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
$4.99 Amazon thermostats offered by Energy Smart for a limited time

NEW ORLEANS, LA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Customers can celebrate Earth Day by saving energy with help from Energy Smart, Entergy New Orleans' energy efficiency program.

For a limited time, Entergy New Orleans residential customers can purchase an Amazon Smart Thermostat from the Energy Smart Marketplace for just $4.99. This offer is valid April 19 through April 21, 2023.

In addition to the smart thermostat, customers can also purchase a 4-pack of Simply Conserve flood LED light bulbs for 60% off through April 25, 2023.

"By becoming more energy efficient, customers can help lower greenhouse gas emissions while saving money on their bills," said Derek Mills, demand side management manager at Entergy New Orleans. "The Energy Smart program plays an important part in providing customers more affordable energy and cost-saving products at discounted prices."

The Amazon Smart Thermostat is ENERGY STAR-certified with built-in voice control. Customers can track and manage energy use remotely with the Alexa app. On average, smart thermostats help customers save 10% to 15% on heating and cooling costs.

For additional savings, Entergy New Orleans residential customers can earn cash incentives for helping to reduce energy use during short periods of high electricity usage. Customers earn $50 when the smart thermostat is enrolled in the EasyCool Demand Response offering and earn a $25 incentive each additional year participated in the program. Visit energysmartnola.info/easycool-smart-thermostats/ for more information and to enroll your smart thermostat.

The Simply Conserve LED light bulbs are ENERGY STAR-certified and ideal for recessed lighting, track lighting and spotlights. LEDs use up to 90% less energy and last up to 25 times longer than traditional incandescent bulbs.

About Entergy New Orleans

Entergy New Orleans is a trusted community partner dedicated to helping customers save energy and money. This Energy Smart program is designed to help customers realize savings on their monthly energy costs while helping them live more comfortably. With this special Earth Day offer, customers can save money and energy all year long.

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This promotion is provided by Energy Smart, a New Orleans program. Products can be purchased by visiting shop.energysmartnola.com.

###

About Energy Smart

Energy Smart is the comprehensive energy efficiency program developed by the New Orleans City Council and administered by Entergy New Orleans. The program provides financial incentives for making energy efficiency upgrades that decrease unnecessary usage and help businesses save money.

The program launched in 2010 and is open to all Entergy New Orleans residential and business customers. Since the program began, Energy Smart has paid more than $43 million in incentives to more than 113,000 participants, saving customers nearly 354.8 million kWh. For more information about Energy Smart, visit energysmartnola.com or call 504-229-6868.

About Entergy New Orleans

Entergy New Orleans, LLC provides electricity to more than 209,000 customers and natural gas to more than 110,000 customers in Orleans Parish, Louisiana.

Contact:

Kristi Longballa

klongballa@franklinenergy.com

(866) 735-1432

SOURCE: Energy Smart





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/750236/Celebrate-Earth-Day-with-Energy-Efficiency-Savings




Well Minister of Sport Shamfa Cudjoe has been busy of late planning for the Youth Commonweal
In the event of an escalation of violence and a massive attack on civilians, South Korea may join Western countries in providing military assistance to Ukraine.

South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol said this in an interview with Reuters, Ukrinform reports.

"If there is a situation the international community cannot condone, such as any large-scale attack on civilians, massacre or serious violation of the laws of war, it might be difficult for us to insist only on humanitarian or financial support," Yoon said.

Read also: Germany delivers Patriot air defense system to Ukraine

It is noted that this is the first time since the beginning of the war that Seoul has hinted at the possibility of supplying Ukraine with weapons.

"A key U.S. ally and major producer of artillery ammunition, South Korea has so far tried to avoid antagonising Russia due to its companies operating there and Moscow's influence over North Korea, despite mounting pressure from western countries for weapons supply," Reuters notes.

Yoon also said that his government is looking for ways to help rebuild Ukraine, just as South Korea received international aid during the Korean War in 1950-1953.

"I believe there won't be limitations to the extent of the support to defend and restore a country that's been illegally invaded both under international and domestic law," Yoon said. "However, considering our relationship with the parties engaged in the war and developments in the battlefield, we will take the most appropriate measures," he said.

Next week, Yoon will pay an official visit to the United States to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the alliance with the United States.
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Russia has systematically used information operations as a key element of its strategy.

That's the British Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter, referring to intelligence data, Ukrinform reports.

"Since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the Russian state has systematically used information operations as a major element of its strategy. It has cultivated multiple channels and proxies to spread disinformation: the intentional creation and sharing of false or manipulated information," the report writes.

One of the components of Russian disinformation is "narrative whitewashing", by which Russia promotes information from proxy servers or unverified social media sources, penetrating more mainstream or state media.

"This aims to cloud the source of the information, making it easier for the Russian state to distance itself from the message. It then promotes misleading fragments of the narrative, while masking its vested interest," the agency adds.

British intelligence notes that Russian propagandists present manipulated narratives in both organized and opportunistic ways.

Read also: Propagandists trying to whitewash Kremlin over war crimes against Ukrainian children

As Ukrinform reported, the United States has indicted several Russians for spreading propaganda in the country.
First Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Lieutenant General Oleksandr Pavliuk said that Patriot air defense systems from the United States, the Netherlands, and Germany had arrived in Ukraine.

According to Ukrinform, Pavliuk made the announcement on Telegram.

Read also: Germany delivers Patriot air defense system to Ukraine

"Such air defense systems will allow us to protect ourselves from attacks by Russian cruise missiles and UAVs," Pavliuk said and thanked the partners for significantly strengthening Ukraine's air defense.

As Ukrinform previously reported, Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov first told Western partners about Ukraine's need for a Patriot air defense system in August 2021.
Six Leopard 2 tanks that Spain will provide to Ukraine have arrived at the port of Santander in the northern part of the country.

This was reported by CNN, according to Ukrinform.

It is expected that by the end of the month these tanks, along with other armored vehicles provided by Spain, will be ready to be sent to the frontline in Ukraine.

Read also: Canada shows Leopard 2 tank being transported to Europe

The Leopard-2 tanks have relatively low maintenance requirements compared to other models, leading experts to believe that these tanks can quickly help Ukraine repel the Russian army.

As reported by Ukrinform, Germany handed over 18 Leopard 2A6 tanks to Ukraine. Ukraine also received three 2A6 Leopard tanks from Portugal.

On April 12, Defense Minister Margarita Robles said that Leopard tanks would be delivered to Ukraine in the coming days. Four more tanks are being repaired and will be delivered later.
The Biden-Harris administration has prepared a new military assistance package for Ukraine and is planning to announce it later on Wednesday, April 19.

White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said this at a press briefing in Washington on Wednesday, April 19, according to an Ukrinform correspondent.

"Later today, the Biden-Harris administration will announce a new security assistance package for Ukraine as part of our ongoing efforts to help Ukraine defend itself against Russia's brutal invasion," she said.

Jean-Pierre noted that relevant announcements would come from the U.S. Department of State and Department of Defense. The package will include more ammunition for U.S.-provided HIMARS systems and anti-armor systems, as well as additional artillery rounds.

"The United States will continue to work with our allies and partners to help Ukraine defend itself, to defend its democracy and protect its people," she said.

The 11th meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group will be held at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany on April 21. Representatives of about 50 nations are expected to take part in the meeting.
Company Logo

Global Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Market

Global Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Market

Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Market - A Global and Regional Analysis: Focus on Product Type, Application, Usage, End-user, and Region - Analysis and Forecast, 2022-2031" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.

The global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market was valued at $12.31 billion in 2022 and is anticipated to reach $29.76 billion by 2031, witnessing a CAGR of 10.31% during the forecast period 2022-2031.

The growth in the global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market is expected to be driven by the increased number of approved therapies and growing infrastructure requirements. In addition, expansion in target indications for cell and gene therapies creates a demand for large-scale biomanufacturing.

The global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market is in progressing phase. The cell and gene therapy market is developing rapidly due to its potential to target chronic and rare/orphan diseases that earlier had limited treatment options. Cell and gene therapies available in the market or in the pipeline are the result of years of pioneering research.

Currently, there are more than 25 cell and gene therapies approved by the FDA in the last 10 years. These factors are expected to drive the demand for consumables, equipment, and software solutions required for manufacturing cell and gene therapy, thereby augmenting the growth of the cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market.

Moreover, manufacturers began to produce application-specific cell and gene therapy equipment in recent years.

Industry Impacts

The field of medicine is transformed with the commercialization of cell and gene therapies. With the advent of time and introduction of new technologies, cell and gene therapy areas are flourishing. There is constant ongoing research for the development of novel cell and gene therapies.

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According to the American Society of Gene + Cell Therapy (ASGCT), as of February 2023, there are more than 2,000 clinical trials in the pipeline. The robust clinical pipeline for novel cell and gene entities is expected to create a lucrative opportunity for manufacturers and boost the growth of the cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market.

Impact of COVID-19

The research, production, clinical development, and market introduction of CGTs for diseases unrelated to COVID-19 have all been significantly disrupted as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.

A lack of manufacturing material supplies, challenges with clinical studies, and delay in the creation of regulatory dossiers are all significant reasons. This has emphasized the significance of tackling the difficulties in CGTs' supply chain and production to increase resilience during the crisis.

To prevent CGTs' market access from being significantly disrupted, manufacturing resilience, digitalization, telemedicine, value-based pricing, and creative payment systems may be progressively tapped.

Market Segmentation

Based on product, the consumables segment in the global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market dominated in FY2021. The equipment has a shelf life of five to seven years and software solutions also require a one-time investment with yearly maintenance costs. However, consumables are required more frequently and in large quantities for the production of cell and gene therapies.

Based on usage, the global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market was dominated by the research stage manufacturing segment in FY2021.

Based on application, the downstream processing segment accounted for the largest share of the global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing in FY2021.

Based on end user, the global cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market is dominated by the life sciences companies segment in FY2021.

In 2021, the North America cell and gene therapy biomanufacturing market dominated the global market with a 44.70% market share, and it is expected to hold its dominance throughout the forecast period 2022-2031. However, the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, constituting several emerging economies, is expected to register the highest CAGR of 17.88% during the forecast period 2022-2031.

Recent Developments in the Global Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Market

In January 2023, Sartorius AG collaborated with Roosterbio Inc. to advance its downstream purification processes for the development of exosomes.

In February 2022, Sartorius AG completed the acquisition of Novasep's chromatography division to complement its own product portfolio.

In August 2022, Merck KGaA launched VirusExpress 293 Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) Production Platform to speed up the development of cell and gene therapies.

In June 2022, Lonza Group AG and Adva Biotechnology Ltd. entered into a license agreement that provides the latter access to the former's core intellectual property enabling the expansion of automated bioreactors worldwide.

In June 2022, Becton, Dickinson and Company launched FACSDiscover S8 Cell Sorter featuring CellView Image Technology.

In January 2023, Bio-Techne Corporation launched RNAscope plus assay to advance its gene therapy development.

In September 2021, Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. launched the integrated Gibco AAV-MAX Helper Free AAV Production System for AAV vector production.

Key Companies Profiled

Becton, Dickinson and Company

Bio-Rad Laboratories, Inc.

Bio-Techne Corporation

Danaher Corporation

Endress+Hauser Group Services AG (Analytik Jena GmbH)

General Electric Company (GE Healthcare)

Getinge AB

Infors AG

Lonza Group Ltd

Merck KGaA

Miltenyi Biotec B.V. & Co. KG

PIERRE GUERIN

Sartorius AG (Sartorius Stedim Biotech S.A.)

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc.

WuXi AppTec

Key Attributes:

Report Attribute Details No. of Pages 308 Forecast Period 2022 - 2031 Estimated Market Value (USD) in 2022 $12.31 Billion Forecasted Market Value (USD) by 2031 $29.76 Billion Compound Annual Growth Rate 10.3% Regions Covered Global

Industry Outlook

Key Trends

Biomanufacturing 4.0

Growing Single-Use Technology Market Penetration

Shift from Open Processing to Closed Processing for Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing

Leveraging Various Key Strategies to Diversify the Product Portfolio

Business Drivers

Increasing Number of Approved Therapies and Growing Infrastructure Requirements Creating an Upsurge Demand for Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Products

Expansion in Target Indications for Cell and Gene Therapies Creating a Demand for Large-Scale Biomanufacturing

Entry of New Market Participants in Cell and Gene Therapies Driving the Demand for Biomanufacturing Facilities and Equipment

Increasing Investments and Funding in Cell and Gene Therapy Fuelling the Growth of Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing

Impact Analysis

Business Restraints

High Set-Up Cost of Biomanufacturing Facilities

Impact Analysis

Business Opportunities

Integration of Automation into the Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Workflow

Robust Clinical Pipeline Creating a Demand for Biomanufacturing Infrastructure

Product Benchmarking

Product Benchmarking (by Product Type)

Comparative Analysis (by Equipment)

Patent Analysis

Patent Analysis (by Year)

Patent Analysis (by Country)

Awaited Technologies

Business Model Analysis

Pipeline Products

Technology Adoption Matrix

Funding Scenario

Key Success Factors

Impact of COVID-19 on the Cell and Gene Therapy Biomanufacturing Market

Recommendations to Manufacturers

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/rjqrk8

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

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The meetings of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format are extremely important not only for Ukraine.

This was stated by Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine Hanna Maliar during a live broadcast of the nationwide news telethon, Ukrinform reports citing ArmyInform.

"Let's be realistic, Russia is a strong enemy. In terms of the number of soldiers and weapons, the occupiers outnumber us. We also have our advantages, otherwise we would not have lasted so long. This is the professionalism of our military, this is motivation, because we are fighting a just war and defending our land. We have no choice, we are forced to defend ourselves and this gives us strength," she said.

In addition, Maliar noted, Ukraine is supported by assistance from its partners. "But let's be honest - the world was not ready for such a long and intensive war. Russia has been preparing for this for 30 years, so it is quite difficult to reach parity in weapons. And in Bakhmut, we see how the Russians are using all their means for a powerful offensive. Which we have been holding back for eight months," she emphasized.

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine emphasized that the assistance of our partners is extremely, even critically important for us. The world is beginning to realize that we can stop Russia only together. And we have to do it, because Russia will not stop at the borders of Ukraine, she said.

"If we, God forbid, do not stop them here, they will simply move on. Therefore, such events as the meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group in the Ramstein format are extremely important not only for us," Maliar said.

As reported, Patriot air defense systems from the United States, the Netherlands and Germany have arrived in Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the border of Ukraine with Belarus and Poland in Volyn region and thanked the Ukrainian border guards for their protection of the state.

Volyn. Ukraine's border with Belarus and Poland. It is an honor for me to be here today to thank our border guards for protecting the state border. For the protection of our state in Bakhmut. I know how firmly you stood there, holding Bakhmut, the President posted on Telegram.

According to him, all of Ukraine is proud that we have such strong border guards. Keep the power, justice and fury we have in defending our state. I wish you all only Victory! Zelensky noted.

As the President's Office informs, the Head of State inspected the reinforcement of the state border in this area.

As the President was reported to, engineering barriers and fortifications are built and remote video surveillance systems are set up to ensure reliable protection of the Ukrainian border and readiness to repel a possible enemy invasion from the territory of Belarus.

Border guards demonstrated the work done since the beginning of 2022 to strengthen the border with Belarus within Volyn region.

The President also inspected an observation post and the two-level trench system on the border. On the observation post, it was demonstrated how round-the-clock surveillance of the border line is carried out with the help of remote video surveillance systems. The Head of State was shown systems for detecting unmanned aerial vehicles.

The President spoke with military personnel of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine and presented them with awards, in particular, the orders of Bohdan Khmelnytsky 3rd degree, For Courage 3rd degree, as well as the medals For military service to Ukraine.

The fallen border guards were commemorated with a minute of silence.

Read also: Zelensky visits wounded soldiers in healthcare facility in Poltava region

As reported, on Tuesday, President Zelensky visited a healthcare facility in Poltava region where wounded Ukrainian defenders are treated.
On Wednesday, April 19, the Bulgarian government introduced a temporary ban on the import of foodstuffs from Ukraine, with the exception of those going in transit.

Thats according to Radio Bulgaria, Ukrinform reports.

"Over the past year, a significant amount of food has remained in the country and disrupted food chains. If the trend continues or intensifies, the consequences for Bulgarian business may be extremely severe. We are forced to adopt this national measure because the European authorities are still considering an adequate measure," said caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev.

He also hopes that Brussels will listen and understand the shared position of Bulgaria, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia.

"We remain in solidarity with Ukraine, but the bankruptcy of Bulgarian farmers will not contribute to this cause," Donev said.

As reported, five countries - Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria - wrote a letter to the European Commission with a request to take protective measures to cap agricultural imports from Ukraine, since the large flow of grain and food products entering the EU market from Ukraine led to a drop in prices for such products and inflicted damage on local agri-businesses.

Poland, Hungary, and Slovakia completely banned the import of Ukrainian agricultural goods. The European Commission said it did not support such unilateral action, as the issue of trade regulation is part of the EU competence. Earlier, the EU allocated EUR 56 million to support farmers in EU states bordering Ukraine. The spokesperson for the European Commission announced a second, larger package of such assistance that is being drafted.

The EU Solidarity Lanes were set up on the borders with Ukraine in response to Russia's naval blockade of Ukrainian Black Sea ports, through which Ukrainian grain had been exported to the world market before the war. The blockade threatened famine in the most vulnerable countries.

To reduce the threat, on the initiative of the UN and Turkiye, the so-called Black Sea Grain Initiative was launched, which allowed Ukraine to export part of its grain. The initiative is being blocked by the Russian Federation.

The EU Solidarity Lanes allowed for the export of more than 25 million tonnes of Ukrainian grain by land, (road and rail), as well as via inland waterways.
Ukraine continues negotiations with the European Union countries which banned the import of Ukrainian agricultural products in April, in particular with Hungary and Slovakia.

"We are currently holding negotiations with these countries [which banned the import of agricultural products from Ukraine]. Second, active negotiations with the European Union are underway because it is obvious that these countries cannot make unilateral decisions," Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi said during the national news telethon, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

Solskyi noted that Hungary and Slovakia did not prohibit the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products.

"We should be honest with ourselves, with the market, and with Ukrainian farmers. We are strong competitors for the European Union and for anyone in the world. On the one hand, we should be proud of this and, on the other hand, we should be ready for constant discussions that will go on as long as the markets are open," the minister added.

As reported, on April 15, 2023, Hungary and Poland imposed a temporary ban on the import of grain and other types of agricultural products from Ukraine. On April 19, 2023, the ban on the import of Ukrainian agricultural products to Slovakia will come into effect. At the same time, Poland also suspended the transit of Ukrainian agricultural products through its territory but plans to resume it from April 21.

Hungary and Slovakia did not stop transit. Bulgaria imposed a temporary ban on the import of agricultural products from Ukraine on April 19, 2023 but did not restrict transit.

Romania considers the possibility of suspending the import of agricultural products from Ukraine.

On April 17, 2023, the European Commission stated that it does not support the decision of member states to impose unilateral restrictions on the import of grain and other food products from Ukraine. On April 19, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis will hold a meeting with representatives of the five EU countries bordering Ukraine, with the participation of Ukraine itself, to discuss the import of Ukrainian agricultural products.
Ukraine is negotiating with Bulgaria on the prospects for a positive resolution of the grain issue.

According to Ukrinform, the press service of the Ministry of Economy reports that this follows an online meeting between First Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine and Minister of Economy Yulia Svyrydenko and Minister of Economy and Industry of Bulgaria Nikola Stoyanov.

"Preserving and continuing grain exports is a sensitive and important issue for Ukraine, as it is the main source of revenue for the country's budget. The Government of Ukraine aims to resolve the issue of a temporary ban on imports of Ukrainian grain to Bulgaria. We are engaged in a dialog with the Bulgarian side on the reasons and prospects for a positive resolution of this situation for both countries," Svyrydenko said.

Minister Nikola Stoyanov, in turn, expressed solidarity with Ukraine regarding the situation in which the country found itself due to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. At the same time, he said, the import of Ukrainian grain and food makes it difficult for local agricultural producers to sell their own products and they suffer losses. However, the ban does not apply to the transit of Ukrainian products through Bulgaria to the EU countries. He noted that Bulgaria is waiting for a decision that will ensure that Ukrainian products do not overload the local market and are exported to other countries.

The parties discussed important aspects of this issue, and the dialog is currently ongoing. Next week, consultations on this issue will be held at the level of the Council of the European Union and its working bodies.

As Ukrinform reported, the Bulgarian government on Wednesday, April 19, imposed a temporary ban on food imports from Ukraine, except for transit.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has recalled its ambassador to Minsk for consultations after the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, met with Russian terrorist Denis Pushilin.

The ministry said this in a statement on April 18, according to Ukrinform.

"We consider the meeting with a representative of the Russian occupation administration, who is hiding from the Ukrainian investigation for committing serious crimes and is under Ukrainian and international sanctions, to be another and flagrant unfriendly act on the part of the Republic of Belarus aimed at supporting the aggressor state of the Russian Federation," the statement said.

The ministry added that in this regard, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry had decided to recall Ukraine's Ambassador to Belarus, Ihor Kyzym, for consultations.

"Minsk should refrain from similar destructive steps and stop supporting Russia's aggressive war against Ukraine," the ministry said.

On Tuesday, April 18, the self-proclaimed president of Belarus, Alexander Lukashenko, met in Minsk with the Kremlin-appointed leader of the so-called "Donetsk People's Republic,' Denis Pushilin, and offered assistance to Donetsk.
The debt recovery agency in Finland has imposed an arrest on the land plot and real estate run by the Russian Center of Science and Culture (Rossotrudnichestvo) in Helsinki due to the EU sanctions imposed on Russia.

Thats according to Yle, Ukrinform reports.

The decision was made a week ago and is related to EU sanctions. During a three-week period, the bailiff shall determine whether the land and building are owned, held, or controlled by the sanctioned entity.

According to the Helsingin Sanomat newspaper, the land plot in question is owned by the Russian government. The value of frozen assets is usually estimated by the debt recovery agency. However, according to Helsingin Sanomat, the property value of Rossotrudnichestvos assets is "unknown".

Read also: Russia strengthening northwestern air defenses after Finland joins NATO

The objects were frozen following a motion filed by Finlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which initially asked for the EU ruling to come into effect as early as July 2022.

In addition, the debt recovery agency seized seven apartments in Helsinki, linked to the said sanctioned entity.

Earlier in March, the administration froze Rossotrudnichestvos funds in its Nordea Bank account.
On Wednesday, April 19, the newly appointed Ambassador of Ukraine to the Republic of Latvia, Anatoliy Kutsevol, presented his credentials to the Head of the State Protocol at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Raimonds Jansons.

This was reported by the press service of Ukraines Embassy, Ukrinform saw.

"The Ambassador of Ukraine expressed gratitude to the Latvian side for Latvia's principled position on condemning Russian aggression against Ukraine and supporting the territorial integrity of our country. The ambassador also thanked Latvia for its ongoing effective assistance to Ukraine during the full-scale invasion of our country by the aggressor state, Russia," the statement said.

Read also: Zelensky appoints three ambassadors

For his part, Raimonds Jansons welcomed Anatoliy Kutsevol to Latvia as Ambassador of Ukraine and emphasized that Latvia would continue to help Ukraine until the final victory over Russia, and support the embattled nation both bilaterally and at the EU level.

As reported, President Volodymyr Zelensky appointed Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine to the Republic of Latvia by his decree of December 23, 2022.
Pierre Heilbronn, France's special envoy for Ukraine's relief and reconstruction, has arrived in Kyiv to discuss the international strategy to rebuild Ukraine.

He announced this on Twitter, according to Ukrinform.

"Back in Kyiv as France's Special Envoy for Ukraine's Relief and Reconstruction, I will meet all relevant Ukrainian colleagues in the next few days to discuss the international strategy to rebuild Ukraine," Heilbronn said.

In March 2023, French President Emmanuel Macron appointed former EBRD Vice President for Policy and Partnerships Pierre Heilbronn as his special envoy for Ukraine's relief and reconstruction.

Photo: Pierre Heilbronn / Twitter
The U.S. Treasury Department has announced restrictions against an international network of companies and individuals who, despite the previously imposed sanctions against Iran, helped it obtain electronics and equipment for the production of combat drones.

This is stated in the report of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Treasury Department, Ukrinform reports.

"OFAC designated one individual and six entities in a sanctions evasion network that has facilitated Irans procurement of electronic components for its destabilizing military programs, including those used in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs)," the report says.

It is specified that the U.S. sanctions were imposed against the head of the Iranian company Pardazan System Namad Arman (PASNA), as well as front companies and suppliers of PASNA based in Iran, Malaysia, Hong Kong and China.

"The network sanctioned today has procured goods and technology for the Iranian government and its defense industry and UAV program. Treasury will continue to enforce its sanctions against Irans military procurement efforts that contribute to regional insecurity and global instability," said Brian Nelson, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Counterterrorism and Financial Intelligence.

As reported, the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on PASNA in January 2018 for providing financial, material, technological and other support to Iran Electronics Industries (IEI), an organization subordinate to the Iranian Ministry of Defense.
Centric Software helps customers make better business decisions, speed time to market, and maximize profits with unmatched AI-driven solutions.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ -- Frost & Sullivan recently researched the fashion, retail, and consumer goods product lifecycle management (PLM) industry and, based on its findings, recognizes Centric Software with the 2023 Global Customer Value Leadership Award. Centric Software is a fast-moving company in the PLM industry for the fashion, retail, and consumer goods sectors. The company delivers a Product Concept to Launch Platform that includes leading-edge PLM, Planning and Pricing solutions with an extensive portfolio of tools that enables seamless data analytics to streamline product management.

2023 Global Fashion, Retail, and Consumer Goods PLM Customer Value Leadership Award

Centric Software's products help businesses become operationally efficient in an industry plagued by inefficient processes and a range of limited solutions that do not provide the same effectiveness as Centric Software's products. The company offers world-class solutions, such as Centric Pricing and Centric Planning. Centric Pricing provides access to competitors' product comparisons and analytics to enhance product allocation and pricing. Centric Planning enables enterprises in the decision-making process by keeping inventory under control, forecasting demand with augmented intelligence (AI) capabilities, and improving sales across all channels, among other benefits.

"Centric Software identified the pitfalls of the traditional PLM systems, primarily using spreadsheets or manpower to attempt to manage product development and allocation, finding these systems time consuming and not easily updated, thus ineffective and inaccurate in the long term. Centric Software created its portfolio with these pitfalls in mind and designed its product offering to help customers orchestrate a competitive retail and product strategy and maximize revenues by increasing agility and decreasing time-to-market using data-driven insights," said Michelle Funke, Best Practices Analyst at Frost & Sullivan.

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Centric Software addresses the evolving needs of brands, retailers and manufacturers in multiple verticals and tailors innovative solutions directly based on their feedback. The company prioritizes customer feedback by regularly collaborating with users to gain valuable insights into features and capabilities, of which customers can take advantage.

This comprehensive customer-centric approach offers enormous value to customers and solidifies Centric Software's reputation in the marketplace, with its impressive 99% customer retention rate. Centric Software, therefore, continually evolves and innovates to expand its services and meet the unique demands of its customers. In addition, the company is expanding the capabilities of its AI and machine learning (ML) product line to increase efficiency.

"The product concept to launch platform addresses problems across the entire market value chain, from understanding the market, product design and development, sourcing, packaging, compliance, pricing and selling by optimizing omnichannel revenues. Brands, retailers and manufacturers leveraging Centric Software see significant return on investment from the platform, including 20% to 100% improved operating margins and 5% to 15% reduced cost of goods sold," noted Karthik Sundaram, Research Director, Industrial at Frost & Sullivan.

Each year, Frost & Sullivan presents this award to the company that demonstrates excellence in implementing strategies that proactively create value for its customers, focusing on improving the return on the investment that customers make in its services or products. The award recognizes Centric Software's unique focus on augmenting its customers' value, beyond simply good customer service, leading to improved customer retention and customer base expansion.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognize companies in various regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analyses, and extensive secondary research to identify best practices in the industry.

Centric Software ( www.centricsoftware.com )

From its headquarters in Silicon Valley, Centric Software provides a product concept to launch platform for consumer goods such as fashion, retail, footwear, luxury, outdoor, consumer electronics, cosmetics & personal care and food & beverage. Centric Software's flagship Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) platform, Centric PLM, delivers enterprise-class merchandise planning, product development, sourcing, quality and product portfolio optimization innovations specifically for fast-moving consumer industries. Centric Visual BoardsTM offer highly visual, touch-screen experiences for collaboration and decision-making. Centric PlanningTM is an innovative, cloud-native, augmented-intelligence solution delivering end-to-end retail planning to maximize retail and wholesale business performance. Centric PricingTM, powered by StyleSageTM, is an AI-driven market insight platform for data-informed decision-making on pricing and product assortments to maximize revenue and margins. Among many other market-driven innovations, Centric Software is widely known for its connectivity to dozens of other enterprise systems, including ERP, DAM, PIM, e-com and more, in addition to creative tools such as Adobe Illustrator, a host of 3D CAD connectors and sustainability tools, such as Higg. Centric Software has the highest user adoption rate, customer satisfaction rate and fastest time to value in the industry.

Centric Software is a subsidiary of Dassault Systemes (Euronext Paris: #13065, DSY.PA), the world leader in 3D design software, 3D digital mock-up and PLM solutions.

Centric Software has received multiple industry awards and recognition, including being named by Red Herring to its Top 100 Global list several times. Centric Software also received five excellence awards from Frost & Sullivan over the past decade.

Centric Software and Centric PLM are registered trademarks of Centric Software, Inc. In the US and other countries. All third-party trademarks are trademarks of their respective owners.

About Frost & Sullivan

For six decades, Frost & Sullivan has been world-renowned for in helping investors, corporate leaders, and governments navigate economic changes and identify disruptive technologies, Mega Trends, new business models, and companies to action, resulting in a continuous flow of growth opportunities to drive future success. Contact us: Start the discussion .

Contact:

Claudia Toscano

P: +1.210.477.8417

E: claudia.toscano@frost.com

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Ukrainian and Turkish government officials have discussed support for Ukrainian children evacuated to Turkey, according to a statement posted on the website of the Ministry for Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine.

According to the statement, an international Ukrainian-Turkish meeting on this issue was held online.

"The Ukrainian side expressed its gratitude to the Turkish people for the comprehensive support of our children. At the same time, the participants in the meeting emphasized that Ukraine strives to proactively participate in all issues related to the protection of the rights of Ukrainian children," the report reads.

Since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Turkey has sheltered more than 1,000 Ukrainian children. Among them are orphans, children deprived of parental care and other vulnerable categories of children.

Turkish representatives emphasized their desire to continue to create the best conditions for young Ukrainians.

"Our dream is for children to grow up under a peaceful sky and not know what war and natural disasters are like," said Deputy Minister of Family and Social Services of Turkey Ismail Ergunes.

The participants in the event agreed that the Ukrainian delegation would visit Turkey in the near future. The Turkish side expressed its readiness to continue providing humanitarian and political support to Ukraine.
(Bloomberg) -- Advantest Corp. is seeing a spike in demand for its chip-testing devices, catalyzed by the frenzy of interest in OpenAIs ChatGPT and other novel uses of artificial intelligence.

Most Read from Bloomberg

A global race to develop powerful computing clusters and next-generation AI training systems is spurring chipmakers to buy many more of the Tokyo-based companys testing tools, Advantest Co-Chief Strategy Officer Yasuo Mihashi said in an interview.

The executives outlook comes against a backdrop of muted demand for consumer electronics and a US-led campaign to restrict trade of advanced semiconductors to China. Japan last month said it would expand export controls on its chip technology. Still, the AI surge is driving up orders from Nvidia Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc., two companies that provide the key AI-training semiconductors and which rely on Advantest as their main testing tools supplier, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

We are the industrys dominant player, so we benefit when something like ChatGPT expands uses of high-performance computing, Mihashi told Bloomberg News in an interview.

Advantest shares have surged 36% this year, approaching all-time highs as the worlds imagination has been captured by the promise of ChatGPT and other offerings aimed at making internet services smarter and more human-like. The company expects operating profit in the fiscal year ended March to rise by 48% to 170 billion ($1.3 billion).

Microsoft Corp. and Alphabet Inc.s Google are among the first to integrate generative AI into their web tools, while in China a parallel race is already underway  led by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., SenseTime Group Inc. and Baidu Inc.  to build a dominant AI platform in the worlds largest internet market.

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Data centers are essential for training and operating AI models that inform everything from autonomous driving to advanced chatbot assistants. That requires access to tens of thousands of graphics processing units, which are presently the optimal hardware to analyze data in real time.

Demand for data center GPUs and thus testers will surely grow fast even without China, Ichiyoshi Research Institute analyst Mitsuhiro Osawa said. The hardware is necessary for next-generation social infrastructure such as autonomous driving and AI, the technologies that countries all over the world are investing in fiercely.

The growing use of AI is pushing the limits of chip miniaturization and advanced packaging, raising the likelihood of defects during the manufacturing process, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi said. This structurally boosts demand for chip testers, to help manufacturers guarantee performance and quality.

Testers are also a key part of any bid by China to build its own advanced chips  something that the US has been pressuring allies to prevent. Since Advantests gear is not tied to a specific fabrication process, it may steer clear of Japans export restrictions, though that remains uncertain. A company spokesperson said Advantest is investigating whether our company is subject to export controls.

Advantest competes with North Reading, Massachusetts-based rival Teradyne Inc. Market share between the two can shift dramatically when a customer switches suppliers  which is extremely rare, as replacing testing tools necessitates a rethink of other equipment or entire production lines, as well as retraining staff.

Global revenue for high-performance GPU chip testers will likely overtake that for smartphone chip testers in a few years, Toyo Securities analyst Hideki Yasuda said.

Chips for servers will get bigger and more complex, requiring more time for testing, he said. Theres no magic way to slash testing time. The only solution for chipmakers is to buy more tools to test more chips at the same time.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Eurozone ministers approve 1.1-billion-euro Greek bailout tranche

Eurozone finance ministers have given their go-ahead for Greece to be granted 1.1 billion euros (1.2 billion dollars) in bailout aid, while holding back on a further 1.7 billion euros until Athens clears outstanding arrears.

GALLERY

A demonstrator waves a European flag with the Euro sign seen in the center during a pro Euro rally in front of the Greek Parliament in Athens Greece, 09 July 2015.

Luxembourg (dpa) - The ministers welcome "the implementation by the Greek authorities of the set of 15 milestones" that were due to be completed under the countrys current review, according to a statement.They also acknowledge the "significant progress" made on arrears clearance, while noting that the process should be completed later this month.
QatarEnergy has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Mines and Energy of the Republic of Namibia to strengthen cooperation in the energy sector.



The agreement was signed by Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi, the Minister of State for Energy Affairs, the President and CEO of QatarEnergy, and Tom Alweendo, Minister of Mines & Energy of the Republic of Namibia in a special signing ceremony held at QatarEnergys headquarters in Doha.



The MoU paves the way for continued cooperation and covers key areas such as knowledge sharing, workforce development and exploring further investment opportunities in Namibia.



Minister Al-Kaabi said: We are pleased to further enhance our cooperation with the Government of Namibia and build on our recent successes. This agreement further strengthens our relationship as we work jointly towards a prosperous future.



QatarEnergy recently announced a light oil discovery in the Jonker-1X well in the Orange Basin, offshore southern Namibia, adding to the previous two separate oil and associated gas discoveries in the same basin in 2022.



QatarEnergy holds interests in three Exploration Licenses offshore Namibia, PEL-39 (45%), PEL-56 (30%) and PEL-91 (28.33%), covering a total area of over 28,000 sq km.  TradeArabia News Service
NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Bennett College was founded in 1873 in the basement of St. Matthews Methodist Episcopal Church in Greensboro, NC. They are one of only two all-women, Historically Black College and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States - and their mission is to prepare "women of color through a transformative liberal arts education to lead with purpose, integrity, and a strong sense of self-worth." I encourage you to read more about their rich "herstory" in honor of Women's History Month.

Cisco Systems Inc., Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

At Cisco, we've taken considerable steps to fight injustice and inequity around the world. One of the most powerful examples of the bold actions we're taking is our $150 million commitment to preserve the legacy and sustainability of HBCUs through Social Justice Action 8.

While that commitment includes driving technology modernization and improving STEM education at HBCUs, Cisco is actively investing into the future of their students as well - and I am proud to say that those investments continued earlier this month at Bennett College.

We are building a bridge with Bennett College

Bennett College has been a private, four-year historically black liberal arts college for women since 1926. Over the course of our relationship, we have worked to establish Bennett College as a Networking Academy, provided student recruiting support, offered guidance on funding grants, and helped enhance their network security for remote learning through a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Assessment. In addition, Bennett College has requested mentorship, job shadowing, and guest lectures by Cisco professionals to prepare Bennett students for life after college. These opportunities align with Action 8 initiatives and will enable Cisco to continue to support the sustainability and legacy of Bennett College.

Women of color often face racism and discrimination in academic and professional environments. HBCUs like Bennett College offer the advantage of providing a supportive, inclusive, and justice-oriented approach to education. Bennett College operationalizes student support through special convocations, lectures, and seminars that comprise their Academic Cultural Enrichment Series (ACES) series, which is designed to enhance the cultural and intellectual development of the student population. Cisco's commitment to delivering student success, accelerating young AA/B talent, and making a lasting impact for generations to come provides an excellent foundation for a symbiotic partnership with Bennett College and augments student support.

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As the Executive Sponsor for Bennett College, I worked with Wesley Carter, CX Sr. Program Manager, and Bennett College to create an ACES event that delivered an important message to Bennett's liberal arts students:

You don't have to major in the computer sciences field to be valuable to a technology company like Cisco!

It's a powerful message, and one that we can continually build upon to show Bennett students that even entry-level digital and cybersecurity skills can enhance their competitive edge, no matter what they choose for their career path. Dr. Santiba Campbell, Director of Academic Special Initiatives for Bennett College, suggested an all-woman panel and focus on liberal arts, instead of STEM, because Bennett College is predominately a liberal arts college.

An overview of our Women in Cisco Panel Discussion in March of 2023

One of the most important aspects of this event was the evidence-based approach. It was kicked off by our own Shaina Tamburr, VP, CX Programs & Compliance, and featured a panel of diverse, liberal arts-educated, successful women from different areas within Cisco - ranging from project management to sales and marketing. These successful women came together to share their unique career stories and life experiences, as well as welcome Bennett College's liberal arts students to engage with Cisco. We doubled down on Cisco's commitment to student success by inviting our Emerging Talent Diversity Engagement Team to create a portal specifically for students to upload their resume and be considered for future Cisco opportunities!

The connection between the speakers and students was palpable - and after sharing their stories, our panelists had a chance to answer these insightful questions in front of students:

What has been the most significant barrier in your career?

How have mentors helped you grow as a leader? What was your path to get there?

What advice would you give your 21-year-old self?

As the event concluded, the students were provided with contact information for all the panelists so they could reach out and ask questions to prepare themselves for a career in the tech industry.

This was an incredible event for Bennett College

The Women in Cisco event was a success for Bennett College because it provided students with valuable insights into working in the tech industry, as well as an opportunity to network with successful liberal arts majors - including two alumnae from Bennett College!

But most of all, this was a great step in strengthening the relationship between Bennett College and Cisco:

"I hope both of you are doing well and still glowing from a great experience Friday at Bennett College! Thank you for all of the hard work in planning, organizing and communicating for the Women in Cisco ACES panel. I look forward to more opportunities and sponsorships for us to work together."

- Dr. Santiba Campbell, Director of Academic Special Initiatives, Bennett College

I am genuinely proud to be part of a company that is committed to not only creating opportunity and exposure in the IT field to non-technical students, but also to the strategic recovery, sustainability, and legacy of HBCUs like Bennett College.

Let's continue to work together to power an inclusive future for all by identifying more ways to transform our beliefs into action, especially as we celebrate Women's History Month.

Register now for our upcoming Women Rock-IT event to learn how

amazing women are using technology to address climate change.

International Girls in ICT Day

April 27th, 2023

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Insiders were net buyers of Clarkson PLC's (LON:CKN ) stock during the past year. That is, insiders bought more stock than they sold.

While we would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether.

View our latest analysis for Clarkson

Clarkson Insider Transactions Over The Last Year

In the last twelve months, the biggest single purchase by an insider was when Independent Chairman of the Board Laurence Hollingworth bought UK108k worth of shares at a price of UK26.91 per share. We do like to see buying, but this purchase was made at well below the current price of UK30.85. While it does suggest insiders consider the stock undervalued at lower prices, this transaction doesn't tell us much about what they think of current prices.

You can see a visual depiction of insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last 12 months, below. If you want to know exactly who sold, for how much, and when, simply click on the graph below!

There are always plenty of stocks that insiders are buying. So if that suits your style you could check each stock one by one or you could take a look at this free list of companies. (Hint: insiders have been buying them).

Insider Ownership Of Clarkson

Another way to test the alignment between the leaders of a company and other shareholders is to look at how many shares they own. A high insider ownership often makes company leadership more mindful of shareholder interests. Insiders own 2.3% of Clarkson shares, worth about UK22m. This level of insider ownership is good but just short of being particularly stand-out. It certainly does suggest a reasonable degree of alignment.

So What Do The Clarkson Insider Transactions Indicate?

The fact that there have been no Clarkson insider transactions recently certainly doesn't bother us. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Insiders own shares in Clarkson and we see no evidence to suggest they are worried about the future. So while it's helpful to know what insiders are doing in terms of buying or selling, it's also helpful to know the risks that a particular company is facing. To that end, you should learn about the 2 warning signs we've spotted with Clarkson (including 1 which makes us a bit uncomfortable).

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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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The European Union's consumption of natural gas dropped by 17.7% in the period from August 2022 to March 2023, compared with the average gas consumption for the same months between 2017 and 2022, Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, said on Wednesday

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) The European Union's consumption of natural gas dropped by 17.7% in the period from August 2022 to March 2023, compared with the average gas consumption for the same months between 2017 and 2022, Eurostat, the statistical office of the EU, said on Wednesday.

"The EU consumption of natural gas has dropped by 17.7% in the period August 2022-March 2023, compared with the average gas consumption for the same months (August-March) between 2017 and 2022," Eurostat said in a statement.

Most EU countries met the target of a 15% reduction in natural gas consumption, except Slovakia, Spain, Poland, Slovenia and Belgium, where the decline was smaller, and Malta, which saw a 12.

7 percent increase in the observed period, the statement read.

Consumption fell the most in Finland (-55.7%), Lithuania (-40.5%) and Sweden (-37.2%), Eurostat also said.

EU member states agreed last July to cut their national gas consumption by 15% between August 1, 2022 and March 31, 2023 to reduce its member states' reliance on Russia for energy. The EU executive will conduct a gas supply review by May to consider extending the reduction target.
(@FahadShabbir)

Stockpiles of crude oil in the United States fell last week at the largest pace in three weeks, reversing a build from the prior week as refiners turned out more fuel for commercial vehicles, the Energy Information Information (EIA) said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report on Wednesday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) Stockpiles of crude oil in the United States fell last week at the largest pace in three weeks, reversing a build from the prior week as refiners turned out more fuel for commercial vehicles, the Energy Information Information (EIA) said in its Weekly Petroleum Status Report on Wednesday.

The crude balance in storage fell by 4.581 million barrels during the week ended April 14, the report said. In the previous week to April 7, crude stockpiles rose by 0.597 million barrels.

Industry analysts polled by US media had expected the EIA to report a crude balance decline of just 1.088 million barrels for last week.

The EIA said US crude refinery inputs averaged 15.8 million barrels per day during the week ended April 14 - some 260,000 barrels more a day than the average in the prior week to April 7.

Refineries operated at 91% of their operable capacity last week, the agency added. While production of gasoline for cars decreased last week, averaging 9.5 million barrels daily, output of distillates for commercial vehicles rose, averaging 4.8 million barrels per day.

The crude draw for last week registered despite the Biden administration pulling oil again from the nation's reserves in a bid to ease tight market supply that could lead to inordinately high fuel prices.

The administration released 1.6 million barrels from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) last week, the EIA report showed. It was the third SPR draw for the year after a similar pull of 1.6 million barrels during the prior week to April 7 and 3.7 million in the week to March 31.

The Biden administration has leaned heavily on the SPR since late 2021 to offset tight crude supplies that had raised fuel costs for Americans. As of last week, the SPR's crude balance was at its lowest since November 1983.

Demand for finished fuel products was, however, lower last week, with an unexpected build in gasoline stockpiles and a smaller-than-expected draw in distillate inventories, the report showed.

On the gasoline inventory front, the EIA cited a build of 1.3 million barrels versus the forecast drop of 1.267 million barrels, and against the previous weekly decline of 0.331 million.

With distillate stockpiles, the EIA reported a 0.356 million barrel draw, against expectations for a drop of 0.927 million barrels and versus the prior week's consumption of 0.606 million. Distillates are refined into heating oil, diesel for trucks, buses, trains and ships, and fuel for jets.
(@FahadShabbir)

Banja Luka, Bosnia and Herzegovina, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 20th Apr, 2023 ) :Novak Djokovic battled back from a set down to beat French teenager Luca Van Assche 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match in Banja Luka on Wednesday.

The world number one squandered three set points in the opener before Van Assche took the tie-break, but Djokovic broke twice in the second set to force a deciding set.

He dropped serve right away to start the third set but then broke Van Assche twice in a row, with Djokovic grasping control to eventually put away his 18-year-old opponent.

"It wasn't easy. This probably will rank as the slowest court and slowest conditions I've ever played in. I didn't expect this to be so slow," said Djokovic.

"I couldn't put any ball past him. He was on every single ball for a set and a half until I started to get some rhythm going and some tempo." He added: "I'm happy with the way I finished the match. Of course I can always play better but a win is a win." Djokovic praised his opponent as a "very promising player".

"He (Van Assche) has a bright future ahead of him, especially on this surface, he is very fast and agile", the 35-year-old said.

"It's normal to expect that new, young players will emerge, generational change is a normal thing in every sport, but I didn't want to lose to an 18-year-old.

It was definitely an additional motivation for me." Former French Open junior champion Van Assche, the youngest player in the world's top 100 at number 87, had served Djokovic ample warning of his potential by beating Stan Wawrinka in round one.

Djokovic said Monday his elbow was not in "ideal condition" following a third-round exit last week at the Monte Carlo Masters, during which he was broken eight times by Lorenzo Musetti.

After Wednesday's match, Djokovic said his elbow was "fine... holding up well".

"These conditions are not ideal for joints and my elbow... but I am glad that I managed to endure. I am healthy and eager for new victories." Van Assche earned the first break of the match for a 5-4 lead but failed to serve out for the set. He then saved three set points at 5-6 before eventually taking a surprise lead.

For the second set Djokovic disposed of the black compression sleeve on his right arm he also wore in Monaco, sweeping through without offering Van Assche a single break opportunity.

Despite falling behind to begin the third set, Djokovic recovered swiftly and sealed victory after two hours and 38 minutes.

The Serb, who is bidding for a record 23rd men's Grand Slam title at the French Open next month, will play countryman Dusan Lajovic or Gregoire Barrere of France in the quarter-finals.
Wilmington, United States, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Apr, 2023 ) :Fox News reached a $787.5 million settlement Tuesday in a defamation case brought by voting technology company Dominion that alleged the network knowingly aired false claims linking its machines to a conspiracy to undermine the 2020 US presidential election.

The agreement to end the case avoided what most experts suggested would have been a damaging, high-profile trial for the conservative channel in which owner Rupert Murdoch would have been compelled to testify in open court.

Judge Eric Davis announced the last-minute agreement after the 12 jurors had been selected and the Delaware Superior Court was readying to hear opening arguments.

Dominion's co-lead counsel Justin Nelson told reporters outside court that the settlement "represents vindication and accountability." Fox's lawyers did not stop to speak to assembled media, leaving the network to publish a brief statement saying it was "pleased" to have ended the dispute.

"We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false," it added.

The trial had been due to test the limits of free speech rights for media in America, even if wilfully broadcasting misinformation.

The settlement means Murdoch and star anchors, such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity will avoid having to take the witness stand.

Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion in March 2021, alleging it promoted Donald Trump's baseless claim that its machines were used to rig the election that he lost to Joe Biden.

Dominion argued that Fox News aired the falsehoods while knowing they were untrue.

The trial was set to be one of the most consequential libel cases ever heard in the United States. It also threatened reputational and financial damage for Murdoch's 24-hour news behemoth and the media titan himself.

Dominion said the network began endorsing Trump's conspiracy because the channel was losing its audience after it became the first television outlet to call the southwestern state of Arizona for Biden, effectively projecting the Democrat would win the presidency.
Wilmington, United States, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Apr, 2023 ) :Fox news reached a $787.5 million settlement Tuesday in a defamation case brought by voting technology company Dominion that alleged the network knowingly aired false claims linking its machines to a conspiracy to undermine the 2020 US election.

The agreement to end the case avoided what most experts suggested would have been a damaging, high-profile trial for the conservative channel in which owner Rupert Murdoch would have been compelled to testify in open court.

Judge Eric Davis announced the last-minute agreement after the 12 jurors had been selected and the Delaware Superior Court was readying to hear opening arguments.

Fox News said in a statement it was "pleased" to have ended the dispute and added: "We acknowledge the court's rulings finding certain claims about Dominion to be false." Dominion CEO John Poulos told reporters outside the court that Fox had "admitted to telling lies about Dominion that caused enormous damage to my company, our employees, and our customers. Nothing can ever make up for that." The proceedings, trailed by the New York Times as "the defamation trial of the century," had been due to test the limits of free speech rights for media in America when wilfully broadcasting misinformation.

Analysts had predicted it could be one of the most consequential libel hearings in US legal history.

The settlement, believed one of the largest in a defamation case ever, means star anchors, such as Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity will also avoid appearing on the witness stand.

US media reported that the agreement does not require Fox hosts to apologize on-air or admit spreading falsehoods.

Dominion sued Fox News for $1.6 billion in March 2021, alleging it promoted Donald Trump's baseless claim that its machines were used to rig the presidential election he lost to Joe Biden.

Dominion argued that Fox aired the lies despite knowing they were untrue.

It said the network began endorsing Trump's conspiracy because the channel was losing audience to smaller rivals after it became the first television outlet to call the southwestern state of Arizona for Biden, effectively projecting the Democrat would win the presidency.
(@FahadShabbir)

Kinshasa, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Apr, 2023 ) :Attacks in the eastern DR Congo province of Ituri have left more than 150 civilians dead in the past two weeks, the United Nations said Tuesday.

The province and its southern neighbour of North Kivu have been wracked by increasing violence between several groups in the mineral-rich region along the border with Uganda.

One group, CODECO, or Cooperative for the Development of the Congo, says it is protecting the Lendu community from another ethnic group, the Hema, as well as the DR Congo army.

The Hema meanwhile, are defended by the Zaire militia -- while the province is also targeted by the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) linked to the militant group.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned of "persistent attacks against civilians in three separate districts" -- Djugu, Irumu and Mambasa -- that had killed around 150 civilians since the start of April.

As a result, Irumu in particular "has become a refuge for thousands of people fleeing the widespread insecurity", the OCHA said.

Attacks have also been reported against health clinics and other essential services, the agency said.

The security situation in Ituri was "extremely concerning" with the attacks leaving communities "in dire need of assistance and protection", the spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.

Stephane Dujarric said the UN was committed to supporting people impacted by violence but warned that the "delivery of this assistance may be delayed in areas that were impacted by recent attacks." He said local authorities had told the UN at least 55 civilians were killed when armed assailants attacked a village in Djugu in a single attack on Friday.

The conflict rekindled between the Hema and Lendu communities in 2017, resulting in thousands of deaths and forcing more than 1.5 million people from their homes.

Much of eastern DR Congo is plagued by dozens of armed groups, a legacy of regional wars that flared in the 1990s and 2000s.

For the past two years, Ituri and North Kivu have been under a state of emergency declared by the national government in Kinshasa, in which police and army forces have replaced the civil administration.

The M23, a militia led by ethnic Tutsis, has separately won a string of victories against the army and enemy militias since re-emerging from dormancy in late 2021, capturing swathes of North Kivu province while threatening the regional capital of Goma.

In November, the seven-nation East African Community began deploying a military force of thousands of troops to eastern Congo in a bid to stabilise the volatile region.
As cloud native technologies become ubiquitous among enterprises, CNCF continues to grow its influence and reach

AMSTERDAM, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe -- The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF), which builds sustainable ecosystems for cloud native software, announced today that it has continued its unprecedented growth over the last quarter, welcoming 58 new Silver members to the foundation.

CNCF is the open source, vendor-neutral hub of cloud native computing, hosting projects like Kubernetes and Prometheus to make cloud native universal and sustainable. (PRNewsfoto/Cloud Native Computing Foundation)

As one of the fastest-growing open source foundations ever, CNCF now has over 800 member organizations, including some of the largest names in technology. The foundation welcomed more than 220 new members in 2022 alone and now hosts more than 150 Graduated, Incubating, and Sandbox projects under its helm and fosters a community of over 190 thousand contributors.

"2022 was the year cloud native became the new normal , and in 2023, we are seeing continued adoption across the board, including a large number of innovative organizations based in Europe like Audi, Mercedes-Benz, SNCF, and Zalando," said Priyanka Sharma, executive director of the Cloud Native Computing Foundation. "As the community joins together at the sold out KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe in Amsterdam and virtual with a record-breaking 15k+ attendees, we are thrilled to be able to celebrate the new additions to our ecosystem."

About the newest Silver Members:

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About the newest End User Supporter:

Adobe is the global leader in digital media and digital marketing solutions.

About the newest End User Member:

Expedia Group creates transformative tech that fuels partner growth while enabling unforgettable experiences for all travelers, everywhere.

About the newest Nonprofit Member:

TNO aims for a safer, healthier, and more sustainable life. As an independent research organisation, we are the driving force behind innovation. We make knowledge serve the common good.

With the addition of these new members, there are now over 170 organizations in the CNCF End User Community . This group regularly meets to share adoption best practices and feedback on project roadmaps and future projects for CNCF technical leaders to consider.

More information is available about End User support and membership.

Additional Resources

About Cloud Native Computing Foundation

Cloud native computing empowers organizations to build and run scalable applications with an open source software stack in public, private, and hybrid clouds. The Cloud Native Computing Foundation (CNCF) hosts critical components of the global technology infrastructure, including Kubernetes, Prometheus, and Envoy. CNCF brings together the industry's top developers, end users, and vendors, and runs the largest open source developer conferences in the world. Supported by more than 800 members, including the world's largest cloud computing and software companies, as well as over 200 innovative startups, CNCF is part of the nonprofit Linux Foundation. For more information, please visit www.cncf.io .

The Linux Foundation has registered trademarks and uses trademarks. For a list of trademarks of The Linux Foundation, please see our trademark usage page. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds.

Media Contact

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The Linux Foundation

PR@CNCF.io

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San Vicente del Cagun, Colombia, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19th Apr, 2023 ) :Colombia's largest group of dissident guerrillas who rejected a 2016 peace deal with the state is asking for a new opportunity to negotiate with the government, but uncertainty reigns over how President Gustavo Petro will achieve his proposed "total peace." On Sunday, the Estado Mayor Central (EMC), the largest dissident group from the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC), announced it was holding a massive meeting of rebels and villagers in an area it controls.

The EMC said it was ready to discuss peace "with social justice" and would begin doing so from May 16.

When FARC, which was the most powerful guerrilla group in the Americas and is now a communist political party, decided to disarm, most of its 13,000 members did so.

But the EMC refused. The government believes it has around 3,000 members, most of whom are new recruits.

Since Sunday night, Colombian press have been awash with images from the EMC meeting in the southern Caqueta department, which was replete with references to Marxism and revolution.

The EMC's declaration of imminent peace has not elicited official word from the government, and has sparked little reaction from politicians.

Petro, who is visiting the United States, has not commented on the announcement, despite usually being highly active on social media.

Luis Alban, a former rebel and legislator for the Comunes party, did react -- but only in ire at the EMC claiming to be the sole heirs of the FARC guerrilla movement.

"We reject the use of our symbols by the self-proclaimed Estado Mayor Central (staff command). All this does is perpetuate the scenarios of stigmatization and puts at risk the lives of those that signed the peace deal," said Alban.

More than 360 former guerrillas have been killed since the 2016 peace deal, mostly by dissidents, authorities say.
League of Arab States Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday urged the parties to the conflict in Sudan to declare an armistice on Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan

CAIRO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) League of Arab States Secretary General Ahmed Aboul Gheit on Wednesday urged the parties to the conflict in Sudan to declare an armistice on Eid al-Fitr, a Muslim festival marking the end of Ramadan.

"I call upon the brothers in Sudan - the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) - to declare ceasefire in the days of Eid al-Fit," the secretary general said on Twitter.

The secretary general also expressed the hope that the conflicting sides would agree to put down arms, stressing that the civilians are a priority now.

On Saturday, clashes between the Sudanese armed forces and the RSF broke out in the capital of Khartoum and elsewhere. The military accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against the latter's bases. Later that day, Abdel Fattah Al Burhan, the head of the Sudanese military, issued a decree to dissolve the RSF. Earlier in the day, the Sudanese Ministry of Health said it estimated that around 270 people had been killed in the four days of clashes and a further 2,600 had been injured.
China's commerce ministry denied Wednesday that Russia was using Chinese drones in the Ukrainian campaign, after the United States and its allies accused Beijing of giving military aid to Moscow

BEIJING (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) China's commerce ministry denied Wednesday that Russia was using Chinese drones in the Ukrainian campaign, after the United States and its allies accused Beijing of giving military aid to Moscow.

"The US keeps supplying weapons to Ukraine without giving its actions a second thought. At the same time, it and its allies are spreading disinformation about Chinese drone exports," the ministry said.

The ministry said China objected to what it saw as an attempt to "tarnish the image of Chinese companies" and insisted that it had always backed a political solution to the Ukrainian conflict.

"After the Ukrainian crisis broke out, Chinese civilian drone makers suspended operations in conflict zones, which again proves that Western media claims are groundless and intentionally defamatory," it said.

China has tight controls in place to ensure that drones made for civilian purposes are not being weaponized. It will continue bolstering export rules and urges other countries to follow suit, the ministry said.
The Moldovan Foreign Ministry did not provide a clear explanation why an employee of the Russian Embassy was being declared persona non grata, Russian Ambassador in Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov told Sputnik on Wednesday

CHISINAU (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) The Moldovan Foreign Ministry did not provide a clear explanation why an employee of the Russian Embassy was being declared persona non grata, Russian Ambassador in Chisinau Oleg Vasnetsov told Sputnik on Wednesday.

On Monday, Moldovan authorities called head of the Russian republic of Tatarstan, Rustam Minnikhanov, an "undesirable person" and refused to grant him entry into the country to take part the international Congress of people's diplomacy "Friendship of Peoples" held in Gagauzia, an autonomous territorial entity in the south of Moldova. Earlier on Wednesday, Moldovan Foreign Ministry declared an employee of the Russian Embassy in Chisinau persona non grata and deprived of accreditation two more employees of the embassy for "inappropriate behavior" connected to the incident.

"Today we heard various comments addressed to (Minnikhanov's) delegation, to the embassy staff  not very pleasant, I would say unpleasant. We also asked to clarify what the inappropriate behavior of employees was, what the Foreign Ministry means by this, we have not received a clear answer, we are waiting for an answer," Vasnetsov said, commenting on the situation with Minnikhanov.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) Difficulties with conducting inspections of ships under the grain deal arise solely to the actions of representatives of Ukraine and the UN, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Wednesday.

"At present, the joint coordination center in Istanbul is indeed experiencing difficulties with the registration of new vessels and the conduct of inspections. They arise solely as a result of the actions of Ukrainian representatives, as well as the UN that, apparently, does not want or cannot resist them," Zakharova said in a statement.

Kiev seeks to exploit the Black Sea Grain Initiate by blatantly abusing the rules of procedure, or demanding bribes from shipowners, "for the sake of maximizing commercial profits," the diplomat added.

As a result of such actions, the share of recipients of Ukrainian food in countries in need decreased to a minimum level  only 742,000 (2.6%) out of 28.3 million tons of exported grain, she said.

"Under these conditions, the only way to somehow restore order, a fair and transparent basis for participation in the initiative was the registration of ships, which Russian experts carry out strictly within the approved rules of procedure and their respective powers," Zakharova added.

Russia's proposal to add ships, which will then go to countries in need, as well as those that have been in line for more than one month, to the registration lists "was met with hostility" by Ukrainian representatives, the diplomat said.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) The European Union is currently not evacuating its diplomatic mission from Sudan despite clashes between the Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), but continues to carefully assess the security situation in the country, EU spokeswoman Nabila Massrali said on Wednesday.

On Monday, EU Ambassador to Sudan Aidan O'Hara was assaulted in his residence during the outbreak of violence in the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said.

"The security of the staff, as you know, is our priority ... The EU delegation so far is not evacuated. The security measures are being assessed as we speak," Massrali told a press briefing.

The spokeswoman added that O'Hara was "not seriously hurt" and continued to perform his duties in full.

The violent clashes between the Sudanese regular army and the RSF broke out on Saturday, with the epicenter located in Khartoum. Government forces accused the RSF of mutiny and launched airstrikes against their bases. Later that day, Abdel Fattah Burhan, the head of the Sudanese military, issued a decree disbanding the RSF. On Tuesday, the parties agreed to a 24-hour ceasefire beginning at 6 p.m. local time (16:00 GMT).

The Sudanese Health Ministry estimated that around 270 people had been killed and 2,600 others had been injured in the four days of clashes.
MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) The European Union, Serbia and Kosovo have established a Joint Monitoring Committee to closely follow the implementation of the EU-proposed Ohrid agreement on normalization of relations, the EU Diplomatic Service said on Tuesday.

"The EU, as the Facilitator of the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, together with Kosovo and Serbia, as parties to the Dialogue on normalisation of their relations, have today established a Joint Monitoring Committee to oversee the implementation of the Agreement on the path to normalisation between Kosovo and Serbia and its Implementation Annex," the diplomatic service said in a statement.

The statement specified that Miroslav Lajcak, the EU special representative for the Belgrade-Pristina Dialogue, will chair the committee. Agron Bajrami, the Kosovar ambassador in Brussels, will represent Pristina and Petar Petkovic, the Serbian chief negotiator, will represent Belgrade.

Brussels will host regular meetings of the newly-established committee. The first meeting, which will take place after the next High-level Dialogue Meeting planned for May 2, will finalize and agree upon the committee's terms of references, according to the statement.

On February 27, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell published the full text of the European Union's proposal, which contains clauses on the mutual recognition of documents and state symbols and Belgrade's consent not to prevent Pristina from joining international organizations. In March, Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic and Kosovo leader Albin Kurti held 12-hour talks in the North Macedonian town of Ohrid on Borrell's plan.

As part of the plan, the EU and US leaders also insist that Kosovo Albanian authorities form a Community of Serb Municipalities complete with autonomy rights in accordance with the 2013 Brussels Agreement.

In 2008, Kosovo proclaimed independence from Serbia, however this is still not recognized by Belgrade. In 2013, Serbia and Kosovo signed an EU-mediated agreement to normalize relations, but the dialogue soon came to a standstill. Tensions have been simmering on the border since mid-2022, escalating several times into road blockages in northern Kosovo and belligerent rhetoric on both sides.
WARSAW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) The European Commission (EC) is ready to impose a ban on grain imports from Ukraine following unilateral restrictions introduced by some member states, Polish broadcaster Polskie Radio reported on Wednesday, citing sources.

The EC is ready to ban imports of wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed from Ukraine, according to the report.

The issue will be discussed at a meeting of EC Vice-President Valdis Dombrovskis with Polish, Hungarian, Slovakian, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Ukrainian representatives. European Commissioner for Agriculture Janusz Wojciechowski is also expected to take part in the talks, which are scheduled for 14:00 GMT this day.

On Saturday, Poland and Hungary said they were banning imports of Ukrainian agricultural products until June 30, citing the need to protect domestic farmers from the uncontrolled influx of cheap grain from Ukraine.

On Monday, Slovakia followed suit. On Wednesday, the government of Bulgaria announced a temporary ban on food imports from Ukraine, except for goods in transit.

Ukraine was granted a temporary duty-free trade arrangement with the EU last June. In March 2022, the EU additionally launched so-called green corridors to facilitate the transit of Ukrainian grain to the world market; however, the cheap grain from Ukraine ended up flooding EU markets instead, prompting outrage among local farmers.
The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed the holding of a 24-hour humanitarian truce in Sudan as of 6 p.m. today to ensure the safe passage of civilians and diplomatic missions, the evacuation of the wounded and stranded

Jeddah (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 19 April, 2023) The General Secretariat of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) welcomed the holding of a 24-hour humanitarian truce in Sudan as of 6 p.m. today to ensure the safe passage of civilians and diplomatic missions, the evacuation of the wounded and stranded.

The Secretary-General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) H. E. Hissein Brahim Taha welcomed the acceptance by the parties to this initiative and called for the importance of reaching an agreement for an immediate ceasefire, refraining from escalation, protecting civilians and diplomatic missions, as well as allowing the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

The Secretary-General also encouraged the parties to reach a longer truce to allow the Sudanese people to practice the ritual of celebrating Eid al-Fitr as a holy Islamic rite.

The Secretary-General stressed the readiness of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation to channel its full potential and capabilities to support humanitarian efforts and resume the dialogue between the Sudanese parties.
(@FahadShabbir)

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for immediate humanitarian access on Wednesday to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum amid fighting between the army and the paramilitary

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2023) The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for immediate humanitarian access on Wednesday to the Sudanese capital of Khartoum amid fighting between the army and the paramilitary.

"It is highly distressing hearing reports of civilian casualties and bodies left lying in the streets of Khartoum. They need to be collected and treated with dignity. We are calling for unimpeded humanitarian access immediately," ICRC Regional Director for Africa Patrick Youssef said.

Clashes between Sudan's regular armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have been raging since last weekend. ICRC says fighting left hospitals in Khartoum without power, water or enough medical supplies. Unrest has also been reported in other parts of the country.

Osama Abubakr Osman, communication director of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, said he feared the healthcare system might collapse. Volunteers have been providing first aid in clinics and hospitals but they too are working in extreme conditions, he said.

The Rapid Support Forces announced a 24-hour ceasefire starting from 6 p.m. (16:00 GMT) on Wednesday, a day after the previous attempt at a truce failed shortly after the ceasefire was due to take effect.

Sudan was to transition to civilian rule after the overthrow of its longtime leader Omar Bashir in 2019, but that process has been repeatedly derailed by infighting. ICRC says years of instability and economic turmoil have left millions struggling to meet their basic needs.
Flowers mark the San Francisco site where tech entrepreneur Bob Lee was fatally stabbed April 4. (Jeff Chiu / Associated Press)

Rushes to judgment seldom come at you any faster than the commentary about the killing of tech entrepreneur Bob Lee in a deserted neighborhood of San Francisco early on the morning of April 4.

The stabbing death of Lee was almost instantaneously taken as confirmation of an emerging narrative about the city  dirty, dangerous, unlivable. Lee's friends and business acquaintances knew whom to blame: San Francisco's liberal politicians.

"Chesa Boudin, & the criminal-loving city council that enabled him & a lawless SF for years, have Bobs literal blood on their hands," tweeted venture investor Matt Ocko, naming the progressive district attorney who was turned out of office in a recall vote last year.

When people talk about 'crime,' what they're talking about is disorder in the form of homelessness and schizophrenia on the street and drug selling. They're not talking about child sexual abuse or tax evasion or environmental pollution. Whenever there's a toxic dumping story, it's not seen as part of a crime wave.

Alec Karakatsanis, civil rights lawyer

Elon Musk's take on the incident, aimed at Boudin's "tough on crime" successor as D.A., was widely quoted. "Many people I know have been severely assaulted," he tweeted. "Violent crime in SF is horrific and even if attackers are caught, they are often released immediately. Is the city taking stronger action to incarcerate repeat violent offenders @BrookeJenkinsSF?"

Newspapers and cable news programs piled on. Not all jumped to the same conclusion as Ocko and Musk, but instead exploited the killing to remind readers and viewers of the "concerns" that had been aired over violent crime in the city, and how those had ostensibly led to Boudin's recall.

As it turned out, of course, Lee's stabbing death seems to have had nothing to do with street crime or prosecutorial laxity or coddled criminals or "repeat violent offenders." The April 13 arrest of a fellow tech worker in connection with the crime suggests that the assault was the outcome of a dispute between Lee (who had moved to Miami) and the alleged assailant (an Emeryville resident) over Lee's relationship with the latter's sister.

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Superficially, then, the initial coverage of Lee's killing appears to be a case of what the great press critic A.J. Liebling once labeled "the futility of flapdoodle." It's what happens when uninformed or misinformed sources run wild, equipped with little but received wisdom.

That San Francisco was overrun by violent criminals was taken as gospel; a predawn killing in a deserted part of town was shoehorned into the prevailing narrative.

Never mind that the narrative itself is untrue. As my colleague Summer Lin reported, violent crime in San Francisco  homicide, rape, robbery and aggravated assault  peaked in 2013, and by 2020, the last year for which statistics have been released, cases had fallen by about 32%.

The city recorded 56 homicides in 2022, according to the Major Cities Police Chiefs Assn. But that was fewer than in other cities of a similar size, including Denver (88 homicides), Nashville (108) and Columbus, Ohio (140).

In fact, says civil rights lawyer Alec Karakatsanis, a close analyst of law enforcement narratives through his indispensable Copaganda Newsletter on Substack, San Francisco is one of the safest big cities in America.

"Once a news theme is generated," Karakatsanis told me, "reporters and editors see everything through the prism of that theme. There's a theme about disorder and drugs and homelessness in San Francisco which is not about whether those things are objectively true, but more about how our brains are processing discrete actual examples."

As it happens, the killing of Bob Lee appears to conform more to the truth about violent crime  that it most often involves people who know each other rather than strangers on the street. But you wouldn't know that from how the killing has been reported.

The problem is worse than simply the mischaracterization of a single high-profile crime. It's part of a long-term phenomenon in which the public's fear of random violence has been fed by law enforcement advocates to burnish the image of police as the only bulwark against a perilously unpredictable world.

The harvest has been a militarization of police forces, the creation of SWAT teams and the assembling of fleets of armored vehicles.

"The 'stranger danger' theme is very beneficial to police because it's hard for police to make arguments to acquire military equipment and surveillance apparatus if most violent crime is committed by family members or friends," Karakatsanis says. "It starts to feel like a social problem that requires a very different public health intervention."

Depictions of American cities as hives of remorseless human predators have taken on a distinctly ideological cast in recent years. At first they were employed to push back against long-overdue progressive criminal justice reforms.

The Boudin recall was exploited as Exhibit A for the case that voters were exasperated with the disorder that reform had brought.

I compiled some of this commentary at the time:

Most San Franciscans just realized that doctrinaire progressivism had become a suicide pact, wrote Daniel Henninger of the Wall Street Journal, declaring an end to a major citys long transition to flowers-in-your-hair progressivism.

Yet there were few signs that voters actually opposed those reforms. In Alameda County across the bay, civil rights attorney Pamela Price was elected district attorney and Yesenia Sanchez won her race for sheriff without facing a runoff, despite espousing progressive reforms similar to Boudins.

The general public, moreover, agreed with many of Boudins signature policies, according to a poll taken shortly before the recall, including his efforts to protect worker rights, review past cases for possible wrongful convictions and end the practice of cash bail. His loss in the recall was more properly attributed to a focused campaign against him heavily financed by real estate developers and agents.

Pro-reform campaigns have continued to prevail, most recently in the election of Brandon Johnson as mayor of Chicago after a campaign in which he opposed the conventional anti-crime nostrum of hiring more police officers but advocated instead addressing the "root causes" of crime through citywide youth hiring, reopening mental health centers and investing in violence prevention.

In the current political cycle, urban crime has become an even more partisan issue. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) tried to play it for all it's worth Monday by holding a hearing on violent crime in Manhattan, part of his campaign to interfere with the prosecution of Donald Trump by Manhattan Dist. Atty. Alvin Bragg.

Jordan's effort fell flat, however, in part because Jim Kessler of the centrist think tank Third Way came to the witness stand armed with data showing that "New York Citys murder rate was 18% below the national average" and that the murder rate was 59% higher in Ohio than in New York and 251% higher in Louisiana, another red state.

"If we wanted a hearing about the ravages of crime," Kessler asked, "why arent we in Baton Rouge or Louisville, where five people were murdered in the blink of an eye in a mass shooting at a downtown bank" on April 11?

The partisan cabaret of politicians like Jordan narrow the definition of "crime waves" to encompass categories that can be blamed, in the public mind, on a predatory underclass largely of Black perpetrators. That ignores crimes that are more commonly classed as "white collar" offenses  the victims of which are often low-income and minority people.

"In the elite liberal mind," Karakatsanis says, "when people talk about 'crime,' what they're talking about is disorder in the form of homelessness and schizophrenia on the street and drug selling. They're not talking about child sexual abuse or tax evasion or environmental pollution. Whenever there's a toxic dumping story, it's not seen as part of a crime wave."

Accounts of "crime waves" such as what is ostensibly happening in San Francisco are dependent on discrete incidents that can be cited for their genuinely horrific effect on victims and their families; Jordan gave four such victims a platform at his hearing Monday. But they distort the actual situation. That's not in the public interest.

News organizations and local politicians are often complicit in defining crime as face-to-face encounters among strangers. It's rare for local political leaders to react to a high-profile violent attack by downplaying the gravity of a purported crime wave, lest they be saddled with that all-too-effective label of being "soft on crime."

San Francisco politicians were unusual in pushing back against the image of their city as a violent hellhole in the aftermath of Lee's killing.

I do think its unfortunate that were seeing this narrative that San Francisco is some exceptionally violent place," state Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) said. "Thats not true."

Added San Francisco Police Commissioner Kevin Benedicto: Overall, if you look at the last five years and 10 years on a longer-term scale, crime is at a historic low." The city, he said, "is unfairly portrayed as being in the midst of a crime wave that isnt borne out of the data.

They may have been willing to challenge the narrative because they perceived that it was being aired by outsiders on social media, not by their own constituents.

The killing of Bob Lee is that rare case in which the prevailing narrative was flatly and swiftly contradicted by subsequent events. But it's unlikely that it will eradicate the impression that San Francisco has descended into chaos. The impression is too often repeated and too colorful. From the standpoint of public health and safety, that's too bad.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
USM Center for Community Engagement Honors Hattiesburg Zoo

Wed, 04/19/2023 - 11:20am | By: Van Arnold

For its outstanding contribution in mentoring students at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), the Hattiesburg Zoo has been chosen to receive the 2023 Bruce Van Nostrand Community Partner Award presented by the Universitys Center for Community Engagement (CCE).

The Hattiesburg Zoo will be recognized, along with other community awardees, during a Celebration of Service event on Monday, April 24, from 11:30 a.m. until 1 p.m. at USMs Thad Cochran Center (Room 218).

CCE Director Christy Kayser explains that the Bruce Van Nostrand Community Partner Award salutes an outstanding partner of USM that dedicates time to mentoring and helping students understand community needs and the vital work of community organizations.

Hattiesburg Zoo exemplifies what it means to be an outstanding partner to USM, said Kayser. They have worked alongside us to co-create educational experiences that have a lasting impact on our students as well as on their own programs.

Gabby Howe serves as Education Programs Coordinator at the Hattiesburg Zoo. In that role, she strives to provide interactive and educational learning experiences for zoo guests. Howe considers the CCE award a distinct honor.

Our partnership has supported the zoos conservation message, while also providing opportunities for students to serve the community, said Howe. We look forward to seeing how this program will continue to expand and support future USM students, zoo guests, and the local community.

Dr. Maria Wallace, Assistant Professor of Science Education at USMs Center for STEM Education, nominated Hattiesburg Zoo for the award. She points out that approximately 12 students (paid teacher interns and volunteers) have been working with the zoo this semester. The paid teacher interns and graduate students are part of the Jimmy Payne funded Soar into STEMed: Future Teachers & Community Partners program.

With this support, USM teacher candidates get unique training through our multi-year partnership with the Hattiesburg Zoo that originally started with just one class  SME 432 (Science Methods for Elementary Teachers), said Wallace, who will be honored with the Outstanding Service-Learning Faculty Award during the April 24 event.

Wallace further notes chances are high that Hattiesburg Zoo patrons are helping prepare future teachers since USM teacher licensure candidates make up a large majority of educational docents working at the zoo. One educational docent from USM typically has a direct impact on advancing science education with an average of 1,500 zoo visitors in one semester.

Jeremy Cumpton, Director of Conservation, Education and Wildlife at the Hattiesburg Zoo, sees the award as an affirmation of the zoos commitment to community relations.

Most people are not aware of how much work goes on behind the scenes and receiving this award is confirmation that hard work does pay off, he said. This award signifies another step in the Hattiesburg Zoos path to set the standard of excellence.

Added Cumpton: Partnerships are one of the ways for an organization to grow. By making these partnerships with local groups, we are able to better serve our community by pooling our resources for the betterment of Mississippi. Engaging USM students in the STEM program has allowed the students to see first-hand how important conservation education is for all ages, as well as learning teaching strategies to help in this endeavor.

Kayser emphasizes that partnerships like the Hattiesburg Zoo collaboration represent a fundamental aspect of the CCEs mission.

Service-learning can be transformational for university students as they experience how skills and knowledge learned in the classroom function in an authentic setting, said Kayser. However, this transformation cannot happen without community partners who are willing to work with our students as co-educators. Partners like the Hattiesburg Zoo commit tremendous time and effort to provide seamless, educational experience for our students.

To learn more about the Center for Community Engagement, please visit their website or call 601.266.5074.
USM Music Student Wins Presser Undergraduate Scholar Award

Wed, 04/19/2023 - 09:00am | By: Mike Lopinto

Nicholas Dauerer, a junior music performance major with a business administration minor at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM), was recently named the 2023 Presser Undergraduate Scholar.

Selected by the music faculty guided solely by consideration of excellence and merit, this award is an honor award and the student, in his/her senior year, is to be known as a Presser Scholar. The award includes a generous stipend to aid in continuing musical studies.

The Presser Foundation was established in 1939 under the Deeds of Trust and Will of the late Theodore Presser. It is one of the few private foundations in the United States dedicated solely to music education and music philanthropy.

Theodore Presser (1848  1925) rose from humble beginnings to become a respected music teacher and publisher. Familiar with the many challenges facing musicians, he established The Presser Foundation which supports music performance and education through undergraduate and graduate scholar awards, operating and program support for music organizations, capital grants for music building projects, and assistance to retired music teachers.

Nicholas is a musical and academic leader in the School of Music, said Dr. Colin McKenzie, Director of the School of Music. His future impact on our profession is made evident through his dedication in the classroom, practice room, and on the stage. His accomplishments are a recognition of his hard work and that of the people who teach him every day. I am fortunate to have the opportunity to work with all of the incredibly gifted students of the School of Music. Nicholas represents the best of those students and, as such, is a leader among all students at The University of Southern Mississippi.

A resident of Smyrna, Tenn., Dauerer has played trombone for 10 years. His love for music began as a toddler when he would nag his mother to put on Baby Mozart DVDs.

While attending Stewarts Creek High School, he participated in Tennessee All-State Ensembles for three consecutive years playing in the Jazz Band, Concert Band, and as principal in the Orchestra. However, it wasnt until attending the Tennessee Governors School that he realized he wanted to study music.

In the summer of 2019, he attended Interlochen Center for the Arts where he served as principal trombone of the World Youth Wind Symphony. He was also a scholarship recipient of the Myra Jackson Blair Pre-College Academy at Vanderbilt Universitys Blair School of Music where he studied under Nick Laufer and served as principal trombone for the Curb Youth Symphony Orchestra. He is a recipient of his high school bands highest honor, the John Phillip Sousa Award as well as the 2020 MTSBOA All-Middle Tennessee Musicianship Scholarship.

At Southern Miss, he studies trombone with Dr. Ben Mcllwain. There, he is trombone section leader for The Pride of Mississippi Marching Band and plays in the select Trombone Octet. He is also principal trombone of the Symphony Orchestra and Wind Ensemble. In 2022, he was a semifinalist for the S.E. Shires Solo Competition at the Southeast Trombone Symposium. Nicholas is also employed playing trombone at Temple Baptist Church and for the show choirs at Petal High School.

Nicholas epitomizes what Southern Miss and the School of Music is all about - excellence both academically and musically, while maintaining a humble spirit and character that sets the example for others, said trombone professor, Dr. Ben McIlwain. I first met Nicholas when teaching at a summer music festival in Tennessee while he was in high school. I knew immediately that I wanted him to be part of our USM family.

After USM, Nicholas will pursue a masters degree in trombone performance.

For more information about the School of Music, please visit their website.
Vantage Market Research, The North Star for the Working World

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Conductive Polymers Market is valued at USD 3.8 Billion in 2022 and is projected to reach a value of USD 6.72 Billion by 2030 at a CAGR (Compound Annual Growth Rate) of 8.5% over the forecast period 2023-2030.

Market Overview

Conductive Polymers are a class of organic polymers that exhibit electrical conductivity. The Conductive Polymers market is expected to experience significant growth in the coming years, driven by increasing demand for lightweight and high-performance materials, growing use of Conductive Polymers in various applications, and rising investments in research and development activities.

We forecast that the Antistatic packaging in Conductive Polymers market sales will account for more than 50% of total sales by 2030. Antistatic packaging is widely used in the electronics industry, particularly in the manufacturing, storing, and transporting of sensitive electronic components and devices. Conductive Polymers, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, are commonly used in antistatic packaging due to their ability to dissipate static charges and protect against ESD.

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Market Dynamics

Increasing Demand for Electronic Devices will Increase to Support Market Expansion

The increasing demand for electronic devices such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, and wearable devices has led to the growth of the Conductive Polymers market. Conductive Polymers are used in various electronic components such as displays, touchscreens, printed circuit boards, batteries, and sensors. The increasing demand for these devices has led to the development of new and innovative Conductive Polymer-based products offering improved performance, flexibility, and durability.

Growing Demand for Energy-Efficient and Sustainable Products in to Drives the Market Growth

The demand for Conductive Polymers has increased significantly with the growing concerns over climate change and the need for energy-efficient and sustainable products. Conductive Polymers are used in various applications such as organic photovoltaic cells, energy storage devices, and smart windows that offer energy savings, reduced carbon emissions, and improved sustainability. Developing new and innovative Conductive Polymer-based products that offer improved energy efficiency and sustainability has led to the growth of the Conductive Polymers market.

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Top Players in the Global Conductive Polymers Market

ABTECH Scientific (United States)

AGFA-GEVAERT NV (AGFA) (Belgium)

American Dyes Inc. (Quebec)

CELANESE CORPORATION (United States)

Heraeus Holding GmbH (Germany)

Kemet Corporation (United States)

MERCK KGAA (Germany)

Rieke Metals (United States)

SABIC (Saudi Arabia)

Solvay SA (Belgium)

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Top Trends in the Global Conductive Polymers Market

One trend that Vantage Market Research (VMR) expects to see in the Conductive Polymers market is the increasing use in the automotive industry. Conductive Polymers are widely used in the automotive industry due to their excellent electrical conductivity and mechanical properties. They are used in various applications, such as sensors, lighting systems, heating elements, and EMI shielding. The increasing demand for electric and hybrid vehicles has led to the developing of new Conductive Polymer-based products that offer improved performance, safety, and reliability. Moreover, Conductive Polymers are also used in developing lightweight and flexible components, which can help reduce the weight of vehicles, resulting in improved fuel efficiency and reduced carbon emissions.

Another trend that VMR predicts will continue in the Conductive Polymers industry is its growing demand in the healthcare industry. The healthcare industry is increasingly adopting Conductive Polymers due to their biocompatibility, flexibility, and conductivity. Conductive Polymers are used in various medical devices, such as electrocardiogram electrodes, sensors, and drug delivery systems. They can also be used for tissue engineering and neural stimulation applications. The development of new and innovative Conductive Polymer-based products that offer improved biocompatibility and functionality has led to the growth of the Conductive Polymer market in the healthcare industry. Additionally, the increasing demand for wearable devices for remote patient monitoring and diagnostics is expected to drive the future demand for Conductive Polymers in the healthcare industry.

Top Report Findings

The Electrically Conducting category controls most of the Conductive Polymers market's Revenue based on the segment Type. Electrically conducting polymers have unique properties, such as high conductivity, flexibility, and ease of processing, making them suitable for various applications. These include antistatic coatings, EMI/RFI shielding, sensors, batteries, and capacitors.

Based on Application, most of the Conductive Polymers market's Revenue is controlled by the food and beverage category. ESD/EMI shielding is a significant application for Conductive Polymers and has been a driving factor in the growth of the Conductive Polymers market. ESD (electrostatic discharge) and EMI (electromagnetic interference) shielding are crucial in many industries, particularly electronics, where these phenomena can cause damage to electronic components and devices.

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Recent Developments in the Global Conductive Polymers Market

In 2022, Agfa has announced plans to introduce double-digit price increases beginning on January 1, 2023, across its entire global Digital Print & Chemicals portfolio.

In 2022, A US-based energy storage business called PolyJoule Inc. announced the introduction of Conductive Polymer battery technology. This technology is intended to meet the demands of stationary power applications.

Antistatic Packaging Category of the Application in the Conductive Polymers Market Generate almost Half the Segment Revenue in Forecast Period

For better understanding, based on the Application, the Conductive Polymer market is divided into Antistatic Packaging, ESD/EMI Shielding, Electrostatic Coating, Capacitors and Other Applications.

The demand for Antistatic Packaging is driven by several factors, including the growing demand for consumer electronics, automotive, and healthcare products that utilize electronic components and devices. Additionally, the increasing use of electronic components in various industries, such as aerospace and defense, is expected to drive further the demand for antistatic packaging.

On the other hand, the Electrostatic Coating is anticipated to grow significantly. Electrostatic coating is a process that involves the application of a Conductive Polymer coating to a substrate using an electrostatic charge. The development of new and advanced Conductive Polymer coatings that offer improved properties, such as higher conductivity and improved adhesion, is expected to drive the growth of this segment further.

North America Region Expected to Generate a Considerable Amount of Revenue in the Global Conductive Polymers Market

The North American region is anticipated to do so in the coming years due to the region's high demand for electronic devices and technological advancements. The demand for Conductive Polymers is also driven by the growing use of these materials in various industries, such as electronics, automotive, healthcare, and aerospace. Additionally, the presence of major players and research institutions in North America has contributed to the growth of the Conductive Polymers market in the region.

The Asia Pacific region is expected to grow the fastest in the Conductive Polymers market. The region's growth is driven by several factors, including the increasing demand for consumer electronics, automotive, and healthcare products that utilize Conductive Polymers. Additionally, the region's growing population and rising disposable incomes have contributed to the growth of the Conductive Polymers market.

Browse market data Tables and Figures spread through 149 Pages and in-depth TOC on Conductive Polymers Market Forecast Report (2023-2030).

Global Conductive Polymers Market segmentation

By Type

Electrically Conducting

Thermally Conducting

By Application

ESD/EMI Shielding

Antistatic Packaging

Electrostatic Coating

Capacitor

Other Applications

By Region

North America United States Canada Mexico

Europe Germany UK France Italy Spain Rest of Europe

Asia Pacific China Japan India South Korea South-East Asia Rest of Asia Pacific

Latin America Brazil Argentina Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa GCC Countries South Africa Rest of MEA



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Scope of the Report:

Report Attributes Details Market Size in 2022 USD 3.8 Billion Revenue Forecast by 2030 USD 6.72 Billion CAGR 8.5% from 2023 to 2030 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2030 Key Players ABTECH Scientific, AGFA-GEVAERT NV (AGFA), American Dyes Inc., Celanese Corporation, Heraeus Holding GmbH, Kemet Corporation, MERCK KGAA, Rieke Metals, SABIC, Solvay SA Customization Options Customized purchase options are available to meet any research needs. Explore customized purchase options https://www.vantagemarketresearch.com/conductive-polymers-market-2075/request-sample

Key Questions Answered in the Conductive Polymers Market Report are:

What is the current size of the conductive polymers market and what is its growth potential in the coming years?

What are the major drivers, challenges, and trends in the conductive polymers market?

What are the key applications of conductive polymers in various industries, such as electronics, healthcare, automotive, and aerospace?

What are the different types of conductive polymers available in the market and how do they differ in terms of properties and applications?

What are the key geographical regions for the conductive polymers market and what is their market share?

Who are the major players in the conductive polymers market and what are their business strategies and competitive landscapes?

What are the key challenges and opportunities for new entrants in the conductive polymers market?

What are the regulatory frameworks and environmental considerations affecting the conductive polymers market?

What are the future prospects and potential innovations in the conductive polymers market?

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After nearly two years of standoff diplomacy with de facto Taliban authorities, Washington is reviewing its Afghan policy in response to what U.S. officials call draconian Taliban governance.

The review comes as the United Nations is reportedly mulling a suspension of operations inside Afghanistan because the Taliban have banned Afghan women from work at U.N. agencies.

The U.S. government has been reviewing our approach and engagement with the Taliban in the context of their increasingly draconian edicts targeting and discriminating against women and girls in Afghanistan, a spokesperson for the Department of State told VOA.

Unmoved by global condemnation of their misogynistic policies, including from Muslim-majority countries, the Taliban insist that depriving women of education, work and political participation is an internal Afghan issue.

Washingtons tougher tone comes as the U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is reportedly planning to convene an international gathering in May to discuss the possibility of giving the Taliban a seat at the U.N. General Assembly in exchange for reversing the Islamist regimes cascade of restrictions on Afghan women.

When asked about the proposed meetings goals on Wednesday, Russias Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia told reporters in New York that he does not believe the group will consider recognition.

I understand the Secretary-General, as he shared it with some of the member states, me included, will be looking for the opinion of those special envoys on how they see the way out for Afghanistan.

Despite maintaining firm control over the entire country for nearly two years, the Taliban have failed to gain recognition from any government while the Afghanistan seat at the U.N. is still occupied by Naseer Ahmad Faiq, an appointee of the former Afghan government.

Meeting the opposition

Amid growing U.S. frustration with the Taliban, American diplomats have reached out to some former Afghan politicians and warlords who have set up political bases outside Afghanistan.

This week, U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Tom West met with several Afghans in Istanbul saying he heard deep concerns about the Taliban rule in Afghanistan.

The National Resistance Council for the Salvation of Afghanistan, an anti-Taliban group, said its representatives met West on Monday at his request. The group said in a tweet that it gave West a roadmap for saving the country from the ongoing crisis.

No U.S. official has traveled to Afghanistan since the Taliban seized power in 2021, but Washington has bypassed the Taliban and maintained robust diplomatic and humanitarian engagement with Afghans.

Still, some think the U.S. should do more to engage. Why is every other envoy traveling to or staying in [Afghanistan] but him, tweeted Obaidullah Baheer, an Afghan analyst, about Wests meetings in Turkey. I fail to see the logic behind meeting exiled and failed Republic warlords and politicians.

While not extending a formal recognition, most regional countries, including Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan, have kept their embassies open in Kabul and have accredited Taliban representatives in their capitals.

Shinkai Karokhail, a former Afghan ambassador to Canada and a womens rights activist, said even if U.S. diplomats were to travel to Afghanistan, they would not have access to unfiltered realities.

The Taliban will not allow meetings with the representatives of the people or womens groups and other civil and political activists, she told VOA.

The U.S.s continued engagement with former Afghan officials, often blamed for massive corruption and cataclysmic failures, is also seen by some as unhelpful.

When there is a vacuum of representation or leadership, what is achieved by filling that vacuum by platforming victors of tragic failures? said an Afghan activist who asked not to be named.

Intervention?

Under the Doha agreement signed between U.S. and Taliban officials in February 2020, the U.S. committed not to intervene in Afghanistans domestic affairs.

U.S. officials say they are not backing military uprisings against Taliban rule but demand they form an inclusive government.

Last month, an audio of part of a speech to a group of Afghan women by Karen Decker, the Qatar-based charge daffaires of the U.S. mission to Afghanistan, was circulating on WhatsApp.

We are trying to figure out how to get the best parts of the previous government and create and figure out how we can help Afghans create a new government for their country, Decker is heard saying.

A spokesperson for the Department of State said Deckers comments were consistent with a long-standing position by the international community.

We have been clear in calling on the Taliban to form an inclusive and representative government that can legitimately speak for all Afghans.

U.S. officials say the formation of an inclusive government should be exclusively an issue for Afghans to handle, not imposed by the international community.

If the Taliban hope for a government that enjoys international legitimacy, launching a political dialogue among Afghans is a first step. Legitimacy begins at home, the spokesperson said.

Such calls have thus far found no listeners among Taliban leaders.

It is not clear yet whether the Taliban leadership in Kandahar has a roadmap for a political process that would strengthen legitimacy at home and abroad, Omar Samad, a former Afghan ambassador to France, told VOA.

While the Taliban remain internationally isolated, Samad said conditions, circumstances, threat perceptions, balance of power and the regional and international order are very different now compared to the 1990s.

The Taliban made a commitment in the Doha agreement to forbid international terror groups in areas under their control, a change from their position that allowed al Qaida to operate freely. And unlike the 1990s when the Taliban were battling warlords for control of the country, since the 2021 U.S. withdrawal the Taliban has been Afghanistans ruling power with no real challengers.

The question now is whether there is political will in both capitals for reframing and relaunching new talks on the way forward, Samad said.

Margaret Besheer contributed to this article from New York.
Rival forces battling in the streets of Sudans capital declared a new 24-hour cease-fire Wednesday, a day after a similar truce attempt failed.

The Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, announced separately that they would abide by a temporary halt in fighting beginning at 6 p.m. local time, or 1600 UTC.

There were reports of sporadic fighting after the cease-fire went into effect.

In Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for both sides to respect the truce, "renounce violence and return to negotiations." She said the country's two top generals, whose forces have turned the capital into a war zone for the past five days, "are responsible for ensuring the protection of civilians and non-combatants."

Heavy fighting was reported earlier Wednesday around the main military headquarters in Khartoum, with military jets launching airstrikes on RSF forces attempting to take control of the complex.

Streets in the capital were empty except for fighters and people attempting to flee the city, some leaving on foot, some crowding into vehicles. Most residents have sheltered indoors to avoid the fighting, enduring a cutoff in electricity and dwindling food supplies.

"Khartoum has become a ghost city," said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

The fighting has killed nearly 300 people in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of the clashes.

World leaders have pressured General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of Sudans military, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces, to call a halt to the fighting. The rival forces agreed to a cease-fire Tuesday after speaking separately by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appealed for a truce on humanitarian grounds. The cease-fire fell apart within minutes and fighting raged throughout the day on Wednesday.

Watch related video by Anita Powell:

Japan announced Wednesday it has begun plans to evacuate about 60 of its citizens from Sudan aboard military planes amid the worsening situation in Khartoum.

The U.S. State Department told VOA on Wednesday it has been in communication with American citizens about safety measures and other precautions, adding that it is unaware of any deaths or injuries of U.S. citizens in Sudan.

Sudans military said four Egyptian military transport planes evacuated 177 Egyptian soldiers who were being held by the RSF. The Egyptian troops had been in Sudan to conduct joint exercises with the Sudanese military.

Calls for dialogue

The fighting between the army and RSF broke out Saturday after months of rising tension over the countrys political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.

Calls to end the fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the African Union, the Arab League and East African regional bloc IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Sudan's two top generals, however, have yet to express a willingness to negotiate and each has demanded the other's surrender.

Dagalo said Monday on Twitter that he was defending democracy in Sudan and called Burhan a "radical Islamist." Dagalo's forces emerged from the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan's Darfur region and have been accused of carrying out atrocities in the region.

The clashes are part of a power struggle between General Burhan, who also heads Sudans ruling military council, and General Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the council. The two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.

The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis.

VOA English to Africa's Carol Van Dam Falk, VOA Africa correspondent Mariama Diallo, VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer, VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell, VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching and VOA reporter Michael Atit contributed to this report. Some information came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Confie, the largest personal lines insurance distributor in the U.S., announced its Shared Service Center in Tijuana, Seguros Confie, has been named to Infonavit's Empresa de Diez Plus (Ten Plus Company), a program that recognizes and offers benefits to companies that demonstrate employee commitment by creating quality jobs that favor economic development in Mexico.

More importantly, this recognition allows Confie the ability to offer an additional benefit to its employees that gives them a discount on their administration fee when they first apply for Infonavit Credit. Additionally, they qualify for a lower monthly housing payment that is not available to companies that are not recognized as a "Diez Plus" company.

"We want to offer a best-in-class benefit package that exceeds our employee's expectations. This distinction allows us to achieve those goals," said Cesar Soriano, Confie's CEO. "Our employees are at the foundation of our winning culture, and we are committed to improving their lives whenever we can."

Already named the "Best Call Center" by Yo Amo Tijuana, this honor adds to Confie's impressive list of reasons for prospective candidates to consider joining the company.

"I'm thrilled that we can now offer another great benefit to our fantastic team," said Santiago Cordero, vice president and general manager of operations at Seguros Confie. "As a company, we strive to provide the tools necessary for our employees to grow and thrive both at work and at home."

Seguros Confie is celebrating 12 years in Tijuana, with a workforce that has grown to more than 1,400 employees.

"Confie was recognized out of a total of 42,600 companies," said Ana Lizeth Gomez, regional delegate of Infonavit in Baja California, at the awards ceremony. "Only 2,052 (4.8%) of companies in Baja California achieved this recognition."

Story continues

Infonavit's Empresa Diez Plus recognizes and offers benefits to employers who submit their employee Infonavit withholdings in a timely manner and have no outstanding debt.

For more information on joining our team, visit www.confiemx.com.

About Confie

Established in 2008, Confie is the nation's leading personal lines insurance distribution company. Today, Confie meets customers wherever they are  with more than 800+ retail locations in 23 states, the Bluefire general agency, and a telephone and online shared service center servicing all 50 states. With flexible insurance options, outstanding value, and convenient service, Confie's aspiration is to be the most trusted source of insurance solutions so our customers can have peace of mind. Confie is a portfolio company of Alliant Insurance. For more information about Confie, visit www.confie.com.

About Seguros Confie

Seguros Confie started its operations in Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico, in 2010, when Confie, the largest independent personal lines agency and broker in the U.S, acquired Seguros Sin Barreras and transitioned support operations and administration to Tijuana. Over the ensuing years, the company moved to a brand new facility in the financial zone of Tijuana in 2016. Today, Seguros Confie has more than 1,400+ employees distributed in two locations and remotely. Seguros Confie serves all 50 states in the U.S. To learn more about Seguros Confie, visit www.confiemx.com.

About Confie BPO

In 2010, Confie opened a nearshore business process outsourcing division to help companies optimize their operations by providing inbound and outbound call services to maximize their profitability. Shortly after, Confie BPO became the outsourcing leader in the insurance, financial and healthcare industries by providing transformative tools and cutting-edge technology for businesses seeking customer growth and increased revenue. Confie BPO offers a wide range of inbound and outbound call services that are easily customizable, integrate seamlessly and deliver measured results. For more information about Confie BPO, visit www.confiebpo.com.

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During Ramadan, an Islamic community in California is raising awareness about domestic violence. For VOA, Genia Dulot brings us the story of a domestic violence shelter for Muslim immigrants in San Diego.
Officials on Cameroon's northern border with Nigeria say Boko Haram militants in the past week destroyed hundreds of homes in large-scale attacks that killed at least six villagers and two soldiers, and left thousands homeless. Cameroon's government says troops retaliated Wednesday morning and killed at least 12 militants.

Officials in Cameroons Mayo-Moskota district, on the border with Nigerias Borno state, say hundreds of Boko Haram fighters launched deadly attacks on villages over the past five days.

Cameroons military says six civilians and two government troops were killed in the attacks and the militants stole two military jeeps and some ammunition.

Guedjeo Salomon is Cameroons official in charge of agriculture in Mayo-Moskota, where he spoke by phone Wednesday to VOA.

He says the militants looted markets, ranches, farms, and shops and sent villagers fleeing for safety.

Salomon says thousands of civilians are hiding in the bush on the border with Nigeria and neighboring towns, including Mokolo, Moskuta and Koza. He says on Monday the militants destroyed close to 400 shops and houses.

"They militants crossed the border to Nigeria with stolen loot, including about 200 cows, more than 250 goats and sheep, and one hundred motorcycles," he added.

Salomon says Cameroons military chased the militants back across Nigerias border into Borno state, the birthplace of Boko Haram.

Cameroons government says at least 12 militants were killed on Wednesday morning in a military raid on its side of the border.

VOA could not independently verify the number of casualties, but witnesses confirmed the attacks involved hundreds of militants.

The governor of Cameroons Far North region Midjiyawa Bakari spoke to VOA via a messaging app.

Bakari says Cameroons military has been deployed to protect civilians on the border with Nigeria who are again suffering because of fresh Boko Haram incursions.



"Besides fighting the insurgents, troops will provide first aid to wounded civilians and work with local militias, who have a mastery of roads used by the militants to enter Cameroon through the porous border," he said.

Villagers are calling on troops to better protect them from the militants.

Cameroons military said Tuesday the Multinational Joint Task Force of the Lake Chad Basin Commission met in Mora, a northern border town with Chad and Nigeria.

The task force, made up of troops from Cameroon, Chad, Niger, and Nigeria, discussed how to stop the attacks.

Cameroon in March said at least 3,000 people were displaced in fighting along Nigerian border towns and villages, including Mayo-Moskota.

Cameroons government repeated calls for villagers to report any strangers in their villages and said it remobilized militias to assist troops fighting Boko Haram.

Boko Haram attacks began in Nigeria's Borno state in 2009 before spreading to neighboring countries, including Cameroon, Chad, and Niger. The United Nations says the Islamist insurgency has left more than 36,000 people dead, mainly in Nigeria, and 3 million displaced.
Chinese companies mining rare earth minerals in Myanmars Kachin State have promised to halt activities after more than 1,000 local residents protested, acknowledging the environmental damage caused by extracting the elements key to the production of many everyday tech-heavy devices such as smartphones.

The protesters came from more than 10 villages in the area controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), one of Myanmars most powerful ethnic groups, and its armed group, the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). The protests began in December after the KIO granted Chinese enterprises permission to mine in Kachin State in the area near the border with Chinas Yunnan Province, witnesses told VOA Burmese. The most recent protest was Saturday.

Rare earths contains elements widely used in products such as computer components, electric vehicles, solar cells, and an arsenal of modern weaponry. Myanmars mines produce the fourth-largest amount of these minerals, at 12,000 metric tons (MT) of rare earths in 2022, according to Investing News.

A committee representing the villagers from the KIO-controlled N Ba Pa and Dingsing Pa boroughs of Bamaw district in Kachin State met on Saturday with KIO Chairman General N Ban La. A committee official who did not want their name used for safety reasons told VOA Burmese that as of Monday, mining had been halted at the Chinese sites.

The KIO chairman met with the residents and promised that the mining will stop.  As for Chinese companies, it is difficult to abruptly stop all the ongoing mining. Therefore, they will stop mining once they have done necessary steps. But we still need to wait and see how it goes, said the official.

VOA Burmese attempted to contact Chinese mine operators for comment about the protests but received no response. Local sources told VOA Burmese that N Ban La, who granted mining rights to the Chinese companies, promised he would not allow the mining to continue.

On March 21, residents destroyed Chinese rare earth mining facilities in Bamaw district, but the mining continues.

Kachin religious and civil society groups organized the most recent protests. The groups issued a statement questioning whether KIO allowed rare earth mining in its territory because of financial needs or because KIO must obey Beijing.

We are concerned about the effects of environmental degradation, the livelihoods of local communities and the wellbeing of animals due to the extraction of rare earth, said church leaders from Bamaw diocese in Kachin state, according to a March 9 Union of Catholic Asian News report.

Chinese companies have been rare earth mining in Kanpaitee, Chipwi and Panwah Townships in Kachin State since 2014, local residents told VOA Burmese. Demand for rare earth minerals may spike three to seven times higher by 2040, according to the International Energy Agency as governments pursue policies to slow climate change.

China is the worlds largest producer of rare earth minerals, with its 210,000 MT output far exceeding the combined total of second-place United States (43,000 MT), third-place Australia (18,000 MT), Myanmar (12,000 MT) and fifth-place Thailand (7,100 MT), according to Investing News.

Most of Myanmars rare earth minerals are exported to China, according to Resource Trade.earth, a website affiliated with the British think tank Chatham House.

There are two ways to mine the rare earth minerals. Both are environmentally hazardous, contaminating groundwater and topsoil while producing toxic dust, according to an August 2021 report in the Harvard International Review. In some areas, mining operations have left open pits, many filled with water tainted by chemicals, and swaths of land stripped of trees, according to Earth Journalism Network.

The United States offshored its rare earths mining and processing to China in the 1980s because of environmental and cost issues. Chinas leader at the time, Deng Xiaoping, declared rare earth minerals were to China as oil is to the Middle East  commodities of strategic importance.
Authorities in Beijing say 29 people were killed in a hospital fire in the Chinese capital Tuesday.

The fire broke out in the east wing of the Beijing Changfeng Hospital, which is located in the Chinese capitals western Fengtai district. Li Zongrong, the deputy head of the Fengtai district, told reporters Wednesday the victims include 26 patients, two hospital staffers and a family member.

Officials say a total of 39 people were injured in the fire, including three in critical condition.

Video posted on social media showed people climbing out of windows on ropes made of bedsheets tied together, while others were seen sitting on air conditioning units installed outside the windows. The fire was quickly extinguished, but left the exterior of the building stained with soot.

An official with Beijings public security bureau said twelve people have been detained in connection with the fire, including the hospitals director and the head of the construction crew doing renovation work at the hospitals inpatient wing. A preliminary investigation suggests the fire may have been caused when sparks generated by welding ignited inflammable paint.

The fire is apparently the worst in Beijing in two decades. Deadly fires are common in China due to lax enforcement of safety standards.

Some information for this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
Donald Trump, who earlier this month became the first former U.S. president to face criminal charges, says his indictment shows the United States is becoming a "Third World country."

But many countries have prosecuted former presidents, including South Korea, one of Asias most vibrant democracies.

Since the 1980s, four South Korean presidents have been jailed after leaving office. Another committed suicide while under investigation. Three have had close family members imprisoned.

Despite such turmoil, South Koreas democracy has survived  and in many ways even thrived  compared to many of its Western peers, according to some global rankings.

But the possibility that the United States could jail a past president, as South Korea has done, alarms many commentators in Seoul.

It is unbelievable that something like this is happening in the United States, the birthplace of democracy, said a recent column in South Koreas Maeil Business Newspaper.

Pros and cons

For many South Koreans, the main concern is not that Trump was charged with a crime. In fact, opinion polls indicate South Koreans widely dislike Trump, who frequently questioned the value of South Koreas longstanding alliance with the United States.

The big worry among Koreans is that Trumps prosecution could lead to a cycle of retribution, in which U.S. politicians use the judicial system to attack their rivals, says Ben Engel, a research professor at the Institute of International Affairs at Seoul National University.

I think for a lot of people in South Korea, thats why its unhealthy  its just this never-ending putting the past on trial rather than thinking about the future, said Engel, who focuses on U.S.-South Korea relations.

In South Korea, many presidents were targeted only after their foes took office. That pattern appears to have deepened political polarization and created more distrust in government institutions, many observers say.

But not everyone in South Korea focuses on the negatives. After all, its not a bad thing to hold politicians accountable for crimes  and there are many obvious examples of South Korean presidents breaking the law, says Kim Min-ha, a Seoul-based political commentator who writes about South Korea's divided political culture.

As examples, he cites former President Lee Myung-bak, who was convicted of taking bribes worth millions of dollars, and ex-President Park Geun-hye, who was jailed for a range of offenses, including corruption and abuse of power.

Few question that South Korean politics can be vicious. But the core elements of the countrys democratic system still function. South Korea routinely holds elections that, although fiercely contested, meet global standards. Those votes are followed by smooth transitions of power.

According to a 2022 survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit, South Korea is a top tier democracy, ranking 24th in the world  six spots ahead of the United States, which was labeled a flawed democracy.

Authoritarian past

South Korea is working at a disadvantage. The country overthrew a military dictatorship in the 1980s, giving it only a few decades of experience under the current democratic setup.

That means more bad patterns to break and more misdeeds to punish, says Kim, the political commentator.

For many South Koreans, especially on the left, it also means reforming government institutions such as the countrys powerful prosecution service, which they say has escaped the forces of democratization.

South Korean prosecutors possess vast authority, not only to issue indictments, but to investigate crimes  a job conducted by police in most countries.

Before he left office last year, former South Korean President Moon Jae-in passed legislation stripping prosecutors of some of their investigative powers. The move, he said, was aimed at addressing concerns of selective justice.

The long-term impact of Moon's efforts is not yet clear. Conservative lawmakers oppose the changes, saying Moon was only trying to protect himself from future prosecution.

The current government  led by President Yoon Suk-yeol, formerly the country's top prosecutor  has criticized the changes. But Yoons conservative party does not have enough seats in parliament to reverse them.

Moving forward

In the view of Kim Su-min, another Seoul-based political analyst who focuses on Korean party politics, the goal should be to create a legal system that allows for investigations of past behavior without any political interference.

Investigating a former president should not automatically be seen as political retaliation, Kim says.

Like many Koreans, Kim acknowledges that the current South Korean system is flawed. But he questions whether the U.S. tradition  of always looking forward, never backward  is any better.

Did the president of the U.S. really never have a single legal issue during their administrations until now? he asks.

In Kims view, Trumps indictment represents not just a risk but an opportunity to uncover abuses that may have otherwise been ignored.

The U.S. used to have a mindset of the past is the past, so lets move on, he said. But now I think Pandoras box is open, he added, using a metaphor to describe a source of extensive, unforeseen troubles.

Lee Juhyun contributed to this report.
Indonesia's military chief on Tuesday dismissed a separatist group claim that they had killed more than a dozen government soldiers who were searching for a New Zealand pilot taken hostage by the rebels in the restive Papua region.

Admiral Yudo Margono and the military's top brass flew to the region on Monday after initial information said attackers from the West Papua National Liberation Army, the armed wing of the Free Papua Movement, ambushed 36 government soldiers in the hilly district of Nduga in mountainous Papua Highlands province.

Rebel spokesperson Sebby Sambom said in a statement on Monday that his group's fighters were holding the remains of 12 soldiers, including nine who he said "were arrested and executed." The rebels offered no proof to back up their statement.

Margono confirmed only one fatality and said four other soldiers were missing. The rest returned to their post, he said. Five were wounded and were in stable condition and evacuated to a hospital in Timika, a mining city in neighboring Central Papua province.

"I'm here to find out directly and accurately from our troops on the ground about the exact situation so that we can evaluate our [rescue] mission for the pilot," Margono told a news conference in Timika.

Search for abducted pilot

The soldiers were part of a group searching for Phillip Mark Mehrtens, a New Zealand pilot for the Indonesian aviation company Susi Air, who was abducted by the rebels in February.

Margono said soldiers who survived the shootout told him the rebels had used civilians, including women and children, as human shields during the assault, making the troops hesitant to return fire and resulting in them being cornered.

"I really regret that," Margono said. "They have used methods that should not be done in a war."

Sambom said in an earlier statement that the rebels carried out the attack in retaliation against Indonesia's "massive military operation" in Papua and the killings of two rebels in a shootout with security forces last month.

Margono rejected the rebel claims as "fake news" and said the military operations in Papua were launched with a view to keep casualties at a minimum. However, he said authorities will increase pressure on the rebels around several separatist strongholds, including in Nduga.

The military activities in Papua have raised concern among rights groups who say the security approach that had been implemented by Jakarta for decades has proven unable to resolve violence in the region.

Amnesty International Indonesia called for prioritizing dialogue with the separatists to prevent potential human rights violations and a larger humanitarian crisis.

"This will not only increase the risk to the safety of civilians there, but also the New Zealand pilot who is still being held hostage," said Usman Hamid, executive director of the group.

The rebels in February stormed a single-engine plane shortly after it landed on a small runway in Paro and abducted its pilot. The plane initially was scheduled to pick up 15 construction workers who had been building a health center after the rebels threatened to kill them.

Authorities will continue to prioritize a peaceful approach for the release of Mehrtens, Margono said.

Frequent clashes

The fighting is the latest in a series of violent incidents in recent years in Papua, a former Dutch colony in the western part of New Guinea that is ethnically and culturally distinct from much of Indonesia. Conflicts between Indigenous Papuans and Indonesian security forces are common.

Data collected by Amnesty International Indonesia showed at least 179 civilians, 35 Indonesian troops and nine police, as well as 23 independence fighters, were killed in clashes between rebels and security forces between 2018 and 2022.
Terrica Purvis squinted through goggles as her hands carefully guided a pipette full of indigo-tinted fluid into clear glass test tubes.

It was the last chemistry lab of the winter quarter at Everett Community College. Purvis was working through the steps of what chemistry professor Valerie Mosser jokingly refers to as the "post-apocalypse survival" lab  an experiment using boiled red cabbage water to test the acidity of common household chemicals.

Purvis, 27, is in her first year of study for an associate degree in nursing at Everett Community College. She is also one of more than 6,000 Washington community and technical college students enrolled in the state's Integrated Basic Education and Skills Training (I-BEST) program.

Students who need extra help in subjects such as algebra struggle to learn if the content is taught in an abstract way, educators say. So I-BEST programs feature two teachers in the classroom: One provides job training and the other teaches basic skills in reading, math or English language.

Nationally, two-year community colleges have the worst completion rates in higher education, with only slightly more than 40% earning degrees within six years.

In Washington state, students in the program graduate at a higher rate. Among students who started college from 2015 to 2018, an average of 52% enrolled in I-BEST classes earned a degree or certificate within four years. That compares with 38% of students who did so while enrolled in traditional adult basic education coursework, according to the state Board for Community and Technical Colleges.

The program is so successful that 12 states have begun implementing an I-BEST model at one or more education institutions.

For Purvis, who hadn't been in school for nearly a decade, this class meant getting extra math help when she needed it: during a chemistry class.

Each time Mosser gave a lecture or held a lab, she was joined by Candace Ronhaar, who works as a tutor and extra math instructor.

In one session, Ronhaar drew a heart on the whiteboard. She wrote the word "mole" beside it, and explained it is a unit of measurement equivalent to the amount of atoms in 12 grams of carbon-12. She guided students through practice problems, calculating the mass of chemical compounds.

All six students in Chemistry 121 were also taking an entry-level statistics class, and Ronhaar was co-instructor for both courses. Mosser said Ronhaar's presence was the most valuable part of the I-BEST model.

"I'm an assessment instructor," Mosser said. "She's just a helping instructor. In the minds of students, the difference is incalculable. They have a different relationship with her. They're more willing to go to her, because she doesn't grade them."

Purvis said chemistry was the first class that ever "humbled" her. She doesn't think she would have passed without I-BEST. Students fresh out of high school had an easier time remembering chemistry and math, Purvis said, but she hadn't studied those subjects for 10 years.

"They couldn't have picked a better second instructor," Purvis said of Ronhaar. "I loved it. We went to her office hours all the time."

After high school, Purvis spent six years as a cook in the Navy, and took classes at a couple other colleges. Last year, she was medically discharged and returned to school at Everett Community College full-time. She plans to go on to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and hopes to work in labor and delivery at a hospital.

Helping more students graduate from nursing school has a larger societal benefit. In the first year of the pandemic, from 2020 to 2021, the number of working registered nurses in the United States decreased by more than 100,000  the highest drop in four decades. An estimated 200,000 jobs for registered nurses are expected to open each year in the U.S. through 2031, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported in 2021.

I-BEST was launched as a state pilot program almost 20 years ago as data suggested students needed vocational training to improve job prospects. The program was to change the remediation model in most community colleges, where students who don't do well on placement tests must take pre-college classes in their weak subject  essentially a repeat of high school.

I-BEST enrollment in the state has increased by more than 20% in the past five years, bringing in a diverse group of students. Forty-six percent of its students are students of color, 55% are women and 39% have dependents.

I-BEST opens the door to federal financial aid by making it available to students who didn't graduate from high school. Under financial aid rules, students must either have a high school diploma or prove their "ability to benefit" from aid by being enrolled in a qualifying program, such as I-BEST, where they learn basic skills as part of their career pathway.

Along with nursing, other high-demand I-BEST job pathways include aeronautics, manufacturing and information technologies.

At Bellevue College, I-BEST students enrolled in Business 101 meet with instructor Eric Nacke for an adult basic education class on a separate day. Nacke teaches English in the context of the business world.

Student Forouzan Barfibafeghi moved from Iran to the U.S. in 2020. She holds a bachelor's degree in business from Islamic Azad University in Tehran, where she graduated in 1999. She said Nacke's classes have helped her develop her English skills and given her a sense of community.

"We have created a strong bond between us. That is one of the highlights for me," said Barfibafeghi, who hopes to find work in the insurance industry after completing an associated degree in business.

In Washington, because I-BEST uses a mix of state, federal and other grant funds, the state doesn't know how much the program costs. But the model calling for two instructors does make it more expensive than other adult basic education programs. The program might be more broadly replicated if it weren't so costly, state community college spokesperson Laura McDowell said.

As Purvis prepared for her next quarter of classes, the student said she hoped her future instructors would be as helpful as Ronhaar.

"She's my favorite instructor so far since I've been going to Everett," Purvis said. "We needed her. She had to be there."

Editor's note: This story is part of Saving the College Dream, a collaboration between AL.com, The Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, The Dallas Morning News, The Hechinger Report, The Post and Courier in Charleston, South Carolina, and The Seattle Times, with support from the Solutions Journalism Network.
New developments:

Black Sea grain deal inspections resume in Turkey

Hungary adds honey, wine, bread, sugar to temporary ban on imports from Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says like-minded countries should oppose illegal unilateral pressure of the West

Ukraines defense minister said Wednesday that Patriot air defense systems had arrived in the country.

Ukrainian officials long lobbied allies to provide the advanced weapons that are capable of shooting down enemy missiles and Ukrainian forces spent several months training in the United States and Europe to use the systems.

"Today, our beautiful Ukrainian sky becomes more secure because Patriot air defense systems have arrived in Ukraine," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov tweeted. "Our air defenders have mastered them as fast as they could. And our partners have kept their word."

Earlier Wednesday, Ukrainian officials reported overnight drone attacks by Russian forces in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine.

Yuri Kruk, the head of Ukraines military command in the Odesa region, said the drones caused a fire at an infrastructure facility, but that there were no casualties.

Russia has made widespread use of drones to carry out attacks in Ukraine, including against infrastructure targets.

Sweden NATO

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin voiced support Wednesday for Swedens bid to join the NATO alliance.

Speaking during a visit to Swedens Musko Naval Base, Austin said the United States looks forward to continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO and we'll work hard to get that done before the summit.

Austin said Swedish forces will add a lot of value to NATO, our overall effort, you have a very, a highly professional military and you've invested a lot in modernization over the last several years.

Sweden applied for NATO membership along with Finland in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine last year.

Finland formally joined the military alliance in early April. Swedens bid has been held up by objections from Hungary and Turkey, which says Sweden has not done enough to crack down on groups that Turkey considers terror organizations.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
Gas and chemical attacks continued in Iran, targeting mostly girls schools Wednesday in several cities, including Tehran, VOAs Persian service reported. Dozens of students were hospitalized.

According to the reports received by VOA and videos posted on social media, at least five schools in different provinces of Iran were attacked with chemical gases.

The serial poisonings of mostly female students began November 30, 2022, in the city of Qom and has continued to spread across the country.

In mid-March, Iran state media reported that than 1,200 Iranian girls from at least 60 schools had become ill in the attacks. Human rights activists in Iran had put the number at more than 7,000 students.

On Tuesday, Amnesty International warned that the "rights to education, health and life of millions of schoolgirls are at risk amid ongoing chemical gas attacks deliberately targeting girls' schools in Iran."

Amnesty accused Iranian authorities of failing to adequately investigate and end the attacks and dismissing the girls symptoms as stress, excitement and/or mental contagion.

On Saturday, an Iranian official blamed the attacks on the mischief of students.

"The few cases of poisoning that occurred in [the] girls' schools were very limited. The mischief of some students was to close the classes," Seyyed Majid Mirahmadi, the deputy interior minister, said Saturday.

On March 7, Mirahmadi said on state television that "a number of people have been arrested in five provinces," according to The Guardian newspaper, though he did not provide details on those detained. On March 15, Iranian police reported the arrests of 110 suspects.

Another senior member of the government, Health Minister Bahram Einollahi, said there was no "solid evidence" to show that students were poisoned.
Members of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee turned their attention to stablecoins Wednesday, picking up where they left off on regulation pushed back last year. But lawmakers said any progress made since then is tenuous at best.

FSC ranking member Maxine Waters (D-CA) suggested that lawmakers are starting from scratch after Republicans made alterations to a bill that died on the vine last year ahead of the midterm election called the Stablecoin TRUST Act.

Lawmakers most recent pass at getting stablecoin legislation doesn't have a catchy name yet. Right now, it's still called To be added Act of 2023. Representative Stephen Lynch (D-MA) criticized the legislation being discussed, saying the recent banking crisis spotlights the need to keep digital assets away from traditional finance.

I strongly believe we need to separate crypto assets from our banking system, and this bill does just the opposite, he said. If the recent bank runs have taught us anything, it is the danger of allowing shadow-banking products, particularly stablecoins, to issue deposit-like products without FDIC insurance.

At the same time, Lynch said that one of the saving graces of the crypto exchange FTXs collapse was that it didnt spill over into the traditional financial system, saying losses wouldve occurred for investors more broadly if crypto hadnt been ring-fenced.

The high-profile hearing on regulation took place a day after some Committee members grilled Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Gary Gensler on his approach toward the digital assets industry. Members of the Committee were set to review 72 pages worth of draft legislation that would provide requirements for payment stablecoin issuers and foster research on a digital dollar.

Stablecoin Ties to Traditional Banks

Lynch vocalized concerns about the potential harm that crypto could pose to traditional finance. Yet, it was the failure of a 40-year-old bank that cast a temporary cloud over crypto last month.

Story continues

Silicon Valley Banks abrupt closure caused one of the leading stablecoins, Circles USDC, to lose its peg to the U.S. dollar. The token fell as low as 87 cents, but eventually reclaimed its normal price, days after the government intervened in the crisis and guaranteed SVB depositors would be made whole.

One of Circles main takeaways from the banking crisis was that the firm needed to make sure it could shield itself from exposure to traditional finance, said Circles chief strategy officer and head of global policy, who testified during the hearing.

What we learned with the failure of not one bank but three successive bank failures consecutively over the course of several weeks, was that we had to protect our business from risks in banking, he said.

The stablecoin bill covers a regulatory framework for stablecoins on both the state and federal level, calls for a two-year moratorium on new stablecoins that solely maintain their price using other tokens pending research from the U.S. Treasury Department, and sets standards for interoperability, reporting, and enforcement.

How NYDFS Has Handled Stablecoins

Among the witnesses that testified Wednesday were Superintendent Adrienne Harris of the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS), Adjunct Assistant Professor of Business at Columbia Business School Austin Campbell, and Consumer Reports Director of Financial Fairness Delicia Reynolds Hand.

Last June, the DFS issued regulatory guidance on stablecoins that outlined base criteria for stablecoin issuers in the state. The regulator oversaw the issuing of Paxoss Binance-branded stablecoin BUSD, and it directed Paxos to cease issuing the token in February.

Posing questions to Harris about the states regulatory process, Waters said she was a little bit surprised to know that New York has a framework for regulating stablecoins.

Stablecoins comprise a significant chunk of the crypto market, around $132 billion, or roughly 10%, of the $1.27 trillion global market capitalization, according to CoinGecko. Tethers USDT and Circles USD Coin are the two largest stablecoins, valued at $81 billion and $31 billion, respectively.

Blockchain Association Weighs In

Blockchain Association Chief Policy Officer Jake Chervinsky also testified on Wednesday. Prior to his appearance before the Committee Wednesday, Chervinsky shared written testimony arguing that different types of stablecoins merit different kinds of regulation and the United States should support stablecoins instead of creating a [central bank digital currency].

In terms of what could yield a balanced bill for custodial stablecoinsissued by a company and backed by capital kept in a financial institutionChervinsky stated legislation should provide opportunities across institutions, address the quality of issuers collateral, and clearly delineate regulatory authority on the federal level.

Chervinsky noted during his testimony Wednesday that stablecoins denominated in U.S. dollars could be a good thing for letting the greenback flourish on the global stage.

Given the right policy, stablecoins can revolutionize the payments system and reinforce the dominance of the U.S. dollar at a time when our foreign adversaries like China are seeking to undermine its status as the global reserve currency, he said.

Regulating In Terras Shadow

The Committees hearing comes nearly a year after Terras UST stablecoin and sister token LUNA collapsed. The catastrophic wipeout of TerraUSD shredded more than $40 billion of investors wealth last May, dragging down the crypto market as a whole.

TerraUSD was an algorithmic stablecoin, falling under a unique class of tokens pegged to the price of a sovereign currency like the U.S. dollar. While conventional stablecoins are collateralized by traditional assets like the buck, algorithmic stablecoins seek to maintain their value using code and market incentives, often involving multiple tokens.

Before the implosion of Terras ecosystem led to a wave of high-profile bankruptciessinking firms such as the hedge fund Three Arrows Capital and crypto lenders like Celsius and VoyagerTreasury Secretary Janet Yellen called for stablecoin regulation.

Gensler has weighed in on stablecoins since TerraUSDs fateful slide too. Last July, the SEC boss called stablecoins poker chips, claiming their main use was as a settlement tool in decentralized finance, referring to blockchain-based tools that allow for the trading, borrowing, and lending of crypto assets without third-party intermediaries.

Mentioned that same month by Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, his description of stablecoins was less colorful than Genslers. The technology resembles bank deposits and money market mutual funds, Powell said, suggesting they should be regulated in comparable ways.
Iraq on Tuesday shut down a camp housing internally displaced Iraqis with alleged ties to Islamic State, the Migration and Displacement Ministry announced.

The statement said the camp's closure came as part of a government program aiming to "end the displacement file" in the country, where 1.2 million Iraqis remain internally displaced after years of conflict.

Aid workers criticized the closure as hasty and chaotic.

On Monday, residents and aid workers at the Jadah 5 camp in northern Iraq's Qayyarah  which housed some 300 families  were informed by government and security officials that they had to leave the camp by Wednesday, a day before the beginning of the Muslim celebration of Eid al-Fitr.

Iraq has long sought to close the displacement camp, one of the last remaining in federally controlled areas, but faced pushback from aid groups concerned over the integration of vulnerable families, including many women and children, stigmatized for their perceived or real affiliation with IS.

Aid workers Tuesday said they had been locked out of the camp by security forces, and residents were being evicted after being given two days' notice to leave. An Associated Press correspondent who attempted to reach the camp found it surrounded by a heavy security deployment and was not allowed to access the premises.

Several official notices of closure had been sent to the camp over the past year and a half but were later delayed. This time, however, the closure came sooner than expected.

On March 23, Iraq's Ministry of Migration and Displacement sent a letter to the International Organization for Migration, which coordinates humanitarian aid in the camp, informing it that the camp would be shut down in 60 days. The letter did not cite a reason for the closure.

A spokesperson for the IOM said the organization is aware that residents have received notice that the camp will be closed but declined to comment further.

"They all must leave  they don't have another option," said Ali Abbas, a spokesperson for the ministry. He said each family had been given 1,500,000 Iraqi dinar (about $1,030) to find new housing.

Abbas did not give a reason for the closure decision, and it was not clear why the ministry had moved up the May deadline cited in the letter.

The ministry statement, reported by state media, said that "all the displaced have returned to their original areas of residence on a voluntary basis."

The order to vacate the camp on Monday, "was sudden, with no notice," said a worker with an aid organization operating in the camp, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear that the government would retaliate against the nongovernmental organization. "So, [residents] were confused about how to leave the camp."

Another aid worker, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said the residents were told that if they did not leave, "the army will enter and kick out all those who remain," adding that ministry employees and security forces "started to confiscate the [identification] documents of the people to make sure that they leave."

U.N. and NGO workers on Tuesday were prevented from entering the premises by security forces, the aid workers said, and as of the afternoon, all but around 15 to 20 families had left the camp.

Camp residents often fear violence from militias and tribes if they return to their areas of origin.

Authorities began a rapid push in late 2020 to close displacement camps across the country to push forward with recovery efforts that have lagged years after the defeat of IS. Most camps were shut, aside from those in the semi-autonomous Kurdish region, and one where returnees from the al-Hol camp in Syria are housed.

International organizations have cited pervasive violence, exploitation and lawlessness in the al-Hol camp and called for countries with citizens housed there to repatriate them.
U.S. senators said Wednesday the leak of top-secret military intelligence records by a 21-year-old member of the U.S. Air National Guard should prompt a serious re-evaluation of security procedures in the United States.

The suspect, Jack Teixeira, was arrested last week by heavily armed FBI agents at his mother's residence in Dighton, Massachusetts. He is facing criminal charges for leaking those documents to a group of friends on a gamer website and remained in jail on Wednesday. His scheduled detention hearing was delayed for two weeks.

"There are too many people with too much access to too much information without guardrails and safeguards," Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal told reporters after a classified briefing on the leak Wednesday.

"If you're going to give someone with this level of emotional maturity access to the information, why weren't we using technology to stop him from sharing?" Republican Senator John Kennedy said, telling reporters the briefing raised more questions than answers.

Teixeira had been scheduled for a court hearing in Boston on Wednesday. The hearing was intended to determine whether he should be detained while awaiting trial on two charges of copying and taking the classified documents off the Cape Cod air base where he worked and then sending them to his friends on the Discord social media site  possibly to impress them about his access to the sensitive material and to educate them about Russia's war in Ukraine.

Investigators say they believe that Teixeira passed the documents to his friends believing they would not be further disseminated. But one of his friends posted the material to a wider audience, and the documents quickly spread worldwide on social media sites.

Senator Mark Warner, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters Wednesday, "We need to make sure that internal security processes from things like copying documents, production of documents, as well as the overall access questions get thoroughly examined."

"One of the things that we have moved into in this internet-driven age is a process called continuous vetting," he said. "So even once you get a security clearance, a top-secret security clearance, you're supposed to be vetted on an ongoing basis."

The classified material, according to U.S. news accounts, disclosed U.S. spying on friends and foes around the globe: American assessments of the strength of Russian and Ukrainian military forces, and a belief that the Chinese air force holds a distinct aerial advantage over the military defense of Taiwan, the democratic island territory that Beijing claims is part of mainland China.

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, told reporters Wednesday the leaks had a serious impact on U.S. national security.

"Trouble that has created domestic political problems for key allies, undermined our relationship with those allies and potentially cost us access to future key intelligence. I think it's stunning that the Department of Defense and the intelligence agencies found out about it primarily from the press  it's unacceptable," Rubio said.

Friends liked playing war games online

Authorities with information about the investigation have said that the young cadre of friends linked to Teixeira liked to play war games online and were intensely interested in weaponry and military gear.

Federal prosecutors in the case told U.S. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy they intended to seek Teixeira's continued detention. However, about two hours before the hearing, Teixeira's team of federal public defenders filed a request asking the judge to delay the detention hearing for two weeks because they needed "more time to address the issues presented by the government's request for detention." Hennessy agreed to the delay.

It was not clear whether Teixeira will opt to challenge the government's detention request.

Pentagon calls leak 'criminal'

On Wednesday morning, Teixeira was brought to the courtroom in handcuffs and orange jail clothing as he waived his right to a preliminary hearing. He said nothing beyond answering yes and no to questions about whether he understood his rights and the proceeding.

Authorities say the leaked documents at the center of the case constitute the most serious U.S. security breach since more than 700,000 documents, videos and diplomatic cables appeared on the WikiLeaks website in 2010. The Pentagon has called the leak from the Massachusetts air base in the northeastern U.S. a "deliberate, criminal act."

A criminal complaint made public on Friday charges Teixeira with one count of violating the Espionage Act related to the unlawful copying and transmitting of sensitive defense material, and a second charge related to the unlawful removal of defense material to an unauthorized location.

Legal experts say that Teixeira could face more charges as additional evidence is presented over time to a grand jury.

Some material in this report came from Reuters.

Editor's note: The article was updated to remove a sentence characterizing what defendants typically detained or released on bail pending trial.
Polish and Ukrainian officials say convoys of Ukrainian grain transiting Poland for export abroad will be sealed, guarded and monitored to ensure the produce stops flooding the Polish market and playing havoc with prices.

Tuesday's announcement came after two days of intensive talks following protests by Polish farmers, who said much of the Ukrainian grain was staying in Poland and creating a glut that caused them huge losses.

The deal will also end a temporary prohibition issued by Poland on Saturday to address the protests on the entry of grain from Ukraine. Hungary and Slovakia, which are also affected by the transit of Ukrainian farm produce, later took similar measures. These moves drew the anger of the European Union's executive branch, the European Commission, which manages trade for the 27 member countries.

Polish Agriculture Minister Robert Telus told a press conference on Tuesday that Warsaw and Kyiv "have worked out mechanisms that mean that not a single ton of (Ukraine) grain will remain in Poland, that it will all be passing in transit."

He said that for an unspecified length of time, all Ukrainian produce in transit will be sealed, with traceable devices attached, and ferried in special, guarded convoys to Polish ports and border crossings, on its way to other countries.

The transit is to ease the accumulation of grain and other produce intended for export to needy countries that's blocked in Ukraine by Russia's invasion.

Telus said the weekend's temporary ban was partly intended to draw the EU's attention to the acute problem. He alleged that the EU, while supporting the idea of the transit, has done nothing to facilitate it and prevent the glut.

The issue led to the talks between Poland and Ukraine's agriculture ministers, with the participation of Ukraine's deputy prime minister, Yulia Svyrydenko. The transit measures will be introduced Friday, when the temporary ban on grain  mainly wheat  will be lifted.

"We pay attention to the problems of our Polish colleagues with the same attention as Poland treats our problems. Therefore, we have to respond promptly and constructively to this crisis situation," Svyrydenko said in Warsaw.

It was not clear when a ban on the entry of other Ukraine goods such as sugar, eggs, meat, milk and other dairy products and fruits and vegetables would be lifted.

Farmers in Poland and neighboring countries say that Ukrainian grain and farm produce, apart from flooding their markets, has filled their own storage areas, leaving no room for their own crops from this year.

After Russia blocked traditional export sea passages amid the war in Ukraine, the European Union lifted duties on Ukrainian grain to facilitate its transport to Africa and the Middle East and offered to pay some compensation, which the farmers said was insufficient.

Much of the grain ends up staying in transit countries, and some Polish unions and opposition politicians accuse government-linked companies of causing the problem by buying up cheap, low-quality Ukrainian grain, and then selling it to bread and pasta plants as high-quality Polish produce.

Poland's main ruling party, Law and Justice, is seeking to ease the discontent of farmers  the party's voter base  ahead of fall parliamentary elections.

In Romania, another country affected by Ukraine produce overflow, the ruling Social Democrat Party said Tuesday that it will ask its governing coalition partners to urgently look to issue a temporary suspension of imports of food products from Ukraine.

"Such a measure is necessary to protect Romanian farmers, in the context in which compensation received from the European Commission cannot cover the total value of the damage," the party said in a statement.
The Baltic countries have remained an important source of support for Ukraine as Russias assault drags on. In Latvia, people have kept up efforts to assist the Ukrainian military, while accepting Ukrainian refugees and making them feel welcome in an exile that for many, seems to have no end. Marcus Harton narrates this report by Ricardo Marquina in the Latvian capital, Riga.
The U.S. Justice Department is pressing Congress for additional authority to funnel seized Russian assets to Ukraine.

In December, Congress authorized the Justice Department to transfer assets seized from sanctioned Russian oligarchs to the State Department for Ukrainian reconstruction. But the power applies only to assets confiscated in connection with violating U.S. sanctions under certain presidential executive orders.

As a result, millions of dollars' worth of Russian properties confiscated in violation of U.S. export controls and other economic countermeasures cannot be transferred.

Now, the Justice Department is urging Congress to expand the range of forfeited assets that it can transfer to Ukraine for rebuilding.

Were leaving money on the table if we dont expand our ability to use the forfeited assets that we gain from enforcement of our export control violations and expanding the sanctions regimes that that transfer authority is applicable to, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said during a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on Wednesday. So, I urge the Congress to give us the additional authority so we can make the oligarchs pay for rebuilding Ukraine, as well.

Since Russias invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Justice Department, led by Attorney General Merrick Garland, has been cracking down on Russian oligarchs as part of the Biden administrations response to the incursion.

The law enforcement agency set up a task force shortly after the invasion to enforce sweeping U.S. sanctions and export controls imposed on Russia.

Task Force KleptoCapture has since seized more than $500 million in assets owned by Russian oligarchs and others who support Moscow and dodge U.S. sanctions and export controls, Monaco said.

The seized assets include a $300 million super yacht owned by Russian billionaire Suleiman Kerimov and a $90 million yacht belonging to Viktor Vekselberg, another Russian oligarch.

The Justice Department has used its congressional authority to transfer seized Russian assets only once.

In February, Garland authorized the transfer of $5.4 million taken from a Denver-based bank account of sanctioned Russian oligarch Konstantin Malofeyev.

Last year, Malofeyev was charged by the Justice Department with violating U.S. sanctions imposed on him following Russias first incursion into Ukraine in 2014.

He is one of more than 30 Russian oligarchs and others to face U.S. charges of sanctions evasion, export control violations, money laundering and other crimes.

In addition to seizing the yachts and luxury homes of pro-Moscow oligarchs, Western governments have frozen more than $300 billion in assets of Russias Central Bank.

Despite calls by U.S. lawmakers and others that the assets be transferred to Ukraine, the U.S. and other G-7 countries have agreed that they will remain immobilized until Russia ends its invasion.

Ukraines reconstruction is projected to require more than $400 billion.

Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal said the real money was in the frozen Russian funds and asked Monaco if the Justice Department needed more power to transfer them to Ukraine.

Monaco noted that most of the funds were held abroad and that using them for Ukraine posed thorny legal questions, but she insisted that Russia must ultimately pay for Ukraines rebuilding.
The number of migrants encountered at the United States-Mexico border increased 25% from February (130,024 encounters) to March (162,317), according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

Yet the March encounters are 23% lower than in March 2022 (211,181 encounters), and the month-over-month change is the lowest seasonal increase in two years, the agency said in its monthly border enforcement report. It added that the increase in encounters from February to March is typical as the weather gets warmer.

We continue to respond to the challenges presented by increasing global migration. CBP will continue to enforce our immigration laws and ramp up efforts to combat smuggler misinformation as we prepare to return to expedited removal proceedings under Title 8 authorities, which carry stricter consequences like a five-year ban on reentry and potential criminal prosecution for unlawful entry, CBP Acting Commissioner Troy A. Miller wrote in a statement.

CBP officials credited a parole program for reducing some migrant numbers at the border. The parole program began on January 5 for migrants from Cuba, Haiti, Nicaragua and Venezuela, the four countries that had the highest numbers of migrants trying to cross into the U.S. during the preceding three months.

The humanitarian parole program is an authority given by Congress to the Homeland Security Secretary to create a program for urgent humanitarian or significant public benefit reasons. Its current use for these four countries is directly affecting the decrease in unauthorized migration, including crossing between ports of entry. It also makes it easier to quickly expel migrants from those nations if they cross the border without authorization.

The program allows up to 30,000 migrants a month from each country to enter the U.S. To qualify, these migrants must apply for legal entry while outside the U.S. They must meet all health requirements, pass a background check, and have a U.S. sponsor. Then they proceed with travel arrangements to the U.S.

During March, a total of 27,783 Cubans, Haitians, Nicaraguans and Venezuelans were paroled into the country, where they can live for up to two years. Besides applying for humanitarian parole, some of the pathways available under immigration law are family sponsorship and employment-based visas, among others.

Encounters of migrants from these four countries between ports of entry declined from a seven-day average of 1,231 on February 28 to a seven-day average of 339 on March 31, a drop of 72%.

Those who arrive at the U.S. Mexico border and did not apply for humanitarian parole can apply for a Title 42 waiver exemption. Using the CBP One app, migrants seeking asylum without a visa authorizing them to enter the U.S. must request processing appointments, but the demand has been overwhelming and some complain the app is not working properly.

Watch related video by Victor Hugo Castillo:

Still, U.S. immigration officials reported that from January 12, when use of the app started, more than 74,000 individuals have secured an appointment via CBP One. The top nationalities using the app are Mexican, Venezuelan and Haitian.

In anticipation of the May 11 end of Title 42, a policy that allows for the immediate expulsion of migrants during public health emergencies, the Biden administration began testing faster asylum screening for migrants detained crossing into the U.S. without authorization.

Those who cant establish a legal basis to remain in the United States will be quickly removed through a process known as expedited removal under Title 8 authority.

Under Title 8, the federal code of laws dealing with immigration, those arriving at the border without documents or trying to enter between ports of entry can be removed without their case being decided by an immigration court.

However, if a migrant wants to claim asylum, an asylum officer interviews them before removal, deportation or the granting of authorization to enter the U.S. to continue the asylum process.

Federal law allows people from other countries to seek asylum in the U.S. if they fear persecution at home. They must be present in the U.S. and prove a fear of persecution.

Immigration experts say Title 8 has always been in use at the border, even during the pandemic. Those removed under Title 8 are also subject to additional long-term consequences beyond removal from the United States, including bars to future immigration benefits.
The United States on Wednesday announced $325 million in new military aid for Ukraine in a package that is expected to include more artillery rounds and rockets for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS), as Ukraine continues to burn through artillery munitions at a high rate.

Defense officials who spoke to VOA ahead of the packages release say the latest aid also includes TOW anti-tank guided missiles, anti-tank mines and AT-4 anti-armor weapons needed to push back Russian ground forces that have dug into occupied areas of Ukraine.

Wednesdays aid package marks the 36th authorized presidential drawdown of military equipment from Defense Department inventories.

The aid comes as battle lines in Ukraine have become static, exposing the larger Russian powers weaknesses and Ukraine stubbornly defending its territory, according to a senior U.S. official. The head of Ukraines ground forces said on Tuesday that Russia was increasing its use of heavy artillery and airstrikes in the battle for the eastern Ukrainian city of Bakhmut, even as Russia continued to sustain significant losses in the battle.

Moscow began a renewed offensive in Ukraine earlier this year that has stalled, and Kyiv is preparing for a massive counteroffensive that is expected to begin in the coming days or weeks.

If and when Ukraine tries a spring offensive, and it's sort of petered out, then maybe you're at a point where there could be enough of a stalemate that we see somebody show interest in a cease-fire, said Michael OHanlon, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

U.S. officials and analysts, including OHanlon, have warned the war could potentially drag into the U.S. Republican primary season and throughout next year. But OHanlon said he thinks U.S. and Western resolve over Ukraine will remain.

I don't see us deserting Ukraine. I think the West has made this a matter of high strategic and moral importance, and we will keep it that way, he told VOA.

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley will travel to Germany later this week for another meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which includes about 50 nations coordinating aid to help Kyiv fend off Russias invasion that began in February 2022. This weeks meeting at Ramstein Air Base marks one year since Austin first gathered the group.

OHanlon said the group has worked better than predicted in terms of maintaining supplies for Ukraine, showing Western resolve to face down Russian aggression and having Ukraine's back even without having forces on the battlefield.

The priorities during Fridays meeting are expected to be ground-based air defenses, armor and artillery needs, according to a senior defense official.

We think it will be a clear signal of not just unity  we continue to be as strong as we were a year ago  but also that that support is enduring going forward, the official said, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity ahead of the meeting.

Even with massive help from the group, Ukrainian forces have experienced munitions and weapons shortages on the battlefield. A leaked memo from the U.S. military shared concern that Ukraine could run out of Soviet-era air defenses as soon as May, leaving Ukraine more exposed to Russian air assaults.

Sweden and NATO

Austin arrived in Sweden on Tuesday for a visit meant to emphasize U.S. support for Swedens application for NATO membership, according to a senior defense official, who spoke to reporters on condition of anonymity. Sweden and Finland sought to join NATO in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine last year.

Finland was admitted as the 31st NATO member earlier this month, but Turkey and Hungary have so far withheld ratification of Swedens application over bilateral differences.

The senior U.S. official said Swedens ascension would enhance NATOs defense capabilities in the Baltic Sea, where Russia has a substantial presence.

Austin will meet with Swedens defense minister on Wednesday and the prime minister on Thursday. He will also view some of Swedens advanced military capabilities during the visit.

Earlier this week, Sweden launched its largest military drills in the country in more than 25 years. The Aurora 23 military exercises include troops from the U.S., Britain, France, Germany and neighboring Nordic nations and will run through May 11.
The U.S. State Department has established a special task force to deal with the crisis in Sudan, a spokesperson confirmed to VOA on Wednesday.

The spokesperson said the State Department has established a Sudan Military Conflict Task Force to oversee the Departments planning, management and logistics related to events in Sudan.

The spokesperson told VOA: The United States condemns in the strongest terms violence between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The ongoing fighting between the SAF and RSF threatens the security and safety of Sudanese civilians and undermines efforts to restore Sudans democratic transition.

Fighting in Khartoum broke out Saturday between members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, and has since spread further into the country, reportedly leaving hundreds of people dead and injured.

The leaders of the rival groups  SAF head General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF chief General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedti  joined forces to mount a 2021 coup that returned the country to military rule.

The two men have since turned on each other, amid squabbles over power-sharing in the new government.

State Department officials told VOA late Tuesday they are unaware of the death or injury of any U.S. citizens in Sudan at this time.

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoums security alert of April 18 stated that because of the uncertain security situation in Khartoum and the closure of the airport, there are no plans for the U.S. government-coordinated evacuation of private U.S. citizens. It said travel alerts and Sudans Travel Advisory will be updated as the situation evolves.

The State Department said, It is imperative that U.S. citizens in Sudan make their own arrangements to stay safe in these difficult circumstances.

The State Department says the U.S. Embassy is continuing to closely monitor the situation in Khartoum and surrounding areas, where there is ongoing fighting, gunfire, and security force activity. It says U.S. citizens also are advised to remain sheltered in place; to attempt to stay at the lower levels of their location, remain away from windows, and attempt to keep away from the roadways; to monitor local media for updates; and to review State Department travel advisory for Sudan.

The State Department says Americans in Sudan should enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP) to receive security alerts and email if they need assistance.

All routine consular services at the U.S. Embassy Khartoum are suspended at this time given the unsafe environment. The Embassy is providing only emergency consular services as the security situation in Sudan permits. The State Department says it will always seek to provide consular services wherever possible but the perilous security situation in Khartoum severely impacts its ability to perform that work currently.

On Tuesday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, speaking from a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven in Japan, said he delivered a message to both of Sudans warring leaders.

"This morning, I made calls to Generals Burhan and Hemedti, urging them to agree to a 24-hour cease-fire to allow Sudanese to safely reunite with their families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies," he said.



VOA White House Correspondent Anita Powell contributed to this story.
Defense contractors from the U.S. and Taiwan will resume in-person conversations next month to discuss possibilities of co-producing weapons, a move likely to ignite protests from China.

The meeting, a regular event derailed by the outbreak of COVID-19 in January 2020, comes during the ongoing Ukraine crisis and increasing tension in the Taiwan Strait.

The Taiwan-US Defense Industry Forum will meet on May 3 in Taipei, with a focus on co-production, integrating Taiwan's industrial capabilities, and a range of defense cooperation issues, according to the U.S. Taiwan Business Council, or USTBC.

Rupert Hammond-Chambers, USTBC president, told VOA Mandarin on Monday in a telephone interview that topics on the agenda include post-purchase weapons delivery and research and development of future weapons. "Of course, the possibility that at some point in time, American weapons would be produced on the island under license," he noted.

About 25 U.S. defense contractors are expected to send representatives to Taiwan, according to USTBC.

Hammond-Chambers told Nikkei Asia that Taiwan is interested in the co-production of airborne, surface and subsea drones, as well as ammunition. Several American defense contractors specializing in drone technology are scheduled to participate in the Taiwan trip.

The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not reply to a request for comment made by VOA Mandarin.

Government approval

U.S. defense manufacturers typically need government approval before they can jointly produce weapons with overseas partners, and according to a Congressional Research Service report updated on March 23, the companies must apply for a Global Comprehensive Export Authorization before they are allowed to partner with "NATO countries, Australia, Japan, and/or Sweden for major defense article programs." Taiwan is not mentioned in connection with the program.

Jordan Cohen, a defense and foreign policy analyst at the Cato Institute, told VOA Mandarin the U.S. government usually errs on the side of caution when deciding whether to endorse weapon co-production with international partners.

"Historically there has been opposition in the U.S. government, both because this type of intelligence sharing puts secret information at risk, and because it reduces price offsets, which means the U.S. will see less of the profit re-enter its own economy," he told VOA Mandarin via email on April 14.

Randall Schriver, chairman of the board of the Project 2049 Institute and a former assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, agreed.

"Co-production is a good idea to explore, depending on the sensitivity of what's being proposed for joint production," he told VOA Mandarin. "If the U.S. government is supportive, there's still the issue of commercial interests. So, our defense industry has some say in this."

He added that one of the issues with producing weapons in Taiwan is the lack of a third-party market, "because countries won't necessarily want to buy from Taiwan, or something produced in Taiwan."

Eric Gomez, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute with a research focus on the U.S. military budget and force posture, told VOA Mandarin in a phone interview on April 14 the U.S. likely will worry that China can easily steal sensitive information should the production happen in Taiwan. Force posture is the overall military disposition, strength, and condition of military readiness, according to the U.S. Defense Department.

"I think it's a good bet that China probably has intelligence assets in Taiwan that can gather information on a weapon system and get them back to China," he said. "It's relatively easy for movement between the two, it's relatively easy to have that level of penetration because there's a lot of similarities between the two."

Hammond-Chambers of USTBC suggested there will be a number of major criteria in assessing whether it makes sense to co-produce any given weapon with Taiwan.

He said the government needs to look at its overall policy and ask questions, such as whether the product fits America's strategy, how advanced the technology is, and if it's old technology versus new, with increased sensitivities about releasing new tech to a foreign source.

He pointed out that Taiwan has built up some credibility in safeguarding American technology.

"There's always a concern when you license technology outside of your own company, but I would point out that Taiwan does have some American technology and has [purchased] a bunch of American weapons. In the commercial economy, companies like TSMC [Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company] produce other people's technology every day and people trust them to do that without concern of the PRC stealing that technology," Hammond-Chambers told VOA Mandarin.

"So, Taiwan has built up considerable trust over the years as a trustworthy partner in producing with other people's technology."

China's government-affiliated Global Times published an editorial on April 12 after Nikkei Asia reported the upcoming trip by U.S. defense contractors, saying that if the U.S. builds weapon production lines in Taiwan, it will further escalate tensions in the already tense U.S.-China relationship.

"That would be even worse than selling arms to Taiwan," the editorial said.

"Apart from necessary sanctions, the People's Liberation Army will target these kinds of facilities. It will be another target for our missiles."

Gomez from the Cato Institute said the U.S. needs to keep a low profile if it opts to proceed with co-production with Taiwan.

He said that if Congress and the White House are very vocal about a potential deal, then China will be more likely to respond in a big way.

"I would suggest doing it quietly without making too big a deal of it in public," Gomez said, "I think the practical benefit of it  is very real."
Key Insights

Corbion's estimated fair value is 22.74 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Current share price of 29.76 suggests Corbion is potentially 31% overvalued

The 36.65 analyst price target for CRBN is 61% more than our estimate of fair value

Does the April share price for Corbion N.V. (AMS:CRBN) reflect what it's really worth? Today, we will estimate the stock's intrinsic value by estimating the company's future cash flows and discounting them to their present value. This will be done using the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. There's really not all that much to it, even though it might appear quite complex.

We would caution that there are many ways of valuing a company and, like the DCF, each technique has advantages and disadvantages in certain scenarios. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

View our latest analysis for Corbion

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.

A DCF is all about the idea that a dollar in the future is less valuable than a dollar today, so we need to discount the sum of these future cash flows to arrive at a present value estimate:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (, Millions) 36.0m 21.5m 37.8m 93.0m 97.0m 99.7m 101.8m 103.3m 104.6m 105.5m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x2 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 2.81% Est @ 2.06% Est @ 1.54% Est @ 1.17% Est @ 0.92% Present Value (, Millions) Discounted @ 6.9% 33.7 18.8 30.9 71.1 69.3 66.7 63.6 60.4 57.1 53.9

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = 526m

Story continues

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 0.3%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 6.9%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = 106m (1 + 0.3%)  (6.9% 0.3%) = 1.6b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= 1.6b ( 1 + 6.9%)10= 817m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is 1.3b. The last step is to then divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of 29.8, the company appears reasonably expensive at the time of writing. The assumptions in any calculation have a big impact on the valuation, so it is better to view this as a rough estimate, not precise down to the last cent.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. 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 Corbion 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 6.9%, which is based on a levered beta of 1.115. 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 Corbion

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is well covered by earnings.

Weakness

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Chemicals market.

Expensive based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow for the next 3 years.

Threat

Debt is not well covered by operating cash flow.

Paying a dividend but company has no free cash flows.

Annual earnings are forecast to grow slower than the Dutch market.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. 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?" 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. Why is the intrinsic value lower than the current share price? For Corbion, there are three fundamental factors you should further examine:

Risks: Be aware that Corbion is showing 2 warning signs in our investment analysis , you should know about... Future Earnings: How does CRBN'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 ENXTAM 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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U.S. officials in Congress and the White House on Tuesday urged Sudan's warring parties to stand down after four days of clashes in the capital, but analysts say Washington's leverage over Khartoum may be limited.

Fighting in Khartoum sparked Saturday between members of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Their leaders  SAF head General Abdel-Fattah Burhan and RSF chief General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, popularly known as Hemedti  joined forces to mount a 2021 coup that returned the country to military rule. The two men have since turned on each other, amid squabbles over power-sharing in the new government.

On Tuesday, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre reiterated calls made by the top U.S. diplomat and the White House National Security Council for an immediate cease-fire without conditions.

But, when asked by VOA, Jean-Pierre declined to say what the consequences would be if the warring parties didn't listen.

"Look, you know, we've been very clear about the importance of de-escalating," she said. "And you've heard Secretary [of State Antony] Blinken speak to this. You heard my colleague from NSC speak to this as well. And so, I'm just not going to go beyond what they have said."

Earlier in the day, Blinken, speaking from a meeting of foreign ministers of the Group of Seven in Japan, said that he delivered a message to both leaders.

"This morning, I made calls to Generals Burhan and Hemedti, urging them to agree to a 24-hour cease-fire to allow Sudanese to safely reunite with their families and to obtain desperately needed relief supplies," he said.

U.S. lawmakers familiar with the continent say the stakes are high.

On Tuesday, Senator Chris Coons of Delaware, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told VOA, "I have not given up hope that there is still a path towards an end to the violence, but we need to prepare for the very real possibility that Sudan is about to descend into all-out civil war.

"My concern is that this may quickly become a proxy war. That other more powerful, more militarily sophisticated countries in the region may begin sending drones, airpower  possibly even munitions or troops," Coons said.

That is an assessment shared by analysts who study the region.

Six of Sudan's neighbors  Central African Republic, Chad, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Libya and South Sudan  have experienced conflict in the past few years.

"There's a history in this region of these countries getting involved in the other's internal conflicts," Cameron Hudson, a senior associate at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, told VOA via Zoom.

"All of these countries have rebels on various payrolls, more than willing to join this fight. And certainly all of these countries have an interest and a stake in the ultimate outcome of who wins this fight," Hudson said. "And so I think the longer this drags on, there's every reason to believe that the neighbors are increasingly going to see an opportunity to get involved."

He added that outside actors like Russia's mercenary Wagner Group, which has other activities in the Sahel region, may also see an opportunity.

"It's a very dangerous situation for Washington when we look at the regional picture," Hudson said.

But Washington has little room to maneuver. Ties with Khartoum have long been strained, and the U.S. suspended assistance to Sudan during the 2021 coup.

U.S. lawmaker Coons was involved with the effort to remove Sudan from a state sponsor of terrorism list in 2020. He said the tense relationship between Washington and Khartoum means that other players, such as the African Union and humanitarian organizations like the World Food Program, need to be involved.

"Look, we need to do whatever we can to reduce the loss of life to restore stability, and to show a clear path forward towards a resolution of negotiations," Coons said. "We do have some leverage, but there's other players in the region that also have a lot at stake and some leverage and we need to work with them in close coordination."

CSIS' Hudson said this may be the only viable path.

"I think the challenge here is that the leverage that Washington has left is not leverage that it wants to put on the table, and that's the use of punitive measures," Hudson said.

"I think for the last six months you've seen Washington, and even since the coup, using an engagement strategy and an incentive strategy to try to bring the generals around to relinquishing power," he said. "The problem is that in Sudan's history, these generals don't have a history of responding to incentives. Just like they govern the country through fear, intimidation and their own punitive measures, that's what they respond to themselves."

Washington is left facing the toughest question of all: whom to back in this two-sided conflict?

Hudson said there is a middle ground.

"I think we're backing the Sudanese people, is who we're backing," he said. "We're on the side of the Sudanese civilians. We've been trying to restore civilian rule to the country since the coup d'etat in October 2021. And that has been the focus of U.S. diplomacy on the ground."

Coons said Tuesday that his committee was working toward a peaceful resolution.

"Sudan is a country of vast potential," he said. "It could be the breadbasket of the whole region.

"The civilians of Sudan showed real bravery and determination in leading the demonstrations that led to the overthrow of Bashir. To have them slide so quickly, so far backwards, into brutal internal fighting is disheartening. I am talking with leadership here, this week, about our options for the path forward," he said.
Top White House officials such as Vice President Kamala Harris and first lady Jill Biden have crisscrossed the African continent this year to implement what President Joe Biden has described as partnerships between the United States and African countries. And a range of U.S. government officials  including lawmakers  have also traversed the continent, doing lower-profile work.

VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell sat down with Democratic Senator Chris Coons, a longtime and frequent visitor to Africa.

This is a continent of incredible potential and opportunity, Coons, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and its Africa subcommittee, told VOA. If we can work in close partnership with young African nations to address climate change, food insecurity, human rights, sustainable development, urbanization  some of the key challenges of this century  we can solve those problems for the world.

Coons also spoke about his upcoming participation in a classified Senate briefing over the recent leak of more than 100 classified documents by a member of the U.S. Air National Guard.

Those documents covered matters with global impact, like U.S. spying efforts around the world, assessments of the Russian and Ukrainian armed forces, and of Chinas aerial capabilities and access around Taiwan, the democratic island that Beijing claims as its own.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

VOA: You recently accompanied the vice president on a multicountry Africa tour. What were the measurable, demonstrable outcomes of that and other high-profile U.S. visits to Africa this year?

Senator Chris Coons: The key goal here is to show up, is to engage, is to demonstrate that the United States is a trusted, valuable partner in public health, in economic development, in the transformation of the energy sector, in helping agriculture transform to combat food insecurity. The vice president, in the country that I traveled with her to  Ghana  focused on youth opportunity and entrepreneurship and creative enterprises, and the implementation of the Global Fragility Act.

She announced $100 million in investments to help stabilize Ghana, Cote d'Ivoire, Benin and Togo  countries that I've also been actively engaged in.

VOA: Lets talk about Sudan. Yesterday, VOA talked to [former U.S. and U.N. diplomat] Jeffrey Feltman, who told us that the U.S. got played by both of the combatant leaders in Sudan. Is it time for Congress to break ties with the ruling military leadership in Sudan? Are you planning to author something on that?

Coons: This is something that had been feared for a number of weeks as relations between them got more and more tense. I have not given up hope that there is still a path towards an end to the violence, but we need to prepare for the very real possibility that Sudan is about to descend into all-out civil war. My concern is that this may quickly become a proxy war. I am talking with leadership here this week about our options for the path forward.

VOA: Kenyan media is reporting that you played a big role in bringing about an accord between President between President William Ruto and his nemesis, opposition leader Raila Odinga.

Can you take us into the room? What you did, what you promised? And is the U.S. seen as a capable negotiator, facilitator and guarantor in these sorts of disputes?

Coons: I had the opportunity to have, I hope, some positive and productive personal conversations with the deputy president, with the former prime minister and with the former president, to just help them hear each other and to act as an intermediary. I think central is the path forward for the [electoral commission]. That is critical to there being in the future free and fair elections in Kenya.

My core message, frankly, to everyone I met with was: The United States is not trying to push any specific outcome or alignment of this government. We're simply trying to help you hear each other and recognize that democracy is fragile, is difficult, and requires there being space for a legitimate opposition to be heard, for complaints and concerns about the economy about the election to be heard, and for the duly elected president of the country to be able to lead the country forward.

VOA: What are your intentions and hopes for the U.S. President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief [PEPFAR] and the African Growth and Opportunity Act [AGOA]? Is there bipartisan support for continuing both of them?

Coons: I had a chance a number of weeks ago to visit Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia to look at their PEPFAR programming, to look at the history and the future of PEPFAR. I think it can and should be reauthorized. And it will get a strong bipartisan vote to do so.

It is expensive, but it has a significant positive and sustained impact. I think it shows the world  but in particular, the countries that principally benefit in Africa  that the United States is capable of being a great partner over many years to persist in what is a really critical fight that helps the whole world, but that particularly helps those at the margins  the poorest women, children, those who are immunocompromised  to live good and full lives.

I was closely involved in the last reauthorization of AGOA. I've seen the positive impacts it has on the ground in a few countries, principally South Africa, Kenya, Ethiopia. It's possible for many more countries to benefit from AGOA, to use it to export apparel or produce or manufacture products into the United States.

VOA: This intelligence leak has triggered a review of security protocols. You're going into this classified briefing. What concerns and questions do you have?

Coons: This is a significant breach of American intelligence. And there's clearly going to be accountability at the unit level, as well as for this individual who I expect will end up spending a significant amount of time in jail for these actions. If someone with this relatively junior rank and youth in our military can expose such significant secrets for such a callow and simple reason, it has to raise larger questions about the control that we're exercising over the flow of intelligence products both within our military and across our government.

I'm expecting to hear what else has been learned about how this happened, what response there's been and how we're going to better manage intelligence information.

VOA: And are you concerned about tightening information and the implications of that as the U.S. continues to fund expensive and sensitive efforts like the war in Ukraine?

Coons: I am optimistic that we can show that the oversight that's happening both remotely and now in person on the ground in Ukraine gives us confidence that the money we are sending is being well spent.

In my visit to Kyiv last fall with Senator [Rob] Portman, we spoke to our ambassador there, some of the accountability teams, the outside contractors that are providing insight into how our funds are being spent. And I'm so far optimistic that we're going to be able to meet that mark of showing the American people that the money we're investing in Ukraine's defense in Ukraine, fighting the Russian occupiers, is money well spent.
Zimbabwes new parliament gives an architectural nod to the countrys famous ancient ruins; Lesothos has a design resembling a mokorotlo, the conical straw hat thats part of national dress; and Malawis has a dome that looks like a calabash.

These local elements make these modern parliaments notable departures from southern Africas old European-style legislatures built in colonial times, but in fact the new buildings were also designed and built by a foreign power: China.

Despite the African design elements, the imposing buildings arent that different from Chinas own brutalist architecture, and stand out in developing countries, some of which, like Malawi, are among the poorest in the world.

Africas largest trade partner has become known for its multibillion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative infrastructure projects on the continent, such as railways and ports. But for years it has also been building grand new parliaments and other government buildings, which cost less but are equally part of Beijing's diplomatic push in the region.

These buildings, like the new $200 million Zimbabwean parliament, which opened last year, are usually given as gifts, with no loans attached.

The prestige diplomacy helps to strengthen Chinas ties with the African governments, especially the top leaders, according to Yun Sun, director of the China program at the Stimson Center.

Building a government building named after a president does not cost much, but the goodwill and reputational benefits are tremendous, she told VOA.

Whats in it for China?

China has so far built or refurbished parliaments in some 15 African countries, including the Republic of Congo, Liberia, Mozambique, the Seychelles and Guinea Bissau, as well as other government buildings such as Burundis presidential palace and the African Union headquarters in Ethiopia.

Innocent Batsani-Ncube, a postdoctoral researcher at SOAS University of London, has a forthcoming book on Chinas parliaments in Africa. He told VOA such buildings arent just bricks and mortar; you have to locate this within this idea of building influence.

Beyond goodwill from African leaders, Chinas parliament-building drive benefits the Asian giant in multiple other ways, he says.

It allows Beijing to gauge the political temperature of a country, he says, because while China often deals directly with ruling parties on the continent, in a multi-party democracy youll find all political factions in the parliament and its the one place China can connect with the opposition  which is valuable just in case theres regime change.

It provides a way of hedging their bets, says Batsani-Ncube.

Even in political systems dominated by one party, he notes, theres occasional leadership turnover and its not enough to target the guy whos in power now, you have to play the long game.

Paul Nantulya, a research associate at the Africa Center for Strategic Studies, echoes that idea, saying it affords China the opportunity to cultivate local elites.

While it might garner the Chinese political savvy and connections as well as open the doors for Chinese economic interests, analyst Yunnan Chen says Chinas parliament-building drive is not necessarily an attempt to export Beijings one-party system.

I think it would be a very convoluted argument to make that the structure of a building carries a philosophy with it, said Chen, a researcher at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), an independent global think tank. But, she noted, China does provide training and foreign exchanges for African government officials.

Batsani-Ncube agrees that the architectural efforts are different from more overtly political initiatives such as a leadership academy for African politicians opened by China last year in Tanzania. Beijing seems indifferent to the political systems in the countries where it is building parliaments, he says.

SEE ALSO: A related video by VOA's Charles Kombe

Concerns have also been raised that the new buildings could be equipped for future Chinese espionage in light of a 2018 controversy over the reported bugging of the Chinese-built African Union headquarters in Ethiopia  something Beijing has repeatedly denied.

Asked about such concerns by reporters ahead of the opening of the new parliament in Zimbabwe last year, Cai Libo, from Shanghai Construction Group, the government-owned company that built it, responded that China and Zimbabwe were friends and you would not do such kind of things to your friends.

SEE ALSO: A related video by VOA's Columbus Mavhunga

Whats in it for Africa?

The Washington-based Heritage Foundation, whose research on the topic has found that since 1966, Chinese companies have built or renovated at least 186 African government buildings, said Chinas palace diplomacy serves little purpose other than to curry favor with recipient governments.

But the ODIs Chen says many of the new buildings are not only wanted by African governments, but also needed because the old ones have become so dilapidated  even if the shiny new structures do carry an element of vanity.

Nantulya notes that countries like the U.S. dont usually put money toward such projects, and for African governments, one way that political support domestically can be mobilized is by showing voters that investments have been made in visible, tangible outputs like a building.

Batsani-Ncube agrees theres a need for new buildings as African legislatures and institutions expand in size, as increased staff entails more office space.

But, he adds, the big construction projects have little economic benefit for the recipient countries because China and Chinese firms control everything from the drawing table to completion.

That control of the process also leaves Chinese firms best equipped to handle future maintenance of the buildings, he said. China has just completed renovations on the parliament it built in Malawi.

It leads to complaints [that] countries are not developing local expertise, said Nantulya.

Chinas institutional building drive in Africa is set to continue. A few weeks ago, ground was broken on Ghana's new foreign ministry building, which is being paid for entirely by China, along with the new headquarters of West African bloc ECOWAS, currently under construction in Nigeria.
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As Zimbabwe celebrated its Independence Day on Tuesday, President Emmerson Mnangagwa said the countrys economy was improving. But a World Bank report released this month said that while Zimbabwe's poverty levels are declining, they remain elevated. Columbus Mavhunga reports.
New developments:

Black Sea grain deal inspections resume in Turkey

Hungary adds honey, wine, bread, sugar to temporary ban on imports from Ukraine

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov says like-minded countries should oppose illegal unilateral pressure of the West

Ukraine on Wednesday reported overnight drone attacks by Russian forces in the Odesa region of southern Ukraine.

Yuri Kruk, the head of Ukraines military command in the Odesa region, said the drones caused a fire at an infrastructure facility, but that there were no casualties.

Russia has made widespread use of drones to carry out attacks in Ukraine, including against infrastructure targets.

Sweden NATO

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin voiced support Wednesday for Swedens bid to join the NATO alliance.

Speaking during a visit to Swedens Musko Naval Base, Austin said the United States looks forward to continuing to advocate for your swift admission to NATO and we'll work hard to get that done before the summit.

Austin said Swedish forces will add a lot of value to NATO, our overall effort, you have a very, a highly professional military and you've invested a lot in modernization over the last several years.

Sweden applied for NATO membership along with Finland in response to Russias invasion of Ukraine last year.

SEE ALSO:

Finland formally joined the military alliance in early April. Swedens bid has been held up by objections from Hungary and Turkey, which says Sweden has not done enough to crack down on groups that Turkey considers terror organizations.

Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.
BRATISLAVA, SLOVAKIA  Slovakia has delivered the remaining nine of the 13 Soviet-era MiG-29 fighter jets that it promised to Ukraine, the Slovak Defense Ministry said on Monday.

The ministry said the warplanes were transported overland for security reasons in a complicated logistics operation. The first four were flown from Slovakia to Ukraine by Ukrainian pilots on March 23.

"We are doing the right thing," Defense Minister Jaroslav Nad said in a statement.

On March 17, the Slovak government approved a plan to give Ukraine its entire fleet of Soviet-era MiG-29 planes, becoming the second NATO member to answer Ukraine's plea for warplanes to help defend against Russias invasion.

SEE ALSO:

Slovakia grounded its MiGs in the summer due to a lack of spare parts and maintenance expertise. Neighboring Poland and the Czech Republic, both NATO members, stepped in to monitor Slovak air space.

Replacements for the MiG-29s are unlikely to arrive for another year. Slovakia previously signed a deal to buy 14 U.S. F-16 Block 70/72 fighter jets, but delivery was pushed back two years with the first aircraft to arrive in early 2024.

The United States has offered Slovakia 12 new military helicopters as compensation for the fighter jets given to Ukraine. Under the offer, Slovakia would pay $340 million for the Bell AH-1Z attack choppers in a deal worth about $1 billion. U.S. foreign military financing would cover the other $660 million.
Rival forces battling in the streets of Sudans capital declared a new 24-hour cease-fire Wednesday, a day after a similar truce attempt failed.

The Sudanese armed forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, or RSF, announced separately that they would abide by a temporary halt in fighting beginning at 6 p.m. local time, or 1600 UTC.

It was not clear whether the cease-fire would hold, as the Associated Press cited residents of Khartoum reporting that they heard sporadic gunfire and explosions as evening fell.

In Washington, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre called for both sides to respect the truce, "renounce violence and return to negotiations." She said the country's two top generals, whose forces have turned the capital into a war zone for the past five days, "are responsible for ensuring the protection of civilians and non-combatants."

Heavy fighting was reported earlier Wednesday around the main military headquarters in Khartoum, with military jets launching airstrikes on RSF forces attempting to take control of the complex.

Streets in the capital were empty except for fighters and people attempting to flee the city, some leaving on foot, some crowding into vehicles. Most residents have sheltered indoors to avoid the fighting, enduring a cutoff in electricity and dwindling food supplies.

"Khartoum has become a ghost city," said Atiya Abdalla Atiya, secretary of the Sudan Doctors' Syndicate, who is still in the capital.

The fighting has killed nearly 300 people in the past five days, the U.N. health agency said, but the toll is likely higher, since many bodies have been left in the streets, unreachable because of the clashes.

World leaders have pressured General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander of Sudans military, and General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, head of the Rapid Support Forces, to call a halt to the fighting. The rival forces agreed to a cease-fire Tuesday after speaking separately by phone with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who appealed for a truce on humanitarian grounds. The cease-fire fell apart within minutes and fighting raged throughout the day on Wednesday.

Japan announced Wednesday it has begun plans to evacuate about 60 of its citizens from Sudan aboard military planes amid the worsening situation in Khartoum.

The U.S. State Department told VOA on Wednesday it has been in communication with American citizens about safety measures and other precautions, adding that it is unaware of any deaths or injuries of U.S. citizens in Sudan.

SEE ALSO:

Calls for dialogue

The fighting between the army and RSF broke out Saturday after months of rising tension over the countrys political future and plans to integrate the RSF into the national army.

Calls to end the fighting have come from around the world and within Africa, including the African Union, the Arab League and East African regional bloc IGAD, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development.

Sudan's two top generals, however, have yet to express a willingness to negotiate and each has demanded the other's surrender.

Dagalo said Monday on Twitter that he was defending democracy in Sudan and called Burhan a "radical Islamist." Dagalo's forces emerged from the notorious Janjaweed militias in Sudan's Darfur region and have been accused of carrying out atrocities in the region.

The clashes are part of a power struggle between General Burhan, who also heads Sudans ruling military council, and General Dagalo, also known as Hemedti, the deputy head of the council. The two generals joined forces in October 2021 to overthrow the transitional government formed after the 2019 ouster of longtime autocratic leader Omar al-Bashir.

The restructuring of the military was part of an effort to restore the country to civilian rule and end the political crisis.

VOA English to Africa's Carol Van Dam Falk, VOA Africa correspondent Mariama Diallo, VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer, VOA White House correspondent Anita Powell, VOA State Department Bureau Chief Nike Ching and VOA reporter Michael Atit contributed to this report. Some information for this article came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.
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Members of Tanzania's ruling party are among politicians from six African countries who recently attended the first session of a Chinese Communist Party training school. The school was built to strengthen Chinese outreach to African countries. Critics say it undermines democracy in Africa
Former State Senator and Red Wing Mayor John Howe today announced he will seek the Republican endorsement for Minnesota Secretary of State.
(Bloomberg) -- Credit Suisse Group AG was accused by US lawmakers of impeding an investigation into its historical assistance to Nazis that had revealed a number of previously undisclosed accounts.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The allegations relate to an internal probe started after the Simon Wiesenthal Center informed the lender in 2020 that it had new information about Nazi-linked accounts. While Credit Suisse agreed to investigate, the bank established an unnecessarily rigid and narrow scope, refused to follow new leads and removed the independent ombudsman overseeing it, according to a statement by the US Senates Budget Committee.

When it comes to investigating Nazi matters, righteous justice demands that we must leave no stone unturned, Senator Chuck Grassley said in the statement. Credit Suisse has thus far failed to meet that standard.

The accusations add to the challenges facing the Swiss lender as its being taken over by larger rival UBS Group AG, which last month agreed to buy Credit Suisse in a government-led rescue. While the $3 billion price tag marked a steep discount, the emergency deal hashed out over a weekend left little time for UBS to assess risks such as potential losses on assets, legacy issues and litigation.

The spat over the internal Credit Suisse probe comes about a quarter century after the two big Swiss banks reached a $1.25 billion settlement with victims of the Holocaust. That accord resolved claims that the banks failed to return assets to survivors of Hitlers genocide and heirs of victims. It also covered claims by victims whose assets were looted by the Nazis and deposited in Swiss banks.

Story continues

The latest internal Credit Suisse investigation was conducted by forensic research firm AlixPartners and overseen by Neil Barofsky, the former inspector general of the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Barofsky, a frequent Wall Street critic, also served as the monitor for the Justice Departments settlement with Credit Suisse over the banks sale of residential mortgage-backed securities, and as monitor after the Swiss firm in 2014 admitted to helping Americans evade taxes.

Barofsky was removed as ombudsman by Credit Suisse in November. While he was initially tasked with producing a public report on his findings, the Budget Committee only obtained the document after issuing a subpoena, it said in the statement.

Credit Suisse, in a statement on its website, said the probe didnt support key claims by the Simon Wiesenthal Center and that Barofskys report contained numerous factual errors, misleading and gratuitous statements and unsupported allegations that are based on an incomplete understanding of the facts.

The bank strongly rejects these misrepresentations, Credit Suisse said. The bank is fully cooperating with an inquiry by the Budget Committee and has extended the mandate of AlixPartners.

The reports the Committee obtained indicate that Credit Suisse seems to have maintained accounts for at least 99 individuals who were either senior Nazi officials in Germany or members of Nazi-affiliated groups in Argentina. A vast majority of those have not previously been disclosed. Some remained open until recently.

The probe identified 21 accounts from a list of notorious high-level Nazis provided by the SWC, including one that belonged to a Nazi commander who was sentenced at Nuremberg and another belonging to an SS commander who was convicted, according to the Budget Committee. The sentenced commanders account remained open until 2002.

(Updates with details on ombudsman in sixth paragraph.)

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It looks like Dr. Bruce Banner has business in WWII-era Europe. Not to meet up with BFF Captain America, who was busy being a lab rat for the U.S. government, but to care for his blind daughter and protect a national treasure. In the first teaser trailer for Netflixs All the Light We Cannot See, Daniel LeBlanc (Mark Ruffalo) lives in Paris with his blind daughter Marie-Laure (Aria Mia Loberti) when the Nazis invade. While Daniel ends up imprisoned by the SS over a missing diamond, Marie-Laure finds comfort in radio broadcasting, where she unknowingly connects with Werner Pfennig (Louis Hofmann), a member of Hitlers Youth. The dialogue-less trailer, soundtracked by Debussys Clair de Lune, shows the world around them on fire. Shawn Levy directs the four-part limited series based on Anthony Doerrs Pulitzer Prizewinning novel of the same name. Houses Hugh Laurie and Babylon Berlins Lars Eidinger round out the cast. All the Light We Cannot See hits Netflix on November 2. If the streamer cared about numbers, Captain America would make a cameo.

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Photo: Medios y Media/Getty Images

Just over a year after the death of their longtime drummer, Taylor Hawkins, the Foo Fighters are back with new music. The band released Rescued, the first single and opening track of their 11th album, But Here We Are, out June 2. Its one of the Foos most immediate, emotional songs in at least a decade, recalling their rough, pummeling early output. But Here We Are is the sound of brothers finding refuge in the music that brought them together in the first place 28 years ago, a process that was as therapeutic as it was about a continuation of life, a press release states. The album was produced by frequent collaborator Greg Kurstin, but its unclear who drummed on the new music. The press release compares the album to the bands 1995 debut  which was entirely performed by Dave Grohl back when he was better known as Nirvanas former drummer.

Aside from a tribute last year, the band has yet to perform since Hawkinss death. Theyll headline a slate of festivals and other tour dates this summer, beginning with a show in New Hampshire on May 24 and including Boston Calling, Bonnaroo, and Outside Lands. Last month, The Sun speculated that the band would perform with Pearl Jams Matt Cameron and Angels & Airwaves Atom Willard, but Cameron since denied the rumor. Find the track list to But Here We Are below.

1. Rescued

2. Under You

3. Hearing Voices

4. But Here We Are

5. The Glass

6. Nothing at All

7. Show Me How

8. Beyond Me

9. The Teacher

10. Rest
Catholic Health is the only Long Island health system participating in the CVS Health ACO REACH program

WOONSOCKET, R.I., and ROCKVILLE CENTRE, N.Y., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- CVS Accountable Care Organization, Inc. (CVS Accountable Care), a division of the CVS Health family of businesses, (NYSE: CVS) today announced it has entered into a collaboration with Catholic Health and Catholic Health Physician Partner's ACO (Catholic Health) to expand value-based care and health care access for Medicare beneficiaries across the Catholic Health Physician Network in the New York area. The partnership builds on Catholic Health's ACOs program, improving care for over 40,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Nassau and Suffolk counties and saving millions of dollars by meeting quality and total cost of care goals.

Image provided by CVS Health

Catholic Health and CVS Accountable Care (CVS ACO) will jointly assume accountability for the health care of nearly 40,000 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries under the ACO Realizing Equity, Access, and Community Health (REACH) program1. The new collaboration, the first of its kind on Long Island, will help to strengthen care coordination for patients by providing customized support, such as home-based care, transportation support for annual wellness visits and linkages to services for addressing social determinants of health. Additionally, it will help improve support for Catholic Health providers, especially primary care providers; enhance the health system's care delivery service offerings, including adding same-day access, multidisciplinary chronic condition care management programs and analytics to allow physicians to provide top-of-license care; and utilize innovative value-based payments to incentivize providers.

The agreement is based on the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation's (CMMI) redesigned direct contracting model, ACO REACH. ACO REACH prioritizes health equity, the coordination of care among health care providers to improve outcomes, and the reduction of unnecessary medical costs by moving patients toward value-based care.

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"Catholic Health looks forward to working with CVS ACO and bringing these important care enhancements to our Medicare population," said Catholic Health President & CEO Patrick O'Shaughnessy, DO, MBA, noting the health system is the only Long Island-area participant in the CVS Accountable Care ACO REACH program. "As CVS's exclusive health system partner in the Long Island market, we will be able to reach more patients as a unified resource and will provide new equity-focused clinical programs and services at a time when access to high-quality health care is more important than ever."

"We know value-based care, particularly for Medicare beneficiaries, can help dramatically improve outcomes for patients who need it most and achieve lower costs," said Mohamed Diab, MD, CEO, CVS Accountable Care Organization. "That's why value-based care as a framework is central to our broader care delivery strategy. CVS ACO is bringing to the table powerful tools to help provide coordinated, high-quality care to Medicare patients."

Diab noted the ACO REACH program enables CVS ACO to employ community-based assets such as MinuteClinic retail health clinics, as well as the company's robust data analytics and connected electronic medical record technology to support providers as they care for their most complex patients. The program also assumes administrative tasks such as appointment and lab scheduling assistance and provides actionable insights at the point-of-care to help providers offer more personalized patient care. Overall, the partnership allows for more integration, data sharing and care coordination resulting in less fragmentation and ultimately the goal of better outcomes.

The collaboration builds on Catholic Health's Physician Partner's ACOs successes in the Medicare Shared Savings Program to ensure patients have access to equitable, accessible and high-quality care.

Both CVS Health and Catholic Health have longstanding commitments to reducing health disparities that contribute to unequal health outcomes. "CVS Health is focused on advancing health equity for our customers, colleagues, clients and communities by improving health care access and quality of health for every patient we serve," said Diab.

"At Catholic Health, we are grounded in our humanity and dedicated to the transformation of health care," said O'Shaughnessy. "We remain dedicated to making a critical difference in the health trajectory of the underserved and to enhancing the care in the communities most in need. That is what health equity is all about."

Catholic Health will join a growing national network of leading and diverse providers working within the CVS ACO framework to care for Medicare beneficiaries. This network includes other clinically integrated networks, primary care groups and Federally Qualified Health Centers.

About CVS Health

CVS Health is the leading health solutions company, delivering care like no one else can. We reach more people and improve the health of communities across America through our local presence, digital channels and over 300,000 dedicated colleagues  including more than 40,000 physicians, pharmacists, nurses and nurse practitioners. Wherever and whenever people need us, we help them with their health  whether that's managing chronic diseases, staying compliant with their medications, or accessing affordable health and wellness services in the most convenient ways. We help people navigate the health care system  and their personal health care  by improving access, lowering costs and being a trusted partner for every meaningful moment of health. And we do it all with heart, each and every day. Follow @CVSHealth on social media.

About Catholic Health

Catholic Health is an integrated system encompassing some of the region's finest health and human services agencies. The health system has nearly 16,000 employees, six acute care hospitals, three nursing homes, a home health service, hospice and a network of physician practices. Under the sponsorship of the Diocese of Rockville Centre, Catholic Health serves hundreds of thousands of Long Islanders each year, providing care that extends from the beginning of life to helping people live their final years in comfort, grace and dignity.

CVS Health media contact

Kathleen Biesecker

703-472-8466

Kathleen.Biesecker@CVSHealth.com

Catholic Health media contact

Kate A. Malenczak

631-263-6646

kate.malenczak@chsli.org

1 Statements contained in this document are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of CMS. The authors assume responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of the information contained in this document.

CVS Health (PRNewsFoto/CVS Health)

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British Airways has launched its first Avios-Only flights, on which 100% of the seats are exclusively available to Executive Club Members as Reward Seats.



The first Avios-Only flight will be the inaugural flight from London Gatwick to Sharm El Sheikh on November 3, 2023, followed by a selection of flights from London Heathrow to Geneva in February and March 2024. More routes will be announced throughout 2023



Return flights to Sharm El Sheikh will be from as little as 1 + 27,500 Avios per person, with an option to reduce this even further with a Companion Voucher. Club Europe (business class) fares start from 1 + 48,500 Avios. The Egyptian holiday hotspot recently became the latest addition to the network of British Airways London Gatwick-based subsidiary, BA Euroflyer.



Following this, the next Avios-Only flights will be the BA728 from London Heathrow to Geneva on February 10, 17, 24 and March 2 in 2024. Flights will be from 1 + 18,500 Avios per person, with options from 1 + 30,000 Avios in Club Europe. The respective BA729 return flights will operate as Avios-Only flights a week later.



Reward Seats are those that can be purchased using Avios at static rates. British Airways guarantees a minimum of 12 and 14 Reward Seats on short and long-haul flights respectively, and this will be the first flight with every seat available to purchase using Avios. Members booking the Avios-Only flight can do so in any cabin as they normally would through ba.com, with a selection of return options available as Reward Seats.



Ian Romanis said: We are always looking for new ways to reward our loyal customers and offer value wherever we can, which is why we are excited about this brand-new option for Members. Sharm El Sheikh and Geneva will be the first of several flights as we roll more out in 2024.



Tom Stoddart, BA Euroflyers CEO, said: We are proud to be operating British Airways first Avios-Only flight. BA Euroflyer is the only short-haul carrier based at Gatwick to offer a loyalty programme, and now were offering more value and choice than ever for our Members.



The new Sharm El Sheikh route will be operated by BA Euroflyer three times per week throughout the winter season, with a fourth service on Saturdays until December 15, 2023.  TradeArabia News Service
ReportLinker

The global cybersecurity market was valued at USD 150.37 billion in 2021, and it is expected to reach a value of USD 317.02 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 13.37% during the forecast period 2022-2027.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Cybersecurity Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06062816/?utm_source=GNW

Cybersecurity protects the network, information, and personal data from cyberattacks. The trends of BYOD, AI, IoT, and machine learning in cybersecurity are rapidly growing. For instance, machine learning offers advantages in outlier detection, which benefits cybersecurity.



Key Highlights

The cybersecurity industry ecosystem comprises several regional clusters of cybersecurity firms contributing to global market dynamics. In the current market scenario, the cybersecurity industry operates in three distinct mega-clusters: the San Francisco Bay Area (SFBA), Metropolitan Washington, DC, and Israel.

The three cybersecurity mega-clusters share two essential characteristics. The first is that the startup and high-tech innovation culture is a significant growth driver for all three ecosystems. SFBA and Israel have thriving startup ecosystems with a substantial associated flow of risk capital. They are heavily focused on products, while Washington exhibits a higher proportion of service-based firms (in Washington, only 11% of cybersecurity firms are focused solely on products). The second characteristic is the link between human capital and national security.

Ransomware attacks have ravaged many state and local public sector agencies. In some cases, entire local governments were forced to declare an emergency due to massive leaks of sensitive data and loss of services. For instance, in June 2021, JBS Foods, the worlds leading meatpacking enterprise, declared that it had paid a USD 11 million ransom to REvil ransomware threat actors following a cyberattack that forced the company to shut down production at several sites worldwide, including its production facilities in United States, Australia, and Canada.

One of the major causes of growing cyberattacks is the lack of skilled cybersecurity personnel in each industry. The number of experienced cybersecurity professionals, especially in Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and Middle-East are low compared to the need for security professionals to handle cyber threats for financial institutes, government organizations, and private sector/industrial businesses.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, countries worldwide have implemented preventive measures. With schools being closed and communities being asked to stay at home, multiple organizations have found a way to enable their employees to work from their homes. This has, thus, resulting in a rise in the adoption of video communication platforms.



Cybersecurity Market Trends



Growing M2M/IoT Connections Require Strengthened Cybersecurity in Enterprises



Significant reduction in device costs coupled with emerging business models has been instrumental in increasing the market penetration rates of IoT and, consequently, the number of connected devices, such as connected cars, machines, meters, wearables, and consumer electronics.

Attacks on consumer IoT are prevalent, but the possibility of disruption in manufacturing and similar industries enhances cybersecuritys penetration in the current market dynamics. Further, the emergence of 5G is expected to expedite the use of connected devices in industries already pushing toward Industrial Revolution 4.0.

Industrial Revolution 4.0 aids cellular connectivity throughout the industry through the rise of IoT. Machine-to-machine connections have also been instrumental in driving market traction.

Further, security researchers working in Palo Alto Networks discovered another Mirai malware variant that targeted new IoT vulnerabilities. Researchers from Unit 42, the cybersecurity division of the company, discovered several attacks in February 2021 that leveraged vulnerabilities. In this case, the compromised devices downloaded Mirai malware binaries, which added them to a larger IoT botnet capable of carrying out network attacks on devastating scales. Such vulnerabilities are expected to drive cybersecurity solutions.?

With the increase in the number of devices connected to the internet, the cyber world is expected to witness a rise in the occurrence and emergence of new threats and attacks. The attacks of WannaCry and Petya, which affected over 150 countries across the world, further revealed the vulnerability of IoT devices as end-points, thus, fueling the need for better security for consumer devices that are highly susceptible to cyberattacks.?



Asia-Pacific Expected to be the Fastest-growing Market



The Asia Pacific is expected to witness the highest market growth for cybersecurity solutions over the forecast period. The presence of several market incumbents and recent security threats in the region are expected to accelerate these solutions further.

Increasing cyberattacks in the country have propelled China to strengthen its defensive capabilities. However, the government is also a major source of origin for cyberattacks in other parts of the world. For instance, Microsoft blamed a Chinese cyber-espionage group for attacks on its mail server software in March 2021. Microsofts Threat Intelligence Center attributed the attacks with high confidence to Hafnium, a group assessed to be state-sponsored and operating out of China.

Further, in November 2021, Japan and Vietnam signed a cybersecurity agreement as the two Asian nations rapidly stepped up their military ties amid concerns over Chinas growing assertiveness. In April 2021, Japan stepped up cyber defense cooperation with the United States, Australia, and other partners and participated in a NATO cyberspace exercise. Japan has also held cybersecurity talks with Vietnam, Singapore, and Indonesia. The Japanese Defense Ministry considers cyberattacks to be part of rising security threats from China as it becomes more assertive in the region, a concern shared by the United States and other allies in the region.

Moreover, in April 2022, the Indian government issued new directives requiring organizations to report cybersecurity incidents to CERT-IN within six hours, even if those incidents are port or vulnerability scans of computer systems. The requirement was promoted by Indias Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In), which stated that it had identified specific gaps causing difficulties in security incident analysis and response, and to address them, more aggressive measures needed to be imposed.



Cybersecurity Industry Overview



The global cybersecurity market is highly fragmented and competitive, comprising several international and regional players. Innovation can bring about a sustainable, competitive advantage to these firms. New fields, such as Big Data and IoT, are reshaping security trends, and the firm concentration ratio is expected to record higher growth during the forecast period. Key players in the market are AVG Technologies, Cisco Systems Inc., and IBM Corporation.



March 2022 - Mandiant Inc. announced the launch of mWISE, the Mandiant Worldwide Information Security Exchange. mWISE is a dynamic, vendor-neutral cyber security event series that brings together practitioners, executives, and visionaries worldwide to discuss best practices, uncover new and emerging trends, and translate knowledge into collective action to decrease cyber threats.

February 2022 - Check Point Software Technologies Ltd acquired Spectral, a key innovator in developer-first security tools. This acquisition is expected to help the company extend its cloud solutions, Cloud Guard, using developer-first security platforms and provide the broadest range of cloud application security use cases.



Additional Benefits:



The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06062816/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Dalriada

Dr. Frosty Loechel

Dr. Frosty Loechel joins Dalriada Drug Discovery as SVP Biology

TORONTO, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Dalriada, a leading Canadian contract research organization specializing in small molecule therapies, announces today the appointment of Frosty Loechel, Ph.D. as SVP Biology, Discovery Strategy group. The appointment confirms Dalriadas ambition to remain at the forefront of expertise and capabilities in small molecule drug discovery with its pioneering and agile TURN-KEY model.



Dr. Loechel joins Dalriada from Evotec, where first as a VP, Metabolic Diseases, and then as SVP, Therapeutic Area Lead and Scientific Director, he built up a large department and led new collaborative drug discovery agreements with pharma/biotech partners and on the strategy of project portfolio in major multi-target collaborations. Prior to this Dr. Loechel spent his career at Lundbeck, Thermo Fisher, Neurosearch and BioImage.

At Dalriada, Dr. Loechel will be responsible for scientific strategy in biology for drug discovery programs. With 20 years academic experience and 25 years working in pharma, biotech and contract research organizations, Dr. Loechel brings a wealth of experience across multiple areas and therapeutic modalities of drug discovery, from target validation to preclinical development. His areas of expertise include in vitro pharmacology, small molecules, CNS, and metabolic therapy areas.

Welcoming Dr. Loechel to the Company, Dalriadas Chief Executive and co-founder, Dr. Diana Kraskouskaya commented: I am delighted to have Dr. Loechel join Dalriada. From enabling complex biology, to build-out of discovery pipelines and platforms, we strive to be an ultimate partner for our biotech clients. Dr. Loechel brings not only heaps of industry experience in small molecule discovery, but also importantly, effective strategies in enabling innovative discovery programs and bringing them to the clinic.

Prof. Patrick Gunning, Dalriadas co-founder & Chief Scientific Officer added: Dalriada is pioneering its TURN-KEY model in the industry to provide ultimate support for small molecule discovery programs globally. The appointment of Dr. Loechel is another significant step in Dalriadas commitment to offer top expertise to the programs we support.

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Commenting on his appointment, Dr. Loechel said: I am delighted to join Dalriada, a company at the forefront of covalent approaches and other novel small molecule modalities, and I look forward to making a difference working alongside such an ambitious and highly competent team.

He added: Over decades of industry experience, I have seen the evolution and re-shaping of the pharmaceutical industry and strength and weaknesses of various outsourcing and in-house discovery models. Dalriadas pioneering TURN-KEY model is best suited for the heavily virtual and semi-virtual biotech sector in drug discovery, bringing in one place everything that a biotech needs for agile execution.

Dr. Loechels full biography is available at https://dalriadatx.com/about/frosty-loechel/

Note to editors:

About Dalriada Drug Discovery Inc.

Dalriada, through its TURN-KEY Drug Discovery services model, provides a full suite of drug discovery, medicinal chemistry and intellectual property services for semi-virtual, lean biotechnology clients who focus on developing small molecule therapies. With R&D operations in Mississauga, Canada, Dalriada builds focused teams with expertise in MedChem, Biology and ADME to allow for the most rapid and cost-effective project execution and value building. Dalriada has niche expertise in several areas including covalent drug discovery, GPCR programs, targeted protein degradation, novel hetero-bifunctional modalities and CNS programs, with proprietary screening platforms in several of these areas.

About Dalriadas TURN-KEY model

TURN-KEY provides a powerful one-stop alternative to the prevailing CRO models, fulfilling the most common needs of small to medium-size biotech companies. Via its three key operational pillars of Discovery Labs, Discovery Strategy and Discovery Management, the model reduces the costs of internal R&D and G&A, shortens the timelines to reaching value inflection points, and removes the burden of managing a network of sub-contractors. Our partners instantaneously tap into deep expertise in small molecule discovery (including a curated network of global Key Opinion Leaders), agile execution in integrated lab, and subcontracting and project management teams. The model is fundamentally based on agility, collaborative approach, focus on building value, expert input, and quality execution.

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/2514d013-76da-4009-8b97-3a2b1676fc84

CONTACT: For further information, please contact: Dr. Diana Kraskouskaya CEO diana@dalriadatx.com www.dalriadatx.com




Schlein said Lollobrigida's words had air of "white supremacism".

Italy's agriculture minister Francesco Lollobrigida caused controversy on Tuesday by warning against the "ethnic replacement" of Italians as the country's birth rate plummets.

"We cannot surrender to the idea of ethnic replacement: Italians have fewer children, so let's substitute them with someone else. That's not the road to go down," the minister said during a trade union congress in Rome, arguing that "a welfare system must be built to allow anyone to work and have a family".

Lollobrigida is a senior figure in the right-wing Fratelli d'Italia party led by his sister-in-law Giorgia Meloni who has publicly used the term "ethnic replacement" in the past herself but not since becoming Italy's prime minister last October.

Lollobrigida's comments were slammed as "disgusting" and "unacceptable" by Elly Schlein, leader of the centre-left opposition Partito Democratico (PD), who said the minister's words had an air of "white supremacism" and "take us back to the 1930s".

Meloni, speaking at the Salone del Mobile furniture show in Milan on Tuesday, promised greater government action to boost Italy's birth rate by offering incentives to have children, including better child care facilities and employment opportunities for women.

The interventions by Meloni and Lollobrigida on the issue of Italy's falling birth rate came a day after EU statistical agency Eurostat warned that the Italian population is projected to shrink by more than 8.8 million by 2100.

Meloni's party swept to power last autumn with pledges to stem the arrival of migrants into Italy and boost the nation's birth rate, and last week her right-wing coalition government declared a six-month state of emergency over migrants.

Photo credit: Alessia Pierdomenico / Shutterstock.com
Meloni recently unveiled plan for Made in Italy high school.

The Italian government is preparing to open the nation's first Made in Italy high schools in 2025, the minister for Business and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso said on Wednesday.

Urso said that the school would be established within the new legislation to defend the Made in Italy brand, as announced by Italian premier Giorgia Meloni in Milan on Tuesday.

"Within a month I will present in cabinet the budget measure on the Made in Italy brand that will also intervene on the training of skills needed by the labour market and businesses through this high school," Urso told a forum of the Confcommercio retail group in Rome, stating that he hoped the first Made in Italy high school will be launched "as early as 2025".

Earlier this month Meloni said the government was at work to establish a Made in Italy high school to underline "the deep bond that exists between our culture and our identity".

Since taking office last October, Meloni's nationalist government has pushed the Made in Italy brand and recently launched a bid to have Italian cuisine inserted on the UNESCO list of intangible cultural heritage.
CVTa Street Fest returns to Molise village this summer.

The eighth edition of CVTa Street Fest takes place in the village of Civitacampomarano, in the heart of the Campobasso countryside in Italy's Molise region, from 2-4 June 2023.

The festival comprises three days of mural painting, street art tours, live music and workshops, once again under the artistic direction of the celebrated Roman street artist Alice Pasquini.

The idea behind the annual street art festival is to breathe new life into the largely abandoned village whose 300 mainly elderly residents embrace the thousands of visitors that arrive each June.

Now firmly established on the street art calendar, the festival had a serendipitous beginning.

In 2014 Ylenia Carelli, president of Civitacampomarano's cultural organisation, wrote to Pasquini inviting her to paint in the village after seeing a television interview with the artist.

What Carelli did not know was that Pasquini's grandfather was actually one of the residents of the village which is located about 180 km from Rome.

Pasquini seized the opportunity and so began a journey that has seen Civitacampomara transformed by a succession of well known Italian and international street artists.

This year's special guests - Ellena Lourens from South Africa, Helen Bur from the UK, Hera from Germany and Dan Witz from the US - will create permanent art works over the course of the three-day festival.

For full details see website. Cover image Akut, Civitacampomarano, 2022. Photo  Ian Cox.
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Florida Governor Ron DeSantiss war against Walt Disney Co. reached parody level on Monday when he floated his latest threat: building a prison next to its theme park complex in the state. While DeSantis is increasingly coming across as petty and vindictive in the debacle  and some might even say slightly unhinged  in a strange twist the conflict is giving Disney a chance to demonstrate its mettle and rewrite the narrative on its corporate values and ethics.

For those who have not been following the drama worthy of its own full-length Disney treatment, heres a recap: DeSantis and the media giants battle began last year when the company spoke out rather mildly against a Florida bill designed to ban elementary school classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity  dubbed the Dont Say Gay bill by critics.

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DeSantis retaliated by disbanding Disneys special districting, which allowed the company to self-govern Disney World. But before the new governing structure went into effect, Disney pushed through changes limiting the power of DeSantiss incoming handpicked board. DeSantis responded by raising the ante, announcing on Monday, alongside his prison suggestion, new legislation that would reverse Disneys power play. Disneys corporate kingdom is over, he tweeted.

If this all sounds a bit convoluted, the most important fact to understand is DeSantiss fairly obvious motivation as he prepares to run for president. He has made his attacks on Disney the centerpiece of whats likely to be his national platforms focus on battling woke corporations and capitalism. He dedicates a whole chapter to his crusade against Disney in his new book and has made the episode a central talking point on his promotion tour.

Rather than back down and slink away quietly from all the posturing, Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger has said that DeSantiss attempts to punish the company are not just anti-business, but anti-Florida and that he will continue to weigh in on issues relevant to our business and the people that work for us. The company is hosting a big LGBTQ+ workplace summit at Disney World in Orlando in September. And just to underline its position  and in some next-level trolling  the company announced on Twitter amid all the unfolding drama a Pride Nite event at Californias Disneyland next month.

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Disney may very well be standing up for its values. But if you want to take a more cynical view, this is also a smart strategy on the companys part as it realigns itself with progressive causes because it has clearly lost any chance of making nice with the DeSantis crowd. Today the company is being cheered by the left for standing up to DeSantiss bullying, but it was only last year that it was berated for its response to the Dont Say Gay bill. The CEO at the time, Bob Chapek, was slow to speak out against the bill, angering employees who walked out over his silence and leading #boycottDisney to trend on social media. Chapeks botched reaction to the episode most likely contributed to the boards decision to oust him and bring back Iger.

Tweets of #boycottDisney are now more likely to come from DeSantiss circle than the LGBTQ+ community and its allies. If the left hasnt forgotten Disneys transgressions under Chapek, it may have at least forgiven them in part. Chapek tried to walk the line of appeasing everyone, which always ends up angering all parties. Since then, Disney under Iger seems to have figured out that if youre going to wade into politics  by choice or by force  you better be prepared for the backlash and to stand your ground on whatever position you take. Otherwise, expect a good skewering from both sides.

Another instructive example is playing out with Anheuser-Busch. In March, the beer company partnered with influencer Dylan Mulvaney, who has documented her gender transition on TikTok, by putting her face on a can of Bud Light. Predictably, this did not go over well with some of the brands base, many of whom threatened a boycott. The companys response? After trying to capitalize on Mulvaney and trans rights, it cowardly abandoned both. Now its on the receiving end of some well-deserved vitriol from the left, too.

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As my colleague Ben Schott points out in his excellent column on Anheuser-Busch, the company had neither the wisdom to plan for the backlash nor the bravery to stand by its partner  a lesson Disney seems to have learned after last years Dont Say Gay bill fiasco. But most important, Ben points out that while the culture war for some is just a cynical rallying cry or comic rim-shot, it does have actual casualties.

Its easy to forget that while companies and politicians are busy playing politics, its peoples lives and rights that become the chess pieces. Sticking up for its values despite the heat is the least a corporation can do.

More From Bloomberg Opinion:

 DeSantiss Disney Fight Wont Help Him Beat Trump: Joshua Green

 Bud Light Kicked a Hornets Nest and Ran Away: Ben Schott

 Republicans Wont Win Youth Vote With Culture War: David Hopkins

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

Beth Kowitt is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering corporate America. She was previously a senior writer and editor at Fortune Magazine.

More stories like this are available on bloomberg.com/opinion

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Disruptive approach combines continuous security and fraud prevention, with a 'trust nothing' approach to data privacy and proactive risk protection

SAN FRANCISCO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Darwinium today announced the launch of its Continuous Customer Protection platform, an evolutionary next step for security and fraud prevention for all digital businesses concerned about customer experience and security. The company's disruptive approach delivers security and fraud prevention at the edge, where businesses serve digital content closer to customers' browsers and mobile devices.

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Darwinium will showcase its Continuous Customer Protection platform at RSA Conference 2023 in San Francisco, Calif., April 24-27.

The platform breaks new ground by solving the challenge of disconnected point-in-time API integrations and risk scores, which lead to data breaches and dissatisfied customers. Darwinium proactively closes the gaps between digital security and fraud prevention silos with continuous visibility and control across customer journeys as they interact over web, mobile and APIs. As a result, it enables digital businesses to adapt to customer behavior faster than fraudsters can, improving the user experience and giving Darwinium's clients an advantage in the ongoing survival of the fittest battle.

In addition, Darwinium has pioneered a new SaaS approach to managing sensitive customer data by identifying, encoding and encrypting data on the edge. Any analyzed customer data is stored within an organization's own infrastructure with its own keys. This supports more streamlined compliance with regulations such as the California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA) and the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The platform enables auditable anonymized shared intelligence without giving up the keys to customer data or requiring a forklift install.

"Our research shows 81 percent of businesses agree that fraud controls impact customer friction, which can lead to lost sales. Couple that with the fact that annual global fraud losses are measured in trillions of dollars, often putting merchants and financial institutions in a no-win situation," said Alisdair Faulkner, co-founder and CEO of Darwinium. "To create a low-friction customer experience while also enabling optimal fraud and security controls, Darwinium has architected a new path forward for improved fraud detection in real time that performs dramatically better and faster and takes only minutes to deployall while providing a positive and privacy-protected customer online experience and frustrating fraudsters."

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By taking an edge-based approach, Darwinium has created a solution that sees full visibility of customer journeys across every digital touchpoint and normalizes decisions from legacy solutions. Darwinium has been recognized as a Representative Vendor in the 2022 Gartner Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection,* as well as a Representative Provider in the 2022 Gartner Innovation Insight: Journey Time Orchestration Mitigates Fraud Risk and Delivers Better UX report.**

In the Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection*, Gartner analysts, Akif Khan and Dan Ayoub, recognize that "Detecting fraud in digital channels is a challenge, due to the competing requirements of dealing with emerging attack vectors and delivering a smooth user experience." They recommend that "Security and risk management leaders must orchestrate multiple capabilities to create dynamic user journeys, while minimizing risk."

"We are currently working with payment service providers, fintechs, gaming companies and online marketplaces," said Faulkner. "The challenges online U.S. businesses face with surging fraud and operational silos, combined with our unique solution make this an ideal time to expand and enter the market in force."

Darwinium's Disruptive Technology

Today, most security and fraud solutions require a heavy integration effort and must be implemented across multiple points in a customer journey. They also typically rely on the sharing of personally identifiable information (PII) to make a risk decision. Darwinium revolutionizes this approach, and instead integrates at the edge, in front of the business' web traffic, so that it can provide full visibility across the customer journey as well as in situ encryption of customer data.

Because the integration happens through the customer's existing content delivery network (CDN), it can be live in as little as 15 minutes. In combination with journey orchestration and decision management, this delivers a simpler, faster time-to-value that provides immediate visibility across every digital interaction. It saves time and money, empowering organizations to adapt and be proactive in reducing fraud and abuse and improving the digital customer experience for legitimate users.

Reed Taussig, board chairman for Darwinium said: "The Darwinium team's vast experience enables them to deliver a platform that breaks down the barriers between security and fraud to provide end-to-end visibility, enabling businesses to make better risk decisions that reduce fraud and deliver a better experience."

Appropriate use cases for the Darwinium platform include account security, scam detection, account takeover, fraudulent new accounts/synthetic identities and bot intelligence.

Darwinium's executive team will be onsite to demonstrate its Continuous Customer Protection platform at RSA Conference 2023 in San Francisco, Calif., April 24-27, Booth ESE-38 South Expo Hall Level 2, at Moscone Center. For more information, or to request a 1-on-1 meeting with a Darwinium security and fraud prevention expert, please visit Darwinium.

*Gartner, Market Guide for Online Fraud Detection, Akif Khan, Dan Ayoub, 12 December 2022.

**Gartner, Innovation Insight: Journey-Time Orchestration Mitigates Fraud Risk and Delivers Better UX, Akif Khan, 10 June 2022.

GARTNER is a registered trademark and service mark of Gartner, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the U.S. and internationally and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Darwinium

Darwinium's pioneering customer protection platform takes security and fraud prevention to the edge, removing the operational burden of implementing and maintaining API-based solutions. Darwinium provides complete visibility and control of every digital interaction - across web, apps and APIs - to identify bad behavior, in real time. Businesses can make more accurate, real-time decisions, and take dynamic, tailored remediation that favors the customer and not the fraudster. Enjoy dramatically reduced latency, improved agility and absolute privacy of user data.

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SOURCE Darwinium
When Elon Musks Tesla said last month that it would not need rare earth ores for its next-generation electric vehicles, it marked the latest string of bad news for $6 billion Australian miner Lynas Rare Earths, which had only just recovered from an existential threat to its Malaysian operations.

Rare earths had been considered irreplaceable for building the powerful magnets needed for these vehicles, and Tesla cited the move as removing a crucial production  and cost  constraint on its operations.

Elon Musks Tesla must cut the use of costly rare earths to meet its goals of making cheaper cars and grow its sales. Credit: Bloomberg

Lynas has made it clear that the growing demand for e-vehicles has underpinned demand, and prices, for rare earths. It drove the share price from $1.30 at the start of 2020 to a high of $11 last year, valuing the group at more than $10 billion at its peak.

Since then, Lynas has shredded as much as $2 billion of its market valuation, trading as low as $6. Has Musks declaration shaken the company, or can it keep on trucking?
Mandatory pollution caps will be applied to new cars for the first time as part of the federal governments National Electric Vehicle strategy to drive uptake of cleaner cars as a key measure to help Australia meet its climate targets.

Australia is the last developed economy except Russia that does not impose pollution caps on vehicles. Federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen and Transport Minister Catherine King announced on Wednesday the Albanese government would impose fuel efficiency standards on manufacturers fleets of passenger vehicles, although they didnt detail the standards or the timing for their introduction.

The Albanese government has announced it will impose mandatory fuel efficiency standards on passenger cars. Credit: iStock

Fuel efficiency standards limit average emissions, measured in grams of CO2 per kilometre, produced by the overall fleet of vehicles sold into the market by a manufacturer to encourage them to sell more EVs.

Fuel-efficient and electric vehicles are cleaner and cheaper to run  todays announcement is a win-win for motorists, Bowen said.
That place was London, which I travelled through by train in September last year, en route to Heathrow after a few weeks on the Continent. This fleeting visit coincided, almost to the day, with the monarchs death. The news broke on BBC World television, delivered by a suitably earnest, black-suited anchor, just as I was checking out of my hotel room in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, as I rushed to escape a snap Dutch train strike at midnight. By the time I reached London on the Eurostar for my Heathrow connection, the British capital was in a palpable deep state of mourning, with every flag at half-mast and illuminated advertising signage everywhere turned over to solemn memorial tributes. While Britannia barely rules a swell, let alone a wave nowadays, its people know how to infuse mourning with as much pomp and splendour as they do with celebrations, commemorations and for that matter, cruising. The Queen Elizabeth, the ship with space for 2081 passengers and 911 crew, is an ocean-going tribute to not only the late monarch but also to the art deco interior design of its predecessor, QE2, these days a decommissioned floating hotel moored in Dubai.

Think British stiff upper ship versus British stiff upper lip. If you want cutting-edge contemporary, complete with gimmicky onboard thrill rides and robotic cocktail bar tenders, choose another cruise line. And this short cruise aboard the Queen Elizabeth is imbued with a hint of poignancy after the monarchs death, even for this  it must be said  republican and Elizabethan, to borrow former Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbulls descriptor. This feeling is further aided by the glass cabinets full of historical memorabilia, including archival photos of the Queen through the years plus commemorative dinner plates and old shipboard menus. Nearby is a framed portrait of Queen Elizabeth which the monarch herself inspected when she launched the ship in 2010. Interestingly, Cunards ships were not always associated with female monarchs. Before 1934, almost every ship was named after ancient Roman provinces. The tradition of naming them after female monarchs across the past millennium has been limited by the fact that there have been so relatively few of them compared to kings. In English history there have been six undisputed Queen Regnants  a queen who reigns on her own behalf  namely Mary I, Elizabeth I, Mary II, Anne, Victoria and Elizabeth II.

Cunards Queen Mary, which is set to visit Australia on February 17 next year, was named after Mary of Teck, wife of King-Emperor George who reigned between 1910 and 1936. Right royal treatment ... a luxury stateroom. Could this mean, as the coronation of King Charles approaches, that a Queen Camilla (she is set to take the title of Queen, not Queen Consort, with her husbands coronation on May 6) could one day be added to the Cunard fleet? Meanwhile, the late Queen Elizabeth, with her own impeccable standards of dress, would surely approve of Cunards ships being ostensibly among the last liners where passengers are encouraged to frock up for dinner. Forget your penguin suit? Dont worry. The ship has its own formal-wear service in the Royal Arcade on deck three, providing full suits or a jacket.

In a world where there are fewer and fewer occasions to dress up, nearly everyone aboard relishes the opportunity to do so, though full formal attire is not compulsory. The ships library. Of course adhering to a dress code was never a problem for Queen Elizabeth II whose long life effectively spanned the evolution of modern-day transport, though ships remained her favourite mode of travel. The decommissioning of the royal yacht Britannia in 1997 after 43 years of service is said to have represented one of her saddest moments. The late Queen Elizabeth inspects her portrait aboard the Cunard cruise ship named in her honour. Credit: Alamy

After two days cruising up the Australian seaboard, Im so seduced by Queen Elizabeths luxury and comforts that I somehow sleep through the ships arrival in Sydney Harbour and, as it eventuates, even its clamorous berthing. As I part the curtains of the suite, the historic buildings of The Rocks adjacent to the Overseas Passenger Terminal - the site where royal yacht SS Gothic, briefly the predecessor to the Britannia, docked in 1954 - are revealed in their fully preserved glory. On her first royal tour of Australia as Queen, the late monarch would have almost certainly looked out at these same edifices. I draw the curtains back, realising Id best get ready for disembarkation, marking the end of a brief but rewarding right royal voyage of discovery. Not a bad effort for an affirmed Elizabethan republican. Anthony Dennis sailed aboard Queen Elizabeth as a guest of Cunard.
Beijing: Chinas foreign minister has reached out to his Israeli and Palestinian counterparts to say his country is ready to help facilitate peace talks between the two sides, in its latest effort at mediation in the region.

In separate phone calls to the two officials, Qin Gang expressed Chinas concern over intensifying tensions between Israel and Palestinians and its support for a resumption of peace talks, the Foreign Ministry said in statements.

Chinas Foreign Minister Qin Gang. Credit: Getty

Last month, Saudi Arabia and Iran reached a deal in China to restore diplomatic ties that were cut off in 2016. It was a dramatic moment of diplomacy for China that Beijing touted as evidence of its ability to be a diplomatic player in the Middle East.

A statement about the call said Qin stressed to Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen that Saudi Arabia and Iran had set a good example of overcoming differences through dialogue.
Indias Supreme Court has begun hearing arguments for granting legal recognition to same-sex marriages in a crucial case that will decide the fate of marital rights for lesbian and gay couples in the 1.4 billion-strong nation.

The court will confine the hearing to Indias secular law on marriage  the Special Marriage Act  without delving into the laws that govern religious marriages in the country, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud said during the proceedings on Tuesday.

Indian gay couple Supriyo Chakraborty, left, and Abhay Dang, celebrate their same-sex union on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India, in 2021. They cannot yet legally marry. Credit: AP

We have to be conscious of our own limitations, Chandrachud said, hinting that amending existing laws, like religion-based personal codes falls within the powers of parliament.

Its unclear how long the Supreme Court will take to decide the case, which addresses what its called a seminal issue of great importance. The court set up a five-judge constitution bench to hear the clutch of petitions after Prime Minister Narendra Modis government said it opposed gay marriage rights, adding the matter should be legislated by parliament and not decided by the courts.
Deriv Group

Deriv celebrates Gold accreditation success

Investors in People awarded Gold accreditation to Deriv

Deriv Rwanda office celebrations

Derivians cutting cake to celebrate the IIP gold status

Deriv Cyprus office celebrations

Cyprus office celebrations at Deriv for winning IIP Gold accreditation

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Deriv, one of the leaders in the fintech industry, achieved We invest in people, gold accreditation. This is the first industry accolade received in 2023, one of its many goals this year.

IIP cake Malaysia

Being awarded gold is a triumph and something only 17% of organisations that Investors in People (IIP) assess achieve. This accreditation is for 3 years. IIP celebrates companies that finetune their management style to demonstrate trust, motivate employees to improve skills and knowledge, and remain agile to change.

For Deriv the gold accreditation acknowledges the leadership approach, people practices, and culture of trust that the broker has strived to build in all its offices. Survey results reveal 80% of employees agree on solid people practices. They appreciate the empowering work culture which inspires them to be on their A game and work their best.

The insights captured also indicate Deriv provides career advancement opportunities and cares about putting people first. Employees participate in innovation and transformation through a shift from small to big thinking about their work scopes, the business, and the industry.

Rwanda office IIP celebration

The shortlisting companies relies on three principles:

Leading: How much trust is there between employees and the leadership team? Do leaders live up to their values and inspire the right culture?

Supporting: Are the right structures in place so employees can do their job well? Are employees rewarded for doing well? And supported properly if theyre struggling?

Improving: Are there plenty of opportunities for employees to grow and develop? Is the company ready for any changes the future might bring?



The process:

IIP representative talks to the company, its employees, and what is the motive for achieving accreditation.

IIP sends out a survey to employees to see how they feel about working in the company and how well they are supported.

IIP conducts one-on-one interviews with employees and attends meetings to gain insight into the workplace.

The key findings are published in a report revealing the companys failure or success in achieving the accreditation. The report also includes recommendations from IIP on the next steps for the company.

IIP creates an action plan for what changes the company should make over the accreditation period.

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The accreditation positions Deriv in 1st ranking in the finance and insurance activities sector and 3rd ranking globally in the technology/IT sector. Rankings are for organisations with employee strength of 2504,999.





Gold accreditation Cyprus

Commenting on the award, Seema Hallon, Head of People Management, said:

This is a proud achievement for us! At Deriv, we try our best to create a work environment that encourages every team member to take ownership of their jobs and up their game to bring out the best contribution to their roles. Our culture of trust, driven by our values, is based on open conversations, active involvement, agile working and fun together. We are excited to be on this journey of excellence with IIP and hope to be in the Platinum category soon!

Deriv has ambitious growth plans for 2023. It is looking for skilled professionals to expand its dynamic, diverse, and fast-paced workplace. Join us in our journey, view our open positions .

About Deriv

Over the last 23 years, Derivs mission has been to make online trading accessible to anyone, anywhere. Derivs product offering includes intuitive trading platforms, over 200 tradable assets (in markets such as forex, stocks, and cryptocurrencies), unique trade types, and more. With more than 1,200 employees in 20 global offices spread across 16 countries, Deriv strives to provide the best work environment, which includes positive work culture, timely addressing of employee concerns, celebrating achievements, and conducting initiatives to boost their morale.

PRESS CONTACT

Aleksandra Zuzic

aleksandra@deriv.com

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The World Customs Organization (WCO), with the financial support from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida) and their Programme for Sustainable development in sub-Saharan Africa, 2020-2024, (WCO Trade Facilitation and Customs Modernization Programme), organized an Authorized Economic Operator (AEO) awareness raising mission for the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and its Partner Government Agencies (PGAs). The mission was conducted from 12 to 14 April 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya and aimed to introduce the WCO's AEO programme, including its background, overview, linkage with the World Trade Organisations (WTO) Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA), and core elements of the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards.

The mission began with an opening session where the Deputy Commissioner of KRA introduced the mission team and presented the mission's objectives, remit, approaches, and mutual commitments. Subsequent sessions during the three-day mission covered various topics related to the AEO programme, including the WCO SAFE Framework of Standards, the AEO programme's implementation in Kenya, collaboration with other border agencies, risk management principles, mutual recognition, and the WCO Single Window system.

The WCO AEO experts provided valuable insights into the practical aspects of implementing the AEO programme and the challenges faced by the KRA. Practical exercises with PGAs allowed for the sharing of experiences and potential alignment of different compliance programmes among PGAs. The benefits of the AEO programme from the WCO's perspective were also presented.

The final day of the mission focused on developing the principles of the PGA/KRA mutual recognition arrangement and identifying and proposing a practical mutual recognition framework for KRA AEO programme. The mission ended with the WCO experts presenting their conclusions and recommendations, and the KRA identifying areas where further support may be necessary.

This mission was a valuable opportunity for various PGAs to learn about the AEO programme and its implementation in Kenya. The WCO highlighted the importance of collaboration among different border agencies for better border coordination and trade facilitation efforts. The KRA and its partner government agencies can leverage the insights gained from this mission to enhance compliance and security in international trade.
The 5th meeting of the Passenger Facilitation and Control Working Group (PFCWG) took place in a hybrid format on April 13 and 14, 2023, with 150 participants joining physically and virtually from across the globe. Observers from the Cruise Line International Association (CLIA), the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) also participated.

Initially established in 2020 with a term set to conclude in December 2023, the PFCWG has made significant strides in achieving its goals. During the meeting, both the WCO and PFCWG delegates acknowledged these accomplishments and discussed the group's future direction. The delegates committed to developing global data standards for alternative transportation modes such as ferries, railways, roads, and other non-commercial means of travel.

The work of the PFCWG has highlighted a need for Customs administrations and industry partners to continue to meet regularly to address all passenger related work, global data standards and operations within a multimodal context.

As part of the dialogue, the attendees agreed to adopt a more descriptive term for PNR-like data, which encompasses information related to bookings or reservations (PNR data in aviation) in maritime travel and other forms of transportation. The new term, Booking and Reservation Information (BRI), was proposed and accepted.

The PFCWG delegates acknowledged the ongoing collaboration between the WCO, IMO, and their respective committees and working groups to integrate the Maritime API and BRI/PNR standards into IMO's instruments and tools. By working closely with both CLIA and IMO, the WCO aims to streamline data provision for the cruise industry worldwide, ultimately benefiting Customs administrations by ensuring they receive higher quality information.
(Bloomberg) -- Ron DeSantis pulled off another assault against ESG.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Floridas Republican-controlled Senate approved on Wednesday a bill that bans state and local governments from using environmental, social, governance criteria when selling debt or investing public money. The legislation, which had already cleared the states House of Representatives last month, will now be brought to DeSantis for his signature.

The 44-year-old governor has attacked ESG as part of a larger conservative agenda at the center of his likely 2024 GOP presidential run. DeSantis, like other Republican officials, has criticized Wall Streets ESG policies as woke capitalism. His administration has pulled about $2 billion from BlackRock Inc. and singled out Chief Executive Officer Larry Fink, one of Wall Streets leading ESG advocates.

Read more: BlackRock Survives DeSantis ESG Attack Running $13 Billion

The new legislation prohibits Florida municipalities from selling bonds tied to ESG projects, as well as imposing restrictions on seeking ESG ratings. In 2022, Florida issuers sold $13 billion of long-term bonds, making it the fourth-largest issuer in the US, behind California, New York and Texas.

The law also bars Floridas public money from being deposited in financial institutions that are deemed to pursue social, political, or ideological interests in their investment decisions. Florida had almost $37 billion in state deposits, with Wells Fargo & Co. holding the biggest individual amount, $6.5 billion, according to data from Floridas Bureau of Collateral Management.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The global Digital Asset Management Market size is expected to grow from USD 4.7 billion in 2023 to USD 8.7 billion by 2028, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 13.0% during the forecast period, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets.

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The Digital Asset Management Market is currently expanding, and vendors are adopting a strategic focus to attract customers. The emphasis is on providing a straightforward and elegant user experience. As more users turn to DAM to streamline their asset creation process, software providers must respond to the demand for simple, user-friendly solutions.

Human Resources segment to hold the largest market size during the forecast period.

Employee onboarding is facilitated by a DAM system. One of the most significant effects of a DAM system on a company's HR operations is that it streamlines file management. A DAM system gives the company a powerful system for managing its large number of files, including creative digital assets and resources. From the perspective of human resources departments, this capability simplifies the task of provisioning and monitoring employees' compliance with the level of permissions and restrictions on access to servers and files. Because of the comprehensive scope and extent of the system's applications and functionalities, systems such as a digital asset management platform and the like have a significant impact on human resources (HR) operations. There are numerous advantages to digital asset management, such as how a DAM system can help HR departments streamline their operations. Remote Work Collaboration is facilitated by a DAM system. Another significant benefit of implementing digital asset management solutions is that it simplifies arrangements for remote work coordination and collaboration. With the onset of the new normal, more businesses and organisations are said to have realised that there is no going back to the ways of doing things before the global pandemic. Both companies and their clients have recognised the importance of allowing at least some of their employees to work remotely indefinitely. Without a DAM system, HR would have to determine what types of permissions can be granted to a specific employee manually. The information technology (IT) department may need to ask them from time to time if a specific employee should be granted access to sensitive or confidential creative digital assets that are above their paygrade. With a DAM system, however, HR and IT would only need to agree on the levels of access permissions that can be granted to each corresponding role and function in the staffing pattern. IT can then automate the provisioning of access permissions based on what HR stated was permissible for the employees in question. In a centralised library, DAM software organises product photos and videos, packaging designs, campaign collections, and prototypes. Create user-based permissions for self-serve editing, sharing, and viewing content for subsidiary brands, contractors, or agencies. Leverage linked multiple libraries so that divisions and subsidiary brands could only access relevant media.

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Retail & eCommerce vertical to record the highest CAGR during the forecast period

For retailers to build brand trust and drive purchase-ready behavior, high-quality product images and engaging content are essential. However, as product lines and distribution channels expand, it can become difficult to effectively manage product-related content. Retailers can use digital asset management to better manage and distribute product and brand material across all customer touchpoints, such as eCommerce, social media, and store locations, reducing time-to-market and powering omni-channel strategies. DAM software allows users to find the media they need by using keywords, SKUs, and other unique identifiers in conjunction with advanced search. Save frequently used searches that can be filtered by name, color, approval status, star rating, date, file type, and other criteria. Preview and share asset collections of any size or file type (product images, HD videos, brand guides, etc.). It also enhances the assets with AI-generated object and text recognition, allowing users to search for images based on color, gender, and other criteria. DAM application software access to product shots, logos, and content from within Adobe Creative Suite programmes such as InDesign, you can quickly create on-brand content. It provides self-service downloads in the format, size, and resolutions required by offices, partners, and stores worldwide. It helps to get instant access to photoshoots, with simple uploading capabilities for photographers from all over the world. DAM is a system that assists businesses in storing, organizing, and tracking digital content. This can include images of products, videos, marketing collateral, and other materials. Retailers can use a DAM system to centrally manage their digital assets and ensure that they are being used effectively. Furthermore, DAM can assist retailers in tracking the success of their marketing campaigns and making data-driven decisions about future initiatives. Retailers who use DAM will be well-positioned to succeed in a highly competitive landscape. Here are some of the reasons why digital asset management is important in retail. The goal of DAM is to manage complexity. Retailers can use DAM to automate many of their administrative processes. Streamlining content creation is a big part of this. Retailers can free up their teams to focus on more important tasks by automating the creation of product images. This includes developing new content as well as marketing campaigns. A streamlined content creation process, like inventory management, can help alleviate retail workflow inefficiencies. Process automation also includes sales and marketing campaigns. With fewer people requiring attention, retailers can use DAM to improve the automation of their sales and marketing processes. This reduces the possibility of human errors affecting these processes.

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North America is projected to have the largest market size during the forecast period

North America is expected to have the largest market size in the Digital Asset Management Market, and the trend is expected to continue till 2028. The current trend of purchasing online is growing due to its ease of access for customers when compared to brick and mortar stores. The use of the internet and smartphones is also assisting the market's growth. North America is a developed and technologically advanced region, creating a massive opportunity for the region's E-Commerce market. E-commerce businesses have created customised mobile applications to showcase their products with all of the necessary specifications, allowing customers to easily place orders. The increased use of smartphones, as well as the implementation of the 5G network, make the process flexible and flawless. The region's audiences are well-educated and technologically savvy. Because of the popularity of social media applications, marketing opportunities are abundant nowadays, which aids in propelling the region's e-commerce market towards growth trajectories. Many mergers and acquisitions are taking place among regional companies in order to increase their capability in the E-commerce business. Descartes, a Canada-based software-as-a-service solutions provider, announced the USD 65 million acquisition of XPS Technologies, an e-commerce shipping solutions company. Because of lower communication and infrastructure costs, established organisations and large corporations are shifting their operations to the internet. The E-commerce channel enables the organisation to reach out to more clients, resulting in valuable exposure for the company. E-commerce is also being driven by the growing importance of online marketing tools such as Google ads and Facebook ads. Walmart, for example, has 4,700 locations in the United States, and 90% of the population lives within 10 miles of a Walmart store. Because of its potential, the company is now planning its massive store network to expand its e-commerce operation. This demonstrates the expansion of the E-Commerce market in North America. E-commerce platforms provide numerous opportunities for relatively small and emerging businesses to sell their products. To reach their clients in the region, one niche product company created a vertical E-commerce website. The American Baker Association has estimated the potential for bakers to expand their use of e-commerce. Bimbo Bakeries USA (BBU), for example, a subsidiary of Grupo Bimbo SAB de CV, a Mexican baking conglomerate, has developed a direct-to-consumer platform to deliver BBU brands to consumers' doorsteps. These drives the market for DAM in this region.

Market Players

Some prominent players across all service types profiled in the Digital Asset Management Market study include Adobe (US), OpenText (Canada), Cognizant (US), Aprimo (US), Bynder (Netherlands), Sitecore (US), Widen (US), MediaBeacon (US), CELUM (Austria), Nuxeo (US), WoodWing (Netherlands), Canto (US), Wedia (France), Digizuite (Denmark), censhare (Germany), Cloudinary (US), MediaValet (Canada), Ignitetech (US), BrandMaker (Germany), Brandfolder (US).

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Ross Biancale sits in front of his birthday cake and smiles for the camera.

He wears a pair of oversized glasses with orange-tinted lenses, a fur hat with long flaps over his ears.

The unconventional attire is just another sign to his family hes unwell.

But its a happy moment, especially in light of his struggles with schizophrenia and addiction.

We sang to him and blew out his candles, mom Elizabeth Biancale recalls.

In the fog of illness, Ross hadnt been to his familys Brant County home for a birthday in years.

It was so nice to have him here, sitting there with his brothers, Elizabeth says.

That Nov. 20 was to be Rosss last birthday.

Less than two weeks later, he died of a suspected drug overdose in a small apartment in Hamilton. He was 32.

It haunts me  that picture, Elizabeth says about the birthday photograph that forms part of a memorial in her home.

If I would have known, I would have hugged him harder that day.

Ross died at the vortex of overlapping crises  homelessness, mental illness, a toxic drug supply  fuelled by a lack of resources and failed policy, say experts from various fields that care for societys most fragile.

Sadly, that is too common a story across the care of people with serious mental illness in our community, said Dr. Sandy Simpson, chief of forensic psychiatry at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH).

Its a lack of seriousness by government to understand the nature and complexity of needs of people, and support them adequately in terms of community mental-health teams, financial support and housing and continuity of care.

And a dire local landscape  people living in tents, packed shelters, rampant overdoses  has spurred Hamilton city council to declare emergencies relating to homelessness, mental health and opioids with the hope of galvanizing provincial action.

Though devastating, Rosss tragic demise wasnt entirely unexpected to Elizabeth.

In late 2017, she all but predicted her sons grinding cycle of wandering the streets, slipping in and out of treatment, and doing time behind bars would kill him one day.

Ive already written his obituary, she told The Spectator at the time.

If I couldnt save my son ...

Elizabeth offered that agonizing admission in a downtown fast-food restaurant after picking up Ross from a shelter.

His black, curly hair was long and his beard unkempt. His hand was badly infected and swollen.

Ross explained that foreign actors were tapping into his vision to monitor his movements. But he didnt believe he was mentally ill.

Theyre seeing through my eyes.

Despite that outlook, coupled with a suspicion of health care, Ross held out hope to get back on his feet again.

In fact, he never got rid of the pair of steel-toed boots hed worn as a welder  a promising career upon which hed embarked before he became ill.

Ross Biancale "held onto those welding boots no matter what condition he was in because he felt like one day, 'I'm going to be back to that person.'" He died at 32. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

It just takes time. I gotta put myself out there.

A clean-cut graduate of Ancaster High and Fleming College, he earned $40 an hour in Cambridge. He had an active social life and girlfriend.

But starting in his early 20s, paranoia and erratic behaviour started to derail his life. He lost his apartment, his relationship, his job.

Meanwhile, homelessness and run-ins with the law erased any semblance of normalcy.

Minor thefts escalated to bizarre incidents, such as climbing a 250-foot crane at a downtown Hamilton construction site.

Now, reeling from her sons death, Elizabeth says she lost him in spite of her dogged efforts to advocate for his well-being, whether in the courtroom or the psychiatric ward.

If I would have known, I would have hugged him harder that day. Elizabeth Biancale Ross's mother

But all that energy  while caring for four younger boys and running a dog-breeding business  was expended on a revolving door of incarceration, hospitalization and homelessness.

Ultimately, Elizabeth couldnt sidestep the pitfalls: the subpar housing; the courts that sent him to jail instead of care; her limited ability to make her son adhere to treatment.

I just know that if I couldnt save my son, theres nobody that can save their son.

From scratch

In the depths of his illness, Ross wouldnt stay with his mom.

For a time, as well, with younger siblings at home, child protective services wouldnt allow it, Elizabeth says.

But she tried to keep him off the streets, which was no easy feat with landlords reluctant to rent to mentally ill people on social assistance.

When Ross had a roof over his head, it didnt last that long and ended in catastrophe.

In late 2019, for instance, he was one of 19 people displaced from a troubled lodging home the city had ordered to close.

Backed into a corner, Elizabeth paid for Ross and other vulnerable ex-residents to stay in a motel before finding him another place to live.

And once, after a stint in jail, he returned alone to an apartment hed shared with another mentally ill person only to find himself on the street in his underwear as flames shot out the window because of a fire.

Later in hospital, Ross claimed someone else had been in the unit and started the blaze, which wasnt the case, Elizabeth recalls.

Elizabeth Biancale couldn't save her son from subpar housing, the courts that sent him to jail instead of care, and her limited ability to make her son adhere to treatment. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

Her son, in a spiral after not taking his medication while in jail, had set the fire and sat there in a daze as smoke filled the apartment.

The neighbours had to bang on his door for him to come out. He would have died in that apartment.

Meanwhile, Ross, his belongings torched, had burned through another landlord.

So we had to start all over from scratch, Elizabeth says.

Theres not enough affordable housing with connected health and social services to help keep people with complex challenges stable and off the street, experts point out.

Housing is huge, says Sue Phipps, chief executive officer of the local Canadian Mental Health Association branch.

If youre focused solely on surviving, youre not thinking about your health. If youre looking for a place to stay every night, youre not able to focus on improving your health or well-being.

As it stands, 689 households are in the queue for supportive units through Hamiltons centralized waiting list for affordable housing, with more applicants to be consolidated to the hub this summer, the city says.

In particular, a gaping hole is housing with the highest tier of supports  daily, 24-hour, wraparound services  for those with the most acute needs. About 200 in Hamilton could use that kind of housing, the city says.

That shortfall has been in spotlight at city hall, where in addition to councils emergency declarations, staff have drafted a multimillion-dollar blueprint to end chronic homelessness by 2025 but flagged scant municipal funds to carry it out.

I just know that if I couldnt save my son, theres nobody that can save their son. Elizabeth Biancale Ross's mother

We are missing a number of pieces of the puzzle, but permanent housing with an enhanced level of supports definitely is missing, says Graham Cubitt of Indwell, a local non-profit that operates deeply affordable and supportive housing.

But Indwells 15-unit Railway City Lofts in St. Thomas, Ont., which has housed people directly from encampments after long periods of homelessness, is an example of what can be done.

And all are achieving tremendous stability because the supports are tailored to people; the whole housing model is tailored to those tenants.

The lofts were a co-operative effort between Indwell, the city and the hospital system that allowed for the crucial merging of housing and health funding, envelopes typically separated in bureaucratic silos.

Are solutions possible? Absolutely. We just need to link the resources, new housing and new support models together to create what we need as a community.

Underfunded but dynamite

During his illness, Ross faced a gauntlet of systemic obstacles. And so did his mom.

Elizabeth Biancale and her son Ross. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

Just convincing those in positions of authority that her adult son was desperately ill and didnt belong in jail was challenging, Elizabeth says.

She notes her frustration at not being able to exercise more influence over her sons treatment under Ontario law.

I just wanted help, but I went years before anybody would listen to me because he was over 18.

Despite the setbacks, an underfunded but dynamite multidisciplinary group of caring professionals rallied around Ross, she says.

Among its tasks, the assertive community treatment (ACT) team made sure he received regular injections of medication under the auspices of a community treatment order (CTO).

A CTO is a doctor-issued order designed to help those who are frequently sent to psychiatric facilities adhere to care and treatment in the community.

A patient or substitute decision-maker agrees to the CTO, which serves as an alternative to hospital detention.

St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton has four ACT teams in the area. Each supports roughly 80 to 90 people. Two teams are dedicated to Hamilton proper.

They generally have eight or nine full-time staff, including a psychiatrist, social worker, registered nurses, occupational therapists and community support counsellors, a hospital spokesperson noted.

They collaborate with housing services, pharmacies, primary care providers, correctional services and a variety of city programs.

ACT teams are very good at staying connected to patients, said Dr. Gary Chaimowitz, head of the forensic psychiatry program at St. Josephs West 5th campus. They provide very, very strong wraparound care.

But there are not enough of them, Chaimowitz said.

In fact, the wait for an eligibility assessment alone for ACT services in Hamilton, Haldimand, Niagara and Brant is 45 days.

Elizabeth Biancale keeps her son Ross' ashes in a box in her home. He died at age 32 of an apparent overdose. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

For actual care, its 374 days, according to Connex Ontario, a provincially funded agency that tracks wait times and provides information about mental-health services.

CTOs have proven to be an effective approach, notes Phipps, of the Canadian Mental Health Association. But their success relies on adequate human resources in a sector thats stretched.

The mental-health system is just so fractured, says Erin Boudreau, director of operations for the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health.

There arent enough psychiatrists and other health-care professionals to offer treatment, such as cognitive behavioural therapy for psychosis, to keep people from spiralling into crisis, Boudreau says.

There are not enough early-intervention supports available to, in theory, prevent people from this severe state in the first place.

Meanwhile, caregivers make sacrifices to fill in the gaps, Boudreau said.

Theres an impact to well-being, to the economy, to their mental health, to their loved ones mental health.

The nicest place

After the blaze, Elizabeth and Ross didnt give up.

In crisis, he waited three weeks in St. Josephs emergency ward before a bed opened up at its West 5th psychiatric facility.

Is it the hospitals fault? No, its that were overwhelmed with mentally ill people, Elizabeth says.

But once he was at West 5th, she wished  reluctantly  that Ross could be placed in the forensic unit, hoping for a stricter regimen.

He needed forced intervention, says Elizabeth, noting despite the ACT teams best efforts, it wasnt enough at times.

Under certain circumstances, Ontario law allows for periods of involuntary admittance to psychiatric facilities but makes no provisions for forced treatment at hospitals.

The forensic unit is designed for people who are unfit to stand trial, or found to be not criminally responsible, St. Josephs Chaimowitz noted.

The rules are the same. If somebody is refusing treatment and theyre capable, they can still refuse treatment.

But Chaimowitz acknowledges the frustration family members can feel.

Its really hard when that person in front of you is not looking for treatment, because you may know what is required.

Elizabeth, meanwhile, recognizes how mental-health legislation aims to balance individual freedoms and a persons well-being.

I wanted to give my son choices, too, but I think that you have to look at the person and individual and say, I dont think we can give this person choices right now.

Ross Biancale had a promising future as a welder until his life collapsed due to addictions and mental-health issues. He couldn't get the help he needed. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

After the fire and an extended stay at West 5th, Ross landed affordable, supportive housing that offered him stability like never before.

It was the nicest place hes ever been, Elizabeth says.

The Indwell apartment in Hamilton was small but clean. It had a new stove and fridge. And there he had the attention and understanding of trained staff.

At his request, they changed his locks more than once to ease his paranoia, or brought food to his apartment if he couldnt eat with others in the cafeteria.

He said there were people coming through the ceiling, Elizabeth recalls, so staff took him to the floor above to convince him otherwise.

But it wouldnt all be smooth sailing.

Ross, who didnt like the injections, convinced his ACT caregivers to switch him to tablets administered at his door. They figured he later spat them out.

There are not enough early-intervention supports available to, in theory, prevent people from this severe state in the first place. Erin Boudreau Director of operations for the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health

Not on his medication, Rosss health took a nosedive. One day, he just left.

And Im shaking my head, Here we go again, Elizabeth recalls. Because this has happened many times with him.

Around and around

A month later, police picked up a man walking on the side of the QEW.

And they see that its Ross, Elizabeth says.

Off his medication, hes in rough shape. Hes admitted to West 5th.

At St. Josephs, hes given an injection and discharged  too soon, Elizabeth contends.

Shed wanted her son to stay longer to allow the medication to kick in.

So he goes, he leaves. Now weve got a person whos crazy ... like literally out of his mind.

That was frustrating enough, but Elizabeth, despite being her sons substitute decision-maker, also says the hospital didnt tell her hed been discharged in the first place.

They didnt even call me.

St. Josephs believes family members should be actively involved in the care of their loved ones, especially if theyre substitute decision-makers, Chaimowitz said.

It is one of the quality indicators that we focus on, he added, noting he couldnt speak of what might have happened in Rosss case.

That discharge set off a fateful chain of events that would ultimately lead to his longest and last stay behind bars.

Back at Indwell, Ross became embroiled in a dispute with a woman he didnt want in his apartment. He ended up pushing her.

She cracks her head on the table and hes arrested, Elizabeth recounts.

Rosss violent outburst was wrong, but he should have been placed in hospital care, she says.

Instead, he was sentenced to 10 months in Penetanguishene, where his community treatment order (CTO) no longer applied.

So in jail, he sits there and gets more sick. Its just a cycle that goes around and around in a circle.

Incarceration can sometimes do things that are good and sometimes do things that are bad, says Simpson from CAMH.

For some, it can mean cutting access to drugs and open the door to treatment, leading to better health, Simpson notes.

But jail can also dislocate people from housing, mental-health contacts and social assistance, he adds.

So when they come out again, theyre starting from scratch to try and re-establish that life that was precarious beforehand.

Health advocates, meanwhile, contend mental health in Ontario jails should fall under the auspices of the Ministry of Health rather than the Ministry of the Solicitor General to ensure better care.

So youre getting the same quality of care on the inside as you are on the outside, said Boudreau of the Institute for Advancements in Mental Health.

In an email, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Solicitor General said the province is investing more than $500 million over five years to transform correctional services through new hires and infrastructure improvements.

So in jail, he sits there and gets more sick. Its just a cycle that goes around and around in a circle. Elizabeth Biancale Ross's mother

All inmates have access to a variety of services and supports including mental-health nurses, physicians, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers and addiction counsellors regardless of a diagnosis of a specific mental illness, Andrew Morrison wrote.

Correctional services staff are trained to recognize possible signs of mental illness and know how to refer these inmates to health care or other professional staff who can provide the inmate with the appropriate level of care.

The Solicitor General, which also partners with the Ministry of Health, has increased the number of acute care stabilization beds at forensic mental-health hospitals, including at St. Josephs in Hamilton.

If those with mental health and addiction challenges wind up in jail, it should be a golden opportunity to offer help, Dr. Lori Regenstreif says.

Theyre usually in chaotic settings. They may be in tents. Theyre committing crimes related to substances or just for survival, said Regenstreif, who has a focus on opioid treatment programs in correctional settings.

They shouldnt be in jail, but if youre going to lock them up somewhere, nows your chance to help.

Ross Biancales mother predicted his death  unable to get him the help he needed to survive his mental health issues and addictions. This picture, taken on his last birthday, haunts her. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

But the gap  especially with relatively short stays during which its tricky to anchor people in programs  is in the continuity in and the continuity out, Regenstreif points out.

This is crucial given that opioid users who abstain while in jail are particularly vulnerable to overdose during the first few weeks of their release when their tolerance is lower.

Theres a heightened risk of accidental overdose at that point, and thats a well-recognized phenomenon, Simpson noted.

Bells went off

After Penetanguishene, Ross made it back to Hamilton.

Elizabeth helped him pay for a room at the same motel shed lined up after the lodging home closure set him adrift in 2019.

But at about $3,000 a month, the bill was running too high.

So I finally found this dump, Elizabeth recalls.

For $900 a month, the room in the small multiplex on King Street West offered a bathroom, hot plate, little fridge and sink.

He moved in Oct. 15.

Ross seemed to make friends there and asked his mom to help out an impoverished fellow tenant.

He made me go out and buy him a coat and shoes at Value Village, Elizabeth says.

But she only realized after Ross moved in that the residence was like a trap house, she says. There were tons and tons of drugs.

Before Penetanguishene, Ross had used crystal meth, which is a stimulant, but not opioids, like fentanyl, which has driven the overdose crisis.

Elizabeth speculates her son turned to that after taking methadone, an opioid used to treat addiction to powerful street drugs, while in jail.

And despite signs that Ross had regained his footing, in hindsight, his mom noticed a sluggishness in his demeanour.

I would pick him up and hed be almost like a robot.

After the birthday gathering, the next time she saw Ross was Nov. 23, when she took him for a root canal and groceries in Stoney Creek.

We were starting to work on his teeth. He was actually allowing me. I hadnt been able to bring him to a dentist in years.

But optimism gave way to concern when Ross stopped responding to her messages to send money to pay the rent. He hadnt withdrawn anything from his account after his disability payment was deposited, either.

And thats when my bells went off, Elizabeth says.

So on Dec. 2, her husband, Archie, and Rosss ACT team social worker unlocked Rosss apartment door using a spare key.

They found him slumped forward in a turtle position. There were needles, and whats believed to be fentanyl and crystal meth in the small room.

Police suspected hed died of an overdose three days earlier, Elizabeth says.

Theyre telling me that he just went down ... and that kind of gave me a little comfort.

But questions about his last moments of life continue to nag her.

Could someone  maybe another tenant  have called emergency services earlier to flag something was wrong?

Meanwhile, contact with police and the coroners office, which is still conducting the death investigation, has been wanting, Elizabeth says.

No one called me. They just look at the place hes in. They look at his record. Look at this guy, she says. Thats always the way hes been treated.

And to make matters worse, after Rosss death, someone kicked in the door of his unit to plunder the place.

That drew Elizabeth there sooner than shed planned to salvage what was left behind.

On his little shelf in his room, he had his birthday cards and his candles set up like a little shrine for this birthday that we just had. That broke my heart.

Elizabeth Biancale sits a a memorial to her son Ross, who died at age 32. His work boots, the ones he wore while welding and kept throughout his struggles, sit on a wooden bench adorned with a plaque. Barry Gray/The Hamilton Spectator

At home in Brant County, she has set up memorials to Ross  a chest he had in his room, trinkets, clothes, his oversized glasses, his ashes, that haunting photograph.

His work boots, the ones he wore while welding and kept throughout his struggles, sit on a wooden bench adorned with a plaque.

He held onto those welding boots no matter what condition he was in because he felt like one day, Im going to be back to that person.

Deep down, he knew something was wrong with him, and he aspired to patch his life back together, Elizabeth reflects.

But then it would not happen.

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WATERLOO REGION  Emergency room nurse Heidi Holmes is distraught over the indignity imposed on a senior who sought emergency care at Guelph General Hospital.

In February the hospital placed four elderly patients on stretchers and parked them in a back hallway after it ran out of beds to admit them and ran out of space in its ER to hold them while they waited for beds.

The hallway is outside of the emergency department. It is without running water or a bathroom. Its noisy. Its busy. The lights cant be dimmed. It has no place to connect to oxygen.

Holmes went into the hallway at night to monitor the four patients. Two patients with dementia could not get the rest they needed in that space. They were confused, loud and irritable. This bothered the other patients, who also could not rest.

One dementia patient needed a toilet. But with no bathroom nearby and no way to safely move her, the only option was to put her on a commode chair with a bucket beneath her.

And so in a bright hallway, without a screen to shield her, an elderly woman with dementia had to squat on a chair and loudly empty her bowels into a bucket while people walked by.

This was an indignity Holmes had not seen in more than 20 years as a nurse. It angered her.

I know better to provide better care. I want to provide better care, she said. But when Im in a hallway with a dementia patient who needs to have a bowel movement, in that situation, I cant do any more.

That same night a toddler in the ER who needed stitches for a cut on his ear waited 12 hours to get seen. Thats also awful, she said.

Holmes does not blame Guelph General, but she has become so frustrated she decided to speak out about a health-care system that is overwhelmed.

Guelph General says it tries not to put patients in the hallway. But if there is no more room in the ER, the hallway is the last resort.

It is not comfortable. It is not equipped. Its not meant to be a place to wait and to receive care. Absolutely not, said Melissa Skinner, hospital vice-president and chief nursing executive. But there are times when we have had to overflow there for pure safety.

Since the indignity Holmes witnessed, the hospital has made screens available in the hallway to provide a bit of privacy.

Guelph in February experienced a surge in sickness from influenza, from a respiratory virus, and from COVID-19. This sickened the population and it sickened hospital employees who could not come in to work.

When you take a fast-growing community, a hospital thats too small, which means the emergency department is also too small, and you factor in a sick community on top of that, you can see how easily we can become overwhelmed, Skinner said.

On average in February, Guelph General admitted almost 22 patients a day from its emergency room, the most in more than a year. Patients were forced to wait almost 23 hours on average in the ER before a bed was found to admit them.

The province targets a wait of eight hours to admit patients from emergency rooms. Fewer than one in five admissions met this target at Guelph General in February, according to data from Ontario Health.

Holmes, 48, is a registered nurse from Waterloo. She has a graduate science degree, teaches nursing at Conestoga College, and works part-time in emergency care.

Nurses on the job sometimes despair about a lack of food sometimes to give people, lack of medications, lack of space, lack of staff, she said. This is not I think what people assume Canadian health care is. And its very frustrating.

So what are the possible solutions?

Skinner said Guelph General is looking to open up more space for beds, perhaps by converting former medical clinics. We very, very much want patients to be cared for in real spaces, not in hallways, she said.

Long-term, the hospital may renovate its current location or expand elsewhere. That wont happen quickly, Skinner said.

Holmes is concerned that emergency rooms see too many patients who could receive care in a different setting. Some lack a family doctor. Some are repeat visitors with poor mental health.

She wants more alternatives to emergency care, and more public education to help people access the appropriate level of care.

If someone is coming to the emergency department 20 times a year, were not meeting their needs, she said. Coming up with something in the system that will better meet their needs, I think, is the solution.

Skinner figures the hospital sees two dozen patients a day in its ER who dont need to be there. She asks that people check with a health-care provider or family doctor first. But the hospital does not want to dissuade anyone from seeking emergency care.

Some people come into the emergency department seeking shelter, food, clothing, or even companionship. Sometimes the people at the hospital are the only ones whove been kind to them, Skinner said.

Guelph General has a program for patients who visit the ER frequently so when they come back time and time again, we have an understanding of why theyre there and how we can help them, Skinner said.

Holmes advocates finding new ways to help keep nurses on the job. This includes new ways to recruit them and to persuade them to work in hospitals rather than in other fields.

Ontario gave nurses one-time bonuses of up to $5,000 last year to keep them on the job. Holmes received a bonus for her work in the ER. While cash is appreciated, what people are looking for is more help in the department. They want more staff, Holmes said.

We would love to have more staff, Skinner said. Yet the hospital has been unable to fill 11 open nursing jobs in its emergency department. This includes two full-time jobs and nine part-time jobs.

To cope, the hospital has increased student placements. It has launched an internship program in emergency care to introduce other nurses to the job and encourage them to take it on.

Holmes wants the public to know that Guelph General employees work hard to provide care, but they can only do so much under such strain. Were doing our best and we need the help of the community, she said.

She means advocating for some change, some funding, some nurses, not using the ER when its not necessary. All of that.

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OTTAWA - If infant formula has become akin to liquid gold for parents stressed about empty store shelves this year, Canada may be sitting on a potential treasure trove  if only it could process the raw elements.

There is a surplus of the main ingredient for infant formula, but without processing capacity, dairy producers say a lot of it is either going to waste or being sold on the cheap as animal feed.

The material, called solids non-fat, is basically what is left over from raw cows milk once it has been processed and the fat removed for use in other products such as butter.

Theres relatively more demand for butter fat than solids non-fat, said Mathieu Frigon, the president of the Dairy Processors Association Of Canada.

You cannot tell a cow, Only produce butter fat, but no solids non-fat.

As a result, about 19 per cent of what is produced in Canada is considered surplus. It is either thrown away, sold to low-value markets as animal feed, or donated to food banks, the Canadian Dairy Commission said in a statement.

That problem has only become worse over the last five or six years, Frigon said, as demand for butter fat has gone up and demand for the leftovers has not.

Canada has so much of it that in the 2023 federal budget, the government set aside $333 million to help the dairy industry figure out what to do with it all.

Solids non-fat has traditionally been used to make skim milk, Greek yogurts, some cheeses and things like protein powder. Its also the main ingredient in infant formula, which has been in scarce supply in Canada for more than a year.

That shortage started when a manufacturing plant in the United States that made a large portion of Canadas baby formula supply closed for several months after a product recall in February 2022.

It reopened four months later but still isnt up to full capacity.

There used to be plants in Canada, but over time they moved across the border. Now the country relies entirely on imports to feed babies that arent breastfed.

Health Canada says while there is enough supply of regular formula in Canada, not all brands are available. Lower-cost brands are particularly short.

To turn the extra solids non-fat into baby formula, it needs to be specially processed to make it easy for tiny stomachs to digest.

Manufacturers are interested in making baby formula in Canada again, but the Food, Health and Consumer Products of Canada says the rules here are so strict it makes it difficult to justify the investment.

We do have the ingredients that we could use, but  its really prohibitive for a manufacturer to invest in Canada, said Michi Furuya Chang, vice-president of public policy and regulatory affairs for the industry group.

She said it takes Health Canada a long time to approve formulas for distribution in Canada compared to the United States  in some cases, its taken more than four times as long.

Were calling for an efficient, but of course risk-based, modernized regulatory system here in Canada to incentivize the investment in manufacturing again, bring it back domestically and then help that industry grow, innovate and compete using the ingredients that we have an abundance here in Canada, she said, adding that discussions with the government have been very positive.

Federal Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos says processing infant formula is an important goal to shore up Canadas supply, but it wont happen soon.

To set up the factory that is safe and sound takes a lot of time, so we cant wait that much time for infant formula to be accessible in Canada, Duclos said in an interview last week.

Canada Royal Milk has set up a factory to produce infant formula in Kingston, Ont. The company was established by Feihe International, the largest producer of formula for infants and young children in China.

The company applied to Health Canada for approval in Summer 2022, and is still waiting for an answer. The company has plans to export its products, but will focus on Canadian distribution first.

In the meantime, Health Canada is temporarily importing 70 different formula products from countries with high quality and manufacturing standards similar to Canada.

For its part, the Canadian Dairy Commission said the industry is sparing no effort to make sure none of the milk products in Canada go to waste.

Canada had been shipping some solids non-fat to Mexico, said Tyler McCann, the managing director of the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. That changed when the new Canada-United States-Mexico trade agreement was signed.

That market in Mexico that the Canadian exporters found is a market that (was) being filled by the Americans, and the Americans did not like that we were taking that market away, he said.

Similar caps also apply to bulk exports of baby formula, said Frigon, creating another impediment to domestic manufacturing.

He said the simple solution is to build processing plants to make things like infant formula, but theres also an opportunity to develop new products altogether.

Theres also this new space, especially when you get into health products, where you can take those proteins and those protein isolates and produce new, more innovative value-added products, he said.

The $333-million fund set aside by the Liberals in the budget will be used to research what else could be made with the leftover dairy materials over the next 10 years, help develop processing capacity, and market the products.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2023.

 With files from Camille Bains in Vancouver.

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Its only a matter of time until every news outlet flees Twitter.

Maybe thats Elon Musks master plan. Keep antagonizing the media, one passive aggressive taunt at a time. Does this make business sense? Nope. But Mr. Musk did blow $44 billion (U.S.) on a leveraged buyout to obtain the social media company.

Thats like impulse-buying a banana for $900.

Musks anti-MSM fatwa crossed the border this week when he slapped a label on the CBCs official account. It was first, Government-funded media. The label was then amended to, 69% government-funded media, which only amplified the lolz of Musks delirious fans who cant get enough of his sophomoric trolling.

Musk claims such labels are for transparency. Right. Its like when he claimed his guiding interest in Twitter was free speech. Then he fired anyone who disagreed with anything he said. So if some now believe there is no qualitative difference between the CBC and North Korean state television, this is Musk shrugging and smirking and plotting his next antagonism.

Clicking on the new CBC label takes you to a Twitter Help Center page where government-funded media is defined as outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlets funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content.

For accuracy, Musk could have worked Crown corporation, parliamentary appropriations and Broadcasting Act into his label so drive-by tweeters outside of Canada know the CBC operates with editorial independence. On Tuesday morning, the most popular story on the public broadcasters site was: Trudeau family vacationed with wealthy friends who donated to Pierre Elliott Trudeau Foundation.

I have a hunch the government was not involved in that editorial content.

In response to the label, CBC is hitting pause on Twitter. As Brodie Fenlon, editor-in-chief of CBC News, wrote: We cannot in good conscience continue to post fact-based news and information to Twitter, or engage on it, while a false impression of government involvement in our work is allowed to stand.

This follows NPR quitting Twitter a few days ago after it was falsely labelled state-affiliated media. Meanwhile, Musk grants an interview this week to Tucker Carlson, a blithering propagandist and demonstrable liar who failed spectacularly in trying to whitewash the Jan. 6 insurrection as sightseeing. More recently, Mr. Carlson is calling for America to liberate Canada, as if we are imprisoned in a Soviet gulag.

It would be hysterical if it wasnt so sad.

This is why the CBC should not hit pause on Twitter  it should quit for good.

All media outlets should bid sayonara to Musk until he ceases to be a man-boy in which the arrested development manifests in hasty mandates and poop emojis.

Musk isnt just running his social media company into the ground.

He is leading a doomsday cult hostile to all institutions.

Whats bonkers is how he doesnt seem to realize he needs the media way more than it needs him. When content is linked on Twitter, what is the average click-through rate? How often does it exceed five per cent? Every time I hit send on a column, I pray for a little Google juice. Google News can move the metrics needle.

Twitter does not drive traffic. It makes banging noises inside silos where the terminally biased retweet hot takes without actually reading what was posted. Twitter is like going to the zoo and making value judgments about the animals from the parking lot.

Musk says Twitter is a town square. Give me a break. The vast majority of people on this planet do not use Twitter and never will. A small minority of active users produce most of the content. If every journalist and every media outlet quit Twitter tomorrow, the site would be overrun with frothing partisans, conspiracy theorists and rabble rousers with alphanumeric handles operating out of foreign troll farms.

Musks fans believe their brave folk hero is taking a blowtorch to the media. He is only burning himself. Once media outlets, publicly funded or otherwise, discover Twitter is a grand illusion of overstated cultural influence, they will leave and wont come back. On Tuesday, the Hill reported a drop in Twitter referrals to news websites in recent months. The New York Times, for example, went from roughly 7.5 million in March 2022 to under 4 million this March.

No wonder the Times has balked at paying for a verified check mark.

Why pay for a monthly membership for the privilege of joining a doomsday cult?

Elon Musk could have improved Twitter by waging war on bots and hate speech and misinformation. Instead, he keeps picking idiotic fights with news organizations to rack up the likes and retweets of admirers who already despise the media. Its as if he bought a grocery chain just to throw eggs at its most loyal customers.

His obsession with labels is also hypocritical. Without millions in government subsidies, Tesla would be a local garage that hawks discounted rims and meme paint jobs. Take away the billions in federal contracts and SpaceX is basically an earthly maker of rockets that couldnt clear the CN Tower.

Where are the government-funded labels on Tesla and SpaceX?

When the Taliban can buy verified accounts on Twitter, and NPR or the CBC are undermined for the spectator sport, Musks priorities are beyond screwed up.

Every media outlet should quit Twitter.

Only then will Elon Musk realize the perils of lolz.

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NANAIMO, B.C. - The B.C. Prosecution Service has withdrawn contempt charges against 11 old-growth logging protesters accused of breaching a court injunction during blockades at Fairy Creek on Vancouver Island.

Spokesman Gordon Comer said prosecutors were in court Tuesday to enter the withdrawals, and the service is reviewing other cases after a ruling that acquitted protester Ryan Henderson earlier this year.

Comer said the Crown is reviewing remaining cases that were affected by the Henderson decision, which tossed out the charge because of the RCMPs failure to properly read the injunction to people arrested during the protest.

We cannot provide any numbers for how many files may be withdrawn, as that will be determined on a case-by-case basis, based on the available evidence. The Crown has filed an appeal of the Henderson decision with the Supreme Court of Canada, Comer said in an emailed statement.

In February, B.C. Supreme Court Justice Douglas Thompson acquitted Henderson on criminal contempt charges, finding the RCMP opted to use a short-form script instead of reading the full text of the court injunction prohibiting interference with Teal Cedars logging activities.

The RCMP script did not transmit sufficient information about the terms of the injunction order, and the information that was delivered via this script was not accurate and clear, Thompsons ruling said.

A lawyer defending protesters said the Crown is expected to withdraw charges against as many as 150 people in the coming weeks because of Thompsons decision.

B.C. Civil Liberties Association President Karen Mirsky, who has defended several clients facing contempt charges for protests at Fairy Creek, said police didnt follow long-standing legal principles when they failed to read the full injunction.

Mirsky said the RCMP spent millions of dollars during the protests and the forces failure to properly enforce the injunction highlights how provinces should rethink the kinds of policing theyre getting.

She said the RCMPs Community-Industry Response Group was responsible for enforcement actions at Fairy Creek, and the charge withdrawals resulted from police not having the wherewithal to stand in one place and read an injunction fully and hand a copy of an injunction to an individual who is protesting.

It shouldnt come to us as a shock to them that they needed to do this and certainly they have the benefit of their own legal team, she said.

Mirsky said the police units actions during the protests and other events have spurred formal complaints, leading to a review by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission for the RCMP.

On Tuesday, a coalition of Indigenous groups, environmentalists, human rights advocates, and others announced they will deliver an open letter to the Prime Ministers Office in Ottawa calling for the police response group to be disbanded.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2023.

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NEWARK, DE / ACCESSWIRE / Apriil 19, 2023 / In 2023, the global eCommerce logistics market is expected to be worth US$ 626.23 billion. It is expected to expand at a 17.8% CAGR to reach US$ 3221.36 billion by 2033. In 2022, the global eCommerce logistics industry was estimated to be worth US$ 531.6 billion.

According to New Gen Apps, the built-in GPS of mobile technology will substantially increase value to existing tracking systems in the supply chain. Although technically part of the IoT, the use of GPS can also extend to RFID tags and AIDC technologies. The above factors all contribute to driving the demand for e-commerce logistics in the market.

Find a comprehensive report summary that describes the market size and forecast along with the research methodology. The Sample report is available in PDF format@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-14544

Several factors influence market growth, including an increase in cross-border eCommerce transactions and the proliferation of eCommerce companies.

Strengths Huge adoption of eCommerce and multi-channel retailing.

Demand for integrated solutions is rising.

Escalating demand for services with quick delivery. Weaknesses High capital expenditures.

Handling a big quantity of orders is difficult.

Delivery delays. Opportunities Demand for hyper-local logistics is rising.

Growing demand for services that prioritize customers.

Rising interest in cloud-based services. Threats Increasing privacy and data security issues.

Cost of operations is rising.

Global logistics companies are becoming competitive.

The emergence of Supermarket Mini Distribution Facilities is a Critical Component in Market Expansion

Due to the increased need for quick order fulfillment, shippers have relocated storage and manufacturing close to consumers. Many businesses and supermarkets are working on transforming each location into a mini-distribution center. This method aids in the acceleration of the delivery procedure. For example,

Story continues

When any customer orders a product, it is picked up and delivered by his or her local retailer. This method is fast than having to wait for products to be delivered from a distribution hub.

Large eCommerce companies have focused on constructing supermarket mini-distribution hubs to expedite product delivery.

In February 2018, Amazon.com, Inc, an eCommerce company, announced that Prime members in four cities of the United States, namely Austin, Cincinnati, Dallas, and Virginia, could get groceries from Whole Foods Market IP, L.P. delivered for free within two hours of placing an order.

E-commerce logistics to become efficient as increasing supermarkets and retailers begin to operate as micro-distribution centers. This escalates the eCommerce logistics market growth.

Talk with our analyst and get the complete information of the report now@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/ask-question/rep-gb-14544

The Rise in Cross-border eCommerce is Boosting Market Growth.

Cross-border eCommerce is extremely popular in nations such as the United States, China, Australia, Mexico, and India. China, India, and the EU, for example, are the world's leading apparel exporters. France and the United States are the leading exporters of cosmetics and personal care products.

Customers' demand for cross-border eCommerce is increasing as per capita income rises and foreign brands become accessible. As cross-border trade grows, so does the number of trade corridors.

Trade corridors are interconnected transportation networks that enhance trading and encourage economic development. These corridors include integrated infrastructure such as trains and roadways that connect countries.

Logistics is important in cross-border eCommerce since the flow of commodities is dependent on transportation and distribution networks. With the expansion of cross-border eCommerce, eCommerce logistics demand is likely to rise concurrently during the projection period.

Future Market Insights, Inc., Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Asia Pacific Outlook for eCommerce Logistics

The eCommerce logistics market in Asia Pacific has been expanding because of the increasing eCommerce industries in developing nations. Between 2023 and 2033, China's eCommerce market is estimated to expand at a CAGR of 19.6%. Several of China's leading online retailers include JD.com and Alibaba.com.

Local and foreign eCommerce firms compete for consumer attention and market share in China's highly competitive sector. New vendors are likely to become interested in the region's eCommerce logistics business due to its excellent growth prospects.

Key Takeaways:

North America to acquire a share of 23.5% in the eCommerce logistics industry from 2023 to 2033.

Europe is estimated to gain a 20.2% eCommerce logistics market share between 2023 and 2033.

Between 2023 and 2033, the United States might earn a 20.8% eCommerce logistics market share.

Germany may capture 4.1% of the eCommerce logistics market share between 2023 and 2033.

During the forecast period, Japan might acquire 6.0% of the eCommerce logistics industry.

Australia may gain 1.8% of the market share between 2023 and 2033.

China's eCommerce logistics industry to record a CAGR of 19.6% from 2023 to 2033.

India's eCommerce logistics industry is projected to register a CAGR of 20.8% in forthcoming years.

The United Kingdom eCommerce logistics market to expand at a CAGR of 18.5% from 2023 to 2033.

Domestic eCommerce logistics operation segment by the operational area category to acquire a market share of 62.1% during the forecast period.

The eCommerce logistics for transportation segment by the service type category to gain a market share of 58.8% between 2023 and 2033.

Grow your profit margin with Future Market Insights - Buy the report: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/checkout/14544

eCommerce Logistics Industry Competitive Insights:

E-commerce logistics manufacturers are investing hugely in research and development to expand product lines that aid in market growth. Market participants are expanding their presence through diverse strategic efforts, such as agreements, mergers and acquisitions, investments, and collaboration.

To expand and compete in a competitive and expanding market climate, eCommerce logistics competitors must provide cost-effective services.

Key Companies Profiled

FedEx Corporation, DHL International GmbH, Gati Limited, Aramex International, Kenco Group, Inc., Clipper Logistics Plc., XPO Logistics Plc., Agility Public Warehousing Company K.S.C.P., United Parcel Service, Inc., Ceva Holdings LLC

Key Segments

eCommerce Logistics by Service Type:

eCommerce Logistics for Warehousing Mega Centers Hubs/Delivery Centers Returns Processing Centers

eCommerce Logistics for Transportation Air/Express Delivery Freight/Rail Trucking/Over Road Maritime

eCommerce Logistics for Other Services

eCommerce Logistics by Operational Area:

Domestic eCommerce Logistics Operations

International (Cross Border) eCommerce Logistics Operations

eCommerce Logistics by Region:

North America

Europe

Asia Pacific

Middle East and Africa

Latin America

Evolutions in the eCommerce Logistics Industry

Acquisition

The FedEx Corporation Company purchased the eCommerce company ShopRunner in January 2020, which is related to the partner for online shopping.

Partnership

Singapore Airlines and DHL Corporation formed a relationship in February 2022 to expand their business partnership and enhance logistics opportunities.

Launch

In January 2022, I-Power announced the debut of new E-commerce logistics in collaboration with Box Harmony. iPower offered $50,000 for a 40% equity stake in the joint venture, with an option to purchase an additional 20%.

View Full Report@ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/e-commerce-logistics-market

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | eCommerce Logistics Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.2.1. Demand in Optimistic Scenario

3.2.2. Demand in Likely Scenario

3.2.3. Demand in Conservative Scenario

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Investment Feasibility Matrix

3.5. PESTLE and Porter's Analysis

3.6. Regulatory Landscape

3.6.1. By Key Regions

3.6.2. By Key Countries

3.7. Regional Parent Market Outlook

4. Global Market Analysis 2018 to 2022 and Forecast, 2023 to 2033

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About Future Market Insights, Inc.

Future Market Insights, Inc. is an ESOMAR-certified business consulting & market research firm, a member of the Greater New York Chamber of Commerce and is headquartered in Delaware, USA. A recipient of Clutch Leaders Award 2022 on account of high client score (4.9/5), we have been collaborating with global enterprises in their business transformation journey and helping them deliver on their business ambitions. 80% of the largest Forbes 1000 enterprises are our clients. We serve global clients across all leading & niche market segments across all major industries.

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Ontario hospitals are easing their mask policies for COVID-19, with some dropping mandatory masking in parts of their facility, including waiting rooms and emergency departments.

But in Toronto, some of the biggest hospitals will continue to require masks in all areas where patients may be present. University Health Network, Unity Health Toronto, Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre, the Hospital for Sick Children and Trillium Health Partners in Mississauga confirmed to the Star that masks must be worn in any such areas.

These hospitals are keeping mandatory masking in the clinical areas of their sites, including in-patient units and outpatient clinics, and in common places such as lobbies, elevators and hallways. Masks are still required when entering and must be worn in any area where patients are treated or where patients and their caregivers gather. However, starting this month, some hospitals are loosening masking rules in staff-only spaces.

The Toronto hospitals told the Star masking requirements were recently updated following recommendations from the province and the Toronto Region Hospital Operations Table.

There is no change to our masking policy for patients and visitors, said Dr. Jerome Leis, Sunnybrooks medical director of infection prevention and control, in an email to the Star.

Under additional guidance from the province and the Toronto Region COVID-19 Hospital Operations Table, Sunnybrook is relaxing universal masking for staff-only areas. Wearing a mask is still required while moving throughout the hospital, and in areas where staff would come into contact with patients and visitors.

This is to continue to protect the most vulnerable from COVID-related complications.

Hamilton, Kitchener and Guelph

In other parts of the province, hospitals are relaxing the rules more generally, removing mask requirements altogether except for in some circumstances, though masking continues to be encouraged.

Beginning Wednesday, St. Josephs Healthcare Hamilton and Hamilton Health Sciences, which includes McMaster Childrens Hospital, will no longer require patients, families and visitors to wear masks inside their hospital sites.

Health-care workers there will mask up when caring for patients, and patients with fevers or respiratory symptoms are required to wear one as well. People are encouraged to wear a mask while in waiting rooms, and in emergency departments and urgent care centres, Hamilton Health Sciences said in a media release.

Mask rules have also changed at hospitals in southwestern Ontario, in Kitchener hospitals and at Guelph General Hospital. For example, St. Marys General Hospital in Kitchener has adopted a mask-friendly policy as of April 17, meaning staff, patients and visitors no longer have to wear masks in most clinical areas or in hallways, meetings and shared offices.

SickKids

Starting April 24, masks wont be required at SickKids in nonclinical and non-patient facing areas of the hospital, including administrative offices and meeting spaces, or at off-site events or off-site areas, such as the Peter Gilgan Centre for Research and Learning, spokesperson Sarah Warr said in an email to the Star.

She noted masks remain mandatory in clinical areas and common spaces where patients may be present and that updated mask requirements follow recommendations that are based on a moderate level of COVID-19 transmission risk and a non-high risk period for respiratory virus transmission.

As the pandemic situation and respiratory illness trends continue to evolve, we will make adjustments to safety practices based on the best available evidence and guidance, Warr said.

University Health Network

In a statement from its Infection Prevention and Control Department, UHN said masks are required in all clinical areas, such as in-patient units and in clinics offering outpatient procedures and therapies, and within hospital common areas. Masks can be removed in nonclinical spaces but these areas will remain mask-friendly, the statement said.

UHN, which includes Canadas largest transplant program, informed staff Tuesday of the new masking rules, which recommend  but no longer require  masks in its nonclinical areas, including its finance departments, research areas, corporate offices and meeting and conference rooms.

Unity Health Toronto

At Unity Health Toronto, which includes St. Michaels Hospital and St. Josephs Health Centre, masking is universally required in all clinic and patient-facing areas, said spokesperson Hayley Mick in an email, noting there are recent changes to masking rules for staff and physicians in nonclinical areas.

This masking policy reflects current COVID-19 epidemiology and aims to achieve consistency with current public health requirements and regional hospital guidance.

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In a rare example of justice being done for victims of forced disappearances in Mexico, three Mexicans found guilty in the disappearance of Canadian snowbird Malcom Madsen more than four years ago will likely spend the rest of their lives in prison.

Madsens Mexican girlfriend of six years, Marcela Acosta Ramos, 48, her son Andres Javier Romero Acosta, 30, and brother Martin Alejandro Acosta Ramos, 51, were each sentenced this week to 56 years and three months in a Mexican prison.

The sentence follows their conviction last week of the crime of disappearance committed by individuals, a charge employed when the fate of the missing person is unknown.

The length of the sentences clearly indicates how seriously the judges take this crime, said Madsens daughter, Brooke Mullins, noting her father is just one of more than 100,000 people currently listed as missing in Mexico.

Im sad that so many lives have been destroyed or altered because of this senseless crime. I am happy that its finally over and that we can start healing. Its been a long time coming.

Madsen, a jeweller and retired real estate agent from Sutton, Ont., went missing on Oct. 28, 2018, after going out for drinks with his girlfriend Marcela, 25 years his junior, at a popular Puerto Vallarta tourist hangout called Andales Restaurant and Bar.

When she stopped hearing from her father, Mullins flew from her home in Port Hope, Ont., to Mexico and began her own investigation after she determined that neither local police nor Global Affairs Canada had much interest in pursuing the case.

In the course of retracing her fathers last known steps, Mullins located security video footage from Andales that immediately placed suspicion on Marcela.

The video shows Madsen and Marcela sipping drinks at a table just after midnight. When Madsen gets up to go to the washroom, Marcela appears to take a white pill or powder out of her purse and cradle it in her left hand under the table.

When Madsen gets back, he leans in to speak into Marcelas ear, at which point he loses sight of his drink. Thats when Marcela can be seen lifting her hand from underneath the table and sprinkling the substance into Madsens drink. He takes several more sips before the couple gets up to leave.

Madsen can be seen walking with an uncharacteristic shuffle as the couple leave the bar and get into a taxi. He hasnt been heard from since.

In the ensuing four years, Mullins assembled a team of lawyers, private investigators and local sources to find out who was responsible for her fathers disappearance. Through court applications, she forced local investigators to take basic investigative steps, such as dusting Madsens van  believed to have been used in his disappearance  for fingerprints, searching Marcelas house and examining her bank transactions.

Mullins and her lawyer also tracked down Marcela to a suburb of Mexico City after she took off from Puerto Vallarta during the investigation.

Against all odds  only about two per cent of violent crime ends up being prosecuted in Mexico  she succeeded in getting justice for her father. But it is a bittersweet victory; Madsen has yet to be found.

Juan Jose Mejia, district attorney for the Jalisco state prosecutors office, told the Star that the 56-year-sentence for Marcela and her accomplices was one of the highest we have ever gotten. Convictions in similar cases usually come with 25- to 30-year sentences, he said, speaking in Spanish.

Mejia added that the convictions in Madsens case will set a baseline for prosecutors hoping to bring similar cases to a close.

Nationally, there have not been too many sentences for the crime of disappearance committed by individuals and it is a relatively new crime despite the current crisis of disappeared foreigners, he said. The sentence is going to be a national reference  thats why we are giving it importance.

The three defendants were also fined 483,000 Mexican pesos ($36,000) to reimburse the state for expenses incurred during the investigation.

There will be another hearing in the near future, he added, to determine a fine to be paid as reparation to Madsens family.

The number of missing persons in Mexico is indeed a crisis, and current President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was elected in 2018 partly on his pledge to help the families of missing persons find their loved ones, says Jim Creechan, a retired University of Alberta sociology professor and Mexican crime and cartel expert.

Critics say the results have been mixed at best. Violent crime rates have reached historic highs under Lopez Obrador, according to Human Rights Watch, and its estimated that about 90 per cent of crimes are never reported, while a third of reported crimes are never investigated. About 2,600 foreigners have gone missing in Mexico in the past 15 years.

Most violent crime remains unpunished in Mexico, while the odds of obtaining a conviction in disappeared persons cases is basically zilch, said Creechan.

Youve got a justice system that has been dysfunctional and has been undertaking reforms, but theyre very slow, he said, adding that police at the national, state and municipal levels are involved with organized crime, whether thats local gangs or larger cartels. The reality is the whole system is dysfunctional. Its not designed to provide justice. And in the case of foreigners, theyre really only going to worry if its going to affect tourism.

Mexican crime analyst and journalist Luis Horacio Najera said while its rare any missing persons case in Mexico results in justice, its important to distinguish between cases such as Madsens, in which there was plenty of evidence pointing to his girlfriend and members of her family as being responsible, and disappearances related to organized crime.

In cases such as Madsens, he said, you have a family member of the victim who is really keen to solve the crime. They invest money, they invest in private investigators, he said. Theres a distinction between these kinds of cases and organized-crime type disappearances, which are complex and involve a lot of corruption, impunity, and unfortunately theres usually no closure for the families.

Kenyon Wallace is a Toronto-based investigative reporter for the Star. Follow him on Twitter: @KenyonWallace or reach him via email: kwallace@thestar.ca

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Seven youth who sued the Ontario government, claiming the provinces climate change plan was so woefully inadequate that it breached their charter rights, have lost their case.

In a decision issued last week, Justice Marie-Andree Vermette was sympathetic to the claims of the young people, but ultimately ruled that Ontarios emission reduction targets are not unconstitutional.

I agree with the Applicants that the evidence in this case shows that young people are disproportionately impacted by climate change. However, this disproportionate impact is caused by climate change, not by the (Ontario governments climate laws), ruled Vermette.

The decision did, however, rebuke the Ontario government  and reject evidence provided by its expert witness  for claiming emissions reductions in the province will have no effect on climate change.

I reject the notion that because climate change is an inherently global problem, each individual provinces GHG emissions cause no measurable harm, ruled Vermette. While Ontarios contribution to global warming may be numerically small, it is real, measurable and not speculative.

Ultimately, Ontarios emissions contribute to climate change and the increased risks that it creates. Every tonne of CO2 emissions adds to global warming and leads to a quantifiable increase in global temperatures that is essentially irreversible on human time scales.

The case focused on the climate legislation passed by the government of Premier Doug Ford, shortly after he was elected in 2018. The Cap and Trade Cancellation Act repealed more stringent emission reduction targets, passed by former premier Kathleen Wynnes government, and replaced them with targets that would allow 200 additional megatonnes of carbon to be emitted by 2030, the lawsuit alleged.

These additional emissions are not consistent with Canadas Paris Agreement commitments to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, which Ontario also pledged to uphold, the lawsuit claimed, constituting a breach of the charter rights of the provinces youth, who will bear the brunt of climate change.

The provincial government is pleased with the decision, said ministry of the attorney general spokesperson Andrew Kennedy.

Ontario is leading Canadas progress on emission reductions and is responsible for almost all of Canadas progress towards its Paris Agreement goal, he added.

I have kind of mixed feelings, said Alex Neufeldt, one of the seven applicants. Climate change is a very solvable problem. And I think as a global community, we are starting to get on top of it. But unfortunately, the Ontario government doesnt seem like they want to be a part of a solution  and the court didnt do anything about changing that.

On the other hand, the judge, from my understanding, did accept all of our science and was not convinced by Ontarios so-called experts on their versions of the science. So that was really encouraging.

Neufeldt said the seven applicants took the weekend to digest the decision before meeting over Zoom with their lawyers, from the environmental organization Ecojustice, on Monday night, where they vowed to appeal the ruling.

We were prepared that this might happen, she said. (Our lawyers) asked us one last time: How are you guys feeling about this? Do you want to push forward? And we all enthusiastically said yes. So were headed to an appeal.

Lawyer Danielle Gallant said because the case was the first in Canada to get a full hearing, Vermettes decision contains several significant factual findings that will be helpful not only for the youth, but also for future climate cases.

She accepted the science set out in the IPCC reports, said Gallant. There is no debate that climate change is real. Its happening. It is causing harms in Ontario and it will continue to cause harms if global warming is not kept to 1.5 degrees Celsius. So that in and of itself is a huge positive aspect to this decision.

The judge also rejected the provinces claim that its climate plan is more of a glossy brochure than a law and has no power to reduce emissions.

I also disagree with Ontarios submission that, in effect, the (law) is meaningless, wrote Vermette. I am not prepared to accept that a legislative requirement, or that something that is required by law to be approved by the Lieutenant Governor in Council, is meaningless.

Gallant said the ruling also established facts that she hopes to build on during appeal.

The court found that Ontarios target falls severely short of the scientific consensus on what has to be done to address climate change, she said. And not only that, but because its target is so inadequate, it causes an increase in the risk to Ontarians life and health  in a way that deprives them of their section seven rights.

Vermette also found that young and Indigenous people are disproportionately affected by climate change, Gallant said.

Where the case failed, she said, was on several points of law, including a ruling that the governments inadequate climate policy still amounted to doing something to fight climate change.

Its like the government of Ontario is bringing a glass of water to put out a house on fire. And so, you know, yes, its doing something. But that action falls so severely short of (whats needed).

Cumulatively, these findings represented a silver lining to a decision that, on the surface, represents a loss, said Gallant.

We remain steadfast in the fact that Ontarios actions in setting up an incredibly weak and inadequate 2030 climate target is unconstitutional because it causes harms to Ontarians health and life that are contrary to their charter protected rights. And so that is what we will continue to argue on appeal.

The fight is certainly not over.

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A Canadian woman made what her lawyer described as a desperate call to her mother early Tuesday, after the Star reported that she was missing in northeast Syria, along with her three teenage daughters and sister-in-law.

It was clear she was in distress, but alive, Edmonton lawyer Zachary Al-Khatib said about the call that lasted four minutes and was from an unknown Syrian number. It was what I can only describe as a proof of life call.

The whereabouts of the five Canadians had been unknown since April 2, when they were scheduled to be repatriated to Canada, but instead seemed to disappear within the confines of the sprawling detention camps administered by the Kurdish forces in whats known as the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria, or AANES.

The only possible clue about their fate was a text from another female captive at the camp. She claimed that when the women and girls asked to be transferred to a pick-up point where they could meet Canadian officials, they were arrested and transported in a Humvee to a facility known as the Red Prison.

Al-Khatib believes that once this was reported Monday night by the Star and CBC, the women were transferred from where they were, to another area called al-Roj camp, and managed to make that short call Tuesday before the line went dead.

The women from Edmonton left Canada for Syria in 2014 and were captured five years later in the city of Baghouz, which was the site of the final major battle between the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces and the Islamic State terrorist group. One of the women had brought her three young daughters  now aged 13, 15 and 16  to Syria with her.

Al-Khatib said his client told her mother Tuesday that they had been held in prison for the past two weeks and alleged they had been mistreated. She told her everything had been confiscated and they needed medical attention.

Al-Khatib said he immediately informed Global Affairs Canada about the call, and they assured him they are taking the allegations seriously.

Global Affairs Canada did not respond Tuesday to a request for comment from the Star.

When asked about the case in Ottawa on Tuesday, Immigration Minister Sean Fraser refused to comment, citing privacy and security concerns.

The issue of Canadian captives held in northeastern Syria has long been politically and legally fraught. In January, Federal Court Judge Henry Brown ordered Ottawa to repatriate all Canadian men, women and children being held in these camps and prisons, which were set up to hold suspected ISIS members, and other foreigners caught up in the Syrian conflict.

Many of those women and children have recently been brought back  some of the women arrested upon arrival for terrorism offensives, or peace bonds. The government is appealing Browns order to also repatriate the four Canadian men in custody.

While Canada has begun to deal with its citizens after years of delay, the unprecedented larger crisis of these makeshift prisons and detention camps continues.

The numbers of those held as detainees or prisoners vary, but its believed to be as many as 65,000 people, from 60 countries. They range in profile from battle-hardened ISIS fighters looking to escape and rebuild the terrorist network, to hapless war refugees.

The vast majority, however, are just children. Aside from the situation being a human rights disaster, security experts also warn about the recruiting opportunities if nothing is done to care for the children and teenagers.

As Charles Lister, the director of the Syria and Countering Terrorism and Extremism programs at the Middle East Institute, wrote recently in a Politico article, Failing to deal with this detainee crisis is a dream scenario for ISIS.

Michelle Shephard is an independent journalist and filmmaker and the Stars former national security correspondent. Follow her @shephardm

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MONTREAL - A Quebec Superior Court judge has ordered Google to pay $500,000 to a Montreal man who sued the company after it restored a link to an online post falsely accusing him of being a pedophile.

In his ruling late last month, Justice Azimuddin Hussain also ordered the company to remove links to the post from its search results in Quebec. The judge said search engines have a responsibility under Quebec law to remove links to illegal content  including defamatory posts  once they are notified of its existence.

The man, whose identity is protected by a publication ban, first discovered the defamatory content in 2007 when he used Google to search his name. He is described in the court ruling as a prominent businessman  with a long list of achievements both in Canada and in the United States.

Like Franz Kafkas character, Josef K. in The Trial, the plaintiff woke up one day to find himself accused of a crime he did not commit, Hussain said. In the plaintiffs case, he was accused of already having been convicted of the crime and a particularly heinous crime at that.

With the help of a friend, the plaintiff attempted to have the material removed from the website where it first appeared, without success. He also asked Google to remove links to the website, as well as a short extract from the site, on the search engines results page.

Google  ignored the plaintiff, told him it could do nothing, told him it could remove the hyperlink on the Canadian version of its search engine but not the U.S. one, but then allowed it to reappear on the Canadian version after a 2011 judgment of the Supreme Court of Canada in an unrelated matter involving the publication of hyperlinks, the judge wrote.

Google did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday afternoon.

The ruling says that in 2009, Google removed a link to the post from the search results that appeared on its Canadian website. Google would remove links twice more at the mans request  later that year and in 2011  after the post resurfaced in its search results.

But in 2015, after the man found a link to the content again on Googles search results, the company refused to remove it.

The plaintiff found himself helpless in a surreal and excruciating contemporary online ecosystem as he lived through a dark odyssey to have the defamatory post removed from public circulation, the judge wrote.

Hussain limited the scope of his decision to Googles refusal in 2015 to remove links to the post, and events after that.

The man, who is now in his early 70s, told the court that he believes potential clients have backed out of deals because they saw the post, adding that his career, which had previously been marked by success, began to spiral.

Two friends testified they refused to use their influence to help him find jobs because they worried the post would make those efforts fruitless.

His personal relationships also suffered, including those with his two sons, the ruling said.

One son testified that his girlfriends parents declined to meet his father because of the defamatory internet posts. The son said that after he experienced high-profile success, people would tell him they searched his name on Google and asked him about the post involving his father.

Before, he was an outsized personality, full of swagger and self-confidence, the judge wrote about the plaintiff. After, he became a shell of his former self, prone to anger, reclusiveness, heavy drinking, and suicidal thoughts.

Google, which is headquartered in California and incorporated under the laws of the state of Delaware, argued that Quebec defamation law didnt apply to the case and that under U.S. law the company had no obligation to remove the link. The company also argued that even if Quebec law applied, under the Canada-United States-Mexico free trade agreement, it could not be held responsible.

The judge disagreed. Hussain said that while it is true that Google, under Quebec law, isnt responsible for the content it links to  and isnt required to monitor that content  the company has an obligation to act when it is informed that its facilitating access to illicit material.

Hussain awarded the man  who had originally been seeking $6 million in damages  $500,000 in moral damages. However, the judge declined to award any punitive damages on the grounds that Google had a good faith belief it was acting legally when it refused to remove the links in 2015.

The judge also singled out the two websites that published the original defamatory post and ordered Google to ensure that search results available in Quebec dont include links to any pages on those sites that mention the plaintiffs name.

The plaintiff had sought a permanent ban on the publication of his identity, but Hussain said he was inclined to reject that request. Instead, the judge granted a 45-day publication ban so that the man has time to appeal that part of the ruling to a higher court.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said the defamatory post was discovered in 2006.

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Hurricane Hazels former home in Mississauga is up for sale, and it could be yours for just shy of $3 million.

The two-storey detached property, which belonged to the late Hazel McCallion and features four bedrooms, three bathrooms and an in-ground pool, was put on the market Monday for $2,999,999.

McCallions estate is selling the house after the death of the longtime Mississauga mayor in January at age 101.

Mayor McCallion was an incredibly busy, successful lady, and she really sacrificed her life for the good of the entire city, said James Hodgins, the broker of record and founder of Hodgins Realty Group. This place was a retreat for her  a sanctuary.

McCallion lived in the house for around 36 years, said Hodgins, noting that the former mayor moved into the home when it was relatively new.

Its somewhat symbolic, he added, that the property overlooks the Mississauga skyline, just beyond a serene ravine behind the lot. Its perfectly fitting that the city she built is in the background of her home, said Hodgins.

The nearly half-acre property, recently refurbished and located in Mississaugas East Credit neighbourhood, also features a large driveway, an oversized two-car garage and manicured grounds in the back that open up toward the ravine.

Hodgins said the property has already garnered great interest from potential buyers, largely because of the McCallions high profile in the community.

The formidable politician, who was Mississaugas long-serving mayor, occupying the citys top office for 12 terms, lived in the house with her German shepherd up until her death on Jan. 29.

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Two Toronto hospitals have partnered to open operating rooms on weekends to perform more joint replacement surgeries  the latest move by Ontario hospitals to try to address a surgical backlog that soared during the pandemic.

Surgeons from Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre and Michael Garron Hospital plan to do an additional 1,300 hip and knee replacements over the next year by operating on Saturdays and Sundays  days that ORs are typically vacant.

Hospital leaders say the new initiative will cut the number of people waiting for joint replacement surgeries in Toronto by 25 per cent by April 2024.

The backlog is not getting any better, said Ru Taggar, Sunnybrooks executive vice-president, chief nursing and health professions executive. Its really plateauing over time, despite a number of efforts by many of us as individual hospitals.

Adding additional capacity  running our operating rooms beyond our normal hours  we know that could make a difference.

The initiative, called the Toronto Regional Arthroplasty Collaborative (TRAC), is run using existing hospital resources, with Sunnybrook hiring additional nurses to help staff the weekend ORs at its Holland Centre.

This is in contrast to The Ottawa Hospital, which earlier this year started leasing out operating and recovery rooms on weekends to a private corporation of surgeons to perform joint replacement surgeries. The Ottawa Hospital has stated the arrangement, which has faced criticism from health policy experts and unions over a lack of transparency and the use of public infrastructure by a private entity, will help shorten waits for orthopedic procedures.

Dr. Carmine Simone, vice-president of medical affairs at Michael Garron Hospital, said TRAC decided to go a different route by using existing hospital infrastructure and scaling up staffing numbers for weekend surgeries.

Currently, TRAC includes orthopedic surgeons from Sunnybrook and Michael Garron, with the hope that other Toronto-area hospitals will join in the coming months.

This is really about collaborating across organizations, not as individual practitioners, said Simone, also an executive member of TRAC. We want others to join so that we can make a big dent in the number of patients who are waiting for orthopedic surgery.

In the Toronto region, about 4,200 patients are waiting for hip and knee replacements, with 775 patients waiting beyond provincial benchmarks for their surgeries.

A series of surgical shutdowns during the pandemic, put in place to free up hospital staff and beds for COVID-19 patients, increased wait times in Ontario for a wide range of scheduled surgeries. Hospitals have been trying to catch up but staff shortages, particularly among nurses, have slowed efforts.

Recent figures from the Canadian Institute for Health Information show that about 424,000 fewer surgeries were performed in Ontario during the first two and half years of the pandemic. The data also shows that only 68 per cent of patients received their knee replacement within the recommended clinical window, compared with 80 per cent in 2019.

According to Ontarios Ministry of Health, there were an estimated 206,000 people waiting for surgery in January.

While hospitals typically tackle their own backlogs and wait lists, Taggar said TRACs goal is to ensure greater access for patients from across the region, not just for those at Sunnybrook.

We could have offered the additional operating-room time just to our Sunnybrook surgeons, she said. But thats not the intention of what we want to demonstrate with this work. We want to demonstrate that this approach, where were working collectively  is better for a larger group of patients.

Patients eligible for hip and knee replacements can be referred to TRAC through their family doctor or nurse practitioner. The collaboration uses a centralized intake model, meaning patients are assigned to the surgeon at Sunnybrook or Michael Garron with the shortest wait time, allowing them to get their surgery sooner.

Dr. Avery Nathens, a trauma surgeon and Sunnybrooks surgeon-in-chief, likens a centralized intake model for surgeries to people standing in a single line at a bank, with customers going to the next available teller, rather than customers lining up behind individual bank tellers.

If you choose the wrong teller its going to be a longer wait, Nathens said, noting some surgeons have much longer wait lists than others. If everyones in their own individual line, its going to be a longer wait than being in a single, shared line with access to multiple individuals who can serve your needs.

Patients will still be able to choose a specific surgeon but those who dont have a preference will be assigned to the surgeon with the shortest wait time, Nathens said.

Launched April 1, TRAC performed 15 surgeries its first weekend. During its first six months, the collaborative aims to complete 16 surgeries each weekend. In its second phase, starting in September, TRAC plans to do 32 hip and knee replacements on weekends. By April of 2024, TRAC aims to have operated on about 1,300 patients.

Dr. Paul Wong, chief of orthopedics at Michael Garron Hospital, completed seven joint surgeries during the first weekend. He said the mood in the Sunnybrook OR was upbeat the first day because staff felt positive about offering something new to patients, many of whom have faced long, painful waits for surgery.

Staff involved in TRAC, including the surgeons, nurses, surgical assistants and anesthesiologists, are on rotation, spreading out the weekend shifts among a large team. Wong said this was a key consideration to prevent burnout.

Hospital leaders say TRAC, which plans to monitor its progress and ensure equitable access for patients, is a model for other surgical specialties that also have long wait times.

Ultimately, the vision for this model is for it to be here to stay beyond addressing the backlog that we have right now as a result of COVID, said Taggar. This (model) improves access to care for a region of patients versus improving access just for a group of patients that we serve at our hospital  Thats the kind of model that should be here to say.

In a statement to the Star, a spokesperson for Ontario Health said TRAC is one of the many different surgical models of care in action across the province. The agency also said it is in support of efforts that encourage regional collaboration, expanded access to care, and co-ordination of services.

Megan Ogilvie is a Toronto-based health reporter for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @megan_ogilvie or reach her via email: mogilvie@thestar.ca

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When Kaylin Gillis and her friends took a wrong turn into an upstate New York driveway last weekend, they couldnt have known the property was owned by a man who, according to a neighbor, had grown increasingly bitter over the years at people driving onto his land by mistake.

This time, the error proved fatal. The Hebron landowner, Kevin Monahan, opened fire Saturday night, killing 20-year-old Gillis as she and her friends drove away after turning around in the long dirt driveway, Washington County Sheriff Jeffrey Murphy said.

Monahan, 65, was arrested on a second-degree murder charge and remains detained pending a bond hearing.

One of his neighbors, Adam Matthews, who runs an auto repair shop in nearby Salem, said Monahan had become more and more upset in recent years at people making wrong turns into his driveway.

Im just a bit overwhelmed, Matthews said in a phone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday after speaking to other news outlets. It is a tragic event.

Murphy said Gillis and her friends got lost while going to another friends nearby house. They were driving two cars and a motorcycle when they turned into Monahans driveway. As they realized the mistake and turned around, Monahan fired two gunshots at them as they drove away, Murphy said.

One of the bullets struck the rear of the car Gillis was in and hit her, causing a fatal injury, Murphy said.

Gillis father, Andrew Gillis, said in a Facebook post Tuesday that his family is devastated.

Kaylin was a kind, beautiful soul and a ray of light to anyone who was lucky enough to know her, the post said. She was just beginning to find her way in the world with kindness, humor, and love. ... She was taken from us far too soon.

Andrew Gillis wrote that his daughter was an honors student and talented artist who was looking forward to attending college in Florida with dreams of becoming a marine biologist.

Our family will never be the same but we will be guided by Kaylins positivity, optimism, and joy as we learn to live with her loss, he wrote.

Monahans lawyer, meanwhile, spoke publicly for the first time Tuesday, calling the sheriffs version of the events a superficial, simplistic account of what actually happened.

The attorney, Kurt Mausert, declined to discuss details of the shooting, citing the pending criminal case.

I believe we have series of mistakes that led to a tragedy, he said in a phone interview. But I dont believe my client is a villain. But not every case with a tragedy has a villain, and I think this is one of them.

The sheriff described Monahan as uncooperative, saying he initially refused to come out of the house before peacefully surrendering after about an hour.

Mausert disputed there was any standoff, saying he was on the phone with his client as law enforcement officers were at Monahans door. He said Monahan was talking to police outside his door and officials would not say why they were there and did not have an arrest warrant. The lawyer said Monahan was exercising his right to remain silent when he declined to talk to police about what happened.

When police officials told the lawyer over the phone that someone had died, Mausert said he helped arrange the peaceful surrender.

They told me there was a fatality, then it started to make sense to me, he said. At that point, its dangerous for everybody. My goal at that point was to facilitate my client turning himself in to the police safely.

As Gillis family mourned Tuesday, officials at the school system she attended held a news conference to express their sadness about her death. Gillis graduated in 2021 from Schuylerville High School, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) from Monahans home in Hebron. Her two younger sisters are in grades seven and nine in Schuylerville.

We have very very close-knit community, said Katie Elsworth, the middle school principal. And we say to them upon graduation that we will always be your school family. We will always be here to support you and take care of you and love you. And when something happens to one of students who graduated, it hurts our hearts just as much as when theyre here.

Schuylerville High School Principal James Ducharme said Gillis had an infectious smile.

Her smile would light up a room, he said. Her personality would light up any classroom that she walked into or any club activity that she participated in.

School officials said Gillis was on the competition cheerleading team in high school for two seasons, took part in Future Farmers of America programs and was an avid artist.

A celebration of Gillis life was scheduled for Friday in Schuylerville.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP)  The politically liberal enclave of Berkeley, California became the first U.S. city to adopt a ban on natural gas in new homes and buildings in 2019, which started a climate change-driven effort in dozens of other cities and counties thats morphed into a heated debate about the future of gas stoves.

On Monday, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco sided with the California Restaurant Association to halt the citys effort, saying it violates federal law that gives the U.S. government the authority to set energy-efficiency standards for appliances.

The ruling has drawn criticism from Berkeley officials and environmentalists, although its unclear what kind of impact the decision will have on climate advocates fight to go electric, given its narrow scope and the possibility of an appeal to a broader panel of judges. Berkeley banned the installation of natural gas piping in new construction, which the judges said turned the energy use of an appliance to a quantity of zero.

Berkeley City Councilmember Kate Harrison, who authored the 2019 ordinance, said she doesnt know how the city council will respond, but noted that a ban on natural gas or effort to curtail the use of natural gas has spread to 70 communities in California, and even to Seattle and New York City.

This is a movement that cant be stopped, she said. Theyve conflated a 1970s regulation about the efficiency of appliances with what kind of materials can come into our house. We did not change appliances, we changed the source of fuel that can come into new buildings.

Gas stoves are in the spotlight in Americas culture wars, as more Democrat-controlled cities move to limit their use, citing indoor pollution concerns and climate policies that aim to phase out fossil fuels in favor of carbon-free electricity.

In January, comments from the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission that any option is on the table to regulate gas stoves sparked outrage from conservatives who said it amounted to government intrusion in peoples homes. The White House has said that President Joe Biden doesnt support a ban on gas stoves.

The ruling in Berkeley Monday does not affect the majority of cities and counties that have already banned or curtailed natural gas through building codes that meet certain federal requirements and are allowed by the decision, environmental groups said. Other municipal policies to regulate gas distribution and air emissions are not impacted either.

About two dozen cities may be at risk because they are constructed similar to Berkeley, according to the Building Decarbonization Coalition, a nonprofit aimed at eliminating fossil fuels. They include San Francisco, Los Angeles and Oakland.

But not all agreed the ruling negated their citys ordinance.

San Franciscos ordinance differs from Berkeleys and remains in effect, said Jen Kwart, spokesperson for the office of City Attorney David Chiu.

Judge Patrick Bumatay wrote in the 3-0 Ninth Circuit ruling that a local ordinance that bans appliances such as gas stoves impacts the quantity of energy they consume, which is under federal regulation. The ruling overturned the decision of a judge in a lower court in 2021, dismissing the case because city officials were not trying to regulate energy efficiency for appliances but only the fuel they used.

One likely next step is to seek a rehearing with a larger panel of 11 judges on the appellate court that might lean more liberal, said Josh Blackman, a professor at South Texas College of Law Houston.

The three judges in Mondays 3-0 ruling were selected at random, and include Bumatay and Judge M. Miller Baker, who is visiting from the U.S. Court of International Trade. Both are appointees of former President Donald Trump, and the third, Judge Diarmuid OScannlain, was appointed by former President Ronald Reagan.

The panel was a very strange trifecta, thats just a matter of statistics, Blackman said.

The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals includes California, Washington state and seven other states in the western region, and helps set legal precedent on some of the countrys biggest issues, including gun control and labor. Trump made gains in adding more conservative judges to the historically liberal court, although it still has more judges appointed by Democratic presidents.

Last year, the California Air Resources Board voted to ban sales of new gas furnaces and water heaters in 2030. Last month, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District adopted rules to phase out and eventually ban the sale of gas water heaters and furnaces.

Kristine Roselius, a spokesperson for the air quality management district, said attorneys are reviewing the ruling but it has regulated air pollution for decades and that its rule is different from that of Berkeley.

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Market.Us

The market is witnessing significant growth due to the rising incidence of lifestyle disorders, particularly diabetes and hypertension. As a result, the demand for medical devices that facilitate the continuous monitoring of physiological parameters like blood sugar and glucose levels has increased, driving the market's expansion.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --

The global eHealth market in terms of revenue was estimated to be worth USD 97.4 Bn in 2022 and is poised to reach USD 393.6 Bn by 2032, growing at a CAGR of 15.4% from 2022 to 2032. eHealth is an administration of a healthcare organization with (ICT) information & communication technology. ICT includes telemedicine, electronic health records (EHR), and smartphone applications. It is possible to store the data electronically relating to the patients, hospital staff, as well as hospital finances with telemedicine assistance.

Global eHealth Market

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Key Takeaway:

By type , the mHealth segment dominated the global eHealth market and is expected to expand more over the forecast period from 2023 to 2032.

By service , in 2022, the monitoring services segment accounted for the largest revenue share of the global market.

By end users , the healthcare provider segment held the largest market share globally.

In 2022 , North America dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 39.0%.

Asia-Pacific will likely grow at a noteworthy CAGR from 2023-2032.

Telemedicine also aids to improve patient care. This resulted in a change in methods used for storing medical care information. In both low and high-income countries, eHealth offers cost-effective healthcare delivery. As a result, WHO is promoting eHealth solutions and services, thereby supporting market growth.

Factors Affecting the growth of the Global eHealth Market

There are several factors that can affect the growth of the eHealth market. Some of these factors include:

Rising preference for eHealth solutions & services: There is a preferential shift of healthcare providers towards eHealth solutions due to the evidence of efficiency of using this technology, thereby driving the market growth positively.

Reduced errors : The integration of healthcare data with the portable devices that can be forwarded to the physician giving access to the real-time and reduces the errors, thereby increasing the demand for eHealth.

Rising prevalence of chronic diseases : The market expansion is mainly influenced by the increasing number of lifestyle disorders like diabetes and hypertension due to the sedentary lifestyle of individuals, which in turn requires the constant monitoring of physiological parameters such as blood sugar and blood glucose levels.

Growing security concerns: Growing security concerns and increasing demand for secure infrastructure regarding the data privacy are expected to inhibit the market growth of these services over the forecast period.

Story continues

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Top Trends in Global eHealth Market

The high adoption of eHealth solutions and services such as EMC) electronic medical coverage, (EHRs) electronic health records, (EMRs) electronic medical records, (PACS) picture archiving and communication systems, and telemedicine by the healthcare providers is mainly influenced by the improvement in the management of the delivery of medical care services and public health systems. Additionally, the governments are initiating the campaigns to enhance the use of eHealth services & solutions. The application of ICT in "citizen empowerment through information dissemination" and "reaching services to citizens" considerably improve the public healthcare services.

Market Growth

The global market for eHealth is growing as a result of the prevalence of lifestyle-associated disorders such as diabetes and hypertension and the sedentary lifestyle of individuals. Additionally, over the forecast period, the impact of COVID-19 in recent years is expected to positively drive the market growth for eHealth solutions. Moreover, the increase in awareness among the individuals and growing acceptance among the healthcare professionals are expected to boost the market growth.

Regional Analysis

North America dominated the global eHealth market with the highest revenue share of 39% in 2022. This significant growth can be attributed to the higher availability of the supportive infrastructure and advance technologies, as well as the high-speed internet. The Asia Pacific is projected to grow at the significant CAGR over the forecast period due to the presence of a large population suffering from chronic diseases and also the high unmet medical needs of the individuals. Additionally, the increase in government support to improve the healthcare infrastructure is further expected to propel the market growth of this region.

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Scope of the Report

Report Attributes Details Market Value (2022) US$ 97.4 Billion Market Size in 2032 US$ 393.6 Billion CAGR (2023 to 2032) 15.4% North America Revenue Share 39.0% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

In the recent years, there had been a several advancements in sector of healthcare IT, that had transformed the various eHealth services and solutions into the profitable and successful alternatives to the manual procedures for managing the complicated tasks. The changes in regulatory requirements in the healthcare industry are resulting in a standard shift in EHealth market. As the eHealth tools are significant way to attain the required quality of goals while reducing the costs, their demand is predicted to rise among the various stakeholders in upcoming years. Additionally, the healthcare IT systems offer the numerous benefits as well as capabilities for handling compliance risks and fulfilling the stringent regulatory requirements.

Market Restraints

The majority of healthcare providers (especially in the developing countries) are hesitant regarding the use of eHealth solutions, because of the limited IT knowledge. Several medical professionals are less skilled of the technology that is required to operate the advanced healthcare IT solutions as well as consider creating, using, as well as maintaining the electronic systems a time-consuming task. eHealth solutions & services helps in the active management of clinical and non-clinical tasks in the healthcare organizations. Still, their efficient usage is mostly dependent on willingness of the end users, such as the healthcare professionals, to move from outdated paper-based patient records towards the electronic solutions. As a result, it causes reluctance among the healthcare professionals in adoption new and innovative healthcare IT solutions.

Market Opportunities

The preferential shift towards an outpatient care model is anticipated to increase the adoption of eHealth solutions, as they offer a suitable way of delivering specialized outpatient services. These solutions help the physicians to address the patient needs (for access) and allow for remote monitoring of the patient health. Additionally, these solutions provide the ease of access to integration and appointments among the healthcare providers for a holistic response to the healthcare delivery. Owing to these benefits associated with eHealth solutions, several federal bodies are actively contributing to the deployment of eHealth solutions in outpatient care settings. Moreover, in response to increasing pressure on the healthcare systems to lower the cost of care, a number of healthcare organizations are being focused on the introduction of specialized outpatient services. Furthermore, due to the benefits of web-based management for the constant care, a majority of individuals are now shifting towards the outpatient care needs.

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Report Segmentation of the Global eHealth Market

Type Insight

The mHealth segment is anticipated to dominated the global eHealth market over the forecast period with a significant CAGR. This substantial growth in can be highly attributed to the preferential shifting of consumer preferences on account of an increasing demand for data services coupled with the rapidly increasing penetration of the smartphones. Moreover, the 3G and 4G enabled the services such as video calling and high-speed data transfer to support the fastest healthcare delivery.

Service Insight

In 2022, the monitoring services segment held the largest market share of 62.0% in the global market. The market growth is likely to fuel due to the rising demand for the self-monitoring devices which automatically monitors the different physical activities, vital signs and creates a database. The diagnostic services segment is anticipated to witness a significant growth rate during the forecast period with a noteworthy CAGR as it aids in offering the connectivity to patients promptly, thereby supporting the diagnosis of various healthcare issues.

End User Insight

The healthcare providers segment held the highest revenue share of 53% of the global eHealth market in 2022. Owing to the greater accessibility to healthcare professionals in terms of patient workflow and data management, the segment is likely to expand more during the forecast period. Additionally, the growth is also propelled due to the faster settlement of claims.

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Market Segmentation

By Type

Electronic Health Record (EHR)

mHealth

Health Information Systems (HIS)

Telemedicine

ePrescribing

Other Types

By Service

Monitoring Services

Healthcare Strengthening Services

Diagnostic Services

Other Services

By End User

Healthcare Providers

Healthcare Payers

Healthcare Consumers

Other End-Users

By Geography

North America The US Canada Mexico

Western Europe Germany France The UK Spain Italy Portugal Ireland Austria Switzerland Benelux Nordic Rest of Western Europe

Eastern Europe Russia Poland The Czech Republic Greece Rest of Eastern Europe

APAC China Japan South Korea India Australia & New Zealand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Colombia Chile Argentina Costa Rica Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa Algeria Egypt Israel Kuwait Nigeria Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey United Arab Emirates Rest of MEA



Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape of the market has also been examined in this report. Some of the major players includes

Boston Scientific Corporation

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc.

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

Athenahealth, Inc.

Cerner Corporation

CompuMed, Inc.

IBM healthcare

Medisafe Limited

SetPoint Medical Corporation

Telecare Corporation

Motion Computing, Inc.

Doximity, Inc.

Other Key Players

Recent Development of the Global eHealth Market

In September 2022 , the GE Healthcare collaborated with seven startups named xWave (UK), Alertive (UK), Clinithink (UK), Idoven (Spain), Nurea (France), Metalynx (UK), and KOSA AI (Netherlands) to drive and accelerate the digital healthcare transformation in the partnership with the innovation of organization named Wayra UK. This collaboration will likely aid GE Healthcare in increasing its reach to the audience and transforming the digital healthcare system.

In May 2021, MediTelecare introduced MediTely, a direct-to-consumer mobile technology that was specially designed for a group of aged individuals.

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THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. (AP)  The driver of a car that crashed into a group of Southern California high school students, killing one and injuring three, was arrested for investigation of murder and other crimes, including an earlier stabbing, authorities said Wednesday.

The students were struck while on a sidewalk Tuesday afternoon near Westlake High School in the city of Thousand Oaks, west of Los Angeles. The car overturned.

Eyewitnesses said that they actually saw the suspect make an intentional move to drive his vehicle up onto the sidewalk, said Deputy Wendell Campbell, public information officer for the Thousand Oaks Police Department.

Campbell said he did not know if investigators had determined a motive.

Austin Eis, 24, was booked into jail on suspicion of murder, attempted murder, attempted robbery, burglary, brandishing a firearm, resisting arrest, kidnapping, felony use of tear gas and assault with a deadly weapon, the Ventura County Sheriffs Office said in a statement.

Eis faces arraignment Thursday. It was not immediately known if he has an attorney.

The boy who was killed was identified as 15-year-old Wesley Welling of Thousand Oaks. His sister Hannah told KTLA-TV she saw it happen and called her mother and 911.

I pulled up to the scene and they were still doing CPR on him, his mother, Kelly Welling, told the station. Its literally the worst call, the worst nightmare that any parent can deal with.

Another 15-year-old boy and two girls, ages 16 and 14, were injured. One victim remained hospitalized, and two others were released, Campbell said.

The boys were initially identified as 16, and one of the girls was said to be 15. Campbell said that was due to differing sets of ages listed by first responders.

The crash followed the stabbing of a Walmart employee and an assault on another employee in adjacent Simi Valley, and a non-injury disturbance at the home of the suspects parents in nearby Camarillo, authorities said.

The circumstances of the store incident remained under investigation. There was no information on the condition of the stabbing victim, who was hospitalized.

Area law enforcement officers were looking for the car in which the stabbing suspect fled when they learned it was involved in the Thousand Oaks crash.

Eis was treated for injuries before being booked. A firearm was recovered from the vehicle, Campbell said.

Asked if the suspect was transient and living in the car, Campbell said that was not confirmed but it appeared likely.

During this time of unimaginable loss, our thoughts and prayers remain with these students, their families, friends, and the entire Warrior community, the Conejo Valley Unified School District said in a statement on Facebook.

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HONOLULU (AP)  Police in Hawaii have vowed to step up illegal gambling enforcement after one of the most serious shootings in state history called attention to the dangers that come with cockfighting, which has deep roots in the islands and remains popular despite being illegal.

The shooting early Saturday in a rural community more than 30 miles (48 kilometers) from downtown Honolulu killed a man and woman and wounded three others. The Honolulu medical examiners office on Wednesday identified the man as Gary Rabellizsa, 34, and the woman as Cathy Rabellizsa, 59.

Two suspects, including a 16-year-old boy, turned themselves in Tuesday, Honolulu police said.

Jacob Borge, 23, was charged Wednesday with first- and second-degree murder, three counts of attempted murder and firearms charges, police said. Bail was set at $2 million. Petitions were filed against the juvenile for the same charges, police said.

State Public Defender James Tabe, whose office represented Borge in a previous disorderly conduct fight threat case, declined to comment Wednesday.

Authorities say investigating cockfights is difficult in part because they are highly organized events on private property and their illegal nature and the large amount of money wagered means they often have links to organized crime. The clandestine fights happen all over Hawaii, usually on large, remote properties shrouded by brush and accessible only by dirt roads, like in Waianae, where the weekend shooting took place.

Neighbors are also reluctant to get involved for fear of retaliation, Honolulu Police Chief Joe Logan said in a statement.

Despite being illegal in Hawaii since 1884, the fights between roosters with blades affixed to their legs have remained a part of life in the islands, especially among the states large population of Filipinos, who are credited with bringing the practice from the Philippines, where it was introduced by Spaniards. Many cockfighting fans claim the blood sport is part of local Hawaii culture.

People that are attendees are local, locally based, and have been doing it for generations, said former Maui police chief Gary Yabuta, now executive director of the Hawaii High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area. A saying among chicken fighters is, Its in my blood.

But Saturdays shooting, which police say started with an argument at the end of a cockfight, has some saying enough is enough, and cultural claims should no longer be used to excuse the illegal fights that happen every weekend.

People say, I grew up with it. Its a cultural thing. Papa had chickens ... we went to chicken fights, thats how we made our money, said Patty Kahanamoku-Teruya, chair of the neighborhood board in the area of the shooting. Its not a cultural right. Its illegal. Period.

Yabuta said his program, which helps local and federal law enforcement collaborate in the fight against illegal drugs, is concerned about cockfighting because its wrapped up in organized crime and has links to drug-trafficking. He notes that the fights often attract hundreds of people placing bets totaling more than $100,000.

Its something that is so huge and so popular in Hawaii that it really cant be controlled by law enforcement, he said.

The popularity of cockfighting extends far beyond Hawaii and is truly a global industry, said Wayne Pacelle, president of Animal Wellness Action.

It was started by the Romans and the Greeks 3,000 years ago. And it spread all over the world with colonialism, he said.

The sport has flourished in many areas of Hawaii, including urban parts of the islands, such as Kalihi, where many fighting birds are raised, said state Rep. Sonny Ganaden.

Crowing roosters are part of the sights and sounds of Kalihi, he said of the neighborhood thats home to many Filipinos and Pacific Islanders.

Kids will grab a chicken and get them to fight each other, he said.

Cockfighting has been illegal in all 50 states, but hadn't been illegal in U.S. territories until 2019, when a law signed by former President Donald Trump banning all animal fighting went into effect.

The argument that cockfighting is a cultural practice has been used in lawsuits challenging the ban, but with little success. The U.S. Supreme Court turned away a challenge to the federal law brought by individuals and organizations that argued Congress exceeded its power in applying the ban to Puerto Rico.

Some in Hawaii worry that violence linked to cockfighting will grow more volatile in a state that previously had largely escaped the scourge of gun violence seen elsewhere in the U.S.

Saturdays shooting was among the worst since 1999, when seven workers were shot and killed at a Xerox Corp. warehouse. Other shootings that grabbed headlines were a man who killed a taxi driver and a couple taking photos at a Honolulu scenic lookout in 2006 and a highway shooting spree that left one woman dead and two others injured in 2011.

Chris Marvin, a Hawaii resident with Everytown for Gun Safety, said these types of shootings will increase with the proliferation of guns in the islands.

Data from the Hawaii attorney generals office says the number of number of firearms registered annually in Hawaii climbed 319% from 2000 through 2021.

We are going to start to replicate the trends that weve seen in the mainland, Marvin said. And in the rest of the country, there is more than one mass shooting per day. We dont hear about all of them.

___

Associated Press reporter Audrey McAvoy contributed to this report.

___

This story has been updated to correct that the Xerox warehouse shootings happened in 1999, not 1997.

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EDMONTON - Alberta Premier Danielle Smith is reversing part of her governments new media question restriction policy but says she will continue to limit queries in order to provide more answers.

Smiths office, in a statement Tuesday, said while individual reporters are still limited to one questionwith no followups at news conferences, that rule will not apply to individual news outlets.

Smith and her chief adviser Rob Anderson announced over the weekend the one-question rule would apply to outlets.

That sparked confusion over which outlets would be affected, given many reporters covering the premier work for the same corporate employer but in different capacities, including different cities, different bureaus and different subject areas.

Smiths office did not explain the reason for the reversal.

To be clear, individual journalists, not outlets, are welcome to ask the premier one question so she is able to respond to as many journalists as possible in the allotted time, the office said in a statement.

The statement also reiterated the premiers answers dont end when a news conference is over.

As always, if a journalist requires a clarification or additional information, they are more than welcome to contact our office, it said.

Last Friday, The Canadian Press contacted Smiths office by email seeking clarification and additional information on the question restriction policy. Smiths office did not respond.

On Monday, The Canadian Press again contacted Smiths office by email seeking clarification and additional information on the policy. Smiths office did not respond.

The Tuesday statement was in response to a letter sent Monday by the Alberta Legislature Press Gallery Association, which represents reporters based in the legislature building, demanding the question restriction policy be abandoned.

The gallery does not accept the explanation offered thus far that giving reporters only one question will allow for more questions to be asked throughout press conferences, stated the letter.

Many other options are open  shorter preambles, shorter answers, longer news conferences, more news conferences  rather than a solution that allows Albertas leader to avoid accountability.

The gallery also said Smith announced the policy last Friday before immediately implementing it at a news conference in Calgary, with no discussion or advance notice.

Smith then took six questions before ending the news conference, with reporters still in line and online waiting to ask questions.

The rule is to be in place through the election campaign and applies only to questions put to Smith, not those in her cabinet or caucus.

The writ is expected to drop on May 1 for polling day on May 29.

Opposition NDP leader Rachel Notley said the best way for the United Conservative Party premier to provide more answers is to take more questions, including followups. Notley said Smith is seeking to stop reporters from challenging her answers.

This is part of a long-standing effort and a growing effort on the part of this premier to shield herself from accountability and transparency, Notley told reporters in Calgary on Monday.

And (for her) to do that in the few weeks leading up to the election, one can only imagine how much worse it would get after the election.

Three of Smiths cabinet ministers, speaking at news conferences Monday, said Smith is being accountable and must adapt and be fair given elections are hectic periods with many more questions for the leaders.

We would always make provisions for more questions, said deputy premier Kaycee Madu at a news conference Monday in Edmonton.

For example, I had been at an event recently where we have more ethnic media wanting to participate. I think its important that we create the opportunity for a wide range of media.

Notley said Smiths handlers are also trying to shield her from verbal gaffes that might inflame existing controversies.

The NDP pointed to a phone conversation Smith had with COVID-19 protester Artur Pawlowski in which they discuss specifics of his upcoming criminal trial while Smith offers to make inquiries about it on Pawlowskis behalf.

That conversation, leaked to reporters by the NDP last month, is now the subject of an investigation by the provincial ethics commissioner.

Smith has said she will accept no questions on that topic to protect the integrity of the ethics probe.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2023.

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A lawyer for two Canadian women and three teen girls who were to be repatriated from northeastern Syria earlier this month says they were mistreated by guards and are being detained in a camp primarily holding family members of individuals with alleged links to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Edmonton lawyer Zachary Al-Khatib said one of the women was able to make a brief phone call to a family member in Canada early Tuesday before the call was cut off. He said the woman indicated they were alive and had been moved to the Roj camp but had been mistreated, needed medical attention and had all their possessions taken.

It was very concerning for the family obviously to hear this after 11 days of nothing, he said.

Under an agreement with Global Affairs Canada, the group of five was to be transported from the Al-Hol camp, where they had been detained, to the Roj camp to join four other women and 10 children.The others returned to Canada on April 6.

Al-Khatib said while those still in Syria were concerned about their safety with the transfer between camps, the Canadian government told them they had communicated with Kurdish forces running the Al-Hol camp.

They were given assurances that they would be safe, he said. Then when they presented themselves to be transported, they went missing for 11 days and the government had no answers.

Al-Khatib said Canada needs to take immediate steps to ensure the women and girls are safe and repatriated.

The government has been silent on this, he said.

The government has to provide answers to the family and to the public.

Al-Khatib said he does not know why the women still at the Roj camp, ages 41 and 33, originally travelled to Syria, but he has not been shown any evidence of criminal intent or that they broke the law.

Global Affairs Canada said in a statement it has credible information that the women are in the Roj camp but declined to comment further citing privacy and operational security.

Canada has taken extraordinary steps to repatriate Canadian women and children identified in the Bring Our Loved Ones Home litigation. As long as conditions allow, we will continue this work, the statement reads.

Letta Tayler, associate director in the crisis and conflict division of Human Rights Watch, agreed it is critical that the Canadian government find out what happened and explain it to the family and public.

This incident involving the five who were left behind is emblematic of the problems inherent in this unlawful detention system, this process of Canada and other countries outsourcing responsibility to their nationals to a non-state actor in a war zone, she said. Things are not necessarily going to go smoothly in these circumstances.

Tayler said many other women have alleged that they were detained within Al-Hol or at other sites, and in some cases were abused while being transferred from Al-Hol to the Roj camp. She said some women have claimed they were taken to a holding cell they called the Red Prison, which she said sounds like a detention area in Al-Hol.

Some of the testimonies Ive heard are that women and children are held in rooms that are basically latrines, she said. These are horrific conditions.

Human Rights Watch said in December that since ISISs territorial defeat in 2019, more than 42,400 foreigners accused of links to ISIS have been held in camps and prisons in northeastern Syria, most of them children, who havent been brought before a judicial authority to determine the need or legality of their detention. In 2020, it said that included at least 47 Canadians.

The international non-governmental organization said medical care, clean water, shelter and education in the camps are grossly inadequate and called on countries with detainees to repatriate their citizens.

Ottawa-based lawyer Lawrence Greenspon reached the agreement in January to repatriate 19 Canadian women and children who had been part of a lawsuit against the federal government known as BOLOH, or Bring Our Loved Ones Home. The federal government is appealing a court order to repatriate four men being detained in Syria.

Three of the four women who returned to Canada this month were arrested upon arrival under a Terrorism Peace Bond Application and have since been released on bail.

Two other women who were repatriated from Syria with two children in October were also arrested upon arrival, one of whom is facing criminal charges.

We have both the laws and the personnel and theres a whole department, the Department of Justice, thats set up to deal with these kinds of prosecutions, Greenspon said. Theres absolutely no reason not to bring these Canadians home and deal with them appropriately under the Canadian criminal justice system as opposed to letting them rot in the prisons and detention camps.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 18, 2023.

___

This story was produced with the financial assistance of the Meta and Canadian Press News Fellowship.

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OTTAWA - A Manitoba senator who denies falsifying travel documents says several cabinet ministers were aware of her choice to send letters to Afghans to help them flee as the Taliban took over the country, and that no one told her to stop.

The Globe and Mail reports that 150 Afghans who received letters from Sen. Marilou McPhedran are now stranded in an Albanian hotel room, unable to come to Canada as refugees because the government deems their documents inauthentic.

McPhedran told the House of Commons immigration committee today that then-defence minister Harjit Sajjan and Maryam Monsef, women and gender equity minister at the time, knew she was planning to send documents to Afghan refugees to help them get out of the country in 2021.

She said she believes former foreign affairs minister Marc Garneau and Marco Mendicino, who was then immigration minister, also knew.

Its very clear that there are communications about getting out as many of these facilitation letters as possible, McPhedran told the committee Wednesday, adding that ministers were copied on emails to that effect.

She said the ministers never responded to her specifically about the letters, but they did email her back about the evacuation efforts in Afghanistan.

They never told her to stop what she was doing, she said.

The Immigration Department had issued several authentic letters directly to Afghan nationals who were eligible to come to Canada to help them clear checkpoints in Afghanistan, but didnt allow third parties to issue them on the governments behalf.

The situation was referred to the RCMP, which determined it cannot pursue a viable investigation.

McPhedran told the committee she was given a template for a visa facilitation letter by Sajjans then-chief of staff to help Afghans clear checkpoints to leave Afghanistan.

She said the template came from George Young in an email that said I have received this from a colleague at (Global Affairs Canada), try it.

The form letter suggested it was for Canadian citizens, so she asked for a revision and quickly received a new template with the words Canadian citizen removed.

I trusted then, as I do now, that the facilitation template which Mr. Young provided, I trust them to be authentic and they helped save many lives, she told the committee.

Sajjan and Mendicino did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and former ministers Garneau and Monsef could not immediately be reached.

In a statement, the Immigration Department says it cant give further details because of ongoing litigation.

After the meeting, NDP immigration critic Jenny Kwan said ministers needed to provide clarity to the committee.

The real question, for me, is ministerial accountability, Kwan said.

Minister Sajjan is expected to appear before the committee next week, and Garneau has also been invited to testify.

MPs from all parties expressed serious concern about the lack of fairness, lack of vetting, and lack of due process associated with the senators actions.

None of us would ever do this, regardless of political stripe because of the division of power, and because of the danger they can pose to soldiers, there areequity issues, said Conservative MP MichelleRempelGarner.

McPhedrans office sent the letters directly to Afghans and she also shared the template with trusted advocates, including the chief human rights officer with FIFA and a former Canadian Olympian.

She said she doesnt know for sure how many of the letters were issued, to the best of her knowledge it was about 640.

I wasnt keeping track of the numbers. It was, get as many people  as many women  as possible out, she said.

McPhedrantold the committee she provided a rolling list of names to the government who put them in the system.

She also told the committee she believed the letters were intended to get Afghans through checkpoints and out of the country, not to grant them access to Canada, though the letter itself states that the recipient has been granted a visa to enter Canada.

The senator countered that she wasnt responsible for the content of the letter, she received it from the government.

RempelGarner said a family member of one of her constituents received the letter and believed they had indeed been granted permission to come to Canada.

Senator, you put my (constituents) familys lives at risk, Rempel Garner told McPhedran. They put their lives in danger. They werent able to apply for regular programs.

McPhedran said she rejected the allegation.

The committee was abruptly adjourned one hour early with the support of Liberal and Bloc Quebecois members. Several MPs said it was because they needed to go vote in the house while Liberal MP Arielle Kayabaga said she felt they had exhausted their questions, which were becoming repetitive.

McPhedran said she stands by the choices that she made.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 19, 2023.

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Taking aim at conflict of interest concerns after developers attended the stag-and-doe party and wedding of one of Premier Doug Fords daughters, NDP Leader Marit Stiles is proposing more teeth for a law governing MPPs behaviour.

As leaders, we have an obligation to avoid not only a conflict of interest, but also the appearance of a conflict of interest, Stiles said Tuesday.

Her private members bill to strengthen the Members Integrity Act would ensure MPPs not accept a fee, gift or personal benefit that might reasonably be seen to have been given in connection, directly or indirectly, with the performance of the members duties of office.

Stiles said the words might reasonably be seen to cover a wider range of scenarios than existing language in the law.

The Star has previously reported guests at the $150-a-ticket party at Fords house and subsequent nuptials last year, just months before protected lands were removed from the Greenbelt, included prominent real estate developers, provincial appointees and a lobbyist.

The premier has repeatedly pushed back against criticism, stating guests were personal friends invited to Ford family celebrations and told reporters my family is separate from the political process. They arent involved.

But Stiles maintained something here just doesnt smell right.

The Liberals and Green Leader Mike Schreiner said they would support the NDP bill, which could face tough odds. The government holds a commanding majority in the legislature and could easily scuttle it at the next vote on May 10.

If your contacts in government are being used to benefit a family member, that should be against the act, said interim Liberal leader John Fraser.

Its about maintaining a level of trust and integrity in the decisions that are made by the Ontario government and this legislature, and thats why that act has to be strengthened.

Stiles acknowledged private members bills rarely pass but asked the Progressive Conservative government to support it.

If they dont, that says a lot, she said.

Ontario Integrity Commissioner J. David Wake has paused an investigation  requested by the NDP  into whether any rules were broken in relation to the stag-and-doe party and wedding to concentrate on another probe.

As the Members Integrity Act is now written, Wake said the gift rule applies only to the member who receives the gift. It does not apply to gifts received from third parties to an adult child of the member.

The other investigation by Wakes office is to determine if there were any conflicts of interest or sharing of confidential information by Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Steve Clark in regard to the governments decision last fall to swap land out of the Greenbelt for housing.

The government plans to allow development on 7,400 acres of the Greenbelt while adding another 9,400 acres to it, in order to help build housing for the provinces growing population. Clark has said no tips were given to developers.

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(Bloomberg) -- Ukraines allies should raise their annual defense spending to 2.5% of gross domestic product as Russias war in Ukraine has stoked fears of its future intentions, a top official in Estonia said.

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While Estonias government recently agreed a 3% floor, most of NATOs members have failed to meet a 2% threshold set in 2006. Under the Estonian proposal, a quarter of spending would also go to acquiring new military capabilities, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said ahead of a meeting with allied foreign ministers set to start in Brussels on Tuesday.

The spending target will be a major topic of debate at the NATO summit in Vilnius in July, laying bare differences in regional priorities between Eastern European countries bordering Russia and their allies further afield.

Understandably, countries have varying perceptions of the threat, Reinsalu, whos set to leave office in the coming weeks as a new ruling coalition comes to power, said in an interview in Tallinn. Presumably, it is a much more a philosophical problem for countries that are watching this from afar, or who are not frontline countries.

The three Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, have often voiced fears of potentially becoming next victims of Vladimir Putins military expansionism. The nations will seek anti-aircraft support, currently seen as a major vulnerability, from NATO at the Vilnius summit.

Estonia and neighboring Latvia have agreed to jointly acquire air-defense systems by 2025, and in the meantime will ask allies to provide support on a rotational basis.

Reinsalu called on NATO to scrap its 1997 cooperation agreement with Russia  a measure he said was also supported by Poland  and to outline plans for Ukraine to become a member of NATO after the war ends.

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The Vilnius summit should give a clear political signal with wording that is stronger than abstractly repeating NATOs open door policy, he said. He added that many political leaders are hesitant about Ukraines membership because it would undermine Putins demands of a neutral Kyiv in any potential peace talks with Moscow.

Reinsalu, who has made nine trips to Ukraine over the past year, said Kyiv is facing pressure from some Western capitals to launch an expected major counteroffensive.

If time runs out, some allies will want to seek a political compromise that could entail territorial demands and Ukraines neutrality, he said. That has no support among Ukrainains, he added.

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NEW YORK (AP)  The one-day volunteering event  where employees give back to their communities by packing boxes of food or cleaning up a park or fundraising  is so ingrained in corporations that its long been lampooned by pop culture.

However, as the national decline of volunteerism deepens, both corporations and nonprofits are looking for something more useful.

A leader calling up the nonprofit saying, Hey, I have 20 people that can be over there in an hour. What do you want them to do? Thats not helpful, said Kari Niedfeldt-Thomas, managing director of corporate insights and engagement at Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, which advises companies on sustainability and corporate responsibility issues.

What you want is for those volunteers to be part of an ongoing engagement, so those volunteers become embedded in the community, she said. They understand better what those participants needs are and they truly are then approaching their volunteerism work not as Im helping you, but with a lens of Were in a partnership about making our community a better place. That levels the playing field. It doesnt make it charity. It makes it a relationship.

Its the kind of relationship that more and more corporations are trying to cultivate with their philanthropy.

Tech giant Salesforce is a high-profile example of that connection, with its wide range of volunteer programs and funding initiatives that focus on education and workforce development, as well as climate and community resilience.

Ron C. Smith, Salesforces vice president of philanthropy, said giving back has always been in the companys DNA, along with innovation.

You have to be willing to hear what the community you live in  or the community you want to support  is asking for, Smith said. We start with the question What can we do? or How can we help? Then, we align to their strategic plans.

The company is part of the Pledge 1% movement, where corporations promise to donate 1% of their equity, time, products and profit. Salesforce often supports nonprofits through several of those donation types, often stacking them as its relationship with the group grows.

Salesforces partnership with The Marcy Lab School, for example, began when some of its employees started volunteering at the New York nonprofit that trains high school graduates to become software engineers in one year at no cost to the students. Then, Salesforce started providing the school access to some of its software and is now looking at hiring some of the schools graduates.

Last year, The Marcy Lab School became one of the first grantees of Salesforces Catalyst Fund, which provided $100,000 to emerging nonprofits that were led by a person of color and had operating budgets under $2 million annually.

Reuben Ogbonna, co-founder of The Marcy Lab School, said the Catalyst Fund allowed the nonprofit to nearly double its student body from 30 to 50. Students accepted at the school pay no tuition and receive a free laptop for their studies. Most graduates land jobs at top tech companies as software programmers, with starting salaries over $100,000.

What was most interesting about it was that they were making bets on organizations that typically dont get on the radar of a big funder like Salesforce, Ogbonna said. And what I appreciated about Salesforce is that there was this acknowledgment that our organization already had the seeds of competitiveness and impact.

Ogbonna said Salesforce hasnt exhibited the signs of doubt that other major funders have over whether an emerging nonprofit can handle a substantial donation properly. Instead, he says, Salesforce volunteers are helping make Marcy Lab Schools curriculum even stronger.

Marcy Lab Schools other co-founder Maya Bhattacharjee said that its impressive 16,000 square-foot campus in an 11th-floor loft space in Brooklyn, New Yorks Industry City neighborhood, with views of the Statue of Liberty across New York Harbor was beyond our wildest dreams.

But their training program is exactly how they envisioned it. I always dreamed of building a school that was just filled with a lot of love for students, Bhattacharjee said. Teachers are not thinking about students as numbers or test scores or things that needed to be fixed. To have educators around a table working to have programs work for every student is everything I dreamed of.

For Enmanuel de la Nuez Carvajal, getting accepted into Marcy Lab School was a dream come true as well. Like a lot of the recent high school graduates who apply to join Marcy Lab School, he felt like he was languishing at LaGuardia Community College. But not everyone was convinced.

Some of my friends were a little skeptical, said the native of the Dominican Republic. They said it sounds like its too good to be true. But I thought I dont see how this could go wrong.

After graduating from Marcy Lab School in 2020, de la Nuez Carvajal was hired by the project management software company Asana, where he is currently a software engineer.

Those are the kind of results that excite volunteers and keep them engaged to help their communities.

Naomi Morenzoni, Salesforces vice president of philanthropy strategy, said the company is an outlier in terms of volunteering, with about 87% of its workforce donating time each year. According to Chief Executives for Corporate Purpose, the average volunteer participation rate through company-sponsored initiatives was 17% in 2022.

Theres a sea change thats happened, Morenzoni said. We see that 50% of job seekers wont take a job if a company doesnt align with their values. All of that is driving value both for the company and for the community. The two are completely interconnected now.

Salesforce sees its philanthropy program  which provides employees seven days of paid leave to volunteer and a company match for donations up to a $5,000 total each year  as a tool for recruitment and retention.

Morenzoni said Salesforces internal surveys show that 91% of its volunteering employees feel more engaged in their regular jobs.

This is good for us, she said. This is good for our communities. Its not charity. Its good business.

Not everyone agrees. In February, Strive Asset Management President Anson Frericks wrote a letter to Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff urging him to stop using your business as a platform for social change and focus on serving your customers alone. Frericks claimed five groups of activist investors who have reportedly purchased stakes in Salesforce smell blood in the water.

However, after Salesforce reported better-than-expected financial results in March, several activist investors, including Elliott Investment Management, supported the companys recent business moves.

Though Salesforce declined comment on the investors complaints, officials said the companys commitment to volunteerism will continue.

I cant speak to what the investors are looking for," Smith said. "But I know were going to continue doing the good work that Salesforce has committed to. And were going to make sure that we bring our employees and partners and everyone else along with us  including our investors  so they can see the good work thats happening. ____

Associated Press coverage of philanthropy and nonprofits receives support through the APs collaboration with The Conversation US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely responsible for this content. For all of APs philanthropy coverage, visit https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
READING, Pa.  Berks County District Attorney John Adams says the community has seen the animal sedative Xylazine mixed in with heroin and fentanyl, and it's dangerous.

Gov. Josh Shapiro has directed his administration to recognize the sedative, also known as "tranq," as a controlled substance.

"It is a danger to the health of a user, and frankly, for many of those individuals who may be experimenting with drugs, it can result in death," Adams said.

Adams said most of the more than 100 overdoses that occurred in the county over a three-day span in September of 2021 were caused by heroin and fentanyl. He says Xylazine was also involved.

"It was  at one point when those mass overdoses were taking place  it was the unknown substance," Adams said.

He said the investigation led law enforcement to the source of that Xylazine in New York City.

Shapiro's administration said in 2021, the animal sedative contributed to 575 overdose deaths across 30 counties. According to the governor, it causes painful wounds and skin lesions that could lead to amputation.

"A lot of times when people take it, they don't even realize it's mixed in with the fentanyl that they're purchasing," Shapiro said.

The governor said his latest move would require manufacturers and distributors to verify practitioners, like veterinarians. They would also be required to make sure whoever receives it is authorized. Practitioners would have to store it in a secure location, limiting staff access to it.

Adams said the governor's move is in the right direction.

"This will assist law enforcement in trying to remove Xylazine from the streets," Adams said.
By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Forty-two German associations and trade unions representing more than 140,000 authors and performers on Wednesday urged the European Union to beef up draft artificial intelligence rules as they singled out the threat to their copyright from ChatGPT.

Trade unions for the creative sector Verdi and DGB and associations for photographers, designers, journalists and illustrators set out their concerns in a letter to the European Commission, European Council and EU lawmakers.

The letter underlined the growing worries about generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT which can mimic humans and create text and images based on prompts.

"The unauthorised usage of protected training material, its non-transparent processing, and the foreseeable substitution of the sources by the output of generative AI raise fundamental questions of accountability, liability and remuneration, which need to be addressed before irreversible harm occurs," the letter seen by Reuters said.

"Generative AI needs to be at the centre of any meaningful AI market regulation," it said.

The European Commission, which last year proposed AI rules, will in the coming months thrash out the final details with EU lawmakers and member states before the rules become legislation.

The rules should be beefed up to regulate generative AI across the entire product cycle, especially on providers of foundation models, the groups said.

They also call for providers of such technology to be liable for all content generated and disseminated by the AI, in particular for infringement of personal rights and copyrights, misinformation or discrimination.

The letter said providers of foundation models such as Microsoft, Alphabet's Google, Amazon and Meta Platforms should not be allowed to operate central platform services to distribute digital content.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Mark Potter)
Baptist preacher Dr. Charles F. Stanley, who was the senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta and hosted a Christian teaching program, died Tuesday, according to a message from In Touch Ministries CEO C. Phillip Bowen.

He was 90 years old. The cause of death was not announced.

Stanley was senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Atlanta for 50 years. He hosted the Christian teaching program In Touch with Dr. Charles Stanley." The show airs on WFMZ-TV Sundays at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m.

The show started airing on the Christian Broadcasting Network in 1978.

He served two one-year terms as president of the Southern Baptist Convention in 1985 and 1986.

Stanley wrote more than 40 books.

"His teaching helped us all draw closer to God and love each other as the church. Im humbled and proud to have been his friend," Bowen said in his message.

"I want you to know that In Touch Ministries is dedicated to preserving Dr. Stanleys powerful legacy. We will continue to broadcast his timeless messages as long as the Lord allows. Dr. Stanley was faithful, and we are committed to following his examplecarrying on the mission to preach the good news and to encourage the body of Christ."

Bowen said he would share further updates in the coming weeks.
EASTON, Pa.  The Board of School Directors of Easton Area School District approved a charter renewal agreement Tuesday night for Easton Arts Academy Elementary Charter School.

The school, located at 30 N. Fourth St., had been operating without a charter since its last one expired June 30, 2022. Tuesday night's renewal is good for five years, from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2027.

Board members Jodi Hess and Brian Snyder both voted against the renewal.

There was no debate surrounding the decision, though Hess offered a few comments before the vote was taken.

"I was on when we originally went through with the charter school, and at that point, I was disappointed because I feel our programs here really have a lot to offer," Hess said. "I know there's a place for charter schools and performing arts schools and those types of things."

According to the school website, the charter's mission is "to provide a rich, comprehensive educational program by combining traditional academics with an intensive art immersion program." The school's initial charter was established starting with the 2017-18 school year.

"I'm disappointed with the way that the charter school has handled themselves and the agreement that they were supposed to keep with the district," Hess said. "I'm hoping that with this agreement they will start to hold their end of the bargain and bring up to what they say their performance was going to be."

Board President Meg Sayago replied, "I would echo those exact statements."

Among the requirements outlined in the charter are the following:

The school's curriculum for all grade levels must be aligned, in both development and implementation, with the Pennsylvania Core Standards.





If the school seeks to materially change or revise its curriculum, it must request a charter amendment from the school district, and the school district shall not unreasonably withhold its approval.





The school shall generate monthly financial reports for its own board of trustees meetings, and forward copies of those reports to the school district superintendent, and/or designee within 30 days of the finalization of the report.





The school shall prepare an annual assessment plan, which shall be approved by the charter school board of trustees by the commencement of each school year, to utilize tests having appropriate benchmarks aligned to the Pennsylvania Standards to measure students' academic progress and achievement.

The charter school serves students in kindergarten through fifth grade.
COLLEGEVILLE, Pa.  The debate in the Perkiomen Valley School District about the appropriateness of curriculum and resource materials used in schools will continue for another month. That was the conclusion of the school board policy committee at a meeting Tuesday night in the Perkiomen Valley High School library.

Two policies were discussed. One, which changed policy language to indicate "curriculum materials" as opposed to "textbooks," moved quickly and will be revised to add back mentions of violence in addition to sexual content, as inappropriate. School administration will revise the policy for presentation at the next policy committee meeting.

The policy regarding resource materials proved to be more problematic. The concerns expressed continue to be related to "sexual content" and how to inform parents of such content, as well as what system to have in place to avoid children having access to the content. The system of restricting access affords parents the opportunity to opt out their child from accessing a particular book, the school administration noted.

The administration also says the policy strengthens the selection process when books are recommended for purchase by encouraging district staff to consult a variety of published reviews and to collaborate with district office administrators in making recommendations.

Committee members grappled over several issues with the policy. They considered whether the system should be based on parents opting in or out.

They also discussed what legal basis would support the policy from among the Miller Test, which is the primary legal test that determines whether expression constitutes obscenity; the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Pico case; or Pennsylvania state statutes.

Policy committee members also brought up considerations about whether the policies should be reevaluated or challenged, how they would handle implied sexual content and what is considered age appropriate.

After more than an hour's discussion, Superintendent Barbara Russell agreed to have administration work on revisions for presentation at the next policy committee meeting.

Security policies

In other news, the school district is considering adding school police officers to its safety and security team.

Russell outlined three policies that apply to school security. One pertains to the details of school security on a daily basis, including use of force guidelines.

The second goes into more specifics about what school police do and how they do it, while the third describes the type of school security personnel and includes school police officers.

The policy committee requested minor changes to each policy to be presented at next month's policy committee meeting.
JPMorgan Chase may be bucking the trend of regional bank closings.

America's biggest bank has opened a branch at The Hive, a City Center Investment Corp. building at 107 N. Seventh St. in Allentown, and a downtown Bethlehem office is under consideration.

Now, the New York City-based bank may be preparing to open in Bucks County. A federal bank regulator says JPMorgan is considering the southwest corner of West Trenton Avenue and Plaza Boulevard in Morrisville for a branch. That site is across from a CVS pharmacy.

A JPMorgan spokesman said information on the Morrisville site would not be available until later this year. Details have also not been made public on the potential Bethlehem site at the Farr Building, Broad and New streets. That corner location was most recently a Fidelity Bank office.

Banks have closed branches in the region and across the U.S. as mobile banking draws more customers.

What is now JPMorgan has many predecessors. It was founded in New York City in 1877 as Chase Bank, in honor of Salmon Chase, Abraham Lincoln's Secretary of the Treasury. The bank traces its roots even further back, to 1799.

Today's JPMorgan Chase was created in 2000 by the merger of Chase Manhattan Corp. and J.P. Morgan & Co.

JPMorgan Chief Executive Officer has a lot in common with John Pierpont Morgan, the Gilded Age financier. Morgan advised the federal government during financial panics, and when Silicon Valley Bank failed March 10, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen called Dimon.

JPMorgan is the biggest of America's "Big Four" banks, which include Bank of America, Citibank and Wells Fargo.

Shares in JPMorgan are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol JPM. The closing price Tuesday was $141.40. The bank's current market capitalization (share price times number of shares outstanding) is $413.2 billion.
Founded in 1887, Penn Museum sits in Philadelphia as the modern world builds up and around it. Inside the gates, there's a look at life that goes well beyond the late 1800s. The beginning goes back 10,000 years.

"The museum was created to house the finds from a city called Nippur, which was the first U.S. expedition in the Middle East," explained Steve Tinney, the museum's deputy director.

It was a year after the museum opened, in 1888, and the expedition was in Nippur, which is modern-day southern Iraq.

The museums' newly renovated Middle East galleries are filled with the discoveries, and the excavations are still going on today. Three rooms cover the history of the Middle East from about 8000 BCE almost to present day.

The galleries start with a look at an agricultural village. It features a wine jar, which is one of the oldest in the world. The objects tell the story of how people lived, how they died and how the small villages developed into the world's first cities.

One of the most important excavations was in the city of Ur in the 1920s and 30s, led by Sir Leonard Woolley. On the flashier side of archaeology, he uncovered a number of undisturbed royal tombs, including that of Queen Puabi. Her name was inscribed on a cylinder seal she wore. Her wealth is undeniable.

"One of the things that we hope people come away from these galleries with is an increased understanding of how much similarity there is in the way people live all over the world and throughout time," Tinney said.

Since royalty makes up only one percent of that world, there's a focus on the other 99 percent -- the domestic side of the digs. William Hafford, a post-doctorate research fellow, has been digging for 25 years and was able to dig on Ur, the same site Woolley first discovered.

"It's intense," Hafford said. "You're working constantly. A lot of it is drudgery, because you're digging very deep and you're digging very slowly, trying to look at everything that you find."

The thrill, he said, comes when you discover enough that you can begin to imagine how they lived.

"You can't really get into their minds because they are long dead, but what they've written down and what they've left behind can tell you a lot about who they were," Hafford continued.

And in turn, who we are and how we relate. There is a deep connection between the ancient world and the modern one. You just have to know where to look.
The initial line-up has been announced for this year's Greenwich + Docklands International Festival (GDIF), which takes place from 25 August to 10 September 2023.

The free outdoor festival includes theatre, art, dance and circus performed in public spaces across Greenwich and the city of London.

Highlights include the world premiere of The Architect, which will invite audiences to board a London bus and take a "life-affirming theatrical journey infused with the experiences of Black Londoners across the three decades since the murder of Stephen Lawrence in 1993".

Conceived by theatre-makers Matthew Xia, Roy Williams and Mojisola Adebayo and created with Black artists including Bola Agbaje, Dexter Flanders, Vanessa Macauley and XANA, the Actors Touring Company (ATC) and GDIF co-production is presented in support of the Stephen Lawrence Day Foundation.

Xia said: "Thirty years ago, the UK was rocked to its core by the unprovoked racist murder of south London teenager Stephen Lawrence. The ensuing decades became a fight for justice and revealed the extent of institutional racism across the nation. I have gathered a collective of the most brilliant Black theatre artists to respond to this commemorative moment, and as is often the way with such painful events and memories, we want to try to move through the trauma, and the profound loss towards something uplifting and hopeful."

Other events announced today include the London premiere of Ancient Futures, an "intergalactic Afrofuturist party" that blends circus, music and dance, which will be presented in Thamesmead.

Cygnus, a poetic light installation, will see illuminated, animatronic swans perform a "mesmerising water ballet" accompanied by an ethereal soundscape on the Royal Victoria Dock.

Performed on a trampoline installed on top of a shipping container, with audiences surrounding outside as well as inside the container itself, Bouncing Narratives offers "a playful wash of images, sounds, and movements".

And The Air Between Us by disabled artist Rodney Bell and dancer/choreographer Chloe Loftus will offer a "thrilling aerial performance" at Greenwich Park on 26 August as part of Greenwich Fair, a day of street arts, performance, games and circus.

Announcing the programme, GDIF artistic director Bradley Hemmings said: "This year's festival theme of 'Acts of Hope' invites us to come together through free outdoor arts and reflect on hope as a unifying language. Artists and participants have created stunning new productions which explore the possibilities of active, change-making hope."
AlUla, a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage in North-West Saudi Arabia, is hosting activities inspired by the rich stories and family customs shared across generations from April 21-24 to mark Eid Al-Fitr.



With AlUla Old Town, the oasis and AlManshiya hosting various events, each of the sites will be decorated to provide a welcoming setting for the festivities. A celebration of community spirit, this years Eid events will introduce visitors and tourists to the long-honoured traditions of AlUla that continue to thrive in the city to this day.



Through the participation of local elders in AlUlas oral history research, one of those traditions was the observation of the moon and the announcement of its sighting at mosques or via loudspeakers. Sometimes, they even climbed mountains to communicate the news. Across Saudi Arabia, it was an established fact that residents of AlUla were the best people to observe the crescent moon and therefore guided others on when Ramadan began and ended.



After sighting the mood, they would say: Tomorrow will be Eid. On hearing the news, people would mention God and repeat the words, Allah is the only God.



AlUla has a number of exciting activities planned to celebrate the festive moment:



Community Eid Al-Fitr Breakfast in Alula Old Town

On the first day of Eid, AlUlas Old Town will host an outdoor community breakfast, reflecting AlUlas history as a place of gathering. The ancient location will be host to a delectable collection of traditional dishes such as Sanboos, a fermented dough mixed with spices, dill, and butter, and filled with meat. There will also be sweet treats inspired by recipes of old including Maamoul and Ghraybeh, a shortbread type of delicacy often stuffed with dates.



The community breakfast will be served from 8:30 - 11:30am on 21 or 22 April. The event is free and open to all.



Sounds of the Cannon in Alula Old Town

An important custom in AlUla, the Ramadan cannons - known as Midfa Al Iftar - are a celebration of the citys unique cultural heritage and identity. The cannons are typically fired at sunset throughout the Holy Month of Ramadan to signal the end of the day's fasting, also announcing the beginning of Eid with the firing of four shots to signify the end of Ramadan and another shot fired on the morning of Eid once the sighting of the Shawal month crescent is confirmed.



Visitors and residents alike can witness this age-old tradition in Old Town, which will also be festooned with lights - including traditional oil lanterns, known as Al Traik, candles, and other artisanal light sources.



The event, which is free and open to all, will take place between 5:30pm - 9:30pm on 21 or 22 April, depending on when the start of Eid is announced.



Folklore Performances in Alula Old Town, The Oasis & Almanshiya

Reflecting age-old traditional Eid celebrations accompanied by music and dancing, AlUlas Eid in 2023 brings back old customs with folklore performances punctuated by the mesmerising beats of Al Zeir, a popular musical instrument made from hollowed-out palm tree trunks and covered with sturdy camel skin.



Al Ghuzzah - Special Treats for Children  Alula Old Town, The Oasis & Almanshiya

The special Eid tradition practices by the AlUla community is being brought back to life this year. In the past, older girls would look after the children of the community to help their parents who were busy preparing for Eid. As a reward, the girls would be given a basket of sweets called Al Ghuzzah. At the end of the day, the girls would gather and exchange their sweets with each another. Reviving this much-loved pastime, families and children of all ages will be able to indulge in special treats this Eid.



Games and Music at Incense Road and Oasis Square, Aljadidah

Walk down AlJadidahs streets, which will be brightly decorated with sparkling lights and lamps, and enjoy family-friendly board games, live music and food kiosks. Visitors to Oasis Square will also be able to take a special photo at the instant photo wall to remember the festivities by. There will also be a tote bag workshop where visitors will be able to personalise their bag with Eid and AlUla icons, patterns and Arabic calligraphy; and a workshop to create Eidyyah gifts. Adding to the festive atmosphere will be oud musicians Muteb Almalki and Mshari Alharbi, and the Relax Band.



Food Stalls - The Oasis

A variety of traditional dishes will be available from a choice of food stalls, all of which can be savoured in the comfort of a seating area where visitors can relax amid the beauty of the oasis.  TradeArabia News Service
Key Insights

Given the large stake in the stock by institutions, Barratt Developments' stock price might be vulnerable to their trading decisions

The top 19 shareholders own 50% of the company

Analyst forecasts along with ownership data serve to give a strong idea about prospects for a business

If you want to know who really controls Barratt Developments plc (LON:BDEV), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. The group holding the most number of shares in the company, around 87% to be precise, is institutions. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

And things are looking up for institutional investors after the company gained UK308m in market cap last week. One-year return to shareholders is currently 4.4% and last weeks gain was the icing on the cake.

Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholders can tell us about Barratt Developments.

See our latest analysis for Barratt Developments

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Barratt Developments?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Barratt Developments. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Barratt Developments' historic earnings and revenue below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story.

Institutional investors own over 50% of the company, so together than can probably strongly influence board decisions. We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Barratt Developments. BlackRock, Inc. is currently the company's largest shareholder with 10.0% of shares outstanding. FMR LLC is the second largest shareholder owning 6.6% of common stock, and The Vanguard Group, Inc. holds about 4.5% of the company stock.

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Looking at the shareholder registry, we can see that 50% of the ownership is controlled by the top 19 shareholders, meaning that no single shareholder has a majority interest in the ownership.

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. Quite a few analysts cover the stock, so you could look into forecast growth quite easily.

Insider Ownership Of Barratt Developments

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

Our information suggests that Barratt Developments plc insiders own under 1% of the company. It's a big company, so even a small proportional interest can create alignment between the board and shareholders. In this case insiders own UK11m worth of shares. It is always good to see at least some insider ownership, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 12% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. While this size of ownership may not be enough to sway a policy decision in their favour, they can still make a collective impact on company policies.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Like risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 4 warning signs for Barratt Developments (of which 1 can't be ignored!) you should know about.

If you would prefer discover what analysts are predicting in terms of future growth, do not miss this free report on analyst forecasts.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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New registered account can help put home ownership within reach

TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Fidelity Investments Canada ULC (Fidelity) announced that financial advisors and investors can open a Tax-free First Home Savings Account (FHSA) with Fidelity as of April 19, 2023, subject to operational readiness by intermediary financial institutions and partners that offer Fidelity funds. Fidelity is one of the first financial institutions to be approved by the Canada Revenue Agency to provide access to this new registered account.

Fidelity Investments Canada to offer First Home Savings Account (FHSA) (CNW Group/Fidelity Investments Canada ULC)

The FHSA provides prospective first-time home buyers with an additional tool to help save for their first home, with a maximum contribution of $8,000 per year, and a $40,000 lifetime limit. These contributions are deductible and can grow tax-free. The FHSA can be used in tandem with the Home Buyers' Plan (HBP).

Fidelity has a number of educational resources to help financial advisors and investors learn more about FHSA rules, eligibility, and benefits:

"Canadians who aspire to the dream of home ownership amid a persistent affordability crunch now have a new savings vehicle to help them achieve that goal," said Cam Murray, Senior Vice President, Client Services and Chief Information Officer, Fidelity. "By offering access to FHSAs, Fidelity is excited to support investors as they save towards a down payment for their first home while providing industry-leading customer service and a seamless digital experience along the way."

Similar to TFSAs and RRSPs, eligible Canadians can invest their FHSA in mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) backed by the strength, scale and global resources of Fidelity, including proprietary research that sets us apart. Investors are encouraged to speak with their financial advisor to discuss how FHSAs may fit within their overall saving and investment strategy.

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Until April 24 at 5:00 p.m. EST, Fidelity is offering eligible Canadian investors a chance to win $8,000 , which they can contribute toward their FHSA.*

Fidelity is committed to supporting and working collaboratively with dealers and partners as they work towards setting up operations to offer FHSAs to financial advisors and investors.



For account questions, Fidelity's client services team can be reached between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. EDT at 1-800-263-4077 (toll-free). Investors can also ask questions on Reddit by posting on r/fidelitycanada.

For more information, visit fidelity.ca

About Fidelity Investments Canada ULC



At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals.



As a privately-owned company, our people and world class resources are committed to doing what is right for investors and their long-term success. Our clients have entrusted us with $200 billion in assets under management (as at April 13, 2023) and they include individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more.



We are proud to provide investors a full range of domestic, international and global equity and income-oriented mutual funds, ETFs, asset allocation strategies, managed portfolios, sustainable investing products, alternative mutual funds and a high net worth program. Fidelity Funds are available through a number of advice-based distribution channels including financial planners, investment dealers, banks and insurance companies.

Commissions, trailing commissions, management fees, brokerage fees and expenses may be associated with investments in mutual funds and ETFs. Please read the mutual fund or ETF's prospectus, which contains detailed investment information, before investing. Mutual funds and ETFs are not guaranteed. Their values change frequently, and investors may experience a gain or a loss. Past performance may not be repeated.

Information about the Tax-Free First Home Savings Account is based on information available from the Government of Canada as at February 23, 2023, and may be subject to change. Fidelity Investments Canada ULC and its affiliates and related entities are not liable for any errors or omissions in the information or for any loss or damage suffered. This information is for general knowledge only and should not be interpreted as tax advice or recommendations. Every individual's situation is unique and should be reviewed by his or her own personal legal and tax consultants.

*No purchase necessary. Fidelity Investments Canada FHSA Contest is open to residents of Canada who are the age of majority. Financial advisors are excluded from the Contest. Void where prohibited. Starts February 23, 2023, at 2:00 p.m. ET and ends April 24, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. ET. One prize available to be won, consisting of an $8,000 CAD cheque to be used or invested at the winner's discretion. Skill-testing question required. Odds depend on number of entrants. For full rules and entry details, please see the Official Contest Rules and Regulations.

Find us on social media @FidelityCanada

Related Links

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SOURCE Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

Cision

View original content to download multimedia: http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/April2023/19/c5563.html
The Dodge County Board requested the presence of Highway Commissioner Brian Field at its Tuesday meeting after residents raised concerns for the state of County Road II.

Attendees of the highway committees April meeting asked why the roadway had not been reconstructed in 50 years. Residents later signed a petition that was presented to the county board requesting that work be done to make the road safer.

The commissioners response to the board pointed to funding as the source of the complaints.

The biggest wild card is money. The more money we have, the more we can do. Thats not magic. Thats just a fact of life, Field said.

Presently, II isnt scheduled for any construction till 2024, when it will receive 4 miles of work. The Dodge County Highway Committee came to a consensus on a draft of their five-year improvement plan in February, with 22 miles slated to be repaired county-wide each year.

The plan was designed to tackle the countys worst roads across the map, targeting highways with Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating (PASER) scores of 6 or less. The PASER system rates the conditions of road segments on a scale of 1-10, with 1 being the worst condition, and 10 being the best.

Parts of County Trunk Highways V, S, TW, E, T, W, TW and DF will come first  rated with an average PASER score of 2. In 2024, other highways with segments rated 2, 3 and 4 will be repaired, with 2025 seeing work in seven areas, all but one evaluated at 2.

While more money would equal more active projects, Field said that technically the highway department is well-funded. With roughly $9,000,000, theyve scheduled 21 miles of road repairs this year. If the county can keep a rate of 22 miles per year, with new pavement and treatments, Dodges 540 miles of county highways would effectively be on a 25-year life cycle.

Some supervisors asked if more roads in their district could be added to the improvement plan, listing highways that they believe are in worse shape than those already scheduled. Sections of DD, S and HH were mentioned.

Field began taking notes of which roads were mentioned but gave up shortly after. Very good observation, and if youve noticed, I quit writing, he responded.

He explained that the current improvement plan has more criteria than the state of the road alone. The highway committee members try to spread the wealth as opposed to pushing several projects in one district. Length of the project, traffic volume and, ultimately, funding are also determinants of what roads are worked on first.

At the countys current rate, the overall quality of its highways is only maintained. More construction would have to be budgeted annually to get ahead of roadway deterioration. The highway department previously prepared road designs in anticipation of grant openings, and the county was one of the first in the state to receive a Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) grant.

Wed love to do it all. We can do more than 22 miles, and weve demonstrated that if we have the money, we can do great things, Field noted. But we have to try to be fair to all taxpayers in all regions of the county.

Supervisor Cathy Houchin, District 21, proposed using the countys remaining ARPA funds to fix up II and other roads that have been set aside. She punctuated her statement with a criticism of the countys highway department, saying that theyve not always proven themselves to be transparent with their use of money.

Instead of purchasing new trucks or building bigger sheds, she suggested, the department should put more of its funding toward new roads.

I applaud the citizens who came up with a petition to show us that this road needs to be done, Houchin said. But if everybody who has a bad road comes up with a petition, what are we going to do?

Dodge County voters out for the Election Day election 1.jpg election 2.jpg election 3.jpg election 4.jpg election 5.jpg election 6.jpg election 7.jpg election 8.jpg election 9.jpg election 10.jpg election 11.jpg election 12.jpg
The Juneau County Board officially voted to appoint Jean Schultz as the health departments new officer at its meeting Tuesday morning, after a supervisor was declared out of order for interrogating her.

The Juneau County Health Department is led by an officer and a supervisor. A health officer is required to be employed by the county per Wisconsin state statutes. The department organizes community health resources, provides immunizations and monitors environmental concerns like rabies and lead.

Im interested in looking at the holistic approach to public health. Thats what Im bringing in, Schultz told the Star-Times. Weve learned a lot from the COVID pandemic to see barriers to how people access care and receive it, and we know now how to address those.

Schultz is currently earning a doctorate in education at UW-Stevens Point. She received her masters degree in science at UW-Parkside. Schultz has previously worked for the Milwaukee Health Department, the Polk County Health Department and the state of Minnesota.

District 21 Supervisor Aimee Stieve quickly began presenting questions, instructing Schultz to only answer yes or no. She first asked if Juneau County should continue to administer mRNA COVID vaccines, then followed up by asking if shutting down businesses is necessary should another health emergency be declared.

Schultz responded yes then attempted to answer the second question, stating that it depended on what type of emergency it was and what state law called for.

Im not talking about the specifics, and just say yes or no. Do you think thats acceptable? Stieve interjected.

She began to ask a third question, questioning Schultz about the World Health Organization, before Chairperson Timothy Cottingham declared Stieve was out of order.

The vote passed 20 to 1, with Stieve against appointing Schultz.

The former health officer, Amanda Dederich, left the department early this year after serving there for four years. She has since joined the Wisconsin Department of Health Services as a Public Health Workforce director.

Schultz expressed that Dederich had been proactive in reaching out to her to offer advice and guidance, which made her transition to Juneau County much easier than anticipated. Schultz began the job in March.

(Dederich) created a great culture here, and I love the stuff thats already been established in Juneau County, she said. The Community Action Teams, the Uber program... It was appealing for me to come here, because theyre willing to invest in programs. Its baby steps, and theres so much more we can do.

Necedah fire update

Schultz later advised the board that the local fire departments, land and water resources, emergency management and the health department are all monitoring the effects of the 100-acre wildfire that occurred in Necedah last week.

A number of environmental and health concerns could develop at the site of the fire. Currently, the county is in the process of testing the groundwater for contamination with results expected in one to two weeks.

The health department went door-to-door on Saturday to speak with residents who could be impacted. Sixty-five cases of water have also been distributed.
Narcotics possession and distribution remains a challenge in central Wisconsin, and three Wisconsin Dells police officers were recognized by the city for their efforts in combating the problem.

Wisconsin Dells Police Department officers Todd Wagner, Blake Zibell, and Dylan McKendree each received a Positive Performance Award from department chief Nicholas Brinker at the citys council meeting on April 18.

The awards commend the three officers for having combined to arrest 10 people and seize over $4,600, 93 grams of methamphetamine, and 30 grams of cocaine over the past two months.

Given the current hiring crisis in law enforcement, as a community, weve been extremely fortunate to get the officers that we do have here, said Brinker at the meeting. These gentlemen here are a direct reflection of that.

The WDPD has hired eight new officers over the past year, more than offsetting the retirements of former Lt. Perry Mayer and officer Jesse Weaver. City mayor Ed Wojnicz mentioned the increased difficulty of law enforcement careers, citing the incident in Barron County where two police officers were killed on duty.

Special thanks to these officers, said Wojnicz of the three WDPD officers. Im glad we could be proactive in recognizing the efforts of our police department members.

Stand Rock Road closure

The City of Wisconsin Dellss Facebook page announced the closure of Stand Rock Road from Broadway to Gussel Drive starting on April 24. The road will be closed for construction as part of the beginning of tax increment financing district (TID) No. 2 projects.

Access to residences and businesses will be available at most times off of Gussel Drive during construction. The closed road is tentatively planned to be reopened in late May or early June.

Gallery - WDHS Technical Education Program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program WDHS Technical Education program
TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Fidelity Investments Canada ULC today announced the April 2023 cash distributions for Fidelity's suite of High Dividend Factor ETFs, Fixed Income ETFs and Monthly High Income ETFs.

Fidelity Investments Canada ULC Logo (CNW Group/Fidelity Investments Canada ULC)

Detailed in the tables below, unitholders of record as of April 26, 2023 will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on April 28, 2023.

Fidelity ETF Name Ticker Symbol Cash Distribution Per Unit (C$) CUSIP ISIN Payment Frequency Exchange Fidelity Canadian High Dividend Index ETF FCCD 0.07065 31608M102 CA31608M1023 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. High Dividend Index ETF FCUD/ FCUD.U 0.09958 31645M107 CA31645M1077 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. High Dividend Currency Neutral Index ETF FCUH 0.08751 315740100 CA3157401009 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. Dividend for Rising Rates Index ETF FCRR/ FCRR.U 0.06205 31644M108 CA31644M1086 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity U.S. Dividend for Rising Rates Currency Neutral Index ETF FCRH 0.04823 31644P101 CA31644P1018 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity International High Dividend Index ETF FCID 0.09881 31623D103 CA31623D1033 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Canadian Short Term Corporate Bond ETF FCSB 0.04762 31608N100 CA31608N1006 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange

Fidelity ETF Name Ticker Symbol Cash Distribution Per Unit (C$) CUSIP ISIN Payment Frequency Exchange Fidelity Systematic Canadian Bond Index ETF FCCB 0.05462 31644F103 CA31644F1036 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Global Core Plus Bond ETF FCGB/ FCGB.U 0.07372 31623G106 CA31623G1063 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Global Investment Grade Bond ETF FCIG/ FCIG.U 0.06015 31624P105 CA31624P1053 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Canadian Monthly High Income ETF FCMI 0.03252 31609T106 CA31609T1066 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange Fidelity Global Monthly High Income ETF FCGI 0.03399 31623K107 CA31623K1075 Monthly Toronto Stock Exchange

About Fidelity Investments Canada ULC

At Fidelity, our mission is to build a better future for Canadian investors and help them stay ahead. We offer investors and institutions a range of innovative and trusted investment portfolios to help them reach their financial and life goals.

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As a privately-owned company, our people and world class resources are committed to doing what is right for investors and their long-term success. Our clients have entrusted us with $201 billion in assets under management (as at April 18, 2023) and they include individuals, financial advisors, pension plans, endowments, foundations and more.

We are proud to provide investors a full range of investment solutions through mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, including domestic, international and global equity, income-oriented strategies, asset allocation solutions, managed portfolios, sustainable investing and our high net worth program. Fidelity Funds are available through a number of advice-based distribution channels including financial planners, investment dealers, banks, and insurance companies.

Read a fund's prospectus and consult your financial advisor before investing. Exchange-traded funds are not guaranteed; their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated. Commissions, management fees, brokerage fees and expenses may all be associated with investments in exchange-traded funds and investors may experience a gain or loss.

Find us on social media @FidelityCanada

https://www.fidelity.ca

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Banco Santander-Chile (NYSE:BSAC  Get Rating) announced an annual dividend on Tuesday, April 18th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.2511 per share by the bank on Wednesday, April 19th. This represents a yield of 4.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 19th. This is an increase from Banco Santander-Chiles previous annual dividend of $0.91.

Banco Santander-Chile has a dividend payout ratio of 51.1% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Banco Santander-Chile to earn $2.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.14 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 55.3%.

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Banco Santander-Chile Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of BSAC stock traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $18.94. The company had a trading volume of 768,590 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,383. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.23, a current ratio of 1.92 and a quick ratio of 1.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.92 billion, a PE ratio of 9.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.71. The companys fifty day moving average is $17.41 and its 200 day moving average is $16.00. Banco Santander-Chile has a fifty-two week low of $13.37 and a fifty-two week high of $22.23.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Banco Santander-Chile ( NYSE:BSAC Get Rating ) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.09). The firm had revenue of $527.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $593.05 million. Banco Santander-Chile had a return on equity of 19.24% and a net margin of 18.02%. Research analysts expect that Banco Santander-Chile will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Banco Santander-Chile from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Friday, March 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of Banco Santander-Chile from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $19.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 1,552.6% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,267,896 shares of the banks stock valued at $99,284,000 after acquiring an additional 5,888,617 shares during the period. INCA Investments LLC raised its holdings in Banco Santander-Chile by 50.2% during the first quarter. INCA Investments LLC now owns 1,781,000 shares of the banks stock worth $40,233,000 after purchasing an additional 595,421 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. boosted its position in Banco Santander-Chile by 23.4% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 2,782,526 shares of the banks stock worth $38,983,000 after purchasing an additional 527,872 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Banco Santander-Chile in the first quarter valued at $7,510,000. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Banco Santander-Chile by 854.6% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 306,886 shares of the banks stock valued at $4,999,000 after buying an additional 274,739 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 9.76% of the companys stock.

About Banco Santander-Chile

(Get Rating)

Banco Santander Chile SA engages in the provision of commercial and retail banking services. It operates through the following segments: Retail Banking, Middle-Market, Corporate and Investment Banking, and Other. The Retail banking segment offers consumer loans, credit cards, automobile loans, commercial loans, foreign exchange, mortgage loans, debit cards, checking accounts, savings products, mutual funds, stock brokerage, and insurance brokerage.

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Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Vanguard Real Estate ETF (NYSEARCA:VNQ  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm acquired 24,245 shares of the exchange traded funds stock, valued at approximately $2,000,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of VNQ. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. lifted its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 120.3% in the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,790 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $411,000 after acquiring an additional 2,070 shares in the last quarter. MAS Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. MAS Advisors LLC now owns 88,453 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $9,704,000 after acquiring an additional 1,333 shares in the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. lifted its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 17.9% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 4,268 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $463,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 250,514 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $27,148,000 after acquiring an additional 16,158 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its stake in shares of Vanguard Real Estate ETF by 20.0% during the 1st quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 1,500 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $163,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter.

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Vanguard Real Estate ETF Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of VNQ traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $83.08. 1,582,119 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,780,757. Vanguard Real Estate ETF has a 12-month low of $74.66 and a 12-month high of $113.41. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $84.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $84.29. The company has a market cap of $33.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.40 and a beta of 0.87.

Vanguard Real Estate ETF Profile

Vanguard REIT ETF (the Fund) is an open-end investment company. The Fund invests in stocks issued by real estate investment trusts (REITs), companies that purchase office buildings, hotels, and other real property. It tracks the return of the MSCI US RIT Index, a gauge of real estate stocks. The Vanguard Group, Inc provides investment advisory services to the Fund.

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abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund (NYSE:AWP  Get Rating) declared a monthly dividend on Tuesday, April 11th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Friday, April 21st will be given a dividend of 0.04 per share by the investment management company on Friday, April 28th. This represents a $0.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.00%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 20th.

abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 4.4% annually over the last three years.

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abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund Stock Performance

AWP opened at $4.00 on Wednesday. abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund has a fifty-two week low of $3.51 and a fifty-two week high of $6.18. The firms fifty day moving average is $4.10 and its 200 day moving average is $4.10.

Institutional Trading of abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund

About abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its stake in abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund by 16.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 31,138 shares of the investment management companys stock worth $153,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares in the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in shares of abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 94,052 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $359,000 after buying an additional 6,429 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 136,265 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $878,000 after buying an additional 7,504 shares in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 944,961 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $6,086,000 after purchasing an additional 7,759 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mariner LLC grew its holdings in abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund by 29.5% during the 4th quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 42,077 shares of the investment management companys stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 9,577 shares during the last quarter.

(Get Rating)

abrdn Global Premier Properties Fund is a closed-end management investment company. Its primary investment objective is capital appreciation and its secondary investment objective is high current income. The company was founded on February 13, 2007 and is headquartered in Philadelphia, PA.

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Banco de Chile (NYSE:BCH  Get Rating) passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $19.72 and traded as high as $19.90. Banco de Chile shares last traded at $19.88, with a volume of 191,360 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Banco de Chile in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $23.00.

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Banco de Chile Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.02, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $20.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $19.73. The firm has a market cap of $10.19 billion, a PE ratio of 6.26, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.37.

Banco de Chile Increases Dividend

Banco de Chile ( NYSE:BCH Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $563.30 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $881.37 million. Banco de Chile had a net margin of 47.81% and a return on equity of 31.64%. Sell-side analysts expect that Banco de Chile will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced an annual dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th were given a dividend of $1.3688 per share. This is a boost from Banco de Chiles previous annual dividend of $1.33. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 16th. This represents a yield of 5%. Banco de Chiles payout ratio is presently 49.54%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 127.6% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,197 shares of the banks stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 671 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its holdings in Banco de Chile by 138.2% in the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 2,553 shares of the banks stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 1,481 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Banco de Chile by 700.0% during the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,568 shares of the banks stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Banco de Chile by 473.9% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,663 shares of the banks stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 2,199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Banco de Chile by 96.9% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,764 shares of the banks stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 1,360 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 0.99% of the companys stock.

Banco de Chile Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Banco de Chile SA engages in the provision of banking services. It operates through the following segments: Retail, Wholesale, Treasury, and Subsidiaries. The Retail segment consists of consumer loans, commercial loans, checking accounts, credit cards, credit lines, and mortgage loans. The Wholesale segment includes corporate clients and large companies where the product offering focuses on commercial loans, checking accounts and liquidity management services, debt instruments, foreign trade, derivative contracts, and leases.

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Rheos Capital Works Inc. decreased its position in Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. (NYSE:BAM  Get Rating) (TSE:BAM.A) by 74.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 114,074 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 338,926 shares during the period. Rheos Capital Works Inc.s holdings in Brookfield Asset Management were worth $3,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in BAM. Fortis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 2.8% in the third quarter. Fortis Advisors LLC now owns 8,250 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $337,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 55,610 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $2,274,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its position in Brookfield Asset Management by 1.0% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 26,295 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,074,000 after buying an additional 258 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Brookfield Asset Management by 3.2% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 8,307 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Inc. AR boosted its holdings in shares of Brookfield Asset Management by 5.1% during the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 5,412 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $221,000 after acquiring an additional 261 shares during the period.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Multi-Strategy Mast Brookfield sold 24,744 shares of the firms stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.96, for a total transaction of $295,938.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,104,923 shares in the company, valued at approximately $252,414,879.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Brookfield Asset Management Stock Down 0.8 %

A number of research firms recently weighed in on BAM. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an outperform rating and issued a $40.00 price objective on shares of Brookfield Asset Management in a report on Tuesday, March 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Brookfield Asset Management from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut shares of Brookfield Asset Management to an underperform rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $47.06.

Brookfield Asset Management stock traded down $0.26 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $32.68. 1,009,516 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,706,208. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $32.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $35.49. Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. has a 1-year low of $26.76 and a 1-year high of $36.50.

Brookfield Asset Management (NYSE:BAM  Get Rating) (TSE:BAM.A) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 8th. The financial services provider reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $958.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.81 billion. On average, analysts expect that Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. will post 1.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Brookfield Asset Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.32 per share. This is a positive change from Brookfield Asset Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.14. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 27th. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%.

Brookfield Asset Management Profile

(Get Rating)

Brookfield Asset Management Ltd. provides alternative asset management services. Its renewable power and transition business includes the ownership, operation, and development of hydroelectric, wind, solar, and energy transition power generating assets. The company's infrastructure business engages in the ownership, operation, and development of utilities, transport, midstream, data and sustainable resource assets.

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StockNews.com upgraded shares of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO  Get Rating) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Coca-Cola in a research note on Thursday, February 16th. They set a buy rating and a $68.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $61.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Coca-Cola from $70.00 to $68.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Coca-Cola from $60.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Monday, April 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $67.85.

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Coca-Cola Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE KO opened at $63.56 on Friday. Coca-Cola has a 1 year low of $54.01 and a 1 year high of $67.20. The stock has a market cap of $274.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $60.72 and a 200 day moving average of $60.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 1.15 and a quick ratio of 0.93.

Coca-Cola Increases Dividend

Coca-Cola ( NYSE:KO Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 14th. The company reported $0.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts consensus estimates of $0.45. Coca-Cola had a net margin of 22.19% and a return on equity of 42.35%. The company had revenue of $10.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $9.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.45 EPS. Coca-Colas revenue was up 6.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Coca-Cola will post 2.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 17th were issued a dividend of $0.46 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 16th. This represents a $1.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. This is an increase from Coca-Colas previous quarterly dividend of $0.44. Coca-Colas payout ratio is currently 83.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Coca-Cola

In other Coca-Cola news, CEO James Quincey sold 34,875 shares of Coca-Cola stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $2,103,660.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 351,737 shares of the companys stock, valued at $21,216,775.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Nancy Quan sold 74,000 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 1st. The shares were 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 owns 219,790 shares of the companys stock, valued at $12,903,870.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO James Quincey sold 34,875 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction on Monday, February 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $2,103,660.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 351,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,216,775.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 155,296 shares of company stock valued at $9,256,671 over the last 90 days. 1.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Coca-Cola

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fairfield Bush & CO. bought a new stake in Coca-Cola in the first quarter worth $77,000. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 16.7% in the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 12,227 shares of the companys stock worth $758,000 after purchasing an additional 1,754 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 41.4% in the first quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 149,275 shares of the companys stock worth $9,255,000 after purchasing an additional 43,680 shares during the last quarter. Ergoteles LLC increased its position in Coca-Cola by 385.3% during the first quarter. Ergoteles LLC now owns 19,032 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,180,000 after acquiring an additional 15,110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Coca-Cola by 11.9% during the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 2,840,557 shares of the companys stock valued at $176,115,000 after acquiring an additional 301,804 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.74% of the companys stock.

About Coca-Cola

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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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Austin Gold (NYSE:AUST  Get Rating) and Copper Mountain Mining (OTCMKTS:CPPMF  Get Rating) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, earnings, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, profitability, dividends and valuation.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Austin Gold and Copper Mountain Minings top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

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Gross Revenue Price/Sales Ratio Net Income Earnings Per Share Price/Earnings Ratio Austin Gold N/A N/A -$1.07 million ($0.07) -17.37 Copper Mountain Mining $231.89 million 1.88 $24.58 million $0.11 18.55

Copper Mountain Mining has higher revenue and earnings than Austin Gold. Austin Gold is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Copper Mountain Mining, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Analyst Recommendations

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Austin Gold 0 0 1 0 3.00 Copper Mountain Mining 0 4 3 0 2.43

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Austin Gold and Copper Mountain Mining, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

Austin Gold presently has a consensus target price of $5.25, indicating a potential upside of 320.00%. Copper Mountain Mining has a consensus target price of $2.88, indicating a potential upside of 40.93%. Given Austin Golds stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Austin Gold is more favorable than Copper Mountain Mining.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

1.3% of Austin Gold shares are owned by institutional investors. 70.7% of Austin Gold shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares Austin Gold and Copper Mountain Minings net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Austin Gold N/A -7.06% -6.94% Copper Mountain Mining 9.14% -10.38% -4.65%

Summary

Copper Mountain Mining beats Austin Gold on 6 of the 11 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Austin Gold

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Austin Gold Corp., a gold exploration company, focuses on the exploration and evaluation of mineral property interests in Nevada. The company's principal property the Kelly Creek Project with a mix of 6 patented mining claims and 1,600 unpatented mining claims covering an area of 136.8 square kilometers located in the Kelly Creek Basin, in southeastern Humboldt County, Nevada. Its other projects include the Fourmile Basin Project that comprises 312 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 6410 acres located in Nye County; the Lone Mountain Project consisting of 454 unpatented lode mining claims and 6 patented mining claims covering approximately 34.2 square kilometers located near Lone Mountain in Elko County; and the Miller Project with a total of 281 unpatented lode mining claims covering approximately 23.5 square kilometers in Elko County in Nevada. The company was incorporated in 2020 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

About Copper Mountain Mining

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Copper Mountain Mining Corp. engages in the exploration, development and operation of mineral deposits. It holds interest in Copper Mountain Mine, Eva Copper, New Ingerbelle, and Cameron Copper Projects. The company was founded on April 20, 2006 and is headquartered in Vancouver, Canada.

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Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE:CWK  Get Rating) was downgraded by analysts at UBS Group from a buy rating to a neutral rating in a report released on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have a $10.00 target price on the stock, down from their prior target price of $19.00. UBS Groups price target indicates a potential upside of 6.95% from the companys current price.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on CWK. Credit Suisse Group cut shares of Cushman & Wakefield from an outperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, January 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Cushman & Wakefield from a buy rating to a neutral rating and cut their target price for the company from $15.50 to $11.00 in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Cushman & Wakefield from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Cushman & Wakefield from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a strong-buy rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 20th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $16.80.

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Cushman & Wakefield Price Performance

CWK stock opened at $9.35 on Monday. Cushman & Wakefield has a 12-month low of $9.05 and a 12-month high of $19.51. The company has a current ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 1.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firms 50-day moving average price is $11.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $12.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.75 and a beta of 1.34.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield ( NYSE:CWK Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.46. The firm had revenue of $2.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. Cushman & Wakefield had a net margin of 1.94% and a return on equity of 28.56%. The businesss revenue was down 8.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.64 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cushman & Wakefield will post 1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CWK. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Cushman & Wakefield by 1.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 22,554,688 shares of the companys stock worth $258,251,000 after buying an additional 300,908 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cushman & Wakefield by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 10,711,378 shares of the companys stock valued at $122,646,000 after acquiring an additional 202,405 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Cushman & Wakefield by 35.5% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,020,188 shares of the companys stock worth $112,392,000 after buying an additional 2,360,961 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Cushman & Wakefield by 158.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 8,558,402 shares of the companys stock worth $106,638,000 after purchasing an additional 5,245,698 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lakewood Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Cushman & Wakefield by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Lakewood Capital Management LP now owns 5,847,947 shares of the companys stock valued at $66,959,000 after buying an additional 25,919 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.23% of the companys stock.

About Cushman & Wakefield

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Cushman & Wakefield Plc engages in the provision of commercial real estate services It operates through the following geographical segments: Americas; Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific (APAC). The Americas segment consists of operations located in the United States, Canada and key markets in Latin America.

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(Bloomberg) -- The biggest winner from Fox News $787.5 million settlement with Dominion Voting Systems Inc. is a New York private equity firm thats walking away with a return on its investment of more than 1,500%.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Staple Street Capital LLC acquired a roughly 76% stake in the voting technology company in 2018 for $38.8 million, unaware that Denver-based Dominion would become a household name within just a few years for all the wrong reasons  falsely accused by former President Donald Trump and his allies for rigging the 2020 election in favor of Joe Biden.

Dominion sued Fox for defamation, seeking $1.6 billion in damages, but settled for about half that amount Tuesday, just as opening statements were about to be presented at trial. During pre-trial exchange of evidence, Fox uncovered what turned out to be a prescient text message a former employee sent to Dan Franklin, a vice president at Staple Street, commenting on the Dominion lawsuit.

Would be pretty unreal if you guys like 20xed your Dominion investment with these lawsuits, said the message, which was cited in a court filing.

The estimate was pretty close. Staple Streets share of the settlement, assuming it had made no additional equity investments since 2018, would be $598.5 million, or 1,542% more than it paid for its stake in the company. According to its website, Staple Street has about $900 million under management.

Read more: Fox to Pay $787.5 Million to Settle Dominion Defamation Case

Its not every day that an investment fund finds itself at the center of this type of dispute, Staple Street co-founder Hootan Yaghoobzadeh said at a press conference Tuesday where the settlement was announced. For us this case has always been about exposing the truth and holding those who knowingly spread lies accountable.

Story continues

Yaghoobzadeh founded Staple Street in 2010 with fellow Harvard Business School graduate Stephen D. Owens, according to the firms website. Owens was previously a managing director at the Carlyle Group, where he focused on US buyouts. Prior to that he worked at Lehman Brothers in New York and Hong Kong, focusing on merchant banking and M&A transactions, according to a biography on Staple Streets website. Yaghoobzadeh was a senior vice president at Cerberus Capital Management, focusing on distressed private equity and special-situation investments. He was also part of Carlyles US buyout team.

Fox said it acknowledged the courts previous rulings that certain claims about Dominion were false. Trumps allies had flooded the conservative airwaves with claims that Dominion used corrupt software and foreign hackers to ensure Trump lost the 2020 election.

Fox pointed to Dominions ownership by a private equity company to push its claim that the damages were inflated, arguing in recent months that the suit was nothing more than a money grab to satisfy Staple Street.

Fox had argued strenuously that Dominions damages were were wildly inflated and outrageous, in part because they were based on an unrealistic valuation for the company. The network said in a March court filing that documents it uncovered showed Dominion was independently valued in September 2020 at $238.5 million, far lower than the $741.2 million estimate used by the companys experts to calculate damages.

To think that Dominion grew by nearly ten times over that period in a highly competitive and regulated market is fanciful, Fox said in a court filing.

Staple Street may have more paydays ahead. Dominion still has pending suits against other conservative media outlets NewsMax and One America News Network, as well as former New York City Mayor Rudy Guiliani and lawyer Sydney Powell, who both falsely claimed Dominions voting machines were rigged.

Staple Streets investments have included the Six Flags theme park operator and companies specializing in products and services even more obscure than voting machines: dental support services, chemicals for flavors and fragrances, distribution of dormant flower bulbs, metal assemblies for aerospace and defense, and aftermarket life cycle solutions for electronic equipment.

(Updates with other Staple Street investments in final paragraph.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Shares of Delphi Energy Corp. (DEE.TO) (TSE:DEE  Get Rating) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of C$0.00 and traded as high as C$0.40. Delphi Energy Corp. (DEE.TO) shares last traded at C$0.35, with a volume of 29,072 shares changing hands.

Delphi Energy Corp. (DEE.TO) Price Performance

The firms 50-day moving average price is C$0.35. The company has a market cap of C$8.41 million and a PE ratio of -0.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 140.95.

About Delphi Energy Corp. (DEE.TO)

(Get Rating)

Delphi Energy Corp., an oil and natural gas company, explores for, develops, and produces crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids in Western Canada. The company primarily holds interests in the Bigstone Montney property located in the Deep Basin of Northwest Alberta. It distributes natural gas through Alliance pipeline system in Chicago.

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Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:DNB  Get Rating) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 3,717,076 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the previous sessions volume of 2,435,260 shares.The stock last traded at $11.35 and had previously closed at $11.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have issued reports on DNB shares. Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet from $21.00 to $18.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Dun & Bradstreet from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $15.00 to $17.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $18.00 price target on shares of Dun & Bradstreet in a research report on Thursday, February 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Dun & Bradstreet from $20.00 to $17.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $15.75.

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Dun & Bradstreet Stock Down 1.1 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $4.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.96. The firms fifty day moving average is $11.90 and its 200-day moving average is $12.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01.

Dun & Bradstreet Dividend Announcement

Dun & Bradstreet ( NYSE:DNB Get Rating ) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The business services provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Dun & Bradstreet had a positive return on equity of 11.67% and a negative net margin of 0.10%. The company had revenue of $595.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $591.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. The companys revenue was down .6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. will post 0.87 earnings per share for the current year.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.05 per share. This represents a $0.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Dun & Bradstreet news, CEO Anthony M. Jabbour purchased 116,250 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 20th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $10.74 per share, with a total value of $1,248,525.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 475,252 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,104,206.48. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 9.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dun & Bradstreet

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DNB. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Dun & Bradstreet by 7.7% during the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 21,071 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $247,000 after purchasing an additional 1,504 shares during the period. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new position in shares of Dun & Bradstreet in the first quarter valued at approximately $150,000. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 378.4% in the first quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,742,967 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $20,462,000 after buying an additional 1,378,653 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 1.0% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 14,113,815 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $165,696,000 after buying an additional 138,396 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in shares of Dun & Bradstreet by 47.0% in the first quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 27,431 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $322,000 after buying an additional 8,767 shares during the period. 85.36% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Dun & Bradstreet

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Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc provides business decisioning data and analytics in North America and internationally. It offers finance and risk solutions, including D&B Finance Analytics, an online application that offers clients real time access to its information, comprehensive monitoring, and portfolio analysis; D&B Direct, an application programming interface (API) that delivers risk and financial data directly into enterprise applications for real-time credit decision making; D&B Small Business, a suite of powerful tools that allows SMBs to monitor and build their business credit file; D&B Enterprise Risk Assessment Manager, a solution for managing and automating credit decisioning and reporting; and InfoTorg, an online SaaS application.

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Shares of EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM  Get Rating) have received a consensus recommendation of Moderate Buy from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and nine have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $403.08.

Several research firms have commented on EPAM. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $391.00 target price on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Wolfe Research cut shares of EPAM Systems from an outperform rating to a peer perform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of EPAM Systems from $400.00 to $380.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 17th.

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Hedge Funds Weigh In On EPAM Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CI Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 900.0% during the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 70 shares of the information technology services providers stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 133.3% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 77 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 84.3% in the 3rd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 94 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Financial Freedom LLC acquired a new position in EPAM Systems in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 78.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 98 shares of the information technology services providers stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.29% of the companys stock.

EPAM Systems Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of EPAM opened at $295.15 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 3.69 and a quick ratio of 3.69. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $304.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $328.05. EPAM Systems has a 1-year low of $260.68 and a 1-year high of $462.99. The stock has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.57.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM  Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The information technology services provider reported $2.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.23 by $0.48. EPAM Systems had a net margin of 8.69% and a return on equity of 21.55%. The business had revenue of $1.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $1.23 billion. Equities analysts forecast that EPAM Systems will post 9.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

EPAM Systems Company Profile

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EPAM Systems, Inc engages in the provision of software product development and digital platform engineering services. It operates through the following geographical segments: North America, Europe, and Russia. The company was founded by Leonid Lozner and Arkadiy Dobkin in 1993 and is headquartered in Newtown, PA.

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Forge Global (NYSE:FRGE  Get Rating) is one of 23 public companies in the Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services industry, but how does it compare to its rivals? We will compare Forge Global to related businesses based on the strength of its earnings, valuation, risk, profitability, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and dividends.

Risk and Volatility

Forge Global has a beta of 2.29, indicating that its stock price is 129% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Forge Globals rivals have a beta of 0.99, indicating that their average stock price is 1% less volatile than the S&P 500.

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Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of current ratings and target prices for Forge Global and its rivals, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

Sell Ratings Hold Ratings Buy Ratings Strong Buy Ratings Rating Score Forge Global 0 4 2 0 2.33 Forge Global Competitors 146 907 1212 32 2.49

Institutional and Insider Ownership

Forge Global presently has a consensus price target of $3.23, indicating a potential upside of 104.11%. As a group, Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services companies have a potential upside of 26.24%. Given Forge Globals higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Forge Global is more favorable than its rivals.

13.7% of Forge Global shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 69.0% of shares of all Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services companies are owned by institutional investors. 20.0% of Forge Global shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 6.8% of shares of all Security & commodity brokers, dealers, exchanges & services companies 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.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Forge Global and its rivals top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

Gross Revenue Net Income Price/Earnings Ratio Forge Global $69.38 million -$111.86 million -1.09 Forge Global Competitors $7.42 billion $656.13 million 31.18

Forge Globals rivals have higher revenue and earnings than Forge Global. Forge Global is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than its rivals, indicating that it is currently more affordable than other companies in its industry.

Profitability

This table compares Forge Global and its rivals net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

Net Margins Return on Equity Return on Assets Forge Global -161.22% -26.59% -22.44% Forge Global Competitors 4.06% 20.56% 5.50%

Summary

Forge Global rivals beat Forge Global on 10 of the 13 factors compared.

Forge Global Company Profile

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Forge Global Holdings, Inc. provides marketplace infrastructure, data services, and technology solutions for private market participants. It enables private company shareholders to trade private company shares with accredited investors. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in San Francisco, California.

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Global Business Travel Group, Inc. (NYSE:GBTG  Get Rating) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 759,900 shares, a decline of 19.7% from the March 15th total of 945,800 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 88,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 8.6 days.

Global Business Travel Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE GBTG traded down $0.09 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $6.54. The company had a trading volume of 36,497 shares, compared to its average volume of 87,530. The company has a market cap of $3.03 billion, a P/E ratio of -10.72 and a beta of 0.28. Global Business Travel Group has a 52 week low of $4.26 and a 52 week high of $10.01. The businesss 50-day moving average is $6.79 and its 200 day moving average is $6.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 1.60.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

GBTG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Credit Suisse Group reiterated an outperform rating and set a $9.00 price objective on shares of Global Business Travel Group in a research report on Friday, March 10th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Global Business Travel Group from $6.50 to $7.50 in a report on Sunday, March 12th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Global Business Travel Group in a report on Wednesday, December 21st. They set an outperform rating and a $8.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Global Business Travel Group from $9.00 to $8.00 and set an equal weight rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 10th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $8.68.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

About Global Business Travel Group

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dendur Capital LP raised its stake in Global Business Travel Group by 42.7% during the 4th quarter. Dendur Capital LP now owns 1,734,773 shares of the companys stock valued at $11,710,000 after purchasing an additional 518,900 shares during the period. ETF Managers Group LLC acquired a new stake in Global Business Travel Group during the 4th quarter valued at $7,656,000. Vanguard Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Global Business Travel Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,127,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Global Business Travel Group by 76.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 176,058 shares of the companys stock valued at $1,188,000 after purchasing an additional 76,542 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. acquired a new stake in Global Business Travel Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $882,000. Institutional investors own 15.91% of the companys stock.

(Get Rating)

Global Business Travel Group, Inc provides business-to-business (B2B) travel platform in the United States of America and internationally. The company's platform offers a suite of technology-enabled solutions to business travelers and clients; travel content suppliers including airlines, hotels, ground transportation, and aggregators; and third-party travel agencies.

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Hecla Mining (NYSE:HL  Get Rating) has earned a consensus recommendation of Hold from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $6.13.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Canaccord Genuity Group reduced their price objective on shares of Hecla Mining from $7.25 to $6.25 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 16th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Hecla Mining in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a sell rating for the company. HC Wainwright raised their price objective on Hecla Mining from $7.00 to $8.25 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Hecla Mining from $4.75 to $5.00 and gave the stock a market perform rating in a research note on Friday, January 13th. Finally, Roth Mkm cut shares of Hecla Mining from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $5.50 to $6.25 in a report on Friday, April 14th.

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Hecla Mining Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE HL opened at $6.54 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 1.50. The firm has a market cap of $3.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -93.42 and a beta of 2.06. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $5.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.46. Hecla Mining has a one year low of $3.41 and a one year high of $7.00.

Hecla Mining Increases Dividend

Hecla Mining ( NYSE:HL Get Rating ) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 15th. The basic materials company reported $0.02 EPS for the quarter. Hecla Mining had a negative net margin of 5.20% and a positive return on equity of 1.44%. The business had revenue of $194.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $196.20 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hecla Mining will post 0.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 24th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 9th were paid a $0.006 dividend. This represents a $0.02 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.37%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 8th. This is a boost from Hecla Minings previous quarterly dividend of $0.00. Hecla Minings dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -42.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Hecla Mining by 8.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 55,225,222 shares of the basic materials companys stock worth $307,052,000 after purchasing an additional 4,294,314 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hecla Mining by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 52,765,176 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $207,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,225,682 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. increased its holdings in Hecla Mining by 3.2% in the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 41,969,260 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $165,360,000 after buying an additional 1,289,101 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hecla Mining by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 32,853,571 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $182,667,000 after acquiring an additional 575,941 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its stake in Hecla Mining by 23.3% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 31,925,189 shares of the basic materials companys stock valued at $209,748,000 after purchasing an additional 6,033,244 shares in the last quarter. 59.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hecla Mining Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Hecla Mining Co operates as a silver and gold production company. The firm produces lead, zinc and bulk concentrates for custom smelters and brokers and develops unrefined precipitate and bullion bars for precious metals traders. It operates through the following business segments: Greens Creek, Lucky Friday, Casa Berardi, and Nevada Operations.

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Herbst Group LLC reduced its position in The Charles Schwab Co. (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating) by 22.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,350 shares of the financial services providers stock after selling 6,400 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab comprises about 1.5% of Herbst Group LLCs portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Herbst Group LLCs holdings in Charles Schwab were worth $1,861,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of SCHW. West Branch Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Selway Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Worth Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Exos TFP Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Charles Schwab during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 73.49% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SCHW has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $72.00 in a report on Tuesday. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Charles Schwab in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $75.00 to $65.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 29th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Charles Schwab from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $99.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, March 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Charles Schwab from $98.00 to $75.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $69.21.

Charles Schwab Trading Up 3.1 %

Shares of NYSE SCHW traded up $1.67 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $55.67. The stock had a trading volume of 21,171,870 shares, compared to its average volume of 23,092,482. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.38. The Charles Schwab Co. has a twelve month low of $45.00 and a twelve month high of $86.63. The companys 50 day moving average price is $64.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.61. The firm has a market cap of $99.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.88.

Charles Schwab (NYSE:SCHW  Get Rating) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 17th. The financial services provider reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.13 billion. Charles Schwab had a net margin of 34.60% and a return on equity of 24.94%. Charles Schwabs revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Charles Schwab Co. will post 3.72 EPS for the current year.

Charles Schwab Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 24th. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 9th. This is a positive change from Charles Schwabs previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. Charles Schwabs dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Marianne Catherine Brown bought 5,000 shares of the businesss 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 completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,984 shares in the company, valued at $533,844.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Charles Schwab news, Chairman Charles R. Schwab sold 121,066 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.84, for a total value of $9,423,777.44. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 60,223,399 shares of the companys stock, valued at $4,687,789,378.16. 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 on Tuesday, March 28th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $53.47 per share, for a total transaction of $267,350.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,984 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $533,844.48. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 81,000 shares of company stock valued at $4,706,960 and have sold 676,962 shares valued at $53,960,539. 6.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Charles Schwab

(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.

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Congress Wealth Management LLC DE lessened its stake in Invesco Senior Loan ETF (NYSEARCA:BKLN  Get Rating) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 423,022 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after selling 66,649 shares during the quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DEs holdings in Invesco Senior Loan ETF were worth $8,685,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Invesco Senior Loan ETF by 186.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,156 shares of the exchange traded funds stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 752 shares during the period. Baltimore Washington Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the 3rd quarter worth about $295,000. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. Romano Brothers AND Company acquired a new position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $66,000. Finally, Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Invesco Senior Loan ETF in the 4th quarter worth about $79,000.

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Invesco Senior Loan ETF Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSEARCA BKLN opened at $21.02 on Wednesday. Invesco Senior Loan ETF has a twelve month low of $20.06 and a twelve month high of $21.81. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $20.87 and a 200 day moving average of $20.84.

About Invesco Senior Loan ETF

The Invesco Senior Loan ETF (BKLN) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in high yield fixed income. The fund tracks a market-value-weighted index of senior loans issued by banks to corporations. BKLN was launched on Mar 3, 2011 and is managed by Invesco.

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Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its position in iShares MSCI Canada ETF (NYSEARCA:EWC  Get Rating) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,094 shares of the exchange traded funds stock after acquiring an additional 1,538 shares during the period. iShares MSCI Canada ETF makes up approximately 0.4% of Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc.s holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest holding. Henrickson Nauta Wealth Advisors Inc.s holdings in iShares MSCI Canada ETF were worth $559,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of EWC. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 2.9% during the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 3,148,799 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $96,857,000 after buying an additional 88,503 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 21.6% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 3,015,435 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $92,754,000 after buying an additional 535,396 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 53.1% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,481,828 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $49,908,000 after buying an additional 513,794 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 1.3% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,423,709 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $43,793,000 after buying an additional 18,756 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of iShares MSCI Canada ETF by 21.5% during the third quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 1,299,289 shares of the exchange traded funds stock worth $39,966,000 after buying an additional 230,108 shares during the period.

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iShares MSCI Canada ETF Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSEARCA:EWC traded down $0.12 on Wednesday, hitting $35.48. 198,415 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,497,430. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06 and a beta of 1.02. The stocks 50 day moving average price is $34.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $33.82. iShares MSCI Canada ETF has a 1-year low of $29.55 and a 1-year high of $40.58.

iShares MSCI Canada ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI Canada ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI Canada Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of publicly traded securities in the Canadian market, as measured by the MSCI Canada Index (the Index).

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Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS cut its holdings in Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 366,177 shares of the business services providers stock after selling 1,988 shares during the period. Waste Management accounts for 1.2% of Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KSs investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th biggest position. Kornitzer Capital Management Inc. KS owned approximately 0.09% of Waste Management worth $57,446,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 36,984,227 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $5,925,244,000 after acquiring an additional 1,016,798 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 194.9% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 1,217,592 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $192,988,000 after acquiring an additional 804,708 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 3,120.2% during the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 600,443 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $96,197,000 after acquiring an additional 581,797 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in Waste Management by 21.5% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,605,293 shares of the business services providers stock valued at $417,394,000 after acquiring an additional 461,425 shares during the period. Finally, Prudential Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Management by 67.5% in the 3rd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 966,026 shares of the business services providers stock worth $154,772,000 after buying an additional 389,400 shares during the period. 78.48% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WM shares. UBS Group cut Waste Management from a buy rating to a neutral rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $165.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Management from $158.00 to $167.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Citigroup reduced their target price on Waste Management from $183.00 to $180.00 and set a buy rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 2nd. Raymond James reduced their target price on Waste Management from $167.00 to $166.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 6th. Finally, Truist Financial assumed coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday. They issued a buy rating and a $190.00 price target on the stock. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six 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 a consensus price target of $174.67.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

In related news, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the firms stock in a transaction on Friday, February 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total transaction of $2,357,076.12. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares in the company, valued at $14,799,318.83. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link . In other news, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 7,515 shares of the companys stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.00, for a total value of $1,164,825.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 46,542 shares in the company, valued at $7,214,010. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website . Also, EVP John J. Morris sold 15,204 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $155.03, for a total value of $2,357,076.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 95,461 shares of the companys stock, valued at $14,799,318.83. The disclosure for this sale can be found here . Insiders have sold 30,743 shares of company stock worth $4,762,320 over the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Shares of NYSE:WM traded up $0.10 on Wednesday, hitting $165.48. 220,008 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,835,669. Waste Management, Inc. has a 12 month low of $138.89 and a 12 month high of $175.98. The businesss 50 day simple moving average is $155.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $157.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.12, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 1st. The business services provider reported $1.30 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.91% and a net margin of 11.36%. The business had revenue of $4.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts expectations of $4.97 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.26 EPS. Waste Managements revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management, Inc. will post 6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.70 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Managements previous quarterly dividend of $0.65. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 9th. This represents a $2.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.69%. Waste Managements dividend payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

Waste Management Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Waste Management, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the provision of waste management environmental services. It operates through the following segments: East Tier, West Tier, and Other. The East Tier segment consists of Eastern U.S., the Great Lakes Region, and Canada. The West Tier segment includes the upper Midwest region and British Columbia, Canada.

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The association prioritized policies that will support responsible industry innovation, enhance safety, and advance environmental sustainability.

WASHINGTON, DC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Fragrance Creators Association (Fragrance Creators) members returned to Washington, D.C., today for its first in-person federal fly-in since 2019. The association's fly-in allows members to bring the science and the stories of fragrance directly to lawmakers on Capitol Hill.

Fragrance Creators 2023 Fly-In

Fragrance Creators' 2023 federal fly-in focused on key issues of importance to the industry, including implementation of the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act and the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act as well as important scientific and tax policies. Association members met with dozens of Congressional offices, bringing details about the beauty, safety, and innovation of the fragrance industry to 50 offices. Following these meetings, Fragrance Creators will host a reception on Capitol Hill to celebrate the fragrance industry.

"Fragrance plays an important role in cosmetics and personal care products; products that nurture skin health and hygiene, empower self-expression and confidence, and deliver generational delight to billions of people every day," said Farah K. Ahmed, President & CEO of Fragrance Creators. "Last year, Congress passed one of our most important priorities-the Modernization of Cosmetics Regulation Act-and today we are focusing our advocacy in support of an adequately funded cosmetics program; one that will support responsible fragrance industry innovation that can improve the experience of our nation's diverse consumer demographic, uphold safety, and advance environmental sustainability."

"Our work with Congress is ongoing and multifaceted," said Bob Weinstein, Co-Chair of Fragrance Creators and CEO of Robertet USA. "Fragrance is a critical input into a multitude of product categories - cosmetics, cleaning, air care, professional, and more. Today presents an important opportunity to educate Members of Congress about our priorities, like restoring full current year research and development expensing and prioritizing risk-based science."

Story continues

"The fragrance industry has a beautiful story to tell," said Cynthia Reichard, Co-Chair of Fragrance Creators and Executive Vice President of Arylessence. "We were delighted for our diverse fragrance industry to join together and to be back in D.C. to share with lawmakers our efforts related to sustainability, safety, and innovation as well as our far-reaching economic impact."

Earlier this month, Fragrance Creators announced the recertification of the Congressional Fragrance Caucus for the 118th Congress. Originally created in 2018, the Caucus provides a bipartisan platform for Congress to focus on issues of importance to the fragrance industry. The Caucus is once again chaired by Representatives Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and Barry Loudermilk (R-GA). Fragrance Creators members used today's federal fly-in to continue to drum up support, interest, and membership in the Caucus.

Fragrance Creators Association is the trade association representing the majority of fragrance manufacturing in North America. We also represent fragrance-related interests along the value chain. Fragrance Creators' member companies are diverse, including large, medium, and small-sized companies that create, manufacture, and use fragrances and scents for home care, personal care, home design, fine fragrance, and industrial and institutional products, as well as those that supply fragrance ingredients, including natural extracts and other raw materials that are used in perfumery and fragrance mixtures. Fragrance Creators established and administers the Congressional Fragrance Caucus, ensuring ongoing dialogue with members of Congress and staff. Fragrance Creators also produces The Fragrance Conservatory, the comprehensive digital resource for high-quality information about fragrance-www.fragranceconservatory.com. Learn more about Fragrance Creators at fragrancecreators.org-for people, perfume, and the planet.

Contact Information

Katie Cross

kcross@fragrancecreators.org

SOURCE: Fragrance Creators Association

.





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https://www.accesswire.com/750190/Fragrance-Creators-Meets-With-Dozens-of-Congressional-Offices-During-Its-2023-Federal-Fly-In




Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (BATS:EFG  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 28,498 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $2,387,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in EFG. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. bought a new position in iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF by 201.6% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 573 shares of the companys stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 383 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tsfg LLC purchased a new stake in shares of iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF during the 4th quarter worth approximately $54,000.

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iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Stock Performance

Shares of EFG traded up $0.69 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.74. 520,905 shares of the stock were exchanged. iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF has a 52-week low of $67.58 and a 52-week high of $85.81. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $90.96 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.17. The company has a market cap of $11.80 billion, a PE ratio of 18.69 and a beta of 0.87.

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF Company Profile

iShares MSCI EAFE Growth ETF (the Fund), formerly iShares MSCI EAFE Growth Index Fund, is an exchange-traded fund (ETF). The Fund seeks to provide investment results that correspond generally to the price and yield performance, before fees and expenses, of the MSCI EAFE Growth Index (the Index). The Index is a subset of the MSCI EAFE Index and constituents of the Index include securities from Europe, Australasia (Australia and Asia), and the Far East.

Further Reading

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Lodestar Private Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:PWZ  Get Rating) in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 46,002 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,110,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of PWZ. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF by 62.1% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 10,268,661 shares of the companys stock valued at $264,931,000 after buying an additional 3,932,976 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC boosted its stake in Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF by 260.8% during the 2nd quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 1,218,977 shares of the companys stock worth $29,646,000 after purchasing an additional 881,162 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF by 323.9% during the 2nd quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 518,663 shares of the companys stock worth $12,614,000 after purchasing an additional 396,300 shares during the period. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management boosted its stake in Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF by 30.9% during the 3rd quarter. Gerber Kawasaki Wealth & Investment Management now owns 490,445 shares of the companys stock worth $11,363,000 after purchasing an additional 115,643 shares during the period. Finally, Brinker Capital Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF during the 3rd quarter worth $1,868,000.

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Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF Stock Down 0.5 %

NYSEARCA:PWZ traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $24.55. 31,638 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 89,806. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.54 and a 200 day moving average of $24.21. Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF has a 1-year low of $22.69 and a 1-year high of $25.34.

Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF Profile

The Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF (PWZ) is an exchange-traded fund that mostly invests in investment grade fixed income. The fund tracks an index of insured investment-grade, tax-exempt debt issued by California or any US territory with at least 15 years remaining to maturity. PWZ was launched on Oct 11, 2007 and is managed by Invesco.

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Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PWZ? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Invesco California AMT-Free Municipal Bond ETF (NYSEARCA:PWZ  Get Rating).

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Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in Lowes Companies, Inc. (NYSE:LOW  Get Rating) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,761 shares of the home improvement retailers stock after buying an additional 859 shares during the quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLCs holdings in Lowes Companies were worth $3,738,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Standard Family Office LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowes Companies during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Legend Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Lowes Companies in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Lowes Companies by 56.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC now owns 142 shares of the home improvement retailers stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Lowes Companies by 70.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blume Capital Management Inc. now owns 145 shares of the home improvement retailers stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, McElhenny Sheffield Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Lowes Companies during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.62% of the companys stock.

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Lowes Companies Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of Lowes Companies stock opened at $208.10 on Wednesday. Lowes Companies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $170.12 and a 12-month high of $223.31. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $201.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $201.58. The company has a market capitalization of $124.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.09.

Lowes Companies Announces Dividend

Lowes Companies ( NYSE:LOW Get Rating ) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, March 1st. The home improvement retailer reported $2.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.21 by $0.07. Lowes Companies had a negative return on equity of 82.30% and a net margin of 6.63%. The firm had revenue of $22.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.78 earnings per share. The businesss revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Lowes Companies, Inc. will post 13.84 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 10th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 26th will be given a $1.05 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 25th. This represents a $4.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Lowes Companiess payout ratio is currently 41.96%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Lowes Companies

In other news, EVP Donald Frieson sold 9,411 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $197.00, for a total transaction of $1,853,967.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,888 shares of the companys stock, valued at $3,523,936. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.24% of the companys stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on LOW. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Lowes Companies from $200.00 to $205.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 21st. TD Cowen cut their target price on shares of Lowes Companies from $220.00 to $210.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. Morgan Stanley restated an overweight rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Lowes Companies in a report on Monday, February 13th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Lowes Companies from $260.00 to $250.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 6th. Finally, Roth Capital reiterated a neutral rating on shares of Lowes Companies in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $223.85.

About Lowes Companies

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Lowes Cos., Inc engages in the retail sale of home improvement products. The firm offers products for maintenance, repair, remodeling, home decorating and property maintenance. It also provides home improvement products in the following categories: appliances, bathroom, building supply, electrical, flooring, hardware, paint, kitchen, plumbing, lighting & fans, outdoor living, windows and doors.

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Medical Properties Trust, Inc. (NYSE:MPW  Get Rating)  Research analysts at Jefferies Financial Group boosted their FY2026 EPS estimates for Medical Properties Trust in a note issued to investors on Friday, April 14th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst J. Petersen now forecasts that the real estate investment trust will post earnings per share of $1.58 for the year, up from their previous forecast of $1.54. The consensus estimate for Medical Properties Trusts current full-year earnings is $1.59 per share.

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A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on MPW. Credit Suisse Group reiterated a neutral rating and issued a $11.00 price objective on shares of Medical Properties Trust in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 3rd. Raymond James reduced their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $18.00 to $16.00 and set a strong-buy rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Bank of America downgraded shares of Medical Properties Trust from a buy rating to a neutral rating and set a $10.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. Finally, KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Medical Properties Trust from $16.00 to $15.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 4th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Medical Properties Trust presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $13.73.

Medical Properties Trust Trading Down 1.9 %

Medical Properties Trust Dividend Announcement

Shares of Medical Properties Trust stock opened at $8.37 on Monday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $11.11. The company has a market cap of $5.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.52 and a beta of 0.95. Medical Properties Trust has a fifty-two week low of $7.10 and a fifty-two week high of $20.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 1.92.

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, April 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 16th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 15th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 13.86%. Medical Properties Trusts dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Medical Properties Trust

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MPW. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 348.8% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 7,104,051 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $84,256,000 after purchasing an additional 5,521,226 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 11.7% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 36,158,910 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $774,593,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800,294 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Medical Properties Trust by 24.5% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 17,071,940 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $202,473,000 after purchasing an additional 3,355,195 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,612,000. Finally, Man Group plc purchased a new position in shares of Medical Properties Trust during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,630,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.31% of the companys stock.

About Medical Properties Trust

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Medical Properties Trust, Inc is a self-advised real estate investment trust, engages in the investment, acquisition, and development of net-leased healthcare facilities. Its property portfolio includes rehabilitation hospitals, long-term acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers, hospitals for women and children, regional and community hospitals, medical office buildings, and other single-discipline facilities.

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Paragon Financial Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in McKesson Co. (NYSE:MCK  Get Rating) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 539 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $202,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MCK. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of McKesson by 13.1% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 1,186,592 shares of the companys stock worth $403,287,000 after buying an additional 137,396 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership increased its stake in McKesson by 53.8% in the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 915,949 shares of the companys stock valued at $280,399,000 after acquiring an additional 320,588 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new position in McKesson in the third quarter valued at $302,630,000. Fred Alger Management LLC increased its stake in McKesson by 11.6% in the third quarter. Fred Alger Management LLC now owns 823,327 shares of the companys stock valued at $279,824,000 after acquiring an additional 85,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. increased its stake in McKesson by 7.2% in the third quarter. UBS Asset Management Americas Inc. now owns 662,829 shares of the companys stock valued at $225,276,000 after acquiring an additional 44,308 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.23% of the companys stock.

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McKesson Price Performance

MCK traded down $3.10 on Wednesday, hitting $357.16. The company had a trading volume of 171,203 shares, compared to its average volume of 966,859. McKesson Co. has a 52-week low of $298.69 and a 52-week high of $401.78. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $354.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $367.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 0.58.

McKesson Announces Dividend

McKesson ( NYSE:MCK Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 1st. The company reported $6.90 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $6.36 by $0.54. McKesson had a net margin of 1.15% and a negative return on equity of 216.12%. The business had revenue of $70.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $70.98 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $6.15 earnings per share. McKessons quarterly revenue was up 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that McKesson Co. will post 25.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 3rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 1st were issued a dividend of $0.54 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 28th. This represents a $2.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.60%. McKessons payout ratio is 9.88%.

Insider Activity at McKesson

In related news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 7,416 shares of the firms stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $2,818,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 75,737 shares of the companys stock, valued at $28,780,060. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other McKesson news, CEO Brian S. Tyler sold 7,416 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $2,818,080.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 75,737 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $28,780,060. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Nancy Avila sold 161 shares of McKesson stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $370.02, for a total transaction of $59,573.22. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 4,631 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,713,562.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on McKesson from $445.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. StockNews.com started coverage on McKesson in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They set a strong-buy rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on McKesson from $420.00 to $426.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 2nd. UBS Group reduced their price objective on McKesson from $450.00 to $440.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup began coverage on McKesson in a research note on Friday, March 31st. They set a buy rating and a $420.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, McKesson presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $416.64.

About McKesson

(Get Rating)

McKesson Corp. engages in the provision of supply chain management solutions, retail pharmacy, community oncology and specialty care, and healthcare information technology. It operates through the following segments: U.S. Pharmaceutical, International, Medical-Surgical Solutions, and Prescription Technology Solutions (RxTS).

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Shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras (NYSE:PBR  Get Rating) have received an average recommendation of Hold from the eight brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, six have issued a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $14.00.

Several brokerages have weighed in on PBR. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras in a research note on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a buy rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras from $13.60 to $11.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, December 21st.

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Institutional Trading of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its stake in Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras by 83.0% during the 2nd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 2,577 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 1,169 shares in the last quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Huntington National Bank grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,231 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 1,160 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras by 34.3% in the 1st quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 3,368 shares of the oil and gas exploration companys stock valued at $50,000 after buying an additional 861 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 12.29% of the companys stock.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PBR opened at $12.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $80.16 billion, a PE ratio of 2.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 1.38. The firms 50 day simple moving average is $10.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $11.45. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras has a one year low of $8.88 and a one year high of $16.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras (NYSE:PBR  Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, March 2nd. The oil and gas exploration company reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.15. Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras had a net margin of 29.42% and a return on equity of 44.48%. The firm had revenue of $30.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $31.03 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras will post 3.23 EPS for the current year.

Petroleo Brasileiro S.A.  Petrobras Company Profile

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Petroleo Brasileiro SA engages in oil and gas exploration, production, and distribution activities. It operates through the following segments: Exploration and Production; Refining, Transportation, and Marketing; Gas and Power; and Corporate and Other Business. The Exploration and Production segment involves crude oil, natural gas liquids, and natural gas exploration, development, and production.

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Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC  Get Rating) in a research note issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. The brokerage set an underweight rating on the real estate investment trusts stock.

DOC has been the subject of a number of other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Physicians Realty Trust from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 15th. Credit Suisse Group restated a neutral rating and set a $15.00 price objective on shares of Physicians Realty Trust in a research report on Wednesday, March 29th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their target price on Physicians Realty Trust from $16.00 to $15.00 and set a sector perform rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 28th. Finally, Compass Point decreased their price target on Physicians Realty Trust from $21.00 to $19.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 27th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Physicians Realty Trust has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $17.73.

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Physicians Realty Trust Stock Performance

Shares of DOC traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $14.59. 917,164 shares of the companys stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,889,899. The company has a quick ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market cap of $3.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.83. The stocks 50-day simple moving average is $14.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $14.79. Physicians Realty Trust has a 52 week low of $13.42 and a 52 week high of $18.83.

Institutional Trading of Physicians Realty Trust

Physicians Realty Trust Company Profile

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of DOC. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Physicians Realty Trust by 24.5% in the first quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 20,863 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 4,102 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp boosted its position in shares of Physicians Realty Trust by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 4,766,995 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $71,171,000 after purchasing an additional 289,782 shares in the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Physicians Realty Trust during the first quarter worth approximately $51,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Physicians Realty Trust by 5.5% in the first quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 19,188 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock valued at $286,000 after buying an additional 996 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in Physicians Realty Trust by 1.9% during the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 149,478 shares of the real estate investment trusts stock worth $2,230,000 after acquiring an additional 2,856 shares in the last quarter. 91.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

(Get Rating)

Physicians Realty Trust is a real estate investment trust, which engages in the acquisition, development, owning, and managing of healthcare properties. Its principal investments include medical office buildings, outpatient treatment facilities, acute and post-acute care hospitals, as well as other real estate integral to healthcare providers.

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ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Mastercard Incorporated (NYSE:MA  Get Rating) by 4.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 181,370 shares of the credit services providers stock after buying an additional 7,649 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLCs holdings in Mastercard were worth $63,068,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 77,259,535 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $21,967,977,000 after acquiring an additional 568,155 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Mastercard by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 33,865,057 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $9,629,190,000 after acquiring an additional 138,753 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,874,093 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $2,238,920,000 after acquiring an additional 121,731 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Mastercard by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,337,588 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $1,550,168,000 after acquiring an additional 71,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in Mastercard by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 3,540,192 shares of the credit services providers stock valued at $1,006,618,000 after acquiring an additional 128,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.51% of the companys stock.

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Mastercard Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of MA stock opened at $372.32 on Wednesday. Mastercard Incorporated has a 12 month low of $276.87 and a 12 month high of $390.00. The firm has a market cap of $354.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $359.69 and a 200-day moving average of $347.43. 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 Dividend Announcement

Mastercard ( NYSE:MA Get Rating ) last issued its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $5.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.79 billion. Mastercard had a return on equity of 158.38% and a net margin of 44.65%. The companys quarterly revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $2.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Mastercard Incorporated will post 12.14 EPS for the current year.

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 9th. Investors of record on Friday, April 7th will be paid a $0.57 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 5th. This represents a $2.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. Mastercards payout ratio is 22.31%.

Insider Activity at Mastercard

In related news, insider Hai Ling sold 8,220 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.31, for a total value of $2,928,868.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 26,496 shares in the company, valued at $9,440,789.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Mastercard news, major shareholder Foundation Mastercard sold 172,548 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $365.62, for a total transaction of $63,086,999.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 100,908,187 shares in the company, valued at $36,894,051,330.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Hai Ling sold 8,220 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $356.31, for a total value of $2,928,868.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 26,496 shares of the companys stock, valued at $9,440,789.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 649,189 shares of company stock worth $240,317,705. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on MA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their target price on Mastercard from $375.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Mastercard from $380.00 to $405.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, January 30th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Mastercard from $400.00 to $450.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Mastercard from $437.00 to $438.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 27th. Finally, Wolfe Research boosted their price target on Mastercard from $395.00 to $415.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and twenty have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $413.85.

Mastercard Company Profile

(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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Primerica, Inc. (NYSE:PRI  Get Rating)  Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group raised their Q2 2023 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Primerica in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, April 13th. Jefferies Financial Group analyst D. Bergman now forecasts that the financial services provider will post earnings per share of $3.81 for the quarter, up from their prior estimate of $3.80. The consensus estimate for Primericas current full-year earnings is $15.17 per share.

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Primerica (NYSE:PRI  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The financial services provider reported $3.49 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts consensus estimates of $2.93 by $0.56. The company had revenue of $686.94 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $694.90 million. Primerica had a return on equity of 24.87% and a net margin of 13.71%. The firms quarterly revenue was down 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.94 EPS.

Primerica Trading Up 1.7 %

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Primerica from $160.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 27th. Raymond James started coverage on Primerica in a report on Wednesday, April 12th. They issued a strong-buy rating and a $244.00 price target on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Primerica from $167.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Primerica from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, February 24th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Primerica from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, April 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the companys stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Primerica presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $202.75.

Shares of PRI opened at $182.06 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.65 and a beta of 1.18. The stocks 50-day moving average price is $171.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $153.27. Primerica has a 1 year low of $110.22 and a 1 year high of $195.69.

Primerica Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 17th. This is a boost from Primericas previous quarterly dividend of $0.55. Primericas payout ratio is currently 26.64%.

Insider Activity

In related news, COO Gregory C. Pitts sold 12,903 shares of Primerica stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.71, for a total transaction of $2,409,119.13. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,180 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,527,287.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, President Peter W. Schneider sold 3,500 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $175.47, for a total value of $614,145.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 12,252 shares of the companys stock, valued at $2,149,858.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, COO Gregory C. Pitts sold 12,903 shares of the companys stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.71, for a total transaction of $2,409,119.13. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 8,180 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $1,527,287.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,168 shares of company stock valued at $7,238,391. 0.87% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Primerica

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PRI. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Primerica by 55.7% during the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,707 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $1,875,000 after buying an additional 4,901 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Primerica by 1,844.1% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,983 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 1,881 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Primerica by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,839 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $939,000 after buying an additional 307 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Primerica by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 24,752 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $3,413,000 after buying an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Primerica by 33.4% during the 1st quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 25,533 shares of the financial services providers stock worth $3,493,000 after buying an additional 6,396 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.59% of the companys stock.

Primerica Company Profile

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Primerica, Inc engages in the provision of financial products to middle-income households. It operates through the following segments: Term Life Insurance, Investment and Savings Products, Senior Health, and Corporate and Other Distributed Products. The Term Life Insurance segment includes underwriting profits in the in-force book of term life insurance policies.

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Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA  Get Rating) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,220,000 shares, a growth of 68.2% from the March 15th total of 5,480,000 shares. Currently, 7.1% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 3,420,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut Comerica from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Friday. Citigroup assumed coverage on Comerica in a report on Friday, March 10th. They issued a buy rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut Comerica from an overweight rating to a neutral rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Comerica from $80.00 to $57.00 and set a market perform rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 6th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Comerica in a report on Wednesday, March 15th. They issued a buy rating and a $68.00 target price for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $72.84.

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Insider Activity at Comerica

In related news, EVP Cassandra M. Mckinney sold 3,262 shares of the businesss stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.76, for a total transaction of $237,343.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 6,825 shares in the company, valued at $496,587. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.76% of the companys stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Comerica Trading Down 0.9 %

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CMA. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 639.7% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 577 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 499 shares during the period. Baldwin Brothers LLC MA acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Almanack Investment Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in shares of Comerica by 65.4% in the 4th quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 589 shares of the financial services providers stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Money Concepts Capital Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Comerica in the 4th quarter valued at about $50,000. 81.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

CMA traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $44.64. The stock had a trading volume of 2,447,020 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,277,581. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.85. The firms fifty day simple moving average is $56.59 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.94. Comerica has a 52 week low of $29.17 and a 52 week high of $90.34.

Comerica (NYSE:CMA  Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 19th. The financial services provider reported $2.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.56 by $0.02. Comerica had a return on equity of 20.75% and a net margin of 30.72%. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.01 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.66 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Comerica will post 8.59 EPS for the current year.

Comerica Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th were given a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Comericas previous quarterly dividend of $0.68. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.36%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 14th. Comericas dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.53%.

Comerica Company Profile

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Comerica, Inc engages in the provision of financial services. It operates through the following segments: Commercial Bank, Retail Bank, Wealth Management, Finance, and Other. The Commercial Bank segment offers various products and services, including commercial loans and lines of credit, deposits, cash management, capital market products, international trade finance, letters of credit, foreign exchange management services, and loan syndication services.

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VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Fosterville South Exploration Ltd. ("Fosterville South" or "FSX") or (the "Company") (TSXV: FSX) (OTCQX: FSXLF) (Germany: 4TU) is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with privately held Wild Dog Resources Inc. ("WDR") to acquire a significant 2166 sq. km mineral exploration land package in Papua New Guinea ("PNG") including multiple Exploration Licenses ("EL") and Exploration License Applications ("ELA").

Highlights:

2166 sq. km land position assembled via acquisition of a variety of EL and ELAs

including 614 sq. km project contiguous with and SE of K92 Mining Inc exploration tenements

including 130 sq. km project contiguous with and NW of K92 Mining Inc. tenements, 10km from mining operations

PNG EL and ELAs will compliment extensive gold land package of FSX in Australia

The total PNG land package to be acquired by FSX includes both early stage and advanced stage exploration targets with high grade epithermal vein and porphyry style mineralization present. FSX has a significant cash position and therefore, post-transaction, will be well positioned to advance these projects on the ground following up the substantial amount of fieldwork and development of drill targets already completed by WDR over the past two years. FSX team members have significant experience operating within Southeast Asian island arc epithermal and porphyry mineralization environments, and specifically in PNG.

FSX CEO Bryan Slusarchuk states, "Papua New Guinea is home to multiple world class mining, development and exploration projects and the country hosts some of the most incredible geology on earth. Through the rapid growth of K92 Mining in PNG, the recent announcement regarding Wafi-Golpu moving forward and of course the ongoing corporate discussions between Newmont and Newcrest, the amazing mineral potential of PNG is becoming more widely known. Many shareholders of FSX have invested in the PNG mining sector and we are confident they will share management's enthusiasm for this acquisition.

Story continues

WDR has invested significant capital and time acquiring and advancing these assets in PNG and their hard work and strong technical execution both on the ground and corporately has put in place an excellent foundation for success as we move forward."

WDR CEO Alan Martin, states, "WDR has assembled a commanding land position within the heart of one of the world's best regions for gold and copper exploration. Putting together these projects, developing excellent community relations and then advancing targets through fieldwork has put WDR in a position to now take the next step in PNG. Through this transaction with FSX, we are emerging as a company with a very strong cash position to deploy on the ground and a team with a track record of success in PNG within a superb share structure. Current WDR shareholders become large shareholders of the combined entity and we look forward to working together within this well funded entity to unlock the potential of the assets, exploring for Tier 1 Copper-Gold deposits in PNG."

Figure 1. Papua New Guinea Project Location Map (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

Kainantu Regional Geology, PNG

The Kainantu district is located within the New Guinea Thrust Belt, close to its northern contact with the Finisterre Terrane. The contact is marked by the northwest trending Ramu-Markham Fault, a major suture zone that marks the northern margin of the Australian Craton. The New Guinea Thrust Belt records an early Miocene or older ductile, tight folding event that was followed by middle Miocene intrusions. Late Miocene regional scale low-angle thrust faulting followed, associated with the collision of the Finisterre Terrane. The belt is characterised by a number of north-northeast trending fault zones that commonly host major deposits (K92 Mining).

Locally, the Kainantu area is underlain by greenschist to amphibolite facies metamorphic rocks of the Early Miocene Bena Bena Formation, which are unconformably overlain by the Miocene age Omaura Formation consisting of volcano-sedimentary units and limestone lenses. The overlying Yaveufa Formation comprises basaltic and andesitic flows, agglomerates, volcanoclastic sandstone and limestone. The mid-Miocene Akuna Intrusive Complex consists of multiple phases ranging from olivine gabbros, dolerites, hornblende gabbros and biotite diorites to granodiorites. Late Miocene age Elandora Porphyry intrusions and breccias are associated with mineralization and occur within proximity to a major north-northeast trending transfer structure.

Known mineralisation in the area consists of gold and copper skarn deposits, porphyry copper deposits, shear-hosted gold deposits, epithermal vein deposits and gold placer deposits.

Over 35 hard rock and 18 gold placer deposits are known within the area. Of significance are the Kathnell shear-hosted auriferous quartz veins; such structurally controlled veins may be more widespread than proposed previously and offer a new exploration target (Downes, 1993).

The Kainantu Gold Mine, in Eastern Highlands province, Papua New Guinea, is a newly discovered and significant example of diverse Cu-Au mineralisation styles in a porphyry mineral system. K92 Mining owns and operates Kainantu, and in March 2023 their stated resources at the mine were 2.6 Moz at 9.8 g/t AuEq (Measured and Indicated), and 2.9 Moz at 9.2 g/t AuEq (Inferred). Furthermore, the Inferred Resource at the K92 Blue Lake porphyry deposit is stated as 10.8Moz at 0.61 g/t AuEq. Mineralization on the property includes Au, Ag and Cu occurring in low sulphidation epithermal Au-telluride veins, Au-Cu-Ag sulphide veins of Intrusion Related Gold Copper ("IRGC") affinity, less explored porphyry Cu-Au systems and alluvial gold. The mineralization at the Kainantu Gold Mine is not necessarily indicative of mineralization on the WDR mineral properties

Arau Project, Kainantu, PNG

The Arau Project consists of one EL2651 and one ELA located in Kainantu region, Eastern Highlands Province, PNG, which are immediately east of and adjoining the Kainantu gold mine owned by K92 Mining Ltd.

Initial exploration work by previous operators has identified two potential deposit types at the project:

Epithermal gold (Sabudia Hill, Onga Hill and Erandora prospects) and

Copper-gold porphyry prospects (Mt. Victor, Mt. Aiyonka, Ebitara and P1 prospects).

Within the licence area, the Mt. Victor Prospect (copper-gold porphyry target) covers an area of 800m by 400m and previous drilling suggests that the prospect area is a multiple phase intrusive complex that is copper and gold mineralized. It is a drill ready prospect in which previous channel sampling has identified the following strong gold grades:

38m @ 2.64 g/t Au

12m @ 5.5 g/t Au

18m @ 2.4 g/t Au

10m @ 3.7 g/t Au.

These channel samples are in the central part of the Mt Victor prospect southwest of the former Mt Victor gold mine. Previous drilling was carried out in the 1980s, and all drillholes presented were vertical, which may not have been appropriate for the subvertical fault zones present within the prospect.

Hole ID E* N* Depth From (m) Length (m) Au g/t Cu ppm Notes CRD58 385177 9291680 64.5 0 64.5 0.18 106 granodiorite intruded by diorite DDH89-1 384650 9291308 260 234 5 0.85 NA visible disseminated copper mineralization DDH89-2 384965 9291825 300 43 10 1.10 NA under review DDH89-3 384873 9291562 300 213 10 1.20 NA under review MVD07 384746 9291253 52.8 0 52.8 0.10 384 altered pyritic diorite MVD08 384831 9291327 30 16 14 0.19 373 argillic altered QFP MVD09 384853 9291333 36 34 2 0.29 NA epidote altered intrusive MVD20 384900 9291345 75 0 75 0.34 304 argillic altered brecciated porphyry MVD21 384890 9291353 48 0 48 0.41 329 diorite/QFP brecciated contact MVD36 385032 9291456 24 22 2 14.70 463 altered pyritic porphyry MVD40 384994 9291435 38 0 38 3.10 1400 silica epidote altered porphyry MVD46 384932 9291388 34.5 15 19.5 0.33 117 epidote pyrite altered porphyry MVD50 385068 9291469 29 16 13 0.13 722 clay altered granodiorite MVD52 384962 9291475 30 14 16 1.01 77 sericite epidote altered porphyry MVD62 384704 9291152 75 40 35 0.12 287 kspar epidote altered porphyry MVD63 384596 9291160 48 0 48 0.75 373 diorite intruded by pyritic porphyry

Figure 2. Mt Victor Prospect Map with proposed drill sites (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

Initial drilling at the Arau Project will involve five angled diamond drill holes to follow up on a successful electromagnetic survey and previous excellent geochemical sampling results.

Wild Dog Project, New Britain, PNG

The Wild Dog Project consists of two Exploration Licence Applications (EL2516 & EL2761) totalling 1424 sq. km, which are located on the island of New Britain and are approximately 50 kms southwest of Rabaul and Kokopo, PNG.

The Wild Dog project occurs within a major NNE trending structure of at least 26km in length which transect apparent volcanic caldera structures and intrusions. During the Mio-Pliocene at least three volcanic centres, known as the Nengmutka, Keravat and Sikut calderas, were localised along this horst and graben zone. This structural corridor is an epithermal and porphyry hydrothermal-magmatic mineralized field.

The Nengmutka Caldera, which hosts the Wild Dog deposit, is characterised by a suite of calc-alkaline andesite breccia and ash flow tuff known as the Nengmutka Volcanics (Lindley, 1988). This formation has been mapped over an area of 600 km2. Tonalite of the Arabam Diorite intrudes the volcanic sequence and appears to be partly coeval with the caldera related volcanism.

The precious metal prospects are associated with epithermal type veining that contain gold-silver-telluride (Au-Ag-Te) mineralisation. Gold and silver occur as native metals and as telluride minerals. Porphyry copper-gold type mineralization also occurs associated with these intrusion centres that usually underly the epithermal systems. The whole of the recognised belt is held within the Wild Dog tenements.

Within the central part of the Wild Dog project, a significant structural corridor called the "Wild Dog  Gunsap Corridor" occurs. The corridor is at least 15 km long and up to 4 km wide and hosts at least three porphyry copper-gold prospects and several epithermal gold deposits and prospects.

The original Wild Dog epithermal gold deposit occurs within the "Wild Dog  Gunsap Corridor" in the central part of the tenements. It was discovered in 1983, with exploration including extensive mapping, trenching, rock sampling & drilling between 1983 and 2005 by various explorers. New Guinea Gold Limited (NGGL) operated a small open pit mining operation from 2007 and 2011. No exploration has occurred since the closure of the mine.

Figure 3. Wild Dog Project Location and Tenements Maps (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

Historical work completed by a previous operator returned significant gold assays. Channel sampling at the Kavursuki Prospect yields 4m at 9.41 g/t Au and at the Kargalio Vein 6m at 11.5 g/t Au.

Drilling of the Kavursuki Prospect by previous explorers, located within the Wild Dog Zone and north of the former Wild Dog mine, also yielded positive high-grade results.

Hole ID N E RL Depth Azim Dip From (m) Length (m) Au g/t Cu ppm 90KVD005 9490500 395008 787 85.60 101.50 -45.00 5.35 1.25 12.80 1200 90KVD009 9490834 395227 758 93.85 101.50 -45.00 44.65 3.75 11.21 639 10KVD016 9490464 394971 798 51.00 101.50 -50.00 35.44 8.06 6.49 194 10KVD017 9490464 394970 798 50.00 101.50 -65.00 29.08 1.12 33.70 120 11KVD019 9490496 395039 807 45.10 101.50 -60.00 11.10 5.25 9.45 167 11KVD020 9490537 395045 805 50.90 101.50 -50.00 32.45 11.05 3.18 377 11KVD025 9490809 395241 752 45.20 101.50 -50.00 14.75 8.15 18.77 2801 11KVD026 9490810 395272 776 51.70 281.50 -60.00 33.80 5.10 14.70 101 11KVD027 9490870 395252 767 56.10 101.50 -50.00 30.70 1.90 10.35 46

Apart from the drilling conducted at the former Wild Dog gold mine there remain several drill intercepts that require further exploration outside of the mine environment as tabulated below, apart from the various trenching and channel sampling targets.

Hole ID N E RL Depth Azim Dip From Length Au g/t Cu ppm 86WDD020 9489141 394278 983 259.35 103.50 -60.00 129.35 7.70 5.28 902 87WDD024 9489117 394316 965 152.55 98.50 -60.00 138.25 5.10 8.32 8556 87WDD027 9489115 394325 965 200.40 98.50 -60.00 117.95 6.20 19.13 786 87WDD040A 9489219 394320 994 280.99 103.50 -60.00 148.60 4.20 12.50 4066 87WDD045 9489235 394287 988 300.20 103.50 -60.00 201.30 2.85 16.94 32123 87WDD051 9489249 394257 985 309.10 103.50 -60.00 253.95 6.05 7.29 2054 87WDD058 9489285 394359 977 285.90 101.50 -60.00 147.00 12.45 4.96 6694 87WDD064 9489179 394289 1001 290.60 101.50 -60.00 158.00 14.95 2.73 650 87WDD065 9489160 394330 996 250.10 101.50 -60.00 142.70 4.65 5.49 3246 87WDD069 9489139 394375 991 123.50 101.50 -60.00 88.55 7.75 7.12 7151 08WDD111 9489393 394513 906 100.00 281.50 -60.00 48.40 7.10 5.47 931 85WDD014 9488708 394260 954 86.20 113.50 -51.00 48.25 5.25 9.79 10863 86WDP010 9488839 394302 909 60.00 83.50 -60.00 34.00 6.00 6.71 5047 87WDD040A 9489219 394320 994 280.99 103.50 -60.00 164.55 13.50 8.56 3056 90WDD086 9488948 394337 890 79.00 78.50 -50.00 18.45 11.25 16.22 3473 97WD098 9489389 394487 905 39.00 98.50 -45.00 12.00 8.00 9.73 NA*

NA* - not assayed or not available.

Hole ID North East RL Depth Azim Dip From Length Au g/t Cu ppm MRC01 9487963 393871 968 20.00 0.00 -90.00 2.00 18.00 3.05 3084 MRC02 9487978 393874 971 30.00 0.00 -90.00 0.00 18.00 3.07 1053 90WDD087 9488091 394082 1021 61.95 101.50 -50.00 7.30 1.35 5.02 1650 90WDD088 9488104 394070 1023 40.30 101.50 -50.00 21.30 1.55 3.95 25 MMD003 9486870 393532 924 104.00 133.00 -50.00

2.35 4.42 NA* MMD006 9486770 393479 945 122.05 133.00 -50.00

2.55 4.16 NA*

Additionally, multiple samples collected from a historic stockpile near the Wild Dog Zone returned bonanza grades of gold and copper including Sample 30104 which assayed 242 g/t Au, 601 g/t Ag, 9.52% Cu and Sample 68001 which assayed 122.5 g/t Au, 350 g/t Ag and 11% Cu.

Figure 4. NE-trending Wild Dog - Gunsap structural corridor strongly coincident with equidistant intrusives and caldera features. (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

Figure 5. Historic exploration data at Wild Dog project. (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

The exploration program at Wild Dog will initially focus on drilling the copper-gold Magiabe porphyry target as well as testing the potential existence of an arrowhead intrusion complex at depth beneath the Wild Dog zone (Figure 5).

Figure 6. Schematic section for Wild Dog Zone, illustrating location of potential Arrowhead Intrusive Complex. (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

Kesar Creek Project, Kainantu, PNG

The Kesar Creek Project consists of one ELA2711 and is located 10 kms west of the Kora gold mine owned and operated by K92 Mining.

Exploration at Kesar Creek has identified the presence of semi-massive copper sulphides associated in quartz veins paralleling the Kora gold deposit as well as the potential for a copper-gold porphyry deposit. Although limited exploration has been carried out at Kesar Creek, initial rock sampling programs returned high-grade gold-copper-silver values including:

Rock sample no 14128 at 11.5 g/t Au

Rock sample no A1428 at 11.9 g/t Au

Rock sample no 9231F at 10.6 g/t Au

Rock sample no 14236 at 11.6 g/t Au, 29 g/t Ag, 360 ppm Cu

Rock sample no. A14023 at 30.4 g/t Au, 240 g/t Ag, 1300 ppm Cu

Figure 7. Historic exploration data at Kesar Creek project showing trench, soil and rock assay results with key geological features previously mapped by Highlands Gold Ltd. and Barrick PNG Ltd. (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

Terms of Transaction

Via the execution of a non-binding term sheet, Fosterville South and WDR have agreed to negotiate and settle the terms of a definitive share purchase agreement whereby Fosterville South will acquire all the issued and outstanding securities of WDR. Management of both WDR and FSX support this transaction. In consideration of WDR, Fosterville South will issue a total of 16.8 million common shares to the shareholders of WDR, 526,835 share purchase warrants to the warrant holders of WDR and grant 1,553,520 options to the stock option holders of WDR. The transaction is subject to TSX Venture Exchange acceptance, entry into a definitive agreement and such conditions as are customary for similar transactions.

About FSX

FSX began with two, 100% owned, high-grade gold projects called the Lauriston and Golden Mountain Projects, and has since acquired a large area of granted and application tenements containing further epizonal (low-temperature) high-grade gold mineralisation called the Providence Project and a large group of recently consolidated license tenement applications called the Walhalla Belt Project, which contain a variety of epizonal and intrusion related style gold mineralisation, all in the state of Victoria, Australia. The Fosterville South land package, assembled over a multi-year period, notably includes a 600 sq. km property immediately to the south of and within the same geological framework that hosts Agnico Eagle's Fosterville epizonal gold tenements. Additionally, Fosterville South has gold-focused projects called the Moormbool and Beechworth, which are also located in the state of Victoria, Australia. Moormbool project has epizonal style gold mineralisation and Beechworth has mesozonal and intrusion relation gold mineralisation. The primary focus has been to explore for epizonal gold deposits similar to the outstanding world class Fosterville gold mine.

All of FSX's properties, with the possible exception of Moormbool, have had historical gold production from hard rock sources despite limited modern exploration and drilling. Victorian exploration is continuing to focus on specific key targets where results to date indicate excellent exploration potential.

Qualified Person

The technical content of this news release has been reviewed, verified and approved by WDR Director, Chris Muller, PGeo, a Qualified Person under the meaning of National Instrument 43-101  Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. Mr. Muller is responsible for the technical content of this news release and has spent time onsite reviewing sampling results as well as discussing work programs and results with geology personnel and external consultants.

On behalf of the Company

Rex Motton

Chief Operating Officer and Director

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. Fosterville South cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by many material factors, many of which are beyond their respective control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Fosterville South's limited operating history, its exploration and development activities on the Lauriston, Golden Mountain, Providence and Beechworth Properties and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, Fosterville South does not undertake to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Fosterville South Exploration (CNW Group/Fosterville South Exploration Ltd.)

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Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN  Get Rating) had its price objective lowered by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $9.00 to $8.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, The Fly reports. Piper Sandlers price objective would suggest a potential upside of 56.25% from the stocks previous close.

Several other analysts have also commented on SWN. Truist Financial dropped their price target on shares of Southwestern Energy from $8.00 to $7.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. UBS Group assumed coverage on Southwestern Energy in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a neutral rating and a $5.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a sector perform rating and set a $9.00 price target on shares of Southwestern Energy in a research report on Tuesday, March 7th. Benchmark cut Southwestern Energy from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report on Monday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on Southwestern Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eleven have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Southwestern Energy currently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $8.03.

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Southwestern Energy Stock Performance

Shares of SWN stock opened at $5.12 on Wednesday. Southwestern Energy has a 52-week low of $4.60 and a 52-week high of $9.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.02. The stock has a market cap of $5.64 billion, a PE ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 1.31. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $5.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $5.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Southwestern Energy

Southwestern Energy ( NYSE:SWN Get Rating ) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 24th. The energy company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $3.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Southwestern Energy had a net margin of 12.32% and a return on equity of 87.78%. The companys revenue was up 14.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.31 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Southwestern Energy will post 0.82 EPS for the current year.

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Southwestern Energy by 343.7% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 13,751,398 shares of the energy companys stock worth $84,159,000 after purchasing an additional 10,651,998 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Southwestern Energy by 269.1% during the first quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 13,958,070 shares of the energy companys stock worth $100,079,000 after buying an additional 10,175,992 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Southwestern Energy by 21.5% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 55,933,972 shares of the energy companys stock worth $401,047,000 after buying an additional 9,882,224 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Southwestern Energy by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 128,222,158 shares of the energy companys stock valued at $919,352,000 after buying an additional 9,410,861 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Southwestern Energy by 979.8% in the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 7,358,637 shares of the energy companys stock worth $36,793,000 after acquiring an additional 6,677,160 shares during the last quarter. 82.26% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Southwestern Energy

(Get Rating)

Southwestern Energy Co is a holding company, which engages in the exploration, development, and production of natural gas, oil, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). It operates through the Exploration and Production (E&P), and Marketing segments. The E&P segment includes operations in northeast Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and southwest Pennsylvania, The Marketing segment deals in the marketing and transportation of natural gas, oil and NGLs primarily produced in E&P.

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Toyota Boshoku Co. (OTCMKTS:TDBOF  Get Rating) was the target of a large drop in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 337,500 shares, a drop of 17.2% from the March 15th total of 407,400 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 0 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently  days.

Toyota Boshoku Price Performance

Shares of TDBOF opened at $14.00 on Wednesday. The firms 50-day simple moving average is $14.00. Toyota Boshoku has a 12-month low of $14.00 and a 12-month high of $14.00.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Toyota Boshoku from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, January 10th.

About Toyota Boshoku

Toyota Boshoku Corp. engages in manufacturing, developing, and selling of automobile parts and textile products. The companys products include seats, door trims, instrument panels, headliners, illuminations, filter products, fuel parts, and textile components. The company was founded by Sakichi Toyoda on January 30, 1918 and is headquartered in Kariya, Japan.

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Shares of The Travelers Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TRV  Get Rating) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $172.00, but opened at $182.41. Travelers Companies shares last traded at $180.62, with a volume of 382,599 shares.

The insurance provider reported $4.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $3.76 by $0.35. Travelers Companies had a return on equity of 13.34% and a net margin of 7.71%. The company had revenue of $9.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.98 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $4.22 EPS. Travelers Companiess revenue for the quarter was up 10.2% on a year-over-year basis.

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Travelers Companies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 9th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Travelers Companiess previous quarterly dividend of $0.93. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.21%. Travelers Companiess dividend payout ratio is currently 31.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Insiders Place Their Bets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on TRV shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Travelers Companies in a report on Thursday, March 16th. They issued a hold rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $190.00 to $195.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Travelers Companies from an in-line rating to an outperform rating and upped their target price for the company from $183.00 to $220.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. Raymond James upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $200.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a strong-buy rating in a report on Wednesday, January 25th. Finally, Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Travelers Companies from $196.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Tuesday, April 4th. One investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $191.07.

In other Travelers Companies news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 150,829 shares of the companys stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,124,196.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Alan D. Schnitzer sold 150,829 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $188.53, for a total value of $28,435,791.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 196,914 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,124,196.42. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Vice Chairman William H. Heyman sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.42, for a total transaction of $1,722,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 251,605 shares of the companys stock, valued at approximately $48,162,229.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 188,163 shares of company stock worth $35,402,200. 1.07% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Travelers Companies

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in TRV. Fairfield Bush & CO. acquired a new stake in Travelers Companies in the 1st quarter valued at about $160,000. Cibc World Market Inc. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 28.8% in the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 5,934 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $1,084,000 after acquiring an additional 1,327 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,905 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 40.6% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 51,551 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $9,420,000 after acquiring an additional 14,873 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Travelers Companies by 5.0% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 27,212 shares of the insurance providers stock valued at $4,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.59% of the companys stock.

Travelers Companies Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $41.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.37, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 0.60. The stocks 50 day moving average is $176.24 and its 200 day moving average is $180.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

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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Watsco (NYSE:WSO  Get Rating) is scheduled to be posting its quarterly earnings results before the market opens on Thursday, April 20th. Analysts expect Watsco to post earnings of $2.25 per share for the quarter. Individual interested in participating in the companys earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Watsco (NYSE:WSO  Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 16th. The construction company reported $2.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.23. Watsco had a return on equity of 25.17% and a net margin of 8.26%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.02 EPS. The companys quarterly revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect Watsco to post $14 EPS for the current fiscal year and $14 EPS for the next fiscal year.

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Watsco Price Performance

Shares of WSO stock opened at $318.51 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $306.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $280.91. The company has a current ratio of 2.54, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. Watsco has a 12 month low of $220.68 and a 12 month high of $343.85. The company has a market capitalization of $12.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.91.

Watsco Announces Dividend

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 28th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 17th will be given a $2.45 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 14th. This represents a $9.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. Watscos dividend payout ratio is currently 63.60%.

A number of analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Watsco from $218.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock an underweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Thursday, March 16th. They set a hold rating for the company. Stephens raised their target price on Watsco from $300.00 to $375.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Watsco from $323.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, February 17th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Watsco in a research report on Tuesday, January 10th. They set a neutral rating and a $280.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $322.17.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Watsco

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Verition Fund Management LLC acquired a new stake in Watsco during the 2nd quarter valued at $265,000. APG Asset Management N.V. acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $246,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $232,000. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 1st quarter valued at $229,000. Finally, ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Watsco in the 4th quarter valued at $207,000. 84.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Watsco Company Profile

(Get Rating)

Watsco, Inc engages in the distribution of air conditioning, heating and refrigeration equipment, and related parts and supplies. Its products include residential central air conditioners, gas, electric & oil furnaces, commercial air conditioning and heating equipment, and other specialized equipment and parts, including replacement compressors, evaporator coils, motors and other component parts and supplies, including thermostats, insulation material, refrigerants, ductwork, grills, registers, sheet metal, tools, copper tubing, concrete pads, tape, adhesives, and other ancillary supplies.

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FTI Consulting, Inc.

Jasper Schrijver to Lead the Firms European Human Capital Offering

AMSTERDAM, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN) today announced the continued expansion of its business transformation capabilities in Europe with the appointment of aviation and human capital management expert Jasper Schrijver as a Senior Managing Director in the firms Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment. He joins with a team of three professionals, who add further depth to FTI Consultings bench of business transformation experts in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).



Mr. Schrijver, who is based in Amsterdam, will be part of the global Aviation practice and will lead the firms European human capital offering, expanding FTI Consultings ability to provide seamless, sector-focused services to clients around the world. Joining with Mr. Schrijver are Senior Director Christopher Jacobi, who is based in London, and Director Elena Zhiguleva and Senior Consultant Vikashini Kumar, who will be based in Amsterdam.

The team will bring 35 collective years of experience in aviation, human capital, turnaround and transformation-related projects to FTI Consulting. Their arrival continues the firms investments in growing a full-service, specialised aviation consulting team.

Aviation and similar labour-intensive industries have long been at the sharp end of change, said Diederick van der Plas , a Senior Managing Director and EMEA Head of the Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment at FTI Consulting. Jasper and our new team members bring a keen understanding of the big shifts that are happening in these industries, which will be of huge value to clients. I look forward to working with Jasper as we shape the future expansion of our Business Transformation practice in Europe.

Mr. Schrijver joins the firm with more than 15 years of experience in human capital and transformation programmes within aviation, its related industries and other labour-intensive businesses. He brings deep expertise in operating model design and implementation, workforce productivity and cost optimisation, union negotiations for collective labour agreements, merger and acquisition due diligence, and turnaround planning. Prior to FTI Consulting, Mr. Schrijver was responsible for leading key elements of the transformation agenda at Swissport International, a leading global ground handler for aviation. He was previously a Managing Director at Accenture, where he led the workforce excellence offering for the Travel practice, and a Vice President at Seabury Group.

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These hires continue the firms investment in its Corporate Finance & Restructuring segment in the Benelux region following the acquisition of FTI-BOLD in the Netherlands in February 2022.

Im delighted to welcome Jasper, Christopher, Elena and Vikashini as we continue to expand our presence in Benelux, said Klaas Wagenaar , a Senior Managing Director and Head of Corporate Finance & Restructuring in the Benelux region. Jasper and the team bring exceptional experience and relationships from the human capital and aviation industry, and they will strengthen our European footprint in this area for clients across the region and beyond.

Commenting on his appointment, Mr. Schrijver said, It is exciting to join a firm with such a collaborative global platform. I look forward to contributing to its success and working with colleagues across Europe and globally to help clients adapt and thrive in the conditions that the market creates.

About FTI Consulting

FTI Consulting, Inc. is a global business advisory firm dedicated to helping organisations manage change, mitigate risk and resolve disputes: financial, legal, operational, political and regulatory, reputational and transactional. With more than 7,600 employees located in 31 countries, FTI Consulting professionals work closely with clients to anticipate, illuminate and overcome complex business challenges and make the most of opportunities. The Company generated $3.03 billion in revenues during fiscal year 2022. In certain jurisdictions, FTI Consultings services are provided through distinct legal entities that are separately capitalised and independently managed. For more information, visit www.fticonsulting.com and connect with us on Twitter (@FTIConsulting), Facebook and LinkedIn.

FTI Consulting, Inc.

200 Aldersgate

Aldersgate Street

London, EC1A 4HD

CONTACT: Investor Contact: Mollie Hawkes +1.617.747.1791 mollie.hawkes@fticonsulting.com Media Contacts: Helen Obi +44 20 7632 5071 helen.obi@fticonsulting.com




A contestant performs during the Ugandan finals of the "Chinese Bridge" competitions at Kawempe Muslim Secondary School, Kampala, Uganda, April 16, 2023. [Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua]

Uganda on Sunday held the "Chinese Bridge" competitions aimed at testing college and secondary students' proficiency in Mandarin in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

KAMPALA, April 18 (Xinhua)  Uganda on Sunday held the "Chinese Bridge" competitions aimed at testing college and secondary students' proficiency in Mandarin in Kampala, the capital of Uganda.

The event was held under the theme "One World, One Family" for both categories at Kawempe Muslim Secondary School. A total of 12 finalists from both categories showcased their Chinese language skills and understanding of Chinese culture through speeches, quizzes, and cultural performances.

Both Vianney Nsubuga of Luyanzi Confucius Class, who won the competition for the college category, and Sadik Wamala, who won in the secondary category, will represent Uganda in the global competitions.

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong (R) presents prizes to Nsubuga Vianney (C) and Wamala Sadik, winners of the Ugandan finals of the "Chinese Bridge" competitions, at Kawempe Muslim Secondary School, Kampala, Uganda, April 16, 2023. [Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua]

Nsubuga was full of excitement as he hugged his fellow contestants after being announced as the winner. "I am so excited about this win. I didn't expect it because it was a tough journey to beat all these contestants. But thank God I have made it, and I will be traveling to China and learn more about Chinese culture," Nsubuga said.

Wamala said he will keep revising and make it a point to learn more about the Chinese language and culture.

Chinese Ambassador to Uganda Zhang Lizhong said the competitions have promoted cultural exchanges between the two countries, and become a platform for students to make friends.

"The Chinese language has become not only a golden key to understanding China, but also a golden bridge to strengthen our mutual support, solidarity, and bilateral cooperation in various fields, and continuously deepen the China-Uganda comprehensive cooperative partnership," he said.

A contestant dances during the Ugandan finals of the "Chinese Bridge" competitions at Kawempe Muslim Secondary School in Kampala, Uganda, April 16, 2023. [Photo by Nicholas Kajoba/Xinhua]

Grace Baguma, director of Uganda's National Curriculum Development Center, said the partnership between Uganda and China has enabled many Ugandans to achieve more in terms of job creation and empowerment.

Baguma said last year over 98 percent of students who sat the ordinary level secondary school examinations for the Chinese language passed very well, attributing it to support from the government and Chinese embassy. She said more secondary school teachers have started learning and taking courses in the Chinese language in order to get jobs in schools and companies that have a niche in Chinese.

(Source: Xinhua)
The annual sessions of the National People's Congress (NPC) and the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) were held in March. During the "two sessions," the All-China Women's Federation (ACWF) submitted a proposal aimed at promoting a new type of marriage and childbirth culture and creating a marriage- and childbirth-friendly social environment.

Meanwhile, NPC deputies and CPPCC members from the ACWF also submitted their proposals concerning the protection of women's rights and interests in multiple fields.

Zhang Xiaolan, a CPPCC member, Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, suggested providing more resources and capital for women on professional training, to help women increase their professional skills and find high-quality and full employment.

Wu Haiying, a CPPCC member, Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, proposed promoting proper view on marriage and love, regulating excessive betrothal gifts, and cultivating civilized custom for a new era.

The Ministry of Civil Affairs in September 2022 solicited public advice in the revision of the Organic Law of the Villagers Committees, creating an important opportunity to strengthen the guarantee for giving full play to the role of rural women through legislative efforts. During this year's NPC session, Tan Lin, an NPC deputy, former Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, came up with a proposal to attach importance to women's role in the revised draft of the law, to give play to rural women's role in rural revitalization in a better way.

A draft of the Organic Law of the Rural Collective Economy was reviewed for the first time during a session of the 13th NPC Standing Committee convened in December 2022, which received great attention from many deputies. During this year's NPC session, Tan suggested guaranteeing rural women's rights and interests in the law.

Xia Jie, a CPPCC member, former Member of the Leading Party Members' Group and Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, suggested establishing and improving criteria for childcare workers, protecting their legitimate rights and interests, and cultivating professional workers through multiple channels.

Lin Yi, a CPPCC member, Vice-President and Member of the Secretariat of the ACWF, put forward a proposal on encouraging employers to create an inclusive environment that ensures equal employment for women.

(Source: Women Voice/Translated and edited by Women of China)
Lu Tingting is on an inspection tour of the Great Wall. [People's Daily/Wang Jintao]

In a chilly wind, a young woman skillfully set up a portable meteorological device on a tripod and recorded the wind direction, temperature, humidity and other data, despite her windswept hair.

"These data offer important support for preserving the Great Wall," said the millennial girl Lu Tingting, who grew up in Jiayuguan, a city in northwest China's Gansu Province. It's home to Jiayu Pass, the western start of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) Great Wall.

After she graduated with a master's degree, she returned to her hometown and worked for the relics protection department of the Great Wall conservation institute under the Jiayuguan (Great Wall) Silk Road Culture Research Institute.

The Great Wall is so far the largest cultural heritage and one with the widest geographical span in China. However, some parts of it are dilapidated today due to natural erosion, human activities, environmental changes and other factors.

Conservation thus is urgent for the aging Great Wall. Over recent years, as China accelerates the building of the Great Wall national cultural parks, more efforts have been made in the protection and research of the cultural heritage.

Many young generations, including Lu, are engaged in the protection of the Great Wall. With expertise and passion, they are contributing their strength to revitalize the ancient structure in the new era.

Guo Hongxiu splits the thorns during a patrol. [People's Daily/Zhang Tengyang]

Lu has been working to protect the wild Great Wall for more than three years. Every month, she went on more than 400 inspection tours to some 30 sites of immovable cultural relics scattered in the Gobi desert, mountains, forests and other areas where people are rarely seen.

After three years, Lu has gained a significantly deeper understanding of the Great Wall. Now she's become an expert in using all kinds of tools and instruments, and she knows well the features and formation of various "diseases" of the Great Wall, such as surface weathering, exfoliation and cracking.

The conservation of the Great Wall calls for perseverance. The ancient Chinese fortifications, mostly located in remote areas with complex topography, stretch thousands of kilometers. In some sections, there's no paved path, so people engaged have to climb on their hands and knees in order to finish their work. It's a lonely task away from the hustle and bustle of the cities.

Guo Hongxiu is a 32-year-old Great Wall ranger located in Sangyuan Village, Lulong County, Qinhuangdao, north China's Hebei Province. He goes on patrols all year round with his motorcycle over the bumpy mountainous roads, which is also a tradition of his family started by his grandfather in the 1980s.

As the third-generation Great Wall ranger in his family, Guo recalled that his grandfather often took him on patrols when he was a child. "Grandpa always said that the Great Wall is a valuable asset of the Chinese nation and it carries history, so it must be well protected," Guo told People's Daily.

Shang Heng, a young man born in 1984, started working for the Beijing Institute of Cultural Relics, or what's known today as the Beijing Institute of Archaeology, in 2010. He has joined and hosted many archaeological excavation projects of the Great Wall and completed multiple research programs in the past dozen years. He has been to many sites along the Great Wall on foot for research over the past two decades, covering over 3,000 kilometers.

Photo shows a section of the Great Wall in Luanping County, Chengde, north China's Hebei Province. [People's Daily Online/Zhou Wanping]

The conservation of the Great Wall calls for innovation. The Great Wall was built and renovated in different dynasties with various building materials and techniques. Therefore, the preservation of it is not an easy task.

Thanks to the ceaseless efforts made by relevant parties, new approaches and achievements of Great Wall studies and protection have kept emerging these years.

Shang, in cooperation with experts in ancient architecture, materials and botany, has turned rescue-oriented renovation of the Great Wall into comprehensive conservation with research and repair. The conservation combines archaeological excavation, multidisciplinary research and digital tracking records, opening a new chapter of Great Wall conservation.

The application of new technologies has placed the Great Wall under better protection. "Relying on precise data, we have incorporated regular monitoring in the routine inspection. We are using digital monitors for inspection, image data collection and patrols every month," said Lu.

With advanced equipment, such as drones, she can complete inspections more easily and analyze the cause and development of "diseases" based on the data collected, thus providing science-based maintenance solutions.

The innovative conservation has well protected the authenticity, completeness and security of the Great Wall. It is believed that a great synergy will be forged through innovative practices and exploration to inject ceaseless impetus into the protection of cultural heritage and the inheritance of history.

(Source: People's Daily Online)
Jacob Stevens was on a ventilator for almost a week before he died, according to CNN affiliate WSYX.
(Bloomberg) -- Brett Harrisons software startup is pushing into futures and crypto markets for institutional investors, as he moves away from his association with Sam-Bankman-Fried and the collapse of FTX.

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Architect Financial Technologies, the venture formed by the former president of FTX US, is launching a platform to tap into exchanges and trading venues including CME Group Inc., Coinbase Global Inc. and Uniswap. It also plans to offer clearing services for futures trades through StoneX Group Inc. and Wedbush Financial Services LLC.

Harrison, 34, is building Architect based on his experience working at both an exchange and high frequency trading firms. He was at FTX US for 17 months, stepping down in September before the collapse of the crypto empire. Before that he spent time at market maker Citadel Securities and quantitative trading firm Jane Street Group, where he first worked with Bankman-Fried.

One of the things I have learned is security and trust is paramount in building a trading platform, Harrison said in an interview. As we designed Architect we have come up with security features to ensure clients remain in control of private information such as wallets, keys and account information.

The Chicago-based firm wont manage or trade client funds. It provides the software for users to connect to systems in futures and crypto markets. Architects larger plan is to offer trading of multiple asset classes, expanding to equities, options, and fixed income. To support those efforts, Architect partnered with StoneX, aiming to tap its liquidity.

Harrison declined to discuss specifics of his relationship with Bankman-Fried, beyond previous public statements.

Story continues

The executive, who hasnt been publicly accused of any wrongdoing, has said that he tried to raise concerns about organizational problems at FTX and that any alleged criminal activity there was concealed from him. Even after trust in crypto has been severely shaken by a series of scandals last year, Harrison said his firm is seeing tremendous interest.

Bankman-Fried, who gained fame and wealth as a prominent crypto advocate, awaits trial in October after pleading not guilty to fraud and campaign-finance law charges. His digital-asset empire rapidly spiraled into bankruptcy in November, with billions of dollars in customer funds lost.

Architect is developing a compliance program and plans to apply for registration licenses, according to Harrison, the firms founder and chief executive officer. The firm was built to work within the US regulatory landscape, and to help bigger players use the platform for trading in multiple markets.

The lines of traditional assets and digital assets will be blurred over time, Harrison said. Technology that is successful in one will require being successful in the other.

Architect plans to provide over-the-counter trading through a mix of market-makers including B2C2, Galaxy Digital and Wintermute. Its also set to offer connectivity to custodians including Anchorage Digital and BitGo, or self-custody of digital assets through the platforms own program.

In its initial funding round, Architect got $5 million from investors including Coinbase Ventures and Circle Ventures. Anthony Scaramucci and his SALT Fund are also active investors.

Harrison has brought on former colleagues to build a team of nine. They include the corporate counsel, Karista Vaeth, former senior counsel at FTX US; and chief technology officer Eric Stokes, who spent eight years at Jane Street developing trading infrastructure and manging its technology groups.

The Architect teams experience working at high-frequency trading shops and exchanges will be used to build tools that serve multiple markets, letting investors decide where and how they want to trade, he said.

While we think digital assets are going to be a critical part of the future of financial markets, we are building for the markets that exist today, Harrison said. And there are plenty of non-crypto assets that clients want access to.

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Galapagos NV's (AMS:GLPG) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 4.5x might make it look like a strong buy right now compared to the Biotechs industry in the Netherlands, where around half of the companies have P/S ratios above 10.2x and even P/S above 47x are quite common. However, the P/S might be quite low for a reason and it requires further investigation to determine if it's justified.

View our latest analysis for Galapagos

How Galapagos Has Been Performing

Galapagos could be doing better as it's been growing revenue less than most other companies lately. It seems that many are expecting the uninspiring revenue performance to persist, which has repressed the growth of the P/S ratio. If this is the case, then existing shareholders will probably struggle to get excited about the future direction of the share price.

Want the full picture on analyst estimates for the company? Then our free report on Galapagos will help you uncover what's on the horizon.

What Are Revenue Growth Metrics Telling Us About The Low P/S?

The only time you'd be truly comfortable seeing a P/S as depressed as Galapagos' is when the company's growth is on track to lag the industry decidedly.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a decent 4.2% gain to the company's revenues. Ultimately though, it couldn't turn around the poor performance of the prior period, with revenue shrinking 39% in total over the last three years. So unfortunately, we have to acknowledge that the company has not done a great job of growing revenue over that time.

Turning to the outlook, the next three years should generate growth of 5.4% per annum as estimated by the eight analysts watching the company. With the industry predicted to deliver 48% growth each year, the company is positioned for a weaker revenue result.

With this information, we can see why Galapagos is trading at a P/S lower than the industry. It seems most investors are expecting to see limited future growth and are only willing to pay a reduced amount for the stock.

Story continues

The Bottom Line On Galapagos' P/S

Typically, we'd caution against reading too much into price-to-sales ratios when settling on investment decisions, though it can reveal plenty about what other market participants think about the company.

As expected, our analysis of Galapagos' analyst forecasts confirms that the company's underwhelming revenue outlook is a major contributor to its low P/S. Shareholders' pessimism on the revenue prospects for the company seems to be the main contributor to the depressed P/S. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

Plus, you should also learn about this 1 warning sign we've spotted with Galapagos.

If these risks are making you reconsider your opinion on Galapagos, explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there.

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 International Editorial Board of the World Socialist Web Site condemns the arrest of French publisher Ernest Moret under anti-terror laws, justified by his participation in mass protests in France against Macrons pension cuts.

Moret, 28, works as a foreign rights manager for the Editions La Fabrique publishing house. He arrived in London St Pancras Station by the Eurostar train at 7:15 p.m. Monday evening. There he was stopped under Schedule 7 of the Terrorism Act 2000 by plainclothes counterterrorism officers who demanded he disclose the passcodes to his phone and computer, to which he refused.

Questioned for six hours in the Islington police station, north London, Moret was then arrested Tuesday on suspicion of wilfully obstructing a schedule 7 examination, contrary to section 18 of the Terrorism Act 2000, according to the London Metropolitan police.

Protests were held Tuesday evening outside the French Institute in London and the British Embassy in Paris. Media outlets report that he has now been released on bail.

Schedule 7 gives the police powers to search, without grounds, people at border crossings to investigate involvement in terrorism. Morets colleague and travelling partner, Stella Magliani-Belkacem, told The Guardian the police officers said they had the right to ask him about demonstrations in France.

Editions La Fabrique and its British partner Verso Books issued a joint press release Tuesday confirming, The police officers claimed that Ernest had participated in demonstrations in France as a justification for this acta quite remarkably inappropriate statement for a British police officer to make and which seems to clearly indicate complicity between French and British authorities on this matter.

The publishing houses condemned the outrageous and unjustifiable infringements of basic principles of the freedom of expression and an example of the abuse of anti-terrorism laws.

We consider that this assault on the freedom of expression of a publisher is yet another manifestation of the slide towards repressive and authoritarian measures taken by the current French government in the face of widespread popular discontent and protest.

The WSWS has well documented political differences with the traditions of the Frankfurt School and postmodernism upon which Verso Books and Editions La Fabrique base much of their work. However, the WSWS maintains a principled and irreconcilable opposition to this draconian assault on democratic rights.

Morets arrest is the action of a UK police state, which has grave implications for democratic rights. Millions of people have joined protests against French President Emmanuel Macrons unilateral raising of the retirement age against the popular will and without a vote in parliament. Are they all now suspects under anti-terror laws?

The deployment of counterterror police against a publisher is in keeping with the rapid move to ever more authoritarian forms of rule on both sides of the Channel and internationally. French police have used extreme violence against strikes and protests in recent weeks. Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin has repeatedly defended their actions, denouncing the far left for wanting to attack the Republic.

In Britain, this is not the first time anti-terror laws have been used to intimidate an individual for opposing state policies. In 2013 David Miranda, partner of journalist Glenn Greenwald, was detained by police in exactly the same circumstances as Moret following Greenwalds involvement in the Edward Snowden exposure of industrial-scale state surveillance.

Miranda was held for nine hours, denied the right to a lawyer and to remain silent, with his property including journalistic material confiscated and demands made for his passcodes.

They got me to tell them the passwords for my computer and mobile phone, Miranda told The Guardian at the time. They said I was obliged to answer all their questions  They were threatening me all the time and saying I would be put in jail if I didnt cooperate.

The High Court ruled later that the police had acted lawfully.

Since 2019, the UK government has held the WikiLeaks publisher and founder Julian Assange in its maximum security prison at Belmarsh, following nearly seven years in which it kept him confined to the Ecuadorian Embassy in London, where he had claimed political asylum. Assanges crime, in this case prosecuted under the US Espionage Act, is to have exposed the atrocities and antidemocratic intrigues of US imperialism and its allies in Iraq, Afghanistan and all over the world.

In recent months, a raft of legislation has been moved through Britains parliament to eviscerate the most basic democratic rights, including the right to strike, protest and speak freely. The Public Order Bill will outlaw protests causing serious disruption to two or more individuals, or to an organisation, with serious disruption including noise. It grants the police vastly expanded stop-and-search powers and the right to issue orders forbidding individuals from attending protests for up to two years and to fit them with electronic tags.

The Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill will force a minimum proportion of workers in six sectors to keep working during industrial action, allowing employers to order individuals to cross picket lines.

The National Security Bill adds more sweeping and draconian provisions to the Official Secrets Act, severely restricting journalistic activity.

The British police arrest of Moret confirms that the ultimate target of these repressive laws is the opposition in the working class. With protests and strikes raging against government austerity measures, amid a deeply unpopular war waged by NATO in Ukraine against Russia, the ruling class is resorting to ever more naked state repression.

In 2019, a report by the governments Commission for Countering Extremism (CCE) branded swaths of left-wing opinion extremist and linked revolutionary workerist ideas with sympathy for violent extremist tactics. Among the examples of views to be criminalised were expressions such as, We should always support striking workers, This country needs revolutionary change and Protesting against the Government makes the world a better place.

In 2020, a Counter Terrorism Policing Guidance Document was leaked listing organisations, such as the Stop the War Coalition, the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), Greenpeace, Extinction Rebellion, PETA, Stop the Badger Cull, the Socialist Workers Party, Stand Up to Racism and the Socialist Party.

In 2021, the UK government announced a landmark review into left-wing extremism.

Above all, Morets arrest on terrorism charges related to the protests in France speaks to the gnawing fear of the British ruling class that the movement will spread and the strikes of French and British workers, animated by fundamentally the same issues, will be unified. This is just one manifestation of the concern in the ruling class everywhere, facing growing resistance in the working class to its policies of mass impoverishment and war.

But the international class struggle cannot be stopped at the border, no matter how dictatorial the laws imposed. Workers must defend Moret and all those whom capitalist governments target in order to establish precedents for wider repression.
Over the last weekend in Chicago three teenage boys were shot at two separate public gatherings involving large numbers of young people. A 14-year-old was shot at the lakefront on Friday, and the other two, 16 and 17 years old, were shot outside of Millennium Park, a large downtown public space, on Saturday night. All three are expected to recover from their wounds.

A picture of the Chicago skyline in October 2022. [Photo by Sea Cow / CC BY-SA 4.0

The shootings took place during social events that were organized online, referred to ominously in the media as takeovers of public spaces. The two locations, 31st Street Beach where about 300 gathered and Millennium Park where a few hundred more got together, are popular places for picnics, festivals and dance events, especially in warmer weather. Reports indicate nine adults and six children were arrested in total.

Videos shared online and on local media from the weekend showed large groups of youth, mostly teenagers milling about Chicagos downtown along Michigan Avenue outside of Millennium Park.

The vast majority were playing music, dancing, and wandering around outside the park looking for a way in. There were also outbreaks of fighting and vandalism that have been highly publicized and are being used to justify an authoritarian crackdown, including increased surveillance, on young people.

A young couple visiting from out of state who were robbed and beaten by a group in one of the large gatherings told several news media stations that they tried to flag down police for help but were ignored.



These events follow on an extended city election season in which Democrats and the media, backed by wealthy business interests, relentlessly campaigned for a law-and-order crackdown and hiring thousands more police officers, as budget cuts to schools and transit loom.



Since the weekend, media reports indicate police attempted to shut down public transit access into downtown, as was done by Mayor Lightfoot during the 2020 anti-police violence protests, but this reportedly failed due to breakdown in the police chain of command and its communication with city agencies.

Last summer, following a similar incident that led to a 16-year-old boy being shot and killed, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot imposed a curfew banning anyone under age 18 from Millennium Park after 6:00 p.m. on weekends. There is a city-wide 10:00 p.m. curfew for those aged 17 and under.

The Chicago Police Department issued a statement announcing additional resources would be allocated to increase searches and monitoring of young people. The reckless, disruptive and violent behavior that was seen downtown this past weekend will not be tolerated, the statement read. We actively and continuously review open source social media and additional resources will be available to protect those who are visiting, living or working in the areas of large gatherings. Resources include an increased police and command staff presence at these gatherings citywide.

In her own statement, Mayor Lightfoot echoed this sentiment, The city cannot and will not allow any of our public spaces to become a platform for criminal conduct. She went on to blame the parents of the young people at the event for not instilling the important values of respect for people and property.

Police Superintendent David Brown stated, The problem is no one is actually asking the youth why theyre coming downtown and what they need.

Mayor-elect Brandon Johnson, a Cook County Commissioner and Chicago Teachers Union legislative official who will be sworn into office on May 15th, struck a similar tone saying, in no way do I condone the destructive activity we saw in the Loop and lakefront this weekend. It is unacceptable and has no place in our city. However, it is not constructive to demonize youth who have otherwise been starved of opportunities in their own communities.



Speaking to the tourism business interests behind the loudest calls for law and order, Johnson said, Our city must work together to create spaces for youth to gather safely and responsibly, under adult guidance and supervision, to ensure that every part of our city remains welcome for both residents and visitors.

Chicagos business interests like the Illinois Restaurant Association and the Chicago Loop Alliance have led a campaign to increase police presence downtown and demanded that youth not be permitted to gather at all.



In interviews with local press, downtown business owners complain that young people will scare away their customers and claim that they are investing in their own private security forces. Michael Edwards, president of the Chicago Loop Alliance, said the group plans to hire security ambassadors to patrol the business district and to monitor young people on social media planning future meet-ups.

Former Chicago Police superintendent Eddie Johnson told the press that the issue is that the police are not free enough to use force in suppressing teenagers. He explained the position of the police in the following way, What Im hearing from cops is that these young folks are taunting them you know ha ha ha you cant chase me. He added that cops want to do something about it but are worried that if they chase down and beat teenagers who laugh at them, they might get in trouble.

Chicago is frequently portrayed in corporate media as a violent and lawless place. While the homicide rate has fallen from a recent high of 802 in 2021, there were still 688 recorded in 2022. Last year saw a total of over 2,832 shooting incidents.

These statistics, and the violent outbursts over the weekend, point to the immense social crisis affecting young people. Recent studies have found that the median age of a homicide victim is just 27 years old and that black youth, who are overwhelmingly working class and poor in large cities like Chicago, aged 18-19 are at highest risk of being killed, with a homicide rate of 182.7 per 100,000 residents.

The violence in Chicago is but a single indicator of a broader social crisis which weighs especially heavily on young people, the product of decades of economic devastation and class inequality in a city of enormous wealth which is expropriated from workers and controlled by the capitalist class, who the ruling Democratic Party dutifully serves.

The areas of Chicago that see the most violence are those where deindustrialization and disinvestment has been most devastating. Neighborhoods like West Garfield Park and North Lawndale, with the highest homicide rates, once housed workers in the citys large industrial manufacturing facilities like International Harvester and Western Electric. With these industries long moved out of Chicago, the average income for both neighborhoods teeters at the poverty line.

The result has been decades of deep poverty and unemployment for large swaths of Chicagos working class, especially for young black adults who at ages 20-24 face an unemployment rate of nearly 40 percent.

When the symptoms of this crisis occasionally spill out of the South and West side neighborhoods that have been devastated by these policies and into the wealthy downtown area, political and business leaders can only meet the youth with fear, hatred and denunciations. They have no answer to the crisis capitalism has created except for further police repression and attacks on democratic rights.
M.A. Sumanthiran. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

Last year, a mass uprising of Sri Lankan workers and oppressed masses toppled President Gotabhaya Rajapakse. Among workers and rural masses of all ethnic origins, anger is mounting against the regime the bourgeoisie then cobbled together around President Ranil Wickremesinghe. As Wickremesinghe uses the dictatorial powers of the executive presidency to crush workers militancy, workers are defying essential service strike bans and his attempt to replace the infamous Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) by an even more draconian Anti-Terror Bill (ATB).

The Socialist Equality Party (SEP)-Sri Lanka has initiated a struggle to convene a Democratic and Socialist Congress of the Workers and Rural Masses, as an alternative to the reactionary capitalist police-state led by Wickremesinghe. This struggle goes in a diametrically opposite class direction to Sri Lankas Tamil-nationalist parties, who serve as tools of capitalism and enemies of the people.

On March 30, M.A. Sumanthran, a prominent leader of the Tamil Federal Party (ITAK), joined Wickremasinghe and business leaders for a panel discussion on 'IMF and Beyond'. The event was hosted by Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka and held at the Galle Face Hotel in Colombo. In this meeting, Sumanthran expressed the Tamil nationalists support for the brutal austerity reforms the IMF is negotiating with Wickremesinghe against the working class.

Speaking alongside Wickremesinghe, Sumanthran said, we discuss openly, transparently, and go together. I also agree with the president. We move forward in that without postponing those reforms as well. We also had discussions regarding how the north and east can contribute towards economic growth, because of the high level of potential there. We will cooperate with the president with regards to realizing this.

The ITAK thus pledged its support for the attacks the IMF demanded in exchange for a four-year, $US 2.9 billion bailout loan. These include the privatization of state enterprises, the elimination of tens of thousands of public sector jobs, the destruction of essential services in health and education, and a hike on income taxes.

While praising austerity, Sumanthran indicated that he hoped his cooperation with Wickremesinghe would prevent further insurrectionary struggles by the working class. He declared, I agree with the president, that all of us have to do this together and the discussion must happen here, not on the streets. But if the discussion is not to happen in the streets, then it must happen here.

After nationwide March 15 protests against Wickremesinghe, the Tamil-language newspaper, Eella Nadu carried an editorial calling on workers and students in the North not to join. It attacked such working class countermeasures as an obstacle to implementing IMF austerity.

It wrote, Such countermeasures could set back Ranil's moves. If Ranil's moves are to succeed, there will need to be a significant improvement in the economic downturn. For that, the International Monetary Fund's loan should be available indefinitely. But if such insurgent actions are carried out, the economic situation will become more complicated.

Like the Sinhala ruling elite, the Tamil nationalists speak for layers of the bourgeoisie terrified by the growing radicalization in the working class after the toppling of Rajapakse. As workers of all ethnicities oppose the Sri Lankan ruling class, the Tamil nationalists respond by trying to divide the workers along national lines. They are desperate to prevent Tamil workers and rural poor from joining mass struggles of their class brothers and sisters against the capitalist state machine.

This emerges very clearly in their craven support for the regimes extension of the PTA and for Wickremesinghes new anti-terrorism bill. If adopted as law, the bill would give the president, police, and military extraordinary powers to arrest and detain people without evidence. Anyone found guilty of a terrorist offense could be punishable by death, up to 20 years in prison, and a fine of up to 1 million rupees.

The Tamil nationalist parties have reacted to Wickremesinghes police-state policies by arguing that since the Tamil population suffered from the PTAs measures in the past, it is legitimate for the Sinhalese population to suffer under such measures now.

Sivajnanam Siritharan, a prominent ITAK member, said: The Sinhalese people in the south should understand that the Tamil people have been living under the Anti-Terrorism Act since the past, and that law has only now started to attack the Sinhalese.

Sritharan also claimed that when the Sri Lankan military carried out a mass murder in the north of Tamil civilians and fighters, at the end of the civil war in 2009, the Sinhalese people in the south celebrated with firecrackers, milk, and rice.

The purpose of this provocative and false propaganda is virtually self-evident. Amid growing strikes and struggles by Sinhala, Tamil and Muslim workers together against Wickremesinghe and his executive presidency, Tamil nationalists are stirring up communal hatreds. They try to direct the outrage at the bloody crimes of Sri Lankas executive presidency and unitary state in a reactionary sense: to divide the workers and rural masses and block a united struggle against the attempt to build up this regime into a militarized presidential dictatorship.

Siritharans attempt to divide the workers by passing off the PTA as a measure exclusively directed against Tamils is another political fraud based on historical lies.

The Prevention of Terrorism Act was first introduced in 1979 by the UNP (United National Party) regime of President J.R. Jayewardene under the pretext of combating the Tamil militant groups. It was extensively used against Tamils during the 1983-2009 communal war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). But the law was used first to suppress the united struggles of the working class, such as the 1980 Sri Lankan general strike.

When the PTA was brought in 1979, Jayawardena made a behind the scenes deal with the TULF claiming that the PTA would be temporary and not be used against Tamils. On that basis, the TULF allowed it to pass, by abstaining in the parliamentary vote on the PTA.

Even after the communal war began in 1983, the PTA was used against both Sinhalese and Tamils. The UNP employed it to suppress rural unrest in the islands south between 1988 and 1990, slaughtering tens of thousands of Sinhalese youths. At the time, Wickremesinghe was a minister in the UNP government.

The Tamil nationalists have a long record of offering support to police-state measures, even those used against Tamil people, insofar as they are aimed primarily at the workers and rural masses. Indeed, the Tamil United Liberation Front, which included the Tamil Federal Party, abstained from voting against this cruel law when it was first presented in Parliament in 1979.

Opposing Tamil and Sinhala chauvinism, the SEP fights to mobilize the entire working class and the oppressed masses against Sri Lankan capitalism based on an international socialist perspective. In this, it bases itself on its powerful tradition of fighting to unify Sinhalese and Tamil workers against the communal war and against capitalism.

The most powerful allies of the workers of any nationality are their class brothers and sisters of other nationalities. In recent weeks, workers in countries across the world and particularly in Europe have gone on strikes and participated in protests against austerity and war. In France, amid mass strikes against President Emmanuel Macrons pension cuts, two-thirds of the population supports a general strike to block the economy and bring down Macron.

The events of Sri Lanka are a classic illustration that the working class cannot struggle to defend democratic rights within the framework of bourgeois politics and the capitalist state. Workers must take their struggles in their own hands. The decisive question is building independent action committees at every workplace and among the rural masses, independent of the union bureaucracies, to unify the working class and mobilize it in political struggle.

The SEP is waging an island-wide campaign among workers and youth for the organization and convening of a Democratic and Socialist Congress of Workers and Rural Masses. This provides a political strategy for the working class to consolidate its forces, win the active support of the rural masses, and lay the basis for its own rule through a workers and peasants government committed to restructuring society on socialist lines.
Three months ago, on January 19, millions of workers in France walked out in the first in a series of mass protest strikes against Emmanuel Macrons pension cuts. Workers anger erupted as the banker-president demanded they work two more years, raising the minimum retirement age to 64 and the length of time workers must pay into the pension scheme to 43 years. Three-quarters of the French people oppose the cuts, and it was widely acknowledged that it marked the greatest political crisis in France since the May 1968 general strike.

But this weekend, Macron promulgated his massively unpopular cuts with a rubber-stamp from Frances unelected Constitutional Council, after ramming them through the National Assembly last month without a vote. It was yet another searing lesson in the class character of the state, which is a dictatorship of the capitalist oligarchy over the workers.

The formal adoption of Macrons cuts does not mark the end of the workers struggle against them or against Macron. Imposed by trampling upon the will of the people, without a vote by any elected body, they are unjust laws that lack even a veneer of democratic legitimacy. Mass protest strikes are set to continue in coming weeks. However, it is apparent that the passage of the cuts marks a new stage in the struggle.

It confronts masses of workers with a stark reality: they are engaged not in a trade union struggle to persuade the president to shift policies, but in a political struggle against the capitalist state. Macron leads a police state serving an entrenched capitalist oligarchy that rules against the people. Determined to divert hundreds of billions of euros into the pockets of the financial elite and into Macrons European war economy, it responds to strikes and protests not by shifting its policies, but with bloody police violence and mass arrests.

The way forward, as the Parti de legalite socialiste (PES) has explained, is to prepare a general strike to bring down Macron and abolish the vast powers of the French presidency. While this proposal has the support of two-thirds of the French people, who want a mass strike to block the economy and defeat Macron, realizing it will require a tremendous exertion of the industrial and political power of the working class. This struggle cannot be left to the union bureaucracies: it requires building new, rank-and-file organizations in a political struggle posing the question of state power.

This emerges from even an initial balance sheet of the struggle against Macron as it has unfolded since the end of January, and particularly since the first decisive experience: Macrons imposition of the cuts without a vote in parliament on March 15.

Mass protests erupted at Concord Square in Paris and in cities across France that evening. For several evenings, heavily-armed riot police clashed with masses of workers and youth protesting in virtually every major French city, who broke into or set fire to police stations, local offices of Macrons Renaissance party and municipal buildings.

TV pundits comments on March 15 faithfully reflected the panic seizing the ruling elite as a whole. We are in a major political crisis. Things must be calmed down, said Sandrine Rousseau, a Green member of Jean-Luc Melenchons New Popular Union. Social-democratic commentator Natacha Polony warned that This is the beginning of something that is skidding out of control, as right-wing editorialist Bernard Duhamel desperately asked: The risk is that the trade unions will not hold. Will the union leaderships be able to hold?

Duhamel asked whether the working class would overrun the union bureaucracy because the ruling elite fears revolution. The eruption of class struggle has driven a sharp wedge between the broad masses of workers and the reactionary layers of the affluent middle class that dominate the union bureaucracy and its pseudo-left political allies.

Polls showed 62 percent support in the population for hardening protest actions against Macron. Support for harder action grew the further one looked down the income ladder. But just as Macron trampled the will of the people, the union bureaucracy trampled the will of the working class.

The bureaucracies intervened to criticize violence by protesters, isolate striking garbage and refinery workers whose pickets were attacked by cops, postpone further mass protest strikes and block a struggle to bring down Macron by instead calling for mediation with him.

I am concerned by this situation, said French Democratic Labor Confederation (CFDT) head Laurent Berger in a widely-viewed TV interview advocating mediation with Macron. Warning of a dangerous political climate, he called to not fall into the insanity that could take over this country, with violence and also very deep social anger.  We have to turn the temperature down, not stoke things up.

Macrons ability to survive the protests and finally promulgate his cuts is not due to a failure of the working class to struggle, but to the treachery of the union bosses and their political allies. This also raises the significance of the Trotskyist alternative represented by the PES.

The PES advanced a perspective for a workers revolt against the bureaucracy, building rank-and-file committees of action to prepare a general strike to bring down Macron. Before the March 15 crisis, it advanced demands to bring down Macron, end bank bailouts and war with Russia and build rank-and-file committees in the working class. After Macron rammed his cuts through the Assembly, the PES further developed this perspective, writing:

The Macron presidency, the nerve center of financial and police-state conspiracies against the people, must be brought down. This can only be done, however, by mobilizing masses of rank-and-file workers and youth in a campaign for the removal of Macron, the abolition of the draconian powers of the French presidency and the preparation of a general strike against Macron. 

In every workplace and school, resolutions must be passed demanding the bringing down of Macron. This requires convening general assemblies of workers and youth in their workplaces and schools to debate and adopt these resolutions, as well as the formation of workplace committees to share and publicize these resolutions and thus unite the working class against Macron. This independent mobilization of the working class, making workers aware of their militancy and collective strength, would create conditions for a general strike to bring down Macron.

This remains the perspective to build a mass movement against Macron. Indeed, campaigning among workers and youth, the PES has revealed in its interviews the vast popular opposition to the bankrupt perspective of union mediation with Macron.

A class gulf separates the PES from the milieu of middle class political descendants of renegades from Trotskyism like Melenchon, the Pabloite New Anti-capitalist Party (NPA) and Workers Struggle (LO). When promoted by the capitalist media in presidential elections, they have all received millions of votes. In 2022, Melenchon had nearly 8 million votes in working class districts of Frances major cities. Yet not one has publicly appealed to their electorate to mobilize in mass strikes and protests to bring down Macron.

Macrons ability to ram through his cuts despite mass popular opposition is a historic exposure of these bankrupt parties. It also exposes pseudo-left groups on their periphery, like the Morenoite Revolution permanente (RP) group, whose appeals to the union bureaucracy to build a general strike predictably failed. RP leader Juan Chingo outlined their perspective in a statement declaring that The situation is not revolutionary, and that RP would help the mass movement have experiences with bourgeois representative democracy.

But the situation is objectively revolutionary. Macrons imposing his cuts has not lessened but sharpened the conflict between the working class and his government and its bureaucratic accomplices. Moreover, this struggle is unfolding amid a wave of strikes by millions of workers in Germany, Britain, Portugal, Belgium and beyond. The emergence of rank-and-file committees in the working class will raise the issue not only of bringing down Macron, but the building of an international movement and a struggle to transfer power to workers organs of struggle and build socialism.

The events in France have confirmed in the sharpest way possible the decisive role played by political perspective in the struggle to mobilize mass working class opposition to austerity and war. On this basis, the PES points to the online global May Day rally that will be held by the International Committee of the Fourth International, the International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees, the International Youth and Students for Social Equality and the World Socialist Web Site. It urges all those in struggle against austerity and militarism in France and internationally to register today and discuss the way forward in the class struggle.
Are you a Billerud worker or Escanaba resident? Contact us using the form at the end of this article to expose what is happening and to get help building a rank-and-file committee to put workers in control of safety.

Escanaba Billerud Paper Mill [Photo: USW L. 21]

A worker at the Billerud paper mill in Escanaba, Michigan, has now died as a result of the ongoing fungal outbreak at the mill. The mill employs over 800 workers in Michigans rural Upper Peninsula.

Though the outbreak was detected over a month ago, all workers were kept on the job by Billerud and the United Steel Workers union (USW) until after the first death was reported. Then on Friday, April 14, the company and local health officials announced plans to idle the plant in the next week for cleaning.

But the World Socialist Web Site has learned that as of Tuesday, April 18, workers are still at the mill. A worker who was at the mill today informed our reporters that only parts of the plant are idling.

At 97 probable cases and counting, this is apparently the largest blastomycosis outbreak in US history. Twelve people have been hospitalized. The deceased workers name has not been released.

More workers could become sick in the coming weeks and months. Blastomycosis symptoms typically develop between three weeks and three months after infection.

Blastomycosis is a rare disease resulting from breathing microscopic fungal spores, which are found in decaying organic matter like wood or leaves. Once inside the lungs, the bodys warmth and moisture can transform the spores into yeast that can stay in the lungs or be transferred through the bloodstream to other parts of the body, including the skin, bones, joints, organs, brain and spinal cord, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Treatment for blastomycosis includes antifungal medications, often requiring expensive courses lasting six months to a year.

And, as seen in the Billerud outbreak, blastomycosis can be deadly. Case fatality ranges between 4 percent and 78 percent, according to a 2014 study by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). If the fungal infection progresses and leads to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS), the disease is almost certainly fatal, according to another study.

The risk is much higher for the immunocompromised. Given the high rates of COVID-19 infection across the country and its clear association with immune dysregulation, the morbidity and mortality of rates of blastomycosis are likely worse than before.

Billeruds representatives admit they were officially informed on March 3 by the Public Health, Delta & Menominee Counties (PHDM) after several workers were hospitalized for atypical pneumonia.

A team led by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) visited the mill on March 27 and 28 and advised the use of N95 masks to reduce potential exposure, but production was allowed to continue.

USW Local 21 President Gerald Kell told Upper Michigan Source on March 29, Everybodys interest is the same, and thats the health and safety of the employees at the mill.

Kell must take the workers for fools. Companies like Billerud are only interested in profit, as their response to the outbreak makes clear.

Paper production is big business, especially in the rural Upper Peninsula. The Billerud mill, with nearly 900 employees and many other contractors, is the largest manufacturing employer north of Midland in the state of Michigan and is immensely profitable.

The plant was acquired in April 2022 by BillerudKorsnaspreviously known as Versoa Swedish pulp and paper company seeking to expand globally and increase its US-based market share. Verso shareholders took home $27 per share, or approximately $825 million, in the deal. As a result of the acquisition, BillerudKorsnas is now one of the largest providers of virgin paper and packing materials internationally with combined net sales amounting to $3.6 billion.

The plant was made attractive for corporate takeover by a series of cost-cutting measures implemented with the collusion of the USW and other unions at the mill. Verso has successfully streamlined our operations and reduced costs, a company spokesperson told the Escanaba Daily Press in December 2021.

In January of this year, the Michigan legislature approved a supplemental spending bill which provided a lavish handout to the plant, totaling around $200 million for improvements. It was promptly signed by Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer.

A former subcontractor at the mill in Escanaba told the WSWS, That place has appeared polluted since they opened. You should look at what the state says about eating fish from Little Bay de Noc. He explained that the paper plant facilities include tanks which hold 300,000 gallons of chemicals with a pH of 13 or 14. Its more dangerous than bleachup there with drain cleaner. The company I worked for would give us PPE every week because the stuff in the ground would eat through our clothing. Its a pretty nasty environment. We were told, If something drips on you, dont look up.

Neither the USW nor the other unions at the plant, the Teamsters and International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), have demanded the mill be closed and their members fully compensated until the factory is made safe.

In the early months of the pandemic in 2020, rank-and-file autoworkers conducted wildcat strikes in defiance of the United Auto Workers to force the shutdown of infected plants and to save lives. Billerud workers will have to take matters into their own hands too.

Are you a Billerud worker or Escanaba resident? Contact us by using the form below to expose what is happening and to get help building a rank-and-file committee to put workers in control of safety.
The World Socialist Web Site unequivocally condemns the reactionary decision of Montreals Centre St. Pierre to cancel a public meeting against the US-NATO war on Russia in Ukraine organized by the Mouvement Quebecois pour la Paix, le Parti Vert (Green Party) du Quebec, and other anti-war groups.

The cancellation of the meeting is anti-democratic, sets a dangerous precedent, and serves to strengthen Canadian imperialism in its predatory war against Russia.

In cancelling the meeting, the directors of the Centre St. Pierrea venue long used by trade unions, community and left-wing groupscapitulated to the campaign that the far-right Ukrainian Canadian Congress (UCC) is mounting, with the support of the Justin Trudeau-led federal Liberal government, to censor and suppress all antiwar voices and actions.

The Mouvement quebecois pour la paix picketed the Centre-St. Pierre last Saturday to protest its censoring of their anti-Ukraine war meeting. [Photo: Yves Engler/Twitter]

The April 15 meeting, What is the truth about the war in Ukraine, was to have featured radical journalist Yves Engler as a panelist, as well as Universite de Montreal History Professor Samir Saul.

A long-standing critic of Canadian foreign policy, including its participation in an uninterrupted series of US-led wars over recent decades, Engler has become a prime target of the virulently nationalist UCC. It supporters have smeared him as being pro-Russian, a mouthpiece for Russian President Vladimir Putin, and violent.

In fact Engler is a leading member of the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, which argues the Canadian government and state can be pressured into playing a progressive or altruistic role in world affairs, including by pushing for peace talks with Russia to end the current conflict. He has spoken at several anti-war events, including one at Ottawas Carleton University earlier this year alongside former Green Party leadership candidate Dmitri Lascaris that UCC supporters urged the university to cancel and subsequently disrupted.

In attempting to justify its arbitrary decision to cancel the April 15 meeting, the Roman Catholic Church-affiliated Centre St. Pierre said it had received complaints about the comments and behaviour of several of the meetings panelists and sponsors, especially those of Engler. It also cited a threatened counter-protest, which given the UCCs politics would no doubt have involved far-right forces capable of acts of violence.

In its brief letter announcing the meetings cancellation, the Centre St. Pierre made the outrageous claim that this blatant act of censorship was in accordance with its mission (and) valuesnotably respect and democracy. Adding insult to injury, it further declared that if the Centre were to proceed with the rental of a room for the antiwar meeting it would damage its reputation.

It has since refused to provide any further explanation of its decision to shut down the meeting or any substantiation of its accusations against meeting panelists and sponsors. When contacted by a WSWS reporter, the Centres director-general, Charles Fillion, claimed the Centre had researched the complaints and found them warranted. But when asked, he refused to detail what they were or provide any substantiation of them, although he claimed that they were part of the public record.

The Centre St. Pierre has made insinuations about the Mouvement Quebecois pour la Paix (MQP), which has consistently opposed war and favors free debate at all our meetings, MQP executive board member John Philpot told the WSWS. And it has made allusions about the behaviour of some of our speakers.

The Centre has a long history of encouraging free speech, supporting unions, social justice and religious freedom. But it has succumbed to pressure and veiled threats and in so doing failed to defend the right of free speech and its own mission.

Workers and young people across Canada and internationally must oppose this outrageous acts of censorship. Notwithstanding our well-documented political differences with Engler and the MQP, who argue that it is possible to pressure imperialist powers like Canada to peacefully settle a war that is rooted in the irresolvable contradictions of the capitalist profit system, the WSWS unreservedly supports their right to hold public meetings to develop opposition to the war in Ukraine.

The censoring of the April 15 meeting must not be allowed to pass unchallenged. It sets a dangerous precedent whereby any anti-war meeting can be shut down by smearing panelists or organizers, or making threats of violence.

Fillion claimed to be unaware of the UCC campaign to silence those who challenge its and the Canadian governments narrative of an unprovoked war being waged by Canada and its NATO allies to defend Ukrainian democracy and sovereignty. He said those who brought pressure to bear on the Centre to cancel the meeting had not identified themselves as being connected to the UCC.

This may well be true. It prefers to act in the shadows, in keeping with its anti-democratic aims.

But there is no question that the UCC is spearheading a coordinated campaign, discussed with high-level government representatives, aimed at instituting a regime of state censorship of opponents of Canadian imperialism. In March, the UCC issued a press release accompanied by an 11-page briefing note sent to Minister for Public Safety Marco Mendicino, in which they urged the Liberal government to clamp down on pro-Russian messaging. The press release boasted that UCC leaders had previously met on several occasions with Mendicino and other government officials. They issued a series of demands, including that the government make a public statement condemning a non-existent hate campaign against Ukrainians and create a political blacklist consisting of individuals engaged in spreading disinformation. One of the incidents cited by the UCC as supposed proof of the existence of a hate campaign against Ukrainians was the Carleton University meeting addressed by Engler.

Later in March, UCC supporters attempted but failed to sabotage a public meeting entitled The war in Ukraine and how to stop it held at the University of Waterloo by the International Youth and Students for Social Equality (IYSSE), the youth movement of the Socialist Equality Party. After Ukrainian nationalists applied pressure to the university administration to cancel the room booking, the IYSSE waged a vigorous public campaign, including by issuing an open letter protesting the attempted censorship. The meeting went ahead successfully in spite of efforts by UCC activists to physically prevent attendees from entering the venue.

The UCC feels emboldened to act so provocatively because it enjoys close ties to the highest levels of government. These ties are embodied in Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland, who has been associated with the UCC since childhood and whose grandfather was a Nazi collaborator during World War II and published a fascist Ukrainian newspaper. A former UCC chief executive currently serves as the chief of staff to Defence Minister Anita Anand, who has overseen the dispatch of billions of dollars of military equipment to fuel the ongoing NATO-backed slaughter in Ukraine.

All the opposition partiesfrom the Conservative Party to the ostensibly left-wing Quebec Solidaireand corporate media outlets also stand fully behind the war in Ukraine and the far-right nationalist forces spearheading the censorship campaign. The New Democratic Party, which together with the trade unions is pledged to support the minority Trudeau government through June 2025, is a full-throated supporter of the war. Foreign affairs spokesperson Heather McPherson has met repeatedly with UCC representatives and solidarized herself with their far-right nationalist positions. The media churns out pro-war propaganda, hailing the far-right regime in Kiev as a champion of democracy and human rights, even as it bans all dissenting voices, lauds the Nazi collaborator Stepan Bandera, and sends tens of thousands of young Ukrainians to their deaths in the interests of the imperialist powers.

There is in fact nothing democratic about the major role Canadian imperialism is playing in the US-led war against Russia. After three decades of uninterrupted US imperialist wars and the expansion of NATO up to Russias borders, Ottawa, Washington, and their European allies conspired to provoke Putin, whose government represents the reactionary interests of the Russian capitalist oligarchy, into invading Ukraine, which the imperialists had armed to the teeth with weaponry and trained in NATO combat standards. In none of the imperialist powers of North America or Western Europe has the population had any say in the waging of the war.

On the contrary, unpopular governments are pouring tens of billions of dollars into waging war and rearming their own militaries in order to secure their share of the spoils in a new imperialist repartition of the world. The pursuit of this policy in every corner of the globe requires censorship and suppression of all dissenting voices at home.

The only way to stop the imperialists plunging humanity into another world war and abrogating democratic rights is through the building of an international anti-war movement in the working class. This movement must be based on a socialist and internationalist program to put an end to war and the capitalist profit system that gives rise to it. We urge all workers and young people who reject the censorship and suppression of opposition to the war to contact the World Socialist Web Site and make plans to attend the international May Day rally sponsored by the WSWS, International Youth and Students for Social Equality, and International Workers Alliance of Rank-and-File Committees on April 30 at 3pm eastern time.
It took just days for serious questions to emerge about a foreign interference charge levelled against an Australian businessman. The information available indicates an extraordinarily flimsy prosecution aimed at furthering a hysterical anti-China campaign to justify US and Australian preparations for war.

On Friday, the Australian Federal Police (AFP) announced that they had charged a Sydney man with one count of Reckless Foreign Interference. That was only the second time anyone had been charged under draconian foreign interference legislation passed with bipartisan support in 2018.

Alexander Csergo being arrested by Australian Federal Police in Bondi, Sydney, on April 15, 2023. [Photo: Australian Federal Police]

The AFP press release contained an incredibly sketchy account of what the man was supposed to have done. But it also included, very prominently, video footage of the arrest, in a clear attempt to whip up media coverage. The papers obliged, publishing sensationalist stories the next day and naming the man as 55-year-old businessman Alexander Csergo. He lives and works in China, but also maintains a Sydney residence.

The AFP statement asserted that Csergo had met with two individuals, named Ken and Evelyn. He had provided them with reports. While they had claimed to be associated with a think-tank, the AFP alleges they were actually employees of a foreign intelligence service.

As the WSWS noted in its initial article on the matter, the charge of reckless foreign interference does not indicate a deliberate attempt to damage Australian national security or to act on behalf of a foreign power. Instead, under the sweeping and catch-all legislation, it requires only that an individual was aware of a substantial and unjustifiable risk that their conduct would go in that direction.

The publicly available information about Csergo made him appear an improbable target for a foreign intelligence service. He had run a successful digital advisory and consultancy business which had provided services to large corporations. But there was no indication that he had access to classified national security material, or even a proximity to those who would.

The many questions raised by the charge came to the fore at the first substantive court hearing on Monday, where a magistrate ruled on Csergos bail application.

Most significantly, Csergos lawyer, Bernard Collaery, stated that all of the material furnished by the businessman to Evelyn and Ken was based on open source information, together with his own analysis of it.

Csergos reports, on topics such as the state of the mining industry, had been drawn from material by such publications as the Australian Financial Review and the Australian Lowy Institute. The reports had also allegedly touched on AUKUS, the militarist pact between the US, Australia and Britain directed against China.

Collaery claimed that the AFP, together with the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation (ASIO), the domestic spy agency, had gone through all of Csergos electronics. This search, he stated, had not uncovered any classified material.

In other words, it appears that someone with a decades-long career as a business consultant is facing prosecution for consultancy work based exclusively on publicly available information.

That potentially establishes a chilling precedent that goes beyond the consultancy industry.

Much anti-war reportage, for instance, is based on critical analysis of such open-source material. Could the mere publication of an anti-war article be deemed an act of Reckless Foreign Interference, given that its placement on the Internet makes it accessible to foreign governments and intelligence services? Or, if such an article were emailed to someone who the intelligence agencies assert works for a foreign government, would that be a chargeable offence?

The prosecution has noted that Csergo allegedly received cash in hand payment for the reports he provided. Collaery responded: Cash payments for consulting reports might have a colour to it in Australia but might be the way its done in Chinaits not necessarily sinister. It could also be noted that cash payments are hardly unknown in Australia. Their most common purpose is to evade government taxation.

The prosecution has also reportedly claimed that during interrogations, Csergo allegedly acknowledged suspicions that Ken and Evelyn could have been connected to the Chinese government and even its intelligence services. As Collaery noted, China is an authoritarian state. Business people such as our client know all roads lead to the state, he said.

The point could be added that not only in China is it the case that the line between think-tanks and intelligence agencies is vanishingly thin. The largest Australian think-tanks are funded by the US and Australian governments and the major arms manufacturers. They are generally staffed by people who have a government, defence or intelligence background and aggressively promote the line of the military-intelligence apparatus.

Csergo was denied bail, even though Collaery argued that his client was not a flight risk and had not conducted anything approaching espionage, even based on the prosecution claims.

The court ruled that he was a flight risk. But extraordinarily, it was also stated that a consideration was Csergos own safety. Murdoch-owned outlets and Nine Media television reported the magistrate as stating: No doubt when this hits the fan there will be people very interested in him not giving evidence against the Republic of China.

The citation is unusual, given that the Republic of China is one of the names sometimes used to describe Taiwan. The Beijing regime has been known, since its establishment in 1949, as the Peoples Republic of China.

That aside, there would seem to be other ways of protecting the safety of someone than detaining them in a maximum-security prison under conditions of near-total isolation.

It is also not clear what motive the Chinese government or its supporters would have for harming Csergo. There is no indication that he has at any time had access to sensitive government information in China, Australia or anywhere else in the world.

More generally, there is no documented instance of serious violence having been perpetrated in Australia on behalf of the Chinese government, at any time. If the authorities are now claiming that such a threat exists and that it takes a concrete form, the obvious question is: Why have the individuals posing this threat never been brought before a court?

Collaerys statement outside court pointed to the broader context in which the prosecution has been launched.

Were going to see more of these cases, there will be more people, he warned. (They won't be) providing consultancy services in the United States or Britain, Canada, Brazil, Israel or in the Middle East. It will mostly be China and it will be about the drums of war echoing out of Canberra.

The prosecution occurs amid a dramatic escalation of the US war drive against China. Even as it wages a proxy war against Russia in Ukraine, American imperialism is stepping-up the confrontation with China which is viewed as its chief economic threat. As top US military figures predict a war with China within three years, the Albanese Labor government has completed Australias transformation into a frontline state in the looming conflict.

The $368 billion AUKUS deal for Australia to acquire nuclear-powered submarines is preparation for aggressive operations directly targeting China. Meanwhile, Labor is presiding over a vast expansion of US basing arrangements and an unprecedented build-up of Australian strike capabilities.

In 2018, when they were introduced, the Socialist Equality Party and the WSWS warned that the foreign interference laws were a sweeping attack on democratic rights which could be used, above all, to crack down on anti-war opposition. Another purpose of the laws was to send a message to sections of the ruling elite that had done business with China, that there had been a shift and activities tolerated in the past would no longer be accepted.

The prosecution of Csergo follows a protracted campaign by the political establishment and the media alleging pervasive Chinese interference in virtually every corner of Australian society.

But in the five years since they were passed, the foreign interference laws have been deployed against two individuals. In addition to Csergo, Di Sanh Duong, a Vietnamese-Chinese member of the Liberal Party was accused in November, 2020 of preparing an act of foreign interference.

Duong had purportedly made a $37,000 donation to the Royal Melbourne Hospital to help with coronavirus research. This was supposedly aimed at currying favour with then Liberal Party minister Alan Tudge, so that the government could be influenced in the interests of China.

The foreign interference campaign has frequently reached a fever pitch of hysteria. Politicians, intelligence officials and the media have presented a picture of Australia under siege, with Chinese spies and agents lurking in every corner. But if that were true, couldnt they have come up with more than business consultancy based on newspaper reports and a donation to a hospital?
The 84-year-old white man who shot black teenager Ralph Yarl in Kansas City, Missouri, last Thursday turned himself in to police on Tuesday, a day after he was charged by the Clay County prosecutor with first-degree assault and armed criminal action.

People attend a rally to support Ralph Yarl, Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in Kansas City, Missouri. [AP Photo/Charlie Riedel]

The Clay County Sheriffs Office reported that Andrew D. Lester surrendered at the county detention center in the afternoon, was booked and released on $200,000 bond for shooting the 16-year-old Yarl twice, seriously injuring him.

On April 13, Yarl was asked by his parents to pick up his younger twin brothers at the house of a family friend in northeast Kansas City. The teenager went to the wrong address, confusing Northeast 115th Street for Northeast 115th Terrace, and rang the doorbell.

When Lester opened the door, he was armed with a .32 caliber revolver, and he fired two shots through the locked exterior glass door, striking Yarl above his left eye and at the top of his right arm.

Speaking with the New York Times on Monday, Ralphs father, Paul Yarl, said his son had surgery over the weekend to remove the bullets, and the teenager was able to walk out of the hospital on Sunday. Medical officials said Yarl was expected to make a full recovery.

In an interview with CBS Mornings on Tuesday, Ralphs mother, Cleo Nagbe, said, The residual effect of that injury is going to stay with him for quite a while.

In a probable cause statement Kansas City Police Detective Dennis Paquette wrote that a Smith and Wesson .32 caliber revolver was located in the front living room chair with two (2) spent shell casings still in the cylinder along with live rounds in the remaining chambers.

The detective also wrote that Lester gave a recorded statement at the Kansas City Police Department headquarters Thursday night in which he said he had just laid down in bed when he heard the doorbell ring. The police detectives statement went on, Lester stated he opened the interior door, and saw a black male approximately 6 feet tall pulling on the exterior storm door handle. He stated he believed someone was attempting to break into the house, and shot twice within a few seconds of opening the door. LESTER stated the male ran away and he immediatelv used his home phone to call 911.

The statement said that Lester was booked and then, upon the advice of the Clay County prosecutor, was released pending further investigation.

The probable cause document also recorded the conversation of police with Ralph Yarl at the Childrens Mercy Hospital the day after the shooting. Yarl said that he parked his car in the driveway and rang the doorbell looking to pick up his brothers. He said that it took a long time for the homeowner to come to the door but finally opened the door holding a firearm.

The police report said Yarl stated, he was immediately shot in the head and fell to the ground. Yarl continued to explain that, while on the ground, he was shot a second time in the arm. He told the police detective, he did not pull on the door and this was the first time coming to the residence. He stated he got up and ran away to keep from being shot. Yarl also told the police that Lester said to him, Dont come around here, during the shooting.

Sections of the corporate media and the Democratic Party have seized upon the tragedy in Kansas City to portray it as fundamentally an issue of race.

For example, Mayor Quinton Lucas of Kansas City told the New York Times on Monday, Youve heard about driving while Black. ... Youve heard about all the other issues that Black people confront in life. Can you not knock on the door while Black? Its almost like you cant exist.

Meanwhile, attorneys Benjamin Crump and S. Lee Merritt, who are representing the family, issued a statement after Lester was charged on Monday denouncing gun violence against unarmed black individuals, saying, Our children should feel safe, not as though they are being hunted.

Crump also told CNN that he believes things would have been different if the races of the two were reversed. Nobody can tell us if the roles were reversed, and you had a black man shoot a white, 16-year-old teenager for merely ringing his doorbell that he would not be arrested, he said.

The singular emphasis on racism as the cause of the shooting of Yarl is a transparent attempt to conceal the fact that the immense levels of social inequality, police brutality and war produced by the capitalist system are the root cause of the epidemic of gun violence and murder across the US.

That the phenomenon of someone who approaches the wrong home being shot by a homeowner is not fundamentally a racial matter was exposed almost immediately in upstate New York on Saturday evening.

Twenty-year-old Kaylin Gillis was inside a vehicle with three friends when they made a wrong turn into a driveway while searching for their friends house in the town of Hebron. As they pulled off, homeowner Kevin Monahan allegedly fired twice at the vehicle striking the young woman and killing her.

There was no interaction between the group of friends and Monahan, nor did anyone exit the vehicle. When police arrived at the scene, Monahan refused to leave his home for an hour before he was taken into custody.

While television commentators on cable news programs have been fixated on the color of Yarls and Lesters skin as evidence of systemic racism in American society, little is being reported about the actions of James Lynch, a white neighbor, who saw the black teenager banging on a neighbors door after he had been shot.

Lynch told NBC News that he heard someone screaming, Help, help, Ive been shot, and he ran outside and jumped his fence to get to the teenager and helped to save his life along with another neighbor before emergency paramedics arrived.

Meanwhile, there is clear evidence of widespread public support from people of all backgrounds for Ralph Yarl and against gun violence. On Tuesday, hundreds students and staff from Staley High School, where Ralph is an outstanding student, the majority of whom are white, walked out and marched in the street outside the school in support of the young man.
ReportLinker

The gas separation membrane market is estimated to be around USD 1,856 million by the end of this year and is projected to register a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period. COVID-19 had a significant impact on the entire supply chain of the oil and gas industry, pharmaceutical industry, and biomedical devices industry, owing to strict lockdowns in several regions and thus negatively impacting the market for gas separation membranes.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Gas Separation Membrane Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2023 - 2028)" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06445288/?utm_source=GNW

The gas separation membrane market is estimated to be around USD 1,856 million by the end of this year and is projected to register a CAGR of 5.5% during the forecast period.



COVID-19 had a significant impact on the entire supply chain of the oil and gas industry, pharmaceutical industry, and biomedical devices industry, owing to strict lockdowns in several regions and thus negatively impacting the market for gas separation membranes. However, with the lifting of restrictions, the market is expected to gain pace with time and continue to grow during the forecast period.



Key Highlights

The primary factors driving the market study include the rising demand for membranes in carbon dioxide separation operations and stringent government regulations governing GHG emissions.

On the contrary, the plasticization of polymeric membranes in high-temperature applications and the upscaling and adoption of new membranes have significantly hampered market growth.

Nevertheless, the development of mixed matrix membranes (MMM) and polymeric membranes, as well as expanding applications, are projected to open new potential in the market under consideration.

The Asia-Pacific region is the largest market and is predicted to be the fastest-growing market throughout the projection period, owing to rising demand in China, India, and Japan.



Gas Separation Membrane Market Trends



Nitrogen Generation and Oxygen Enrichment Application to Dominate the Market



The processes of nitrogen generation and oxygen enrichment are integral parts of the chemical industry for the isolation of required products and the recovery of the reactants. The gas separation membrane modules build custom-made nitrogen or oxygen-enriched air generator systems for commercial and industrial applications.

One major type of membrane used is polymeric, which operates at ambient or warm temperatures and may produce oxygen-enriched air (2550% oxygen). Ceramic membranes are the other types used that may provide high-purity oxygen (90% or more). However, they require higher temperaturesaround 800-900 degrees Celsiusto operate.

Membrane gas separation is used to provide nitrogen-rich gases instead of air to fill jetliners fuel tanks, reducing the likelihood of inadvertent burns and explosions. Nitrogen is widely utilized in the Haber process to produce ammonia. Ammonia is then employed in various chemical syntheses to produce fertilizers. Nitrogen is also used in packing and refrigeration, among other things.

Furthermore, in todays world, oxygen and nitrogen are in high demand from the industrial sector, and large volumes are necessary for steel production. Nowadays, current basic oxygen steelmaking consumes almost 2 tons of oxygen for each ton of steel. As a result, to meet the requirement for oxygen, most steel factories employ gas separation modules, which are an essential aspect of plant operations.

According to the World Steel Association, global crude steel production was 140.7 million tons (Mt) in December 2022. The total world crude steel production in 2022 was approximately 1,878 million tons, a 4% decrease compared to the production in the prior year. However, in 2023, it is expected to register a positive growth rate due to the increased demand in the industry, thereby driving the current studied market.

The medical business has seen a surge in demand for oxygen concentrators in recent years, particularly during the pandemic era. With rising demand, several manufacturers intend to expand or open additional plants around the world. INOX Air Products Ltd, for example, announced in March 2022 the construction of Indias largest greenfield plant, which will produce 2,150 tons per day (TPD) of industrial gases, including 2000 TPD of gaseous oxygen, 150 TPD of liquid oxygen, 1200 TPD of gaseous nitrogen, and 100 TPD of argon.

Thus, the increased demand for nitrogen generation and oxygen enrichment will lead to an upsurge in the demand for the gas separation membrane and therefore positively affect the market.



Asia-Pacific to Dominate the Market



Asia-Pacific is expected to be the largest and fastest-growing market for gas separation membranes, owing to the regions increasing industrialization, which drives the markets growth. The markets expansion is primarily driven by rising demand for carbon dioxide removal from reservoirs, a rising need for sanitation and freshwater, increased urbanization, and higher living standards. Fast expansion and innovation, combined with industry consolidations, will likely drive significant growth in the regions market.

Nonetheless, the oil and gas industry in China is one of the most important application industries for gas separation membranes. Over the last two decades, China has invested in increasing its refining capacity to support its expanding economy.

Furthermore, for a long time, China has steadily increased its refining capacity for all types of crude. According to the Institute for Energy Research (IEA), China is expected to have 20 million barrels of refining capacity by the end of 2025, resulting in an increased need for gas separation membranes in the coming years.

Furthermore, Chinas crude oil output in 2022 was estimated to be about 204.6 million tons, a 3% increase over the same period last year. According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China, the monthly output of crude oil in December 2022 was approximately 17 million tons, a 2.5% rise over the same period last year. Because gas separation membranes are widely employed in the oil and gas industry, from the oil wellhead to oil recovery to the refinery, product demand will skyrocket in the near future.

Even though India has a large power industry, the growing population, coupled with rising electrification and increasing per capita usage, will propel the industrys size in the upcoming years. According to the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), as of October 31, 2022, Indias installed renewable energy capacity (including hydro) stood at 165.94 GW, representing 40.6% of the overall installed power capacity.

Additionally, the increasing use of gas separation membranes to control CO2 emissions from industrial effluents is expected to have a positive impact. Strengthening government regulations to curb gaseous emissions is expected to fuel the demand for the product in the future.

Furthermore, the significant growth of natural gas production in the region may propel the demand for gas separation membranes in acid gas separation in the regional market.



Gas Separation Membrane Industry Overview



The gas separation membrane market is partially consolidated in nature, with a few major players dominating a significant portion of the market. Some of the major companies are Air Products and Chemicals, Inc., UBE Corporation, Air Liquide Advanced Seperations, DIC Corporation, Fujifilm Corporation, among others.



Additional Benefits:



The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format

3 months of analyst support

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ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



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MOU Brings Gcore's Pioneering Cloud Services to APAC Customers and Offers Asian Businesses Gateway to EMEA

LUXEMBOURG, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Gcore  a European provider of high-performance, low-latency, international cloud and edge solutions  and NHN Cloud  a subsidiary of South Korean technology and gaming giant, NHN Group, and a leading provider of public and private cloud services in South Korea and across Asia Pacific  today announce a strategic partnership together.

Gcore and NHN Cloud agree Strategic Partnership

Under the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), Gcore's pioneering cloud services  including CDN (Content Delivery Network), 5G eSIM, and accelerated AI processing  will be made available to enterprises in Asia Pacific through the NHN Cloud, providing a gateway for Gcore into this key market. In return, Gcore will function as NHN Cloud's strategic partner in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa and provide a bridge for NHN Cloud's Asia Pacific customers into the region.

Additionally, the MOU sets up a framework for the two companies to jointly develop new solutions and collaborate on commercial initiatives.

NHN Cloud manages various internet businesses, including Hangame, an online gaming portal with over 37 million members in South Korea, NHN Payco, a payment gateway and digital wallet service, and FashionGo, an online marketplace.

For nearly ten years Gcore has been building Europe's most powerful and extensive edge and cloud services. Today, Gcore's infrastructure includes 140 points of presence worldwide and more than 11,000 peering partners.

Donghooom Kim, CEO at NHN Cloud, commented: "Gcore's strength in EMEA is a significant benefit for us as we look to support the expansion of our customers across the region. Gcore has a shared desire to drive innovation in the areas of edge and cloud computing, and we are confident that together we can create compelling new propositions that will unlock even more value for our customers."

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Andre Reitenbach, CEO at Gcore, said: "We at Gcore are immensely proud to embark on this partnership with NHN Cloud, one of Asia Pacific's outstanding technology innovators. Both businesses sharpened their expertise in delivering compelling gaming experiences built on high-performance, low-latency technology infrastructure, and have extended that know-how to businesses across the globe."

About Gcore

Gcore is an international leader in public cloud and edge computing, content delivery, hosting, and security solutions. Gcore is headquartered in Luxembourg and has offices in Poland, Lithuania, Cyprus, and Georgia. Gcore manages its own global IT infrastructure across six continents. Andre Reitenbach, Gcore CEO since 2014.

About NHN Cloud

NHN Cloud is a major public/private CSP in Korea, servicing the representative open stack-based comprehensive cloud services. Thanks to NHN Group's various IT services portfolio and experience, NHN Cloud is expanding its services by developing and launching cloud solutions for each industry. As a market front-runner in public cloud transformation sector, NHN Cloud is leading the technology business by reinforcing public and private competitiveness by enlarging public sector and expanding private cloud service area.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2057226/Gcore.jpg

Cision

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SOURCE Gcore
(Bloomberg) -- Glencore Plc said its willing to raise its bid for Teck Resources Ltd. in the latest attempt to sway shareholders and pressure Tecks board, with just one week to go before a pivotal vote on the Canadian miners future.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The companies have spent the past few weeks in a bruising fight to win over Teck investors, after its board and controlling shareholder publicly rejected Glencores proposal. The Swiss commodities giant offered to buy Teck for $23 billion and then create two new companies combining their respective metals and coal businesses.

Teck is pressing ahead instead with an earlier plan to spin off its own coal mines  with an investor vote scheduled for April 26  while raising the possibility of a sale afterward. The company said Wednesday that Glencores latest comments changed nothing.

With the prospect of a higher bid, Glencore is hoping to convince enough shareholders to either reject the split or pressure Tecks board to delay the vote and enter talks. Glencore is prepared to raise its offer, the company said, but believes any improvement should come after discussions with the board.

If Teck still refuses to engage  and if its split does not proceed  then Glencore said its willing to put its offer directly to shareholders.

The threat to go hostile ratchets up the tension in a drama-filled public battle that has already seen both CEOs rushing to Toronto last week to pitch their plans. The fight has gotten ugly at times  Teck pointing to Glencores record of bribery and price fixing  and has drawn in some of the biggest names in Canadian mining. Its a potentially company-defining moment for both Glencore and Teck, as they wrestle with the future of their giant coal businesses while seeking to expand in metals like copper that will benefit from the energy transition.

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Any attempt by Glencore to circumvent Tecks board would face significant hurdles without support from its founding family, the Keevils, who have a blocking vote because they dominate the companys supervoting Class A shares. Norman Keevil, the 85-year-old patriarch, has come out strongly against the Glencore proposal, while offering investors the prospect of a future sale after Tecks split is complete.

Keevil was quoted early in the saga saying that he would not sell to Glencore at any price, and that Canada is not for sale. But he seemed to have softened his position by last week, saying in an interview with the Globe and Mail that he cant go against what the majority of other shareholders want, although he still opposes Glencores offer.

Shareholder Pressure

Tecks plan to split its company requires two-thirds approval from both sets of shareholders  the A shares dominated by the Keevil family, as well as the regular Class B shares, meaning Keevil cant use his sway to force the separation through.

Teck said Wednesday that the proposal from Glencore hadnt changed and that it remained opportunistic and too low. The company reiterated that its shareholders should vote in favor of its plan to split its business in half.

We fully believe that Glencores proposals are nothing more than an opportunistic attempt to interfere with the vote at Tecks annual and special meeting of shareholders on April 26th to their benefit and to the detriment of our shareholders, Teck said.

While several smaller Class B shareholders have expressed views on the battle, it is still not clear which way Tecks largest investors will vote. Chinese sovereign wealth fund China Investment Corp. is the biggest holder, followed by BlackRock Inc.

Glencores pitch gained momentum in the past week when two influential shareholder advisory firms recommended a vote against Tecks split on April 26. Bloomberg also reported that CIC favored Glencores proposal for the coal business  though had yet to decide how it will vote.

Shortly after Teck issued its response on Wednesday, Waratah Capital Advisors, which owned about 0.5% of the Class B shares, said it had voted against Tecks planned split.

Still, some investors may be disappointed that Glencore has not yet announced an increase to its initial proposal. The company originally offered to buy Teck for $23 billion in shares, at a 20% premium to its value at the time. It later adjusted the terms by offering a cash component to buy Teck shareholders out of the combined coal company that it plans to create.

And the Canadian company has also gone on the offensive in the last few days. Chief Executive Officer Jonathan Price told investors Tuesday that the companys shares could eventually trade at levels more than 70% higher than where the stock is now, and warned that Glencores offer would take at least two years to execute.

Tecks shares surged to a record on Monday, exceeding the per-share value of its offer for the first time after Keevils statement, and reports that other major mining companies had showed interest in a deal for its metals operations after the split.

Bloomberg has reported that the worlds biggest mining companies have a renewed appetite for large deals, and Tecks copper and zinc mines have long been admired by its rivals.

Tecks Class B shares rose 0.5% at 11:09 a.m. in Toronto trading. Glencore was down 0.7% in London.

(Updates with Teck response from third paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Glencore raises pressure on Teck Resources with promise of sweeter bid FILE PHOTO: The logo commodities trader Glencore is pictured in Baar

By Clara Denina and Yadarisa Shabong

LONDON (Reuters) -Glencore has told Teck Resources shareholders it is willing to improve its $22.5 billion takeover offer, raising pressure on the Canadian miner to ditch a restructuring plan and sit down at the negotiating table.

In an open letter on Wednesday, Glencore said it would consider taking the offer to Teck's shareholders directly if the board failed to engage.

The Swiss miner and trader made its all-share offer as Teck's own plan to spin off its metallurgical coal business and focus on copper and zinc nears an April 26 vote.

The bid is the latest in a mounting wave of mining industry buyout offers fuelled by growing demand for copper and other metals critical to the green energy transition.

Glencore Chief Executive Gary Nagle flew to Canada to meet shareholders last Thursday after revising the unsolicited bid to include up to $8.2 billion in cash.

Teck's board rejected it as too low and one that would unnecessarily expose investors to a large thermal coal business and an unwanted oil trading unit.

Management on Wednesday said Glencore's was "an opportunistic attempt to interfere" with the vote on the spinoff and continued to recommend shareholders to support its restructuring plan.

Nagle said in the open letter: "Glencore has never stated that its proposal is 'best and final' and that it is not willing to make changes and improvement."

"With engagement, we could improve our proposal's terms and value, which would be in the best interests of all Teck shareholders."

Glencore's plan would combine and spin off its thermal coal unit and Teck's steelmaking coal business.

Teck estimated that after its proposed restructuring, shares in the metals business could trade at C$100 ($74.67) or higher, about 55% above the group's closing price on Tuesday.

Glencore's initial bid was made privately on March 26 and represented a 20% premium to that day's closing price.

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JP Morgan analysts this week said that Glencore could pay as much as $27.2 billion.

Jefferies analyst Chris LaFemina on Wednesday said that, with no other offer on the table, a deal with Glencore after a bump of at least 10% in the proposed exchange ratio was preferable to an internal restructuring by Teck.

Ben Cleary, portfolio manager at Tribeca Global Natural Resources Fund, told Reuters: "The vote (on Teck's restructuring plan) is highly likely to go through without an official bump in terms (from Glencore)."

But Waratah Capital Advisors said in a statement on Wednesday that it had voted against Teck's proposal.

The Vancouver-based miner operates under a dual-class structure and needs approval from two thirds of shareholders on both sides for the restructuring.

Canada's Keevil family owns the majority of 'A' class of shares, which have more voting power than the numerous 'B' class shares held by institutions.

Teck has said it would explore a corporate transaction or partnership after its restructuring. Sources close to the matter say Teck has had approaches from more than six mining companies interested in its prized metals business.

(Reporting by Clara Denina and Yadarisa ShabongEditing by David Goodman and Mark Potter)
Polaris Market Research & Consulting LLP

Polaris Market Research has conducted a comprehensive 2023 research study spanning over [+115] pages, revealing that the global district heating market was valued at USD 165.19 Billion in 2022. The study predicts that the market will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7% and is expected to reach USD 286.87 Billion By 2032. Renewable segment is expected to account for significant growth rate during the projected period due to the rapidly increasing upgradation and development activities form fossil fuels to sustainable resources. Some of the top market players are Danfoss Group, Dall Energy, Helen, Alfa Level, FVB Energy, Vital Energi, Shinryo Corporation, NRG Energy, GE COWI, Fortum Corporation and others.

New York, NY, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Polaris Market Research has published a new research report titled District Heating Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Heat Source (Coal, Natural Gas, Renewable, Oil & Petroleum Products, and Others); By Plant Type; By Application; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2023 - 2032 in its research database.

According to the latest research analysis, the global district heating market size/share is anticipated to be valued at approximately USD 165.19 Billion in 2022 and is projected to hit a revenue of around USD 286.87 Billion by 2032, at a CAGR of around 5.7% between 2023 and 2032.

What is District Heating? How Big is District Heating Market Size & Share?

Overview

District heating distributes heat from a centralized location to residential and commercial buildings for space heating and water heating needs through an insulated pipeline network. The district heating market size is growing as it provides a centralized heating system for residential and commercial buildings through a network of insulated pipelines.

This system is increasingly popular due to its energy efficiency, reduced carbon footprint, and shift towards renewable and natural gas energy sources. Urbanization, government policies and incentives, and increasing demand for energy-efficient solutions drive the market. The district heating market sales are expected to grow in the coming years as more utilities and consumers seek sustainable and efficient heating solutions.

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Request Sample Copy of District Heating Market Research Report @ https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/district-heating-market/request-for-sample

(The sample of this report is readily available on request. The report sample contains a brief introduction to the research report, Table of Contents, Graphical introduction of regional analysis, Top players in the market with their revenue analysis and our research methodology.)

Our Sample Report Covers:

2032 Updated Report Introduction, Overview, and In-depth industry analysis.

115+ Pages Research Report (Inclusion of Updated Research).

Provide Chapter-wise guidance on Request.

2023 Updated Regional Analysis with Graphical Representation of Size, Share & Trends

Includes Updated List of table & figures.

Updated Report Includes Top Market Players with their Business Strategy, Sales Volume, and Revenue Analysis.

Some of the Top Market Players Are:

Danfoss Group

Dall Energy

Helen

Alfa Level

FVB Energy

Vital Energi

Shinryo Corporation

NRG Energy

GE COWI

Fortum Corporation

Engie

Vattenfall

LOGSTOR Denmark Holding

NextGen Heating

Ramboll

Kelvion

Dall Energy

To Know Additional List of Key Players, Request Here to Download a Free Report PDF Brochure: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/district-heating-market/request-for-sample

Prominent Drivers of the market

Urbanization and infrastructure development: The global trend of urbanization and increased public expenditures on infrastructure drive demand for sustainable, reliable, and efficient utility services like district heating and electricity production. As more people move into cities, the need for these services will only continue to grow.

Shift towards renewables and gas: Using renewable energy sources and natural gas in district heating systems is becoming increasingly prevalent, driven by a desire to achieve energy goals and reduce carbon emissions. This creates new market growth opportunities as more utilities seek these cleaner and more efficient energy sources.

Natural gas as a key driver: Natural gas is emerging as a key driver for district heating market growth due to many benefits, including lower cost, lower carbon emissions, and exceptional efficiency. As power generation shifts away from fossil fuels, natural gas will likely play an important role in the market.

Increasing demand for energy efficiency: There is a growing awareness among consumers and governments alike about the importance of energy efficiency in reducing costs and minimizing environmental impact. This drives demand for district heating systems, typically more energy-efficient than traditional heating solutions.

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Top Report Findings

Rise in urbanization and infrastructure development are key factors driving demand.

The market is primarily segmented based on the heat source, plant type, application, and region.

In 2022, the Europe region held the largest market share.

Top Trends Influencing the Market

Growing demand for energy-efficient heating systems: As concerns about climate change continue to mount, consumers and governments alike are increasingly seeking out heating solutions that are more energy-efficient and environmentally friendly.

Increasing adoption of smart grid technologies: Integrating smart grid technologies into district heating systems can help optimize energy usage, reduce costs, and improve overall efficiency.

Shift towards decentralized energy production: Recently, there has been a trend towards decentralized energy production, with more consumers generating their own power through solar panels and wind turbines.

The rising popularity of energy-as-a-service models: Energy-as-a-service (EaaS) models are becoming a district heating market trend, allowing consumers to pay for heating as a service rather than investing in their own heating systems.

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(We customize your report according to your research need. Ask our sales team for report customization.)

Segmental Analysis

There is an anticipated substantial increase in growth rate of renewable segment during the forecast period

Based on heat source and district heating market segmentation, renewable segment is expected to secure a significant market share over the forecast period. This is due to the ongoing upgrade of power utilities from fossil fuels to clean energy sources, driven by increasing consumer awareness about environmental safety concerns.

In 2022, combined heat and power segment held the biggest market share

In 2022, the combined heat and power segment held the largest district heating market share, projected to maintain this position throughout the forecast period. This is attributable to the global reinforcement of existing energy plants and declining prices resulting from increased hydrocarbon production.

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District Heating Market: Report Scope & Coverage

Report Attribute Details Revenue Forecast in 2032 USD 286.87 Billion Market size value in 2023 USD 174.04 Billion Expected CAGR Growth 5.7% from 2023  2032 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023  2032 Top Market Players Danfoss Group, Dall Energy, Helen, Alfa Level, FVB Energy Inc., Vital Energi, Shinryo Corporation, NRG Energy, GE COWI, Fortum Corporation, Engie SA, Vattenfall AB, LOGSTOR Denmark Holding, NextGen Heating, Ramboll, Kelvion, and Dall Energy Segments Covered By Heat Source, By Plant Type, By Application, By Region Customization Options Customized purchase options are available to meet any research needs. Explore customized purchase options

Geographic Overview

Europe: The district heating market demand in Europe region is intrinsically linked to the expansion of the local market, the increasing need for energy-efficient solutions, and the upsurge in governmental regulations aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions.

North America: Due to its long cold periods, North America is expected to have a significant market share in the coming years. This is due to the high demand for water heating across industrial, residential, and commercial spaces and the early adoption of advanced technology.

Browse the Detail Report District Heating Market Share, Size, Trends, Industry Analysis Report, By Heat Source (Coal, Natural Gas, Renewable, Oil & Petroleum Products, and Others); By Plant Type; By Application; By Region; Segment Forecast, 2023 - 2032 with in-depth TOC: https://www.polarismarketresearch.com/industry-analysis/district-heating-market

For Additional Information OR Media Enquiry, Please Mail At: sales@polarismarketresearch.com

Recent Developments

Liaoning Hongyanhe Nuclear Power has partnered with China's largest central heating enterprise to provide district heating to Wafangdian City and Dalian City, benefiting around 20,000 residents with a total heating area of 242,200 square meters.

Bavaria launched a new green district heating platform in July 2022, partnering with Stadtwerke Rosenheim and Erdwarme Grunwald to facilitate the heat transition and explore potential geothermal energy extraction sites.

Frequently Asked Questions:

What is district heating?

What are the key drivers of the market?

Which region is expected to dominate the market?

What are the recent developments that took place in the market?

What factors are responsible for the growth of the market?

Polaris Market Research has segmented the district heating market report based on a heat source, plant type, application, and region:

By Heat Source Outlook

Coal

Natural Gas

Renewable

Oil & Petroleum Products

Others

By Plant Type Outlook

Boiler

Combines Heat and Power

Others

By Application Outlook

Residential

Commercial

Industrial

By Region Outlook

North America (U.S., Canada)

Europe (France, Germany, UK, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, Russia)

Asia Pacific (Japan, China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, South Korea)

Latin America (Brazil, Mexico, Argentina)

Middle East & Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Israel, South Africa)

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SPHERICAL INSIGHTS LLP

The Global HVAC Grills Market Size was valued at USD 412.63 Million in 2022 and the worldwide HVAC grills market is expected to reach USD 653.17 Million by 2032, according to a research report published by Spherical Insights & Consulting, Companies Covered: Hafele Group, TROX GmbH, Systemair Group, Zanardo S.P.A., Dhariwal Industries, American Aldes Ventilation Corporation, Aruna Techno Industries, TANGRA - AV Ltd., Rytons Building Products Ltd, Dospel SP. Z.O.O, Greenheck Group, Metal Industries, Titus HVAC, Johnson Controls, Ruskin Company, Nailor Industries, Krueger-HVAC, Price Industries, Maico Ventilation, Air System Components Inc., Hart & Cooley, Airmate, Shoemaker Manufacturing, A-J Manufacturing Company and among others.

New York, United States , April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global HVAC Grills Market Size is to grow from USD 412.63 Million in 2022 to USD 653.17 Million by 2032, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 4.7% during the forecast period. the increasing adoption of ventilation grills for air supply in commercial HVAC systems is driving the demand for these products. Moreover, the focus on energy efficiency and sustainability in the HVAC industry is leading to the development of grills with eco-friendly materials and coatings, which is further contributing to market growth.

Get a Sample PDF Brochure: https://www.sphericalinsights.com/request-sample/1675

HVAC grills, which are crucial components of Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems, are utilized to regulate the airflow in and out of buildings. They are designed to efficiently distribute conditioned air from the HVAC system across various spaces while facilitating proper air intake and exhaust for effective ventilation. The HVAC grills industry is influenced by the growing trends of energy efficiency and sustainability, leading to the development of eco-friendly materials and coatings. Technological advancements have also resulted in the emergence of smart and connected HVAC grills with remote control and automation features for improved airflow management. These grills come in diverse types, shapes, sizes, and materials to cater to different HVAC system requirements and aesthetic preferences. Common types of HVAC grills include supply grills, return grills, transfer grills, linear grills, slot diffusers, and egg crate grills, made from materials such as aluminum, steel, plastic, or other suitable materials based on performance needs.

Story continues

Browse key industry insights spread across 210 pages with 135 market data tables and figures & charts from the report on " Global HVAC Grills Market Size , Share, and COVID-19 Impact Analysis, By Material (Plastic, Wood, and Metal), By Application (Exhaust and Air Supply), By End-User Industry (Non-residential and Residential), By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, Middle East, and Africa), Analysis and Forecast 2022  2032 Get Detailed Report Description Here:

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The metal segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR of 5.1% over the forecast period

The global HVAC grills market is categorized based on material type, including plastic, metal, and wood. Among these segments, the metal segment is projected to exhibit the fastest growth during the forecast period. The increasing demand for metal ventilation grills in both residential and non-residential applications is driving the growth of this category.

The air supply segment dominated the market with around 57.6% revenue share in 2022.

The global HVAC grills market is segmented by application into exhaust and air supply categories. Among these, the air supply segment is currently leading the market with the largest market share in 2022. This is attributed to the growing adoption of ventilation grills for air supply in commercial HVAC systems, which is fueling the growth of this segment.

The non-residential segment dominated the market with around 53.4% revenue share in 2022.

The global HVAC grills market is categorized based on the end-user industry, including non-residential and residential segments. Among these, the non-residential segment is currently dominating the market with the largest market share in 2022. This is attributed to the increasing adoption of ventilation grills for a wide range of commercial, industrial, and institutional applications, driving the growth of this segment.

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Europe region held the largest market with around 41.8% revenue share in 2022.

Europe has established itself as the dominant region in the global HVAC grills market, with a substantial market share and leading demand for ventilation grills. This can be attributed to various factors, including stringent regulations and building codes emphasizing energy efficiency and indoor air quality, a strong focus on sustainability, rising construction activities in the region, and the growing trend of smart buildings. It is expected that Europe will continue to maintain its dominance in the market due to these factors, driving the demand for ventilation grills in the region.

Competitive Analysis:

The report offers the appropriate analysis of the key organizations/companies involved within the global market along with a comparative evaluation primarily based on their product offering, business overviews, geographic presence, enterprise strategies, segment market share, and SWOT analysis. The report also provides an elaborative analysis focusing on the current news and developments of the companies, which includes product development, innovations, joint ventures, partnerships, mergers & acquisitions, strategic alliances, and others. This allows for the evaluation of the overall competition within the market. The key players in the global HVAC Grills Market include Hafele Group, TROX GmbH, Systemair Group, Zanardo S.P.A., Dhariwal Industries, American Aldes Ventilation Corporation, Aruna Techno Industries, TANGRA - AV Ltd., Rytons Building Products Ltd, Dospel SP. Z.O.O, Greenheck Group, Metal Industries, Titus HVAC, Johnson Controls, Ruskin Company, Nailor Industries, Krueger-HVAC, Price Industries, Maico Ventilation, Air System Components Inc., Hart & Cooley, Airmate, Shoemaker Manufacturing, and A-J Manufacturing Company.

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MarketsandMarkets Research Pvt. Ltd.

Chicago, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring Market by Connectivity(Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellular, NB-IoT, LoRa, SigFox, UWB, GNSS), Application(Automotive, Manufacturing, & Cold Chain Monitoring), Region(North America, Europe, APAC, RoW) - Global Forecast to 2027, The IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring market is projected to grow from USD 3.9 billion in 2022 to USD 6.6 billion by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.3% from 2022 to 2027.

Cellular is the most attractive segment, creating tremendous market scope for IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring solution providers

Various cellular technologies, notably the emergence of fifth-generation cellular connectivity (5G) and older generations of services, are used to track assets worldwide. From many kilometers away, cellular asset monitoring, such as placement utilizing 2G, can detect an objects state, city, or even neighborhood. However, it is not particularly precise. As a result, cellular asset tracking is usually reserved for larger assets that are easy to locate, e.g., 18-wheelers and buses. The most apparent benefit of cellular asset monitoring is that it can typically be used from the point of origin to the point of delivery without the use of additional technology.

Real-time location tracking benefit of IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring for better planning to fuel demand

A good asset tracking and monitoring plan supports organizational objectives while maximizing industrial performance and reducing expenses. As opposed to other business arenas, the manufacturing industry players are widely adopting IoT-enabled asset tracking and monitoring systems. IoT-enabled asset management helps manufacturing businesses track, organize, and locate every piece of equipment. All these tasks take a lot of time and effort to complete manually. Most industries employ pricey handheld scanners for inventory control. These assets can now be tracked automatically using asset tracking solutions that are IoT enabled.

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To manage on-floor equipment, companies are moving toward IoT-enabled asset tracking, which, in turn, is creating demand for highly reliable and faster connectivity modules such as 5G cellular. For instance, in March 2022, to have a competitive edge in the market, Fibocom Wireless Inc. launched the 5G smart module SC171, which is mainly designed for industrial applications such as smart manufacturing for asset tracking.

North America to contribute maximum in terms of value generation in the global IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring market

North America is estimated to lead the global market during the review period owing to a high inclination toward technologically advanced products. The region is a hub for technological innovations and an early adopter of new technologies. The large presence of major companies in the region, high demand for connected technologies, increased use of innovative devices, and rising deployment of connected technologies are expected to drive the growth of the North American IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring market during the review period.

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IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring Market Dynamics:

Opportunity: Rising adoption of data analytics and 5G technologies in automotive sector

The emergence of automation has changed the working of the automotive sector inside-out and made the IoT popular. For instance, automobile manufacturers are utilizing IoT in advanced planning and scheduling to capture real-time production and inventory data and minimize waste and cycle time. They are also using IoT-based analytics in multiple applications, from optimizing inventory in hand to adopting replenishment strategies in production lines for quality testing using optical-based analytics.

Asset management standards serve organizations in the automotive industry in various ways, one of which is lowering acquisition costs. Due to preventative maintenance programs and asset life cycle management, businesses are less likely to replace and purchase new equipment. The capacity to track automotive assets in real-time is one of the benefits of having an asset management strategy in place. Asset tags in the form of barcodes, QR codes, GPS trackers, and wireless beacons are all examples of common asset tracking tools.

Thus, the substantial vehicle production volume is expected to create notable opportunities for the market players in the automotive segment.

Challenge: Trade-off complications related to connectivity technologies

IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring modules are based on various technologies such as Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, cellular, NB-IoT, LoRa, and SigFox. These solutions vary in terms of their range, power consumption, and accuracy.

However, the development of a single solution with all these benefits is a key challenge solution providers face. IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring modules comprise hardware and software for continuously tracking and delivering real-time location of assets and resources. Tags, readers, and sensors track and/or monitor assets, individuals, or valuable resources, with increased accuracy in the areas that fall under their network coverage. However, IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring modules face challenges owing to a complicated trade-off between accuracy, power consumption, and range. Narrowband-based tags are not used in some critical applications since they lack in terms of accuracy. Wideband-based tags provide accuracy but have a limited range. Some wideband-based tags are large and have high power consumption. For instance, the channel environment also poses a challenge to IoT-based asset tracking and monitoring modules based on UWB or NB-IoT. When the distance between transmitter and receivers increases, it results in degraded impulse response, limiting an IoT modules performance and possible range.

This research report categorizes the IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring Market based on connectivity type, application, region.

By Connectivity Type:

Wi-Fi

Bluetooth

Cellular

NB-IoT

LoRa

SigFox

UWB

GNSS

By Application:

Livestock Monitoring

Automotive

Railways

Aviation

Manufacturing

Cold Chain Monitoring

Browse in-depth TOC on "IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring Market Trends, Growth Drivers"

195  Tables

62  Figures

250  Pages

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Leading Players in the IoT based Asset Tracking and Monitoring Market



Quectel is a global IoT solutions provider focusing on technological developments, with over 2,300 employees in its R&D centers located across three continents. Quectel offers cellular and global navigation satellite system (GNSS) modules for a broad range of cellular technologies, such as 5G, LTE/LTE-A, NB-IoT/LTE-M, Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)/High-speed Packet Access (HSPA (*)), and Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM)/General Packet Radio Service (GPRS). The company delivers a broad set of IoT modules widely used across M2M/10T applications, such as smart payments, smart transportation, smart energy, smart cities, public safety, wireless gateways, medical devices, agricultural equipment, and environment monitoring. The company focuses on product innovation with a significant capital investment in R&D every year. Quectel has been a pioneer in launching new technologies. For instance, the company has introduced NB-IoT and LTE modules. Likewise, it has launched an Al-based smart module for next-generation IoT applications. The company is expanding rapidly, evident from its self-owned factory in Hefei and new R&D centers in Vancouver and Foshan. The company has a global presence across Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America, and North America, with a major focus on the Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Thailand, Mexico, Southeast Asia, and Africa markets.

Thales offers innovative technology solutions through five segments: Defense & Security, Aerospace, Digital Identity & Security, and Transport. The company has a presence in 68 countries. Over the past five years, Thales has invested more than USD 8.5 billion in digital technologies such as AI, connectivity, big data, and cybersecurity. In April 2019, Thales acquired Gemalto, a global security solution provider specializing in digital identity access and security services. The Digital Identity & Security segment offers a wide range of services and solutions, including digital identity management, secure identity management, identity verification, biometrics, physical and digital payment credentials, digital banking security, mobile and IoT security and connectivity, multi-model authentication, data encryption, cloud security, and software license protection. The company has 100+ eSIM deployments worldwide.

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The human-rights situation in Cuba has deteriorated dramatically, with the country holding more than a thousand political prisoners amid a crackdown on freedom of expression and association that poses a unique challenge in the Americas, several Cuban dissidents, activists, journalists and artists, as well as Organization of American States officials, said during an event hosted by the regional organization in Washington on Tuesday.

The Cuban case is different from other countries because the violations of freedom of expression and association are of systematic and widespread origin, part of the mechanisms through which the regime maintains power, and it is a state policy to deny citizens basic freedoms, said Edgar Stuardo Ralon Orellana, who is charged with reporting on the rights of persons deprived of liberty in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, which is part of the OAS.

Ralon Orellana said the commission had received several complaints and documented several strategies the Cuban government deploys to deny freedom of expression and censor critics, among them arbitrary detentions, interrogations, internet censorship, travel bans and threats to family members.

These are not new strategies, and they continue to deteriorate rapidly, he said, adding that while Cuba is not an active member of the OAS, it is one of its founding members and is still bound under the organizations charter to comply with the recommendations made by the commission.

OAS Secretary Luis Almagro said Cuba should not be an exception in the Americas.

The situation of Cuba and the political prisoners cannot be made invisible, he said. We have an important role to play. Cubans have a right to democracy.

According to Prisoners Defenders, a Madrid-based organization, there are currently 1,066 political prisoners in Cuba, a number that skyrocketed after the islandwide protests on July 11, 2021. Among them there are 17 minors sentenced under sedition convictions, the organizations president, Javier Larrondo, said.

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Now the prisons in Cuba have people who were not dissidents but simple families who took to the streets to demonstrate, he said. This repression is not occasional, it is structural.

The Cuban government does not recognize political prisoners, arguing they have all committed common crimes. Larrondo said many of the crimes punished under current Cuban law are vaguely defined and would not be considered as such in democratic countries.

While the number of prisoners reported by Prisoners Defenders cannot be independently confirmed because the Cuban government does not provide official numbers nor allow international observers to visit Cuban prisons, the figure is in line with the one reported by other civil society organizations.

Larrondo said the treatment the July 11 protesters received violated legal standards, because many were sentenced after summary trials, were arrested under orders of police officers, not judges, and did not have access to independent lawyers but lawyers working for the Cuban state.

In pre-recorded videos, long-term Cuban dissidents Berta Soler, Marta Beatriz Roque and Ivan Fernandez Carrillo warned of a wave of increased repression on the island and shared their concerns about the treatment opposition members Jose Daniel Ferrer and Felix Navarro are receiving in prison. They were both imprisoned for participating in the July 11 protests.

They said Ferrer, the leader of the opposition organization UNPACU, has been in isolation in a prison cell in a facility in Santiago de Cuba and that both he and Navarro have been denied medical care.

In a series of presentations, Cuban activists shared personal accounts of how government repression has impacted their lives while providing analytical insights on the patterns Cuban authorities follow to quash dissent. In particular, they highlighted how the government has censored the arts, harassed independent journalists and artists and ultimately sent the leaders of the San Isidro Movement, a loose collective of young artists, academics and activists, to jail.

Cuban visual artist Anyelo Troya shared pictures documenting the surveillance by Cuban officials while he was serving a one-year home detention sentence after he was convicted of public disorder charges for participating in anti-government protests on July 11.

He said he had never met the police officers who made the accusation against him, which was enough to convict him. He said he was beaten in jail and his family members threatened.

He also shared images of his work with artists Luis Manuel Otero Alcantara and rapper Maykel Osogbo Castillo in the production of the video clip for Patria y Vida (Homeland and Life), the song that later became an anthem for the protesters. Both men are currently in prison for participating in the anti-government demonstrations.

In a presentation focused on how the Cuban government has crushed independent artists, Anamely Ramos, a Cuban activist and art professor, referred to a letter recently written by 15 Cuban women imprisoned who demanded freedom and signed with their blood.

As much as I think about it, I cannot think of a greater example of culture: people who have sacrificed their well-being and even personal freedom for a greater good for themselves, for a future for all. I cant think of anything less artistic either, she said. In Cuba, there is no greater art than surviving the state violence in which one is born.

Ramos, whom Cuban authorities have not allowed to return to the island because of her activism, also detailed how the harassment of critics works on the island: it starts with getting fired from the persons state job, followed by interrogations in which state security officials pretend to be friendly at first, she said, and then escalate into open threats, public acts of repudiation, home detention or fabricated crimes that lead to serving time in prison or exile to avoid going to jail.

The use of public spaces is particularly punished, she said, recalling the five-year sentence imposed to Luis Robles, a young man who held an anti-government sign in a Havana street.

She told the Herald that activists worried about the health of Otero Alcantara too. He frequently faints and during one of these blackouts, he fell and damaged his knee. His fate, and that of Grammy award winner Castillo, opposition leader Ferrer and hundreds of other Cubans imprisoned for participating in peaceful protests hang on the will of Cuban authorities to release them, though they have given no sign so far that they will do so, several European and American diplomats have told the Herald.

Cuban officials have insisted the island was unjustly included in the list of countries that sponsor terrorism and have demanded its delisting. But the U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken recently said during a congressional hearing that the government does not meet the conditions for its removal.

Frank Mora, the U.S. ambassador to the OAS, who helped organize the event, told the Herald the organization will continue pressing members to have discussions about Cuba.

Unfortunately the international community ignores or has abandoned the Cuban people, he said. In the OAS there is no consensus to follow up on the Cuban drama as is being done in the Nicaraguan case. The United States mission is committed to ensuring that the organization and the international community do not forget what is happening in Cuba.

The situation in Cuba has been going on for more than six decades and people get tired, but that is not an excuse to simply ignore the Cuban tragedy, he added.

For more than two years the OAS, the worlds oldest regional organization, had no U.S. representative. After his appointment last December, Mora told reporters he wanted to help revitalize the organization and focus on strengthening democratic values in a region where populism and authoritarianism are on the rise.

But such efforts have at times encountered pushback from some countries in the region.

Uruguays ambassador to the OAS, Washington Abdala, said during the event Tuesday that he faced reluctance from other members when he wanted to organize a similar event about Cuba.

Human rights violations concern the entire international community and cannot be downplayed, said Cuban journalist Monica Baro, who was one of the presenters. I urge the international community not to romanticize authoritarian regimes.

Sometimes Cuba can seem like a pretty exhausting subject, she said, but I assure you that we Cubans are the most exhausted in this story.
Meeting Jake Gyllenhaal and Guy Ritchie is enough to make anyone break into a sweat.

That literally happened to Baghdad-born Danish actor Dar Salim, who in Ritchies new movie The Covenant (in theaters Friday) plays Ahmed, an Afghan interpreter who pushes his own physical limits after Gyllenhaal's U.S. Army Sgt. John Kinley is gravely injured.

Salims stoic performance stands to make an impression, ideally better than the one he made on Gyllenhaal and Ritchie when they met at a posh private club in London.

Im meeting these huge men of cinema and didnt want to be nervous, so that morning I took a sauna at my hotel, but I maybe extended the sauna too long, says Salim, 45, explaining how he began to sweat profusely during the encounter.

Gyllenhaal, 42, cracks up at the memory.

Sgt. John Kinley (Jake Gyllenhaal, front) and his translator Ahmed (Dar Salim) have each other's backs in an Afghanistan firefight in Guy Ritchie's military thriller "The Covenant."

Within 20 seconds, Dar was Albert Brooks in Broadcast News,  he says, referencing a famous flop-sweat scene in which Brooks TV journalist literally melts down on air.

They were very kind and kept talking, says Salim. But I knew in that moment I had lost all credibility, all status as a man and actor ...

And also lost potentially all the hydration in his body, Gyllenhaal jokes. But he was already chosen for the part, I had no choice, and the poor couch he was sitting on had no choice.

Guy Ritchie was looking for 'shared humanity' created in wartime

That lighthearted camaraderie helped the actors unwind each day as weeks of filming ground on in the rugged hills of Spain, which doubled for Afghanistan.

The Covenant draws its inspiration from the bonds formed between countless U.S. and coalition soldiers and their Middle Eastern interpreters during conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The two sides, while from different worlds, come to rely on each other for information, insights and ultimately their lives. Many interpreters were left behind when military forces suddenly evacuated. In "The Covenant," Gyllenhaal's character decides he owes it to Ahmed to return to Afghanistan on a solo rescue mission.

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Ritchie, best known for hyper-action movies such as The Gentlemen and Snatch, says he wanted to make the film after watching documentaries about the shared humanity that surfaces during wartime across disparate cultures.

I was interested in, when push comes to shove, what one person is willing to do for another, he says. Thats worthy of a film.

'The Covenant' is about 'the best of us,' Jake Gyllenhaal says

That dynamic is also at the core of a similar movie, 1984s The Killing Fields, the true story of New York Times reporter Sydney Schanberg, who evacuates from Vietnam, then heads back in an effort to rescue his Cambodian interpreter, Dith Pran. The film poses questions about the nature of war and convenient alliances that turn deadly.

Ritchie says he recognizes the correlation, though he had not made the connection. But Gyllenhaal, whose character, John, also returns to the danger zone to help his stranded interpreter, Ahmed, immediately nods when the Roland Joffe film is mentioned.

Jake Gyllenhaal, right, is held back by a referee while filming his upcoming remake of 1989's "Road House." The actor also brings his tough-guy persona to the role of an American Army sergeant who must rely on his Afghan interpreter for survival in "The Covenant."

Thats a film that was referenced a lot in my family growing up, and when I showed (The Covenant) to my mother, she brought it up, says Gyllenhaal, whose parents were filmmakers and sister is Oscar-nominated actress Maggie Gyllenhaal.

But our movie is apolitical, he adds. The good in us as Americans is what inspires me. Its the best of us.

Special forces training helped Jake Gyllenhaal, not so much Dar Salim

Making The Covenant challenged Gyllenhaal and Salim physically, especially during the scenes of their arduous mountain escape from Taliban forces.

Tumbling down ravines, carrying heavy loads, being fake shot at all took their toll on the actors' stamina. It helped that Gyllenhaal came to the project with past military movie training, which was supplemented by this film's special ops technical advisers.

"There was no classical boot camp, but I have a lot of friends in the military and have been taught by some of the best," he says.

While Salim had spent part of his youth serving with the Danish Royal Guards, his character is more self-taught, so he had to hold a gun in ways that are not correct.

In 2014's biblical epic "Exodus: Gods and Kings," Dar Salim (as Khyan, right) stars with Joel Edgerton (as Ramses). Salim co-stars with Jake Gyllenhaal in new Guy Ritchie war movie "The Covenant."

Guy Ritchie surprised actors with a minimal script and maximum improv

There were also creative heights to scale, given that Ritchie provided only a skeleton script and asked his stars to help create the movie as shooting unfolded.

It was such an inspiring artistic process, says Gyllenhaal. We were all around a table exchanging ideas and trying to find this movie together.

That resulted in small touches such as when Gyllenhaal commented while cameras were rolling that there were a lot of dogs barking near the set. That line stayed in the movie and serves as a connective link between John and Ahmed later in the film.

Ritchie says hes eager to challenge himself and his cast with less orthodox approaches at this stage in his career. There are more than one chef, the actors, the director, he says. But once you agree how youll make this meal, then theres a consistency.

For Salim, the improvisational nature of Ritchies directing style proved challenging.

The first few days, it was scary, he says. You want to show all your skills, that you belong. And from day one, thats stripped away. I had to take a few deep breaths and forget all I prepared. I had to trust there was a reason I was there.

The best part of 'The Covenant'? The director's barbecues

One reason the actors were there was Ritchies barbecues. Both Salim and Gyllenhaal wax nostalgic about the sizzling chicken, beef and veggies that their director cooked up daily for cast and crew.

Spanish wines and tapas are quite good, Ritchie quips.

I think the wine and tapas were 35% of it for (Ritchie), and 75% was making the movie, which leads you to 110%, Gyllenhaal says. OK, my math skills are off.

Salim laughs and agrees: Guy loves being on a film set almost as much as he loves being at home.

Read more about Jake Gyllenhaal:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How Jake Gyllenhaal, Guy Ritchie humanize war in 'The Covenant' movie
RTE News /Facebook

WRC driver Craig Breen was laid to rest on Tuesday after he was killed in a crash during testing for the Croatia Rally last week.

The 33-year-old driver's own Ford Sierra Cosworth rally car led the funeral procession that took place at the Sacred Heart Church in Ferrybank, Ireland. Breen's coffin, draped in the Irish tri-color flag, was carried by six pallbearers that included co-driver James Fulton, who was uninjured in the April 13 incident, along with longtime co-driver Paul Nagle.

This is an unbelievably sad day," Parish priest Fr Kieran OShea told mourners at Breen's mass. "Craigs all too short life has ended. We are bidding farewell to someone who brought sunshine and joy to so many people in his short journey through life. We are so grateful that our tears are mingled with gratitude. Today we gather for somebody who has gone way too young while he lived his dream."

Thousands of mourners gathered at the church to pay their respects, according to RallyFish on Facebook. Breen raced in the WRC for 14 years behind the wheel of Fords, Citroens, and Hyundais. He also regularly competed in historic events, having last driven the Sierra Cosworth pictured above alongside co-driver Nagle in late March.

The best tribute to Craig is to go out and live our lives," O'Shea told the crowd. "Hes finished his race.

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Dylan Teuns

2022 Fleche Wallonne winner Dylan Teuns will not defend his title at this years race due to illness. The Belgian has already been forced to miss Amstel Gold Race, and it is not clear if he will be fit to participate in Liege-Bastogne-Liege on Sunday.

Unfortunately defending champion Dylan Teuns has not recovered from his illness in time to line up, read a statement from Israel Premier Tech on Tuesday. A decision on his Liege-Bastogne-Liege participation will be made in the coming days.

According to Israel Premier Tech, Teuns developed a sore throat and fever last week, and he was withheld from Amstel Gold Race in the hope that he might recover in time to line out at Fleche.

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In his absence, Michael Woods will lead Israel-Premier Techs challenge on Wednesday, and he will be joined by Simon Clarke, Hugo Houle, Guillaume Bovin, Krists Neilands, Nick Schultz and Daryl Impey in the seven-man line-up.

Teuns joined Israel Premier Tech on a mid-season transfer from Bahrain Victorious last August. Earlier in the year, the Belgian had enjoyed the best Classics campaign of his career, placing 6th at both the Tour of Flanders and Liege-Bastogne-Liege as well as powering to victory ahead of Alejandro Valverde on the Mur de Huy.

Gutted to miss one of my favorite races because of illness, Teuns wrote on Tuesday of his Fleche Wallonne absence. Hope to be fully recovered soon.

Tomorrow we tackle the Mur de Huy  with a strong team led by Mike Woods Unfortunately defending champion Dylan Teuns has not recovered from his illness in time to line up. A decision on his Liege-Bastogne-Liege participation will be made in the coming days. pic.twitter.com/OnP14nIBXVApril 18, 2023

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Holly Richardson works at the state Capitol in Salt Lake City on March 2, 2011. | Laura Seitz, Deseret News

I was running to be the Republican legislative district chair in my area some years ago and one of the delegates who would be voting said to me that he would vote for me, but he had a question: How do you get your husband to let you do this? I responded with There is no let. I dont have to ask permission from my husband.

Many times, Ive been asked who is taking care of your children, when actively involved in politics. None of my male colleagues or male opponents were ever asked that question. I even once heard another woman say they loved their children too much to be involved in politics. My response is that I love mine too much not to be.

I know many of my female friends, especially those active in politics, have heard similar comments, so when I read the five policy papers published by the Utah Women and Leadership Project, I was not surprised to see how pervasive these comments are. That doesnt mean its not disheartening.

During May and June in 2020, the Utah Women and Leadership Project began surveying Utah women about their experiences with messages that reinforce gender roles and stereotypes, demean women as a gender group, and sexually objectify women. Hundreds of women responded, leaving 1,750 examples of sexist comments that had been made to them. One respondent left a comment at the end of the survey that she could have added hundreds more examples. Many of the comments that were shared were much more explicit and vulgar than those shared in the series of five reports.

Overall, most of the sexist comments were made by men (84.6%), in the workplace (58.2%), by someone who had a position of authority or influence over the person. The goal in publishing these reports, say the authors, is to educate people on the numerous ways that language and related behaviors can demean and disempower women, and give women tools for confronting such behavior.

Related

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Researchers were able to sort the comments into four broad categories: inequity and bias, objectification, stereotypes and undervaluing women. A fifth category, direct aggression, contains elements of the other four, but some distinct characteristics as well.

The survey also asked respondents how they reacted when hearing these comments. There were five general reactions. One was to do or say nothing. A second was to have a direct response to the comments. A third was to have an emotional response, including feeling hurt, disappointed or angry. A fourth was to react indirectly by laughing it off or changing the subject and the fifth was the internal dialogue respondents had with themselves afterward.

Heres a sample of the comments shared across five policy briefs:

Inequity and bias

A manager said, I dont know how you handle so many children plus your job!! No one would say this to a man, plus then he viewed me as unable to take on leadership roles.

At a formal function, all of the male professors in the room were introduced as Dr., but the female professors were introduced by their first names.

When I asked for a raise commensurate with a male colleagues salary, I was told that because I didnt have children and wasnt the head of household, I didnt need to make as much money as he did.

(I was) trying to get a candidate ... to understand what needed to be done. ... He repeatedly checked with men before taking my advice.

Objectification

The first time we met, he said, What a surprise. I thought youd look a lot older than you do. Youve still got a good 10 years of sex kitten left in you!

Upon meeting for the first time, a man said, My wife is here somewhere. She used to model, but she was too weak to get back into shape for me after the kids were born.

He looked at me and said, You? But youre a cute, little blonde thing. You cant be a mayor!

My husbands co-worker said, You know your wife is going to have an affair, as a response to my being in MBA school.

Stereotypes

He said that women were too irrational and emotional to be good legislators and make the difficult decisions that needed to be made.

A teacher of a course on marriage said that he didnt help with housework because he knew how much satisfaction doing housework gave his wife.

A male boss said, If you become pregnant, youll be asked to resign. If you get married while employed here and dont get pregnant after a certain amount of time, well meet to determine if this job is stopping you from getting pregnant.

In a group setting, with multiple external influencers, he said, Shes pregnant so you cant trust that she cares about us or her children. Women should be in the home taking care of children, and any woman who chooses to work doesnt care about her kids.

Undervaluing women

I work on thoughtful, thorough, comprehensive policy analysis. The policy area is incredibly nuanced and complicated. A relative in my family describes what I do as, You have some opinions from your heart.

My boss makes comments such as, I cant believe your husband lets you have such a demanding job, and What does your husband think of this?

I was arguing a case before the Utah Court of Appeals when opposing counsel was trying to assert why my argument was incorrect (normal for lawyers) and kept referring to me as little missy.

During grad school, I had multiple male classmates say I got in because I was a girl or that I wasnt as qualified as they were because the standards were lower or even that I was taking away a spot in the program from a man who needed to support a family.

Lead researchers Robbyn Scribner, April Townsend and Susan Madsen conclude their five-part series with these recommendations: First, prepare. Have a go-to phrase you can use on the spot, such as What makes you say that? or Can you explain what you meant by that?

Second, take action. When you hear offensive comments or inappropriate jokes, respond with something like Thats not funny, or Ouch, or Thats inappropriate.

Third, call out the behavior, whether that behavior is always asking the woman on the team to take notes or remember birthdays, interrupting women while theyre speaking or taking credit for the ideas women on their team have shared.

Their final thought is this: Speaking up against sexism can be a powerful force for reducing gender inequity. ... By raising awareness of the widespread occurrence and damaging effects of sexist language, comments, beliefs, and behaviors, we hope to reduce the frequency of sexism in our homes, neighborhoods, communities, and the state as a whole.

Holly Richardson is the editor of Utah Policy, a former lawmaker and holds a doctorate in political science from the University of Utah.
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

The Global Market for Nephroblastoma Therapeutics is Anticipated to Witness North America Leading With the Highest Revenue Share, Primarily Attributed to the Rising Incidence of Nephroblastoma Among Children. The Asia-pacific Region, on the Other Hand, is Expected to Experience the Most Rapid Growth in Revenue Due to the Increasing Occurrence of Wilms Tumor and a Rapidly Expanding Population of Newborns in This Area.

NEWARK, Del, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Future Market Insights, the Nephroblastoma Therapeutics Market is projected to rise at a steady growth valued at US$ 2.12 billion with a 9.88% CAGR until 2033, being valued at US$ 5.44 billion.

The important factors that are compelling the growth of the revenue of the nephroblastoma therapeutics market are the rapid increase in the population of newborn babies and the rise in funding for healthcare infrastructure and facilities by the government. Also, considerable research and development activities in the cancer disease and an increase in alertness among people regarding cancer are expected to support the market revenue growth.

The rise in cost that is associated with the treatment and diagnosis of cancer acts as a major factor in restraining the revenue growth of the market. Even though the side effects related to the treatment of cancer are also assumed to restrict the revenue growth of the global Wilms market to some extent.

Get a PDF Sample with Latest Market Insights: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-17041

Major research and development activities in the field of cancer treatment and the usage of modern technology for research purposes are thus expected to create symbolic revenue growth opportunities in the market. Many key players are also working on the development of a novel cancer treatment that is anticipated to create advantageous revenue growth opportunities for new entrants in the market.

Nowadays, improvement in risks has divided the population of patients into small subgroups, which has created the challenge of designing and executing clinical trials that are abundantly powered to demonstrate convenient outcomes. The fruits of augmented international collaboration have begun to realize, the discovery of new genes, biological markers, and therapeutic targets. The benefits of COG-SIOP collaboration will positively translate into the application of evidence-based diagnostic and therapeutic approaches in low-income countries.

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North America is also expected to account to have the dominant revenue share in the global nephroblastoma therapeutics market because of the rise in the pervasiveness of the nephroblastoma disease in children, followed by the Asia-Pacific, having a dominant growing market in terms of revenue. This is only due to the rise in prevalence of the Wilms tumor in consideration of a rapid increase in the population of newborn babies in this region.

Key Takeaways from the Market Study

The global nephroblastoma therapeutics market grew at a CAGR of 8.88% from 2018 to 2022

Frequent regulatory approvals for new nephroblastoma treatments are expected to propel the growth of the global nephroblastoma treatment market during the forecast period

Of 13 children treated with dactinomycin in addition to nephrectomy and postoperative radiotherapy, 92% (12 of 13) are living and free of tumors.

The market players are focusing on R&D activities for new treatments, which is also expected to augment the growth of the global nephroblastoma treatment market during the forecast period.

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"With chronic kidney problems globally inclining, the scope for nephroblastoma therapeutics is rising tremendously. Numerous clinical trials are being initiated by pharma companies to develop new treatment approaches," says the FMI analyst.

Competitive Landscape

Some of the prominent players in the global market for Nephroblastoma Therapeutics Market treatment are- Merck & Co. Inc. , Recordati Rare Diseases , Pfizer Inc. , Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. , Cipla Inc. , Actiza Pharmaceutical Private Limited , Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. , Alvogen , Accord Healthcare Ireland Ltd ., Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC.

Some of the important developments of the key players in the market are:

In October 2019, Y-mAbs Therapeutics, In. announced a clinical update on naxitamab for the treatment of nephroblastoma at the International Society of Pediatric Oncology Annual Congress held in France.

In June 2022, Omblastys (Omburtamab) was granted a priority review for a Biologics License Application by the Food and Drug Administration of the United States. The drug was intended to use for the treatment affected by leptomeningeal metastasis caused by nephroblastoma.

More Valuable Insights Available

Future Market Insights offers an unbiased analysis of the global Nephroblastoma Therapeutics Market providing historical data for 2018-2022 and forecast statistics from 2023-2033.

For more Report Customization, connect with us: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/customization-available/rep-gb-17041

To understand opportunities in Nerve Entrapment Syndrome treatment, the market is segmented based on major Regions (North America, Latin America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Middle East & Africa), Type (Favorable histology, Anaplastic histology), Drug type (Dactinomycin, Doxorubicin, Vincristine, Cyclophosphamide, Etoposide, Irinotecan), Distribution channel (Hospital Pharmacies, Retail Pharmacies, Online Pharmacies)

About the Healthcare Division at Future Market Insights

The healthcare team at Future Market Insights offers expert analysis, time-efficient research, and strategic recommendations to provide authentic insights and accurate results to help clients worldwide. With a repertoire of over 100+ reports and 1 million+ data points, the team has been analyzing the industry lucidly in 50+ countries for over a decade. The team provides a brief analysis of key trends including competitive landscape, profit margin, and research development efforts.

Key Segments Profiled in the Nephroblastoma Therapeutics Market Report

Type:

Favorable histology

Anaplastic histology

Drug type:

Dactinomycin

Doxorubicin

Vincristine

Cyclophosphamide

Etoposide

Irinotecan

Distribution channel:

Hospital Pharmacies

Retail Pharmacies

Online Pharmacies

Region:

North America

Latin America

Europe

South Asia

East Asia

Oceania

Middle East & Africa

Get Full Access: https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/nephroblastoma-therapeutics-market

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Nephroblastoma Therapeutics Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations



2. Market Overview

2.1. Market CoverageTaxonomy

2.2. Market DefinitionScopeLimitations



3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.1.1. Drivers

3.1.2. Restraints

3.1.3. Opportunity

3.1.4. Trends

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Investment Feasibility Matrix (TOC Continue...)



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Low-Grade Glioma Therapeutics Market Share: The global low-grade Glioma therapeutics market is expected to garner a market value of US$ 1038 Million in 2023 and is expected to accumulate a market value of US$ 1515.47 Million by registering a CAGR of 4.57% in the forecast period 2023 to 2033.

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If dealing with the constant threat of violent criminal gangs and kidnappings in Haiti wasnt bad enough, try finding a reasonably priced fare to fly out of the country to Miami on American Airlines.

The U.S.-based carrier, which had reduced its direct flights to Haiti even before the COVID-19 pandemic threw air travel into a tailspin, is planning to cut back its once-a-day flights to Port-au-Prince from seven days to six starting next month.

The reduction comes as travelers flying out of Port-au-Prince on American see one-way tickets priced at more than $3,000 for a flexible business class seat, which sometimes is the only seat available. The high fare has Haitians in sticker shock as they admit to being confused by the phenomenon and accuse the airline of price gouging.

Stealing money from people fleeing a war zone should be illegal, John Cazeau tweeted.

Cazeau, who lives in Boston but owns property in Fort Lauderdale, is flying JetBlue on Thursday for $292 from Boston round trip. He said in a follow-up interview with the Miami Herald that the fares being charged for Haiti travel make no sense.

They are applying the same economic principles of the western world to a destitute and failed state, he said. Imagine AA asking Ukrainians to pay $3,400 to fly out of a war zone ....How can AA justify that fair? Please enlighten me.

Earlier this month, American began flying a much smaller Airbus 319 with 128 seats, instead of a Boeing 737-800 with 172 seats, on its Miami-Port-au-Prince route. The loss of the 44 additional seats was felt almost immediately as one-way flights out of the Haitian capital shot up to anywhere between $1,091 with a weeks planning to $3,404 for a last-minute airfare. Meanwhile, tickets from Miami to Port-au-Prince are as low as $124.

Laura Masvidal, a spokeswoman for American Airlines, said the change to an Airbus A319 was a decision that was made as part of the continuous evaluation of our network and available resources.

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We are currently operating one daily flight between MIA and PAP. Due to soft demand on our MIA-PAP service, on May 9 we will reduce our service to six weekly flights until August, she added.

In comparison, JetBlue, which shows no available seats out of Port-au-Prince into Fort Lauderdale until May 3, has $589 one-way tickets out of the Haitian capital. After late May the cost drops to $160 one way. Low-cost Spirit Airlines, the only other U.S.-bound airline flying out of Port-au-Prince, also has no seats available until May 4. The one-way price on that day into Fort Lauderdale, however, is $1,043.

With such high airfares, U.S.-bound travelers are either forced to dig deep in their pockets, use frequent-flyer miles if they have them or fly to the Dominican Republic via Haitis Sunrise Airways. A Miami-bound ticket onboard a bigger American Airlines flight from Santo Domingo to Miami is $257 for a basic economy next Tuesday and $493 for business class.

The reduction in American Airlines service and the lack of availability of seats on other carriers have coincided with a higher demand among Haitians looking to fly out of the country, especially those who have qualified to travel to the United States under President Bidens recently launched two-year humanitarian parole program. The program allows nationals of Haiti, Cuba, Nicaragua and Venezuela to temporarily migrate to the U.S. if they have an approved financial sponsor.

Haitis Tourism Minister Cassandra Francois told the Herald that the government is very concerned about the high fares and cutbacks, and she is currently in talks with the airlines to add more flights. On Tuesday, Francois said she spoke with the representative of American Airlines for Haiti regarding the high cost of its tickets compared with the rest of the Caribbean region.

The representative, she said, informed her that the airlines needed the Boeing 737-800 for long haul destinations and therefore replaced it with the smaller AirBus.

As a result, the company increased the prices in proportion to high demands from Haiti. That is not fair to the potential tourists, she said.

Knowing that there is not a high frequency of flights to Haiti, in comparison to other destinations in the Caribbean and regarding the high demand, this situation impacts our economy and demotivates the diaspora, Francois said. They just need more planes.

She said she plans to ask American in a follow-up meeting to not only reduce the ticket prices but to add another flight, even if it is a small plane, in order to have two flights per day.

Francois said she also spoke with a representative of Spirit Airlines to see about the possibility of adding another flight on its Fort-Lauderdale to Cap-Haitien route during the summer, given that it is the only U.S. based-carrier that services the northern Haitian city. We welcome American Airlines to do the same, she said.
The Marvel actor posted a video of himself lifting weights after recovering from his Jan. 1 snowplow accident

Jeremy Renner/Instagram, Jon Kopaloff/Getty

Jeremy Renner is back in the gym after his devastating Jan. 1 snowplow accident.

On Tuesday, the Marvel star posted a video of himself on his Instagram Story working out for the first time since he was hospitalized after being run over by a snowplow.

In the clip, the 52-year-old actor is lifting a pair of dumbbells before sharing the sweet motivational messages left by his 10-year-old daughter Ava Berlin Renner around the gym.

"My daughter inspires mewhat inspires you?" he wrote alongside photos of the hand-written messages from Ava. "She leaves me post-it notes all over to keep me going!!"

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Related: Jeremy Renner Revisits 'Amazing' Hospital Staff Who 'Saved My Life'

Last week, Renner paid a visit to the hospital staff that helped him recover from the accident. He shared photos of spending time with the medical staff at Renown Regional Medical Center in Reno, Nevada on his Instagram Story.

"I got to revisit the amazing group of people who saved my life," Renner wrote over a shot of him with the medical workers alongside several prayer hands and red heart emojis.

He posted another photo of him posing next to a surgeon, writing, "Thank you," as well as one of him standing with his cane in front of the medical center's sign, adding prayer hand emojis in the text of both of his Instagram Story.

At the beginning of the year, the Avengers actor suffered more than 30 broken bones and required multiple surgeries after he was run over by a 7-ton snowplow.

Renner revealed that he was back on his feet last month, sharing a video of himself walking on a treadmill, and has kept fans updated on his ongoing recovery in the three months since the incident.

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Related: Jeremy Renner Had 'Excruciating' Pain at Start of Physical Therapy: 'Mentally, You Can't Deal' (Exclusive)

Related: Jeremy Renner Says 'I'm Overflowing with Gratitude' on First Red Carpet Appearance Since Accident (Exclusive)

The Oscar nominee recently walked hand-in-hand with his daughter at the premiere of his Disney+ series Rennervations, in which Renner helps out charities by reconstructing decommissioned vehicles for new uses.

Renner noted to PEOPLE on the red carpet that the event served as his "first time to kind of get out of my bed and out of rehab and, you know, to be on my feet and be out in the world. It's intense, you know, for me, it's a lot, but it's a step in the direction I want to be going, right? And this is exactly what I want to be doing and exactly where I want my life to be right now."

In his first interview since the accident, which aired Thursday and is now streaming on Hulu, Renner told ABC News' Diane Sawyer that he has "shift[ed] the narrative of being victimized or making a mistake or anything else." He said, "I refuse to be f---ing haunted by that memory that way."

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Read the original article on People.
NEW YORK  There are "call your mom" movies. And then there's "Beau Is Afraid."

While some films inspire nostalgia for family and childhood, Joaquin Phoenix's new dark comedy is a long, strange trip about mothers and the kids who disappoint them. For writer/director Ari Aster, the biggest compliment from people who see "Beau" is that they feel inspired to text their parents afterward out of pure panic.

"I've heard a couple times that it's activated a lot of guilt in people," Aster says. "I think that's great."

USA TODAY sat down with Phoenix and Aster to chat about the surreal horror-adventure film (now in theaters).

'Beau Is Afraid' review: Joaquin Phoenix's bonkers hero quest is the mother of all guilt trips

Ari Aster wanted to make himself laugh with bleak 'Beau Is Afraid'

"It was just about finding, 'How can I do this (in a way) that feels unique?' " Joaquin Phoenix says of his decision to make "Beau Is Afraid."

"Beau" follows a timid middle-aged man (Phoenix) who suffers from extreme anxiety and rarely leaves his dilapidated, crime-riddled apartment building. But when he learns his mom (Patti LuPone) was involved in a tragic chandelier accident, Beau warily ventures out to go see her. On his odyssey, he encounters bizarre obstacles such as a hippie theater troupe, a sinister suburban family, and at one point, a giant penis monster.

Aster wrote a version of the script roughly 12 years ago but didn't have the finances to make it at the time. After the success of his horror movies "Hereditary" (2018) and "Midsommar" (2019), he decided to revisit the story, which finds humor in its increasing absurdity.

"This character came from my guts," Aster says. "Really, I was just trying to make myself laugh. I wanted to make something funny and sad."

Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) walks through an alternate version of his life in a stunning, mostly animated sequence.

He eventually reached out to Phoenix, who was largely unfamiliar with Aster's work.

"My nephew tried to get me to watch 'Hereditary' and I thought it was too scary," Phoenix, 48, says. He also caught a few minutes of "Midsommar." "I was shocked by what I was seeing. I just thought the filmmaking was unbelievable, like, 'What is this movie? Who is this person?' "

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But Phoenix wasn't initially on board for "Beau" when Aster got in touch. He feared it might be too close to other projects he's done before, having played grueling roles in "Joker," "The Master" and "You Were Never Really Here." Even after he signed on and arrived at the film's set in Montreal, the Oscar winner still didn't totally understand it.

"I don't think there was ever a moment where I was like, 'I get this and know what it is and know what I want to do.' I don't think I ever had that," Phoenix says. But through their conversations, "I just thought, 'I like talking to Ari and I want to keep talking to him. I could spend a few months with this guy.' I could tell that he cared deeply about work but he was also funny."

Joaquin Phoenix says reports of his injuries during the movie shoot are wildly exaggerated

Like the burning bear in "Midsommar" and the surprise decapitation in "Hereditary," "Beau" is chock-full of deliciously demented moments. There's a hilariously squirmy sex scene featuring an inspired Mariah Carey needle drop. ("It wasn't cheap," Aster says, but "that is a perfect pop song.") Then there's the chaotic first 30 minutes, where addicts, looters and naked serial killers run free on a comically hellish city block. ("I was like, 'How densely can I pack this with little visual jokes?' ")

Stories of Phoenix's intensity on the set have made headlines in recent weeks after Aster revealed at a post-screening Q&A that the actor fainted once while shooting a particularly draining moment with LuPone. He also finished another scene with a shard of glass stuck in his side.

"They all sound stupid," says Phoenix, clarifying that it was breakaway glass, made from a combination of sugar, water and corn syrup. It's used in film stunts because it shatters easily and doesn't harm actors.

Beau (Joaquin Phoenix) is effectively held hostage by strangers grieving their dead son.

"You just do whatever work you do on a movie and then that's it," Phoenix says. "And hopefully, something happens that's uncomfortable if you could be so lucky. But the thing about the glass was that it was fake. It just so happened that on the last take, this one tiny piece happened to survive and I landed on it" after running through a breakaway glass door.

"Just to be clear," Aster says with a grin, "Joaquin did it to himself."

Take a deep dive into Joaquin Phoenix's career:

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Beau Is Afraid': Joaquin Phoenix, Ari Aster talk darkly 'funny' movie
Jed Royal doesnt think the China threat is overhyped.

A career civil servant who has worked in various roles at the Pentagon for the last two decades, Royal, 44, took over as the principal deputy assistant secretary of Defense for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs (IPSA) in September.

The job oversees IPSAs extensive portfolio  including China, Taiwan and South and East Asia, all the way to Mongolia in the north and Afghanistan and Pakistan in Central Asia  working to synchronize the agencys activities with the administrations goals.

The task is no small feat, as the Biden administration late last year named China as the United Statess largest long-term threat, outweighing even Russia.

The strategy, released in October, pointed to Beijing as the top pacing challenge for the Defense Department, calling for a major effort to build up the U.S. military with an eye on deterring China in the next several decades.

The document pointedly warns that China is the most consequential strategic competitor for the coming decades, saying Beijing seeks to threaten Taiwan, erode American alliances in the region and potentially destabilize the U.S. homeland through surveillance and cyberattack capabilities.

Were tracking [the Peoples Republic of China] intention and military activity, military behavior, and our concern about the way that the PRC and the [Peoples Liberation Army] operate in the region is increasingly dangerous, Royal told The Hill in a recent interview. We dont think that the way that we have put forward the depiction of the PRC pacing challenge is overblown in any regard.

Beijings coercive behavior has been in the news frequently since the start of the year, first with its highly scrutinized aerial surveillance program, brought to light after a spy balloon was spotted over the U.S. in late January and early February.

That was followed by Chinese war drills earlier this month around Taiwan after the independent islands leader, Tsai Ing-wen, met with Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and several other U.S. lawmakers while in the United States, a visit that angered Beijing.

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The military exercises mirrored those after then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) visited Taiwan in August, after which China for nearly a week dispatched warships and military aircraft around the island and fired ballistic missiles into nearby waters and air in a show of force not seen before.

Weve been closely monitoring what theyre doing. We do see an alarming uptick in the way they operate in and around the Taiwan Strait, including with incursions that are clearly meant to send a signal that the PRC wants to make sure that Taiwan knows its happening, Royal said.

He would not comment on whether the Chinese drills this month were on par with those around Pelosis visit, but he said in both cases Beijing is trying to use the situation to establish some type of new normal.

This is a problem for instability in the region and across the strait, Royal said. I would say that we should expect probably more of this kind of thing in the future if things continue on this trend, and its very concerning to us.

CIA Director William Burns said earlier this year that U.S. intelligence has shown that Chinese President Xi Jinping has ordered Beijings military to be ready by 2027 to invade Taiwan, which it views as sovereign territory.

President Biden has said that the United States would defend Taiwan if China were to attempt an invasion, though its not clear if that includes the use of American troops or only the influx of U.S. weapons and equipment, as Washington has done for Ukraine in its war with Russia.

A major concern floated, however, is whether the U.S. military will have enough of the right weapons in its stockpiles for Taiwan after billions of dollars worth have been pledged to Kyiv.

But Royal  who prior to his current role served as the deputy director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency, the arm overseeing foreign military sales  brushed aside such worries.

Every decision that we have made to draw down from U.S. military stock and provide to Ukraine has been with full knowledge and awareness of what is necessary to be able to deter, and if necessary, fight and win in the Indo-Pacific region, he said.

Were completely confident that we can execute our operational plans as necessary in the event of conflict, he added.

Royal also addressed a $19 billion backlog of U.S. weapons approved for Taiwan, a figure often touted by GOP lawmakers.

The sales, which include Harpoon over-the-horizon long-range anti-ship missiles and F-16 fighter jets, stem from a 2019 deal delayed due to COVID-19-related supply chain issues and high weapons demands amid the Ukraine-Russia war.

I think the word backlog sort of invokes a sense that everything is stagnant and not moving forward, and I can assure you thats not the case, Royal said. The department is moving very quickly to try and ensure that the defense industrial base can produce  as efficient as possible to move those weapons towards Taiwan. And were in the process of doing so.

He pointed to $54 billion in implemented foreign military sales to Taiwan, including $27 billion in new contracts in 2017, indicating the sheer amount of weapons and equipment promised to the island.

He said the scrutiny helps the U.S. defense industrial base receive the level of attention that it needs, some of which will come through funding in the current fiscal 2023 and in the upcoming fiscal 2024 defense budget.

Were investing a lot to try and ensure that the defense industrial base is responsive in the United States. Some of that will have a bit of a lag in terms of payoff. Thats no surprise, Royal said.

In the meantime, the Pentagon has kept a close eye on its balance of an outward projection of strength in the face of a bellicose China. The tightrope walk is crucial to prevent any miscalculation between the two superpowers.

On the question of miscalculation, I think thats an important thing for us to consider, Royal said. We will operate responsibly and safely wherever international law allows. Weve made that sort of a key tenant of the way that weve conducted ourselves and fully compliant with what we believe to be the rules-based international order  we dont see the same behavior on the PRC side.

The mismatch lends to concerns that China could be allowing for the additional opportunity for a miscalculation or something along those lines due to its risky behavior and the way that it operates, he added.

Royal stressed the need for communication in such scenarios, with Washington keeping to a long-standing policy and practice of reaching out to China with an open channel for communication.

The United States has done this in previous naval transits through Chinese contested waters in the South China Sea ahead of war drills and during the course of the high-altitude spy balloon, which was eventually shot down over the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of South Carolina.

We believe that open lines of communication are really important in situations just like this to be able to manage responsibly manage the international environment and avoid the chance of miscalculation, he said. But unfortunately, were not getting the kind of responsiveness from Beijing that we would like.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
Norwegian political satire Power Play has won Best Series in the Canneseries International Competition.

The series  originally called Makta and written by Silje Storstein, Kristin Grue and Johan Fasting  is for Norwegian pubcaster NRK and NDR and is from Motlys and Fremantle-owned Novemberfilm. REinvent International Sales has distribution rights.

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Fasting (Heimebane, Ninjababy) is the showrunner and Kathrine Thorborg Johansen, Jan Gunnar Rise star.

Power Play is billed as the incredible story of Gro Harlem Brundtland, who in the late 70s works as a young doctor, fighting for self-determined abortion, when she almost by accident, stumbles into politics. As the government implodes around her, Gro learns to play her own games of power, climbing the ranks until she is the last woman standing in the ruins of Labours celebrated social democracy, ending up as Norways first female Prime Minister in 1981.

The 12-part series also bagged Best Music, with Kare Christoffer Vestrheim, Andrea Louise Horstad, Kristoffer Lo and Eivind Helgerd credited as overseeing that element of the show.

Best Screenplay went to Koreas Bargain, which had its international premiere at the Cannes, France festival. Woo-Sung Jeon, Byeong-Yun Choi and Jae-Min Kwak wrote the scripts.

The six-episode series, from SLL and Climax Studio, is for Korean streamer TVING and Paramount+, with Paramount Global Content Distribution attached for sales. It follows a man who unintentionally ends up in an auction house for human organ trafficking, with his body parts for sale. Just as his kidney is sold, an earthquake collapses the building and the plot gets going  quite the script.

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It went out last year in Korea.

Other winners at the Canneseries awards, held this evening in the French city, include Israeli series Corduroy and Carthago, which took the Best Performance and Special Interpretation Awards respectively, and The Left-Handed Son, which won the short form competition. Belgian doc series Draw For Change!, about female cartoonists, won Best Documentary Series.

This was the sixth Canneseries. The festival runs adjacent to Mip TV, which finished today after three days of sales meetings, keynotes and conference sessions.

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Pixar will be back at the Cannes Film Festival on closing night (May 27) with the world premiere of their new feature Elemental.

Presented Out of Competition, the film will be released in theaters on June 16 in the U.S. and on June 21 in France. Elemental is the fourth feature film from Pixar Animation Studios to be presented in the Official Selection, after Up, Inside Out and Soul.

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Element revolves around the friendship between Ember, a fearless and quick-witted young woman with a strong personality, and Wade, a sentimental, fun-loving, go-with-the-flow boy.

As we all emerge from our pandemic cocoons and come together in story rooms, animation dailies and impromptu brainstorming sessions, its a joy and honor to have Pixar back on La Croisette, said Pete Docter, Pixars chief creative officer.

Directed by the extraordinary storyteller Peter Sohn, Elemental is so funny, full of heart and, frankly, stunning to see. It was created for audiences to experience on the big screen and I love that itll make its world premiere at Cannes, Docter continued.

The French voice cast will be led by Adele Exarchopoulos (Blue Is The Warmest Color) and Vincent Lacoste (Lost Illusions). The original voice cast includes Leah Lewis and Mamoudou Athie.

Thierry Fremaux, Cannes general delegate, pointed out that for many years, the Festival de Cannes has welcomed animated films from around the world.

Pixar Animation Studios, with Up, directed by Pete Docter, made Cannes history by opening the 62nd edition of the Festival in 2009. It was a wonderful event! This is an another great opportunity, to present the amazing Elemental, for the Last Screening of this 76th Festival de Cannes, and to think about our lives in such a powerful way, Fremaux continued.

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Elemental is one of the several high-profile U.S. movies slated for this years Cannes, alongside Martin Scorseses Killers of the Flower Moon and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny.

A few movies are expected to be added to the Official Selection in the coming days. As previously announced, the 76th edition will kick off with Maiwenns Jeanne du Barry on May 16.





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Tenn-Gun-Reform-Sheryl-Crow-Kacey-Musgraves-Amy-Grant-Jason-Isbell - Credit: Lester Cohen/Getty Images for The Recording Academy; Bruce Glikas/Getty Images; Derek White/Getty Images; Kevin Winter/Getty Images

Some of Nashvilles biggest artists are coming together to urge Tennessee lawmakers to pass common sense gun safety legislation before the General Assembly ends their session, the Tennessean reports.

Sheryl Crow, Kacey Musgraves, Amy Grant, Jason Isbell and dozens of other signees drafted a letter calling for Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee and state lawmakers to enact meaningful gun reforms following the Covenant School shooting that left three children and three adults dead. They are part of Voices for a Safer Tennessee, a coalition pushing for extreme risk protection laws and stronger measures around safe storage of firearms.

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Gun violence in Tennessee is not inevitable, the group wrote. We are not hopeless, and we will not accept inaction. This does not have to be our normal and we ask that you stand with us! We know that gun safety laws work. Policies like extreme risk protection laws and secure storage of firearms can save lives. And we ask that you keep your session open until these policies are put into place.

Lawmakers claim conversations on extreme-risk legislation  which would allow law enforcement to temporarily confiscate weapons from anyone deemed a serious risk of harming themselves or others with a firearm  are ongoing, per the report. However, there is a push to complete legislative business for 2023 by the end of the week as gun-reform protests have ramped up after the Covenant school shooting.

On Tuesday, the coalition is set to link arms and form a human chain from the Tennessee Capitol to Monroe Carrell Jr. Childrens Hospital, where victims of the shooting were taken in March. Thousands are expected to participate in the call for stronger gun reform in the state.

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In 2017 an internal debate was peaking at the Wisconsin Conservation Congress.

At issue was how the organization could increase participation at the state's annual spring hearings, a public input process on conservation and environmental issues.

Attendance at the April meetings had sagged; the average over the previous 10 years was 5,454.

To its credit the organization  which was formed in 1934 and is recognized in state statute as an advisory body to the Natural Resources Board  established a committee to study a modern option: online voting.

The committee came up with what was seen as a credible process and, led by then chairman Larry Bonde of Kiel, WCC delegates overwhelmingly approved it at the group's 2018 statewide convention.

While it has critics, five years later it's clear online voting achieved its primary goal: Participation has increased substantially.

Participation in the 2023 spring hearings was 11,556, or more than double the average in the 10 years prior to online voting. The input was collected April 10 through 13.

The results of last week's votes were released Monday. Rob Bohmann of Racine, WCC chairman, said he was pleased with the participation.

There were a lot of different topics and issues included, and Im very happy with the input and public discussions we had around the Spring Hearing questions this year," Bohmann said in a statement. "It tells me the public is interested in being engaged in resource management in Wisconsin and it clearly matters to them; its great to see.

Participation in the process is variable but substantially higher in the new, online era. The last four years represent four of the top six participation levels in the last quarter century at the spring hearings, according to DNR data.

A graph shows participation from 2005 through 2022 at the Wisconsin spring hearings.

Record participation of 64,943 was recorded in 2020, the first year of online-only voting. It surpassed the in-person attendance of 29,938 in 2000, the year of the vote on a mourning dove hunting proposal.

Story continues

Third is 28,176 in 2022, the third year of online-only voting.

Fourth is 13,126 in 2005, in-person input during the year voters were asked if feral cats should be unprotected. And fifth is 2021 at 12,642, also an online-only year.

So the new process has succeeded in gathering more input for the WCC and DNR.

In a state with a population of 5.9 million, including about 1 million licensed hunters and anglers, participation is still a very small percentage of the potential audience. But that's a topic for another day.

What did this year's voting show?

On DNR fisheries questions, voters supported a statewide daily bag limit of three walleyes (it's now five in most of the state). The tally was 5,194 yes, 1,079 no and 1,274 no opinion.

Participants also thought standardizing the muskellunge season across the state was a good idea. It would match the current dates used in southern Wisconsin, starting on the first Saturday in May and running through Dec. 31. The vote was 4,061 yes, 1,335 no and 2,181 no opinion.

Opponents of wake surfing have become increasingly active over the last couple years. The boating activity, which utilizes a special powerboat with ballast tanks and a strong engine to create large waves, can damage shorelines and lake bottoms and destroy bird nests, including those of common loons.

Six WCC advisory questions calling for additional restrictions or prohibitions on wake boats were on the 2023 ballot; all were supported by a landslide. Question 64, for example, asked if wake boats would be prohibited on all lakes 1,500-acres and smaller. The result was 6,292 yes, 2,879 no and 553 no opinion.

Public sentiment is clear on this issue. But it remains to be seen how new local rules will be implemented and whether, as several questions urged, the Legislature will tackle wake boat issues.

Advocates for a switch to non-lead fishing tackle to help prevent wildlife poisonings scored a victory on question 54. According to the preamble, 30% of dead loons in a Wisconsin study were lead-poisoned. The question asked: Do you support the WCC working with the DNR, the Natural Resources Board and our state legislature to implement a statewide ban on lead jigs and sinkers weighing 1 ounce or less? The vote was 4,727 yes, 2,960 no and 2,172 no opinion.

Another question related to wildlife poisoning, this one on bald eagles and lead bullet fragments in gut piles and deer carcasses, also received strong support. Wildlife rehabilitators in Wisconsin treat a couple hundred eagles and other raptors annually for lead poisoning after the birds ingest lead while scavenging in fall and early winter, according to the question. Non-lead bullet options such as copper are available. Voters were asked if Wisconsin should have a statewide outreach program to increase the use of non-lead ammunition. The input was 5,649 yes, 2,330 no and 1,868 no opinion.

On the question of the gun deer hunting season, voters strongly favored the current format (nine day firearm season starting on the Saturday before Thanksgiving followed by a 10-day muzzleloader season) over a 16-day firearm season that started earlier or a 19-day gun and muzzleloader season. The vote was 5,725 for the status quo, 1,657 for the 19-day season and 1,393 for the 16-day season with the earlier start.

The idea of a free fishing weekend for military veterans was also well-supported. The state currently offers two free fishing weekends, one in January and the other in June, for all anglers. This idea would add a two-day free fishing opportunity for vets on the fourth full weekend in July. It would require legislation to make the change. The vote was 7,193 in favor, 1,012 against and 1,423 no opinion.

To see the complete results of the 2023 spring hearings, visit dnr.wi.gov.

The WCC has challenges ahead, including making sure its processes are welcoming, fair and transparent for all Wisconsinites, trying to remain relevant in the shadow of a Legislature that often disregards it and finding the best way to hold local meetings for delegate elections.

But with several years of data, it's clear WCC's move to online voting has hit its mark.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Online voting process has increased participation in spring hearings
The Supreme Court is seen on Capitol Hill in Washington, Friday, April 14, 2023. | J. Scott Applewhite, Associated Press

Forty-six years ago, the Supreme Court issued a ruling that either dramatically weakened the rights of religious workers or fairly limited them, depending on whom you ask.

What members of each camp agree on is that the decision was badly worded, since it said employers need not grant religious accommodation requests that pose more than a de minimis  or, in other words, trifling  cost.

Gerald Groff, a former post office employee who believes his former supervisors had a legal duty to accommodate his request to not work on the Sabbath, has taken his battle over the 1977 ruling all the way the Supreme Court. He and his supporters say the de minimis language has caused untold harm for more than four decades and needs to be overturned.

Every factor leans toward overruling, said Aaron Streett, who argued on behalf of Groff during oral arguments Tuesday.

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But the government, represented in the case by Elizabeth Prelogar, the solicitor general of the United States, asserts that overturning the 46-year-old ruling would be an overreaction to a poorly worded but ultimately harmless phrase.

Since 1977, courts across the country and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have thoughtfully applied the Supreme Courts previous decision, focusing on factors other than the de minimis line, she said.

Its just incorrect to say theres not a substantial amount of accommodation happening, Prelogar said, arguing that overturning the previous ruling would throw decades of meaningful case law into question.

Now, its up to the Supreme Court to decide which of the two viewpoints should win out. At oral arguments Tuesday, the justices seemed to agree the de minimis language was misleading, but disagree on whether a big move, like throwing out the 1977 ruling, would actually bring clarity to a decades-old debate.

Im not sure we can give you a full manual of how its going to play out, said Justice Brett Kavanaugh at one point.

Story continues

Overview of Groff v. DeJoy

Groffs case, like the one from 1977, centers on Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, which outlaws religious discrimination in the workplace.

Under the statute, employers are prohibited from, among other things, refusing to hire or promote members of a certain faith group. Theyre also required to honor religious accommodation requests, unless doing so would pose an undue hardship on their business.

Groff, who previously worked as a rural mail carrier, says the Postal Service  and the lower courts  wrongly determined that his request to not work on Sundays triggered the undue hardship exemption, largely because they relied on the de minimis language from 1977.

He wants the Supreme Court to overturn its past ruling and say that only a significant difficulty or expense should count as an undue hardship.

A key obstacle standing in the way of a potential win for Groff is the fact that Congress has had several opportunities over the past four decades to strengthen protections for religious workers, opportunities that it let pass.

At several points during oral arguments Tuesday, justices questioned whether the Supreme Court should overturn a statutory interpretation that Congress has allowed to stand. Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, for example, wondered whether doing so would send the wrong message to the American public.

Im concerned that a person could fail to get in Congress what they want and then just come to the court and say, You just give it to us, she said.

Prelogar said the most the Supreme Court should do is clarify how to apply the 1977 ruling to make it clear that the de minimis language should not be taken literally.

But she asserted that such a misstep has been an uncommon occurrence, and that Groffs request for all Sundays off represents an undue hardship even if you define hardship as a significant difficulty or expense.

This was not some minor inconvenience to the Postal Service, she said.

Like Groffs team, Prelogar faced pushback over some of her assertions, most notably from Justice Samuel Alito. He questioned whether the EEOC and lower courts have really been performing as well in Title VII cases as Prelogar made it sound.

If the de minimis language isnt causing an issue, then why did so many faith groups file Supreme Court briefs insisting that it needs to change, he asked.

We have amicus briefs by many representatives of many minority religions: Hindus, Muslims, Orthodox Jews, Seventh-day adventists. They all say (the 1977 ruling) has violated their right to religious liberty. Are they wrong? Alito said.

Prelogar responded that the faith groups are not accurately portraying the legal landscape and urged Alito and the other justices to consult EEOC documents to learn more about the governments current approach to accommodation requests.

When will the Supreme Court rule?

As Kavanaugh noted, the Supreme Court will never come up with a perfect solution. However it rules, there will still be questions about what counts as an undue hardship, since all Title VII cases are context-specific.

What the Supreme Court must decide, then, is whether the de minimis language from 1977 is confusing enough to warrant an overhaul of that past decision or if its better to issue a simple clarification.

If it goes the former route, then Groff will likely, at the very least, win the chance to re-argue his case in the lower courts.

Prelogar warned that such a step would cause widespread confusion, making it even more difficult for employers, the EEOC and judges to work out what businesses owe to religious employees.

But Groff and his supporters have said it would still be a step in the right direction, since it would give religious workers more power to meet their faith-based needs.

The Supreme Court is expected to issue its decision by the end of June.
Reality airs on HBO on Monday, May 29 and will stream on Max after its initial air date

HBO Max/YouTube

Sydney Sweeney's next role sees her take on a real-life espionage case.

On Wednesday, HBO released the teaser trailer for its upcoming original film Reality, which stars HBO favorite Sweeney (Euphoria, The White Lotus) as Reality Winner, the former National Security Agency contractor who spent more than four years in jail for leaking classified documents to news media.

The trailer for the film begins with an audio snippet of a voice saying there is greater concern "with the leak [of classified documents] than we are with the fact that the Russians attacked our democracy," before it opens up to a close-up on Sweeney's face during an interview with FBI agents.

The one-minute teaser trailer shows investigators questioning Winner, asking her not to lie to them as they take photographs of evidence in her home before Sweeney's voice is heard for the only time, saying: "Why do I have this job if I'm going to be helpless?"

Related:Sydney Sweeney Smiles with Costar Glen Powell in Australia While Making Rom-Com Together

HBO Max/YouTube

Reality follows Winner's encounters with FBI agents at her home on June 3, 2017 as they "question her suspected role in the mishandling of classified information," according to an official logline from HBO.

"Based on true events, the film's dialogue is directly from the transcript of their tense and transfixing conversation," the logline reads.

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In addition to Sweeney, 25, Reality also stars Josh Hamilton (Eighth Grade, Kicking and Screaming) and Marchant Davis (A Journal for Jordan). The film, from Tina Satter in her directorial debut, is written by Satter and James Paul Davis based on her 2019 play Is This a Room.

Story continues

The film made its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival in February. During a press conference at the festival, Sweeney told reporters she was able to speak with the real Winner, 31, and text with her "throughout the process" of making the movie, according to Variety.

Related:Reality Winner Gives First Interview Since Espionage Conviction: 'I Am Not a Traitor'

In real life, Winner was a contractor at Pluribus International Corp. who worked with the NSA. She was charged with espionage in 2018 after authorities alleged she accessed a classified memo concerning Russian government efforts to infiltrate U.S. voting systems before the 2016 presidential election and mailed it to The Intercept.

Winner, an Air Force veteran, pleaded guilty to the charges and served four years in prison. Her sentence is the longest ever served by a civilian accused of leaking information to the media.

Reality debuts on HBO May 29 at 10 p.m. ET and will be available to stream on Max following its initial airdate.

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Read the original article on People.
Future Market Insights Global and Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

The wireless charging market is poised for growth, with end-users such as healthcare, automotive, and consumer electronics industries being the main beneficiaries, as government support and funding play a crucial role in driving this expansion

NEWARK, Del, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The global wireless charging market size is set to reach US$ 16,954.6 million in 2023. Overall sales of wireless charging are likely to surge at 24.4% CAGR, taking the forecasted market valuation to US$ 150,889.5 million by the end of 2033.



One of the most talked-about new developments in the field of wireless energy transmission is the widespread adoption of wireless charging. The need for wireless charging systems has grown alongside the popularity of wireless mobile devices. A wireless charging system consists of a charging pad, power supply, and battery receiver.

It has several advantages over more conventional charging systems, including being convenient, safe, cost-effective, efficient, and reliable for powering and charging electrical devices. Wires, connectors, and cables are unnecessary no longer. As a result, wireless charging systems will gain popularity due to their many advantages.

Due to their superior performance and low fuel consumption, electric vehicles (EVs) have become increasingly popular in recent years. As a bonus, governments all over the world are actively encouraging citizens to switch to electric vehicles. The proliferation of EVs should propel development of wireless charging technology.

For details on vendors and their offerings  Request a sample report @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/sample/rep-gb-66

The proliferation of wireless technology in consumer electronics is fueling the expansion of the wireless charging market. The multi-device charging capabilities of wireless charging systems are expected to be a major factor in the industry's expansion. In addition, governments worldwide have enacted stringent rules and policies to guarantee a risk-free workplace for all manufacturing employees. Companies involved in the wireless charging ecosystem will profit from the government's supportive policies.

Story continues

Many smartphones and other portable devices have charging problems due to the widespread use of the internet. A fast wireless radio frequency energy-based charger can alleviate this issue. Therefore, during the predicted time, the expansion of the wireless charging market is anticipated to be driven by the aggregate demand for efficient charging systems for mobile and portable devices.

In addition, there has been a rise in interest in the "internet of things" in recent years. Similar to how smartphones, tablets, laptops, digital cameras, wearables, and other electronic devices need a wireless charging system, IoT infrastructure products that are portable need one as well. Since there are more and more devices becoming connected to the internet, this bodes well for the expansion of the wireless charging market.

Key Takeaways

As more and more smartphones, wearables, and other devices adopt wireless charging technology, the global wireless charging market is projected to expand at a rapid rate.

Demand for wireless charging infrastructure, especially in public places like airports and cafes, is also driving the market.

The wireless power market is expected to expand as a result of technological developments in wireless charging, such as resonant wireless charging and bi-directional charging.

There is a lot of competition in the wireless power market due to the large number of suppliers and service providers.

The proliferation of smartphones and EVs in the region points to Asia-Pacific as a promising growth area for the wireless charging market.

Rising interest in wireless charging solutions from the healthcare and hospitality sectors is also propelling the wireless power market

The market is hampered by incompatibilities, high prices, and slow charging times compared to wired alternatives.



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Competitive Landscape

The major players in the wireless charging market are increasing their market share through a variety of business growth strategies. These include the introduction of new products, the expansion of existing product lines, and the signing of agreements. Several major players in the wireless charging market are devoting significant resources to R&D, with a primary focus on expanding the effective range of power transmission.

There is a wide variety of companies, both new and old, competing in the global wireless charging market. In terms of product quality, price, and features, the market appears to be highly competitive.

Recent Developments

To popularise NFC wireless charging in computing and consumer devices, on July 2022, Pathronic AG, a semiconductor company specialising in wireless charging technology, partnered with Luxshare-ICT, a china based design manufacturer (ODM) company specialising in connector and interface technologies.

Xiaomi Inc., a company that designs and manufactures consumer electronics, released its MI Air charge Technology in January 2021.

Established players profiled in the global wireless charging market include:

Convenient Power HK Ltd.

WiTricity Corporation

Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

Texas Instruments, Inc.

Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

Murata Manufacturing Co. Ltd.

Know more about this market's geographical distribution along with a detailed analysis of the top regions @ https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/global-wireless-charging-market

Key Segments

By Technology:

Inductive

Radio Frequency

Resonant

Others

By Industry Vertical:

Electronics

Industrial

Aerospace & Defense

Automotive

Healthcare



By Region:

North America

Latin America

Western Europe

Eastern Europe

APECJ

China

Japan

Middle East and Africa (MEA)

Table of Content

1. Executive Summary | Wireless Charging Market

1.1. Global Market Outlook

1.2. Demand-side Trends

1.3. Supply-side Trends

1.4. Technology Roadmap Analysis

1.5. Analysis and Recommendations

2. Market Overview

2.1. Market Coverage / Taxonomy

2.2. Market Definition / Scope / Limitations

3. Market Background

3.1. Market Dynamics

3.2. Scenario Forecast

3.3. Opportunity Map Analysis

3.4. Product Life Cycle Analysis

3.5. Supply Chain Analysis

3.6. Investment Feasibility Matrix

3.7. Value Chain Analysis

3.8. PESTLE and Porters Analysis

3.9. Regulatory Landscape

3.10. Regional Parent Market Outlook

3.11. Production and Consumption Statistics

3.12. Import and Export Statistics

4. Global Market Analysis 2018 to 2022 and Forecast, 2023 to 2033

4.1. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis, 2018 to 2022

4.2. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Projections, 2023 to 2033

5. Global Market Analysis 2018 to 2022 and Forecast 2023 to 2033, By Component

5.1. Introduction / Key Findings

5.2. Historical Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis By Component, 2018 to 2022

5.3. Current and Future Market Size Value (US$ Million) & Volume (Units) Analysis and Forecast By Component, 2023 to 2033

5.4. Y-o-Y Growth Trend Analysis By Component, 2018 to 2022

5.5. Absolute $ Opportunity Analysis By Component, 2023 to 2033

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Posh made a splosh! Singer and designer Victoria Beckham celebrated her 49th birthday with a beach getaway to the Bahamas, and like any good tourist, she had to try paddle boarding.

Unfortunately, balancing while posing proved just a pinch too hard for the Spice Girl, and she face-planted into the blue water. Thankfully, both her body and her sense of humor were unharmed, as she poked fun at herself on Instagram Stories. Both she and husband David Beckham posted a clip of the moment with a ha ha ha sticker, as well as some other sweet highlights from the trip.

If it makes you feel any better, VB, I cant surf for shit either!

Victoria Beckham Instagram:@davidbeckham

The family, including daughter Harper, enjoyed their time in the water, but when Mrs. Beckham was ready to get out, Mr. Beckham gave her a piggyback ride to shore. Excuse me, where do I sign up for this type of marriage? These two are truly so into each other.

Victoria Beckham, David Beckham Instagram:@davidbeckham

They had fun as a family

Victoria Beckham Instagram:@victoriabeckham

and as a couple.

Victoria Beckham, David Beckham Instagram:@victoriabeckham, @davidbeckham

On the adults-only end of things, Victoria Beckham celebrated her special day with what looks like a silent rave and a Jell-O shot with a candle in it. Not gonna lie, not what I was expecting from her! The fancy wine, yes. A sweet orange treat? Surprise!

Victoria Beckham Instagram:@victoriabeckham

Friend Isabela Grutman gave us one of the few grid posts from the trip, posing oh-so expertly alongside Vic on what I have to assume is a yacht. Happy Birthday to the most beautiful, caring, loving and fun woman I know. I love you VB @victoriabeckham , she wrote. Aww.

As summer approaches, it might be worth looking into cutout one-piece swimsuits and sporty accessories. Victoria Beckham is always walking the line between trendy and classic, so if this is what shes wearing on the beach, its something to consider.

Originally Appeared on Glamour


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ARMY, Listen up! If you plan to go to a BTS concert, heres where to buy BTS lightstick AKA an ARMY Bomb to show off your love for the members.

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Bangtan Sonyeondan, better known as BTS or The Bangtan Boys, was formed in 2013 with members RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook. The boyband captured the heart of millions with their fanbase affectionately called ARMY, which stands for Adorable Representative MC of Youth. The K-pop groups accomplishments catapulted them to the top of the Billboard Charts, two Grammy nominations and multiple American Music Awards and MTV Video Music Awards wins. They were also named TIMEs Entertainer of the Year 2020. In 2022, BTS released an anthology album, Proof, of their nearly decade-long career. The single from the album, Yet to Come promises there will be more amazing things to come ahead for BTS. The septet finished their concert in Busan for a showcase for the bid for the 2030 World Expo in October 2022, and it might be the last time that they perform together in a while since the members are enlisting in the mandatory military service.

Click here to read the full article.

Image: Getty Images

However before they all join the military, some members have announced different performances and tours. J-Hope performed a groundbreaking headlining set at Lollapalooza in July 2022, where he was the first K-Pop act to headline the Chicago Festival. In February 2023, Suga announced his first solo tour, the Agust D Tour, which will run from April 2023 to June 2023 and will span the United States, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, South Korea and Japan. ARMYs sold out Suga tickets to the Agust D Tour before they went on general sale, but tickets can still be bought on reputable ticket sites found here.

Story continues

The staple to any BTS concert or performance is an ARMY Bomb. If youve watched any BTS concert videos (especially the emotional Young Forever London Wembley performance), youll see a wave of lightsticks proudly waving for the seven boys. Often during shows too, theyll ask for ARMY to do a humungous ARMY Bomb wave, which is always a pretty sight to see.

So where can you buy the BTS lightstick and ARMY Bomb in time for Sugas concert? Read more below.

Where to buy the BTS lightstick and ARMY Bomb

Image: Michael Hickey/Getty Images

Where can you buy the BTS Lightstick and ARMY Bomb? You can find an official ARMY Bomb through BTS official store on Weverse Shop. Though usually, they sell out each time the K-Pop store drops them online. You can also find official ARMY Bombs at BTS concerts and events at the merchandise booths. Due to BTS extreme popularity, there are also usually separate express booths where they only sell ARMY Bombs and they sell out very quickly before the concert, too.

You can also buy the BTS ARMY Bomb on reputable resale sites like Amazon. By using your Amazon Prime account, you can ensure that you get your ARMY Bomb in two days.

Courtesy of Amazon/Weverse

BTS ARMY Bomb

Price: $89.80

Buy Now

The current ARMY Bomb version is the Map of The Soul Special Edition which was created especially for the Map of The Soul Tour in 2020 that was canceled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. Though, ARMY was proudly using Map of The Soul Special Edition ARMY Bombs and Version 3 ARMY Bombs during the Permission to Dance On Stage concerts and the Busan 2030 World Expo. ARMY Bombs also come with photocards of all 7 seven members, a strap and a pouch to store your light stick.

To ensure that your ARMY Bomb is authentic and not fake, you can connect the ARMY Bomb to the Official BTS Official Light Stick App which has a Concert Mode that will sync up to the music during a BTS concert when you input your concert seat. Or, you can also use self-mode where you can control the colors and brightness. Official BTS ARMY Bombs can also connect to Weverse where you can watch BTS music videos and the ARMY Bomb will sync to the video.

Where to buy BTS lightstick and ARMY Bomb decorations

If you want to go all out with your BTS ARMY Bomb, you can also decorate it to show your love for your bias (favorite member) or OT7 (love for all the members). Fans show their artistic talent with their ARMY Bomb. You can glam it out with stickers, ribbons, decals, and gems to show your Borahae (I Purple You) pride. Here are our favorites from Etsy.

Courtesy: Etsy

Agust D/Suga Decals

Price: $4.00

Buy Now

SUGA biases will absolutely love this decal for their ARMY Bomb. Its a great accessory for his Agust D tour and shows how much you love his alter ego and scream the lyrics to Daechwita.

Courtesy of: Etsy

BTS ARMY Bomb Ribbon Keychains

Price: $13.50+

Buy Now

Keychains

This cute ribbon will capture the hearts of OT7 ARMYs everywhere and shows support for the group in such an elegant way.

Courtesy of Etsy

BT21 ARMY Bomb Covers

Price: $20.00+

Buy Now

BTS and Line Friends collaboration BT21 is an adorable line of characters made by each member of the group. Decorate your ARMY Bomb with Koya, RJ, Shooky, Mang, Chimmy, Tata and Kookie with this cozy and homemade crocheted ARMY Bomb cover.

Courtesy of Etsy

BT21 ARMY Bomb Display Holder

Price: $20.00+

Buy Now

After the concert, you must definitely show your ARMY pride on display. With this ARMY Bomb Display Stand you can show off your ARMY Bomb with the boy groups official logo in the comfort of your own home.

BTS Albums

If you dont want to wait in long merch lines for BTS albums to get photo cards, poster and postcards, take a look at Target and their exclusive albums.

Courtesy of BigHit Music/Target

D-Day by Agust D

Price: $21.99

Buy Now

Sugas new album D-Day will be released on April 21, 2023. This is his first full-length album, however, he has released previous mixtapes Agust D and D-Day under his alter ego Agust D. He will be embarking on a world tour in support of this tour.

Face by JIMIN

Courtesy of Target/BigHit Music

Jimin Face (Target Exclusive)

Price: $21.99

Buy Now

Jimin released his first album Face on March 24, 2023. The mini album includes the single that will go down in history forever Like Crazy. The song peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 100, making Jimin the first K-Pop solo act to top the chart.

Indigo by RM

Courtesy of Target/Big Hit Music

RM Indigo (Target Exclusive)

Price: $20+

Buy Now

RMs debut studio album Indigo was released on December 2, 2022. Though its his debut studio album, RM has released solo material in the past in his previous mixtapes mono. and RM. The album visits his artistic process and his vulnerabilities and contains a multitude of collaborators such as Anderson .Paak, Erykah Badu, Colde, Paul Blanco, Mahalia, Tablo of the K-Hip Hop group Epik High, Kim Sawol, youjeen and parkjiyoon.

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On October 28, 2022, Jin released the single The Astronaut which was co-written by his friends in Coldplay. He told fans at the Busan 2030 World Expo Bid before his military enlistment, I was able to work together with someone that Id always really liked, so Ill be releasing a new song. Ive filmed a lot of different things recently, and theres still a lot of [content] left to film, so I hope youll enjoy all of it.

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Proof is the ultimate compilation and anthology of BTS work since their 2013 debut. It includes songs from all their albums as well as two new songs Yet to Come and For Youth.

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Season 1 White Lotus fave Natasha Rothwell is returning to the franchise in Season 3, but at least one big question remains: Who is she playing?

An HBO spokesperson confirmed to TVLine that Rothwell  who earned an Emmy nomination for her work in the first season of Mike Whites Emmy-winning satire  will appear in the upcoming third season. But the rep declined to reveal whether she will be reprising her role as spa manager Belinda or playing a new character. UPDATE: Rothwell has confirmed that she will indeed be playing Belinda.

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In a recent TVLine poll that asked readers which past characters they would like to see follow in the footsteps of Jennifer Coolidges Tanya (R.I.P.) by becoming the newest member of White Lotus loyalty program, Rothwells Belinda placed fifth (view full results here).

Variety was first to report news of Rothwells return.

Neither HBO nor White have officially revealed where Season 3 will take place after stints in Hawaii and Italy, although Thailand and Japan have both been bandied about as possibilities. (The series is set at a different White Lotus hotel each season with a mostly new cast.) White has hinted, though, that the new season will be a kind of satirical and funny look at death and Eastern religion and spirituality, which would seem to point towards an Asian locale.

Another unknown: Is this crazypants Season 3 rumor true?!

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Click here to read the full article.
Looks like the worlds wealthiest people like to flock to New York City.

According to a survey from the investment migration firm Henley & Partners, the Big Apple is the richest city in the world, with 340,000 high-net-worth individuals, Bloomberg reported on Tuesday. Over the past decade, the number of millionaires in the city has grown a whopping 40 percent, helping N.Y.C. maintain its perch among the wealthiest areas across the globe.

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While, in general, affluent people seem to prefer New York, the upper upper echelons actually favor the West Coast. The Bay Area, which ranked third overall on the list of wealthiest cities, has the highest number of billionaires, touting 63 (New York, in comparison, has 58). Given how many tech companies call Silicon Valley home, that shouldnt be too surprising.

The top five richest metropolises were rounded out by Tokyo (290,300 HNWIs) at the No. 2 slot, London (258,000) at No. 4, and Singapore (240,100) at No. 5. Both Tokyo and London made the list despite an overall drop in wealthy residents, losing 5 percent and losing 15 percent, respectively, in the past decade. The Bay Area and Singapore, however, have seen massive spikes: The California region shot up 68 percent, while the Asian country grew 40 percent.

In total, the United States had 10 cities crack the top 50 richest in the world, beating out China (with five cities) and Australia (with four). A few U.S. cities in particular have seen some incredible growth since 2012. Austin, Tex., was second overall in that regard, with a 102 percent increase in high-net-worth individuals. Both Miami and West Palm Beach, in Florida, also saw impressive numbers, with 75 percent and 90 percent growth, respectively. That could be thanks in part to the exodus of businesses to the state during the pandemic, when remote work allowed CEOs and other leaders to relocate to a warmer clime.

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Elsewhere, Russia has long been home to a good deal of the worlds wealth, but the countrys war with Ukraine, among other factors, has led to steep declines in the countrys high-net-worth population. Moscow has seen a 44 percent plunge over the past decade, while St. Petersburg has experienced a decrease of 38 percent.

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Guy Fieri

Guy Fieri was in Milford on Tuesday afternoon to film an episode of "Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives."

The crew from the Food Network show was on location at The Governor, a restaurant that opened in the city's downtown business district in 2021, according to a Facebook post from the city.

Where has Guy been? Guy Fieri's 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' history in Cincinnati

The Governor is a self-described "modern diner" that serves breakfast, lunch, dinner and alcoholic beverages.

"Drivers, Dine-Ins and Dives" is no stranger to the region. It has featured nine restaurants in the Cincinnati area, including: the Turf Club, Pho Lang Thang, Bakersfield OTR, Taste of Belgium, Senate Pub, Island Frydays, Melt Revival, Blue Ash Chili and Virgil's Cafe.

More: Guy Fieri's 'Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives' history in Cincinnati

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Guy Fieri visits Milford, Ohio restaurant
Aspen, Colorado's The Little Nell will open its second outpost in 2026  in a highly coveted NYC location.

James D. Morgan/Getty Images

A beloved luxury hotel in Aspen, Colorado, is coming to New York City  and plans to open in one of the most iconic locations in the Big Apple.

The Little Nell, considered one of the best resorts in Colorado, will open in what is currently vacant office space above the Today Show at 10 Rockefeller Plaza, a spokesperson for Aspen Hospitality shared with Travel + Leisure. The 130-room hotel, expected to open in 2026, will take up 10 floors of the building. In order to open, the project requires approval from the city, the spokesperson said.

James D. Morgan/Getty Images

It is with great pride and excitement that we announce our intended expansion plans for The Little Nell at Rockefeller Center, the historic heart of Midtown and the most iconic address in the city, said Alinio Azevedo, the CEO of Aspen Hospitality, in an interview with T+L. As we expand the companys hospitality division, the development of our brands into urban markets across the country is an important milestone.

The Little Nell, a Relais & Chateaux resort, first opened in Aspen in 1989, offering ski-in/ski-out access to Aspen Mountain. In addition to being a World's Best Award winner, the resort boasts AAA Five-Diamond status and is known for its high-end celebrity clientele. When it opens, the New York location will be the hotels second outpost.

Travelers are fans of Little Nell's over-the-top, yet unpretentious service. Guests are welcomed with Laduree macarons and pets are spoiled with house-made peanut butter dog treats. Families are also treated to a special experience, thanks to amenities like tiny children's robes and slippers, stuffed animals, children's books and vacation journals on hand, and more.

Holly Hunt/Courtesy of The Little Nell

Courtesy of The Little Nell

In New York, guests of the hotel will be staying in the heart of midtown, steps away from the iconic Rockefeller Center Christmas tree and ice-skating rink in the winter, and close to cultural attractions like the Museum of Modern Art and St. Patrick's Cathedral.

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[Source]

Scientists have shed light on the multiethnic and mysterious Xiongnu empire, Mongolia's ancient nomadic society that reigned from circa 200 BCE to 100 CE and purportedly pushed imperial China to build the Great Wall.

The tribes of Xiongnu were considered the main threat by Emperor Qin Shi Huang during the 3rd century BCE Qin Dynasty when he decided to defend unified China with the concept of a Great Wall. The emperor began work on the wall in 221 BCE by connecting a number of existing defensive walls along the northern border of China into a single system. The wall was further strengthened against the Xiongnu during the reign of the Han emperor Wudi (14187 BCE).

In a new study published in the journal Science Advances, an international research team revealed details regarding the society's community structure after analyzing ancient DNA and archaeological findings from two separate burial grounds. The first site was an aristocratic elite cemetery at Takhiltyn Khotgor, while the other was a local elite cemetery at Shombuuzyn Belchir.

Previous studies cited by the research team found an "extremely high" level of genetic diversity from the genomes of 17 remains they exhumed, indicating that the group was multiethnic, multicultural, and multilingual. The team's own analysis of 18 individuals of both high and low status  as determined by their burials  corroborated said studies.

More from NextShark: Squid Game star Jung Ho-yeon pays homage to Korean culture with SAG Awards look

According to the scientists, the burial practice also hinted at the ages at which gender and status were ascribed in Xiongnu society.

Women were revealed to have an important and influential role, as they were found to have the highest-status individual graves. They were buried in elaborate coffins that featured golden sun and moon emblems  Xiongnu symbols of power. In one tomb that held the remains of a woman, the scientists also found the remains of six horses and a chariot.

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Harvard University Associate Professor Christina Warinner, the study's senior author, noted that "children received differential mortuary treatment depending upon age and sex." They found that adolescent boys were buried with bows and arrows, just like adult men, while boys under 11 were not.

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Choongwon Jeong, an associate professor of biological sciences at Seoul National University, shared that members of the Xiongnu society leveraged marriage and kinship to build their empire.

The Xiongnus influence extends to Genghis Khan and his Mongol Empire, among other succeeding nomadic empires.

Bryan Miller, the project archaeologist for the study and assistant professor of Central Asian art and archaeology at the University of Michigan, highlighted such influence in an email to CNN.

More from NextShark: Meet Larry Ramos, the first Asian American Grammy winner

"Xiongnu" was the name of a dynasty not a people, per se; but that dynastic regime greatly impacted the peoples within its realms and left a powerful legacy in Eurasia. Many subsequent groups appropriated the potent name of Xiongnu (or Hunnu) as they established their own regimes, leading to the perpetuation of so-called "Hunnic" entities even as far as that of Attila and the Huns at the edge of Europe centuries after the demise of the Xiongnu in Inner Asia.

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Prep with a dash of pink.

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Sarah Michelle Gellar's fashion tour de force has officially gone international. For her latest appearance at the Canneseries International Festival 2023 in Cannes, France, the actress and producer wore a blue-and-green ruffle-sleeve gown with side cutouts that clashed with the event's hot pink carpet. The preppy color combo popped against the neon hue, making for a picture-perfect opportunity for Gellar to show off the 'fit, which was put together with some help from her stylist, Tara Swennen.

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In addition to shutting down the pink carpet with this dress (she paired the look with matching green peep-toe platforms and black hoop earrings), she'll receive this years Canal+ Icon Award for her body of work, including her star turn in Buffy the Vampire Slayer, her new project Wolf Pack, and everything between, like Cruel Intentions and I Know What You Did Last Summer.

Getty Images

Related:Sarah Michelle Gellars Sheer Bra Has Us Gasping for Air

Earlier this week, Gellar wore an airy black Maria Lucia Hohan dress to the festival. That dress, which got an oceanfront photo opp, featured a plunging neckline, tulle embellishment, and a ruffled, tiered skirt. Gellar shared that look to her Instagram Story, writing, "Cannes you tell I love it here? When the outfit landed on her Feed, she wrote, "Cannes a love story."



Gellar is also chronicling her trip on Instagram, sharing snaps with her husband, Freddie Prinze Jr. "Best dinner with the best date," she wrote alongside a photo of them soaking up the French sunshine.



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Screen displays the company logo for semiconductor and chipmaker, GlobalFoundries Inc. during the company's IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square in New York

By Jane Lanhee Lee

OAKLAND, California, (Reuters) -Chip manufacturer GlobalFoundries Inc said on Wednesday it had filed a lawsuit against International Business Machines Corp, accusing it of unlawfully sharing confidential intellectual property and trade secrets.

New York-based GlobalFoundries said in its complaint that IBM had shared IP and trade secrets with Rapidus, a new state-backed Japanese consortium that IBM is working with to develop and produce cutting-edge two-nanometre chips.

It also asserted that IBM had unlawfully disclosed and misused its IP with Intel Corp, noting that IBM had announced in 2021 it would collaborate with Intel on next-generation chip technology.

"IBM is unjustly receiving potentially hundreds of millions of dollars in licensing income and other benefits," GlobalFoundries said in a statement.

IBM pushed back in an emailed statement to Reuters saying: GlobalFoundries filed this meritless lawsuit after a court rejected the companys attempt to dismiss IBMs legitimate fraud and breach of contract claims. Their allegations are entirely baseless, and we are confident that the court will agree.

Intel declined to comment. Rapidus said it is not in a position to comment.

The complaint said GlobalFoundries and IBM had collaboratively developed technology over decades in Albany, New York, and the exclusive right to license and disclose the technology was sold to GlobalFoundries in 2015.

GlobalFoundries is seeking compensatory and punitive damages as well as an injunction against IBM to stop using the trade secrets. It also said IBM has been recruiting GlobalFoundries' engineers - efforts which have accelerated since the Rapidus partnership was announced in December 2022, and asked the court to order an end to those recruitment efforts.

Rapidus, which counts Sony Group Corp, NEC Corp and other major tech firms as consortium members, is of national strategic importance and has been hailed in Japan as a symbol of U.S.-Japan cooperation.

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Japan long ago lost its lead in chip manufacturing, particularly in advanced semiconductors, and is now rushing to catch up and ensure its car makers and information technology companies do not run short of the key component.

This is the second time GlobalFoundries has sued IBM since buying IBM's semiconductor plants in 2015.

In 2021, GlobalFoundries asked a judge to rule that it did not violate a contract with IBM which claims it is owed $2.5 billion in damages. That litigation is still ongoing, according to a GlobalFoundries spokesperson.

(Reporting by Jane Lanhee Lee; Additional reporting by Mayu Sakoda in Tokyo; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Josie Kao)
Im fine, or will be fine at some point. But so many people arent and never will be. I dont want to harp on my experience because there were so many who experienced worse. I am but a footnote in the horrific day we all saw firsthand in some way.

The sounds, from start to finish, were deafening. The sights were confusing, and the feeling was exasperation. I also share awe and admiration for those first responders who I personally watched meticulously and professionally save countless lives.

We owe so much to so many heroes both acknowledged and unknown, like the incredible staff at University of Louisville Hospital who performed miracles irrespective of the challenges they have faced with limited resources. Astonishing.

More: A Louisville corner changed forever: How 9 minutes of terror unfolded at Old National Bank

It doesnt have to be this way though. We shouldn't have to be saved. Survival should be the norm not the exception. But what does that even look like or mean in todays America? How do we navigate the humanity side of an issue that so many have mired in political nonsense?

Because when it comes to it, this is about humanity. Dr. Jason Smith discussed the impact on healthcare workers in a beautifully succinct message they are weary and what we are doing now (nothing) isnt working.

We have to do something. And I honestly believe at some point in the future we will. The question is more about how long we have to wait. It may seem naive to think things will change and get better after a tragic event like this, but here is one thing I have learned about politics of humanitypeople seem to think differently when something impacts them.

I could extol about the political parties and who needs a direct connection and who doesnt, but that is a waste of wordswe know what it is. But change is change and unfortunately that is how it works for some.

I think back to this most recent legislative session and a committee hearing on one of the many assaults on LGBTQ rights. There at the committee table was a former legislator who, prior to that session, would have ostensibly been on the other side of the issue entirely. His testimony to his former colleagues was moving, and why? He had a personal connection that impacted his views on the issue. He could tie the face of a loved one to that policy instead of the ugliness that was hiding behind it. And with that connection, his opinion changed.

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Look at our neighbors to the south, Tennessee just saw a horrific shooting at a school. Absent the political ridiculousness that led to the racial (and temporary) expulsions of two legislators, some positive change is coming. The Republican governor has signed an executive order to strengthen background checks and moved the legislature to pass a red flag law. In Tennessee. But what moved the governor to this position wasnt the pleas of the thousands and the fact of the shooting--but it was a personal connection to the victims. His wife taught with, and he knew, two of the victims.

Editorial: Louisville mourns mass shooting and legislative stubbornness.

The scene for the victims of the Old National Bank shooting.April 13, 2023

The humanity of politics.

It seems that the time we have to wait for this to get better is some mathematical formula that determines approximately how long it will take for all of us to know or have a personal connection to the victim of a horrific shooting before some people are motivated to heed Dr. Smiths words and do something. The formula is something like People divided by rate of shooting multiplied by not sure on the rest but also not interested in waiting long enough for that to be the true answer.

Here in Louisville everyone knows everyone and there is so much collateral damage to this tragedy. Families forever changed, friendships eternally altered. We are all impacted by this.

Think of it this way-- if you are reading this or some of my other pieces, you somewhat know me. I was outside, I hear the shots in my head whenever I close my eyes. Thats your one. Now someone who knows you knows someone who knows someone impacted. See how that works, now lets build on that and make positive change.

Louisville, Cincinnati, Nashville we are not only neighbors but we all have had something like this happen. We all have divisions that keep real change from happening and a vocal group fighting restricted access and reforms. But what if we get these leaders in these cities and their states together in a room to talk--to talk about the people these things impact, not the politics around them? Would humanity finally prevail and agreements be made on real ways to save lives? I would love to see it attempted.

We cannot have another day like Monday. We need to do all we can to uplift the loved ones of those lost and do whatever we can to ensure this doesnt happen again. Let people live their lives free of fear it will suddenly be taken. As I submitted the first draft of this very piece, more senseless gun violence took lives of people just trying to enjoy a beautiful day in a storied neighborhood park.

On Monday, I was just trying to come home from the gym and heard sounds and saw things I'll never forget but some people were just going to a meeting at work and will never get to see another sunrise or experience the joy of the embrace of a loved one.

I know something has to change and hopefully something does, because for me literally, and for everyone reading this, what happened was close to home.

Terrance Sullivan is the former Executive Director of the Kentucky Commission on Human Rights (KCHR). KCHR is the state agency charged with enforcing the Kentucky Civil Rights Act. He is employed by the US House of Representatives. Terrance is also a member of The Courier Journal's Advisory Board.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: I saw the Louisville mass shooting. We shouldn't have to be saved.
Zoe Gabriel has 257,000 TikTok followers. Zoe Gabriel via TikTok

In January, 17-year-old Zoe Gabriel was mocked for calling a purse worth $60 "luxury."

After responding to the backlash, she landed a brand deal and gained online fame.

But she later faced accusations that she misrepresented her family's wealth along the way.

A TikToker who faced mockery for making an excited post about a luxury bag worth $60 has now denied accusations that she pretended to be from a low-income family to get sympathy on social media.

In January, 17-year-old Zoe Gabriel went viral on TikTok with a video thanking her father for buying her a bag from Singaporean fashion brand Charles & Keith, which costs $76 on the fashion house's US website and 79.90 Singapore dollars, or about $60, on its Singapore website.

Gabriel was ridiculed by commenters for referring to the item as a "luxury" bag in a caption on her post, as some commenters referenced other brands and items that have similar price points but wouldn't be considered luxury, and one user likened her description to "calling a fast food restaurant fine dining." The TikToker responded to the backlash with a follow-up post explaining that she does not come from a wealthy background and is grateful her father used his hard-earned money to buy her the gift.

Gabriel's triumphant response to negative commenters won her praise from supporters on social media. She was also made a brand ambassador for Charles & Keith, and featured in a series of promotional TikToks for Air Asia, a Malaysian budget airline, though it's unclear if the partnership was a direct result of the online backlash Gabriel received.

However, Gabriel has now responded to more negative comments and new online rumors suggesting that she exaggerated her story about her family's low-income background to gain clout and attention on social media.

In a number of Facebook posts and comments, people speculated that Gabriel's father was more well-off than the TikToker initially implied, noting that Gabriel previously told local media that her family moved to Singapore from the Philippines in 2010, a decision which some assumed would involve significant costs. Local media outlet The Straits Times reported that Gabriel's father works as a mechanical engineer, and one user shared a screenshot of what appeared to be his LinkedIn page, which included information about his previous work experience, to suggest that he "probably earns more than most Singaporeans."

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On April 16, Gabriel posted a TikTok where she stood alongside her father, saying that the pair wanted to "address what's been happening and to clear the air."

A written statement then flashed across the screen, which appeared to reference some of the accusations launched against Gabriel. It read: "The truth has always been out from the beginning  there were never any 'dirty little secrets.' While we are offended, deeply hurt and affected from all these wrongful and false accusations, we choose to stay true to who we are."

The clip then cut to show Gabriel standing next to her father, who said, "We are not rich, but we definitely have enough for our needs," adding that the family still needs to "save up" and work hard to buy non-essential items.

Many commenters expressed empathy for Gabriel and her family, saying they understand what it means to consider yourself financially stable but still far from wealthy.

Others said they were concerned about the negativity and rumors that were circulating online. "Why can't people just be happy other people are winning?" one top commenter wrote.

Representatives for Gabriel did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

On TikTok, content creators often face scrutiny for talking about making large and expensive purchases, leading to accusations about them being privileged or out of touch.

In October, Insider reported that an influencer received backlash after saying she'd "accidentally" bought a couch for $100,000 but later appeared to suggest it was a prank. In November, another influencer said she spent $10,000 on Harry Styles tickets so she could be close to the stage, attracting criticism from some commenters who said that level of spending would be beyond the means of many ordinary people.

For more stories like this, check out coverage from Insider's Digital Culture team here.

Read the original article on Insider
HOWELL - It was soon after Ruth Millman first moved to the United States from Poland in 1949 that she found out she was Jewish.

To survive the Holocaust, her mother arranged a fake marriage with a Christian man, while her father remained hidden in the basement of a Christian family that offered him refuge. She went to church every day, sang in the choir and wore rosary beads.

Her parents maneuvered to flee danger, and Millman endured months of hunger and no assurance she would wake up alive the next day. Eventually, after the war was over, the family moved to the U.S. when she was 10.

I didnt want to be a Jew, she said, remembering her confusion as a 10-year-old girl who was thought to be Christian and had seen atrocities endured by Jewish people in Europe. She then discovered that everybody else in her family had been murdered by the Nazis.

Keynote speaker Ruth Millman addresses the audience. Holocaust Remembrance Day at Congregation Ahavat Olam in Howell on April 17, 2023.

Millman, a proud New Jerseyan who served on the New Jersey Holocaust and Hate Crime Commission and was founder of the Jewish Federation for Greater Monmouth County, was the speaker at the Holocaust remembrance event held at Congregation Ahavat Olam in Howell Monday.

The event, co-sponsored by the Jewish Federation of Ocean County, and area synagogues Beth Am Shalom, Temple Beth Or and Bnai Israel, had over 150 attendees who gathered to commemorate Yom Ha-Shoah, the international Holocaust remembrance day.

With antisemitism gaining popularity around the globe, Millman made a call to not forget the Holocaust and asked the youth to get involve in anti-hate initiatives so that it doesnt happen again.

Antisemitism is worse right now than it used to be before the Second World War, she argued.

Survivors, their children and their grandchildren lit candles early in the program. Holocaust Remembrance Day at Congregation Ahavat Olam in Howell on April 17, 2023.

Before moving to the U.S., she lived through severe hunger in the Warsaw ghetto, where Jewish families were confined before being taken to concentration camps, where over 6 million Jewish people were killed.

In the ghetto, a typical dinner would be a cup of water and some bread that she would eat while nauseated by the odor of multiple dead bodies lying around.

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She saw her grandfather board a train on what she now knows was a trip to Auschwitz, a German-occupied city in Poland known to have hosted the largest Nazi labor and extermination complex. And in a matter of time, most of her family were murdered. But at that time, she thought her family had simply been taken to a different ghetto where there was more food.

The behaviors that lead to such crimes as the Holocaust can be seen here, said Rabbi David Amar of Congregation Ahavat Olam, who moderated the event. Genocide is not something foreign, he said.

Every day we see instances that parallel practices in our society and the Holocaust, said Amar. Every time a kid is bullied in school and we let it happen, thats the beginning of something, he said.

Rabbi David Amar addresses the audience at the start of the program. Holocaust Remembrance Day at Congregation Ahavat Olam in Howell on April 17, 2023.

As Amar praised the many people who stood up for the Jews during the genocide, he also brought up the role passive bystanders played during the Holocaust.

Thats why I always say that the Holocaust teaches us to stand up for the weakest link, he added. Love your neighbor, like you love yourself. Thats what I always preach."

The event ended with a short speech from Ocean County Commissioner Joe Vicari, who showed the audience a proclamation from his fellow commissioners declaring the importance of remembering the Holocaust.

The history of the Holocaust offers an opportunity to reflect on the moral responsibilities of individual, societies and governments, reads the proclamation.

In tune with Millman, Vicari encouraged young people to get involved and to remain vigilant against hatred and persecution.

Attendees listen quietly as keynote speaker Ruth Millman spoke. Holocaust Remembrance Day at Congregation Ahavat Olam in Howell on April 17, 2023.

Juan Carlos Castillo is a reporter covering everything Lakewood. He delves into politics, social issues and human-interest stories. Reach out to him at JcCastillo@gannett.com

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Holocaust remembrance marked in Howell NJ with tale of hidden identity
The number of wolves in Oregon has grown slowly.

The growth of Oregon's wolf population slowed to a crawl during the past few years, as the minimum number of the controversial predators roaming the state reached 178 in 2022, up only slightly from 175 in 2021 and 173 in 2020, according to state numbers released Tuesday.

The state did record a new record of 24 different packs, up from 21 in 2021, spread more widely and deeper into western Oregon than ever before, state officials noted.

Six groups of wolves now call the Cascade Range home, compared to four groups last year, and signs of wolves as far west as Curry County in the Coast Range were noted, although none were officially counted this season.

State biologists said the anemic growth in overall numbers was due to available habitat filling up in the northeast corner of the state, where most wolves still reside, and due to turnover of breeding adults in some packs, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife wolf coordinator Roblyn Brown said.

Number of wolves killed in Oregon in 2022

However, a total of 17 Oregon wolves were killed by humans in 2022. Six were lethally removed in response to chronic attacks on livestock while seven were illegally killed. Two more were killed in an auto accident. In one case, a wolf was shot at night as it harassed horses near a family backcountry camping. A final wolf was killed under the "caught-in-the-act lethal take" regulations as it attacked livestock.

Wolves are growing in numbers and expanding in distribution in western Oregon, Brown said in a news release. We are confident in the continued health of the states wolf population as they expand in distribution across the state and continue to show an upward population trend.

Oregon's wolf population has seen slow growth over the past few years.

The count only captures wolves observed through visual observations, tracks and remote camera photographs; the actual number of wolves in Oregon is higher, officials stressed.

Even so, compared to most previous years, the low growth in overall numbers and high number of wolves killed by humans stood out. In 2021, around 21 wolves were killed by poaching, vehicle collisions and lethal control by wildlife officials after conflicts with livestock.

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State officials called the number of wolves killed illegally "unacceptably high." Six cases of wolf killings remain under investigation. In one case, a Wheeler County resident paid a civil fine for unlawfully killing a federally-endangered gray wolf that officials said he misidentified as a coyote.

Environmental groups decried the number of wolves killed by humans the past two years and said they'd push ODFW to focus on non-lethal measures in the future.

Every year a significant portion of Oregons wolves are killed by people," said Danielle Moser, wildlife program manager for the environmental group Oregon Wild. ODFW rubber stamps about half of those and the other half are killed by people who have no respect for the law or for the animals we share this planet with. As ODFW looks to the next iteration of the wolf plan, it is clear that the last thing Oregons wolves need is more killing.

Map of areas where wolves live in Oregon.

Wolves west of I-5?

There is increasing evidence that wolves  or maybe two  have made it west of Interstate 5 and maybe even all the way to the ocean.

No wolves were documented during the winter count, so they don't show up in this report.

ODFW reported wolf activity, in the form of tracks, in Curry County in the Coast Range after public reports during the fall.

Biologists also found an intact radio-collar, previously placed on a Chesnimnus wolf in 2016 that later dispersed to California and last provided information in 2018, in a stream in Curry County.

"The tracks and collar are likely from different individual wolves," ODFW said.

Zach Urness has been an outdoors reporter in Oregon for 15 years and is host of the Explore Oregon Podcast. Urness is the author of Best Hikes with Kids: Oregon and Hiking Southern Oregon. He can be reached at zurness@StatesmanJournal.com or 503-399-6801. Find him on Twitter at @ZachsORoutdoors.

This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Growth of Oregon's wolf population slows to a crawl
The public is invited to meet the five finalists for Tumwater City Administrator at a reception Tuesday evening.

The reception be from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 18, at Tumwater City Hall, 555 Israel Road SW. All five finalists, as well as Mayor Debbie Sullivan and the city council, will attend.

John Doan is retiring as City Administrator after 13 years. Sullivan and a consultant chose the five finalists to take over Doans role. Two of the finalists hold government leadership positions in Thurston County now.

Here are the finalists:

Amy Cleveland

Amy Cleveland is the executive director of administration for Pierce Transit in Lakewood. She has more than 20 years of work experience in both public and nonprofit sectors, according to the city of Tumwaters news release. She graduated from Saint Martins University with a bachelors degree in psychology.

Lisa Parks





Lisa Parks currently serves as the Executive Services Director for the Port of Olympia. She has a bachelors degree in urban and regional planning from Eastern Washington University, and she has more than 30 years of experience working with local governments.

Paul Simmons

Paul Simmons is the Parks, Arts and Recreation director for the City of Olympia, where hes served for nearly 20 years. He has a bachelors degree from Central Washington University, as well as a Master of Business Administration from the University of Phoenix.

Stacey Leon Smalls

Stacey Leon Smalls is the Public Works Director for the City of Charlottesville, Virginia. He has more than 30 years of experience in public, private and military sectors, both locally and internationally, according to the news release from the city of Tumwater. He holds an Executive Master of Public Administration degree from Arizona State University.

Jennifer Pearson Stapleton

Jennifer Pearson Stapleton is the City Administrator for the City of Sandpoint, Idaho. She has worked in both public and nonprofit sectors for nearly 30 years, according to the city of Tumwater. She has a bachelors degree in political science from Gonzaga University, and a masters degree in public administration from Eastern Washington University.
TEHRAN, Iran  Irans president Tuesday reiterated threats against Israel while marking the countrys annual Army Day, though he stayed away from criticizing Saudi Arabia as Tehran seeks a detente with the kingdom.

The comments by Ebrahim Raisi came as fighter jets and helicopters flew overhead in Tehran, and as Iranian submarines sailed across its waters during a ceremony carried live by state television.

The day celebrates Irans regular military, not its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, whose expeditionary forces operate across the wider Middle East and aid Iranian-allied militia groups like Lebanons Hezbollah. The Guard also routinely has tense encounters with the U.S. Navy.

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, left, watches combat drones alongside high-ranking officials and commanders during a military parade marking the country's annual Army day in Tehran on April 18, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

The portrait on the poster is that of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Iranian troops take part in a military parade during a ceremony marking the country's annual Army day in the capital on April 18, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Combat drones were on display during a military parade in Tehran, Iran, on April 18, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Irans president has reiterated threats against Israel while marking the countrys annual Army Day. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran's parade on April 18, 2023, celebrated its regular military, not its paramilitary Revolutionary Guard. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Fighter jets and helicopters flew overhead in Tehran during a military parade on April 18, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

An Iranian military parade took place in the capital Tehran on April 18, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

Irans president has reiterated threats against Israel while marking the countrys annual Army Day. He stayed away from criticizing Saudi Arabia as Tehran seeks a detente with the kingdom. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

An Iranian Army band takes part in a military parade on April 18, 2023. (Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)

A paratrooper flies down over the mausoleum of the late revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini during the Iranian Army parade on April 18, 2023. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

A drone is carried on a truck in front of a portrait of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamene. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

A missile system is shown off during a parade in Iran on April 18, 2023. (Vahid Salemi/AP)

Speaking at the ceremony, Raisi threatened Israel, which is suspected of carrying out a series of attacks targeting Iran since the collapse of its nuclear deal with world powers.

Enemies, particularly the Zionist regime, has receive the message that any tiny action against [our] country will prompt a harsh answer from the armed forces, which will accompany the destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv, Raisi said.

Raisi also reiterated a demand for the U.S. to leave the Mideast. American policy since the Carter administration has viewed protection of the Persian Gulf region as crucial to securing global energy supplies. A fifth of the worlds supply of oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.

While not specifically naming Saudi Arabia, Raisi did offer an olive branch in his remarks.

The hand of our armed forces warmly shakes the hand of the regional nations that intend to create security in the region, the president said.

In March, Iran and Saudi Arabia agreed to reestablish diplomatic relations and reopen embassies after seven years of tensions, a diplomatic agreement reached in China. In the time since, Saudi Arabia also has been involved in a prisoner swap with Yemens Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, with hopes such a deal could see an end to that countrys yearslong proxy war.
The story of Albanians who assisted Jews during World War II is personal for one Oklahoman.

Andi Dema, 34, grew up hearing about a Jewish man from Yugoslavia who arrived on his family's doorstep in Fier, Albania, seeking employment during the war. It was an extremely dangerous time for Jews and those who came to their aid, however many Albanians helped them because they lived by "Besa," an honor code that means "to keep the promise" or "word of honor."

"For a full year, my family risked their lives for Josef Comforti," Dema said Sunday at a Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance event in Oklahoma City. "At that time, if Albanians were caught harboring Jews, their homes would be burned down and their livelihoods would be at risk."

Moderator Michael Baron talks with Albanian-American Andi Dema as part of the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City's Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Program on Sunday at Heritage Hall, 1800 NW 122.

Dema's family story was a highlight of the program that drew about 200 people to Heritage Hall, 1800 NW 122, which partnered with the Jewish Federation of Greater Oklahoma City to host the event. The Jewish Federation hosts the community program each year to commemorate Yom HaShoah Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Albania a surprising haven during World War II

Jewish Federation leaders said this year, they wanted to focus on the heroic story of Albania, which was a predominantly Muslim country when it provided a haven for Jewish refugees during World War II, giving them Albanian names and treating them like their own family members. The country ended the war with a larger population of Jews than it had before the war.

Michael Baron, Lyric Theatre's artistic director, and moderator of Sunday's event, said there were an estimated 600 to 800 Jews who were given refuge from the Nazis during the war.

"The Albanians went out of their way to assist the Jews," he said.

Adam Brooks, president of the Jewish Federation's board of directors, said the Yom HaShoah program is one way the Jewish community consistently keeps its commitment to telling the story of the Holocaust  the World War II genocide of the European Jews by Nazi Germany  so that it won't ever be repeated.

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"It's always important to remind people about what happened when we say 'never again,'" Brooks said. "We can't live up to that unless we tell the story and understand what really happened."

More: OKC Philharmonic honors Oklahoma City bombing anniversary with milestone new album

A code of generosity 'instilled' in Albanian culture

Dema told the crowd he was born in Albania and his family moved to Bloomington, Indiana, when his mother received a Fulbright scholarship. He said he came to Oklahoma to attend Oklahoma City University. Currently, a Casady School teacher, he said he became a U.S. citizen in 2017, about a week before his parents gained their U.S. citizenship.

Dema said Albanians "are givers" and love visitors. He said the Besa code is part of the Albanian culture of generosity, no matter how little or how much they may have themselves.

"It was instilled in me," the educator said.

Dema wasn't the only Albanian native at Sunday's event. Gregor Menga, 55, of Albania, said he was visiting his son, Jozef Menga, 22, a University of Central Oklahoma student who served as pianist for the program. He said he remembered Jewish people visiting Albania over the years to express their thanks for the citizens' willingness to harbor Jewish refugees despite the risks.

The elder Menga said he was touched that his native country was recognized and honored by the Oklahoma City Jewish community.

"You know, we did our part, but when people are grateful, and they don't forget, that's valuable," Gregor Menga said. " That's great, that's so sweet."

Meanwhile, several Heritage Hall drama students participated in the program by sharing the names and stories of Holocaust survivors and victims with Oklahoma ties. The Holocaust survivors' relatives lit candles after their loved ones' stories were shared with the audience.

The student participants included Ruby Harris, 13; Avery McKirahan, 16; Charlie Zeigler, 17; and Noah Ram, 17. They each said they were interested in the powerful story of the Albanians' courage.

More: Oklahoma synagogue hosts first in-person post-pandemic Passover Seder

"It made me realize how much more story there is that isn't talked about," said Ram, who is Jewish.

McKirahan talked about being moved by the risks that Albanians took for Jewish refugees.

"It's incredibly touching," McKirahan said.

The daughter of Rabbi Vered Harris and her husband, Benjamin, Ruby Harris shared the story of her great-great-grandmother Ida Eckstein Fischer, who died in the Treblinka Nazi German concentration camp and extermination camp near the village of Treblinka in Poland.

Rabbi Harris, spiritual leader of Temple B'nai Israel, said it was important to highlight the stories of "everyday heroes and the culture of a community that expects all people be treated with respect."

"We can learn a lot from the Besa ethic of Albania, particularly when it comes to how we treat people today in Oklahoma who are discriminated against because of being LGBTQ+ or not Christian or facing financial insecurity and the deficits that come with it," she said.

Films to share stories

Rachel Johnson, the Jewish Federation's executive director, said the Oklahoma City community has an opportunity to learn more about Albania's commitment to Jews during World War II. She said two films featuring true stories about the Albanian code of "Besa" will be shown on Tuesday and Thursday at Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave.

"The Albanian Code," a documentary film by Yael Katzir, follows a Jewish woman named Annie Altaratz-Francis, who survived the Holocaust after escaping from Yugoslavia to Albania with her family. The film chronicles her return to Albania to thank the country that offered her family refuge from the Nazis. Another film "Besa: The Promise," tells the story of Albania's Besa honor code through the prism of two men, one an Albanian Muslim and the other an American Jew.

More: Prayer breakfast on bombing anniversary is one of many April religious events

If you go

"Besa: The Promise" will be shown at 7 p.m. Tuesday, April 18 at Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave.,

"The Albanian Code" will be shown at 7 p.m. Thursday, April 20 at Rodeo Cinema, 2221 Exchange Ave.,

Admission is $10 per person.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: OKC Holocaust Remembrance Day event shares stories of Albania's aid
Business Reporter

Joel Donofrio is the business reporter for the Yakima Herald. He was born and raised in the Chicago area, but he and his wife, Cathy, fell in love with the beauty (and low humidity) of the West and moved here in 2009, eventually relocating to Yakima in September 2021. They have two young adult children, Anthony and Joanna, and a dog, Molly. When he is not taking photos of construction sites, tracking down new and relocating businesses or catching up on agricultural trends, Joel enjoys playing guitar, singing, listening to music and playing and watching sports.
Hey there! Dan DeFrancesco in NYC. If you're feeling bummed about missing Coachella, don't be. These photos from the event demonstrate the difference between Instagram and reality at the music festival. Also, you're probably too old to go anyway.

Today, we've got stories on Kim K's PE firm, why soon-to-be Bain employees might have a lot more free time  and cash  on their hands, and a must-read story on "Love is Blind."

But first, let's right the ship.

If this was forwarded to you, sign up here. Download Insider's app here.

Collage of David Solomon speaking at Goldman's 2023 investor day

David Solomon at Goldman's 2023 investor dayScreenshots by Emmalyse Brownstein and Dakin Campbell

1. I will try to fix you.

Oh, Goldman.

The bank, which has had a tough go of it for the past few months, had more bad news on Tuesday with a lackluster earnings report.

Goldman Sachs' $12.2 billion in revenue from Q1 fell short of analysts' estimates, which is never a good sign  but it's not a complete disaster.

As Insider's Carter Johnson reported, there is a case to be made for a turnaround at Goldman led by its embattled CEO David Solomon. From M&A and trading to wealth and consumer, Carter mapped out the five key things that Goldman, and more specifically Solomon, can do to right the ship.

In many ways, Goldman's resurgence amounts to getting back to what it has always done so well: dealmaking and trading. The former has been in the midst of a near-total drought for the better part of a year, which is part of the bank's problem.

We've written a lot about the struggles at Goldman Sachs recently, and rightfully so. If you're the most high-profile bank on the Street, you've gotta take the sour with the sweet. But I'll admit I feel slightly bad for Solomon.

His initial push into consumer banking was about avoiding this exact situation. M&A comes and goes, but a deposits business is more dependable, as is evident by the success Goldman's peers had this quarter.

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Had Solomon executed on that consumer strategy, talk about Solomon might be more in line with how JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon is being viewed. Instead, some Goldman partners have discussed complaining about him to the board.

More on what David Solomon needs to do to get Goldman Sachs back on track.

In other news:

Kim Kardashian

Kim Kardashian at the Dolce & Gabbana Store on February 25, 2023 in Milan, Italy.MEGA/GC Images

2. Upfront's Mark Suster is, well, upfront. The high-profile VC became a star of the booming startup scene in Los Angeles. But not everyone is a fan of his take-no-prisoners approach. More on Suster here.

3. Kim K builds her PE empire. SKKY Partners, the PE firm cofounded by Kardashian and Jay Sammons, has hired six employees, including its new COO who used to work at Apollo Global Management. More on the new hires.

4. Bain is literally paying people to not work for them. The exclusive consulting firm is offering its new MBA hires up to $40,000 to delay their start dates and pursue other work and hobbies. Why your next yoga instructor might be a future Bain consultant.

5. Gary Gensler speaks. The SEC chairman spoke in front of the House Financial Services Committee on his approach to crypto, Bloomberg reported. If you're still trying to make heads or tails of crypto, we've got you covered. Insider's April Joyner broke down the latest in the world of digital assets in this short video.

6. Jamie Dimon will be questioned for two days on Jeffrey Epstein. The JPMorgan CEO is set to be deposed over allegations regarding the bank's ties to Epstein, Bloomberg reported. More on the case here.

7. Credit Suisse's dark past. A Senate committee investigation found the Swiss bank didn't properly look into allegations made about bank accounts held by Nazi party members, The Wall Street Journal reported.

8. Betterment left money on the table for its customers. The fintech "misstated or omitted several material facts" regarding its tax loss harvesting service, one of its key offerings, that led to clients missing out on roughly $4 million in potential tax benefits, according to the SEC.

9. Love Is Blind to my mental health. Participants in the hit Netflix dating show allege that producers deprived them of food and sleep and preyed on their anxieties. Read our explosive investigation on the viral show here.

10. Fast-food fun facts. Did you know McDonald's first mascot wasn't that creepy clown? Or that Taco Bell's initial menu had just five items on it? Check out all 18 facts here.

Curated by Dan DeFrancesco in New York. Feedback or tips? Email ddefrancesco@insider.com, tweet @dandefrancesco, or connect on LinkedIn. Edited by Jeffrey Cane (tweet @jeffrey_cane) in New York and Nathan Rennolds (tweet @ncrennolds) and Hallam Bullock (tweet @hallam_bullock) in London.

Read the original article on Business Insider
Yakima County Government, Lower Valley Reporter

Hi, Im Phil Ferolito, longtime reporter with the Yakima Herald-Republic, where I have gained an array of experience from covering small city governments and school districts to big-picture issues concerning county government, crime and the Yakama Nation, a federally recognized tribe with important historical and cultural ties to the land. I began with the Herald-Republic in Oct. 2000 as a copy editor, designing pages, writing headlines and proof-reading stories. Over the years I have covered four Lower Valley municipalities, Granger, Toppenish, Wapato and Harrah, and the Yakama Nation. My goal always has been to shine a light in dark places and bring readers closer to concerning issues, important people, and other events in our community.
RFA/Health Care Access Reporter

Santiago Ochoa is a bilingual journalist covering health care access at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington. Before joining the Herald, Ochoa reported for Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan, covering the citys Latino populationhealth care, education, community building and more, and winning top honors in the Michigan Press Associations feature category. He served as photographer and later editor for his college newspaper, The Michigan Times. When hes not working, Ochoa enjoys cross-country trips on his motorcycle, going to the movies, reading and skiing.
WA had second-highest vehicle theft rate in U.S. for 2022. What cars were stolen the most?
WA tax credit provides up to $1,200 to low-income families. Here's how to sign up
This image made from video provided by WCVB-TV, shows Jack Teixeira, in T-shirt and shorts, being taken into custody by armed tactical agents on Thursday, April 13, 2023, in Dighton, Mass.
If you are sending a Letter To the Editor, please be sure to follow these rules:

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The person who signs the letter must be the author. Anonymous letters will not be considered. Letters must address the editor, not a third party.

We will not print form letters, libelous letters, business promotions or personal disputes, poetry, open letters, letters espousing religious views without reference to a current issue, or letters considered in poor taste.

Letters reflect the opinion of the writer. The Yakima Herald-Republic cannot verify the accuracy of all statements made in letters.

Writers are limited to one published letter per calendar month.
(Bloomberg) -- Shortly before Google introduced Bard, its AI chatbot, to the public in March, it asked employees to test the tool.

Most Read from Bloomberg

One workers conclusion: Bard was a pathological liar, according to screenshots of the internal discussion. Another called it cringe-worthy. One employee wrote that when they asked Bard suggestions for how to land a plane, it regularly gave advice that would lead to a crash; another said it gave answers on scuba diving which would likely result in serious injury or death.

Google launched Bard anyway. The trusted internet-search giant is providing low-quality information in a race to keep up with the competition, while giving less priority to its ethical commitments, according to 18 current and former workers at the company and internal documentation reviewed by Bloomberg. The Alphabet Inc.-owned company had pledged in 2021 to double its team studying the ethics of artificial intelligence and to pour more resources into assessing the technologys potential harms. But the November 2022 debut of rival OpenAIs popular chatbot sent Google scrambling to weave generative AI into all its most important products in a matter of months.

That was a markedly faster pace of development for the technology, and one that could have profound societal impact. The group working on ethics that Google pledged to fortify is now disempowered and demoralized, the current and former workers said. The staffers who are responsible for the safety and ethical implications of new products have been told not to get in the way or to try to kill any of the generative AI tools in development, they said.

Google is aiming to revitalize its maturing search business around the cutting-edge technology, which could put generative AI into millions of phones and homes around the world  ideally before OpenAI, with the backing of Microsoft Corp., beats the company to it.

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AI ethics has taken a back seat, said Meredith Whittaker, president of the Signal Foundation, which supports private messaging, and a former Google manager. If ethics arent positioned to take precedence over profit and growth, they will not ultimately work.

In response to questions from Bloomberg, Google said responsible AI remains a top priority at the company. We are continuing to invest in the teams that work on applying our AI Principles to our technology, said Brian Gabriel, a spokesperson. The team working on responsible AI shed at least three members in a January round of layoffs at the company, including the head of governance and programs. The cuts affected about 12,000 workers at Google and its parent company.

Google, which over the years spearheaded much of the research underpinning todays AI advancements, had not yet integrated a consumer-friendly version of generative AI into its products by the time ChatGPT launched. The company was cautious of its power and the ethical considerations that would go hand-in-hand with embedding the technology into search and other marquee products, the employees said.

By December, senior leadership decreed a competitive code red and changed its appetite for risk. Googles leaders decided that as long as it called new products experiments, the public might forgive their shortcomings, the employees said. Still, it needed to get its ethics teams on board. That month, the AI governance lead, Jen Gennai, convened a meeting of the responsible innovation group, which is charged with upholding the companys AI principles.

Gennai suggested that some compromises might be necessary in order to pick up the pace of product releases. The company assigns scores to its products in several important categories, meant to measure their readiness for release to the public. In some, like child safety, engineers still need to clear the 100% threshold. But Google may not have time to wait for perfection in other areas, she advised in the meeting. Fairness may not be, we have to get to 99 percent, Gennai said, referring to its term for reducing bias in products. On fairness, we might be at 80, 85 percent, or something to be enough for a product launch, she added.

In February, one employee raised issues in an internal message group: Bard is worse than useless: please do not launch. The note was viewed by nearly 7,000 people, many of whom agreed that the AI tools answers were contradictory or even egregiously wrong on simple factual queries.The next month, Gennai overruled a risk evaluation submitted by members of her team stating Bard was not ready because it could cause harm, according to people familiar with the matter. Shortly after, Bard was opened up to the public  with the company calling it an experiment.

In a statement, Gennai said it wasnt solely her decision. After the teams evaluation she said she added to the list of potential risks from the reviewers and escalated the resulting analysis to a group of senior leaders in product, research and business. That group then determined it was appropriate to move forward for a limited experimental launch with continuing pre-training, enhanced guardrails, and appropriate disclaimers, she said.

Silicon Valley as a whole is still wrestling with how to reconcile competitive pressures with safety. Researchers building AI outnumber those focused on safety by a 30-to-1 ratio, the Center for Humane Technology said at a recent presentation, underscoring the often lonely experience of voicing concerns in a large organization.

As progress in artificial intelligence accelerates, new concerns about its societal effects have emerged. Large language models, the technologies that underpin ChatGPT and Bard, ingest enormous volumes of digital text from news articles, social media posts and other internet sources, and then use that written material to train software that predicts and generates content on its own when given a prompt or query. That means that by their very nature, the products risk regurgitating offensive, harmful or inaccurate speech.

But ChatGPTs remarkable debut meant that by early this year, there was no turning back. In February, Google began a blitz of generative AI product announcements, touting chatbot Bard, and then the companys video service YouTube, which said creators would soon be able to virtually swap outfits in videos or create fantastical film settings using generative AI. Two weeks later, Google announced new AI features for Google Cloud, showing how users of Docs and Slides will be able to, for instance, create presentations and sales-training documents, or draft emails. On the same day, the company announced that it would be weaving generative AI into its health-care offerings. Employees say theyre concerned that the speed of development is not allowing enough time to study potential harms.

The challenge of developing cutting-edge artificial intelligence in an ethical manner has long spurred internal debate. The company has faced high-profile blunders over the past few years, including an embarrassing incident in 2015 when its Photos service mistakenly labeled images of a Black software developer and his friend as gorillas.

Three years later, the company said it did not fix the underlying AI technology, but instead erased all results for the search terms gorilla, chimp, and monkey, a solution that it says a diverse group of experts weighed in on. The company also built up an ethical AI unit tasked with carrying out proactive work to make AI fairer for its users.

But a significant turning point, according to more than a dozen current and former employees, was the ousting of AI researchers Timnit Gebru and Margaret Mitchell, who co-led Googles ethical AI team until they were pushed out in December 2020 and February 2021 over a dispute regarding fairness in the companys AI research. Samy Bengio, a computer scientist who oversaw Gebru and Mitchells work, and several other researchers would end up leaving for competitors in the intervening years.

After the scandal, Google tried to improve its public reputation. The responsible AI team was reorganized under Marian Croak, then a vice president of engineering. She pledged to double the size of the AI ethics team and strengthen the groups ties with the rest of the company.

Even after the public pronouncements, some found it difficult to work on ethical AI at Google. One former employee said they asked to work on fairness in machine learning and they were routinely discouraged  to the point that it affected their performance review. Managers protested that it was getting in the way of their real work, the person said.

Those who remained working on ethical AI at Google were left questioning how to do the work without putting their own jobs at risk. It was a scary time, said Nyalleng Moorosi, a former researcher at the company who is now a senior researcher at the Distributed AI Research Institute, founded by Gebru. Doing ethical AI work means you were literally hired to say, I dont think this is population-ready, she added. And so you are slowing down the process.

To this day, AI ethics reviews of products and features, two employees said, are almost entirely voluntary at the company, with the exception of research papers and the review process conducted by Google Cloud on customer deals and products for release. AI research in delicate areas like biometrics, identity features, or kids are given a mandatory sensitive topics review by Gennais team, but other projects do not necessarily receive ethics reviews, though some employees reach out to the ethical AI team even when not required.

Still, when employees on Googles product and engineering teams look for a reason the company has been slow to market on AI, the public commitment to ethics tends to come up. Some in the company believed new tech should be in the hands of the public as soon as possible, in order to make it better faster with feedback.

Before the code red, it could be hard for Google engineers to get their hands on the companys most advanced AI models at all, another former employee said. Engineers would often start brainstorming by playing around with other companies generative AI models to explore the possibilities of the technology before figuring out a way to make it happen within the bureaucracy, the former employee said.

I definitely see some positive changes coming out of code red and OpenAI pushing Googles buttons, said Gaurav Nemade, a former Google product manager who worked on its chatbot efforts until 2020. Can they actually be the leaders and challenge OpenAI at their own game? Recent developments  like Samsung reportedly considering replacing Google with Microsofts Bing, whose tech is powered by ChatGPT, as the search engine on its devices  have underscored the first-mover advantage in the market right now.

Some at the company said they believe that Google has conducted sufficient safety checks with its new generative AI products, and that Bard is safer than competing chatbots. But now that the priority is releasing generative AI products above all, ethics employees said its become futile to speak up.

Teams working on the new AI features have been siloed, making it hard for rank-and-file Googlers to see the full picture of what the company is working on. Company mailing lists and internal channels that were once places where employees could openly voice their doubts have been curtailed with community guidelines under the pretext of reducing toxicity; several employees said they viewed the restrictions as a way of policing speech.

There is a great amount of frustration, a great amount of this sense of like, what are we even doing? Mitchell said. Even if there arent firm directives at Google to stop doing ethical work, the atmosphere is one where people who are doing the kind of work feel really unsupported and ultimately will probably do less good work because of it.When Googles management does grapple with ethics concerns publicly, they tend to speak about hypothetical future scenarios about an all-powerful technology that cannot be controlled by human beings  a stance that has been critiqued by some in the field as a form of marketing  rather than the day-to-day scenarios that already have the potential to be harmful.

El-Mahdi El-Mhamdi, a former research scientist at Google, said he left the company in February over its refusal to engage with ethical AI issues head-on. Late last year, he said, he co-authored a paper that showed it was mathematically impossible for foundational AI models to be large, robust and remain privacy-preserving.

He said the company raised questions about his participation in the research while using his corporate affiliation. Rather than go through the process of defending his work, he said he volunteered to drop the affiliation with Google and use his academic credentials instead.

If you want to stay on at Google, you have to serve the system and not contradict it, El-Mhamdi said.

--With assistance from Morwenna Coniam, Rachel Metz, Olivia Solon, Lynn Doan and Dina Bass.

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V.

GUADALAJARA, Mexico, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V., (NYSE: PAC; BMV: GAP) (the Company or GAP) announced the following:



Pursuant to a resolution adopted by our Board of Directors on April 17, 2023, and in accordance with Articles 180, 181, 182, and other applicable articles of the Mexican General Corporations Law and Article 35 of the Companys by-laws, GAP invites its shareholders to the General Ordinary Shareholders Meeting on May 22, 2023, at 12:00, at Salon Midtown Ballroom 3, 3rd floor of the Hilton Hotel, located at Av. Lopez Mateos 2405-300, Col. Italia Providencia, Zip Code 44648, Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, to discuss the following:

GENERAL ORDINARY SHAREHOLDERS MEETING AGENDA

The report regarding the designation or ratification of the four members of the Board of Directors and their respective alternates appointed by the Series BB shareholders.



Ratification and/or designation of the persons that will serve as members of the Companys Board of Directors, as designated by the Series B shareholders.



Ratification and/or designation of the member of our Board of Directors designated by the Series B shareholders to serve as a member of the Companys Nominations and Compensation Committee, in accordance with Article 28 of the Companys bylaws.



Appointment and designation of special delegates to appear before a public notary and present the resolutions adopted at this meeting for formalization. Adoption of the resolutions deemed necessary or convenient in order to fulfill the decisions adopted in relation to the preceding agenda items.

Shareholders are reminded that in accordance with Article 36 of the Companys by-laws, only those shareholders registered in the Companys share registry as holders of one or more of the Companys shares will be admitted into the shareholders meetings, and they will be admitted only if they have obtained an admission card. The share registry will close three (3) business days prior to the date of this meeting.

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In order to attend the meeting, at least one (1) business day prior to the meeting: (i) shareholders must deposit with the Company their stock certificates, shares or a receipt of deposit of shares from S.D. Indeval Institucion para el Deposito de Valores, S.A. de C.V. (Indeval) or from a local or foreign financial institution, and (ii) brokerage firms and other depositors at Indeval should present a listing containing the name, address, nationality and number of shares of the shareholders they will represent at the meeting. In exchange for these documents, the Company will issue, in accordance with the Companys bylaws, an admission card and/or the forms required under Article 49, Section III of the Mexican Securities Market Law in order to be represented.

In order to attend the meeting, shareholders must present the admission card and/or the corresponding form.

Shares deposited in order to gain admittance to these meetings will only be returned, via a voucher that will have been given to the shareholder or his/her representative.

Shareholders may be represented by proxy at the meetings by any person designated by a power of attorney signed before two witnesses or as otherwise authorized by law. However, with respect to the Companys common stock traded on a stock exchange, the proxy or proxies may only verify their identities via Company forms. These will be available to all shareholders, including any stockbrokers, during the time period specified in Article 173 of the Mexican General Corporations Law.

Following the publication of this announcement, all shareholders and their legal representatives will have free and immediate access to all information and documents related to each of the topics included in the meeting agendas, as well as all proxy forms that must be presented by persons representing shareholders. These documents will be available at the Companys offices located at Av. Mariano Otero #1249-B, 6th Floor, Col. Rinconada del Bosque, Guadalajara, Jalisco 44530 or at Arquimedes #19, 4th Floor, Col. Bosque de Chapultepec, C.P. 11580, Alcaldia Miguel Hidalgo, Mexico City, Mexico 11580.

Shareholders are invited to contact the Company should they have need for any additional information.

Company Description

Grupo Aeroportuario del Pacifico, S.A.B. de C.V. (GAP) operates 12 airports throughout Mexicos Pacific region, including the major cities of Guadalajara and Tijuana, the four tourist destinations of Puerto Vallarta, Los Cabos, La Paz and Manzanillo, and six other mid-sized cities: Hermosillo, Guanajuato, Morelia, Aguascalientes, Mexicali and Los Mochis. In February 2006, GAPs shares were listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol PAC and on the Mexican Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol GAP. In April 2015, GAP acquired 100% of Desarrollo de Concessioner Aeroportuarias, S.L., which owns a majority stake in MBJ Airports Limited, a company operating Sangster International Airport in Montego Bay, Jamaica. In October 2018, GAP entered into a concession agreement for the operation of the Norman Manley International Airport in Kingston, Jamaica and took control of the operation in October 2019.



This press release may contain forward-looking statements. These statements are statements that are not historical facts and are based on managements current view and estimates of future economic circumstances, industry conditions, company performance and financial results. The words anticipates, believes, estimates, expects, plans and similar expressions, as they relate to the company, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Statements regarding the declaration or payment of dividends, the implementation of principal operating and financing strategies and capital expenditure plans, the direction of future operations and the factors or trends affecting financial condition, liquidity or results of operations are examples of forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. There is no guarantee that the expected events, trends or results will actually occur. The statements are based on many assumptions and factors, including general economic and market conditions, industry conditions, and operating factors. Any changes in such assumptions or factors could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations.

In accordance with Section 806 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and article 42 of the Ley del Mercado de Valores, GAP has implemented a whistleblower program, which allows complainants to anonymously and confidentially report suspected activities that June involve criminal conduct or violations. The telephone number in Mexico, facilitated by a third party that is in charge of collecting these complaints, is 01 800 563 00 47. The web site is www.lineadedenuncia.com/gap . GAPs Audit Committee will be notified of all complaints for immediate investigation.

Alejandra Soto, Investor Relations and Social Responsibility Officer asoto@aeropuertosgap.com.mx Gisela Murillo, Investor Relations gmurillo@aeropuertosgap.com.mx/+52 33 3880 1100 ext. 20294




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Sucevean inselat in timp ce incerca sa vanda componente dintr-o masina pe OLX

Politistii suceveni s-au implicat serios intr-un caz de inselaciune in mediul online si au reusit sa dea de urma unui tanar in varsta de 21 de ani, care a inselat cu suma de 3500 de lei un sucevean. Pe 26 ianuarie, un barbat din [citeste mai departe]
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- European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton is visiting Romania today, according to the European Commission Representation in Bucharest.Breton is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca and Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi

- President Klaus Iohannis will receive First Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, at the Cotroceni Palace on Friday, the Presidential Administration informed.The meeting will take place at 13:00. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe

- The Parliament decided, on Tuesday, in a plenary sitting the appointment of Toni Grebla as the president of the Permanent Electoral Authority (AEP) for a 8-year mandate.Toni Grebla, who is currently the Bucharest prefect, was proposed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) for this position, told Agerpres.

- The seventh edition of Italian Design Day will take place in Bucharest, on March 8 and 9, and the theme of the event is "The quality that shines," informs the Italian Embassy to Romania. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro 

- Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Dorin Recean will pay a visit to Bucharest on Wednesday, this being his first official visit abroad since taking over the mandate, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- A complex of sustainable strategies in the Carpathian Region can only be approached in resonance with the objectives of Romania's interest, derived from the EU Strategy for the Danube Region (SUERD), believes the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Romania (CCIR), Mihai Daraban.

- Minister-President of Bavaria Markus Soder will be visiting Romania on Monday and will have bilateral meetings with President Klaus Iohannis and Prime Minister Nicolae Ciuca, informs the German Embassy in Bucharest. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook

- Romania's General Immigration Inspectorate (IGI) reported on Tuesday that in 2022 approximately 19,000 residence permits were issued, over 9,000 applications for work permits were registered and approximately 1,000 illegal immigrants were found by the Bucharest immigration police. Fii la curent
Viewing insider transactions for GSH Corporation Limited's (SGX:BDX ) over the last year, we see that insiders were net buyers. This means that a larger number of shares were purchased by insiders in relation to shares sold.

While insider transactions are not the most important thing when it comes to long-term investing, we do think it is perfectly logical to keep tabs on what insiders are doing.

Check out our latest analysis for GSH

The Last 12 Months Of Insider Transactions At GSH

Notably, that recent purchase by Executive Chairman Seng Hui Goi was not the only time they bought GSH shares this year. Earlier in the year, they paid S$0.16 per share in a S$173k purchase. That implies that an insider found the current price of S$0.17 per share to be enticing. Of course they may have changed their mind. But this suggests they are optimistic. 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. The good news for GSH share holders is that an insider was buying at near the current price. Seng Hui Goi was the only individual insider to buy during the last year.

Seng Hui Goi purchased 6.89m shares over the year. The average price per share was S$0.16. The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. By clicking on the graph below, you can see the precise details of each insider transaction!

GSH is not the only stock that insiders are buying. For those who like to find winning investments this free list of growing companies with recent insider purchasing, could be just the ticket.

Does GSH Boast High Insider Ownership?

I like to look at how many shares insiders own in a company, to help inform my view of how aligned they are with insiders. I reckon it's a good sign if insiders own a significant number of shares in the company. It's great to see that GSH insiders own 73% of the company, worth about S$236m. I like to see this level of insider ownership, because it increases the chances that management are thinking about the best interests of shareholders.

Story continues

So What Do The GSH Insider Transactions Indicate?

Our data shows a little insider buying, but no selling, in the last three months. Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. But insiders have shown more of an appetite for the stock, over the last year. It would be great to see more insider buying, but overall it seems like GSH insiders are reasonably well aligned (owning significant chunk of the company's shares) and optimistic for the future. In addition to knowing about insider transactions going on, it's beneficial to identify the risks facing GSH. To assist with this, we've discovered 3 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of GSH.

But note: GSH may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with high ROE 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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- Defence Minister Tilvar to meet North Macedonia President Pendarovski.National Defence Minister Angel Tilvar will meet in Skopje on Tuesday with President of the Republic of North Macedonia Stevo Pendarovski and his Macedonian counterpart Slavjanka Petrovska, told Agerpres. Fii la curent

- President Klaus Iohannis will receive First Vice President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans, at the Cotroceni Palace on Friday, the Presidential Administration informed.The meeting will take place at 13:00. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe

- Patriarch Daniel of the Romanian Christian Orthodox Church (BOR) on Wednesday sent a message to Archbishop Ieronymos II of Athens and all of Hellas in which he expresses his "sadness" at the tragic railway accident of February 28, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste

- A group of ambassadors from NATO member countries, including Romania's Ambassador, Dan Neculaescu, paid a working visit to Finland, organized with the support of the Finnish Mission to NATO, in the context of this country's aspirations to to join the North Atlantic Alliance. Fii la curent

- Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Marcel Ciolacu is paying an official visit to Italy, Rome, on Thursday and Friday, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro  Help your friends know more about Romania!

- The total amount of European funds that entered this year in the accounts of the Agriculture and Rural Development Ministry (MADR) stands at over 1.5 billion EUR, the institution announced on Wednesday. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- In 2022, the real estate market in Romania recorded investments of over 1.25 billion EUR, a 36% increase compared to the volume recorded in the previous year, shows the latest report of a real estate investment company, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro

- The National Anti-corruption Directorate (DNA) chief prosecutor Crin Bologa said on Thursday that more than 70 cases "with dozens of defendants" in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic have been sent to trial, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro
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- On Wednesday, 85,700 people entered Romania through the border points, including 7,935 Ukrainian citizens, the General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs, in a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday.Around 189,700 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with more than 50,300 transport

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs that, on Wednesday, a number of 84,538 people entered Romania through border points, of whom 7,879 were Ukrainian citizens.According to a release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, approximately 177,500 people, Romanian and foreign citizens,

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPR) informs that on Wednesday, 81,986 people entered Romania through the border points, including 7,950 Ukrainian citizens.According to a press release sent to Agerpres on Thursday, approximately 157,500 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPR) informs that, on Friday, 85,631 people entered Romania through the border crossing points, including 8,101 Ukrainian citizens.According to a press release sent to AGERPRES on Thursday, about 168,940 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with more

- As many as 73,755 people, including 7,832 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania on Wednesday, March 29, the General Border Police Inspectorate (IGPF) reported on Thursday.According to IGPF, at the border points nationwide on Wednesday, nearly 154,100, Romanian and foreign citizens, were checked both

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs that, on Thursday, a number of 69,634 people entered Romania through border points, of whom 7,608 were Ukrainian citizens.According to a release sent to AGERPRES on Friday, approximately 144,800 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs that on Tuesday, a number of 66,500 people entered Romania through border points, of whom 6,737 were Ukrainian citizens.According to a release sent to AGERPRES on Wednesday, approximately 137,000 people, Romanian and foreign citizens, with

- The General Inspectorate of the Border Police (IGPF) informs that on Tuesday, 58,159 people, including 6,843 Ukrainian citizens, entered Romania through the border points. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro  Help
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- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MAE) organized on Wednesday the public diplomacy event in the consular field entitled "Sharing the Romanian valuable experience in the consular field", addressed to diplomats with consular attributions in foreign diplomatic missions accredited in Bucharest .According

- The minister of Foreign Affairs, Bogdan Aurescu, participated on Wednesday in a working lunch with the ambassadors of the European Union member states in Bucharest, context in which the head of Romanian diplomacy presented the objectives of the first high-level Conference on the Security of the Black

- President Klaus Iohannis welcomes, on Wednesday, the United States ambassador to Bucharest, Kathleen Kavalec, the Presidential Administration informs in a press release to AGERPRES.The meeting will take place at the Cotroceni Palace. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro

- The MaiMultVerde environmental association installed on Wednesday, on the occasion of World Water Day, a floating trash barrier on Bucharest's Dambovita River, the association said in a release."The floating barrier was developed as part of the Cu Apele Curate/Clean Waters program, in cooperation

- Prime Minister of the Republic of Moldova Dorin Recean will pay a visit to Bucharest on Wednesday, this being his first official visit abroad since taking over the mandate, told Agerpres. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro

- The Romanian Publishers' Association launches, on Wednesday, the "Pact for Reading". Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri. Urmareste stiripesurse.ro pe Facebook stiripesurse.ro  Help your friends know more about Romania! Share this article on Facebook Share

- Writer Mircea Cartarescu will attend on Wednesday and Thursday in Stockholm two book release events for his prose volume "Melancolia/Melancholia", organized with the sponsorship of the Romanian Cultural Institute (ICR) in Stockholm, the institute informs. Fii la curent cu cele mai noi stiri.

- Former tennis player George Cosac (aged 55) won the elections for the leadership of the Romanian Tennis Federation which unfolded on Friday, at the National Tennis Center in Bucharest, after the other four candidates Razvan Itu, Dumitru Haradau, Tudor Napoleon Spartacus Iacov and Mihai Rusu withdrew
VILLANOVA, Pa. (April 18, 2023)Villanova University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences juniors Stefanie (Stef) Allen and Gina Ngo have been named 2023 Goldwater Scholars by the Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation. Allen and Ngo were selected from more than 1,200 institution-nominated students nationwide and will receive scholarships to further their research in STEM fields.

As Goldwater Scholars, Stefanie and Gina will have a remarkable opportunity to further their work as student-scholars. Both are following in the footsteps of previous Goldwater Scholars and Villanova recipients, many of whom have gone on to excel as researchers in prestigious post-graduate fellowships, said University Provost Patrick G. Maggitti, PhD. On behalf of the entire Villanova community, I congratulate Stefanie and Gina on this honor and thank the faculty and staff who have helped them achieve their academic goals.

Stefanie (Stef) Allen CLAS 24, is a Chemistry major whose ambition of a research career in green chemistry stemmed from her experiences growing up in Rutland, Vt. Allen decided to study chemistry to discover the ways in which science can lead to sustainable innovation, and quickly determined that Dr. Scott Kassels inorganic synthetic research team was the place where she wanted to learn, grow and invest her time at Villanova. Following her first year of studies, Allen was awarded a 2021 Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship to create new compounds to be used as ligands and as catalysts in water oxidation. Allen continued her research as a sophomore, and in 2022, was awarded a Villanova Undergraduate Research Fellows (VURF) grant to research Cobalt(III) polypyridyl complexes. In Fall 2022, Allen studied at the University of Freiburg, located in Germanys Black Forest, and her fieldwork in the Swiss Alps fortified her resolve to pursue a research career. Allen envisions how green chemistry can transform agriculture, sustainability and food securityand ultimately impact countless lives. Outside of the lab, Allen is a Chemistry adviser for prospective and new students and volunteers with NOVAdance and Special Olympics.

Gina Ngo CLAS 24, a Presidential Scholar, is a Biology major and Peace and Justice minor from Haverford, Pa., who plans a research career as a physician-scientist in neuro-oncology. In her first year at Villanova, Ngo began working with Dr. Anil Bamezai through Villanovas Center for Research and Fellowships Match Research Program. Ngo was subsequently awarded a VURF grant to study Ly-6A, a potential immune checkpoint that can impact the treatment of tumors, through independent research with Dr. Bamezai. Since 2021, she has been a key member of the student editorial board of Veritas: Villanova Research Journal. In 2022, Ngo completed a summer research internship at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute Center for Stem Cell and Translational Immunotherapy, where she identified an immunosuppressive mechanism in glioblastoma and devised a method for targeting it while considering the mode of delivery to glioblastoma patients. This summer, Ngo will work in a radiation oncology research group at the University of Pennsylvania and intends to complete an Honors Senior Thesis on her immunology research. In addition to her research efforts, Ngo works to improve lives through her leadership and advocacy in Villanova Refugee Empowerment, Philadelphias Nationalities Service Center, Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week and the Honors Program.

The Goldwater Foundation awards $7,500 scholarships to sophomores and juniors who intend to pursue research careers in the natural sciences, mathematics or engineering. It is widely considered the preeminent award for undergraduates preparing for research careers in STEM. Recent Villanova Goldwater honorees went on to become Knight-Hennessy Scholars, Marshall Scholars, NSF Graduate Research Fellows and Fulbright Student Grant recipients.

The Barry Goldwater Scholarship and Excellence in Education Foundation was established by Congress in 1986 to honor Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who served for 30 years in the United States Senate. The program is designed to encourage outstanding students to pursue careers in mathematics, the natural sciences and engineering. For more information, visit the Goldwater Scholarship website.

About Villanova University: Since 1842, Villanova Universitys Augustinian Catholic intellectual tradition has been the cornerstone of an academic community in which students learn to think critically, act compassionately and succeed while serving others. There are more than 10,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students in the University's six collegesthe College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, the Villanova School of Business, the College of Engineering, the M. Louise Fitzpatrick College of Nursing, the College of Professional Studies and the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Ranked among the nations top universities, Villanova supports its students intellectual growth and prepares them to become ethical leaders who create positive change everywhere life takes them. For more, visit www.villanova.edu.
Hungary and South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding on boosting their trade and investment development cooperation.

Hungary counts on South Korea as a partner in shifting its labour-intensive economy to a knowledge-intensive economy, Levente Magyar, the foreign ministrys parliamentary state secretary, said after signing the document.



South Korea has become one of Hungarys most important foreign trade partners and a leading foreign investor over the past years, Magyar said. The government is working towards ensuring that South Korean companies that already have an industrial base in Hungary create higher value-added production here, he said.



Magyar noted that some 1,000 South Korean students study at Hungarian universities, most of them studying medicine. The two countries are working to deepen cooperation between their universities, he said.



Youngjin Jang, vice minister for trade, industry and energy, said Hungary is for South Korea of outstanding importance which is reflected by the fact that Hungary was the first country with which it established diplomatic ties.



The two countries elevated their economic ties to a strategic level in 2021, he said. The agreement signed on Tuesday is aimed at expanding the fields of cooperation to include car manufacturing, electronics, biotechnology and medicine, Jang said.
An opposition-leaning columnist finds the deterioration in US-Hungarian relations worrisome but believes neither of the two parties want to deepen the enmity any further. A pro-government commentator sees the discord as a conflict between the US Left and Right rather than one between two countries.

In his regular biweekly radio interview, Prime Minister Viktor Orban said the United States is Hungarys key friend and ally despite their diverging views on the war in Ukraine. Our friendship, he said must be able to withstand that disagreement. He added that the tone of bilateral relations depends on whether the US government is in Democrat or Republican hands. He called the billboard campaign over the Ukraine war which is sponsored by the US Embassy unusual



In Magyar Hang, Szabolcs Szereto describes the tone US Ambassador David Pressman struck at his press conference as moderate: he didnt quell the tempest, Szereto writes, nor did he escalate the conflict.



As to the background to the conflict, he believes that for want of noteworthy domestic adversaries, Prime Minister Orban appears to be seeking heavyweight international opponents  and Washington seems to fit that bill. Not that Szereto sees the US administration above reproach  tapping the phone calls of allied leaders and tough moves to put through American interests, he writes, may fairly be criticized. He believes nonetheless that the Hungarian government is wrong on Ukraine.



Szereto describes the Hungarian attitude as a phony pro-peace stance which served electoral purposes last year but has since become a hindrance in Hungarys relations with her allies. He also thinks Hungary is maintaining good relations with Russia well above the level dictated by energy constraints (namely Hungarys dependence on Russian oil and gas supplies).



Szereto finds it peculiar for the government side not to dismiss reports about the Prime Minister mentioning the Biden administration among the adversaries when addressing his fellow Fidesz MPs in February. However, the Empire, he writes, doesnt strike back  for the moment.



By contrast, Mandiners Gergely Szilvay believes that the controversy is not a conflict between Hungary and the United States but rather one opposing Americas Left and Right. He starts out by suggesting that Hungary has become a secondary diplomatic battlefield of the Ukraine war which he describes as a proxy war between the United States and Russia.



That explains, in his view, why US diplomacy keeps Hungary under pressure. Nevertheless, he also sees the announcements made by the US Ambassador as surprisingly mild, compared to earlier speculation about harsh sanctions on unnamed prominent Hungarian personalities. At any rate, he continues, Hungary has taken note and quit the International Investment Bank after the latter was hit by US sanctions.



As to why the US has refrained from harsher measures against Hungary, Szilvay puts forward an original theory, namely that the State Department cannot be sure about the outcome of next years presidential elections in the United States. The Hungarian government, he explains, is not an adversary of the United States  it is only seen with suspicion by the Democratic administration.



Fidesz is on excellent terms with former President Trump while Florida governor Ron DeSantis, another potential Republican presidential nominee is sometimes called an American Orban. People in the State Department, Szilvay suggests, must be moving with caution in confronting an ally of the potential next President of the United States.



This opinion does not necessarily represent the views of XpatLoop.com or the publisher.



Your opinions are welcome too - for editorial review before possible publication online.



Click here to Share Your Story
Harsco Corporation

PHILADELPHIA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Harsco Corporation (NYSE: HSC) announced the results of its 68th Annual Meeting of Stockholders, held virtually today.



Stockholders approved the election of all nine nominees to the Board of Directors to serve until the 2024 Annual Meeting and ratified the Audit Committees appointment of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as Independent Auditors for the year ending December 31, 2023.

Stockholders also approved the Non-Binding Advisory Votes on Executive Officer Compensation, the Frequency of Future Advisory Board Votes on the Companys Named Executive Officers and Amendment No. 3 to the 2013 Equity and Incentive Compensation Plan.

About Harsco Corporation

Harsco Corporation is a global, market leader providing environmental solutions for industrial and specialty waste streams, and innovative technologies for the rail industry. Based at Two Logan Square, PA, the 13,000-employee company operates in more than 30 countries. Harscos common stock is a component of the S&P SmallCap 600 Index and the Russell 2000 Index. Additional information can be found at www.harsco.com.

Investor Contact

David Martin

1 267 946 1407

damartin@harsco.com Media Contact

Jay Cooney

1 267 857 8017

jcooney@harsco.com




The call for peace in Ukraine will be one of the central topics of the speeches Pope Francis will deliver during his visit to Hungary next weekend, Csaba Torok, governor of the Esztergom parish and press officer of the Hungarian Catholic Bishops Conference, told reporters in Rome.

The pontiffs speeches and homilies will likely contain a strong message in connection with the war, Torok said. He noted that Pope Francis had been working to mediate between the warring sides since the start of the conflict.



Torok said Pope Franciss visit to Hungary will have a political message, adding, at the same time, that the moment of rapprochement between the pope and the Patriarch of Moscow would not happen in Budapest. He did not rule out, however, that representatives of the churches of Kyiv and Moscow would be present during Franciss visit.



He noted that on the occasion of the closing mass of the 52nd International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest in 2021, Prime Minister Viktor Orban presented Francis as a gift a copy of the letter Hungarian King Bela IV wrote to Pope Innocent IV in the 13th century.



The prime ministers gesture was an intention to establish a relationship with the pope to protect Christianity, he added.



The Hungarian government also considers itself an ally of the Vatican when it comes to urging peace in Ukraine, Torok said. Pope Francis will pay a visit to Hungary between April 28 and 30.
A youth counselling centre built in part from funds contributed by the Hungarian government has been inaugurated in Ethiopia, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Addis Ababa.

Hungary contributed 160 million forints (EUR 429,000) to the construction of the centre that will enable young people in Ethiopia to stay in and return to their homeland, Szijjarto told the inauguration ceremony, according to a ministry statement.



The minister underscored the importance of supporting local communities so that they can remain in or return to their homeland of hundreds of years or more.



Our basic principle is that help should be taken where it is needed rather than bringing problems where there arent any yet, Szijjarto said. Europe has been facing strong migration pressure in the recent period, which poses serious security challenges to migrants countries of origin, transit countries and their destination countries, he said.



Migration should be prevented rather than encouraged, he said, and called for creating the circumstances that will enable people to remain in their homeland. This is what Hungary is doing in some fifty countries worldwide, most of them in Africa, Szijjarto said, adding that Hungary was prepared to keep financing such projects in the future, too.



As a country with one thousand years of Christian statehood, Hungary feels responsibility for all Christians, Szijjarto said, adding that Christianity was the most persecuted religion in the world today.



He said it was frustrating that this issue was not getting the attention it needed, while Muslim countries were putting significant emphasis on fighting Islamophobia and supporting Muslim communities.



This, he added, raised the question as to why the governments of Christian countries are not brave enough to display a similarly firm stance, saying that many took a hypocritical and unreasonable position on the issue.



Szijjarto: Support to Africa Key to Stopping Migration to Europe

Supporting Africa is key to improving the quality of life in countries at the root of illegal migration to Europe, and so to stopping rather than managing illegal migration, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said in Addis Ababa.



A Hungarian-Ethiopian agreement in the works on economic cooperation and the elimination of double taxation is part of that effort, Szijjarto said. The root causes of migration have become stronger in recent years, mirrored in the growing migration pressure in Europe which the European Unions measures have failed to address, Szijjarto said.



Since EU policies inspire one migration wave after the other, cooperation has become a priority with African countries willing and able to keep young citizens home, who are also of key importance for the future of their homeland, he said. Cooperation between Hungary and Ethiopia aims to help the latter country in retaining its citizens, he said.



Hungary will double the number of university scholarships for Ethiopian students next year, to 100, he said.



Hungarian companies are also playing an important role in the development of Ethiopian agriculture, and in digitalisation, he said.
Strongly dedicated to Budapest and the Gresham Palace, Thibaut Drege builds on his global experience and the vast expertise of his team to ensure the worldwide community of sophisticated travellers discover what the city and the Hotel have to offer.

What I will bring is my constant strive for excellence and for revealing the existing beauty of this beautiful gem, supported by the extraordinary expertise of the team, which has built the reputation of the Gresham Palace. His commitment and endurance in this journey are inspired by craftsmen and fine artisans who put all their heart in their creations and do not settle until they are satisfied with their work.



Since an early age, he has been motivated by bringing joy around him, and that influenced his decision when applying for a university. Coming from a family who loved cooking turned him into an admirer of food.



When I had to choose my university, one option was medicine and the other one was the Ecole in Lausanne. In a way you can think about these as two different career paths, but to me there are lots of similarities. Its about caring for people - in both professions you need engagement, patience, genuine care, working in teams and passion.



Carrying on the celebration of exceptional dining experiences, Four Seasons Hotel George V maintained its unique, prestigious position under his lead, being the only hotel in Europe housing a total of five Michelin stars within three restaurants, a world leader in culinary experiences.



As a pianist, music is also very important to him. I see myself as a conductor to an orchestra. I have a great cellist, a great violinist and more. In most cases I dont know how to play those instruments, my aim and my role is to make sure these all blend together in perfect harmony. When they can excel individually, and when we find this harmony, that is when we all succeed.



He lives according to the motto choose a job you love, and you never have to work a day in your life. This positive spirit helped him not only to succeed but also to develop personally through the various positions he held in the hospitality industry in Paris, Geneva, and Hangzhou, China.



Drege also focuses a lot on helping his team to grow. My way of giving back is sharing experience and talking to people, mentoring them. Transparent communication, conveying a clear vision and being honest with one another and with ourselves is essential.



He continues in Budapest with the same level of energy and commitment. Gresham Palace is one of the most beautiful hotels in Budapest, I am lucky to enter such a beautiful piece of art every day. This is already a gem, a beautiful diamond, the only question is, how do we find the right lightning in the right angle, how to polish the diamond so it can shine the best it can?



1. When did you arrive in Hungary and what brought you here?

I arrived to Budapest three month ago having the chance to become the GM of Four Seasons Gresham Palace. This is an amazing property considered as one of the most beautiful hotel in Hungary and across the Four Seasons brand. The city itself is an extraordinary destination which has so much to offer and I feel privileged to be now promoting it to international travellers.



2. Have you ever been an expatriate elsewhere?

I did all my studies in Switzerland. After graduating I went back to live in Paris, then went to explore China and spent two and a half years there before returning to Switzerland and later on to my hometown in beautiful Paris.



3. What surprised you most about Hungary?

Everything! I must say that I did not know what to expect when I first came as a tourist last summer to enjoy a weekend break. And what I discovered has really stroke me since this is an amazing and vibrant city! I love the architecture, the culture, the art scene, and the gastronomy. I still believe this is an understated destination which we need to make the world more aware of as it has so much to offer!



4. Friends are in Budapest for a weekend - what must they absolutely see and do?

Well the first thing to say is to stay at the Gresham Palace, at this amazing hotel with its incredible architecture, and stunning location. Next visit the Opera, that is where I went first, then walk around the city, look at the amazing buildings, visit the Parliament and the Szechenyi bath. Maybe enjoy a bit of night life in the seventh district, get lost into the area, enjoy local food and wine. Also, they should visit the castle district, and the beautiful Matthias Church.



5. What is your favourite Hungarian food?

I havent tried as many dishes as I would have wanted, since to me gastronomy is as important as culture and architecture. So far goulash is one of the highlights. Wine from Tokaj needs to be mentioned, but there are many other quality vineyards here which I am intending to discover. One of my great discoveries has been the Mangalica ham which is up to the best Iberico ones.



6. What is never missing from your refrigerator?

French Wine. I brought my bottles from home here you see, the ones which could not last my absence in the next few years. And I always have a nice bottle of Champagne in my fridge in case of any celebration.



7. What is your favourite Hungarian word?

Jo reggelt!, as it brings joy and energy to the morning. I say it with a smile every morning to every employee.



8. What do you miss most from home?

An easy answer would be cheese, but I have already found a few good ones here. As a pure Parisian, loving style and elegance, I am still looking for a tailor here, but stay positive to find an exquisite one soon.



9. What career other than yours would you love to pursue?

A professional pianist, even though I did not choose it as my career, it is still extremely important to me. My sons are already going to Liszt Academy here to learn to play and practice playing piano and I personally play every time I have the chance.



When I was younger the other choices I had were hospitality and medicine, and I would have loved to be a doctor. Sometime I wonder if I chose the easiest or hardest career. They are two very different fields yet with many similarities  caring for people, making sure they feel well, so both fit my character actually.



10. What's a job you would definitely never want?

I respect every single job, but there are some which dont fit my abilities. Something too formal, with no interaction with other people, or something too technical like checking compliance with contracts, are not for me. Thats why I married a lawyer, we complete each other.



11. Where did you spend your last vacation?

Italy, in Rome, we had our honey moon there back in November 2022.



12. Where do you hope to spend your next holiday?

I have never been to Japan and I cannot wait to discover its culture and gastronomy! There are many other places I could mention, and lots of Four Seasons hotels I am eager to discover.



13. Apart of temptation what can't you resist?

I am trying very hard, but I cannot resist chocolate. Very dark chocolate, I have very specific brands I adore and cannot resist.



14. What was your favourite band, film, or hobby as a teen?

Hobby Music in general and paying the piano.

Band  I went through so many phases, and had many favourites. I love jazz, and so Miles Davies, Herbie Hancock, John Coltrane, Keith Jarrett and Maceo Parker to name a few, but I am also a big fan of Debussy, Ravel...

Film: Le Grand Bleu

I loved all Sergio Leones movies with Ennio Morricones music.



15. Red wine or white?

For me, which region is the question. I used to be a red fan, but I have started moving towards more white ones, for example some cheese tastes much better with certain whites.



16. Book or movie?

Movies. The last one I watched was a classic Once Upon a Time in America.



17. Morning person or night person?

Both. I love celebrating with friends late at night, but I wake up at six with my kids every morning. So, I suppose am shifting into a morning person.



18. Which social issue do you feel most strongly about?

Very difficult to weigh all the many social issues. So, I would say unfairness in general  in whatever context. Be it between men and women, or difference races, or rich and poor  equality in every regard. I feel strongly that it is so important how you treat people, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation and so on.



19. Buda or Pest side?

I am a Pest person, even though many people told me to live in Buda, I like it best in Pest.



20. What would you say is your personal motto?

Choose a job you love and you never have to work a day in your life.
New Delhi: Apple chief executive Tim Cook finally met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday on his visit to India. Cook has shared his meeting with PM Modi on his Twitter handle and thanked him for warm welcome. He further wrote that they shared his vision of the positive impact technology could make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, they are committed to growing and investing across the country.

ALSO READ | Apple Reveals Images Of Its Second Retail Store At Saket In Delhi, See Pics Here

Tim Cook has been meeting with wide range of dignitaries from various fields for the last two days during his India visit on the occasion of opening Apple retail stores in India. Earlier, he met Indian veteran actress Madhuri Dixit in Mumbai and relished Maharashtrian popular dish Vada Pav. He later met Indian badminton players such as Saina Nehwal, Srikant Kidambi, etc. and tried his hands in badminton.

Apple CEO Tim Cook is on Indian visit to open Apples first retail stores in Mumbai and Delhi.

Thank you Prime Minister @narendramodi for the warm welcome. We share your vision of the positive impact technology can make on Indias future  from education and developers to manufacturing and the environment, were committed to growing and investing across the country. pic.twitter.com/xRSjc7u5Ip  Tim Cook (@tim_cook) April 19, 2023

ALSO READ | AI-Generated Pics Of Elderly Women Skating On Streets Go Viral

Apple Opens Retail Stores In India

Apple has seen phenomenal growth in India with the rising market share in tech products. Apple opened its first retail store in the financial capital of India, Mumbai at Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) on Tuesday. Tim cook opened the gates of the first retail store and welcomed the customers with great enthusiasm.

Indian were also excited about the opening of the retail store as long queues seen before the launch of the Apple store. A large number of Apple fans huddled there to click selfies with Apple CEO Tim Cook and employees.

A customer brought his 1984 Macintosh computer at the Mumbai retail store. Tim Cook was surprised at seeing the old mac. His priceless reaction has gone viral on Internet.

Delhi Saket Second Store

Tim Cook will open Apples second retail store in India at Saket in New Delhi on Thursday. He landed in New Delhi on Wednesday and met several people before meeting to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He met Mural artist at Delhis Lodhi Art District and understood how he designed his art on iPad. He later went to the National Crafts Museum & Hastkala Academy.
New Delhi: The board of the country's biggest lender State Bank of India (SBI) on Tuesday said it proposes to raise USD 2 billion (about Rs 16,000 crore) from bonds to fund its global operations.

The board of the bank on Tuesday approved the proposal to raise fund in "single or multiple tranches up to USD 2 billion ...Through a public offer and/or private placement of senior unsecured notes in US Dollar or any other convertible currency during FY 2023-24," SBI said in a regulatory filing.

Last month, SBI raised Rs 3,717 crore by issuing a Tier 1 bond at a coupon rate of 8.25 per cent.

Shares of SBI settled 0.33 per cent up at Rs 545.80 apiece on the BSE.
New Delhi: Tata Consultancy Services has emerged as the top company in a list, which showcases the best places to work and grow careers, for 2023. TCS is followed by Amazon (2) and Morgan Stanley (3) in the '2023 Top Companies India' list prepared by LinkedIn. There has been a shift from tech companies, which dominated the list last year, with companies across financial services, oil and gas, professional services, manufacturing and gaming featuring in this year's list.

A vast majority of the companies, that is 10 out of 25 companies are from the financial services/ banking/ fintech space, including companies such as Macquarie Group (5), HDFC Bank (11), Mastercard (12), and Yubi (14).

"In this uncertain environment, professionals are looking for guidance on the companies to work that offer career growth and will set them up for long-term success. The 2023 Top Companies list is filled with actionable insights and resources to help professionals at all levels discover job opportunities," LinkedIn India Managing Editor Nirajita Banerjee said.

Those interested in a specific company can now easily identify the skills and roles being hired for, connect with employees they know in their network, and follow the company to stay informed about future opportunities, she added.

The 2023 Top Companies India list is based on LinkedIn's data to rank companies on eight pillars that have been shown to lead to career progression, including ability to advance, skills growth, company stability, external opportunity, company affinity, gender diversity, educational background and employee presence in the country.

Further, the data revealed that companies such as Dream11 (20) and Games24x7 (24) from e-sports and gaming made it to the list for the first time, which is reflective of the growing popularity of gaming and the presence of this sector.

There has been an emergence of new players, with 17 out of 25 companies debuting in the list, which demonstrates the strong momentum in India's business ecosystem, it stated. Zepto (16), which was part of the LinkedIn Top Startups list last year has made it to the top company list this year, which is a testament to the significant scale and growth it has achieved, it noted.

LinkedIn data revealed that the in-demand skills that these top companies are looking for in the technology sector include Artificial Intelligence (AI), Robotics, Electronics, Software Testing and Computer Security. Companies in the financial sector are looking for skills such as commercial banking, financial accounting and growth strategies. There is also a growing demand for industrial design and game development, among others, it added.

Some of the largest job functions that these top companies are investing in include engineering, consulting, product management, business development, sales, customer success, design, finance and operations, the data revealed. Bengaluru led as the top location where these top companies are based and looking to hire talent, followed by Mumbai, Hyderabad, Delhi and Pune, it added.
Mumbai: Global icon Priyanka Chopra on Tuesday attended the grand premiere of her upcoming action thriller series `Citadel` in London. For the premiere night, the `Fashion` actor opted for a beautiful red off-shoulder deep-neck gown. She was seen posing with her husband Nick Jonas and her co-star Richard Madden.

Nick looked handsome in an all-black suit with sharp lapels and a turtleneck underneath. Richard, on the other hand, donned a velvet black suit with matching pants. Soon after the celebs arrived at the grand premiere, several pictures and videos started surfacing on social media. Taking to Instagram, Nick shared a video from the premiere night which he captioned, "#RedDress."

Watch the video shared by Nick Jonas

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."

Taking about Priyanka Chopras projects in Bollywood, she will be seen sharing screen space with Alia Bhatt and Katrina Kaif in Farhan Akhtar`s directorial `Jee Le Zaraa.`
Srinagar: Two days after the Jammu and Kashmir Government announced the schedule for Amarnath Yatra 2023, registrations for the annual pilgrimage begin across the country on Monday. As per reports in just 24 hours thousands of people have registered themselves in designated bank branches across the country. The 62-day pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir is scheduled to start on July 1 and continue till August 31. The journey can be undertaken through two routes, the traditional 48-kilometre route through Pahalgam in Anantnag district in south Kashmir and the 14-kilometre shorter Baltal route in the Ganderbal district of central Kashmir. For the first time, SASB has introduced Aadhaar authentication-based registration for pilgrims as compared to the manual procedure of previous years.

A bank official said, In 316 bank branches of PNB ( Punjab National Bank) across the country the registration has begun. Pilgrims received forms manually till last year. but now they are system generated. It is mandatory for all aspiring pilgrims to get a health certificate from designated doctors all over India, the registration officer said.

"The schedule of the pilgrimage was decided at the 44th meeting of the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) chaired by Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha at the Raj Bhavan. The yatra would commence simultaneously from both routes," officials said.

The shrine board will also enable live telecasts of morning and evening "aarti" (prayers) for devotees across the globe.

The board, which manages the annual pilgrimage, has designated 542 bank branches across the country for the registration of the pilgrims, in addition to the facility on its website.

According to it, no one below the age of 13 years or above the age of 75 years, and no woman with more than six weeks of pregnancy shall be registered for the yatra.

Keeping in view last year's tragedy Government has instructed all concerned departments to take a review of the area and submit the report well before the start of the pilgrimage so that all necessary steps can be taken.

Bedside the security arrangements which remain all years a prime concern for administration is being discussed thoroughly and three tire security arrangement is being done during a pilgrimage with all modern technology.
Lucknow: A Prayagraj court on Wednesday sent the three accused in the Atiq Ahmed and his brother Ashraf murder case to police custody. The Special Task Force (STF) of Uttar Pradesh Police produced the three shooters before the court seeking 14-day police remand. DIG, STF, Anand Dev Tiwari said that the murder of Atiq-Ashraf was committed in front of the media and the three shooters are under arrest. The police sought the police remand for further questioning the accused in the murder case.

He said whether there was a syndicate, persons, or those having enmity with them, from where they got the arms -- all these questions and the real motive behind the killing will be answered when the three will be taken on remand by the police. Ahmed (60) and Ashraf were shot dead at point-blank range by three men posing as journalists on Saturday night while police personnel were escorting them to a medical college in Prayagraj for a check-up.

Who are the assailants?

According to reports, the three shooters have been identified as Sunny (23) of Hamirpur, Lavlesh Tiwari (22) of Banda, and Arun Maurya (18) of Kasganj. The assailants were kept in Pratapgarh jail. The accused have a criminal history and many reports claimed that they have links with a Bhati gang. The accused have reportedly told the police that they not only wanted to become fanous but also wanted to get rid of Atiq gang.

Where is Guddu Muslim?

Atiq Ahmed's wife Shaista Praveen and one of the accused in the Umesh Pal murder case Guddu Muslim are still on the run. When asked about them, the police said that they will be arrested soon. "We have limitations but they have a number of means to evade arrest. As far as Guddu Muslims are concerned he is known as Guddu 'bombaaz' and is an expert in evading arrest while Praveen remains as 'pardanashin' (in veil). But we will be arresting them soon," Tiwari told PTI.

Accused in the Umesh Pal murder case

Apart from Ahmed and Ashraf, four others named in the Umesh Pal murder case FIR -- Asad, Arbaaz, Vijay Chaudhary alias Usman and Ghulam -- have also been killed.

Umesh Pal was a key witness in the 2005 BSP MLA Raju Pal murder case, in which Ahmed was also an accused. The FIR in the Umesh Pal murder case was lodged under relevant sections of IPC, including 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder), and under the Explosive Substances Act by his wife Jaya Pal on February 25. (With PTI Inputs)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently released the tiger census data which showed India is home to more than 3,167 big cats. While tiger conservation attempts are going in the right direction, an increase in the number of wild animals and their ever-shrinking habitat poses a greater risk of human-wild conflict. 'Tiger 24' documentary director Warren Pereira deliberated on the issue in an interview with Zee News Digital. 'Tiger 24' is based on the life of a tiger named Ustad who was declared a man-eater and was subsequently locked up in a zoo.

Pereira, whose documentary aims to promote conservation and raise awareness around the issue, said that if a majority of the human-tiger conflict takes place in the tigers' territory, then the tiger cannot be declared a man-eater. He highlighted the fact that while the number of tigers is increasing, their habitat area is not increasing. Excerpts from the interview:

How do you see India's tiger conservation efforts and where do you see chances of improvement?

I think the 6.7 per cent increase in the tiger population over the last census in 2019, shows the Tigers are capable of coming back. But when you increase the number of tigers, and you don't proportionately increase the core area or the protected areas for these animals you end up with increased man-animal conflict.

Often many animals including tigers get killed in road accidents. How do you see the government's decision to develop roads and highways passing through or near forest areas?

It's hard to just blame the government, because the average Indian consumer is not that interested in Tiger conservation. They're very interested in having a nice road to drive across the country. There's a growing middle class who are interested in enjoying themselves for their personal gratification and so if they're gonna vote, in a way, which causes the government to increase the infrastructure, and then that infrastructure is going to clash with tigers. I think it's the fault of the entire democratic system. However, if there were more people in India who are filing PILs and doing legislation, or voting for legislation supporting the increase of tigers, then because it's a democracy, the government would have to listen to them. Right now, there's a small percentage of Indians that are interested in the conservation of wildlife.

What more can be done to involve more people and raise awareness about wildlife conservation?

I think just like my film Tiger 24 points out, if we can show people that preserving the forest is in their interest and not only in the Tigers' interest, that's the only way to make them understand the value of preserving these wild tigers and their territories. When you conserve a tiger forest, not only do you help the tiger, but you also help all the biodiversity within the forest. This also prevents soil erosion, fights climate change, and supports tributaries of rivers, which ultimately leads to a better quality of life for people outside of the Tiger Reserve, including the nearby villages, nearby towns and nearby cities.

What kind of challenges you faced while making the Tiger 24 documentary?

The challenges are initially in locating the tiger you are following. In my case, the tiger was T24. So the first thing I had to do was to find him. The second thing, as a filmmaker you hope that he will exhibit some kind of behaviour on that particular day when you do find him. This documentary started as a natural history documentary but then turned into something much bigger involving the legal system and a battle between activists and the state government. Scaling up the documentary to match the scale of the project was challenging.

What else can be done to reduce human-wild conflict?

The ultimate solution is getting the Tigers more space and then setting clear boundaries between what is human space, and what is tiger space. Once you create that distinction, then you can identify which tiger is a problem and which is not. If a tiger is leaving the core area, leaving the buffer area and routinely entering the human settlements to prey on livestock or villagers, then that animal could be deemed a problem animal and should probably be removed from the wild population in the larger interest of conservation. However, if the core area is compromised, or a buffer zone does not even exist in the Tiger Reserve, and if humans are killed inside the Tigers' territory, then the tiger reserve is the problem, not the tiger.
A heat pump can reduce your carbon footprintcheaply

 Recommendations are independently chosen by Reviewed's editors. Purchases made through the links below may earn us and our publishing partners a commission.

As many of us look for more efficient, sustainable ways to run our households, one of the most important considerations is whether to install or retrofit your home with an updated HVAC system.

Home heating is a costly expense, especially for homeowners who rely on oil and propane heat, the costs of which rose drastically over the last year. In Massachusetts, an average gallon of heating oil in November 2021 cost $3.32, but that price jumped to $5.88 per gallon in November 2022. Multiply that by a 150-gallon tank and youre looking at a nearly $400 increase for a single tank refill.

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If youre wanting to consider a home heating solution that relies less on fossil fuel than traditional oil burners or gas furnaces and will help cut your energy bills in the long run, air-source heat pumps and heat pump systems, which run on electricity, are an effective and energy-efficient option that doesnt require invasive construction and can often be installed using your homes existing ductwork.

What is a heat pump, and how does a heat pump work?

Heat pumps work hard to warm and cool your home throughout the year. A smart way to reduce the amount of electricity they use is with solar panels or a small wind system.

Air-source heat pumps are heating and cooling systems that feature a compressor thats installed outdoors that can transfer air both into and out of your home.

Operating on electricity, these heat pumps can pull in heat from the air outside into your home, or they can transfer warm air out of your home. This means that the same unit can act as a heater in cold months and an air conditioner in hotter ones.

Ground-source heat pumps, also called geothermal heat pumps, operate on similar principles, transferring the heat from the ground in your yard into your home through a series of pipes that lead to ductwork, though they can be more costly to install.

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Depending on whether or not your home is already equipped with ductwork, you can install a high-efficiency heat pump that connects to the air conditioning system thats already in place in your home, or you can go with a ductless heat pump (also known as a mini-split), which is the most affordable type of heat pump on the market.

Both styles are more efficient than traditional heating units, and since they dont need fuel to run, theyre an easy way to reduce carbon emissions.

Since heat pumps run on electricity, if you pair them with a renewable energy source like solar panels or a small wind system, you could effectively create a carbon-neutral home heating system.

Simply put, as a heater, modern air-source heat pumps are an efficient way to heat your home while reducing your carbon footprint, and as an air conditioner, they can cool a home twice as efficiently as a standard window unit AC, making heat pumps a year-round workhorse in your home.

How much does a heat pump cost?

Heat pumps can vary in price due to factors like size and the amount of the space they're covering, and don't forget installation costs.

Want to know how much a heat pump costs? The answer varies, depending on what youve got.

The most common style of heat pumps are mini-split heat pumps, which dont require pre-existing ductwork and are incredibly versatile. They can be installed in a single room of a home, in an apartment, or throughout a house.

With mini-splits, a ductless unit called a head is installed in a single room or area in the home, and a larger home can often require multiple heads for total cooling and heating throughout.

The overall costs of mini-splits are dependent on how many rooms you plan to blast with heat or cooling air, and how large a unit you require. The beauty of a ductless system is that you can always start with one unit whether for financial reasons or to supplement your existing heating system, and add more down the line, if necessary.

Alternately, a ducted system connects your homes existing ductwork to an outdoor compressor and is generally able to heat and cool most, if not all, of your house through the existing ducts.

Theres also an option called a compact-ducted system, which still uses the existing ductwork of a home, but only funnels air through handlers that serve a smaller area.

Though the cost of each unit and the installation varies widely, according to Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships, you can expect to pay between $3,000 and 6,000 for each room thats connected to a ductless head or a compact-ducted system.

From personal experience, I can confirm that this range to be fairly accurate: The 2019 installation of two ductless heads that connect to a single outdoor compressor in my home  including parts and labor  cost $8,400, falling right in the middle of NEEPs range.

The cost of installing a ducted air-source heat pump can be significantly more than the cost of ductless mini-splits because it does require a reconfiguration and installation of compressors that will cover the entire area of the house.

HVAC.com estimates an average cost of anywhere from $5,000 to $10,000 for installation of ducted heat pumps.

What is the best heat pump for you?

There are quite a few ways to begin your research on finding the right air-source heat pump or mini-split heat pump for your house.

You can head to the Energy Star website to research brands, models, and sizes of heat pumps and compare their energy efficiency there.

The site also offers information on the tax incentives available on the purchase and installation of heat pumps.

Currently, the government offers a 30% tax credit, up to $2,000, on expenses relating to the purchase and installation of new heat pumps. The Energy Star site can even help you calculate cost savings of switching from your current heating and cooling systems to a heat pump if you want to factor in your future utility costs.

While many people use heat pumps to supplement other heat sources, if a heat pump is your primary heating source, youll want to research which ones can handle the temperatures in the region where you live.

While its true that heat pumps that were designed decades ago were often unable to handle severe cold, the technology has come a long way since then, and most modern heat pumps provide effective heating even when outdoor temperatures plummet below zero.

If youre especially concerned about a heat pumps effectiveness under cold temperatures, you can visit the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships site, which is an incredibly detailed database run by a non-profit dedicated to efficient energy solutions.

The Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump Product List featured online is a wealth of information about which heat pumps excel under specific temperature conditions around the country.

The product experts at Reviewed have all your shopping needs covered. Follow Reviewed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok or Flipboard for the latest deals, product reviews, and more.

Prices were accurate at the time this article was published but may change over time.

This article originally appeared on Reviewed: A heat pump system can reduce your carbon footprint  heres how
NEW DELHI: The Congress party on Wednesday released its fifth list of candidates for the upcoming Karnataka Assembly Elections and fielded Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan against Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai in the high-decibel Shiggaon constituency battle. The main opposition party had earlier named Mohammed Yousuf Savanur for the seat. Besides, the party also fielded Dr BC Muddugangadhar as its candidate from the Mulbagal (SC) seat, DK Mohan from KR Pura and AC Srinivasa from the Pulakeshinagar assembly constituency.

Check the Fifth List Released By Congress Here

#KarnatakaElections2023 | Congress releases the fifth list of candidates.



Yasir Ahmed Khan Pathan to contest from Shiggaon assembly constituency from where BJP has fielded CM Basavaraj Bommai. pic.twitter.com/2Q5cBmkaB2  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023



Congress released its fourth list of seven candidates for the Karnataka assembly elections on Tuesday and fielded former chief minister Jagadish Shettar, who recently quit the BJP to join it, from his traditional Hubli-Dharwad Central constituency. The party also fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur from the Shiggaon assembly seat, from where Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai is the BJP candidate. Bommai represents the Shiggaon constituency in the outgoing assembly.

Congress Releases Star Campaigners' List

Congress heavyweights including national president Mallikarjun Kharge, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, state chief D K Shivakumar, LoP Siddaramaiah, Shashi Tharoor, former BJP leader and deputy chief minister Jagadish Shettar are among those who have been named in the partys list of 40-star campaigners for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The grand old party on Wednesday unveiled a list of 40-star campaigners for the Karnataka Assembly elections. Among the other prominent names in the party`s list of campaigners are Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, general secretary in-charge, Communication, Jairam Ramesh, Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, and former Maharastra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Gehlot In, Pilot Out

While Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is also among the list of 40-star campaigners for the upcoming election, Sachin Pilot - another influential Rajasthan Congress leader - has not been included in the list. Sachil Pilot had last week staged a protest against his own government in the state, alleging that the Ashok Gehlot-led government failed to investigate corruption cases during the BJP regime in Rajasthan. The infighting in the party has again become a major concern for the Congress as the state will witness the crucial assembly polls this year. Pilot, the former Deputy CM of Rajasthan, is at loggerheads with Gehlot ever since the government came to power in 2018.

Siddaramaiah Files Nomination, Plays 'Last Election' Card





Earlier on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah filed his nomination for the state polls. Speaking to reporters after officially entering the fray, he said the Congress was a secular party and won`t seek votes on the basis of caste. Siddaramaiah filed his nomination from the Varuna Assembly constituency.

"Congress is a secular party. We are not seeking votes on the basis of caste. We are hopeful of garnering votes from across communities, including Linagayts, Vokkaligas and others," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Siddaramaiah, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Karnataka Assembly, said the upcoming state elections will be his last electoral battle as he will retire from politics after. "I am contesting from Varuna constituency as my native village falls within the precincts of this Assembly segment. This is going to be my last election. Thereafter, I will retire from electoral politics," Siddaramaiah told ANI earlier.

The Congress leader added that while he will still be in active politics post the Karnataka polls, he won`t accept any party posts that would require him to shift base to Delhi.

The last date for filing nominations is April 20. The process of nominations has picked up momentum in Karnataka, with senior leaders from all the key electoral players in the southern state filing their papers. The Assembly polls will be held on May 10 and the results will be announced on May 13. The Congress is seeking to oust the BJP from power in the southern state, while JD(S) stands as a tough challenger.
BENGALURU: With the political temperature rising in Karnataka for the May 10 assembly polls, the BJP has sharpened its attack on the Congress with Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai stating that the opposition party has shown special love for Lingayat community after the elections were announced and pursued "divide and rule policy". BJP president JP Nadda, who was in Karnataka, also attacked the Congress and accused its leader and former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah of being "patron" of PFI.

"Former CM Siddaramaiah from Congress party withdrew cases against PFI, released 1,700 PFI activists from jail...Siddaramaiah is their patron...," Nadda said in Hubballi. The Centre banned the Popular Front of India (PFI) in September last year. The Congress on Tuesday announced its candidate against Chief Minister Bommai from Shiggaon. The party has fielded Mohammed Yousuf Savanur from the seat. The party announced seven candidates on Tuesday and fielded former Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar from Hubli-Dharwad-Central.

Jagadish Shettar's resignation from BJP and his joining Congress on Monday has made Hubballi-Dharwad Central a key battle in the assembly polls. Shettar, a six-time MLA, represented the seat in the outgoing assembly and was keen to be given a ticket from the constituency. He is the second senior leader from the Lingayat community to leave the ruling BJP and join Congress in less than a week. Former Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister Laxman Savadi had joined the Congress on Friday.

Basavaraj Bommai said voters from the Lingayat community "are vigilant and "have taken right decision when required". "Lingayat voters in Karnataka are vigilant and they have always taken the right decision when required. Congress Party has shown special love for them (Lingayat) after the Assembly elections were announced but it`s the same party which tried to divide the Lingayats and Veerashaivas. The people have not forgotten the divide-and-rule policy of the Congress party," Bommai told reporters.

"All those leaders who joined Congress during the election would not make any impact on the BJP`s prospects. This time, the BJP will win more seats than in the 2018 Assembly polls," he added. Nadda, who also interacted with intellectuals in Dharwad, slammed the Congress saying that the party that "divided the country for seven decades is now itself divided."

He said that in the 70 years of Congress rule, there was only division. "In Tamil Nadu, 60 years back, they (Congress) were uprooted, till then they haven't returned in the State. In Kerala, they used to rule, but now they have shrunk from there too. In Karnataka, the fight is going on," Nadda said.

"You (Congress) were (in government) in Andhra Pradesh, in Telangana, you ruled both the States and now you have been wiped out from both the States," he added. He also spoke of the country`s development and foreign policy under the Modi government and referred to the de-hyphenation of India and Pakistan. "Whenever any country spoke of India, it used to say `India-Pakistan` together. Today, none of the countries mentions Pakistan, when it speaks of India. It`s because India moved ahead and Pakistan remained where it was," he said.

BJP`s chief is on a two-day visit to the southern state. Union Home Minister Amit Shah will embark on a visit to Karnataka from April 21. He will be in Davanagere on April 21 and in Devanahalli on April 22. Shah is expected to attend Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organisational meetings in the run-up to the polls. Sources said Shah will meet the top BJP leaders in the state and hold a core group meeting. Shah will also chair a meeting of the Election Campaign Committee and give his inputs to the team. He is also likely to chair a meeting of the Election Management Committee. Meanwhile, former Congress MP B V Nayak has quit the party, after being denied a ticket to Devadurga constituency. Ticket has been given to his brother`s wife.
Mumbai: Actors Varun Dhawan and Samantha Ruth Prabhu, on Tuesday, attended the grand premiere of the upcoming action thriller series `Citadel`.The duo was seen twinning in black outfits. The `Bhediya` actor donned a black t-shirt paired with matching jeans, boots and a jacket. Samantha, on the other hand, looked gorgeous in a black co-ord set. Samantha donned a Bulgari neckpiece and bracelet with the outfit. Varun and Samanta were seen posing with the director duo Raj and DK.

Soon after the celebs arrived at the grand premiere, several pictures and videos started surfacing on social media. 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."

Varun and Samantha will be seen in the Indian adaptation of the series.
Apple CEO Tim Cook is on his visit to India to inaugurate India's first Apple stores in Mumbai and Delhi. On Wednesday, he was in Delhi to inaugurate the company's first brand showroom in Delhi's Saket Mall. Later, he met various ministers of the Indian government, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, and also Railways, Communications, Electronics & Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. During his meeting with the Railway Minister of India, Tim Cook was presented with a scale model of the India's semi-high speed train, the Vande Bharat Express.

"Met with Tim Cook, CEO, Apple. Discussed deepening Apples engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports, app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women. Jointly charting a long-term and strong relationship," tweeted Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

Met with @tim_cook, CEO, Apple. Discussed deepening Apples engagement in India across manufacturing, electronics exports,

app economy, skilling, sustainability and job creation especially for women. Jointly charting a long-term and strong relationship. pic.twitter.com/L7KVPjq8fk  Ashwini Vaishnaw (@AshwiniVaishnaw) April 19, 2023

The made-in-India train is the fastest long-distance train in the country, with a top speed of 180 kmph. Vande Bharat Express is also the India's first fully electrified high speed train running without a locomotive engine.

On the other hand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will flag off India's 15th and Kerala's first Vande Bharat Express on April 25, 2023, during his two-days visit to the Southern most state of India. The Vande Bharat Express will run on Thiruvananthapuram to Kasaragod route.

Recently, Congress MP Shashi Tharoor tweeted and shared his happiness over the commencement of Vande Bharat Express in his home state, from where he was elected an MP for the Lok Sabha. The politician quoted the whole exercise as Beyond Politics and showed his interest in joining the flagging-off ceremony of the train.

Shashi Tharoor wrote, Recalling my tweets of fourteen months ago suggesting #VandeBharat trains for Kerala. Delighted that @AshwiniVaishnaw has done just that. Looking forward to attending @narendramodis flagging off of the first train from Thiruvananthapuram on 25th. Progress must be beyond politics.
New Delhi: Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra's upcoming directorial venture 'Afwaah', starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Bhumi Pednekar, will have a theatrical release on May 5, the makers announced Wednesday.

Billed as a quirky thriller, the movie is produced by filmmaker Anubhav Sinha's production banner Benaras Mediaworks. "If you run, it will follow you. If you hide, it will find you... An #Afwaah will never stop chasing you... Releasing in Cinemas on 5th May, 2023," the studio posted on its social media handles.

The trailer shows Sumeet as a politician who aspires for high office. His plans go awry when his fiancee, played by Bhumi, runs away. She meets Nawazuddin during her escape and rumours about them eloping spiral. An angry Sumeet sets on their chase and revive his political career. Check out the trailer below:

Bhumi also shared the trailer on her social media account and wrote, "You can try to escape, but the chase never stopsEk Afwaah aapki zindagi palat sakti hai." The film's screenplay has been written by Sudhir along with Nisarg Mehta and Shiva Shankar Bajpai. The film is set to release in theatres on May 5.

'Afwaah' also features actors Sharib Hashmi, Sumit Kaul, Sumeet Vyas, Rockey Raina and TJ Bhanu in pivotal roles. It is co-produced by Dhrub Kumar Dubey and Sagar Shirgaonkar.
New Delhi: The Sudanese ambassador to India, Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain, has stated that the request of the Indian government for the evacuation of its nationals from Sudan is currently under consideration by the authorities. The country has been grappling with major conflicts as the army and paramilitary forces clash. Speaking to our diplomatic correspondent Siddhant Sibbal he said, 'We have received understand the request of the Indian Government to evacuate their nationals. It is under discussion and consideration by authorities in Khartoum and they are going to decide the best way to make it possible.'

According to Indian government data, around 3,000 Indians are in the country. "We want to assure the Indian government that the competent authorities are taking all necessary measures to protect foreigners, including Indian nationals in Sudan," said Ambassador Elhusain even as logistics issues remain, including the international airport in the capital being damaged.

Ambassador Elhusain also spoke about the current situation in the country, the ceasefire, and the attacks on diplomats.

Transcripts from exclusive interview with Ambassador Elhusain:

Siddhant Sibbal: What is the current situation in the country?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: I will give you a background of the unfortunate events that have happened. It started on the 15th, when the rebel forces attacked the Sudanese armed forces, and attacked residents of the President and that attack expanded to Khartoum international airport, Radio and TV station, and the national one. Most important thing is that this attack took place on the same day when there was a meeting scheduled between President Fattah al Burhan and the leader of the Rebel Forces. The Sudanese armed forces responded accordingly and were successful in responding and defeating the rebels.

Siddhant Sibbal: How worrisome is the situation in the country especially in the national capital Khartoum?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: These clashes take place in the capital Khartoum, and the Sudanese Armed Forces adopting a combat strategy, which is very sensitive to civilians, and the Sudanese armed forces are fulfilling their commitments and maintaining the security and stability of the country. But at the same time, having in mind this battle, these clashes are taking place in densely urban areas in the city and that is why these Sudanese armed forces are very keen to respond to the rebels and to defeat them at the same time to save the lives of the civilians.

Siddhant Sibbal: Do you expect any kind of international support to make sure that the current crisis can be resolved?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: Yes, as you have maybe the international committees, African Union, and other countries, they have expressed their interest and availability and they send the calls to both parties to stop the clashes. But our government thinks that this is a battle, in which we are defending Sudan and we think that this is an internal issue, and it should be left to Sudanese people, to solve, to solve the problem between themselves and our government is completely not accepting any sort of international interference, so no international interference.

Siddhant Sibbal: So, no international interference?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: No international interference, This is a Sudanese issue, an internal issue, and it should be solved by the Sudanese themselves.

Siddhant Sibbal: And what do you have to say about the Quartet, which is the US, UK, Saudi Arabia and UAE role?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: They are all active, and active in Sudanese politics for the last few years. And all the effort is appreciated. And, we want to say that all the efforts by all our friends and our Sudanese fractions, to convince the rebels, to integrate into the Armed Forces fail. It's still mainly due to the refusal of the commander and the rebels.

Siddhant Sibbal: So if we talk about the situation in the city, are the diplomatic missions safe, reports have come that the diplomatic missions have been harmed.

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: I think our concern or authorities in Sudan is very aware of their responsibility to protect the employees of all foreign diplomatic missions in Khartoum. And we have taken the necessary measures to ensure their safety, but in such a situation definitely, small incidents will have been here and there. We express our sorrow for all our friends, our embassies, diplomats in Sudan, and our friends out of Sudan for those minor forces, but I think they understand the situation and the complications and they will be able, to understand that we are doing our best, our utmost but as I said, in such a situation, minor and small incidents will happen and sometimes are not avoidable

Siddhant Sibbal: so are you sending a message to European Union because I believe the European Union ambassador was harmed?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: Of course, we're very sorry for that. We believe those diplomatic missions are in Sudan to help Sudan and its development plans and other bilateral and multilateral engagements. And when any of them has been like a target for any such attack, even if it is minor, we feel very sorry for that. But we understand this is sometime during this critical abnormal situation.

Siddhant Sibbal: What about the situation of foreign nationals that has been a big worry, because a lot of foreign nationals in the capital city, so what message would you like to send to them and the various foreign governments who are very anxious about their nationals?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: In Sudan, the Sudanese forces, and armed forces are trying to do their best in saving the civilians, whether they are Sudanese nationals or foreign nationals. And regarding foreign nationals, I think, more protection, and more attention should be given to them. They are our guests, and we are very keen to ensure their safety. My message to the international community and the foreigners in Sudan is that this battle is about finished, and it will not take long. It is only a matter of few days and things will come back to normal and they will be very safe, whether they want to stay at their home, or they want to leave

Siddhant Sibbal: I believe that there was a ceasefire that was also looked into, what happened during that ceasefire, is it holding?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: It was first announced yesterday for 24 hours but unfortunately, it did not hold, and rebels violated the ceasefire as soon as it started.

Siddhant Sibbal: So so it has been violated. So it looks difficult. do you think that any ceasefire will hold given the current situation and as you pointed out, the rebels responsible for breaking the ceasefire?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: From the government side, we express our view, we understand the importance of this humanitarian ceasefire to make the civilians able to get their necessities, things from the market. But as I told you, it was violated immediately by the rebels. It is very important to have a ceasefire, but rebels violated it.

Siddhant Sibbal: What is the situation of the Indians in the country?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: I can't describe their situation as indifferent to other foreigners, nationals, or events of any citizen. It is obvious that all these people are staying and living under the stress of this war, and these clashes and I have sympathy with them. But I just want to make sure to assure the Indian government that that is competent authorities are taking all necessary measures to protect foreigners, including Indian nationals in Sudan and we will do our best to decide to stay or leave the country possible as soon as situations change.

Siddhant Sibbal: So when it comes to the Indian nationals, any plans you have been discussing has the Indian government reached out to you for the evacuation of the Indian nationals?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: Yes, I met officials of the Minister of External Affairs yesterday in Delhi. And we discussed these topics, and these issues and we are exchanging information the about the Indian nationals stranded, and we have some ideas and plans to make their return to their home possible in the coming days.

Siddhant Sibbal: So there is a plan which is being chalked out for the evacuation of Indian nationals:

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: We have received and understand the request of the Indian Government to evacuate their nationals. It is under discussion and consideration by authorities in Khartoum and they are going to decide the best way to make it possible.

Siddhant Sibbal: How many countries have reached out to the Sudanese government for the evacuation of their national standard in the country?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: I cant tell the exact number, but 3-4 countries may be more or less.

Siddhant Sibbal: How do you see Indias role, Do you see India can play a role in terms of anything which the Sudanese government might think of?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: Of course, we are counting on our strong bilateral relationship with India. India has always had a chance or opportunity to play an important role in its relations with Sudan. Our relationship has always been very strong throughout the last case that is since the independence of Sudan in 1956 and during the Non-Aligned Moment, India was playing an important role and even after the disappearance of the moment by the end of the Cold War, in the 90s of last century, but India still maintained strong relations with friends in Africa, especially Sudan. India is an important country, and India is achieving the highest gross rates in the world, It comes under the Top 5 biggest economies in the world and in all these circumstances, India is an important country to Sudan and its a possibility that India will help Sudan to overcome its difficulties in future, and especially we know that there is a serious interest between our talks to promote and enhance economic trade relations and also we good cooperation on an international level as we look India as an important country to Sudan in these times and future.

Siddhant Sibbal: Now coming back to my question on the evacuation bid, how precarious and dangerous it is right now when it comes to evacuation as there are still fights going on, please give perspective to our viewers on how dangerous it could be right now for any mission to take place.

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: Thats what I meant when I told you about the requests that were conveyed to our- to Sudan, to understand and answer the question about the readiness of the situation of Sudan for this evacuation operation. But as you know, our international airport is badly damaged, as airports outside Khartoum are not sure if they are ready, or if the runways are in shape if they can receive planes or not. Number two, also we need to understand and assess the security situation on the ground, as there are clashes in the streets and around the airport, around many government departments. So logistics of people who want to be evacuated from there are staying now at the airport and aircraft is still a question. But as I said in the beginning, we are studying and asking our authorities, to tell us about the correct time to make this operation happen.

Siddhant Sibbal: Last question to you, its about geopolitics. We saw the conflict in Europe, and there are a lot of conflicts, in Africa. Do you think the world fails to understand conflicts in Africa as compared to conflicts in Europe?

Abdalla Omer Bashir Elhusain: Maybe the comparison is not correct in general, the conflict in Europe and Ukraine is between big powers, with Russia on the side and the USA along with Western countries on the other side, but what I am trying to say yes definitely any country, any region will pay more attention to the problems and conflicts happening in its surrounding. Thats why we see the countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, USA and Britain are more involved in the Sudan conflict. Our neighbours and the African Union are also involved and expressed their worries about the situation in Sudan. IGAD decided to send the presidents of Kenya, South Sudan, and Djibouti. This is all to reflect the engagement of the regional countries and neighbours. Even these visits are not possible because of the unsuitable situation in Sudan.
New Delhi: Indian Army personnel will learn Chinese at Tezpur University in Assam, where an MoU was signed on Wednesday, news agency IANS quoted defence sources as saying. "A course in the Chinese language will improve in-house Mandarin expertise and empower army personnel to engage with their Chinese counterparts as needed," news agency IANS quoted Lt. Col. Mahendra Rawat as saying. He stated that with improved Chinese language skills, the armymen will be able to communicate their points much more effectively.

"It will also help in better exchange of viewpoints and understanding of the Chinese People Liberation Army`s (PLA) version of their activities during various interactions, including commander-level talks, flag meetings, joint exercises and border personnel meetings," IANS quoted Rawat as saying.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Assam's Tezpur University on 19th April for training the Indian Army personnel in Chinese language.



The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks and will be conducted at Tezpur University. The MoU was pic.twitter.com/Pk86zWmQVt  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023

Rawat said that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Indian Army and Tezpur University on Wednesday for training the Indian Army personnel in Chinese language. The course will be for a duration of 16 weeks.

Tezpur University was established in 1994 by an act of Parliament as a central university. It is one the pioneers in the northeastern region in teaching foreign languages, including Chinese.

India-China Tawang Clash

The troops of the Indian and Chinese armies clashed along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Arunachal Pradesh's Tawang sector on December 9, 2023.

The Army did not mention the number of troops involved in the face-off and those injured in the incident. However, several media reports had claimed that there were more than 200 Chinese soldiers involved and they were carrying spiked clubs and sticks, and injuries on the Chinese side could be higher.

In a statement in Parliament, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said that the Indian Army bravely stopped the Chinese People`s Liberation Army (PLA) troops from encroaching on Indian territory, and forced them to withdraw to their posts.

The Tawang scuffle was the first since deadly clashes in June 2020 when Indian and Chinese troops were involved in hand-to-hand combat in the Galwan Valley of Ladakh, abutting the Chinese-held Tibetan plateau.

The relations between India and China have nosedived significantly following the fierce clash in the Galwan Valley in June 2020 that marked the most serious military conflict between the two nations in decades.
Bengaluru: Congress heavyweights including national president Mallikarjun Kharge, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, state chief D K Shivakumar, LoP Siddaramaiah, Shashi Tharoor, former BJP leader and deputy chief minister Jagadish Shettar are among those who have been named in the partys list of 40-star campaigners for the May 10 Assembly elections in Karnataka.

The grand old party on Wednesday unveiled a list of 40-star campaigners for the Karnataka Assembly elections. Among the other prominent names in the party`s list of campaigners are Congress general secretary KC Venugopal, spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala, general secretary in-charge, Communication, Jairam Ramesh, Bengaluru Rural MP DK Suresh, Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu, and former Maharastra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan.

Gehlot In, Pilot Out

While Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot is also among the list of 40-star campaigners for the upcoming election, Sachin Pilot - another influential Rajasthan Congress leader - has not been included in the list. Sachil Pilot had last week staged a protest against his own government in the state, alleging that the Ashok Gehlot-led government failed to investigate corruption cases during the BJP regime in Rajasthan. The infighting in the party has again become a major concern for the Congress as the state will witness the crucial assembly polls this year. Pilot, the former Deputy CM of Rajasthan, is at loggerheads with Gehlot ever since the government came to power in 2018.

#KarnatakaAssemblyElection2023 | Congress issues a list of star campaigners for the upcoming election.



Party president Mallikarjun Kharge, UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, state chief DK Shivakumar, LoP Siddaramaiah, Jagadish Shettar, Shashi pic.twitter.com/kQARlZZ4aL  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023

Siddaramaiah Files Nomination From Varuna, Plays 'Last Election' Card

Earlier on Wednesday, senior Congress leader and former CM Siddaramaiah filed his nomination for the state polls. Speaking to reporters after officially entering the fray, he said the Congress was a secular party and won`t seek votes on the basis of caste. Siddaramaiah filed his nomination from the Varuna Assembly constituency.

"Congress is a secular party. We are not seeking votes on the basis of caste. We are hopeful of garnering votes from across communities, including Linagayts, Vokkaligas and others," Siddaramaiah told reporters.

Siddaramaiah, who is the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Karnataka Assembly, said the upcoming state elections will be his last electoral battle as he will retire from politics after. "I am contesting from Varuna constituency as my native village falls within the precincts of this Assembly segment. This is going to be my last election. Thereafter, I will retire from electoral politics," Siddaramaiah told ANI earlier.

The Congress leader added that while he will still be in active politics post the Karnataka polls, he won`t accept any party posts that would require him to shift base to Delhi.

The last date for filing nominations is April 20. The process of nominations has picked up momentum in Karnataka, with senior leaders from all the key electoral players in the southern state filing their papers. The counting of votes for the Karnataka Assembly will take place on May 13.
New Delhi: The trust in charge of the Ayodhya Ram temple project has decided that the Lord Ram idol to be installed at the under-construction temple will be in the form of an archer and carved out of "krishna shila" or black stone from Karnataka. Arun Yogiraj, a well-known sculptor from Mysuru, will carve the five-foot-tall idol. The Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust finalised the specifications of the idol during a two-day meeting that ended late Tuesday evening here. "The new Lord Ram idol, in his five-year-old avatar, will stand five feet tall." "The idol will be in a standing posture, armed with a bow and arrow," news agency PTI quoted trust member Swami Teerth Prasannyacharya as saying on Wednesday.

"Arun Yogiraj will carve the idol out of stone brought to Ayodhya from Karnataka's Karkar and Hegge Deven Kote villages.... The sculptor will finalise the stone which the idol will be carved out of," he added while speaking to PTI.

Also Read: 'Ram Lalla's idol will be installed on..': Ayodhya Ram temple trust gen secretary makes BIG announcement

Trust general secretary Champat Rai said they selected "krishna shila" following consultations among seers, geologists, sculptors, experts of Hindu scriptures and trust office-bearers.

Devotees are eagerly waiting for the new idol of Ram Lalla that is to be placed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on the festival of Makar Sankranti next year, he said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi performed the "bhoomi pujan" for the construction of the temple on August 2, 2020. The temple is being constructed following the Supreme Court verdict in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid land dispute.

In its ruling on November 9, 2019, the Supreme Court mandated that a Ram temple be built on the 2.77-acre site where the Babri Masjid once stood and that five acres be set aside for the construction of a mosque within the district of Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.

Ayodhya Ram Temple Opening Date

Earlier this year in January, Union Home Minister Amit Shah announced that the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya will be ready by January 1 next year (2024). Adding to Shahs statement, the temples trust general secretary Champat Rai stated that the Ram Mandirs construction will be completed on time.

"As per the plan, the idol of Ram Lalla will be installed in the sanctum sanctorum of the temple on Makar Sankranti (January 14) in 2024," said the general secretary of Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust set up for the construction and management of the temple.
New Delhi: Reacting to Trinamool Congress leader Mukul Roy`s wish to return to the BJP fold, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has said that she and her party has nothing to do with the latters decision to return to the saffron party and its totally up to him to decide about his political future. Mukul Roy is a BJP MLA and it's totally up to him. You should ask Subhranshu, his son, who has registered a missing complaint which is very serious. This is a very small issue, we don't care, the West Bengal CM said while speaking to ANI.

Mukul Roy is a BJP MLA and it's totally up to him. You should ask Subhranshu, his son, who registered a missing complaint which is very serious. But this is a very small issue, we don't care: West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to ANI, on Mukul Roy saying that he was never with TMC pic.twitter.com/KHJqArH4zX  ANI (@ANI) April 19, 2023

CM Mamata was referring to Mukul Roys statement that he was never with the TMC and will continue to work with BJP. The Bengal Chief Minister, however, said that the state administration will look into the missing complaint filed by veteran politician Mukul Roy's son Subhrangshu about his father.

Roys family has claimed that he is suffering from dementia and Parkinson's disease after he dramatically surfaced in Delhi after the missing person complaint was filed. In Delhi, Roy claimed that he is a "BJP MP and MLA" and wants to meet Amit Shah. "Mukul Roy is BJP's MLA, it's his affair if he wants to go to Delhi," CM Mamata Banerjee said.

BJP Wont Cross 200-Mark In 2024 Lok Sabha Polls: Mamata

The Trinamool Congress supremo also claimed that the BJP will not be able to get more than 200 seats in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. Targeting the party ruling at the Centre, the West Bengal Chief Minister said she will resign if it is proven that she dialled Union Home Minister Amit Shah after TMC lost the national party status.

Banerjee made these remarks while speaking to reporters at West Bengal's state secretariat where she added that her party's name will remain All India Trinamool Congress.

"I will resign if it is proven that I called up Amit Shah over TMC's national party status," she told reporters, rejecting Bengal's leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari's claim that she had made the call. Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that Banerjee had dialled Shah after the Election Commission revoked TMC's national party status to request him to repeal the decision.

Reacting to Adhikari's assertion, TMC also hit out saying there is not even an iota of truth in it. ''Suvendu Adhikari is a habitual liar. We have seen how he has earlier brazenly lied about several political developments. Having a national party status or not is notional, it does not impact the growth of the TMC," party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.

BJP Won't Take Rejected Leaders: Suvendu Adhikari

Meanwhile, Leader of the Opposition in West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari has said that his party is not interested in inducting rejected leaders while referring to Mukul Roy.

"We are working on strengthening the party on the booth level. Party is working to bring the non-BJP voters to its fold. We don`t need to induct any leaders, especially those who have been rejected," Adhikari told the news agency IANS. Adhikari said those, who left the BJP after May 2021 when the party workers were being "tortured" in the state, cannot be a BJP man.

Mukul Roy had won the 2021 West Bengal assembly elections on a BJP ticket after defecting from TMC but had later crossed back to the party he helped found complaining of ill-treatment at the hands of the saffron party's leadership.
By Philip Blenkinsop

BRUSSELS (Reuters) -Heineken maintained its forecast for 2023 profit growth with the risk of slower economic expansion in the Asia-Pacific region offset by greater resilience among beer drinkers in Europe.

The world's second-largest brewer expects its operating profit this year to increase by a mid- to high- single-digit percentage.

"We see signals of a relatively resilient Europe and risks of slower economic growth in Asia Pacific, thus performance across markets may be different than anticipated," Heineken said.

The Dutch brewer reported a steeper than expected decline in first-quarter beer sales on Wednesday, with a sharp decline in major markets Nigeria and Vietnam, but price hikes and some consumer shift to more expensive beers meant revenue expanded in line with the market consensus.

The brewer - whose namesake brand is Europe's top-selling beer - said consumer demand in Europe and the Americas was holding up better than expected, but results in the Asia Pacific and the region including Africa were "disappointing".

Overall beer volumes fell 3.0% in the first quarter, below the average expectation of a 1.9% decline in a company-compiled poll.

Heineken shares were up 2.5% at 102.40 euros in early trading, making them one of the top performers in the FTSEurofirst 300.

The Dutch company, whose brands include Tiger and Sol, said it had built stock levels ahead of the New Year in Vietnam, one of its largest markets, after a steep post-COVID recovery, but momentum stalled due to economic slowdown.

In Nigeria, another large Heineken market, volumes fell sharply due to a transition to new bank notes that left many consumers short of cash. Heineken expected the situation to improve, with the validity of old notes now extended.

Revenue before exceptional items grew 8.9% to 6.38 billion euros ($6.99 billion), exactly in line with expectations.

($1 = 0.9132 euros)

(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Andrew Heavens, Louise Heavens and Jane Merriman)
New Delhi: West Bengal Leader of Opposition (LoP) Suvendu Adhikari on Tuesday lashed out at the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC government and demanded that the central agencies probe the Chief Minister under the Saradha scam. Reacting to a fresh notice by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to TMC National General Secretary Abhishek Banerjee, Adhikari called the agency`s action "prompt" and "proactive".

CBI on Tuesday asked Abhishek Banerjee to appear before the agency in connection with the teacher`s recruitment scam in the state. Speaking to ANI, here in Singur, Hooghly, the BJP leader said, "CBI is doing a very fine and pro-active job.

Despite so much non-cooperation from the state government, the agency is doing prompt work. TMC MLA Jiban Krishna Saha tried to snatch his phone from the officers and tried to destroy the evidence. In wake of this, CBI`s action is correct and this should continue, or else Mamata and her men will destroy all the evidence".He further demanded that the central agencies probe Mamata Banerjee in connection with the alleged Saradha scam.

"There are several cases going on against Abhishek Banerjee. I just demand the central agencies take action against the Bua-Bhatija (Mamata and Abhishek Banerjee). CBI has enough evidence to probe Mamata under the Sharda scam but it is not investigating. If Delhi CM Kejriwal can be questioned over the excise policy case, why can`t Mamata?" Adhikari asked.

The Bengal LoP further added, "Similarly, there is much evidence against Abhishek Banerjee, and regarding the involvement of his several family members. The people of Bengal are asking why action is not being taken against him. Also, I am raising this issue throughout the rallies and campaigns. If I am lying, why isn`t he (Abhishek Banerjee) not filing a defamation case against me".

On being asked about the speculation regarding TMC leader Mukul Roy joining the BJP, Adhikari straightaway said that the party doesn`t need "such people"."We are not interested in such people. We are only interested in strengthening our booths under `Mera Booth Sabse Majboot (My booth is the strongest)`.

Our MPs, MLAs, and other leaders are working to bring the non-BJP voters in favor of our party. Bengal BJP is very self-independent and we don`t need any other leader," Adhikari said. He also attacked the West Bengal CM over her demanding the resignation of Union Home Minister Amit Shah and said that she is doing it under "fear psychosis"." She (Mamata Banerjee) called Amit Shah gunda, and me a dacoit.

She is giving such unethical statements only due to fear psychosis. She called the Home Minister four times in the last month requesting to look at the national status of her party. But, the Home Minister clearly told her, that ECI is an independent and constitutional body and works as per the laws," Adhikari further said.

The BJP leader also said that TMC has not faced an "active opposition" like the BJP in the state under its rule in Bengal."TMC has not seen an active opposition like us (BJP) in its rule. Both CPM and Congress had settings with her. But, we have been constantly raising public issues, and demanding an investigation against every corruption allegation. Our 70 MLAs are enough to fight TMC`s 200 MLAs. Everyone in TMC is a thief and will go to jail," Adhikari said.
KOLKATA: Veteran TMC leader Mukul Roy, who kept the political pundits guessing over his next move, on Tuesday night said he is still a BJP legislator and would like to meet Union Home Minister Amit Shah as he is keen on returning to the saffron camp. Roy, who on Monday night travelled to New Delhi for "some personal work", even as his family initially claimed that he was "missing", only to later accuse the BJP of indulging in dirty politics using the TMC leader who is unwell and not in the "right frame of mind".

"I am a BJP legislator. I want to be with the BJP. The party has made arrangements for my stay here. I want to meet Amit Shah and speak to (party president) J P Nadda,? he told a Bengali news channel late on Tuesday evening. The founding member of the TMC switched to the BJP in 2017. He won as a saffron party candidate in the 2011 West Bengal assembly election. He, however, returned to the Trinamool Congress soon after without resigning from the House.

"I was not keeping well for quite some time, so I was away from politics. But right now, I am fine and would again be active in politics," Roy said. He said he is "100 per cent confident that he would never be associated with the TMC". Roy also had a piece of advice for his son Subharanghsu. "He too should join the BJP as it would suit him best," he said.

The drama over Roy's whereabouts evolved since late Monday evening when the family members of the TMC leader claimed he was "untraceable". After reaching Delhi last night, Roy told reporters that he reached the national capital but had "no specific agenda". "I have come to Delhi. There is nothing specific agenda. I have been an MP for several years. Can I not come to Delhi? Earlier, I used to come to Delhi regularly. I am an MLA and MP of Delhi," he had said.

The former railway minister's son Subhrangshu had told PTI that his father was "untraceable" and "missing" since late Monday evening. As there was speculation that Roy could rejoin the BJP, Subhrangshu, who too had switched over to the saffron camp, said his father is "extremely unwell" and suffers from "dementia and Parkinson's disease".

"My father is not in the right frame of mind. I would request everyone not to do politics with an unwell person. After he went missing, I had also filed a police complaint last night," he told reporters. Roy's son also claimed that his father had undergone "brain surgery" last month and failed to recognise even family members and close associates.

Subhrangshu claimed when he came to know on Monday night that the TMC leader was travelling to Delhi by air, he had requested the authorities to de-board him, but by then, "the flight had taken off". "The chief minister herself had called up to inquire about my father's well-being," Subhrangshu, who too had returned to the TMC in 2021 along with his father, said.

Speculations over Roy rejoining the BJP gained momentum after BJP national secretary Anupam Hazra made a cryptic single word Facebook post: "Comeback".

When contacted by a news channel, Hazra said, "It's time to wait and watch. Please wait for one or two days; everything will be clear very soon". Reacting to Hazra's comments, Subhranghsu said it was an attempt to malign the TMC and its national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee.

"This is shameful that some people have stooped so low and are doing politics over my father's visit to New Delhi. This is an attempt to malign the TMC and our party's national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee," he said. State parliamentary affairs minister and TMC leader Sovandeb Chattopadhyay accused the BJP of indulging in dirty politics. "I have known Mukul Roy for the last several decades. He is so ill that he doesn't recognise people and cannot complete a sentence properly. Now If the BJP wants to pursue politics by using an unwell person, we condemn such dirty politics," he said.

Senior BJP leader Suvendu Adhikari, however, said that the saffron camp is not interested in "inducting Roy back into the party." Meanwhile, the Airport police station under the Bidhannagar police commissionerate questioned Pijush Kanodia, a BJP leader and once a close associate of Mukul Roy, during his stint in the saffron camp. "Following a complaint of Mukul Roy's son, we have questioned one local leader of South Dum Dum for his alleged involvement in the matter. We have also sent a couple of officers to New Delhi to find out what has happened," a senior police official said.

Roy joined the BJP in 2017 following differences with the TMC leadership. He was made BJP national vice president in 2020. He won from the Krishnanagar North assembly seat on a BJP ticket in 2021 and returned to the TMC just a month after the results were announced, complaining of "ill-treatment" by the saffron party. He, however, didn't resign as an MLA.

Since his return to the TMC, he has remained away from the public glare. Roy also resigned as the chairman of the Public Accounts Committee in the West Bengal assembly last year, citing ill health.
West Bengal Chief Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday said that the Bharatiya Janata Party will not be able to cross 200 seats in the upcoming 2024 Lok Sabha polls. Coming down heavily at the BJP, the Trinamool Congress chief said "during Bengal elections in 2021, they (BJP) said '200 paar' but in Delhi (2024 polls) they won't even reach 200." "BJP is in power, thats why they do whatever they want. But they dont understand power is temporary, chair may come and go but democracy will continue forever. The Constitution will continue forever, there may be some amendments. But this constitution cannot be bulldozed. Thats why they (BJP) will not win the upcoming 2024 election, news agency ANI quoted Banerjee as saying.

Mamata Opens Up On Stripping Of TMC's National Party Tag

Banerjee, who was speaking to reporters at West Bengal's state secretariat, said that her party's name will remain the All India Trinamool Congress. "I will resign if it is proven that I called up Amit Shah over TMC's national party status," she said, rejecting Bengal's leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari's claim that she had made the call.

Adhikari on Tuesday claimed that Banerjee had dialled Shah after the Election Commission revoked TMC's national party status to request him to repeal the decision.

Banerjee, also the TMC supremo, said, "It was the norm to review the national party status of all parties after 10 years. That would mean the next review should have been in 2026. But they did it in 2019."

"My party's name will remain the 'All India Trinamool Congress'. If the BJP has any problem, they can approach the Election Commission and we will approach the common people," she thundered.

The ECI withdrew the national party status of the TMC, Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) last week. Reacting to Adhikari's assertion, TMC on Tuesday also said there is not even an iota of truth in it.

"Suvendu Adhikari is a habitual liar. We have seen how he has earlier brazenly lied about several political developments. Having a national party status or not is notional, it does not impact the growth of the TMC," party spokesperson Kunal Ghosh had said.

The TMC was formed on January 1, 1998, after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee left the Congress to form her own political party.

After two unsuccessful attempts in 2001 and 2006, the party came to power by defeating the Left Front in 2011, riding the crest of massive public outrage against the communists.

The party, in recent years, has tried to expand its footprint across the country to pose a direct challenge to the BJP in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. However, the efforts did not bear much fruit.
Reasons why people are pursuing yoga teacher training courses in Rishikesh

Yoga is in the air of Rishikesh. There are many yoga schools and ashrams in Rishikesh, and the city is rich in yoga and spiritual heritage. Whether you want a 200 hour yoga teacher training or experience in learning yoga, everything is easily possible in Rishikesh. Here are some reasons why people choose Rishikesh for their yoga teacher training:

Authenticity and Tradition

Rishikesh is a city famous for its authenticity and traditional approach to yoga. It is a place that has many ancient temples and ashrams where yoga has been practised for years.

The institutions focus on traditional yoga practices, such as pranayama, meditation, asanas, and yoga teacher training programs. These courses are frequently taught by experienced yoga teachers who have devoted their lives to practising yoga.

Spiritual and Transformative Experience

Yoga teacher training courses in Rishikesh are more than just learning the physical postures of yoga. They are also designed to be a transformative experience that leads to spiritual growth and self-awareness.

Many students have completed these yoga teacher training courses, and because of the movement, they feel a deeper connection with themselves and the world around them. Positive vibes and natural surroundings of the spiritual energy have impacted students and developed a deeper understanding of yoga and themselves.

Affordable Cost

Compared to other parts of the world, yoga teacher training courses in Rishikesh are more affordable. And because of this reason, many students travel to Rishikesh for cost-effective training.

The cost is meagre for living in Rishikesh, meaning students can save money on housing and food by receiving high-quality yoga teacher training. This has made Rishikesh an attractive destination for students from all over the world.

International Recognition

Apart from yoga, Rishikesh is one of the famous places that has become a globally recognised centre for yoga teacher training. International yoga organisations, such as Drishti yogshala, identify multiple yoga teacher training courses in Rishikesh. This recognition ensures that students who complete these courses can teach yoga anywhere.

Networking Opportunities

In Rishikesh, Yoga teacher training courses offer students the opportunity to connect with other yoga devotees and professionals worldwide.

This can lead to valuable networking opportunities and the possibility of collaborating with other yoga teachers on future projects with the help of yoga teacher training in Rishikesh. Also, many yoga schools in Rishikesh offer job placement assistance to their students, which can help them to kickstart their careers as yoga teachers.

Wide Range of Courses

Rishikesh offers various yoga teacher training courses or programs that fit students' needs and interests.

There are programs like 200-hour yoga teacher training, 300-hour yoga teacher training, Traditional 500-hour yoga teacher training, Hatha Yoga to more modern styles such as Vinyasa or Power Yoga; this variety and wide range of courses can only be found in Rishikesh and is reason why people are pursuing yoga teacher training courses in Rishikesh.

Many schools also offer specialised courses, such as Yoga Therapy or Ayurveda, which can help students to develop specific skills and knowledge in these areas.

Why is Rishikesh famous for yoga?

Rishikesh is a place that is also termed the yoga and meditation capital of the world. It is located in the Himalayas along the banks of the Ganges River; Rishikesh is a place that has given many things to India in many spiritual ways.

This is a place that is most spiritually connected to yoga, and this is one of the most historic towns, also known as Yoganagari, which means the City of Yoga. Rishikesh is a home place for many rishis and saints, and yoga is the backbone of Rishikesh.

In the history of yoga, the river banks and hills of the Himalayas were the places to practice yoga and asanas. Learning yoga was one of the most challenging tasks in history because achieving the peak of discipline, knowledge, practice, and meditation.

Conclusion

The popularity of yoga teacher training courses in Rishikesh can be attributed to various factors. Its authenticity, spiritual energy, affordability, international recognition, networking opportunities, and wide range of studies have made Rishikesh a global hub for yoga teacher training. As the world continues to embrace the benefits of yoga, Rishikesh will likely remain a popular destination for aspiring yoga teachers for many years.

(Above mentioned article is a Consumer Connect Initiative, This article is a paid publication and does not have journalistic/editorial involvement of IDPL, and IDPL claims no responsibility whatsoever.)
Mumbai: Amid intense speculations about Ajit Pawar joining the BJP along with a group of NCP leaders, Shiv Sena has warned that if it happens, then the Eknath Shinde-led faction will not be part of the government in Maharashtra. Talking to mediapersons in Mumbai on Tuesday, Shiv Sena spokesperson Sanjay Shirsat said that he remains confident that the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) will not go with the BJP directly.

NCP Is A Party That Betrays: Shiv Sena

"Our policy is clear about it. The NCP is a party that betrays. We will not be with the NCP even in power. If the BJP takes NCP with them, Maharashtra will not like it. We decided to move out (of the earlier undivided Shiv Sena led by Uddhav Thackeray) because people didn't like us going with the Congress and NCP," he said.

Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not said anything which means he doesn't want to be in the NCP. "We left the Congress-NCP (which was part of the previous Maha Vikas Aghadi government) because we didn't want to be with them. Ajit Pawar doesn't have a free hand there. Therefore, if he leaves the NCP, we will welcome him. If he comes along with a group of NCP (leaders), we will not be in the government," the Shiv Sena leader said.

The Shiv Sena leader said that Ajit Pawar's displeasure is because his son Parth Pawar lost the election earlier. His displeasure has no connection with the case of a plea seeking disqualification of 16 Shiv Sena MLAs pending before the Supreme Court.

Shirsat was recently appointed spokesperson of the Shiv Sena-led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Parth Pawar was defeated in the 2019 Lok Sabha poll from the Maval constituency in Maharashtra.

"Ajit Pawar not being reachable is not a new thing. But his displeasure, which is being shown by the media, and our case (pending before the Supreme Court) has no relation. Ajit Pawar is disgruntled since his son Parth Pawar lost the election," Shirsat said.

"Ajit Pawar was held responsible for the oath ceremony held at dawn (in November 2019 with Devendra Fadnavis). After two-and-a-half years, Sharad Pawar said it was an experiment to revoke President's rule," he claimed. Shirsat said Ajit Pawar has not clarified this till date.

The Devendra Fadnavis-Ajit Pawar government formed in a hush-hush ceremony in November 2019 that lasted for three days. Shirsat said Ajit Pawar is a big leader and he will not talk easily about what is going on in his mind. He also slammed the Maha Vikas Aghadi's move to hold rallies in parts of the state, as a show of unity and strength.

"We have to search for Ajit Pawar's stand in the ongoing rallies of MVA. He could not speak at the rally in Nagpur. The party which has only 15 MLAs (referring to Uddhav Thackeray) is the key speaker and the one which has 54 MLAs is side-tracked. This is disrespect of Ajit Pawar," he said.

BJP Fuelling Speculation On Ajit Pawar's Next Move: NCP



Meanwhile, the Nationalist Congress Party on Wednesday accused the BJP of fuelling speculation of a split in the NCP ranks even after senior party leader Ajit Pawar clarified his position. NCP national spokesperson Clyde Crasto said Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde must ask the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) why it was trying to put so much "pressure" on him and his Shiv Sena.

Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajit Pawar on Tuesday said he would work for his party till he is alive and scotched speculation that he and a group of MLAs loyal to him might align with the ruling BJP. Pawar said is no truth in reports about any rift in the NCP and his joining hands with the BJP.

The NCP leader had also dismissed reports that he had taken the signatures of 40 of 53 MLAs of the NCP amid a buzz about his rumoured alliance with the BJP.
New Delhi: Popular Telugu actor-comedian Allu Ramesh breathed his last on Tuesday. According to reports, he suffered a cardiac arrest in his hometown, Visakhapatnam. The unfortunate news was shared on Facebook by director Anand Ravi. He was 52.

RIP ALLU RAMESH

Director Anand Ravi took to his social media page and wrote, "From day one u have been my biggest support. I can still hear your voice in my head. Ramesh garu, not able to digest your demise. You have touched so many hearts like mine. Miss you. om shanti."

Many of his industry colleagues and fans commented and extended their condolences on social media.

ALLU RAMESH MOVIE CAREER

Allu Ramesh kickstarted his career with theatre. He made his debut in Tollywood with the movie titled 'Chirujallu' and went on to star in almost 50 films. Some of his notable works include 'Tolu Bommalata,' 'Mathura Wines,' 'Veedhi,' 'Blade Babji,' 'Napoleon' and 'Kerintha'.

He was recently seen in the famous web series 'Maa Vidakulu' playing the father's role of the lead actress. His impeccable acting prowess and comic timing made him a lovable star among the masses. Movies like 'Napoleon' and 'Tholubommalata' earned him appreciation and recognition.

May his soul rest in peace
New Delhi: An Artificial Intelligence (AI) Generated Pic was given 1st Prize At the Sony World Photography Awards 2023, but the winner has said that he would not accept it.

German artist Boris Eldagsen, the creator of the AI Image titled 'Pseudomnesia: The Electrician,' thanked the jury for selecting his image, however he refused the awards saying 'something about this doesnt feel right.'

Thank you for selecting my image and making this a historic moment, as it is the first AI generated image to win in a prestigious international PHOTOGRAPHY competition. How many of you knew or suspected that it was AI generated? Something about this doesnt feel right, does it?," Eldagsen said.

Eldagsen AI Image features a black-and-white image of two women from various generations evoking Melancholia. Arguing further for not accepting the award, Eldagsen added that AI images and photography images are different entities and hence they should not compete with each other.

"AI images and photography should not compete with each other in an award like this. They are different entities. AI is not photography. Therefore I will not accept the award," he said.

Eldagsen said that a there needs to be a new debate on the society's paradigm of an ideal photography. He argued that there needs to be a categorical differentiation of what it wants to call a photography and what not.

"I applied as a cheeky monkey, to find out, if the competitions are prepared for AI images to enter. They are not.

We, the photo world, need an open discussion. A discussion about what we want to consider photography and what not. Is the umbrella of photography large enough to invite AI images to enter  or would this be a mistake? With my refusal of the award I hope to speed up this debate," Eldagsen said.

Meanwhile, As per BBC reports, the award's organisers claim Eldagsen misled them about the degree of AI that would be applied.

Refuting the claims by the organisers Eldagsen shared a detailed chronology of events on his blogpost where he stated how there was a clear 'communication problem' in the organisers' team and that many of his questions in email communication over the last months 'have never been answered by SWPA'.

"...that that you now want to give the impression that you wanted a dialogue but i dont is nonsense. Only after I suggested for the third time that a public discussion is necessary did you offer me a Q&A on your blog to be published before the award ceremony  which I happily said yes to," he added.
New Delhi: One of the most-popular and loved stunt-based reality show, COLORS 'Khatron Ke Khiladi,' is all set to make a roaring comeback with its 13th edition. And this time, it's bigger, bolder, and more daring than ever before with a new theme and new challenges! The show promises to take the contestants on a journey of a lifetime.

It's time fans must brace themselves for a nail-biting adventure as daredevil contestants from all walks of life face their worst fears head-on. And joining the fray is the unstoppable Shiv Thakare, who is all set to show his mettle and take on the ultimate test of courage on 'Khatron Ke Khiladi 13'.

Famous for his stint in Bigg Boss 16 as one of the most prominent members of mandali, Shiv is ready to make his presence felt on Khatron Ke Khiladi 13. Talking about the same, Shiv shares, Being a part of 'Khatron Ke Khiladi' is an adventure like no other. It's not just about facing your fears, but also about discovering your inner strength and resilience. Joining this show is a dream come true for me. I have overcome many fears in my life, and Im thrilled about facing the ultimate series of khatras in this epic show under the guidance of action guru Rohit Shetty. This show has always been on my checklist after Bigg Boss and I feel my Bappa granted my wish yet again. Its a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and Im ready to test my mental and physical strength on the show. Khatron Ke Khiladi 13 will air soon on COLORS.
New Delhi: At least 21 people died on Tuesday in Beijing after a fire broke out at Changfeng Hospital, according to reports. A total of 71 patients were evacuated from the area. The fire was reported at the in-patient department of a hospital in the Fengtai district of Beijing, as per the Global Times report. The fire department rushed to the spot after receiving information regarding the fire incident at 12:57 PM (local time).

The fire department, public security, health, and emergency departments rushed to the spot, Global Times reported citing Beijing Daily. The fire was extinguished at 1:33 pm (local time) and the rescue work continued till 3:30 PM (local time).

A big fire took place in Beijing Changfeng Hospital earlier local time today, killed 21 ppl. In addition to the shocking number of casualties, more scary reality is zero clue of the fire was made to the press - videos, mentions, chat post, nothing. Not a press coverage existed 1) pic.twitter.com/NvBnSyp19Y  Vivian Wu (@vivianwubeijing) April 18, 2023

The cause of the fire is being investigated. According to the media reports, videos that have surfaced online show some people falling out of the window and waiting for rescue. Others were spotted leaping to lower rooftops. Earlier on Monday, 11 people were killed when a fire broke out at a manufacturing building in China's Zhejiang province's Jinhua region, according to WAM. An investigation is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

According to the Beijing Daily, after hearing about the terrible tragedy, the city's Party Chairman Yin Li and Mayor Yin Yong went to the scene and declared that no effort should be spared in saving lives and healing the injured.
The EU is not happy with Ukrainian grain, and this is not purely a market issue

 Getty Images Author Yuliia Samaieva Editor of the Economics Department at ZN.UA

"It is only a matter of time before the grain 'corridors of solidarity' narrow to the cracks," we wrote in February, hoping that our government officials will eventually realize that cheap Ukrainian grain is not only our problem.

  A Plan of Escape from the dollar

Now the situation is as follows: Slovakia, Poland and Hungary have unilaterally suspended the import of Ukrainian grain, and Bulgaria has announced similar intentions. Of course, the European Commission (EC) reacted immediately, noting that EU member states cannot unilaterally resolve such issues. And the Ukrainian side quickly started negotiating with its neighbors to rectify the situation. However, will it be possible to do it? The degree of tension has been rising since the autumn of last year, local producers literally stopped trucks with Ukrainian grain by themselves (see Fig. 1), blocking the roads. Local governments promised manufacturers that they would find a solution to the problem and in the end found nothing better than blocking imports from Ukraine. We are used to the fact that corruption is only our internal problem, but here it has led to very real and significant "external" consequences. Our country is literally accused of the non-market behavior of its business, and they are partly right.

Fig.1 Tygodnik CRY

What is the problem?

Even last year, it was obvious that, despite the global increase in wheat prices and food risks for a number of countries, half of Ukrainian grain, which is so difficult to export from the country, is exported at an inadequate discount. Super-cheap Ukrainian grain, finding itself on the European market, has significantly reduced the profits of local producers, they are simply unable to compete either in price or in quantity with Ukrainian grain. At the average price of wheat on the global market of USD 362/ton, our wheat was sold to Poland for USD 222, to Hungary for USD 233, and to Bulgaria for USD 200. (see Fig. 2). And although from the very beginning it was about the transit of grain through the EU countries, the difference in the price turned out to be too attractive for schemes not to be built around it. However, they would have been impossible if the schemes for the export of suspiciously cheap grain from Ukraine had been blocked in time, and the agreement on transit had been fulfilled.

According to Rzeczpospolita, the Polish prosecutor's office is already investigating the cause of damages to the largest Polish mills, which were supplied with Ukrainian grain of the lowest quality instead of Polish grain under forged documents. Having previously earned 1.5 million zlotys from such an exchange. Unfortunately, this is not the only investigation of this kind.

In the search for additional arguments to protect our own market, the issue of the quality of our products was also raised. It was said that apparently Ukrainian grain is grown using "chemistry", which has long been banned in the EU. Well, there can be such cases. And the regular mention of "Ukrainian grain with prohibited pesticides" in the headlines of the Western media is definitely not in favor of foreign trade.

However, there are questions not only about pesticides. In the materials of the Polish prosecutor's office, Ukrainian grain is called "technical" with a note "used for burning and production of pellets (granulated material for heating private and industrial facilities)." It's hard to believe that such a thing was invented! The exporters wrote in the documents that they are transporting technical wheat, not even hard or soft wheat, not spelled, not wheat of any other varieties, not even fodder one, but just technical wheat. According to the investigation, this classification was invented by Ukrainian suppliers with one goal  to avoid quality checks, because even fodder grain usually passes veterinary inspection, not to mention consumer grain, and technical grain is not subject to any control. This is an interesting detail, if only because of the fact that we, analyzing our wheat deliveries, did not see any "technical" grain there, it is not in the codification. This means that goods are leaving Ukraine with at least two packages of documents, one for departure and the other for entry. I am sure that the Polish prosecutor also understood this. The consequences will not be delayed.

In fact, we will all feel them when the question of the expediency of "supporting corrupt Ukraine at the expense of European taxpayers" comes up again.

How is this problem solved?

Noticing the inadequately low prices for our grain, we appealed to the relevant Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, asking to explain the situation. Of course, we were not worried about the fate of the Polish farmer, we were worried that the Ukrainian farmer, whose production and logistics have become more expensive, and receives a meager profit for the grain. We worried about the Ukrainian farmer, who often does not even cover the cost of harvesting.

The ministry's response was striking with blatant economic illiteracy and indifference to the problem. This can be precisely explained by the fact that the current Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine Mykola Solskyi is one of the co-founders of the Ukrainian Agrarian Holding, which, among other things, is engaged in grain trading. And therefore, the minister may well lobby the interests of traders, regardless of the interests of some small producers there. On a global scale, the problem is that the export value of grain is of little interest to the state. This is not an import from which it is possible collect customs duty, and in our case, one also need to pay money for VAT reimbursement. And since the transfer of profits to other jurisdictions with the aim of underpaying taxes in this sector for some reason is still of little interest to anyone in Ukraine, the maximum that the authorities paid attention to was the return of foreign exchange earnings. At the same time, not worrying too much that in general, even this revenue can be much more, if the grain is not sold at a discount. We calculated that if the amount of wheat that was sold in the second half of 2022 at a price of 50150 dollars/ton was exported at the average market price, only foreign exchange earnings in the country would be 750 million dollars more (see Fig. 3).

However, let's forget about lost profits, in the current situation it is important to avoid at least direct losses. But the government is still in no hurry to make effective decisions to avoid this.

The brutal story about the "black grain", with an open crime, ended in literally nothing. We will remind that the tax office warned the customs officers about hundreds of suspicious companies that exported grain, but the customs officers, like the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine, did not react and released the consignments from the country. As a result, the specially developed schemes were openly called "suspicious negligence". Customs officials and employees of the Economic Security Bureau of Ukraine were threatened with dismissal, and all participants were called to work groups and fruitful cooperation.

No one mentions the healing reference prices. However, even the government's initiative to introduce a minimum export price for grain tied to the exchange price on the global market has also ceased to be discussed. Exactly one month ago, we wrote that the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine was working on this issue, but so far there have been no changes in this matter. We have a kind of selective "turbo mode" of the government's work, and it is turned on exclusively for the implementation or solution of some nonsense. We even have an explanation as to why this is happening and why issues are resolved in this way, namely because market participants are involved in the initiative. No, they did not involve farmers, from whom they buy grain for nothing, but traders who created the current problem. Well, of course, how without a comprehensive discussion with the players.

  The priorities of scoundrels

And so our minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine with his trader friends is currently "looking for a consensus on the basis of which sources of information and how exactly the minimum price will be determined." If simple things, namely the exchange and the price, are deliberately made difficult, trouble is expected. The offers we know are excellent, for example, to take the average market price with the condition CIF-port without VAT at the rate of the National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) minus 40%. In this way, it is possible to see that a 40% discount is immediately included in the formula. However, this is probably not even the main thing, the main thing is that the connection to the CIF delivery condition is not about grain transportation by land at all, road transport deliveries are mostly carried out under Carriage Paid To (CPT) conditions. That is, the solution to the existing problem with the neighboring countries, to which we deliver grain by rail and cars, was lost somewhere in the process of discussions. By the way, they are ongoing, soon the representatives of agricultural associations will submit proposals and... specific versions of the law, and then the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, the State Tax Service of Ukraine, The Ministry for Development of Economy and Trade and the National Bank of Ukraine will work on them in search of an optimal solution. So, sometime before the summer, this issue will be resolved.

The effect of the temporary simplified access of our goods to the EU markets is about to end. We started asking for the extension of temporary trade preferences, including with the help of the Minister of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine, at the beginning of this year. Just at the moment when we should actively stop our grain schemes and monitor the "transit" of export supplies in order to preserve the reputation of a reliable partner. Will we get this extension given the quality and speed of the current response to the issues? I will only say that Article 4 of Regulation 2022/870, which opened the European market to us, allows for the possibility of an investigation in the event that goods are sent from Ukraine that create serious difficulties for certain EU markets. According to its results, both duties and quotas may well be restored. And not only for agricultural exports, by the way.

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Samsung's threat to replace Google Search with Bing across its devices could benefit Apple, according to Bank of America.

The bank estimated Apple receives $20 billion for its search partnership with Alphabet, but that could increase with more competition.

"The rise of Microsoft as a potential alternative to Google gives Apple more bargaining power to better monetize... over 2 billion Apple devices."

Samsung's reported threat to replace Google Search with Microsoft Bing across its devices could be a boon for Apple, according to Bank of America.

The bank said that Apple has an estimated $20 billion deal with Alphabet to make Google the default search provider across the hundreds of millions of iPhones and iPads it sells each year. But now Apple could have more leverage with Alphabet when it comes time to renegotiate that contract.

"The rise of Microsoft as a potential alternative to Google gives Apple more bargaining power to better monetize what is an extremely attractive installed base of over 2 billion Apple devices," Bank of America's Wasmi Mohan said in a Monday note.

Apple's current revenue-share agreement with Alphabet gives the iPhone maker an estimated 80% of the mobile traffic acquisition costs generated by the search queries of its massive user base, according to Mohan. The deal has long represented billions of dollars of high-margin revenue to Apple every single year.

"Apple has had a longstanding relationship with Google that has delivered an attractive low risk revenue and profit stream for Apple," Mohan said.

But as Microsoft grows Bing with the help of OpenAI's ChatGPT, Apple could re-negotiate with Alphabet for better terms or even consider switching to Bing when its current agreement expires.

"Renegotiation would involve getting a higher amount per search," Mohan said.

But it would also open Apple up to risks if the company was serious with the idea of switching to Bing for the default search option of its devices.

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That's because if users decided to change the default search option on their iPhone back to Google from Bing, the volume of search queries that generates the high-margin revenue for Apple would decline, according to the note.

"A higher rate per search might not offset the share loss in aggregate search. Further, if Google can monetize the search at a much higher level, it could be hard for Microsoft to compete for the contract," Mohan said.

Mohan reiterated his "Neutral" rating on Apple and $168 price target, which represents potential upside of just 1% from current levels.

Read the original article on Business Insider
The excitement of investing in a company that can reverse its fortunes is a big draw for some speculators, so even companies that have no revenue, no profit, and a record of falling short, can manage to find investors. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' A loss-making company is yet to prove itself with profit, and eventually the inflow of external capital may dry up.

So if this idea of high risk and high reward doesn't suit, you might be more interested in profitable, growing companies, like Hallenstein Glasson Holdings (NZSE:HLG). While profit isn't the sole metric that should be considered when investing, it's worth recognising businesses that can consistently produce it.

Check out our latest analysis for Hallenstein Glasson Holdings

How Quickly Is Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Increasing Earnings Per Share?

The market is a voting machine in the short term, but a weighing machine in the long term, so you'd expect share price to follow earnings per share (EPS) outcomes eventually. That means EPS growth is considered a real positive by most successful long-term investors. We can see that in the last three years Hallenstein Glasson Holdings grew its EPS by 6.8% per year. While that sort of growth rate isn't anything to write home about, it does show the business is growing.

One way to double-check a company's growth is to look at how its revenue, and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) margins are changing. EBIT margins for Hallenstein Glasson Holdings remained fairly unchanged over the last year, however the company should be pleased to report its revenue growth for the period of 19% to NZ$404m. That's encouraging news for the company!

The chart below shows how the company's bottom and top lines have progressed over time. Click on the chart to see the exact numbers.

Hallenstein Glasson Holdings isn't a huge company, given its market capitalisation of NZ$321m. That makes it extra important to check on its balance sheet strength.

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Are Hallenstein Glasson Holdings Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders?

It's a necessity that company leaders act in the best interest of shareholders and so insider investment always comes as a reassurance to the market. Shareholders will be pleased by the fact that insiders own Hallenstein Glasson Holdings shares worth a considerable sum. As a matter of fact, their holding is valued at NZ$69m. That shows significant buy-in, and may indicate conviction in the business strategy. As a percentage, this totals to 22% of the shares on issue for the business, an appreciable amount considering the market cap.

It's good to see that insiders are invested in the company, but are remuneration levels reasonable? Our quick analysis into CEO remuneration would seem to indicate they are. Our analysis has discovered that the median total compensation for the CEOs of companies like Hallenstein Glasson Holdings with market caps between NZ$161m and NZ$644m is about NZ$1.0m.

The Hallenstein Glasson Holdings CEO received NZ$648k in compensation for the year ending August 2022. That comes in below the average for similar sized companies and seems pretty reasonable. While the level of CEO compensation shouldn't be the biggest factor in how the company is viewed, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. Generally, arguments can be made that reasonable pay levels attest to good decision-making.

Should You Add Hallenstein Glasson Holdings To Your Watchlist?

As previously touched on, Hallenstein Glasson Holdings is a growing business, which is encouraging. The growth of EPS may be the eye-catching headline for Hallenstein Glasson Holdings, but there's more to bring joy for shareholders. With company insiders aligning themselves considerably with the company's success and modest CEO compensation, there's no arguments that this is a stock worth looking into. Of course, just because Hallenstein Glasson Holdings is growing does not mean it is undervalued. If you're wondering about the valuation, check out this gauge of its price-to-earnings ratio, as compared to its industry.

Although Hallenstein Glasson Holdings certainly looks good, it may appeal to more investors if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for.

Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction.

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 has been almost a year since your favorite China watcher wrote anything meaningful about the Chinese crypto community. The truth of the matter is that Chinas covid lockdown made it difficult for anyone whos not living in Asia to truly understand its market, people, and overall sentiment.

So I was surprised to feel the pro-crypto excitement at last weeks Web3 Festival in Hong Kong. The big news was a major policy announcement from the Hong Kong government, indicating its desire to make the island a happy place for crypto companies to come and set up shopwithin limits of course. The crypto thaw here gave players across CeFi, DeFI, NFTs, Protocols and Games a reason to reunite and celebrate in Hong Kong. The conference was one of the biggest ever here.

Of course, the new regulations announced last week embody the One Country, Two System mandate whereby Hong Kong is still very much a part of China. But, as is usual with Hong Kong, it enjoys occasional policy exceptions. In the case of crypto, while the mainland still bans crypto, Hong Kong appears to have been given the greenlight to openly courtand regulate the sector.

Brother Bings Guide to Surviving the Crypto Bear Market

The Sun sets on West but rises on East

The contrast with the U.S. could not have been more drastic. While Gary Gensler is cracking down 2017 on ICO era projects such as Algorand, Hong Kong officials suited up and took the stage at the Web3 Festival, where they voiced their commitment to crypto and the wider digital asset space.

As the west becomes increasingly hostile toward crypto, Hong Kong, following in Singapores footsteps, is banking on the new sector to revive its bruised economy. The former canton took a beating in 2020, after Beijing enacted its infamous National Security Law, which led to a massive exodus of international firms, expats, and wealthy locals.

The new deal hopes to fix all that. By giving clear regulatory guidance on digital assets, Hong Kong hopes to attract crypto firms to open offices in the city, therefore bringing new tax revenue, talent, and financial activity.

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So far, both Huobi and OKX have announced plans to open branches in the city.

In a private conversation with your correspondent, a representative from Bitget, a newly-rising star in the CEX space, said they also intend to follow suit. During the conference, many asset managers said theyre considering setting up shop in Hong Kong since the city is known to have so many high-networth individuals.

What It Means to Be Chinese in Crypto

CEX Appeal

Centralized Exchanges played a major part in the week-long conference. After all, Chinese people control most of the CEXes in our industry, the largest being CZs Binance, followed by Star Xus OKX, Ben Zhous Bybit, Justin Suns Huobi, and Shawn Liius Bitget.

To the CEXes, opening another office in Hong Kong is a kind of hedge against the crypto environment in Singapore. Post the LUNA and 3AC debacle, Singapore, which was once the wild west as far as crypto is concerned, is starting to be more cautious. That provides a nice opening for Hong Kong.

Most of the founders and CeFi OGs showed up at the conference. They went on the main stage, gave long speeches about how big their compliance teams are, and how much they want to be properly regulated.

The Hong Kong government "is very serious about building an international digital asset center," said Xiao Feng, founder of HashKey, a crypto conglomerate that operates an exchange, an investment arm, a staking business, and many others. (It is also an investor in Decrypt Media Inc.)

Feng was one of the main organizers of the conference. In November, when Hong Kong made licensing mandatory for exchanges, HashKey and OSL were the only two crypto exchanges that got one. The government is expected to award licenses to other exchanges in June.

As usual, the most entertaining character was Justin Sun. He made his presence known even before arriving in the city: On Twitter, Sun handpicked a woman (pictured below) to co-host Huobis beauty contest in collaboration with iPollo, a crypto wallet that has minimal adoption but is also known for its beautiful marketers.

All of a sudden, the audience started to pay a lot more attention to the new face of Huobi than to talk about web3 or digital assets.

Brother Bing's Excellent ETH Amsterdam Adventure

Will they stay or will they go?

Opening up to web3 companies is one way to attract both business and investors in crypto. In a private dinner with folks from Hashkey, I was told that the goal of the policy is to onboard web3 business to Hong Kong via ZA, a crypto friendly neo bank blessed by the HK government.

Hong Kong is attempting to be crypto friendly, sort of. The government wants to make sure the industry is regulated and allowed to flourish herewithin limits. For example, DeFi companies must apply for licenses and follow certain rules. Above all, the government here is ever conscious of how this will play out in Beijing, which, in the end, will either look the other way, or bring the hammer down.

Historically, Hong Kong has provided fertile soil to grow financial institutions. But crypto entrepreneurship is a different kind of flower. It requires local communities that are creative, technical, and more importantly, willing to push the envelope in tech. The most beloved tech startup here is a delivery app that looks like a turn of the century web page. Tech renegades simply dont exist among HKs younger generation. Instead, they are buried under expensive rents and housing prices. Finding a stable job so they can have a stable family trumps the high-risk, high reward game that, say, startup bros in the U.S. play.

During my visit, I saw a lot of people in the Chinese OG ETH communit. From the early ETH mining groups to the latest LSD farmers, the conference was definitely a celebration of Ethereums journey for the past 3 years. However, when your correspondent asked whether any of the builders would move to Hong Kong, the answer was a predictable silence.

Hong Kong will have a tough journey ahead to fight for crypto tax income. Their enemies include not only Singapore but also Dubai which has recently begun issuing licenses to crypto exchanges. For example, Bybit just opened up its global headquarters in Dubai.

But at leastunlike in the U.S.Hong Kong is attempting to rapidly establish the rules of engagement. Without that, there is no crypto industry.
TOKYO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- HOYA Group, PENTAX Medical's Asia Pacific Region Headquarters PENTAX Medical Singapore Pte Ltd has been recognized for its groundbreaking PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM Video Processor with a prestigious Endoscopy Product Innovation of the Year at the Healthcare Asia Medtech Awards 2023. PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM video processor has been designed to be the bridge for legacy endoscopes to next level image quality, and to be the gateway to tomorrow's cutting-edge technology in diagnosis and therapy.

PENTAX Medical INSPIRA(TM) with a prestigious Endoscopy Product Innovation of the Year at the Healthcare Asia Medtech Awards 2023

PENTAX Medical INSPIRA(TM) with a prestigious Endoscopy Product Innovation of the Year at the Healthcare Asia Medtech Awards 2023

The awards program celebrates companies that have demonstrated excellence in innovation, service delivery, and patient care, as well as those that have made significant advancements in technology, products, and services in the Medtech industry, particularly during the challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM Video Processor was acknowledged for its cutting-edge functionalities that combine innovative functionalities in a plug-and-play solution that is easy to use and control through a customizable touch panel. The customizable graphical user interface helps to focus on what is important: the patient.

Maha Guruswamy, President, PENTAX Medical Singapore, Pte. Ltd. commented "This is a great honor for us, and we are so proud to deliver the award-winning PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM to our customers in Asia Pacific countries to share the ground-breaking experience in endoscopy."

PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM Video Processor delivers optimum image quality, with richly detailed imaging up to 4K resolution, high contrasts using Auto HDR, and state-of-the-art digital enhancement with i-scan, and an energy-efficient LED light source with two connection types, making it possible to achieve superior imaging with the latest model (i20c) and even with endoscopes from earlier generations1), enabling healthcare providers to achieve optimal clinical outcomes.

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PENTAX Medical is no stranger to receiving awards for its innovative solutions and designs. The company has previously won several awards for its innovative solutions and design, including the Red Dot Award in 2015 for its VIVIDEOTM ENT Videoscope Solutions for its unique ergonomic design to improve handling and help patient comfort, and second prize in the "Midsized Companies" category at the German Innovation Awards in 2018 for their DECTM Video Duodenoscope ED34i10T2 for its unique disposable design to improve standards of patient hygiene. In collaboration with University Hospitals Leuven, Belgium, PENTAX Medical's prototype Red Density system has been awarded the ESGE Innovation of the Year Award 2018. Clinicians at the Department of Gastroenterology at Leuven undertook an evaluation study of this novel software which calculates the endoscopic inflammation in ulcerative colitis (UC). It further demonstrating its commitment to developing innovative solutions that address healthcare providers' needs and contribute to improving patient outcomes

Rainer Burkard, Global President, PENTAX Medical, and Company President, MedTech and Life Science Company, HOYA Corporation commented, "At PENTAX Medical we care about providing the best possible support for health care professionals. We are very proud about receiving this award on our new premium platform PENTAX Medical INSPIRATM setting new standards and a milestone in endoscopy. In line with our commitment to continuously innovate products, this cutting-edge solution provides a future-proof platform. We must congratulate our award-winning R&D team for their incisive innovative work delivering this innovation award winning products in rapid succession"

1) 90i, i10, J10, 90K and i10c series endoscopes; Not all models are compatible. For details, contact your local PENTAX Medical service facility.

About PENTAX Medical

PENTAX Medical is a division of HOYA Group. The company's mission is to improve the standard of patient care and quality of healthcare delivery by providing the best endoscopic products and services with a focus on QUALITY, CLINICALLY RELEVANT INNOVATION, and SIMPLICITY.

PENTAX Medical strives to align with the healthcare community's Triple Aim goals through transparent partnerships with its customers and by providing the highest quality solutions to help them reach their goals, including enabling customers to improve patient outcomes by offering evidence-based solutions across the continuum of care; ensuring value by supporting the customers to improve their efficiency and minimise their healthcare costs; and enriching patient and provider's experience by empowering every member of the care team to achieve optimal outcomes through products, education, and support.

Focused on the outcome instead of technological features, PENTAX Medical listens to the healthcare community and their patients, understands their daily obstacles and helps improve endoscopy with smart innovations.

For more information: http://www.pentaxmedical.com

About HOYA

Founded in 1941 in Tokyo, Japan, HOYA Corporation is a global technology and med-tech company and a leading supplier of innovative high-tech and medical products. HOYA is active in the fields of healthcare and information technology, providing eyeglasses, medical endoscopes, intraocular lenses, optical lenses, as well as key components for semiconductor devices, LCD panels, and hard disk drives. With over 150 offices and subsidiaries worldwide, HOYA currently employs a multinational workforce of 37,000 people. For more information, please visit: http://www.hoya.com.

Disclaimer:

The products mentioned in this press release are manufactured by HOYA Corporation,6-10-1 Nishi-shinjuku Shinjuku-ku Tokyo, Japan. These products must be used only by healthcare professionals.

Please contact PENTAX Medical for availability in your country.

https://www.pentaxmedical.com/pentax/en/102/1/Worldwide-Locations

Cision

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SOURCE HOYA Corporation PENTAX Medical
(Bloomberg) -- International Business Machines Corp. gave a forecast for annual revenue in line with analysts projections, delivering a cautiously optimistic signal about technology spending in an uncertain economy.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Sales will increase from 3% to 5% in 2023, the company said Wednesday in a statement, meeting analysts estimates. The company affirmed a previous free cash flow forecast of $10.5 billion for the year.

IBM reported first-quarter revenue of $14.3 billion, little changed from the period a year earlier and slightly below analysts average estimate. Profit, excluding some items, was $1.36 a share in the quarter ended March 31. Analysts projected $1.25 a share, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Were seeing some softening going into the end of the first half, Chief Executive Officer Arvind Krishna said in an interview. Then I do think that growth will get a bit better near the end of the year.

Shares gained about 2% in premarket trading before New York exchanges opened on Thursday after closing at $126.32. The stock declined 10% this year through Wednesday while many other tech names have rallied.

IBMs results suggest the companys large portfolio of software products and services is helping to offset some of the slowdown in the broader economy, wrote Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Anurag Rana. The stronger margins and performance of the software business helped overcome conservative expectations, Kyle McNealy, an analyst at Jefferies, wrote in a note.

Krishna has worked to reorient the century-old company around higher margin services like hybrid cloud computing. Software sales in the quarter increased 2.6% to $5.9 billion, although growth at the Red Hat unit was 8%  the smallest increase since the business was acquired by IBM in 2019 for about $33 billion. Krishna said a new normal range for Red Hat is closer to 11%-13% growth.

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Consulting sales gained 2.8% to $5 billion, but the pace of such deals slowed in the Americas region and may spread elsewhere, Krishna said. Customers arent yet canceling projects, just delaying them, he said.

Reducing Expenses

The Armonk, New York-based company topped profit estimates in part due to expense management and productivity measures taken earlier in the year, Krishna said. Job cuts may be closer to 5,000 once finished, rather than the previously announced 3,900, he said. Still, IBM hired 7,000 people in the first quarter, he added.

New productivity and efficiency steps are expected to drive $2 billion a year in savings by the end of 2024, Chief Financial Officer James Kavanaugh said on a conference call after the results were released.

Divestitures have been a core part of IBMs transformation plan, including recent spinoffs of Kyndryl Holdings Inc. and part of the Watson Health business. It is currently considering selling its weather unit.

Separately, GlobalFoundries Inc., which took over IBMs semiconductor business in 2015, sued Wednesday, alleging that IBM continued to monetize intellectual property from that business unit after the completion of the deal.

(Updates with premarket share move in fifth paragraph)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Kim Hin Industry Berhad's (KLSE:KIMHIN) price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 0.2x may look like a pretty appealing investment opportunity when you consider close to half the companies in the Building industry in Malaysia have P/S ratios greater than 1x. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the reduced P/S.

See our latest analysis for Kim Hin Industry Berhad

How Kim Hin Industry Berhad Has Been Performing

For example, consider that Kim Hin Industry Berhad's financial performance has been pretty ordinary lately as revenue growth is non-existent. One possibility is that the P/S is low because investors think this benign revenue growth rate will likely underperform the broader industry in the near future. Those who are bullish on Kim Hin Industry Berhad will be hoping that this isn't the case, so that they can pick up the stock at a lower valuation.

We don't have analyst forecasts, but you can see how recent trends are setting up the company for the future by checking out our free report on Kim Hin Industry Berhad's earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Is There Any Revenue Growth Forecasted For Kim Hin Industry Berhad?

There's an inherent assumption that a company should underperform the industry for P/S ratios like Kim Hin Industry Berhad's to be considered reasonable.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered virtually the same number to the company's top line as the year before. The lack of growth did nothing to help the company's aggregate three-year performance, which is an unsavory 10.0% drop in revenue. Accordingly, shareholders would have felt downbeat about the medium-term rates of revenue growth.

Comparing that to the industry, which is predicted to deliver 8.9% growth in the next 12 months, the company's downward momentum based on recent medium-term revenue results is a sobering picture.

In light of this, it's understandable that Kim Hin Industry Berhad's P/S would sit below the majority of other companies. However, we think shrinking revenues are unlikely to lead to a stable P/S over the longer term, which could set up shareholders for future disappointment. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as recent revenue trends are already weighing down the shares.

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The Key Takeaway

It's argued the price-to-sales ratio is an inferior measure of value within certain industries, but it can be a powerful business sentiment indicator.

Our examination of Kim Hin Industry Berhad confirms that the company's shrinking revenue over the past medium-term is a key factor in its low price-to-sales ratio, given the industry is projected to grow. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises either. If recent medium-term revenue trends continue, it's hard to see the share price moving strongly in either direction in the near future under these circumstances.

Plus, you should also learn about these 4 warning signs we've spotted with Kim Hin Industry Berhad (including 3 which are potentially serious).

It's important to make sure you look for a great company, not just the first idea you come across. So if growing profitability aligns with your idea of a great company, take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with strong recent earnings growth (and a low P/E).

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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FILE PHOTO: The logo of Dow Jones Industrial Average stock market index listed company Travelers Companies Inc (TRV) is seen in Los Angeles

(Reuters) -Travelers Companies Inc on Wednesday reported a fall in quarterly profit, but announced an additional $5 billion share buyback plan that sent the shares of the property and casualty insurer up 5%.

The company has $1.61 billion left over from its previous share buyback program.

Core income of the New York-based company, often seen as a bellwether for the insurance sector as it typically reports before industry peers, fell 6% to $970 million, or $4.11 per share, in the first quarter ended March 31.

Severe storms in parts of the United States pushed up the insurer's catastrophe losses net of reinsurance to $535 million from $160 million a year earlier.

Global insured losses were anticipated to reach at least $15 billion in the quarter, insurance broker Aon said in a report.

Apart from the devastating earthquake in Turkey, insured losses in excess of $3 billion were also expected from the outbreak of storm activity in the United States on March 1-3, Aon said.

The company reported a combined ratio of 95.4%, compared with 91.3% a year earlier. A ratio below 100% means the insurer earned more in premiums than it paid out in claims.

Travelers' bond and specialty insurance segment's underlying combined ratio increased 3.9 points, mainly driven by losses related to the disruption in the banking sector and a higher expense ratio.

Two U.S. lenders crumbled after a flight of deposits spiraled out of control last month, sparking a global crisis that shook investor confidence in the banking industry and rattled markets.

The turbulence has since subsided after intervention by regulators, but analysts have warned the banking industry will suffer long-term repercussions.

Travelers' profit was helped by a 4% rise in net investment income to $663 million.

The company posted net written premiums growth of 12% to $9.4 billion in the quarter.

(Reporting by Noor Zainab Hussain in Bengaluru; Editing by Shinjini Ganguli)
Interplay is partnering with TCI to offer immersive simulation-based training to prepare underemployed youth for careers in HVAC and other in-demand skilled trades

AUSTIN, Texas, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Interplay Learning , the leading provider of online and virtual reality training for the essential skilled trades, announces a partnership with the Temperature Control Institute (TCI), a unique state-of-the-art skilled trades education program helping underemployed youth prepare for careers in the skilled trades.

Interplay Learning announces a partnership with the Temperature Control Institute (TCI), a unique state-of-the-art skilled trades education program helping underemployed youth prepare for careers in the skilled trades.

TCI offers six-month certification courses in HVAC and commercial refrigeration. All students graduate with at least one job-ready certification, such as EPA 608, OSHA 10 and NATE, and use Interplay's training to help prepare for their exams. Graduates are qualified for entry-level employment, offering employers in Memphis, Tennessee and Southaven, Mississippi skilled and job-ready talent. Qualifying students may also receive free tuition through state funding.

"Interplay Learning is like having another instructor," said Edward York, TCI Director. "We get more effective learning done in less time, and we're also seeing less wear and tear on our equipment. That's going to allow us to grow faster, so we can help even more young people acquire essential skills that enable them to turn their lives around."

Interplay Learning's immersive virtual-reality simulations and robust catalog of technical content enhance TCI's classroom engagement and hands-on training programs. The platform includes expert-led video-based training, knowledge checks, and hands-on 3D simulations to help technicians rapidly develop on-the-job skills and practice troubleshooting in a risk-free, familiar environment. The on-demand courses offer game-like training that provides flexibility so students can practice anytime, according to their learning style, using a tablet, computer, or virtual reality headset.

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TCI is currently enrolling students at its Southhaven, Mississippi, location conveniently located near Memphis, Tennessee. TCI plans to increase its class size as it expands to a new facility in Memphis later this year and add additional training programs for plumbing, electrical, and building maintenance.

"Our mission is to help institutions build better training, better careers, and better lives," said Doug Donovan, founder and CEO of Interplay Learning. "Temperature Control Institute is a shining example of how simulation-based technology can engage and support the next-generation skilled workforce more effectively. We're proud to partner with TCI to support the young, underemployed community in Memphis with an innovative strategy that addresses the skilled labor shortage."

Interplay Learning builds better training, better careers, and better lives for its customers and their employees. Its award-winning online and virtual reality training for the essential skilled trades, including HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, multifamily maintenance, and facilities maintenance workforces, is scalable and more effective than traditional training methods. By leveraging immersive learning technology, Interplay's customers can train and practice hands-on learning from a desktop, phone, tablet, or in virtual reality, resulting in a highly trained employee who is job-ready in weeks, not years.

For more information about TCI, visit https://tcitraining.education/ .

For more information about Interplay Learning, visit www.interplaylearning.com .

About Interplay Learning

Austin-based Interplay Learning offers scalable and effective training for the essential skilled trades that helps business leaders, educators and their teams build better companies, better careers and better lives. Interplay Learning's immersive online and VR training platform for HVAC, plumbing, electrical, solar, hospitality, multifamily maintenance and facilities maintenance workforces includes expert-led video courses, hands-on 3D simulations, knowledge checks and custom learning paths to upskill advanced technicians and help new technicians be job-ready in weeks, not years.

Interplay Learning was named to the 2022 Inc. 5000 and Inc. Best in Business lists and earned three honorable mentions in Fast Company's 2021 World Changing Ideas Awards. Visit https://www.interplaylearning.com/ to learn more.

MEDIA CONTACT:

Heather Ripley

Ripley PR

(865) 977-1973

hripley@ripleypr.com

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/interplay-learning-and-temperature-control-institute-transform-memphis-students-career-outlook-with-advanced-skilled-trades-training-301800697.html

SOURCE Interplay Learning
Generally speaking long term investing is the way to go. But that doesn't mean long term investors can avoid big losses. For example the Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (KLSE:MRCB) share price dropped 68% over five years. That's an unpleasant experience for long term holders. The last week also saw the share price slip down another 5.9%.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

See our latest analysis for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad

To quote Buffett, 'Ships will sail around the world but the Flat Earth Society will flourish. There will continue to be wide discrepancies between price and value in the marketplace...' One 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.

Looking back five years, both Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad's share price and EPS declined; the latter at a rate of 28% per year. This fall in the EPS is worse than the 20% compound annual share price fall. So investors might expect EPS to bounce back -- or they may have previously foreseen the EPS decline.

The image below shows how EPS has tracked over time (if you click on the image you can see greater detail).

We know that Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad has improved its bottom line over the last three years, but what does the future have in store? It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

What About Dividends?

It is important to consider the total shareholder return, as well as the share price return, for any given stock. The TSR 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. So for companies that pay a generous dividend, the TSR is often a lot higher than the share price return. We note that for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad the TSR over the last 5 years was -64%, 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

While the broader market lost about 2.6% in the twelve months, Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad shareholders did even worse, losing 18% (even including dividends). 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. Unfortunately, longer term shareholders are suffering worse, given the loss of 10% doled out over the last five years. We would want clear information suggesting the company will grow, before taking the view that the share price will stabilize. 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 example, we've discovered 1 warning sign for Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad that you should be aware of before investing here.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of companies we expect will grow earnings.

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on Malaysian exchanges.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Warren Buffett is reported to have once said, You don't need to have extraordinary effort to achieve extraordinary results. You just need to do the ordinary, everyday things exceptionally well.

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It might sound too simplistic to be true, but if you doubt the Oracle of Omahas wisdom, you should hear the story of Ronald Read.

Read, a retired gas station attendant and janitor in Vermont, passed away in 2015. Nothing about his life or death was extraordinary, except for the fact that his estate was revealed to be worth $8 million after he passed away.

This was a surprise to much of Reads local community. He was a hard worker, but I dont think anybody had an idea that he was a multimillionaire, his stepson told the local press after his death.

Read didnt have the type of career path youd typically associate with a multimillionaire. So how did he pull it off? Heres a closer look at the three simple techniques that made him so wealthy.

Frugality

Ronald Read seems to have had a reputation for being extremely frugal. In fact, he likely could have given Buffett  who is famously frugal  a run for his money.

Reads friends remember him driving a second-hand car and using safety pins to hold his worn-out coat together. He even continued to cut his own firewood well after his 90th birthday.

Its a painfully straightforward approach: Spending less than you earn leaves you more to invest and generate wealth over time through investments.

Im sure if he earned $50 in a week, he probably invested $40 of it, said Reads friend and neighbor, Mark Richard, according to CNBC.

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Investments

After he died, the Wall Street Journal analyzed Reads personal portfolio. They discovered that many of his positions were held for several years  if not decades  and had delivered immense returns over that period.

In 2015, Reads portfolio included heavyweights like Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC), Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) and Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL).

Read more: 'Hold onto your money': Jeff Bezos says you might want to rethink buying a 'new automobile, refrigerator, or whatever'  here are 3 better recession-proof buys

Again, heres another parallel between Read and Buffett. If those names sound familiar its probably because youve seen some of them on Buffetts portfolio too. In fact, Berkshire Hathaway had a sizable position in Wells Fargo for several years and Procter and Gamble is still part of the portfolio.

Both investors prioritized holding long-term positions in undervalued and overlooked companies. Thats what helped Read create his multimillion-dollar fortune. However, for both investors, the key ingredient was time  and patience.

Longevity

Ronald Read lived to 92 and Buffett is 92 years old now. Both investors have benefitted immensely from living and working longer than average. In fact, 90% of Buffetts fortune was generated after his 60th birthday. If hed retired early in his 50s, most people would have never heard of Warren Buffett.

The power of compounding is magnified over longer time horizons. In other words, investing for longer is more likely to deliver better returns. Buffetts compounded annual growth rate of 9.17% would have turned $1,000 into $9,000 in 25 years and $13,900 in 30 years.

To be fair, none of us can control how long we live. Instead, starting early and staying in the market for as long as possible is probably the best strategy. Its also advisable to let your winners ride for longer. Taking profits too early or trading your positions too frequently adds costs and diminishes the power of compounding.

What to read next

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Latvijas Gaze

JSC Latvijas Gaze Groups net profit for 2022 is 39 million EUR, and net turnover is 689.8 million EUR, which is 31% higher than in 2021.

The Latvijas Gaze group has completed a challenging financial year 2022. Under the influence of geopolitical events and regulatory changes, the European natural gas markets saw demand substantially surpass supply, which lead to a rapid price rise and fluctuations. Latvias natural gas supply, while technically not directly connected to the Western Europe, entirely depends on economic and political developments not just in the Baltics but also in Europe and globally, as the natural gas price in Latvia is linked to the Western European natural gas hub indexes. Despite this, JSC Latvijas Gaze (the Company) continued successful operations, ensuring an uninterrupted supply of gas to its customers, including fulfilling its obligations as Public Trader towards household clients as stipulated in the Energy Law.

Taking into account that compared to 2021 the amount of natural gas consumed in Latvia decreased by more than 30% in 2022, the amount of natural gas transmitted in the distribution network significantly decreased. This affected the financial results of the Companys subsidiary JSC "Gaso" - JSC "Gaso" ended the year 2022 with a loss of EUR 1.8 million, as opposed to a profit of EUR 11.5 million in 2021.

In 2022, the Company sold 6 993 GWh of natural gas to customers in Latvia and abroad. Compared to 2021, sales volumes have decreased by 53%. Sales volume decrease is attributable to some market participants choice against buying Russian-origin gas already before 1 January 2023, as well as customers have reconsidered their consumption habits of natural gas amid high price environment, including switching to alternative energy resources.

In 2022, the Companys shareholders adopted a decision on launching the Companys reorganisation process or the reduction of its share capital. The Board started and continued working on the assessment of multiple scenarios of further governance of JSC Gaso. As a result, a decision has been made to sell the JSC Gaso, with the process set to be completed in 2023. In the consolidated and Companys standalone financial report for 2022, the investment in subsidiary and accordingly the subsidiarys assets and liabilities are presented as assets and liabilities of assets held for sale. In the statement of profit or loss, the operations of the discontinued natural gas distribution segment are presented separately from the continuing operations of the trading segment. In order to present the assets held for sale at fair value, the Companys and consolidated statement of profit or loss includes an impairment of 72 million EUR.

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The audited annual report is published in iXBRL format in accordance with the reporting requirements of the Common European Electronic Format (ESEF). In accordance with the requirements of the ESEF, the consolidated data of the financial statements are marked with XBRL tags. ESEF financial statements are available in a ZIP file. The annual report is available in PDF file attached to this release.

JSC Latvijas Gaze Group will publish its Unaudited Consolidated Interim Condensed Financial Statements for 3 months of 2023 on 25 May 2023.

JSC Latvijas Gaze

Chairman of the Board

Aigars Kalvitis

www.lg.lv

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Dr. Kate Biberdorf and her guests guide us through the great unknown

Seeking a Scientist

Science Fiction Meets Reality

KANSAS CITY Mo., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- KCUR, Kansas Citys public radio station, premiered a new podcast, Seeking A Scientist, where science fiction meets reality with host Dr. Kate Biberdorf, also known as Kate the Chemist. Through KCUR Studios, Seeking A Scientist taps real scientists and their research to tackle timely topics like fungus zombies, trash islands and feeling young forever.

With more than 2.9 million likes on TikTok, Kate the Chemist knows how to celebrate science with the masses. On Seeking A Scientist, she and her expert guests analyze how instances of climate change, disease and depleting resources could shape a different future. But its not all doom and gloom.

Seeking A Scientist also ponders deep hypothetical questions about a world on the precipice. The podcast explores how certain actions we take now could lead to different outcomes and solutions down the road.

Ive always been a champion of science, and Seeking A Scientist goes straight to the source, said Biberdorf. We call on rockstar experts to expand on their research and share real insights that explain lifes biggest questions. Its time to fangirl over the facts, and give scientists the standing ovation they deserve!

Seeking A Scientist is made possible with support from the Stowers Institute for Medical Research. The first episode, Halting Aging, debuted today. In this episode, Kate explores the answer to the question, Could we slow down, stop, or even reverse aging? The series premiere features renowned experts Dr. Alejandro Sanchez Alvarado, executive director and chief scientific officer at the Stowers Institute for Medical Research, Dr. Nir Barzilai, director of the Institute for Aging Research at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and Dr. David Sinclair, a genetics professor at Harvard and author of the book Lifespan: Why We Age and Why We Dont Have To.

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Seeking A Scientist is a podcast that demystifies science. In each episode, Dr. Biberdorf and her guests answer the question What if? said Sarah Morris, general manager of KCUR. Were proud to partner with leading researchers right here in the Heartland, and celebrate diverse minds and talents from across the globe. Kate the Chemist and the Stowers Institute cultivate an impressive synergy of expertise and edutainment were ecstatic to share with our listeners in Kansas City and beyond, added Morris.

Dr. Kate Biberdorf is a chemist, science entertainer, and professor at The University of Texas. Through her theatrical and hands-on approach to teaching, Dr. Biberdorf breaks down the image of the stereotypical scientist, while reaching students and adults who might otherwise be intimidated by science. She's been profiled in the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times, and appeared on The Today Show, The Kelly Clarkson Show, NBC Nightly News, The Rachael Ray Show, Star Talk with Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Late Night with Stephen Colbert.

Seeking A Scientist is available where you listen to podcasts, and on SeekingAScientist.org.

###

About KCUR

KCUR 89.3, Kansas Citys NPR member station, first broadcast in 1957. A charter member of NPR, KCUR holds itself to the highest journalistic standards in service to the citizens of Kansas, Missouri, the broader Midwest, and the nation. KCUR Studios produces the stations on-demand content. Regular podcasts include the daily news podcast Kansas City Today and monthly podcast A Peoples History of Kansas City. They also produce limited series like the investigative podcast Overlooked, food history podcast Hungry for MO, and most recently Seeking A Scientist. For more information on Seeking A Scientist follow the show on Instagram and Twitter. Keep up with Kate The Chemist on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

About Stowers Institute

Founded in 1994 through the generosity of Jim Stowers, founder of American Century Investments, and his wife, Virginia, the Stowers Institute for Medical Research is a non-profit, biomedical research organization with a focus on foundational research. The Institute consists of 17 independent research programs. Of the approximately 500 members, over 370 are scientific staff that include principal investigators, technology center directors, postdoctoral scientists, graduate students, and technical support staff. Learn more about the Institute at www.stowers.org.

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CONTACT: Natalie Dupin KCUR 8168428111 ndupin@trozzolo.com




Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - April 19, 2023) - Lithium Energi Exploration Inc. (TSXV: LEXI) is excited to announce that Thomas Lefebvre, a highly experienced infrastructure professional, has joined the board as its fifth member.

Lefebvre was a partner and founding member of I Squared Capital, an independent global infrastructure investment manager, where he was responsible for the acquisition, development and transformational strategies of platforms and companies across the Americas spanning the power and utilities, oil and gas, energy transition, transportation and logistics, and telecommunications sectors. He has been an active director on numerous boards-private and public-throughout his career, in the US, Canada and Latin America.

The appointment of Thomas Lefebvre to the board was driven by his extensive financial experience with strong expertise in power, batteries, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure. His enthusiasm for the lithium industry and the ongoing race among battery manufacturers and companies that rely on batteries to secure lithium supplies aligns with the company's mission and vision.

Additionally, Lefebvre's professional background in operating in Latin America makes him a valuable asset to the company, as he brings firsthand knowledge of the geopolitical aspects surrounding lithium reserves in the Southern Cone. His expertise will help the company navigate the complex dynamics in these key regions.

Furthermore, his extensive focus on and expertise in Environmental, Health, Safety, Social, and Governance (EHSSG) matters will contribute to the company's overall success and positive impact on the industry. With Lefebvre joining the team, the company is poised for success as they work together on the exciting challenges and opportunities in the lithium industry.

Ali Rahman, CEO of LEXI, expressed enthusiasm for the appointment, stating, "We are thrilled to have Thomas join our board. His technical knowledge, financial expertise and relationships across the financial industry will be a major asset to LEXI as we continue to grow. We look forward to working together and leveraging his experience to help shape the future of our company."

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Thomas Lefebvre also shared his excitement about joining the LEXI board, saying, "I am honored to be joining the LEXI board and working with such a talented and dedicated team. I'm excited about the opportunities ahead and am eager to help drive the company's growth and success."

LEXI is well-positioned to address the key challenges and opportunities facing the lithium exploration industry, including environmental concerns, political risks, technical challenges, and a competitive environment. With the growing demand for lithium-ion batteries in electric vehicles and renewable energy storage, LEXI aims to capitalize on the ever-growing demand for lithium while preparing for any potential market shifts. The company is committed to assembling a dynamic and experienced board to help navigate the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. As the company continues to evolve and expand, the board is focused on ensuring a strong and diverse leadership team to guide LEXI into the future.

About Lithium Energi Exploration, Inc.

Lithium Energi Exploration, Inc. is an exploration company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of lithium brine assets in Argentina. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, with offices in Catamarca, Argentina, the Company's shares are listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSXV: LEXI) and the Frankfurt Exchange (FSE: L09). LEXI's portfolio of prospective lithium brine concessions in the Argentina Province of Catamarca (heart of the lithium triangle) includes approximately 57,000 hectares and a 20% interest in Triangle Lithium Argentina, S.A., which owns an additional 15,000 hectares - all located in and around the Antofalla Salar, one of the largest basins in the region, which is over 130 km long and up to 20 km across. LEXI is committed to innovation, sustainability, and quality, striving to differentiate itself from other players in the industry to maximize its potential for success. For more information, please visit our website at lithiumenergi.com.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

"Chris Hobbs"

________________________

Chris Hobbs,

Chief Financial Officer and Director

For more information, please contact:

Ian Murphy

Media Relations

Press@lithiumenergi.com

(310) 689-6397

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

This news release contains "forward-looking information" and "forward-looking statements" (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as "expects", or "does not expect", "is expected", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", "plans", "budget", "scheduled", "forecasts", "estimates", "believes" or "intends" or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results "may" or "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions and estimates of management of the Company at the time such statements were made. Actual future results may differ materially as forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to materially differ from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors, among other things, include: the results of preliminary testing proving accurate and repeatable over time and at commercial scale; the absence of material changes with respect to the Company and its businesses; possible variations in mineralization, grade or recovery rates; actual results of exploration activities; conclusions of future economic evaluations; fluctuations in general macroeconomic conditions; fluctuations in securities markets; fluctuations in spot and forward prices of commodities; fluctuations in currency markets (such as the Canadian dollar to United States dollar exchange rate); change in national and local government, legislation, taxation, controls, regulations and political or economic developments; risks and hazards associated with the business of mineral exploration, development and mining (including environmental hazards, industrial accidents, unusual or unexpected formations pressures, cave-ins and flooding); the speculative nature of mineral exploration and development (including the risks of obtaining necessary licenses, permits and approvals from government authorities); and title to properties; failure to of the parties to the Transactions to comply with the terms and conditions of the definitive agreements relating to the Transactions; and the use of proceeds. Although the forward-looking statements contained in this news release are based upon what management of the Company believes, or believed at the time, to be reasonable assumptions, the Company cannot assure its shareholders that actual results will be consistent with such forward-looking statements, as there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended.

Readers should not place undue reliance on the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Except as required by law, the Company assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law.

To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/162970
SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

SkyQuest's Oil Storage Terminal market report is excellent information for individuals interested in gaining insight into the valuable data, trends, and opportunities in a rapidly growing industry. Additionally, the report is written clearly and concisely, making it accessible to various audiences, from industry experts to market readers. Finally, one can gain an in-depth understanding of the primary and secondary market drivers, providing them with a comprehensive outlook of the current market situation and future projections.

Westford, USA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The forecasted period (2023-2030) is expected to witness the Oil Storage Terminal market grow at a CAGR of 4.7% and reach a market size of USD 41.16 billion by 2030. The growth of the market can be attributed to several factors, such as increasing demand for petroleum products, geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions, strategic location and proximity to major markets, technological advancements, and increasing investments in the oil and gas industry.

The oil and gas industry continues to receive significant investments, which is driving the growth of the oil storage terminal market. According to SkyQuest's report, the global capital expenditure in the oil and gas industry is expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2025.

SkyQuest's latest research findings also highlight the importance of the location of oil storage terminals near major markets, as it reduces transportation costs and improves supply chain efficiency by minimizing the time and distance required to transport oil to consumers. The International Energy Agency (IEA) has emphasized the significance of the location of oil storage terminals near major markets. The IEA notes that the growth in demand for petroleum products in Asia has resulted in an increase in the construction of oil storage terminals in the region to ensure reliable and efficient supply chains.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Oil Storage Terminal Market"

Pages - 237

Tables - 149

Figures - 77

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Get a sample copy of this report:

https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/oil-storage-terminal-market

In today's time, oil storage terminals ensure a reliable and efficient supply chain of crude oil and petroleum products to meet the growing energy demands worldwide. These terminals offer a strategic location for the storage and distribution of oil, allowing suppliers to respond promptly to changing market conditions. They are also crucial in maintaining a stable energy supply and safeguarding against supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical events, natural disasters, or other emergencies.

Prominent Players in Oil Storage Terminal Market

Vopak

Oiltanking

Royal Dutch Shell

Kinder Morgan

Magellan Midstream Partners

Buckeye Partners

NuStar Energy

Inter Pipeline

Pembina Pipeline

Enbridge

TransCanada

China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC)

PetroChina

Sinopec

Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC)

Kuwait National Petroleum Company (KNPC)

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Saudi Aramco)

ExxonMobil

Chevron Corporation

Total SA

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/oil-storage-terminal-market

Crude Oil Segment to Drive Higher Sales Due to the Increasing Demand for Crude Oil From Industries

The increasing demand for crude oil from industries such as transportation, power generation, and manufacturing has made the Crude Oil Segment a significant contributor to the growth of the Oil Storage Terminal market, according to recent analysis. This trend is expected to continue from 2022 to 2030 due to the need for safe storage and transportation of crude oil, along with its growing production. SkyQuest forecasts global crude oil demand to reach 104.1 million barrels per day in 2026, indicating a rising demand for oil storage terminals to store and transport crude oil safely.

North America is expected to become a dominant player in the Oil Storage Terminal market from 2022 to 2030, according to research analysis. SkyQuest has projected a CAGR of 3.82% for the region during the forecast period, driven by the presence of major oil-producing countries, increasing investments in the construction of new storage facilities, and growing demand for crude oil.

Floating Roof Type Segment to Exhibit Strong Growth Due to its Ability to Store Large Volumes of Crude Oil and Petroleum Products

The demand for Floating Roof Type tanks has propelled it to be the dominant method in the Oil Storage Terminal market, and it is projected to remain so from 2022 to 2030. The increasing need for this tank type stems from its ability to store large volumes of crude oil and petroleum products while reducing emissions and evaporation losses. According to data from SkyQuest, 60% of planned oil storage terminal investments in the next five years will be in floating roof tanks, indicating a strong demand for this type of oil storage solution.

The Asia Pacific region has also emerged as a significant player in the Oil Storage Terminal market, and it is poised to maintain its leadership position by 2030. SkyQuest has projected substantial growth in the Oil Storage Terminal market for the Asia Pacific region, with a projected CAGR of 5.97% during the forecast period. This growth is attributable to the rising demand for oil and petroleum products, increasing investments in oil and gas infrastructure, and the expanding energy sector in the region. Additionally, the recent initiative by the Indian government to enhance the country's strategic petroleum reserves is expected to further fuel growth in the oil storage terminal market in the region.

A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the Oil Storage Terminal market has been recently conducted in a report. The report encompasses various aspects, including collaborations, mergers, innovative business policies, and strategies, providing valuable insights into key trends and breakthroughs in the market. Furthermore, the report scrutinizes the market share of the top segments and presents a detailed geographic analysis. Lastly, the report highlights the major players in the industry and their endeavors to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand.

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/oil-storage-terminal-market

Key Developments in Oil Storage Terminal Market

Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Ltd (APSEZ) announced its acquisition of a 49.38% equity stake in Indian Oiltanking Ltd (IOTL), a third-party liquid tank storage player, for 1,050 crore. APSEZ has signed a definitive agreement with Oiltanking India GmbH and Oiltanking GmbH for the acquisition of the stake in IOTL and an additional 10% equity stake in IOT Utkal Energy Services Ltd, a subsidiary of IOTL. Oiltanking India GmbH is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oiltanking GmbH.

Montfort Group has successfully acquired equity in Matola Terminal de Armazenamento de Petroleos SA, a company that operates an oil tanking storage terminal in the Port of Matola, The Republic of Mozambique. The acquisition aligns with the company's strategic expansion plans in the African continent, and it will own, develop, and operate the terminal in partnership with Energi Asia. The terminal has over 58,000m3 of clean product storage capacity and utilizes the latest technologies, enabling Montfort to trade its petroleum products across six inland neighboring countries, including Mozambique.

Key Questions Answered in Oil Storage Terminal Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

Can you list the top companies in the market and explain how they have achieved their positions of influence?

In what ways do regional trends and patterns differ within the global market, and how might these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Oilfield Service Market

Global Advanced Energy Storage Systems Market

Global Oil Refining Market

Global Hydrogen Pumps Market

Global Renewable Energy Coatings Market

About Us:

SkyQuest Technology is leading growth consulting firm providing market intelligence, commercialization and technology services. It has 450+ happy clients globally.

Address:

1 Apache Way, Westford, Massachusetts 01886

Phone:

USA (+1) 617-230-0741

Email: sales@skyquestt.com

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FILE PHOTO: A man walks by the logo of French cosmetics group L'Oreal in the western Paris suburb of Levallois-Perret

By Mimosa Spencer

PARIS (Reuters) -L'Oreal reported a 13% rise in first-quarter sales, beating expectations thanks to strong business in the United States and Europe as shoppers shrugged off rising prices, but has yet to benefit from the end of COVID-19 curbs in China.

Sales of the French cosmetics group, which sells brands ranging from Maybelline to Lancome, came to 10.38 billion euros ($11.37 billion) over the first three months to the end of March.

The 13% increase on an organic basis beat analysts' expectations for 8.1% growth, according to a consensus estimate cited by Barclays.

Sales in Europe and North America grew by 16% and 16.6% respectively, with the company flagging strong performance from its consumer products division, which has been moving upmarket, as well as its dermatological beauty division, which sells CeraVe skincare.

In mainland China, where the company said luxury sales were flat due to low inventories, consumer demand and store traffic resumed from February.

"These are truly outstanding numbers," despite China "still being a drag," said Bruno Monteyne, analyst with Bernstein, noting that sales growth for every division beat expectations, with a standout performance from the dermatological beauty division, up 30.6%.

The division's ties to healthcare professionals like pharmacists and dermatologists "cement long-term brand loyalty and are extremely powerful in directing consumer choice," said Gerrit Smit, manager of the $1.9 billion Stonehage Fleming Global Best Ideas Equity Fund, a LOreal investor.

L'Oreal Chief Executive Nicolas Hieronimus said in a call with analysts that he was confident sales at the company's luxury division, which rose 6.5%, would accelerate, driven by a rebound in China where it has over 31% market share.

He said that while inflation and the risk of recession had not disappeared, "we see blue patches", citing rising consumer confidence in the United States and China.

($1 = 0.9127 euro)

(Reporting by Mimosa Spencer; editing by Silvia Aloisi, Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
NEW YORK, April 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Lotus Technology Inc. ("Lotus Tech" or the "Company"), a leading global luxury electric vehicle maker, showcased three vehicles at Auto Shanghai 2023. The brand displayed four models of Eletre, Lotus Tech's first fully electric hyper SUV, along with an Evija, the world's first pure electric British hyper car, and an Emira, the mid-engined sports car, Lotus's last ICE vehicle, at its 1,200 square meter booth. Lotus Tech also provided Eletre test drives to customers around the Shanghai International Exhibition Center.

Lotus Techs booth is crowded with Auto Shanghai attendees on April 18 as the leading global luxury electric vehicle maker showcases its vehicles.

Lotus Tech booth displays for Eletre (right and middle), its first fully electric hyper SUV, and Evija (left), the worlds first pure electric British hyper car.

The event came three weeks after the first delivery of Eletre, a key milestone in Lotus's transformation into an advanced, fully electric, intelligent, and sustainable luxury mobility provider. The Company is now rolling out further deliveries of Eletre across China, and will begin delivery in the UK and EU later this year. Planning is underway for future delivery to the U.S. and rest of the world, leveraging the brand's global network. As of January 31, 2023, it had received more than 5,000 Eletre orders worldwide.

Lotus Tech has developed luxury EVs ahead of its traditional, internal combustion engine-focused peers by leveraging its wholly-owned R&D facilities spanning in the UK, Germany and China. Building on Lotus's racing heritage, Eletre delivers a sportscar-like experience powered by Lotus's proprietary 800-volt Electrical Performance Architecture and innovative technologies such as fully embedded L4-ready hardware with the world's first deployable LiDAR system.

In addition to Eletre, the Company plans to broaden its portfolio of luxury EVs featuring groundbreaking technologies over the next four years, beginning with the expected launches of an E-segment sedan and a D-segment SUV.

Lotus Tech also hosted a special ceremony at the Shanghai International Circuit F1 track on March 29 to celebrate its first delivery of Eletre, in conjunction with the 75th anniversary of the Lotus brand. Visit the Company's website to read more and watch videos of the event.

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Lotus Technology

Lotus Technology Inc., headquartered in Wuhan, China, has operations across China, the UK, and the EU. The Company is dedicated to delivering luxury lifestyle battery electric vehicles including SUVs and sedans with a focus on world-class R&D in next-generation automobility technologies such as electrification, digitalisation and more.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release (the "Press Release") contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act"), and Section 21E of the U.S. Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on beliefs and assumptions and on information currently available to Lotus Tech. All statements other than statements of historical fact contained in this Press Release are forward-looking statements. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may", "should", "expect", "intend", "will", "estimate", "anticipate", "believe", "predict", "potential", "forecast", "plan", "seek", "future", "propose" or "continue", or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology although not all forward-looking statements contain such terminology. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors which could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward looking statements.

These forward-looking statements are based upon estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by Lotus Tech and its management, as the case may be, involve inherent risks and uncertainties, including those identified in the documents filed or to be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by Lotus Tech. There may be additional risks that Lotus Tech does not presently know or that Lotus Tech currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements.

Nothing in this Press Release should be regarded as a representation by any person that the forward-looking statements set forth herein will be achieved in any specified time frame, or at all, or that any of the contemplated results of such forward-looking statements will be achieved in any specified time frame, or at all. The forward-looking statements in this Press Release represent the views of Lotus Tech as of the date they are made, and Lotus Tech undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement, except as required under applicable law.

Contact Information

For inquiries regarding Lotus Tech

Demi Zhang

ir@group-lotus.com

Brunswick Group

Lotustechmedia@brunswickgroup.com

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SOURCE Lotus Technology Inc.
Demonstrates Lucid's Commitment to Inspire the Adoption of Sustainable Transportation

NEWARK, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lucid Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: LCID), setting new standards for luxury electric experience with the Lucid Air, winner of the 2023 World Luxury Car Award, today announced that it has joined the United Nations (UN) Global Compact, the world's largest voluntary corporate sustainability initiative. With more than 21,800 companies in over 162 countries participating, the UN Global Compact seeks to mobilize a global movement of sustainable companies and stakeholders.

Lucid Motors crosses the pond to open reservations for the Lucid Air luxury EV in multiple European markets. (PRNewsfoto/Lucid Motors)

"Joining the UN Global Compact is a milestone in our sustainability journey and a symbol of our dedication to decarbonizing transportation worldwide," said Peter Rawlinson, Lucid's CEO and CTO. "As an electric vehicle company relentlessly focused on engineering and performance, our in-house technology enables Lucid Air to generate more range with less energy than any other electric vehicle."

"With each extra mile that we extract per kilowatt-hour of energy, less energy is needed from the electrical grid to get you safely to your destination, and fewer carbon emissions are produced. This same technology and innovative approach can similarly enable smaller, lower-cost battery packs that retain competitive range  which in turn will benefit the environment by requiring fewer battery cells per vehicle," Rawlinson added.

The UN Global Compact challenges companies to conduct business responsibly by aligning their operations and strategies with the UN's Ten Principles which pertain to human rights, labor, environmental practices, and anti-corruption. It also commits companies to take actions in accordance with the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). These goals provide a powerful aspiration for businesses, governments, civil society, and citizens to make a better world.

By joining UN Global Compact, organizations commit not only to sustainable practices but also to enhancing transparency. Participation in the UN Global Compact requires signatories to report yearly on their commitment to the universal sustainability principles and development goals. To learn more about the UN Global Compact, visit https://www.unglobalcompact.org .

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About Lucid Group

Lucid's mission is to inspire the adoption of sustainable energy by creating advanced technologies and the most captivating luxury electric vehicles centered around the human experience. The company's first car, the Air, is a state-of-the-art luxury sedan with a California-inspired design. The Lucid Air Grand Touring features an official EPA estimated 516 miles of range or 1,050 horsepower. Produced at Lucid's factory in Casa Grande, Arizona, deliveries of Lucid Air are currently underway to customers in the U.S., Canada, Europe, and the Middle East.

Media Contact

media@lucidmotors.com

Trademarks

This communication contains trademarks, service marks, trade names and copyrights of Lucid Group, Inc. and its subsidiaries and other companies, which are the property of their respective owners.

Forward-Looking Statements

This communication includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "estimate," "plan," "project," "forecast," "intend," "will," "shall," "expect," "anticipate," "believe," "seek," "target," "continue," "could," "may," "might," "possible," "potential," "predict" or other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Lucid's plans and expectations regarding Lucid's participation in the UN Global Compact, including Lucid's commitment to inspire the adoption of sustainable transportation, and the promise of Lucid's technology, including the potential environmental impact of Lucid's technology. These statements are based on various assumptions, whether or not identified in this communication, and on the current expectations of Lucid's management. These forward-looking statements are not intended to serve as, and must not be relied on by any investor as, a guarantee, an assurance, or a definitive statement of fact or probability. Actual events and circumstances are difficult or impossible to predict and may differ from these forward-looking statements. Many actual events and circumstances are beyond the control of Lucid. These forward-looking statements are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties, including those factors discussed under the heading "Risk Factors" in Part I, Item 1A of Lucid's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022, as well as other documents Lucid has filed or will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. If any of these risks materialize or Lucid's assumptions prove incorrect, actual results could differ materially from the results implied by these forward-looking statements. There may be additional risks that Lucid currently does not know or that Lucid currently believes are immaterial that could also cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements. In addition, forward-looking statements reflect Lucid's expectations, plans or forecasts of future events and views as of the date of this communication. Lucid anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause Lucid's assessments to change. However, while Lucid may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, Lucid specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing Lucid's assessments as of any date subsequent to the date of this communication. Accordingly, undue reliance should not be placed upon the forward-looking statements.

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SOURCE Lucid Group
New Heat-and-Serve Mexican Entrees Available in Shredded Chicken and Pork Carnitas Varieties Get Delicious Food on the Table in Less than 10 Minutes

ORANGE, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The makers of the HERDEZ brand today announced the launch of its HERDEZ Mexican Refrigerated Entrees line with two delicious varieties, including HERDEZ Chicken Shredded in Mild Chipotle Sauce and HERDEZ Carnitas Slow Cooked Pork. At-home cooks can now enjoy the traditions from the heart of Mexico in these convenient heat-and-eat meals with the perfect blend of spices and seasoning. Inspired by some of the most popular Mexican dishes, these entrees are packed with flavor and protein, with each containing seven grams of protein per serving.

Source: The Makers of the HERDEZ Brand

"The HERDEZ brand is best known for salsas, HERDEZ TAQUERIA STREET SAUCE, refrigerated guacamole and hot sauce," said Giselle Olson, HERDEZ brand manager. "We love that we can offer our fans more of the bold flavors from Mexico they crave in these new, easy-to-prepare dishes."

"Mexican food is the ethnic food most consumed at home1. With more and more people spending time cooking and entertaining at home, consumers are looking for affordable ways to bring timeless Mexican flavors to life in the comfort of their own kitchens," said Daniel Collier, HERDEZ Refrigerated Meats brand manager. "Our ready-to-serve HERDEZ Mexican Refrigerated entrees offer the simple and delicious convenience we know they want. Inspired by the culinary traditions of Mexico, HERDEZ Chicken Shredded in Mild Chipotle Sauce and HERDEZ Carnitas Slow Cooked Pork make it easy to recreate your favorite Mexican dishes  everything from tacos and burritos, to enchiladas, nachos and more  within minutes."

Nearly two-thirds of consumers cite affordability as a major reason for cooking at home, and on an average weeknight, roughly half of millennials say they cook dinner from scratch.2 HERDEZ Refrigerated Entrees provide familiar flavors of Mexico with the convenience and versatility people crave as they create at-home meals. Varieties include:

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Chicken Shredded in Mild Chipotle Sauce (SRP $9.99-$10.99) This all-natural 3 chicken entree combines tomatoes, garlic, onion and chipotle peppers for a bold flavor, and is slow cooked in its natural juices, making it ideal for any burrito, taco or main entree, and is reminiscent of Chicken Tinga.

Carnitas Slow Cooked Pork (SRP $9.99-$10.99)Slow cooked and marinated with garlic and citrus for an original taste, this time-saving option makes it easy to enjoy Carnitas any time.

Beginning this month, HERDEZ Refrigerated Entrees will be available in 15 oz. packages (MSRP $9.99-$10.99) at Publix and Hy-Vee stores across the U.S., with additional rollout to major grocery chains later this spring.

To learn more about the HERDEZ brand, including nutritional information and recipe ideas, visit www.herdeztraditions.com or follow the HERDEZ brand on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

ABOUT HERDEZ BRAND

The HERDEZ brand allows consumers to experience the real flavor and culture of Mexico at home with authentic salsas and cooking sauce. The HERDEZ brand is the No. 1 selling brand of salsa in Mexico and the leading authentic Mexican salsa brand in homes across the US. Best known for products such as HERDEZ Salsa Verde, Salsa Casera and the original Guacamole Salsa, the HERDEZ brand is founded on authenticity in flavor and quality you can trust. Innovation authentic flavor experiences is at the forefront of their success. The HERDEZ brand is part of MegaMex Foods, one of the fastest growing Mexican food companies in the US focused on reimagining Mexican flavor. For more information and recipe ideas, visit www.herdeztraditions.com or follow the HERDEZ brand on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest and Twitter.

ABOUT HORMEL FOODS  INSPIRED PEOPLE. INSPIRED FOOD.

Hormel Foods Corporation, based in Austin, Minn., is a global branded food company with over $12 billion in annual revenue across more than 80 countries worldwide. Its brands include Planters, SKIPPY, SPAM, Hormel Natural Choice, Applegate, Justin's, WHOLLY, Hormel Black Label, Columbus, Jennie-O and more than 30 other beloved brands. The company is a member of the S&P 500 Index and the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats, was named on the "Global 2000 World's Best Employers" list by Forbes magazine for three years, is one of Fortune magazine's most admired companies, has appeared on the "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list by 3BL Media 13 times, and has received numerous other awards and accolades for its corporate responsibility and community service efforts. The company lives by its purpose statement  Inspired People. Inspired Food.  to bring some of the world's most trusted and iconic brands to tables across the globe. For more information, visit www.hormelfoods.com and http://csr.hormelfoods.com/.

1 Chef's Pencil

2 Morning Consult

3 Minimally processed, no artificial ingredients

Source: The Makers of the HERDEZ Brand

HERDEZ Brand Logo (PRNewsfoto/HERDEZ Brand)

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SOURCE HERDEZ Brand
aklionka / Getty Images/iStockphoto

If youre tech-savvy and want to earn extra cash, participating in OpenAIs Bug Bounty Program could be a great opportunity. OpenAI, the artificial intelligence (AI) research firm behind ChatGPT, launched this initiative to improve the reliability and safety of their AI tools.

See: 18 Legitimate Games & Apps That Pay Real Money in 2023

Find: How To Build a Financial Plan From Zero

If you spot a qualifying issue in the AI system, youll get paid up to $20,000. Payouts start at $200 and are based on the bugs severity. The average payout over the last three months is about $650.

Note: Per the program rules, certain system issues, like malicious code, dont qualify for a reward.

How to participate in OpenAIs Bug Bounty Program

Heres how to get started as a bug bounty hunter:

Read the program details. Create an account with OpenAIs partner, Bugcrowd, Inc., a bug bounty platform. Go through onboarding consisting of videos, a training manual and more. Choose a project (known as an engagement) and review the rules. Hunt for bugs. Report issues as you find them. Collect your reward (if your find meets the projects criteria).

Take Our Poll: Would You Move for a Job That Paid You a $10,000 Signing Bonus?

Unfamiliar with ChatGPT?

ChatGPT is an AI tool that functions like the chatbots youve probably interacted with on company websites  but perhaps is a little more advanced. Did you know that it can also help you get work done? You can use ChatGPT to:

Write resumes and cover letters.

Prepare for common interview questions.

Brainstorm ideas.

Draft documents.

Translate text into different languages.

Write summaries of long content.

Plus, you can still make money from AI if youre not interested in finding bugs in AI systems! While OpenAI isnt publicly traded, you can buy similar stock by investing in companies that create similar tools, like Google or Amazon.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Making Money: How To Get Paid To Find Flaws in AI
VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - MANTARO PRECIOUS METALS CORP. (TSXV: MNTR) (OTCQB: MSLVF) (FSE: 9TZ) (the "Company") is pleased to provide a summary of progress as well as its 2023 exploration plans at the Golden Hill high-grade orogenic gold project in Bolivia and the Santas Gloria high-grade intermediate sulphidation epithermal silver-gold-base metal property in Peru.

2022 Highlights:

Numerous high-grade gold assays from the maiden 21 diamond core drill program at the Golden Hill Property.

New environmental license for fully permitted Golden Hill Property.

Exercise of initial option to acquire a 51% interest in Golden Hill Property.

Drill permits for up to 20 drill pads at the Santas Gloria Property.

2023 Work Program  Golden Hill

Given the fact that Golden Hill is a fully permitted mining concession, the Company has designed a 2023 work program that reflects both the robust exploration potential, and the opportunity for exploitation.

Mineral Resource Estimate : The Company is currently preparing a mineral resource estimate on the Golden Hill Property which it anticipates will be completed in the second quarter 2023.

Petrographic Study : A petrographic study is ongoing using mineralized core from the recent drill program. The program is designed to (i) better understand gold deportment and morphology of gold grains; (ii) assist with modelling key controls on mineralization and depth within the system; and (iii) provide input into the design of gravity recovery flow-paths.

Tailings Study: The Company is currently exploring the option of re-processing the tailings on site or selling them to a third party. Previously, the Company took sixteen samples each of 5 kg for metallurgical test-work (See news release dated December 2, 2021). Tailings head grade varied from 0.31 g/t Au to 7.83 g/t Au for an average head grade of 1.33 g/t Au and gold recovery by cyanidation averaged 96% (92.3 to 97.0%).

2023 Work Program  Santas Gloria

Santas Gloria is an exceptional untested very high grade silver-gold-base metal system of a deposit type that is well understood and has excellent depth potential.

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Drill Pad Construction : Following cessation of the wet season, the Company anticipates that it re-commence drill pad construction in May of 2023.

2500 m Diamond Drill Program: The Company has planned a 15 hole angled diamond drill program totaling 2500 subject to completion of a future financing. The program is planned to commence in June and will initially target the strike and depth extensions of extremely high grades defined in surface channel sampling and underground workings at the Tembledara, San Jorge, Paquita and Mirabel veins.

Golden Hill Property

The Golden Hill property is a fully permitted 5976 hectare mining concession. Gold mineralization at Golden Hill is of an orogenic or greenstone-hosted type, controlled by a regional structure that hosts at least 6 other gold deposits along a 25 km strike length, which have all been mined by open pit to shallow levels. Greenstone-hosted gold systems worldwide form in clusters along regional structures, with the most favorable sites being fault flexures that juxtapose metavolcanics against metasediments. The location of Golden Hill on a gold mineralized regional structure, at the contact of metavolcaincs and metasediments, highlights the exceptional exploration potential.

Golden Hill was mined historically for gold from alluvial drainages along a 6 km long trend within the concession. Shallow open pits were also developed and targeted near-surface shear-hosted gold mineralization over a 3 km long trend from Garrapitillia to La Escharcha (Figure 1). Five sub-parallel veins were mined at La Escarcha through limited underground development to 60 m below surface. Material was processed onsite using a conventional jaw crusher and ball mill and gold was recovered using a simple gravity sluice box.

Mapping of underground workings confirmed the presence of multiple, sub-vertical, gold mineralized shear zones, which individually exceeded 4 to 6 m true width. A 10 tonne bulk sample taken by Mantaro from the -45 m level of the C3 vein at La Escarcha provided a 170 kg sub-sample which was sent to SGS Lakefield (Canada) for metallurgical testwork. Testwork confirmed a head grade of 5.53 g/t Au by 50 g fire assay and 5.96 g/t Au by cyanide bottle roll, and demonstrated that recoveries of 73.6 % gold are achievable by gravity separation and 94 % gold by cyanidation. (See news release dated December 2, 2021 for complete results from of the metallurgical testwork).

In 2022, the Company completed a maiden 21 hole diamond drill program at the Golden Hill Property. A total of 3009 meters were drilled. Fourteen holes for a total of 2405 metres were drilled at La Escarcha beneath, and along strike of, historical workings. The remaining seven holes were scout exploration holes drilled at Gabby, Brownfields and Westfields. These holes intersected multiple high-grade gold-mineralized shear zones over true widths of between 1 to 11.5 metres (Figure 2). (See news release dated January 12, 2023 for complete results from the maiden drill program).

5.15 g/t gold over 4.69 meters from 171.51 meters in GH0003.

8.27 g/t gold over 3.40 meters from 67.56 meters, including 11.82 g/t gold over 2.02 meters from 67.6 meters, 7.57 g/t gold over 5.00 meters from 87 meters, and 3.57 g/t gold over 14.0 meters from 105.0 meters in GH0005.

4.00 g/t gold over 3.00 meters from 67.0 meters, 6.46 g/t Gold over 4.00 meters from 76.0 meters, including 12.73 g/t Gold over 2.00 meters from 76.0 meters, in GH0006.

2.70 g/t gold over 15.02 meters from 64.53 meters, including 8.47 g/t Gold over 3.10 meters from 70.62 meters, 1.25 g/t Gold over 9.16 meters from 82.84 meters in GH0008.

Gold assay results from the maiden drill program confirm the presence of high grade, shear-hosted gold mineralization. Intercepts of 11.82 g/t Au (Hole GH0005) and 12.73 g/t Au (Hole GH0006), within a broader halo of >4 g/t Au, are consistent in terms of width and grade with greenstone-hosted gold discoveries worldwide. Significantly, only 350 m strike meters of La Escarcha was drilled tested to vertical depths of generally 75 to 100 m. The system remains open in all directions.

Five exploration scout holes were drilled at Gabby (Figure 01) over a strike length of 450 m. Three holes intersected gold mineralization (for example 7.5 m @ 1.09 g/t Au from 88.5 m downhole) at vertical depths of between 10 to 65 m. Significant further drilling is warranted at Gabby.

In August 2022, during the maiden drilling campaign, the Company elected to exercise its initial option to acquire a 51% interest in Golden Hill (see news release dated August 25, 2022). The Company and the optionor, Luis Fernando Kinn, who is also a director of the Company, have formed a strong working relationship to advance and realize the full potential of the Golden Hill Property. In particular, the Golden Hill team successfully obtained a new environmental license covering the entire area of Golden Hill. This environmental license is for an indefinite term allowing for any scale of open pit, any type of underground development and alluvial mining across the entire Golden Hill Property. With this permit, the Company has significant optionality on whether it pursues exploration or exploitation of minerals at Golden Hill.

Figure 1: Property map of Golden Hill, showing the extent of gold mineralisation on the property. (CNW Group/Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.)

Figure 2: Planview map showing 2022 drillholes at La Escarcha and Gabby with highlight intercepts. (CNW Group/Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.)

Santas Gloria Property

The 100%-owned Santas Gloria silver-gold-base metal project comprises three exploration concessions totalling 1100 metres. The project is located in the Miocene epithermal gold-silver belt of Peru to the southwest of the Morococha/Toromocho and mineralization is of an intermediate sulphidation style that is likely over-printed by a gold-rich low sulphidation phase. Many of the larger silver-base metal mines in this part of Peru are of an intermediate epithermal sulphidation type characterized by high grade silver-base metal grades in sub-vertical ore shoots that often have in excess of 600 m of vertical extent.

Santas Glorias is noted for very high silver grades (>10,000 g/t Ag in underground channel samples) and unusually high gold grades (up to 56 g/t Au in surface channel samples). Limited historical underground mining in the Tembledara and San Jorge veins enabled the Company to resample accessible workings and define drill ready targets based on the location of the highest grade shoots. Santas Gloria has never been drill tested despite the presence of over 12 km of multiphase, 0.5 to 5 m wide epithermal veins, several of which have strike lengths in excess of 2 km (See Figure 3 and Mantaro's news release dated June 2, 2021 for full details of the results below). For example:

Tembladera Vein System . The Tembladera veins have a cumulative strike length of 4 km. Previous underground channel sampling results ranged from < 5 g/t silver to 10,000 g/t silver, and surface channel sampling results ranged from < 5 g/t silver to 798 g/t silver.

San Jorge Vein System. The San Jorge veins have a cumulative strike length of 3 km. Previous underground channel sampling results ranged from < 5 g/t silver to 4,100 g/t silver, and surface channel sampling results ranged from < 5 g/t silver to 2,500 g/t silver.

Paquita Vein System. The Paquita vein crops out in the north of the Property over a strike length of almost 1.25 km. Previous surface channel sampling results ranged from < 5 g/t silver to 502 g/t silver and 0.05 g/t gold to 3.32 g/t gold.

Maribel Vein System. The Maribel vein crops out in the north of the Property over a strike length of almost 1.3 km. Previous surface channel sampling results ranged from < 5 g/t silver to 585 g/t silver and 0.05 g/t gold to 1.63 g/t gold.

The Santas Glorias property is approximately 100 km from Lima, has excellent access, is at a relatively low altitude of 3300 m, and benefits from a community access agreement that is valid until 2028. The Company was awarded three archaeology certificates (CIRA) that cover key drill targets and confirm that there are no archaeological impediments to drilling. The Company's environmental application (Ficha Tecnica Ambiental) and water permits have been accepted and an authorization for drilling (AIA) from 20 pads has been received.

Figure 3: Planview map showing mapped veins and Mantaro channel sampling results. (CNW Group/Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.)

Investor Relations Activities

The Company also announces that it has engaged with MIC Market Information & Content Publishing GmbH ("MIC") for marketing services for an initial term of six months. MIC was engaged by the Company to heighten market and brand awareness for the Company and to broaden the Company's reach with the investment community through various online platforms and methods of engagement.

Under the terms of the agreement, the Company has agreed to pay MIC up to EUR 37,500 per month for its services. Either party may terminate the agreement on providing thirty days' notice to the other party.

MIC is based in Germany with an address of Gerhard-Hauprmann-St. 49b 51379 Leverkusen and email: contact@micpublishing.de. The principal of MIC is Christian Pohl. Neither MIC nor its principals own any securities in the Company.

Qualified Person

Dr. Christopher Wilson, Ph. D., FAusIMM (CP), FSEG, a Qualified Person under National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this news release.

About Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.

Mantaro Precious Metals Corp. is a British Columbia company that holds a diversified portfolio of gold and silver focused mineral properties in Bolivia and Peru. The Company holds an option to acquire up to an 80% interest in the advanced Golden Hill orogenic gold property ("Golden Hill"), located in the underexplored Precambrian Shield, Bolivia.

In Peru, the Company has a 100% interest in the high-grade Santas Gloria silver property as well as a 100% interest in each of the La Purisima, Cerro Luque and Huaranay properties.

Forward-Looking Statements

Information set forth in this news release contains forward-looking statements that are based on assumptions as of the date of this news release. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations. They are not guarantees of future performance. The Company cautions that all forward looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond the Company's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to Company's limited operating history, ability to obtain sufficient financing to carry out its exploration programs and the need to comply with environmental and governmental regulations. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, the Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date of this news release. Except as required by law, the Company disclaims any intention and assumes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Mantaro Precious Metals Logo (CNW Group/Mantaro Precious Metals Corp.)

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Global Market Insights Inc.

Major marine enzymes market participants include Koninklijke DSM NV, Novozymes AS, Antozyme Biotech Pvt. Ltd., BioLume Inc., ArcticZymes Technologies ASA, Dash Corp., Novo Nordisk AS, Revelations Biotech Pvt. Ltd., BASF SE, Kemin Industries, Inc, Creative Enzymes, Lallemand Inc. and Royal DSM NV.

Selbyville, Delaware, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The marine enzymes market valuation is projected to surpass USD 805 million by 2032, as reported in a research study by Global Market Insights Inc .

Rising adoption to cater to various pharmaceutical applications will positively impact the market growth. Marine enzymes are widely deployed in molecular DNA/RNA analysis across the research and diagnostics sector. In recent years, marine microbial enzymes have grown largely popular in research and development activities across the pharma industry as they provide novel biocatalysts with extraordinary properties. The growing usage of marine enzymes as catalysts in industrial biotransformation as well as in the production of marine pharmaceutical commodities will anchor the industry demand.

Marine enzymes market from the proteases product segment is anticipated to exceed USD 125 million by 2032, due to their increasing adoption in biofuels. Proteases are extensively employed in the food & beverage sector as they offer enhanced deliciousness while extending the storage life of multiple protein sources. These marine enzymes are specifically used for baking purposes considering their ability to improve textures and flavours while regulating the gluten strength in bread. Increasing demand for proteases as key components in detergent formulations to remove protein stains will further add to the product preference.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/5497





Marine enzymes market from cosmetics applications will witness over 6.5% CAGR from 2023 to 2032. The ascending preference for cosmetics worldwide has propelled the demand for cosmetic-oriented proteolytic enzymes in hydration, cleansing, as well as restoration of the skin barrier along with improving the wound inflammation. Marine enzymes are hence largely used in cosmetics as they enhance the appearance of the skin while preventing problems. owing to their antibacterial properties, they are incorporated in formulations for limiting acne, aging and pigmentation as they exfoliate and keep the skin firm while preventing free radicals from damaging the body. The presence of cofactors and coenzymes in these enzymes to promote healthy skin is poised to further boost the market development.



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Asia Pacific marine enzymes market is expected to be worth USD 190 million by 2032, driven by the fast-growing pharmaceuticals and detergents industries in the region. The removal of the ban on frozen beef imports from Australia by China is positively influencing the adoption of marine enzymes in the food & beverages sector. The rapidly expanding leather manufacturing, household care, animal feed, and pharmaceutical verticals and the consequently growing product demand are other factors adding to the regional market dynamics.

Some of the leading companies involved in the marine enzymes market include Koninklijke DSM NV, Novozymes AS, Antozyme Biotech Pvt. Ltd., BioLume Inc., ArcticZymes Technologies ASA, Dash Corp., Novo Nordisk AS, Revelations Biotech Pvt. Ltd., BASF SE, Kemin Industries, Inc, Creative Enzymes, Lallemand Inc., and Royal DSM NV. These companies are constantly essaying collaborative ventures, such as partnerships and acquisitions for process and technological upgradations while strengthening their global presence. For instance, in April 2021, Kemin Industries acquired Proteus Industries, a well-known food technology and ingredient company, to add sustainable and clean-label yield enhancement technologies to its portfolio of ingredient solutions.



Partial chapters of report table of contents (TOC):

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

2.1 Global marine enzymes market 360 synopsis, 20182032

2.1.1 Business trends

2.1.2 Product trends

2.1.3 Application trends

2.1.4 Region trends



Chapter 3 Industry Insights

3.1 Industry segmentation

3.2 Industry size and forecast, 20182032

3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis

3.3.1 Manufacturing trends

3.3.2 Profit margin analysis

3.3.3 Value addition at each stage

3.3.4 Distribution channel analysis

3.3.5 Value chain disruption analysis (COVID-19 impact)

3.3.6 Vendor matrix

3.4 Raw material analysis

3.5 Regulatory landscape

3.6 Innovation & sustainability

3.6.1 Patent analysis

3.6.2 Future trends

3.7 Industry impact forces

3.7.1 Growth drivers

3.7.1.1 Positive outlook for marine enzymes in bakery industry

3.7.1.2 Increasing application scope in pharmaceticals industry

3.7.2 Industry pitfalls and challenges

3.7.2.1 Lack of standardized regulatory guidelines

3.8 Growth potential analysis

3.9 Price trends

3.9.1 Cost structure analysis

3.9.1.1 R&D cost

3.9.1.2 Manufacturing & equipment cost

3.9.1.3 Raw material cost

3.9.1.4 Distribution cost

3.9.1.5 Operating cost

3.9.1.6 Miscellaneous cost

3.9.2 COVID-19 impact on pricing

3.10 Porters analysis

3.10.1 Supplier power

3.10.2 Buyer power

3.10.3 Threat of new entrants

3.10.4 Threat of substitutes

3.10.5 Industry rivalry

3.11 PESTLE analysis

3.12 Russia-Ukraine war impact on the marine enzymes demand

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Dr. Kristin Forner stresses the necessity of global access to palliative care treatment in an address to the UN and as part of a panel comparing palliative care across four continents

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In a speech to the United Nations on April 4th, Kristin Forner, MD FAAHPM, Palliative Care Program Director, MedStar Health, Southern Maryland Region, discussed the "global need" for palliative care and the "right to health" for patients around the world.

MedStar Health (PRNewsfoto/MedStar Health)

Palliative care is specialized team care for people living with a serious illness, and it focuses on providing relief to both patients and their families. For the patients, this kind of care looks like relief from the symptoms and stress of a serious illness, and for the families it assists in deepening understanding of what patients are experiencing, and assurance that the care they are receiving aligns with their values.

"In my years of clinical experience at the bedside of hospitals all over the United States, I can attest that people are living longer, but not necessarily better," said Dr. Forner in her address to the UN Council. "My teams and I care for patients with chronic underlying medical conditions that are progressive and incurable in nature, despite maximum medical therapy. These are diseases like heart failure, emphysema, end-stage renal disease on dialysis, and dementia. We treat their symptoms and discuss their wishes for their care as their bodies decline, ensuring that the care that we are providing is in line with their values and with what is most important to them. This kind of support does not happen if palliative care is not involved."

Palliative care at MedStar Health includes pain and symptom management, guidance navigating difficult and complex treatment decisions, emotional and spiritual support for patients and their families, assistance coordinating transitions of care, and constant communication about what to expect during serious illness. It is available to people at any stage of serious illness and can be provided alongside curative treatment. Central to this care is maximizing quality of life, caring for the patient and family as a unit, and providing treatment consistent with patients' values and beliefs.

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"Palliative care is not just a care approach for older patients who are frail and dying. When implemented upstream, nearer to the time of diagnosis of a life-limiting illness, palliative care improves quality of life by helping patients maximize their autonomy, function, and agency," Dr. Forner said. "It can, in effect, restore life to a patient who is suffering."

In a presentation as part of a panel comparing palliative care across four continents, Dr. Forner underscored the high unmet need for palliative care in the United States, especially in rural hospitals.

Palliative care teams are often tasked with providing holistic care to patients and their families by addressing all eight of the domains that make up a whole person: disease, physical, psychological, social, spiritual, practical, death, and loss/grief. The concept of caring for the whole person aligns with the MedStar Health promise to care for our patients wholistically - mind, body, and spirit.

As next steps and takeaways for healthcare leaders across the United States, Dr. Forner emphasized the following five areas where there is more work to be done to expand access to quality palliative care:

Creating interdisciplinary teams to be able to care for the whole person

The use of payment incentives to give healthcare facilities even more reason to invest in palliative care resources

Identifying and filling gaps in quality, standards, and research related to palliative care

Training clinicians to provide them with the skills necessary to provide effective communication, symptom management, and psychosocial and spiritual support

Spreading awareness among clinicians and the public about the benefits of palliative care

The concept of caring for the whole person aligns with the MedStar Health promise to care for our patients wholistically - mind, body, and spirit.

Cision

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SOURCE MedStar Health
DelveInsight Business Research LLP

The prevalence of mesothelioma has been rising over the past few years, which prompts the growing demand for treatment options. The increasing prevalence of mesothelioma and the growing research and development activities to develop novel therapies to treat mesothelioma to drive the market. The companies developing the potential therapies in the last stage of development include AstraZeneca, Amphera, Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, and several others.

New York, USA, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mesothelioma Clinical Trials Pipeline Analysis: 50+ Companies are Working to Improve the Treatment Space | DelveInsight

The prevalence of mesothelioma has been rising over the past few years, which prompts the growing demand for treatment options. The increasing prevalence of mesothelioma and the growing research and development activities to develop novel therapies to treat mesothelioma to drive the market. The companies developing the potential therapies in the last stage of development include AstraZeneca, Amphera, Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, and several others.

DelveInsights 'Mesothelioma Pipeline Insight 2023' report provides comprehensive global coverage of available, marketed, and pipeline mesothelioma therapies in various stages of clinical development, major pharmaceutical companies are working to advance the pipeline space and future growth potential of the mesothelioma pipeline domain.

Key Takeaways from the Mesothelioma Pipeline Report

DelveInsights mesothelioma pipeline report depicts a robust space with 50+ active players working to develop 55+ pipeline therapies for mesothelioma treatment.

Key mesothelioma companies such as Amphera BV , Momotaro-Gene Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Oncovir, Inc., Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Bayer, Trizell Ltd, Hutchison Medipharma Limited, Targovax, Polaris Group, Sanofi, Ascentage Pharma Group Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Xencor, Inc., NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc, Inhibrx, Inc., VM Oncology, LLC, SOTIO Biotech AG, Atara Biotherapeutics, Targovax ASA, Oncotelic Therapeutics, Epizyme, Inc., AstraZeneca, RS Oncology LLC, Vivace Therapeutics, Inc, ImmVira Pharma Co. Ltd, Shionogi Inc., Compass Therapeutics, CRISPR Therapeutics, TCR2 Therapeutics, Mirati Therapeutics Inc., Seagen Inc., Ikena Oncology, Xencor, Inc., Aminex Therapeutics, Inc., ProfoundBio, Verismo Therapeutics, and others are evaluating new mesothelioma drugs to improve the treatment landscape.

Promising mesothelioma pipeline therapies such as MesoPher, MTG201, IAG933, Poly-ICLC, BBI608, Anetumab ravtansine, rAd-IFN, CPI-0209, XmAb20717, HMPL-453, INBRX-109, SO-C101, VMD-928, NGM707, ONCOS-102, iCasp9M28z, ADI-PEG 20, SAR444245, APG-5918, Niraparib, OT-101, Tazemetostat, RSO-021, VT3989, APG-2449, T3011, S-488210, CTX-471, CTX131, TC-510, MRTX1719, SGN-BB228, IK-930, XmAb20717, AMXT1501, PRO1184, SynKIR 110, and others are under different phases of mesothelioma clinical trials.

In April 2023 , Verismo Therapeutics , a clinical-stage CAR T company, Penn spinout, and pioneer of the novel KIR-CAR platform technology, announced that it has received Fast Track designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its investigational new drug, SynKIR-110 , for the treatment of patients with mesothelioma. SynKIR-110 is an investigational new drug for the treatment of mesothelin-expressing mesothelioma, cholangiocarcinoma and ovarian cancer.

In March 2023 , Merck and the Canadian Cancer Trials Group (CCTG) reported positive data from the Phase II/III CCTG IND.227/KEYNOTE-483 trial of Keytruda, along with chemotherapy, as first-line treatment for advanced malignant pleural mesothelioma patients. According to the final study analysis, the combination of Keytruda and chemotherapy met the trials primary endpoint of overall survival (OS), demonstrating a clinically meaningful and statistically significant improvement in OS compared to chemotherapy alone.

In March 2023 , Avenge Bio, Inc. announced that it completed a pre-Investigational New Drug (IND) meeting with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration ("FDA") with respect to AVB-001 for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma, and provided a corporate update. Preliminary feedback was received from the FDA on the future development of AVB-001 for the treatment of malignant pleural mesothelioma. Avenge obtained guidance from the FDA on its preclinical and clinical development plans and remains on track to submit an IND in the second half of 2023.

In January 2023 , Ultimovacs ASA announced the completed recruitment of 118 patients with pleural mesothelioma in the NIPU trial . NIPU is a randomized, multicenter phase II trial initiated and sponsored by Oslo University Hospital with support from Bristol-Myers Squibb and Ultimovacs. UV1 is being evaluated in combination with the checkpoint inhibitors ipilimumab and nivolumab as second-line treatment for patients with malignant pleural mesothelioma.

In September 2022, TCR2 Therapeutics Inc. announced positive topline results from the Phase I portion of the gavo-cel Phase I/II clinical trial for mesothelin-expressing solid tumors, with some patients still being monitored for clinical response or stable disease. The patients were heavily pretreated with a median of five prior lines of therapy, including immune checkpoint inhibitors in 66% of patients and mesothelin-directed therapies in 19% of patients.

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Request a sample and discover the recent advances in mesothelioma treatment drugs @ Mesothelioma Pipeline Report

The mesothelioma pipeline report provides detailed profiles of pipeline assets, a comparative analysis of clinical and non-clinical stage mesothelioma drugs, inactive and dormant assets, a comprehensive assessment of driving and restraining factors, and an assessment of opportunities and risks in the mesothelioma clinical trial landscape.

Mesothelioma Overview

Mesothelioma is an asbestos-related cancer. It usually develops in the lining of the lungs or the abdomen. The average life expectancy after diagnosis is 18 to 31 months, but the prognosis may improve with treatment. Chest pain, shortness of breath, and general fatigue are all possible mesothelioma symptoms. Any level of asbestos exposure can cause mesothelioma. Certain occupations, however, may have higher rates of exposure. Based on the location of the tumor, there are four main types of mesothelioma. Malignant pleural mesothelioma is the most common. After recognizing mesothelioma symptoms, doctors will conduct a battery of tests and procedures to confirm a mesothelioma diagnosis. Biopsies are the only way to definitively diagnose mesothelioma. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are the most common mesothelioma treatments. The most common approach is a multimodal approach, which combines two or more standard mesothelioma treatment options.





Find out more about mesothelioma treatment drugs @ Drugs for Mesothelioma Treatment

A snapshot of the Mesothelioma Pipeline Drugs mentioned in the report:

Drugs Company Phase MoA RoA Durvalumab AstraZeneca Phase III Programmed cell death-1 ligand-1 inhibitors; T lymphocyte stimulants Intravenous MesoPher Amphera Phase II/III Immunostimulants Intravenous REIC gene therapy Momotaro-Gene Inc. Phase II Apoptosis stimulants; DKK3 expression modulators; Gene transference; Tumour suppressor gene modulators Intratumoral Napabucasin Sumitomo Pharma Oncology Phase I/II Beta catenin inhibitors; Cell death stimulants; STAT3 transcription factor inhibitors; Stem cell inhibitors Oral Tulmimetostat MorphoSys Phase I/II Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 protein inhibitors Oral IAG933 Novartis Pharmaceuticals Phase I Undefined mechanism Oral VT3989 Vivace Therapeutics, Inc. Phase I Transcription factor inhibitors Oral

Learn more about the emerging Mesothelioma pipeline therapies @ Mesothelioma Clinical Trials

Mesothelioma Therapeutics Assessment

The mesothelioma pipeline report proffers an integral view of the mesothelioma emerging novel therapies segmented by stage, product type, molecule type, mechanism of action, and route of administration.

Scope of the Mesothelioma Pipeline Report

Coverage : Global

Mesothelioma Therapeutic Assessment By Product Type: Mono, Combination, Mono/Combination

Mesothelioma Therapeutic Assessment By Clinical Stages: Discovery, Pre-clinical, Phase I, Phase II, Phase III

Mesothelioma Therapeutics Assessment By Route of Administration: Oral, Parenteral, Intravenous, Subcutaneous, Topical

Mesothelioma Therapeutics Assessment By Molecule Type : Monoclonal Antibody, Peptides, Polymer, Small molecule, Gene therapy

Mesothelioma Therapeutics Assessment By Mechanism of Action: Immunostimulants, Programmed cell death-1 ligand-1 inhibitors, T lymphocyte stimulants, Apoptosis stimulants, DKK3 expression modulators, Gene transference, Tumour suppressor gene modulators, Dipeptidyl peptidase 4 inhibitors, Beta catenin inhibitors, Cell death stimulants, STAT3 transcription factor inhibitors, Stem cell inhibitors, Enhancer of zeste homolog 2 protein inhibitors

Key Mesothelioma Companies : Amphera BV, Momotaro-Gene Inc., Novartis Pharmaceuticals, Oncovir, Inc., Sumitomo Pharma Oncology, Bayer, Trizell Ltd, Hutchison Medipharma Limited, Targovax, Polaris Group, Sanofi, Ascentage Pharma Group Inc., GlaxoSmithKline, Constellation Pharmaceuticals, Xencor, Inc., NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc, Inhibrx, Inc., VM Oncology, LLC, SOTIO Biotech AG, Atara Biotherapeutics, Targovax ASA, Oncotelic Therapeutics, Epizyme, Inc., AstraZeneca, RS Oncology LLC, Vivace Therapeutics, Inc, ImmVira Pharma Co. Ltd, Shionogi Inc., Compass Therapeutics, CRISPR Therapeutics, TCR2 Therapeutics, Mirati Therapeutics Inc., Seagen Inc., Ikena Oncology, Xencor, Inc., Aminex Therapeutics, Inc., ProfoundBio, Verismo Therapeutics, and others

Key Mesothelioma Pipeline Therapies: MesoPher, MTG201, IAG933, Poly-ICLC, BBI608, Anetumab ravtansine, rAd-IFN, CPI-0209, XmAb20717, HMPL-453, INBRX-109, SO-C101, VMD-928, NGM707, ONCOS-102, iCasp9M28z, ADI-PEG 20, SAR444245, APG-5918, Niraparib, OT-101, Tazemetostat, RSO-021, VT3989, APG-2449, T3011, S-488210, CTX-471, CTX131, TC-510, MRTX1719, SGN-BB228, IK-930, XmAb20717, AMXT1501, PRO1184, SynKIR 110, and others

Dive deep into rich insights for new drugs for Mesothelioma treatment, visit @ Mesothelioma Drugs

Table of Contents

1. Mesothelioma Pipeline Report Introduction 2. Mesothelioma Pipeline Report Executive Summary 3. Mesothelioma Pipeline: Overview 4. Analytical Perspective In-depth Commercial Assessment 5. Mesothelioma Clinical Trial Therapeutics 6. Mesothelioma Pipeline: Late Stage Products (Pre-registration) 7. Mesothelioma Pipeline: Late Stage Products (Phase III) 7.1. Durvalumab: AstraZeneca 8. Mesothelioma Pipeline: Mid Stage Products (Phase II) 8.1. REIC gene therapy: Momotaro-Gene Inc. 9. Mesothelioma Pipeline: Early Stage Products (Phase I) 9.1. IAG933: Novartis Pharmaceuticals 10. Mesothelioma Pipeline Therapeutics Assessment 11. Inactive Products in the Mesothelioma Pipeline 12. Company-University Collaborations (Licensing/Partnering) Analysis 13. Key Companies 14. Key Products in the Mesothelioma Pipeline 15. Unmet Needs 16. Market Drivers and Barriers 17. Future Perspectives and Conclusion 18. Analyst Views 19. Appendix

For further information on the mesothelioma pipeline therapeutics, reach out @ Mesothelioma Treatment Drugs

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Metrodora is the first integrated, multidisciplinary medical and research center dedicated to diagnosing and treating neuroimmune axis disorders, an under-researched disease space that impacts hundreds of millions of people

Institute is building the world's first biobank and high-density data repository focused on these conditions to inform treatment and serve as the bedrock for future research accelerated through the Metrodora Foundation

SALT LAKE CITY, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Metrodora Institute today announced the opening of its state-of-the-art medical and research center, dedicated to advancing care and accelerating the path to improved diagnostics, therapeutics, and cures for patients living with neuroimmune axis disorders. The opening follows a soft launch that welcomed initial patients over the last month. Located in Salt Lake City, UT, the multidisciplinary institute brings together world-class clinicians, scientists, and engineers under one roof to maximize the impact of scientific discovery and rapidly translate research into better patient outcomes. Metrodora is designed to deliver a new blueprint for healthcare that breaks down the barriers between medical specialties and embeds scientific research and discovery directly into the patient care process. The Metrodora Foundation, the Institute's non-profit research arm, will fund and further the scientific discovery needed to accelerate novel treatments and cures.

Metrodora Institute

The launch of Metrodora and its focus on neuroimmune axis disorders comes as a growing body of research points to a dramatic increase in these disorders as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, including long-COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS), and postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS). Neuroimmune axis disorders are complex chronic illnesses that trigger dysfunctional interactions across multiple body systems, including the nervous, immune, endocrine, and gastrointestinal systems. Today an estimated four in 10 Americans live with at least one chronic disease resulting from the dysregulation of the neuroimmune axis. Typically triggered by an immune-activating event, such as an infection, surgery, injury, or hormone change, these conditions remain severely understudied, under-reported, and misdiagnosed due to deep silos across medical specialties and between scientific research and clinical care. There are currently no cures for neuroimmune axis disorders, and treatments remain limited.

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"In order to improve the lives of people living with neuroimmune axis disorders, we must accelerate progress towards treatments and cures. This requires a new healthcare model that effectively closes the gap between clinical medicine and scientific discovery", said Laura A. Pace, MD, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Metrodora Institute. "Metrodora was inspired by what healthcare should be. Our approach to multidisciplinary care brings medical specialists together with scientists focused on discovering treatments and cures. By redefining how we diagnose and care for patients with these complex, multisystem disorders, we are leading the next frontier of medicine by addressing a significant unmet medical need."

"Metrodora exists to rebuild the connective tissue across medical specialties and between clinicians, patients, and scientists," said Fidji Simo, Co-Founder of Metrodora Institute, President of Metrodora Foundation, and CEO of Instacart. "We believe science should improve human health faster, so we're treating these disorders in a way that ensures the highest likelihood of finding cures. Metrodora provides patients with the level of multidisciplinary care they deserve as well as the ability to contribute to research. This rich and comprehensive data set is key to better understanding these conditions and unlocking new insights that will drive scientific discovery."

A New Blueprint for Multidisciplinary Care Informed by Research

An Integrated, Multidisciplinary Focus

The current healthcare system is not optimized to care for complex medical conditions that impact multiple body systems, with medical specialists focused on individual organs and body systems. Medical specialists operate independently from each other, as well as separately from the scientists exploring these conditions. As a result, patients with neuroimmune axis disorders face many years of visits to different specialists, often without receiving a proper diagnosis. The Metrodora Institute is bridging these gaps in care by redefining how research and clinical practice work together to treat and cure complex, chronic diseases. With multiple medical specialists together under one roof, patients receive comprehensive evaluations and testing over the course of a few weeks  instead of years. Through this integrated approach, Metrodora aims to significantly decrease the diagnostic odyssey for patients.

The Institute also features dedicated collaboration spaces and holds weekly case conferences that bring experts from all specialties together with their scientific team to collaborate on complex patient cases. Metrodora's state-of-the-art research and pathology laboratories are also co-located within its medical center, allowing clinicians and scientists to work side-by-side to drive faster, more informed discovery.

Innovative Approach to Diagnostics and Therapeutics

Metrodora's clinical programs are designed to create a full health ecosystem that integrates neurology, immunology, and gastroenterology care with genetics, pain management, comprehensive rehabilitation programs, nutritional and neurocognitive therapies addressing patients' comprehensive care needs. In addition to the multidisciplinary clinic, the Institute features a state-of-the-art ambulatory surgery center, two advanced autonomic laboratories, and an infusion center.

From interventional medicine to specialized treatments, the Institute leverages advanced technologies to provide faster and more effective diagnoses and care pathways. For example, Metrodora is the first medical center in the U.S. to employ Cellvizio, a confocal laser endomicroscopy technology, for real-time diagnosis of allergies, immunological responses, and barrier dysfunction within the adult gastrointestinal tract.

Revolutionizing How Scientific Research Impacts Patient Care

Metrodora's unique model actively integrates scientific research with clinical care to ensure the rapid translation of discoveries from the bench to bedside. The Institute will see up to 20,000 patients per year, and each patient will have the opportunity to contribute biological samples (including blood, tissue, microbiome samples) and data (via biometrics and surveys) to research, as well as participate in relevant clinical trials. Direct access to this engaged patient population is enabling Metrodora Institute to build the world's first biobank and high-density data repository focused on neuroimmune axis disorder space.

"Access to high-quality patient samples and high-density data is critical for making the scientific breakthroughs required to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of complex diseases. Until now, high-quality biobanks and data repositories have not existed for this disease space." said James Hemp, PhD, Chief Science Officer and Co-Founder, Metrodora Institute. "The richness of Metrodora's comprehensive biological data is truly revolutionary. By providing researchers with access to essential high-density data, and ensuring that their work is informed by real-world clinical experience, we believe we can advance treatments and discover cures faster."

To further expand the reach of the biobank and patient data repository, the nonprofit arm of the Institute  the Metrodora Foundation  will make this deeply phenotyped multidimensional patient data and biobank samples accessible to an ecosystem of research partners across biotech and academia, propelling scientific discovery, treatment breakthroughs, and ultimately, cures.

Partnering with Biotech and Academia

Metrodora's unique capabilities will be directly informed and underpinned by this valuable patient data. As a hub for research and innovation, Metrodora is collaborating with leading industry and academic partners to dramatically accelerate the development of more effective diagnostic tools, treatments, and cures for this underserved patient population. Current biotech and academic partners include :

Argenx  One of the first companies to conduct a clinical trial on a drug to treat long-COVID and COVID-induced POTS; Metrodora Institute is a clinical trial site.

PathAI  Using AI to optimize the analysis of tissue samples to provide patients with a more accurate diagnosis and match them with effective treatments.

Fabric Genomics  AI platform to identify and prioritize new genome variants associated with neuroimmune axis disorders and accelerate clinical diagnostics for these conditions.

NeuraLight  Diagnosing neurological disorders more accurately using advanced oculometric technology.

Biofourmis  Technology-enabled care delivery to provide continuous at-home patient monitoring with a focus on actionable data for chronic condition management with earlier interventions for better outcomes and ongoing research and development. Biofourmis' connected platform includes configurable technology and services that span the care continuum and drug lifecycle, enabling dynamic care pathways that deliver accelerated R&D and individualized, timely data-driven interventions for patients.

COUR  Developing new therapies designed to reprogram the immune system, and ultimately, identify cures for autoimmune diseases.

Montana State University's Hatzenpichler laboratory  Via a MIRA award through the NIH's National Institute of General Medical Sciences, MSU is partnering with Metrodora Institute on fundamental research studying the human gut microbiome.

For more information on Metrodora Institute visit www.metrodora.co

For more information on the Metrodora Foundation visit www.metrodora.org

About the Metrodora Institute and Foundation

Metrodora Institute is the first medical and research center dedicated to advancing care and accelerating cures for people living with complex neuroimmune axis disorders. Located in Salt Lake City, UT, the integrated multidisciplinary institute brings together world-class clinicians, scientists, and engineers under one roof  to maximize the impact of scientific discovery and rapidly translate research into better human health outcomes.

Metrodora's comprehensive clinical programs integrate neurology, immunology, and gastroenterology care with genomics, pain management, comprehensive rehabilitation programs, nutritional and neurocognitive therapies, and telehealth services to provide patient-centered care. Grounded in multidisciplinary collaboration, Metrodora is delivering a new blueprint for patient care, designed to break down silos between scientific research and medical practice. As the nonprofit arm of the Institute, the Metrodora Foundation is committed to catalyzing essential scientific research that will lead to the rapid discovery and development of cures for neuroimmune axis disorders. With direct access to the Institute's engaged patient population and high-density biobank, the Metrodora Foundation makes this fundamental research infrastructure accessible to academic and biotech partners  propelling scientific discovery, treatment breakthroughs, and ultimately, cures.

Founded in 2020 by Laura A. Pace, MD, PhD, James Hemp, PhD, and Fidji Simo, CEO of Instacart, Metrodora is leading the next frontier of science and medicine to address a significant unmet medical need.

About Metrodora's Founders

Dr. Laura A. Pace, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Metrodora

Laura is a physician-scientist with over 20 years of clinical and research experience. Her clinical expertise is focused on neuroimmune axis disorders with a specialization in neurogastroenterology, autonomic disorders, genetics, along with rare, undiagnosed, and neglected diseases. Her research has spanned chemistry, microbiology, neuroscience, and genetics. Laura has published over 100 peer-reviewed journal articles and has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as well as from private foundations to advance her pioneering work in the neuroimmune field. She is a leader in the rare disease space, including serving as the Co-Lead for of the University of Utah's NIH Undiagnosed Diseases Network (NIH UDN) clinical site. She has also served on medical boards and as principal investigator for many clinical trials. She earned a BS in Chemistry from Stony Brook University, an MD from the University of Illinois Chicago, and a PhD in Neuroscience from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Dr. James Hemp, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer of Metrodora

James is an interdisciplinary scientist with over 20 years of research experience spanning biology, chemistry, physics, genetics, and medicine. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed journal articles and has received research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Science Foundation (NSF), and several private foundations. James received a BS in Honors Physics from the University of Minnesota and a PhD in Biophysics and Computational Biology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He was a prestigious Agouron Postdoctoral Fellow while at Caltech.

Fidji Simo, Co-Founder of Metrodora and President of the Metrodora Foundation

Fidji currently serves as the Chief Executive Officer of Instacart and previously spent ten years at Meta, where she led the Facebook app, which reaches 2 billion people every month. Fidji has built some of Facebook's most successful services  like Facebook Live and Facebook Video  and was a core driver behind Facebook's mobile monetization strategy where she invented new ad formats for mobile, that have been widely adopted by the rest of the industry. Fidji has been recognized by Fortune as part of their "40 under 40" annual ranking of most influential young people in business and was also #2 on Fast Company's list of Most Creative People in Business. She sits on the board of Instacart and Shopify.

Contact:

media@metrodora.co

Cision

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SOURCE Metrodora Institute
Skyharbour Resources (CVE:SYH) (OTCMKTS:SYHBF) holds an extensive portfolio of uranium and thorium exploration projects in Canada's Athabasca Basin and is well positioned to benefit from improving uranium market fundamentals with six drill-ready projects. In July 2016, Skyharbour acquired an option from Denison Mines, a large strategic shareholder of the Company, to acquire 100% of the Moore Uranium Project which is located approximately 15 kilometres east of Denison's Wheeler River project and 39 kilometres south of Cameco's McArthur River uranium mine. Moore is an advanced stage uranium exploration project with high grade uranium mineralization at the Maverick Zone. Drill results have returned up to 6.0% U3O8 over 5.9 metres, including 20.8% U3O8 over 1.5 metres at a vertical depth of 265 metres. Skyharbour has signed option agreements with Orano Canada Inc. and Azincourt Energy whereby Orano and Azincourt can earn in up to 70% of specific segments of the Preston Project through a combined $9,800,000 in total exploration expenditures, as well as $1,700,000 in total cash payments and Azincourt shares. Preston is a large, geologically prospective property proximal to Fission Uranium's Triple R deposit as well as NexGen Energy's Arrow deposit. The Company also owns a 100% interest in the Falcon Point Uranium Project which hosts a high-grade surface showing with up to 68% U3O8 in grab samples from a massive pitchblende vein, the source of which has yet to be discovered. The Company's 100% owned Mann Lake Uranium project on the east side of the Basin is strategically located adjacent to the Mann Lake Joint Venture operated by Cameco, where high-grade uranium mineralization has been identified. Skyharbour's goal is to maximize shareholder value through new mineral discoveries, committed long-term partnerships, and the advancement of exploration projects in geopolitically favourable jurisdictions.
Allied Market Research

The increase in the presence of corporate industries due to the massive growth of business activities, such as client meetings, brand promotions, employee training activities, and others, drives the growth of the global MICE industry

Portland,OR, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, MICE Industry by event type (Meetings, Incentives, Conventions, and Exhibitions): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021-2031. According to the report, the global MICE industry by event type was estimated at $345.8 billion in 2021, and is anticipated to generate $2.1 trllion by 2031, registering a CAGR of 15.2% from 2022 to 2031.

Prime determinants of growth

The increase in the presence of corporate industries due to the massive growth of business activities, such as client meetings, brand promotions, employee training activities, and others, drives the growth of the global MICE industry. On the other hand, high operational cost associated with MICE events and growth in geopolitical and social uncertainties restrain the growth of the market. Nevertheless, technological advancement in the MICE Industry by event type and the rise in infrastructural investment are expected to create multiple opportunities for the key players in the industry.

Download Sample Copy of report: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/2433

Report Coverage & details:













Report Coverage







Details

Forecast Period



2022-2031



Base Year



2021

Market Size in 2021



$345.8 billion



Market Size in 2031



$2.1 trillion



CAGR



15.2%

No. of Pages in Report



244

Segment covered



Event type and Region



Drivers



Continuous development in the travel & tourism industry and integration of various segments, such as hospitality & infrastructure with government initiatives The increase in globalization of businesses



Opportunities



Technological advancement in the MICE Industry by event type The rise in Infrastructural investment



Restraints



High operational cost associated with MICE events Growth in geopolitical and social uncertainties

Covid-19 scenario-



Story continues

The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic forced governments to impose strict restrictions on travel and tourism activities to contain the spread of coronavirus. This halted business meeting, incentive, conferencing, and exhibition (MICE) tourism. Therefore, digital platforms, such as Zoom, Skype, and Google Meet emerged as the most preferable alternative to host and attend MICE events.

Online platforms eliminated the need for the players operating in the global MICE industry. Moreover, conducting MICE events through digital media drastically reduced the costs of such events. Furthermore, most of the companies in different industries suffered huge losses due to lockdowns imposed globally.

Procure Complete Report (244 Pages PDF with Insights, Charts, Tables, and Figures):

https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/checkout-final/3a45b7e14f0fddb56c430af46c929b35

The meetings segment to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period



By event type, the meetings segment held the highest market share in 2021, accounting for more than three fifths of the global MICE industry by event type and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period, as the recent trend of organizing hybrid meetings involve the use of social media and meeting apps. Hybrid meeting solutions connect speakers and attendees with online audiences in a virtual way. Meeting attendance can range from ten to thousands of people. Meeting times vary depending on the meeting type. However, the incentives segment is projected to manifest the highest CAGR of 15.9% from 2022 to 2031, as incentive travel programs are often used by companies to motivate and engage their employees by providing them with unique travel experiences as a reward for achieving specific business objectives.



Europe to maintain its dominance by 2031-

Based on region, Europe held the highest market share in term of revenue in 2021, accounting for more than two-fifths of the global MICE industry by event type and is estimated to maintain its leadership status throughout the forecast period. On a positive note, Europe has been extremely successful in winning conferences of international associations with over half of its top cities and countries selected as destinations for international association conferences. UK and Germany are the top investing pockets for the MICE Industry by event type in Europe. Moreover, the market is witnessing growth due to increase in trend of online booking. However, the Middle East region is expected to witness the highest CAGR of 22.7% from 2022 to 2031, owing to the increase in number of events in the Middle East region and growth of tourism.

Enquire before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/2433

Leading Market Players:



360 DESTINATION GROUP

ACCESS DESTINATION SERVICES

ATPI LTD.

BCD GROUP

BI WORLDWIDE



CWT

FCM TRAVEL

CONFERENCE CARE LTD.

CREATIVE GROUP, INC.

CSI DMC



IBTM WORLD

ITA GROUP

MARITZ

MEETINGS AND INCENTIVES WORLDWIDE, INC

ONE10, LLC



THE FREEMAN COMPANY, LLC

THE INTERPUBLIC GROUP OF COMPANIES, INC.

The report analyzes these key players in the global MICE Industry by event type. These players have adopted various strategies such as expansion, new product launches, partnerships, and others to increase their market penetration and strengthen their position in the industry. The report is helpful in determining the business performance, operating segments, developments, and product portfolios of every market player.

Similar Reports We Have on Consumer Goods Industry:



 Outbound MICE Market is projected to reach $1272.2 billion by 2031

 Corporate Luxury Events Market is projected to reach $526,165.5 million by 2030

 Thailand MICE and Mega Event Market is estimated to reach $12.23 billion by 2027

 Caribbean MICE Market Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2018-2025

 Asia-Pacific MICE industry to reach $441.1 billion by 2025

About Us:

Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain.

We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Allied Market Research CEO Pawan Kumar is instrumental in inspiring and encouraging everyone associated with the company to maintain high quality of data and help clients in every way possible to achieve success. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry.



CONTACT: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free):+1-800-792-5285, +1-503-894-6022 UK:+44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong:+852-301-84916 India (Pune):+91-20-66346060 Fax:+1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/reports-store/consumer-goods Follow Us on Blog: https://www.dailyreportsworld.com




ReportLinker

Forecasts by End-User (Air Forces, Land Forces, Naval Forces), by Application (Command and Control, Situational Awareness, Routine Operations, Other), by Type (Air-Based Communication, Ship-Based Communication, Air-Ground Based Communication, Underwater-Based Communication, Ground-Based Communication), by System (Military SATCOM Systems, Military Radar Systems, Military Radio Systems, Military Intercom Network Systems, Military Communication Management Systems, Other System) AND Regional and Leading National Market Analysis PLUS Analysis of Leading Companies AND COVID-19 Impact and Recovery Pattern Analysis.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Military Communications & COTS Market Report 2023-2033" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p06447098/?utm_source=GNW





The Military Communications & COTS Market Report 2023-2033: This report will prove invaluable to leading firms striving for new revenue pockets if they wish to better understand the industry and its underlying dynamics. It will be useful for companies that would like to expand into different industries or to expand their existing operations in a new region.





The Growing Trend Towards Network-Centric Warfare Are Expected to Drive the Market



the military communications & COTS market plays a crucial role in providing reliable and secure communication capabilities for military operations. This market includes a wide range of communication technologies and services, including satellite communications, radio communications, and network-centric systems. The increasing need for real-time situational awareness and the growing adoption of unmanned systems in military operations are some of the key factors driving the growth of this market.





One of the major trends in the military communications & COTS market is the adoption of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies. The use of COTS technologies allows military organizations to take advantage of the latest advancements in communication technologies while minimizing the cost and time required for development and deployment. Additionally, the use of COTS technologies also enables interoperability between different military units and organizations.





What Questions Should You Ask before Buying a Market Research Report?



 How is the military communications & COTS market evolving?



 What is driving and restraining the military communications & COTS market?



 How will each military communications & COTS submarket segment grow over the forecast period and how much revenue will these submarkets account for in 2033?



 How will the market shares for each military communications & COTS submarket develop from 2023 to 2033?



 What will be the main driver for the overall market from 2023 to 2033?



 Will leading military communications & COTS markets broadly follow the macroeconomic dynamics, or will individual national markets outperform others?



 How will the market shares of the national markets change by 2033 and which geographical region will lead the market in 2033?



 Who are the leading players and what are their prospects over the forecast period?



 What are the military communications & COTS projects for these leading companies?



 How will the industry evolve during the period between 2023 and 2033? What are the implications of military communications & COTS projects taking place now and over the next 10 years?



 Is there a greater need for product commercialisation to further scale the military communications & COTS market?



 Where is the military communications & COTS market heading and how can you ensure you are at the forefront of the market?



 What are the best investment options for new product and service lines?



 What are the key prospects for moving companies into a new growth path and C-suite?





You need to discover how this will impact the military communications & COTS market today, and over the next 10 years:



 Our 367-page report provides 142 tables and 209 charts/graphs exclusively to you.



 The report highlights key lucrative areas in the industry so you can target them  NOW.



 It contains in-depth analysis of global, regional and national sales and growth.



 It highlights for you the key successful trends, changes and revenue projections made by your competitors.





This report tells you TODAY how the military communications & COTS market will develop in the next 10 years, and in line with the variations in COVID-19 economic recession and bounce. This market is more critical now than at any point over the last 10 years.





Forecasts to 2033 and other analyses reveal commercial prospects



 In addition to revenue forecasting to 2033, our new study provides you with recent results, growth rates, and market shares.



 You will find original analyses, with business outlooks and developments.



 Discover qualitative analyses (including market dynamics, drivers, opportunities, restraints and challenges), cost structure, impact of rising military communications & COTS prices and recent developments.





This report includes data analysis and invaluable insight into how COVID-19 will affect the industry and your company. Four COVID-19 recovery patterns and their impact, namely, V, L, W and U are discussed in this report.





Segments Covered in the Report





Market Segment by End-User



 Air Forces



 Land Forces



 Naval Forces





Market Segment by Application



 Command and Control



 Situational Awareness



 Routine Operations



 Other Application





Market Segment by Type



 Air-Based Communication



 Ship-Based Communication



 Air-Ground Based Communication



 Underwater Based Communication



 Ground-Based Communication





Market Segment by System



 Military SATCOM Systems



 Military Radar Systems



 Military Radio Systems



 Military Intercom Network Systems



 Military Communication Management Systems



 Other System





In addition to the revenue predictions for the overall world market and segments, you will also find revenue forecasts for four regional and 20 leading national markets:





North America



 U.S.



 Canada





Europe



 Germany



 Russia



 United Kingdom



 France



 Italy



 Rest of Europe





Asia Pacific



 China



 Japan



 India



 Australia



 South Korea



 Rest of Asia Pacific





Latin America



 Brazil



 Mexico



 Rest of Latin America





Middle East & Africa



 GCC



 South Africa



 Rest of Middle East & Africa





The report also includes profiles and for some of the leading companies in the Military Communications & COTS Market, 2023 to 2033, with a focus on this segment of these companies operations.





Leading companies and the potential for market growth



 BAE Systems PLC



 Boeing Defence, Space and Security



 Cassidian



 Cobham Limited



 EADS Astrium



 Elbit Systems Ltd



 General Dynamics C4 Systems



 Gilat Satellite Networks



 Honeywell Aerospace and Defense



 Inmarsat Global Ltd.



 ITT Exelis



 L3 Technologies, Inc.



 Leonardo DRS



 Lockheed Martin Corporation



 Northrop Grumman Corporation



 Raytheon Technologies Corporation



 Rockwell Collins, Inc.



 Thales Group



 Viasat Inc.





Overall world revenue for Military Communications & COTS Market, 2023 to 2033 in terms of value the market will surpass US$38.97 billion in 2023, our work calculates. We predict strong revenue growth through to 2033. Our work identifies which organizations hold the greatest potential. Discover their capabilities, progress, and commercial prospects, helping you stay ahead.





How will the Military Communications & COTS Market, 2023 to 2033 report help you?



In summary, our 360+ page report provides you with the following knowledge:





 Revenue forecasts to 2033 for Military Communications & COTS Market, 2023 to 2033 Market, with forecasts for end-use, application, type, and system each forecast at a global and regional level  discover the industrys prospects, finding the most lucrative places for investments and revenues.





 Revenue forecasts to 2033 for four regional and 20 key national markets  See forecasts for the Military Communications & COTS Market, 2023 to 2033 market in North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and Middle East & Africa. Also forecasted is the market in the US, Canada, Brazil, Germany, France, UK, Russia, China, India, Japan, and Australia among other prominent economies.





 Prospects for established firms and those seeking to enter the market  including company profiles for 20 of the major companies involved in the Military Communications & COTS Market, 2023 to 2033.



Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p06447098/?utm_source=GNW



About Reportlinker

ReportLinker is an award-winning market research solution. Reportlinker finds and organizes the latest industry data so you get all the market research you need - instantly, in one place.



__________________________

Story continues

CONTACT: Clare: clare@reportlinker.com US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001




Global Market Insights Inc.

Major multiexperience development platforms market participants include Microsoft Corporation, Google LLC, SAP SE, Salesforce and OutSystems.

Selbyville, Delaware, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --



The multiexperience development platforms market valuation is predicted to cross USD 20 billion by 2032, as reported in a research study by Global Market Insights Inc .

The growth is influenced by the growing need to create rich and interconnected user experiences. The demand for touchpoints, including Conversational UI, Augmented Reality (AR), Location-based services (LBS), Virtual Reality (VR), and multi-touch interactions, among others, are accelerating in line with the escalating popularity of mobile applications. Besides, the escalating use of technology and digital transformation are bolstering product adoption. Recently, the Europe Union invested more than 4.5 billion in digital transformation in December 2022, which is planned to become available in the 2023-2024 Horizon Europe work program.

Request for a sample of this research report @ https://www.gminsights.com/request-sample/detail/5531

The multiexperience development platforms market from the services segment will exceed USD 5 billion by 2032. These services consist of professional services offered by component providers and managed services offered by third parties. The extensive demand for the maintenance of MXDP due to constant updates and the introduction of new technologies propel the product demand. In May 2022, Google Cloud announced the extension of Contact Center AI with CRM integration and end-to-end management for customer experience.

The MXDP market from the on-premise segment is set to be worth USD 10 billion by 2032. In the upcoming years, the on-premise segment is expected to maintain the largest share as a result of the increasing need to secure confidential data as they provide access to only authorized personnel for sensitive data and information, offering better protection than cloud systems. Moreover, increased security from external breaches is also encouraging companies to deploy multiexperience development platforms on-premises.

Story continues





The The multiexperience development platforms market from the large enterprises segment is projected to reach USD 5 billion by 2032, supported by the rising uptake of development platforms in large enterprises to ease the operation process. Furthermore, the growing number of large enterprises in developed and emerging economies is driving the market demand.

The MXDP market from the retail and consumer goods application segment is estimated to witness over 20% CAGR between 2023 and 2032. Multiexperience Development Platforms (MXDP) have facilitated the retail industry with low and no-code platforms for developers and non-developers for creating software through graphic consoles instead of outdated programming. No-code and low-code offer effective results to clients demanding custom software. Moreover, the emergence of online shopping trends has fostered the utilization of MXDP with augmented reality for a personalized experience.

Make an inquiry for purchasing this report @ https://www.gminsights.com/inquiry-before-buying/5531

Asia Pacific multiexperience development platforms market will expand at a CAGR of 25% from 2023 to 2032. The region is witnessing rapid expansion of retail and consumer goods, healthcare, IT & telecom, BFSI, and other expanding industry verticals, which are strongly contributing to market progression. As of January 2023, Indias Reliance Jio became the second-largest telecom brand in the world compared to fifth place in 2022, according to Brand Finance 2023 rankings.

Prominent participants operating across the multiexperience development platforms (MXDP) market include Microsoft Corporation, Google LLC, SAP SE, Salesforce and OutSystems. The competitive landscape of the market is poised to showcase several organic growth tactics including acquisitions and partnerships over the upcoming years. For instance, in April 2022, Globant, an IT and software development firm, announced the acquisition of GeneXus to strengthen its product portfolio. GeneXus agreed to provide its low-code platform that simplifies software development and evolution and Artificial intelligence (AI) features that maintain end-to-end solutions ready to run on a variety of devices.

Partial chapters of report table of contents (TOC):

Chapter 2 Executive Summary

2.1 Mutliexperience development platforms industry 360 synopsis, 2018  2032

2.2 Business trends

2.2.1 Total Addressable Market (TAM), 2023 - 2032

2.3 Regional trends

2.4 Component trends

2.5 Deployment trends

2.6 Organization size trends

2.7 Application trends

Chapter 3 Mutliexperience Development Platforms Market Industry Insights

3.1 Impact of COVID-19 pandemic

3.1.1 North America

3.1.2 Europe

3.1.3 Asia Pacific

3.1.4 Latin America

3.1.5 MEA

3.2 Russia-Ukraine war impact

3.3 Industry ecosystem analysis

3.3.1 Platforms providers

3.3.2 Service providers

3.3.3 Technology providers

3.3.4 System integrators

3.3.5 Profit margin analysis

3.4 Patent analysis

3.5 Key initiative & news

3.5.1 New product launch

3.5.2 Partnership/collaboration

3.5.3 Merger/acqusition

3.5.4 Business expansion

3.6 Technology & innovation landscape

3.7 Regulatory landscape

3.7.1 North America

3.7.2 Europe

3.7.3 Asia Pacific

3.7.4 Latin America

3.7.5 MEA

3.8 Industry impact forces

3.8.1 Growth drivers

3.8.1.1 Rising need to create rich and interconnected user experiences

3.8.1.2 Increasing investment on MXDP

3.8.1.3 Rising need for low code application development

3.8.1.4 Increasing demand for touchpoints

3.8.1.5 Rapid adoption of advanced technologies

3.8.2 Industry pitfalls and challenges

3.8.2.1 Limited number of devices MXDPs support

3.8.2.2 Maintaining MXDP platforms

3.9 Multiexperience development platforms use case

3.10 Multiexperience development platforms architecture

3.11 Growth potential analysis

3.12 Porter's analysis

3.13 PESTEL analysis

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About Global Market Insights Inc.

Global Market Insights Inc., headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. Our business intelligence and industry research reports offer clients with penetrative insights and actionable market data specially designed and presented to aid strategic decision making. These exhaustive reports are designed via a proprietary research methodology and are available for key industries such as chemicals, advanced materials, technology, renewable energy, and biotechnology.

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WASHINGTON, April 19, 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 the murder of radio journalist Dumesky Kersaint in Haiti on April 16.

NATIONAL PRESS CLUB LOGO. (PRNewsFoto/NATIONAL PRESS CLUB) (PRNewsfoto/National Press Club) (PRNewsfoto/National Press Club)

"We are extremely concerned about the recent murder of Haitian journalist Dumesky Kersaint, who was shot multiple times by a group of armed assailants. Our hearts go out to his family and his colleagues at Radio Te'le' Inurep. He was 30. Kersaint is the first Haitian journalist killed in 2023, although there have been kidnappings and beatings. Last year, eight journalists were killed in Haiti making it the third most dangerous place to be a journalist, behind only Ukraine and Mexico. This is a significant problem that must be addressed.

It is essential that there be a full and thorough investigation of the murder of Dumesky Kersaint, as soon as possible. Kersaint was known for covering social protests and was south of Port-au-Prince in Carrefour at the time he was killed. It is unclear from reports if he was the target of the shooting or if he was a victim of crossfire. We call on the United States, the United Nations and others to assist Haiti if needed with what is a huge challenge with respect to journalist safety."

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 an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press and equips journalists with the skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire a more representative democracy. The NPCJI is the nonprofit affiliate of the National Press Club.

Contact: Bill McCarren, 202-662-7534 for the National Press Club

Story continues

Cision

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SOURCE National Press Club
Market.Us

The nebulizer market is projected to grow significantly in the coming years due to its ease of use and increasing adoption by individuals with respiratory disorders. The device can be used at home, making it a convenient and accessible treatment option.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Market.us, The global nebulizer market is estimated to be valued at USD 2.1 billion by 2032 from USD 1.2 billion in 2022 and is expected to exhibit a CAGR of 6.1% during the forecast period 2023 to 2032. Nebulizers are the preferred devices used in treating respiratory disorders in individuals by administering the medication directly into the lungs. They are mostly prescribed to patients with respiratory diseases who are unable to breathe deeply with the help of inhalers



Nebulizer Market

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Key Takeaway:

By type , the high demand for the jet nebulizer segment makes it dominant in the global market in 2022. Furthermore, it is predicted to grow significantly from 2023 to 2032.

By portability , the tabletop segment is accounted to hold the largest market share globally during the forecast period 2023 to 2032.

By application , the COPD segment dominated the market for nebulizers in 2022.

The hospitals held the largest revenue share of the total market by end-user in 2022.

In 2022 , North America dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 40%.

Asia-Pacific will grow at the fastest CAGR over the forecast period of 2023-2032.

By the usage of oxygen, ultrasonic power for breaking up the liquid drug into aerosols, as well as the compressed air, turns the liquid medicine into a fine mist. This significant growth is the impact of increasing incidence of chronic respiratory diseases, rising demand for home healthcare devices, and rising geriatric population.

Factors Affecting the Growth of the Nebulizer Market

There are several factors that can affect the growth of the nebulizer market. Some of these factors include:

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Increasing incidence of chronic disorders : The sedentary lifestyle of individuals and the growing aged population led to an increase in respiratory disorders such as COPD and asthma, increasing the demand for nebulizers.

Rising Pollution : Rising pollution is one of the most common respiratory diseases, and hence it is subjected to boost the market growth for nebulizers.

Government Initiatives: There is a rising prevalence of respiratory diseases worldwide. Therefore, the government of various regions is taking initiatives such as early diagnosis and treatment, increasing the demand for nebulizers.

Higher Adoption of Nebulizer: The nebulizer is being increasingly adopted by individuals with respiratory disorders owing to its ease of use and can be used at home. Therefore, the nebulizer market is predicted to expand significantly over the forecast period.

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Top Trends in the Global Nebulizer Market

The increase in healthcare services costs and long hospital stays resulted in a frequency shift of patient treatment from hospitals towards home healthcare settings. Furthermore, the expensive treatment of respiratory disorders such as (COPD) chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and other respiratory disorders in hospitals due to expensive stays emphasizes the patients to adopt home healthcare devices for treatment. Therefore, this growing demand for inhaled drug delivery devices as well as the promotion of these products for home use by many healthcare organizations is likely to propel the growth of the nebulizer market in the upcoming period.

Market Growth

The market growth is subjected to significant factors such as the lack of physical activities by individuals, rising consumption of alcohol and tobacco, rising cases of respiratory diseases due to high pollution, as well as a rise in the aged population with respiratory disorders. Moreover, the involvement of key players in developing newly designed nebulizers and increased investments in R&D activities are likely to surge the market growth.

Regional Analysis

North America dominated the global nebulizer market with 40% of the revenue share in 2022. Due to the government efforts such as favorable reimbursement policies, a well-organized healthcare system, and growing customer awareness about respiratory disorders are the major factors responsible for market expansion. In addition, the availability of technologically advanced devices in North America is anticipated to surge the market growth during the forecast period. On the other hand, Asia Pacific is accounted to grow at the fastest CAGR during the forecast period because of the high geriatric population and government initiatives promoting technological developments. Additionally, this region's favorable taxation policies and low-cost manufacturing sites are attracting foreign key players to this market. Moreover, increased patient awareness in this region has increased the demand for these devices.

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Scope of the Report

Report Attributes Details Market Value (2022) USD 1.2 Billion Market Size in 2032 USD 2.1 Billion CAGR (2023 to 2032) 6.1% North America Revenue Share 40.0% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

Lack of physical activities and busy schedules of people has led to an increase in obesity worldwide. Also, the high consumption of alcohol and tobacco is considerably increasing the occurrence of chronic respiratory disorders, resulting in higher sales of nebulizers. Apart from this, the rising pollution levels due to the expansion of industries and the increase in the adoption of private vehicles is another major factor supporting the increasing demand for nebulizers globally.

In emerging economies, the more rapidly increasing prevalence of chronic diseases resulting in a significant frequency of individuals suffering from respiratory disorders and government initiatives to promote early diagnosis and treatment is further increasing the number of patients undergoing the treatment and, thus, increasing the demand for the products.

Market Restraints

Certain concerns have been raised regarding the safety of respiratory devices for the transmission of infection. There is a risk of transferring the infection from the tubing of nebulizers to the patients lung. In addition, the transmission of the infection from the unsterile chambers of these devices will likely result in fewer recommendations given by the physicians for their use.

Owing to these factors, some centers have shifted from using nebulizers to (pMDI) metered dose inhalers with valve holding chambers over the past years. Metered dose inhalers are typically small, easy to carry, portable, and offer numerous operational and clinical benefits in asthma treatment. Thus, the high availability of alternative treatment options hinders the nebulizers' growth.

Market Opportunities

Rising innovations by the key players with the development of technologically advanced devices and medication dispensing at a constant particle size have increased the use of vibrating mesh nebulizers. Therefore, due to this device's comfortable and easy use, it is expected to contribute to the growing adoption of this device. Therefore, such innovations are anticipated to increase the demand for portable devices. Moreover, an increase in collaborations and partnerships among the key players to extend their market reach and the increasing awareness among healthcare professionals and patients about innovative products are likely to fuel market growth.

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Report Segmentation of the Nebulizer Market

Type Insight

The jet nebulizer held the largest market share in 2022 and is expected to grow more over the forecast period. The low cost of devices, efficient drug delivery design, and the easy handling of nebulizer has increased demand for jet nebulizer over the past years. They are most effective in delivering the formulations that cannot be delivered by (pMDI) pressurized metered-dose inhalers and with dry powder inhalers.

The mesh nebulizer segment is expected to witness noteworthy market growth during the forecast period owing to the minimized drug loss and compact-size technologically advanced devices. In addition, the demand for mesh nebulizers is likely to be augmented because of significant factors such as increased patient acceptance, portability, and convenience. The noteworthy growth is achieved due to the increased adoption of mesh nebulizer that aids in accurate drug delivery to lower residual volumes and lung.

Portability Insight

The table-top segment is projected to account for the largest market share during the forecast period. The key factors contributing to this significant share include the rising use of tabletop nebulizers owing to the favorable reimbursement policies in well-developed markets and the operational benefits these devices offer.

As a result, the portable nebulizer segment is anticipated to grow steadily over the forecast period. In addition, the rising number of players developing portable devices and their rising adoption is expected to boost the growth of this segment in the coming years.

Applications Insight

COPD is anticipated to account for the highest revenue share in the global nebulizer market during the forecast period owing to the increasing prevalence of COPD. Furthermore, recent modifications in technology have made nebulizers more patient-friendly. In addition, various types of medication are largely available in nebulized formulations, including long-acting muscarinic receptor antagonists, long-acting beta2-agonists, steroids, antibiotics, and mucolytics.

All these features made it possible for individuals with COPD to use the nebulizers outside the acute settings such as hospitals or clinics, which in turn, boosted the segment growth. The Asthma segment is accounted to witness significant growth with the fastest CAGR during the forecast period. Asthma is accounted to be the most prevalent respiratory condition globally due to the increasing pollution in most regions.

End User Insight

The hospital's segment dominated the nebulizer market in 2022 with the maximum shareholding of the total market. Although the large patient pool and favorable reimbursement policies are significant factors, hospitals have been an active part of the healthcare industry and the profitable revenue source for the entire industry. Hence, multiple companies continuously put in revenue and marketing strategies to endorse their product/services among the hospitals. Home healthcare devices are continuously gaining popularity, increasing market share in recent years. Home healthcare devices are more cost-effective than expensive hospital stays for respiratory disorders, so they preferentially shift. Moreover, technological advancements and product miniaturization are increasing the adoption of home healthcare devices.

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Market Segmentation

By Type

Jet Nebulizer

Mesh Nebulizer

Ultrasonic Nebulizer

By Portability

Portable Nebulizer

Tabletop Nebulizer

By Applications

COPD

Asthma

Cystic Fibrosis

Other Applications

By End-User

Hospitals & Clinics

Home Healthcare

Emergency Centers

Other End-Users

By Geography

North America The US Canada Mexico

Western Europe Germany France The UK Spain Italy Portugal Ireland Austria Switzerland Benelux Nordic Rest of Western Europe

Eastern Europe Russia Poland The Czech Republic Greece Rest of Eastern Europe

APAC China Japan South Korea India Australia & New Zealand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Rest of APAC

Latin America Brazil Colombia Chile Argentina Costa Rica Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa Algeria Egypt Israel Kuwait Nigeria Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey United Arab Emirates Rest of MEA



Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape of the market has also been examined in this report. Some of the significant players include,

Agilent Technologies, Inc.

GF Health Products, Inc.

Vyaire Medical, Inc.

Rossmax International Ltd.

DeVilbiss Healthcare LLC

Koninklijke Philips N.V.

GE Healthcare Technologies Inc.

OMRON Corporation

Vectura Group Ltd

Allied Healthcare Products, Inc.

Aerogen

PARI Respiratory Equipment, Inc.

Other Key Players

Recent Development of the Nebulizer Market

In July 2022 , an agreement was signed between Ziccum and TEKCELEO, an innovative mechatronic manufacturer with advanced information of nebulizers, to develop a new nebulizer. The component is essential to the advanced drying capabilities and scale-up of Ziccums LaminarPace system, which formulates vaccines as thermostable powders that do not require cold chain transport.

In March 2021, the LAMIRA Nebulizer System by PARI Pharma GmbH received authorization, and it was used to deliver Insmed's drug product, ARIKAYCE, in Japan.

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Netflix said a crackdown on password-sharing among U.S. subscribers is coming by the end of June, modestly delaying a plan that has caused consternation among many subscribers of the streaming service.

In its quarterly earnings report this week, Netflix said it would launch a paid password-sharing program globally in the second quarter of the year, including in the U.S. The company had earlier said it planned to introduce it by the end of March.

"That launch we're doing in Q2 is a very broad launch, it includes the United States, it includes many, many other countries," Netflix co-CEO Greg Peters told investors on an earnings call Tuesday.

Peters said the company considered launching the paid sharing program in the first quarter, but decided "it was better to take a little bit of extra time" and "make this transition as smooth as possible as we can for members."

"We're working hard to make sure that we do it well and as thoughtfully as we can," he said.

Backlash expected

News that Netflix would no longer allow users to share their passwords broadly has roiled its fan base. The strategy shows a 180-degree shift for the streaming company, which once encouraged password sharing as a way to attract more viewers.

Now, as it faces competition for streaming viewers from Disney+, Hulu, Peacock and Paramount+, Netflix is looking to make more money from its existing subscribers.

The company expects some backlash and cancellations from users once it requires sharers to pay up.

"Very much like a price increase, we see an initial cancel reaction, and then we build out of that both in terms of membership and revenue as borrowers sign-up for their own Netflix accounts and existing members purchase that extra member facility for folks who they want to share with," Peters told investors.

That's what has happened every time Netflix has rolled out "paid sharing" in a country, the company said, citing a "cancel reaction" to the program in Canada, New Zealand, Spain and Portugal, when Netflix first started requiring password-sharers to pay more.

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"As a reminder, as we roll out paid sharing  and as some borrowers stop watching either because they don't convert to extra members or full paying accounts  near term engagement, as measured by third parties like Nielsen, will likely shrink modestly," the company wrote.

Over time, however, it believes this strategy will grow its membership.

Netflix estimates more than 100 million households worldwide share passwords with other people.

The company clearly "wants to manage any fallout from the new [password sharing] strategy," Jamie Lumley, analyst at Third Bridge, said in a note. "Whether the launch gets further delayed is a big question as we head into the next few months."
DUBAI, UAE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- NWTN Inc. (Nasdaq: NWTN), an eco-conscious mobility technology company bringing passenger-centric green premium mobility solutions to the world ("NWTN"), today announced that it signed a memorandum of understanding with Elfaba Investment and Advisory ("Elfaba") for the sales and purchase of products of NWTN and Rabdan brands across more than seven countries.

NWTN Signs MOU with Elfaba

The MOU stipulates that NWTN will authorize Elfaba as the NWTN and Rabdan brand distributor for a period of five years, enabling the sale of NWTN and Rabdan vehicles, parts, and accessories together with the provision of after sales services. The MOU also stipulates that Elfaba will aim for sales of up to 5,000 vehicles. A definitive agreement is targeted to be signed by the end of April 2023.

Rabdan is a NWTN brand of intelligent new energy vehicles and encompasses a full range of intelligent new energy passenger vehicle products from extended range to pure electric technology solutions.

Rabdan products will integrate the most advanced technologies and resources in the global new energy vehicle industry as well as surpass traditional fuel vehicle products in many aspects, from driving experience and intelligent comfort to energy saving and emissions reduction. It aims to define a new category of traveling and lifestyle.

The MOU between NWTN and Elfaba was signed at the NWTN Suhoor Gathering which was held in celebration of the Holy month of Ramadan.

The Suhoor Gathering was held at the NWTN's assembly facility in the Khalifa Economic Zone Abu Dhabi (KEZAD) which was completed at the end of 2022. The facility enables NWTN to address the rapidly growing demand for electric vehicles in the UAE and the Middle East, promote green mobility, and accelerate sustainable energy transformation in the UAE.

Guests mingled and enjoyed traditional Suhoor dishes and were offered an exclusive preview of the Rabdan brand's first vehicle  the Rabdan ONE.

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The Rabdan ONE is a dynamic, intelligent, and comfortable, all-wheel-drive SUV that adopts the world's leading range extension technology. The Rabdan ONE is suitable for a variety of uses from business, family, leisure, adventure, work to pleasure. The Rabdan One is designed to be a powerful intelligent car leading a new fashion lifestyle.

ABOUT NWTN

NWTN is a pioneering green energy company dedicated to providing passenger-focused, premium electric vehicle products and green energy solutions to customers worldwide.

Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), NWTN has a full vehicle assembly facility in Abu Dhabi and a supply chain manufacturing base in Jinhua, China.

NWTN is committed to the future of mobility solutions that integrate pioneering design, personalized lifestyles, Internet of Everything (IoT), autonomous driving technology and the eco-system of green energy.

In addition to the offering of new energy vehicles, NWTN is exploring opportunities in the entire clean energy value chain, including photovoltaics, green hydrogen power and energy storage in the UAE, the Middle East, North Africa, China, other Asian countries and Europe.

For further information, please visit: https://www.nwtnmotors.com.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements are characterized by future or conditional verbs such as "may," "will," "expect," "intend," "anticipate," believe," "estimate" and "continue" or similar words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss future expectations and plans, which contain projections of future results of operations or financial condition or state other forward-looking information.

Forward-looking statements are predictions, projections and other statements about future events that are based on current expectations and assumptions and, as a result, are subject to risks and uncertainties. Actual results (including, without limitation, with respect to the expected benefits from the ISO IMS accreditations, the progress of the production line at KEZAD facility, the expansion strategy and anticipated results of R-EEVs' technology) may differ significantly from those set forth or implied in the forward-looking statements. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this press release, including but not limited to the risk factors contained in NWTN's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which are available for review at www.sec.gov. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made. New risks and uncertainties arise over time, and it is not possible NWTN to predict those events or how they may affect NWTN. If a change to the events and circumstances reflected in NWTN's forward-looking statements occurs, NWTN's business, financial condition and operating results may vary materially from those expressed in NWTN's forward-looking statements.

Readers are cautioned not to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and NWTN assumes no obligation and do not intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

NWTN Signs MOU with Elfaba

Cision

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SOURCE NWTN
PASADENA, Calif., April 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--OffWorld Europe and the Luxembourg Space Agency (LSA) have recently signed a pivotal agreement to launch a comprehensive, multi-year development program for an In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) processing system focused on ice resources. This system will play a vital role in facilitating sustainable lunar exploration by enabling the extraction, processing, and storage of vital resources directly from the Moon's surface. The project, which is under the oversight of the European Space Agency, will leverage OffWorld's cutting-edge robotic modules that are capable of carrying out a range of functions, including prospecting, mining, processing, storing and delivering oxygen, hydrogen, and other volatiles to customers on the lunar surface. The program is already underway, and the first demonstration mission on the lunar surface is slated for 2027.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006222/en/

OffWorld Europe and Luxembourg Space Agency Collaborate in New Lunar ISRU Exploration Program (Photo: Business Wire)

OffWorld's state-of-the-art swarm robotic systems will be utilized to transport the processing modules into a permanently shadowed region on the lunar surface where water ice is thought to form and accumulate. OffWorld Europe's objective is to process all excavated critical material, developing capabilities to process lunar volatiles and dry regolith into valuable consumables such as life support gases, propellants, and water supplies for radiation protection, hydroponics, and other life support systems.

This project has the potential to catapult the space industry forward and pave the way for human expansion into the rest of the solar system, while also benefiting life here on Earth by driving innovation in robotics, technology, and resource processing. OffWorld deployed the worlds first autonomous excavation robot in an operating mine and is now the first company to have secured mining development contracts on two celestial bodies, both Earth and the Moon. The company will reach out to customers over the next few months and intends to fly this payload on one of the first SpaceX Starship missions to the Moon.

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Jim Keravala, OffWorld Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder, said: "This collaboration is a thrilling new venture for OffWorld Europe and an example of how our swarm robotic mining platform applications can be customized and adapted to a variety of customers, use-cases and environments. Our autonomous robots are currently being deployed for Earth mining and our ISRU technology subsystem is a subset of OffWorlds overall concept for mining alien regolith for volatiles, minerals, and the overall creation of foundational manufacturing industries on other celestial bodies. I look forward to seeing what our robotic platforms will accomplish in the unchartered territories that were once thought impossible to operate in."

Kyle Acierno, OffWorld Europe Managing Director, stated: "This partnership showcases the power of international collaboration in space exploration. By working with the Luxembourg Space Agency and the European Space Agency, we are advancing in-situ resource utilization technologies and reinforcing Luxembourgs position in the global space ecosystem."

Marc Serres, LSA CEO, commented: "Space resources utilization has the potential to revolutionize space activities. The technology developed by OffWorld will be instrumental in space with numerous applications on Earth. We are looking forward to the next steps of the project, which will also contribute to reinforcing Luxembourgs positioning in the field of space resources."

About OffWorld:

OffWorld is a private company that designs, develops, and manufactures AI-powered robotic platforms. It is headquartered in Pasadena, California, and has facilities in South Africa, Australia, and Luxembourg. OffWorld was founded in 2016 with the goal of expanding human civilization beyond Earth with the help of thousands of smart robots. It is reinventing the mining, manufacturing, and construction industries by developing a new generation of swarm robotic species that can withstand extreme conditions and work collaboratively in an eco-friendly approach while keeping humans out of harms way.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230418006222/en/

Contacts

Linda Rivera

Marketing Director

Linda.rivera@offworld.ai
(Bloomberg) -- Oil fell as the latest economic report revealed the slowdown effects of monetary tightening and pushed demand concerns to the markets forefront.

Most Read from Bloomberg

West Texas Intermediate fell the most in a month to slip below $80 after being pressured by a rising dollar and dampened risk appetite throughout the session. An economic survey from the Federal Reserve late Wednesday showed the US economy stalled in recent weeks with hiring and inflation slowing and access to credit narrowing.

While the report likely reinforces the chances that the Federal Reserve will ease its policy of interest rate hikes, the demand implications are unsettling the crude market. A report showing that the US drew from the nations oil reserves failed to quell worries.

The market is laser-focused on product demand and this report will not ease concerns that demand is fragile, said Rebecca Babin, a senior energy trader at CIBC Private Wealth, referring to Energy Information Administration data. These numbers were not bad, but they were not good enough to keep traders sleeping well at night.

Nationwide inventories declined 4.6 million barrels last week. Total demand rose but not really where it matters, said Emily Ashford, Executive Director of Energy Research, noting that gasoline demand fell and diesel consumption was effectively flat.

Despite the pullback, crude is still up from a 15-month low reached in mid-March following turmoil in the banking sector. A surprise announcement by OPEC+ on production cuts and curbed Iraqi flows pushed oil back into the $80-range. The producers group is looking to force consumers to take oil out of storage and shore up prices amid tentative demand growth.

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Energy Daily, Bloombergs daily energy and commodities newsletter, is now available. Sign up here.

--With assistance from Natalia Kniazhevich.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
FACT.MR

Oleate Esters Market Analysis By Type (Ethyl Oleate, Methyl Oleate, Butyl Oleate & Trimethylolpropane Trioleate) By Application (Lubricants, Plasticizers, Agrochemicals & Cosmetics) & By Region  Global Market Insights 2022 to 2032

Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Fact.MR  A Market Research and Competitive Intelligence Provider: The global oleate esters market is expected to reach $1.8 billion by 2021. Sales of oleate esters are expected to hit US$ 1.9 billion by 2022, with a CAGR of 5.8% projected from 2022 to 2032.



Increasing R&D activity by key manufacturers to create sophisticated and safe agrochemicals is expected to help oleate esters demand approach US$ 3.3 billion by the end of 2032.

Because of the rapid rise in infrastructure building activities as a result of the urbanisation trend, there is a considerable need for paints in the construction industry. With growing concerns about environmental sustainability, end consumers are gravitating towards bio-degradable and natural paints.

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In response to this trend, many manufacturers are introducing new environmentally friendly paints. For example, Asia Paints, an Indian multinational paint business, debuted a new organic range of paints in 2020 that included components including castor seeds, soya beans, and neem oil. Because oleate esters are utilised in the creation of these paints, rising organic paint acceptance and new product releases are expected to drive sales in the global market.

Among the application verticals, the lubricant segment is expected to account for a maximum share in the market through 2032. This is attributed to the large-scale application of lubricants across automotive, manufacturing, aerospace, and others industries.

Oleate Esters Market Scope Report Coverage Details Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2022-2032 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 5.8 % Market growth 2022-2032 US$ 3.3 Billion Market structure Fragmented Regional analysis North America, Europe, APAC, South America, and Middle East and Africa Key countries US, Canada, UK, France, and Germany Competitive landscape Leading Vendors, Market Positioning of Vendors, Competitive Strategies, and Industry Risks Key companies profiled P&G Chemicals, Wilmar International Ltd., Kao Corporation, Emery Oleochemicals, Victorian Chemical Company, Italmatch Chemical S.p.A., Croda International Plc., INEOS Group Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period. Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. is estimated to account for a dominant share of the North America market, owing to increasing adoption of bio-degradable and organic paints.

Germany is expected to register growth at a considerable pace in the Europe market, driven by the growing applications of lubricants across the automotive industry.

Sales of oleate esters are forecast to rise at a rapid CAGR in China, assisting the country to create an absolute dollar opportunity of US$ 143.9 Mn through 2032.

On the basis of type, the butyl oleate segment is anticipated to account for a significant share in the market, expanding at a CAGR of 6.7% between 2022 and 2032.

Lubricant is projected to account for a leading revenue share in the application segment, exhibiting sales growth at 7.3% CAGR during the assessment period.



Story continues

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Growth Drivers:

Rising adoption of organic ingredients in personal care & cosmetic products is expected to augment the demand for oleate esters in the market.

Increasing applications of butyl oleate as a plasticizer for synthetic and natural defoamers, rust inhibitors, and, textile and wetting agent are estimated to favor the growth in the butyl oleate segment.

Restraints:

Implementation of regulations and ban on the use of polyvinyl chloride across countries such as the U.K., the U.S, India, and others are hindering the demand for oleate esters

Growing emphasis on decreasing the use of agrochemicals such as fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides, due to the rising awareness regarding the adverse of these chemicals on soil, is restraining the sales of oleate esters across the agrochemical segment.

Competitive Analysis

Because oleate esters are derived from natural resources, manufacturers are investigating techniques or alternatives to create oleate esters at a faster rate in order to meet the demands of various applications. Manufacturers are looking for compounds that can be used as raw materials in the large-scale production of oleate esters.

The market's nature is believed to change on a regular basis due to changes in the processes utilised to make oleate esters. In the future years, the number of companies operating in the oleate esters market may increase.

Because of the extensive R&D efforts of market participants, a change in the nature of oleate esters may be possible.

Some of the recent developments of key Oleate Esters providers are as follows:

In January 2021 , Emery Oleochemicals increased its distribution agreement with Omya Inc. Omya's North America company will provide technical help and support to Emery's Green Polymer Additives (GPA) products, including release agents, lubricants, specialty plasticizers, antistatic and antifogging agents, to both new and current customers in the United States.

In May 2020, Kao Corporation finished the new facility of its joint venture firm PT Apical Kao Chemicals, in Sumatra, Indonesia.

Key Companies Profiled

P&G Chemicals

Wilmar International Ltd.

Kao Corporation

Emery Oleochemicals

Victorian Chemical Company

Italmatch Chemical S.p.A.

Croda International Plc.

INEOS Group

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Market Segments Covered in Oleate Esters Market Analysis

By Type : Ethyl Oleate Methyl Oleate Butyl Oleate Trimethylolpropane Trioleate

By Application : Lubricants Plasticizers Agrochemicals Cosmetics

By Region : North America Latin America Europe APAC MEA



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Ethyl Acrylate Market: The present market shares of ethyl acrylate account for USD 8.63 Billion. The market is expected to grow with a CAGR of 6.2% for the forecast duration. The Ethyl Acrylate market is expected to reach USD 16.73 Billion by the end of 2032. Ethyl acrylate has been long famed for its use in manufacturing acrylic fibres. Moreover, the high solubility of ethyl acrylate in alcohols, ethers, and other common organic solvents is boosting its popularity by a considerable margin.

Ethyl Mercaptan Market: According to latest research by Fact.MR, the global ethyl mercaptan market is set to surpass value of US $ 400.0 Mn by 2031 at a higher single-digit CAGR. Due to its pungent smell, it is highly been utilized in natural gas, chemical processing units and other industries for identifying minute leaks. This will lead to giving a tremendous growth rate to the sale in terms of both volume & value during the forecast period.

Ethyl Polysilicate Market: The global market for ethyl polysilicate is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 4%, reaching a valuation of more than US$ 450 Million during 2022-2032. For the deposition of silicon acid produced by complete hydrolysis, ethyl polysilicates are used. Many inorganic substrates, such as synthetic fibres, pigments, fillers, metal, ceramics, and glass, bond well to the resulting silicic acid.

Ethylene Acrylic Acid (EAA) Copolymers Market: Presently, the global ethylene acrylic acid (EAA) copolymers market accounts for a revenue value of US$ 332 million and is forecasted to surpass US$ 600 million by the end of 2032. Worldwide demand for ethylene acrylic acid copolymers is predicted to increase at a robust 6.1% CAGR over the next ten years.

Ethylene Amines Market: The global sales of the ethylene amines market in 2021 was held at US$ 2.2 Billion. With 6.7% CAGR, the projected market growth during 2022 - 2032 is expected to be slightly higher than the historical growth. Bleach Activator is expected to be the highest revenue-generating segment, projected to grow at a CAGR of over 8.7% during 2022  2032.

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You may think that with a price-to-sales (or "P/S") ratio of 2.2x ON24, Inc. (NYSE:ONTF) is definitely a stock worth checking out, seeing as almost half of all the Software companies in the United States have P/S ratios greater than 4.3x and even P/S above 10x aren't out of the ordinary. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly reduced P/S.

See our latest analysis for ON24

How ON24 Has Been Performing

While the industry has experienced revenue growth lately, ON24's revenue has gone into reverse gear, which is not great. Perhaps the P/S remains low as investors think the prospects of strong revenue growth aren't on the horizon. If you still like the company, you'd be hoping this isn't the case so that you could potentially pick up some stock while it's out of favour.

If you'd like to see what analysts are forecasting going forward, you should check out our free report on ON24.

Do Revenue Forecasts Match The Low P/S Ratio?

In order to justify its P/S ratio, ON24 would need to produce anemic growth that's substantially trailing the industry.

Retrospectively, the last year delivered a frustrating 6.3% decrease to the company's top line. However, a few very strong years before that means that it was still able to grow revenue by an impressive 114% in total over the last three years. So we can start by confirming that the company has generally done a very good job of growing revenue over that time, even though it had some hiccups along the way.

Shifting to the future, estimates from the seven analysts covering the company suggest revenue growth is heading into negative territory, declining 13% over the next year. With the industry predicted to deliver 12% growth, that's a disappointing outcome.

With this in consideration, we find it intriguing that ON24's P/S is closely matching its industry peers. Nonetheless, there's no guarantee the P/S has reached a floor yet with revenue going in reverse. Even just maintaining these prices could be difficult to achieve as the weak outlook is weighing down the shares.

Story continues

The Bottom Line On ON24's P/S

We'd say the price-to-sales ratio's power isn't primarily as a valuation instrument but rather to gauge current investor sentiment and future expectations.

It's clear to see that ON24 maintains its low P/S on the weakness of its forecast for sliding revenue, as expected. Right now shareholders are accepting the low P/S as they concede future revenue probably won't provide any pleasant surprises. Unless these conditions improve, they will continue to form a barrier for the share price around these levels.

You always need to take note of risks, for example - ON24 has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If strong companies turning a profit tickle your fancy, then you'll want to check out this free list of interesting companies that trade on a low P/E (but have proven they can grow earnings).

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Data Bridge Market Research

Optical power meter market is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2023 to 2030. Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the market is growing with a CAGR of 6.5%. Growing demand for research and development activities is acting as the major factor for the growth of the market.

SYDNEY, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Data Bridge Market Research's latest report, " Optical Power Meter Market " provides a thorough analysis of growth strategies, drivers, opportunities, key segments, Porter's Five Forces analysis, and the competitive landscape, offering valuable insights for industry professionals. This Optical Power Meter report emphasizes a detailed understanding of some decisive factors such as size, share, sales, forecast trends, supply, production, demands, industry, and CAGR in order to provide a comprehensive outlook of the global market. The conventional data in the global market report is presented in a graphical form while highlighting the proposed statistics. It also comprises vendors, suppliers, and key players in the global market. The unique data presented in the report are evaluated in an instinctive and scientific way in order to get a better understanding of the global market.

This Optical Power Meter research report analyses top players in the key regions like North America, South America, Middle east and Africa, Asia and Pacific region. It delivers insight and expert analysis into key consumer trends and behaviour in market place, In addition to an overview of the market data and key brands. It also provides all data with easily digestible information to guide every businessmans future innovation and move business ahead.

Global optical power meter market is expected to gain market growth in the forecast period of 2023 to 2030. Data Bridge Market Research analyses that the market is growing with a CAGR of 6.5%. Growing demand for research and development activities is acting as the major factor for the growth of the market.

Story continues

Get a PDF Sample of the Optical Power Meter Market @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/request-a-sample/?dbmr=global-optical-power-meter-market

An optical power meter is a device that measures electricity and power in an optical signal. Optical power meters were used to test the average amount of power in fiber optic networks and systems. A power meter is a combination and integration of a calibrated sensor, display and measuring amplifier and display, which measures and monitors the range of wavelengths and power levels. The calibrated sensor is integrated with a photodiode which is used to measure the wavelengths and power levels in the system. The sensors consist of silicon, germanium or InGaAs based semiconductor. Different sensor types used in optical power meters have different characteristics. A measuring amplifier is used to verify accuracy and to deliver data and information. The display unit provides the monitored and measured optical power reading and set wavelength. An optical power meter also helps to determine the power loss incurred by the optical signal while passing through the optical media.

This optical power meter market report provides details of market share, new developments, and product pipeline analysis, the impact of domestic and localized market players, analyses opportunities in terms of emerging revenue pockets, changes in market regulations, product approvals, strategic decisions, product launches, geographic expansions, and technological innovations in the market. To understand the analysis and the market scenario, contact us for an Analyst Brief, and our team will help you create a revenue impact solution to achieve your desired goal.

Opportunities

Rising Power Grid Problems

A power grid is, also referred to as an electrical grid, is an interconnected network structure for delivering electricity and power from producers to consumers for daily usage. The power grid consists of three stages are generation, transmission, and distribution.

Power plants convert mechanical energy into electrical energy by the use of a generator. Electrical transmission is carried out with the use of power lines. The distribution process connects substations from large industrial buildings to small homes to provide electricity for them.

Recent Developments

In September 2020, EXFO Inc. acquired InOpticals Inc., which offers ultra-high-speed test instruments for the laboratory and manufacturing markets. Under this acquisition, the companys optical test offerings will be combined with InOpticals solutions. Through this, the company will be able to enhance its product portfolio, leverage InOpticals innovative test solutions and grow in the market.

In May 2020, Kingfisher International expanded its capability to calibrate fiber optic power meters in the visible and UV-A spectrum. Through this, the company accurately calibrated semiconductor optical power meters from 350 to 1650 nm at 5 nm intervals. This has helped the company to better meet customer's need.

The Optical Power Meter Market is Dominated by Firms Such as

Keysight Technologies

Anritsu

Newport Corporation (A Subsidiary of MKS Instruments)

Yokogawa Test & Measurement Corporation

HIOKI E.E. CORPORATION

AFL

EXFO Inc.

Fluke Corporation

APEX Technologies

PDR World

Thorlabs, Inc

VIAVI Solutions Inc.

JOINWIT

ComSonics

BIOPTIC CO., LTD

OZ Optics Ltd

Santec Corporation

Jonard Tools

ADC CORPORATION

Ophir Optronics Solutions Ltd

Deviser Instruments, Incorporated

Edmund Optics

Kingfisher International

Artifex Engineering GmbH & Co KG

GAO Tek & GAO Group Inc.

Tech Optics Ltd.

Stanlay

Download the Complete Research Study Here in PDF Format @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/checkout/buy/enterprise/global-optical-power-meter-market

Fundamental Aim of Optical Power Meter Market Report

In the Optical Power Meter market, every company has goals, but this report focus in on the most important ones, allowing you to gain insight into the competition, the future of the market, potential new products, and other useful information that can boost your sales significantly.

Factors influencing the Optical Power Meter Market Size and growth rate.

Major alterations to the Optical Power Meter Market in the near future.

Notable Market rivals around the world.

The Optical Power Meter Market's Future Scope and Product Outlook

Future-promising emerging markets.

The Market Presents Difficult Challenges and Threats.

Sales data and profiles of the world's leading Optical Power Meter manufacturers

Market intelligence platform will help you understand:

Identify emerging market trends & dynamics

Market intelligence with quality and accuracy

Benchmark against competitors & industry

Explore competitive strategy & market share

Discover regional market opportunities

Deliverable formats include PDF, PPT, Excel & Online Dashboard

Data Bridge Market Research employs comprehensive and iterative research methodology focused on minimizing deviance in order to provide the most accurate estimates and forecast possible. The company utilizes a combination of bottom-up and top-down approaches for segmenting and estimating quantitative aspects of the market. In Addition, a recurring theme prevalent across all our research reports is data triangulation that looks market from three different perspectives.

Our market estimates and forecasts are derived through simulation models. A unique model is created customized for each study. Gathered information for market dynamics, technology landscape, application development and pricing trends is fed into the model and analyzed simultaneously. These factors are studied on a comparative basis, and their impact over the forecast period is quantified with the help of correlation, regression and time series analysis. Market forecasting is performed via a combination of economic tools, technological analysis, and industry experience and domain expertise.

Key Market Segments Covered in Optical Power Meter Industry Research

Type

Thermal Detectors

Photo Detectors

Instrument/Product Type

Benchtop Meter

Portable Meter

Virtual Meters

Hand-Held Meter

Detector Type

Ingaas (Indium Gallium Arsenide)

Germanium

Silicon

Power Range

High

Medium

Low

Wavelength

850nm To 1650nm

400nm To 1100nm

Light Source

Laser

Led

Application

Installation & Maintenance

Testing

Manufacturing

Research & Development

End-User

Telecommunication Industry

Electrical & Electronics Industry

Automotive Industry

Military & Aerospace Industry

Energy & Utilities Industry

Browse More about This Research Report @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-optical-power-meter-market

Key Growth Drivers:

INCREASING DEMAND FOR OPTICAL POWER METER

An optical power meter is a device that measures electricity and power in an optical signal. Optical power meters were used to test the average amount of power in fiber optic networks and systems. A power meter is a combination and integration of a calibrated sensor, display and measuring amplifier, which measures and monitors the range of wavelengths and power levels. An optical power meter also helps to determine the power loss incurred by the optical signal while passing through the optical media.

The global optical power meter market is expected to witness significant growth in the coming years due to the increasing demand for optical power meters. Optical power meters are widely used in the telecommunication industry, as they provide accurate measurements of the optical power of a fiber-optic cable or system.

RISE IN REQUISITE OF TRANSMISSION QUALITY EVALUATION

The transmission network is an important factor in the communication network to provide better consumer services. For the evaluation and monitoring of the quality of the transmission network, there is no general standard. One of the main aims on which the telecommunication industry has a major focus is to transmit signals through the cables with the least disruption, maximum capacity, least noise, low energy consumption, and optimal transmission quality

Nowadays, different traffic-consumptive services such as ultra HD videos, 3D Televisions, online commerce, cloud computing and others increase the demand of internet consumers for IP traffic.

These access applications led to the use of fixed wireless network antennas, key security, mobile network base stations and monitoring & measuring structures, which then require higher information and data throughput. Consequently, the increase of the transport capacity of access networks becomes crucial for internet service providers.

The transmission wires are exposed to external conditions, and many factors can lead to miscalibration. So it is important to regularly evaluate the transmission quality, including the evaluation of power within the cables through optical power meters.

Optical Power Meter Market Regional Analysis/Insights:

The countries covered in the optical power meter market report are the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Germany, France, U.K., Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Netherlands, Russia, Turkey, Belgium, Poland, Finland, Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, South Korea, India, Australia, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Vietnam, Philippines, New Zealand, Rest of Asia-Pacific, South Africa, Israel, U.A.E., Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Rest of Middle East and Africa, Brazil, Argentina and Rest of South America.

Asia-Pacific region dominates the global optical power meter market due to the high adoption of advanced technology and the presence of major players in the region. China dominates the optical power meter market owing to the owing to the growing telecommunication industry, digitalization and rising power grid problems, which is contributing to the growth of the country across the region. However, U.S. has a huge presence of most technologically advanced leaders in the market for providing innovative technology, which is contributing to the growth of the country. The increasing adoption of optical power meters is contributing to the growth of the market in Germany.

Investing in this study would grant you access to valuable information, including:

Comprehensive coverage of the Optical Power Meter industry , both globally and broken down by region.

Regional-level breakdowns of the market, including North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, South America, and the Middle East & Africa.

Country-specific market size splits for the most important countries with major market shares.

Analysis of market trends such as emerging technologies, products, and start-ups, as well as PESTEL Analysis, SWOT Analysis, Porter's Five Forces, and more.

Detailed market size data, including breakdowns by application/industry verticals.

Projections and forecasts for the market's future growth and development.

Table of Contents:

Introduction Market Segmentation Executive Summary Premium Insights Global Optical Power Meter Market : Regulations Market Overview Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Type Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Instrument/Product Type Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Detector Type Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Power Range Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Wavelength Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Light Source Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Application Global Optical Power Meter Market, By End User Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Distribution Channel Global Optical Power Meter Market, By Region Global Optical Power Meter Market: Company Landscape SWOT Analyses Company Profile Questionnaires Related Reports

Get the Complete Table of Contents @ https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/toc/?dbmr=global-optical-power-meter-market

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Europe Optical Power Meter Market , By Type (Thermal Detectors and Photo Detectors), Instrument/Product Type (Benchtop Meter, Portable Meter, Virtual Meters, Optical Wavelength, Hand-Held Meter, and Others), Detector Type (InGaAs (Indium Gallium Arsenide), Germanium, Silicon, and Others), Power Range (High, Medium, and Low), Wavelength (850NM TO 1650NM and 400NM to 1100NM), Light Source (Laser, and LED), Application (Installation & Maintenance, Testing, Manufacturing, Research & Development, and Others), End User (Telecommunication Industry, Electrical & Electronics Industry, Automotive Industry, Military & Aerospace Industry, Energy & Utilities Industry, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/europe-optical-power-meter-market

Middle East and Africa Optical Power Meter Market , By Type (Thermal Detectors and Photo Detectors), Instrument/Product Type (Benchtop Meter, Portable Meter, Virtual Meters, Optical Wavelength, Hand-Held Meter, and Others), Detector Type (InGaAs (Indium Gallium Arsenide), Germanium, Silicon, and Others), Power Range (High, Medium, and Low), Wavelength (850NM TO 1650NM and 400NM to 1100NM), Light Source (Laser, and LED), Application (Installation & Maintenance, Testing, Manufacturing, Research & Development, and Others), End User (Telecommunication Industry, Electrical & Electronics Industry, Automotive Industry, Military & Aerospace Industry, Energy & Utilities Industry, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/middle-east-and-africa-optical-power-meter-market

North America Optical Power Meter Market , By Type (Thermal Detectors and Photo Detectors), Instrument/Product Type (Benchtop Meter, Portable Meter, Virtual Meters, Optical Wavelength, Hand-Held Meter, and Others), Detector Type (InGaAs (Indium Gallium Arsenide), Germanium, Silicon, and Others), Power Range (High, Medium, and Low), Wavelength (850NM TO 1650NM and 400NM to 1100NM), Light Source (Laser, and LED), Application (Installation & Maintenance, Testing, Manufacturing, Research & Development, and Others), End User (Telecommunication Industry, Electrical & Electronics Industry, Automotive Industry, Military & Aerospace Industry, Energy & Utilities Industry, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/north-america-optical-power-meter-market

Asia-Pacific Optical Power Meter Market , By Type (Thermal Detectors and Photo Detectors), Instrument/Product Type (Benchtop Meter, Portable Meter, Virtual Meters, Optical Wavelength, Hand-Held Meter, and Others), Detector Type (InGaAs (Indium Gallium Arsenide), Germanium, Silicon, and Others), Power Range (High, Medium, and Low), Wavelength (850NM TO 1650NM and 400NM to 1100NM), Light Source (Laser, and LED), Application (Installation & Maintenance, Testing, Manufacturing, Research & Development, and Others), End User (Telecommunication Industry, Electrical & Electronics Industry, Automotive Industry, Military & Aerospace Industry, Energy & Utilities Industry, and Others) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/asia-pacific-optical-power-meter-market

Power Bank Market , By Energy Sources (Electric, Solar), Capacity (1,0005,000 MAH, 5,00110,000 MAH, 10,00115,000 MAH, 15,00120,000 MAH, ABOVE 20,001 MAH), Battery Type (Lithium Ion Battery, Lithium Polymer Battery), USB Port (One USB Port, Two USB Ports, More Than Two USB Ports), Indicator (LED Lighting, Digital Display), Price Range (Low, Medium, Premium), Application (Smartphone, Tablet, Wearable Device, Digital Camera, Laptop, Portable Media Device, Others), Distribution Channel (E-commerce, Brick and Mortar), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-power-bank-market

Telecom Power System Market , By Grid Type (On Grid, Off Grid, Bad Grid), Component (Rectifier, Inverter, Converter, Controller, Heat Management Systems, Generators, Others), Power Source (Diesel-Battery, Diesel-Solar, Diesel-Wind, Multiple Sources), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Rest of South America, Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe, Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific, Saudi Arabia, U.A.E, South Africa, Egypt, Israel, Rest of Middle East and Africa) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-telecom-power-system-market

Wireless Power Transmission Market , By Technology (Near-Field Technology, Far-Field Technology), Implementation (Integrated, Aftermarket), Receiver Application (Smartphones, Tablets, Wearable Electronics), Transmitter Application (Electric Vehicle Charging, Furniture, Industrial) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/global-wireless-power-transmission-market

Asia-Pacific Power Bank Market , By Capacity (1000-5000 M.A.H, 5001-10000 M.A.H., 10001-15000 M.A.H., 15001-20000 M.A.H., Above 20001 M.A.H.), Type (Portable, USB Plugin, Solar, Electric), Port (Single, Multiple), Battery (Lithium-Ion Battery and Lithium Polymer Battery), Unit of USB Port (1 USB Port, 2 USB Ports, More than 2 USB Ports), USB Type (Type A, Type B, Type C), Indicator (LED Lighting, Digital Display), Price Range (Low, Medium, Premium), Application (Smart Phone, Tablet, Laptop, Portable Media Device, Wearable Device, Digital Camera, Others), Distribution Channel (Online, Offline), Country (Japan, China, India, South Korea, Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Indonesia, Philippines, Rest of Asia-Pacific) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/asia-pacific-power-bank-market

Europe Power Bank Market , By Capacity (1000-5000 M.A.H, 5001-10000 M.A.H., 10001-15000 M.A.H., 15001-20000 M.A.H., Above 20001 M.A.H.), Type (Portable, USB Plugin, Solar, Electric), Port (Single, Multiple), Battery (Lithium-Ion Battery and Lithium Polymer Battery), Unit of USB Port (1 USB Port, 2 USB Ports, More than 2 USB Ports), USB Type (Type A, Type B, Type C), Indicator (LED Lighting, Digital Display), Price Range (Low, Medium, Premium), Application (Smart Phone, Tablet, Laptop, Portable Media Device, Wearable Device, Digital Camera, Others), Distribution Channel (Online, Offline), Country (Germany, Italy, U.K., France, Spain, Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Turkey, Russia, Rest of Europe) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/europe-power-bank-market

North America Power Bank Market , By Capacity (1000-5000 M.A.H, 5001-10000 M.A.H., 10001-15000 M.A.H., 15001-20000 M.A.H., Above 20001 M.A.H.), Type (Portable, USB Plugin, Solar, Electric), Port (Single, Multiple), Battery (Lithium-Ion Battery and Lithium Polymer Battery), Unit of USB Port (1 USB Port, 2 USB Ports, More than 2 USB Ports), USB Type (Type A, Type B, Type C), Indicator (LED Lighting, Digital Display), Price Range (Low, Medium, Premium), Application (Smart Phone, Tablet, Laptop, Portable Media Device, Wearable Device, Digital Camera, Others), Distribution Channel (Online, Offline), Country (U.S., Canada, Mexico) https://www.databridgemarketresearch.com/reports/north-america-power-bank-market

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Organic Remedies

Partnering with Carbonfund, Organic Remedies has been certified a net-zero carbon emissions company

CARLISLE, Pa., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Organic Remedies, a medical marijuana cultivation and research organization based in south central Pennsylvania, has announced the organization has officially been certified carbon neutral by Carbonfunds Carbonfree Certification Program. Organic Remedies becomes the Commonwealths first in the industry to be certified carbon free. Carbonfund is leading the fight against climate change, helping individuals, businesses, and organizations to reduce and offset their climate impact. Through its rigorous assessment, Carbonfund determined Organic Remedies generates 1626.5 tonnes of CO 2 e which will be offset through global forestry projects.



Organic Remedies is proud to become the first in the state to be certified carbon neutral in our industry. As one of the leading medical marijuana organizations in PA, we understand our responsibility is to not only produce quality products, but also to do so in a way that does not harm the environment. We have always cultivated our plants through natural, organic farming practices. Offsetting our carbon emissions is another step we are taking to reduce the strain on the environment and protect our planet for generations to come. We are strongly committed to our sustainability initiatives and focused on responsible consumption and production, said Organic Remedies CEO Mark Toigo.

Organic farming practices have been utilized since the facility opened in 2020. These practices include collecting and reusing rainwater so there is no runoff; capturing CO 2 from its boiler and reintroducing the CO 2 to enhance the plants; integrated pest management using bio-control pests; planting thousands of trees surrounding the property. As part of Organic Remedies conservation efforts, it also uses efficient LED lighting systems to reduce power consumption.

Our name tells the story. We are Organic Remedies, and we strive to maintain organic farming practices during every phase of cultivation and manufacturing of our products. Protecting our planet Earth is important to our patients, to our employees, and for the benefit of future generations, said Toigo.

Story continues

Organic Remedies is also working to reduce waste by offering its products in biodegradable bags and recyclable packaging.

To complement the companys environmental focus, Organic Remedies will be celebrating Earth Day, Sat. April 22, by handing out free white pine tree seedlings at pop up events at its dispensaries and several other planned community events. The OR team believes that protecting the environment is everyones responsibility and that planting trees can make a significant impact in reversing the global climate crisis.

For more information about Organic Remedies environmental sustainability initiatives, visit www.OrganicRemediesPA.com.

About Organic Remedies

Based in Carlisle, Pa., Organic Remedies cultivates, manufactures, and dispenses safe, effective medical marijuana products for certified PA patients. OR is advancing medical marijuana therapies through genetics, collaborative research, and superior patient care. Specially trained pharmacists and patient care consultants deliver a clinical approach for the utilization of medical marijuana that is patient-focused, collaborative and outcomes based. Dispensaries are located in Chambersburg, Enola, N. Pittsburgh, S. Pittsburgh, Paoli, and York. For more information, visit www.OrganicRemediesPA.com.

Media Contact:

Janice Spurlock, Dir. Marketing/Communications

Organic Remedies

j.spurlock@OrganicRemediesPA.com

717-819-3895




VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Pampa Metals Corp. ("Pampa Metals" or the "Company") (CSE:PM)(FSE:FIRA)(OTCQX:PMMCF) is pleased to advise that it has completed ~550m of the planned ~2,100m diamond drill program designed to test coincident geological, geochemical, and geophysical anomalies at its Buenavista target, and its Block 4 project more broadly. The presence of several geophysical anomalies under post-mineral covered portions of the Block 4 property is suggestive of a potential "cluster" of porphyry copper-molybdenum-gold systems, a characteristic typical of some major porphyry copper districts in Chile and worldwide.

As previously advised, the program commenced on 31 March 2023 and completion by the end of May remains on schedule, with assay results expected in June.

Pampa Metals Corp., Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Pampa Metals' Management on Site - Block 4 Drill Testing (April 2023)

The Company also continues to actively advance its broader portfolio of seven 100% owned projects, all located in Chile and prospective for porphyry copper systems, with a view to developing a pipeline of drill ready prospects. Concurrently, the Company continues due diligence on possible acquisitions of large porphyry copper-molybdenum targets capable of complementing its existing portfolio.

Pampa Metals Corp., Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Logging Block 4 Drill Core - (April 2023)

Pampa Metals Corp., Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Field Mapping at Cerro Buenos Aires - (April 2023)

ABOUT PAMPA METALS

Pampa Metals is a Canadian company listed on the Canadian Stock Exchange (CSE: PM), Frankfurt (FSE: FIRA) and OTC (OTCQB: PMMCF) exchanges which wholly owns a 47,400 hectare portfolio of seven projects highly prospective for copper, molybdenum and gold located along proven and highly productive mineral belts in Chile, one of the world's top mining jurisdictions. The Company is actively advancing its projects through systematic exploration and drill testing of the highest priority targets, with a current focus on the Buenavista target and the Block 4 Project more broadly.

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The Company's vision is to create significant value for shareholders and stakeholders through the application of its technical and commercial expertise towards exploring for a major copper discovery along the prime mineral belts of Chile. For more information, please visit Pampa Metals' website www.pampametals.com.

The latest Company Presentation can be accessed at https://pampametals.com/investor/.

Qualified Person

Technical information in this news release has been approved by Mario Orrego G, Geologist and a Registered Member of the Chilean Mining Commission and a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Orrego is a consultant to the Company.

Note: The reader is cautioned that Pampa Metals' projects are early-stage exploration projects, and reference to existing mines and deposits, or mineralization hosted on adjacent or nearby properties, is not necessarily indicative of any mineralization on Pampa Metals' properties.

ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD

Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO

INVESTORS CONTACT

Joseph van den Elsen | President & CEO

joseph@pampametals.com

Neither the CSE nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENT

This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking statements". All statements in this release, other than statements of historical fact, that address events or developments that Pampa Metals expects to occur, are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will" or "may" occur. These statements are subject to various risks. Although Pampa Metals believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guaranteeing of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Pampa Metals Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/750223/Pampa-Metals-Advances-Buenavista-Porphyry-Copper-Target-Drill-Testing




Statistically speaking, long term investing is a profitable endeavour. But no-one is immune from buying too high. To wit, the Optiva Inc. (TSE:OPT) share price managed to fall 66% over five long years. That's not a lot of fun for true believers. And it's not just long term holders hurting, because the stock is down 23% in the last year. Even worse, it's down 15% in about a month, which isn't fun at all.

So let's have a look and see if the longer term performance of the company has been in line with the underlying business' progress.

View our latest analysis for Optiva

While Optiva made a small profit, in the last year, we think that the market is probably more focussed on the top line growth at the moment. As a general rule, we think this kind of company is more comparable to loss-making stocks, since the actual profit is so low. It would be hard to believe in a more profitable future without growing revenues.

Over half a decade Optiva reduced its trailing twelve month revenue by 17% for each year. That's definitely a weaker result than most pre-profit companies report. Arguably, the market has responded appropriately to this business performance by sending the share price down 11% (annualized) in the same time period. We don't generally like to own companies that lose money and don't grow revenues. You might be better off spending your money on a leisure activity. This looks like a really risky stock to buy, at a glance.

The company's revenue and earnings (over time) are depicted in the image below (click to see the exact numbers).

It is of course excellent to see how Optiva has grown profits over the years, but the future is more important for shareholders. It might be well worthwhile taking a look at our free report on how its financial position has changed over time.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that Optiva shareholders are down 23% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 4.2%. 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 11% 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand Optiva better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 6 warning signs for Optiva (3 make us uncomfortable) that you should be aware of.

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If you would prefer to check out another company -- one with potentially superior financials -- then do not miss this free list of companies that have proven they can grow earnings.

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.

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Marvin Samuel Tolentino Pineda / Getty Images/iStockphoto

If youre younger than 40 years old, you may not even know what a pension is. Also called defined benefit plans, pensions used to be the primary source of retirement funding for American workers. Employers were completely in control of and responsible for pensions, which would guarantee specific payments to retired workers. Starting in the 1980s, pensions rapidly began disappearing, as the defined contribution 401(k) plan dominated. Unlike with pensions, 401(k) plans dont offer guaranteed retirement payouts, which are instead determined by the performance of the 401(k) investments. The Biden administration, however, threaten to change the 401(k) plan as we now know it. Although the 401(k) plan isnt likely to go the way of the pension plan, there may be significant changes ahead.

Social Security: 20% Cuts to Your Payments May Come Sooner Than Expected

Read More: 3 Ways To Recession-Proof Your Retirement

The Demise of the Pension

From the 1940s until 1987, the number of workers covered by a pension plan grew from 4 million to 40 million. But by the late 1980s, the 401(k) plan, which was created in 1978, was charging full steam ahead, changing the worker retirement landscape forever. As of March 2023, while 75% of full-time workers had access to a retirement plan, only 15% had access to a defined benefit plan only, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

There are two primary reasons why the 401(k) plan helped bring about the end of the pension-dominated retirement plan era. First, employers were able to shift the burden of retirement funding, and most of the cost, to employees. Rather than having to fund an investment account that could provide lifetime payouts to an entire workforce, employers could now simply set up 401(k) plans that employees themselves would contribute to. Although most large employers do make limited matching contributions to employee accounts, theyre no longer responsible for funding an employees entire retirement.

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The second reason for the rise in popularity of the 401(k) is that employees generally wanted it. With a 401(k) plan, an employee can choose how much they want to contribute and what they want to invest in, rather than trusting that an employer will handle all of these decisions for them.

Take Our Poll: Do You Think Bankruptcy Is an Acceptable Way To Escape Student Loan Debt?

The Demise of the 401(k)?

One of the signature benefits of the 401(k) plan is the tax deduction that employees receive for making contributions. Combined with the investment choices and matching contributions workers get from their employees, this tax deduction is one of the main reasons that 401(k) plans are so popular. Yet, rumblings from the Biden administration suggest that this tax break might be altered in the future.

Bidens Proposed Modification of the 401(k) Tax Deduction

The Biden administrations proposal would change the current 401(k) tax deduction into a tax credit. Whereas a tax deduction reduces your taxable income, a tax credit directly reduces your tax liability via a dollar-for-dollar reduction of the tax you owe. The Biden proposal would level the amount of this tax credit to a flat 26% across the board, regardless of your current marginal tax bracket.

Heres why that matters. If youre in the 37% tax bracket and contribute $10,000 to your 401(k) plan, youre entitled to a $3,700 tax deduction currently. But those in the lowest 10% tax bracket would only receive a tax deduction of $1,000 for the same $10,000 contribution. The Biden proposal would adjust that to a $2,600 tax credit for any taxpayer making a $10,000 contribution, regardless of their tax bracket.

Does This Mean the End of the 401(k) Plan?

Even if the Biden administration were to successfully enact its proposals, 401(k) plans arent going away anytime soon. In fact, for some workers, the proposed changes will amount to a huge windfall. The workers who are targeted in this proposal are those earning high incomes, as their contributions currently garner higher tax write-offs. The Biden administration views its proposed changes as leveling the playing field, offering even lower-income workers access to the tax benefits that 401(k) contributions provide. It may also encourage these workers to begin contributing to a 401(k) plan, something that will help them down the road in their retirement years.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: The Pension Is Dead  Is 401(k) Next To Be Killed?
Market.Us

The sedentary lifestyle of modern individuals, coupled with addictive habits such as smoking and high alcohol consumption, has led to a significant increase in the demand for peptic ulcer drugs.

New York, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market is projected to grow at a CAGR of 3.5%, with its worth expected to increase from USD 4.6 Bn in 2022 to approximately USD 6.4 Bn by 2032. The peptic ulcer is described as the open sores that are developed in the inside lining of the stomach as well as the upper portion of the small intestine. Peptic ulcers are generally caused owing to radiation therapy, inflammation, and frequent use of aspirins parentally or orally. Untreated peptic ulcers can lead to the complications such as severe pain in upper or mid-body parts, severe blood loss, internal bleeding, and weight loss, which may need instant hospitalization. These complications are required to treat with peptic ulcer drugs, which mainly increases the demand for their availability and significantly leads to a surge in market growth.



Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market

Identify key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will help vendors improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors. Request PDF Sample Report - https://market.us/report/peptic-ulcer-drugs-market/request-sample/

Key Takeaway:

By Drug Type : The antibiotics segment accounted for the largest share of global peptic ulcer drugs market sales in 2022, with a 39.0% revenue share.

By Indication : The duodenal ulcer segment dominated the peptic ulcer drug market in 2022 and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period (2023 to 2032).

By distribution channel , the hospital pharmacies segment is expected to grow at a significant CAGR during the forecast period (2023-2032) due to the larger availability of peptic ulcer drugs at the hospital pharmacies.

In 2022, North America dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 43.0%.

The Asia-Pacific region is anticipated to expand at a considerable CAGR due to the development of healthcare infrastructure and growing awareness among the population.

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The rising prevalence of peptic ulcers, especially in aged individuals, and the shifting inclination of the consumer towards different medications over invasive surgeries are the most prominent factors responsible for the expansion of the peptic ulcer drugs market.

Factors Affecting the Growth of the Global Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market

There are several factors that can affect the growth of the global peptic ulcer drugs market. Some of these factors include:

Increasing prevalence of peptic ulcer: The market for peptic ulcer drugs is mainly influenced by the increasing prevalence of peptic ulcer, mostly in the geriatric population, increasing the demand for a variety of peptic ulcer drugs over surgical procedures.

Increasing use of NSAIDS: Frequent use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs such as aspirin is the most common and leading cause of the peptic ulcer. If left untreated, this condition leads to severe complications requiring frequent hospitalization and drug treatment. Therefore it is expected to positively drive the demand for the adoption of peptic ulcer drugs.

Habits of individuals with a sedentary lifestyle: The rising demand for peptic ulcer drug usage is attributed to the sedentary lifestyle of individuals having an addiction to smoking and high alcohol consumption, which are the leading cause of peptic ulcer.

Increase in R&D activities: The extensive investment in R&D activities, increasing conduct of clinical trials, and new product launches are further expected to surge the market growth.

To understand how a Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market report can bring a difference to your business strategy, Inquire about a brochure at https://market.us/report/peptic-ulcer-drugs-market/#inquiry

Top Trends in the Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market

Top trends in the global peptic ulcer drugs market include the availability of a wide variety of OTC drugs for treating peptic ulcers in individuals. Many peptic ulcer drugs, such as antacids, H2-receptor antagonists, antibiotics, and proton pump inhibitors, are available as OTC drugs. The approved OTC non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs allow faster and more affordable healthcare access, increasing their popularity and adoption among patients. The market expansion is anticipated in the coming years because many pharmaceutical companies are heavily investing in developing over-the-counter versions of peptic ulcer medications.

Market Growth

The growth of the global peptic ulcer drugs market can be attributed to factors such as the rising prevalence of peptic ulcers, excessive use of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and adoption of OTC drugs. Additionally, strong product pipeline, rising R&D activity, and growing use of triple treatment. Moreover, increased corporate & government efforts propel the growth of the peptic drugs market. While the numerous ADRs associated with peptic ulcer drug use are expected to impede market growth.

Regional Analysis

The global peptic ulcer drugs market is segmented based on region into North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, and the Middle East & Africa. North America will lead the global peptic ulcer drugs market in 2022, holding the largest revenue share of 43%. It is estimated to remain dominant during the forecast period, owing to the surge in the use of (NSAIDs) such as aspirin and increasing awareness regarding the treatment options for peptic ulcers. Europe holds the second-largest market share due to the ease of availability of effective treatment options for peptic ulcers in this region.

The Asia Pacifics peptic ulcer drugs market is anticipated to expand faster owing to the development in healthcare infrastructure, the rise in the prevalence of peptic ulcer, and growing awareness among most of the population. Latin America and the Middle East & Africa exhibit lower growth due to less awareness, unmet needs of healthcare, and a developing healthcare sector.

To know about the regional trends and drivers that will have an impact on the market - Request a sample report!

Scope of the Report

Report Attributes Details Market Value (2022) USD 4.6 Billion Market Size in 2032 USD 6.4 Billion CAGR (2023 to 2032) 3.5% North America Revenue Share 43.0% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

The global peptic ulcer drug market is driven by the increasing prevalence of peptic ulcers worldwide. An ulcer is developed when the gastric acid in the stomach damages the stomach's protective lining. This leads to open sores on the stomach resulting in bleeding and causing severe and intolerable pain. Drugs that aids in the reduction of gastric secretion, such as PPIs, H2 receptor antagonists, antibiotics against H. pylori infection, and acid neutralization agents, such as antacid, are preowned for treating peptic ulcers. However, these medicines are frequently administered in combination to acquire a greater effect. Moreover, the demand for peptic ulcer drugs is rising due to the increase in the usage of NSAIDs.

Market Restraints

The numerous ADRS associated with using peptic ulcer drugs, such as PPIs, are expected to restrict the market growth during the forecast period. It includes the increased risk of gastroenteritis, nutritional deficiencies (vitamin B12, magnesium), bowel upset, gastric ulcers, and diarrhea. The side effects of using anticholinergic drugs include dry mouth, urine retention, and constipation. Moreover, patent expiration and strict government regulations are responsible factors that are anticipated to restrict the growth of the global market for peptic ulcer drugs during the forecast period.

Market Opportunities

An increase in the strong pipeline of new drugs and rising R&D activities is estimated to boost market growth, creating numerous opportunities in the global market. The increasing prevalence of peptic ulcers worldwide is propelling the major market players to invest more in research & development activities. This involves the launch of a new drug for peptic ulcer treatment. These strategies are expected to impact the peptic ulcer drugs market's expansion positively.

Additionally, conducting clinical trials for investigational drugs to overcome the complications associated with the existing drugs in the market is another significant factor expected to boost market growth over the forecast period.

Purchase a Copy of this Premium Market Research Study at https://market.us/purchase-report/?report_id=100148

Report Segmentation of the Global Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market

Drug Type Insight

Based on drug type, the market for peptic ulcer drugs is divided into proton pump inhibitors, potassium-competitive acid blockers, H2-antagonists, antacids, antibiotics, and ulcer protective. Among these drug types, the antibiotics segment is the most dominant and largely used drug in the peptic ulcer market. In 2022, it held the market's largest revenue share of 39%. The main causative agent behind the peptic ulcer is a bacteria named H.pyroli. In treating peptic ulcers, antibiotics are first-line therapy, including one PPI and two antibiotics. Therefore, this results in higher antibiotic adoption, making it a dominant segment. Additionally, the proton pump inhibitors stand for second-line treatment, which is further expected to grow at a significant CAGR over the forecast period.

Indication Insight

Based on indication, the global market for peptic ulcer drugs is segmented into a duodenal ulcer, gastric ulcer, gastroesophageal reflux disease, gastritis, and other indications. Among these segments, the duodenal ulcer segment registered the largest market share in 2022 and is expected to continue its dominance over the forecast period. The rising prevalence of duodenal ulcers, increasing awareness, and therapeutic launches for its treatments are the major factors predicted for this segments growth. Additionally, the drugs for peptic ulcer are also effective in conditions such as gastritis and gastroesophageal reflux disease, which is subject to the further expansion of the market.

Distribution Channel Insight

The global peptic ulcer drugs market is segmented into retail, hospital, and online pharmacies. The hospital pharmacies segment is projected to hold a significant market share during the forecast period. The larger availability of peptic ulcer drugs at hospital pharmacies is likely to upsurge the growth of this segment. The rise in the diagnosis of peptic ulcer patients and frequent hospital visits to get effective treatment is the major factor contributing to its dominance. Moreover, the popularity of online pharmacies is increasing among most people owing to their convenience and ease. This will likely propel the expansion of the online pharmacies segment in the coming years.

If you want to get a better understanding of the report, you can access a PDF sample, which includes the complete table of contents, list of exhibits, selected illustrations, and example pages @ https://market.us/report/peptic-ulcer-drugs-market/request-sample/

Market Segmentation

Based on Drug Type

Proton Pump Inhibitors

Potassium-Competitive Acid Blocker (P-CAB)

H2-Antagonists

Antacids

Antibiotics

Ulcer protective

Based on Indication

Duodenal Ulcer

Gastric Ulcer

GERD (Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease)

Gastritis

Other Indications

Based on Distribution Channel

Online Pharmacies

Retail Pharmacies

Hospital Pharmacies

By Geography

North America

The US

Canada

Mexico

Western Europe

Germany

France

The UK

Spain

Italy

Portugal

Ireland

Austria

Switzerland

Benelux

Nordic

Rest of Western Europe

Eastern Europe

Russia

Poland

The Czech Republic

Greece

Rest of Eastern Europe

APAC

China

Japan

South Korea

India

Australia & New Zealand

Indonesia

Malaysia

Philippines

Singapore

Thailand

Vietnam

Rest of APAC

Latin America

Brazil

Colombia

Chile

Argentina

Costa Rica

Rest of Latin America

Middle East & Africa

Algeria

Egypt

Israel

Kuwait

Nigeria

Saudi Arabia

South Africa

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Rest of MEA

Competitive landscape:

The competitive landscape of the Market has also been examined in this report. Some of the major players include,

Abbott

AstraZeneca plc

Zydus Lifesciences Limited

Boehringer Ingelheim International GmbH

Novitium Pharma

Yuhan Corporation

Pfizer Inc.

Pharmaking Co.,Ltd.

Viatris Inc.

RedHill Biopharma Ltd.

Novartis AG

Other Key Players

Recent Development of the Global Peptic Ulcer Drugs Market

In May 2020, the USFDA approved the three-drug combination of omeprazole, amoxicillin, and rifabutin in one capsule, RHB-105, from Michael E. De-Bakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This effectively eradicates Helicobacter pylori infection in adults.

In July 2019, the USFDA approved Zydus Cadilas Misoprostol tablets for treating stomach ulcers.

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Erectile Dysfunction Drugs Market size is expected to be USD 6.2 Bn by 2032 at a CAGR of 6.8% forecast period from 2023 to 2032.

Ovarian Cancer Drugs Market size is expected to be worth around USD 9,857 Mn by 2032 CAGR of 14.3% forecast period from 2022 to 2032.

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Osteoporosis drugs Market size is expected to be worth around USD 9.8 Bn by 2032 at a CAGR of 3.5% forecast period from 2022 to 2032.

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Dublin, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Perlite Global Market Report 2023" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering.



The global perlite market will grow from $1.02 billion in 2022 to $1.19 billion in 2023 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3%. The perlite market is expected to grow from $2.26 billion in 2027 at a CAGR of 17.4%.

The growth in the Perlite market is due to the increasing demand for mining in North America. Mining refers to the process of extracting useful materials from the earth. The majority of perlite is used in construction products, mainly ceiling tiles and roof insulation products, but also as refractory bricks (a refractory brick is a brick designed to withstand very high temperatures), pipe insulation, and filling in masonry block construction.

For instance, according to World Mineral Production report by British Geographical Survey, in Slovakia, 37,310 tonnes of perlite has been produced in 2020, whereas 32,000 tonnes of perlite was produced in 2019. Therefore, the increased demand for mining in North America is driving the growth of the Perlite market.



Companies engaged in the Perlite industry are using a portable infrared spectrometer to reduce environmental risk. An infrared spectrometer enables us to predict the impurity content in perlite ore.



North America was the largest region in the Perlite market in 2021. The regions covered in this Perlite market report are Asia-Pacific, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, North America, South America, Middle East, and Africa.



The countries covered in the Perlite market are Australia, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Russia, South Korea, UK, and USA.

Scope



Markets Covered:



1) By Type: Construction Products; Horticultural and Agricultural; Industrial Perlite; Filtration and Process Aid; and Other Types - Perlite

2) By Mining Type: Underground Mining; Surface Mining



Companies Mentioned: Aegean Perlites SA; Bergama Perlite; Australian Perlite Pty Limited; Carolina Perlite Company; and Supreme Perlite Company



Countries: Australia; Brazil; China; France; Germany; India; Indonesia; Japan; Russia; South Korea; UK; USA



Regions: Asia-Pacific; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; North America; South America; Middle East; Africa



Time series: Five years historic and ten years forecast.



Data: Ratios of market size and growth to related markets, GDP proportions, expenditure per capita,



Data segmentations: country and regional historic and forecast data, market share of competitors, market segments.



Sourcing and Referencing: Data and analysis throughout the report is sourced using end notes.



Delivery format: PDF, Word and Excel Data Dashboard.





Key Topics Covered:



1. Executive Summary



2. Report Structure



3. Perlite Market Characteristics



4. Perlite Market Product Analysis



5. Perlite Market Supply Chain



6. Perlite Market Customer Information



7. Perlite Market Trends And Strategies



8. Perlite Market Size And Growth



9. Perlite Market Regional Analysis



10. Perlite Market Segmentation



11. Perlite Market Metrics



12. Asia-Pacific Perlite Market



13. Western Europe Perlite Market



14. Eastern Europe Perlite Market



15. North America Perlite Market



16. South America Perlite Market



17. Middle East Perlite Market



18. Africa Perlite Market



19. Perlite Market Competitive Landscape



20. Key Mergers And Acquisitions In The Perlite Market



21. Market Background: General Mineral Mining Market

22. Recommendations



23. Appendix



A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes

Aegean Perlites SA

Bergama Perlite

Australian Perlite Pty Limited

Carolina Perlite Company

Supreme Perlite Company

Story continues

For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/xvqo6

About ResearchAndMarkets.com

ResearchAndMarkets.com is the world's leading source for international market research reports and market data. We provide you with the latest data on international and regional markets, key industries, the top companies, new products and the latest trends.

CONTACT: CONTACT: ResearchAndMarkets.com Laura Wood,Senior Press Manager press@researchandmarkets.com For E.S.T Office Hours Call 1-917-300-0470 For U.S./ CAN Toll Free Call 1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900




Key Insights

Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad's significant private companies ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

Zuivelcooperatie FrieslandCampina U.A. owns 51% of the company

Institutional ownership in Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad is 19%

Every investor in Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad (KLSE:DLADY) should be aware of the most powerful shareholder groups. We can see that private companies own the lion's share in the company with 52% ownership. That is, the group stands to benefit the most if the stock rises (or lose the most if there is a downturn).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 19% of the companys shareholders. 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 Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad.

See our latest analysis for Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad?

Many institutions measure their performance against an index that approximates the local market. So they usually pay more attention to companies that are included in major indices.

Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

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We note that hedge funds don't have a meaningful investment in Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad. Our data shows that Zuivelcooperatie FrieslandCampina U.A. is the largest shareholder with 51% of shares outstanding. This essentially means that they have extensive influence, if not outright control, over the future of the corporation. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 11% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 8.5% by the third-largest shareholder.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There is some analyst coverage of the stock, but it could still become more well known, with time.

Insider Ownership Of Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad

The definition of company insiders can be subjective and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

Most consider insider ownership a positive because it can indicate the board is well aligned with other shareholders. However, on some occasions too much power is concentrated within this group.

We can report that insiders do own shares in Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad. It has a market capitalization of just RM1.7b, and insiders have RM44m worth of shares, in their own names. It is good to see some investment by insiders, but it might be worth checking if those insiders have been buying.

General Public Ownership

The general public-- including retail investors -- own 17% stake in the company, and hence can't easily be ignored. This size of ownership, while considerable, may not be enough to change company policy if the decision is not in sync with other large shareholders.

Private Company Ownership

It seems that Private Companies own 52%, of the Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad stock. It might be worth looking deeper into this. If related parties, such as insiders, have an interest in one of these private companies, that should be disclosed in the annual report. Private companies may also have a strategic interest in the company.

Next Steps:

I find it very interesting to look at who exactly owns a company. But to truly gain insight, we need to consider other information, too. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Dutch Lady Milk Industries Berhad you should know about.

If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Market.Us

Propionic acid is a commonly used preservative in the food and feed industry to inhibit the growth of mold and bacteria. As the global population continues to increase and the demand for food rises, the demand for propionic acid is also escalating, contributing to the growth of the industry.

New York, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Market.us, the global propionic acid market was valued at US$ 1.57 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow US$ 3.12 billion in 2032. this market is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 7.3% Between 2023 and 2032. A naturally occurring carboxylic acid is called propionic acid. It is a clear, greasy liquid with a strong, rotten smell. Propionic acid is produced when ethylene and carbon monoxide are combined. The market for propionic acid is being driven by the expanding use of canned food items, which has increased the demand for food preservatives. Propionic acid is used as a preservative in food for humans and animals because it prevents the growth of germs and fungi. Food products like cheese and baked goods employ propionic acid as an addition, preservative, and flavoring agent.

propionic acid market Growth

Market.us has identified key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will help clients improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors. - View a sample report @ https://market.us/report/propionic-acid-market/request-sample/

Key Takeaway:

By purity , in 2022, the Propionic Acid market was dominated by up to 99% segment due to its increased usage.

By application, the food preservative segment dominated the largest market share in application type analysis and accounted for the largest revenue share in the Propionic Acid market in 2022.

By end-user , the food and beverage segment dominated the largest market share in end-user type analysis

In 2022, Europe dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 35%.

APAC is anticipated to have the highest CAGR among all the regions.

APAC is expected to grow at a greater pace owing to the increasing demand for food and feed products in the region.

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Factors affecting the growth of the Propionic Acid industry?

There are several factors that can have an impact on the growth of the Propionic Acid market. Some of these factors include:

Increasing demand from the food and feed industry : Propionic acid is widely used in the food and feed industry as a preservative to prevent the growth of bacteria and mold. With the growing global population and increasing demand for food, the demand for propionic acid is also increasing, driving the growth of the industry.

Growing demand for animal feed: Propionic acid is used in the animal feed industry to prevent the growth of mold and bacteria in feed, which can cause health problems for animals. With the increasing demand for meat and dairy products, the demand for animal feed is also growing, driving the demand for propionic acid.

Rise in demand from the pharmaceutical industry: Propionic acid is used in the pharmaceutical industry as an intermediate for the production of various drugs, including ibuprofen and naproxen. As the global population continues to age, the demand for pharmaceutical products is expected to increase, driving the demand for propionic acid.

Regulatory requirements: Regulatory bodies in various countries are mandating the use of preservatives in food products to ensure food safety and extend shelf life. This is driving the demand for propionic acid, which is widely used as a preservative in food and feed products.

Advancements in technology: Advances in technology have led to the development of new and innovative production methods for propionic acid, making it easier and more cost-effective to produce. This has led to an increase in supply and a reduction in prices, driving the growth of the industry.

Availability of raw materials: Propionic acid can be produced from various raw materials, including sugar, glycerol, and ethanol. The availability and cost of these raw materials can affect the growth of the industry, as changes in availability or cost can impact the production cost and profitability of propionic acid.

To understand how our report can bring a difference to your business strategy, Inquire about a brochure at https://market.us/report/propionic-acid-market/#inquiry

Market Growth

The global market for propionic acid is expected to grow in the forecasted period, driven by the increasing demand from various industries. Propionic acid is a colorless liquid with a pungent odor and is widely used as a preservative, intermediate, and flavoring agent. The demand for propionic acid is expected to increase due to the growth of the Food and beverage industry, Animal feed industry, Pharmaceutical industry, Herbicide industry, and Other industries, as well as the increasing global population and demand for food, feed, and pharmaceutical products. Moreover, the increasing awareness regarding food safety and preservation is expected to further drive the growth of the propionic acid market.

Regional Analysis

The European market for Propionic Acid is expected to be the most lucrative, both in terms of revenue and market share, during the period 2022-2032. In 2022, the region saw a boom in propionic acid due to the presence of major industry players in the region. The regional market for Propionic Acid reached a revenue share above 35%. It is projected that the region's abundance of propionic acid sources and producers will accelerate market growth. The region's leading market for the food and agriculture industries in Germany. The continued investments in the food industry together with the use of propionic acid in the industry both contribute to the market's growth. Because of the expanding population and increased production of food and feed in the region, the market in the Asia Pacific is expected to grow quickly over the projected period. As of 2022, it is predicted that the animal feed additives market in India, China, and Australia will develop at a CAGR of over 3.5%. India and China together held a sizeable portion of the Asia-Pacific market. Furthermore, the rising need for pharmaceuticals and preservatives is expected to increase the Chinese market.

To know about the regional trends and drivers that will have an impact on the market - Request a sample report!

Scope of the Report

Report Attribute Details Market Value (2022) USD 1.57 Billion Market Size (2032) USD 3.12 Billion CAGR (from 2022 to 2032) 7.3% Europe Revenue Share 35.0% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

Propionic acid is used as a preservative in both packaged food and animal feed. The market is expected to grow over the course of the forecasted period as a result of the expanding need for secure grain and animal feed preservatives. Propionic acid is a building block for herbicides. Propionic acid is also used in the production of cellulose acetate propionate. These further applications are anticipated to drive market growth. By 2022, it is expected that 538 kilotons of propionic acid would have been used. Increasing customer demand for convenience foods is expected to fuel market growth. The need for sanitary packaged food products is rising as a result of people's evolving lifestyles. Propionic acid is employed as a preservative to prevent the growth of mold, bacteria, and fungi on food products. Food products can be stored for longer with the use of propionic acid.

Market Restraints

The growing environmental concerns around the use of pesticides would likely limit market expansion in the ensuing years. Despite the availability of a variety of products, another factor that is projected to limit market progress is a lack of innovative ideas. The entire market revenue is being affected by the current situation, which is forcing market competitors to cut margins on product sales.

Market Opportunities

Propionic acid esters serve as alternatives to synthetic flavors and chemical solvents. Propionic acid esters are used as solvents or artificial flavorings and have a fruity aroma. Propionic acid is a frequent intermediate product produced in biogas facilities by fermentation with propionic acid bacteria. Propionic acid esters are projected to present profitable opportunities for industry participants.

Immediate Delivery Available | Buy Propionic Acid Market Research Report@ https://market.us/purchase-report/?report_id=13039

Report Segmentation of the Propionic Acid Market

Purity Insight

Based on purity, up to 99% accounted for the largest market share in 2022 at over 60%. It is expected that this will continue to rise through the forecast period. Industrial production involves hydrocarboxylating ethylene while using nickel carbonyl as a catalyst. It has been found that PA reduces food intake, reduces fat levels in the liver and plasma, may boost tissue insulin sensitivity, and suppresses the immune system. The advantages of propionic acid as a raw material include its dependability, affordability, and security. Even food can have it added to it.

Application Insight

The market is further broken down into herbicides, sodium salts, plasticizers, animal feed, food preservatives, and other products based on application. With a predicted CAGR of 7.4%, the food preservative segment was the market's greatest contributor. The vast majority of Americans choose readily available, prepared foods. The use of propionic acid as a preservative and additive helps these products maintain their quality and avoid deterioration, which raises the demand for food preservatives. The demand for food preservatives is also driving the growth of the global propionic acid market. Due to the rising demand for natural preservatives, the market is growing.

End User Insight

The market is divided into medicines, personal care, food & beverage, agriculture, and others based on the end-user industry. The food and beverage industry made up the greatest portion of the global propionic acid market. Propionic acid is being used more frequently as a common food preservative in bread, cakes, cheese, non-alcoholic beverages, jams, jellies, and other processed foods to limit the growth of mold and bacteria and lengthen shelf life, which is expected to drive market growth.

If you want to get a better understanding of the report, you can access a PDF sample, which includes the complete table of contents, list of exhibits, selected illustrations, and example pages @ https://market.us/report/propionic-acid-market/request-sample/

Market Segmentation

Based on Purity

Upto 99%

Above 99%

Based on Application

Animal Feed and Food Preservatives

Sodium Salts

Herbicides

Plasticizers

Other Applications

Based on End-User

Agriculture

Food and Beverage

Personal Care

Pharmaceuticals

Other End-Users

By Geography

North America

The US Canada Mexico



Western Europe

Germany France The UK Spain Italy Portugal Ireland Austria Switzerland Benelux Nordic Rest of Western Europe



Eastern Europe

Russia Poland The Czech Republic Greece Rest of Eastern Europe

APAC China Japan South Korea India Australia & New Zealand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Rest of APAC



Latin America

Brazil Colombia Chile Argentina Costa Rica Rest of Latin America



Middle East & Africa

Algeria Egypt Israel Kuwait Nigeria Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey United Arab Emirates Rest of MEA



Competitive Landscape

Some of the major players include:

BASF SE

Dow Inc

Eastman Chemical Company

Perstorp Holding AB

Hawkins, Inc

CORBION N.V

Otto Chemie Pvt. Ltd

Merck KGaA

Oman Oil Company SAOC

Celanese Corporation

Other Key Player

Recent Development of the Propionic Acid Market

Construction on Afyren Neoxy, the first industrial-scale facility for the manufacture of organic acids utilizing green chemistry, such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, isobutyric acid, valeric acid, isovaleric acid, and hexanoic acid, began in January 2021. Fine chemicals, medications, flavors, cosmetics, and scents all employ this material.

Browse More Related Reports:

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Hyaluronic Acid Market was valued at USD 6.8 Bn, and this market is estimated to reach USD 14 billion registering the highest CAGR of 7.7%

Azelaic Acid Market size is expected to be worth around US$ 422.21 million by 2032 from US$ 218.29 million in 2022, growing at a CAGR of 7.0%

Lead Acid Battery Market size was valued at USD 30.6 billion. Between 2023 and 2032, this market is estimated to register the highest CAGR of 6.9%

Sulfuric Acid Market was valued at USD 13.5 Bn in 2022. It is expected to experience an 8.3% CAGR over the forecast period of 2023-2032

About Us:

Market.US (Powered by Prudour Pvt Ltd) specializes in in-depth market research and analysis and has been proving its mettle as a consulting and customized market research company, apart from being a much sought-after syndicated market research report-providing firm. Market.US provides customization to suit any specific or unique requirement and tailor-makes reports as per request. We go beyond boundaries to take analytics, analysis, study, and outlook to newer heights and broader horizons.

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Innovates for a Better Tomorrow

BAGHDAD, IRAQ / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Qi Card has been broadening its reach and exploring new horizons in the financial world. As part of its expansion strategy, the company has been offering an innovative and distinctive service to its customers.

QI Card Leading Electronic Banking Solution

QI Card is a leading electronic banking solution and default national debit/credit card of Iraq and is recognized for being one of the most successful examples of innovative financial tech (Fintech) in the personal banking industry. With the introduction of the QI Card technology in 2007, the company showed that it has become one of the largest and most successful electronic, financial service companies in Iraq. Its success can be attributed to several factors including innovative technology and commitment to serving all segments of society in Iraq, making electronic banking solutions accessible to its citizens.

Create a new market for a cashless banking system

Iraq has faced several challenges in the banking sector, including low banking penetration, limited access to financial services, and a high percentage of an unbanked population. QI Card's ability to create a new market for a cashless banking system has been one of its most significant achievements, offering convenience and security to millions of active users today. The company's values and products allow maximum protection, accessibility, ease of use and full transparency.

Innovative approach to business

QI Card has been recognized for its innovative approach to business and has won multiple awards, including two international awards granted by The Global Economics in 2022. The company has been named the best issuer of biometric prepaid cards as well the most innovative Issuer for biometric prepaid cards. In addition, The Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Mr. Ahmed Al-Asadi provided smart cards (QI Cards), gifts and school supplies to 60 orphans in residential homes during his visit to an orphanage in Baghdad, all in cooperation with QI Card.

Story continues

Bahaa Abdul Hadi's leadership

QI Cards success can also be attributed to the leadership of its Founder, Bahaa Abdul Hadi. Bahaa is known for his ambitious goals and willingness to take risks and has been instrumental in driving QI Cards growth and innovation. Under his leadership QI Card has developed an ethical business practice that values its contributions to society, with a mission to fight corruption in Iraq. Bahaa is a strong advocate for upholding a culture that places importance in shaping the future of Iraq and making a positive impact on its citizens.

QI Card - A force for good in society

The company has made a significant impact on the betterment of society in Iraq by addressing critical issues and promoting positive change. Through various corporate, social responsibility initiatives and partnerships with organizations, the company has demonstrated its commitment to making a difference. QI Card has not only distinguished itself as a leader in the industry but also as a force for good in society.

Contact Information

Ali Munim

CEO

info@qi.iq

+9647716404444

SOURCE: QI Card

.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/750103/QI-Card--Iraqs-Leading-Electronic-Banking-Solution




Questex LLC

New Event Activations Connect Buyers and Sellers at the International Beauty Show, the International Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa Conference, Bar & Restaurant Expo, World Tea Expo, Vibe Conference and Fierce Pharma Events

NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Questex , the leading information and event services company focused on the experience economy, brings people together in the markets that help people live better, the industries that help people live longer and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. In the first quarter, Questex delivered record-breaking numbers of attendees, exhibitors and revenue. Questexs events now exceed pre-pandemic levels.



Our mission is to bring the experience economy to life for our communities. With new onsite experiences like the International Beauty Shows Powerhouse Pavilion, the International Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa Conferences Healthy You Pavilion, Bar & Restaurant Expos Food & Beverage Innovation Center, Japanese Pavilion and NxT Zone as well as World Tea Expos Tea Bar, we delivered extraordinary experiences that attendees will remember, said Paul Miller, CEO, Questex. During the pandemic we brainstormed new ideas for our events and customer experiences, brought all of our first-party data into one database through our proprietary Q Activate tool and kept our community engaged with high quality digital content  all of this work kept audiences engaged with our brands which allowed our team to deliver first quarter events with the best performance in the companys history.

International Beauty Show New York, the longest running professional beauty event in the country, and International Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa Conference New York, the leading spa and wellness event in the country, co-located to bring together over 30,000 beauty and spa professionals. The International Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa Conference New York grew the event over 10% compared to the 2019 event, while revenue grew 25% compared to 2022 event. Combined, the International Beauty Show and the International Esthetics Cosmetics & Spa Conference saw growth of attendees of 22% year over year. New onsite experiences such as the Look & Learn Stagewith cocktails and networking, a graffiti wall and selfie area, a Healthy You Pavilion, a Powerhouse Pavilion that celebrated black beauty entrepreneurs, a Recharge & Hydrate Lounge and a Say Yes to You campaign engaged attendees.

Story continues

Bar & Restaurant Expo, the nations largest and most influential gathering of bar and restaurant owners and operators, grew the event 42% compared to the 2019 event. Bar & Restaurant Expo and World Tea Expo grew attendees 19% over 2022. In 2021, Bar & Restaurant Expo was a Trade Show Executive Gold 100 honoree and in 2022, a Next 50 by total attendance by Trade Show Executive.

Vibe Conference, the premiere on-premises beverage event for beverage executives, grew the event 30% compared to the 2019 event. Vibe Conference attracted attendees from across the industry including chain restaurants, hotels, cruise lines, airlines, distributors, consultants, and agencies, resulting in a 20% increase compared to 2022. Vibe Conference was the largest event in its 14-year history, attracting the largest number of first-time operator attendees, which demonstrates how strongly this industry is rebounding and retooling for future growth.

All Fierce Pharma events experienced a resurgence. Fierce JPM Week, a hybrid event focused on how pharma and healthcare can thrive, experienced the highest revenue in the events history. The Business Development and Licensing (BD&L) Summit, designed for business development & licensing executives to gain exclusive insights on new opportunities, grew attendance 13% from 2022 and Fierce Pharma PR & Communications West, the only conference on the west coast dedicated to providing life science communicators with timely industry updates and best practices for successful communications strategies in the healthcare environment, increased 30% year over year.

All of Questexs 2022 exhibition led events were featured on the Trade Show Executive fastest-growing list. [Press Release].

We are delighted with how our strategy has come to life at our live events since returning from the pandemic. The forward pacing is extremely encouraging and 2023 is shaping up to be a banner year for the company, added Miller.

About IBS New York

Produced by Questex and presented by American Salon, IBS New York is the longest running professional beauty event in the country. IBS New York is for professionals only and reaches a wide crosssection of participants including salon owners and managers, hair stylists, hair colorists, cosmetologists, makeup artists, nail technicians, beauty and hair product manufacturers and distributors. Connecting serious beauty professionals with the best in the industry, the show brings hundreds of top beauty brands together under one roof for free educational classes by industry legends, workshops, and exclusive show-floor discounts. For more information, visit ibsnewyork.com and the upcoming event in Las Vegas at ibslasvegas.com.

About IECSC

Produced by Questex, the International Esthetics, Cosmetics and Spa Conferences (IECSC) are for professionals only and reach a wide crosssection of participants from spa and wellness product manufacturers and distributors to spa owners, directors and managers, estheticians, massage therapists, medical estheticians, and dermatologists. With dynamic trade show floors, in-depth conference programs, and presented by American Spa, the IECSC events provide the perfect meeting ground for the worlds most elite and qualified spa professionals looking to meet the top skin, cosmetic and wellness companies. For more information, visit iecsc.com.

About Bar & Restaurant Expo

Bar & Restaurant Expo, formerly known as Nightclub & Bar Show, has continued to evolve to mirror the fast-paced, trend-setting nature of the hospitality industry. The event provides the specific tools that bar and restaurant owners, operators, and managers need to grow their businesses, compete, and succeed in this hyper-competitive and dynamic industry. The Bar & Restaurant Group is a division of the Questex Hospitality Group which also produces Vibe Conference, World Tea Conference & Expo, and daily content on barandrestaurant.com.

About Vibe Conference

Vibe Conference is the premier event for chain and hotel adult beverage executives and suppliers. The top on-premises conference is held annually and involves high-level content, tastings and networking opportunities. The 2024 conference will be held at Town & Country Resort San Diego February 26-28.

About Fierce Pharma

Biopharma is a fast-growing world where big ideas come along daily. Our readers rely on Fierce Pharma for the latest news, analysis and data on drugs and the companies that make them. Fierce Pharma covers the pharma waterfront, from late-stage drug development through the entire lifecycletracking regulatory approvals, payer negotiations, manufacturing, marketing, patent fights, government investigations and regulation, M&A deals and beyond. Our aim is to analyze the day's news, showing readers not only what they need to know, but why they need to know it. Beyond the daily, the Fierce Pharma team produces special reports that take stock of the industrys products and finances and shed new light on industry trends. Fierce Pharma offers a suite of events including Fierce JPM Week, the Business Development and Licensing (BD&L) Summit and Fierce Pharma PR & Communications West.



About Questex

Questex helps people live better and longer. Questex brings people together in the markets that help people live better: travel, hospitality and wellness; the industries that help people live longer: life science and healthcare; and the technologies that enable and fuel these new experiences. We live in the experience economy  connecting our ecosystem through live events, surrounded by data insights and digital communities. We deliver experience and real results. It happens here.

Media Contact

Kate Spellman

Chief Marketing Officer

Questex

kspellman@questex.com

212 895 8488




(Bloomberg) -- Ray Dalio is setting up a branch of his family office in Abu Dhabi, part of the hedge fund billionaires deeper push into the Middle East.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The Bridgewater Associates founder has cultivated a close relationship with the United Arab Emirates leadership over several decades and the new setup in the countrys capital builds upon the Dalio Family Offices existing hubs in the US and Singapore, according to people familiar with the matter.

The new office will be located in Abu Dhabi Global Market, the international financial free zone in the emirate, which has wooed a cadre of big hedge funds, venture capital firms and crypto companies this past year.

Plans are underway to bring in a team of experienced investment professionals to lead the arm of the family office, said the people, who requested anonymity as the matter is private.

I have had more than 30 years of meaningful work and meaningful relationships with the people and leadership in Abu Dhabi which has led me to like and admire them greatly, Dalio said in a statement. Abu Dhabi is also becoming a hub for many exciting developments in the region, including across the UAE and in Saudi Arabia.

As part of his push into the Middle East, Dalio is also exploring a broader investment partnership with Group 42, the artificial intelligence firm chaired by UAE National Security Adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed, the people said. One of their joint initiatives is a project to help develop Indonesias new capital, the people said.

Dalio, whose net worth is estimated to be more than $16 billion, joins an expanding list of wealthy individuals who are setting up offices in the UAE.

Story continues

Read More: Balyasny Joins Millennium, BlueCrest in Hedge Fund Push to Dubai

A number of hedge funds have flocked to Dubai in the past two years, drawn by the city-states low taxes, international connectivity and comfortable lifestyle. Neighboring Abu Dhabi, home to sovereign wealth funds overseeing more than $1 trillion, has attracted its own share of big names, including Brevan Howard Asset Management.

Both emirates are in active discussions to lure additional investment firms to the country. Dubais financial center said in February that it is in talks with more than 50 firms having already drawn industry heavyweights such as Millennium Management and ExodusPoint Capital Management.

That coincides with increasing competition from Saudi Arabia, the UAEs bigger neighbor, over the nations status as a regional business hub. As part of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salmans efforts to wean the kingdom off oil revenue, it is pushing foreign firms to move their headquarters to Riyadh or risk losing government contracts.

Dalio, 73, is building out his family office as he steps back from Bridgewater, which he founded in 1975. The worlds largest hedge fund is now led by Chief Executive Officer Nir Bar Dea.

The Dalio Family Office helps handle the billionaires private investments as well as his philanthropic donations. Among those causes is ocean exploration, which he supports through his nonprofit OceanX.

--With assistance from Stefania Bianchi.

(Adds comment from Dalio in fifth paragraph.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
With over two decades of industry experience, Jeremy Bonia will lead Restaurants Canada's Board of Directors to drive its vision of growing and creating vibrant and thriving foodservice communities across Canada; and to unite the foodservice industry through advocacy, connection and support

Restaurants Canada Announces New Chair of the Board, Jeremy Bonia

Restaurants Canada Announces New Chair of the Board, Jeremy Bonia

TORONTO, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Restaurants Canada, the national, not-for-profit association representing Canadas diverse and dynamic foodservice industry announced the election of accomplished Newfoundland & Labrador-based restaurateur and sommelier Jeremy Bonia as the new Chair of the Board of Directors. The announcement was made at the incoming meeting of the Board of Directors following the Annual and Special Meeting of the Members, held on March 30th, 2023.

Im both excited and honoured to take on the role of Chair of the Board for Restaurants Canada, said Bonia.As an independent operator in this industry, I understand how tough the last number of years have been for everyone. I look forward to working with the rest of the experienced industry leaders on this board as well as the staff at Restaurants Canada.Together I believe we will bring this industry back stronger than ever.

With over 20 years of industry experience, Bonia grew up in Logy Bay, Newfoundland and began his career in the foodservice industry at Bianca's, one of that Province's original fine dining restaurants. There he developed an interest in wine, which led him to become a certified sommelier. In 2007 he met his now business partner and head chef Jeremy Charles. Together they opened three Newfoundland-based restaurants; Raymonds Restaurant, The Merchant Tavern and most recently, Portage. With a deep understanding of how to operate an independent restaurant, success and popularity have found each of Bonia and Charles establishments. Long considered one of Canadas best restaurants, in 2011 Raymonds Restaurant took home EnRoutes Best New Restaurant award.

Story continues

As Chair, Bonia will be responsible for ensuring that, under the board's direction, Restaurants Canada makes objective decisions that take into careful consideration the interests of the membership and other stakeholders. He will work closely with President and CEO, Christian Buhagiar, as the organization focuses on helping restaurant owners and operators recover from the pandemic and achieve long-term success.

Bonia succeeds Mike Yasinski, a foodservice and hospitality veteran, long-time entrepreneur and bar and restaurant investor, who was elected as Chair in March 2022. Yasinski played an integral role in leading Restaurants Canada as it transitioned into new leadership with the hiring of Buhagiar.

Mike has played a key role over the past year in the development of a new vision, mission and set of corporate values for the association, navigating the association out of the pandemic, and championing changes to further strengthen the governance of Restaurants Canada, said Christian Buhagiar. I want to thank Mike for his commitment to our members and to his mentorship as I transitioned into the role. I look forward to working with Jeremy over the coming year as we build on past achievements and strengthen our role as steward of the industry.

-30-

About Restaurants Canada

Restaurants Canada is a national, not-for-profit member-based trade association advancing the potential of Canadas diverse and dynamic foodservice industry through member programs, research, advocacy, resources and events. Canadas foodservice sector is a $100 billion industry that serves 22 million customers across the country every day. As the fourth-largest private-sector employer, Canadian foodservice directly employs 1.2 million people and indirectly supports another 290,000+ jobs in related industries, with $32 billion in food and beverage products purchased every year. www.restaurantscanada.org

Attachment

CONTACT: Tianna Goguen Restaurants Canada media@restaurantscanada.org




Real-Time Innovations (RTI)

RTI Receives 95 Percent Confidence Level Rating from Employees that it is a Great Place to Work

SUNNYVALE, Calif., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Real-Time Innovations (RTI) , the largest software framework company for autonomous systems, is proud to be Certified by Great Place to Work for the fifth year in a row. The prestigious award is based entirely on what current employees say about their experience working at RTI. This year, 95 percent of employees said its a great place to work  38 points higher than the average U.S. company.



Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture, employee experience, and the leadership behaviors proven to deliver market-leading revenue, employee retention and increased innovation.

Most employees come to RTI for the chance to run a smarter world. They stay for culture, said Stan Schneider, CEO of RTI. We are so proud to be recognized for the fifth year in a row by GPTW. Each year, we listen to the great feedback and then use it to improve. Maintaining and improving world-class results from GPTW is not easy. But, after five years, our scores show improvement in key areas of compensation, benefits, resource use, fairness, training, and efficiency. It's an honor to be held accountable by our incredible employees around the world. Thank you for making RTI better.

Great Place to Work Certification isnt something that comes easily  it takes ongoing dedication to the employee experience, said Sarah Lewis-Kulin, vice president of global recognition at Great Place to Work. Its the only official recognition determined by employees real-time reports of their company culture. Earning this designation means that RTI is one of the best companies to work for in the country.

The Great Place to Work survey focuses on several important factors that make RTI truly a great workplace. A resounding 100% of employees said that they are able to make the best use of their abilities at RTI and feel that management is honest and ethical in its business practices.

Story continues

RTI facilitates a great working environment with employees feeling that there is a family or team atmosphere at the company. Employees also feel supported to care for their responsibilities at home, and that management shows a sincere interest in them as people and not just as employees. RTI employees believe that people from all backgrounds have equal opportunities to succeed and that management has their best interest at heart.

According to Great Place to Work research , job seekers are 4.5 times more likely to find a great boss at a Certified great workplace. Additionally, employees at Certified workplaces are 93% more likely to look forward to coming to work, and are twice as likely to be paid fairly, earn a fair share of the companys profits and have a fair chance at promotion.

Were Hiring!

Are you looking to grow your career at a company that puts people first? Visit our careers page at: https://www.rti.com/company/careers .

Dont meet every single requirement? At RTI, we are dedicated to building a diverse, inclusive, and authentic workplace so if youre excited about this role but your past experience doesnt perfectly align with all qualifications in the job description, we encourage you to apply anyway. You may be just the right candidate for this or another one of our open roles. To learn more about RTI's Diversity initiatives, please visit: https://www.rti.com/company/diversity .

About RTI

Real-Time Innovations (RTI) is the largest software framework company for autonomous systems. RTI Connext is the worlds leading architecture for developing intelligent distributed systems. Uniquely, Connext shares data directly, connecting AI algorithms to real-time networks of devices to build autonomous systems.

RTI is the best in the world at ensuring our customers success in deploying production systems. With over 1,800 designs, RTI software runs over 250 autonomous vehicle programs, controls the largest power plants in North America, coordinates combat management on U.S. Navy ships, drives a new generation of medical robotics, enables flying cars, and provides 24/7 intelligence for hospital and emergency medicine. RTI runs a smarter world.

RTI is the leading vendor of products compliant with the Object Management Group (OMG) Data Distribution Service (DDS) standard. RTI is privately held and headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with regional offices in Colorado, Spain and Singapore.

Download a free 30-day trial of the latest, fully-functional Connext software today: www.rti.com/downloads

About Great Place to Work Certification

Great Place to Work Certification is the most definitive employer-of-choice recognition that companies aspire to achieve. It is the only recognition based entirely on what employees report about their workplace experience  specifically, how consistently they experience a high-trust workplace. Great Place to Work Certification is recognized worldwide by employees and employers alike and is the global benchmark for identifying and recognizing outstanding employee experience. Every year, more than 10,000 companies across 60 countries apply to get Great Place to Work-Certified.

About Great Place to Work

Great Place to Work is the global authority on workplace culture. Since 1992, they have surveyed more than 100 million employees worldwide and used those deep insights to define what makes a great workplace: trust. Their employee survey platform empowers leaders with the feedback, real-time reporting and insights they need to make data-driven people decisions. Everything they do is driven by the mission to build a better world by helping every organization become a great place to work For All.

Learn more at greatplacetowork.com and on LinkedIn , Twitter , Facebook and Instagram .

Media Contacts:

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Karbo Communications for RTI

rti@karbocom.com

Tiffany Yang

Public Relations, RTI

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Innovative portable power station company releases most powerful model yet, featuring a groundbreaking modular design unlike anything else on the market

WALNUT, Calif., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- In response to vocal consumer demand, RUNHOOD is expanding its line of portable power stations with an impressive new model, the RALLYE 1200. The RALLYE 1200 doubles the amount of output power offered by the highly portable RALLYE 600, cranking out 1200 watts of power with a 2400 watt surge. It's completely interchangeable with every product in the RUNHOOD line, keeping with the company's award-winning, patented, modular design built around external batteries.

The Rallye 1200 is RUNHOOD's most powerful station yet.

Modular design unlike anything else on the market

In a suddenly crowded marketplace of remarkably similar portable power stations, RUNHOOD's line of modular power banks, power stations, and power generators stands out from the pack by offering several options unavailable anywhere else.

Like every product RUNHOOD produces, the new RALLYE 1200 is powered by the company's exclusive Energy Bar 324 power bars. The entire modular line is built around these revolutionary, removable batteries, completely separating RUNHOOD from the competition.

With RUNHOOD's unique external battery design, the RALLYE 1200 won't ever run out of power, as long as you have extra Energy Bars on hand. With RUNHOOD's hot swappable battery technology, your devices stay powered and your adventures keep running.

Not only do external batteries allow for the exclusive, hot swappable feature, but the external batteries themselves can be popped out and used as miniature power banks. The RALLYE 1200 comes with both a USB port adapter and a pure sine AC adapter for the power bars, allowing customers to adapt the RALLYE 1200 to their specific power needs.

New features, more options, and longer adventures

With a simple and rugged design, the RALLYE 1200 is a perfect companion for your outdoor adventures, as well as a handy backup to have at home for power outages and emergencies.

Story continues

The RALLYE 1200 features nine outputs of power: three pure sine 120 watt AC outlets safe to power any electronic device, a full array of USB ports, plus a car port adapter and a phone charging pad.

The new RALLYE 1200 also features more ways to charge batteries quickly and keep your devices powered longer.

The new 400 watt AC max input allows you to fully charge two EB 324s in under two hours by simply plugging it into a wall outlet.

Available now through crowdsourced Kickstarter campaign

The new RALLYE 1200 is now available for early purchase on Kickstarter . A game-changer for outdoor enthusiasts, it hits the market just in time for the outdoor camping and hiking season.

About Runhood

Based in California, Runhood is the winner of a Golden Pin Design Award, a Red Dot Design Award, and the iF Design Award.

Learn more about RUNHOOD's groundbreaking line of modular, portable power stations, banks, and generators at www.runhoodpower.com .

Media Contact:

Cori Brosnahan

4153107459

357507@email4pr.com

RUNHOOD's modular power stations are unlike anything else on the market.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/runhood-introduces-the-new-rallye-1200-delivering-more-power-than-ever-before-301801601.html

SOURCE RUNHOOD
(Bloomberg) -- Russia-aligned hackers are attempting to damage or destroy the UKs critical national infrastructure, a top British government official is expected to warn on Wednesday.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The hackers, who are working for organizations similar in structure to the Wagner group, a private Russian militia, have turned their attention to the UK in recent months and pose a threat to businesses, according to Oliver Dowden, the chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, one of the highest ranking ministers in the governments Cabinet Office.

These adversaries are ideologically motivated, rather than financially motivated, according to prepared remarks that Dowden is scheduled to deliver at a cybersecurity conference in Belfast, which were shared with reporters. Disclosing this threat is not something we do lightly. But we believe it is necessary.

Dowden is expected to announce cybersecurity resilience goals that companies in critical national infrastructure sectors  such as defense, health, energy and finance  are expected to meet by 2025. In addition, hes scheduled to say that he is working on a plan to bring businesses working in critical national infrastructure within the scope of new cybersecurity regulations.

These are the companies in charge of keeping our country running. Of keeping the lights on, according to Dowdens prepared remarks. Our shared prosperity depends on them taking their own security seriously.

Similarly, the UKs National Cyber Security Centre issued an alert to businesses warning of a new class of Russian cyber adversary. While the cyber activity of these groups often focuses on DDoS attacks, website defacements and/or the spread of misinformation, some have stated a desire to achieve a more disruptive and destructive impact against western critical national infrastructure, including in the UK, according to the alert.

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Dowdens plan is similar to the Biden administrations recently released national cyber strategy, which called for minimum cybersecurity standards on businesses in critical sectors.

Russian-linked criminal hacking gangs have targeted several high-profile UK businesses in the last year.

Postal company Royal Mails operations were disrupted for several weeks after an attack in January. Capita Plc, a major government contractor, was hacked in late March. Last year, health-care software provider Advanced was targeted, which disrupted doctors ability to view medical notes and book appointments. Staffordshire Water Company, which provides supplies water to 1.5 million people in the UK, also suffered a major breach.

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
Russian President Vladimir Putin chairs a meeting with members of the government via video link at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia April 19, 2023. Sputnik/Gavriil Grigorov/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - SPUTNIK/REUTERS

Western nations are battling a surge in Russian hacking activity as Vladimir Putins cyber troops set their sights on critical infrastructure, GCHQ chiefs have warned.

Cabinet Office minister Oliver Dowden said Russian-aligned hackers want to disrupt or destroy critical infrastructure such as power stations.

He added: These are fringe state threats  the cyber equivalent of the Wagner group  and initially these groups focused their attacks on Ukraine and the surrounding region.

But recently, they have begun to turn their attention to the UK and its allies.

Criminal hacker groups in Russia have increasingly been targeting Western countries in recent months, especially NATO members supporting Ukraine.

Experts say that patriotic young Russians are carrying out cyber attacks against Western organisations and businesses.

Paul Chichester, the NCSCs operations director, said: From our tracking and understanding of the Russian cyber ecosystem, we're certainly seeing individuals and groups who are more on that edge between cybercrime and patriotic hacking.

Theyre taking that interest and having those conversations around just how they can use those skills to pursue what they believe are patriotic aims.

NCSC bosses have issued a formal warning to critical national infrastructure operators to caution them about the renewed threat.

Lindy Cameron, chief executive of the NCSC, said: If the UK is to be the safest place to live and work online, then resilience must urgently move to the top of our investment shopping list.

The warnings come after an investigation alleged that Russia has a programme to sabotage wind farms, gas pipelines and power cables in the North Sea.

Public broadcasters in Denmark, Norway, Sweden and Finland reported that Russia was using disguised ships to carry out underwater surveillance and map key sites for possible disruption.

GCHQs security arm also warned of an expansion in mercenary hacker-for-hire operations, in which highly skilled cyber companies offer their services to the highest bidder.

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Around 80 countries are believed to have bought commercial spyware in what the NCSC described on Wednesday as a transformational leap in the volume of surveillance they could carry out on dissidents, political opponents and the media.

Spyware has almost certainly been used by some states in the targeting of journalists, human rights activists, political dissidents and opponents and foreign government officials, the NCSCs alert said.

Britain aims to shame other countries that either allow such spyware companies to operate or which buy their products for their own uses.

Ms Cameron added: What I like is that we're seeing the culture change internationally. Its becoming more embarrassing to be a state harbouring this kind of capability.

One example of a commercial spyware company is Israels notorious NSO Group, which created an iPhone hacking tool called Pegasus.

Pegasus was used by the Saudi Arabian government to silently snoop on the phone of dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Mr Khashoggi was murdered and then dismembered after being induced to visit the Saudi embassy in Istanbul.

The sophistication of some commercial intrusion cyber products and services can almost certainly rival the equivalent capabilities of some state-linked Advanced Persistent Threat (APT) groups, the NCSC said.

APTs are advanced hacker groups that are normally operated by governments.
Tony Danker CBI - Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Britains top business lobbying group faces being frozen out of meetings with senior politicians for months in the wake of a sexual misconduct scandal, while its former chief has threatened to sue over claims he was made the fall guy.

In another chaotic day for the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), a legal expert warned an independent investigation into alleged rape, sexual assault and serious misconduct by managers could drag on for as long as six months.

It came as Tony Danker, the CBIs former director general who was fired last week over separate misconduct allegations, claimed he had been thrown under a bus and was considering legal action against his ex-employer.

The Telegraph can also disclose that the CBI urged employers to set up "safe spaces" for their staff to complain about bosses a year before the scandal erupted.

The "time to advance" guide on diversity and inclusion issued in 2022 also urged businesses to help employees "feel psychologically safe" at work.

While apologising for behaviour that made some junior staff very uncomfortable, Mr Danker insisted his name had been wrongly associated with more serious allegations made against other managers by junior female staff.

He told the BBC: They did not just throw me under the bus, they reversed the bus back over me.

I have had a week of coverage saying Tony Danker sacked in rape scandal and these stories have been about rape and sexual assault and cocaine and bullying.

None of that was anything to do with me and it was all before my time.

Mr Danker said a letter from the CBI said the reasons for his dismissal were that he had viewed the personal social media accounts of staff; sent non-work related messages to staff on work messaging platforms; taken junior staff to one-to-one meetings over breakfast and lunch; and organised a private karaoke party for 15 people after a Christmas work event.

The former director general claimed he had contacted staff during the pandemic to help maintain morale and that the one-to-one meetings were part of a mentoring programme.

Story continues

He has also been accused of sending a barrage of unwanted messages featuring sexually suggestive language to a female member of staff who considered it to be harassment, but he insisted he had never used sexually suggestive language with any staff members.

But Brian McBride, the CBIs president, hit back at Mr Dankers selective version of events and dared him to sue the organisation if he believed he was treated unfairly.

"The board lost its trust and confidence in his ability to lead the organisation and represent the CBI in public," Mr McBride added.

He called on the Government to resume contact with the CBI even as a criminal investigation continues, amid fears that the voice of businesses will be missing in key policy discussions.

Confederation of Business Industry (CBI) President Brian McBride - OLI SCARFF/AFP via Getty Images

Conservative government ministers and Labours shadow cabinet have paused normal relations with the CBI until the conclusion of an independent investigation by law firm Fox Williams at the earliest.

But with no guaranteed end date, it raises the prospect that the lobbying organisation may be unable to fulfil its function properly for months.

Charlie Thompson, a partner and employment law expert at Stewarts, said internal hopes that the investigation will be over quickly could be dashed, with no guarantee it will even conclude in six months time.

He said: You only need to look at certain high-profile internal investigations at other big organisations to see these things can drag out that long, so I don't think it's beyond the realms of possibility.

"While the CBI may want to wrap this up quickly, that may not be possible - there is scope for this to run and run."

A separate investigation by City of London Police, which could last longer still, complicates matters further.

Ministers have not ruled out re-engaging with the CBI before the police investigation is over, but a Whitehall source said this would depend on the outcome of the Fox Williams probe.

At the same time, however, Mr Dankers remarks on Wednesday have done little to quell concerns that the trade body is in the grip of an existential crisis.

Tonys intervention has stuck the spotlight further onto them, a Whitehall source said.

Labour may not resume normal relations with the CBI until the police investigation is complete, The Telegraph understands.

The prospect of the CBI being locked out of talks with top politicians will be a major headache for incoming director general Rain Newton-Smith, the organisations former chief economist who is expected to leave her current role at Barclays in the coming weeks.

She is being brought back to steady the ship, but one CBI member warned that without access to ministers and senior opposition figures, the whole point of the lobbying organisation was in doubt.

It would be a huge problem, the member said. Of course we are still some way away, but fundamentally in the run-up to an election next year you need the voice of business to be heard properly when parties are working on their manifestos.

And ultimately, the main reason businesses join the CBI is because they have access to political decision-makers and can tell you what they are thinking."

The CBI declined to comment on the ongoing investigation.
Key Insights

Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad's estimated fair value is RM3.28 based on 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity

Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad is estimated to be 25% undervalued based on current share price of RM2.46

The RM2.54 analyst price target for SOP is 23% less than our estimate of fair value

In this article we are going to estimate the intrinsic value of Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (KLSE:SOP) by taking the expected future cash flows and discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. It may sound complicated, but actually it is quite simple!

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. Anyone interested in learning a bit more about intrinsic value should have a read of the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad

Is Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad Fairly Valued?

We're using the 2-stage growth model, which simply means we take in account two stages of company's growth. In the initial period the company may have a higher growth rate and the second stage is usually assumed to have a stable growth rate. To begin with, we have to get estimates of the next ten years of cash flows. 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:

10-year free cash flow (FCF) estimate

2023 2024 2025 2026 2027 2028 2029 2030 2031 2032 Levered FCF (MYR, Millions) RM380.0m RM295.7m RM298.7m RM251.8m RM226.8m RM213.5m RM207.0m RM204.8m RM205.5m RM208.2m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ -15.70% Est @ -9.92% Est @ -5.87% Est @ -3.04% Est @ -1.06% Est @ 0.33% Est @ 1.30% Present Value (MYR, Millions) Discounted @ 10.0% RM346 RM244 RM225 RM172 RM141 RM121 RM106 RM95.7 RM87.3 RM80.4

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = RM1.6b

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After calculating the present value of future cash flows in the initial 10-year period, we need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all future cash flows beyond the first stage. For a number of reasons a very conservative growth rate is used that cannot exceed that of a country's GDP growth. In this case we have used the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield (3.6%) to estimate future growth. In the same way as with the 10-year 'growth' period, we discount future cash flows to today's value, using a cost of equity of 10.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = RM208m (1 + 3.6%)  (10.0% 3.6%) = RM3.4b

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= RM3.4b ( 1 + 10.0%)10= RM1.3b

The total value is the sum of cash flows for the next ten years plus the discounted terminal value, which results in the Total Equity Value, which in this case is RM2.9b. In the final step we divide the equity value by the number of shares outstanding. Compared to the current share price of RM2.5, the company appears a touch undervalued at a 25% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Remember though, that this is just an approximate valuation, and like any complex formula - garbage in, garbage out.

dcf

The Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 10.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.800. 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 Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad

Strength

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Dividends are covered by earnings and cash flows.

Weakness

Earnings declined over the past year.

Dividend is low compared to the top 25% of dividend payers in the Food market.

Shareholders have been diluted in the past year.

Opportunity

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Annual earnings are forecast to decline for the next 3 years.

Next Steps:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it shouldn't be the only metric you look at when researching a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Instead the best use for a DCF model is to test certain assumptions and theories to see if they would lead to the company being undervalued or overvalued. For instance, if the terminal value growth rate is adjusted slightly, it can dramatically alter the overall result. Why is the intrinsic value higher than the current share price? For Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad, we've compiled three pertinent factors you should further research:

Risks: For example, we've discovered 3 warning signs for Sarawak Oil Palms Berhad (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here. Future Earnings: How does SOP's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Malaysian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Chinese regions roll out effective policies to promote high-quality development of private sector

People's Daily Online) 09:42, April 18, 2023

Since the beginning of the year, multiple regions in China have introduced effective policies and measures to support the high-quality development of the private sector.

Chinese regions have continued to foster an enabling environment for the development of the private economy, including creating a rule of law environment that is fair and just, and further optimizing the business environment to stimulate the healthy development of private enterprises.

Staff members work at a workshop in an industry park in Qingpu District of Shanghai, east China, May 17, 2022. (Xinhua/Zhao Yihe)

These policies and measures emphasize support in terms of financing, talent, technology, land provision, environmental protection and other factors for private companies to better ensure the private sectors development. Many places in China have vowed to make the financial sector better serve the private economy.

While formulating policies, various regions have focused on boosting confidence in the private sector and creating a favorable atmosphere of respecting, encouraging, supporting and protecting private entrepreneurs.

Many regions have outlined that more funds would be allocated to outstanding companies, including innovative enterprises, specialized and sophisticated small and medium enterprises (SMEs), lighthouse factories, and top 500 enterprises, and vowed financial support for the transformation and listing of private companies to improve their innovation capacity and competitiveness.

South Chinas Hainan Province issued measures to support the development of the private sector in March. Hainan will offer a one-time award of 5 million yuan ($727,653) each to private companies in the province that are recognized as Chinas top 500 private firms for the first time, and provide 5 million yuan each as an incentive to listed private companies.

According to measures to boost the high-quality development of the private sector issued by the development and reform commission of Shenyang, capital of northeast Chinas Liaoning Province, in March, the city will award companies recognized as global lighthouse factories with 10 million yuan each.

Some Chinese regions have rolled out measures to channel financial support to private companies that accelerate their digital transformation and green transition.

Zhengzhou, capital city of central Chinas Henan Province, released a guideline on supporting the high-quality development of the private sector in late March, vowing to grant a maximum of 10 million yuan each as a subsidy to new intelligent manufacturing projects and renovation projects for intelligent manufacturing, while offering subsidies to support enterprises and data centers in speeding up green transformation.

Some regions, including east Chinas Anhui Province and northwest Chinas Shaanxi Province, have stipulated that opinions and suggestions from entrepreneurs should be taken into account when formulating policies that relate to enterprises to encourage private companies participation in the formulation of such policies, so as to create a stable, transparent, and predictable policy environment.

Some Chinese regions also have rolled out measures to help female private entrepreneurs resolve the pressing difficulties and problems that concern them most.

The Shaanxi provincial womens federation, for instance, released 11 measures to serve private enterprises and the private economy, including training 200 outstanding female private entrepreneurs, and striving to ensure that no less than 1,000 female entrepreneurs and self-employed individuals are covered by policy support.

This years government work report says China should, in accordance with the law, protect the property rights of private enterprises and the rights and interests of entrepreneurs, and refine related policies.

The country should encourage and support the private sector and private businesses in growing and expanding and support micro, small and medium enterprises and self-employed individuals in business development.

China should cultivate a cordial and clean relationship between government and business and create an environment in which enterprises under all forms of ownership can compete and grow on a level playing field. Effective measures and policies should be rolled out to stabilize market expectations and boost market confidence.

To better support the private sector and private businesses in growing and expanding, and promote the high-quality development of the private economy, the Message Board for Leaders, a section on the Peoples Daily Online website, opened the floor to the public online for their opinions and suggestions.

(Web editor: Hongyu, Du Mingming)
NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Latin America Information Technology (IT) Services Market by Type and Deployment - Forecast and Analysis 2023-2027" report has been added to Technavio's offering. The market size is estimated to grow by USD 49,380.19 million during 2022-2027 at a CAGR of 8.7%. The market has been segmented by type (project-oriented service, enterprise cloud computing service, IT outsourcing service, and IT support and training service) and deployment (hosted service and managed service). The project-oriented service segment will account for a significant share of market growth during the forecast period. These services include system integration, IT consulting, and application development services. Various vendors provide project-oriented services in the region. For instance, Cognizant provides application development and value management services in Argentina. These factors will drive the growth of the segment during the forecast period. For comprehensive details on the market size of historic period (2017 to 2021) and forecast period (2023-2027) - View a sample report

Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Latin America IT Services Market

Vendor landscape

The IT services market in Latin America is fragmented. The existing vendors are investing in R&D to expand their offerings and increase their consumer base, while new players are expected to enter the market with innovative solutions during the forecast period. This is increasing the competition among vendors. The dynamically changing consumer requirements are encouraging vendors to develop new solutions to meet the demands of consumers. Therefore, vendors are investing significantly in retaining and expanding their consumer base.

Market dynamics

Major drivers & challenges - The market is expected to be driven by factors such as the growing demand for IoT and big data operations. Due to the rising use of internet-connected devices, the demand for managed services has increased. Connected cars, connected homes, and smart cities are becoming popular. IoT devices need an energy-efficient network of smart nodes, which also increases the use of internet and infrastructure services. In addition, the increasing use of big data analytics has triggered the expansion of data centers. Enterprises use big data sets for predictive and consumer analytics operations. Thus, with the rise in the demand for big data analytics, the demand for IT services will increase. These factors will drive market growth during the forecast period.

Story continues

The lack of quality standards in SLAs is challenging market growth. SLAs do not cover the services delivered, and end-users are unaware of the full services that must be included. Therefore, service providers need to increase transparency in SLAs. They should also provide data regarding uptime, downtime, and outage frequency. Moreover, customers should monitor the efficiency of their IT systems. Therefore, the lack of quality standards in SLAs can impede market growth.

Key trends  The integration of big data in IT service provider offerings is a key trend in the market. IT service providers can access large amounts of data and analyze it to offer a wide range of solutions. The use of big data analytics helps companies understand the reach and impact of their products. IT service providers offer services that are designed to provide quantitative and qualitative insights, which can be achieved with the help of big data analysis and market research analysis. Many companies use big data tools to run predictive analytics processes on their customer information databases, the result of which can be used to arrive at predictive segmentation values. Therefore, the use of such tools will support the growth of the IT services market in Latin America during the forecast period.

Technavio has identified key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will

help clients improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors.  View a sample

report

Company profiles

The report includes information on the product launches, sustainability, and prospects of leading vendors, including Alphabet Inc., Accenture Plc, Amazon.com Inc., Atos SE, Capgemini Service SAS, Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Ernst and Young Global Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., International Business Machines Corp., KPMG International Ltd., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Salesforce.com Inc., SAP SE, SONDA S.A., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.

Get lifetime access to our Technavio Insights! Subscribe to our Basic Plan billed

annually at USD 5000

Competitive analysis

The report includes competitive analysis, a proprietary tool to analyze and evaluate the position of companies based on their industry position score and market performance score. The competitive scenario categorizes companies based on various performance indicators. Some of the factors considered include the financial performance of companies over the past few years, growth strategies, product innovations, new product launches, investments, growth in market share, among others.

Related Reports

The size of Chile Information Technology (IT) market is estimated to decline at a CAGR of 8.55% between 2022 and 2027. The market size is forecasted to increase by USD 3,855.69 million. This report extensively covers market segmentation by type (services, hardware, and software) and end-user (BFSI, IT and telecom, government, healthcare, manufacturing, and others).

The IT market in Argentina is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 8.3% between 2022 and 2027. The size of the market is forecasted to increase by USD 6,689.71 million. This report extensively covers market segmentation by end-user (BFSI, IT and telecom, government, healthcare, and others), and type (services, software, and hardware).

IT Services Market Scope in Latin America Report Coverage Details Base year 2022 Historic period 2017-2021 Forecast period 2023-2027 Growth momentum & CAGR Accelerate at a CAGR of 8.7% Market growth 2023-2027 USD 49,380.19 million Market structure Fragmented YoY growth 2022-2023 (%) 6.89 Key countries Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, and Rest of Latin America Competitive landscape Leading vendors, market positioning of vendors, competitive strategies, and industry risks Key companies profiled Alphabet Inc., Accenture Plc, Amazon.com Inc., Atos SE, Capgemini Service SAS, Cisco Systems Inc., Dell Technologies Inc., Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd., Ernst and Young Global Ltd., HCL Technologies Ltd., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co., International Business Machines Corp., KPMG International Ltd., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Salesforce.com Inc., SAP SE, SONDA S.A., and Tata Consultancy Services Ltd. Market dynamics Parent market analysis, market growth inducers and obstacles, fast-growing and slow-growing segment analysis, COVID-19 impact and recovery analysis and future consumer dynamics, and market condition analysis for the forecast period Customization purview If our report has not included the data that you are looking for, you can reach out to our analysts and get segments customized.

Browse for Technavio Information Technology market reports

Table of contents

1 Executive Summary

1.1 Market overview

2 Market Landscape

2.1 Market ecosystem

3 Market Sizing

3.1 Market definition

3.2 Market segment analysis

3.3 Market size 2022

3.4 Market outlook: Forecast for 2022-2027

4 Historic Market Size

4.1 IT services market in Latin America 2017 - 2021

4.2 By type Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.3 By deployment Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

4.4 Geography Segment Analysis 2017 - 2021

5 Five Forces Analysis

5.1 Five forces summary

5.2 Bargaining power of buyers

5.3 Bargaining power of suppliers

5.4 Threat of new entrants

5.5 Threat of substitutes

5.6 Threat of rivalry

5.7 Market condition

6 Market Segmentation by Type

6.1 Market segments

6.2 Comparison by Type

6.3 Project oriented service - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.4 Enterprise cloud computing service - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.5 IT outsourcing service - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.6 IT support and training service - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

6.7 Market opportunity by Type

7 Market Segmentation by Deployment

7.1 Market segments

7.2 Comparison by Deployment

7.3 Hosted service - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.4 Managed service - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

7.5 Market opportunity by Deployment

8 Customer Landscape

8.1 Customer landscape overview

9 Geographic Landscape

9.1 Geographic segmentation

9.2 Geographic comparison

9.3 Brazil - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.4 Mexico - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.5 Argentina - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.6 Colombia - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.7 Rest of Latin America - Market size and forecast 2022-2027

9.8 Market opportunity by geography

10 Drivers, Challenges, and Trends

10.1 Market drivers

10.2 Market challenges

10.3 Impact of drivers and challenges

10.4 Market trends

11 Vendor Landscape

11.1 Overview

11.2 Vendor landscape

11.3 Landscape disruption

11.4 Industry risks

12 Vendor Analysis

12.1 Vendors covered

12.2 Market positioning of vendors

12.3 Alphabet Inc.

12.4 Accenture Plc

12.5 Amazon.com Inc.

12.6 Atos SE

12.7 Capgemini Service SAS

12.8 Cisco Systems Inc.

12.9 Dell Technologies Inc.

12.10 Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Ltd.

12.11 Ernst and Young Global Ltd.

12.12 HCL Technologies Ltd.

12.13 Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co.

12.14 International Business Machines Corp.

12.15 KPMG International Ltd.

12.16 Microsoft Corp.

12.17 SONDA S.A.

13 Appendix

13.1 Scope of the report

13.2 Inclusions and exclusions checklist

13.3 Currency conversion rates for US$

13.4 Research methodology

13.5 List of abbreviations

About Us

Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provide actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios.

Contact

Technavio Research

Jesse Maida

Media & Marketing Executive

US: +1 844 364 1100

UK: +44 203 893 3200

Email: media@technavio.com

Website: www.technavio.com/

Latin America IT Services Market

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SOURCE Technavio
Andrew H. Walker / AWNewYork / Shutterstock.com

Shark Tank star Kevin OLeary recently reiterated his beliefs regarding regional banks, arguing that many will disappear in 24 months.

See: Heres How Much Money Experts Say You Should Have in Your Savings Account If Youre in Your 50s

Find: How To Guard Your Wealth From a Potential Banking Crisis With Gold

Speaking on CNN, OLeary said that following the collapses of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank  and considering the banking industry turmoil that ensued  the country will now move to what he calls super regional banks.

Do we really need 3,000 small banks in America? No. Maybe we get by with 1,000 small banks and the major money center banks, he told CNN, according to a transcript of his remarks.

OLeary added that the country should let the market be the market.

I personally, and I can assure you that there are millions like me, do not want to guarantee every single account in every tiny bank because some percentage of them are run by idiots. Im sorry I said that, but its true, he added. If an idiot is running a bank, they will be forced out of that position. And we should not be forced to guarantee every tiny bank.

Take Our Poll: Are You Concerned About the Safety of Your Money in Your Bank Accounts?

OLearys comments come on the heels of his previous ones on the matter. He appeared on CNN earlier this month and said the Biden administrations bank rescue represented a nationalization of the American banking system. OLeary argued that the banking system is now backstopped by the government  and ultimately the taxpayer. He subsequently said that the banking system might undergo a consolidation, which in turn could lead to an oligopoly.

As CNBC reported, the closing of banks  and in turn of neighborhood branches  has several detrimental consequences on local economies. This consolidation of branches creates what CNBC deemed banking deserts.

Several studies have shown these communities are more likely to use non-traditional and high-fee lending options such as payday loans and check-cashing services, which increases financial inequities and ends up widening the wealth gap, according to CNBC.

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In turn, CNBC recommended several elements to consider when choosing a bank, including of course fees, but also whether you mostly bank online or in-person.

It may be time to reassess your banking relationship. Whether your local branch now has limited hours or has already shuttered its doors, or your financial needs have changed, switching banks may be a great financial step for you, according to CNBC.

If you foresee trouble for your current banking institution, you should consider an account closure and a move to a larger entity. There are at least three things to consider in preparation for doing so, per Forbes:

Open a new account. You should certainly have a new account open and ready to receive a balance transfer before closing your existing accounts.

Switch your existing payments and deposits. Whether its ones car payment, mortgage, or payroll deposit, these things need to be set up as soon as possible to ensure you arent hit with any unexpected fees  or the headache of having to juggle both accounts for any longer than necessary.

Perform a balance transfer after all financial tethers to your old account have been switched to your new account. It may be prudent to deposit a substantial amount upon opening the new account, to avoid overdraft fees while in the process of switching things over.

Cancel your old bank account, and get written confirmation that this has been done, with all matters settled.

More From GOBankingRates

This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: Shark Tank Star Predicts Small Banks Will Disappear in 2 Years  4 Ways You Can Prepare Now
Sharp dealers focus on executing on simply smarter work opportunities for production print, enhanced security, managed print and collaboration needs.

LAS VEGAS, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) is hosting its National Dealer Meeting from April 18 to April 21, 2023. At this flagship dealer event, themed "Opportunity Meets Execution," nearly 1,000 attendees are coming together at The Wynn in Las Vegas, NV, to experience Sharp's new and upcoming products, solutions and programs to help its dealers execute on the many simply smarter business opportunities that can help them be more strategic providers for their customers.

Sharp announces first new line of digital press products

"After all of the challenges related to the pandemic, our team here at Sharp is absolutely thrilled to be back meeting in person for our National Dealer Meeting," said Mike Marusic, president and CEO, SIICA. "We're here with our wonderful dealer community and are looking forward to introducing some exciting products and innovations that we're confident will help them put the pieces together to become the pre-eminent office technology providers in the market."

New and upcoming offerings showcased during the event range from production print and managed print services to enhanced printer security and collaboration products and services.

Sharp Doubles Down on Production Print

Sharp is proud to announce major advancements in its production print capabilities with the announcement of the first in a new line of digital press models built on proven industry technology, and a preview of its upcoming new Pro Series light production models with exciting new features.

The new digital printing presses include a color press and two monochrome digital presses. The new color press boasts speeds of up to 120 pages-per-minute (ppm), is equipped with a powerful Fiery digital front end and prints up to six colors in one pass, including CMYK, gold, silver, bright pink, textured and clear toners. Additionally real-time color stabilization and precise paper handling provide consistent professional results. The two monochrome digital presses print at 136 ppm and 125 ppm respectively and are powered by a Fiery NX One Print Server. The print engines include real-time image quality adjustments and precise paper handling. 2,400 x 2,400 dpi rich black solids and amazing halftones provide for unrivaled, consistent print quality. All of the new presses share timesaving inline finishing options, such as square fold, crease, 2-edge trimming and a variety of folding options. This marks a significant milestone for Sharp, as it allows the company to extend its reach into higher production print markets when the new printing presses hit the market, which is expected by early 2024.

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Sharp is also showing the new Pro Series light production models that will replace the current models later this year. The new models, which print at 70/75 ppm color/bw and 80/80 ppm color/bw respectively, are designed and built for the print-on-demand market and span across all industries that have central reprographics departments (CRD) or in-plant print facilities. These models extend Sharp's proprietary edge-to-edge printing to new sheet sizes, including long paper up to 26.3" and letter-sized sheets for full-bleed statement sized books and many other applications. Additionally, they bring many other key enhancements, such as increased print resolution up to 2,400 x 2,400, improved media handling, up to 360 gsm/130lb cover and new crease and perforation dies with the GBC SmartPunch Plus option, just to name a few.

Strategic Collaboration Leads to Secure and Efficient Managed IT Services

Sharp and ConnectWise, the world's leading software company dedicated to the success of IT solution providers (TSPs), are announcing a strategic collaboration to deliver upon their shared vision of providing secure and efficient managed services through their extensive channel partner network. The first deliverable is a managed Print Security Service that offers unique visibility into print security for Sharp multifunction products (MFPs) and printers through integration with ConnectWise Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) and the company's 24/7 monitoring capabilities. See the joint press release here.

New A4 Products Spur on Greater Managed Print Services

Sharp also is announcing that it will be refreshing its A4 MFP and printer solutions, starting in late spring, with A4 color devices that provide professional quality output in a small footprint. These devices are the perfect fit for small to medium sized businesses, medical and legal practices, and schools. The new MX-C428F and MX-C528F color MFPs enable workers to collaborate and share information seamlessly and securely throughout the office environment. The MX-C528P color printer provides customers with an intuitive user experience and the confidence of knowing their jobs will come out right the first time, every time.

New Products to Enhance Collaboration

During the meeting, Sharp announced the launch of a new line of 4W-B series value-priced AQUOS BOARD interactive displays. The 4W-B series is available in four sizes: 55" Class (54.6" diagonal), 65" Class (64.5" diagonal), 75" Class (75" diagonal), and 86" class (85.6" diagonal) and enables collaboration and communication in the workplace, classroom and virtually anywhere through Pen Software, precise 20-point, multi-touch functionality and versatile connectivity. See the press release announcing the new 4W-B AQUOS BOARD interactive displays here.

Sharp also previewed the upcoming PN-LC series of mid-range AQUOS BOARD interactive displays set to launch later this spring. The upcoming PN-LC series of AQUOS BOARD interactive displays will be built for classrooms and corporate meeting spaces which require quick, responsive operation and smart, integrated collaboration tools and will feature an integrated controller with whiteboard, overlay and wireless functionality to help enhance productivity. Plus, a variety of operating systems will be supported, including Windows, Android, iOS, macOS, iPadOS and Chrome OS, to allow users to wirelessly present their content quickly and easily. For added productivity, the PN-LC2 series comes with a range of standard software to help get the most out of meetings or presentations including Pen Software, e-Share wireless casting app, touch viewer software and the Synappx Collaboration Hub experience, which allows for simply smarter meetings and engaging classroom activities.

Sharp is also showcasing that its Synappx Go and Meeting applications have merged to provide a single offering for consistent meeting efficiencies for mobile and laptop users under the name Synappx Go. Its new features, such as the full screen mode and QR code content sharing support, bring enhanced user experience as well as strong meeting room security and control for IT administrators. Sharp is also demoing its upcoming Synappx Manage application that will allow IT administrators and service providers to remotely manage multiple devices from a single portal. Its automated monitoring and remediation features help IT administrators keep device uptime high as well as reduce security risks with greater flexibility. For Sharp dealers, this unified remote service tool helps enable smart service delivery, reducing service costs while increasing customer satisfaction through remote firmware update, service settings, device cloning and more. Additionally, Synappx Manage helps dealers integrate IT service offerings with the print business though integration with ConnectWise PSA.

More information on each of these exciting new products and solutions will soon be available at business.sharpusa.com.

About Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America

Sharp Imaging and Information Company of America (SIICA) is a division of Sharp Electronics Corporation, the U.S. subsidiary of Japan's Sharp Corporation, which has been named to Fortune magazine's World's Most Admired Company List, ranking the world's most respected and reputable companies. SIICA markets Sharp's Simply Smarter business products and solutions, such as Synappx applications, professional displays, laptops, desktop monitors and a full suite of secure copier and printer solutions, that can help companies manage workflow efficiently and increase productivity so they can work smarter. SIICA markets its products through a vast network of independent dealerships and its direct sales division Sharp Business Systems (SBS). By accelerating collaboration, improving efficiencies, digitizing workflows and increasing information security, Sharp strives to help businesses achieve Simply Smarter work through technology that is smart and easy to use.

For more information on Sharp's business products, visit our website at business.sharpusa.com. Become a fan of Sharp business products on Facebook, follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn and Instagram and watch us on YouTube .

Peppercomm for Sharp

Paul Merchan

212.931.6172

PMerchan@Peppercomm.com

(PRNewsfoto/Sharp Electronics Corporation U)

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SOURCE Sharp Electronics Corporation
CLEVELAND, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Sherwin-Williams Company (NYSE: SHW) today announced it has signed a purchase agreement with global coatings company Akzo Nobel N.V. (AKZO.AS) to divest its China architectural paint business. The business manufactures and sells decorative paints under the Huarun brand name in China, has annual revenue of approximately $100 million USD and employs approximately 300 people. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2023, pending customary regulatory approvals.

The Sherwin-Williams Company Logo (PRNewsfoto/The Sherwin-Williams Company)

"The divestiture of our China architectural paint business aligns with our ongoing strategy to optimize our portfolio, brands and customer programs to drive continued value for our shareholders," said Sherwin-Williams Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, John G. Morikis. "We are confident our resources can be better prioritized to other areas of our Company to offer greater growth and higher returns and cash flow. We remain committed to growing our industrial coatings business in the region, and we thank the employees of the architectural paint business for their contributions to Sherwin-Williams."

The architectural paint business being divested became part of Sherwin-Williams through the 2017 acquisition of The Valspar Corporation and was previously reported in the Sherwin-Williams Consumer Brands Group.

ABOUT THE SHERWIN-WILLIAMS COMPANY

Founded in 1866, The Sherwin-Williams Company is a global leader in the manufacture, development, distribution, and sale of paint, coatings and related products to professional, industrial, commercial, and retail customers. The Company manufactures products under well-known brands such as Sherwin-Williams, Valspar, HGTV HOME by Sherwin-Williams, Dutch Boy, Krylon, Minwax, Thompson's WaterSeal, Cabot and many more. With global headquarters in Cleveland, Ohio, Sherwin-Williams branded products are sold exclusively through a chain of more than 5,000 Company-operated stores and branches, while the Company's other brands are sold through leading mass merchandisers, home centers, independent paint dealers, hardware stores, automotive retailers, and industrial distributors. The Sherwin-Williams Performance Coatings Group supplies a broad range of highly-engineered solutions for the construction, industrial, packaging and transportation markets in more than 120 countries around the world. Sherwin-Williams shares are traded on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: SHW). For more information, visit www.sherwin.com.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING INFORMATION

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements," as defined under U.S. federal securities laws. These statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "believe," "expect," "may," "can," "will," "should," "project," "could," "plan," "goal," "target," "potential," "seek," "intend," "aspire," "strive" or "anticipate" or the negative thereof or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based upon management's current expectations, predictions, estimates, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events and conditions. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, many of which are outside the control of the Company that could cause actual results to differ materially from such statements and from the Company's historical performance, results and experience. These risks, uncertainties and other factors include such things as: general business conditions, strengths of retail and manufacturing economies and growth in the coatings industry; changes in general economic conditions; changes in raw material and energy supplies and pricing; disruptions in the supply chain; adverse weather conditions or natural disasters, including those that may be related to climate change or otherwise; losses of or changes in the Company's relationships with customers and suppliers; competitive factors; the Company's ability to successfully integrate past and future acquisitions into its existing operations, as well as the performance of the businesses acquired; the Company's ability to achieve expected benefits of restructuring and productivity initiatives; public health crises; damages to our business, reputation, image or brands due to negative publicity; and other risks, uncertainties and factors described from time to time in the Company's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Since it is not possible to predict or identify all of the risks, uncertainties and other factors that may affect future results, the above list should not be considered a complete list. Any forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date on which such statement is made, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACTS:

Jim Jaye

Senior Vice President, Investor Relations & Corporate Communications

Direct: 216.515.8682

investor.relations@sherwin.com

Eric Swanson

Vice President, Investor Relations

Direct: 216.566.2766

investor.relations@sherwin.com

MEDIA CONTACT:

Julie Young

Vice President, Global Corporate Communications

Direct: 216.515.8849

corporatemedia@sherwin.com

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SOURCE The Sherwin-Williams Company
Key Insights

Using the 2 Stage Free Cash Flow to Equity, SILK Laser Australia fair value estimate is AU$4.82

SILK Laser Australia is estimated to be 50% undervalued based on current share price of AU$2.42

The AU$3.13 analyst price target for SLA is 35% less than our estimate of fair value

How far off is SILK Laser Australia Limited (ASX:SLA) from its intrinsic value? Using the most recent financial data, we'll take a look at whether the stock is fairly priced by projecting its future cash flows and then discounting them to today's value. Our analysis will employ the Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) model. Don't get put off by the jargon, the math behind it is actually quite straightforward.

Companies can be valued in a lot of ways, so we would point out that a DCF is not perfect for every situation. If you still have some burning questions about this type of valuation, take a look at the Simply Wall St analysis model.

Check out our latest analysis for SILK Laser Australia

Step By Step Through The Calculation

We are going to use a two-stage DCF model, which, as the name states, takes into account two stages of growth. The first stage is generally a higher growth period which levels off heading towards the terminal value, captured in the second 'steady growth' period. To start off with, we need to estimate the next ten years of cash flows. Where possible we use analyst estimates, but when these aren't available we extrapolate the previous free cash flow (FCF) from the last estimate or reported value. We assume companies with shrinking free cash flow will slow their rate of shrinkage, and that companies with growing free cash flow will see their growth rate slow, over this period. We do this to reflect that growth tends to slow more in the early years than it does in later years.

Generally we assume that a dollar today is more valuable than a dollar in the future, so we 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 (A$, Millions) AU$10.8m AU$11.5m AU$12.4m AU$13.1m AU$13.6m AU$14.1m AU$14.6m AU$15.0m AU$15.4m AU$15.7m Growth Rate Estimate Source Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Analyst x1 Est @ 5.43% Est @ 4.38% Est @ 3.65% Est @ 3.13% Est @ 2.77% Est @ 2.52% Est @ 2.34% Present Value (A$, Millions) Discounted @ 7.0% AU$10.1 AU$10.1 AU$10.1 AU$10.0 AU$9.7 AU$9.4 AU$9.1 AU$8.7 AU$8.4 AU$8.0

("Est" = FCF growth rate estimated by Simply Wall St)

Present Value of 10-year Cash Flow (PVCF) = AU$94m

We now need to calculate the Terminal Value, which accounts for all the future cash flows after this ten year period. The Gordon Growth formula is used to calculate Terminal Value at a future annual growth rate equal to the 5-year average of the 10-year government bond yield of 1.9%. We discount the terminal cash flows to today's value at a cost of equity of 7.0%.

Terminal Value (TV)= FCF 2032  (1 + g)  (r  g) = AU$16m (1 + 1.9%)  (7.0% 1.9%) = AU$318m

Present Value of Terminal Value (PVTV)= TV / (1 + r)10= AU$318m ( 1 + 7.0%)10= AU$162m

The total value, or equity value, is then the sum of the present value of the future cash flows, which in this case is AU$256m. To get the intrinsic value per share, we divide this by the total number of shares outstanding. Relative to the current share price of AU$2.4, the company appears quite undervalued at a 50% discount to where the stock price trades currently. Valuations are imprecise instruments though, rather like a telescope - move a few degrees and end up in a different galaxy. Do keep this in mind.

dcf

Important Assumptions

We would point out that the most important inputs to a discounted cash flow are the discount rate and of course the actual cash flows. Part of investing is coming up with your own evaluation of a company's future performance, so try the calculation yourself and check your own assumptions. The DCF also does not consider the possible cyclicality of an industry, or a company's future capital requirements, so it does not give a full picture of a company's potential performance. Given that we are looking at SILK Laser Australia as potential shareholders, the cost of equity is used as the discount rate, rather than the cost of capital (or weighted average cost of capital, WACC) which accounts for debt. In this calculation we've used 7.0%, which is based on a levered beta of 0.849. 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 SILK Laser Australia

Strength

Earnings growth over the past year exceeded the industry.

Debt is not viewed as a risk.

Weakness

No major weaknesses identified for SLA.

Opportunity

Annual earnings are forecast to grow faster than the Australian market.

Good value based on P/E ratio and estimated fair value.

Threat

Revenue is forecast to grow slower than 20% per year.

Moving On:

Although the valuation of a company is important, it ideally won't be the sole piece of analysis you scrutinize for a company. The DCF model is not a perfect stock valuation tool. Rather it should be seen as a guide to "what assumptions need to be true for this stock to be under/overvalued?" 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. What is the reason for the share price sitting below the intrinsic value? For SILK Laser Australia, there are three pertinent aspects you should consider:

Risks: Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for SILK Laser Australia you should know about. Future Earnings: How does SLA's growth rate compare to its peers and the wider market? Dig deeper into the analyst consensus number for the upcoming years by interacting with our free analyst growth expectation chart. Other High Quality Alternatives: Do you like a good all-rounder? Explore our interactive list of high quality stocks to get an idea of what else is out there you may be missing!

PS. Simply Wall St updates its DCF calculation for every Australian stock every day, so if you want to find the intrinsic value of any other stock just search here.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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Key Insights

SKP Resources Bhd's significant retail investors ownership suggests that the key decisions are influenced by shareholders from the larger public

48% of the business is held by the top 25 shareholders

Institutions own 37% of SKP Resources Bhd

If you want to know who really controls SKP Resources Bhd (KLSE:SKPRES), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. We can see that retail investors own the lion's share in the company with 51% ownership. Put another way, the group faces the maximum upside potential (or downside risk).

Meanwhile, institutions make up 37% of the companys shareholders. Large companies usually have institutions as shareholders, and we usually see insiders owning shares in smaller companies.

Let's delve deeper into each type of owner of SKP Resources Bhd, beginning with the chart below.

View our latest analysis for SKP Resources Bhd

What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About SKP Resources Bhd?

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 SKP Resources Bhd does have institutional investors; and they hold a good portion of the company's stock. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. It is not uncommon to see a big share price drop if two large institutional investors try to sell out of a stock at the same time. So it is worth checking the past earnings trajectory of SKP Resources Bhd, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too.

SKP Resources Bhd is not owned by hedge funds. The company's largest shareholder is Kumpulan Wang Persaraan, with ownership of 8.4%. Employees Provident Fund of Malaysia is the second largest shareholder owning 6.9% of common stock, and Graceful Assessment Sdn Bhd holds about 6.0% of the company stock. Furthermore, CEO Poh Gan is the owner of 5.0% of the company's shares.

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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.

Researching institutional ownership is a good way to gauge and filter a stock's expected performance. The same can be achieved by studying analyst sentiments. There are plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too.

Insider Ownership Of SKP Resources Bhd

The definition of an insider can differ slightly between different countries, but members of the board of directors always count. Company management run the business, but the CEO will answer to the board, even if he or she is a member of it.

I generally consider insider ownership to be a good thing. However, on some occasions it makes it more difficult for other shareholders to hold the board accountable for decisions.

We can report that insiders do own shares in SKP Resources Bhd. In their own names, insiders own RM99m worth of stock in the RM2.0b company. This shows at least some alignment. You can click here to see if those insiders have been buying or selling.

General Public Ownership

The general public, who are usually individual investors, hold a substantial 51% stake in SKP Resources Bhd, suggesting it is a fairly popular stock. With this amount of ownership, retail investors can collectively play a role in decisions that affect shareholder returns, such as dividend policies and the appointment of directors. They can also exercise the power to vote on acquisitions or mergers that may not improve profitability.

Private Company Ownership

We can see that Private Companies own 6.0%, of the shares on issue. 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. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 2 warning signs with SKP Resources Bhd (at least 1 which is a bit concerning) , and understanding them should be part of your investment process.

But ultimately it is the future, not the past, that will determine how well the owners of this business will do. Therefore we think it advisable to take a look at this free report showing whether analysts are predicting a brighter future.

NB: Figures in this article are calculated using data from the last twelve months, which refer to the 12-month period ending on the last date of the month the financial statement is dated. This may not be consistent with full year annual report figures.

Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team (at) simplywallst.com.



This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. We provide commentary based on historical data and analyst forecasts only using an unbiased methodology and our articles are not intended to be financial advice. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned.

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(Bloomberg) -- Snap Inc. has attracted more than 3 million users to its Snapchat+ subscription service, a $3.99-a-month offering that provided early access to features like its new artificial intelligence chatbot.

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The growth has exceeded the companys expectations and includes the addition of about a million paying users in the past 11 weeks, Snap said Wednesday at its annual partner summit, held in its hometown of Santa Monica, California. The service launched last year but got a boost in February when the company added exclusive access to a chatbot, called My AI, thats powered by OpenAIs GPT technology.

Also from Snaps event: Company adds Mirror tool for large-scale augmented reality

We never expected that we could grow to 3 million subscribers, Snap Chief Executive Officer Evan Spiegel said in an interview. What we essentially see is that when we release new features, that gets more people excited about signing up or trying Snapchat+. We definitely saw some nice momentum with My AI.

Snap will soon be opening the My AI features to all users  not just subscribers, the company said Wednesday.

Spiegel said at the event that his medium-term goal is for Snapchat+ to reach 10 million users. The progress so far suggests Snap is making headway in a challenging area for social media companies: getting users to pay.

At Twitter, owner Elon Musk has struggled to attract subscribers to the companys Blue service. Meta Platforms Inc., meanwhile, began testing a subscription bundle on Instagram and Facebook in February and has yet to disclose paid user figures.

Customers can also get the Snapchat+ service through Verizon Communications Inc.s +play platform. In addition to offering the AI features, the subscription lets users customize the look and feel of the app.

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Like its social media peers, Snap is looking to offset a deceleration in ad revenue. The companys overall sales growth stalled at the end of last year, and revenue is expected to decline in the first half of 2023.

Snap is coping with the slump by cutting jobs and culling projects that are no longer seen as a priority. Thats meant refocusing on efforts that increase user numbers and revenue, as well as augmented reality technology.

Snap launched Snapchat+ in June, making it available to a handful of countries, including the US, UK, Germany and United Arab Emirates. Even with the recent growth, it remains a small part of Snaps revenue  and its user base.

At about $4 a month, 3 million users would generate less than $150 million. Snap reported a total of $4.6 billion in revenue last year and has 750 million users.

The company is also considering ways for its users to make money on the app. Now, all users aged 18 or older can post Stories on Snapchat publicly. Thats meant to make it easier to become a creator and amass followers on the app. To lure more of those kinds of users, Snap said it will give select creators a cut of revenue if ads run between their Stories posts.

(Updates with subscription goal in the fifth paragraph)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
By Sheila Dang

(Reuters) -Snap Inc on Wednesday said its artificial intelligence chatbot will now be able to respond to users' messages with a fully AI-generated image, as the owner of photo messaging app Snapchat deepens its work in AI technology.

The announcement came at Snap's annual Partner Summit. The company aims to use the technology to speed up its development of augmented reality (AR) features, or computerized images overlayed on top of photos and videos of the real world.

Generative AI has captured the tech industry's focus in recent months and can generate original text or photos in response to prompts. Snap's chatbot, called My AI, which can help users with everything from writing poems to searching for information, was built using startup OpenAI's ChatGPT technology.

My AI is now available free to all Snapchat users and can be invoked to respond to questions in conversations between friends on Snapchat, Snap said on Wednesday. The chatbot was first rolled out to users who pay $3.99 a month for the company's premium subscription Snapchat+.

My AI could help users explore more parts of the Snapchat app by recommending lenses, which can add effects to photos and videos, or use the app's map feature to recommend real-world places to visit, said Evan Spiegel, chief executive of Snap, in an interview.

"This is the first time we're bringing AI into communication, which is the core of our service," he said. "People are really using My AI as a creative tool."

My AI's ability to respond to users with its own AI-generated images will be available first on Snapchat+, which has reached 3 million subscribers, Snap said.

As AI chatbots have grown, so have concerns about whether AI could plagiarize published works, provide inaccurate information or return harmful responses to queries.

Snap said it added new safety guard-rails to My AI, including temporarily restricting a user's access to the chatbot if they repeatedly ask it inappropriate or harmful questions.

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Snap analyzes conversations with My AI and has found that 99.5% of the chatbot's responses adhere to Snapchat's community guidelines, Spiegel said.

He added that My AI will now also take a user's age into consideration "to make sure the conversation is age-appropriate." On Wednesday, the Santa Monica, California-based company also unveiled new AR mirrors which can be installed in stores to help customers virtually try on clothing items or see which accessories would match their outfit.

Retailers Nike and Men's Warehouse are using the mirrors in some stores, Snap said.

The mirrors are part of an enterprise division Snap launched last month to help other companies build AR experiences for their own apps and websites. The venture could also help Snap diversify beyond digital advertising, which currently makes up the majority of its revenue.

(Reporting by Sheila Dang in Santa Monica, California; Editing by Sonali Paul and Aurora Ellis)
PANAMA CITY BEACH, Fla., April 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Shareholders are invited to attend The St. Joe Companys (NYSE: JOE) ("St. Joe") 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders starting at 9 a.m. Central Daylight Time ("CDT") on May 16, 2023, at the newly constructed Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City Beach Resort. Management will discuss the Companys performance and answer shareholder questions after the scheduled business of the annual meeting. A project tour will depart at 1 p.m. CDT and resume at 8:30 a.m. CDT on May 17th. Each project tour session is scheduled for four hours. Space for the tour is limited and advanced registration is required. Please email JOE2023@joe.com to reserve your seat for the tour or to request additional details regarding the tour.

"As shown in our annual reports to shareholders, during managements seven-year tenure, our revenue has grown from $96.9 million in 2016 to $252.3 million in 2022, with earnings per share increasing from $0.21 to $1.21 during that period," said Jorge Gonzalez, President and CEO for St. Joe. My letters to shareholders within the annual reports discussed how St. Joe and the region have grown; despite a Category-5 hurricane, a pandemic, and various economic headwinds. I look forward to seeing you in-person at our annual meeting, updating on our progress and prospects, and touring select residential, hospitality, and commercial projects."

The 2023 Annual Meeting of Shareholders is open to all shareholders. The Embassy Suites by Hilton Panama City Beach Resort has reserved a block of rooms for shareholders attending the meeting. We recommend you reserve a room for May 15th and May 16th with departure on the morning of May 17th. Please email JOE2023@joe.com for information on how to take advantage of special room rates offered to shareholders attending this event. Space is limited. Both rooms and tour seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Select photos of projects expected to be included in the tours may be viewed and downloaded here: https://joe.canto.com/b/SAJ38

About The St. Joe Company

The St. Joe Company is a real estate development, asset management and operating company with real estate assets and operations in Northwest Florida. The Company intends to use existing assets for residential, hospitality and commercial ventures. St. Joe has significant residential and commercial land-use entitlements. The Company actively seeks higher and better uses for its real estate assets through a range of development activities. More information about the Company can be found on its website at www.joe.com. On a regular basis, the Company releases a video showing progress on projects in development or under construction. See https://www.joe.com/video-gallery for more information.

2023 The St Joe Company. "St. Joe", "JOE", the "Taking Flight" Design, "St. Joe (and Taking Flight Design) " are registered service marks of The St. Joe Company.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005977/en/

Contacts

St. Joe Investor Relations Contact:

Marek Bakun

Chief Financial Officer

1-866-417-7132

marek.bakun@joe.com



St. Joe Media Relations Contact:

David Demarest

Director of PR & Communications

1-850-213-5137

David.Demarest@StJoe.com
MALAGA, SPAIN / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / SPT continues to develop technological innovations for the mining industry while expanding worldwide. At the end of April, it will unveil its ground-breaking gyroscopic tool for downhole navigation at the Expomin 2023 trade show in Chile.

Stockholm Precision Tools (SPT), a global pioneer in the design and manufacture of downhole navigation systems, is expanding its global presence by capitalizing on the Chilean market and its dominant position in the mining of copper.

In accordance with the company's new vision and values, SPT seeks to develop new business and establish itself as a dependable provider of high-precision and high-quality surveying instruments offering innovative solutions. One of the company's goals is to form partnerships with nations that invest actively in the development of sustainable economies and prioritize environmental and social governance.

The investment that SPT, a major player in the mining industry, will make in Chile is evidence that these reforms are being implemented within the company.

Orlando Ramirez, CEO of SPT, said: "Our arrival into Chile is a huge bet for our firm." Chile is one of the main nations focused on the exploitation of copper mines, and our most recent developments offer significant benefits to drilling and resource companies engaged in this activity.

The company desires to broaden its presence in Chile in order to provide the Chilean mining industry with the most precise instruments for conducting directional survey operations with the highest degree of data precision and reliability.

The aim of SPT is to get as near to the customer as possible. In light of this, it will employ the same strategy it employed in Peru. It will open a new office in Santiago, Chile, where the country operations manager, the sales manager, the technical team, and all other required personnel will labor to provide the best customer service possible.

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Expomin 2023 presentation of SPT's innovations

Throughout the year, SPT exhibits and sells its newest products at a number of international expositions. In reality, SPT will be present at Expomin 2023 between April 24 and April 27 at exhibit number 2-B24.

The SPT Polestar Aligner, the GyroScoutTM in conjunction with the Gyro PushRodder, and the GyroLogicTM Evo will be presented at Expomin by Stockholm Precision Tools. These tools can be employed for mining Chilean copper mines using block caving, sublevel caving, and other mining operations such as exploration campaigns.

Stockholm Precision Tools AB, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

The SPT Polestar Aligner is the most recent rig aligner that seeks true north. According to SPT engineers, Polestar Aligner allows multiple platforms to be aligned for eight hours without losing true north. It is a portable solution that generates highly accurate data in both surface and underground operations and is usable in all latitudes, including the most extreme.

Stockholm Precision Tools AB, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

For gyro borehole investigations in blast holes, the GyroScoutTM in conjunction with the Gyro PushRodder is the optimal solution. Despite incorporating a pressure barrel, it weights only 2,4 kg. It is a blasting instrument that is recommended for block caving, sublevel caving, and other techniques used in the copper mining industry. This instrument is distinguished by its portability and portability.

As for the Gyro PushRodder, it is a GyroScoutTM accessory that enables wireless depth measurement by squeezing the tool. Alvaro Gonzalez, Service Engineer at SPT, explains, "We have developed the ideal solution for GyroScout deployment, the "Gyro PushRodder," which allows the versatile tool to be deployed easily and quickly even in positive wells."

Stockholm Precision Tools AB, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

At Expomin, the new GyroLogicTM Evo will also be introduced. SPT intends to improve the operability of gyroscopes with this new solution because it is a more versatile, powerful, and transportable instrument. This instrument is assembled with fewer manufacturing components, and as a result, its potential for failure and manufacturing time are significantly reduced.

SPT has a longstanding commitment to technological development and innovation and invests a substantial portion of its global revenue in the research and development of new technologies.

Some of these technological innovations include SPT SmartCloud, the cloud-based mining geodata management system that works as an ideal complement to the detailed QA/QC reporting function that characterizes SPT's tools.

These reports allow you to audit data quality from the field and make instant decisions. SPT tools export reports in the most commonly used formats in mining such as csv, xlsx, pdf, las, dxf, among others, which facilitates the import of geodata into geographic information system applications such as Arcgis, Mapinfo, Autocad and Qgis among others.

With SmartCloud, teams can efficiently store, share and analyze geodata. In addition, users can access data from anywhere in the world, facilitating real-time global collaboration. This means that detailed quality assurance/quality control (QA/QC) reports can be quickly reviewed by the appropriate parties, and decisions can be made with the assurance that the chain of custody of the data is protected.

Stockholm Precision Tools's emerging horizon

The Swedish company introduced its new corporate identity in March to reflect the significant changes it is implementing and to emphasize environmental, social, and governance concerns.

Several elements of the refreshed brand identity represent SPT's new perception: verticality, precision, and the firmness, coherence, goals, and environmentalism with which SPT operates every day.

Stockholm Precision Tools AB, Monday, April 17, 2023, Press release picture

The deliberate global expansion of Stockholm Precision Tools demonstrates the company's dedication to providing the global mining industry with cutting-edge precision tools and superior service. By concentrating its future expansion efforts on Chile as a key location for its Latin American operations, the company is well positioned to develop its presence in the Latin American market and promote the significance of high-precision directional survey geodata in the Chilean mining scenario. Stockholm Precision Tools' commitment to quality and customer satisfaction ensures that its innovative products will continue to advance and support sustainable mining operations worldwide.

Address and contact information:

Eric Estrada

Global sales and marketing manager

Stockholm Precision Tools

media@sptab.com

SOURCE: Stockholm Precision Tools AB





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(Bloomberg) -- Equities and other risk assets will take a hit when central banks withdraw as much as $800 billion of stimulus deployed to prop up the global economy, according to Citigroup Inc.

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The risk rally has been fueled by the injection of over $1 trillion of central bank liquidity, and high-frequency liquidity indicators suggest this is already stalling, Matt King, Citis global markets strategist, wrote in a note published late Tuesday in New York. Apart from monetary support deployed by other central banks, the Federal Reserve has also bolstered its balance sheet by $440 billion in the wake of the US banking crisis, he said.

Together, this global wave of policy support has held down real yields, propped up equity multiples, and tightened credit spreads in the face of falling earnings expectations, King wrote.

Now, that support is set to unwind as Chinas central bank reins in easy policy settings amid robust growth, while its peers in the US and Europe rekindle quantitative tightening, according to King.

He told Bloombergs Odd Lots podcast last month that stealth quantitative easing from global central banks has fueled the market exuberance.

We now expect almost all of them to stall or go into outright reverse. We think this could subtract $600 billion  800 billion in global liquidity in coming weeks, undermining risk in the process, he wrote in the note. With peak liquidity past, we would not be at all surprised if markets were now to experience a sudden pressure loss, he said.

Kings views come after US stocks climbed 8.2% this year, helped along by a surge in tech stocks that has pushed the NYSE FANG+ Index higher by 36%. Bitcoin, a popular gauge of risk, has almost doubled since end-December.

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Others have also become skeptical of the risk rally this year. Nick Ferres, chief investment officer for hedge fund Vantage Point Asset Management, said equity market pricing was overly optimistic.

Market breadth supporting the rally has been extremely poor, Ferres said in a Wednesday note. Equity investors appear to want all the benefits of rate cuts without enduring the pain that would warrant them.

(Updates with comment from Vantage Point. An earlier version corrected amount of stimulus in headline.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
These are some of the stocks moving in after-hours on April 19, 2023:

Tesla

Tesla (TSLA) shares sank 2% immediately following its first-quarter results. The EV makers adjusted earnings per share of 85 cents was a penny off the average analyst estimate of 86 cents. Revenue of $23.33 billion came roughly in line with expectations of $23.35 billion.

Tesla, which recently cut the price of its top selling vehicles in the US and China, said it expects product pricing will continue to evolve, upwards or downwards, depending on a number of factors.

Although we implemented price reductions on many vehicle models across regions in the first quarter, our operating margins reduced at a manageable rate, stated the quarterly earnings release.

Teslas gross margin came in at 19.3%, versus estimates of 21.2%.

ARCHIVO - Un letrero con el logotipo de la empresa Tesla luce afuera de una tienda de estos vehiculos electricos en el centro comercial Cherry Creek, el 9 de febrero de 2019, en Denver, Colorado. (AP Foto/David Zalubowski, archivo)

Investors mostly were focused on the gross margins ex credit line which came in 200 basis points light, analyst Ronald Jewsiskow of Guggenheim told Yahoo Finance Live following the results.

The latest US price cut was pretty surprising overnight, given how quickly it came after the price cuts earlier this quarter, said the analyst, who has a Sell rating on the stock. I think that shows, and our data supports this, there wasnt much stimulative impact from the price cuts earlier this month.

First-quarter free cash flow of $441 million was well below the estimated $3.24 billion.

IBM

IBM (IBM) shares popped after the hybrid cloud and infrastructure company posted first-quarter adjusted earnings per share of $1.36 versus analyst expectations of $1.25. Revenue of $14.25 billion was roughly in line with estimates of $14.33 billion.

IBM still sees full-year free cash flow, a measure closely watched by analysts, at $10.5 billion, ahead of estimates of $10.28 billion.

"Our first quarter results demonstrate that clients continue turning to IBM for our unique combination of an open hybrid cloud platform, enterprise-focused AI, and business expertise to unlock productivity and drive efficiency in their operations, Arvind Krishna, IBM chairman and chief executive officer, said in the companys earnings print.

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Alcoa

Alcoa (AA) swung to a surprise first-quarter loss. The aluminum and alumina producer posted an adjusted loss per share of 23 cents versus exceptions of $3.10.

Sales for the quarter fell 19% to $2.67 billion, missing analyst estimates of $2.75 billion.

Higher prices in both the alumina and aluminum categories were offset by decreased shipments. The company expects "favorable raw materials, volume and lower production costs" in the second quarter.

Alcoa reaffirmed its alumina and aluminum shipments guidance for 2023 to come in between 12.7 million and 12.9 million metric tons, and between 2.5 million and 2.6 million metric tons, respectively.

President and CEO Roy Harvey said the company is "making important progress in stabilizing our operations, with teams working to improve on a minute-by-minute, day-by-day basis. We plan to build on that momentum as we tackle a host of complex issues, including developing breakthrough technologies and addressing increased expectations from stakeholders."

Year-to-date AA shares are down 9%.

Las Vegas Sands

Las Vegas Sands (LVS) shares are up after the resort and casino operator posted a better-than-expected quarter amid a recovery in travel and tourism.

While travel restrictions and reduced visitation continued to impact our financial performance during the quarter, a robust recovery in travel and tourism spending across our markets is now underway. We remain enthusiastic about the opportunity to welcome more guests back to our properties throughout 2023 and in the years ahead," said CEO Robert Goldstein.

Adjusted earnings per share of 27 cents beat estimates of 18 cents. Net revenue of $2.12 billion came in above expectations of $1.83 billion. Year-to-date the stock is up 23%.

Ines is a senior business reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @ines_ferre

Click here for the latest stock market news and in-depth analysis, including events that move stocks

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NEW YORK, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- StoneCastle Partners, LLC announced today that it has sold its subsidiary StoneCastle Digital Solutions, LLC (d/b/a Cambr) to National Bank Holdings Corporation's (NYSE: NBHC) bank subsidiary NBH Bank ("NBH").

SCP Logo

Cambr is a deposit acquisition platform that provides cash processing solutions to leading embedded finance companies. StoneCastle Partners developed Cambr to provide a low-cost, scalable and diversified deposit channel for a future bank owner. During its two-decade history, StoneCastle Partners has built numerous businesses that utilize non-traditional strategies to create efficiencies in financial services.

"Cambr provides an opportunity for a bank owner to source deposits in a unique way while continuing to provide leading service to top-tier embedded finance companies," said Joe Healey, Managing Director and operating partner at StoneCastle Partners. "The platform allows a bank to benefit from the diversified deposits of hundreds of thousands of underlying accounts with virtually no marginal overhead or customer acquisition costs. We believe that banks who efficiently source deposits through differentiated and durable strategies will significantly outperform over the long-term."

Cambr will continue to go-to-market under the Cambr brand and will operate as a separate subsidiary of NBH Bank. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, a Stifel Company, served as exclusive financial advisor and Gibson Dunn & Crutcher LLP served as legal advisor to StoneCastle.

Piper Sandler & Co. served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to NBH.

About StoneCastle Partners, LLC

Founded in 2003, StoneCastle Partners develops businesses focused on banking and associated technologies. StoneCastle Partners creates innovative platforms and disruptive technology to enhance or redefine inefficient banking processes. For the past 19 years, StoneCastle Partners has built and sold platforms to strategic buyers, including banks, asset managers, and fintechs. Over 1,000 banks trust StoneCastle Partners and use its companies' products; for more information, visit www.scpdevco.com.

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About National Bank Holdings Corporation

National Bank Holdings Corporation is a Denver-based bank holding company created to build a leading community bank franchise delivering high quality client service and committed to stakeholder results. Through its bank subsidiaries, NBH Bank and Bank of Jackson Hole Trust, National Bank Holdings Corporation operates a network of over 95 banking centers, serving individual consumers, small, medium and large businesses, and government and non-profit entities. Its banking centers are located in its core footprint of Colorado, the greater Kansas City region, Utah, Wyoming, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho. Its comprehensive residential mortgage banking group primarily serves the bank's core footprint. Its trust business is operated in its core footprint under the Bank of Jackson Hole Trust charter. NBH Bank operates under a single state charter through the following brand names as divisions of NBH Bank: in Colorado, Community Banks of Colorado and Community Banks Mortgage; in Kansas and Missouri, Bank Midwest and Bank Midwest Mortgage; in Utah, Texas, New Mexico and Idaho, Hillcrest Bank and Hillcrest Bank Mortgage; and in Wyoming, Bank of Jackson Hole and Bank of Jackson Hole Mortgage. For more information, visit www.nationalbankholdings.com.

CAUTION REGARDING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This communication, and all oral statements made regarding the subject matter of this communication, contain "forward-looking" statements as that term is defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements regarding the proposed acquisition. Such forward-looking statements reflect current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Statements that include the words "should," "would," "expect," "intend," "plan," "believe," "project," "anticipate," "seek," "will," and similar statements of a future or forward-looking nature identify forward-looking statements in this material for within the meaning of the federal securities laws. All such forward-looking statements involve estimates and assumptions that are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in the statements. Among the key factors that could cause results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements are the following: the impact that any litigation may have on the parties or the transaction; and the impact of potential legislative, regulatory and competitive changes. Any forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this communication. StoneCastle Partners undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. You are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements that speak only as of the date hereof.

Cision

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SOURCE StoneCastle Partners, LLC
Partners with Lazada, a leading e-commerce platform in Southeast Asia, to launch First Care Activating Serum 6th generation on LazMall

Brand moments to take place on April 24th in Vietnam and subsequently to be rolled out in Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia

SINGAPORE, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Sulwhasoo, a global luxury beauty brand, announced that it will be holding its first regional LazMall Super Brand Day in collaboration with Lazada, Southeast Asia's pioneer e-commerce platform. Through this multi-country collaboration with Lazada, Sulwhasoo will invite Southeast Asia customers to experience a world of Korean heritage, art, and beauty, starting from April 24th.

Sulwhasoos 6th generation First Care Activating Serum

Sulwhasoo has been expanding its global e-commerce business by providing differentiated digital content and shopping experiences. Through its LazMall Super Brand Day with Lazada, Sulwhasoo is set to excite shoppers in the region with first access to exclusive content featuring the brand's global brand ambassador, Rose from popular K-pop group Blackpink. By bringing exclusive co-branded experiences to shoppers in Southeast Asia, Sulwhasoo plans to strengthen its brand presence in the region and expand its reach to local customers.

Along with the launch of Sulwhasoo's 6th generation First Care Activating Serum on LazMall, Lazada shoppers across Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Indonesia can also look forward to be delighted by content inspired by Risogragh art, Livestreams, and exclusive sets with special gifts such as Sulwhasoo-scented candles designed by Korean artist Sim Bo-geun from ceramic brand MUJAGI, as well as towels designed in collaboration with luxury towel brand TWB. This partnership with Lazada will also see Sulwhasoo bring exclusive offline-to-online workshops for customers in selected markets to immerse in a greater appreciation to life and its art form and learn more about iconic Korean skincare routines.

The First Care Activating Serum, to be applied immediately after cleansing, is recognized as a revolutionary product that has changed the beauty routines of women worldwide. With over 510,000[1] customers who have used more than 10 bottles, the product is selling at a rate of one bottle every 10 seconds[2] and is well-loved by many. The renewed 6th generation First Care Activating Serum, launched earlier this year, provides quick efficacy that maintains moisture on the skin all day long, with visible improvement in skin regeneration and barrier formation within three days of use. It also improves 10 signs of skin[3] aging after four weeks of use. It spreads evenly on the skin and is quickly absorbed, relieving skin stress immediately after cleansing.

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Han-sook Lee, Senior Vice President of Sulwhasoo's GTM Division, said, "We are delighted to hold Sulwhasoo's LazMall Super Brand Day with Lazada. This collaboration will enable us to connect with highly discerning beauty customers on this leading platform in Southeast Asia who seek authentic brand experiences. With our unique products formulated with supreme ingredients and 'shoppertainment' experiences created with Sulwhasoo's exclusive brand story content, we aim to engage more customers in this region."

"Since the launch of our LazBeauty channel, we've seen a strong influx of buyers turn to Lazada to discover beauty products. Continuing Lazada's strong track record as Sulwhasoo's first marketplace partner in the region, we are delighted to deepen collaborations to unlock consumption powers of Southeast Asia and inspire beauty consumers in the region with their newest brand ambassador Rose and quality K-Beauty products. Scaling our partnership with Sulwhasoo is also a reflection of Lazada's commitment to consistently support brands to expand their digital footprint and ultimately uplift consumer experiences.", said Clarissa Chen, Senior Vice President, Regional Strategic Accounts (Health & Beauty), Lazada Group.

Sulwhasoo's LazMall Super Brand Day will be held in Singapore on 28 April and available exclusively on Lazada: https://www.lazada.sg/shop/sulwhasoo

About Sulwhasoo

A global luxury beauty brand, Sulwhasoo traces its roots back to 1932. With a pioneering spirit that is still inspiring today, the brand was the first to carefully craft products infused with ginseng. As one of Asia's most precious herbs, ginseng is celebrated for its many efficacies. Reposing in key products, it embodies the brand's rich history and accentuates Sulwhasoo's position as an artistic innovator in the field of beauty. Sulwhasoo creates products as works of art, powered by heritage and unique skin science to transcend time and generations. With artistry and creativity as core vehicles, Sulwhasoo aims to bring new experiences globally, inspiring people to explore their heritage and create their own version of beauty.

About Lazada Group

Lazada Group is Southeast Asia's pioneer eCommerce platform. For the last 11 years, Lazada has been accelerating progress in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam through commerce and technology. Today, a thriving local ecosystem links about 160 million active users to more than one million actively-selling sellers every month, who are transacting safely and securely via trusted payments channels and Lazada Wallet, receiving parcels through a homegrown logistics network that has become the largest in the region.

With a vision to achieve USD100 billion annual GMV, Lazada aims to serve 300 million shoppers by 2030, and be the best at enabling brands and sellers in digitalizing their businesses.

[1] As of sales from 1997 to 2022 [2] Based on offline sell-in results (domestic and international) in 2021 [3] Test subjects: 33 women aged 20 to 60 / Period: August 22, 2022 to November 8, 2022 / Test facility: Global Medical Research Center, Ltd. 10 factors: Skin turnover, Moisture level, Barrier function, Wrinkles, Lifting, Pores, Radiance, Transparency, Skin texture, Elasticity

Sulwhasoo Global Ambassador ROSE from Blackpink

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SOURCE Sulwhasoo
The LinkedIn Top Companies List ranks 25 top companies in Canada that are investing in their talent to help professionals identify the best workplaces to grow their careers.

TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Amid a competitive labor market, Info-Tech Research Group has ranked third on the 2023 LinkedIn Top Companies List in Canada. LinkedIn's annual list is intended to be a resource for professionals at every level and stage of their careers, offering insights on in-demand skills, roles, and industry trends.

Info-Tech Research Group has been named to LinkedIns 2023 Top Companies List in Canada. (CNW Group/Info-Tech Research Group)

Whether job seekers are looking to pivot on their career paths, rejoin the workforce after a hiatus, or invest in new skills, the 25 companies listed demonstrate that they are offering stability in the ever-evolving future of work and helping employees successfully build long-term careers.

"It is an honour to be named to the 2023 LinkedIn Top Companies List in Canada in recognition of our investment in our present and future employees," says Shawn Gibson, associate vice president of HR Operations at Info-Tech Research Group. "We are sensitive to the talent attraction and retention challenges facing organizations across every industry. As such, now is a critical time for organizations to remain committed to providing opportunities for ongoing learning and offering a collaborative, inclusive work culture. We look forward to what we can continue to accomplish with the talented individuals who make up our organization."

LinkedIn determines its annual Top Companies list based on data on its platform. This data is organized into eight pillars of crucial elements of career growth and progression. The pillars are as follows:

The ability to advance  Tracks employee movement within an organization and when they move to a new company. Skills growth  Examines how employees are gaining skills while employed at the company. Company stability  Looks at attrition over the past year and the percentage of employees that remain at an organization for at least three years. External opportunity  Focuses on recruiter outreach across employees at the company, signalling demand for its employees. Company affinity  Seeks to measure how supportive an organization's culture is and examines connection volume among employees. Gender diversity  Measures gender parity within a company and its subsidiaries. Spread of educational backgrounds  Evaluates the variety of educational attainment among employees, from no degree up to PhD levels, to identify organizational commitment to recruiting a wide range of professionals. Employee presence in the country  Assesses the number of a company's employees in the country in comparison to other companies.

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These eight pillars impact and inform organizational success in the eyes of its current and potential employees. As the world of work continues to shift, companies operating in Canada have had to adjust to increased employee expectations. From work model flexibility to compensation and skills development, people are requiring more from their employers, and it is up to organizations to meet those expectations.

To explore career opportunities and open job postings at Info-Tech Research Group, please visit infotech.com/careers and connect via LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Info-Tech Research Group

Info-Tech Research Group is one of the world's leading information technology research and advisory firms, proudly serving over 30,000 IT professionals. The company produces unbiased and highly relevant research to help CIOs and IT leaders make strategic, timely, and well-informed decisions. For more than 25 years, Info-Tech has partnered closely with IT teams to provide them with everything they need, from actionable tools to analyst guidance, ensuring they deliver measurable results for their organizations.

Media professionals can register for unrestricted access to research across IT, HR, and software and over 200 IT and industry analysts through the Media Insiders program. To gain access contact pr@infotech.com.

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SkyQuest Technology Consulting Pvt. Ltd.

SkyQuest's Industrial Hemp market report is an excellent analysis for individuals interested in gaining insight into the valuable data, trends, and opportunities in a rapidly growing industry. Additionally, the report is written clearly and concisely, making it accessible to various audiences, from industry experts to market readers. Finally, one can gain an in-depth understanding of the primary and secondary market drivers, providing them with a comprehensive outlook of the current market situation and future projections.

Westford USA, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- SkyQuest projects that the Industrial Hemp market will attain a value of USD 53.43 billion by 2030, with a CAGR of 25.17% over the forecast (2022-2030). Global demand for Industrial Hemp sectors including food and beverage, personal care and animal care is fueling the expansion. The above-mentioned application industries, rising need for hemp products such as fibre, seed, stalks, hurds and oils is anticipated to fuel growth. The cultivation of Industrial Hemp has various advantages for agriculture and the environment. Hemp allows for effective use of agricultural land because to its quick growth cycle of 120150 days and considerable biomass yield.

According to the SkyQuest's, The nation is making significant investments in the development of several types of industrial hemp with THC contents less than 0.4% due to the increased demand from various application industries. In January 2021, the U.S. government announced a COVID-19 rescue package of USD 1.9 trillion, which is anticipated to help the market recover. Furthermore, it is predicted that throughout the forecast period, the market participants in hemp-based consumer and industrial products would continue to rise steadily.

Browse in-depth TOC on "Industrial Hemp Market"

Pages - 242

Tables - 66

Figures - 70

Industrial hemp is a Cannabis sativa strain that is not used to make drugs and has very little delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). It is an agricultural product made from Cannabis sativa, the same species of plant, but from many cultivars that have been grown for various purposes. Its usage, chemical composition and growth methods set them apart as genetically separate varieties of cannabis. Industrial hemp has been utilized as a source of fibre and oil seed and is now widely employed to create a range of commercial and consumer goods worldwide.

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Prominent Players in Industrial Hemp Market

Parkland Industrial Hemp Growers Cooperative Ltd.

CBD Biotechnology Co.

Botanical Genetics, LLC

Marijuana Company of America Inc.

HempMeds Brasil

Terra Tech Corp.

American Cannabis Company, Inc.

HempFlax B.V.

Industrial Hemp Manufacturing, LLC

American Hemp

Hemp, Inc.

Boring Hemp Company

Plains Industrial Hemp Processing Ltd.

Ecofiber Industries Operations

Valley Bio Limited

Get a sample copy of this report:

https://www.skyquestt.com/sample-request/industrial-hemp-market

Hemp Seeds Product Segment Is Dominating the Market Due to Growing Usage Of Hemp Oil Seed in Cosmetics

The hemp seeds product segment dominated the market in 2022, contributing more than 29% of the total revenue. Hemp seeds are becoming more and more popular in the food and nutraceutical industries as a source of seed, oil and food material. The growing usage of hemp oil seed in cosmetics including lotions, shampoos, soaps, and bath gels contributes to the market's expansion. Growing amount of hemp seeds are utilized to make the oil used in the personal care, food and beverage and animal feed industries. The oil is also utilized in medications, nutritional supplements and other medical and therapeutic items.

The North America region is anticipated to increase at the fastest rate. The market for Industrial Hemp has been rising in countries such as the United States and Canada as a result of an ageing population and greater consumer awareness. The market for Industrial Hemp is anticipated to rise as awareness of skin conditions and the prevalence of chronic diseases rises.

Browse summary of the report and Complete Table of Contents (ToC):

https://www.skyquestt.com/report/industrial-hemp-market

Textile Application Segment Is Dominating the Market Due to the Rising Demand-Supply Gap In Cotton, and Versatility in Design and Application

In 2022, the textile application segment dominated the market and generated more than 25% of worldwide revenue. In addition to being robust, hypoallergenic and naturally UV, mould and mildew resistant, hemp cloth has an advantage over conventional materials. Moreover, it can be combined with cotton or linen to give the cloth more strength and stretch.

In 2022, Asia Pacific was the largest regional market, accounting for more than 34% of worldwide sales. Industrial hemp and its byproducts, including fibre, seed, hurds, and oil are produced and consumed actively in countries with economies including China, India, Japan, Korea, Australia, New Zealand and Thailand. The region's hemp production is changing as a result of rising worldwide product demand, developing technologies and innovation that make harvesting simpler for cultivators.

A comprehensive analysis of the major players in the Industrial Hemp market has been recently conducted in a report. The report encompasses various aspects, including collaborations, mergers, innovative business policies, and strategies, providing valuable insights into key trends and breakthroughs in the market. Furthermore, the report scrutinizes the market share of the top segments and presents a detailed geographic analysis. Lastly, the report highlights the major players in the industry and their endeavors to develop innovative solutions to cater to the growing demand.

Speak to Analyst for your custom requirements:

https://www.skyquestt.com/speak-with-analyst/industrial-hemp-market

Key Developments in Industrial Hemp Market

In January 2022, MariMed Inc. and Green Growth Group Inc., which holds a provisional Illinois Cannabis Craft License, entered a legally binding agreement to merge.

In January 2022, MariMed Inc. signed a legally binding contract to acquire Kind Therapeutics USA LLC, one of Maryland's top vertically integrated cannabis businesses.

Key Questions Answered in Industrial Hemp Market Report

What specific growth drivers are projected to impact the market during the forecast period?

Can you list the top companies in the market and explain how they have achieved their positions of influence?

In what ways do regional trends and patterns differ within the global market, and how might these differences shape the market's future growth?

Related Reports in SkyQuests Library:

Global Ammonium Sulphate Market

Global Bio-based Polypropylene Market

Global Ethyl Acetate Market

Global Lyocell Fiber Market

Global Dimethyl Carbonate DMC market

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(Corrects typo in lead paragraph)

By Blake Brittain

(Reuters) - Tesla Inc has settled a lawsuit against one of its former engineers, Alexander Yatskov, whom it accused of stealing trade secrets related to its AI-training supercomputer Dojo, according to a filing on Wednesday in San Francisco federal court.

The joint filing said the terms of the settlement were confidential but Yatskov would make a monetary payment to the company.

Representatives for both sides did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Yatskov was a thermal engineer working on Dojo, a supercomputer that Tesla said in its lawsuit would "help solve difficult engineering problems, such as vehicle autonomy." The company said it had hired Yatskov last January and that he had resigned that May after being put on administrative leave.

Tesla sued Yatskov that month for allegedly keeping confidential information about Dojo on his personal computer. The lawsuit also alleged Yatskov had provided a "dummy" computer for Tesla to investigate to "cover his tracks."

Yatskov previously told the court that Tesla had filed the lawsuit during his last day of work and that he had turned over the company's materials after he left.

According to the Wednesday filing, Yatskov admitted to transferring confidential Tesla information to his personal computer during his employment, but said that he only had kept it for work purposes and had sought to delete it after the work was finished.

A San Francisco federal judge sent the case to arbitration last August, rejecting Yatskov's plea to keep it in federal court so he could publicly contest Tesla's claims, which the engineer described as "humiliating."

(This story has been corrected to fix a typo in paragraph 1)

(Reporting by Blake Brittain in Washington; Editing by David Bario and Sandra Maler)
This article first appeared in the Yahoo Finance Tech newsletter. Get the newsletter sent directly to your inbox every week by subscribing here.

Apple's (AAPL) is increasing its bullishness on India.

The company opened its first retail location in Mumbai on Tuesday  which CEO TIm Cook himself inaugurated  as the company's sales in the country are reportedly approaching $6 billion in the year up to March.

Simultaneously, the company is also in the process of bringing about 25% of its iPhone production to India.

"We actually did fairly well through COVID in India, and I'm even more bullish now on the other side of it or, hopefully, the other side of it and that's the reason why we're investing there," Cook said on the company's latest earnings call.

"We're bringing retail there, bringing the online store there, and putting a significant amount of energy there. I'm very bullish on India."

Apple CEO Tim Cook, center, along with Senior Vice president of retail Deirdre O'Brien, left, wave to people during the opening of the first Apple Inc. flagship store in Mumbai, India, Tuesday, April 18, 2023. Apple Inc. opened its first flagship store in India in a much-anticipated launch Tuesday that highlights the companys growing aspirations to expand in the country it also hopes to turn into a potential manufacturing hub. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)

The simplest explanation for the exciement Apple and Big Tech companies in general have around India is about the size of the market. This month, the United Nations announced that India's population is expected reach 1.43 billion by the end of this year, surpassing China as the world's most populous country.

In a lot of ways, India's population represents an ideal market for Big Tech, and the Indian government is a willing partner, experts said.

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"India has a large English-speaking population that's educated, and the country wants to boost its own manufacturing sector," said Darrell West, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

"One of India's best assets is that it's not China," he added.

'Strained relations'

Apple has long been one of the world's most visible advocates for China's manufacturing sector.

However, the pandemic changed China. And for Apple and the tech industry at-large, India's on the upswing.

There were two turning points, according to Harvard Business School Professor Willy Shih.

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The first was Shanghai's mass COVID lockdowns  which resulted in delayed iPhone shipments. These were followed by November protests over contract disputes that erupted in at a Foxconn factory in 'iPhone City,' Zhengzhou.

"To me, Apple was the [ultimate] champion of the Chinese manufacturing model. Through the Trump trade war, Apple seemed to lose faith in China, but what you saw in the COVID lockdowns has caused this shift," Shih told Yahoo Finance. "Western companies looked at that and said, 'We don't know what to expect now' and that's what's causing this tone shift. This highlights that India is on the rise if it can get its act together."

"Our strained relations with China are making cooperation tenuous, and India is the most populous country in the world," said Carnegie Mellon University Professor Ari Lightman.

"Cooperation in India right now is like what we saw in China with the rise of companies like Tencent, and we're now seeing that in India with the rise of companies like Flipkart."

Daniel Keum, a professor at Columbia University added: "Apple needs a 'new' China to drive future growth. The Chinese market is now saturated, showing slowing growth, and complicated by the political tension."

India's 'big challenge'

However, India has challenges when it comes to making the hype a reality. After all, we've seen the headline 'India is the future of tech' before. And in part, making this time different comes down to infrastructure.

India, as a democracy, has a famously complicated bureaucracy and still has a long way to go to get its industrial and financial infrastructure in order, according to both Shih and West.

"Infrastructure is a big challenge for India, it's an area that they need to invest in," West said. "If they want to attract foreign capital, they also need to make it easier to bring money in and take it out. In India, that's not an automatic process."

Shih agreed. "You try to build a railroad in India, there's pushback. Now, if you try to build a railroad in China, the government can just make those people move," Shih said.

"This is about innovation and scale, but also servicing a vast, diverse population," added Lightman. "We're talking about a very large ship, with 1.4 billion people on board."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, right, meets Apple CEO Tim Cook, in New Delhi, India, Saturday, May 21, 2016. (AP Photo/Press Information Bureau of India)

And for the time being, Apple is still pretty thoroughly entwined with Chinese manufacturing.

"Will Apple be more dependent on China for some time? Yes, but they're also going to be more diversified," said Shih. To that end, when it comes to manufacturing, Apple is also exploring other China alternatives, with the company actively moving manufacturing operations toward countries like Vietnam, Malaysia, and Thailand.

The reality is that any changes to Apple's manufacturing footprint likely won't be sweeping but incremental, and if Apple decides to exit China all together that will be an even more difficult maneuver.

"The hardest thing is that Apple's spent years building its supply chain in China and you can't transfer that overnight," said West. "Even if you could, that would make the Chinese government angry, so the transition period is very delicate."

Allie Garfinkle is a Senior Tech Reporter at Yahoo Finance. Follow her on Twitter at @agarfinks and on LinkedIn.

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Oceana, Inc.

Oceana calls on Jeff Bezos, Amazon (AMZN) insiders, and investors: Vote YES to Item 22, Say NO to Plastic Waste

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Oceana is calling on Amazon shareholders to protect the oceans by supporting a resolution that asks the company to develop a plan for reducing its growing plastic packaging footprint. The resolution will be voted on for the third year in a row at Amazons annual meeting on May 24. In 2022, support for the proposal increased by over ten percentage points from the previous year  securing 48.9% of the vote . The measure would have passed if company insiders had supported the resolution. Amazons plastic packaging waste grew by 52.5% from 2019 to 2021, according to recent reports from Oceana.



Amazons top investors urged to back the resolution

Oceana is asking Amazons leading shareholders, including former CEO Jeff Bezos, to support the resolution in May 2023. Bezos owns roughly 10% of the company and has an outsized impact on the outcome of the vote. Oceana is also calling on institutional investors  such as Vanguard, Blackrock, and Fidelity  to support the resolution.

Voting in favor of the resolution is in line with the United Nations Finance Initiatives Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) . Several of the institutional investors owning Amazon shares are Signatories of the PRI and have pledged to seek disclosure on ESG issues by the companies they invest in. Despite this pledge, at least 26 PRI signatories voted against the resolution last year that asked Amazon to disclose its plastic packaging footprint.

Amazons competitors are disclosing plastic packaging use

Walmart and Target report annually on their plastic packaging use as Signatories to the Global Commitment . In 2023, companies will also be requested to disclose on plastics for the first time through the CDPs water security questionnaire .

Amazon took a step towards greater transparency last December when the company disclosed the amount of plastic packaging it uses for orders sent through Amazons fulfillment centers. This figure did not include packaging used for orders sent through third-party sellers. The company has yet to disclose its total plastic packaging footprint, nor to commit to regular disclosures going forward, which is the best way that shareholders can evaluate the companys progress in reducing the impact of its plastic packaging on the environment. Amazon has also yet to make a global commitment to reduce its use of plastic packaging. Amazon has already eliminated plastic bags and/or plastic air pillows and bubble wrap in India, Europe, Australia, and Japan. Equivalent action on the issue has been missing in the United States  Amazons largest market.

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Oceanas Senior Vice President Matt Littlejohn said it's time for Amazon to be a leader in reducing plastics: This years resolution is another opportunity to end Amazons growing tsunami of plastic pollution. Nearly 49% of shareholder votes spoke up for the oceans last year. We cant stop now. Its clear that investors need to push the company to take action on disclosing and reducing its global plastic packaging footprint. We urge all investors to rally against plastic pollution. Together we can protect the oceans and our planet from Amazons devastating impacts.

Institutional Investors are asked to declare their voting intention for the Amazon shareholder resolution on plastic packaging through the PRIs collaboration platform . The resolution will be voted on as Item 22 at Amazons annual meeting on May 24, 2023.

Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-quarter of the worlds wild fish catch. With more than 275 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, oil and plastic pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles, whales, and sharks, Oceanas campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal, every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. Visit Oceana.org to learn more.

Notes to Editor:

A shareholder resolution on plastic packaging filed by non-profit As You Sow was first voted on at Amazons annual meeting in 2021, receiving 35.5% of the vote. In 2022, the resolution received 48.9% of the vote. In both years and again in 2023, the resolution asks Amazons Board to issue a report disclosing how much plastic packaging the company uses, and outlining a plan for how its use of plastic packaging can be reduced.



Media Contacts:

Gillian Spolarich, gspolarich@oceana.org

Anna Baxter, abaxter@oceana.org




Let's talk about the popular Deutsche Post AG (ETR:DPW). The company's shares saw a double-digit share price rise of over 10% in the past couple of months on the XTRA. With many analysts covering the large-cap stock, we may expect any price-sensitive announcements have already been factored into the stocks share price. However, what if the stock is still a bargain? Today I will analyse the most recent data on Deutsche Posts outlook and valuation to see if the opportunity still exists.

See our latest analysis for Deutsche Post

What Is Deutsche Post Worth?

Great news for investors  Deutsche Post is still trading at a fairly cheap price. According to my valuation, the intrinsic value for the stock is 62.26, but it is currently trading at 43.59 on the share market, meaning that there is still an opportunity to buy now. Whats more interesting is that, Deutsche Posts share price is quite volatile, which gives us more chances to buy since the share price could sink lower (or rise higher) in the future. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market.

What does the future of Deutsche Post look like?

Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Although value investors would argue that its the intrinsic value relative to the price that matter the most, a more compelling investment thesis would be high growth potential at a cheap price. Though in the case of Deutsche Post, it is expected to deliver a negative earnings growth of -11%, which doesnt help build up its investment thesis. It appears that risk of future uncertainty is high, at least in the near term.

What This Means For You

Are you a shareholder? Although DPW is currently undervalued, the negative outlook does bring on some uncertainty, which equates to higher risk. I recommend you think about whether you want to increase your portfolio exposure to DPW, or whether diversifying into another stock may be a better move for your total risk and return.

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Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping an eye on DPW for a while, but hesitant on making the leap, I recommend you research further into the stock. Given its current undervaluation, now is a great time to make a decision. But keep in mind the risks that come with negative growth prospects in the future.

In light of this, if you'd like to do more analysis on the company, it's vital to be informed of the risks involved. For example - Deutsche Post has 1 warning sign we think you should be aware of.

If you are no longer interested in Deutsche Post, 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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Market.Us

Technological progress, including the development of new and improved materials and devices, is fueling the growth of the medical device market. The use of detachable coils and liquid embolic agents has enhanced the safety and efficacy of transcatheter embolization and occlusion procedures.

New York, April 18, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- According to Market.us, the global transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market was valued at US$ 4 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow US$ 11 billion in 2032. This market is estimated to register a CAGR of 9.8% between 2023 and 2032. The transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market refers to the medical devices that are used to treat a variety of conditions, such as aneurysms, tumors, and vascular malformations, by blocking or reducing blood flow to a specific area. These devices are inserted into the body through a catheter, typically via a small incision, and are guided to the affected area using medical imaging. The market is growing due to the increasing prevalence of conditions such as aneurysms and tumors, as well as the development of new and improved devices.

transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market growth

Market.us has identified key trends, drivers, and challenges in the market, which will help clients improve their strategies to stay ahead of their competitors. - View a sample report @ https://market.us/report/transcatheter-embolization-and-occlusion-devices-market/request-sample/

Key Takeaway:

By type, in 2022 , the Transcatheter Embolization And Occlusion Devices market was dominated by the non-coil segment due to its increased usage.

By application , the neurology segment dominated the largest market share in application type analysis and accounted for the largest revenue share in the Transcatheter Embolization And Occlusion Devices market in 2022.

By end-user, the hospitals segment dominated the largest market share in end-user type analysis

In 2022, North America dominated the market with the highest revenue share of 40%.

APAC is anticipated to have the highest CAGR among all the regions.

APAC is expected to grow at a greater pace owing to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and a growing demand for minimally invasive procedures.

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Factors affecting the growth of the Transcatheter Embolization And Occlusion Devices industry?

There are several factors that are affecting the growth of the transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices industry. These include:

Increasing incidence of chronic diseases: The growing prevalence of chronic diseases, such as cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurovascular disorders, are driving the demand for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices. These devices are used to treat a range of conditions, including aneurysms, tumors, and vascular malformations.

Rising preference for minimally invasive procedures: There is a growing trend towards minimally invasive procedures, which has led to an increase in the use of transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices. These devices allow for shorter hospital stays, faster recovery times, and reduced risk of complications.

Technological advancements in medical devices: Advances in medical device technology, including the development of new and improved materials and devices, are driving the growth of the market. For example, the development of detachable coils and liquid embolic agents has improved the efficacy and safety of transcatheter embolization and occlusion procedures.

Increasing healthcare expenditure: Healthcare expenditure is increasing globally, as governments and private healthcare providers invest in new treatments and technologies. This is driving the demand for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices, which are increasingly being used in a range of medical procedures.

Aging population: The world's aging population is increasing, which is leading to an increase in the incidence of chronic diseases and age-related conditions that can be treated with transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices.

Regulatory approvals and reimbursement policies: Regulatory approvals and reimbursement policies can have a significant impact on the growth of the market. Companies that can secure regulatory approvals and reimbursement for their products are more likely to be successful in the market.

To understand how Transcatheter Embolization And Occlusion Devices market report can bring a difference to your business strategy, Inquire about a brochure at https://market.us/report/transcatheter-embolization-and-occlusion-devices-market/#inquiry

Market Growth

The transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market is expected to grow significantly in the coming years. The demand for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices is being driven by the rising prevalence of chronic diseases like cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and neurovascular disorders. These devices are used to treat a variety of ailments, such as vascular abnormalities, tumors, and aneurysms. The expansion of the market is being driven by developments in medical device technology, including the creation of new and improved materials and devices. For instance, the efficacy and safety of transcatheter embolization and occlusion treatments have been improved by the development of detachable coils and liquid embolic agents. Due to rising disposable income, improved healthcare infrastructure, and expanding public knowledge of the advantages of these devices, this market is anticipated to expand in developing nations like China and India.

Regional Analysis

The North American market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices is expected to be the most lucrative, both in terms of revenue and market share, during the period 2022-2032. In 2022, the region saw a rise in demand for these devices due to the high incidence of aneurysms, tumors, and other conditions that can be treated with these devices, as well as a high level of healthcare spending. The regional market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices reached a revenue share above 40%.

North America will likely continue to lead the projection period due to its increased R&D spending and widespread adoption of technologies (both new and old). Due to the high concentration of major players in the region, strategic partnerships, faster FDA approvals, and substantial investment in R&D, this market is expected to grow. These advancements will drive demand during the forecast period. The Asia-Pacific is expected to grow due to the increasing prevalence of chronic diseases and a growing demand for minimally invasive procedures. Countries such as China, India, and Japan are expected to be major contributors to the market. The growing medical tourism industry in countries like India, China, and Malaysia will also increase the demand for treatment screening, and diagnosis of cancer.

To know about the regional trends and drivers that will have an impact on the market - Request a sample report!

Scope of the Report

Report Attribute Details Market Value (2022) USD 4 Billion Market Size (2032) USD 11 Billion CAGR (from 2022 to 2032) 9.8% North America Revenue Share 40.0% Historic Period 2016 to 2022 Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023 to 2032

Market Drivers

Transcatheter embolization and occlusion (TEO), a minimally invasive (MI) method used to limit blood flow to the tumour or other portions of the body, positions or inserts a synthetic embolus into the blood vessel using a small catheter. The market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices has experienced rapid growth as a result of the global burden of chronic diseases. Synthetic substances are occasionally used to coat chemotherapy drugs, performing dual actions of blood supply blocking and causing cytotoxicity. This is done in order to uncover many techniques to target malignancies. The operations also help to stop or regulate abnormal bleeding and to remove bad connections between the veins and arteries. Moreover, it helps with the treatment of aneurysms. The use of these tools has increased as a less painful substitute for open surgery with fewer incisions. These technical advancements in the sector are anticipated to lead to an increase in the global market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices.

Market Restraints

The market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices has been continuously expanding in recent years due to the increased prevalence of various medical disorders that call for these devices as well as the growing acceptance of minimally invasive treatments. The market's expansion may be hampered by a number of problems, including high costs, a shortage of qualified specialists, regulatory obstacles, competition from other treatments, and adverse effects. However, in the years to come, the market is projected to continue to develop as a result of continued innovation and advancements in device technologies, as well as initiatives to broaden access to qualified specialists and lower costs.

Market Opportunities

Due to the growing demand for minimally invasive operations and ongoing improvements in device technology, the market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices is predicted to create a number of opportunities in the future years. Transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices are being developed and studied for new indications and applications, such as the treatment of prostate cancer and uterine fibroids. These additional uses may broaden the market and provide more opportunities for innovative remedies from device manufacturers. Even during minimally invasive procedures, AI and robots are being used more and more in the healthcare industry. Transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices may be combined with robotics and AI to improve accuracy and outcomes while providing new opportunities for device manufacturers.

Immediate Delivery Available | Buy This Premium Research Report@ https://market.us/purchase-report/?report_id=99768

Report Segmentation of Transcatheter Embolization And Occlusion Devices Market

Type Insight

Non-coil segment accounted for the largest market share in 2021 at over 55%. It is expected that this will continue to rise through the forecast period. The rapid growth of this product category has been attributed to the use of these devices, which assist avoid problems including incorrect deployment, catheter entrapment, and balloon deflation brought on by coiling. Surgeons use non-coil devices more frequently in order to benefit from their advantages. Because of this, the market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices is growing along with the demand for medical care.

Application Insight

The market is further segmented by application into peripheral vascular disease, cancer, neurology, urology, and others. According to estimates, the neurology market for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices will be the most lucrative in 2022, with a market value of US$1.54 billion and a predicted CAGR of 7.5%. Moreover, the oncology area is projected to generate US$ 1.2 billion and have a 27.4% revenue share. Transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices are largely employed in the field of oncology to treat malignancies in the kidney, lung, liver, and other sections of the body. These gadgets are made to restrict or reduce blood supply to the tumour, which can cause the tumour to shrink or stop it from spreading.

End User Insight

The hospitals segment holds the top spot in the global market for 2021 and contributed more than 30% of the revenue. Hospitals' ability to offer full medical services, such as diagnostics, treatment, and post-treatment care, is the main factor contributing to their market domination. To diagnose and treat complex medical disorders that call for transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices, hospitals frequently feature a wide range of medical specialties and cutting-edge imaging technologies.

If you want to get a better understanding of the report, you can access a PDF sample, which includes the complete table of contents, list of exhibits, selected illustrations, and example pages @ https://market.us/report/transcatheter-embolization-and-occlusion-devices-market/request-sample/

Market Segmentation

Based on Type

Coil Pushable Coils Detachable Coils

Non-Coil Flow Diverting Devices Embolization Particles Liquid Embolics Others



Based on Application

Peripheral Vascular Disease

Oncology

Neurology

Urology

Other Applications

Based on End-User

Hospitals

Ambulatory Surgical Centers

Clinics

Other End-User

By Geography

North America

The US Canada Mexico



Western Europe

Germany France The UK Spain Italy Portugal Ireland Austria Switzerland Benelux Nordic Rest of Western Europe



Eastern Europe

Russia Poland The Czech Republic Greece Rest of Eastern Europe

APAC China Japan South Korea India Australia & New Zealand Indonesia Malaysia Philippines Singapore Thailand Vietnam Rest of APAC



Latin America

Brazil Colombia Chile Argentina Costa Rica Rest of Latin America



Middle East & Africa

Algeria Egypt Israel Kuwait Nigeria Saudi Arabia South Africa Turkey United Arab Emirates Rest of MEA



Competitive Landscape

The competitive landscape of the transcatheter embolization and occlusion devices market is characterized by the presence of a few key players who hold a significant market share.

Some of the major players include:

Boston Scientific Corporation

Terumo Corporation

Medtronic, Inc.

DePuy Synthes

Stryker Corporation

Cordis Corporation

Jude Medical

Pfizer, Inc.

Sirtex Medical

Nordian

Other Key Players

Recent Development of the Transcatheter Embolization And Occlusion Devices Market

According to a statement from Medtronic plc, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorised the PipelineTM Flex Embolization Device with Shield TechnologyTM in April 2021. In order to advance flow diversion therapy, Medtronic introduced the first surface-modified implant device that shows a reduction in material thrombogenicity, or a reduction in the tendency of the surface treatment material to create clots. Shield Technology is a proprietary advancement in biomaterial science.

In March 2021, the FDA approved Boston Scientific's TheraSphere Y-90 Glass Microspheres, an interventional radiology therapy used to treat hepatocellular carcinoma patients transcatheter. (HCC).

Browse More Related Reports:

APAC Transcatheter Aortic-Valve Replacement market is projected to be US$ 319.6 Mn in 2021 and estimated CAGR of 14.6%.

Precision Oncology Market was valued at USD 81.37 billion. Between 2023 and 2032, this market is estimated to register a CAGR of 9.8%.

Oncology Market was worth USD 208 billion, and it is projected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of more than 12%

Interventional Oncology Ablation Market is projected to reach a USD 1,035.14 Mn by 2031 at a CAGR of 7.80%,

Neurovascular devices market was valued at US$ 27,100 million in 2021. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7% .

About Us:

Market.US (Powered by Prudour Pvt Ltd) specializes in in-depth market research and analysis and has been proving its mettle as a consulting and customized market research company, apart from being a much sought-after syndicated market research report-providing firm. Market.US provides customization to suit any specific or unique requirement and tailor-makes reports as per request. We go beyond boundaries to take analytics, analysis, study, and outlook to newer heights and broader horizons.

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Tricolor Holdings

Tricolor Foundation advances financial literacy, life skills and enrollment in higher education in underserved Hispanic communities

Regina Montoya, Executive Director of Tricolor Foundation

Regina Montoya has been named Executive Director of the Tricolor Foundation, a nonprofit organization advancing financial literacy, life skills and enrollment rates in higher education for underserved Hispanic communities.

DALLAS, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Tricolor today announced it has named Regina Montoya as Executive Director of the Tricolor Foundation. Montoya is a Harvard-trained attorney, a former award-winning television commentator and nonprofit leader well-known for her work within the Hispanic community in the United States.



Tricolor Foundation is a nonprofit organization created to expand upon Tricolors mission supporting financially underserved Hispanics. By leveraging the Tricolor brand and geographic footprint throughout the Western United States, the Foundation emphasizes the improvement of financial literacy, life skills and enrollment rates in higher education.

Were extremely honored to have Regina lead this vitally important initiative to more broadly uplift Americas low-income Hispanic population, said Daniel Chu, founder and CEO of Tricolor. Through Tricolors experience and the demonstrated impact of its work, we realized the opportunity to launch a foundation that can more holistically support the Hispanic community and accelerate their pursuit of a better quality of life in America. Regina is an incredible leader and advocate who is ideally suited to enact and scale this vision.

The recipient of numerous awards for advancing the Hispanic community across the country, Montoya is the CEO and Chairperson of Regina T. Montoya, PLLC. The granddaughter of Mexican immigrants, she learned Spanish before English. Montoya has the distinction of being one of the first Latinas to earn partnership in a major corporate law firm in the United States and has been named Latina Lawyer of the Year by the Hispanic National Bar Association. Also, she received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Texas Minority Counsel Program of the State Bar of Texas and the La Luz Achievement Award from the Dallas Hispanic Bar Association.

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Montoya previously served in the White House as an Assistant to the President and Director of the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs (1993) and was nominated by the President to serve as a U.S. Representative to the 53rd Session of the General Assembly of the United Nations (1998). She also served as the co-chair of the Mayors Task Force on Poverty. Currently working on a book about the importance of incorporating Latinos into the economic, political and social fabric of America, Montoya is a frequent public speaker on a wide range of issues including education, healthcare, poverty, diversity, equity and inclusion. She is a graduate of Wellesley College and Harvard Law School.

The mission of Tricolor Foundation perfectly aligns with my own personal vision to serve the Hispanic community and create a path for advancement and a higher quality of life, said Montoya. As we catalyze opportunities for the Hispanic population in the U.S., we create a win for everyone because they will play a meaningful role in our countrys economic growth and future.

Building on the Impact of Tricolor

Tricolor is the nations largest used vehicle retailer to the Hispanic market. It uses artificial intelligence (AI), nearly 15 years of proprietary customer insights and over 25 million unique non-traditional credit attributes to unlock financially inclusive opportunities for low-income, credit invisible Hispanics left behind by mainstream financial providers.

To date, Tricolor, a U.S. Department of the Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), has disbursed over $2 billion in affordable auto loans as part of its mission to empower underserved Hispanics and provide them a path to a better future through both physical mobility and upward financial mobility.

Tricolor has been routinely recognized for its important work supporting consumers, including being named one of Inc. Magazines Best in Business for 2022 and the winner of the Excellence in Financial Inclusion Award at the 2022 LendIt Fintech Industry Awards.

For more information about Tricolor, please visit tricolorholdings.com and tricolor.com.

About Tricolor

Tricolor is a U.S. Department of the Treasury certified Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and a mission-driven company that leverages its direct-to-consumer, A.I.-powered platform to provide transportation and upward financial mobility solutions for underserved Hispanics in the United States. It utilizes advanced data analytics and technology to advance financial inclusion to a highly underserved market and offer responsible, affordable, credit-building auto loans to individuals with no or limited credit history.

Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Tricolor and its affiliate Ganas Auto Group operate 50 retail centers across 20 markets in Texas, California, Nevada, and Arizona with a shared services center in Guadalajara, Mexico. On a combined basis, Tricolor and Ganas have served over 90,000 customers and disbursed over $2 billion in affordable auto loans using their proprietary model to segment risk.

CONTACT INFORMATION

Stephanie Hicks

Cosmo PR for Tricolor

(805) 295-9455

stephanie@cosmo-pr.com

A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/c3bda222-7d91-430f-90ca-3a5e497244b6




Long term investing works well, but it doesn't always work for each individual stock. We really hate to see fellow investors lose their hard-earned money. Anyone who held TUI AG (ETR:TUI1) for five years would be nursing their metaphorical wounds since the share price dropped 97% in that time. And we doubt long term believers are the only worried holders, since the stock price has declined 78% over the last twelve months. The falls have accelerated recently, with the share price down 70% in the last three months. We really feel for shareholders in this scenario. It's a good reminder of the importance of diversification, and it's worth keeping in mind there's more to life than money, anyway.

Now let's have a look at the company's fundamentals, and see if the long term shareholder return has matched the performance of the underlying business.

Check out our latest analysis for TUI

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. 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).

TUI has made a profit in the past. On the other hand, it reported a trailing twelve months loss, suggesting it isn't reliably profitable. Other metrics might give us a better handle on how its value is changing over time.

It could be that the revenue decline of 17% per year is viewed as evidence that TUI is shrinking. That could explain the weak share price.

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 that the CEO is paid less than the median at similar sized companies. It's always worth keeping an eye on CEO pay, but a more important question is whether the company will grow earnings throughout the years. This free report showing analyst forecasts should help you form a view on TUI

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A Dividend Lost

The value of past dividends are accounted for in the total shareholder return (TSR), but not in the share price return mentioned above. By accounting for the value of dividends paid, the TSR can be seen as a more complete measure of the value a company brings to its shareholders. TUI's TSR over the last 5 years is -86%; better than its share price return. Even though the company isn't paying dividends at the moment, it has done in the past.

A Different Perspective

We regret to report that TUI shareholders are down 58% for the year. Unfortunately, that's worse than the broader market decline of 2.5%. However, it could simply be that the share price has been impacted by broader market jitters. It might be worth keeping an eye on the fundamentals, in case there's a good opportunity. Unfortunately, last year's performance may indicate unresolved challenges, given that it was worse than the annualised loss of 13% over the last half decade. 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. It's always interesting to track share price performance over the longer term. But to understand TUI better, we need to consider many other factors. For instance, we've identified 2 warning signs for TUI (1 is a bit concerning) that you should be aware of.

But note: TUI may not be the best stock to buy. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies with past earnings growth (and further growth forecast).

Please note, the market returns quoted in this article reflect the market weighted average returns of stocks that currently trade on German 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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FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: The logo of Google LLC is seen at the Google Store Chelsea in New York City

LONDON (Reuters) -Britain's competition regulator said proposals from Alphabet Inc's Google to give app developers the freedom to break away from Google Play's billing system looked to be sufficient to address its concerns about in-app payments.

Britain's Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) said in June that Google's complete control over in-app payments unfairly restricted developers by forcing them to use Google Play's billing system, reducing competition and hurting users.

The CMA said on Wednesday that Google's proposals would allow app developers to offer a different payment system "of their choosing" or give users a choice between an alternative payment system and Google Play's billing system.

Third-party payments providers could market their services to app developers, as per the proposal.

"We need to make sure these commitments will work in practice  so we welcome all feedback, which we will carefully consider before making a final decision," said Ann Pope, senior director of antitrust at the CMA.

Google said it had made the commitments after constructive conversations with the regulator.

It said the roll out of user billing in Britain would build on its experience of offering similar systems in the European Economic Area and other parts of the world.

"Under the commitments, developers will be able to add an alternative in-app billing system, alongside Google Play's billing system, for their mobile and tablet users in the UK," Google said in a blog post.

"At checkout, users will be able to choose which billing system to use."

The CMA invited comments on Google's proposals by May 19 before it makes a final judgment.

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil and Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru and Paul Sandle in London; Editing by Shailesh Kuber, Kirsten Donovan)
Ukraine Latest: US Will Provide $325 Million More in Weapons

(Bloomberg) -- The Chinese government denied reports in western media that the country has exported drones to aid Russias invasion of Ukraine as groundless  and accused the US of engaging in the spread of fake information.

Most Read from Bloomberg

Senior Russian officials meanwhile privately raised concerns some 10 months ago about the risks of becoming too dependent on Chinese technologies after US and European Union sanctions shut off access to alternative suppliers.

The Biden administration announced a new package of weapons for Ukraine valued at as much as $325 million to be taken from US stockpiles, the 36th such drawdown.

Key Developments

US Task Force Seeks to Transfer Seized Assets to Ukraine

Russian Memo Said War Leaves Moscow Too Reliant on Chinese Tech

Ukraines Key Black Sea Crop Exports Resume After Latest Halt

China Is Boosting Imports of Ukrainian Corn Through Black Sea

Ryanair CEO Sees Ukraine Aviation Opportunity Once War Ends

(All times CET)

US Task Force Seeks to Transfer Seized Assets (6:05 a.m.)

The chief of the Justice Department unit charged with seizing assets connected to violators of sanctions against Russia said the program cuts the purse strings from the Kremlin, and that Congress could help it to do more.

Andrew Adams, the director of Task Force KleptoCapture, said in an interview Wednesday on Bloomberg Televisions Balance of Power that lawmakers could provide the authority to funnel proceeds of the seizures export control violations to Ukraine.

The Justice Department currently only has the authority to convey proceeds to Ukraine from assets seized from sanctions evasions.

US to Provide Ammunition in Latest Round of Aid (7:42 p.m.)

Story continues

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said the latest package of weapons for Ukraine includes more ammunition for US- provided HIMARS rocket systems and anti-armor systems as well as additional artillery rounds.

US Aims to Send Russian Asset Funds to Ukraine (5:54 p.m.)

The US Justice Department wants more authority from Congress to give Ukraine money obtained from the seizure and sale of wealthy Russians assets, Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said. The department has limited authority to use proceeds from those assets but can do so in cases involving the evasion of sanctions against Russia, Monaco told the Senate Judiciary Committee during a hearing Wednesday.

We frankly would like to be able to expand that authority, Monaco said. There are potentially millions more that could be given to Ukraine from assets that are confiscated in response to other crimes, such as export controls violations  if the Justice Department had the authority, Monaco said.

Shipping Russian Oil to India Cheapest in Weeks (2:49 p.m.)

The cost of delivering Russias flagship oil to India dropped to its lowest since at least the start of March, according to Argus Media Ltd., whose data are pivotal to a Group of Seven price cap on the nations petroleum sales.

Hauling about 730,000 barrels of Urals crude from Russias Baltic port of Primorsk to Indias west coast would cost oil traders $10.60 a barrel, data provided by Argus show. That represents a drop of 13% drop since March 3, when the price-reporting agency began new freight assessments for the trade route.

Read More: Shipping Russian Oil to India Cheapest in Weeks, Argus Says

US Defense Chief Fully Anticipates Sweden in NATO (2:20 p.m.)

US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said he fully anticipates Sweden will be a member of NATO in time for a summit of the alliances leaders in Vilnius in July and encouraged Turkey and Hungary to ratify the bid as soon as possible.

Austin said he wouldnt predict when Turkey would ratify the nations bid to join the alliance, but added: Im sure these countries will reach that decision and I feel confident theyll reach it before July.

Zelenskiy Visits Troops (1:58 p.m.)

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy visited Ukraines Volyn region to inspect troops stationed near the border with Poland and Belarus. He thanked personnel for protecting the nations frontier.

The visit followed a trip to the eastern city of Avdiyivka in the embattled Donetsk region thats on the frontline of fighting.

Ukraines Black Sea Crop Exports Resume (1:50 p.m.)

Ukraines Black Sea crop shipments resumed, following another brief halt that sparked fresh worries about future cargoes from the key exporter.

Inspections of vessels under a safe-passage corridor are again taking place after a two-day stoppage, according to Ukraine and the joint coordination center which oversees the checks. Kyiv has blamed the disruption to the initiative  which has been crucial for bringing down global food-commodity costs from records reached after Russias invasion  on Moscow. Wheat futures declined.

Read More: Ukraines Black Sea Crop Exports Resume After Latest Halt

EU to Examine Grain Trade Rules After Ukraine Import Bans (1:26 p.m.)

The EU will take preventive measures under appropriate trade rules for wheat, corn, sunflower and rapeseed to address the situation, after several member states banned imports of grain from Ukraine.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is offering three proposals to address the situation. The bloc has already provided a support package of 56 million ($61 million) for most affected farmers  and is now preparing a second package of 100 million for five nations.

China Denies It Sold Drones to Help Russias Military Effort (1:24 p.m.)

The Commerce Ministry issued the denial, calling reports to the contrary groundless and fake, according to a statement, and defended Beijings strict control of drone exports to prevent the hardware from being used in conflicts.

China will strengthen export controls for drones, the statement said, urging other nations to join in preventing unmanned aircraft from being deployed in Ukraine.

Bank of Cyprus to Close Accounts of Russian Customers (12:24 p.m.)

Bank of Cyprus Holding Plc will close all accounts held by Russians who are not resident in this EU country. The action applies to some 4,000 clients and follows the suspension of Russias membership by the Financial Action Task Force and the designation of Russia as a non-cooperative tax jurisdiction by the European Union, the bank said in a statement.

Total deposits at the islands largest lender stood at 19 billion ($21 billion) on Dec. 31. Of that, about 3% was from Russian or Belarusian clients, according to the lender.

China Is Boosting Imports of Ukrainian Corn Through Black Sea (12:06 p.m.)

China, the biggest corn importer, is buying more of the grain from Ukraine, even as Beijing strengthens its strategic relationship with Russia.

About 1.5 million tons of corn left Ukrainian ports bound for China under the Black Sea Grain Initiative in March and so far in April, according to data from the Joint Coordination Centre for the agreement. That brings the amount since the start of the year to more than 3 million tons. By comparison, shipments were about 1.7 million tons from September to December, the data show.

Estonia Hosts Worlds Largest Cyber War Games (11:50 a.m.)

Over 3,000 participants from locations in 38 nations will practice defending a fictional country from simulated cyber attacks at a NATO-affiliated exercise based in Tallinn this week. The annual Locked Shields exercise will involve thousands of attacks on mock critical infrastructure systems, such as banks and power plants.

Ukraine has strong digital competences, and that has meant that their state can keep delivering essential digital services even in wartime, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur said in a statement.

(An earlier version of this story corrected an item to say Zelenskiys visit was in northwestern Ukraine.)

Most Read from Bloomberg Businessweek

2023 Bloomberg L.P.
US President Joe Biden and House Speaker Kevin McCarthy depart the US Capitol on Saint Patrick's Day. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The US government may hit its debt limit in June, which would be sooner than anticipated, Goldman Sachs says.

"Weak" tax collections point to an increased probability the deadline will be reached in the first half of June.

The US could default on its debt load of $31 trillion if the limit isn't increased by a politically divided Congress.

The US may hit its crucial debt-limit deadline sooner than anticipated, according to Goldman Sachs, putting the country on the fast track to a harmful default on its financial obligations.

While data are very preliminary, "weak" tax collections so far in April point to an increased probability that the debt-limit deadline will be reached in the first half of June, Jan Hatzius, Goldman's chief economist and head of global investment research, said in a note published Tuesday. His economics team has been projecting the US Treasury could run without an increase in the debt limit until early August.

The US reached its $31.4 trillion debt ceiling in January, and it's up to a politically divided Congress to increase that limit to allow the government to pay bills for funding Social Security checks and benefits for veterans, among other obligations.

The June deadline projection comes as Washington lawmakers and financial market investors brace for a contentious standoff between Democrats and Republicans. The Biden administration is looking for clean debt-limit raise, with no addendums or further cuts placed on a debt-ceiling package.

But Republicans are reportedly preparing a proposal that would ban student-loan forgiveness and impose stricter work requirements on food-stamp recipients.

"A June deadline would raise the possibility of a short-term extension. We are generally skeptical of reports that congressional Republicans might pass a short-term debt limit extension, as voting to raise the debt limit twice is harder than voting once," wrote Hatzius.

"That said, if the Treasury announces in May that the deadline is only a few weeks away, there would be little time to negotiate a deal and a short-term extension could provide a way out," he wrote. "While not our base case, a June deadline would make a short-term extension a plausible scenario."

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There is a slightly greater chance that the debt-limit deadline is in late July, but if tax receipts continue to undershoot, that could change to the base case to early June, Goldman said.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said at the New York Stock Exchange on Monday a debt ceiling vote will come in weeks. Biden faces a "bumble into the first default" by the US if he doesn't negotiate raising the debt ceiling with Republicans, he said.

The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office estimates the Treasury will exhaust current "extraordinary measures" between July and September.

"Analysts are reminded of the painful process in 2011 that coincided with the first downgrade to U.S. debt, and the S&P 500 saw a 19% drawdown in less than three months," Mark Hackett, chief of investment research at Nationwide, wrote in a note Monday.

A short debt default could lead to 1 million Americans suddenly losing jobs and economy to undergo a mild recession, according to Moody's Analytics.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Reuters in February she wants to find ways to reduce the deficit alongside Republicans, "but it can't be a condition or precondition for raising the debt ceiling."

Read the original article on Business Insider
(Bloomberg) -- Uncertainty continues to linger about whether or not the US will make it through to late summer without risking a debt-ceiling-related default after figures indicating the size of the Treasurys tax day cash influx were somewhat lackluster.

Most Read from Bloomberg

The amount of money that the US government has on hand to pay its bills jumped just $108.47 billion on Tuesday. That could be enough to help see it through, but it may be a close run thing, according to TD Securities strategist Gennadiy Goldberg.

The tax receipts received on Tuesday boosted a cash pile thats been whittled down in a bid to avoid crashing into the nations statutory debt limit. The Treasury Departments cash balance rose to $252.55 billion on Tuesday from $144.08 billion the day before as payments related to the Internal Revenue Services main annual filing deadline rolled in, according to data published Wednesday.

The Treasurys bank account has been under downward pressure recently because of measures being taken to avoid breaching the $31.4 trillion debt cap and last week dwindled to as little as $86.55 billion.

The change in the cash balance boosts the Treasurys coffers to a level last seen on March 20. Whether that provides enough breathing room for lawmakers to find a solution to the debt-limit standoff and avoid a technical default remains to be seen.

The one-day increase is only the biggest since Jan. 24, a date that saw the Treasury get more than $101 billion in net new cash from bill-sale settlements.

Bank of America Corp. strategists wrote last week that the deadline that an increase in the Treasury cash pile of more than $200 billion following tax day would be strong, while a figure of less than $150 billion would be weak, based on historical precedent.

Story continues

A key question is whether revenues prove big enough to get the Treasury through until an anticipated influx of tax money on June 15  when some payers have installments due. If so, then its also likely to bridge the gap to the next available extraordinary measures on June 30 and stave off default until later in the summer. Conversely, if they end up being insufficient for that, then the government might not even make it to June 15.

Analysts poring over the numbers were uncertain about whether the influx would be enough.

I think its going to be close, but we should be able to get past June 15th, which should put the X-date sometime in late-July or early-August, said TDs Goldberg.

Up until now, estimates for the so-called drop-dead date have been wide  anywhere from early summer through to the US fall  but detail on the governments cash position this week could help investors and officials to refine their views.

Jefferies economist Thomas Simons said that it potentially leaves a June deadline as a possibility. Tax receipts are going to keep trickling in for the next like three weeks and if the pace slows more than usual, June could be back in play.

Morgan Stanleys Michael Zezas, writing before the release of the latest figures, said he expected an April 18 increase of around $86 billion  less than actually came in  and a total increase of $156 billion by the end of April, estimates that are in line with an August X-date.

The narrowing window for negotiations is likely to become an increased focus for lawmakers in the coming weeks, with US House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday unveiling his plan to lift the nations borrowing limit, but not without new curbs on spending. The 320-page plan would increase the debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion, enough to stave off a US payments default until March 31, 2024 at the latest. It also contains a host of conservative proposals that are non-starters with congressional Democrats and the White House.

Republicans have long sought to make any deal contingent on spending cuts, while President Joe Biden has insisted that ceiling and budget issues ought to be separate.

--With assistance from Christopher Anstey.

(Updates throughout.)

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2023 Bloomberg L.P.
A groundbreaking celebration happens today at the Nanaimo terminal site while Hullo, the high-speed passenger-only ferry service, confirms it's coming Summer 2023

NANAIMO, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Introducing Hullo by the Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC). Hullo is the innovative service brand behind British Columbia's high-speed, passenger-only catamarans that will soon offer guests a seamless and enjoyable 70-minute crossing between downtown Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver. This new service will enable Islanders and Mainlanders alike to reach across the strait effortlessly, fostering connections between family and friends and increasing visitation opportunities. Today's groundbreaking event marks the beginning of construction and site reconfiguration, which includes over 400 parking stalls, EV charging stations, connected travel options, a guest welcome centre, and proper traffic and transit flow optimizations. Hullo's two new 354-passenger high-speed vessels are currently undergoing final tests and sea trials at the Damen Group facility in Vietnam and will set sail to Vancouver Island next month.

One of Hullo's 354-passenger high-speed vessels that will set sail to Vancouver Island next month (CNW Group/Vancouver Island Ferry Company)

"The vessels are built and going through rigorous sea trials and the terminal areas are in the process of being upgraded to welcome our guests. Hullo is in ship-shape and almost ready to serve its communities," says Alastair Caddick, CEO of VIFC. "We have assembled a passionate and experienced team, recruiting impeccable individuals who will offer BC travelers an enjoyable, reliable, and efficient travel experience to and from the mainland. After carefully listening to the needs and expectations of British Columbians, we are thrilled to provide a service that strengthens connections between friends and family on both sides of the Georgia Strait."

The VIFC team includes Director of Operations Captain Wendy Williams, who is the first Canadian woman to captain a mega cruise ship for a leading brand. "Our highly skilled operations team is dedicated to providing a seamless travel experience that is reliable, modern, and friendly," says Captain Williams. "We take pride in trying to set a new standard for ferry travel in British Columbia and our growing team remains relentlessly committed to creating a safe, efficient, and reliable service for our communities."

Story continues

General Service Details for Hullo:

Hullo will offer a robust daily crossing schedule starting with up to seven (7) roundtrip sailings. Starting early enough for island commuters to get to their downtown Vancouver offices, and running late enough for travelers to catch an evening game or concert and return home the same night.

Guests will be able to reserve seats across three (3) service tiers - Comfort, Premium, and Business, each catering to various guests needs.

Complimentary Wi-Fi will be available for all guests traveling Hullo with a fresh selection of treats available on board.

Guests will depart from two conveniently located downtown terminals at the Nanaimo Port Authority (100 Port Drive) and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre at Burrard Landing (1055 Canada Place).

Hullo's initial fleet consists of two Damen-built, high-speed catamaran vessels, each with a capacity of 354 passengers, and supported by a long-term local maintenance solution to ensure their reliability.

The Hullo vessels are painted in a trio of brand colours representing different elements of the West Coast: the deep green of the Salish Sea, the soft, light beige of the sandy shores, and a bold orange hue inspired by the coast's Arbutus trees.

VIFC has secured long term partnerships with Snuneymuxw First Nation, the Nanaimo Port Authority and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre and to ensure sustainable, continued success.

A complete list of service details including rates, sailing schedules, and amenities will be released in early June, with sailings starting late summer. To be the first to know service details, schedules, and more, sign up for our email list at www.hullo.com .

About the Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC) and Hullo

Proudly headquartered in Nanaimo, BC, the Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC) is a modern Canadian ferry company transforming how we travel in BC. Through its service brand, Hullo, VIFC will set a new standard for guests' travel experience across the Georgia Strait with reliability, convenience, and enjoyability at the forefront of operations. For more information on Hullo, visit www.hullo.com .

Two completed Hullo vessels docked at the Damen Group facility in Vietnam (CNW Group/Vancouver Island Ferry Company)

Hullo, presented by Vancouver Island Ferry Company (VIFC) (CNW Group/Vancouver Island Ferry Company)

SOURCE Vancouver Island Ferry Company

Cision

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LEESBURG, VA / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Today, Vertosoft announced it has been selected by Claroty, the cyber-physical systems protection company, as its new public sector distributor. With this agreement, Vertosoft Partners and Public Sector customers will be able to safeguard against the ever-growing and persistent threat that cyber-physical systems (CPS) present to the Public Sector.

Verotsoft & Claroty Logo

"We have seen a dramatic shift over the last year from our Public Sector Customers and Partners that are looking to better incorporate CPS into their current zero-trust cyber posture," said Josh Slattery, VP of Technology Sales at Vertosoft. "As a result, we are really excited about our partnership with Claroty as their CPS protection platform has already proven to be a differentiator in the public sector market in a short amount of time."

"The public sector is increasingly embracing CPS to modernize critical infrastructure, optimize public services, and strengthen defense efforts across broadly distributed physical sites. However, the connectivity that underpins these systems is also exposing them to complex risks," said Heather Young, RVP Public Sector at Claroty. "To overcome these challenges and ensure resilience, public institutions need specialized technology capable of securing all CPS within their environments - from operational technology (OT) assets, to building management systems (BMS), to commercial IoT devices - collectively known as the Extended Internet of Things (XIoT). With Vertosoft's proven success in helping federal agencies reap the benefits of emerging technology, we are making great strides to strengthen the security posture and overall resilience of the public sector."

Claroty's purpose-built cybersecurity controls empower agencies to identify, protect, monitor, and optimize XIoT assets leveraged by the U.S. government across critical infrastructure sectors. Its unified platform integrates seamlessly with agencies' existing infrastructure, providing them with unmatched visibility, risk and vulnerability management, threat detection, and secure remote access. Claroty allows agencies to meet the new guidelines set from the Binding Operational Directive 23-01 under CISA's Operational Directive requesting the improvement of asset visibility and vulnerability detection, as well as the requirements set forth by NERC-CIP, HIPAA, HITECH, cGMPs, relevant executive orders, and relevant directives from the TSA, CISA, the FDA, and various other federal agencies and regulatory or legislative bodies.

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About Vertosoft

Vertosoft is a high-value distributor dedicated to providing the most coveted innovative and emerging technology solutions to the government. Our comprehensive solution portfolio coupled with our elite services provides channel partners and suppliers with the enablement, inside sales support, contracts, and compliant systems required to drive growth in the government market.

About Claroty

Claroty empowers organizations to secure cyber-physical systems across industrial (OT), healthcare (IoMT), and enterprise (IoT) environments: the Extended Internet of Things (XIoT). The company's unified platform integrates with customers' existing infrastructure to provide a full range of controls for visibility, risk and vulnerability management, threat detection, and secure remote access. Backed by the world's largest investment firms and industrial automation vendors, Claroty is deployed by hundreds of organizations at thousands of sites globally.

Contact Information

Mary Dawson

Digital Marketing Manager

info@vertosoft.com

571-707-4132

SOURCE: Vertosoft

.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/749857/Vertosoft-Selected-as-Clarotys-New-Public-Sector-Distributor




VANCOUVER, BC, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Vortex Metals Inc. (TSXV: VMS) (FSE: DM8) (OTC: VMSSF) ("Vortex" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that on April 16th 2023, the local community residing at the Zaachila project, held a general assembly and approved the augmentation of an environmental baseline study, including biological studies and surface geological work for targeting at the company's flagship Zaachila Copper project, located in Southern Oaxaca, Mexico.

Under the direction of Mexican environmental firm Ambiental y Social Servicios Integrales (ASSI), the baseline study will focus on gathering data on 7 land uses as defined by the National Institute of Statistics Geography (INEGI), and informatics. The study will be developed during a 30-day period by a group of 10 environmental specialists supported by field assistants from the local community, and it will involve a total area of 500 Ha.

This study will provide the basis for an environmental diagnosis that will be presented to the local community as a tool to protect their environment and to the Federal Environmental Office, The Secretariat of Environment and Natural Resources (SEMARNAT), in the form of an EIA study for approval of advanced mineral exploration activities.

Previous mineral exploration activities at the Zaachila project identified significant anomalous copper mineralization followed by a geochemical targeting analysis by world-renowned Volcanogenic Massive Sulfide (VMS) expert and Vortex Metals' advisor, Jim Franklin.

Geochemical Anomalies at Zaachila:

Surface copper mineralization occurs along a >5 km trend in stratigraphic horizons adjacent to a trondhjemite complex





1.5 x 1 km gravity anomaly is located adjacent to the most persistent and extensive copper-in-rock anomalies





Pronounced 3 km linear magnetic low is centered directly beneath the most persistent and extensive surface copper mineralization





Figure 1. Zaachila Project Area and Surface Copper Mineralization. (CNW Group/Vortex Metals)

Figure 2. Geo Chemical Anomalies at Zaachila Project (CNW Group/Vortex Metals)

The mineralized system at Zaachila is classified by Franklin as 'bimodal mafic'  similar to the Noranda Camp (Canada) deposits, and the large VMS deposits in Latin America including Tambo Grande, San Nicholas and Campo Morado.

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Project Geologist, Rob Johansing has also recommended that the Company complete geological mapping, sampling and trenching. Followed by surface impact definition that will be needed for drill permitting.

Vortex Metals' Chief Executive Officer Vikas Ranjan commented, "This community approval is the result of Vortex Metals systematic and responsible community engagement process designed to ensure respect, transparency and sustainability in the relation of the company with its stakeholders and shareholders. We are very pleased with the community's approval of environmental works at the Zaachila project, and with the support from local stakeholders. We believe that with future submission of an EIA study, Vortex will be a step closer to exploring multiple high-grade copper targets identified by our co-founder and leading geologist, the late Dave Jones."

About Vortex Mines Inc.

Vortex Metals Inc. is the parent company of Mexican subsidiary Empresa Minera Acagold, S.A. de C.V., which is the owner of a 100% interest in two drill-ready high-potential copper volcanogenic massive sulfide (VMS) properties (Riqueza Marina and Zaachila) in the state of Oaxaca, and a third high-potential gold property (El Rescate) in the state of Puebla. The Oaxaca projects incorporate the most highly prospective areas of high-grade copper mineralized surface exposures ('gossans') and prominent gravity anomalies along an emerging copper VMS belt that includes Minaurum Gold's (TSXV:MGG) Santa Marta project.

FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS:

This press release may contain forward looking statements that are made as of the date hereof and are based on current expectations, forecasts and assumptions which involve risks and uncertainties associated with our business including permitting approvals, any private placement financings, the uncertainty as to whether further exploration will result in the target(s) being delineated as a mineral resource, capital expenditures, operating costs, mineral resources, recovery rates, grades and prices, estimated goals, expansion and growth of the business and operations, plans and references to the Company's future successes with its business and the economic environment in which the business operates. All such statements are made pursuant to the 'safe harbour' provisions of, and are intended to be forward-looking statements under, applicable Canadian securities legislation. Any statements contained herein that are statements of historical facts may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. By their nature, forward-looking statements require us to make assumptions and are subject to inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution readers of this news release not to place undue reliance on our forward-looking statements as a number of factors could cause actual results or conditions to differ materially from current expectations. Please refer to the risks set forth in the Company's most recent annual MD&A and the Company's continuous disclosure documents that can be found on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not intend, and disclaims any obligation, except as required by law, to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Vortex Metals Logo (CNW Group/Vortex Metals)

SOURCE Vortex Metals

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TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ - Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. ("Waratah", "Waratah Capital Advisors", or "we") is releasing this statement in regard to the upcoming Teck Resources Limited (TSX: TECK.A) (TSX: TECK.B) (NYSE: TECK) ("Teck Resources" or "Teck") shareholder vote set for Wednesday, April 26, 2023.

Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd. Logo (CNW Group/Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.)

Waratah Capital Advisors is releasing this statement to announce it has voted AGAINST the proposed Teck Resources spin-off of the coal business (the "Separation") and FOR the proposed six-year sunset for the multiple voting rights attached to the Class A common shares (the "Sunset"). Waratah's vote against the Separation and for the Sunset is consistent with the Glass Lewis and ISS recommendations.

In light of recent developments, we do not believe the proposed separation of Teck Metals Corp. ("Teck Metals") and Elk Valley Resources Ltd. ("EVR") maximizes shareholder value. The proposed Separation is an unnecessarily complex break of the two proposed entities, as they will remain highly intertwined for the next several years. Given the unsolicited Glencore plc (AIM: GLEN) (JSE: GLN) ("Glencore") bid for Teck, we strongly believe that a more fulsome strategic review needs to be conducted by Teck and the Board of Directors.

We do not believe EVR is the right structure for Teck's world class steelmaking assets and are expressing our concern regarding recent changes made to the Separation proposal. Teck's 2023 guidance for capital expenditures in the steelmaking coal unit is $1.54 billion, or $1.32 billion excluding water capital expenditures. The new proposed annual capital spending limit of $1.3 billion could therefore result in a significant reduction in either sustaining capital expenditure or capitalized stripping, which are necessary to maintain the coal production profile into the future. This capital spending limit also leaves no allowance for unforeseen capital projects that may arise for EVR.

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We are also not convinced that Teck Metals will obtain an immediate ESG-driven valuation re-rate as a base metal company, as the company will continue to effectively own most of the underlying EVR coal cash flows through the proposed royalty and preferred share structure. Waratah does not believe there is a robust market of buyers for the EVR royalty given the royalty's short life and the complex controls placed on the underlying coal assets. Furthermore, when a royalty consumes 90% of EVR's bottom-line, it is a royalty in name only. We believe the lack of buyers for the royalty inhibits strategic optionality for Teck post-Separation and means that any transaction to sell the royalty would be conducted at a large discount to intrinsic value. In addition, we do not believe the preferred share can be refinanced until the royalty is paid off in its entirety. In summary, we believe the proposed Separation does not properly relinquish Teck Metals' coal exposure  it simply swaps the method by which the coal assets are owned by Teck, from direct asset ownership to indirect ownership via an overly-complex royalty and a quasi-vendor take-back arrangement.

We believe the right decision for Teck shareholders is to engage with Glencore and other interested parties in a more fulsome auction process.

As of the March 7 date of record, Waratah funds hold in aggregate 2,343,461 Teck Resources Class B subordinated voting shares. Waratah has been a shareholder of Teck since the third quarter of 2021.

About Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.

Based in Toronto, Canada, Waratah Capital Advisors manages over $4 billion in assets from high-net-worth individuals, family offices, foundations, Canadian bank platforms, and pension funds. With a team of 52 experienced professionals, Waratah combines intensive research-driven stock selection with a disciplined and robust risk management program. Founders and employees collectively represent over $228 million of the firm's assets under management. For more information about Waratah please visit https://waratahadvisors.com/

SOURCE Waratah Capital Advisors Ltd.

Cision

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A vibrant, wide-ranging exhibition celebrating the variety within Japanese graphic arts.

The show is curated by artists Hiro Sugiyama and Takahashi Kintaro, the team behind the Tokyo exhibition WAVE, held annually since 2018.

Presenting the work of more than 60 contemporary Japanese artists, the London edition includes five emerging artists whose work appears for the first time in this touring exhibition.

WAVE is the amalgamation of a diversity of voices representing a variety of styles and artistic backgrounds. Artists range in age from their early twenties to their late eighties.

Press preview: Wednesday 5 July (09:00-12:00). Book your place by emailing press.office@japanhouselondon.uk

Exhibition runs 6 July to 22 October 2023.

Press images together with a full list of the exhibiting artists are available here.

LONDON, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Discover the vibrancy and variety of Japanese graphic arts at WAVE: Currents in Japanese Graphic Arts. Curated by artists Hiro Sugiyama and Takahashi Kintaro, the exhibition presents the work of 60 of Japan's most significant graphic artists today, introducing many of them to the UK for the first time. An anthology of styles and stories, bridging the worlds of fine art, commercial illustration and counterculture, WAVE offers UK audiences a rare opportunity to fully experience the diversity of expression within Japanese graphic arts.

Shonen Tiger 01 by Tanaami Keiichi (PRNewsfoto/Japan House London)

The exhibition at Japan House London is inspired by WAVE, an annual exhibition that started in 2018 in Tokyo. Also curated by Hiro Sugiyama and Takahashi Kintaro, the WAVE exhibition in Tokyo showcases 100 of Japan's leading illustrators, graphic and contemporary artists. Of the 60 artists featured in the Japan House London iteration, five emerging artists are being presented as part of the WAVE touring exhibition for the first time: Utsunomiya Nao, Kakuda Mayu, Kato Takaaki, Nakajima Yuta and Yano Keiji.

Presenting an eclectic assembly of artists

WAVE: Currents in Japanese Graphic Arts presents the work of artists who have emerged during multiple waves in the history of Japanese print culture since the late 20th century  their ages ranging from early twenties to late eighties. Tanaami Keiichi (b.1936) is known for his colourful images inspired by war, dreams and pop culture and has been active since the 1960s. The bold, humorous work of Yumura Teruhiko (b.1942) is associated with indie manga magazine GARO, first popular in the 1970s and '80s. Works by younger artists include the photorealist stylings of Yukishita Mayu (b.1995), and the hyperrealist art of Tomozawa Kotao (b.1999).

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Art beyond category

Many works in the exhibition have qualities representative of popular genres of Japanese graphic art such as pop art, photorealism and heta-uma  the combination of two Japanese words meaning 'bad, unskilled' and 'good'  where something that appears bad, is actually, on closer inspection, good. However, WAVE moves beyond categories, instead responding to multiple positions and perspectives, in cheerful defiance of arbitrary distinctions. The work of actor-cum-artist Asano Tadanobu (of Marvel Studios fame) appears alongside that of tupera tupera, a husband-and-wife team who have illustrated some of Japan's most popular children's books.

WAVE invites guests to delight in the chaos, colour and creativity of Japanese graphic arts and print culture. This exhibition is a rare opportunity for UK audiences to experience the variety of Japanese illustration and graphic arts, through the works of leading artists from diverse disciplines and generations.

Simon Wright, Director of Programming at Japan House London, commented:

"This exhibition of new works explores the perhaps surprising variety and anarchy of the world of illustration and graphic art in Japan. Of particular interest is the underground concept of heta-uma literally 'bad-good'  whose first proponents in the 1970s and 1980s challenged contemporary notions of what was 'ugly' or 'beautiful', the definition of art itself and the hierarchy of the art world."

Co-curator Takahashi Kintaro commented:

"The present and the future of the creative essence of Japanese media art, unbound by genre or generation - welcome to the WAVE exhibition."

Co-curator Hiro Sugiyama commented:

"The most significant movement in the world of Japanese illustration from the 1970s to the 1980s was that of heta-uma. What is 'heta-uma'? It was one concept proposed by one illustrator. The concept has influenced many creators. It has also had a tremendous impact on Japanese graphic art today. We hope that through the WAVE exhibition you will be able to enjoy a look at the true state of Japanese graphic arts."

Notes to Editors

Japan House London is a cultural destination offering guests the opportunity to experience the best and latest from Japan. Located on London's Kensington High Street, the experience is an authentic encounter with Japan, engaging and surprising even the most knowledgeable guests. Presenting the very best of Japanese art, design, gastronomy, innovation, and technology, it deepens the visitor's appreciation of all that Japan has to offer. Part of a global initiative, there are two other Japan Houses, one in Los Angeles and the other in Sao Paulo.

Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2058457/Shonen_Tiger_01.jpg

Cision

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Dr. Juan DeVillena Photo

Dr. Juan DeVillena, Senior Vice President of Quality Assurance and Food Safety

Pamela Roach Photo

Pamela Roach, Chief Human Resources Officer

Oakwood, Ga., April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The nations third largest poultry producer, Wayne-Sanderson Farms, has announced changes to its senior leadership team, including the retirements of Bryan Miller, senior vice president of quality assurance and food safety, and David Malfitano, chief human resources officer, after over 35 years of collective service to the company. In April, Miller was succeeded by Dr. Juan Juanfra DeVillena, while Malfitano was succeeded by Pamela Roach.

Since joining the company in 2004, DeVillena has served in various roles with increasing levels of responsibility at the companys Danville, Arkansas and Pendergrass, Georgia complexes including quality assurance supervisor, quality assurance manager, plant manager, operations manager and director of quality assurance and food safety. Most recently, he served as vice president for quality assurance and food safety for the companys fresh and prepared foods business units.

Prior to joining the company, DeVillena had experience working in operations, quality assurance and food safety for another poultry integrator, as well as gaining experience in poultry research at the United States Food and Drug Administrations Center for Veterinary Medicine and the University of Marylands Nutrition and Food Science Department. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Food Science and a professional degree in food engineering from the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina in Peru. DeVillena also earned a Master of Science degree in Food Science from the University of Maryland and a doctorate degree in animal science from Texas Tech University.

While studying at Texas Tech University, DeVillena received a nomination for the universitys Outstanding Research Award. He is now a devoted lecturer at international forums, conferences and prestigious universities including Texas Tech University, Auburn University, the University of North Georgia, the University of Georgia and the University of Arizona. In addition, DeVillena currently serves as the chairman for the advisory committee to the Agricultural Technology Research Program at the Georgia Institute of Technology. He also serves on several planning committees for the U.S. Poultry & Egg Association.

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The companys new chief human resources officer, Pamela Roach, is a seasoned human resources professional with nearly two decades of experience with all but a few of those years dedicated to leading various human resources functions for Cargill. Joining Wayne-Sanderson Farms from Climate Solutions, an operating segment of Regal Rexnord in Fort Wayne, Indiana where she served as vice president of human resources, Pamela was a member of the organizations leadership team that achieved over $1 billion in revenue across seven business units operating in multiple countries with over 7,000 employees. In this role, she was responsible for leading a global human resources team of professionals across seven countries via matrixed reporting into company business units.

Dedicating the majority of her career to her tenure at Cargill, Pamela served as a regional human resources manager, function human resources manager and business human resources director for multiple units of the companys operation including poultry and other aspects of food production. In her last role with the company, she was a member of the senior leadership team that achieved $4 billion in revenue across three countries including 14 plants and five terminal locations. Graduating from the University of Minnesota, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and a Master of Education degree in Human Resources Development.

Since its founding last year, Wayne-Sanderson Farms has evolved into a unified, cohesive operation with mutual principles and ideals thanks to their singular focus on the companys vision to be the amazing chicken company. Following the recent merging of two poultry industry leaders, Wayne Farms and Sanderson Farms, the new company has worked diligently to retain the equity both companies have built over decades of reputation-building operation.

###

About Wayne-Sanderson Farms

Wayne-Sanderson Farms is an industry leader and the nations third-largest poultry producer, serving customers, consumers and communities with integrity, leadership and responsible farm, workplace and business practices. With a diverse portfolio of products, a strong operating culture and an industry-leading workforce of more than 26,000 people, Wayne-Sanderson Farms owns and operates 23 fresh and further-processing facilities across Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina and Texas. Wayne-Sanderson Farms produces affordable, high-quality poultry products for retail, foodservice, restaurant, industrial and institutional segments under the brand names of SANDERSON FARMS fresh chicken; COVINGTON FARMS fresh and frozen chicken; WAYNE FARMS fresh and prepared chicken; PLATINUM HARVEST premium fresh chicken; CHEFS CRAFT gourmet chicken; and NAKED TRUTH premium chicken. For more information, visit our website at http://www.waynesandersonfarms.com

Attachments

CONTACT: Hilary Burroughs Wayne-Sanderson Farms 601-426-1312 hilary.burroughs@waynesanderson.com




West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd

FIGURE 1.

Property map showing location of completed Phase 1 drill collars.

FIGURE 2.

Rowan drilling completed to date. Holes with observed VG highlighted in red.

FIGURE 3.

Closeup photos of visible gold from drillhole RLG-23-130.

VANCOUVER, British Columbia, April 19, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. (West Red Lake Gold or WRLG or the Company) (TSXV:WRLG) (OTC: WRLGF) is pleased to provide an exploration update on its previously announced Phase 1 exploration program from its 100% owned Rowan Property located in Red Lake, Ontario (see news release of March 13, 2023).

Highlights

A total of 16 holes for 3,094 metres (m) of NQ drilling completed in 2023 at Rowan Property





100% of the 2023 completed drill holes intersected mineralized zones with visible gold (VG) being observed in 50% of holes.





The mineralized zones encountered have confirmed the Companys internal geologic models and exploration thesis at both the Rowan Mine area and Red Summit NE targets.





An additional 4,000m planned for the Phase 1 program to be completed in June.





Styles of mineralization encountered are characteristic of the high-grade Archean lode gold systems found elsewhere in the Red Lake District.





The mineralization observed at Rowan is potentially similar to Madsen.





A total of 14 diamond holes totaling 2,314m have been completed to date at the Rowan Mine area and 780m across 2 drill holes testing targets in the Red Summit NE area. An additional 4,000m are planned for the Phase 1 program which is expected to be completed on target by June 30, 2023.

Upon completion of Phase 1, the Company will lead directly into its Phase 2 program, which will include an additional 10,000m of drilling to further build on Phase 1 exploration work, as well as test newly developed greenfield targets over the remaining and highly prospective 3,100 hectare (ha) Rowan Property.

Tom Meredith, CEO, stated, "The Companys 2023 exploration program at Rowan has got off to a good start with great success early on. The Phase 1 program has had a 100% hit rate with 50% of targeted drill holes containing intersections with visible gold. Exploration work to date confirms the Companys original geologic thesis and has shed considerable light on possible synergies with the Madsen Gold Project. We look to continue building on this early momentum and delivering value for our shareholders.

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Property map showing location of completed Phase 1 drill collars.





FIGURE 1. Property map showing location of completed Phase 1 drill collars.

Rowan drilling completed to date. Holes with observed VG highlighted in red.





FIGURE 2. Rowan drilling completed to date. Holes with observed VG highlighted in red.





Closeup photos of visible gold from drillhole RLG-23-130.

FIGURE 3. Closeup photos of visible gold from drillhole RLG-23-130.

TABLE 1. Description of visible gold intercepts from phase one drilling at Rowan Mine area.

Hole ID From (m) To

(m) Thick (m) Description RLG-23-130 70 73.5 3.5 VG observed in (2) narrow quartz veins w/in ankerite-sercite altered zone RLG-23-131 88 89.1 1.1 VG observed in 8cm-thick quartz vein w/in ankerite-sericite altered zone RLG-23-132 56 75 19 VG observed in 30cm-thick smokey quartz-sphalerite-galena-pyrite-pyrrhotite vein w/in zone of moderate to strong sericite alteration AND 143.2 176.3 33.1 VG observed in 20cm-thick smokey quartz-sphalerite-galena-pyrite-pyrrhotite vein w/in sericite altered zone RLG-23-133 73 77 4 VG observed in 20cm-thick quartz-tourmaline-sphalerite-galena-pyrite vein w/in zone of intense silica-fuchsite alteration RLG-23-134 226.4 226.8 0.4 VG observed in 10cm-thick quartz-chlorite vein w/in sericite altered zone RLG-23-135 42 44 2 VG observed in (2) narrow quartz veins w/in sericite altered zone RLG-23-136 59.8 62 2.2 VG observed in 40cm-thick smokey quartz vein w/in sericite altered zone AND 133.4 157 23.6 VG observed in 10cm-thick quartz vein w/in sericite altered zone RLG-23-139 21.4 22.5 1.1 VG observed in 60cm-thick quartz-sphalerite-galena vein w/in sericite alteration zone

*The From-To intervals in Table 1 are denoting overall downhole length of mineralized and/or altered zones, which contain more discrete quartz vein intercepts with visible gold. True thickness has not been calculated for these intercepts but is expected to be  70% of downhole thickness. It is important to note that the presence of visible gold is based on observations made by the core logging geologist and cannot be relied upon as an indicator of gold assay grade.

West Red Lake Golds Rowan Property presently hosts a National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) inferred mineral resource of 2,790,700 tonnes at an average grade of 9.2 grams per tonne Au containing 827,462 ounces of gold with a cut-off grade of 3.8 grams per tonne Au (NI 43-101 Technical Report authored by John Kita, P.Eng., dated December 13, 2022 and filed December 30, 2022 on sedar.com). The inferred resource is located in the area of the historic underground Rowan Mine site and situated within a 1.8 kilometer strike length portion of the regional scale Pipestone Bay St Paul Deformation Zone.

The technical information presented in this news release has been reviewed and approved by Will Robinson, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for West Red Lake Gold and the Qualified Person for exploration at the West Red Lake Project, as defined by NI 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects.

ABOUT WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES

West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. is a mineral exploration company that is publicly traded and dedicated to creating value for its shareholders by discovering new gold mines in the highly productive Red Lake Gold District of Northwest Ontario, Canada. This district has yielded 30 million ounces of gold from high-grade zones and hosts some of the world's richest gold deposits. WRLG holds an extensive property position spanning 3,100 hectares in West Red Lake, including three former gold mines - Rowan, Mount Jamie, and Red Summit - that are wholly owned by the Company. The West Red Lake Project covers a 12-kilometer strike length along the Pipestone Bay St. Paul Deformation Zone, and WRLG plans to continue exploring this property along strike and to depth aggressively in 2023.

ON BEHALF OF WEST RED LAKE GOLD MINES LTD.

Tom Meredith

Tom Meredith

Chief Executive Officer

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

Amandip Singh, VP Corporate Development

Tel: 416-203-9181

Email: investors@westredlakegold.com or visit our website at https://www.westredlakegold.com

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

Certain statements contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking statements". When used in this document, the words "anticipated", "expect", "estimated", "forecast", "planned", and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements or information. These statements are based on current expectations of management, however, they are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements in this news release. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these statements. West Red Lake Gold Mines Ltd. does not undertake any obligation to revise or update any forward- looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise after the date hereof, except as required by securities laws.

Photos accompanying this announcement are available at

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d85fc746-b368-47ac-b33d-2fa3248cac33

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/cf9b6411-720b-48bd-beed-2b3783728b1d

https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/184e2e12-a36a-4a6d-922a-03017f825265




CHICAGO, April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Arizton's latest research report, the Western Europe data center construction market will grow at a CAGR of 4.33% during 2022-2028.

Western Europe Data Center Construction Market

To Know More, Download the Free Sample Report: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3772

BROWSE IN-DEPTH TOC ON THE WESTERN EUROPE DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION MARKET

51 - Tables

141 - Charts

467  Pages

The Western Europe data center market is a major European region with several global and local data center operators. The Global Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in May 2018, positively impacted the data center market in Western Europe, leading customers to shift data to cloud-based services for data localization. Investments in data center construction across Frankfurt, London, Amsterdam, and Paris (FLAP) and Ireland data center markets in Western Europe have grown significantly. These markets have been the largest in terms of IT infrastructure procurement. Hyperscale data center operators are involved in rapidly expanding their cloud platforms across Western Europe. Also, Brexit might have a higher impact on data centers across other Western European countries during the forecast period.

Western Europe Data Center Construction Market Report Scope

Report Attributes Details Market Size (2028) USD 10.61 Billion Market Size (2022) USD 8.22 Billion CAGR by Investment (2022-2028) 4.33 % Market Size - Area (2028) 5.6 Million Square Feet Power Capacity (2028) 1,184 MW Base Year 2022 Forecast Year 2023-2028 Market Segmentation Facility, Infrastructure, Electrical Infrastructure, Mechanical Infrastructure, Cooling Systems, Cooling Technique, General Construction, Tier Standards, and Geography Geographic Analysis The UK, Germany, France, Netherlands, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Portugal, Luxembourg, and Other Western European Countries

Looking for More Information? Download the Free Sample Report: https://www.arizton.com/request-sample/3772

Growing Submarine & Inland Connectivity

More than 450 submarine cables are in operation or development, covering over 1.30 million kilometers. And while the development of these cables by telecom companies is still prevalent, the trend is increasingly shifting from telco consortiums toward cable projects, which are led by over-the-top (OTT) hyperscalers.

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Internet service providers are building their submarine cable infrastructure to increase capacity and give international access to the content they produce. Cable capacity is rapidly increasing due to the push of OTT providers and hyperscale operators. The need for greater connectivity and growth in data is driving the demand for more submarine cables or extensions of existing ones. The prominent users of submarine cables include cloud service providers, telecommunication operators, and OTT media companies.

Large cloud players are increasing their investments in data center infrastructure worldwide. Microsoft plans to add 50 to 100 new data centers annually. Smaller content companies increasingly focus on Content Delivery Networks (CDNs) and keeping their content close to their customers. In addition, large OTT players are investing in data centers and cables.

The major global suppliers of submarine cables include HMN Technologies, Alcatel Submarine Networks (ASN), SubCom, and NEC. More upcoming submarine cables will connect Western European countries in the coming years.

Support of the Government for Data Centers

One of the prominent enablers for the Western Europe data center construction market is breaks and tax incentives offered in various countries, which generate significant savings and incorporate other benefits.

The Government of Spain is investing highly in the country's overall digitalization. The government has planned around USD 720 million to strengthen Artificial Intelligence in the country.

The Government of France reduced the electricity taxes, which will help to attract investments.

The UK government has placed a corporate tax of 20%, the lowest amongst G20 countries.

The Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP) in Switzerland includes a few GDPR adaptations, which will aid in attracting further investments for data centers in the country.

The French Government offers tax incentives for Research & Development up to 30% and has a limit of USD 97.48 million.

The Dutch government is undertaking initiatives to bring the country to the forefront of the Western Europe data center construction market. The sales and VAT rate in the country is over 20%.

The Government of the Netherlands is taking initiatives to increase the country's data center market portfolio and reach. The VAT and sales tax in the country stands above 20%.

Tax incentives are available in most Western European countries. More tax breaks will be concentrated on less developed countries to attract investment in the Western Europe data center construction market.

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The report includes the investment in the following areas:

Facility

Colocation Data Center

Hyperscale Data Center

Enterprise Data Center

Infrastructure

Electrical Infrastructure

Mechanical Infrastructure

General Construction

Electrical Infrastructure

UPS Systems

Generators

Transfer Switches & Switchgear

PDUs

Other Electrical Infrastructure

Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

Racks

Other Mechanical Infrastructure

Cooling Systems

CRAC and CRAH Units

Chillers Units

Cooling Towers, Condensers, and Dry Coolers

Economizers & Evaporative Coolers

Other Cooling Units

Cooling Techniques

Air-based Cooling

Liquid-based Cooling

General Construction

Core & Shell Development

Installation & Commissioning Services

Engineering & Building Design

Fire Detection & Suppression

Physical Security

DCIM/BMS Solutions

Tier Standard

Tier I & Tier II

Tier III

Tier IV

Geography

The UK

Germany

France

Netherlands

Ireland

Switzerland

Italy

Spain

Belgium

Portugal

Luxembourg

Other Western European Countries

Major Vendors

Prominent Support Infrastructure Providers

3M

ABB

Airedale International Air Conditioning

Alfa Laval

Carrier

Caterpillar

Condair

Climaveneta

Cummins

D'HONDT THERMAL SOLUTIONS

Daikin Applied

Delta Electronics

Eaton

ebm-papst

EMICON INNOVATION AND COMFORT

Enrogen

FlaktGroup

Grundfos

Guntner

GESAB

HiRef

HITEC Power Protection

Honeywell International

Johnson Controls

KOHLER-SDMO

KyotoCooling

Legrand

Mitsubishi Electric

Munters

Nlyte Software (Carrier Global Corporation)

Perkins Engines

Piller Power Systems

Riello Elettronica ( Riello UPS)

Rittal

Rolls-Royce

Schneider Electric

Siemens

Socomec

STULZ

Trane (Ingersoll Rand)

Vertiv

ZIEHL-ABEGG

Prominent Construction Contractors

AECOM

AEON Engineering

ARC:MC

APL Data Center

Ariatta

ARSMAGNA

Artelia

Arup

Atkins

Basler & Hofmann

BENTHEM CROUWEL ARCHITECTS

Bouygues Construction

Callaghan Engineering

Cap Ingelec

Collen

Deerns

DPR Construction

Eiffage

EYP MCF

Ferrovial

Future-tech

ICT Facilities

IDOM

ISG

JCA Engineering

JERLAURE

Kirby Group Engineering

Linesight

LPI Group

M+W Group (EXYTE)

Mercury

Metnor Construction

Nicholas Webb Architects (NWA)

NORMA Engineering

Oakmont Construction

PM Group

(PQC) Power Quality Control

Quark

RED

Reid Brewin Architects

Royal HaskoningDHV

Skanska

SPIE UK

Starching

STO Building Group

STS Group

TPF

TTSP

Turner & Townsend

Winthrop Engineering and Contracting

Prominent Data Center Investors

AtlasEdge

Aruba

China Mobile

Colt Data Centre Services (COLT DCS)

CyrusOne

DATA4

Digital Realty

Echelon Data Centres

EdgeConneX (EQT Infrastructure)

Equinix

Euclyde Data Centers

Facebook

Global Switch

Google

Iron Mountain

KDDI

Liberty Global

Microsoft

Nautilus Data Technologies

NDC-GARBE Data Centers Europe

NTT Global Data Centers

Orange Business Services

Proximity Data Centres

Pure Data Centres

T5 Data Centers

Telecom Italia Sparkle

Vantage Data Centers

Virtus Data centers (ST Telemedia Global Data Centres)

Yondr

New Entrants

Global Technical Realty

Stratus DC Management

Check Out Some of the Top-Selling Research Reports:

Central & Eastern Europe Data Center Construction Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2023-2028: The Central and Eastern Europe data center construction market is to reach USD 1.05 billion by 2028. Sustainable initiatives to attract data center operators, growth in 5G connectivity & deployment of edge data centers, and adoption of AI-based infrastructure are driving the growth of the Central and Eastern Europe data center construction market.

Europe Data Center Colocation Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027: The Europe data center colocation market is estimated to reach USD 11.75 billion by 2027. Europe is one of the fastest-growing countries regarding technological development and innovations. The adoption of artificial intelligence is fueling data generation and the technology market. The government takes initiatives for the growth and development of artificial intelligence.

Europe Data Center Power Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027: The Europe data center power market will reach USD 7.46 billion by 2027. The increasing deployment of edge data centers with a total power capacity of less than 1 MW leads to the adoption of generator systems with a 0-1.5 MW capacity. The construction of hyperscale facilities in developing regions will also reduce the need for low-capacity generators in the market.

Western Europe Data Center Market - Industry Outlook & Forecast 2022-2027: Western Europe data center market to reach USD 44.77 billion by 2027. The data center market in Western Europe witnessed increased investment in countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, and Switzerland. Multiple projects are being carried out by colocation, cloud, telecommunication, and internet service providers.

Table of Content

1 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY

2 RESEARCH OBJECTIVES

3 RESEARCH PROCESS

4 SCOPE & COVERAGE

4.1 MARKET DEFINITION

4.2 BASE YEAR

4.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

4.3.1 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY FACILITY TYPE

4.3.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY INFRASTRUCTURE

4.3.3 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

4.3.4 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

4.3.5 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY COOLING SYSTEM

4.3.6 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY COOLING TECHNIQUES

4.3.7 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

4.3.8 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TIER STANDARDS

4.3.9 MARKET SEGMENTATION BY GEOGRAPHY

5 REPORT ASSUMPTIONS & CAVEATS

5.1 KEY CAVEATS

5.2 CURRENCY CONVERSION

5.3 MARKET DERIVATION

6 PREMIUM INSIGHTS

6.1 KEY MARKET HIGHLIGHTS

6.2 KEY TRENDS IN THE WESTERN EUROPE DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION MARKET

7 MARKET AT A GLANCE

8 INTRODUCTION

8.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

8.2 DATA CENTER DESIGN CERTIFICATIONS

8.2.1 UPTIME INSTITUTE TIER STANDARDS

8.2.2 LEED CERTIFICATION

8.2.3 TIA 942 CERTIFICATION

9 MARKET OPPORTUNITIES & TRENDS

9.1 HIGHER ADOPTION OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

9.2 INCREASING ADOPTION OF DISTRICT HEATING SYSTEMS

9.3 DATA CENTERS PRIORITIZING SUSTAINABILITY

9.4 INNOVATIONS IN DATA CENTER TECHNOLOGIES

10 MARKET GROWTH ENABLERS

10.1 INCREASING 5G DEPLOYMENTS FUELING EDGE DATA CENTERS

10.2 GROWTH IN THE ADOPTION OF CLOUD SERVICES

10.3 INCREASING ADOPTION OF BIG DATA & IOT

10.4 SUPPORT FROM THE GOVERNMENT

10.5 MODULAR DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION

10.6 GROWING SUBMARINE & INLAND CONNECTIVITY

10.7 ADOPTION OF OCP & HYPERSCALE INFRASTRUCTURE

11 MARKET RESTRAINTS

11.1 SECURITY CHALLENGES IN DATA CENTERS

11.2 CARBON EMISSIONS AFFECTING DATA CENTER SUSTAINABILITY

11.3 LOCATION CONSTRAINTS ON DATA CENTER DEVELOPMENT

11.4 LACK OF SKILLED DATA CENTER PROFESSIONALS

12 MARKET LANDSCAPE

12.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

12.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

12.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

12.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

12.5 FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS

12.5.1 THREAT OF NEW ENTRANTS

12.5.2 BARGAINING POWER OF SUPPLIERS

12.5.3 BARGAINING POWER OF BUYERS

12.5.4 THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES

12.5.5 COMPETITIVE RIVALRY

13 FACILITY TYPE

13.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

13.2 AREA: MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

13.3 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

13.4 COLOCATION DATA CENTERS

13.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.4.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.4.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.4.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.5 HYPERSCALE DATA CENTERS

13.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.5.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.5.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.5.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.6 ENTERPRISE DATA CENTERS

13.6.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

13.6.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.6.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

13.6.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

14 INFRASTRUCTURE

14.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

14.2 ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

14.2.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

14.2.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

14.3 MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

14.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

14.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

14.4 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

14.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

14.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15 ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

15.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

15.2 UPS SYSTEMS

15.2.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.2.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15.3 GENERATORS

15.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15.4 TRANSFER SWITCHES & SWITCHGEAR

15.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15.5 PDUS

15.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.5.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

15.6 OTHER ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

15.6.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

15.6.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

16 MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

16.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

16.2 COOLING SYSTEMS

16.2.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

16.2.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

16.3 RACKS

16.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

16.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

16.4 OTHER MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

16.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

16.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17 COOLING SYSTEMS

17.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

17.2 CRAC & CRAH UNITS

17.2.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.2.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.3 CHILLER UNITS

17.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.4 COOLING TOWERS, CONDENSERS & DRY COOLERS

17.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.5 ECONOMIZERS & EVAPORATIVE COOLERS

17.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.5.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

17.6 OTHER COOLING UNITS

17.6.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

17.6.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

18 COOLING TECHNIQUE

18.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

18.2 AIR-BASED COOLING

18.2.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

18.2.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

18.3 LIQUID-BASED COOLING

18.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

18.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

19 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

19.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

19.2 CORE & SHELL DEVELOPMENT

19.2.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

19.2.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

19.3 INSTALLATION & COMMISSIONING SERVICES

19.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

19.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

19.4 ENGINEERING & BUILDING DESIGN

19.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

19.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

19.5 FIRE DETECTION & SUPPRESSION

19.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

19.5.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

19.6 PHYSICAL SECURITY

19.6.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

19.6.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

19.7 DCIM/BMS SOLUTIONS

19.7.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

19.7.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20 TIER STANDARDS

20.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

20.2 OVERVIEW OF TIER STANDARDS

20.3 TIER I & II

20.3.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

20.3.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.4 TIER III

20.4.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

20.4.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

20.5 TIER IV

20.5.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

20.5.2 MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

21 GEOGRAPHY

21.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

21.2 AREA: MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

21.3 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

22 UK

22.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

22.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

22.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.3.1 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

22.4 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23 GERMANY

23.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

23.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

23.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

23.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24 FRANCE

24.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

24.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

24.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

24.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

25 NETHERLANDS

25.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

25.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

25.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

25.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

25.3.1 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

25.4 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

26 IRELAND

26.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

26.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

26.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

26.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

26.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

26.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

27 SWITZERLAND

27.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

27.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

27.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

27.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

27.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

27.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

28 ITALY

28.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

28.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

28.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

28.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

28.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

28.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29 SPAIN

29.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

29.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

29.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.3.1 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

29.4 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

30 BELGIUM

30.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

30.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

30.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

30.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

30.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

30.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

31 PORTUGAL

31.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

31.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

31.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

31.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

31.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

31.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

32 OTHER WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

32.1 MARKET SNAPSHOT & GROWTH ENGINE

32.1.1 MARKET OVERVIEW

32.2 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

32.3 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

32.4 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

32.5 SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

33 COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE

33.1 ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

33.2 MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

33.3 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION

33.4 DATA CENTER INVESTORS

34 PROMINENT SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE PROVIDERS

34.1 3M

34.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

34.1.2 PRODUCT OFFERINGS

34.2 ABB

34.3 AIREDALE INTERNATIONAL AIR CONDITIONING

34.4 ALFA LAVAL

34.5 CARRIER

34.6 CATERPILLAR

34.7 CONDAIR

34.8 CLIMAVENETA

34.9 CUMMINS

34.10 D'HONDT THERMAL SOLUTIONS

34.11 DAIKIN APPLIED

34.12 DELTA ELECTRONICS

34.13 EATON

34.14 EBM-PAPST

34.15 EMICON INNOVATION AND COMFORT

34.16 ENROGEN

34.17 FLAKTGROUP

34.18 GRUNDFOS

34.19 GUNTNER

34.20 GESAB

34.21 HIREF

34.22 HITEC POWER PROTECTION

34.23 HONEYWELL INTERNATIONAL

34.24 JOHNSON CONTROLS

34.25 KOHLER-SDMO

34.26 KYOTOCOOLING

34.27 LEGRAND

34.28 MITSUBISHI ELECTRIC

34.29 MUNTERS

34.30 NLYTE SOFTWARE (CARRIER GLOBAL CORPORATION)

34.31 PERKINS ENGINES

34.32 PILLER POWER SYSTEMS

34.33 RIELLO ELETTRONICA (RIELLO UPS)

34.34 RITTAL

34.35 ROLLS-ROYCE

34.36 SCHNEIDER ELECTRIC

34.37 SIEMENS

34.38 SOCOMEC

34.39 STULZ

34.40 TRANE (INGERSOLL RAND)

34.41 VERTIV

34.41.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

34.41.2 PRODUCT OFFERINGS

34.42 ZIEHL-ABEGG

34.42.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

34.42.2 PRODUCT OFFERINGS

35 PROMINENT CONSTRUCTION CONTRACTORS

35.1 AECOM

35.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

35.1.2 SERVICE OFFERINGS

35.2 AEON ENGINEERING

35.3 APL DATA CENTER

35.4 ARC:MC

35.5 ARIETTA

35.6 ARSMAGNA

35.7 ARTELIA

35.8 ARUP

35.9 ATKINS

35.10 BASLER & HOFFMAN

35.11 BENTHEM CROUWEL ARCHITECTS

35.12 BOUYGUES CONSTRUCTION

35.13 CALLAGHAN ENGINEERING

35.14 CAP INGELEC

35.15 COLLEN

35.16 DEERNS

35.17 DPR CONSTRUCTION

35.18 EIFFAGE

35.19 EYP MCF

35.20 FERROVIAL

35.21 FUTURE-TECH

35.22 ICT FACILITIES

35.23 IDOM

35.24 ISG

35.25 JCA ENGINEERING

35.26 JERLAURE

35.27 KIRBY GROUP ENGINEERING

35.28 LINESIGHT

35.29 LPI GROUP

35.30 M+W GROUP (EXYTE)

35.31 MERCURY

35.32 METNOR CONSTRUCTION

35.33 NICHOLAS WEBB ARCHITECTS (NWA)

35.34 NORMA ENGINEERING

35.35 OAKMONT CONSTRUCTION

35.36 PM GROUP

35.37 PQC

35.38 QUARK

35.39 RED

35.40 REID BREWIN ARCHITECTS

35.41 ROYAL HASKONINGDHV

35.42 SKANSKA

35.43 SPIE UK

35.44 STARCHING

35.45 STO BUILDING GROUP

35.46 STS GROUP

35.47 TPF INGENIERIE

35.48 TTSP

35.49 TURNER & TOWNSEND

35.50 WINTHROP ENGINEERING AND CONTRACTING

36 PROMINENT DATA CENTER INVESTORS

36.1 ATLASEDGE

36.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

36.1.2 SERVICE OFFERINGS

36.2 ARUBA

36.3 CHINA MOBILE

36.4 COLT DATA CENTRE SERVICES (COLT DCS)

36.5 CYRUSONE

36.6 DATA4

36.7 DIGITAL REALTY

36.8 ECHELON DATA CENTRES

36.9 EDGECONNEX (EQT INFRASTRUCTURE)

36.10 EQUINIX

36.11 EUCLYDE DATA CENTERS

36.12 FACEBOOK (META)

36.13 GLOBAL SWITCH

36.14 GOOGLE

36.15 IRON MOUNTAIN (IO)

36.16 KDDI

36.17 LIBERTY GLOBAL

36.18 MICROSOFT

36.19 NAUTILUS DATA TECHNOLOGIES

36.20 NDC-GARBE DATA CENTERS EUROPE

36.21 NTT GLOBAL DATA CENTERS

36.22 ORANGE BUSINESS SERVICES

36.23 PROXIMITY DATA CENTRES

36.24 PURE DATA CENTRES

36.25 T5 DATA CENTERS

36.26 TELECOM ITALIA SPARKLE

36.27 VANTAGE DATA CENTERS

36.28 VIRTUS DATA CENTRES (ST TELEMEDIA GLOBAL DATA CENTRES

36.29 YONDR

37 NEW ENTRANTS

37.1 GLOBAL TECHNICAL REALTY

37.1.1 BUSINESS OVERVIEW

37.1.2 SERVICE OFFERINGS

37.1.3 KEY NEWS

37.2 STRATUS DC MANAGEMENT

38 REPORT SUMMARY

38.1 KEY TAKEAWAYS

39 QUANTITATIVE SUMMARY

39.1 WESTERN EUROPE DATA CENTER CONSTRUCTION MARKET

39.1.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.1.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2 MARKET SEGMENTATION

39.2.1 ELECTRICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2.2 MECHANICAL INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2.3 COOLING SYSTEMS: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2.4 COOLING TECHNIQUES: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2.5 GENERAL CONSTRUCTION: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2.6 TIER STANDARDS: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.2.7 FACILITY TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST BY INVESTMENT

39.2.8 FACILITY TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST BY AREA

39.2.9 FACILITY TYPE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST BY POWER CAPACITY

39.3 MARKET BY GEOGRAPHY

39.3.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.3.2 AREA: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.3.3 POWER CAPACITY: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.4 UK

39.4.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.4.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.5 GERMANY

39.5.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.5.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.6 FRANCE

39.6.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.6.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.7 NETHERLANDS

39.7.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.7.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.8 IRELAND

39.8.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.8.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.9 SWITZERLAND

39.9.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.9.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.10 ITALY

39.10.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.10.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.11 SPAIN

39.11.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.11.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.12 BELGIUM

39.12.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.12.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.13 PORTUGAL

39.13.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.13.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.14 OTHER WESTERN EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

39.14.1 INVESTMENT: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

39.14.2 INFRASTRUCTURE: MARKET SIZE & FORECAST

40 APPENDIX

40.1 ABBREVIATION

About Us:

Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovative and quality-driven firm that offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients worldwide. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services.

We offer comprehensive market research reports on consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals, materials, I.T. and media, logistics, and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts.

Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports.

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SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence
Dozens of prescription pill bottles

Credit - Getty Images

In October 2022, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a shortage of amphetamine mixed saltsa drug category that includes Adderall, the stimulant medication often used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

In the six months since, little has changed. Numerous amphetamine mixed salts products are still in short supply, although certain manufacturers expect to release additional inventory in April or May, according to an Apr. 10 update to the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) drug shortage database.

Half a year may seem like ample time to get more of a medication into production and circulation. But experts say ending a drug shortage is more complex than it seemsparticularly when it comes to a heavily regulated substance like Adderall.

Six months feels like a long time, and it absolutely is a long time for patients, says Emily Tucker, an assistant professor of industrial engineering at Clemson University who studies drug shortages. But in the broader context of the pharma industry, its very common to see shortages of over a year.

Drug shortages are usually caused by manufacturing disruptions, Tucker says. When the FDA announced the Adderall shortage last year, it pointed to ongoing intermittent manufacturing delays at Teva Pharmaceuticals, a major supplier of Adderall.

But increasing demand seems to be a big factor, too. ADHD diagnoses and stimulant prescriptions are on the rise, apparently driven partially by relaxed prescribing standards during the pandemic and partially by better awareness and detection of the condition. That spike in demand seems to be constraining the available medication supply.

Read More: If Youre Feeling Anxious, Try This 2,000-Year-Old, Neuroscience-Backed Hack



On the surface, that seems like an easier problem to fix: if more people need a drug, simply make more of it. But even if everyone wants to increase the production, it might just not be possible, says Ozlem Ergun, a professor of mechanical and industrial engineering at Northeastern University and an expert in pharmaceutical supply chains.

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Drug manufacturing is a multi-step process, explains Philip Almeter, chief pharmacy officer at UK HealthCare in Kentucky. Typically, different manufacturers are involved in first processing a drugs active ingredients, then putting on finishes touches before it hits pharmacy shelves. Its not as simple as just making more, Almeter says. You have to make more at different levels.

More from TIME

Many pharmaceutical manufacturing plants also operate at near-peak capacity and make multiple drugs under the same roof. Scaling up production of one drug could require ceasing or reducing production of another drug, leading to a domino effect, Ergun explains. Its not as easy as, Why dont you just go and jack up your manufacturing? she says.

Adderall is also a special case because its a controlled substance. Due to its potential for illicit sale and use, production is regulated by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) as well as the FDA. To avoid having more of the drug in circulation than necessary, the DEA caps the amount of amphetamine available to manufacturers in a given year. Authorized manufacturers apply to receive a portion of the total supply and can request more if necessary, but the DEA may deny a request if the total quota has already been met, among other reasons.

Camber, a pharmaceutical company that makes amphetamine mixed salts, says it is waiting for the DEA to review its quota application, according to the ASHPs drug shortage database. Teva representatives have also suggested that the DEAs quota system is contributing to the ongoing shortage, Bloomberg reports. (Neither company responded to comment requests by press time.)

Read More: How to Be Mindful if You Hate Meditating

The DEA, however, has said otherwise. A representative for the DEA declined to comment for this story but highlighted a December 2022 entry in the Federal Register, which says U.S. manufacturers did not use the total allotted amphetamine supply in 2020, 2021, or 2022. The majority of the manufacturers contacted by DEA and/or FDA have responded that they currently have sufficient quota to meet their contracted production quantities for legitimate patient medical needs, it says. As a result, the DEA did not increase the quota for 2023, but maintains the authority to do so if necessary.

Theres so little transparency in the pharmaceutical industry that its difficult to know the real story behind the back-and-forth, Tucker says. Drug makers dont need to publicly share much information about where their drugs are made and sourced, how much of them they make, or their overall production capacities. The DEA, meanwhile, doesnt need to share all the details about how much of the amphetamine quota each company receives. That opaque system makes it hard to know exactly whats causing a shortage.

Its very hard to correct a system when you dont know whats going on in the system, Ergun says. She contributed to a recent report on improving medical supply chains for the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, and one of its primary recommendations was increased transparency in the industry.

Without freer-flowing information, Tucker says theres no telling when shortages will let up, though shes encouraged that some manufacturers expect additional supplies this spring. The amount of media attention and public outcry about the Adderall shortage may also help resolve it relatively quickly, she sayswhich isnt the case for many of the 160 drugs with reported shortages in the U.S. last year.

Those are also a big deal, Tucker says. But perhaps theyre not getting this degree of attention.
Why Schwab Says Now Is the Right Time to Consider an Annuity

If youre looking for ways to generate more retirement income, now may be the perfect time to consider an annuity. Payout rates for guaranteed lifetime annuities are currently at their highest levels in over a decade, according to Schwab.

While the higher rates may entice first-time buyers to purchase an annuity, those with deferred annuities can also benefit from the elevated payout rates if they havent already started receiving payments, Schwab writes.

A financial advisor can help you decide what kind of annuity is best for your needs. Find a qualified financial advisor today.

Annuity Payout Rates Reach Approach 7%

Why Schwab Says Now Is the Right Time to Consider an Annuity

An income annuity, also known as a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA), is an insurance product that delivers guaranteed income, often for as long as you live. Heres how they work: you hand over a lump sum to an insurance company, and within 12 months, youll start receiving regular payments from the company on a monthly, quarterly or yearly basis.

The size of these regular payments is based on the payout rate of your annuity. The higher the rate, the bigger your checks are.

Culling data from immediateannuities.com, Schwab determined income annuities were paying between 6.5% and 7% in January  their highest levels since 2011.

An average single premium immediate annuity, for example, would pay the annuitant between $32,500 and $35,000 per year for no fewer than 10 years regardless of whether the person lives or dies during that period, according to Schwab.

For comparison, Moodys AAA corporate bond yield was 5% in January.

If youre ready to be matched with local advisors that can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Consider Annuitizing Your Deferred Annuity

While SPIA payments typically begin immediately  or within one year of purchase  deferred annuity payments commence at a later date. If retirement is still years away, you may consider buying a deferred annuity, which allows you to choose when your payments begin.

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Rob Williams, managing director of financial planning, retirement income and wealth management at Schwab, writes that people who have already bought a deferred annuity may want to consider annuitizing now to capitalize on the higher payout rates.

Certain investors who previously bought a deferred annuity  that is, an annuity promising to make payments at a future date, with the potential for tax-deferred growth along the way  which they havent annuitized yet by converting it to income payments, Williams wrote. These investors could consider annuitizing their existing contract now or potentially even exchange their contract for a new SPIA, assuming they prefer the features and meet certain criteria 

What to Keep in Mind

Why Schwab Says Now Is the Right Time to Consider an Annuity

Annuities can help retirees meet their financial needs by supplementing investment income and Social Security benefits with lifetime payments. But like most asset classes, there are risks and pitfalls associated with annuities.

Here are a few things to keep in mind when considering an annuity:

Contracts are irrevocable. As Schwab notes, annuities are irrevocable. Youll get a brief window to reconsider and potentially get your money back, but youll be locked into a contract after that.

Loss of control and liquidity. Once you hand over your lump sum, youll essentially lose control over the money. If an unforeseen expense suddenly arises, youll need to use a more liquid source to cover it.

High fees. You could potentially pay high fees and add-on charges for your annuity. These may apply if you want your spouse covered by the annuity or want additional features like a guaranteed minimum accumulation benefit (GMAB) rider.

You may not break even. If you dont live long enough, you run the risk of falling short of your break-even threshold  the point at which the annuity pays out as much as it originally cost.

Bottom Line

Payout rates on annuities are at their highest levels since 2011  between 6.5% and 7%  according to Schwab. That may be a reason to purchase a single premium immediate annuity (SPIA) or annuitize a deferred annuity you already bought. While annuities can provide a lifetime stream of income, there are drawbacks to these insurance products including their irrevocability, high fees and illiquidity.

Tips for Buying an Annuity

Before signing on the dotted line and purchasing an annuity, its important to understand how much income youll need in retirement to support your lifestyle. SmartAssets retirement calculator can help you estimate how much youll need and whether youre on pace to meet your goals.

A financial advisor can also help you determine your income needs in retirement, and guide you through the process of buying an annuity. Finding a financial advisor doesnt have to be hard. SmartAssets free tool matches you with up to three vetted financial advisors who serve your area, and you can interview your advisor matches at no cost to decide which one is right for you. If youre ready to find an advisor who can help you achieve your financial goals, get started now.

Photo credit: iStock.com/Luke Chan, iStock.com/SDI Productions, iStock.com/SDI Productions

The post Why Schwab Says Now Is the Right Time to Consider an Annuity appeared first on SmartAsset Blog.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Wildpack Beverage Inc. (TSXV:CANS)(OTC Pink:WLDPF) ("Wildpack" or the"Company") a leading middle market co-packer of canned goodsannounces the closing of a term loan in the aggregate principal amount of US$12,500,000 (the "Bridge Loan") from Sandton Credit Solutions Master Fund V, LP (the "Lender"), an affiliate of Sandton Capital Partners, L.P. ("Sandton") pursuant to a loan agreement between Sandton and the Company's indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries, as borrowers.

Wildpack Beverage Inc, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Terms of Bridge Loan and Convertible Loan

The Bridge Loan is comprised of a 12-month secured term loan in the principal amount of USD$12,500,000, bearing interest at a rate of 13.00% per annum. All interest accrued during the term of the Bridge Loan will be added to the principal balance and will thereafter accrue interest (such paid in kind interest being referred to as "PIK"), for clarity no cash will be paid during the term.

Proceeds from the Bridge Loan will be utilized for facility improvements and working capital to support and continue Wildpack's growth trajectory in sales and production (as disclosed in Monthly Corporate Updates press released on January 19, February 10, March 3, and April 10, 2023). The Bridge Loan is secured by a first priority lien on all assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and is guaranteed by the Company and its subsidiaries.

Wildpack and Sandton have also executed a term sheet (the "Term Sheet") outlining a USD$25,000,000 interest-bearing four-year term loan which would be convertible into 49% of the equity of the Company (the "Convertible Loan") to replace the Bridge Loan. The Convertible Loan is to be a four-year secured term loan in the principal amount of USD$25,000,000 (inclusive of the amount advanced under the Bridge Loan), bearing interest at a rate of 13.00% per annum accrued but not payable until after the first year. The Convertible Loan is to be secured by a first priority lien on all assets of the Company and its subsidiaries and is to be guaranteed by the Company and its subsidiaries. The Convertible Loan will be subject to the approval of the TSX Venture Exchange.

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In the event that the Bridge Loan is not replaced by the Convertible Loan within 120 calendar days of the closing date (the "Step up Date"), for any reason other than (a) Lender's election to not to enter into such refinance transaction on the terms set forth in the Term Sheet, or (b) the failure of the TSX Venture Exchange to clear any personal information forms required in connection therewith, then the original principal balance of the Bridge Loan will be increased by USD$1,250,000, effective as of the Step up Date, and all accrued interest (including PIK) will be recalculated consistent therewith.

Termination of Manna Loan

The Company also announces that the parties will not be proceeding with the previously announced USD$20,000,000 interest-bearing convertible term loan (the "Manna Loan") between the Company's wholly-owned subsidiary, Thirsty Cat, LLC and MBV-WP, LLC (the "Manna Lender"), an affiliate of Manna Capital Partners, LLC.

For additional details regarding the terms of the Manna Loan, please refer to the Company's news release dated March 28, 2023.

Per: "Mitch Barnard"

Mitch Barnard

Chief Executive Officer and Director

For further information, please contact us at:

invest@wildpackbev.com

or

Elijah Clare

Vice President, Investor Relations

elijah@wildpackbev.com

Advisors

Fasken Martineau DuMoulin LLP is the legal advisor to Wildpack Beverage Inc.

Visit our investor website at:

https://investor.wildpackbev.com

About Wildpack

Wildpack provides beverage manufacturing and packaging to the middle market by providing sustainable aluminum can filling, decorating, packaging, brokering, sleeve/label printing services, and logistics to brands throughout the United States. Wildpack currently operates indirectly through its wholly owned subsidiaries and out of six facilities in Baltimore, Maryland; Grand Rapids, Michigan; Atlanta, Georgia; Longmont, Colorado; Sacramento, California; and Las Vegas, Nevada with a focus on digital innovation and green ready-to-drink packaging. Wildpack commenced trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol "CANS" on May 19, 2021.

Cautionary Statement on Forward Looking Information

This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws, including, but not limited to, statements with respect to the use of proceeds of the Loan. Forward-looking statements are based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable by management, are inherently subject to significant business, economic and competitive risks including but not limited to: risks related to the termination of the Manna Loan; risks related to repayment of the Bridge Loan; the negotiation of the Convertible Loan; risks related to the successful integration of acquisitions; risks related to operations; risks related to general economic conditions and credit availability, ability to obtain sufficient and suitable financing, actual results of current production and decorating, fluctuations in prices of aluminum; failure of plant, equipment or processes to operate as anticipated; accidents, labour disputes, title disputes, claims and limitations on insurance coverage and other risks of the co-packaging industry; delays in the completion of capex activities, changes in national and local government regulation of manufacturing operations and labour laws particularly in light of the COVID pandemic, tax rules and regulations, and political and economic developments where Wildpack operates. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe", or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause future results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from the estimated future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by those forward-looking statements and the forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements expressed or implied by Wildpack are subject to a number of risks, uncertainties, and conditions, many of which are outside of Wildpack's control, and undue reliance should not be placed on such statements. Although Wildpack has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Forward-looking statements are qualified in their entirety by the inherent risks and uncertainties related to Wildpack's business, including that Wildpack's assumptions in making forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect; risks related to the termination of the Manna Loan; risks related to repayment of the Bridge Loan; delays in filing of financial information; adverse market conditions; risks inherent in the beverage manufacturing and packaging sector in general; that future results may vary from historical results; and competition in the markets where Wildpack operates. Except as required by securities law, Wildpack does not assume any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, events or otherwise.

Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Wildpack Beverage Inc.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/750073/Wildpack-Announces-Closing-of-Bridge-Loan-with-Sandton-Capital-Partners-and-Termination-of-Convertible-Term-Loan-with-Manna-Capital-Partners




Your chance to win an incredible Las Vegas experience

ST JOHNS, Antigua, April 19, 2023--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Last call for Las Vegas! Juicy Stakes Casino have got a $4,500 poker package to give away this week, an unmissable prize that will give one lucky player the chance to win a remarkable $1M.

The Vegas Millionaire Maker is one of the hottest properties on the WSOP schedule, a Texas Hold Em spectacular that takes place between 23rd-28th June  and you could be in Sin City playing for the monster $1,000,000 prize pot just by competing and succeeding in exclusive Juicy Stakes events this month.

This epic package includes the $1,500 buy-in to the tournament, along with a five-night stay for two at one of Vegas top hotels and a $500 cash bonus. Oh, and some money-cant-buy Juicy Stakes merch. Just when you thought it couldnt get any better!

For your chance to win, youll need to come out on top of Juicy Stakes very own Vegas Millionaire Maker Final, which you can reach in a number of ways.

All eyes on the stacked qualifying schedule this week which includes Gold Rush free rolls and gold chip events, plus the multiple Vegas Millionaire Maker satellites running throughout the week. Or you could simply buy-in to the Final Tournament  which takes place on 23rd April at 5PM Eastern  for $300.

Next up, your chance to transform Gold Chips into a Non-Deposit Bonus. Gold Chips can be redeemed in $5 increments, with 20 Golden Chips earning $5, 100 turning into $20 and 400 becoming a $100 Bonus  if you have all the Frequent Player Points (FPPs) you need.

FPPs are earned every time that you play real-money poker; they then accumulate into Gold Chips  which can be redeemed to enable free tournament play. Golden.

Last but not least, more cash is up for grabs this week with a $2,000 Blackjack Jackpot  a generous cashpot shared by players who hit selected events on three top Tangente Blackjack games.

Play Blackjack 21, Double Draw and Perfect Pair, and pick up $5 for a suited blackjack, $10 for a Small Suite 21 and $25 for a Big Suite 21  all the way up to $500 for a suited Big Suite 21. Thats an Ace, two, three, four, five and six of the same suit. The event runs from now until 23rd April. Good luck!

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John Murphy, manager of Juicy Stakes Poker, said: "Theres still time to book that ticket to Sin City for the Vegas Millionaire Maker, one of the most eagerly anticipated events on the WSOP tour.

"Its all going on in April. Vegas will be a simply incredible experience for one of our players, but theres plenty to shout about closer to home too with the $2,000 Blackjack Jackpot and the chance to turn Golden Chips into cash."

ENDS

Editors notes:

About Juicy Stakes:

Juicy Stakes offers online poker and online casino games to players all over the world. Known for its generous player rewards program, the online poker room is one of the most popular sites on the Horizon Poker Network and the online casino features games from WorldMatch, Betsoft and Lucktap.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230419005099/en/

Contacts

Media Enquiries

Alex Spencer

Juicy Stakes

T: +1 877 833 1271
Less Than Half of Canadians Understand their Finances, While Concerned About Day-to-Day Cost of Living

TORONTO, April 19, 2023 /CNW/ -- World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc. (WFGIAC) released the results of a new, independent Financial IQ study that assesses the financial resilience of the general Canadian population and WFG Canadian insurance agents. The findings show that during a time of economic uncertainty and ongoing challenges with rising food and energy costs, a large percentage (70%) of Canadians see the day-to-day cost of living being a top financial priority and less than half (41%) of households believe they are able to understand their personal finances. Additionally, 37% of those who participated in the study do not have a financial plan in place, leaving them vulnerable to financial shocks such as job loss.

(PRNewsfoto/World Financial Group)

The study asked a series of questions that assess a person's attitude toward their finances and whether they're prepared to handle financial shocks that might come their way. The study questions poll an individual's understanding, control, preparedness, and confidence around finances to draw observations regarding financial resilience.

The responses in Canada were aggregated to create a Financial IQ score, ranging from low (0 to 3.9), medium (4 to 6) and high (6.1 to 10). The general population had a Financial IQ of 5.3, a medium ranking. WFG training agents had a slightly higher score of 5.4. However, tenured WFG agents at the Senior Marketing Director level came in with a much higher average, 8.2. The average for all WFG agents in Canada was 6.7. The Financial IQ score can be used to measure financial resiliency over time.

"The Financial IQ study highlights that people are experiencing cost-of-living challenges that Canada has not seen in more than a decade," said Todd Buchanan, WFG President. "World Financial Group is committed to helping people build and protect their financial wellbeing. WFG will continue to measure the Financial IQ of agents and the general population in the future, to track the public's knowledge, confidence, and financial resilience in the years ahead."

Story continues

Additional findings of the Financial IQ Study include:

More than two thirds (70%) of the general population in Canada stated that managing the day-to-day cost of living was a key short-term financial priority.

 Even those with higher levels of wealth feel they need to prioritize their day-to-day spending. More than half (65%) of those earning more than $80,000 CAD said the cost of living was a financial priority. This increases significantly among those earning less. Seventy-four percent (74%) of those earning less than $40,000 CAD stated covering basic costs as a top financial priority.

During the last big financial shock to Canadian households caused by the pandemic, 15% accumulated new credit card debt and 12% borrowed money from others.

 Many back-up savings plans have already been exhausted and resilience has not been rebuilt. Less than half of the general population feel in control when managing their finances (39%) and confident that they will achieve financial security in the future (39%).

Canadian households are not prepared for financial shocks, with just about one in four (27%) able to sustain basic financial outlays (such as mortgage payments, bills and food costs) for a year of more if met by an unexpected life event that prevents them from working.

Less than two thirds (58%) of the Canadian general population have some form of financial plan in place for the future.

Twenty two percent (22%) of the general population in the U.S. and Canada could pay their bills for one month or less.

Individuals can view or download the full report at www.MyfinancialIQ.com to test their level of financial resilience and learn their Financial IQ score. To learn more about WFG's services and how their financial professionals can help you ensure you have a financial plan and protection in place to secure your short- and long-term financial future, visit www.WorldFinancialGroup.com.

Press Inquiries: WFGpressinquiries@transamerica.com

About World Financial Group

World Financial Group's 62,000 agents in the U.S. and Canada are dedicated to helping individuals, families, and businesses achieve financial security through life insurance, retirement, and wealth-building strategies.

In Canada, life insurance and segregated funds are offered by independent agents of World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc. Properly licensed individuals may also offer mutual funds through WFG Securities Inc. (WFGS).

World Financial Group Insurance Agency, LLC in the U.S. and World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Canada Inc. are affiliated companies. The WFG companies are wholly-owned indirect subsidiaries of Transamerica Corporation.

The research agency, H/Advisors Cicero, is not affiliated with WFG.

To learn more, visit http://www.WorldFinancialGroup.com/

Study Methodology

The Financial IQ by WFG has been developed to assess the financial resilience of households and to measure their financial readiness to withstand financial shocks.

The Financial IQ provides an index score based on responses to five questions asked of nearly 2,000 respondents in Canada as part of the research. FIQ ranks financial resilience on a scale from 0 to 10. A high index score is ranked above 6, scores from 4 to 6 are classified as medium, and a low score is under 4. To view and download results of the study, please visit MyFinancialIQ.com. The website also offers online tools that help users assess their own Financial IQ score.

WFGIA partnered with independent research agency H/Advisors Cicero to benchmark levels of financial resilience across the United States and Canada. H/Advisors Cicero undertook a study across two Canadian sample groups  WFGIA agents in Canada (954), and the general populations of Canada (1,004). This press release aggregates responses for study participants in Canada. Fieldwork was conducted between July 21 and August 22, 2022.

SOURCE WFG

Cision

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Less Than Half of Americans Understand their Finances, While Concerned About Day-to-Day Cost of Living

JOHNS CREEK, Ga., April 19, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- World Financial Group (WFG) released the results of a new, independent Financial IQ study that assesses the financial resilience among the U.S. general population, WFG insurance agents, and WFG clients. The findings show that during a time of economic uncertainty and ongoing challenges with rising food and energy costs, a large percentage (66%) of Americans see the day-to-day cost of living being a top financial priority and less than half (48%) of households believe they are able to understand their personal finances. Additionally, almost a third (31%) of those who participated in the study do not have any financial plan in place, leaving them vulnerable to financial shocks such as job loss or healthcare costs.

(PRNewsfoto/World Financial Group)

The study asked questions that assess a person's attitude toward their finances and whether they're prepared to handle financial shocks that might come their way. The study questions poll an individual's understanding, control, preparedness, and confidence around finances to draw observations regarding financial resilience.

The responses were aggregated to create a Financial IQ score, ranging from low (0-3.9), medium (4-6) and high (6.1-10). The general population had a Financial IQ of 5.6, a medium ranking. WFG clients in the U.S. had a slightly higher score of 5.8. However, tenured WFG agents at the Senior Marketing Director level came in with a much higher average, 7.8. The Financial IQ score can be used to measure financial resiliency over time.

"The Financial IQ study highlights that people are experiencing cost-of-living challenges this country has not seen in more than a decade," said Todd Buchanan, WFG President. "World Financial Group is committed to helping people build and protect their financial wellbeing. We're proud that the study results show that WFG agents increase their clients' confidence, with 68% of U.S. WFG clients confident they will achieve their financial priorities and aspirations, a 15% point increase in confidence compared to the general population."

Story continues

Additional findings of the Financial IQ Study include:

More than two thirds (66%) of the general population studied in the U.S. stated that managing the day-to-day cost of living was a key short-term financial priority.

Even those with higher levels of wealth feel they need to prioritize their day-to-day spending in the near term. More than half (51%) of those earning more than $80,000 said the cost of living was a financial priority. This increases significantly among those earning less. Seventy-three percent (73%) of those earning less than $40,000 stated covering basic costs as a top financial priority.

During the last big financial shock to U.S. households caused by the pandemic, 20% of households sacrificed health care needs (such as routine checkups and medications), 20% accumulated new credit card debt and 20% borrowed money from others.

Many back-up savings plans have already been exhausted and resilience has not been rebuilt. Less than half of the general population feel in control when managing their finances (47%) and confident that they will achieve financial security in the future (44%).

American households are not prepared for financial shocks, with less than one in four (23%) able to sustain basic financial outlays (such as mortgage payments, bills and food costs) for a year or more if met by an unexpected life event that prevents them from working.

Only two thirds (66%) of the U.S. general population have some form of financial plan in place for the future.

Twenty two percent (22%) of the general population in the U.S. and Canada could pay their bills for one month or less.

"The study shows that the knowledge WFG agents share with clients makes a positive difference," added Buchanan. "U.S. WFG clients are answering financial literacy questions correctly at twice the rate of the U.S. general population, 49% compared to 24%. WFG will continue to measure the Financial IQ of clients and the general population in the future, to track the public and clients' knowledge, confidence, and financial resilience in the years ahead."

Individuals can view or download the full report at www.myfinancialIQ.com to test their level of financial resilience and learn their Financial IQ score. To learn more about WFG's services and how their financial professionals can help you ensure you have a financial plan and protection in place to secure your short- and long-term financial future, visit www.WorldFinancialGroup.com.

Press Inquiries: WFGpressinquiries@transamerica.com

About World Financial Group (WFG)

World Financial Group's 62,000 agents are dedicated to helping individuals, families, and businesses achieve financial security through life insurance, retirement, and wealth-building strategies.

In the United States, life insurance and fixed annuity products are offered by independent agents of World Financial Group Insurance Agency, LLC (in California dba World Financial Insurance Agency, LLC), World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Hawaii, Inc., World Financial Group Insurance Agency of Massachusetts, Inc., and/or WFG Insurance Agency of Puerto Rico, Inc. The WFG companies are wholly-owned indirect subsidiaries of Transamerica Corporation.

Residents of California who wish to be independent agents with World Financial Group Insurance Agency, LLC must already have a life insurance license. Individuals who reside in California may become sales representatives with WFG Direct, a direct sales marketing platform offered through World Financial Group, Inc.

Those U.S. agents who are properly licensed may offer securities and investment advisory services through the affiliate broker/dealer, Transamerica Financial Advisors, Inc. (TFA), Member FINRA, MSRB, SIPC and Registered Investment Advisor.

The research agency, H/Advisors Cicero, is not affiliated with WFG.

To learn more, visit http://www.WorldFinancialGroup.com/

Study Methodology

The Financial IQ by WFG has been developed to assess the financial resilience of households and to measure their financial readiness to withstand financial shocks.

The Financial IQ provides an index score based on responses to five questions asked of more than 7,000 respondents in the U.S. and Canada as part of the research. FIQ ranks financial resilience on a scale from 0 to 10. A high index score is ranked above 6, scores from 4 to 6 are classified as medium, and a low score is under 4. To view and download results of the study, please visit MyFinancialIQ.com. The website also offers online tools that help users assess their own Financial IQ score.

WFG partnered with independent research agency H/Advisors Cicero to benchmark levels of financial resilience across the United States and Canada. H/Advisors Cicero undertook a study across three sample groups  WFG agents in the U.S. and Canada (1,677), WFG U.S. clients (522), and the general populations of the U.S. and Canada (5,004). This press release aggregates responses for study participants in the U.S. Fieldwork was conducted between July 21 and August 22, 2022.

Cision

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/world-financial-group-releases-new-financial-iq-study-about-consumer-financial-resilience-301801208.html

SOURCE WFG
Talk has recently swirled around the types of jobs that artificial intelligence (AI) technology could eventually replace.

Dont Miss: The House-Printing Robot Shaking Up a $7.28 Trillion Industry

For example, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. recently published a report that states that as many as 300 million jobs could be affected by AI in some way. It explains that office and administrative support jobs are most likely to be affected, followed by those in the legal industry, architecture and engineering.

What you may not expect to hear is that AI may one day be able to replace the traditional newscaster. If whats happening at Kuwait News is any indication, that day could be coming sooner rather than later.

Even with AI technology flashing the potential to turn the labor mark upside down, AI companies continue to gain traction. OpenAI, parent company of ChatGPT, raised $10 billion from Microsoft Corp.

And these AI-based integrations are only likely to become more common. Startups such as GenesisAI are already building AI-based marketplaces to allow any business to integrate AI into their existing business model. And the company has already raised from retail investors to make it happen.

Dont Miss: Qnetic Unveils Revolutionary Flywheel Energy Storage System to Accelerate Renewable Energy Adoption

Kuwait News Rolls Out Computer-Generated Broadcaster

Kuwait News recently introduced AI-generated newscaster Fedha to its audience. In a video posted to the organizations website, Fedha said, Im Fedha, the first presenter in Kuwait who works with artificial intelligence at Kuwait News. What kind of news do you prefer? Lets hear your opinions.

With blonde hair and light-brown eyes, Fedha looks strikingly similar to Kuwaits diverse population. The stations Deputy Editor-in-Chief Abdullah Boftain spoke about Fedhas creation.

"Fedha is a popular, old Kuwaiti name that refers to silver, the metal. We always imagine robots to be silver and metallic in color, so we combined the two," he said.

Story continues

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According to Boftain, Fedhas development is still in its early stages. This is a test to determine whether AI can present new and innovative content that engages the audience. He also noted that Fedha may develop a Kuwait accent to deliver news stories in the future.

With the introduction of Fedha, Kuwait News is giving the world an inside look at how AI technology could forever change the way news is delivered. Its not the only country to take this step. Five years ago, Chinese media surprised the world when it unveiled a 24/7 AI newsreader.

If Fedha continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see whether other news agencies follow the trend to cut costs, improve efficiency and provide round-the-clock coverage.

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This article World's First AI Newscaster Turning Heads At Kuwait News originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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 2023 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.
VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / April 19, 2023 / Ximen Mining Corp. (TSXV:XIM)(FRA:1XMA)(OTCQB:XXMMF) (the "Company" or "Ximen") announces that it has received the Final Mines Act Permit for its Kenville Gold Mine project in southeastern BC.

"The Kenville Gold Mine, which began operations in 1888, was one of the first underground gold mines in British Columbia. After years of working on this particular permit, the Kenville Gold Mine is now on track to becoming one of the greenest and environmentally-friendly gold mines in Southern BC. While there is still very much to do, our team's tenacity has brought us this far, and we are ready for the next phase of milestones that will finally bring this gold mine to fruition." States Anderson CEO Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Ximen Mining Corp's - Kenville Gold Mine - Manager Lloyd Penner

A Mines Act Permit was issued to the Company for the Kenville Mine Project approving the following work:

Establishment of new Venango Portal and 1200 m of decline development with associated drill bays, re-mucks, safety bays and sumps.

Underground Exploration Drilling (20,250 m) from the new decline.

Establishment of one Waste Rock Storage facility.

Installation of surface water management structures.

Location of portable office structure.

Onsite fuel storage.

The permit is comprehensive and includes several conditions for Health and Safety, Geotechnical, Environmental Land and Watercourses, and the Reclamation and Closure Program. Items to be addressed before starting include:

60 days prior to commencement of construction, engineering drawings must be submitted for surface water ponds, ditches, water management and water treatment system pipelines, pumping systems, or diversion channels.

60 days prior to installation of the required monitoring wells and underground dewatering, the location, installation depths, and water level monitoring frequency must be submitted for review and approval.

Has Completed and submitted, a Trigger Action Response Plan (TARP) that addresses potential downstream effects on Eagle Creek associated with groundwater inflow rates to the underground workings must be developed and submitted.

Has Completed and submitted, underground development, a Ground Control Management Plan must be developed and implemented.

Has Completed and submitted, waste rock dump construction, a foundation inspection confirming that unsuitable materials have been removed from the footprint area.

Prior to initiation of the first blast, 2 days notification to the Senior Health & Safety Inspector, and 3 business days notification to Fortis BC are required.

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Several other items are required once operations commence, as is typical for permits of this type.

The Company is very happy to have this permit in hand and can finally focus on developing the Kenville gold mine project. Design work for water management infrastructure is underway and the Company is looking forward to starting the mine development and finally getting the project underway.

Ximen Mining Corp, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Photo of ore-type vein material from Kenville.

Ximen Mining Corp, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Photo of rock truck and scooptram to be deployed at Kenville mine.

Technical disclosure in this news release has been approved by Dr. Mathew Ball, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 and VP Exploration for Ximen Mining Corp.

On behalf of the Board of Directors,

"Christopher R. Anderson"

Christopher R. Anderson,

President, CEO and Director

604 488-3900

Investor Relations:

Sophy Cesar,

604-488-3900,

ir@XimenMiningCorp.com

About Ximen Mining Corp.

Ximen Mining Corp, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

Ximen Mining Corp. owns 100% interest in three of its precious metal projects located in southern BC. Ximen`s two Gold projects, The Amelia Gold Mine and The Brett Epithermal Gold Project. Ximen also owns the Treasure Mountain Silver Project adjacent to the past producing Huldra Silver Mine. Currently, the Treasure Mountain Silver Project is under an option agreement. The option partner is making annual staged cash and stocks payments as well as funding the development of the project. The company has also in addition acquired 100% interest in the Kenville Gold mine near Nelson British Columbia which comes with surface and underground rights, buildings and equipment.

Ximen is a publicly listed company trading on the TSX Venture Exchange under the symbol XIM, in the USA under the symbol XXMMF, and in Frankfurt, Munich, and Berlin Stock Exchanges in Germany under the symbol 1XMA and WKN with the number as A2JBKL.

Ximen Mining Corp, Wednesday, April 19, 2023, Press release picture

This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities This press release contains certain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the receipt of TSX Venture Exchange approval and the exercise of the Option by Ximen. Although the Company believes that such statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical facts; they are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "intends," "estimates," "projects," "aims," "potential," "goal," "objective," "prospective," and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will," "would," "may," "can," "could" or "should" occur, or are those statements, which, by their nature, refer to future events. The Company cautions that forward-looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of the Company's management on the date the statements are made and they involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Consequently, there can be no assurances that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Except to the extent required by applicable securities laws and the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange, the Company undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements if management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. Factors that could cause future results to differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements include the possibility that the TSX Venture Exchange may not accept the proposed transaction in a timely manner, if at all. The reader is urged to refer to the Company's reports, publicly available through the Canadian Securities Administrators' System for Electronic Document Analysis and Retrieval (SEDAR) at www.sedar.com for a more complete discussion of such risk factors and their potential effects.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any state in the United States in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful.

Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release.

SOURCE: Ximen Mining Corp.





View source version on accesswire.com:

https://www.accesswire.com/750054/Ximen-Receives-Final-Mines-Act-Permit-for-the-Kenville-Gold-Mine--Nelson-BC-Canada




The US Supreme Court on Wednesday delayed a highly anticipated decision over the availability of the medical abortion drug mifepristone.

In an order issued Wednesday afternoon, Associate Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito said the court would extend its previous stay on the matter, issued on April 14, until 11:59 p.m. on Friday. The court is considering whether to block two separate orders issued by a Texas district court judge and a three-judge appellate panel in New Orleans that limit access to the drug.

A spokesperson for the brand-name manufacturer, Danco Laboratories, said the compnay "is grateful the Supreme Court is taking the time it needs to review this case and issue a ruling. The issues at stake are critically important and deserve careful consideration. Danco stands by the well-established safety profile of Mifeprex and FDAs repeated and careful review of the data and literature. Danco remains committed to working with healthcare providers, patients and state and federal governments to keep Mifeprex available and accessible."

Access to the widely used medication  one of the medications used in a two-drug regimen to end early pregnancy  came under pressure in April, when a US district court judge in Amarillo, Texas, ordered a temporary suspension of the US Food and Drug Administration's 23-year-old approval, and subsequently, an appellate court panel in New Orleans tailored the suspension to restore access, yet with outdated FDA restrictions.

The orders stem from a lawsuit filed in November 2022 by anti-abortion groups and individual doctors who claim that the FDA's original 2000 approval, and subsequent approval regulations, are invalid.

The district court's order, which never took effect due to the appellate court order that nullified it, in part, would have blocked legal sales of the medication that include brand name Mifeprex, made by Danco, and a generic version made by, GenBioPro.

However, the subsequent order by the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals partially granted requests from Danco and the Biden administration to pause the district courts order. The appellate order reinstated access to the medication, though it modified access according to pre-2016 FDA restrictions that prohibited prescribing it through telehealth appointments and mail order, restricted use beyond seven weeks of pregnancy  and required patients to make three in-person doctor visits.

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The FDA in its request for the Supreme Court to reverse the limitations, said that the agency's regulatory regime would be "scrambled" unless the high court stepped in to pause both lower court orders.

"Every extant package of Mifeprex would instantly become misbranded and could not be lawfully introduced into interstate commerce," the agency argued in the filing, stating that under the 5th Circuit's order, Danco's packaging would fail to meet the court's roll back to pre-2016 regulations. It went on to say that under the same appellate court order, the generic version of the drug, which accounts for most of the market, "would cease to be approved altogether."

Even if Danco could resume the introduction of Mifeprex into interstate commerce, the FDA added, it would not only be both forced to change the drugs labeling and other regulated materials, but also to reinstate an obsolete dosing regimen that provides for women to take more of the drug than necessary.

In a separate reply brief filed on Wednesday, Danco characterized the lower court orders as "first-in-a-century judicial second-guessing of FDAs scientific judgment" and cautioned that upending mifepristone's more-than-two-decade approval would cause "immediate chaos and nationwide confusion."

GenBioPro filed a separate lawsuit against the FDA on Wednesday, accusing the agency of exposing it to financial harm, and civil and criminal penalties by repeatedly refusing to give the company assurances that it will adhere to adequate procedures before suspending the generic's approval.

According to Politico, FDA Commissioner Robert Califf said Wednesday that the agency "intends to comply with court orders."

US District Judge Matthew Kacsmaryk  a Trump appointee serving in the Northern District of Texas  suggested in his order to pause access to mifepristone altogether that the FDA had violated its statutory duty to ensure drug safety by obscuring risks associated with mifepristone's use.

According to the FDA, mifepristone has been prescribed 5.6 million times since its approval in 2000, and is associated with 28 patient deaths.

The drug is now used for a majority of abortions in the US and nearly all medical abortions. Since the Supreme Court last year in Dobbs v. Jackson Womens Health Organization overturned the Constitutional right to abortion the procedure has been fully banned in 13 states and banned after a certain duration of pregnancy in five US states.

The Texas district court case is one of two similar cases playing out in separate jurisdictions with directly conflicting temporary orders.

A district court case brought in Washington state by eighteen state attorneys general alternatively seeks to relax FDA restrictions on mifepristone. In that case, presiding US District Judge Thomas O. Rice conversely ruled that no changes to mifepristone access could be made until the conclusion of the litigation. The states claim that the FDA should be forced to drop additional regulatory steps around mifepristone known as "REMS" or Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy.

GenBioPro, as well as a coalition of 24 state attorneys general, filed separate amicus briefs urging the Supreme Court to stay the 5th Circuit's order until the case is decided on appeal.

Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance. Follow Alexis on Twitter @alexiskweed.

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The Stafford County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday evening set a real estate tax rate of 94.5 cents per $100 of assessed value. Supervisors earmarked 1.5 cents of that rate for fire and rescue capital needs.

The rate approved Tuesday is lower than the 94-cent tax rate proposed by county administrator Randal Vosburg and the $1.14 advertised tax rate.

County finance director Andrea Light said a budget based on this tax rate would include $16.2 million in new funding for the school division, which is about $33 million less than the School Board requested.

With the current allocation to schools from the Board of Supervisors, we are not able to fully fund even the Superintendents proposed budget let alone the School Boards funding request, division superintendent Thomas Taylor said Wednesday. This means we will not meet our minimum staffing standards and we will not be able to fund competitive increases in service and licensed staff salaries, which will make retention and recruiting more difficult. We are also not going to be able to make the necessary repairs and investments in buildings at this time.

It took several rounds of voting to get to the final tax rate. Supervisor Crystal Vanuch first proposed a 91-cent rate, which failed, and then a 92-cent rate, which passed. After midnight, supervisors revisited the tax rate and approved the 93-cent rate.

Vanuch said she thinks everyone on the board wants to see every single teacher get a pay raise but described Taylors five-year plan to bring Staffords teacher salary scale closer to that of Prince William Countys as unsustainable.

I want to fix it so we dont have this argument every single year, but we cannot do it on the backs of the taxpayers, she said.

Board Chair Pamela Yeung and supervisors Meg Bohmke, Darrell English and CrystalVanuchs proposal.

Coen said he had great consternation with the 92-cent tax rate.

I was trying to go for 94-cents, but I could not get four votes for that, he said. I just feel very awkward because I dont think were meeting all the needs that we need to meet.

Yeung said she wants to explore ways for the county to gain more revenue so future needs are not reliant on tax increases.

She said she is in favor of implementing a business, professional and occupational license tax and will help Stafford advocate to receive the full cost of competing adjustment that is provided by the General Assembly to nine Northern Virginia localities to help them recruit and retain staff in a competitive labor market.

Yeung said supervisors would meet with Gov. Glenn Youngkin on Wednesday to ask him to consider proposing an amendment to the states biennial budget to grant the full COCA.

Gary made a motion to table setting real estate tax rates until after that meeting, but it did not succeed.

Gary said she could not support the 92-cent tax rate because she doesnt believe it reflects the will of the community.

This is incredibly disappointing, she said. I am heartbroken for our children and people who have fought for something that makes sense, and disappointed that this board did not work together to find something for the community. I think you all deserve better.
Summertime in a schoolhouse can be a busy season.

The time is spent doing typical repairs and updates as well as some bigger projects that would be too disruptive to perform during the regular school year.

At Tekamah-Herman, that kind of work will get going the day after students leave. The last day of school is tentatively set for May 23 with a teacher in-service the following day.

Crews also will get to work that day on a major updating project. Superintendent Dan Gross told the schools board of education April 10 that plans show a lot of work getting done in the elementary wing. He said crews will begin by repainting everything in the 1969 addition, from the library and the north gym all the way past the multi-purpose room, around the corner and down the hall to the south elementary doors.

Bathroom floors will start being replaced June 1 and carpet will start being replaced on July 1, but the painting has to be done first.

Other projects include the installation of student lockers in the elementary wing and smart boards in the classrooms.

Gross said the boards building and grounds committee has been meeting regularly to discuss projects.

He said the board itself will need to have ongoing discussions about space utilization.

He said the full board will have to take part in discussions on how the district uses the space it has to its fullest potential to serve not only the students currently in the district, but also those who will be.

Youll need to keep that in the forefront as we move forward, he said. Its good to do strategically, but the boards input will be needed.

In other business during its April 10 meeting, the school board:

 Approved the hire of Austin Burkhardt as the districts new 5-12 instrumental music teacher.

Gross said Burkhardt comes highly recommended and will graduate this spring from Wayne State College. He has been doing his student teaching at Summerland High School, the Clearwater, Orchard and Ewing consolidation.

T-H administrators first met Burkhardt when they attended the annual career fair at Wayne State. The school hosts the fair as a way to get its prospective graduates in front of the people who might hire them.

Openings still exist for a media specialist and a Spanish teacher.

Heard an update on the continuing School Improvement Program.

Among the programs goals are a focus on providing teachers with the support they need to improve student outcomes.

Gross said being supportive of teachers, especially newer ones, is important because of the ongoing shortage of classroom teachers.

Young people are seeing that they can go anywhere, he said. If they want to live in a certain place, if they have certain family situationsthey can be mobile if they want. If theyre good and have experience, theyll get hired.

We compete with everybody (for teachers) and itll only get harder.

Renewed a contract with Learn to Move. The organization is a physical therapy provider at the district.
Word has been received of the death of Elmer Swanson. The 77-year-old Decatur man died peacefully in his home on March 13, 2023. At his side was his sister and caregiver, Anita, a retired R.N. Per Elmers request, he was cremated and there will be no services.

Elmer James was born on Jan. 31, 1946, in Oakland, to Harold H. and Edna (Olson) Swanson. The youngest of seven children, he grew up on the family farm. Elmer attended District 32, the Deman one-room county school, until third grade when he started attending Decatur Elementary. He graduated from Decatur High School in 1964.

Elmer was a baptized member of the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

He was always busy doing something. At an early age he was helping his dad with the farm and at the service station in town. He loved John Deere tractors. He liked the simple things in lifegrilling hot dogs and burgers, eating tomatoes outside with a tomato in one hand and a salt shaker in the other with tomato juice dripping down his arm. Nebraska sweet corn, fried chicken, Dr. Pepper, and iced tea were some of his favorites. He never tired of Westerns, especially with John Wayne. He loved to dance to music with Elvis Presley.

Elmer was a loyal person and never forgot when someone was kind to him. He would help anyone he could and loved to visit with family and friends. Elmer was delighted when grandchildren would dance and sing for him.

On Feb. 27, 1965, he married Barbara Rich. To this union three children were born; Jerri Ann, Jon Gordon, and James Jay. They later divorced. Elmer missed his friends Leon Anderson, Dave Ogden, Lyle Larson, niece, Roxie Johns, great-nephew, Brandon Bacon, cousin, Iver Beckstrom and many more.

Later in life, Elmer was blessed being in the care of people who loved him. Elmers sister Anita didnt leave unless there was someone with Elmer at all times. PCP Jennifer Stodden, PA, and Dr. Thomas Magnuson, of UNMC, and Mark Hall, his physical therapist, became members of his family with almost weekly sessions. Marilyn Longlee, a retired nurse, would come to visit and would do whatever needed to be done. Elmer was surprised on his 77th birthday when Marilyn brought homemade cream puffs plus a candle he was able to blow out. Countless other people helped Elmer accomplish his wish to die at home.

He was preceded in death by his parents, brother, Harold A. Swanson; sisters: LaVonne Yanke and Mary Lou Swanson; former son-in-law, Jim Erlandson; daughter-in-law, Helen Harding; granddaughter, Ava Harding; niece, Roxie Johns; nephew, Brandon Bacon; and nephew-in-law, Dick Foley.

Survivors are his sister, Anita Swanson; niece, Candy Foley; sisters, Mary Bacon and Donna Preston; children Jerri Ann (Steve) Harding Strong, Jon Gordon Harding and James Jay (Sarah) Harding; seven grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and many nieces, nephews and others.

Meyer Brothers Colonial Chapel in Sioux City is in charge of the arrangements. Online condolences may be left at www.meyerbroschapels.com.
A prohibition on public comment during the Monday, April 17, meeting of the Keene Memorial Library Advisory Board angered many local residents who engaged in a short, but loud, verbal debate with Fremonts city attorney.

The five-member library board was debating on Monday an appeal of Keene Library Director Laura England-Biggs rejection of two requests to have controversial LGBTQ book, This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson, totally removed from the city library.

The board eventually voted 5-0 to not remove the book, but to instead relocate it to the adults-only section of the library.

As the vote on the relocation concluded, one local resident  Scott Preston  loudly directed a comment toward Fremont City Attorney Travis Jacott, asking if the public in attendance was able to speak about the book appeal.

Id like to ask a legal question  legal, you can answer that or not? You have to take a vote to change the rules of the meeting, Preston said.

At the start of the meeting, Jacott stated there would be no public comment, a message he reiterated when Preston pressed him again for the right to speak to the board, quietly saying, no and indicating to the library board continue with the meeting.

Preston continued to protest being denied the ability to speak.

I am sorry, the rules of the meeting are typically to allow public comment. You recommended they didnt, which is fine. But they have to go on the record saying they are not going to permit comment through a vote, Preston continued.

Library board President Linda McClain then tried to explain the situation to attendees, but was cut off by Jacott who ordered her to continue with the meeting agenda.

We have been advised on the (book) appeals, no public comments will be taken. We had a meeting last month where we had three items on the agenda, where we had two people speak, McClain said before being stopped by Jacott.

We are on item number five, Jacott said to McClain.

The interaction between McClain and Jacott caused commotion in the crowd, many of who yelled out questions asking who had advised the board to not allow public comment.

Those calls for answers were ignored by McClain and Jacott, and as the meeting continued, many of those in attendance filed out of the council chambers.

Preston  who has been a vocal opponent of what he views as obscene and allegedly pornographic books in the library  said after the meeting he was very disappointed that the public was not allowed to make comments on the book appeal.

I was concerned ... I wanted them to go on the record they were going to stifle public comment. The typical rules of the meeting would be for the public to be allowed to speak. They changed the rules at the advice of legal, which is fine, but I felt they needed to go on the record with a vote to suspend their normal rules, Preston explained. I wanted them to go on the record they were stifling public comment.

Sandra Murray, who was one of the two people whod appealed the retention of the book This Book is Gay to the library board, said she was also disappointed she wasnt allowed to speak.

At the last meeting, they did allow it (public comment), Murray added. There was someone in this room who spoke up that they didnt like what she said. Now they didnt allow (public comment). This was a waste of my time being here, because I already knew what the outcome (of the appeal) would be.

Ray Meister, former librarian at Fremont Public Schools, was also present and tried to speak before also being stopped by Jacott and McClain.

During a March meeting of the Fremont City Council, Meister was cut off during his comments by Mayor Joey Spellerberg due to going past the allowed three-minute time limit.

I am terribly disappointed, Meister said of no public comment being allowed, while stating This Book is Gay is in his opinion trash and needs to be fully removed from the library.

The denial of public comment at library board meetings first arose in mid-February when an appeal of the book Sex is a Funny Word by Cory Silverberg was on the agenda for the Feb. 20 meeting of the library board.

Due to a planned silent protest organized by local mother Kelley Garay at the February meeting, City Administrator Jody Sanders announced in an email to the Tribune that public comment during the meeting would be banned.

In response to that development, The Fremont Tribune sought legal advice from the Nebraska Press Associations on-call legal counsel, Kansas-based attorney Max Kautsch of Kautsch Law, LLC.

On Tuesday, April 18, Kautsch said changing the public comment rules from meeting-to-meeting was, unreasonable in his legal opinion.

Under open meetings law, the city is permitted to make and enforce reasonable rules and regulations regarding the conduct of persons attending [or] speaking at the citys meetings, Kautsch wrote in an email to the Tribune. But the citys decision to prohibit comment at one public meeting, only to allow comment at the next meeting, is not reasonable because the decision seems to be rooted in silencing discussion about a matter of public concern. The city owes the public an explanation as to why its public comment prohibition has been enforced selectively.

Attempts to seek comment on the issue from Jacott, Sanders and McClain were unsuccessful.

The Fremont City Councils next meeting  slated for April 25  will include the monthly 30-minute public comment period for the public to speak on issues not on that meetings agenda.

Preston and Meister said they are pondering making public comments at the April 25 council meeting about having their ability to speak at the library board meeting quashed.
The North Bend Area Community Band will begin practice for the summer season at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 25, in the North Bend Central Band Room. Weekly practices will continue throughout the spring.

Ryan Baldwin, North Bend Central band director, will be directing the band. Bruce Bartels, who has directed the band since 2010, is stepping down as the director.

The North Bend Area Community Band was organized in 1987 and members enjoy playing at community events and festivals in the surrounding area. For more information or to schedule the band to play, contact Carol Bohling, president of the band, at 402-652-8166.

Any one of any age who plays an instrument is welcome to play with the band. Bohling said they are hoping more high school and college students will play with the band this season. Those interested should bring their instrument and attend practice on Tuesday, April 25.
Bob Missel was 10 years old when he found a hobby that involved good sense.

Or cents, actually.

It happened after the Fremont mans dad, Henry, gave him a jar of old Lincoln Wheat Cents. Thats when the boy began collecting coins, something hes continued to do for about the last 53 years.

Today, Missel is involved with the Fremont Coin Club, formed by a group of collectors in 1959. Club members began a tradition of hosting yearly shows.

This month, the public is invited to the groups 64th Annual Coin Show set from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday, April 30. The event will take place in the Christensen Field Main Arena, 1710 W. 16th St. Admission is free.

More than 20 coin dealers from Nebraska and surrounding states plan to attend the show. Items available for purchase include collector coins, gold and silver coins and bullion, tokens, old currency, world coins and other collectible items.

Last year, the coin show also had five rock, gem and mineral dealers and a sixth is expected this year.

I observed a lot of people enjoying those tables and looking through fossils, crystals and collectibles, Missel said.

Approximately 350 people attended the 2022 event and Missel believes the show offers an excellent opportunity for local hobbyists.

Its also a tremendous opportunity for someone whos just curious about a coin they have in their collection and wonder what its worth, Missel said.

Free appraisals will be offered and Missel noted something else.

It appears that gold and silver are in a bull market and theres been a tremendous interest in the area about coins that contain gold and silver. I think its a great opportunity for people, who are buying or selling, to attend the show, Missel said.

Missels own interest in coin collecting began with the jar of pennies.

The history behind the different series of coins has always intrigued me, Missel said.

Missel has since branched out with his coin collecting and now specializes in old U.S. coinage and currency.

He points out the common fascination with coins.

Almost everybody I meet  at some level, once you start a conversation with them  theyre a coin collector, Missel said. At a minimum, everybody seems to have put aside a silver dollar, maybe passed on from a grandparent, or a two dollar bill they received in circulation, or a 50-cent piece that caught their eye.

These are the casual collectors.

We have our more serious collectors who are looking to put together collections of a particular series or type of coin, he said.

Probably the most popular involves the Lincoln cent collection. These are pennies with the portrait of American President Abraham Lincoln on the obverse (front) side of the coin.

It was the first circulating coin that had a presidents image put on it and it was immensely popular from the beginning, Missel said, adding, Its still produced to this day.

Some design changes have occurred.

From 1909 to 1958, the pennies featured sheaves of wheat on the reverse (back) side of these coins.

In 1959, the wheat was replaced by a picture of the Lincoln Memorial. More recently, that design had been changed to the shield of liberty.

All the while, the portrait of Abraham Lincoln, facing to the right, has remained on the coins front side.

I believe it is the longest circulating coin type that has not dropped off or changed, Missel said.

By comparison, the Buffalo nickel was minted from 1913 to 1938.

Thats typical of a lot of early American coin series that have come and gone, so the Lincoln cent is unusual in that the design has never been replaced since its origin in 1909, Missel said.

Missel appreciates the collector community.

Theres always a good discussion or conversation to be had regarding the history of coins and you run into a lot of different people who specialize in different fields. Its fun, Missel said.

Fremonts coin club, which has about 40 active members, hosted its first coin show more than 60 years ago and has continued the tradition since then, Missel said.

Other clubs in Lincoln, Omaha, Nebraska City, Grand Island and other Nebraska communities host annual, local shows.

Its a great opportunity for people who have an interest in the hobby to come together, Missel said.

To commemorate the 2023 event, the local organization has issued a commemorative $5 Historical Bank Note available from coin club members. A raffle for a gold coin, minted in 1912, is planned.

The American Numismatic Association Certification Service, (ANACS), a coin grading company, will attend the show to offer professional grading services. A representative from the Nebraska Numismatic Association will offer information on the hobby and membership opportunities.

More show information is available at nebraskacoin.com.
Colonel, U.S. Air Force, Retired

Leon Kenneth Pfeiffer, 92, of Falls Church, Virginia, formerly of Arlington, Virginia, peacefully passed away on Tuesday, Aug. 9, 2022, at Kensington Falls Church Senior Living in Falls Church, Virginia.

Leon Pfeiffer was born, educated and raised in Scribner, Nebraska. After graduating from Scribner High School, he received degrees from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and his Masters from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and graduated from both the U.S. Army and U.S. Naval war colleges. He married Joyce M. Haubrich in 1952 at Carlsbad, New Mexico.

He served overseas in Korea, Taiwan, Italy and Thailand; traveled extensively throughout the Far East, Middle East, North Africa, Western and Eastern Europe, and the Soviet Union. He had 18 different assignments to Air Force bases, Army forts, Naval facilities and Defense activities around the United States and Europe such as Bainbridge, Georgia, Chandler, Arizona, Selma, Alabama, Bryan, Amherst, Massachusetts, four years in Washington in the early 1960s at Andrews Air Force Base, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, three years in Italy and Europe in the mid-1960s, Newport, Rhode Island, and his final military assignment at the Pentagon in 1970. There also was a one-year interim tour in New York City.

Leon retired from the Air Force in 1981 as a Colonel and continued to work in the Office of the Secretary of Defense with the Reagan and Bush Administrations until he retired from the federal government with 41  years of combined service in early 1993. He was a past Communications Intelligence Officer and Aide de Camp to two Commanding Generals, a former jet fighter pilot, instructor pilot and decorated Prisoner of War in North Korea and flew 68 combat missions in Vietnam. Acquired over 24 years of direct experience in European and NATO affairs and was on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. He held many other high-ranking positions and had many significant contributions and accomplishments and distinguished awards throughout his military career and life.

During his military career with his wife by his side, they spent three months in Mexico, side trips to Canada, three years in Italy including two extended tours of the Middle East visiting Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Syria, Lebanon, Turkey and Greece both before and after the Arab-Israeli War in 1967. He also traveled throughout Italy, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, France, Denmark, England, Scotland and Ireland.

Since 1970, Leon and Joyce resided in their home in Arlington, Virginia. They also spent time at their second home on Cape Cod during the summers and falls in Massachusetts.

They attended functions at the foreign embassies in Washington, D.C., and attended affairs on Capitol Hill sponsored by the Nebraska Congressional Delegation and University of Nebraska Alumni Association. He was a member of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts and enjoyed many events there.

He also participated in special meetings with the International Affairs Fellows and was elected as a permanent member to the Council on Foreign Relations in both Washington, D.C., and New York. He continued to keep his interest in politics and kept current on domestic and international affairs the rest of his life.

His wife, Joyce, parents, William and Ona Pfeiffer, brothers, Duane Pfeiffer and Loran Pfeiffer, a niece, Carol Haubrich, nephews, Vernon Pfeiffer, Paul Haubrich and Brad Haubrich, have preceded him in death. He is survived by many nieces and nephews, friends and neighbors.

Services are planned for May 10, 2023, at 10 a.m. in the Chapel at Murphy Funeral Home, 1102 W. Broad Street, Falls Church, VA 22046 with burial in Arlington National Cemetery on May 11, 2023, at 9 a.m. Need to arrive at ANC 45 minutes prior. Murphy Funeral Home-Falls Church, Virginia, is in charge of arrangements.
WASHINGTON  The roster of Republican presidential hopefuls who flocked to the National Rifle Association's annual convention reflects the political potency of gun rights, despite the group's eroding revenues and an opposition movement that's growing increasingly vocal as the drumbeat of mass shootings marches on.

Even amid internal turmoil and legal woes, the gun ownership culture and movement that the NRA helped build remains formidable. And the landmark Supreme Court ruling on the Second Amendment last summer has given new strength to gun-rights activists seeking to invalidate firearm restrictions across the country.

"On the one hand, the gun-rights movement has never been stronger," said Adam Winkler, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles who wrote "Gunfight: The Battle over the Right to Bear Arms in America." But "one of the interesting things about this moment is the NRA, in some ways, has never faced more organizational incoherence and disarray."

This year's convention came just days after mass shootings at a school in Nashville, Tennessee and at a bank last week in Louisville, Kentucky, the latter of which marked the 15th mass killing of the year in the U.S. in which four or more people were killed other than the perpetrator, according to a mass killings database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. That was the most during the first 100 days of a calendar year since 2009, when 16 incidents had occurred by April 10.

"No one wants to see the violence you see in schools and stuff today," Randy Conner, a pistol and rifle instructor for the NRA from Waynesburg, Pennsylvania, told The Associated Press during the event. "But I don't think taking the guns away from ordinary citizens is going to change any of that at all."

The Indianapolis gathering drew a slew of Republicans, including former President Donald Trump and former Vice President Mike Pence, potential rivals for the GOP's 2024 presidential nomination. They vowed to defend the Second Amendment and dismissed the idea that gun restrictions are the answer to violence on the streets.

It also came as the NRA grapples with the fallout of infighting and lawsuits.

A judge last year ruled that the New York attorney general's lawsuit accusing some top NRA executives of financial improprieties can move forward, even though the judge rebuffed Attorney General Letitia James' bid to put the group out of business. The NRA filed for bankruptcy in 2021, but a judge dismissed that case, ruling it was not filed in good faith.

Five years ago, the NRA had a $36 million deficit because of lavish spending, followed by lawsuits from its own members as well as the attorneys general in New York and Washington, D.C.

In the years since, the group appears to have pulled itself out of a financial hole, but not because of an influx of cash, said Brian Mittendorf, an accounting professor at Ohio State University who has studied the group's finances. Revenue fell by 4% in 2020, and by 18% the following year, he found. The group cut back on spending on longstanding programs, including education and training, recreational shooting and law enforcement initiatives, Mittendorf said.

Their primary source of revenue has always been membership dues, but that base has also declined in recent years, and cuts to programs could make it harder to draw in new members, Mittendorf said.

"Despite the fact that they've reduced their footprint, they're still not getting enough revenues to cover their costs. So it suggests something has to give for this organization," he said.

Still, a bigger piece of the NRA's influence has been its ability to mobilize people to oppose gun control by creating a social identity around gun ownership, said Matt Lacombe, a Case Western Reserve University political science professor and author of "Firepower: How the NRA Turned Gun Owners into a Political Force." And people are motivated to oppose efforts that feel like a threat to part of their identity, he said.

"The NRA was responsible for creating that identity, but it is now a thing that exists in the world somewhat independently of the National Rifle Association as an organization," he said. "So if the NRA were to fold tomorrow or to go out of business, it's not as though this constituency of people who own guns and who largely view politics through this lens of being a gun owner is going to go anywhere, at least overnight."

An NRA spokesperson said the organization is "financially strong and as effective as ever in its mission to protect the Second Amendment, despite the effects of a pandemic, weak economy and other factors that have affected so many corporations and organizations."

"The 'demise of the NRA' is a desperate and false narrative one we've heard every year for decades," spokesperson Andrew Arulanandam said in an emailed statement. "And yet, the strength of this organization was on full display this past week, as nearly 80,000 people gathered in Indianapolis to celebrate the Association and listen to almost every pro-Second Amendment presidential candidate."

Gun sales in the U.S. rose to unprecedented levels during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court's Bruen decision in June  in a case brought by an NRA-affiliate  has prompted gun rights activists to file a flurry of challenges to firearm restrictions across the country. Judges already have pointed to the ruling, which changed the test that lower courts long used to evaluate gun laws, to declare unconstitutional measures designed to keep weapons out of the hands of domestic abusers and defendants under felony indictment, among other laws.

Yet, the last decade also has seen a growing counterweight in the gun-control movement.

"Kissing the NRA's ring may help GOP presidential hopefuls win a primary, but it will be the kiss of death in a general election where a clear majority of voters favor common-sense gun safety laws," John Feinblatt, president of Everytown for Gun Safety, said in an emailed statement.

Congress passed its first major gun legislation in decades over the summer, stepping up FBI background checks for buyers under 21 and sending millions of new dollars to mental health services for children and schools. The Biden administration has also tightened regulations on so-called ghost guns and stabilizing braces, an accessory used in at least two mass shootings.

History of the NRA National Rifle Association, from 1871-2022 1871: NRA is created 1872: NRA buys first rifle range 1920s: Arm of NRA proposes requiring permits 1934: NRA helps draft National Firearms Act 1938: NRA backs Federal Firearms Act 1967: California bans open carry 1968: NRA limits Gun Control Act 1971: NRA creates lobbying arm 1977: Hardliner takes control of NRA 1980: NRA backs Reagan for president 1986: NRA wins rollback of gun sale restrictions 1993: NRA challenges passage of Brady Bill 1994: NRA opposes restrictions on semiautomatic weapons 1999: After Columbine, NRA continues to oppose waiting periods 2000: From my cold dead hands 2004: Federal assault weapon ban expires 2005: NRA helps win immunity for gun manufacturers 2006: NRA opposes confiscating guns during emergencies 2012: NRA rejects gun controls after Sandy Hook massacre 2013: NRA blocks assault weapon ban 2018: March for Our Lives confronts NRA 2019: NRA faces upheaval in leadership 2019: Russian activist tries to infiltrate NRA 2020: New York attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA 2021: NRA fails in bankruptcy bid 2022: Judge blocks lawsuit seeking to dissolve the NRA History of the NRA 1871: National Rifle Association is created 1872: NRA buys first rifle range 1920s: Arm of NRA proposes requiring permits 1934: NRA helps draft National Firearms Act 1938: NRA backs Federal Firearms Act 1967: California bans open carry 1968: NRA limits Gun Control Act 1971: NRA creates lobbying arm 1977: Hardliner takes control of NRA 1980: NRA backs Reagan for president 1986: NRA wins roll back of gun sale restrictions 1993: NRA challenges passage of Brady Bill 1994: NRA opposes restrictions on semiautomatic weapons 1999: After Columbine, NRA continues to oppose waiting periods 2000: From my cold dead hands 2004: Federal assault weapon ban expires 2005: NRA helps win immunity for gun manufacturers 2006: NRA opposes confiscating guns during emergencies 2012: NRA rejects gun controls after Sandy Hook massacre 2013: NRA blocks assault weapon ban 2018: March for Our Lives confronts NRA 2019: NRA faces upheaval in leadership 2019: Russian activist tries to infiltrate NRA 2020: New York attorney general seeks to dissolve NRA 2021: NRA fails in bankruptcy bid 2022: Judge blocks lawsuit seeking to dissolve the NRA
A body found near the Missouri River in Iowa has been identified as that of a 30-year-old Missouri man last seen more than a year ago.

The Fremont County Sheriffs Office said Monday that the human remains located at a remote location in rural Hamburg, Iowa, were those of Agustin Fonseca, 30, of Springfield, Missouri. No foul play is suspected in the death.

Deputies were called to the area March 20 by an employee of a real estate company who was scouting the property for deer when he happened upon human remains. Investigators located and seized several items from the scene including human skeletal remains, car keys and a gym pass.

The keys were to a 2015 Chevrolet Spark belonging to Fonseca that was recovered near Interstate 29. The last known sighting of Fonseca was Feb. 28, 2022, in Springfield.

Investigators said it appears Fonseca stopped his vehicle and walked west to the Missouri River.

Photos: National Guard Sendoff held at Memorial Stadium
Kathy Matzner thought she was seeing things Dec. 23, 2021, when she arrived at McCool Junction Cemetery to visit her husband, Jim.

It was dusk. She directed her headlights toward her husbands burial place, where a headstone was installed 86 days prior.

Theres this gaping hole  I thought I was losing it, Matzner remembered. I just flung open the gate and ran over there. I just kept saying, 'Oh my God, Oh my God, I can't believe this. I can't believe it.'

And I took a picture.

***

Matzner purchased the headstone from Monument Advisors of Grand Island.

Other customers include Michelle Tatro of Hastings and her husband, David, who purchased a stone on Feb. 24, 2021 from the company for their two-year-old son, Ryker. Rykers parents were very intentional in selecting their stone.

They told Kelli Lepler, owner of Monument Advisors, they wanted Rykers stone to match Davids 15-year-old sisters headstone. A black granite star on the marker would be a special order, the Tatros were told.

It took me a while to save up, Michelle Tatro said, adding: We had never bought a headstone before.

(Funeral businesses) handled us very delicately, compassionately, up until that process, Tatro said of the time following Rykers death. So we really trusted her from the beginning.

After months without contact, the Tatros heard from Monument Advisors on April 7, 2022, Tatro said. She said the couple had no idea the stone hadnt been ordered until that conversation.

(Lepler) kept telling us the remainder had to be paid before it could be set," Michelle Tatro said.

In May 2022, the stone was paid in full, but Ryker Dean Tatro, who died Dec. 3, 2020, still rests in an unmarked grave.

***

There's been plenty said lately about Monument Advisors online  much of it accusing the company of lengthy delays on monument orders or monuments not arriving at all. The Independent reached out to Monument Advisors via phone and Facebook Messenger, but did not receive a response in time for publication.

Tatro started the Facebook group Beware Monument Advisors Has Bad Communication, 22 weeks ago, according to the pages information section. There are 232 members. To be sure, not all have done business with Monument Advisors, but those who have are vocal.

Monument Advisors has resources on its website discussing supply chain issues in the monument industry. Lepler also mentioned supply chain issues to Tatro. The Independent reached out to Monument Advisors supplier, Rock of Ages in Graniteville, Vermont, for more information. Rock of Ages representatives did not return messages left by a reporter in time for publication of this story.

Tatro said Lepler was upset she aired her complaints on Facebook.

After she told me FB wasnt the route to go and Id have no results  I promised her Id tell everyone about my experience until I myself need a headstone, Tatro said in a Saturday, April 8, post.

***

Matzner asked the company to repair and put the headstone back up. She wanted their assistance in rectifying the situation. At first, Lepler seemed concerned about her customer, Matzner said, but not for long. On Christmas Eve, the day after Matzner discovered her husband's headstone had fallen, Lepler arrived at the McCool Junction cemetery.

She had done a 180, overnight, Matzner said. She was saying vandalism.

A winter storm raging through the area a few weeks before the monuments placement was also blamed. From there, Matzner sometimes heard long periods of nothing.

She was hesitant to disclose how much she paid for the headstone for her husband  a firefighter who died of a heart attack April 26, 2019 at the age of 60. According to his obituary, he was a captain on the York Fire Department and member of the International Association of Firefighters Union #1648. He was also a member of the McCool Junction Volunteer Fire Department.

People are gonna say, 'Well, that's what she gets for putting something that big out there,' Matzner said of her purchase. I was trying to do a good thing.

The good thing she did for her late husband cost about $20,000, Matzner said, paid up front with a check.

Matzner said she filed an insurance claim after the headstone fell and the company divorced itself from the matter, The situation eventually ended up in court. The parties reached a settlement.

After that was all said and done, the cash out was for less than half of what I paid, Matzner said. This whole thing has just, it has almost broken me inside, changed my personality  like I'm scared of stuff. I never used to be scared of anything.

***

While looking into Monument Advisors reputation  and adding her own reviews  Tatro learned of other Monument Advisors clients.

I really wanted to connect with them, so I made the group, Tatro said. That's how all that started.

Matzner said until she came across the Facebook group, she had no idea others were out there.

Since last week, numerous reports of theft against a business with Monument Advisors address have been brought to Grand Island Police Department.

At this point, there should be a pile of money, Tatro said.

Tatro, among others, has filed complaints with the Nebraska Attorney General's office, she said. The Tatros also filed a report with Grand Island Police Department on April 6, alleging a theft amounting to $7,840.

By April 11, police had received nine complaints, said GIPD Captain Jim Duering.

I feel really bad for all these other folks that are filing police reports, Matzner said. They've gotten nothing. They've paid thousands of dollars and have no stones.

Determining whether each of the complaints are criminal or civil will take time, Duering said.

Well do an investigation that will involve interviews, tracking of money and probably looking at shipping and bank records. It'll probably take us some time to determine that.

Theres no real police story until we have time to do our piece of it to determine whether it's criminal, Duering added.

The department has made little progress, Duering said.

Between manpower and some of the bigger cases that we are dealing with right now  we have to triage stuff around here. We really focus on the violent crimes first.

***

Matzner struggles to go visit her husbands resting place. People have been kind, she said, making signs to mark Jims grave.

But despite best efforts, the plot is unkempt. Its not anyones fault, Matzner said. The area couldnt be seeded properly, derailed by the lawsuit.

I was told during this whole lawsuit process to leave (the fallen stones) there. So they laid there, Matzner said.

In June 2022, a retired Lincoln firefighter and a group from the York Fire Department came to Jims resting place on a Sunday, wielding borrowed equipment from a local farmer.

They picked them up and we hauled them off the grave, she said of the pieces.

There was nothing wrong with the stones themselves for the most part, but the bottom was cracked and damaged, Matzner said.

Everything looked nice (when it was installed). It looked kind of weird on the bottom, because it was on these two great big pieces of granite they kind of glued together.

Since they fell that winter, Matzner has tried to find a way to repurpose the stones.

The really sad part of this whole deal is that those stones are granite, and they're just useless. I thought that maybe they could be made into a bench or something," she said.

One headstone company told Matzner they would break them into pieces and put them in the Platte River with other granite scrap.

It just stabbed me in the heart, she said, her voice pained. I think the worst part of all of this is that  didnt my husband deserve better than this?
WARSAW, Poland  Sirens wailed and church bells rang as the presidents of Germany, Israel and Poland bowed their heads Wednesday before a memorial to Jewish insurgents who fought a mismatched, desperate battle against Nazi German forces in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.

Celebrations of the uprising's 80th anniversary honored the hundreds of young Jews who took up arms in the Polish capital in 1943, choosing to fight and die at a time and place not dictated by the Nazis. Most were killed, and none of those who survived the fighting are still alive.

"I stand before you today and ask for forgiveness," German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said at the site of the former ghetto.

"The appalling crimes that Germans committed here fill me with deep shame. But at the same time it fills me with gratitude and humility that I can take part in this commemoration as the first German head of state ever."

The leaders were joined by Holocaust survivors and their descendants, amid a poignant sense that the responsibility for carrying on the memory of the Holocaust is passing from the witnesses to younger generations.

A 96-year-old Polish Holocaust survivor, Marian Turski, told those gathered that German forces did the unimaginable in annihilating Jews, but that the "subsoil" of anti-Semitism existing for centuries made it possible for the Germans to kill so many. He warned against indifference in the face of rising hatred and violence in today's world.

"Can I be indifferent, can I remain silent, when today the Russian army is attacking our neighbor and seizing its land?" he said.

Steinmeier said the lessons of his country's aggression offer a message amid the war.

"You in Poland, you in Israel, you know from your history that freedom and independence must be fought for and defended," Steinmeier said. "But we Germans have also learned the lessons of our history. 'Never again' means that there must be no criminal war of aggression like Russia's against Ukraine in Europe."

Jewish and Christian clerics recited prayers and a torch burned from a part of the memorial resembling a Jewish menorah.

A large group held private unofficial observances at other sites across the former ghetto. For some it was a boycott of the right-wing government for its policy of portraying the predominant response to the Holocaust as one in which Poles saved Jews. That approach has been a source of tensions with Israel, where many accuse the Polish government of ignoring modern scholarship, which paints a complex picture that also includes many cases of Polish betrayal of Jews.

Veronique Felenbok, the daughter of Paul Felenbok, a child survivor of the Warsaw ghetto who died two years ago, objected to the religious aspect of the official observances. She said she found the prayers disrespectful, given that many of the fighters belonged to socialist and communist movements and were not religious.

The Germans invaded Poland in 1939 and the next year set up the ghetto, the largest of many in occupied Poland.

Poland was home to Europe's largest prewar Jewish population on the eve of the Holocaust, some 3.5 million Jews, most of whom were murdered. The Polish state preserves sites like the ghetto and the Auschwitz death camp, while also honoring the massive losses inflicted on the entire nation. Some 6 million Polish citizens were killed during the war, about 3 million of them Jews and the others mostly Christian Poles.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog mentioned in his remarks the "disagreements and pain" that still exist between the Jewish and Polish people over their clashing historical narratives, and voiced hope their friendship would advance.

"The heroism of the resistance and the rebels and the imperative to remember that terrible chapter of history, when the Jewish people faced complete annihilation, and destruction rained down upon Poland and many other countries, offer a platform for important dialogue between Poland and Israel," Herzog said.

The Warsaw ghetto initially held some 380,000 Jews cramped into tight living spaces, and at its peak housed about a half-million people. Disease and starvation were rampant, and bodies often appeared on the streets.

The Jewish resistance movement in the ghetto grew after 265,000 men, women and children were rounded up in the summer of 1942 and killed at the Treblinka death camp. As word of the Nazi genocide spread, those who remained behind no longer believed German promises they would be sent to labor camps.

A small group of rebels began to spread calls for resistance, carrying out isolated acts of sabotage and attacks. Some Jews began defying German orders to report for deportation.

The uprising began when the Nazis entered the ghetto on April 19, 1943, the eve of the Passover holiday. Three days later, the Nazis set the ghetto ablaze, turning it into a fiery death trap, but the Jewish fighters kept up their struggle for nearly a month before they were vanquished.

Avi Valevski, a professor of psychiatry from Israel whose father, Ryszard Walewski, was a doctor who led a group of some 150 fighters in the revolt, visited Warsaw with his wife, describing it as "more than an emotional moment."

Valevski, 72, is working to carry on a history that his father rarely spoke about, but also carries an emotional burden. He was young when his father became ill and died in 1971, but today pores through the documentation his father left behind, and is trying to get one of his stories translated into English and published.

"He was quite proud of his fight against the 'Nazi beast'  his words  but I suppose that the feeling of apprehension entered my soul until now," Valevski said.
A number of Southwest flights were delayed out of Colorado Springs and Denver on Tuesday following a nationwide grounding of the airline due to "intermittent technical difficulties," according to social media.

By late Tuesday morning on the East Coast, more than 1,500 Southwest flights had been delayed, accounting for over half of the delayed flights nationwide.

According to the airline's Twitter account, Southwest asked the Federal Aviation Administration to hold departures because of technical difficulties. By 9:35 a.m., the airline announced it had resumed operations following a pause in service.

As of 1:54 p.m., two of the nine scheduled Southwest flights at the Colorado Springs Airport were experiencing delays. For updated, real-time flight information, click or tap here.

For flight updates from the Denver International Airport, click or tap here.

Southwest passengers can also click or tap here for more information.
Thirty-one top aerospace organizations made progress in meeting their goal to increase the number of women and minorities working in the industry, according to data released Monday by CEOs who signed the Space Workforce 2030 pledge a year ago.

While the percentage of women in senior technical leadership posts was little changed and the percentage of women interns fell from 32.4% to 30.4%, the percentage of women and persons of color in the industrys technical staff and percentage of persons of color among interns and senior technical leaders increased. The percentage of women and persons of color who were interns hired for permanent jobs by a company or group where they had interned also rose.

It is exciting to see progress in year one, but there is still work to be done, said Steve Isakowitz, CEO of The Aerospace Corp. and one of the 24 CEOs who signed the pledge a year ago (seven more have signed the pledge since then). He made the comments during a briefing at the Space Symposium about the data the 31 companies have collected on fulfilling the pledge. We cant fix this overnight but, by the end of the decade, we can meet this challenge.

The group of CEOs plans to report its progress in meeting those goals annually at the Space Symposium.

Janet Grondin, CEO of Stellar Solutions, said her company has boosted hiring of women and minority candidates by giving managers incentives to interview more diverse job candidates  50% of those interviewed in the past year were women and 50% were minorities.

It is vital to the success of the industry that we attract a more diverse pool of applicants. People have historically made excuses about poor performance in increasing diversity. The onus is us, not the talent pool, to do this, said Dan Jablonsky, CEO of Westminster-based Maxxar Technologies.

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Melanie Stricklan, CEO of Slingshot Aerospace, said that as a young girl she was not good at math, but I so wanted to be an astronaut. I had people who helped me, prompting her to make a commitment to diversity when she founded the company six years ago.

The industry made the most progress during the past year in hiring its women and minority interns for permanent positions  increasing the percentage of women interns hired from 31.4% to 34.7% and boosting the percentage of interns of color from 38.9% to 42.7%. The slowest rate of improvement came in hiring women and persons of color for technical staff positions  from 17.9% to 18.5% for women and from 32.6% to 33% for persons of color.

The CEOs also pledged to sponsor programs promoting careers in science, technology, engineering and math for at least 5 million underrepresented students in kindergarten through high school. They also agreed to work with universities to increase the percentages of women and people of color receiving aerospace engineering degrees, to levels similar to other engineering programs, as well as hire at least 3,000 diverse interns by summer 2030.

The industry met all three goals  its programs promoting science, technology, engineering and math careers reached more than 5 million students, the percent of women and minority students enrolled in aerospace-related degree programs rose at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and nearly 1,000 diverse students have applied for a National Space Internship this summer. The internship program is sponsored by the companies who signed the Space Workforce 2030 pledge.

The pledge comes at a time when the space industry is facing a huge challenge in recruiting enough workers amid explosive growth, according to a study by the Space Foundation. The Colorado Springs-based nonprofit found that the population of U.S. undergraduate students in engineering and science have fallen by about 100,000 over the past five years, primarily among male students.

Tom Roeder, data analyst for the foundation, said many math students are changing majors after reaching calculus, he said. The problem could continue into the next generation of students because math scores in kindergarten through high school education fell dramatically during the pandemic.

Gazette military writer Mary Shinn contributed to this story.
For the first time, Honor Flight of Southern Colorado is sending an all-female group of veterans to Washington, D.C., to recognize their service.

"The honor flight is to remember those who when they came home were forgotten," said Cindy Anderson, a participating Army veteran.

World War II, Korean and Vietnam-era veterans visit the nation's war memorials on the trips and receive a large honorary reception when they return. The local chapter is on its 16th honor flight.

The Colorado Springs chapter of the nonprofit has found in the past, women were hesitant to sign up for the free trips because they didn't serve in combat roles and that helped spark the idea for an event set aside to recognize their efforts, said Barbara Harris, a board member with the group.

"Maybe they weren't in battle but they were very, very important for us," she said.

The travelers include women who were among the first to serve in certain roles, such as drill sergeant and missileer, and helped break down previous segregation. The military didn't fully lift the ban on women in combat roles until 2013.

Anderson trained men and women together as one of the early female drill sergeants, she said.

"It was the higher echelons that had trouble accepting that women can do this," she said. Some of the women she trained went on to serve for 25 to 30 years.

The idea for a trip to honor women has been well received and once word was out, filled up rather quickly with 29 veterans, said Harris. Other female veterans are traveling as volunteers to assist.

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"It is an amazing, amazing tribute to our veterans," she said.

Harris first got involved in Honor Flight work because she saw how her husband became much more open and outwardly proud about his Korean war service after going on a trip. Previously, he wouldn't talk much about it or tell people he had served.

Since then she has been on numerous trips to help elderly veterans navigate the memorials and events. She also worked to revitalize the local chapter in 2019 when it was on the edge of dissolving.

"It makes you proud to be an American to see people recognize these men and women and take the time to go up and thank them," she said.

The local homecomings are a major part of the experience for veterans, especially for those who served during Vietnam. In some cases the returning veterans received a cold reception and in some cases had to take their uniforms off to walk through airports.

"We want them to have a homecoming that maybe they never got," she said.

Hundreds of people attended the most recent homecoming last April.

The public is welcome to attend the Welcome Home Event on Saturday at the Sierra High School Gym. The event will feature an all-womens color guard, military band and special guest speaker. The organizers ask that the public arrive no later than 7:15 p.m. for a tentative 7:30 p.m. start. Live updates about the event will be posted at facebook.com/HonorFlightSOCO/
Space Command is growing up more than three years into its reestablishment in Colorado Springs  supporting lunar missions and providing 11,000 missile warnings since the beginning of the war in Ukraine.

Space Command Gen. James Dickinson described the progress at Space Symposium in Colorado Springs Tuesday saying he expected to declare full operational capability later this year. The importance of the milestone has been a major talking point around whether Space Command should move to Alabama or remain in town. Experts and Colorado advocates argued a move could slow down progress toward full operational capability.

However, when asked about a decision on a permanent home for Space Command, Dickinson didnt offer any details on when an announcement could be expected.

We are looking forward to a final basing decision, he said.

Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs employs 1,200 people from all services, and it is charged with defending an area from 100 kilometers above the Earth to the edges of the universe, Dickinson said.

"Every piece of our military operation is somehow grounded in space whether thats maritime operations, air operations, land operations, cyber operations," he said.

Its a place that is getting much busier with the number of objects space command is tracking growing from 25,000 to 48,000 over the life of the command, he said. It is work that will benefit from artificial intelligence to help manage the huge datasets, he said.

The command is also working with the Department of Commerce on a traffic management service to help manage it.

Dickinson's responsibility also covers the space above the contentious Ukraine and Russian border.

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Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, Space Command has provided 11,000 communications and warnings about launches to NATO partners and allies, Dickinson said.

In addition, the command has helped improve communications across Europe, he said.

The volume, the magnitude of how many (missile warnings) we have provided, thats very relevant, he said. Its a workload that would fall, in part, on those providing missile detection at Buckley Space Force Base in Aurora.

However, the same warnings would be provided in areas of the world, such as the Middle East, he said.

On the space exploration side, the command has also been closely involved in NASAs Artemis program that will send astronauts around the moon in 2024 as part of a larger mission to send humans to Mars.

During the uncrewed Artemis I mission around the moon, Space Operations Command, based in Colorado Springs, was keeping watch on other objects in space, and testing tactics and procedures for crewed missions, according to a news release.

In addition Air Forces Space Detachment 3 oversaw the training to retrieve the space capsule and will provide support to human missions. Air Forces Space was formerly called First Air Force. It was named a component of Space Command in May.

They have already executed a couple of great missions, he said.

Dickinson said the command plans to support as many Artemis missions as NASA sends.
U.S. and European space leaders Tuesday outlined their space exploration plans in the wake of recent successes  the National Aeronautics and Space Administrations Artemis 1 launch in November and the European Space Agencys Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer this week.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and ESA Director General Josef Aschbacher both spoke Tuesday at the Space Symposium, outlining short- and long-term plans for their agencies, some of which include working together on NASAs return to the moon. ESA is providing the European Service Module that provides power and propellant for NASAs Orion spacecraft for a series of missions to return humans to the moon in 2025 as a steppingstone for a manned mission to Mars.

The launch of the first moon mission on Artemis tested the Orion rocket without a crew and capped a year in which NASA also launched the James Webb Space Telescope, the Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission to survey Earths surface water and changed the course of an asteroid. But Melroy said the agencys Moon-to-Mars program is the agencys centerpiece and will build the scientific foundation to eventually launch missions to other celestial bodies.

I think far into the future, but we will learn along the way, Melroy said. We have our head in the clouds but our feet on the ground. Longer stays in space will uncover amazing scientific discoveries. I cant wait for our next (Artemis) crew to suit up to go (to) the moon on the way to Mars, referring to the next Artemis mission that will send a crew in orbit around the moon late next year for the first time in more than 50 years.

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Melroy also said the nation is at a historical pivot point with industry proving it can launch spacecraft that previously only governments had done  NASA has been using Elon Musks SpaceX to ferry cargo to the International Space Station for 10 years and the company hopes to soon launch a new crew to the station after a launch was delayed earlier this year. She called the expansion of the commercial space ventures a high-growth industry worldwide, which will soon expand to the moon.

Aschbacher called the scheduled Thursday launch of the Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer (JUICE) such of moment of beauty and an exciting development that will show the importance of the science and knowledge of the universe. The JUICE mission is expected to reach Jupiter in 2031 and begin orbiting one of the planets moon, the first of three it is expected to orbit, three years later searching for water beneath the surface that could potentially support life.

The JUICE launch followed the failure of the agencys Vega rocket in December and the delays in launching the Ariane 6 reusable rocket and its ExoMars Rover mission that was scheduled to launch in September 2022 on a Russian rocket. ESA canceled the launch after Russia invaded Ukraine and pushed back the mission six years and instead plans to use a NASA rocket to launch the rover. The agency hopes to launch Ariane 6 and Vega rockets late this year.

ESA plans to launch its Euclid mission in July to launch a space telescope to study dark energy and dark matter and its EarthCARE satellite next year to use radar to examine clouds, aerosols and radiation to improve weather forecasts and better understand climate changes. The agency also is planning on launching its own network of satellites to offer secure internet connections and will begin training 17 new astronauts later this year for future manned space missions.
Crews are set to begin a major demolition project near downtown Colorado Springs this summer in the last stage of plans to take down one of the last remaining urban power plants in the nation.

Colorado Springs Utilities provided specifics on the year-plus Martin Drake Power Plant demolition project at a public meeting Tuesday, where they discussed mitigation strategies for dust and noise in surrounding neighborhoods during the project. Work is to begin in June and wrap up by the end of 2024.

Independence Demolition, an Ohio-based company with a Denver office, will be handling the project, bringing experience from projects nationwide including comparable power plant demolitions in Detroit and Philadelphia.

Drake will be taken down in eight phases, starting with internal asbestos abatement before moving into demolition that is scheduled from this summer through summer 2024. The project will conclude with a grading and seeding phase in fall 2024.

After ending coal-burning operations in August 2021, Drake operated two natural gas generators at times of high demand for electricity in the community. Utilities formally shut down power production at the plant last September after nearly a century of power generation.

The plant was expected to run on coal through 2035, but in June 2020, the Utilities board, which is also the Colorado Springs City Council, pushed the date up to shutter the plant by 2023.

Beginning this summer, demolition is scheduled during daytime hours excluding Sundays, with some maintenance work scheduled overnight, according to Doug Thomas with Independence Demolition.

Thomas said the three prominent stacks will come down slowly as part of phases three and four. However, taking down the boilers will be larger events, creating noise, which Thomas said residents will be warned about in advance with community notices.

Other loud-noise events include hammering on concrete, but noise from the perimeter of the site is not expected to exceed 85 decibels, or normal speaking volume, Thomas said. Equipment maintenance may also create low-level noise.

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Dust from the operations will be mitigated with water sprayers to bring down dust and other particles. Addressing resident concerns, Thomas explained that the water will be collected into a basin through existing storm drains on the site and not released into the ground.

Concrete from the existing structure will be ground down and spread over the leveled site before being covered with a 4-inch layer of soil to be planted with grass seeds.

While roads around the site will not be closed during the project, trucks are scheduled to come and go each workday, and three routes will be used between the site and Interstate 25.

While the old main structure and stacks will be taken to ground level, the Drake site will continue to be used for Utilities-related purposes to serve customers into the future.

At several public meetings in October 2022, residents largely said they wanted future plans for the site to improve and use the adjacent creek. Residents also generally said they want to see a "mixed-use" approach to the site, favoring redeveloping the area over allowing it to remain in use for various utility uses, the report states.

Six natural gas units on the site wrapped construction this month in a project that began 2021, and the generators will be fully operational beginning in May, according to Steve Berry with Utilities.

The units are expected to be used 5%-30% of the time during periods of high or low temperatures. They have permitted the transition away from using the old Drake plant by introducing system resiliency, according to Berry.

"We need natural gas in our supply mix for the foreseeable future. That's the only way we can make that transition to more renewables," he said.

Also left intact on the site will be the south substation, which houses a transformer, and a fiber-optic hut to help provide more internet access on the system in that area.
The companies that own The Citadel mall in east Colorado Springs are facing a lawsuit alleging substandard security practices filed by the family of a teen who was paralyzed in a shooting at the shopping center last year.

The lawsuit alleges mall ownership failed to employ adequate safety measures despite being aware of at least six shootings at The Citadel in the six-and-a-half years leading up to a fight that erupted into gunfire near the malls food court on May 12, 2022. Makayla Anderson, then 12, was shopping at The Citadel mall that day and was waiting for a ride home when she was struck by a bullet, paralyzing the lower half of her body.

This shooting is just one instance of gun violence at The Citadel mall that has made headlines in recent years.

April 3, 2023: Teen dead in officer-involved shooting

Just two weeks before the lawsuit was filed, an undercover surveillance operation culminated in a shooting in the Burlington Coat Factory, leaving a teenager dead, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department. Police were following a group of five people who arrived at the mall in two stolen vehicles on the afternoon of April 3.

Detectives are said to have followed the group on foot through The Citadel mall before making contact just outside the food court, prompting the group to flee. Four were arrested but one, 19-year-old Brandon Harris, allegedly fled to the Burlington Coat Factory where he and at least one police officer allegedly fired weapons.

Harris sustained an injury and later died at the hospital. His death is being investigated as a suicide, according to the El Paso County Sheriffs Office.

May 12, 2022: 12-year-old bystander paralyzed, second juvenile injured

Makayla Anderson was one of two people shot during the shooting on May 12, 2022.

The shooting in a parking lot at The Citadel mall allegedly stemmed from an altercation in the food court when a teenage girl began speaking to an ex-boyfriend, according to previous reporting by The Gazette. A shootout in the parking lot ensued, leaving two juveniles injured by gunfire.

A boy who was shot reportedly walked to his mothers home nearby and called the police. Police said they later identified him as the suspect in a May 6 shooting that sent two Mitchell High School students to the hospital.

The other person injured was 12-year-old Anderson, who didn't know anyone involved and was waiting for someone to pick her up, according to Monday's news conference.

March 25, 2022: Double murder follows mall parking lot fight

A shooting on the night of March 25, 2022, allegedly left two young men dead after what police described as a fight in the parking lot outside Dillards and Burlington Coat Factory.

At some point during the altercation, shots were allegedly fired, killing Matthew Westrich, 21, and Jeremiah Brown, 20, according to previous reporting by The Gazette. Two others were reportedly injured by gunfire.

June 18, 2021: Parking lot carnival shooting injures 3

Three people were reportedly shot at a carnival in a Citadel mall parking lot on June 18, 2021. Witness reports described several young men allegedly shooting at the crowd, sending three people to the hospital with injuries, a Gazette article reports.

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April 22, 2021: 1 injured in mall shooting

A victim sustained one non-life-threatening gunshot wound in an alleged shooting at The Citadel mall on April 22, 2021. Two people were detained after the incident, according to previous reporting by The Gazette.

Feb. 27, 2021: Shots after mall food court fight

A shots fired incident allegedly caused no injuries after several groups of teen or young adults were reportedly arguing or fighting in the food court area on Feb. 27, 2021. Outside the mall, at least one person allegedly pulled a gun and fired multiple shots before the groups ran off in different directions, according to reporting from The Gazette.

Jan. 2, 2020: Man shot outside mall

A man was injured after being allegedly shot in the torso outside of the Hooters at The Citadel mall on Jan, 2, 2020, according to The Gazette's reporting.

Sept. 12, 2019: Teen shot in leg in mall parking lot

A teenaged boy allegedly sustained one gunshot wound to the leg in The Citadels east parking lot on Sept. 12, 2019, according to previous reporting from The Gazette. He was reportedly transported to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries.

July 14, 2019: Shooting outside Burlington Coat Factory

One person was taken to a local hospital with a gunshot wound after an alleged shooting outside Burlington Coat Factory at The Citadel mall on July 14, 2019, according to an article from The Gazette.

Dec. 18, 2018: 3 injured in mall drive-by shooting

A drive-by shooting at The Citadel mall allegedly wounded at least three people just outside of Hooters on the afternoon of Dec. 18, 2018, a previous article from The Gazette reports. The gunfire shattered windows and forced the mall to close for the rest of the day just a week before Christmas.

An unnamed teenaged boy was arrested on suspicion of four counts of attempted first-degree murder and two counts of first-degree assault.

Dec. 8, 2018: Shots fired in mall parking lot

A suspect allegedly pulled a gun and fired several shots during an altercation outside The Citadel shopping mall in the afternoon on Dec. 8, 2018, according to reporting from The Gazette.

The shots were reported in a parking lot near the food court entrance. Several cars were allegedly in the parking lot when the incident occurred, but no injuries were reported.

Nov. 28, 2017: Shots fired

On the morning of Nov. 28, 2017, shots were allegedly fired in a Citadel mall parking lot. No injuries were reported, The Gazette reports.

Jan. 2, 2016: 3 injured in drive-by shooting

Three people were injured in what police said may have been an alleged drive-by shooting at or near the Hooters at The Citadel mall on Jan. 2, 2016. Shots were allegedly fired from a moving car into a cluster of people standing outside, according to previous reporting by The Gazette.
Investigators found 54 drops of blood on the walls of Gannon Stauch's bedroom, and the dilution of the stains suggests that someone tried to clean up the evidence after the crime, two blood stain pattern analysts testified Tuesday.

Letecia Stauch is accused of stabbing and fatally shooting Gannon, her 11-year-old stepson, in El Paso County and disposing of the youngster's remains in Florida.

Click or tap here to watch live coverage from the trial.

Follow @ZachNDupont on Twitter for more updates from the courtroom.

Tom Griffin, an independent forensic consultant in blood stain pattern analysis, testified about the voluminous amount of blood found in the Stauch home following Gannon's disappearance in January 2020.

Griffin also testified that several of the blood stains found on the walls of Gannons bedroom were below the height of Gannons bed, suggesting that Gannon was on the floor for at least some of the attack.

Over the last two weeks, jurors have heard testimony about blood being found in the basement, storage room, hallway and garage, as well as a large pool of blood found on the concrete underneath the carpet in Gannons bedroom right above where Gannons bed was.

Alyssa Berriesford, a crime scene investigator with the Colorado Springs Police Department, testified that after reviewing all of the blood stains from Gannons room, it was clear that the scale of the incident was violent and dynamic, meaning there were several events that caused the blood stains in Gannons room.

In the first week of trial Susan Ignacio, a medical examiner from Florida, testified that Gannon was stabbed 18 times and suffered four blunt force trauma injuries and one gunshot to the head.

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Pete Woods, a Myrtle Beach detective who was part of the team that arrested Stauch in March 2020, testified that investigators found a suitcase and blanket that appeared to be stained with blood among Stauchs belongings when she was arrested.

El Paso County sheriff's Lt. John Sarkisian testified on Tuesday that investigators also found a particle board with apparent blood on it in Larkspur. Sarkisian said investigators searched the location in Larkspur because of information he had received that Stauch may had been in the area previously.

Last week, El Paso County sheriff's Lt. Jake Abendschan testified that he was part of a law enforcement team that planted a tracking device on one of the rental cars Stauch was using after her car was seized by law enforcement. On Jan. 31, 2020, Stauch drove the car to Larkspur, where she stopped and then drove back to the Colorado Springs hotel where her family was staying, he testified.

The Larkspur location became a place of interest to look for Gannon in part because of Stauchs activity there, Abendschan testified.

Fourth Judicial District Attorney investigator Kevin Clark briefly retook the witness stand on Tuesday to testify that the board recovered by Sarkisian looked very similar to a board found in a photo taken in the garage of the Stauch residence before Gannon's disappearance.

Tuesday's testimony concluded with the prosecution playing part of an audio recording of a phone call between Letecia Stauch and her former husband, Al Stauch. In previous phone calls prosecutors have played for the jury, Letecia Stauch denied any wrongdoing.

In the call played on Tuesday, recorded on Feb. 15, 2020, according to FBI special agent Amber Cronan, Letecia Staunch continued to deny she had anything to do with Gannons disappearance and said a man named Quincy Brown was involved.

The remainder of the phone call, as well as the remainder of Cronans testimony, will be completed when Stauchs trial resumes on Wednesday morning.
A man has been arrested after barricading himself and setting boobytraps in a downtown Colorado Springs building early Tuesday afternoon, according to the Colorado Springs Police Department.

Police reported the incident through social media at 1 p.m. Tuesday requesting the public to stay away from the 100 block of Weber Street.

The incident resolved at 3:15 p.m. with 60-year-old Patrick Hibler being taken into custody on the charges of arson in the 4th degree, burglary in the 2nd degree, and criminal tampering.

According to CSPD spokesperson Robert Tornabene, Hibler had set up makeshift boobytraps throughout the building, causing difficulties for law enforcement in contacting the fugitive.

He (Hibler) used pieces of wire to connect electrical sockets with metal objects to deter entry into certain areas of the building. That is what took time for our officers to get in the building, we did not want to have anyone hurt from an electrical charge, Tornabene said.

According to Tornabene, Colorado Springs Utilities shut off the buildings power, making it possible for police to safely enter the building.
Despite a packed Tuesday schedule, Gov. Jared Polis made time during his visit to Colorado Springs to celebrate student achievement by visiting one of two District 11 elementary schools that have shown exemplary growth in math since 2019.

So, whats your secret? Polis asked Kate Boyce, Roosevelts first-year principal.

Theres no secret, Boyce said, and no shortcuts. Just a dedicated group of educators who make sure students are the primary focus of everything they do.

I have teachers who have been in this building for 26 years, she said. They have worked tirelessly to build up our students and send them off to the next steps with as much knowledge as possible. 

In recognition of the charter schools achievement, Polis highlighted Roosevelt as one of 12 Math Bright Spot Award winners across Colorado.

It is really exciting to see that evidence-based instruction works, Polis said. Roosevelt and other Bright Spot schools across the state are proving that.

Roosevelt has the highest percentage of English language learners in District 11, at about 67%, Boyce said. Trying to learn a second language, while still dealing with the lingering aftereffects of the COVID-19 pandemic, has been challenging.

But because math is pretty much the same all over the world, it can act as a universal language, and Roosevelts teachers have become adept at using math as a bridge to expanded learning, according to Boyce.

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Math is something we are super passionate about in this building, she said. We have a high population of ELL learners trying to learn the English language. Math is often an easier thing for them to grasp and understand first, before they understand the language. So weve worked really hard to give them the tools to fuel that success in math.

The charter school uses a comprehensive curriculum called Everyday Math, which emphasizes the application of mathematics to real-world situations. The staff has also concentrated on building and developing intervention plans that include specific goal setting, timelines and strategies for closely monitoring student progress, Boyce said.

Chipeta Elementary, a traditional D-11 public school, also earned a Bright Spot Award.

The fact that a charter school and a traditional school both won the award proves that there can be two different ways to solve the same problem, said D-11 Superintendent Michael Gaal, who was on hand for Polis visit. If we keep our focus on kids, we can to anything.

As a Math Bright Spot Award recipient, Roosevelt and Chipeta will each receive $50,000, from the federal Governors Emergency Education Relief funds, to further grow their academic programs.

Were just so honored, Boyce said. (The award) just means were doing something right. We have solid teachers in this building who know how to teach, and that is validating for our school. We know what were doing, and we know how to support kids. That is just confirmation for us.

In one of the classrooms, when Polis confirmed the $50,000 award, students gaped at him in disbelief. One enterprising youngster had an idea for how to use the funds.

I could buy a Lamborghini, he said, and laughed.
An 83-year-old man is facing charges in connection with the Badger Creek fire that sparked April 12 and burned 41 acres southeast of Wilkerson Pass in the Hartsel area of Park County.

The Park County Sheriff's Office believes Robert L. Heneghan started a fire on his property, which resulted in the wildfire that prompted mandatory evacuations for residents in Badger Creek Ranch.

The fire is 100% contained and no structures were lost, but one firefighter suffered superficial burns that did not require medical attention, according to an update from Park County. The fire also caused property damage.

Heneghan faces a fourth-degree arson charge, a felony, and is due in court on May 15, according to the Sheriff's Office.

"Again, this fire was preventable. We remind the public that the county is in a Stage 1 Fire Ban which prohibits open flames, ashes or heat sources. We must all be more vigilant and think twice before working with anything outdoors that can create a spark, said Park County Sheriff Tom McGraw in a statement.
A potential security issue at a Colorado Springs middle school on Wednesday led to the last-minute postponement of a scheduled visit from the lieutenant governor of Colorado, according to a news release from Academy School District 20.

About 20 military-affiliated Eagleview Middle School students and their families were set to hold a small group discussion with Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera and Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers when Principal Jamie Lester announced the rescheduling for Monday.

Thirty minutes before this afternoons scheduled visit from the Lieutenant Governor and the Mayor, several Eagleview students came forward with information about a potential security concern, Lester said in a message to Eagleview families.

Academy District 20 Security worked closely with the Lieutenant Governors office, her Executive Protection Team, the Mayors office, and the Colorado Springs Police Department. It was determined that the best course of action was to reschedule the event for Monday morning.

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Officials concluded that there was no immediate threat to students and staff, and classes proceeded on schedule, Lester said.

The principal said the postponement, while inconvenient, showed that see something, say something works, and that the school and district take potential security threats seriously.

At Eagleview we encourage our students to say something if they see anything out of place, Lester said. We are proud of our students for coming forward today and displaying their exemplary character.

District representatives said the Colorado Springs Police Department is actively investigating the situation.
The Office of Special Counsel said Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra violated the Hatch Act by backing the reelection efforts of Sen. Alex Padilla (D-CA) during an awards gala last year.

In a letter sent to the White House on Tuesday, special counsel Henry Kerner noted that "in delivering his speech, Secretary Becerra impermissibly mixed his personal electoral preference with official remarks."

HHS SECRETARY XAVIER BECERRA SAYS 'EVERY OPTION IS ON THE TABLE' AFTER ABORTION PILL RULING

Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra testifies during the House Committee hearing on Ways and Means hearing on March 28, 2023, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Mariam Zuhaib, File)

Becerra's remarks at the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute Annual Awards Gala on Sept. 15, 2022, violated the Hatch Act's prohibition against federal employees "using their official authority or influence to affect the outcome of an election," Kerner also wrote.

The violation occurred after Becerra accepted the American Dream Medallion award from Padilla during the gala. The HHS secretary then went on to say he would vote for the senator in 2022.

"To my brother, my friend, and senator, and someone I will be voting for in a little bit more than a month, Alex Padilla, thank you so much, senator, for being there for all of us. We are proud to have you as our senator," Becerra said while accepting the award.

In response to the OSC investigation, Becerra said his remarks were "off-the-cuff." Nevertheless, Becerra expressed regret for his actions.

"I did not intend to use my official authority or influence for purpose of interfering with or affecting the result of an election, and I regret this inadvertent violation," the HHS secretary wrote in response to the investigation. "While I did not realize at the time that my off-the-cuff remarks concerning my personal voting intentions were in violation of the Hatch Act, I now understand why they were not permitted."

Other Biden administration officials have been cited for violating the Hatch Act. Former Biden chief of staff Ron Klain was cited in May 2022 for violating the Hatch Act when he retweeted a post that called for purchasing merchandise from Strike PAC, a Democratic group.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The OSC found that 13 Trump administration officials, including then-chief of staff Mark Meadows and former press secretary Kayleigh McEnany, broke the Hatch Act during the 2020 presidential election.

Becerra was sworn in as the 25th HHS secretary in March 2021.

Original Location: Biden HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra violated Hatch Act, government watchdog says

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A group of Democratic lawmakers reintroduced a bill seeking to end qualified immunity for police officers, arguing the legal doctrine shields law enforcement officers from accountability when they violate one's constitutional rights.

Surrounded by members of the Black Lives Matter Grassroots group, Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) unveiled the legislation on Wednesday, calling it a move to ensure law enforcement officers establish and follow standards of conduct.

GOP HOPES TO TRANSFORM NEW YORK INTO BATTLEGROUND AS PARTY LEADERS FOCUS ON CRIME

"There's nothing radical about it," Pressley said. "In any other job in America, there are standards of conduct and consequences for failing to meet them. Doctors can be sued for malpractice. Lawyers can be sued for negligence, and policing should be no exception."

Markey echoed similar sentiments, arguing the bill is particularly crucial for black people as they seek protection from police brutality. The lawmakers were joined by several parents who told stories of how their family members were killed at the hands of police officers.

"Thank you for telling your stories because your stories are the stories of hundreds and thousands of other people in our country. Your testimony is absolutely essential," Markey said. "We must remove obstacles that families  face in seeking the justice that they deserve."

The legislation follows previous efforts from the two lawmakers to eliminate qualified immunity, which offers some protections to police officers who are accused of unlawful conduct. The law stipulates that law enforcement officers cannot be put on trial unless the plaintiff can provide evidence of unlawful conduct and can prove that the officers knew they were violating the law.

As a result, that legal doctrine has limited victims from being able to recover damages against police officers, thus violating of their constitutional rights, the lawmakers argued.

The pair first introduced similar legislation during the summer of 2020 shortly after the death of George Floyd, a black man who was killed at the hands of Minnesota police officers. His death ignited nationwide outrage as well as months of protests calling for police reform.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

The bill was reintroduced in 2021 after it failed to make it to the floor for a vote before a new Congress was ushered in months later. However, that bill also failed to gain much traction among lawmakers.

It's unclear whether this version of the bill, which has remained largely unchanged in language, will make its way through Congress as lawmakers have remained split on what to do with qualified immunity in recent years. Although Democrats have been adamant about repealing it, Republicans have fought to preserve the provision.

Original Location: Democrats introduce bill seeking to end qualified immunity for police officers

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Musician Elton John urged Congress to reauthorize the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief to continue fighting against the virus worldwide.

"We are living in deeply troubled times with countless global challenges  all of which I know beckon your time and attention. Given that, I am boundlessly grateful for the bipartisan cooperation that has been the hallmark of PEPFAR for two decades now," he told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee at the PEPFAR at 20: Achieving and Sustaining Epidemic Control hearing on Wednesday.

BIDEN WELCOMES FINLAND INTO NATO AND CALLS FOR SWEDEN'S ADMISSION

John, who is gay, established the Elton John AIDS Foundation in 1992. The virus has disproportionately affected the LGBT community since its discovery, particularly men.

He told the committee that "While this effort was initially conceived of by President Bush, it has been enthusiastically supported by four presidents and 10 Congresses, and consistently championed by the generosity of the American people."

Elton John arrives at the Elton John AIDS Foundation's 31st Annual Academy Awards Viewing Party, Sunday, March 12, 2023, at the West Hollywood Park in West Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP) Willy Sanjuan/Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP

According to the musician, "What America does for itself has made it strong, but what America does for others has made it great."

"There is no better symbol of American greatness than PEPFAR," he added.

John recalled testifying in Congress two decades ago when PEPFAR was first established. Since then, he said, it has changed the course of history.

"And the PEPFAR platform has not only transformed HIV into a chronic disease for tens of millions  it has been leveraged to fight [COVID-19] and made countries far better prepared for whatever viral nightmare comes next," he claimed, calling it a "tribute to American leadership."

However, John warned, "We are not done yet," urging the committee to authorize PEPFAR for another five years.

"We have the tools, and we need to turn the tide, and increasingly national leadership, capacity, and ingenuity are taking what is good and making it better and more sustainable  but we need to keep our foot on the accelerator," he said.

CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER

"By extending PEPFAR for another five years and fully funding it, together, we can continue the march toward ending AIDS for everyone everywhere and leave no one behind," he concluded.

According to the State Department, which manages and oversees the program, "PEPFAR has invested over $100 billion in the global HIV/AIDS response, saving 21 million lives, preventing millions of HIV infections, and supporting several countries to achieve HIV epidemic control  all while significantly strengthening global health security."

Original Location: Elton John pleads with Senate to continue funding AIDS relief program

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The House China committee will be participating in a tabletop war game exercise focusing on the Indo-Pacific on Wednesday.

The lawmakers will act as national security council advisers influencing fictional decisions regarding U.S. military, defense, and economic responses to a threat from China during the exercise, which was organized by the think tank Center for a New American Security, according to Politico. Becca Wasser and Andrew Metrick of CNAS will act as Beijing during the exercise.

US COMMANDER DISMISSES 2027 ESTIMATE FOR CHINESE INVASION OF TAIWAN: 'EVERYBODY'S GUESSING'

Wasser told the outlet, "It's experiential learning," adding, "It's an important opportunity to help senior leaders to think through what can happen."

"The select committee on the Chinese Communist Party is going to be conducting a war game, and I think for a lot of our members, it will be an opportunity to participate in a war game that haven't done that before. It's going to be Taiwan focused, Indo-Pacific focused," Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI), the chairman of the committee, said on Tuesday. "Usually when we run these war games, one thing quickly becomes apparent, we go Winchester on critical weapons systems, we run out of long range fires in particular."

Gallagher quickly previewed the event during a Tuesday House Armed Services Committee hearing in which members heard from top Pentagon Indo-Pacific leaders about their posture and national security concerns in the region.

Jedidiah Royal, the Pentagon's principal deputy assistant secretary for Indo-Pacific security affairs, said China's military is conducting "more dangerous and aggressive activities in the region," adding that, "In just the past twelve months, PLA aircraft and maritime vessels have continued to conduct inherently risky intercepts against U.S. ally and partner assets in the air and at sea, increasing the unacceptable danger of an accident."

Chinese officials have indicated they want the military to be ready to take Taiwan by force by 2027, while U.S. defense officials have said that is a goal and not a predetermined invasion date. U.S. Indo-Pacific Command Commander Adm. John Aquilino dismissed the timeline and said those were simply guesses.

"Now, for me, it doesn't matter what the timeline is, the secretary has given me this mission today, so I'm responsible to prevent this conflict today," he told lawmakers. "If deterrence were to fail, to be able to fight and win. So the timeline, everybody will have an opinion on when it is. I think everybody's guessing. The intent and need for INDOPACOM, the department, industry, and everybody to go faster will help prevent this conflict."

Chinese defense leaders have largely ignored outreach by their U.S. counterparts in recent months amid a series of incidents, which a top Pentagon official described as a ploy to spook the U.S. into leaving the region.

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"And [Chinese officials take the view] that if we want to avoid crises, there's a simple solution, and that's just to get out of the Western Pacific, and to abandon our alliances and partnerships, and leave," the Pentagon's Colin Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, told Foreign Policy. "And leave that part of the world to be an exclusive sphere of influence lorded over by Beijing."

Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in February, after the Chinese spy balloon traversed across the continental U.S., "When something happens, they [China] somehow tend to shut down their military channels of communication."

Original Location: House China Committee to engage in tabletop war game exercise

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MEXICO CITY (Reuters) -Mexico's Supreme Court ruled as unconstitutional on Tuesday the transfer of control over the civilian-led National Guard to the Army, a step which had drawn criticism from activists concerned about the increasing militarization of public security.

The court's decision is a blow to President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, who had backed a congressional reform to put the Army in charge, which passed last year.

The reform gave the Army operational, financial and administrative control of the National Guard, which had previously been under the security ministry.

Tuesday's ruling passed with eight justices voting in favor and three against.

After taking power in late 2018, Lopez Obrador created the National Guard to replace the Federal Police, which he accused of being corrupt and ineffective.

At the time, the National Guard was put under civilian control in a bid to assuage concerns over the military's growing influence over public security.

But Lopez Obrador later said he had changed his mind about using the armed forces in domestic law enforcement.

During his term, the military has become increasingly influential, delivering major infrastructure projects and put in charge of monitoring ports and airports.

Members of the National Guard are suspected of killing two civilians on Sunday in the northern border city of Nuevo Laredo, including a pregnant teenager, an official said.

(Reporting by Raul Cortes; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Anthony Esposito, Sarah Morland and Muralikumar Anantharaman)
A judge has postponed the detention hearing for Jack Teixeira, who is accused of leaking hundreds of classified documents related to military intelligence from the Pentagon, while he awaits trial.

The defense and prosecution both agreed to cancel Wednesday's detention hearing, delaying it for roughly two weeks. Magistrate Judge David Hennessy agreed to the request.

Teixeira, a 21-year-old Air National Guardsman, allegedly first leaked text related to classified documents to a Discord chat group in December 2022, and about a month later, he began taking photos of the documents instead.

Teixeira was charged under the Espionage Act on Friday for the unauthorized retention and transmission of national defense information, as well as the unauthorized removal of classified information and defense materials.

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This is a breaking story and will be updated.

Original Location: Pentagon documents leak case: Jack Teixeira's detention hearing delayed

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Republicans in Congress want to further investigate how China could be using "sister cities" to spy on the United States and examine partnerships with foreign adversaries.

Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) is championing a bill, along with four other Republican senators, that would require the Government Accountability Office to issue a report in an effort to understand how China could use sister-city partnerships in the U.S. to spy or gain influence. Rep. Chip Roy (R-TX) is also introducing companion legislation in the lower chamber.

HOUSE CHINA COMMITTEE TO ENGAGE IN TABLETOP WAR GAME EXERCISE

"We need to take proper action and have the GAO do a deep dive into what is happening with these partnerships and these programs that are involving foreign communities in countries where we have adverse relationships," Blackburn told the Washington Examiner in an interview. "We should look at how we should manage these sister city partnerships, which is important for us to do to protect our nation and to protect our sovereignty."

A "sister city" is a relationship established between two communities in two different countries after officials from both nations make an agreement. The U.S. has 1,800 of these partnerships with 138 countries. According to the latest numbers from 2019, there are 157 partnerships with China. That includes Houston, a sister city with Shenzhen, China; Seattle, a sister city with Chongqing, China; and Washington, D.C., a sister city with Beijing.

Blackburn introduced the bill in the last session of Congress, but it never moved out of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. She said she believes there's more urgency to pass the bill now as a result of growing Chinese military aggression.

China has been engaged in more saber-rattling against Taiwan, including when then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the island democracy. A Chinese spy balloon flew over the U.S. earlier this year. And this week, two were arrested after they allegedly operated a Chinese police station in New York.

"I think there is growing concern over what China is doing. Thereby, you're going to see bipartisan support for this to continue to grow," Blackburn said. "We know the Chinese Communist Party has said they will use the sister-city partnerships to build relationships with people that they feel will run for higher offices someday in the future."

Canadian officials in Winnipeg, Manitoba, considered splitting ties with its Chinese sister city, Chengdu, over concerns about human rights abuses in the country earlier this year. Ultimately, the mayor decided to continue the relationship, emphasizing the partnership does not mean it supports the Chinese government.

Shanghai terminated its sister-city partnership with Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, in early 2020 after Prague's mayor refused to commit to the CCP's "One China" policy, which aims to recognize Taiwan as part of China.

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"They use these relationships to paint their picture of China, instead of actually reflecting history or reflecting what is currently happening," the Tennessee senator said.

If enacted, the legislation would identify "oversight practices that U.S. communities implement to mitigate the risks of foreign espionage and economic coercion within sister-city partnerships," assess how "foreign communities could use sister-city partnerships to conduct malign activities," and review best practices for sister-city partnerships to "ensure transparency," according to Blackburn's office.

Original Location: Republican lawmakers push for greater scrutiny of Chinese 'sister cities' in US

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By Richard Cowan and Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -Republican U.S. House Speaker Kevin McCarthy on Wednesday unveiled a plan to raise the nation's debt ceiling by $1.5 trillion and cut federal spending by three times that amount, laying out an opening position in what is likely to be a tense partisan debate over government borrowing.

McCarthy's proposal, which he unveiled on the floor of the House of Representatives, would cut the total amount of domestic and military spending to 2022 levels and cap growth at 1% annually in years to come. It would not touch retirement and health programs that are projected to expand dramatically as the population ages.

President Joe Biden and the Democratic-controlled Senate are likely to reject the proposals, but McCarthy said they would serve as the basis for negotiations between the two parties over raising the federal government's $31.4 trillion debt limit in the coming weeks. Failure to raise the debt ceiling would lead to default that would shake the U.S. and world economies.

McCarthy's plan would also repeal green-energy incentives signed into law by Biden last year, boost domestic oil and gas production and scrap his $400 billion student-loan forgiveness effort.

It would claw back unspent COVID-19 relief money, cancel a recent budget increase for the Internal Revenue Service and impose stiffer work requirements for some benefit programs.

Congress would gain greater power to block Biden administration regulations under the proposal as well.

McCarthy said the package would lower spending by $4.5 trillion over the coming 10 years. That would not be enough to eliminate budget deficits that are projected to add more than $20 trillion to the national debt over that time period.

"President Biden has a choice: Come to the table and stop playing partisan political games, or cover his ears, refuse to negotiate and risk bumbling his way into the first default in our nation's history," McCarthy said on the House floor.

He did not say when the House of Representatives, which his Republicans control by a narrow 222-213 majority, would vote on the plan.

Biden reiterated his position that Congress should raise the $31.4 trillion debt limit without conditions, as it did three times under his Republican predecessor, Donald Trump.

"Take default off the table, and let's have a real serious, detailed conversation about how to grow the economy, lower costs and reduce the deficit," he said at an appearance outside Washington.

Biden's budget, released last month, would save $3 trillion over 10 years largely through tax hikes.

POTENTIAL CONSEQUENCES

The nonpartisan Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget praised McCarthy's plan as a "realistic and extremely welcome first step." But Democratic Representative Richard Neal dismissed it as "not serious."

The U.S. federal government has already reached the borrowing limit and by this summer is expected to hit a point where it will no longer be able to meet its financial obligations without action by the divided Congress.

Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned the federal government could run out of ways to cover its debts by as soon as early June.

The $1.5 trillion increase proposed by McCarthy could cover the government's needs until early next year, setting the stage for another debt ceiling fight in the midst of the 2024 presidential election campaign.

It was unclear whether McCarthy's plan would unite House Republicans. A sizeable contingent of hardline members have dismissed the risks of failure to act, while others might balk at its limits on military spending.

A lengthy 2011 standoff over the debt ceiling led to a first-ever downgrade of the federal government's credit rating, which rattled markets and raised borrowing costs.

(Reporting by Richard Cowan and Andy Sullivan; Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal in Accokeek, Maryland, and Katharine Jackson in Washington; Writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Nick Macfie, Jonathan Oatis and Cynthia Osterman)
(Reuters) -The Russian-installed head of the Moscow-controlled part of Ukraine's Donetsk region met Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko in Minsk on Tuesday and said he had discussed ways of boosting trade.

The visit by Denis Pushilin prompted Ukraine to protest about what it called a "blatantly unfriendly act" by Belarus, a close ally of Russia that allowed Moscow's forces to use its territory as a launching pad for the February 2022 invasion.

Pushilin, writing on Telegram, said he was interested in quarry equipment, tractors and buses as well as building products and furniture.

In return, his region was ready to export grain to Belarus, in addition to existing shipments of sunflower seeds.

The so-called Donetsk People's Republic is one of the four regions in Ukraine that Moscow proclaimed as its own last September in an exercise Ukraine and its allies called a "sham", coercive referendum.

In a statement, the Ukrainian foreign ministry called on Minsk to stop taking "destructive steps" and said it was recalling its ambassador to Belarus for consultations.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Frank Jack Daniel, David Ljunggren and Jonathan Oatis)
The second installment of April's three rounds of Social Security retirement payments, worth up to $4,555, went out to thousands of recipients on Wednesday.

The second disbursement was sent to those born between the 11th and 20th of a month, and it was sent on the third Wednesday of the month. Payments are sent out on the second, third, and fourth Wednesdays of every month, and they coincide with the 10-day block of a month in which the person was born.

SEN. BILL CASSIDY SHOWS BIDEN AND TRUMP WHAT LEADERSHIP LOOKS LIKE ON SOCIAL SECURITY

The first distribution went to retirees born between the 1st and 10th of a month, and it was released on the second Wednesday of the month. The final wave will be sent out next week on April 26, the last Wednesday of April, and it will be for those born between the 21st and 31st of a month, according to the SSA's schedule.

The amount of money each person gets depends on his or her age at retirement. Recipients who retired at the current retirement age of 67 receive a maximum check of $3,627. People who retired at 62 get up to $2,572, and those who delayed retirement to 70 get the highest payment of $4,555 per month, according to the Social Security Administration.

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People could see a decrease in their payments if Congress does not determine how the program will be funded by 2037. Discussions on the future of Social Security have occurred in Congress for years, and experts recently warned that the program could be insolvent in 10 years if nothing is done.

France recently raised the retirement pension age to 64. Some lawmakers have proposed a similar move in the United States, recommending the country raises full retirement to 70.

Original Location: Social Security update: Direct payment worth up to $4,555 goes out to millions today

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Former President Donald Trump has secured an endorsement from a Republican who had previously met with Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL).

Rep. Lance Gooden (R-TX) surprised many by throwing his weight behind Trump, having just met with DeSantis, a likely 2024 presidential candidate. While Gooden acknowledged having a "positive" meeting with DeSantis, he cited Trump's conservative record as the reason behind his decision.

TRUMP CLINCHES ANOTHER KEY ENDORSEMENT AS FLORIDA DEFECTIONS AGAINST DESANTIS PILE UP

UNITED STATES - FEBRUARY 1: Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, arrives for the House Judiciary Committee organizing meeting in the Rayburn House Office Building on Wednesday, February 1, 2023. (Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images

"I met with Governor DeSantis, and while he has done commendable work in Florida, there is no doubt in my mind that President Trump is the only leader who can save America from the leftist onslaught we are currently facing," Gooden said in a statement posted on Twitter.

"President Trump is a tireless fighter, a champion of American jobs, a guardian of our economy, and a bulwark against the relentless invasion of our borders by illegal immigrants. He unyieldingly supported our military and veterans, and bravely stood up to the dangerous socialist agenda propagated by the radical left," he continued. "I wholeheartedly endorse President Donald J. Trump for the 2024 presidential election and vow to fight alongside him to reclaim our country from the leftist forces that threaten to destroy it. Together, we will ensure a prosperous and secure future for our great nation."

While the loss of Gooden serves as a loss for team DeSantis, he scored an endorsement from Rep. Laurel Lee (R-FL).

"As Ron DeSantis's Secretary of State, I had the honor of witnessing firsthand his unparalleled leadership under pressure, his character, and his commitment to core conservative principles," she wrote in a statement on Twitter. "His leadership and his vision made Florida a shining beacon of freedom. Ron DeSantis fights for what matters, and he wins when it matters most."

"Our country is in crisis, and it is time Americans learn what Floridians already know: Ron DeSantis's conservative principles, proven track record, and his commitment to our country are exactly what we need in a leader. It was my honor to serve in his administration and it is my honor today to endorse him for President of the United States," Lee added.

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Lee pitching for DeSantis marks his first congressional endorsement from his state, compared to a plethora of Republican Floridians backing Trump, including Reps. Cory Mills, Anna Paulina Luna, Byron Donalds, Matt Gaetz, John Rutherford, Greg Steube, and Brian Mast.

Outside of Florida, DeSantis has won the endorsement of just two other representatives and no senators.

Original Location: Trump wins 2024 endorsement from Texas Republican that met with DeSantis

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The Biden administration has agreed to provide Ukraine with another $325 million of military equipment, officials announced on Wednesday.

This security package, which came via the presidential drawdown authority (meaning the weapons will come from existing U.S. stockpiles), provides Ukraine with more ammunition for U.S.-provided weapons, such as HIMARS, artillery rounds, anti-arms systems, small arms, logistics support vehicles, and maintenance support.

UKRAINE MEETS WITH US ABOUT DEFENSE NEEDS AMID NATIONAL SECURITY LEAK FALLOUT

"We will continue to stand with our Ukrainian partners in response to Russia's continued war of aggression," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement. "This new security assistance will enable Ukraine to continue to bravely defend itself in the face of Russia's brutal, unprovoked and unjustified war. Russia could end its war today. Until Russia does, the United States and our allies and partners will stand united with Ukraine for as long as it takes."

The administration's announcement did not specify the quantity of munitions, but this package resembles other recent deliveries. This is the 36th package to come from the Defense Department's stocks to go to Ukraine since the war began in February 2022, and it brings the total U.S. military aid to nearly $36 billion.

This aid package comes days ahead of Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin's meeting with defense leaders from across the globe. On Friday, he and Gen. Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will convene with the Ukraine Defense Contact Group, which meets monthly, this time at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, to discuss Ukraine's latest needs in the war.

Ukraine is expected to launch its offensive in the coming weeks to recapture occupied territory, though the Pentagon has not painted overly optimistic expectations. Some classified documents regarding the status of the war were among the hundreds allegedly released by Massachusetts Air National Guardsman Jack Teixeira.

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One document, labeled "top secret," which was from early February, warned that large "force generation and sustainment shortfalls" make it more likely that their offensive will result in only "modest territorial gains," according to the Washington Post. There's also a document dated Feb. 23 that provided an insight into the fighting in Ukraine's Donbas region, which predicted a "grinding campaign of attrition" by Russia that "is likely heading toward a stalemate, thwarting Moscow's goal to capture the entire region in 2023."

Another leaked document indicated Ukraine has, at times, had alarmingly low levels of Western-supplied weaponry, specifically air defense and ammunition.

Original Location: US announces new Ukraine military aid package of $325 million

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A federal grand jury has accused four citizens of the United States and three Russian intelligence officers of working for the Russian government and Russian Federal Security Service to interfere in U.S. elections, sow discord, and spread pro-Russian propaganda.

Omali Yeshitela, Penny Hess, Jesse Nevel, and Augustus Romain, Jr., all residents of St. Petersburg, Florida, were charged Tuesday with conspiring to have U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government within the U.S. without providing prior notification to the attorney general, as required by law, according to the Department of Justice.

FORMER NAVY SAILOR OUTED AS BEHIND PRO-RUSSIAN DONBASS DEVUSHKA' ACCOUNTS

FILE - Omali Yeshitela, chairman of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement, St. Petersburg, addresses the recent killings of black males, and police on July 8, 2016, in Dallas. Four Americans affiliated with a Black empowerment and political organization, including Yeshitela, have been charged along with three Russians with conspiring to covertly sow discord in U.S. society, spread Russian propaganda and interfere illegally in U.S. elections, according to an indictment unsealed Tuesday, April 18, 2023. (Scott Keeler/The Tampa Bay Times via AP, File) Scott Keeler/AP

Aleksandr Ionov, Aleksey Sukhodolov, and Yegor Popov, the three Russian nationals, face the same charges, which, for all seven defendants, carry a maximum penalty of five years in prison. Yeshitela, Hess, and Nevel are also charged with acting as agents of Russia within the U.S. without necessary notification. If convicted, they each face a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison.

"Russia's foreign intelligence service allegedly weaponized our First Amendment rights  freedoms Russia denies its own citizens  to divide Americans and interfere in elections in the United States," said Assistant Attorney General Matthew G. Olsen of the Justice Department's National Security Division. "The department will not hesitate to expose and prosecute those who sow discord and corrupt U.S. elections in service of hostile foreign interests, regardless of whether the culprits are U.S. citizens or foreign individuals abroad."

According to the Justice Department, Ionov was the founder and president of the Anti-Globalization Movement of Russia, an organization headquartered in Moscow and funded by the Russian government. He allegedly used the organization to "carry out Russia's malign influence campaign" and was supervised by Moscow-based FSB officers, including Sukhodolov and Popov.

The Russian intelligence officers secretly funded and directed candidates for local office within the U.S., the DOJ said.

"Today's announcement paints a harrowing picture of Russian government actions and the lengths to which the FSB will go to interfere with our elections, sow discord in our nation and ultimately recruit U.S citizens to their efforts," said Acting Assistant Director Kurt Ronnow of the FBI's Counterintelligence Division.

"All Americans should be deeply concerned by the tactics employed by the FSB and remain vigilant to any attempt to undermine our democracy. The FBI remains committed to confronting this egregious behavior and ultimately disrupting our adversaries and those who act on their behalf," Ronnow added.

According to an initial indictment seen by the federal grand jury that handed down the charges in Tampa, Florida, Ionov, Sukhodolov, and Popov conspired to influence democratic elections in the United States by secretly funding and directing the political campaign of a candidate for local office in St. Petersburg, Florida, in 2019. The indictment alleged that Popov "expressly referred to this effort on behalf of the FSB as 'our election campaign,'" and Ionov referred to the candidate as the "candidate whom we supervise."

In even more shocking revelations, Ionov and Popov purportedly intended for their scheme to extend beyond the 2019 local election cycle in St. Petersburg, saying the "USA Presidential election" was the FSB's "main topic of the year."

The DOJ's press release said from November 2014 until July 2022, Ionov allegedly had been targeting the U.S. in a "foreign malign influence campaign," in which he recruited members of U.S. political groups, including the African People's Socialist Party in Florida and Black Hammer in Georgia, to "act as agents of Russia" in the U.S.

According to the DOJ, Yeshitela was the chairman and founder of the APSP; Hess was the leader of a component of the APSP; Nevel was a member of a component of the APSP; and Romain Jr. was a founder of Black Hammer.

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"Efforts by the Russian government to secretly influence U.S. elections will not be tolerated," said Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department's Criminal Division. "As today's announcement demonstrates, the Criminal Division is committed to eradicating foreign malign influence from the U.S. political system and helping ensure the integrity of our elections."

The announcement of charges Tuesday comes amid troubling concerns for the U.S. over its national security, as leaked intelligence files concerning foreign policy strategies exposed the fragile framework of the U.S.'s classified material safeguards.

Original Location: US citizens and Russian nationals accused of interfering with elections and being 'illegal agents'

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By Andy Sullivan

(Reuters) -Anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a member of a storied U.S. political dynasty, announced on Wednesday a long-shot bid to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the 2024 Democratic presidential nomination.

Kennedy, 69, faces little chance of success, but his campaign could serve as a platform to advance claims that childhood immunizations pose health risks -- a theory that has been discredited by multiple scientific reviews.

At a rally in Boston, Kennedy did not mention vaccines or question their effectiveness. He said he would prioritize research on chronic diseases if elected president.

"This is crippling to the middle class of this country. We need to figure out what it is," he said.

Kennedy has been banned from YouTube and Instagram for spreading misinformation about vaccines and the COVID-19 pandemic.

He is the nephew of former President John F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963, and the son of former U.S. Senator Robert F. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1968 during his own presidential bid.

Kennedy invoked his father and uncle, but also acknowledged that many current members of the extended family do not support his presidential bid.

His anti-vaccine activism has earned him allies on the right. In 2017, Republican then-President Donald Trump tapped him to oversee a vaccine review panel, drawing criticism from scientists who said it could legitimize unfounded skepticism.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kennedy criticized social-distancing requirements and vaccine mandates. At a January 2022 rally in Washington he suggested that Americans had fewer freedoms during the pandemic than Jews living in Nazi Germany. He later apologized for his remarks.

Self-help guru Marianne Williamson has also said she will challenge Biden for the Democratic nomination.

Biden, 80, said last Friday that he will run for re-election and will make a formal announcement "relatively soon."

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone, Jonathan Oatis and Deepa Babington)
The National Park Service has released visitation data from 2022 and it reveals that all four of Colorado's national parks saw a decline in visits last year.

Rocky Mountain National Park saw 4.3 million visitors in 2022, down from 4.43 million in 2021 and even farther from a record high of 4.67 million visitors in 2019.

The visitation drop at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve was even greater by percentage, dropping from a record setting 602,613 guests in 2021 to 493,428 visits in 2022.

The visitation drop at Mesa Verde National Park was also notable. In 2022, roughly 500,000 people visited this southwest Colorado destination  lower than 2021's 548,477 visits and the lowest number of visits since 2013 with exception of 2020 and the pandemic-related impacts that came with that year. It's also worth comparing visitation numbers to the record-setting year that took place decades ago  772,183 visitors in 1988.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park saw the smallest drop in visitation over the last two years among Colorado's national parks, ending up with 297,257 visits in 2022 compared to 308,910 in 2021. The 297,257 visits in 2022 is the lowest visitation since 2016 and far from a record high of 432,818 visits in 2019.

Across all four national parks in Colorado, visitation dropped from around 5,890,000 guests in 2021 to 5,590,000 guests in 2022.

Between 2021 and 2022, all Colorado national parks saw a downward shift in their popularity ranking among National Park Service managed destinations. Rocky Mountain National Park dropped from being the 14th-most popular destination to 15th between 2021 and 2022. Meanwhile, Great Sand Dunes fell from 106th to 118th, Mesa Verde fell from 114th to 117th, and Black Canyon of the Gunnison fell from 146th to 156th. Note that while the National Park Service managed 380 spots in 2021, it managed 387 in 2022.

Across the entire country, roughly 312 million people visited national park destinations in 2022, a tick above the 297 million that visited national parks in 2021, but shy of record highs close to 331 million total visits in 2016 and 2017.

Explore more data here.
Jinx and Graffit were highly-trained dogs who specialized in drug detection and suspect apprehension.

The latter cost both of them their lives.

K-9 officer Jinx, a three-year-old Belgian Malinois, and his handler Deputy Sheriff Ronnie Hancock of the El Paso Sheriff's Department, were called to Manitou Springs a year ago to help apprehend a man brandishing a gun. The man was killed by deputies, but not before he shot and killed Jinx.

Graffit was a 10-year-old German Shepherd K-9 officer when he and his handler, Jeffco Sheriff's Deputy Zachary Oliver, were called to the Colorado School of Mines in Golden last February to apprehend an armed man who went into the woods, over a hill and down an embankment.

The man shot and killed Graffit.

In both cases, the penalties for killing a highly-trained working or police dog were no different than for killing any other animal.

House Bill 1286 and House Bill 1293 intend to change that.

The House Judiciary Committee on Tuesday heard from the officers who handled Jinx and Graffit as well as other K-9 partners, accompanied by their dogs.

"He was more than a pet, more than a friend. He was family," Oliver said. "We did everything together. He was my shadow...he took a bullet that wasn't meant for him."

Oliver said going back to work without Graffit is the hardest thing he's ever had to do, and still keeps the kennel in his patrol car. He added the hardest thing to know is that the consequences for the suspect who allegedly killed Graffit doesn't fit the danger the suspect put him in.

"My biggest plea: Do something for us," he said.

House Majority Leader Rep. Monica Duran, D-Wheat Ridge told the committee that as a "fierce advocate" for animals, it broke her heart to hear of Graffit's death. She said she "tearfully watched the proceedings" as Graffit was escorted to his place of rest with his body draped with a flag.

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There needs to be something in place in the criminal justice system that addresses the penalty as well as restitution, she said.

Initially, HB 1286 would have ramped up the penalties for aggravated animal cruelty when it involves a service or working dog, such as a police dog.

But another bill moving through the process  HB 1293, which contains felony sentencing recommendations from the Colorado Commissioner on Criminal and Juvenile Justice  also covers the penalties for aggravated animal cruelty and makes the penalty more severe than what was in HB 1286.

In HB 1286, the penalty for killing a service or police animal, including dogs and horses, would become a class 5 felony. In HB 1293, it's a class 4 felony. The difference: a class 5 carries a sentence of one to three years in prison; a class 4 is two to six years in prison. The fines for those violations are also ramped up under a class 4 felony.

HB 1293 was also heard in the Judiciary Committee Tuesday.

HB 1286 was amended to remove the penalties and deal with only the restitution piece. Under the bill, the fine for aggravated animal cruelty involving a working or police dog is $2,000 plus a mandatory anger management class. It also includes a requirement for restitution to the agency or owner of the animal, which would cover costs for training, certification, veterinary and replacement costs.

Rep. Ryan Armagost, a Berthoud Republican who is a former Larimer County K-9 Sheriff's Deputy and co-sponsor of HB 1286, said these dogs are a "force multiplier," with sometimes just a simple bark or whine enough to do their jobs.

Armagost estimated the cost to train a dog to be patrol ready at $200,000. Police horses are also expensive to train, but can help move people out of large groups and with more force than people, he said.

"It's time to stand up to protect them," he told the committee. "We need to understand what the entirety of losing a working dog partner amounts to. It's not just losing a pet; it's losing a partner that you depend on for your livelihood and safety as well as that of our citizens."

HB 1286 passed on a 10-1 vote and now heads to the full House.
The Colorado Senate approved a bill Wednesday to allow the state to enforce federal laws requiring hospitals to publicly post prices online.

Under Senate Bill 252, hospitals must maintain a public list of at least 300 shoppable services and regularly report to the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy and Financing, which will monitor compliance. Violations of the bill would qualify as a deceptive trade practice.

The Senate passed the bill in a 22-11 vote on Wednesday, advancing it to the House for further consideration.

Coloradans deserve to know what their medical bills will look like before going into treatment or surgery, said bill sponsor Sen. Julie Gonzales, D-Denver. Its time to take the next step and increase medical price transparency so Coloradans arent blindsided with big bills after receiving care.

This bill comes more than two years after federal laws went into effect in January 2021, mandating that hospitals provide clear and easily accessible online pricing information so the public can know in advance how much a treatment costs and compare costs between hospitals.

In Colorado, not one of 32 of the states largest hospitals websites analyzed by an advocacy group has fully complied with the federal laws, according to the nonprofit PatientsRightsAdvocate.org.

The Colorado Hospital Association earlier said SB 252 could confuse consumers as it creates the potential for conflict between state and federal law, said Cara Welch, senior director of communications for the association in an email on Friday.

Skeptical of the PatientRightsAdvocate.org findings, she said Colorado hospitals have a long history of supporting meaningful price transparency that helps patients understand their financial responsibility in advance of receiving care.

Welch added that compliance with the federal law falls under the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and that agency recently published a blog that looked at 600 hospitals in late 2022 and found substantial progress in transparency.

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SB 252 builds off of previous state efforts to get hospitals to comply, including House Bill 22-1285 passed last year, which prohibits hospitals from pursuing debt collection action against a patient if the hospital failed to comply with the federal hospital price transparency laws.

Though it has bipartisan sponsorship, SB 252 received support from most Democrats and opposition from most Republicans on Wednesday. Three Republicans and two Democrats switched sides.

Critics of the bill argued that it would put too much of a burden on hospitals, particularly small, rural hospitals.

"We know rural hospitals are struggling," said Sen. Kyle Mullica, D-Thornton, one of only two Democrats who voted against the bill. "Now, we're going to come in and say, 'If you don't (make prices transparent), we're going to fine you $10,000 a day per instance,' when these hospitals are struggling just to make ends meet."

Proponents of the bill pointed out that noncompliant hospitals have been violating federal laws for more than two years, and they will be given ample notice.

Under SB 252, hospitals not complying with federal price transparency laws would receive a warning and be given information and support from the state on how to get in compliance. If noncompliance continues after a few months, the hospital could be referred to the state attorney general as a violation of the states deceptive trade practices law.

"All a hospital has to do with this bill is follow the rules that have been in effect for more than two years," said bill sponsor Sen. Kevin Van Winkle, R-Highlands Ranch. "This bill is the key to unlocking clear, accessible and upfront pricing in health care."

The House is expected to vote on SB 252 in the coming weeks.
Suicide is the leading cause of death for Coloradans ages 10 to 19, with Childrens Hospital Colorado declaring a state of emergency for youth mental health in 2021. In the midst of this crisis, Colorado schools largely lack mental health resources.

The National Association of School Psychologists recommends schools have 1 psychologist for every 500 students. But on average, Colorado schools employ 1 psychologist for every 1,578 students, according to an ACLU report.

Senate Bill 4 seeks to change this by allowing school districts to employ therapists who are not licensed by the state Department of Education, which is required for therapists to work in schools.

Schools and students are in great need of mental health services to address our youth mental health crisis, said bill sponsor Rep. Mary Young, D-Greeley. SB 4 will help our schools and students have the mental health services they need to combat depression, anxiety, and other mental health issues.

House lawmakers unanimously approved the bill on Tuesday, following the Senate's unanimous passage in February. The bill would become law with the governor's signature.

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More than two dozen organizations are backing the bill, including the Colorado Education Association, Colorado Psychological Association, Colorado Rural Schools Alliance and the school districts of Douglas County, Pikes Peak, Lewis Palmer and Poudre. No groups are registered in opposition to the bill.

Proponents of the bill said the process of getting licensed by the Department of Education is costly, complex and time-consuming for therapists, contributing to the shortage of mental health professionals in schools.

Under the bill, school therapists would still need to hold a state license in their profession, in addition to passing a background check. Schools would also be required to ensure that school therapists have background and experience in working with children and teens.

Schools are short on school mental health professionals, putting the responsibility of addressing student mental health struggles onto educators that are already overworked and underpaid, said bill sponsor Rep. Dafna Michaelson Jenet, D-Commerce City. Teachers, students, and parents throughout Colorado are asking for our help to support our kids.

In Colorado, 7.2% of students have attempted suicide in the last year, 17.1% seriously considered suicide and 20.3% purposely harmed themselves, according to the most recent state survey from 2021. The survey also found that nearly 40% of students felt sad or hopeless for weeks straight and nearly 50% felt stressed daily.

SB 4 will next be sent back to the Senate to approve minor changes made by the House. Then, it will go to Gov. Jared Polis.
The 4th Judicial District Attorney's Office announced on Tuesday that a motions hearing for alleged Club Q shooter Anderson Aldrich scheduled for Friday had been vacated.

The motions hearing for Aldrich was set at an earlier hearing on March 31, where Judge Michael McHenry stated he couldn't rule on one motion filed by the defense at the time.

The motion in question from Aldrich's defense was about 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.

According to a defense motion to vacate the Friday hearing obtained by The Gazette, Aldrich's defense attorneys stated that further information is being sent "by the end of the month" to the defense from the warrant issued to Discord by law enforcement.

"With these additional records on the way, it would be premature to litigate this issue before defense counsel has had time to review the disclosures proposed in the district attorneys response," the defense motion states. "Only after a review of these future disclosures will counsel know whether the assistance of the Court in acquiring further discovery will be necessary."

Additionally, at Aldrich's previous motions hearing McHenry stated it would be "likely" he would rule in favor of the defense on the evidence issue.

Aldrich's next court appearance is an arraignment hearing scheduled for May 30, where Aldrich will likely enter a plea to the 323 charges the defendant faces for allegedly killing five and injuring nearly two dozen more at the Club Q shooting in November 2022.

An update to Aldrich's sanity examination being conducted by the defense  which could determine if Aldrich will plead not guilty by reason of insanity  is expected to be given at the May arraignment hearing.

Last week, Aldrich's mother Laura Voepel appeared in court virtually via WebEx regarding her case, where she faces misdemeanor charges of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest from the early morning hours of Nov. 20, 2022. Aldrich allegedly conducted the Club Q shooting hours before on Nov. 19.

Voepel's attorney last week filed two different motions, obtained by The Gazette, which detail that Voepel is undergoing an examination, the type of which is redacted. Possible examinations can include those regarding mental health.

Court records show Voepel is scheduled to appear back in court on May 11 for a motions hearing.

Aldrich is currently held in the El Paso County jail on a no-bond hold. If found guilty of even one of the first-degree murder charges, Aldrich will be sentenced to life in prison per Colorado law.